Naruto but as ISSTH
by Zelinku
Summary: This is just a continuation of another story that dropped off basically Naruto as Meng Hao and that's about it
1. Chapter 1

1

Chapter 601: Generous Tsukino!

Tsukino looked at Naruto thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded. It seemed that at that point, she suddenly thought of something else. She hesitated for a moment.

"It's all legend," she continued. "No one really knows if it's true or not. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't…. Furthermore, true spirit Night's bizarreness can actually appear during any time.

"In the original Demon Immortal Sect, countless Chosen disciples attempted to research it. In their belief, Night possessed an ability like teleportation. However, it teleported, not through the physical realm, but through time.

"Therefore, many people staunchly believed that Night's dream was no dream, but an actual teleportation through time. There was even much evidence collected to support that view."

Naruto stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then closed his eyes. A long time passed before he opened them again. No trace could be seen of any change in his thinking.

"Whether it was an illusion or real doesn't matter," he murmured inwardly. "As long as I believe it was real, and is still connected to me, then Karma exists in my heart. Regardless of the facts, that is the most important." Just now, he had felt somewhat confused, but after closing his eyes for a moment, he felt enlightened.

"Let's go," he said coolly. "The Demon Immortal Cistern awaits."

Tsukino looked at him for a moment and then nodded. They walked onward in single file, following the same path from before as they headed toward the Demon Immortal Cistern.

Before much time passed, they reached the location of the same cistern they had visited within the Second Plane.

The area was damaged and worn. Cracks could be seen everywhere, and many parts had completely fallen apart. Many of the stones had been crushed, quite a few of which hovered about in mid-air. All of it made it seem as if it would be very difficult to approach the pond waters. Even the waters themselves were not as clear as they had been in the Second Plane; there appeared to be silt built up in some parts.

Most relevant of all, the waters were much shallower….

At first glance, the cistern looked like a huge pit. Before, it had been filled with water, but now, only a bit was left at the bottom, perhaps only ten percent of what had been there in the Second Plane.

When she saw that remaining ten percent of water, though, Tsukino's eyes filled with excitement, and she let out a huge sigh. What she had feared most was coming here with the proper qualifications only to find that because of the passage of time, the cistern waters were completely gone.

Were that to have been the case, it would have meant she had completely wasted all of her effort. All of the preparations made by her Sect would have been completely for naught.

Everything had been a gamble, in which success could lead to a meteoric rise. However, failure, and the losses thus incurred, would have led to the decline of her Sect.

Tsukino suppressed her excitement as she looked around the area. When she caught sight of the rock upon which she had left the mark in the Second Plane, she began to quiver and breathe heavily. She had to work hard to try to suppress her excitement.

Everything had worked out perfectly, even more smoothly than she could have possibly imagined. The key to it all was the stone with her mark on it. To enter this area, one needed the qualifications. To enter the Demon Immortal Cistern itself, one needed a second qualification.

That second qualification could only be acquired within the Second Plane, but not used there. Instead, the qualification could be retrieved in the Third Plane, and then cultivated.

If there was no Second Plane, and one went directly to the Third Plane, at first, there wouldn't seem to be much difference. Tsukino and her Sect, however, had used augury to ascertain with relative certainty that, because of the passage of time, and the great catastrophe, the restrictive spells in the area were thoroughly sealed, and would not approve of any intruder.

The only method of success was to get qualifications in ancient times!

Tsukino took a deep breath, then turned toward Naruto, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, many thanks for all your assistance. I would now like to once again ask for your expertise in opening up a path. Please remove the curse power from the area and allow me to… succeed in entering the cistern waters!" She bowed to him once again.

Naruto understood that this was the extent of the help she needed from him. The entire area was broken and in ruins. It all seemed quite messy and ctic, and even quite dangerous. Tsukino was nervous because of the same thing that had made her nervous back in the Bridge of Immortal Treading; invisible curses.

The further one went along, the more terrifying the curses became.

Anything that touched them would receive an intense jolt of backlash.

"Let me try," he said with a nod. He had given Tsukino his promise, and would not go back on his word unless he came across something that was truly beyond his control.

Thinking back to his experience in the Bridge of Immortal Treading, he had some speculations as to the reason why he was not affected by the curses; perhaps it had something to do with him being a Demon Sealer. His eyes glittering, he walked forward, waving his right hand to cause some of the stones that were blocking their way to lift up into the air. The stones did not appear to be equipped with any sort of curse; it seemed to take almost no effort to lift them up and move them over.

Naruto continued forward, taking care of all the stones, even the ones that floated in mid-air. soon a path emerged, leading directly up to the cistern waters.

"Like that?" he asked, looking back at Tsukino.

She gaped in astonishment, suddenly uncertain about whether or not the curses actually existed. If there were no curses… then it mean that bringing along Naruto for help was actually just giving him good fortune for free.

When this occurred to her, she felt distress in her heart. After all, she had promised Naruto that he could immerse himself in the waters with her. And yet, the water was quite low now…..

"There couldn't possibly be NO curses, could there?" she thought. "Don't tell me that if I got the proper qualifications, and my identity was acknowledged, then the curses wouldn't target me?" With that, she ground her teeth and began to walk forward.

However, before she could take three steps, her face suddenly flickered. The color of her skin suddenly turned black; blood sprayed from her mouth and she retreated backward quickly.

She fell back four or five steps and then sat down cross-legged. She waved her right arm, causing a hundred golden needles to appear, which then stabbed into her body from various directions. Vast quantities of black blood oozed out, emanating a foul, rotten stench.

Tsukino's face was as pale as death as she produced a small clay pellet. Enduring the pain of losing such an item, she crushed it, causing an amber-colored medicinal pill to fly out, which she immediately consumed.

A long moment later, she still felt incredibly weak, but the black color was fading away from her skin. When it finally disappeared, and her injuries were recovered, she looked up with an expression of fear toward Naruto. There was only about thirty meters or so between the two of them, but to her, it was a shocking distance.

Just now, she had neared a curse that hadn't fallen. If she had truly entered into it fully, she would long since have been transforming into pool of black liquid.

Having seen what just happened to Tsukino, Naruto began to think. He felt a little bit bad. He quickly began to inspect the area, but couldn't see anything particularly strange about it. It was as if the area really was a forbidden zone, except, the effects didn't apply to him at all.

"What do we do now?" asked Tsukino. She was more than thirty meters away, her expression anxious, her eyes wide. Success was only a short distance away, and yet that distance seemed like the vast gully between Heaven and Earth, impossible to cross.

In fact, she hadn't even noticed yet that her clothing had already begun to rot. A wind blew past, causing some of it transform into ash and reveal the skin beneath.

Naruto wasn't any surer than her what to do at this point. He looked at the brackish water in the cistern and then glanced back at Tsukino. "What if you hold onto me and I try leading you in?" he asked.

Tsukino was silent for a moment. What had happened just now had left her completely shocked, and without any ideas of what to do. Even asking Naruto to bring the water to her would have been useless; to acquire the Demon Immortal Body required that she meditate within the cistern itself.

She clenched her teeth, and determination appeared in her eyes. The Sect had made far too many preparations to reach this point. All hope was placed in her. She would rather die in here than simply give up.

She took a deep breath, then nodded her head with an expression that meant she was ready to go for broke. She looked toward Naruto and then clasped hands once again and bowed.

"Many thanks for your assistance, Elder Brother Naruto. Tsukino will remember your kindness for the rest of her life!" The way she bowed caused the previously partially covered skin to be even more revealed to Naruto. All of a sudden, he caught sight of a thoroughly soul-stirring sight.

Suddenly becoming aware of this, Tsukino's face reddened. She straightened up and then coolly said, "It's just a little bit of skin. If you like it, Elder Brother Naruto, I can offer it to you as a gift."

The 'generousness' of Tsukino's words caused Naruto to cough dryly a few times, and a strange look appeared on his face. He calmed himself inwardly. From the very moment he had met Tsukino, he had felt her to have somewhat of a changeable disposition. Every time he ran into her, it was like she had had a different personality.

She was flirty at first, then licentious. Sometimes candid, and now… almost like a man in the way she spoke.

"No, forget about it…." he replied, clearing his throat. He walked toward Tsukino, and as he neared, she raised her hand and clasped his arm.

Then she took a deep breath, and a look of decisiveness filled her eyes.

He glanced at her again, then, without another word, turned and led her forward one step. Then two steps. Three steps….

Her body was trembling, and by the time they reached the place where her expression had changed the last time, she was incredibly nervous.

However, this time she could not sense the curse like she could before. Although, her clothes were now rapidly disappearing….

By the time they had taken seven or eight steps, they were completely within the cursed area. Tsukino's clothes were now totally gone, revealing a beautiful body that would cause any man to begin to pant.

It was curvaceous and beautiful beyond compare.

Naruto glanced her over and saw everything. In his recollection, this was his second time to see a woman's body. The first time had been when he saw Sakura's. Right now, though, the feeling he experienced was completely different.

As he compared the two, he occasionally smiled and nodded, occasionally frowned, and occasionally revealed an expression of wonderment.

Tsukino looked at him, clenched her teeth, and then said out of the corner of her mouth. "What part do you like? I'll give it to you."

Naruto smiled and pointed.

Tsukino's eyebrows raised up. She suddenly formed her right hand into the shape of a blade which then shot toward the part on her chest that he had pointed to.

Naruto's eyes went wide and he quickly stopped her. "Fine, you win. I don't need it, even if you keep chopping."

Tsukino glared hatefully at him for a moment but didn't say anything else. She held on to him as they proceeded forward toward the cistern waters. Soon they entered the waters themselves, proceeding into the very center.

Although the waters were clearly brackish, something strange happened. A delicate fragrance began to emanate out of Tsukino. As it spread about, it fused into the waters, causing them to churn. In the blink of an eye, they were no longer brackish, but instead, perfectly clear. In fact they even began to emanate their own delicate fragrance.

If analyzed it carefully, you would realize that the fragrance was the same as Tsukino's.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Jusaz_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 602

Chapter 602: Good Fortune!

Naruto's eyes flickered as Tsukino dragged him into the waters and then sat down cross-legged. There was not much water, only enough to reach Tsukino's supple waist.

She pulled him to sit down cross-legged in the waters across from her. When his gaze fell onto her body, he cleared his throat.

"While I absorb the power of the Demon Immortal Cistern," she said lightly, "you can also temper your body. As it happens, I have a special type of physique; during the process of transforming my body into a Demon Immortal Body, I will emit a unique fragrance.

"That fragrance can be considered something like a precious material when you fuse it into your fleshly body. Therefore… you can build up a lot of synergy with your best body tempering magics when you use them here.

"It would be much better for you to absorb the fragrance than simply let it go to waste.

"In addition, please do not disturb me during the process. As for the curses, according to the research of the Sect, once I begin the transformation process, they won't affect me.

"If you finish before me, you can wait for me outside. I'm not sure how long the process will take, so I hope you can stand guard over me until I finish." With a final look at Naruto, she closed her eyes.

The instant she did, a strong fragrance suddenly emanated out from her. It fused into the waters, causing a white mist to rise up. The mist, too, was quite strong, and in the blink of an eye, had covered the entire cistern, completely concealing both Naruto and Tsukino.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he looked around. He quickly realized that while the pulsating coldness in the water had originally been somewhat weak, after the mist rose up, the coldness was increased by more than ten times.

From the look of it, that coldness was only continuing to increase. Naruto

knew from his time immersing himself in the waters back in the Second Plane that the more intense the coldness, the better the results he would experience. He took a deep breath as he rotated his Cultivation base. A moment later, he realized something else. It seemed as if the mist in the area was adding nourishment to his fleshly body. As it poured into him, his fleshly body began to experience a shocking transformation, slowly becoming more powerful.

"Tsukino wasn't lying," he thought, his eyes shining with a bright light. Both the mist and the cistern waters were extremely beneficial to his fleshly body. He hadn't even employed any magical techniques, and yet was already receiving incredible gain.

Although it didn't seem likely that he would be able to achieve a Seventh Anima fleshly body while only in the First Anima, it did seem possible to reach the Sixth Anima.

According to his speculations, reaching the level of the Seventh Anima would be simply too difficult….

"I wonder if Fleshly Sanctification… can be cultivated in this place. It can only be cultivated once, but when it is, it will cause a one-time increase in fleshly body power that is astonishing to the extreme…. Furthermore, the atmosphere in this place is extremely well-suited to fleshly body tempering. This truly seems the best time to use it!" His eyes flickered with a bright light. After all, when it came to Fleshly Sanctification, the stronger one's body, the more power would result.

Furthermore, Naruto had the feeling that regardless of whether it was a Daoist magic or a secret technique, since it had been acquired in the Demon Immortal Sect, it needed to be cultivated here. Trying to do so in the outside world would be useless.

Considering that, there was no reason to hesitate. Now was the time to use it!

Beams of light were shooting out of Naruto's eyes as he closed them.

Within his mind, he unleashed the secret art of Fleshly Sanctification!

RUMBLE!

Naruto's mind thundered as the secret art spread out. His body instantly began to shake, and the mist around him churned. Instantly, an enormous vortex sprung up around Naruto, like clouds kicked into motion by the wind.

The cistern waters also surged into a vast whirlpool.

Tsukino was immersed in her own body transformation, but she could still sense what was happening on the outside, and was shocked. Her mind filled with a similar roaring, and her entire body began to emit vast quantities of Demonic Qi. As the Demonic Qi was unleashed, it caused the mist to grow thicker. Tsukino felt an indescribable sense of stimulation throughout her body because of the transformation she was about to experience.

Time passed. Naruto forgot about everything, as did Tsukino. They sat cross-legged in the cistern waters, surrounded by mist. Nothing was clearly visible, not even their own bodies. They could only sense themselves growing more powerful.

Naruto's fleshly body continued to grow larger. When it reached a pinnacle, it would then rapidly shrink back down. This continued to happen back and forth, creating a cycle. When each revolution of the cycle was completed, his fleshly body would exude terrifying fluctuations.

His fleshly body continued to grow more and more powerful!

Innumerable illusory magical symbols began to wink in and out around him. There were many; all of them apparently born from the void, pulsating with an ancient aura as they circulated around him. The entire scene made Naruto look completely strange and bizarre.

In contrast to Naruto, Tsukino's body radiated pulses of Demonic Qi. They were incredibly dense, and as they condensed together, seemed to take the shape of numerous living creatures.

These living creatures all had differing appearances, but each of them had existed for countless years. These Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth had all fallen by now, but they were still remembered by the heavens of the Nine Mountains and Seas.

As they appeared, they shrank down in size, then sat cross-legged around Tsukino, performing incantations gestures that caused indistinct beams of light to shoot out and fuse into Tsukino's body.

As for Naruto, he was sitting quite close to Tsukino. As a result, he was also located within the region of light cast by the Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth. Many of the indistinct beams also hit his body.

Even as he trembled, the magical symbols swirled around him rapidly, then shot toward him and fused into his body.

As the light and the magical symbols merged into him, Naruto's mind continued to shake. His aura grew stronger, and his fleshly body emanated terrifying fluctuations.

Sometimes, he would grow large and strong to a shocking degree, and sometimes, he would shrink down into something completely unremarkable. His clothes had long since been shredded into pieces during the growth stages. As of this moment, he wore no clothes whatsoever, and like Tsukino, he sat there completely naked.

The first thing to be strengthened was his skeletal system. It was a special kind of change that made the skeletal system incredibly tough and resilient, to the point where it could be considered something similar to a magical item.

The constant nourishment pouring into his body made Naruto's bones increasingly terrifying. However… he was still very close to Tsukino. The illusory Greater Demons sitting cross-legged around her continued to emanate the indistinct light that was actually in direct opposition to the magical symbols surrounding Naruto.

The light was not nourishing, but rather destructive. The essence of the Demon Immortal Body was to stimulate potential by means of destruction, and thus, mold out the most powerful fleshly body.

The secret art of Fleshly Sanctification was based on nourishment. The stimulation of potential was accomplished by nourishing the body, making the strong stronger, until the ultimately powerful fleshly body was consolidated.

They were two completely different methods that, from ancient times until modern, had never been simultaneously cultivated. It is not that no one wanted to try, but rather, had no way to practice such cultivation.

At the moment, though, Naruto, by lucky coincidence, had achieved a strange balance. The light from the illusory Greater Demons continued to destroy his skeletal system, causing his bones to be slowly shattered.

However, that did not conform with Fleshly Sanctification. Therefore… the art that normally should only have required a few magical symbols, suddenly began to pour out more magical symbol seals. They shot into Naruto to repair and perfect his skeletal system.

This process of destruction and replenishment caused Naruto to feel indescribable pain. At the same time, the benefits he received were completely without precedent!

It was hard to say how much time passed. However, because of the constant cycle, Naruto's skeletal system became thoroughly stable and firm. Roaring filled his fleshly body as he broke through into the power of the Sixth Anima.

As of this moment, Naruto didn't even need a Cultivation base. His body itself was shockingly powerful. He was not tall and thin like before, but rather thick and bulky, and looked almost like a small mountain.

It was at this moment that the tempering of his fleshly body expanded out from his bones into his flesh and blood!

Bones, blood and flesh, veins and arteries. All three of these areas experienced tempering. By combining them together, it led to explosive strength of the Qi and blood!

Naruto's entire person shook. The light from the Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth caused his whole body to wither to the extreme, until he seemed like nothing more than a bag of bones. But in the next breath, the incredible power from the magical symbols poured into him, causing his body to be completely restored.

As the cycle continued, the magical symbols around Naruto began to lessen. Soon there weren't very many left. However, at the same time, an enormous fissure suddenly appeared in the sky above the Seven Peaks of the Demon Immortal Sect.

As the fissure ripped open, an incredible booming sound could be heard that caused everything in the Demon Immortal Sect to shake. All of the Cultivators from the lands of South Heaven looked up, their expressions that of astonishment.

Each of them could clearly see that within the fissure up above was something enormous. As it neared… they could see a gigantic, indescribably large pagoda!

It was… the Demon Immortal Pagoda!

All of them had seen the pagoda in the Second Plane, but this time, there was something different about it. The pagoda… was struggling to keep itself whole. There were some areas that were destroyed and collapsed. There were even some parts where the only thing holding it together was stretches of glowing light.

The entire pagoda was in ruins. Apparently, it had been almost completely destroyed during the ancient war.

However, the pagoda… still continued to exist. As it neared, it let out a boundless, invisible pressure that caused everyone beneath to be shaken inwardly and wonder what was happening.

As the Demon Immortal Pagoda neared, suddenly, a great beam of light appeared from inside that was made up of magical symbols!

The countless magical symbol seals turned into a river of stars that swept throughout the air, like a shocking bolt of unfurling white silk. It flew toward the Seventh Peak and the Demon Immortal Cistern. It roared through the air, shooting toward the area which none of them could see, surrounding the Demon Immortal Cistern and then pouring into Naruto's body!

Fleshly Sanctification was a secret art that came from the Demon Immortal Pagoda. The Demon Immortal Body was a physical body created by Lord Li. As for which of the two was more powerful, it would be difficult to say clearly.

At the moment, an unprecedented battle seemed to be taking place, with Naruto's body being the battlefield. The secret art versus the Demon Immortal body; the two fought back and forth.

Would destruction win out over nourishment, or was nourishment incapable of being destroyed? It was like a paradox!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Peter den Brok, cleanm Jeremiassen, Kokul_

 _Kuganesan, Nam Tran,_ กิตติ พง ษ โย ทัยเที่ ยง _, and Derrick Yin Sau Chen_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 603

Chapter 603 (Click to show)

Chapter 603: Eighth Nascent Soul!

Naruto's flesh and blood expanded, then withered. The cyclical process gave birth to an indescribable pain that caused Naruto to tremble and sweat profusely.

However, his eyes were filled with unprecedented staunchness. He clenched his jaw and persisted on. Refusing to lapse into unconsciousness, he immersed himself in the sensation. His fleshly body constantly withered and then expanded, giving rise to a terrifying power.

Boom!

The indistinct light from the Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth drained his body to the point of collapse and destruction. His hair fell out, and he looked like an oilless lamp, like a withered corpse.

Boom!

The secret art of Fleshly Sanctification and the magical symbols from the Demon Immortal Pagoda swirled into his body, causing it to expand and grow until he looked like a giant.

The paradoxical transformation was something that had never been

seen from ancient times until modern times, an unprecedented molding of the fleshly body. As the cycle continued, Naruto continued to grow more and more powerful!

Tsukino's body was also trembling. She did not have any secret art of

Fleshly Sanctification. She only had the pure transformation of the Demon Immortal Body. At the moment, her body was withered, but within the withering was shocking Demonic Qi.

The two of them each practiced their own type of cultivation, constantly growing more powerful. As for the waters of the Demon Immortal Cistern, they were slowly shrinking down.

After some period of time passed, a rumbling sound could be heard, echoing out in all directions. Naruto suddenly raised his head, although his eyes were closed. Right now, his body was no longer expanding dramatically, nor was it withering to the point of death. Instead, he was tall and thin.

He currently looked almost like he didn't have any power at all in his body. However, deep inside was hidden a fearsome and indescribable strength that far exceeded the previous limits of his fleshly body.

He was now in possession of an extraordinary, enchanting power. Every single scrap of muscle was filled with shocking, explosive power. His bones were solid to an indescribable degree. As Naruto lifted his head, his entire body erupted with an intense aura.

The wind whipped about as the vortex screamed. Shockingly, Naruto's aura… had the fleshly body power of the Seventh Anima!

However he had not entered the Seventh Anima, but rather remained within the First Anima.

The mist around him seethed, and the vortex rotated around and around. In the middle of it all, Naruto inhaled deeply and took a moment to sense the power within him. Although his Cultivation base was still the same as ever, his fleshly body power and his battle prowess were now completely different than before.

His eyes glittered as he entered the Second Anima.

Boom!

Third Anima, Fourth Anima…. As he sat there cross-legged, it was without hesitation that he went all the way to the most powerful state in which he could exist, the Seventh Anima!

His body shook as the same power as before surged through him, that of sixty-four great circle Nascent Souls. However… his fleshly body instantly reached an incredible, unprecedented state.

His fleshly body, his skeletal system, his physical frame, were now thick and strong in a way that did not conform to any rules. He was far taller than before, to the point where even sitting cross-legged as he was, he was still taller than previously.

The fearsomeness of his physical body made him seem to be, not a Cultivator, but something Demonic!

His facial features were vicious. Countless veins popped up all over his body, and his hair was even longer than before. When he looked up, his eyes radiated a ferocious will. It looked like a single punch… could shatter the earth.

Naruto wasn't sure exactly how to describe the current state of his fleshly body. He clenched his fists as the explosive, terrifying feeling of power exploded out from inside of him. He could tell that his current state of power far, far exceeded that from before.

"However…" he thought, "a fleshly body as powerful as this is still not Spirit Severing…." Although his fleshly body was terrifyingly powerful, he still had the feeling that for some reason, he had reached a bottleneck.

The appearance of the bottleneck did not cause him to be disheartened, but instead filled his eyes with excitement. He knew that the bottleneck could only be one thing….

The bottleneck of… acquiring a Spirit Severing fleshly body!

Once he broke through the bottleneck, he would have a complete Spirit

Severing fleshly body, and would truly be able to fight back against First Severing Cultivators. He would truly be within the Spirit Severing stage!

Although his Cultivation base would be different, his fleshly body would definitely have that terrifying power.

"I should be able to break through!" he thought, his eyes glittering. After taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. The Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth once again unleashed their indistinct light.

One beam of light after another passed into Naruto's body. This time, they did not stir his skeletal system, nor whither his flesh and blood. Instead, they wreaked fatal havoc onto his Qi and blood vessels.

Naruto wasn't Tsukino, who possessed a special physique and constitution. She could turn the fatal transformations into something not fatal, and thus acquire something like a rebirth in the form of the Demon Immortal Body.

However, Naruto had something even more special and shocking than Tsukino when it came to his physique. He had a secret art that was completely incompatible with the Demon Immortal Body, and was even something like an enemy to it!

That secret art was something that Ke Yunhai had described as being extremely rare in Heaven and Earth, with an origin veiled in mystery.

Even as Naruto's blood and Qi passageways were being destroyed, the inexhaustible supply of magical symbols around him poured into his body. In the blink of an eye, his blood and Qi passageways were thoroughly restored.

The cyclical paradox once again exploded out inside of his body. Naruto had gotten used to the destruction of his skeletal system and the rending of his flesh and blood. Therefore, this feeling was something he could handle.

The only thing that happened was that he trembled a bit; his expression didn't change in the least.

Rumbling filled his entire body as his blood and Qi passageways were destroyed and then restored and strengthened. He became stronger, causing his fleshly body to experience yet another meteoric rise.

This rise grew stronger and more stable, transforming into an explosive power that could break through a bottleneck.

Boom!

His body trembled and blood oozed out of his mouth. The bottleneck was like an enormous battlement. As he bashed against it, cracks appeared, but it didn't collapse.

"One more time!" he said, his eyes glittering. He focused all the power he could muster, combining it together. The magical symbols in the area were few, and as Naruto gathered his power, the Demon Immortal Pagoda on the outside began to shake and erupt with even more magical symbols. The tower itself was beginning to grow dark and faded.

The magical symbols joined together to form a silver river that shot toward Naruto, pouring into his body, causing it to shake. The light from the Greater Demons destroyed his blood and Qi passageways; the secret art and the magical symbols poured into him to reforge them. He surged with more power, and then once again lashed out against the bottleneck.

BOOM!

The bottleneck trembled violently, and the cracks spread out even thicker. Just when it seemed on the verge of collapsing, more light from the Greater Demons poured into Naruto, along with boundless magical symbols.

Roaring filled Naruto's body. He lifted his head up and let out a soundless howl. As of this moment, his body was no longer expanding dramatically, but rather, shrinking at high speed. He now seemed completely weak and thin.

At the same time, the blood and Qi vessels within him were completely restored.

The light from the Greater Demons was incapable of any further destruction, and the increasingly scant numbers of magical symbols could offer no further assistance.

His blood and Qi vessels having been completely restored, the bottleneck within him… directly shattered into pieces!

As the bottleneck vanished, Naruto's fleshly body experienced an incredible, shocking rise. He grew more and more powerful, to a worldshaking degree!

However, what caused Naruto to frown was that after breaking through the bottleneck, he didn't get any sensation that he was in a Spirit Severing state. That caused him to feel a bit confused.

However, even as he frowned, a completely unpredictable sensation suddenly rose up within him. Naruto suddenly noticed a transformation occurring that caused the sky to fade, the wind and clouds to seethe, the surrounding mist to shoot up into the air, and the vortex surrounding him to suddenly stop in place.

The transformation was caused by the increase in the three aspects of his fleshly body; his skeletal system, his flesh and blood, and his veins and arteries. He had the special aspects of the Demon Immortal Body, but also Qi and blood of a fleshly body forged from Fleshly Sanctification.

This was a never-before-seen combination that was essentially a paradox. It created… a shocking transformation that had never been seen before Naruto, nor would ever be seen again.

This transformation was not one of his fleshly body. Instead, it occurred within his dantian region. Next to his seven Nascent Souls, shockingly… a thick coagulation of Qi and blood appeared, shaped like a person.

Because his fleshly body had reached such an incredible pinnacle of power, he had formed… a Qi and Blood Nascent Soul!

When the Nascent Soul appeared, Naruto's Cultivation base immediately began to emanate ripples. His hair whipped about, and his Cultivation base exploded with power. In this instant, Naruto… could sense the fluctuations of an eighth Nascent Soul!

"Spirit Severing is within… the Eighth Anima!" he thought, panting as he gained enlightenment.

Meanwhile….

An old man sped along beneath the Seventh Peak, nearing the forbidden area where Naruto and Tsukino were.

The old man came to a stop and looked up, his eyes gleaming coldly.

This man was none other than Patriarch Harishama.

"I can sense that little bastard Naruto inside there," he thought. "He has my precious treasure…. However, it belongs to the Heavenly Pursuit Tribe, so even though he stole it away, he won't be able to use it.

"When I was in the Second Plane, I was able to acquire the information I sought regarding its secrets…." He smiled coldly as he took a few steps back. Lifting his right hand, he quickly began to set up restrictive spells on the ground around him.

"Naruto, I'm going to bury you in this place. I'll wait here for you to come out, and when you do, I'll splatter your blood everywhere!" Smiling coldly, he finished setting up the spells, then took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged.

"Not even of Spirit Severing, yet you dare to fight with me!? In the Third Plane, the Demon Immortal Sect seals all personal items. Your mastiff won't be able to appear, so you won't be able to fuse with it to borrow the power of Spirit Severing.

"Well then, you shall die." Intense killing intent appeared in Patriarch Harishama's eyes.

"I'll kill you, then I'll go back and wipe out that Golden Crow Tribe of yours to join you in burial!"

Vol. 4 : Chapter 604

Chapter 604: Like Splitting Bamboo

Naruto closed his eyes, then opened them again moments later. A strange glow could be seen within them as he looked over at Tsukino, who sat there pale-faced and trembling.

It was clear that she had reached a critical juncture.

Naruto looked away and then stood up. He walked out of the pond, through the mists, and to the outside world.

As he left, the pressure bearing down on Tsukino increased. Earlier, the shapeless light of the Greater Demons had been shared between her and Naruto, but now all of it was focusing on her.

Actually, she was incredibly lucky to have encountered Naruto. Without him there to share the burden, she might not have been able to handle it alone. Not only would she have failed to acquired the Demon Immortal Body, but she would have faced grave danger to her life.

That hadn't been part of her plan regarding Naruto; she could never have predicted that things would turn out the way they did. After all, she came from the Demon Immortal Sect which was started by people who escaped death all those years ago. Their understanding regarding the forbidden areas of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect wasn't absolutely complete. When you added in the passage of time, and all the changes that had occurred, it was impossible to know everything.

Naruto left the cistern waters and stood in the outside world. He was tall and slender, and his skin was no longer dark like it had been all those years ago. It was white and clear, causing him to look completely refined and cultured. His scholarly air was even more obvious and intense than ever.

He slapped his bag of holding to produce a long, green robe, which he quickly donned. Now, he looked absolutely different than before.

He was even more handsome, more naturally graceful, more youthful. However, deep within his eyes flickered a dim ancientness.

After a long moment, he closed his eyes and focused on his dantian region, and his eighth Nascent Soul.

Qi and Blood Nascent Soul!

After a moment, his eyes opened, and he slowly merged the eight Nascent Souls together. This was just a test, but even still, his mind shook as if lightning were smashing about inside. An indescribably powerful Cultivation base, and a terrifyingly strong fleshly body appeared.

Furthermore… his Divine Sense also increased, spreading out to cover the entire area.

"Eee?" said Naruto. The first thing he noticed was that deep within the forbidden zone was something emanated strange ripples. As soon as his Divine Sense touched the ripples, a backlash spread out that caused his Divine Sense to collapse.

As for everywhere else, they were all areas that had been destroyed during the war.

At the same time, Naruto's Divine Sense noticed a person outside of the forbidden zone…. As soon as he caught sight of him, killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes.

Sitting there cross-legged and meditating was Patriarch Harishama, wearing a cold smile on his face!

"Laying in wait to ambush me, huh?" thought Naruto. His eyes glittered, and a smile appeared on his face. The smile was one of ridicule, and was filled with coldness and killing intent that was impossible to cover over.

The killing intent still flickering, Naruto turned to look back at Tsukino. The area was safe, and Tsukino was in the midst of transmogrification. No one would be coming around to disturb her. Naruto swept the area with his Divine Sense one more time, then turned to head toward Patriarch Harishama. It was time to resolve the Karma between the two of them. However, it was at this point that he suddenly paused in mid stride, and looked back into the depths of the forbidden zone.

He had swept the place twice with Divine Sense, and it was in exactly the same location both times that his Divine Sense had collapsed apart. It made it impossible to even get some clues about what existed in that particular area. The only thing he could see was blurriness, and what appeared to be a corpse.

His eyes flickered, and he temporarily did not continue on toward his battle with Patriarch Harishama. Instead, he turned and headed deeper into the forbidden area. After all, he had promised Tsukino to stand guard over her; therefore, he needed to ensure that the area really was safe.

It didn't take too long before Naruto reached the place that had caused his Divine Sense to collapse. There was a boulder here, and beneath the boulder lay a corpse. Clearly, it was a woman.

In her hands, the woman held a wooden sword.

The sword emanated a faint glow, which was the source of the collapse of his Divine Sense. In fact, it might be less proper to say that it collapsed, but rather, was consumed.

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on the wooden sword, a tremor ran through him. It was not one of his Spring and Autumn tree Wooden Time Swords, but rather… one of those other swords, the ones he always found next to a corpse… an Immortal Murdering Sword!

Currently, he had four Immortal Murdering, and was now looking at a fifth.

His eyes glittered, he stared at the corpse for a very long moment. However, it was decayed beyond recognition, making it impossible to tell who it belonged to.

Naruto silently made a grasping motion with his right hand, causing the wooden sword to fly out to hover in front of him. He waved his sleeve to collect it up, then stamped his foot onto the ground, causing a deep pit to appear.

After placing the woman's corpse inside and laying her to rest, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply toward the tomb. Then he turned, sending his Divine Sense out once more. This time, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. His body flashed as he transformed into a beam of light that shot out of the forbidden zone.

"Patriarch Harishama, the time has come to settle matters between us!" he thought, his eyes flickering with killing intent as he shot forward at top speed. "I'm going to use him to prove whether or not my Eighth Anima can exterminate the Spirit Severing stage!"

He shot through the air like a lightning bolt. Even in the First Anima, his fleshly body was even more fearsome than it had been in the Seventh Anima. As he shot forward, the air collapsed, and roaring sounds filled with air.

The roaring grew stronger until it seemed powerful enough to shake Heaven and Earth. When it reached the region outside of the forbidden zone, Patriarch Harishama heard it, and his eyes went wide. It was at this point that he saw Naruto appear.

"Naruto!" he said, with a vicious smile. Without hesitation, he performed an incantation gesture and then pointed forward.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he proceeded forward. He pierced directly into Patriarch Harishama's spell formation, instantly causing multiple black-colored figures to rise up and pounce toward him.

Within each of these figures could be sensed a faint, shocking power. However, as they neared Naruto, his expression didn't change in the least bit. He continued forward, giving rise to an intense roaring. As soon as the figures touched him, the intense backlash from his fleshly body instantly destroyed them.

Exploding figures surrounded him as he proceeded forward.

The sight of it caused Patriarch Harishama's eyes to narrow slightly. He was shocked inwardly, but then recalled Naruto's identity in the Second Plane, and suddenly felt at ease. A cold smile appeared on his face.

"You're stuck in my net now," he said. "I don't even need to attack. I can just watch while you slowly march to your death."

"Oh really," replied Naruto coolly. As he moved forward, the area around him rumbled as countless illusory blades appeared. Their sharp tips whistled through the air as they slashed directly toward Naruto.

Up in mid-air, countless bolts of lightning appeared. They looked like silver snakes as they lashed out toward him.

As the rumbling booms filled the air, Naruto continued on without even pausing. As he walked forward, all of the restrictive spells within the spell formation collapsed as soon as they touched him, completely incapable of impeding his progress.

This caused Patriarch Harishama's face to flicker. However, before he could do anything in response, Naruto's eyes flickered and his speed increased rapidly. He transformed into a beam of light that sped across the ground toward Patriarch Harishama.

Booming sounds rose up into the sky. The restrictive spells and the spell formation seemed to be howling in anguish, as though a blade were slicing through them. They then exploded into pieces, and Naruto was standing in front of Patriarch Harishama.

"I thought I was going to have to track you down," said Naruto. "I never imagined that you would come to me of your own volition. This battle is going to last for eight finger attacks." With that he lifted his hand and waved a finger.

An illusory mountain appeared on Naruto's fingertip. Although this was only the power of a single finger, that power was like the might of a mountain.

BOOM!

Patriarch Harishama's face fell. He waved his left hand to block, and when the attack slammed into him, he was sent flying backward, his face pale. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he waved his right hand in front of him.

"Area!"

"Second Anima!"

Patriarch Harishama's Area seemed to cause everything in the area to be confined as if with shackles. An intense pressure weighed down, and everything slowed; it almost felt as if everything were underwater. However, it was in that same instant that Naruto erupted with the power of the Second Anima. The increase in his Cultivation base was secondary to the intense strength of his fleshly body, which was the most important part.

Naruto broke through the confinement of the Area. A crisp sound rang out like the shattering of a mirror as the Area was completely defeated.

This defeat was something Patriarch Harishama almost couldn't believe. He remembered that Naruto had been powerless to face up against his Area before, but now, it had simply shattered.

One breath of time later, Naruto was directly in front of Patriarch Harishama.

"Here's the second finger attack," he said. Backed by the power of the Second Anima, he waved his finger down. Patriarch Harishama's face flickered, and he performed an incantation with his right hand. Instantly, a black mist appeared on his body, which formed together into a black shield that he used to defend against Naruto's finger attack.

A popping sound rang out as the shield collapsed. Naruto's finger landed directly onto Patriarch Harishama's chest.

Patriarch Harishama's face filled with shock as he tumbled backward. His mind reeled, but deep down, he knew that this was not the time for contemplation. He began to perform another incantation, his hair whipping about. He lifted his head up and shouted:

"Seven Emotions and Six Pleasures. Thirteen Transmigrations Dao. Seven Emotions! Seven Daos!" Instantly, a prismatic beam of light shot out from his body up into mid-air. There, it split apart into seven different streams of light, like unfurling bolts of silk. They shot toward Naruto, radiating killing intent.

If you looked closely, you would be able to see that within each of the seven beams of light could be seen, shockingly, an evil spirit that looked almost like a Nascent Soul. Each of these figures resembled each other, almost as if they were related in some way.

"Third Anima," said Naruto coolly, shaking his head. Instantly, his Cultivation base exploded up. However, the power of his fleshly body exceeded that of his Cultivation base. It did not expand and grow like in the past; instead, it sent out terrifying ripples of incomparable power.

Naruto took another step forward. He watched the incoming seven beams of light, allowing them to slam into his body. In that instant, a roaring sound exploded up into the sky. The seven beams of light collapsed into pieces and the evil spirits inside let out miserable shrieks as they were sent tumbling backward. With another step, Naruto… once again appeared directly in front of Patriarch Harishama.

"Third finger attack," he said, waving a finger.

Patriarch Harishama's eyes went wide. He raised up both hands, causing a glowing shield to appear to resist Naruto. A boom could be heard as the shield exploded. Patriarch Harishama tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut, blood oozing out of his mouth. His face was filled with astonishment.

"What… what type of Cultivation base do you have?!"

"The type that can kill you," responded Naruto calmly. He took another leisurely step forward.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Boris Picot_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 605

Chapter 605: Momentum Like a Beam of Light

"Kill me? You overestimate yourself!" despite his words, Patriarch Harishama was actually inwardly shocked. His face was grimmer than ever as he retreated. Then his Cultivation base exploded with full power as he prepared to unleash a divine ability.

"Overestimate myself? Fine, I'll show you what it's like when I overestimate myself!" His voice calm, Naruto said, "Fourth Anima!"

A rumbling sound could be heard from his body as he entered the Fourth Anima. His Cultivation base was that of eight great circle Nascent Souls. As for his fleshly body, it had a terrifying power that exceeded that of his original Seventh Anima.

As Naruto charged in attack, ghost images sprang up around him. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Patriarch Harishama. He waved his right index finger, causing it to stab onto Patriarch Harishama's upraised right hand. His left hand reached out to push into Patriarch Harishama's chest.

A boom could be heard. Patriarch Harishama fell backward head over heels, blood overflowing from his mouth. His expression was one of astonishment and complete disbelief. What he feared was not Naruto's Cultivation base, but the power of his fleshly body.

Such a frightening fleshly body was something that vastly exceeded his imagination, and was something he had never even heard of before!

Even as the power of the finger attack caused Patriarch Harishama to tumble back, Naruto strode forward again.

"Fifth Anima!"

He now had a Cultivation base equivalent to sixteen great Nascent Souls, and an even more shockingly powerful fleshly body. He was surrounded by a rumbling roar, and although there were no physical changes to his appearance, distortions and ripples appeared in the air around him.

This was a fleshly body that could cause anyone to be completely shocked. Combined with his Cultivation base, it made it so that Naruto's steps could shatter the air. He appeared again in front of Patriarch Harishama, lifting his right hand up to make a fifth finger attack.

Patriarch Harishama raised his head up and howled as a sense of grave crisis swept over him. He bit violently down onto his tongue, causing blood to spray out of his mouth and then transform into magical symbols that spread out in all directions.

"Seven Emotions and Six Pleasures. Thirteen Transmigrations Dao turns into Thirteen Killing Forms. Consolidate into… Emotion Severing Extermination!" The blood magical symbols in front of Patriarch Harishama shockingly began to form together into the shape of a Heavenly saber. Instantly, it slashed down toward Naruto!

In the following moment, Naruto's finger slammed into the bloodcolored Heavenly saber, and a huge boom rolled out. The blade shook for a moment and then exploded into countless pieces, completely destroyed. As for Naruto's finger, it continued to descend until it tapped onto Patriarch Harishama's chest.

Blood sprayed from Patriarch Harishama's mouth, and his chest turned into a bloody mass. Roaring filled his body as he shot backward at top speed.

His face was pale white as he gave up all thoughts of fighting and focused completely on fleeing as fast as possible.

He was in absolute fear of Naruto's fleshly body. It turned into an intense dread as he realized that such a fleshly body was shocking to the extreme. His own divine abilities and magical techniques were incapable of even causing it to tremble.

In the same instant that Patriarch Harishama decided to flee, Naruto's voice once again drifted through the air.

"Sixth Anima!"

Boom!

The instant Naruto entered the Sixth Anima, his body trembled. He lifted up his head and roared. To him, Patriarch Harishama could be killed any time he wanted. What he desired to do was to test out the Eighth Anima which he had created.

As he entered the Sixth Anima, the power of thirty-two great circle Nascent Souls counted for almost nothing. What was truly shocking was his fleshly body. In the Sixth Anima, his power was now truly exploding out, as of this moment, a Spirit Severing aura was gradually beginning to seep out of him.

The air around him filled with distortions, and the soil in the area was jumping up and down. A vortex began to form, like a mad tempest. The mad tempest could do nothing to cause even a single of Naruto's hair to rise up, though. Within the tempest, he was the only thing that wasn't moving!

As soon as Patriarch Harishama saw this, despite his Cultivation base, his age, and his powers of concentration, he couldn't help but shout out in alarm. "Fleshly body Spirit Severing! This is impossible!"

As far as he could remember, a Spirit Severing fleshly body was a legendary stage that only existed in ancient times. It was both Spirit Severing and, not Spirit Severing, because it did not have a Domain. And yet, even without a Domain, such a fleshly body could compare to the peak of anyone in the Spirit Severing stage.

Were he to also possess a Spirit Severing Cultivation base, then, any other Spirit Severing Cultivator would surely view him to be nothing less than… a nightmare!

"Body cultivation is not a focus in the current generation. Such a thing has long since become a thing of the past. Don't tell me that this guy… acquired some type of body tempering good fortune in the Demon Immortal Sect!?" Patriarch Harishama's scalp was numb, and he was scared out of his mind as he fled at top speed. He was already well aware that Naruto's magic had a Seventh Anima.

As of this moment, Naruto's Sixth Anima was already shocking enough. If he changed to the Seventh Anima….

Patriarch Harishama wasn't willing to risk his life and go all out here. He had more things to accomplish, so he ignored all matters of face and fled at top speed. However, no matter how fast he went, Naruto… was faster!

Boom!

In the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared ahead of Patriarch Harishama. In addition to blocking his path, he lifted up his right hand and waved his finger again.

"We're not finished here yet," he said. "What are you getting so anxious for?"

Patriarch Harishama's face fell. Without hesitation, he performed a doublehanded incantation, connecting the forefinger of each hand with the thumb of the other, with his palms facing away from each other. He immediately stretched his hands out toward Naruto.

A four-sided collection of lines sprang into being, which was in accord with the Domain he cultivated. A power of expulsion rose up, with one side being Heaven and Earth, the other side being a person, to be expelled.

The four-sided lines flickered as they shot forward, shooting against the wind as they expanded out to surround Naruto.

At the same time, a shockingly intense power of expulsion seemed to fill the four-sided lines. This power of expulsion was intense enough to crush Naruto into pieces.

"BEGONNEEEE…."

The bizarre voice seemed to come from nowhere, and echoed out like thunder within Naruto's ears. The sound caused the shocking power of expulsion to seem to grow even stronger.

This was not Naruto's first time to encounter this magical technique of Patriarch Harishama's.

Currently, he was in the Sixth Anima, and had terrifying fleshly body power. His eyes suddenly glittered. He opened his mouth and let out a roar toward the incoming four-sided lines.

"Screw off!"

The sound created something like waves that instantly suppressed all of the lightning up above. It rolled out, causing fissures to appear in the air, and rumbling sounds to be heard in all directions. The incoming foursided line shape directly exploded into fragments.

Its power of expulsion, having faced someone who it couldn't possibly shake, was now nothing more than a joke!

It was like a tiny stream that wanted to become as powerful as a mountain. How could it possibly succeed!?

As the four-sided line shape collapsed, Naruto's finger once again tapped onto Patriarch Harishama's chest. A boom could be heard. Blood sprayed from Patriarch Harishama's mouth, and his chest caved in bloodily. Even his back was a bloody mess as he staggered backward. He looked at Naruto, his face twisted with savagery.

"I feel like leaving," he growled. "You won't let me? Seems you actually think I'm scared of you!" With that, Patriarch Harishama performed another incantation with his right hand. He pushed down onto his forehead, then opened his mouth to spit out a small, black-colored blade.

As soon as the blade appeared, everything dimmed. It began to spin faster and faster in his palm, then grow rapidly in size. Shockingly, it transformed into a huge greatsword, upon which was carved the severed head of a dragon!

Patriarch Harishama waved his right arm. His face was covered with a savage expression that seemed to say he was willing to go all out, even risk death, as he shot toward Naruto.

"DIE!" The power of Patriarch Harishama's Cultivation base exploded out. In fact… the level of power he wielded now was multiple times greater than before. The area around him filled with ripples of ancientness that even seemed to contain natural law!

Natural laws of the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane!

These natural laws contained a power of expulsion that had nothing to do with the four-sided line shape. This was a true power of expulsion from the world of the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane.

The blade descended, shocking Heaven and Earth!

"You will fear me," said Naruto coolly as he entered… the Seventh Anima!

The power of sixty-four great circle Nascent Souls exploded out within him. His fleshly body unleashed even more Spirit Severing aura. Together, they caused the air around Naruto to begin to collapse. Roaring could be heard around him, almost as if this body of his was something that didn't belong in this broken Demon Immortal Sect.

It was as if there were invisible restrictions in this place, and any Cultivation base or battle prowess that exceeded those limitations were not permitted at all.

With the battle prowess he was now displaying, Naruto had already touched that world limitation.

"So, I don't actually need to enter the Eighth Anima," thought Naruto. "I've already reached fleshly body Spirit Severing!" As he took a moment to experience the sensation, he came to the realization that he…

Was already in the Spirit Severing stage!

Although he had no Domain, he was still of Spirit Severing! In fact, he was even stronger than when he had borrowed the power of the mastiff, put on the Blood Immortal mask, and used the power of the Blood Immortal.

He faced up against Patrairch Harishama's descending blade, lifting his right hand without hesitation and pushing out with his finger.

In this moment, everything suddenly seemed to freeze. The roaring sound that filled the air seemed to cease for a moment. And then, everything returned.

Crashing booms echoed out one after another into the silence. They filled the entire Demon Immortal Sect, to be heard by each and every one of the Cultivators from South Heaven.

Patriarch Harishama coughed up blood and tumbled backward. The huge black-colored blade in his hand broke up into fragments. His face was pale, and, ignoring any possible ramification that might give rise to expulsion, he employed the full power of his Cultivation base… to destroy his opponent!

"You're already at your limit with your Seventh Anima!" he said, his eyes filling with a streak of madness. "This is the strongest you can get!" He was panting now, the killing intent in his eyes strong. "Since that's the case, let me escort you the rest of the way down your path!"

Patriarch Harishama lifted his right hand up and pushed it down onto his chest. When he lifted it up, a red glow appeared, seemingly pulled out from his body itself.

It was a red-colored whip, completely illusory and capable of lashing the soul. It looked exactly the same as the whip Naruto had stolen earlier from Patriarch Harishama, except that its color was different!

As soon as the whip appeared, Patriarch Harishama's fleshly body began to wither rapidly, as if all of his life force were being collected together in the whip. By now, his killing intent had reached a peak.

Naruto stood motionlessly in the same place as before, the wind and dirt whipping around him, his hair flying about.

In the space of a few breaths, the sand and wind around him dissipated….

"DIE!" howled Patriarch Harishama. His withered frame flickered, and a bizarre sound could be heard coming from the whip. It lashed down toward Naruto, filled with a bloodthirsty and terrifying aura.

Naruto looked up. Not a tiny bit of sentiment could be seen in his eyes, only calmness as he observed the incoming soul whip and Patriarch Harishama, who emanated terrifying ripples. Naruto had tested out his new magical techniques; what he needed to do now was see… exactly how powerful he was!

Closing his eyes, he coolly said, "Eighth Anima!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Sievajet Rahimbaksh, Zen Fei Lo, Jakub_

 _Hebi rovsky, Sub Claudio, Hoang Dang, Gary Kong, Abel Nunez, Marco_

 _Dupard, Elton Law_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 606

Chapter 606: Eighth Anima!

As soon as Naruto spoke the words, a roaring filled his head. His body shook, and the air around him twisted and filled with fissures. Everything dimmed, and an invisible whirlpool instantly sprang up around him. As it rotated, it gave rise to an enormous hurricane.

As soon as the illusory whip snapped onto the hurricane vortex, it whipped backward. Down beneath the vortex, all of the sand and dirt floated up into the air and began to sweep around. As for Patriarch Harishama, his face thoroughly fell, and he staggered out of control several paces backward.

His eyes were filled with astonishment and shock, and his mind was reeling.

"Impossible! This magical technique has Seven Animas. How could… an

Eighth Anima appear!?"

Even as Patriarch Harishama reeled with shocked, Naruto's body was seemingly filled with distortions. Intense, pulsing pain overwhelmed him. He had never imagined that the Eighth Anima would be… so painful!

His body felt as if it were being ripped apart. Wave after wave of power surged through him at indescribable speed, rapidly increasing in intensity.

His eight Nascent Souls were fully superimposed, and now burst forth with a power that vastly exceeded the terrifying Cultivation base power of the Seventh Anima.

In the Seventh Anima just now, Naruto had unleashed the power of 64 great circle Nascent Souls. That had been the previous limit, something that couldn't be exceeded. But now, even as the combination had just fused, that previous limitation was completely toppled.

65, 66…. In the blink of an eye, Naruto's body possessed the power of 70 boundless great circle Nascent Soul Cultivation bases. That power continued to grow. The feeling of intense power, as well as a terrifying aura, spread out through Naruto. As his Cultivation base and fleshly body continued to transform, the power exploded out.

Everything around him was twisted and distorted. The wind and clouds were in fluctuation, and the hurricane that surrounded Naruto seemed to stretch from the ground up into the sky. Endless booms echoed out, exploding with incredible intensity.

He trembled, and blood began to seep out of his eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. His visage was ferocious to the extreme, and his long hair whipped about madly. He could clearly sense his Cultivation base climbing upward. In the blink of an eye it had the power of 93 great circle Nascent Souls.

And it was still climbing!

Every level of power which was added caused booming sounds to fill him, and more pressure would weigh down on him. The energy which he could employ was even more shocking. At the same time, the wastage to his longevity increased rapidly.

However, none of that could do anything to supersede the wildly intense rise he was experiencing. It gave him an incredible confidence which caused him to lift his head up and roar.

ROARRR!

The sound of it seemed to cause all of the pain that wracked him to be diffused out into the Demon Immortal Sect. As his body trembled, his Cultivation base rose up from the previous level of 93 great circle Nascent Souls to… 99.

The color of Naruto's hair began to change. It was no longer black, but now gray. His facial features were no longer that of a youth, but rather, ancient. His stature was tall and thin as before, but his aura was now completely different.

99, 100!

The full power of one hundred great circle Nascent Souls Cultivation bases exploded out within him. As Naruto roared, his hair grew longer and longer, soon reaching his lower back. The tempest around him grew in intensity, causing Naruto to slowly float up within the midst of the hurricane.

Lightning and thunder fell down to circulate around him, causing the hurricane to turn into a lightning storm, shocking to Heaven and Earth.

The sight of it caused Patriarch Harishama to pant rapidly. His eyes went wide and filled with a look of disbelief. His mind filled with roaring.

"How could this be…? He… he…."

In the midst of Patriarch Harishama's astonishment, more roaring exploded out from Naruto as his Cultivation base rose again!

101, 102, 103… all the way to 115!

Naruto's hair now stretched to his knees as his shocking roar echoed about in all directions. The tempest around him continued to expand until it was three hundred meters wide. It was at this point that the Heavenly expulsion force suddenly appeared.

The air around Naruto was continuously shattered. The fearsome aura surrounding him continued to rise up, almost as if some primordial wild beast was awakening.

116, 117…. In the blink of an eye, the power of 128 great circle Nascent Soul Cultivation bases exploded up. His roar was now the roar of Spirit Severing.

His power was that of Spirit Severing!

The aura around him was now an aura of Spirit Severing!

The tempest was now nearly a thousand meters wide. Lightning had transformed the area into a sea of electricity. His hair was longer and his frame taller. His gray hair floated about, and his visage was one of ancientness. His eyes suddenly focused, and within them seemed to circulate a power to exterminate life.

As soon as Patriarch Harishama saw those eyes, his mind trembled, almost as if he had just been subjected to a powerful attack. His body began to shake, and he fell back several paces, blood spewing from his mouth.

Within the astonishment on his face could now be seen a trace of dread.

"You…." he said hoarsely, his body shaking.

"I'm not finished yet," said Naruto, whose eyes were still closed as he experienced the shocking Cultivation base power of 128 great circle Nascent Souls. This power far exceeded the absolute pinnacle of the Nascent Soul stage. This was… the power of Spirit Severing!

It was a situation in which quantity changed into quality. With enough Nascent Soul Cultivation base built up, he was able to leap into a realm that was previously only occupied by true Spirit Severing.

However, even as Naruto had said, his Eighth Anima wasn't finished yet. Just now, his growth had been in Cultivation base only. His fleshly body was still growing, rapidly flying toward a true Spirit Severing fleshly body.

Fleshly body Spirit severing was a stage for ancient Cultivators. In modern times, there were few people who could temper their body to the stage of Spirit Severing. In fact, you could say that it was virtually impossible, the difficulty level being just too high.

For Naruto, it was only by a series of lucky coincidences that he could reach this legendary stage. As of this moment, his fleshly body appeared to be normal, but in actuality, every strand of muscle was being shredded. Every inch of bone was being crushed. Every vein and artery was collapsing.

However, no matter how they were shredded, crushed, or collapsed, it didn't cause any problems for Naruto. In fact, all of that destruction caused his body to reform, making his Qi and blood reach astonishing levels!

Within the space of time of a few breaths, the thumping of a heartbeat could be heard, like thunder rattling out in all directions. It caused Patriarch Harishama to stop and look at Naruto. As of this moment, it appeared as if there were a shocking Qi and blood fighting back against the natural law of Heaven and Earth!

Qi and blood exploded up shockingly!

As of this moment, every beat of Naruto's heart caused the tempest around him to pause, caused the air to vibrate, caused the land in the area to quake.

Along with his Qi and blood, his body broke through some invisible barrier. As he truly entered the Spirit Severing stage, Naruto's Spirit Severing aura exploded into the sky!

He took a deep breath as he realized that his view of the world was now completely different.

He could see innumerable dust motes dancing about in the air. He could hear countless sounds around him in the world, like the whisperings of innumerable deceased souls. He could feel all of the indescribable sorrow that filled the Demon Immortal Sect.

Most importantly… he could hear the sound… of breathing.

It was the breathing of something asleep, coming from deep, deep within the ground. It was faint, as if there were some enormous creature far beneath the surface of the earth, sleeping. Every breath it took echoed about.

All of these things take quite a long time to describe. However, it was a very short period of time from the moment in which Naruto entered the Eighth Anima until he could sense everything.

128 great circle Nascent Souls pushed Naruto's Cultivation base into a state which could be considered the world of Spirit Severing!

Because of the endless good fortune that had tempered his fleshly body, now that he had entered the Eighth Anima, his body truly had reached the legendary… Fleshly Sanctification. Figuratively speaking, that sanctification was none other than the Spirit Severing of his body!

"I am not in the Spirit Severing stage," he murmured. "But I possess the power of Spirit Severing." His power now vastly exceeded that which he had experienced before, when he had merged with the mastiff.

"Now, the time has come to have a little test. Let's see… exactly how powerful I am!" With that, his eyes began to glow with a cold light. He glanced at Patriarch Harishama, whose mind began to tremble. At that point, Naruto vanished.

Patriarch Harishama's scalp numbed, and he was scared witless. He retreated rapidly, waving his arm to cause the whip to flail about in all directions. However, it was at this point that a reflection appeared in his pupils as Naruto appeared directly in front of him.

Naruto's left hand lifted up, forming a claw that snatched ahold of the whip. The whip let out a whimpering sound, but could not extricate itself.

"You… are too weak," said Naruto, his voice cool. He lifted his right hand up and tapped down lightly on Patriarch Harishama's forehead.

Patriarch Harishama's body trembled as he was suddenly lifted up into the air and soared in the direction of the forbidden zone. Before he even began to fall to the ground, his head directly exploded. Blood and gore formed a haze that spread to his chest, and then his limbs, and finally his entire torso.

All of that was accomplished by a mere tap from Naruto in his Eighth Anima. Patriarch Harishama was ripped into shreds before he could even scream, and his fleshly body was completely destroyed.

His half-transparent Nascent Divinity fled out, a large hole visible on its forehead. Life force and aura trickled out of the hole, beyond its control. It was incredibly weak as it retreated backward. Its death was only a matter of time; within the space of ten breaths, it would certainly perish!

It was with astonishment and indescribable fear and despair that the Nascent Divinity let out a miserable scream. Although it knew fleeing was useless, it still attempted to run away.

However, it was in this moment that, from within the forbidden zone, what appeared to be a consummately beautiful jade-like hand suddenly reached out with incredible dexterity. The delicate hand stretched out through the air…

To grab ahold of Patriarch Harishama's Nascent Divinity.

"My Cultivation base suffered damage. With this Nascent Divinity, I can concoct some pills to help with that. Do you mind?" A woman walked out from within the forbidden zone. She had Tsukino's voice, but her appearance was nothing like the woman Naruto remembered from before.

She was as pretty as a flower, bewitchingly charming, matchlessly beautiful, unrivaled in elegance and demeanor. She… was the new Demoness Tsukino!

Vol. 4 : Chapter 607

Chapter 607: You're All Here, Huh?

To use the expression "indescribably beautiful and striking" to describe Tsukino would only be enough to portray part of her. Naruto had no choice but to admit that in his entire life… he had never seen a more beautiful woman.

This was not a situation of her being "one of the most" beautiful women. Any other woman placed next to her would pale in comparison, and could do no more than play a supporting role.

She wore a light red gown, along with a wide smile. Her each and every move was dazzling, and her body let off a unique aura, resembling both the air of a Demon and a spirit.

The feeling Naruto got was that her body had become something like a precious material. It was something that completely stood out from the masses, and the aura she emitted seemed to fill the entire area.

Her current body did not belong to anyone except herself…. This was the true Tsukino.

Because of her earlier fall in Cultivation base and the various plans to be carried out by her on behalf of the Demon Immortal Sect, her Immortal Realm Cultivation base had been degenerated back to the edge of Spirit

Severing. In fact, most of the time, she only revealed the power of the Nascent Soul stage. Right now, though, it was obvious that she had succeeded with the Demon Immortal Body.

Because of her success, her Cultivation base had now begun to restore itself. In a very short period of time, she would once again have… the power of an Immortal!

When the time came, the others would return to the lands of South Heaven, but she… would leave by a different route. She would return to the Demon Immortal Sect of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

There was even a high likelihood that the Cultivators of the Demon Immortal Sect were already gathering at some unknown location to prepare to receive her.

Upon hearing Tsukino's request, Naruto's expression did not change at all. He nodded slowly.

She gently bit her lip and smiled, then took Patriarch Harishama's rapidly fading Nascent Divinity and crushed it. A popping sound could be heard. Patriarch Harishama, a Spirit Severing Patriarch in his generation, had his Nascent Divinity crushed into tiny pieces. They transformed into dots of shining light that Tsukino then slowly absorbed in through her forehead.

Tsukino's countenance became a bit more beautiful, enough to cause anyone who looked at her to be shocked and feel their heart palpitating with eagerness.

"Thank you," she said. She lifted her hand up to place a veil over her face, covering over the features that would cause anyone to be infatuated with her at first sight. Her eyes flickered with a bizarre light as she looked at Naruto.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I'm Zhou Tsukino. The 'zhi' character is from the expression 'that which is noble and lofty.' The 'xiang' character is from the expression 'a woman of ethereal color and celestial fragrance.' I am Tsukino, Holy Daughter of the Demon Immortal Sect. However, I prefer it when people call me Demoness." With a smile, she gave a curtsied bow to Naruto.

Her words were simple, as were the movements she made. However, an indescribable energy wafted off of her, forming together into an incredible pressure, which weighed down on the entire area.

"You owe me," said Naruto coolly. "And not just a simple favor."

"Don't worry, Fellow Daoist Naruto. I acknowledge it, as does the New Demon Immortal Sect of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. We will absolutely never forget it." She cocked her beautiful head as she looked at him. Then her beautiful hand waved, causing a jade slip to fly out.

The jade slip was ancient and crude; on one side could be seen the character 'Demon,' and on the other side the character 'Immortal.'

"This is the command medallion of a Demon Immortal Sect Elder. Whoever holds this medallion is a vassal Elder. Fellow Daoist Naruto, if you need assistance in the future, you may come to the Demon Immortal Sect at any time."

Naruto accepted the command medallion, looked it over, and then put it into his bag of holding. He nodded toward Tsukino, then, without another word, turned to leave.

"I would like to thank you in a more personal way, Fellow Daoist Naruto," said Tsukino with a smile. "Therefore, I'll give you a bit of information. The pit located between the Third and Fourth Peaks is critical to entering the Fourth Plane."

Naruto stopped in place and turned to look back at her.

"Most likely, the other Sects and Clans have this information already. In fact, the Fourth Plane will never close. Anyone in the Third Plane who has the requisite skill can enter it.

"Without the skill, one can only gaze at the figurative ocean and lament one's inadequacy." Tsukino chuckled, once again bowing to Naruto.

Then she turned and disappeared.

Naruto's eyes flickered. He could sense Tsukino's power, and he knew that she was completely different than before. A thoughtful look appeared as he looked down at his bag of holding, and thought back to all his previous contact with Tsukino.

In his heart, he was eighty percent certain that the small bit of assistance he had provided here would later result in receiving help from Tsukino and the Demon Immortal Sect, although it was impossible to predict whether that help would be of great use or not.

A relaxed smile appeared on his face. He had long since come to realize that in the Cultivation world, one must rely on oneself. One could not expect too much help from outsiders. Therefore, whether the New Demon Immortal Sect provided him with a lot of help, or just a little, it didn't really matter to him.

His greatest acquisition in this affair was not the promise of Tsukino and the New Demon Immortal Sect. Instead, it was his Eighth Nascent Soul, and his incredibly powerful fleshly body.

He took a deep breath as he examined his body, as well as the fearsome damage done to his longevity while in the Eighth Anima 1. As for the power of worldly expulsion that he had felt, he wasn't sure when, but it had vanished. That caused his eyes to glitter brightly as he looked over at the Fourth Peak.

After a moment, he looked away, and his body flickered as he left the Eighth Anima state and returned to the First Anima.

Then he took a step forward. Before speeding off into the distance, he collected up the soul whip. From what Naruto could tell, it looked as if it was meant to be part of Patriarch Harishama's other whip.

At the moment, though, he would not allow them to fuse together. Instead, after he left this place, he would take some time to thoroughly study both of them.

Right now, he wanted to see if he could find any more of good fortune within the Third Plane. He whistled through the air as he passed the Seventh Peak and then the Sixth Peak.

As he neared the Fifth Peak, his eyes suddenly glittered, and the corners of his mouth turned up into a smile. He changed directions to speed directly toward the Fifth Peak. Not much time passed before, shockingly, the light of a restrictive spell appeared up ahead of him.

The restrictive spell had three layers. The outer layer was dim, the light of the mid layer was flowing smoothly, and the inner layer was completely solid.

The three-layer restrictive spell covered an area of about three hundred meters. Clearly visible underneath it was a house, leaning up against the wall of which was a corpse.

The corpse was different than most of the corpses on the outside. It was not completely dried up, but rather, retained some life-like qualities.

It was an old man, who had been looking regretfully off into the distance when he died. As for what he was thinking, it was impossible to tell, but in his hand he held a bamboo flute. The flute was no magical item, but rather, completely ordinary. It even seemed to be a bit shriveled.

In front of the old man was another object, a drum about the size of a person's head. It was completely violet-colored, and emanated a faint glow. Just barely audible was a pulsating thrum from the drum that echoed about the entire area.

Outside of the restrictive spell were eight or so frowning Cultivators from the lands of South Heaven. A few of their number were currently trying to break through the restrictive spell.

Among their number were four members of the Hebi Clan, including Hebi Chino. Also present was Liu Zichuan from the Imperial Bloodline Clan of the Northern Reaches, who Naruto had frightened earlier.

The others were from the Eastern Lands or Northern Reaches, and all were frowning as they looked at the violet drum inside of the restrictive spells. Their expressions were that of desire.

Naruto's arrival in a beam of multicolored light instantly disturbed the quiet in the area. The group of people immediately went on guard and began to look around. However, once they saw that it was Naruto, their faces filled with unsightly expressions.

The way Naruto had extorted them in the Second Plane had caused all of them to gnash their teeth. Liu Zichuan was the only one who immediately backed up a few steps, trembling.

"You're all here, huh?" said Naruto, laughing heartily as he approached. "I haven't seen you in quite a few days, but I missed you! I hope you've all acquired a lot of items here in the Third Plane!" Naruto's expression was sincere; in fact, he really did sincerely want for everyone to acquire a lot.

However, the more he expressed himself in such a way, the more unsightly were the expressions on the faces of the others. They stared at Naruto, faces filled with displeasure. Some even seemed to be contemplating trying to attack and kill him, to solve all troubles in one fell swoop.

Naruto didn't seem to notice this. He was all smiles as he sighed and then said, "Eee? How come you're all ignoring me? Well, it doesn't matter. Fellow Daoists, I, Naruto, truly desire for all of you to make great acquisitions here. In that way, I will also benefit a bit more."

By now, killing intent was flickering in the eyes of the others, and a few people stepped forward, their tempers seemingly on the verge of exploding.

Naruto still didn't seem to notice this point. He had a bashful smile on his face, and even looked a bit emotional. However, from the point of view of the others, he was clearly showing off, and was in the need of a bit of punishment. His expression might even be one of courting death. Only Liu Zichuan felt his heart pounding nervously, and was crying out inwardly:

"Contemptible! Far too brazen! This bastard… this bastard is somebody I absolutely cannot afford to provoke. He has obviously grown powerful to the point of Spirit Severing, and yet he only shows off this level of power….

"He's obviously… obviously provoking the others into attacking him! How shameless!" At this point, Liu Zichuan couldn't help but think back to his own grievous situation earlier. He could only imagine that if some of these people attacked Naruto right now, they would quickly find themselves in exactly such a miserable state.

As he looked at Naruto's smile, he only found it more and more horrifying. Yet, at the same time, he somehow was looking forward to seeing these other people meet a similar fate as he had….

"Brothers," continued Naruto, "I know that I displeased you in the Second Realm. Please, don't take it to heart. Now that we're in the Third Plane, I hope that we can all work together toward a common purpose. Brothers, whether or not I can find sufficient good fortune here, depends all on you."

After he finished speaking, Naruto, looking incredibly appreciative, and even clasped hands to bowed to them.

The bow caused everyone including Hebi Chino to clench their teeth. As for Liu Zichuan, his face merely twitched, but everyone else seemed to be on the verge of exploding into a rage.

"Oh, there's also…." Naruto had straightened up and was about to smilingly continue when one of the Cultivators from the Northern Reaches couldn't hold back any longer. His temper flared and, with a howl, he shot forward.

"Shut up, bastard! So, you admit that you displeased us in the Second Plane?"

As soon as the Northern Reaches Cultivator went on the attack, Liu Zichuan's eyes went wide and filled with a look of anticipation.

"Take him out! Drop him dead!" he thought excitedly.

The Northern Reaches Cultivator closed in on Naruto, his face twisted viciously. His right hand lifted up to perform an incantation gesture and then pushed out toward Naruto.

At the same time, another of the Northern Reaches Cultivators shot forward, as well as a member of the Hebi Clan. Eyes flashing, they fell upon Naruto.

Another bashful look appeared on Naruto's face.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Deden Hermawan, Kamryn Rowe Boyle,_

 _Ly Ho, and Daniel Jung_

I've seen a lot of comments/questions/confusion about the issue of his longevity in the Animas. Although the explanation wasn't extremely clear, it was implied that Naruto can restore any damage to his longevity using medicinal pills. As long as he doesn't run out of longevity within the Eighth Anima, any damage is inconsequential. Think of his "longevity" as a health bar, the total capacity of which slowly reduces over time, but can also be drained or re-filled by various means. The total capacity might be reduced while he's in the Eighth Anima, but once he leaves, it returns to normal, and any "missing" years of life can be made up for with medicinal pills. As for Naruto's current "normal" longevity, it doesn't really matter too much. He can freely duplicate longevity-increasing pills. That having been said, he still is confined by the limit of 1,000 years. It doesn't matter how many pills you take or what you do, you can't live past 1,000 without reaching Spirit Severing

Vol. 4 : Chapter 608

Chapter 608: You Hurt Me

Even as the bashful expression appeared on his face, his right palm flew up into the air. It moved with such incredible speed that the burly man from the Northern Reaches had no time to react before it slapped him across the face.

A boom could be heard, and the burly man felt as if an entire mountain had collided with the side of his head. His mind was reeling.

Originally, the blow should have sent him flying, but at the last moment, Naruto caused his hand to move back down. He grabbed the man's head and directly slammed it into the ground.

The burly man first shot up into the air and then struck the ground, causing a rumbling sound to echo out. The bashful expression still on his face, Naruto lifted his right foot up into the air and then began to trample on the burly man.

Even as the sound of the beating echoed out, the burly man began to struggle furiously. His Cultivation base exploded with power as he attempted to fight back. However, in the blink of an eye, the fearsome power of Naruto's fleshly body caused him to begin to scream miserably. He shrank back down, shrieking in shocking fashion.

Naruto grabbed the man's head and bashed it into the ground, causing blood to spray from the man's mouth.

"Ready to be reasonable!?" said Naruto angrily. He bashed the man's head into the ground again.

"I was congratulating the lot of you. Congratulating you! And in return, you want to kill me!?" Naruto slammed his head into the ground again. The burly man's shrieks were sad and shrill, and his body was trembling. An expression of shock covered his face, and his heart was in turmoil as he was beaten senseless.

"That's wrong!" said Naruto. "That's immoral!" He jumped up into the air and then began to stamp down onto the burly man, leaving footprints with each stamp of his foot.

The burly man covered his head with both hands, screaming beneath Naruto's anger.

"You don't even know what's good for you! Is that the right way to act? I congratulate you and then you repay my kindness with enmity!?" The scene of Naruto viciously trampling the man caused Liu Zichuan's eyes to gleam with excitement. His heart was trembling, but with excitement. After all, it felt a lot better to be unlucky with a group of people than to be unlucky alone.

Most afraid out of everyone was the other Northern Reaches Cultivator who had also stepped forward just now, as well as the Hebi Clan member. Although they had both charged in attack, watching the scene playing out in front of them caused their scalps to go numb.

They were just about to back up when Naruto looked up at them, an expression of pain on his face.

"Do people really hate me that much?" he said. "I was clearly wishing you all well! If this guy was the only one to be ungrateful, it wouldn't matter. But it seems… you two also don't appreciate my kindness!" He appeared to be more and more torn by grief. The two Cultivators' scalps became even more numb as they backed up. However, it was in that moment that Naruto lifted up his right hand and made a grasping motion.

"You need to explain yourself clearly, otherwise, you're not going anywhere." The two were shocked to find that Naruto's grasping motion immediately caused their bodies to go out of control. They were pulled up to Naruto, where upon he slapped them with full strength. After they slammed down into the ground, he continued to rain blows down onto them.

"WHY?!" howled Naruto, sounding grieved. He grabbed the Hebi Clan member and slammed him seven or eight times down into the ground. The Hebi Clan Cultivator was furious, but it didn't matter how much Cultivation base power or how many magical items he tried to use, a few slaps from Naruto would cause everything to collapse. The Hebi Clan member was now panting from astonishment.

Even in the midst of his astonishment, Naruto grabbed his head and slammed his face into the ground again.

The other Northern Reaches Cultivator shrieked. He watched wide-eyed as the Hebi Clan member and the other Northern Reaches Cultivator were like nothing more than baby chickens in Naruto's hands, completely powerless to strike back at all. The man was so scared that he began to beg for mercy.

However, he could not escape Naruto's punishment. Every time Naruto leaped up, the three men would let out miserable screams, and blood would spatter about the area….

"You hurt me and then just smiled it off!" cried Naruto. "That's unforgivable! I was being sincere!" The sight of Naruto punching and kicking caused those looking on to be thoroughly shaken. The other Hebi Clan members, as well as the other two Northern Reaches Cultivators, were all panting. Expressions of extreme shock could be seen on their faces.

They were also rejoicing at their luck in having not made a move earlier.

That was especially true of the ones who had almost stepped forward just now. They felt as if they had just evaded a huge disaster.

Their eyes were filled with unprecedented levels of fear as they looked at Naruto. It was a fear that made them feel even more grievous than they had in the Second Plane. That was because they had suddenly discovered that… they could be bullied here in the Third Plane too!

Hebi Chino's eyes were wide and she was panting with shock. As she stared at Naruto, she suddenly had the sensation that she was looking at a madman.

As the sensation appeared, it was coupled with fear. It was as if the Naruto that she remembered from the Second Plane had been perfectly extended down here into the Third Plane.

Liu Zichuan stood in the group, his expression one of excitement.

Inwardly, he shouted, "Take him out! Drop him dead!"

His face filled with grief and indignation, Naruto continued to mop up the three. The two Hebi Clan members other than Hebi Chino, hesitated. One of them was an older man who gritted his teeth and said, "Elder Brother Naruto… they were definitely in the wrong, but… considering it was their first offense…."

"Yeah," said one of the other Northern Reaches Cultivators. "Elder

Brother Naruto, if you keep beating them, they're going to die…."

It was just as the man said. The three offenders lay next to Naruto, soaked in blood, gasping as more breath came out than went in. Despite being Cultivators, they had just been literally beaten to the verge of death.

"Do you also wish to repay kindness with enmity?" asked Naruto, looking up at the Hebi Clan Cultivator who had spoken first.

That look caused the old Hebi Clan member to begin to tremble. He quickly backed up a few steps, then angrily cried, "These people went way too far! What I hate most in life is people who repay kindness with enmity!

Elder Brother Naruto, feel free to continue, just ignore me."

As for the other Northern Reaches Cultivator, the one who had spoken up second, he was now even more nervous. He began to fill with panic as he watched Naruto slowly look over toward him. Immediately, the man yelled, "Elder Brother Naruto! Get rid of the rascals and protect the good folk! I couldn't be more pleased. I truly wish I could be more like you, with such incredibly lofty sentiments!"

Off to the side, Liu Zichuan's heart filled with disdain. He still felt himself to be far more powerful than these other people.

The bashful look appeared on Naruto's face once more. His right foot was up in the air, just about to descend again. Down below, the Hebi Clan member, who was covering his head with his hands, suddenly felt as if his moment of good fortune had arrived.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, listen, my… my acquisitions, you can have sixty percent!"

As soon as Naruto heard this, his foot stopped moving. Apparently convinced by the man's words, he bent over at the waist and shyly patted the man's shoulder.

"Brother, oh, good Brother," he said. "I really hate to say this but, you know, I have my principles. How about eighty percent? No? Well never mind…."

"Huh?" The Hebi Clan member's face was covered with both blood and a look of shock. He was just about to say something when one of the Northern Reaches Cultivators shouted out.

"Eighty percent! Elder Brother Naruto, eighty percent of my acquisitions are yours!"

Hearing this, Naruto instantly shoved the Hebi Clan member back to the ground and then helped the Northern Reaches Cultivator to his feet. His now looked even more bashful, and somewhat apologetic.

"I feel a bit guilty for such kindness, Brother," said Naruto. "Very well, since you trust me so much, then I truly wish you well. Please acquire many many things here in the Third Plane…."

The Northern Reaches cultivator wanted to cry, but had no tears to shed. He looked at Naruto and nodded vigorously.

The Hebi Clan member who had just been shoved back down suddenly yelled out: "Eighty percent! I'll give eighty percent, too!"

The other of the three also gritted his teeth and yelled out similarly.

Naruto looked visibly moved as he helped them all to their feet.

"Fellow Daoists, I am truly indebted to your kindness," he said with an emotional sigh. "I feel a bit guilty. However, since all of you insist, then, fine, fine, I accept." From the look in his eye, it seemed Naruto felt that good people truly did exist everywhere under Heaven.

The three Cultivators stood there unsteadily, looking at Naruto. Although inwardly they might be cursing him to the pinnacle, they did not dare to allow it to show on their faces. As of this moment, they were in complete dread of Naruto.

Everyone else had merely watched the proceedings, but these three had experienced it personally. Every blow from Naruto contained not the slightest ripple of a magical technique. All of it was completely from the power of his fleshly body.

He had used only the power of his fleshly body to put them in a position where they didn't even have a single chance to fight back. Even stranger, his fists and feet were actually capable of completely scattering their magical techniques.

Such a fearsome fleshly body was enough to cause anyone to feel hopelessness. The bashful look that they saw on Naruto's face right now would become the source of their most profound nightmares in the future.

The three had no choice but to clasp hands in respect to Naruto. Then, supported by the various members of their groups, hobbled their way back to their original position. Naruto glanced at Hebi Chino with a profound expression. A tremor ran through her, and she suddenly grew even more nervous. No one else would understand, but Hebi Chino was well aware that Naruto had just reminded her of her promise to take him to Hebi Mingfeng's corpse.

Everything was silent. Everyone stood there quietly, having completely lost interest in the restrictive spell off to the side. All of them looked nervously at Naruto.

As for Naruto, he looked at the restrictive spell for a while. Then he examined the house, and the well preserved corpse. All of a sudden, he realized that the corpse looked familiar.

He was silent for a moment as he looked at it. Then he recognized who it was, and his face grew a bit melancholy. This old man existed in Naruto's memory as a youth. Back in the Second Plane, he was one of Naruto's silkpants friends, a Demon Immortal Sect disciple with two wings on his back.

Naruto remembered that his name was Yi Xuanzi.

After a moment of silent thought, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply toward the corpse. "Fellow Daoist Yi Xuanxi," he said, "perhaps you don't recognize me, but in my memories, we are friends…. If your spirit is in the underworld, please open the restrictive spell. I would like to bury you so that you can rest in peace."

As of this moment, he wasn't thinking about any magical items. He spoke the truth. He wanted to bury his friend from the Second Plane, so that he could rest peacefully.

After a long moment, Naruto rose to his feet. He didn't check to see if the restrictive spell had changed in any way. Without a word, he turned to leave. However, it was in this moment that behind him, the restrictive spell suddenly began to glitter and shine. A riot of colors could be seen as a rift appeared, which opened up soundlessly!

It opened for Naruto!

A tremor ran through his body as he looked back.

Everyone watched on, eyes wide and minds filled with unprecedented shock and disbelief.

Vol. 4 : Chapter 609

Chapter 609 (Click to show)

Chapter 609: Three-eyed Concubine

"The restrictive spell… is actually opening on its own!"

"Could it be that Naruto was right about the spirit in the underworld?"

"If that's what's really happening, then wouldn't it mean that we could use the personal relationships we forged in the Second Plane to open other restrictive spells!?"

Everyone was shocked and almost couldn't believe what was happening.

This matter exceeded their imaginations, and in fact, their comprehension. The whole matter didn't seem complicated, and yet, if you analyzed it deeply, there was clearly some incredibly complex cycle of Karma at work.

After all, the Second Plane… was illusory!

And yet, things that had occurred in the Second Plane, and people met there, had apparently created a resonance with reality. It was bizarre to the extreme!

Even as everyone stood there in their fear and shock, Naruto looked back at the rift in the restrictive spell. After a moment of thought, a look of decisiveness appeared in his eyes. As everyone watched, panting, he strode forward toward the restrictive spell. His body almost flickered as he… entered inside of it.

The instant he entered, the rift twisted and then rapidly closed up. As for Naruto, he now stood there inside of the restrictive spell.

He was now fully separated from the outside world, and the onlookers.

Completely ignoring how shocked everyone was, he looked at Yi Xuanzi's corpse, then silently approached it. He stood there for a moment, then clasped hands and bowed deeply. Then he began to dig a hole next to the house.

He carefully placed Yi Xuanzi's corpse into the deep hole. As for the flute and the drum, he did not take them for himself, but instead, placed them in the pit next to the body.

"Yi Xuanzi, whether or not you recognize me, in my memories, we are friends…. I hope that you can rest in peace. If there is a reincarnation… I hope that we can meet again." He looked at the corpse in the deep hole, and his eyes filled with a look of reminiscence. He thought back to the Second Plane, his silkpants friends from the other mountain peaks, and how they had all been whipped together.

After a long moment, he let out a soft sigh. Just as he was about to begin filling the hole up with dirt, the violet-colored drum suddenly let out a thump. The sound was like that of a heartbeat, clear and distinct as it echoed around.

Naruto's brows furrowed in concentration. He watched as the violet drum, which was emanating a slight violet-colored glow, slowly floated up out of the hole to hover in front of him.

The drum was about the size of a head. The drum head itself was black, and the sides were violet. Just barely visible were countless faint magical symbols rising up from the drum head. Also visible on the the drum head was a totem.

The totem was that of a black toad with a vicious appearance. Its long tongue was sticking out of its mouth to wrap around a black dragon!

The black dragon was struggling, but apparently it was powerless to fight back against the toad.

It was obviously a totem, but when he looked at it, Naruto felt almost as if it were moving. On the other side of the drum head was another totem.

This totem was an enormous crocodile with vicious looking scales. Its appearance was ferocious to the extreme, and its mouth was open to emit a soundless roar….

This drum was extremely extraordinary!

Naruto was silent for a long moment before reaching out his hand.

The violet drum flickered a few times, then slowly landed onto his palm.

As soon as it touched him, he heard a buzzing sound in his mind. It was like the call of a toad, the shriek of a black dragon, and the coldness of the crocodile.

A moment passed, and then everything went back to normal. However, as everything faded away, Naruto realized that the method of how to use the drum now existed in his mind.

When everyone on the outside saw what was happening, their eyes went wide with astonishment. Although they were completely envious and jealous, they didn't allow it to show on their faces.

The fearsomeness Naruto had just displayed was now indelibly branded onto their minds. The impression he had left was something that was deeply imprinted within them, and could never be wiped away.

Naruto quietly put away the violet-colored drum. Then he looked at the corpse, and once more clasped hands and bowed.

"Many thanks for your help, Fellow Daoist," he said. "I will not allow anything unworthy to occur to this object." As he spoke, a warm wind seemed to blow through the area. Naruto's hair lifted up, and it almost seemed like a murmuring voice could be heard within the wind.

Finally, he buried the corpse. He piled together a small grave mound, then waved his hand, causing a wooden plank to fly over. He used his finger to carve the wood, instantly transforming it into a grave marker which he pushed down deeply into the grave mound.

Here lies Yi Xuanzi.

"Fellow Daoist, I wish you a safe journey," he said quietly. Then he turned and began to walk toward the restrictive spell. He did not disturb anything else in the area, nor did he search it. He had entered this place because of Yi Xuanzi, and because of the memories. He had no other purpose than to bury his friend.

As Naruto neared, the restrictive spell flickered and the rift appeared again. After he walked out, the rift disappeared again. Everyone looked at Naruto with odd expressions.

Deep in their hearts, they couldn't help but feel that Naruto was truly enigmatic.

Ignoring everyone else, Naruto continued to walk along. Suddenly, he stopped and looked back at Hebi Chino.

As soon as he looked at her, her heart trembled. Silently, she gritted her beautiful teeth, then turned to speak to the other Hebi Clan members in hushed tones. Then, to the shock of all them, her body flashed as she moved to join Naruto.

Naruto laughed as he flew up into the air. Hebi Chino followed, and in the blink of an eye, the two of them disappeared off in the distance. Everyone left behind exchanged speechless glances. The intense impression left upon them by Naruto was deep and profound.

Naruto flew in the lead position and Hebi Chino followed. After disappearing off into the distance, where no one would be watching them, Naruto looked back and gave Hebi Chino an enigmatic smile.

He still remembered the scene from the river of stars, before coming to the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane, when he had been stuck up against her body.

Seeing his smile caused Hebi Chino to feel goosebumps. She quickly began to explain. "Hebi Mingfeng's host body was a Conclave disciple from the First Peak. However, his body is not located at the First Peak, but rather, beneath the Third Peak."

"Lead the way," replied Naruto coolly. Actually, he didn't really care at all about Hebi Mingfeng's corpse. He was merely using this method to thoroughly bind Hebi Chino to him.

In this way, he was essentially inserting a mole into the Hebi Clan. If any mishaps occurred, Hebi Chino would not be able to escape unharmed. Because she was an actual member of the Clan, if she betrayed the Clan, the results would be even more miserable.

As for Hebi Chino, how could she not understand this? However, she had little room to maneuver. Originally, she took her actions in the Second Plane to be a temporary stopgap that she could adjust in the Third

Plane. But when she discovered how fearsomely powerful Naruto's Cultivation base was, she truly understood that… she had no way to fight back against him.

Therefore, since she couldn't fight back, there was no need to struggle.

They sped along together, Hebi Chino compliant, Naruto using his

Divine Sense to avoid anyone else. Soon, they neared the Third Peak.

Although Hebi Chino didn't detect what Naruto was doing, she did notice that they didn't run into anybody whatsoever. As such, she could only assume it had something to do with Naruto, which of course filled her with even more dread.

As for Naruto, his brow was furrowed. As they moved along, he had actually sensed a total of six or seven others. All were alone, and all of them seemed to be moving in the same direction; they were headed toward a place somewhere between the Third and Fourth Peaks.

Naruto thought back to what Tsukino had told him, about true spirit Night, and the pit between the Third and Fourth Peaks. That pit led to the entrance of the Fourth Plane.

His eyes glittered, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

"Considering that they aren't looking for any more good fortune in the Third Realm," he thought, "but are instead hurrying toward the Fourth Realm, it shows that they must have acquired quite a bit already.

"In that case, it's just about time for me to go make them live up to their agreement."

Up ahead, Hebi Chino stopped. "We're here," she said, looking back at Naruto. "This is the place. There are restrictive spells in place, so follow me."

Naruto suddenly lifted his right hand and flicked his finger. A red medicinal pill flew out at top speed to appear in front of Hebi Chino. Her face flickered.

There was still time for her to dodge out of the way, but when she saw the cold streak in Naruto's eyes, her heart seized. She did nothing to evade, instead allowing the medicinal pill to enter her mouth. As it dissolved, an acrid liquid spread out through her body.

"Let's go," said Naruto with a smile and a nod. He looked around at the ruins and the countless flickering restrictive spells.

Hebi Chino's face was extremely unsightly. She said nothing, but merely turned and proceeded forward. As she did, the curves of her body made a scene of soul-stirring beauty.

She proceeded on through a specific route for about the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Soon, a well appeared up ahead of Naruto.

Shockingly, two corpses could be seen together at the bottom of the well.

One was Hebi Mingfeng, the other was the host body.

A three-eyed crow was perched atop Hebi Mingfeng's body. In almost the same instant in which Naruto looked down at the crow, the crow turned to look at him.

Hebi Mingfeng also had two bags of holding. One was white, the other was black. Even as Naruto looked at the black bag of holding, Hebi Chino spoke up.

"The black bag of holding has Hebi Mingfeng's collection of Demon beasts.

As for that three-eyed crow, it long since gained sentience. When Hebi Mingfeng was only three years old, it flew in from the outside, and accompanied him ever since.

"You got lucky in killing Hebi Mingfeng. If we were in the outside world, even if you were of the Spirit Severing stage, it would still be very difficult. He… is actually the Nascent Soul stage Dao Child of the Hebi Clan.

"He even had a Patriarch's brand on him, although sadly, it's faded since he died."

Naruto's eyes glittered. Suddenly, the crow flew up into the air, transforming into a black beam of light that shot toward Naruto.

Before Naruto could react, an excited voice could be heard coming from the copper mirror inside his bag of holding.

"Bitches! Lord Fifth is awake, little bitches! Hey, I see a lovely threeeyed concubine here!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Janssen, and Harvey Zhou_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 610

Chapter 610: Injured Lord Fifth

Apparently, the three-eyed crow knew the parrot….

Otherwise, it wouldn't have flown out it in such an overbearing fashion, only to, upon hearing the voice of the parrot, begin shaking, the feathers on its body standing on end. Apparently something had gotten it quite worked up. It let out a miserable shriek, then suddenly turned around in mid-air and then fled in the opposite direction.

At the same time, the parrot flew out from inside of Naruto's bag of holding. It seemed to be in high spirits, as arrogant as ever to once again be on the scene.

Its eyes glittered with an excited glow as it raised its head up and squawked a few times. Then it shot forward toward the three-eyed crow.

"Long time no see! What are you running away for? If you keep running, Lord Fifth is going to screw you!

"Beloved concubine, don't run away!" it continued excitedly, "Husband and wife for a day means mutual benefactors for endless days to come! Although we couldn't remain as husband and wife for a long time back then, that doesn't mean you need to flee! Every time I think of you, I can't help but wallow in my memories!"

The parrot seemed to be on the verge of overtaking the crow. Suddenly, though, tears appeared in the crow's eyes. It seemed ready to die rather than be violated. In this instant, it used some unknown magical technique to cause all of its black feathers to suddenly fall off of its body….

In the blink of an eye, there was no longer a black crow in front of Lord Fifth and Naruto. Instead, it was a… flesh-colored, completely bald bird.

The sight of the completely featherless bird was appalling and almost too horrible to look at.

However, the miserable shriek which rang through the air next did not come from the three-eyed crow, but rather the parrot. The bloodcurdling scream seemed to emanate from a deep, deep pain. The parrot stopped in mid air, staring at the feathers that were fluttering down to the ground, and then let out another miserable cry.

"Wh-wh-wh… why did you do that!?" The parrot didn't seem to be able to accept it. One breath of time before, the crow had been its true love, completely in line with his sense of beauty. The next breath, everything was turned completely around in a completely upsetting fashion.

Its entire body was shaking, even its nerves. What had happened just now was something too intensely upsetting.

Taking advantage of the parrot's sudden loss of spirit, the three-eyed crow used some other method to disappear into mid-air. It vanished without a trace.

The parrot seemed on the verge of going insane. It raised its head up to the sky and let out a roar.

"DAMNATION! Lord Fifth will not let you off the hook!"

Naruto suddenly felt a bit of sympathy for the parrot, especially considering how it had just changed its use of bad words. Clearly, the parrot was not just a little bit upset at the moment.

A face suddenly appeared on the bell attached to the parrot's foot. The meat jelly's voice could be heard, filled with a bit of a wicked tone. "Happy? According to Lord Third, that crow is actually quite honest and sincere. For example, what if it had used that move just now when you were in the middle of screwing it? What would you do then?"

Upon hearing this, Naruto could only stare blankly. The parrot trembled a few more times before a look of intense alarm appeared on its face.

Naruto had long since gotten used to the antics of the meat jelly and parrot. He had also put some thought into the matter of why the two of them hadn't made an appearance in the First or Second Planes. He had assumed that there was something special about the Demon Immortal Sect that made it impossible for them to reveal themselves.

Based on the voice of the parrot just now, it seemed to Naruto that it had just woken up. However, even after trying, he couldn't cause the mastiff to appear. Then he thought back to what Patriarch Harishama had said before, and realized that the origin of the meat jelly and the parrot really was unfathomable.

As for Hebi Chino, this was her first time seeing the parrot. Her eyes were wide, especially after she heard what the meat jelly said. Although she had always been a brazen person, she was still a young woman, and couldn't help but flush a bit and make a reprimanding "pei" sound.

Yet, she continued to look down on Lord Fifth….

The instant she made the "pei" sound, the parrot turned its head to stare at Hebi Chino. A deadly gleam appeared in its eyes, as if it desired to vent its frustration and pain on her.

Panting, it looked her over.

"No fur or feathers! Dammit! Absolutely no fur or feathers! Dear Heavens, why do you punish me this way!" The parrot howled and then clenched its jaw. Even the mere thought of the crow shedding its feathers caused it to feel profound pain.

Although Hebi Chino didn't have the fur or feathers that the parrot liked, as far as she was concerned, the damnable things gaze was far too penetrating.

Naruto ignored the parrot. His right hand made a grasping motion, causing Hebi Mingfeng's two bags of holding to fly up out from within the well and into his hands. He glanced them over, opting not to open then at the moment. Instead, he put them away.

Then, eyes glittering, he snatched the wailing parrot and ignoring whether it wanted to or not, shoved it back into his bag of holding. Then he looked at Hebi Chino.

"It's time for me to go collect some treasures," he said. "If you have nothing else to do, you can come with me. My destination just so happens to be the entrance to the Fourth Plane."

Hebi Chino hesitated for a moment, then nodded. She didn't seem to be surprised at all to hear about the Fourth Plane, as if she had known about it all along.

As he gazed at her, Naruto thought about the resources of her Clan, and how information about the Fourth Plane wouldn't be hard to come by. The two of them left, Naruto taking the lead as they shot toward the pit, which lay between the Third and Fourth Peaks. It wasn't very far away. About two hours later, they arrived.

There were quite a few people already gathered together. There were a handful from the Hebi Clan, one of whom was Hebi Mingkong, who looked at Naruto with a strange glow in his eyes. Li Shiqi and Han Bei sat crosslegged not too far off, as did Wang Lihai. As soon as Naruto neared, their expressions flickered.

Naruto was all smiles as he waved to everyone in greeting.

"Hahaha! What a small world, huh! We meet again, Fellow Daoists. So, tell me, how did things go for you in the Third Plane? What did you acquire?" Behind him, Hebi Chino's cheek twitched a little as she realized that Naruto… was about to con some more people.

"Naruto offers his most sincere well wishes to all of you Fellow

Daoists," he continued. "I hope that you can really profit well in the Third

Plane. That way, I can also bask a bit in your glory, right? Thank you, Fellow Daoists. You are all truly good people." Naruto seemed a bit emotional and even somewhat embarrassed. A bashful expression appeared as he looked over the increasingly grim-faced crowd, then clasped hands and bowed.

As for the group from the Southern Domain, their eyes flickered. That was especially true of Han Bei. When she saw Naruto's smile, a tremor ran through her body and she quickly lowered her head.

She knew all too well what Naruto's smile meant. It must be stated that it was quite well known in the Southern Domain that Naruto had conned many people with that bashful grin….

Although Wang Lihai had never seen Naruto's bashful side, he had heard of his conman's personality. When he saw the smile, and Han Bei's reaction, he instantly went on guard.

Li Shiqi put on a forced smile. She looked at Naruto but didn't say anything.

Song Hebi a was also there. She looked at Naruto with a complex expression. It didn't matter how Naruto smiled, to her, it was all the same.

As for the Dao Child from the Li Clan, Li Tiandao, he was the only

Southern Domain Cultivator who didn't notice anything special about Naruto's smile. He frowned, and killing intent suddenly sprang up in his eyes.

In contrast, the members of the Hebi Clan seemed to have received news about what happened earlier. Although all of them wore completely ordinary expressions, deep in their eyes, vigilance could be seen.

Naruto looked around at everyone, then suddenly seemed a bit discouraged. He was just thinking that it seemed his extortion attempt had failed when he noticed the look in the eye of the Li Clan Dao Child, Li Tiandao. Suddenly, he seemed a bit livened.

"Fellow Daoist," he said, "I don't think I recognize you." He quickly walked toward Li Tiandao, a smile on his face. "Tell me, did you acquire much in the Third Plane? Come, come, open your bag of holding so that Brother can select his share."

"Screw off!" said Li Tiandao coldly.

A moment ago, Naruto had worn a sincere smile and a bashful expression. A moment later, his face completely changed. The instant Li Tiandao spoke, a ruthless expression appeared on Naruto's face. His right palm instantly shot out toward Li Tiandao.

A cold light of derision flickered in Li Tiandao's eyes. His Cultivation base was extraordinary. If you looked at the Southern Domain as a whole, it didn't matter if you were talking about members of his current generation, or even Li Daoyi who had already passed away, Li Tiandao's Cultivation base was extraordinary. He gave a cold snort and then made a grasping motion with his right hand. Instantly, a blade of white light appeared in his hand.

However, before he could even unleash the power of the blade, Naruto's palm, moving with indescribable speed, slapped onto his face, letting out a huge bang.

One slap sent Li Tiandao completely senseless. He was furious, and wanted to struggle back. However, his fate was the same as the Cultivator earlier from the Northern Reaches. Naruto directly slammed him down onto the ground.

Punches and kicks rained down onto him, the sound of which echoed out in every direction. Li Tiandao let out miserable shrieks. He tried to fight back, and even tried to wield his blade against Naruto. However, all it took was a slap from Naruto to cause the Heavenly blade to shatter into pieces.

The sudden violence caused the eyes of all the spectators to grow wide.

"You actually dare to cuss at me!" cried Naruto, emphasizing his words with kicks. "I was sincerely wishing you well, and you respond with curses!? Ridiculous!" His expression grew more vicious and intense, causing all the onlookers to grow increasingly shaky with fear.

Li Tiandao was livid, but gradually, that lividity was replaced by terror. Soon, it turned into despair. Blood spouted from his mouth as the shadow of death loomed over him.

Finally, Han Bei blinked, cleared her throat and offered up a quick reminder. That finally provoked a reaction from Li Tiandao who, despite feeling wronged to the extreme, shouted out that he would pay a higher price.

After the matter was resolved, Naruto once again smiled sincerely and then took two of the total of three magical items that Li Tiandao had acquired.

Furthermore… those two items were the very best of all of them. Even as Li Tiandao felt pain in his heart, Naruto clasped his shoulder, then sighed and bashfully expressed his deep thanks.

After that, Naruto looked around at everyone else. Considering what had just happened to Li Tiandao, everyone else had no choice but to suppress their curses inwardly, open their bags of holding and produce the items that they had acquired. With their oaths in place, there was no way to go back on their words, and no way to hide things in violation of the agreement.

Despite their pain, they could only watch on in fear as Naruto carefully selected one incredible magic item after another.

"Wow, this looks amazing!

"Eee? It's actually a scale shield! Excellent, excellent!

"This flower vase is incredible! With one glance you can tell it's a precious treasure!

"Ooh, look at this clay figure! It's missing an arm and a head, but I'll just have to suck it up and take it. Yep."

Naruto circled around, making acquisitions that would cause anyone to be shocked. Every person from whom he took treasures had faces filled with unsightly looks. If it weren't for the fact that none of them felt capable of taking him on, they would surely attempt to attack him. The hatred they felt rose up to the Heavens, and their hearts dripped with blood.

To them, Naruto wasn't just taking away magical items, but their most prized possessions….

Eventually he came to stand in front of Song Hebi a. He looked at the jade pendant she held out, as well as the complicated, cold look in her eyes. He stood there thoughtfully for a moment, then took out one of the magical items he had acquired and put it in her hand.

Song Hebi a frowned, and was about to say something when, all of a sudden, three prismatic beams of light whistled through the air toward them from off in the distance. The person in the lead position was none other than Fang Yu. Behind her were the two other men from the Fang Clan.

The two men wore excited expressions; clearly, whatever objects they had just acquired left them very happy.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Suadicani, James Krejci, Sebaki, and Andy L._

Vol. 4 : Chapter 611

Chapter 611: Fellow Daoists, Allow Me to Say Something

Naruto's eyes gleamed and he turned. With a smile, he clasped hands and bowed to the three incoming members of the Fang Clan. "Well, if it isn't the three Fellow Daoists from the Fang Clan. It seems these two Brothers can't quite cover up the joy in their faces. They definitely must have acquired quite a bit in the Third Plane…."

Fang Yu's face was a bit unsightly as she stared angrily at Naruto. The way he looked right now caused her fury to flare up.

"No, we didn't!" she said, glaring at him.

"Oh, that's not good," replied Naruto with a wink.

"It doesn't even count as not good!" said Fang Yu, clenching her teeth, an uncompromising expression appearing on her face. "Look at you, you acquired all kinds of things, but big sis put everything on the line and only got two items! You still want to take advantage of me?"

"Okay, how about this…." said Naruto, looking a bit embarrassed.

However, before he could finish speaking, one of the two men from the Fang Clan who stood behind Fang Yu suddenly let out a cold laugh.

"We try to give you face, but you insist on acting shamelessly, huh? You think this is still the Second Plane? Screw off posthaste, you little bastard! Otherwise, you won't be leaving the Third Plane alive!"

The other Fang Clan member stepped forward, an expression of scorn and disdain on his face as he said, "You really don't know your own limitations. Don't you know that even the Hebi Clan would think twice before trying to steal away the things acquired here by the Fang Clan? As for you… well, take out half of everything on your person and hand it over. Otherwise…."

As the two men spoke, Naruto's gaze came to be fixed upon them.

However, before he could even get angry, Fang Yu's face filled with fury. She spun to face the two fellow Clan members.

"You want him to screw off?" she said. Clenching her teeth, she vanished, to reappear directly next to one of the Fang Clan members. Suddenly, her fist descended.

Before the Fang Clan member could even say anything, a boom could be heard, and he tumbled backward, blood spraying from his mouth as he looked at Fang Yu in astonishment.

"Fang Yu, what are you doing!?"

"Shameless you say!?" she cried, fires of rage burning in her eyes. As of this moment, she truly looked like an explosive dragon. Her body flickered as she neared the man again. He was shaking, and was about to fight back when another boom echoed out and he was sent flying.

"You dare to threaten him!? You say he won't leave the Third Plane alive?! Well then… I'll make sure YOU don't leave the Third Plane alive!" Killing intent flickered in Fang Yu's eyes. Before the Fang Clan member even landed on the ground, she once again vanished to reappear directly next to him. Her fist smashed out again. This was no perfunctory blow, but rather, contained all of her explosive power.

A boom could be heard that rattled Heaven and Earth. Everyone watched on in shock as the blood sprayed from the mouth of the Fang Clan member, and then his entire body exploded into bloody pieces. His Nascent Soul emerged, fleeing and screaming at the same time.

"Fang Yu, you dare to slaughter a fellow Clan member!? You're dead!

You actually dare to kill me over an outsider!?"

"So what if I kill you?" said Fang Yu with a cold snort. She performed an incantation gesture, then waved her right hand. Instantly, an enormous square cauldron magically appeared. It instantly shot toward the fleeing Nascent Soul of the Fang Clan Cultivator. When they slammed together, a miserable shriek could be heard, and the Nascent Soul shattered.

At the same time, the man's bag of holding flew out to be snatched by Fang Yu. She quickly erased the brand mark on it, and then tossed it over to Naruto.

The scene which had just played out in front of everyone left them completely shaken. That was especially true of the Hebi Clan, whose eyes were wide and filled with disbelief. Killing a fellow Clan member was a high crime in any Clan!

They truly couldn't understand why Fang Yu would respond so viciously to the handful of words that had just been spoken.

Fang Yu turned and looked at the other Fang Clan member.

The man trembled and took a few steps back. His heart pounded with nervousness and vigilance as he quickly said, "Elder Sister Fang Yu, this was all just a misunderstanding. I…."

"You said he doesn't know his own limitations?" she said, her eyes flickering with killing intent. The Fang Clan Cultivator's scalp was numb as he fell back nervously. Before he could get more than a few steps, Fang Yu was upon him, and her fist descended.

A boom could be heard; blood sprayed from the man's mouth as he fell back.

"Elder Sister Fang Yu, I was in the wrong. Really, it was my mistake!"

"Didn't you tell him to take out half of his belongings and hand them over?" she said coldly. She performed an incantation with her right hand, causing the illusory square cauldron to fly toward the man. Under the incredible pressure, the Fang Clan Cultivator's face fell. Even as he shot backward, he pulled out his bag of holding and threw it to Naruto.

"Elder Brother Naruto, allow me to atone for my crime. Junior Brother admits his mistake!"

Naruto grabbed the bag of holding with a frown. It was impossible to tell exactly what he was thinking.

"You're clever," said Fang Yu. "Therefore, you can avoid the death penalty. But that doesn't mean you're… exempt from punishment!" She glared at the Fang Clan Cultivator as the square cauldron descended. A boom could be heard as blood poured from the man's mouth. He staggered backward, his face pale. Although he didn't fear for his life now, he was still scared witless. He immediately clasped hands and bowed to Fang Yu.

Naruto gathered up the two bags of holding, then looked over at Fang Yu. She looked back at him.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"None of your concern," replied Fang Yu. With a frown, she gritted her teeth and continued, "In any case, my things are mine, and I'm not going to give them to you. There's no use in even thinking about it. It's not gonna happen!"

Naruto looked at her deeply for a moment, but didn't speak again about the matter. Everyone around were lost in various thoughts, and didn't speak.

It was in this moment that the deep pit they stood next to suddenly emitted a shocking rumbling sound. It almost sounded as if something deep inside was roaring. The ground shook, and the countless vine-like objects that surrounded the area began to twitch and writhe in bizarre fashion.

The vines grew thicker and longer as they surrounded the area, looking almost like snakes. The Demonic Qi from the surrounding area surged in toward the pit, transforming into an enormous pillar of light that towered up into the sky.

As of this moment, the enormous pillar of light was visible from any position within the First Heaven of the Demon Immortal Sect. It was like a summons that echoed out in the hearts and minds of all the South Heaven Cultivators.

A message resounded out to everyone. It clearly told them… that the way to the Fourth Plane was now open!

The possibility now existed to enter the Fourth Plane!

Naruto's mind trembled, and the Cultivators around him began to pant. Their eyes flickered, and yet, no one wanted to be the first one to make an attempt. Everyone stood watching, not willing to act rashly.

Time passed, and more people began to arrive, attracted by the column of light. Of course, not a one could evade Naruto's extortion. Eventually Xu Qing arrived, which meant that the area was now filled with the majority of the Cultivators who were here in the Third Plane.

Their gazes flickered as they looked thoughtfully around at each other.

The first person to make a move was an unimposing, emaciated old man from the Southern Domain. He flew out to stand on one of the vines. After grasping ahold of it, he looked back at the crowd of onlookers and then smiled. Then he produced a magical item, a fan, which he pushed up against the surface of the vine.

Instantly, a green glow surrounded the fan, and it began to disintegrate. It transformed into dots of scintillating light, which then were absorbed into the vine. At the same time, the vine began to grow longer. It extended down into the pit, taking the old man with it.

Fang Yu looked over at Naruto and then spoke, her words directed not just at him, but at everyone around. "According to the Fang Clan's understanding, one needs magical items to be able to enter the Fourth Plane. Magical items from the outside world aren't quite as effective as items acquired in the Demon Immortal Sect. Offer them as sacrifices to the Demon vines, and, depending on their value, the vines will extend down.

"If you leave the vine and try to descend on your own, you will die without a doubt!"

With that, Fang Yu's body flashed, and she neared a vine. In much the same way as the old man moments before, she produced a magical item which she pushed up against the vine. The vine began to grow, extending down into the pit.

One by one, more people began to fly forward. The Hebi Clan members, the Northern Reaches Cultivators, the group from the Southern Domain. One after another, they stepped onto the vines, produced treasures, and then sank down into the pit. As all of this happened, Naruto cleared his throat. Looking embarrassed and a bit bashful, he began to speak.

"Fellow Daoists, allow me to say something. Considering that you need to offer continual sacrifices to the vines, I must say that I actually have quite a few magical items. However, if I loan them out, if you take one, you'll have to repay me with two. I'm honest with all customers. It's a reasonable price.

"Now, who's to say what incredible acquisitions you will make in the Fourth Plane?" he continued. "Therefore, before going in, you should really think about this. Buy one, repay with two is definitely reasonable!" As soon as the others heard him, grim expressions could be seen on their faces.

"Buy one, repay with two is reasonable?"

"I've never seen extortion of this level!"

"What a joke! Even if I have to give up half-way to the Fourth Plane, I swear I will never again get entangled with this black-hearted Naruto!" Glaring hatefully at Naruto, they completely ignored his offer and quickly grabbed onto the vines and then sank down into the pit.

Xu Qing stood next to Naruto, covering her smile with a hand. She remembered all of the things Naruto had done back in the Reliance Sect, and as she looked at him now, her smile only grew sweeter.

"They're going to be sorry," said Naruto, clearing his throat a few times. "I really did have good intentions just now." He looked blinking at Xu Qing, and her smile grew wider. Shaking her head, she flew over to grab a vine, then sank down into the pit.

Naruto wasn't the last person on the outside. Some of the people chose not to attempt to enter the Fourth Plane. Some decided to just give up where they were.

Seeing that no one else was going to enter the pit, Naruto walked around the edge of it, eventually decided on a position somewhat in the center. He reached out to grab a vine, then produced a magical item which he slowly pushed onto its surface. As it absorbed the item, the vine began to grow, taking him down at high speed into the pitch black of the pit.

As soon as he entered the pit, Naruto could sense coldness coming from all around him. At the same time, he saw that it was not completely pitch black. Glittering dots of glowing light could be seen in the walls, making everything in the area visible.

Around Naruto could be seen dozens of vines sinking downward, upon each one was a South Heaven Cultivator.

Far down below was completely pitch black, and it was impossible to see. Occasionally, a roaring sound could be heard, shooting up from down below like a wild wind. When that happened, everyone held tightly to their vines to stabilize their shaking bodies.

Vol. 4 : Chapter 612

Chapter 612: The Gentleman Loves Money

A wind blew, as cold as the underworld. As it passed by, everyone's hearts grew as cold as if they were stuck in the middle of winter. Even more shocking was that the frigid wind made the Cultivators almost like mortals. Everyone began to tremble as they clung to their vines.

Their breath turned into ice, which then cracked and shattered, causing everyone to feel extremely astonished.

Were it not for the vines, and the warmth which pulsed out from within them into the bodies of everyone present, then they wouldn't be able to proceed downward for very long, not even if they had higher Cultivation bases.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he clutched the vine. He had long since come to the conclusion that these vines were a critical element in being able to reach the Fourth Plane. Many others had come to the same conclusion.

Although not everyone had chosen to attempt to enter the Fourth Plane, everyone who had come to the Primordial Demon Immortal Plane were outstanding figures from the lands of South Heaven. As for those who did chose to enter the Fourth Plane, they definitely wouldn't just give up halfway.

As they produced more and more treasures to sacrifice to the vines, the vines twisted and writhed, extending downward at high speed.

Time passed by slowly. Naruto was the last in line. As he descended he glanced around to inspect the area. As far as he could tell, the pit seemed bottomless. It was impossible to tell how far they had gone down, and yet they still couldn't see any end in sight. The frigid wind grew more intense, seemingly increasing the number of treasures required by the vines.

Not too far off from Naruto was Li Tiandao. His face was gradually filling with apprehension. Although he had come prepared with a good supply of magical items, he was finding it difficult to keep up with how much needed to be sacrificed. By this point, it didn't seem to matter the quality of the magical items being sacrificed. Almost anything would do.

Even still, the miscellaneous collection of magical items in Li Tiandao's bag of holding were not very plentiful. If things kept going with no bottom in sight, then he would soon have to begin sacrificing important magical items.

To him, it was something impossible to accept. He frowned and gritted his teeth, a look of determination gleaming in his eyes. He suddenly stopped, apparently preparing himself to start climbing back up. It seemed he planned to give up on his attempt to enter the Fourth Plane.

However, almost as soon as he began to climb up, before he had even gone more than a meter or so, his face flickered. The frigid wind around him suddenly grew ten times as powerful. His hair and his eyebrows became snow-white in the blink of an eye. Ice crystals even formed on his skin; clearly he was on the verge of being transformed into an ice statue.

The intense sense of grave crisis he felt caused Li Tiandao to immediately pull out one of his important magical treasures. It was a glowing blue sword that somewhat resembled a saber. A single glance was enough to tell that this was anything but an ordinary treasure.

Forcing down the pain he felt, Li Tiandao placed the sword onto the vine, whereupon it sank down inside. The coldness around Li Tiandao vanished and his body slowly returned to normal. However, his expression was one of astonishment.

"We're only allowed to go down, not up?" he grumbled inwardly. "Or is it that going back up requires an even higher price?" Everyone around was aware of the strange event which had just occurred, and were shocked. They all began to think various thoughts.

It was at this point that Li Tiandao saw that his own vine was no longer moving down but retracting back upward.

This provoked a reaction from the others.

"That can't be right. It's not that you can't go up. Once you enter this place, even if you want to quit, you still have to sacrifice treasures!"

"That must be the situation. It seems getting into the Fourth Plane isn't so easy after all…."

Naruto had the best view of the situation. His eyes flickered thoughtfully, and he rubbed his bag of holding. Suddenly, a bashful smile appeared on his face. He said nothing, but simply allowed his vine to slowly continue on downward.

Li Tiandao hesitated thoughtfully for a moment. Right now, he had two options to pick from. Go up, or go down. Either way, he would have to spend all of his magical items.

After a moment of hesitation, Li Tiandao clenched his jaw.

"Since I have to waste the magical items, I might as well risk it all," he thought. "If I don't, then everything I already spent will have been a complete waste. However, if I succeed, I can make up for everything with gains in the Fourth Plane!"

Many of the other Cultivators were thinking the same thing as Li

Tiandao. They clenched their jaws, eyes shining with determination. To them it was a gamble; however, if they gave up now, then they would definitely end up with nothing. By holding on for a bit longer, they would at least have a chance… to make up for what they had already spent.

Since that was the case, there was no reason not to gamble!

Time passed. A day later, the group was deep into the pit. However, they still couldn't see the bottom. It really seemed as if there was no end at all. By this point, quite a few of their number had already used up their supply of random magical items. If they wanted to continue, then they would either have to use up the magical items they had discovered in the Demon Immortal Sect, or draw on their own store of important personal magical items.

The dilemma they faced caused the faces of quite a few of the Cultivators to look extremely unsightly. Before stepping foot into this place, all of them had believed themselves to be extremely well equipped with magical items. Now, though, they realized that they simply didn't have enough.

Compared to them, Naruto really did have it very easy. He had vast amounts of magical items in his bag of holding. He casually produced treasures to sacrifice to the vines. Not only did they continue to move downward, Naruto actually caused his vine to change course occasionally to hand over magical items to Xu Qing.

This caused the eyes of everyone else present to burn with anger and extreme jealousy.

"Ai, I just have too many treasures," said Naruto with a sigh. The sound of his voice echoed around, causing everyone's gums to itch with hatred.

"Fellow Daoists," he then announced, "if any of you are running low on treasures, all you have to do is speak up. We're all in this together, through thick and thin. No matter what happens, I won't ignore your plight while I am in a good position.

"If you need to borrow some magical items, I'll lend them to you without hesitation!

"Don't worry, my prices are reasonable, and I'm honest with all customers. Buy one, pay back three!" His voice echoed about loudly within in the pit. Everyone could hear, even the old man in the lead position. Their faces immediately twisted.

Fang Yu looked back with glaring eyes, and yet a smile could be seen on her face.

As for the Hebi Clan members, their faces were unsightly. If they had such reactions, then there was no need to mention everyone else. When the crowds heard Naruto, their hearts filled with both hatred and helplessness.

"You crafty, shameless villain!" someone said. "Even if our magical items run even lower than now, there's no way we'll ask for your help!"

"That's right!" said someone else. "Outside, it was buy one pay back two, now it's buy one pay back three?! Raising prices like that is despicable to the extreme!"

"I'll die before asking for your help!"

Naruto heard the furious reactions, and simply sighed. "You're all wrong," he said. "Each and every one of these magical items represents an important memory to me. I'm offering to lend you, not my magical items, but rather, the true love of my life." He let out another emotional sigh.

"In all honesty," he continued, "my intentions truly are good. Look at these magical items of mine! Their glow is so resplendent and entrancing! These are high quality products!

"Think about it, all of you. With some of my magical items, you can get into the Fourth Plane without a hitch! Once you're there, you can acquire things so valuable that you can pay back what you owe me in the blink of an eye.

"It's completely worth it!

"Brothers and Sisters, you have to look at things objectively. The price you will be paying now is nothing. The most important thing is to look at what you have to gain! Without paying a price, how can you gain anything, am I right?" Naruto was using all his skills to try to persuade everyone. These, of course, were the same skills he had used in his shop back in the Reliance Sect. However, those who heard only continued to get more angry.

Xu Qing was off to the side, covering her smile with a hand. The gaze with which she looked at Naruto continued to grow warmer and warmer.

"Fellow Daoists, how can this tiny price possibly compare to the chance to step into the Fourth Plane?" Naruto's final sentence was full of meaning. His words echoed about, filled with an air of good faith. Many of the various Cultivators were actually moved inwardly, and they suddenly felt conflicted.

Li Tiandao gritted his teeth. He currently only had four magical items left, and to sacrifice any of them would cause him incredible pain. His expression filled with determination and he said, "I'll take three!"

Hearing this, Naruto's expression shook visibly. He immediately pulled out a magical item and placed onto the surface of his own vine, causing it to change directions and head toward Li Tiandao.

"Elder Brother Li, you are truly experienced and knowledgeable, talented and bold. Alright, listen. This is my first transaction of the day, so I'll give you a bit of a discount. I'll give you these three magical items, and you only need to pay me back with eight.

"These three magical items have a value of 30,000 Spirit Stones. In that case, you need to pay me back 80,000 Spirit Stones." With that, he produced three ordinary-looking random magical items, as well as a promissory note. Then he used the same method he had used in the Second Plane, the Dao oath.

Li Tiandao gritted his teeth. After completing the formalities, he took the three treasures and then pressed one onto the surface of the vine. Instantly, it descended downward at rapid speed, alleviating his anxiety for the moment.

"Did you see that, everyone?" said Naruto, setting his head nobly. "Naruto is a gentleman. The gentleman loves money, and earns it righteously. I'm not forcing anybody, and am even willing to sell things on credit! That's right! You don't need to pay me back now. A simple promissory note can solve all your problems.

"You can simply pay me back after we leave this place. What a great deal!"

Everyone around couldn't help but think that Naruto truly had reached the pinnacle of shamelessness. More time passed, over half a day. There was still no bottom in sight. By this time, Li Tiandao owed Naruto more than 400,000. It was at that point that… Wang Lihai couldn't hold back from calling out.

"Give me ten!"

"I'll take ten too!" said Li Shiqi, gritting her beautiful teeth.

"Ten for me too!" said Han Bei with a sigh.

Naruto immediately looked quite enlivened. He adroitly produced the magical items and promissory note, watched as the three swore their Dao oath, then smilingly handed over the magical items.

"When you purchase from me, you can rest your heart at ease. The quality of all products is guaranteed, and I deliver everything directly to you!"

The three collected up the magical items they had purchased and then completely ignored Naruto. They began to feed the items into the vines and descend down further.

Another day passed. Soon more people began to run out of treasures.

Either that, or they weren't willing to sacrifice the treasures they still possessed. No matter how much they hated Naruto, they had no choice but to call out to him.

"Buy one, pay back five! Fellow Daoists, I'm starting to run low on magical items, so I have no choice but to raise the price…. Furthermore, I have to announce that when I am down to only ten magical items, then I will have no other choice than to begin an unprecedented, never before seen in history, never again to be repeated… auction!" Although Naruto sighed, his eyes actually shone with a brilliant light.

As soon as the words left his mouth, it gave rise to furious complaints. Despite the anger, people gritted their teeth and spent the price of one to five to acquire large amounts of magical items.

"What a profit!" thought Naruto. "Hahaha! I never thought that the ancient Demon Immortal Sect would turn out to be my Blessed Land!" He hung onto his vine, clutching a thick stack of promissory notes. When he looked at the numbers written on them, his eyes glowed brightly. His addiction to making money existed deep in his bones, and had not been reduced in the slightest, regardless of his advances in Cultivation base. "I'm rich!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Chirag Patel, ExtremeGTP, Jerrell_

 _Tisnado, and Hikaritenjou_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 613

Chapter 613: Fourth Plane!

"Hopefully this pit goes even deeper," thought Naruto, his eyes shining. "The best would be if we keep going for about nine or ten days." His bag of holding didn't have much else in it other than the vast, random assortment of magical items.

Many of them were things completely useless as far as Naruto was concerned. There were even treasures he had acquired when he was in the Qi Condensation stage, but hadn't discarded even down to this day. He had kept them because… he just couldn't bear to part with them.

Back in those days, when he was young, he had been completely impoverished, unwilling to even part with a single Spirit Stone. These magical items were each worth dozens of Spirit Stones, so how could he possibly have simply discarded them?

He had always been searching for a way to dispose of them. However, the Black Lands and the Western Desert were both poor and barren places. Therefore, such items had accumulated there within his bag of holding.

If an outsider could glimpse the inside of his bag of holding, they would be completely shocked. The inside was completely chaotic, filled with anything and everything. After all… these were all of Naruto's belongings. Every time he ran out of Spirit Stones, he could still look inside the bag of holding and feel a little bit of contentment.

The opportunity he had now was something completely rare, and had him thoroughly excited. One Cultivator after another gritted their teeth and then called out to purchase magical items, and Naruto rushed to peddle them.

Naruto wasn't worried that they would refuse to acknowledge their promissory notes. These people were all Dao Children and Chosen of great Clans and Sects. They didn't lack Spirit Stones, plus, there was a Dao oath in place. They wouldn't dare to not pay him back.

Next to Naruto was one of the Northern Reaches Cultivators. His eyes were bright red as he glared at Naruto, clutching a small, glittering sword in his hand. His voice filled with madness, he cried, "Dammit! Naruto! This is a Qi Condensation magical item! You, you, you… you actually charged me 10,000 Spirit Stones for this! I wouldn't pay ten Spirit Stones for this thing! You're such a swindler!"

"Yeah, look at this! This is a magical item for a Foundation

Establishment Cultivator. You charged me 20,000 Spirit Stones, and I have to pay back 100,000!"

"Look at this fan! What the hell! It's broken! It might be a Core Formation magical item, but… you charged me 50,000 for this piece of crap!? Why don't you just outright rob me!"

In response to the ire of the crowd, Naruto blinked.

"These things might be trash to you people," he said coldly, "but I worked hard to collect them! I often went without food and water just to collect together these possessions!

"If you don't want them, then you can return them. Then, you'll go onto my list of unwelcome customers!"

The others were fuming with anger, but they could only gnash their teeth and eventually let out long sighs. Then they angrily shoved the magical items onto the surface of the vines, causing them to sink down further.

Eventually, even the Hebi Clan members began to call out to Naruto. Soon, there were few within the crowd that didn't owe Naruto huge amounts of Spirit Stones. As everyone proceeded on, they looked at Naruto with eyes that desired to cry but contained no tears.

They proceeded on impatiently for another day. Eventually, far down below, they caught sight of a glow of light. Finally, they glimpsed the bottom of the pit.

In that instant, those who owed Naruto vast quantities of Spirit Stones began to weep with excitement. Naruto was the only one who let out sighs of regret.

"How can this pit be so shallow?" he mused with a frown. "If only it were a bit deeper. I never got to start my auction." He watched as everyone around him excitedly followed along with the vines as they continued on toward the bottom. It didn't take very long for them to reach the end of the pit.

The bottom of the pit was actually far larger than anyone could have imagined. It seemed that the pit was actually a tunnel, beyond which was an enormous world!

The world seemed to have no end. Even Divine Sense was incapable of finding any borders to it. After everyone reached the bottom and stood there, their minds trembled.

Naruto's pupils constricted, and he began to pant. Next to him, Xu Qing arrived, and her mind reeled.

Nobody spoke. Complete silence reigned. Everyone was completely and thoroughly astonished by what they saw.

A continent stretched out in all directions, sleek and smooth. Its surface was like that of a mirror, which was the source of the light that everyone had seen earlier.

If the continent could be described as a mirror, then the group from

South Heaven could be described as standing outside of that mirror. Furthermore, when they looked at the mirror, what they saw was not their own reflection, but rather… an ancient battlefield!

Shockingly, an ancient world existed inside of the mirror. It was impossible to say whether or not it was an ancient world that existed before the time period of the Second Plane, or after. In any case, the group was now staring at boundless, majestic battlefield.

Countless Cultivators could be seen on the battlefield, all engaged in mutual slaughter. Heaven and Earth were filled with riotous colors, and booming echoed out through the sky. Cracks spread out through the land, and the fearsome glow of magical shields covered everything.

In the sky were innumerable war chariots flying about, as well as armored Cultivators who fought each other feverishly. Off in the distance, several gigantic dragons could be seen, as well as countless Demon beasts, hunkered into various positions throughout the land.

Many things could be seen.

A person could be seen waving a hand. A huge chunk of the earth collapsed, and then an enormous land mass flew out. It turned into a shooting star which smashed out into the air.

A person could be seen punching. Stars collapsed, and countless flames burned the world.

A person could be seen surrounded by millions of magical items. They formed a tempest that caused blood to splash about wherever it went. The tempest itself was the color of blood!

A person could be seen flashing an incantation gesture. A finger was pointed up into the sky, and countless characters appeared, glowing with a golden light. They formed together to into various ancient characters that radiated a shocking aura which led to endless slaughter. A person could be seen holding tight to an evil spirit. The spirit's body was three thousand meters long, and had countless faces that appeared and disappeared, howling and glancing around with disdain.

This was… a great battle between two different parties!

One side was made up of Cultivators. Countless, innumerable

Cultivators, each one capable of employing destructive divine abilities, of summoning Dharma incarnations, and endless magical items that could shake the Heavens.

The other side was made of up of Demons. These were bizarre Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth, surrounded by sundered winds that rose up into the sky, creating a storm of blackness wherever they went….

Further off in the distance was, shockingly… an enormous coffin. The coffin appeared to have fallen down from the Heavens. Brilliant, multicolored light swirled around it, within which was something astonishing. Nine butterflies could be seen floating about!

Countless figures could be seen in the area around the coffin. Incredible slaughter was being carried out, as if neither side was willing to allow the other to step even half a pace closer to the coffin!

The coffin was the main cause of the combat on the battlefield. All of the fighting and mad slaughter was because… that coffin needed to be seized!

All of the South Heaven Cultivators, including Naruto, were floating up in mid-air, looking down blankly at the lands within the mirror. They looked down at the shocking battle, and the figures who could topple mountains and invert seas with the wave of a hand, who could crush stars and grab moons with their divine abilities. The hearts of the South Heaven Cultivators filled with shock.

There were three people on the battlefield who, no matter how grand the scale of the battle was, no matter how intense the slaughter, could not be eclipsed. The gaze of anyone who looked down at the battle would instantly be drawn to these three figures.

It was as if… they were the most powerful sovereigns of the battle. They were like venerated suns that everyone had to look up to!

One of them was a Cultivator wearing a Daoist robe, with a full head of white hair. His features were ancient, and when he lifted up his hands two rotating pearls could be seen, one of which was black, the other of which was white!

Behind the man was an illusory starry sky that he had apparently magically summoned. He stood in the middle of the sky, alone, capable of striking fear into the hearts of any within the Demon Tribes.

The second figure was within the Demon Tribes. It was a Greater Demon who looked like a winged bat. Its eyes were bright red, and seven globes of flame rotated around it. Each of the globes of flame was a different color, and, shockingly… a wooden sword could be seen inside of each one!

The Demon was surrounded by an astonishing aura. As it stood there, it seemed capable of making the Earth, the Heavens, and all life therein, prostrate in worship!

Naruto was unsure of the level of Cultivation base of these two, but his breathing was unprecedentedly ragged. He wasn't sure if he was perceiving things incorrectly or not, but when he saw the old Cultivator and the black and white pearls in his hands, he suddenly thought of something.

In his mind, he saw an image from back in the State of Zhao. He saw… the pearl in the hand of Little Tiger! 1

Little Tiger's pearl, and the white pearl in the old man's hand, looked… completely the same! The sensation that Naruto got when he looked at the pearl held by the old man… led him to believe that they were definitely one and the same!

Furthermore, the man-shaped bat looked very similar to the Demon that he had fought so long ago. Even more relevant were the wooden swords inside the seven globes of flame that surrounded it. When Naruto saw them, his mind shook. Those swords were clearly… the same as his Immortal Murdering Swords!

Right now he had five such swords, four originals and one copy!

What gave Naruto even more cause to pant was the third figure within the world of the mirror. That person caused his mind to reel and fill with a roaring sound.

That person… was a homely-looking middle-aged man. He wore a white robe, and his long hair was half black and half white. He did not emit any aura of a Cultivation base, but rather floated there in mid-air, looking almost like he was sealed. The air around him was completely calm and still.

When the Demon Tribes saw him, they trembled, and their Demonic Qi was thrown into chaos, as if it was completely out of control.

When the Cultivators saw him, their eyes filled with reverence. It was almost as if as soon as they looked at him, an intense pressure bore down on them, causing their Cultivation bases to decline!

He was not a member of either side in this battle. He floated there in mid-air, making it seem as if the battlefield were split into three parts, with him being one third!

Within the man's hand was a long, silver spear that appeared to be covered with overlapping scales. The spear was not completely silver; occasionally the scales would turn black.

As soon as Naruto caught sight of the spear, a voice immediately echoed out in his mind.

"Demon Weapon… Lonelytomb!" 2

Although Lonelytomb's Devil Construct was on the verge of dissipating completely, Naruto still had it. It emanated a buzzing sound, like an intense summoning.

In that instant, Naruto suddenly realized who that middle-aged man was floating there in mid-air. Staring fixedly at him, Naruto thought, "Third Generation… Demon Sealer!"

"Little Tiger" Dong Hu was one of the group of four who joined the Reliance Sect at the same time. Naruto encountered him again in chapter 71, where he had the pearl. During Naruto's fight with Shangguan Xiu in chapter 75, Little Tiger loaned him the pearl, which allowed Naruto to temporarily break into the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Naruto returned the pearl to him in chapter 76. You might also be able to deduce that the pearl was even alluded to vaguely in chapter 19 ↩ Demon Weapon Lonelytomb was introduced in chapter

497 ↩

Vol. 4 : Chapter 614

Chapter 614: Seal

It was in this moment that Naruto suddenly realized that the copper mirror in his bag of holding—the same copper mirror that had been with him since the Reliance Sect, that precious treasure which had provided him with such incredible help over the years—had begun vibrating.

The vibrating was not like what had happened in the presence of furred or feathered creatures. This vibration was intense, and seemed to encompass the entire mirror, starting from within.

Naruto was shocked, but his expression didn't change. His gaze flashed as he looked at Demon Weapon Lonelytomb.

The first time he encountered Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, he had received the Devil Construct, incarnated into the Devil Spear. He had also learned how the real Demon Weapon Lonelytomb was sealed within an ancient battlefield.

Naruto also knew that the ancient battlefield had something to do with the Demon Immortal Sect. Once inside the Demon Immortal Sect, he should have been able to use the reaction of the Devil Construct to locate Lonelytomb!

However, throughout all his experiences in the First, Second and Third

Plane, he hadn't been able to find even the slightest trail to follow. And yet here… in the lands of the Fourth Plane… he finally had a trail!

The white-robed man with the black and white hair was none other than… the Third Generation Demon Sealer! And the spear in his hand was none other than… Demon Weapon Lonelytomb!

One man, one spear, hovering in mid-air, splitting everything under Heaven into three parts!

His energy shook the Demon Tribes and leveled immense pressure onto the Cultivators. It was as if in Heaven and Earth, although he might not be the ultimate supremacy, he was still esteemed and respected to the utmost degree.

Naruto's mind trembled as he looked at the Third Generation Demon Sealer, and he began to breathe heavily. This truly was… a Demon Sealer!

When he saw the Third Generation Demon Sealer's energy, Naruto suddenly felt intense anticipation regarding his own path as the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer. He suddenly wished to one day be able to hover in mid-air and split everything under Heaven!

Everything that was happening inside the mirror continent filled Naruto

with shock, and also astonished all of the Cultivators from South Heaven, who were all breathing heavily. It was at this point that the eyes of the emaciated old man flickered. This was none other than the old man who had been first to enter the passageway from the Third Plane. He performed a minor teleportation as he headed toward the mirror below.

The movement immediately attracted the attention of the others. Naruto's eyes glittered as he watched him.

The emaciated old man moved with incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he was standing on the surface of the mirror that made up this huge continent. Then he began to move forward. It almost looked as if he were about to enter the ancient battlefield. However, he actually was only moving across the surface of the mirror.

He abruptly came to a stop after a few breaths of time. He pushed his hand down onto the surface of the mirror, which seemed to stimulate it, causing distortions to appear. Suddenly, a middle-aged man appeared across from the old man, except within the ancient world. He wore a suit of battle armor, and when he lifted up his hand, a fireball appeared, within which could be seen a crimson bird.

Originally, everything visible existed only within the mirror. However, due to the stimulation provided by the old man, and some other unknown reasons, the crimson bird suddenly flew out from inside the mirror.

It seemed to have broken through some sort of seal to fly out from inside the mirror and then appear on the outside!

It was currently shrinking in size, and its flames were growing dim. It looked quite different than it had inside the mirror. And yet, as soon as it appeared on the outside, it emanated a powerful aura!

It wasn't just the flame bird that appeared. Shockingly, a moment later, four beams of light shot out through the distortions. Within these beams of light could be seen two swords, a fan, and a flying shuttle.

The four items flew out explosively just behind the flame bird. As for the old man, he laughed and flew into the air, waving his sleeve toward the flame bird to capture it.

Everyone was shocked at what was happening, and yet, they didn't hesitate. In the blink of an eye, dozens of people flew up into the air toward the four beams of light and the magical items within.

Naruto moved the quickest. Even as the old man was subduing the flame bird, Naruto passed everyone to lay hands on the greencolored flying shuttle.

It was shaped like an awl, and glittered with blinding light. The coldness which emanated off it was oppressive. As soon as Naruto touched it, he felt as if his body was filled with winter. Eyes glittering, he entered the Second Anima and held tightly to the flying shuttle.

His body flickered and he stretched out his left hand. A gale force wind screamed out, causing the Hebi Clan members and Northern Reaches cultivators who were pursuing the fan to be sent tumbling backward. Even as they came to a stop, Naruto closed in and swept his arm to snatch the fan.

The moment he touched it, an indescribable heat exploded out within him. Naruto gave a cold snort and, without hesitation, entered the Fifth Anima!

His powerful fleshly body and shocking cultivation base instantly suppressed the flying shuttle and the fan. They struggled, but couldn't fly out of Naruto's hand. He quickly put them into his bag of holding.

At the same time, the two flying swords were snatched up by others. Fang Yu managed to get one, Hebi Mingkong the other. Everyone else could only watch on with unsightly expressions at the others who had acquired treasures. Then they looked over at the emaciated old man.

The old man finally put away the flame bird. His acquisition was clearly the best of all, which anyone could see. The flame bird was a precious treasure. As for the other items, although they were extraordinary, they couldn't compare.

The old man laughed hoarsely, then glanced over the group from South Heaven. His gaze stopped for a moment on Naruto, whereupon it seemed to fill with dread. Finally, he looked back at the others.

"Fellow Daoists, there is quite a bit of good fortune to be had in this place. There's no need to stare at me collecting things, don't you think?" He chuckled, then backed up a few paces. He lifted up his right hand, and although the move seemed casual, pulsating rings of light could be seen within.

Hebi Mingkong's position amongst the Hebi Clan members had been second only to the now deceased Hebi Mingfeng. He looked at the old man and growled, "There may be more good fortune, but you seem to know a lot more about it than we do."

His words caused the eyes of everyone present to begin to glitter brightly. Clearly, everyone was extremely interested in how the old man had extracted items from within the mirror.

The old man laughed, then slowly began to speak: "Well, it's actually easy to explain. Any of you can do exactly as I did. This is the Fourth Plane, and not many people ever make it here. Therefore, few people in the outside world know much about what it's like.

"The mirror-like continent beneath us is actually a seal. Sealed inside is a battlefield, or perhaps, an entire world.

"Within the seal, time is eternal. If you can stimulate it from the outside, and open a breach, then you can create a storm within the eternal time inside.

"It's like causing a reverse black hole. The objects inside will be sucked out to scatter into the outside world. Of course, that process will cause said objects to be weakened.

"As for exactly how to do it, I don't think you need me to go into a detailed explanation. The battlefield beneath us is enormous, and the potential acquisitions all depend on your own luck." Having finished his explanation, the old man gave a final glance to the crowd of people, then flashed off into the distance at top speed.

Everyone else looked down at the mirror with flashing eyes. They all had their own judgements regarding what the old man had said. However, regardless of anything, it seemed that of what the man had told them, eighty to ninety percent was probably true.

In that case, this place… was a once-in-a-lifetime source of good fortune for all of them!

Everyone exchanged glances. Then the Hebi Clan members scattered, flying in opposite directions. The Cultivators from the Northern Reaches, Southern Domain, and Western Desert also sped off in different directions. Naruto looked at Xu Qing.

"I'm fine by myself," she said with a slight smile. She turned and flew off into the distance, looking for good fortune of her own.

Naruto took a deep breath. He looked down at the world within the mirror for a moment. Then his eyes flickered. He picked a direction and shot off at high speed.

He only had one objective, and that was the Third Generation Demon Sealer!

As for everything else, although it was interesting to him, when compared to the League of Demon Sealers, it was all secondary.

He proceeded onward for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. His brow was furrowed as he considered how strange this place was, especially the three most powerful experts that he had seen. They hovered in mid-air in the world inside the mirror, clearly visible, but unapproachable!

Down below, the mirror continent seemed to be endless and without borders. However, it was possible to sense that far off in the distance, there was in fact an end to it all. However, once on the actual surface of the mirror continent, it truly seemed limitless. Even after moving forward for a long time, the Third Demon Sealer still seemed far, far away.

Naruto was muttering to himself about this when suddenly his eyes flashed. Not too far away he had caught sight of a magical battle taking place within the world of the mirror.

There were two Cultivators fighting with a mass of black fog. Magical techniques spread about in all directions and magical items slammed out in attack. When he caught sight of the magical items, Naruto's eyes began to glitter.

One of the items was a golden leaf that he wouldn't originally have paid much attention to. However, Naruto happened to have noticed that upon the surface of the golden leaf was a pattern that looked like a lotus.

It was a made up of ten swords, shaped together to look like a lotus!

It looked exactly like Naruto's own Lotus Sword Formation. He couldn't help but make an "eee?" sound as soon as he saw it. He looked at it closely for a moment, then lifted up his right hand and punched down. The punch caused the surface of the mirror to tremble. Distortions appeared, transforming into something that looked like a vortex. However, they quickly dissipated.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he entered the Fifth Anima. A boom could be heard from his fleshly body as he punched down again. The vortex instantly formed again, along with a black hole. An enormous gravitational force appeared inside of the mirror world, causing three magical items to suddenly be sucked in.

Next, those very three magical items flew out beneath Naruto's feet. One of the items was cracked in the process and instantly exploded. The other two shot off in two different directions at top speed, apparently possessed of sentience.

Naruto performed a minor teleportation, then transformed into a green smoke and a black moon. He reappeared in mid-air, and snatched his hand out to grab the golden leaf. It emanated a buzzing sound as well as a blinding light, and apparently intended to cut Naruto's hand in half.

Naruto let out a cold snort, then flicked his sleeve to collect up the golden leaf. He pushed two fingers down hard onto its surface, preventing it from struggling and flying away.

A look of happiness appeared in his eyes as he collected it up. But then he looked back down at the world in the mirror, and his mind trembled.

It was at this point that he noticed that the golden leaf he had just acquired, as well as the item which had exploded and the other item which had escaped, were… still inside the world of the mirror.

"Are they simply ghosts?" he thought. "Or are the items which flew out perhaps not real?" He frowned as he thought back to how the copper mirror had begun to vibrate earlier.

After some more thought, Naruto suddenly trembled and looked back down at the lands inside the mirror world.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Daniel Dunn, Thunder PKO, Tomislav Fistric, Salim Mudrik Baraba, Christophe Barry, Ibrahim Tamra Aktürk, and Yanuar Yaputra_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 615

Chapter 615: Speculation and Cooperation

"This continent is like a mirror, and within the mirror is a battlefield," murmured Naruto. "The objects on the battlefield can emerge into the outside. However… those same objects still remain on the battlefield inside the mirror….

"This… this…." Naruto's mind was filled with intense rumbling. He was starting to feel that he knew what was happening, but the explanation caused him to begin to pant, and his face to flicker.

"Strange, it's so similar to the copper mirror and its duplication powers!" That was what caused him to be so agitated.

He was the only person who could make such a connection. No one else had his copper mirror, nor did they know of the mirror's Heaven-defying qualities. Therefore, it would naturally be impossible for anyone to reach the same conclusion.

After all, everyone's thinking is limited by the scope of what they know. Thinking outside of one's own scope is something extremely difficult.

Naruto's breathing grew heavier the more he thought about it. The situation just seemed to become more and more bizarre. His eyes flickered, and he suddenly leaped up into the air. He did not proceed along in the same direction he had been traveling, but rather, went straight up into the air.

As he rose up, his heart began to pound faster, and he grew more nervous. He had possessed the copper mirror for many years now, and in the past, he had often wondered where it came from. However, the meat jelly and parrot were always very enigmatic when it came to the subject. Every time he brought it up, they acted like it was some type of taboo. The parrot would even begin to fume with rage.

Naruto had tried to get information about it on numerous occasions, all to no avail. Eventually, he put the matter to rest inwardly. Now, however, he had the feeling that he suddenly had an opportunity to understand more about the copper mirror!

It was in such a mental state that he flew higher and higher. Moments later, he had reached the highest area possible. Down below, the continent stretched out in all directions. He took a deep breath as he lowered his head to look down.

As before, the continent looked completely endless. The surface was sleek and glossy, and it was impossible to see what the continent actually was shaped like.

"I could keep going and look for the border. Maybe I can find some answers there.

"Or, I could take out the copper mirror and shine it down. Perhaps… that would reveal some clues!" He thoughtfully rubbed his bag of holding, a profound look gleaming in his eyes.

He had the feeling that if he produced the copper mirror, but nothing happened, then it wouldn't really matter. However, if any types of transformations did occur, then… they would certainly be enough to shake Heaven and Earth. In fact, considering how many people were here, it would be impossible to keep the matter of the copper mirror hidden unless he killed everyone.

"The copper mirror is the most mysterious object I possess. I can't let anyone know that I possess it, otherwise it will lead to terrible calamity.

"'The innocent man will be lead to disaster by possessing a treasured object!'" Naruto's eyes glittered. He had been intelligent even as a child, and had experienced the law of the jungle in the Cultivation world. The truth of what would happen should he reveal the copper mirror was something he knew all too well.

After some thought, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he turned to look off into the distance, a cold smile tugging at his lips.

Even as he smiled, distortions appeared in the air in the direction in which he was looking. An old man emerged. It was none other than the emaciated Cultivator from before. He had been approaching in secret, but as soon as he neared, had been detected by Naruto. Without waiting for Naruto to say anything, he revealed himself.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, your Cultivation base is extraordinary. It seems I've incurred your ridicule." The old man laughed and then clasped hands and bowed.

Seeing that Naruto wasn't going to say anything, the old man smiled and continued, "My name is Han Danzi 1, a rogue Cultivator from the Southern Domain. Your fame has resounded like thunder in my ears for many years, Fellow Daoist Naruto. Grandmaster Pill Cauldron is an example for all Cultivators like myself. I can't tell you how happy I am to be able to meet you here in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect."

"Did you really secretly follow me just to say some fawning words?" said

Naruto, a cold glint in his eyes. "State your purpose."

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, you don't beat around the bush!" He laughed, apparently ignoring Naruto's tone of voice. "I could see you hesitating about what to do earlier. I'm not sure exactly what you were thinking about, but I was curious, so I followed you.

"However, now that you mention it, I actually do have something interesting to share with you.

"The greatest treasures hidden in this place are not the magical items of the Cultivators and the Demon Tribes, but rather… the objects held in the hands of those three Paragons. Whether it be the spear, the seven globes of fire and wood, or those two pearls, each and every one are shocking precious treasures.

"Any one of them would enable a Cultivator to murder an Immortal!" As Han Danzi spoke, he observed Naruto to see how he might react. However, Naruto's expression did not reveal even the slightest bit of a change in his mood.

"This guy is smart and has a rock-hard will," thought Han Danzi with an imperceptible frown. "I won't be able to fool him easily…."

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he looked coldly at the old man. For some reason, the old man caused a feeling of vigilance rose up within him. He appeared to be at the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, not very far from Spirit Severing.

However, what he had accomplished earlier with the flame bird was not something that a great circle Nascent Soul Cultivator should be able do. This man clearly was hiding something mysterious. Perhaps others might not be able to sense it, but as the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, Naruto could tell that the man actually had two auras.

The first contained the ripples of a Cultivator's Cultivation base. The other… was deeply hidden, and had… Demonic Qi!

This Demonic Qi was borderline vile!

Han Danzi looked at Naruto and said, "I can't get the treasured items of those three Paragons by myself. That is why I hope to form a cooperation with you, Elder Brother Naruto. After we acquire the treasures, we can split them evenly."

"Which one do you want to acquire?" asked Naruto, his eyes glittering.

"The seven globes of fire belonging to the Demon Tribes Paragon, of course," said Han Danzi with a smile. "At the very least, we can extract one for each of us. That way we won't waste any energy."

Naruto also smiled. He did not refuse, but instead, nodded in agreement.

Seeing Naruto agree so easily caused vigilance to rise up within Han Danzi. Previously, of all the people who came from South Heaven, he had paid closest attention to Patriarch Harishama.

However, he had recently been shocked to sense that Patriarch Harishama had been killed. Later, when laid eyes on Naruto, he understood that Patriarch Harishama was most likely killed by him.

When he thought about his own techniques and trump cards, Han Danzi felt at ease. With a hearty laugh, he and Naruto turned into colorful beams of light that shot off into the distance.

Naruto didn't speak at all. He temporarily suppressed any notions of producing the copper mirror. Now was not the time. He needed to wait until the right critical juncture had arrived, then he would pull out the copper mirror to see if it provoked any transformations.

It seemed that Han Danzi was bringing him to just such a critical juncture.

Of course, Han Danzi was wrapped up in his own thoughts as the two of them proceeded onward. Before long, they reached what was actually the very center of the whole continent.

"The locations of the three Paragons are actually where the seal is strongest over this ancient battlefield," said Han Danzi with a smile. "There are some special restrictive spells which prevent anyone from even getting close.

"However, I happen to know of a special technique. I tested it out earlier, and it seems possible to bypass the restrictive spells. However, it requires a certain level of Cultivation base. Elder Brother Naruto, considering how extraordinary your Cultivation base is, I don't think you will have any problems." With that, he shot down toward the continent below. He quickly performed an incantation with his right hand, then pushed down onto the surface of the continent.

Instantly, the land shook, and Naruto could see a vortex forming inside the mirror. There was no black hole within it, though, and it maintained its shape. At the same time, Han Danzi took a deep breath and lifted his hand back up. Then he stood; the vortex remained within the mirror.

Han Danzi turned to look at Naruto.

"Elder Brother Naruto, presumably, you know what to do. I'll wait for you up ahead." With that, his body flickered and he moved forward. As he moved, the vortex beneath his feet followed him.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he watched Han Danzi proceed onward for what appeared to be several hundred meters. However, he had actually not traveled for several hundred meters, but several hundred kilometers!

"Interesting," murmured Naruto. He moved down toward the surface of the land, then landed on its surface. After that he lifted his foot up and slammed it down onto the ground. A boom could be heard, and then, shockingly, a vortex appeared beneath his feet inside the world of the mirror.

It maintained its vortex state, not forming into a black hole, but rather, connecting to Naruto's Cultivation base. Then Naruto proceeded forward. For every meter he moved… he actually moved half a kilometer!

"What a technique!" he thought, his eyes flickering. He couldn't help but think that if this technique could be used in the outside world, it would definitely be considering an incredibly powerful divine ability.

Using this technique, Naruto and Han Danzi moved what appeared to be several hundred meters, but was in fact hundreds of kilometers. They sped along at top speed within the center region of the mirror continent.

At the same time, the other Cultivators from South Heaven were in other locations, attempting to acquire their own bits of good fortune. They continued to stimulate the surface of the land, attempting to cause it to spit out magical items. However, most of the magical items ended up being destroyed in the process of emerging.

Few of the Cultivators were actually able to acquire anything.

Even still, the mirror-like land was like a huge treasure trove for everyone. All of the Cultivators who had come to this place were profoundly wise and intelligent, and soon, their glittering eyes came to be drawn to the center region of the land. That was clearly the location of the three most powerful experts who split everything under the Heavens.

In fact, there were more than a few people who were trying to make their way in that very direction.

Two hours passed. Shockingly, Naruto and Han Danzi had just appeared in the area near the Greater Demon with the seven rotating globes of fire.

A strange light appeared in Han Danzi's eyes. He took a deep breath as he exchanged a glance with Naruto. At the same time, he began to rotate his Cultivation base. Naruto directly entered the Fifth Anima; his fleshly body was shocking, and his Cultivation base boundless. Han Danzi's eyes flickered as he too unleashed his full power. The twisted Demonic Qi within him also began to circulate.

The two attacked the surface of the land together, causing an enormous rumbling to fill the air. The two vortexes beneath them in the world of the mirror suddenly touched each other. They merged, then suddenly ripped open an enormous black hole.

The gravitational force that suddenly surged out was impossible to describe. However… it was incapable of causing the seven globules of fire to even tremble in the slightest. In contrast, quite a few other magical items in the area were sucked into the vortex.

Ten magical items were sucked in, but only five flew out. They shot up into the air in beams of prismatic light. Han Danzi's eyes flickered, but he did nothing to attempt to take them. Naruto's eyes also flashed, yet he did not chase after the items either.

Both of the men were wrapped up in their own thoughts as they watched the five beams of light shoot like beautiful pearls up into the sky.

At the same time, the other Cultivators from South Heaven watched on in shock. The looked at the five beams of light, and could sense the intense ripples emanating out from within.

"Incredible treasure!" That was the thought that ran through all of their minds. Their eyes shone brightly as they flew up into the air. In the blink of an eye, nearly all of the South Heaven Cultivators flew from all directions toward the five beams of light.

—–

Han Danzi

wp-content/uploads/2016/04/han_ 3

Han Danzi's name in Chinese is 韩丹子 hán dān zǐ. Han is a common family name, and yes, it is the same character as Han Bei. That doesn't mean they are related, although the possibility couldn't be precluded based on the name alone. Dan means "red" or "pellet." Zi means "child" or "son" ↩

Vol. 4 : Chapter 616

Chapter 616: Demonic Qi Explodes to the Sky!

Rumbling echoed out in all directions. As the South Heaven Cultivators flew toward the five beams of light, fighting broke out. The sounds of magical techniques and divine abilities resounded through the air, mixed with growls and cold snorts. In the time it takes for a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, the five incredible treasures were divided up.

Han Danzi looked up into the air and then said, "Fellow Daoists, those five incredible treasures were released by the combined effort of Fellow Daoist Naruto and myself. For you to act in such a way is somewhat improper…."

By now, the South Heaven Cultivators up above had taken notice of Naruto and Han Danzi down below.

"If you are interested, Fellow Daoists, we can all work together to open up the greatest treasures hidden in this place. We can release them together. What do you think, Fellow Daoists?" Han Danzi wore a smile on his face, but within his eyes was a strange, imperceptible glow. Out of the corner of his eyes, he watched Naruto carefully.

That was because he hadn't consulted with Naruto before speaking, and his offer just now did not fall in line with his previous explanation. Clearly, what he needed was not just the help of Naruto alone, but rather, the combined assistance of almost all of the South Heaven Cultivators.

At the moment, Han Danzi was simply incapable of reading Naruto's expression. From the very beginning until this moment, it hadn't changed at all. The more Naruto acted in such a way, the more Han Danzi felt unsure of himself.

The main reason he had sought out Naruto was because of his Cultivation base. It wasn't just him who looked at Naruto in such a way. Although no one would admit it, most of them had already taken Naruto to have the most powerful Cultivation base of the entire group.

Therefore, having Naruto at his side made Han Danzi's words even more persuasive. After all, when an expert planned some sort of scheme, it would by no means be a small plan.

Up in mid-air, the eyes of the other Cultivators flickered, but no one spoke. Although these people had all been conned by Naruto earlier, that was because of the circumstances. It was impossible for them to not get excited right now. Of course, in the outside world, any one of the group could be considered extraordinarily intelligent. As such, they only believed about one third of what Han Danzi told them.

Fang Yu suddenly spoke up, "If some precious treasure appears, how do we split it up?"

"I will swear a Dao oath, I will vow on my heart of cultivation. It doesn't matter how many precious treasures appear, I only want one fire globe!" Han Danzi spoke with decisiveness that could chop nails and slice iron.

"Besides," he continued solemnly, his words ringing out like the peals of a golden bell, "if I violated my oath, if I went back on my word, not only would it sever my path of cultivation, but I would never be able to find safe haven in any of your various Sects and Clans back in the lands of South Heaven."

The South Heaven Cultivators up in mid-air looked on thoughtfully. It

was actually exactly as Han Danzi said. Although their Cultivation bases might not be incredibly high, they were all backed by Sects and Clans that could be considered major powers. Therefore, in some ways, they weren't worried at all about Han Danzi reneging on his promise.

Everyone exchanged glances. All were thinking different things, but of course, they wouldn't casually allow others to see that based on their facial expression. Gradually, all eyes came to fall on Naruto.

"I too simply require a pledge in the form of a Dao oath," he said coolly.

At first everything was quiet, but after a moment, the Hebi Clan members flew down toward the surface of the ground. After that was Fang Yu, and then the other Cultivators from the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches. Their eyes flickered as they neared.

However, it wasn't each and every South Heaven Cultivator that came. Xu Qing as well as some of the others weren't present.

Han Danzi smiled and then began to explain to everyone how to approach the center district. As they waited for everyone to arrive, Han Danzi clasped hands and bowed apologetically to Naruto.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto," he said in a sincere tone, "it's not that I changed my mind. As you can clearly see, by relying only on our power, it would be difficult to cause the precious treasures to appear. Only by combining power with the others will we be able to succeed.

"I hope you can forgive me." He bowed deeply once more. Then he lifted up his right hand, within which could be seen a jade pendant shaped like a dragon.

"I acquired this pendant earlier which can be considered an excellent treasure. It can summon an enormous dragon which spits out a sea. Fellow Daoist Naruto, please accept it as a token of my apology." With that, he sent the pendant floating out toward Naruto.

Naruto's face was expressionless as he first looked over the pendant and then scanned it with Divine Sense. There didn't seem to be anything suspicious about it, so he casually waved his sleeve to collect it up.

"Thank you, Fellow Daoist Han Danzi," he said coolly.

Han Danzi watched calmly as Naruto accepted the pendant. Inwardly, he was a bit suspicious. Naruto's completely expressionless demeanor made it difficult for him to keep his thoughts straight.

"Hmph," he thought to himself. "He's just some kid from the younger generation. Although he might be a profound schemer, he has his limits. Besides, I already made it clear to everyone that all I want is one globe of fire. I simply don't believe that this Naruto will be able to create problems for me out of nothing." He was laughing coldly on the inside, but on the outside, he was smiling from ear to ear.

The two of them sat down cross-legged to meditate. Two hours passed, after which the other South Heaven Cultivators arrived one after another. No one spoke. They focused their power together to stab into one particular spot on the surface of the ground. Intense rumbling resulted, and a gigantic whirlpool appeared inside the world of the mirror.

The vortex spun rapidly, and then transformed into a black hole. Immediately, an assortment of magical items were sucked in. Many were shattered in the process, but more than ten beams of light appeared in the outside to shoot up into the sky.

The light from the treasures was blinding, and instantly attracted the attention of the crowd. However, just as quickly, everyone, including Naruto, looked back at the world of the mirror. Inside, the vortex was still there, as was the gravitational force of the black hole. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to be powerful enough to suck away the seven globes of fire surrounding the Greater Demon.

And yet… it was obvious that the two globes of fire nearest the black hole were beginning to ripple and distort. From the look of it, if the power of the black hole was increased, they might actually move. "One more time!" snapped Han Danzi, staring fixedly at the globes of fire. The full power of his Cultivation base exploded out. As the power built up, the eyes of the others flickered, and they too began to unleash the power of their Cultivation bases.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he was in the Sixth Anima.

BOOM!

Everyone attacked again. This time, the intensity of the vibrations seemed enough to cause earthquakes and shatter mountains. A vortex appeared inside the world of the mirror that was even larger than before. The black hole that magically appeared afterward caused the two globes of fire nearest the black hole to begin to distort violently. Finally, they began to move.

As the globes moved, everything dimmed, and the majestic aura of a precious treasure poured into the black hole and was then released in the outside. A thunderous roar filled the air, and as they sensed the aura, everyone was completely shocked. The intensity of this aura was such that it seemed it could extinguish Immortals!

Naruto's pupils constricted. The aura he was sensing from the wooden swords in the seven globes of light far, far exceeded that of the wooden swords in his bag of holding. However, it was also clear that they were… one and the same!

There was no need for Han Danzi to say anything else. A gleam of longing appeared in the eyes of the South Heaven Cultivators as they once again unleashed the explosive power of their Cultivation bases, along with their most powerful divine abilities and magical techniques.

As for Han Danzi, he took a deep breath. The borderline evil Demonic Qi on him that only Naruto could sense suddenly superseded the fluctuations of a Cultivator that existed within him. It was as if he had just become a Demon!

Naruto entered the Seventh Anima, which meant that he had a Spirit Severing fleshly body. Along with the others, he continued to levy attacks against the surface of the ground.

The entire area was covered with cracks. Although they sealed back up almost immediately, a huge vortex nearly thirty meters wide exploded out inside the world of the mirror.

The edges of the vortex seemed to be just on the verge of actually touching the wooden swords within the globes of flame.

Everyone was panting, and their eyes were focused on the spinning vortex as it transformed into a shocking black hole!

When the black hole appeared, shockingly, three of the seven globes of fire that contained wooden swords, began to ripple and vibrate. Suddenly… they started moving!

The scene caused the gazes of the South Heaven Cultivators to grow as sharp as knives. Their Cultivation bases were in full rotation as they waited for the precious treasures to emerge, whereupon the fighting would begin.

Time passed. It was only the space of about ten breaths, but in the minds of everyone present, it seemed like an eternity. They watched the three globes of fire moving gradually closer to the black hole. They seemed to be struggling, but the power of the black hole caused them to slowly get closer and closer.

The power source of the black hole's gravitational force was not the South Heaven Cultivators, but rather, the interaction between the world outside of the mirror, and the world within. The function of the Cultivators was merely to release that power.

The gravitational force exerted by the black hole was so strong that it wasn't just the three globes of fire that were affected. Also affected was the extremely lifelike Greater Demon around whom the fire globes rotated.

Nearer…. Nearer….

In the blink of an eye, one of the wooden swords within the fire globule vanished into of the black hole. Everyone stopped breathing momentarily. In that instant, shockingly, a wooden sword shot out from beneath their feet. It burst up toward the sky in a beam of light that resembled an unrolling bolt of silk.

The Hebi Clan members instantly shot up into the air to pursue the beam of light.

Next, two more swords shot out, their Sword Qi shining like a rainbow.

Coldness radiated out, causing everyone to feel as if they were freezing.

However, the burning within their hearts could not be frozen over. Fang Yu, the group from the Northern Reaches, and all the other Cultivators, instantly shot up into the air to pursue the treasured wooden swords.

In the instant in which they flew up in pursuit, the three wooden swords began to emanate an even more shocking energy. Boundless ripples shot out into the sky, which caused anything within fluctuations to suddenly move exponentially slower. It was as if the swords created their own area of time and space.

Naruto immediately shot up after the three wooden swords, and Han Danzi followed.

It appeared that the two would begin to fight over the wooden swords. However, it turned out that Han Danzi only appeared to have been moving up. He almost immediately sank back down. As everyone else shot after the precious treasures, he prostrated himself on the ground, biting his tongue to spit out a mouthful of blood. The blood instantly turned into a thin stream which extended out toward the black hole in the world of the mirror. It emerged from the black hole in the mirror world, and then neared the body of the Greater Demon which had been sucked toward the black hole.

"Ancestor Spirit, your posterity of the younger generation have not forgotten you! I have come today to welcome your power back into the world!" As his words rang out, the eyes of the Greater Demon flickered with intelligence. It allowed the stream of blood to circle around its body, then tighten around it and begin to drag it toward the black hole.

Everything shook violently, and booming sounds filled the air. Suddenly, an enormous vortex appeared in front of Han Danzi, thousands of meters wide. A strange, demonic sound emerged from within the vortex; it sounded like people both weeping and laughing.

Suddenly, an enormous head, fully three hundred meters large… began to rise up from within the water-like surface of the world beneath!

Demonic Qi…

Exploded up into the sky!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by ÆTze Boersma, SeanL, Filipe de Almeida_

 _Araujo Vital, Stefan from Sweden, and Li Yang_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 617

Chapter 617: Land of the Three Saints

Scattered patches of hair could be seen on the enormous, three hundred meter large head, as well as three, pitch-black horns. It was as gray as death, and wrinkles covered its skin. The facial features somewhat resembled a man, but even more-so, a lion.

It emanated a fearsome, archaic aura that, as soon as it appeared, swept across the entire Fourth Plane, which began to shake violently.

An enormous vortex, tens of thousands of meters wide, circulated around the entire area. Amidst the rumbling, a wild wind swept through the entire area, shaking everything.

Han Danzi prostrated himself beneath the head, his expression one of excitement. His appearance was now changing, and he no longer looked human. Three black horns had sprouted from his head, and he looked very similar to the enormous head up above him.

"Your posterity of the younger generation welcomes the return of the power of the ancestry!" cried Han Danzi excitedly. As his voice rang out, he seemed to form a connection with the enormous head. A shocking power began to fuse into his body!

His hair whipped about, his clothes flapped. He should have been tossed about like a leaf within the maelstrom, but instead, from his aura, it seemed that he was accepting some type of legacy.

The head appeared to be three hundred meters large, but in the blink of an eye it was suddenly far larger. It was now three thousand meters large. A breath of time later, it was back to three hundred meters. They were like ghost images, distorting the world. Rumbling rose up into the sky. All of the crowds up in mid-air who were chasing after the wooden swords didn't even have a chance to begin fighting over the precious treasures before the scene unfolding caused them to be thoroughly astonished.

The wild wind raged, sweeping across everything. Everyone up above was sent spinning out of control, causing their faces to fill with unprecedented expressions of astonishment.

"What… what is that thing!?"

"Dammit! He's actually trying to release a Greater Demon from inside the mirror!"

"Isn't that Demon one of three major powers inside the mirror world?

Who is this guy!?"

Shocked, everyone began to fall back. The rest of the Cultivators in the land, the ones not participating in the events in the central region, including Xu Qing, were all incredibly shocked. They, too, were incapable of preventing themselves from being swept up. They transformed into beams of light that shot through the air.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he hovered in mid-air in the Seventh Anima, with a Spirit Severing fleshly body and a Cultivation base of sixty-four great circle Nascent Souls. Such power made it that, although he hovered unstably, he was still able to remain in place and balanced within the vortex and the tempest.

As he looked down at the surface of the land, and his eyes narrowed. He knew that Han Danzi had been plotting something, but he had never imagined that the plan would be so astonishing!

As of this moment, a deafening roar filled the enormous vortex, the source being none other than the enormous head emerging from within the world of the mirror. The sound echoed back and forth like thunder.

It caused everyone, even the Cultivators off in the distance, to cough up blood. Han Danzi was unaffected, and Naruto's face was only a bit pale. Other than the two them, everyone else felt their mind spinning, as if they were stuck in some interminable illusion.

By now, the head of the Greater Demon was more than seventy percent emerged. Its nose was visible, and its facial features were clearer. There was an enormous, ferocious-looking wound ripped into its face.

Anyone who even glanced at the Greater Demon would immediately feel as if their mind was being absorbed. Before they even realized it, pulses of terror would be racing through them.

Demonic Qi exploded up, filling the area, intrinsically potent. In the blink of an eye, all other power of Heaven and Earth was expelled from the world by this powerful Demonic Qi.

All of a sudden, the entire world became… a Demon world!

Han Danzi trembled, his face burning with passion. The physical changes to him continued at high speed. His aura exploded up, and his connection to the head grew even more complete.

At the same time, all of the power of Heaven and Earth that was not Demonic Qi rushed up to the top of the world, which was none other than deep tunnel everyone had traveled through to get to this place.

A rumbling sound could be heard as the energy successfully entered the tunnel. The countless vines inside withered in the blink of an eye. They vanished without a trace as the expelled power of Heaven and Earth shot out into the outside world.

If you could stand outside of that deep pit, what you would see would be an exploding pillar of Qi that shot up into the sky. Successive layers of ripples then emanated out in all directions, sweeping over everything.

Although the process had just begun inside the Fourth Plane… it is easy to imagine how quickly everything was changing because of the emergence of the Greater Demon from within the world of the mirror.

When the changes were complete… everyone else inside would either be dead, or would be transformed by the Demonic Qi. Their souls would be transformed, and their Cultivation bases would change on a fundamental level. They would no longer be Cultivators, but Demons!

Naruto's face flickered as he looked up into the sky at all the people from South Heaven. The vortex was spinning faster, and as it did, everyone was lapsing into a stupor. Fang Yu, the Hebi Clan, the Cultivators from the Northern Reaches and Southern Domain, Wang Lihai, Han Bei, Li Tiandao, Li Shiqi, and also Xu Qing….

Everyone seemed to be lapsing into an illusion. Their faces were twisted, and their teeth were clenched. Occasionally they let out cold laughs, other times their expressions were blank. It was bizarre to the extreme.

Demonic Qi was coalescing around their bodies, clearly beginning to make some illusory changes.

Han Danzi continued to prostrate himself on the ground. "Land of the

Three Saints. The power of the ancestor returns, a legacy for me, Han Danzi. Everyone here are my sacrificial objects. Their bodies will be changed, their spirits will be assimilated. If they don't die in the process, then they will no longer be Cultivators, but Demons!

"They will become my Demon horde, and will follow by my side as I use the power of the ancestor to battle with the Heavens!" He trembled as his words echoed out through the vortex.

At the same time, the vortex which spun around the head of the Greater Demon was no longer tens of thousands of meters wide. It expanded again until it was nearly three hundred thousand meters wide, shocking to the extreme. By this point, the top lip of the Great Demon was now visible.

It was now possible to see that the head did not just have one wound on it, but rather, three. One of the wounds appeared to be on its lips, making it so that the creature did not have two lips, but four!

Also visible… were sharp, black fangs! This Greater Demon's physical appearance was savage to the extreme!

More Demonic Qi roiled about, and the rumbling sounds grew more intense.

Naruto's eyes glittered. "This is the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Mukui isn't dead. He couldn't possibly ignore what is happening here, could he? And what about Tsukino? Her attitude is difficult to discern.

"So… why hasn't Mukui made an appearance?

"It doesn't matter. I can't place all my hope in him…." Although he could afford not to care too much about the others, Xu Qing was here. Also, the others owed a lot of Spirit Stones. If a few died, he could handle it. However, if they all died… well, that was something Naruto just couldn't agree to let happen.

His eyes filled with a bright glow and he took a deep breath. He closed his eyes for a moment, then reopened them.

The moment he opened his eyes, Naruto entered… the Eighth Anima!

BOOM!

In the Eighth Anima, his fleshly body grew even more powerful. In the

Seventh Anima, it was of the Spirit Severing stage, but in the Eighth Anima, it reached an even more terrifying level. His Cultivation base exploded out, not with the power of sixty-four great circle Nascent Souls, but rather, one hundred twenty-eight!

Such incredible power caused profound changes. Naruto suddenly appeared in mid-air in the wild vortex, buffeted by the spinning winds. Roaring surrounded him as what appeared to be countless shapeless bolts of lightning exploded out.

His right hand formed into a fist that punched directly toward the passageway high up in the sky. The punch contained not just the full power of his Cultivation base, but also, the Mountain Consuming Incantation!

An enormous mountain peak appeared, which was none other than… the Fourth Peak! The image was somewhat indistinct, but as soon as it appeared, roaring sounds echoed out. It shot toward the passageway. As it flew through the air, parts of it disintegrated and fell apart, but by the time it reached its destination it was still half intact.

The mountain shot at top speed toward the passageway, and as it neared, Naruto uttered a single word:

"Collapse!"

As soon as the word left his mouth, the illusory mountain stopped in mid-air and exploded, sending out a sound like endless thunder. The volume exceeded the rumbling of the vortex, transforming into shocking sound waves that swept across the world.

Because of the sound, all of the others, including Xu Qing, were mentally shaken. The illusion which gripped them temporarily vanished, and their eyes grew clear. Then their faces filled with astonishment.

Naruto looked up at them and roared, "Why haven't you left yet!?" He performed a double-handed incantation, and immediately tempest winds exploded out from him to fight back against the vortex. Instantly, the vortex was weakened.

Fang Yu gasped and looked down at Naruto. She looked anxious, but at the same time determined. Her body flickered as she neared Xu Qing. Even as Xu Qing was gazing at Naruto, Fang Yu grabbed her.

"Let's go," she said. "He won't stop worrying until you're out of here!"

Xu Qing hesitated, but didn't struggle. She looked back at Naruto one more time, and an indescribable feeling welled up in her heart. She thought back to that year outside the Rebirth Cave. It was a scene just like this one, in which she… was no help at all to Naruto.

The South Heaven Cultivators were panting in astonishment at the terrifying scene playing out. One by one, they began to fly up toward the passageway over head. As they shot through the air and then entered into the passageway, they heard Naruto's voice.

"I saved your lives, which means you owe me. If you dare to not pay me back, things won't be finished between us!"

As everyone disappeared into the passageway, the expulsion power shoved them up, causing them shoot upward. It was in that same instant that the head of the Greater Demon completely emerged from within the mirror!

Off to the side, Han Danzi looked up at Naruto, and at everyone leaving through the passageway.

Vol. 4 : Chapter 618

Chapter 618 (Click to show)

Chapter 618: Mountain and Sea Mirror!

"They can't escape from within the Land of the Three Saints," said Han Danzi. "Although this is only a Divine Clone of the ancestor, if I can unseal it, it will still be beneficial for the Demon Immortal Sect. The spirits of the Demon Immortal Sect won't offer help, but won't resist either. Not even true spirit Night will wake up because of this. Sleeping Night is intelligent, but awakened Night has no mind. It will not awaken, because it does not wish to awaken!

"This is the body of true spirit Night, where its brain exists. They won't be able to escape, nor flee the Demon Immortal Sect. When the ancestor's Divine Clone is fully fused with me, they will become my Demon horde!

"As for you, Naruto… you will be beneath the sacred ancestor and myself to act as Dharma protector!"

"Oh yeah?" replied Naruto, looking coldly at Han Danzi. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pointed down at the land. At the same time, the Demonic Qi in the area began to swirl around Naruto.

Whistling sounds could be heard intermittently. Naruto suddenly began to perform an incantation gesture which seemed to cause everything in the area to tremble.

In that instant, all of the Demonic Qi in the entire world began to rotate, as if it were being pulled. Every region began to distort, making the entire world seem as if it were being twisted.

The sight of it caused Han Danzi's face to fill with a look of shock.

"You… you can actually affect Demonic Qi!" he said hoarsely. "How can that be? You're a Cultivator, you cultivate the power of Heaven and Earth. That's different than Demonic Qi. They can't be mixed! How can you manipulate Demonic Qi!?" He was thoroughly shaken, as this was his first time ever seeing Demonic Qi being manipulated by a Cultivator.

As far as he was concerned, it was inconceivable and unbelievable. Most importantly, it was clear that Naruto's manipulation of the Demonic Qi was real, and not an illusion. It was in complete contrast to himself. Whereas his apparent manipulation of Demonic Qi was actually trickery, Naruto really was stirring all of the Demonic Qi in the entire world.

Even as Han Danzi was feeling shaken, Naruto took a deep breath. He could sense a resonance between himself and this world. In the outside world, he was incapable of absorbing the power of Heaven and Earth. However, in this place, it was as if a hole had been opened up, and all the Demonic Qi was rushing into it without the slightest impediment.

And yet, it didn't cause any transformations within him whatsoever. Inside of him, it turned into pure power. It was not Demonic Qi, nor was it spiritual energy. It was a unique power that belonged only to Naruto.

That power circulated about within him, filling him with an indescribably pleasurable sensation. A bizarre light shone in his eyes as he looked down at Han Danzi and the giant head floating there in mid-air.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!" said Naruto slowly. It almost sounded as if he were issuing orders. The words echoed about like the peals of thunder.

Four words exploded like thunder. Four words… spoken by Naruto!

As the words sounded out like thunder, all of the Demonic Qi around Naruto began to coalesce together. In the blink of an eye, the enormous character for 'seal' appeared directly in front of him.

The character was fully three hundred meters tall, and it absorbed more and more Demonic Qi as it shot down toward the ground.

In this moment, within the Eighth Anima, Naruto was… the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer!

The speed with which the character moved was indescribable. Han Danzi's face filled with disbelief as he felt an unprecedented pressure weighing down on him, along with a sense of deadly crisis. All of a sudden, he realized that Naruto was his archenemy.

Or perhaps it could be said that he was the archenemy of all Greater Demons!

Han Danzi began to pant, and suddenly, he recalled a legend.

"According to legend, within the Nine Mountains and Seas, there are a people who can cultivate the Dao and can also fuse with Demons. No type of expulsion is effective on them. They call themselves… Demon Sealers!

"The character 'seal' has two meanings. One is to restrict, the other is to aid!" 1 Han Danzi's mind trembled as the 'seal' character formed of Demonic Qi descended. All of the Demonic Qi seemed to be affected, making it so that Han Danzi was incapable of dodging or evading. He could only try to fight back directly.

A huge boom lifted up into the sky. Blood sprayed from Han Danzi's mouth as, in the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by glowing hex light. From a distance, the hex light looked liked strands of silk, binding up Han Danzi.

It sealed his life force, sealed his Cultivation base, sealed all of him. It sealed him, and it sealed the enormous head.

Shockingly, the light of the Eighth Hex also thoroughly enveloped the enormous head. From a distance, it looked as if there were some enormous net covering over it.

The giant net was fused with the ground in the area, and pulled down viciously. Blood oozed out of Han Danzi's mouth, and he trembled. Unable to control his body, he kneeled down onto the ground, his expression vicious. It sounded like he wanted to roar with rage, but was incapable of making a single sound come out of his throat.

Beneath the power of the Eighth Hex's giant net, the head slowly stopped emerging out. In fact, it began to show signs of sinking back. Naruto hovered in mid-air, trembling slightly, his finger still pointing down at the ground. From the time he became a Demon Sealer until now, this was his first time… truly sealing a Demon.

The Demonic Qi in the area continued to rush toward him. He alone had shaken the world and used its power to push down a Demon.

Han Danzi was pushed down closer toward the ground, his face pale, his eyes filled with frenzy and an unyielding look. The giant head sank back, and soon, half of its mouth was back in the other world.

However it was then that… the Greater Demon in the world of the mirror suddenly looked up. Its gaze seemed to pierce out from the mirror into the outside world.

A strange look appeared in its eyes, and its mouth twisted into a smile.

"TAI!" it said. As the bizarre word echoed out, a change occurred to the giant head emerging from within the mirror world. The aura of death which had previously swirled around it, suddenly seemed to fill with the power of life. Although it did not open its eyes, it did open its mouth.

The voice which emerged was the exact same voice which had been heard moments ago.

"TAI!"

The sound turned into an attack which spread out in all directions, sweeping over everything. Heaven and Earth filled with roaring, and countless fissures spread out everywhere. The net of the Eighth Hex that covered the head began to shatter into small pieces. In the blink of an eye, it was destroyed and dissipated.

The Eight Hex which suppressed Han Danzi was also swept away, completely destroyed!

The Demonic Qi in the world began to roar like exploding thunder. Up in mid-air, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood and his face went white. He staggered back several paces.

"So, you're a Demon Sealer!" said Han Danzi. A strange light appeared in his eyes, and he lifted his head back to laugh, then shot up into the air.

"Who cares about Demon Sealers!? I'll kill you, take your blood, absorb your soul, and make a Demon Sealing precious treasure!

"It's just the will of Heaven!" Han Danzi seemed overjoyed as he shot up into the air. Demonic Qi surged toward Naruto, and at the same time, the head began to emerge again. All of a sudden, a neck and two shoulders could be seen!

"The will of Heaven, huh?" said Naruto, stabilizing himself. He looked coldly at approaching Han Danzi, and the gigantic Greater Demon that he apparently couldn't prevent from emerging. "There was no enmity between us. Neither you absorbing the power of that Demon, nor the prospect of bringing it back to life, have anything to do with me.

"What I want isn't you or that Demon, but rather… this entire place!" A bizarre light shone in Naruto's eyes. The current situation now fit in perfectly with his requirements. There was nobody left, so he felt confident enough to… take out the copper mirror!

Even as Han Danzi closed in, Naruto slapped his bag of holding with his right hand. Instantly, the copper mirror appeared, the same mysterious copper mirror that he had acquired back in the Reliance Sect all those years ago, which had accompanied him all this time!

It didn't look like anything special at all, and was even a bit rusted in places. It looked like a completely ordinary item.

"A crappy mirror?" laughed Han Danzi. "Don't tell me that's supposed to be some kind of precious treasure or something?!" He stopped in place, looking as if he didn't care at all about Naruto and his mirror. However, inwardly, the fact that Naruto had retrieved this magical item in a critical moment left him worried in a way that was quite the opposite to the way he made it look.

As soon as the copper mirror appeared, the mirror continent below suddenly trembled. Ripples spread out, looking almost like waves on the surface of the mirror-like continent.

Within the world of the mirror, everything that was alive suddenly stopped moving.

Even the head which was emerging from inside stopped in place. However… it was in this moment that the eyes began to twitch, as if they were struggling to open and awake.

"What is that!?" gasped Han Danzi. He was just going to attempt to stop Naruto when Naruto pointed the mirror directly down toward the mirror continent.

The two mirrors shone on each other, and anyone who could see them would be able to spot an majestic black hole inside each one. Each black hole seemed endless, as if it contained truths inside that no one would ever be able to understand.

The great mirror land below began to rumble and shake. The ripples continued to spread out, thicker and more numerous. At the same time, the mirror Naruto held began to grow warm, as if it were thirsting for something, as if it… wanted to consume the entire mirror continent below

It was then that the mirror continent, which Naruto could not even see the ends of, suddenly began to shrink. It grew smaller rapidly, accompanied by a roaring sound that lifted up into the sky.

It shrank and shrank, and if you were able to stand in a position far far above, you would see that the lands below… shockingly, were actually shaped like a mirror! And as of this moment, the mirror… was shrinking down at a rapid rate.

As the mirror continent shrank, it was possible to see that the shape of the mirror was… absolutely identical to the copper mirror that Naruto held.

Han Danzi's face fell. Even as he was about to charge at Naruto, his body began to be pulled back by the great mirror continent. His body was out of his own control, and he was incapable of nearing Naruto. Instead, a gravitational force pulled him down toward the lands below.

At the same time, the eyes of the Greater Demon head that was emerging from the mirror land suddenly… cracked open. An indistinct, growling voice echoed out, filled with ancientness.

"You… actually have… the Mountain and Sea Mirror…."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by David Mah and Anonymous_

In Chinese, the character 封 can mean to 'seal' in the sense of sealing an envelope. It can also mean to 'cover' or 'bestow.' In Naruto's Art of Righteous Bestowal, the 'bestow' word is this same character ↩

Vol. 4 : Chapter 619

Chapter 619: Night Awakens!

The sound seemed to echo out from ancient times. In fact, as Naruto looked over, what he really saw was not a head with eyes opened, but rather, a virtually dead Greater Demon.

It was almost as if everything from before had been an illusion!

However, the ground was still shaking and rapidly shrinking. That was no illusion. Naruto could see, and even detect with Divine Sense, that the mirror, which was the continent, had shrunk down to only several tens of thousands of meters wide.

From his vantage point, it was now possible to see that the land was rapidly… turning into an actual mirror!

It included all of the lives and magical items on the battlefield. All of them shrank down to become exponentially smaller along with the mirror.

The head of the Greater Demon could no longer emerge, but rather, sank back down, taking Han Danzi with it. His face was filled with terror and astonishment as he tried every method possible to break free. All were useless. He screamed miserably, hopelessly as he looked down at himself. It was at this point that he realized that… he was also… sinking into the mirror!

When his feet touched the land, they sank directly into the water-like surface until he was as far down as his ankles.

"No!" he cried out in alarm. "How can this be!? This is impossible!" He howled and struggled, but it did absolutely no good.

Naruto trembled. The mirror was now incredibly hot, to the point where white steam was now pulsing off of his hand. He had no choice but to grip it with both hands.

By now, Naruto could sense the indescribable gravitational force being exerted by the mirror. It wasn't targeting Han Danzi, but rather, the entire mirror land.

"It…. Don't tell me it wants to suck in the entire mirror land of the Fourth Plane of the Demon Immortal Sect?" Having reached this conclusion, Naruto began to pant, and his mouth was parched and dry.

If that was really what was happening, then it would mean that he had gained a colossal amount of good fortune in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect! Such good fortune would be simply unimaginable to anyone else, completely beyond anticipation or expectation.

Naruto palpitated with eagerness as he clutched the copper mirror tightly in his hands and watched the mirror continent below shrinking. An unprecedentedly loud rumbling could be heard filling the entire world. Han Danzi let out a bloodcurdling shriek. He was already sunk halfway down into the surface of the mirror. Next to him, the head of the Greater Demon had sunk back down to the point where its nose was covered.

"How could this be happening! This is impossible! IMPOSSIBLE!" Han Danzi had gone mad; his expression was one of terror. He shouted out toward Naruto, begging for mercy and help.

However, because of the intense rumbling, his voice was virtually undetectable; Naruto didn't even notice it.

The Demonic Qi in the area churned. The shrinking of the land was like the lifting of a veil, revealing something beneath…. When Naruto looked down, he saw something that caused his mind to reel!

There below… was a gigantic brain!

The brain seemed limitlessly huge, sleek and white, with black spots visible in various locations. There were also some areas where brightly colored lights flashed back and forth.

Every flash of light seemed to contain countless images, almost like memories!

The sight was completely shocking to Naruto. His breath came in ragged pants, and he glanced once again at the shrinking land. Suddenly, he recalled something Han Danzi had said.

"This mirror continent is placed on top of the brain of true spirit Night!" Naruto took a deep breath and looked down again at the boundless, colossally huge brain.

"Is this place really the head of true spirit Night? If so, what exactly is that passageway?" His scalp was numb and his body trembled as he looked around. The mirror-land seemed to be in the final process of shrinking.

It was now only about 30,000 meters wide, and looked almost exactly like the copper mirror he held, except much larger!

Han Danzi was almost completely sunk into the surface of the mirror. His face was pale, and he was no longer howling. Instead, he stared at Naruto with a venomous, insane look.

As for the head of the Greater Demon, it had sunk down past the eyes. Only the top of its head remained, along with the three black horns, which emanated a bizarre glow.

The entire world was shaking.

30,000 meters. 25,000 meter! 20,000 meters!

By this point, sweat was pouring down Naruto's forehead. His entire body shook as he clutched at the copper mirror. Were it not for his incredible fleshly body, it might not have been possible to prevent the mirror from slipping out of his hands.

And yet, even in the Eighth Anima, Naruto was incapable of holding on for very much longer.

It was at this point that suddenly, out of nowhere, a sound could be heard. It was like a baby crying, and it seemed to be coming from the outside world, and yet, at the same time, seemed to be coming from inside, all around him. It started out somewhat weak, and then grew stronger and stronger.

At the same time, Naruto's mind filled with a roaring. Simultaneously, the dancing flashes of electric light on the surface of the brain of true spirit Night suddenly increased by tenfold, as did the speed with which they moved!

An aura of awakening suddenly covered over everything. Naruto's face twitched.

"Hahaha! You're dead!" cried Han Danzi. "You shook the seals of the three Holy lands, and thus have awoken true spirit Night! When it awakens, it brings calamity!" He began to laugh maniacally.

Meanwhile, outside of the the Fourth Plane, in the Demon Immortal Sect, the ground was quaking and the mountains were shaking. Rumbling could be heard in all directions as huge cracks and fissures suddenly appeared to spread out across the surface of the land.

The huge cracks and fissures, the massive rumbling, all of it made it seem as if the Demon Immortal Sect was experiencing doomsday. Ruins toppled and dust flew up in all directions, covering everything and making it hazy.

Off in the distance, the South Heaven Cultivators fled in shock toward the Demon Immortal Sect's exit gate past the First Peak. They had no idea what was happening, but they could guess. Obviously, something incredible was happening in the Fourth Plane that was connected somehow to the goings on.

Everything grew dark and the sound of rumbling rose to the Heavens. As the land was shattered, a boundless aura seeped out to flood the entire area. Rifts even began to appear in the air, one after another!

A middle-aged man stood atop the Fourth Peak, wearing a long white robe. He looked around at everything that was happening, his expression complex. Occasionally, killing intent would fill him, sometimes gentleness could be seen. This was Mukui.

"If it was anyone else who awoke Night and caused the legacy of Lord Li to appear, I would be forced to kill him. Outsiders cannot acquire the legacy of Lord Li. But him…." Mukui thought back to what he had experienced in ancient times, when he had superimposed with Naruto.

In the end, his father had recognized Naruto, acknowledged that they were father and son in that life. The killing intent in Mukui's eyes slowly dissipated, to be replaced by gentle warmth.

"If he was my father's son in that life, then that means he… is my little brother. Maybe I can't acquire the legacy of Lord Li, but if he can, it's the will of Heaven." Mukui sighed.

As everything shook, and even more rifts appeared up in the sky above the Demon Immortal Sect. Gradually, the shocking sight of the peaks of three inverted mountains became visible!

As they appeared to descend, an incredible pressure could be felt. The entire Demon Immortal Sect shook violently. The South Heaven Cultivators were arriving at the exit gate past the First Peak. In their shock, there were already quite a few who had chosen to use their Demon Spirit to leave.

However, that would take time. As the world shook more and more violently, the sound of a wailing infant suddenly filled the air. It sounded as if there was a baby sleeping deep, deep under the ground, its eyes closed. But then, as it began to awaken, it started to cry.

Once the sound could be heard, the destruction grew even more intense.

By now, the three inverted mountains were visible by more than half.

Meanwhile, back in the Fourth Plane, the great mirror continent had now shrunk down to only about 10,000 meters wide. Han Danzi was now completely submerged inside, gone.

As for the head of the Greater Demon, only a tiny bit was left visible; the rest had sunk back down into the mirror.

Naruto's face was pale, and his body was slowly moving forward. He was not moving of his own volition, but rather, was being pulled by the copper mirror!

Closer and closer!

The mirror continent continued to shrink. 10,000 meters. 5,000 meters. 2,500 meters…. 1,500 meters…. 1,000 meters…. 300 meters!

The head of the Greater Demon had completely sunk back into the mirror. Back in the calm lands inside the mirror, that Greater Demon who split the Heaven into its third, continued to look up coldly at Naruto.

Its gaze seemed eternal, and as Naruto looked at it, his mind trembled. However, there was no time to think deeply about the matter right now. As of now, he was only about 100 meters away from the 300meter-wide mirror.

As he got closer, it continued to shrink. 150 meters. 100 meters…. 30 meters!

25 meters. 15 meters. 5 meters…. 3 meters!

When the mirror land reached a size of three meters, suddenly, it began to distort. Naruto watched as it twisted into what looked like strands of silk that then shot toward his own copper mirror.

The copper mirror seemed to consume them, bit by bit, until they were all sucked in. Within the space of only a few breaths, the entire continental mirror was sucked in by Naruto's copper mirror!

It acted almost like a tonic for the mirror. After the consumption occurred, the copper mirror experienced an unprecedented transformation; all of the bits of rust on its surface completely disappeared!

The ancient decorative patterns on its surface grew deeper and more profound. Pulses of light could be seen circulating within, and murmuring sounds could be heard like the singing of Immortals.

Naruto's mind trembled. As he looked closer at the mirror, he saw multiple cracks on its surface. They intersected with each other to form nine areas!

Right now, in the upper left part of the mirror, there was an area that looked completely different from the others. It… actually looked like the surface of a mirror. It glowed with the light of magical items, and within, a vortex could be seen, slowly rotating. That vortex seemed to contain the secret of the origin of the world!

Within the vortex, shockingly… was… the ancient battlefield!

At the same time, the Fourth Plane now had no land left in it at all. Instead, the brain was fully revealed. The electric light danced about on its surface a thousandfold more than before. A shocking sound could be heard that far exceeded the wailing of before.

Night, had been provoked… into awakening!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Devroy Blake, Lam Otis, Tiago Sturmer Daitx, and Stefan from Sweden_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 620

Chapter 620: Night's Head!

By now, ten thousand times as many arcs of electric light were dancing back and forth on the brain of true spirit Night.

At the same time, the brain began to twitch. Bursting howls could be heard echoing in from outside, howls that shook the mind.

Naruto's face flickered as an intense sensation of grave crisis appeared inside of him. He could sense terrifying fluctuations, and an aura that seemed capable of destroying him in a single explosive burst.

Numbness washed over his scalp as, without hesitation, he put the copper mirror away and then flew at the highest speed possible toward the exit passage.

The passage had once seemed to be a deep pit, but because of the aura of awakening Night, it had changed dramatically. It was moving, wriggling, as if the passageway was actually some part of the body of true spirit Night!

Naruto's face fell, and he pushed himself to go even faster. He was now at the pinnacle of the Eighth Anima, and he moved even faster than lightning as he shot into the passageway. In the blink of an eye, he was speeding along inside.

ROAR!

A shocking roar echoed out from both below and above. Everything in the Demon Immortal Sect shook violently and began to fall into pieces.

The destruction was clearly visible to Naruto. He could see it with his own eyes, because the walls that surrounded him seemed to be covered with a partially transparent filament. Through that, Naruto could see the lands cracking and shattering by layers, then falling downward.

As he looked back through pit-like passageway, Naruto suddenly realized that it looked more like a tube!

It was a tube that ran to the brain of true spirit Night, and he was right in the middle of that tube, moving with unprecedented, maddening speed.

As he sped along, he began to pant. That was because he was astonished to find that the tube he was traveling through was actually lifting up into the air.

"It's not just this passageway that's lifting up into the air. Actually… this passageway… is part of the body of true spirit Night! When it moves, it will appear from within the land!" Naruto's mind trembled as he looked through the semi-transparent walls of the passageway to see the land collapsed everywhere. He could also feel the sensation of the passageway moving upward.

After more than ten breaths of time passed, a blinding white light filled Naruto's vision. A huge roar filled the passageway he was in as it was completely lifted up from the ground until it was in mid-air above the Demon Immortal Sect!

By this point, Naruto had traversed roughly seventy percent of the passageway, placing him thirty percent of the distance away from the exit. The passageway was now trembling violently, and Naruto's face was pale white. Through the semi-transparent walls, he could see that outside…

Fissures covered all of the lands of the Demon Immortal Sect. Most of the various areas of the Sect were completely collapsed. In fact, most of the lands seemed to be caving in, as if some enormous creature were rising up.

Rocks tumbled down the sides of the seven mountain peaks, as if even they would not be able to survive this incredible catastrophe.

The first to collapse was the Third Peak!

As the lands around it collapsed and caved in, the mountain peak began to slant to the side and sink…. However, as he looked at it, Naruto got the strange feeling that… the Third Peak was not actually collapsing. Actually, there appeared to be some incredible force causing it to tilt to the side.

He couldn't quite be sure, but the sensation was intense.

Then, even as the semi-transparent passageway vibrated rapidly, Naruto suddenly saw something… that he would never be able to forget.

He saw an incredibly large head. It was so large that it was impossible to estimate exactly how large it was. And only half of it was visible!

It looked like a human head, except it had no hair, and was instead completely covered with pitch-black scales. Shockingly, this head… seemed to encompass all of the lands of the Demon Immortal Sect!

Naruto's scalp went numb and his mouth was completely dry. He was thoroughly incapable of determining how large this head was!

He also saw that the semi-transparent passageway he was in, was actually an enormous antenna attached to the top of the head! It was an tube-like antenna, apparently used for breathing!

What caused Naruto's mind to tremble with even more disbelief was that the previously tilting and toppling Third Peak… actually… had stopped after reaching a certain angle, and was no longer falling.

That was because… the Third Peak was not actually part of the land at all. It was connected to the head. More accurately, the Third Peak was actually an enormous horn growing out from the top of the Head! "This… this is… true spirit Night?" thought Naruto, staring with wide eyes.

He wasn't the only one seeing this. The other South Heaven Cultivators who were congregated outside of the First Peak watched on with pale faces. At the same time, the location where they stood began to collapse. A huge hole appeared, a passageway out to the starry sky that everyone unhesitatingly entered.

As they flew into the passageway, their bodies began to emit a white light. The light seemed to be separating them from the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Their bodies began to grow transparent; apparently, it wouldn't be long before they completely disappeared.

At the same time, bands of starlight descended from all directions, transforming into a river of stars. The appearance of the river of stars indicated that the return to South Heaven had begun. It was time to leave the good fortune of the Demon Immortal Sect.

"Naruto!" cried Xu Qing inwardly. She bit down her lip as the soft light began to envelop her. Gradually she grew transparent, but her anxious eyes were focused in the direction of Naruto back in the Demon Immortal Sect.

Similarly anxious was Fang Yu. Her hands were clenched into fists as she watched the Demon Immortal Sect collapsing. "Hurry up, Naruto. Get out of there!"

As for the other South Heaven Cultivators, all of them were filled with complex emotions. They were overwhelmed with astonishment at the sudden drastic turn of events in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. At the same time, they were also filled with unspeakable, conflicting thoughts regarding Naruto.

They wanted Naruto dead, so that their debts would be absolved. However, were it not for Naruto's actions just now, all of them would be dead. That was a kindness on his part.

Various thoughts filled them as they watched on silently.

Naruto was scared out of his mind. As far as he could tell, he had really set something epic into motion….

"All I did was pull out a crappy mirror, right…?" he thought, clenching his jaw. He continued to speed along as fast as possible toward the exit of the semi-transparent passageway.

However, it was at this point that, surrounded by the collapsing lands, the head of true spirit Night slowly began to lift up. A reverberating wail even more shocking than before echoed out in all directions.

The Second Peak, the Fourth Peak, the First Peak, the Fifth Peak….

All shook violently and rose up into the air. Countless stones and boulders fell down, as four, shocking horns were revealed!

The antenna undulated, and at the same time, the exit appeared just up ahead of Naruto. Even as he was about to break free… Night, whose head was now half emerged from the collapsing lands, suddenly inhaled.

The breath caused an enormous sucking force to rush through the semitransparent passageway. Naruto was completely incapable of controlling his body. His eyes went wide as he felt himself himself being sucked in.

Filled with shock, he unleashed the full power of his Cultivation base. His right hand reached out the side and grabbed hold of a vine….

How could Naruto not see that these vines were actually like hairs that existed within true spirit Night's antenna…?

As soon as he grabbed ahold of it, he stopped moving. However, only a moment later, the vine snapped. Naruto's eyes went wide as he was once again sucked back. All of these things happened in only the space of ten or so breaths. To Naruto, though, it seemed like an eternity.

"If this is the breathing of true spirit Night…" he thought. "Breathing involves inhaling and exhaling. If this is the inhaling, then it must be followed by exhaling! Time to gamble!" With that, his eyes filled with determination. There was little else he could do now except gamble.

He continued to grab onto vines, and continued to employ the full power of his Cultivation base to try to slow his movement. Ten breaths of time passed. Beneath him, Naruto could see the end of the passageway, and once again, the brain of true spirit Night. However, it was at this point that the inhaling ended. It was then followed by an intense, explosive force in the opposite direction.

Naruto's eyes glittered. Roaring filled his body and blood sprayed from his mouth. Underneath the power of the force, he shot upward. His eyes filled with madness and his Cultivation base exploded, adding even more speed.

The entire process didn't even take ten breaths of time. Naruto's body rumbled as he suddenly… shot directly out from within the antenna.

By the time he flew out, the lands of the Demon Immortal Sect were completely collapsed and destroyed. The Sixth Peak and the Seventh Peak shook violently. Beneath them was revealed… a head that was as large as more than half the lands of the Demon Immortal Sect.

It had human features, but was covered with pitch-black scales. It had seven enormous horns, and a long antenna, the end of which glowed with a green light.

Its eyes were half open, and inside could be seen the blankness of awakening. There was also a shocking, indescribable energy pulsating off of its body.

This was… true spirit Night!

It had seven horns that could form mountains, and even though the head was only half emerged, its shocking aura was such that anyone who looked at it couldn't help but feel their mind tremble.

Naruto shot back at top speed. He himself was nothing in comparison to true spirit Night. He couldn't help but think back to the only thing which could possibly compare in size to true spirit Night, and that was Patriarch Reliance, with the State of Zhao on his back.

"All I did was take out a crappy mirror! Could that really stimulate this thing into awakening?!" Sweat poured down Naruto's forehead as he shot toward the location of the other South Heaven Cultivators, all of whom were staring in astonishment at true spirit Night.

Their minds were filled with roaring, and they were incapable of even speaking half a sentence. At the same time, they were on the verge of becoming completely transparent, making them appear like shadows.

Naruto flew as fast as he could, using all of the power of his

Cultivation base, the green smoke, the black moon. However, almost the same moment in which he reached the exit, behind him, true spirit Night uttered the first sound that was not a wail.

"NIGHT!"

Vol. 4 : Chapter 621

Chapter 621 (Click to show)

Chapter 621: He's My Little Brother

In the same moment in which the voice of true spirit Night echoed out, the Cultivators from South Heaven were being surrounded by starlight. Within the starlight were countless motes and fragments, which mixed with the starlight to cover everything and transform it all into a river of stars.

The river of stars was like a beam filled with countless motes of light that gathered momentum as it unfurled, sweeping up all of the Cultivators in preparation to return to South Heaven. After all, they had been swept up and carried to this place by the river of stars, it was only natural that they would be taken away in the same method.

Upon seeing the river of stars, everyone felt a little bit more relaxed, although they wished it would finish forming up faster. Considering how quickly things were going out of control, they wanted to leave as soon as possible to get out of danger.

As of now, this was not the Fourth Plane of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. This was… the hitherto unknown Fifth Plane!

The Fifth Plane, the awakening of true spirit Night!

As true spirit Night's voice echoed out, the land and sky in all directions twisted, and ghost images seemed to appear. The entire world seemed to revert to ancient times. Countless figures flew about, and everything flourished. But then sometimes, everything would become ruins, filled with corpses. And then it would simply be Night, head raised, the Seven Peaks turned into horns!

Ghost images flickered over the entire world. True spirit Night… had now thoroughly lifted up its head from within the land.

When true spirit Night slept, the world was a dream. When true spirit Night awoke, calamity came to Heaven and Earth!

Naruto panted, and the South Heaven Cultivators watched on in alarm. Although the bodies of the crowd were half transparent, they couldn't help but back up nervously and wish fervently that they could teleport away as soon as possible.

After letting out an incredible roar, the colossal head of true spirit Night suddenly… spoke, its voice indistinct: "Give my precious mirror… back to me!"

The voice echoed back and forth, causing Naruto's mind to tremble as he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The South Heaven Cultivators mind's felt as if they were being exploded by lightning; the sound of the voice was deafening.

A moment later, the South Heaven Cultivators all looked over at Naruto. One by one they began to express their astonishment.

"What treasure did Naruto take?!"

"Don't tell me he stole a precious treasure from that Demon beast, causing it to awaken!?"

"Precious mirror… could it be… could it be that it's talking about the continental mirror we saw in the Fourth Plane?"

As their voices rang out, their eyes began to fill with shock and amazement, as well as intense jealousy.

"Take out the continental mirror… and return it to me!" said true spirit Night. This time, its voice was clearer. As it spoke, massive amounts of lightning began to rise up around the seven mountain peaks.

Before Naruto could open his mouth to speak, the group from South

Heaven began to pant as they understood the meaning of Night's words.

The continental mirror of the Fourth Plane, which contained innumerable precious treasures, had actually… been taken away by Naruto!

The eyes of virtually all of the South Heaven Cultivators instantly went red. Even Fang Yu was breathing heavily and looking at Naruto with an expression of disbelief.

Wang Lihai, Han Bei, Li Shiqi, and the others all appeared to be in complete disbelief, their minds shaken to the extreme.

They couldn't even begin to imagine how Naruto had managed to take away the continental mirror.

The Hebi Clan members' eyes were wide. The Cultivators from the Northern Reaches and the Southern Domain were panting. Everyone was completely flabbergasted by this new information.

Xu Qing's face was also filled with disbelief. She looked at Naruto, and then a smile broke out on her face.

Naruto frowned. Without saying a single world, he employed as much speed as he could to shoot out into the outside world. Most of his body was already starting to grow transparent, and he could clearly sense the power of teleportation.

At the same time, the river of stars was now almost completely materialized, seemingly endless and filled with innumerable motes of light. It began to sweep through the void, picking up the crowds of South Heaven Cultivators, including Naruto. It then spun and began to shoot off into the distance.

In the same moment in which Naruto and the others were swept up by the river of stars, the eyes of true spirit Night suddenly opened completely. Any sense of blankness within those eyes was completely wiped away, to be replaced with awareness. True spirit Night… was now fully awake!

The instant the complete awakening occurred, true spirit Night let out a roar that caused the entire world and even the void to instantly cease moving. Even the river of stars trembled and then stopped in place.

Naruto's face fell, and the expressions of the South Heaven Cultivators were that of complete astonishment.

Suddenly, the land down below began to rumble and disintegrate as a gigantic arm slowly rose up. It was black and covered with scales, and only had four fingers. As it rose up from the ground, it left behind a gigantic pit. It was so long that it was almost impossible to see the entire arm, and as it stretched out, its palm was so large that it seemed big enough to cover up the entire sky.

The arm stretched out, snatching toward the river of stars.

"Get back here!" said true spirit Night, its voice rumbling up into the Heavens. Naruto's body was completely out of his control as it flew out, pulled from the river of stars to shoot toward the giant hand.

In the blink of an eye, shockingly, he was standing on top of the giant hand. Naruto's face was pale white, and his eyes shone with a sharp light. Now that Naruto had left the river of stars, it trembled once again, and then slowly began to move once again. The South Heaven Cultivators were now once more moving off into the distance.

"Naruto!" Xu Qing's face fell, and she struggled to fly out, but was incapable of leaving the river of stars. Fang Yu's face was also filled with anxiety. As for most of the others, they seemed to be rejoicing in the misfortune of the others.

"He's dead! That Demon beast specifically kept him behind. He's definitely going to die!"

"He stole that thing's precious treasure! How could it possibly let him leave!?"

The Cultivators continued to watch as they moved off into the distance.

True spirit Night retracted its palm, upon which Naruto stood, until Naruto was directly in front of it. His face was pale as he stood there on the palm, looking up at the colossal head, and true spirit Night's two eyes.

Naruto's right hand rested on his bag of holding, and a cold glow could be seen in his eyes. He knew he was no match for true spirit Night. Even a single breath from it could completely extinguish the flame of his life force. However, until the critical juncture of life or death arrived, Naruto would continue to go all out.

"You have no aura upon you which I find familiar…." said true spirit Night, looking over Naruto. Its right hand began to close into a fist. As it did, an indescribable pressure inundated Naruto. Cracking sounds could be heard, and blood sprayed from his mouth. His body seemed to be on the verge of completely collapsing; even his internal organs were on the verge of exploding.

However, there was still not even a scrap of fear in Naruto's eyes. Instead, a touch of madness could be seen burning inside, which then turned into ferocity. Finally, he took a deep breath and prepared to pull out the copper mirror.

However, it was at this moment that a white-robed figure suddenly appeared in mid-air. He strode out step by step; in one moment he was far off in the distance; in the next moment, he stood in front of Naruto. His back was to him, and he stood there protectively, looking at true spirit Night.

He wore white robes and had long, dark grey hair. He was indescribably ancient and old. This was… Mukui!

"You may not harm him," said Mukui calmly, staring up at true spirit

Night, his voice filled with an incredible power. The energy caused Heaven and Earth to flicker with different colors, as if it was capable of fighting back against true spirit Night.

True spirit Night looked at Mukui. "I've awakened," it said, its voice a drone. "There must be extermination of life."

"He is a son approved by my father," said Mukui quietly. Behind him, a tremor ran through Naruto. As he looked at Mukui, the warmth between him and Ke Yunhai in the Second Plane suddenly filled his heart.

"That was a dream!" said true spirit Night, its voice cold.

"Since my father approved of him, it doesn't matter whether it was an illusion or not," said Mukui slowly, a mysterious light flickering through his eyes. "He… is my little brother. With me here, nothing in existence, not even you, can harm him in the slightest bit, or even dare to try!" As he spoke, an indescribable aura rose up.

Naruto stood there silently, looking at Mukui's back. The hand that gripped his bag of holding slowly relaxed.

"I'll… I'll hand over the continental mirror…." said Naruto with a soft sigh. However, even as the words left his mouth, Mukui turned his head and gave Naruto a profound look.

This was the first time Naruto had ever seen Mukui's face. In that moment, he almost thought that he was looking at Ke Yunhai. He gaped in shock at the familiar features.

However, it only took a moment for him to see that this was definitely not Ke Yunhai.

"You don't need to hand it over," said Mukui. He had watched moments ago as Naruto showed no fear in the face of death. And yet now, he was willing to hand over the continental mirror. Mukui understood, and it caused a gentleness to appear in the depths of his eyes. "Since you were able to take it away, it shows that you were destined for such good fortune. Besides… the awakening of true spirit Night doesn't mean complete catastrophe."

Mukui gazed at Naruto. "Do you trust me?"

Naruto looked at Mukui, at the features which so much resembled

Ke Yunhai. Without hesitation, he replied, "I trust you!"

"In the past, Lord Li laid down orders that whoever awakened true spirit

Night would be given two options." With another deep look at Naruto, Ke Hebi uisi turned to look back at true spirit Night. "Night, he is my little brother, so I will act on his behalf to make the decision. He will choose the second path!"

Night was silent for a long moment, its expression one of complexity. Finally, its gaze came to fall on Naruto.

Slowly, it began to explain. "Lord Li ordered that whichever life form wakes me up will be given two options. First option: return the continental mirror to me, and I will continue to sleep….

"Second option; do not return the mirror, and prepare yourself to acquire the qualifications to receive Lord Li's legacy. Walk the three mountains, pass through the Holy Lands, ascend to the Fourth Heaven… acquire the legacy of Lord Li! If you fail… then you will stay behind as a guest in my dream."

As its voice echoed out, it was audible to even the South Heaven Cultivators in the river of stars. When they heard the true spirit's words, they gaped in shock. That was especially true of the Hebi Clan members and the Cultivators from the Northern Reaches. They looked back at the distant Demon Immortal Sect, their eyes wide with disbelief, and more so, intense jealousy and madness.

"Just… just… just what kind of good fortune is this?!"

"Dammit! How is this possible? That's not a catastrophe! Isn't there supposed to be a catastrophe? Isn't Naruto supposed to be exterminated? How could such good luck as this appear?! Lord Li's legacy! Seriously? The legacy of Lord Li?!"

"It was so overbearing before, like it could destroy everything. How could things turn around and… become such good fortune!"

"The legacy of Lord Li?! I can't accept this!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Joakim Trælvik_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 622

Chapter 622: Three Mountains, Nine Bows

The South Heaven Cultivators watched on with wide, disbelieving eyes. Their hearts were filled with complexity and jealousy. The emotions continued to ripple out until, eventually, they turned into avarice.

There were only a few people who were actually happy to see Naruto run into such good fortune. Most were just jealous to the point of hatred.

"Dammit! Why does it have to be him!? In the Second Plane he was an Elite Apprentice. In the Third Plane, he stole away all our treasures! In the Fourth Plane he acquired that precious treasure, the continental mirror. And now here in the Fifth Plane… he's acquired the qualifications for the legacy of Lord Li!"

"Why does it have to be this way? By what right of virtue or ability does he fall into such good luck?! I can't stand for this!"

"Worst of all is that we still owe him a huge debt! I myself owe 800,000 Spirit Stones…."

"I owe him 1,000,000 Spirit Stones! Dammit! Why can't he just die here!"

Other than Xu Qing, Fang Yu, and few others, all the Cultivators from South Heaven gnashed their teeth, their jealousy of Naruto having risen to the pinnacle.

"He'll be going back to the lands of South Heaven eventually!" said Hebi Mingkong suddenly, his eyes flashing. As soon as he spoke, the eyes of the others began to flash.

"That's right. He will be back in South Heaven eventually. And it doesn't matter what he acquired, we will still have to report everything that happened when we get back to our Sects and Clans."

"Look, all he did was acquire qualifications to get Lord Li's legacy. As to whether or not he will actually acquire the legacy remains unknown!"

As the South Heaven Cultivators spoke among themselves, the river of stars which surrounded them made its way off into the distance. Gradually, they began to lose consciousness. Soon, all of their eyes were closed, and they were in a state of slumber, just as they had been when they arrived. The river of stars began to float back to the lands of South Heaven.

Meanwhile, back in the Demon Immortal Sect, Naruto stood on the palm of true spirit Night as it slowly lifted him up into the sky.

Mukui also stood on Night's palm, looking at Naruto with an encouraging expression.

"This is your opportunity. As for how far you can get, that will depend on your personal good fortune." With that, he flicked his sleeve and then stepped out and disappeared into mid-air.

Naruto's heart shook. He could never have imagined that in the end, he could acquire qualifications to try to acquire Lord Li's legacy. He panted as the enormous palm lifted him up into the sky. After that, shockingly… three inverted mountains appeared in front of him.

These were the three Greater Demon Mountains!

It was at this point that Night's voice rumbled out.

"The first stage of the legacy is the approval of the Seven Peaks. You have already passed that stage.

"The second stage is to awaken me. You… already passed that stage too!

"The third stage involves bowing nine times to the three mountains. If you acquire the approval of all three mountains, then you can break through to the Second Heaven!

"For Hebi usi's sake, I will remind you… this stage can only be passed if you are destined to do so!"

"Destined…." thought Naruto, looking at the three inverted mountains up in the air. After a moment of silence, he closed his eyes, then opened them again. They shone with a brilliant light.

The first mountain was none other than the Frost Soil Demon Mountain. It was completely frozen over, and was filled inside with chaos, making it impossible to clearly see the whole mountain. However, Naruto could definitely sense the freezing pressure coming from the mountain.

This mountain seemed to be the coldest thing in Heaven and Earth, something even flames could do nothing to melt. It was if any other freezing cold thing in the world wouldn't even dare to call itself cold while standing before this mountain!

If you looked closely at the decorations and patterns within the layers of ice, it almost looked as if they contained entire worlds. It was bizarre to the extreme!

Also visible on the mountain was a towering altar, upon which was a throne. Seated in the throne was what appeared to be a statue. The statue's features were unclear, but its upraised right hand was held up into the air where apparently an ice flame had once burned!

By this point, Naruto was already panting. He shifted his gaze to look at the next mountain.

The second mountain was completely crimson, as if it overflowed with fresh, red blood. An indescribable, monstrous killing intent seemed to fill it, as if an uncountable number of lives were buried inside the mountain.

The vast number of people who had died led to the overflow of fresh blood, thus turning the mountain completely red.

Killing intent circulated around, to the extent that even a single glance would cause one's mind to fill with a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.

There was also an altar on this mountain, upon which could be seen a blood-colored throne. A figure sat on this throne, its right hand raised up.

As soon as Naruto saw the figure, his mind trembled. A shocking scene appeared in his mind that was not exactly the same as this, but extremely similar.

"This is…." Naruto's mind shook, and his breath came in ragged pants. After a moment, his eyes flickered as he suppressed his thoughts and emotions, then looked over at the third mountain.

Upon this mountain, flames raged. The flames were dim, but seemed incapable of burning out. Even stranger, upon looking at the mountain, ghost images would spring up in the mind, as if countless volcanoes existed. It made it impossible to tell which of the mountains was real, and which was false.

Eventually, the image of countless withered figures could be seen on the surface of the volcanic mountain. They looked like evil spirits, emitting noiseless howls as they climbed, struggling amongst each other to be the first to reach the peak of the mountain and then throw themselves into the pit of fire there.

There was no altar, no throne, no figure. This third mountain was completely different than the other two!

Three mountains, three Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth!

Of course, the three Greater Demons had long since perished. But even Lord Li would not have been capable of making their essences fade away. Therefore, the three mountains existed as before!

Panting, Naruto once again focused his gaze on the Frost Soil Demon Mountain. He then clasped hands and… bowed deeply!

First bow!

"I am connected by destiny to Han Shan," he said. "I received his Immortal's sword and his bronze flagon. Therefore, I should bow first to the Frost Soil Demon Mountain!" As his words rang out, the Frost Soil Demon Mountain suddenly trembled.

Cracking sounds could suddenly be heard from the entire mountain. Originally, ice spread out across the mountain, a power of sealing. But when Naruto bowed for the first time, that ice began to crack and split. More and more fissures spread out, creating a roaring sound that lifted up to the Heavens as Naruto straightened back up.

Down below, Mukui stood on the head of true spirit Night, on the Fourth Peak. When he saw what was happening, a strange light began to shine in his eyes. Even the eyes of true spirit Night began to glitter. "His first bow stirred up transformations in the Frost Soil Demon Mountain. He… truly is connected to the mountain by destiny. However, exactly how strong that destiny is remains to be seen. Can he ignite the Demonfire to illuminate the Third Heaven?!"

Naruto looked up at the Frost Soil Demon Mountain, then took a deep breath. He clasped hands and bowed again.

"My Earth-type totem is formed from Frost Soil. In the end, I created a Frost Soil Nascent Soul. This kindness, or destiny, leads me to bow again to the Demon Mountain!"

Second bow!

Boom!

As his voice rang out, a huge rumbling could be heard from the Frost Soil Demon Mountain. Even more cracks appeared on the layers of ice which covered the mountain. The cracks began to form together into something that looked like a face. The facial features were extremely lifelike; they were that of an old man, his face filled with ancientness as he looked at Naruto.

He seemed capable of seeing all of Naruto's past with a single glance, as well as his future.

At the same time, something changed about the figure seated in the throne on the altar. The previously empty spot in its right hand suddenly flickered as blue sparks appeared. It looked as if a flame wished to ignite there!

When he saw this, Mukui's eyes shone even brighter. As for true spirit Night, it said nothing, but a strange glow could be seen in its eyes.

Naruto looked up at the face of the old man in the layers of ice. He clasped his hands and bowed yet again, a look of determination in his eyes.

"I have an agreement with senior Han Shan. One day, when my

Cultivation base is up to the task, I will return to the Realm of the Bridge Ruins to rescue him. That agreement is destiny, between myself and senior Han Shan. It is also destiny between myself and the Frost Soil Demon Mountain. Today, I repeat the same oath as before! 1

"Demon Mountain, please bear witness. This bow is evidence of the determination of Naruto of the junior generation!"

Not even the slightest sound could be heard from the Frost Soil Demon Mountain. It seemed to have no reaction whatsoever to Naruto's third bow. Naruto felt his heart pounding; he knew that he had tried to pull a bit of a fast one with the third bow.

However, all of a sudden….

"Agreed!" said an ancient voice. It echoed out from the Frost Soil Demon Mountain, almost from within the depths of time itself. As the voice spread out through the area, it carried with it endless coldness which caused the world to distort and blur.

The word was spoken by the face of the old man. He looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, and then began to grow blurry. Cracking sounds could be heard as the cracks which made up the face spread out. They formed together to make a huge rift that spread from the top of the mountain to the bottom. It created a massive, scar-like mark, which stretched across the entirety of the mountain.

The mark stretched all the way to the altar, and the figure on the throne. A bang could be heard. The blue sparks which danced above the right hand of the figure suddenly began to form together, transforming into a blue flame.

As soon as the flame appeared, it illuminated the face of the figure. That face was exactly the same in all respects as Han Shan's!

The flame roared up, shining three portions of light into the sky up above.

Gradually, because of the light shone by the flame, two shocking, enormous objects became visible up in the sky. They floated high up above, looking even more majestic and shocking than the three Greater Demon Mountains.

A shocking, indescribable aura surround those two objects!

Naruto's mind trembled, and he closed his eyes. After calming himself, he opened his eyes again and then looked at the second mountain, the blood-colored Demon Mountain!

He clasped hands, looked at the Blood Demon Mountain, and then suddenly bowed. "I'm not sure if this mountain has anything to do with the ancient Temple of Doom. However, that is what this bow is for. If destiny exists, I implore the mountain to express itself!"

This was his fourth bow in total, and his first toward the Blood Demon Mountain!

—-

Note from Er Gen: Yesterday was the funeral procession for my grandfather. According to tradition, tomorrow is the third day after burial, the time to revisit the grave. I'll try to post as many chapters as possible today, but tomorrow I definitely won't be able to post two chapters. I'll only post one.

Thank you for your concern, everyone. Thank you. I'm fine. I just have a sore on my tongue, which makes it difficult to eat. I don't want to think about the past.

Note from Deathblade: Er Gen's release schedule from so long ago doesn't affect mine. Usually his post-chapter messages aren't very meaningful, but this one was so I figured I would share it.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Emmanuel Martinez, Joakim Trælvik,_

 _Shirley Ens, and Emmanuel Martinez_

Han Shan was the Immortal Naruto met in the Realm of the Bridge

Ruins. In chapter 474, Naruto vowed to rescue him ↩

Vol. 4 : Chapter 623

Chapter 623: Sky, ten. Naruto, seven!

The crimson Blood Demon Mountain was originally sealed as quietly as death. However, after Naruto's bow, an aura began to spread out from the figure on the throne…. It filled the entire Blood Demon Mountain, causing a bloody glow to shine up into the sky. In addition, an incredible rumbling sound could be heard.

Even as Naruto's heart trembled, his eyes began to shine with a strange light. Earlier, he had suspected that the Blood Demon Mountain had something to do with the Blood Immortal mask. After all, the figure on the throne looked very similar to the figure Naruto had seen in the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament all those years ago.

Most shocked of all, however, was true spirit Night. It looked up, its eyes seemingly filled with lightning, its expression one of disbelief. The fact that Naruto could acquire the approval of the Frost Soil Demon Mountain was shocking enough.

But now, it was obvious that he had a connection to the Blood Demon Mountain. The reaction of the Blood Demon Mountain caused true spirit Night to involuntarily tremble mentally.

"Three portions of light from the Frost Soil. One portion from the Blood Demon. Together, that is four portions! Could it be that he really is the person Lord Li has been waiting for?

"If he is, then how come I can't sense anything familiar about him?! He has no aura that I recognize, which does not conform with the requirements of Lord Li. That was why I didn't bestow him with the qualifications originally!" Night's eyes glittered as it looked at Naruto. It could clearly examine all of Naruto's person, but no matter how it looked through everything… it still felt that Naruto was full of mysteries.

"Are you, or are you not that person?" thought Night. "Regardless of whether you are or not, bowing nine times to the three mountains is not a simple matter. He still does not have enough approval. The approval in the beginning is only the first step.

"The approval of a Demon Mountain can give rise to three portions of light. The path to the Third Heaven depends on the approval of all three Demon Mountains. Three to nine portions of light make it possible for that path to appear!

"However… the path that appears with three portions of light is ordinary. Failure on that path will lead to the revoking of the qualifications. Only the path of six portions gives the participant three chances at the legacy, once every five hundred years!

"As for the path of nine portions of light… that is the legendary great circle. When it appears, failure still is followed by nine more chances, like a blessing from above. The path of nine portions is also called One Step to Immortality. If that person is already an Immortal, their Cultivation base can rise up to another realm. If they are not Immortal, they can achieve Immortal Ascension!

"I must see exactly how many portions of light this fellow will acquire!" Night's eyes glittered as it looked at Naruto.

In contrast to true spirit Night, Mukui's thoughts were not so complex. He watched on with an admiring smile, sincerely desiring that Naruto could acquire as many portions of light as possible.

Naruto took a deep breath as he looked at the quaking Blood Demon Mountain. Then he clasped hands and bowed for the fifth time.

At the same time, it was his second bow to the Blood Demon Mountain!

"Junior is connected by destiny to the ancient Temple of Doom. I formed a Blood Violet Nascent Soul. I gained enlightenment to realize that a boundless will of life exists within blood. Therefore, I bow to you, senior Demon Mountain." Naruto's bow was deep as he spoke these words.

Instantly, roaring could be heard from the Blood Demon Mountain. Bloody beams of light rose up into the air, interlocking to gradually form a blood-colored Demon flower. As soon as the flower appeared, a boundless radiance shone out. Crimson sparks suddenly appeared in the figure's right hand.

This was the fifth portion of light. Two Demon Mountains, five portions of light. It caused the scene up above in the air to grow a bit clearer. As of now, it was possible to see two enormous land masses floating in the air far, far up above.

Each of these land masses were matchlessly majestic as they floated there up above, like two Holy Lands!

They were high, high up, as if they were looking down upon the entire world. They… really were Holy Lands. It didn't matter if you were speaking of the Demon Immortal Sect or the Ninth Mountain and Sea as a whole, the Hebi Clan and the Fang Clan Holy Lands were secondary only to the palace of Lord Li himself!

Even now as in the past, they were illustrious and famous throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea, these enormous land masses that had continued on down throughout the ages.

Five portions of light filled Heaven and Earth. Suddenly, though, the fifth portion of light suddenly flickered again. Next, something happened that exceeded even the imaginations of true spirit Night and Mukui.

Even as the sparks appeared on the hand of the figure on the Blood

Immortal Mountain, the figure's eyes suddenly began to shine with a bizarre light. It stared at Naruto, then slowly lifted up its left hand and stretched it out, as if it were asking for something.

Naruto's mind shook, and he lowered his hand to his bag of holding. Immediately, the Blood Immortal Mask appeared in his hand.

As soon as Naruto took out the Blood Immortal mask, the figure on the Blood Demon Mountain slowly withdrew its hand. A voice suddenly echoed out that seemed to come from countless years in the past.

"Put on my mask."

Naruto's eyes glittered as he placed the Blood Immortal mask onto his face.

Boom!

Redness instantly spread out to cover Naruto's entire body. His hair became red, his robe turned red, and in the blink of an eye, his entire body was surrounded by bands of blood-colored light. It looked almost like a sea of blood was raging around him.

In this instant, Naruto was the incarnation of the Blood Immortal.

Behind him, an image slowly came into being. An enormous throne was visible, seated upon which was a woman whose face could not be seen. Her hair swirled around her, and she seemed to be gazing off into the distance.

After the image appeared, the figure on the Blood Demon Mountain trembled. A huge roaring sound could be heard coming from inside it, and at the same time, a blazing tongue of Demonfire ignited. It instantly illuminated more of the sky above.

The entire sky was filled with the light of five portions of light, and now, close to six portions illuminated it even further. Within the light, an illusory staircase could be seen, leading up, up to the two Holy Lands and… the Third Heaven.

True spirit Night gasped. "He… he… he actually has destiny connecting him to the Blood Demon!" Its face was a mass of disbelief. It could scarcely believe that Naruto would have destiny connected to both the Frost Soil Demon Mountain and the Blood Demon Mountain. It was really shocking good fortune.

True spirit Night looked at Naruto, its mind spinning. "The Demon Mountains lift the seal. They have spoken of their own volition, which could never happen unless a certain level of destiny existed. Since such destiny has clearly reached the necessary level, it shows that Naruto is none other than a successor of the Blood Demon!

"He formed a Blood Demon Divine Clone, has a treasure made of the skin of the Blood Demon, and has even formed what is essentially a Demon Nascent Soul. Is this person… a Cultivator, or a Greater Demon of my generation!?

"Furthermore, he hasn't even performed the sixth bow! And yet, the sixth portion of light has almost fully appeared already."

Naruto clasped hands to perform his sixth bow, the third to the Blood Demon Mountain. "The kindness of the Blood Immortal legacy. The kindness of the Blood Mastiff in the way it escorted me. Junior will never forget these things for the rest of his life. Once again, senior, I bow to you, the essence of the mountain!"

After he bowed, the mountain rumbled. An endless echo could be heard, along with an ancient voice which slowly spoke out from within the Blood Demon Mountain.

"Agreed!" said the voice. A single word. However, as soon as that single word could be heard, the Demonfire towered up. This represented the complete and utter approval of the Blood Demon Mountain toward Naruto.

At the same time, light shone up into the sky. This was no longer six portions of light, but seven portions!

The sky had room for a total of ten portions, and now Naruto

occupied seven!

The seven portions of light illuminated the majority of the boundless sky. The two Holy Lands were now even clearer. Gradually becoming visible were the restrictive spells which had sealed the Holy Lands for so many years. Also visible were countless vines hanging downward.

They looked as if they had been in confinement for far, far too long, and were finally being revealed at long last!

An unsightly expression appeared on the face of true spirit Night, and complex feelings arose in its heart. It knew that it was incapable of doing anything to revoke the qualifications of this person. Once six portions of light were revealed, a minimum of three chances were guaranteed.

Even if Naruto completely failed now, Night was incapable of harming him in the slightest, let alone demand the continental mirror be returned.

As long as Naruto had the qualifications, it was incapable of doing anything to him. It could only watch on helplessly as Naruto proceeded onward at will.

"Three mountains, nine bows. Already, six bows have been performed. The final three bows are for the Withering Flame Demon Mountain. That is the most difficult mountain of all. Even if he already has seven portions of light, it will still be impossible for him to get nine total!" Night's eyes flickered as it looked at Naruto.

Mukui also looked at Naruto, a thoughtful expression in his eyes.

Naruto closed his eyes and calmed his heart. Then he looked up toward the last of the Demon Mountains. This was the mountain of raging flame, with a pit of fire at its peak that countless withered figures struggled to enter.

It almost seemed to be a location of reincarnation. By leaping into the pit, they could release themselves from worldly cares, find their true bodies, then leave and be reborn anew.

However, what Naruto saw was that every person who leaped into the fiery pit would once again be born as a withered figure, who would then again begin to climb. It seemed to be an endless cycle.

The more he watched, the more he realized that this was reincarnation.

Actually, this mountain's true name was Reincarnation Demon Mountain. As for the name Withering Flame, it fit with its appearance, but not the meaning of the mountain. Of course, the Greater Demon which had given rise to this mountain had a technique called the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao.

Therefore, the name Withering Flame was also not inappropriate.

Naruto looked silently at the Reincarnation Demon Mountain in front of him. He had been most confident regarding the Frost Soil, and secondarily, the Blood Demon. The only mountain he had no confidence in was this Reincarnation Demon Mountain.

If there was any destiny connecting him to this mountain, then at best it would be the technique he had acquired but not mastered in the Second Plane, the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao.

Even as he hesitated, the Reincarnation Demon Mountain began to rumble of its own accord. Black smoke poured out from the fiery pit, rushing out to fill the sky, followed by endless flames.

Next, a voice spoke out from within, ancient and emotionless.

"Reincarnation Mountain needs no bows!

"Many years ago, there was a withered slave on this mountain who said that life is pain, and that he wished to free himself from the sea of bitterness. That sea is like an inescapable flame which can burn everything.

"Afterwards, he called this place Withering Flame, and made a solemn vow that he would eradicate the sea of bitterness. He would ensure that all living things no longer experience bitterness, but rather, freedom!

"If you were in his place, what would you do?!"

—–

Note from Er Gen (this was actually posted as an entire chapter, as Er Gen did not post any other chapters on that day):

It snowed today, quite heavily. After coming back from the funeral procession, I cried for a long time.

I've never cried like that before, and I don't know why I did this time.

I don't feel like writing now, nor do I want to do anything. I just want to have some peace and quiet.

Brothers and Sisters, this will be my last day off. I'll get back to work as usual tomorrow.

Thank you for your understanding. Thank you.

Vol. 4 : Chapter 624

Chapter 624: Lofty Aspirations!

As the archaic voice from the Reincarnation Mountain echoed out, the entire mountain filled with a roaring sound. As the black smoke rose up into the air, an enormous, burning incense stick flew out from the mountain. It stood straight up in mid-air, surrounded by mist.

The incense burned slowly, emitting a smoke that fused with the mist around it so that few would be able to tell the difference between the two. It made it impossible to tell if the mist was concealed within the smoke, or the smoke gave rise to the mist.

The archaic voice once again echoed out into the silence. "If you have not provided an answer by the time the incense burns out, then the fire of the Reincarnation Mountain will not give up even half a portion of light."

After that, the world was silent. Naruto stood in a daze, looking at the Reincarnation Mountain. He could see the black smoke and the dense flames spewing out of the mouth of the volcano. It made it seem as if the entire world was made of smoke and fire.

The sky had room for ten portions of light. He had acquired seven from the Frost Soil Demon Mountain and the Blood Demon Mountain. Right now, the remaining three portions were covered by the fire and smoke.

Everything was dim and hazy….

Especially shocking was that the haziness affected the other seven portions of light up in the sky. At a glance, everything seemed to be covered with smoke. Trying to look up at the two Holy Lands was like trying to look at flowers in the fog, or at the moon in troubled waters.

"If I were in his place, what would I do?" thought Naruto. The Reincarnation Mountain did not require bowing, but rather, the heart and the mind. It required the essence of the person, something that could not be worn away by the passage of time.

Mukui watched on thoughtfully. Long ago, he had earned the same qualifications as Naruto. However, when facing the Reincarnation Mountain, he had only been able acquire two portions of light. That had left him with a sky filled with eight portions of light. In the end, he had failed to reach the Holy Lands.

As he watched Naruto now, he was reminded of himself all those years ago, when he had awoken to find the Demon Immortal Sect in ruins, and himself alone.

True spirit Night's pupils constricted as it stared at Naruto. It knew that of the nine bows and three mountains of the Second Heaven, the Reincarnation Mountain was the most difficult! That was because… this mountain asked first regarding the heart, second regarding the Dao, and third regarding reincarnation!

"What will his answer be?" thought Night. According to its determination, Naruto was not the person it and Lord Li were waiting for. He was not destined to be the successor. However, Night was very curious as to what Naruto would say in response to the question from the Reincarnation Mountain.

As of this point, true spirit Night and Mukui had both noticed something, although they didn't seem to care. Far off in the distance, a figure had appeared in the air, and was gazing at Naruto.

It was a woman, somewhat flirtatious in appearance, and extremely beautiful. It was, of course… Tsukino!

Everyone from South Heaven had left. Only Naruto and Tsukino remained behind!

In contrast to Naruto, the reason Tsukino hadn't left was because she had no intention of returning to Planet Ninshu. Were it not for Naruto suddenly acquiring legacy qualifications, she would have long since left.

She looked over at Naruto and the third Demon Mountain, her expression one of both blankness and complex emotions.

"The augury of the almighty members of the Sect, which came at the expense of generations of accumulated skill, indicated that the successor of Lord Li would rise up from Planet East Victory. Only a few people within the Sect know of this.

"Naruto comes from Planet Ninshu. He is not the person decreed by fate to be the successor." Tsukino let out a soft, inward sigh.

A moment later, Naruto's eyes glittered.

"There are many possible answers to the question posed by the

Reincarnation Mountain," he thought. "Many theories could be proposed. If I assumed the identity of that slave of the Reincarnation Mountain, then I would have many choices in front of me." Hundreds of ideas flitted through Naruto's mind. After all, he was a scholar, and he still vividly remembered the Imperial Examinations he had attended in the State of Zhao, despite the fact that they had occurred hundreds of years ago.

Subconsciously, he analyzed the clues provided by the words given him.

After a few dozen breaths of time passed, his eyes began to glitter brightly. He opened his mouth to speak, but then was shocked to discover that he was incapable of speaking out the answer he had formulated.

It was as if as of this moment, his mouth had been sealed up, and he

was a mute!

Naruto's mind trembled as he looked at the Reincarnation Mountain.

Mukui looked at Naruto and then slowly said, "Reincarnation Mountain asks three questions, and then seals your mouth. Any answer which does not conform to your soul, cannot be uttered. This first question is asked of your heart.

"Open your mind and heart. Search your soul. Find the true answer within you, and you will be able to speak it out. You are searching for your heart, your nature, your self." A profound look flickered within Mukui's eyes.

Naruto was silent for a bit longer. He looked at the incense stick, and saw that it was already one third burned out. His eyes filled with a complicated look, and then he closed them.

Everything was quiet….

"There was a withered slave on this mountain who said that life is pain," thought Naruto. "He wished to free himself from the sea of bitterness. That sea is like an inescapable flame that can burn everything. Afterward, he called this place Withering Flame, and made a solemn vow that he would eradicate the sea of bitterness. He would ensure that all living things no longer experience bitterness, but rather, freedom!

"That was his choice. Perhaps that person was none other than one of the illustrious three Greater Demons of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Withering Flame Demon!

"I don't know how the other two Greater Demons of these Demon Mountains appeared, but as for Reincarnation Mountain, if even a single slave could become a Greater Demon… then this mountain is a defiance of the Heavens!" Naruto took a deep breath and then calmed himself inwardly.

"If I were him… facing the sea of bitterness, what would I do?" Naruto murmured. "Would I do the same as him, vow to eradicate the sea of bitterness? Or… would I make a different choice?" He gradually forgot that he was in the Demon Immortal Sect. He forgot everything as he immersed himself in his mind and heart, as he sank himself into his own soul.

He whispered to himself, seeking for the true answer within the depths of his own self.

Suddenly, a vision appeared to him. Within the vision, he was one of the slaves on Reincarnation Mountain. He climbed the mountain constantly, struggling to reach the summit and the pit of flames. Finally, he jumped in to be burned up by the flames and the molten rock inside.

When he opened his eyes again, he was at the bottom of the mountain, where he once again began to stride the same path as before. Over and over again, this happened, an endless cycle.

"He was right, but also wrong," murmured Naruto.

"This could be viewed as a sea of bitterness, but also… not. If you believe everything to be bitterness, then it is. If you believe that everything is not bitterness, then it is not.

"Leaping into the pit of fire represents death. Reappearance at the bottom of the volcano represents birth. The climb up the mountain represents the process of life….

"I would not swear to eradicate this place. Nor would I sink myself into cowardliness. What I have… is the determination to set my foot where I wish to set it. I control my own fate. I may not be able to control my own birth, but I can decide how I die.

"And the final destination will definitely NOT be the pit at the top of the volcano." Although he had been murmuring, Naruto's voice actually echoed through the entire Demon Immortal Sect, even though he didn't realize it.

As his voice echoed about, Naruto's vision changed. His incarnation as a withered slave no longer conformed to the cycle. It did not leap into the fiery pit, but rather, stood outside of the volcano. Unlike the other withered slaves around him, he looked up into the sky, his expression no longer blank, but rather, awash with emotion.

It was as if… he had awakened. It was as if a black and white painting had suddenly been splashed with color.

He turned his back on the fiery pit and began to stride away from the mountain. He allowed himself to drop into the abyss, running counter to the fiery pit…. Finally, a smile appeared on his face.

"The path of life does not just run from the bottom of a mountain to its top…." he said lightly. In his mind, his incarnation as a withered slave fell off of Reincarnation Mountain. He did not turn to look back, but rather strode off into the distance.

Behind him, the countless other people on Reincarnation Mountain continued to repeat the same actions they did day after day. As for him, he drew further and further away from the mountain….

"If you believe it to be a sea of bitterness, then a sea of bitterness it is. If you believe it to simply be scenery on the path of life, then scenery it is…. The sea of bitterness never ends, but the scenery does.

"That is my answer."

Naruto opened his eyes.

In that instant, he heard his own voice echoing out around him.

Mukui was shaken inwardly as he looked at Naruto. Naruto's answer far exceeded what he could have anticipated. He had assumed Naruto would chose to eradicate the sea of bitterness, and then be reborn.

"If he does not die prematurely," thought Mukui, "then the possibilities for his future are incalculable!" The shock in his eyes gradually turned into admiration. "His Cultivation base is nowhere close to mine, but his heart… is far bigger!"

Even more astonished was true spirit Night. It stared at Naruto, its mind roaring. Echoing in its mind were Naruto's words: "The sea of bitterness never ends, but the scenery does."

"Such a choice seems simple," thought Night, "but if you analyze it carefully… his ambition far exceeds that of others! The makeup of his inner being is infinitely large!

"To him, the sea of bitterness can be likened to scenery on the path of life! The further he travels, the more scenery he will encounter!

"Reincarnation examines of the heart. It inquires of one's essence, one's nature and one's self. His answer cannot be false. This man's will… although spoken lightly, can shake the Heavens!"

Off in the distance, Tsukino was breathing heavily. She had long since come to the conclusion that Naruto was beyond ordinary. But now that she had personally heard the expression of his heart, she suddenly realized that she had underestimated him.

"His choice represents his heart. It doesn't matter if you talk about South Heaven or the Ninth Mountain and Sea, if he can survive, then all of this here will be a mere rest stop on his journey.

"As he strides forward, everything in existence will be forced to do nothing more than watch him walk off into the distance…."

As of now, no more mist or fire was visible coming out of Reincarnation Mountain. Even the incense stick had ceased burning. Everything was incredibly quiet.

Naruto looked at Reincarnation Mountain, and it seemed as if the mountain were looking back at him.

After the space of a few breaths, a shocking roaring sound could be heard that split Heaven and Earth. Everything began to quake and tremble.

"I shall bestow favor upon him with high aspirations!" said the grim, ancient voice. The voice words echoed out in all directions, a clear approval of Naruto.

At the same time, endless flames shot up into the sky, illuminating the firmament. Before, there were seven portions of light, but now, the light expanded as one more portion was added.

The entire sky was brightly lit by the eight portions of light which seemed to connect directly to the Third Heaven. The two Holy Lands were becoming increasingly clear.

There was also an incredible natural power that erupted from within the Reincarnation Mountain and then shot toward Naruto.

His body shook as his Cultivation base began to climb.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Asger Hansen and Anonymous_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 625

Chapter 625: I Am Still Searching!

Note from Deathblade: _This chapter mentions "the Dao." Instead of having a ton of footnotes, please take just a moment to read the following short bit of information about "the Dao." In Chinese, the character dao_ 道, _actually has a lot of different meanings. Here are some of the definitions of the character itself: road, way, path, course, direction, say, talk, speak, truth, principle, and of course "The Dao" of Daoism. Keep these things in mind as you read!_

His Cultivation base instantly began to rotate, and his hair rose up into the air around him. Power of Heaven and Earth came out of the Reincarnation Mountain, filled with a unique aura, to pour into Naruto's body. It entered through his pores, merging with him, causing his Cultivation base to spin more and more rapidly.

Naruto could hear his own heartbeat. Each thump gave rise to a rumbling that filled his body. Cracking sounds could be heard as his body gradually grew taller.

He became more slender, more charming, and as his hair danced around him, the Demonic air about him grew even more intense.

Naruto's Cultivation base was already half a step into Spirit Severing.

In fact, when he entered the Eighth Anima, he could be considered true

Spirit Severing; his battle with the Patriarch Harishama had thoroughly established how truly powerful he was.

If he wanted to, Naruto could simply close his eyes for a bit and attempt his first Severing. If he succeeded, he would have a Domain.

However, the matter of a Domain was far too important. Spirit Severing was a demarcation between Immortal and mortal, so that decision was not one that Naruto would make lightly. He needed enlightenment, from his life force, from his life in general. He needed to search for the path that led to understanding, then naturally, gain enlightenment of his own Domain. When he took that first step from being a mortal to being Immortal, that was the time for Spirit Severing!

In addition to those reasons, there was another reason. Naruto was very stubborn when it came to his Cultivation base. He did not want to use the Eighth Anima to enter Spirit Severing. He had a Perfect Foundation, as well as a Perfect Core. As for his Nascent Souls, he had used his own methods to acquire Perfection.

And yet, although merging his eight Nascent Souls into one seemed Perfect, that was not the limit!

"I need to form a ninth Nascent Soul!" A strange light gleamed in his eyes, and the ambition within him grew even stronger. He had started upon this path in his Cultivation, so he would do everything possible to acquire the pinnacle of good fortune.

Right now, his body rumbled as the power of Heaven and Earth from the Reincarnation Mountain's aura surged into his body. His Cultivation base climbed up until it reached a certain point where it couldn't go any higher. In accord with Naruto's will, it settled and began to form together in his dantian region.

"My Five Elements Nascent Souls stem from my own enlightenment. Any outside power is auxiliary!" Within Naruto's dantian region, the power of Heaven and Earth continued to surge in, slowly transforming into a vortex.

Surrounding the vortex were Naruto's eight astonishing Nascent Souls!

"Wind power of the roc was gifted to me by the benefactor in the Rebirth Cave. It was hidden within my body for years, to eventually be refined into my sixth Nascent Soul!" A strange light shone in Naruto's eyes. With every breath he took, more power of Heaven and Earth flowed into him.

"Lighting of Heavenly Tribulation. I experienced it on multiple occasions, starting with Foundation Establishment, all the way to the Nascent Soul stage. After enough accumulated within my body, I refined it into my seventh Nascent Soul!" Naruto's insides rumbled as if with thunder, and the vortex in his dantian region spun faster and faster.

"Fleshly Sanctification allowed me to step foot into Spirit Severing. I congealed Qi and blood to form my eighth Nascent Soul!" The roaring grew more intense, causing Mukui to stare, and a strange gleam to appear in the eyes of true spirit Night.

A look of disbelief could be seen on Tsukino's face.

"This time, I will form a ninth Nascent Soul… purely with power from the outside.

"Now, if I want to make a ninth Nascent Soul purely from outside power," thought Naruto, "well then… what I need to first do is reach… Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and finally, concoct them into a Nascent Soul!"

Naruto's hair whipped about in chaos, as if a wild gale was sweeping by. His clothes also fluttered madly. He was now thoroughly submerged in the power of Heaven and Earth from the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain, which surged around him in a vortex.

The vortex rapidly shrank, sucked in by Naruto. As that happened, his eyes grew increasingly radiant. Within his dantian region, a rumbling sound could be heard. The vortex was condensed to the maximum, to the level of the great circle of Qi Condensation. Then it began to form into Dao Pillars!

Dao Pillars indicated Foundation Establishment!

The sight of it caused Mukui to watch with even more concentration.

"He's going to form another Nascent Soul. He's cultivating… the Sublime Spirit Scripture!"

True spirit Night watched on silently, staring deeply at Naruto.

Most shocked of all was Tsukino. Her eyes were wide as she watched Naruto absorbing the spiritual energy. She couldn't help but clench her teeth, a pained expression on her face.

"That's the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain. Naruto… is actually using that aura to form a Nascent Soul! If I were able to absorb the aura, it would be incredibly beneficial to my Demon Immortal Body!"

Even as desperate pain filled Tsukino's heart, the rumbling vortex around Naruto completely disappeared, having been fully absorbed by him. Naruto was now a full head taller than he was before. An illusory aura surrounded him, making his entire person seem as if he were alternating between reality and illusion.

He took a deep breath, clasped hands and then bowed toward the Reincarnation Mountain.

The mountain did not need bows, but Naruto bowed anyway, because of the kindness of the mountain.

When he rose up, the Reincarnation Mountain rumbled again. Black smoke roiled out, and flames shot up into the air, filling the sky. The smoke gradually formed together into a figure.

It was a man, wearing a black robe, his features unclear. However, he emanated a feeling of indescribable age that spread out in all directions.

He seemed to be looking at Naruto. After a moment passed, a hoarse voice could be heard, filled with cold emotionlessness.

"When Withering Flame left the mountain, he wished to borrow a Demon heart from me. At that time, I asked him a question.

"'What is the Dao!?'

"I have asked the same question of many people, and only three have given me answers worthy of remembering. One of them said that the Dao is a path. There are three thousand great Daos, and thus, three thousand paths. Different paths for different people, nothing more, nothing less. One should continue forward, regardless of whether or not there is a path beneath one's feet! The person who provided that answer… became Lord Li!

"The second answer was that the Dao is eternal and unchangeable. It is the only truth in Heaven and Earth. It is possible to look at it, but never touch it… to understand it, but never be able to explain it. If you understand, you understand. If you don't understand… then even spending your whole life searching will not gain you enlightenment. The person who spoke those words became Lord Hebi .

"The third answer was provided by Withering Flame. He said that the Dao is the heart, and that the heart is obsession. His desire to eradicate the sea of bitterness was an obsession that took him over. It grew deeper and deeper. Were he to have truly eradicated the sea of bitterness, then his Dao… would be a natural law of Heaven and Earth!

"Eternity is always here. He may have perished, but the Dao exists forever.

"He said that all the rules and laws that exist in the world have their basis in the powerful experts that existed on the path, as well as the realization of their Daos!

"If a person's Dao is the belief that the sky must be separated into periods of night and day, then the Heavens will provide such a cycle.

"Life can be extinguished, but the Dao exists forever. Life… is lived in order to leave a good name throughout the ages after one dies, to cause one's Dao to remain, to transform into natural law, to be without regret.

"Because of his answer, he was able to borrow one of my three thirdgrade Demon Hearts.

"Now, you must answer me. In your belief, what is the Dao? You have the time it takes one incense stick to burn, and you may not refrain from answering."

As Naruto listened to the words of the Reincarnation Mountain, his heart filled with great waves. He could identify with Lord Li's answer. As for Lord Hebi 's answer, it also contained truth.

As for the answer given by Greater Demon Withering Flame that year, it caused Naruto's mind to tremble like a seething ocean. Perhaps that answer was also the truth.

"Is the reason that the Reincarnation Mountain can only remember these three answers, because those three answers fully explain the meaning of the character Dao 道 ?" He stood there silently.

"What is the Dao?" he asked himself. A glow appeared in his eyes, but he couldn't think of an answer. He had heard many people use this character, Dao, but down to this day it only felt as if he were groping about on the edges of its meaning.

Even as Naruto sank into thought, a second incense burner appeared from within the black smoke. The smoke churned, and the incense stick began to burn.

Everything was still and quiet. The incense stick burned slowly, and time passed. However, Naruto still did not provide an answer. His eyes were filled with a blank look.

Soon, the incense stick was reaching its end. Ninety percent had burned. Mukui sighed as he looked at Naruto, a look of pity in his eyes.

True spirit Night was silent, but it also sighed inwardly. "So, it turns out he is not the person Lord Li is waiting for…."

Tsukino's heart was filled with complex emotions. She looked at Naruto, and then the incense stick which was almost burned out. She shook her head.

It was at this moment that Naruto's eyes began to shine brightly. The blankness from before vanished. He looked up at the Reincarnation Mountain and slowly began to speak.

"I don't know what the answer is," he murmured. "My Cultivation base won't permit me to understand what the Dao is….

"To me, the Dao is very simple. It is talking, speaking, opening your mouth, and letting other people open their mouths. All of that is the Dao, speaking. Speaking the words from your heart, speaking out the thoughts you wish to express.

"It doesn't require enlightenment, nor obsession. It doesn't require a path beneath your feet. Perhaps it is the first voice of all living creatures, of everything under the Heavens.

"When that voice can be heard, it is the Dao, it is speaking!" Naruto had organized his thoughts and spoken out what he understood about the Dao, based upon his current realm.

He didn't know if what he had said was true or correct. In fact, he hadn't wanted to speak at all, but he had no choice but to ignore those feelings. All he could do was explain what he understood about the Dao.

By this time, the incense stick had burned down to the end. It flickered, on the verge of being completely extinguished. "At the same time," he continued, "when that voice speaks, it represents a direction!

"The boundless Heavens and Earth are the final resting place of all living things. Life is like a journey, filled with various scenery, various paths.

"Sometimes, you might think there is only one path for you. Sometimes, your heart's obsession creates a path.

"As for the Dao, it is a direction. That direction can guide you through your life. When you are faced with countless decisions, it can lead you down the paths you must tread. In the end… it can help you pick which path to take!

"It is formed after one experiences the vicissitudes of life, the cleansing of time, and the understanding which comes from experiencing the world. It can be hidden in any time, place, direction, or action….

"That is my understanding of the Dao. It points in a direction, and gives me the strength to proceed onward. Perhaps it doesn't even exist, or perhaps it is everywhere.

"As for me, I am still searching for it…." He lifted his head up to look at the Reincarnation Mountain.

The Reincarnation Mountain was silent. Mukui was silent. True spirit Night was silent.

Tsukino was also silent.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Alex Wong, SeanL, Anonymous, Angel_

 _Ortiz, Chesly Mason, and Harvey Zhou_

Vol. 4 : Chapter 626

Chapter 626 (Click to show)

Chapter 626: Ninth Nascent Soul, Demon Nascent Soul!

The incense stick burned out!

An intense rumbling could be heard from within the Reincarnation Mountain, seemingly in approval of Naruto. The sound of it echoed about in all directions, causing Heaven and Earth to shake. The black smoke churned, and the flames within swept about in all directions. The light in the sky grew brighter to a shocking degree.

One and a half portions of light were added.

The sky had room for ten portions of light. As of now, the three Greater Demon Mountains were illuminated by nine portions.

The Heavens were filled with brightness, as if it were high noon. The two Holy Lands of the Third Heaven were now fully illuminated. The vegetation and buildings there were clearly distinguishable.

In fact, it was also possible to see that in one of the Holy Lands, an enormous pagoda rose up, upon which was carved a huge character.

Hebi !

The character seemed ancient, although that was something that mortals would not be able to see. Even most Cultivators, unless they were sensitive to the power of Time, would have difficulty picking up any clues. However, to Naruto, that sensation was secondary to that of the Holy Lands themselves.

The Holy Lands had existed for tens upon tens of thousands of years before the Hebi Character came to be.

That made sense according to the legends regarding Lord Hebi . The Hebi Clan originally did not have that surname. It was only after seizing Lordship of the Ninth Mountain and Sea that the name was changed, and the Heavens were placed onto top of the Li Clan.

An ancient voice spoke out from the Reincarnation Mountain. Although the voice was cold, it seemed to be filled with sentiment as it slowly reverberated out.

"The Dao is a direction…. The words of an innocent child.

"I will remember this answer." Even as the voice spoke, the power of Heaven and Earth contained in the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain erupted out from the mouth of the volcano. It was so thick that it seemed as if it would take on corporeal form, as if it were actually a waterfall. The sheer amount exceeded that of the previous occasion exponentially as it shot toward Naruto.

It neared and then surrounded him, rumbling as it formed into a huge vortex with Naruto in the very middle. He took a deep breath, like a dragon inhaling, and the power of Heaven and Earth poured into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, as well as all the pores in his body. It shot in and then began to accumulate in his dantian region.

It fused into the Dao Pillars, causing a surging power that pushed Naruto's Cultivation base up. The Dao Pillars began to shine with endless light. At the same time, the Nascent Souls inside of him suddenly flew out one by one to float around him.

When the Eighth Nascent Soul appeared, it made a thoroughly astonishing scene.

As the eight Nascent Souls rotated around Naruto, shockingly, they too began to absorb the power of Heaven and Earth that contained the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain. It poured into Naruto's body and continued the transformation process that would end with… a ninth Nascent Soul!

Boom!

The endless light from the Dao Pillars exploded into pieces, which then began to form together into a glittering core the size of a grain of rice!

Early Core Formation!

As soon as the core appeared, the speed with which Naruto absorbed the power of Heaven and Earth increased by more than ten times. By adding in the eight Nascent Souls, it only took the space of a few dozen breaths for the boundless vortex surrounding him to rapidly shrink.

After it disappeared, Naruto's face flickered. He suddenly looked up, his eyes glowing. There in his dantian region was a core roughly the size of an infant's fist!

The Cultivation base of the core instantly shot upward. Mid Core Formation. Late Core Formation. All the way to… the great circle of Core Formation.

The core emanated colorful lights, and appeared to be a Mottled Core. However, inside of it was a unique aura…. As soon as Naruto sensed the aura, he recognized it.

It was… Demonic Qi!

This was a… Demon Core!

The Reincarnation Mountain was the essence of a Greater Demon. One of the withered slaves on the mountain achieved his Dao, then became one of the three Greater Demons who could rebuke the Heavens. From this it could be seen how shocking the Reincarnation Mountain was.

As of now, Naruto could see that the power of Heaven and Earth that contained the aura of the Reincarnation Mountain, was actually Demonic Qi. Since he had absorbed Demonic Qi for this cultivation, then naturally, he had produced a Demon Core.

That meant that his ninth Nascent Soul would obviously be… a Demon Nascent Soul.

Ninth Nascent Soul, Demon Nascent Soul!

"With one more round of this power of Heaven and Earth, I can cause my Demon Nascent Soul to appear." His eyes shone with a bizarre light, and he looked up at the Reincarnation Mountain with a look of anticipation.

He could sense the Demon Core within him, at the great circle of Core Formation. He was just one step away from forming a Nascent Soul.

The rumbling from the Reincarnation Mountain gradually faded away, and the mountain returned to normal. Black smoke surged out and flames rose up into the sky. The ancient, cold voice once again sounded out.

"No more questions are required of you.

"As you said, your current realm and Cultivation base do not permit you to know what the Dao is….

"Asking you the third question would result in nothing more but empty talk. You would neither move my heart, nor yours.

"Therefore, not asking the question is the most appropriate course of action.

"However, I am very curious. If your Dao is a direction, and you are still searching, then… have you found any traces of it?" The last question asked by the ancient voice echoed out in all directions.

Naruto was silent for a moment. His eyes glowed with reminiscence, but after a long time, he clasped hands toward the Reincarnation Mountain and bowed. When he straightened up, his voice was soft as he began to speak. "Many years ago," he murmured, "on a night when snow filled the world, I sat together with someone in a horse-drawn carriage.

"It was bitterly cold outside, but there was an oven inside the carriage, making it very warm. It was as if there were two different worlds, separated from each other. At that time, I had just stepped foot into the Cultivation world. I was no longer a mortal, but a Cultivator. When I looked outside at the snow, I felt that I was looking at myself.

"The snow can only exist during the dead of winter. It may yearn for summer days, and for warmth, but if it nears them, it will melt. I am much the same. After striding forward into the Cultivation world, I could not turn my head back, nor could I ever experience the peace and tranquility I once had." Of course, Naruto was thinking back to that year in the State of Zhao, when he had spent some time in the carriage with scholar Zheng Yong. 1

"I was once a mere scholar…. I remember how when I finally left my hometown. It was raining…. 2

"My life is like snow. I can only exist within winter. I may wish to return to the sunny days of the mortal world, but that is no longer me….

"Life is like a journey, filled with countless different experiences. Perhaps it is best to say that different experience create different scenery on that journey. If you experience bitterly cold wind, you will become snow. If you experience the blazing sun, then you become rain….

"The type of life you experience determines what type of person you will be. That is what makes life wonderful."

Mukui looked at Naruto, and many thoughts floated up in his mind. He thought of Ke Yunhai, and thought of his own life. What he saw was everything that had happened to him, and this world.

"I've already been here for a long time, filled with nostalgia…."

True spirit Night sighed. Naruto's words did not contain some great Dao. However, the words had touched it nonetheless. Before this moment, it would never have believed that some tiny Cultivator who could not stand up to a single blow from it, would be qualified to move it emotionally.

Tsukino looked at Naruto, once again experiencing how extraordinary Naruto was. It made her think back to all her own experiences in life.

"To me, the Dao is a direction," continued Naruto. "I think… that such a belief sprouted during that time in the snow. It led me… led me to a place far away.

"Many years later," he murmured, thinking back to Pill Demon, "I kowtowed to my Master in a world of illusory reincarnation. During that life, I kowtowed three times. The kowtow of Innocence, the kowtow of the Roaming, and the kowtow of Sunset Gazing. At that time, I was enlightened. 3

"In that moment, I understood that life is a journey. Every turn in the path leads to new scenery. My footprints exist on that path, and as to whether they are deep or shallow, it doesn't matter. All the decisions were mine to make.

"Heaven and Earth are just resting places for the myriads of living creatures. Time represents the passage of hundreds of generations of passing travelers." 4

Having spoken up to this point, Naruto's eyes suddenly shone with a bright light. It seemed that as of this moment, there was something clearly different about him than before.

"That is the direction I chose. Although the way is a bit unclear, there are traces visible.

"Whether you speak of our time on earth, or reincarnation, life is a journey. The sea of bitterness is only one bit of scenery, that's all. The most important thing is to leave our mark on the path that we have walked and experienced.

"As for me, I want to keep walking even further off into the distance!" With that, Naruto took a deep breath, clasped hands, and once again bowed deeply to the Reincarnation Mountain.

Laughter echoed out from within Reincarnation Mountain. The echoing laughter caused the black smoke to disperse, and the flames to die out, and the sky to be filled with ripples.

"The resting place for myriads of living creatures? Excellent. Hundreds of generations of passing travelers? Wonderful! And you want to walk further off into the distance? Well said!

"Well, you have answered my three questions. Allow me to provide you some assistance to walk further off into the distance!" As the voice faded away, the Reincarnation Mountain once again began to rumble. This time, the power of Heaven and Earth that exploded out of it was dozens of times stronger than before. It shot out from the mouth of the volcano, shooting through the air toward Naruto. It circulated around him and then transformed into a magnificent vortex.

The vortex spun rapidly and then began to pour into Naruto.

His mind rumbled, and the multi-colored Demon Core inside his dantian region instantly began to fill with cracks. They spread out, multiplying for the space of a handful of breaths. Finally, the core collapsed, and a tiny, illusory person appeared from within!

The person looked exactly the same as Naruto in every way. The only difference was that the Demonic air about it was more obvious. This was Naruto's ninth Nascent Soul, the Demon Nascent Soul.

As soon as it appeared, it appeared weak. Its eyes were closed and incapable of being opened, and overall it was completely incapable of even comparing with Naruto's eight other Nascent Souls. However, as more of the power of Heaven and Earth poured into it, it began to mature.

Peak of the early Nascent Soul stage!

Mid Nascent Soul stage!

Peak mid Nascent Soul stage!

Late Nascent Soul stage!

Naruto's hair whipped about his head and he began to float up into the air. His eight Nascent Souls rotated around him, while the Demon Nascent Soul remained inside, the vortex surrounding it rapidly shrinking. Soon, all of the power of Heaven and Earth was pouring into Naruto's body.

The Demon Nascent Soul sucked it all in. Suddenly, the aura of the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage radiated out. At the same time, the ninth Nascent Soul flew out from his dantian region to fly around him.

It joined the other Nascent Souls to float in a circle around Naruto. Finally, its eyes, which had been closed the entire time, suddenly opened.

Its pupils were green and completely demonic.

Ninth Nascent Soul… Demon Nascent Soul!

Naruto's Cultivation base experienced an unprecedented explosion in power.

The wind whipped around him, and Heaven and Earth flashed with a riot of colors. As of this moment, Naruto was the focus of attention of the entire Demon Immortal Sect.

Naruto shared the carriage with scholar Zheng Yong in chapter 58 ↩ When Naruto left for the Southern Domain in chapter 95, the last chapter of Book 1, it was raining ↩ The three kowtows were in the illusory life he lived during the Violet Furnace Lord trial by fire. That part began in chapter 289, and continued for several chapters after ↩ In this part, he is quoting and referencing what he said in chapter 291 in the illusory world of the Violet Furnace Lord trial by fire ↩

Vol. 4 : Chapter 627

Chapter 627: A True Man!

"Agreed!" said the Reincarnation Mountain, its final word.

As the sound echoed out, a brilliant light surrounded the mountain. It pierced the sky, filling it with ten portions of light. Nine portions of light had already been bright.

As of now, the light was piercing, illuminating everything completely!

Light shone down from up above, filling the entire world with brightness, making the two Holy Lands completely clear.

Now, a tall pagoda was visible on the other Holy Land, upon which a large character could be seen.

Fang!

In the past, Lord Li had two great generals who were the basis of the two Holy Lands. In later generations, one of those generals came to be called Hebi . The other was named Fang; had been, and always would be!

Naruto's mind trembled and he took a deep breath. One by one, the nine great Nascent Souls that spun around him reentered his body to sit cross-legged in his dantian region. As they returned, Naruto's Cultivation base climbed up again. He could sense that he now had the power to enter the Ninth Anima!

That would be fearsome power equal to 256 great circle Nascent Soul Cultivation bases, as well as an intense fleshly body power that could reach a shocking realm.

Naruto looked up. He saw the Reincarnation Mountain, and then, above all the three Greater Demon Mountains, the fully illuminated Third Heaven.

He could sense an enormous, terrifying pressure weighing down from the Third Heaven. Even with his nine Nascent Souls, it was something he couldn't possibly even touch.

"Even Spirit Severing would be incapable of breaking through," thought

Naruto, his eyes glittering. "Only a higher stage, higher than Dao

Seeking, would have even a chance."

The voice of true spirit Night suddenly could be heard echoing about, filled with complex emotions. "You acquired ten portions of light…. I never thought that could happen.

"If you acquired only six, I wouldn't stand in your way. That would especially be the case if you acquired nine. But you acquired ten.

"The sky has room for ten portions, and you occupied them all….

"Nine portions of light qualifies you to have nine chances. As for ten portions of light…. you are qualified to unlimited chances. As long as no one acquires the legacy of Lord Li before you do, then most likely, that legacy belongs to you.

"However, I advise you not to attempt to break through to the Third

Heaven before Immortal Ascension."

Naruto's eyes glittered as he looked up to see true spirit Night staring at him.

Mukui was silent for a moment, then looked at Naruto and quietly said, "Ten portions of light is the pinnacle. I also advise you not to attempt to break through this time. The Third Heaven is not a place for those who are not Immortals. Furthermore, the ten portions of light contain incredible good fortune that cannot be acquired unless you are Immortal."

Naruto clasped hands and bowed to Mukui. As he rose, he looked at him and said, "I want to try."

Mukui looked at Naruto. When he saw his staunchness, he held his tongue, and did nothing to block his way.

True spirit Night similarly said nothing.

Naruto took a breath and the flashed up into the sky, transforming into a beam of colorful light. He shot directly toward the Third Heaven, and the Fang Clan Holy Land.

As soon as he flew up into the air, everything began to shake. An enormous pressure descended, causing Naruto's body to instantly stop in mid-air. It was as if all the bones in his body were making cracking sounds. His entire person felt as if it were being grabbed by a giant hand, and then crushed into pieces.

At the same time, something that seemed like a giant net wrapped him, causing his body to weaken rapidly.

All of this was when he had just started out! He was still far, far away from the Third Heaven!

Naruto's eyes flickered as, without hesitation, he entered directly into the Third Anima.

Three great Nascent Souls merged together. The fact that he had a Cultivation base equal to four great circle Nascent Souls was secondary; his fleshly body power was the key. Naruto lifted his head up and laughed.

Boom!

The pressure surrounding him quavered, and the force wrapping up his

Cultivation base loosened a bit. Naruto once again flew upward, shooting up roughly 3,000 meters.

The sky was 30,000 meters high, which meant that Naruto had only forced his way ten percent of the way toward the Third Heaven.

In his position 3,000 meters up, Naruto began to pant. His body felt as if it were sinking into waters of weakness. The force wrapping around him emitted intense pressure, causing his body to distort.

"Fifth Anima!"

Boom!

Naruto's body shook. He now had a Cultivation base equal to 16 great circle Nascent Souls, and his fleshly body was close to Spirit Severing. He was able to cast off the pressure surrounding him, once again forcing his way up. Soon, he had reached the 6,000 meter mark.

At that point, the pressure in the area bore down with overbearing aggression. It seemed ready to crush Naruto in an instant. His face flickered, but he didn't hesitate.

"Seventh Anima!"

After entering the Seventh Anima, the power of 64 great circle Nascent Souls filled him, and his fleshly body was at the Spirit Severing stage. Naruto lifted his head up and roared, then forced himself up, fighting back against the pressure. Roaring echoed out as he faced directly against the increasingly intense pressure to fly up another 3,000 meters. He had now reached a total height of 9,000 meters.

By this point, Naruto was panting. The pressure here was such that it would instantly destroy any Cultivator who was under Spirit Severing, exterminating them in mind and spirit.

As for Naruto, if he didn't have his incredibly powerful fleshly body, then he too would be destroyed. His face was now extremely unsightly.

However, a smile could also be seen on his face, and a wild determination appeared in his eyes.

"Eighth Anima!"

Boom!

Naruto laughed toward the Heavens as his Cultivation base exploded up. His Cultivation base was risen up to a power equivalent to 128 great circle Nascent Souls. His hair whipped about and his clothes fluttered. His fleshly body grew even more intensely powerful. Cracking sounds could be heard as he seemed to grow taller. Within him, every inch of bone, flesh, and blood burst with endless power.

His fleshly body grew even more powerful than before!

The Eighth Anima was something that could imperil First Severing Cultivators!

Patriarch Harishama, who was of the great circle of the First Severing, couldn't stand up to a single blow when Naruto was in the Eighth Anima!

The pressure surrounding Naruto shattered, and his body flew up again. The sight of it caused Mukui to be moved visibly. A profound look appeared in the eyes of true spirit Night.

To them, Naruto's Cultivation base wasn't even worth mentioning. However, Naruto's will, his determination, and his decisiveness caused their minds to tremble.

Off in the distance, Tsukino was staring fixedly at the scene. Her heart was also trembling, moved by Naruto's persistence, perseverance, and tenacity.

Although Naruto's Cultivation base was far from any of these people, he had already forced his way to the 12,000 meter position. Such a high position was nearly at the halfway point. The pressure was intense, and as Naruto neared, he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His fleshly body was powerful, but underneath this pressure, it twisted and distorted, emitting groaning and creaking sounds. Even the Cultivation base power of 128 great circle Nascent Nascent Souls was defeated with a boom.

As of this moment, it seemed he had reached the end….

Naruto's eyes filled with an intense light. He could accept that he couldn't go further, but what he couldn't accept was that he couldn't reach the halfway point!

"Ninth Anima!"

As his voice rang out from the 12,000 meter level, his body suddenly shook.

White hair appeared on his head as his longevity was sucked away at a terrifyingly rapid rate. However, at the same time, his Cultivation base… began an unprecedentedly mad climb.

128, 151, 178, 193… all the way to 200!

Not too long ago, when he had acquired his eighth Nascent Soul, during the time when his Cultivation base climbed from the power of 64 great circle Nascent Souls to reach the power of 100, he had felt as if he were equivalent to Spirit Severing.

If 100 great circle Nascent Souls was similar to Spirit Severing, well, as of this moment, he had 200!

After reaching the Cultivation base power of 200 great circle Nascent Souls, Naruto's energy changed in an earth-shaking way. The pressure around him once again collapsed, and was completely incapable of doing anything to stop him. Now, nothing prevented him from pushing onward, climbing up!

203, 210, 230… all the way to 256!

The power of 256 great circle Nascent Souls caused the sky and land to dim, and the wind to scream. Roaring echoed out, and Naruto's entire body turned into something like a shooting star that charged upward.

His fleshly body also experienced incredible growth. It was tougher and more powerful. Furthermore, it was at this point that gradually, complex markings began to appear all over his body!

The marks glittered brightly, and seemed to contain laws of Heaven and Earth. They appeared to be branded on him from the void, causing his energy to once again shake everything.

13,000 meters. 13,500 meters. 14,500 meters… all the way to 15,000 meters!

15,000 meters in the air was the halfway point!

Naruto's body trembled, and blood oozed from his mouth. His hair was now more than half white. His body was tall and slender, and his energy intense. As he hovered in the 15,000 meter position, he did not wipe the blood from his mouth, but instead lifted his head up and laughed.

Then, he raised his foot and… moved forward once again, by and entire three meters!

Naruto's imposing manner, his demeanor, and his appearance in this moment caused Mukui, true spirit Night, and Tsukino, to all be shaken.

When was a man most attractive?

In a moment like this!

When was a man the most righteous hero?

In a moment like this!

There is an expression that describes a person as being 'indescribably beautiful and striking.' That is usually used to describe women. There is another expression. 'Who can do it except for me?' That expression is used to describe a true man!

At any time or place, a true man who stands out from the crowd, a passionate, true man, is like a hero, a person just as attractive as the most beautiful woman!

Regardless of man or woman, anyone would be drawn to such passion and ardor!

Tsukino's heart shook. Even she didn't notice that the image of Naruto

was being burned deeply into her heart in an unprecedented way. This was not to say that it caused romantic love to appear, but rather, she would now be incapable of forgetting him.

"Pressing forward with indomitable will," she murmured. "That… is a true man." She looked at Naruto, and suddenly realized that this scene really was indelibly etched on her heart.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Wei Tan, Dennis Liu, Asger Hansen, and Westerly Idiot_

—–

Note from Er Gen: This book is nearing its conclusion, and I'm currently thinking of the name for the next book…. I welcome any guesses about the name!

Vol. 4 : Chapter 628

Chapter 628: The Path of Spirit Severing!

As he hovered there at the 15,000 meter mark, Naruto took a deep breath. To him, the Ninth Anima was a state of rapid depletion. That was especially so considering the position he was in, halfway to the two Holy Lands and surrounded by incredible pressure. He could feel the terrifying pressure pushing against him from all sides.

That pressure weighed down on every strand of skin and muscle, on every bit of flesh and blood. Cracking sounds could be heard from within him, as if his bones were chafing together. Despite the incredible power of his current fleshly body, he was still incapable of moving forward even a pace.

The power of 256 great circle Nascent Souls continued to fight back explosively against the pressure; however, it continued to be defeated, and would clearly be extinguished soon.

The intensity of the pressure was such that, if Patriarch Harishama hadn't died, and was suddenly next to Naruto here, he would be destroyed in an instant, his body completely exploded into countless pieces.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked up at the two Holy Lands 15,000 meters away. His eyes gleamed.

Based on his current Cultivation base, he was incapable of treading that path. That was what Mukui had said, as well as true spirit Night. However… Naruto's personality was not the type to just accept what others said.

Although he trusted Mukui's opinion, he couldn't rest until he tried it out for himself. It didn't matter if the difficulty level was obviously high, he had to take a shot personally to see exactly how difficult it was.

"So this is the limit, huh?" he murmured hoarsely. Underneath the pressure, his eyes were now bloodshot, and veins bulged out all over his body. The blood in his veins circulated sluggishly, and his life force was showing signs failure.

He looked down silently at Mukui, true spirit Night, and Tsukino, who he had long since already noticed. They were 15,000 meters below him. If he wanted to give up now, all he had to do was relax, and he would descend down into safety.

"But," he thought, his eyes glittering with determination, "I want to do one more test to see… if this is really my true limit!" With that, he looked up, and his energy exploded out. His half-white hair danced about him, and his clothes whipped in the wind. He lifted up his leg and, viciously forced himself higher by a large measure.

Another three meters!

Boom!

A tremor ran through him. His fleshly body emitted cracking sounds, and his Cultivation base was under enormous pressure. His Cultivation base of 256 great circle Nascent Souls was under so much pressure that it was about to disintegrate.

Naruto's face was pale. However, it was at this point that he noticed something. He noticed something that quickly caused his face to fill with excitement and joy!

He almost didn't dare to believe it. However, his eyes filled with determination and, underneath the intense pressure, coughed up a mouthful of blood and forced himself forward by another measure!

In total, Naruto had now moved nine meters away from the 15,000 meter mark!

A rumbling sound filled his body, and he swayed back and forth. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his face was pale white. Marks of blood were now visible, tearing through his skin. It seemed that the incredible pressure was just on the verge of tearing him apart.

However, Naruto's eyes were filled with wild joy nonetheless. His shocking discovery just now left him panting heavily.

"I never imagined… that there could be such a transformation!" Inwardly, he still found it hard to accept. However, he was unable to think about the matter calmly. That was because he had found that underneath the incredible pressure, the power of the 256 great circle Nascent Souls was fusing together!

In any other place, such a thing could never happen. There wasn't a place Naruto could think of that would produce results like this. Only in this place, right here, could something like this happen!

That was because the pressure here came from the three Greater

Demon Mountains and the two Holy Lands. You could say that in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea, few places could display such overbearing power. And yet, at the same time, there was a gentleness within the pressure.

Perhaps there might be places more powerful than this, but they would not be suitable for anyone under the Immortal realm. This place, however, housed a legacy; therefore, there was a gentle side. To Naruto, a place like this was the perfect place to… fuse together his Cultivation base!

A Cultivation base of 256 Nascent Souls seemed terrifying, but by fusing them together, he could explode with… something that far, far exceeded the past level of power. That would be… true Spirit Severing power!

Naruto had considered this matter before. He had thought about Spirit Severing, and how one aspect involved enlightenment and another involved transmogrification of the Cultivation base. However, he had never been able to consolidate his thoughts. It had all been a waste of time, and he ended up slowly suppressing his Cultivation base until he could naturally arrive at a target transformation.

Right now, though, this pressure had an effect that Naruto simply couldn't NOT be excited about. Instead of focusing on the legacy, he was focused on his path of cultivation, and that next, most important step!

If he succeeded, then he would be able to enter Spirit Severing even faster. It meant that he would be able to directly enter Spirit Severing without even having practiced cultivation for three hundred years.

"My fleshly body can also be tempered here!" he thought. Taking a deep breath, he sat down cross-legged in mid-air, using the pressure pushing against him to begin to compress his Cultivation base.

Tsukino's eyes went wide with disbelief. "He's actually practicing cultivation!"

Mukui watched on seriously, although a smile quickly began to tug at the corners of his mouth.

Time passed slowly, enough for an incense stick to burn. Finally, a tremor ran through Naruto's body, and his eyes snapped open. They were bloodshot, but they shone with a radiant light. He slowly stood up, and as he did, an incredibly intense energy exploded out from him.

As of now, he did not have the power of 256 great circle Nascent Souls. He had 10 less! And yet, despite the reduction, in terms of energy, he had much more than before.

"This is a Blessed Land for me!" His eyes shining strangely, he once again moved forward another measure.

Boom!

The pressure became more intense, and Naruto's body shook. However, his Cultivation base was reduced by five Nascent Souls. Now, only the power of 241 remained.

It was a reduction of a mere five, but the intense fluctuations which emanated out of his Cultivation base supported him, allowing to move forward again!

Once, twice, three times….

His body trembled violently, as if he might explode at any moment. However, he continued onward relentlessly. As he did, his Cultivation base continue to shrink down and down.

236\. 226…. All the way to 180! By this point, Naruto was now at the 16,000 meter mark!

If a Cultivator of the Second Severing reached this position relying only on Cultivation base as a protection, he would quickly become unstable and then be destroyed. Naruto felt like his body was exploding. The fleshly body exists outside of his cultivation, like a shell. In this aspect, Naruto was different from a Second Severing Cultivator. He was using his fleshly body to protect his Cultivation base.

Relying on the power of his fleshly body, he was using this place to pressure his Cultivation base into solidity. However, streaks of blood were appearing all over him as his skin split. He seemed to be on the verge of collapsing apart. Even the bloody flesh inside of him was becoming visible.

Naruto's eyes glittered. Without hesitation, he slapped his bag of holding to produce vast quantities of medicinal pills. He consumed them to stem the wastage of his fleshly body. At the same time, he took longevity-increasing medicinal pills.

Of course, the main purpose had nothing to do with longevity. Instead, the life force contained within the medicinal pills nourished his fleshly body, causing it to be able to endure for even longer!

He took a deep breath and then once again proceeded forward. This advanced him to the 16,200 mark. A bloody haze exploded out around his body, and his trembling reached a pinnacle of intensity.

As of this moment, he had shrunk his Cultivation base down to only 163 Nascent Souls.

"This is going too slow…." thought Naruto. The struggle was clear on his face, although it was quickly replaced by determination.

"Rewards come only with risk. If I give up this chance, I won't be likely to find another place that can exert such pressure on my Cultivation base. Next time I come here will be hundreds of years from now. I… can't wait that long!" Without any further hesitation, Naruto began to rapidly rotate his Cultivation base. At the same time, he transformed into a green smoke, within which was a black moon. From his position at 16,200 meters, he instantly rocketed up.

The sight of it caused Mukui to be visibly moved. He instantly flew up into the air.

"Are you crazy!?" thought Tsukino, her eyes wide. It was like watching a moth fly directly into a flame.

Naruto really was like a moth flying into a flame, although he was even crazier than that moth. As he sped upward, he began to burn. His fleshly body burned, his blood and muscles burned.

To him, it felt as if he was being hacked to pieces by tens of thousands of blades. Vast quantities of flesh and blood were destroyed. He looked like a shooting star made of blood. However, that bloody shooting star quickly advanced 1,800 meters. When Naruto reappeared, he was at the 18,000 meter mark.

He instantly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. His body was mincemeat, and he was on the verge of completely falling apart.

"Violet Pupil Transformation!" In the instant in which his body was about to collapse, his eyes suddenly turned violet. His longevity was reduced, but in exchange, his shattering body was sustained for an extra breath of time! 1

During that breath of time, Naruto's Cultivation base shrank down at a shocking, wild speed.

Boom!

It went from 163 to 98. Then it dropped to 32. The speed with which this happened was shocking to the extreme.

Naruto's energy rocketed up, but even still, he had no way to prevent his fleshly body from nearing collapse.

"I can still hold on a bit longer!" he thought, once again employing the Violet Pupil Transformation. He sacrificed more longevity, causing his hair to turn white and his body to tremble, all to gain another breath of time.

Roaring filled his body. No outsider could hear it, but to Naruto it couldn't be clearer. The power of 32 Cultivation bases dropped to 16. More pressure bore down, and then, it was 8!

At this point, Naruto couldn't hold on any longer. His body began to grow limp, and he started to fall. From his position at 18,000 meters, he shot down at high speed. In the process of falling, the pressure lessened, and thus, his flesh and blood began to recover.

When he finally landed back down onto the hand of true spirit Night, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. However, he appeared to be completely restored to normal. The only difference was that the long hair which floated in the wind behind him was now gray.

As for his Cultivation base, its explosive growth caused the wind and clouds in the entire area to surge into motion, forming a twisting vortex around him.

As of this moment, Naruto was now far more powerful than before!

—–

Note from Er Gen: The name of the next book will be revealed along with the next chapter. It is four words long….

—–

 _End of Book 4: Five Color Paragon_

Naruto learned the Violet Pupil Transformation when he was in the

Violet Fate Sect in chapter 242 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 629

 _Book 5: Nirvanic Rebirth. Blood Everywhere!_

Chapter 629: Return

"First legacy trial by fire, failed," said Night slowly, giving Naruto a deep look. Its voice echoed out throughout the entire Demon Immortal Sect.

Naruto smiled indifferently, apparently not concerned at all. Success or failure didn't matter, as long as he got to try. What was the point of asking any questions? After all, he had eternal qualifications to participate in this legacy trial by fire.

This time he didn't succeed, but the next time, a few hundred years from now… who was to say that he would fail again?

Most importantly, he had discovered his path to Spirit Severing. Naruto was sure that by shrinking his Cultivation base, by combining everything into one, Spirit Severing would be right in front of him.

"Your path to Spirit Severing has opened," said Mukui to Naruto, his voice low. "When your Cultivation base is completely consolidated, then you can transform it into a Severing blade. You'll either live, and sever out your Domain, or die, and sever your life."

Naruto nodded. He had already come to understand this. That was definitely his path to Spirit Severing. Grind and polish his Cultivation base down until it became an illusory blade. After that blade appeared, he could begin the Severing.

The difference between life and death all lay in that blade!

"What Cultivators cultivate is both life and death," said Naruto. "I've walked such a path for a long time. Living or dying doesn't really matter. Life's a journey; the places you go, the things you see, those are the most important things. Live without regrets." He laughed, his eyes shining brightly.

A look of admiration appeared in Mukui's eyes, and he also laughed.

"You've already found your path," he said. With that, he waved his arm, causing a green wind to spring up. It picked up Naruto and began to carry him out of the Demon Immortal Sect. "Time to leave. When father gave his approval of you, you became my little brother. I, too, was moved by your Dao. Perhaps one day in the future, the two of us will meet again in the starry sky!

"I hope that when that day arrives, you will have already reached Immortal Ascension!" Even as Mukui's voice echoed about, Naruto was carried by the green wind far away from the Demon Immortal Sect.

At the same time, Mukui's gaze came to fall upon Tsukino, who still stood off in the distance.

Tsukino immediately clasped hands and bowed.

"I am Zhou Tsukino of the younger generation of the Demon Immortal

Sect. Greetings, Patriarch Ke."

"We'll be old friends from now on," said Mukui. "Demon Immortal

Body…. With people like you, I can feel good about the Demon Immortal Sect." As he looked at her, his eyes seemed to fill with reminiscence. It was impossible to tell who he was thinking about, but he sighed and then waved a sleeve. A jade slip flew out toward Tsukino, which she quickly grabbed. Then, the green wind picked her up and, along with Naruto, she began to be carried away.

"Place that object in your Sect's Ancestral Hall," said Mukui coolly, "and have the disciples prostrate to it. It can stave off extermination for ten thousand years."

Naruto and Tsukino continued to speed away within the green wind.

Naruto looked back at Mukui, and couldn't help but think back to all of the things that had happened since he arrived in the Demon Immortal Sect.

"Seal up the Demon Immortal Sect," said Mukui, his voice echoing out.

"Destiny has already been severed, now we adjourn for a few centuries…." Naruto watched him as he sat down gloomily crosslegged on the fourth of true spirit Night's horns.

At the same time, true spirit Night gave Naruto a deep look. Then, its enormous head began to sink down. Its eyes slowly closed, and by the time the head sank down completely… the seven horns rose up above the land!

Endless amounts of dust flew about. It was almost like time was running in reverse. Everything returned to its original position. In the blink of an eye, the seven horns grew thick and bulky, and were soon seven mountain peaks once again!

There were corpses on the mountain peaks just like before, not one more or less than before. The restrictive spells were in place just like before. It was like nothing had changed at all. The lands below also returned to how they were before. In moments, everything looked exactly as it had when Naruto first arrived.

Mukui sat cross-legged atop the Fourth Peak. His back was to Naruto; he was facing an area just outside the Seventh Peak, the location of Ke Yunhai's tomb….

Boom!

Naruto felt as if he had just slammed into an invisible wall. As he sank into it, everything went black. When he came to, he was outside the Demon Immortal Sect.

He glanced back, and the Demon Immortal Sect looked hazy. Just barely visible were countless illusory figures, hustling and bustling about.

Naruto said nothing. Tsukino had emerged along with him, and when she looked back, her expression was one of pain and complex emotions as she looked at the illusory Demon Immortal Sect.

Countless tiny fragments of rock and stone suddenly flew out to surround Naruto and Tsukino, quickly transforming into a new river of stars. Naruto was still gazing at the Demon Immortal Sect when a tremor ran through the whole river of stars, and it began to carry him and Tsukino away. It rolled out like a bolt of white silk.

Naruto said nothing as the Demon Immortal Sect drew farther and farther away. Tsukino likewise maintained her silence. They got farther and farther away until soon, the Bridge of Immortal Treading became visible among the stars.

"I need to go," said Tsukino suddenly. She looked at Naruto. He turned to look at her. "Take care of yourself on your journey."

Their eyes met, and Tsukino gave a warm smile.

"Thank you. My promise to you hasn't changed. I truly believe that one day in the future, we will meet again. I look forward to finding out where we will meet, under what circumstances, or, perhaps I should say… in what identity." Although she smiled, a flicker of farewell could be seen in her eyes.

With a final deep look at him, Tsukino slapped her bag of holding. A person flew out from inside. It was a woman, her features beautiful, obviously quite young. This was none other than the Holy Daughter of the Five Poisons Tribe, Zhao .

Her eyes were closed, and she wasn't moving. There were still signs of life detectable, but she was obviously in a state of dormancy. From the ripples of her Cultivation base, it was obvious that she was… of the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage.

"This girl and I are connected by destiny," said Tsukino lightly. "I possessed her fleshly body that year, but I didn't destroy her soul. I promised her that when it was time to part, I would bestow her with the good fortune of a great circle Nascent Soul Cultivation base. 1

"By the time I acquired the Demon Immortal Body, I had already returned her body to her. Would you mind taking her back to the lands of South Heaven with you?"

Naruto looked at Zhao , then back at Tsukino. He nodded.

With a final look at Naruto, Tsukino turned and then flew out from the river of stars. As she emerged out into the starry sky, a glow appeared beneath her feet that turned into a flying shuttle.

The flying shuttle was surrounded by swirling lights as it rapidly expanded to a size of nearly three hundred meters. Demonic Qi pulsed off of it in ripples, distorting the images of the stars and causing ghost images to spring up.

She turned to look back at him and said, "Okay little Naruto, I'm gonna take off now. Don't miss me too much! Of course, if you really miss me, then once you have the ability to fly through the stars, then come to Planet East Victory. Who's to say whether or not I might let you have some alone time with me?" She laughed. Right now, she seemed to have returned to the way she was when Naruto met her for the first time.

Seductive as silk, eyes charming and amorous, she smiled and then transformed into a beam of light which shot off into the distance.

Naruto smiled and shook his head. For the most part, he and Tsukino were partners in cooperation. However, after everything that had happened in the Demon Immortal Sect, gradually they had become friends.

He looked away from her retreating figure and then sat down crosslegged on a nearby stone fragment. Zhao 's eyes were still closed as she lay next to him, slumbering. The two of them remained in the river of stars as it shot through the starry sky. Soon, everything became quiet.

Naruto stared out at the endless stars, and soon, a look of anticipation appeared in his eyes.

"Cultivation. Immortal Ascension. Flying among the stars…. It's all a journey. If I can leave the lands of South Heaven and enter the starry sky, my journey would be even more wonderful.

"At that time, Planet Ninshu would only be a bit of scenery along my way." Suddenly, Naruto smiled.

"My gains in the Demon Immortal Sect were tremendous!" he thought. He looked down at his bag of holding.

"Mountain Consuming Incantation, Nine Heavens Destruction, Nine

Heavens Treasured Body Seal…. Plus there's the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao. All of these divine abilities are there in my mind, as well as quite a few other minor arts.

"In addition, I have a good collection of lost treasures from the Demon Immortal Sect, as well as Hebi Mingfeng's bags of holding. Most important of all is the sword tip from that Wooden Time Sword!" When the thought of the sword tip, his heart palpitated with eagerness.

"That sword tip has 30,000 years of Time power. If I actually used it, it wouldn't truly be 30,000 years, but it would still be shocking." He rubbed his bag of holding, his eyes gleaming brightly.

"And then, there's the precious treasure from the Fourth Plane, the continental mirror! There are countless magical items stored inside, as well as Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, and the shadows of those three Paragons!

"The continental mirror is a precious treasure of true spirit Night. Taking it away was what awakened Night. Considering how valuable Night considered the treasure to be, well, it only serves to prove that my copper mirror has a mysterious origin." When he thought about the transformation the copper mirror had experienced, he once again had the feeling that his gains in this adventure had been exceeding.

"All the acquisitions will surely attract quite a bit of prying. All the other remaining South Heaven Cultivators are cruel and unscrupulous, and definitely have ill intentions. Their Sects and Clans will quickly learn about everything that happened." His eyes flickered.

"As for how much all those people owe me, if you add it together, it's more than ten million Spirit Stones! Which means that, right now, the main thing I'm lacking… is Spirit Stones!" He gave a cold harumph, but then thought to the debt pledges he had, and a brilliant smile appeared on his face.

"The debtor must repay his debts; that is in line with the principles of Heaven and Earth! They can't escape that fact! Although, to be the most safe, I can't stay in the Black Lands or the Western Desert." As he sat there thoughtfully, many thoughts raced through his head.

Time passed. Naruto sat there cross-legged, looking at the river of stars and the starry sky. Soon, he caught sight of a dot of light that was none other than Planet Ninshu.

At the same time, he saw that, revolving around Planet Ninshu was a shocking altar.

As soon as he caught sight of the altar, he got a clear sense of a cold, gloomy aura. The aura swept toward him, but was blocked by the river of stars, and could not reach him.

As the river of stars neared Planet Ninshu, Naruto stood up. He stared at South Heaven as it rapidly neared. Soon, he could see the lands below. He saw the Milky Way Sea, the Southern Domain and the Western Desert.

As they shot downward, Zhao slowly began to regain consciousness. Before she could open her eyes, Naruto leaped up, shooting out from within the river of stars into the highest levels of the sky above South Heaven. Then, he transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

There was a lot of pressure at such high altitude, but Naruto had been able to deal with the pressure at the 18,000 meter mark in the trial by fire of Lord Li's legacy. This pressure was nothing he would care about. He moved at incredible speed and quickly disappeared.

The river of stars began to rumble as it carried the confused Zhao down toward the lands below. As Naruto sped off into the distance, a cold, hoarse voice suddenly could be heard, accompanied by a slight chuckle.

"The pup from all those years ago has already grown up! His realm of Perfection really is perfect. I've been waiting for a long time…. It wasn't in vain that I covered your tracks before to confuse the Hebi Clan. Child, the time has come to present your Perfect stratum to me."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by ExtremeGTP_

Tsukino made the promise to Zhao in chapter 474 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 630

Chapter 630: 10th Patriarch of the Wang Clan 1

As soon as the voice rang out, the winds and clouds ceased moving. Not another sound could be heard!

The river of stars continued to rumble through the air, taking Zhao with it as it headed toward the land. Her eyes were wide open now, and just barely, she could make out the image of an old man wearing a long, white robe. He hovered in mid-air, his hair floating around him, his face ancient and filled with wrinkles. It was impossible to tell how old he was, but he looked as if he had just climbed out of a tomb.

A sense of putrefaction surrounded him, like the air that surrounded a person who had reached their end days but wasn't willing to take the final steps to the end. Instead, he would do something completely shocking.

However, he did not seem to be possessed of a flesh and blood body, but rather, was semi-transparent.

Even as Zhao noticed these things, she lost consciousness again, then disappeared along with the river of stars.

Naruto was currently speeding along, when suddenly his body began to shake. The air around him seemed to solidify, as if all of Heaven and Earth, the whole world, had transformed into a cage. He was like a cornered beast within that cage, struggling, but unable to extricate himself.

It was at this time that the cold voice rang out in his ears, filled with a sense of rot and decay. His face fell as a sense of grave crisis exploded out in him unlike anything he had experienced from the day he was born until now.

"This isn't Spirit Severing!" Rumbling filled his mind, and then spread out to the rest of his body. Cold sweat began to pour down him. Without hesitation, he directly entered the Ninth Anima!

Boom!

His Cultivation base exploded up. Although it only had eight portions of Cultivation base, each one of those portions had been compressed and refined to the pinnacle, which created a frightening aura.

Boom!

His hair floated up around him as his Cultivation base radiated out. His energy shot up to the sky, and the intense power of his fleshly body was unleashed to its very pinnacle.

Things weren't over!

He performed an incantation gesture, causing the Mountain Consuming Incantation to appear. An enormous rumbling could be heard around him as the illusory image of an enormous mountain appeared. The illusion twisted and distorted as it suddenly expanded outward.

Next, he slapped his bag of holding, causing around ten magical items to appear. Each one of these items were incredible treasures that he had acquired in the Demon Immortal Sect. He valued them greatly, but in this moment of deadly crisis, he had no time to think about the pain of losing them. He produced them without hesitation and then roared.

"Detonate!" It caused Naruto's heart to bleed to say such a word,

but he had no other choice.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in a very short moment.

An illusory hand appeared out of nowhere off in the distance. It was semi-transparent, and was filled with glowing lights. It seemed to contain a great Dao of Heaven and Earth that was in accord with natural law. As soon as the hand appeared, everything grew dark, making the hand the only focus of attention.

The hand neared, gently slapping toward Naruto!

As it got close, Naruto detonated the ten Demon Immortal Sect treasures. A boom rattled out that seemed capable of splitting Heaven and Earth. Everything shook, and distorted ripples appeared in all directions. It seemed almost as if the world couldn't handle the destructive force unleashed by the explosion.

Boom!

The cage around Naruto was now riddled with cracks. The explosion of the ten magical items also caused the incoming hand to pause slightly.

A cold "eee!" could be heard, and the hand passed by in a flash. The destructive force of the explosion dissipated, and it was in that brief moment that Naruto, stuck in this seemingly hopeless situation, grabbed at a chance for life.

"Dao Seeking! This is a Dao Seeking Cultivator!" Naruto's heart began to pound and fill with bitterness. A Dao Seeking expert was something higher than him by more than an entire stage. Dao Seeking experts were rare, almighty figures in the lands of South Heaven!

As far as Naruto could remember, he had never provoked anyone like that before. From what the voice had just said now, this person was clearly not a member of the Hebi Clan!

"Who is he?!" Naruto knew that the greater the danger he was in, the more he needed to remain calm. Eyes glittering, he took advantage of the cracks appearing in the cage to employ the greatest speed he could muster. He instantly transformed into the wind of the roc, along with a green smoke that contained a black moon. In the blink of an eye, he bored out through one of the cracks and shot off into the distance. He moved so quickly that he didn't even have time to look back.

Even as he broke out from the cage, the giant hand shot in pursuit. It destroyed the cage, as well as the destructive powers of the ten valuable treasures he had detonated. Then it slammed into the illusory mountain.

BANG!

The illusory mountain collapsed into pieces, which showered out in all directions. Blood sprayed from Naruto's mouth, and cracking sounds could be heard. It seemed as if his body was on the verge of being destroyed.

The hand seemed almost leisurely in its strike. It smashed through the illusory mountain, and then casually headed toward Naruto's back.

Even as the hand neared, Naruto lifted his head up and cried,

"Agarwood!"

Booming could be heard as an otherworldly power approached. However, for some reason, when it was about halfway, it seemed to hesitate. During that moment, the huge hand closed in.

Naruto did nothing to try to control the Agarwood. The blood-colored mask flew out of his bag of holding, rapidly growing larger until it covered his whole body, helping to block against the giant hand.

A howl could be heard from within the blood-colored mask, and a bloody glow rose up. The mastiff flew out, and as the hand neared, it, together with the mask, protected Naruto's back. The mastiff didn't even have time to turn around to look at its Master's back.

Boom!

The instant the hand slammed into the mastiff, it exploded, transforming into countless red strands that shot back into the blood-colored mask.

A massive rumbling could be heard as the Blood Immortal mask was sent spinning backward. It merged into Naruto's body, which trembled severely.

"Blood Mastiff!" roared Naruto, his eyes bloodshot. In that instant, he could sense that the mastiff's blood had formed back together inside the mask, turning into a much smaller Blood Mastiff.

The double protection temporarily resolved his crisis. However, blood still sprayed from his mouth, and his internal organs were shattered into pieces. His life aura was diminishing, and he tumbled off into the distance like a kite with its string cut.

His eyes were filled with dense veins of blood, and an unprecedented level of hatred suddenly rose up within him.

Severe pain coursed through him, and he had the intense sensation that he was being ripped into shreds. His skin was lacerated and torn in multiple locations; it made it seem as if in the following breath, his entire person would fall apart!

A second "eee?" sound could be heard, echoing out in Heaven and Earth. Suddenly, the parrot and the meat jelly flew out from inside Naruto's bag of holding.

The parrot clutched onto Naruto's shoulder, a look of unprecedented anxiety on its face. "Dammit, bitch! Dammit! This guy's a step away from being a false Immortal! Even if he's just a clone, he's still at Dao Seeking. Meat jelly, you slut, why haven't you saved Naruto yet!?" The meat jelly was trembling all over. However, it quickly spread out to cover Naruto, causing his collapsing flesh to solidify.

An ancient, hoarse voice could suddenly be heard coming from the void.

"I am the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. Back when you were in Foundation Establishment, I decided to make you my Dao seed, to accomplish my Dao, to allow me experience what it was like for the great ancestor to steal a foundation.

"Do you… really think you can escape?" There was something else in the voice; it contained bizarre fluctuations that seemed to conform to the natural laws of Heaven and Earth.

As the voice spoke, the hand faded away. However, it became clear again only a breath later, and when it did, it was behind Naruto. The hand formed into a claw that swiped at Naruto from the back.

"I saved you out outside of the Rebirth Cave," the voice said, speaking neither quickly nor slowly. "When the Hebi Clan was after you, I helped. And then there was all the commotion you caused in the Demon Immortal Sect. After you returned, I took the liberty of wiping out traces of your aura so that no one would know that you have returned.

"All of that was because… a time would come for you to pay me back. And that time… is now." As the voice continued to speak, the sense of putrefaction continued to grow clearer.

"Four Perfect stages. The Perfect Foundation… is the basis for Immortal

Ascension. It would be a waste on you, so… it belongs to me."

The hand continued to grab toward Naruto. No matter how the parrot and Naruto sped away, it was impossible to escape the gravitational force that they felt wrapping around them. Naruto's body trembled, and then he clearly senses something on himself that caused the gravitational force to loosen. It almost seemed as if the force would leave him automatically!

In this critical moment, the parrot and meat jelly were going crazy. Naruto once again urgently said, "Agarwood! What about your promise to me!?"

As the words echoed out, everything grew quiet. Suddenly, a rumbling spread out as an otherworldly power neared.

Boom!

The power slammed into the hand that was grasping toward Naruto. The hand instantly shook, and any connection it had to Naruto was severed. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and yet instead of fleeing, he turned around, his eyes bright red.

Fleeing like that wasn't something he was willing to do!

This was his first time to turn around during the entire encounter. He saw the hand that had been attacked by the power of the Agarwood. Rays of light circulated around, forming into the figure of a man who seemed to be stepping out of nothing. He wore a long white robe, and was very old.

Naruto had no recollection of ever seeing this man before, and was quite certain that they had never met.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch had been enveloped by the mysterious power of the Agarwood. It was as if he had been imprisoned. His body floated there in mid air, alternating between blurry and semitransparent. It was a very strange sight.

"Why do you have to resist?" he said hoarsely, looking at Naruto. He seemed as if he didn't even notice the power of the Agarwood.

Naruto didn't reply, but his right hand slapped his bag of holding to produce a bronze alcohol flagon. He raised his head up to take a large mouthful, then spit it out. Alcohol Qi spread out, and suddenly, an azure bronze Immortal's sword appeared in his hand.

This sword was from Han Shan, and contained Sword Qi that was like a song!

Killing intent raged in Naruto's eyes. He raised his right hand and, without hesitation, struck out with the sword.

The Sword Qi appeared, shaking Heaven and Earth, causing everything to shake. The sky dimmed as uncountable amounts of Sword Qi poured out of the azure bronze sword. As the sword descended, the Sword Qi rumbled, transforming into a three thousand meter waterfall which shot from up above down toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's pupils constricted, the first change in his facial expression!

Even the Agarwood hadn't moved him. His eyes flickered, and as the Sword Qi neared, he suddenly spoke.

"The great ancestor once said that rain… is born in the Heavens and dies in the Earth. The passage between those two places is its entire life…." As the voice rang out, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch waved his right hand softly out in front of him, as if he was sweeping away some rain.

"Call the Wind, Summon the Rain…."

The 10th Patriarch of the Wang Clan was introduced in chapter 137. He was described as being at the peak of the Dao Seeking stage, and wanting to steal Naruto's Perfection. He reappeared in chapter 305 and subsequent chapters that took place near the Rebirth Cave, where he manipulated events to help Naruto. He even came to look for

Naruto in chapter 521 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 631

Chapter 631: False Immortals and True Immortals

"Whose entire life, bitch?" said Naruto, his killing intent boiling. The Sword Qi descended, slashing down toward the 10th Wang Clan

Patriarch, who was currently enveloped by the power of the Agarwood.

Rumbling climbed up into the sky as the Sword Qi neared. However, it was then that a black wind suddenly sprung up around the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. The wind rapidly condensed into a shocking black dragon.

The black dragon opened its mouth and a roaring wind emerged that fought back against the power of the Agarwood. The cage appeared to be instantly diffused; at the same time, drops of rain appeared out of nowhere. More and more appeared, transforming into a rain that filled the entire sky and then shot toward the Sword Qi.

A massive boom could be heard that shook everything. Blood poured out of Naruto's mouth, and he fell back. Without looking back to see what had happened, he retrieved the teleportation jade slip that he had acquired from Patriarch Reliance that year, and squeezed it between his fingers.

The jade slip had been on the verge of shattering years ago. Strangely, though, after not having used it for so long, it had slowly repaired itself, and was now much more solid.

Glittering light spread out. Because of the current level of Naruto's Cultivation base, the time needed to activate the teleportation power was much less. It only took the space of seven or eight breaths to succeed, and then he began to teleport away.

After Naruto disappeared, the roaring and booming in the area faded away. The Wang Clan Patriarch slowly moved forward, his body gradually becoming more blurry, and occasionally glittering with light. A huge gash could be seen stretching from his head all the way down through the rest of his body, splitting him entirely in half. He seemed to be forcing the two halves to remain together.

He didn't seem to recognize any sort of pain as he watched Naruto disappearing. His eyes glittered with a mysterious light, and he smiled. Because his body had been split in two, however, the smile looked exceedingly savage and horrible.

"I underestimated you, child. It turns out you have a real precious treasure….

"However, you can't evade me." Even as he smiled that horrific smile, the Wang Clan Patriarch's body grew completely blurry. Gradually, it turned into a wisp of aura, which then dissipated into the surroundings.

At the same time, in the mountains of the Wang Clan in the Southern Domain, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's true self lay in a coffin in the tomb underneath the 10th mountain. His eyes opened.

A strange light glowed within as he looked up at the cliffs stretching up above him. He began to chuckle hoarsely.

"If it weren't for the fact that I used my true self's power to interfere with the Hebi Clan and hide that child's Perfect foundation, they definitely would have noticed him. At some point throughout the years, they would surely have tracked him down him and stolen him away. If I had been there as my true self just now, I would have succeeded.

"However, the Perfect Dao foundation has matured, and is ripe for the plucking. Even though I still can't venture out with my true self, a clone will still do the trick. That Sword Qi was obviously gifted by an outsider. How many times can he use it? Perhaps he's already reached the point where he can't." The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch shook his head and smiled. A ghost image suddenly appeared over him. In the blink of an eye, an illusory body rose up to float in mid-air. As it grew clearer and clearer, it started to resemble the Wang Clan Patriarch in all respects.

The clone's hand flickered in an incantation, and after a moment, he frowned.

"Near the Milky Way Sea….

"The Milky Way Sea is a restricted area for the Dao Seeking stage…." The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's Clone hesitated for a moment. Then his expression returned to normal. His eyes flashed as he slowly began to grow blurry.

On the edge of the Western Desert, between the Violet Sea and the Milky Way Sea, was a border region that stretched farther than the eye could see. That border region was actually nothing more than a wall-like mass of soil. On one side, the water was violet, the other side, the water was blue, making the difference between the Violet Sea and the Milky Way Sea clearcut!

In a particular area in that border region, a huge black vortex suddenly appeared in mid-air. Naruto staggered out from the middle of the vortex, blood spraying from his mouth.

The blood was pitch-black, and filled with rot. Naruto's face was pale, and his entire body was covered by a thin membrane, which was nothing other than the meat jelly, helping him to prevent his body from completely exploding.

However, Naruto could still sense his body slowly decaying. The feeling of imminent death grew stronger and stronger.

"10th… Wang… Clan… PATRIARCH!" Monstrous killing intent boiled in Naruto's eyes. He gritted his teeth as more blood oozed out of his mouth. This was was virtually the worst injury he had ever sustained in all his years as a Cultivator.

"That bastard was just a step away from being a false Immortal," squawked the parrot angrily, flapping its wings. "How could he be so shameless! Bitch! He actually attacked you, Naruto! Dammit! Lord Fifth was viciously sealed that year, otherwise, it wouldn't matter that the bastard didn't have fur or feathers, I would have popped him anyway!"

"What's a false Immortal?" asked Naruto. His hand was pushed up against his chest as intense pain wracked his entire body. Gradually, a violet light appeared in his eyes as he drew upon his longevity to heal himself.

"False Immortals are low-lifes who can never experience the luck to reach Immortal Ascension!" raged the parrot. "They don't have their own Dao, and yet, they refuse to die. In their unyieldingness, they conform themselves to the Dao of another, and use that to become Immortal. That's a false Immortal!

"Some people would rather die than become a false Immortal who belongs to someone else. Others, in order to avoid death, will pay any price. The latter are basically betrayers of the Dao!

"In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the greatest of the false Immortals are the Hebi Clan. The Hebi Clan changed the Heavens, and their Immortals are all false Immortals, and also the strongest of all the false Immortals!

"Next are all the various Clans and Sects. After gaining enlightenment of the Daos of their ancestors, they trod the path of the false Immortal!" This time, the parrot didn't hold any information back.

Naruto silently considered all of this. He had come to find that the Violet Pupil Transformation was becoming less and less effective in healing himself, and didn't heal as quickly as before. Although it still worked, it was far, far too slow. His heart sank.

"Some people with high aspirations, those who truly strive after the Dao, who live in the morning and die in the evening, would rather acquire their own personal Dao. Such people can face death willingly.

"When people like that succeed, they are true Immortals!

"However, after the Hebi Clan changed the Heavens, true Immortals are seldom seen. Perhaps every thousand years, one might appear on any given planet. Only on the four great planets can the Dao be confirmed and Immortal Ascension achieved. Once someone reaches Immortal Ascension on a planet, then in the next thousand years, a second person may not. Therefore, to say that in ten thousand years in the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, a few dozen true Immortals appear, would be an overstatement.

"When you add in true Immortal Tribulation, the number of true Immortals who can survive in the four great planets won't exceed ten!" By this point in its speech, the parrot sounded grieved and indignant.

"True Immortal Tribulation?" asked Naruto. He sent his Divine Sense into the blood-colored mask. When he saw that the mastiff was there recovering, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Those who wish to search for their own Dao and become true Immortals must face it. Succeed, and it is inconsequential. Fail, and they perish to become a natural law of Heaven and Earth.

"Success mean ascension to being a true Immortal. Afterwards, when any Immortal Tribulation falls, that person will rise to prominence. Other than another true Immortal, no one else could possibly be a match." It was hard to tell what exactly the parrot was thinking, but all of a sudden, its tone was gloomy.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he looked at the parrot and then asked another question. "That 10th Wang Clan Patriarch said something about a Perfect Dao foundation. What did he mean?"

"You cultivate the Sublime Spirit Scripture. Although I don't understand too much about it, I do know that it's one of the three classic scriptures. If you cultivate it to completion, you will be a Sublime Spirit Doyen!

"However, the Perfect stratum lies only beneath Spirit Severing. That is,

Qi Condensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, and Nascent Soul, four stages. As for how to cultivate it after that, nobody knows except for past generations of Sublime Spirit Doyens.

"As for the Perfect Dao foundation, that is something that only those who cultivate the Sublime Spirit Scripture are qualified to have. Furthermore, anyone with such qualifications will have a much, much greater chance of reaching true Immortal Ascension.

"As far as false Immortals are concerned, if they can acquire your Dao foundation, then it means they would have another chance to make a choice! With enough experience and preparation, they might be able to change their path from that of false Immortal to the realm of the true Immortal!

"Most importantly, possessing a Perfect Dao foundation means that if you fail in true Immortal Ascension, then you won't perish! You can shed your Dao foundation and escape death that one time!"

After hearing this explanation, Naruto now understood everything that the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch had said.

He also understood why the Hebi Clan had virtually never come looking for him. Most likely, many threats that he didn't even know about had been resolved in secret by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

He was like a Dao Protector. Except, his purpose in protecting Naruto was to steal his Dao foundation!

"What happens if my Dao foundation gets taken away?" asked Naruto slowly, a profound gleam swirling deep in his eyes.

The parrot thought for a moment, then replied in a low voice, "If a tower has no foundation, what happens?"

"It collapses," replied Naruto coolly. "It's unstable and is destroyed."

"The same would happen to you. If someone steals your Dao foundation, then you'll die."

"Naruto, get out of here!" cried the parrot anxiously. "That bastard definitely got away. From what he said, he set you up as a Dao seed long ago. Flee! Flee until you've grown up a bit more!

"As for your aura, the meat jelly can conceal it. If the Wang Patriarch finds you any time soon, it won't be a good thing!"

Naruto stood there silently, indescribable emotions stirring him into a somewhat vicious mood. Gradually, his lips twisted into a cold smile.

He knew that compared to the Wang Clan Patriarch, he was nothing more than a bug. However, his heart still thumped with viciousness. Now that this matter had been raised, it would not fade away. Instead, it had turned into something like a seed.

It was like a seed that was buried deep in the recesses of his heart.

"I came to understand the law of the jungle a long time ago," Naruto muttered to himself. "One day, I will achieve my Dao, and the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch will die. If the Wang Clan gets in my way, then when I have my own great Dao…

"I will ensure that the Southern Domain has no more Wang Clan, ever!"

Filled with determination, the viciousness in his heart once again surged.

He took a deep breath and looked around. Then, he looked off in the direction of the Milky Way Sea, his eyes glittering. He began to fly at top speed, healing himself at the same time.

Eventually, he reached the invisible wall that completely separated the Violet Sea and the Milky Way Sea. He slammed into it, and then pierced directly through it. A fishy, sea aroma filled the air. This… was the Milky Way Sea!

A boundless sea surged in all directions. Off in the distance, the sun was setting. In the glow of twilight, all that could be seen were beautiful waves and a deep orange glow.

"I need to be cautious in all matters, prepared for all contingencies…." He lifted up his hand, within which was the teleportation jade slip. It was definitely on the verge of shattering now. After a moment's hesitation, his eyes filled with determination and he pressed down. Based on his understanding from previous usage of the item, he could tell that the teleportation distance was determined by how much Cultivation base power was sent into it.

He pushed down hard and, a moment later, a black vortex appeared around him. He was sucked in, and then disappeared.

After he vanished, enough time passed for an incense stick to burn. Suddenly distortions appeared in the air in the position he had just left from. A moment later, the image of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch emerged. He looked around and then frowned.

"Very crafty, child," he said coolly. "Your aura disappears from here.

However, I've already determined that you are in the Milky Way Sea.

"You can't evade me. Your Perfect Dao foundation belongs to me. You may enjoy hiding yourself, but I will find you." With that, his body flickered, and he vanished.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by ExtremeGTP, Metalduck, and Zameel_

 _MeHebi a_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 632

Chapter 632: The Milky Way Sea

The Milky Way Sea was located in the middle of the lands of South

Heaven, splitting everything into two continents, one comprised of the Eastern Lands and the Northern Reaches, the other of the Southern Domain and the Western Desert.

The area taken up by the Milky Way Sea is huge, far greater than either of the two continents. If you compared it in size with the Southern Domain, the Milky Way Sea would be approximately five times as large.

Therefore, it was divided up into four sections called Rings. The part outside of the Four Rings was called the Outer Sea.

The boundless sea was constantly plagued with hurricanes that swept about, causing huge waves to spring up. Still, there were many islands to be found, some large, some small, which meant that there were Cultivators too.

Of course, sea beasts swam to and fro within the sea waters. Their flesh and blood were often prized by Cultivators, especially the sea beasts that were similar to Cultivators, and were called Sea Demons. Their Demon hearts were highly valuable. Even one Demon heart could emit spiritual energy similar to a mid-grade Spirit Stone.

For these and a variety of other reasons, the Milky Way Sea had been a destination for Cultivators for many years. People settled down, multiplied, expanded, and soon power structures emerged.

There were both strong and weak powers in the Milky Way Sea, and they were distributed amongst the various islands that dotted the surface of the waters. Most of the powers existed in the Fourth Ring. Only some very powerful Sects or Clans qualified to reside in the Third Ring.

Of course, there were many legends that passed from ear to ear in the Milky Way Sea. Many seemed unlikely, but at the same time, many people believed them to be true. It seemed that when anything changed in the Milky Way Sea, there were always people who would attribute it to something strange.

It was a vast sea that would never be peaceful and calm, but would always be brushed over by hurricanes. This… was the Milky Way Sea.

In the Outer Sea region of the Milky Way Sea, a ship approximately three hundred meters long was moving along at high speed.

At the prow of the ship, a middle-aged man was casually recounting some Milky Way Sea legends to some youngsters who were gathered around him.

"According to the legend, there is an ancient ship which can be seen in the Milky Way Sea. Anyone who sees that ship will receive great blessings…. They say that an old man sits cross-legged at its prow.

"He wears a dilapidated suit of armor, and his eyes are closed. He never moves…."

The youngsters looked very excited. Apparently, this was a story they could hear a hundred times, but never get tired of.

Water sprayed up from the surface of the sea, and high up above the ship, a silk flag snapped in the salty breeze. Embroidered on the flag was the character "Zhang 张," along with the representation of a flying sword. That indicated that this ship belonged to the Zhang Clan, a Cultivator Clan of the Milky Way Sea.

There were approximately fifty people on the ship, most of whom were fit and strong, but mortal. There were only a handful of Cultivators, all of whom sat cross-legged in meditation. The only one who didn't was the middle-aged man at the prow of the ship, who was in the late Foundation Establishment stage. He was the one telling stories to the younger generation Clan members.

"Our Zhang Clan's Patriarch saw that ship a few hundred years ago," he continued in a low voice, taking advantage of the situation to subtly influence the younger generation of the clan. "He received a blessing just as the legends say; he had a Cultivation base breakthrough, and became a Core Formation expert.

"It was for that reason that he was able to occupy an island in the Outer Sea, and establish our Zhang Clan as a local power. All of you need to remember this!"

Among the group of youngsters was a strapping young boy who instantly spoke up. "We know that story, Uncle Hai Xin!" he said. His tone pleading, he said, "Tell us about Saint's Island!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, some of the other children began to beg for the same thing.

The middle-aged man laughed silently, not quite sure of what to say. He was about to begin speaking, when suddenly he sensed something. He turned his head to look at the ship's quarterdeck, and saw a beautiful young woman emerging 1. She wore a nautical silk jacket and skirt, and was naturally beautiful, radiant, and enchanting. A slight smile could be seen on her face as she stepped out of the quarterdeck. However, despite the smile, it was impossible to cover up the anxiety and unease in her eyes.

Holding her hand was a child of six or seven years old, a boy. He had plump cheeks, and looked quite adorable. As for the young woman, her Cultivation base was at the great circle of Foundation Establishment.

"Greetings, Clan Leader!" said the middle-aged man respectfully. He clasped hands and bowed deeply.

The other youngsters around him also bowed to her.

"We're all fellow Clan members, there's no need for such politeness," said the young woman, laughing. "Nan'er wanted to see the sun setting over the ocean, so I brought him out to have a look."

The boy next to the young woman looked at the middle-aged man with wide eyes and piped: "Uncle Hai Xin, did I just hear someone mention Saint's Island?"

The middle-aged man laughed, and a doting gleam appeared in his eyes. To him, all the hope of the Clan rested on the future of this boy.

"Ah, Saint's Island," said the man, smiling. "It's the number one island in the Fourth Ring, and its Footloose Sect is the number one Sect in the whole Fourth Ring!

"Saint's Island is very large, almost like a continent! It's far, far larger than our island. There is even a nation of mortals that exists there, called the State of Xiao.

"Because the Footloose Sect has a Spirit Severing Cultivator, it can strike awe into the hearts of all the other forces in the Fourth Ring. It has many Cultivators; Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment Cultivators are everywhere. There are even dozens of Core Formation Cultivators! And when it comes to Nascent Soul experts… they have seven!

"In the entire Fourth Ring, there isn't a single Sect or Clan who could possibly fight back against their power. The Footloose Sect is fully deserving to be regarded as the overlord of the Fourth Ring.

"You all know the reason we're going there. Therefore, when we arrive, all of you need to be very respectful. Young Master Nan'er has the best latent talent of anyone born in recent years.

"The Footloose Sect is accepting disciples, which means that our Clan has an incredible opportunity!" As of this point, the man's eyes shone with anticipation.

"If Young Master Nan'er can join the Footloose Sect, then with his latent talent, he'll definitely be able to reach Foundation Establishment. There would even be the possibility that in the future, he could reach Core Formation! Then, he could be just as heroic as our Clan Patriarch, all those years ago!

"When that happens, our Zhang Clan will once again be able to rise to prominence in the Outer Sea!" The middle-aged man's voice was filled with passion. The youngsters around him looked over with admiration and envy at the boy standing next to the young woman.

The young woman tousled his hair, and was about to say something when, suddenly, her expression flickered. In the same moment that she looked up, so did the middle-aged man.

From the middle of the ship, a man and a woman suddenly flew up into the air. Both of them looked to be about fifty years old, and had

Cultivation bases in the late Foundation Establishment stage. They stood on flying swords, expressions of shock on their face as they looked up into the air.

Everything was quiet, and everyone on the boat looked on, stunned.

What they saw was a huge rift soundlessly open in mid-air. It rapidly turned into a pitch-black vortex, which rotated rapidly as it turned into a black hole.

A man staggered out, blood spraying from his mouth.

He had long gray hair, and wore a white, blood-stained robe. His aura was unstable, and his face was pale white. Of course, it was Naruto.

The parrot perched on his shoulder, and its disdainful gaze swept around the area.

As soon as Naruto appeared, his internal injuries once again exploded out, which was something he hadn't anticipated. The second teleportation had actually ripped open the old wounds, causing the injuries to become even worse.

He hovered in mid-air, looking down at the people on the ship and the various expressions on their faces. It didn't matter that he was currently injured, as soon as his gaze swept across them, their hearts began to tremble and pound. They felt as if they were being stared at by an ancient, wild beast.

"My injuries are too severe," he thought, looking away. "I need to quickly find somewhere to begin healing." Ignoring the people on the ship below, he took a deep breath, and was just about to force his Cultivation base to rotate so that he could move off into the distance.

On the ship, everyone stood around as mute as cicadas in winter. Except for the young woman.

"Senior, there's no need to leave!" As soon as the words left her mouth, she felt regret. When Naruto looked back at her, she trembled, but then forced herself to clasp hands and bow deeply.

"Senior," she went on, trembling, "you're seriously injured. If you're searching for a place to rest and heal, our ship has first-class cabins as well as some medicinal pills. If you'd like, you can always treat yourself here." She clenched her teeth, and her heart pounded with nervousness.

When they heard her words, the faces of the surrounding Foundation Establishment Cultivators, including the middle-aged man, all fell. They couldn't understand why the Clan Leader would do something like this. They wanted to do something to stop it, but didn't dare to open their mouths.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he paused in mid-air to look at the young woman.

When he looked in her eyes, the young woman felt as if all Heaven and Earth were roaring, and she began to tremble even harder.

"What place are you going to?" he said, retracting his gaze.

"Our humble Clan is going to Saint's Island in the Fourth Ring, so that my son can join the Footloose Sect." The young woman didn't dare to hide anything, and also spoke very respectfully. As of this point, the other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators had guessed what her purpose was. Although they continued to tremble inwardly, they also felt a bit of anticipation.

Naruto didn't know where exactly this Saint's Island was, nor did he understand the power structures and various regions of the Milky Way Sea. After a moment of thought, he nodded and then floated down onto the ship. The young woman respectfully guided him to a private cabin protected by a spell formation.

Naruto nodded, then sat down cross-legged. As he closed his eyes, the young woman respectfully made her exit.

As soon as she left, the parrot disapprovingly said, "Why did you pick this place? Don't tell me you've taken a liking to that young lady? She doesn't have much fur. I actually checked her out a few times earlier…."

"It doesn't matter where I hide in the Milky Way Sea, it's all the same," replied Naruto coolly. "Even if I'm at the bottom of the sea, once the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch detects my aura, he'll be able to find me. Since that's the case, I might as well hide here. Who knows, I might even gain some unexpected benefits." With that, he began to rotate his Cultivation base. Violet light gleamed underneath his eyelids as he began to treat his injuries.

Time passed by. On the morning of the second day, the young woman brought some local Milky Way Sea food products. She also gave him a jade slip that had information about Saint's Island, as well as a sea map of the surrounding areas.

The map was the most valuable thing to Naruto. Although it seemed simple, it had actually been produced by information gathered by successive generations of the Zhang Clan.

The young woman wasn't sure of Naruto's origins, but just to be safe, she gave him the map as a show of good faith.

Naruto took the jade slip, looked it over, and then smiled. The young woman instantly felt a bit more at ease. She reached up to pull a strand of hair back over her ear. Her features were naturally beautiful, but the mixture of anxiety and relief caused her to look even more entrancing. Suppressing her own excitement, she respectfully left.

Naruto watched her leave. Based on his experiences, the reason she had asked him to stay was because she had experienced grave danger in the past. Thus, she had taken the risk to call out to him.

He then focused his attention on the jade slip. "So the Milky Way Sea is divided into four Rings…. The area outside the Fourth Ring is called the Outer Sea.

"Saint's Island. State of Xiao. Footloose Sect." After a bit of time, he put the jade slip away and then continued to treat his injuries.

Time passed by slowly….

In Chinese, the word used to describe the young woman indicates that she either is or was married ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 633

Chapter 633: Honored Guest

In the blink of an eye, seven days passed.

Naruto spent the entire time with eyes closed in meditation, treating his injuries. During the seven days, the injures gradually healed by about thirty percent. Unfortunately, his fleshly body still couldn't hold together without the help of the meat jelly. It still needed time to grow stable. However, the wounds were gradually fusing shut.

Every day, he would eat three meals of fruit, personally delivered by the young woman. She was always very respectful.

She even offered up some Spirit Stones. Whatever Naruto requested was provided in full, and all his questions about the Milky Way Sea were answered in detail.

In addition to healing himself, Naruto was able to gain quite an understanding about the area.

During the seven days, the surface of the Milky Way Sea was calm and quiet. The Zhang ship from the Outer Sea bravely proceeded onward as it had from the beginning. Of course, now that Naruto was on board, everyone was a bit more nervous than before. However, nothing untoward occurred.

As time passed and Naruto continued to stay in secluded meditation, the young woman gradually felt more at ease. Her previous cheerful and playful attitude returned. Occasionally, her laughter rang out, filled with a bit of childish naivety.

The other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators on the boat were as nervous as ever. They understood what the Clan Leader was thinking, but in their opinion, what she was doing was like asking a tiger for its own skin, expecting a bad person to act against his own interest. In their opinion, young people like her didn't understand the ruthlessness of the Cultivation world. On the other hand, the three of them, having practiced cultivation up to the level of Foundation Establishment, and having maintained the position of the Clan on their island in the Outer Sea, had experienced many situations of deadly crisis.

They well knew that in the Cultivation world, the law of the jungle prevailed, and danger was the norm. One bad thing could lead to complete destruction, and could even affect an entire Clan.

Naruto had randomly appeared out of a bizarre black hole. Although he was weak and severely injured, the look he had given them seven days ago had caused them to feel as if they were frozen dead in the middle of winter.

They had the intense sensation that if Naruto wanted to kill them, then it wouldn't matter if he was even more severely injured, they would all be destroyed.

Currently, all of three of them stood at the stern of the ship, frowning and giving voice to the same concerns.

"This matter with the Clan Leader… it's not wise!"

"That man was severely injured, and arrived via teleportation. From the look of things, he must but the subject of pursuit. If his pursuers catch up with him, it could bring about the destruction of all of us!"

"Ai! I know what the Clan Leader is thinking. This journey to Saint's

Island is our last shot. If we succeed, we can strike some fear into the Liu Clan so that they don't dare to act recklessly."

"We can only hope that Nan'er will fight to excel. Hopefully he can stick out in the Footloose Sect's competition for new disciples."

The three of them exchanged glances and then sighed lightly.

The Patriarch of the Zhang Clan had founded their island in the Outer Sea. However, after he passed away in meditation, they had been forced to tread as carefully as if walking on thin ice. Another Core Formation Cultivator hadn't appeared in the Clan, which meant that the island they occupied soon came to be eyed greedily by surrounding neighbors.

Were it not for the spell formation left in place by the Patriarch before he passed away, as well as the magical items and social connections he had made, then they would have long since lost their island and become an auxiliary Clan.

They had managed to hold on for a while, until finally a crisis loomed. The Liu Clan, who occupied a nearby island, had long since begun to glare at them like a tiger eyeing its prey. Slaughter had been on the verge of breaking out.

During that moment of critical danger, the Zhang Clan Leader, which was none other than the beautiful young woman, had made a difficult decision. She took all of her people and left the island in secret to deliver her son to the Footloose Sect.

If he became a disciple of the Footloose Sect, then his identity would be enough to intimidate anyone in the Outer Sea. It would protect the Zhang Clan for at least around a hundred years.

The three Foundation Establishment Cultivators continued to discuss matters.

"This whole thing is going to be very difficult…. There's no need to even mention that after arriving at Saint's Island, it's impossible to know if Nan'er will be able to distinguish himself amongst the crowd and enter the Footloose Sect. Regardless of anything, our path is going to be one of extreme danger."

"That's right. Rumors will have spread, and the news leaked. The Liu Clan won't be willing to accept this…. We can only hope that they react too slowly. Hopefully we left early enough to seize a superior position and evade their pursuit."

"In addition to the Liu Clan, there are also the numerous sea beasts that roam between the Outer Sea and the Fourth Ring, not to mention the cruel rogue Cultivators. How could our path possibly be one of peace and security?"

"However, this really is our only chance…." The three once more sighed and then lapsed into silence. They understood what the Clan Leader was trying to do, and since she had already made her decision, there was no need to spend time worrying.

Who knew? Perhaps… inviting the wounded expert to stay with them might have some extraordinary outcome.

At the same time that the three of them were having their discussion, the Zhang Clan Leader, the young woman, stood at the prow of the boat, clasping her son's hand. She looked off into the sky up above, unable to conceal her expression of anxiety and unease.

"Our voyage will continue for three more days before we reach the Fourth Ring," she murmured. "After leaving the Outer Sea behind, then we really will have evaded the Liu Clan…." Although the Liu Clan was not weak, that was only when speaking in terms of the Outer Sea. In the Fourth Ring, they could be considered bugs. In the analysis of the young woman, once they entered the Fourth Ring, the Liu Clan would most likely give up any pursuit and not dare to follow.

After all, she and her Clan were at the end of their rope, whereas the Liu Clan wouldn't dare to rashly put themselves in danger.

She looked down at her son and patted his head. "Nan'er, you need to remember, the Footloose Sect pays a lot of attention to seniority. After we arrive, you must not make any breaches of etiquette."

The boy didn't seem to understand what she meant, but he nodded his head obediently. Her eyes filled with a doting expression, and she was just about to lean over to pick him up when her expression flickered and she suddenly looked behind her.

At the same time, the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the stern also looked back.

What they saw was a pitch-black ship speeding toward them at top speed. The flag flying on the ship was clearly emblazoned with a huge character.

Liu 刘!

This was a ship from the Outer Seas Liu Clan. They had been in full pursuit for days, and had finally caught up. On the prow of the ship stood four people, three of whom wore extremely respectful expressions. The other was clearly different than them.

He was an old man with an aloof expression. His eyes flashed like lightning, and he held his hands clasped behind his back. His voluminous robe flapped in the wind, and his long, white hair made him look completely extraordinary.

His Cultivation base emanated the ripples of the early Core Formation stage. It was for this reason that the Liu Clan ship had been able to pursue at top speed for so many days.

As soon as the young woman caught sight of the old man, the blood drained from her face. She began to pant, and her hands clasped down tightly onto her son.

The other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators of the Zhang Clan also felt their hearts beginning to pound. Their faces paled, and their eyes filled with despair. "Liu Clan… Patriarch!"

As the Liu Clan ship neared, the appearances of the old man and the other three who accompanied him grew clearer. Behind them appeared seven or eight Qi Condensation Clan members, all of whom wore expressions of disdain.

Standing next to the Liu Clan Patriarch was a middle-aged man. He smiled and said, "Zhang Wenfang, what's your hurry? Now that you've abandoned your Zhang Clan island, where exactly do you think you're going?" 1

Zhang Wenfang walked to the stern of the ship, took a deep breath and then said, "Junior offers greetings, senior Liu. Senior, we've abandoned our island, and would simply like to get as far away as possible. Our two Clans were friends in the past. Don't tell me you won't even give us a chance to survive?" The other Zhang Clan Cultivators gathered around her, their faces filled with extreme grief and indignation.

The young woman's words were directed, not toward the man who had spoken, but toward the Liu Clan Patriarch. Despite matters having reached their current state, she still addressed him respectfully.

The Liu Clan Patriarch said nothing; he merely looked on with a proud expression. The Clan member standing next to him was the one to respond, his tone of voice filled with ridicule. "What a joke! Do you really take us to be three-year-old children? Do you really think we don't know of your plan, Zhang Wenfang? You're obviously journeying to the Footloose Clan!"

"Junior can abandon everything, even deliver our island to you, senior. I can also swear that we have no intention to encroach on what is not ours. I just beg of you to be a bit lenient…." Zhang Wenfang's face was pale, but before she could finish speaking, the Liu Clan Patriarch frowned.

"Pipe down!" he said coolly, his voice echoing about like thunder in all directions. The seawater roiled, and the minds of the Zhang Wenfang and the other Clan members filled with a droning sound.

One sentence, two words. All of the Qi Condensation Clan members coughed up blood. Only Zhang Wenfang and the other Foundation Establishment Cultivators got by with only pale faces. Their expressions were filled with increasing hopelessness.

"Where do you come up with so much nonsense?" said the Liu Clan

Patriarch, his voice cool. "Kill them all! Old people, children, don't leave a single one alive!" With that, he waved his sleeve, and the surrounding

Liu Clan members flew up into the air, vicious expressions on their faces.

Zhang Wenfang clenched her teeth and looked back at the ship's quarterdeck. "Senior Liu!" she suddenly cried. "If you have a quarrel with the Zhang Clan, you can kill us, but do you really dare to trifle with our honored guest?!"

"Still making things up?" said the Liu Clan Patriarch with a cold snort. "You expect me to believe that the Zhang Clan has a Nascent Soul guest aboard? Or is it a Spirit Severing expert? Wouldn't that be a bit more threatening?" He had already swept the ship with Spiritual Sense, and had detected only the Zhang Clan Cultivators and mortals on the ship, no one else.

By this point, the Liu Clan Cultivators were closing in. A glowing shield sprang up from the Zhang Clan ship, blocking their progress. However, it couldn't do anything to stop the Liu Clan Patriarch. With a single palm strike, he caused a deafening boom to ring out. The ship sank down by more than half into the water, and the shield shattered into fragments.

The Liu Clan Cultivators proceeded onward with vicious grins. As soon as they reached the boat, Zhang Wenfang and the other three Foundation Establishment Cultivators unleashed magical items and flashed incantations to summon magical techniques. Booms instantly rang out.

The massacre had begun.

"The Patriarch has issued the orders! Eliminate them completely, root and branch. They can only blame their own name of Zhang."

Some of the Liu Clan Qi Condensation Cultivators, with hideous grins on their faces, headed toward the pale-faced and terrified youngsters. Zhang Wenfang's eyes turned red, and the Clan members next to her were on the verge of going crazy and risking everything.

The Liu Clan Patriarch hovered in mid-air, staring superciliously out of the corner of his eyes. To him, all of these people were clearly insects.

However, it was at this moment, a calm voice suddenly echoed out from within the Zhang Clan's ship.

"Pipe down!"

It was only two words, but as the sound expanded out, it instantly suppressed all other sounds. It was louder than thunder, and gave rise to three echoes. It was also filled with intense pressure that weighed down on everything.

At the same time, within his cabin, Naruto's eyes opened. His gaze seemed to pass through the ship, making everything outside visible.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Ancient Godly Monarch, Hoang Nguyen, Dustin Sutphin, Dang Quang Tran, Annsofie Jacobsen, Brendan Halse, and QD BUI_

Zhang Wenfang's name in Chinese is 张文芳 zhāng wén fāng – Zhang is a family name. Wen can mean "culture, language, gentle." Fang means

"fragrant" ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 634

Chapter 634: Who's Feeling Jumpy?

The instant his voice rang out, it gave rise to the first echo. Ripples appeared that headed toward the Liu Clan Qi Condensation disciples who were about to attack the youngsters. They began to tremble, then blood sprayed from their mouths as they were sent tumbling backward. Then, their bodies simply exploded in mid air, countless pieces flying about in all directions. At the same time, all the other Liu Clan Qi Condensation disciples suffered the same fate. They first watched on with blank expressions, then were shattered into chunks of blood and gore.

When the second echo rang out, the Liu Clan's three Foundation Establishment Cultivators' faces went pale white. They felt as if an enormous, invisible hand were bombarding them. They tumbled backward through mid-air, screaming miserably. In the blink of an eye, countless tears and rips could be seen in their bodies, and then, a moment later, they exploded into pieces.

The third echo caused the Liu Clan Patriarch, who was floating up above, to shake. His face instantly filled with an expression of disbelief and horror. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he retreated backward. He couldn't prevent his body from beginning to rip apart.

"This… this…." His mind roared with a terror he had never known, and then he suddenly thought back to how Zhang Wenfang had mentioned an honored guest.

"Senior, spare me…." he screamed, his terror having reached the pinnacle. However, even as the words left his mouth, he suddenly burst into pieces, causing blood and flesh to rain down in all directions.

In that instant, everything went deathly silent….

Everyone who remained on the Liu Clan ship were all mortals, who were now watching on with pale faces, their bodies shaking.

As for the Zhang Clan members, including Zhang Wenfang, they all stared in shock, and were also shaking. That was especially true of the three Foundation Establishment Cultivators, whose faces were completely pale. They had no way to even imagine what kind of Cultivation base could destroy all their enemies with a single statement.

And that included an early Core Formation Cultivator, someone whose Cultivation base was the same as their own previous Patriarch!

"Nascent Soul eccentric!" That was what was now floating in the minds of the three.

Zhang Wenfang's body trembled. She also had never imagined that the person she invited to stay on their ship would be so fearsome. Originally, she had taken him to be a Core Formation expert, but what she had just seen left her astonished to the extreme.

Had she known that Naruto possessed such a Cultivation base, she might not have had the courage to speak up and urge him to stay behind. However, she was the Clan Leader. Therefore, her first reaction was to instantly turn toward the ship's quarterdeck, then drop to her knees and kowtow.

"Thank you, senior… for your action just now…." Her voice quavered as she spoke. At the same time, the other members of the Clan, their minds trembling, began to drop to their knees to kowtow.

"Come on, let's keep going," replied Naruto from within his cabin. Zhang Wenfang ignored the Liu Clan ship, and, her anxiety deepening, respectfully complied, having the mortal members of the Zhang Clan send their own ship forward.

Moments later, the Zhang Clan ship was moving on just as before. As for everyone on board, absolute silence reigned amongst them.

They remained in that state for three days, until finally the ship entered the Fourth Ring, and then everything finally changed.

However, everyone still acted extremely cautiously. Whenever any of them happened to pass Naruto's cabin, they would stop outside to bow before proceeding on their way.

Half a month later, the ship was speeding along through the Fourth Ring, and they drew ever nearer to Saint's Island. Although they weren't sure why, they hadn't encountered even a single sea beast or rogue Cultivator. Perhaps it was luck. That was not even to mention the pirate Cultivators who would cause anyone who discussed them to grow pale in the face.

Naruto had treated his injuries to the point where he was now sixty percent recovered. The meat jelly had finally sloughed off of him; his fleshly body was now recovered to complete stability. As long as he didn't get involved with a magical battle of the Spirit Severing level, he would be fine.

"This injury was inflicted by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, who has a Dao Seeking Cultivation base. That's why the Violet Pupil Transformation has been so ineffective." His eyes finally opened. After taking a moment to examine his Cultivation base, a smile appeared on his face for the first time in many days.

His Cultivation base, which had originally been compressed to 8 parts, now only consisted of 7 parts. The deadly pressure he had experienced in the magical battle with the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch had fused it together.

"My path to Spirit Severing is already opened. Soon… if I encounter anything that wishes to dominate me, I will have to be stronger than it and anything!" He rose to his feet and pushed open the door of his private cabin. For the first time in a month, he finally stepped foot outside.

The parrot had long since left for who knew where. Its personality was such that it couldn't remain quietly in one place for days on end. Once the meat jelly removed itself from Naruto, the two of them flew off to have fun somewhere.

It was midday, and the sun shone brightly. When Naruto stepped out onto the deck, the warm sun fell onto his back, and it felt good. There were a few youngsters of the Zhang Clan playing nearby. One of them was the boy named Nan'er, and he was also the first to notice that Naruto had emerged. At first, his little face filled with hesitation. But then he remembered what his mother had said to him about being courteous. Ignoring his fear, he clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Nan'er offers greetings, senior uncle."

His words caused the other youngsters to notice Naruto. Instantly, their young faces went ghastly pale and filled with fear. The scene from half a month ago had been like something from a nightmare. All of them quickly began to bow.

Seeing the children caused a smile to break out on Naruto's face. He liked children. Even back in YunHebi e County when he was a scholar, he had been especially fond of kids.

After so many years had passed, after traveling the path of Cultivation and acquiring a longevity that far exceeded any mortal, there were many wonderful things about being mortal that seemed increasingly far away.

Seeing these children caused his eyes to grow soft and gentle. Glancing them over, he could see that their latent talent was all completely ordinary, except for the one called Nan'er. His was slightly above the others.

Naruto smiled and asked, "What are you guys playing?"

"We're playing… hide-and-seek," replied Nan'er a bit nervously. The other youngsters around him were even more nervous as they nodded their heads.

"He can hide really good…." said one of the other children bravely. He was a boy of about eleven or twelve years of age.

"Yeah, that's right! Every time he hides, nobody can ever find him!" said another child. Soon, all of the kids starting talking, one after another, saying this and that. Naruto's warm smile widened as he listened. Gradually, the nervousness they all felt began to dissipate.

"It's not that I'm good at hiding," said Nan'er, his voice strong and clear. "You guys are just stupid and can't find me!" He glared around at the others.

When Naruto heard this, he laughed and looked at Nan'er.

"Where exactly do you hide?" he asked with a smile. Some of the other children cocked their ears, obviously quite curious.

Nan'er's face went a little red as he looked at the other youngsters. He seemed to be considering whether or not say anything. After all, if he told everyone his hiding place, then where would he be able to hide in the future? Finally, he took a few steps forward, and Naruto scooped him up in his arms. Nan'er rested on his shoulder and then carefully whispered into his ear.

"Senior uncle, I always hide under my mother's bed. I just go where nobody else can go, it's simple, right?"

Naruto's eyes glittered. It really was a simple truth. If you were playing hide-and-seek, you should hide where no one else can go. In that case, of course they would be incapable of finding you.

Now that he thought about it, he and the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch were essentially playing a game of hide-and-seek.

It was in this moment that Zhang Wenfang suddenly emerged from the quarterdeck. When she saw Naruto with the children, and especially the way that he was holding Nan'er, she immediately started panting, and grew incredibly nervous.

"Nan'er…." she said. She tried her best to remain outwardly calm, but her voice still quavered a bit.

When Naruto saw her looking over at them, he put the boy down and tousled his hair.

"Sly little fox," he said with a smile. Nan'er blushed and then ran to hide behind his mother.

"Junior offers greetings, senior," said Zhang Wenfang, breathing a sigh of relief as she bowed.

Naruto nodded, and was just about to say something when suddenly, his expression flickered. He looked off into the distance. There, within the range of his Divine Sense, an island had appeared. It was incredibly large, and just glancing at it, almost seemed like a continent.

Mountain ranges could be seen, as well as many areas swirling with mist that blocked his Divine Sense. He only examined the place for a moment before retracting his Divine Sense. According to the map in the jade slip he had been given, Naruto knew that their voyage was almost at an end.

"Senior, we have only half a day left. When evening falls, we will reach Saint's Island. Many thanks for your assistance," she continued, her voice sincere. "Our entire Clan will remember you from generation to generation, senior!" She gave Naruto a curtsying bow. She really was extremely appreciative; however, the awe and reverence she felt occupied the most of her heart.

By now, many of the others on the ship had gathered. They watched

Naruto with heads bowed; they were so nervous that they didn't even dare to look up.

Naruto glanced over at Nan'er and then casually said, "He's going to join the Footloose Sect?"

"That's right," replied Zhang Wenfang quickly. "My son has the best latent talent in the Clan. The Footloose Sect is recruiting disciples right now, so if he can distinguish himself, he will put himself in a superior position, both for himself, and our entire Clan.

"The Footloose Sect is the most powerful Sect in the entire Fourth Ring.

You could consider it the overlord, a force that nobody dares to provoke. They pay very close attention to seniority, and the Sect rules are very strict. In fact, they say that there is virtually no fighting between members."

"The State of Xiao," thought Naruto. "The State of Xiao." He said nothing, instead opting to stare off into the distance.

Seeing him remain silent, the rest of the people around didn't dare to speak. Time passed slowly, and Saint's Island grew nearer and nearer. The sky was starting to grow dark. In the murkiness of evening, the island resembled some enormous creature lying there on the sea. From a distance, it looked very grand and magnificent.

At the same time that Naruto neared the island, an old man wearing a Daoist robe sat in a luxurious palace deep in the mountains.

He bore the semblance of a transcendent being, and was dignified in appearance as he sat on his white jade throne. Next to him was an incense burner, beside which stood a beautiful girl. The girl yawned as she lazily fanned the burning incense, causing the tendrils of incense smoke to spread out.

Originally, the palace was completely silent, but suddenly, the meditating old man opened his eyes. He trembled, and a perplexed look could be seen in his eyes.

"Strange," he said, his eyelids twitching involuntarily. "Why do I feel so jumpy all of a sudden?"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 635

Chapter 635: Destined To Meet Again

"Rainy, what do you think is going on?" murmured the old man toward the girl as she languidly fanned the incense. "Why does the Patriarch suddenly have this feeling that something huge is going to happen?" The old man was obviously ill at ease, and in no mood for meditation.

"Maybe you did too many bad things?" replied the girl, glancing over at him.

"No, not me! The Patriarch has spent these years cultivating life and spirituality. It's been a long time since I even stepped outside." The old man found that his eyelids were twitching even more rapidly, and for some reason, the unease he felt in his heart was growing more intense. He stepped down from his throne and began to pace back and forth inside the palace.

The uneasy feeling kept growing stronger, leading him to believe that something akin to a disaster was just around the corner.

If the other members of the Footloose Sect saw his current appearance, they would be truly shocked, as if the Heavens had fallen. They would all drop to their knees to kowtow immediately. That was because this old man was none other than the Patriarch of the Footloose Sect.

In the entire Footloose Sect, his position was the highest, and absolutely without compare. In fact, he was the founding Patriarch of the entire Sect.

The Footloose Sect paid special attention to seniority; it was actually a Sect rule that he had established. People with different levels of seniority were required to show proper respect to those above them, which made a clear distinction between everyone.

As for him, he was Patriarch Footloose, a position without compare. In all of Saint's Island, he was the most supreme existence. A mere word from him could determine the existence or destruction of the entire island.

"Something fishy is going on! Something is definitely about to happen!

"I'm feeling more and more nervous, more and more jumpy!" The old man's face flickered, and the girl suddenly looked a bit suspicious.

"Something big is definitely about to happen," he said. "The Patriarch's premonitions cannot be wrong!" With that he suddenly stopped in place and looked up. A glow appeared in his eyes that seemed capable of splitting Heaven and Earth.

At the same time, an indescribably majestic Divine Sense suddenly spread out from him. It swept out in all directions, the mountaintop palace being the point of origin.

In the blink of an eye, the Divine Sense had covered the entire island. Every inch of dirt, every scrap of rock, every district, every person, every life.

Whether it be flying creatures in the sky, or the plants or animals on the ground, everything on the island was scanned and examined carefully by the Divine Sense.

"Nothing out of the ordinary?" said the old man. Now he looked even more baffled. He scanned back and forth several times, but couldn't detect anything that should make him anxious. Then, without even thinking about it, he caused the divine sense to expand out a bit further, to cover the sea area surrounding the island.

It was at this point that a tremor suddenly ran through the old man's body. His eyes went wide, and he looked off in a certain direction, a look of disbelief on his face.

In that direction, he could see a ship with his Divine Sense, a ship currently on its way toward the island.

In the prow of the ship was a man with gray hair, a pale face, and a long white robe. As soon as the old man saw him, his heart was thrown into chaos.

Beads of cold sweat began to pour down his forehead, and he started panting in unprecedented fashion. He almost didn't seem capable of believing what he was seeing. He rubbed his eyes vigorously a few times, just to make sure he wasn't mistaken. Then, he let out a mournful wail.

"Dammit, dammit, dammit…."

Eyes filled with disbelief and blankness, he stared at the white-robed man. Although he looked different than before, the old man instantly recognized who he was.

"Naruto!" The old man gnashed his teeth, and a vicious expression appeared on his face. His entire body began to shake, as if he were infinitely furious.

"I hid here from you, and you, you, you… you actually tracked me down, you bastard!?

"You actually came from the Southern Domain looking for me?

"You, you, you….

"Won't you ever give up?! The League of Demon Sealers is a bunch of bastards! Yeah, that's right. All bastards! Stinking bastards!" This old man… was none other than Patriarch Reliance!

The so-called Saint's Island was in fact the former State of Zhao.

However, it had been transformed into something completely new by Patriarch Reliance, to the point where even the residents of the State of Zhao would never recognize it.

As for the State of Xiao, it was the new name for the old State of Zhao….

Regarding the Footloose Sect… it was nothing less than the old Reliance Sect. The Cultivators who made up the Sect were all previous members of the old Sects that had existed in the State of Zhao. After having fled the Southern Domain, the old turtle Patriarch Reliance had forced them into a corner, and they had joined the new Footloose Sect.

Hundreds of years had passed, so by now, they were all fully integrated into the Footloose Sect, and followed Patriarch Reliance's orders without question. As for Patriarch Reliance, in his efforts to hide himself from Naruto, he had changed his name to Patriarch Footloose.

In his mind, he had been conned all those years ago, and had been given no choice but to become the Dao Protector of the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer. With the Demon Seal in place, he couldn't fight back, and definitely couldn't harm Naruto.

However, even though he couldn't fight, what he could do, was hide. In his mind, hiding within the vast Milky Way Sea meant that he would most likely never meet Naruto again in his life. In that way, he could live a happy, footloose life. That was how he had come up with the new name Patriarch Footloose.

However, after seeing Naruto, everything changed in the blink of an eye.

"AAAARRGGGHHHHHHHH!" roared Patriarch Reliance. "The Patriarch's life is filled with suffering! I hide out here, and… dammit, I hide out here and the bastard can still find me!?" All the lands trembled slightly, and the seawater surrounding the island began to churn. It almost seemed as if there were some enormous creature under the water, flailing about. "How could I possibly end up running into that Heaven-damned little bastard again?! That year in my Immortal's cave, he took away all of my treasures, all of my savings! He took my good luck charm, my

Thunderclap Leaf, my Outlander Tree, my divine spirit plants, my Spirit Stone mountain!" Patriarch Reliance was obviously stingy to the extreme; he still clearly remembered everything that Naruto had taken from him hundreds of years ago. 1

In response to Patriarch Reliance's angry ravings, the beautiful girl next to the incense burner suddenly looked up. A look of reminiscence appeared in her lovely eyes.

She thought back to all those years ago, to the vow made by the young man on the shore, who wanted to help the North Sea turn into a real sea.

"Naruto…." said the girl, covering her smile with a hand. She started to laugh, and then, without even looking at Patriarch Reliance, flew into the air. The instant she emerged from the palace, she saw an old boatman leaning up against the wall, looking at her with a doting expression.

"Boat Spirit! Naruto is back!" This girl was none other than Guyiding Tri-rain!

A look of concentration appeared in the old boatman's eyes, and then he laughed. The girl shouted out in excitement, and then the two of them began to make their way off into the distance.

Patriarch Reliance suddenly looked up and then roared: "You two aren't going anywhere!"

Suddenly, the entire mountain that the palace was located on completely vanished.

At least, that is what someone looking from the outside would see. From the perspective of the mountain, everything on the outside disappeared.

"Fudge! Do I need to flee again?! 2

"Dammit! I lived here footloose and carefree for hundreds of years. Hundreds of years!

"No. I need to get away before he finds me. I can't allow him to figure out that I'm here." Gnashing his teeth, Patriarch Reliance flicked his sleeve. He was just about to send his Divine Sense back into his true self and then flee before Naruto stepped foot on the island, when suddenly, his eyes turned up thoughtfully.

"Wait a second. From the look of things, the little bastard doesn't know

I'm here!" Patriarch Reliance's eyes suddenly grew bright. As for Guyiding Tri-rain, she didn't look very happy as she returned into the palace with the Boat Spirit. 3

"If he doesn't know that I'm here, then that must mean that he's not here to look for me, right? He just happens to be passing by!

"If that's the case, then what do I need to flee for? I don't! I don't need to flee! He doesn't know I'm here, so all I need to do is make sure he leaves without a hitch. As long as he doesn't detect me, then he won't have any reason to suspect anything!

"Hahaha! It turns out the Patriarch is the cleverest as usual. This way, I can continue to live here footloose and fancy free without any further complications!" The more he continued to talk, the brighter Patriarch Reliance's eyes glowed. As he paced back and forth within the palace, Guyiding Tri-rain watched on, her face growing increasingly unsightly.

"Didn't you make a promise to the Patriarchs from his Sect?" she asked, unable to hold back. "Why back out? Being his Dao Protector doesn't mean nothing good will come to you. Why do you have to constantly hide?"

"Silly little girl!" said Patriarch Reliance, glaring at her. "You don't know a damn thing!

"Hmm. You know, it was just recently that I remembered something. I feel like a long, long time ago, I met another little bastard who had the same name as this bastard!

"That other bastard went way overboard. It was back when I was little, and he bullied and humiliated me to the extreme!

"I almost forgot about it. It wasn't until recently that it suddenly came to mind!" Patriarch Reliance's eyes went wide with both humiliation and curiosity. He really had no idea why it was only recently that he had suddenly recalled the matter.

In fact, the clearness of the memory also contained haziness.

"Have you ever wondered why the Patriarch carries an entire continent on his back? You think I want to? It's a humiliation!" It wasn't clear what Patriarch Reliance was thinking about exactly, but his face was filled with fury.

"He must just be here to handle some matter or another. After he takes care of his business, he'll be gone. Once the little bastard is out of here, then everything will be fine!" Patriarch Reliance took a deep breath, and his eyes flashed like lightning. Having made his decision to get Naruto to leave as quickly as possible, he would now spare nothing to accomplish his goal.

Meanwhile, evening was approaching and the sky was growing dim. The seawater gurgled as the Zhang Clan ship neared Saint's Island. Naruto stood at the prow, looking at the sandy beach up ahead, and the densely packed docks. Scattered Cultivators flew about above the island, and people bustled about busily on the beach.

For some reason, Naruto felt as if he weren't in the Milky Way Sea, but rather, back in the Southern Domain.

In the following moment, Naruto noticed that the entire island seemed to tremble. His eyes narrowed. At the same time, the surrounding water surged with waves, causing the ship to rock up and down. Everyone on the ship cried out in alarm.

Naruto was astonished at the sudden appearance of the waves, however, in the space of just a few breaths, they calmed down. His brow furrowed, and he stood there thoughtfully for a moment before sending his Divine Sense out. Although he didn't detect anything out of the ordinary, he remained vigilant inwardly.

Not much time passed before they entered the docks. After the ship was secured, they disembarked, and finally managed to step foot onto Saint's Island.

Naruto didn't know it, but as soon as he stepped foot onto land, Patriarch Reliance's heart trembled.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Jusaz_

Naruto took Patriarch Reliance's treasures in chapter 85 ↩ Please note, "fudge" is not a censored version of "f*ck." The word used in the original Chinese is a euphemism of the Chinese version of the F word ↩ Here is your collection of past references to Guyiding Tri-rain and the Boat Spirit. Naruto met them for the first time in chapter 44, which is also when he vowed to turn the North Sea into a real sea. Naruto almost died, sank to the bottom of the North Sea, and was brought back to life in chapter 66. He learns her name in chapter 89, and their story in chapter 90. He learns the meaning of her name in chapter 95 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 636

Chapter 636: As Long As You Leave, Anything Is OK!

The docks were constructed into the beach, and seemed quite simple. However, the atmosphere was incredible. For one thing, there were countless uniformed disciples directing the boats here and there.

These disciples weren't very old, and most of them had a Cultivation base at the Qi Condensation stage. Occasionally, a Foundation Establishment disciple would stroll past on patrol.

They didn't wear haughty expressions, however, it was clear that deep in their bones, they held themselves high above the masses. The feeling wasn't very intense, but it was there. Despite that, they treated all the guests very courteously.

On the far side of the docks, horse carriages were lined up in rows. The horses that pulled these carts looked very bizarre. They didn't have four legs, but rather, six. Also, they had horns coming out of their heads. They looked like horses, but were also covered with tentacle-like feelers.

This was a unique wild beast in the Milky Way Sea that happened to be easy to tame. They were called Heavenly Horses.

Far off in the distance, three towering pagodas could be seen. Burning lights flickered inside, which would make them visible even from far off in the sea.

As Naruto looked at the three pagodas, he noticed that sitting within each of them was a cross-legged Cultivator. All were middle-aged; one had a Cultivation base at the mid Core Formation stage, the others at the early Core Formation stage.

Obviously, they were here to keep guard over the area and prevent any disorder from erupting.

The entire dock and beach could be considered a point of entry and exit of Saint's Island. Everything proceeded in quite an orderly fashion, despite the relatively large number of people present. Therefore, even though evening was falling, a clamor of noise and voices filled the air.

Even as they docked, Naruto saw at least ten more ships arrive, to be directed by the locals into various locations in the harbor.

No one actually approached the docked ships to receive any of the outsiders. This was Saint's Island, and the Footloose Sect was the greatest Sect in the entire area. Despite the stellar reputation of the enormous organization, they wouldn't send disciples to personally receive tiny Clans from the Outer Sea.

Of course, that included the Zhang Clan. During the time period in which the Footloose Sect was recruiting new disciples, many, many Clans from the Outer Sea would come. In fact, right now there were literally hundreds of boats moored to the docks. And this was only one side of the island. If you counted the docks on the other sides of the islands, the number of boats would exceed a thousand.

In addition to the people coming to join the Footloose Sect, there were others who had arrived to do business. Saint's Island was a huge place, and the Cultivator cities there were exceedingly famous.

In fact, there were some types of Cultivation resources that could be only be acquired in full on Saint's Island.

Right now, the sky was getting dark, and the ocean breeze blew across their faces, bringing with it the pungent smell of saltwater and sea life.

Naruto breathed in deeply as he stood there on the deck, looking at the shadows that were distant mountains of Saint's Island.

The Zhang Clan members, under the leadership of Zhang Wenfang, were preparing to disembark. The group of youngsters looked around with both nervousness and curiosity. Deep in their eyes could also be seen anticipation.

Nan'er clasped his mother's hand tightly as he looked around. He looked a little bit scared.

As the Zhang Clan Foundation Establishment Cultivators engaged in the proper formalities with the Footloose Sect disciples in charge of the docks, Zhang Wenfang turned to Naruto and gave him a curtseying bow. Her voice low, she respectfully said, "Senior, this is Saint's Island. Anyone below the Core Formation stage is prohibited from flying here, so we will need to travel by horse carriage…."

Naruto nodded but didn't say anything. It didn't take long for the Zhang Clan members to finish up with the Footloose Sect disciples, who then led the group toward three horse carriages.

This was the first time for the children, including Nan'er, to see Heavenly Horses. They looked at them wide-eyed, desiring to near them, but also afraid. This was also Naruto's first time seeing such beasts, and he couldn't help but stare a bit.

It was at this point that some Cultivators walked off of the deck of a newly arrived boat off in the distance. They wore resplendent clothing, and were led by man of roughly thirty years of age. His appearance was beyond ordinary, and he had a Cultivation base at the great circle of Foundation Establishment. He was followed by a group of four or five Foundation Establishment Cultivators, who in turn led seven or eight children along with them. The whole group casually looked over Naruto and the others as they neared.

The thirty-year-old man in the lead position suddenly made an "eee?" sound. He stopped in place and looked at Zhang Wenfang. She saw him as well, and her face flickered.

"Wenfang!" the man said slowly, obviously recognizing her.

She pursed her lips, a complicated expression on her face as she curtseyed to him with clasped hands.

"Brother."

Upon hearing her words, the rest of the Zhang Clan members' faces also flickered. As for the Cultivators behind the thirty-year-old man, they all seemed to be thinking the same thing as they looked over.

The thirty-year-old man stood there silently, his gaze as sharp as a blade. When he saw Nan'er standing there holding Zhang Wenfang's hand, he frowned.

Zhang Wenfang bit her lip, then finally lowered her head and said to her son, "Nan'er, this is your uncle."

"Hello, uncle," said Nan'er in his clear, crisp voice. A bit of fear could be seen on his face.

The thirty-year-old man snorted coldly.

"Wenfang," he said coolly and in a very impolite tone, "Father and Mother are still furious about what happened all those years ago. If you have a heart, you'll come home and let them talk to you. Don't continue to lose face and make a fool of yourself among these outsiders!

"As for this child…. Don't have him call me uncle. Did you really bring him here to try to get him into the Footloose Sect? You've overrated yourself from when you were young, and now you're getting your own son to do the same. You're just going to disappoint people." The people behind him began to chuckle, especially the group of children, within whose eyes scorn could be seen.

Nan'er was shaking, and looked even more scared. Zhang Wenfang suddenly looked over to glare at her brother. Breathing heavily, she

said, "I already cut off all ties with you people that year."

"Xu Wenfang!" growled the man, his eyes growing wide.

"Xu Wende, I am Clan Leader Zhang Wenfang of the Zhang Clan," she retorted coolly. "You aren't even qualified to speak with me." With that, she tugged her son's arm to get into a horse carriage.

The other members of the Zhang Clan glared with hostility at the members of the Xu Clan, then began to enter the horse carriages. As for Naruto, his expression was the same the entire time, and he did not speak a word. In fact, he had long since taken a seat up front on the bench seat of one of the horse carriages.

No one dared to try to convince him to sit anywhere else. They all lowered their heads wordlessly as the horse carriages began to slowly make their way off.

"Slut!" said Xu Wende coldly, his voice loud enough for all the Zhang Clan members in the horse carriages to hear. "I offer to give you some face, and you reject it? Our Clan suffered shame because of you, and now you dare to bring that bastard son here to join the Footloose Sect!?

"Since you insist on bringing your little Zhang Clan bastard here to lose face, then I look forward to seeing just how far he can get through the competition!"

The Zhang Clan Cultivators clenched their fists, and Zhang Wenfang sat there in the horse carriage, her face pale and her arms wrapped around Nan'er. It was impossible to tell what she was thinking, but tears were streaming down her face.

"Don't cry, mother," said Nan'er, wiping the tears off of his mother's face. "I'll definitely get into the Footloose Sect!" he guaranteed, his voice soft.

Naruto sat on the bench seat of the horse carriage. As the Heavenly Horses sped along the well-maintained road, he looked up at the canopy of stars overhead. He also heard what Nan'er said inside the horse carriage.

"What a good kid," he whispered, shaking his head. Based on his experiences, it was simple for him to understand the situation with the Zhang Clan. Obviously, there was an unapproved marriage, after which the husband died. The Clan then began to deteriorate, leaving the wife responsible for her husband's role of leading the Clan.

The Heavenly Horses sped along through the night. At dawn the following morning, a city appeared up again. Even from a distance it appeared majestic and magnificent. Despite the early hour, the city was still like a seething cauldron of activity. People walked hither and thither, and a buzz of excitement filled the air.

Up in the air, colorful beams of light could occasionally be seen flying about. Those would be Core Formation Cultivators.

Naruto looked everything over, and suddenly got the feeling that there was something out of the ordinary with this Footloose Sect. He wasn't sure what it was, but there was something about Saint's Island that felt very familiar to him.

Upon close examination, he was sure he hadn't seen any of these places before, but he still had an intense sensation of familiarity. However, after much thought, he wasn't able to determinate what the source of that familiarity was. They entered the city through the east gate, and then eventually reached a tavern. Zhang Wenfang respectfully escorted Naruto to a luxury room, and then was about to go to arrange rooms for everyone else.

She wasn't sure what Naruto was thinking, and wasn't certain that he would continue to escort them. Before leaving, she hesitated for a moment, then lowered her head and asked, "Senior, there are still ten more days until the Footloose Sect begins the formalities of recruiting new disciples…."

Naruto nodded, but didn't respond. Zhang Wenfang respectfully left.

It was currently early morning. Naruto opened his window and looked out at the people walking around on the street below. There were quite

a few mortals mixed in with the Cultivators. The rays of the rising sun shone down to illuminate everything.

He took a deep breath, then sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, surrounded by the sounds of the bustling city.

"Why does this place seem so familiar?" he thought once more.

Despite the fact that Naruto's current Cultivation base allowed him to fight First Severing Cultivators, he still couldn't detect the stream of Divine Sense that cautiously swirled beneath his feet.

The owner of the stream of Divine Sense was of course Patriarch Reliance, who sat in his palace, more jumpy than ever.

"Fudge! The little bastard is here. And it turns out he's escorting some people who want to join the Footloose Sect!" Patriarch Reliance was incredibly depressed. If he had known this was the situation, he would have simply canceled the Footloose Sect's call for new disciples.

That way, he could have completely prevented Naruto from even coming.

"I can't let this stand. With him here, the Patriarch can't sleep well. I need to get him out of here as soon as possible…. Dammit, there's still ten days before the recruiting begins? No, that won't work. We'll start tomorrow…. FUDGE! Let's start now!" with that he raised a hand, causing a jade slip to appear. Instantly, flames appeared on its surface and it flew into the air.

It transformed into a shocking beam of light which then sped directly toward the Footloose Sect.

The Footloose Sect was located in the east region of Saint's Island, in a boundless stretch of wild mountains. There, nine great valleys could be seen, spread out in concentric rings. Although they looked majestic, there was also something strange about them. Inside of the nine valleys were countless richly ornamented palace buildings. Everything was luxurious and lavish.

The jade slip immediately entered the ninth valley, and a huge temple that lay therein. It came to stop in front of an old man who sat there cross-legged, somberly providing admonition to the group of people sitting in front of him.

As soon as he saw the jade slip, a tremor ran through the old man's body. He quickly pinched the jade slip, then prostrated himself on the ground and lifted it high above his head. Instantly, the voice of Patriarch Reliance could be heard.

"Disciple recruitment begins immediately!"

It was only four words, but as they echoed out through the Footloose Sect, and the other deep valleys, colorful beams of light immediately shot out to gather in the main temple of the ninth valley.

These people were the Sect Leaders of the various auxiliary Sects from the other valleys. Their Cultivation bases were extraordinary, and some of them were Cultivators with whom Naruto had butted heads in the past.

Moments later, bells could be heard tolling throughout the Footloose Sect. Footloose Sect disciples flew out by the hundreds to head off in all directions. It was time to notify the visiting Clans that the disciple recruitment was beginning!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Joel Hammar Jüd, Yigit Demir, Nam Tran, and Patryk Czajczyński_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 637

Chapter 637: The Zhang Clan is Here?!

Naruto was flabbergasted. And it wasn't just him. The group from the

Zhang Clan were also shocked. In fact, everyone who had come to Saint's Island with the hope of joining the Footloose Clan were completely astonished.

The day for disciple recruitment was clearly ten days away, but then suddenly, the date was moved up. Many people began to feel nervous and alarmed, as if something incredible was about to happen.

An enormous event like disciple recruitment was no child's game. As such, even if the date were moved up, it shouldn't have been changed to earlier than the next day. There definitely should never have been a situation in which… it began that very day.

After all, it was already noontime….

Most importantly, there were many people who were still out at sea, hurrying on their way.

There were many speculations and inquiries, of course. Even the Footloose Sect disciples were complaining. They had no idea what major event was underway; all they could do was carry out matters according to the orders from the Sect.

Therefore, the Footloose Sect dispatched large numbers of disciples to begin to gather together all the prospective new disciples and bring them to the main gate of the Footloose Sect.

Before the Zhang Clan left the tavern, Zhang Wenfang hesitated, then invited Naruto to proceed along ahead with her. Naruto muttered inwardly for a moment, but then he saw the anticipation on Nan'er's face, and he couldn't refuse. He joined the Zhang Clan as they went to be teleported to the Footloose Sect.

When they arrived near the main gate, a hubbub of voices could be heard. Already, more than a thousand people could be seen, although only about three hundred were actually there to join the Footloose Sect. The rest were just along as escorts.

Among the crowd was the Xu Clan, who, when they caught sight of the Zhang Clan, gave cold, contemptuous laughs.

The Zhang Clan had arrived somewhat late, and so were forced to wait at the end of the very long line. In the Footloose Clan's disciple recruitment, there were three trials by fire, each one of which could only have three participants.

Of course, in addition to the members of the various Clans present, there were also quite a few Footloose Sect disciples, there to maintain order. They acted very courteously, but it was also impossible for them to hide the pride they felt in their bones.

In the crowds, everyone was talking about the goings on.

"Three trials by fire. The first tests willpower, the second tests latent talent, and the third tests powers of insight. In every stage, you can earn first, second, third, or fourth rate marks…. anyone who gets three first place marks is worthy of the title Chosen."

"Yeah, that's right. In all the years, I don't think anyone ever got three first place marks. At the most, there may have been some people who got two."

"Furthermore, the Footloose Sect is very strict in its requirements for recruiting disciples. You have to get at least full third rate marks to get into the Sect. Even one fourth rate mark means that you're out."

Back at the end of the very long line, Naruto yawned as he listened to the conversations around him. According to his calculations, it would take at least two or three days for the Zhang Clan to get to the front of the line.

Nan'er was extremely nervous. Zhang Wenfang stood next to him, offering quiet words of encouragement. Naruto looked around, and even sent out his Divine Sense to sweep over the Footloose Sect.

"This Sect is a bit odd," he murmured to himself, his gaze flickering. "It's made up of nine valleys."

At the same time, Patriarch Reliance sat in his palace, wearing a worried face.

"This is taking too long…. The little bastard is escorting someone to join the Sect, but, hey, couldn't you go to the front of the line, huh?! Why did you run to the back!? What do you think you're doing?!" Patriarch Reliance clenched his teeth, then sent his Divine Sense out to cover over the whole Footloose Sect. Eventually, it came to rest on a disciple near Naruto and the others.

The disciple was currently looking coldly out at the crowds, inwardly confused about why the Sect suddenly moved up the date for recruiting disciples. Even in the midst of his contemplation, his body suddenly trembled, and then his eyes began to grow brightly.

As of this moment, he was no longer himself. Instead, he had become a clone of Patriarch Reliance. He began to walk forward, eyeing Naruto and shivering a bit. Then he turned toward the Zhang Wenfang and Nan'er.

"Are you the Zhang Clan from the Outer Sea?" asked the Patriarch Reliance-controlled Footloose Sect disciple. His voice was cheerful as he stepped forward to examine Zhang Wenfang and the other members of the Zhang Clan.

Zhang Wenfang was taken aback, as were the other Clan members around her. In fact, the members of other Clans that were lined up ahead of them couldn't help but turn around to look.

"Yes, we're the Zhang Clan," replied Zhang Wenfang as quickly as she could.

"Wonderful, wonderful. The descendant of an old friend is here!"

The Footloose Sect disciple sighed emotionally. "Years ago, I used to be very close to your husband, and even owed him a favor. To be able to see all of you here today is nothing less than fate. Come, let me escort up to the front." With that, he quickly grabbed Nan'er and began to walk forward.

Zhang Wenfang stared in shock, wracking her brain to try to remember what past incident the man must be referring to. The other Clan members were also astonished. Even after thinking for some time, they truly couldn't recall their previous Clan Leader having a close relationship with any Footloose Sect disciples.

"This…." Zhang Wenfang hesitated for a moment, but seeing that the disciple had already begun to pull her son away, she quickly followed. The other members of the Zhang Clan also went along. Naruto watched everything happening, and then joined them.

The group made their way from the very back of the line toward the front, which instantly attracted the attention of everyone who was waiting. That was especially true of the Xu Clan, who watched on in astonishment as everything happened.

Immediately, people began to call out questions.

"Fellow Daoist of the Footloose Clan, dare I ask why they get to go from the back of the line to the front?"

"Yeah! They were in the back! They can't just randomly cut in line! How come they can so brazenly go all the way to the front!?"

Now even more people were paying attention. As soon as they saw what was happening, they were shocked, and couldn't understand why the Footloose Sect, which normally paid such close attention to rules and regulations, would allow something like this to happen.

Meanwhile, there were other Footloose Sect disciples who saw what was happening. One of them happened to be a Core Formation Cultivator who was in charge of maintaining order in the area. When he saw what was happening, he frowned.

"Zhao Han!" he shouted, a dignified expression on his face. That was the name of the Footloose Sect disciple who Patriarch Reliance was controlling with his Divine Sense. "What are you doing? It doesn't matter if you're longtime friends with these Zhang people, you…" Before the Core Formation Cultivator could finish speaking, Patriarch Reliance up in the palace gave a cold snort, and sent out more Divine Sense.

A virtually imperceptible tremor ran through the Core Formation Cultivator, and then his eyes glittered brightly.

"Wait, these guests are the Zhang Clan from the Outer Sea?" His expression one of excitement, he immediately stepped forward to glance over the group from the Zhang Clan.

This scene caused all the surrounding Footloose Sect disciples as well as the visiting Clan members to exchange astonished looks.

"The Heavens finally take notice, and allow me to see you members of the Zhang Clan!" said the Core Formation Cultivator, looking very excited. "The descendant of an old friend is here….

"Years ago, I was close friends with your Zhang Clan, and even benefited from a great kindness on the part of the Clan. Come come, I'll take you to the first place in line!" With that, he took gaping Nan'er from Zhao Han without any further explanation, and headed off toward the front of the line.

Zhang Wenfang stared in astonishment once more. She felt as if her mind was spinning. She looked back at her other fellow Clan members, but they had looks as blank as hers. No matter how they wracked their memories, they couldn't think of any time in which their Patriarch had any close friends at all.

The rest of the Clans who were here to join the Footloose Sect all watched on in astonishment, especially the Xu Clan. Their eyes were widest of all, and filled with disbelief.

It was in this manner that, under the leadership of the Core Formation Cultivator, the Zhang Clan continued on from the back of the line directly toward the front. The entire time, the Cultivators of the Zhang Clan almost couldn't believe what was happening.

However, their expressions of confusion quickly turned into excitement.

Right now, more than half of the Outer Sea Cultivator Clans had come. There were even some Clans from the Fourth Ring. As of this moment, everyone now took note of the Zhang Clan, and many people began to discuss the matter in hushed tones. Many people glanced over at them with admiration and envy.

The Xu Clan members all had faces pale and filled with disbelief.

"This… this is impossible!"

By the time Nan'er arrived in the very first place in line, Naruto's shock at the sudden change of events caused him to feel that something fishy was going on.

Meanwhile, back in the Saint's Island palace, Patriarch Reliance looked quite proud of himself.

"Humph. The Patriarch prevails again! The only thing to do is to get the little bastard out of here as quickly as possible. I don't care what price I have to pay!

"Wait. No. I need to speed things up. The best thing would be to settle things within ten breaths of time. I need to make sure he has no reason at all to stay here. That way he'll screw off as quickly as possible!" Again, Patriarch Reliance sent Divine Sense out to cover the Footloose Sect.

In the blink of an eye, the Divine Sense split into dozens of streams that all settled into different individuals.

And then…..

Suddenly, an old man flew out from within the Footloose Sect. He obviously had a Core Formation Cultivation base, and as soon as he appeared, he laid eyes on Zhan Wenfang. "The Zhang Clan is here?! The Zhang Clan from the Outer Sea?"

The Clan members in the line immediately gaped.

"That's Honor Guard Han!"

"Honor Guard Han is one of the most powerful experts in the Footloose

Sect. He has an incredibly high position!"

"Don't tell me… that he also owes a favor to the Zhang Clan?"

The old man quickly approached. "So, it really is the Zhang Clan. Excellent, excellent! The descendant of an old friend is here! I will definitely take advantage of this day to pay back the favor I owe to the Zhang Clan!"

However, before he could even get close, before the crowds in line could digest what was happening, while the Zhang Clan members were all still in a daze, roaring shouts could be heard from within the Sect.

"The Zhang Clan is here?!"

"So, it really is the Zhang Clan! They actually made it to the Footloose Sect!"

"The benefactor is here! I, Tu Dahai, must go to pay my respects!"

Shockingly, ten figures appeared from within the Footloose Sect. Each and every one was of the late Core Formation stage, and they actually comprised more than half of all the Core Formation Cultivators in the Clan.

As they flew out, a buzz could be heard from within the crowds in line. All of the Cultivators from the Outer Sea Clans were trembling in astonishment. The Fourth Ring Cultivators were even more dumbstruck as their gazes followed those of the ten Core Formation Cultivators to fall onto the Zhang Clan.

Zhang Wenfang stood there dully, as did the other Zhang Clan Cultivators.

They were even starting to get a bit frightened. They had never heard anything about their deceased Patriarch having so many friends….

Naruto's eyes were wide as he watched on. What was happening really was far too strange….

Vol. 5 : Chapter 638

Chapter 638: Twists and Turns Enrage the Patriarch

"Heavens, it's actually true! Those ten or more Footloose Sect Honor Guards are all figures who could shake the entire area with the stomp of a foot. And they all… actually owe a favor to the Zhang Clan!"

"The old Zhang Clan Patriarch was only at the early Core Formation stage. How could he get these people from the Footloose Sect to owe him a favor?"

The crowd was abuzz, and the Zhang Clan were standing there wideeyed.

"Was the Patriarch… really so illustrious back in the day?" thought Zhang Wenfang. She looked a bit dazed. She had never heard such a matter spoken of back in the Clan. In her memory, before the Patriarch died, although he'd had a few friends, few were the sincere type. Besides, he had been dead for so long that any friendly sentiments had long since faded away.

Were that not the case, the Clan wouldn't have been forced into the dead end they had been, with no choice but to give up their island and come to this place.

However, what was happening right now was very real, causing Zhang Wenfang to grow even more confused.

Intermittent gasps could be heard coming from the crowds in line, and their faces were filled with disbelief and astonishment. All eyes in the area were completely fixed on the members of the Zhang Clan.

Although most of them dared not allow their envy and jealousy to show on their faces, such feelings filled their hearts.

That was especially true of the Xu Clan, whose faces were pale white, and whose hearts had seized with terror. How could they ever have imagined that the people they had just looked down upon and even shamed, the down and out Zhang Clan, could have such a glorious past?

"No wonder little sis cut ties with the Clan to marry into the Zhang Clan," thought the man from the Xu Clan. "I didn't understand back then, but now…." Having gained this new understanding, he suddenly felt a bit different.

As for the other Outer Sea Clans who had conflicts with the Zhang Clan, they were now scared witless and panting heavily. Not only were their hearts filled with fear regarding what might happen later, they were also inundated with intense animosity.

"I can't believe the Zhang Clan has such incredible connections…. Why didn't they say something earlier? Nobody in the Outer Sea would have dared to pick on them."

Zhang Wenfang subconsciously glanced at some of her fellow Clan Members. What they all saw was mutual shock regarding what was happening.

"Could it be because of me?" thought Naruto. He couldn't help but think this, and as he did, his eyes glittered. He looked at the Honor Guards from the Footloose Sect, and although it was impossible to tell what they were thinking, his eyes narrowed.

"Descendants of our benefactor, please accept our salute!" With that the Footloose Sect Honor Guards excitedly clasped hands and began to bow. There were even a few of the elderly members who had tears streaming down their faces. The joy they felt seemed beyond description.

The Zhang Clan members were overwhelmed by the unexpected show of favor, and even tried to shrink back. Zhang Wenfang had no idea what she should say. However, her heart filled with joy that she simply couldn't suppress. It was like the saying "when the bitterness ends, the sweetness begins." Tears began to roll down her face.

From the day she had married into the Clan until now, she had never experienced anything like this. The proud and elated feeling and the looks on the faces of her Clan caused the excitement in her heart to be equal to that of the Footloose Sect members in front of her.

The ten Honor Guards all began to speak one after another.

"Does this child wish to join the Footloose Sect?"

"What need is there to wait in line? We've been waiting for the descendant of a benefactor to come join the Sect! We can accept you immediately! Inner Sect disciple!" "That's right! He's an Inner Sect disciple!"

They reached their decision very quickly.

The scene caused all the other Outer Sea Clans who were waiting in line to be filled with envy. Any Clan would wish their child to be treated in such a way. Who wouldn't want to be invited into the Clan, as opposed to have to pay respects to enter?

Meanwhile, in the palace of Saint's Island, Patriarch Reliance's face was covered with a complacent grin. He stood up and began to stroll back and forth, giving Guyiding Tri'rain no choice but to watch on helplessly.

"The Patriarch is the smartest yet again," he said. "Hahaha! Now the little bastard has no reason whatsoever to stay behind. Get out of here immediately, kid! Screw off with no delay!" As Patriarch Reliance thought about how proud he was of himself, he began to laugh heartily.

However, in the midst of his laughing, his face suddenly fell, and he sent his Divine Sense out one more time.

Even as the Honor Guard members were excitedly discussing their decision to accept Nan'er as an Inner Sect disciple, a cold voice like that of a thunderclap suddenly filled the Footloose Sect. The voice immediately caused everyone's hearts to tremble.

"What's the commotion!?" The cold voice which echoed out from the mountains belonged to that of an old man. "Accepting new disciples is a great matter within the Sect, and yet you people are here causing a racket! What a travesty!"

As soon as the grim-faced old man appeared, the ripples of a Nascent Soul Cultivation base emanated out. Everyone immediately began incredibly nervous.

"That's… that's Lord of the Third Valley!"

"The Great Valley Lord came personally! Don't tell me he's also friends with the Zhang Clan?" The crowds in the line, as well as the other Footloose Sect disciples who were not affected by Patriarch Reliance's Divine Sense, were all making the same guesses inwardly.

"Even if you all are old friends with this Clan," the old man said coolly, "the Sect still has its rules, and those rules won't change." His expression was not one of anger, but power. His words instantly shook everyone present.

"In the Footloose Sect," he continued, "there is nothing more important than rules. Anyone who wishes to join the Sect must do so according to the rules." His ice-cold gaze fell onto the members of the Zhang Clan. "All of you, go back to your original position in line. After enough time passes, you will naturally reach this position."

Immediately, the Cultivators from the other Clans in line felt roused. They had felt that what was happening was unfair, but didn't dare to give voice to such thoughts. Now that they saw a Valley Lord of the Footloose Sect administering justice, they felt that the rumors about the Sect were true; they really did strictly adhere to Sect rules.

Zhang Wenfang's face was pale white. She immediately bowed her head and voiced compliance. The feeling caused by joy being reversed into the opposite filled her with complete shame. However, she feared causing problems for the Footloose Sect Honor Guards who were friends of the Clan, so she immediately acquiesced, grabbing Nan'er, who was trembling with fear, and began to make her way back to the end of the line with her other fellow Clan members.

The Xu Clan immediately went wild with joy when they saw this. They said nothing, but the looks of ridicule and disdain in their eyes were impossible to cover up.

"As for the lot of you," continued the old man, his eyes cold, "you're Honor Guard members of the Footloose Sect. Your actions just now were completely beyond the bounds of propriety! You will all be punished by being confined to your quarters for three months!" His words rang out, filled with an incredible feeling of might and dominance.

However, as soon as the old man spoke the words, he suddenly heard a furious voice echoing in his own ear: "I'll punish your ass!"

The raging voice was like thunder, although no outsider could hear it, only the old man. As soon as the powerful sound echoed about in his head, his face fell.

Naturally, he knew exactly who it was who was speaking to him.

"All of this was by the order of the Patriarch!" raged Patriarch Reliance, sounding flustered. "Fudge! You completely ruined my big plan! I'll skin you alive!" He seemed truly enraged.

Just when the goal he had worked so hard to reach was about to be accomplished, a bit of interference ruined everything. Of course, Patriarch Reliance was scared. He was scared that Naruto would figure out that something was going on. He was so furious that he wanted to slap this old man to death immediately.

When he sensed the Patriarch's rage and killing intent, the Lord of the

Third Valley instantly began to shake. Suddenly, he looked up at the Zhang Clan retreating toward the end of the line, and his mind became very clear.

"Wait!" he cried, immediately hurrying forward.

"Are you people from the Zhang Clan?" he then asked, his voice filled with excitement. Teardrops could be seen forming in the corners of his eyes. His voice caused the other Outer Sea Clan members in line to instantly gape in shock. They simply couldn't wrap their minds about what was happening….

They weren't the only astonished ones. The surrounding Footloose Sect disciples all had blank expressions on their faces. The events of the day were simply… too strange for them to understand.

As for the Zhang Clan members, they stopped in their tracks, then turned to look at the old man who was scurrying over.

Zhang Wenfang looked at him and hesitated for a moment before quietly responding, "Senior…. We… we are the Zhang Clan from the Outer Sea."

"So it is the Zhang Clan after all!" said the old man. He stamped his foot, causing the nearby mountain peaks to rumble, and the ground to quake.

"This is all my mistake," he said. "Earlier I was inside, and when I sensed that something big was going on, I came out. However, I didn't recognize you! Aiya! I have only myself to blame!" With that the old man laughed emotionally. From his expression, he seemed to be thinking about past times.

"I'll never forget how your Zhang Clan Patriarch showed me such kindness that year. He even saved my life six times! If it weren't for him, I would not be alive today. The descendant of an old friend is here. Ah, the descendant of an old friend is here." He sighed again as his words echoed about. Everyone was instantly stunned.

That was most true of the Xu Clan, who watched on with wide eyes, breathing heavily, their minds trembling. They truly could never have imagined that the Zhang Clan would have such deep relationships, to the extent that one of the nine Valley Lords of the Footloose Sect owed them a great favor.

"Now that his descendant has come to the Footloose Sect, even if we have to bend the rules a bit, I will assume all the responsibility," said the old man resolutely. "I will not allow a descendant of the Zhang Clan to suffer any shame here!" His gaze swept about, and all of the Outer Sea Clan members had no choice other than to bow their heads. Inwardly, they were completely shaken.

Naruto's eyes narrowed, and a slight smile had appeared on his face. Although he could sense no familiar aura, considering his past experiences, how could he not see through the bizarreness of the goings on?

"Interesting," he thought. "As far as I can recall, there's only one old bastard who likes to handle things in such an unreliable fashion."

Zhang Wenfang was currently trembling. The joy and surprise that had come her way was almost too much to handle. Currently, her blankness and confusion were almost at the pinnacle. She was just about to say something when suddenly, the Third Valley Lord took a few steps forward and then picked Nan'er up into his arms.

"They look alike!" he said. "They really look completely alike! A single glance at this child and I can't help but think of the Zhang Clan Patriarch.

"Child, are you willing to accept me as your Master?"

At the moment, most nervous of all was Patriarch Reliance, who panted in his palace as he watched the scene down below. He was dying to hear Nan'er voicing his acceptance.

"Hurry up and agree, child!" he murmured. "Come on, hurry up! I beg you, just agree…. The Patriarch promises you, if you agree, then from now on, I will watch over you in the Reliance Sect, er, no, I mean the Footloose Sect!" However, he didn't dare to do anything to obvious, lest Naruto sense something amiss.

Nan'er was extremely nervous, and even scared. His face was pale, and without even thinking about it, he turned to look back at his mother, and then for some reason, Naruto.

Had he not looked at Naruto, then Naruto wouldn't have inserted himself into the matter. However, considering how helpless the child looked in his inability to make a decision, Naruto couldn't help but smile and then casually say, "No need to rush into things. Considering the child's latent talent, I think he should have a bit better standing in the Sect."

When Patriarch Reliance heard this, blood sprayed out of his mouth like a geyser. He lifted his head back and let out a howl of indignation.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Roberto Baltazar, Nick Mundt, and_

 _Donald Watkins_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 639

Chapter 639: The Superiority of the Patriarch's Intellect

"You little bastard! What do you want? What are you doing!?" Patriarch Reliance clenched his hand into a fist and then slammed it into the ground. A boom filed the palace, causing the entire mountain to shake. In fact, waves rolled out across the sea surrounding the island.

"You're messing with me, aren't you, you little bastard!" fumed Patriarch Reliance. "I'm acting with good will and good intentions! I helped you pull everything off smoothly, and then you refuse!?" His voice rolled back and forth within the palace, but did not echo outside. He was now agitated to the extreme, and on the verge of flying into a rage.

"Are you really trying to push the Patriarch into going insane! FUDGE!

The Patriarch refuses to play your little game. I'll just take the Footloose Sect and leave. The Patriarch can't afford to provoke you, so he'll just avoid you completely!" Patriarch Reliance was just about to follow through with his words, when suddenly he seemed to think of something.

"Wait. No!" A look of suspicion suddenly appeared on his face.

"That little bastard is crafty to the extreme. At the moment, he still doesn't know that I'm here. If I appear, then the cat will be out of the bag. If he finds out I've been hiding in the Milky Way Sea…." Suddenly, Patriarch Reliance's eyes flashed.

"Hmmpphh. The Patriarch is intelligent, divine and mighty. How can I possibly be fooled?" Patriarch Reliance's voice dripped with disdain. "Clearly the little bastard is feeling out the situation. Therefore, I will not reveal myself, no matter what happens. I'll just hold on…. So what if he takes a Master? That doesn't count for crap! He won't accept one Nascent Soul Master? How about a group then!? I can't believe that he'll refuse!" Once again, his Divine Sense spread out through the entirety of the Footloose Sect.

Meanwhile, outside the main gate of the Footloose Sect, Naruto's words echoed out, causing Zhang Wenfang to gape in surprise. Nan'er looked at Naruto wide-eyed for a moment, then immediately spoke in his crisp, clear voice.

"I don't accept…."

The Third Valley Lord's heart immediately quivered, and he glared at Naruto hatefully. He was just about to say something when, all of a sudden, eight streams of Divine Sense shot toward them.

Eight figures became visible in mid-air. Although their faces were not clear, the ripples of a Nascent Soul Cultivation base were quite clear. The entire Footloose Sect trembled, and the sky flashed with a riot of colors. The wind and clouds were thrown into upheaval, and brilliant rays of light shone out in all directions.

It instantly caused countless disciples to approach the area; as for the Footloose Sect disciples who were already at the main gate, their faces flickered and they all began to drop to their knees to kowtow.

The Outer Sea Clan members in line began to pant. They watched the scene in shock, their minds trembling.

"The nine great Valley Lords are all here!"

"What exactly is going on? Don't tell me… don't tell me all of them are friends with the Zhang Clan?"

The Zhang Clan members stood there trembling, filled with blankness and also fear because of everything that was happening.

A deathly silence then filled the air. Naruto looked up, eyes glittering. Although all of these people were Nascent Soul Cultivators, there were odd ripples emanating from their bodies. With Naruto's Cultivation base, he could sense them, but couldn't see clearly exactly what they were.

Of course, considering they were Lords within the Sect, they would certainly possess some secrets to elevate their level of dignity, which Naruto understood.

"This child has destiny connecting him to the Footloose Sect!" said an archaic voice from within one of the eight streams of Divine Sense up in mid-air. The voice echoed out throughout the entire Footloose Sect.

"After discussion, we nine great Valley Lords all accept this child as an apprentice! He will join the Footloose Sect as a Conclave disciple!"

The voice reverberated out into the ears of everyone present. The other Clan members from the Outer Sea watched on, panting with unprecedented anxiety. Far too many unexpected turns of events had occurred, to the point that they would be unable to forget this day for the rest of their lives.

The disciples of the Footloose Sect were completely shocked, and they all began to look over at the young child held in the arms of the Third Valley Lord.

It must be stated that within the Footloose Sect, there were only three Conclave disciples! As of this moment, there were four!

Complete silence followed, after which an explosion of sound could be heard. That sound was caused by the voices of the crowds in line as they expressed their disbelief and utter shock.

The matter that had just occurred would soon spread out through the entire Outer Sea, as well as the Fourth Ring. Throughout all the years, such an event had never occurred in the Footloose Sect. The Nine Valley Lords had all accepted a single person as an apprentice! That person would quickly become completely famous.

As for the Zhang Clan, they would experience a meteoric rise because of the events of the day. Whether it be in the Outer Sea or the Fourth Ring, because of their relationship with the Footloose Sect, no one would ever dare to provoke them. It wouldn't take very long for word of this matter to spread everywhere.

The Zhang Clan was destined to rise to fame.

Zhang Wenfang panted at this unexpected blessing. It was simply too amazing, causing her entire person to tremble, and tears to pour down her face. The Zhang Clan members around her were also excited to the extreme.

Naruto smiled. When he noticed Nan'er looking back at him again, he nodded.

Nan'er mustered his courage, and then clearly spoke out. "Nan'er accepts the senior grandpas as Masters!"

His voice wasn't very loud, but as soon as it rang out, everyone, be they Footloose Sect disciples or Outer Sea Clan members, knew that as of this instant, this boy was… completely different from them!

With the nine great Valley Lords as his Masters, he would be the number one person in the entire Footloose Sect. In fact, as long as his latent talent wasn't extremely poor, he would surely reach Core Formation!

From now on, the Zhang Clan would be like a blazing sun in the sky. Everyone who had ever looked down upon them would be forced to bow their heads in compliance. Anyone who had disputes with them in the past would only be able to writhe in fear and send gifts of apology in great numbers.

Anyone who had blood enmity with them would be forced to immediately flee the Outer Sea. Otherwise, they would never be able to find shelter anywhere.

The Zhang Clan was like the carp who leaped over the dragon gate and received the highest reward. That was the final assessment of everyone present.

Tears streamed down Zhang Wenfang's face. The joy in her heart caused the most brilliant smile she had ever smiled to appear on her face. "Husband, is your spirit watching all of this from the underworld…?"

The other Zhang Clan members watched on with wild joy, as if they could see the countless possibilities that had now opened up for their future. They thought back to the past, and then considered the future, and seemed to have acquired new enlightenment. Their new understanding would keep them going as they reached out to a higher realm.

Most excited of all, however, was no member of the crowd, and no member of the Zhang Clan. Instead, it was Patriarch Reliance, up in his palace. He was so excited that his body trembled as he paced back and forth. He looked over at Guyiding Tri'rain with a scornful expression.

He, of course, didn't care about what was happening with the Zhang

Clan. Intense anticipation appeared in his eyes as he looked off at the Footloose Sect and Naruto. He hoped fervently that all of this was enough to cause Naruto to leave Saint's Island.

"You have no reason to stay behind, you little bastard, so why don't you go? Hahaha! Screw off at top speed! Do not under any circumstances allow me to see you again!" Patriarch Reliance thought about what it would be like if Naruto left with absolutely no suspicions. Then he would be able to openly live a footloose and fancy free life. When he thought about that, it filled him with excitement, almost as if he had gotten some sort of revenge. The more he thought about Naruto leaving, the more anticipation he felt.

Currently, the entire Footloose Sect was in an uproar. Naruto was laughing, and his eyes glittered. Then, his expression returned to normal as he looked over at Zhang Wenfang and the others.

From the look in his eye, it seemed that he was still worried about the Zhang Clan members, apparently concerned about their safety in the future.

Although others might not be able to read his expression, Patriarch Reliance was completely focused on Naruto, and immediately sensed it. Without hesitation, he sent his Divine Sense into the nine Valley Lords.

Almost as if they knew what Naruto was thinking, the nine Valley Lords instantly began to speak.

"The members of the Zhang Clan are close friends with the Footloose Sect. You will stay on Saint's Island in your own area, which will belong to you in perpetuity."

Instantly, waves of intense envy and jealousy filled the hearts of the various Clan members from the Outer Sea. After all, one of the reasons they hoped to join the Footloose Sect was to not just for the opportunity for a single member of the Clan, but for the entire Clan to have the chance to move to Saint's Island.

It was an honor, and a very high position. After moving to Saint's Island, the Clan would never again need to worry about its continued existence in the future. The Footloose Sect would be their biggest protector.

Now, everyone watched on as the previously down and out Zhang Clan received such incredibly good fortune. Various complex thoughts filled the hearts of everyone present. Everyone immediately made the decision that they would spare no effort or cost to become friends with the Zhang Clan.

As for the Xu Clan, their hearts began to pound with fear and intense terror. They worried that retaliation would come from the Zhang Clan, which would turn into a great catastrophe that they couldn't withstand.

This particular phase of a disciple becoming apprentice to a Master was now concluded. The crowds of Clans waited to continue with the process of trying to join the Sect, while the Zhang Clan, to everyone's envy, was led away respectfully by Footloose Sect disciples. As for Naruto, Patriarch Reliance watched with eager anticipation as he finally parted ways with the Zhang Clan.

Nan'er gave Naruto a deep look. He waved, his face filled with unwillingness to part.

Naruto reached out to tousle the boy's hair. Then he muttered for a moment and slapped his bag of holding to produce a bottle of medicinal pills, along with a few magical items, all of which he gave to the boy.

"Focus on practicing cultivation," said Naruto. "You never know, we might meet again someday in the future." With that, he patted Nan'er's shoulder and then turned to walk off into the distance.

Zhang Wenfang watched Naruto walking off, and then looked at the gifts he had given Nan'er. Her eyes filled with deep gratitude, she dropped to her knees and respectfully kowtowed to him.

Perhaps through all eternity, they would never know the real reason why Nan'er had been accepted as an apprentice.

Naruto made his way off.

Under Patriarch Reliance's anticipatory gaze, he left the Footloose Sect mountains. As soon as this happened, Patriarch Reliance smiled, and was so excited that he almost let out a huge roar.

He couldn't help but feeling happy at how superior he considered his intellect to be. Right now, it seemed like everything he looked at filled him with happiness. His eyes squinted with joy as he watched Naruto making his way further and further away.

However, in the midst of all his smiling, he suddenly gaped.

That was because even as Naruto turned into a beam of prismatic light that shot throughout the air, he suddenly stopped and looked down. There below him, not far away from the Footloose Sect, was one of the largest Cultivator cities on Saint's Island!

"Uhh? Come on, get going!" said Patriarch Reliance, staring. "What are you waiting for, huh?"

Naruto hovered in mid-air, rubbing his chin. Although it was impossible to tell whether or not he was doing it on purpose… he began to mutter to himself.

"Before I leave, I really need to purchase some items. It probably won't be easy to find a Cultivator city like this one out on the Milky Way Sea.

"Furthermore, these Footloose Sect Cultivators are good people. The prices here probably will be pretty low, and definitely not too high. If they were too high, then I might be forced to stay on Saint's Island for even longer." Clearing his throat, he flew toward the city.

Patriarch Reliance watched on blankly as Naruto descended upon the city. He wanted to cry, but had no tears, and was on the verge of going mad. He began to pant and walk in circles in the palace, gnashing his teeth.

"I've already mostly succeeded. If I have to keep on, then so be it! I'll deal with it! No Spirit Stones! Fudge! I'll give you some!

"As long as you leave, I'll do anything!"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 640

Chapter 640: I'll Leave After I Finish Shopping

Naruto was in a good mood….

It was a warm, sunny day, and evening was approaching. The color of the sky and the scenery around him all looked incredibly beautiful. The more he looked at it, the better he felt.

His body flickered as he shot through mid-air toward the city. Almost in the same moment in which he was about to arrive, seven or eight streams of Divine Sense suddenly neared him. Almost as immediately, they dispersed in amazement.

Naruto had only revealed an early Nascent Soul stage Cultivation base. Even still, that caused quite a bit of shock amongst the people in the city. No one dared to block his way, and they allowed him to enter the city.

The Cultivator city was crowded and bustling with activity. All types of shops could be seen, and although most of the Cultivators were in the Qi Condensation stage, there were some Foundation Establishment and even the occasional Core Formation.

When it came to Nascent Soul Cultivators, Naruto saw a few. Clearly, they were not members of the Footloose Sect but rather, Cultivators come from the Fourth Ring to do business.

As soon as he entered the city and began to stroll about, he saw shops on both sides of the street filled with luxurious products; customers were constantly walking in and out. As for the streets themselves, they were paved with green limestone, making the whole place seem even richer.

As he walked, Naruto noticed a mid Core Formation stage Cultivator up ahead. He wore a light green robe, and looked quite mighty, even threatening despite his lack of angry expression.

He was walking up ahead of Naruto, and was just about to enter a shop off to the side, when suddenly a growl could be heard off in the distance, and a bright beam of light shot toward him at top speed.

"Zhou Hebi an, you traitor! So it turns out you hid here after daring to steal my Spirit Stones!? Well I, Sun, swear that you will be slain this very day!" A middle-aged Cultivator could be seen approaching. His Cultivation base was at the Core Formation stage, and his power seemed boundless. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing two flying swords to emerge with sharp glows. They instantly shot toward the Cultivator with the light green robe.

The man's face fell, and he had no time to evade. Instantly, fighting broke out between the two of them. Attacks exploded out, forcing quite a few nearby onlookers to dodge out of the way.

They fought openly, surrounded by explosions that rose up into the sky. Magical items and divine abilities were unleashed, and both men coughed up blood and then fell back. Almost in the same instant that they fell back, the Footloose Sect disciples in charge of maintaining order rushed toward the scene. A cold snort filled the entire area.

"Magical fighting is prohibited in Saint's Distance City! The two of you screw off immediately!"

The echoing voice caused the face of the Cultivator named Sun to flicker. As he looked up, the Cultivator named Zhou took advantage of the pause to retreat further. It was hard to tell whether or not it was intentional, but his movement brought him right next to Naruto's side. Before any observer could see what happened, the man slipped a bag of holding to Naruto.

"Please watch over this for me, Fellow Daoist," he said. "I'll be back within three days at the least. If I haven't come to get it within three days, then everything inside belongs to you." With that, he flew up into the air. The Cultivator named Sun let out a roar and then began to chase him. The two of them quickly vanished.

Naruto stood there blinking. The fight had started far too quickly, and ended even faster. Naruto looked down at the bag of holding, wiped away the brand mark without hesitation, and then scanned it with Divine Sense. Instantly, a strange expression appeared on his face.

There was nothing inside other than Spirit Stones…..

Furthermore, there were more than 30,000 of them.

Naruto cleared his throat, then calmly put the bag of holding away, his expression the same as ever. There really was nobody he knew so unreliable as to be able to pull off something like this which was so full of sloppy mistakes.

Upon first stepping foot onto Saint's Island, Naruto hadn't thought too much about why the place seemed so familiar. But then he realized that it looked so different from that familiar place in his memory that it seemed obvious someone had altered it, even moving mountains and rivers to make it different.

And then… everything went completely smoothly, especially all the matters to do with the Footloose Sect. Naruto couldn't help but start getting a bit suspicious. Considering everything, it was only natural that he realize what was happening.

"It's a good thing that when I went to the Bridge of Immortal Treading that year I got a bird's eye view of the Milky Way Sea, and realized that the old bugger was hiding there," he thought. "If it weren't for that, I might have had my suspicions, but I couldn't have been sure. 1

"The old bastard really is good at hiding. Even my Demon Sealing senses couldn't pick up on his aura." Naruto coughed lightly, then, without batting an eyelid, continued onward.

Meanwhile, back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance was nervously staring at Naruto. He watched him put away the bag of holding and then let out a sigh. Then, he started to complain regretfully.

"Oh, my Spirit Stones. Those are the Patriarch's 30,000 Spirit Stones… gone, just like that. Everything here on Saint's Island belongs to me, only to be gone, just like that….

"Dammit, you little bastard! Nothing good ever happens when I run into you!" Patriarch Reliance gnashed his teeth, but there was nothing else he could do. He could only silently pray that Naruto would leave as quickly as possible.

As for Naruto, he patted his collection of free Spirit Stones, and then glanced around. Soon he caught sight of a shop that specialized in magical items. His eyes narrowed as he strode toward it.

Even on the outside, the shop looked extremely luxurious. Upon entering, he could see that it had three floors, and that the glow of magical items was shocking. The products available started from the Qi Condensation stage and even went up all the way into the Nascent Soul stage. There were special and incredible items available for all stages.

Currently, there were about seven or eight Cultivators in the shop, looking through various treasures, followed by salespeople with radiant smiles. In the middle of the shop was an incense burner, from which wisps of smoke radiated out, filling the entire first floor with an elegant aura. As soon as someone entered, it was possible to calm the mind and simply enjoy the high-end atmosphere of the shop.

As soon as Naruto stepped foot inside, an old man wearing a long gown approached smilingly. He clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto.

"Fellow Daoist, welcome to one of the top ten shops in all of Saint's Distance City. We guarantee quality, and are honest with all customers. You can set your mind at ease when you do business here.

"What exactly are you looking for?" The old man's smiling words seemed somehow familiar to Naruto. After thinking about it for a moment, he realized that they were almost exactly the same words he had used in his own shop back in the Reliance Sect.

The old man had a passable Cultivation base of the early Foundation Establishment stage. His latent talent was ordinary, and he was not on the verge of any sort of breakthrough, which was why he maintained such a position in this shop. He quickly measured up Naruto. Although he couldn't clearly see Naruto's Cultivation base, based on the way he carried himself, the old man could see that he was full of money.

"You're funded by the Footloose Sect?" asked Naruto, sounding a bit surprised.

The old man looked both proud and embarrassed as he laughed and nodded.

"Fellow Daoist," he said, "is this really your first time to Saint's Island? There are three Cultivator cities here, and many of the shops in those cities are the property of the Footloose Sect.

"Take a look here." The old man pointed to a wooden plaque next to the door, upon the surface of which was clearly carved a design that looked like a turtle….

"That mark," continued the old man, "indicates that this place is property of the Footloose Sect."

Even as the old man made his explanation, Patriarch Reliance's heart began to pound, and he started wailing in anguish.

"I'm finished, FINISHED!" he cried. "How could the Patriarch in all his intelligence forget about THAT!? Dammit! That design…. Please, DO NOT let it attract the attention of that little bastard!"

In his anxiety, Patriarch Reliance quickly sent his Divine Sense into the old man that Naruto was talking to. An imperceptible tremor ran through the old man, and his expression changed. As of this moment, he was no longer himself, but rather, an incarnation of Patriarch Reliance.

"Fellow Daoist, look over there!" he said quickly, stepping in front of Naruto to block his line of sight. "All of the treasures in this shop are very extraordinary, really!"

Inwardly, Naruto gave a cold laugh, but outwardly, he looked in the direction in which the old man was pointing. There was a flying saber, completely silver and radiating icy coldness. The price listed next to it was 1,500 Spirit Stones.

It was a magical item useful to the early Foundation Establishment stage. Naruto looked it over and then frowned.

"Too expensive!" he said, his voice serious.

The old man laughed on the outside, but inside, he was cursing Naruto's stinginess. "The Patriarch just gave you 30,000 Spirit Stones, and now you're saying it's too expensive?!"

"Fellow Daoist, today is your lucky day! It just so happens to be our crazy, once-a-decade sale! All products in the entire shop are half off! You can have this item for only 750 Spirit Stones!"

Naruto didn't look satisfied. "This thing is worth 30 Spirit Stones at the most. Forget it. I think I'll go to some of the other shops in the city. Then I'll probably go to some of the other Cultivator Cities as well." With that, he turned to leave.

However, as soon as the words left his mouth, a tremor ran through Patriarch Reliance. When he heard that Naruto planned to stroll around the city, he began to grieve inwardly. Gritting his teeth, he decided to throw all caution to the wind.

"Fine. 30 Spirit Stones! It's yours!"

Naruto spun back around and grabbed the little saber, his face awash with joy. Then he waved his finger at the hundreds of other magical items on display on the first floor of the store.

"I want all of them," he said.

Patriarch Reliance stared in shock. However, in his desire to get Naruto away as quickly as possible, he could only grit his teeth and endure the drops of blood that were being squeezed out of his heart.

It was in this manner that, under the shocked gazes of the other customers, Naruto purchased everything on the first floor of the shop. Then, even as Patriarch Reliance was starting to get excited, Naruto didn't leave, but rather made his way toward the second floor.

"Everyone says that the people from the Footloose Sect are good people. Although I've seen many things, I have to say that this is the most honest shop I have ever been into. Alright, I'm going to take a look at the second and third floors. Assuming I like what I see, I'll take it all. 30,000 Spirit Stones should be enough for everything, right?" He swished his sleeve magnanimously.

Patriarch Reliance, in the form of the old man, almost coughed up an entire mouthful of blood. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was just about to howl out in rage, when Naruto continued to speak in a soft voice.

"I'll leave after I finish shopping."

The sentence caused Patriarch Reliance to gasp. He continued to remind himself that he just had to hang on a little bit longer. As he comforted himself in this way, he gave a smile that looked worse than a wailing grimace, and then escorted Naruto through the second and third floors. He moved as quickly as possible, and soon, Naruto had gathered up all of the magical items.

In the final calculation, there were several thousand items. Even at the price of only 30 spirit stones per item, he still needed over 100,000 Spirit Stones.

Patriarch Reliance felt as if his heart were being slashed by daggers. His face was pale as he stared helplessly at Naruto, seemingly on the verge of crying.

When it came time to settle the bill, Naruto rubbed his bag of holding, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes.

"I don't think I have enough Spirit Stones," he said a bit bashfully. When Patriarch Reliance heard this, he gaped in shock.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Liam Shippam, Laurie's ESL Tutoring,_

 _Patrick Files, Shin, William Storer, Joel F, Michael Q, Abu, Count Grey,_

 _Fiber Optic, David Jeltema III, Potkeny, and Michael Michalczyk_

When Naruto flew up to the Realm of the Bridge Ruins in chapter

454, he saw Patriarch Reliance floating in the Milky Way Sea ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 641

Chapter 641: Who Would Outdo….

"What… what are you trying to pull?!" cried Patriarch Reliance. The old man he was controlling trembled as he pointed at Naruto and nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance stamped his feet with fury and let loose a torrent of cursing. His fury surged to the Heavens, and he seemed on the verge of going insane.

"You little bastard! You, you, you… you have no money?! Then what are you doing!?

"You have no money and then try to buy so many things?! Dammit! You have no money?! The Patriarch just gave you 30,000 Spirit Stones!? 30,000! 30,000 whole Spirit Stones! The Patriarch lived a bitter, frugal life to save up all those Spirit Stones!" Years ago, Naruto had defied all sorts of difficulties and danger to attract all the Cultivators from the State of Zhao to the Reliance Sect to free Patriarch Reliance. At that time, Patriarch Reliance's heart had filled with joy. However, he had only rewarded Naruto with a single low-grade Spirit Stone. From that could be seen the level of stinginess which had long since become a part of Patriarch Reliance's very being.

"Furthermore, every item in that shop belongs to the Patriarch! You have no money and want to buy everything? Ridiculous!"

Seeing Patriarch Reliance raving the way that he was caused Guyiding Tri'rain to purse her lips. However, her expression quickly returned to normal, except for the glint of shrewdness in her eyes.

"The old turtle really is looking for trouble," she thought, feeling a bit sorry for Patriarch Reliance. "Naruto conned the entire State of Zhao back then. There are people who still remember that down to this day. And yet the old turtle is still trying to match wits with Naruto? He's simply looking for trouble….

"Although, you can't really blame the old turtle. He's getting old, and his brain is somewhat addled. Perhaps it's because he was beaten in the head when he was young?" The more she thought about the matter, and of all the things that had happened in the past years, the more she couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Patriarch Reliance.

Of course, Naruto had no way to see or even know what was going on in the palace. He looked apologetically at the old man who stood in front of him.

"How about this," he said, sounding a bit embarrassed. "How about I do some work for you? I'm sure that in a few dozen years, I can clear all of my debt! Yeah… I'm pretty good at concocting medicinal pills."

Patriarch Reliance, in the form of the old man, stared fixedly at Naruto. He began to pant, and it almost seemed as if steam was rising from the top of his head…. Inside his mind, two people suddenly appeared. One of them was giving advice, and the other was venting angrily.

"Alright Patriarch, it's time to risk it all!"

"No way! I've worked so hard, and almost pulled it off! I'm just about to succeed! I just have to hold on a little bit more! A little bit more is all! Then, I'll finally be able to gaze upon hope!

"The sunshine always comes after the storm!" Even as Patriarch Reliance was feeling conflicted, Naruto cleared his throat.

"Or, maybe I just shouldn't buy these things," he said. "I think I should

go browse some of the other shops. I'll try to finish going through them all within a year. After that I'll head over to the other cities…."

These words were like a trump card that Patriarch Reliance couldn't match.

"How much money do you have?" he asked through gritted teeth.

Naruto blushed. "I have 5,000 Spirit Stones in my bag of holding."

"You…." Patriarch Reliance almost screamed out that he had just given Naruto 30,000 Spirit Stones. However, he suppressed his heart for a long moment; he felt as if he had just been stabbed through, and there was no blood left to ooze out….

"Ha ha…." he said through clenched teeth. However, to achieve his goal, he had no choice but to continue to endure. Even if it caused Naruto become somewhat suspicious, he had no choice. After forcing out his laugh, he said, "You're… you're really lucky! Today is… our opening-day celebration! We have a huge… sale! 5,000 Spirit Stones gets you everything in the store!"

Eyes sparkling, Naruto quickly placed 5,000 Spirit Stones in front of the old man, then collected together all of the magical items into his bag of holding. Then he smiled and gave a light sigh.

"The people of Saint's Island, and especially the members of the Footloose Sect, are all good people," he said. With that, he spun and left, flying directly up into the air and shooting off into the distance.

When Patriarch Reliance saw this, his deeply injured spirit was finally able to recover a bit.

"As long as you leave, that's all that matters…. Just go!" he said, gnashing his teeth. "You little bastard! I don't ever want to see you ever again in my life!" He gradually calmed his mood, then stopped thinking about Spirit Stones and magical items. If he did, he was worried that he might not be able to take it and then explode with fury.

However, even as Patriarch Reliance struggled to improve his mood, Naruto suddenly stopped flying. He looked down as he noticed a second city down below.

When he saw this second city, a smile appeared on his face.

Currently, it was the middle of the night, and yet, the city was still filled with bright lights and activity. Even at this hour, the shops weren't closed. The whole city was bustling, making the entire city seem like a bright, dazzling pearl.

Patriarch Reliance: "…."

He stared blankly, veins popping up on his forehead.

Then he saw Naruto shamelessly floating down toward the city, and he couldn't take it any more. He finally exploded.

"Ridiculous! Shameless!" he bellowed, causing the entire palace to shake. He waved his right hand in front of him, causing countless streams of Divine Sense to shoot out. They sped toward the city and immediately entered the various shops.

Before Naruto could even get close, all of the shops in the entire city suddenly closed their doors and turned out the lights.

It was the middle of the night, so the previously brightly lit city was suddenly cast into darkness. Of course, everyone within the city noticed this and was instantly alarmed.

Up in mid-air, Naruto's face twitched a bit.

"That damned old turtle," he thought. "All I took was a few Spirit Stones and magical items. In total, it's only worth a few tens of thousands of Spirit Stones!

"The old turtle is far too stingy. After all these years, he still hasn't changed. I bet that right now, he's in such pain that he wants to die.

"He wants me to leave, and is worried that I'll plunder him even more, so he instantly caused all the shops to close. Shameless! Completely shameless!" Naruto hovered indignantly up in the air, staring down at the city for a long moment. Then, he continued to fly.

Back in the palace, an unprecedentedly wide smile appeared on Patriarch Reliance's face, as well as a look of intense pride as he reveled in his superior intellect. Patriarch Reliance currently felt incredibly refreshed.

"Little bastard! No matter how crafty you are, you can't outsmart the Patriarch!

"As usual, the Patriarch is the most intelligent! How else could I come up with so many plans? Hahaha! Let's see what you try to do now!" By now, he had long since forgotten that he was trying to hide. Nor did he consider that such overt actions might cause Naruto to be suspicious.

His complacency had reached the pinnacle, and the feeling of finally being able to vent his frustrations gave him a bit of hope. Hope to see Naruto finally leave!

"No matter where you go, I'll just close all the shops! Let's see what other reason you could possibly come up with to stay here!" Patriarch Reliance's eyes sparkled as he glanced over at Guyiding Tri'rain.

"Well, what do you say? Is the Patriarch clever, or not?"

Guyiding Tri'rain blinked, then smiled. "The Patriarch is definitely brilliant."

Patriarch Reliance seemed more pleased than ever, and his smile grew even wider.

As for Naruto, he frowned as he flew through the air. About an hour later, he suddenly stopped in place, then looked down toward a mountain down below.

As soon as he even glanced at it, a rumbling sound suddenly filled the air as the entire mountain collapsed right in front of his eyes.

Naruto stared in shock. This time, it was true and utter shock.

"Patriarch Reliance!" he thought, "Aren't you being a bit too obvious, bitch? Can't you pretend even a little bit? Dammit! What do you want me to do? Pretend that I don't notice? Pretend that I do?" Naruto was conflicted about exactly what course of action to take.

If he pretended not to notice anything suspicious, that would be too obvious….

But if he pretended to notice something fishy, then it would also tip off Patriarch Reliance. In Naruto's opinion, Patriarch Reliance was so unreliable, there was no way to know how he might flip out if that happened.

"If I scare him too much," Naruto thought, "he might just take this whole place with him and run away at top speed. This time, I have to make sure he doesn't flee." Naruto really was unsure of what to do. Inwardly, he cursed the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. How could a Dao Seeking Cultivator be so slow? Naruto had already let his aura begin to emanate out, and yet the old man still hadn't come looking for him yet.

Naruto was consumed with the desire to beat the living daylights out of the old turtle. Currently, he just couldn't think of how to deal with the unreliable Patriarch Reliance.

Even as he went back and forth in his mind, he continued to proceed forward. However, he quickly found that if he stopped for even a moment, nearby mountains would collapse; even the rivers would change their course.

Almost everywhere he went rapidly turned into flatlands.

"Could there possibly be anybody more unreliable…?" Naruto thought. "If things keep going on like this, even if I really did beat him in the head in the Demon Immortal Pagoda, he should be able to understand that I'll notice things are obviously off." Naruto hesitated for another moment before his eyes began to glitter. At this point, he completely ceased suppressing his internal injuries. He let out a bloodcurdling scream and then coughed up a mouthful of blood.

His face immediately went pale.

"My injury is playing up again!" he cried loudly. Bowing his head, he sank down toward the ground, picking a random area to sit down crosslegged to meditate and treat his injuries.

His injuries truly were not completely healed. They were only healed by approximately seventy percent. The remaining thirty percent were filled with the power of Dao Seeking, which was very difficult to heal with the Violet Pupil Transformation.

According to his calculations, the final thirty percent would take years to completely heal using his current method. Therefore, he didn't mind allowing the old turtle to see that the injuries and the blood were very real.

"In order to deal with this unreliable old turtle," he thought, grinding his teeth, "I just have to be more shameless than him. In that case, you bastard, I'll just stay here indefinitely!"

Now it was Patriarch Reliance's turn to be stunned. He rubbed his eyes vigorously as he watched Naruto sit down cross-legged to meditate. Then his eyes began to shine brightly as he saw that Naruto truly did have serious internal injuries.

Patriarch Reliance began to pant. He stared for a long moment, then grabbed at his long hair and began to pull it hard. He paced back and forth within the palace, his face unsightly to the extreme, looking like a volcano that was about to explode.

"Dammit! Who was it that hurt him!? Why didn't you just directly kill him?! Why leave an injury like that to flare up at a time like this?!

"What do I do? What is the Patriarch supposed to do…? That injury won't be healed for years. After everything I've done so far, just when I was about to succeed, then this kind of thing has to happen!" Patriarch Reliance ground his teeth. Inwardly, his hatred toward whoever had injured Naruto continued to grow.

Guyiding Tri'rain almost couldn't stop herself from bursting out laughing. Right now, she almost couldn't take it any more. She had to know, which of these two unreliable fellows would outdo the other….

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Dan Gabber, Ng Inn Shan, Davis Won,_

 _Patrascu Gabi, Michael Tashkoff, Anonymous, Hal, Kari Yi, Griff-And-Or, Costin C, Arkanth, Sailesh, Tomáš Jílek, Suneil Patel, Alessio Bastardi, and LB_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 642

Chapter 642: The Patriarch Flies Into a Rage

"I'll just sit here and wait for the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch to come," thought Naruto complacently. "In the meantime, I'll treat my injuries and just let time pass." He sat there cross-legged in the remote mountain forest, surrounded by silence. The night was dark and charming; a soft breeze brushed gently against his face.

He rotated his Cultivation base as he slowly treated himself. Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes. A few days passed.

The parrot and the meat jelly emerged during that time, then left to go play on the sea. It was impossible to tell what vices they had indulged in, but they came back smelling like seawater. They made quite the commotion as they returned to perch on Naruto's shoulder.

"You are immoral!" cried the meat jelly, preparing to launch into a speech. "That white crane…."

"SHUT UP!" replied the Parrot, glaring. It was just about to continue speaking when suddenly it made an "eee?" sound and then looked around. Before it could say anything, Naruto's eyes snapped open and he stuffed the parrot and the meat jelly into his bag of holding, then cleared his throat and continued to meditate.

At the moment, Patriarch Reliance was completely torn about what to

do, so he didn't notice what had just happened. He was utterly helpless in terms of Naruto; during the past few days, he had grown increasingly anxious. It was now clear based on Naruto's actions that he planned to stay long term to restore himself to health.

"You little bastard, you just wait. The Patriarch is going to go all out!" Patriarch Reliance lifted his head up and roared. He had been in conflict over the past several days, and at this point, couldn't wait any more. Clenching his teeth, he waved his sleeve, causing his body to grow transparent. It appeared as if he had separated some of his essence, which then began to swirl in the air above his hand, emanated a multicolored glow.

It rapidly turned into what appeared to be a Spirit Fruit, from which a delicate fragrance wafted out. Anyone who looked at it would instantly feel themselves palpitating with eagerness.

Off to the side, Guyiding Tri'rain's eyes went wide and she began to breathe heavily. She recognized this object; it was a strand of essence from Patriarch Reliance's clone form.

Clenching his teeth and enduring the distress of it all, Patriarch Reliance lifted his right foot and then stamped it down onto the surface of the palace. Instantly, a white crane appeared. As soon as it flew out, it began to change shape into a gray eagle, which then grabbed the Spirit Fruit with its talons. After that, it passed through the walls of the palace and shot off into the distance.

Patriarch Reliance watched anxiously as the gray eagle left. He felt distressed, and couldn't stop from stamping his feet back and forth in nervousness.

"Screwed over. I'm screwed over big time…. However, as long as that little bastard leaves, the Patriarch can deal with it!"

The gray eagle shot through the sky with incredible speed toward Naruto

Hao's location. In only the space of a few breaths, it appeared near him.

It kicked up a stiff wind that caused Naruto's eyes to open. He looked up into the sky, and as soon as he caught sight of the gray eagle, his pupils constricted. Clearly, the most important part was the Spirit Fruit it held in its talons.

At a single glance, he could sense the ripples that emanated out from within the fruit, as well as the colorful glow which surrounded it. It almost looked like an Immortal Fruit. Even just glancing at the Immortal Fruit provoked a reaction from his internal injuries.

"This thing can really heal injuries…." thought Naruto. He hesitated for a moment, then smiled bitterly. Patriarch Reliance really had hit him in a soft spot with this particular move. He sighed inwardly.

"But it's such a blatant move…. Well, he is Patriarch Reliance, after all, so I guess it's not that strange." It was with a wry smile and a conflicted heart that he watched the gray eagle start to fly in circles over his head. It seemed as if it was simply waiting for him to snatch the Spirit Fruit.

"Snatch it!" roared Patriarch Reliance. "Come on! Why aren't you snatching it!?" At the moment, he wanted nothing more than to throttle Naruto.

After struggling back and forth for a while, Naruto took a deep breath. His eyes filled with determination. He simply couldn't ignore such temptation. He had just made the decision, and was about to make a move, when suddenly, the gray eagle loosened its talons.

The Spirit Fruit slowly fell down from the sky with great accuracy to land directly in front of Naruto.

Patriarch Reliance burst out with hearty laughter, and he looked extremely proud of himself. Then he harrumphed to express the superiority of his intellect. Finally, he sent his Divine Sense into the gray eagle, causing it to let out a cheerful cry filled with complacent pride.

Because Naruto was staring in shock, he didn't notice that at some point, the parrot had stuck its head out of the bag of holding and was looking intoxicatedly at the gray eagle. Suddenly, it transformed into a black streak of light that shot out at top speed.

Back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance's Divine Sense was still in the gray eagle, controlling it as it flew off into the distance. "You little bastard! The Patriarch has lived for years and years, and you want to try to compete with me? Let's see what reason you can come up with to stay now! Hahaha! The Patriarch is… huh? Ahh? AAGGHHH!" In the midst of his complacency and laughter, he suddenly shuddered, and his eyes went wide with disbelief.

He could clearly see the black beam of light shooting out from Naruto's bag of holding. Then, the black shadow shot through the air to penetrate the rear end of the gray eagle.

"What… what is it doing?" said Patriarch Reliance, trembling.

The gray eagle shook. It was illusory, after all, so it twisted and then transformed into countless dots of glittering light that spread out in all directions.

A tremor ran through Patriarch Reliance and he stared blankly. Because his Divine Sense had been inside the gray eagle, everything that had happened just now… he had also experienced.

His face was filled with disbelief, but it only took a moment for him to react. His eyes went wide and were shot with blood as he lifted his head up and roared.

"You, you, you… you actually….

"Ridiculous! You actually….

"AAAAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" After understanding exactly what had happened, Patriarch Reliance was filled with unspeakable, unprecedented rage and madness.

All of the the lands of Saint's Island shook, and enormous waves rolled out across the sea. The faces of all the Cultivators on the island flickered as they wonder what had just transpired.

Naruto was also a bit frightened. When he saw the parrot returning, that intoxicated look on its face, his scalp went numb.

"Damned bird," he thought, taking a deep breath. "It… it actually did… it did Patriarch Reliance?" The parrot's expression was one of deep emotion as it returned. Everything that had happened completely exceeded Naruto's imagination.

The parrot still seemed to be savoring the aftertaste of what had just occurred. As it returned, Naruto could hear it muttering.

"Strange. How come it couldn't handle being done? I barely started and it disappeared?"

Naruto grabbed the parrot and violently threw it into his bag of holding. Then he smiled wryly and collected up the Spirit Fruit. He quickly popped it into his mouth, then transformed into a beam of light and shot up into the air.

"What's going on in this place!" he yelled loudly. "I can't stay here!" He immediately shot off into the distance. Even as he did, the area he had just been in collapsed into a huge crater.

The ground trembled and shook, and huge waves surged across the sea. Patriarch Reliance was completely in a rage; his fury was burning to a shocking level. Although he couldn't do anything to Naruto, he still couldn't accept such humiliation. He was just on the verge of revealing his true self to swallow up the parrot, when Guyiding Tri'rain came running over. She grabbed Patriarch Reliance's arm.

"Patriarch, calm down!" she said. "Think about what's most important!"

"Go away! The Patriarch is gonna go all out with this guy!" Patriarch Reliance took a few steps forward. A rumbling sound filled the air as the palace opened up to reveal the lands of Saint's Island stretching out below.

"Patriarch, think three times before you act!" urged Guyiding Tri'rain. "Naruto's already gone! If you reveal yourself now, you'll undo all your previous hard work!"

Patriarch Reliance stopped in place with his foot in the air. Veins bulged out on his face, and his entire person resembled a volcano that might erupt at any moment. His face twisted with struggle; on one hand, he was thinking about the happiness he could enjoy in the future. At the same time, he was thinking about the revenge that needed to be exacted for what the parrot had done to him.

In the midst of his struggle, he stomped his foot down. Forcing himself to endure everything, his body trembled and his head seemed about to explode. Clearly, his restraint had reached its very limits.

Patriarch Reliance could feel an indescribable fire burning inside of him. He felt as if he had to find someone to beat up to vent the rage and toxic anger that raged in his heart.

As he forced himself to continue to be patient, Saint's Island ceased trembling, and the sea returned to calmness. Naruto transformed into a beam of light that shot through the air. His face was unsightly, but his internal injuries were now healing at a shockingly fast rate.

In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, all the pores on Naruto's body seemed to have opened. The injuries inside of him were healed, and an intense coldness rushed out through his skin into the air, transforming into flakes of black snow that drifted in the air.

Naruto took a deep breath and increased his speed. His mind spun with countless ideas as he tried to come up with more reasons to stay on the island. However, he knew that Patriarch Reliance's rage had been kindled to its peak, and the slightest mistake on his part could cause it to explode out.

If that happened, Patriarch Reliance would definitely run away again, and that did not fit in with Naruto's plan.

"It's all the fault of that bastard parrot. It ruined my big plan." He sighed as he neared the border region of the island. He decided to slow down a bit, but when he did, the land beneath him would quake and the nearby mountains would collapse.

Naruto smiled bitterly and then continued to speed along. Soon, he saw the sea off in the distance, as well as the last Cultivator city of Saint's Island. Right now it was day, and the city should have been bustling with noise and excitement, but instead, all the shops were closed.

"Patriarch turtle, you've pushed me into a corner!" cursed Naruto inwardly. He clenched his teeth and then suddenly stopped in mid-air. His eyes began to glow with an intense light, and his expression was incredibly grim.

The look on his face caused Patriarch Reliance's fuming heart to suddenly begin to thump.

"I've been hiding in this ancient palace for years," he thought, "completely cut off from anything to do with the Demon Sealers. He shouldn't be able to sense me…. Not good, not good! Maybe what I did just now was too obvious! When you add in the fact that I couldn't control my temper, maybe the little bastard saw through it all!"

Naruto looked around, his face grim. Finally, he spoke in a cold voice: "I'm not sure which member of the senior generation in this place doesn't want Naruto to stick around. Fine, I'm leaving!"

Complete silence was the only response.

When Patriarch Reliance heard Naruto's words, he immediately heaved a sigh of relief.

"So, he doesn't know I'm here. He actually thinks I'm someone else. Alright, that will do."

Naruto glanced around before his gaze finally came to rest on the city up ahead. He lifted his hand up and pointed at it.

"However, I'm lacking in Spirit Stones, and happen to have a random assortment of magical items in my bag of holding. I'll sell them in this city, and as soon as I'm finished, I'll leave this place!" With that, Naruto flicked his sleeve and headed toward the city.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 643

Chapter 643: Plundering

Patriarch Reliance hesitated for a moment. Had Naruto not directly stated his intentions, he would never have allowed him to enter the city. However, Patriarch Reliance couldn't help but glance at the sea, and then back at the city.

Finally, he violently clenched his teeth.

"This is the last time," he said decisively. If Naruto tried to pull any more tricks after this, then he would go for broke and run away with the land on his back.

Naruto headed toward the city at top speed. Inside, the shops had all closed their doors, which left the Cultivators quite confused. Soon, quite a commotion could be heard.

Naruto's arrival didn't attract much attention. He picked a relatively open area where he then sat down cross-legged. Waving his sleeve, he caused a vast quantity of magical items to suddenly appear in front of him. They flew out into the surrounding area, causing a bright glow of light to spread out in all directions.

When thousands of magical items suddenly appeared all at once, glowing and shining resplendently, it instantly caught the attention of quite a few bystanders. When they saw the magical items, gasps could be heard.

The sounds of discussions soon filled the air.

"So many magical items!"

"How can that guy have so many magical items!? He has things from the Qi Condensation stage all the way to the Nascent Soul stage! He has everything!"

"Don't tell me he sacked a shop somewhere?! All of those magical items are clearly new! Not a single one is used!"

Soon, people began to approach to examine the magical items that floated in the air around Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he quickly listed prices for each item, which were based on the original amount he had purchased them for, multiplied several times over. Then he closed his eyes and sat there silently.

More and more people crowded around, their eyes glittering as they occasionally glanced over at Naruto. Some people wanted to buy things, but the prices were clearly quite high. There were even some magical items whose price was several times greater than normal. Because of this, many people began to curse inwardly.

Time passed by, and soon quite a crowd had built up. Right now, all of the shops in the city were closed, so Naruto's flagrant display quickly attracted the attention of the vast majority of Cultivators in the city.

Unfortunately, although there were a lot of people, few people were willing to buy at the exorbitant prices Naruto had listed.

Naruto didn't feel anxious at all. In fact, he wanted to stretch time out as long as possible. Patriarch Reliance, on the other hand, was getting very nervous back in his palace as he watched the scene unfold. Soon, evening was falling. Of the thousands of magical items Naruto had for sale, he had only managed to get rid of a few. Patriarch Reliance was now incredibly worried.

"Well, this is the last time!" said Patriarch Reliance, stamping his foot. He sent his Divine Sense out into several people in the city.

Before long, seven or eight Cultivators approached Naruto's vendor stall. They moved at top speed, causing quite a disturbance as they arrived in front of Naruto.

"I want 500 of these magical items!" said one of their number, an old man. He tossed out a bag of holding. Naruto's eyes instantly opened. He looked at the man, then slowly opened the bag of holding. He then removed all of the Spirit Stones from inside and began to count them one by one. After checking the number thoroughly, he waved his sleeve, causing five hundred magical items to fly toward the old man.

The old man's face twitched as he gathered up the items, then turned and walked off. After he left, another person approached, and, in exactly the same fashion as the man before, began to purchase magical items.

"That was the manager of the Auspicious Pavilion. He has a considerable social standing, and a close relationship with the Footloose Sect…. Why is he here buying magical items from this guy?"

"I've seen that guy before. That's the shopkeeper from Chen Manor!

He's here too…."

The surrounding crowds watched on in astonishment as the seven or eight Cultivators wasted nearly two hours purchasing various items. Soon, all of Naruto's magical items were gone.

Of course, the reason it took so long was that Naruto fastidiously counted every single Spirit Stone. Otherwise, he could have taken care of selling all the items in the space of a few breaths.

Considering how many Spirit Stones Naruto ended up taking, it was no surprise that the crowds eyed him greedily, like hungry wolves.

Naruto calmly secured all of the Spirit Stones into his bag of holding.

In total, he had acquired several hundred thousand, making his trip to Saint's Island somewhat profitable after all.

Finally, he rose slowly to his feet and sighed. Back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance's patience could stretch no longer as Naruto transformed into a beam of light that shot up into the air.

As soon as that happened, four or five Cultivators down in the city took out jade slips that they then used to send voice transmissions.

Moments later, three Core Formation Cultivators flew out from a secret location. At the same time, an old man in a red robe sat cross-legged on a ship near the seashore. Suddenly, his eyes opened and began to glow with a brilliant light. The ripples of an early Nascent Soul Cultivation base emanated out from him.

He was the type of person who was threatening without showing anger.

As soon as his eyes opened, he produced a brightly glowing jade slip. When he sent his Divine Sense into the slip, his eye narrowed.

"A Cultivator flying around with hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones?" said the man coolly, rising to his feet.

"On Saint's Island, only Core Formation Cultivators are permitted to fly….

"He sold a lot of items, most of them suitable for Qi Condensation and Foundation Establishment. However, his Cultivation base clearly wasn't Nascent Soul. He must be a Core Formation Cultivator.

"Most likely, he's at the great circle of Core Formation. In my hands, though, someone like that is a mere insect." A slight smile appeared on the man's lips.

"If I can get my hands on a few hundred thousand Spirit Stones, then this trip will have been no waste." The man used minor teleportation to instantly vanish. When he reappeared, he was in mid-air above Saint's Island. After confirming his exact position, he picked a direction and started flying.

Naruto frowned as he flew through mid-air. He really couldn't think of another reason to stay behind, and it almost felt like he was being banished. It didn't make him happy.

After all, the person doing the banishing was supposed to be his Dao Protector.

"If I'd known this was going to happen, I would have thrashed that little turtle a bit more back in the Demon Immortal Pagoda!" murmured Naruto angrily. He proceeded onward, watching the seashore get closer and closer.

By now, Patriarch Reliance was getting incredibly excited. Anticipation filled his eyes as he watched Naruto get further and further away.

"He's leaving! The little bastard is finally leaving! Hahaha! What an excellent feeling!" The more Patriarch Reliance thought about it, the happier he felt. He even started to hum a little tune.

If Naruto were there, he would instantly recognize that tune. It was the very same tune Patriarch Reliance had hummed back in the Reliance Sect. 1

Currently, Naruto's face was unsightly. The sea was clearly visible off in the distance, but he still couldn't think of a reason to stay behind. Even as he was beginning to hesitate, a whistling sound could be heard from behind him.

When Naruto heard the sound, he was instantly both surprised and very happy. He quickly looked back to see three beams of light shooting toward him. An expression of joy appeared on his face.

In the same moment that Naruto turned to look back, a cold voice could be heard coming from one of the three pursuers. "Fellow Daoist, please slow down for a moment!"

The three pursuers were middle-aged men, one of whom was in the mid Core Formation stage, the other two were in the early Core Formation stage. They flew through the air very quickly, and arrived in the blink of an eye.

Back in his palace, Patriarch Reliance watched on in shock.

"What are you people doing!?" Naruto shouted, shrinking back.

The eyes of the three men glittered with killing intent. The mid Core Formation Cultivator looked Naruto over closely. Earlier, he had been somewhat hesitant because of not being able to clearly see Naruto's Cultivation base. Now, though, it was obvious to him that it was at the early Core Formation stage.

Furthermore, Naruto's words and expression seemed to be filled with alarm, which left the man feeling even more calm.

"The three of us would like to borrow something from you, Fellow Daoist," said the man with a false smile. "Hopefully you can help us achieve our aim." With that, the other two moved to surround Naruto.

The eyes of all three radiated ill intentions as they coldly stared at Naruto. The greed in their eyes couldn't be more apparent.

"What… what do you want to borrow?" Naruto replied hurriedly.

"Just some Spirit Stones, that's all," said the man with a smile. "Fellow Daoist, you have several hundred thousand Spirit Stones in your bag of holding. Do you mind loaning them to us?" As he spoke, killing intent glittered in his eyes. Just when he was reaching out to attack….

"Okay! I agree!" said Naruto. He slapped his bag of holding and instantly caused hundreds of thousands of Spirit Stones to fly out. The sight of so many Spirit Stones instantly caused the three Cultivators to stare, panting.

For the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, a sound almost like the gurgling of water could be heard as the Spirit Stones poured out onto the ground. Soon, they had formed together into something like a small mountain.

Even though it was evening, the Spirit Stones glittered and shone, causing the eyes of the three men to shine brightly.

However, as Naruto was backed up, the tip of one of the magical items from the Demon Immortal Sect suddenly appeared. Naruto's face fell, and he quickly covered it up.

"Hahaha!" said the middle-aged man, his eyes flashing. He was all smiles as he spoke, although he was working hard to control the excitement inside of him. "Fellow Daoist, you seem to be in such a good mood, so I hate to tell you that in addition to Spirit Stones, I also happen to need some magical items. I noticed just now that you have some inside your bag of holding. Hand it over now for me to take a look."

The other two were palpating with eagerness at how rich they were about to become.

Meanwhile, back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance was panting, his eyes filling with rage as he clenched his fists tightly. He wanted nothing more than for Naruto to leave as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, these blind fools dared to intercept Naruto and delay him. This was enough to cause Patriarch Reliance to explode like lightning.

"Are they looking to die?!" roared Patriarch Reliance, waving his hand out. At the same time, the three people surrounding Naruto, in the very midst of their most ultimate excitement, suddenly began to tremble. The sound of someone roaring exploded out in their minds.

Then, in the blink of an eye, their eyes went wide and their bodies burst into pieces. A haze and blood and gore filled the air, which rapidly vanished into nothing.

Naruto smiled bitterly, then moved to collect up the Spirit Stones on the ground. However, it was at this point that he suddenly smiled excitedly once again. Off in the distance, a beam of light approached him at top speed from the direction of the ocean.

It was the early Nascent Soul stage old man.

"Take out your Spirit Stones and… huh?" Even as the old man's cold voice rang out, he suddenly gasped. He had just seen the huge Spirit Stone mountain laying there on the ground.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Damayne Hyatt_

Both Patriarch Reliance and Naruto hummed the same tune back in chapters 84 and 85 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 644

Chapter 644: Patriarch, Save Me!

"Another one?" Patriarch Reliance's rage once again flared up. He was incredibly indignant. After all the untold difficulties he had gone through to accomplish his goal of sending Naruto away, he had almost reached his goal.

And yet, at the critical moment, one blind fool after another came to stir up trouble. Patriarch Reliance was extremely nervous that Naruto would seize some new chance to stay behind on the island. Thus, his rage burned up into the sky. He was about to reach out and crush the newcomer with a palm, when suddenly, a tremor ran through his body. He looked up, and there wasn't a trace of rage on his face. Gone was the easily changeable mood from when he was dealing with Naruto. Now, his expression was very serious.

He stared off into the depths of the sea.

Next to him, Guyiding Tri-rain also got a strange feeling seemingly from nowhere. She looked up, and her expression flickered. The Boat Spirit appeared soundlessly next to her, and also looked off into the distance.

Meanwhile, the overbearing old Nascent Soul Cultivator saw the huge pile of Spirit Stones, and it caused his heart to tremble. He glanced around the area, and, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, turned to look frowning at Naruto.

Naruto looked back at him, and as their gazes met, he laughed.

The scene caused the old Nascent Soul Cultivator to get a very strange sensation. He suddenly had the feeling that something fishy was going on, and immediately backed up a few paces.

He was just about to say something when Naruto's face suddenly flickered. He jerked his head to look off onto the distance. At the same time, his entire person erupted with an intensely fierce aura. He didn't grow any larger, but in the eyes of the old man, he suddenly seemed indescribably huge. The old man suddenly felt as if he were nothing more than a bug in front of Naruto.

The explosive aura that roiled off of Naruto caused the old man to tremble and pant. His eyes went wide with disbelief, and his mind filled with roaring.

"Great circle of the Nascent Soul stage!" he thought, both his mind and body trembling. The blood drained from his face.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto's aura continued to rise, breaking through a certain barrier that suddenly caused the wind and clouds to surge, and the sky and land to dim. The crackle of thunder could be heard.

His energy swept over everything for thousands of kilometers in every direction, and a vortex appeared. The vortex spun rapidly, rising up to the point where it seemed to connect Heaven and Earth. Rifts appeared in the air, as if the world itself couldn't handle the explosive power of Naruto's Cultivation base.

"Spirit… Spirit Severing!" Being in the middle of the tempest made the old man feel like he was a tiny leaf the midst of the raging sea, or a lone boat on the verge of being crushed into tiny pieces.

His mind buzzed and went completely blank, and his face completely drained of even the slightest bit of blood, until he looked almost dead. His body trembled like a screen, as he stared wide-eyed at the vortex, and Naruto, who looked almost like an Immortal.

"I… I actually tried to rob a Spirit Severing eccentric…." The man's trembling soon was completely replaced by astonishment and indescribable fear. The turn of events left him thoroughly discombobulated. In his estimation, he had just done the most insane thing he had ever done in his entire life.

As he trembled, he was suddenly incredibly glad that he hadn't finished speaking earlier. Perhaps he still had time to turn around and leave.

"Senior…. Senior, I…." Even as he began to stammer an explanation,

Naruto flicked his sleeve. Instantly, all of the Spirit Stones vanished. Completely ignoring the Nascent Soul Cultivator, he flew up into the air and looked off into the distance.

What he saw was a long beam of light shooting across the sky above the sea. It seemed capable of splitting Heaven and Earth as it shot toward him. Rumbling could be heard, and soon, the image of a white-robed Cultivator became visible within the beam. He didn't look old, but rather, middle-aged. His hands were clasped behind his back as he strode through the air inside of the beam.

His hair floated around him, and everywhere he passed, distortions spread out. It seemed as if in every place that he passed, the natural laws of the world would change because of him. Waves surged in the sea down below, roaring and rumbling.

If you looked closely, you would be able to see that in that part of the sea, the waters were sunken down as if by some incredibly shocking pressure.

"He's finally here!" thought Naruto. His eyes glittered brightly, and without hesitation, he entered the Ninth Anima!

Boom!

His body shook violently as an energy even more powerful than before was unleashed within him. He had a Spirit Severing fleshly body, and an energy capable of shaking everything.

Down below, the Nascent Soul Cultivator coughed up a mouthful of blood and sank down to the ground, quivering. To him, it was like the Heavens were crumbling.

Of course, the approaching figure was none other than the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch!

He strode forward, his expression cold, seemingly filled with infinite killing intent. He appeared capable of causing everything around him to collapse into destruction, and each step he took made everything rumble and shake.

"You dared to disseminate your aura to draw me here," he said coolly, his voice crackling like thunder. "Who exactly are you relying on for help? Ask them out immediately." His voice caused the entirety of Saint's Island to shake. Mountains crumbled, and countless people on the island cried out in alarm.

In the Footloose Sect, dozens of beams of light flew up into the air, and the faces of everyone instantly began to flicker with various expressions.

Up in mid-air, the wind and clouds surged into an enormous, rumbling vortex. It looked almost like doomsday had arrived.

As the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch entered the airspace over Saint's Island, waves raged in the surrounding sea, from within which could be heard something like desolate howls that echoed about in all directions.

"If you have nobody to rely on for help, well then, you simply won't be able to escape this time." The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's voice was calm, and did not seem to contain even a scrap of emotion. His eyes were cold as his gaze fell onto Naruto.

As soon as the gaze touched him, a rumbling sound surrounded Naruto. Inside of him, the power of seven Cultivation bases within him exploded out, and the strength of his fleshly body radiated out to slam into the pressure of the gaze.

Boom!

Rumbling filled Naruto's body, and he felt an incredible pressure. This feeling was even more intense than the last time, causing his face to pale. Underneath the pressure, his Cultivation base suddenly condensed from seven parts into six!

It seemed as if the pressure from the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was like a grindstone, and Naruto… was the blade!

At the same time, the intense power of his Cultivation base exploded out and fought back.

RUMBLE!

Blood oozed out of Naruto's mouth, and he was sent spinning backward. However, a bright light shone in his eyes as he relied only on his own power to resist the pressure of the gaze.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's eyes flickered as he gazed deeply at Naruto. This was not the same clone that had faced Naruto back in the Southern Domain. This was a flesh and blood body, a true clone.

It was far, far more powerful than the Divine Clone from last time. After all, the will within its gaze could kill a person.

Down below, the Nascent Soul Cultivator's astonishment had reached a pinnacle. He had no way to even imagine what level of Cultivation base could cause a Spirit Severing expert to be incapable of fighting back.

"This place is a nightmare…." He began to tremble violently, and wished he could simply lapse into unconsciousness.

Meanwhile, back in the palace, Patriarch Reliance's eyes were glittering as he silently observed what was happening.

A look of anxiety appeared in Guyiding Tri'rain's eyes.

Hovering in mid-air in the seaside region, Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth and backed up.

As for the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, he was now even more excited about Naruto's Dao foundation. "It truly is worthy of being called the Perfect Dao foundation…."

He took another step forward toward Naruto.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly shouted out: "Patriarch, save me!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Patriarch Reliance's face twitched. He pretended as if he hadn't heard, but Guyiding Tri-rain, looking more anxious than ever, quickly turned to look at him.

Boom!

Even as he spoke the words, Naruto fled at top speed, his body flickering with a bloody glow. However, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch instantly appeared in front of him.

"Patriarch Reliance," said Naruto, using his Cultivation base to cause his words to echo out through all of Saint's Island, "I'm the only remaining disciple of the Reliance Sect. Even in the Footloose Sect, considering my level of seniority, I should be considered a respected Elder. Can you really just watch on while I get killed?" Everyone in the Footloose Sect could clearly hear the words he had spoken. Naruto instantly tried to retreat again, but the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch waved his hand out. His shocking killing intent, which contained the will of Dao Seeking, transformed into a black beam that shot toward Naruto.

It moved with incredible speed, but Naruto was on guard. The Immortal's sword appeared, which instantly caused the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's pupils to constrict.

In that instant, back in the palace, Guyiding Tri-rain gritted her teeth and then suddenly vanished. She transformed into a drop of rainwater, which then shot out of the palace. At the same time, the Boat Spirit also vanished.

When the raindrop reappeared, it was in front of Naruto. It instantly transformed into a sheet of falling rain, which blocked the incoming black beam of light.

Guyiding Tri-rains voice suddenly sounded out. "Your fleshly body is strong, but you can't use it now. Rain is water. Water can become a lake, and that lake wishes to transform into sea. The surface of the sea can ripple; vibration can resist countless powers!"

As soon as Naruto heard her, his eyes went wide. Although he recognized the voice, there was no time to reminisce right now. The words seemed to bring him to his senses, and he began to vibrate his body.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in the blink of an eye.

The black beam neared, and as it passed through the rainwater, more than half of it dissipated. What remained slammed into Naruto, causing a boom to rattle out. The vibrations of Naruto's body, however, transformed into a strange power that caused all the defensive power within his fleshly body to be consolidated into one location. Within the blink of an eye, a hundred vibrations occurred, fighting back against the black beam.

Naruto's body shook, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. As he fell backward head over heels, the rainwater transformed into a young girl who caught him in her arms. The Boat Spirit appeared as well. He waved his sleeve, causing the air to ripple and distort in protection of Naruto as they retreated.

Although they had dispelled the black beam, the ripples that had been sent out as a result had completely destroyed the surrounding land. Everything had been crushed and destroyed, leaving behind a massive crater.

As Naruto retreated, an angry look appeared in his eyes.

"Old turtle Reliance, you're my Dao protector! I can't believe that the restrictive spells placed on you would allow you to just sit by and watch while I perish!" Even as he spoke, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch neared. A look of derision appeared on his face, and he lifted his right hand up. The will of extermination appeared in his eyes as he struck out with his palm.

As soon as the palm began to move, everything grew dark, as if the the entire world now belonged to that palm. As it descended, Naruto, as well as everything in the entire area, began to topple and disintegrate.

Seeing what was happening, Patriarch Reliance lifted his head up and roared. Naruto's words had stabbed him to the heart. He truly couldn't just sit by complacently and watch him die. "Fudge! Fine, the Patriarch is coming!"

When you added in the flames of fury which still raged inside of him, and the fact that the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was destroying the entire land with his palm, it all made Patriarch Reliance howl and finally…

Leave the palace!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Karen Nguyen, Dennis Liu, and Kristian_

 _Seljevold_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 645

Chapter 645: Shameless Old Turtle!

As soon as Patriarch Reliance appeared on the outside, all of Saint's Island trembled. He wore a long azure robe, and his hair swayed in the wind. He looked ancient, but his eyes glowed with a bright light, and veins bulged out on his forehead. The anger and fury within him had reached the point that they absolutely had to be vented.

In a single step, he crossed half of Saint's Island to appear in front of Naruto, directly between him and the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch!

He lifted his right hand, and instantly, a sheet of steam rose up. It emanated shocking Demonic Qi, as well as prismatic light. Instantly, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's palm slammed into it.

"I'm the Patriarch! Now screw off!" he raged, lifting his head up and roaring. His voice echoed out in all directions like thunder.

The mist and the palm slammed into each other, causing an enormous roaring to fill the air. Patriarch Reliance was sent tumbling backward, as if a raging wind had just swept over him. When he looked up, a vicious expression filled his eyes.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch also trembled, and his eyes gleamed brightly. But then, he gave a cold laugh.

"A trifling Spirit Severing Cultivator?" he said coolly. "Child, this is the person you are relying on? Allow me to destroy him, and your hope along with him!" From the way he spoke, destroying Patriarch Reliance would be incredibly easy for him.

Actually, from his point of view, destroying a Spirit Severing Cultivator truly was a simple matter. In fact, normally speaking, Naruto could not have stood up to him for even half a moment. The only reason he could was that the 10th Wang patriarch needed to be very careful not to kill him. If he killed him, it would be impossible to steal his Dao foundation.

Truth be told, the Wang Patriarch had many Daoist magics that could easily destroy everything in sight.

"I am a Patriarch of the Wang Clan. An ancestor of the Clan invented three finger attacks, two of which have since become lost arts. However, the Extermination Finger is still being passed down via legacy." With that, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch waved his finger in the air. It seemed to possess the power of extermination; the life force of all living things instantly began to wither under the power of the finger attack.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he sensed his own life force rapidly fading.

A cold light suddenly appeared in his eyes as he fell back yet again. Having just gained enlightenment regarding the vibration technique, a hundred vibrations instantly appeared within him, locking down his life force so that the withering effect was instantly slowed down.

"Now is not the time to leave," thought Naruto, countless thoughts racing through his mind. "I need to wait a bit longer, until the fight between old turtle Reliance and the Wang Clan bastard reaches the peak. When the true flames of fury flare, that is the time to flee." The entire reason he had stayed on Saint's Island was to attack the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch here, and use Patriarch Reliance's power to destroy him, thus giving himself a way out of his current crisis.

Guyiding Tri-rain stood next to him, a serious look on her face. As for the

Boat Spirit, his eyes shone brightly as he stood protectively off to the side.

Because of the transformations occurring in Heaven and Earth, and the quaking of Saint's Island, the experts of the Footloose Sect sped over as fast as possible. They knew that they were flying into danger, but the rules of the Footloose Sect were very strict. Seniority was the most important thing of all. If the Patriarch was in battle, then it didn't matter that they couldn't match up to him, unless he specifically ordered them away, they were required to come.

Most nervous of all was the Nascent Soul Cultivator down below, the one who had tried to rob Naruto. He was shaking violently, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Everything that was happening caused him to breath rapidly. His mind spun, and he had lost the ability to even think. It didn't matter if it was Naruto, Patriarch Reliance, or the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, none of them were people that he could even come into contact with. To the Nascent Soul Cultivator, getting involved in this conflict was clearly the most unlucky thing that had ever happened to him in in his entire life.

Heaven and Earth were sinking into extermination. The finger attack of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch caused the entire world to turn gray. The only thing that had color was the Wang Clan Patriarch himself.

The finger descended, and the world shook.

Patriarch Reliance's eyebrows shot up, and he performed an incantation with his right hand. Instantly, Demonic Qi swept out.

"What dog crap Extermination Finger are you talking about?!" he said. "The Patriarch has never heard of any such thing. Demonic Art, Heaven and Earth Cleaving!" Patriarch Reliance also waved a finger. From the look of it, his fingernail became the Heaven, and the flesh of the finger became the Earth. As for the tip of the finger, it transformed into something that looked like a sharp blade which could cleave both Heaven and Earth.

Both finger attacks slammed into each other in mid-air.

BOOM!

The massive explosion caused the Nascent Soul Cultivator down below to cough up blood as he was sent spinning backward. Naruto fell back, his eyes glittering as he saw the plants around him rapidly wilting and drying up. As for Patriarch Reliance, starting with his extended finger, his entire body began to shrivel.

In the blink of an eye, his hair had fallen off, and his entire body was emaciated. He almost looked like a desiccated corpse. Then, a pop could be heard as he exploded, transforming into countless dots of light that floated away.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's expression was the same as ever. He seemed to have utmost confidence in his finger attack just now.

"That's who you were relying on?" he asked coolly. He looked over at Naruto with eyes full of ridicule.

Naruto's expression was calm. Next to him, Guyiding Tri-rain's expression was similar. This caused the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch to gape in shock. He obviously could tell that something was not quite right. Just as he was about to take a step forward, a shocking roar suddenly filled the air.

"Dammit! This bastard actually dared to extinguish the Patriarch's clone!?" Instantly, a pulsing cloud of steam appeared out of nowhere, which gradually reformed back into the shape of Patriarch Reliance.

This new Patriarch Reliance's Cultivation base was a bit weaker than before. As soon as he appeared, his rage boiled up into the sky, and a demented gleam appeared in his eyes. He instantly shot forward.

"With me here," he roared, "nobody can kill that little bas… er, ahem, nobody can kill Naruto!"

If he hadn't spoken such words, then Naruto wouldn't have taken anything to be amiss. However, as soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto's heart started to pound with fear, and his face flickered. He absolutely did not believe that Patriarch Reliance would utter such words and truly mean them.

"Dammit, what technique has the old turtle come up with to get out of the Demon Seal…?

"It must have something to do with the words he just spoke. Don't tell me that whatever technique he's using can actually get out of having to fight here?" Naruto was no longer the unseasoned Cultivator he had been long ago. After everything he had experienced, he had long since honed his powers of reasoning. Based on Patriarch Reliance's words just now, he could obviously pick up on some clues as to what was going on.

Even as Naruto's mind was racing with countless thoughts, Patriarch Reliance neared and then stood between him and the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He flicked his sleeve.

"Naruto, get out of here!" he said, then charged once more toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

Naruto shivered and then began to pant slightly. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch gave a cold snort and took a step forward, then once again attacked with his Extermination Finger.

As before, the finger attack caused everything to turn gray, and all life to be destroyed. Patriarch Reliance lifted his head up and let out an indignant howl.

"Life is to be treasured! Promises are even more eternal! I am Patriarch Reliance, and I promised to be Naruto's Dao Protector! Even if I am torn into a thousand pieces, I will abide by my promise!"

Seemingly completely unafraid of death, Patriarch Reliance charged forward. He seemed to prefer to die in battle to block the momentum of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. As he charged forward, he performed an incantation gesture, unleashing a Demonic art as he fearlessly attacked.

Anyone who was watching would definitely feel the complete and utter valiance on display. Giving up one's life to keep a promise; such were the actions of a true man!

However, Naruto understood Patriarch Reliance all too well. He knew that the damned old turtle would never act like this. Sweat began to pour down his forehead as a very bad feeling filled his heart.

Without hesitation, he cast aside his previous plan and began to flee in the opposite direction. Guyiding Tri'rain looked at fleeing Naruto, and then back at Patriarch Reliance as he seemed to face death unflinchingly. Then she sighed.

BANG!

Under the power of the Extermination Finger, Patriarch Reliance's body withered rapidly and then collapsed into pieces.

However, at the same time, a roar suddenly could be heard. The mist formed together again, once more turning into Patriarch Reliance. Yet again, he risked death to block the way of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

"I can die with no regrets, but Naruto… must not die!" cried Patriarch

Reliance. "That is my promise from years ago!"

A strange glow appeared in the eyes of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch as he looked at Patriarch Reliance.

"So, a promise truly can give rise to someone so brave as to use their own essence to come back to life in this way!" From the perspective of the Wang Clan Patriarch, Patriarch Reliance must be drawing on the essence of his true self to return to life.

To Cultivators of his realm, one's essence was the most prized of all possessions. Wasting it could lead to severe injury that would be difficult to recover from. It truly was extremely precious.

A look of respect appeared in the eyes of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He suddenly realized that if this Patriarch Reliance were a member of his own Clan, then he would definitely make an excellent guard.

Naruto was cursing inwardly. By now, he had realized exactly what Patriarch Reliance was doing. Currently, Naruto employed all the speed he could muster to flee, although he wished he could move thousands of times faster.

"Hahaha!" thought Patriarch Reliance. "It turns out this method is working after all. The Patriarch is the most intelligent yet again! The Demon Seal only requires that I become a Dao Protector. Dao Protector, huh. That just means protecting! And the true meaning of Dao is to temper oneself. Therefore, the identity of a Dao Protector doesn't mean I have to prevent the little bastard from dying. All I have to do is protect him a bit. If any accidents happen, as long as I'm trying hard, then it won't matter.

"And I'm already trying hard! This might just be a clone, but I did have to expend some essence, right?! As for the Demon Seal, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. Hahaha! The Patriarch is far too intelligent!

"This time, it won't count as defying the Demon Seal!" Patriarch Reliance felt quite proud of himself. On the outside, though, he looked furious. He seemed to be going all out to block the way of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. Once again, his body withered and then collapsed.

The next time he appeared, he was even weaker than before. By now, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was truly in admiration of Patriarch Reliance's loyalty. This time, when Patriarch Reliance's body withered away, the Wang Clan Patriarch didn't wait for it to reform before shooting off to pursue Naruto.

When Patriarch Reliance reappeared, he was extremely weak. In fact, his body was so shapeless that the illusory image of his true self could actually be seen.

He now looked like a fearsome turtle, who stood there watching as the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch chased after Naruto.

His expression one of incredible grief and indignation, Patriarch Reliance shouted, "Don't kill him! Kill me instead!" Inside, Patriarch was laughing up a storm, but on the outside, his eyes were bloodshot. He lifted his head up to roar, and then offered pursuit.

"Kill me, okay?! I have to keep my promise even if I die. Don't kill him! I'm not just his Dao Protector, I'm his Patriarch! He is the highest ranking disciple in the Footloose Sect next to me! He is my equal, the future and hope of the Footloose Sect. You are not permitted to kill him!"

"Shameless!" growled Naruto through clenched teeth. Without hesitation, he pulled out the good luck charm and was about to press down on it hard, when suddenly…

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch turned his head. There, he saw Patriarch Reliance, looking both complacent and indignant. He was in turtle form now, and his eyes glowed with a strange light.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was moved. "I've seen many Demon beasts in my life, but this is definitely… the most loyal one I've ever encountered!"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 646

Chapter 646: I'll Give You Some Good Fortune!

In order to create the most realistic act, Patriarch Reliance filled his roars with incredible power. Everyone on the island, including the Cultivators of the Footloose Sect, could hear him clearly.

Their faces all flickered with various emotions. The people near the battlefield didn't dare to get too close. Their expressions were that of shock, and they were panting.

"Naruto? Who's that? It sounds like he's really important in the

Footloose Sect!"

"What kind of person would the Patriarch risk his life to protect? He must be the hope of the whole Footloose Sect! He can't die!"

"Naruto? I remember! He was an Inner Sect disciple of the Reliance

Sect! The Patriarch was right! He's the highest ranking member of our Sect next to the Patriarch!" The astonished Cultivators immediately committed Patriarch Reliance's words to heart, engraving them there to remember always.

Actually, Patriarch Reliance's words were filled with such realistic emotion that even he was starting to believe them. Tears appeared in his eyes as he roared out. It was at this point that the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch stopped in mid-air, his eyes wide with shock.

"Why aren't you chasing him?" said Patriarch Reliance, blinking. He was now far larger than the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, and had inserted himself between him and Naruto. He glared angrily. "Kill me, and then you can pass!"

Patriarch Reliance was now fully immersed in the game. To him, it was actually quite fun, and when he spoke, his voice burst with incredible power.

"With me here, nobody can hurt Naruto!" roared Patriarch Reliance.

Of course, inwardly, he was laughing. He wanted the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch to strike him down as quickly as possible, and then go take care of the little bastard. Then he himself would finally be freed.

However, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch didn't seem to have any intention of chasing Naruto. From his perspective, there was no way for Naruto to truly escape; he would catch him sooner or later. However, the Demon beast in front of him was something quite rare.

In fact, it was rare enough that the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch couldn't possibly let it go!

"What an incredible, loyal Demon beast," he said slowly. "In all my life, I've never seen anything like it!" The admiration in his eyes grew stronger as he looked at Patriarch Reliance, nodding and smiling. "For a Demon beast like this to follow that child is a real pity. Demon turtle, I am the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. Are you willing to be my follower? If so, then from now on, you will be the Divine Beast Dao Protector of the Wang Clan!

"The day I achieve Immortal Ascension, I will bring you with me into the Heavens!"

Naruto was just about to press down on the good luck charm when he heard the words of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He stopped in place and looked back. When he saw the scene, and especially the trembling Patriarch Reliance, he wanted to laugh out loud.

He knew Patriarch Reliance, and that he most valued his freedom. In order to get rid of Naruto, Patriarch Reliance might be able to forget about some other matters, but as for his freedom… talking about that was one good way to really piss him off!

"I never imagined it would play out this way," thought Naruto. "But I like it. Come on, be a bit more realistic, you old turtle. Keep up the act, I want to see more!"

Patriarch Reliance stared with wide eyes for a moment, and then his heart began to pound. He felt like he was about to explode; madness suddenly surged through his mind.

"What did you just say? What did you call me?" He almost couldn't believe that someone would try to turn him into a guard beast. Actually, this was the second time such a humiliation had occurred to him since he grew up.

The first time had been at the hands of the League of Demon Sealers.

To Patriarch Reliance, the level of irritation this caused him exceeded anything else in the world. His body began to tremble and distort, and it was only because of the little bit of rationality left that he was able to suppress his rage.

"You're not pleased, little Demon turtle?" said the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his face sinking. He had offered this Demon turtle a rare, moving opportunity. Normally speaking, considering his temper, he would have just instantly killed it.

"Fudge! YOU'RE the Demon turtle!" roared Patriarch Reliance. "Everyone in your whole Wang Clan are all Demon turtles, and you're the bastard son of a turtle! Do you really dare to try to make me your security guard!?" Moments later, though, he inwardly urged himself to just hold on a little bit longer. All he had to do was hold on, and then great good fortune would come his way.

By this point, though, his body had grown incredibly blurry. Furthermore, his real body was actually trembling some, causing huge waves to surge out on the sea, along with echoing rumbling sounds.

"Well, it's beyond your control," said the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his voice cool. "If you're willing, good. If you're not willing, it doesn't matter. When I make a decision, nobody can change it. I'll put some restrictive spells on you, and then from now on, you'll be the Demon turtle of my Wang Clan!" Apparently, he felt his own words to be the will of Heaven, like laws and statutes that couldn't be broken.

Naruto was going wild with joy, and almost started laughing out loud.

He knew that currently, he could leave at any time he wished. Besides, if Patriarch Reliance couldn't endure through all this, then Naruto didn't mind facing a bit of danger just to be able to see that happen.

As the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch spoke, he raised his right hand and performed an incantation. Instantly, thousands of restrictive spell symbols appeared in mid-air. They circulated around in the area to form a huge net, which then shot toward the illusory, turtle-form Patriarch Reliance.

Patriarch Reliance's body was blurry, but it was still possible to see how furious he was. His panting sounded like explosions, and his fury… finally reached the point of detonation!

His eyes were wide; earlier, he had done everything he could to hold back his rage. But now, he couldn't suppress even a tiny bit of it. In the blink of an eye… his fury exploded!

Thunderous booming sounds echoed out in all directions as Patriarch

Reliance lifted his head up and let out an unprecedented howl of rage!

"AAARRGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!" In this moment, he didn't care about Naruto or the Demon Sealing Sect. All he cared about was the towering rage he felt from being offended in such a way.

Such overt humiliation made him think back to how he had felt being restricted by the League of Demon Sealers. It was like an old wound had been ripped open. Patriarch Reliance's rage filled his mind, and he roared again.

"Dammit! Dammit….

"The League of Demon Sealers is one thing, but you, tiny child, you actually dare to humiliate the Patriarch!?"

Patriarch Reliance was so immersed in his rage that he completely forgot about the act from before. His eyes were bright red, and the entirety of Saint's Island was shaking violently. The land quaked, as if some enormous creature were waking up beneath it.

The surrounding seawater was covered with massive, roaring waves, as if the sea in the area was about to explode.

Far beneath Saint's Island, deep in the blackness of the sea, something like two oil lamps suddenly appeared. They were bloodshot, and filled with madness, the madness instigated by old wounds being ripped open.

It was a madness stemming from humiliation.

BOOM!

Huge fissures ripped open in the land. The sky grew dark, wild colors flashed about, and the sea raged. All of these sudden changes caused the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face to fall.

However, before he could even make a single move, an aura exploded up from deep within the sea. The aura was filled with intense rage, and as soon as it appeared, it caused even the air to be shredded. It seemed as if Saint's Island were being ripped out from the very world.

As soon as the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch sensed the aura, his face completely filled with shock. He immediately took a deep breath and then flew up into the air, his face pale.

"Immortal!" he said, his voice faint.

"This is the aura of an Immortal!

"Demonic Qi like an Immortal. This is the will of a Demon Immortal!"

A deep, growling voice could suddenly be heard from within the ground, causing the earth to shake and mountains to tremble. "You actually dare to call the Patriarch a Demon turtle? You actually dare try to make me your security guard!"

The voice came up from the ground and from within the sea. The seawater churned and seethed and began to spin around Saint's Island until it transformed into a huge vortex.

"You actually dare to try to put restrictive spells on me! Are you… worthy?!"

BOOM!

The sea exploded up, causing water to shower about in all directions. A huge force seemed to shoot up into the sky, and at the same time, a gargantuan head became visible within the sheets of water. It stretched out to blot out the entire sky. Its shadow was so huge that it could obstruct both the sun and the moon. It covered over everything!

It was the colossal head of a vicious turtle, its skin covered with wrinkles. It was pitch black and terrifying, and when it opened its mouth, sharp, yellow teeth could be seen. And then there were the eyes, which seemed blurry at first, but then clearly radiated intense fury and rage.

This was… the head of Patriarch Reliance's real body!

An indescribable energy pulsed out from Patriarch Reliance. His aura emanated out, causing all living things to tremble with fear. Up in midair, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch slowly forced himself to turn around. Then he saw the indescribably gigantic head filling the entire sky.

He gaped, and his mind filled with a roaring sound. His eyes went wide, filled with an expression of astonished disbelief.

He suddenly understood why his opponent could so frivolously waste its essence. It was because, its essence… was incredibly, astonishingly vast….

"You…." stammered the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his scalp going numb. For years, he had swept across Planet Ninshu, but he had never seen a shocking, terrifying Demon beast like this.

"You want the Patriarch to be your security guard?" raged Patriarch

Reliance. The sound of his voice was like thunder, filled with madness. Countless mountains on Saint's Island collapsed, and huge waves rolled out across the sea.

The Wang Clan Patriarch staggered backward several paces. Patriarch Reliance's roar just now caused him to cough up a huge mouthful of blood. His face was pale white.

Panting, he thought back to what he had said about making his opponent a guard. Then he took a deep breath. Obviously, he had absolutely no qualifications whatsoever to try to make a Demon Immortal act as a guard.

"Senior, please calm your anger," he said quickly, continuing to back up.

"This is all just a big misunderstanding."

"Misunderstanding my flipping ass!" roared Patriarch Reliance. The echo of his roar sounded back and forth, causing the sea itself to roar, making it sound like there were countless Patriarch Reliances all roaring at the same time. But then he said, "Allow the Patriarch to bestow you with some good fortune!"

This was the second time that Naruto had seen Patriarch Reliance's real body. It was as shocking now as it had been before. Suddenly, he thought back to how he had vented his spleen on Patriarch Reliance in the Demon Immortal Pagoda, and he felt a little scared. But then he remembered that he could restrain Patriarch Reliance with the Demon Sealing Scripture, and he felt a bit calmer.

It was at this point that Naruto heard the words 'good fortune,' and his eyes began to shine brightly. He quickly began to back up; he knew that now was the time for him to make his exit.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Tommy Tea, Brett Flowers, Beau Greene,_

 _Fabian Müller, and Stefica Hoff_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 647

Chapter 647: Patriarch Naruto

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was momentarily stunned by the mention of 'good fortune.' Roaring, Patriarch Reliance's gargantuan head shot toward him at incredible speed.

He moved so fast that ghost images sprang up, and the air itself cracked.

BANG!

Rage flared up in the eyes of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and a glittering shield sprang up. However, cracking sounds echoed out, and it began to shatter into small pieces. His face went pale, and he started performing a double-handed incantation, calling the wind and summoning the rain. Instantly, magical power swirled around him, and an incredible magical art shot toward Patriarch Reliance. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch coughed up more blood and sped backward, having narrowly escaped complete catastrophe.

His mind was overcome with terror; after reaching Spirit Severing, he had never encountered anything that he had feared. That was not to mention his position after reaching Dao Seeking. In all of the lands of South Heaven, he was afraid of nothing; even the idea of doublecrossing the Hebi Clan didn't get him scared.

Now, though, he was afraid. He fled without even the slightest bit of hesitation, at the same time producing several dozen magical items. Each of these magical items could be considered a treasure of great value. He had spent years collecting them all. Unleashing them caused a bright light to shine out and swirl around his body as he fled.

However, Patriarch Reliance's eyes flashed with killing intent. His head shrank back, but then shot out again as fast as lightning.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed out from the mouth of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. This time, he couldn't dodge. His precious treasures were destroyed, and a crunching sound could be heard as half of his body was crushed and ripped away by Patriarch Reliance.

His scream was matchlessly desolate. The Wang Patriarch continued to try to escape with the remaining half of his body. He was clearly in an unprecedentedly horrific and terrible situation.

Blood sprayed about in all directions, and Naruto's eyes glittered. Without stopping to even look back, he waved his arm, causing some of the blood to swirl over to him. Then he continued off into the distance.

Behind him, Patriarch Reliance wasn't finished venting. Even as his head shot once more toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, he sensed that Naruto was getting further and further away. However, his rage did not lessen. Instead, it boiled up from his insides. He instantly changed directions, moving like a bolt of lightning to suddenly appear right next to Naruto. His enormous mouth opened as if he were about to consume him.

In that instant of malice, though, layers of restrictive spells flared up around him. Countless magical symbols could be seen, connected together like chains that glittered with bright light. They covered Patriarch Reliance's entire body, no matter how he strained against them. Even his shell was affected; cracks spread out, as if he were about to be crushed alive.

The pain caused Patriarch Reliance to let out a miserable cry. His head shot back and he glared hatefully at Naruto.

"Nothing good ever happens when I run into you!" roared Patriarch Reliance.

"One of these days, Naruto's turtle is gonna beg for me to ride him!" Naruto shot back hatefully, looking over his shoulder coldly at Patriarch Reliance as he continued to shoot off into the distance.

Naruto's words seemed to move Patriarch Reliance inwardly. His eyes turned bright red, and he slipped further into madness. However, he didn't try to consume Naruto again. The glowing chains could still be seen on him, causing his entire body to be wracked with pain. The rage inside of him was impossible to describe. Being incapable of doing anything to kill Naruto, all he could do was flash back toward the the Wang Clan Patriarch to continue to vent his anger.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was scared out of his mind. Even in his wildest dreams, he could never have imagined that he would run into a Demon Immortal in this place. It completely exceeded his understanding of Planet Ninshu.

"This is impossible! How could there be a Demon Immortal in the lands of South Heaven?! Dammit! The Hebi Clan is completely useless! How could they permit a Demon Immortal to hide in the Milky Way Sea!?" By this point, having lost half of his body, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch knew deep inside that he was going to die. There was no way that he could flee a Demon Immortal.

"Damnable Naruto! First, the kid pulls out an Immortal's sword to kill my clone, and now he has a Dao Protector like this! Just how lucky can one person be?!" The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch almost felt as if he couldn't accept it. But then, he realized that perhaps it was because Naruto had such luck that he was able to form the Perfect Dao foundation.

"Thankfully, this is only a clone. Granted, it's a flesh and blood clone, and I'll sustain some damage when it dies. However, I don't have any other options right now…. Well then, if I'm going to die, I'll go out fighting this Demon Immortal!" A bright light appeared in his eyes as Patriarch Reliance's head closed in on him. With a roar, the Wang Clan Patriarch spun around and began to perform an incantation.

Naruto was fleeing at high speed. He was going so fast that he barely had time to clasp hands and bow to Guyiding Tri'rain off in the distance. As of now, Naruto's plan had succeeded, and now all that was on his mind was to get away.

Patriarch Reliance's head was now far away from Naruto. He was enraged, and also frustrated. Whenever he encountered Naruto, nothing good happened. The first time, he had been forced to leave with the State of Zhao. Now, he had been humiliated into taking action.

The feeling of vexation only served to kindle his fury. Patriarch Reliance felt the overwhelming desire to vent his rage, so it was with intense killing intent that he shot toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

Booming sounds echoed out along with miserable shrieks. Naruto didn't stop for even a moment. He shot forward at the highest possible speed, transforming into a beam of colorful light. It only took the space of a few dozen breaths for him to reach the border of the sea.

Up ahead were some disciples of the Footloose Sect. When they saw

Naruto, they were instantly shaken inwardly. There were a couple Cultivators among their number who actually recognized Naruto from his time back in the State of Zhao.

"Greetings, Patriarch Naruto!" they said, clasping hands and bowing deeply.

Seeing their actions caused the others to realize that the person in front of them was none other than Naruto, the person their Patriarch was risking his life to protect. This was the person whose seniority was highest in the entire Sect, second only to the Patriarch himself. Of course, because their Cultivation bases were not high enough, they had no way to know about the matter of Patriarch Reliance trying to consume Naruto.

Furthermore, in the Footloose Sect, nothing was more important than matters of seniority. It was built into the Sect rules, and had long since been imprinted deeply in their hearts, and was something that no one would dare to defy. To see Naruto and not immediately bow would be far too excessive.

"Greetings, Patriarch Naruto!" said the group, all of them clasping hands and bowing. Naruto's eyes glittered, and a smile appeared on his face. He nodded to the group as he shot past them.

When Patriarch Reliance saw this happening, he very nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his rage burned even higher than before. He felt as if he had just hoisted up a rock to crush Naruto, only to drop the rock on his own foot. His act from before had been completely convincing to all of the surrounding disciples, leaving them shocked and amazed. It only took a short time for Naruto's name to be spread around the entire area.

"Nothing good ever happens to me around Naruto! DAMMIT!" His rage rocketing to unprecedented heights, Patriarch Reliance bit toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, to begin the torment.

Naruto had originally planned to leave, but then he stopped. He considered the act Patriarch Reliance had put on, the relationship between the two of them, as well as the two displays of killing intent just now. Then he decided to pull a quick little con. He turned back to the Footloose Sect disciples.

"Take out all your Spirit Stones and give them to me," he said. "Later,

Patriarch Footloose will repay you a hundredfold! Don't worry, Patriarch Footloose is willing to give up his life for me, do you really think he cares about some trifling Spirit Stones?" As he spoke, he imbued his voice with his Cultivation base, causing his words to echo about throughout the entirety of Saint's Island.

When Patriarch Reliance heard the words, his anger burned even hotter.

He looked at the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch in front of him, gasping on the verge of death, and had half a mind to go after Naruto once again and try to kill him. However, he knew that if he did that, he would be restrained by the restrictive spells. Furthermore, if he spoke up to contradict Naruto, then it would be a huge loss of face, and people would suspect his previous actions. Right now, Naruto's words were echoing in the ears of the Footloose Sect members throughout Saint's Island; it seemed that in the future, Patriarch Reliance would have no choice but to pay back the Spirit Stones for Naruto.

"Hmph!" he said, comforting himself. "How many Spirit Stones could a few trifling disciples have? Who cares if I have to pay them back a hundredfold! My spit is worth more than that!" With that, he jerked his head to the side. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, who was currently clasped viciously in his jaw, let out a miserable shriek.

The group of Cultivators stared in shock at Naruto, then produced their bags of holding and gave him all the Spirit Stones therein. These were all Footloose Sect disciples with extraordinary Cultivation bases. They had quite a collection of Spirit Stones numbering in the tens of thousands. Naruto nodded happily as he collected them all together.

"I accept your 100,000 Spirit Stones!" said Naruto loudly, his voice echoing throughout Saint's Island. "Make sure to keep ahold of this receipt!" He quickly tossed out a jade slip, then shot off into the distance.

The group gaped in astonishment. They had clearly handed over less than 50,000 Spirit Stones. How could it have suddenly turned into 100,000? After a moment, their eyes began to glitter as they realized that Naruto had blessed them with good fortune. Their hearts filed with joy, and they all bowed deeply to Naruto's retreating figure.

"We bid you respectful adieu, Patriarch Naruto!"

Patriarch Reliance heard their words, and began to tremble. Then he let out an indignant bellow.

"NARUTO!"

"Patriarch, there's no need to escort me away!" cried back Naruto. "Disciple will take his leave now. Patriarch, you risked your life for me, leaving disciple very moved! I won't put you to any more inconvenience!" By this point, he had flown off of Saint's Island and was over the sea. Further back, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's clone was a mass of blood and gore. He let out a final bloodcurdling screech, and then was shredded into pieces and then swallowed by Patriarch Reliance.

Patriarch Reliance's head swiveled to glare hatefully at Naruto's retreating figure. After a long moment, he lifted his head up and roared. Massive waves seethed on the sea, forming into huge vortex formed. It swept around Saint's Island, and, to the shock and alarm of everyone, caused the entire island to speed away with incredible speed.

Wind swept about, and waves crashed. In the blink of an eye, not even a shadow of the island remained. The only thing remaining on the sea was Naruto, floating in mid-air.

Meanwhile, back in the Wang Clan in the Southern Domain….

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's true self lay in the coffin in his tomb underneath the mountains. He suddenly opened his eyes and then coughed up a mouthful of blood. He sat up, and as he did, his aged figure grew even older. He became more withered, and his aura was thrown into chaos and disorder.

His archaic, wrinkled face was pale as he grasped the side of the coffin. He looked up, and within his pupils appeared an intense, venomous hatred.

After a long moment passed, his eyes glittered.

"So, there is enmity between that Patriarch Reliance and Naruto. He attacked him twice… but was unable to destroy him because of the restrictive spells.

"The only reason he attacked me was because I accidentally offended him.

"In turn, that means that he won't be helping Naruto a second time.

"Next time…. Next time I catch up with him, will be the day Naruto loses his Dao foundation!" The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch breathed heavily as a cold glow appeared in his eyes.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 648

Chapter 648: Third Ring Stormwind Divide

The Milky Way Sea was split up into four rings, outside of which was the Outer Sea, and area mostly made up of small islands occupied by various Cultivator Clans. Among such Clans, the strongest Cultivators were of the Core Formation stage.

To them, the Fourth Ring was an incredibly dangerous place, populated not only by thieves and murderers, but also filled with ferocious sea beasts. In addition, there were powerful Sects and Clans.

Some of those Sects and Clans were led by Nascent Soul Cultivators, which made the whole place very dangerous. However, everyone knew that it was not impossible to scrape out some good fortune there, much like the Zhang Clan had.

Of course, to the Cultivators in the Fourth Ring, the Third Ring… was like a forbidden zone filled with both danger and opportunity!

Any who entered the Third Ring without being in the Nascent Soul stage did so at great risk to their lives. Even Nascent Soul Cultivators could die easily in the Third Ring if luck wasn't with them. That was because the Third Ring was filled with inordinate amounts of sea beasts.

Despite that, there were still many Cultivators who attempted to get into the Third Ring. In fact, there were even some experts who made their home there.

What attracted Cultivators to such a place of profound danger was none other than the potential profits there!

The sea beasts there were known as Sea Demons, and their hearts were considered precious treasures. They were objects similar to Spirit Stones, and served a similar function. A single Demon heart was superior to a low-grade Spirit Stone, and in fact was more similar to a mid-grade Spirit Stone in terms of quality.

There were even some hearts from especially powerful Sea Demons that… could compare to high-grade Spirit Stones. Such things were valuable treasures that no Cultivator could afford to ignore.

After all, the Milky Way Sea had no Spirit Stone quarries, and thus, no way to even produce Spirit Stones. Considering how valuable Cultivators viewed Spirit Stones, it was no wonder that Demon hearts quickly became a trade item in the Milky Way Sea.

In fact, there were even some precious items that could only be acquired by purchasing them with Demon hearts!

In order to acquire Demon hearts, one had to enter the Third Ring and take some risks to earn a chance for good fortune. Of course, the powerful Sea Demons there had fierce and savage dispositions, and regarded all Cultivators with extreme hostility. The two were as incompatible as fire and water!

Even still, there was no way to prevent the thirst of Milky Way Sea Cultivators for Demon hearts!

Many, many tales were told in the Milky Way Sea about people who had struck it rich overnight in the Third Ring. Therefore, throughout the years, countless Cultivators had come to brave the almost certain death of the Third Ring.

Naruto was well aware of this, thanks to the information provided him in the jade slip from the Zhang Clan. Although it didn't contain a wealth of details, there was enough of an introduction for Naruto to gain a basic understanding.

Currently, in a particular part of the Fourth Ring of the Milky Way Sea, a beam of light screamed through the air, causing the seawater below to seethe and churn.

A man could be seen, wearing a green robe, his long, gray hair whipping in the wind. He looked young, but also emanated a faint, archaic air.

His eyes were like stars, and his features were handsome. He looked somewhat like a scholar. This was of course, Naruto.

He was now a month away from Saint's Island. The entire time, he had sped along across the surface of the Milky Way Sea, during which time he had come to a much greater understanding of the entire area.

Currently, his eyes glittered brightly as he proceeded forward, thinking all the while.

"It might not have been the true self of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch that died. It would be great if it was his true self, but if not… then I only have a temporary respite from danger. It won't be too long before I'm in another deadly crisis."

Naruto continued to think as he proceeded onward. The parrot flew nearby. Occasionally, it would dive down into the water and then shoot up again off in the distance. It was clearly having a lot of fun.

Naruto pulled out the jade slip given to him by Zhang Wenfang and closely examined it yet again.

"A never-ending tempest exists between the Fourth and Third Rings," he thought. "It's a windstorm that can shred anything alive. It's like a huge divide that prevents anyone from entering the Third Ring…." The map in the jade slip portrayed the sea, and not much else from the Fourth Ring. It was already relatively useless to Naruto.

His body flashed as he continued on into the deeper regions of the Milky Way Sea.

"Although I don't have a map, the Milky Way Sea is arranged in ring-like areas. All I have to do is keep going deeper." He increased his speed, and the parrot went faster to keep up.

Time continued to pass. Soon, it was two months later.

Naruto was shocked by how large the Fourth Ring was. He had been flying for three months, although he hadn't gone nonstop. Occasionally, he would catch sight of islands populated by various Sects and Clans.

These were groups who had inhabited the Milky Way Sea for generations, and were quite knowledgeable about the area. Considering the level of Naruto's Cultivation base, it was a simple matter for him to acquire maps from such groups. It didn't take long before he had a thorough outline of the entire Fourth Ring area.

In addition, he also learned a bit about the Third Ring.

"There are three Saints in the Third Ring!

"The so-called Three Saints are three Spirit Severing Cultivators who lead three Sects. The Sea Divinity Sect, the Flying Immortal Sect, and the Sun Soul Society!

"Those three Sects determine who is allowed to enter the Third Ring. In addition, they built three Sea Cities in different locations surrounding the Third Ring, where people have to pass through on their way in and out. Anyone who wants to go in must pay a certain amount of Spirit Stones. Furthermore, anyone who leaves must also pay Spirit Stones, based on how long they stayed inside…." Naruto floated there in mid-air thinking about the information gleaned from the jade slip he held in his hand.

"Those three Sea Cities all possess a special method for bringing people in and out of the tempest safely.

"According to the rumors, there wasn't always a tempest surrounding the Third Ring. Supposedly, the ancestors of the Three Saints joined forces to summon it. Then, successive generations of descendants were able to pass through it.

"The three Sects have vast resources, and tens of thousands of members. For unknown reasons, each Sect only produces a single Spirit

Severing expert. However, because of their deep resources, even Dao

Seeking Cultivators would think twice before tangling with them."

Naruto's eyes glittered as he put the jade slip away. After some thought, he decided not to head toward one of the three Sea Cities. Instead, he would use the maps he had acquired to make his way directly through the hurricane.

"If the Wang Patriarch is truly not dead, then getting into the Third Ring via the Sea Cities would leave behind a trail that he could follow. The best method will be to force my way through on my own!

"That way, the three Sects won't have any record of me. Even if the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch comes looking for me, with my altered aura, it will be difficult for him, at least temporarily." Having made his decision, Naruto flared his aura and shot forward at top speed.

A few days later, a gray mass of storm winds appeared up ahead.

Rumbling sounds emanated out, and the closer he got, the more the storm winds resembled a huge wall that stretched up into the Heavens. It was ring-shaped, and seemed to have no end; it stretched off as far as the eye could see.

Fog pulsed in and out, along with howling, screaming sounds. It almost seemed as if devils and fiends lurked inside, waiting to stop any Cultivators who entered, and preventing any Sea Demons from charging out.

"According to the information from the jade slip, though, the Fourth Ring also has Sea Demons. That just goes to show that the storm winds might be powerful, but do contain weak spots." He hovered outside of the storm winds, his hair flying around him, his clothes whipping violently.

Inside the storm winds, lightning crackled. As for the seawater in the area, it seemed to be divided. Although waves surged outside the tempest, they were incapable of entering inside. They could only crash on the outside, which caused the whole area to be filled with an almost permanent blanket of rain.

Naruto examined it for a moment, then looked down at the surface of the sea. His eyes glittered for a moment, and then he rotated his Cultivation base. Soon, the surface of the sea began to grow transparent to his eyes, allowing him to see into the world underneath.

What he saw was that the storm winds actually extended down into the sea. Although they didn't appear to interfere with the flow of the water, when Naruto extended his Divine Sense deep down, he could vaguely sense that there were shocking things in the water that he didn't dare to touch.

He pulled back his Divine Sense, then took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Currently, he fluctuated with only five portions of Cultivation base power inside of him. As time passed, he would slowly be able to fuse them together into one.

After adjusting his aura, Naruto's eyes opened, and they glowed with a light that made it seem as if he was prepared to take Heaven and Earth by force. His aura exploded up, and he entered the Ninth Anima.

Naruto's fleshly body hummed, and in the blink of an eye, reached the pinnacle of his power. A dreary expression of death covered his face, and the energy of his Cultivation base surged out with monstrous power. The air around him shattered and cracked, and any rain that fell near him was instantly pushed three hundred meters away.

Naruto took a deep breath. His body was like an arrow pulled tight against a bowstring. Suddenly, he shot forward; in the blink of an eye, he made contact with the storm winds. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he entered in.

From a distance, the tempest looked like a vicious, primordial beast that opened its mouth and then swallowed up Naruto.

As soon as he entered the storm winds, he was battered by an intense force. Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he surged forward. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the fog up ahead seemed to be ripped apart. The sweeping wind also seemed to collapse.

They were completely incapable of doing anything to stop Naruto. His hair whipped around, but he didn't sustain even the slightest injury. Compared to the Underworld Wind he had experienced in the Demon Immortal Sect, this was almost nothing.

As he charged forward amidst the booming roars, the fog within the storm winds scattered and seethed. In a very short moment, Naruto had already traveled three thousand meters in.

He was surrounded by screaming winds and pitch blackness, interspersed with flashes of bright lightning. His face was expressionless as he proceeded forward relentlessly. His Spirit Severing fleshly body and terrifying Cultivation base made it possible for him to move further and further in.

Every time he breathed, countless bolts of lightning would shoot toward him. When they struck him, though, he would simply absorb them. If any outsider saw what was happening, they would surely be completely shocked

From ancient times to modern, few people had ever qualified to charge alone through these storm winds on the Milky Way Sea.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Alex Tsue_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 649

Chapter 649: Spirits Hide in the Divide

"There's a trick to this Milky Way Sea Stormwind Divide," Naruto murmured. The winds screamed around him, and lightning crackled. The winds could flay any Nascent Soul Cultivator alive, and the lightning could reduce them to powder.

However, all the wind could do to Naruto was blow against his face. It couldn't shake him in the least. As for the lightning, it was like a tonic that helped his Cultivation base rotate a bit faster.

The parrot gripped his shoulder, also completely disdainful of the storm winds. Occasionally it would squawk and fly out into the winds with the meat jelly bell.

Anyone who saw this scene would certainly be astonished. In the entire Milky Way Sea, the only people who would dare to traverse the Stormwind Divide alone were Spirit Severing Cultivators.

And when it came to Spirit Severing Cultivators, there were only three in the Milky Way Sea.

Those were the Three Saints of the three Sects.

Other than those three, no one would dare to try to cross the Stormwind Divide.

The divide was actually huge. Naruto had proceeded forward with arms clasped behind his back for more than thirty thousand kilometers, and still had not emerged from the other side. As he continued onward, the winds raged, carrying whimpering sounds with them through the pitch black darkness. It sounded like countless demons and fiends were howling at him.

Lightning danced in sheets, sending rumbling booms out in all directions.

This was a place where Nascent Soul Cultivators fundamentally couldn't exist. Their fleshly bodies would be destroyed, their Nascent Souls shattered. However, to Naruto, none of it counted for anything.

Two hours later, Naruto had proceeded along even further, although he wasn't sure exactly how far. Within the darkness, the wind was like a sharp blade that forced him to slow down a bit. However, because of the strength of his fleshly body, he was still able to proceed onward.

He pushed through the storm winds for another day. They grew more and more astonishing, and lightning struck down everywhere. There were even flickering magical symbols that could be seen in the area. Naruto's eyes flickered when he felt the pressure exuding out from the magical symbols.

At first they were scarce, but the following day, Naruto couldn't help but frown and slow down. The magical symbols around him were no longer flickering, but rather, glowing brightly. Oftentimes, he would see ten or more magical symbols fused together to create spell formations.

At one point, he eyed one of the spell formation with flickering eyes.

"This spell formation could cause Spirit Severing Cultivators to tremble!" He did nothing to avoid it, but rather, allowed the magical symbol spell formation to touch him.

A boom rattled out, and his body trembled a bit, but he didn't retreat. A smile of confidence broke out on his face as the magical symbol spell formation collapsed into pieces right in front of him.

He brushed off his clothes and then continued onward. A few days later within the Stormwind Divide, Naruto's expression flickered. He transformed into a green smoke and shot past a collection of magical symbols that had been shooting toward him.

Rumbling echoed out; the magical symbols seemed to be imbued with a will that could exterminate anything in Heaven and Earth. As they passed by, Naruto noticed that the fog in the area dissipated slightly because of the domineering air cast about by the ball of magical symbols.

As the ball made its way off into the distance, it encountered other scattered magical symbols and appeared to consume them, absorbing them into itself.

"That thing was made up of hundreds of magical symbols!" A serious look appeared in his eyes. The spell formation made from hundreds of magical symbols caused him to feel a clear sense of menace. He wasn't even sure if he would be able to stand up to it were he hit.

"I really can't afford to underestimate this Stormwind Divide," he murmured. He sent his Divine Sense out as he proceeded forward.

Gradually, he saw more and more spell formations formed from hundreds of magical symbols. Eventually, they became commonplace, and soon, he caught sight of even bigger spell formations.

Those formations were formed from thousands of magical symbols, and no longer looked like simple spheres, but rather, were formed into the shape of magical items. He saw one that looked like a battle-ax sweeping about through the wind. Other spell formations made from hundreds of magical symbols avoided the battle-ax, and didn't dare to get anywhere near it.

The battle-ax was dozens of meters tall, and glittered brightly. A bleak, killing will spread out from it, as if it constantly desired slaughter.

Looking at it, it appeared completely beyond ordinary.

Naruto was able to sense a Spirit Severing aura on the battle-ax, which surprised him. A glow of interest could then be seen within his eyes.

"The magical symbols here are very intriguing. On an individual level, they aren't very powerful, but in groups of ten, they emit powerful pressure. Hundreds together are something Spirit Severing Cultivators wouldn't dare to touch, and when thousands coalesce….

"It emanates the aura of Spirit Severing, and is clearly like a Spirit

Severing Treasure!" Naruto was moved. Based on what he knew of cultivation, after reaching Spirit Severing, in addition to acquiring enlightenment regarding the Domain, one could also create a Spirit Severing Treasure.

This was done by fusing the will of the First Severing blade into a magical item, using the Nascent Divinity to nourish it, and then transforming it into the Spirit Severing Treasure. Such a magical item was created with life force, making it incredibly powerful.

Furthermore, the weakness or strength of the magical item upon its creation would determine the weakness or strength of its later form.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he did nothing to evade it. After measuring it up for a moment, he lifted his right hand up to perform an incantation. The image of a mountain appeared above his hand, after which he pointed forward. The mountain rumbled out, heading directly toward the battle-ax shaped collection of hundreds of magical symbols.

As the mountain neared, the battle-ax did nothing to avoid it. When the mountain slammed into it, a huge boom could be heard, and the mountain collapsed. There was absolutely no change whatsoever to the battle-ax. However, it suddenly stopped in place, almost as if it had a spirit that was now staring in shock.

It was as if it possessed its own will, and was currently thinking about how nothing in its memory had ever dared to attack it.

Naruto frowned. The battle-ax was far more powerful than he could have imagined. It was in this moment that the battle-ax finally reacted; it instantly shot toward Naruto, blade first.

Furthermore, a black mist rose up around it, within which two eyes were visible, staring dead at Naruto. A furious rumbling sound emanated out from within the battle-ax as it sped toward him.

"Interesting," he said, smiling. His days spent traveling through the Stormwind Divide had actually been somewhat monotonous, so how could he shrink back from something intriguing like this?

Moments ago, he had just been testing it out. Now that the battle-ax was charging toward him, he suddenly lifted his right hand, causing the illusory image of a mountain thousands of meters tall to appear around him. He then waved both hands outward, causing the mountain to grow until it was 15,000 meters tall. Then, the battle-ax slammed into it.

A boom could be heard that resonated up into the sky. The fog in the area churned, and the sound echoed out into the far regions of the storm winds.

In fact, quite some distance away within the Stormwind Divide was a pitch-black ship that flew a pitch-black flag. As it proceeded through the storm winds, it emanated a bloody aura, as if the ship itself were filled with fresh blood.

Blood-colored magical symbols rose up from the blood, which, in combination with the sails of the ship, allowed it to proceed safely through the winds that would cause even Spirit Severing Cultivators to wince.

The wind could do nothing to the boat, and when the lightning neared it, it didn't hit the ship, but actually avoided it. Even the balls of magical symbols seemed shaken when they saw the ship, and would sink into dormancy.

There were a dozen or so Cultivators on the ship, pale-faced and panting as they looked out at the terrifying scene outside. Most of them were Nascent Soul Cultivators, with only a couple being of the Core Formation stage.

In charge of the ship were three old men. They wore haughty expressions, and would occasionally glance over at the other passengers with looks of scorn.

"What's all the fuss about?" said one of them. "We still have a long ways to go. There's at least six months of travel before we reach our destination."

"The Sun Soul Society ferry isn't the fastest in the three Sects, but it's the safest. Your Spirit Stones will not have been spent in vain."

In response to the words of the old men, the passengers on the ship forced smiles onto their faces. They were already scared witless by everything they had seen on their journey. There were only two of their number who had calm expressions; it seemed they were already familiar with the frightening sights of the Stormwind Divide.

All of these people were Cultivators on their way to search for good fortune in the Third Ring. This ship was a special vessel to transport them there, for a certain amount of Spirit Stones of course.

In the Milky Way Sea, there was only one way to get into the Third Ring, and that was to go to one of the Sea Cities of the three Sects, pay the price, and then board one of these special ships.

Of course, Naruto's illegal method did not count as a valid method of entry.

The people on the ship had just squeezed out smiles onto their faces when, suddenly, muffled booms could be heard from off in the distance. Immediately, the storm winds in the area rippled, and the lightning twisted. Furthermore, many of the magical symbols twitched and then seemed to awaken from slumber.

The sight caused the faces of everyone on the ship to flicker as they wondered what had just happened.

As for the two people who previously had completely calm faces, they opened their eyes, and a strange light could be seen therein. They exchanged a glance, and then looked off into the distance.

The three old men from the Sun Soul Society who were piloting the boat also looked up. Strange looks could be seen in their eyes, but only for a moment. Then they began to laugh coldly, and expressions of derision could be seen clearly on their faces.

"Someone is trying to rely on their own power to illegally pass through."

"Whoever it is, they are paying for their unlawful travel with their life!

Serves them right!"

"How could somebody possibly pass through the spell formation set up by the ancestors of the three Sects? That person is simply looking to die. Although, to cause such a reaction shows that his Cultivation base is definitely not weak."

"Who cares? He most likely ran into a ten-symbol formation. If it was a hundred-symbol formation, then he's definitely dead!"

When the other Cultivators heard the words of the three old men, they began to chuckle. Every year there were always Cultivators who tried to get through on their own power, in order to avoid paying the fee to take a ship. However, nobody ever succeeded; they always died inside.

The Cultivators on the ship had never imagined that they would encounter such a person on their own journey.

"It's too bad we're so far away," said one of them. "Otherwise we could personally witness him dying. It must be a spectacular sight."

"It's already perilous enough trying to get into the Third Ring. To place oneself out in the Stormwind Divide is really stupid."

"Now that I think about it, all those Spirit Stones I spent were really worth it."

Everyone on board seemed to be a bit more relaxed now.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 650

Chapter 650: How Happy You Are….

Cultivators were just people, so naturally, they also possessed the seven emotions and six pleasures, and tended to think of themselves as superior to others. Such a feeling of superiority would often turn into a type of happiness.

Oftentimes, that feeling of superiority really is… the source of happiness.

For example, the feeling that you are safe while someone else is not, can be happiness. Another example would be drinking a cup of water when you are thirsty, while someone else has nothing to drink except their own saliva. That can also be a kind of happiness.

The people in the boat were currently experiencing exactly that type of happiness.

Because of such happiness, they were not as nervous about the danger that surrounded them. Instead, they were laughing and chatting about the unlucky fool on the outside who had overestimated himself.

Of course, Naruto was the unlucky fool to whom they referred. Booming surrounded him as the mountain around him collapsed. At the same time, the gigantic battle-ax also started to collapse too.

The backlash rocked the battle-ax, causing it to be torn to pieces right in front of Naruto. However, the magical symbols that had formed it did not disperse; instead, they formed back together into a huge hand. Instantly, the hand grabbed toward Naruto, radiating intense ferocity and hatred.

Naruto's expression was calm as he lifted his hand and pointed forward. Instantly, his finger turned the color of blood. This was the Blood Finger!

Next was a second finger, a third… and finally, five fingers stretched out, turning into the Blood Palm! It was fully thirty meters wide, seemingly illusory, but at the same time, incredibly realistic. Backed by the power of the Ninth Anima, it shot directly toward the ax-cum-hand.

A huge boom could be heard as both the Blood Palm and the huge hand formed of magical symbols both exploded into little pieces. Naruto didn't hesitate for a moment; he instantly moved forward, performing an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waving his sleeve. A killing air immediately spread out. The glow of the Greenwood Tree could be seen, along with the extinction of the Violet Sea, raging flames, and the Frost Soil.

This was a five elements magical technique that instantly caused five characters to appear. They exuded vicious pressure down onto the dissipating magical symbols of the battle-ax.

A rumbling could be heard as the hundreds of magical symbols which had made up the battle-ax began to tremble. They seemed to be struggling to escape, but before they could, Naruto neared. His hand clenched into a fist, which then punched out, backed by the intense power of his fleshly body.

The air vibrated, and a gust from the surrounding storm winds bore down on him. It slashed into the magical symbols, instantly cause them to scatter and disperse.

This time, the magical symbols flashed, but did not re-form back together. Naruto gave a cold snort, then performed another incantation, simultaneously rotating his Cultivation base. Instantly, no less than a thousand tiny mountains appeared and then shot out.

This thousand mountains technique was formed by the Mountain Consuming Incantation, and as it descended, each mountain exerted intense pressure onto a magical symbol. Instantly, they were all suppressed. Naruto waved his hand, and the mountains crushed down onto them.

In the blink of an eye, the mountains began to consolidate together. Rumbling could be heard as a thousand-meter tall mountain appeared, sealed inside of which, shockingly, was a battle-ax.

It struggled, attempting to free itself, but Naruto waved his hand through the air and the mountain shot toward him. As it did, it grew smaller and smaller, until it could fit onto the palm of his hand.

The battle-ax inside was suppressed down, shrunken. It struggled more and more fiercely, until cracking and popping sounds could be heard. After the space of a few breaths of time, the battle-ax successfully destroyed the mountain, and then began to charge out from within.

Naruto's face was calm as the index finger of his left hand pushed onto the mountain.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!"

His coolly spoken words caused a 'hex' character to appear and cover the mountain peak, sealing it. The battle-ax let out a mournful wail. It was completely incapable of extricating itself now.

Naruto felt a bit relieved, finally. He left behind a strand of Divine Sense, added a few more restrictive spells, and then finally smiled and put the mountain into his bag of holding.

"This will count as a treasure," he thought, his eyes glittering brightly. Although it had seemed a simple matter to subjugate the item, it actually took all the power of his Cultivation base, as well as the support of his incredibly powerful fleshly body. Were it some other Spirit Severing Cultivator along the likes of Patriarch Harishama, they could by no means collect up the battle-ax in the relaxed manner which Naruto just had.

"The more spirit treasures I have like this the better," he thought. "Who knows what kind of price I'll be able to sell them for in the future." Eyes shining brightly, he looked around until his gaze fell upon a group of one hundred magical symbols floating around off in the distance.

The collection of symbols seemed to possess a certain amount of sentience. Perhaps because he had been touched by the aura of the battle-ax, as soon as he looked at the one-hundred symbol spell formation, it instantly appeared to be shocked, and then attempted to flee.

"Since this entire area was planned out like a structure to block Sea Demons, it wouldn't be very reasonable of me to take away all the spell formations. Besides, the one-hundred symbol formations can't even form into anything specific, so it would be mostly useless to try to take them away." Muttering to himself, Naruto turned and flew off into the distance, ignoring the one-hundred symbol spell formations.

Quite some distance away, the passengers on the pitch-black ship could hear the muffled booms off in the distance, and their smiles grew even happier.

"That guy must be dead already."

"He overestimated his own ability, and didn't even have enough Spirit Stones to pay to get on the ship. No wonder he wanted to risk it all in the Third Ring. What a pity he's not very intelligent. Who does he think he is to try to charge through the Stormwind Divide? One of the Three Saints?"

As the others chatted and laughed, the two calm Cultivators closed their eyes and ignored the goings on. The three old men from the Sun Soul Society who were responsible for the boat looked more arrogant than ever. They had been running this boat for a full sixty-year cycle of time, and during that time had never heard of anyone successfully charging through the Stormwind Divide.

However, after a few days passed, the sense of happiness felt by everyone had lessened a bit. But then, more of the magical symbols in the area, as well as the lightning and even the gusts of wind, seemed to be under pressure, even nervous. More explosions could be heard from off in the distance.

The sounds caused the group to grow even more excited. This time, they didn't need any explanation from the three old men. Everyone knew exactly what the sounds were, even if they couldn't see the source. Soon, the sound of their conversation could be heard.

"Hahaha! Don't tell me another person is trying to charge through?"

"Another person who doesn't know their own limits? I never imagined that this trip to the Third Ring would be so fascinating."

"What a pity. I truly wish I could watch with my own eyes."

Everyone was excited, but the three old men were actually somewhat shocked. Just about every time they piloted the ship, they would hear explosions like this. However, it was very rare to hear such a series of explosions twice, like they had this time.

The three old men exchanged smiles, but didn't think too much about it, and focused instead on piloting the ship forward.

The sounds didn't last for very long, only as long as it takes an incense stick to burn. Then they faded away, and another round of talking and chuckling began on the ship.

However, about four days later, the sounds could be heard once again. The passengers on the ship were astonished.

"What's going on? How could there possibly be three people all trying to cross the Stormwind Divide?"

"Something doesn't seem right…."

"Everyone; do you think… that perhaps the person from the very beginning didn't actually die?" These final words were spoken by the person with the weakest Cultivation base of the whole group, the young Core Formation Cultivator.

As soon as he spoke the words, everyone went quiet. The two Cultivators who had sat there calmly the entire time suddenly opened their eyes, seemingly astonished by the implication of the young man's theory.

The three men in charge of the ship also looked shocked, but quickly recovered.

"No unfounded ravings allowed onboard!" growled one of them.

"This is the Stormwind Divide!" said another. "Other than the Three

Saints of the Milky Way Sea, nobody can cross it!"

"Obviously what we're hearing is an entire Sect trying to cross. It's not the first time something like that has happened." The rest of the passengers weren't quite sure whether or not to believe the words of the old men. In any case, the happiness of their mood had clearly lessened by quite a bit.

Meanwhile, Naruto flew quickly through the storm wind gusts. Currently, he faced a 150 meter long whip. The whip was about three meters wide, and completely savage in appearance. However, it was surrounded by an enormous mountain, which was gradually suppressing it.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, it made an unyielding howl. Then the mountain descended, completely sealing it. It shrank down into Naruto's hand, after which he put it into his bag of holding.

"Number four!" he said, eyes shining brightly. With a smile, he turned and proceeded to speed along his way.

Two more months passed by. During that time, the group on the ship heard one set of explosions after another. Soon, they had heard the sounds seven times. By now, their mood had changed from one of curiosity to shock.

By the time the thirteenth set of explosions rang out, they were filled with dread. Even the three old men were panting.

After the two months passed, and the twentieth set of explosions reached their ears. Everyone on the boat was now completely and utterly dumbfounded. That was especially so after they realized… that the sounds of the explosions were getting closer!

During the two months, Naruto ran into more magical symbols in the shape of treasures. Whenever he did, he would instantly attack and exert full power to subdue them.

By this point, he was in the very depths of the Stormwind Divide, and was getting much closer to the pitch-black ship.

As he got deeper in, his speed was continually reduced. The intensity of the wind was now hurting him, and was even causing his body to start to break apart.

Right now, he had to continuously disseminate power from his Cultivation base in order to hang on.

As for the lightning, it was now possible to see illusory figures within it that apparently possessed sentience. Naruto was shocked.

At one point, he suddenly caught sight of a bright white light in the otherwise pitch blackness. It seemed to be consuming lighting, which caused Naruto to take a deep breath and then change his course.

What he saw was a toad, gobbling up lightning. This was the first time he had seen magical symbols shaped into the form of a beast. The toad was at least three hundred meters long, and in Naruto's estimation, was formed from around ten thousand magical symbols.

"I wonder how far away I am from the edge of this place…." he thought, avoiding the toad. The toad noticed him, but completely ignored him as it continued to consume lightning.

Naruto looked away, and was just about to speed off into the distance when suddenly he made a slight "eee?" sound. He turned his head and sent Divine Sense out. Sure enough, he could sense a ship, speeding along through the air.

"Perfect. I can jump onto this ship and rest a bit while I go the rest of the way." His eyes glittering, he proceeded on toward it.

—

 _This chapter was sponsored by Edward Smith_

Disclaimer

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I Shall Seal the Heavens

Wo Yu Feng Tian 我欲封天 (小说)

Synopsis:

If I want something, the Heavens better have it. If I don't want something, the Heavens better not have it! This is a story which originates between the eighth and ninth mountains, a world in which "My fate is to seal the Heavens like a demon!" "I Shall Seal the Heavens" is a new novel from Qidian's Er Gen. It tells the story of a scholar named Naruto, who enters the world of cultivation and slowly undergoes great change of character, eventually becoming an old eccentric. Overall, the story is not depressing like "Beseech the Devil (Qiu Mo 求魔)," but Naruto does have some of Wang Lin's rebelliousness and Su Ming's stubbornness. Author(s): N/A

Artist(s): Er Gen

Year: N/A

Country: China

Genre: Xianxia, Romance, Mature, Martial Arts, Fantasy, Comedy,

Adventure, Action,

Tags: Alchemy, Cultivation, Defiant Male Lead, Demons, Magic Beasts,

Maturing Male Lead, Philosophical Elements, Pill Based Cultivation,

Scholar At Heart, Slow Romance, Smart Male Lead, Strong Male Lead,

Trickster, Weak to Strong,

Translator: N/A

E-Book Maker: .com

Created using Asianovel version v2.5.0 beta

Download the next book in the series for free:

series/i-shall-seal-the-heavens/

Table of Contents

 **Introduction** ... i

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 651** 2

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 652** 10

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 653** 17

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 654** 24

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 655** 32

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 656** 39

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 657** 46

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 658** 53

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 659** 61

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 660** 69

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 661** 78

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 662** 86

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 663** 94

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 664** 102

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 665** 109

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 666** 116

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 667** 124

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 668** 132

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 669** 140

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 670** 148

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 671** 156

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 672** 164

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 673** 172

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 674** 180

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 675** 188

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 676** 196

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 677** 204

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 678** 212

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 679** 220

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 680** 228

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 681** 236

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 682** 244

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 683** 252

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 684** 260

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 685** 268

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 686** 276

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 687** 283

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 688** 291

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 689** 299

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 690** 307

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 691** 308

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 692** 316

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 693** 324

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 694** 333

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 695** 341

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 696** 349

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 697** 357

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 698** 366

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 699** 373

 **Vol. 5 : Chapter 700** 381

 **Disclaimer** 389

Vol. 5 : Chapter 651

Chapter 651: My Dao Is Nigh!

That ship, of course, was the Sun Soul Society ship who had listened to the ruckus caused by Naruto this entire time. Whether it was the three old men, the two calm youths, or the rest of the passengers, all of them were bewildered and filled with dread. Everyone wanted the ship to emerge from within the Stormwind Divide as soon as possible.

During the past two months, they had heard the sounds of explosions more than twenty times. By now, they had all begun to speculate that it wasn't a group of people trying to pass through the Stormwind Divide, but rather, a single individual!

That person must be incredibly powerful, fearsome to the extreme in order to be able to brave the spell formation and not be destroyed.

Most important of all was that the ship happened to have a Feng Shui compass that the three old men had pooled their power together to use a month previous.

The Feng Shui compass was something rarely used on the ship. It had only one function; it could send out invisible waves into the Stormwind Divide, which would then cause a map of the area to appear on the surface of the compass. The map would reveal the location of any powerful spirit creatures formed of magical symbols.

A month ago, they had used that function of the map to reveal the spirits, which were all represented in by white dots of light. The entire area around them was densely covered by such white dots. However, there in the middle of all of them… was a red dot!

That red dot caused everyone to be filled with horrified astonishment.

A red dot represented an outside Cultivator!

Furthermore, during the past month, the white dots in the area had been significantly reduced. It seemed to indicate that the magical symbol spirits were intentionally avoiding the area. In addition, the red dot that represented the outside Cultivator only continued to grow brighter and more resplendent, like fresh blood. Everyone looked on with wide eyes, panting.

That was even more the case when they realized… that the red dot was actually moving at high speed toward the yellow dot on the map. That yellow dot… represented the ship they were on! Panicked cries of alarm could be heard.

"He's coming!"

"The Cultivator who's crossing the Stormwind Divide, he's… heading right toward us!" The more than ten Cultivators aboard the ship were all pale-faced. Some of them even rose to their feet in terror, their faces filled with fear and awe of the unknown.

The three old men in charge of the boat exchanged pale-faced glances. They could see the bitterness and complex emotions in each other's eyes. The three of them could never have imagined that they would ever witness such a shocking scene.

They didn't know who this outsider was, but the three of them did know with complete certainty that anyone who could survive in the depths of the Stormwind Divide would most definitely be of the Spirit Severing stage!

"Spirit Severing eccentrics have strange dispositions. If he kills all of us, the Sect wouldn't do anything. It wouldn't risk offending a Spirit Severing expert just for the likes of us three."

"Dammit! Why is this happening? If he wants to cross, fine, but why does he have to come after us…?"

They sat there, perturbed. It was at this point that everyone watched in astonishment as a huge gust of wind from the Stormwind Divide suddenly blasted against the right side of the boat, causing the bloody glow that emanated up from the ship to dim, as if it were being completely covered up.

Not a single sound could be heard onboard. Everyone sat there apprehensively, looking out in the direction of the gust of wind. The fog outside roiled, and a stifling pressure began to bear down on them.

Soon, a green figure could be seen, striding forward through the air. His salt and pepper hair floated about him as he laid eyes on the ship. It was, of course, Naruto.

Even as he caught sight of them, everyone on the ship looked at him.

As soon as the three old men saw him, they began to tremble. "Third generation disciples of the Sun Soul Society offer greetings to you, senior," they said in unison. The intense pressure radiating from Naruto caused them all to breath raggedly. They even felt the Nascent Souls inside of them quivering under the pressure.

Intense terror began to build up inside of them, especially when Naruto looked directly at them. His gaze was like a sharp blade. It was almost like he could read their hearts and minds with a single glance. It was as if they were completely transparent in front of him. Without any hesitation, the three old men quickly clasped hands and bowed deeply

At the same time, the more than ten passengers on the ship also clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

Naruto's face was expressionless as he strode forward toward the ship. As he neared, a red shield suddenly sprang up, a defensive mechanism of the ship.

When the shield sprang up, the three old men felt their hearts starting to pound, and their faces completely fell. Inwardly, they felt intense regret, and were sure that a misunderstanding was about to occur. Obviously, the shield wouldn't be able to do anything to hinder an expert who could survive out in the Stormwind Divide. At the most, it might slow him down for a moment, but in the end, the unlucky ones in the whole matter would be themselves.

They were about to try to lower the shield, but before they could, Naruto pushed directly into it. Zapping sounds could be heard, but his face was the same as usual as he walked through it.

Most of the others on the ship actually couldn't see what was happening, but the three old men couldn't help but gasp with shock. They had never imagined that their shield would be so ineffective in blocking Naruto.

What was happening completely exceeded their imaginations; they instantly dropped to their knees and kowtowed.

There were others who noticed the strangeness of the goings on. The two calm youths had been to the Third Ring before, on more than one occasion. Therefore, they understood quite a bit more about the ship than the others. Currently, their faces flickered, and their hearts began to pound.

Naruto said nothing. He boarded the ship, looked around, and then sat down cross-legged on the prow.

He didn't speak at first, and the rest of the people on the ship were as silent as cicadas during winter. The three old men didn't dare to rise to their feet. The entire ship was quiet.

After a bit of time passed, Naruto casually said, "Do you happen to have a map of the Third Ring?"

Without the slightest hesitation, the three old men produced jade slips from their bags of holding and respectfully offered them to Naruto.

Naruto accepted, glanced at the jade slips, and then eyed the Feng Shui compass off to the side. His eyes glittered, and he nodded.

"You're going to the Third Ring?" he asked.

"Senior," replied one of the three old men, "we are currently under orders to pilot this ship and deliver these passengers to the Seahold in the Third Ring."

"Would it be convenient for you to take me along?" asked Naruto coolly.

"Senior, you are most welcome aboard our ship. Many thanks for staying to watch out for us. We members of the junior generation can't thank you enough." The three old men were attempting to be as respectful as possible, and in their fear of offending Naruto, spoke in a borderline fawning tone.

"Well, let's get moving," said Naruto, closing his eyes.

The three old men immediately voiced their agreement, then carefully rose to their feet. Inwardly breathing sighs of relief, they sent the ship forward at the highest speed possible. As they proceeded onward, no one dared to speak. The ship was completely quiet.

The ship didn't move as quickly as Naruto could move, but the advantage was the ease with which he could proceed. He sat there cross-legged, meditating for a few days. Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and looked over at the Feng Shui compass. There, he could clearly see that a thousand-symbol spirit was floating not too far off in the distance.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, the thousand-symbol spirit was close enough to see with the naked eye. It looked like an iron chain floating there in the storm winds. It completely ignored the ship, although it occasionally attempted to consume lightning as it drifted about.

Naruto suddenly stood up.

"Stop the ship. Wait for me!" With that, he strode out. The three old men and the other passengers were shocked. They watched on as Naruto left the ship. Immediately, the iron chain appeared to sense him. It whipped around in his direction, and an intensely bleak killing will rose up to the Heavens. Suddenly, the lightning in the area turned red and shot whistling through the air toward Naruto.

However, before the iron chain could even get near him, Naruto performed an incantation gesture. Instantly, the characters for metal, wood, water, fire, and earth appeared. As they surrounded the iron chain, Naruto stepped forward and punched.

The iron chain collapsed, sending a thousand magical symbols spreading out in all directions. He then performed another incantation gesture, and the Mountain Consuming Incantation caused a thousand mountains to appear. They covered the magical symbols, then merged together to form a huge mountain peak. Next, the mountain peak shrank down into Naruto's palm, where he sealed it.

After putting it into his bag of holding, he spun around and returned to the ship.

The entire spectacle only took ten breaths of time. Naruto's actions were as natural and unforced as floating clouds and flowing water. Everything was completely efficient, as if he was completely used to doing such things. Everyone who watched on was thoroughly shaken.

The people on the boat stared blankly, and the two Cultivators who had been to the Third Ring before were breathing heavily. They were well aware of how mighty a thousand-symbol spirit was, which caused their fear of Naruto reach a new peak.

By now, they were absolutely certain the reason they had heard explosions more than twenty times in the past. Back then, they could never have imagined that it was a terrifying Cultivator who could subdue and capture magical symbol spirits.

Most shocked of all were the three old men. They were disciples of the Sun Soul Society, and were far more knowledgeable about the Stormwind Divide than the others.

Although others were unaware that the magical symbol spirits could be subdued, they were well aware of the fact. Every few hundred years, powerful experts from the three Sects would enter the spell formation under the leadership of a Patriarch, with the sole purpose of collecting magical symbol spirits. Such spirits were useful to the Patriarchs.

Although no one knew exactly how the Patriarchs used them, it was known that the magical symbol spirits were the essence of the spell formation. That was especially true of the thousand-symbol spirits, which were comparable to Spirit Severing Cultivators. They were unpredictable and virtually indestructible; only the Three Saints were capable of subduing them.

"S-s-senior… sir… how many thousand-symbol spirits have you acquired during your journey?" asked one of the three old men, his face pale, his voice quavering.

"More than twenty," replied Naruto from his position seated crosslegged on the prow. He glanced at the old man.

"More than twenty!" The old man's face completely fell, and he began to pant. He suddenly turned to look at the other two old men and then roared, "Get the ship moving again! Top speed!"

They actually didn't need any reminders. Having heard what Naruto said, they trembled, as if they had just thought of something even more terrifying than Naruto. They rotated their Cultivation bases at top speed to control the boat and push it forward as fast as it could.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he looked at the old man who had just spoken.

The man looked back with a wry smile, and a face full of anxiety.

"Senior, perhaps you are unaware that in a hundred year period, no more than five of the thousand-symbol spirits can be collected. That number can't be exceeded, or else…. It will cause the yellow springs Underworld Ship to appear….

"The yellow springs emerge, the Underworld Ship appears, Dao Seeking forbidden zone!"

As soon as the old man spoke the words, the storm winds around them suddenly seemed to stop moving. The lightning stopped in mid-air, and the fog came to a standstill!

It seemed almost as if time, as if the very natural laws of the Heaven and Earth, had suddenly become completely motionless.

At the same time, an archaic voice could be heard. It was filled with an air of time; it sounded as if a veil of rot had been lifted. The hoarse voice echoed out from off in the distance.

"Long ago, you chose to continue onward to the end, until there was nothing of you left….

"Long ago, I chose to continue onward to the end, until only I was left….

"Who am I? Who are you…? Unfathomable bleached bones. The beginnings of eras. My Dao… is nigh."

Vol. 5 : Chapter 652

Chapter 652: Underworld Ship

As the voice echoed out, all of the hair on Naruto's body stood on end. An indescribable feeling washed through him, and it felt as if some ancient, icy hand were gently caressing his neck.

An aura of putrefaction filled the area. As for the ship he was on… everything suddenly seemed to slow down. In one fleeting moment, it seemed as if thousands of years had passed.

Everyone on the ship went pale white and began to shiver.

Unprecedented expressions of fear could be seen on their faces. Even those who didn't know of the yellow springs Underworld Ship could tell from the current situation that they were in a situation of critical danger!

Terror filled the hearts of the three old men. They employed all of the power of their Cultivation base, and even consumed medicinal pills, to push the boat forward with all the speed possible.

Naruto took a deep breath and rotated his Cultivation base to dispel the intense coldness. One of the three old men who sat nearby yelled out in a hoarse voice: "Don't look back! All of you, listen to me. Under no circumstances look back!

"One must not gaze upon the path to the yellow springs! If you turn your head, you're done for!"

There were a few people on the ship who had been contemplating turning to look back. However, after hearing the old man's words, they sat there trembling, not daring to turn their heads even a little bit.

Naruto's eyes flashed. Behind him, he could hear sobbing sounds rising and falling. It sounded like the weeping of a crowd of countless people. Gradually, everything around grew even colder. In the dim light, it was possible to make out strands of white fog that looked like hair, swirling about in the air.

"The end of my Dao… is nigh…." said the voice, filled with an aura of decay. It seemed to be getting closer.

A cold gleam gradually appeared in Naruto's eyes as he stood there on the prow. Although he didn't turn his head back, the energy in his body gradually grew more and more focused.

The ship picked up speed, but everything around it was motionless. Even if it moved much faster, it would still be incapable of escaping the white strands that filled the area and were continuing to grow more numerous.

It almost seemed as if the ship itself were mired within a painting, a painting in which everything was motionless. It didn't matter if the three old men went all out with power, they still weren't moving fast enough.

The aura of rot grew closer, as if the Underworld Ship that the old men had talked about was getting closer and closer.

Even though their own ship wasn't moving, the passage of time on board seemed to be speeding up. Everyone trembled, as they sensed signs that their life force was beginning to drain away.

Despair welled up in the hearts of the three old men.

Naruto silently lifted up his right foot and then stamped it down softly onto the deck. Instantly, his Cultivation base rumbled, and power poured into the ship. Much of the deck directly shattered, but at the same time, the ship surged forward with incredible speed.

The speed was such that it seemed they would break free from the world of motionless within which they were stuck. The three old men gasped, and hope appeared in their faces as they assisted with all the power they could muster. It finally seemed that the ship would break free from the painting. Movement in their surroundings even became visible.

Eventually, they reached a speed that was capable of combating against whatever law it was in the area that caused everything to remain motionless. The air began to move, and the stillness seemed to be on the verge of shattering. It was at this point, when everything seemed to be just about to begin moving again, when Naruto heard a sigh in his ear.

Then he heard the voice of a man, a voice filled with boundless love. "Hao'er… have you been safe and sound all these years…? Back then, your mother didn't agree, but as your father, I… I insisted that it must be this way. Don't blame your mother…."

Naruto trembled. He recognized the voice. Bits and pieces of it actually remained in his memories. Even after so many years had passed, he recognized that this was the voice of his father!

He stood there silently. He didn't look back as the ship sped forward.

The motionlessness in the area was rapidly giving way to movement. The white strands that floated in the air were slowly moving backward, freeing the ship.

Just then, though, Naruto heard another voice.

"Hao'er… do you… still remember me? I'm your mother…. Look back, let me see your face. It's been so many years…. We've missed you."

Naruto's entire body trembled, and his head moved slightly. A complex expression appeared in his eyes as he stood there breathing. He didn't look back; instead, he focused all his energy on controlling the boat. A rumbling sound could be heard as the front of the boat finally pierced out of the painting of stillness.

Naruto could see the border of the still region just up ahead; they were almost out of the painting.

"Deep in your heart, is obsession." This voice was not the voice of his parents that existed in his memory. It was the ancient, decaying voice.

The voice seemed confused, as if it it, too, were filled with infinite obsession.

"You are a living being that I have encountered on the path to the yellow springs. I can… help you to fulfill your obsession. Look back, and you will be able to see what your parents look like."

Naruto's Cultivation base suddenly stopped moving. He poured no more power into the ship, but instead stood there on the prow. Directly in front of him was the edge of the painting of motionlessness; after passing beyond that border, they would be free.

Naruto well knew that if he looked back, something untoward would likely happen. However, the words spoken to him just now had left him completely shaken.

No one else could hear the words spoken into his ear just now, not even the three old men. Everyone just sat there, trembling and in a daze. Naruto was the only lucid one among them all.

In his silence, Naruto suddenly smiled. It was an unrestrained smile, a smile filled with a will of purification.

He suddenly murmured, "What's the harm in turning my head? In my life of cultivation, I cultivate my heart. My path is one of understanding and truth.

"If I don't look back, how could I claim to cultivate my heart?" His eyes filled with a bright light as he casually turned to look behind him.

The first thing that caught his attention were the countless white strands that floated in the air, twisting and twining around the ship. The strands originated from an enormous battleship!

The ship was fully three thousand meters long, and radiated an archaic air, as if it had existed for countless ages. It was dilapidated in a way that suggested it had experienced the baptism of war.

At the prow of the battleship, a figure could be seen. It was an old man wearing a pitch-black suit of armor. It was impossible to see his features clearly, but his body looked like it had been rotting inside the armor for innumerable years. 1

As for the white strands, they were actually the man's hair!

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on him, the old man seemed to take notice. His head lifted up, and he looked at Naruto.

As soon as their gazes met, Naruto's mind filled with rumbling. Next, a vision appeared to him. He saw a coffin, its surface covered with carvings of nine butterflies.

The coffin rested on an ancient battlefield. The surroundings were devoid of any colors except for black and white.

The vision lasted for only a few breaths of time. Then it dissipated. Naruto panted as he regained consciousness.

"His… Dao seed…." said the armored figure softly, his voice hoarse as it echoed about. "In all the years, of all the living things I have encountered, I have seen countless Dao seeds…. You, however, are different than them.

"Go." The old man sat there cross-legged in his armor. It looked like he would never, ever stand up. When he spoke, his voice seemed to be filled with reminiscence. Slowly, his hair pulled away from the ship Naruto was on. At the same time, the archaic, three thousand meter battleship slowly began to back away. At the same time, it started to fade, as if it were about to vanish into thin air.

The stillness in the area also began to slowly disappear.

As the ship began to vanish, Naruto suddenly opened his mouth to speak. "Senior, you still haven't fulfilled your promise!" Immediately, the stillness returned. The old man on the battleship gave Naruto a profound gaze.

That gaze seemed to contain the transformations of the entire world. It contained the turnings of time as it poured into Naruto's eyes. Instantly, a roaring sound filled his mind.

This time in his vision, he saw Mount Daqing!

Outside of Mount Daqing was a whistling violet wind. Fog roiled about, covering the entire mountain, and eventually, Yunjie County.

Within the city, the lamps inside the houses were instantly extinguished, except for one house…. Inside that house, the lights danced, illuminating a middle-aged man who stood next to the window. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

The sounds of weeping could be heard within the bedroom. Through the cracks in the door, the silhouette of a woman could be seen. She held a boy in her arms, and tears streamed down her face.

The boy had intelligent eyes, but right now, they were filled with confusion and puzzlement.

The violet wind blew the violet fog until it completely covered Yunjie County. Far up above in the black night sky, a violet sun suddenly became visible.

The violet sun caused an indescribable pressure to suddenly weigh down on Yunjie County.

It was in that moment that the man pushed open the front door and walked out into the violet fog. The woman wiped the tears from her eyes and looked back at the boy for a moment. Then she turned and walked away.

In that moment, Naruto was able to clearly see her face.

She was beautiful, gentle, and her tears seemed to be filled with infinite reluctance to part. However, she left the boy behind in the room, frightened, confused and helpless.

"Dad…. Mom…." cried the boy. He seemed to be growing more frightened. He ran out into the fog.

"Dad…. Mom…. Where are you? I'm scared…." The boy's voice was young and tender, and quavered when he spoke. He seemed terrified. The wind around him was cold, and the fog was all-encompassing. However, it couldn't do anything to suppress the boy's cries, which echoed out into the fog.

His sobbing grew more and more shrill as he ran. He suddenly tripped and fell, scraping his knees and tearing his garment. His hair was in disarray, and tears streamed down his face to fall onto the ground. All he wanted was his dad and mom, but what he didn't notice was that behind him, a black, spectral hand stretched out toward his head from within the fog.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous and Michael Harrison_

This is not the first time an armored figure was mentioned in connection to the Milky Way Sea. Check out chapters 555 and 632 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 653

Chapter 653: Demons Stir in the Third Ring

Naruto watched the scene playing out with the boy, who was obviously himself. And yet, as he searched through his mind, no memory such as this existed. He remembered that night, and he remembered the violet-colored wind, as well what seemed to be countless bizarre voices.

That was the night his dad and mom went missing. He remembered waking up fuzzily, not quite able to remember what had happened. The only thing he remembered… was that his garment had been torn.

When he saw what was happening in the vision, it felt like lightning was striking through his mind.

Then he saw the spectral hand reaching out toward the boy. In that moment, a man appeared behind the boy. He gave a cold snort as he gripped the spectral hand between his fingers and then snapped it off.

The spectral hand disintegrated into powder, and a bloodcurdling scream could be heard. A ghostly figure flew off into the violet fog.

The boy was alarmed, but then he turned his head, and a look of joy appeared on his face. Tears rolling down his cheeks, he rushed into the arms of the man.

"Dad… where did you go? I couldn't find you. I…"

The man did not pursue the ghostly figure. He knelt in front of the boy, his face filled with both love and doubt. Gazing at the boy, he reached out and tousled his hair.

He was silent for a long moment before he spoke out in a soft voice, "Don't cry, Hao'er. Mom and dad have to go away for a while. We'll all see each other again one day."

As soon as he heard the words, the boy reached out and grabbed the man's robe tightly. "Where are you going? I don't want you to go…."

The man didn't say anything. He patted the boy's head, and then, after another long moment passed, said, "The Eastern Lands."

His expression was filled with intense love, and also pain. Then he reached out to touch the boy. His hand flickered with a glowing light, and the boy's eyes closed and he fell asleep.

The man held the boy in his arms as he turned and walked back into the house. He gently placed the boy down onto the bed, then stood there watching him. Time passed, and he finally sighed.

Naruto was able to see the man's profile, outlined by the lamplight. He was handsome and dignified, and looked both familiar and yet also strange. Looking at him caused Naruto's heart to begin to pound.

After another long moment, the man leaned down and kissed the boy on the top of the head. When he raised back up, his expression was one of both pain and farewell. He left the house, and walked off into the violet wind and fog. He left Yunjie County, left Mount Daqing, and disappeared.

As the vision ended, a tremor ran through Naruto's body and he regained clarity. He stood on the deck of the ship. The only thing around them was storm winds. There were no white strands of hair, no Underworld Ship. There was only the Stormwind Divide.

Everyone else on the boat was asleep.

The surroundings were quiet. Naruto looked around, then sat down cross-legged and stared off into the distance, somewhat in a daze.

After a bit of time, the three old men awoke. Then, one by one, so did the others. They looked at Naruto with a mixture of dread and gratefulness. Naruto didn't speak, so of course, neither did they dare to say a single word.

It was in this manner that the ship continued on its voyage for several more months. Eventually, amidst the silence, it neared the end of the Stormwind Divide.

The entire time, Naruto never rose to his feet. When they encountered symbol spirits, he didn't even look at them. He only stared out in front of the ship; no one had any idea what he was thinking.

After the months passed, and the boat reached the end of the

Stormwind Divide, a dock could be seen through the darkness, their final destination.

Naruto stood up and sent his Divine Sense to spread over the entire ship, and the people on it. This was a minor magical technique that he had picked up in the Demon Immortal Pagoda, a Daoist magic that would erase any trace of him from the minds of these people. After that, he flew out to disappear into the storm winds.

About ten breaths of time after Naruto vanished, everyone on the ship regained their senses. They looked a bit confused, but after a moment, the ship reached the dock. At that point, they seemed to break through some invisible barrier. The previous blackness gave way to a sudden burst of intense light.

It was sunlight shining down onto the sea and the waves. The group on the boat inhaled the salt air, and they knew… that they were now in the Third Ring!

Even as exclamations of joy rang out from the ship, Naruto emerged alone from within the Stormwind Divide. He stood on the surface of the sea, looking up at the sun.

"Whether that vision was real or not, the Eastern Lands… are definitely where I need to go!

"After I resolve this crisis with the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, then I'll definitely be heading to the Eastern Lands!

"I'll visit the Great Tang, I'll visit Chang'an, and I'll fulfill my childhood dream…." He looked off toward the east, wishing that his Cultivation base was sufficient to be able to see the Eastern Lands right now, no matter how far away it was.

"Maybe I can find some clues about dad and mom, and what happened that year. What was the violet wind and violet fog, and what did it have to do with me…?

"And also…" He lowered his head and looked down at the back of his hand. Every time he had a Cultivation base breakthrough into a new stage, there was the symbol that appeared there.

That mark had been with him for a long time, and if he couldn't come to understand what it meant, he would feel as if he had wasted all his years of cultivation.

"It's not like I didn't notice how strange Fang Yu was acting all those years ago…. Am I just unwilling to accept the truth?" In his thoughtfulness, a rare bit of weakness could be seen in his eyes. Finally, he sighed and pushed all the thoughts down into the bottom of his heart.

He suddenly felt very lonely. It was the type of loneliness where you look around and wonder where your home is. He had practiced cultivation for hundreds of years, but right now, had no friends to keep him company.

Such thinking caused the weakness in his eyes to grow a bit stronger.

"Is this cultivation? A path… that a person must stick to alone?" He closed his eyes for a long moment. When he opened them, no weakness was visible. Instead, there was the unswerving determination that usually resided therein.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked around, a sharp gleam in his eyes.

Everything around looked almost the same as the Fourth Ring. However, Naruto could sense that much more Demonic Qi flowed through the Third Ring.

No one else would be able to detect it, but as a Demon Sealer, Naruto could naturally sense it.

What Naruto didn't know was that in this very moment, countless eyes suddenly opened on the seafloor of the Third Ring. All of them stared up in his direction.

In the deepest part of the sea, the undercurrents swirled, and it seemed as if a tempest were forming. Countless red eyes emanated intense desire, as if they had finally seen hope for the first time.

Up above on the surface of the waters, Naruto muttered to himself for a moment and then sped off. After flying for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he suddenly frowned. The sea up ahead of him suddenly exploded up as a giant tentacle shot out from the water toward him.

It moved with such incredible speed that it looked like nothing more than a shadow. It almost looked like a flaming whip as it ripped through the air.

It was an attack that contained power similar to the Nascent Soul stage. Naruto gave a cold snort, then waved his hand toward the incoming tentacle and made a grasping motion. The tentacle stopped in mid-air just a few feet in front of him, almost as if it had been seized by some enormous, invisible hand.

The tentacle was completely black, and covered with countless suction disks. It squirmed and wriggled, seemingly struggling to free itself. It was sickening to look at, and if you followed it to its source, you could see what appeared to be an enormous creature in the churning waters below.

At the same time, whooshing sounds could be heard as more than ten additional tentacles burst out from the water toward Naruto. He watched on with a cold gleam in his eyes, then clutched out with his right hand and pulled.

Boom!

The sea exploded under the incredible power of Naruto's hand as an enormous, three hundred meter long cuttlefish was wrenched up out of the waters to hover in mid-air.

Naruto relaxed his hand, and then took a step forward. He instantly disappeared, only to reappear directly in front of the cuttlefish. His right hand formed into a fist which he then struck out. A massive boom could be heard as the cuttlefish directly exploded into countless pieces that then rained down onto the surface of the sea.

Within the shredded meat and flesh was a bluish crystalline object about the size of a finger. As soon as Naruto saw it, he grabbed it. When it touched his palm, it let off a gentle glow, along with the ripples of spiritual power.

"This looks like a mid-grade Spirit Stone. It must be a Demon heart." After examining it for a while, he put it away into his bag of holding, then began to make his way off. However, it was then that he frowned. He sent his Divine Sense out, and immediately, his face sank.

Within the range of his Divine Sense, he could sense more than twenty different kinds of Sea Demons in the area. All of them were speeding along through the sea in his direction.

Each one emitted violent auras, as well as intense avarice. They seemed to view themselves as hunters and him as the prey.

"Is this why the Third Ring is so dangerous?" he thought, his brow furrowed. With that, he waved his hand toward the sea down below. Instantly, the surface of the sea rumbled and sank down, forming into what looked like a crater, roughly three hundred meters wide. With another wave of his hand, Naruto caused the crater to begin to rotate.

The rotation caused a huge roaring sound to lift up into the sky. It almost looked like a black hole was forming in the water. Great waves surged about, revealing seven or eight vicious Sea Demons.

These Sea Demons didn't have very high Cultivation bases; all were roughly at the early Nascent Soul stage, and a few even were in the Core Formation stage. They looked at Naruto with red eyes and vicious greed. It seemed that they couldn't wait to consume Naruto, as if even taking a single bite of him would give them some type of enlightenment.

Their gazes caused Naruto to be filled with a sensation of disgust. He almost felt as if he were being looked at by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

Coldness flickered in his eyes, and he made a cold snort as the fingers of his right hand slowly clenched into a fist.

At the same time, the vortex in the sea slowly constricted, tightening down and closing. The seawater instantly turned red with blood, and miserable howls could be heard. When Naruto opened his fist, the waters spread back out and the vortex resumed spinning.

A moment later, Naruto waved his sleeve, causing more than twenty Demon hearts to fly up from the reddened water. He put them into his bag of holding, then transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

The only thing that was left behind was the blood, which slowly dissolved into the seawater. Everything was calm and peaceful.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 654

Chapter 654 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 654: Lily….

The Third Ring was very large and contained a great number of Cultivators. Most organized into groups of three or perhaps five to go hunting Sea Demons in various regions of the Third Ring. To encounter a Sea Demon was a lucky break in and of itself. Of course, there were some powerful Sea Demons who could also bring incredible disaster.

There were even some areas within the Third Ring that were specially noted in jade slip maps. Anyone who wanted to enter such areas had to prepare special items ahead of time.

Furthermore, there was one particular city in the Third Ring called Seahold that had been established jointly by the three Sects, which made it convenient for Cultivators to trade for supplies. The city was enormous, and towered up above the surface of the water like a huge fortress. It was covered with shocking spell formations that had protected it for countless years against the attacks of Sea Demons.

Within the city were garrisoned more than 10,000 Cultivators from the three Sects. In addition, there was always one of the three Saints in command of the city. They rotated every one hundred years.

For years, the three Sects had maintained an incredible reputation, to the point where even the powers in the Southern Domain, Eastern Lands, Western Desert, and Northern Reaches acknowledged them.

Several days later, Naruto flew in mid-air over the Third Ring. He lifted up his right hand, and lightning crackled. Instantly, a thirty-meter long Sea Demon comparable in power to a Foundation Establishment Cultivator, was destroyed.

This particular Sea Demon didn't even have a Demon heart. However, for some reason, as soon as it detected Naruto's aura, it had seemed to go crazy, and had attacked him with complete abandon. Naruto had run into seven or eight other Sea Demons just like this in his travels so far.

"Something's not right!" he thought, frowning. It almost felt as if he were going around the Third Ring with a big target on his back. No matter where he went, Sea Demons would come for him.

His eyes flickered as he thought for a moment, then sent his Divine Sense out. After searching for about three days, he was able to find a group of Cultivators, five of them, who were cautiously hunting for Sea Demons.

He followed them from a distance, and they were unaware of his presence.

However, after only half a day, he sensed eight frenzied Sea Demons closing in. All of a sudden, they burst out from the water, howling. The faces of the five Cultivators instantly filled with shock.

"How could there be so many Sea Demons!"

"Don't tell me some sort of treasure is in the area!?" The five of them began to flee in alarm. Of course, the Sea Demons weren't after them, so they were able to get away easily.

Naruto floated there in mid-air, his brow furrowed. Having observed what was happening, he now understood that it was he himself who was attracting the Sea Demons!

"Is there something special about me that drives them crazy?" he thought, his eyes flickering. Down below, the Sea Demons were charging across the surface of the water at top speed. Naruto let out a cold snort, then waved his right hand. Instantly, the sword tip with 30,000 years of Time power flew out. Under Naruto's control, it turned into a black beam of light that shot directly toward one particular Sea Demon which looked like a crab.

When it shot through the Sea Demon, the creature instantly turned completely gray, as if had just passed through tens of thousands of years of time. In the blink of an eye, it turned into nothing more than ash.

The beam continued on to pierce through six more Sea Demons, all of whom, regardless of the level of their Cultivation base, instantly withered up and turned into nothing more than ash.

As for the final Sea Demon, it looked like a sea turtle. When it saw everything that happened, its eyes filled with terror. Despite that, it didn't seem to be able to resist the urge to charge toward Naruto. It was like an instinct that it was unable to control. With a howl, it charged onward.

Naruto glanced coldly at the sea turtle, which was only a few dozen meters long. He put away the Time Sword tip, then performed an incantation. The Mountain Consuming Incantation appeared, and an enormous mountain peak descended. It smashed down onto the sea turtle, completely sealing it inside. Naruto waved his sleeve to collect up the mountain, as well as the other Demon hearts in the area. Then, he proceeded off into the distance.

Not too long later, Naruto materialized out of thin air to appear near an island. Instantly, roaring could be heard from the island. Naruto frowned somewhat grudgingly. He had no idea what type of ferocious beast or Sea Demon was there, but without waiting to find out, he sent a palm strike down. The entire island shook and trembled as the palm attack slammed into the area where the roaring came from.

The island trembled, and then was completely silent. Whatever creature was there had been killed with a single strike.

Naruto sat down cross-legged, then waved his right hand.

Immediately, the mountain peak flew out from his bag of holding, within which was sealed the body of the sea turtle.

The first thing that Naruto thought about when he looked at the sea turtle was old turtle Reliance. He frowned for a moment, then waved a finger, causing the mountain peak to vanish. The sea turtle glared at him viciously with red eyes. Then it howled and charged in attack. Naruto's right hand instantly waved down.

A boom rattle out as a huge, invisible palm crushed down onto the sea turtle. No matter how it struggled, it was incapable of freeing itself. It could only look at Naruto and roar.

"You want to eat me?" asked Naruto coolly. He sent out some of his Demon Sealer aura, but it didn't seem to provoke any special reaction from the sea turtle. It continued to roar and snap at him as if it wanted to swallow him in a single bite.

"So, it's not because I'm a Demon Sealer?" he thought. He retracted the aura and then started to remove all of the bags of holding he possessed and place them off to the side. What he discovered was that the sea turtle didn't even glance at them. It continued to glare directly at him and him alone.

"It's not anything in my bags of holding either. Could it really be me personally? Is it because of the Fleshly Sanctification?" After a good period of thought, he couldn't come up with any better explanation.

After all, he did have some of the characteristics of the Demon Immortal Body. Naruto found it plausible that it could be attractive in some way to the Sea Demons.

After more thought, his eyes began to shine brightly. He raised his right hand, sliced a cut into the tip of his finger, and then squeezed out some blood. The sea turtle instantly went into a frenzy, howling and writhing as it attempted to charge forward and get at the blood.

"So that's what's going on," thought Naruto. The wound on his finger instantly healed back up, and he rose to his feet. Then, he lifted up his hand to do away with the troublesome sea turtle. However, before he could complete the motion, his hand stopped.

"What if that isn't the complete explanation…?" he thought. He glanced at the turtle again, and then closed his eyes to recall a divine ability he had picked up in the Demon Immortal Pagoda that was similar to the one he had used earlier to erase memories.

Based on his previous Cultivation base, using the ability would have resulted in a backlash. However, if he used it now, he could reduce the effects of the backlash to a minimum. His body flashed, and he appeared directly next to the sea turtle. Even as it eyed him hungrily, his hand pressed down onto the turtle's head.

"Soulsearch!" It was only a light touch, but the sea turtle's body immediately went stiff.

White light emanated out from Naruto's eyes. In a scant moment, his senses entered into the mind of the sea turtle. He sensed brutality, madness, and desire.

There were also a random assortment of memories that flooded into Naruto's mind. Being his first time using this technique, Naruto felt a bit out of sorts. However, his powerful Cultivation base pushed down the ill feeling, and he began to search for an answer in the sea turtle's memory.

He searched for quite some time, until suddenly his concentration peaked. Within the intact memories inside the sea turtle, he had encountered a word.

"… lily …."

Naruto's face flickered and he pulled his right hand away. The sea turtle was now laying prone, gasping for breath. A Soulsearch like the one he had just performed would leave it either dead or injured.

"Lily…." murmured Naruto. With that, he looked down at himself, then used his right hand to violently push down onto his belly. His entire body shook, and then began to grow weaker, both in terms of Cultivation base and in his Qi and blood.

As he grew weaker, he performed an incantation gesture. A seal appeared, which he placed onto himself, causing his energy to fade. Underneath the pressure, his Cultivation base sank to the Nascent Soul stage, then the Core Formation Stage, and then the Foundation Establishment stage….

Now that he had weakened himself to this extent, another bizarre aura silently appeared. This aura was none other than the aura of the Resurrection Lily!

Normally speaking, Naruto was too powerful, and kept the aura suppressed to the point where it wouldn't be easily noticeable. Now, though, by intentionally weakening himself, he caused the aura of the Resurrection Lily to be revealed more openly.

As soon as the aura appeared, something happened that caused Naruto to be deeply shocked.

The sea turtle, which moments ago had been gasping on the verge of death, suddenly lifted its head up. Its eyes focused, it let out a shocking roar and then charged toward Naruto. Its body was being suppressed, but it didn't seem to care. It roared and struggle until its shell began to crack and shatter. Its body began to fall apart, but its eyes were bright red and its head stretched out violently until it literally ripped off of the body. Blood spattered about as the dying head stretched out toward Naruto, its mouth gaping.

Naruto backed up a few paces. He could clearly see the desire and madness in the dying eyes. His face flickered as he looked out at the surrounding sea. Huge waves rolled across its surface, and countless shocking auras could be sensed charging from all directions, filled with madness.

Naruto immediately severed the aura and released the seal. His energy rapidly rose, and the Resurrection Lily's aura was suppressed.

The madness in the sea around him was reduced by a small measure.

Naruto instantly transformed into a green smoke and vanished.

When he reappeared, he was in mid-air off in the distance.

"So, the Resurrection Lily is what's attracting the Sea Demons!

"Now that I think about it, Master told me about someone who came to him looking for medicine to help with the Resurrection Lily infection. As to whether he is alive or dead now, I have no idea. I just remember that he was from… the Milky Way Sea. 1

"If I can find him, maybe he could use his understanding of the Resurrection Lily to help me with mine." After thinking for a moment, Naruto vanished again.

Meanwhile, far from the Third Ring, in the depths of the Second Ring….

The water in this area was black, and everything was quiet. Even the surface of the sea was calm, without any waves or even ripples. There was also a black island, upon which sat a cross-legged figure. He had the physical appearance of a Cultivator, except that a spiraling horn stuck out from his forehead. He was surrounded by vast quantities of bones, many of which were the bones of Cultivators.

His eyes suddenly opened, and within each eye, two pupils could be seen. A savage aura exploded out from him.

"Resurrection… Lily…."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Charonx_

Grandmaster Pill Demon told Naruto about a person from the Milky Way Sea named Reverend Silverlamp, who came to him asking for help regarding the Resurrection Lily. That was in chapter 294 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 655

Chapter 655: Hunting Sea Demons

A month flashed by.

During that time, Naruto swept freely across the Third Ring.

Considering the level of his Cultivation base, there were no Sea Demons who could stand up to him. The instant any appeared and got close to him, he would destroy them.

Sometimes he didn't actually even need to do anything personally. He would simply send the Wooden Time Sword tip flying out to circulate around him. A mere thought could send the tip speeding to the attack at any time.

Twenty-five days earlier, a group of adventuring Cultivators, roughly a dozen or more in number, had been speeding along, pursued by two roaring Sea Demons.

Even in the midst of their hopelessness, a black beam appeared. It shot through the two Sea Demons, transforming them into ash. The Demon hearts flew out, and then vanished into thin air.

Twenty days earlier, a haughty-faced man was fighting at close quarters with a Sea Demon, when a black beam suddenly appeared out of nowhere to transform the Sea Demon into ash.

Fifteen days earlier, ten days earlier, five days earlier, similar scenes played out in different areas in the Third Ring. In fact, almost every day such things occurred. Gradually, rumors began to spread about the black sword tip.

After a month of domination, Naruto had collected nearly a thousand Demon hearts. Most were low-grade, with only a few being mid-grade.

Naruto wasn't very happy with the results, although anyone else would have been wild with joy.

"Chosen from the Sects and Clans of the Southern Domain, Northern

Reaches, and Eastern Lands all owe me large quantities of Spirit Stones. My gains in the past month have been too negligible. This doesn't compare at all to conning people." He currently hovered in mid-air, looking out at the boundless sea, wondering how many Sea Demons existed underneath the waters.

"If I could get some high-grade Spirit Stones, or even… ultra high-grade Spirit Stones, then things would be worth it!" He had some ultra highgrade Spirit Stones in his bag of holding, but not many. They were incredibly valuable, and every time he thought about how he had wasted two thousand of them all those years ago, it made him sick.

"Short on money again…. If I had enough Spirit Stones, I could copy more Wooden Time Swords, or maybe even the Time Sword tip. Except, I would need, at the least, more than ten million Spirit Stones to do that." He looked down at the surface of the sea, and clenched his jaw.

"If the Wang Clan Patriarch isn't dead, then danger will be coming my way. The most important thing for me to do now is get stronger as fast as possible. I need to go all out!" Determination appeared in his eyes, and then he vanished into thin air.

Several days later, Naruto sat cross-legged on a certain large island within the Third Ring. The entire area around him had long since been cleared, and the Time Sword tip circulated around him. He looked down at his bag of holding as a small mountain flew out.

Sealed inside of the little mountain was a battle-ax, which was none other than the thousand-symbol spirit he had captured.

After looking at it for a moment, he lifted his right hand up into the air, causing the mountain to vanish. The battle-ax instantly began to emit a rumbling sound, and was just about to attack when Naruto waved his wide sleeve, causing a huge pressure to envelop the area. He reached out with his hand, but the battle-ax made a popping sound and transformed into over a thousand magical symbols. Naruto's hand grasped nothing but air.

The magical symbols cascaded about, seemingly quite proud of themselves. They swirled behind Naruto, where they once again formed into a battle-ax, which then chopped down toward Naruto.

"Hex!" said Naruto coolly. He didn't even turn his head to look; he simply pointed backward with his left index finger.

The thousand magical symbols trembled and struggled in mid-air. However, when Naruto punched out, the battle-ax collapsed into a mass of magical symbols. Then he performed an incantation, and the Mountain Consuming Incantation appeared in the form of a thousand mountains, which covered over all the magical symbols.

Naruto performed all these actions smoothly and spontaneously, as if he hadn't been troubled in the least bit. Then, his expression indifferent, he caused the magical symbols to approach him one by one. He imprinted them with Divine Sense, a process that took several hours to complete. After it was all done, his eyes glittered as he allowed the thousand mountains to loosen and free the magical symbols.

The symbols seemed as if they had lost their sentience. They simply floated there, flickering with light, but unmoving.

"Consolidate!" said Naruto coolly. Immediately, the symbols formed together into the shape of a battle-ax, which then rotated around him. After exercising control over it for a few moments, Naruto then used the same method on the more than twenty thousand-symbol spirits in his bag of holding. He finished a few days later, after which, more than 20,000 magical symbols all whistled through the air around him.

They turned into a vortex of storm winds that emanated an incredibly threatening pressure.

A strange light appeared in Naruto's eyes. The incredible power of this treasure was second only to the symbol spirits he had seen in the Stormwind Divide that formed into enormous ferocious beasts.

"However, it wastes too much of my Cultivation base," he thought after a moment. After consuming some medicinal pills, he sat down to meditate. It wasn't until dawn of the following morning that he finally opened his eyes.

"The time has come!" he said. Taking a deep breath, he performed an incantation, placing multiple seals onto his body that caused his energy to rapidly weaken. Soon, the aura of the Resurrection Lily once again appeared.

Previously, Naruto had assumed that only he could sense the aura.

However, after arriving in the Third Ring, he understood that to Sea Demons, the Resurrection Lily was like some hitherto unknown tonic that, if consumed, could provoke incredible transmogrification.

As soon as the aura spread out, the surrounding sea began to churn.

Countless glowing red eyes snapped open in the depths of the sea in the Third Ring. In the blink of an eye, the Sea Demons shot with incredible speed in the direction of something they instinctively knew they had to consume.

Some distance away, a multicolored jellyfish was just under the surface of the water, stalking a group of Cultivators, waiting for the right opportunity to attack. However, just in the moment when it was about to make a move, it suddenly trembled and then shot away under the water.

In another location, a group of a few dozen Cultivators were locked in close combat with three Sea Demons. Suddenly, the Sea demons roared, dove down into the water, and vanished.

Scenes like this played out throughout various locations in the Third Ring. Quite a few Cultivators noticed the phenomenon. Some Cultivators up in mid-air were shocked to see waves sweeping across the sea, and the countless Sea Demons swimming through the water.

"Don't tell me it's a Beast Tide!"

Even while so many people were shocked, Naruto sat calmly waiting on the island. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, an enormous pincer suddenly shot out from the seawater toward him.

At the same time, multiple Sea Demons burst out from the water to charge toward Naruto.

His eyes glittered with coldness as he waved his right hand, causing a thousand-symbol battle-ax to fly out. It swept out, filling the area with the sounds of explosions as it destroyed the Sea Demons.

Even as they died, an additional hundred or more Sea Demons emerged from the water, their visages that of wildness and greed. It was almost like Naruto had turned into a whirlpool that caused desire to well up within all the Sea Demons of the Third Ring.

Naruto was calm and unhurried as he manipulated the magical symbols. With the wave of a finger, 1,000 magical symbols flew out, surrounding the island, making it impossible for any Sea Demon to get even more than three hundred meters onto the island.

Four explosion-filled hours passed. More than a thousand Sea Demons had charged out from within the shocking waves. They didn't seem to even understand the difference between life and death; disregarding even their own lives, they charged forward relentlessly.

Booms rang out as Naruto's hands moved even faster to control the 8,000 magical symbols, which whistled through the air. They formed into various magical items, including the battle-ax, and emanated incredible might.

Another four hours passed, during which time, Naruto consumed medicinal pills on three occasions to support the rotation of his Cultivation base. Currently, the island was surrounded by densely packed groups of Sea Demons. There were so many that he almost couldn't see anything else.

The sight was enough to shock anyone who might see it, even Naruto. However, he wanted even more Sea Demons. The magical symbols were now 13,000 in number, whistling about to create a droning sound that filled the ears.

From afar, the island appeared to be surrounded by a vortex of storm winds, and a black fog. Outside of the storm winds were endless amounts of Sea Demons that charged forward in their attempts to get onto the island.

The roaring was astonishing, and blood showered about everywhere. Naruto was unsure of how many Sea Demons he had killed in the relatively short period of time. The only ones who knew were the parrot and meat jelly.

That was because they were flying around, boring their way in and out all over the place. As the Sea Demons died, they gleefully collected up the Demon hearts.

It was in this moment, however, that a howl split the air from off in the distance. This howl was unique; it sounded like a weeping girl, and it instantly caused Naruto to look up. His Divine Sense swept out, and off in the distance, he could see the Sea Demons all trembling and making way for an enormous seven-colored jellyfish which was slowly swimming forward.

On top of the head of the jellyfish, shockingly, was… a white flower!

It was a Whitebone Lily, a flower that looked like bleached bones. It swayed back and forth, causing all the color in the area to vanish and be replaced with only black and white.

As Naruto looked over, he suddenly felt the island shake beneath him, as if some enormous creature down below were attacking it.

His face flickered for the space of a few breaths, but he was powerless to support the island. Cracks spread out on its surface, and then the island simply collapsed into countless pieces.

Huge waves rolled out across the seawater as, in the blink of an eye, the entire island sank down into the water. As for Naruto, he was also pulled down into the sea.

In that instant, the Sea Demons in the area grew even more frenzied. The world underneath the surface of the waters was their domain, so it was with even more madness that they charged forward.

Naruto's eyes glittered. The world underneath the surface might be the domain of the Sea Demons, but it was also his world!

He had formed the water character of the five elements totem, and had also practiced cultivation on the bottom of the Violet Sea for a hundred years. Why would he possibly care about the pressure exerted under the sea? His expression was cold as he lifted his right hand to cause 20,000 glittering magical symbols to circulate out. They transformed into twenty magical items which shot toward the Sea Demons and began to slaughter them.

The explosions did not pass out of the seawater, but they did give rise to enormous waves which swept out through the Third Ring. The Cultivators who saw them were shocked, and intrigued about what was happening.

Furthermore, some of the incredibly powerful Sea Demons of the Third Ring were now in motion, heading toward Naruto, filled with madness.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 656

Chapter 656 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 656: The Resurrection Lily Makes a Move!

Naruto was under the water, surrounded by 20,000 magical symbols which swept around him in the form of a tempest. The water seethed, and the Sea Demons were unable to get within even three hundred meters of him.

Of course, the Sea Demons attacked with reckless abandon, impelled by instinct to fight even if they died. Naruto's eyes flickered as the magical symbols surged around him, carrying out an incredible slaughter.

Waves surged out, affecting more than half of the Third Ring, and more and more Sea Demons arrived. Soon, even the Third Ring's Seahold city was affected, causing even more Cultivators to look around in shock and wonder what was occurring.

In fact, the waves even crashed into Seahold, the city created by the joint efforts of the three Sects. The sounds of bugles filled the air, and the Cultivators garrisoned there armed themselves and entered battle formation, as if they were preparing to fight some incredible enemy.

The powerful experts within the city emerged one by one, their faces grim and filled with intense harshness. They looked off into the distance at the countless waves that surged toward them.

"Could it be that the Sea Devils of the Second Ring are on the attack?"

"Impossible! The Sea Devils of the Second Ring are few in number. They rarely appear, and almost never enter the Third Ring. To them, the Sea Demons of the Third Ring are like common animals. They view themselves as the emperors and kings!"

"But if it's not the Sea Devils, then what is causing these great transformations in the Third Ring?!"

Everyone was discussing the matter, and as soon as the Sea Devils were mentioned, faces filled with fear.

Outside the city, crashing sounds could be heard as the waves slammed into the city walls.

The sounds could be heard without cessation, and echoed throughout the city, causing the Cultivator's faces to flicker with various expressions.

In the middle of Seahold was an enormous tower nearly three thousand meters tall. The areas surrounding the tower were a forbidden zone which no one could enter without being invited first.

This was a cultivation area set aside for the three Saints. At the highest level of the tower sat a middle-aged man wearing a voluminous red robe, who happened to be surnamed Lin. He had long black hair, and currently stood with his hands clasped behind his back, looking out a window. He was frowning, and it was impossible to tell exactly what he was thinking.

"The waves are higher by three meters, and seemingly for no reason," he said coolly. "It seems something has provoked the Sea Demons. They're all heading in the same direction. Are they going to pay respects, or have they been summoned? Or enticed?" His eyes shone with a brilliant light, and as he spoke, his words seemed to cause ripples to spread out in the air.

"In any case, the Sea Demons are not intelligent. It must be desire which is driving them!" He suddenly took a step forward, and then vanished.

Shockingly, he reappeared outside of Seahold, far off in the distance. Waves surged beneath his feet as he clasped his hands behind his back and strode forward.

With a single step, he vanished and then reappeared far, far off. Then he repeated the process. It was with incredible speed that he moved, a speed that a Nascent Soul Cultivator could never achieve, not even by bringing harm to their own life.

At the same time that the red robed man proceeded forward, Naruto was surrounded by 20,000 surging magical symbols. Blood filled the water around him as countless Sea Demons were completely destroyed. He had no idea how many he had killed, but as he sank down deeper, the Sea Demons that surrounded him seemed endless.

It was at this point that a five-colored bolt of lightning suddenly appeared, shooting through the hordes of Sea Demons. Wherever it went, Sea Demons directly exploded. The lightning itself seemed to be filled with the power to destroy Heaven and Earth. In the blink of an eye, it slammed into the magical symbols that surrounded Naruto.

Boom!

A thousand of the 20,000 magical symbols instantly collapsed. It shot onward toward Naruto, who immediately looked up. When the island collapsed and began to sink to the sea floor, he had already noticed the approaching Whitebone Lily jellyfish.

However, after sinking down, despite being unhampered by the surroundings, he found himself in a different situation than when he had been in the Violet Sea. Here, his Divine Sense had limitations.

Of course, he was as vigilant as ever, so as the lightning bore down on him, he lifted his right hand and pointed forward with his index finger.

The Blood Palm instantly appeared and shot forward.

A boom could be heard as the five-colored lightning bolt spread apart, surrounding the Blood Palm, as if it wished to bore directly into it.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he let out a cold snort. He flicked his sleeve, performed an incantation, and then pointed forward.

Immediately, a face appeared in front of him. It looked like Naruto's face, although its eyes were closed as it shot forward. This, of course, was the first form of the Blood Immortal divine ability.

Booming filled the bottom of the sea. As the lightning collapsed, the face's eyes opened, and the lips began to speak with a soundless voice.

The soundless voice seemed to rip the jellyfish out into the open. Six ripple-like formless sound waves swept out in front of Naruto. The first of them caused thousands of Sea Demons to instantly explode. The second, third, and fourth sweeping ripples caused more than 10,000 Sea Demons to collapse.

The fourth and fifth ripples seemed to open a path that revealed the enormous jellyfish off in the distance. The Sea Demons in front of Naruto all scrambled clear as the sixth ripple shot directly toward the jellyfish. The water seethed and distorted to form the face of Naruto, which rumbled toward the jellyfish.

A brilliant, five-colored glow spread out from the jelly-fish, which transformed into a five-colored shield that shot out in defense. A huge boom could be heard, which transformed into an even more intense attack that spread out in all directions. Naruto gave a cold snort, and was just about to directly slay the bizarre jellyfish when suddenly, he sensed an incredible force shooting toward him. The intensity of the force caused him to tremble inwardly. The magical symbol tempest around him shuddered, and another thousand symbols instantly collapsed.

As the force neared Naruto, his eyes glittered. Giving up any plans to slay the jellyfish, he spun around. His right hand clenched into a fist, which then punched directly toward the incoming force.

A bang could be heard, and the seawater exploded out in all directions. It was as if two enormous, incredibly shocking fists had slammed into each other in the middle of the water.

A deep growl could be heard as an enormous figure retreated backward from the force of Naruto's punch.

It was at this point that Naruto could clearly see the Sea Demon that was the source of the powerful force from just now.

It was a giant!

A three thousand meter tall giant, with two heads and scale-covered skin that was completely blue. Its eyes, however, were bright red as it stared at Naruto.

This was what had caused the island to collapse!

Shockingly, located behind the giant could be seen a Whitebone Lily, swaying back and forth!

The Whitebone Lily was a ghastly white color, and looked completely shocking. That was especially true because, when he looked at it, Naruto could almost see a human face, staring back at him with a strange expression.

The gaze was filled with many emotions, with avarice and with… concentration, almost as if it were… staring at something like itself.

Naruto's eyes glittered. As of this point, he had seen two bizarre Sea Demons in the Milky Way Sea's Third Ring, both of whom had strange Whitebone Lilies on them.

In fact, when Naruto looked at the Whitebone Lily, he could clearly sense that the Resurrection Lily inside of him felt provoked, and even emanated the desire to attack.

Apparently, the pressure from Naruto, as well as the intensity of the current danger, had caused it to intentionally allow some of its aura to seep out into his blood vessels.

Naruto's mind trembled. He had been fighting with the Resurrection Lily for years, and although he always succeeded in suppressing it, he only did so with the use of force. This was the first time that the Resurrection Lily had given up on any resistance, and merge its aura with Naruto of its own initiative.

As the aura merged into him, a bizarre light appeared in Naruto's eyes. He did not resist, but rather, allowed the aura of the Resurrection Lily to spread out within him. Instantly… a five-colored Resurrection Lily appeared behind him!

The flower formed into a face that was split into two parts. One part looked like Naruto, as mild as jade; the other looked as vicious as a wicked spirit!

Two faces, five petals, five glowing colors. In the blink of an eye, the light spread out to fill the sea floor. As it did, Naruto's mind suddenly trembled, and a strange glow appeared in his eyes. As of that moment, he could… sense the energy of Heaven and Earth!

This was not the first time he could sense the energy of Heaven and Earth, but this was the most direct connection he had ever felt. He almost felt… as if he were favored by Heaven and Earth, as if his existence was approved.

With every breath he took, the power of Heaven and Earth flowed into him. Regardless of whether it was spiritual energy or Demonic Qi, or other types, anything that could be of benefit to him flowed in.

The feeling was indescribable, as if Heaven and Earth would do anything for him.

The power was boundless!

It felt like his destiny grew deeper, as if the Heavens had opened their eyes to gaze upon him. It was like any living thing that wished to harm him would become an object of loathing to Heaven and Earth.

The indescribable feeling was like a mysterious premonition.

"The day the Resurrection Lily blooms with seven colors, flowers bloom and flowers descend, one thousand years…. Don't tell me that it really is impossible to kill it!?" The realization hit Naruto, but he had no time for consideration at the moment.

Almost in the same moment that the five-colored Resurrection Lily appeared behind him, the hosts of Sea Demons around him went into a frenzy. Their eyes were red, and seal marks appeared on their bodies.

The seal resembled the face of a spirit, almost like the earliest version of the Resurrection Lily, except white. However, if you looked closely, you could see that it was not the Resurrection Lily, but, shockingly… a Whitebone Lily!

"This Whitebone Lily definitely has some direct connection with the

Resurrection Lily. But why are there so many Whitebone Lilies in the

Milky Way Sea!? It seems like almost every single Sea Demon has one!" His mind trembled as he looked around at all of the Whitebone Lily seals, and his scalp began to grow numb.

"I wonder if it has something to do with the Reverend Silverlamp of the Milky Way Sea that Master spoke of?!" Naruto's face flickered as he once again looked around at the enormous giant and the jellyfish, and realized that they were different from the other Sea Demons.

What existed on them was not a mark of the Whitebone Lily, but an actual, living flower.

Currently, the two Whitebone Lilies were swaying back and forth, and looked as if they were about to bloom, each of them with three petals.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Dang Quang Tran, John Smith, Sunny_

 _Goela, Dave Berkoh, Eric Layne, and Weevle_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 657

Chapter 657: Saint Sun Soul of the Three Sects

"I remember Master told me that Reverend Silverlamp came to him seven hundred years before, asking for help in solving the problem of the Resurrection Lily. Master was able to help a bit, but couldn't truly solve the problem. Then, Reverend Silverlamp returned a few hundred years later, having dispelled the poison of the Resurrection Lily!

"Could it be… that these transformations in the Sea Demons in the Milky

Way Sea have something to do with Reverend Silverlamp?"

Naruto's mind trembled, and his eyes flickered. However, he knew that he could not let himself feel anxious, but rather, needed to allow time for the clues to appear. Right now, the constant slaying of Sea Demons, coupled with the level of his Cultivation base, had left him feeling quite exhausted. Considering how many Sea Demons there were in the area, even if he kept killing them for days, he still wouldn't be able to kill them all.

Also, he knew that since the drastic changes in the sea would cause widespread repercussions, it wouldn't be too long before outsiders came to investigate.

"Well, first I'll just have to kill you!" he said, turning toward the enormous giant. If the giant hadn't destroyed the island, then Naruto wouldn't be in his current situation under the water.

He quickly exercised control of the magical symbols, sending them spreading out to clear a battlefield. The giant approached, roaring, surrounded by bubbles as it charged.

Naruto gave a cold snort and then clenched his right hand into a fist.

"First Heaven Destruction!" he said, his eyes glittering. An illusory image appeared on his hand; it almost looked as if two hands had appeared and merged together. This was a Daoist magic that Naruto had acquired in the Demon Immortal Pagoda, the Nine Heavens Destruction.

After leaving the Demon Immortal Sect, he had occasionally contemplated it inwardly. After that, when he met with Guyiding Tri-rain, he was enlightened regarding the matter of vibrations. That caused the seed to sprout in his mind, and he then thoroughly understood.

The Nine Heavens Destruction was vibration!

The fist descended and water exploded. The bubbles collapsed, and Naruto's fist shot like lightning to slam directly into the giant.

Bam!

"Second Heaven!" Naruto punched again, and the water seethed, exploding out to create gigantic waves.

"Third Heaven!" Killing intent flickered in his eyes as the fist descended. The giant let out a bloodcurdling scream that echoed out despite its location on the seafloor. Naruto's fist slammed into the giant's chest, causing a huge hole to explode out.

Within the mangled flesh, a crystalline stone about the size of an infant's hand could be seen. It almost looked like a heart. Naruto's right hand stretched out to immediately grab the resplendent crystal, then wrench it away. The giant shook violently. At the same time, the illusory Resurrection Lily behind Naruto savagely enveloped the giant and then flickered as a ghost image appeared over the Whitebone Lily. It appeared as if some sort of invisible fight were taking place.

All of this happened in only the space of a few breaths. Naruto grabbed the Demon heart and then backed up. The Whitebone Lily trembled and then shattered into pieces, which the five-colored Resurrection Lily instantly consumed. The Resurrection Lily looked even more ferocious, as if it had been reborn; the five-colored petals all grew even more resplendent.

"Time to go!" Naruto growled. His voice instantly echoed out to the parrot, who had been silently going around collecting Demon hearts. It instantly flickered, returning to Naruto's side. Naruto then transformed into a green smoke and a black moon, which shot up toward the surface of the water.

Hordes of Sea Demons tried to obstruct his path, and the jellyfish went into even more of a frenzy, shooting out countless lightning bolts. However, none of it was able to hinder Naruto even the slightest bit. He quickly performed an incantation, causing the more than 10,000 magical symbols to spin around him into a tempest that emanated black fog. Then, he directly shot out of the water.

In that instant, countless Sea Demons flew out as well. However, they were incapable of stopping him as he shot up into the air, transforming into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

At the same time, he forcefully suppressed the aura of the Resurrection Lily. It didn't matter whether the Resurrection Lily was willing or not, nor how much it struggled; it was completely pushed down by Naruto.

He moved with incredible speed until he was around 3,000 meters away. Finally, he was about to check how many Demon hearts he had acquired, when suddenly, his expression flickered as he noticed a red cloud speeding toward him from off in the distance.

Shockingly, within the red cloud could be seen a huge face. It rumbled as it shot toward Naruto, emanating an aura of Spirit Severing which seemed to cover everything.

Naruto's eyes glittered and he raised his hand, causing the magical symbols to shoot up into the air in the form of a tempest, which then moved directly to intercept the red cloud face.

A huge boom rattled out. The cloud dispersed, and Naruto's magical symbols collapsed. As they scattered about, Naruto shot backward, his face grim. He looked off into the distance to see a middle-aged man wearing a red robe, striding forward with an expressionless face.

He glanced coldly at Naruto, his gaze sharp. The Spirit Severing aura within Naruto could now be seen, his energy pulsing brightly.

The red-robed man's eyes narrowed slightly. Then he saw all of the tempest magical symbols, and he immediately understood that the person in front of him was not weak.

However, 'not weak' meant little to him.

"Your first offense was to cause chaos in the Milky Way Sea!" he said coolly. "I don't care where you got those symbol spirits, they belong to the three Sects. Outsiders are not permitted to possess them. That is your second offense.

"Two crimes. Allow me to explain your punishment…." The red-robed man waved his hand, employing some special technique that instantly caused all of the magical symbol spirits to tremble and then wrest themselves free from Naruto's control and shoot to the side of the red-robed man.

"I am a Saint, and these objects belong to me. Thus, I will take them back. Now, produce all of the Demon hearts you acquired and then get the hell out of the Milky Way Sea!

"I'll give you three days. If you're still in the Milky Way Sea at that time… well, I happen to be lacking a puppet mount." A cold gleam could be seen in the man's eyes, as well as a look of superciliousness. His aura was one that invoked profound reverence, and made it seem that his words were like the will of Heaven when spoken out on the Milky Way Sea.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. He had never seen this red-robed Cultivator before, but with a single glance at his Cultivation base, he could tell that he was different from Patriarch Huyan. This man was apparently at the Second Severing level.

In that case, the man's identity was obvious.

"Can't we talk this over?" asked Naruto.

"No. No talking it over," replied the red-robed man calmly.

"But, I don't want to hand over the Demon hearts," said Naruto coolly, "nor the symbol spirits."

The red-robed man responded with a cold snort and a cool detachment. He waved his right sleeve, causing more than 100,000 symbol spirits to rush out from within. In the blink of an eye, they blotted out the sky and cast everything into shadow.

"Well, then you can just stay behind. Whatever Sect or Clan you belong to can come to me and pay a ransom price to get you back." With that, the 100,000 symbol spirits spread out into the air and shot toward Naruto.

As they neared, Naruto slapped his bag of holding, causing an enormous bronze wheel to fly out. It was covered with magical symbols which instantly glowed with brilliant light as it began to rotate.

At the same time, a sense of the power of Time appeared. It spread out to fill the area, causing the magical symbol spirits to suddenly reveal ancientness. They began to move slower, allowing Naruto to casually move forward through their midst.

"A Time treasure!" thought the red-robed man.

At the same time, Naruto performed an incantation and then pointed forward. Instantly, the Time Sword Formation appeared. As it rotated, it transformed into the shape of a lotus, which caused the raging power of Time to sweep out in all directions. It seemed to be working in unison with the Wheel of Time as Naruto flicked his sleeve, causing it to fly toward the red-robed Cultivator.

"A Time treasure…." the red-robed man said coolly. "It seems I underestimated you." He waved his right hand through the air, causing a tremor to run through the 100,000 magical symbols. Instantly, 10,000 of them exploded, causing an immaterial explosion to rip through the power of Time. The rest of the symbols continued to shoot toward Naruto.

"Mountain Consuming Incantation!" Naruto proceeded forward, extending his right hand and then pushing it down toward the sea. Instantly, the seawater roiled, and from its depths rose up a trembling mountain. The mountain shattered into countless fragments which then shot out in front of Naruto, reforming together into the shape of a small mountain.

After coming to the Third Ring, this was Naruto's first time using a real mountain to fight an enemy with the Mountain Consuming Incantation.

As soon as the art appeared, the massive collection of 90,000 magical symbols fought back against the mountain. Booming sounds could be heard, but Naruto continued to proceed forward. He was now roughly three hundred meters away from the red-robed man.

The man frowned, then performed an incantation with his right hand. He pointed up to the sky, causing the bright gleam of swords to shoot up into the sky from nearby Seahold.

Three swords flew through the air, emitting a droning sound. Their incredible speed was such that they rapidly became invisible.

Many of the Cultivators in the Sea City saw what was happening, and were completely shocked. Their faces flickered as they came to the conclusion that the Saint had encountered a formidable foe!

Almost simultaneously, the three swords appeared in front of the redrobed man. They didn't pause for even a moment, but rather, shot directly toward Naruto.

The red-robed man's voice was cool as he said: "These three swords of mine were forged with a Sky-Sun Bone, something rarely seen in the Milky Way Sea, even in ten thousand years. It borrows the power of the stars and refines it into an undying strength that can overcome any obstacle."

As the three swords neared, Naruto waved his right sleeve, causing the Time Sword tip to fly out. It moved with incredible speed, piercing through the air, sending out ripples of Time power as it headed toward the red-robed man.

Shockingly, a strand of silk was connected to the the sword tip, flashing coldly in the sunlight.

"This sword tip of mine comes from a 70,000 year old Spring and Autumn Tree," said Naruto coolly. "The rest of the sword was destroyed by an Immortal, but the tip is eternal. Time did not harm the sword tip, and I refined it into a treasure. It can kill and exterminate countless forms of life, and nothing can stand up to it without withering away.

"The silk behind it is something rarely seen in Heaven and Earth. If the silk remains unbroken, I cannot be killed."

When the sword tip appeared, the red-robed man's three swords seemed to hold back.

The red-robed man's pupils constricted as he stared at the sword tip. He could sense the incredible power of Time emanating off of it. He felt that if he got too near it, he would begin to wither, and his life force and longevity would be reduced.

"You're a Time Cultivator," said the man, looking at Naruto.

"You're Saint Sun Soul of the three Sects!" replied Naruto.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 658

Chapter 658: Hometown Alcohol

The red-robed man was none other than one of the three Saints of the Milky Way Sea, Saint Sun Soul of the Sun Soul Society!

He was fond of red garments, and his three swords could shake Heaven and Earth. The last time the Demon Tide arrived to destroy Seahold, he single-handedly wielded his three swords in defense. The Sword Qi penetrated all the way to the Second Ring.

It was completely shocking, and frightened the Demon hordes into retreat.

Naruto had learned of these things before coming to the Third Ring. Therefore, when the red-robed man appeared, he easily guessed who exactly he was.

At the moment, Naruto's Time Sword tip pressed on toward Saint Sun Soul, even as Saint Sun Soul's three swords stopped 7 inches away from Naruto, emanating a frigid aura.

The two of them stared at each other as they carried out their invisible struggle. This was no battle of magical techniques, but rather, a contest of Divine Will. Any observer would not be able to see or hear anything. However, to the two of them, everything was rumbling violently, lightning crackled, and the world seemed on the verge of collapse as even the wind moved in reverse.

Red-robed Saint Sun Soul looked at Naruto, and his pupils slowly constricted. "You're not a match for me."

"And you can't kill me," replied Naruto calmly.

Saint Sun Soul looked back at Naruto silently. He had to admit that what Naruto said was true. He really had no way of killing him. Naruto's Cultivation base was very strange, and although he couldn't say exactly why, it gave him the feeling that Naruto could trample all of the Sea Cities in the Milky Way Sea.

It was as if… he had some indescribable, unknown connection to the whole place.

Saint Sun Soul suddenly raised his right hand and flicked his sleeve, causing the three swords to instantly vanish. When they reappeared, they were circulating around him.

Simultaneously, Naruto's eyes glittered, and the Time Sword tip flew back to rotate around him.

Saint Sun Soul looked at Naruto and then slowly said, "In the past, I swore an oath to never again kill a Cultivator. My sword will only kill the Outsiders!

"You may stay in the Milky Way Sea, but that aura of yours displeases me. If I discover you have anything to do with the Sea Devils of the Second Ring… well then, I will be forced to use the precious treasure of the Sun Soul Society ancestor and its Dao Seeking power to destroy you."

Naruto looked back at the red-robed man. Although it was only moments ago that they had drawn swords on each other, he didn't find him to be detestable. In fact, he could sense that the man was proud, and not the type to speak falsehoods.

People such as this, while simple, had unshakable principles.

"I'll do as I please," said Naruto coolly his eyes shining with a bright, cold light.

Saint Sun Soul's eyes gleamed with a similarly cold light. His face cold, he gave Naruto a final deep look, then turned to depart.

Before he could leave, Naruto quickly said, "It took a lot of effort for me to collect those magical symbol spirits."

Saint Sun Soul stopped and looked back. "These symbols belong to the three Sects."

Naruto didn't respond immediately. Instead, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a bottle gourd with alcohol in it. He tossed it over.

Saint Sun Soul caught it. When he looked down to examine it, he stared in shock.

"That's bit of alcohol from my hometown," said Naruto unhurriedly. "I took some with me when I left."

Saint Sun Soul looked at the alcohol flagon, then looked back at Naruto. He thought for a moment, his face expressionless. Then he turned to leave. As he did, he flicked his sleeve, causing the 10,000 magical symbol spirits he had taken to suddenly flicker as he severed his connection with them. Then, they flew back to swirl around Naruto.

Naruto looked away, then turned into a beam of colorful light that vanished in the blink of an eye.

Several days later, on a relatively small island in the Third Ring, Naruto sat cross-legged, the 10,000 magical symbol spirits circulating around him like a shield.

The parrot was in front of him, glaring at him angrily, as was the meat jelly, who stood next to the parrot.

The three had been facing off against each other like this for nearly ten breaths of time.

"Five creatures with fur or feathers. No discussions and no wiggle room. When Lord Fifth risks life and limb, it's not for nothing!"

"Yeah. Lord Third wants three bullies! No discussions! When I say three, I mean three!"

Naruto was silent, and a pained expression could be seen on his face. After a long moment, and seemingly completely against his will, he forced himself to nod. Seeing Naruto like this caused the parrot to laugh proudly. Then it tossed out a feather, which flew off not too far into the distance, then exploded with a popping sound. Instantly, it transformed into a heaping mountain of Demon hearts.

The meat jelly also looked extremely proud of itself. It opened its mouth and spit out a multi-colored cascade of lights that transformed into a second mountain of Demon hearts.

Naruto laughed inwardly. He was all too familiar with these two nitwits. Their demands were simple, but Naruto knew that if he agreed too quickly, or gave them the feeling that he didn't care, then it would only lead to more trouble.

Therefore, he intentionally pretended to consider and struggle in order to please the two ninnies.

Having dealt with them, Naruto's eyes shifted to look at the two mountainous piles of Demon hearts. There were clearly well over 100,000 of them.

Furthermore, it seemed that nearly half were mid-grade Demon hearts. There were even some high-grade hearts, which vastly increased the value of the collection.

"I wonder if I can use Demon hearts to duplicate things with the copper mirror?" he thought, his eyes glittering. He lowered his head thoughtfully. Currently, the greatest danger he faced was the deadly threat of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

"That old codger's Cultivation base is just too high, so I'm not a match for him at all. The only thing I can do… is figure out a way to escape from him next time I run into him." He looked over at the Time Sword tip.

"If I had ten or more sword tips, I could form them into the Lotus Sword Formation. With that, maybe I could take him by surprise….

Unfortunately, I don't have enough Spirit Stones." He frowned, but then his eyes began to shine with a bright light.

"I can duplicate Wooden Time Swords, though. Given the level of my

Cultivation base now, I should be able to seal seven sixty-year cycles of

Time into the sword. If I had over a hundred of them…

"Then I could unleash the third form of the Lotus Sword Formation. I wonder how powerful that would be." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto immediately produced a Wooden Time Sword. Then he took a deep breath and began to seal Time into it.

During the half month that followed, rumbling booms occasionally echoed out. Naruto's brow was furrowed the entire time. On the last day, though, his frown disappeared. Floating there in front of him was now the only Wooden Time Sword that he possessed.

The veins of wood were clearly visible on it, and when the power of Time emanated out from within, it contained the ripples of seven sixty-year cycles of time. Naruto had no other magical item that possessed as much power of Time.

"All the other Wooden Time Swords were destroyed in the process. This is my only one left, but it was worth it…. It's a good thing that in the end, I only need one instance of success!" With that, he pulled out the copper mirror and began to duplicate it.

Unfortunately, it required a vast amount of Spirit Stones to duplicate a Wooden Time Sword with seven sixty-year cycles of Time. This time, the pain Naruto felt in his heart was real. By the end, he used all of the Spirit Stones in his bag of holding to make ten copies.

Including the original sword, he now had a total of eleven.

After a moment's thought, he tried to use the Demon hearts to duplicate some things. After putting seven or eight Demon hearts into the mirror and then observing the results, he stopped.

"They're no different than Spirit Stones…" he thought with a frown. Originally, he had assumed that although the Demon hearts seemed very similar to Spirit Stones, they must have some other unique function.

After all, they were Demon hearts, not Spirit Stones.

"I'm able to attract large quantities of Sea Demons here in the Third Ring. But that's unique. Other people would probably be able to save up a few hundred Demon Hearts at the most.

"People really come risk there lives here for a trifling few hundred

Demon hearts?" A contemplative look appeared in Naruto's eyes.

"That Saint Sun Soul also mentioned wanting Demon hearts. Considering the level of his Cultivation base, and his status, he wouldn't care about a few million Spirit Stones, much less a few hundred Demon hearts…. Therefore, Demon hearts must have some use of which I'm unaware!" After further thought, Naruto was sure that there must be something he had overlooked. After a bit more consideration, he rose to his feet, his eyes glittering. He then waved his sleeve to collect up all the Demon hearts.

He remained on the island for a while thinking. Finally, his eyes flashed and flew up into the air, heading off into the distance at top speed.

"Since I don't know," he thought, "I guess I'll need to find someone who does."

As he flashed through the air, he changed his appearance and reduced his Cultivation base to the Nascent Soul stage. After speeding along for a few days, he suddenly stopped and looked off into the distance.

Not too far away, he spotted a several hundred meter wide whirlpool, within which was an enormous seahorse. It roared as pulses of coldness emanated out from it, causing everything around it to freeze.

Hovering in mid-air in front of the seahorse were two people, a man and a woman. The man was old and hunchbacked. He had a Cultivation base at the early Nascent Soul stage, and wizened features. His face was pale, and he clutched a pearl in his hand, which emanated pulses of flame power. It transformed into a rain of fire that filled the entire area, including the spot occupied by the seahorse.

Next to the old man was the woman, who wore a mask that made it impossible to see what her face looked like. However, from the rest of her skin that was visible, it was possible to determine that she wasn't very old.

Her Cultivation base was at the early Core Formation stage, and although she watched intently as the old man fought back against the Sea Demon, deep within her eyes flickered intense hatred.

Seeing the old man's pale face, she said, "Senior, let's just forget about it. Why don't we go find a weaker Sea Demon…."

"We've been out here for months," said the old man through gritted teeth. "This is the first Sea Demon we've found. How could we possibly let it go!?" He spit out a mouthful of blood, causing the pearl he held to turn bright red. Next, a sea of flames exploded out, causing steam to rise up from the seawater below. The seahorse, which was caught up in the flames, roared. Intense coldness exploded out from it as it charged forward into the fire. Immediately more than half of the sea of flames was extinguished.

The old man's face flickered, and he clenched his jaw. However, it was in this exact moment that suddenly, a bright beam of light approached from off in the distance.

Inside the beam, of course, was Naruto.

His sudden appearance shocked the old man. The face of the young woman next to him also flickered. As for the old man, when he saw that Naruto's Cultivation base was at the early Nascent Soul stage, he relaxed a bit, but at the same time, also frowned.

"Fellow Daoist," he said, "please keep your distance. I discovered this

Demon, so according to the custom, it belongs to me."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Stephen Lucas_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 659

Chapter 659 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 659: I Struck It Super Rich!

With a faint smile, Naruto stopped and didn't get any closer.

The old man frowned and exchanged a look with the young woman. Then he focused his strength on controlling the magical items in front of him, and causing the sea of flames to descend once more.

The seahorse roared, and a blue light spread out from its body. It seemed to be going all out; the light exploded in all directions, and everywhere it passed turned into ice, even the sea of flames. The ice sealing caused the old man's face to fill with shock. His pearl completely froze over, after which he shot backward at top speed. He grabbed the young woman and then made to leave. Unfortunately, he had been injured, and the blue light was too fast. At the moment, he seemed incapable of escaping….

An expression of struggle appeared in the old man's eyes, but it lasted only for the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. He looked at the young woman, preparing to throw her back into the blue light to block its way.

In that moment, Naruto lifted his hand up and pointed his finger out.

The expanding blue light suddenly stopped moving, allowing the old man and the young woman to escape from the area.

At the same time, Naruto waved his hand again, causing a Wooden Time Sword to fly out. It shot like lightning toward the seahorse, and stabbed it through in the blink of an eye. It was only one sword with seven sixty-year cycles of Time power, but as soon as it pierced the seahorse, a bloodcurdling shriek could be heard, and the seahorse began to wither up.

Its eyes filled with terror, and it began to sink down into the water. However, even as it did, Naruto let a certain bit of aura seep out, which caused the seahorse's eyes to go red. It instantly charged him again. The old man and the young woman watched on in astonishment as the Wooden Time Sword stabbed it through seven or eight more times.

The howls of the seahorse echoed out in all directions as its body rapidly withered. In a short moment, it was transformed into a desiccated corpse floating on the surface of the sea….

Naruto neared the corpse of the seahorse, then pushed down on it with his right hand. Immediately, a Demon heart flew into his hand. Up in midair, the old man and the young woman looked at Naruto with complex expressions. They looked as if they were on guard, especially when it came to the shocking sword he had used.

When Naruto looked up at them, the old man pulled the young woman into a position behind him, and also began to rotate his Cultivation base. He then clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Many thanks for your assistance, Fellow Daoist," he said, slowly backing up at the same time. He was obviously terrified of Naruto's sword. "That mid-grade Demon heart is yours. If fate ever allows us to meet again, then I'll definitely repay you."

Naruto shook his head. "Don't be in such a hurry to leave," he said.

Then he sent the Demon heart flying toward the shocked old man, who caught it without even thinking about it. He looked at the Demon heart and then looked back at Naruto, his heart filling with anxiety and doubt.

The young woman stared fixedly at the Demon heart in the old man's hand and began to pant. The hatred deep in her eyes flickered again; she was obviously well aware of what the old man had almost done to her earlier.

"Fellow Daoist, you…." the old man said hesitatingly.

Choosing to not beat around the bush, Naruto said, "The two of you have pretty strong Cultivation bases. That Demon heart seems to be virtually the same as a mid-grade Spirit Stone. Why do you care so much about it?"

His words left the old man completely at a loss. The young woman also looked at Naruto with a quizzical expression.

The old man was quiet for a moment, then looked at Naruto and said,

"Fellow Daoist… don't tell me this is your first time in the Milky Way Sea?"

Naruto nodded.

The old man took a deep breath, then muttered a few things to himself as he put the Demon heart away.

"You're right," he then said. "The spiritual energy in this Demon heart is similar to a mid-grade Spirit Stone. However, one mid-grade Spirit Stone couldn't buy you any Demon hearts at all!

"In the Three Sects' Seahold, there are special locations that purchase Demon hearts.

"As for the exact value, it fluctuates. If I recall correctly, when I last left Seahold, one low-grade Demon Heart was worth 500 low-grade Spirit Stones!

"There were even some places that would pay 1000!"

When Naruto heard this, it didn't matter that he had such a high Cultivation base, his mind filled with a roaring sound anyway. His bag of holding contained about 80-90,000 low-grade Demon hearts. If you calculated it out, they were worth… 80-90,000,000 low-grade Spirit Stones.

That number sent great waves crashing about inside of Naruto's mind. His brain trembled, and he almost couldn't believe it. During his entire life, he had never possessed so many Spirit Stones. He immediately began to breathe heavily.

"How much did you say?" he blurted without even thinking about it.

"Low-grade Demon Hearts range in value from several hundred to a thousand Spirit Stones…." said the old man. He didn't seem to think anything about Naruto's reaction was strange. Anyone who heard about the matter for the first time would be astonished.

"What about mid-grade Demon hearts?" Naruto followed up immediately.

The old man hesitated for a moment and rubbed his bag of holding, but continued on with his explanation: "Their value fluctuates too, but not too much. One mid-grade Demon heart is worth about 10,000 low-grade Spirit Stones!"

Naruto's mouth went so dry that he couldn't speak. Within his bag of holding were more than 30,000 mid-grade Demon hearts. After he calculated the number, his mind once again filled with roaring.

Now, he suddenly understood why people risked their lives to come here.

"I'm rich!" he thought. "I really am super rich!" Naruto couldn't control the excitement that exploded out within him. The fact that his lifelong desire had suddenly been fulfilled caused his heart to begin to pound rapidly.

The old man looked at Naruto and continued, "Of course, there are even more rare Demon hearts, the high-grade variety. I'm actually not sure exactly how much they are worth, because they only appear in auctions.

"However, I do remember that at the last auction I attended, a highgrade Demon heart was sold for the incredible price of 670,000 Spirit Stones!"

When Naruto heard that, he went even more wild with joy. He had nearly 10,000 such high-grade Demon hearts in his bag of holding. All of a sudden, he felt as if an enormous golden ingot had fallen directly onto him.

Moments later, though, his face suddenly flickered when he remembered that among the seven or eight Demon hearts he had used to test out the duplication powers of the copper mirror, four had been high-grade Demon hearts.

He suddenly felt a twisting stab of pain in his heart.

"That means… I… yet again wasted more than 2,000,000 Spirit Stones? Fudge! That's…." He had the sudden impulse to scream and curse. After taking a few deep breaths, he told himself that it wasn't any worse than the matter with the 2,000 ultra high-grade Spirit Stones. After a bit of time, he calmed himself.

"Is there a type of Demon Heart even more precious than what you've already mentioned?" he asked. "Something similar to ultra high-grade Spirit Stones?" He happened to have exactly just such a Demon Heart in his bag of holding, the one he had acquired from the Whitebone Lily giant.

The man thought for a moment and then replied, "No such thing exists. Well, perhaps my Cultivation base isn't high enough, or maybe I just have never encountered someone with access to such riches. However, in the Third Ring, there is something called a Whitebone Demon heart. They are incredibly rare precious treasures. Something like that would be priceless."

Naruto's heart trembled. He was almost certain that the Demon heart in his bag of holding, the one that was the size of an infant's hand, was the Whitebone Demon heart that the old man had just mentioned.

"One more thing," said the old man. "And probably the most important. In the Three Sects' Seahold, most items can only be purchased with Demon hearts. That's another reason why I value them so much.

"With this mid-grade Demon heart, I now have enough saved up to acquire Fortification Pill Powder. With that my… my apprentice can safely continue on through the Core Formation stage." Having finished speaking, the old man backed up and bowed once again to Naruto.

Naruto gave a faint smile, and nodded. He was in an excellent mood now, and the only thing he could think about was going to Seahold to trade his Demon hearts for Spirit Stones.

"With so many Spirit Stones," he thought, "I feel quite confident that I can… duplicate a hundred Wooden Time Swords that contain seven sixty-year cycles of Time. Then I can unleash the third form of the Lotus Sword Formation!" He took a deep breath and suppressed his excitement. He well knew that no one other than him would ever be able to possess one hundred Wooden Time Swords. Be it in the past, or in the future, it would be something completely rare, perhaps even absolutely unique.

It was only because of… the copper mirror, and its Heaven-defying duplication ability. Without that, it would be impossible to forge one hundred Wooden Time Swords. Every time he attempted to seal Time into the swords, a failure would leave the sword completely destroyed. Furthermore, the rate of failure was simply far too high.

"Actually, I might even be able to duplicate the Time Sword tip!" he thought, the brightness in his eyes growing even brighter. He was just about to turn and leave, when suddenly, the young woman gritted her teeth and then, seemingly throwing all caution to the wind, clasped hands and bowed toward Naruto.

"Senior," she said, "please allow me to offer my respects."

Naruto had already begun to leave when he heard the young woman's words, and looked back.

Simultaneously, the old man's face flickered, and he reached an arm out to hold back the young woman. A cold gleam of killing intent appeared in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist, my apprentice is immature, please forgive her. Farewell!" With that, he grabbed the young woman and prepared to leave. He had already sealed her Cultivation base, making it impossible for her to speak. However, her eyes radiated despair, almost as if she wished she could die as the man pulled her away.

Naruto frowned. He had already realized that these two people were not apprentice and Master. In fact, based on his experiences, he had already formed some speculations about the old man's true motivations.

Originally, he didn't want to interfere, but after seeing the despair in the young woman's eyes, he suddenly recalled the image of another woman.

"The look in her eye back in the Black Sieve Sect Blessed Land was exactly the same as this," he thought. 1

"Hold on a moment," he said. Sighing to himself, he suddenly appeared directly in front of the old man.

The old man's face flickered again. He hadn't sensed anything at all just now. Moments ago, Naruto had clearly been behind him, but now, all of a sudden, here he was. The old man's heart began to thump.

"Let her finish," said Naruto. The old man had just given him some valuable information, so Naruto wasn't willing to simply attack him.

The old man stood there silently for a moment, then loosened his grip.

A tremor ran through the young woman as her Cultivation base was restored. An unprecedentedly bright light appeared in her eyes, a light filled with hope. She once again gave Naruto a deep bow.

"Senior, it's your first time to the Milky Way Sea. There are many things you don't know, and the Three Sects' Seahold has very strict rules. Regarding where to stay, outsiders would have a very hard time figuring out matters on their own.

"Senior, I grew up in Seahold, and know the place inside and out. If it would please you, I'm willing to act as your guide. I can save you a lot of time, if you're willing."

It was in the Black Sieve Sect Blessed Land that Naruto arrived just in time to prevent Xu Qing from being raped ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 660

Chapter 660: The Alcohol is Quite Strong

The woman's words caused the old man's face to grow very unsightly. He once again clasped hands to Naruto.

"Fellow Daoist, my apprentice doesn't understand the way of things. Please, don't take offense. Seahold might be large, but everything there is handled in an open and clear way. Once you go, Fellow Daoist, you will naturally understand."

The young woman bit her lower lip, and said nothing more. She simply gazed at Naruto with a pleading look.

The old man was starting to get a bit worried. "Fellow Daoist," he continued, "I answered all your questions without holding anything back. My apprentice is merely homesick. However, if we Cultivators wish to make progress, must step out of our comfort zones. That's why I took her out into the world, to gain some experience."

Naruto looked over the young woman and the old man, and then sighed inwardly.

"In the cultivation world, the law of the jungle prevails. I can't do anything about that. However," he said, shaking his head, "when it comes to our actions and decisions, there is an unwritten truth; habitual unjust behavior can prevent you from reaching Spirit Severing."

"Many thanks for helping me achieve my aim!" said the old man, reaching out to grab the young woman.

"Senior!" continued the young woman, "when you had a weak Cultivation base, didn't you ever have a benefactor that was willing to help you…?" Before she could finish speaking, the old man's hand latched onto her, and she immediately became like a puppet, capable only of shedding tears filled with despair and the desire to die.

When Naruto heard her words, he suddenly said, "Did I say you could leave?"

The words were simple, but as soon as the old man heard them, his mind trembled. The Nascent Soul inside of him began to tremble, and beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. He immediately stopped in place and slowly turned around, an expression of disbelief and shock on his face as he looked at Naruto.

It was in that instant that he realized that the Cultivation base of the person in front of him far, far exceeded his own.

Naruto's voice was cool as he said, "This young woman has a unique physique suitable for certain dual-party cultivation techniques that extract the Yin to strengthen the Yang…. Your goal is nothing more than to use that power to break through a Cultivation base blockage." With that, he lifted his right hand, causing ten mid-grade Demon hearts to fly toward the old man.

"Normally I wouldn't interfere in such a matter," he continued slowly, "but having encountered this young woman, it seems the two of us are connected by destiny. Thank you for answering my questions just now. Take these Demon hearts and leave."

The old man struggled inwardly for a moment, but in the end, released the girl and collected up the Demon hearts. With a bitter smile, he clasped hands and bowed to Naruto, then hurried off into the distance.

Naruto's Cultivation base was beyond his comprehension, and the gap between the two of them far too large. The old man didn't even have the nerve to feel resentment, but rather, simply resigned himself to his fate.

As the old man made his way off into the distance, tears flowed ceaselessly down the young woman's cheeks, and she bowed over and over again to Naruto.

"Thank you for your kindness in rescuing me, Senior. I grew up on my own in Seahold, and will spare no effort to aid you." The gratitude she felt was clearly visible in her eyes. She had just evaded a huge calamity, and as a result, her voice quavered as she spoke. It seemed that all the courage she had shown just now completely vanished, and turned into weakness.

"What's your name?" asked Naruto, looking her over.

"Wei Li…. Junior's name is Wei Li," she replied softly, lowering her head to conceal the sorrow she felt because of her name. 1

Naruto nodded, but did not ask for any further details. Then, he flicked his sleeve, sweeping up the young woman to fly off into the direction of the Three Sects' Seahold, which was notated on the map he possessed.

Wei Li hesitated for a moment as she flew alongside Naruto. She looked around at the mist that surrounded them, and felt the incredible speed with which they were moving, something she had never experienced before. Her voice soft, she finally said, "Senior… are you… are you a rogue Cultivator?"

"Why do you ask that?" replied Naruto calmly.

"In the Third Ring, all the Nascent Soul Cultivators are either rogue Cultivators, or belong to Sects and Clans that provide special flight treasures. Such treasures make it possible to avoid a lot of trouble, and also allow you to meditate and practice cultivation while traveling."

Wei Li hesitated again, worried that she might somehow offend Naruto with her words. "Furthermore, upon entering Seahold, if you have such a flight treasure, you won't be interrogated."

"So that's how it is," said Naruto. After a moment's thought, he said, "Well, after I get to Seahold, I guess I'll just have to buy a few." He realized that he truly didn't have any sort of special flight treasure. Considering that it was possible to practice cultivation while riding such a treasure, Naruto started to feel somewhat excited.

Wei Li's eyes went wide, and she almost went on to tell Naruto that such flight treasures were extremely expensive. However, she didn't dare to actually open her mouth on the subject. Then she thought about how he had casually produced ten mid-grade Demon hearts, and she realized that he most likely had an incredible social standing.

After a long moment, she looked over Naruto's plain and unadorned robe, and then said, "Senior… you should probably change into a different set of clothing. In Seahold, you can purchase Daoist garments crafted from Sea Demons. According to the rumors, the highest quality garments can even resist an attack from the Spirit Severing level.

"If you prefer simple and unadorned clothing, Seahold has those too. However, regardless of whether it's in terms of the quality of material, or the defensive capabilities, such garments are unique to the Milky Way Sea. Every year, people come from various outside Sects and Clans to have them custom made."

Naruto looked down at his robes and nodded. He had never really paid much attention to his attire, but after listening to the young woman's words, he realized that they made sense.

"Hmm, yes. When we get there, I'll buy a few sets."

"Senior, there's also the matter of bags of holding. In the Milky Way Sea, you can get special holding treasures with a capacity a hundred times normal. Some even have other mysterious properties.

"In fact, the highest quality holding items can even store spiritual energy. That way, if you ever run low on magical power, you will have at least one chance to open your bag of holding."

"Such items exist?" asked Naruto. It all sounded so new and interesting to him. He nodded. "Okay, when I get there, I'll buy a few."

"Senior, do you have any voice transmission talismans on you? None? You should definitely buy some of the voice transmission talismans available in the Seahold. That way, you can communicate directly with anyone on the outside, no matter where you are in the Milky Way Sea."

"Alright! I'll buy several!"

"Senior, considering the level of your Cultivation base, you probably don't need magical rings, but I still suggest that you buy a few…."

"Excellent. I'll definitely purchase a handful."

"Senior, if you plan to stay in the Third Ring for a long time, you might want to buy an Immortal's cave in the city. Of course, the prices vary depending on the location…."

"I'll buy the best one!"

As they traveled, Wei Li continued to evaluate Naruto from top to bottom. If it were any other situation, Naruto wouldn't really pay attention. However, considering how many Demon hearts he had in his bag of holding, and the number of Spirit Stones he could trade them for, his heart surged with joy.

Filled with the feeling of being rich and imposing, and accompanied by someone describing all the amazing things he could buy, roused his spirit. He flicked his sleeve and decided to buy everything.

Several days later, Naruto peered at Seahold from some distance away as they approached. He had already lost track of how many things Wei Li had described to him, nor could he remember exactly what he had said he intended to buy.

However, Wei Li was very professional, and she had long since taken out a jade slip to keep meticulous records.

Up ahead, the Seahold looked matchlessly huge. It was like an ancient sea beast, slumbering upon the surface of the water. At the moment, it was evening, and the city was ablaze with lights. A cursory examination left Naruto with the impression that at least 100,000 Cultivators were inside.

The area was surrounded by patrolling Cultivators of the three Sects. Also visible in the middle of the city was a huge tower, adorned with resplendently glowing pearls. They also emanated invisible ripples that no one but Naruto could see, which spread out to cover the entire city.

The entire city was surrounded by a towering wall, part of which stretched down below the surface of the water. The wall was completely black, and looked very somber and ominous. Vicious-looking spikes encircled the city, upon which were impaled the dried-up corpses of Sea Demons.

Naruto's eyes glittered. Within Seahold he could sense, at the very least, hundreds of restrictive spell formations. Clearly, if he attempted to charge directly into the city, it would be impossible.

If they were activated, these restrictive spell formations could easily destroy a Spirit Severing Cultivator.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, Naruto could also sense an aura deep within the city that caused his scalp to grow numb. It seemed to be partly the aura of a Cultivator, and partly the aura of a magical item.

It was impossible to distinguish clearly, but Naruto was certain that whatever thing emitted this aura… vastly exceeded the power of Spirit Severing.

After glancing the city over, his eyes came to rest on the huge tower in the middle of the city. In that very moment, red-robed Saint Sun Soul sat cross-legged in that very tower, meditating. Suddenly, his eyes opened.

His gaze passed out from within the tower until it reached Naruto off in the distance. Although Naruto had changed his appearance, he still recognized him.

The two of them were separated by quite a difference, but they could both sense each other looking at each other. After a moment, they retracted their gazes.

Seeing that Naruto had stopped in mid-air, Wei Li looked at him and said, "Senior?"

After a moment, she continued, "Senior, do you have an identity medallion?

"If you do, then you can just enter directly. If you don't, well, that will be a bit more troublesome…."

Naruto frowned. He did not have an identity medallion, and currently, they were standing directly in front of the city gate. Inside, three men sat cross-legged, meditating. In front of them stood a dozen or so Cultivators clutching command medallions. Occasionally, they would glance around with cold expressions.

It was already evening, but there was still quite a line of people outside, waiting to enter the Seahold.

When Naruto and Wei Li arrived, the three old men all opened their eyes at the same time. In that moment, Naruto could sense the fluctuating ripples coming from nearby restrictive spell formations.

He knew that if he showed even the slightest bit of malice, those spell formations would activate.

"Senior," said Wei Li, "if you have no identity medallion, then I can go into the city first to buy one for you. Unfortunately, the price will be quite high. Also, I will only be able to get the most common type of identity medallion, which will cause problems later. However…." Even as she was in the middle of speaking, a bright beam of light suddenly flew out from within the city.

Inside was a beautiful woman wearing a pink garment. She was elegant and poised, and as soon as she appeared, the Cultivators in the city gate bent at the waist to bow deeply.

"Respects, Madam Lin!" 2

At the same time, respectful expressions appeared on the faces of the other Cultivators in the area. One after another, they clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Madam Lin!"

The poised and stately woman nodded and smiled. She passed through the crowds of people until she reached Naruto. As for Wei Li, she nervously backed up. Naruto's expression was completely normal as he watched the woman everyone called 'Madam Lin' approaching. She stopped in front of him, and, as everyone watched, gave him a curtseying bow.

She didn't speak, but she smiled and handed a gold-colored command medallion to Naruto.

"Someone asked me to pass you a message. The alcohol is quite strong." She smiled and gave Naruto a deep look, then turned to leave.

As she walked away, everyone in the crowd turned to look at Naruto. Wei Li stared blankly at him, eyes wide.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Ahma Tawfiq Ahmad Fuaad, Gorgonzzz,_

 _Tjandra Johannes, and Frank Anthony_

Wei Li's name in Chinese is 唯离 Wéi lí. It's kind of a made up name. Wei means "only." Li means "leave" or "depart." The name sounds sad, perhaps to indicate that some sorrowful event occurred in her past ↩ When addressing a woman as "Madam" in this way, the surname used would be that of the husband. For example, many chapters ago Meng Li was addressed as "Madam Fang." In this case, it indicates that this woman's husband is surnamed Lin. When Saint Sun Soul was introduced in chapter 656, we learned that he is also surnamed Lin. From this, it seems pretty obvious that the woman is his wife. ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 661

Chapter 661: Seeing Xiaoxiao Again

As the elegant woman left, the surrounding Cultivators began to cry out in surprise. "First-rank Seahold medallion!"

All eyes were on Naruto, and especially the gold-colored command medallion he was currently fiddling with.

"A first-rank Seahold medallion… only the Three Saints of the three

Sects can give out such a gift!"

"This is only the second time I've ever seen that type of command medallion. This person must be an incredibly honored guest!"

As the buzz of conversation spread out, Naruto looked down at the command medallion. It was completely gold, and the image of a Seahold was carved on its surface. On the other side were the characters: Sun Soul Society.

A faintly discernible pressure would be felt emanated from within.

Wei Li's eyes were wide and filled with disbelief. She stared blankly as she followed Naruto through the crowd to enter the Seahold. Everywhere they passed, the Cultivators of the three Sects would immediately clasp hands and bow to them with extremely respectful expressions.

Even after they had made their way well into the city, Wei Li's mind was still abuzz. Finally, she took a deep breath and then looked at Naruto. He seemed to get only more and more mysterious to her.

Finally, she couldn't hold back any longer, and asked, "S-senior…. Sir, don't tell me you know Saint Sun Soul?"

"No, not really," replied Naruto casually, who was currently looking around. It was evening, but the city still bustled with noise and excitement, like a boiling cauldron.

Wei Li walked on for a few paces, but didn't seem convinced. "That's impossible. If you don't know him, why did Madam Lin personally give you a Seahold medallion? She's one of the revered Saint Sun Soul's two beloved, and she usually never appears in public."

Naruto looked back at her with an enigmatic smile. "I gave him a flagon of alcohol a while back."

A serious look appeared in Wei Li's eyes. She wasn't quite convinced, but what had happened earlier was just far too bizarre. On the other hand, to believe what Naruto just said, well, it seemed unimaginably fantastic.

"Forget about it," said Naruto, smiling. "Now, why haven't you taken me to one of those places that purchases Demon hearts?" Although he didn't act very imperious, Wei Li started to get a bit nervous. She quickly murmured her assent and then began to give an explanation.

"Senior, there are three locations in the Seahold that specialize in Demon hearts. Those would be the three Sea Pavilions belonging to the Sea Divinity Sect, the Flying Immortal Sect, and the Sun Soul Society.

"The prices they give might not be the highest, but they are always honest with all customers. No matter how many Demon hearts you bring, they can convert them into Spirit Stones.

"In addition to the locations run by the three Sects, there is also the Milky Way Auction House, which of course hold auctions. "Furthermore, there are other random shops throughout the city that buy Demon hearts. Of course, when all is said and done, this is the Milky Way Sea, and usually you can just buy things directly with Demon hearts.

"In fact, Senior, if you plan to purchase a lot of items, I recommend that you… don't exchange your Demon hearts into Spirit Stones right away. The majority of items in the Seahold can only be purchased with Demon hearts."

Naruto thought silently for a moment, then nodded his head. "First, let's go somewhere that sells flying magical items." "Senior, what type do you wish to purchase?" asked Wei Li.

"The best type!" declared Naruto loudly.

Wei Li's eyes began to shine, and she immediately began to lead him off in a certain direction. She really was very familiar with the area. Evening continued to descend as she led him through Seahold for roughly the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Eventually, they came to a stop outside a particularly impressive pavilion.

It was built to look like an enormous, plum-colored airship. Although night was now falling, the entire building glowed with resplendent light. Ripples emanated out, and in front of the doors were two gigantic stone qilins, mighty and extraordinary in appearance.

As for the main door itself, it was roughly fifteen meters tall, and was constructed of deep sea driftwood. Looking at the structure from the outside, it truly seemed as if every bit of building material had been carefully selected, and was imbued with abstruse meaning. There were even magical symbols that were filled with strong spiritual energy. Almost anyone who looked at the building would be shocked by the level of luxury.

"When it comes to magical flight items, there are a total of eleven shops in Seahold where you can find them. The best is the Flying Immortal Sect's Cloudburst Pavilion. The flying magical items here are often sought after even by outside Clans and Sects." Wei Li was starting to get somewhat excited. In her world, the Cloudburst Pavilion was a place she could never step even half a foot into, let alone purchase any of the magical flight items inside.

The cost of such magical flight items far exceeded her imagination. The most she could normally do would be to glance in from outside. Now, though, she had a chance to actually enter, which left her very excited.

Naruto stood outside the Cloudburst Pavilion, studying it. He could see that the interior was decorated with beautiful extravagance. Bright lamplight illuminated everything, and the floors were actually paved with Spirit Stones.

Four or five customers could be seen inside, proud expressions on their faces as they walked about, listening to the Flying Immortal Sect disciples introduce the various magical flight items.

From the clothing they wore, it was possible to tell that they were wealthy and respected people. At a single glance, it was clear that they came from great Sects and Clans; these were definitely not nameless, rogue Cultivators.

Sitting cross-legged next to the entryway were two old men wearing brocaded robes. Their faces glowed with health, and they sat there meditating with eyes closed. Shockingly, their Cultivation bases were at the early Nascent Soul stage. To have Nascent Soul Cultivators acting as door guards would be enough to strike fear into the hearts of any rascals or thieves.

Inside the shop, three more Flying Immortal Sect disciples could be seen, two men and a woman. They were chatting happily, and occasionally, the woman would chuckle lightly. Her eyes sparkled enticingly, and she gave of an enchanting air.

However, they all completely ignored Naruto and Wei Li as they stood there outside the shop. They were used to people standing outside and gazing in with envy and admiration.

Naruto was just about to walk in, when suddenly, the sounds of laughing and chatting could be heard behind him. A group of Cultivators suddenly appeared, clustered around a woman. They made their way directly toward the shop.

Everyone on the road scurried to the side to make way for the group, their expressions filled with respect. Each and every Cultivator in the group were Chosen of the three Sects, figures who the others on the road would never dare to offend.

Regardless of whether you looked at them in terms of the clothes they wore, or their dispositions, they were imposing in all aspects.

Despite that, these Chosen of the three Sects were currently smiling, laughing, and gushing all sorts of flattery regarding the woman that they were escorting.

The woman was beautiful, and seemed incredibly delicate. Furthermore, her eyes occasionally flashed with a captivating look, which filled her with a tempting allure.

When the Cultivators that surrounded her managed to catch a glimpse of her smile, it caused their hearts to palpitate with eagerness.

Next to the woman walked a young man with slanted eyebrows and eyes that sparkled like stars. He was exceedingly handsome, and wore a long white robe. Overall, he looked completely dashing, with an extraordinary jade-like face.

"Xiaoxiao," he said, smiling at the indescribably beautiful and striking woman. "This is the Cloudburst Pavilion of the Flying Immortal Sect. Please, step inside!" As he passed, his cool gaze passed over Naruto and Wei Li.

Immediately, the two old men sitting cross-legged in the shop opened their eyes and rose to their feet. The other three disciples also rushed forward. All of them bowed to the young man with deep respect. "Greetings, Junior Leader."

The young man nodded. His somewhat arrogant and complacent expression became gentle and refined as he turned to look at the woman named Xiaoxiao. As they all entered the shop, the four or five customers inside quickly clasped hands and bowed deeply.

In contrast to the hubbub inside the shop, Naruto continued to stand outside calmly. However, a barely discernible, enigmatic smile tugged at his lips. Next to him, Wei Li had a look of extreme respect as she stared enviously at the woman named Xiaoxiao.

"What a coincidence," thought Naruto. "I never expected to run into her in this place!" This woman was none other than Ji Xiaoxiao, whose promissory Naruto still possessed in his bag of holding. 1

"Come on," he said coolly, "let's go in." Wei Li followed him as he stepped foot into the shop. Nobody paid the slightest bit of attention to them. Everyone circled about the Chosen of the three Sects, respectful smiles plastered on their faces.

Naruto waited for a moment, but no one came over to greet him. In the entire first floor of the Cloudburst Pavilion, not a single person even looked at the two of them. Naruto's expression immediately darkened.

"So, this is how the Cloudburst Pavilion receives customers, huh?!" His voice immediately echoed out through the entire Cloudburst Pavilion, drawing the attention of everyone inside. Even Ji Xiaoxiao looked over, although she couldn't recognize Naruto because of his changed appearance.

The Junior Leader of the Flying Immortal Sect frowned but continued to interact with Ji Xiaoxiao, occasionally pointing out various magical flight items.

Of course, the two old men noticed his furrowed brow. Immediately, their hearts began to thump. Looking a bit impatient, one of them pointed to the female Flying Immortal Sect disciple.

"Go deal with it," he said.

Originally, the woman had been quite excited because of the arrival of the Chosen from the three Sects. She had hoped that her good looks might give her some special opportunities.

But now, having heard the old man's words, resentment instantly bloomed in her heart. She didn't dare to refuse the order, though, so, face grim and heart filled with irritation, she walked over to Naruto and Wei Li.

She glanced over the two of them, and felt more than ever that they weren't even worth looking at, and were here to just cause mischief. "What kind of magical flight item do you want?" she asked coldly. "The cheapest magical item here costs fifty low-grade Demon hearts. If you can't afford it, please leave."

She couldn't see Naruto's Cultivation base, but this was the Cloudburst Pavilion of the Flying Immortal Sect. Even if he did have a high Cultivation base, it would be nothing she would hold in awe.

In this place, nobody would ever dare to make a scene.

Wei Li was a bit upset, but at the same time nervous. She looked over at Naruto.

"Show me the most expensive thing you have," Naruto said coolly, his expression the same as ever.

"The most expensive?" replied the woman with a light laugh. She couldn't prevent the look of ridicule from appearing in her eyes. She had worked in this place for years, and had seen far too many people just like this, people who believed themselves to be incredible. In the end, they would always leave ashen-faced and depressed.

The woman laughed coldly. "The most expensive item we have costs

5,000 low-grade Demon hearts. Fellow Daoist, do you want to have a look?"

Naruto thought for a moment, then nodded. "Sure, why not."

"Well, a treasure like that is not something that anybody can just look at," she replied. "If you want to see it, then according to the regulations, you have to pay a thirty percent down payment. Fellow Daoist, do you really want to look at it?" The ridicule in her tone was quite obvious. At the same time, she noticed that the group of Chosen was heading toward the second floor of the pavilion. Suddenly, she started to get a bit anxious.

"The door is over there, Fellow Daoist," she said suddenly. "You can see yourself out." With that, she turned to catch up with the group of Chosen.

Ji Xiaoxiao is the Hebi Clan member whose chest Naruto face-planted into before going into the Demon Immortal Sect. He met her first when she was facing off against Fang Yu. Later, he blackmailed her into taking him to the corpse of her fellow Clan member who he had killed. Like many other South Heaven Cultivators, she owes him Spirit Stones from the time when they were all descending into the Fourth Plane of the

Primordial Demon Immortal Plane ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 662

Chapter 662: Xu Pingping

To be the subject of such scorn here for no apparent reason caused Naruto to frown. If he revealed his Cultivation base, it would instantly resolve the situation. However, it was with great difficulty that he had managed to strike it rich. Therefore, since he could solve the problem with his Demon hearts, he didn't want to use his Cultivation base to intimidate people.

Almost in the exact moment that the woman went to leave, Naruto slapped his bag of holding. Instantly, a rush of clattering could be heard as 1,500 low-grade Demon hearts piled up in the middle of the pavilion. They looked like a small mountain.

Glittering light flickered out, forming a resplendent scene. In addition, the sound that echoed out, along with the strong spiritual energy, immediately caused all of the Chosen who were about to go up to the second floor, to subconsciously look back. Looks of shock instantly appeared on their faces, after which bright glows appeared in their eyes.

Ji Xiaoxiao looked back at the Demon hearts. Despite her identity and Cultivation base, she was still shaken inwardly. She clearly knew the value of Demon hearts, and couldn't stop herself from looking over at Naruto.

Next to her, the young man also gaped and began to breathe raggedly.

Although he was a Junior Patriarch, the sight of more than a thousand low-grade Demon hearts piled up together was something even he would rarely see.

As for the female Flying Immortal Sect disciple, she was actually the last person to realize what had happened. When she saw everyone looking behind her, she subconsciously looked back. Then she saw the mountain of Demon hearts, and her mind went blank.

Roaring sounds filled her head, and she could scarcely believe what she was seeing. How could she possibly imagine that these two plainly dressed, almost rustic Cultivators, would actually… have so many Demon hearts?!

"S-senior… I…." stammered the woman.

"Is that enough?" asked Naruto coolly. "Now bring out your best product." He waved his right hand.

RUMBLE!

A second mountain of Demon hearts appeared. Then, another rumbling could be heard, and a third mountain could be seen. In total, three small mountains of Demon Hearts now lay on the floor of the pavilion, a total of 5,000 Demon hearts. The resplendent light that shined out from them filled the entire area. Intense spiritual energy made the entire area seem like a Celestial paradise.

The woman's mind was now roaring, and she was almost incapable of standing up straight. Her face was pale and filled with intense disbelief. She was literally incapable of imagining how the person she had just ridiculed could actually be such an ostentatious moneybags.

The other Chosen from the three Sects who currently stood on the stairs were also panting. Their eyes were wide as they stared at the Demon hearts. They dearly wanted to grab them for themselves.

Ji Xiaoxiao also stared in shock. She looked at Naruto, and gradually, a burning fervor rose up in her. As for the young man next to her, he took a deep breath as he stared at the Demon hearts.

The entire pavilion was filled with complete silence.

It was at this point that a peal of laughter could suddenly be heard coming from the second floor. A young woman walked out, wearing a set of revealing clothing. She seemed to be innately seductive; as she walked out, a fragrant aroma preceded her, and her forehead was adorned with a five-colored crystalline pattern. Even before Naruto could say anything to her, a charming smile could be seen on her face. An aura of maturity emanated out from her, filled with an intense attractiveness.

She walked slowly down the stairs, completely ignoring the Chosen as she passed them. In contrast, all of the Chosen bowed their heads and clasped hands to her.

As for the Junior Leader of the Flying Immortal Sect, when he saw the woman, he immediately lowered his head respectfully.

"Earlier today, I heard the magpies calling, so I knew that an honored guest would come to call. I've been waiting all day, although it was nothing more than resting, really. Now the honored guest is here.

"I am Xu Pingping. Greetings, Fellow Daoist."

Naruto glanced at Xu Pingping and saw that she had a late Nascent Soul Cultivation base. She hid it well, but to Naruto's eyes it was clearly visible.

His glance instantly caused Xu Pingping's heart to quiver. His look gave her the feeling that he could see through every defense she had, all the way into her heart. It seemed almost like all her secrets could be thoroughly revealed, no matter how she tried to hold them back.

Instantly, she became nervous, although her expression did not change in the slightest. Her demeanor continued to be one of maturity and charm.

"Fellow Daoist, please come up to the second floor," she said with a smile. "I'm sure that the Cloudburst Pavilion has everything that you need." In both terms of her wording and her inner feelings, she was extremely respectful to Naruto.

He nodded, then walked up ahead to climb the stairs. Wei Li followed, her heart pounding. Everything that she had seen so far today had opened up a new world to her. She was both nervous and excited as she trailed after Naruto.

She was just about to step foot onto the stairs when suddenly she hesitated and quietly said to Naruto, "Senior, the Demon hearts…."

"No one in Seahold would dare to take my Demon hearts," said Naruto slowly, continuing up the stairs. When his words echoed out into the ears of everyone present, their hearts trembled.

Such wording was incredibly domineering.

Xu Pingping's eyes glittered. When she thought back to Naruto's penetrating glance just now, she couldn't help but be a bit more cautious than before.

As for the Chosen on the staircase, be they from the Flying Immortal Sect, or other Sects, without even thinking about it, they backed up to make way for Naruto. When he neared Ji Xiaoxiao, she looked up over curiously.

In return, he completely ignored her and proceeded on to the second floor.

Xu Pingping followed. As she passed the Chosen, she suddenly stopped and looked back at the two Nascent Soul Cultivators, as well as the other Flying Immortal Sect disciples whose job it was to receive guests.

"The two of you screw off," she said coolly. "Go back to the Flying Immortal Sect immediately." The two old Nascent Soul Cultivators tremblingly voiced their acknowledgement.

"The other four of you can also screw off. Go to the Flying Immortal

Dungeon, where you will be punished for half of a sixty-year cycle!" Immediately, the Flying Immortal Sect disciples' faces went deathly pale. They began to tremble, and appeared to be completely filled with terror.

"And as for you…." she said, looking at the dazed female disciple standing in the middle of the pavilion. "If I get in any trouble from the Sect because of you, you pathetic, dog-eyed slut, well, you wouldn't be able to pay me back if you had ten lives. You're expelled from the Flying Immortal Sect. Get out of here. The farther you screw off, the better." With that, she turned and continued on to the second floor. When she passed Ji Xiaoxiao, she nodded and smiled.

The Cloudburst Pavilion only had two floors. The second floor was roughly the same size as the main hall. It was grand and imposing, and had an incense burner directly in the center. It was carved with strange creatures, and the smoke that wafted out from it made the second floor seem almost as if it were filled with mist.

After stepping foot onto the second floor, Naruto sat down in a nearby chair. Wei Li stood next to him, looking around. Her heart was nearly bursting with excitement; she had never imagined that one day she would be able to stand in a position like this.

Naruto's expression was calm. He sat there, eyes closed, unspeaking. Moments later, Xu Pingping approached, her smile seemingly covering up the bitterness she felt inwardly.

"Senior, you left so many Demon hearts sitting in the main hall, I can't help but be a bit nervous."

Naruto opened his eyes and looked at her with an enigmatic smile. As soon as his gaze fell upon her, she got a bit more nervous, and even her smile started to feel a bit forced.

"I want a magical flight item," he said calmly. "The best you have."

"I already have everything prepared, Senior," said Xu Pingping. She clapped her hands three times, after which three women clad in delicate gauze skirts floated out from the smoke of the incense burner. Each of them carried a silver platter, which they held up high as they respectfully approached.

By this point, Ji Xiaoxiao and the others had arrived on the second floor and were looking over from off to the side. Obviously, they were less interested in the magical flight item and more interested in Naruto.

The items on the three silver platters included a reddish, copper short sword, a violet wooden boat, and a flying shuttle.

Xu Pingping looked at Naruto and smiled.

"Red Copper Sword," she said. "It expands when it rushes against the wind, becoming three thousand meters long. Nine levels of ghost images will appear inside of it, and it can accommodate three hundred passengers. It also contains a swarm of 10,000 short swords.

"Violet Wooden Boat. It can accommodate two hundred passengers, and has no offensive spell formations, nor any defensive spell formations.

However, its speed… is similar to a First Severing Cultivator.

Unfortunately, it consumes Spirit Stones at a high rate, one low-grade Spirit Stone for every three breaths of time!

"Soul Flying Shuttle. It is only nine meters long, with average speed. However, its most powerful advantage is its Wind Blade function. Every hour, it can produce a single Wind Blade. As long as you have enough Spirit Stones, there is no limit to the number it can produce.

"These three items are the highest level flying items that we manufacture here at the Cloudburst Pavilion. Which one would you like, Fellow Daoist?"

When the Chosen from the three Sects saw the three magical flight items, their faces filled with longing. They well knew that these items were incredible.

Naruto frowned slightly. Others might view the items as high quality, but considering the level of his Cultivation base, they didn't quite meet up to his expectations.

Seeing Naruto's frown caused Xu Pingping's heart to quiver, and she started to pant a little. His frown, coupled with what had happened earlier, caused her to start to formulate some speculations about Naruto.

She hurriedly continued, "Although, I actually advise you not to purchase these items, Fellow Daoist. They seem incredible, but are actually relatively ordinary. Despite being expensive, they are standard manufacture items; in the lands of South Heaven, you will find quite a few people who own them."

"Oh?" said Naruto, looking at Xu Pingping.

"Senior," she said softly, her eyes glittering, "if you have enough Demon hearts, then the Cloudburst Pavilion can offer you a one-of-a-kind precious treasure!" She raised her right hand and performed an incantation, then pointed at the incense burner.

Immediately, the incense burner began to rumble, attracting all eyes in the room. Suddenly, vast quantities of smoke poured out from inside, within which could be seen, shockingly, an illusory bronze war chariot!

The war chariot emanated an air of ancientness, and was surrounded by crackling lightning. It was also covered with cracks that made it seem as if it had experienced the baptism of flames of war and countless battlefield bloodbaths.

An indescribable pressure spread out from it, and visible on its surface were numerous flying beasts that almost looked alive. Although no one else could tell, when Naruto looked at them, they almost seemed alive.

To his eyes, all of the beasts were living, and struggling, letting out roars that caused his mind and heart to tremble.

He made a slight "eee?" sound, then reached his right hand up to touch his left eye. Then he blinked nine times, causing the Immortal Qi of Immortal Shows the Way to circulate inside of him. When he looked at the war chariot this time, the flying beasts all merged together to transform into a black wing!

Unfortunately, there was only one.

Naruto looked away and closed his eyes. After a moment he opened them again and looked at Xu Pingping.

"How much?" he asked.

Xu Pingping's heart was trembling. Things were not quite going according to her plan for this item. Then she thought of Naruto's actions earlier, and she started to regret.

"Fellow Daoist, this item isn't for sale. It's…."

Naruto's face immediately darkened, and suddenly, a shocking pressure emanated out from him to envelop the entire area. It almost seemed as if a storm were coming.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Malow Kenende, Jonathan, LB and Lim_

 _Derek_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 663

Chapter 663: Rich and Headstrong!

Naruto looked at Xu Pingping for a moment, then retracted his energy. The second floor returned to normal. However, the pressure just now had caused sweat to begin to stream down her back. The feeling she got was the same as that you might feel when facing some ancient beast.

However, the only one to feel the pressure had been Xu Pingping, and no one else. Neither Ji Xiaoxiao nor the Chosen from the three Sects had felt anything. The only thing they had noticed was the change in Xu Pingping's expression.

"Name a price," said Naruto coolly. To hear himself saying such words caused Naruto's heart to surge. In his hundreds of years of practicing cultivation, his money purse had always been empty. Even when he occasionally fell into some profit, it would inevitably be sucked away by the copper mirror.

But now, he finally had the confidence derived from achieving the dream he had kept in his heart since childhood….

 _I'm rich, fools!_

Next to him, Wei Li's eyes shone brightly. She continued to have the strong feeling that Naruto was almost glowing, emanating an indescribable aura that battered against her face.

Xu Pingping, feeling somewhat intimidated by Naruto's display, nervously said, "It really isn't an issue of the price…."

"6,000 low-grade Demon hearts," said Naruto, lifting his chin up proudly.

"That's…."

"Not enough? How about 8,000?" Naruto's expression was the same as ever, but inwardly, that surging feeling grew more intense. To suddenly go from being broke to rolling in wealth gave Naruto the feeling that he could buy the entire shop if he felt like it.

This was a confidence that had nothing to do with Cultivation base. The more confident he felt, the more powerful his words became.

 _I'm REALLY rich, fools!_

Even Xu Pingping, who was so experienced and knowledgeable, was shocked by the confidence and power in his words. Her eyes went wide, and she sucked in a deep breath. 8,000 low-grade Demon hearts was an extremely high price!

Wei Li stared blankly at Naruto with wide eyes. Mentally, she was calculating how much 8,000 low-grade Demon hearts were worth in Spirit Stones.

As for the Chosen of the three Sects, and Ji Xiaoxiao, when they heard Naruto's words, their jaws dropped and they stared in shock. As of now, they suddenly realized that he really did exude the air of a rich person….

The eyes of a few of the female disciples began to shine brightly as they looked at Naruto. Although they hadn't noticed before, they could see now… this guy was incredibly handsome and had an extraordinary air. He was elegant and dashing, clearly different from the average person.

Although Naruto's tried to keep his expression the same as usual, anyone who looked at it would feel as if the following characters were clearly written there:

 _I'm Mr. Moneybags!_

Xu Pingping's eyes were wide, and her heart was pounding. "I think…."

"Still not enough?" said Naruto. Waving his hand in imitation of the rich folk he remembered from Yunjie County, he cleared his throat and said. "No problem. 10,000 low-grade Demon hearts works for me."

When he saw the shock on the faces of the bystanders when they heard this, Naruto felt quite pleased inwardly, even more so than if he had just experienced an increase in Cultivation base.

Xu Pingping gasped. Ji Xiaoxiao's eyes were fixed on Naruto. As for the Junior Leader of the Flying Immortal Sect, and the Chosen from the three Sects, all of them gaped with wide eyes and slack jaws.

Xu Pingping struggled visibly for a moment before replying, "Senior, this war chariot was delivered to us only recently. Apparently, it appeared on the border between the Second and Third Rings. I haven't even notified the Sect about it yet."

Naruto's expression was calm, but his eyes flickered. He definitely did not mind being addressed as Senior.

"If my speculations are correct, Senior, you have come to the Milky Way Sea because of the Sea Devils in the Second Ring, as well as… the legendary ancient battleship!

"This bronze war chariot is filled with ancientness, and is obviously an object from ancient times. For it to appear here indicates that there is a high possibility it originated from the ancient battleship.

"I only have one request, Senior. When you go searching for the ancient battleship, can you take Junior with you? You don't have to provide me with any assistance. As long as I step foot onto it, all obligations will have been fulfilled.

"In return, I will sell the item to you for 5,000 Demon hearts."

Naruto's eyes glittered.

"And what if I don't go looking for the ancient battleship?" he asked coolly.

Without hesitation, Xu Pingping replied, "If that is your wish, Senior, then I will have to resign myself to such an outcome." She quickly performed an incantation with her right hand and then pointed toward the incense burner. Instantly, the smoke inside parted, and the bronze war chariot flew out, almost as if it were trying to escape the pavilion.

Naruto waved his right hand, causing the war chariot to immediately stop in midair. It was irresistibly pulled down, shrinking down to the size of the hand of an infant as it landed on Naruto's palm. He immediately put it into his bag of holding.

He stood up, completely ignoring Xu Pingping. Accompanied by Wei Li, and beneath the burning gazes of the Chosen of the three Sects, he walked in the same manner as the number one moneybags of Yunjie County, Steward Zhou. He clasped his hands behind his back and strolled toward the stairs. 1

It was when he stepped foot onto the first stair that Naruto finally looked back at Xu Pingping.

"Give me a voice transmission talisman," he said.

Xu Pingping instantly went wild with joy. Panting, she took out a voice transmission talisman and respectfully handed it over.

Naruto put the talisman away and, escorted by Xu Pingping, walked down the stairs and left the Cloudburst Pavilion.

Outside, the sky was already dark, and the sea breeze blew against his face. Wei Li was sweating, and a bit in a daze as she glanced back and forth between Naruto and the Cloudburst Pavilion.

Considering how late it was, Naruto chose not to go to any more shops, but instead relied on Wei Li's assistance to find a place to stay. In the end, he rented a private residence with its own main gate.

The residence was actually an Immortal's cave, and the most expensive type available in Seahold. It had a defensive spell formation, as well as a passageway connecting it to the seafloor, where there was a special chamber designed for secluded meditation. Despite being on the seafloor, the meditation chamber still fell under the general defensive spell formations of Seahold, which meant that no sea beasts would come near it.

At first, Naruto planned to actually purchase the residence, but after further thought, he couldn't bear to spend so many Spirit Stones, and decided instead to rent it.

The residence had many rooms, which meant that Wei Li had her own private room. As the night wore on, she thought back to everything that had happened during the day, and also about how Naruto had saved her. Subconsciously, she had allowed Naruto's visage to be deeply imprinted into her mind. However, she knew that there was a vast gap between them in terms of status and identity, and after considering the matter for a while, she sighed and then closed her eyes to meditate.

As for Naruto, he sat cross-legged in his own room, surrounded by quiet. Around the time of the third watch, he suddenly opened his eyes.

"I'm finally rich," he murmured. "It's too bad that Steward Zhou has long since passed away. If I have a chance in the future, I'll find some of his descendants and pay back those three pieces of silver that I owe.

"Or… nah, I'm rich now! I'll pay back a little bit extra." He smiled and patted his bag of holding.

Then he lifted up his hand, upon which appeared the bronze war chariot.

It was impossible to tell how many springs and autumns the bronze chariot had passed through, but it was covered with flecks of rust, and filled with an air of ancientness, as if it had been buried in the darkness for countless years.

Looking at it caused a strange feeling to well up in Naruto. It almost seemed as if the bronze war chariot were currently retelling the stories of the bloodbaths it had witnessed, as if it were describing an explosive, bloodthirsty bellicosity of some long forgotten age.

The beasts carved on its surface looked like dead things, but in Naruto's eyes, they were alive. It was as if they had been sleeping for tens upon tens of thousands of years, waiting for the day in which they would awaken and then roam carefree in Heaven and Earth.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he sent out some Cultivation base power through his right hand into the bronze war chariot. Immediately, faint ripples emanated out, and the war chariot began to expand in size.

Naruto was prepared for this, and quickly stepped out into the courtyard. Then he raised up his right hand. With a rumbling sound, the war chariot flew up into the air, continuing to expand until it was roughly nine meters large.

Ripples spread out, and the war chariot glowed with light. The ripples, however, seemed to be filled with decay, and the glow was somewhat dim.

Naruto's body flickered to reappear inside of the war chariot. His right hand touched its side, and he sent out more Cultivation base power. The war chariot trembled and then began to speed up into the air.

It moved with such incredible speed that Seahold quickly became a tiny dot below him. Although the war chariot screamed through the night air, it didn't vibrate or shake even the least bit.

In exactly this same moment, Saint Sun Soul sat cross-legged meditating in the tall tower in the middle of Seahold. Next to him was the elegant and poised Madam Lin, who gripped a huge feather in both hands, which she was using to perform a conjuring. The feather emanated an aura of rot and decay. At the same time, swirling white lights wafted through the air, to be breathed in by Saint Sun Soul, who currently wore a black robe.

Even in the middle of the cultivation, Saint Sun Soul's eyes suddenly opened, and he looked off into the distance.

"What's wrong?" asked Madam Lin, looking over at him.

"Nothing," he replied. "That troublesome fellow from before is testing out a magical item. Hmph. The both of them are equally mediocre." His face grew dark, and it was hard to tell exactly what he was going on in his mind.

"Didn't he give you a flagon of alcohol as a gift?"

As soon as Saint Sun Soul heard the word 'alcohol,' his face twitched.

"He was actually threatening me," he said.

Madam Lin stared in shock, but didn't respond. As for Saint Sun Soul, he didn't bring up the matter of the alcohol again.

Meanwhile, Naruto was up in mid-air, frowning. He stood there in the war chariot, examining it with a puzzled expression.

"This thing is about as fast as a First Severing Cultivator. However, it expends a lot of Cultivation base power. Too bad I can actually move much faster without it.

"Furthermore…." His eyes flickered as he looked at the rust marks on the chariot, which were actually slowly growing larger. "The more I use it, the more the damage spreads. Soon, the rust will fill the whole thing, and it will be useless." With that, Naruto lifted up his right hand and then slapped it down onto the chariot.

A boom could be heard, and the chariot trembled. Low-pitched roaring sounds emanated out from within, and illusory figures began to surge out.

They were the images of fierce beasts, each one unique. There was a giant ape, a horned lion, even a two-headed giant bear. The various fierce beasts all lifted their heads up and roared.

However… they all were restrained by amorphous chains which connected them to the war chariot. Also… all of their eyes were closed!

Not a single one had opened its eyes.

As soon as they appeared, an intense pressure appeared in the area. Even still, the frown on Naruto's face deepened. He had just noticed that the rust was spreading through the war chariot even faster than before.

Steward Zhou was first mentioned in chapter 1 as well as a few subsequent chapters. Naruto owed him three pieces of silver. ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 664

Chapter 664: War Chariot!

"At the most, I can use it only ten more times." Naruto examined the rust. It almost looked like rot, that, wherever it went, caused the bronze to turn into scrap metal.

"I almost feel like I'm not using it properly," he murmured to himself. "If using it damages it, then… huh?" Suddenly, his heart trembled.

"Not using it properly?" His eyes glittered, and the trembling of his heart increased in intensity as he thought back to the scene revealed by Immortal Shows the Way, back in the Cloudburst Pavilion.

After a moment's thought, Naruto once more slapped the war chariot. Instantly, the beasts surrounding the war chariot vanished, and chariot began to shrink down. Soon it was yet again the size of an infant's hand, resting on his palm.

He floated there in mid-air, and after a moment of detailed inspection, he suddenly began to pick up on some clues.

"Its surface is inscribed with ancient magical symbols that don't seem to be an actual part of the war chariot….

"And then there are the chain carvings. They don't seem to merge perfectly with the original chariot, as if they were added later." His eyes glittered for a moment before he suddenly closed his right eye. He blinked nine times and also unleashed the Immortal Qi of Immortal Shows the Way, pouring it into his eye. Immediately, the bronze war chariot's appearance changed.

It was no longer a war chariot, but rather, a mass of ferocious beasts. They were intertwined together such that, from a distance, they looked like a black wing!

The black wing was indistinct, but Naruto was sure that it was actually the wing of a butterfly!

His heart trembled, and he took a deep breath. He circulated some more Qi of Immortal Shows the Way, then focused closely… on the butterfly wing.

The instant he looked at it, a roaring filled his mind. The world in front of him shattered, almost like a mirror breaking. Within that breaking, the mirror turned into countless flickering images that Naruto couldn't see clearly.

However, there was one image that instantly branded itself into his memories!

He saw a land in which clouds roiled in the sky, filled with crackling lightning. A man wearing black garments stood in the war chariot, looking down coldly at the lands below.

It almost seemed as if the man were the Heavens, the will of the sky itself.

An interminably rotating vortex could be seen on his forehead, and in his right hand was a string of blank, white prayer beads that seemed to be waited to receive sealing marks.

As for the war chariot in which the man stood, it looked very similar to the one Naruto had just recently acquired, except that there were no magical symbols on it.

Beneath the war chariot was an endless sea, in the center of which was an enormous tree that towered up into the sky. Sitting at the crown of the tree was a small boy who smiled as he looked out over the world.

Fluttering in the air around the boy were nine butterflies. Off in the distance were countless living things practicing cultivation. 1

Everything was very quiet and peaceful….

Naruto's mind roared, and then the vision faded away. He panted, and a strange light gleamed in his eyes as he looked at the war chariot in his palm.

"That vision…." His eyes flickered, and after taking a few breaths, he lifted up his left hand and pushed it down onto the bronze war chariot to slowly wipe away a magical symbol.

In total, there were ninety-nine magical symbols on the war chariot.

A gentle but also ferocious light rose up from Naruto's hand. He continued to rub the war chariot until he finally succeeded in wiping away a magical symbol. By this point his face was pale. It didn't seem difficult to wipe away the magical symbol, but actually, he had wasted a significant amount of Cultivation base power to do so.

As soon as the magical symbol was wiped away, the bronze war chariot trembled. Sounds like howls erupted out from within, as if some ancient sleeping giant was suddenly beginning to awake.

When the sound reached his ears, Naruto's spirit was shaken.

"These magical symbols and chains were actually added later. If it wasn't done as a seal, then it was a method to try to control the chariot due to a lack of understanding of its proper usage.

"That improper usage is actually the source of the damage!" He took a deep breath, and was just about to wipe away a second magical symbol when suddenly, his hand stopped, and a look of doubt could be seen in his eyes.

"Why is it that only I could see the images on the war chariot? Anyone who saw them would know that something was different about it on the inside." His eyes flickered as he looked down at his own torso.

After a long moment, he slowly murmured, "Immortal Shows the Way….

Choumen Tai!"

The reason he could see the images on the war chariot, and also know the correct way to use it, was all because of the Immortal Qi of Immortal Shows the Way.

"Could it be that this is an Immortal treasure?" He thoughtfully lifted his left hand up again and began to slowly wipe away a second magical symbol.

The bronze war chariot began to glow with even more intensity, and the howling from inside grew clearer.

Next, Naruto wiped away a third magical symbol, then a fourth. When he wiped away the tenth magical symbol, the bronze war chariot began to emit a droning sound, and expanded until it was thirty meters large.

The glow emanated out in all directions, as well as a pulsing pressure. Even Naruto could feel that he was affected by the intense pressure, which made it impossible to get close to the chariot; he was instantly forced back a bit.

His eyes shining brightly; having erased ten magical symbols, his Cultivation base was virtually exhausted. After closing eyes for a while to recover, he frowned.

"The more magical symbols I wipe away, the more difficult it gets." His body flickered as he shot toward the war chariot. As he neared, a ring of yellow light suddenly appeared around the chariot.

It quickly began to expand out, filling Naruto's mind with a sense of danger. He shot backward, quickly emerging from within the yellow light. Then he forced out a bit of the Immortal Qi of Immortal Shows the Way to circulate through his body, then shot back in his original direction.

This time, no circle of yellow light appeared. He moved with incredible speed, arriving at the war chariot in the blink of an eye. He didn't have very much Immortal Qi in his body, and it wouldn't last long before vanishing.

He placed his hand onto the war chariot. After a moment of thought and rest, he rotated his Cultivation base, pouring power into the war chariot. However, the power seemed to disappear like a rock sinking down into the ocean. There was no reaction whatsoever from the war chariot.

Naruto stilled his Cultivation base, and then, without the slightest hesitation, sent out some more Immortal Qi. It was only a sliver, but the instant it flowed out from his hand into the war chariot, the entire world seemed to start rumbling.

A gigantic vortex appeared up in the sky, booming as it spun. Countless bolts of lightning crackled out in all directions. The entire area seemed to have suddenly gone wild, as if all Heaven and Earth were suddenly collapsing.

Naruto suddenly felt as if he were fusing with the war chariot, becoming one with it. Then he saw the image of the black-clothed man with the vortex on his forehead, the one from his vision moments ago.

At the same time, a thrumming sound could be heard from the chariot as the images of countless ferocious beasts appeared up ahead. All of them were fastened with chains, and let out soundless roars. They began to run forward, pulling the war chariot with them through the sky. It transformed into something like a shooting star that flew off into the distance with indescribable speed.

The speed with which it moved caused rumbling booms to fill the sky as it shot forward. Yellow ripples emanated out, sweeping through the night sky, filling it with a yellow glow.

At the moment, black-robed Saint Sun Soul suddenly stood up within the tower in Seahold. A look of astonishment appeared in his eyes as he suddenly vanished and then reappeared outside in mid-air. He looked off into the distance, his expression changing multiple times.

"What magical item is that!?" he gasped. Moments ago, his Cultivation base had twitched with a feeling of terror. The feeling was not something he was completely unfamiliar with; it was something he might experience when facing the Sect's ancestral legacy treasure.

"Is that a legacy treasure?" he thought to himself.

Naruto's heart was filled with shock. The strand of Immortal Qi that he sent out from Immortal Shows the Way caused the war chariot to leave Seahold behind in the blink of an eye. Although there was still seawater underneath him, he had no way to tell whether or not he was still in the Third Ring.

This stretch of sea looked very strange, and the waters, almost black. Everything was quiet; not even a single ripple could be seen on the surface of the water, much less any waves.

"Where… where did that speed come from!?" said Naruto with a gasp. He looked down at the war chariot, a look of shock on his face.

"This is a precious treasure!

"Unfortunately, only the power of an Immortal can make it work. This treasure… will not even recognize my Cultivation base." He sighed. The only Immortal Qi he had was from Immortal Shows the Way. He could use bits of it to employ the Celestial Vision technique, but to use it in battle was like trying to put out a burning horse cart with a single cup of water.

"Immortal Qi…. So this thing really is an Immortal treasure. It only works when fueled by Immortal Qi…." As he considered these matters, his heart suddenly trembled as a bizarre notion appeared in his mind.

"Is the Qi of Immortal Shows the Way really Immortal Qi? Is it possible… that it really isn't Immortal Qi, but rather, something else….?" Before he could consider the idea very much, he suddenly looked down at the sea below.

The previously still waters were now suddenly filled with ripples. A crocodile appeared, three hundred meters long… heading in his direction.

Crocodiles were not something that would normally appear in the sea, but there was one here right now. It was completely black, and its eyes were somber and cold. On its back were countless ferocious looking bumps and lumps.

Sitting cross-legged amidst the bumps and lumps was a man wearing a dilapidated set of clothing. His expression was cold as he… looked up at Naruto.

In the instant in which he looked at Naruto, the man's eyes filled with a bloodthirsty killing intent.

"Cultivator?" he said, his unpleasant voice hoarse and grating. When he opened his mouth to speak, blackened teeth could be seen. To Naruto, his entire person seemed to radiate complete vileness.

An aura of Spirit Severing suddenly exploded out of him. At the same time, the crocodile suddenly lifted its head up and roared, also exploding with a Spirit Severing aura. The seawater was in chaos, and a pulsating, fishy stench rose up.

"This is the Devil Sea," said the man. "Now that you're here, you won't be leaving." With that, he made a grasping motion, causing the air in the area to condense. An incredible pressure then weighed down.

Naruto gaped. "Devil Sea?"

This is not the first time nine butterflies have been mentioned in the story. If you don't remember you can check out chapters 555, 587, 613 and 652 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 665

Chapter 665 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 665: The Dawn Immortal Once Again

Naruto gave a cold snort as he looked at the young man and how he caused the air in the area to seemingly collapse under the pressure of a gesture. Naruto was just about to make a move when he stopped. He stood there in the war chariot, motionless.

He allowed the thunderous roaring to descend upon him, but then, even as it neared, the war chariot automatically emitted a yellow ring of light. The ring expanded out and then slammed into the collapsing air.

A boom rattled out, followed by cracking sounds. Everywhere the yellow ring of light passed was left completely calm and tranquil.

A red glow appeared in the eyes of the man on the crocodile. He then leaped into the air and shot toward Naruto, followed by the crocodile, who opened its gaping mouth as it ferociously charged out of the water.

The man closed in, and he didn't perform an incantation, but instead reached his hand out in a claw-like gesture. Instantly, his fingers all turned pitch black and began to emanate a black fog. The black fog from his five fingers swirled and twisted, transforming into a vicious flood dragon that then charged toward Naruto.

A boom echoed out as the flood dragon slammed into the expanding yellow ring of light, and was deflected away. The snapping crocodile also hit the yellow ring, whereupon it let out a bloodcurdling scream as its teeth were shattered. It then retreated at top speed.

Naruto gave a faint smile. As for his opponent, he retreated backward a bit, a look of anxiety and doubt on his face as he stared fixedly at Naruto.

Naruto's smile turned wide and splendid. As of now, he realized that the war chariot truly was a precious treasure. As long as he was inside it, it would activate defense powers even if he didn't imbue it with Immortal Qi.

"There is neither any enmity nor hatred between us," said Naruto. "Why engage in magical combat? I came here by accident, so I'll take my leave now." With that, he placed his hand onto the war chariot and then circulated Immortal Shows the Way, and was about to send the war chariot speeding away.

Suddenly, though, the expression of man in the dilapidated clothing grew even more vicious. He lifted his head up and let out an ear-piercing shout. At the same time, his body began to distort and expand. In the blink of an eye, his skin was replaced by black scales. At the same time, his shape began to change, until he didn't look like a person, but rather… a black flood dragon!

His body flickered again, and he was now over three hundred meters long. His eyes radiated savagery and avarice as he stared at Naruto there in the war chariot.

"You will stay," said the flood dragon. As it spoke the language of humans, black flames accompanied the words. "Consuming you will help improve my Cultivation base. As for that treasure of yours… that also will stay behind."

The black flames spit out by the flood dragon emanated a green glow along with a rotten stench that seemed to indicate they were imbued with poisons. They shot toward Naruto at top speed.

A sea of flames surrounded him, emanating intense heat and power that caused everything to ripple and distort. Waves undulated on the surface of the sea below, as if it couldn't bear the level of heat. The crocodile had long since retreated off into the distance; it floated there in the water, staring at Naruto.

Naruto's face darkened as he looked coldly at the flood dragon on the other side of the black flames. He lifted up the hand that he had placed onto the war chariot, and ceased to rotate Immortal Shows the Way.

"I thought you were a Cultivator, but it turns out you're a Sea Demon," said Naruto calmly. "Since you're looking to die, I guess I'll help you fulfill your wish." Naruto's personality was fully on display; the calmer he was, the greater his desire to kill.

Even as he spoke, Naruto started to move forward. He stepped out of the war chariot and entered into the black sea of flames. Seeing that he dared to emerge left the flood dragon astonished, and he immediately began to back up.

"I can be crafty too!" said Naruto. He waved his hand, and another sea of flames sprang up. These flames were red, and sprang up high into the sky around Naruto. As soon as the red flames touched the black flames, an intense rumbling sound could be heard. At the same time, Naruto emerged on the outside.

The flood dragon's face fell, and he continued to move backward in retreat. However, before he could get very far, Naruto turned into a green smoke. As for the flood dragon, his heart was pounding in his ears. The fact that Naruto dared to emerge from the war chariot was obviously not a good thing. Even as he retreated, Naruto suddenly appeared behind him.

A hand raised up, and a fist descended.

The fist seemingly landed on nothing but air. However, a huge rumbling could be heard, and the flood dragon felt as if a mountain were crushing down onto him. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face. He let out a miserable shriek.

At the same time, the crocodile opened its mouth wide and charged, ignoring any danger whatsoever as it shot toward Naruto.

"Trifling First Severing Cultivation base," said Naruto. "You're not the first one I've killed like that." Not even deigning to look at the crocodile, he punched backward.

BAM!

A tremor ran through the crocodile and then, starting from its head, it began to shatter. In the blink of an eye, the shattering spread out through its entire body. A final bang could be heard as it exploded into bloody pieces.

A fist-sized black Demon heart transformed into a black beam of light that flew into Naruto's hand. He put it into his bag of holding and then looked at the flood dragon. The flood dragon's trembling increased in intensity.

He took a deep breath, and then turned around. Clouds suddenly circulated beneath him, a divine ability which would enable him to shoot down into the waters below.

Naruto's right hand flickered in an incarnation gesture, and he pointed out.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!"

Demonic Qi appeared, transforming into numerous invisible, thin strands that wrapped around the flood dragon. It instantly stopped moving, which left the flood dragon scared witless. Even as he struggled, Naruto waved his right hand, causing ten Wooden Time Swords to fly out one after another and then pierce through the flood dragon.

A bloodcurdling shriek echoed about as the flood dragon began to rapidly wither. His expression was one of intense fear as he could feel his life force rapidly disappearing.

Feeling death approaching, he suddenly shook and then spit a pearl out of his mouth. The pearl was about the size of a fist, and was not black, but completely and utterly white.

As soon as the pearl appeared, it emanated a soft glow, along with a thick, fragrant aroma. The spiritual energy in the area even grew stronger. A powerful shockwave spread out, causing rumbling booms as the dragon shook free of the binding strands, forced back the wooden swords, and then shot down toward the sea, carrying the pearl with it.

In the blink of an eye, he splashed into the water and then disappeared.

A strange light appeared in Naruto's eyes. He looked at the white pearl, and the first thought that ran through his mind was that he was sure he could sell the thing for an exorbitant price.

As soon as the thought entered his mind, the last trace of his hesitation disappeared as he flashed through the air, circulating Immortal Shows the Way as he stepped foot onto the war chariot. His hand touched the chariot, and it instantly began to vibrate and shoot down toward the sea.

In the blink of an eye, he was underwater. Everything around was pitch black, but it only took a moment for Naruto to catch sight of the vicious flood dragon up ahead, feeling quite confident that he had just escaped disaster.

Even as the flood dragon felt as if he had managed to scrape out and extra life, he suddenly heard a rumbling sound. He turned, and his eyes went wide and filled with shock when he saw the thirty meter war chariot!

It wanted to dodge out of the way, but was too slow!

Bang!

The war chariot directly struck the flood dragon, causing it to let out a miserable howl. Then, its body began to break apart into pieces. It exploded, and the white pearl flew out. Shockingly, inside the pearl could be seen a miniature flood dragon, its face covered with terror and astonishment.

The pearl and the miniature flood dragon shot off at high speed, but no matter how fast they could go, it was too slow compared to Naruto's war chariot.

Naruto instantly shot in pursuit. Inside the white pearl, the flood dragon's face was unyielding and filled with madness. It then let out a miserable cry that it amplified with Divine Will.

"Dawn Immortal, save me!"

When Naruto heard the name 'Dawn Immortal,' his mind instantly trembled. It was a name he would never forget. However, this was not the time and place to think about it in detail. His eyes glittered, and he pushed the war chariot in pursuit. His hand stretched out and he grabbed the white pearl.

The struggling of the flood dragon made no difference. Naruto sealed the pearl and then quickly put it into his bag of holding.

However, in that instant… a faint sigh could suddenly echoed about in the darkness of the seafloor.

It was a single sigh, but it instantly caused Naruto's scalp to go numb. Cold sweat broke out all over his body, and his face fell. Suddenly, the Resurrection Lily inside of him seemed to go mad.

It seemed as if, regardless of anything, it wanted to reveal itself and let out a cry to be noticed by whomever had just made the sigh.

Naruto's mind trembled, and he instantly caused the war chariot to begin moving. He began to build up the Immortal Qi, and was just about to speed away when a tentacle suddenly shot toward him from within the deep sea.

Immediately, an intense feeling of crisis rumbled through Naruto. At the same time, the struggling of the Resurrection Lily reached a peak.

BOOM!

Naruto released the entirety of his Immortal Qi, causing it to enter the war chariot. It rumbled, and then shot at incredible speed up and out of the water, transforming into a beam of light that quickly disappeared. Almost simultaneously, a gigantic tentacle erupted from the surface of the sea.

As he shot away, Naruto had just enough time to glance back at the enormous tentacle before the world turned blurry.

What he saw caused Naruto's mind to quiver and tremble with confusion.

"What… what is that…?" His face was pale white, and his expression one of disbelief. Given his Cultivation base, his experiences, his level of focus, in the Milky Way Sea, only the ancient Underworld Ship could cause his expression to change in such a way.

However, there was now something else!

In fact, because of his own condition, what he saw caused him to be even more astonished than the ancient Underworld Ship.

"That's… the Dawn Immortal?"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 666

Chapter 666 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 666: The Mother of the Resurrection Lily!

What he saw was a gigantic black tentacle, smooth and glossy, almost whip-like in appearance…. Furthermore, at the very end of the tentacle were a few black leaves.

This was not the tentacle of some beast! It was the branch of a plant!

Anyone else probably would not realize it, but because of his own situation, as soon as Naruto saw it, he knew that this… was… A Resurrection Lily branch!

From this single branch, Naruto had no problem reaching the conclusion that deep in the black, dark depths of the sea was… an incomparably enormous Resurrection Lily!

What he was seeing was simply a branch, but it was able to stretch up from deep within the sea; he could only imagine how large and terrifying its main trunk was. The frightening speed with which it moved caused Naruto to pant. It could even match up to his war chariot!

Furthermore, Naruto knew that the only reason he could get away was that his original position was actually not very far away from the surface of the water. Although it seemed he and the branch had emerged from the water at the same time, the war chariot would have actually been no match for the Lily's frightful speed.

"How many colors does it have…?" thought Naruto, panting. By now, the war chariot had left the black area of the sea. The waters below looked normal, and up ahead, he saw storm winds. Naruto knew that he was now near the edge of the Third Ring, and was not far from Seahold.

He took a deep breath and thought for a moment. The sky up above was turning light as he put the war chariot away into his bag of holding. Then his body flashed as he headed toward Seahold at the fasted speed he could muster.

He arrived back at his residence before the sky was completely lit. He sat down cross-legged, his expression dark and unstable. The events of the night had left him quite shaken.

"That flood dragon called itself a Devil. It must have been one of those so-called Sea Devils.

"A black sea. That must be the Second Ring of the Milky Way Sea…. I never imagined that that… a terrifying Resurrection Lily would be hiding at the bottom of the Second Ring!

"Was that… the Dawn Immortal?

"No wonder the Resurrection Lily inside of me was going crazy!

"How exactly are the Third Ring and the Second Ring connected? The

Third Ring has Demons with Whitebone Lily seals on them. The Second Ring has Devils that can turn into people, and venerate the Dawn Immortal!

"And then, there's that Reverend Silverlamp. Where exactly is he…?

There are so many mysteries in the Milky Way Sea. First, there was the

Underworld Ship and then that ancient battleship. And now, the Dawn

Immortal has made an appearance!" He continued to think, and a complex expression appeared on his face. However, soon his eyes began glittering brightly.

"Things just keep getting more complicated and dangerous. I need to be even more careful regarding the matter of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. I wonder who is more powerful, the Dawn Immortal or the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch?" As soon as the question appeared in his mind, he knew the answer.

"Of course it's the Dawn Immortal!" Although he had no proof, Naruto was sure he was right.

He sighed inwardly, then closed his eyes. He ceased focusing on the frustrating matters, and began to meditate.

It was now early morning, and sunlight flickered down onto the sea. The crystalline, shimmering waters surrounded Seahold, which looked like a giant, slumbering beast that was opening its eyes and awakening. Gradually, the city began to bustle with noise and excitement.

Many people came and went, most of whom were not residents of the city. Some came to recuperate or resupply, some came to sell Demon hearts, others left the city to go hunting. People were everywhere.

When Wei Li came to pay respects, Naruto opened his eyes. After tidying up a bit, he had Wei Li take him to a shop that specialized in clothing.

He was finally able to put aside the worrisome events of the previous night. The feeling of being a rich person once again conquered all. He even considered purchasing a set of clothing for Wei Li.

Although the quality of the clothing was good, when he saw how it didn't match her mask, he decided to save some Spirit Stones and not buy it after all.

Wei Li felt a bit wronged, but she didn't dare to say anything directly to Naruto. She could only follow along irritated as Naruto flaunted his superiority.

Everyone in the shop was in awe of Naruto and his domineering attitude. He walked around with a trail of people following. If he saw something he liked he would simply point, and someone would rush to package it up for him.

"It feels really good to be rich," he thought. He left the store looking completely different than before. He wore a long robe that was as blue as the sky and emanated ripples of magical force. When the sun fell on it, it looked even more beautiful and delicate.

The sleeves were embroidered with silver dragons, and the materials of the entire garment were harvested from an impressive Sea Demon. It had a variety of built-in functions, and overall, made Naruto quite pleased.

He also purchased a gold belt trimmed with violet decorations, as well as some jade pendants. Each and every item was quite expensive. When he walked down the street, the people he passed couldn't help but look at him. Naruto let out a long, emotional sigh.

Wei Li walked along behind him, pouting and glaring at his back.

"Alright, let's go buy a bag of holding!" he said, swishing his sleeve. Internally, Wei Li gave a cold harrumph. Now that she was more familiar with Naruto, little remained of the awe she had felt for him before. Instead, her deepest impression towards him was that he was a haughty moneybags.

When Naruto stepped foot into the shop specializing in holding items, his clothing, coupled with his handsome features, plus the obvious domineering air of a rich person, caused everyone in the shop to immediately look over at him with glowing eyes. They knew that a big spender had arrived, and they immediately greeted him.

Naruto looked around and then immediately voiced his desire to buy ten bags of holding.

After they left the shop, a bit of hope flickered in Wei Li's eyes, and she couldn't hold back from asking, "Senior, why did you buy so many?" "For fun!" replied Naruto earnestly.

Wei Li gaped. She suddenly had the feeling that the person in front of her was not the person who had saved her. He seemed… a different person completely. If he wasn't a different person, how could there be such a disparity?

Naruto cleared his throat, quite pleased at Wei Li's shock. He patted his bag of holding, then waved his hand and lifted his chin in much the way that Steward Zhou used to.

"Okay, let's go buy some magic rings!"

In the magic ring shop, Naruto's domineering air once again shocked everyone present, both customers and employees alike. They gaped in astonishment as, in a single breath, he bought three hundred magic rings.

All of the magic rings had a single function; they could self-detonate.

All you had to do was throw one of the rings out, and it would explode. Furthermore, the cumulative force of three hundred explosions would be incredibly terrifying. Such rings were expensive, and the shop didn't have very many. However, Naruto decided to buy however many they did have.

In the end, he could only sigh and leave, shaking his head the entire time. He glanced around Seahold, thinking about how there was nothing here that he couldn't buy.

It was in such a manner that Naruto spent the entire day, with Wei Li leading him around. Soon, word began to spread. Many people were talking about how an incredibly rich fellow had appeared in Seahold.

Soon, evening was falling. Having accompanied Naruto all day, Wei Li was a bit tired. However, from Naruto's expression, he didn't seem to be any more tired than he had been at the beginning of the day. Wei Li could only smile wryly.

"Senior, NOW where do you want to go?"

"Let's go to the Sun Soul Society's Demon heart exchange shop," he said. The day had passed in a very fulfilling fashion for him, and he had finally fulfilled his desire to live like a rich person.

He hoped that he could continue to live such a life in the coming days, and it was with completely high spirits that he continued to walk along.

"Senior, you're going the wrong way, it's this way," said Wei Li, looking at Naruto a bit grudgingly.

Naruto stopped in place and then turned around.

It was evening, and the two of them walked through the city under the light of the setting sun. Naruto wore his blue robe, and all ten of his fingers were adorned with rings. He stood straight and tall, looking incredibly impressive; obviously he was rich and respectable.

However, it also was also fairly obvious that he had just recently stumbled into his wealth.

The Sun Soul Society's Demon heart exchange shop was located in the city center of Seahold. The structure itself was very strange. It was pure white and looked like a skull. Quite a crowd was gathered inside.

Despite the late hour, people continued to go in and out of the shop to exchange their Demon hearts for Spirit Stones to be used in cultivation.

When Naruto entered, his heavily bejeweled figure immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Instantly, everyone began to talk about it.

"That guy is…."

"I saw him earlier today. He's the super rich guy I was just telling you about. He went to the Magic Ring Pavilion and purchased more than three hundred magic rings in a single breath!"

"So, that's him! I heard that a lot of the shops in Seahold were completely sold out today!"

"Who is he? How could he possibly have so many Demon hearts?!"

Naruto's expression was the same as usual. He entered the shop and looked around, eventually catching sight of a Sun Soul Society disciple. When the man saw Naruto looking at him, he quickly approached, clasped hands, and bowed.

"Greetings, Senior. How many Demon hearts would you like to exchange? If it's a small quantity, I would be happy to help you. If it's a large quantity… well, in that case, I can take you to the second floor, where a Sect Elder will receive you."

"Second floor, then," said Naruto placidly.

The Sun Soul Society disciple's eyes began to shine brightly when he heard this. He quickly transmitted a message to the Elder, at the same time leading Naruto toward the staircase.

Everyone watched on enviously as Naruto and Wei Li walked up to the second floor. As soon as they arrived, a smiling, white-haired old man walked out.

"I am Sun Yunliang. Greetings, Fellow Daoist." When he saw Naruto's clothing, and the rings on his fingers, he knew exactly what kind of person he was dealing with. His smile grew even more resplendent, and he said. "Come come, please, follow me." He led Naruto to a chair, after which two maidservants appeared with teapots to serve him tea.

"This is a local specialty, Skysea Tea," explained Sun Yunliang, smiling. "It grows only in the Second Ring, and there are only seven parent trees that produce it. Please give it a try, Fellow Daoist. What do you think?"

Naruto smiled and then lifted the cup up to examine the tea. He took a sip, after which his eyes misted up, and his expression grew radiant. His scholar's aura suddenly became especially prominent. Despite his current state of luxury, it was impossible to completely block. It was almost like he suddenly became a different person. After a long moment, he put the teacup down. The mistiness in his eyes faded away, and they then began to glow with admiration.

"Ah, the cleansing of disquiets both past and present, the livening of the spirit that can only come from… excellent tea!" said Naruto.

Sun Yunliang smiled broadly, and a strange gleam flickered in his eyes. At first glance, he could tell that Naruto was newly rich. However, when he spoke of the tea, his entire person emanated a light and pleasant air. The air that Naruto now emanated caused the old man to suddenly question his previous judgement.

Wei Li stared in shock at Naruto. What had occurred just now yet again caused her to think that she was yet again dealing with a completely different person.

At this point, Sun Yunliang directly asked, "Fellow Daoist, how many Demon hearts did you come here to exchange? The exchange rate today is one low-grade Demon heart for six hundred low-grade Spirit Stones."

Naruto was just about to reply when suddenly, footsteps and voices could be heard coming up the stairs from the first floor.

"Don't worry, gentlemen. When I, Zhou, make a promise, the results are never disappointing. I can get you seven hundred Spirit stones for one low-grade Demon heart."

When Naruto heard this, he had to bite his tongue to hold back from speaking. He lifted the teacup and took a sip.

Sun Yunliang's face twitched, and glared toward the staircase.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Metalduck, Chi Yip, and Harrison Terry_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 667

Chapter 667: Gamble Royale

A middle-aged man was currently smiling as he led a group of seven older men up to the second floor.

The seven old men wore long brocaded robes, and in a single glance, anyone could tell that they were famous and extraordinary figures. Their eyes were bright and shining, and their Cultivation bases extraordinary. All were at the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage. Although they smiled, their smiles were filled with unyielding pride.

"After you, Fellow Daoists!" said the middle-aged man with a sincere smile. His expression was one of excitement as he led the seven old men up to the second floor. He caught sight of Naruto and Wei Li, but after a glance, completely ignored them.

Sun Yunliang was originally frowning, but when he saw the seven old men, his eyes immediately grew bright. Laughing loudly, he rose to his feet and hurried over to receive them.

"So, it turns out to be the Seven Tycoons of Seahold!" said Sun Yunliang, continuing to laugh as he clasped hands and bowed. "Your presence brings light to our humble establishment!"

The seven old men all smiled and clasped hands in return.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he continued to sip tea.

As for Wei Li, after she saw the seven old men, her pupils instantly constricted. Her voice filled with awe, she turned to Naruto and said, "Senior, these seven men are all famous shopkeepers here in Seahold. Their Cultivation bases are extraordinary, and they control vast amounts of Demon hearts….

"The Demon heart exchange shops set up by the three Sects here in Seahold do not just cater to the masses of ordinary Cultivators. There is a strict requirement of the various shops in the city that they exchange Demon hearts on a yearly basis.

"Of course, as for which particular Sect they pick to do business with, that is up to them. The three Sects have no say in the matter…."

Naruto lifted his teacup up and took another sip. His eyes seemed a bit clouded, even empty, as if he weren't present mentally. Wei Li wasn't even sure if he had heard her speaking.

Joy filled the heart of Sun Yunliang as he looked over at the middle-aged man, and his eyes flickered with admiration. The middle-aged man looked quite excited, and treated the seven shopkeepers with incredible courtesy.

The whole group laughed and exchanged pleasantries as they walked over to the area with the seats. Sun Yunliang was just about to have one of the maidservants serve some tea when the middle-aged man frowned and looked over at Naruto and Wei Li. Then, he directed his attention to Sun Yunliang and transmitted, "Elder Sun, who are these two?"

"Customers who arrived earlier to exchange some Demon hearts," he responded via the same method.

When he heard this, the middle-aged man felt a bit more at ease. At first, he had taken the people to be friends of Sun Yunliang. "Elder, the Seven Tycoons are honored guests, shouldn't you have someone from downstairs take care of these other loafers?"

Sun Yunliang hesitated for a moment, then turned to Naruto, clasped hands, and smiled.

"Fellow Daoist, I truly beg your pardon. Would you mind going downstairs? I'll arrange for someone to help you exchange your Demon hearts. What do you say?"

When he heard Sun Yunliang speaking, the cloudiness in Naruto's eyes vanished, and he put down his teacup. Instantly, one of the maidservants stepped forward from the group led by the middle-aged man, and collected it up.

Naruto frowned, rose to his feet, and looked over at Sun Yunliang.

"Fine," he said. "By the way, what is the current exchange rate?"

"Set your mind at ease, Fellow Daoist," he said with a smile, "the price is set at six hundred Spirit Stones for one Demon heart." With that, he clapped his hands together, and a Sun Soul Society disciples immediately came up from the first floor. After giving Naruto a respectful bow, he gestured for Naruto to follow him downstairs.

Naruto smiled, albeit faintly, and his expression was calm. First they had taken away his tea and tried to shoo him away. If the price they gave him was acceptable, he could have accepted the matter, but instead, they offered him a different amount of Spirit Stones than the seven old men.

Continuing to smile, he sat back down.

The action caused Sun Yunliang to instantly frown. In his mind, Naruto wasn't acting very sensibly.

The middle-aged man was starting to look a bit impatient. As far as he was concerned, Naruto would surely be exchanging no more than a few hundred Demon hearts at most. "Friend," he said, "this shop is owned by the Sun Soul Society. I myself am an honor guard of that very same Sect. This… is not the place for you to cause a disturbance. To go downstairs of your own accord is much better than being _assisted_ to do so."

He had seen many such people, people who couldn't possibly compare to the Seven Tycoons. Each one of the seven had vast amounts of Demon hearts, and he himself had expended quite a bit of effort in order to attract them here.

"Go ahead and try," said Naruto coolly.

The words instantly caused Sun Yunliang's expression to turn serious. The middle-aged man frowned, suddenly unsure of who exactly Naruto was.

The seven old men didn't look very pleased. They could exchange their Demon hearts at any shop they wished. The main reason they had selected this location was because of the diligent attention paid them by the middle-aged man. Of course, even more important was the fact that the exchange rate here was slightly better than at the other two Sects.

After all, the Saint currently in command of the city was none other than Saint Sun Soul.

The old man who occupied the center position among the seven calmly said, "Elder Sun, Honor Guard Zhou, the seven of us have very limited time. We can't stand around waiting for very long. Why don't we consider doing business another time?"

The words immediately caused the man named Zhou to feel very anxious. He was just about to drive Naruto away forcibly when suddenly Elder Sun stepped forward.

"Fellow Daoist," he said, looking at Naruto, "the Spirit Stones aren't an issue. I make the decisions here, so how about I give you seven hundred Spirit Stones per Demon heart? What do you say?"

Hearing this, Naruto felt a little bit embarrassed. Smiling, he rose to his feet and was about to go downstairs when suddenly, the old man standing in the right-most position among the seven sneered.

"So, it turns out anybody can get seven hundred Spirit Stones," he said.

"Well, then, Honor Guard Zhou. How many Spirit Stones will we be getting?"

Immediately, the other six old men began to nod. The shops run by seven of them were backed by their own various Sects and Clans. Furthermore, they were intelligent people who would definitely take advantage of any opportunity they saw come their way.

"If that man can get seven hundred Spirit Stones," said another of the old men, "then we should get at least eight hundred per Demon heart. In any case, it is unacceptable that we be given the same price as a random passerby. Honor Guard Zhou, that was your promise to us, was it not?"

"Correct," said another man. "Honor Guard Zhou, the reason we demand more Spirit Stones is because we will be exchanging a huge amount of Demon hearts. In fact, we have more Demon hearts than you usually exchange in several months down on the first floor. If someone with a trifling few hundred Demon hearts can get the same price as us, how can we maintain any face?"

Sun Yunliang's face flickered as he realized he was in somewhat of a predicament. As for Honor Guard Zhou, his face was also quite unsightly as he glared over at Naruto and Wei Li.

"Elder Sun, this really is a bit inappropriate, don't you think?" asked another of the men.

Sun Yunliang hesitated for a moment, then sighed inwardly. However, before he could even open his mouth, Naruto began to speak.

"So you guys have a lot of Demon hearts?" he asked the seven men.

"More than you, I can assure you," said the first man who had spoken, his voice cool.

Naruto's eyes flashed. He gave a cold harrumph and then flicked his sleeve. "Do the lot of you dare to have a little competition?" he asked.

"The loser will forfeit all of the Demon hearts to the winner."

His words caused the expressions on the faces of the seven old men to flicker. They looked over at Naruto, and suddenly, the atmosphere grew very stifling. Sun Yunliang hastened to step forward and clasp hands to both parties.

"Gentlemen, there's no need to get angry. All of this is my fault, for not providing proper introductions. Fellow Daoist, these are the Seven Tycoons, who run the seven largest businesses in Seahold. Every year, they exchange a huge quantity of Demon hearts.

"Why don't you give me a bit of face, and just drop the matter? How about it?"

Having heard this, Naruto's face flickered imperceptibly. Yet again, he gave a cold snort. However, this time, his words were a bit softer. "Very well, Elder Sun, for you, I can let the matter drop." With that, he turned to head downstairs.

The eyes of the seven old men flashed as they stared at Naruto.

Suddenly, one of them flickered and reappeared directly in front of Meng

Hao, blocking his way. "Hold it right there!"

"What are you people trying to pull?" growled Naruto. An alarmed and suspicious look flickered in his eyes. From the time he was young, he had grown accustomed to conning people. Furthermore, after all the hundreds of years, he had also grown quite used to putting on an act. It was an ability that had long since seeped down into his bones.

The seven old men might be shrewd and astute, but if they thought they could figure Naruto out by looking at his expression, well, that was simply impossible.

Honor Guard Zhou laughed coldly, his eyes were filled with scorn.

Sun Yunliang frowned as he looked at Naruto, and then turned back to the seven old men.

The old man who blocked Naruto's way stood there, eyes glittering, unspeaking. As for the six other old men, their expressions were that of excitement. Suddenly, one of them said, "You said you wanted to have a competition, so let's compete. The loser will turn over all Demon hearts to the winner."

Sun Yunliang once again clasped hands and bowed. "Seven Tycoons, this Fellow Daoist came to exchange a few hundred Demon hearts. He may have spoken some sharp words, but I implore the seven of you to give me a bit of face…."

Naruto sighed in relief audibly, then walked around the man who blocked his way. Followed by Wei Li, he headed toward the staircase. As for the cold smile which twisted the side of his mouth, nobody could see it.

According to his estimation, the seven old men would definitely fall into his con. As it turned out, he was completely correct. By now, because of their probing for information, the old men were certain that even if Naruto did have a good collection of Demon hearts, it couldn't possibly match up to their own.

Sure enough, Naruto had only walked down six stairs when two of the seven old men suddenly flickered, appearing in front of him to block his way.

"Careless talk can lead to a lot of trouble," said one of them. "Since you brought up a competition, a competition is what will take place."

Naruto's face looked unsightly, and he stood there silently for a moment. His face grim, he turned and headed back up the stairs.

Sun Yunliang smiled bitterly and gave Naruto an apologetic look. As for Honor Guard Zhou, the ridicule in his expression was quite obvious.

Naruto gritted his teeth, and, looking like he was getting ready to go for broke, said, "How do we compete?"

One of the seven men stepped forward, a lofty expression on his face. "I alone will suffice," he said, lifting up a bag of holding.

"Inside this bag of holding are 13,000 low-grade Demon hearts. Fellow Daoist, how many Demon hearts do you have?" With that, he tossed the bag of holding over to Honor Guard Zhou, who accepted in and then scanned it with Divine Sense. He nodded, and then, in order to ensure impartiality, produced a stone slab.

It was three meters tall and carved with nine dragons. When Honor Guard Zhou placed the bag of holding onto the slab, the first dragon began to glow with light, making it look very lifelike. As for the second dragon, it was thirty percent lit.

"On the Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale," said Sun Yunliang, "each dragon represents 10,000 low-grade Demon hearts." With that, he produced an identical stone slab for Naruto's use.

The old man competing with Naruto loftily said, "I wonder how many Demon hearts you have, Fellow Daoist. Please produce them so that we can widen our knowledge."

The other six old men looked at Naruto with enigmatic smiles, seemingly completely confident of the outcome.

Honor Guard Zhou's smile grew even more radiant. He hadn't liked Naruto from the beginning, and now, the ridicule in his gaze was even more obvious than before. He couldn't wait to see Naruto's expression in reaction to what was happening.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Suneil Patel, Abhishek Aluri, Byron Sego, and Justin Volpato_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 668

Chapter 668: It Feels Great

Wei Li looked over nervously at Naruto. She truly was worried about what would happen if Naruto lost. The price he would pay would be incredible….

Naruto's face was expressionless as he pulled out a bag of holding and tossed it onto the Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale. As soon as the bag of holding touched its surface, one of the dragons carved onto the stone slab started glowing with a bright light.

Everyone watched closely as the scene played out, especially the seven old men. Their expressions flickered, and then quickly began to shine with happiness.

They weren't worried about losing; they were worried that Naruto's bag of holding wouldn't have very many Demon hearts in it. Seeing that it had 10,000, they knew that even after splitting it up, the seven of them would make a tidy profit.

As smiles appeared on the faces of the seven, Honor Guard Zhou's eyes went wide and he felt a bit of regret. Before, he had assumed that Naruto would have a few hundred Demon hearts, or at the most a few thousand. However, it turned out that he actually had 10,000.

His regret quickly vanished, though, as he realized that there was no way Naruto could win. He would lose in the end, and then the Seven Tycoons would have more Demon hearts to exchange.

It was in this moment that the second dragon started to glow, until it was half-lit. That indicated that Naruto's bag of holding had 15,000 Demon hearts in it.

"You lose!" he said immediately. Joy and excitement appeared on his face, although he appeared to be struggling to suppress it.

"Said who?" laughed the old man standing in front of him. "The competition is between you and the seven of us. The contest isn't over until it's over, and no one is allowed to interfere. In this competition, one party must hand over all Demon hearts to the other in the end." The other six men all started nodding.

The first old man walked back a few steps, and a second old man proudly stepped forward. He produced a bag of holding, then looked contemptuously at Naruto as he tossed it onto the stone slab.

A buzzing sound could be heard, and the stone slab began to vibrate. The dragons on its surface almost seemed alive, and were emanating pulsing ripples. The second dragon was now completely glowing, making it look very lifelike. Furthermore, the third dragon was also fully lit.

"A total of 30,000 Demon hearts!" said Honor Guard Zhou excitedly.

"Do you have more?" asked the old man, looking at Naruto.

The other six men were doing the same thing. All of them were imagining a situation in which Naruto had a few more Demon hearts, but not many, and the competition would end on a relatively anticlimactic note.

Naruto's expression was grim as he slowly placed his right hand into his robe. Then, he pulled out another bag of holding, which he threw over to the stone slab. As soon as it landed, the third dragon completely lit up, as did ten percent of the fourth dragon.

Honor Guard Zhou gasped and looked over at Naruto. "31,000…"

Sun Yunliang's eyes were wide, and he almost couldn't believe it. Inwardly, he was laughing bitterly. If he had known Naruto possessed so many Demon hearts, there would never have been such a commotion.

Even the seven old men were shocked. Each of them possessed over

10,000 Demon hearts, but none had an accumulation that exceeded 20,000. And yet, their opponent unexpectedly produced 30,000. As of now, they couldn't help but start to form various speculations about him.

It only took a moment, though, for the seven men to exchange glances. All of their eyes were burning with passion, as they realized that they were actually much more interested in this contest than they had been before. Considering that their opponent had around 30,000 Demon hearts, if they won, it meant each of them would get approximately 5,000. The mere thought of it caused their hearts to begin to thump rapidly.

Then, the seven of them began to chuckle. It was at this point that the second old man stepped back and the third walked forward. He waved his right hand, causing a bag of holding to fly out. Immediately, the fourth and fifth dragons lit up, although the fifth was only ninety percent lit.

"49,000 low-grade Demon hearts!" said Honor Guard Zhou, who then looked over at Naruto. It wasn't just him. Everyone, including Wei Li, were now staring at Naruto.

"I refuse to believe that you can continue to compete," said the third old man, his voice cool.

Naruto said nothing. It seemed as if he had an endless supply of bags of holding in his robe. He produced yet another, which he tossed out, causing the fourth, fifth, and sixth dragons to completely light up!

The bag of holding turned out to have 30,000 Demon hearts in it!

Honor Guard Zhou's mind was spinning, and he was breathing heavily. He stared blankly at the six glowing dragons on the stone slab.

"60,000… Demon hearts!"

The faces of the seven old men flickered, and they stared dead at Naruto. Then they exchanged glances, and reached a consensus. In their opinion, this had to be the last bag of holding their opponent would produce.

"60,000 Demon hearts! No wonder he was so domineering!"

"I never imagined that he would have so many Demon hearts. However, compared to the seven of us, he can't match up!"

"The best would be if he had 70,000, then each of us would get 10,000. That's quite a hefty profit. Well, even if this guy has someone powerful backing him, does he really think he can fight back against the seven of us altogether?!"

The seven old men chuckled as the fourth and fifth of their number stepped forward at the same time. The two of them tossed out bags of holding, which, as soon as they landed onto the stone slab, caused a blinding light to shine out. It wasn't the just the sixth dragon which lit up; the seventh did too, and even fifty percent of the eighth.

"75,000 low-grade Demon hearts!" said Honor Guard Zhou, his amazed voice echoing about.

The fifth old man laughed heartily. "Fellow Daoist, however many lowgrade Demon hearts you have, bring them out. We'll keep up with you until the end." His expression was proud, and his heart was filled with joy that he could not cover over.

The others also smiled complacently as they pondered what it would be like to split up all of Naruto's Demon hearts.

Naruto blinked, and then reached yet again into his robe. The eyes of the seven men narrowed as Naruto produced another bag of holding, which he tossed over to the stone slab.

A rumbling sound echoed out as the seventh and eighth dragons lit up. Only the ninth dragon remained dark.

Seeing this, the seven old men burst into hearty laughter. Even Honor Guard Zhou let out a sigh of relief. Clearly, Naruto only had 80,000 Demon hearts, otherwise, the ninth dragon would already have begun to shine with light.

Sun Yunliang had long since begun to pant, and his heart was pounding. When he saw Honor Guard Zhou's expression, he truly wished he could simply step over and slap the man across the face. "What an idiot! Someone who possesses 80,000 Demon hearts is not someone to provoke lightly. Perhaps he just didn't dare to fight against the power of the seven combined. But now we have this situation here in the Sun Soul Society. He definitely won't give up!"

"This farce is over," said the sixth old man. "Fellow Daoist, it's time for me to teach you a lesson. Never forget, there are always Heavens beyond the Heavens you know, and there are always people out there who are better than you." He didn't even step forward. He simply tossed out a bag of holding. It landed with a bang onto the stone slab, causing the eight dragon to light up completely, along with seventy percent of the ninth dragon.

"87… 87,000 low-grade Demon hearts!" gasped Honor Guard Zhou.

Naruto's brow furrowed, and he felt around in his robe. However, he did not produce another bag of holding. All of the low-grade Demon hearts that he possessed had been there in his robe.

When she saw the expression on Naruto's face, Wei Li's heart began to pound. The expressions on the faces of the seven old men were of completely complacency. One of them stepped forward, and reached out toward the bags of holding which Naruto had placed onto the stone slab.

"Did I say you could touch those?" said Naruto. He waved his right hand, causing a mild attack to fly out that pushed the old man back. The old man's face flickered, and as he looked over at Naruto, the other six old men stepped forward, displeased expressions clouding their faces.

"Being a sore loser, Fellow Daoist?" asked one.

"Even if you are, it doesn't matter," said another. "You must admit your defeat. You lost, so those Demon hearts belong to us now."

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. Then he smiled, a faint, bashful smile.

"The competition isn't over yet, so how could I have lost?" His words caused the hearts of the seven old men to suddenly sink, and they exchanged flabbergasted looks.

"You have more low-grade Demon hearts?"

"Low-grade Demon hearts? No, I'm out," replied Naruto. It was at this point that he slapped the bag of holding at his side, from within which unexpectedly appeared another bag of holding. This was one of the special bags of holding that he had purchased in Seahold.

Hefting it, Naruto looked at the Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale. "Why don't we use something else other than this slab? It would be a shame for an incredible treasure like it to be damaged."

Hearing this, the seven old men could only stare in shock at the bag of holding in Naruto's hand. Then, however, one of the old men sneered. "The stone slab only has nine dragons, but if the number exceeds 100,000, then they will change color. To date, I have never heard of anyone being able to use Demon stones to damage a Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale."

Naruto looked over at Sun Yunliang, who hesitated for a moment before smiling wryly and nodding his head.

"Very well, then," said Naruto, tossing over the bag of holding. When it landed on the stone slab, it caused a boom to ring out that was audible even down on the first floor. At the same time, the ninth dragon completely lit up.

Looks of concentration appeared on the men's faces.

Next, the first dragon began to change color, turning blue.

The sight of it caused the faces of the seven old men to fall.

After that, the second dragon, the third dragon, in fact, all of the nine dragons turned blue.

Then they changed color again, starting with the first and going all the way to the ninth, until they all glittered with bright violet light.

The seven old men were trembling, and looks of shock and disbelief covered their faces. A few even said, "Impossible!"

However, the changes didn't stop with the violet light. Once more, the dragons began to change color, this time to orange.

"Orange light… that's… that's orange light!" The minds of the seven old men were spinning, as if they were being struck by lightning. They shook, their eyes blank with astonishment.

However, the light was not finished changed. Once again it began to transform, for the fifth time, causing the dragons, one after another, to shine with a glow the color of blood!

The changes in color left the people in the area completely and utterly shocked. They stared with wide open mouths, their minds roaring, as the nine dragons turned completely the color of blood. And then…

The nine dragons flickered brightly, as if… they were about to change to yet another color.

However, the Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale had apparently reached its limit, and the color couldn't change. A rumbling sound filled the building, and soon was audible even outside. Shockingly, the sound was coming from the Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale itself. Cracking noises could be heard as, in the full vision of everyone present, it suddenly… completely disintegrated!

Naruto cleared his throat. As he looked around at the shocked people around him, he thought to himself that being rich… felt great!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Atettmara_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 669

Chapter 669: You Cheated!

In the moment in which the stone slab exploded, Saint Sun Soul sat in his tower in Seahold. His eyes suddenly snapped open, and he sent his Divine Sense down into the city. It immediately locked onto the location where Naruto was.

After examining the situation, his face twitched again.

"Trying to compete in Demon hearts with him? Those seven are courting death!

"He mustn't be given any opportunity to flip out. If he seizes the moral high ground, he's bound to cause a crisis to develop…." Saint Sun Soul looked up at the bottle gourd which was placed off to the side, and felt a bit of a headache coming on. When he thought about the alcohol inside, his face grew unsightly.

He flicked his right sleeve, and immediately, a person approached from outside the tower. Once inside, he immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

"Greetings, Master."

It was a middle-aged man wearing a long, violet gown. His expression was one of veneration, and his eyes sparkled with energy. His Cultivation base was at the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, not far from Spirit Severing.

"Go to the Sect's Demon heart exchange pavilion," said Saint Sun Soul coolly. "There's a man there I want you to invite here. Remember to be extremely courteous. Treat him as politely as you treat me."

The middle-aged man immediately nodded, but the fact that his Master spoke no more caused him to pause for a moment.

"Master, what is name of this respected member of the senior generation?"

"Just go, you'll recognize him." Saint Sun Soul didn't appear to want to discuss the matter further.

The middle-aged man stood up and, feeling a bit perplexed, left the tower.

Meanwhile, back on the second floor of the Sun Soul Society's Demon heart exchange shop, Naruto stood there with hands clasped behind his back. He looked down at the shattered remnants of the Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale, and then looked over at the old men, who stood there as dumbstruck as wooden chickens, completely speechless.

They were struck thoroughly and completely senseless. Their heads filled with unprecedentedly large crashing waves, and they felt as if their minds were about to be torn into shreds.

Then, they began to calculate….

"Changing colors once indicates a complete doubling in the number of Demon hearts….

"In total, there were six changes in color, which means that the number of Demon hearts would be six times the amount before…. Before, there were 80,000 demon hearts. Don't tell me that his bag of holding actually has 500,000 Demon hearts!?

"If you changed 500,000 Demon hearts into Spirit Stones, that… that would be….

"Over 300,000,000!" Their minds roared as they looked over at Naruto, terrified.

"No way!

"The Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale does indeed have a limitation. According to the standard of low-grade Demon hearts, it's supposedly able to accommodate 1,000,000. 500-600,000 wouldn't cause it to shatter. Something's going on here!" The old men gasped and looked over fixedly at Naruto.

However, before they could figure out where the problem lay, Honor Guard Zhou and Elder Sun, despite being thoroughly shaken, also suddenly realized that something was off. They too looked over at Naruto.

The eyes of nine people all turned red.

As of now, the expressions of the seven old men were that of complete exasperation as they finally considered… the possibility of losing.

"You cheated!" they roared, their voices hoarse.

If they lost, their Demon hearts would become Naruto's. It was a vast sum that they fundamentally couldn't accept. After all, these weren't their Demon hearts, but rather, the property of the various Sects and Clans that they represented.

"You definitely cheated! The Demon Heart Scale can accommodate 1,000,000 low-grade Demon hearts. I don't believe that your bag of holding has more than 900,000!

"I don't know how you did it, but it's definitely not fair! Such actions deserve death!" The killing intent in the old men immediately grew more obvious.

"Do you, or do you not, dare to compete one more time!? Take the Demon hearts out of your bag of holding, and we can compare numbers directly!

"If you don't dare, then it proves you cheated! To behave so treacherously in front of us means that you won't step foot alive out the front door of this Demon heart exchange pavilion!"

The seven old men were acting in a very domineering fashion. They strode forward, their Cultivation bases unleashed, transforming into an intangible tempest which spread out in all directions.

Wei Li's face was pale, and were she not hiding behind Naruto, she wouldn't be able to take it, and would directly explode.

The old man who had reached out to take Naruto's bags of holding just now suddenly produced another bag of holding which he tossed onto the stone slab. The nine dragons flickered, and suddenly, a blue light appeared.

However, it wasn't completely blue. Only about half of the first dragon had turned blue.

"98,000 low-grade Demon hearts. This is all the Demon hearts I possess.

Do you dare to gamble again?!"

Honor Guard Zhou and Sun Yunliang stood off to the side silently watching. This time, even Honor Guard Zhou didn't react; he didn't want to be involved with the matter any more.

Naruto coldly looked over the seven old men, then waved his right hand. Instantly, all of his bags of holding flew out from the rubble of the destroyed stone slab. Seeing this, the several old men roared and closed in on him.

However, before they could get close, Naruto opened the last of the bags of holding, and expressionlessly removed a Demon heart. It emanated with bright colors, along with dense spiritual energy. Naruto waved his sleeve, causing the Demon heart to fly over to Sun Yunliang.

"Elder Sun, would you mind appraising that for me?" he said coolly.

The seven old men stopped in their tracks and looked at the Demon heart in Sun Yunliang's hand. Their faces fell. They didn't need to look closely at it. Based on the spiritual energy, as well as its color and size, it was easy to determine….

"Mid-grade Demon heart!" Sun Yunliang gasped. His words instantly crushed any last bit hope the seven old men had to come out on top.

Sun Yunliang took a deep breath and gazed at the Demon heart. His face flickered through various emotions, and then he turned to stare at the bag of holding in Naruto's hand. The seven old men were doing exactly the same. All of them were inwardly forming speculations about what was going on, which caused their faces to become more and more unsightly.

"The price of mid-grade Demon hearts doesn't fluctuate very much," said Sun Yunliang. "A single one is worth 10,000 Spirit Stones, or ten low-grade Demon hearts. Of course, it doesn't work the other way around." He looked up at Naruto and then slowly said, "Fellow Daoist, how many mid-grade Demon hearts do you possess?"

Naruto didn't say anything in response. He simply waved his sleeve, causing a glittering, crystalline waterfall to spill out of his bag of holding. The entire area instantly filled with dense spiritual energy. The second floor turned into something like a land of Immortals.

10,000 mid-grade demon hearts piled up all around. Immediately, everyone present began to pant, and their minds shook.

"10… 10,000 mid-grade Demon hearts. That's equal to 100,000 lowgrade Demon hearts. They could be traded for… 100,000,000 Spirit Stones!" Sun Yunliang struggled to maintain his composure as he spoke.

Honor Guard Zhou, on the other hand, felt his vision growing dim, and he almost passed out. How could he ever have imagined that the person he scorned so openly would end up having so many mid-grade Demon hearts?

As for the seven old men, they trembled in place and looked almost as if they had just aged ten years.

"There is no need to directly compare," said Sun Yunliang, looking over at Naruto. He clasped his hands and bowed courteously. "Fellow Daoist, you are the victor."

Wei Li stood behind Naruto, her mind reeling. She knew Naruto was rich, but she had never imagined that he would be… THIS rich.

Naruto lifted his right hand, collecting up the bags of holding belonging to the seven men. The old men watched on with red eyes. Their killing intent was even more intense now, and seeing Naruto dare to take their bags of holding put them in the mood to go all out and attack.

"Hold on a minute!"

"Fellow Daoist, you certainly do possess more Demon hearts than us.

However, you still haven't explained the matter of the cheating earlier!"

"Even if you do have 10,000 mid-grade Demon hearts, that's still not enough to destroy the Nine Dragons Demon Heart Scale! You cheated, which means the bet doesn't stand! We refuse to accept this!" Of course, the seven old men were now resorting to sophistry, and they knew it. However, what else could they do? There was no way the could simply allow Naruto to take away their Demon hearts.

"Well then, I'll just have to make you accept it," said Naruto calmly. He waved his hand, causing the remaining 20,000 mid-grade Demon hearts in his bag of holding to fly out. They piled up everywhere, nearly completely filling the second floor.

The eyes of the seven old men widened as Naruto then sent the highgrade Demon hearts flying out from the bag of holding. The splendor of the high-grade Demon hearts caused them to instantly become the focus of all eyes on the second floor.

The spiritual energy they produced transformed into a pillar-like aura that shot up into the air above Seahold. Wild colors flashed in the sky, and the wind and clouds roiled.

Every Cultivator in Seahold instantly looked over in stupefaction. The buzz of conversation instantly rose up from all areas of Seahold.

Back in the Demon heart exchange pavilion, Sun Yunliang stared with slack jaw at the high-grade Demon hearts. He picked one up and looked at it closely, then hoarsely said, "This… this… is a high-grade Demon heart!"

Such items were considered treasures, and were rarely seen. A single one would normally be sold at auction, and in all the past years, he had only seen less than a hundred.

"The starting auction price for high-grade Demon hearts is 500,000 Spirit Stones. They can be exchanged for 50 mid-grade Demon hearts, or 500 low-grade Demon hearts…. There are 10,000 here… that means they are worth… worth… 5,000,000,000!"

Honor Guard Zhou's vision now went completely dark.

As for the seven old men, their faces were deathly pale, and their minds filled with roaring. How could they ever have imagined that they were actually gambling with someone so enigmatic and impossible to predict?

They, who had Demon hearts worth a few dozen million Spirit Stones, were betting about who was richer… with someone who had 5,000,000,000.

Naruto cleared his throat, then waved his hand. Immediately, all of the Demon hearts flew back into his bag of holding, including the roughly 100,000 belonging to the seven old men. The seven old men lifted their heads up and roared. Their eyes were red as the complete power of their Cultivation bases exploded out and they charged Naruto.

Naruto's expression suddenly turned cold.

"Screw off!"

Two words caused minds of the seven men to feel as if they were filled with lightning. Blood sprayed from their mouths. They weren't able to even get close to Naruto before they were sent tumbling backward. They looked at him and coughed up blood, their expressions filled with unprecedented looks of astonishment and fear.

"Spirit… Spirit Severing!" Their faces drained of blood, and they began to tremble violently. This time, Honor Guard Zhou really did pass out, falling flat onto the ground.

Sun Yunliang gasped, stepped forward, and then bowed with clasped hands. "Junior offers greetings, senior!"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 670

Chapter 670: Crisis Approaches

Right in the middle of Seahold, Naruto unleashed his aura, causing the seven old men to scatter backward, blood spraying from their mouths. In that same moment, a jagged black cloud filled with crackling lightning flew through the air in the Fourth Ring, right outside of the Flying Immortal Sect.

Then, the cloud dissipated to reveal an old man wearing a long black robe. His features were ancient, and the feeling of time seemed to circulate around him. He hovered in mid-air, looking down at the surface of the sea with an abstruse light glimmering in his eyes.

If Naruto were here, he would recognize him immediately. This old man… was none other than the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch!

"No more delays," he said coolly. "This time… I'll definitely wrest away his Dao foundation. If this clone gets defeated, then I'll simply lock down on the location and come here with my true self via greater teleportation. Even if the Immortality Bestowal Dais does notice, I will achieve my aim!" A sharp gleam appeared in his eyes, which contained both determination and a desire to slaughter.

"There are no traces of him whatsoever in the Fourth Ring. Before coming here, none of my auguries could produce any clue to his position. However, I was able to determine that he is still in the Milky Way Sea!

"If he's neither in the Fourth Ring, nor the Outer Sea, then that means he must be… in the Third Ring!

"The Third Ring… is a forbidden zone for Dao Seeking…." He frowned, then suddenly flew directly down toward the Flying Immortal Sect.

He remained inside for only the amount of time it takes an incense stick to burn. After he flew out, the entire Flying Immortal Sect suddenly burst into activity. Saint Flying Immortal had issued orders. More than half of the Flying Immortal Sect disciples flew toward the Flying Immortal Sect Sea City in the Third Ring.

Tens of thousands of disciples soared through the air, each one of them clutching a jade slip that contained an image of Naruto, along with a bit of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's Divine Sense.

Even as the Flying Immortal Sect disciples entered the Flying Immortal Sect Sea City, checks were made of the Third Ring entrance records.

However, no traces were found of Naruto. After that, the Flying Immortal Sect unleashed all the power it could muster, along with all of its ships, to begin to travel through the Stormwind Divide. They were on their way to the Third Ring to accomplish their task.

Meanwhile, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was paying a visit to the Sea Divinity Sect. Although it was impossible to determine what exactly he promised them, when he left, Saint Sea Divinity issued orders that caused tens of thousands of Sea Divinity Sect disciples to spring into action. They transformed into countless sword auras that shot toward the Sea Divinity Sect Sea City, jade slips in hand. After a thorough check was made of the records of entry into the Third Ring, the tens of thousands of disciples began the process of entering the Third Ring, exactly as the Flying Immortal Sect disciples had.

Even Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity, two Spirit Severing experts, joined the forces who left the Sect and entered the Stormwind Divide.

Two of the three great Sects were driven into action by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. However, because Saint Sun Soul of the Sun Soul Society was stationed in the three Sects' Seahold in the Third Ring, it was impossible for an agreement to be reached. Therefore, although the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was able to check their records, no forces were mobilized.

After thinking about the matter for a moment, a gleam of insight appeared in the eyes of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. "This kid is extremely cunning. However, the more I think about it, the fact that there are no records makes it even more likely that he's in the Third Ring!"

He left the Sun Soul Society's headquarters and then entered the Stormwind Divide.

"I've already flung out an inescapable dragnet into the Third Ring. I can't believe that Naruto… will disappear under the noses of tens of thousands of disciples from two Sects!

"Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity have already promised to go to the Third Ring. Their Cultivation bases are ordinary, but with their Sect's legacy treasures in hand, they are forces not to be trifled with.

"Nobody understands the Third Ring better than them. Naruto, if you can escape them, then I'll admit your superiority.

"It won't just be them looking for you either. I'm confident that I can win over the Sun Soul Society. Then, a hundred thousand disciples from three different Sects will be looking for a single you…. And as if that weren't enough, I've also posted a handsome bounty. When the time comes, all the Cultivators in the Third Ring will be my eyes and ears!

If only one person tracks you down, then I will know!" The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch strode through the Stormwind Divide. Everywhere he went, the black mists spread away from him, opening a path. It was as if nothing dared to stand in his way.

"This time, I must succeed. Too much time has passed, and the Hebi Clan is growing suspicious…." The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face was grim. How could he ever have suspected that a trifling member of the junior generation would turn out to be so troublesome, and even defeat him twice in a row?

It was in the same moment that the tens of thousands of Flying Immortal Sect and Sea Divinity Sect disciples flew into the Stormwind Divide that, back in the Third Ring, in the Sun Soul Society's Demon heart exchange pavilion in the three Sects' Seahold, Naruto made a grasping motion that caused all of the Demon hearts to fly into his bag of holding.

The seven old men were as mute as cicadas in winter. Their faces were pale, and they didn't dare to do anything to hinder Naruto. The pain that filled their hearts had long since seeped out to completely inundate them.

Panting, and eyes burning with passion, Sun Yunliang suddenly spoke up. "Senior, if you wish to exchange those Demon hearts, please rest at ease, the Sect will definitely give you a satisfactory price!" He knew that if he personally could handle the exchange, it would count as an incredible meritorious service to the Sect.

Such meritorious service might even prompt a personal reaction from Saint Sun Soul, and could potentially affect his Cultivation base. He might even have a chance to enter the Spirit Severing stage!

Even if he couldn't, he would definitely become famous within the Sect.

"Can your Sun Soul Society alone handle this many Demon hearts?" asked Naruto, looking at him.

Sun Yunliang gaped for a moment, then made some calculations. His face looked a bit unsightly as he realized that even employing all the resources of the Sun Soul Society, it still might be a difficult task to exchange Spirit Stones for so many Demon hearts.

In his moment of hesitation, a bright beam of light flew urgently toward the pavilion. It was Saint Sun Soul's apprentice, who, with a flash of minor teleportation, appeared on the second floor. As soon as he arrived, he saw the seven ashen-faced old men. Then his gaze fell upon Naruto.

All it took was one glance for him to ascertain that this was definitely the member of the senior generation to whom his Master had referred.

The reaction was a type of intuition on his part. After a sharp intake of breath, the middle-aged man instantly clasped hands and bowed.

"I am Han Feng of the junior generation. Greetings, senior. I come on orders from my Master to invite you to have a chat with him."

As soon as the man arrived, Sun Yunliang's face flickered and he clasped hands in greetings. When the seven old men saw him, looks of awe appeared on their faces, and they also bowed.

Naruto looked at the middle-aged man, and his eyes narrowed slightly. Then he turned his head to look at the tower that rose up in the middle of Seahold.

"Your Master is Saint Sun Soul?" he asked coolly.

"My Master is indeed Saint Sun Soul," replied the man, his tone respectful.

Naruto looked back at Sun Yunliang. "I'll be with Saint Sun Soul," he said. "You get the Spirit Stone situation sorted out and then come looking for me. How many Demon Hearts I give you will depend on how many Spirit Stones you can afford offer." Saint Sun Soul's apprentice gaped in response to Naruto's words, and Wei Li stood there nervously.

Sun Yunliang immediately sent a message. He didn't provide specific details; he just related the information about how many Demon hearts Naruto had. The apprentice's eyes went wide, and he gasped.

Now he understood why his Master had sent him here.

"How could he possibly have so many Demon hearts?" he thought. It was with even more reverence that he escorted Naruto as they flew off toward the tower.

Wei Li was with them, and the closer they got to the tower, the more nervous she got. In the short period of time in which she had followed Naruto, she had seen more incredible things than she normally would have seen in her entire life.

That was especially true of the scene that had just played out regarding the Demon hearts, which seemed as if it might cause her heart to stop beating entirely. She had known Naruto was rich, but could never have imagined… that he was THAT rich.

Perhaps his wealth couldn't compare to that of an entire country, but it was no exaggeration that it could rival a great Sect.

Soon, the three of them reached the tower. Naruto turned to look back at Wei Li.

The apprentice immediately clasped hands and bowed.

"Senior, don't worry. I, of the junior generation, will arrange accommodations for this Fellow Daoist."

Naruto nodded. Seeing that Wei Li did not object, he turned and flew directly toward the top level of the tower, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

When he reappeared, he was inside the tower.

Black-robed Saint Sun Soul sat cross-legged behind a wide table, his face expressionless. Next to him was the elegant and poised woman, his wife. She was sniffing a flagon of alcohol when Naruto appeared. She looked at him and smiled warmly.

"You offered me some alcohol," said Saint Sun Soul. "Now, I'd like to offer you some in return." Even as he spoke, his wife brought the alcohol flagon over. She then produced two glasses, into which she distributed the alcohol. After that, she sat down next to Saint Sun Soul and looked over curiously at Naruto.

Naruto said nothing as he sat down directly across from Saint Sun Soul. He picked up the glass of alcohol, looked it over, then drank it in one mouthful.

When the alcohol entered his mouth, it felt freezing cold, and made his entire body feel as if it were being frozen. It even seemed as if the alcohol were about to extinguish the flame of his life force.

The coldness entered his Qi passageways and spread throughout his entire person. Even his Cultivation base was frozen in the blink of an eye. His Divine Sense slowed down, and he almost began to slip into slumber. It was even hard to think.

He was so cold that frost appeared on his skin; it almost seemed like the alcohol in the cup could turn him into a statue of ice.

This alcohol would most certainly kill any ordinary Spirit Severing Cultivator who drank it. However, Naruto's fleshly body was far too powerful for that. Although his Cultivation base and Divine Sense had been frozen over, his fleshly body only vibrated slightly. In a short moment, thousands of these vibrations occurred. The frequency of the vibrations seemed to accord with some great Dao, and within the space of about ten breaths, white steam began to rise up from the top of his head. It filled the entire top level of the tower, and even caused the walls to make cracking sounds as they frosted over.

A serious expression appeared in the eyes of the elegant woman, and although Saint Sun Soul's face was expressionless, his eyes were cold as he stared at Naruto.

"Your alcohol isn't very strong, at least, not as strong as mine." Meng

Hao slapped his bag of holding to produce, not another gourd bottle, but Han Shan's bronze alcohol flagon. He also pulled out a glass which he then filled with alcohol and slid across to Saint Sun Soul.

"Please, be my guest," he said coolly.

Saint Sun Soul's face twitched as he looked down at the glass. He hesitated, which was something he rarely did.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Vong Her, Yanuar Yaputra, Michael_

 _Michalczyk, Panusit Chomanan, David How, Nikita Belyaev, and_

 _AdiNugraha Tawakal_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 671

Chapter 671: Cooperation

After a few breaths of time, a look of determination filled the eyes of Saint Sun Soul. He lifted up the glass of alcohol and then tossed it down his throat.

After it went down, his body suddenly started shaking, and veins bulged out on his face. A pained expression appeared but he doggedly endured, raising his hand to rotate the full power of his Cultivation base. His wife's face flickered, and she was about to rise to her feet when Saint Sun Soul stopped her with a look.

He panted for the space of about ten breaths, then suddenly pointed out with his right index finger. A blue aura appeared, filled with an intense sharpness. It shot out through the wall of the tower, after which, a monstrous Sword Qi sped off over the horizon.

Saint Sun Soul breathed deeply, and his face was pale white. He looked over at Naruto.

"Does everyone in your hometown drink this type of alcohol?"

His expression the same as ever, Naruto lifted up the bronze alcohol flagon and took a long drink, all the while staring Saint Sun Soul in the eye.

Saint Sun Soul's face twitched again. He watched as Naruto had no reaction whatsoever to the alcohol, and in fact, even took another drink. He sighed.

"In all the years I've practiced Cultivation, this is the first time someone has ever threatened me with some alcohol."

"How could treating you to some alcohol be a threat?" asked Naruto, sounding a bit hurt. "In my hometown, everyone really does drink this. It's just that when I left, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I didn't bring very much with me. Next time, I'll make sure to bring you a bit more."

Saint Sun Soul sat there quietly. He wasn't quite sure what to make of Naruto's arrival. The Sword Qi in the alcohol was very strong, and moments ago he had actually been rocked both physically and mentally. Then he saw Naruto drink it without any reaction at all. He couldn't help but think that Naruto was even more mysterious than he had seemed at first.

"He can attract Sea Demons to the point of driving them crazy," he thought. "He has this strange sword alcohol and a shocking fleshly body, and even canceled out my freezing Qi…. On top of that he's also a Time Cultivator. So… why exactly is he here?" He lifted up the glass with the freezing alcohol and took a drink.

"Why don't you exchange your Demon hearts with the Sun Soul Society? The exchange rate won't be incredibly high, but neither will it be very low."

Naruto looked back silently at Saint Sun Soul for a moment. Then he asked, "Why do the three Sects value Demon hearts so much?"

"Generally speaking, that is a secret," replied Saint Sun Soul coolly. "However, considering the level of your Cultivation base, you'll figure it eventually on your own.

"The history of the three Sects go back a long way," he continued. "As for how long exactly, even I'm not too sure. I only know that the first generation of Patriarchs of the Sects jointly summoned the Stormwind Divide. After that, this area was sealed off all the way down until this day.

"As to whether those Patriarchs are still alive or dead, nobody knows. However, they left behind a legacy treasure that requires Demon hearts to ensure that it will continue to exist. Furthermore, the cultivation techniques of the Cultivators of the three Sects are different from that of outsiders. To us, Spirit Stones are only moderately effective. Demon hearts, on the other hand, are a different story.

"Furthermore, and most importantly, every rotation of the great spell formation that protects the three Sects requires a shocking amount of Demon hearts. Without the Demon hearts, it can't be operated."

Having heard all of this, Naruto chuckled a bit. "I suppose there is another reason, isn't there?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you," replied Saint Sun Soul, staring at Naruto.

"It has something to do with the yellow springs Underworld Ship in the Stormwind Divide," said Naruto, smiling and eyes glittering.

Saint Sun Soul looked back at him expressionlessly. "There's no need for you to probe for information. That matter is a secret of the three Sects, which cannot be told to outsiders. However, you know of the yellow springs Underworld Ship…. That's a bit unexpected."

Although his tone of voice was the same as ever, inwardly, Saint Sun Soul was shocked to hear Naruto mention the yellow springs Underworld Ship. Yet again, he found himself more in awe.

It was at this point that a jade slip suddenly began to glow inside Saint Sun Soul's bag of holding. He took it out and looked it over, then placed it down onto the table.

"If you don't want to tell me, then forget about the matter," said Naruto, giving up on his efforts to probe for information. "As for the Demon hearts… as long as you give me a huge enough quantity of Spirit Stones, then of course I'll exchange them with you!" He pulled out a bag of holding, which he loosened and then placed on the table.

Glancing at the jade slip on the table in front of Saint Sun Soul, Naruto smiled and said, "You most likely know exactly how many Demon hearts are inside. Name a price."

"5,000,000,000 low-grade Spirit Stones," replied Saint Sun Soul. He waved his hand, causing a ring to fly out which Naruto then snatched.

He scanned it with Divine Sense, whereupon he saw that the inside of the ring was densely packed with a vast quantity of Spirit Stones!

They were not low-grade, nor even mid-grade. No, all were high-grade Spirit Stones!

Naruto's pupils constricted. According to his understanding, even great Sects and Clans would have a hard time accumulating so many high-grade Spirit Stones. And yet Saint Sun Soul's attitude was… relatively cavalier.

Naruto muttered to himself inwardly about how this cold-faced man turned out to be the truly rich one. However, he still couldn't wrap his mind about why the trifling Sun Soul Society would have so many Spirit Stones.

His eyes flickered as all of a sudden, he thought about Demon hearts.

"Could it be that there is something about the Demon hearts themselves that cause the Sun Soul Society to be so rich?" he thought.

"Our transaction is complete, you can take your leave now." Saint Sun Soul closed his eyes and paid no more attention to Naruto, as if even looking at him caused him to feel somewhat annoyed.

Naruto smiled, clasped the ring in hand as he stood up and prepared to leave. However, after taking only two steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

"Considering how many Spirit Stones your Sun Soul Society has," he said, "perhaps you would be interested in forming a cooperation." Saint Sun Soul opened his eyes and looked at Naruto.

"What sort of cooperation?"

"The two of us join forces to kill Sea Demons. I'll help you to draw them out."

Saint Sun Soul's eyes glittered, and after a moment of silence, he said, "What's the split?"

"For every ten we acquire, you keep nine and I keep one. Furthermore, when it comes to exchanging the Demon hearts for Spirit Stones, I'll give you a ten percent discount!" 1

"Fifty percent!" retorted Saint Sun Soul.

"No way," said Naruto, shaking his head. "It's not easy to attract the Sea Demons, and that's my responsibility. It's just that with your help things will go a bit faster. Also, the Third Ring belongs to your three Sects. If it weren't for that, I could just do it all myself."

"Oh, so you do know what it means to be in the Third Ring after all!" shot back Saint Sun Soul. The two of them continued to negotiate the terms of their cooperation. Off to the side, Saint Sun Soul's beautiful wife covered her smile with her hand as she watched on. She hadn't heard Saint Sun Soul speak so much in years.

She understood her husband well. He seemed cold on the outside, but he viewed the people he approved of as close friends. As for the people he didn't approve of, even people who were incredibly powerful, they would not hear more than three sentences come out of his mouth.

She could see that although her husband and Naruto didn't seem to get along, in truth, they both admired each other.

Naruto slapped his hand down onto the table, causing the jade slip to fly up into the air. "You listen to me, swindler, I've been going easy on you so far, don't make me get serious! You've tasted my hometown alcohol, so you know that a fifty percent discount is not going to happen!"

Saint Sun Soul gave a cold snort. "For hundreds of years in the Third Ring, the Saints have controlled everything! Without my permission, will you be killing any Demons at all?"

The two of them faced off angrily. Smiling, Saint Sun Soul's wife rose to her feet to refill their glasses of alcohol. Her voice soft, she said, "There's no need to act like this, you two. Instead of sticking to fifty percent or ten percent, why don't you both back down a bit and settle on thirty percent?"

Naruto thought for a moment and then nodded in agreement. "Fine, thirty percent it is!" After all, this was the Third Ring, and when it came to Saint Sun Soul, unless he used some of his trump cards, he wouldn't quite be a match. Although the two of them didn't quite know how to deal with the other, Naruto couldn't help but think about how annoying it was to try to earn his Spirit Stones only to be interfered with by other random people.

Saint Sun Soul hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

Naruto rose to his feet, "Alright, swindler. Since we're in agreement, then we'll head out in a few days."

"I'm a Saint and my name is Lin Tao!" said Saint Sun Soul through gritted teeth.

"Thanks for telling me, swindler," replied Naruto, flicking his sleeve and preparing to leave.

It was at this point that Saint Sun Soul's eyes flickered, and he suddenly swept his sleeve across the jade slip sitting on the table, sending it flying toward Naruto. Naruto turned and grabbed it, then looked at Saint Sun Soul.

"Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity sent me some news. Take a look." He took another drink of alcohol, then closed his eyes and said nothing further.

A serious expression on his face, Naruto sent his Divine Sense into the jade slip. After looking at the information therein, a tremor ran through him. According to the jade slip, Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity were currently on their way to the Third Ring, along with seventy thousand of their disciples.

In addition to that information, there was also a picture of Naruto, as well as an message to Saint Sun Soul, inviting him to join in the search.

Finally, there was a message indicating that the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was coming personally to meet with Saint Sun Soul to explain the rewards he would receive for participating in the search.

Naruto's face was expressionless as he tossed the jade slip back, where it hovered in the air in front of Saint Sun Soul.

Saint Sun Soul took and put it away, then coolly said, "Han Feng."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Han Feng teleported into the room to stand in front of Saint Sun Soul. He clasped hands and bowed.

His voice calm, Saint Sun Soul said, "Go out into Seahold and get rid of any information about Master's friend here. It doesn't matter how many people saw him or had dealings with him, go take care of everything. Spare no cost.

"That includes people who have left the city in the past few days. Clean it all up."

Han Feng gaped for a moment, then bowed his head and voiced his assent. He glanced over at Naruto and then turned and left.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he watched these things happen, but he didn't speak.

"Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity are passing through the Stormwind Divide. Given the speed they can attain, it will take them two months to get here. As for that 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, even if he does have a Dao Seeking Cultivation base, it will also take him about two months.

"I will agree with the requests of the other Saints, as well as of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. That way, it will be much harder for traces of your passage to be picked up in my territory."

Naruto was silent for a moment before clasping hands and bowing. "Many thanks!"

"I'm not helping you, I'm helping our business," replied Saint Sun Soul coolly. Then he cleared his throat and looked at Naruto. "Eighty percent discount!"

Naruto gritted his teeth. Although his expression was the same as usual, he glared at Saint Sun Soul, who was beaming in self-satisfaction. "Forty percent, that's the most you'll get!"

—–

Please e-mail typos and mistakes to [email protected]

Just to forestall any questions, Naruto's offer is translated correctly.

He gives Saint Sun Soul nine for every one that he gets ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 672

Chapter 672 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 672: Duplicating the Sword Tip!

A short while later, Naruto left the tower, his face grim and unsightly. In the end, he had been conned by that swindler; they ended up agreeing to a fifty percent discount.

Naruto had always felt as if he lived a life in which he conned others. Rarely did others con him. He especially never imagined that he would be conned by such a solemn-looking, unprincipled swindler like Saint Sun Soul. The whole matter left him feeling extremely exasperated.

"I can't believe that swindler conned me like he did…." sighed Naruto. Saint Sun Soul's apprentice led him, not to the city area, but to a private villa nearby.

That was the arrangement set up by Saint Sun Soul. By staying in this private district belonging to the Sun Soul Society, contact with outsiders could be kept to a minimum, which would make it much easier to get rid of any traces of his presence.

When Wei Li saw the look on his face, she didn't dare to speak. Every time she looked over, he seemed to have a different expression. Sometimes he gritted his teeth, sometimes he sighed, sometimes he seemed to be in indescribable pain.

"What's wrong with him?" she thought in astonishment. What she didn't know was that to Naruto… Spirit Stones had long since become his entire life! For someone to, in one blow, reduce the number of Spirit Stones he could earn, was like a knife stabbing through his heart.

After Naruto left the tower, Saint Sun Soul Lin Tao began to chuckle complacently. Feeling quite happy, he raised the alcohol glass to his lips and took a long drink.

His wife sat off to the side, shaking her head. She was also very happy, not because of how much her husband had managed to take advantage of Naruto, but rather, the fact that a friendship was slowly developing between the two of them.

Her husband had never had any friends, and she could sense how happy he actually was.

Later that night, Naruto sat cross-legged in his room, thinking over his current situation. He still felt a bit of pain in his heart; the feeling of turning from the con-man into the conned left him repeatedly sighing.

"Wang Clan Patriarch, you bastard. Just you wait and see!" Naruto had always felt himself to be quite a reasonable person. After thinking the matter over, therefore, he came to the conclusion that the one responsible for these crimes was actually the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto probed his Cultivation base. Currently, only three majestic portions of Cultivation base power remained, and they were in the process of fusing.

"The more progress I make, the slower it goes," he thought, retracting his Divine Sense. This was his path to Spirit Severing. Eventually the three portions would become two, and finally one. When that happened, he would be able to enter Spirit Severing.

"I wonder what I will Sever for the First Severing…?" He was a bit hesitant about this point. Despite having thought about the matter quite a bit recently, he still hadn't received any sort of enlightenment. The entire matter was still somewhat blurry to him.

Lost in thought, he produced the ring of holding and looked over the Spirit Stones inside. When he saw them glittering and shining, it made him feel a little bit better.

"So, that bastardly Wang Clan Patriarch isn't dead, and he's working incredibly hard to track me down. It seems he really thinks he's going to take my Dao foundation this time." A cold glint appeared in Naruto's eyes as he took out the Wooden Time Sword and the copper mirror, then began to make copies and refine them with further Time sealing marks.

"Just wait until I get a hundred Wooden Time Swords. They'll make a huge formation that will give me the power to defend against even the Dao Seeking stage, at least to some extent!"

Now that his Spirit Stones had been completely replenished to the pinnacle, Naruto could immerse himself in duplication. Gradually, more and more Wooden Time Swords began to build up.

Several days later, he finally produced the one hundredth copy. All hundred of the swords contained eight sixty-year cycles of Time power.

He wanted to keep working, but there wasn't enough time. His meeting with Saint Sun Soul was set for dawn of the following morning. He glanced over the one hundred Wooden Time Swords with their eight sixty-year cycles of Time power, and his eyes glittered. But then, he gritted his teeth and examined the vast quantities of Spirit Stones in his ring of holding.

"Spirit Stones are very, very, very important. However, if I die, they'll end up belonging to someone else…." His eyes flickered, and he took out the Time Sword tip.

He stared at it for a moment and then began to breathe heavily.

"I don't need many copies of this sword tip, only ten…. then, I can create the first form of the Lotus Sword Formation. The power of such a sword formation would be equivalent to 100,000 years of Time." He looked at the sword tip, and then the ring of holding. Finally, he began to work with the copper mirror.

Before beginning to duplicate the sword tip, he braced himself mentally. He knew that once he started, he couldn't stop until the duplication was complete. Therefore, he prepared to go all out. Spirit Stones began to pour into the copper mirror.

Ten Spirit Stones, one hundred Spirit Stones, one thousand Spirit Stones….

Naruto's movements were somewhat wooden. He watched the accumulation of Spirit Stones in the ring of holding getting smaller and smaller. Two hours later, the copper mirror suddenly began to emanate bright light in all directions. Naruto's eyes burned with passion as the mirror's pupil-like surface slowly seemed to turn into a watery film, from which two identical sword tips immediately appeared.

Naruto was panting as he picked them up. Then, he raised his head and started to laugh.

The power of Time within both sword tips was completely identical!

However, even as he laughed, he started to calculate how many Spirit Stones he had spent and he felt a sharp pain stabbing through his heart.

"I actually spent 1,000,000,000!

"Dammit, it's ridiculously expensive!" Pain filled him.

"Wang Clan Patriarch, you bastard, things aren't over between us!" His eyes were red and he felt deep pain, all of which transformed into rage toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. Then, gritting his teeth, he began to make another duplicate.

With his original accumulation of 5,000,000,000 Spirit Stones, Naruto was only able to copy four Time Sword tips. Including the original, he now had five. As for the remaining Spirit Stones, he used them to duplicate medicinal pills, Wooden Time Swords and other miscellaneous objects.

Eventually, he was absolutely and completely equipped for battle. However, his bag of holding was virtually empty. The ring of holding was also empty. To Naruto, even though it was early morning and the sun was shining brightly in the sky, everything seemed dark.

The night before, he had been unbelievably wealthy. The next morning, he was back to normal. Other than smiling bitterly, the only thing Naruto could do was… well, smile bitterly.

"Perhaps I'm just not destined to be rich…. To me, Spirit Stones are just something I need to copy magical items and other things. Besides, if I chose to cultivate the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal, which absorbs magical items into my body, then the Spirit Stone wastage would be virtually endless." He sighed. The Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal was the Daoist magic he had acquired in the Demon Immortal Pagoda, the one that could be used to temper his fleshly body!

It was a Daoist magic that, even in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, could be considered a famous Dao. In fact, the only reason it was ranked behind the art of Fleshly Sanctification was because the latter was a secret art. The Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal required cultivation year in and year out, and the sealing technique was not difficult. However, the resources that ended up being wasted was something that most Sects could not afford.

The combination of both the Daoist magic and the secret art could be used to temper the body to an ultimate level. It was only by combining them that their true power could explode out.

"Fleshly Sanctification is a secret art, which means that it most assuredly has other functions. My Cultivation base just isn't sufficient to invoke them.

"Cultivating the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal… is a shortcut to improving my fleshly body. For others, it would be too difficult. However, as long as I have enough Spirit Stones, there is no end to the number of magical items I can duplicate. Therefore, I could continue to cultivate the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal indefinitely." Naruto sighed. The entire reason he hadn't begun to practice the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal was because of not only matters of enlightenment, but, more importantly, the fact that he was poor….

"Spirit Stones. I need Spirit Stones!" 1 Naruto's eyes were red as he lifted up his head; his thirst for Spirit Stones had reached a pinnacle. His entire person radiated a somber aura as he flew out.

When Saint Sun Soul Lin Tao arrived and saw Naruto, he was instantly astonished.

"Who pissed you off?" he asked.

Naruto didn't say anything, but the somber air grew even more obvious. His body flashed as he flew off into the distance. Saint Sun Soul followed, even more perplexed. The two of them moved at top speed, and within the blink of an eye, were gone from Seahold.

When they were quite some distance away from Seahold, Naruto stopped in mid-air and then glanced down at the sea.

"Alright, swindler, are you ready?" he said, looking over at Saint Sun Soul.

"You have no respect for your superiors," replied Saint Sun Soul, frowning. "How old are you again? Come on, stop wasting time. Let's get started."

Naruto took a deep breath. Saying nothing further, he began to suppress his Cultivation base. As for the Resurrection Lily, it had become much more active after the encounter with the Dawn Immortal. As soon as it saw an opening, it made its appearance.

When the aura appeared, Saint Sun Soul's eyes flickered and he backed up. He looked at Naruto suspiciously.

"That aura…." he thought. "It's similar to that of the Sea Devils…. However, he's clearly a Cultivator." It was in that moment that the sea suddenly began to churn, and great waves began to roll across the various sea districts of the Third Ring. One Sea Demon after another trembled, then began to head toward Naruto, eyes red.

In the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, hundreds of Sea Demons were already in the area, closing in.

"No, it's not a Sea Devil aura," he thought. He could sense that something about it was different. "If the aura of a Sea Devil appeared, it would cause most Sea Demons to capitulate. But in this case, they are attacking him as if they are archenemies. It looks like they want to eat him even if they destroy themselves in the process."

RUMBLE!

Hundreds of Sea Demons burst out of the water to savagely attack Naruto.

He gave a cold snort, then raised his right hand. Immediately, 10,000 magical symbols appeared to sweep about the area. Even as the booms rang out, thousands more Sea Demons appeared off in the distance.

"Not very many," mocked Saint Sun Soul.

Naruto didn't reply. He sank down to the bottom of the sea and allowed the aura of the Resurrection Lily to spread out even more. The entire sea trembled as if it were on fire.

Of course, that fire was none other than countless Sea Demons, burning their own life forces in exchange for shocking speed to rush toward the aura of the Resurrection Lily. In the blink of an eye, tens of thousands of Sea Demons appeared off in the distance. Even further off were hundreds of thousands, causing the sea to swell into towering waves.

In addition, there were seven or eight especially shocking roars that echoed out from over the horizon.

Face flickering, Saint Sun Soul sank down into the water, whereupon he saw Naruto surrounded by one hundred wooden swords, which were formed into ten shapes like lotuses. As they swirled around Naruto, it became clear that each of the flowers was actually a petal, all of which formed together… into an enormous spell formation that looked like a lotus!

The formation swept about for three hundred meters around Naruto, and any Sea Demons that got close withered up and disappeared. It was as if in the blink of an eye, they had passed through an entire life's worth of time.

In fact, even the water in the area seemed to show signs of wastage. Apparently there was nothing that could escape the power of Time!

The scene caused Saint Sun Soul's heart to tremble.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Vong Her_

I'm not sure if it was intentional or not, but this line is an exact repeat of what he said in chapter 7. In fact, it was the title of the chapter. ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 673

Chapter 673 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 673: The Call of the Dawn Immortal

"Ten swords constitute a lotus," thought Saint Sun Soul. "Ten lotuses constitute a formation!

"One hundred swords, and an enormous formation, all filled with the power of Time. When the power ripples out, nothing remains unwithered!

"Most intriguing of all is that every sword flower contains thousands of variations. When the ten lotuses turn into the massive formation, the variations increase exponentially. There must be tens of thousands of variations hidden within!

"Such a large formation requires a shocking level of Divine Sense to control. All of that, however… is merely secondary. Most importantly, the formation requires both a physical form and an internal spirit. His Lotus Sword Formation has both of those things!" Saint Sun Soul's mind trembled. He already had a high opinion of Naruto, but now, he couldn't stop his pupils from constricting as he realized that he actually had underestimated him.

"So, it turns out that he was actually only using a portion of his power in our initial fight. If he used this sword formation, then even I… would have a hard time extricating myself from it!

"Time Cultivators are inherently rare, but he is even more shocking than I expected. And then there's that flagon of alcohol…. I think there's an eighty percent likelihood it really is from his hometown. The only problem is that I don't know where exactly that is!" Having personally witnessed the power of Naruto's sword formation, Saint Sun Soul was inwardly shaken. Currently, hundreds of thousands of Sea Demons were now rushing toward them.

In the blink of an eye, the sea was completely thrown into chaos. Roaring sounds echoed out as Naruto's sword formation rotated at an incredible speed.

Naruto was mentally calculating how many Demon hearts were building up with each Sea Demon he killed. Seeing Saint Sun Soul standing there in a daze, he couldn't help but get annoyed. "Hey, swindler! If you don't make a move soon then I won't even give you a thirty percent discount!"

Saint Sun Soul gave a snort and then waved his right hand. Instantly, 100,000 magical symbols flew out from his sleeve, swirling around to form into ten magical symbol beasts. They roared as they charged into the surrounding Sea Demons and began to slaughter them.

Now that Naruto and Saint Sun Soul were working together, the speed of the massacre increased rapidly. Without the stimulus provided by the Resurrection Lily, it would be impossible to kill so many Sea Demons in the Third Ring. Right now, the Sea Demons seemed to have lost any ability to reason and were filled with madness.

Blood dyed the sea red as the slaughter continued for approximately an hour, when suddenly four earth-shattering roars echoed out from the surrounding area.

It was at that point when, shockingly, four enormous Sea Demons with Whitebone Lilies on them approached, one from each direction.

One of the four Sea Demons was a huge jellyfish. Of the other three, one was a gigantic violet sea turtle, and the other two were sea dragons that looked completely identical.

As they neared, huge waves rolled out across the sea as the aura of Spirit Severing rippled out.

"Two for each of us, huh?" Naruto said as quickly as he could. "You want to have a little competition to see who can kill them faster? If I win, the discount will be ten percent. If you win, I'd be willing to set it at forty percent. What do you say?"

Saint Sun Soul blinked. He had never met someone so shameless. After directly refusing Naruto's offer, he waved his sleeve, causing two illusory, glowing swords to appear in front of him. They scraped against each other, causing ghost images to appear. Hundreds of swords turned into a sword rain that shot toward the two sea dragons.

Seeing that Saint Sun Soul couldn't be easily fooled, Naruto said nothing more. He turned back around and then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Immediately, five Time Sword tips flew out, shooting with incredible speed toward the gigantic violet sea turtle. At the same time, the Time Sword Formation vanished and then reappeared, surrounding the jellyfish.

Naruto was located in the middle of the two formations, surrounded by a tempest of 10,000 magical symbols.

"Attack!" he growled. Instantly… the five Time Sword tips circulating around the gigantic sea turtle began to rotate and emit a shocking power of Time. The gigantic sea turtle howled, and the Whitebone Lily on its back began to sway. It was about to rush forward, but when the aura of Time power entered it, it shuddered, and then a look of astonishment appeared on its face. Without any hesitation, it retracted its head into its shell to defend itself.

Unfortunately, nothing can remain unwithered under the power of Time!

Five sword tips emanated a power of Time exceeding 100,000 years. As the power circulated out, the body of the giant sea turtle rapidly withered. A bloodcurdling shriek could be heard, then a boom. A giant sea turtle which possessed the power of Spirit Severing was instantly turned into nothing but ash and smoke….

The speed and savagery of the kill caused even Naruto to suddenly focus in concentration. His eyes gleamed with a brilliant light.

"My Spirit Stones were not spent in vain!" he thought.

At the same time, the jellyfish was trapped in the Lotus Sword Formation. It struggled, but its body was beginning to wither. After the space of about ten breaths, a bang could be heard as the sword formation transformed it into nothing more than ash drifting about in the seawater.

By this point, Saint Sun Soul had only managed to kill one of the sea dragons. He jerked his head to look over his shoulder and saw the impressive power of Naruto's Time treasures. His pupils constricted, and suddenly he found Naruto to be even more profoundly enigmatic.

Time passed. Several hours later, they were still surrounded by densely packed groups of Sea Demons, who charged at them one after another. The seawater was stained red. Even Saint Sun Soul was shocked at the level of carnage.

However, as they continued to kill and kill, his excitement only grew greater. He even summoned the three swords of Seahold; wherever they passed, they left nothing but death in their wake.

In the end, Naruto actually didn't need to do anything. He just stood there, maintaining the circulation of the sword formation and the magical symbols. Saint Sun Soul was in a frenzy as he slaughtered the Sea Demons. It was almost like he had turned into a different person, flying back and forth and crying out at the top of his lungs.

"DIIIIEEEE!" he shouted, laughing the entire time. Despite being under the water, his Cultivation base caused his muffled laughter to fill the entire area.

Naruto looked at blood-soaked Saint Soul Sun and thought. "In the future, I definitely shouldn't provoke this guy…." The man's formerly somber face was twisted ferociously, and his previous taciturn personality was now deranged with madness as he continued rant and rave.

"He's gone crazy…." thought Naruto, blinking. "Could it be that the little swindler has just repressed himself for too long?" The more he watched, the more he got the impression that Saint Sun Soul really was a bit crazy.

At some point the parrot appeared and perched on Naruto's shoulder. Its eyes went wide when it saw the slaughter being carried out by Saint Sun Soul. "He really has gone crazy…." it said.

The meat jelly was off to the side, nodding vigorously. "Don't offend that lunatic, Naruto. I've seen people like him before, and they're all psychos!"

"Why aren't you out there collecting the Demon hearts!?" snapped Naruto. The parrot and the meat jelly, eyes glittering, immediately flew out and began to make their way back and forth across the seafloor to pick up the Demon hearts.

Saint Sun Soul saw this, but didn't pay any heed. At the moment, he was happy to be killing things.

More time passed. Saint Sun Soul was thoroughly engrossed in the slaughter. He even employed a multitude of magical items, causing the sounds of explosions to fill the air. As for Naruto, he was even more idle than before. He finally just sat down cross-legged inside the spell formation and closed his eyes to meditate, focusing on fusing the three portions of Cultivation base power within him.

Time passed by. The slaughtering continued for four more hours. Saint Sun Soul's voice was getting hoarse, and yet his desire to kill had not lessened, but rather, had increased.

After a while, Naruto opened his eyes. The seawater that surrounded them was now thoroughly red. After glancing at Saint Sun Soul, he closed his eyes again.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, a tremor ran through him. He suddenly stood up and turned his head to look at the seafloor off in the distance. A feeling of imminent disaster suddenly washed over him.

At the same time, the Resurrection Lily sprang into action, and a feeling of excitement radiated out from it, as if it desired to burst out from inside. Such an omen filled Naruto's mind with a roaring sound. He suddenly strode forward toward Saint Sun Soul and then waved his hand, causing the war chariot to appear.

"This is fun!" laughed Saint Sun Soul, his eyes completely bloodshot.

"Fun my ass," Naruto immediately growled in exasperation. "Let's go!" With that, he reached out to grab Saint Sun Soul. Saint Sun Soul's eyes went wide, but he did nothing to stop Naruto, allowing himself to be pulled onto the war chariot.

RUMBLE!

The war chariot shot out, smashing into countless Sea Demons. After it broke through them and charged towards the water's surface, a sinister aura rose up from deep within the sea that caused Saint Sun Soul to feel incredibly cold.

A faint voice could suddenly be heard within the cold and sinister aura. "My son…. come back… come back…."

As the voice echoed out, a huge tentacle shot out from the depths of the sea, like an enormous black shadow. In the blink of an eye, it was upon them.

It moved with such incredible speed that it seemed to be on the verge of wrapping around Naruto's war chariot. Naruto's eyes instantly went bloodshot. As fast as possible, he circulated the little bit that remained of the Qi of Immortal Shows the Way.

The power of the Qi caused Saint Sun Soul's eyes to go wide. Then he looked back at the enormous tentacle, and his scalp went numb. However, at the same time, an even stronger desire to go to battle welled up within him.

He waved his right hand, causing the three swords that circulated around him to shoot toward the tentacle.

Naruto looked up, and his eyes flickered with killing intent. He also waved his right hand, causing five Time Sword tips and the one hundred sword Lotus Sword Formation to appear and follow the three swords.

A huge boom could be heard. Blood sprayed from the mouths of both Saint Sun Soul and Naruto. However, the combined power of the two, and their shocking magical items, caused the tentacle to suddenly pause.

Even in the instant in which they called back their magical items, the war chariot started to move. It shot out of the ocean at incredible speed, and then vanished.

The Resurrection Lily branch exploded out from the red seawater, but then slowly descended back down. Red waves spread out for a while, but then the water grew calm again.

Far away, closer to Seahold, a swishing sound could be heard as the war chariot suddenly appeared. Naruto's face was pale, as was Saint Sun Soul. The two of them exchanged a glance.

"Dammit, what the hell was that?!" said Saint Sun Soul through clenched teeth. "And how did you manage to attract its attention? You're simply too adept at causing trouble. First there's the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, and now that damned thing!?"

Naruto didn't hesitate at all in responding, "I seem to remember you saying something about you controlling everything in the Third Ring. If you don't know what it is, then how do you expect me to know?!"

The two snorted and then stared at each other angrily. For a moment, neither spoke.

Finally, Saint Sun Soul said, "How many Demon hearts did we get?"

Naruto did some calculations, and then his eyes began to shine. "About twice as many as last time," he said.

When Saint Sun Soul heard this, he instantly smiled. "Let's go back to Seahold and rest for a few days, then we'll do it again, alright?"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Kevin Ram Mayo, Jules Wada, and XYY_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 674

Chapter 674: The Wang Patriarch Cometh

Saint Sun Soul watched enviously as Naruto put away the war chariot. After holding back for a long moment, he finally said, "That treasure of yours is pretty nice, want to sell it?"

"NO," replied Naruto without hesitation.

"Fine, forget about it!" replied Saint Sun Soul with a cold harrumph.

"Crappy thing. I wouldn't take it if you gave it to me for free." "If you give me one for free, I'll take it," said Naruto, blinking.

"Screw off!" replied Saint Sun Soul angrily.

"Look, swindler, the Demon hearts are all in my bag of holding. Say 'screw off' one more time and see what happens!" A bright gleam appeared in his eyes, as if he looked forward to finally be on his own again.

Saint Sun Soul opened his mouth, but struggled to control himself and didn't say anything in response.

A long moment passed, and when he finally did speak again, he changed the subject. "Alright, no screwing around. What was that thing back there?"

"A damnable, accursed Resurrection Lily," replied Naruto frankly. "Assumably, it resides in the Second Ring."

"Resurrection Lily!" Saint Sun Soul's eyes narrowed and flickered.

Shortly thereafter, the two arrived back at Seahold, undetected. Back in the tower, they divided their spoils. Although Naruto frequently conned people, when he gave his word, he would never go back on it. Therefore, he wouldn't be secretly stingy. Although he was responsible for collecting the Demon hearts, he didn't hold even a single one back.

According to their previous agreement, Naruto got ten percent of the Demon hearts and the rest he sold to Saint Sun Soul at a fifty percent discount. A vast amount of Spirit Stones poured into his bag of holding. Naruto once again was struck with the realization that Saint Sun Soul… was filthy rich!

As he left the tower with his Spirit Stones, Naruto once again adopted Steward Zhou's manner of carrying himself. He returned to his own residence, then gritted his teeth for a long moment. Then he considered how incredible the Time Sword tip was, and finally pulled out the copper mirror to make a duplicate.

This time, he made five in one go. Altogether, he now had ten Time Sword tips, which meant that he could utilize the first form of the Lotus Sword Formation!

Now that the form was complete, its power was increased exponentially. Naruto sent the formation flying back and forth a bit, his expression one of excitement.

Then he retrieved his Wooden Time Swords and began to imbue them with more Time power.

Several days later, he and Saint Sun Soul once again snuck off to a distant area of the Third Ring and used the same method as before to slaughter Sea Demons. They worked together even better this time. Saint Sun Soul grew more and more excited at the killing, and Naruto sat there with eyes closed in meditation, remaining on guard against the Dawn Immortal.

A month passed by, during which time the two of them ran amok in the Third Ring. Other Cultivators in the Third Ring were shocked to suddenly find that there were virtually no Sea Demons around.

Furthermore, the Third Ring was so often filled with enormous waves that it made it impossible to go out.

Of course, the profits made by Naruto and Saint Sun Soul Li Tao were incredible. In addition, Naruto's Cultivation base had now been reduced from three portions to two.

The day that he could perform his Spirit Severing was just around the corner.

Furthermore, the one hundred Wooden Time Swords in his Time Sword Formation were now filled with ten sixty-year cycles. When the formation was unleashed, its power was incredible. Of course, his most deadly killing move was the ten Time Sword tips.

Even alone, they were enough to shock Saint Sun Soul. However, if he combined them with the Time Sword Formation, making them the nucleus of the lotus, then Sword Qi would fill the surrounding thousand meter area of Seahold.

Naruto also purchased a large amount of self-detonating magical items from Saint Sun Soul. Such items were now piled up like a mountain inside his bag of holding.

He was now armed to the teeth, and his overall strength was far more than before.

They didn't encounter the Dawn Immortal again, although Naruto's vigilance in keeping guard never lessened.

Currently, Naruto sat cross-legged within the spell formation. Countless Sea Demons filled the area around them, and Saint Sun Soul was engaged in slaughter. "Just how many Sea Demons are there in the Third Ring?" asked Naruto. "We've killed so many, and yet every time there are still tons of them."

Saint Sun Soul killed eight Sea Demons with a sweep of his sword and then looked back at Naruto. "They're endless. Actually, there was once a legend floating around the three Sects that three Star Portals exist underneath the Milky Way Sea!

"Supposedly, the Star Portals connect to the Ninth Sea, and that's where most of the Sea Demons come from. Of course, the Star Portals have limitations preventing any incredibly powerful Sea Demons from entering."

A month before, Saint Sun Soul would never have told Naruto about the Star Portals. However, they had been working together for a whole month now, and despite their daily bickering, their bond of friendship had actually grown stronger.

"Three Star Portals?" said Naruto, staring in shock.

"One in the Third Ring, another in the Second Ring, and a third in the Inner Ring!" replied Saint Sun Soul.

Naruto sat there thoughtfully for a moment, and was just about to ask some more questions when suddenly, he sensed a cold, evil aura. Without hesitation, he rose to his feet and started walking forward, pulling out the war chariot at the same time.

When Saint Sun Soul saw this, his face flickered and he instantly headed toward Naruto, who grabbed him and pulled him into the war chariot.

Naruto was about to send the war chariot flying off, but then, his eyes flickered. He had just noticed that the reaction of the Resurrection Lily inside of him was strangely different this time.

It did not seem active and excited like before. Rather… it was trembling, as if it were terrified. It was almost like it had run into something it considered deadly; it even began to retract its own aura, not letting a scrap of it emanate out.

Naruto made a light "eee?" sound, and then spurred the war chariot into movement. It was in that moment that he suddenly heard an ancient voice in his ear.

"The day the Resurrection Lily blooms in seven colors, the flower blooms, Immortal Ascension, one thousand years….

"Immortal Ascension failed, and a Whitebone Lily appeared…."

When he heard the voice, Naruto's mind trembled. The Resurrection Lily inside of him trembled even more violently. At the same time, the war chariot shot up out of the sea and then flew at top speed through mid-air.

"I was unable to sever the Resurrection Lily," continued the voice, "so I could only sever myself…. From then on, the Resurrection Lily was no more, and the Whitebone Lilies bloomed from shore to shore …."

Naruto took a deep breath and then looked down at the sea beneath him. Then the war chariot split the air as it vanished off into the distance.

When it reappeared outside of Seahold, Saint Sun Soul's face was a bit unsightly. He had been in charge of the city for many years, besides which, the three Sects called themselves the Lords of the Milky Way Sea. However, in recent days he had come to the realization that there were secrets lurking in the depths of the water that even he wasn't aware of.

The voice which Naruto had heard just now, he had also heard. Furthermore, every time he and Naruto came back from their journeys, he had gone to search through the ancient records. Gradually, he had come to an understanding of the Resurrection Lily.

Naruto and Saint Sun Soul were silent as they returned to the tower, where they sat down cross-legged on either side of a table.

After a moment of silence, Saint Sun Soul looked at Naruto. "That Resurrection Lily has most likely been here for many years, but has never made an appearance. Why would it suddenly emerge after you show up?"

"Because I have a Resurrection Lily inside of me," replied Naruto coolly. He tossed a bag of holding filled with Demon hearts over to Saint Sun Soul.

Saint Sun Soul's pupils constricted. Naruto's answer to his question was a conclusion he had already speculated about.

A long moment passed, after which Saint Sun Soul took the Demon hearts and then produced Spirit Stones to give to Naruto.

He was just about to say something else when a jade slip began to glow inside his bag of holding. He took it out immediately and glanced it over, then frowned. He looked up at Naruto.

"Saint Flying Immortal, Saint Sea Divinity, the seventy thousand disciples… even the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch are all emerging from the Stormwind Divide and are on their way here!"

Moments ago, countless ships had begun to emerge from the Stormwind Divide that separated the Third and Fourth Rings. Sitting cross-legged atop the ships were crowds of Cultivators. Rumbling sounds filled the air.

They were densely packed together, and from a distance their numbers almost seemed endless.

Flying in mid-air were two middle-aged men. One wore a blue robe, the other, a white one. Their auras were bright, and their Cultivation bases were shocking enough to fill the sky with a riot of colors. Next to the two flew an old man.

That old man was none other than the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

As soon as they emerged, they contacted Saint Sun Soul, and then began to speed toward Seahold. Behind them, seventy thousand disciples charged along, blotting out the sky.

Back in Seahold, Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he listened to Saint Sun Soul. However, deep in his eyes, a bright glow appeared. He stood up.

Saint Sun Soul muttered to himself for a moment then waved his right hand, causing a jade slip to fly out, which Naruto grabbed.

"I'll do my best to help you," said Saint Sun Soul. "This jade slip describes an area controlled by the Sun Soul Society. You can hide there temporarily with no problems. After everyone heads out to start searching for you, I'll arrange for someone to get you out of the Third Ring.

"That will make it harder for them to track you down."

Naruto looked at the jade slip, then turned to leave without saying another word. Saint Sun Soul looked at his retreating figure, a complicated expression on his face.

Just as he was about to step foot out of the tower, Naruto stopped.

He had suddenly thought of a question he had been contemplating for over a month. "There's something I've been wondering about for a while. Is it just the Sun Soul Society that has such a shocking amount of Spirit Stones, or is it all of the three Sects?"

Saint Sun Soul gave a faint smile.

"Are you aware of what exists in the Stormwind Divide? A quarry. Inside that quarry are three astonishing veins of Spirit Stone deposits. The Sun Soul Society… doesn't care at all about Spirit Stones!"

"That make sense," said Naruto. "But, would it be possible for you to tell me why you buy so many Demon hearts? What do they do?"

This time, Saint Sun Soul hesitated for a long moment. He didn't really need to answer the question, but after looking at Naruto for a long moment, he finally said, "Demon hearts have a far more important function. Actually, it would be best for you not to sell the Demon hearts that remain in your bag of holding. As for what exactly they do, even my understanding is incomplete. However, I can tell you that seventy percent of the Demon hearts collected by the three Sects… end up being sent away from the lands of South Heaven. We use a special method to deliver them to a Sect in the stars who specially collects them.

"The price we purchase them for… is actually far lower than the price we sell them for."

Naruto nodded, and then his body flickered as he left the tower.

Before departing, he found Wei Li and gave her a large sum of Spirit Stones. Then he took out the war chariot and disappeared over the horizon.

Not too long after Naruto left, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch arrived, along with Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity. They moved with incredible speed; in one breath, they were far off in the distance, in the next breath, they were in Seahold.

Saint Sun Soul strode out from within the tower, his expression cold. He now looked exactly the same as he had when Naruto first met him as he glanced over the three approaching Cultivators.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 675

Chapter 675 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 675: Reverend Silverlamp!

The next day, something completely shocking rocked the Third Ring. 100,000 disciples from the three Sects left Seahold to spread out throughout the entire Third Ring. Each one held a jade slip within which was the picture a person for whom they searched!

The entire Third Ring was shaken by the event. Even the Three Saints emerged to join the rigorous search. If that were all, it might not be a big deal. However, the next thing that happened was that notices appeared in all the shops of Seahold, offering valuable treasures to any Cultivator who joined the search.

Thus, Cultivators could be found virtually everywhere, searching on the surface of the sea. The Third Ring was in a state of complete lockdown.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch stayed in Seahold. He had divided his Divine Sense up into countless strands which were imbued into the jade slips. If anyone even got near Naruto, he would instantly be able to sense it.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was even prepared for the possibility that Naruto had changed his appearance and aura. He would rather kill the wrong person by mistake than let Naruto escape.

Even as the Third Ring boiled into a frenzy, Naruto sat cross-legged on an island, his face grim. In his hand was the jade slip that Saint Sun Soul had given him.

"I don't want to put someone else's loyalty to the test," he murmured softly, "nor do I want to place my hope in the hands of others." He crushed the jade slip, then stood up and flew down into the sea. Since he couldn't hide on the surface of the sea, then he would conceal himself in its depths.

In the moment that the jade slip was crushed, Saint Sun Soul was flying along in mid-air. He suddenly stopped in place, then smiled broadly. He understood Naruto's decision, and that was because… he had been waiting to make his own decision.

"This way works, too," he thought. "I have one more friend and one less enemy." He sighed inwardly, thinking back to everything that had happened in the past month, and all of their battles with the Sea Demons.

At the same time, Naruto sped along at the bottom of the sea. The aura of the Resurrection Lily was completely suppressed, with not a bit emanating out. Occasionally he would look around the area; if anything abnormal appeared, he was ready to take out the war chariot the instant anything abnormal appeared.

"To leave the Third Ring would require passing through the Stormwind Divide. However, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch is no doubt prepared for that. Going to the Stormwind Divide would be casting myself into his net.

"However, I definitely can't stay in the Third Ring. If I do, then I'll definitely be found eventually, and then…." His eyes flickered.

"But the Second Ring… is where the Dawn Immortal lurks." He thought silently for a moment.

"A fiend up ahead, and an army chasing from behind. Ah, who cares!" His eyes shone with a cold gleam.

"In life, one can only hope to have freedom and independence; in life, one can only seek his own happiness! I knew all along that the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch would be coming. Therefore, what's the point in hesitating?

"My only option is the Second Ring. That's where the Dawn Immortal lurks, and that's where I'll lure the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. It is only within ultimate danger that I can go all out to snatch a chance to survive!

"Although, for the Flying Immortal Sect and the Sea Divinity Sect to choose to help the Wang Clan Patriarch so quickly indicates that the compensation they were offered was incredible!" Killing intent flickered in his eyes. He had already had enough of hiding and fleeing.

After returning from the Demon Immortal Sect, all he had done was flee nonstop. The resentment and desire to kill had reached a peak of intensity. It was something that killing no amount of Sea Demons could resolve. He needed to kill… people!

"First sow chaos in the Third Ring, then lure the 10th Wang Clan

Patriarch to me. After that… determine victory or defeat in the Second Ring!" Naruto was just about to carry out his plan when suddenly, he stopped in mid-stride.

A sinister, vicious aura was once again approaching him. Yet again, the Resurrection Lily was nervous and trembling with terror.

The terror of the Resurrection Lily shook Naruto; he took out the war chariot, but didn't immediately spur it into action. Instead, he looked down toward the bottom of the sea.

This place was actually the same location where he had heard the voice last time.

The same ancient voice once again spoke, shattering the stillness. "Immortal Ascension failed, and a Whitebone Lily appeared….

"I was unable to sever the Resurrection Lily, so I could only sever myself…. From then on, the Resurrection Lily was no more, and the Whitebone Lilies bloomed from shore to shore…."

As he listened to the voice for a second time, Naruto could sense grief, indignation, and monstrous resentment in it. Others who heard the voice would be so terrified their hair would stand on end. Naruto, on the other hand, actually felt twinges of sympathy.

He stood there silently for a moment before determination shone in his eyes. He sent the war chariot forward in the direction of the voice. Not much time passed before Naruto caught sight of the nearby region on the seafloor that was the origin of the sinister and vicious voice.

It was an area filled with countless white bones. They were the bones of both Cultivators and Sea Demons, and seemed never-ending. From a distance, all of them seemed to form the shape of a lily.

A Whitebone Lily.

At the very center of the Whitebone Lily was a patch of black seaweed, within which was a skeleton, sitting there cross-legged. Its skin had long since rotted away, and it floated there gently amidst the seaweed, which curled and wrapped around it.

Naruto's mind trembled as he slowly neared. The closer he got, the more the Resurrection Lily trembled. In fact, it had even started to emit terrified shrieks inside of him. When he got within 300 meters of the Whitebone Lily, veins bulged out all over his body. A five-colored Resurrection Lily appeared behind him, and it appeared to be going mad.

In the exact instant in which the five-colored Resurrection Lily appeared, the skeleton swaying within the seaweed suddenly stopped moving. It looked up, staring at Naruto with its empty eye sockets.

Naruto's mind roared as what seemed to be memories from the corpse poured into him from the corpse's empty eye sockets.

He saw an old man wearing a long golden robe, sitting cross-legged at the bottom of the sea. In front of him was a silver-colored lamp that emanated a gentle glow. Even at the bottom of the sea, the lamp's flame could not be extinguished, and its light enveloped the old man.

The old man's face was twisted ferociously, and occasionally twitched as if he were struggling against something. It seemed that he was experiencing an indescribable pain. Veins bulged out on his face, and he suddenly lifted his head up and roared angrily.

"I am Reverend Silverlamp! I have practiced cultivation for a thousand years, and am at the peak of Dao Seeking! How could I possibly lose to a trifling Resurrection Lily!?

"I clearly succeeded! I clearly expunged it! How could it have come back to life!?" As the man howled, an enormous illusory image appeared around him.

It was nearly a thousand meters tall, and shockingly, had six colors…. This was… a six-colored Resurrection Lily!

When it appeared, the old man began to tremble, and his body started to wither. It was as if all of his life force, all of his Cultivation base, all of his memories, were all being sucked away by the Resurrection Lily.

"Immortal Ascension…. If the Resurrection Lily achieves Immortal

Ascension, it sucks away the life force of the host. If I want to reach Immortal Ascension, then I must make use of the destiny of the Resurrection Lily!

"I will not yield!" As the old man howled, his eyes filled with hatred and determination.

"I shall reach Immortal Ascension!

"It is all for Immortal Ascension!

"I am destined to be Immortal, and I have my path to Immortality. I was an Immortal in my last life, how come… I cannot continue as an Immortal in this life?!

"If I cannot sever the Resurrection Lily, then I must sever myself! Sever my Immortal destiny, sever my path to Immortality! Use the cultivation of my past life to transform my resentment into a sea of white bones!

"Henceforth, my bones will float at the bottom of the Milky Way Sea, and my blood will stain the waters. I will use my bones to disperse the will of the Resurrection Lily, and cause countless Whitebone Lilies to bloom!" With that, the old man lifted his right hand and slapped his own chest. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his body withered rapidly. However, his blood oozed out into the water, spreading out in the currents and attracting large numbers of Sea Demons.

"From this day on, my soul will become white bones, which will live as parasites in countless other life forms, and will be… the archfoe of the Resurrection Lily!" The old man began to laugh maniacally, and then once again spit out blood. His blood and even his flesh began to balloon outward, and at the same time, countless Sea Demons pounced on him.

The sounds of crunching and tearing could be heard, as if countless fangs and mouths were consuming the old man's flesh and blood. Naruto couldn't see the old man, but he could hear his voice, filled with enmity and hatred.

"Archfoes!"

At the same time, the six-colored Resurrection Lily behind him began to wilt. It was one with the old man, so as the old man was consumed, it too was devoured. It struggled, but to no avail.

After a certain amount of time had passed, a rumbling boom echoed out and the Sea Demons were all driven away to reveal a white skeleton completely devoid of any flesh or blood. It slowly sank down into the seaweed below. The black seaweed encircled it, wrapped it up, and then it began to float there back and forth.

As for the Resurrection Lily, it had completely vanished. Everything in the area grew quiet. As for the Sea Demons that had consumed his flesh and blood, suddenly they began to explode. Their flesh and blood attracted more Sea Demons, which consumed the flesh and blood, and in turn, exploded.

The process repeated for a full sixty-year cycle. By this time, the Third Ring of the Milky Way Sea was filled with the aura of the old man's flesh and blood. Because of that aura, all of the Sea Demons in this part of the sea were branded with the Whitebone Lily.

Naruto's mind trembled as the vision faded away and everything returned to normal. He was still surrounded by countless white bones. The skeleton in the seaweed lowered its head and once again began to sway back and forth.

Naruto began to pant, and his face was ashen.

"The Resurrection Lily…. It seems I've underestimated it!

"That skeleton is Reverend Silverlamp. He once traveled to the Violet Fate Sect, and Master said that he helped him dispel the Resurrection Lily!

"And yet… in the end, he died here, perishing together along with the Resurrection Lily to become its archfoe, the Whitebone Lily!

"And he… didn't have a seven-colored Resurrection Lily, but rather, a six-colored one!

"Reverend Silverlamp was unable to control a six-colored Resurrection Lily, and the Resurrection Lily inside of me already has five colors!" When he thought about this, Naruto's face fell.

He once again realized that he had made a serious misjudgement when it came to understanding the Resurrection Lily.

"If my Resurrection Lily blooms with six colors, then my fate will be exactly the same as Reverend Silverlamp's!" His face flickered, and his eyes flashed as he looked around.

"The Resurrection Lily inside of me is currently terrified to the extreme…. I might not be able to thoroughly dispel it using my own power, but that doesn't necessarily mean it would be impossible if I borrowed the power of Reverend Silverlamp!" His eyes narrowed and then began to shine with a bright glow. His body flickered as he headed directly toward Reverend Silverlamp.

Allowing the Resurrection Lily inside of him to struggle madly, it was without hesitation that he crossed his legs and sat down next to the seaweed. In that instant, a faint, sinister voice could suddenly be heard drifting toward him from far off in the distance.

"Leave that place, my child…."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Brett Flowers, Bjorn Jeune, and Roderick_

 _Sinnamon_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 676

Chapter 676 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 676: Spirit Severing – First Severing!

As the voice drifted out, Naruto suddenly looked slightly distracted, as if he were suddenly empty inside. He slowly rose up from his crosslegged position.

"Leave that place, my child…. Come to me….

"I've been waiting for you for over two hundred years….

"Come. Come….

"Your blood is most suited to reach maturity, and your soul… needs to slumber….

"Come…. I'm waiting here for you…."

Naruto's expression grew more blank, and he began to walk away from the seaweed. When he was about thirty meters away, the Immortal Shows the Way inside of him suddenly began exude a faint stream of Qi that bored into his Nascent Soul. Immediately, his Nascent Soul grew faint, and then suddenly, deep inside, a Flying Rain-Dragon became visible!

It was very small, and seemed to be sleeping. However, the stream of Immortal Qi found it and bored directly into the Flying Rain-Dragon.

In that instant, the Flying Rain-Dragon opened its eyes and roared.

As the roar sounded out, an enormous Flying Rain-Dragon fully 30,000 meters long appeared around Naruto. Shocking ripples emanated off of it as it roared.

ROOOAAARRRRR!

The Dawn Immortal's aura vanished, and a tremor ran through Naruto. His eyes suddenly became clear, and looked up at the astonishing Flying Rain-Dragon.

The Flying Rain-Dragon turned its head to look at him, and in that instant, Naruto felt as if he were looking at himself.

Then, the Flying Rain-Dragon vanished. Naruto's face was pale white as he thought back to what had just happened. Then he cast his vision inside of himself, to find that the Resurrection Lily had sent countless tendrils throughout the entirety of his body.

Naruto's eyes flashed with killing intent, and he returned to his original spot next to the seaweed. The Resurrection Lily trembled and shrank back, and by the time Naruto sat down cross-legged, it had completely hidden itself.

"Right here, right now, I'm going to borrow the power of Reverend Silverlamp to thoroughly sever away the Resurrection Lily!

"The method I will use to do so… is the power of Spirit Severing! My path of Spirit Severing… my First Severing, will be of the Resurrection Lily!

"I wish to be the master of my own life. I will not allow any outsider to control me. What I want is freedom. My path in life is a journey, and my Dao is a direction! I will continue on in that direction and pursue truth. I will exercise control over my own freedom, and live with independence!

"That is my will of Spirit Severing! I will crush all obstacles, and destroy anything that blocks my way. Whatever stumbling blocks I encounter will be trampled underfoot!

"Fearful of nothing! Freedom! Independence!

"The Heavens will not obscure my gaze, and the Earth will not shackle my feet!

"For freedom, I can pay any price!

"For independence, I will sever anything!

"The Resurrection Lily is like a mountain obstructing my way on the path of life! When I pass it, then my path will stretch out into the distance!

"The Resurrection Lily is a fetter, a cage restricting my freedom. I will sever it… and in the instant of that severing, I will have my independence, and can practice cultivation in freedom!

"This is my First Severing!

"This is my Spirit Severing Domain!

"This is my Dao of Spirit Severing!"

Naruto's eyes glowed with enlightenment. He had remained submerged in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage for too many years. He had undergone the baptism of the Demon Immortal Sect and had been doggedly pursued by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. All of that left him feeling as if he had been reborn, purified by fire. Finally, in this moment, he reached complete understanding.

In the moment that he was enlightened, Naruto's Cultivation base began to rumble. The two Cultivation base portions within him that were struggling to combine, suddenly began to fuse together at high speed.

It seemed that his thinking just now had governed the rotation of his Cultivation base. In that instant of realization….

RUMBLE!

Naruto's entire body began to tremble, and the two portions of Cultivation base instantly merged together. His Nascent Soul vanished, and at the same time, Naruto's body began to shine with brilliant, multicolored light.

The light circulated around the area, swirling about to slowly form together in front of Naruto, transforming into a blade as he opened his eyes.

A multi-colored blade that contained a great Dao of Heaven and Earth!

The blade contained the full power of Naruto's Cultivation base, which was the combination of his nine Nascent Souls, including the five elements of Heaven and Earth.

It also contained the memories and experiences of his two hundred years of cultivation. When Naruto looked at the blade, it was like looking at himself!

In this moment, Naruto's heart contained neither joy, nor sorrow. It was as if he had forgotten everything except for his thirst for freedom, and his desire to pursue independence.

The Resurrection Lily inside of him seemed to sense that it was in danger. It could hide from his Divine Sense so that Naruto couldn't sense it, but it could not hide even the slightest bit from this blade.

The intense sense of impending death caused the Resurrection Lily to begin to struggle, as if it wished to burst out from inside of Naruto. It wanted to once again wrest away the initiative, and yet, as soon as it moved, a dim light began to emanate out from the skeleton floating in the seaweed. Up above, the surface of the sea in the Third Ring began to surge.

Next, imprints of the Whitebone Lily began to shine on all of the Sea Demons in the Third Ring. The marks looked like grotesque faces, and emanated ghastly auras.

Those auras combined to suppress the Resurrection Lily.

Boom!

The Resurrection Lily struggled, and then began to shriek with a voice that no one except Naruto could hear.

What was more, the illusory image of a five-colored Resurrection Lily sprang up behind him. It was in a completely frenzy, and struggling madly. Naruto's expression was calm, although his body was withering rapidly, as if his life force and Cultivation base were being sucked away by the Resurrection Lily.

Nevertheless, he remained there motionless, staring at the blade in front of him.

The Resurrection Lily screamed and shrieked, and its struggles grew more intense. However, the suppressive power coming from the Reverend Silverlamp's Whitebone Lily rushed in. It seemed to deal a severe blow to the five-colored Resurrection Lily. Its body was on the verge of dissipating, and it had no choice but to once again attempt to absorb Naruto.

Some time afterwards, when Naruto's body had shriveled and become almost skeletal, the blade in front of him jerked slightly, then slowly rose up.

As the blade lifted up, an immeasurably powerful, heaven-shaking aura arose with it. Instantly it pierced through the surface of the sea and up into the skies, forming a connection with the vast heavens!

From a distance, the Third Ring seethed and churned as a beam of light shot up into the dark night, making it seem like daytime.

In that moment, as Saint Soul Sun hovered above the Milky Way Sea, his face flickered and he suddenly turned his head to gaze at it.

"Someone is performing Spirit Severing. But how could this Spirit

Severing provoke such transformations in Heaven and Earth!?"

At the same time, Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity also got the same feeling. They looked at the beam of light, and how the sky was being illuminated, and their faces filled with astonishment.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch currently sat cross-legged in meditation in Seahold. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open and he looked off into the distance, an expression of joy appearing on his face.

"Those… are the ripples of Spirit Severing. It's him! So he is here! He truly is exceptional! His Spirit Severing can connect with the Heavens of Ji, and provoke changes in the sky!

"However, you dare to perform Spirit Severing in front of me? Let's see how you escape this time!" The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch gave a cold snort and stood up. It was at this point that his face suddenly flickered with an expression of disbelief. Even with his level of willpower, what he saw left him speechless.

"Impossible!"

The beam of light shooting up from the sea did not stop in the sky. It shot out into the starry sky, causing the heavenly bodies themselves to emanate bursts of starlight as they suddenly changed position to form an astral blade!

The blade shined down on the lands of South Heaven, and soon, everyone therein could look up into the sky and see the image of the massive blade.

It was almost as if it had shattered the sky above the lands of South Heaven and was now descending upon it.

Simultaneously, the aura of a great Dao descended from the sky toward the Milky Way Sea. It penetrated the surface of the waters and fell on the blade floating in front of Naruto.

"The blade of the First Severing actually provoked transformations among the stars!" exclaimed the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. "What Dao did he gain enlightenment of?!

"Daos have rankings, they can be great or small. This Naruto's Dao… just what is it? It can cause the stars to transform into a Heavenly Blade that will assist him in Dao Severing!

"The Heavenly Blade is a Heavenly Dao. The blade of the First Severing is also the first Dao of Spirit Severing!" 1 The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face filled with complete astonishment, and he stopped moving. As of this moment, he didn't dare to get even close to Naruto's location. A great Dao was coming, and with his Cultivation base, if he got near, he would die for sure.

Meanwhile, the State of Zhao floated in the Milky Way Sea on top of Patriarch Reliance. The entire island suddenly rumbled, and an enormous head stretched out from the water to look up into the sky.

"That little bastard is performing Dao Severing…. Dammit. The little bastard is an inhuman among inhumans! The Patriarch needs to get out of here! Fudge! You really piss me off, you little bastard!"

In the lands of the Southern Domain, Xu Qing was in the midst of cultivation when suddenly a tremor ran through her, as if she had just sensed something. She rushed out of her Immortal's cave and looked up into the sky. It seemed as if she could actually see Naruto.

In the Violet Fate Sect, Pill Demon was concocting pills when he suddenly froze. He looked up into the sky, and his face broke into a smile.

Next to him was Chu Yuyan, who also seemed to sense something. She looked up, and seemed to lose herself staring at the sky.

In the same moment, Fatty, Chen Fan, and all the other people in the Southern Domain who knew Naruto, all had different reactions. However, none came close to those of Xu Qing and Pill Demon.

With one exception.

In the Blood Demon Sect, a middle-aged man wearing a red robe was surrounded by a blood-colored glow. He stood on the peak of a mountain, looking up into the sky, a faint smile on his face.

"You and I are connected by destiny. The Blood Demon Sect… is definitely the home you shall return to." 2

Please note that in Chinese, the words for "blade" and "Dao" sound almost exactly the same. ↩ If you're interested in reviewing chapters that may or may not have to do with the Blood Demon Sect and Meng

Hao, check out chapter 34, 93, 94, 95, 582-583 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 677

Chapter 677: The Great Dao Resonates!

The first blade of Spirit Severing!

The first Dao of Spirit Severing!

Naruto sat cross-legged at the bottom of the Milky Way Sea. Around him stretched skeletal remains that formed the outline of a flower. Amongst the swaying seaweed, the skeleton pulsed with a faint light, which gradually turned into a ghastly white color, like that of bones.

It weighed down on the five-colored Resurrection Lily, suppressing it so that its struggling turned into a frenzy.

Naruto's body withered, continuing to look weaker and weaker, until he looked like a bag of bones. However, his eyes shined with an unprecedented life force.

It was as if he was embodying the Dao; all of his mind and heart and will were focused in his eyes, which rested on the multicolored blade in front of him.

He completely ignored everything in the outside world. His entire focus was that blade!

The blade moved!

It slowly raised up! As it did, the blade in the Heavens above, which contained innumerable constellations, also rose high, casting its light down onto the lands of South Heaven as it did.

Immediately, gigantic waves swelled up across the entirety of the Milky Way Sea, crashing and thundering far and wide. The movement of the blade even caused the Violet Sea in the Western Desert to begin to roil violently.

All of the Cultivators, and in fact, all living things, in the Outer Sea, the Fourth Ring, and the Third Ring, were all flabbergasted.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face was unsightly to the extreme as he stared up into the sky. Although his face flickered with various emotions, he didn't dare to take even a step forward toward the area where Naruto was performing his Spirit Severing.

He well knew that a great Dao was nearing. Were he to step foot into that area, that great Dao would exterminate him in body and spirit. The reason was that this Dao… was not his Dao.

"Dammit!" he cursed, killing intent growing with intensity in his eyes. "Well, eventually your Spirit Severing will come to an end. You absolutely must not kill yourself in the process, child, otherwise I'll never acquire your Dao foundation!

"However… I still want to know, just what Dao did you come to understand?"

Within the Third Ring, the Three Saints' faces also flickered. In contrast to Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity, Saint Sun Soul's eyes glowed with a strange light. He was instantly able to determine that the Spirit Severing was being performed… by Naruto!

"So, it turns out you were actually only a half a step into Spirit Severing!" he thought, taking a deep breath.

Meanwhile, as the astral blade slowly rose up, the struggling, illusory image of the Resurrection Lily had reached the point of insanity. It quivered in terror because of the unprecedented feeling of deadly crisis; this was the first time it had ever truly experienced dread.

It could clearly sense that the blade in front of Naruto had the power to sever it away. That blade was backed by the power of a great Dao, something it was powerless to resist.

A faint voice could suddenly be heard coming from the skeleton in the seaweed, and the eyes of the long dead Reverend Silverlamp suddenly glowed with lucidity. "The Dao of freedom, of independence…."

He looked at Naruto sitting in front of him, and murmured, "Were it not for the fact that he was steeled by the Resurrection Lily, this kid would never have been able to comprehend such a great Dao of Heaven and Earth….

"Sever the fetters, and achieve true independence…. The interesting thing is that it's impossible to tell whether he was tempered by the Resurrection Lily, or whether the Resurrection Lily was tempered by him.

"I can just barely sense that both he and the Resurrection Lily each have someone watching over them…. One is the Dawn Immortal of the

Second Ring, mother of the Resurrection Lily who exists in the lands of

South Heaven. The other… is in the Eastern Lands."

Even as Reverend Silverlamp was looking at Naruto, a sinister gaze shot out from the black depths of the sea in the Second Ring, bearing a boundless evil. Despite the evil, it still exhibited a trace of Immortal Will as it peered towards Naruto.

"I bloomed at dawn," thought the owner of the voice, "and my consciousness emerged…. On the day of vicissitudes, I achieved Immortal Ascension, and met someone I should not have met.

"Shui Mo stole away my heart, a heart… that contained all of the longing from my previous life…. It sank down into the Milky Way Sea and was sealed in a formation of stone, locked away in a copper coffin… restrained by countless chains.

"What was locked away was my goodness. Eventually, it transformed into a roc, which now weeps in the Rebirth Cave.

"The League of Demon Sealers. The Ninth is the pinnacle. Is he your hope…? I knew long ago that if I could not find you, then I would destroy the hope of the League of Demon Sealers."

The gaze coming from the Second Ring looked at Naruto with complex emotions. There was coldness, confusion, hatred, and viciousness.

Meanwhile, in the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, a woman was looking in the direction of the Milky Way Sea. Her gaze penetrated through the air, through the Milky Way Sea, all the way to Naruto.

It was a gaze filled with concern, worry, nervousness, and anxiety. All of that transformed into an endless love that wrapped up her heart.

She stood atop a lofty Tower of Tang, gazing far off into the distance. Next to her stood a man who silently clasped her hand. He could feel her trembling, and could feel the dampness of sweat in her palm. 1

"This is Hao'er's tribulation," he said softly. "I just wanted him to be able to live a normal, mortal life. And yet, he ended up choosing the path of cultivation…. Now there's no looking back.

"If he fails," he murmured, "then the both of us can go receive him when he is reincarnated. We can spend a whole life with him, walk a whole sixty-year cycle of springs and autumns…." He seemed to be speaking both to the woman, and himself.

"You know, you're very cold-hearted," said the woman. Tears flowed down her cheeks.

A tremor ran through the man, and he closed his eyes. Deep in his heart existed bitter pain, which spread out to fill his entire being. He seemed to be recalling the fragile child running through the fog that year, weeping as he cried out to his father and mother. He remembered how the boy limped about trying to find him. When the boy caught sight of him, he could see the tears in the boy's eyes, and he realized how much the boy relied on him.

"Li, you don't understand…." The man did not speak these words, but rather, whispered them in his heart. 2

RUMBLE!

At the bottom of the Milky Way Sea, Naruto's eyes shined with an intensely bright glow. He slowly looked up at the blade in front of him as it rose ever higher. In the Heavens far above the sea, the astral blade also reared up simultaneously.

As they moved toward an apex, the blades seemed to be building up power. By the time they reached that apex, all living beings in the Milky Way Sea were watching on….

The astral blade then suddenly began to slash down toward the Milky Way Sea.

Rumbling filled the sky, and the sea suddenly started to split apart. The seafloor, which throughout countless ages had never been touched by sunlight… was revealed to the world for the first time.

Exposed therein was Naruto, as well as the Resurrection Lily, struggling in all of its madness.

Also visible was the multicolored blade hovering in front of Naruto.

The first blade of Spirit Severing!

"Heaven and Earth are just resting places for the myriads of living creatures," he murmured. "Time represents the passage of hundreds of generations of passing travelers." A glow of determination appeared in his eyes, and the blade descended. 3

"My life is just such a resting place. Wherever my footsteps lead, that is my direction!" His voice echoed out, softly at first, then louder and louder.

"Sever the fetters, and achieve true independence, acquire true freedom!" The sound of his voice caused everything in the area to shake and rumble. The parted sea water roared, and the glow of the astral blade increased tenfold!

It almost seemed to have formed a resonance with Naruto!

That resonance caused Heaven and Earth to dim. The wind whipped and the clouds churned. The glow of the astral blade spread without end, and the multicolored blade in front of Naruto emanated a shocking will.

This was… the resonance of a great Dao!

The glow grew more intense, transforming into ripples and then vibration. The air around Naruto twisted and distorted, and countless ghost images sprang up. When the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch felt it, his face fell.

"The resonance of a great Dao!"

In the Second Ring, the eyes of the mother of the Resurrection Lily went wide. As for the couple in the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, both of them trembled.

Only great determination and incredible enlightenment could form a resonance like this!

Spirit Severing is not difficult when compared to causing a Dao…. But even more difficult is to form a resonance!

Naruto's heart, will and mind all fused with the descending great Dao. They became indistinguishable!

I am the great Dao, and the great Dao is me!

In that moment, be it in the Southern Domain, the Northern Reaches, or the Eastern Lands, the Patriarchs and almighty members of all the Sects and Clans could all sense the resonance of the great Dao.

The resonance formed the first blade of Spirit Severing, a blade that would sever, not Naruto's life or existence, but rather… any flaws within him that did not conform to his Dao!

Use the Dao to sever the Dao. It was like a baptism that cleansed any disharmonies, that purged the self. Any nonconforming Dao was absolutely unnecessary.

And of course, the Resurrection Lily was just such a flaw, just such a disharmony, just such a nonconforming Dao. It was absolutely unnecessary!

"Free and unconstrained, at liberty to walk about anywhere in Heaven and Earth! No one can restrict me! Heaven cannot impede me and the Earth cannot restrain my heart! This is my Dao!

"Freedom! Independence!" Naruto's voice was like that of a god, each word cracking like thunder. The Milky Way Sea rumbled. The Dawn Immortal shook. The couple in the Eastern Lands trembled, as did the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The words he had spoken just now were filled with Naruto's great determination!

Everything trembled as the astral blade arrived. It merged with Naruto's multicolored blade, transforming into a Dao blade that slashed down into the top of his head in the exact moment that he finished speaking.

The blade moved with incredible speed; no sooner had his words finished than it had pierced the top of his head into his neck, and then his heart. It passed through his dantian region, and then all the way through him, completely bisecting him!

However, Naruto didn't move a muscle, and his face even showed hints of a smile. In contrast, the five-colored Resurrection Lily behind him let out an unprecedentedly bloodcurdling scream. It trembled violently as any connection it had to Naruto… was instantly broken! Five colorful strands were snapped, and the five-colored Resurrection Lily began to wither up rapidly. It was not willing, and it virtually exploded with resentment and madness. But unfortunately, there was nothing it could do. In that moment, its will completely vanished.

Vanished for all eternity.

Naruto's first blade of Spirit Severing severed the fetters, carving out his freedom. He had obtained independence!

In that moment, he erupted with a boundless, endless life force. His previously withered fleshly body was restored. Naruto looked up, and even as the image of the Resurrection Lily was about to completely dissipate, he reached out and grabbed it.

"You lived in me for 200 years, parasite. Do you really think the old scores could be settled so easily! From now on, you are my Spirit Severing Treasure. The day I get you to bloom with seven colors… is the day I reach Immortal Ascension!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Mototsugu Oba_

A Tower of Tang was first mentioned in chapter 1. Naruto eventually visited it in chapter 59, which culminated in his vision of Choumen Tai, and then Choumen Tai's corpse falling into the Southern Domain. Later, in chapter 138, when he went to the Black Sieve Sect for the first time, he found out that such towers exist in other places. He also saw a Tower of Tang in the illusory life he lived in the trial by fire to become a Violet Furnace Lord in chapter 289. ↩ The "Li" character here is 丽, the same character as in Meng Li's name 孟丽. ↩ Here he is quoting the words originally spoken in chapter 291 in the illusory life, and then repeated in chapter 626 when he was talking to the Demon Mountain in the Demon

Immortal Sect ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 678

Chapter 678: Intrepid Naruto!

Spirit Severing Treasures were items that every Spirit Severing

Cultivator had. They were refined in the actual moment of Spirit Severing, created from an object unique to the enlightenment of each individual.

As for Naruto, he chose to use the fading five-colored Resurrection Lily as the basis of his Spirit Severing Treasure, which conformed with his Dao.

The soulless Resurrection Lily was incapable of struggling. As soon as he grabbed it, it merged into his palm, transforming into the mark shaped like a flower.

He took a deep breath as he rose to his feet, his Cultivation base flaring. This was a true Spirit Severing Cultivation base, with a three thousand meter Area that belonged solely to Naruto.

Of course, all Spirit Severing Cultivators had their own Area.

Naruto was more slender, and having immersed himself in the great Dao, his fleshly body was now stronger and taller. In the blink of an eye, he reached the absolute pinnacle of the Spirit Severing fleshly body. It was actually impossible for it to progress any further. If it did, it wouldn't be a Spirit Severing fleshly body, but that of Dao Seeking!

His Cultivation base rocketed up; all the years of practicing cultivation while restricting himself to the Nascent Soul stage had created a buildup that could now explode out.

In an instant, he was at the limit of the First Severing, a breakthrough which gave him the power of a Second Severing Cultivation base. Now all he lacked was a Second Severing Domain.

Once he received enlightenment, and actually performed the Second Severing, Naruto was confident that he would instantly be… at the peak of Spirit Severing.

His longevity also increased under the powerful life force. His hair turned black, his physique matchless. He looked younger than before, although, his features also radiated a certain ancientness that was clearly visible.

His entire person experienced a tremendous, earthshaking transformation as he was completely and thoroughly reborn!

Some distance off in the Milky Way Sea, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was panting as he stared off into the distance. His eyes shone with a bizarre light and intense avarice.

"With latent talent and good fortune like that, no wonder he has a Perfect Dao Foundation. It's mine! Definitely mine!" In that instant, he vanished.

At the same time, in the black depths of the Second Ring, the Dawn Immortal's eyes closed. When they opened again, infinite coldness could be seen therein.

In the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, the couple stood there. Tears streamed down the face of the woman, tears of joy.

"Without Severing the Spirit, one cannot live past one thousand. My son practiced cultivation for only two hundred years and succeeded in Spirit Severing. He even provoked the descent of a great Dao." She turned to look at the man. "How does such latent talent compare to the people of your Clan, huh?"

The man stood there silently for a long moment before sighing. "I'm not worried about him having poor latent talent. Even if it was worse, he's still our son. Is Immortal Ascension that difficult? What I fear… is that his latent talent will be too good. The path of cultivation is not easy to tread. How many people perish upon it? How many people are completely eradicated? How many people are destroyed in body and soul…?"

The woman shivered and didn't say anything.

"He also has to deal with his Spirit Severing Tribulation," continued the man softly.

The woman's face flickered, and she took a step forward. The man grabbed her arm.

"This is his real Tribulation, and there is Karma in everything. If you help him, it will cause the sown Karma to grow greater. When the time comes to reap it… the reckoning will also be greater.

"In cultivation, you cannot build up without first tearing down. If he can transcend the Tribulation, then when his day of Immortal Ascension comes, I will take him to the lands of East Victory!" The man spoke with determination that could chop nails and sever iron. However, what the woman couldn't see was that concealed in his hand was a medicinal pill.

It was a type of medicinal pill that was rarely seen in the lands of South Heaven, to the extent that it could be considered a precious treasure.

"Hao'er," thought the man, "if you fail, father will come to look for you in the cycle of reincarnation. Even if you perish, this medicinal pill can bring you back to life…. However, I truly wish that you… can transcend the Tribulation on your own."

Back in the Milky Way Sea, Naruto lifted his head up and roared in laughter as his Cultivation base exploded up. The sensation of the power he now grasped filled him with passion. The feeling of finally acquiring freedom made it so that his thinking was suddenly incredibly clear. His Divine Sense spread out. It could now reach the 300,000 meter

mark. Hosts of magical techniques and divine abilities flashed through his mind, many of which he instantly gained enlightenment of.

Even as he began to fly up into the air, two beams of light appeared from off in the distance. As they sped toward him, two middle-aged men could be seen, Saint Flying Immortal and Saint Sea Divinity.

As soon as they caught sight of Naruto, they knew that this was the person they were searching for.

In the success of his First Severing, not only was the Resurrection Lily severed, but also his false appearance, revealing his true features.

"Naruto!" cried Saint Flying Immortal, his voice rumbling like thunder. The sea churned in response, as if it were about to explode.

A cold radiance appeared in Naruto's eyes. As soon as he looked at the two men, he knew who they were.

In the moment that Saint Flying Immortal spoke, a glittering glow covered the body of Saint Sea Divinity. Instantly, a set of armor appeared on him, and he strode forward. Even he couldn't help but be moved by the reward promised by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch; if he could capture Naruto, the greatest benefits would go to him.

He shot with incredible speed directly toward Naruto, performing an incantation gesture to summon an enormous trident. Shockingly, the sea stirred, and then vast quantities of seawater shot up into the air to circulate around. As he neared, he pointed out with the trident. The seawater roared as it formed together into the shape of an enormous hand that reached out to grab Naruto.

"Are you looking to die?!" said Naruto. He was already somewhat displeased at the behavior of the Flying Immortal Sect and the Sea Divinity Sect. Now that Saint Sea Divinity was attacking, Naruto's killing intent flared. He did nothing to evade, but simply took a step forward.

That step caused him to slam into the incoming seawater hand. A huge boom echoed out, and the hand collapsed. Naruto wasn't harmed in the slightest, and when he emerged from the water, he was directly in front of Saint Sea Divinity. He reached out with his right hand, upon which the Mountain Consuming Incantation manifested. The wave of a hand caused a thousand mountains to appear, all of which smashed down toward Saint Sea Divinity.

Saint Sea Divinity's face fell and he retreated, waving his arm to cause 100,000 magical symbol spirits to appear. They formed into ten symbol beasts, all of whom radiated the power of a Spirit Severing Cultivation base as they charged Naruto.

Naruto gave a cold snort, but didn't dodge. A thousand mountains sent out shocking ripples, and the symbol beasts made from 100,000 magical symbols immediately exploded. It was as if they weren't qualified at all to stand up to the thousand mountains, which then shot toward Saint Sea Divinity.

Everything was happening too quickly. Saint Flying Immortal had no chance to even react, and Saint Sea Divinity's mind filled with an intense feeling of deadly crisis. He suddenly shouted out, causing his trident to begin to flicker and glow. It instantly transformed into an enormous wall of black sea water in front of him.

Boom!

The wall exploded. At the same time, Naruto's thousand mountains also disappeared. However, the aftershock of the explosion caused Saint Sea Divinity's face to go pale. As he retreated backward, Naruto strode toward him.

He raised his hand, killing intent flickering in his eyes. He did not use any sort of magical technique or divine ability, but instead, punched out directly.

As the fist descended upon Saint Sea Divinity, it seemed to blot out the sky. Energy like that of Heavenly might surged, causing Saint Sea Divinity to feel intense fear. He quickly spit a glowing, blue pearl out of his mouth, which then shot toward Naruto. Naruto's fist slammed into it, and the pearl shattered; it was completely incapable of standing up to Naruto's fist, which continued onward to connect with Saint Sea Divinity.

BAM!

As the sound echoed out in all directions, blood sprayed from the mouth of Saint Sea Divinity. Cracking sounds could be heard as his armor shattered into pieces. His terror had now reached a pinnacle.

"Flying Immortal, help me!"

Saint Flying Immortal's face flickered, and he took a deep breath. He had never imagined that Naruto, having just stepped into Spirit Severing, would be so terrifying.

"Dammit, even if his Spirit Severing caused strange phenomena in Heaven and Earth, and even if he caused a great Dao to descend, there's no explanation for him to be so inhuman!" He was still in the midst of feeling shocked when Saint Sea Divinity called for his help. Gritting his teeth, he shot forward, raising his right hand toward the sky. Instantly, a sword of light appeared, which he grasped in his hand. At the same time, his speed increased rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, he was upon Naruto.

"Area," said Naruto coolly, not even turning back to look at Saint Flying Immortal. In that instant, a three thousand foot Area sprang up, a world that contained Naruto's Dao and will.

The Area world!

Saint Flying Immortal's speed was suddenly reduced. His mind trembled as Naruto once again punched out.

"Nine Heavens Destruction!" The first punch of the Nine Heavens Destruction, the First Heaven, caused a boom to rattle out. Blood poured out of Saint Sea Divinity's mouth, and his body seemed to be on the verge of exploding. Even as he let out a bloodcurdling scream, Naruto stepped forward and punched out with the Second Heaven.

Then the Third Heaven, and the Fourth Heaven. Saint Sea Divinity's body was blasted apart . His Nascent Divinity flew out, screaming miserably.

"Legacy treasure!" he howled, instantly causing a statue to fly out from inside the Nascent Divinity. The statue was pitch black, and depicted a faceless figure.

As soon as the statue appeared, it let out a pulsating aura of Dao seeking, which transformed into a wall that expanded out to surround Saint Sea Divinity.

"Legacy treasure?" said Naruto. He punched out with the Fifth Heaven and the Sixth Heaven. Booms filled the area, and the statue trembled. Then the Seventh Heaven and the Eighth Heaven. The statue shook, and the wall trembled. Inside, despair filled Saint Sea Divinity's face.

"Ninth Heaven… Destruction!" said Naruto calmly. He lifted his right hand, and this time, it wasn't a fist, but a palm that softly pushed out.

BANG!

The wall collapsed, and the statue was sent tumbling back. Inside, Saint Sea Divinity's Nascent Divinity let the last scream it ever would. He was now destroyed in body and spirit!

"How can he be so strong!?" thought Saint Flying Immortal. Having personally witnessed Saint Sea Divinity perishing, his scalp went numb, and his heart filled with astonishment. He quickly bit down on the tip of his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. He burned life force, not hesitating to waste longevity to struggle free from Naruto's Area world. He transformed into a beam of light that fled at top speed.

Naruto turned back to look, and his eyes flickered. He raised his hand to collect up Saint Sea Divinity's bag of holding, then waved his arm to summon the war chariot.

"Anyone who chased me along with that 10th Wang Clan bastard will have to pay the price!"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 679

Chapter 679: Battle!

"How can he be so strong!?

"A great Dao descended, making it a great Dao Spirit Severing, different from mine. But, it still doesn't make sense for him to be so terrifying!

"He hasn't even used any magical techniques or items! He's only relying on his fleshly body!

"Dammit! Just what level is his fleshly body at? Magical items are completely ineffective, nor could it be shaken by divine abilities! What type of fleshly body is it!?" Saint Flying Immortal's fear had reached the pinnacle. In his entire life of practicing of cultivation, he had never encountered a Cultivator of the same stage who caused him to be so terrified.

"Damn you, 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, you conned me! If I'd known this Naruto was so inhuman, you couldn't have said anything to convince me to join you…." He flew forward at top speed, fearful of being pursued. He even spit out some blood and burned more life force to go faster.

But it didn't matter how fast he went, he couldn't go faster than the war chariot.

Naruto was mounted on the war chariot, fueling it with a sliver of the Qi of Immortal Shows the Way. Thrumming, it caught up with Saint Flying Immortal in only a moment. Then it slammed violently toward him.

Saint Flying Immortal's face fell. He was incapable of evading; he only had time to wave his sword of light behind him to block. A huge boom could be heard as the sword of light shattered into pieces. Saint Flying Immortal's body then directly exploded.

His Nascent Divinity flew out, clearly in a sorry state. Naruto exited the war chariot and waved his hand, employing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. Saint Flying Immortal didn't even have a chance to move before countless invisible strands of Qi seemed to entwine his quivering Nascent Divinity.

His mind was instantly inundated with a profound sense of imminent death. His eyes bulged and he struggled violently, but he could do nothing as Naruto waved his hand, causing a hundred Wooden Time Swords to fly out. They circulated around Saint Flying Immortal to form a swirling Lotus Sword Formation.

A miserable shriek could be heard as Saint Flying Immortal's Nascent Divinity rapidly began to wither up. In the space of about ten breaths, it shrank, much like it would if it was being refined. Then, it withered into nothing; he was dead in body and spirit.

Naruto waved his hand to collect up Saint Flying Immortal's bag of holding, and then looked over the Lotus Sword Formation.

"The lotus is also like the act of refining…." he thought. 1

It was at this point that the crackling of thunder could be heard in the sky off in the distance. The wind whipped about, and in the blink of an eye, the sunny day turned dark. Countless pitch-black clouds surged up, forming a dense mass that looked like a gigantic face. It was none other than… the face of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The face was surrounded by crisscrossing bolts of lightning and heralded by peals of thunder; on the forehead of the face, an old man could be seen, his eyes glittering brightly.

"Naruto!"

The voice drowned out the thunder, like a Heavenly being's majestic roar, blasting an enormous craterous depression into the Milky Way Sea down below, which rapidly transformed into a rumbling, spinning vortex.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked coldly at the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

"Another clone," he said. His Divine Sense was much more powerful than before, and he understood a lot more about the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch now that he had fought two of his clones before. How could he not notice that this was indeed just a clone?

Naruto raised his right hand into a fist, and the Mountain Consuming Incantation appeared. One thousand mountains appeared around him, then more, until tens of thousand of mountains could be seen. The mountains were not small, and appeared to contain seawater. These represented all of the underwater mountains that existed in the range of Naruto's Divine Sense.

"The Mountain Consuming Incantation is divided into three aspects; the mountain, the soul, and the will!

"Along with my Cultivation base breakthrough, I was enlightened regarding the soul.

"This soul aspect more or less can be controlled by means of my Demon Sealing powers. With the art of Righteous Bestowal, I can extract the souls of mountain and insert them into my mountains. That is the complete second stage of the great art of Mountain Consuming!"

Naruto's eyes shone with a strange light. As he faced up against the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, he felt pressure bearing down on him, but at the same time, an intense desire to do battle. He raised his hand and then pushed it down toward the sea.

"Righteous Bestowal!

"Mountains of the Milky Way Sea, you are sunk beneath the waters, living in a world without daylight. Today, I, Naruto, will borrow your souls. I will split open the Heavens and Earth and allow you to bathe in the sunlight!

"EMERGE!"

In response to his shout, the sea began to seethe as, one by one, the mountains within the sea began to tremble. At the same time, an invisible aura began to spread up from them toward the surface.

As the sea blustered, the souls of the mountains appeared, merging into the mountains summoned by Naruto's divine ability. Thousands upon tens of thousands of mountains, a world-shaking sight, completely incomparable!

As the mountains spun around Naruto, he stretched his arms out wide. Hair flying around him, and eyes blazing with the desire to do battle, he suddenly swept his hands out in front of him. The tens of thousands of mountains all shot through the air with shocking rumbling sounds heading directly toward the gigantic face floating in mid-air.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face flickered as he performed an incantation gesture. The face that surrounded him immediately sped toward the mountains. They neared each other, and then slammed into each other, giving rise to a rumbling boom that filled the entirety of the Third Ring.

One mountain after another collapsed, and the face was riddled with gaping wounds. A moment later, amidst deafening roars, all of the mountains collapsed, and the face fell apart into pieces.

Naruto didn't pause for a moment. He flew up into the air, waving his arm to cause one hundred Wooden Time Swords to appear and form into the Lotus Sword Formation. Instantly, the formation shot toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

At the same time, he began to clench and unclench his fist. Every time he did this, his energy would redouble. It was none other than the Nine Heavens Destruction!

Now that his Cultivation base was truly in the Spirit Severing stage, he had gained complete enlightenment of it.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's pupils constricted. He could clearly sense that Naruto was completely different than he remembered, and was far, far more powerful.

"And yet, you are still… an insignificant bug!" he said with a cold snort. He waved his right hand, causing a red glow to appear in the cloudchoked sky.

It was a sun! A red sun!

"Setting Sun!" he said coolly. The red glow spread out to fill Heaven and Earth, instantly causing Naruto's one hundred Wooden Time swords to slow down.

"Time Combustion!" growled Naruto.

In response to the words, the one hundred Wooden Time Swords and their ten sixty-year cycles of Time power, instantly began to burn. The combustion of Time caused their speed to increase dramatically. They pierced through the layers of redness to appear near the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, where they spun around him slowly.

Merely a single rotation caused the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face to flicker. He could sense that his clone had, in the blink of an eye, lost several thousand years of longevity.

"A trifling Time treasure? Shatter!" He gave a cold snort, and the red glow grew even more shocking. It now emanated intense heat that spread out and began to shatter the Wooden Time Swords.

Naruto was already moving forward. "Detonate!"

BOOOOOOOMMMMMMMM!

Of the one hundred Wooden Time Swords, seventy simultaneously exploded. When the Spring and Autumn trees detonated, they unleashed an insane power of Time that turned into a Time vortex. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face fell as the rumbling echoed out. His body began to wither, and he was just about to retreat when Naruto shot forward as fast as lightning. His right fist had already clenched eight times in a row; now it clenched for the ninth time and then punched toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

"Nine Heavens Destruction!"

"Setting Sun, Falling Clouds!" The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's body emanated a monstrous red glow that billowed out.

Naruto faced it head on, and his body ignited into flames. However, his fist still struck its target.

A huge boom rattled out, and the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch fell back, his face pale. Killing intent radiated from his eyes as he saw that Naruto, blood pouring from his mouth and body in flames, was actually pursuing him.

Naruto's hoarse voice once again rang out: "Detonate!"

The detonation from before had been that of seventy Wooden Time Swords. There were still thirty left, all of which exploded at the same time. A tempest of Time was created in the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's path of retreat, finally managing to wound him.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, after which he lifted his head up and roared with rage. Of three clones, two had been slain. This third clone was somewhat weak, was not carrying any magical items, and was limited in the divine abilities it could use. However, it had a Dao Seeking Cultivation base! How could it be injured in this way?

To the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, it was a humiliation!

After panting a few times, he stifled his rage and then looked at Meng

Hao approaching him. "He's intentionally trying to exasperate me. I must under no circumstances come here with my true self. He may still be able to use that Immortal's sword, and the threat that could pose to me… must not be underestimated!"

Glaring at Naruto, he cried, "Call the Wind, Summon the Rain!"

Black clouds containing black dragons whistled around him as a deluge drenched the vicinity, each raindrop contained killing intent. The raindrops seemed to cover Heavens and Earth as they headed straight for Naruto.

"Even if I have to sacrifice this clone, I need to draw out that Immortal's sword. After he uses it, then my true self can come!"

Naruto, his body in flames, quickly retreated. A violet glow appeared in his eyes, and he burned life force to restore his flesh, which visibly healed at a rapid rate. Even as the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch neared him, Naruto stepped into the war chariot.

It was in that moment that the black dragons roared, and the dense rain of killing intent began to close in.

Naruto pushed down onto the war chariot with his hand. Even while continuing to heal himself, he sent the Qi of Immortal Shows the Way into the war chariot. Then, instead of fleeing, he shot toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch with all the power the war chariot could muster.

Outside of the war chariot, one vicious beast after another materialized, roaring. The sounds of their chains echoed about as they charged at top speed toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, whose face immediately flickered. He hadn't sensed earlier that the war chariot was extraordinary, so seeing what was happening now left him shaken inwardly. He instantly moved to evade.

However, his speed was no match for the war chariot!

A boom could be heard as it slammed into him. Any black dragons along the way collapsed and the rainwater was destroyed. A massive energy swelled up, slamming into the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. Blood poured from his mouth as he performed a double-handed incantation and then shoved his hands out forward. His face was twisted ferociously as he utilized the entire power of his Cultivation base.

Even still, he was shoved backward by three hundred meters. By the time he came to a stop, blood was gushing out of his mouth, but his body had not been destroyed.

"Before Spirit Severing, he was no weakling. However, I never imagined that after reaching Spirit Severing, he would be so swift and fierce.

"I must have this Perfect Dao foundation!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Mototsugu Oba, Junior Fortytwo, and_

 _Seena Amidhozour_

In Chinese the world for lotus and the word for "refine" sound very similar ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 680

Chapter 680 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 680: The True Self Arrives!

Naruto stood in the war chariot watching as the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch fell backwards swiftly. Killing intent flickered in his eyes, and he waved a hand, causing Han Shan's bronze Immortal's sword to suddenly appear.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's pupils constricted, and he did nothing to dodge or evade. In fact, a cold gleam appeared in his eyes, and he fully rotated his Cultivation base, causing his aura to surge with scintillating brightness. Nascent Divinity flames even began to burn his body.

"So, he finally drew the sword," he thought. "From the look of it, he can only use it one more time. I'll use this clone to make him use all of its power. When he slays my clone, then my true self can teleport here!" A strange gleam appeared in his eyes.

Just when it seemed Naruto was going to attack with the Immortal's sword, the sword suddenly vanished. Then, ten glowing beams flew out of his bag of holding. The power of Time roiled off of them as they sped toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

They moved with incredible speed, plus, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was mostly focused on the Immortal's sword. Therefore, Naruto was once again able to take advantage of a critical moment. Ten Time Sword tips flew forward with shocking speed, as well as over 100,000 years of Time power.

As they neared the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his face flickered as his body rapidly withered, and he retreated immediately at top speed. Of course, the faster he moved, the faster the war chariot moved.

Naruto was racing against the clock, so he didn't hold back any of the Qi of Immortal Shows the Way. He pushed the war chariot until it rumbled, shooting toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The Wang Patriarch let out a furious roar, and then, all of a sudden, his right arm directly exploded. This was a type of self detonation that pushed him away violently, enabling him to sidestep the attack. As he did, Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent.

"Detonate!" One Time Sword tip, worth 1,000,000,000 Spirit Stones, exploded. It transformed into a tempest of Time Power that spiraled toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, who was still in the middle of dodging away from the war chariot.

He let out a desolate roar and caused his Cultivation base to explode out with full power within the tempest. When he finally managed to completely dissipate the tempest, his body was incredibly withered, and his face ashen. He looked like nothing more than skin and bones. He let out another furious roar.

Naruto had no time to feel any pain in his heart because of the loss of

Spirit Stones. His ability to defeat this clone of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch depended, not just on his Cultivation base, but also… his wealth!

He had Spirit Stones, and he had the Heaven-defying Time treasures. Detonating the one hundred Wooden Time Swords was only the beginning. The Time Sword tips were his trump card.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's clone was being defeated by Naruto's Spirit Stones!

"Detonate!"

As the words left Naruto's mouth, a second Time Sword tip blew up. A massive explosion ripped out, and a Time tempest surged out in all directions. The air aged, the sea dried up, in the blink of an eye, everything seemed to pass through ten thousand years.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's clone exploded, and a Nascent Divinity flew out, screaming shrilly.

"Naruto! You're DEAD!" The Nascent Divinity suddenly began to spin, transforming into an enormous vortex, within which flickered countless magical symbols. As it rotated, it turned into a spell formation.

At the very center of the spell formation appeared a black hole, a passageway leading to the unknown. A pressure that Naruto had never experienced before then emerged from within.

It was an aura that caused cracking sounds to fill the air around the black hole as multiple fissures suddenly appeared.

When he saw the fissures, Naruto's pupils constricted as he watched the fissures spread out to fill what looked like an elliptical shape.

From a distance, it actually looked like an eye!

The spell formation vortex was the iris, the black hole was a pupil, and the area around it was the white of the eye. As for the fissures, they were… veins of blood!

Naruto's entire body went cold; the intense pressure weighing down on him made it feel like he was about to explode. What was even more shocking was that the eye seemed to be fixed on him…. He could clearly sense something inside his body, something that had long since fused with him, begin to tremble, as if it was being forcefully extracted.

Naruto wasn't sure how exactly to describe what it was, but he could vaguely sense it. Finally, he realized that it was his foundation. It was his stable, solid foundation, built up after two hundred years of cultivation!

"Dao foundation…." he thought, panting. He could almost hear his heart pounding; everything around him was now completely silent.

The only thing that moved was the vortex….

Naruto wanted to struggle, but at the moment, it felt as if his body wasn't under his own control. He couldn't move a muscle, and it felt as if his internal foundation was about to separate from him. In fact, he could even see what appeared to be white mist seeping out from his nose and mouth. Not just his nose and mouth, but also, his eyes, ears, and in fact, all of the pores that covered his body.

This was not life force, this was his Dao foundation!

"My Dao, is freedom and independence!" Naruto's eyes went red as, in that very moment, his Cultivation base suddenly flared up. It was a forced eruption that caused him to cough up three successive mouthfuls of blood. His body also wasted away. But in exchange, he was now able to move again.

In that moment, though, a sigh could be heard from within the vortex.

The sound of it stabbed into Naruto's ears, causing him to tremble. He coughed up another mouthful of blood, and his face went deathly white as he saw a coffin slowly emerging from within the vortex.

As soon as the coffin appeared, and ancient aura seeped out to fill the entire Third Ring. All of the Sea Demons underneath the water instantly went motionless. Even the Sea Devils in the Second Ring trembled.

Throughout all of the Milky Way sea, all of the Cultivators, all life forms, suddenly went still and quiet.

The sea did not move. The world was still. There was only the ancientness, roiling out to fill everything.

This was Dao Seeking!

The true peak of Dao Seeking!

Naruto did not need to speculate. He immediately knew that this… was the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's true self.

The true self had finally arrived!

Naruto's scalp went numb, and his eyes were completely shot with blood. Without the slightest hesitation, he waved his hand, immediately causing seven of the remaining eight Time Sword tips to fly toward the vortex.

"DETONATE!" he roared, his voice hoarse. A huge boom rattled out as the seven Time Sword tips exploded, transforming into a terrifying storm of Time power.

At the same time, Naruto didn't hesitate for even a moment to pull out Han Shan's sword. He hefted the bronze alcohol flagon and took a drink, then spit it out. Sword Qi billowed up, and the Immortal's Sword surged with the last bit of Sword Qi that he had kept, just in case.

A tempest of Time ripped into the vortex, and even the coffin began to wither. In the blink of an eye, cracks appeared all over it. However, even as the tempest raged, a withered hand suddenly stretched out from inside the coffin. It began to clench into a fist, and the violent Time tempest immediately began to shrink down into the fist. When it was completely inside, the fist clenched tightly.

BOOM!

The tempest vanished, and an old man slowly rose up from within the coffin. He wore burial garments, and looked emaciated and frail. His face was a bit flushed, but the flush rapidly disappeared, leaving his face pale white.

His eyes were not large, but the feeling of ancientness that emanated out from him was intense to the extreme. He looked at Naruto and grinned. But then he noticed the Immortal's Sword that Naruto held, and his pupils constricted.

The grin caused Naruto's hair to stand on end. It was a grin that revealed no teeth whatsoever in his mouth; this man was ancient to the extreme.

Even as he smiled, Naruto raised up the Immortal's sword. Sword Qi raged up, filled with a song, shocking to the extreme. However, before the sword could slash down, a tremor ran through him, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Dammit!" His face was pale white as he sent Immortal Qi out of Immortal Shows the Way. The chariot rumbled and shot off into the distance. A gleam of foresight appeared in Naruto's eyes, and he panted. He had intentionally not struck down with the sword, purposefully making it seem like the sword was without power. He could tell from his encounter with the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's clones that the man was wary of the sword.

Since that was the case, Naruto refused to believe that he wasn't prepared for it. Everyone knew that the best time to use something was when you could do so along with the element of surprise.

"This guy is a wily old fox. He's definitely prepared for the sword. If I want to use it, I have to catch him off guard. My Cultivation base isn't a match for his; if I want to transcend this Tribulation, I have to use my wits!

"Using the Immortal's sword at the right time… is the key to victory!" Naruto's face was grim as he thought about how this opponent had crushed the Time tempest with a single fist. That left him trembling in fear.

"This is the peak of Dao Seeking, the power of a False Immortal!" Meng

Hao had personally felt the terrifying power of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, and he well understood the vast difference between the two of them. He was also well aware that the white mist that had begun to emanate out of him was the Perfection that was part of him. By now, it had been loosened and was being forced out of him. The thought of it was frightening.

"There's no need to run," said a hoarse voice from behind Naruto. "Your life has been prepared for me. It's your destiny…." The ancient voice echoed about in all directions. It seemed as if the wind was rotting, and when Naruto heard the voice, his entire body went as cold as ice.

He didn't turn to look back, but poured all the power of Immortal Shows the Way into the war chariot. In the blink of an eye, he had shot off into the distance with shocking, incredible speed.

"I knew about you way back when you were in Foundation

Establishment. I've been waiting for many years for the opportunity to reach Immortal Ascension, and you are that opportunity." The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's voice seemed nearer this time. Veins bulged out of Naruto's pale face. He could push no more power out of Immortal Shows the Way. Immortal Qi tore through his Qi passageways as it flowed out into the war chariot.

The speed with which he moved was incredible. The seawater down below was no longer that of the Third Ring. It was black, indicating that he had entered the Second Ring.

"This is the Dao of Karma. It is a decision made by destiny. You can't refuse.

"Do you think you can refuse the Dao of Karma? Do you think you can you refuse the choices of destiny? Since you can't refuse, why not just willingly give me your Dao Foundation? On the day that I reach Immortal Ascension, you will be in the underworld of the Fourth Mountain. Even after you have drunk the tea of old lady Meng, and forgotten everything about your past life, you will still have a feeling of glory and honor." This time, it sounded like the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was right next to him. 1

Old Lady Meng, or Meng Po, is a figure from Chinese mythology. She works in the underworld and gives people a tea to drink that makes them forget everything about their past lives. The "Meng" character is the same as Naruto's ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 681

Chapter 681: Foundation Seizing Grand Magic

"What glory and honor, bitch!?" raged Naruto from within the war chariot. He was originally a scholar, and was not the type of person to curse at others. However, after the parrot awakened, it had quite a wicked influence on him, and he had inevitably learned to swear.

Unfortunately, after all the years, he had only mastered this one curse.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch laughed hoarsely. The sound of it was filled with ancientness, like a cold wind blown from somewhere amidst countless years of time.

"I'm sorry," he said, "but all the women in my immediate family are dead. If you'd like, we could make a deal. I'd be happy to deliver their skeletons to you. What do you think?"

Naruto's face was extremely unsightly as he sped along in the war chariot. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch continued to follow, and actually gained on Naruto. Naruto could clearly sense that his own body was continuously emitting white mist. He was filled with the pain of having something within him forcefully separated, which caused anxiety to fill his eyes.

"It's still not time to use the Immortal's sword!" he thought.

"Foundation Seizing Grand Magic!" said the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

His voice echoed out in all directions, but Naruto was incapable of looking back. However, he could sense the speed with which the white mist poured out of him suddenly increase by severalfold. An indescribable pain filled him, and he couldn't hold back from letting out a despondent shout.

Shockingly, something that looked like red veins could be seen pulsing on his face, and in fact, his entire body. It almost appeared as if he was about to be torn to pieces, from the inside out!

Naruto began to shake, and blood sprayed from his mouth. He was now unable to continue to employ the qi of Immortal Shows the Way, so the war chariot came to a stop and shrank down. He put it into his bag of holding and then, enduring the intense pain, lifted his right hand to produce the flag of three streamers. He waved it out in front of him, and instantly, dense fog billowed up.

Down below, the seemingly never-ending black seawater seemed almost to be congealed in place. Not a single ripple could be seen on its surface!

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch floated in the air some distance away, grinning at Naruto.

It was a ghastly grin, filled with greed, almost as if to him, Naruto was food. His expression caused Naruto's scalp to go numb. He waved the flag of three streamers, causing the monstrous black mist to sweep toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

"That magical item… looks a bit familiar," said the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his eyes glittering. He performed an incantation with his right hand, and then pointed forward.

"Moonrise Over the Sea ," he said in his hoarse voice. Down below, the black seawater immediately turned violet. Then a red-colored moon suddenly rose up from within. The appearance of the red moon caused flames to fill the world. They transformed into a massive fireball that shot toward Naruto's flag of three streamers.

When they slammed into each other, the flag wasn't damaged, but the black mist immediately fell apart. The red moon, on the other hand, faded like an extinguished lamp, completely defeated and dispersed.

Next, the flag of three streamers expanded, spreading out to blot out the sky and also push Naruto and the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch apart.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face flickered, and he said, "This treasure… is very familiar. I'm sure that I've seen it somewhere before!"

Looking very serious, he performed a double handed incantation, then raised his hands high above his head and touched his ten fingertips together.

"Power of the rising sun, disperse all darkness of night!"

At the moment, everything was pitch black, with no light existing anywhere. The flag of three streamers seemed to have become part of the darkness of night.

But then, a beam of light appeared, shooting out from the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch to swirl around him. It was almost like… he had turned into a rising sun in the middle of the dark night!

The rising sun had appeared, and a bright glow began to spread out in all directions. Its power began to dispel the power of the dark night. The boundless blackness vanished under the light, and was completely cast away!

Naruto couldn't take it, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. The flag of three streamers rumbled and began to glow blurry. It spun backward, shrinking down at the same time. The entire world filled with brightness, and the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch floated there in mid-air. If you looked at him, it was impossible to tell whether he was a person or a sun!

Naruto's mind trembled. This was a divine ability, a Daoist magic that he had never even heard of!

"What divine ability is this!?" A tremor ran through his body, and blood poured from his mouth. When the sunlight had dispelled the darkness of night, it seemed he was considered to be part of the night. His body burst into flames, and he let out a shrill cry. Violet light flickered in his eyes as he frenziedly healed himself. However, it was still amid thunderous rumbling sounds that he fell down toward the black sea below.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's voice was filled with pride as he said, "That was another art personally created by the Wang Clan ancestor. For you to have seen it with your own eyes means that you can wear a smile on your face as you go to the underworld." His face was a bit paler than before; clearly it was not a simple thing to use the art he just had. Were it not for the fact that he needed to end the battle, he wouldn't have used it.

The bright glow filled a vast area, and the seawater was turning violet. As Naruto splashed into the water, the Wang Clan Patriarch's eyes flickered.

"Even now, he still doesn't unleash the power of that Immortal's sword?" he thought. "When I first arrived, he could only use about half of the power. Now, on the verge of death, he still doesn't utilize it…. I can thus be seventy percent certain that the Immortal's sword is now useless!" He suddenly flashed through the air, stretching his right hand out to grab at Naruto.

"Foundation Seizing Grand Magic!" A black glow spread out from the five fingers of his right hand. The light transformed into something like a black hole that emanated a shocking gravitational force.

Naruto's entire person appeared to be decaying. His flesh split and tore, his hair fell out, and he looked withered to the extreme. His life force faded rapidly. Compared to the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's peak Dao Seeking cultivation base, Naruto's own cultivation base… was too weak.

Even as the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch closed in, madness suddenly burned in Naruto's eyes. Despite the fact that his blood vessels were shattered, and he was gravely injured, he still managed to slap his bag of holding with his right hand. The alcohol flagon appeared, and he took a drink. Then the Immortal's sword could be seen, and he spit the alcohol out of his mouth.

Immortal qi exploded out, swift and fierce to the extreme. When the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch saw that it was about to slash toward him, his heart trembled, but after only a slight moment, he smiled coldly. He had long since prepared for exactly this situation. He immediately began to perform an incantation that would cause a body double to appear in his exact position. However, it was at this point that a violent tremor ran through Naruto. Apparently, he couldn't keep his grip on the Immortal's sword. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his entire right arm instantly exploded into a haze of blood and gore. The Immortal's sword tumbled down into the sea.

No matter how you looked at it, it seemed clear what had happened. Naruto was not capable of handling the power of the sword, and yet had still tried to forcefully control it. His right arm couldn't sustain the power, and had exploded.

Naruto laughed bitterly, and a look of despair appeared on his face.

"I can't accept this!" he howled, his voice filled with extreme grief and indignation.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch watched on smiling. As of this point, he was now eighty percent certain that the Immortal's sword could be of no more threat to him. A ferocious expression appeared on his face.

Of course, having lived for so many years, he was wily and cunning, and even more so, cautious. Despite the current situation, and Naruto having lost an arm, he was still not off guard regarding the Immortal's sword.

Instead of trying to lay hands on the Immortal's sword, he headed toward Naruto.

When Naruto saw this, anger sprang up in his heart. However, it only took a moment for a completely ruthless idea to spring up in his head. The ruthlessness of the idea actually did not target the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, but rather, himself!

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch neared. Hovering in front of Naruto, he lifted his right hand up and pushed the shimmering blackness onto Naruto's chest. Then he dug his hand into Naruto's flesh, his fingernails literally ripping through Naruto's flesh.

"Your skin is thick and your body tough," grated the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. "Not bad. If you were able to take your fleshly body to the next stage, then perhaps I wouldn't be able to deal with you. But right now… it's just not quite good enough." His fingernails stabbed deep into Naruto's chest.

"Foundation Seizing Grand Magic!" A strange light appeared in the eyes of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, a thirst, a desire, and an excitement. His fingers tightened viciously, and a rotating black hole appeared inside of Naruto.

The gravitation force it exerted was shocking, and completely filled Naruto.

His body began to tremble as unthinkable pain filled him. Countless blood-colored strands appeared all over his body. These strands had long since fused into him; this was his Perfect Dao foundation!

It was the foundation upon which he would achieve his Dao in the future!

Now, though, the blood-colored strands twisted and distorted as they shrank down, relentlessly sucked toward the black hole in his chest.

They were sucked toward his chest from his legs, his arms, his head, from every position in his body.

"From now on, your Perfect Dao Foundation belongs to me!

"Henceforth, my path to Immortal Ascension will be open!

"I will no longer be a false Immortal, but rather, a true Immortal!

"I will pursue the path of the ancestor and become an almighty expert of Heaven and Earth!" The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was so incredibly excited that he lifted his head up and laughed out loud. He slowly pulled his right hand back, and as he did, countless red strands stretched out between it and Naruto's body.

The red strands shone resplendently, and anyone who saw them would think of Perfection. Absolute Perfection without blemish!

Naruto's body withered and grew old. His cultivation base also fell. He could feel his Qi Condensation foundation vanish. His Dao Pillar foundation disappeared. His Perfect Core also faded away.

His expression was hollow, as if he had lost all power to fight back. He lay there blankly, bitterness filling his face. Pain wracked his body, although it couldn't even come close to matching the pain he felt in his heart.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch looked at the red strands that were building up in his hand, and intense desire built up in his eyes. His heart filled with excitement and elation. In fact, he was more excited now than he ever had been in his entire life.

In this moment, he completely set aside any preparations he had made to defend against the Immortal's sword. His entire heart and mind was completely focused on extracting the Perfect Dao foundation.

It was then, after he had abandoned his defenses, that grim coldness suddenly appeared in Naruto's blank eyes.

"Anybody who wants to take my Dao foundation must first pay the price!

"Immortal's sword!" Naruto's eyes were filled with madness that caused the Wang Clan Patriarch's mind to tremble. Suddenly, the Immortal's sword that had sunk down into the sea exploded with an earthshaking Sword Qi. It shot out from within the water, moving at incredible speed.

—–

Note from Deathblade: Starting with this chapter, I am making some changes to capitalization of various terms. Some things that I did capitalize, I won't from now on. There are also some things that I didn't capitalize that I will. For example Spirit Stones will be spirit stones, yellow springs will be Yellow Springs. If you pay attention to that sort of thing you'll probably notice right away. Eventually, I will go back to adjust previous chapters.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Wong Jing, Gyan Kapur, Donatas_

 _Azaravicius, and Gregor Kolm_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 682

Chapter 682: I Will Become Immortal!

Shocking sword qi billowed out as the Immortal's sword flew up from the bottom of the sea, moving with indescribable speed.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's face fell, and an intense sense of deadly crisis filled him. He was about to dodge to the side when Naruto's left hand suddenly stretched out and grabbed down onto the Wang Clan Patriarch's arm.

Naruto's eyes were shot with blood, and his expression was one of utmost ferocity, as if he were a devil or a fiend. He glared at the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his hand filled with the power of his life force, his stubborness, and his madness.

"You…." said the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, his face flickering as he sent the power of his cultivation base bursting out in all directions. His mind trembled with the sense of impending doom. He knew that he could not make any mistakes, but because the sword aura completely filled the entire area, he could not tell where exactly the Immortal's sword was coming from.

What he could do, though, was completely lock down the entire area.

RUMBLE!

The Immortal's sword did not fly up out of the sea to attack the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch! That would slow it down a bit, and right now… at this juncture, each moment counted for everything!

In his madness, Naruto had been waiting for this very moment. In the end, he used the Immortal qi and the Immortal's sword to…

Stab himself!

The sword pierced into his back to appear directly in front of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch!

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch had locked down all other avenues of approach, but he had forgotten about… Naruto's body.

There was no way he could ever have imagined that Naruto would possibly be so ruthless. This was not a ruthlessness toward enemies, but a ruthlessness toward himself. The Immortal's sword stabbed through his body with lightning-like speed, then shot out from his chest toward the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's mind spun. His first mistake was not realizing that Naruto would actually wait until the very last possible moment to unleash his desire to kill. The second mistake was not realizing that Naruto would use his own body as the vessel with which to deliver the blow of the Immortal's sword.

He wanted to defend himself, but could not! He wanted to ward off the blow, but was unable!

"If I can't live, then we will perish together!" said Naruto. "What's to fear in death? Mortals can live for a hundred years at most. I, Naruto, have already lived more than two hundred years. What's the harm in dying?!

"From the moment I stepped onto the path of cultivation, I was prepared. I don't care about dying, but what I do care about… is living a life of freedom and independence!

"The Resurrection Lily turned into fetters that held me back. And as for you, 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, you want to do the same? Well then, I'll just have to sever you!"

Naruto's level of determination and decisiveness could shake Heaven and Earth!

BAM!

The Immortal's sword and its shocking sword qi stabbed directly into the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He let out a bloodcurdling scream, then jerked his right arm to shake off Naruto's hand. Naruto's body lurched up as vast quantities of red, Perfect Dao foundation strands were wrenched out of him. They transformed into a resplendent red cloud that hovered up above.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch immediately pulled the brightly shining red strands of Perfection into his body. It was a moment in which he should have been extremely smug.

Instead, he screamed in miserable and shocking fashion.

The Immortal's sword pierced through his chest, exploding his heart and sending blood spraying about in all directions. He retreated, his mind filled with astonishment and terror. The wound to his body was secondary to the unbridled Immortal qi which tore through his body.

But all of that was actually not even worth mentioning when compared to the trembling of his soul.

That was the most terrifying thing to him; his soul shook to the point where it felt as if it were going to be torn to shreds.

"NOOOO!"

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch howled as he sensed that the three spiritual aspects and seven physical aspects of his soul, which formerly had been fused harmoniously, were now being ripped apart by the stabbing of the Immortal's sword. In fact, all aspects of his soul were rapidly beginning to fade.

"Naruto! DIIEEEEE!" Unprecedented madness filled the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He lifted his head up and howled as his entire body filled with rumbling sounds. Blood and gore oozed out from his mutilated chest. Suddenly, his withered body expanded as the red strands of the Perfect Dao foundation fused into his arm and the rest of his body. Suddenly, a trace of his own Immortal qi bloomed inside of him.

Unfortunately, it didn't matter that Immortal qi had appeared, he was unable to prevent the collapse of his soul.

"Immortal! I will become Immortal!" he raved. Shouting, he flew toward Naruto, his expression vicious. He raised his right hand into the air; everything shook, Immortal qi rose up into the sky, and the seawater vibrated.

Naruto had lost his Dao foundation, and his cultivation base had fallen. He no longer looked like a young man. He was old now, withered, with only a single breath of life left.

And yet, he smiled, a smile filled with contentment, freedom, and viciousness.

"If you want to take away my Dao foundation, you have to pay the price."

As the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch's massive palm strike descended, the sky grew dim. Just as the power of the attack was about to envelop him, suddenly, a sigh could be heard coming from within the sea. Black fog roiled out, covering over Naruto. In the blink of an eye, the fog ebbed and he vanished from beneath the Wang Clan Patriarch's palm.

Something else appeared at the same time as the fog. A ship.

Its aura was ancient, and it was filled with the vestiges of the passage of time. The deck was dilapidated, and the entire ship seemed completely ancient. This was none other than… the ancient Underworld Ship!

At the prow of the ship, a man sat cross-legged, wearing a dilapidated suit of armor. Next to him lay Naruto; his eyes were closed, and it was impossible to tell whether he was alive or dead.

The Wang Clan Patriarch's palm strike slammed into the sea, sending water splashing everywhere as a huge depression appeared. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was screaming and going crazy. Although the aura of an Immortal grew more clear on his body, his expression was one of madness. His soul was on the verge of dissipating. He had already lost one physical aspect of his soul, leaving him with only three spiritual and six physical aspects.

"I won't accept this!" he roared. His hatred toward Naruto had reaching the pinnacle. His mind and thinking were no longer clear, and the only thing on his mind was that before he died, he needed to kill Naruto.

He charged forward, but at the same time, the Underworld Ship began to drift away. No matter how the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch pursued it, he couldn't catch up. He could only watch as the Underworld Ship disappeared off into the sea.

"DIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!" roared the Wang Clan Patriarch. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He violently slammed his palm onto the top of his head, causing blood to spray out. However, in that moment, he suddenly regained some of his clarity.

"I will reach Immortal Ascension! My soul must remain complete! I can't die! I haven't reached Immortal Ascension yet! I'm just on the verge!" His eyes bloodshot, he opened up a rift in the air and then vanished.

Shockingly, when he reappeared, he was back in the Southern Domain, in the Wang Clan.

"I will reach Immortal Ascension! I will become Immortal!

"I cannot die! I will not die!

"I have the Perfect Dao foundation, and am destined to be Immortal!

Immortal qi has already appeared!

"How could I possibly die!?" As he raved, his mind was thrown into complete chaos. Right now the only thing he could think about was reaching Immortal Ascension. His eyes were completely bloodshot as he flew down toward one of the cities of the Wang Clan.

The city was populated completely by members of the Wang Clan. There were mortals and cultivators, elderly people and children. As he shot toward the city, several hundred cultivators flew out. When they saw the appearance of the 10th Patriarch, their faces fell.

"Patriarch!"

"Patriarch, you… AAIIEEEEE!" Even as the people opened their mouths to greet him, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch grabbed one of the Wang Clan members and then crushed his fingers down. The cultivator's head exploded, and his soul flew out to be inhaled by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

The other Wang Clan members were shocked, but before they could react, the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch turned into a black wind that whistled toward them. Miserable shrieks began to echo out in all directions as hundreds of people were all eradicated, their souls absorbed by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

"I will reach Immortal Ascension!" he raved. "I will not die!" His eyes red, he shot down toward the city. Everywhere he passed, bloodcurdling screams rang out. Countless souls flew toward him, which he absorbed.

In the space of only about ten breaths, the entire city was deathly silent. Everyone in the city… was dead!

Only the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch remained. He flew up into the air, howling.

"Return to me, my soul!" he howled.

There were a total of three such cities within the Wang Clan. The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch suddenly vanished, to reappear outside the second city.

The scene that played out was exactly the same as before. Miserable shrieks could be heard as countless lives met heartrending ends. A black cloud covered the entire city as all members of the Wang bloodline had their souls consumed by the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

And yet, the spiritual and physical aspects of his soul were still dispersing; of the original ten total, one spiritual aspect and two physical aspects had already vanished.

"NOOOO!" he howled, shooting toward the third city. This city was the location of the Wang Clan's ancestral mansion in South Heaven. As he neared, thousands of cultivators shot out from within, including two Spirit Severing experts. Their faces were filled with shock.

"The Patriarch has gone mad!"

"He massacred two cities full of clan members! He's insane!"

BOOM!

Within the the territory of the Wang Clan were the mountains in which successive generations of Patriarchs were buried. Seven mountain ranges in particular suddenly emanated shocking roars. In the blink of an eye, seven coffins appeared, from out of which exploded seven emaciated old men. Each and every one was in a rage.

"10th Patriarch, what are you doing!?"

"10th Patriarch, stay your hand!"

Their shocking roars rose up like thunder, causing a bit of lucidity to suddenly appear in the eyes of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. In that moment, he realized everything that he had done, and his body began to tremble. In his heart, he felt pain from having slaughtered countless members of his own clan.

Intense pain filled him, but only for a moment. Then, his eyes shone with determination.

"I'll kill you and consume your souls too! Then, I will achieve Immortal Ascension! The whole clan can die, as long as I remain alive!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Donatas Azaravicius, Rafał Mojza, Hieu_

 _Phan Trung, Stefan Strindin, and XYY_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 683

Chapter 683: Henceforth

He was willing to sink into depravity!

All for Immortal Ascension!

All to avoid death!

Tears streamed down the face of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch. He howled, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He no longer even had a heart, but he still felt a sense of belonging to the clan and the bonds of kinship toward his fellow clan members. But now… it was too late to turn back.

He was not willing to die, especially not after he had acquired the Perfect Dao foundation and his body was filled with Immortal Qi. The only thing he could do was sink to the lowest level.

Regret? He did not know the meaning of the term. He could only consume. Consume the souls of his own bloodline. Only those souls could save his life.

This was… the only thing he could do!

All for Immortal Ascension!

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch howled hoarsely as his consciousness grew murky. He slipped further into madness. KILL! KILL! KILL!

He had no idea how many people he killed, nor how many souls of fellow clan members he consumed. In one night, all the members of the Wang Clan in the clan's third city… died.

The Patriarchs buried in the various mountain ranges were destroyed amidst rumbling booms. The seven Patriarchs had incredible cultivation bases, but the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch now possessed Immortal qi, as well as a Perfect Dao foundation. They simply couldn't compare to him, and were no match at all.

One by one, they all died!

Mountains crumbled, and everything shook. In one night, the Wang Clan's entire foundation in the lands of South Heaven… was uprooted. This was genocide!

He was the 10th Patriarch, who had existed for ages in the lands of South Heaven. He was the Patriarch with the highest cultivation base in the clan, a person the clan members looked up to like a god.

But on that day, the god became a devil, and carnage reigned. During the massacre, he regained lucidity three times.

The first time was when he killed his younger brother, the 11th Wang Clan Patriarch who had stayed by his side for countless years. He ripped his soul out, then, tears streaming down his face, laughed maniacally and consumed it.

The second time was when he killed his most beloved member of the junior generation. The man cried, begging the Patriarch to spare his life. He crushed the man's skull, then, his hand still covered with blood and brain, grabbed the soul and consumed it.

The third time was when the world had grown completely silent. Beneath his feet was nothing but wreckage and bodies. No living person existed. At that point, he regained clarity.

However, that clarity only lasted for a few breaths of time. Then he slipped back into madness. By this point, his body was no longer injured.

He was recovered. However, the souls that he had lost… would remain forever lost. Two spiritual aspects and three physical aspects were gone forever.

He now had only one spiritual aspect and four physical aspects.

This was a result bought by the lives of all the Wang Clan members in the lands of South Heaven. His soul did not dissipate, and he did not die. However… with only one spiritual aspect and four physical aspects to his soul, who knew if and when he would ever become lucid again.

For the most part, he was descended into madness and carnage. Before he completely sank back down into the depravity, he shed some tears, which spattered down onto the ruins of the Wang Clan. Perhaps years later, a field of blood colored flowers would bloom in that very spot….

He raised his head and let out a mournful, bitter laugh. Then he turned into a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.

"Immortal Ascension!

"I will become Immortal!"

He left, forever submerged within his insanity.

Henceforth, there was no Wang Clan in the lands of South Heaven. In its place, a lunatic existed who constantly raved about Immortal Ascension. Of course, few people dared to provoke the madman.

That was because… he was halfway into Immortal Ascension. He possessed Immortal qi and only needed to pass through Immortal Tribulation to become a true Immortal!

Unfortunately, his soul was not complete, and he was eternally sunken into depravity. His day of Immortal Tribulation would never come.

…

In the depths of the Second Ring of the Milky Way Sea was an enormous

Resurrection Lily, drifting back and forth in the water. It was impossible to see the number of colors, but what could be seen was the figure of a woman sitting on the flower. She almost seemed to be using the petals as a swing as she swayed back and forth.

"No Dao Foundation. He likely perished….

"In the League of Demon Sealers, the Ninth is the pinnacle. It seems the league… is broken."

Outside the Fourth Ring of the Milky Way Sea, an island sped across the surface of the water. Suddenly, a tremor ran through it, and it stopped moving. After a long, long moment, an enormous head rose up out of the sea and looked off into the distance.

"His aura… is gone….

"The little bastard is full of schemes and wickedness. He's dead? Good! Great! Wonderf… wait, he died?!" He head quivered slightly. Patriarch Reliance wanted to feel happy, but for some reason, he actually wasn't.

"Dead…. Dammit, who killed him? He's the Patriarch's only Inner Sect disciple! The little bastard is endlessly scheming, how could he have died?!"

On the island, Guyiding Tri-rain also seemed to have sensed something, and her face paled. She leaned up against the old Boat Spirit, sorrow filling her eyes.

"Didn't you promise me that you would help me turn into a sea…? You broke your promise…."

In the lands of the Southern Domain, in the Violet Fate Sect, Pill Demon was smiling as he concocted a batch of pills especially for Naruto. Recently, he'd gotten the feeling that Master and apprentice would be reunited before too long.

He wanted to finish concocting the special batch of pills before they met in person. However, it was in that moment that the pill furnace suddenly exploded. Pill Demon suddenly seemed to age by hundreds of years. He silently looked off into the distance for a long, long time.

Chu Yuyan was sitting cross-legged in meditation, practicing cultivation in her Immortal's cave. Then, for some unknown reason, her heart suddenly felt troubled. Her eyes opened, and she looked up into the night sky. A shooting star flew by.

"When I was young, my dad always said that when you see a shooting star, it means someone just perished."

In the Black Sieve Sect, Xu Qing sat with eyes closed, seeking enlightenment of a Daoist magic she had acquired in the Demon Immortal Sect. Suddenly, a tremor ran through her body, and her eyes opened. Her face was deathly pale, and she lifted her hand up to her chest.

An intense, uneasy feeling made her suddenly stop cultivating. She walked out of her Immortal's cave, her face growing even more ashen.

"Pain. This is the second time I've felt pain like this…. The first time was the time by the Rebirth Cave.

"Naruto, is it you? What… happened? Why am I suddenly so frightened?" Xu Qing didn't know why, but she suddenly found herself weeping. She didn't dare to think too deeply about her sudden premonition. Trembling, she flew up into the sky.

Although she didn't know the source of the feeling, for some reason she looked toward the Milky Way Sea and then began flying.

On that day, Fatty was very irritable. He violently lost his temper countless times in the Golden Frost Sect, although he wasn't sure why.

On that day, Chen Fan killed. Although he looked calm, deep in his heart existed a boundless desire to slaughter. He flew out of the sect and killed numerous villainous cultivators.

On that day in the Blood Demon Sect, Wang Youcai made a cultivation base breakthrough into the Nascent Soul stage. However, he felt no joy.

He looked in the direction where the State of Zhao used to exist, and thought of his childhood, and of his old friends. 1

On that day in the Northern Reaches, a Blood cultivator rose to prominence. Acting alone, he slaughtered an entire small-scale sect, then occupied the location. He was young, but unfeeling and coldblooded. In his blood-soaked hands, he held a magical item, a pearl. The young man had a name, too. Dong Hu. 2

On that day, in the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, in a tall tower, a husband and wife got into an argument the likes of which was virtually unprecedented. The woman eventually stormed off, her eyes filled with tears. The man looked silently off into the distance. There was no one to see it, but tears streamed down his face.

Time slowly passed by.

Xu Qing arrived in the Milky Way Sea. No matter how she searched, she found nothing. An entire sixty-year cycle passed before she silently picked an area on the border of the Southern Domain where she sat down to meditate. Every day she would look out at the Milky Way Sea. She had the feeling that out there somewhere, was Naruto.

It was only a feeling, but she believed it.

As for the couple who had argued, the woman also reached the Milky Way Sea. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she went to the Third Ring, to the Second Ring, to everywhere. She found nothing. She searched and searched, and even fought a battle with the Dawn Immortal in the Second Ring.

The battle shook Heaven and Earth. All of the Sea Devils in the Second

Ring were killed, and black seawater spread out to cover the entire Third Ring. Heaven and Earth grew dark, and as for who won the battle, and who lost, nobody knew.

One hundred years passed….

In the Inner Ring of the Milky Way Sea, the water was red. An ancient battleship floated across the surface of the water, at the prow of which sat an old man in a suit of armor. He sat there cross-legged, apparently looking off into the distance. It was impossible to tell what exactly he was looking at.

Next to the old man rested a body. It was a man with no hair or eyebrows; he was completely shriveled up. Wrinkles covered his skin, and he looked as if he had just climbed up out of a grave. The entire body stank of putrefaction.

He had no right arm, and a gaping hole could be seen in his chest, where there existed… no heart whatsoever.

A flame burned above him, casting out a gentle light that covered over his body. As the light was cast out, it transformed into glittering dots, within each of which could be seen flickering, incomprehensible magical symbols. Oh so slowly, those dots of light bored into the hole in Naruto's chest.

Inside of Naruto's chest, the flesh and blood writhed, as if it were slowly growing.

The years seemed as if they would flow by in this manner forever, and because they were in the Inner Ring of the Milky Way Sea, there was no one who could find the ancient ship, or Naruto.

On one particular day, the armored old man slowly opened his eyes. Hidden within them were the sun, the moon, and the stars. Endless years of time permeated those eyes, as if the man could see into their boundless depths.

He turned his head, and his abstruse gaze fell onto Naruto.

When that happened, Naruto's body seemed to experience the passing of thousands of years. The fire burned intensely, emitting more crystalline dots of light that merged into the hole in his chest. The wriggling of the blood and flesh increased, and soon the healing process was visible to the naked eye. A new heart formed, and the wounds were healed. Even the bones and flesh of the right arm slowly began to grow out.

In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Naruto was completely restored. Not a wound could be seen on him. However… his hair was pure white, and he looked incredibly old, as if he were an elderly man.

Weakness radiated out from him as he opened his eyes.

His eyes were filled with confusion. He lay there thinking for a long time before memories started to trickle into his brain. He thought of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, and how he had chosen to end in common ruin with him rather than give up his freedom. In the end, he had landed a sword blow on the Wang Patriarch's soul!

"My cultivation base…." He closed his eyes and cast his senses inward. After a while, he slowly rose into a sitting position and looked at the armored old man, who sat with his back to him. The old man seemed as if he would sit on this ship for all eternity as it roamed about.

Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply. "Senior, thank you for your kindness in saving my life!"

Wang Youcai was one of the group of four boys who were taken to the Reliance Sect by Xu Qing in the first chapter. Although Naruto came to the conclusion that he was killed, he reappeared later as a member of the Blood Demon Sect. He has popped up at various times throughout the story such as the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament and the Song Clan search for a son-in-law ↩ Dong Hu, a.k.a. Little Tiger, was another of the group of four boys who joined the Reliance Sect at the same time. Naruto encountered him again in chapter 71, where he had a pearl. During Naruto's fight with Shangguan Xiu in chapter 75, Dong Hu loaned him the pearl, which allowed Naruto to temporarily break into the tenth level of Qi Condensation. Naruto returned the pearl to him in chapter 76. You might also be able to deduce that the pearl was even alluded to vaguely in chapter 19. In chapter 613, Naruto saw a similar pearl in the Fourth Plane of the Demon Immortal Sect ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 684

Chapter 684: On Board

The old man didn't say anything in response. It almost seemed like he didn't even know who Naruto was; he was simply roaming about, and happened to encounter him. Spurred by some distant memories, he had randomly reached out to save him.

"Heaven and Earth… have their end….

"But what about me? Where is my end?" The old man's murmuring voice was hoarse, and incomparably ancient. He finally sighed and closed his eyes, seemingly slipping into a state of lifelessness. Naruto could clearly see the old man sitting there with his back to him, but he couldn't sense his existence at all. In fact, he couldn't even sense the existence of the ship.

"Senior?" he said, gaping. Finally, he realized that the old man was immersed in his own world. Naruto crossed his legs reticently and then looked off into the distance and began to think.

"My Dao foundation… is gone." He felt empty inside, and could not sense a cultivation base. It was as if it had vanished like mist or smoke. An intense weakness filled him, and he felt so incredibly old that it seemed that death was just around the corner.

He now had absolutely no cultivation base whatsoever.

Filled with bitterness, Naruto tried to begin to practice cultivation, but his entire body was like a sieve. No matter what breathing exercises he did, he couldn't build up even a bit of spiritual energy.

However, he wouldn't give in so easily, so he produced a bag of holding. Although he himself had no spiritual energy, bags of holding from Seahold could be opened once without any spiritual energy.

He had bought quite a few such bags in the past. The parrot and the meat jelly were inside the bag, sleeping. It seemed Naruto's weakness had caused them to lose their own vitality.

He took a medicinal pill out from the bag of holding, then consumed it and started meditating. After attempting Qi Condensation techniques for a moment, he trembled, and his face went pale. Once again, he looked listless and dispirited.

"I can't practice cultivation," he murmured. "I have no foundation whatsoever to build on." As of now, Naruto was certain that his Dao foundation was completely and utterly gone.

Still not able to accept it, Naruto tried again. Time passed, and soon a month had gone by. Naruto tried a variety of methods, but none of them formed even the slightest bit of a cultivation base.

It was a complete failure.

He tried over and over again, but his body only continued to grow weaker. After another month, he finally accepted that he was in a hopeless situation.

Bitter laughter rang out, growing louder and louder, breaking the silence of the Milky Way Sea's Inner Ring as it echoed out from within the ship.

The laughter also contained intense hatred. "10th Wang Clan Patriarch!"

He wasn't sure if the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch was dead, but as of now, that didn't matter.

"I have no cultivation base, but I'm still alive…. However, considering my current life force, who knows how many more days I can stay alive…." His bitter laughter gradually grew weaker, and finally, he stared off into the distance, empty and numb.

He wasn't even sure what he was seeing. His mind was blank. He thought of nothing. He looked at nothing. Eventually, his gaze turned to fall on the armored old man, and hope suddenly flickered in his eyes.

His life had been saved by this old man, and considering how mystical he was, and how bizarre the ancient Underworld Ship was, Naruto was confident that if the man did something, his own cultivation base could potentially be restored.

Naruto stood, clasped his hands, and bowed deeply.

"Senior."

The old man didn't speak. He seemed as lifeless as ever.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then walked around to stand in front of the old man. He was just about to bow again, when suddenly his eyes went wide with disbelief.

The old man's face was filled with boundless ancientness and time. However, when Naruto looked at it, his heart and mind trembled. The man's body was actually not material, but rather, faint and translucent.

Except, Naruto clearly remembered that the old man wasn't like this before.

After a moment of thought, he slowly reached up his right hand and attempted to touch the old man. His hand passed directly through him as if through empty space, and when he tried it a second time, the same thing happened. Finally, he stepped forward, and ended up walking directly through him. He turned his head to look back, and his eyes were filled with a complex expression.

"Was I simply mistaken before? Was he always like this? Is his existence tied into the meaning of the ship's name? Underworld Ship…. Ship of the Underworld Specter?" Naruto laughed bitterly as he began to look around. The ship was broken down, dilapidated, filled with an aura of rot.

Several days later, he finished exploring the ship in its entirety, and never found anything out of the ordinary. Everything he saw and touched was ancient and archaic.

He stood at the prow and looked out as the Underworld Ship slid noiselessly across the water. Everything was quiet; the sea rose and fell, although there were no waves. They never encountered any other living things.

It seemed that wherever this ship went, everything became completely quiet.

"Well, this is fine, too….

"I can spend the last years of my life on an empty ship, all alone.

"I bet nobody knows that I'm about to perish," he murmured. "At least that way, Master won't be sad, nor will Xu Qing feel too much grief. Fatty, Elder Brother, and all my other friends… none of them will know." He sat down cross-legged in the place where he had woken up earlier and looked off into the distance.

As he did, his heart slowly became peaceful. He no longer burned with resentment, nor did he ponder any more mysteries. He was left with only a bit of ruefulness. He regretted not being able to visit his Master ever again. He regretted not holding Xu Qing in his embrace just once. He regretted not returning to the Southern Domain and gathering with the friends of long ago.

Even more so, he regretted never being able to visit the Great Tang in the Eastern Lands. He regretted not being able to see his father and mother again.

"Old turtle Reliance, from here on out, you're free….

"Ancestors of the Demon Sealing Sect, it seems that from now, there will be no more League of Demon Sealers." Naruto sighed. He was now slowly growing calmer and feeling less restrained.

Death was something that could not be avoided, so he would not take it to heart too much.

"It's too bad I have so many Spirit Stones in my bag of holding…. What a pity that I never got to spend them.

"And then there are all those debts people owe. Those people have gotten really lucky…. After the creditor dies, they won't have to pay back their debts.

"Hmmm, I guess I really don't have to pay those three silver pieces back to Steward Zhou after all.

"It's such a pity I still have so many treasures. Well, some little bastard in the future is sure going to get lucky." When he thought of this, he could only sigh.

"Perhaps my death will spare the world a bit of calamity. To all of you who would have been conned by me in the future, you don't know how lucky you are!

"So, so lucky!" Naruto thought back through his life, to his youth spent studying and participating in the Imperial examinations. Then he ran into Xu Qing and joined the Reliance Sect. He stole Wang Tengfei's good fortune and became an Inner Sect disciple. Patriarch Reliance conned him, so he conned back. Eventually, he made it to the Southern Domain, where he joined the Violet Fate Sect and then rose to prominence.

"Poor Xu Qing…. She loves me, and I love her. What a pity we won't be able to get married now…. I've never actually even been with a woman…." When he thought of this, Naruto suddenly felt especially sad.

"And then there's Chu Yuyan. She was definitely interested in me…." Naruto continued to sigh and sigh.

He thought of how he had killed the Chosen from the Hebi Clan, then escaped to the Western Desert. He recalled everything that happened with the Crow Divinity Tribes, and then couldn't help think of Han Shan, Demoness Zhixiang, and everything that happened in the Demon Immortal Sect.

"Senior Han Shan, I won't be able to keep my promise…

"Demoness Zhixiang, don't worry about that favor you owe me."

Then there was Ke Jiusi and Ke Yunhai. Naruto thought about many things, and eventually started thinking about his First Severing.

"I didn't even practice cultivation for three hundred years, and yet completed my First Severing. A great Dao descended, and the Resurrection Lily became my Spirit Severing Treasure. For me, Naruto, to live a life like this, well… it's enough for me!

"In all the lands of South Heaven, few people could even come close to comparing to me!" He suddenly felt very proud of himself. The laughter, the bitterness, the fury, and the memories of his entire life became images that flashed through his mind.

More time passed. Another half month went by, during which time Naruto continued to look off into the distance, thinking about the past. Finally one day, the illusory, armored old man suddenly caught his attention.

For months, the old man hadn't moved at all, and seemed completely empty. Now, his right hand raised up, and a sealing mark appeared. He performed an incantation, and gradually, two colors appeared in his hand, black and white.

However, when Naruto went over to try to touch the old man, he was as illusory as ever.

As more time passed, Naruto began to pay attention to the way in which the old man meditated. He observed his emptiness, and his incantation gestures, along with the blackness and whiteness that they summoned.

Gradually, he focused more and more on the black and white. It seemed to contain something important, although he wasn't sure what.

The white seemed to contain all of the colors in Heaven and Earth. It seemed to assimilate everything around and transform it into a similar whiteness. As for the black, it was incredibly potent and domineering, as of no colors were qualified to stand in its presence.

Gradually, Naruto immersed himself in observing the old man. Without even realizing it, he began to mediate in the same way, including the breathing exercises and the hand gestures.

Eventually, he even decided that he might as well sit in the exact same position as the old man, superimposing with his illusory form. That way, all of his motions would be exactly the same as the old man's.

He closed his eyes and immersed himself in the process. Time passed. In the blink of an eye, three years had gone by.

During the three years, Naruto grew weaker, and his life force gradually withered away. He didn't care about that, though. The only thing he was interested in was copying the movements of the old man, and finding a way to keep on living.

One day, he suddenly experienced an emptiness in which he found that neither life nor death were important. As he performed an incantation with his right hand, whiteness became visible.

Suddenly, an ancient voice filled his mind: "When you reach the end of your path, then you will have lost yourself."

Next, blackness appeared in Naruto's palm.

The ancient voice once again echoed in his mind. "When you reach the end of your path, then all you will have left is yourself." Naruto had the faint sensation that he was in the process of grasping enlightenment.

It was an enlightenment of an unimaginably vast and mysterious great Dao.

"White and black are like the daytime and nighttime…. 1" he muttered. He looked at his right hand and then slowly lifted it up toward the sky. He could sense that if he had a cultivation base, then considering his enlightenment of this Dao, he could turn the sky as dark as night or as bright as day. The interlocking of black and white could unleash a supreme power.

"Too bad I don't have a cultivation base," he thought, shaking his head. "Even if I completely understood this Dao, I still couldn't use it." He was just about to stand up when suddenly, the ship… stopped moving.

Naruto looked up, his eyes wide.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Mads Hansen_

In Chinese, these words for daytime and nighttime also have the characters for white and black in them. Daytime is literally "white day" and night time is literally "black night" ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 685

Chapter 685: Traversing the Path

Up ahead, the Milky Way Sea could no longer be seen. It was as if the ship was passing through a river of time. All that could be seen were endless multicolored shards.

Within those shards existed endless worlds.

Naruto watched as the ship entered one of the shard worlds. It was a world of flames, filled with countless cultivators who kowtowed to the ship and offered up tribute.

They cultivated a fire technique that seemed to be linked to their bloodline. It seemed to supersede all of the other flames Naruto could see, and he could hear the people saying that their flame was the essence of all flames.

He couldn't interact with the world; it was as if he were simply an observer. The ship passed through the flames for an indeterminable period of time until finally it pierced into another period of time.

Here, the starry sky looked unfamiliar, completely different from the sky of Planet Ninshu. It seemed like a vast and infinite expanse.

Occasionally strange life forms would pass by. Each one would drop to their knees and offer of bizarre and fantastic objects….

Naruto felt like he was a sightseer, a tourist hitching a ride on this ship. He saw a fluttering butterfly that was incredibly enormous. It was far off in the distance, and yet still clearly visible. When it neared, it could be seen that its beauty was actually formed by the combination of countless worlds.

"Are these things that have already happened, the recollections of this ship? Or is it something else…? What is happening?" Naruto wasn't quite sure exactly what it was that he was seeing. The butterfly flew off into the distance, and the ship once again disappeared into the vastness.

When it reappeared, a boundless sea stretched out in front of Naruto. In the middle was an enormous tree stretching up into the Heavens. The tree had golden leaves, and was incredibly beautiful….

Down below sat a person, looking up silently at the tree. He stared for a long, long time, and it was impossible to tell what he was thinking. Finally, he smiled, and his body began to glow with a boundless light, as if he had just achieved enlightenment.

Naruto did not attempt to disturb him, but rather remained seated on the ship, as if this was simply a journey through life. Eventually, the man was left behind.

Naruto saw many, many worlds, and countless cultivators. He saw wars, and once, he even saw someone pointing at the ship and raving madly.

Naruto was somewhat at a loss. He had lost track of how many years had passed, and he also forgot that he was hovering on the verge of death. As the ship continued onward, he saw a featherless bird, a weeping crane.

A voice suddenly murmured in his ear, seemingly filled with a sense of time: "So many years. I think of you often…."

Naruto looked at the featherless, weeping crane, and for some reason, it seemed familiar.

"Don't tell me I've seen it before?" he thought hesitantly.

Time changed again, and the scenery interweaved. He saw an enormous, cultivating tree, as large as the sky. It swept amongst the stars, running amok. However, when it saw the ship, it trembled.

Naruto was confused and at a loss.

He saw many types of cultivation, and countless Daos. He saw the cause and effect of Karma, he saw life and death, he saw the Yellow Springs, he saw eternal life and… he saw true and false. He saw a person walked down a path until he became a world. He buried himself to accompany others. 1

He saw a man who eternally roamed the starry sky, continuing onward, with his destination unknown. That person… appeared to be the armored old man.

A while later he saw another land where a man held the corpse of a woman in his arms. He lifted his head up and wailed, and within his eyes burned an insanity and a stubborness that Naruto found shocking.

"The Heavens allowed you to die, but I WILL bring you back to life!" The man's echoing voice filled Naruto's heart with unprecedented waves of shock. 2

That shock was not because of the story of the man and woman, but rather, because the determination in the man's words seemed indestructible. Even if Heaven and Earth collapsed, the steadfastness of his words could not be destroyed.

"I used to think I had determination," though Naruto, "but compared to that, I don't know….

"I've lost my cultivation base, and my life is waning away. However… can I really give up, just like that?" Naruto sat on ship, thinking about the question.

His eyes slowly began to burn with a spark of life. The flame was weak, as if it might flicker out at any moment. But right now, that flame… was resplendent. It was almost as if there was a will that burned within the fire.

Even as Naruto was lost in thought, the ship suddenly trembled again. The world around changed again, and nine mountains appeared out in the starry sky.

The nine mountains were lofty and ancient, filled with endless time. It was as if they had existed even if the primordial, distant past…. It was impossible to describe exactly how large they were, but they were enormously bigger, exponentially bigger than all of the other worlds he had seen up to this point.

Also in the starry sky were nine seas.

Nine mountains and nine seas, and in the middle of them all was a sea of stars formed by all the nine seas.

The first mountain had four planets. The sun and moon… rotated around the first mountain, sending sunlight and moonlight throughout the starry sky. The light spread out boundlessly, covering each mountain, illuminating all the seas.

It was like a beautiful painting that filled Naruto's heart with intense waves of shock.

After seeing the nine mountains, a fantastic notion welled up within

Naruto. "Don't tell me… that these… are the Nine Mountains and Seas? If I can use the Mountain Consuming Incantation to consume these nine mountains, would it restore my cultivation base?"

It was an audacious idea, but as soon as it appeared in his brain it rooted itself in deeply. Naruto began to pant as he thought of the scene of the man swearing his oath to the Heavens as he held the woman in his arms. Then he thought of his own path.

"Am I really going to give up?" The flame in his eyes grew more resplendent. His gaze swept over the Nine Mountains and Seas, and eventually fell onto the Ninth Mountain.

He took a deep breath, and then without hesitation… began to employ the Mountain Consuming Incantation!

The incantation actually did not require a cultivation base, only heart. He studied the Ninth Mountain, branding the image of the mountain into his heart and mind. It was as if every aspect of the mountain remained inside of him, and that he could take it with him.

His gaze remained locked on the Ninth Mountain. He became lifeless, and even forgot about the passage of time, and everything around him. The only thing that existed was the Ninth Mountain.

Losses come with rewards. He had lost his cultivation base, but in return had received the sublimation of his spirit. Right now, amidst the silence, he slowly gained enlightenment about the Ninth Mountain.

Gradually, the image of the mountain grew clearer and clearer in his mind. One year. Two years….

Perhaps it was a hundred years, or a thousand, or ten thousand…. Naruto was in a trance as the Ninth Mountain grew clearer and clearer.

Eventually one day, the image of the Ninth Mountain became completely clear in his mind. A tremor ran through him. The image disappeared, transforming into countless magical symbols, each one of which seemed to contain a multitude of Daos.

He did not understand these Daos. However, from the perspective of the Mountain Consuming Incantation, they could be considered the mountain soul of the Ninth Mountain. Absorbing these Daos could be considered consuming the soul of the Ninth Mountain.

Naruto focused on the magical symbols; each one contained infinite profundity and possibility. Naruto proceeded onward, losing himself in their midst. As this happened, he didn't notice that during the process of his observation of the mountain, various auras had appeared on his body that were different from before.

It was at this point that suddenly, a vast, archaic will stirred in the Ninth Mountain.

"Who… is gaining enlightenment of my Ninth Mountain?!

"I am Ji Tian, the Heavens of Ji, the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" 3

When the archaic voice thundered out, the entire Ninth Mountain instantly turned blurry. Massive ripples spread out through the world, and Naruto's mind trembled, instantly causing him to regain his senses.

The will swept about, but did not find Naruto or the ship.

The ship suddenly began to move forward. It left the Ninth Mountain and proceeded to the Eighth Mountain. Maintaining its speed, it went to the Seventh Mountain, then the Sixth Mountain….

Naruto was unable to see each mountain clearly. When the ship arrived at the Fourth Mountain, a gloomy aura suddenly spread out to cover everything.

An ancient voice suddenly could be heard.

"What is life? What is death…?

"If the lives in the underworld do not transcend, then I will not live!

"In the cycles of reincarnation, if laughter does not sound out from the underworld, then I will not die!

"Returning souls, souls leaving to be reborn, your paths go through here…. Why not return?" A rumbling filled the Fourth Mountain, and suddenly an enormous temple soared out toward Naruto. 4

From within the temple emerged an ox and a horse, completely pitch black. Massive ripples spread out from them, and their energy surged. An aura of death spread out from them to shoot toward Naruto. 5 As soon as he saw the ox and horse, he began to tremble. He felt as if he were about to fall asleep, and his soul were about to fly out….

"What is life? What is death?

However, before the ox and horse could get close, the ship had already moved off into the distance.

From behind Naruto, a sigh could be heard from the Fourth Mountain.

"Almighty one, you do not wish to rest…. Reincarnation is the end of the Dao. Although you do not wish to rest, why must you take this person along with you on your journey through your life?" 6

When Naruto heard this, his mind trembled violently. The ship passed the Third Mountain, then the Second Mountain and finally it reached the First Mountain. As for what happened next, Naruto couldn't see clearly. Everything turned black and white, becoming two spheres of mist. They swirled around, and it looked as if two pearls were forming inside of them.

Naruto looked down at his right hand. There on his palm were two pearls, not corporeal, but formed of mist.

The Black White Pearls floated up from his hand and began to rotate, seemingly containing the secrets of Heaven and Earth.

Naruto watched on thoughtfully. He could sense that the enlightenment he had received from the armored old man regarding the black and white Pearls embodied a great Dao. Perhaps it was not the path of freedom, like his own Dao, but it could definitely extend that path further.

"Within this black and white exists all of the worlds that I saw, and all the Daos….

"What is life? What is death…?" Naruto closed his eyes. It was at this point that he suddenly thought about Ke Jiusi's shocking… Soul

Divergence Incantation! 7

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Tugene Lee, Christopher Choi, Thomas_

 _Kho, Nguyen Thanh Tung, Michael Fiddes, and Hoang Nguyen_

This seems to be a reference Su Ming, the main character of another Er

Gen novel, Beseech the Devil ↩ This seems to be a reference to Wang

Lin, the main character of yet another Er Gen novel, Renegade Immortal

↩ Ji Tian in Chinese is 季天. Ji is the name of the Hebi Clan, and Tian means "Heaven." Literally, this could be "Heavens of Ji," but it is in fact someone's name. In the past, I translated it as "Heavens of Ji," and if you go back to some instances where it came up before, it suddenly makes much more sense now that you know it's a name. At the same time, it could still mean simply the Heavens of Ji. Going forward, will alternate between Ji Tian and "Heavens of Ji," depending on the context. In Chinese, it would be pretty much impossible, or at least very difficult, to guess that it's someone's name, so all previous version will remain as "Heavens of Ji." Some of the places the term appeared before include chapter 319, 321, 339, 378, 433 ↩ These words closely echo the real life Sutra of The Great Vows of Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva, a hint that

Ksitigarbha is apparently a character in the novel, and has something to do with the Fourth Mountain ↩ The ox and horse seem to be a reference to Ox-head and Horse-face, guardians of hell in Chinese mythology ↩ It should be noted that in Chinese, the number 4 sounds very similar to the word for "death." Many elevators in China skip the fourth floor because it could be considered unlucky ↩ The Soul Divergence Incantation was mentioned several times throughout the Primordial Demon Immortal

Plane arc, and was elaborated on most fully in chapter 577. ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 686

Chapter 686: Homeland

The Soul Divergence Incantation allowed one to cultivate an undying soul. Once that soul appeared, the cycle of reincarnation in Heaven and Earth could not destroy it. Even if you died, your flesh and blood would be reborn years later.

It was not one of the three thousand great Daos of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, but rather, something that Ke Yunhai had acquired by chance and taken to be a priceless treasure. Because he could not cultivate it successfully, he passed it on to Ke Jiusi.

However, it was too difficult for Ke Jiusi, despite his incredible latent talent. He could not acquire full enlightenment; in the end it had required the precious treasure that Ke Yunhai had forged before his death, coupled with the vast changes Ke Jiusu experienced, in order to comprehend it and form an undying soul that the cycle of reincarnation could not destroy.

"Life and Death," murmured Naruto. "The Soul Divergence

Incantation…." He seemed to have gained partial enlightenment, but the matter was still hazy. It was like he had grasped a vague direction, but when he examined it closely, there was nothing there.

Eventually, Naruto opened his eyes and looked down at the black and white pearls in his hand. He gazed at them for a long time, until it seemed that his will itself was fusing into the blackness and whiteness.

The black and white seemed to transform into a vortex that could consume everything. As it rotated slowly, a vision appeared in Naruto's mind. In the vision, he stood there, his cultivation base fully active. His right hand stretched up, and the Black White Pearls rotated in his palm.

Indescribable ripples spread out from the two pearls, filling the entire world. Countless living things all prostrated themselves, and Naruto could easily decide whether they lived or died. It was as if the two pearls contained a great Dao which could determine and control life and death.

One day, the ship finally stopped moving. Naruto was in a bit of a daze as he opened his eyes and caught sight of a familiar body of water. It was the Milky Way Sea. He also saw a familiar land mass, the Southern Domain.

The ship had stopped at the border of the Milky Way Sea and the Southern Domain, and it was at this point that Naruto fully regained his senses.

Everything he had experienced seemed like a dream. The dream had been a dream of a journey, or perhaps a search for the Dao.

"The truths of life and death are something that cannot be understood by someone who has not died."

Naruto sat there silently for a long time before finally rising to his feet. He turned to look back at the Milky Way Sea. Its surface was calm, and no waves could be seen. He took a deep breath.

"It seems the time has come for me to leave, and so the ship has delivered me here.

"Through the Soul Divergence Incantation, I could gain enlightenment about the difference between life and death. Yet even now I'm standing outside of the door, pacing back and forth in hesitation.

"Well then, am I willing to pass into death so quietly?

"No! I'm not willing!" His eyes filled with intense determination that burned like a fire. It kindled the flame of life inside of him, incinerating his confusion and a bitterness regarding his future.

"I still have hope. My Dao Foundation may be gone, but I still have hope!

"And my hope… lies in the Rebirth Cave!" His eyes shined with an intense glow. The Rebirth Cave was where his hope lay, and it was his last resort.

Although he didn't understand much about the Rebirth Cave, there were many, many legends about the place in the Southern Domain. Most spoke of powerful experts who, when their lives were reaching the end, when they were about to die, would enter the Rebirth Cave, hoping that inside, they would somehow be able to find a way to cause their life force to burn bright once again.

If you likened birth to a starting point and death to a finish line, then life and death form a cycle. As for the Rebirth Cave, according to the legends… it allowed for a second cycle, almost like a second life.

Naruto had heard many such legends in the Southern Domain. Actually, he had personally stepped foot into the region of the Rebirth Cave, although only the outer area, not the cave itself.

To experience rebirth, one's body must first die. Only after death could one have life in defiance of the Heavens!

"According to the legends, not just anyone can enter the Rebirth Cave," he thought, "only people who have an overwhelming desire to live, people who are pervaded by an aura of death, who have incredible determination and willpower. Only people like that can enter.

"Otherwise, one will automatically perish along the way." He looked in the direction of the Southern Domain, and the brightness in his eyes grew more and more intense. It was filled with stubborness, with the unwillingness to accept what the future seemed to hold. He took a deep breath.

"I, Naruto, will enter the Rebirth Cave! I will see what exists inside, and will find out whether or not I can acquire that second cycle, and live a second life!" He walked across the deck of the ship, then disembarked. When he stepped onto the sandy shore, he looked back to see the ancient Underworld Ship slowly drifting away. Fog spread out over the sea, covering the ship up.

In the moment before it vanished, the armored old man's eyes suddenly flickered with profundity as he looked at Naruto.

Naruto looked back, and their gazes met through the fog. What the old man saw was not Naruto's world, and what Naruto saw was not the old man's world.

Gradually the ship disappeared into the fog. Eventually, the fog dissipated. The ancient Underworld Ship was nowhere to be seen.

If the ship did not wish to be seen, then no one would ever be able to see it.

On the border between the Southern Domain and the Milky Way Sea there was a barren beach. Occasionally, the remains of various birds or beasts could be seen, but there was no sign of human habitation.

Naruto's hair was gray bordering on white, and although he wore the robe of a cultivator, his features were elderly. No matter how you looked at him, he appeared to be nothing more than an ancient, mortal man.

"I wonder how far away I am from the Rebirth Cave…." he thought as he trudged up the beach, his feet sinking into the sand with each step he took. After a time, he reached the end of the beach, where it turned into forested mountains. He glanced around, then continued to walk.

He had not walked on foot through mountainous forests for a very long time. He thought back to the time before he reached Foundation Establishment, when he had often traveled through mountainous forests like this. After Foundation Establishment, however, he had always flown up above in the air.

The mountains were not easy to travel through. There were thorns and thistles everywhere, and the sun was already beginning to set by the time he passed over the top of the first mountain. He gasped for breath the entire time, and his body ached. As evening fell, he sat down crosslegged beneath a tall tree to meditate.

Meditation was something that had become a force of habit. Although he had no cultivation base to rotate, simply meditating left him feeling calm and relaxed.

The sky grew darker, and then black. It was at this point that howling drifted through the trees, along with an acrid odor. Next, a savage threeheaded dog appeared in front of him. One of the three heads was withered, another emanated a chilling cold Qi, and the last appeared to be extremely foul-tempered.

Obviously, these mountains were the domain of this creature, and Naruto's incursion caused its eyes to be filled with killing intent.

However, it did not near him, but merely circled around him. Its cultivation base was profound; it was already at the ninth level of Qi Condensation. It had the faint sensation that Naruto was filled with boundless danger. Yet, within that sense of danger, it could also sense that he was as weak as a mortal.

The contradiction caused it to hesitate.

However, it could only be so patient. It managed to restrain itself for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, then let out a vicious howl and transformed into a beam of colorful light that shot toward Naruto.

The two non-withered heads opened their vicious mouths, and an acrid odor filled the air as they closed in on Naruto. It was at this point that Naruto's eyes opened.

His body was weak, but when his eyes opened, they were filled with a cold gleam.

The cold gleam contained all of Naruto's killing intent. In his years leading the Crow Divinity Tribes in their migration, he had killed countless numbers of cultivators. The killing intent that existed in him was something usually suppressed by his cultivation base. But now, there was no way to suppress it, and it exploded out fully.

"Screw off!" said Naruto with a cold snort. Although he was incredibly weak, some of his energy could still turn into a pressure that bore down onto the three-headed wild dog.

The wild dog trembled, and its fur stood on end. It stopped in mid-air, its expression one of terror. When it heard Naruto speak, it instantly turned and sped away.

After scaring the wild dog away, Naruto stood up. It might be evening, but he still wanted to hurry on his way.

He was exhausted, but within that exhaustion, he found power, despite the weakness of his body. That was the former power of his fleshly body.

Of course, he couldn't utilize all of that former power. Because his life force was wasting away, he was incapable of supporting the previous level of power.

Even still, that made him like a strong, young man who caught a disease. Although he could only wield ten percent of his previous incredible power, it was still enough to give him hope. Of course, Naruto's situation was far worse than some sort of disease. His life force was wasting away, and he knew that if he allowed the power of his fleshly body to explode out, then he would surely perish.

Traveling took great effort. However, regardless of whether the sun rose or the sun set, he continued onward. The hope he placed in the Rebirth Cave was as strong as ever.

One day, he reached the end of the mountain range. As he stood at the top of one particular mountain peak, he looked out and saw a huge lake.

It was at this point that he gaped.

That lake was actually large enough to be called a sea.

It was impossible for Naruto to forget that this place… was his former hometown.

This was where the State of Zhao had once existed. When Patriarch Reliance left, it turned into a huge pit. By now, hundreds of years had passed, and it had turned into a lake.

"So, that ship delivered me here…." he murmured. He kept walking until he reached the edge of the lake, where he stood looking out at the water. Finally, he understood.

"I was born here, and this was my starting point…." He sat down crosslegged next to the lake, stared at the water, and thought of home.

There was a boat floating next to the shore, old and dilapidated. There was also a log cabin, ancient in appearance. It didn't look like anyone had lived in it for a long time.

Dark clouds filled the sky; thunder rumbled and lightning flashed. Rain… began to fall.

Naruto walked over to the cabin, sat down under the eaves, and looked out at the rain. His back was stooped, his face ancient. The rain pattered onto the lake and tapped onto the roof of the cabin. Those were the only sounds he could hear.

When evening fell, the sky turned dark. The crescent moon was mostly hidden by the clouds; only a tiny corner was visible. As the sibilant rain continued, a cold wind sprang up, blowing across the lake and causing the old, dilapidated boat to rise up and down. When the wind brushed against Naruto, he tightened his robe and looked out over the lake. There, he saw a white-robed woman walking across the water.

The instant he saw her, his eyes went wide. Then, he lowered his head.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 687

Chapter 687: You Live, I Live

The woman walked until she reached the shore. The rain fell around her, but didn't touch her clothing at all. She was beautiful, and had the aura of a cultivator, which gave her an otherworldly grace.

Her face was cold, and she was frowning. A bitter look could be seen in her eyes, and she seemed to be concealing great anxiety and confusion within her heart.

She was Xu Qing.

She had been searching for Naruto for many years, but had found nothing…. She was thinner than before, more lean.

She had followed her heart until she found this lake, which was also her former hometown.

When Naruto saw her, she also caught sight of aged Naruto. There was something strangely familiar about him, so she changed directions and headed over toward the log cabin.

"Are you the boatman here?" she asked, looking him over. Her face was filled with an expression that could cause one's heart to tremble. Naruto lowered his head and sighed inwardly.

Xu Qing's voice was calm, and just as cold as it had always been.

However, Naruto's appearance had changed far too much. Even people very familiar with him would have a hard time recognizing him based on his physical appearance.

After a long moment, Naruto nodded.

Xu Qing's frown deepened. "Have you seen anyone else pass through here?" she asked. She had searched for a hundred years, and had failed repeatedly, yet had never given up. If he was alive, she wanted to see him. If he was dead, she wanted to see the corpse. If she couldn't find him… then she would just keep on searching.

Her personality was simple, but it was that very simplicity which gave her such determination.

For some reason, she had the feeling that if she couldn't find Naruto, then perhaps…she wouldn't ever be able to find her way in life again.

"I haven't seen anyone," replied Naruto levelly, shaking his head. His voice was hoarse, and sounded nothing like it had before. He was happy to be able to see Xu Qing, but he didn't want her to realize who he was, not when he looked like this.

What was the point? It would just lead to her waiting for him outside once of the Rebirth Cave. Then, if he never came back out, she would become a woman sorrowed because of a lifetime of gloom and listlessness.

Wouldn't it be better to forget about each other….?

Xu Qing looked around the area, and then sighed inwardly. After scanning Naruto with Divine Sense, all she had seen was a mortal man. And yet, she also felt something familiar that made her give him a second look over.

"Have we met before?" she asked.

"No," he replied with the shake of a head.

She gazed at him for a very long moment, and a complex look appeared in her eyes. The intense complexity turned into sorrow, and a slight tremor ran through her body.

"I'm looking for someone," she said. "My beloved. If you see him, please pass a message along for me. In this life… if he lives, then I live. If he dies, then I die!"

Bitterly, she turned and began to walk off into the downpour. Surrounded by the rainfall, wearing her white robes, she looked like a white lotus, beautiful, unsurpassed, and yet also poignant and sad.

Naruto looked at her walking away, and a gentleness appeared in his eyes. He could see her exhaustion and anxiety, and it made him sigh.

"Some people," he thought, "chose not to let anything encumber their cultivation, and are thus able to do so with minds and hearts free of obstruction. Others have hearts filled with obsession, which enables them to achieve great Daos of Heaven and Earth.

"She… started out incorruptible. It was me showing up that changed everything…"

Finally, he spoke up, his voice soft. "Hold on."

Xu Qing stopped in her tracks, surrounded by rain. She turned back to look at him sitting there in the shadows of the wooden eaves, ancient, old, decaying.

He continued, "Is the person you're looking for a twenty-something scholar, wearing a long green robe…?"

Xu Qing trembled, and after a moment of silence, she nodded.

"I saw someone who looked like that many years ago," he said, his voice hoarse. "He lived here for about a year, after which… he died and was buried. He said this place was his home.

"Before he died, he gave me a bag. He said that if anyone came looking for him, then I should give them the bag." With that, he pulled a bag of holding out of his robe and placed it off to the side.

As Xu Qing stood there in the rain, the water began to seep past the invisible barrier and soak her clothes. She stared deeply at Naruto, then walked back and looked blankly at the bag of holding. As she picked it up, tears filled her eyes.

Of course, it was impossible to tell how much of the water flowing down her face was rain, and how much was tears.

A bitter smile appeared on her face, and she looked back at Naruto. Finally, she turned and headed once again out into the rain, taking the bag of holding with her.

As he watched her leaving, his expression was complex, but he said nothing.

Xu Qing walked about seven steps before she stopped. She didn't look back, but when she spoke, her voice echoed out in all directions.

"I might be not be very smart, but… I'm not an idiot."

Naruto didn't say anything for a moment. He knew that his words couldn't fool Xu Qing. However, sometimes it doesn't matter what is true and what is false. Sometimes… the result is all that matters.

Naruto had hoped that instead of tormenting herself by searching for him through all eternity, she could at least cut him off. After that, she could return to her incorruptible self, simple and pure.

 _It is better to forget…._

He closed his eyes, and his heart filled with pain.

Xu Qing was quiet for a while, but finally, she smiled. It was a smile of determination and resolve that contained no regret….

She lifted her hand, and the glow of a sword flew out. It stabbed into the ground, sharp and powerful, rapidly carving out a deep, rectangular pit.

At the same time, mountain crag flew out from the nearby mountainous forest. When it arrived in front of her, she waved her hand, causing it to spin in the air. The sides were then shaved away until the crag turned into a stela.

She then rubbed her hand gently across the surface, causing words to appear.

 _Grave of Naruto and Xu Qing._

A bang rang out as the stone stele sank down into the ground next to the pit. She looked back at Naruto, her eyes filled with staunchness and determination.

 _We met on Mount Daqing._

Because of the Cosmetic Cultivation Pill in the Reliance Sect, and the way you called me Elder Sister, our fate was sealed forever.

That time in the Blessed Land in the Southern Domain, in my moment of despair, even the tears in my eyes could not obscure the image of you and your burning rage.

That time in the Black Sieve Sect, you appeared and helped me when my soul was on the verge of fading away. The way you smiled before we parted made my heart tremble.

That time by the Rebirth Cave, when you turned back to look at me, your image had already long since been imprinted in my heart…. I will never forget you, never!

I looked for you in the Western Desert Violet Sea. I searched for a long time, until finally my teardrop fell into the water. I don't know if you were able to feel it.

I don't know if you realized how happy I was when we met again in the Demon Immortal Sect. Those were the happiest days I've ever experienced. Life was calm, and we accompanied each other as we practiced cultivation. I was there at your side, you by mine.

Eventually, a day came in which I was incapable of practicing cultivation.

My heart was in chaos, and an indescribable unease filled me. That was when… I went to look for you.

"You live, I live. You die, I die!" she said softly.

Naruto's mind trembled, and he suddenly opened his eyes. His eyes were murky, but not murky enough to hide the intensity of his gaze.

He looked at Xu Qing, and he looked at the gravestone. He could see her determination, and he could see her sorrow written on the surface of the gravestone.

You live, I live. You die, I die!

These were not words of endearment, they were a promise….

"I'm a simple person," she said softly, "but just because a person is simple doesn't mean they lack determination. When a person has determination… then they will never forget. The path of cultivation is a long one, and I can't keep going on alone.

"Since that's the case, let's go together to the Yellow Springs. What do you say? I can only hope that if there is another life after this one, then we will meet again." Although her voice was not loud, and the gurgle of rain filled the air, Naruto could hear her words clearly.

The trembling of his heart increased, and he stood up. He walked out from under the eaves, allowing the rain to drench him as he walked over to stand in front of Xu Qing.

The ground was slippery, and the wind cold. Naruto was freezing, and he looked more elderly than ever.

Xu Qing looked at him. To her, it didn't matter how much he had changed. To her, he was still that young man from Mount Daqing, her Junior Brother.

Rain fell onto them, and even between them, but it couldn't stop them from looking into each other's eyes.

"Take me to the Rebirth Cave!" Naruto said. The determination in his eyes grew more intense. He wanted to keep living, and he wanted that second life from the Rebirth Cave.

He was doing it for himself, for the obsession in his heart, for Xu Qing, and for all of his friends and family!

Xu Qing smiled and nodded. She stepped forward and took hold of his hand. Despite Naruto's weakness, her face still flushed when she found herself up against his chest.

Time seemed to slow down for an eternity.

At some point, it stopped raining. A rainbow appeared in the morning sunlight, and it was beneath that rainbow that Xu Qing and Naruto transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Naruto could not fly, but he did have magical flight items. Under the control of Xu Qing, the flying shuttle transformed into what looked like the eighth color of the rainbow.

Time passed by. The flying shuttle was powerful enough that it only took ten days to fly from the State of Zhao to the Rebirth Cave. When they finally landed outside, Naruto's face was even more ashen than before.

The closer they got to the cave itself, the more Naruto felt his life force withering away. He was shriveling up, and the death aura that surrounded him only grew stronger.

Things were different than they had been last time he was here. Perhaps then, Choumen Tai's presence had caused things to change from their normal state, and now that he had entered the Rebirth Cave, everything had returned to normal.

Life was prohibited.

This was the Rebirth Cave.

Living beings were not allowed.

The aura of death in the area made Naruto feel even weaker. As it thickened, however, Naruto could sense that a trace of opportunity existed within.

To experience rebirth, one's body must first die. Only after death could one have life in defiance of the Heavens!

Naruto took a deep breath and walked forward. Even as he took his first steps forward, Xu Qing reached out to support him. He looked back at her, and she returned the look but didn't say anything. The determination in her eyes said what thousands and thousands of words could not.

"Living beings cannot enter this place," he said softly.

She smiled faintly and then led Naruto toward the inner region of the Rebirth Cave.

As soon as they entered, Naruto became weaker than before. His body withered even faster, as if he were burning with an invisible fire. Every step forward, every step closer to the Rebirth Cave, caused his body, his soul, his everything… to waste away rapidly.

At the same time, more than ten streams of will spread out from within the Rebirth Cave. They looked coldly as Naruto and Xu Qing approached.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Robert Funk, Markus Drabek, Tracy_

 _Guirnela, Oluetemiri Okunnuga, Jonathan Valentin, and Xenaca_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 688

Chapter 688: Together

The Rebirth Cave was one of three Danger Zones in the Southern Domain. However, it ranked above the Dao Lakes and the Ancient Temple of Doom in terms of how mysterious it was!

That was because the Dao Lakes could be viewed as having been formed by ancient almighty figures who passed away in meditation. After they perished, their Daos dispersed, then experienced the vicissitudes of time, leaving behind countless shadows.

As for the Ancient Temple of Doom, its history was also a matter of record.

The Rebirth Cave was unique. To say that it was the number one Danger Zone in the Southern Domain was no exaggeration. In fact, if you looked at the entire Southern Domain as a whole, nothing was more shrouded in mystery than the Rebirth Cave. Throughout countless years, innumerable people had studied it in an attempt to pierce it secrets.

It was said that inside, one could be reborn to live another life!

For ages, many almighty experts came to the Rebirth Cave as they neared death. Not willing to follow the precepts of fate, they entered the cave to search for that opportunity. Unfortunately, those who actually succeeded were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns.

One thing was certain: cultivators who entered the Rebirth Cave either succeeded, or remained inside forever as nothing more than skeletons.

The Rebirth Cave was surrounded by a forest of stones, which was a bit different than how Naruto remembered it from the first time he was there. The stones were scattered haphazardly in all directions, and seemed to be imbued with ancientness and mystery, as if they passed through time in some strange and unique way.

In the very center of the forest of stones was a squat mountain, seventy percent of which was made up by the entrance to the cave. It looked like a ghastly mouth, waiting to swallow up anyone who neared.

The entire area was gloomy and cold, and the ground was covered with bluish, frosty ice. Everything was quiet, a quiet that for countless years had almost never been disturbed by anyone.

With the exception of Choumen Tai….

There were cultivators scattered around the region of the Rebirth Cave. Most were alone, or perhaps in small groups. Such people were here to try to get close to the Rebirth Cave and use its bizarre power to cultivate certain unique techniques.

Most of them were rogue cultivators, and none dared to get too close to the cave. When Naruto and Xu Qing entered the area, there was a group of three such people sitting cross-legged not too far off, meditating. Their eyes opened and they looked at Naruto.

When they saw how weak he was, and the aura of death that surrounded him, their eyes glittered.

They could immediately discern exactly why he was there.

"His aura of death is thick, and he clearly has no cultivation base…

Rebirth… how could it be that simple!?"

"Another person here attempting to be reborn. Although, why does that woman next to him seem so familiar?"

"That's Goddess Xu Qing from the Black Sieve Sect!"

Naruto left the Southern Domain hundreds of years earlier, and during that time, Xu Qing's name had long since spread near and far. Not only were many people familiar with her personally, she was also the focus of quite a bit of public attention because of her position within the Black Sieve Sect.

For her to appear at the Rebirth Cave was shocking to these three cultivators, and they immediately began to pay close attention. They also produced jade slips that they used to send messages and notify others of what was happening.

It took only moments for large numbers of rogue cultivators to hear the news, who then rushed over to that area of the Rebirth Cave to watch Naruto and Xu Qing.

The sounds of discussions echoed about, and soon, people began to speculate who the man next to Xu Qing was.

Xu Qing completely ignored all the people watching on. In her world, there was only Naruto.

It was difficult for Naruto to continue walking, but his eyes were filled with determination. His gaze was focused on the path ahead, and on Xu Qing, who held his arm to support him. Together, they proceeded onward.

Occasionally they would look at each other and smile. Naruto's expression was gentle; Xu Qing's eyes were filled with tenderness. If this path were the road of life, then the two of them walked it side by side.

It was not an easy path to follow. They were 30,000 meters away from the Rebirth Cave itself when Naruto began to shiver. The death aura now covered his entire body, and he looked almost exactly like a corpse.

His face was ancient, and his eyes deeply clouded. Next to him, Xu Qing was also showing signs of aging.

Her eyes were as resolute as ever, though, and every time Naruto looked over at her, his heart filled with pulses of tender affection.

30,000 meters. 25,000 meters. 20,000 meters…. When they were only 15,000 meters away, Naruto's mind filled with intense exhaustion. He knew that by this point, the aura of death had entered into his soul.

Xu Qing was trembling, and her face was pale. Her life force had once been vigorous and strong, but now, it was rapidly fading, to the extent that random streaks of white could be seen in her long black hair.

She looked at least five years older than she had before, and the further along she proceeded, the more she seemed to wilt.

Naruto stopped walking and looked over at her. It was clear that he didn't want her to proceed along any further.

"If you grow old, then I'll grow old with you," she said softly, gazing at him with a tender expression.

He closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened, they glowed with a brilliant light. His withered body suddenly seemed to be filled with energy, as if the last sparks of his life force had been unleashed. He lifted his right hand, and power surged within him.

This was the last bit of power that he could unleash from his Spirit

Severing fleshly body. He waved his sleeve, and power wrapped around Xu Qing, sending her flying out from within the Rebirth Cave area.

She was powerless to even struggle. Naruto's Spirit Severing strength sent her away in the blink of an eye. When she reappeared, she was outside of the region of the Rebirth Cave. She bit down on her lip.

She couldn't help but think back to the last time she and Naruto were here by the Rebirth Cave. She had only been able to stand there alone off in the distance, struggling inwardly as she watched him depart.

"This time, I won't sit by idly!" she thought, her eyes filling with determination.

Meanwhile, Naruto's aura had exploded out, filling the rogue cultivators in the area with complete shock. They instantly felt an incredible, indescribable pressure weighing down on them.

Their minds trembled and their faces fell. One by one, they looked in the direction of the Rebirth Cave.

"Is this being caused by that old man?"

"Is it that guy who was walking with Goddess Xu Qing?"

"What cultivation base is that? Don't tell me… it's Spirit Severing!"

At the same time, Naruto's body transformed into a prismatic beam of light that shot toward the Rebirth Cave 15,000 meters away.

In the blink of an eye, he passed the 10,000 meter mark, and was at the border of the forest of stones. It was at this point that Naruto's body trembled as the last bit of his cultivation base power scattered thanks to the power of the stones in the forest. He dropped to the ground and leaned up against one of the stones. His face was deathly pale, and his eyes blurry.

He felt an indescribable aura of death in the area. It was so strong that it turned into a white mist that covered the ground in all directions. Every inhalation and exhalation was filled with death and decay.

After a long moment, he struggled to lift up his head and then looked at the remaining 5,000 meters that lay between him and the Rebirth Cave. He gritted his teeth and slowly began to walk forward, one step at a time….

Never before in his life had 5,000 meters been such a difficult distance to cross. After walking only about 1,500 meters, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, which was purplish-black and exuded an aura of rot.

His eyes were even more cloudy than before, and his body was ice cold and stiff. His consciousness was fading, and the only thing he could think about was walking forward….

He proceeded on toward the Rebirth Cave, where he would struggle for his chance to be reborn.

He didn't know how much time had passed. He walked on, trembling, his death aura growing stronger with every step. In the end, his consciousness grew even weaker. Behind him, the path he had walked was stained with the purplish-black blood that he had coughed up, although he couldn't see that.

Everything was quiet, as quiet as a world of death….

Inside the Rebirth Cave, the ten streams of will stared at him coldly. From further within the depths of the cave, eight other streams of will emerged to sweep over him. They were filled with the feeling of ancientness and time, as if they were archaic divine beings.

As Naruto got closer and closer. He walked on further until he was only 500 meters away. It was at this point that a single stream of will silently appeared deep within the Rebirth Cave. When it did, all the other streams of will scattered, trembling.

The solitary stream of will focused on Naruto, 500 meters outside of the cave.

Eventually, Naruto reached his limit. A tremor ran through him; his head began to sag, and his knees were so stiff they couldn't bend. He looked almost like a dried up corpse.

There was no life force left in him, only a tiny strand that was his stubborn determination to resist fate!

However, as his consciousness faded, even that strand turned dark. He fell to the ground, 250 meters away from the Rebirth Cave.

"Is it over…?" he murmured as his consciousness disappeared.

In the moment that he fell, a sigh could be heard echoing out from within the cave. All of the wills present slowly retracted, apparently no longer interested in what was happening. Only the solitary will from earlier remained, looking at something behind Naruto.

Then, the wills which had retreated just now slowly began to tremble. All of them appeared once again, to look at what was behind Naruto.

Within the white mist of death, a woman could be seen trudging along. Each step was taken with difficulty as she entered the forest of stones. Her life force seemed to be filled with determination, dredged up from some unknown place within her.

Her body was slowly withering, her cultivation base dim, and her previously lovely features now elderly as she walked slowly toward Naruto.

This was Xu Qing.

She was different than Naruto, who had lost his Dao foundation. Her once flourishing life force had been fused with the soul of Matriarch Phoenix. Therefore, she could proceed further in toward the Rebirth

Cave than he could. To her, it was just a matter of struggling forward.

When she looked down at fallen Naruto, within whom no life force existed, tears began to stream down her face. She gently lifted him up so that he lay against her, then tenderly kissed him.

A strand of life force emerged from within her, passing through her lips into his mouth. Her face flushed with an unusual redness, within which would be seen weakness, but also life.

"This is a secret art from the Demon Immortal Sect… I give you my life…." As she watched Naruto once again filling with a bit of life, she smiled. Then she thought back to the time they had walked through the Reliance Sect in the moonlight, watched by everyone.

She looked up toward the Rebirth Cave 250 meters away, and then began to walk forward, carrying him in her arms.

Her face continued to grow more wrinkled, and her body trembled. Her life force was fading away, and yet with every step she took, she continued to pass some of it to Naruto.

Every time she did, she grew weaker and older. Yet no regret existed in her heart whatsoever.

Carrying Naruto, she walked the entire 250 meters, all the way to the entrance of the Rebirth Cave. Then, without any hesitation…

She walked in.

 _You live, I live. You die, I die!_

If you grow old, then I'll grow old with you….

Vol. 5 : Chapter 689

Chapter 689: Is There Really Such a Thing as Rebirth?

Xu Qing was smiling, and it was beautiful. Although her hair was white and her face covered with wrinkles, her smile was as beautiful as ever.

She gazed softly at Naruto, and a glow filled her face that could almost be described as holy. She appeared to be seeing everything that had happened on Mount Daqing and in the Reliance Sect. Each scene ended with Naruto, and when that happened, her eyes seemed to fill with all of the love that existed in her life.

She had a simple personality, and was not the type of person to allow the seeds of love to be planted easily. However, once those seeds were planted… they existed for a lifetime.

She held Naruto in her arms as she walked forward step by step, directly into the ghastly cave mouth in the side of the mountain, the Rebirth Cave.

Stepping into the cave was like passing through the barrier that existed between life and death. In that instant, everything turned black, and no more warmth existed. There was not even a scrap of the life that existed in Heaven and Earth. The only thing that remained was stifling death and infinite coldness.

The outside of the Rebirth Cave, and the inside of the cave, were two different worlds.

One was a world of life, the other was a world of death.

When Xu Qing carried Naruto inside, all of the wills inside the cave retreated back into the recesses of the cave to watch from afar.

To them, when Naruto and Xu Qing were on the outside, they were people from a different world. Not only were they envious and jealous of them, they also scorned and disdained them.

But now that Xu Qing had carried Naruto into the Rebirth Cave, they were all the same, and all existed in the same world.

Here, there was no power of Heaven and Earth. When living things entered the cave, their life force would fade away even more rapidly than before. When it disappeared, when they were inundated with death, then all they could do was wait for the supposed… awakening.

Xu Qing walked onward with Naruto, her face pale, her body trembling. Her life force was rapidly fading away, and as for the single strand that existed within Naruto, it would soon be completely gone.

In the moment when Naruto's strand of life disappeared, Xu Qing kissed his lips again, delivering more of her own life force… into him.

By the time she had walked a few dozen meters into the cave, Xu Qing's face was completely ancient, and her body was extremely withered. She was thin and emaciated, with no trace of youth left in her at all. She had lost everything.

She sat down cross-legged.

"Naruto," she murmured, "I can't go any further…." He now lay resting across her legs, his face devoid of blood, his features ancient. She looked down at him. "When I joined the Reliance Sect, I had already promised myself that I would never marry anyone, not for my entire life. I would not become someone's beloved. Instead, I would focus solely on cultivation…." She stroked his face with a hand that had once been as lustrous as jade, but was now dried up and old.

"But then you came along…." she said. Her face flushed a bit as she looked at him for a long moment. Then she leaned down and kissed him again, delivering more of her life force.

As the life force entered him, a bit of color returned to his face. On the other hand, Xu Qing's only became more withered. The amount of life force she had was only growing less and less.

"You had only been in the sect for a short time when you happened to get that medicinal pill," she murmured. "When you ended up giving the pill to me as a gift… my face was calm, but my heart was actually filled with joy.

"Not because of you, but because of the pill." She smiled. "I gave you the Immortal's cave because I figured it would make us even. But then, you crafty little fox, you managed to entangle me even further. You got your hands on a Cosmetic Cultivation Pill…." When she thought back to everything that had happened back then, her smile grew sweeter, and she gently stroked Naruto's cheek.

"Did you know that when you killed Zhao Wugang, I secretly helped to make sure no one found out? Down to this day, I don't think you ever realized that.

"And then you opened your shop in the sect…. Ai. If I wasn't there… well, let's just say that by that time a lot of people had taken an interest in you." Xu Qing wanted to smile, but suddenly was overtaken by a fit of coughing. Fearful of disturbing Naruto, she covered her mouth. When she lowered her hand, it was covered with purplish blood.

"If the Reliance Sect hadn't been destroyed, I wonder how things would have turned out…. When I was taken to the Black Sieve Sect, I was met with coldness. Everything was strange, and I had to deal with that malicious Elder Brother….

"Back then, I really missed the Reliance Sect, and I missed the State of Zhao. I missed… you." She looked down, and delivered another strand of life force to Naruto.

Her face was pale white, and her body frail and withered. She looked like a lamp that was on the verge of flickering out, and she was well aware that every bit of life force she gave to Naruto caused her own death to approach even more quickly.

Right now, she could still abandon Naruto. If she left the Rebirth Cave, because of her special soul, she could easily return to the outside world and recover all of her life force.

But she did not do that. Nor did she regret the decision.

"You don't know it," she murmured, "but when I saw you in the crowds of people, at first, I thought I was dreaming…. Then, in my moment of despair in the ancient Blessed Land, you appeared. From that moment on, you were in my heart.

"Not long after, you saved me again, from the discarnate soul of Matriarch Phoenix.

"Later, outside the Rebirth Cave, I could only weep as I watched you disappear into the distance. My heart hurt so bad….

"When I went to the Violet Sea, I couldn't find you, but I could sense that you were so close….

"Finally, I saw you again in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Naruto… I was so happy then. Thank you." She looked down at him for a long moment.

She didn't speak very often about how she felt, but her actions showed how deeply her love went. Anyone in Heaven and Earth who could have a companion like this could die without any regrets.

"Naruto, I can't hold on much longer…." She was not a flickering lamp any more. She had reached the end of the road. If she closed her eyes now, then she would never open them again.

Perhaps if she closed her eyes, then years later, someone would come into the Rebirth Cave to find their bodies. A woman, sitting cross-legged. A man, reclining across her legs.

One sleeping. The other smiling. Through all eternity….

"You live, I live. You die, I die….

"If you grow old, then I'll grow old with you.

"If you slumber here, then I will accompany you…." Xu Qing lowered her head and began to deliver the last bits of life force she had to Naruto through a kiss.

As the life force left her, she shivered, and her hair began to fall out. Everything started to go blurry. However, she gritted her teeth and once again prepared to give some more.

By this point, even all of the observing streams of will were shaken by what they saw. It was then that the stream of will that belonged to the roc suddenly emerged, transforming into a woman.

She stood there in front of Xu Qing, indescribably striking and matchlessly beautiful.

She was the embodiment of the roc. She came from the bones that existed in the coffin in the Milky Way Sea. She was… the goodness of the Resurrection Lily that had reached Immortal Ascension at dawn.

Back then, she had fallen in love with a man. From that moment on, she willingly sank into depravity. Because she faced pain and sorrow, she took her goodness and severed it away. Then she became the Dawn Immortal.

That goodness now appeared in front of Xu Qing, in the form of this woman.

"If you keep that up, your soul will scatter," said the woman softly.

Despite her muddled consciousness, Xu Qing heard the woman's words and looked up.

"If you keep it up, you will lose your life for all eternity…." The woman looked down at Xu Qing, and almost seemed to be looking down at herself. "From time immemorial, the League of Demon Sealers have been heartless. Is it really worth it to do what you're doing?"

"I don't know if it's worth it or not," murmured Xu Qing. "I only know that without him in my life, then I can only live a life of pain. In that case, why not die together? I don't fear death. What I fear is the pain of being alone."

The woman seemed to shiver, and she looked down thoughtfully at Xu Qing. Finally, she sighed softly. "You'll regret it."

Xu Qing smiled but didn't say anything. She was confident in her heart.

"Don't believe me, huh…?" said the woman. "I didn't believe either. Well, in that case, I'll help you to see. We will find out who is right, you, or me." A strange light began to glow in the woman's eyes.

"You have the vestiges of a discarnate soul on you," continued the woman, "as well as the Daoist magic of the Black Sieve Sect. Within the Black Sieve Sect is a precious medicinal pill. It's called the Soul Birth Pill. If you can get that pill, then he will have a chance to live." With that, the woman waved her sleeve, causing an cold wind to spring up around Xu Qing. It picked her up and carried her far off into the distance, out of the Rebirth Cave and into the world of the living, all the way to the vicinity of the Black Sieve Sect.

When the wind faded away, Xu Qing stood there ashen-faced. Her consciousness was no longer muddled, and she looked like her old self. She turned her head to look back toward the Rebirth Cave, and began to breathe heavily. Then she turned and headed toward the Black Sieve Sect.

Back in the Rebirth Cave, the woman stood next to Naruto, looking at him.

"Is there really such a thing as rebirth…?

"I have been to every corner of this cave. I left no rock unturned. And I can tell you… there is no rebirth in this place.

"The only thing here is a Ninth Mountain and Sea lodestone. It fell here countless years ago, and enables souls around it to exist forever and cultivate Ghost Immortality.

"Rebirth, ah, rebirth…. It's a beautiful dream, and nothing more. It's merely a fiction, invented by people who aren't willing to die.

"The rosy picture such stories paint gradually obscured the truth, from one generation to the next…." The woman's voice was strange and filled with bitterness, as well as exhaustion. As she lost herself in memories of the past, her body gradually faded away.

Naruto lay there in the silence. He had no more consciousness, and everything around him was still. It was so quiet that it seemed as if no voices had existed in the area since ancient times.

Without the support of Xu Qing's life force, Naruto's own life force was rapidly diminishing. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn… it had completely vanished.

Within him, Immortal Shows the Way also withered, and gradually lost any usefulness to him. When that happened, a tall man sitting crosslegged deep within the Rebirth Cave looked up and sighed.

"There really is no rebirth in this place," he said. "There is only a Ninth Mountain and Sea lodestone….

"So, he is not the one who can help me…. Who have I been waiting for, then?"

"Where is the person I've been waiting for…?" This man was none other than Choumen Tai.

—–

Note from Deathblade: This chapter and the past few chapters have made many, many references to past chapters. So many references, in fact, that I gave up on trying to make footnotes for them all.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Felix_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 690

Chapter 690: The Chapter that Never Was!

Note from Deathblade: Er Gen actually made a mistake when posting his chapters, and skipped from 689 directly to 691. I guess that means ISSTH is technically 1613 chapters long, not 1614!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 691

Chapter 691: Extend the Broken Bridge of Life Force

Half a month passed by.

Xu Qing did not return.

Naruto lay surrounded by coldness and deathly silence. He did not decompose, nor would he for some time. His body lay there, completely lacking any life force whatsoever.

He was dead.

Normally speaking, his soul could enter the cycle of reincarnation. However, because of the Ninth Mountain and Sea lodestone that existed in the Rebirth Cave, the soul was sealed, and could not dissipate. Furthermore, his soul did not leave his body, preventing the souldevouring entities from doing anything other than look at him.

As time passed, they were able to see that within Naruto was a strand of silk wrapped tightly around his soul.

 _As long as the silk did not break, the larva could not be destroyed. As long as the larva was not destroyed, the silk could not break!_

Life or death hung by a thread… the thread of the eyeless larva! It allowed the existence of Naruto's soul to be forever preserved, even if his body perished. From these seemingly contradictory circumstances arose a state of undeath which was virtually unheard of in Heaven and Earth!

In some ways, it conformed with the Soul Divergence Incantation. However, it was not rebirth.

Another half month passed, and finally, someone appeared outside of the Rebirth Cave.

It was not Xu Qing. It was a fat, middle-aged man. He had a somewhat bawdy look to him, and his body was almost like a sphere. He had freckles on his face, and the Daoist robe he wore was a bit too tight. The way his body bulged out of it made his whole image seem disharmonious.

Apparently, however, he thought of himself as burly and muscular. A greatsword could be seen strapped to his back, and it glittered with golden light.

This was the same Fatty from years ago, Li Fugui.

He was alone, shivering as he moved at high speed into the region surrounding the Rebirth Cave. His face quickly turned pale.

"Dangit, I'm gonna be dead meat! Naruto, you jerk, your cons are going to be the death of me!

"And Elder Sister Xu, aiiiii…" Fatty looked upset, but his steps didn't pause for even a moment. Even though his life force was dissipating rapidly, he shot forward at top speed.

When he reached the 3,000 meter mark, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Immediately, multi-colored beams of light shot out from inside of him. Within each beam of light could be seen the image of a meditating old man.

"I'm the only heir of my bloodline in the Golden Frost Sect, fools!" bellowed Fatty. "I might not have many kinds of treasures on me, but there's one thing I have a lot of, and that is life-saving treasures!" It was impossible to say how many life-saving treasures Fatty actually had on his person, but as of this moment, vast amounts appeared as he passed into the 1,500 meter area.

By this time, the glow that surrounded him was starting to fade away. His body no longer looked like a sphere. His flesh withered, and in the blink of an eye, he was suddenly much skinnier.

"Naruto is my big bro. For him, all of my precious flesh is disappearing… Uh… well, a bit of gorging will restore it." With a howl, Fatty shot into the 1,000 meter mark. By now, he was was so skinny that he looked like a normal person. At the same time, cracking sounds could be heard coming from his body.

Those would be his numerous lifesaving treasures treasures being destroyed.

"Dammit, still 1,000 meters to go. The only reason Elder Sister Xu is in such a heartbreaking situation is because of Naruto. I don't even know if she's still alive…. Everything is up to me now. If I can't get through, then I'll regret it for the rest of my life!" Li Fugui's eyes were completely bloodshot. Roaring, he pulled out more life-saving treasures and, ignoring the rapid withering of his body, continued on, pushing forward another 250 meters.

By that point, his life force was reaching the limit. His vision was growing blurry and dark. If he went any further, he would die.

Actually, the only reason he was able to make it this far was because of all the magical items, and the fact that earlier, he had consumed vast quantities of medicinal pills designed to invigorate his life force.

"750 meters!" Tears welled up in his eyes as he looked at the squat mountain up ahead. Although he seemed unaffected on the outside, the truth was, when he learned about Naruto's situation, he had dropped everything to rush to this place where life was prohibited. Clearly, in his heart, Naruto really was his big bro!

Naruto was the same big bro from back in the Reliance Sect, when they had first started practicing cultivation together.

"Naruto, I've done my best!" Tears began to roll down his cheeks as he lifted up his right hand. In his palm rested a black pill bottle, which was surrounded by a rotating black halo. As soon as the pill bottle appeared, the death aura in the area rapidly increased.

At the same time, the wills that lurked in the depths of the Rebirth Cave emerged. They swirled about inside the cave, staring at the pill bottle in Fatty's hand.

Fatty gritted his teeth and then hurled the pill bottle toward the Rebirth Cave. It transformed into a black beam that shot directly into the mouth of the cave.

Fatty coughed up a mouthful of purplish-black blood. His body continuing to wither, he turned and transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance. Tears continued to stream down his face as he flew away.

"Naruto, you have to be reborn…. You must come out of there!"

Back in the Rebirth Cave, the pill bottle landed on the ground. The wills approached and were about to begin fighting over it when the cold snort of a woman could be heard. Although no outsider would be able to detect it, the wills could hear it clearly, and they instantly began to tremble.

At the same time, an overbearing will emerged from the depths of the cave to sweep up the pill bottle. It then transformed into the very same woman who had sent Xu Qing out of the cave.

She looked around, and the other streams of will scattered, returning to their various places of origin within the Rebirth Cave. The woman turned back around and walked up to Naruto's corpse. She looked him over and then looked at the pill bottle.

She said nothing for a long moment.

Xu Qing had not returned, which was something the woman assumed would happen when she sent her away. Except, she had assumed that love-smitten Xu Qing, after regaining some clarity and having more options to pick from, would hesitate about the difficult decision.

She had assumed that Xu Qing would choose to protect her own life.

But now that the pill bottle had appeared, this woman, the embodiment of the goodness of the Resurrection Lily, suddenly felt her heart trembling.

"She didn't come," the woman said softly, "but she sent someone in her stead to deliver the pill. And that person had strange, incredible treasures to prevent his soul from dissipating…." Although she didn't know the details, she could guess what had happened. Poor Xu Qing had paid an indescribable price to get her hands on the medicinal pill.

The woman sighed.

"My life has been one of sorrow….

"There is no rebirth here. Perhaps there is no rebirth at all. But I did give her my promise, after all….

"I have already existed for far, far too long, and no longer desire to live.

"Since that is the case, why not help her achieve her aim?" The woman looked at the pill bottle in her hand. After a long moment, she suddenly clenched her hand into a fist. The pill bottle shattered with a bang, and a medicinal pill flew out, which the woman immediately consumed.

Instantly, her previously illusory body suddenly became material. Shockingly, she now possessed flesh and blood.

"It feels good to have a flesh and blood body again, even if it's temporary…." she said softly. This time, her voice was real.

"I will help her achieve her aim. Then she will see whether faithful people truly exist. She will see what decision this final successor of the

League of Demon Sealers will make when it comes time to sever emotion.

"The reason I am saving you is not for your sake, but for her," she said softly. "When the time comes, we will see whether or not she will become like me.

"I take my promises very seriously. It is with the same faithfulness that I treated HIM, all those years ago, that I will treat this girl who wishes to follow in my footsteps.

"I did not come to the Rebirth Cave to look for death, but rather, rebirth. I wanted to have a chance at a new self. I wanted to sever the past, and finally be free when I emerged.

"But this place… has no rebirth!

"What does exist here, though, is my long life… which I can use to extend the broken bridge of your life force!" The woman made a grasping gesture toward the depths of the Rebirth Cave, toward a three hundred meter wide black boulder, half of which was buried in the dirt.

The black rock trembled and shook until a piece of it tore off of the top, which then flew toward the woman.

She grabbed it and crushed it, transforming it into a black powder that she sprinkled over Naruto's body.

At the same time, she performed an incantation gesture. Her eyes filled with a look of reminiscence as she recalled beautiful memories. After a long moment of silence, she pushed two fingers down onto the forehead of Naruto's stiff, withered corpse.

As soon as her fingers touched his forehead, his previously unmoving body suddenly spasmed. In the same moment, the woman began to slowly wither, starting with her feet.

Her life force, her vitality, her everything, poured through her two fingers into Naruto.

She looked up into the blackness around them, and images appeared in her mind. She saw herself, and the man who she could never forget.

"You live, I live. You die, I die…. I spoke words like that too," she murmured. Her body continued to wither, whereas Naruto's was recovering. He was no longer ancient, and signs of life could be seen within him.

"Back then, I looked at you and you looked at me….

"From that day on, I accompanied you. I followed you through so many deadly situations….

"Every time you were hurt, I felt pain. Every time you smiled, I was happy. I know… that you tried to part with me on more than one occasion, but your reluctance held you back." Her legs were now withered, almost like roots connected to the ground. Her life force poured into Naruto, causing his hair to grow long, his face to flush with life. He was not old any more, but rather, middle-aged.

The life force gathered up in Naruto, filling up what had once been empty.

"I also know that you had your wife, your Sect, your responsibilities, and your mission. You had everything that was yours.

"But I… really only had you.

"Even my name was given to me by you. I liked it when you called me

Da Nu…. 1

"If you grow old, I'll grow old with you. I also said the same thing." The woman's voice was soft as she spoke, filled with beauty and mystery and pain. By now, her body was almost completely withered. Because of the life force she was giving to Naruto, he was now a young man again. Except for the fact that his eyes were not open, he looked exactly as he had so many years ago.

"There is only one thing that I said which she didn't.

"If you reach Immortal Ascension, then I… will become Immortal with you!

"I never broke your heart. I would never, ever hurt you. But on that particular dawn, on the day of vicissitudes, when I saw you severing your emotions, I wept….

"I took all the goodness that was in me, and left it in a coffin in the Milky Way Sea. I don't blame you….

"If something is to blame, it is that I am not a real woman, but only… a

Resurrection Lily who fell in love with you."

The image of herself in her eyes suddenly was that of a beautiful Resurrection Lily, planted deep within the body of a man. After being inside of him for countless years, she… fell in love with her own host.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Seanl, Robert Funk, Peter Johansson, and Fabian Müller_

The name Da Nu was first mentioned in chapter 101 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 692

Chapter 692: A Promise to Keep

Far away in the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, in a random village, a somewhat sloppily-dressed painter was looking askance at a rich man who fawned over him with endless words.

"Immortal, sir, I beg of you to paint me. I'm willing to pay any price." "My paintings are very expensive," was the response.

The rich man nodded enthusiastically, then waved to his retainers to carry over several large chests.

The old painter glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, then cleared his throat. "Well, it seems that the two of us are connected by destiny. Because of that, I'll paint something for you."

He was just about to begin painting when a frown appeared on his face.

"Something just came up," he said. "I need to take a mental journey. Please wait for a moment." With that, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

The rich man didn't dare to disturb him, and simply stood there off to the side, waiting.

Back in the Southern Domain, in the Rebirth Cave, Da Nu looked off into the nothingness, lost in her memories.

She was a lily that had bloomed with seven colors. On the day of vicissitudes, she had reached Immortal Ascension. However, she mistakenly fell in love with her host. When she reached Immortal Ascension, she severed her goodness and buried it at the bottom of the Milky Way Sea.

On that day, her tears had merged into the Milky Way Sea, and she became… the Dawn Immortal.

As for her goodness, it remained at the bottom of the Milky Way Sea, the same Da Nu as before.

Many years later, she emerged from the coffin and entered into the body of the fish. When she splashed out from the water, she became a roc that flew toward the Rebirth Cave, emanating an intense aura of death. 1

That aura of death came from her dead heart.

In the Rebirth Cave, she had hoped to experience a baptism, a rebirth, to become new. But no matter how she searched, there was no rebirth to be found in the Rebirth Cave. It was then that she understood. The Rebirth Cave was nothing more than a fantasy.

She could not achieve rebirth, so she remained there, submerged in her memories. No one in the world could understand her pain. But then she saw Xu Qing, and when she did, she realized that Xu Qing was just like herself all those years ago.

She sighed. The memories flashing in her mind's eye seemed to grow more beautiful. In contrast, her body was already more than half withered up, like a dying flower.

The hand that touched Naruto's forehead was visibly draining as her boundless life force poured into his body. He was now completely recovered, and didn't look old at all.

Inside of him, glowing motes of light appeared. They packed together densely, interlocking to form into the shape of an arched bridge.

However… the bridge was incomplete. In the very middle, there was a broken section, making it impossible for the bridge to be whole.

Those motes of light were the life force that Da Nu was sending into Naruto, and that bridge was none other than the Bridge of Life!

"I don't blame you…." murmured Da Nu softly. Her eyes were blank, her mind submerged into memories that no one could see.

Her entire arm was now dried up. The withering spread to her neck. It looked almost like tendrils, climbing up to her forehead, and eventually covering her entire head. When the tendrils reached her eyes, she was thinking about the first time she had met her host.

In that moment, he had looked at her, and she him. It was a moment that seemed as if it would last an eternity.

"I have never blamed you…." When the withering took Da Nu's eyes, two teardrops fell. They rolled down her withered face and then landed on the ground with a soft patter.

Her eyes grew listless, and she closed them. Then she lifted up the hand that was pushing down onto Naruto's forehead. After a moment, she softly struck his head.

The blow seemed light, but the force hit him like lightning. He trembled violently, and roaring filled his mind.

The countless nodes of light inside of him that formed the Bridge of Life suddenly vibrated and then expanded. In that moment, the two sides of the bridge linked together, and it was whole.

When the Bridge of Life was complete, Naruto's body spasmed in unprecedented fashion. He suddenly breathed again. His previously still heart began to emit a thumping sound.

When his heart started beating, the powder Da Nu had created from the Ninth Mountain and Sea lodestone swept toward his chest and fused into his heart.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump!

His heart continued to beat, and the sound of it echoed throughout the Rebirth Cave. Suddenly, an incredible gravitation force exploded out inside of his heart.

At the same time, his soul, which had been wrapped up by the Eyeless Larva silk, was caught up by the gravitational force. It merged into his heart, and then was superimposed over his body.

In this moment, the Bridge of Life was thoroughly linked and whole. Blinding light shone out to fill the Rebirth Cave, dispelling all of the darkness. The resplendent light was dazzling to the extreme.

Naruto's blood began to flow. His life force was vigorous! His soul was back in place! He had returned to life!

His eyes snapped open.

The first thing he saw was Da Nu. He saw her withered body, and felt his own surging life force. He could immediately sense the connection between it and the woman.

His mind trembled. If by this point he couldn't understand what had happened, then his over two hundred years of life would have been lived in vain. It was obvious that this woman had given him her own life force.

"Senior…."

Da Nu looked at him, and her eyes suddenly flickered open. "I gave you life, not for you, but for her."

An image suddenly appeared in his mind.

He saw himself fall down outside the Rebirth Cave, and he saw Xu Qing arrive. She picked him up and struggled to carry him forward. She had once been beautiful, but now, her hair was white and she was ancient. Purplish-black blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth.

And yet, no regret could be seen in her eyes. She looked at Naruto with gentleness and determination.

He watched as Xu Qing used her own life force to sustain him. Every time she delivered her life force to him, it would keep him alive for a bit longer, and make her weaker.

However, her smile never faded.

When he saw these things, Naruto trembled. He watched Xu Qing carry him into the Rebirth Cave and sit down cross-legged. He watched her stroke his face.

Xu Qing was ancient, her hair white, and yet she continued to give him her life force, one bit at a time, no matter the consequences to herself.

"You live, I live. You die, I die!"

Tears streamed down Naruto's face. Next, he saw Da Nu appear. She sent Xu Qing away…. And then Fatty came to deliver the medicinal pill.

All of these things struck into his heart and mind like lightning. He trembled violently, and an intense dread suddenly filled him.

"Why… why didn't Xu Qing bring it herself?" Naruto didn't dare to think about it. He jerked his head up to look at Da Nu.

At the same time, he rose to his feet. Inside, he knew… something bad had happened to Xu Qing!

He had to go find her! He had to find Xu Qing!

However, in the moment that he stood, his face suddenly fell, and he stood there, terror-stricken and motionless. His hands clenched tightly into fists as he realized that he was constrained to the absolute limit.

He shivered ceaselessly as he remembered that he had no cultivation base. He was completely empty….

"There is no such thing as rebirth…." murmured Da Nu to herself. Her body was almost completely withered. She looked at Naruto and was just about to deliver the last of her life force to him, and then slip into death, when…

Suddenly, everything began to shake and rumble!

A black mist sprang out from within the depths of the Rebirth Cave. It quickly filled every corner of the cave, as well as the area hundreds of thousands of meters surrounding the cave, turning it all into a world of black mist.

The black mist rose up into the sky, shockingly transforming into an enormous head. The head had black hair, and its facial features were blurry, but it was clearly immeasurably ancient.

"Who said there is no such thing as rebirth!?" growled the voice.

Da Nu looked up, and her eyes filled with a strange light. She had lived inside the Rebirth Cave for many years, and had visited all the areas within, but she had never sensed anything like this black mist.

Even more shocked was Choumen Tai. He could hear the voice from his position deep in the cave, and it filled his mind with roaring. He shot to his feet, his face covered with astonishment. He had also been concealed in the cave for many years, and was very familiar with every inch of the place. However, he was completely unaware that anything like this existed inside!

"Who is this?" he thought with a gasp. He suddenly realized that the Rebirth Cave… was not at all how he had believed it to be.

There were mysteries here… that even he couldn't detect.

"The Dao of rebirth exists outside of the laws of Heaven and Earth. You can't feel it, that's all….

"On this day, you chose death to help this person. That… is true rebirth!

"Rebirth is a death and a life, a cycle. Henceforth, he will represent you on the path of cultivation. You die for him in the cycle of reincarnation.

That… is true rebirth!

"If you understand, then you can free yourself from your worldly concerns. If you don't understand, then… your next life will be one of darkness."

Da Nu's body quivered in shock and her breathing grew ragged. She listened to the voice's words and her eyes gradually flashed with signs of comprehension.

"Rebirth…. Senior, please instruct me." She slowly closed her eyes, and in that moment, completely withered up, transforming into a Resurrection Lily, right there in the Rebirth Cave.

"Goodness personified, and in the end you still perform good deeds, imbuing your very breath into his body. You are the embodiment of truth and law…. Because of this, I will help you this one time!" Even as the voice echoed about, the black mist contracted. It began to congeal inside of the Rebirth Cave, next to the Resurrection Lily, where it turned into a brush. The brush moved about, seemingly using the air as its canvas to paint an extremely realistic Resurrection Lily.

The brush swished, and the illusory Resurrection Lily settled onto Da Nu's withered body.

"Sleep for 10,000 years. After that, if you can awaken, then you will be reborn." As the voice echoed out, the black mist seemed to turn its attention onto Choumen Tai, who was deep in the recesses of the Rebirth Cave.

Choumen Tai's mind trembled.

"You are a soul who has experienced many years of life, and many reincarnations. You have relied on your persistence to reach this day…. Continue on. I can sense something very familiar about you."

Choumen Tai began to pant. "Are you…."

Before he could finish speaking, the mist seethed, and Choumen Tai was suddenly swept up. He had no control over his body as he was ejected out of Planet Ninshu and sent out into the starry sky.

"Regardless of whether or not the person you are waiting for is here," said the voice, "if all you know how to do is use others, then if the time ever comes in which you can bring back to life that person who exists in your heart, well… you will feel only regret. Leave. When the time comes that you understand, you can return here."

Back in the Rebirth Cave, everything was quiet. The mist spun around and around, and a figure seemed to become visible, looking at Naruto.

Trembling, Naruto rose to his feet and walked to the mouth of the Rebirth Cave. Although he was merely alive as a mortal now, he still… had a promise to keep.

You live, I live. You die, I die!

In the moment in which Naruto was about to step foot out of the Rebirth Cave, the blurry figure behind him coolly said, "Why do you care about the Perfect stratum so much anyway?"

A fish turning into a bird-like creature is a common part of Chinese mythology. I've seen a few comments that I should translate "roc" as "peng." Sorry to say, that would only be partly correct. Er Gen consistently uses the full term "鲲鹏," which combines the fish character "kun" and the bird character "peng." If I were going transliterate it, the most accurate term would be "kunpeng," not simply "peng." Also, in ISSTH, unlike the "kunpung" mythology, it is never described as a "kun" which transforms into a "peng." It's described as a fish "yu" that transforms into a "kunpeng." ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 693

Chapter 693 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 693: Eternal Stratum!

A tremor ran through Naruto. He turned around and looked at the misty figure behind him. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was on the verge of insanity, albeit a silent insanity.

"Do you remember me?" The misty figure gradually grew clear to reveal an old man. He looked ordinary, and yet, within the ordinariness was an indescribably extraordinary disposition.

"Senior Shui Dongliu?" said Naruto, trembling. Of course, he instantly recognized that this man was Shui Dongliu. 1

Shui Dongliu. Whoever existed in his memory could not be destroyed by the Karmic Severing of the Hebi Clan.

"The Perfect stratum is great and all, but it's only a foundation. The ignorant masses think that the Perfect Foundation is the most supreme. It comes from the three classic scriptures, and can qualify you to become a Doyen!

"But! As far as I'm concerned, the Perfect stratum is like a leafy branch.

It spreads throughout your body and eventually blooms with flowers that turn into Dao Fruit. That fruit is the key to being truly supreme!

"You may have lost your foundation, but the Dao Fruit is still there. Why are you acting like what you lost was the important part?!"

Naruto was startled, and his mind filled with an intense roaring. "Dao Fruit?!"

"Of course, Dao Fruit," replied Shui Dongliu coolly. "The whole purpose of the Perfect stratum is to solidify the Dao Fruit of Perfection!

"That Dao Fruit of Perfection is none other than the Supreme stratum. And yet, that stratum also counts for little!" He swished his sleeve.

"Above the Supreme stratum is the Eternal!

"That is the true pinnacle of these strata. Shattered, Fractured, Flawless, Perfect, Dao Fruit, Eternal. These are the six great strata of any stage of cultivation. You only reached Perfect. 2

"To achieve the Dao Fruit, you need to sever your Perfection!

"As for the Eternal… you already meet the requirements; someone even severed your Perfection for you already. Why is your heart… still imprisoned? Why… don't you just go ahead with your Second Severing?" Shui Dongliu's voice echoed like thunder in Naruto's ears, giving rise to enormous waves within his mind.

Naruto's brain reeled, his body shook, and an unprecedentedly bright light shone in his eyes. Shui Dongliu's words thoroughly crushed all traces of his muddlement. It was as if in the darkest of nights, a ray of bright light suddenly pierced through the blackness of his world.

"Dao Fruit…. Dao Fruit…." thought Naruto, panting. "Sever Perfection, achieve Dao Fruit!

"The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch took away my Perfect Foundation. However, that Perfection… completely preoccupied my heart! Therefore, this time, I will Sever… my heart!

"Sever away the Perfection in my heart!

"When I had my cultivation base, I could sever it. Without a cultivation base… who is to say that… I can't still Sever it!?

"Spirit Severing. Spirit Severing. What is Severed is the spirit. What is Severed is the heart. This… is my second blade of Spirit Severing!

"Sever away the Perfect stratum. Sever the past. Carve out my Perfect Dao Fruit!" A boom could be heard in Naruto's mind as he gained enlightenment. Although he clearly possessed no cultivation base, a billowing aura shot towards the sky.

Within that aura appeared Heavenly transformations, roiling clouds, and seething winds. Shockingly, precursors of the descent of a great Dao's reverberated out, something he had previously experienced in the Milky Way Sea.

In that instant, the sky above all regions of the Southern Domain exploded into motion. Winds surged, lightning cracked, thunder boomed. Every expert in the Southern Domain was shocked, and countless people looked up into the sky in amazement.

At the same time, in the starry sky outside of Planet Ninshu, from inside the Ninth Mountain, a shocking will suddenly appeared. It swept out over the Ninth Mountain and Sea, after which it zeroed in on the lands of South Heaven.

This was the will of the great Dao of the Ninth Mountain and Sea! It was the natural law of Heaven and Earth, the basis upon which the Ninth Mountain and Sea operated.

This will itself was also a great Dao! Its appearance filled the sky of

South Heaven with a boundless light. Even the Hebi Clan's Immortality Bestowal Dais outside of Planet Ninshu was shaken, and ceased functioning.

In the lands of South Heaven, the Hebi Clan elders, as well as countless powerful experts from other sects and clans, fell to their knees in shock and began to kowtow.

In the sky above South Heaven, the will of the Ninth Mountain and Sea suddenly solidified into a blade that shot down toward Naruto in the Rebirth Cave.

This descending will far exceeded the first blade of his First Severing. All of the lands of South Heaven were shaken.

The Heavens opened up, revealing the heavenly bodies. Countless rivers of stars glittered and shined, seemingly prepared to bear witness to what was happening.

In the Rebirth Cave, a blade appeared in front of Naruto. This was his Spirit Severing blade, floating there in front of his head, glowing with shocking light.

Hair in disarray, he lifted his head up and roared: "SEVER!"

As his voice echoed out, the great Dao blade descended, slicing into the Rebirth Cave, fusing into the blade above Naruto's head, then slashing into the top of his head.

As soon as the blade touched Naruto's head, it sliced through him all the way to the ground. His body looked as if it had been cut in two.

Shattering sounds could be heard, not from his body, but from the fetters inside him, the shackles created by his reluctance to accept the loss of the Perfect stratum!

All such restraints were completely Severed!

Naruto instantly began to shake violently. Then, he experienced a sensation of relaxation, an incredible calm that filled his entire body. It felt as if moments before, the weight of an entire mountain was crushing down on him. Then, that mountain disappeared.

At the same time, shockingly, an image of a fruit appeared on his forehead, emanating a glow like that of a magical item.

This was… a Dao Fruit!

It was made up of countless magical symbols, and looked perfect in every aspect.

The 10th Wang Clan Patriarch could steal away Naruto's Dao Foundation, but he could not take away his Dao Fruit. The Dao Fruit belonged solely to Naruto, and could not be taken away by anyone.

In the moment that the Dao Fruit appeared, a cultivation base suddenly exploded out in Naruto. First it was Qi Condensation, then Foundation Establishment, then Core Formation, and after that, Nascent Soul.

After the peak of Nascent Soul, Naruto's desire for freedom and independence caused his First Severing to reappear.

His cultivation base was completely restored!

Tribulation can also be good fortune!

Naruto's energy was like a multicolored beam of light. His optimism for what would happen after severing the Perfect stratum caused his body to tremble again. An even more powerful cultivation base aura suddenly spread out from his body.

This was a Second Severing cultivation base!

"Dao Fruit Paragon!" A strange light gleamed in Naruto's eyes, and he began to breathe heavily. His fleshly body returned to the Heavendefying state it had reached because of the art of Fleshly Sanctification. Furthermore, because of the indescribable boundless life force imparted to him by Da Nu, it was even more powerful than before.

"Dao Fruit is good," said Shui Dongliu levelly, "but since you qualify for the Eternal, why don't you sit down and try to gain enlightenment!" He flicked his sleeve, causing Naruto instantly drop cross-legged to the ground. "Ask yourself, what is the Eternal?!"

"What is the Eternal?" The question echoed out in Naruto's mind.

The Eternal….

The Eyeless Larva was eternal. If the larva was not destroyed, the silk could never be broken. If the silk was never broken, the larva could not be destroyed!

That was an eternal cycle!

The Soul Divergence Incantation was eternal. An undying soul could be created. Once that happened, the cycle of reincarnation of Heaven and Earth could not destroy it. Even if you died, years later, your flesh and blood would be born again.

"The Eternal is something that exists eternally within me. No living thing in Heaven and Earth can do anything to take it away from me. Even the will of Heaven and Earth itself would be incapable of wresting away the Eternal which belongs to me!

"The Eternal is a type of determination, an overbearing attitude!

"What is mine, belongs to me alone!" Naruto suddenly looked up at Shui Dongliu.

"Did you figure it out?" said Shui Dongliu, looking at him.

"Yes!" In the instant in which he replied, a rumbling sound filled his body. The Dao Fruit shattered into pieces, causing countless magical symbols to scatter about. They filled his entire body, then fused into his cultivation base, his flesh, and his soul.

At the same time, the Soul Divergence Incantation began to rotate in Naruto's mind. After only a single rotation, Naruto suddenly understood the true meaning of the incantation.

It was a supreme Daoist Magic that could lead people to an understanding of the Eternal stratum!

To cultivate the Soul Divergence Incantation, one needed to experience death, to have incredible willpower and unusual good fortune, and most importantly, to experience hanging onto life by a thread, a razor's edge between life and death where a single misstep would lead to either truly perishing or failing to cultivate this magic.

As for Naruto, the reason he could gain enlightenment was because of the Eyeless Larva. Its thread of life and death had thoroughly entwined his soul so that it could not depart. His soul had been alive while his fleshly body was dead.

In that space between life and death, Naruto's soul… earned the qualifications for the Eternal!

All those years ago, the coffin prepared for Ke Jiusi by Ke Yunhai served just such a function. That was how Ke Jiusi ended up succeeding in cultivating the Soul Divergence Incantation.

Naruto trembled as the magical symbols penetrated every part of his body. Because of the fusing of these symbols into him, although his cultivation base was only at the Second Severing level, his level… was that of the Eternal!

He was no longer Perfect, but rather, far above Perfect, in the Eternal stratum!

 _The Eternal stratum! What's mine is mine, and no one can steal it from me!_

Naruto rose to his feet. His energy surged with power. Because of the Eternal stratum, his Second Severing cultivation base could far exceed the gap between it and the Third Severing. In fact, in combination with his Fleshly Body, he was now… the number one person beneath Dao Seeking!

Naruto turned to Shui Dongliu, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

"Senior, many thanks for your kindness in pointing out the correct path!"

Shui Dongliu looked at him for a moment and then said, "There's no need to thank me…. I only hope that from now on, you don't hold any grudges against the Wang Clan. If you wish, you can kill the person who stole your Dao Foundation, but not others. Don't be a monster who kills those who haven't provoked you.

"Now, go. You have something bothering you, I won't keep you any longer."

Naruto stared back at him, then nodded silently. He clasped hands and bowed again, then turned and shot out of the cave like an unsheathed sword, radiating intense killing intent.

Shui Dongliu watched Naruto leave, then, after a long moment, turned and walked back into the depths of the Rebirth Cave. To people like Choumen Tai and Da Nu, the Rebirth Cave wasn't very big. But to Shui Dongliu, it was limitless.

He walked and walked until finally he reached a room carved from stone.

The stone room was empty except for a half-painted canvas.

The painting depicted a countryside village. A white-haired old man stood there with his hands clasped behind his back, looking off into the distance. Next to him was a boy who appeared to be pleading for something. In return, the man shook his head.

Shui Dongliu looked at the painting, and a look of reminiscence appeared in his eyes. Finally, he closed his eyes.

In that instant, the old painter sitting cross-legged in the Eastern Lands suddenly opened his eyes. He smiled at the rich man standing in front of them, and then cleared his throat.

"My mental journey went well. Now, let me start that painting for you."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Rafael Ramirez_

Here is a brief refresher about Shui Dongliu. He was introduced in chapters 194 and 197 during the Song Clan search for a son-in-law. He helped Naruto seal the Resurrection Lily into a painting in chapter 208. Er Gen joked about him in the interlude after chapter 222. He made a super brief appearance in chapter 383, when Naruto refined the Eyeless Larva. He prevented Ji Nineteen from severing Naruto's

Karma in chapter 425 ↩ I believe "Shattered" is what I translated as "Cracked" in the early chapters. Better late than never to fix it, so I'm calling the lowest stratum "Shattered." Earlier chapters will be edited at some point ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 694

Chapter 694: He Came!

Naruto emerged from the Rebirth Cave.

In that instant, his cultivation base exploded out. He really was like a bared sword emanating monstrous sword qi. His killing intent radiated out, causing the air in the area to freeze.

Frost spread out across the ground, covering stones in the nearby stone forest with sheets of ice. As he walked forward, his divine sense spread out until it encountered a familiar figure, standing outside of the Rebirth Cave Region, looking on anxiously.

"Fatty…." thought Naruto. He changed directions and, a moment later, reappeared directly next to Fatty.

"Who's there!?" cried Fatty, clearly scared half to death and on the verge of fleeing. He backed up nervously, and popping sounds could be heard as several dozen magical items suddenly appeared.

When he saw Naruto, he stared in shock. Then he started hollering at the top of his lungs. "Naruto! Naruto!"

A smile appeared on Naruto's face. It had been many years since he last parted ways with Fatty, but as of now, he could clearly sense the feelings of friendship that existed in Fatty's heart. Neither of them said anything more. They strode forward and shared a manly embrace.

Fatty's heart was completely filled with joy. He looked at Naruto and then thought back to everything that had happened in the Reliance Sect. All of a sudden, he remembered Xu Qing, and his face fell. "You have to go save Elder Sister Xu!"

When Naruto heard this, his eyes flickered. "What happened?" Fatty hesitated for a moment and then shook his head. "N-nothing…." It almost seemed like he wasn't willing to explain.

Naruto was silent for a moment. He didn't ask any further questions, but instead, flew up into the air. Actually, he didn't need to ask anything else. All he had to do was go to the Black Sieve Sect, and he would naturally find the answers he sought.

Fatty understood Naruto quite well, so seeing him flying away like that, it wasn't hard to guess what he was thinking. Fatty gritted his teeth and then yelled out, "Naruto, go save Elder Sister Xu. Because she got that medicinal pill for you, she's now suppressed at the bottom of the Black Sieve Sect. The entire sect is working to dissolve her alive!"

Naruto jerked to a halt in mid-air, his eyes instantly turning bloodred. "What did you say?"

A preternatural fury and desire to kill roared through him. His body trembled and the air around him rumbled as if it were about to shatter.

Fatty clenched his jaw. Having spoken up, he decided that he might as well explain everything. "Hurry up and go save her! Soon… it's going to be too late!

"News leaked out that she is the first person in countless years to emerge from the Rebirth Cave! She risked everything to steal that medicinal pill, which she entrusted to me. I brought it here for her.

"In the end, the Black Sieve Sect captured her. They say that because she came out alive from the Rebirth Cave, her body is infected with its aura. The Black Sieve Sect Patriarchs want to refine her into treasured medicinal pills, which they hope to consume and thereby acquire the aura of rebirth."

The roaring in Naruto's mind was like that of millions of thunderbolts, all striking and exploding at the same time. Heaven and Earth shook, and it felt as if his mind were about to explode into pieces.

Naruto's killing intent exploded out with incomparable intensity. He thought back to what he had seen, to Xu Qing delivering her life force to him. He thought about everything that had happened in their homeland, the State of Zhao. He thought about the grave she had dug, and the gravestone.

He thought about the determination in her eyes when she looked at him and murmured, "You live, I live. You die, I die!"

No other woman had ever treated him in such a way. No other woman cared about his life so much. Never….

Naruto lifted his head up and let out mournful roar that caused the colors to fade away from Heaven and Earth. The clouds and wind churned, and the power of his cultivation base exploded out. A tempest kicked up, which swept out in all directions. The air in the area seemed about to collapse.

"BLACK SIEVE SECT!

"If you dare to harm a hair on her head, I, Naruto, will tear your bodies to pieces and crush your bones into powder! I will not rest until you are exterminated!" He waved his right hand and slapped his bag of holding, causing the war chariot to appear. He stepped inside. Immortal Shows the Way had also been restored to normal; he rotated it and sent some Immortal qi out. The war chariot instantly vanished.

Fatty watched him leave, and then murmured, "Naruto, after everything Xu Qing did for you, if you let her down… it will be an intolerable injustice!"

Naruto's eyes shone with a horrific balefulness. His rage and insanity fused into his killing intent, which exploded with monstrous intensity. "Xu Qing, wait for me. I'm coming to save you.

"Xu Qing, just hold on. I'm coming, I'm coming!"

His cultivation base was at the Second Severing stage, and he was in the Eternal strata. He was the number one figure under Dao Seeking!

He was qualified to do whatever he wished. And he was even more qualified to fight back against an entire sect!

Even if it was the Black Sieve Sect!

Even if it was the countless discarnate souls that existed in the depths of the land!

Even if it was a super sect of the Southern Domain, the Black Sieve Sect!

Naruto didn't consider those things. They weren't worth even thinking about. In a situation like this, if a man worried about whether or not he would win or lose, worried about his own life, then he… was not even human!

The war chariot sped along, screaming through the air. The wind itself seemed to be filled with memories. Naruto saw the events at Mount Daqing. He saw the Reliance Sect. He saw the things that happened in the Blessed Land. He saw the Black Sieve Sect and the Rebirth Cave.

He saw all of the times he and Xu Qing had been together. The images floated there in the wind in front of him. He saw Xu Qing's gentleness, her simplicity, her determination.

All of those things were now rooted deeply in Naruto's heart.

Most moving of all was how she had sacrificed her own life force for him. It caused his heart to fill with stabs of pain. As of this moment, the killing intent he felt was greater than at any point in his entire life.

"Xu Qing, if you can sacrifice your life for me, then I can do the same for you!

"From this day forward, you are my beloved. Heaven and Earth can bear witness to my words. You live, I live. You die, I die!"

The Black Sieve Sect was a grand place. The Hundred Thousand Mountains surrounding it served as a foil to the Ninety-Nine Mountains within their center. Above the Ninety-Nine Mountains floated the First Mountain, upturned to create something that was almost a continent. On its underside, willows draped down, some a few dozen meters long, others hundreds. Clouds curled up around this massive land, giving it a truly celestial feeling.

Richly ornamented buildings, pagodas, and temples covered it. Beneath it, the Ninety-Nine Mountains were all connected with colorful arching bridges. It was extraordinarily beautiful.

Gurgling water dripped off of the ragged rocks on the bottom of the floating mountain, making the sect a place of indescribable beauty. The faint sound of bells filled the air, creating an incredibly serene air.

Currently, the entire Black Sieve Sect was enveloped in a thick, black fog. Outside of the black fog were Black Sieve Sect spell formations, all in full rotation. They let out pulsing ripples, filled with crushing energy that formed the shape of a lotus.

The lotus had ninety-nine petals, each one of which was made up of ninety-nine lotuses. The entire thing formed into a gigantic, shocking lotus.

Inside the formation were the disciples of the Black Sieve Sect, sitting cross-legged in meditation. From up above in the sky, it was possible to tell that of the hundreds of thousands of disciples of the Ninety-Nine Mountains, all disciples were participating in the meditation, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases.

As for the Ninety-Nine Mountains themselves, they formed a central spell formation within the larger spell formation. They too rotated, combining their power with that of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators, all of the Black Sieve Sect's resources, to pour into the First Mountain… into the sect's legacy precious treasure.

It was a gigantic incense burner that existed on top of the First

Mountain, which was so high that it seemed connected to the Heavens. The enormous incense burner was the subject of generation after generation of worship and sacrifice. Three huge sticks of incense eternally burned inside of it, and the smoke that rose up into the sky was blown by the wind into wisps that resembled willow branches. It was as if within these strands, one could see visions of fleeting, everchanging lives that belonged to spirits from the underworld.

Sitting cross-legged around the incense burner were three old men. Each one had ancient features, and rarely stepped even half a foot outside of the Black Sieve Sect. As for their cultivation bases, all were in the Spirit Severing stage.

These were the Dao Reserve of the Black Sieve Sect, its very foundation.

The strongest of the three was the ruddy-faced old man in the center position, Murong Duo. His cultivation base was at the Third Severing level.

Of the other two, one was in the Second Severing level, the other the First.

These were the Patriarchs of the Black Sieve Sect!

They sat cross-legged, using the power of the spell formation, and thus, the power of all the cultivators of the sect, to operate the sect's precious treasure, and refine the person inside of it into medicinal pills!

This was a magical technique known as Heaven and Hearth Reincarnation Refinement, in which the subject was dissolved over a period of forty-nine days. No one could hold out for any longer than that. Eventually, the subject would melt into blood, which would then congeal into the medicinal pill.

An indistinct figure could be seen within the incense burner. It was only possible to tell that it was a woman; her face was not clearly visible, and her body was covered with countless magical symbols. The symbols were deeply imprinted into her flesh and blood, and glittered with bright light as they slowly worked at dissolving her.

The woman was trembling, gritting her teeth as she continued to endure. It seemed that her body might be fully dissolved at any moment.

The aura of the Rebirth Cave pulsated off of her. Every time it did, it would be absorbed by the incense burner, which would then burn hotly and send out a shocking red glow.

The three old men began to discuss the matter.

"So, it turns out that she has been able to endure for thirty-seven days!"

"This Xu Qing sure has unswerving determination. Sadly, her body is infected with the aura of the Rebirth Cave. She's the first person in years to emerge alive from the Rebirth Cave….

"In that case, she is simply destined to be refined into Rebirth Pills. With such medicinal pills… the slumbering ancestor of the Black Sieve Sect will have a chance to be reborn!"

"It's a real pity she has the soul of Matriarch Phoenix within her.

Unfortunately, her Dao of Nirvana will be lost, never to be handed down. However, sacrificing her and losing a single legacy to improve the entire sect means that her death will be worth it!"

"This matter is not just something that must be done by the Black Yang Sect, but also your Sieve Yin Sect. After all, our ancestor is your emperor!"

The three old men looked at the incense burner, and their eyes burned with passion.

At the same time, the trembling, indistinct figure inside of the incense burner let out a quavering murmur.

"Naruto, are you okay…? If you ever are reborn, by the time you emerge, it will be too late…. Well, I was the one who failed to keep my promise, you're not to blame….

"If it turns out that you weren't reborn, well then… I'll be going to accompany you soon.

"As we said. You live, I live. You die, I die…."

In that exact moment….

An incredible boom could be heard outside of the Black Sieve Sect spell formation. It was far more shocking than thunder; an ancient war chariot appeared, emanating intense killing intent and madness. The air shattered as it appeared!

Naruto stood in the war chariot, clothed in a green robe. He gripped the flag of three streamers in his right hand, which he waved out in front of him. It stretched out, creating a black screen that seemed capable of blotting out the entire sky. At the same time, Naruto's eyes flashed with an unprecedented desire to slaughter.

He came!

He came to keep his promise!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 695

Chapter 695: Attack the Black Sieve Sect!

Naruto's appearance on the scene shook the Heavens and rocked the Earth. Everything trembled, and enormous, endless ripples spread out.

A massive roaring echoed out as the war chariot appeared, shattering the air. Naruto stood in the middle of the war chariot as cracking sounds filled the air; countless fissures sprang into being.

The entire sky was like a mirror that someone had punched their fist into. Although it was not completely shattered, shocking cracks could be seen spreading out in all directions.

That was especially true because of the flag of three streamers that he wielded. This was his first time truly and intentionally unleashing the full, incredible power of the flag. It whipped about, its blackness covering everything, splitting the sky into two worlds, one of light, one of darkness.

Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot as his gaze swept over the scene in the Black Sieve Sect; he saw the black mist, and he saw the domineering lotus flower!

He sent his divine sense out, but the lotus spell formation and the black mist therein formed a great spell formation that completely protected the mountains of the Black Sieve Sect. This was no ordinary spell formation; even Naruto's powerful divine sense could not penetrate inside.

His killing intent instantly surged.

"Black Sieve Sect!" he shouted. The sound rumbled about, more intense than lightning. His fleshly body was at the peak of Spirit Severing, and his cultivation base was at the peak of the Second Severing. This was the first time he had ever shouted in such a way after entering the Eternal stratum. He pushed his hand down onto the chariot, and instantly, the flag of three streamers swished. The blackness, which was like nighttime consuming light, swept toward the huge lotus that surrounded the Black Sieve Sect. Booms could be heard echoing out.

Heaven and Earth trembled, and the sound of explosions filled the air. The lotus instantly collapsed, but then reappeared. Apparently, the aura of the Hundred Thousand Mountains was sustaining what would be an endless succession of enormous spell formations.

Because of Naruto's shout, as well as the collision between the flag of three steamers and the great spell formation, the ground quaked violently. The sounds merged together, creating a shocking barrage that rattled out in all directions, even into the black mist within the Black Sieve Sect.

The disciples of the Black Sieve Sect suddenly could all hear Naruto's enraged voice.

"Hand over Xu Qing!" he said. This was his second sentence. The power of his words far exceeded that of his first sentence. An even more shocking rumbling shook everything; the lotus dimmed and the mist seethed. All of the Black Sieve Sect disciples felt their minds trembling violently.

The beautiful palace buildings began to shake, and some even collapsed under the power of Naruto's voice. The eyes of the Black Sieve Sect disciples in the Ninety-Nine Mountains went wide with shock.

The three old men who sat cross-legged around the incense burner on the First Mountain opened their eyes. Bright glows could be seen.

"Spirit Severing!"

"Second Severing!"

"A powerful expert!"

When they exchanged glances, they could all see the serious look in each others' eyes.

"We only activated the spell formation to be prepared for all contingencies and to prevent other sects from detecting what was happening. Who is this stranger?"

"It doesn't matter who he is. Even if he's a Spirit Severing expert, now that he's come to the Black Sieve Sect, he'll be forced to drop to his knees in front of us!"

The three men muttered to themselves for a moment before the Third Severing old man gave a cold snort. "He can't even get inside! Continue with the dissolving!"

Surrounded by rumbling sounds, the hundreds of thousands of Black Sieve Sect disciples once again continued with their refinement, causing the incense burner glowed bright red. As for the figure inside, when she heard Naruto's voice, she suddenly trembled.

"He… came…."

Outside of the Black Sieve Sect's spell formation, Naruto's eyes were completely shot with blood. He raised his hand and caused the flag of three streamers to swish through the air. Blackness roiled out to slam into the Black Sieve Sect's spell formation.

The incredible booms continued to rattle out. The great lotus spell formation suddenly rotated, causing the power of Heaven and Earth to emanate out. The power was indestructible, seemingly eternal. No matter what Naruto did to cause the formation to collapse, it would instantly restore itself.

A short period of time passed in which it seemed nothing would work.

The disciples of the Black Sieve Sect were now starting to calm down and focus on their orders from the sect. The dissolving continued. As for the old men surrounding the incense burner, cold smiles twisted their lips as they proceeded with the refinement.

They were not worried. The protective spell formation was so powerful that nothing could compare to it, except perhaps a Dao Seeking cultivation base. Any Spirit Severing expert who tried to break through the formation wouldn't be able to do so unless they spent months trying.

As for the refinement process, they only needed a few more days to finish…. Then they would be able to go against this opponent with the full strength of the sect. Even if he was a Second Severing cultivator, he would be dead for sure.

"How rash and ridiculous," said the Third Severing old man, his voice cool.

Naruto stood in the war chariot glaring at the enormous lotus. He had already destroyed the damnable thing at least a hundred times with the flag of three streamers.

However, no matter how many times he shattered it into pieces, it would completely recover, seemingly completely undamaged.

"They mustered all the power of Heaven and Earth from all Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Black Sieve Sect to back this spell formation…. What I'm fighting against is not the formation, but the power of Heaven and Earth from these Hundred Thousand Mountains!

"If the power of Heaven and Earth doesn't break up, then the formation cannot be pierced!

"If only… I could use just a bit of Dao Seeking power to force the spell formation to reach its limit. Break it at least ten times in a row, to the point where the spiritual energy from the Hundred Thousand Mountains can't keep up. Then I can see its weak points!

"One point of weakness is all I need to completely shatter it." Naruto lifted his right hand and made a grasping motion, causing the flag of three streamers to return to him. It swirled through the air around him, almost like a black cloak that covered his green robe.

He placed his hand onto the war chariot and rotated Immortal Shows the Way, sending pulses of Immortal qi into the chariot.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the power of Dao Seeking!

"Even the flag of three streamers can't smash through this succession of spell formations. Well then… I'll just have to bash it head on!" A light of madness shone in Naruto's eyes.

He would not attempt to pierce it; he would smash head on into the formation!

The war chariot began to thrum, and countless magical symbols appeared, along with numerous roaring wild beasts that began to pull it forward into a charge.

The incredible speed was difficult to describe. In the blink of an eye, the war chariot had left its original position and… was shooting like a meteor directly into the lotus, bashing into it.

The lotus instantly fell apart, but almost at exactly the same time, began to reform.

However, the war chariot continued onward, charging forward without stop. It was like a sharp sword, stabbing madly, allowing no time for the spiritual energy of the Hundred Thousand Mountains to rush forward.

"Ninth Anima!" roared Naruto. His body was powerful to the extreme, and his Cultivation base exploding with full power. Although this was not the power of Dao Seeking, he was emminently qualified to be called the number one figure under Dao Seeking.

BOOM!

The war chariot shot forward another three hundred meters. Naruto's body trembled, and vast pressure bore down on him. However, nothing could prevent him from advancing. Nothing could stand in the way of the war chariot; it was like caged animal that roared as it charged forward.

The further they got, the greater was the pressure that weighed down on them. The interior of the lotus collapsed, but as before, began to heal. The Hundred Thousand Mountains rotated, and the spiritual energy poured out boundlessly. Naruto raised his hand up and then pointed out.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!

"Seal the spiritual energy of these hundred thousand mountains!"

An incredible roar filled the air as the Hundred Thousand Mountains shuddered. Naruto shouted out as the war chariot charged forward madly, another three hundred meters. It was now only about six hundred meters from the position where the black mist began.

It was at this point that violent shaking overtook the Hundred Thousand Mountains. Some of the outermost mountains, perhaps a thousand in total, began to split and crack and then directly exploded.

They simply couldn't endure the way Naruto fought back against them. After having their spiritual energy sealed, a backlash occurred that instantly shattered them!

As thousands of huge mountains collapsed in the Black Sieve Sect's

Hundred Thousand Mountains, the faces of the disciples of the Black Sieve Sect fell. As for the three old men who sat next to the incense burner, their pupils constricted.

One of them gave a cold snort, then lifted his hand up and pointed out.

"Send 10,000 disciples to form a spell formation. Use deadly force. If they're capable of killing him, kill him. If they can't kill him, delay him for three days."

In response to his words, a group of 10,000 disciples flew up into the air. They shot through the black mist and then entered the lotus spell formation to sit down cross-legged on the lotuses inside. They unleashed their cultivation bases as they took control of the lotus spell formation.

In unison with their actions, the lotus spell formation began to rotate, sending out pulses of killing will. In the blink of an eye, innumerable lotus petals flew out, sweeping toward Naruto like sharp swords.

The lotus petals almost looked like rain, filled with a desire to kill. However, before they could even get near to Naruto, his eyes radiated murder and madness. He pushed the war chariot onward, then waved his wide sleeve. The flag of three streamers shot out, sweeping out with echoing booms. The 10,000 disciples who had just emerged from the black mist trembled and began to cough up blood.

As for Naruto and the war chariot, they shot forward with urgency, fighting back against the pressure which weighed down. They moved another three hundred meters. By this point, Naruto felt as if a hundred thousand mountains really were pressing down onto his body.

They would soon crush him into a pulp.

As for the Immortal qi inside of him, he couldn't control it any more. It would be difficult to push the war chariot through the final three hundred meters. A bright glow appeared in Naruto's eyes as, without hesitation, he put the war chariot away and then relied on the strength of his fleshly body to continue on through the last three hundred meters.

As soon as he proceeded forward, the pressure from the Hundred Thousand Mountains bore down. Naruto trembled, and cracking sounds could be heard. He stopped in place. Seeing him stop moving caused the 10,000 disciples to feel a bit more confident. They all began to perform incantations, causing the lotuses they were sitting on to teleport forward toward Naruto. Shockingly, the lotuses started forming together into a huge statue of a three headed, six-armed god.

The statue was incredibly formidable. Not only did it have three heads and six arms, but lotuses swirled around it, and it was formed from 10,000 people! The three heads all looked at Naruto, and the six arms all pointed directly at him.

"Screw off from this place!" roared the statue with the combined voices of 10,000 people. Naruto looked up with a vicious smile. The killing intent in his eyes was thick, and his desire to slaughter suddenly surged even higher.

Ninth Anima. Second Spirit Severing cultivation base. Eternal stratum. All of this thrummed inside of Naruto. He strode forward, clenching his right hand into a fist.

One man versus a great spell formation, and 10,000 enemies.

"Time to break you!" he cried.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Sid from India, Roman Cvijanovic, Hieu_

 _Phan Trung, Joenathan Tanumihardja, Christopher Choi, and Daniel_

 _Jackson_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 696

Chapter 696: Breaking the Formation

Naruto's fist connected. It was powered by the rage and frustration of having his Perfect Foundation stolen, as well as all the regret that he had severed away.

One fist connected, and everything exploded!

A huge boom filled the air as the statue's six arms burst into pieces, and its three heads crumbled. The entire statue exploded like a bomb!

It was impossible to describe exactly how much power was unleashed. Blood sprayed from the mouths of the 10,000 Black Sieve Sect disciples as they were sent spinning backward into the spell formation. The galeforce wind generated by Naruto's blow then smashed into them, shredding their bodies to pieces, killing them instantly.

Naruto's eyes shined with determination as he strode forward and punched a second time.

Then a third time, a fourth time and a fifth time!

Every time a blow landed, more of the surrounding lotus spell formation crumbled. With each strike, Naruto proceeded forward another thirty meters. By the time the ninth blow landed, he was already at the very edge of the spell formation. The final blow… was the Nine Heavens Destruction!

The lotus collapsed into fragments, and a massive boom rocked Heaven and Earth.

The sound of it filled the Hundred Thousand Mountains, roughly 10,000 of which directly collapsed into pieces. Finally, the Black Sieve Sect's mountain-protecting spell formation was broken.

In that moment, Naruto emerged from the spell formation and entered the black mist.

"Give me Xu Qing!" he said. His tone of voice made him sound like he was the ruler of the entire world. It was filled with an indescribable potency and madness that filled the entire Black Sieve Sect.

As his voice resonated out, the surrounding mist seethed, and narrow gaps formed. Through one such gap, Naruto caught a glimpse of the Ninety-Nine Mountains on the other side of the mist, and the incense burner on the First Mountain.

Sitting cross-legged inside the incense burner was a trembling figure, indistinct, but with a very familiar aura….

Xu Qing!

It was Xu Qing, who would live and die with him!

Hundreds of thousands of Black Sieve Sect disciples were refining Xu Qing!

Naruto's mind felt as if lightning bolts were striking it. An indescribable fury rose up inside of him, transforming into an inexhaustible desire to slaughter.

KILL! KILL! KILL!

In that moment, Naruto's hatred for the Black Sieve Sect reached the degree where it could never possibly be reconciled. Every single last disciple of the Black Sieve Sect HAD to die!

"Kill him!" cried the centermost of the three old men by the incense burner. The faces of all three were currently filled with shock; how could they possibly have imagined that Naruto would be able to break through their great lotus spell formation?

The First Severing cultivator immediately rose to his feet. He had a violent temper, and his face was grim as he flew up into the air.

"Disciples of the rear twenty peaks of the Hundred Mountains," said the old man, "follow me into the Sieve Yin Formation. We will kill this drudge!" With that, he entered the black mist. Simultaneously, 30,000 disciples flew to follow him. The weakest among them were Foundation Establishment cultivators, the strongest were Nascent Soul.

Even as they entered the mist, Naruto's voice, filled with unprecedented bereavement and anger, suddenly sounded out.

"Black Sieve Sect! I hereby vow that… I will eradicate your entire sect! The lands of South Heaven will have either you or me, not the both of us!"

Naruto's desire to kill had reached a heinous level. He lifted his right hand and produced the flag of three streamers. It swept out in all directions, causing the mist around him to roil, and rumbling sounds to fill the air. As for the Black Sieve Sect First Severing Patriarch, as soon as he stepped into the mist, it seemed to come alive, as if it were sentient.

"Will of the Black Sieve, understanding of all creation! I shall go to battle, and pluck the stars from Heaven! First formation!" The voice of the First Severing Patriarch echoed about as the 30,000 Black Sieve Sect disciples entered the mist one after another. Shockingly, the mist condensed into eight formations that resembled black dragons.

The black dragons looked incredibly ferocious. Roaring with rage, they circulated around each other and then shot toward Naruto, attempting to devour him.

Naruto's eyes flickered with a cold glow as he looked at the eight dragons. His desire to kill had reached a level it never had before. From the day he had begun practicing cultivation until now, he had never felt a stronger desire to slaughter.

As the eight dragons neared, Naruto strode forward and waved the flag of three streamers. Blackness spread out, sweeping over three of the black dragons. The flag began to glow with a bizarre light, and on its surface appeared countless faces, their features twisted as if with greed and the thirst for blood.

At the same time, Naruto's body flickered and then reappeared in front of one of the other dragons. Without the slightest hesitation, he punched. A boom echoed out and a huge spasm ran through the black dragon. It began to break apart in layers, accompanied by miserable shrieks. Behind Naruto, three more black dragons roared and charged. They moved with such incredible speed that even in the moment in which he turned to look at them, they were directly in front of him.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!" he said, pointing out his right hand. Instantly, the three black dragons trembled, as if countless invisible bonds were tying them up.

"Demon magic, art of Righteous Bestowal, soul extraction!" Naruto performed an incantation, and a vicious gleam appeared in his eyes as he pointed forward.

The gesture instantly caused the indescribably shrill cries to echo out from within the dragons. Inside the dragons were over 10,000 cultivators, their faces twisting and distorting as they screamed. Ghost images appeared, which were their souls being extracted from within!

The three dragons instantly collapsed; over 10,000 corpses suddenly fell to the ground.

The art of Righteous Bestowal was a magical technique of the Demon Sealers. Righteousness came with a thought, bestowal came with a thought. Life came with a thought, death came with a thought!

In the same moment, the three dragons caught up by the flag of three streamers trembled violently and collapsed into pieces. As for the final dragon, it froze in mid-air. The image of the First Severing Patriarch magically appeared in the head position of the dragon, and his face was filled with shock.

"Second Formation!" he cried. Immediately, what remained of all the dragons fell apart and turned into black mist that shot toward the First Severing Patriarch. Within the mist were the rest of the disciples who had not been killed, about 10,000 of them.

In the blink of an eye, the black mist transformed into a three hundred meter tall giant. It wore black armor, and looked like a god. As soon at appeared, it charged toward Naruto.

"DIIEEE!" roared the giant, the combined voice of 10,000 people echoing out to shocking effect. At the same time, the Hundred Thousand Mountains suddenly released a boundless aura that enveloped the giant, causing its body to grow. All of a sudden, it was 1,500 meters tall!

Compared in size to the giant, Naruto was nothing more than a bug.

Naruto looked up at the approaching giant, and the coldness in his eyes grew stronger. Then he suddenly realized that he wasn't sure whether or not Xu Qing was alive or dead inside of the incense burner, and his heart grew even more anxious. At the same time, he understood that if he didn't destroy this spell formation, then he would be unable to enter into the Black Sieve Sect.

"DIE!" the giant roared, stretching its arms out to either side and then smashing them together toward Naruto, as if to crush him between its palms. They moved with incredible speed; in the blink of an eye, the hands were almost upon Naruto.

He did nothing to evade, allowing the hands to smash into each other around him.

To anyone observer, it would appear as if Naruto was completely enveloped by the hands of the giant. However, if you looked closely, you would see that… the giant was trembling.

Not only was it trembling, its expression was one of disbelief and shock.

"What… what fleshly body is this?!" said the Second Severing old man next to the incense burner. He rose to his feet, his face filled with astonishment.

"Calm down. There's no need to get agitated," said the Third Severing Patriarch, his voice cool. "That's only the second transformation out of three total."

Even as they exchanged words, the giant's hands suddenly exploded. Black mist spread in all directions as Naruto walked out, not harmed even in the least bit. He stepped up to the giant and then instantly punched out.

A huge boom could be heard as the giant opened its mouth and expelled a mouthful of mist to block Naruto. At the same time, it retreated at full speed. On the giant's forehead, the image of the First Severing Patriarch appeared, his expression one of terror and astonishment.

Instantly, he shouted, "Third formation!"

In response, the body of the giant fell apart into boundless black mist that shot toward Naruto and surrounded him. It seethed and spun as it then formed into an enormous globe. Rumbling sounds filled the air as black fire erupted out. Then the globe began to shrink, as if it intended to refine Naruto inside of it.

It shrank relentlessly. 300 meters. 150 meters. 100 meters. 30 meters….

Next to the incense burner, the Third Severing Patriarch coolly commented, "The third transformation, in combination with the power of Mo Li's cultivation base, can easily kill an expert of the Second Severing level. It doesn't matter how powerful his fleshly body is, the soft can defeat the hard. He will not escape."

The other Spirit Severing Patriarch next to him smiled in agreement. "The Sieve Yin Formation can refine all living things. The only sad thing is that… it can't produce medicinal pills. Otherwise, that person could be refined into a pill that would definitely be considered a precious treasure."

As the two of them chatted, a huge rumbling sound suddenly rang out. Their faces flickered as they looked up. Down below, hundreds of thousands of Black Sieve Sect Disciples all had similar reactions.

What they saw was an enormous black globe of mist, shrunken down to only 10 meters in size. Then, a matchlessly vicious aura was released from within the mist globe.

The viciousness of the aura was difficult to describe, as was its incredible coldness. Everyone watched on as, in the blink of an eye, a ferocious figure appeared inside the 10 meter mist globe.

I was not a person, but rather, a flower!

A multi-colored flower!

Its branches and leaves swayed, its petals fluttered. When its aura spread out, the mist globe was incapable of enduring. It exploded with a boom. As it did, blood and gore splattered everywhere, from the corpses of the Black Sieve Sect disciples. In addition, an old man emerged, his face covered with fear, shock, and disbelief as he retreated at top speed.

That old man was none other than the First Severing Patriarch.

"Save me!" he howled as he fled.

However, before he could get very far, and before anyone could even do anything in response, a black branch snaked out at high speed. It wrapped around the old man and violently dragged him back. The old man screamed miserably as the branch hauled him down toward Naruto, who then grabbed him by the neck.

Naruto strode forward. Behind him was a five-colored Resurrection Lily, fully sixty meters tall, swaying about with unbridled fury as it floated along.

This was Naruto's Spirit Severing Treasure, his Resurrection Lily!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Steven Hirsch_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 697

Chapter 697: Hundred Thousand Mountains!

The black mist spell formation was broken!

Naruto was enveloped by killing intent as he emerged. He violently twisted his right hand, instantly crushing the life out of the Black Sieve Sect First Severing Patriarch. Bones shattered, and then Naruto loosened his grip, sending the old man's body tumbling down to the ground.

Naruto didn't even think about the man's bag of holding.

Behind him, the Resurrection Lily swayed about, emanating its vicious aura, making it seem as if Naruto were silhouetted against a terrifying, pitch-black backdrop. The Resurrection Lily had actually been ready for use as soon as he completed his Second Severing.

Furthermore, the life force inside of him came from Da Nu, a sevencolored Resurrection Lily. Because of that, although he had long been long locked in a life-or-death entanglement with the Resurrection Lily, after erasing its will, it was now fundamentally amiable.

Such amiability made it so that there was an unbreakable connection between the two of them.

Such a connection superseded that of the Spirit Severing Treasures created by most cultivators.

As of this moment, there was no one else in Naruto's world except for the figure inside the incense burner. The instant he emerged from the spell formation, he transformed into a green smoke that shot directly up toward the First Mountain.

Looks of shock could bee seen on the faces of the two Spirit Severing cultivators next to the incense burner. The Second Severing Patriarch flew up into the air and shouted, "Stop him!"

At the same time, all of the Black Sieve Sect disciples down below flew up to form a huge spell formation. The power of Heaven and Earth descended, and the Hundred Thousand Mountains emitted spiritual energy. The spell formation surged with power.

The Third Severing Patriarch didn't fly up, but rose to his feet and put his hand onto the incense burner. His eyes flickered as his cultivation base rotated. He was using only the intense power of his cultivation base to perform the refining!

"This man is not weak," he thought. "The fact that he made it this far leaves me uncertain of whether or not I can defeat him. Therefore, I will disturb his emotions. Considering Zhou Tie's cultivation base, and the spell formation formed by the other disciples, if his heart is in chaos, then there is a high likelihood that he can be defeated."

As soon as Naruto emerged, he met the resistance of the Second Severing Patriarch. Dense killing intent filled Naruto's eyes, especially when he saw the Third Severing Patriarch next to the incense burner attempting to hasten the refining process. Naruto's eyes turned completely red.

"SCREW OFF!" he roared, waving his sleeve. Instantly, the Second Severing Patriarch was sent tumbling back, blood pouring from his mouth. Astonished as he was, his attempt to block Naruto's path had actually slowed him down a bit.

Simultaneously, the hundreds of thousands of cultivators down below were rapidly unleashing the power of the spell formation. Bright light shot up into the air and then completely enveloped the area. Shockingly, glowing figures shot up into the air, one after another. They resembled shining souls, and represented all of the countless Black Sieve Sect disciples down below.

They quickly shot in tight formation toward Naruto in an attempt to block his path.

"Let's see how you break through that!" said the Second Severing Patriarch malevolently. As his voice echoed out, the spell formation rotated, causing the colors in the sky and on land to fade. Wind spun, and spiritual energy from the Hundred Thousand Mountains surged out.

"Are you people looking to die?" said Naruto, his killing intent surging. He shot forward and lifted up the flag of three streamers. In addition, Blood Immortal divine abilities appeared, instantly wreaking death and destruction.

Miserable screams echoed out constantly. The incredible power of Meng

Hao's cultivation base made these enemies like nothing more than bugs. However, the sheer number of Black Sieve Sect disciples was such that it was impossible to kill all of them in a short period of time.

The Second Severing Patriarch ambled over to cautiously make sneak attacks when possible. Whenever he and Naruto exchanged blows, incredible booming sounds echoed out. Each time, the Second Severing Patriarch would cough up blood, and his heart would fill with astonishment.

Outside of the spell formation, the Black Sieve Sect's Third Severing Patriarch pushed the refining process even faster. Then Xu Qing's plaintive cry rang out from within the incense burner, filled with resigned weakness, and Naruto went crazy.

"All of you, DIE!" He suddenly jerked his hands up, then pushed them down toward the ground. When that happened, the land below began to quake. Naruto's hair flew about wildly, and blue veins bulged out on his forehead. He seemed to be slipping into a hitherto unseen type of insanity.

"Mountain Consuming Incantation! Hundred Thousand Mountains, RISE UP!" Naruto tilted his head back and let out a violent roar. Down below, the ground churned like liquid, and the Black Sieve Sect's Hundred Thousand Mountains began to shake.

They seemed on the verge of breaking away from their foundations, as if some indescribably powerful force had transformed into a hundred thousand hands that were now trying to rip the mountains up from the earth.

This… was the Mountain Consuming Incantation!

The Mountain Consuming Incantation, powered by Naruto's Second Spirit Severing Eternal stratum!

When the incantation was unleashed, it was shocking to the Heavens and could cause the Earth to tremble!

"RISE UP!" roared Naruto. The Hundred Thousand Mountains trembled again, and this time 10,000 mountains were violently torn away from their bases. Rocks and stone showered down as the mountains rose up into the air.

At their jagged bottoms, plants and roots were snapped and hung down, some only a few meters longs, some dozens.

This sight left everyone in the Black Sieve Sect completely and utterly flabbergasted. That included ordinary disciples, Nascent Soul Elders, and even the two Spirit Severing Patriarchs. Their astonishment had reached the complete, ultimate pinnacle.

"Who is this?! How come he looks so familiar…?"

"He looks familiar to me too! What exactly is he doing!?"

"Dammit! What divine ability is that?!"

Rumbling sounds filled the air, and everyone was dumbstruck. The Hundred Thousand Mountains of the Black Sieve Sect were being uprooted. By now, quite a few people realized that Naruto looked familiar, as if they had seen him somewhere before. However, considering how quickly everything was happening, they couldn't recall exactly when they had seen such a fearsome expert.

"Stop him!" bellowed the Third Severing Patriarch. The Hundred Thousand Mountains were the foundation of the entire Black Sieve Sect, what it relied on to ensure long-term growth. In addition, the protective spell formations in the sect required their spiritual energy to operate.

As such… if the Hundred Thousand Mountains really were ripped out of the ground… even though the sect couldn't be considered completely destroyed… essentially, it would be!

By this point, the matter of refining Xu Qing was relatively insignificant. The Third Severing Patriarch immediately strode forward and shot toward Naruto. Any other Black Sieve Sect disciples who hadn't done so already also disregarded all danger to charge at Naruto.

Naruto was now surrounded by the flag of three streamers, the vicious Resurrection Lily, as well as 10,000 magical symbols which had just flown out from inside his bag of holding. The spirits of the magical symbols formed together into a tempest that swept out in all directions. RUMBLE!

Thousands of mountains among the Hundred Thousand Mountains were severed from their bases. They floated up to hover in mid-air, their auras shocking, leaking spiritual energy chaotically in all directions.

"Tell me, you people, do you know fear now?" He lifted his head up and laughed maniacally. His eyes were red, and his killing intent monstrous.

Gritting his teeth, he once again roared: "Mountain Consuming

Incantation! RISE UP!"

RUMBLE!

Another 10,000 mountains were ripped up to and began to float in midair. By now, more than 20,000 mountains were floating there. The remaining 80,000 mountains trembled violently and let out ceaseless, deafening rumbles. Occasionally, the very peaks of some of the mountains would break off and fly up.

Naruto was surrounded by divine abilities as the Black Sieve Sect disciples, including the Second and Third Severing Patriarchs, nearly went mad in their attempts to get to him. Blood sprayed from Naruto's mouth, but then, the power of his Eternal stratum erupted, leaving everyone else in shocked disbelief.

Naruto's wounds all healed up immediately!

He possessed the Eternal stratum, and a virtually undying soul!

With an undying soul, as long as a sliver of the soul remains, then death can be overcome, and one can come back to life!

With the Eternal stratum, as long as only a drop of blood remains undestroyed, one can live again!

"Still haven't risen up yet?!" Naruto roared. Rumbling filled the air as the bases of another 30,000 mountains crumbled, and they rose up into the air. Currently, more than 50,000 now floated in mid-air.

More than half of the mountain range was now afloat. Without their pressure to suppress the veins of spiritual energy that ran through the earth, the spiritual energy in the area was now in complete chaos. Spiritual energy pulsed out, smashing vegetation and trees, causing the entire land to look as if it had been scraped clean!

By now, the violent developments had attracted the attention of the whole Southern Domain.

In the Violet Fate Sect, Pill Demon was in the midst of meditation when suddenly his face flickered. He rose to his feet and jerked his head up. What he saw was a drop of blood hovering in the air above the Violet Fate Sect.

The drop of blood was bright red, and as soon as it appeared, it spread out to form a blood shield that covered over the entire Violet Fate Sect.

"Patriarch Blood Demon, what are you doing?!" cried Pill Demon, flying up into the air. Simultaneously, countless other cultivators flew up from inside the Violet Fate Sect.

Pill Demon waved his sleeve, and the world shook. A massive power shot toward the blood shield, causing an enormous boom. The blood shield trembled, but remained in place.

An ancient man wearing a red robe appeared outside of the shield. He looked down at the Violet Fate Sect. "Fellow Daoist Pill Demon, this blood is from the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Do you really think you can break through the blood of a Demon King?"

This old man was none other than the Patriarch of the Southern

Domain's Blood Demon Sect! 1

According to legends, deep within the Blood Demon Sect lurked a greater Demon of Heaven and Earth. It had been asleep for many years, and only occasionally awoke. That greater Demon was the Dao Reserve of the Blood Demon Sect!

Normally speaking, what people saw outside of the sect was this Patriarch Blood Demon.

"I bear you no ill will," continued the old man. "I have utilized this blood, a special treasure, for the purpose of restraining you for seven days.

"After the seven days are up, the shield will fade away. As for the drop of blood… you can keep it as a form of apology."

"You!" said Pill Demon, his face turning grim. Outside the blood shield, the red-robed old man turned and disappeared off into the distance.

Similar scenes played out at the same time in the Golden Frost Sect, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Li Clan, and the Song Clan. In total, five drops of blood appeared across the Southern Domain to cover over the headquarters of all the superpowers.

The drops of blood became seals, preventing anyone from emerging from the sects, and even preventing their Dao Reserves from awakening!

"Just what is the Blood Demon Sect up to?!"

That was what everyone was wondering. However, what shocked them even more was that the sky… suddenly turned completely red!

Moments ago, 100,000 Blood Demon Sect disciples had appeared in the air above the Southern Domain. Each and every one of the disciples cut open their arms, causing blood to spurt out. Li Shiqi, who floated in their exact center, lifted up an austere magical bottle up into the air. Within this bottle was a drop of golden blood that flew out and soaked up all the fresh red blood. The golden blood then turned bright red, after which all of the drops began to spread out, forming a huge glowing red shield that covered the entire Southern Domain.

The Southern Domain was sealed!

Such a huge seal could not be preserved for very long. At the most… seven days!

In the moment that the sealing occurred, Naruto was in the Black Sieve Sect, having just ripped up 50,000 enormous mountains. The spiritual energy was now in chaos, and spreading out through all of the Southern Domain.

The blood-colored shield prevented the ripples from escaping out. None of the super sects or clans of the Southern Domain would find out… nor any of the powerful experts.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the Blood Demon Sect, there existed a blood-colored pond.

Within the pond, a man sat cross-legged in meditation. He was extremely withered, and looked almost like a corpse. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and they were filled with boundless ancientness.

"I've been waiting for such a long time. Finally… the day has come!"

If you're interested in reviewing chapters linking the Blood Demon Sect and Naruto, check out chapter 34, 93, 94, 95, 582-583, 676 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 698

Chapter 698: Deranged

In the Southern Domain's Black Sieve Sect, Naruto was surrounded by a bright red glow. The crowds of Cultivators from the Black Sieve Sect were sending all sorts of divine abilities and magical techniques against him, as well as magical items. Even with his incredible fleshly body, it was something he couldn't stand up against for long.

The flag of three streamers was in full retreat, and even the Resurrection Lily was falling back. The Black Sieve Sect disciples had gone mad.

There was not a single one who could watch the Hundred Thousand Mountains, the very foundation of their sect, being pulled up by the roots, and not go mad.

"No time to wait for all 100,000," thought Naruto. "50,000 will do!" With that, he suddenly stretched his right arm out and pointed up to the sky. The 50,000 mountains began to rumble, and then descended with shocking speed.

They shot directly toward the spell formation made up of the hundreds of thousands of Black Sieve Sect cultivators, then began to slam into it. Miserable shrieks filled the air one after another. Naruto's eyes suddenly flickered with burning madness.

"Explode!" he said. It was only a single word.

That one word caused everything to shake. One by one, 50,000 mountains exploded. They sky ripped and the land quaked. Even the Ninety-Nine Mountains were severely affected, and began to crumble.

Blood sprayed from the mouths of hundreds of thousands of cultivators as the spell formation collapsed into pieces. At least half of the people who made up the formation let out bloodcurdling screams as they were destroyed in body and spirit.

"NOOO!" roared the Second Severing Patriarch. He unleashed a divine ability, causing a gigantic Xuanwu turtle with a viciously spiked shell to appear. As it shot toward forward, Naruto waved a finger, causing portions from five enormous, crumbling mountains to crush down toward the old man. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he was sent tumbling backward. At the same time, Naruto pushed his hands down toward the ground another time, causing the ground within the Black Sieve Sect to split open.

Spiritual energy surged out, mountain peaks crumbled, the sky dimmed. Naruto strode forward toward the First Mountain.

However, even as he stepped foot onto it, the air in front of him rippled, and the Black Sieve Sect's Third Severing Patriarch stepped out.

A ferocious expression could be seen on his face, as well as surging hatred. The moment he appeared, he waved his sleeve. Shockingly, nine white tigers appeared, each of them fully thirty meters long.

Behind the white tigers, the Third Severing Patriarch let out a roar and then raised his hand up. A seal mark appeared from within, which rapidly increased in size as it shot toward Naruto.

Off in the distance, the Second Severing Patriarch gritted his teeth because of the injuries he had sustained, but approached nonetheless. His hand flashed in an incantation gesture, causing black mist to swirl around him and then turn into a statue of a Xuanwu turtle. It emitted a mysterious glow, and also emanated the sounds of wailing, which shook everything in the area.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he slapped his bag of holding. Immediately, the only Time Sword tip he still possessed appeared. He grabbed it with his fingers and then suddenly vanished. When he reappeared he was directly in front of the Second Severing Patriarch. He waved his hand, and the sword tip flew out.

When it slammed into the Xuanwu turtle, the beast instantly began to wither. It let out a miserable shriek and then began to collapse and dissipate. The Second Severing Patriarch's face fell as the sword tip neared him. He was just about to attempt to dodge to the side when Naruto stretched out his finger.

"Hex!"

It was a single word, but it instantly caused the Second Severing Patriarch to tremble to a stop. The sword tip stabbed through him, causing not only blood to spurt out, but also 10,000 years of longevity!

"AAHHH!"

Physical pain didn't count for much, but the pain caused by the destruction of longevity cause the old man to let out a miserable shriek. By this point, Naruto had already turned around. He flicked his sleeve, and a gale-force wind sprang up to send the nine white tigers sprawling backward. Then he looked up at the sealing mark that was bearing down on him. By now, it was already three hundred meters tall, and causing everything to rumble as it neared.

"Suppress!" roared the Third Severing Patriarch, gesturing with both hands, sending the seal mark smashing down toward Naruto.

"Anywhere that mountains exist, that is my Area world!" said Naruto.

He performed an incantation with his right hand and then pointed out.

Shockingly 50,000 illusory mountain suddenly appeared around him. These were the 50,000 mountains that he had just destroyed!

As the mountains made their appearance, they turned into Naruto's

Area world. It spread out toward the incoming seal, causing rumbling to fill the air. It also shot toward the Second Severing Patriarch, who was already injured. This new attack caused him to let out a scream of defiance as his body trembled and then exploded. He was dead in body and soul.

At the same time, Naruto borrowed the momentum of the blast to shoot at high speed past the Third Severing Patriarch. In the blink of an eye, he was on the First Mountain, next to the incense burner.

Without the slightest hesitation, he anxiously approached and reached out his right hand. Just as he was about to lay hands on the trembling figure inside, an enraged roar echoed out behind him.

The roar spread out, and it contained something that caused Naruto's scalp to go numb with a sense of crisis.

"You want to save that girl? I'd rather let the Rebirth Pill refinement fail than let you succeed! Heaven and Earth furnace, shatter the pill and destroy the body!"

The instant the voice rang out, the incense burner trembled and began to emit intense heat.

"If you fall back, your beloved in the furnace will be killed. If you don't fall back, then you will die together!"

Naruto's face flickered as he eyed the leaping flames in the incense burner. Critical danger was also approaching him from behind. His eyes flickered with determination. Without hesitation, he stopped in place. He did not fall back.

His two hands flickered in incantation pattern and, ignoring both the danger from behind and the blistering heat from incense burner, he shot forward. He entered the incense burner and wrapped his arms around the stiff figure inside.

His body was instantly attacked by the intense heat. His hair burned, and the flesh of his face was charred black. His fingers dried and withered, revealing bones. Even his chest was eaten away until his heart was visible.

However, he still entered the incense burner to wrap his arms around Xu Qing. In that instant, a tremor ran through him as the danger from behind finally arrived.

Whhhzzzzzzzzzzz….

Naruto trembled as the eight white tigers, which had transformed into eight white spikes, stabbed into his back.

Actually, as far as physical pain went, he didn't even notice it. Currently, he was staring blankly at Xu Qing as he held her in his arms. She was not beautiful like he remembered. Her body was emaciated and withered, her features ancient. She had no life force in her, no soul.

She had… nothing.

Naruto quivered, and his eyes filled with tears.

"Elder Sister Xu…." Stabs of pain filled his heart, as if it were being ripped directly out of his body. He instantly fell completely into his madness. At this same time, the voice of the Third Severing Patriarch rang out behind him.

"Eight Tigers Immortal Extinguishing Tribulation!"

In coordination with the words, the eight spikes that had stabbed into Naruto began to emanate an indescribably terrifying power. It instantly filled every corner and recess of his body.

Naruto's eyes were crimson as he looked at Xu Qing. He laughed bitterly, doing nothing to prevent the Third Severing Patriarch from approaching and attacking with a divine ability.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, only to be instantly incinerated.

"First Tribulation!" said the Third Severing Patriarch. Booming filled Naruto's body.

"Second Tribulation!

"Third Tribulation!"

Booming rang out constantly as, one by one, the eight spikes inside of Naruto shattered. They battered his soul and shredded his body, but he didn't care. The only thing he cared about was the corpse of the woman he held in his embrace.

He felt hatred, madness, insanity, and regret.

He had arrived too late….

"You live, I live. You die, I die….

"If you grow old, then I'll grow old together with you…." Naruto heard the words from the past echoing in his ears. He laughed bitterly as the explosions wracked his body.

"Fifth Tribulation!

"Sixth Tribulation!

"Seventh Tribulation!

Suddenly, an intense hope filled Naruto's face. He began to breathe raggedly, and even as the words 'Eighth Tribulation' rang out behind him, he realized that there was a problem.

"Xu Qing's soul…. Her soul is not in her body any more. Her soul….

"Bodies can be restored. As long as her soul has not dispersed, she isn't dead. However, there are no traces at all of a soul within her. It's almost like… someone extracted it!" Naruto's entire body trembled, and roaring sounds filled his whole body. He slowly put Xu Qing's corpse into his bag of holding. As he did, his Eternal stratum, seemingly in unison with his sudden lucidity, exploded out along with the Eighth Tribulation.

It was at that point that roaring flames suddenly burst out all over Naruto's body. The more than 100,000 remaining Black Sieve Sect disciples saw this, as did the Third Severing Patriarch.

They saw flames, and inside of the flames, a person. Everything else above and below faded, and the Black Sieve Sect disciples' faces filled with excitement.

The Third Severing Patriarch finally breathed a sigh of relief. The menace of Naruto was something he couldn't quite handle, and he had even been worried that, because of Xu Qing, he wouldn't be able to kill him.

"Finally, the matter is ended…." murmured the Third Severing Patriarch. And yet, even as the words left his mouth, his face suddenly flickered and filled with shock. Without hesitation, he shot backward.

Even as he fell into retreat, Naruto strode out from within the raging flames, which were then immediately extinguished. Naruto was eternal, and what is eternal cannot be exterminated!

The only way to kill him was to simultaneously exterminate him in both body and soul. Using any other method would be very difficult.

As for the Third Severing Patriarch, he was obviously not qualified to do something like that!

Even as the man began to retreat, Naruto's killing intent exploded out in shocking fashion.

"Where is Xu Qing's soul!?" he said, glaring directly at the Third Severing Patriarch. He spoke slowly, and his eyes were thoroughly bloodshot. His voice was filled with the thirst for blood and slaughter, and anyone who heard it would feel an incredible sense of danger.

The more than 100,000 surrounding Black Sieve Sect disciples were trembling. By this point, there were a few who finally realized why Naruto looked so familiar. Before, they had sensed the familiarity, but didn't have time to think deeply about the matter. Now, though, they suddenly thought of a name from the past.

"Naruto!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Alex Tsue_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 699

Chapter 699: Sieve Yin Sect

"That's Naruto!"

"Violet Furnace Lord Naruto of the Violet Fate Sect! He even came to the Black Sieve Sect once to give a lecture about the Dao of alchemy!"

It had been silent before, but suddenly, the sound of gasping filled the air as everyone suddenly thought the same thing.

"Two hundred years ago he was in Core Formation…. But now, he can slaughter Spirit Severing Patriarchs!"

Naruto completely ignored the astonished buzz of conversation. He stared straight at the Third Severing Patriarch and slowly walked forward.

As he neared, an enormous, energy rose up from Naruto's body, which transformed into an incredible pressure that covered over everything. The hubbub instantly died down, and even the wind ceased to blow. The only thing left behind was the indescribable pressure.

At the moment, it was evening, and the sky was just starting to turn dark.

"The Sieve Yin Sect! Her soul is in the Sieve Yin Sect!"

When the Third Severing Patriarch felt the pressure, and saw Naruto's gaze fixed upon him, his heart grew numb, and a sense of despair filled him. He was certain that if he didn't tell Naruto what he wanted to know, he would die this day. It was then that he remembered that the Sieve Yin Sect was actually the true Dao Reserve of the Black Sieve Sect, so he quickly blurted out the name.

The Black Sieve Sect was divided like Yin and Yang.

In accord with that division, it was split into two factions. On the surface was the Black Yang Sect. However, beneath the Hundred Thousand Mountains was the Sieve Yin Sect!

The two factions were inextricably linked, which was how the name of the Black Sieve Sect came to exist in the Southern Domain.

Of course, Naruto was not aware of this, but he did know a bit about the Black Sieve Sect. He knew about the countless discarnate souls that existed underground. It was years ago that he had first sensed the discarnate soul of Matriarch Phoenix in Xu Qing.

He also knew that some Chosen of the Black Sieve Sect had Sieve Yin Sect souls hidden within them.

As for which of the two factions occupied the position of leadership, and which was subservient, well… no outsider knew the answer to that question.

Naruto said nothing in response. He simply lifted his right hand up, performed an incantation and then pushed his hand down toward the ground.

As he did, his Demon Sealer's aura exploded out. As a result, the Demonic Qi of Heaven and Earth in the area surged toward him in a constant flow. It swept about, causing his view of the entire world to change instantly.

Shockingly, he could see that the land was covered with boundless auras of sinister death. The auras swirled together to form a vortex that actually existed in the ground deep beneath the Black Sieve Sect.

Gradually, he could also make out what appeared to be a turbid river flowing underneath the surface of the ground. It was surrounded by countless discarnate souls. Surrounding the river were ten enormous, illusory palaces that floated in the air, which seemed to be guarding the river.

In the center of the ten palaces was an altar formed from bleached bones. It was filled with a bizarre, awe-inspiring aura, and above it floated a black, crystal ball. Within that crystal ball was a soul, apparently sleeping.

As soon as he saw the soul, Naruto's entire body began to shake.

It was… Xu Qing.

Beneath the crystal ball were four blurry figures sitting there crosslegged. A sinister aura of death radiated off of them, which made it clear that these four figures were corpses that had been there for countless years.

The moment in which Naruto saw the four corpses, they all lifted their heads. Bizarre, underwordly light shone in their eyes as they looked at Naruto.

There were four corpses, but it was three wills that suddenly exploded out in Naruto's mind.

"Screw off!"

"Get the hell out of here!"

"This is not a place you can enter. If you don't screw off within three breaths of time, you'll end up remaining here forever!"

In response, Naruto lifted his foot up and then stamped it down onto the ground. The surface of the land rumbled, and a huge fissure opened up. Determination filled his eyes as he shot down into the fissure.

As soon as he entered, a sinister, cold aura rose up. Furthermore, countless discarnate souls emerged from within the river. Their eyes glowed with strange lights, as well as greed, as they shot toward Naruto.

An archaic voice echoed out from the turbid waters below: "In the Yellow Springs, the discarnate souls of Heaven and Earth see not the sun. They wish only to remain buried in the depths!"

The countless discarnate souls shot forward, causing an evil wind to spring up.

A strange light gleamed in Naruto's eyes as he proceeded onward three hundred meters. He slowly extended his right hand toward the tens of thousands of incoming discarnate souls. Then, he chopped his hand down, creating an illusory blade imbued with his Dao.

The slash of this blade was like the slash of the Dao! 1

This blade contained Naruto's Dao of freedom and independence. His life was a journey, and he would be free and unfettered! This Dao was a severing of fetters!

Rumbling filled the air as, in the blink of an eye, the blade grew to 3,000 meters in length. It slashed down, sending out monstrous ripples that swept about in all directions. As the blade swept out, countless discarnate souls let out miserable shrieks, and burst into flames.

Naruto proceeded forward another measure, advancing six hundred meters. He was now only 1,500 meters from the altar. At the same time, ten streams of divine will appeared from within the ten palaces that surrounded the altar. They shot forward, carrying with them auras of death. Shockingly, they transformed into 100,000 discarnate souls, all of them with eyes full of avarice. As they flew through the air, they merged together to form what appeared to be a waning moon that sped toward Naruto.

Naruto lifted his hand again, and when it descended, a second blade appeared!

This was his second Dao, the severing of Perfection and the acquisition of a new life. It contained his determination, his will, and his enlightenment. As the blade descended, Heaven and Earth shook, as if a great Dao were arriving. In front of Naruto, it transformed into a blade that exceeded the 3,000 meter length of the previous blade.

The blade slashed toward the moon!

Booming sounds rattled out in all directions!

Wherever the ripples of the blade passed, the discarnate souls screamed miserably. The waning moon emitted a bright glow as it attempted to fight back.

When the two slammed into each other, the waning moon trembled.

Naruto's blade slashed directly into its center, completely slicing it in two. It instantly shattered into pieces.

When the waning moon exploded, the ten temples trembled. All of the discarnate souls in the area looked completely astonished. Even as the waning moon began to reform, Naruto waved his hand and pointed.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!"

RUMBLE!

Demon Sealing magic was incredibly potent when used against the discarnate souls; the waning moon shuddered, and instantly began to disperse. At the same time, countless disconsolate wails could be heard echoing about.

"It's him!"

"It's the Demon Sealer from that year!"

"He's a Demon Sealer!"

Even as the voices rang out, Naruto advanced a third time, crossing a span of 1,500 meters to directly near the altar. At the same time, three of the four figures opened their eyes and lifted their hands to point toward Naruto.

"Discarnate Soul Dao! Dao of Soul Destruction!"

Shockingly, these three corpses had cultivation bases at the Third Spirit Severing level. When they attacked simultaneously, the power was shocking, causing the surroundings to suddenly sink into an illusory world where it seemed Heaven and Earth were transposed. In front of Naruto, a vortex appeared.

The vortex, which seemed capable of consuming anything living or dead, sped directly toward Naruto.

If that were all there were to it, it wouldn't be a big deal. However, before Naruto could employ any divine abilities, the fourth figure on the altar opened his eyes, rose to his feet, and began to walk toward Naruto.

"I am the Yin Divinity. I neither descend to the underworld nor ascend to the shining Heavens. I control my own reincarnation. I possess the Yellow Springs of the Ninth Mountain…." As he spoke, he passed through the vortex to appear in front of Naruto. He lifted his hand and pointed out.

The gesture caused what appeared to be an illusory, yellow-colored river to appear above his hand. Something appeared to exist inside the illusory image, and it struggled to emerge, releasing an incredible will of death.

The finger attack caused Naruto's entire body to fill with rumbling, along with an intense sense of deadly crisis. In his estimation, this person… was even stronger than the three people from moments ago!

"Back on that ancient ship, I came to understand two types of Daoist magic…." Naruto's eyes glittered as he took a deep breath, and then began to perform an incantation. In the blink of an eye, the Mountain Consuming Incantation appeared.

This incantation was something he had acquired in the ancient Demon

Immortal Sect. It was not the most powerful magic, however, as far as Naruto could tell, the limits of its power likely depended on which mountain was being replicated!

Ordinary mountains, such as the Black Sieve Sects' Hundred Thousand Mountains, or perhaps other mountains in the Southern Domain, would be incapable of fighting back against this vortex.

"The most powerful mountain that I have had a chance to study… is the Ninth Mountain!" Naruto's eyes went blank. One breath of time later, shockingly, the image of a mountain appeared in his pupils.

It was a mountain that towered among the stars, a boundless, enormous mountain that defied description.

The Ninth Mountain!

As soon as the Ninth Mountain appeared in his eyes, it also manifested in his palm. He lifted his hand up, and the Ninth Mountain grew in size. Along with it, indescribable ripples began to flow out from within it.

The self-proclaimed Yin Divinity discarnate soul in front of Naruto suddenly looked shocked, and it began to tremble involuntarily.

"That's… the Ninth Mountain!

"To produce a copy of the Ninth Mountain requires incredible destiny and good fortune!

"Not only have you summoned an image of the Ninth Mountain, but you've summoned it into your palm! Such an action requires incredible luck, as well as… vast audacity!

"How are you capable of all of this! How could you possibly have had a chance to lay eyes on the entirety of the Ninth Mountain?!"

He was shocked, as were the three discarnate souls on the altar behind him. Their faces filled with complete disbelief as they looked at the Ninth Mountain.

It must be said that South Heaven is only one of the four planets that orbited the Ninth Mountain. That made the Ninth Mountain… something of supreme importance, above all living things!

To summon an image of the Ninth Mountain, was like summoning Heaven and Earth!

"If he can summon the image of the Ninth Mountain, that means that if he can achieve Immortal Ascension he will have a Mountain Consuming qi! This man cannot be allowed to develop any further!

"He only has the image of the mountain, not the will! Destroy him, seize his blood, wrest away his fortune! Transform this into a great success for the Sieve Yin Sect!"

Instantly, the three discarnate souls on the altar shot out.

It seemed that they were just about to slam into Naruto, when suddenly a vast power from the Heavens above suddenly descended to the lands of the South Heaven. As it neared, South Heaven shook and trembled.

This was a great Dao. This was the arrival of the will of the real Ninth Mountain!

The will arrived because Naruto replicated its image. It descended because of the mountain in his hand!

Don't forget that "blade" and "Dao" have almost the same pronunciation ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 700

Chapter 700: True Patriarch Six-Daos

In almost the exact moment in which Naruto used the Mountain Consuming Incantation to summon the image of the Ninth Mountain, far out in the starry sky outside of Planet Ninshu, the indescribably majestic Ninth Mountain suddenly trembled.

Along with the trembling, the will of the mountain, as if in response to some mysterious call, neared South Heaven and descended into Naruto's palm, onto the rapidly expanding image of the Ninth Mountain.

It was only a sliver of will, but to Naruto and the surrounding discarnate souls, it was shocking to the extreme.

The astonishment of the discarnate souls was at a pinnacle.

"Resonance!"

"He… actually formed a resonance with the Ninth Mountain!"

The discarnate souls trembled, and Naruto's eyes were now anything but blank. He suddenly waved his right hand, and the Ninth Mountain in his hand shot forward.

As it bore down on the self-proclaimed Moon Divinity, the discarnate soul defended with every bit of power it could muster. Countless heavenly bodies appeared around its and shot forward to block the mountain.

BAM!

The heavenly bodies collapsed, and the Moon Divinity discarnate soul let out a disconsolate shriek as the Ninth Mountain slammed into it, completely destroying it in all aspects….

Then the Ninth Mountain smashed into the enormous vortex, shattering it into pieces. It seemed as if the mountain was completely unstoppable. The other three discarnate souls on the altar retreated in complete terror, but they were too slow for the Ninth Mountain.

Amidst the rumbling, one managed to dodge to the side. The other two, however, howled miserably. They unleashed all of their divine abilities and magical items, but in the end… they were completely destroyed.

At this point, Naruto, his face pale, coughed up some blood. The Ninth Mountain slowly faded away.

As it disappeared, weakness surged through Naruto's body. He had never imagined that the image of the Ninth Mountain would be so shockingly powerful; just now, he had used it to resist Dao Seeking!

Unfortunately, the price paid was something his cultivation base couldn't handle. Although his soul contained an undying will, the backlash had still injured him. He now knew that if he used this particular divine ability for too long, it would wither his soul!

As for the discarnate soul who had escaped, it was now fleeing in horror.

It had completely lost all its nerve, and was panic-stricken because of Naruto.

Naruto completely ignored it as he strode forward onto the altar. He raised his right hand and was just about to grab the crystal ball when suddenly, a desiccated hand appeared out of nowhere in front of his face.

It pointed at him, and as it did, Naruto could see an incredible ancientness emanating off of the finger and its blackish-yellow fingernail.

The finger did not send out any ripples, nor did it emit any of the power of Heaven and Earth. However, it gave Naruto the sense of a great Dao, almost like natural laws of Heaven and Earth.

He was incapable of evading or dodging. He could only watch as the finger tapped him gently on the chest.

In response, he heard an incredible roaring, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He spun up violently into the air, as if he had been delivered a huge blow. He slammed into one of the huge temples, which then shattered into pieces, incapable of sustaining the force of Naruto smashing into it.

He shot through the wreckage of the temple and then slammed into the roof of the cave up above. The ground trembled, and roaring echoed out in all directions. The earth split and Naruto shot up into the air above the Black Sieve Sect. It was almost like he was passing from the dark of Yin into the light of Yang. When he reached the end of his trajectory, his chest finally exploded into a cloud of blood.

Immediately, his undying soul and Eternal stratum surged into action, causing the wound to begin to heal. And yet, even after it healed, it exploded once again, a vicious cycle. Naruto coughed up blood continuously until his green robe had turned violet.

Down below, the disciples of the Black Sieve Sect watched on with expressions of shock on their faces.

At the same time, coughing sounds could be heard from deep within the ground.

A black mist began to rise up from down below, which then flooded out to cover the entire Black Sieve Sect.

The coughing sound grew louder, as if someone were lurching out from within the depths of the ground.

All of a sudden, an ancient voice could be heard. "I was just sleeping for a bit and you had to go stir up such a ruckus!"

A skinny, shriveled old man appeared. He wore a black robe, as well as a hat. His features were wizened and ancient, pale in a way that was frightening to look at. His eyes were vacant, and his entire body radiated an aura of death, almost like a vampiric zombie.

As he walked out, everything around him became freezing cold, and black snowflakes began to drift about.

When the Third Severing Cultivator saw the zombie-like man appear, he immediately began to tremble and sweat. Without even thinking about it, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed. "Greetings from the junior generation, true Patriarch Six-Daos!"

Simultaneously, the discarnate soul expert who had survived Naruto's attack earlier immediately flew out trembling. He, too, dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

"Greetings from the junior generation, true Patriarch Six-Daos!"

Back underground, countless discarnate souls all dropped to their knees to kowtow, their faces filled with awe and terror. At the same time, their voices echoed out in greeting. As for the Black Sieve Sect disciples standing on the ground, they shook uncontrollably, and although they actually didn't know who this old man was, they kowtowed nonetheless.

Naruto's face was unsightly, and he could feel the wound in his chest continuing to fight against his Eternal stratum. He stared fixedly at the old man for a moment before realizing that the man's cultivation base… Was at the peak of Dao Seeking!

Naruto could also tell that this man seemed to be slightly stronger than the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch.

This was the true Dao Reserve of a great sect. Any of the five great sects or three great clans in the Southern Domain would have a similar Dao Reserve. Were it not for that, how could they possible pass their legacies down for ten thousand years or beyond?

The old man coughed a bit, then stretched a stiff hand out and made a claw-like gesture toward the ground. The turbid, underground river suddenly surged and then flew up out of the ground. As it did, it shrank down until it could circulate in the air around the old man.

At the same time, the old man pointed toward the incense burner on the First Mountain, causing it to shudder and then fly through the air toward him. It shrank down until it was the size of a fist, and then opened up, after which the turbid river flowed inside. Finally, the incense burner came to rest on the old man's palm.

By now it didn't look like an incense burner, but rather, a flagon of alcohol.

The old man raised it up to his lips and took a sip. Then, his eyes glowing with a strange light, he looked over at Naruto.

"You have a pretty good cultivation base," he said. "If it weren't for me, the Black Sieve Sect's foundation of ten thousand years would actually have been destroyed." The old man then pointed toward the ground, causing the crystal ball with Xu Qing's soul in it to fly out. He clasped it between two fingers. "Do you want her?"

Wisps of black mist circulated out from the old man's hand to encircle the crystal ball. They transformed into vicious, wicked spirits who peered into the crystal ball with greed and avarice as if they wanted to rush inside.

Xu Qing's soul immediately began to tremble, as if it was experiencing intense fear.

Naruto's heart also began to quiver.

"I can sense the aroma of rebirth," the old man said hoarsely. "My disciples and apprentices must have been refining her for my use. What is she to you? Your beloved?"

Naruto glared at the old man, but didn't respond. Pain stabbed through his heart, and his entire body was trembling.

"Not going to say anything?" The old man gently squeezed his fingers down. Cracking sounds could be heard as fissures appeared on the surface of the crystal ball.

"She's my beloved!" Naruto took a deep breath and continued to stare at the old man.

"Then it's proper for you to have come," the old man said calmly, the aura of death around him growing thicker. "If you didn't show up, her soul would have become nourishment for me, and her body would have been refined into a medicinal pill to add to my collection."

By now, the sky was completely dark, and the moon was out. As its rays shone down, the old man looked up for a moment, then caused the black mist to cover it up.

"Unfortunately, you coming here was useless. Although, I might as well give you a chance." His murky eyes began to glow with a strange light. "Go ahead and use your best divine abilities and magical techniques. If you can handle one blow from me, then I'll let you leave with her soul. What do you say?"

Naruto stared at this true Patriarch of the Black Sieve Sect, the most powerful person in the entire sect. Inside, he smiled bitterly. In actuality, he knew before coming here that things would probably not go smoothly. However, he had come anyway.

Not coming would have violated his own Dao!

Furthermore, he came without the intention of leaving!

"You live, I live. You die, I die…. That is a promise." Naruto took a deep breath and then lifted his hand up. In his left eye, a bright glow like day gradually appeared. In his right eye could be seen a darkness like night.

This was his most powerful divine ability, which he had acquired after gaining enlightenment about darkness and light from the armored man on the Underworld Ship.

In his right hand, a black mist appeared, along with a white mist.

As soon as the two streams of mist appeared, the Black Sieve Sect's true Patriarch, Six-Daos, stared in shock.

"So, it's this…." he said.

The reason he hadn't killed Naruto immediately was because he had sensed some type of good fortune on him. Considering the level of true Patriarch Six-Daos' cultivation base, he could feel premonitions for both crisis and good fortune.

He was now eying Naruto in much the same way that the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch had eyed Naruto for his Perfect Foundation. He could faintly sense that Naruto had something that could be considered incredibly useful good fortune.

A stiff smile appeared on the face of true Patriarch Six-Daos. His eyes flickered as he watched the black and white mists grow rapidly thicker until they finally formed into two pearls.

Black Pearl!

White Pearl!

The instant the two pearls appeared, true Patriarch Six-Daos' pupils constricted. Despite his cultivation base and level of power, his face still filled with disbelief.

"This is… a Dao!

"It's not an ordinary Dao, either. These black and white pearls give me a sense of limitlessness, as if they contain…."

Naruto's eyes flashed and he suddenly stretched out his right hand. He actually didn't know how to use the two pearls, but they were definitely his most powerful magical technique.

As he waved his hand, the two pearls transformed into two beams, one black, one white, that shot toward true Patriarch Six-Daos.

In that instant, the sky suddenly changed colors. The entire world became one of black and white. There was no third color that existed!

"Heavenly Dao!

"This is a Heavenly Dao, not of the Ninth Mountain, but from outside the great Nine Mountains!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Carlos Cardenas Jauregui, Lorenzo_

 _Ibarria, Tanawut Pitchayaboonwong, Patryk Czajczyński, and Mustaqeem_

 _Ahmed_

Disclaimer

There is no guarantee the translation is 100% correct.

wishes to emphasize that this translation is for review purposes only. We do not claim this intellectual property or any rights whatsoever.

Under no circumstances would you be allowed to take this work for commercial activities or for personal gain. does not and will not condone any activities of such, including but not limited to rent, sell, print, auction.

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	2. Chapter 2

1

 **I will be posting a remake of the first chapter since I had to do it on my phone and it didn't turn out good at all**

"The black pearl represents death and the white pearl represents life!

"No, wait. The white pearl represents death and the black pearl represents life!

"Hmm, that's not right either. How many Daos are represented here? The cause and effect of Karma. Truth and falsehood. Life and death. The cycle of reincarnation. Heaven and Earth…." True Patriarch Six-Daos' face flickered. As the pearls neared him, he waved his right hand out in front of him. Immediately, the incense burner flew out and began to expand. Turbid water suddenly exploded out from within.

"Yellow Springs!" growled true Patriarch Six-Daos, causing the turbid water to emanate a monstrous aura of death. It expanded, transforming into a river that swept toward the two pearls.

However, even as it neared the pearls, the Yellow Springs began to tremble and then fall apart…. Countless souls appeared and began to dissipate out in all directions, looking blank and confused.

Next, the incense burner trembled, and images of burning incense sticks from inside began to float up. True Patriarch Six-Daos' face flickered, and he quickly flashed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then pointed out.

"Joss Flame!" The incense burner began to shake, and illusory worlds suddenly sprang into being. All of them contained countless living beings who were kowtowing on bended knees.

Along with their obeisance, their auras pulsed up into the air and then merged together. Next, the worlds themselves transformed into statues, each one of which bore the semblance of true Patriarch Six-Daos. They then shot at top speed toward the Black White Pearls.

The two pearls closed in, and a shocking boom rattled out. All of the worlds and statues instantly turned black and white, then began to collapse. The incense burner trembled and then shrank down rapidly. True Patriarch Six-Daos' face once again flickered. He stretched his right hand out and pushed down toward the ground.

"Yin-Yang Rotation; Heaven and Earth Transformations!" He held his right hand aloft, causing an enormous flag to appear.

As the flag swept out, shockingly, countless souls could be seen inside, howling.

"One Billion Joss Souls."

Astonishingly, one billion souls were inside the unfurling flag, which flew directly toward the Black White Pearls, emanating the shocking howls of the billion souls.

It only took a moment for the billion souls to be dispersed. However, the Black White Pearls were incapable of maintaining their form, and once more transformed into black and white mist that shot toward Six-Daos.

Six-Daos' eyes filled with a strange light, and he did nothing to evade. In fact, he strode forward as the black and white mists neared, and then opened his mouth to swallow them. At the same time, a three-headed six-armed figure appeared behind him, which also opened its gaping mouth.

Six-Daos directly swallowed the black and white mists, whereupon his body began to tremble. His face paled as he tried to endured the force, but it was clearly too great. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then cracking sounds could be heard coming from inside his body. Suddenly, the black and white streams of mist burst out from his chest and then faded away into the air.

The surrounding Black Sieve Sect disciples were completely shocked. Naruto stood there silently, looking at true Patriarch Six-Daos. This was in fact his most powerful technique he could employ.

"Interesting. Very interesting!" said Six-Daos, lifting his head up and laughing loudly. "Great! What an excellent divine ability. Well, you accomplished the task I arranged for you, therefore, it's time to fulfill my end of the bargain!" With that, he tightened his left hand, causing cracking sounds to fill the air as nearly half of the crystal ball Hinata's soul was shattered. Her soul did not emerge, however, and the discarnate souls in the area all shot forward with expressions of insatiable greed.

"You!" roared Naruto, his eyes bright red. Right now, he didn't care about life or death. He didn't care about anything in the world except for the soul in that crystal ball!

The soul's eyes suddenly opened and looked at Naruto. It was a gaze filled with gentleness and longing….

"In my years of practicing cultivation," said Six-Daos, his voice hoarse, "I've never kept my promises. And since you've managed to piss me off, do you really think I would spare you a painful death?" With a ghastly smile, he waved his hand, causing an altar to appear next to him that resembled a pagoda, with nine steps leading to its top.

On top of the altar were countless discarnate souls with bulging eyes, who emitted soundless screams.

Next, Six-Daos sent the crystal ball shooting toward the altar, where it floated in the air, emitting cracking sounds.

BANG!

The crystal ball completely shattered, and Hinata's soul emerged. The discarnate souls around her let out excited howls as they pounced.

"If you can save her," said Six-Daos, looking at Naruto, "then I'll keep my promise this one time."

Naruto, in a frenzy, shot directly toward the altar. Before he could even get near it, though, the discarnate souls' mouths bit into Hinata's soul. Trembling, she looked over at Naruto, and it seemed as if there were tears in her eyes.

He felt like his heart were being ripped to shreds. His voice filled with misery, he howled, "Eat MY blood and flesh!"

With that he slashed at his chest with his hand, causing blood and gore to splash out in all directions. The aura of a Demon Sealer spread out explosively.

The discarnate souls froze, then turned their heads. The insatiable greed in their eyes surged to an apex, and they charged toward Naruto. In the blink of an eye they bored into Naruto's chest and began to feed.

PAIN!

Indescribable PAIN!

However, Naruto didn't care. He forced himself to continue onward. One by one, he proceeded toward the stairs that led to the top of the altar. More and more discarnate souls latched onto him, and they didn't even bothering to bore into him before beginning to consume his flesh and blood.

However, none of that could prevent Naruto from walking onward.

The Black Sieve Sect disciples in the area were completely astonished, even the ones who harbored intense hatred for Naruto.

Six-Daos' eyes narrowed.

Black mist billowed around Naruto, and his flesh and blood were rapidly disappearing. However, he still had his Eternal stratum, which caused his body to rapidly heal itself. Of course, that only led to more pain.

Step after step led him to the staircase, and finally, Hinata. He reached out with trembling hands to take ahold of her.

However, it was in this moment that Six-Daos' eyes glittered with evil.

He gave a cold snort and then stretched out a finger causally. Immediately, black mist shot toward Hinata's soul.

"This is over," he said.

The black mist shot toward Hinata. Naruto then let out the most desolate roar he ever had in his life. "NOOOOOOOOO!"

Disregarding anything and everything, he stretched his hands out to grab Hinata. However, the black beam didn't stop. It slammed into Hinata's soul, enveloping her, transforming into what appeared to be black flames.

It was at this point that Naruto's hands landed on Hinata's soul. They passed through the black flames to take ahold of her.

The instant he touched her, the tears in his eyes finally spilled out. He had descended thoroughly into madness now. All he could do was watch as Hinata slowly faded away within the black flames.

Hinata began to murmur, although no sound came out. Only her lips moved. "You live, I die…. Promise me, that you will keep on living…."

Naruto was desolate, helpless. His cultivation base was useless, and the world was useless. "I just want to practice cultivation in happiness! I just want to be with Hinata! Cultivation? Just… just what kind of life is cultivation?!"

It was in this moment that suddenly, a voice rang out in Naruto's mind.

"Promise me something, and I can help you!" The voice was completely unexpected, but as of this moment, Naruto didn't care. As soon as he heard it, he responded, without hesitation, without taking time to think about how strange it was.

"I promise. Anything you want. I promise!"

As soon as he spoke the words, Hinata, who seemed just on the verge of fading away completely, was suddenly enveloped by a blood-colored beam of light that shot down from the sky.

Instantly, the black flames were extinguished!

Six-Daos' face fell as suddenly, a seething red cloud appeared up above. The sky turned red, and an enormous face appeared in mid-air.

It was the face of an old man, his eyes crimson, with a blood-red horn protruding from his forehead. As soon as the face appeared, the disciples of the Black Sieve Sect felt the blood in their bodies starting to boil, as if it might burst out from within them.

The entire world, the sky, the land, was now the color of blood.

Everything visible was completely blood-colored!

Six-Daos' pupils constricted, and his energy surged. He waved his right hand, causing the incense burner to circle around his head.

"Blood Demon! Do you really dare to interfere with the matters of the

Black Sieve Sect?!"

"Why wouldn't I dare?" replied the face in the sky. Six-Daos entire body filled with a roaring sound, as the scant amount of blood that actually existed inside of him suddenly exploded out, showering in all directions.

His face flickered, and he flew up into the air, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward the face. "Everybody says Blood Demon is the Top Expert of the Southern Domain! Well I don't believe it!"

"Southern Domain?" The face shook its head. "An uncivilized land at best." Shockingly, a wrinkled, blood-colored hand appeared that emanated a shocking blood will. It shot toward Six-Daos, grabbed him, and squeezed lightly.

A boom echoed out as the incense burner shattered. The Yellow Springs vanished, and more blood sprayed from his mouth. Six-Daos was astonished to the extreme.

"You… you…."

"I'm not going to kill you," the face said coolly. "That task will be accomplished in the future, by the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect." The hand loosened its grip, allowing Six-Daos to drop to the ground, his body oozing blood.

The surrounding Black Sieve Sect disciples watched on with pale, astonished faces.

The face in the sky slowly turned to look at Naruto, as if he were the only existence in the world it would deign to look upon.

"You made a promise."

Naruto's face was devoid of blood, but his expression was calm as he looked down at Hinata's soul, enveloped as she was in the red glow. She was no longer in pain, and was now slowly recovering. He looked back up at the face in the sky.

"Even if it's Demonic Transmigration, Junior is willing."

"There is no need for Demonic Transmigration. What I want you to do… is experience bedevilment!

"Join the Blood Demon Sect. Turn into a one-of-a-kind Devil. Become the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect!

"The League of Demon Sealers will finally become Devilish. How amusing. This is not the desire of the Heavenly Dao. This is my desire!

"Experience bedevilment. From now on, you are a Devil, a position above Demons. Continue on your path. What I want you do… is no longer seal Demons. No, I want to see if you can use your Demon

Sealing powers to seal the Heaven of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!"

—–

The voice belonging to the face up in mid-air was ancient, and as it echoed about in all directions, an enormous red hand descended. The hand snatched up Naruto and Hinata's soul, then shot up into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, they vanished….

The only thing left behind was the wreckage of the Black Sieve Sect, and tens of thousand of ashen-faced disciples. True Patriarch Six-Dao's stood there, an unsightly expression on his face.

He glared with clenched jaw at the redness in the sky as it faded away.

"Blood Demon Sect!" His heart dripping with blood. He had been defeated, thoroughly and utterly defeated, leaving him with unmitigated terror that raced through his heart.

"The Southern Domain's Top Expert!" he thought. Previously, he had despised the thought, but after this day's battle, he had no choice but to admit that Patriarch Blood Demon absolutely was the Top Expert in the Southern Domain.

"I don't think even Jian Chenzi from the Solitary Sword Sect is a match for Blood Demon." His face sank further. Finally, he flicked his sleeve, transforming into a black smoke that shot down into the ground.

The Black Sieve Sect had not been completely destroyed. However, the majority of the Hundred Thousand Mountains had been crushed. Only about 20,000 remained. Whether it be in terms of the Black Yang or the Sieve Yin factions, the Sect had been severely damaged.

Four Spirit Severing experts had died!

Innumerable Nascent Soul and Core Formation cultivators had also lost their lives. Thanks to the Black Sieve Sect's Dao Reserve, they could still technically be considered a great sect. However, the sect was so badly mangled that it would be difficult to match their previous pinnacle even after ten thousand years passed.

Meanwhile, the blood-colored shield covering the Southern Domain vanished. The blood-colored shields that had been erected over the Violet Fate Sect, Solitary Sword Sect, Golden Frost Sect, and theShimuraand Song Clans also disappeared.

The sects and clans were no longer sealed. Their powerful experts immediately sent divine sense out into the Southern Domain to settle accounts with the Blood Demon Sect. However, when they saw the wreckage of the Black Sieve Sect, they gasped.

Instantly, they concealed any desire they had to settle accounts.

Gradually, word of the ancient title of 'Top Expert' once again began to spread throughout the Southern Domain.

A few hours after Naruto's departure, Pill Demon appeared in the air above the Black Sieve Sect. His face looked more ancient than ever as he looked down silently at the wreckage below.

After a long moment passed, he sighed and began to murmur to himself. "I'm the Master, and I couldn't even save my apprentice. Do I even qualify… to be his Master…?

"He kowtowed three times, and called me Master…." Finally, Pill Demon raised his head up, determination glowing in his eyes.

"I've been living an easy life for far too long now…. I've long since reached the point where I'm not willing to search for the Dao of Immortality…. Is it because I'm afraid? Perhaps.

"The time has come for Severing…." Shaking his head, he left and returned to the Violet Fate Sect.

Three days after returning, a great Dao descended. In that moment, the eyes of all the powerful experts in the Southern Domain turned toward the Violet Fate Sect.

In truth, it was not a single great Dao which descended, but rather, a succession of three!

In the Solitary Sword Sect was an old man wearing a white robe, in front of whom floated a sword of moonbeams. "Violet East… is finally performing his Severing!" he said softly.

In the Golden Frost Sect, deep in a restricted area, within a field of blackness, a mysterious glow suddenly appeared that looked like eyes. "He's been simmering for all these years, did he finally reach a conclusion?"

Li and Song Clan experts, as well as many others, all gazed toward the Violet Fate Sect to bear witness to the goings on.

"In his previous life, Reverend Violet East refused to become a false Immortal of theHebiClan. He longed to be a true Immortal. Unfortunately, he passed away in meditation before his Immortal Tribulation arrived. He transmigrated his next life from the cycle of reincarnation into a medical pill, and when the spirit of that pill awakened, it became Grandmaster Pill Demon…." 1

"Three great Daos, and three Severings in a row. Based on the knowledge he has from from his last life, it seems he's going from Spirit

Severing… directly into Dao Seeking!"

"Considering the latent talent of Reverend Violet East, and the nature of this Severing, it won't be long before he's at the peak of Dao Seeking. The only question is… will he be able to reach true Immortal Ascension this time?!"

"True Immortal… true Immortal…. Either reach Immortal Ascension, or experience the soul scattering in death. After that there is no reincarnation, only a complete blotting out of one's existence."

In addition, there was one other powerful expert who appeared, someone who sat in a blood-colored mountain, wearing a blood-colored robe. "The path to true Immortality that opens every 10,000 years, has once again opened. The opportunity to become a true Immortal has once again appeared. I wonder… how many will experience the downfall of their Dao, dispersing their bodies and souls? Naruto, destiny links both you and me to the League of Demon Sealers.

"Although it was for selfish reasons that I forced you to join the Blood

Demon Sect, I have absolutely no ill intentions toward you whatsoever. I'm just not too pleased with the inflexible, pedantic eight generations of your league!

"The League of Demon Sealers. Wardens of the great Nine Mountains and Seas. Is your heart… with the Nine Mountains and Seas, or outside!?

"If it is outside, then you are not worthy of the Mountain and Sea Realm. If your heart is here, then why haven't you sealed the Heavens, Demon Sealer!?

"Starting in ancient times, the League of Demon Sealers has always been heartless. Could it be that the Ninth Generation… is the same…? I refuse to believe it!

"I won't harm you, and in fact, I will give you great good fortune. I will help you to grow up, and I will be your Dao Protector. When you wish to leave this place, I won't stop you. I just hope that your experiences and time here in the blood Demon Sect will make you pause for thought when it comes time to make those critical decisions in the future." The man sighed as he muttered to himself, and it echoed throughout the Southern Domain.

The name of the mountain the man stood on was Mount Blood Demon.

The Blood Demon Sect was one of the five great sects of the Southern Domain. In the past, it was a place of incredible mystery that struck fear into the hearts of anyone who heard its name. In fact, few people knew exactly where it was. They only knew that Blood Demon Sect disciples were all decisive killers.

For example…ShimuraShiChakra!

Another well-known figure among the rising stars of the sect was Uchiha Youcai, who was surrounded by the glow of blood wherever he went.

Actually, the Blood Demon Sect was not a very large place. It consisted of only five mountains.

The centermost mountain was Mount Blood Demon, which was surrounded by four other mountains that had no true names, but rather, were called by the names of whoever occupied them.

Currently, Naruto sat cross-legged on Mount Blood Demon. Behind him was a cave mouth that emanated a glow of blood, and pulsed with a cold, imposing aura.

In front of him was Hinata's soul, surrounded by a glowing sphere of red light.

He looked at her, and she at him.

They were as separated as Yin and Yang, but their gazes seemed capable of lasting an eternity.

Also standing there on Mount Blood Demon was a figure surrounded by an aura of blood. It was impossible to see his face, but he was currently staring off into the sky. "Have you thought it through?" he said slowly.

Naruto didn't reply. He had been in the Blood Demon Sect for several days now. When he first arrived, the blood-colored figure had spoken a few words to him.

"Do you wish to accompany your beloved for your whole life, or for a single lifetime? A whole life includes a single lifetime, but a single lifetime does not include whole life. A single lifetime is a simple matter, and I can help you with that. As for a whole life… I can't help you." That was the choice which had been set before him.

Naruto didn't respond. He only looked at Hinata. She didn't say anything either. She only looked back at him.

That lasted all the way to the moment in which the blood-colored figure spoke again. Finally, Naruto responded, his voice soft. "Hinata and I have an agreement. She lives, I live. She dies, I die."

The blood-colored figure was silent for a long moment before his ancient voice once again echoed out in Mount Blood Demon.

"If you choose a single lifetime, then I will fuse her soul into her fleshly body. By nourishing it with a miraculous object of Heaven and Earth, she can be completely recovered in a hundred years.

"However, her soul has been damaged, and her body weakened. The fusion is difficult and if it fails, she won't last even a hundred years. Even if it does succeed, she will be incapable of Spirit Severing. You will be able to spend a thousand years with each other, until her longevity reaches an end.

"If you choose a whole life, then… she must enter the cycle of reincarnation. Her soul will travel to the underworld of the Fourth

Mountain, and she will be born anew. As to which Mountain she is born in, it is impossible to say. Before reaching Immortal Ascension, she will remember nothing from her previous life. However, in the moment she does reach Immortal Ascension, she will remember everything.

"Then, she will be able to accompany you for your whole life.

"You have a choice to make. Take her to the underworld to be reincarnated. Or, live with her here for a thousand years.

"If you take her to the underworld, then I can make you a promise. I'm on good terms with Kṣitigarbha, the Earth Store Bodhisattva. Your beloved will be able to avoid any suffering in the underworld, and upon reincarnation, she will be accompanied by incredible good luck. Afterward, there will be a high likelihood that she can achieve true Immortal Ascension.

"You have a month to decide. I'll be waiting for you in the Blood Pond." Gradually, the blood-colored figure transformed into a glow of blood that faded away into the surroundings.

The sun rose and set. Naruto looked at Hinata, and she gazed tenderly back.

They didn't speak, they just looked into each other's eyes. Day, after day, after day….

Half a month went by, although it seemed like an eternity. Finally, she smiled. "Send me into the cycle of reincarnation. I don't want a thousand wonderful years. I want to spend my whole life with you."

Naruto didn't respond.

She looked at him for a moment. "We agreed, didn't we? I want to grow old with you…."

Naruto shook his head. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Hinata smiled and interrupted him. "You're scared that you won't be able to find me, aren't you?

"Senior Blood Demon said that if we pick reincarnation, then it's impossible to tell which Mountain I will end up on…. However, let's make an agreement. You come looking for me, and I'll wait for you….

"There's no need to fear, Junior Brother. Our agreement in this lifetime, is an agreement for a whole life….

"In my next lifetime, I'll definitely dream of you treading through the Heavens to come find me. You'll hold out your hand to take mine, and then we will live the rest of our lives together.

"There's no need to talk any more about what decision to make. We can live together for ninety-nine years. In the final year… I'll enter the cycle of reincarnation." Hinata looked at Naruto earnestly.

Naruto looked at her and then nodded, pain stabbing through his heart.

She smiled, a beautiful smile. He reached up toward the glowing red pearl that contained her soul, and it floated down onto his palm. He closed his eyes and clutched it as if he was embracing her.

He would never forget how her beauty had turned into old age.

He would never forget how some of his life force contained hers.

Finally, he opened his eyes and stood up. "It doesn't matter which

Mountain you are reincarnated to, I will find you."

With that, he carefully took Hinata's soul into the mouth of the cave behind him, which glowed brightly like blood.

Naruto walked into the shallow cave, quickly reaching its end. Up ahead was a blood-colored pond, within which was a withered corpse. It emanated invisible ripples that made it look incredibly ferocious, and growing out of its forehead was a blood-colored horn.

He wore a tattered blood-colored robe, and the skin visible through the tears was dark-red flesh covered with blue veins. The entire image was quite terrifying. His lips were shriveled, his eyes sunken in, his entire body dried up. Visible within his mouth, were razor-sharp fangs.

His body was the shape of a human, but this was clearly no cultivator.

This was a Demon! Patriarch Blood Demon!

This was his true self. Whenever he appeared outside the sect, he used clones. Be it that year in the Reliance Sect, or earlier in the Black Sieve Sect, everything were clone incarnations.

His true self slumbered here eternally. From the beginning until now, he had never stepped even half a foot out of the cave, nor moved out from the pond.

As Naruto laid eyes on him, his head slowly raised up and he looked back.

His gaze was archaic, seemingly filled with countless years of time. Anyone who saw him would think that they were watching time move in reverse. It was as if they were looking far into the past, into ancient times, and the stars.

"I'm already aware of your choice," he said, his hoarse voice echoing about in the cave.

A withered, emaciated hand lifted up and waved through the air gently. Blood rose up from within the pond, moving in accord with the gesture of his finger to congeal into a magical symbol.

As soon as the magical symbol finished forming, its color changed. It was no longer blood-colored, but rather, glowed with a golden light.

An incredibly powerful life force emanated out from it, as if the symbol itself were alive. As soon as the life force appeared, Patriarch Blood Demon visibly became even more ancient and withered. He didn't offer an explanation to Naruto, but this gold magical symbol was created from some of the essence of his life force. The power of such life force was developed through ages of cultivation, and was something that could not be restored.

The golden symbol flickered a few times and then flew toward Naruto.

"Place this magical symbol on her old fleshly body," he said, his voice hoarse and his tone casual. "After nine nine-day-cycles of nourishment, a total of eighty-one days, your beloved's soul can re-enter her body, and she can once again walk about in the lands of South Heaven. If she does not enter the cycle of reincarnation within a hundred years, then her longevity of a thousand years will be cut short.

"Once she enters the cycle of reincarnation, this magical symbol will guide her through the void. When she is in the underworld, it will protect her. It will also help her when she reaches Immortal Ascension."

Naruto looked at the symbol. Considering the level of his cultivation base, how could he not see the terrifying life force that existed inside of it, and how Patriarch Blood Demon had grown weaker after it appeared?

Complex emotions suddenly rose up inside of him. It didn't matter that Patriarch Blood Demon had coerced him into accepting the title of Blood Prince, he still felt incredible gratitude in his heart.

Naruto carefully accepted the magical symbol and put it away, then clasped hands and bowed deeply to Blood Demon.

"My respects, Patriarch!"

Blood Demon's eyes shone with a strange light, and his hoarse laughter echoed out throughout the Blood Demon Sect.

Naruto didn't say anything more. He knew that originally, there was little reason for his life to have much of anything to do with the Blood Demon Sect. And yet, Patriarch Blood Demon had already showed him incredible kindness.

It wasn't limited to the events which occured outside the Reliance Sect that year. If you traced matters back further, Patriarch Blood Demon had actually made an appearance INSIDE the Reliance Sect as well.

Obviously, Naruto had long standing connections to the Blood Demon Sect.

Of course, Naruto was aware that his hand was forced back in the Black Sieve Sect. Despite that, he still chose to walk down this path in front of him.

"I make no requirements of you," said Patriarch Blood Demon. "Even if you want to lead the Blood Demon Sect out into the Southern Domain to wage war on the Black Sieve Sect, to destroy them… I won't stop you.

"You can do anything you want here. My only wish is that you cultivate the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Cultivate it all the way to the sixth level, and then you can leave without any hindrance from me."

Naruto's head jerked up to look at Patriarch Blood Demon, a shocked expression on his face. He would never have been able to guess that there would only be one requirement laid on him, and that it would be something like this.

"When you cultivate it to the third level," said Patriarch Blood Demon, his gaze fixed upon Naruto, "I will bestow upon you some good fortune. After that, each additional level will come with further good fortune!

"I didn't kill Six-Daos of the Black Sieve Sect, I only crippled his foundation. His cultivation base will quickly fall to the early Dao Seeking stage. When your Blood Demon Grand Magic reaches the fourth level, you will easily be able to slaughter that very stage. At that time, you can personally wipe out the entire Black Sieve Sect."

Naruto didn't say anything in response, but his eyes gleamed with a strange light.

"All I am giving to you is a title in the sect. As to whether or not you can stand on your own, can convince everyone to follow you… and to acknowledge your position, well…

"That depends on your capabilities." Blood Demon gave Naruto a profound look, then waved his right hand. A drop of blood flew out to hover in front of Naruto. He took hold of it, and when it touched his palm, it turned into a blood-red crystal, within which flickered magical symbols that seemed to contain a mysterious, great Dao.

After delivering the drop of blood, Patriarch Blood Demon once again grew visibly weaker. The drop was obviously made of lifeblood, which contained some of his will, and was indestructible. It also contained good fortune.

This was a legacy! The legacy of Patriarch Blood Demon!

After watching Naruto accept the blood drop, Patriarch Blood Demon looked at him with warmth.

"I've lived far too many years," he murmured in his heart, "and my condition worsens on a daily basis. Eventually, my soul will disperse, and I will die. When that happens, I will finally be able to accompany my long-dead friends in the underworld…. They died, and I live on alone…. Wait for me, my sister. Wait for me, friends. We can reunite soon….

"When I die, my death will have the greatest value of them all. My death will change the League of Demon Sealers!

"In fact, that is the reason I chose to descend here into the lands of the Southern Domain…. This is the homeland of the Demon Sealers. Wait for me, all of you. The day is coming soon…."

Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply, then turned to leave the cave.

Just as he was about to step out of the cave mouth, he suddenly stopped in place.

"Patriarch," he said, "as the Blood Prince, I have a license to kill, right?

How many disciples' lives are covered by it?"

As soon as Patriarch Blood Demon heard the words, his eyes flickered, and he lifted his head up once again from within the Blood Pond.

"One hundred per year."

"Regardless of status?"

"Regardless of status," was the calm reply. To him, none of the other disciples in the Blood Demon Sect were as important as Naruto.

Naruto didn't say anything further. He left the Immortal's cave, and as he did, Patriarch Blood Demon's voice echoed out to fill the entire sect.

"From this day forward, Naruto… is the Blood Prince of the Blood

Demon Sect!"

The words rumbled like thunder throughout the five mountain peaks of the Blood Demon Sect. Instantly, streams of divine sense appeared from within the four outer mountain peaks, all of which focused on Naruto as he stood there on Mount Blood Demon.

His expression was the same as ever as he strode down the steps. His calm face seemed reticent and taciturn; after dying, his personality had changed dramatically. That was especially so after the massacre at the Black Sieve Sect. After that, he was more ruthless and vicious, and it showed.

Even more influential was everything that had occurred with Hinata. As far as Naruto was concerned, his entire life was different now.

He walked silently, doing nothing to stop the countless streams of divine sense that began focusing on him. Each and every stream was filled with hostility. After all, to the Blood Demon Sect, Naruto… was a stranger!

For a stranger to suddenly come to the Blood Demon Sect and then immediately be promoted to Blood Prince was something that affected the interests of more than a few people. Clearly, many people were resentful.

Their resentment could not be displayed in Patriarch Blood Demon's presence, but when it came to Naruto, they didn't care about him one bit. Even if he had been appointed the Blood Prince, in the Blood Demon Sect… words need to be backed up by strength.

As for what had occurred in the Black Sieve Sect, only Naruto knew about it. The other experts in the Blood Demon Sect only knew that their Patriarch had set up a spell formation and then returned from the Black Sieve Sect with Naruto.

Regarding the particulars of what had occurred, the Black Sieve Sect obviously wouldn't be spreading the news. For the rest of the Blood Demon Sect to learn the details wouldn't likely happen in a short period of time.

There were powerful experts who occupied all four of the outer mountain peaks of the Blood Demon Sect. They built their own organizations within the sect that eventually caused the Blood Demon Sect to be divided into four major powers or sections.

Generally speaking, the four sections did not get along, and it was difficult to determine who was in the superior position. On the surface, things were harmonious, but in reality, there were ceaseless secret struggles that occurred.

Whether it be outside of the sect or inside, it had always been that way.

As for the position of Blood Prince, that was something that each of the powers wished for their own. If they could acquire the position of Blood Prince, it would change everything and would give them the qualifications to take control of all of the mountain peaks.

The first mountain peak was referred to as Mount Ironblood. 50,000 cultivators called it home, and all of them were Demonic cultivators and cold-blooded killers. Currently, all of their cold gazes were fixed on Mount Blood Demon.

They didn't care a whit about the new Blood Prince nor his extraordinary cultivation base. Even were it more extraordinary, he was still nothing more than a stranger. How could he possibly stand up to all of Mount Ironblood?!

In an Immortal's cave at the highest point on the mountain were the two

Ironblood Patriarchs. They were not cultivators, but rather, Demonic Incarnations; as for their true selves, few people knew what they looked like.

Normally, they didn't venture out very often, and currently, they sat there cross-legged, eyes open as they looked at Naruto.

"Nothing more than some member of the junior generation," said one of them.

There was also a middle-aged man who stood outside of the two Patriarchs' Immortal's cave. His eyes flashed with killing intent as he stared toward Mount Blood Demon.

"The title of Blood Prince was intended for me, Chang Yi! This Naruto dares to snatch food out of the tiger's mouth? He's looking to die!" His body began to glow with a bloody light, and seas of blood surged inside his eyes. The man was clearly in a rage, and countless bloody souls appeared around him, all of them emitting miserable shrieks.

Gritting his teeth, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed toward the

Immortal's cave. "Masters, please allow disciple to take action!"

"He might be the Blood Prince," said one of the two Ironblood Patriarchs, "but the only difference between his position and yours is that he has unique access to the Blood Demon Grand Magic. If you're skilled enough to make him bow his head, then he can become your puppet!"

"That's right," said the other, his voice cold. "If you're skilled enough to make him capitulate, then as the operators of the torture chamber, your Masters will be within their rights to crush him. Of course, he was appointed by the Patriarch, so you can't be the first one to make a move!"

The middle-aged man looked up, and his eyes flickered with viciousness. Without hesitation, he left the peak of the mountain.

At the same time, on the second mountain peak of the Blood Demon Sect, which was known as Mount Darkheaven, a cultivator rose up from meditation to look at Mount Blood Demon. This was respected Patriarch Darkheaven, who was referred to as a Demon, but was in fact a cultivator.

Behind him were his seven apprentices, none of whom seemed to be people of goodwill. Their eyes flickered with red light and killing intent.

The tens of thousands of disciples on Mount Darkheaven, all of whom were commanded by Patriarch Darkheaven, silently stared with cold eyes toward Mount Blood Demon.

—–

"Interesting," murmured Patriarch Darkheaven. "The Patriarch did not assign him a mountain peak, nor any followers, huh…? What does that mean?" He appeared in the form of a boy wearing scholar's garment, and he stood there with his arms clasped behind his back.

"Master," said one of the apprentices standing behind him, "why the hell does a stranger get to be the Blood Prince? I can't accept this!"

"Yeah, allow us to go fight this Naruto guy, Master! Let's see whether or not he has the skill to act as the Blood Prince!"

"What's your rush?" the boy said with a ghastly chuckle. "There will most certainly be others who are in much more of a hurry than you."

Without another word, he turned to head back into his Immortal's cave.

The seven apprentices' killing intent filled the air. They exchanged glances and then stared back at Naruto as he descended the stone steps of Mount Blood Demon.

A similar scene played out on the fourth mountain peak of the Blood

Demon Sect, albeit with much more intensity. The three Demonfire Patriarchs 1 did nothing to restrain themselves, and their fury and arrogance exploded up.

Only the fifth mountain peak was silent. At the very peak of the mountain was a white-haired, hunchbacked old man who supported himself with a walking stick as he looked off toward Mount Blood Demon.

Next to him stood a girl who was quite pretty, yet also radiated killing intent.

"Master," said the girl, "why prevent the disciples of Mount Ghostcrutch from expressing their discontent with the Patriarch's arrangement? It's inherently unfair! I could accept it if Chang Yi from Mount Ironblood became the Blood Prince. But I've never even heard of this Naruto before."

The old man smiled. His voice hoarse, he said, "Your Master has lived for a long time. Although I used to be a bit of a fool, I've become much more sensible over the years.

"You know, I was there on Mount Blood Demon the year the Patriarch descended.

"Throughout the years, the position of Blood Prince has been filled seven times. I was there every single time.

"I've lived a long time and seen many things. These eyes of mine can pierce through the ancient and archaic…. I can tell that this Naruto carries something very unusual."

The girl beside him frowned.

"Don't provoke him," continued the old man. "Don't even get near him. Master needs to observe him a bit more before making a decision." His eyes glittering, the old man returned to his Immortal's cave.

Naruto's expression was calm as he walked down the steps. When he was about halfway down the mountain, he suddenly paused as he caught sight of a white-robed woman up ahead. She stood on a boulder off to the side, in front of which was a cliff that stretched down into swirling fog.

The woman's robes swayed in the wind, making her look quite otherworldly. She was beautiful, and in this moment, looked like a graceful Immortal.

Naruto glanced at her for a moment and then looked away as he continued down the mountain.

The woman turned and stared at Naruto. "Elder Brother Naruto," she said, "we last ran into each other in the Demon Immortal Sect. Could it be that you've forgotten about humble little me?"

This woman was none other than Blood Demon Sect Dao ChildShimuraShiChakra, who had been dressed like a man the first time Naruto met her. 2

Naruto didn't say anything in response. He merely looked at her and nodded, then continued on his way down the stairs.

"Elder Brother Naruto," she continued, "the only people who live on Mount Blood Demon are myself and the Patriarch. I've been waiting in this spot because I need to give you a warning. The other four mountains won't approve of you being appointed as the Blood Prince." She waved her graceful hand, sending a jade slip flying out.

"This is a bit of information about the other four mountain peaks," she went on. "Take a look, it should be helpful."

Naruto accepted it and was silent for a moment. Finally, he said, "Thank you," and proceeded on his way.

"How… how is Fellow Daoist Hinata?"

"Thank you," he repeated, his voice drifting up from further down the mountain.

After leaving Mount Blood Demon, Naruto found himself in a bleak and desolate forest. The Blood Demon Sect was not like other Sects, where grand temples existed at the bottoms of the mountains, filled with Outer Sect disciples.

Although there were Outer Sect disciples, they also resided on the mountains. As for the region beneath the mountains, there existed only forests.

They weren't completely uninhabited, though. Log cabins could be seen throughout them, belonging to disciples who had descended from the mountains to practice cultivation in isolation. There were quite a few visible, although some were in states of disrepair.

Occasionally, disciples could be seen and, without exception, they looked at him coldly and without an ounce of respect.

Naruto's expression remained calm in the face of the coldness. He had sensed that he was the subject of many, many such gazes when he made his way down the mountain. Therefore, he proceeded until he found remote corner of the sect where he then sat down cross-legged. He closed his eyes and retrieved the soul orb of the exhausted and slumbering Hinata, who he examined for a long moment before stowing away.

At the same time, quite a few streams of divine sense from the surrounding mountain peaks were retracted by their owners, not a few of which were filled with disdain.

"What kind of Blood Prince is this Naruto? I thought he was supposed to be super skilled! He can't even fight with somebody for a log cabin at the bottom of the mountains!"

"He's not even willing to provoke anyone over a log cabin? In the Blood Demon Sect, everything depends on your strength and viciousness! Immortal's caves, mountain peaks, one's beloved, techniques, cultivation resources, everything goes to the strongest! And that includes the position he holds!"

"Hmph. He wants peace and quiet, huh? Well, considering he acquired a position that wasn't his to begin with, he better give up that idea!"

"Although, there's no reason to act too quickly. We only know a little bit about him, so let's just observe for a bit longer…."

Naruto closed his eyes and ignored all of the gazes and streams of divine sense, which he couldn't care less about. Instead, he sent his own divine sense into his bag of holding. There, he found the Blood Mastiff, who had been seriously injured defending him against the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. It had now regrown a physical body, although it was still weak and small.

And then there was the matter of the parrot and the meat jelly…. When Naruto thought of them, he frowned. He hadn't seen any traces of them since he awoke on the Underworld Ship.

However, he had the strange sense that the two ninnies were definitely in the Southern Domain.

Silently, he rotated his cultivation base until night fell. Finally, he opened his eyes and produced Hinata's desiccated corpse. He slowly fused the golden magical symbol into it, whereupon she instantly began to show signs of life. Gradually, she began to recover.

Her skin slowly changed, and her entire body began to look more limber and charming as she showed signs of awakening. It was a process that would take nine nine-day-cycles, a total of eighty-one days, to complete.

Naruto suppressed the excitement he felt, looked her over for a long moment, then carefully put her body away.

"Elder Sister Xu, your eyes will open in eighty-one days," he murmured. After a long moment, he finally took out the blood crystal given to him by Blood Demon.

He looked at it for only a moment before unhesitatingly pinching it between his fingers. Immediately, all the blood in his body began to seethe as if it were boiling, and emanate an indescribable, bloody aura.

Simultaneously, magical symbols appeared in his head. They emanated a crude, ancient aura that transformed into a legacy.

At the same time, the blood-colored mask inside of his bag of holding suddenly began to emit intense ripples. The Blood Mastiff inside trembled, seemingly instinctively responding to the aura coming out of Naruto, which it in turn absorbed.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!" murmured Naruto.

The Blood Demon Grand Magic was actually a taboo art in the Blood Demon Sect. Only Patriarch Blood Demon himself possessed it. Even previous Blood Princes of the sect had only been introduced to the art orally. Naruto was the only one to acquire the true lifeblood legacy.

The magic was organized into six levels, which were organized two to a stratum, meaning there were three strata in total.

"Chakra and Blood, Spirit Meridians, Blood Soul…." he murmured, and a red glow appeared in his eyes. He suddenly discovered that he was possessed of incredible latent talent in regards to the cultivation of the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

After only a moment, he reached the first level, and was halfway through the Chakra and Blood stratum.

The Chakra and Blood stratum was terrifying; it was capable of absorbing the power of someone else's Chakra and Blood.

Immediately, Naruto's eyes turned as red as fire. He slowly lifted up his hand, which had now turned bright red.

It was almost like his hand was covered with innumerable black holes, all of which were ready… to consume Chakra and Blood.

"I can't believe I was able to cultivate this art so quickly…." thought

Naruto. "It must have something to do with my cultivating the Blood Immortal divines abilities…. Blood Immortal. Blood Demon…. There must be some relationship between the two." After a moment of thought, he realized there might be another explanation. He reached inside of him and realized that his Demon Sealing magics were now slightly different than before.

It was as if some intangible change had occurred, although he was unsure of the exact details.

"Patriarch Blood Demon cares about my status as a Demon Sealer. In that case, perhaps that is why the Blood Demon Grand Magic was so easy for me to cultivate."

He contemplated the matter a bit further, and after a moment, decided that he might as well make another attempt at cultivating the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Following the prescribed method, he continued on. Two hours later, his eyes snapped open, and the bloody glow in his eyes seemed to have completely filled the pupils; he looked terrifying to an astonishing degree.

"The great circle of the Chakra and Blood stratum!" Naruto took a deep breath. By now, he could see just how tyrannically frightful the Blood Demon Grand Magic was. By consuming the Chakra and Blood of others, it could strengthen the fleshly body!

As for how strong, there seemed to be no limits!

"Unfortunately, it's not permanent and is only a borrowed power." His eyes glittered as he suddenly was filled with the strong desire to enter halfway into the Spirit Meridians stratum of the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

"All Cultivators build up vast quantities of spiritual energy in their bodies. Because of that, spirit meridians exist. The Spirit Meridians level allows me to consume the spirit meridians of others, which I can use to add to my cultivation base."

He closed his eyes and sank into cultivation. The sun was high in the sky before he finally opened his eyes and frowned.

"I can't cultivate it. I'm missing something." He was in the middle of considering the matter when suddenly the archaic voice of Patriarch Blood Demon echoed in his ears.

"Very good. You reached the second level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. When you reach the third level, I will give you something that is sure to leave you astonished.

"It has something to do with your League of Demon Sealers. With that item, you will be able to acquire… a Demon Sealing magic!"

Naruto looked up toward Mount Blood Demon. He didn't speak, but his heart trembled. As of this moment, he was now absolutely certain that Patriarch Blood Demon… placed importance upon his identity as a Demon Sealer.

"Just what secrets have I yet to uncover about the Demon Sealers?" he thought. Despite being a Demon Sealer for many years, he still could use only the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex and Righteous Bestowal.

The sky was clear, and cultivators bustled about the Blood Demon Sect. It actually did have the air of a sect, although many of the people were actually engaged in deadly combat. The sound of mutual slaughter was intense, and the glow of blood glittered up radiantly.

If disciples from other great sects in the Southern Domain came here, they would be quite out of sorts. However, as far as Naruto was concerned, it was just like the Reliance Sect, so it actually felt quite familiar.

He stuck to his remote corner of the sect, ignoring everyone else. No one else cared to come to him, either. It was as if they didn't even notice his existence. Because of Naruto's experiences, a single glance was all it took for him to perceive the deep-seated feelings behind the cold expressions on their faces and the scorn in their eyes.

"That's fine," he thought, his face calm. He wasn't the type of person who enjoyed rowdiness. He didn't care about mountain peaks and fighting over resources. He was happy to be left alone to practice cultivation in peace and quiet.

At noon, Naruto rose to his feet. He casually felled some of the trees in the area and built a log cabin. Naturally, people noticed this, and everyone stared in shock, especially the people who harbored strong hostility toward him.

"He's actually building a log cabin?"

"It looks like he's really made up his mind to immerse himself in cultivation. But, does he really think that this will allow him to remain separate from sect affairs?!"

Up on Mount Ironblood, middle-aged Chang Yi saw what was going on, and frowned.

It was at this point that Naruto opened his eyes and looked out of his log cabin. Approaching slowly on foot was a somewhat emaciated looking middle-aged man. His body emanated the ancientness of time, and he was very thin. There was a ruthlessness to him, which presently seemed to have been replaced by complex emotions.

The ripples of a Nascent Soul cultivation base spread out from him, and when Naruto saw him, many different feelings filled him, along with a sense of reminiscence.

As he walked up slowly, his appearance caused many of the surrounding disciples to be shocked.

"That's Elder Brother Uchiha Youcai!"

"What is Elder Brother Uchiha doing here?"

"Wait, look at his expression. Something strange is going on."

People watched as Uchiha Youcai walked up to Naruto and looked at him silently. Clearly, he was recalling past times.

He didn't say anything, and neither did Naruto. As they looked at each other, both of them seemed to be recalling Mount DaChakrang.

That was the place where they both began to walk their path of cultivation, and also the place… where Naruto and Hinata met.

After a long moment passed, Uchiha Youcai clenched his jaw as if to some inner pain.

"Do you drink?" he asked. With that, he sat down cross-legged and tossed a flagon of alcohol over to Naruto.

Naruto caught it, and immediately took a long drink. The alcohol burned as it slid down his throat. It felt almost like a knife stabbing into his guts.

"Li Fugui told me about what happened with Elder Sister Xu," Uchiha Youcai said, keeping his voice low.

Naruto nodded and took another drink. His earliest memories of the cultivation world contained the group from Mount DaChakrang: Uchiha Youcai, Fatty, and Dong Hu.

The four of them, including Naruto, were taken by Hinata to the Reliance Sect. Later, Dong Hu and Uchiha Youcai apparently had a falling out, and Uchiha Youcai disappeared. Regarding Dong Hu, his disposition changed completely, and as for Fatty…. Well, out of all four of them, he seemed to have ended up far, far happier than the rest.

Uchiha Youcai and Naruto sat together drinking silently, each one wrapped up in various memories. Of course, there was one thing that existed in both of their memories, and that was Mount DaChakrang.

"Did you ever run into Dong Hu again?" Uchiha Youcai suddenly asked.

"Not after I left the Konoha," replied Naruto. He looked at Uchiha Youcai, hesitated for a moment, and then asked, "Back then, the two of you…?"

"His body was physically weak, so I ended up caring for him like a younger brother," replied Uchiha Youcai, his voice cool. "I would help him when it came time to haul water, and if people picked on him, I would handle it. In the end… he shoved me off a cliff because of a pearl."

Naruto didn't respond. He picked up the alcohol flagon and took a big mouthful.

"Be careful of Chang Yi," continued Uchiha Youcai. "In fact, be careful of everyone in the Blood Demon Sect…. There is no such thing as camaraderie here. The only thing that matters is who is more vicious!" With a sigh, he rose to his feet and prepared to leave.

"You shouldn't have come," said Naruto, looking up at him.

Uchiha Youcai didn't reply. He knew that what Naruto said was true; he shouldn't have come. The entire sect currently viewed Naruto with hostility, which meant that after leaving, he would most certainly face some difficulties. And yet, he came anyway.

In fact, in almost the same instant that Uchiha Youcai rose to leave, Chang Yi stood there on the first mountain peak, a cruel smile on his lips.

"So, they know each other!" He flicked his sleeve and flew up into the air. "Follow me, Junior Brothers!" Immediately, nineteen beams of light rose into the air from Mount Ironblood and teleported down toward the bottom of the mountain. "You don't have to make a move, Naruto," he thought. "You can sit there and refuse to provoke anyone. But now, the time has come to see exactly what amazing abilities you have, and why the hell you deserve to be the Blood Prince.

"I'll test you out and see exactly how profound you are. If you don't fight back hard, then I'll just keep pushing until you reach the boiling point. After all, I have plenty of methods to deal with you. If you fight back hard… well, that's what I'm waiting for.

"Hopefully, you'll end up killing someone, and then my Masters will have every right to throw you into the torture chamber!"

As Uchiha Youcai emerged from Naruto's log cabin, twenty beams of light, including Chang Yi, shot down toward the very same area.

Their appearance on the scene instantly caught the attention of the Blood Demon Sect disciples in the surrounding forest. Their expressions turned lively; they knew that an entertaining drama was about to unfold.

Meanwhile, back on the second mountain peak, the seven apprentices of the Spirit Severing Patriarch were all paying very close attention. Merciless gleams glittered brightly in their eyes.

"Now we'll see exactly how profound this Naruto actually is!"

"That Chang Yi has an irascible personality. A whole day hasn't even passed and he already reached the limits of his patience!"

"No wonder he's behaving like that, this is a good opportunity to test out Naruto. We'll be able to learn a bit about him by observing how things turn out."

On the fourth mountain peak, three figures wreathed in flames watched on coldly from outside their Immortal's caves. The disciples of the fourth mountain peak were also watching on, expressions of derision clear on their faces.

One among their number was a young man, who held a magical fan in his hand. He exuded an air of coldness as his lips twisted into a smile.

"Chang Yi really couldn't hold on very long," he said. "That's good, though. This is only a test; presumably, there won't be too much of a ruckus. It does have to be said, though, that Chang Yi is quite the fool.

"It's only been a single day, and Naruto was appointed directly by the Patriarch. If someone really tries to subdue him, the Patriarch will intervene. It's too bad a good opportunity will have been lost."

On the fifth mountain peak, the pretty young woman's eyes were fixed on the scene that was playing out, and she was starting to get excited. As for the hunchbacked old man, he casually looked over to watch.

"Master, do you think this Naruto will really be subdued if the matter turns serious?" Her eyes flickered with viciousness.

"Serious?" said the old man, his tone one of pride in his own wisdom. "Oh no, it won't get serious. It's a small matter. At worst, the harmony will be broken temporarily. You have only practiced cultivation for a short time, but Master has lived for far too long, and has seen many things. I've watched things like this play out too many times.

"You just watch, the dispute regarding Naruto being the Blood Prince is just starting. It will take quite some time before it gets resolved…"

On Mount Blood Demon, Patriarch Blood Demon rested in the Blood Pond. His eyes opened, and he looked over at what was happening.

"So… what will he do?"

Li ShiChakra was also paying close attention, and a profound glint could be seen in her eyes.

Everyone in the whole Blood Demon Sect was looking in Naruto's direction. They all knew that this was his first time making a true public appearance in the sect. They all wanted to see exactly how he would respond to the test.

Of course, it was only a test….

Naruto's face was calm as he looked at the twenty beams of light approaching from Mount Ironblood. It didn't matter if it was Chang Yi up in front, or the other nineteen of his followers. They were all the same to Naruto.

Of the nineteen, eight were Nascent Soul cultivators, and eleven were at the great circle of Core Formation. As for Chang Yi, he had the highest cultivation base, the peak of the Nascent Soul stage.

"Uchiha Youcai!" cried out someone from the group. The sound of the voice was like springtime thunder echoing out in all directions.

They didn't even bother with any pretenses; as soon as the voice rang out, its speaker turned into a red beam of light that shot out from the group toward Uchiha Youcai, filled with killing intent. Blood-colored magical items also flew out, whistling through the air. Three of the Nascent Soul Cultivators directly shot toward Uchiha Youcai.

As for everyone else, they surrounded the air, their eyes filled with coldness and derision as they eyed Naruto.

That was especially true of Chang Yi, whose eyes were sinister and cold as he hovered in mid air, his hands clasped behind his back. He looked at Naruto, waiting to see what he would decide to do. If Naruto didn't make a move, then it meant allowing Uchiha Youcai to be seriously injured. If Naruto did make a move, well… that was exactly what Chang Yi was waiting for!

He firmly believed that in that moment, his Masters would appear and subdue Naruto.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, causing Uchiha Youcai's face to turn grim. He immediately teleported forward to escape, and at the same time transmitted an urgent message to Naruto.

"Don't do anything! This is Chang Yi. His Masters control the torture chamber, and you can't give them any reason to subdue you down.

Don't worry about me." Even as Uchiha Youcai teleported forward, Chang Yi laugh coldly and waved his right hand. Seven tiny flags flew out, which rapidly expanded in mid-air to form seals that forced Uchiha Youcai back to the ground. Uchiha Youcai's face flickered as the three Nascent Soul Cultivators closed in, their faces filled with vicious killing intent.

Everything happened in the blink of an eye. Booms echoed out, and blood poured out of the corners of Uchiha Youcai's mouth. He retreated, performing an incantation gesture that caused a divine ability to appear. At the same time, he shouted, "Elder Brother Chang Yi, I'm a disciple of the second mountain peak, do you really dare to attack me?!"

"The second mountain peak?" replied Chang Yi, laughing. An arrogant expression appeared on his face as he glanced in the direction of that very mountain.

Immediately, a voice echoed out from the second mountain peak. "As is customary, we won't interfere with the matters of the torture chamber. Elder Brother Chang, if Uchiha Youcai violated any rules, then you can do anything you wish. However, if he didn't violate any rules, then you'll be held responsible."

Uchiha Youcai's face grew grimmer as he looked at the incoming vicious Nascent Soul cultivators. He gritted his teeth, and was just about to employ one of the sect's restricted techniques to stimulate his Chakra and Blood, when suddenly Naruto stood up. His expression was calm as he arrived next to Uchiha Youcai with a single step and gripped his shoulder.

In the moment that he appeared, all eyes instantly fixated on him. Everyone from all of the five mountain peaks were watching.

That was especially true of Chang Yi, who was inwardly going wild with joy.

"Blood Prince," he said coolly. "What is the meaning of this? Don't tell me you're really going to interfere with torture chamber matters?" He suddenly glared angrily at the other Mount Ironblood cultivators, who looked a bit hesitant. "Why haven't you apprehended him yet?!"

The cultivators gritted their teeth. Ignored Naruto, they advanced on Uchiha Youcai, their killing intent radiating about intensely.

It was at this point that a shocking coldness suddenly appeared in Naruto's placid eyes.

A whistling sound filled the air as the three Mount Ironblood Nascent Soul cultivators gritted their teeth, ignored Naruto, and shot past him toward Uchiha Youcai, radiating killing intent.

They wouldn't kill him, of course. However, they would seriously wound him, especially considering that they represented the torture chamber, and their Elder Brother Chang Yi had personally given the orders. In their opinion, they clearly occupied the superior position, especially considering that they were essentially backed by the two Ironblood Patriarchs. A trifling Blood Prince, even if he did have a cultivation base exceeding their own, couldn't possibly fight back against the two Ironblood Patriarchs.

Because of this line of reasoning, their killing intent grew even more intense than before. Magical items appeared as they shot forward, and the blood-colored glow rose to the Heavens. Under the eyes of everyone in all of the mountain peaks of the sect, they shot forward.

A cold smile could be seen on the face of Chang Yi as he glared icily at Naruto, waiting to see how he would respond to this test.

"There is ruthlessness in my heart," murmured Naruto. "It's been there since I perished in the Milky Way Sea…." He lifted his right hand and casually waved a finger.

Although it appeared that the finger didn't actually point down onto anything but air, in the blink of an eye, the fastest of the three Mount Ironblood cultivators immediately began to tremble. An expression of confusion flashed across his face, and then he coughed up blood. A moment later, he literally exploded.

It was as if an enormous, invisible pair of hands had crushed him into a pulp!

The speed with which it happened was incomparable. It was so sudden that everyone who was observing was flabbergasted.

Behind Naruto, Uchiha Youcai's face fell, and his heart began to pound. "Not good," he thought. "Naruto is far too impulsive! What should I do?"

Anxiety welled up in his heart. He could tell that Chang Yi was just testing Naruto, and could never have imagined that Naruto would act so rashly.

Chang Yi's eyes went wide. Previously, he had never thought that the Blood Prince would attack… with lethal force. However, this twist caused joy to surge up inside of him. He couldn't help but muse that the Blood Prince was clearly far too inexperienced. Coldness gleamed in Chang Yi's eyes as he strode forward.

"Blood Prince!" he bellowed. "How dare you violate sect rules!"

At the same time, the seven shady-looking apprentices on the second mountain peak watched on with glittering eyes, clearly interested in what was happening.

On the fourth mountain peak, the young man with the fan smiled faintly, and a strange light gleamed in his eyes.

As for the hunchbacked old man on the fifth mountain peak, his eyes flickered. Next to him, the pretty young woman stared in shock. She could never have guessed that Naruto would actually kill anyone. "So, this Blood Prince turns out to be quite a vicious person," said the hunchbacked old man, sighing emotionally. "However, he is a bit reckless, and also a tad young. He's not like me, a person who has lived far, far too long."

Naruto completely ignored the reactions of everyone around him. He seemed to be immersed within a world of regrets.

"The ruthlessness grew stronger in the Rebirth Cave…." he sighed. He waved his finger again, and the second incoming Nascent Soul Cultivator's face fell. He suddenly stopped in place. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and then he exploded, completely dead in body and soul.

Another person slain!

The sight of it caused Chang Yi's face to flicker, not with happiness, but with shock. Moments ago, he had assumed Naruto would stop after killing one person, but unexpectedly, he killed again.

Simultaneously, the surrounding cultivators' eyes began to shine with a strange light. The disciples on the mountains felt their hearts filling with shock.

"In the Black Sieve Sect… the ruthlessness exploded out," murmured Naruto. "And yet, it was not sated. Instead, it festered at the bottom of my heart and became even more intense, transforming into… what Patriarch Blood Demon mentioned. Devilishness."

The third Nascent Soul cultivator, seeing his two companions killed right in front of him, was completely dumbstruck. His eyes went wide, and he began to retreat, but it was in that moment that Naruto raised his hand and gestured a third time with his finger.

"Eldest Brother, save me…." the man screamed. But then, his body exploded with a bang that echoed out in all directions. Everyone trembled violently, as they were shaken out of their reveries from the events of moments ago.

"He… actually killed three people in a row!"

"How moronic! This guy is a real idiot! He just arrived in the Blood Demon Sect, but won't bow his head in submission, and even dares to act with unbridled aggression!"

"He's in big trouble now. Not only did he dare to kill fellow sect members

IN the sect, but he chose to kill torture chamber disciples!"

As the buzz of conversation echoed out, Chang Yi flew up into the air, glaring at Naruto the entire time. At first, he had been shocked, but that shock was been replaced with boundless elation. Inwardly, he was roaring with laughter.

"My Masters said not to take the initiative in provoking him," he thought, "but as it turns out, the dolt decided to start killing. Considering his position, killing one could be tolerated, but he killed three…. In that case, if I could get him to kill some more, he would definitely be flirting with death!"

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Chang Yi smiled.

"I offered respect to you as the Blood Prince," he called out, "and in response you dared to make deadly attacks in the sect, and even offended the torture chamber! It doesn't matter how high your cultivation base is, you will be put down! Men… take him into custody!"

The faces of all the Mount Ironblood disciples flickered in hesitation. However, it was at this moment that two shocking pulses of Spirit Severing energy erupted from Mount Ironblood.

"When the Blood Prince commits a crime, he will be treated as anyone else!" rumbled an ancient, somber voice. "Take him into custody and bring him to Mount Ironblood. If he resists, subdue him immediately!" As the words echoed out throughout the entire sect, Chang Yi's expression flickered, and he almost started to laugh out loud with self-righteous laughter.

"He's dead!" he thought.

At the same time, the other disciples with Chang Yi started to look excited. Now that they knew they had the support of the two Ironblood Patriarchs, they were completely confident. They instantly surged forward toward Naruto, completely sure that the Blood Prince would never dare to attack them. If he did, then the two Ironblood Patriarchs would instantly reveal themselves.

Meanwhile on the second mountain peak, Mount Darkheaven, in a temple on the peak, Patriarch Darkheaven sat cross-legged in the form of a young boy. He wore a scholar's garment, and his expression was grim as he cast his gaze down the mountain.

Outside of the temple were the seven apprentices, all of whom sneered coldly as they watched the scene play out. Their contempt for Naruto was even greater than before; they believed his ability to think and plan was clearly lacking.

In response to a simple test, he instantly revealed his weaknesses.

On the fourth mountain peak, the young man with the fan laughed to himself. "This Blood Prince is far too inexperienced," he thought. "His cultivation base is incredible, but he doesn't know how to conduct himself. Well, let this be a lesson to him. In the end, he isn't worthy of his title. He will bow his head in submission soon enough."

The hunchbacked old man on the fifth mountain peak sighed. "Too young."

Naruto looked up, and his eyes were frigid. In fact, his entire person was like a block of ice, and the ruthless aura within him radiated out explosively.

"My ruthlessness turned into Devilishness," he murmured, "and I can't suppress it. It does not conform with my Dao, but… it is what it is…. I might as well let it out!"

He stepped forward, and in the blink of an eye, his killing intent erupted out. At the same time, he swished his sleeve.

It was a simple wave of an arm, but it caused an astonishing gale-force wind to rage up. It was like a wind of Heavenly destruction that swept out in all directions, slamming into more than a dozen incoming cultivators.

As soon as it touched them, their faces fell, and blood sprayed out of their mouths. Regardless of the various levels of their cultivation bases, they were incapable of standing up to the mightiness of the wind, and their bodies were ripped into shreds. Blood and gore sprayed out in all directions.

As for Chang Yi, his face instantly went as pale as death, and his pupils constricted. His cultivation base was at the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, so it was with great astonishment that he was barely able to stand up to the wind. However, the wind then wrapped around him, transforming into an enormous hand that grabbed him violently.

It squeezed down, and cracking sounds could be heard. Chang Yi screamed miserably. "Masters! Save me!"

When the onlookers saw this, their faces flickered with astonishment. Up on the second mountain peak, Patriarch Darkheaven shot to his feet. The hearts of the seven apprentices outside of the temple filled with shock.

On the fourth mountain peak and the fifth mountain peak, similar scenes played out.

"What is he doing!?"

"I can't believe he actually killed so many people!"

"Is he challenging the torture chamber to battle?"

"This… this was just a test, but he responded in this way!?"

At this point, a cold snort echoed out from Mount Ironblood, and two streams of divine sense shot down toward the land below to rescue Chang Yi.

Naruto's expression was calm as the huge hand in mid-air suddenly began to squeeze shut.

"Stay your hand!" roared the two streams of divine sense.

Even as the sound rang out, Chang Yi's screaming reached a fever pitch.

"No…" he cried. "This… was just… a test…." Before he could finish speaking, a boom echoed out as his body was crushed into a pulp of mutilated flesh. His Nascent Soul was also completely destroyed. He was dead in flesh and soul.

To him, it was just a test, but to Naruto… when it came to attacking, there was no such thing as any so-called testing.

Deathly silence filled the air. No one could ever have predicted that a simple test would unexpectedly end this way. Moments later, the two streams of divine sense descended toward Naruto.

"Are you looking to die?!" roared one.

"How dare you kill my Mount Ironblood disciples! I'm going to crush you!" The two Ironblood Patriarchs were furious. At the moment, it didn't matter that Naruto was the Blood Prince, or that they could sense something strange about his cultivation base. Those things didn't matter.

Truth be told, there was something strange about Naruto's cultivation base. The life force of a Resurrection Lily obscured the traces of his Second Severing, making it seem that he was only in the First Severing level.

He looked up, and not a trace of hesitation could be seen in his eyes as he sent his divine sense shooting out with intense ferocity.

BAM!

His divine sense was simply too powerful. The fact that the two

Ironblood Patriarchs were Spirit Severing cultivators didn't matter. Their streams of divine sense were completely incapable of standing up to to Naruto's, and were immediately shattered.

Massive ripples raged through the Blood Demon Sect, whipping the trees and vegetation into a fury. All of the surrounding cultivators gasped in astonishment.

"There's no need to come down here to try to subdue me," said Naruto coldly. "I'll head up there to subdue the two of you!" With that, he flew directly toward the first mountain peak.

As of this moment, the entire Blood Demon Sect was in a complete uproar

It took Naruto only a single step forward to reach the first mountain peak. The instant he stepped foot onto it, all of Mount Ironblood shook. Inside their temple at the peak of the mountain, the faces of the two Ironblood Patriarchs flickered, and they erupted with shocking First Severing energy.

Rumbling filled Heaven and Earth, and the clouds and mist in all directions seethed. At the same time, an enormous face appeared in mid-air up above Mount Ironblood. It was completely the color of blood, and two horns protruded from its forehead.

It looked matchlessly vicious. As for the two Ironblood Patriarchs, their robes whipped madly in the wind, and in their hands they held enormous battle-axes.

The battle-axes were Demon Weapons; the two Patriarchs were facing a mortal enemy, and their hearts were trembling with great waves of shock.

"I can't believe… he's so powerful!"

"What level is his cultivation base?! I can't see any traces of a Second Severing, but even at the great circle of the First Severing, he shouldn't have such powerful divine sense!"

"Could it be that he cultivates some technique to specifically enhance his divine sense!?"

The moment the two Patriarchs appeared was the same moment that Naruto stepped foot onto the stairs leading up to the peak of the first mountain. Slowly, he began to make his way toward the top.

All eyes were fixed on him, and everyone was thinking that as of this moment, Naruto really was worthy of his title after all.

On the second mountain peak, the scholarly looking child, Patriarch Darkheaven, could sense the result of the confrontation between the divine sense of Naruto and the two Ironblood Patriarchs. His face was covered with shock as he hastily stood, then instantly teleported out of his temple.

Outside, his seven apprentices gasped, and their faces filled with disbelief.

"He resisted the divine sense of the two Ironblood Patriarchs all by himself!"

"Just… just what type of cultivation base does he have!?"

"What is he doing? Wasn't this just a test?"

"QUIET!" barked Patriarch Darkheaven. Shocked, his seven apprentices instantly went as silent as cicadas during winter.

On the fourth mountain peak, the three old men wreathed in flames also rushed out of their temple. Their expression were that of astonishment as they looked toward the first mountain peak.

Off to the side, the young man with the fan who had previously been observing the events with a look of disdain on his face, now stood there slack-jawed, seemingly incapable of even breathing.

He suddenly realized that this was not a situation in which the Blood Prince was being immature. Quite the opposite, his cultivation base was so high that he didn't need to bother with any sort of strategy or planning. He took out all of his opponents in one blow!

As soon as Naruto started up the staircase, the first, second, and fourth mountain peaks were sent into complete, reeling shock. In that same moment, the wind and clouds surged. A black fog appeared, within which could also be seen a white fog.

In the blink of an eye, black and white began to swirl around each other and form into the shape of two enormous pearls. Furthermore, beneath the two pearls was a mountain wreathed in mist and clouds!

The Ninth Mountain!

The Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain!

Together!

This was something that Naruto had come up with after his battle with Patriarch Six-Daos of the Black Sieve Sect. Although it was not complete, he was still able to use them to shocking effect.

Rumbling echoed out as the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain crushed down onto the two Patriarchs of Mount Ironblood.

RUMBLE!

The ground trembled, and rumbling filled the air. The two Ironblood Patriarchs' faces quivered.

Meanwhile, back on the fifth mountain peak, the hunchbacked old man's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath.

The pretty young woman who stood next to him was utterly shocked.

"What… what is he doing? Could he really be trying to fight back against

Mount Ironblood? Master, didn't you say things wouldn't get serious?"

The hunchbacked old man blinked and cleared his throat. "Calm down, alright? Based on my experience, I can tell you that the matter definitely won't get extremely serious. At the most, the first mountain peak will be involved. Hahaha! It seems this Blood Prince is going to take it as a show of force!"

In the central mountain peak, Mount Blood Demon, Patriarch Blood Demon's face was tranquil, but a smile of contentment could be seen on his face.

"The ruthlessness in your heart is too intense, and can't be dispelled. You might as well let it condense into Devilishness. This has been a long time coming. It wasn't that I wanted to coerce you; rather, this was the only method that would count as being helpful to you.

"You don't understand now, but when you reach your Third Severing, you will be enlightened."

Li ShiChakra was also on Mount Blood Demon, and her eyes shone with a strange light as she watched the scene play out. After all, she knew Naruto much, much better than anyone else in the Blood Demon Sect.

The events in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect were imprinted indelibly in her heart, and she hadn't forgotten about anything that happened there. Furthermore, after returning, she told no one in the sect about what had happened, with the exception of Patriarch Blood Demon.

Most shocked of all was Uchiha Youcai. He stared blankly as everything happened, then began to breathe deeply. Determination began to glow in his eyes. "Naruto… is so strong! I… can't let myself fall behind!" RUMBLE!

A massive clamor filled the air as Naruto took his third step up the stairs. Up in mid-air, the pearls in the black and white mist, as well as the Ninth Mountain they orbited, shot toward the peak of the mountain. Under the force of the incredible pressure, the two Ironblood Patriarch's gigantic, ferocious face suddenly revealed an expression of pain.

Naruto's face was cold as he took his fourth step.

Shocking rumbling caused everything to shake. The face formed by the energy of the two Ironblood Patriarchs struggled and howled. However, it did no good. Under the crushing pressure, it shattered into countless fragments.

To the observers, it almost looked like half of the sky had been ripped apart, superseded by the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain. Having seen their vicious face destroyed, the two Ironblood Patriarchs trembled and coughed up blood. In the blink of an eye, they seemed to age, and their faces filled with astonishment.

"Just how powerful is he?!" they thought, their minds reeling. In their wildest imaginations, they could never have guessed that Naruto, using only his own aura, could suppress them to this extent.

On the second mountain peak, Patriarch Darkheaven's face flickered as he stared at the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain. "What divine ability is that?!"

The apprentices next to him were trembling, and so were rest of the 50,000 cultivators of the first mountain peak. They looked up at the sky, and at Naruto, and were terrified.

The three flame-cloaked figures on the fourth mountain peak watched on in shock.

"Crushing! Now, that is crushing!"

"He didn't even attack them directly, he just used energy to pound the two Ironblood Patriarchs into such a tattered state!"

"Blood Prince! He really is the Blood Prince!"

Everyone was panting. In the Blood Demon Sect, respect was shown to the strong. Other than some of the Elite Apprentices who earned their place because of their bloodline, everyone else was now completely astonished by Naruto's show of force.

He took a fifth step.

Everything shook as the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain continued to emit crushing pressure. The two Ironblood Patriarch's faces flickered, and with growling roars, they shot up into the air. However, even as they flew up, rumbling echoed out and they were swatted back down. They slammed into the top of the mountain, causing it to tremble violently as it sank down into the ground by a full three meters!

All observers were dumbfounded.

The two Ironblood Patriarchs coughed up blood. Their bodies were covered with wounds, and their astonishment regarding the Ninth Mountain and the Black White Pearls could not grow any further.

"If we can't fight the divine ability, then we'll battle with his true self!"

"His magical techniques are monstrous. We can't fight from a distance, we need to get closer to attack!"

The two Patriarchs roared, and their bodies emitted thumping sounds as they began to grow. They rapidly turned into thirty-meter tall, fourarmed giants that looked like devilish fiends.

Their foreheads sported double horns, and they looked nothing at all like humans, but rather, Demons. Their energy exploded out violently as they hefted their battle-axes and then transforming into streaks of light that shot down toward Naruto with monstrous killing intent.

"DIE!"

"KILL!"

Naruto was taking his sixth step as they bore down on him. He glanced at the two Demons coldly, then lifted his right hand and slapped out violently.

His fleshly body had experienced sanctification and was essentially at the great circle of Spirit Severing. It was second only to Dao Seeking!

His cultivation base was at the Second Severing, but his true power… placed him as the number one person under Dao Seeking in all the lands of South Heaven.

His palm roared through the air to land directly onto the two Demons.

A huge boom echoed out as the battle-axes shattered into pieces. The faces of the two Demons filled with astonishment, and blood sprayed out of their mouths. Miserable shrieks could be heard, and they appeared to be on the verge of exploding. Blood spurted out everywhere as they were sent tumbling backward.

Naruto's palm slammed them back up toward the peak of the mountain. At the same time, the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain began to descend.

"NOOO!"

"Patriarch, save us!"

"Darkheaven! Demonfire! Help us!"

When the two Ironblood Patriarchs called out, bloody glows rose up from the second and fourth mountains. As they shot forward, a voice echoed out.

"Enough!"

"Your power has been established! Why haven't you stayed your hand!?"

The ruthlessness in Naruto's eyes flickered as he took his eighth step.

"SCREW OFF!" he said, sending his divine sense exploding out. It transformed into a monstrous blood-colored beam that shot toward the incoming bloody glows. Its explosive intensity instantly shattered the two opposing beams, and they vanished.

"Still want test me? Well then, take a good long look. I've taken a liking to this Mount Ironblood." As his voice rumbled out, the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain slammed down onto the peak of Mount Ironblood.

CRUSH!

Everything quaked, and a riot of colors flashed across the sky. The

50,000 disciples of the first mountain peak trembled as the two Ironblood Patriarchs screamed miserably. Their bodies were instantly smashed by the Ninth Mountain.

As their bodies were destroyed, their Nascent Divinities flew out, but were unable to escape. The Black White Pearls immediately absorbed them, and they were sealed inside.

In that moment, Naruto finished taking his eighth step, and reached the peak of the mountain. As he stood there alone, all of the disciples of the first mountain peak dropped trembling to their knees and began to kowtow.

"We offer our respects, Blood Prince!"

"We offer our respects, Blood Prince!"

The voices echoed out from the first mountain peak, rising into the air and spreading out like massive waves.

The entire Blood Demon Sect was filled with the sound of it.

However, even as the sound rolled out, a grim, penetrating voice could be heard.

"Naruto, you might have a high cultivation base, but this is the Blood Demon Sect! Killing the torture chamber Patriarchs to usurp their position is against sect rules! You WILL provide compensation!"

"Crushing the two Ironblood Fellow Daoists requires that you provide compensation!"

The voices came from the second and fourth mountain peaks. Patriarch Darkheaven and the three Demonfire Patriarchs refused to give in, and in their minds, Naruto had already established his power. In their opinion, Patriarch Blood Demon would certainly appear soon. Since that was the case, they spoke up to maintain their own face, and make sure everyone knew that they did not fear the Blood Prince.

—–

In their opinions, there was no way that Naruto would be willing to make enemies of the entire Blood Demon Sect. The price had already been paid for the test, so they would naturally speak up to preserve their dignity.

Therefore, they made up their minds to worry later about how to deal with Naruto. In their reckoning, the next that would happen was that Patriarch Blood Demon would appear and smooth things over.

On the fifth mountain peak, the pretty young woman raised her hand to her chest. Everything that had occurred so far had left a deep impression upon her. As for the hunchbacked old man, he took a deep breath, cleared his throat, and then coolly said, "Patriarch Blood Demon will appear now, and the matter will be concluded. Ah, this Blood Prince…. Too young. Too impulsive. I've lived for too long and…." However, before he could finish speaking….

Naruto completely ignored the mangled corpses at his feet and turned his head to look at the second mountain peak. The icy ruthlessness in his eyes grew even stronger.

"How about I give you your compensation right now!" he said. To the disbelief of all onlookers, he began to move straight toward the second mountain peak!

The Blood Demon Sect instantly went as quiet as a graveyard.

On the second mountain peak, Patriarch Darkheaven's face fell.

"Lunatic!" he thought. "This damned bastard is a lunatic!"

Face flickering, he backed up. "I… I was just babbling," he thought. "But he's actually… dammit!"

The three Demonfire Patriarchs on the fourth mountain peak were also shocked. Gritting their teeth, they flew in succession toward the second mountain peak.

Naruto moved with incredible speed, so it only took a moment for him to close in. He raised his right hand, and the Black White Pearls appeared, circulating around the Ninth Mountain. As they hovered above the second mountain peak, the sky shook and the land quaked.

The disciples of the Blood Demon Sect were flabbergasted to the extreme. Gasps could be heard as they looked up at their matchlessly domineering Blood Prince!

"'There's no need to come down here to try to crush me, I'll head up there to crush all of you!'

"'How about I give you your compensation right now!'

"That's what the Blood Prince said! Domineering to the max! He's definitely the Blood Prince of our Blood Demon Sect!"

The bloodline disciples of various other Patriarchs in the sect were now all panting as they realized that their Blood Prince was completely domineering. Their eyes were filled with fanaticism as they stared at Naruto.

To have a Blood Prince like this was something incredibly impressive.

In contrast, Patriarch Darkheaven of the second mountain, as well as his seven apprentices, were all pale-faced and trembling. Previously, they had sneered at Naruto and looked down with scorn at his youth. By now, they had come to their senses, and could do nothing but stare at him in astonishment.

As for the young man with the fan on the fourth mountain peak, his face was pale white with shock. He suddenly realized that the Blood Prince… might look harmless, but was in fact completely overbearing when provoked.

He did not give second chances, and when he decided to establish his might, he did so completely and thoroughly.

Naruto sped toward the second mountain peak, and when he stepped foot onto it, the entire mountain rocked back and forth. Naruto raised his hand toward the retreating Patriarch Darkheaven and extended his finger.

"You want compensation? Here's my compensation. Compensation to the second mountain peak, delivered by me for Uchiha Youcai." The reason Naruto chose to make a move against the second mountain peak really was Uchiha Youcai.

Naruto had noticed how they treated him earlier, and was not pleased. As he extended his finger, wind blasted out that seemed to split the Heavens. The Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain transformed into a blur that shot toward the boy in the scholar's garments, who was none other than Patriarch Darkheaven.

Patriarch Darkheaven's face fell, and he immediately performed an incantation. A bloody glow erupted around him, transforming into a blood-colored blade that slashed toward the blast of wind from Naruto's finger.

The slashing blade was filled with the energy of the great circle of the First Severing, an explosive power that appeared to be almost on the verge of Second Severing.

Naruto snorted and waved his finger again.

"How dare you!" howled one of the three Demonfire Patriarchs, an old man who emanated the aura of Second Severing. "Naruto, you've gone too far! You think you're tough because you're in the Second Severing? So what if you are!?"

Naruto didn't even turn to look at them. He simply waved his sleeve.

An enormous boom echoed out as the finger attack slammed into the blood-colored blade. The blade immediately fell to pieces, and blood sprayed out of the mouth of Patriarch Darkheaven. Even as he tumbled back like a kite with its string cut, Naruto's second finger attack slammed into him.

Another boom rattled out, and Patriarch Darkheaven let out a bloodcurdling scream as over half of his body directly exploded. His Nascent Divinity flew out, which was the exact moment in which the three Demonfire Patriarchs from the fourth mountain peak arrived.

"Well," said Naruto calmly, "since you're here, I guess I might as well provide some compensation to you as well." He stepped toward them.

The three were shocked. However, the Second Severing Patriarch, who was the eldest of the three Demonfire Patriarchs, waved his hand, causing a sea of blood to appear.

"Why do you keep attacking us?! What are you, a spy from another sect? Did you trick Patriarch Blood Demon!?"

"My license to kill will cover seventy-eight more deaths this year," replied Naruto calmly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire Blood Demon Sect uttered a collective gasp, even the three Demonfire Patriarchs, whose eyes went wide. As for the Nascent Divinity of Patriarch Darkheaven, his face was a picture of shock.

The surrounding disciples immediately broke into an uproar in response to Naruto's shocking words.

"License to kill?!"

"The Blood Prince has… don't tell me he has a license to kill!?"

"Heavens, does the license to kill cover all cultivation bases?"

"He has so much power! The lives of all disciples are in his hands!"

On the fifth mountain peak, the hunchbacked old man stood there blankly. Next to him, the pretty young woman's eyes were wide and she was panting.

"Master, what's this license to kill all about?"

Without even thinking about it, the old man started to talk. "Ahem, there's no need to worry. I've lived for too long, and this is just a test, it won't…."

He was only about half way through his speech when he noticed his apprentice staring at him with a strange look in her eye. He cleared his throat again.

"Master, you said the same thing in the very beginning, except that Chang Yi got killed. You repeated yourself, and afterward the first mountain peak was crushed…. You said the same thing, after which, the second mountain peak and the fourth mountain peak took action.

"Now, you're saying the same thing yet again…." The young woman trailed off and didn't continue speaking.

In the same moment that her voice trailed off, Naruto waved his arm, causing the Ninth Mountain to appear and shoot toward the three Demonfire Patriarchs.

As it bore down on them, the three Demonfire Patriarchs' expressions were extremely serious. They immediately unleashed divine abilities. As for the Second Severing cultivator, he spit out a fireball that set the sea of blood aflame. Bloody fire roared up around him, rapidly transforming into the shape of a gigantic deer's head.

The deer's head was formed completely of fire, and it had two enormous antlers. It shot toward the incoming Ninth Mountain. As it flew through the air, the other two Demonfire Patriarchs combined their power to cause the body of a deer to form around them, which then connected to the deer head.

The massive, fully formed deer then hurdled toward the Black White

Pearls and the Ninth Mountain, emanating incredible ripples of Second Spirit Severing power that were only a hair away from the power of Third Severing!

Naruto's eyes glinted with coldness. Without hesitation, he waved his right hand, causing the power of his cultivation base to explode out. Fissures appeared in the air all around him, the wind surged and the clouds seethed. Rumbling sounds echoed about in all directions as the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain suddenly expanded, doubling in size and might.

The increase caused an incredible pressure to radiate out. Inside the deer, the three Demonfire Patriarchs' faces filled with disbelief.

BOOM!

The Ninth Mountain slammed into the giant deer, sending a huge explosion blasting out in all directions. The deer was torn into pieces, and the three old men inside coughed up blood as they were sent spinning backward through the air. Their cultivation bases were in chaos, their faces pale, and their hearts surged with waves of shock.

"This is impossible!"

"He's so strong! He wasn't even fazed by the combined power of all three of us!"

They weren't the only incredulous ones. All of the disciples in the Blood Demon Sect had similar reactions. EvenShimuraShiqi, who knew a bit about Naruto's cultivation base, was shocked.

She never expected Naruto to be powerful to such a terrifying level.

After all, she only knew a bit about what had happened in the Black Sieve Sect.

Nobody knew the true level of Naruto's strength. Were it not for Patriarch Six-Daos, the Black Sieve Sect would have been completely annihilated.

The hunchbacked old man on the fifth mountain peak had an incredibly serious look on his face, and his eyes shone with a strange light.

"I'm old," he muttered. "Really and truly old. I finally ran into one of those legendary inhumans, and yet didn't recognize it…. He's clearly a Dao Severing inhuman!

"There is a rare type of cultivator whose lives are filled with such twists and turns that they either perish, or shock the Heavens! When they mature, they can slay the Dao Seeking stage, even when in the Spirit Severing stage!

"People like that, are called… Dao Severing!

"His ruthlessness has already turned into a Devilish will…. However, the Devilish and the Dao are linked. Both contain a will of persistence. Both are ultimate achievements!

"The path of Dao Severing is a difficult one. Sever the Dao, become a Devil!

"Of course, Devil Severing is another path, an even more difficult one. Sever the Devil, achieve the Dao! Patriarch, is that why you made him the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect?

"Dao Severing requires a Dao heart. Devil Severing requires a Devilish will!

"I suddenly have a very strong desire… to be there the day he performs Devil Severing!

"Sever the Devilish. Seek the Dao!" Even as the old man muttered to himself on the Fifth Mountain, his eyes grew bright, and he turned to look at Mount Blood Demon.

In Mount Blood Demon, Patriarch Blood Demon sat cross-legged in the Blood Pond. His eyes gleamed with abstruseness, within which infinite ancientness seemed to flow.

"Sever the Devilish," he murmured. "Seek the Dao!

"Naruto, you can't blame me. I planted the devilish seed within you, but the reason is that the path of the League of Demon Sealers is incorrect…. I will use my remaining years to help you mould your Devilish will, and then wait for you… to Sever the Devil….

"That is Dao Seeking!

"Sever the Devilish. Seek the Dao, then Sever the Immortal. What's so difficult about that?!"

"When that time comes, you will have sown great Karma with the Demonic. When the day arrives in which you reach the true pinnacle… don't forget your Demonic destiny.

"Wait for me, my sister, my friends. We will be meeting again soon…. Soon, I will be able to accompany you once more…." The aura of death which surrounded him continued to grow stronger.

709

Chapter 709: Blood Demon Grand Magic! 1

The enormous deer collapsed, and the three Demonfire Patriarchs were sent tumbling backward. Trembling, Patriarch Darkheaven's Nascent Divinity attempted to flee with all the speed he could muster. His heart was currently filled with infinite regret, regret at the words he had spoken earlier.

He also felt incredible hatred toward the two Ironblood Patriarchs, and especially the now-dead Chang Yi. Were it not for them, he and the others wouldn't be in such a tough situation now.

"Dammit, if I had known earlier that it would end up like this, I would never have provoked that jinx!"

"Why hasn't the Patriarch appeared? Don't tell me this Naruto is really going to kill all of us?!"

As they rushed to escape, Naruto's eyes flashed with coldness. He sped forward with unspeakable speed that caused the four cultivators' scalps to go numb. As he neared, he began to unleash the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

As soon as the magic began to stir, a blood Chakra exploded up around him, and his right hand turned completely crimson, as if it were made of blood.

"The first stratum of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

"The Chakra and Blood stratum!"

Naruto stretched his hand out toward the three Demonfire Patriarchs and Patriarch Darkheaven's Nascent Divinity. Although they were separated by dozens of meters, as soon as he reached his hand out, their bodies were surrounded by an enormous blood-colored vortex.

The shocking vortex began to rumble, and from a distance it actually didn't look like a vortex at all, but rather, a gigantic hand!

The four cultivators were now stuck in the middle of the palm, and were unable to extricate themselves.

The faces of the four filled with even more intense shock than they had been. They could sense that because of the vortex, the Chakra and blood in their bodies was boiling. Furthermore, they couldn't even control their cultivation bases; the more they tried, the more they found themselves unable to suppress the boiling.

Immediately, countless cries rang out through the Blood Demon Sect.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

"This is the Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

Countless disciples' eyes gleamed with covetousness as they looked at Naruto.

"Only the Blood Prince is qualified to cultivate… the Blood Demon Grand magic!"

"I can't believe that the Blood Prince actually acquired the first stratum in only a single day!"

The disciples looked up at Naruto and the blood-colored vortex spinning in mid-air, and were filled with both shock as well as unprecedented levels of fanaticism.

There was no other magical technique that could inspire such a craze among the Blood Demon Sect's disciples like the Blood Demon Grand Magic did. After all, the Blood Demon Grand Magic was the number one magic in the entire Blood Demon Sect!

Once the Blood Demon Grand Magic was unleashed, the three Patriarchs began to struggle violently. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the power of their cultivation bases exploded out. However, it doesn't matter what they did; they were completely incapable of freeing themselves.

Their fleshly bodies began to wither as blood and Chakra pulsed out from inside of them to be absorbed by the vortex and then fused into Naruto. His mind trembled as he sensed the power of his fleshly body shooting up at high speed!

As the Chakra fused into him, an intense sensation of strength rose up from deep within.

"So this is the Blood Demon Grand Magic!" he thought, his eyes shining with a strange light.

The three Demonfire Patriarchs howled.

"Nooo! The power of my Chakra and blood! Dammit!"

"Stop! Naruto, if you slaughter members of your own sect, you'll meet a horrific end!"

"Patriarch Blood Demon, save me!"

They were unable to prevent the Chakra and blood from flowing out of them, only to be replaced by a sensation of incredible weakness. The only one who wasn't affected was Patriarch Darkheaven, who had already been reduced to his Nascent Divinity; nevertheless, he was still frightened and astonished.

The entire scene was incredibly shocking to all the onlookers. Hovering in mid-air, Naruto lifted up his right arm and made a grasping motion toward the blood-colored hand, causing more pulses of Chakra and blood to emerge from the men in front of him, which he then absorbed.

"Do you submit, or not!?" he asked coolly.

"Never!" cried one of the three Demonfire Patriarchs.

"We three Demonfire Patriarchs serve Patriarch Blood Demon! Do you really think we would submit to a trifling brat like you!?" In their rage, the three Demonfire Patriarchs continued to struggle to free themselves from the vortex, and yet were completely incapable.

Their bodies were visibly withering, their skin was smeared with blood. And yet, that did not leave them in despair. What truly left them without hope was… Patriarch Blood Demon still had not appeared.

That cleared up any doubts about one matter. The license to kill that Naruto mentioned truly did exist!

And even the lives of Spirit Severing Patriarchs were covered by it. That also made it obvious that… to Patriarch Blood Demon, no one in the entire Blood Demon Sect could compare to Naruto!

Because of that, the heart of the Demonfire Patriarch with the weakest cultivation base began to quiver. Blood was oozing out of him, and he could feel the shadow of death looming over him.

"I submit!" he cried through gritted teeth. "I submit! Blood Prince, I give you my allegiance!"

The other two Demonfire Patriarchs were furious.

"Third Brother, what are you doing!"

"How could you possibly give your allegiance to a brat like that!?"

His voice cool, Naruto said, "Swear a Dao oath."

"You…." The Third Demonfire smiled bitterly, then looked over apologetically at the other two Demonfire Patriarchs. He had no choice but to submit to Naruto. The terror he felt because of Naruto caused coldness to rise up from within the depths of his heart. That was especially true after he realized that Naruto… really could kill him.

It didn't matter that he was a Spirit Severing Patriarch of the Blood Demon Sect!

He really had no other option. He dared not rebel against the sect, and was already terrified of Patriarch Blood Demon. Adding one more terrifying person into the mix, especially since it was the Blood Prince, was something he could accept.

He quickly swore a Dao oath, after which the gravitational power of the vortex surrounding him ceased to affect him.

Because the Chakra and Blood stratum of the Blood Demon Grand Magic now had one less person to split its power amongst, the other two Demonfire Patriarchs felt even more pressure than before. Chakra and blood flowed madly into Naruto. At the same time, he suddenly seemed to slip into a strange, indescribable state.

He suddenly sensed… a sort of boundless awareness that existed outside of the lands of South Heaven. It seemed to be faintly connected to the universe in myriad, uncountable ways.

"Is that Dao Seeking…?" thought Naruto, his eyes glittering.

"I submit! I'll swear allegiance!" roared the Second Demonfire Patriarch. He gritted his teeth and swore a Dao oath. His body was already extremely withered, and his energy almost completely depleted. If he tried to hold on any longer, his fleshly body would be crushed into dust.

Now that he swore allegiance, the most powerful of the three Demonfire Patriarchs, the Second Severing cultivator, was alone. His body was stained red from blood, and rips could even be seen in his skin. Clearly, he was on the verge of collapsing.

"I submit!" he said, letting out a long sigh. Under the Blood Demon Grand Magic, he had no other choice but to submit. He too was incredibly intimidated by Naruto, whom he was simply unable to contend against whether it was in terms of cultivation or combat skills.

As soon as the Demonfire Patriarch submitted and offered up his Dao oath, Naruto's eyes flashed over to Patriarch Darkheaven, who had been sucked into the vortex. Though the vortex had no effect on him due to his lack of a physical body, his whole body shuddered when Naruto's gaze landed on his body and he hastily squeaked, "I submit too!"

When the leadership of the second and fourth mountain peaks submitted, the hunchbacked old man on the fifth peak raised his voice and called out, "I am Yuan Daozi! I offer my respects, Blood Prince!"

Behind him, the pretty young woman was looking at Naruto with ardor burning in her eyes. She immediately dropped to her knees and kowtowed, as did all of the disciples on the fifth mountain peak.

"Respects, Blood Prince!"

Up in mid-air, the three Demonfire Patriarchs as well as Patriarch Darkheaven unhesitatingly clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Respects, Blood Prince!"

The fourth mountain peak, the second, the first, all of the 200,000 disciples of the Blood Demon Sect joined their voices together. It far exceeded the sound of the combined voices of the 50,000 disciples of the first mountain peak. The massive sound waves exploded out, shaking everything.

As he hovered in mid-air, Naruto waved a hand, causing the bloodcolored vortex to vanish. At the same time, the absorption of any Chakra and blood ceased.

"I can't waste any of it," he thought. "I need to see exactly how powerful this Blood Demon Grand Magic is." A strange light appeared in his eyes, and he clenched his fist. Then, he focused all of the power of the Chakra and blood he had absorbed into a single blow aimed at the sky.

Bright colors flashed, and a huge roaring sound filled the air as Naruto's fist shot out. The sky shook, and the air was rent by rifts. An enormous black hole appeared in mid-air, which then transformed into a twisting beam of light that shot off into the void.

From a distance, it almost looked like a black dragon, incomparably vicious, with a desire to cause the fall of the Heavens.

The rip in the Heavens emanated an aura that left even the Spirit Severing cultivators trembling. These were the vibrations of Dao Seeking!

Everyone was shocked to the core, even the Spirit Severing Patriarchs.

"That attack… contained the will of Dao Seeking!"

"That was comparable to the early Dao Seeking stage!" As of this moment, everyone was completely convinced of Naruto's qualifications, and no one dared to show him even the slightest scrap of disrespect.

As for the ordinary disciples, they were in awe to the point of fanaticism, and cries to the Blood Prince echoed out with increasing intensity.

Naruto took a deep breath. He had viewed the Blood Demon Grand

Magic as incredible before, but as of now, he realized that it was actually far more powerful than he had ever imagined!

"This art far exceeds the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal. It's probably on the same level as the mysterious Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!" Naruto's eyes glittered. 2

"And this is only the first stratum of the Blood Demon Grand Magic! If I can cultivate it all the way through the third level and the fourth, thus unleashing the great circle of the second stratum, then I can summon ten vortexes!

"The hand formed by those ten vortexes would have the power to absorb cultivation bases!

"If I can complete the fifth and sixth levels, which is the third stratum, the Blood Soul stratum… according to the description of the technique, the sky will turn the color of blood, and the Heavens will transform into an enormous hand that can wrest away souls!

"No wonder Patriarch Blood Demon said that if I can reach the fourth level, I can slay Patriarch Six-Daos of the Black Sieve Sect!

"When I reach the fourth level, the great circle of the Spirit Meridians second stratum, then I can definitely strike down the early Dao Seeking stage!

"This art, is a Demon magic!" He looked up in the direction of the Black Sieve Sect, and the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger. Deep in his heart, even more ruthlessness took hold, and his devilish will grew stronger.

"Of the magic that I cultivate, the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal can strengthen my fleshly body, and the Blood Demon Grand Magic along with the Blood Immortal divine abilities can act as my trump cards.

"Furthermore, by fusing the Black White Pearls with the Ninth Mountain, I have created my own divine ability!

"Now… all I have to do is cultivate the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao, and I can form a true self clone!

"When all of them have reached the great circle, then I will definitely be able to find enlightenment regarding my Third Severing!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Matthew Gessen, Tan Adrian, Timothy_

 _O'Brien, and Steven Jaco_

No, this chapter title IS NOT the same title as chapter 704. If you have eyes, you should be able to see the difference ↩ Naruto got the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao in the Demon Immortal

Sect in chapter 584. Very little information was given about it. ↩

710

Chapter 710 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 710: Hinata Awakens

Naruto hovered in mid-air. Up above was the massive rift ripped in the sky, the sight of which was incredibly shocking.

The surrounding Blood Demon Sect disciples, regardless of who they were, looked at Naruto with trembling minds and hearts. As of this moment, he had everyone's complete attention.

Even the sect's Spirit Severing cultivators felt awe in their hearts, an awe that was now permanently branded there.

The complete and utter silence that filled the Blood Demon Sect was suddenly broken by an archaic voice that echoed out from the centrallylocated Mount Blood Demon.

The voice, hoarse and filled with the feeling of countless ages of time, filled the entire Blood Demon Sect, and was heard by all disciples.

"Naruto was originally a scholar, born three hundred years ago in the

Konoha in the Southern Domain…

"By chance, he began to walk the path of cultivation. He had a Perfect

Foundation with ten Dao Pillars, and slew Core Formation cultivators!" The voice, of course, belonged to Patriarch Blood Demon. As it echoed about, all of the cultivators of the Blood Demon Sect listened intently. When the Konoha was mentioned, Uchiha Youcai's expression was one of reminiscence. After all, the Konoha was his hometown, too.

"Later, he made his way to the Southern Domain. In the Song Clan's search for a son-in-law, he clinched victory in the competition, but then abandoned his status as a son-in-law of the Song Clan to join the Violet Fate Sect!

"In the Violet Fate Sect, his skill in pill concocting reached the highest of levels. He was promoted to Violet Furnace Lord, and became known as… Grandmaster Pill Cauldron!"

By the time these words rang out in the Blood Demon Sect, the silence was impossible to maintain. Gasps could be heard, and a massive commotion erupted. Once again, all eyes came to focus on Naruto, who hovered there calmly in mid-air.

"Naruto… I remember now! Naruto was Grandmaster Pill Cauldron back in the Violet Fate Sect!"

"Heavens! Last year I went to an auction where a pill marked with

Grandmaster Pill Cauldron's emblem was sold at an astronomical price!"

"It's him! Grandmaster Pill Cauldron!"

"I remember! Naruto caused a huge disaster that year, and then just disappeared!"

People were now staring at him with even more fervor than before. Earlier, they had submitted to Naruto's cultivation base, but now, his experiences were shaking them, filling them with incredible admiration.

Li ShiChakra gazed silently at Naruto as images of all the past events flitted through her mind.

"In Foundation Establishment, he could vanquish Core Formation. In

Core Formation, he could slay Nascent Soul. All of you have heard

stories about Naruto over the years. He left the Southern Domain and went to the Black Lands, where he quickly rose to prominence. He entered the Western Desert, where he single-handedly led his tribe out of the Violet Rain Apocalypse. He slaughtered countless enemies and his name rocked the Western Desert!

"Later, he sank to the bottom of the Violet Sea, the waters of which have the power to decay all living things. It was on the seafloor that he gained enlightenment of a great Dao and entered the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage!"

Patriarch Blood Demon's voice was as ancient as ever. When all the disciples heard his words, it gave rise to massive waves of shock. They stared in disbelief at Naruto; to them, his experiences were the stuff of legend.

Even the previously hostile Legacy Apprentices of the Spirit Severing Patriarchs were now staring at Naruto with awe and fanaticism.

"He's done so many things!"

"Compared to him, our lives are soft and easy! Sure, we might kill a few people here and there, but compared to him… our experiences aren't even worth mentioning!"

Naruto said nothing. Hearing Patriarch Blood Demon recount his experiences was almost like listening to the stories of a stranger. However, he wasn't surprised that Patriarch Blood Demon knew so much about him.

"When Naruto was in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, he battled with a First Severing cultivator. In a war that rocked the Black Lands and shocked the Western Desert, he exterminated the man's entire tribe.

"The war didn't last long, nor did word of it spread very far, before he left for the ancient Demon Immortal Sect!

"As for the details of what happened there, I'm not entirely clear. One thing I do know… the events that occurred there because of him were nothing short of incredible!

"After leaving the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, Naruto encountered the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, a peak Dao Seeking expert. Naruto slew his clone, and was then forced to go to the Milky Way Sea. After multiple encounters, his cultivation base was stolen away, and he became mortal!"

At this point in the tale, gasps rang out. The listening disciples could scarcely believe what they were hearing. What they had heard before already left them with the sensation that Naruto's experiences were a legend, but then the story encountered an even more shocking twist.

"He… became mortal?!"

"He lost his cultivation base? He made an enemy of a Dao Seeking expert? The Blood Prince… he's incredible!"

"He lost his cultivation base? But look at him now! He's obviously incredibly fierce and valiant. What happened in the meantime?"

The buzz of conversation filled the air. The three Demonfire Patriarchs were gobsmacked, and Patriarch Darkheaven was staring at Naruto with an expression of intense astonishment. As for the hunchbacked old man from the fifth mountain peak, his eyes radiated a strange glow.

The pretty young woman next to him, as well as the other Legacy Apprentices, were hearing the story of Naruto for the first time. All of them were panting as they looked up at him floating there calmly in midair. Gradually, they began to realize that there was something about him that seemed… lonesome.

Uchiha Youcai was staring at Naruto in a daze. He was aware of the rest of the story, although he wasn't sure of all the details.

Naruto continued his silence. He wasn't surprised that Patriarch

Blood Demon even knew about his encounters with the 10th Uchiha Clan

Patriarch in the Milky Way Sea. What happened in the Black Sieve Sect showed that.

Clearly, Patriarch Blood Demon was not holding back anything about Naruto. He revealed everything he knew.

"After becoming mortal, Naruto chose to go to the Rebirth Cave!

"There, his beloved chose to give up everything for him. In the end, he was reborn. He performed his Second Severing, becoming the number one figure under Dao Seeking. As for his beloved, she was captured by the Black Sieve Sect!

"Naruto, acting alone, slaughtered his way into the sect. He killed tens of thousands of Black Sieve Sect disciples, including several Spirit Severing Cultivators. In the end, he fought with the Black Sieve Sect's number one Patriarch, Six-Daos!

"I intervened in that battle, which is how the Blood Demon Sect came to have a new Blood Prince, Naruto!

"This is his story. Who among you… choose not to submit?" As the echoes of Patriarch Blood Demon's archaic voice faded away, the heart of each and every disciple surged with waves of shock.

They were completely shaken by hearing of Naruto's experiences. The shocking path which he had walked, as well as his cultivation base, filled them with intense zealotry.

In their astonishment, the three Demonfire Patriarchs and Patriarch Darkheaven now understood everything.

As for the seven Legacy Apprentices of Patriarch Darkheaven on the second mountain peak, the fan-wielding young man on the fourth mountain peak, and the pretty girl on the fifth mountain peak, they gazed at Naruto with minds and hearts reeling.

They now clearly understood how powerful Naruto was, and it filled them with a terror that far exceeded that which any other Chosen could impart.

To them, this was not just a matter of Naruto being worthy of becoming Blood Prince. In fact, few sects could ever have a Sect Prince like this.

A person like him could actually found his own Sect!

One by one, everyone began to clasp hands and bow to Naruto.

"Blood Prince, we offer our respects!"

Naruto's cultivation base had crushed anyone who refused to bow their head in submission. The recounting of his experiences had shocked the hearts of anyone who inwardly refused to acknowledge him. Patriarch Blood Demon's words ensured that Naruto was now truly worthy to be… Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect!

Naruto said nothing. He waved his right hand, causing the Black

White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain to vanish. At the same time, the Nascent Divinities of the two Ironblood Patriarchs were released. Naruto had not truly wiped them out of existence.

Their Nascent Divinities trembled; from their position within the Black White Pearls, they had seen everything that had happened, and had also heard Patriarch Blood Demon's words. Currently, they didn't even have the tiniest intention of provoking Naruto. Quite the opposite. They were filled with deep awe, and went along with everyone else to bow to Naruto.

Naruto's gaze swept across the crowds. Then, he turned silently and made his way off into the distance. He did not choose to occupy one of the mountains within the area of the five mountain peaks. Instead, he chose to occupy a beautiful valley on the outside.

The valley had no name, but after Naruto occupied it, the blood Demon Sect disciples came to view it as a Holy Land second only to Patriarch Blood Demon's mountain peak.

There were plenty of disciples who were more than happy to stand guard outside, transforming the valley into one of the most important locations in the Blood Demon Sect.

Because of Naruto, Uchiha Youcai became even more famous in the Blood Demon Sect. In fact, the hunchbacked old man from the fifth mountain peak personally appeared to take him as an apprentice.

As a result, Uchiha Youcai became a Legacy Apprentice of the fifth mountain peak, a position far higher than what he had occupied before.

As for the valley Naruto occupied, the Blood Demon Sect disciples secretly began to refer to it as… Blood Prince Gorge.

The Blood Prince liked peace and quiet, and therefore no one dared to enter Blood Prince Gorge unless they were summoned.

Time passed. Nine nine-day-cycles later, on the eighty-first day, Naruto sat in his log cabin in the valley. The fragrance of flowers drifted through the air, and green grass carpeted the entire area. It was like a utopia hidden away from the turmoil of the world.

A woman lay in front of Naruto, her eyes closed. She was beautiful, and she radiated the aura of an Immortal spirit. Her skin was as pure as flawless white jade.

Naruto looked down at her and continued to wait patiently.

Around dusk, the woman's eyelashes trembled, as if she were gathering the strength to awaken. A moment later, she slowly… opened her eyes.

At first, her eyes were filled with a confused look, as if countless memories were streaming into her mind. The process continued for a long moment before finally, the blankness vanished and transformed into lucidity. It was then that she realized that someone was sitting next to her, looking at her with warmth in his eyes…. Naruto.

Hinata looked at Naruto, and smiled a warm, beautiful smile.

She slowly sat up, and then reached out to stroke the side of Naruto's face.

"It feels wonderful to wake up…."

Naruto looked back at her and also smiled. However, it was a smile that, deep down, contained sadness. He knew that what he was experiencing now could last no more than ninety-nine years.

"I won't leave this valley for the next ninety-nine years," Hinata said.

"I'll accompany you… until the time for reincarnation comes."

711

Chapter 711 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 711: Ancient Dao Lakes

One year.

An entire year had passed since Naruto had arrived in the Blood Demon Sect. During that time, he didn't even step half a pace outside of his valley, nor did anyone disturb him. In the utopia of his valley, he and Hinata watched the sun rise and set. Everything was calm and peaceful, and they spent their time enjoying the warmth and sweetness of each other's company.

During that year, Hinata did not practice cultivation. She lived like a mortal woman, accompanying Naruto. Occasionally, her laughter would drift out from within the valley, and the Blood Demon Sect disciples standing guard on the outside would smile and look back toward the valley.

This was their Blood Prince and their Blood Prince's beloved.

During that year, Naruto's reputation inside the Blood Demon Sect did not lessen. Furthermore, stories of what had occurred in the Black Sieve Sect began to spread out from the Blood Demon Sect into the rest of the Southern Domain. Soon, Naruto's name became even more illustrious.

He was a Spirit Severing expert, Grandmaster Pill Cauldron, Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect, and had waged war against the Black Sieve Sect. The stories spread, and soon the name 'Naruto' was on the minds of everyone in the Southern Domain.

As for Naruto, he learned of the tragic fate of the Uchiha Clan, and heard about the broken-souled lunatic who raved of Immortal Ascension and wandered around, having lost everything…

During that year, Naruto did not give up on cultivating the Blood Demon Grand Magic. However, on repeated occasions he sensed that he was incapable of reaching the third level. He was missing something.

He had reached a bottleneck, that much was obvious. Patriarch Blood Demon did not provide him with any tips or reminders. Actually, during the entire year, he didn't even speak to Naruto at all. It seemed he had delivered the entire Blood Demon Sect into Naruto's hands. Naruto now had authority over the life and death of everyone in the sect.

Although he experienced no breakthrough in the Blood Demon Grand Magic, he did gain enlightenment regarding the cultivation of the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal.

The art was crude and simple, but it could temper the fleshly body to an incredible degree. Unfortunately, it required a vast number of magical items to fuse into the flesh. Essentially… it was a divine ability that could refine one's body into a treasured magical item.

Most people, even if they could gain enlightenment, would find it difficult to cultivate. After all, it required incredible amounts of magical items. Just to cultivate the first level required 10,000 Spirit Severing level magical items.

Thankfully, the requirement wasn't Spirit Severing life-essence treasures; were that the case, Naruto would have given up immediately. He simply could not cultivate something like that.

However, if he could successfully cultivate the first level, then his fleshly body would exceed Spirit Severing, and would reach the Dao Seeking stage. When the fleshly body reached Dao Seeking, the Chakra and blood contained a natural law of Heaven and Earth.

Such a body was like a precious treasure.

If the second level was cultivated successfully, the fleshly body could break through Dao Seeking and then experience Fleshly Body Immortal Tribulation. If transcended… the Chakra and blood could reach Immortal Ascension.

"There are a total of four levels to this art. If I can cultivate the highest level…" His eyes gleamed with a brilliant light for a moment. It quickly faded. The items required to cultivate the fourth level were things the like of which he had never even heard of.

"And then there's the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!" he thought, his eyes shining with a strange light. During the year, his greatest achievement was not related to the Nine Heavens Treasured

Body Seal, but rather, the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!

After much pondering, Naruto had finally gained a bit of understanding. It was actually an art that could be used to create a clone. Granted, clone magic was not common in the Southern Domain, but neither was it rare, and most Spirit Severing Cultivators had found a way to create clones.

After all, if a clone died, the true self could continue on living. Likewise, if the true self died, the clone could also continue on living. Creating an additional clone was like creating an additional life.

There were many magics that could be used to cultivate clones, and they all had their various unique aspects. As for the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao, it was one of the highest ranked Daoist magics in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Furthermore, it was the lifeessence Daoist magic of the Withering Flame Demon, one of the three Archdemons ranked directly beneath Lord Li.

In terms of how powerful it was, it would be hard to find something more illustrious in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Other clone magics require extracting a strand from one's own soul, then inserting it into a flesh and blood body, or perhaps a spirit body. Another option is to use some sort of magical item to create a body, then link it to the true self.

"Those are the safest methods, and avoid any problems that can arise from the clone revolting.

"However, the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao can create a homologous clone body. The clone body also requires a strand of soul, except not from one's own soul, but rather, the soul of an outsider.

"The stronger the soul, the stronger the clone! In fact, more than one soul can be fused into it, which would make the clone even more powerful!

"It is not a matter of controlling the body with the soul, but rather, controlling the soul with the body. The soul withers, transforming into a flame that nourishes the clone. This is not a Daoist art, but rather, Demon magic. Once the clone is created, the physical body's will transforms it into a true self, suppressing the clone's soul and becoming the True Self Dao.

"The body is like a sheath and the soul is like a blade. They key to it all is controlling that razor-sharp blade!

"This art is incredibly overbearing!

"Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!

"What this magic cultivates is not actually a clone, but a second true self! An incredibly powerful true self!"

Many things happened in the outside world during the year that passed.

One of the most shocking events was not the reappearance of Naruto, but rather, the fact that one of the three Danger Zones of the Southern Domain, the Ancient Dao Lakes, had begun erupting.

Furthermore, the eruptions were occurring with increasing frequency. At first, they were limited to Dao Geysers on the periphery of the Dao

Lakes, but eventually, even the Dao Lakes themselves began to erupt. 1

"The Ancient Dao Lakes are erupting again!"

"I heard that last month, one of the smaller Dao Lakes erupted, and a

Spirit Severing magical item appeared!"

"You don't even need to mention the Dao Lakes. The Dao Geysers are also erupting. Cultivators are gathering, and I heard that many people are gaining enlightenment."

Such cries could be heard frequently in the Blood Demon Sect in recent days. More than a few disciples left the Sect and traveled to the Dao Lakes to seek good luck and fortune.

As time passed, more and more of the disciples became interested in the Dao Lakes. Of course, at first, it was only Core Formation up to mid Nascent Soul cultivators who were most interested.

However, a month later, a great circle Nascent Soul cultivator from the

Solitary Sword Sect received enlightenment and entered the Spirit Severing stage. This shook the entire Southern Domain, and caused virtually all the great circle Nascent Soul stage cultivators who were stuck beneath the Spirit Severing stage to immediately rush to the Ancient Dao Lakes to seek good fortune.

Soon, witnesses began to spread reports of an eruption which had occurred within the Ancient Dao Lakes. Apparently, it gave rise to incredible ripples that could allow Spirit Severing cultivators to experience enlightenment regarding a great Dao.

The news gave rise to a virtual storm that swept across the Southern Domain. Spirit Severing Patriarchs from all sects and clans went wild with eagerness.

The Blood Demon Sect was no exception.

After obtaining permission from Naruto, the two Ironblood Patriarchs, Patriarch Darkheaven, and the three Demonfire Patriarchs entered the valley and approached Naruto, who sat cross-legged outside of his log cabin, a flagon of alcohol placed in front of him.

"Blood Prince, the Dao Lakes are erupting. The Patriarch is in secluded meditation and has not inquired about any sect affairs. Will the Blood Demon Sect be allowed to participate in this opportunity for good fortune?"

"It's true, Blood Prince. The other sects and clans are beginning to stir. As a matter of fact, a few days ago the Solitary Sword Sect sent a large group of cultivators to the Ancient Dao Lakes, led by a Spirit Severing Patriarch."

"The Dao Geysers in the border region of the Ancient Dao Lakes don't erupt according to any sort of pattern. However, the small lakes in the inner region erupt once every two thousand years. As for the Prime Lake, it erupts once every ten thousand years.

"According to the calculations, now is the time when virtually all of the

Ancient Dao Lakes will be erupting!"

Hinata stood quietly off to the side. The Spirit Severing Patriarchs treated her very courteously. After all, the fact that Naruto had single-handedly fought the entire Black Sieve Sect because of her showed the place she held in his heart.

Naruto opened his eyes, and a profound light could be seen therein, as well as a ruthlessness that was difficult to conceal, so intense that it could not be dispelled. The instant his eyes opened, the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs' hearts shuddered, and they respectfully bowed their heads.

"The Ancient Dao Lakes…." murmured Naruto. His cultivation base was now stuck at a bottleneck. Although he had some ideas, he was still not clear regarding his Third Severing. Furthermore, even further secluded meditation would not help him to progress with the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

He turned his head to look at Hinata.

"I'll be fine," she said with a smile. "I'll be waiting here for you…. Wouldn't the best thing be for you to acquire some good fortune?" Her gaze was filled with warmth as she looked at him. During the past year, she had been very happy. She didn't worry about cultivation, or about the complications of life. She was with Naruto, and it almost felt like the simple life back in the Reliance Sect.

The Spirit Severing Patriarchs all looked expectantly at Naruto, waiting for his answer.

It was at this point that Yao Ming, the Second Severing expert of the three Demonfire Patriarchs, suddenly seemed to notice something. He looked down toward his bag of holding and then produced a glowing jade slip. He looked at it deeply for a moment, his expression flickering.

"Blood Prince, we can't hesitate for too long. Now that the Solitary

Sword Sect has taken action, the Golden Frost Sect, Violet Fate Sect, Black Sieve Sect, Song Clan, andShimuraClan have followed suit. All have sent forces led by Spirit Severing experts to the Ancient Dao Lakes." With that, he handed the jade slip over to Naruto.

When Naruto heard the words 'Black Sieve Sect,' he saw Hinata's expression darken. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he accepted the jade slip. After examining it, he looked up, and his eyes shone with determination.

"Let's go!" he said, rising to his feet and striding forward. The six Blood Demon Sect Spirit Severing Patriarchs' expressions brightened. Considering the level of Naruto's cultivation base, with him as their leader, the Blood Demon Sect would definitely reap an abundant harvest.

Naruto walked out of the valley followed by the six. There were already tens of thousands of disciples gathered outside, looks of anticipation on their faces.

Naruto glanced over them.

"Each mountain peak shall select 10,000 disciples to come with me to the Ancient Dao Lakes!"

"Yes, Blood Prince!"

"Yes, Blood Prince!" The excited cries instantly rang out through the

Blood Demon Sect. Under the direction of the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs, arrangements were made, and soon a crowd of tens of thousands of beams of light shot up into the air to follow Naruto.

Li ShiChakra was among them, but as for Uchiha Youcai, he remained behind to maintain guard cross-legged outside of Naruto's valley.

In the same moment that Naruto led the disciples flying away, Patriarch Blood Demon sat in the Blood Pond in Mount Blood Demon. Slowly, he opened his eyes.

"To Sever the Devil, one must first accept bedevilment. His Devilishness is not profound enough yet…."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by John Andre Klemsdal_

You may remember the events which transpired around one particular Dao Geyser, which began in chapter 266. Naruto/ Namikaze Mu was disguised as the Faceless Azure Hero. He eventually gained enlightenment and defeated Black Lands Dao Child Luo Chong ↩

712

Chapter 712: Gathering at the Dao Lakes!

The three Danger Zones of the Southern Domain!

The Rebirth Cave, the Ancient Dao Lakes, and the Ancient Temple of Doom.

The most mysterious of them all was the Rebirth Cave. The most ferocious was the Ancient Temple of Doom. However, to cultivators, the site that offered the most benefits in terms of cultivation… were the Ancient Dao Lakes!

However, it was still considered a Danger Zone. After entering, it would be difficult to predict whether you could come out alive or not. Only when the Dao Lakes region was in a state of eruption would the danger be slightly reduced, and the opportunities for good fortune increased.

Within the Dao Lakes region, invisible rifts often appeared that could cut through anything except perhaps certain precious treasures. In addition, there were many restrictive spells which had existed for countless years. If you stumbled into one there was a ninety percent chance that you would end up dead.

In addition, there were many teleportation traps. They would appear without any warning whatsoever, and would randomly teleport you to certain areas in the region of the Dao Lakes. If you got lucky, then you might walk away completely unharmed. If you were unlucky, however, you might get teleported into one of the rifts or even into one of the Dao Lakes. Even Dao seeking experts would either be killed or wounded in such a situation; no one could escape unscathed.

There was an even more terrifying possibility… it was possible to enter into a cycle of teleportation in which you entered a teleportation trap that constantly teleported you in and out to various locations, without letting you leave.

It was an endless cycle, and cultivators who entered one would be tormented by continuous teleportation until they died in body and spirit.

Such a tragic outcome was something not unheard of in the Ancient Dao Lakes. In fact, sometimes it was even possible to see corpses passing in and out of various teleportation traps.

Few people were aware of exactly how the Ancient Dao Lakes were formed. In the very center of the entire region was the largest Dao Lake, which was surrounded by numerous smaller lakes. These lakes had mirror-like surfaces, which to onlookers seemed to reflect the entirety of the Heavens.

Further out were the Dao Geysers. Normally they were dry and empty, but when they erupted it was possible to see Dao Projections.

In addition to the Dao Projections that would become visible in the Dao Geysers and Lakes, they would sometimes spit out precious treasures, ancient records, or even bizarre and terrifying beasts. Occasionally, precious materials would appear, or jade slips with special techniques. Some were worthless, whereas others were priceless. In summary, it was possible for just about any type of item to erupt out.

Over time, some people came to suspect that beneath the Ancient Dao Lakes were the ruins of some ancient structure or city that had fallen ages ago.

Many people wished to make their way into those ruins, but even peak Dao Seeking cultivators were incapable of doing so. Even the cultivators of theHebiClan of South Heaven were incapable, much to their chagrin.

Currently, hundreds of thousands of cultivators were gathered outside of the Ancient Dao Lakes. The vast majority were rogue cultivators who didn't dare to enter into the inner region of the Dao Lakes. They couldn't do anything more than squabble with each other over control of the Dao Geysers.

Those who had enough strength could occupy a Dao Geyser, which would allow them to establish a foundation for their future. However, there were less than three thousand Dao Geysers, which led to bitter fighting on virtually a daily basis.

Of course, even with all the violence, one cultivator after another would gain enlightenment and rise to prominence in the area. That in turn led to even further excitement among the crowds of cultivators, who would go mad at the chance to acquire good fortune.

As time passed, more and more cultivators arrived. Of course, some attempted to venture into the inner region where there weren't just Dao Geysers, but 30-meter Dao Lakes!

As far as the Dao Geysers were concerned, ninety-nine percent of the time, they spit out Dao Projections. Only occasionally would they erupt with other items.

When it came to Dao Lakes, it was an entirely different matter, which tended to depend on the size of the lake. For example, the 30-meter Dao Lakes had a ten percent chance of spitting out items other than Dao Projections. The 300-meter Dao Lakes further in had a thirty-percent chance.

Then there were the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes that had a sixty-percent chance.

Finally, there was the 30,000-meter Dao Lake, which had a ninetypercent chance of erupting with precious treasures!

As for the Dao Geysers, once they erupted, a Dao Projection would appear. Afterwards, that particular Dao Geyser would be locked with that one single Dao Projection, which would appear in every subsequent eruption. The Dao Lakes were different. Even if a Dao Projection did appear, it would eventually vanish. Then, you could wait at the edge of a lake for a certain period of time for another eruption.

Within the region of the Ancient Dao Lakes, there were roughly a thousand 30-meter lakes, each one of which was occupied by smallscale sects, making it difficult for any outsider to get near. There were a few hundred of the 300-meter lakes, the majority of which were occupied by mid-scale sects or clans.

As for the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes, there were ten in total, which great sects or clans like the Solitary Sword Sect were qualified to occupy.

By this point, the number of Southern Domain cultivators that had gathered did not exceed 1,000,000, but rather, was more in the range of 700,000 to 800,000. As more arrived, there was more fighting and killing.

Boom!

A group of cultivators suddenly appeared up in the sky. Each and every one shone with a golden light, the reason being that they were all wearing golden suits of armor. Altogether, they looked completely wild and rough.

As they shot through the air, the sky and land grew dim, and ripples spread out in all directions. They didn't look down, but instead, fixed their gazes on the inner region of the Ancient Dao Lakes. When they entered, they didn't fly, but rather, proceeded carefully under the leadership of sect experts.

"The Golden Frost Sect has arrived!"

"Those are cultivators from the Golden Frost Sect! The one in the front is

Golden Frost Sect Patriarch Ling Dong! Don't tell me that the guy behind him is Grandmaster Eternal Mountain!?" 1

"See that fat guy off to the side? That's the guy who swore to take a hundred beloved, the shamelessShimuraFugui, right?"

Cries of alarm began to ring out from the interior region of the Dao Lakes as the small-scale and even mid-scale sects began to grow anxious. That was especially true of the female disciples, whose countenances flushed with trepidation at the mention of the nameShimuraFugui.

Soon, more voices rose up from the region outside.

"TheShimuraClan is here!"

"That's… the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch! They say he's a Second Severing expert! Look at the people behind him! They seem to have an equal status, don't tell me they're also Spirit Severing Patriarchs?!"

"The Song Clan's here too! I can see the Song Clan's Inkstone Puppets!"

"The Black Sieve Sect! The Black Sieve Sect people are here!"

"Just about all the sects and clans in the whole Southern Domain have arrived!"

Voices echoed about in all directions throughout the Ancient Dao Lakes. The person in the lead position of the Black Sieve Sect was none other than the Third Severing Patriarch who had survived Naruto's attack. Clearly, his cultivation base had recovered quite a bit, but his face was grim as he glanced around and led his people into the Dao Lakes.

Within the group from the Song Clan was Song Jia. Her expression was placid, and she was followed closely by a middle-aged man. Somehow, he looked threatening despite the lack of any sort of anger on his face. Also in the group was Eccentric Song, whose cultivation base was slightly higher than before. He was now in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, just half a step from Spirit Severing. 2

Behind them were over ten thousand junior members of the Song Clan, as well as more than ten thousand puppets. The puppets were black, emanated an intense coldness, and were completely shocking in appearance.

Almost in the same instant in which the Song Clan entered the inner region of the Ancient Dao Lakes, a violet-colored auspicious cloud appeared in the sky off in the distance. As it neared, a sallow-faced old man became visible within. He was surrounded by several other old men who all bore similar auras. Their faces were grim and they did not speak. Behind them within the cloud were tens of thousands of disciples, as well as an enormous pill furnace, around which circulated a sword.

Their energy was bright and colorful, and as they neared, the cultivators outside the Dao Lakes immediately realized who they were.

"The Violet Fate Sect!"

"That's Reverend Withered-Dao of the Violet Fate Sect! He's a Spirit

Severing Expert!"

"Look behind him! It's the two beauties of the Violet Fate Sect…Sakura

and Hanxue Shan!"

Within the crowd of Violet Fate Sect disciples, Sakura's gaze swept over the scene down below. Her delicate brow was furrowed, as if she was looking for someone in particular, only to find that person not present. Next to her was a charming young woman with skin like snow, incredibly attractive. She was none other than the Holy Daughter of Holy Snow City in the Black Lands, Hanxue Shan.

She also seemed to search through the crowds, after which her expression grew somewhat gloomy. Next to her was a taciturn, middleaged man with handsome features. Occasionally, he would look over at Hanxue Shan with a tender look in his eye that he kept well-hidden. 3

He was none other than Ye Feimu, the same person who vied with Naruto that year for the title of Violet Furnace Lord…. He was a Chosen of the Dao of alchemy, and after the hundreds of years that had passed he was now in the late Nascent Soul stage. 4

There was another person within the group who seemed somewhat nondescript, and yet had an early Nascent Soul cultivation base. He also looked down below as if he were searching for a figure that existed somewhere in his memories.

"He didn't come…?" the old man sighed. "Oh well, I bet he wouldn't even remember who I am…." Within the old man's mind flickered countless memories of past times in the Violet Fate Sect.

"Elder Brother Namikaze Mu, do you still remember Bai Yunlai…?" 5

Surprisingly, among the forces of the Violet Fate Sect could also be seen An Zaihai and Lin Hailong, the two Violet Furnace Lords. Their gazes swept about, and complex expressions could be seen on their faces. 6

The auspicious cloud carried the group from the Violet Fate Sect into the region of the Ancient Dao Lakes, and then vanished. Finally, the region outside the lakes returned to its previous state.

Three days later, far off on the horizon, a blood-colored light shone out. The bloody glow spread out in all directions as something that bore the semblance of a blood-colored Demonic beast appeared. It shot forward at incredible speed, whereupon a gigantic face could be seen.

The vicious, blood-red sported a spiraling horn, which emanated an astonishing energy!

If you looked closely, you would be able to tell that, shockingly, the face was actually made up of tens of thousands of cultivators. As for the horn, at its tip was a young man wearing a blood-colored robe. His long hair whipped about his dispassionate face. Within his eyes could be seen a streak of ruthlessness.

He was handsome, but there was nothing scholarly about him. Instead, he seemed cruel and cold. This was… Naruto, who after experiencing death, had the ruthlessness of a Devil.

Behind him were six Spirit Severing Patriarchs of the Blood Demon Sect, as well as 40,000 disciples.

"The Blood Demon Sect!"

"That young man… could he be Naruto? He used to be called Fang

Mu, Grandmaster Pill Cauldron. Now… he's the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect!"

"To save his beloved, Hinata, he single-handedly battled the entire

Black Sieve Sect! It's Naruto!" Instantly, the region outside the Dao Lakes was thrown into a huge commotion. By now, more than a year had passed since the incident at the Black Sieve Sect, and the news had long since spread out through the masses.

Within the crowds, more than a few female cultivators gazed at Naruto

with shining eyes and thought, "I want a beloved just like Naruto!"

As the buzz of conversation rose up from all the Cultivators, Naruto and the group from the Blood Demon Sect entered the region of the Ancient Dao Lakes.

In that moment, the entire region suddenly began to tremble. Along with the quaking, one Dao Geyser after another, along with a succession of Dao Lakes, all began to erupt. Innumerable Dao Projections appeared, and a riot of colors flashed in Heaven and Earth.

The Blood Demon Sect had arrived just in time for a Dao Lake eruption!

The rumbling of the sky echoed out in all directions, and the land quaked violently. It seemed almost like a giant was buried under the ground, roaring, the power of its voice exploding out through the Dao Geysers and Lakes.

From a distance, it almost looked like volcanos erupting, except what was exploding out was not lava, but numerous colorful Dao Projections.

These Dao Projections were images of cultivators wearing ancient attire. Some were engaged in magical combat, others were practicing cultivation or gaining enlightenment regarding Heaven and Earth.

A variety of cultivation bases could be seen, the lowest being Foundation Establishment and the highest being Nascent Soul.

Looking at the scene as a whole, there were quite a few Dao Projections.

It was in this moment of eruption that Naruto and the force from the Blood Demon Sect entered the region of the Dao Lakes. At the same time, cries of shock spread out.

"That's…."

"A Spirit Severing Dao Projection!"

"It's actually a Spirit Severing Dao Proj… wait, no! That's a Dao Projection of a great circle Nascent Soul Cultivator in the moment of his First Severing!"

Great numbers of cultivators swarmed at top speed toward the Spirit Severing Dao Projection.

Naruto stopped for a moment and looked back. Off in the distance, he saw a Dao Geyser erupting with shocking blue light. Inside the light was a Dao Projection of a tall, slender cultivator performing Spirit Severing.

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the area were spurred into action. Many among the tens of thousands who were with Naruto were also visibly moved.

Naruto did nothing to stop them. "Why don't you try to gain enlightenment here?" he said. Immediately, 20,000 cultivators clasped hands and bowed to him, then flew off. Not all were of the Nascent Soul stage; there were other items in the area that were of interest to other stages as well.

Rumbling, as well as intense ripples, echoed out from the area up ahead of Naruto. Numerous 30-meter Dao Lakes, as well as countless Dao Geysers, were erupting with intense booms.

"Dao Treasure! It's a Dao Treasure!"

"Look at that sword! It's fragmented, but the sword aura is still incredibly sharp!"

A black sword flew up out of one of the 30-meter Dao Lakes at incredible speed, and the sword Chakra it emanated was monstrous. Further off, other Dao Treasures erupted up into the air.

All of the 30-meter Dao Lakes were being defended by various small sects. When the eruption began, everyone became incredibly excited and began to fight. In the blink of an eye, the entire area dissolved into chaos.

The remaining 20,000 disciples of the Blood Demon Sect wore expressions of hope on their face as they looked at Naruto.

"Do as you wish among these Dao Lakes," he said. "If you run into danger, remember to call for help from fellow sect members." In response to his words, the majority of the 20,000 or so cultivators sped off, some rushing towards the inner regions, and others toward the various 30-meter Dao Lakes to join the fighting.

Still following Naruto were the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs as well as several thousand disciples. These were people who couldn't care less about the 30-meter Dao Lakes, and they joined Naruto as he sped onward. All of them transformed into streaks of colorful light that shot forward.

Although they appeared to be moving quickly, Naruto had plenty of time to send his divine sense up ahead. What he saw was cultivators flying back and forth, some of them letting out bloodcurdling screams as their bodies were slashed by the rifts. The lucky ones lost arms or legs, and unlucky ones were completely ripped apart.

Everything was in chaos, and without exception, deadly battles were taking place next to the Dao Lakes and Geysers.

RUMBLE!

Up ahead, the air started to rumble. Seven or eight cultivators neared the area, and suddenly seemed to be swallowed up into nothing. They vanished, leaving behind only the echoes of miserable shrieks.

Rivers of blood flowed down below, especially in the areas where Dao Treasures appeared. Massacres were being carried out in all directions.

"Kill them!" Cries such as this echoed out constantly.

Naruto ignored all of that and proceeded forward. After advancing about 3,000 meters, he suddenly stopped in place and raised his right hand to signal those behind him to do the same.

As they ground to a halt, they saw a 30-meter Dao Lake up ahead, above which floated a Dao Treasure that looked like a bottle-gourd. Several hundred cultivators could be seen near it, locked in heavy combat. However, it was at this point that the ground in the area suddenly began to glitter with light. Magical symbols appeared, which flickered for a moment and then caused a shocking power of teleportation to surge out.

At the same time, a dozen or so corpses suddenly appeared out of thin air.

There was no time for anyone to react. The moment in which the corpses appeared, the power of teleportation rumbled out. The several hundred cultivators who were fighting next to the Dao Lake, as well as the corpses that had just appeared, all vanished in the blink of an eye.

Even Naruto couldn't prevent his eyes from going wide. The six Spirit Severing Patriarchs behind him had serious expressions on their faces, and the other disciples gasped.

"Was that a teleportation trap?"

"That sort of thing happens all the time in the Ancient Dao Lakes. The fearsome teleportation traps can appear randomly, without any warning…."

"When the teleportation trap appeared just now, I could swear I saw more than ten desiccated corpses inside!"

After the teleportation trap disappeared along with the cultivators that it snagged, the bottle gourd floating above the Dao Lake glittered as resplendently as ever, attracting even more attention. More cultivators surged toward it. However, Naruto was already on the move. In the blink of an eye, he was above the 30-meter Dao Lake, where he flicked his right sleeve to collect up the bottle gourd.

His actions immediately caused all of the cultivators who had been rushing over to stop and turn to fly off towards other areas.

"Let's go!" he said. He and his followers transformed into beams of light that shot onward.

As they proceeded onward, they saw more than ten teleportation traps and more than a hundred instances in which the rifts appeared. On one occasion, a single rift slashed through over one hundred people at once.

At one point, Naruto noticed that the teleportation traps contained living people inside of them, and he grew even more cautious. The people stuck inside were madly trying to break free, but as they only materialized for a split second, they were powerless to escape and were helpless to do anything but be continuously teleported around.

For the lucky ones, the power of the teleportation traps might dissipate after three or four activations. The unlucky ones… ended up being stuck in the cycle until they died.

As they proceeded deeper into the Dao Lakes region, there were fewer people, but the fighting was far more intense. Soon, 300-meter Dao Lakes appeared, all of which were forcibly occupied by mid-scale sects and clans.

For the most part, it was great circle Nascent Soul cultivators who stood guard.

Such cultivators were locked in combat as Naruto and the Blood Demon Sect forces approached. These cultivators were instantly shaken, and at the same time, there were thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples whose eyes began to shine with a strange light. After asking for permission from Naruto, they shot forward to join the fray.

The sounds of intense fighting caused everything to shake, and as Naruto looked over the chaotic scene, the ruthlessness in his eyes grew even stronger. He continued onward, refraining from joining the fighting. After all, the Dao Projections and Treasures here were of no interest to him.

They proceeded onward, and soon, only 300-meter Dao Lakes were visible. Suddenly, Naruto turned his head to look at one such lake not too far off, above which was a Dao Projection of a cross-legged figure in meditation.

It appeared to be a Nascent Soul cultivator in the midst of gaining enlightenment regarding Heaven and Earth. A Dao Projection like that was actually a common sight both outside, and in this area.

Surrounding the Dao Projection were seven or eight early Nascent Soul stage cultivators, all fighting over the chance to gain enlightenment. Any time one of them got close to the Dao Projection, the others would join forces to prevent that person from seizing the opportunity.

The methods being used were ruthless, the attacks deadly. Furthermore, the surrounding area was littered with corpses.

Naruto looked the scene over, and his eyes glittered slightly. He moved forward toward the Dao Projection, which caused the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs and the other Blood Demon Sect disciples to stare in shock.

Seeing Naruto nearing at high speed caused the seven or eight early Nascent Soul stage cultivators' faces to fall.

"The Blood Demon Sect!"

"He's… don't tell me that's the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect!"

It appeared as if their hearts were trembling in fear, and they were just about to approach as if to cover something up, when Naruto stretched his hand out and made a grasping motion. He then jerked his hand up.

RIIIPPP!

It was like the surface of a painting had just been peeled away. Ripples spread out, revealing another world. There was still a Dao Lake, but instead of a Dao Projection, floating above it was a 30-meter tall mountain peak. Also visible were three old cultivators fighting each other.

The air around the mountains twisted and distorted, as pulsating ripples were sent out. The mountain seemed to contain some sort of magnetic force that caused the magical items of the three old men to be gradually sucked toward it.

As soon as Naruto appeared, the faces of the three old men flickered.

"Who's there?!" said one of them. All three looked toward Naruto, and when they saw his clothing, as well as the six experts behind him, they gasped.

Earlier, they had used a deception spell to prevent outsiders from seeing what was really happening in the area. That way the three of them could focus on their own fight. Of course, they had never imagined that someone like Naruto would appear.

"Hmm," thought Naruto, looking over the mountain peak with glittering eyes. It was obvious that the mountains were not ordinary items, and he could even sense a bit of Spirit Severing aura on them.

"Spirit Severing level magical item!" he murmured. With that, he stretched his arm out toward the mountain and made a grasping motion. The three old cultivators were simply too slow to react and were incapable of doing anything to block him. The mountain peak rumbled, then transformed into a huge hand that flew down into Naruto's palm.

After putting it away, his entire person flickered as he proceeded onward.

The forces of the Blood Demon Sect followed. As for the three old men, they stamped their feet, but were not truly angry. After all, the items that appeared in the Ancient Dao Lakes had no owner; they belonged to anyone who had the power to take them.

"Dammit, what a waste of time! Fine, let's stick with the old plan and go rob some things from somebody else!"

"Hurry up! If we wait any longer this eruption is going to end!"

Just as the three old men were about to head to another Dao Lake, an unprecedentedly loud rumbling sound could be heard coming from deeper within the region. At the same time, a 3,000 meter pillar of light shot up into the air off in the distance. Shockingly, a black hammer could be seen floating inside of it, surrounded by crackling lightning. The incredible sound echoing out caught the attention of quite a few onlookers.

"3,000…. Is that a 3,000-meter Dao Lake erupting!?"

"A 3,000-meter Dao Lake! They don't erupt very often, usually it's only the 300-meter Dao Lakes. But look, it's erupting now!"

"This is the first time a 3,000-meter Dao Lake has erupted during this flare-up of the Ancient Dao Lakes!"

"It's too bad only the great sects and clans can survive over there. We can't win against them!"

Naruto's eyes glittered as he looked in the direction of the 3,000 meter beam of light. The six Spirit Severing Patriarchs behind him also had looks of fervor in their eyes. Along with the few thousand disciples who remained in the group, they sped forward at top speed.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Joshua Acker, Peter Manolov, Theodoros_

 _Sfyris, and Colin Ding_

714

Chapter 714: Teleportation Cycle

From their current position, the 3,000-meter Dao Lake didn't seem to be very far away from Naruto and his group. However, considering the dangers that lurked in the Ancient Dao Lakes, it was not a distance that they could traverse rapidly.

Furthermore, the other sects and clans had arrived earlier than the

Blood Demon Sect, and had already reached the innermost ring of the Ancient Dao Lakes. There, the ten 3,000-meter Dao Lakes had already been divided up, as had the 300-meter Dao Lakes in that area.

One might think that the fighting in the area would be intense, but in reality this was not the case.

Once a great sect or clan occupied a Dao Lake, others would not take the initiative to try to fight with them over it – unless, of course, the item spit out by the lake was incredibly valuable.

Otherwise, all parties would abide by customs and rules; a Dao Lake belonged to… whoever occupied it!

In reality, the battles over the treasured items were really battles for the Dao Lakes themselves.

In fact, what the sects and clans really came to this area to fight over was… something located in the central-most position of the recesses of the Ancient Dao Lakes. That was… the 30,000-meter Dao Lake!

The eruption of the Dao Lakes was shocking in the extreme. As Naruto and the others sped onward, the air in front of them suddenly began to distort. Naruto's eyes flashed, and he waved his right hand behind him. The group immediately dodged to the side as a huge rift suddenly slashed through the air.

It was in such a fashion that they slowly made their way forward. More and more rifts appeared, and many of the Blood Demon Disciples eventually gave up on going onward, deciding instead to stay behind and search for good fortune on their own.

Eventually, only the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs and less than a hundred of the most powerful Blood Demon Sect disciples were able to keep up with Naruto as he continued further into the inner ring of the Ancient Dao Lakes.

Soon, it was possible to see that there were less than 3,000 meters between them and the Dao Lakes. By this point, the other sects and clans had caught sight of their group.

There were many familiar faces there. However, as soon as their gazes fell upon Naruto… all of a sudden, countless magical teleportation symbols appeared all around him.

The moment the magical symbols appeared, the faces of Naruto and the other Blood Demon Sect disciples flickered. As for Naruto, although he was at the edge of the teleportation trap, he was still fully inside its borders. As for the other Blood Demon Sect disciples, there were only a few that were trapped inside with him, including Patriarch Darkheaven, the two Ironblood Patriarchs, as well as the most senior member of the three Demonfire Patriarchs.

Off in the distance, there were quite a few members of the Violet Fate

Sect who suddenly shot to their feet. The faces of Fatty of the Golden Frost Sect and Chen Fan of the Solitary Sword Sect fell as the power of teleportation rose up around Naruto.

The teleportation happened too quickly. In the blink of an eye, Naruto and the other Patriarchs began to vanish.

Before disappearing, Naruto had only enough time to bark out: "Go to the central zone and wait for me there!"

When he vanished, a look of wild joy appeared on the face of the Black

Sieve Sect Third Severing Patriarch, who was occupying one of the

3,000-meter Dao Lakes. "Die! I hope that jinx dies in there!"

For the most part, the members of the Solitary Sword Sect and the Golden Frost Sect, as well as theShimuraClan, were all gloating at Naruto's misfortune. Only Chen Fan, Fatty, and many of the Violet Fate Sect cultivators looked worried. That was especially true of Sakura, whose face was deathly pale.

The members of the Song Clan were silent and pensive, and as for Song Jia, a complex expression could be seen on her face. The middle-aged man next to her watched as Naruto vanished, then closed his eyes mutely.

When the teleportation trap vanished, it took only a few moments for the remaining two Demonfire Patriarchs to conceal their anxiety and lead the rest of the disciples to the central zone of the Ancient Dao Lakes.

Without Naruto there to protect them, the journey was even more fraught with danger, and they ended up losing several dozen disciples in the process. By this point, there were only about thirty survivors.

Even as they hurried along, the two Demonfire Patriarchs noticed that all of the ten 3,000-meter Dao Lakes were occupied. Many of the people among those forces glared at them as they passed, which caused the Demonfire Patriarchs to frown.

Furthermore, the surrounding sects and clans suddenly erupted with Spirit Severing auras. There were multiple Spirit Severing auras near each and every lake. The sect with the fewest Spirit Severing cultivators was the Black Sieve Sect, although their Patriarch was in the Third Severing.

"Blood Demon Sect, you came late! There's no place for you here now!"

"Your luck is bad, you only have two Spirit Severing experts! Do you really think we're going to share with you!?"

"Why don't you just scram!"

"There aren't any extra Dao Lakes here! However, considering your strength, you could always go occupy some of the 300-meter lakes. There are more than enough to spare."

"Your fellow Blood Demon Sect disciples who fell into the teleportation trap just got unlucky. About half of the Spirit Severing cultivators who fall into them never make it out alive."

Of the ten 3,000-meter lakes, the Solitary Sword Sect had occupied three, the Golden Frost Sect two, the Black Sieve Sect one, and the Violet Fate Sect two. As for theShimuraand Song Clans, they each had one.

Surrounding each of the 3,000-meter lakes were ten 300-meter lakes, all of which were also occupied by the sects and clans.

The two Demonfire Patriarchs' eyes filled with anger. The words of ridicule from the other sects and clans caused their pupils to glow with the color of blood. They exchanged a frustrated glance. If Naruto were here, they wouldn't be afraid at all. But he wasn't. If the other four Spirit Severing Patriarchs were there, they would be a force that could contend with anyone. But they weren't.

Unfortunately… they simply weren't capable of contending for any of the 3,000 meter Dao Lakes.

"Why don't you hurry up and beat it?" said an old man from the Solitary Sword Sect. He wore a gray Daoist robe, and sat cross-legged with a wooden sword resting on his legs. His words echoed out like thunder.

The sound rumbled in all directions, causing the two Demonfire Patriarchs' faces to flicker.

"Sir Jian!" 1

There had always been serious grievances between Blood Demon Sect and the Solitary Sword Sect, and it seemed that now, they were on the verge of exploding out. 2

It was at this point that the emaciated old man from the Violet Fate Sect suddenly rose up from his cross-legged position.

"Fellow Daoists from the Blood Demon Sect," he said coolly, "this Dao Lake is yours!" Instantly, the Violet Fate Sect disciples backed away from the 3,000-meter Dao Lake that he pointed to.

The eyes of the cultivators from the other sects flickered. As for Sir Jian from the Solitary Sword Sect, he turned his head to look coldly in the direction of the Violet Fate Sect. "Reverend Withered-Dao!"

Reverend Withered-Dao of the Violet Fate Sect calmly looked back at him.

Their gazes met, and then Sir Jian looked away and gave a cold snort. He did nothing to interfere with what was happening.

The two Demonfire Patriarchs were shocked, but then seemed to remember something. Clasping hands, they bowed politely and then led their group over to the Dao Lake.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples thanked the Violet Fate Sect, but their inward frustration didn't lessen. They had arrived late, losing any advantage, and then their most powerful experts had been teleported away. The once domineering Blood Demon Sect was suddenly in an incredibly weak position in the Ancient Dao Lakes.

They were in such a bad position that they couldn't even compare to the severely weakened Black Sieve Sect.

Furthermore, the Solitary Sword Sect was clearly in the position of greatest power; they had three 3,000-meter Dao Lakes, and would obviously be difficult to contend with.

The two Demonfire Patriarchs exchanged a glance. Enduring the frustration, and ignoring the words of ridicule from the other sects, they closed their eyes and began to meditate.

As for the other Blood Demon Sect disciples, they couldn't hold back from commenting.

"Blood Prince, when are you going to return?!"

"Wait until the Blood Prince returns, he'll take care of them!"

"That teleportation trap might be strong, but considering the Blood Prince's cultivation base, he'll definitely get out of it soon!"

Meanwhile, in another location in the Ancient Dao Lakes, Naruto was frowning. Next to him were Patriarch Darkheaven, the two Ironblood Patriarchs, and the First Demonfire Patriarch, their faces flickering with various emotions. There were also seven or eight other Blood Demon Sect disciples, all of whom were sitting cross-legged in meditation, although it seemed like they wouldn't be able to hold out for much longer.

The teleportation continued on without stop. Just now, it had paused, but before anyone could do anything, another teleportation commenced.

Plop!

One of the disciples coughed up blood, and then his entire body withered up into a desiccated corpse. More sounds rang out as others suffered the same fate.

In a relatively short period of time, they had already teleported thirteen times.

The world in front of Naruto changed over and over. Every time they teleported, an intense force would slam into their bodies, causing their souls to shudder. Apparently there was some sort of power inside the teleportation trap that was consuming their energy.

"Blood Prince, we can't keep going on like this!" said the First Demonfire Patriarch, his voice gloomy. "Blood Prince, what do we do?!" RUMBLE!

The teleportation ceased, and they found themselves in a grassy area. Then they vanished again.

Naruto stood there the entire time. Finally, he raised his hand, and the Black White Pearls appeared, swirling around the Ninth Mountain. His eyes were fixed ahead of him, and he waited for a few more teleportation cycles, until they reached the thirtieth teleportation. Up ahead, he saw some Dao Lakes. It was at this point that his eyes glittered.

Without hesitation, he sent the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain out ahead. Rumbling filled the air, and the teleportation trap once again began the teleportation process.

"Expand!" said Naruto, his voice echoing out. Inside the teleportation trap, the Ninth Mountain suddenly began to grow. It expanded to a thousand meters in height, ten thousand, until it appeared as if an enormous mountain peak were growing up out of the land.

As soon as the mountain appeared within the Ancient Dao Lakes, it was noticed by quite a few other cultivators. As for the Blood Demon Sect disciples by the 3,000-meter Dao Lake, as soon as they saw it, their expressions brightened.

There were even cultivators in the region with the 30-meter Dao Lakes who saw it and stared with gaping mouths.

"It's… it's someone trying to break out of a teleportation trap!"

"Once you get into one of the teleportation traps, it's impossible to get out!"

RUMBLE!

In order to attempt to move the enormous mountain, the teleportation trap had to condense huge amounts of power, and it began to shudder.

In that instant of pause, Naruto shouted, "Go!"

Immediately, Patriarch Darkheaven flew out, taking advantage of the pause to break out of the teleportation trap.

Naruto was right behind him.

However, even as they neared the border, the teleportation trap surged with more power in its attempt to block their way.

"Suppress!" said Naruto, his brow furrowed.

Intense rumbling filled the air as the Ninth Mountain began to expand once again. The teleportation trap was forced to a standstill. In that moment, Patriarch Darkheaven and the other Spirit Severing Patriarchs burst out. However, at the same time, the teleportation trap began a shocking teleportation, the likes of which were rarely seen in the Ancient Dao Lakes. A pillar of light rose up into the air that closely resembled the eruption of a 3,000-meter Dao Lake. Amidst the rumbling, Naruto and the Ninth Mountain vanished.

"Blood Prince!"

"Considering the Blood Prince's strength, he should be able to free himself within a few teleportation cycles. We should head to the central zone and seize a Dao Lake as soon as possible!"

"That's right, let's go!"

The four Patriarchs had the utmost faith in Naruto. After exchanging glances, their eyes filled with determination, and they transformed into colorful beams that shot toward the central zone.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Sam Taranowski, Jon Vinther, Matthew_

 _Gessen, and Retrac_

Jian is a surname, but also same character as 'sword' ↩ The problems between the Blood Demon Sect and the Solitary Sword Sect were first mentioned in chapter 167 and again in 176 ↩

715

Chapter 715 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 715: Crushing Spirit Severing!

In a valley in a particular area of the Ancient Dao Lakes, the glow of teleportation rose up into the sky. Rumbling sounds echoed out as a figure emerged at high speed from within the valley.

As soon as the figure emerged, the light of teleportation faded away.

Flying through the air was none other than Naruto.

His face was pale white, and as soon as he flew out from the valley, he landed on the ground and looked behind him, a trace of fear on his face.

"After getting Darkheaven and the others out, I was teleported seventy more times! The cycle of teleportation is astonishing. Toward the end, it started going faster and faster, and my Chakra and blood was being sucked out, weakening me."

He took a deep breath and then produced some medicinal pills, which he quickly consumed. Then he flew up into the air and looked around to gain his bearings. The eruption of the Dao Lakes had ceased, as had most of the fighting.

"The disciples from the Blood Demon Sect most likely followed my instructions and went to the central zone."

Having determined the general direction of the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes, Naruto started flying.

The entire way, he sent out his divine sense out to avoid the rifts, and also employed teleportation techniques.

Meanwhile, near the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes in the central region, the Solitary Sword Sect and the Blood Demon Sect were faced off with proverbial daggers drawn.

"The Blood Demon Sect are cultivators of a Demonic Dao! If they only occupied one lake that's one thing, but they even dare to covet more!"

"Are you looking to die!?"

The Solitary Sword Sect was the most powerful force in the area. They had seized the initiative and taken control of three Dao Lakes. They had eight Spirit Severing cultivators, all of whom had cold expressions and iridescent auras.

In addition to the eight, the old man called Sir Jian, who sat cross-legged off in the distance, glared at the Blood Demon Sect.

As for the Blood Demon Sect, Patriarch Darkheaven and the others had arrived a bit earlier. Killing intent swirled around the six Spirit Severing Patriarchs as they faced off against the Solitary Sword Sect.

"The Blood Demon Sect is simply borrowing the Violet Fate Sect's lake, and it must be returned to them. Your Solitary Sword Sect is occupying three lakes! You need to give one up!

"Look, Solitary Sword Sect. You can fight, or share. You decide!"

Both parties' killing intent radiated out. The Blood Demon Sect and the Solitary Sword Sect were already mortal foes, which meant that fights between the two could break out easily at any time. That was not even to mention the current situation in the Ancient Dao Lakes, where so much potential benefit was on the line.

Suddenly, the Third Severing Patriarch from the Black Sieve Sect rose to his feet and started laughing uproariously. His eyes glittered with coldness as he looked over at the Blood Demon Sect.

"Blood Demon Sect, I couldn't care less that your Dao is Demonic.

However, the Dao Lakes represent good fortune for all cultivators of South Heaven. If you keep causing problems, I'll personally have to step in to do something about it!"

Hearing this, the cultivators of the Solitary Sword Sect began to chuckle.

Sir Jian looked over at the Third Severing Patriarch and nodded cordially.

The faces of the six Patriarchs from the Blood Demon Sect flickered.

Next, booming laughter rang out from a middle-aged man who strode out from the the Golden Frost Sect. He was tall and well-built, with skin that seemed as hard as a diamond, and a full suit armor. "Fellow Daoists from the Solitary Sword Sect and Black Sieve Sect," he said, "your words couldn't be more appropriate."

Further back were five old men who sat cross-legged. When their eyes opened, they glowed brightly with the aura of Spirit Severing.

His appearance made clear that an agreement had been reached between the Golden Frost Sect, the Solitary Sword, and Black Sieve Sects. The combined might of three sects was now bearing down oppressively onto the Blood Demon Sect.

In the worst position of everyone were Chen Fan and Fatty. They could do nothing about the situation, so they backed up silently.

As for the Violet Fate Sect and the Song Clan, they were silent.

Only theShimuraClan was left. The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch flicked his sleeve, and a gleam of killing intent could be seen in his eyes as he stepped forward.

"Well, is your Blood Prince dead, or not? If he's not, then why isn't he here?" The death of theShimuraClan Dao Child all those years ago was something they had brooded about ever since.

Now that theShimuraClan had joined in, there were four sects in the alliance. The faces of the Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs fell, and they backed up. There was no way they could stand up to the combined might of four sects.

"Why waste your breath on them?" said the Black Sieve Sect Third Severing Patriarch, his eyes glittering. "Just drive them away, and if they won't leave, exterminate them!" With that, he leaped forward and waved his right hand. Immediately, eight white tigers appeared, roaring as they charged toward the Blood Demon Sect cultivators.

The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch also attacked, as did the Solitary Sword Sect cultivators. There were more than ten Spirit Severing experts who all flew out and attacked at the same time. In the blink of an eye, a chaotic Spirit Severing battle had begun.

BOOM!

The two sides slammed into each other, and the six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs were instantly sent into retreat. Facing up against the more than ten attacking Spirit Severing experts on all sides, they were simply incapable of fighting back.

Attack after attack met with success against the Blood Demon Sect cultivators. Shocking magical items and divine abilities were employed, and the dozens of the Blood Demon Sect disciples present were forced back bit by bit. Even as they retreated, cultivators from the other four sects flew out to join the fray.

Of the four allied powers, the Black Sieve Sect had the largest grudge with the Blood Demon Sect. TheShimuraClan was targeting them because of Naruto, and as for the Solitary Sword Sect, they had a long-standing feud. Only the Golden Frost Sect had no apparent reason to attack.

Booms echoed out, and blood sprayed out of the mouth of Patriarch

Darkheaven as he tumbled backward. With the exception of the First Demonfire Patriarch, all the others also coughed up blood and fell back. As the fighting played out, a bloody glow rose up, and miserable shrieks sounded out.

Reverend Withered-Dao of the Violet Fate Sect frowned, hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes. As for the Song Clan, they did not come to the aid of the Blood Demon Sect, but neither did they join with the alliance of four.

"Retreat!" The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs' hearts burned as with fire, but facing up against this force, they had no choice but to flee. They would have to surrender the Dao Lake, which had been given to them by the Violet Fate Sect.

"Screw off to wherever you came from!" said the Third Severing Patriarch from the Black Sieve Sect. "The Blood Demon Sect isn't allowed to be in a place like this!" He swished his sleeve, causing the eight tigers to send out roars that transformed into terrifying ripples. They slammed into the six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs, sending them spinning backward, blood spraying from their mouths. Some of the other ordinary disciples directly exploded because of the intensity of the ripples.

Their desire to slaughter could not be any higher.

"Where is the Blood Prince?"

"If he doesn't come, then we'll have to give up and leave!" The six Patriarchs' faces flickered with their suppressed grievances as they continued to retreat.

"It doesn't matter who shows up," came a voice from the Solitary Sword Sect, along with a cold snort. "The Blood Demon Sect is not allowed to be here. Screw off!"

It was at this point that a beam of light appeared off in the distance. It neared at incredible speed, like a shooting star, carrying with it a shocking murderous air, as well as a will of ruthlessness that towered into the heavens.

As soon as the beam appeared, the cultivators from the Violet Fate Sect looked over, especially Sakura and Hanxue Shan, whose faces bore intent gazes.

Song Jia couldn't stop from looking up.

The beam of light moved so fast that in the blink of an eye, it had arrived. It shot past the six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs and came to a stop directly in front of them.

A booming sound exploded out, along with a shocking ripple that slammed into the force of cultivators from the alliance of four powers. The more than ten Spirit Severing cultivators' faces flickered, and they immediately stopped in place. As for the cultivator in the vanguard position, a Spirit Severing expert from the Golden Frost Sect, he let out a bloodcurdling scream as he was thrown backward, then immediately exploded. The blood and gore that spattered about in all directions was incapable of obscuring the young, crimson-robed man who stood there in front of the group.

The young man's face was calm, but his eyes were so cold that they seemed capable of freezing the highest heavens. His right hand was clenched into a fist, a fist that had just burst into pieces the Spirit Severing expert from the Golden Frost Sect.

The fact that one punch had just destroyed a First Severing expert caused everyone present to be shaken.

Naruto's long hair floated around him, and his robes swayed gently. His Second Severing cultivation base emanated shocking energy out in all directions.

All color in the land and sky dimmed and the wind howled. It was as if a tempest had arrived, causing all the dust in the area to fly up into the air.

As of this moment, all eyes were completely fixed upon Naruto.

"Who said that the Blood Demon Sect isn't allowed to be here?" he said, looking around. His gaze flickered with killing intent and ruthlessness as he looked at the Spirit Severing cultivators who made up the force of four allied sects.

From behind Naruto, the cultivators from the Blood Demon Sect immediately grew excited and began to bow and offer greetings.

"Blood Prince!"

"Greetings, Blood Prince!"

The face of the Third Severing Patriarch from the Black Sieve Sect flickered. "Naruto!" he shouted.

The cultivators from the Golden Frost Sect also looked shocked, and the eyes of theShimuraClan Patriarch widened. As for the people from the Solitary Sword Sect, their faces all filled with astonishment.

In the group from the Violet Fate Sect, An Zaihai andShimuraHailong stared blankly at Naruto in his blood-colored robe. It was as if memories were flitting through their mind of a young man with a very different face whose features now seemed to merge with the person in front of them.

Sakura was trembling. There were thousands of things she wanted to say to Naruto, but right now, she couldn't say a single thing.

Hanxue Shan was a bit more innocent and immature than Sakura. As she gazed at Naruto, she kept thinking about everything that had happened in Holy Snow City in the Black Lands.

Ye Feimu stood there, taciturn. His expression was a complicated one as he looked at Naruto, who was now a Spirit Severing expert of high standing. He was illustrious and famous. Ye Feimu couldn't help but think back to the time the two of them had wrangled over the title of Violet Furnace Lord.

Although he didn't want to admit it, it was obvious that he himself… had fallen even further behind.

Another person stood within the group from the Violet Fate Sect, an old man within whose eyes flickered many memories of Naruto. He also stood there quietly, wondering if Naruto would remember a nobody like himself.

Everything was quiet. Naruto looked over the group standing in front of him, and then his eyes came to rest on the Third Severing Patriarch from the Black Sieve Sect.

"Was it you who said it?" he asked.

When the Third Severing Patriarch heard the words, his face filled with dread, and his mind roared. He thought back to how terrifying Naruto was last time he saw him, and he backed up, his body trembling.

When the others in the area saw this, it caused them to be even more shaken.

To be able to strike dread into the heart of a Third Severing expert with a single sentence was incredible. Granted, what the man had Severed was only a simple and ordinary Dao, making him unlike those terrifying, inhuman, and almighty Third Severing experts who severed great Daos. But it still served to show… how powerful Naruto was.

The man from the Golden Frost Sect immediately fell back, his eyes flashing. He took the other Golden Frost experts with him. The person who had just been killed was from their sect, so of course they could retreat. Naturally, theShimuraClan also retreated, unwilling to even touch the razor-sharp blade that was Naruto.

Naruto had burst onto the scene and destroyed a potent Spirit Severing expert with a single blow. Such an act deeply shocked everyone who saw it, and the results were apparent.

716

Chapter 716: Overbearing!

"You want to leave?" said Naruto, killing intent radiating out of his eyes. The instant he laid eyes on the cultivators from the Black Sieve Sect, that desire to kill had become insuppressible! Nor did he want to suppress it!

He wanted catharsis! He wanted… to kill!

Others could leave, but as for the cultivators from the Black Sieve Sect, well, if he hadn't seen them, it wouldn't matter. But now that he had… they had to die!

They absolutely, positively had to die!

Even as the words left his mouth, Naruto was moving forward at an incredible speed. He shot toward the Third Severing Patriarch, whose face instantly fell. Of course, he had long since prepared himself, and immediately shot backward in retreat.

"Naruto, you can have our Dao Lake, we're leaving this place!"

"Not happening!" was Naruto's cold reply. It was with incredible speed that he shot forward to appear directly in front of the Patriarch. He waved his hand, giving rise to an intense rumbling sound that caused everyone in the area to begin to pant and look over.

That was especially true of the Spirit Severing Patriarchs, whose eyes glittered. They assumed that this was going to be a fierce battle, like a fight between a dragon and a tiger. However, even as the thought occurred to them….

Naruto lifted up his hand and made a gesture toward the Black Sieve Sect's Third Severing Patriarch. Instantly, an enormous blood-colored vortex appeared around him. At the same time, a gigantic blood-colored hand magically appeared, which grabbed down onto him mercilessly.

RUMBLE!

"NO!" shrieked the old man from the Black Sieve Sect. He went all-out as he tried to struggle free, but was completely incapable. His fleshly body withered away with incredible speed as his Chakra and blood was absorbed by Naruto.

The sight of it caused the onlookers to gasp with shock. Amazed exclamations could be heard from all directions.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

"That's the true magic of the Blood Demon Sect, the Blood Demon

Grand Magic!"

Sir Jian from the Solitary Sword Sect stared at what was happening, his expression one of unprecedented seriousness. His eyes shone with an intense, bright light, and he was breathing heavily.

The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch's pupils constricted, and his heart skipped a beat.

In the Song Clan was a cultivator who appeared to be an ordinary old man. Suddenly, he lifted his head up, and his eyes shone with a bizarre glow.

In the Violet Fate Sect, Reverend Withered-Dao's face was covered with a strange expression. He looked at Naruto and let out a long sigh in his heart.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in the space of only a few breaths. The Black Sieve Sect Patriarch's miserable screams rang out in all directions. However, he was a decisive individual. He saw his body withering rapidly, and realized that he couldn't break free. When the decisive moment arrived, he gritted his teeth and chose to self-detonate.

His fleshly body exploded, causing the power of Chakra and blood to surge out; Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic trembled. At the same time, the Black Sieve Sect Patriarch's Nascent Divinity shot out at top speed from within the blood-colored vortex.

"Damn you, Naruto!" howled the Nascent Divinity. "I should have tortured that slut Hinata even more when I had the chance!" He shot through the air toward a rip that had just appeared, and was about to enter it, when….

When Naruto heard the old man's words, his killing intent skyrocketed to the pinnacle. He lifted his right hand and then pushed it out in front of him.

In response, the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain appeared in mid-air. They were almost like Naruto's hands, smashing down onto the fleeing Nascent Divinity.

BOOOMMMMMM!

The ground quaked and the air vibrated. The Ninth Mountain crushed down, drowning out the miserable scream that rang out. When the mountain vanished, the Black Sieve Sect Patriarch's Nascent Divinity was in fragments; he was completely and utterly dead.

The entire process lasted only for about ten breaths of time. To Naruto, slaughtering a Third Severing expert was like turning over his hand. The sight caused all onlookers to be thrown into deathly silence.

Of course, the Blood Demon Sect members were all quite excited, and looked at Naruto with more fanaticism than ever.

"Fall back!" said Sir Jian. The words echoed in the hearts of the Solitary Sword Sect cultivators as they returned to their places in the three Dao Lakes.

The Golden Frost Sect cultivators also retreated without the slightest bit of hesitation, as did theShimuraClan members. All returned to their various Dao Lakes, keeping a vigilant eye on Naruto the entire time.

"Do not leave any Black Sieve Sect cultivators alive," said Naruto calmly. Immediately, the several dozen remaining Blood Demon Sect disciples shot toward the Black Sieve Sect cultivators next to the Dao Lake.

This was not Naruto engaged in random killing. No, these Black Sieve

Sect disciples had all been part of the spell formation used to dissolve Hinata. Sad and shrill screams filled the air for about ten breaths worth of time as the Black Sieve Sect's force was completely slaughtered. Although everyone in the vicinity saw what was happening, no one tried to interfere.

There were also quite a few 300-meter Dao Lakes in the area surrounding the 3,000-meter Dao Lakes. Naruto immediately flew toward one of them and waved his hand, causing a blood-colored flag to stab into the dirt next to the lake.

"This lake is mine!" he declared.

The blood-colored flag was of course the standard of the Blood Demon

Sect, and its surface was embroidered with the character 'Naruto 孟.' This was actually Naruto's Blood Prince standard, of which quite a few had been specially crafted by the disciples of the Blood Demon Sect during the past year.

A standard like this was an item that, as Blood Prince, he had to possess as a token of his authority.

When he stabbed the flag into the ground, and his voice echoed out, the faces of the people in the area flickered, especially those of the cultivators who were standing guard next to that particular lake.

Naruto approached another nearby lake, then waved his hand to send another flag flying down.

"This lake is mine.

"This lake is mine, too!

"And this one!

"This one also!" Naruto flashed back and forth. Shockingly, in the blink of an eye, more than half of the 300-meter Dao Lakes were marked with Naruto's Blood Prince standard.

It took only a moment for blood-colored flags to fill the area. Naruto was like a surging flood, domineering to the extreme.

It didn't matter which sect or clan the Dao Lakes originally belonged to, as long as the people guarding a particular lake weren't from the Violet Fate Sect, Naruto would occupy it.

The other sects and clans were shaken by Naruto's slaughter of the Black Sieve Sect disciples, and didn't dare to do anything to stop him. He whistled through the air, much to the excitement of the Blood Demon Sect disciples, who flew after him to occupy the various lakes.

As for the cultivators who were originally occupying those lakes, they unhesitatingly retreated one by one.

While Naruto was in the middle of seizing one Dao Lake after another, there was suddenly a minor eruption. Not many items emerged from the Dao Lakes, especially in the center zone that Naruto was in. However, there was one 300-meter Dao Lake up ahead of him that did spit something out.

In this case, it wasn't a Dao Shadow, nor a magical item, but rather… a violet-colored humanoid beast. It was completely ferocious in appearance, with bat-like wings and a horn sticking out of its forehead.

As it shot out of the Dao Lake, it transformed into a violet beam of blinding light.

It roared as it shot forward to try to break through the shield that surrounded the lake.

Immediately, excited cries rang out.

"It's a beast! A violet beast!"

"That's a violet beast! Its body is like a treasure! You can refine countless items from it! Violet beasts like that are virtually extinct!" Some people were so shocked they were speechless.

The instant the beast appeared, the cultivators guarding the lake shot forward toward it. Before they could get near, a boom echoed out. The beast roared, its sound transforming into ripples that surged toward the cultivators.

The cultivators retreated, but Naruto moved forward. He slapped his hand down, causing the image of a gigantic hand to appear, which then shot toward the violet beast.

The violet beast let out a shrill cry and was about to fight back when the huge hand smashed onto it. Its body began to crumble, and then it was smashed into the surface of the lake, a mess of flesh and bones. Naruto quickly collected it up.

"This lake is also mine," he said calmly, throwing down a flag.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto had occupied nearly seventy percent of the 300-meter Dao Lakes. When he finally finished, everyone watched with complex expressions as he returned to the area with the 3,000 meter Dao Lakes.

Along with other Blood Demon Sect members, he occupied the Dao Lake formerly held by the Black Sieve Sect. After that, the Blood Demon Sect members explained everything that had happened before, including the matter of the Violet Fate Sect offering them a Dao Lake.

After hearing the explanation, Naruto looked over toward the Violet Fate Sect. There were many people looking back at him, and their gazes met.

Naruto saw Sakura and Hanxue Shan. He saw An Zaihai, Lin Hailong, and Ye Feimu, as well as that other old man.

"Bai Yunlai…." he thought, instantly recognizing the man who had been a fellow apprentice alchemist with him when he joined the Violet Fate Sect.

In his former days, Bai Yunlai had been known as the young man who knew everything about the East Pill Division. Now, he was an old man in his declining years.

Naruto avoided Sakura's gaze. In his heart, there was only Hinata.

Sakura seemed to be able to sense his state of mind, and a tremor ran through her. She lowered her head.

Naruto sighed inwardly, then glanced over at Fatty and Chen Fan. Finally, he closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened, his pupils were once again as cold as ice.

He turned his gaze to theShimuraClan, then began to walk over to them. Blood Demon Sect cultivators followed him excitedly.

The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch's face flickered. Four other old men from theShimuraClan walked out to stand with him, as if they were about to face a mortal enemy. The other members of theShimuraClan nervously produced magical items.

"Naruto, what are you doing?!" bellowed the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch.

"Screw off!" replied Naruto. It was a single command, but it rang out like claps of thunder. Everyone in theShimuraClan who was under the Spirit Severing stage coughed up blood. As for the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch and the other four Spirit Severing Patriarchs, their faces went pale, and two of them even staggered backward.

"You're going too far!" cried the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch. "Fellow Daoists Sir Jian and Han Yun, don't tell me you're just going to ignore this matter?!" Clearly, the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch was terrified of Naruto because of the slaughter that had just occurred with the Black Sieve Sect.

"SCREW OFF!" repeated Naruto, his eyes flashing with murderous intent. Again, it was only a single command, but it caused Heaven and Earth to tremble. With the exception of the 19th Patriarch, all the Spirit Severing Patriarchs coughed up blood. As for the ordinary cultivators, some couldn't endure, and their bodies exploded.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Jusaz_

717

Chapter 717: Old Friends Meet by the Dao Lake

The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch's face fell. Gritting his teeth, he ceased hesitating and backed up. The other four Spirit Severing Patriarchs looked at Naruto in shock as they, too, retreated. Along with their fellow clan members, they left the Dao Lake.

"Everything within 30,000 meters of this spot is a restricted zone," said Naruto slowly. "Any of you who dares to enter will be killed. By me." TheShimuraClan members sullenly moved to a position 30,000 meters away.

A buzz of conversation immediately rose up among the bystanders.

"Just what cultivation base does this Naruto have?!"

"He single-handedly fought the entire Black Sieve Sect before. Granted, he was defeated by Six-Daos, but according to the rumors, he's the number one figure under Dao Seeking!"

"He just killed a Third Severing expert. Calling him the number one person under Dao Seeking is definitely appropriate!"

As the sound of conversation filled the air, the Blood Demon Sect disciples took possession of the Dao Lake. Forgetting about the Dao Lake that the Violet Fate Sect had given them, they now controlled two Dao Lakes.

The Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs' killing intent was boiling as they waited for Naruto to accomplish his next goal.

Naruto stood there, ignoring the Violet Fate Sect, allowing his gaze to pass over the Song Clan to fall onto the Golden Frost Sect.

The middle-aged Golden Frost Sect cultivator's face darkened. Moments ago, he had wanted to come to aid of theShimuraClan, but the feeling he got from Naruto was too terrifying. It was in his brief moment of hesitation that theShimuraClan dispersed.

Now that Naruto was staring at them, everyone from the Golden Frost Sect began to tremble inwardly. As for Fatty, he hesitated for a moment, then looked up at Naruto. Their gazes met for a moment, and then Naruto looked away toward the Solitary Sword Sect.

In that moment, the Golden Frost Sect let out a collective inward sigh of relief. As for the middle-aged man, he looked thoughtful for a moment before his eyes turned cold.

When Naruto looked at the Solitary Sword Sect, he saw Chen Fan, who was standing toward the back. His cultivation base was at the great circle of Core Formation. His face was sallow, and he looked thin. When Naruto looked over, he returned the gaze.

After a long moment, Naruto began to look away from the Solitary Sword Sect. However, it was in that instant that he suddenly sensed a feeling of danger, coming from a person located behind Sir Jian.

As for Sir Jian, his eyes were ice cold as he stared at Naruto. When Naruto stared back in the same direction, it almost seemed as if an intangible rumbling resulted.

Sir Jian gave a muffled groan, and his body quivered. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead, and a nervous expression appeared on his face as he suddenly realized that he couldn't withstand the pressure weighing down on him. And then he realized… Naruto wasn't even looking at him.

Rather, Naruto was looking at the teenager behind him, an unremarkable boy who was rather frail-looking.

As soon as Naruto looked at him, he lifted his chin slightly and looked back, a calm expression on his face.

Their simple act of looking at each other actually caused Sir Jian to be injured.

When he realized that Naruto was looking at the teenager behind him, Sir Jian's heart began to thump.

Suddenly, as everyone watched on, Naruto walked forward toward the Solitary Sword Sect. The atmosphere in the area couldn't be any heavier.

Every step he took seemed to ring out like thunder.

He headed toward the third of the Solitary Sword Sect's Dao Lakes, causing the cultivators gathered there to brace themselves as if they were about to face a deadly foe. The Spirit Severing cultivators' faces grew anxious, and they started breathing heavily.

Naruto looked back at the teenager behind Sir Jian, and coolly said, "I want this Dao Lake too."

"Impossible!" blurted Sir Jian, instantly rising to his feet. The Solitary Sword Sect disciples drew their swords, and the eight Spirit Severing experts' cultivation bases exploded with intensity. In one short moment, the sword Chakra of the Solitary Sword Sect burst out, causing the wind to scream and a riot of colors to flash in the sky.

However, it was at this moment that the teenager behind Sir Jian suddenly spoke. His voice was hoarse and ancient, and didn't match his youthful appearance at all.

"Take it."

Sir Jian's expression immediately changed as he turned and bowed his head respectfully. The other Spirit Severing Cultivators stared in shock, then looked at the teenager and seemed to suddenly realize something important. One by one, their expressions began to fill with incredible respect, as well as fanaticism and inspiration.

"Since you like this particular Dao Lake," continued the teenager, "I'll give it to you." He spoke with a smile, but his eyes were as cold as ice, something he did nothing to conceal.

When Naruto looked at the teenager, it felt like he was looking at a sword!

A shocking, astonishing sword!

Even as the words left the teenager's mouth, the Solitary Sword Sect disciples surrounding their Third Dao Lake all fell back, leaving it open for Naruto.

Naruto nodded, and Blood Demon Sect disciples moved forward to take control of the Dao Lake.

As of now, the situation regarding the 3,000-meter lakes in the central zone of the Ancient Dao Lakes was as such: Blood Demon Sect, three. Solitary Sword Sect, two. Golden Frost Sect, two. Violet Fate Sect, two. Song Clan, one. Black Sieve Sect, , driven 30,000 meters away.

As for the 300-meter Dao Lakes, including the ten that surrounded each of the 3,000-meter Lakes, there were more than 700 in total.

Of those, more than four hundred bore the standard of the Blood Demon

Sect's Junior Leader. Of course, there were only a few dozen Blood Demon Sect cultivators in this area. Even if one disciple occupied each lake, there were still hundreds of lakes with only a flag to watch over them.

Naruto sat down next to the 3,000-meter lake that formerly belonged to the Black Sieve Sect, closed his eyes, and rotated his cultivation base as he waited for the next Dao Lake eruption. The people in the surrounding sects and clans who knew him all sighed inwardly.

This version of Naruto, and his coldness, made him seem like a stranger.

In the Song Clan, Eccentric Song looked over at Naruto and sighed emotionally in his heart. He couldn't help but think back to the time in the Konoha when he saw Naruto for the first time.

It was the same with Wu DingChakrau in the Violet Fate Sect. He was in the same mood as Eccentric Song. In fact, he was actually thinking about a certain spear, which still existed to this day in the Violet Fate Sect…. 1

Time passed by. The 3,000-meter lake region was completely silent. As for the 30,000-meter lake which all of those lakes surrounded, not even a ripple could be seen on its surface. It looked almost exactly like a huge mirror.

Sakura sat quietly for a long time before finally rising to her feet and walking out from the crowd of Violet Fate Sect disciples. Reverend Withered-Dao looked over, but did nothing to prevent her from approaching the Blood Demon Sect.

Her actions immediately drew the attention of quite a few people.

As she neared the area where Naruto sat cross-legged, she was blocked by a Blood Demon Sect disciple.

"I want to see Naruto," she said softly, looking over at him sitting cross-legged not too far off.

The Blood Demon Sect disciple hesitated for a moment, aware that the Blood Prince had ties to the Violet Fate Sect.

Naruto opened his eyes and looked over at Sakura. "Let her pass," he said.

The Blood Demon Sect disciple immediately stepped aside. Sakura said nothing as she walked up to Naruto and then sat down next to him, a complex expression in her eyes.

At first, she didn't say anything, and neither did Naruto.

After what seemed like a very, very long time had passed, she finally spoke. "It's been a few hundred years. Did you ever go back to that ravine?"

Naruto knew exactly which ravine she was referring to. That was the location in which the two of them truly got to know each other, and where he acquired the good fortune of the Blood Immortal legacy.

"No, I didn't," he replied calmly.

"I did," she said, looking him in the eyes.

Naruto didn't respond.

Sakura stared back out at the Dao Lake, her expression one of bitterness. Several hours passed, and she finally stood up and began to walk back toward the Violet Fate Sect. After seven steps, she stopped.

"If there was no Hinata…?"

"No 'ifs,'" Naruto replied softly.

"But why?"

"The opportunity was missed. What's done is done."

Sakura trembled, and then left Naruto's Dao Lake and returned to the Violet Fate Sect, tears streaming down her face.

Hanxue Shan came to see Naruto, innocent and making no attempts conceal her lingering feelings for him.

Fatty came, carrying a wild chicken. Naruto glanced at it, then summoned flames. The two of them sat next to the Dao Lake for a long time, eating wild chicken while everyone around watched on.

Fatty laughed and filed away at his teeth with a sword. In the end, he pulled Naruto into a bear hug and then left.

An Zaihai and Lin Hailong both came. Sighing, they recounted past times, although they avoided mentioning Grandmaster Pill Demon. They were well aware that to Naruto, the most important person in the Violet Fate Sect… was his Master.

Ye Feimu didn't come. The last person from the Violet Fate Sect to come was an old man. His Cultivation base was not very high, but as soon as he neared, Naruto's face broke out into a smile.

"Bai Yunlai."

"Fang… Naruto." The old man inadvertently started to call Naruto by the name Namikaze Mu.

People came from the Song Clan, the Golden Frost Sect, and the Solitary Sword Sect. Earlier they had faced off with hostility, but now they came to chat. These were people of the same generation as Naruto in the Southern Domain, Dao Children and Chosen, the most powerful of whom were merely in the Nascent Soul stage.

When they saw Naruto, the couldn't help but think of all the things that had happened in the past. Naruto didn't seeShimuraTiandao of theShimuraClan, who hadn't come to the Dao Lakes this time. 2

As far as Uchiha Lihai, and that figure who existed deep in his memories, Uchiha Tengfei, after the genocide of the Uchiha Clan carried out by their 10th Patriarch, Naruto wasn't sure if they were even still alive.

There was one person who Naruto hadn't seen at all since returning to the Southern Domain, and that was Han Bei. Han Bei of the Black Sieve Sect.

The last person to come visit was Chen Fan. He looked older than before, and hadn't reached the Nascent Soul stage yet. His body was somewhat emaciated, which sharply contrasted with the Chen Fan that Naruto remembered.

It seemed that many matters of the heart had built up in him during the past centuries, and had reached the point that they were suffocating him.

He didn't say much at first, and he brought a flagon of alcohol with him, which he drank from continuously. It was hard to say when, but at some point, he had begun to drink on a daily basis. It had reached the point where he didn't just need to drink, he needed to get drunk.

He was no longer the blazing sun that he had been in past years, nor was he one of the Seven Swords. One fellow sect member after another had surpassed him, and his dreams of rising up within the Solitary Sword Sect had not come true.

However, he still smiled. He smiled at Naruto, and it contained the same warmth it always had, the same concern and love.

"Elder Brother Chen…." said Naruto, looking him over. Every time he saw his old friends, he couldn't help but think of the Reliance Sect.

"Make sure to focus well on your cultivation," said Chen Fan. "If you ever reach Immortal Ascension, then I can boast to people that I have a little brother who's an Immortal." He chuckled, and clapped Naruto on the shoulder. Then he took a long swig of alcohol and headed back toward the Solitary Sword Sect.

Naruto could clearly see the scorn with which many of the Solitary Sword Sect disciples looked at Chen Fan.

If you forgot about the story of the spear, you can read an apocryphal version in chapter 211 ↩ShimuraTiandao is Dao Child of theShimuraClan. Naruto beat the crap out of him in the Demon Immortal Sect in chapter 610, then ripped him off in chapter 612 ↩

718

Chapter 718: Give Me This Lake!

RUMBLE!

Several days later, the Ancient Dao Lakes once again began to erupt. It was an enormous eruption in which glowing pillars of light shot up into the sky from roughly eighty percent of the Dao Lakes and Geysers.

It was the same in the inner region as the outer.

When the Dao Lakes erupted, countless Dao Shadows appeared. In the inner region, there were even three hundred or so Dao Lakes that erupted with magical items and other treasures. As far as the 3,000meter Dao Lakes, there were two that erupted with Dao Shadows and eight that spit out magical items.

All of the magical items were different, there were intact ones and ones that were broken apart or missing parts; some were ancient and dilapidated, others were brand new. Even more numerous than these were fragments of magical items. Lastly, there were broken bits of rocks and dirt from ancient ruins.

Of the Blood Demon Sect's three Dao Lakes, two spit out magical items. As for the lake Naruto occupied, a Dao Shadow appeared above it.

The other Dao Shadow appeared from within the 3,000-meter lake belonging to the Golden Frost Sect, the one Fatty was seated next to.

That particular Dao Shadow depicted a plump fellow cultivating some sort of formidable magical technique. When Fatty saw it, his eyes went wide, and he immediately began to seek enlightenment.

Because of the eruption, the previous quietude was instantly shattered. However, there was no descent into chaos. The Dao Lakes had been divided up, so unless some incredibly shocking item appeared, there would be no frenzied fighting like that which occurred in the outer region.

Whoever occupied a given lake had rights to whatever it spit out.

Immediately, countless cultivators flew up into the air toward their various Dao Lakes. Rumbling filled the air. The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs began to collect the various objects that had been spit out.

All of this takes some time to describe, but it actually only took the space of about ten breaths of time for all of the items from the 3,000meter Dao Lakes to be collected up by the various sects. It was then that attention was turned to the 300-meter lakes.

That was especially true of the more than four hundred 300-meter lakes that belonged to Naruto. More than a hundred of them had spit out magical items, which floated there in mid-air. There were also some that had Dao Shadows and other miscellaneous objects. The sight was shocking, and would naturally cause anyone who saw it to be moved.

Despite that, not a single fight broke out. Naruto's actions earlier had clearly shown how powerful he was, as well as the unbridled manner in which he tended to act. Any cultivator who coveted an item protected by one of the Blood Prince's standards would first think long and hard before doing anything.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples were tired but happy. They bustled about for nearly two hours collecting up the various objects spit up by the Dao Lakes. The cultivators from the other sects and clans looked on enviously.

Just when they were about to deliver all the objects up to Naruto, one of the 300-meter lakes that had spit out a Dao Shadow, suddenly began to rumble.

Immediately, large numbers of cultivators rose to their feet, their eyes burning with passion.

"A second eruption!"

"It's common for Dao Geysers to erupt twice. For a 30-meter Dao Lake to do so is uncommon. For a 300-meter Dao Lake to erupt a second time… is rare!"

"A second eruption almost certainly means a precious item will appear!"

Up to this point, Naruto had been sitting there meditating, but now that one of the Dao Lakes was erupting a second time, he opened his eyes.

RUMBLE!

Bright light blasted out from the Dao Lake as a corpse was spit out from within!

"A corpse!"

"The corpse of a cultivator from ancient times?!"

"Wow… I have to get that!"

Corpses were incredibly rare, and in the instant that it appeared, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, the Violet Fate Sect, the Song Clan, and even theShimuraClan off in the distance, were shaken. However… the Dao Lake that was erupting for the second time happened to have a blood-colored flag flying next to it. That instantly made quite a few people suddenly calm down.

Not everyone calmed down, though. Three of the Spirit Severing experts from the Golden Frost Sect flew out with glittering eyes. In their minds, Naruto had refrained from taking action against the Golden Frost Sect earlier because he was apprehensive; a fact they could take advantage of to keep him in check.

The three cultivators flew up into the air and then shot directly toward the 300-meter Dao Lake.

The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs instantly moved to intercept.

"How dare you, Golden Frost Sect!"

"What gall!"

When Naruto saw what was happening, a cold smile turned up the corners of his mouth. He then slapped his hand onto the ground, causing everything to tremble. At the same time, his body transforming into an afterimage, which then completely vanished.

His incredible speed far exceeded both the three Golden Frost Sect cultivators and the Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs. He appeared next to the Dao Lake in the blink of an eye, then waved his right hand to collect up the corpse. Finally, he turned to stare coldly at the three men from the Golden Frost Sect.

"It seems you three are looking to die."

The three cultivators' faces flickered. Shocked by Naruto's display of speed, they unhesitatingly retreated.

At the same time, the armored man from the Golden Frost Sect flew out, followed by the other experts from the Golden Frost Sect.

Naruto snorted coldly, then raised his right hand into the air and made a grasping motion. The Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared. A huge vortex surrounded the three cultivators, and a bloody hand appeared. Immediately, the three old men started to be consumed.

Miserable shrieks could be heard as the three cultivators exerted every scrap of power they could muster to try to free themselves, all to no avail.

"Stay your hand!" roared the man in the golden armor. He sped through the air with explosive speed. The five cultivators behind him began performing double-handed incantations, after which they pointed forward. Shockingly, the illusory images of puppets encapsulated them.

The puppets were dozens of meters tall, and as they flew forward, the armored man suddenly performed another incantation. Blue veins popped up on his forehead as another puppet image appeared above him!

Cracking sounds could be heard as all of the puppets quickly merged together. Shockingly, they transformed into an enormous golden puppet, three hundred meters tall and carrying a golden greatsword. It emanated a shocking pressure, which caused everything to tremble.

A similarly shocking voice rumbled out from the mouth of the puppet.

"Stay your hand!"

The voice turned into powerful sound waves that spread out in all directions.

"Too late," replied Naruto, his voice cold. He clenched his hand into a fist, and a boom resonated out. The three Golden Frost Sect Spirit Severing cultivators let out bloodcurdling screams as they were crushed into a bloody pulp. Their Chakra and blood streamed toward Naruto, merging into his body, where it transformed into a shocking power that raged inside of him.

As the three Nascent Divinities frenziedly tried to escape, the six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs shot in pursuit.

"Dammit!" cried the man in the golden armor. "Do you really think the Golden Frost Sect is afraid of you!?" He and the five cultivators behind him began to perform incantation gestures in unison. In response, the resplendent puppet began to emit… a shocking aura that bordered on Dao Seeking.

The instant the aura appeared, the faces of the members of the surrounding sects and clans flickered.

"That aura is borderline Dao Seeking!"

"That's the supreme magic of the Golden Frost Sect, the Golden Frost Marionette!"

The golden puppet raised its greatsword and slashed down. A ripping sound could be heard as a 30-meter rift appeared. An aura close to Dao Seeking exploded out, transforming into a pressure that could weigh down on anyone in the Spirit Severing stage.

"DIE!" cried the six Golden Frost Sect cultivators, their voices joining together into a shout that caused everything to tremble.

"Dao Seeking aura, huh?" said Naruto, eyes glittering. "I have that too!" The power of the Chakra and blood of the three Spirit Severing Cultivators combined with the dissipating remainder of what he had absorbed from the Third Severing Patriarch of the Black Sieve Sect, fused together inside of him and then exploded out.

He clenched his hand into a fist and then punched directly toward the incoming sword.

RUMBLE!

The air shattered under the power of the fist. A black hole appeared that was not 30 meters, but rather, 90 meters wide, raging with a Dao Seeking aura.

Dao Seeking was an embodiment of natural law, a stage in which such laws were fused with the body.

The natural laws were based on the enlightenment of the Dao that accompanied the Third Severing. Dao Seeking was the time to see whether or not the Daos of the three Severings conflicted with each other. It was an introspection regarding the heart, and could not be interfered with nor influenced in any way.

If one had been correct in one's Dao, then that was that. If they had erred, there was nothing to be done. If correct… one entered Dao Seeking. If incorrect… the Dao vanished.

Therefore, this so-called aura, was a Dao aura.

As the aura spread out, the surrounding cultivators gasped. Sir Jian, Reverend Withered-Dao, and the Spirit Severing Patriarch leader from the Song Clan were especially shocked. They watched on in shock as the power from Naruto's fist connected with that of the greatsword.

BOOOMMMMMM!

The golden greatsword shattered into pieces that swirled about like flower blossoms. The puppet shook violently, and numerous cracks appeared on its surface. As they spread out, a look of shock appeared on the puppet's face, and then it exploded.

As the puppet blew up, the six cultivators inside, including the man in the golden armor, spit up blood. Their bodies sagged, and their expressions were that of astonishment as they retreated at full speed.

As for Naruto's fist, it lost its Dao aura.

After all, the power came from the strength he had gained by using the Blood Demon Grand Magic, and not from within himself. Now that the energy had been released by his first blow, he was incapable of making a second similar strike.

"The more I fight with the Blood Demon Grand Magic, the more ferocious it becomes!" Eyes glittering, he shot after the six retreating figures.

The three Nascent Divinities being chased by the six Blood Demon Patriarchs were incapable of escaping; at this point they had already been sealed up and collected. The Golden Frost Sect's power base in the area was now significantly weakened.

Seeing Naruto flying toward him, the man in the golden armor suddenly felt his heart tighten with anxiety. Gritting his teeth, he called out: "The Golden Frost Sect will give you a 3,000-meter Dao Lake!" "One won't do!" shot back one of the six Patriarchs. "Give us two!"

"Dammit…." The cultivators of the Golden Frost Sect grumbled, and the man in the gold armor's face fell. He had been in fear of Naruto's strength earlier, and actually didn't want to end up fighting him. He was just about to agree when….

Naruto's eyes fell onto Fatty, who was sitting next to the Dao Lake staring at the Dao Shadow.

He then looked at the other lake and pointed at it. "Give me that lake."

The man in the golden armor gaped for a moment, then quickly nodded his head. He looked at Fatty, and then finally put the pieces of the puzzle together. At this point, he realized that the reason Naruto hadn't made a move against them earlier wasn't because of any apprehension regarding the Golden Frost Sect, but rather, because ofShimuraFugui.

The Golden Frost Sect retreated to the Dao Lake with the Dao Shadow, and the Blood Demon Sect occupied another 3,000-meter Dao Lake. As of now, they had a total of four!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous, Daniel Rodriguez, Bee Vang, and Count Grey_

719

Chapter 719 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 719: Main Lake Eruption!

The appearance of a Dao Seeking aura had ensured that Naruto would now be completely and utterly famous within the great sects and clans of the Southern Domain.

The battle just now would soon spread to become a legend in the Southern Domain, and Naruto's name, and his titles of Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect and Grandmaster Pill Cauldron, would rise to complete prominence.

Most shocking of all was that not one, but two instances of Dao Seeking aura occurred. This enabled a comparison between the two, which made it all the more astonishing.

The first was the Dao Seeking aura of the Golden Frost Sect puppet.

Moments ago….

Everyone in the inner region of the Ancient Dao Lakes sensed it, but few actually recognized it for what it was. What they could tell, however, was that the aura was fearsome to the extreme. It immediately astounded all the cultivators in the area.

"Whose aura is that?!"

"It's so terrifying! In fact, it almost feels like Heavenly might!"

"Even our sect's Patriarch doesn't have an aura like that!"

Tens of thousands of cultivators in the central region of the Ancient Dao Lakes, all of them from famous sects and clans of the Southern Domain, could sense the terrifying pressure of the aura.

The pressure was so intense that even the Dao Shadows above the Dao Geysers and Lakes distorted, as if some intangible force were affecting them.

"Dao Seeking aura!"

"It's definitely the aura of Dao Seeking!"

"Heavens! Don't tell me there's a Dao Seeking treasure in one of the Dao Lakes!? Or what if… it's a Dao Seeking eccentric who came here personally?!"

RUMBLE!

Even as everyone looked around in astonishment, another pulse of Dao Seeking aura exploded out. The intensity of this aura far exceeded that of the first; it shook everything!

Winds seethed, and even the divine abilities of the cultivators in the area were affected, and began to dissolve into chaos. Magical items began to tremble, and it seemed as if they would lose their connection to their owners.

A natural law descended, something that seemed to pulse with a strange power that caused all of the cultivators to feel intense pressure suppressing their cultivation bases. At the same time, the power of their fleshly bodies seemed to temporarily increase.

Furthermore, because of the Dao Seeking aura, some of the Dao

Shadows above the Dao Geysers distorted to the point that they were destroyed.

"Heavens! Another aura!"

"This aura is even stronger than the first one! Two pulses of aura means that it's not a Dao Seeking treasure. No, there are two Dao Seeking experts fighting!"

"Who is it? What Dao Seeking eccentric showed up!? There are very few Dao Seeking cultivators in the lands of the Southern Domain. If you count them up there can't be more than thirty, and most of them have been in secluded meditation for countless years!"

A huge commotion filled the entire region of the Dao Lakes as Naruto and the Golden Frost Sect puppet slammed into each other. Two massive Dao Seeking forces slammed into each other, sending out a shockwave that instantly swept out like a gale-force wind.

Most of the Dao Shadows were destroyed, and hundreds of thousands of cultivators felt as if their minds were under barrage. They were stunned, and required a long moment to recover.

In contrast, things quickly settled down in the inner region of the Ancient Dao Lakes. After the Golden Frost Sect submitted, peace and calm were restored. Naruto now sat cross-legged next to the Dao Lake, contemplating the enormous Dao Shadow.

The eruption of the Dao Lakes had caused two Dao Shadows to appear above the 3,000-meter lakes. One Dao shadow was being studied by Fatty, the other by Naruto.

The Dao Shadow Naruto was studying was that of a middle-aged cultivator wearing a simple, ancient Daoist ensemble. He sat crosslegged, meditating, and a drop of blood hovered in front of him . He performed incantations, after which ghost images sprang up around his body. After a single glance, Naruto could tell that the Dao Shadow was cultivating some sort of clone magic.

He couldn't determine the the Dao Shadow's cultivation base, but he could tell that in certain aspects, the clone magic was similar to the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao. Naruto looked over the image a few times, then began to immerse himself in studying it.

He had examined the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao many times over the years, and had a general understanding of it. However, there were some parts that he couldn't completely understand. He knew the general process, but not exactly how to carry it out.

Every time he felt he had enlightened regarding important aspect, and then lifted his hand up to perform the incantation, he discovered that his understanding actually didn't seem to amount to anything at all.

Therefore, the appearance of a Dao Image such as this was definitely a lucky break.

Time went by gradually, and soon three months had passed.

The eruptions of the Ancient Dao Lakes grew more intense. In the beginning, they would erupt once every four or five days. In the last month, however, the frequency had increased to every other day. Furthermore, the quantity of the items spit out was also increasing.

Seven or eight corpses had appeared, as well as five beasts. The sects and clans fought bitterly over them, and the victors made incredible gains.

Although the Dao Lakes were erupting with more and more items, more than half of the lakes were controlled by the Blood Demon Sect. However, nobody went near them. Naruto's actions three months before made it so that anyone who even thought of trying to snatch an item from one of them would instantly think of the violent repercussions that would follow.

As such, the Blood Demon Sect disciples were the most tired of all. More and more magical items were delivered to Naruto, and in this three months period, he had built up quite a stash.

As for Naruto himself, he never moved from the lakeside, where he sat studying the Dao Shadow. As long as he didn't take the initiative to disperse it, the Dao Shadow would remain in place. That was a special feature of the 3,000-meter lakes.

Fatty had emerged from his meditation two months ago, seemingly enlightened on many things. Afterward, he once again closed his eyes and continued to cultivate.

Two more months passed.

The Dao Lakes were now erupting at a frequency of once per day. To the cultivators of the Southern Domain, the Ancient Dao Lakes had turned into something like a paradise. As long as one could secure control of a Dao Geyser or Dao Lake and avoid wandering about randomly, then shocking good fortune was guaranteed.

To the cultivators in the central region, however, the increase in the frequency of eruptions meant only one thing. The main lake… would soon experience a massive eruption!

The pivotal moment in this surge of activity of the Ancient Dao Lakes was about to arrive…the 30,000 meter Dao Lake, which had not produced even a single wave the entire time, was finally going to erupt!

According to the information in the ancient records, the 30,000-meter Dao Lake wouldn't erupt with just one object. It would spit out many items at once, and among them were sure to be precious treasures!

In fact, it was even possible for magical items to appear that were equivalent to the legacy treasures of the sects and clans. Such items essentially gave that sect or clan the equivalent of a Dao Seeking eccentric. A possibility like that was enough to cause the cultivators of the Southern Domain to go mad with desire.

Gradually, more and more eyes came to be fixed in the direction of the 30,000-meter main lake.

In contrast, Naruto was immersed in seeking enlightenment, and in fact, had already formed some speculations about the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao.

"Withering Flame. Demon Magic. True Self Dao! This is not just a clone magic! There are other Daoist magics hidden within!" This enlightenment caused Naruto's mind and heart to tremble. He had never seen a divine ability or magical technique that was so profoundly layered.

After another month had passed, the Ancient Dao Lakes were now erupting every few hours. The disciples of the Blood Demon Sect were swamped. They had literally no time to rest as they shot back and forth between the erupting Dao Lakes to collect various magical items and miscellaneous objects. To everyone else in the central region of the Dao Lakes, they almost looked like they were harvesting crops.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples were in pain from all the hard work, but they were happy.

Of course, the members of the other sects and clans watched them bustling about, and also felt a bit of pain… and they were not happy.

Least happy of all were the members of theShimuraClan, who were still positioned 30,000 meters away. They could do nothing more than watch on helplessly as more and more magical items erupted from within the Dao Lakes. They didn't dare to step even a foot past the 30,000-meter border. Although there were Dao Lakes in the area they occupied, they couldn't even compare to the ones further in. They were better than nothing, of course, but theShimuraClan cultivators only continued to grow more and more frustrated.

Their hatred for Naruto increased with each passing day.

Despite that, they didn't dare to proceed past that 30,000-meter mark. Naruto was just far too powerful and intimidating.

The members of the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, the distantShimuraClan, and the Song Clan were all looking toward the 30,000meter main lake, suppressing their emotions and continuing to wait. "Come on, hurry up! The 30,000-meter main lake is going to erupt soon!"

"We've been waiting the entire time just for this day! The only thing we don't know is exactly when the eruption will occur!"

"That Naruto's cultivation base is just too high! However, we don't need to fight him. When the 30,000-meter lake erupts, the rules here will change. The teleportation talisman that didn't work before will be able to function. Once the 30,000-meter lake erupts, all you have to do is grab an item and then use a greater teleportation talisman to get away! The real competition will be over who is fastest!"

"Naruto might have a high cultivation base, but he's only one person.

With so many items, we'll just have to wait and see who gets lucky!"

The Violet Fate Sect was also taking things seriously. However, considering their close ties to Naruto, their attitude toward him was much warmer.

The Song Clan kept to themselves, but they also had their ambitions. All the sects and clans had their hearts set on the main lake.

As for the teenager who sat cross-legged behind Sir Jian in the Solitary Sword Sect, his eyes shone with a strange light as he looked toward the 30,000-meter main lake.

"The reason I sent my clone here in the first place was for this instance of good fortune," he thought. "If my augury was correct, then the good fortune I seek will be coming with this eruption. That rascal Naruto might have Heaven-defying power, but if we end up fighting, I'll have no choice but to subdue him."

In the Golden Frost Sect, the man in the armor glanced over at Naruto, and then exchanged looks with some of the people behind him. They could all see the hesitation in each other's eyes.

Then their eyes glittered, no longer with hesitation, but determination. "Fight!"

"Cultivation is all about the smash and grab! When it comes to luck and good fortune, it won't just randomly come to you! You have to fight for it!"

The entire central region of the Dao Lakes gradually filled with an oppressive aura. No one spoke, and all attention was focused on the coming eruption of the 30,000-meter main lake.

Naruto was still concentrated on enlightenment, although he wasn't looking at the Dao Shadow anymore. His eyes were closed as he inwardly pondered the truths of the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao.

Three days later.

RUMMMBBBBLLLLEEEEE!

The land quaked as all of the Dao Lakes ceased any eruption. The lake in front of Naruto began to vanish. Everything became blurry. The 3,000-meter lakes, the 300-meter lakes, the 30-meter lakes, all of the lakes dried up and shrank rapidly.

Even the Dao Geysers were completely drained.

It almost seemed like someone was beneath all of the lakes, breathing in, inhaling the lake water away.

Of course, what came after an inhalation, was an exhalation!

"The 30,000-meter main lake is going to erupt!"

"It's going to start! This is when the true good fortune appears!"

"I wonder what the 30,000-meter main lake is going to spit out! I heard that the Solitary Sword Sect's precious treasure came from the eruption of the main lake!"

The teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect rose to his feet. The armored man from the Golden Frost Sect was panting. The cultivators from the Song Clan stood there with glittering eyes. Reverend Withered-Dao was pulsating with ripples. 30,000-meters away, theShimuraClan cultivators were focusing all the power in their bodies.

Only Naruto still had his eyes closed.

And then….

The formerly placid 30,000-meter Dao Lake was marred by ripples, as if something were bubbling underneath its surface.

BOOOMM!

720

Chapter 720: Everything Explodes!

With the exception of the 30,000-meter Dao Lake, all of the Dao Lakes and Geysers were drying up. Splits and cracks began to appear across the entire landscape, some of them enormous.

Teleportation traps flashed in and out madly, in some case appearing by the thousands to sweep across the land.

When the water of the 3,000-meter lakes began to lower, the South Heaven cultivators outside of the inner region began to withdraw. They knew the greatest windfall of all was just around the corner.

Unfortunately for them, it was good fortune they could never acquire.

Only the cultivators in the inner region would have that chance. Furthermore, anyone who remained in the outer region would be killed during the eruption.

Currently, hundreds of thousands of cultivators milled around outside the border, peering inward. After all, even though they had no chance at getting the good fortune for themselves, the chance to witness the event was still an incredible opportunity. For all they knew, they might be able to gain some enlightenment that could lead to a breakthrough into another stage of cultivation.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the main lake.

RUMMMMMBBBBLLLE!

The ground quaked as the 30,000-meter lake exploded.

It is difficult to describe how shocking the scene was, and how completely gobsmacked everyone was. The only thing that can be said is that in the enormous outer region of the Ancient Dao Lakes, massive fissures spread out across the land as if some enormous gravitational force under the ground was causing the land to sink down.

The land itself was too brittle, so fissures and cracks appeared as it sank.

When the entire land had sunk to a certain degree, it actually reversed itself and, amidst continuous rumbling, inflated back to its original state, as if it was an exhalation subsequent to an inhalation. It was almost like there was a giant, living deep beneath the ground, breathing, causing the land to sink and rise. As for the single 30,000-meter main lake, it formed what seemed like a passageway connecting the ground to the Heavens above, something completely unique in all existence.

It was the epicenter of the explosive exhalation; water surged up from the 30,000-meter lake into the air, forming a massive column!

From a distance, the sight was completely astonishing. It was not a pillar of light, but when illuminated by sunlight, the column of water glittered brightly with a rainbow of colors. It was dazzling to the extreme, and its allure irresistible.

Of course, what drew people toward it was not the light itself, but the great Daos of Heaven and Earth that seemed to be contained within.

In this moment, a blurry figure appeared in mid-air outside of the Dao Lakes among the hundreds of thousands of cultivators, although none of them could see him. He was a young man in a Daoist robe, around whom a black wind swirled. His eyes glittered as he stared at the Dao Lakes region.

"So, I didn't come in vain this time. My Coffin Altar Sect of the Northern reaches uncovered the fact that great fortune is available for me here. I, Zhou Chen, have arrived, so how could the good fortune possibly escape me!?" 1

The young man clearly did not have a Dao Seeking cultivation base.

However, his body emanated faint bits of a virtually undetectable Dao Seeking aura. He appeared to be scanning the area for something in particular, when he suddenly jerked his head to look toward the Ancient

Dao Lakes. He frowned. "Hunh… Dammit! That guy's here too? Lu Bai…." 2

Off in a different direction, a burly man stood on the peak of a mountain. He wore garments crafted from animal skins, and looked completely barbaric. He held a flagon of alcohol in one hand, and at his feet was the corpse of an Outlander Beast. Occasionally, he would rip some flesh off of the Outlander Beast corpse and eat it raw. His eyes glittered with a savage gleam.

"So, quite a few people are here from the Northern Reaches," the man thought. "Well, the good fortune here belongs to me, Di Ye of the Desolate Clan! And I don't just want the good fortune, I'm gonna chow down on some of these Southern Domain cultivators. Their flesh is soft, definitely much more delicious than the people from the Northern Reaches." 3

A smile twisted his face as he stared down at the Ancient Dao Lakes region.

Suddenly, he caught sight of something, and his face flickered with rage. "Lu Bai from the Imperial Bloodline Sect 4. Dammit! He's generally acknowledged to be the number one figure under Dao Seeking in the Northern Reaches, and is also one of the four great Young Starlords of South Heaven. What is he doing here? At the Second Severing level, he can fight early Dao Seeking! He's inhuman! Considering he's such a hotshot superstar with access to limitless good fortune, what the hell is he doing here?!"

As the thousands of teleportation traps swept through the Ancient Dao lakes, a young man proceeded along, his expression cool. He seemed gentle, and was extremely good looking, to the point of perfection. The teleportation traps in his path were completely incapable of even touching him.

"What an interesting place," he thought, "although it doesn't suit me very well. Why did the exalted Dawn Immortal send me here? According to her, I would encounter the enemy I am destined to face….

"How amusing. I wonder who this supposed enemy will turn out to be?"

As he proceeded forward, the image of a Resurrection Lily could be seen behind him, swaying back and forth ominously.

The Dao Lakes region was full of powerful forces!

The ground quaked in shocking fashion, and everyone watching from a distance was astonished.

Just outside the 30,000-meter Dao Lake, the experts from the great sects and clans were staring fixedly, holding their energy in check, just waiting until the full eruption.

And then… it happened.

A thunderous roar could be heard as countless magical objects, corpses, Dao Shadows, miscellaneous objects, and even beasts exploded out from the 30,000-meter main lake.

In the blink of an eye, multicolored glows appeared, the shocking light of magical treasures. The collective gasp of the cultivators outside turned into a sound wave that rolled out. Considering that they had such a reaction, there is little need to mention the reaction of the people in the inner region, who simply had to reach out to grab the treasures.

Among the magical items was a longsword, two meters in length, around which circulated nine one-meter-long shortswords. The pressure it exuded was incredible.

There was also a gigantic war drum, next to which was an enormous puppet, which seemed like the only thing even remotely capable of matching up to the war drum.

There was also an enormous halo. It was impossible to tell what it was made from, but it shone with golden light, and its surface was covered with countless inscriptions of magical symbols. From within could be sensed an incredible sealing power, radiating out in all directions.

In addition… there was a shocking corpse! It wasn't the corpse of a human, but rather, a black-colored dragon!

To say that it was a dragon would be correct. However, this particular dragon had wings! Although it wasn't a Flying Rain-Dragon, it was fully 3,000 meters in length and had long horns!

There was also a tree with a red trunk and branches, black leaves, and blue flowers. As for the three fruit it produced, they were white!

There were vast quantities of jade slips, one bag of holding after another, and even shrunken palaces. Most astonishing of all, however, was a gigantic claw!

The claw was pitch black, and had three talons. It was over three hundred meters in length, and emanated an oppressive, murderous air.

There were a vast variety of items, and it would be impossible to describe them all. Upon cursory examination, there were roughly ten thousand in total, and because the various auras were all mixed together, it was difficult to determine which of the items was the most powerful.

In any case, as they burst out from the lake water, the rippling aura that spread out was shocking to the extreme.

The instant the Dao Lake erupted, the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect immediately teleported. Ripples of Dao Seeking energy spread out as he headed directly toward the lake.

In addition to the teenager, the Spirit Severing experts from the Solitary Sword Sect also shot toward the lake.

The golden-armored man from the Golden Frost Sect, along with the other Spirit Severing experts, transformed into the golden puppet, which immediately stepped into the lake.

From the Violet Fate Sect, Reverend Withered-Dao moved with shocking speed that matched the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect. He vanished, and when he reappeared, he was also above the Dao Lake. Of everyone in the Violet Fate Sect, he was the only one to take action.

As for theShimuraClan off in the distance, they instantly went mad. Their Spirit Severing Cultivators couldn't match up in terms of speed, but they had teleportation talismans. They instantly activated them and appeared in mid-air above the erupting Dao Lake.

At long last, the old man from the Song Clan, who up to this point had not spoken a single word nor revealed the tiniest bit of his aura, rose to his feet. The area around him transformed into what looked like a tempest as he, along with the two Spirit Severing cultivators from the Song Clan, headed toward the Dao Lake.

The shocking eruption of the Dao Lake made it seem like it was raining.

Even as all the others took action, the invisible Coffin Altar Sect disciple Zhou Chen took a step forward. Nine bottle gourds began to spin around him, creating a tunnel, which led directly to the erupting Dao Lake.

On the mountain peak across from him, the burly Di Ye lifted his head up and roared. "Shrink, shrink, SHRINK!"

He called out three times, and with each call, the world seemed to shrink in front of him. By the time he said 'shrink' for the third time, the world looked like a zoomed-out image to him. He took a single step, and crossed the void to appear in mid-air directly above the Dao Lake!

At the same time, the young man Lu Bai, who was walking through the teleportation traps in the Ancient Dao Lakes outer region, stretched out his hand. The illusory Resurrection Lily behind him suddenly shrank down, and a six-colored Resurrection Lily appeared in his palm.

The instant the flower appeared in his hand, the area around him began to distort. Suddenly, images appeared around him of everything that had ever existed or even passed by the spot that he stood in.

He stood in the middle of the glowing lights, staring around at how everything had changed.

"Going back three breaths should suffice," he thought with a slight smile. Everything around him began to distort again, and suddenly, what he saw was the world that had existed three breaths of time ago. He took a step forward, and he was back in that exact same time, just before the Dao Lake was going to erupt. He took another step, and was in mid-air above the Dao Lake. It was in that instant that the lake suddenly erupted.

His divine abilities and magical techniques were bizarre and astonishing!

When the Dao Lake erupted, the light of magical items shone up into the Heavens. The six Spirit Severing Patriarchs of the Blood Demon Sect anxiously looked over at Naruto. Since his eyes were still closed, they stamped their feet and flew up into the air, shooting directly toward the erupting Dao Lake.

They weren't far from it to begin with, so it didn't take long to get close.

As for Naruto, his eyes were still closed, and his mind was filled with the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao. He was still in the midst of contemplation. Although it first seemed impossible to comprehend, he was now reaching the limits of his understanding.

He had already determined that the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao was actually split into three different Daoist magics, the first being the Withering Flame, the second being the Demon Magic, and the third being the True Self Dao!

But now, he suddenly sensed that the Daoist magic… could actually be split into seven sections! Each section was its own shocking Daoist Magic.

Withering. Flame. Demon. Magic. True. Self. Dao!

The clone aspect was merely the divine ability represented by the character "self!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Espen Leonhardsen, William Storer, Shin,_

 _Philipp Schröder, Clement Moriceau, Nam Tran, , and Jacques-_

 _Landry Kengne_

Zhou Chen's name in Chinese is 周尘 zhōu chén. Zhou is a common surname. Chen means "dust" or "dirt" ↩ Lu Bai's name in Chinese is 陆柏 lù bái. Lu is common surname. Bai means "cypess" or "cedar" ↩ Di Ye's name in Chinese is 帝野 dì yě. Di is a surname which also means "emperor" or "god." Ye means "wild" or "rough" ↩ An organization with a name very similar to this sect was mentioned in chapter 599 ↩

721

Chapter 721 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 721: You Must Know Liu Zichuan

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators outside of the Ancient Dao

Lakes region were bearing witness to a rare and shocking spectacle!

"That longsword… is two meters long, the nine shortswords are each one meter long. Look at the brilliant glow, and the lightning! It almost looks like Tribulation Lightning! Is it possible… is it possible that sword is the legendary Deadwinter Tribulation Sword?!"

"Why does that war drum looks almost the same as the Primordial True Spirit Drum that I read about in the ancient records…? And that puppet next to it…. I get the chills just looking at it!"

"What is that tree?! It looks so bizarre, and has three fruits on it!"

"Check out that beast claw! It looks incredible! Could it be a Dao

Seeking treasure?!"

"That's… that's a black dragon!? It's a real-life dragon! It looks relatively small, but its body is definitely a treasure!"

The few dozen Spirit Severing cultivators immediately convened above the 30,000-meter main lake as one object after another appeared amidst the eruption of the lakewater.

Boom!

There were simply too many magical items! Fierce fighting broke out in the blink of an eye. "Screw off!"

"Hey, I wanted that!"

"This is mine! Anyone who dares to fight me over it will die!"

Explosions immediately began to echo out as the Spirit Severing experts shot toward the treasures they had taken a liking to. Shocking roars filled the air, and wild colors danced about.

The greatest focus of attention was the teenager from the Solitary Sword

Sect, then the Golden Frost Sect puppet, both of whom exuded Dao

Seeking auras. Strangest of all were the three people from the Northern Reaches. They flew about in three different areas, causing the air to shatter around them wherever they went.

Their sudden appearance on the scene was quite a source of alarm for the Southern Domain cultivators. However, there was no time to try to uncover information about their origins and backgrounds. Everyone sped toward the treasures that they wanted.

The teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect flew at top speed toward the two-meter longsword. In the blink of an eye, his hand clasped the hilt.

The enormous puppet from the Golden Frost Sect exploded with a Dao Seeking aura as it headed toward the puppet next to the war drum, slamming aside several Solitary Sword Sect Spirit Severing cultivators in the process.

The Song Clan Patriarch flew along at top speed, his body pulsing with an aura that seemed to contain a force which was incompatible with the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. Everywhere he passed, shocking illusory blades flew about. His goal was one particular jade slip that glowed with violet light.

The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch shot furiously toward the black dragon.

The only member of the Violet Fate Sect to make an appearance, Reverend Withered-Dao, headed toward the red-trunked tree with the black leaves, blue flowers, and three white fruits!

As for the barbaric, hulking Di Ye from the Northern Reaches, an enormous wolf-tooth club appeared in his hands. A savage and wild aura exploded out from him, reaching a pinnacle in the blink of an eye. His wolf-tooth club swept back and forth, shattering the surroundings as he charged toward his goal, the three-hundred-meter long black-colored claw.

"This claw belongs to Di Ye!"

Dao Child Zhou Chen from the Coffin Altar Sect, also from the Northern Reaches, looked incredibly soft and feminine. The air around him did not shatter, but rather his surroundings warped and twisted, causing everything he passed by to wither.

His expression was cold as he headed toward the enormous golden halo that emanated a pulsing power of sealing.

Last was one of the four Young Starlords of South Heaven, the number one figure under Dao Seeking from the Northern Reaches, Lu Bai of the Imperial Bloodline Sect, who could battle Dao Seeking even when in the Spirit Severing Stage!

As he hovered in mid air, the Dao Lake eruption surging around him, he almost seemed to exist in a different time and location. It was as if he could, at will, travel anywhere in space and time.

He glanced around at the various objects in the area until his gaze came to rest on the corpse of the enormous black dragon. As it did, a strange gleam began to shine in his eyes.

He immediately headed in the direction of the black dragon, and toward the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch, who was clearly vying for the same object.

Everyone had their own targets and goals, some the same as others, some different. In addition, there were Spirit Severing experts from the other sects and clans who also headed toward their own favored objects.

The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs scattered and headed toward various things that attracted them.

The fighting seemed chaotic, but was in fact quite the opposite. Only the most powerful experts would actually fight over any of the visibly extraordinary items. Others weren't qualified to do so.

"Dammit! That's mine!"

"Nobody owns the Dao Lakes! The treasures go to the lucky, and you're not lucky! Screw off!"

"Die!"

Explosions rattled out, and in the blink of an eye, they were joined by miserable shrieks.

A Golden Frost Sect cultivator was cut down by Reverend Withered-Dao. AShimuraClan member excitedly closed in on the black dragon, and was about to grab it when a soft sigh could be heard. The sigh caused his body to begin to tremble, and then blood sprayed from his mouth. His fleshly body immediately transformed into a pool of blood. His Nascent Divinity flew out without hesitation, but was then crushed by the power of Time.

Meanwhile, Naruto still sat at the edge of the dried-up 3,000 meter Dao Lake that bordered the 30,000-meter Dao Lake. His mind rang with thunderous roars as he gained further enlightenment regarding the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao. He was finally able to thoroughly break it down.

"Withering. Flame. Demon. Magic. True. Self. Dao!" His eyes opened.

"This magic has three levels and seven parts! Each character represents a different secret art. Combined, they form something unbelievably powerful!

"The 'self' character is the clone magic!

"It's too bad I didn't understand it before, and pursued some incorrect theories. Were it not for that, I might have already been able to gain some true understanding, and therefore, some boosts in power!

"What I currently have the deepest understanding of is not the 'self' character and its clone magic, but rather the 'withering' character!

"All living things wither. However, a withered tree can grow anew in spring. The character 'wither 枯' has a 'tree 木' component on the left, which represents life. The 'ancient 古' component on the right represents death. The left is the past, the right is the future.

"The character 'wither' is also similar to the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Once I enter the Spirit Meridians stratum, I will be able to consume spirit meridians, which in actuality… is very similar to the 'wither' character!

"Withering someone's spirit meridians is akin to crippling their cultivation base and influencing time. It's like planting a seed. The seed is planted, then reaped immediately, ignoring the time that normally passes inbetween!

"That is the true meaning of the Spirit Meridians stratum of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

"All I need is some time spent in secluded meditation, perhaps half a month, and I should be able to step fully into the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!" Naruto's eyes flickered with a brilliant glow. It was in this moment that shocking energy suddenly surged up from within him.

Instantly, the eyes of all the cultivators above the Dao Lake turned in his direction.

He raised his head, and a golden gleam could be seen in his eyes. Suddenly, he performed a minor teleportation and reappeared in mid-air above the lake.

"Naruto!"

"He was meditating before, and based on his energy now… could it be that he made a breakthrough?!"

"Dammit! If he gets involved, that means there's one more powerful foe in the mix!"

"Please, please, PLEASE don't take a fancy to this magical item here, go look at someone else's."

Various thoughts and feelings such as these bubbled up in the blink of an eye.

Rumble!

When Naruto appeared above the Dao Lake, his energy immediately drew special attention from four people.

The first was the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect, whose pupils constricted.

The other three were the Chosen from the Northern Reaches. One of them, Dao Child Zhou Chen from the Coffin Altar Sect, frowned and stared seriously for a moment. A look of scorn appeared on the face of Di Ye, although his heart filled with vigilance.

The person who seemed most interested in Naruto was none other than Lu Bai. He turned to look at Naruto, and when he did, a tremor ran through him.

"It's him!" he thought.

He sensed a feeling like destiny, and was instantly sure that the young man he was looking at was the person the esteemed Dawn Immortal had referred to, his destined adversary.

Naruto's arrival on the scene shocked everyone. He glanced around, and then, to the shock of many, shot toward the black claw.

His decision caused quite a few people to sigh in relief, and continue fighting.

Di Ye's eyes flickered with killing intent as he too barreled toward the black-colored claw.

The teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect had just grabbed the twometer longsword. Energy exploded out, and he lifted his head back and laughed loudly. Next to the black dragon, the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch coughed up some blood. He was no match for Lu Bai, who swept his sleeve to collect up the black dragon.

The Golden Frost Sect was after the enormous war drum and puppet. There were a few Spirit Severing experts fighting them over it, but with the power of their Dao Seeking aura, the Golden Frost Sect steamrolled everyone in their way and promptly seized it.

As for the red-trunked tree, no one else dared to fight with Reverend Withered-Dao over it. Everyone knew that Grandmaster Pill Demon could refine all types of objects into medicinal pills. Since the tree didn't seem to be of much use to others, Reverend Withered-Dao was easily able to collect it up.

The Song Clan successfully acquired the violet-colored jade slip they had been after.

As for the golden halo, there were quite a few people who tried to fight Zhou Chen of the Coffin Altar Sect over it, but all were sent into retreat, blood spraying from their mouths. Two people were even slain. In the end, Zhou Chen took it.

Regarding the other miscellaneous objects, Spirit Severing cultivators from various sects and clans had already divvied them all up.

Di Ye arrived near the black-colored claw. His wolf-tooth club swept about, causing lake water to spray about. His left hand reached out toward the black-colored claw.

However, just when his hand was about to latch onto it, Naruto pierced through the air with indescribable speed to appear directly next to the claw.

Seeing that Naruto wanted to contend with him over the claw, Di Ye roared, "Screw off!" Then smashed his wolf-tooth club down toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as his fist struck out. The fist had no Dao Seeking aura, but considering that Naruto was the number one figure under Dao Seeking, it contained explosive power, which smashed directly into the wolf-tooth club.

A huge boom rattled out. A tremor ran through Naruto, and the wolftooth club was sent flying back. Di Ye's face fell as he was sent staggering back seven or eight measures. He looked up, and a vicious expression could be seen on his face.

"So you're not on par with that inhuman Lu Bai!" Di Ye's body flickered as he charged forward once more. Although Di Ye and the other two from the Northern Reaches had actually arrived quite a bit earlier, even Lu Bai wasn't able to see what was happening inside the Dao Lakes. Only after the master lake had erupted, causing the surrounding air to distort and churn and allowing them to teleport closer, were they able to get a clear glimpse of what was going on. As such, he was unaware of the shocking things Naruto had done.

After looking more closely at Di Ye, Naruto realized that the hulking man had the familiar aura of a Northern Reaches cultivator. "Northern Reaches?" he asked.

"Yeah! I'm Di Ye from the Desolate Clan in the Northern Reaches!" Di Ye roared as he closed in on Naruto. "You must know Liu Zichuan!" 1

Liu Zichuan was the Northern Reaches cultivator Naruto beat up in the Demon Immortal Sect chapter 599. He also made a brief appearance in chapter 607 and the following chapter ↩

722

Chapter 722 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 722: A Second Eruption!

Rumbling echoed out and everyone looked over to watch Naruto and Di Ye fight over the black-colored claw.

The eyes of the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect flashed as he gripped the rotating two-meter longsword. In his mind, nobody here could possibly pose a threat to him except perhaps for the handsome Lu Bai, with his mastery of Time power.

The Golden Frost Sect puppet also looked over at Naruto, and its eyes glittered.

Reverend Withered-Dao said nothing, as if he didn't care to watch anything that was happening.

The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch was severely wounded and in full retreat. As for the members of the Song Clan, after acquiring the item they sought, they seemed to be ready to leave.

Dao Child Zhou Chen from the Coffin Altar Sect seemed to be itching to fight. When he looked over at Naruto, he suddenly frowned.

"He's only at the peak of Spirit Severing," he thought. "He can't compare to Lu Bai."

As for the Imperial Sect's Lu Bai, he was also observing the fight between Naruto and Di Ye. After seeing them attack, his expression remained tranquil. From a young age his talent had been prodigious and no one from the Northern Reaches was a match for him. Even theHebiClan from the Eastern Land's Great Tang had wanted to take him in as an honorary disciple. Afterwards, though, he had been favored by the Dawn Immortal, who guided him on his path of cultivation. Thus, he no longer cultivated normally, but rather, pursued the Dao of the Resurrection Lily.

What was more, the Dawn Immortal did not permit the Resurrection Lily to absorb him. Rather, she had planted a seed within him that had no consciousness, allowing him to consume it and acquire the power of the Resurrection Lily. It was as if she was trying to sow good karma with him.

Instead of saying he was a cultivator, it would be more accurate to say that he… was a Resurrection Lily!

Because of that, even the Namikaze Clan took him quite seriously, and expressed interest in bringing him into the clan as a son-in-law. Because of all these things, he had a unique status. There were even rumors that he was in fact some almighty expert who had descended to Planet Ninshu to be reincarnated and rebuild his cultivation base from the ground up.

Considering his mastery of Time power, he would be able to take care of Di Ye in only three moves.

"Too weak," he thought after a single glance, shaking his head at Naruto.

However, it was in that exact moment that Naruto spoke the words "Northern Reaches." The sound of it echoed out, evoking tempestuous thoughts in all the South Heaven cultivators. Even the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect turned to look at Di Ye.

Relations between the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches was a sensitive subject. Although it had been many, many years since fullscale war raged between them, it wasn't a rare thing in the history of the lands of South Heaven.

Every time there was a war, one side among the two would flow with rivers of blood.

"Northern Reaches?"

"No wonder the cultivation bases of those three seem so unfamiliar. It turns out they're from the Northern Reaches!"

"The Northern Reaches are connected to the Eastern Lands, both of which are on the other side of the Milky Way Sea! It takes a long time to cross the Milky Way Sea. Did they really come here just for the Dao Lakes?"

Even as the crowds from the Southern Domain were reeling in shock, Naruto spoke the name Liu Zichuan.

Although the name was unfamiliar to the Southern Domain cultivators, as soon as Dao Child Zhou Chen from the Coffin Altar Sect heard it, his eyes flickered and he looked at Naruto.

Lu Bai was slightly taken aback. He was from the Imperial Bloodline

Clan, Zhou Chen came from the Coffin Altar Sect, and Di Ye was from the Desolate Clan. As for the Liu Zichuan Naruto had just mentioned, he was also from the Imperial Bloodline Clan!

The Imperial Bloodline Clan was the number one clan in the Northern Reaches!

And Liu Zichuan was the Imperial Son of the Imperial Bloodline Clan!

His cultivation base was only at the First Severing level, but as far as his position went, he could be considered one of the top figures in the entire Northern Reaches.

"You know Liu Zichuan?" asked Di Ye, his pupils constricting. His Desolate Clan was an auxiliary branch of the Imperial Bloodline Clan, so although he had a high cultivation base, whenever he heard the name Liu Zichuan, he had no choice but to lower his head and voice greetings to the young Lord.

"He owes me 9,000,000 spirit stones!" said Naruto with a cold snort. "How could I not know him?!" He casually opened his bag of holding and pulled out a fistful of jade slips, which detailed the amount of spirit stones owed to him by the cultivators from the ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

"Xu Shouyan owes me 8,000,000 spirit stones!

"Tian Lei Namikaze owes me 7,800,000 spirit stones!

"Zhou Jie owes me 9,500,000 spirit stones! 1

"Di Luo owes me 11,000,000 spirit stones!

"And then there's someone named Han Peng, who owes me the most.

15,000,000 spirit stones! 2

"All of these people are from your Northern Reaches, right?"

Every single sentence spoken by Naruto caused the faces of the three Northern Reaches cultivators to flicker. That was especially true when the names Zhou Jie, Di Luo, and Han Peng were uttered. Even Lu Bai gaped in shock.

Zhou Jie and Zhou Chen were from the same clan, and Di Luo was Di Ye's younger brother. As for Han Peng, he was a Chosen from the Imperial Bloodline Clan, with a position second only to Lu Bai.

"How… how could they owe you so many spirit stones?!" bellowed Di Ye, his eyes wide. Unfortunately, the jade slips in Naruto's hands were imprinted with life essence aura. Due to the fluctuations of these auras that emanated from them, the three Northern Reaches cultivators could not doubt their authenticity, nor the identities of who they belonged to.

The surrounding members of the various sects and clans of the Southern Domain were even more shocked than the three Northern Reaches cultivators. They looked at Naruto with expressions of disbelief and astonishment.

This was especially true of the cultivators of the Blood Demon Sect and the Violet Fate Sect. They stared with gaping mouths.

"What did the Blood Prince do in the past?"

"He…. How did he get so many people to owe him so much?"

"Th-th-this…. I noticed that when he pulled out those jade slips just now, he only took out a few, the ones that belonged to the Northern Reaches cultivators. Could it be that the rest of the jade slips include people from the rest of the lands of South Heaven?!"

"The Blood Prince must have done a lot of business in the past!"

Di Ye's eyes were bloodshot, and he was filled with feeling of humiliation. Throwing his head back and roaring, he hefted his wolftooth club and charged toward Naruto.

"NONSENSE! I'm gonna smash you to death, fool!"

Naruto's eyes glittered brightly. As the hulking man bore down on him, he raised his hand up and pointed forward.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

Immediately, a blood-red vortex began to spin around the man. As the vortex rotated, an enormous blood-colored hand appeared that grabbed onto Di Ye. He struggled, but was absolutely incapable of doing anything to free himself. He could do nothing but cry out in rage and look around with confusion.

It only took a moment for him to realize that his fleshly body was rapidly withering, his Chakra and blood pulsing out of him and speeding toward Naruto. As for Naruto, his fleshly body was rapidly becoming stronger.

Up to now, Naruto had not met anyone under Dao Seeking who could free themselves from the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

The scene didn't faze the Southern Domain cultivators at all. However, Zhou Chen of the Coffin Altar Sect from the Northern Reaches was completely shocked. His face flickered and his eyes went wide as he stared at Naruto.

Shocked, he began to pant, and any scorn which he had felt toward Naruto was now long since vanished. As far as he could tell, a magical technique like this was on the same level as Lu Bai's Time magic.

"Inhuman! Just as inhuman as Lu Bai!"

Lu Bai of the Imperial Bloodline Clan was also staring with a strange light in his eyes, and a slight smile on his face. Inwardly, the desire to do battle was growing stronger. "If that's how it is, he might be worthy of going up against me!"

Inside the Blood Demon Grand Magic, Di Ye's fleshly body was withering rapidly. Horror and astonishment filled his heart, and he was completely terrified of Naruto.

"Dammit! You're just as inhuman as Lu Bai!" he roared. He clenched his teeth and then slapped his bag of holding to produce a crystalline magical talisman.

The magical talisman glittered brightly; this was a life-saving treasure given to him by his clan before leaving for the Southern Domain. He never imagined that he would have to use it after making his first appearance. However, facing this deadly crisis, he ignored any consternation and instantly smashed it between his fingers.

The instant the magical talisman was smashed, a stream of Dao Seeking power descended. The intensity of the power caused a tempest to spring up and slam toward the blood-colored vortex.

Rumbling filled the air as the Dao Seeking power descended. The bloodcolored vortex trembled, and Di Ye, taking advantage of the surge of power, burst out. However, in that exact moment, Naruto gave a cold snort and waved his finger.

"Wither!"

Instantly, the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao that Naruto had just come to understand, sprang into action.

The single character transformed into a natural law of Heaven and Earth, replacing what currently existed. A will of Heaven and Earth descended. In the blink of an eye… the air transformed, and distortions appeared.

Di Ye let out a miserable shriek as his body once again began to wither. This time, the withering was not limited to his fleshly body. His cultivation base withered, his life force withered, everything withered.

Sensing his death approaching, Di Ye looked toward Lu Bai, who hovered off in the distance, his eyes glittering. "Lu Bai, save me!"

Lu Bai lifted a hand and pointed out. "Reverse!"

As soon as he uttered the single character, the air distorted, and transformations of Time appeared around Di Ye. It almost seemed as if time were being forced to run in reverse, initiating an abstract struggle against the power of Naruto's 'withering' character.

One moment, Di Ye's body was almost completely withered; in the next, it had been completely restored. The sort of pain caused by going back and forth between these states made Di Ye intermittently issue bloodcurdling screams.

The entire process lasted for the space of three breaths.

However, to Di Ye, those three breaths were like three lifetimes.

In the end, there was a boom, and Naruto backed up four measures. The 'withering' character and the Blood Demon Grand Magic collapsed. Lu Bai fell back three measures, his face flickering. His secret art of Time magic also vanished.

Between them was Di Ye, his body half-withered. He was now bony and thin, but not dead. He had managed to scrape by with his life. Aghast, he shot toward Lu Bai, his terror regarding Naruto having reached a pinnacle.

As far as the struggle between Naruto and Lu Bai, it was hard to say who won and who lost. However, it seemed clear that Lu Bai was a bit more powerful.

And yet, even as Naruto backed up, he reached up with his left hand and slapped the 300-meter long black-colored claw. Immediately, the treasure was sucked into his bag of holding. The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs appeared behind him, having finished gathering up a large assortment of various items.

As for the surrounding crowds from the Southern Domain, they were all panting.

"He's gotten stronger again!"

"Naruto only had a little flash of enlightenment, but his magical techniques actually advanced again. Dammit… He could already display Dao Seeking power, but now… if a Dao Seeking expert doesn't appear, who could possibly suppress him?!"

"Naruto!"

Dao Child Zhou Chen from the Northern Reaches' Coffin Altar Sect looked at Naruto with astonishment. He was well familiar with Lu Bai's reputation. He wasn't just famous in the Northern Reaches; he was also well-known in the Eastern Lands.

If he weren't, how could he receive the honor of being deemed one of the four great Young Starlords of South Heaven?!

Starlord was an honorific title in the lands of South Heaven to refer to the four strongest people in the Spirit Severing stage.

"He was able to fight Lu Bai and even make him retreat three paces!

This Naruto is too powerful!"

Lu Bai gazed at Naruto, and within his eyes the desire to do battle grew even stronger. He raised his right hand, and the air in the area distorted. A pulse of Dao Seeking power began to descend.

"I'm not in Dao Seeking," he announced, "I'm only at the Second Severing level. However, I can enter the Third Severing at any time. It's just that my Dao still requires refinement, so I haven't performed it yet.

"Today, you will be the whetstone to sharpen my blade!" By this time, his desire to fight was raging to the heavens. He took a step forward.

However, even as his foot descended, the lake beneath him suddenly began to rumble. The water began to shrink down, as if… another eruption were about to occur!

"A second eruption!"

"Heavens! The 30,000-meter main lake is going to erupt a second time!

What… what exactly does this mean?!"

"It's actually going to erupt a second time!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Nathaniel Charles, Monty St John, Remco_

 _Schimmel, Emmanuel Martinez, Abu, Michael Q, Joel F, Isaac, Christopher_

 _Choi, Quang Tran, Nazmul, Daniel Antoniuk, and Michael Tashkoff_

Fun fact: The name Zhou Jie is exactly the same as the Dao Child from the Black Sieve Sect back in the day! ↩ Other fun fact: I know someone named Han Peng here in China, same Chinese characters as this! ↩

723

Chapter 723 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 723: True Immortal Soul

The lands of the region of the Ancient Dao Lakes sank down once again into a concave shape, almost as if it were inhaling.

The sight of it instantly caused the hundreds of thousands of cultivators on the outside to gape with wide eyes and reeling minds.

"A second… a second eruption!"

"When the 30-meter Dao Lakes erupt a second time, there's a good chance that treasured items will appear. It's the same with the 300meter lakes. For the 3,000 meter lakes… there's no need to even mention that. But this is actually… a second eruption of the 30,000 meter lake!"

"It's going to spit out a precious treasure! It will definitely be a precious treasure!"

"It will definitely exceed everything from before! A… precious treasure!" If the cultivators on the outside were aware of such things, then one can only imagine the understanding of the people above the lake itself.

Even Lu Bai's mind trembled. Abandoning any thoughts of fighting Naruto, he looked down at the Dao Lake, his heart quivering.

The teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect stared down at the Dao Lake with glittering eyes, and began to breathe heavily. "Don't tell me… that sword wasn't the good fortune. Is this… the real good fortune?!"

A strange gleam appeared in the eyes of the Golden Frost Sect puppet. The Golden Frost Sect cultivators inside had already acquired a treasure, and planned to leave, but seeing the new development caused them to collectively change their minds and resolve to make one last gamble.

Reverend Withered-Dao stared in astonishment and stood there mutely, while the Song Clan cultivators unleashed their auras. As for the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch, he wiped the blood from his mouth and glared about with wild eyes. He had been defeated earlier, but this time he was willing to pay any price to steal something away.

Di Ye grumbled inwardly. He was currently weak, and not in a condition to be fighting. Next to him, Zhou Chen's eyes began to shine brightly.

It was then that more rumbling could be heard. The second eruption of the Dao Lake would begin momentarily. The lake water began to boil, and it seemed a huge blast was imminent.

Just when the lake was about to erupt… all of a sudden, Naruto flickered and shot toward the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch.

"Dammit!" The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch's face fell, and he retreated at top speed. The otherShimuraClan members behind him all had similar reactions.

"Lunatic! Madman! The second eruption is about to begin and you still think you have time to try to kill us?!"

"Naruto, what are you doing!?"

"You crossed the 30,000-meter line, so I'm going to kill you," responded Naruto coolly. He had never had a good impression of theShimuraClan. Whether it wasShimuraDaoyi that year in the Blood Immortal Tournament, or the overbearing way that theShimuraClan cultivators forced him into a corner outside the rebirth cave, they all caused Naruto's killing intent to rise. 1

Currently, the Chakra and blood in his body was bursting with vigor. After having absorbed Di Ye's fleshly body, he was ready to explode out with power at any moment. He moved forward with incredible speed, and as he neared, waved a sleeve.

Immediately, a gigantic hand magically appeared, which emanated a Dao Seeking aura as it shot toward theShimuraClan members.

Surrounding cultivators watched on but did not interfere. The eruption was imminent, and they were more concerned with what treasures would appear.

BOOM!

Five people, including the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch, all spit out blood and tumbled backward. They were just about to employ teleportation talismans to leave, when Naruto pointed a finger toward them.

The Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared. A blood-colored vortex began to spin around them. The 19thShimuraClan Patriarch and the others could only watch on in shock.

"NO!"

"Naruto, let us go! Give us a chance!"

"We'll leave immediately! IMMEDIATELY!"

"Did you give me a chance at the Rebirth Cave that year?" responded Naruto coolly. The blood-colored vortex began to absorb them, and miserable screams rang out. The bodies of all five, including the 19thShimuraClan Patriarch, rapidly withered. Massive amounts of Chakra and blood power flew toward Naruto.

As that happened, Naruto's fleshly body became even more powerful.

A Dao Seeking aura exploded out, followed by bloodcurdling screams as theShimuraClan cultivators' bodies turned into skeletons. As the skeletons shattered into dust, their Nascent Divinities flew out and tried to escape.

Naruto waved his arm in response.

Wither!

A wind suddenly kicked up, and the five Nascent Divinities trembled for a moment, and then began to wither and dry up. It took only a moment for the fiveShimuraClan cultivators to be dead in body and soul.

"It's too bad I haven't entered the third level of the Blood Demon Grand

Magic, otherwise I could use the Spirit Meridians stratum!" Even as Naruto sensed the ripples of strength inside his fleshly body, a massive roaring sound filled the air.

Down below, the 30,000-meter Dao Lake was beginning to erupt!

The second eruption!

All eyes came to be fixed on the lake down below, and the boundless lake water rising up into the air. There was only one person who wasn't looking at the lake.

Naruto's eyes flickered over to Dao Child Zhou Chen of the Coffin Altar Sect. After a quick glance, he headed directly in the man's direction.

Who would have ever thought that Naruto would actually attack Zhou Chen? Even Zhou Chen could scarcely believe it. After all, he had no enmity with Naruto.

Moving with incredible speed, Naruto punched out. A Dao Seeking aura surged out, and the air shattered as the fist sped toward Zhou Chen. Zhou Chen's energy surged; he performed an incantation and then shoved his hand out in front of him.

BOOM!

Blood sprayed from Zhou Chen's mouth, and he tumbled backward. Mind spinning, he roared, "What are you doing?!"

"I want the halo you took earlier and put into your bag of holding," said Naruto, advancing toward him.

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" Zhou Chen was just about to retreat when suddenly the eruption of the Dao Lake grew more intense. A bright glow appeared within the water, as if treasured items were about to appear.

By this point, nobody was paying attention to Naruto and Zhou Chen, although they remained on guard. Virtually all attention was focused on the Dao Lake below.

Naruto punched again, and a shocking rumble sounded out. Zhou Chen's face paled as he tumbled back. He performed an incantation gesture that caused his body to distort and grow blurry, but he was still just as incapable of fighting back. More blood sprayed from his mouth.

"Too powerful! I'm simply not a match for him!" Zhou Chen's face was ashen. The timing of Naruto's attack couldn't be worse for him. Right now, teleportation was impossible; it only worked after the eruption had begun.

"It's going to erupt any moment now," he thought, clenching his teeth. "There's no way that I can't hold on for just a few breaths worth of time!"

Naruto's expression was cold. The reason he had attacked theShimuraClan cultivators was to absorb their Chakra and blood, which he planned to then use to snatch away treasures that others had already collected.

There was no enmity between him and Zhou Chen. However, it was better to rob Northern Reaches cultivators than Southern Domain cultivators. That had nothing to do with any hatred between them, but rather territorial allegiances.

Of course, this was a line of reasoning that Zhou Chen wouldn't be able to understand.

"Give me the halo, or you die!" said Naruto, shooting in pursuit. The rumbling of the Dao Lake grew even more intense; the waters were boiling, and had sunken down so low that it appeared the eruption would occur in the next breath.

"Hold on!" thought Zhou Chen, gritting his teeth tightly. "Just hold on a few more breaths!" His face flickering, he retreated with all the speed he could muster."

"You really are looking to die!" Naruto said with a cold snort. He waved his hand, causing the Ninth Mountain to appear, around which swirled the Black White Pearls. As it descended toward Zhou Chen, Zhou Chen's face filled with intense astonishment. He wanted to struggle, but

Naruto's fleshly body was already comparable to Dao Seeking. Naruto

raised his right hand up, seemingly fusing it with the Ninth Mountain. An indescribable force of destruction then rumbled down. CRUSHING!

An incredible sensation of deadly crisis filled Zhou Chen's heart. The sensation was intense to the extreme; Zhou Chen was absolutely certain that he was incapable of evading, and that if the mountain did strike him, he would be dead in body and spirit.

"Dammit!" He was a decisive person, so with a snarl, he produced the glowing, golden halo from his bag of holding and tossed it out. The instant that Naruto laid hands on it…

RUMMMBBBLLLEEE!

The Dao Lake erupted!

Endless amounts of lake water shot up into the air, within which could be seen, not vast quantities of treasures like the first time, but only one item!

It was an illusory object that shone with multitudinous colors, like a soul. It looked like a man, although the features were somewhat obscure. As soon as the soul shot out from within the lake water, the sky grew dark and the land below began to quake.

An unprecedented aura suddenly burst out, the intensity of which could suppress Spirit Severing and subdue Dao Seeking. This was….

Immortal!

An Immortal aura surged skyward.

Furthermore, it was not that of a false Immortal but rather… a true Immortal! The area surrounding the soul instantly changed; natural law spun and altered, as if this object's existence could substitute its own laws for what already existed.

"The soul of a true Immortal!" said the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect, his voice hoarse and his expression one of extreme excitement.

"True Immortal's soul!" said the Golden Frost Sect puppet, panting.

Reverend Withered-Dao, the Song Clan Patriarch and everyone else were completely shocked. Although they had all braced themselves mentally earlier and knew that the second eruption of the Dao Lake would produce a precious treasure, none of them had ever imagined that it would actually be… the soul of a true Immortal!

"To someone at the peak of Dao Seeking, absorbing the soul of a true

Immortal would create an incredible opportunity to achieve true

Immortal Ascension!"

"It's actually a true Immortal's soul!"

Not many people actually recognized what it was, especially among the hundreds of thousands of cultivators outside. However, the majority of the people above the 30,000-meter lake could tell what it was at a single glance.

Naruto's eyes glittered.

There were both true and false Immortals. True Immortals were people who were enlightened regarding a personal Dao, and after reaching the pinnacle, experienced Immortal Tribulation. Those who survived passed from Dao Seeking to Immortal Ascension!

On the other hand, false Immortals faced no Immortal Tribulation. They carved their name onto the Immortality Bestowal Dais of the Ninth Mountain, and were bestowed with Immortality. They had Immortal Chakra, but… could only be Immortals in the Ninth Mountain.

Such Immortals could not step foot outside of the Ninth Mountain. Furthermore, were the Immortality Bestowal Dais to be destroyed, they would all perish. After all… they were all Immortals of theHebiClan!

"Not good! The appearance of a true Immortal soul will definitely attract the attention of the peak Dao Seeking cultivators from the various sects and clans of the Southern Domain."

"This aura is extremely difficult to seal. It won't get out of the Southern Domain, but as of this moment, there are definitely people here who have already sensed it."

The Solitary Sword Sect teenager, the Golden Frost Sect puppet and Reverend Withered-Dao, as well as some of the other cultivators, all realized what this meant.

"Fight!"

"I have to get my hands on it as quickly as possible! Even if I can't use it, I can give it as a gift, and still be rewarded with incredible good fortune!"

"I have to have it! Anyone who fights me for it is dead!"

The teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect shot out, his eyes bloodshot. Everyone else in the area also shot forward with glowing eyes.

In the blink of an eye, everyone surged into motion, even Naruto. Fight for the soul of the true Immortal!

They would fight to gain control of the true Immortal soul as soon as possible, before the peak Dao Seeking eccentrics arrived. This was Immortal destiny, the opportunity to become a true Immortal. When opportunities such as this came along, nothing else was important.

The only important thing… was the Immortal destiny!

BOOM!

Li Daoyi was Naruto's main competition in the Blood Immortal Tournament. He made his major debut in chapter 130. He killed him in chapter 305, shortly after which theShimuraClan Nascent Soul cultivators joined forces with theHebiClan in chapter 311 to try to kill Naruto. ↩

724

Chapter 724: Pull Out All the Stops!

Deep within Mount Solitary Sword of the Solitary Sword Sect in the Southern Domain, a rumbling could suddenly be heard. An ancient aura exploded out, causing the sky to go dark. An illusory sword appeared, floating in midair.

At the same time, an ancient old man in a black robe appeared out of nowhere. As he stood there, his peak Dao Seeking aura burst out, causing everything to tremble. He turned to look in the direction of the Ancient Dao Lakes.

"The soul of a true Immortal!" A glow of determination appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly vanished, disappearing in the direction of the Ancient Dao Lakes.

In a restricted area of the Golden Frost Sect could be seen a tombstone with nothing written on its surface. It looked ordinary and unremarkable. However an ancient aura of decay suddenly emerged from inside the tomb, and a dried-up hand stretched out. The ground cracked and shattered as an ancient figure with disheveled hair abruptly flew out.

"The soul of a true Immortal! That's the aura of a true Immortal's soul!" A bizarre glow appeared in the figure's eyes as it shot through the air.

Within the Violet Fate Sect, everything was still. A sigh rang out, and then the silence resumed.

A roar could be heard within theShimuraClan. In the blink of an eye, an ancient man appeared. He wore a brightly brocaded robe, and had towering killing intent. He flew through the air in the direction of the Ancient Dao Lakes, accompanied by rumbling booms.

Deep in the Song Clan, a half-corpse sat as still as death. Suddenly, its eyes opened, and they shone with a bizarre light.

"A true Immortal's soul! My chance to achieve Immortal Ascension has finally arrived! Flesh and blood suddenly appeared to fill out the lower half of his body. In the blink of an eye, he was a middle-aged man. He had no hair, and wore a long Daoist robe. He took a step forward and then vanished.

In the Black Sieve Sect, Patriarch Six-Daos could sense the same thing as everyone else. However, he hesitated, then let out a frustrated growl.

"Dammit! My cultivation base has already dropped to the mid Dao

Seeking stage. How could I hold my own in the fighting? Naruto!

Blood Demon Sect! I won't rest until you're dead!"

Meanwhile, on a mountain in the border region between the Southern Domain and the Milky Way Sea was a hamlet populated by a hundred or so families.

Smoke curled up into the air, and crisp peals of laughter could be heard from children playing outside the village.

"Wheeee! You can't catch me, old man!"

"Grandpa, your hands are too dirty, don't try to grab me!"

"Try to catch me, old man! We're right here!"

The children were playing hide-and-seek with an old man. His hair was unkempt, and he looked a bit crazy. His clothes were dirty, and even his skin had splotches of mud on it. It looked like his long, draping hair hadn't been tended to in a very long time. The old man laughed foolishly as he chased the children back and forth, which made the children laugh merrily.

"Hahaha! I'm gonna getcha! I'm gonna catch ya! Hahaha! I have no soul! I'm gonna getcha! Naruto…. Who's Naruto…? Immortal Ascension, Immortal Ascension…." In the middle of running back and forth, the old man suddenly stopped in place, as if he had noticed something. A tremor ran through his body, and he looked off into the distance, his eyes listless.

"The soul of an Immortal…. A true Immortal's soul…. Who am I…? Who am I?

The old man grabbed his head in his hands. "Immortal Ascension!

Immortal Ascension! I will become Immortal!"

He then lifted his head up and let out a disconsolate howl, filled with shocking ripples and Immortal Chakra. The amorphous ripples swept out in all directions.

The smiles on the faces of the children twisted, and then their bodies began to turn illusory. The entire hamlet twisted and distorted, and began to glow with glittering lights. The lights flew up into the air and then shot toward the old man, where they swirled together to form a heavy saber. The man gripped the saber in his hand and shot off into the distance.

The hamlet was never real, and neither were the people who lived there. They were all simply incarnations of the saber.

"Immortal Ascension! Immortal Ascension! I will become Immortal!" The old man continued to roar as he shot through the air. His expression was one of confusion, and his soul was incomplete.

Meanwhile, back in Mount Blood Demon, Patriarch Blood Demon sat in the Blood Pond. His eyes suddenly opened, and he was about to rise to his feet, then hesitated.

"No Karma or destiny connected to me," he said, shaking his head. He settled back down and continued to meditate.

Throughout the entire Southern Domain, all the great powers were shaken. A streak of colorful light shot out from the Western Desert. It was a black-robed young man who looked very similar to Naruto. His expression was grim as he sped through the air. If you looked at him from a distance, he resembled an enormous, black bat.

He shot toward the Ancient Dao Lakes at top speed.

"He's there…. I can sense him…."

As the Southern Domain was shocked, back in the inner region of the

Ancient Dao Lakes, booms rang out across the 30,000-meter Dao Lake.

The battle for the True Immortal's soul was not something that ordinary

Spirit Severing cultivators could participate in. Even someone of the Second Severing would have a hard time wresting away this good fortune without perishing.

Although the mere thought of the opportunity caused everyone's hearts to shake. After experiencing the fighting after the first eruption of the 30,000-meter Dao Lake, the Spirit Severing experts of the various sects and clans were left shaken. Therefore, they now hesitated, and many of them retreated from the fighting.

The six Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs were the first to fall back. Then, Sir Jian and the others from the Solitary Sword Sect. As for the Song Clan, the Patriarch who had led them here finally gritted his teeth and departed.

Reverend Withered-Dao was the only one present from the Violet Fate Sect. A strange gleam appeared in his eyes and he hesitated for a moment, but in the end, chose to leave.

Booms rattled out, and violent pulses of magical energy spread through the air. Only a few people qualified to participate in this battle!

The mysterious teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect, the composite puppet from the Golden Frost Sect, Lu Bai of the Imperial Bloodline Clan from the Northern Reaches, and lastly… Naruto!

Di Ye had been seriously injured by Naruto, and Zhou Chen from the

Coffin Altar Sect had experienced having his pride completely destroyed. The two of them didn't dare to participate in the fighting, and retreated off to the side.

The booms were shocking. The mysterious teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect wielded the two-meter longsword. As he slashed it out in front of him, a dazzling, resplendent crescent moon exploded out, sending out shocking ripples.

In the battle for the true Immortal's soul, no one had any allies; everyone was an enemy. Therefore, no one dared to fight one-on-one with anyone else, but instead used divine abilities that were essentially area attacks.

Currently, the path to victory involved blocking the way of others.

"All of you get out of my way!" roared the Golden Frost Sect puppet. Brilliant light rose up from it, and it raised its hand and then swept it forward. A black mass of seawater magically appeared, within which surged numerous black dragons. Each of the black dragons spit out a pearl, which became a world that surged out in attack.

Lu Bai of the Imperial Bloodline Clan let out a cold snort. He quickly performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger. The air distorted, as if time were beginning to reverse. Everyone suddenly slowed down exponentially, and it seemed as if time were about to flow backward.

As for Lu Bai, in a scant moment, he was closing in on the soul of the true Immortal.

And then there was Naruto. He didn't employ any special divine abilities. All he did was summon the Black White Pearls and the Ninth

Mountain, which then bore down directly onto the position of the true Immortal's soul.

The incoming Ninth Mountain caused Lu Bai's face to flicker. A moment ago, he had been on the verge of reaching the true Immortal's soul, but now he was blocked.

The other powerful experts in the area were all attacking one by one. Everything rumbled, and for the moment, all of the cultivators were prevented from advancing toward the soul. It was in this moment that the teenager from the Solitary Sword Sect lifted his head up and roared. His body began to grow; in a split second, he had become a young man.

His aura grew explosively. Dao Seeking power rose up, and he was no longer in the Spirit Severing stage. Apparently, he had stepped into Dao Seeking. Natural law formed around him, and he advanced forward through the black seawater. He broke through Lu Bai's time reversal and slammed into Naruto's Ninth Mountain.

A boom echoed out as the Solitary Sword Sect teenager lifted his hand and pointed. His natural law slammed into the Ninth Mountain and pierced it through. The man reached his hand out toward the true Immortal's soul.

"Dammit!"

"You're looking to die!"

"Kill him!"

Lu Bai's face fell and he quickly performed a double-handed incantation, then pointed out. Immediately, a beam of light flew out, and the power of time reversal instantly appeared around the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect.

The Golden Frost Sect puppet roared and then waved a hand. Monstrous black light transformed into a black rain, which then coalesced into ten thousand howling dragons that shot toward the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. He did not use any offensive magic, but instead, waved a finger to employ the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

It didn't matter that the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect had an early Dao Seeking cultivation base. The combined might of the three others was still enough to shake him. Lu Bai's bizarre magic made it so that he was almost stuck in time. Naruto's shocking divine ability thoroughly bound him in place and weakened his cultivation base. Then the Golden Frost Sect puppet closed in with raging killing intent.

The combined attack of the three different parties caused the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect to go pale in the face. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he tumbled backward.

Lu Bai was the first to make a move. Utilizing time reversal, he appeared next to the soul of the true Immortal, and was about to grab ahold of it when the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect roared. His sword raged, and ten thousand moons roared forth. They combined with the ten thousand snarling dragons of the Golden Frost Sect puppet and Naruto's irksome hex.

BOOM!

Lu Bai couldn't hold up. His scalp went numb, and blood sprayed from his mouth. He had no time to grab the true Immortal's soul, and was forced into retreat.

In almost that exact same moment, Naruto and the Golden Frost Sect Puppet flew forward toward the true Immortal's soul. Their speed was shocking, and only a tiny instant passed before both were about to lay hands on it. The Golden Frost Sect puppet's eyes flickered, and ten thousand dragons roared toward Naruto. At the same time, the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect and Lu Bai joined together to attack Naruto and the Golden Frost Sect puppet.

This was a battle royale, filled with strikes and counterstrikes of all sorts!

If this continued, no one would be able to prevail. Furthermore, time was of the essence. They all knew that peak Dao Seeking experts were definitely approaching, and then none of them would be able to continue to participate in the fighting.

The Blood Demon Grand Magic was powerful, but Naruto wasn't confident that it could restrain all three of the others at the same time. If he missed even one, it would be difficult to fight that person while simultaneously maintaining the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

His eyes flickered as he saw the divine abilities nearing. He suddenly lifted his hand and clenched it into a fist. All of the power of Chakra and blood that he had absorbed merged together in that fist, creating the most powerful blow he had ever delivered.

This punch was comparable to Dao Seeking!

However, what he attacked was not a person.

The fist struck out, and the air vibrated. The land shook, and a deafening sound filled the air. He punched a gigantic hole into the air itself, after which, a shocking gravitational force exploded out from within.

It seemed that, in order to repair itself, it needed to suck everything from the outside world into it. This was a part of a natural law. Behind the emptiness was the void.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Avijit Wadhawan, John Rufino Aguilar,_

 _Budescu Ionut, Dan Gabber, Thomas, Potkeny, Nils Müller, Davis Won,_

 _Kenneth McCarty, Nich, Patrascu Gabi, David Jeltema III, Fiber Optic, Drk,_

 _Michael Michalczyk, Caleb Gleason, Cole Hausner, Hal, Griff-And-Or, Kari_

 _Yi, Joseph, Andreas Asselman, ONI_Ghost, Costin C, and Arkanth_

725

Chapter 725: Grab That Soul!

The power of the gravitational force within the gap in the void was actually not very great. However, Naruto's strike contained Dao Seeking power. An incredible wind arose which, in combination with the gravitational force, caused the others to gasp in shock.

The young man from the Solitary Sword Sect looked astonished as he was helplessly sucked toward the gap. It was the same with the Golden Frost Sect puppet, and even Lu Bai. In just a short moment, they were already nearing the rift.

Their expressions flashed again when Naruto, despite being as out of control as them, suddenly looked at them with flashing eyes.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

An enormous vortex suddenly appeared around Naruto, and a gigantic red hand wrapped around him. He was using the Blood Demon Grand Magic, not on one of them, but on himself.

He was using the power of the red vortex to fight against the gravitational force coming from the gap.

A rumbling sound could be heard as Naruto instantly came to a stop. Everyone could see that, of the group, he was the closest to the soul of the true Immortal!

Fighting against the power of the gravitational force, he used the power of his fleshly body to shrug off the attacks from the Solitary Sword Sect teenager and Lu Bai, as well as the Golden Frost Sect puppet's divine ability. After coughing up some blood, he stretched his hand out and grabbed the soul of the true Immortal!

"Dammit!"

"Naruto, are you looking to die?!"

"Naruto!"

As soon as he touched it, a rumbling filled his mind. At the same time, the soul of the true Immortal began to shrink. It took only a moment for it to transform into a crystal, which Naruto closed his fingers around.

"Got it!" he thought. His eyes glittered, and he prepared to teleport away.

However, it was in that instant that the 30,000-meter Dao Lake down below suddenly emitted an astonishing rumbling sound. At the same time, the lake water transformed into an enormous whirlpool that pulsed with an incredible gravitational force.

This intense gravitational force instantly superseded the gravitational force from the fissure in the air. Immediately, the Golden Frost Sect puppet broke into pieces, reverting to the five cultivators from the Golden Frost Sect. Their bodies were completely beyond their control, and they let out miserable screams as they were sucked down into the Dao Lake below.

Next were the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect and Lu Bai, whose faces instantly fell. The young man from the Solitary Sword Sect immediately crushed a jade slip. His body began to fade with the power of teleportation. However, it was not powerful enough, and he too was sucked down into the Dao Lake.

The power of Time immediately began to ripple around Lu Bai as he attempted to reverse the flow of time. However, after a single breath of time, the distortions shattered; time was incapable of being reversed. He was transformed into a streak of light and sucked down into the Dao Lake.

Naruto was the last person remaining. The Blood Demon Grand Magic remained, but it was trembling violently. Naruto's mind reeled as he fought to free himself from the gravitational force. However, he was only able to hold out for the space of three breaths before cracking sounds could be heard from the Blood Demon Grand Magic and the enormous hand. They shattered, and Naruto was violently dragged down into the Dao Lake.

Almost in the same moment that they were sucked down into the 30,000-meter Dao Lake, two beams of light appeared far off in the distance. It took only one breath of time for two old men to suddenly appear above the lake.

"Dammit!"

One of them immediately gestured down toward the lake, but not even a single ripple spread out across its surface. At the same time, more beams of light approached from all directions, closing in on the same position. These were all the peak Dao Seeking eccentrics who had sensed the soul of the true Immortal.

All of them were just a moment too late. However, they wouldn't give up that easily. They joined forces to attack the lake, after which they guarded it, observing it for a long time. When they were finally convinced that they couldn't get inside, they left, sighing with regret.

It was at that point that the Ancient Dao Lakes were finally restored to peace and quiet.

As for Naruto and the others, they were considered missing. Of course, the fact that Naruto ended up obtaining the soul of the true Immortal was something that couldn't be kept under wraps. After all, Spirit Severing experts from all the clans and sects had witnessed the event personally.

More and more people across the Southern Domain learned of the matter, and the various eccentrics of the sects and clans nearly went mad. They even joined forces to perform auguries which revealed that Naruto was, in fact, not dead. A furious search then unfolded across the entire Southern Domain.

If Naruto appeared, then the sects would surely find out immediately. Of course, the Blood Demon Sect didn't agree to all of that. As such, random skirmishes between sects became common in the lands of the Southern Domain.

The entire Southern Domain was slipping into chaos. Rogue cultivators feared for their lives; although there was no formal declaration of war, minor battles and fights were a common occurrence.

As for Naruto, after he was sucked down into the Dao Lake with the others, he entered what seemed like a tunnel, and then lost consciousness. He was sucked along for an indeterminable period of time before an incredible roaring sound suddenly shook him awake.

When he came to, he found himself in mid-air. Above was not a sky, but rather a boundless solid surface inlaid with infinite shining pearls that lit the entire area as brightly as day.

Interspersed among the pearls were the mouths of tunnels, virtually endless. As soon as he saw them, Naruto could guess that he had dropped out of just such an opening.

"What is this place…?" he thought, his mind trembling. As he looked around, his eyes instantly went wide and his face filled with shock.

He was… not in the Ancient Dao Lakes!

He was surrounded by endless ruins, the sheer enormity of which was difficult to describe. Wreckage and corpses stretched out in all directions, some of them half-buried. From the look of it, there were even more ruins that were completely buried beneath the ground.

It seemed as if this place was filled with layers of ruins that had built up over countless years of time.

There were also mountains visible!

The mountains were not true mountains, but rather, enormous collections of magical items, medicinal pills and even corpses. There were tens of thousands of such mountains scattered about everywhere. The sight was completely shocking.

Even more shocking was that in the middle of the tens of thousands of mountains floated an enormous portal of flames.

The bright red flames of the portal shot up high into the sky, causing the entire world to be filled with the color of its fire.

Up above in the air flew vicious winged creatures which were too numerous to count. Their bodies were completely violet, and they carried armfuls of magical items that they tossed into the portal's flames, which then burned them to absolutely nothing.

Apparently, the magical items provided some sort of power, which caused magical symbols to occasionally appear on the flame portal. Every time the magical symbols flickered, a sea of flames would roil out.

Beneath the flame portal was a gigantic awl, fully 30,000 meters long. It was bright crimson, and was suspended in midair to point down toward a 3,000-meter wide abyss.

There were a few of the winged beasts who glowed with a silver light. They seemed as if they were in a position of great authority, and carried whips, which they used to lash the others. There were also some goldencolored beasts who lay prone near the flame portal, apparently asleep.

In addition to all that, there were also a variety of strange beasts going to and fro on foot. They emanated shocking auras as they made their way among the ruins, carrying all sorts of objects.

They carried corpses, magical items, spirit stones, and other wreckage.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto saw them, the denizens of this place seemed to notice him. They all stopped moving and suddenly looked in his direction.

Countless gazes came to fall on him, causing his scalp to go numb.

Naruto had actually seen the violet, winged, humanoid beasts being spit out from the Dao Lakes in the outside world. Each and every one he saw now was similar to the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, and there were even some who had Spirit Severing auras.

As for the silver-colored beasts, each and every one…. was a Spirit Severing beast! There were even some who had Dao Seeking auras, nearly two hundred of them.

Most shocking of all… were the gold-colored beasts that lay prone by the flame portal. There were eleven in total.

From what Naruto could sense, the golden-colored beasts all had Dao Seeking power.

One of them was a violet-gold color, and Naruto could tell that it was even more powerful, at the peak of Dao Seeking.

It was even above Patriarch Six-Daos and the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch.

As for the beasts who walked about on foot on land, they were a bit weaker. Even still, the vast quantity of the beasts was in and of itself enough to fill Naruto with a sense of deadly crisis.

"What is this place?!" he thought, his scalp tingling. As he saw the beasts turning to look at him, he felt as if he were standing under the shadow of death. If the golden-colored beasts weren't there, it wouldn't have been so bad. But with them present, the threat Naruto sensed was just far too great.

Worst of all, there was a deep-gold-colored beast sitting in the middle of the fire portal. Naruto could sense an even more terrifying aura, the aura of an Immortal!

It was at this point that the gold-colored beasts laying prone around the flame portal all began to open their eyes. They stared over at Naruto with cold gazes. At the same time, the deep-gold-colored beast looked at Naruto, and he immediately felt as if he was being sealed in place.

"That thing is far more powerful than the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch!" thought Naruto. "If Six-Daos were here, he wouldn't be close to being a match.

"What kind of beast is this? I can't believe this underground world has such shocking beasts in it. Or perhaps… they're Demons?" His face flickered, and he edged backward. However, it was then that he suddenly saw a person pop out from one of the tunnel mouths up above.

It was none other than Lu Bai!

The instant he appeared, he looked around, and his face flickered.

After him came the young man from the Solitary Sword sect, and then the five Golden Frost Sect cultivators.

When he realized the order in which they emerged, Naruto's eyes glittered.

"I was the last to be sucked in, but the first to be dropped out," he thought. "The five Golden Frost Sect Spirit Severing cultivators were the first to be sucked in, and the last to drop out."

When the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect and the five Golden Frost Sect cultivators saw the lands around them, their faces also fell.

All eight of the cultivators backed up, fearful of offending the terrifying beasts and provoking an attack.

"Foreigners!" an ancient voice said. It echoed out through the entire world, from none other than the most powerful of the beasts, the deepgold-colored one that sat in the flame portal.

It flew up into the air and suddenly began to grow larger. In a brief moment, it was 300 meters long, and it appeared to be the overseer of the place.

"You are the second group of foreigners to arrive during this era…"

726

Chapter 726: Trial by Fire!

"In accordance with the ancient treaty, you may take part in the life-ordeath trial by fire here. If you succeed… then according to the ancient charter, you may acquire treasures from this place.

"If you fail, then this place shall be your grave!

"There are three levels, and by passing the second level, you earn the right to leave if you wish.

"If you make it past the third level, you can enter the land that has been guarded by my clan from generation to generation. There… you can acquire the ultimate good fortune.

"That good fortune is the Divine Flame Essence, the most supreme flame that exists in Heaven and Earth. Even the tiniest spark of that flame can burn an Immortal to death!

"In this age, you are the second group to enter this place. As for the first group, it consisted of nineteen people in total. Of that group, two made it through the second level. One left, and the other died in the third level."

As the voice echoed out, Naruto's mind trembled, and he stopped in his tracks. The young man from the Solitary Sword Sect, as well as Lu Bai, both had strange gleams in their eyes. As for the five Patriarchs from the Golden Frost Sect, their eyes were glittering brightly.

"You of this second group are quite powerful, more powerful than the first group…."

One of the old men from the Golden Frost Sect hesitated for a moment before tentatively asking, "Can we decline to participate in the life-ordeath trial by fire?"

As soon as the words left the man's mouth, the deep-gold overseer's eyes flickered and it looked over at the old man. "What was that?!"

The old man immediately began to quiver, as if his cultivation base had suddenly become unstable.

A look of scorn appeared in the eyes of the deep-gold overseer. "Once you come to this place," it said coolly, "you must participate! If you choose to quit… you die! Those were the terms of the ancient treaty. Our clan gave its approval, so the agreement will not be changed!

"Once you pass the second level, then you may choose to depart!

"The first level, is none other than our current location!

"You will battle with my fellow clan members. If you can enter the flame portal, then it signifies that you have passed the first level!" The deepgold overseer's voice echoed out in all directions.

Lu Bai's eyes glittered and he cautiously said, "Senior, you're at the peak of Dao Seeking! How can we compare to you?"

"I will not participate," was the calm reply. "Furthermore, only one of my gold-colored fellow clan members will join the battle."

The golden-armored man from the Golden Frost Sect immediately asked,

"Do we fight one at a time, or can we go together?"

"One at a time. One person, one level. You will have three chances to get past a level. If you lose on your third chance, you die!"

Next to speak was the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect. "What if we kill too many of your people, and then you regret letting us fight?"

"Kill too many?" The deep-gold overseer laughed heartily. "Our clan descended from the Undying Divinity Clan. Do you really think you can kill us?" As his voice echoed out, black flames sprang up from the bodies of the beasts down below. As soon as the fire appeared, the level of their auras shot upward!

The explosive growth was terrifying; many of the violet-colored beasts, which were at the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage, actually completely exceeded the limits of the Nascent Soul stage and stepped directly into Spirit Severing.

As for the silver-colored beasts, their energy also shot up.

"Fine. I, Gu Tianxiang, will be the first to go," said the young man from the Solitary Sword Sect. He lifted his right hand, causing the two-meter longsword to appear, as well as the nine one-meter shortswords that circulated around it. The energy that surged out was that of the early Dao Seeking stage. The young man's eyes flickered as he shot forward.

The instant he charged forward, the violet-colored beasts began to fly toward him one after another. Booms rang out without cease as Gu Tianxiang of the Solitary Sword Sect shot forward with incredible speed, slaughtering the entire way. However, his expression soon began to flicker; the violet-colored beasts were extremely valiant. When they were injured, the flames that covered them would heal their wounds in a flash.

However, Gu Tianxiang was also incredibly valiant. As he fought his way on, silver-colored beasts appeared. He fought his way onward until he was about 1,000 meters from the flame portal. It was at that point that that he fell, surrounded by a group of twenty silver-colored beasts. With a miserable shriek, he retreated back to his original position.

"1,000 meters. Your first attempt has failed," stated the deep-gold overseer in a cool voice. "Although, the fact that you were able to retreat in one piece is quite an accomplishment. You have the potential to make it past the first level."

The expressions of Naruto and the others sank when they saw the incredible power of the beasts' fleshly bodies. They didn't seem to possess any divine abilities or magical techniques, but their physical might really was too powerful, to the point that they seemed virtually unkillable. Furthermore, after being injured, their flames would immediately heal them.

Lu Bai's eyes flickered, and he suddenly strode forward. He was a powerful expert from the Northern Reaches who wielded the power of Time and Space, and possessed no scant amount of life-saving treasures. In the Spirit Severing stage, he had already slaughtered experts of the early Dao Seeking stage.

He immediately transformed into a streak of light that charged forward, surrounded by distortions of space-time. As he proceeded along, it almost seemed as if the beasts were incapable of even touching him. Every blow landed on thin air.

Gu Tianxiang's pupils constricted, and unsightly expressions could be seen on the faces of the five men from the Golden Frost Sect. As for Naruto, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"Eee?!" said the deep-gold overseer, its expression one of surprise as it watched Lu Bai. "A master of the secret arts of Time, with your own Dao. Excellent. You are qualified to match up to the two members of that first group of foreigners who entered here."

Boom!

Lu Bai slaughtered his way on, passing the 1,500-meter mark, where he was immediately surrounded by twenty silver-colored beasts. When that happened, he began to sweat, but still managed to kill his way more than 500 meters further. By now, he was only about 500 meters away from the flame portal. Gu Tianxiang from the Solitary Sword Sect had a very unsightly expression on his face.

"Is this really my limit…?" Lu Bai's eyes were shot with blood as he performed an incantation with his right hand and then pointed up into the sky.

"River of Time!" he cried. Immediately, countless sparkling lights appeared around him, which transformed into a river that stretched out far and wide. The twenty silver-colored beasts had no choice but to fall back. Lu Bai charged forward 250 meters. He was now only 250 meters away from the flame portal!

The deep-gold overseer up in mid-air watched on with a strange gleam in its eyes.

It was at this point that a gold-colored beast suddenly rose to its feet. It shot with incredible speed toward Lu Bai, and when the two met, a huge boom rose up into the sky. Blood sprayed from Lu Bai's mouth, but his expression was one of savagery as he backed up and slapped his bag of holding. Immediately, a black dragon corpse appeared.

This black dragon corpse was none other than the one he had procured during the eruption of the Dao Lake.

"Time Reversal, Resurrection!" Blue veins popped out on Lu Bai's forehead, and he suddenly seemed to age by ten years. The River of Time exploded into countless colorful lights which then inundated the black dragon.

It was now possible to see the dragon apparently returning to life from the dead. Its eyes suddenly snapped open, and a shocking aura roiled out which contained the power of an Immortal!

The power exploded out for only a moment. Then it vanished, and the dragon was once again dead.

But that one moment was shocking to the extreme!

Gu Tianxiang of the Solitary Sword Sect gasped, and a look of astonishment could be seen in his eyes. How could he have imagined that Lu Bai… would have such an amazing secret art?!

The five men from the Golden Frost Sect all looked shocked, and their minds were filled with roaring. A secret art like the one they had just seen was unbelievable!

Naruto's eyes widened. Earlier, he had been able to sense that Lu Bai was powerful, but now he realized… Lu Bai was even more powerful than he had imagined!

"However, he was only barely able to use that secret art!" he thought. Suddenly, the same desire to do battle that he had seen in Lu Bai's eyes now appeared in his own. "I wonder who between the two of us… is stronger!?"

Surrounded by the beast horde, Lu Bai's secret art unleashed the explosive power of the dragon, which turned into an incredible attack that shot toward the gold-colored beast. The gold-colored beast's face fell, and it wanted to flee, but before it could, the attack slammed into it with a boom, shredding its flesh into ribbons. It let out a miserable scream and fell back at high speed. Flames burst out, rapidly healing the wounds.

It didn't die, but it was forced into retreat. That gave Lu Bai the opportunity he needed. Coughing up blood, he shot forward at top speed, crossing the final 250 meters and stepping up into the flame portal.

He coughed up some more blood, then waved his hand to collect up the black dragon corpse.

"What an incredible cultivator!" said the deep-gold overseer, an expression of admiration on its face. "To have passed the first level in one attempt… you may proceed to the second level. I look forward to seeing how you perform there. After passing the second level, you will acquire a precious treasure from our clan.

"When your secret Time art has reached its pinnacle, you can bring dead things back to life. Unfortunately, your cultivation base is too weak. If you can achieve true Immortal Ascension, and then utilize that art… you can resurrect that Nightmare Dragon to aid you for an entire battle!"

"There's no need to wait to be a true Immortal!" said Lu Bai coolly, wiping the blood from his lips. "The day I reach the peak of Dao Seeking, I can resurrect it to use in battle!" He turned to look back toward Naruto who was standing 3,000 meters away.

His gaze passed through the hordes of beasts to lock with Naruto's.

"Naruto, can you pass through?" he asked coolly. "Don't disappoint me, now." With that, he turned, paying Naruto no more heed as he stepped into the fire portal. In the blink of an eye, he was gone.

"Your turn," said the deep-gold overseer, his gaze sweeping over Naruto and the others. "If you're not confident, you can wait here until you are.

"Time means nothing to us. If you wish to practice cultivation here for a few thousand years before you try to charge through, you may.

"Normally speaking, it's quite lonesome here. Now that I've been able to lay eyes on you foreigners, I feel… it would be a shame to see you die here.

"However, if you fail three times in a row, then I will personally slay you. And of course, there is always the possibility that you will be killed trying to break through."

Naruto's eyes glittered.

"Thousands of years…? I can't wait at all. Elder Sister Xu won't even stay alive for another ninety-nine years. I need to spend this life with her, not end up getting stuck in this place!" His eyes shone with coldness as he stepped forward, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward the beast hordes.

This time, it was the Solitary Sword Sect's Gu Tianxiang whose eyes were fixed on Naruto as he shot forward.

"I always thought Naruto was the most inhuman cultivator I'd ever seen. I never imagined that Lu Bai would be even more shocking…

Although, it took a bit of effort for Lu Bai to pass the level. This Naruto… won't be able to make it across."

The five Golden Frost Sect cultivators were looking on with unsightly expressions. If they joined forces, they might have a chance. But alone, none of the five had any confidence at all.

To them, this place was a dead end. After seeing Gu Tianxiang suffer defeat, and then seeing Lu Bai succeed, they were filled with many complex emotions. At the moment, they were watching Naruto.

Naruto shot forward with incredible speed, smashing into the beast horde with a bang.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Arhys, LoveCross, Ocean McCool, and_

 _Susanto Ali Budiman_

727

Chapter 727: Completely Golden!

Immediately, countless violet-colored humanoid beasts surrounded him with flapping wings. All he could see was a mass of violet.

Of the 3,000 meters to the flame portal, the first 1,500 meters were firmly occupied by the violet-colored beasts. Only after passing through that region would they stand down. The silver-colored beasts made their move at the 1,000-meter mark, which was where Gu Tianxiang of the Solitary Sword Sect had been defeated.

If one could pass the silver-colored beasts, the next challenge was a gold-colored beast.

Naruto's eyes glittered. He didn't have time to waste here, so he immediately went on the offensive. The Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain rumbled out. As the Ninth Mountain descended, with the Black White Pearls circulating around it, everything trembled. The air vibrated, and multiple layers of ripples expanded out, transforming into an astonishing pressure that weighed down on everything.

The intense pressure was like a wall that crashed into the violet-colored beasts. As Naruto charged forward, they tumbled back, howling. Even the most outstanding of the violet-colored beasts were incapable of even getting close to Naruto before being smashed backward.

250 meters. 500 meters. 750 meters. 1,000 meters….

Within in the space of only a few breaths of time, Naruto proceeded forward as if he were walking along a paved path. He quickly reached the 1,500 meter mark, with the violet-colored beasts left behind in the dust. They glared at him, but didn't pursue or attack him any further.

Up ahead was a glittering, silver glow, which was a silver-colored beast. It shot forward with a ferocious expression and incredible speed. Its power seemed equivalent to the Second Severing.

Naruto gave a cold snort as he waved his right hand. The Ninth Mountain arrived, crushing the silver-colored beast. It let out a miserable howl as its body began to fall apart. However, the flames leaped out and quickly restored it.

Naruto quickly advanced by about 250 meters, putting him only 1,250 meters away from the flame portal.

It was then that six more silver-colored beasts joined the beast from earlier. Seven total, five with Second Severing cultivation bases, and two with Third Severing cultivation bases, charged toward Naruto.

"Crushing time!" Naruto advanced, waving his right finger. The Ninth Mountain grew in size, rumbling as it crushed down onto the seven silver-colored beasts.

Naruto charged onward. He was now only 500 meters away from the flame portal.

At this point, more than ten silver-colored beasts attacked him furiously. Booms rang out from the Ninth Mountain as the seven silver-colored beasts being suppressed burst out from within, their bodies wreathed in flames. They joined in to completely surround Naruto.

The five men from the Golden Frost Sect were watching intently as all of this happened. Off to the side, Gu Tianxiang's eyes glittered. Naruto was now in the same position he had been when in when he suffered defeat. "That Lu Bai is inhuman!" he thought. "Naruto might be powerful, but if he thinks he can get any farther, well, that's impossible!"

The deep-gold overseer up in mid-air was also watching the proceedings closely, and thought, "He's definitely going to be defeated."

However, it was then that Naruto's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his sleeve.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

Rumbling could be heard as a gigantic vortex formed, enveloping the roughly twenty silver-colored beasts. At the same time, an enormous blood-colored hand appeared, which firmly grasped the beasts.

"Chakra and Blood stratum!" roared Naruto. The more than twenty silvercolored beasts began to tremble, and expressions of astonishment could be seen on their faces. Their bodies began to wither rapidly as vast quantities of Chakra and blood shot toward Naruto.

A tremor ran through him. The Chakra and blood was incredibly powerful, and in an instant his body had already reached the limit that Spirit Severing could accommodate.

The more than twenty silver-colored beasts struggled violently, to the point that the vortex seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Apparently, the limit of the second level of Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic had been reached.

Gu Tianxiang's eyes glittered. "He's going to be defeated!"

The five members of the Golden Frost Sect sighed. If Naruto couldn't get past the first level, then there was no hope at all for them.

Up in mid-air, the deep-gold overseer eyed Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic, and its expression flickered, but then quickly returned to normal.

Currently, the more than twenty silver-colored beasts were struggling and roaring so violently that the vortex couldn't handle it. Cracking sounds could be heard, and rifts spread out. However, Naruto then pointed his finger and cried, "Wither!"

The 'withering' character from the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao caused the silver-colored beasts' bodies to tremble. Their fleshly bodies began to wither even more rapidly, and their cultivation bases were instantly suppressed. Even their life forces showed signs of withering.

Because of their weakening, the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex was no longer under the strain it had been. It once again rumbled into motion. From a distance, the vortex was incredibly huge and shocking.

Boom!

Even denser streams of Chakra and blood poured from the vortex to be absorbed by Naruto. He trembled violently as his fleshly body suddenly burst out of the Spirit Severing stage and into Dao Seeking.

The more than twenty silver-colored beasts were withering rapidly, and seemed to be just on the verge of death. Flames appeared to restore their bodies, but their power was sucked away by Naruto even as the restoration occurred.

It was a cycle that became like a wellspring of power for Naruto. It was almost as if he could continue to grow stronger… forever!

Early Dao Seeking. Mid Dao Seeking….

He lifted his head up and roared as he felt an unprecedented level of power coursing through him. Along with this incredible fleshly body power came an increased self-confidence.

This was the Heaven-defying might of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

This intense, unprecedented strength also caused Naruto to be wracked with severe pain; it felt as if his body might be ripped apart. When Gu Tianxiang saw what was happening, he gasped. The five cultivators from the Golden Frost Sect watched with wide eyes.

The deep-gold overseer up in midair was even more astonished. He gasped and thought, "What divine ability is that!? It's so shocking! It's completely different than the River of Time, and, in fact, far more terrifying!"

Furthermore, the regeneration of the more than twenty silver-colored beasts was actually not able to keep up with the absorbing power of the vortex. Looks of despair could even be seen on some of the beasts' faces.

Naruto seemed as if he had become the vortex itself as he gobbled up all the incoming power of blood and Chakra.

The deep-gold overseer's face fell. "Dammit! If this goes on, he might really be able to wither my clan members to death!"

Naruto's eyes flashed as his fleshly body exploded with power. It burst through the mid Dao Seeking stage and then stepped into the late Dao Seeking stage!

In that moment, the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex suddenly changed color, turning from red to gold!

When it became gold-colored, intense rumbling sounds filled the air and an incredible pressure weighed down on everything. The five Golden Frost Sect cultivators' faces were filled with shock, and their hearts trembled. They could clearly sense the fearsomeness of the golden vortex, and they knew that even if they combined into the puppet, they would be incapable of fazing Naruto in the least bit.

Gu Tianxiang of the Solitary Sword Sect was even more shocked. His pupils constricted as he realized that Naruto was actually just as inhuman as Lu Bai!

The golden vortex seemed to have transformed on a fundamental level. The pressure exploded out tenfold, and Naruto trembled inwardly as he sensed the terrifying nature of the golden vortex.

"No wonder I wasn't ever able to cultivate the third level. The bloodcolored vortex… isn't the final limit of the second level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic! Only by turning the vortex golden can I reach the great circle of the Chakra and Blood stratum!"

Enlightened, Naruto was now confident that he could easily suck the silver-colored beasts out of existence. However, that was not the course of action he chose.

After all, the deep-gold overseer was in control of this entire place, so it was best not to go overboard.

"Dammit!" thought the deep-gold overseer. "One inhuman is bad enough. How could a second one have appeared! And this new one is even more shocking than the previous one!"

Lu Bai had passed through the first level by using his River of Time to avoid the silver-colored beasts. Naruto, on the other hand, was relying on the power of his magic to crush everything in his path. It was easy to see which of the two was superior!

The deep-gold overseer was getting anxious, but because of the ancient treaty there was nothing he could to interfere. Just when he was at the peak of anxiety, Naruto waved his hand, causing a boom to rattle out. The golden vortex faded away, and the more than twenty silvercolored beasts were sent spinning away, blood spraying from their mouths. They were listless and dispirited, and they looked at Naruto with expressions of unprecedented fear and awe.

They had not feared Lu Bai; were Lu Bai to be even stronger than he was, he still wouldn't be able to kill them.

Naruto was quite different, though. He was qualified to utterly exterminate them!

Even as rumbling sounds continued to echo out, and the more than twenty silver-colored beasts retreated, Naruto proceeded onward. He had absorbed a virtually inexhaustible amount of Chakra and blood. Although it didn't truly belong to him, he was temporarily incredibly powerful, and could explode out with fleshly body power that was almost completely equivalent to the peak of Dao Seeking.

He proceeded forward, and natural law spread out around him. The world rumbled, the air distorted, and shocking energy filled him. As he charged forward, the deep-gold overseer's eyes flickered. It had a certain amount of control based on the treaty, so it quickly called upon a gold-colored clan member that was more powerful than the one that had attacked Lu Bai. It roared and charged toward Naruto, its Dao Seeking cultivation base surging. Its body was surrounded by flames, and it streaked toward Naruto like a shooting star.

Naruto could instantly see the difference between this beast and the one that had attacked Lu Bai. He snorted coldly and then clenched his fist.

"SCREW OFF!" he roared, punching with all the strength his fleshly body could muster. Everything dimmed as an insane, earth-shattering wave of power rocketed forth which seemed capable of covering the sky and burying the earth.

The incoming gold-colored beast looked shocked, and was instantly filled with an intense sensation of deadly crisis. Without hesitation, it attempted to dodge. However, the wave of power generated by Naruto's fleshly body was far too shocking. In the blink of an eye, it completely inundated the gold-colored beast.

A bloodcurdling scream echoed out. Flames completely covered it, but they were incapable of preventing the creature's body from beginning to fall apart completely.

Seeing that its fellow clan member was about to die, the deep-gold overseer shot down in a flash of light. It grabbed the gold-colored beast, then slapped out to disperse the wave of power generated by Naruto. It managed to save its fellow clan member in the nick of time.

The gold-colored beast was panting for breath and staring at Naruto with intense fear. It wasn't just this particular gold-colored beast. All of the others were watching on with intense shock.

"You have passed the first level!" said the deep-gold overseer, staring at Naruto with a deep look.

—–

728

Chapter 728: Second Level!

The gold-colored beast that had attacked Naruto was clearly far more powerful than the one that had been dispatched against Lu Bai.

Despite that, it almost died. Were it not for the intervention of the deepgold overseer, it would surely have been destroyed.

However, Naruto was also only capable of throwing this one punch!

That strike had contained all the power he had just absorbed. At the moment, his body was returning to normal. Although his aura was quite a bit weaker, there was no one who would dare to look down on him.

The five Golden Frost Sect cultivators were thoroughly shaken.

"He's… even stronger than before!"

"Don't tell me that golden vortex appeared because he was just enlightened?! Or, was he simply holding back before?!"

The five men exchanged glances, and each could see how shocked the others were. If they were to fight Naruto, and he used the golden vortex, then even in their puppet form, they would still be… completely defeated!

Gu Tianxiang from the Solitary Sword Sect had a face filled with shock.

His eyes were wide, and his heart trembled. "He's clearly only at the Second Severing level, but that Blood Demon Grand Magic… it's simply… simply terrifying!"

He was a powerful expert from the Solitary Sword Sect, and had previously viewed himself as quite knowledgeable regarding the Blood Demon Sect. As of now, though, he realized that the magic of the Blood Demon Sect was beyond imagination.

The deep-gold overseer was also shocked, and could do nothing but stare wordlessly at Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he slowly walked forward. When he reached the flame portal, he stepped in without hesitation.

On the other side of the flame portal was what seemed to be a completely different world. As soon as Naruto entered, he saw Lu Bai off in the distance, coughing up blood as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut. The black dragon in front of him was returning to its usual lifeless state.

This world was a world of fire. A sea of flames stretched out in all directions, from within which emerged an enormous, towering altar. The altar was colossal, hundreds of thousands of meters tall, arranged into nine levels.

Just now, Lu Bai had met defeat on the third floor, and was ejected, blood spraying from his mouth. He hovered in mid-air, his face pale. He looked back and saw Naruto, and his eyes began to shine with a bright glow as well as complex thoughts.

"So, you're here," he said as he floated down to the ground. Paying Naruto no more heed, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate.

Naruto looked up at the enormous altar stretching up out of the sea of flames. For some reason, he got an odd feeling about this place. For some reason, he felt more relaxed, as if some intangible shackles had been removed from him. His mind felt clearer.

"Foreigner!" said an ancient voice, which echoed out from up above. Looking up, Naruto was shocked to see a white, humanoid beast, another overseer.

It hovered up above at what seemed to be the very top of the world, emitting absolutely no cultivation base aura whatsoever.

It looked down at Naruto and said, "You have passed the first level, which is your good fortune. If you pass the second level, you will be qualified to leave this place and can also receive a treasured item of our clan.

"This is a life-or-death trial by fire, the result of the treaty with our benefactor long ago. Any foreigner who enters, regardless of which clan they come from, may participate in the trial by fire.

"Step across the flames and onto the altar of nine floors. Defeat the enemy you find on each floor, and you may pass to the following floor!

"You may employ any magical technique, any divine ability, any means or method you wish!

"You have three chances. If you suffer defeat on your third attempt… you will be blotted out of existence."

When the white-colored overseer finished speaking, it closed its eyes and said nothing further.

Naruto took a deep breath and then immediately sat down crosslegged to meditate. After fine-tuning his cultivation base for a day, he opened his eyes and stepped out over the sea of flames.

In that instant, Lu Bai opened his eyes and looked at Naruto.

"Be careful of the third floor," he said slowly. "There, you will find a copy of yourself."

Naruto stopped for a moment, looked at Lu Bai, and nodded. Then,

he flew across the sea of flames and stepped onto the first floor of the altar. As soon as he did, he saw a human-shaped statue, which immediately melted and transformed into a young man wearing an azure robe.

The young man's eyes were listless at first, but when Naruto looked at them, they suddenly began to shine with a brilliant light.

"That kid from earlier got past me by a fluke. You… won't be so lucky." Even as he spoke, he lifted his hand up into the air and then pointed forward. Behind him, a single, black bee appeared. Immediately, ghost images sprang up around it. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was facing over ten thousand bees.

Buzzing sounds could be heard as the bees shot toward Naruto. The young man's fingers flickered in an incantation, and he pointed out again. This time, shockingly, more than ten thousand centipedes appeared.

"A Dragoneer?" thought Naruto, shocked. Everything that was happening seemed very familiar. In the Western Desert, Dragoneer cultivators attacked in much the same fashion. Naruto didn't immediately respond, but rather backed up a bit and looked the situation over. After a moment, he realized… this was not Dragoneer magic, but overall, it was very similar.

As for Naruto, when it came to the Dao of Dragoneering, he was once a Grand Dragoneer of the Western Desert. In fact, it could be said that he was the most powerful Grand Dragoneer of his generation.

Naruto's face was the same as ever as the bees and centipedes closed in. He performed an incantation gesture to employ Dragoneer magic. His divine sense rolled out, and the bees and centipedes immediately stopped short.

They looked a bit confused, and as for the young man, his face filled with shock.

At the same time, Naruto pointed out, causing the Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain to appear. Roaring sounds filled the air as they crushed down. Naruto shot forward with incredible speed to appear directly in front of the young man. He waved his right hand, and the Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared.

The shocking golden vortex appeared, as well as a golden hand that grabbed ahold of the young man. Immediately, his body began to wither as his Chakra and blood were absorbed. It only took a moment for him to completely collapse.

After collapsing, the young man reappeared in another location. He looked deeply at Naruto for a moment before coolly saying, "I am merely a Dharma Clone created by a strand of Chakra. However, you were able to rout me, which is something no one has ever done before. You… have passed."

Naruto frowned slightly. He had not absorbed very much Chakra and blood, and he was still unable to see the young man's cultivation base. Without another word, he flashed toward the second floor.

As soon as he stepped foot onto the second floor, an incredible power surged toward him.

Naruto's face flickered and he raised his hand and pushed it straight out in front of him.

Rumbling filled the air as an incredible surge of energy bore down on him. Naruto trembled, and his face flickered as he retreated at full speed.

He looked up to see a giant minotaur, looking back at him with an expression of surprise. "At the very least," thought Naruto, "he also has Dao Seeking fleshy body power. It also seems like the attack just now was casual! How did Lu Bai get past this part?"

"Hahaha!" the minotaur laughed maliciously. "Excellent! Excellent!

Finally somebody with some real power has arrived! That brat with the Time powers was much weaker than this!" The minotaur's muscles bulged as he stamped his foot into the ground and charged at Naruto.

"Don't let me down, now!" he roared. "That brat from before was a complete hassle! That secret Time art he used was strange and difficult to deal with. Fighting that fool wasn't fun at all! He pestered me to the max until I finally let him past. But you…. I like you, punk!"

BANG!

The minotaur punched out with explosive Dao Seeking power, causing Naruto's face to flicker. He rotated his cultivation base and immediately sent out his own punch.

A massive, astonishing roar rippled out, and Naruto's face went even paler. He was now in full retreat; the minotaur lifted his head back and laughed heartily.

"Excellent! Excellent!" he said, charging toward Naruto once again at full speed.

Naruto's eyes widened.

"He's using more power this time!" he thought, and the desire to fight gleamed in his eyes. Power surged throughout his fleshly body, and he once again counterattacked, adding the power of vibration into his attack.

The two massive powers collided, and Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was sent tumbling backward. As for the minotaur, his body vibrated, and the ground beneath his feet cracked and split. When he looked up, his eyes shone with a bright light.

"This is awesome! Awesome! You're not bad at all, brat. Come come, allow Grandpa Minotaur to smash you to death!" With a hearty laugh, he charged again.

Naruto's face flickered, and his entire body was shaking and numb. In contrast, his opponent didn't seem to be even slightly hurt. In fact… Naruto could sense that the thing's fleshly body was actually growing increasingly powerful.

"I can't compete with him in terms of physical strength!" thought Naruto, his eyes flashing. As the minotaur bore down on him, he performed a minor teleportation to evade.

"Why are you running away!?" fumed the minotaur, charging him once again. Naruto performed another minor teleportation, leaving the minotaur enraged.

"Dammit! You're pissing me off as much as that other guy!" roared the minotaur. He suddenly stamped his right foot onto the ground, unleashing an incredible boom. The air distorted, making it impossible for Naruto to teleport. He quickly performed an incantation and then pointed out.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

Immediately, the golden vortex appeared around the minotaur, who was immediately stuck in place. As his fleshly body began to wither away, his eyes bulged, and he howled, "What kind of crappy magic is this!?"

With that, power seemed to explode from within him, surging out to fight back against the vortex. For the first time ever… the vortex collapsed.

Naruto's face fell and he shot backward in retreat. The minotaur laughed maniacally and then unleashed another punch.

Naruto was barely able to dodge it, and yet was still forced to cough up a mouthful of blood. He retreated again, a thousand ideas flitting through his mind.

"Extraordinary strength, an incredibly tough body, can lock down teleportation in the area, and even the Blood Demon Grand Magic is useless against him…. What do I do?!" Naruto fell back constantly, and was wounded constantly. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and the minotaur continued to get more and more excited as he battled on. "If I could absorb his fleshly body, then I would definitely turn this around and win! But he simply shook off the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex…. Wait…." Naruto's eyes glittered.

"Hold on a second. The Blood Demon Grand Magic first binds, then absorbs. That's why it requires such a huge vortex. That means its power is spread out. If I focus the vortex on the smallest area possible, and don't attempt to absorb everything, but instead only do a quick absorption…." Naruto's mind was now thinking incredibly clearly. Enlightenment had come suddenly, right in the midst of battle. At the same time, the minotaur was yet again almost on top of him.

Naruto had no time for further consideration. He waved his hand, and again the Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared. However, it was not a large-scale version, but rather, a vortex the size of the inside of his palm.

The vortex spun rapidly in his palm, fusing into his hand to such a degree that it seemed to replace his palm print.

"Well, it's go time. Will it work?!"

Even as the minotaur closed in, Naruto shot forward, extending his palm out in a strike.

"Blood and Chakra stratum!"

—–

Here's a picture of some promotional art from the ISSTH web game of a

"minotaur"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Mohamed Amro Beseiso and Bjorn Jeune_

729

Chapter 729 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 729: Spirit Meridians Stratum!

Boom!

Blood sprayed from Naruto's mouth. He could tell that the minotaur's punch contained an incredible fleshly body power. Such power and ferocity was something he himself couldn't withstand.

However, before the blow could land, the Chakra and blood absorbing suction power in his hand, which was even more astonishing than before, immediately absorbed a batch of power, strengthening his own fleshly body.

Naruto's eyes gleamed brightly.

The minotaur stared in shock and astonishment.

"Well, that worked!" thought Naruto. "The Blood Demon Grand Magic doesn't just have to be used externally. I can employ it using other methods, for example, fusing it with my fleshly body!" Naruto laughed out loud, and his eyes gleamed with the desire to do battle. However, instead of rushing to attack, he fell back into a pattern of retreat just like before.

Every time he dodged or evaded, he would find ways to get close to the minotaur to touch it with his palm.

"Dammit! This is like getting bitten by a mosquito!" roared the minotaur. "I dare you to fight head on!" Naruto didn't respond with a single word. However, his eyes began to glow with increasingly bright light. Every time he touched the minotaur, he would absorb a bit of Chakra and blood. Gradually, the power of his fleshly body increased, and he grew more powerful.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Naruto's body trembled, and in the instant the next attack was leveled against him, his fleshly body burst out of Spirit Severing into Dao Seeking.

"Wanna fight? Let's fight!" As he spoke, he ceased retreating, and punched directly toward the minotaur, who was a bit slow to react.

The minotaur actually seemed to be rejoicing, and was laughing wildly as he charged forward.

BOOOOOMMMMMM!

Naruto and the minotaur exchanged blow after blow in mid-air. Each time, Naruto would end up tumbling backward, but at the same time, his fleshly body grew more and more powerful.

In contrast, the minotaur grew more and more shocked. His strength was slowly diminishing, and his previous hulking and sturdy body was gradually withering.

"You're so strong!" he exclaimed. "Don't tell me you were just going through the motions before? How dare you toy with me!" Now that it realized something was going on, it went on a rampage, charging Naruto relentlessly.

Another incense stick worth of time passed…. Naruto could now battle head on, back and forth, with the minotaur and did not need to retreat. The minotaur's rage continued to intensify.

Yet another incense stick worth of time passed….

"Y-y-you… you're so powerful! How is it possible!?" Now the minotaur was retreating, and was completely struck dumb by Naruto's display of ferocity. He punched and punched, but the result was only increasing weakness.

After enough time passed for three incense sticks to burn, a boom rang out and the minotaur tumbled backward head over heels. He slammed hard onto the surface of the altar, his body withered and incredibly weak. Compared to his previous stalwart frame, he was much weaker, though this still made him far stronger than the average person.

"How come… how come I'm skinny now? AGHHHHHH! I'm skinny!" The minotaur saw Naruto closing in again with another attack, and suddenly gave a start. "Demon magic! You little punk, you're using Demon magic!"

The minotaur was now in full retreat, it's face filled with fury. "Okay, I quit! Dammit! The contest is over! You win, you pass!"

Naruto stopped in place. He actually felt a bit bad. Thanks to the minotaur, he had gained a new understanding of yet another unique usage of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. This new technique made the Blood Demon magic even more useful.

"Many thanks, senior," he said, clasping hands and bowing deeply.

The minotaur gave a cold snort and ignored Naruto. He looked down at his body and scowled miserably. "I'm skinny now…. So skinny…. I'm finished. Finished! When I get home, my woman is gonna beat me for sure. What… what if she gets some crazy ideas about what happened? What am I supposed to do?"

Naruto felt even more guilty now. He cleared his throat; aware that no explanations could fix the situation, he quickly headed toward the third floor.

On the third floor, he found himself facing a huge, glittering mirror. From within the mirror emerged a person who looked completely like Naruto in all aspects. He glanced down at his body, then smiled bashfully and looked back at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes flashed, and then thought back to Lu Bai's warning.

"Fighting myself? Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain!"

"Black White Pearls and the Ninth Mountain!" Both people attacked at the same time, and instantly, shocking booms rattled out. Outside the altar, Lu Bai lifted his head and looked up toward the third level, his eyes gleaming.

Naruto retreated, as did his doppelgänger.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic!" "Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

BOOM!

Both attacked with exactly the same divine abilities and magical techniques. After fighting for several hours, Naruto's doppelgänger suddenly changed strategies. No longer did it do exactly the same thing as Naruto. Instead, it used Naruto's various techniques and magics to attack in its own unique way.

Rumbling filled the air as Naruto saw a gigantic Blood Immortal face appear in front of him, along with a blood-colored vortex that began to spin around him. His face was extremely unsightly. This magical incarnation was incredibly troublesome. A real headache.

All of a sudden, he realized what it must be like for other people to fight him…. What a feeling! That was especially true when he thought of… the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. His doppelgänger actually utilized the technique perfectly, and Naruto had to admit that this opponent… was much better than he was.

Every time the doppelgänger attacked, it would use the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex at just the right time. Naruto wanted to bellow in rage. "So, you can use the technique in THAT way!" he thought. Even in the midst of his frustration, he began to imitate how this magical doppelgänger used his own battle magic.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was incredible!

An incredible booming sounded out as the two of them attacked each other. By now, they had been fighting for close to a day. Every time Naruto used the Blood Demon Grand Magic to absorb some of his opponents Chakra and blood, the same would happen to him.

It seemed that it would be difficult for either party to clinch victory.

However, Naruto was learning a lot over the course of the fighting.

"At this rate, I won't be able to wrap things up any time soon!" He was starting to get anxious. It was at this point that the white-colored overseer up in mid-air suddenly opened its eyes.

"You may not battle for more than a day on any given level. You still have enough time left for an incense stick to burn. After that, if the battle has not been concluded… then it counts as your loss!"

"Why?!" asked Naruto, looking up at the white-colored overseer.

"Defeating others is easy and while defeating yourself is difficult…. if you can't even come up with a method to defeat yourself, then how can your Dao heart be stable? How can you face Immortal Tribulation in the future?!

"In the earliest of times, any foreigner who came here would die. However, the ancient will arrived and my clan had no choice but to enter into the treaty. After that, this place became a location for deadly refinement. According to the treaty, the purpose is to train true Immortals!

"For example, the first level tests your survival capabilities. If you reach true Immortal Ascension, you will face many Tribulations. You must have the power to protect yourself!

"This second level tests your powers of perception and understanding. If you are perceptive enough, you can naturally gain enlightenment regarding various magics that are currently stuck in atrophy. The Dao heart is only one aspect.

"Defeat yourself, strengthen your Dao heart. That is only the first step toward being a true Immortal. If you can't pass this first step, then of course you fail!"

Naruto's mind reeled.

"Don't tell me that you haven't noticed that this place is different from the outside?!" continued the overseer.

"Well, forget it. You're only in the Spirit Severing stage. You are incapable of seeing how extraordinary this place is. Let me tell you, kid… there are no natural laws here!

"The second level is a place with no laws. Here, everything is a blank!

"Therefore, you have even more opportunity to gain enlightenment regarding your magical techniques, and even your Dao. Understand your divine abilities and your path to enlightenment. Because, this place… has no law to interfere with or distort your true heart!"

Naruto stared in shock. Before, he hadn't put too much thought into why this place seemed a bit strange. All he knew was that he felt somehow freer, and his mind clearer.

He had never imagined that this place… lacked natural law?!

"You have the time it takes an incense stick to burn. If you can't defeat yourself in that time, then you fail!"

Naruto's eyes glittered. Rumbling filled the air as his doppelgänger closed in. The two of them once again began to battle back and forth. Time passed, and soon, half an incense stick had burned.

"What do I do?" thought Naruto. "What do I do?! If I fail the first time, the second time will be even harder!

"If I could gain enlightenment into the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic and cultivate it successfully, then I could probably slay this doppelgänger!

"Another possibility would be to gain enlightenment into my Third Severing! Or perhaps, if I understood how to use one more of the characters that make up the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!

"If I could use the soul of the true Immortal to make a second true self, it would definitely be terrifying in the extreme!

"Another option is the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal!"

Unfortunately, there was not enough time for any of those things. He only had the time it takes half an incense stick to burn!

Naruto's eyes were shot with blood as he fell into retreat. Suddenly, his doppelgänger utilized the Blood Demon Grand Magic; so Naruto did as well.

Instantly, the doppelgänger's fleshly body began to wither. However, at the same time, he absorbed Naruto's Chakra and blood, replenishing himself. Such a circumstance had occurred many times throughout their battle.

"The third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, the Spirit Meridians stratum! All cultivators have spirit meridians running through their body. Such spirit meridians are essentially the cultivation base. The purpose of the Blood Demon Grand Magic is to stir the spirit meridians. In much the same way that a miner deals with a vein of gold, the spirit meridian is dug up and consumed!

"But, how exactly am I supposed to absorb the spirit meridians?!"

Time was running out!

"Spirit meridians!" Naruto and his doppelgänger ceased using the Blood Demon Grand Magic and began to utilize other divine abilities.

Naruto's mind was racing as he tried to come up with a solution. This was a world with no natural law, and his mind was extremely clear. It was in that moment that he suddenly thought of… the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch!

He recalled the scene of the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch absorbing his Perfect Dao foundation.

When he thought back to that time, he remembered the various transformations that occurred in his body. His cultivation base had rotated in reverse, and then collapsed, transforming into an energy which was then sucked out of him. Recalling that feeling suddenly caused a tremor to run through Naruto.

"Reversal. I understand now! The key to the third level is reversal! When the vortex of the second level reaches maximum rotation, I can suddenly reverse the flow, which will unleash an incredible power!"

His eyes shone with a bright light.

Boom!

In that moment of enlightenment, he utilized the Blood Demon Grand Magic, then immediately pushed it through from the second level… to the third!

When he entered the third level, energy exploded around him. A strange light glowed in his eyes, and he lifted his hand to point at the doppelgänger. Instantly, a golden vortex appeared around the doppelgänger, which caused it to give a cold snort. It raised its hand and pointed toward Naruto as it too once again employed the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

However,at this point, when the golden vortex was rotating at full speed, Naruto suddenly reached his hand out and then turned it over.

Immediately, the vortex surrounding the doppelgänger reversed. The doppelgänger's expression flickered as its cultivation base suddenly collapsed, completely beyond its control. It rushed out through the doppelgänger eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, to shoot toward Naruto.

Simultaneously, the doppelgänger's entire body collapsed, and it disappeared without a trace. The only thing left behind was the glittering mirror.

"In your first tempering, you defeated yourself in less than a day," said the white-colored overseer, looking deeply at Naruto. "As such, it is unnecessary for you to participate in the following floors. Please go directly to the ninth floor. If you can pass the ninth floor, then you may leave this place! In addition, you can acquire one of our clan's valuable treasures!"

730

Chapter 730 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 730: Another Lord Fifth!

Outside the altar, Lu Bai suddenly looked up. His eyes shone with shock as he caught sight of Naruto on the third level, and heard the words of the white-colored overseer up in mid-air. He suddenly grew incredibly taciturn.

"He… successfully defeated himself?" thought Lu Bai, slowly lowering his head. A moment later, he looked up again, and his eyes shone with the intense desire to do battle.

"I don't care about my status as a Young Starlord, nor my titles in the Northern Reaches, nor the rumors about me being a reincarnated, almighty cultivator. The only thing I care about… is that I must be… the strongest person in my stage!

"According to my Dao, I must become a true Immortal! My heart must be intensely staunch!

"If Naruto can do it, then I… can do it too!" With that, Lu Bai took a deep breath. Eyes radiating unprecedented resoluteness, he slowly rose to his feet and then strode back toward the first floor of the altar.

"This time, I'll definitely pass the third floor!"

Naruto stood on that very same third floor to which he referred. He didn't proceed onward immediately. Instead, he closed his eyes to feel the surging of his cultivation base, and the majestic third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Now that he was in the Spirit Vessels stratum, he could absorb cultivation bases into his own body and transform that into incredible power.

"No wonder Patriarch Blood Demon said that if I get to the fourth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic I can hold my own against early Dao Seeking cultivators!

"This Blood Demon Grand Magic is incredibly astonishing. It's especially useful when fighting against groups. The more enemies that get stuck inside… the more powerful I can become!

"Black Sieve Sect…." Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open, and they shone with incredible killing intent. His hatred for the Black Sieve

Sect had long since seeped into his very marrow. If it weren't for the Black Sieve Sect, Hinata wouldn't have to enter the cycle of reincarnation, and could have had the chance at Immortal Ascension in this lifetime.

Now though, they only had a hundred years, after which, this lifetime would be destroyed. This enmity… was absolutely irreconcilable!

Naruto took a deep breath and then took a step forward, whereupon he vanished. When he reappeared, he had passed the fourth and fifth floors… and gone all the way to the ninth floor!

The ninth floor was the smallest of all the floors.

This was the pinnacle of the altar!

This was the final barrier of the second level!

After passing this floor, Naruto would have the option to either leave this world or, of course, enter the third level.

Boom!

The instant he stepped foot onto the ninth floor, he felt almost like he was at the pinnacle of the sky. Around him stretched a world of boundless flames, beyond which was nothing but pitch black.

In the instant that he stepped foot onto the ninth floor, he also heard an ear-piercing, squawking laugh.

The laugh sounded almost like the call of a male duck, and was filled with an indescribable arrogance.

"It's been many years since someone has stood in front of Lord Fifth, bitch! Come come, allow Lord Fifth to see how much fur you have on your body!"

As soon as he heard that voice, all the noble and lofty feelings that had existed inside of Naruto instantly vanished . His eyes went wide with disbelief as he stared at something appearing out of thin air in the middle of the ninth level. It was…

An enormous parrot!

The parrot was covered with motley feathers that all stuck out on end. Its expression was one of extreme arrogance and pride, as if it was the only important thing in all of Heaven and Earth. As soon as it appeared, a shocking energy exploded out from its body.

"You…" said Naruto, his breath quickening. This parrot appeared to be exactly the same damnable bird that had fled the instant Naruto faced true danger.

"What do you mean 'you,' huh? Bitch! What, you've never seen a Lord Fifth as handsome as me before?" As the parrot flew out, it seemed to be completely displeased with the way Naruto was looking at it. Its eyes gleamed with a sharp light, and its voice was jarring.

Even as it spoke, the parrot went on the offensive, charging at incredible speed. Naruto could barely see it, and before he could react, he was sent tumbling backward. The parrot re-formed in midair and then squawked and attacked again.

Naruto's face flickered. The parrot was moving so fast that he couldn't see it clearly. Nonetheless, he was able determine that this parrot was actually not exactly the same as the damnable bird that he remembered.

As for what exactly about it was different, he couldn't quite say. It was more of a feeling.

Booming sounds echoed out as the parrot attacked relentlessly. However, it didn't seem to be able to completely overwhelm Naruto within a short period of time. Naruto retreated without hesitation; every time the parrot attacked, it almost felt like a mountain was bearing down on him.

He tried using the Blood Demon Grand Magic, but the parrot was too fast and impossible to entangle. It was as if it was surrounded by some strange power that enabled it to break through anything that stood in its way.

"This damned, wretched bird! How could it be so strong!?" Naruto frowned. At the same time, the parrot appeared suddenly in mid-air up ahead of him.

Staring seriously at Naruto, it said, "I'm gonna screw you, bitch! Screw you, ya hear? How could your body be so tough? Well fine, the tougher the better. Screw you, screw you, screw you into a pulp…!" With a piercing cry, and incredible speed, it circled around Naruto, and its eyes shifted maliciously in the direction of Naruto's rear end….

When Naruto sensed that, his scalp went numb, and his heart trembled. The first thing he thought of was the parrot's vile hobbies, and then, images of the parrot exploding rear ends suddenly flashed through his mind.

These thoughts stabbed through his mind, causing his train of thought to be upset and fall into disarray, such that it caused Naruto to begin to shake uncontrollably. It didn't matter how vicious he had become inside, the images left him profoundly frightened.

Normally speaking, he was the one to hear the miserable shrieks of others. There was absolutely, positively no way that he wished to experience such things himself.

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead. Even when facing the challenge on the third floor, he had not sweat, but as of this moment, he was tempted to concede defeat.

This… this was a power that cultivators were fundamentally incapable of matching up against.

Especially the incessant hooting call of the damnable parrot, and how its previously curved beak suddenly transformed, becoming ever longer and straighter….

A few times, it opened its mouth, after which a perverse aura blasted out, causing Naruto's heart to tremble.

Having no other options, Naruto anxiously cried out, "I know you!"

"Huh?" replied the parrot, gaping. "Well, Lord Fifth doesn't know you, so you're gonna get screwed anyway!" With that, it prepared to charge again.

"I'm your master!" said Naruto, slapping his bag of holding to produce the copper mirror.

"You're insulting me!" said the parrot, completely ignoring the copper mirror. It transformed into a black streak of light that shot toward Naruto.

"What do I do? What do I do?!" Having noticed that the black streak of light was curving through the air to flank him from behind, Naruto was now in a state of complete emergecy.

As the black beam of light closed in, Naruto had a sudden flash of inspiration as he recalled the damned bird's fatal weakness. Without hesitation, he cried out, "Even if you were more powerful than you are now, who cares? I don't believe for a second that you could drill a hole through this altar! You can't, can you?!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the black beam stopped in mid-air. The parrot appeared again, and it glared at Naruto, as if infuriated.

"What did you just say? Did you say there's something Lord Fifth can't do?"

Naruto's eyes glittered, and his thinking was suddenly stable. A look of scorn appeared in his eyes.

The expression immediately caused the parrot to go mad. Its voice shrill, it yelled, "How dare you look down on Lord Fifth! Lord Fifth is omnipotent! Y-y-you…."

"Pshh." Naruto have a cold snort.

"AHHHHHHHHH!" To be scorned with such words caused the last bit of the parrot's powers of reasoning to be scorched away.

"You just watch, bitch!" raged the parrot. "Watch Lord Fifth! Watch Lord Fifth bore a massive hole into this altar!" With that, the parrot flew up into the air and then turned to charge toward the altar.

The white-colored overseer immediately flew down to intercept the parrot.

"Immortal Fifth, please calm yourself. Calm… There's no need to get impulsive, right? Listen to me…."

"Screw off and listen to this, bitch!" roared the parrot.

"Immortal Fifth, I…." The white-colored overseer smiled wryly and was about to expound when….

"I said screw off, bitch! If you don't, I'll screw you along with him!"

The white-colored overseer was getting extremely nervous. This was the first time it had heard of the parrot having such a weakness. It looked over angrily at Naruto, and was about to rebuke him, when Naruto saw the look in his eye, rolled his eyes and then snorted coldly.

"He doesn't believe you can break through the altar either. Forget about the altar. I bet you couldn't even screw that white-colored overseer!"

"AHHHHHHHH! How dare you look down on me like this!" The parrot's fury raged to the Heavens. It jerked around to glare at the white-colored overseer, who immediately began to tremble.

Seeing that the parrot was about to attack, the overseer immediately roared without hesitation, "You pass! Pass!"

Instantly, the altar began to rumble, and an incredible force enveloped the parrot, who did nothing to fight back. As the power covered it over, it stared fixedly at the rear end of the white-colored overseer.

"When this place was built, Lord Fifth helped out, and therefore left behind a stream of divine will," said the parrot. "Truth be told, it would be difficult to break a hole through the altar. However, if I have the chance, you cheeky little beast, Lord Fifth will definitely give screwing you a try!"

With that, the parrot gave a cold snort, then glared over at Naruto. It said nothing, but the look in its eyes was clear.

 _You just wait, brat. If I get a chance, I'll screw you too!_

Naruto glared back at the parrot. He didn't say anything either, but his meaning was equally clear.

 _You just wait, you damned bird. When I get out of here, I'm going to track you down, and then we'll see who's boss!_

Meanwhile, in the Milky Way Sea, on the shore near the Northern Reaches, a hulking, dark-faced man currently hovered in mid-air. Surrounding him was a group of smaller cultivators, all of whom looked at the man with fawning eyes. The dark-faced man seemed quite pleased with himself.

In his arms he carried a black bear, which he would occasionally lean down to kiss, his expression one of intoxication. The bear had a luxuriant coat of fur, and it was hard to tell where he had found something like it in the Milky Way Sea….

"Ah, this is the life! Don't be despondent, little Third. It's merely a master we're talking about. We can always get a new one! Look, after somebody else gets the mirror and refines it, then we can go back. Look at how free and unconstrained we are now! This is the good life!"

Suddenly, the dark-faced man sneezed, then shuddered. A strange look appeared in its eyes, and suddenly two voices began to argue inside of him.

"What's going on? What was that? Lord Third just sneezed!"

"Screw off, it was obviously Lord Fifth who sneezed!"

"You'll even steal that from me?!"

"Something fishy is going on here, bitch! Something's off! I feel an evil wind stirring, as if something bad is about to happen!"

"Huh?! Don't tell me Naruto is alive! Finished! We're finished! I'm gonna die, we're finished! When we ran off that time…."

"What do you mean ran off? That was a strategic transition! You don't understand crap!"

"Dammit! Last time, you said we needed to give him a chance to temper himself. You're changing your mind again?"

"Are you absolutely sure that's what I said?"

"You did! You said it! You said…."

Despite the bickering, the dark-faced man turned and flew toward the Northern Reaches.

"Let's go to the Northern Reaches, it should be safe there…."

731

Chapter 731: Essence of The Divine Flame!

Beneath the 30,000-meter Dao Lake, in that world within a world, at the very top of the altar in the second level, Naruto moved forward.

The parrot gave a cold snort as it faded away. The white-colored overseer sighed with relief, then looked over at Naruto, clearly displeased, but incapable of doing anything about it.

"You got lucky, but you passed," the white-colored overseer said slowly. "As of now, you have two options. You may leave, or proceed onward to the third level!

"Up to now, no one has ever passed through the third level. Therefore, no one has ever been able to inherit the essence of the Divine Flame. Now, make your decision."

Naruto muttered to himself for a moment. He still had his Eternal stratum, which meant that although he wasn't completely indestructible, he was still completely unique in the lands of South Heaven.

That was a trump card, something he could use to rise back up from the clutches of death when in battle.

Unfortunately, he didn't have time right now. If he got stuck in the third level, a hundred years could go by in a flash. Although, he wasn't quite resigned to giving up on trying to pass the level.

He suddenly looked up at the white-colored overseer. "Senior, I remember you saying that a valuable treasure would be given as a reward for passing the second level."

The white-colored overseer's eyelids twitched as if it didn't want to respond. It waved its right hand, instantly causing a pitchfork to appear.

It was pitch black, and completely unimposing. It did emanate a Dao Seeking aura, but in this world where there were no natural laws, the aura was not very powerful.

Even the white-colored overseer realized that it was being stingy. "A Dao Seeking item, a valuable treasure," it explained.

According to the ancient treaty, it was actually supposed to produce all of the clan's valuable treasures and allow anyone who passed through the second level to pick one of their choosing. However, their clan had always been a stingy one. Even the two that had passed from the first wave of people to come here before Naruto had only been given an option to take one of three items.

It was a loophole in the agreement, but the overseer did not feel that it was breaking the treaty.

Naruto's face was the same as ever as he looked the pitchfork over. It was obvious to him that the white-colored overseer was displeased with him, and his eyes glittered.

"According to the ancient treaty, it can be assumed that you can offer a better treasure than this, senior. Perhaps you can give me a few options to select from."

"Forget about it!" was the reply, accompanied by a cold snort.

"In that case, senior, I will pass on the item. However, I have two small requirements…." The white-colored overseer immediately put the pitchfork away. In truth, even giving that away was something it wasn't quite willing to do.

Naruto licked his lips and continued, "I noticed that outside in the first level, there were many mountains. They were all made up of various magical items and treasures, many of which were Spirit Severing treasures. How about this, senior. I'll just take 100,000 Spirit Severing magical items. What do you think, sir…?"

The white-colored juggernaut stared with wide eyes. The reason it didn't wish to part with the Dao Seeking treasures was that they contained their own natural law within them, and were extremely valuable. As for Spirit Severing treasures, they were far inferior.

"100,000? Are you trying to rob me? 10 at the most!"

"90,000! It can't be any less, senior. I just gave up a Dao Seeking treasure, you know…."

"Hey… Spirit Severing magical items are equally valuable! At the most, I can give you 100!"

"Senior, how can you be like that? After all, I just passed through the second level. The lowest I can go is 80,000 magical items. On the outside, Spirit Severing treasures are incredibly common. Furthermore, I want a chance to poke my head into the third level to see what it's like."

"Well… you did make it through the second level, but…."

The two bickered for a while, and in the end, the white-colored overseer gave Naruto 5,000 Spirit Severing magical items. Furthermore, Naruto was to be allowed one chance to step into the third level.

After they finished negotiating, the white-colored overseer grimly waved his arm, causing two vortexes to appear. One was the exit, the other was the entrance to the third level.

Naruto took a deep breath, and a look of resolve appeared in his eyes. He immediately transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the third level's vortex. Just as he was about to enter, the altar rumbled; Lu Bai had entered the third floor and was beginning to fight himself.

Naruto looked back, then paid no further heed as he vanished into the third level.

As soon as he stepped foot inside, he found that he was not in a land of flames. Everything around him was quiet. He saw a blood-colored field that was surrounded by enormous structures. They were pagodas that looked like spikes driven into the earth.

The grass in the world was completely white.

There was no wind, and yet the grass swayed back and forth.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he surveyed his surroundings, and he muttered to himself for a moment before sending his divine sense out.

It quickly covered an enormous area.

"990,000 pagodas!

"Countless bleached bones!

"The 990,000 pagodas seem to form a colossal spell formation!

"There's a city!"

Naruto's divine sense detected the 99,000 densely packed pagodas, which were arranged around a gigantic city.

The city was pitch black and overrun by white grass. A flame spark hovered in mid-air, seemingly an endlessly burning fire that sent resplendent light out into the entire world.

Almost in the same instant that Naruto sent his divine sense out to the limit, he suddenly heard a roar.

"Dao Fang, you must die!

"You killed me, Dao Fang, and if I'm reincarnated, I'll definitely kill you!

"The Immortal World is doomed to experience tribulation! The Immortal lands will grow old, and the Immortals will perish! But I refuse to give in!

"I know the truth! No matter how long you suppress me, I won't admit defeat!

"Damned monkey! If I can get free, I'll have your hide!

"If I'm transmigrated, I will slaughter myself out of this place! If my transmigration fails, I will fall into oblivion like all other living things, with virtually no hope of reawakening even after countless cycles of reincarnation. Therefore, I will leave a Dharmic decree for this place!

"My decree contains the essence of my Dao flame, the last vestige of me, Huoyan Zi. I hope that countless years later, that vestige will still exist!"

Naruto's mind was reeling; it felt as if a sharp sword was stabbing into his brain, preparing to split apart his body and shred his soul. Blood oozed from his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He staggered backward, coughing up a mouthful of blood.

A rumbling filled him, and he felt as if his body might explode. Thankfully, his Eternal stratum immediately pulled everything back together. However, that omnipresent divine sense and resentful will raged as madly as ever. The sensation of grave danger that he felt grew even stronger.

He looked around in shock at the world around him, backing up at top speed all the while. The divine sense filling this world closed in on him again, and he immediately leaped out of the third level.

When he emerged, he was back in the second level coughing up blood, his face pale and breath ragged. From what he had heard, he could tell that what he had encountered was a shred of will.

However, despite the fact that it was only a shred of will, it was still able to injure him instantly. This was terrifying to a degree that thoroughly astonished him.

"Failure," said the white-colored overseer, its voice cool. "No one has ever successfully passed the third level."

"What is that place…?" asked Naruto, looking over at the overseer.

"Only those who pass the third level are qualified to know the answer to that question. You may leave now.

"Remember, if you speak to anyone of the things that occurred in this place, you will meet with great calamity." The white-robed overseer gave him a meaningful look.

Naruto didn't respond. He looked back down at the altar, and Lu Bai on the third floor. Without another word, he clasped hands and bowed to the white-colored overseer, then stepped into the exit vortex.

In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

The white-colored overseer hovered in mid-air looking at the spot where Naruto had left through the vortex, a profound, ancient look in its eyes.

In the lands of South Heaven, not too far way from the region of the Ancient Dao Lakes, was a valley in the mountains. A brilliant, glittering light rose up in the valley, a teleportation spell. Suddenly, Naruto appeared within the light.

As soon as he appeared, the teleportation spell vanished.

"I snatched the true Immortal's soul, and a lot of people saw," he thought. "Word will spread…. I need to get back to the Blood Demon Sect as quickly as possible!" His eyes glittered as he flew into the air, slapping his bag of holding to produce the war chariot.

Once in the war chariot, rumbling could be heard as it sped off into the distance.

Meanwhile, at almost the exact moment that Naruto reappeared, an old man sat cross-legged in a restricted area of Mount Solitary Sword in the Solitary Sword Sect. In front of him, nine pearls circulated in the air, apparently rotating in accord with some natural law. Suddenly, one of the pearls began to glow brightly.

The old man's eyes opened and he looked at the pearl. There were many images within the pearl, but one of them was Naruto teleporting out into the region near the Dao Lakes.

"So, he finally reappears!" The old man vanished.

In the Golden Frost Sect was a pool of water, next to which sat the peak Dao Seeking Patriarch of the Golden Frost Sect. As he gazed into the water, ripples suddenly spread out over the surface of the pool. The ripples seemed to conceal mysteries of Heaven and Earth, mysteries that others would never be able to comprehend. However, an image of Naruto actually materialized in the reflections within the Patriarch's eyes.

In theShimuraClan, in a restricted area, a cold voice suddenly rang out. "The soul of a true Immortal is not something that a tiny Spirit Severing cultivator may possess!"

The voice caused Heaven and Earth to distort, and a shocking energy shot out in all directions.

At the same time, Naruto was detected by the withered, half-bodied old man in the Song Clan. He suddenly opened his eyes from meditation.

"True Immortal's soul…. However, the person who snatched it was Naruto…." He hesitated for a moment, then closed his eyes to meditate.

In the Violet Fate Sect, everything was quiet. No aura spread out, nor did any ripples appear. However, a brilliant light appeared in the enormous statue of Reverend Violet East, as it stared off into the distance.

The formerly calm and peaceful Southern Domain was suddenly stirred into commotion by the appearance of Naruto. To peak Dao Seeking experts, the soul of a true Immortal was something incredibly precious. So precious, in fact, that they would do anything in their power to get it.

In the Black Sieve Sect, Patriarch Six-Daos let out a miserable shriek. His cultivation base had already degraded to the border of the mid Dao Seeking stage. Soon, it would drop further, and he would be in the early Dao Seeking stage.

"I can't accept this! Blood Demon Sect, you must be destroyed! Naruto

Hao… you shall die!"

At some point, dark clouds had appeared above the Southern Domain in many locations. Lightning danced, and thunder crackled. The sun was covered up, casting the lands into darkness. Huge raindrops the size of beans began to plop down….

732

Chapter 732: The Blood Prince Returns!

The rain appeared not because the clouds layered top of each other, building up to a critical pressure. Rather, it was the passage of people forcibly tunneling through the cloudy sky that caused them to collapse in on themselves and shed rain prematurely.

At the moment, three peak Dao Seeking eccentrics were shooting toward Naruto's location. Their speed was such that they appeared near the Ancient Dao Lakes shortly after Naruto stepped foot into the war chariot.

They did not reveal their physical appearances, but their aura was clear. It only took a moment for them to pick up traces of Naruto's passing, after which they shot after him in pursuit.

Of course, they had never imagined that Naruto would actually be equipped with something that could achieve the terrifying speed of the war chariot.

Naruto pushed as fast as possible. In the blink of an eye, he was far away from the Ancient Dao Lakes, and was nearing the border of Blood Demon Sect territory. At this point, he took a deep breath and went even faster. Behind him, a rumbling like thunder could be heard as a pair of emaciated hands ripped a massive hole in the air. From within emerged a red-haired old man.

He was big and tall, and sparks of electricity arced around his body. Rumbling filled the air as soon as he appeared, as if he were a god.

Off to his right, a sword aura appeared, seemingly capable of splitting Heaven and Earth. A black-robed old man stepped out from within the sword aura.

Further off in the distance, the peak Dao Seeking cultivator from theShimuraClan, their 3rd Patriarch, proceeded along, accompanied by booms like thunder. The full power of his cultivation base was on display. As he flew, orbs of ghostly flame twinkled around him, blazing up into the sky.

When these three people appeared, Naruto's face fell. Each of them were comparable in power to the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch when they fought years ago. The instant the three appeared, the war chariot rumbled, and countless fierce beasts appeared. Everything trembled, and Naruto shot off into the distance.

He moved with such speed that he disappeared in the blink of an eye. The three Dao Seeking cultivators began to pursue him.

Suddenly, from another direction, a deranged old man flew beneath the clouds, laughing maniacally as the rain soaked him.

"Hahaha! Immortal Ascension…. Immortal Ascension…." His foolish laughter seemed to contain a hint of lucidity. His body flickered, and he vanished.

Naruto's war chariot moved with incredible speed, but his three pursuers moved as fast as lightning. As they got closer and closer, the sense of danger in Naruto's mind grew more intense.

However, killing intent could also be seen in his eyes, along with ruthlessness and fury.

And yet, he did not slow down or stop. His cultivation base was no match for a peak Dao Seeking opponent, and he did not want to risk losing his Eternal Dao foundation! Nevertheless, the distance between him and his pursuers continued to shrink!

"Faster! Must go faster!" he thought with an internal roar. Behind him, the three Dao Seeking experts raised their hands and pointed in Naruto's direction. All of a sudden, a cold snort echoed out from up above.

"SCREW OFF!" said a voice that was ancient and yet also filled with boundless aggressiveness. As soon as the voice rang out, the sky turned crimson, and the land transformed into a sea of blood. Patriarch Blood Demon suddenly appeared between Naruto and the Dao Seeking experts.

His words caused rumbling to echo throughout the heavens, and groaning creaks to issue forth from the land itself as everything to turn the color of blood. A roar rose up from the ground that transformed into a shockwave which sped toward the incoming three cultivators.

The three men all used various methods. The red-haired old man lifted his hand up then dropped it down in a palm strike. 10,000 bolts of red lightning smashed down, yet the old man was forced to stop in place, his face flickering.

The black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect had a gaze that was like a sword. The air around him rumbled and then shattered as he suddenly stopped in place.

As for the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch, who wore a brocaded garment and had flowing white hair, his body emanated a powerful energy, and an illusory sun and moon circulated around him. He fought back against Patriarch Blood Demon's attack, too, but issued a muffled grunt as he was also stopped in place.

Naruto let loose a sigh of relief, then put away the war chariot. He stood next to Patriarch Blood Demon, staring coldly at his three pursuers.

The three old men's gazes were just as cold as they looked at Patriarch Blood Demon and then began to speak.

"Blood Demon, hand over the soul of the true Immortal!"

"Hand over the true Immortal's soul! Let the matter drop! You can't fight back against the entire Southern Domain!"

"Take it out and we'll decide here and now who it belongs to. In fact, we can even take turns sharing it. Blood Demon, give us your answer, or else…."

Of course, inwardly, all three feared Patriarch Blood Demon, especially after the battle at the Black Sieve Sect.

"Or else what…?" replied Patriarch Blood Demon.

"Or else you're instigating war with the entire Southern Domain!"

"The Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, theShimuraClan… and especially the Black Sieve Sect will all be happy to join forces to invade you. If that happens, you'd better prepare your Blood Demon Sect to be exterminated!"

"Four great powers of the Southern Domain can easily destroy the very foundation of the Blood Demon Sect. Blood Demon, don't do anything to bring ruin down on yourself!"

Having heard all of this, Naruto's heart was trembling. Although he had made his own appraisal of the value of the true Immortal's soul, he had never imagined that it was so valuable that it could instigate a great war in the Southern Domain.

Naruto looked at Patriarch Blood Demon. He didn't want the soul of the true Immortal that he had snatched to draw everyone into a war. "Patriarch," he began, "I don't mind…."

"There's no need to say anything," said Patriarch Blood Demon, his voice placid. "You took it, so it belongs to you. That true Immortal's soul will be of great use. How can you even think of giving it away?" His gaze then swept over the three other cultivators, and he laughed coldly.

"As for the rest of you… SCREW OFF!"

"Blood Demon!" they shouted. Their faces flickered with various emotions, and they stared fixedly at Patriarch Blood Demon. Finally, eyes flickering, they turned and vanished.

"Patriarch," said Naruto, "if you need this true Immortal's soul, it's yours…." His heart was still trembling a bit. Suddenly he realized that Patriarch Blood Demon seemed somewhat different than he had been before.

"Don't worry," said Patriarch Blood Demon, shaking his head. "I'll handle everything. As for the soul of the true Immortal…. It wouldn't be of much use to me. I'm afraid it wouldn't be of much help to your master, Pill Demon, either. In the future, let him study it for a bit, and that will do."

"My master?" said Naruto, gaping. Of course, he was unaware of the matter of Pill Demon's Spirit Severing and Dao Seeking.

"You'll understand the details later." With that, Patriarch Blood Demon flicked his sleeve, sweeping up Naruto and vanishing into thin air. When they reappeared, they were back in the Blood Demon Sect.

As soon as the disciples of the Blood Demon Sect saw him, they began to speak excitedly.

"Blood Prince!"

"The Blood Prince is back!"

"Greetings, Blood Prince!"

Patriarch Darkheaven and the five other Patriarchs all flew down from their mountain peaks to greet Naruto with excited expressions.

"Congratulations on your return, Blood Prince!"

On the fifth mountain peak, the hunchbacked old man smiled and then bowed toward Naruto with clasped hands.

Uchiha Youcai rose to his feet from his place at the mouth of the valley and looked over at Naruto. Hinata was his Elder Sister, and he had grown up with Naruto. Although Uchiha Youcai had become grimmer because of his violent surroundings, there were some fundamental aspects to his personality that would never change.

When Naruto wasn't present, he would protect the valley with his life. What he was protecting were his memories, and the last vestiges of a once wonderful life that existed inside of him.

Hinata walked out from the valley and smiled up at Naruto, who hovered overhead.

When her gaze met his, it became a memory that would last for an eternity.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Tjandra Johannes, Artur Nikoghosyan,_

 _Simon Jacques, Brandon Varn, and Christopher Choi_

733

Chapter 733: On the Eve of War in the Southern Domain

Patriarch Blood Demon looked at Naruto, smiled, then faded away into thin air. Yet another clone….

Naruto turned to look at Mount Blood Demon, and a warm feeling rose in his heart. For the first time, he felt as if the Blood Demon Sect was his home.

Welcoming voices surrounded him as he returned to Blood Prince Gorge. Hinata had alcohol warmed and waiting, and she immediately filled a cup for him. They looked into each other's eyes for a long time before speaking.

Ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Now that he was back in Blood Prince Gorge, he felt separate from the world. He had Hinata to accompany him, and the days were wonderful. Suns rose, suns set.

Patriarch Blood Demon honored his promise to Naruto. Aware that Naruto had reached the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, he had a cane sent over.

The cane was crafted from bone, and was pitch black. When he held it in his hand, Naruto felt icy coldness pulsating out into his body. In addition, the Demon Sealing Jade in his bag of holding began to glow, spontaneously flew out of the bag, and circulated around the bone cane.

After a moment, it actually fused into the cane, and the two apparently become one.

Simultaneously, something like memories flooded into Naruto's mind. They were vague, almost as if someone were whispering them to him. Many of the things the voice said were indistinct and unintelligible, but there was one sentence that was crystal clear.

"Seventh Demon Sealing Hex. Karmic Hex!"

Use Demonic Chakra to hex Karma, slaughter anything formed from five elements, and exterminate to the highest Heavens!

Naruto's mind trembled. The Demon Sealers had a multitude of magical arts, but the eight Demon Sealing Hexes were considered their primary abilities. Each one was personally crafted by a previous generation of Demon Sealers and were shockingly powerful.

However, the various hexes had not been passed on and had, for the most part, been lost over the years. It was only by coincidence that Naruto was able to acquire the Eighth Hex. Now, by means of this bone cane, he had acquired the Seventh Hex!

He quickly immersed himself in gaining enlightenment of the Karma of the Seventh Hex. Thankfully, he already understood a bit about Karma; therefore, he was able to cultivate the Seventh Hex without any obstacles, albeit a bit slowly.

As he practiced his cultivation, the rest of the Southern Domain made quite a contrast to the calm and quiet of the Blood Demon Sect. The Southern Domain was boiling.

The Solitary Sword Sect was fully prepared for war. Countless disciples had been recalled from all corners of the Southern Domain, and the sect was now like a shocking, unsheathed sword, ready for battle.

They even produced precious treasures that could seal the fates of entire sects. After refining the treasures, they floated up in mid-air above the sect, casting about radiant, multicolored light and incredible energy.

Anyone could tell that the Solitary Sword Sect… was about to march to war!

In addition to the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect was also preparing for war. All eighteen of their great spell formations were fully operational. Clearly, they had activated the spell formations in order to protect the sect in preparation for war.

The Golden Frost Sect disciples were nervous. They had heard bits of news here and there that slowly formed together into a more accurate version of recent events. Fatty was getting quite anxious, although he hid it well. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to prevent what was happening.

Of the three great clans, the Uchiha Clan was no more. TheShimuraClan was now in the position of prominence. The killing intent of theShimuraClan members surged high as they prepared for war.

In the Black Sieve Sect, Patriarch Six-Daos didn't hesitate at all after he received the invitation. He immediately responded in the affirmative.

In recent days, the full power of the Black Sieve Sect was focused on mobilizing discarnate souls, as well as the full power of their Dao Reserve. 193 coffins were brought in, all of which were to be used in battle.

At the same time, the medicinal pills, spell formations, and magical items needed for warfare were purchased in large quantities by all four of the great powers. All of these things caused rumors to spread like wildfire across the Southern Domain.

"There's going to be a war!"

"The sects and clans haven't mobilized like this in ages. I just wonder who they will be going to war against!?"

"The Blood Demon Sect for sure!"

The cultivators of the Southern Domain were alarmed by the developments. However, there were also some rogue cultivators who saw opportunity. When the four great powers began to recruit rogue cultivators, many joined because of the potential benefits.

The Violet Fate Sect maintained silence on the matter. Because of their relationship with Naruto, they did not join the group of four powers. The four great powers, of course, understood this, and did not expect to form any alliance with the Violet Fate Sect.

However, what they wanted to prevent was the Violet Fate Sect coming to the aid of the Blood Demon Sect.

As far as the Song Clan was concerned, the four great powers were rather confused to find that they also maintained silence, and would not join the alliance.

When an entire region goes to war, it cannot be done secretly. A properly conducted war requires much preparation, preparation that cannot be completed quickly. The preparations for war often create a stifling pressure that influences everyone, and is even more intense than the actual war itself.

As a result, in the Blood Demon Sect, taciturn silence was becoming more common and frequent.

Based on what was happening in the outside world, it was obvious that the Solitary Sword Sect, Golden Frost Sect, Black Sieve Sect,ShimuraClan, and large numbers of rogue cultivators were preparing to go to war with the Blood Demon Clan!

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators were coming to wipe them out!

Such pressure from the outside world weighed down on the Blood Demon Sect disciples, causing them to grow more and more dour. Even more so, killing intent began to radiate out from the depths of their marrow.

They were Blood Demon Sect disciples, and they behaved like Demons.

Furthermore, the name of their sect had the character 'blood 血' in it! How could such a thing not be terrifying!?

Of course, they were getting ready for the coming war too, and the hunchbacked old man from the fifth mountain peak was in charge of all the preparations.

In Blood Prince Gorge, Naruto could also sense the pressure. He knew that all of this was happening because of the true Immortal's soul. In fact, he actually attempted to hand the soul over. However, Patriarch Blood Demon once again refused.

"What's yours is yours. I brought you here to be the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect, and I'm responsible for you!

"If I allow some bystander to snatch away something that belongs to you, then what's to prevent them from taking things from other disciples? How could the Blood Demon Sect stand for such a humiliation?!

"I might be old, but I still need to maintain face! If they want war, we'll give them war!"

When Naruto heard this, his eyes began to glow with a strange light, which gradually transformed into determination. By this point, he didn't care how it was that he came to be in the Blood Demon Sect. What he cared about was a concept that existed in his heart: to face others with a clear conscience.

For the Blood Demon Sect to treat him like this meant that he needed to act just as responsibly in return.

Naruto chose to go into secluded meditation. For the moment, he ceased his constant study of the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, and instead spent most of his time on the 'self' character from the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao.

He was already enlightened regarding most of the aspects of the 'self' character. What he needed to do now was actually make a second true self!

As for how powerful the second true self would be, even he had no idea. He did know that it was made from his own flesh and blood, and was like a sheath, within which was placed a soul. As for which soul to use, Naruto decided to use… the true Immortal's soul!

His only concern was that if he used it, then his Master Pill Demon would be unable to benefit from it later on. Therefore, he consulted with Patriarch Blood Demon on the matter. After Patriarch Blood Demon reassured him that there was no harm in going forward with his plan, he made up his mind.

Naruto was in thorough anticipation of what sort of power would be unleashed when he merged the true Immortal's soul into his second true self.

"Other people can cultivate clones, but this art produces a true self!" he thought as he sat cross-legged in the log cabin.

"Those who cultivate clones merely separate a portion of their soul and then use that as the essence. Place it into a moulded body, and that is the Dao of cloning.

"To cultivate a true self, you use flesh and blood. After nourishing it, it becomes like an invincible sheath, within which is concealed an unmatchable sword.

"Using the soul as the basis is actually very different from using flesh and blood. They seem similar, but in fact are completely different." After gaining enlightenment of the 'self' character, his eyes suddenly opened.

In unison, he splayed the fingers of his right hand, after which five drops of blood flew out. He then did the same with his left hand. Five drops of blood flew out from both hands.

Next were each of his legs, then his feet; five drops of blood each.

Finally, a tremor ran through his torso, and ten drops of blood emerged.

In total, there were forty drops of blood floating in front of him, radiating brilliant light. Then, they began to congeal together. As they did, the skin of Naruto's forehead split open, and another drop of blood emerged to join the others. Finally, he bit the tip of his tongue and spit out some Chakra and blood.

42 drops of blood radiated brilliant light and merged together, gradually forming the shape of a person.

Naruto's face paled, and his body sagged with weakness. However, his eyes were as determined as ever.

"What makes this a true self?" he mused rhetorically.

"The blood that circulates is mine. The skin is mine. The blood vessels are mine. The vital organs are mine. It all comes from me, and is the same as my original true self.

"This, is my second true self!"

A vicious gleam appeared in his eyes as he lifted his hand and stabbed it into his abdomen. A cracking sound could be heard, but he endured the pain as he broke off one of his own ribs. After pulling it out of his body, he crushed it into a powder which he then blew out toward the bloodmass of a person in front of him.

As soon as the bone powder entered the body in front of him, cracking sounds could be heard, as if a skeleton were forming inside.

Naruto trembled as his Eternal stratum healed his body at rapid speed. Unfortunately, the drops of blood, and the rib, were lost forever.

"The second true self is formed from what the Self Character Incantation permanently extracts from my body. What is taken away, can not be recovered…. This divine ability basically creates a new person. How extraordinary!" Muttering to himself, Naruto severed some of the redundant blood vessels in his body and then fused them into the other body.

Immediately, blood vessels appeared within.

Next came the vital organs and other miscellaneous parts. The only thing lacking now was the soul.

Time passed, although Naruto wasn't sure how much. His body was very weak, but in front of him was now a person whose features were the exact same as his own.

He wore a white robe, and sat there cross-legged, as fair as jade. He was handsome, and had a strong scholarly aura. He looked exactly like Naruto had when he was about fifteen or sixteen years old.

Looking at him, Naruto got the sensation that he was looking at an extension of his own body. He almost forget altogether that this was his second true self. It was almost like… a precious treasure in the shape of a person.

"And now it's time to insert the soul of the true Immortal!" His eyes shone with strange light as he slapped his bag of holding. The true Immortal's soul appeared, along with gentle, radiating light and a mysterious aura.

The instant the soul appeared, the entirety of Blood Prince Gorge filled with Immortal Chakra. In fact, the entire Blood Demon Sect instantly became like an Immortal paradise.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Ricardas Barkauskas, Gary Lam, Salman_

 _Mubbashir, Joshua Crittenden, and Retrac_

734

Chapter 734: Second True Self!

Patriarch Blood Demon opened his eyes and stared in the direction of Blood Prince Gorge.

Outside in the Blood Demon Sect, everyone was astonished.

"What aura is that?"

"How refreshing! I feel incredible!"

"I feel like my cultivation base just advanced a little bit…."

Back in Blood Prince Gorge, Naruto took a deep breath. He began to place sealing incantations onto the true Immortal's soul according to the prescribed method of the Self Character Incantation. It was not done in a forceful manner, but rather oh so gently. This was not a fusing of the soul and the body; rather, what was needed was for the soul to remain inside without struggling or fighting back.

Naruto carefully placed the sealing incantations onto the soul and then, filled with anticipation, placed the soul into his second true self with the greatest of care.

In that instant, a tremor ran through his second true self, after which he returned to his previous placid state.

"In eighty-one days, my second true self will awaken!

"There are three phases to incubating my second true self. The first is eighty-one days, the second is eighty-one months, the third is eightyone years!

"At the end of each of those phases, the second true self will become more and more perfect." Naruto took a deep breath. This was the first time he had ever worked with such a bizarre and strange magic. Finally, he closed his eyes and calmed his mind, then rotated his cultivation base.

A few days later, he opened his eyes again. He was no longer weak. Although he had sustained quite a few unrecoverable losses, the overall impact to him was relatively insignificant.

Compared to the gains, such losses were completely worth it.

"Three months!

"In three months, the first version of my second true self will emerge. I wonder… how powerful it will be!" His eyes shone with persistence and anticipation. He was extremely curious to find out how this combination of the true Immortal's soul and his second true self… would turn out!

"And now, it's time for the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal!" he thought, his eyes glowing with a bright light. In the underground world beneath the Ancient Dao Lakes, he had acquired thousands of Spirit Severing level magical items. Although he didn't quite have ten thousand, it was still enough to cultivate the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal.

"Ten thousand Spirit Severing magical items will make my fleshly body incredibly tough, and will enable me to break through from the Spirit Severing level to Dao Seeking!" With that, he opened his bag of holding and took out a sword. He placed it onto his arm, and then the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal appeared in his mind. After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, something like flames appeared in his eyes.

The flame consisted of nine layers, which merged together and then flew out shapelessly from his eyes. It was invisible, but when it touched the sword on his arm, the sword melted, then fused into his body in the blink of an eye.

When the sword fused into him, he felt an intense jolt of pain. He began to tremble, although he did his best to control it. By the time the sword was completely absorbed into him, his body was soaked in sweat.

The pain reminded him of the pain he had felt when his Dao foundation was ripped away.

He took a deep breath and clenched his right fist tightly. Popping sounds rang out, and the air around his fist twisted and distorted.

"I really am a bit more powerful…." he thought. Excitement shone in his eyes. It was painful, but the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal truly did make his fleshly body stronger, and that was all he needed.

"One more time!" he thought, his expression one of determination. A great war was on the horizon, and he needed to use every method at his disposal to get even more powerful.

More time passed. Two months later, the four great powers were now completely ready for war. 150,000 cultivators flew out from the Solitary Sword Sect, including ten Spirit Severing cultivators and two Dao Seeking experts.

One of them was none other than the Dao Reserve of the Solitary Sword Sect, the peak Dao Seeking old man who wore a black gown. It was impossible to tell how many countless years he had lived.

The other was an ordinary Dao Seeking eccentric. Although he was only in the early Dao Seeking stage, he was still a Patriarch of the Solitary Sword Sect.

As they flew out, tens of thousand of swords also appeared. Ten of those swords were roughly 3,000 meters in length. Most shocking of all was a 30,000-meter bronze sword.

In addition, there were various valuable treasures that flew along, circulating around the swords. Their glow seemed infinite as the countless cultivators flew through the air.

"Sword, come!" cried the peak Dao Seeking expert in the black robe. He extended his hand toward the enormous stone sword that rose up into the sky above the Solitary Sword Sect. It began to rumble, and then cracks appeared on its surface to reveal a green sword made of bamboo!

As soon as it appeared, wild colors danced in the sky, the wind howled, and a shocking sword Chakra could be sensed. When the peak Dao Seeking expert grasped the sword, it continued to vibrate with a humming sound.

"The ancestor acquired this treasure in the Ancient Dao Lakes," the old man said coolly. "Now, it will be used in battle to acquire the true Immortal's soul, also from the Ancient Dao Lakes. This is Karma! Clearly, the true Immortal's soul was meant for the Solitary Sword Sect!" With that, he flicked his sleeve, and the 150,000 Solitary Sword Sect cultivators made their way directly toward the Blood Demon Sect.

At virtually the same time, countless armored figures flew up into the air from the Golden Frost Sect. This was a force of 100,000, soaring through the air on flying shuttles, surrounded by countless valuable treasures. Shockingly, the huge group began to organize into a spell formation, which transformed into a gigantic puppet, tens of thousands of meters tall.

The huge puppet was completely shocking in appearance, and emanated an indescribably terrifying aura. The peak Dao Seeking expert of the Golden Frost Sect, a red-haired old man, appeared on top of the puppet's head. He sat there cross-legged, eyes radiating ferocity.

This red-haired old man was the only Dao Seeking expert from the

Golden Frost Sect. Apparently, they couldn't quite match up to the

Solitary Sword Sect, which made sense since the Solitary Sword Sect

was considered the number one sect in the Southern Domain.

However, that did not mean the Golden Frost Sect was weak. Their offensive techniques, utilizing puppet incarnations which combined the energy of large groups of cultivators, could explode out with multilayered power.

As their puppet strode across the land toward the Blood Demon Sect, it let out a roar, which was actually the combined roar of 100,000 cultivators.

Chen Fan of the Solitary Sword Sect refused to participate in the battle, as didShimuraFugui of the Golden Frost Sect. Fatty had a special status, so he had that right. However, Chen Fan was different. Because of his refusal, he was punished by being locked up in the sect dungeon, where he was to be tortured for thirty years.

Even as the Solitary Sword Sect and the Golden Frost Sect mobilized their forces, the Black Sieve Sect emerged in full strength. Patriarch SixDaos had been waiting for this day for a long time. As soon as he received the notice, countless discarnate souls, as well as all the Black Sieve Sect disciples, flew out.

Han Bei, however, was nowhere to be seen. Neither had she been present the day when Naruto came to wipe out the Black Sieve Sect the first time. Apparently, she had gone missing after returning from the ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

As for theShimuraClan, they also flew out in formation. Flying up ahead of them was an enormous bronze bell. It emitted a droning sound as well as golden light, which spread out to cover all of theShimuraClan members and carry them along through the air.

On top of the bell was theShimuraClan's most powerful expert, their 3rd Patriarch. He sat there cross-legged, his eyes shining with bright, flickering light.

The four great powers all sprang into action at the same time, heading directly toward the Blood Demon Sect.

Earlier, the four powers had distributed declarations of war throughout the Southern Domain, calling for rogue cultivators to join them in punishing the Blood Demon Sect. No small quantity of magical items and medicinal pills had been offered up as rewards!

The declarations of war listed nearly a thousand wicked acts committed by the Blood Demon Sect. The cultivators who perused the list were instantly furious, and felt their hair standing up on end in rage.

In truth, though, everyone also knew that much of the list was a mere fabrication. Even so, nobody would attempt to question it too much.

After all, declaring that they were righting wrongs in accordance with the Heavens, wiping out the Blood Demon Sect to cleanse the Southern Domain, was just a pretext.

Few people believed that the Blood Demon Sect would be able to escape this catastrophe. Everyone felt that they were doomed to be destroyed. All Blood Demon Sect disciples would surely be wiped out, and any who somehow managed to escape would be hunted down and killed. Soon, there would be no more Blood Demon Sect in the Southern Domain.

Therefore, hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators sprang into action. In their minds, the outcome of this war was a certainty, and they could use the destruction of the Blood Demon Sect cultivators to acquire resources they needed for their own cultivation.

The war was like a massive storm that swept across the Southern Domain, made up of the four great powers and the rogue cultivators, a combined force of 600,000-700,000 cultivators.

The clouds blackened, and the lands grew dark. A great war… would break out at any moment.

In the Blood Demon Sect, all the disciples waited in taciturn silence, their killing intent rising to monstrous heights. They were proud to be Blood Demon Sect cultivators, and even if they were facing an apocalyptic calamity, their faith in the sect was not weakened. They… would fight!

"To battle!"

"Live or die with the sect!"

"The Patriarch is the Top Expert of the Southern Domain! The Blood Prince is the number one figure in the Spirit Severing stage! So what if we have to fight all the other sects in the Southern Domain!?"

"If we lose, fine. But if we don't, then we will sweep across the four powers and make the Blood Demon Sect the only sect in the entire Southern Domain!"

Roaring and shouting filled the air in the Blood Demon Sect. It wasn't necessarily that they were devoted heart and soul to the Blood Demon Sect. Rather, this war… was unavoidable. They had two choices: fight, or die!

No disciple would betray the sect, not even if the destruction of the sect itself was nigh. The terrifying consequences for betrayal had long since been imprinted into the hearts of the disciples.

Seven days later, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, the Black Sieve Sect, and theShimuraClan blasted through the air to appear in the region of the Blood Demon Sect, surrounding it on all sides.

These four powers could be seen advancing from all four directions. The sword Chakra of the Solitary Sword Sect surged. The Golden Frost Sect's puppet was astonishing. The Black Sieve Sect was sinister to the extreme. TheShimuraClan was surrounded by golden light.

In actuality, they could have come earlier had they wished. However, they had spent a bit more time en route in order to make sure that they all arrived at the same time. That way they could assure victory in one fell swoop.

They didn't attack immediately, but instead, began to set up spell formations to block and surround the Blood Demon Sect.

They also began to set up teleportation portals right under the Blood Demon Sect's noses, which enabled vast crowds of rogue cultivators to teleport to the area from all over the Southern Domain.

The sealing and blockade spell formations thoroughly pinned the Blood Demon Sect down. No one would be able to escape.

The sky above the Southern Domain filled with dark clouds, as did the hearts of the Blood Demon Sect disciples.

All of their own spell formations had long since been activated. The glow of blood circulated through the air in all directions around the sect. From a distance, it looked like an enormous Demon.

The Demonic Incarnation was illusory, but its body was tens of thousands of meters tall; it was bigger than a mountain. It sat crosslegged on the land, clad in black armor. Its green hair floated in the wind, and a golden mask covered its face.

The mask was incomplete, as if it were composed of many parts. On the head of the Demonic Incarnation was a long, curved horn, around which lightning crackled.

The parts of the Demonic Incarnation's skin that were not covered by armor were crimson, like the color of blood. Anyone who laid eyes on it would be filled with a sense of awe and terror.

This was the Blood Demon Sect's most powerful spell formation, the Blood Demon Grand Spell Formation!

735

Chapter 735: War!

This spell formation resulted in a Demonic Incarnation that could merge the cultivation bases of all of the Blood Demon Sect disciples. It had protected the Blood Demon Sect for countless years, and had ensured its long-lasting survival.

Inside the Demonic Incarnation, the five mountain peaks of the Blood Demon Sect glowed with brilliant light that transformed into five layers of ripples. Each layer was a different color, and as they spread out, they transformed into a five-layered restrictive spell shield.

Each layer of the shield was maintained by Spirit Severing experts, and was filled with the power of the entire mountain peak. The entire defense was incredibly tough and resilient.

Suddenly, Patriarch Blood Demon's voice echoed out through the Blood

Demon Sect. "The first formation, the Demonic Incarnation, will have Naruto as the nucleus. He will lead 100,000 disciples, and will control the formation!"

Naruto currently stood in Blood Prince Gorge. When he heard Patriarch Blood Demon's voice, he looked up.

Next to him was Hinata. She didn't speak, but instead silently straightened his robe, and then wrapped her arms around him. After a moment passed, she released him and stepped back. Naruto looked at her.

"Wait for me. I'll be back."

Hinata nodded. Inside, she was getting incredibly nervous, but she didn't let Naruto see it for fear that it might distract him.

Naruto took a deep breath and then walked out of Blood Prince Gorge. The moment he emerged, the mad, burning eyes of the Blood Demon Sect disciples all came to focus on him.

When he saw their impassioned gazes, Naruto felt a deep guilt. All of this was because he had taken the true Immortal's soul. If he hadn't, this great catastrophe would not have descended on the Blood Demon Sect.

It was at this point that he suddenly heard Patriarch Blood Demon's calm voice speaking in his ear. "There's no need to feel guilty. Do you really think that the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, and theShimuraClan are willing to start a war just because of the soul of a true Immortal?

"The true Immortal's soul was just an instigating factor. The true reason for their actions… is their fear of me. They believe me to be an existential threat, and have been looking for an opportunity to get rid of me.

"Even if the true Immortal's soul didn't come along, this war still would have happened. The Southern Domain has been at peace for too long."

Naruto didn't respond, but his eyes gleamed with decisiveness and the desire to slaughter. In this war, he would definitely be doing some killing!

In fact, he would do everything within his might to kill as many enemies as possible.

His body flashed as he flew up toward the first spell formation. Behind him, 100,000 Blood Demon Sect disciples soared through the air. All of them entered the spell formation and then sat down cross-legged.

There were 20,000 in the torso. The four limbs had 15,000 each. The head had 20,000. In total, there were 100,000 disciples. As for Naruto, his position was in the forehead of the Demonic Incarnation.

As soon as the 100,000 disciples entered the spell formation and sat down cross-legged, they unleashed their cultivation bases. As the power merged into the Demonic Incarnation, rumbling sounds filled their minds. The enormous Demonic Incarnation suddenly seemed to revert from a state of deathlike inactivity, to life. Flourishing life force exploded out inside of it.

Naruto sat cross-legged in the forehead position, monstrous killing intent visible in his eyes. He would protect this place, both for the Blood Demon Sect, and… for Hinata.

As long as he was alive, he would not permit anyone to harm even a hair on Hinata's head.

Even as he sat there cross-legged, he continuously produced Spirit Severing magical items, which he absorbed into his body. Even as the pain threatened to cross the threshold that he could tolerate, he clenched his jaw tightly and pressed on. With the absorption of each treasure, his fleshly body continued to grow stronger, bit by bit.

The strongest of all…. was his right arm. That was the first location into which he had absorbed the Spirit Severing treasures. After melding exactly a thousand such treasures into his right arm, he could sense a breakthrough in that specific area; it now radiated ripples similar to Dao Seeking.

"Almost there…." he thought. His expression was calm as he continued to fuse more items into his body.

Time passed. Several days later, the Blood Demon Sect was deathly silent. The atmosphere was one of suppression, suppression of the incredible energy that had built up to a peak and was just waiting to explode out.

Outside of the sect, the four great powers had finished setting up their spell formations. Hundreds of thousands of Southern Domain rogue cultivators had arrived.

From a distance, 700,000 cultivators could be seen surrounding the Blood Demon Sect, spread across the horizon as far as the eye could see. It was an incredible force, and looking at it would cause one's heart to tremble.

"Blood Demon Sect!"

"This war will end with the extermination of the Blood Demon Sect!"

"FIGHT!"

It was noontime, but the sun was completely covered by the dark clouds. Lightning crackled through the sky as the vast crowds of the four great powers roared. 700,000 voices combined together, roaring with such intensity that the clouds were split open and rain began to pour down.

Rain. Thunder. Slaughter….

Battle!

The war was beginning!

The Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, the Black Sieve Sect, and theShimuraClan were not the first ones to make a move. The first to attack were naturally the rogue cultivators who had come hoping to earn rewards.

Hundreds of thousands of them surged forth with earthshaking power. The sky shook, and the rain was incapable of even falling to the ground, and was instead scattered about in all directions.

A great variety of cultivation bases could be seen among the rogue cultivators. The highest were in the great circle of the Nascent Soul stage; however, there were no Spirit Severing experts present. As they attacked, the spell formations around them burst out with blinding light.

Lightning from above was pulled down, entering into the spell formations, which then produced numerous silver snakes composed of lightning bolts.

There were eight silver snakes in total, 300 meters wide and 30,000 meters long, that sucked the hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators inside of them as they emerged. From a distance, tens of thousands of rogue cultivators could be seen inside each of the silver snakes, lending their power to the lightning. The snakes immediately shot directly toward the enormous Demonic Incarnation surrounding the Blood Demon Sect.

Inside the Demonic Incarnation, the 100,000 Blood Demon Sect disciples began to call out.

"Blood Prince, do we fight?!"

"Blood Prince, we're waiting for your command!"

Their voices echoed about inside of the Demonic Incarnation, but could not be heard in the outside world.

"The time has not come yet," replied Naruto calmly. He slowly raised his right hand, and in response, the enormous, cross-legged Demonic Incarnation also raised its hand, then pounded the ground violently with a palm strike.

Boom!

A deafening sound could be heard as a blood-colored shield of light shot out from the palm of the Demonic Incarnation to sweep out in all directions.

As the eight incoming lightning snakes closed in on the Demonic Incarnation, they were blocked by the blood-colored shield at a distance of 3,000 meters. The shield twisted and distorted under the power of the repeated attacks levied against it, but did not collapse.

Inside the Demonic Incarnation, killing intent flashed brightly in the eyes of the 100,000 Blood Demon Sect disciples. Their bodies emanated bloody glows as they waited, fused completely with the Demonic Incarnation. As for Naruto, he sat in the forehead position, continuously feeding Spirit Severing treasures into the flesh of his right arm.

1,451. 1,452…. As the items continued to fuse into his arm, it grew more and more powerful. The Dao Seeking aura became more prominent, and Naruto knew that he was just a little bit away… from making his hand the first part of his fleshly body that was truly in Dao Seeking.

Eight silver lightning snakes attacked constantly, but the blood-colored shield continued to hold strong, despite the distortions that marred its surface. It even managed to make counterattacks, such that two of the silver snakes were beginning to show signs of breaking apart.

"Trash! Even with the help of ourShimuraClan spell formations, those goodfor-nothing fools still can't break the Blood Demon Sect's first spell formation!" TheShimuraClan's 3rd Patriarch gave a cold snort.

"Fellow Daoist Six-Daos," said the red-haired Golden Frost Sect cultivator, his eyes coming to rest on Patriarch Six-Daos of the Black Sieve Sect. "It's about time for you to make your move."

The black-robed cultivator from the Solitary Sword Sect also looked over at him.

Six-Daos' face flickered and he snorted coldly. There was no way for him to refuse, so he raised his hand and pointed forward. The Black Sieve Sect discarnate souls and cultivators behind him gritted their teeth and charged forward. There was even one discarnate soul who emanated a Spirit Severing aura; including it, the Black Sieve Sect looked like an enormous sword, slicing through the air to stab toward the blood-colored shield that the eight lightning snakes were contending with.

A huge boom rattled out, and the blood-colored shield shuddered, seemingly growing weaker. The eight lightning snakes merged their power together. That, combined with the cultivation bases of the Black Sieve Sect, smashed into the weakest parts of the shield.

Cracking sounds could be heard as fissures spread out. The fissures quickly sealed back up, though, and even sent counterattacks back out. The two silver lightning snakes that had been weakened before suddenly exploded.

There were no miserable screams. The instant that the snake exploded, the tens of thousands of cultivators inside were instantly wiped out, dead in spirit and body.

The cultivators in the remaining six lightning snakes looked shocked. However, they had come here to seek good fortune and had been promised by the four great powers that they would get what they sought. It didn't matter that the battle was fierce; would they really give up so easily?

"Naruto!" the Spirit Severing discarnate soul cried out. "Are you going to keep hiding in the Blood Demon Sect the whole time? I dare you to come out and fight!" He assumed Naruto was somewhere in the Blood Demon Sect, not inside the Demonic Incarnation.

His voice reverberated as it passed through the blood-colored shield, all the way to the Demonic Incarnation, and into Naruto's ears.

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent, but he did nothing. Instead, he continued to feed Spirit Severing treasures into his right hand.

1,479. 1,480!

Naruto could clearly sense that his right arm was now almost completely beyond Spirit Severing, and had truly entered into Dao Seeking.

Booms echoed out from the outside as six lightning snakes, joined by the Black Sieve Sect cultivators under the leadership of the Spirit Severing discarnate soul, continued to attack the blood-colored shield. The shield began to distort and shrink, and portions even began to shatter.

"Naruto!" called the Spirit Severing discarnate soul. "I was the one who personally extracted Hinata's soul! The process of separating her body and soul wracked her with intense pain! The look on her face… I still remember it as if it were yesterday." He waved his hand, and the shield shook. He was obviously trying to bait Naruto into fighting.

The instant his voice rang out, Naruto looked up. Intense viciousness could be seen in his eyes, as well as explosive killing intent.

The 1,500th Spirit Severing treasure fused into his right arm, and it broke completely out of Spirit Severing and reached the Dao Seeking level.

An incomplete, fragmented natural law spread out, although it didn't affect Naruto. His right hand was now the most powerful part of his fleshly body!

"Blood Prince, let's fight!"

"Blood Prince, we want to do battle!"

"Yes," said Naruto. "FIGHT!" Even as the words left his mouth, he raised his right hand and made a violent grasping gesture. What everyone on the outside saw was the Demonic Incarnation raising its enormous right hand, which then shot out of the shield with indescribable speed to grab ahold of the Spirit Severing discarnate soul.

The hand clenched viciously, and a boom could be heard, as the discarnate soul was crushed into pieces. A lingering scream echoed out over the battlefield.

The Demonic Incarnation suddenly stood up. It was tens of thousands of meters tall, completely shocking in appearance.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Jesse McInnes, Rafael Ramirez and YYZ_

736

Chapter 736: Devastating!

Naruto sat cross-legged in the forehead position of the Demonic Incarnation. The life forces and cultivation bases of 100,000 cultivators poured into the Demonic Incarnation, all of which Naruto could sense.

"Early Dao Seeking!" said Naruto, sensing the power of the Demonic Incarnation. He waved his hand, and in response, the shrinking, bloodcolored shield returned to cover the entire Demonic Incarnation. Without the blood-colored obstructing the way, the six lightning snakes instantly shot toward Naruto. So did the Black Sieve Sect discarnate souls and cultivators, who were ashen faced.

"Offend the Blood Demon Sect? You shall die!" The combined voices of

100,000 people boomed out from the Demonic Incarnation. Heaven and Earth shook, and Naruto raised his hand and clenched it into a fist.

The fist slammed into one of the lightning snakes, which instantly collapsed into pieces. In the blink of an eye, the entire snake fell apart in a huge explosion.

Naruto sent the Demonic Incarnation forward. It performed an incantation with its right hand, then gestured forward. Immediately, the air was rent open as a huge fissure appeared. It slashed out and hit another lightning snake, which then exploded.

All of these things happened with incredible speed. Next, Naruto turned the body of the Demonic Incarnation and sent it directly toward the enormous sword formed by the discarnate souls and cultivators of the Black Sieve Sect.

"DIE!" Naruto's voice joined with the 100,000 cultivators to let out an incredible roar. Their cultivation bases surged, and the power of early Dao Seeking bolstered the noise to transform the roar into a terrifying sound wave.

The sound wave transformed into visible ripples which then slammed into the Black Sieve Sect discarnate souls and cultivators. One by one, the discarnate souls vanished, as if they were being erased. As for the cultivators with fleshly bodies, they were ripped into pieces by the passing ripple. Tens of thousands of Black Sieve Sect disciples… all died in body and soul.

"Your Blood Demon Demonic Incarnation is pretty good!" said the blackrobed man from the Solitary Sword Sect, his voice cool. He advanced forward, and was soon directly in front of Naruto. Although his hand was clearly empty, a shocking sword Chakra suddenly materialized and slashed toward Naruto.

However, before the sword Chakra could fully descend, a cold snort echoed out from within the Blood Demon Sect. A blood-colored figure flickered into being in front of Naruto. It was none other than Patriarch Blood Demon.

"How meaningless to bully the junior generation!" he said. "You want to fight? Let's fight!"

BOOOMMM!

Patriarch Blood Demon and the black-robed man from the Solitary Sword Sect immediately rose high up into the air as they began to fight. At the same time, the red-haired old man from the Golden Frost Sect, the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch, and Patriarch Six-Daos flew up. Six-Daos cast a murderous glare at the Demonic Incarnation under Naruto's control, gave a cold snort, then proceeded to completely ignore it as he flew toward Patriarch Blood Demon.

It was at this moment, though, that three more blood-colored figures shot out from the Blood Demon Sect. Each and every one looked exactly like Patriarch Blood Demon, and each one shot toward one of the three who had just flown out.

There were now four clones of Patriarch Blood Demon present. Four incredible clones, battling four of the most powerful Patriarchs of the Southern Domain.

Booms filled the air, and the battle above caused the air to warp and distort. It was difficult for anyone looking on to see clearly, but they could tell that the sky itself seemed on the verge of falling. The intense battle being carried out could clearly shake even the Heavens.

"KILL THEM!" Almost in the same moment that the Patriarchs were locked in the decisive battle up above, the rest of the forces of the four great powers charged into battle. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators sped directly toward the Demonic Incarnation controlled by Naruto.

Among them was an early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword

Sect, as well as a puppet from the Golden Frost Sect formed by Spirit Severing experts, which also emanated a Dao Seeking aura. TheShimuraClan had even more spell formations circulating around them. Unfortunately for the Black Sieve Sect, they had sustained severe casualties.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes as he brazenly sent the

Demonic Incarnation forward to battle directly with the four powers!

Inside the Demonic Incarnation, the 100,000 Blood Demon Sect disciples' eyes were bright red. They formed the Blood Demon Sect's first spell formation, which was not easily destroyed. Were it to be broken, the Blood Demon Sect would then be vulnerable to the outside world.

"To the death!"

The Demonic Incarnation emanated early Dao Seeking energy as it roared into battle against the hundreds of thousands of cultivators which surrounded it.

There were only four lightning snakes left, filled with rogue cultivators with bloodshot eyes. They flew through the air, occasionally attacking. As for the Black Sieve Sect, they were in disarray and no longer had enough forces to do battle.

However, such was not the case with the Solitary Sword Sect. Under the leadership of the early Dao Seeking expert, 100,000 flying swords exploded out, transforming into a shocking power that continuously pelted Naruto.

The early Dao Seeking expert was actually capable of fighting directly with Naruto and the Demonic Incarnation. He became the primary force in the battle, backed by the power of ten Solitary Sword Sect Spirit Severing cultivators.

The Spirit Severing experts of the Golden Frost sect combined to form a puppet, which also emanated a Dao Seeking aura that caused the clouds to seethe when it attacked. They joined forces with the early Dao Seeking cultivator from the Solitary Sword Sect and successfully pinned down Naruto and the Demonic Incarnation.

As for theShimuraClan, they were attempting to harm Naruto more covertly. They flew around the perimeter, surrounding the area with countless spell formations. Some were used to bind the Demonic Incarnation, others self detonated. Incredible pressure weighed down on Naruto.

Every time Naruto attacked, every time the two sides clashed, many of the cultivators inside the Demonic Incarnation would spit up blood. On one occasion, the Solitary Sect's early Dao Seeking expert and the Golden Frost Sect Puppet combined their attacks and struck the Demonic Incarnation with an earth-shaking force. 20,000 of the cultivators inside were unable to withstand the force and their bodies immediately exploded.

Blood oozed out from the Demonic Incarnation, forming a bloody rain that splattered down onto the ground.

However, the forces of the four great powers were also paying a heavy price.

Over a three day period, a third of the Golden Frost Sect cultivators died.

Twenty percent of the Solitary Sword Sect perished. The Black Sieve Sect was thoroughly crippled, and twenty percent of theShimuraClan were dead.

As for the rogue cultivators, Naruto had no time to pay them any heed. Despite that, of the four lightning snakes, one more was destroyed.

As of this point, the four great powers had suffered over 200,000 casualties!

Naruto persisted with gritted teeth. Were it not for the fact that his right arm possessed Dao Seeking strength, he would not have been able to hold out for this long. He lifted his right hand and punched out, connecting with the Golden Frost Sect puppet up ahead. It tumbled back, seemingly on the verge of complete collapse. However, the early Dao Seeking cultivator from the Solitary Sword Sect suddenly appeared and blocked Naruto with a flick of his sleeve.

Countless spell formations around him detonated, and amidst the booming explosions, 100,000 greatswords stabbed into Naruto's Demonic Incarnation.

"Piss off!" roared Naruto, his voice hoarse. The Demonic Incarnation collided with the Golden Frost Sect. Everywhere he passed, he left in his wake the shattered remains of countless puppets formed from the Golden Frost Sect cultivators.

"Solitary Sword Formation!" Bright gleams appeared in the eyes of the

Solitary Sword Sect disciples. All of them began to perform incantations, then gripped their swords tightly as their bodies began to shine intensely, as if they were swords glinting in the light. Each and every person seemed to transform into a sword that flew up into the air. Shockingly, the swords began to interweave into an enormous sword formation!

The sword formation swirled in mid-air, forming into the shape of a gigantic greatsword that slashed down toward Naruto.

"Black White Pearls! Ninth Mountain!" Naruto waved his left hand, and the Ninth Mountain smashed into the greatsword. The mountain trembled and then collapsed, but so did the Solitary Sword Formation!

Naruto sent the Demonic Incarnation into retreat. Of the remaining 80,000 cultivators inside, 10,000 were once again unable to withstand the force of the blow, and exploded. At the same time, the Solitary Sword Sect's early Dao Seeking expert suddenly appeared. His hand flashed in an incantation gesture, and an amorphous green fog appeared, within which was a poisonous thorn. He pointed out, causing the green fog to envelop the Demonic Incarnation.

Simultaneously, the poisonous thorn shot forward to stab directly into the Demonic Incarnation. As it passed through, bloodcurdling screams rang out in Naruto's ears.

Naruto clenched his right hand into a fist and instantly punched out. The early Dao Seeking expert frowned, then gave a cold snort and performed another incantation. Rumbling could be heard as his body vanished, then reappeared three thousand meters away. His face was a bit pale; clearly, despite have avoided the fist, he had still suffered injuries.

"Everyone, attack!" he cried. As his voice rang out, he pointed up into the sky. "Bamboo sword!"

A green streak of light shot out of his finger, which then transformed into a tiny, bamboo shoot. It rapidly grew larger, transforming into a bamboo stalk. The stalk then shed its leaves and became a bamboo sword!

There were some experienced cultivators in the surrounding groups who began to cry out in shock.

"The Solitary Sword Sect's precious treasure!"

"I've heard of this precious treasure!"

The most powerful of the Golden Frost Sect's puppets let out a cold snort, then made an incantation gesture with its right hand. It stretched its right hand out and made a grasping motion, whereupon a hand-sized piece of rock flew out. It grew rapidly, transforming into a 3,000-meter tall mountain.

It was pitch black, except for one golden character on the side.

Termination!

Mount Termination!

This was the precious treasure of the Golden Frost Sect, as famous in name as the bamboo sword of the Solitary Sword Sect!

The 5thShimuraClan Patriarch, who had a cultivation base at the great circle of the Third Severing, had been flitting about activating spell formations. When he saw the latest developments, he produced a pink Feng Shui compass and then pushed down onto its surface.

Immediately, the ground began to rumble, and multiple columns of pink light shot up into the air.

"DIE!"

The Solitary Sword Sect's bamboo sword seemed to split the heavens, transforming into a green beam of light that shot toward Naruto. The Golden Frost Sect's Mount Termination began to rotate, emitting crushing pressure as it joined the green beam of light to attack Naruto.

Naruto's face fell, and the Black White Pearls and Ninth Mountain appeared again. He waved his right hand, and summoned the full power of his cultivation base to strike out with the most powerful blow he could muster.

BOOM!

The Demonic Incarnation fell back. Green light flashed as a huge wound was opened up. The Demonic Incarnation's right arm was lopped off; it transformed into 10,000 cultivators in mid-air, and as soon as they appeared, a massive power swept over them and ripped them into pieces.

BOOM!

Mount Termination crushed down, and Naruto coughed up blood. A multitude of cracks appeared on the Demonic Incarnation, which then rapidly began to spread out. Soon, numerous cross-legged Blood Demon Sect disciples became visible, expressions of hopelessness covering their faces.

BOOM!

The final salvo came from the spell formation formed from the pink beams of light. Everything rumbled as the light transformed the land into a world of pink. The light beams then shrank down into the form of an enormous pink talon, which slashed out at Naruto's Demonic Incarnation.

The Demonic Incarnation was incapable of holding out any longer. It appeared to be on the verge of collapse, and many of the cultivators inside died. Currently, only 30,000 remained alive.

"Retreat!" Naruto shouted. "Back to the sect!" A tremor ran through the Demonic Incarnation as the 30,000 cultivators were ejected from its back.

Naruto was the last to retreat. As soon as he left, his right hand flickered in an incantation gesture and then pointed at the almostshattered Demonic Incarnation.

"Detonate!"

—

 _This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous, Anonymous, Michael_

 _Harrison and LB_

737

Chapter 737: A Leaf!

A shocking boom rumbled out. Even Patriarch Blood Demon and his opponents couldn't help but notice the detonation of the Demonic Incarnation.

The force of the explosion actually helped the 30,000 Blood Demon Sect in their retreat. However, to others in the immediate vicinity of the blast, it was like a devastating attack.

The shocked Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect shot forward, determined to block the force of the explosion, as did the puppet from the Golden Frost Sect. Even the 5thShimuraClan Patriarch did the same.

If they did not do so, then the losses their various sects and clans would experience would be far too critical.

Even so, there were still many cultivators who simply couldn't avoid the blast, and were incinerated.

In the blink of an eye, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect and theShimuraClan, as well as the rogue cultivators, all sustained heavy losses.

Thanks to the Solitary Sword Sect's Dao Seeking expert, the Golden Frost Sect's puppet, and the 5thShimuraClan patriarch, the losses were reduced by about half. Were it not for them, even more would have died.

Unfortunately for the nearby rogue cultivators, no one was around to assist them. The ripples from the explosion completely wiped them out, along with the remaining silver snakes. Afterwards, not a trace remained of them.

Fundamentally speaking, this battle was not something they were qualified to participate in. They had believed that, with the assistance of the four great powers, exterminating the Blood Demon Sect would be a simple task. They had never imagined that the Blood Demon Sect would be so fearsome.

And this… was only the first spell formation!

When the Demonic Incarnation collapsed, the air distorted, and the five mountain peaks of the Blood Demon Sect suddenly became visible!

The five mountain peaks were actually located in an enormous basin in the ground. They were surrounded by a five-layered shield which emanated brilliant, blinding light. It was something that could not be bypassed save by battering it into nonexistence, one layer at a time.

That was actually exactly what the Blood Demon Sect wanted. The four great powers would have to smash against the shields and withstand counterattacks. That meant that in order to break the shield, they would have to pay a price.

Borrowing momentum from the explosion of the Demonic Incarnation,

Naruto led the 30,000 Blood Demon Sect disciples back into the sect.

As soon as they passed the second layer of the shield, other Blood Demon Sect disciples arrived to give aid to them, helping them along and also giving them medicinal pills to consume.

As for Naruto, his face was pale white. He had significantly depleted himself in the course of the battle, but now was not the time for rest. He stood there, surveying the scene outside of the spell formation shield.

The two Ironblood Patriarchs sat cross-legged off to the side, surrounded by more than 20,000 disciples. The forces of Mount Ironblood were the ones responsible for maintaining the first layer of the shield created by the second formation.

Behind Naruto, the cultivators on the other various mountain peaks were all in the process of maintaining the other four shield layers of the second spell formation.

Outside the shield, the cultivators of the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect and theShimuraClan were all shaken by the events of moments ago. However, after they saw the five mountain peaks of the Blood Demon Sect, their killing intent soared.

Immediately, a clamor arose as the cultivators of the four great powers began to call out.

"Kill them! Don't leave a single one alive!"

"The time has come to eradicate the Blood Demon Sect!"

"From now on, there will be no Blood Demon Sect in the Southern

Domain!"

Even as their voices echoed out, the remaining several hundred thousand cultivators charged toward the Blood Demon Sect.

There were so many enemy cultivators that it was essentially impossible to see the end of their ranks. They seemed infinite. Earlier, when Naruto had been fused with the enormous Demonic Incarnation, he had been able to see the extent of their forces clearly. Now that the Demonic Incarnation had been destroyed and he had retreated to this position, all he could see was cultivators, stretching out in all directions.

The sheer numbers involved caused his scalp to go numb.

The cultivators whistled through the air toward the enormous fivelayered shield formed by the Blood Demon Sect's second spell formation.

Even though the shield was in place, the Blood Demon Sect disciples had not lost their fighting spirit, and were just waiting for the enemy forces

to slam into the shield.

However, it was at this point that a bright beam of light suddenly streaked toward the battlefield from high in the sky. It sliced through the air, moving at an incredible, indescribable speed. It almost looked like the Heavens were being split apart in shocking fashion.

What was now visible was a leaf!

It was a flying, burning leaf, emitting an astonishing aura!

Its target was no single person, but rather, the Blood Demon Sect's second spell formation!

"What gall!" roared Patriarch Blood Demon furiously, who was still in the midst of battling with the other Patriarchs. Immediately, he waved his hand, and a glittering, bloody light shot toward the incoming leaf.

Rumbling could be heard as the leaf decayed by more than half. However, there was still a streak of green that made it through the blood-colored light. The streak continued on, slamming into the shield of the second spell formation, piercing through the fifth layer, the fourth, and the third, before finally stopping at the second.

The fifth, fourth, and third layers all shook and trembled. Although they did not collapse, they now had holes punched in them!

Patriarch Blood Demon let out a furious shout, but the other Patriarchs went all out to prevent him from doing anything.

When the gaps in the shield appeared, the faces of the Blood Demon Sect disciples fell.

At the same time, killing intent could be seen in the eyes of the hundreds of thousand of cultivators on the outside. They immediately changed directions and headed toward the places where the gaps had been opened.

The holes were not large, but were something that the spell formation was incapable of closing up.

Facing such a situation, and such enemies, looks of dour hopelessness appeared on the faces of the Blood Demon Sect disciples.

"Dammit…. how do we fight back now?!"

"They punched holes in the shields! Those are biggest areas of weakness now! How do we fight?!"

"Our Blood Prince killed so many of them, yet there's still more of them, as far as the eye can see… do we have any hope left at all?" Facing hordes of attacking enemies and holes punched through to the second shield, the Blood Demon Sect disciples fell into a mute despair.

Hinata had long since emerged from Blood Prince Gorge, where she had stood the entire time, nervously watching Naruto. When he finally returned safely, she had breathed a sigh of relief. The new developments, however, caused her face to go pale.

Naruto looked up into the sky, and began to pant nervously for a moment before calming himself down. He looked around at the despairing Blood Demon Sect disciples and did nothing to try to rouse their spirits. He wasn't willing to do so. He already felt guilty because of the war; how could he directly ask them to go put their lives on the line?

He couldn't.

Suddenly, a sigh could be heard echoing amongst the crowds. The hunchbacked old man from the fifth mountain peak slowly walked out. Clearly, he intended to head toward the gap in the fifth shield layer.

Behind him was the pretty girl, his apprentice. "Master…." she said, her eyes filled with anxiety; clearly she had guessed her master's plan.

"I've lived for too long and seen too many things," he said with a smile. "Don't worry, I'll be fine." He was just about to step out when suddenly Naruto strode forward.

He couldn't ask the Blood Demon Sect to fight, but there was one thing he could do. He walked out, and as he did, he looked back toward Hinata and gave her a slight smile. Then, coldness filled his eyes and he advanced onward.

Next, he appeared outside of the shield, directly in front of the only weak space, that one gaping hole.

"Blood Prince!" said the hunchbacked old man, gaping.

"I will hold this gap!" said Naruto coolly. He obviously planned to use himself as the stopper to prevent anything from entering.

"My right arm already has Dao Seeking power," he thought, "and the Blood Demon Grand Magic is perfect for fighting against groups! If I can hold out for only ten more days, then my second true self will awaken! It's time to fight!"

When Naruto appeared on the outside of the shield, the Blood Demon Sect disciples behind him were shocked.

"Blood Prince!"

"Blood Prince, you…."

Naruto did not look back. He took a deep breath and rotated his cultivation base. He was tired, but he ignored the feeling, and pushed himself to the peak of his power.

His Spirit Severing aura exploded out, and his right arm gradually began to exude the pressure of Dao Seeking. He waved his hand through the air, and the Ninth Mountain magically appeared around him, as well as the Black White Pearls.

Next, he retrieved the Blood Immortal Mask from his bag of holding and slipped it onto his face.

Rumbling filled the air as hundreds of thousands of cultivators closed in on him.

It was at this point that a roar suddenly echoed out from within the mask. A beam of red light shot out to appear next to Naruto. It was none other than… the fully reformed Blood Mastiff!

It had died before, but now that it had reappeared, it was even more ferocious than before. Its Spirit Severing aura roiled out, and its energy surged.

Naruto waved his hand again, and Time Sword tips appeared. They were objects that were useless against the peak Dao Seeking powers. However, they were still incisive to the extreme. Shockingly, ten Time Sword tips flew out!

Naruto had specially prepared them just for this battle, using the copper mirror.

The ten Time Sword tips swirled about in the air, transforming into a sword formation. As it rotated, a bloody glow appeared in Naruto's eyes.

"My Eternal stratum makes my stamina… almost limitless!

"My Resurrection Lily, my Spirit Severing Treasure, has been hibernating for too long… the time has come for it to appear!" Naruto's life force surged up, and at the same time, a shocking, illusory Resurrection Lily suddenly appeared.

It had five colors, but shockingly, a sixth color could just barely be made out on one of the petals.

The sixth color faded in and out. Naruto was convinced that it wouldn't take long before the sixth color would appear in full. When that sixth color became stable, it would only need to bloom with one more color to achieve Immortal Ascension!

The sight of the ferocious Resurrection Lily caused the faces of many of the incoming hundreds of thousands of cultivators to flicker.

However, they did not cease their approach. The scene from the inside of the shield was that of Naruto, alone, facing hundreds of thousands of enemies. It was an image that would be indelibly burned into the minds of each and every Blood Demon Sect disciple, a memory that would remain for an eternity.

"DIE!" shouted Naruto. Killing intent blazed in his eyes as he performed a double handed incantation, then suddenly pointed out. The Blood Mastiff charged, and the the Time Sword Formation shot out. The Resurrection Lily behind him writhed as its tentacles shot out like whips toward the incoming waves of enemies.

The slaughter… had begun.

The power of Naruto's right arm was incredible. A single punch could cause Heaven and Earth to shake.

A glow of blood emanated out from the Blood Immortal Mask; this was the Blood Immortal divine ability. Without a face, a single word, flames of war unify!

Ceaseless rumbling filled the air as the Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared.

Despite all of this, he was still facing hundreds of thousands of cultivators. It was like a single praying mantis standing up to an army. The initial onslaught sent blood spraying from his mouth, and his fleshly body instantly began to explode.

However, in the very instant that the signs of collapse appeared, his fleshly body fused back together under the power of the Eternal stratum. Naruto could almost be considered unkillable. He remained there in front of the gap, carrying out slaughter just as before.

738

Chapter 738: A Silhouette Like a Mountain

When the Blood Demon Grand Magic was unfurled, the golden vortex sent endless quantities of blood and Chakra into Naruto, along with spirit meridians and cultivation bases.

RUUMMMBBLLLLEEE!

Only ten breaths of time had passed since the initial onslaught, yet Naruto's body had fallen apart three times. The third time was because of a combined attack from the early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect puppet, and tens of thousands of cultivators.

Despite all of this, he refused to budge, nor did he allow anyone to enter through the gap.

When the Blood Demon Sect disciples behind the shield saw his body on the verge of collapse, blood smeared on his skin and soaking his clothes, their eyes went red. There were even some from the group of 30,000 survivors from the first spell formation who leaped up and began to charge toward the battlefield.

"Blood Prince!"

"Blood Prince, we will fight with you!"

However, even as they charged forward, Naruto waved his sleeve behind him, causing a powerful wind to rise up and carry them back behind the safety of the shield.

"All of you, stay back!"

He looked back, and determination could be seen in his eyes. It was a look that said, This is my fight. To Naruto, this was the only option that could leave him with a clear conscience. Besides, his body was difficult to destroy, which could not be said of the others.

BOOOOMMMMM!

Naruto fell back, a ferocious expression on his face. By this time, multiple Blood Demon Grand Magic vortexes had appeared in the area, nine in total. Each and every one was gold in color, and unleashed boundless gravitational force.

The cultivators who found themselves trapped in the vortexes could only watch in shock as their bodies withered rapidly, and their cultivation bases were sucked out.

Massive quantities of Chakra and blood flowed toward Naruto, which he absorbed, causing his fleshly body to grow powerful to an incredible degree. His cultivation base also climbed higher, making him… even harder to destroy.

A strange glow appeared in his eyes. He would not let anyone into the gap in the shield behind him, not even… over his dead body!

BOOM!

Even with the vast quantity of Chakra, blood, and cultivation base power that were replenishing him, he was facing up against assaults from hundreds of thousands of enemies. There were also many powerful experts amongst them. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his body once again exploded into a cloud of blood and gore.

In the blink of an eye, however, it seemed that the cloud underwent a reversal of time and coalesced back into the form of Naruto. Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he roared and yet again unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

The Ninth Mountain appeared up ahead, and descended with massive rumblings. Along with the Time Sword Formation, it swept across the battlefield madly. The Blood Mastiff was not faring well, and didn't seem capable of holding out much longer. However, with Naruto there, it would continue to fight.

But would Naruto really allow the Blood Mastiff to face such danger? He waved his right hand, causing the Blood Mastiff to return to the blood-colored mask. Then, he performed an incantation gesture, and a tenth Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex appeared.

"If I can hold on with the Blood Demon Grand Magic, then there's the possibility that the vortex will reach a certain point that it can sustain my defense of this position indefinitely!" As he gritted his teeth, Resurrection Lily tentacles shot out from behind him, creating a dense barrier in front of him.

"Looking to die?!" someone said, along with a cold snort. Three old Spirit Severing cultivators appeared, standing on glowing halos that appeared to be a spell formation. They immediately shot toward Naruto.

Behind them were tens of thousands of cultivators wielding countless varieties of divine abilities. If Naruto had faced any of these magics by themselves, he could just ignore them. However, their overwhelming numbers caused the sky to dim and the land to quake.

It was like a massive flood filled of murderous hate, surging down onto Naruto.

The three Spirit Severing cultivators closed in, and Naruto's killing intent flickered as he realized that these three were experts from theShimuraClan. He performed an incantation with his left hand, and Blood Immortal divine abilities appeared. Rumbling filled the air as they fused with the Resurrection Lily. A blood-red flower shot out to defend against the incoming flood.

Massive explosions boomed out as Naruto unleashed all his magic against the torrent of enemies. Unfortunately, he could only hold them back temporarily. Soon, they burst through, and the three Spirit Severing cultivators bore down on Naruto, roaring. As they neared, the halos beneath their feet shot out ghost images that closed in on Naruto.

"Seal!"

"Seal!"

"Seal!"

Immediately, the ghost images of the three halos began to emanate brilliant glows, as well as shocking, explosive sealing power. They descended onto Naruto, preparing to seal him away.

It was at this exact same moment that six more people flew out from the crowds.

Of the six, three were from the Solitary Sword Sect and three were from the Golden Frost Sect. The air around them distorted as they unleashed their most powerful, shocking magical techniques.

"DIE!"

Nine incredible Spirit Severing cultivators all attacked with full force.

Furthermore, not far behind them was the Solitary Sword Sect's early

Dao Seeking expert, and the Golden Frost Sect's puppet. They glared at Naruto like tigers eyeing a prey. They didn't need to personally attack right now; once Naruto was either dead or sealed in place, they could enter the gap in the shield and then begin to carry out their slaughter.

It wasn't even necessary to keep Naruto sealed for a long period of time. A few short breaths of time was all they needed.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples in the shield could see that a perilous situation was developing, and their anxiety looked at Naruto's silhouette in the outside world and bit her lip, her expression one of worry.

Uchiha Youcai sat quietly, but killing intent burned hotter and hotter in his eyes. He hated the fact that his cultivation base was insufficient, and that he did not possess enough latent talent to be Chosen.

Hinata gazed at Naruto in silence, her eyes filled with an affection that seemed like it might be able to melt the world away. Naruto's current state caused her heart to ache with distress.

The six Spirit Severing Patriarchs of the Blood Demon Sect, as well as the hunchbacked old man from the fifth mountain peak, stared blankly at what was happening, at the Blood Prince that they had initially refused to acknowledge.

A rumbling suddenly echoed out from the threeShimuraClan Patriarchs. Naruto's eyes began to glow with a bright light, and he struck out violently with his right hand.

The blow caused everything to tremble and shake; this was a Dao Seeking blow!

The three incoming halos trembled and seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. However, they were able to continue on, causing Naruto to take a deep breath. The surrounding golden vortexes suddenly shattered. The force of the shattering sucked away any remaining Chakra and blood from the people trapped inside, all of which then merged into Naruto. Finally, he punched out again.

BANG!

The three glowing halos were crushed as easily as dry weeds!

The threeShimuraClan Patriarchs' faces fell, and they employed divine abilities to defend themselves. However, blood still sprayed from their mouths, and one of them let out a miserable shriek as his body exploded. Looks of astonishment appeared on the faces of the two that remained, who then clenched their jaws and charged toward Naruto.

"DIE!"

By now, the six cultivators from the Solitary Sword Sect and the Golden Frost Sect were closing in on Naruto.

At the same time, vast quantities of cultivation base power surged into Naruto. He raised his right hand and pointed up to the sky, causing the Ninth Mountain to appear. It immediately spread out to fight back against all eight of the incoming enemies.

Booms rattled out, and blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto's mouth. A ferocious expression filled his face as the illusory Ninth Mountain shook.

"Now's our chance!" said the early Dao Seeking cultivator. He and the Golden Frost Sect puppet flew up into the air. At the same time, Naruto pointed toward the two of them.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!"

Demonic Chakra roiled out like strands of silk to entangle the two of them. Although they were able to slough it off in the space of only a single breath, that was all the time Naruto needed to unleash a divine ability.

"Ninth Mountain Destruction!" Instantly, the Ninth Mountain that surrounded him exploded. The eight Spirit Severing experts were sent tumbling backward, blood spraying from their mouths. The Solitary Sword Sect early Dao Seeking expert and the Golden Frost Sect puppet were forced to stop in their tracks.

"Kill him!" roared the eight Spirit Severing cultivators. In response, hundreds of thousands of cultivators roared and then began to unleash divine abilities. Shocking booms could be heard as a rain of magic descended onto Naruto.

The air distorted around Naruto as he stood in place, panting heavily, his cold eyes flickering across the crowds. Currently, he was silhouetted against the brilliant glow of the magical techniques and divine abilities of hundreds of thousands of cultivators. His Eternal stratum once again surged into operation, and he held his ground.

None shall pass!

Behind him, the disciples of the Blood Demon Sect looked on with trembling hearts. For the rest of their lives, they would never be able to forget the image of the Blood Prince's silhouette.

It was a silhouette like a mountain!

Unfortunately, the war was not concluded, and the fighting raged on.

Time continued to pass in much the same manner. In the blink of an eye, three days had gone by. Now, only seven days remained until Naruto's second true self awakened!

Naruto couldn't remember exactly how many times his body had fallen to pieces. Were it not for his Eternal stratum, he would long since be dead.

By now, he could unleash more than fifty golden vortices.

Terrifying amounts of Chakra and blood poured into him, as well as cultivation base power. And yet… it was not enough.

He trembled, and his eyes were shot with blood. His world was now a world completely the color of blood.

During those three days, Naruto finally came to understand that there was nothing truly Eternal in the world. Even though his body was restored over and over again, the speed with which it occurred was slowing, and he was even beginning to show signs of withering.

Behind him, the Blood Demon Sect disciples watched with red eyes as their Blood Prince used his own body to block the single gap in the shield. Their hearts felt as if they were being stabbed through with blades. Even someone completely apathetic would be shaken by Naruto's figure.

Even the Patriarchs engaged in battle with Patriarch Blood Demon were moved by the scene unfolding below.

Finally, after three days of slaughter, silence broke out down below. Of the hundreds of thousands of enemy cultivators, many had died. But their numbers were vast, so the group as a whole didn't really care. The only thing they cared about was that Naruto was blocking the gap. He was like a god; with him holding the pass, the entire army was blocked on the other side.

Naruto's clothes were soaked in blood, and his expression was one of exhaustion. His eyes were completely shot with blood. To his hundreds of thousands of opponents, he had become like an unforgettable nightmare.

Naruto stared out at the hundreds of thousands of cultivators, and they stared back. In truth, by this point, many of them had begun to secretly admire him.

He was one man, defending one gap. He might have extraordinary divine abilities, and he might have a bizarre fleshly body that could revive itself, but even with that, what he was doing still required courage.

He was doing something that few other people could do.

Furthermore, they could see that despite the fact that his fleshly body could heal itself, he was showing signs of withering. He was obviously reaching his limit.

The early Dao Seeking old man from the Solitary Sword Sect looked at him coldly, and killing intent flickered in his eyes. "I haven't admired very many people in my life," he said. "From today on, you are one of those few!

"Since you have some mysterious magic that prevents you from dying, then let's see how many strikes from our legacy precious treasure you can withstand!

"Release the legacy precious treasure!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous, Martine De Graef, Nicolas_

 _Gonzalez Cordero, and Jose Arias_

739

Chapter 739: Patriarch Fifth Peak!

Legacy precious treasure!

In the Dao Reserve of every sect was some sort of precious item that would ensure the continued existence and development of the sect, and could also be used as a threat to protect it from its neighbors.

The Solitary Sword Sect's Dao Reserve was multitudinous. However, it was the bamboo sword that truly intimidated the rest of the Southern Domain!

The sword came from the Ancient Dao Lakes, and was almost infinitely powerful. It could unleash different amounts of power depending on who wielded it, and after extensive research, the Solitary Sword Sect came to the conclusion that its true powers… could only be unleashed by an Immortal.

Unfortunately, although Immortals had appeared in the Solitary Sword Sect before, they were only false Immortals. As far as true Immortals went… from ancient times until the present, not a single one had ever appeared in the entire Southern Domain!

There was no need to even mention the Western Desert. True Immortals had only ever appeared in the Eastern Lands!

The early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect took a deep breath and lifted his right hand. Shockingly, a leaf appeared again, which quickly began to grow. In the blink of an eye, a stalk of bamboo could be seen, which then peeled away to reveal… the bamboo sword!

"This sword is only a subcomponent of the main treasure," the old man said coolly. "However, considering the level of my cultivation base, even if I had the full sword, I would only be able to wield a portion of its power." With that, he raised the sword up, and abundant life force surged in the area. It was as if everything had turned green, and innumerable motes of light began to swirl around. The entire scene was extremely magnificent.

The Dao Seeking puppet from the Golden Frost Sect gave a cold snort. It lifted its right hand, and the tiny, hand-sized rock in its hand rose up into the air and began to expand. In the blink of an eye, it was a 3,000meter-tall mountain.

It exuded an overbearing will, which exploded out to cover the area around the puppet. Ripples appeared, which transformed into a river that swept across the area. There was also a pulsating aura that emerged from the rock mountain.

This rock was also a precious legacy treasure, and was even more domineering than the Solitary Sword Sect's bamboo sword. Everything beneath the mountain seemed about to crack and shatter.

The 5thShimuraClan Patriarch was watching from off in the distance, his expression the same as ever, but his eyes cold and grim. He swished his sleeve, and the Feng Shui compass flew out. The countless magical symbols on the Feng Shui compass sank down and then began to glitter with shining light, giving off the feeling that there was some sort of enigmatic, undeterminable natural law at work.

All three of these people were not using their main treasures, but subcomponents. The true treasures were up in the air, wielded by the three Patriarchs who were battling with Patriarch Blood Demon.

When the three precious treasures appeared, the surrounding hundreds of thousands of cultivators slowly began to back up, yielding the battlefield to them and denying Naruto any opportunity to utilize the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

Naruto's pupils constricted, and an intense sensation of crisis welled up inside of him. However, his expression remained as calm as ever. He had experienced such feelings of danger at virtually every moment during this battle.

"Cleave!" the Solitary Sword Sect Dao Seeking expert said coolly. His hand descended, and the Bamboo Sword sucked in all the green light that it had previously emitted and then transformed it into brilliant sword of light. It flew up into the air and then transformed into half of a green greatsword.

The greatsword, filled with indescribable power, slashed down toward Naruto.

Naruto looked up.

"Ninth Mountain!" he said, and the Ninth Mountain appeared, only to immediately collapse.

Wooden Time Sword tips appeared, combining into a sword formation that instantly began to spin rapidly. And yet, this formation also fell apart almost immediately.

The Bamboo Sword continued relentlessly toward Naruto, who lifted his head up and roared, simultaneously stretching both hands out in front of him. In his left hand, a white fog appeared, and in his right hand, a black fog. They transformed into the Black White Pearls, which then flew up to resist the greatsword.

A huge boom echoed out. The greatsword shuddered and the Black White Pearls trembled. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the pearls vanished.

The greatsword seemed just on the verge of slashing into Naruto when a bloody glow suddenly appeared in his eyes. Cultivation base power exploded out, which he focused into his right hand and then punched out toward the descending sword.

Everything shook. The sword stopped in place, and Naruto's hand looked as though it might be ripped to shreds. An indescribable pressure crushed down onto him, and cracking sounds could be heard from inside of him. It almost seemed like he couldn't stand up to the power weighing down on him.

Countless rips appeared all over his body. Although they healed almost as soon as they appeared, the matchless speed with which more appeared made it so that Naruto was quickly covered in blood. It looked like he was about to be torn to pieces at any moment.

At the same time, the Golden Frost Sect puppet raised its hand, causing the 3,000-meter-tall mountain to teleport to a position directly above Naruto. It instantly began to crush downward.

BOOM!

Naruto's body fell apart again, to be held together only by the Eternal stratum. The greatsword continued its slashing descent, sword Chakra swirling, causing Naruto's body to fall apart again. The stony mountain continued its descent, emitting massive amounts of crushing pressure.

It was at this point that the 5thShimuraClan Patriarch gave a cold snort and waved his hand, causing the Feng Shui compass to fly out.

"Black flames and hellfire, killing intent refined into a soul!" A vicious gleam appeared in the man's eyes as he spoke. Black-colored fire suddenly spewed out of the Feng Shui compass, which then transformed into numerous black flame birds. Fully a thousand appeared, which then shot toward Naruto's collapsing figure.

They were clearly aiming to strike a fatal blow!

Even with the Eternal stratum, Naruto would surely perish when facing an onslaught from precious treasures like these!

By this point, the Blood Demon Sect disciples were all going mad.

"Blood Prince!" Not a single one held back. All of the Blood Demon Sect disciples transformed into beams of light as they utilized the top speed they could muster to shoot forward.

However, in the moment that they began to charge, the hunchbacked old man let out a sigh. His hunched back suddenly straightened a bit, and his features changed. He looked different than the old man from before.

"Shield, collapse!" He pushed his hands forcefully out in front of him, and an indescribable power spread out. As soon as it touched the fifth layer of the shield, it rippled and then, in the blink of an eye, shattered into pieces.

The shattering released an incredible, surging force that spread out in all directions. The intensity of it instantly caused the three precious treasures to stop in place. Then, they started to emanate ripples that caused the ground to quake and the air to rip.

Borrowing the force of the shattering, the hunchbacked old man dashed forward, reaching the location of the three precious treasures in only a moment. He raised up both hands, then jerked them down.

BOOM!

His cultivation base exploded out, creating a huge shield that covered over Naruto and his collapsing body. It seemed the old man was using all the power he could muster to protect Naruto and give him time to recover. As for him, he fought back alone against the three precious treasures.

The greatsword descended, and the hunchbacked old man's body trembled. Blood spewed from his mouth, and a vicious gleam appeared in his eyes. Once again, his hunched back straightened, and his features changed to that of a middle-aged man. As he stood his ground, his cultivation base suddenly changed to that of the Second Severing.

Given the brief respite, Naruto's body fused together once more, and it seemed that in a moment, it would be completely whole again.

That was when the mountain completely crushed down. The hunchbacked old man's face went pale, and blood sprayed out from his entire body, forming something like a mist. His hunched back straightened even further, and he now looked like a young man.

By this point, Naruto's body was more than half materialized.

Unfortunately, that was when the black flame birds arrived. Under their onslaught, the hunchbacked old man lifted his head up and roared. His back was now completely straightened, and he looked like a teenager. His cultivation base surged again, and he was in the Third Severing.

He now appeared to be fourteen or fifteen years old. His features were handsome, and his energy surged. At the same time, his body burst into flames. Not flames of darkness, but flames of life force.

As he burned his life force, his cultivation base once again climbed up until it was at the early Dao Seeking stage, where it now contained natural law.

He was using his own life force to fight back against the three precious treasures.

The scene was moving even to the hundreds of thousands of enemy cultivators.

"Master!" cried his apprentice, the pretty young woman. Tears were streaming down her face as she realized what he had chosen to do.

"Patriarch Fifth Peak!"

"Patriarch!"

As the Blood Demon Sect disciples watched what was happening, their hearts quivered, and their eyes filled with tears.

Burning one's life force in such a way would result in certain death!

Finally, Naruto's body completely restored itself, and he opened his eyes to look at the teenager burning his life force to give him time to recover.

Although his fleshly body had been on the point of shattering, his soul and divine sense had remained, so he was aware of everything happening around him.

"You…." he said, his eyes filled with grief.

"Blood Prince," said the teenager, his voice ancient and archaic, "you've done too much for the Blood Demon Sect already. This time, no arguing with me over who does what. This time, allow me to protect you!" He laughed happily, but his body quivered as he fought back against the three precious treasures. Even by burning his life force, he would not be able to hold out for very long.

"Get out of here!" he suddenly said, glancing back at Naruto. "I'm going to die, but before I do, I'll sully these three precious treasures, making it impossible for them to be used against you, at least temporarily. The Patriarch is fighting, and so am I… but soon, everything will be up to you! Go!"

Naruto trembled as he realized that Patriarch Fifth Peak was already mentally prepared to die, and that there would be no changing his mind. Naruto's heart felt like it was about to be ripped to shreds, but decisiveness appeared in his bloodshot eyes and he immediately retreated.

When he passed into the fourth layer of the shield, the teenager who had once been an old man smiled and continued to burn his life force.

"I've lived for too long, and seen too many things…." He turned back to look at his apprentice back in the Blood Demon Sect. He gave her a kind smile, then closed his eyes. The flames of his burning life force turned a bright, majestic red. Suddenly, his body exploded, releasing shocking, blood-colored undulations that slammed into the precious treasures, staining them red.

The precious treasures immediately grew dark and drab, as if their spirits had been sullied. They instantly began to fall toward the ground.

"MASTER!" cried the heartbroken disciples of the fifth mountain peak. Tears ran like blood down the face of the pretty young woman.

All of the disciples of the Blood Demon Sect were trembling. Their previous hopelessness was now gone, replaced by frenzied hatred.

They needed no rousing speeches now. The Blood Demon Sect was like a sword, ready to kill!

Naruto looked up, and a shocking red glow could be seen in his eyes.

740

Chapter 740 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 740: Fourth Level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

The subcomponents of the precious legacy treasures of the Solitary Sword Sect, Golden Frost Sect, andShimuraClan were sullied and fell to the ground. However, because of the heroism displayed by Patriarch Fifth

Peak, there was something that occurred which no one noticed, not even Naruto. A unique halo suddenly flickered into being around the Solitary Sword Sect's legacy precious treasure.

Apparently, the halo had always been there, but had been sealed and suppressed. Now that the item was sullied, the seal weakened a bit, allowing the halo to become visible for the first time.

Although this sword not the main treasure, only a subcomponent, the reaction that had begun was like a spark thrown onto a bale of hay. That spark, although tiny, it was impossible to extinguish. Furthermore, it even affected the main treasure in the hand of the black-robed old man up in mid-air, who was currently locked in combat with Patriarch Blood Demon's clone.

"What's going on?!" he cried, even in the midst of performing an incantation. Next to him was the true legacy precious treasure of the Solitary Sword Sect, the bamboo sword. Before, it had been matchlessly sharp, and could emanate astonishing pressure. Even Patriarch Blood Demon had to be careful of its potency.

Now, though, the sword was emanating a unique aura. In fact, it was an aura… that seemed like Time power!

When the aura appeared, the bamboo sword became even more astonishing, causing joy to rise in the heart of the black-robed man from the Solitary Sword Sect.

Patriarch Blood Demon frowned. He could spread his power among many clones, or concentrate it in just one. A single clone could easily defeat any peak Dao Seeking cultivator, just as he had done with Patriarch Six-Daos.

Now, however, he was facing three peak Dao Seeking experts, all of whom wielded legacy precious treasures. It was only by increasing the number of clones he was using that he could deal with the sheer number of foes.

Furthermore, deep in his heart, Patriarch Blood Demon had the feeling that someone was watching him, as if a gaze from some unknown place had suddenly come to be fixed on him.

"It's too bad I can't let my soul leave the Blood Pond…." he thought with a sigh. However, not even a scrap of fear could be seen in his expression. He was completely confident that no matter what violent upheavals occurred, he could resolve all crises that arose.

That confidence had always existed in his heart, and had not faded in the least, no matter how bad the situation seemed.

The battle in mid-air continued as he used clones to fight three peak Dao Seeking experts, as well as Patriarch Six-Daos, who had used some secret art to burn his longevity and temporarily restore his cultivation base to the point where he could battle Patriarch Blood Demon.

The hatred in his heart for Patriarch Blood Demon had turned into a festering obsession.

RUMBLE!

The fighting on the ground below was also changing.

With the fifth shield layer having collapsed, Patriarch Fifth Peak having fallen, and the three subcomponent treasures sullied, hundreds of thousands of cultivators were left shaken. At the same time, crowds of Blood Demon Sect disciples were waiting behind the fourth shield layer, looking like monstrous, blood-colored swords.

"Storm the breach!" roared the early Dao Seeking cultivator from the Solitary Sword Sect, his eyes sparkling with coldness. He was in the vanguard position, flanked by the Golden Frost Sect puppet and theShimuraClan cultivator, as well as numerous Spirit Severing experts. All of them shot toward the fourth shield layer.

"Die!" hundreds of thousands of cultivators joined the charge, their energy surging. Once again, they looked like floodwaters ready to completely submerge and shatter the Blood Demon Sect.

Inside the fourth shield layer, Naruto took a deep breath and then strode forward. This time, he was followed by the two Ironblood Patriarchs as well as more than ten thousand Blood Demon Sect disciples, who radiated killing intent.

Their eyes were filled with such decisiveness and determination that Naruto knew he could do nothing to prevent them from fighting.

"Since that's the case, today, we will fight to the bitter end!" He looked up, and his eyes shone with sparkling redness. Time Sword tips swirled through the air around him, transforming into the shape of a lotus that emanated an astonishing power of Time. Even the air seemed to affected by that power.

At the same time, a faint bloody glow became visible around Naruto. It started out as what appeared to be a ghost image, but when it moved forward, it became clear that it was a Blood Clone!

TheHebiClan Blood Clone!

"FIGHT!" Naruto's right hand flashed in an incantation and the Time Sword Formation shot forward. The Blood Clone's eyes glittered, and a blood-colored glow shot up into the sky, along with an evil will. Then it transformed into a streak of red that pounced onto one cultivator after another.

Every time it pounced, its victim would tremble and then let out a miserable shriek. It would only take a moment for that person's blood to be completely drained. After they became a desiccated husk, the Blood Clone would fly out looking like it had just enjoyed a grand meal. It would then shoot gluttonously toward its next victim.

Gradually, a bit of consciousness seemed to be awakening within the Blood Clone, which was one reason that Naruto was hesitant to use it in battle.

On previous occasions, he had dealt with resistance from the Blood Clone, and he was certain that the more blood it absorbed, the harder it would be to control. In fact, there was also the possibility of direct rebellion.

Right now, though, in this battle, Naruto did not have the luxury to worry about the future. Therefore, the Blood Clone appeared in the battle, and the glow of blood it cast rose up into the sky. The Blood Clone… could be considered undying, and was bizarre in appearance. Although it did not kill vast numbers of enemies, the sight of it caused quite a few people on the battlefield to be alarmed and bewildered.

"What's that!?"

"Don't let that blood-colored thing touch you! It's evil!"

"The Blood Demon Sect only cultivates Demon magic. Malicious magical arts like that are why the Blood Demon Sect deserves to be exterminated!"

Bloodcurdling screams, shouts of anger, cries of madness, and the sounds of explosions fused together into sound waves that shook the entire battlefield.

Amidst the cacophony of sound, the two Ironblood Patriarchs and the ten thousand Blood Demon Sect disciples met the enemy head on.

As for Naruto, he single-handedly pinned down the Solitary Sword

Sect early Dao Seeking Patriarch, the Golden Frost Sect puppet, and theShimuraClan cultivator, as well as several Spirit Severing experts. Golden vortexes of the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic spun in all directions. By use of his various magical techniques, he ensured that these powerful opponents could not break out of the area.

The task was a strenuous one for Naruto, especially against the old man from the Solitary Sword Sect, who snorted coldly and unleashed natural law. Then he strode forward, and appeared near the two Ironblood Patriarchs, toward whom he leveled a deadly attack.

Naruto's eyes flashed with killing intent.

"Detonate!" he growled, causing one of the Time Sword tips in the Lotus Sword Formation to explode. The power of Time burst out, transforming into a tempest that swept out in all directions.

Peak Dao Seeking experts could disregard such a Time tempest, but not an early Dao Seeking cultivator. The old man's face flickered, and he forced himself to a stop, then retreated.

"Spirit Severing cultivators!" he cried. "New orders. Pin him down immediately!"

The Solitary Sword Sect's Spirit Severing cultivators immediately shot forward. The Golden Frost Sect Puppet and theShimuraClan cultivator also issued similar orders. It only took a moment for numerous Spirit Severing cultivators to charge toward Naruto, unleashing divine abilities and magical techniques to obstruct him.

At the same time, the Golden Frost Sect puppet's eyes flickered as it attempted to fly past Naruto's position. TheShimuraClan cultivator was also trying to do the same thing.

It was at this point that a cold glow appeared in Naruto's eyes.

"Detonate. Detonate! DETONATE!"

Three Time Sword tips exploded in quick succession. The Golden Frost Sect puppet and theShimuraClan cultivator were forced to halt in place as Time tempests raged out in all directions.

Naruto was sparing no cost in this battle. He strode forward, and a vicious expression appeared on his face as he waved his hand.

"DETONATE!" Of the remaining Wooden Time Sword tips, five exploded, leaving only one remaining behind. An enormous tempest of Time power surged out in all directions, causing the entire battlefield to rumble and shake.

Miserable shrieks could be heard as the Spirit Severing experts' bodies rapidly aged. Several actually ran out of longevity and then directly died, and the others retreated at full speed. However, even as they fell back, Naruto transformed into a green smoke that vanished and then reappeared behind one of the men. His right hand shot out, and a crunching sound could be heard as a neck was smashed. Another flicker, and punch. Another enemy killed.

Naruto's shadow flashed back and forth, and in only the space of a few breaths of time, he had killed seven Spirit Severing cultivators.

By this time, the Time tempest had faded away. The early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect puppet, and theShimuraClan cultivator all joined forces, releasing their most powerful divine abilities in an earth-shattering attack that threatened to inundate Naruto.

BANG!

Naruto's body collapsed, then reformed. His face was pale, and he had the intense premonition that if his body continued to collapse in this way, then it wouldn't be long… before he actually died.

By now, many of the Blood Demon Sect disciples on the battlefield had been killed, their bodies dead and their Nascent Souls destroyed. Before dying, most chose to self-detonate, causing blood to spatter throughout the battlefield like red flowers.

The bravery shown was grand and spectacular! Inside the fourth layer of the shield, the rest of the Blood Demon Sect disciples' eyes were bloodshot. Tens of thousands of disciples flew out, along with the three Demonfire Patriarchs. However, considering that they were up against hundreds of thousands of enemies, the best they could do was delay them for a bit. Even then, they couldn't hold on for very long.

Even Naruto was slowly forced to fall back under the repeated onslaught of the Solitary Sword Sect, Golden Frost Sect, andShimuraClan experts.

The Ninth Mountain had collapsed.

He was no longer capable of wielding the Black White Pearls.

He had detonated his entire Time Sword formation.

The tentacles of his Spirit Severing treasure, the Resurrection Lily, had been severed, and it was in a sorry state.

His own body was weak to the extreme!

He utilized the Blood Demon Grand Magic over and over again, but by now, whenever the multicolored lights of the magic appeared, people in the area were prepared and quickly evaded.

As for the early Dao Seeking expert of the Solitary Sword Sect, the

Golden Frost Sect puppet, and theShimuraClan cultivator, the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic wasn't strong enough to thoroughly pin them down.

"The Patriarch said that the Blood Demon Grand Magic's fourth level was enough to slay early Dao Seeking," he thought. "Fourth level… I need to achieve the fourth level!" His eyes were bright red as he retreated, once again unleashing the Blood Demon Grand Magic, and once again experiencing the collapse and recovery of his fleshly body.

"I need the vortex to spin faster! If it goes fast enough, it will reach the fourth level! There shouldn't be a bottleneck before the fourth level; I'm already in the Spirit Meridians stratum. I just need the golden vortex… to rotate faster! Much faster!" His cultivation base exploded with power as he unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic and pushed hard toward the fourth level. At the same time, the early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect puppet, and theShimuraClan cultivator were aggressively advancing toward him….

Suddenly, Naruto's mind became clear, and everything around him seemed to slow down. He lifted his hand up and pointed forward.

A golden vortex suddenly appeared that was ten times larger than any of the previous vortexes. It appeared right on top of the early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect, as well as a few dozen other surrounding cultivators.

The golden vortex instantly exploded out with a frenzied gravitational force. Both cultivation base as well as Chakra and blood were rapidly absorbed, and all the cultivators inside the vortex were instantly turned into corpses, with the exception of the Solitary Sword Sect expert!

As for him, he gave a cold snort and was about to collapse the vortex when suddenly, his eyes went wide. He suddenly realized that this vortex was different than the ones before.

The intense gravitational force had already sucked away at least a third of his cultivation base!

Most importantly, he realized that he… was incapable of freeing himself! He was locked down tight!

"Impossible!" he said, his voice hoarse.

The speed with which objects were pulled by the gravitational force far exceeded the third level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Naruto had been retreating, but now, he stopped in place and looked up at the Dao Seeking expert stuck in the vortex. Killing intent flickered in his eyes.

"Blood Demon Grand Magic. Fourth level!"

His breakthrough was successful!

741

Chapter 741 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 741: Clone of the Dawn Immortal!

The Blood Demon Grand Magic had six levels in total!

The Chakra and Blood stratum, the Spirit Meridians stratum, and the Blood Soul stratum!

Three grand strata, designed to strengthen the fleshly body, the cultivation base, and the soul!

The first stratum allowed the cultivator to temper the fleshly body to a virtually limitless level of power that could shake Heaven and Earth. The second stratum was even stronger; cultivation bases of others could be absorbed, providing a temporary increase in one's cultivation base.

Limits could be exceeded, and one could temporarily achieve a pinnacle of power!

As far as the third stratum, the Blood Soul stratum, went, Naruto wasn't too clear about the details. According to the description of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, the third stratum had something to do with the soul, and divine will.

What he did know was that the 3rd stratum of the Blood Demon Grand Magic had its own unique name.

It could form divine will into clones, and butcher Immortals with a single thought!

Rumbling filled Naruto's body. As he looked out over the chaos of the battlefield, his energy surged, and his eyes radiated an unprecedented glow that caused the Golden Frost Sect puppet's heart to tremble. TheShimuraClan cultivator's pupils constricted, and as for the Solitary Sword Sect's early Dao Seeking expert stuck in the golden vortex, his mind reeled, and a sense of grave danger welled up from his heart.

Naruto slowly raised his hand up and pointed at the man.

"Die!" he said.

In response, the vortex began to spin even faster, transforming into a cyclone that seemed to stretch from the land all the way up into the sky. Viewed from a distance, it was shocking to the extreme, and all the cultivators on the battlefield, both the Blood Demon Sect disciples and the forces from the four great powers, were astonished.

The Solitary Sword Sect cultivator was no longer visible inside the tempest. Only a desolate shriek could be heard from within the raging winds. Vast quantities of Chakra and blood transformed into a bloody haze that flowed out from the tempest toward Naruto.

By this point, Naruto's entire fleshly body had already reached the Dao Seeking stage. At the same time, vast amounts of cultivation base power surged into him from the tempest, pushing his own cultivation base up into the third Severing!

Inside the tempest, the Solitary Sword Sect cultivator was experiencing unbelievable pain. His fleshly body withered rapidly, and he was transformed into a living corpse in the blink of an eye!

A tremor ran through Naruto, and a shocking aura suddenly rose up from his body that could be felt by everyone on the battlefield.

The aura was not Spirit Severing, but… Dao Seeking!

Finally, the golden vortex faded away, revealing the Solitary Sword Sect cultivator. He was nothing but skin and bones, and possessed not even a bit of cultivation base. His life force barely flickered; he had lost everything!

He was incredibly weak, virtually a mortal, without even the strength to retrieve any magical items from his bag of holding. Even his Nascent Divinity was completely withered.

Shock filled his eyes; everything had happened so quickly that he could scarcely believe it had actually occurred. As the vortex disappeared, Naruto sped forward to appear directly in front of the old man. Then he reached out and pushed down on top of the man's head.

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators all looked on, their faces awash with astonishment, shock, terror and disbelief.

BOOM!

The early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect exploded, sending blood and gore showering out in all directions, which then… transformed into ash that dissipated in the wind.

The entire battlefield went silent.

Only a withered Nascent Divinity remained behind, looking confused and terrified. He tried to flee, but before he could put much distance between himself and Naruto, killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. He raised his right hand, and the flag of three streamers appeared. It swept out, filling the area with rippling blackness that then wrapped around the withered Nascent Soul. Then it jerked him back toward Naruto, sealing him up inside the flag.

Deathly silence reigned….

The Golden Frost Sect puppet gasped and fell into retreat. The other

Golden Frost Sect cultivators who comprised the other puppets had

looks of astonishment and disbelief on their faces. A powerful expert of the early Dao Seeking stage had just been slaughtered in front of their eyes.

TheShimuraClan cultivator stared with wide eyes.

The deathly silence only lasted for a few moments, after which an explosion of reactions occurred.

"Early Dao Seeking…."

"Dead?!"

"A mighty Patriarch of the Solitary Sword Sect just perished!"

None of them dared to believe what they had just witnessed.

Even as they reeled in shock, they stared over at Naruto. The image of him standing there was something they would never be able to forget for the rest of their lives.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples were quivering in excitement, and began to shout out to Naruto.

"Blood Prince!"

"Blood Prince!"

"BLOOD PRINCE!" The sound surged out over the battlefield, transforming into countless echoes which caused everything to shake.

The slaying of the early Dao Seeking cultivator caused the Blood Demon Sect disciples to be more roused than ever. Naruto looked up. Now that he could wield the fourth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, he was completely confident that he could fight back against the hundreds of thousands of enemies.

He strode forward and then transformed into a savage beam of light that shot toward theShimuraClan cultivator.

As rumbling filled the air, theShimuraClan cultivator's face fell. He immediately fell into retreat, not daring to get close to Naruto. He was completely terrified of the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex.

Despite his fleeing at top speed, he wasn't faster than Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic. Naruto waved his hand, and three golden vortexes appeared, which descended toward the hundreds of thousands of enemy cultivators.

Immediately, miserable shrieks rang out as the three vortexes enveloped several hundred enemy cultivators. Immediately, their bodies withered up, and their cultivation bases vanished. Chakra and blood and spirit meridians were extracted and shot toward Naruto.

His fleshly body grew stronger!

His cultivation base rose to shocking heights!

Naruto advanced at top speed and then pointed out toward the fleeingShimuraClan cultivator.

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Demonic Chakra swept about, silk-like, entangling theShimuraClan cultivator in the blink of an eye. His body stopped in mid-air. He struggled, and seemed just on the verge of breaking free, but the price he paid for that brief pause….

Was that Naruto had time to unleash the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex!

Rumble!

As soon as the vortex appeared, theShimuraClan cultivator screamed. He threw out numerous magical items, and fully employed all the power of his cultivation base, but if the early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect couldn't avoid perishing, how could he, with his slightly lower cultivation base?

As the shrieks rang out, the Golden Frost Sect puppet looked on, eyes wide. TheShimuraClan cultivator withered up, and his cultivation base was dissolved. The cultivators in the puppet felt their scalps go numb, and they retreated at top speed.

Within the space of a few breaths, theShimuraClan cultivator's entire cultivation base, and all of his Chakra and blood, were absorbed by Naruto. Then Naruto waved his hand, and what remained of theShimuraClan cultivator exploded into bits.

"Kill them!" roared Naruto, which further roused the spirits of the surrounding Blood Demon Sect disciples. There were tens of thousands of them, and they were facing hundreds of thousands of enemies.

And yet… the death of the early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary

Sword Sect, the fall of theShimuraClan Elder, the retreat of the Golden Frost Sect puppet, along with all of the shocked Spirit Severing cultivators attempting to escape, caused the forces of the four great powers to be profoundly shaken and, apparently, lose their will to fight.

Furthermore, Naruto's Blood Clone was still pouncing from cultivator to cultivator, draining them dead. All of this sapped the energy of the hundreds of thousands of enemies. For the first time, the Blood Demon Sect… forced the enemy forces into retreat!

If you likened the enemy forces to a fist, then Naruto had taken that fist… and pried it open!

Seeing the sudden shift in events down below, the old black-robed

Solitary Sword Sect cultivator up in mid-air let out a bellow of rage.

"You're courting death, kid!"

TheShimuraClan Patriarch also roared in fury. They wanted to charge down to attack Naruto, but Patriarch Blood Demon's clones clearly would not allow them to do any such thing. Echoing booms filled the air, and the air was distorted and warped.

"Dammit!" cried the black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect.

"Dawn Immortal, you promised to help!"

As soon as his voice rang out, a faint sigh could be heard echoing down from up above. It swept across the lands, causing the minds of all the cultivators to reel, both the hundreds of thousands of enemies, and the Blood Demon Sect disciples. Their minds trembled, and then went completely blank.

The Resurrection Lily suddenly appeared behind Naruto, looking incredibly vicious, with its tentacles whipping about madly. Naruto looked up into the sky, his eyes filled with grim killing intent.

Up above, a woman could be seen. As she strode down from the sky, flowers blossomed beneath her feet, and a shocking energy swirled faintly around her.

She was not beautiful, but had striking, unusual features which would cause anyone who looked at her to feel a breathtaking attraction to her.

Her appearance instantly caused quite a stir on the battlefield. Patriarch Blood Demon's clones looked up, and their eyes all came to focus on the woman.

"Dawn Immortal," he said.

"Blood Demon!" she replied.

Patriarch Blood Demon's clones all merged together into a single clone. That single clone emitted a powerful aura, which transformed into an enormous, blood-colored face that hovered in mid-air.

"A measly clone?" said Patriarch Blood Demon. He looked over at the Solitary Sword Sect expert and the others. "This is your trump card?" His gaze shifted back to the woman. "That leaf earlier was your handiwork, too, I presume."

"Under different circumstances," she responded, "I would be incapable of dealing with you, Senior Blood Demon. But now you are bound by an aura of death. You are simply too weak, Senior. If I remember correctly, the Blood Demon Grand Magic can only be utilized by one person in any given age. You haven't used it during the battle, only that child down there has…. Although, that doesn't really matter. All I need to do is delay you for a bit." She suddenly looked down toward the ground, and Naruto.

Naruto looked back up at her, and his mind trembled when their eyes met. An incredible pressure suddenly weighed down on his mind, as if an entire mountain were crushing down onto him.

Behind him, the Resurrection Lily was writhing about madly.

"Dawn Immortal!" he thought, staggering backward. Despite the fact that blood oozed from his mouth, he continued to stare at the woman up above. He would never forget the feeling of that gaze, the same gaze that had fallen upon him when he was in the Milky Way Sea!

This woman was none other than the mysterious Dawn Immortal, although it was not her true self, but merely a clone!

"The good part of me gave you her life force," the woman said coolly. "My son is now your Spirit Severing Treasure…. You and I really are connected by destiny."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Asger Hansen, Brad Yamanouchi,_

 _Tanawut Pitchayaboonwong, XYY, and Michèle Mouafo_

742

Chapter 742: Time To Come Home, Darling

As the words left the mouth of the Dawn Immortal's clone, Naruto felt the pressure weighing down on him increase. It was as if a will of extermination was about to thoroughly crush him.

Behind him, the Resurrection Lily was in a frenzy, prismatic colors flickered across it, and its tentacles writhed violently. It even seemed to be emitting voiceless screams.

Naruto felt himself shaking, and he gritted his teeth as he continued to stare at the Dawn Immortal. He had heard of her way back in the Reliance Sect, but it wasn't until this moment… that he saw her personally.

The Dawn Immortal lifted her right hand, within which a leaf appeared. She waved it gently, and brilliant light exploded out as it shot down toward Naruto.

Everything in Heaven and Earth went still except for the leaf. It transformed into a streak of light that instantly bore down on Naruto. But then… an ancient hand stretched out and grabbed hold of the leaf.

The hand clenched into a fist, and the leaf was crushed.

When the hand opened, dust drifted out into the wind.

The hand belonged to none other than the composite clone of Patriarch Blood Demon!

"Facing the likes of you people, so what if I can't use the Blood Demon Grand Magic?" he said coolly. All of a sudden, he was surrounded by the glow of blood, which shot up into the air to encompass even the enormous face up above. Shockingly, a ferocious horn grew out of the face, which suddenly looked exactly like that of the Demonic Incarnation Naruto had been in control of earlier.

"Blood Realm, Activate!" said Patriarch Blood Demon. Rumbling filled the sky, and red mist roiled out in all directions. At the same time, the Dawn Immortal clone's eyes flickered and she waved her hand, causing a Resurrection Lily to magically appear behind her. It shone with boundless radiance that spread out to battle against Patriarch Blood Demon.

The black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect Patriarch, and theShimuraClan Patriarch unleashed divine abilities to aid the Dawn Immortal in resisting Patriarch Blood Demon!

As for Six-Daos of the Black Sieve Sect, he was just about to lend his assistance when the Dawn Immortal suddenly said, "Six-Daos, there's no need for you to participate in this fight. Go wipe out the foundation of the Blood Demon Sect, and destroy Mount Blood Demon. That is where this Blood Demon's true self lies!"

"Kill that kid Naruto while you're at it!" added the black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect. He waved his hand, causing the Solitary Sword Sect's legacy precious treasure, the bamboo sword, to fly toward Six-Daos. "Here, I'll even lend you my sword!"

At first, Six-Daos was about to refuse. Seeing Naruto slaughter the early Dao Seeking expert from the Solitary Sword Sect had shocked him to the core. When he saw the bamboo sword flying toward him, however, he was suddenly enlivened.

He was well aware that the Solitary Sword Sect's legacy precious treasure was shockingly powerful. As soon as his hand closed around the hilt, he flickered and shot down toward the ground.

Patriarch Blood Demon frowned as the rumbling explosions of magical battle filled the air.

Six-Daos shot down from the sky, eyes fixed on Naruto and flickering with the desire to kill. He raised his hand, and the bamboo sword began to emanate blinding light. The air distorted, and an amorphous aura began to seep out from within it. The sword seemed to be emanating the power of Time, and its might was reminiscent of a gigantic mountain.

Naruto's face was unsightly, but as soon as he sensed the aura of the Bamboo Sword, he stared in shock, and a look of disbelief appeared on his face.

As the sword grew closer, his brow furrowed. Patriarch Six-Daos' cultivation base was between the early and mid Dao Seeking stages. However, with the added might of the Bamboo Sword, he was beyond Naruto's ability to threaten.

"Get back into the shield!" said Naruto. He and the rest of the Blood Demon Sect disciples immediately fell back behind the fourth layer of the shield.

As Six-Daos neared, he laughed coldly and gestured toward the fourth layer of the shield. "BREAK!"

The wave of his hand caused an enormous incense burner to appear.

The incense burner was none other than the Black Sieve Sect's legacy precious treasure, although cracks could be seen on its surface, the result of the pressure exuded by Patriarch Blood Demon's clone back in the Black Sieve Sect.

The incense burner exuded an ancient aura as it smashed down toward the fourth shield layer.

A massive boom echoed out. Although the incense burner was cracked,

it was still a legacy precious treasure of a great sect. As it smashed downward, shocking green smoke surged out of it, transforming into countless vicious, evil spirits that joined the smashing attack.

As they neared the shield, cracking sounds could be heard, and the shield began to collapse.

Thankfully, Naruto and the other Blood Demon Sect disciples had already retreated behind the third layer of the shield. As the fourth layer exploded, massive power was unleashed, causing intense vibrations to rock the incense burner.

Six-Daos laughed coldly, lifting the Bamboo Sword and rotating his cultivation base. The most powerful sword beam he could summon appeared, fully 30,000 meters long, seemingly capable of splitting Heaven and Earth. It was filled with boundless Time power as it slashed down toward the third layer of the shield.

The bizarreness of the sword was now becoming even more apparent. Gradually, the exterior of the Bamboo Sword was filling with more and more rips and fissures, within which could be seen another sword. It was as if the inner sword were a sapling in springtime, sprouting from a wilted bough!

An even more intense aura of Time emerged from the sword, causing the black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect to be even more pleased than before.

Six-Daos was even happier, and he lifted his head up to laugh uproariously. "Naruto, you're DEAD!"

BOOM!

The third layer of the shield only lasted for the space of a few breaths before it shattered. As it did, Naruto's face should have been extremely unsightly, but instead it held an odd expression, and his eyes were glittering.

"Fall back again!" he said, leading the Blood Demon Sect cultivators behind the glow of the second shield layer.

At the same time, the hundreds of thousands of enemy cultivators felt their spirits lifting. They surged toward the Blood Demon Sect as SixDaos once again unleashed a massive attack toward the second shield layer.

Night had fallen, and the bright moon hung high in the sky. However, the ground trembled, and the fighting had reached such intensity that no one was paying attention to whether it was day or night.

"Naruto, you scamp, the day you stepped foot into the Black Sieve Sect, you must have known that this day would come!" As Six-Dao's voice echoed out in all directions, the incense burner rotated in the air above him. The bamboo sword swirled around him, emanating a brilliant aura.

Six-Dao's eyes were filled with venomous rancor. His animosity toward Naruto had long since seeped into his very marrow. He wanted to exterminate the Blood Demon Sect and destroy Naruto in body and soul. To achieve that goal, he would sacrifice anything and everything.

"DIE!" he howled, laughing maniacally as he raised his hand and unleashed the full force of his cultivation base into the bamboo sword, causing it to explode with an incredible sword beam.

The sword beam was shocking to the extreme!

Cracking sounds could be heard as the light beam burst out. More tears spread out across the Bamboo Sword and, finally, a bang could be heard as it exploded.

In the instant in which it was ripped open, shockingly, a wooden sword appeared in its place!

The wooden sword had been hidden inside the bamboo sword all along! Now that the bamboo sword had shattered, the wooden sword was revealed!

As soon as it appeared, boundless Time power radiated out, and an incredibly ancient aura flooded the area. Even the Dawn Immortal's and Patriarch Blood Demon's faces flickered when they sensed the aura.

The black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect was going wild with joy. He lifted his head up and laughed heartily. Although he had loaned the sword to Six-Daos, it was still the legacy precious treasure of the Solitary Sword Sect, something that had been handed down from generation to generation. Despite being in the hands of another, it still belonged to the Solitary Sword Sect; no one could ever steal it away!

There was one fact unknown to outsiders that was passed down only to the successive generations of Solitary Sword Sect Patriarchs. The primary master of this sword was the Solitary Sword Sect itself. When it was originally discovered, it was actually nothing more than a stick of bamboo which possessed a naturally-occurring, intrinsic sword Chakra. The Solitary Sword Sect had taken it to be a supreme treasure, and had refined it into a sword. 1

"That's the heart of the bamboo! The heart of the bamboo is transformed into wood, so naturally it would be a sword!" The blackrobed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect and Patriarch Six-Daos were both laughing loudly. Six-Daos' eyes shone brightly as he abruptly pointed toward Naruto.

"DIE!" he cried, his voice booming like thunder, and filled with unmatchable confidence. He was absolutely certain that even with the shield protecting him, Naruto would definitely die beneath the power of this sword!

In response to his words, the wooden sword began to rumble and then shot toward the second layer of the shield.

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators in the area breathlessly watched the dazzling sword and its aura. Shocking pressure emanated from it as it shot magnificently through the air.

"Time became bamboo," murmured the Dawn Immortal, "and the bamboo concealed time. It transformed into bamboo wood…." Her battle with Patriarch Blood Demon did not slow down, but instead grew even more intense.

As the wooden sword descended, the ground trembled and fissures appeared, as if it couldn't withstand the incredible pressure of Time.

The grass withered, and time itself seemed to distort. A Time tempest appeared, shocking the surrounding cultivators, who immediately fell back.

The sword was now on the verge of slamming into the second shield layer. Inside, the Blood Demon Sect disciples had looks of despair on their faces. In contrast, the surrounding hundreds of thousands of enemies wore expressions of anticipation.

All eyes were fixed on the sword flying through the air.

Six-Daos' laughter echoed out across the battlefield.

Naruto had an odd expression. Earlier, he had sensed something familiar about the aura of the bamboo sword. When the rips appeared on its surface earlier, that familiar sensation grew stronger. When the bamboo shattered and the wooden sword appeared, a connection appeared between him and the sword that only he could sense!

He was connected to the wooden sword!

At a certain point, a bashful smile appeared on Naruto's face, and he cleared his throat. Even as the eyes of all the Blood Demon Sect disciples and enemy cultivators were fixed on the wooden sword, he suddenly stepped out from behind the second shield layer.

This action immediately attracted everyone's attention, and the buzz of conversation rose up into the air.

"What is he doing? Don't tell me he's going to try to fight the legacy precious treasure of the Solitary Sword Sect!?"

"He really overestimates his ability! He might be strong, but he's going to die for sure!"

"Hahaha! I never thought someone could be so arrogant! He actually dares to step out from behind the shield? That sword is going to destroy him in body and soul!"

"Looking to die?" laughed Six-Daos. He assumed Naruto must have become so frightened that he lost his senses. A normal person would never step out from behind the shield, they would cower behind it.

What attracted even more attention was how Naruto not only stepped out from behind the shield, but then stretched his hand out… directly toward the shockingly powerful wooden sword that was slashing toward him… as if he were beckoning toward it.

He cleared his throat and then said, "Time to come home, darling!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Valera McDaniel_

I was curious about what the bamboo sword might look like as opposed to a wooden sword, so I did some image searching on . Check out the interesting results here ↩

743

Chapter 743: Call Out To It! Does It Answer?

As soon as Naruto's words echoed out, the majority of the hundreds of thousands of enemy cultivators immediately burst out into raucous laughter.

"What did he say? Darling? Come home?"

"Has Naruto gone insane?"

"This is pretty funny. It's the first time I've seen such a powerful expert go crazy!"

Six-Daos was also laughing loudly. "I've lived a long time, but this is the first time I've encountered a lunatic like you!"

Even the black-robed expert from the Solitary Sword Clan split off a strand of divine sense to observe what was happening. After he saw what was happening, he shook his head and laughed.

The voices and laughter rippled out, and all sorts of snide, mocking comments could be heard. When they first spoke, the wooden sword was just on the verge of slashing down. However, even in the middle of deriding Naruto, looks of astonishment began to appear on each of their faces.

That was because… the sword did not slash down, but rather, lurched to a stop.

When the sword lurched to a stop, it seemed as if hundreds of thousands of hearts similarly lurched to a stop.

Six-Daos' eyes went wide, and the Blood Demon Sect disciples inside the second shield layer seemingly forgot how to breathe. They stared blankly at their Blood Prince, who standing outside the shield, beckoning toward the astonishing precious treasure that was the wooden sword.

Up in mid-air, the black-robed Patriarch who was fighting Patriarch Blood Demon had originally been extremely pleased. All of a sudden, however, the sword ground to a halt, and his heart began to thump.

The wooden sword came to a stop about thirty meters above Naruto. The power of Time emanated out in all directions, causing everything to wither. Even the second shield layer was rippling and distorting. In this condition, it seemed that the slightest tap would cause it to instantly shatter.

And yet Naruto… was not affected by the wooden sword, even in the slightest.

The wooden sword seemed to have a spirit of its own, and was apparently hesitating. After stopping in mid-air, glittering light seemed to dance fluidly across the blade.

Six-Daos' face flickered with disbelief. What he was seeing completely exceeded the limits of his imagination. It didn't matter that he used to be at the peak of Dao Seeking, or the Patriarch of a great sect. The events that he was witnessing with his own eyes left him completely shaken.

He was incapable of even comprehending what was happening. Why had the Solitary Sword Sect's legacy precious treasure… ground to a halt directly in front of Naruto? Furthermore, it even seemed to be hesitating.

He could not come up with any explanation, even though he wracked his brains over and over again.

"Impossible!" he thought, gritting his teeth and causing his cultivation base to rumble with power. He used every scrap of strength he had to try to control the wooden sword, but there wasn't the slightest reaction. The sword completely ignored him and, even more shocking, directly severed their connection.

When that happened, Six-Daos' face fell even more.

The surrounding hundreds of thousands of cultivators stared with wide eyes at a scene they would likely never encounter again in their entire lives. Most incredulous of all were the cultivators from the Solitary Sword Sect.

The wooden sword was a legacy precious treasure of the Solitary Sword Sect, the symbol and foundation of their entire sect!

There was someone even more shocked than the ordinary disciples, however. The black-robed old man up in midair simply couldn't believe what was happening. His mind felt as if lightning were crashing around inside. Unable to defend against the divine ability Patriarch Blood Demon was attacking him with, he was slammed backward, blood spraying from his mouth. The mist of Patriarch Blood Demon's Blood World enveloped him, making it impossible for him to charge in and attack. All he could do was perform a double-handed incantation and then point out toward the wooden sword.

"Solitary Bamboo Sword, return!" he roared, continuing with another incantation gesture.

The wooden sword trembled, apparently in response to the old man, whose heart immediately sank. A very, very bad feeling welled up inside of him. Under normal circumstances, all it took was an incantation gesture and the simple point of a finger to instantly cause the bamboo sword to fly back to him. Now, all it did was tremble.

"Dammit! What's going on?!" He performed another incantation gesture, and even went so far as to spit out a mouthful of blood. How could he not be anxious? This was the Solitary Sword Sect's precious treasure, and if he allowed it to be snatched away, it would be a great sin against the sect.

"You were refined by the Solitary Sword Sect! We acquired you from the Ancient Dao Lakes! You were personally crafted into a sword by the ancestors of the Solitary Sword Sect! You belong to us!

"Solitary Bamboo Sword, get back here!" The black-robed man howled in rage, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. Finally, the invisible connection between him and the sword finally seemed to function. The wooden sword began to vibrate, and then moved backward several meters.

Even as the black-robed man let out a sigh of relief, the wooden sword suddenly stopped again, and the man's heart once again began to thump.

"You were born in the Solitary Sword Sect! For years, we Solitary Sword Sect disciples offered sacrifices to enable you to gain sentience! We spent countless resources making you sharper and more powerful! Our entire sect worked to help you!

"Y-y-you… you get back here right now!" Despite his anxiety, the blackrobed old man was pinned down by the mist of blood. He let out a roar, then spit out more blood, completely ignoring the wastage to his longevity as he once again pointed toward the wooden sword.

This time, however, there was no reaction whatsoever from the sword….

"Finished playing around?" said Naruto, his face grave and his tone berating. "If you don't come over here right now, just wait and see how I punish you after we get home!"

As Naruto's words rang out, the wooden sword shuddered in midair. Then, it severed its connection with the black-robed man and shot directly toward Naruto. In the blink of an eye, it was circulating around him, its thrumming sound echoing out in all directions. It was almost as if it was clamoring in joy, fawning over him, even exhibiting signs that it had missed him.

Anyone looking on could clearly tell that this sword… belonged to Naruto!

Six-Daos' eyes were wide, and he very nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The surrounding hundreds of thousands of cultivators gasped, having been thoroughly astonished by Naruto.

The Solitary Sword Sect disciples gaped as their Sect's unsurpassed, proud and aloof precious treasure, swirled around Naruto like a happy pet. Clearly… it recognized Naruto as its master.

"I must be asleep…."

"That's… that's our sect's legacy precious treasure?"

"What's… what's going on…?" The minds of the Solitary Sword Sect disciples were spinning, but most disbelieving of all was the black-robed man up in midair.

His eyes filled with an expression of both madness and injustice, which then transformed into a towering rage. He was just about to open his mouth to say something when blood spurted out and he grew visibly older.

He just couldn't understand or comprehend how the sword could possibly recognize Naruto as its master!

He just couldn't believe it. His world was turned upside down, as if enormous waves were surging through his psyche.

"How could this be happening!?" he roared madly. He wanted to try to break through the blood mist, to grab the sword in his hand and ask its spirit why it was acting this way. Why was it betraying the Solitary Sword Sect, why would it recognize Naruto as its master when it had only seen him once?

"That sword belongs to the Solitary Sword Sect!"

"It belongs to you?" asked Naruto coolly. "Call out to it. Does it answer?" He stretched out his hand, and the sword flew down to land hilt-down on his palm. It even danced back and forth, apparently in complete excitement.

"YOU!" The Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch almost spit up some more blood because of the flames of rage that burned in his heart. By this point, it didn't matter that he had a cultivation base at the peak of Dao Seeking. Even an Immortal would be unable to accept a blow like this, nor such loss.

That was especially so… considering how the wooden sword was frolicking around happily. The black-robed old man felt as if a blade were stabbing viciously into his heart. That was because he himself had needed to make sacrificial offerings to it, and had never seen it act in such a way.

Naruto could also sense that this sword, one of the ones he had buried so long ago, had developed a sword spirit. Despite that, his contingencies from the very beginning were still effective. No matter how many hands the sword had passed through, once it saw him, it knew that he was its original master.

"Alright, stop making a fuss," he said. "Now, go kill him!" Even as he spoke, Naruto pointed at Patriarch Six-Daos.

Six Daos' heart was pounding, and his face fell. He immediately retreated at top speed, but before he could get very far at all, the wooden sword shot toward him with indescribable speed. It also emanated a shocking power of Time, which caused everything around it to ripple and distort. Any cultivators who were too close withered in the blink of an eye, as if countless years had passed in an instant. There were even some who directly passed away.

"Dammit!" thought Patriarch Six-Daos, his face falling. Roaring, he employed the full power of his cultivation base, which unfortunately for him was still stuck between the early and mid Dao Seeking Stages. It wasn't enough, so he had no other choice but to summon the incense burner to block the wooden sword. A bang rang out, and the wooden sword stabbed directly into the incense burner.

Booms could be heard as cracks spread out over the surface of the incense burner. An ancient will could be sensed, and signs of decay could be seen. Six-Daos' heart ached, but he didn't dare to call back the incense burner. That was because he had noticed that the sword's ripples were causing him to age significantly. If it stabbed him, he could only imagine what would happen to his longevity; it would be thoroughly destroyed.

In his terror, he shot backward at high speed. Considering he was using a special secret art to bolster his cultivation base, what he feared most… was being obliterated by Time power.

The surrounding hundreds of thousands of cultivators were also astonished and trembling. They didn't dare to advance, and quite the opposite, retreated. Naruto stood alone outside the second shield layer. One man, one sword…caused the enemy forces to retreat three thousand meters.

"Dammit!" More and more cracks spread out across the surface of the incense burner. Patriarch Six-Daos immediately roared, "Fellow Daoist Sword Paragon, Patriarch Golden Frost,ShimuraYuanlei, if you don't help me then I'll be forced to summon discarnate souls to defend myself!"

Even as the last words left his mouth, the incense burner exploded into pieces. The wooden sword shot onward, and Six-Daos lifted his head up and roared. All of a sudden, his body exploded, allowing the wooden sword to pass right through it.

However, there was a soul strand that remained, which then transformed into a river of souls that contained 100,000 discarnate souls!

Even as the 100,000 discarnate souls flew out, the black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect burst into flames. These were life force flames, and as they burned, his cultivation base exploded with power. He transformed into a long streak of light that burst out from within Patriarch Blood Demon's blood mist. Ignoring any injuries, he shot toward Naruto's wooden sword, he himself transforming into what looked like a sword as he flew through the air.

"Naruto, you twerp! DIE!"

Naruto's eyes glittered. There was no time to slaughter Six Daos' 100,000 discarnate souls. The wooden sword flew back to him at breakneck speed. Even as the black-robed Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch closed in, Naruto stepped back behind the second shield layer.

However, the Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch did not slow down at all. Instead, he increased his speed as he stabbed toward the shield.

"BREAK!"

Patriarch Blood Demon's eyes flickered with killing intent. However, the Dawn Immortal's clone was really causing him quite a headache; it was not merely at the peak of Dao Seeking, but rather, higher than that. It was more comparable to a false Immortal.

Even as his clone frowned, deep in the cave in Mount Blood Demon, his true self's eyes opened. A drop of blood suddenly floated up from within the Blood Pond, then flew out of the Immortal's cave and dissipated. Shockingly, the first and second layers of the shield were instantly dyed red.

Boom!

The blood-colored shield easily blocked the furious attack of the Solitary Sword Sect's black-robed Patriarch.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Kristian Seljevold, Michael Bent, Steven_

 _Sun, and Christopher Choi_

744

Chapter 744 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 744: Arise, Second True Self!

When the red-haired old man from the Golden Frost Sect saw the blood drop fly out, he loftily said, "Patriarch Blood Demon, you're fighting all of us at the same time, and still want to split your attention? It seems you really don't have any regard for us at all."

At the same time, he performed an incantation, which caused numerous puppets to magically appear around him. Each of the puppets was thirty meters tall, and seemed both real and illusory at the same time. As soon as they appeared, they transformed into beams of colorful light that shot toward Patriarch Blood Demon.

"Patriarch Blood Demon, your destruction is imminent," said the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch. "You can't escape our net! Once Mount Blood Demon falls, your true self will face the light of the Heavens and be destroyed in body and spirit!" He snorted coldly and then waved his hand, causing the Feng Shui compass to emit blinding light as well as countless magical symbols. The magical symbols formed together into layer upon layer of spell formations as they shot forward.

Patriarch Blood Demon said nothing, and not even a trace of alarm could be seen on his face. His expression was actually indifferent. No matter what happened, he was confident that he could reverse any setback.

"Senior Blood Demon," said the Dawn Immortal's clone, her voice soft. "I know full well that your true self cannot face the glory of the Heavens. You were originally a drop of blood that transformed into a Demon, and the Heavens can turn your true self back into a drop of blood. What I don't know is, at this point… what tricks do you have left?" Behind her, the ferocious, illusory Resurrection Lily's tentacles whipped about, and an intense pressure radiated out. Rumbling sounds could be heard as countless tentacle incarnations shot out to surround Patriarch Blood Demon.

The Dawn Immortal was his strongest opponent, so Patriarch Blood Demon focused sixty percent of his attention on her. The other forty percent was divided between the red-haired Patriarch of the Golden Frost Sect and the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch.

Both parties had each other locked down. Although it looked like they were engaged in magical battle, in reality, both sides were being cautious, waiting for the other to expend enough cultivation base power that, at the critical time, a lightning-like strike could be made.

Down below, a rumbling sound echoed out over the battlefield. Naruto stood inside the second shield layer, the wooden sword swirling through the air around him. A droning sound could be heard from the sword, and pulses of Time power caused the air around it to distort. The Blood Demon Sect disciples were all behind the second shield layer, staring at the hundreds of thousands of cultivators on the other side, as well as the black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect, who was in a frenzy and burning his own longevity to gain power.

The black-robed old man's fury and frustration was impossible to describe. He wanted nothing more than to slaughter Naruto over and over again and then take back the Solitary Sword Sect's precious treasure.

As he attacked, although he held no sword in his hand, the sword will which emanated out from his body transformed into an amorphous sword which repeatedly slashed into the second shield layer.

The layers of the Blood Demon Sect's five-layered shield got stronger the closer they got to the sect itself. In addition, the counter-attacks from the shields became even more intense.

Most importantly, the second shield layer was now the color of blood, thanks to the drop of blood from the Blood Pond inside Mount Blood Demon. Its power was not something that could quickly be broken.

Furthermore, the second shield layer had not been punctured by the leaf earlier; only the fifth, fourth and third layers had. The second shield layer was intact.

The shield rumbled and distorted as the black-robed old man vented his fury on it. However, the shield held!

The Blood Demon Sect forces sat there reticently, as did Naruto. He looked out coldly as the black-robed old man attacked and attacked. Killing intent flickered in his eyes, which the wooden sword could apparently sense, as it began to emit an intense droning sound.

BOOM!

The shield vibrated, and the black-robed man fell back. He lifted his head up and roared at the top of his lungs: "All cultivators, heed my command! Attack the shield with everything you have! Break it down!"

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators hesitated for a moment. The first to spring into action were the Solitary Sword Sect disciples. Tens of thousands of flying swords whistled through the air toward the shield. They were followed by the the Golden Frost Sect disciples and the members of theShimuraClan. There were also some rogue cultivators. All of them unleashed divine abilities to blast against the blood-colored, second layer shield.

Instantly, a massive roaring filled the air. The land quaked violently, and nearby vegetation was destroyed. Mountains were leveled, and the entire ground seemed to be gouged out by an entire meter by the force of the combined attack.

From a distance, the mountain range in which the Blood Demon Sect was located was now crushed into a flat plain. The vegetation in the area was completely dead, and no life existed at all.

Everything was in ruins, except for the very center of it all, where the blood-colored shield glittered brightly. Although it rippled and distorted violently, it did not fall!

The Blood Demon Sect's five mountain peaks were now the focus of all attention.

Aftershocks from the divine abilities exploded out, and the forces of the allied powers also sustained injuries from the backlash, causing countless cultivators to cough up blood and retreat. However, others immediately surged forward to take their place.

Such a cycle continued on as countless attacks were made.

The black-robed old man from the Solitary Sword Sect was especially focused on attacking. Every time he made a move, boundless sword Chakra would rumble out against the blood-colored shield. Two days later, the shield was finally starting to show signs of breakage.

When the third day arrived, more and more cracks spread out across the blood-colored shield. The Blood Demon Sect disciples sat there silently. Naruto's eyes flashed.

Finally, a snapping sound echoed out. The countless cracks merged together into something that looked like a huge wound. The black-robed

Patriarch from the Solitary Sword Sect exploded out with peak Dao Seeking cultivation base power. Natural law descended and swirled about, transforming into an incredible Heavenly sword.

As soon as the sword appeared, lightning crackled up above. The sword suddenly flashed, seemingly filled with the power of lightning as it shot toward the second shield layer.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The second shield layer could not stand up to the blow. The amorphous sword stabbed into it, and it shattered, sending out a huge shockwave in all directions. The Blood Demon Sect disciples and Naruto had already retreated behind the final remaining shield layer.

"Do we fight, Blood Prince!?"

"The point of death has arrived! It would be better to charge out and slaughter to our heart's content than be stuck in here!"

"If we can't avoid perishing, then let's die in battle!" The Blood Demon Sect disciples' eyes shone bright red, and even the Spirit Severing experts were looking in his direction.

This first shield layer was the final line of defense. Once it broke, the Blood Demon Sect would be powerless to defend itself. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators would charge into it. When that happened… they might be able to hold out for a little bit, but in the end, they would all die.

Uchiha Youcai looked at Naruto, awaiting his decision.

Li ShiChakra was also looking at Naruto. He was the Blood Prince, and had earned respect through his strength. His lone charge into battle with no thought of personal safety gained him the utmost esteem.

Everyone was watching him.

However, Naruto's gaze… fell upon Hinata.

She had been standing outside of Blood Prince Gorge the entire time watching the battle. Now that Naruto looked over at her, she turned to look back.

In that moment it was just the two of them in the Blood Demon Sect, behind the blood-colored shield, surrounded by the booms from the outside world. They looked at each other, and Naruto could see the encouraging look in her eyes. As well as…

 _You live, I live. You die, I die!_

BOOM!

The shockwave from the destruction of the second shield layer faded away, and the black-robed Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch took the lead in the charge. Boundless sword light surrounded him as he shot toward the first shield layer to attack.

Explosions echoed about everywhere. Of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators from the original force, only around 200,000 were left. All were wounded and tired. The battle had lasted for a long time, and regardless of whether it was in terms of them or the Blood Demon Sect disciples, it had been a long and fierce fight.

"It's almost over!"

"All we have to do is break this final line of defense, and the Blood Demon Sect… will be exterminated!"

"Four more days! In four days, there will be no Blood Demon Sect in the Southern Domain!" The 200,000 cultivators' eyes were bright red. Despite their injuries, they roared and attacked the shield with all the strength they could summon.

RUMMMBLLLLLE!

The shield rippled. However, this first layer shield was even sturdier than the second layer, and had even more counterattack power. It only took a moment for thunderous roars to rise up into the sky. Clearly, the shield would not break in any short period of time.

Unfortunately, even a stronger shield would not be able to stand up for very long under the combined assault of 200,000 cultivators.

"Blood Prince, let's fight!" The Blood Demon Sect disciples inside the shield had risen to their feet. Their energy was focused and ready, their killing intent more and more intense than before.

Naruto was silent for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Wait four more days!"

His second true self needed exactly that amount of time before it woke up!

These were the final four days!

Naruto had no way to assess exactly how powerful his second true self would be upon awakening. Had he used something other than the soul of an Immortal, he would have been able to speculate. But since it was an Immortal's soul in his second true self, he had no way to guess. He would have to wait until it awakened… to see if it was truly Heavendefying.

"It HAS to be strong!" he thought, looking out beyond the shield.

One day passed.

The shield trembled violently under the attacks of 200,000 cultivators, pushing it to its limit. The counterattacks sent out into the 200,000 cultivators caused numerous serious injuries.

Two days!

The shield rippled and distorted in virtually every spot, and was even trembling. In fact, cracks were visible in some locations, although they quickly sealed back up.

The black-robed Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch was on the offensive; every time he launched an attack, the shield seemed as if it might collapse.

Three days!

"BREAK!"

Rumbling filled the air as, for the first time, a crack spread out that could not be sealed back up. The death knell had been struck for the shield.

The 200,000 cultivators had endured counterattacks for three days, which had sapped many of them of their ability to fight, forcing them to retreat from the battlefield.

The remaining cultivators' numbers exceeded 100,000, but they still crowded the battlefield, making it virtually impossible to see the end of the army. As they continued to attack, more and more cracks appeared!

Finally, the fourth day arrived!

On the fourth day, the blood-colored shield was covered with cracks. Many of them stretched out and then combined to form huge gaps.

The shield trembled, and cracking sounds could be heard. It didn't seem like it would be able to hold on for very much longer.

At the same time, intense killing intent and even madness could be seen in the eyes of the black-robed Patriarch from the Solitary Sword Sect. He suddenly flew high up into the air and then waved his sleeve. Immediately natural law transformed into a sword up above.

This was his Dao Seeking sword!

"The Blood Demon Sect will be eradicated on this very day!" cried the Patriarch. He pointed out, and the sword rumbled as it shot down toward the shield.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples were in a frenzy. Their eyes were red, and they were completely ready for the moment when the shield collapsed. Then, they would fight to the death.

However… even as the amorphous sword shot toward the shield, a tremor ran through Naruto as he sensed an incredibly familiar aura rising up from within Blood Prince Gorge.

His eyes glittered. The day he had been waiting for had finally arrived. "Arise, second true self!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Alex Tsue_

745

Chapter 745 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 745: Peak!

In Blood Prince Gorge, Naruto's second true self sat cross-legged inside the log cabin. Moments ago, not a scrap of any sort of aura could be detected on him. He almost seemed dead, like a statue.

Now, though, his eyes snapped opened, and a shocking iciness could be seen within them.

Gradually, a feeling like that of an Immortal could be sensed emanating out from him. The look in his eyes was different from that of Naruto, but his body was clearly the same.

The soul was like a sword, and the body the sheath. The power hidden within… was the 'self' from the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!

Cultivation base ripples suddenly exploded out from it.

In the blink of an eye, they filled all of Blood Prince Gorge. As the second true self took a breath, the ripples were once again drawn back, bottled up inside.

The body was the Dao, and the soul was blade. A sharp blade hidden in

a great Dao!

In that same moment, all of the vegetation in Blood Prince Gorge withered up and died. A sinister coldness, along with a terrifying aura, circulated around the second true self.

He looked up and then slowly… raised his right hand toward the sky above Blood Prince Gorge.

In that moment, it seemed as if time itself stopped.

Outside the valley, Naruto sat with eyes closed, his consciousness spread out in all directions. Next to him, the wooden sword trembled, and then suddenly seemed to sense something. Next, it shot out toward the final remaining layer of the shield.

As it emerged from within the shield, it blossomed with a radiant glow that was… the power of Time!

Time was like a river that suddenly poured out from within the sword!

100 years. 1,000 years. 5,000 years…. 10,000 years!

Ten thousand years of time swept out from the wooden sword, transforming into distortions in the air. Time suddenly stopped, causing the incoming Dao Seeking sword to… come to a halt in midair.

Apparently, in order to pass through the river of Time, it would have to pass through 10,000 years!

The Blood Demon Sect disciples were shocked by what they saw, and the more than 100,000 cultivators outside the shield were equally astonished. All eyes were now focused on the wooden sword.

The eyes of the black-robed Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch were completely bloodshot. Fury was rekindled, and raged in his heart; this wooden sword was the precious treasure of the Solitary Sword Sect, and had been worshiped by the sect for countless years. Even still, he could never have possibly guessed that the sword actually concealed such incredible Time power!

Although he had seen signs of it when the bamboo sword split apart earlier, it had quickly changed owners, and he had been disinclined to consider the matter further. By now, his heart was consumed with frustration and rage.

Now that he could sense the power of Time on the wooden sword, the Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch was incapable of suppressing his fury. He roared and pushed his cultivation base even harder. Peak Dao Seeking energy, bolstered by the burning of his longevity, immediately surged out.

His entire person resembled a shooting star or, perhaps, a razor-sharp sword that flickered through the air to appear next to the wooden sword. Bucking directly against the river of Time power, he stretched his hand out to grab the wooden sword.

"Get back here!" he bellowed.

However, as soon as he stretched out his hand and touched the sword… Naruto's second true self stood up in Blood Prince Valley. He took a step forward and then suddenly appeared outside the shield, next to the wooden sword. His hand slowly lifted up to grasp the sword by the hilt.

His robe was black, as was his hair, and he was very thin, but clearly had exactly the same facial features as Naruto. However, the feeling people got when they looked at him was not the feeling one got when looking at a person. This second true self was as cold as ice, and as he hovered there, he emanated a supremely haughty air, as if he looked down with contempt at every living thing.

His appearance on the scene immediately caused the Blood Demon disciples to be filled with shock. Panting, they looked back and forth between Naruto and his second true self, their expressions blank.

The more than 100,000 cultivators in the outside world were equally as astonished.

"A clone?" Those were the words that immediately appeared in everyone's minds.

"A mere clone?" said the Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch, his eyes widening. "Die you trifling…." He was just about to unleash a divine ability when suddenly, he began to tremble, and his eyes went wide with disbelief and shock.

He wasn't the only astonished one; the surrounding enemy cultivators were all dumbstruck.

Even the Blood Demon Sect disciples were thoroughly stunned.

Because….

The instant that Naruto's second true self gripped the wooden sword, his cultivation base began to erupt out from within.

First Severing. Second Severing. Third Severing…. Early Dao Seeking!

Intense rumbling filled Heaven and Earth as the cultivation base of Naruto's second true self roared up. Mid Dao Seeking. Late Dao Seeking…. It went all the way to the peak of Dao Seeking!

This development sent the entire battlefield into chaos!

Merely stepping into Dao Seeking put one on the level of a sect Patriarch, and as for peak Dao Seeking… they were the truly powerful experts, the strongest force of even the largest sects!

They would even be considered part of that sect's Dao Reserve!

In the entire Southern Domain, there were not even ten people who were at the peak of Dao Seeking!

In all of Planet Ninshu, less than a hundred peak Dao Seeking experts existed!

Any peak Dao Seeking cultivator could take a step forward and become a false Immortal!

As of this moment, Naruto's second true self was firmly in the peak Dao Seeking stage, something that would certainly shock and astonish anyone watching.

The buzz of conversation immediately rose up.

"How is this possible!?"

"Peak Dao Seeking! That's definitely peak Dao Seeking. This is the same feeling I get from our sect's Patriarch! Except… even stronger!"

"Naruto, Naruto…. No matter how this battle ends, there is a new powerful expert in the lands of South Heaven, and that is Naruto!"

"How did he create a clone like that? If his clone is at peak Dao Seeking, then his true self is definitely destined to have a peak Dao Seeking cultivation base!"

One change after another on the part of Naruto caused their souls to feel shocked. Everything that happened was something they would never be able to forget.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples excitedly began to call out.

"Blood Prince!"

"Blood Prince!"

At the same time, Patriarch Blood Demon and the others up in midair were also shocked, especially the red-haired Patriarch from the Golden Frost Sect and the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch.

"Dammit! How can that kid have a peak Dao Seeking clone!?"

The eyes of the Dawn Immortal's clone widened. She knew Naruto was no ordinary person, but this development left her deeply shocked. In fact, this was the first time he truly astonished her to such an indescribable degree.

Patriarch Blood Demon's eyes swept over the land, and a profound look flickered within.

The black-robed Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch's eyes flickered.

Suppressing his shock, he gritted his teeth and said, "Peak Dao Seeking?

What's the big deal? I'm also peak Dao Seeking!"

He stretched out his hand in an incantation gesture, immediately causing more than 10,000 streams of sword light to swirl around him.

Heaven and Earth dimmed, and the clouds churned. The streams of sword light swirled about, making it seem as if the entire area were a world of swords.

The black-robed Patriarch pointed at Naruto's second true self, causing the sword lights to all shoot directly toward him!

The second true self hovered in midair, his black hair swirling, his expression cold. He held the wooden sword gripped in his right hand, and his eyes flickered. Suddenly, he squeezed his hand down.

Immediately, the wooden sword trembled, and began to drone. In the blink of an eye, it began to emit endless amounts of Time power!

10,000 years. 20,000 years. 30,000 years….

The power of Time exploded out, accompanied by the excited droning of the wooden sword, to echo out in all directions. It was in this moment that, at long last, the true power of the wooden sword could finally be revealed.

What was happening right now was something that even Naruto could not do. Only his second true self, with its peak Dao Seeking cultivation base, could unleash the power of the wooden sword in this way.

40,000 years. 50,000 years….

Everything shook above and below. A river of Time swept out around the second true self, a sight completely shocking to the eyes. As for the 10,000 incoming beams of sword light, they suddenly stopped in place, incapable of moving forward even an inch.

What was blocking their way was the passage of time!

The black-robed Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch's face fell, and a sense of danger welled up in his heart. At the same time, the more than 100,000 enemy cultivators were all flabbergasted.

Up in midair, the red-haired Golden Frost Sect Patriarch and the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch, were equally shaken.

The second true self hovered in mid-air, black hair and black robes fluttering. The sword in its hand still was not finished!

Boom!

60,000 years!

The moment the river of Time surged with 60,000 years of Time power, the second true self sprang into action.

He swiped the sword out, and the 10,000 streams of sword light instantly vanished. In the blink of an eye, they passed through 60,000 years, and no longer existed.

"Impossible!" gasped the black-robed Patriarch. His astonishment had reached a pinnacle, and he finally backed up at top speed. However, the power of Time still brushed against him, and his body withered. In the blink of an eye, he seemed at least 10,000 years older. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his clothes seemed to decay. His face was waxen, his expression had turned from amazement to terror.

He could feel the shadow of death looming over him, as if he might die at any moment.

The second true self gripped the wooden sword, and its power was shocking. It could clearly battle the peak of Dao Seeking with no problem.

"Immortal's soul!" exclaimed the Solitary Sword Sect's Patriarch. "This clone is emanating the ripples of an Immortal's soul!"

Even as the words left his mouth, the second true self stepped forward, and Time turned into a wind that swept out like a river. Everywhere it passed, living things rotted and decayed.

RUMBLE!

The sword slashed, and the Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body withered significantly, and his eyes shone with terror. He looked at the approaching second true self, and fell back again. He waved his hand and, astonishingly, tens of thousands of beams of sword light shot out in defense.

Rumbling echoed out as the sword lights were crushed like rotten wood in the face of the second true self. He raised his hand, and swung the wooden sword a third time. 60,000 years of Time power surged forth.

Everything shook, and the sense of danger in the Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch's mind grew even more intense. He shot back toward the more than 100,000 cultivators, suddenly waving his hands down toward the ground. Immediately numerous cultivators were swept up, completely unable to control their own bodies as they were thrown back to block the wooden sword's Time power.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Rafael Ramirez and XKT_

746

Chapter 746: False Immortal's Soul

One sword swept out, bones withered and souls perished!

The power of Time flowed out like a bright, dancing beam. In the blink of an eye, the cultivators who had been swept up by the fleeing blackrobed Patriarch, were completely withered into nothing more than dust and smoke. Their bodies, their magical items, everything was rotted into nothing.

All of the onlookers couldn't help but be shaken deeply by the deaths.

People wanted to flee, but considering the level of the black-robed Patriarch's cultivation base, they were nothing more than ants. No matter how quickly they scattered, he still threw them back as obstacles. As the power of Time consumed them, the black-robed Patriarch fled. Finally he had just a bit of breathing room.

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" His face was ashen, and the shadow of death loomed heavily over him. It had been many, many years since he had experienced the feeling of a deadly chase like this.

Inside, he was terrified, and was on full alert. Behind him, Naruto's second true self continued to close in.

It was a solitary sword that rumbled through the heavens. The power of

Time fell like rain, enveloping everything. The black-robed Patriarch's face paled even further, and his pupils constricted. He suddenly slapped his bag of holding to produce a black horn. He bit the tip of his tongue and spit some blood onto it, causing it to writhe and wriggle. It shattered with a bang as two centipedes suddenly flew out from inside!

The centipedes were pitch black, except for a white line that ran down their abdomens. As soon as they appeared, the aroma of deadly venom wafted out, along with an indescribable aura.

"Attack!" The black-robed man's face was pale. This was his trump card, something he had acquired years ago, and had even enabled him to launch a successful sneak attack against an injured false Immortal.

As soon as the centipedes appeared, they shot through the air like Immortal creatures. Their speed was incredible as they closed in on the second true self. However, as soon as they entered the power of Time, they instantly stopped in place.

The black-robed Patriarch became even more nervous, and he quickly produced even more magical items.

At the same time, the two many-legged centipedes continued to move forward, albeit much more slowly than before. They even looked excited.

The white lines on their abdomens began to expand until they covered more than half their bodies. Now, the centipedes appeared to be half white and half black.

At the same time, an incredible aura began to emanate out from them, and they grew even more excited. Gradually, their speed increased. Apparently, they were consuming the power of Time!

The sight of it caused Naruto's eyes to narrow as he stood within the shield.

The black-robed Patriarch was inwardly delighted, and he continued to flee at top speed. As he did, he waved his sleeve, causing the numerous glowing, magical items to shoot toward Naruto's second true self.

At the same time, the black-robed Patriarch's eyes flickered, and he performed an incantation gesture then pointed up into the sky. A lightning bolt crackled downward, and a lightning sword coalesced in the sky which then slashed down toward the second true self.

The second true self gave a cold snort and loosened his grip on the wooden sword, allowing it freedom to orbit around him. It immediately transformed into a vortex, which became a tempest. Sword Chakra raged, and the power of Time screamed through the air.

As for the second true self, he lifted his right hand up, during which time a confused expression appeared in his eyes.

Suddenly, his right hand became transparent, and thousands of magical sealing marks appeared. Shockingly, they shot forward to form the shape that looked like a closed parasol!

The parasol was formed from numerous magical symbols, and as soon as it appeared in full, it opened.

A shocking aura exploded out, along with a brightness that rivaled the sun. In fact, anyone who glanced at it would think that this parasol really was a sun.

This was not one of Naruto's divine abilities, but rather, a Daoist magic that existed in the memory of the Immortal's soul inside the second true self!

"Solitary Yang Sky!" said an ancient, icy voice that came from the mouth of the second true self. As the words echoed out, the black-robed Patriarch's magical items all shattered into pieces. As for the Patriarch himself, he was caught up by the glowing light and the tempest. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his body withered significantly.

Shock covered his face. "What divine ability is that!?"

What caused him even more despair was that the two centipedes, caught up in the river of Time, had been sated on Time power. Now, they shrank down and balled themselves up, leaving them unable to move and floating there in midair. Even when the black-robed Patriarch called for them to return, they completely ignored him.

"Dammit!" he thought, his heart filled with frustration. Suddenly, back inside the shield, Naruto waved his right hand. The war chariot appeared directly in front of him, which he entered without hesitation, at the same circulating the Chakra of Immortal Shows the Way.

RUMBLE!

The chariot vanished, to reappear moments later in front of his second true self. He waved his hand, and the two sphere-like centipedes were instantly sucked into his bag of holding.

"YOU!" roared the black-robed Patriarch, nearly coughing up blood. What he saw in front of him was two people who looked the same, and yet felt completely different. Immediately, he began to flee at top speed.

Even as he fled, Naruto's second true self took a step forward and then raised his hand, pointing out toward the Patriarch. Immediately, the wooden sword began to emit a droning sound. At the same time, Naruto also performed an incantation and then pointed forward.

Naruto's second true self was completely under his control, and in this moment he coordinated with it to jointly control the wooden sword. Droning, the wooden sword exploded with the power of Time.

70,000 years!

Under the power of 70,000 years of time, the river of Time transformed into a sword!

Boundless sword Chakra caused everything to tremble and shake as the sword itself slashed toward the black-robed Patriarch.

The black-robed Patriarch's eyes widened, and he was about to dodge out of the way when suddenly, the golden vortex of the Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared, as well as the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex.

Enveloped, the man couldn't move an inch. He could only remain there in place as a sword containing 70,000 years of Time power descended upon him.

"NO!" he howled. He performed a double-handed incantation, causing an ancient aura to suddenly appear, along with two sealing marks on both of his hands. His body was withering rapidly, not because of the vortex, or because of the decay of Time, but because of something he was doing to himself.

All of the flesh and blood in his body, even the bones and Chakra passageways, all of his fleshly body was condensing into a divine ability.

"Fleshly Sword Body!" he roared. His body collapsed, although his Nascent Divinity wasn't harmed at all. His bag of holding tumbled off to the side as the various parts of his fleshly body were shattered and then formed back together… into a sword! Its blade was made of bone, and its hilt, flesh and blood! Chakra and blood swirled around it in all directions.

The sword shot directly toward the Wooden Time Sword.

BOOOOOMMMMMMM!

A massive explosion could be heard that shook the entire battlefield, astonishing everyone.

The white bone sword shattered, and the hilt fell to pieces. Chakra and blood transformed into ripples that spread out in all directions. Naruto's wooden sword trembled and emitted a droning sound as it spun backward. However, the second true self easily reached out his hand and grabbed it.

The second true self's face was pale white as he staggered backward a few measures. As for Naruto, he was completely protected by his second true self, and yet still coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"So, peak Dao Seeking experts really can't be killed easily," he thought, his eyes glittering.

Rumbling rolled out across the lands below; the force of the explosion just now was too powerful, and the Blood Demon Sect's final shield layer couldn't take the impact. It trembled, and then directly shattered into pieces. The Blood Demon Sect was now completely exposed in the middle of the battlefield.

The black-robed Patriarch's Nascent Divinity grew very dim under the power of the explosion, but fled at top speed nonetheless, an expression of madness and hatred on his face. Since becoming Patriarch of the sect, he had never been so seriously injured, especially not to the point of being forced to use the Fleshly Sword Body. All of his failures had to do with the wooden sword. The most powerful magical arts he could utilize were all designed to be used in coordination with the sect's precious treasure.

"You're all dead!" the black-robed Patriarch roared. "Naruto, I'm going to possess your body! Golden Frost,ShimuraYuanlei, no more delays! I'm making my move now!" Gritting his teeth, he grabbed his bag of holding and then slapped it to produce an enormous statue!

The statue was fully three thousand meters tall, and completely black.

An intense energy surged up into the air as soon as it appeared.

Gradually, a seemingly infinite murderous aura began to swirl around it. Its presence caused strange colors to flash in the sky, and the clouds roiled. At the same time, a huge vortex appeared around the statue.

An aura suddenly exploded out that belonged to an Immortal.

It was an Immortal's treasure!

The Dawn Immortal had been their trump card, but this statue was their last resort.

The red-haired old man from the Golden Frost Sect and the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch exchanged determined glances.

The Golden Frost Sect Patriarch took a deep breath and then waved his hand. Immediately 1,000 fist-sized rocks flew out from within his sleeves. Shockingly, Immortal Chakra immediately began to emanate out.

These were not magical items, nor spirit stones. These were… pieces of Immortal jade!

Even Immortals would rarely see so many pieces of Immortal jade!

As soon as the pieces of Immortal jade flew out, the vortex around the statue sucked them up. The statue's energy shot upward, and the murderous air to its aura increased by tenfold.

The 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch had a very serious look on his face as he opened his mouth and spit out a mouthful of blood. His entire body suddenly sagged, and he backed up anxiously. Within the blood were countless dots of golden light, which formed together into countless strands that resembled a root formed of countless veins.

This was… a root of Immortality!

The Immortal root flew into the statue, and the instant it did, the statue seemed to come to life. Its limbs trembled, and the entire statue turned into a puppet!

At the same time, the black-robed Patriarch waved his sleeve to collect up Patriarch Six-Daos' discarnate soul, then threw it off to the side.

The river of 100,000 discarnate souls was no longer under the control of Patriarch Six-Daos, but rather, the black-robed Patriarch. He led the river of souls directly into the statue-puppet, which caused its eyes to open and radiate brilliant light.

The aura of an Immortal exploded out with full intensity.

This was an Immortal!

Although it was not a true Immortal, even a false Immortal could still be called Immortal.

A false Immortal puppet!

"Naruto, it's time to die!" said the puppet, its voice that of the blackrobed Patriarch.

The puppet's eyes shone with boundless light at it slowly stood up. Its energy rumbled boundlessly, and the ground quaked. An Immortal aura exploded out.

"Everyone, attack! Eradicate everyone in the Blood Demon Sect! Leave no one alive!"

In response to the puppet's voice, the more than 100,000 cultivators' hearts surged. It was almost as if their bodies weren't even under their own control. Without the slightest hesitation, they shot directly toward the shieldless Blood Demon Sect.

—–

 _Please send typos or mistakes to [email protected]_

747

Chapter 747: Decisive Battle!

The final, decisive battle had finally begun!

Booming filled the sky and the land, the Heavens dimmed, and the wind screamed. The Blood Demon Sect was the center, and surrounding it was a vast sea of cultivators unleashing magical techniques that gave rise to enormous ripples. The earth was smashed and the air shattered. It was as if doomsday had arrived.

More than 100,000 cultivators charged across the battlefield madly toward the Blood Demon Sect disciples that they had besieged this entire time. The Blood Demon Sect disciples had repressed themselves to the limit, and now their savagery exploded out.

"KILL THEM!" There were tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples and more than 100,000 enemy cultivators. Despite the fact that they were significantly outnumbered, they did not hesitate to wade into the bloody battle.

This was their sect, and this war was being waged to exterminate them. Not a single one of them would be left alive. Since that was the case, they would take some of the enemy with them!

Or perhaps… they would be able to slaughter their way to a chance for survival.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he retreated back to Blood Prince Gorge. Hinata was shivering slightly when he landed in front of her, but when she saw him she took a deep breath and gazed at him with gentle eyes.

He embraced her, then looked up at the vast array of enemy forces charging toward them. He watched as the Blood Demon Sect disciples charged madly into the fray, and the final, decisive battle began.

"Are you afraid?" he asked Hinata softly.

"No," she replied with a chuckle.

Naruto's second true self hovered in midair, eyes glittering. He raised his hand, causing the wooden sword to circulate around him as his peak Dao Seeking cultivation base surged. Then, he turned into a prismatic streak of light that shot toward the false Immortal puppet.

The puppet immediately met him in combat and explosions rang out, sending boundless ripples out in all directions. This became a third battlefield, the second being where Patriarch Blood Demon was fighting.

On the ground below, the slaughter commenced. Shouting rang out, along with the sounds of killing. The Blood Demon Sect disciples were in a frenzy, holding nothing back, even sustaining injury and burning longevity. When they were too severely injured, they would smile bitterly and then choose to self-detonate.

Rumbling filled the battlefield as the Blood Demon Sect disciples massacred the enemy with savagery and madness.

One particular Blood Demon Sect disciple with a Nascent Soul cultivation base, received a fatal blow. Using the last bit of his energy, he lunged forward and buried his teeth into his opponent's throat and ripped out a huge chunk of bloody flesh. As his opponent screamed miserably, the Blood Demon Sect disciple laughed maniacally and then self-detonated.

Another Blood Demon Sect disciple unleashed a forbidden art. His entire cultivation base and fleshly body, even his soul, transformed into a drop of blood which stabbed through the foreheads of multiple opponents.

After slaying eight people in a row, he exploded.

Ruthlessly savage!

Due to the berserk fighting of the Blood Demon Sect, the more than 100,000 enemies were kept outside of the mountain peaks, and were incapable of stepping half a pace into the interior of the sect. The vicious slaughter being carried out by the Blood Demon Sect completely shook their opponents.

In a very short period of time, the Blood Demon Sect lost more than 10,000 cultivators. However, the enemy forces paid a heavy price; more than 20,000 of their number were killed!

Naruto did not participate in the fighting, but rather stood outside Blood Prince Gorge, surrounded by Blood Demon Sect disciples, silently observing the battle. To the other disciples, their Blood Prince had already paid a heavy enough price. Now… it was time for them to do their part.

Up in midair, the Dawn Immortal's clone began to shine with a brilliant light. The illusory Resurrection Lily behind her almost seemed corporeal. She was now relying purely on her own strength to keep Patriarch Blood Demon's clone in check.

Rumbling filled the air as they attacked each other. As for the red-haired Golden Frost Sect Patriarch and the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch, they circled around the area, occasionally attempting to interfere with the battle, but mostly just setting up spell formations in an attempt to prevent Patriarch Blood Demon from breaking free.

In a different location, Naruto's second true self was fighting the false Immortal puppet. The black-robed Patriarch's Nascent Divinity was now driving the puppet, and thanks to his towering killing intent and the puppet's incredible strength, Naruto's second true self was slowly being pushed back.

The gap between the peak of Dao Seeking and a false Immortal was too vast!

Thankfully, Naruto's second true self had the Wooden Time Sword, and the Immortal's soul inside of him made him just capable of holding his own in the battle.

However, anyone could see that eventually, the Blood Demon Sect… would be defeated.

"DIE!" roared the more than 100,000 enemy cultivators as they surged onto the offensive once more. In the middle of all the fighting could be seen the Golden Frost Sect puppet with the Dao Seeking aura. Its eyes flashed as it advanced cautiously through the crowds.

The cultivators who made up this Golden Frost Sect puppet were already thoroughly frightened by Naruto. They had looked on helplessly as the Solitary Sword Sect's early Dao Seeking expert was killed, and theShimuraClan Patriarch severely injured. Then there was the black-robed Patriarch, who they didn't even come close to matching up to.

They would have long since fled, but this was war, and they could not.

Even as the Golden Frost Sect puppet started to advance, Naruto's eyes began to flicker with icy coldness. He looked at the puppet, and as he did, it stopped in its tracks.

Naruto looked down at Hinata and began to speak, his voice soft. "I'm going to kill a lot of people today. If you don't want to see so much bloodshed, you can always close your eyes."

Hinata looked up at him with a tender expression, then closed her eyes.

Holding Hinata tight with one arm, he flicked his sleeve, causing the war chariot to appear. He stepped inside, and the war chariot began to shine with a blinding light. Numerous beasts magically appeared, and they roared as they began to pull the chariot forward.

He stood there in the war chariot, Hinata at his side. Now that he had reappeared on the battlefield, he once again became the focus of attention. Everything he said and did would be noticed, and would affect the overall situation on the battlefield.

Boom!

The war chariot charged into the crowds, and instantly people were killed. In the blink of an eye, a bloody path was carved out across the battlefield.

Bloodcurdling screams filled the air constantly. Anyone who was struck by Naruto's war chariot died in a spray of blood. Soon, the chariot itself was the color of blood.

Naruto's face, hair, and clothing were also soaked in blood, but he didn't care. His eyes were cold and grim as he waved his hand, causing the Ninth Mountain to appear as well as the fourth level vortex of the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

He was no longer the scholar he had been. Nor was he the same Naruto of the Southern Domain. After joining the Blood Demon Sect, his heart had begun to fill with an insatiable desire to kill.

That desire to kill was the Devil in his heart!

Be a Devil in heart. Bedevilment! As a Devil, carry out mass slaughter!

Naruto lifted his head and roared as the war chariot shot forward, this time toward the Golden Frost Sect puppet. The Golden Frost Sect puppet's face fell, and it fell back at top speed. It performed an incantation gesture, causing the glint of blades and swords to spin toward Naruto.

Boom!

Naruto made no attempt to dodge. The war chariot smashed forward, crushing the incoming blades and swords like dried weeds as it barreled toward the puppet.

Another explosion rattled out, and popping sounds could be heard from the puppet as cracks spread out across its body. It retreated again, waving its hand to produce a golden greatsword which then slashed down toward Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly, clenched his right hand into a fist, and punched out.

The instant his punch connected with the greatsword, cracks spread out across the sword, and it exploded into pieces. Having lost the greatsword, the Golden Frost Sect puppet appeared to be in a state of despair. It was incapable of dodging the war chariot, which slammed directly into its body.

A boom could be heard as the Golden Frost Sect puppet fell to pieces. It transformed into four Spirit Severing cultivators, all of whom were coughing up blood. Faces aghast, they were about to flee, only to find that the fourth level vortex of the Blood Demon Grand Magic was waiting for them.

The vortex rumbled into motion, and not a single one of the four were able to escape. They were enveloped by the vortex, and their bodies began to wither. Their cultivation bases were sucked away; even genuine early Dao Seeking cultivators would be incapable of getting out of this vortex. As for these four… how could they possibly escape death!?

BOOM!

Their bodies exploded, and their cultivation bases were gone. Their Nascent Divinities flew out, whereupon the flag of three streamers appeared to sweep them up.

Unfortunately, this small victory did nothing to change the tide of the battle as a whole. In the same moment that Naruto vanquished the Golden Frost Sect puppet, booming sounds could be heard from up in mid-air as his second true self coughed up blood and retreated at top speed.

The false Immortal puppet, under the control of the black-robed Patriarch, was emanating an incredible energy. Immortal Chakra surged about, and the air around it shattered. Natural law bowed before him, as if it were the ultimate sovereign.

"Blood Demon Sect! Today, you will be exterminated!" cried the blackrobed man from within the false Immortal puppet, his voice laced with killing intent. "Naruto, you twerp, you will not escape death today!"

The enormous puppet flickered, suddenly changing directions to attack, not the second true self, but Naruto.

Naruto's killing intent filled the air, but he was well aware of the gap in power between him and the puppet. The war chariot thrummed as he retreated. Unfortunately, the false Immortal puppet only continued to pursue him, and even increased its speed. It got closer and closer!

It didn't seem as if there were any place Naruto could flee to. The false Immortal puppet would catch him no matter where he went!

His second true self flickered and shot toward him. However, Naruto knew that there was nowhere to flee to. He suddenly grinned hideously, and then stopped in place. He raised his right hand, and the Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared, along with the Ninth Mountain, the Black White Pearls and the Blood Immortal divine abilities!

He also summoned the 'withering' character, and called theHebiClan Blood Clone from down on the battlefield. In addition, the Resurrection Lily blossomed behind him, writhing viciously.

And finally… he clenched his right fist!

As for the second true self, he utilized his peak Dao Seeking cultivation base to unleash the Solitary Yang Sky!

It combined with the Wooden Time Sword, a river of 70,000 years of Time power, and everything else, to form the most powerful attack that Naruto could currently unleash.

He was battling a false Immortal!

The entire battlefield shook violently!

A shocking boom rang out that turned the heads of countless people on the battlefield. The air was shattered, and the false Immortal puppet not only stopped in place, it retreated three measures!

Naruto's second true self spat up a huge mouthful of blood and stumbled backward. As for Naruto himself, blood also sprayed from his mouth. However, his body did not collapse due to the protection of the chariot. The war chariot tumbled end-over-end, and the Chakra of Immortal Shows the Way vanished, causing the war chariot to also disappear.

Naruto held Hinata tight as he fled. When he looked back, he saw the false Immortal Puppet laughing maniacally and proceeding forward with killing intent swirling.

"Time to die!" roared the puppet, raising its right hand. Shockingly, a multi-colored glow appeared, swirling Immortal Chakra which transformed into an Immortal lotus. The lotus pulsed, and a massive pressure rumbled out.

It was at this point that….

Up in midair, Patriarch Blood Demon's clone, the one that was fighting the Dawn Immortal, suddenly sighed. Then, it turned and vanished.

Meanwhile, in the cave in Mount Blood Demon, the armored Patriarch Blood Demon sat cross-legged in the Blood Pool. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and they radiated a glow the color of blood.

748

Chapter 748 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 748: Blood Demon's True Self!

An ancient voice echoed out from Mount Blood Demon.

"It's time to end this war."

Apart from the Blood Demon Sect disciples, everyone on the battlefield was immediately rooted in place.

Even the false Immortal puppet controlled by the black-robed Patriarch, which had been bearing down on Naruto, was stopped in midair.

The red-haired old man from the Golden Frost Sect, the 3rdShimuraClan

Patriarch, even the Dawn Immortal's clone, all were frozen in place. They could not move, but they could still think, and their minds… were filled with astonishment!

"The fact that you were able to push me this far shows that I truly did underestimate you Southern Domain cultivators," said the ancient voice. It sounded incredibly tired, yet at the same time, filled with a mighty and wild pride.

"Dawn Immortal, earlier you asked me why I was so confident. Well now I'm going to show you… exactly why I am so confident.

"You all believe that what sits in the Immortal's cave in Mount Blood

Demon is actually my true self?" Even as the voice boomed out,

Patriarch Blood Demon slowly rose from his cross-legged position in the Blood Pond. He stepped forward and then… walked out of the Immortal's cave on Mount Blood Demon.

As he stepped foot onto the mountain peak, a sea of blood burst out from behind him. It truly was a sea, vast quantities of blood that surged up into the sky. In the blink of an eye, it covered everything, so that everything up above… was the color of blood.

The previous sky was no longer visible, making the entire world seem to be one of blood. Within this world of blood, atop Mount Blood Demon, stood Patriarch Blood Demon, clad in armor, looking out at the world with ancient eyes.

Official ISSTH art of Patriarch Blood Demon Official ISSTH "cute"

Patriarch Blood Demon art

The red-haired Patriarch from the Golden Frost Sect trembled, and an intense apprehension welled up inside of him.

The 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch was equally astonished, and an unprecedented feeling of crisis filled him.

The Dawn Immortal's clone wore an expression of astonishment as she suddenly realized that her understanding of Patriarch Blood Demon… was far from complete.

The false Immortal puppet controlled by the black-robed Patriarch was also shaking. The massive pressure which weighed down on him was such that he knew a mere thought could kill him!

"Impossible! How could he be so powerful!?"

Down below on the battlefield, the more than 100,000 cultivators of the allied powers were also dumbfounded.

"There are many stories about me in the lands of the Southern Domain," said Patriarch Blood Demon coolly. "According to some of those stories, I am the incarnation of a drop of blood from a Demon. That is why… I am called Patriarch Blood Demon.

"That story is true." He stood there atop Mount Blood Demon, not even the tiniest ripple emanating from his cultivation base. He seemed, for all intents and purposes, to be a mortal.

"And yet, it is also false!" When he said this, the land began to quake. Fissures spread out, as if some enormous creature were waking beneath the surface of the land and was about to emerge.

"I say it's true because I am indeed incarnated from a drop of blood. I say it's false because this body formed by the drop of blood… is not my true self!"

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the rifts in the land grew larger. However, the cultivators were completely stuck in their original positions. Even if the land fell away beneath them, they would remain floating there in place.

As for the Blood Demon Sect disciples, they had already retreated back to the region of the five mountain peaks. Naruto was among their number, his mind reeling as he held Hinata tight at his side.

Hinata's eyes had opened and she was also looking on with shock.

"My confidence lies in my true self. I don't have much life left in me, so I didn't want to move…. However, this battle has earned you the right to see me." Even as the words began to leave his mouth, an intense rumbling could be heard from the ground.

Everything shook as, shockingly, a gargantuan hand burst out from the ground. It was followed by an arm that was thousands of meters long. It looked like a mountain as it rose up, causing everything to tremble.

The surface of the ground collapsed as a head appeared. He had bloodcolored skin, and a horn protruded from his forehead. He wore an ancient, dilapidated suit of armor. It only took a moment… for him to completely rise up from the ground!

He was nearly thirty thousand meters tall, completely crimson, and covered with innumerable complex magical symbols.

He looked almost exactly like the Demonic Incarnation of the Blood Demon Grand Spell Formation that Naruto had controlled before, only more ancient and more real!

The red-haired old man from the Golden Frost Sect felt his mind buzzing. His face fell, and he began to pant. Next to him, theShimuraClan Patriarch gasped, and his eyes went wide with disbelief.

The Dawn Immortal's clone was also trembling, and the Resurrection Lily behind her was struggling. As for the false Immortal puppet controlled by the black-robed Patriarch, it was also trembling.

The instant the enormous figure appeared, the Patriarch Blood Demon that stood on Mount Blood Demon stepped out into the air and then flew up to sit cross-legged on top of the enormous head. Then, he slowly merged down into the enormous Demon.

It was at this point that the Demon's eyes suddenly opened.

"This is my true self!

"I was seriously injured, and chose this place to recuperate. I incarnated a clone with a drop of blood, and founded the Blood Demon Sect." His voice rumbled across the lands like thunder. Up above, the bloodcolored sky glittered brightly. The more than 100,000 cultivators were trembling in shock, even the most powerful experts.

Naruto was equally shaken.

"Unfortunately, I can only wield a fraction of the power that I could when I was at my peak. It would be difficult for me to harm a true Immortal. However, to kill a false Immortal… is child's play." With that, his huge hand stretched out and grabbed the Dawn Immortal's clone.

Rumbling filled the air, and the Dawn Immortal's clone screamed miserably. The Resurrection Lily behind her writhed as she struggled to fight back. She could only hold on for a moment, though, before her body was crushed. She, along with the Resurrection Lily, began to fade away.

Before vanishing completely, the Dawn Immortal's cold, merciless voice rang out: "Blood Demon, I refuse to believe that you will be able to keep ahold of that Demon body for much longer! Since you're dying, your Demon body will soon belong to me!"

"Ah, so it's true…. You came here for my Demon body." It was then that Blood Demon's eyes came to rest on the red-haired old man from the Golden Frost Sect. He stretched his finger out.

The old man trembled, but could do nothing to fight back. Blood Demon's finger touched him, and it was a boundless mountain smashing down onto him. He immediately was smashed into pieces, leaving behind only his Nascent Divinity. His expression was one of terror and despair, incapable as he was of fleeing.

Just when he thought he was going to disappear forever, Blood Demon calmly said, "I'll leave you alive."

With that, a blood-red light descended from the blood-colored sky, enveloping the red-haired Patriarch, instantly transforming him into something that looked like a Blood Clone.

Along with the new body came a blank expression, as if all his previous memories had been wiped away.

"From now on, you will be a Dharma Protector of the Blood Demon Sect," said Patriarch Blood Demon, his voice cool. Next, his gaze shifted to the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch, and his finger moved again.

The 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch trembled, and his body exploded. As the blood and gore dissipated, his Nascent Divinity flew out, and was encased in a similar body of blood. His memories were erased, and he became another Dharma Protector of the Blood Demon Sect.

Patriarch Blood Demon seemed exhausted, and he closed his eyes, as if he didn't even have enough energy to keep them open. It seemed that his actions just now put quite a strain on him.

After a moment, he forced his eyes open again and looked at the puppet being controlled by the black-robed Patriarch. "And then there's you…. I think you, too, will be a Dharma Protector of the Blood Demon Sect." "That one must die!" said Naruto suddenly.

Blood Demon's eyes flickered. Without another word, he reached out and grabbed the false Immortal puppet and squeezed down violently. What was being crushed was in fact the Nascent Divinity of the blackrobed old man.

A miserable scream could be heard as the Nascent Divinity was completely obliterated.

Having accomplished these things, the enormous Blood Demon closed his eyes. Apparently, he was now completely out of energy. He once again sat down cross-legged and then sank down into the ground. The image of Patriarch Blood Demon once again appeared at the top of his head, looking completely exhausted, and surrounded by an even stronger aura of death than before. As the enormous Demon disappeared into the earth, Patriarch Blood Demon stepped foot onto Mount Blood Demon. As he entered the Immortal's cave there, the sea of blood that covered the sky rushed back into the cave to reform the Blood Pond. Patriarch Blood Demon sluggishly sat down cross-legged to meditate.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly heard Patriarch Blood Demon's exhausted voice in his ear.

"I didn't want to use my real body, as it is an incredible drain on the scant bit of power I have left….

"But you… represent a hope that I cannot ignore….

"I need to sleep now, and I won't be able to awaken again for another hundred years. Perhaps I will never awaken. As for the Blood Demon Sect… I give it to you…. Be careful of the Dawn Immortal. She is both a Resurrection Lily, and not a Resurrection Lily…. Also, the great territorial war is coming soon."

The rift in the ground closed up, and the restrictive spell formation surrounding the area vanished. The more than 100,000 cultivators on the battlefield could now move again. Trembling, they looked with terror at Mount Blood Demon. It was hard to say who was first, but they began to retreat, scattering like a flock of birds, fighting amongst themselves to be the first to flee.

As for the 70,000 remaining Blood Demon Sect disciples, their killing intent was even more intense than ever. Their sect had narrowly escaped complete eradication in this war, and they would never rest easy unless they exacted their revenge.

"Blood Prince!"

"Blood Prince!"

All of the Blood Demon disciples turned to look at Naruto as they awaited his decision about what to do next.

Naruto looked at the exhausted Blood Demon Sect disciples and then after a moment of contemplation said, "Debts of blood can only be paid in full WITH blood! We rest for one month. After that, I will take you… to unify the Southern Domain!"

Their intense killing intent, along with the thirst to unify the Southern Domain, transformed their morale into one of excitement and frenzy. The mood completely enveloped the battered Blood Demon Sect!

Meanwhile, outside of the Blood Demon Sect, an old man sat crosslegged up in the sky. Beneath him was a pill furnace. He had a complex expression on his face as look down at the Blood Demon Sect.

It was Pill Demon, also known as Reverend Violet East of the Violet Fate Sect.

"Patriarch Blood Demon, you have paid too heavy a price in order to prepare him to Sever the Devil and enter Dao Seeking. He is my apprentice, so this kindness is something that he should not have to pay for. I will take the responsibility to repay you." After a long, deep look at the Blood Demon Sect, he turned and vanished.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Nico Zeese, Brett Flowers, Junior_

 _Fortytwo, and JQ_

749

Chapter 749 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 749: Emperor Black Sieve!

One month later….

There was no hotter topic in the Southern Domain than the war between the four allied powers and the Blood Demon Sect. After a month, stories about the battle had already spread far and wide.

The peak Dao Seeking Patriarch of the Solitary Sword Sect had fallen in battle, as well as an early Dao Seeking elder!

Patriarch Six-Daos of the Black Sieve Sect had been killed!

A Patriarch of the Golden Frost Sect and the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch were wiped of their memories and transformed into Dharmic Protectors of the Blood Demon Sect!

The Blood Demon Sect's Blood Prince, Naruto, had a peak Dao Seeking clone and an undying body. No matter how many times he was killed, his body reformed!

Patriarch Blood Demon's true self was actually beneath the Blood Demon Sect, and was shockingly powerful to the extreme!

All the details were spread throughout the Southern Domain. Soon, all cultivators were shocked by the might of the Blood Demon Sect.

"The Patriarchs of four sects were either killed or enslaved! I can't believe the Blood Demon Sect is actually that powerful!"

"That's nothing. I heard that the Solitary Sword Sect's precious treasure was actually taken away by the Blood Demon Sect's Blood Prince! How bizarre is that!?"

"The number one sect in the Southern Domain is definitely the Blood

Demon Sect!"

"Four great powers were defeated, do you really think the Blood Demon Sect will stop now? It won't be long now before another great war unfolds!"

"It's too bad about all those rogue cultivators who enlisted. I heard almost all of them died…."

During the month, discussions raged regarding the battles between the Blood Demon Sect and the four great powers. Soon, people began to realize that… there were suddenly far fewer cultivators in the Southern Domain than there used to be.

Heavy casualties had been sustained by four great powers, as well as a vast quantity of rogue cultivators. Such losses significantly reduced the overall military might of the Southern Domain as a whole.

As the rest of the Southern Domain was marveling about the Blood Demon Sect, the Solitary Sword Sect was awash with misery. They had once been the most powerful sect, with two Dao Seeking Patriarchs. Now, however, both of those patriarchs were dead.

Furthermore, their sect's precious treasure now belonged to someone else. The forces that returned to the sect were less than half of the number who had left to wage war. Virtually all of their Spirit Severing experts had died. Only three returned.

As soon as the Solitary Sword Sect's forces returned, they immediately sealed down the entire sect, activated their grand spell formation and cut themselves off from the outside world.

All of the sect members' hearts were filled with fear and even terror at the thought of reprisals from the Blood Demon Sect.

The Golden Frost Sect was in much the same position as the Solitary Sword Sect. Their Patriarch had died, their Dao Seeking puppet had been destroyed, and virtually all of their Spirit Severing experts had been slain. The only Spirit Severing expert who remained was an Elder of the Second Severing, who was now the most powerful person in the Sect.

Their eighteen grand spell formations were activated one by one. The Golden Frost Sect… also chose to seal their entire sect off from the outside world!

As for theShimuraClan, both their 3rd and 5th Patriarchs were dead, and significant injuries and deaths had been inflicted on their forces. It was an incredibly heavy blow to the Clan. Thankfully for theShimuraClan, they had existed for many years, and were able to awaken a Third Severing Patriarch. However, he was only one person. Therefore, theShimuraClan also sealed itself, its mountain ranges, and all the surrounding areas.

And then there was the Black Sieve Sect…. There was no need for the Black Sieve Sect to seal anything. There were only a handful of disciples left alive. As for the ones who survived the war with the Blood Demon Sect, they didn't return to the sect.

The disciples who had been left behind to guard the sect quickly learned of the death of Six-Daos, and the great victory of the Blood Demon Sect. Filled with terror, they all left. The once flourishing mountains of the enormous Black Sieve Sect were now empty.

Of course, there were some rogue cultivators and small-scale sects who cast their eyes on the spiritual energy and resources within the sect. They snuck in to search for the sect's ancient records, legacies and magical items.

However, something happened that instantly turned the entire Black Sieve Sect into a forbidden zone that no one dared to enter.

About half a month previous, a group of several hundred rogue cultivators were wandering through the Black Sieve Sect when suddenly, a sinister roar could be heard coming from underground, deep beneath the Black Sieve Sect. Then, a voice could be heard.

"I, the Emperor, have been sleeping for so long, and when I finally wake up… well, look at what has happened to this place! Well then, you people will be staying behind!" As the voice echoed out, black fog roiled up from the ground beneath the Black Sieve Sect. It quickly enveloped the entire area, whereupon bloodcurdling shrieks could be heard coming from the rogue cultivators inside. Not a single one was able to escape.

The people who were outside of the fog fled in shock, and then spread word of what had happened.

As the Southern Domain slipped into chaos, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect and theShimuraClan were all sealed. There was little change in the Song Clan and the Violet Fate Sect. For them, things continued on as normal. They had not participated in the war with the Blood Demon Sect, and therefore sustained no losses whatsoever, and maintained their previous levels of power.

As time passed, more and more Southern Domain cultivators were trying to figure out what the Blood Demon Sect would do next. Would they strike back? If they sought revenge, which sect would they move against first?

In fact, quite a few cultivators lingered near the outskirts of the Blood Demon Sect, awaiting the day they took action.

Finally, one bright and beautiful day, beneath a cloudless sky, a beam of colorful light shot up from within the Blood Demon Sect. It was not just one beam, but hundreds, then thousands, until finally… tens of thousands of beams of light caused Heaven and Earth to tremble.

Instantly, the cultivators lingering outside of the Blood Demon Sect began to get excited.

"The Blood Demon Sect is on the march!"

"Tens of thousands of cultivators have been dispatched! There's definitely going to be a war!"

"They're absolutely going to strike back, otherwise why would they marshal such an incredible force!?"

The rogue cultivators quickly spread the news. At a sensitive time like this in the Southern Domain, this news about the Blood Demon Sect swept across the entire land like a stormwind.

The Blood Demon Sect was on the move!

Tens of thousands of beams of light shot through the air, with Naruto in the lead. His expression was grim as he whistled through the air. Shockingly, he was flanked by two figures wearing blood-colored robes, with blank expressions on their faces. They seemed barely aware of what was going on around them, but their auras were intense, that of peak Dao Seeking.

Behind them were the Spirit Severing experts, then tens of thousands of ordinary disciples, all of them bent on revenge.

They traveled in silence, and with utmost speed. Quite a few Southern Domain cultivators caught sight of them flying through the sky and were shocked, but then began to follow along. Gradually, more and more cultivators were following behind the Blood Demon Sect.

Soon, the buzz of conversation could be heard from the cultivators trailing the Blood Demon Sect.

"The Black Sieve Sect! That's their target! It's the Black Sieve Sect!"

"You're right. Based on the direction, the only target could be the Black

Sieve Sect!"

"The Black Sieve Sect has already fallen to pieces. Its disciples are either dead or scattered! The whole sect is in ruins!"

"Did you forget what happened half a month ago, though? There's a fog covering the entire sect, with some mysterious danger lurking inside."

Naruto was in the vanguard position, his expression calm, but his eyes flickering with killing intent. Many people had been wounded or killed in the fighting, and his hatred had reached such heights that retribution was absolutely necessary.

As far as the Black Sieve Sect went, Naruto had long since planned to destroy it. He didn't just want to kill the disciples of the sect, he wanted to completely rip it up by the roots and erase its name from the Southern Domain for all time.

"After joining the Blood Demon Sect, I have slaughtered countless enemies. Therefore… I might as well be thorough about it!" A bloody glow could be seen in his eyes, and a monstrous desire to kill filled him as he pushed forward at top speed.

RUMBLE!

Several days later, the Blood Demon Sect appeared as beams of light in the sky above the Black Sieve Sect. Shockingly, more than 100,000 additional beams of light were behind them. They… were disciples from other Southern Domain sects, as well as rogue cultivators. They had followed the Blood Demon Sect here to bear witness to the great war.

The Black Sieve Sect no longer looked like the place Naruto remembered. What he saw was a vast churning fog, completely black, that covered the Ninety Nine Mountains and exuded an intense aura of death. Its coldness was palpable. Furthermore, the surroundings were caked in layer after layer of bluish ice, as if the area was experiencing a glacial winter.

Naruto quickly blinked his right eye several times in succession, and the Chakra of Immortal Shows the Way spread out into his eye. Now when he looked at the fog, he was able to make out some more vague details.

He could see the ruins of the Ninety Nine Mountains, as well as a group of a few hundred people milling about in the center of them all. Their bodies were stiff, as if they existed in a state somewhere between living and dying.

A black thread was attached to the head of each one of the group of several hundred. The black threads stretched down into the ground into a mass of fog deep below the surface of earth. It was roughly thirty meters wide, and even Naruto's gaze couldn't pierce into it.

However, Naruto could sense that the ball of fog emanated a Dao Seeking aura.

He gave a cold snort as he rotated his cultivation base. He lifted his right hand and then pushed it down over his right eye. The full power of Immortal Shows the Way poured into his eye, and his pupil began to glow with a golden light. All of a sudden, it was as if a veil had been lifted from the world.

He could now see clearly into the thirty meter ball of fog. He saw a platform in the shape of a lotus, upon which a man was seated crosslegged.

The man wore the robe of an emperor, as well as a crown. His body was shriveled and emaciated, almost like a withered corpse. Hundreds of black threads could be seen on the ground, all of them connected to his head. Bizarrely, the threads were squirming and writhing.

Behind the withered corpse was a door.

The instant Naruto laid eyes on the corpse, its eyes opened. A green light appeared there which shot out through the mist to meet Naruto's gaze.

"Naruto… Hao…." said the corpse, its voice ancient and strange as it echoed back and forth.

Naruto's eyes flickered. He did not find it strange at all that this person knew who he was. As for the hundreds of threads, Naruto could sense that they were being used by the withered corpse to control the hundreds of people up above. It was something similar to Soulsearch.

"I… don't want… to be… your enem… wait, your aura…?!" The withered corpse didn't even get halfway through its sentence before it seemed to sense something. It looked closely at Naruto, and then the flickering green glow in its eyes grew even more intense.

"You're… that Demon Sealer… from that time years ago! Demon Sealer! If I kill you… I can confirm the path to true Immortality!" The withered corpse suddenly shot to its feet. In that instant, the fog covering the Black Sieve Sect suddenly exploded out, shooting directly toward Naruto.

Inside of the fog were hundreds of figures, all of them roaring as black mist bored into their bodies. Their cultivation bases surged, and although their eyes were blank, their faces twisted with rage. Their bodies grew severalfold, and black fur appeared on their skin. Their teeth turned into fangs, and dual horns sprung out of their heads.

They no longer resembled people, but rather Demons, roaring as they charged into battle.

Naruto's eyes flickered with coldness, and he said, "Looking to die?!"

750

Chapter 750 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 750: Severing Karma

Several hundred figures with inhuman, demonic bodies charged forward. Their speed increased dramatically, and their cultivation bases climbed higher by a whole stage.

Among their number were four Nascent Soul stage cultivators who grew to an incredible and powerful level. They were now thirty meters tall, with cultivation bases similar to Spirit Severing!

After the transformation, the weakest of the cultivators was at Core Formation, with most being in the Nascent Soul stage.

The power to do such a thing could be considered top rate for any sect or clan. It was something that no power would look down upon during a fight. In fact, an ability like this could easily change the balance of power in a battle.

That was especially true for the four Spirit Severing cultivators.

Currently, the remaining Dao Seeking cultivators in the Southern Domain refused to show themselves, so if a Spirit Severing cultivator so much as stomped his feet, it would cause a huge commotion.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and behind him, the killing intent of the tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples surged. They had come here for revenge. When it came to the people who had besieged and battled them, they faced either destruction or assimilation.

There were only these two choices.

Naruto's face was calm as he looked at the hundreds of people charging forward. He did not attack them personally. Instead, he waved his sleeve and coolly said, "Exterminate them."

Immediately, roars filled the air behind him.

"DIE!" howled the Blood Demon Sect disciples. Instantly, tens of thousands of cultivators unleashed divine abilities and magical techniques. In the blink of an eye, colorful ripples exploded out in all directions. Their magic was like floodwaters that swept through the air.

The fog rumbled and cracked, and the hundreds of people inside were instantly shredded into a haze of blood and gore, with the exception of the four Spirit Severing cultivators.

That was the result of the combined power of tens of thousands of cultivators. The hundreds of strange, mutated cultivators that belonged to the Black Sieve Sect, despite being powerful enough to constitute the backbone of any Sect's fighting forces, were simply incapable of withstanding even one of their attacks.

Rumbling echoed out, and blood sprayed from the mouths of the four Spirit Severing enemies who had just been raised from the Nascent Soul stage. However, they did not fear death, nor did they do anything to evade. Instead, they charged forward in a frenzy and then… chose to self detonate.

Flames burst out on their skin, and a shocking pressure emanated out from them. Countless beams of brilliant light shone out as they prepared to blow themselves up.

Naruto's expression remained completely the same as these four seemingly Demonic Spirit Severing cultivators detonated. It was in this moment that his second true self appeared. He raised his right hand, splayed his fingers and pushed forward.

A huge boom could be heard as the four Demons exploded, the power of which transformed into an attack that made the fog seethe and the air split open. A multicolored mushroom cloud began to rise up, within which was flesh and blood, as well as incredible destructive power. However, the power of the mushroom cloud attack was met by Naruto's second true self.

As he faced the expanding mushroom cloud, the second true self slowly began to close his hand into a fist. As he did, the mushroom cloud stopped expanding, and then began to shrink down.

By the time the second true self's hand was fully closed into a fist, the destructive power of the self-detonation, the mushroom cloud, was completely suppressed.

The second true self clenched his fist violently, and a boom could be heard. The destructive mushroom cloud suddenly… faded away into nothing.

The sight of this instantly roused the spirits of the Blood Demon Sect cultivators. As for the hundreds of thousands of Southern Domain cultivators further back, their faces filled with astonishment, and they gasped.

"This clone of the Blood Demon Sect's Blood Prince… is so… is so… completely terrifying!"

"The power of four Spirit Severing cultivators' self-detonation was crushed by a single palm!"

"No wonder the joint attack of the four great powers was incapable of defeating the Blood Demon Sect. Not only that, they sealed themselves away from the world after the war was over! The Blood Demon Sect… is too powerful!"

In the moment that the hundreds of cultivators were defeated, the fog churned, then began to rise up. Up in midair, it transformed into an enormous beast that stood on two legs and resembled a black bear.

It was completely ferocious in appearance. Although it had no horns, its enormous fangs were shocking. Mist swirled around it as it roared and then charged toward the Blood Demon Sect, its eyes bright red.

Shocking pressure emanated out from the mist beast, and although it did not emanate any sort of natural law, the feeling Naruto got from it was that of Dao Seeking.

As the mist condensed and formed this beast , the Ninety Nine Mountains of the Black Sieve Sect were revealed, and at their center, a huge rift in the ground could be seen, from within which black fog emanated out.

Deep within that rift was the figure that Naruto had seen earlier.

"Left Dharma Protector, slay this mist beast," said Naruto coolly. To the left of him was what had once been the Golden Frost Sect Patriarch. His eyes were the color of blood as he unhesitatingly strode forward toward the mist beast and lifted his hand. A tiny mountain appeared, which was the Golden Frost Sect's legacy precious treasure.

A boom could be heard as the two clashed in battle.

"Right Dharma Protector, go kill the bastard hiding in that rift." The Blood Clone that was formed from the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch shot forward, a bloodthirsty gleam in his eyes. TheShimuraClan's legacy precious treasure, a Feng Shui compass, rotated around him as he headed toward the rift in the ground.

Booms echoed out as Naruto floated in midair, declining to participate in the battle. His two peak Dao Seeking Dharma Protectors were enough to sweep across the Southern Domain and slaughter everything.

To the Blood Demon Sect, unifying the Southern Domain would be a extremely simple task, and that was exactly what Naruto intended to do. Exert incredible pressure on all the sects and clans of the Southern Domain, and unite the entire land.

Rumbling filled the sky as the mist beast, incapable of standing up to the divine abilities of the Golden Frost Sect Patriarch, was defeated in the space of only seven or eight breaths. In the end, it exploded, transforming into countless streams of fog that dissipated in all directions.

Underground, booming explosions rang out, followed by bellows of rage.

The corpse wearing the imperial robes was now battling the 3rdShimuraClan Patriarch. Currently, ripples of the peak Dao Seeking stage were now emanating off of the corpse.

As the two of them fought back and forth, the ground quaked, and the rift was torn open even wider. The corpse's enraged shouts grew louder, and then Naruto waved a finger, sending the Golden Frost Sect patriarch into the rift to join the fight. Now, it was two against one!

There was little to be suspenseful about. After enough time had passed for half an incense stick to burn, the withered corpse suffered defeat after defeat. Howling with rage and frustration, it called out, "Naruto…. Just leave! I don't care that you're a Demon Sealer any more! How about we just leave each other alone!?

"If we keep fighting this way, you might win, but one of your men will be seriously injured, maybe even killed! Let's call it quits, how about it?"

"You don't care that I'm a Demon Sealer?" said Naruto coolly. "Well I do!" His second true self's eyes glittered as he took a step forward, then suddenly teleported into the rift. In the blink of an eye, more thunderous explosions could be heard from inside.

The withered corpse let out an exclamation of shock. The ground quaked, and more rifts snaked out across the land. Even some of the mountains began to crumble.

The entire Black Sieve Sect was in a horrible state. Mountains were toppling, and the land was being torn apart. Grand palaces and other buildings that had just recently been rebuilt were now falling to pieces.

A huge crater then appeared, which began to swallow up the Ninety Nine Mountains. Four beams of light shot up from within it, one up ahead, three following. The withered corpse was in the lead, blood streaming from his mouth, his entire body in tattered and wounded. His expression was one of astonishment as he fled. Behind him were Naruto's second true self and two Dharma Protectors.

The three combined their attacks to shocking effect, making it impossible for the withered corpse to flee. He was sent tumbling through the air, whereupon the second true self appeared off to the side, Wooden Time Sword shining brightly. The withered corpse was terrified in the extreme.

As the three closed in, the withered corpse's eyes suddenly filled with madness. He lifted his right hand up and then tore open a hole in his chest, revealing his withered innards. In the same location as his heart, shockingly, there was a tiny black imp.

The pitch-black imp had three eyes, no nose and a wide mouth, and it appeared to have grown up along with the heart itself. Its three eyes opened to reveal a bizarre glow. It immediately flew out into the air, after which the withered corpse trembled. All of the life force seemed to have been sucked out of it, and it died.

As the withered corpse died, the imp shot up into the sky. It hovered there, looking down coldly at Naruto, its eyes filled with grimness and hatred. Apparently, it was committing Naruto's image to memory.

This development caused Naruto to gape in shock. The surrounding cultivators were also astonished. Who would ever have thought that hidden inside of the withered corpse was something as bizarre as this imp?

"Demon Sealer…." said the imp, its voice high-pitched. "As emperor, I will never forget this. Sooner or later, I'll make you pay! For now… I'm leaving, and nobody can stop me!" With that, it looked up, apparently preparing to shoot up into the starry sky.

The Left and Right Dharma Protectors unleashed divine abilities to obstruct its way. However, the pitch-black imp smiled mockingly, and did nothing to evade the divine abilities. Instead, he shot directly through them, and sustained no damage in the process.

Naruto's second true self gave a cold snort and then attacked. Magical symbols formed into the shape of a parasol, which emanated brilliant light. The imp's pupils constricted, and it let out a piercing shriek. Suddenly, massive quantities of black fog poured out from it and shot toward the parasol.

A boom rang out as the parasol of magical symbols collapsed into pieces. The imp's fog was melted, leaving it visibly weakened. However, it was now high in the sky. It glanced back at Naruto and then turned to fly away.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he experienced a menacing sensation. He wasn't sure where this pitch-black imp came from, but there was something about it that filled him with a feeling of grave crisis.

"I can't let him escape!" he thought. His right hand shot up into the air, and he waved his finger toward the imp.

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Boom!

The imp suddenly shuddered to a stop. However, it took only a moment of struggling to free itself. Its piercing voice rang out again, "You want to hex me? Your cultivation base isn't strong enough!"

Seeing that his opponent was about to disappear, Naruto took a deep breath and then calmed himself. He stretched out his right hand toward the sky, and then made a chopping motion.

His mind was now devoid of everything except for Karma.

Seventh Demon Sealing Hex!

Hex of Karma!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Ner Olyk and Gregor Kolm_

Disclaimer

There is no guarantee the translation is 100% correct.

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	3. Chapter 3

Karmic Hexing had been bestowed upon him by Patriarch Blood Demon when he reached the fourth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. It was a hexing magic that belonged solely to the Demon Sealers, and was something that only Demon sealers could learn and utilize.

Naruto had long since achieved internal enlightenment regarding the magic. However, after testing it out, he found that he was unable to successfully cast it consistently. Now that he saw the pitch-black imp fleeing, coldness filled his eyes and he immediately unleashed the magic.

When he raised his hand and then chopped it down, the entire world seemed to grind to a halt. He was now able see innumerable silk-like threads attached to everyone. They were wrapped and twined together as they spread out into the air to connect to everything else in the world.

This was not the first time Naruto had seen something like this. The Karmic Severing of the Hebi Clan invoked a similar sight.

However, Naruto was a Demon Sealer, so he would not sever Karma, he would hex it!

Karmic Severing was, of course a severing, whereas Karmic Hexing was a type of sealing!

Severing someone's Karma with Karmic Severing would result in their complete and utter death. It didn't matter if the victim had numerous clones; any memories that existed of the victim in anyone's mind would be blotted out. By erasing the image of the person in everyone's mind, even if that person still lived on somewhere, they would be dead.

Such a fearsome Daoist magic was a fundamental magic of the Hebi Clan, and in fact, could be considered the most powerful art in the Ninth

Mountain. The reason being, of course, that the Heavens of the Ninth

Mountain… was none other than Hebi Tian. 1

As for Naruto, his Karmic Hexing was, simply stated, using Karma as a hex.

It could use your own Karma to seal you!

The more Karma you possessed, the more powerful the sealing. It didn't matter if you were a human, Immortal, or some other powerful being; as long as you had Karma, you could be sealed.

At first glance, it did not seem to be as domineering as the Hebi Clan's art. In reality, though… severing something was as simple as wielding a sharp blade. To seal someone with Karma, however, required controlling Karma itself, and therefore, a deep understanding of it.

The Hebi Clan's Karmic Annihilation had been cultivated to the ultimate degree, but definitely could not be used to control Karma. The Hebi Clan cultivated a blade with which to sever Karma, whereas the Demon Sealers controlled it. With a single word, they could break the Karmic connection itself.

The two arts were on completely different level.

The power of Karmic Hexing was enough to shake the Heavens. It was like the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, one of the eight great Demon Sealing hexes. Only such a peerless Daoist Magic was worthy to be among those created by the successive generations of Demon Sealers.

Furthermore, it was only by creating such an individualized hex that someone could truly be considered… a Demon Sealer!

"I wonder what my own personal hex, the Ninth Demon Sealing Hex… will be like…?" Naruto murmured to himself. His eyes were now blank as he looked up into the sky at the pitch-black imp.

He saw the innumerable Karma Threads attached to the thing, and then he saw them suddenly twisting and distorting as they entangled the pitch-black imp.

"NO!" screamed the imp. "The seventh hex! It's the seventh hex…. The seventh generation Demon Sealer has already perished, his Hexing magic was lost! How could someone in this world be using it!?

"Impossible! I can't accept this! There's only one sixty-year cycle left…." The pitch-black imp struggled, but the only result was that it became more entangled. Within the space of a few short breaths, it was completely wrapped up; escape was virtually impossible.

Of course, everyone who was watching saw something very different than what Naruto saw. They could not see the Karma Threads; they only saw Naruto point, and in response, the pitch-black imp suddenly stopped in midair. It seemed to be struggling, as if its body weren't under its own control any more. Then it began to move backward.

Toward Naruto!

After only a moment, it was back in front of Naruto and then on the palm of his hand. Everyone gaped as Naruto casually put the imp in his bag of holding.

Gasps could be heard from all directions. The Blood Demon Sect disciples took it much more in stride; after all, they were used to Naruto's enigmatic unpredictability. However, the hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators were flabbergasted.

"Was that… a sealing?"

"But I didn't sense any ripples or signs of sealing magic! It was like… like that pitch-black imp flew over of its own accord!"

"This Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect, Naruto… he's beyond comprehension!"

The Black Sieve Sect was now completely destroyed.

The only thing that remained was a crater. The mountains were crumbled, and the once glorious sect now existed only in minds of those who remembered it. All that was left of this shattered and barren land was the unceasing rotation of the heavens above.

A great sect that had existed for ten thousand years, was now nothing more than wreckage and ruins.

Gone. Completely gone.

The surrounding rogue cultivators looked down silently at what used to be the Black Sieve Sect, and gradually, began to sigh to themselves.

Naruto hovered in midair, looking down at the ruins of the Black Sieve Sect, and thought back to the first time he had come here. He also thought about when he came here asNamikaze Mu, and then the third time he came, for Hinata.

After a long moment, he shook his head. He was just about to leave when he stopped in place. He looked back down at the ruins and then a strange light began to shine in his eyes.

"It seems I forgot about something…." he murmured. His eyes glittered as he thought back to the first time he had come to the Black Sieve Sect, and the ancient Blessed Land.

It was there that he encountered the vexatious meat jelly.

It was also where he saw that ancient cauldron!

It was an enormous cauldron that was square on the outside and circular on the inside. It was cracked, and contained infinite lightning inside, as well as several enormous statues which bore the surnames of various ancestors from ancient times. 2

In the very center of the statues was an inner cauldron that was round on the outside and square on the inside. Inside of that cauldron… was the precious treasure of an incredibly ancient, almighty being.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he decided not to leave. Instead, he disappeared in a flash toward the enormous fissure in the ground. He had just recalled that the withered corpse had been sitting cross-legged in front of a door.

His second true self took the lead into the fissure. They sped downward and quickly landed on the lotus-shaped platform, directly in front of the doorway, which exuded an ancient and primordial aura.

Naruto hesitated for a moment as he looked at the door. Heart trembling, he sent his second true self ahead to enter.

After a moment, Naruto's eyes flickered, and his divine sense that existed in his second true self allowed him to see everything that his second true self was seeing. Without hesitating, he stepped into the door.

RUMBLE!

Everything twisted, distorted, and turned blurry. When things became clear again, Naruto appeared in that same world that he had come to before, the ancient Blessed Land!

Because of his familiarity with the place, he was able to see that things were quite different than they had been before. Everything was still and quiet. There were no trees or grass, and everything was black.

There were still mountains visible, but they had black iron chains wrapped around them. The entire world almost seemed to be an enormous spell formation.

"That pitch-black imp was guarding this door," he thought, "so it must have some connection to all this blackness." He flew up into the air and, based on what he remembered of the place, headed in the direction of the enormous cauldron.

As he sped over the land, he was shocked to see that roughly seventy percent of the entire place was pitch black. The other thirty percent was gradually changing. Based on the speed with which it was occurring, it would probably take about one sixty-year-cycle or less for the entire place to turn black.

As he studied the land below, an an expression of reminiscence appeared as he recalled reuniting with Hinata for the first time in this place.

After a while, he sighed.

Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn before he arrived in a location that had not been covered over by the blackness. The same teleportation portal as before was still operational.

Considering Naruto's current cultivation base and experience, he only had to look at it for a moment before determining how to operate it. He produced a spirit stone, which he placed on the surface. Immediately, the glow of teleportation rose up, and Naruto faded away.

When he reappeared, he was near the location of the enormous cauldron. He could hear the shocking rumble of thunder, and off in the distance, he could see…

An enormous, bronze cauldron!

As he looked at the cauldron, he recalled the visions he had experienced, of an almighty being who had refused to capitulate when the Hebi Ancestor assumed control of the Ninth Mountain, and had used the cauldron to try to bolt from under the Hebi Heavens.

His decision was the same as that of the legendary World Tree.

However, in the end, the World Tree destroyed itself within the starry sky. As for that almighty being, after the cauldron was broken open, he was apparently eradicated in form and spirit. The only thing that remained behind was this shocking cauldron.

Perhaps to Lord Ji, the cauldron and its Heaven-murdering will were useless. Perhaps there was another reason why he didn't take it for himself. In any case, to other people, the cauldron would definitely be considered a precious treasure.

Naruto took a deep breath and headed forward. As he neared the enormous bronze cauldron, the sound of lightning grew louder and more frequent. Blue lightning bolts fell relentlessly, transforming the entire area into a sea of lightning.

Shockingly, some of the lightning bolts were even black.

About 3,000 meters away from the cauldron, Naruto stopped. "When I came here with Ino and the others, we waited until the lightning was at its weakest before daring to go in. But now….

"Now… I'm quite different than I was back then." Eyes glittering, Naruto strode forward into the lightning. Countless bolts of lightning fell, and at the same time, an ancient, domineering voice resounded out from within the cauldron.

"Halt!"

In conjunction with the voice, the lightning fell with increased intensity. It transformed into something almost like a sheet that covered everything in all directions.

"I have some fuzzy recollections of you," the voice continued, echoing amidst the thunder with might like that of the Heavens. "You shouldn't be here. Leave immediately. If you take even a single step forward, a tribulation of fire and lightning will descend and you will most certainly die."

Naruto stopped in place and then called out, "Senior, you must be the spirit of this treasured cauldron!"

The ancient voice did not speak again, and the lightning and thunder grew more intense. However, a path through the lightning appeared behind Naruto. Apparently Naruto was being given a message…. The only path for him was the one that left this place.

He took a deep breath and then said, "Senior, I've come here today for one purpose. I wish to take this cauldron away from here. Senior, could you please explain how to do so?"

After a long moment, the ancient voice could be heard once again. This time, its tone was colder than before, and even filled with a touch of disdain. "All you have to do is approach the cauldron and brand it with your divine sense. Then you can take it away."

Hearing this, Naruto immediately picked up on the unstated implication. "You're not the cauldron's spirit?"

"Of course I'm not!"

Ji Tian is the name of Lord Ji, but could also be translated "Heavens of Ji" ↩ The square cauldron was introduced in chapter 157, and the other things mentioned, such as the lighting and the statues, all came up in subsequent chapters. Interestingly, the title of chapter 157 indicates that the cauldron is square, but the chapter itself doesn't mention that point. On another note, if you compare the events of these two parts of the story, you might notice an inconsistency. There is no explanation for that inconsistency, although I could come up with one pretty easily. In fact, with one additional line of text, I could solve the whole problem. Unfortunately, that would violate the translator code of ethics, so I will leave it "as is" ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 752

Chapter 752 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 752: Dao Seeking Fleshly Body!

The first time he came here, he would never have dared to even open his mouth, let alone directly ask the question he just had. Back then, his cultivation base was simply too low, and it was only by lucky coincidence that he was even able to come here in the first place.

Now, though, he was a Second Severing cultivator with a second true self that was at the peak of Dao Seeking.

In the current age in which Immortals were incredibly rare in the lands of Planet Ninshu , the peak of Dao Seeking fully deserved to be called the pinnacle level of power. Naruto really was on the same pedestal as the most powerful experts of Planet Ninshu .

And that was not speaking of the Southern Domain, but Planet Ninshu as a whole.

Naruto looked calmly at the endless sheets of lightning between him and the bronze cauldron, then stepped forward. As soon as he entered the lightning, he was surrounded by shocking rumbling sounds. Endless amounts of lightning shot toward him.

Smacking sounds echoed out as the lightning bolts slammed onto him. They were like writhing white snakes that, from a distance, looks almost like a tempest that surrounded Naruto.

He proceeded forward slowly, but every step was taken firmly and stably. Soon, he had advanced by ten measures, each measure being roughly three meters!

The rumbling grew more shocking and intense, and the lightning bolts more numerous. The pressure was intense, and even Naruto couldn't help but frown after passing twenty measures. He felt his body spasming, and knew that he could proceed forward. However, based on his calculations, after three hundred measures, he would be able to proceed no further.

The ancient voice once again rang out, filled with coldness: "You are currently a thousand measures away from the cauldron. Based on your level of strength, the most you can reach… is three hundred measures. The sensible thing would be to give up now. If you do something completely moronic, then you will either end up dead or seriously wounded."

"Actually," said Naruto coolly, "if I really wish to traverse this path of lightning, well… it's not that difficult of a thing." He waved his sleeve, and the air behind him rippled. In the blink of an eye, his second true self stepped forward to stand next to Naruto. Lighting fell around them, but the second true self wasn't harmed in the least bit. In fact, neither its hair nor even the edges of its garments were even stirred.

"Hnhh?" Within the huge cauldron, the ancient voice seemed momentarily struck speechless. "The soul of an Immortal!" it then exclaimed. In conjunction with the words, the lightning in the area grew even more shocking. Suddenly, the lightning merged together to form a man, who hovered in midair.

He was an old man with indistinguishable features. Only his outline was visible, but based on his appearance he seemed to be the lord of the lighting here. He emanated a shocking pressure, and seemed to be able to wield shocking power.

"No, not the soul of an Immortal," murmured the old man. "It's a clone… and yet, also not a clone. This is a fleshly body created with some secret art, raised to a pinnacle of power, after which… the soul of a true Immortal was inserted into it!" When Naruto heard the old man's musings, his eyes went wide. Clearly, the old man could pick up on various clues to piece together the truth.

"False Immortals are common, but true Immortals are very rare! With this Immortal clone, you definitely qualify to take the cauldron. However… the cauldron itself has no soul. Whoever touches it for the first time will find part of their soul extracted to become the essence of the cauldron spirit. Are you sure that you want your Immortal clone… to touch the cauldron?" The old man gazed steadily at Naruto.

Naruto frowned slightly, and muttered to himself for a bit. According to what the old man said, if his second true self touched the cauldron, then part of his soul would be split away. That meant the cauldron would not belong to Naruto, but to the true Immortal's soul.

Furthermore, that meant that although he would most likely be able to use the cauldron, it wouldn't be his.

"This old guy is pretty mysterious," thought Naruto. "Regardless of what he says… I can't trust him completely." After some more thought, he looked down at his right arm, and the lightning dancing back and forth across it. Occasionally, lightning would be absorbed into his arm, which gave rise to a tickling sensation. From the look of it, his right arm was actually strong enough to absorb the lightning.

Naruto's eyes suddenly began to glitter.

"My Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal needs to absorb vast quantities of magical items…. Could it be that I can actually absorb the lightning from this place?" Heart pounding, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. When they opened, his Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal was fully rotating.

As soon as he employed the art, the lightning around him acted as if it had suddenly found a drain to pour down, as if his body was a black hole. In the blink of an eye, all of the lightning… began to fall directly onto Naruto.

Apparently, Naruto was able to consume it all!

He trembled as pain stabbed through him. The Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal really was absorbing the lightning, which flowed through his body, merging into it. Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, and he trembled the entire time.

Then, his eyes began to glow with an intense light.

"I'm a bit stronger," he thought. "About as much as I would be by absorbing a few dozen Spirit Severing treasures." He took a deep breath as he realized that this place would be extremely dangerous to anyone except to someone who cultivated the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal. To him, this place was a location of incredible good fortune.

Naruto immediately sent his second true self back to its original position, then looked up at the old man formed from lightning.

"Senior, I think I will make an attempt alone," he said. With that, he stepped forward into the rumbling. Lightning fell, and Naruto's body trembled. The Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal spun into action once again, and the lightning was absorbed.

The pain he felt as the lightning danced through his flesh and blood made him shiver. However, his eyes shone with persistence. Enduring the pain, he continued onward, one measure at a time until he reached 100!

100 measures was 300 meters!

There was now more lightning, falling in vast sheets. Naruto was completely submerged in it, and from a distance he was barely even visible.

Within the lightning, the power of the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal flowed through him. His fleshly body writhed as the lightning danced. It bored into him over and over again, and as it did, he could clearly sense his fleshly body becoming stronger and more powerful.

Before, his fleshly body was already at the absolute pinnacle of Spirit Severing. All he needed was to push it forward a single step and it would be in Dao Seeking.

"I must take advantage of this opportunity!" he thought, his eyes flickering as he continued onward.

Up in the sky, the old man made of lighting watched on with an expression that only continued to grow more serious. A brilliant glow began to flicker in his eyes; clearly he had noticed that there was less lightning in the area.

Although it was only a small reduction, it was something that he had never experienced in all the countless years he had been here.

"So, he can absorb lightning?" he thought, shocked. "And not even normal lightning, at that. Tribulation Lightning! He can absorb it and use it to strengthen his fleshly body!

"What technique does he cultivate to be able to do something like that?

Don't tell me… it's one of those legendary Heaven-defying fleshly body Daoist magics?!" By this point, Naruto had already traveled to the 900 meter mark.

Lightning crashed down onto him the entire time, and he was surrounded by the booming of lightning. It was as if countless silver spikes were being stabbed into him nonstop.

Even using the expression "ten thousand arrows piercing the heart" would not be an exaggeration.

The pain was so intense that Naruto's vision began to grow dark.

Despite being completely surrounding by bright, resplendent lightning, all he could see was darkness. He quickly bit the tip of his tongue, causing himself to regain a bit of clarity. Spitting out the blood, he proceeded forward.

RUMBLE!

1,500 meters!

Naruto raised his head up and roared. His right arm had now fully broken through from Spirit Severing to Dao Seeking. As for the rest of his body, it was now pushing the very borders of the limits of Spirit Severing.

The lightning in the area had previously spread out for three thousand meters. But Naruto had absorbed a lot of it, and now it only stretched for 2,500 meters.

The reduction only went faster after his right arm reached Dao Seeking. The 2,500 meters quickly shrank down to only 2,000 meters.

Excited, Naruto gritted his teeth and pushed forward.

He soon reached the 1,800 meter mark.

2,000 meters!

An incredible rumbling could be heard as his left arm broke through to the fleshly body of Dao Seeking.

2,500 meters!

Both legs radiated the aura of natural law, as if they were now connected in some bizarre way to Heaven and Earth. Both of them were now in Dao Seeking!

2,750 meters!

Naruto was panting as the lightning around him suddenly shrank down to only 1,000 meters.

It was at this point that the black lightning bolts smashed down toward him with incredible destructive power. He looked up, his eyes bright red, and allowed the black lightning to slam into him.

As soon as the black lightning bolts merged into him, cracking sounds could be heard. Tears instantly spread out across his skin; it almost appeared that he would be incapable of withstanding the lightning, and would fall to pieces.

Next, though, his Eternal stratum kicked in, and the wounds healed. Intense pain surged through him, the likes of which he had never felt before. He couldn't hold back from letting out an anguished howl.

Even as he did, rumbling filled his body; it was not the sound of him collapsing into pieces, but rather, the shocking rumbling of an incredibly powerful Dao Seeking fleshly body.

His limbs and torso all broke through from Spirit Severing into Dao Seeking. Only his head remained as a weak spot, and the most difficult area to strengthen. Naruto took a deep breath and then pushed onward. 2,800 meters. 2,850 meters…. 2,900 meters!

His head felt as if it were being crushed down upon by the Heavens. Countless lightning bolts danced across him, and the Nine Heavens Treasured Body Seal rotated rapidly….

2,950 meters…. 2,999 meters…. Finally… 3,000 meters!

The bronze cauldron was directly in front of Naruto. He stood there trembling, surrounding by a mere 300 meter area of lightning. Surrounded by the boundless lightning, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and then slowly began to lift his hand. Gritting his teeth, he slapped his palm down onto the surface of the bronze cauldron!

The huge cauldron began to thrum, and the three hundred meter area of lightning instantly condensed down onto Naruto.

BOOM!

"From now on, you belong to me!" said Naruto, his voice quavering out from within the lightning.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 753

Chapter 753 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 753: Destination – Solitary Sword Sect!

RUMBLE!

The lightning in the three hundred meter area rushed toward Naruto, thoroughly enveloping him. The Lightning Elder up in mid-air watched Naruto's actions with sparkling eyes. By this point, he was thoroughly shaken.

It was then that, all of a sudden, the enormous bronze cauldron began to shudder. Within the lightning, Naruto seemed on the verge of being torn to pieces. His skin was ripped and torn, and was clearly on the verge of exploding.

It was at that point, when he was almost about to explode, that natural law descended and swirled around his head. Now, every inch of Naruto's person… was completely in Dao Seeking!

This was a Dao Seeking fleshly body!

This Dao Seeking was not as obvious as a Dao Seeking cultivation base. The influence it had on natural law was not very intense. However, from this moment on, Naruto's body was truly like a Dao Seeking treasure.

At this point, he could close his eyes and allow any Spirit Severing cultivator to attack him at will, and it wouldn't harm his body in the least bit.

In fact, in all the lands of Planet Ninshu you would be as likely to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn as you would to find someone with a fleshly body comparable to Naruto's. Not even in the Hebi Clan could someone like that be found.

This was an extremely powerful fleshly body!

Naruto lifted his head back and roared. In a short moment, all of the lightning in the area was sucked into his body. It disappeared without leaving behind even the tiniest trace. Naruto flew up into the air, and although no lightning could be seen on him, if you looked deep into his eyes, you would be able to sense amorphous lightning deep within.

As he hovered there in midair, he cast his senses throughout his body, and could feel how terrifyingly powerful it was. He could even sense some of the natural law of Heaven and Earth. Because this was an ancient Blessed Land, the natural law in this place was different from that of Planet Ninshu . Therefore his aura was now a bit more primordial and chaotic than before.

It seemed ancient, filled with the passage of years, and the air he let off was one of boundless time.

He took a deep breath and then looked back down at the enormous bronze cauldron, and his eyes flashed. Moments ago, when he had placed his hand onto the cauldron, he had felt a bit of his soul detaching and entering the cauldron.

As he looked at it now, he could sense some vague, mysterious connection to it.

"Rise!" he said, raising his hand aloft.

RUMBLE!

The enormous bronze cauldron trembled. Creaking sounds could be heard, and fissures spread across the surrounding terrain, as it slowly rose up into the air, causing vast amounts of dust to spread out in all directions like a cloud.

As the cauldron rose into the air, its primordial, ancient aura became more and more similar to Naruto's.

The sight of it caused the old man hovering in midair to gasp. He looked deeply at Naruto, then glanced down at the second true self standing not far away.

"I am not the spirit of the cauldron," he said lightly. "However, I am its guardian. The truly valuable thing about this treasure is the inner cauldron, which is mysterious in origin. As for the outer cauldron, my master forged it. Now, it belongs to you. Since you have acquired it… it means you are tied to it by destiny. Time will tell whether or not you can use the cauldron to achieve the same glory that my master did.

"Now that you have obtained the cauldron, my mission is accomplished…." His eyes began to grow dim, and his body started to fade away.

His voice cool, he continued, "I should have perished long ago. That year, I was the lone survivor of the Tribulation Lightning, and my soul did not disperse. Now that my mission is complete, I can experience rebirth….

"I will travel to the underworld of the Fourth Mountain and be reincarnated, be born once again as a human. Years from now, perhaps you and I will meet again on the road to Immortality…." He continued to fade away until he was nothing more than dots of light, which began to fly up into the sky, then disappeared.

Naruto looked in the direction the old man had departed to. He wasn't sure who he was, but he couldn't help but think of the tall man he had seen in the vision all those years ago.

For a moment, the two of them had seemed quite similar.

After a moment of thought, Naruto looked back at the enormous cauldron.

"Shrink!" he commanded.

The huge cauldron thrummed, and then began to shrink. When it was the size of a hand, it floated down to rest on Naruto's palm. As soon as it touched him, lightning surged out from Naruto, and he was immersed in electricity.

Within the lightning, Naruto's body trembled, and he was able to sense some of the remarkable abilities of the bronze cauldron. It seemed as if this knowledge had suddenly popped into his mind automatically as soon as he touched the cauldron.

"Form Displacement Transposition …." He gaped for a moment, then suddenly pushed down on the cauldron and looked over at his second true self.

In that instant, everything suddenly went blurry for a moment. When he could see clearly again, he was shocked to discover that he… was still holding the cauldron, but was now down on the ground where his second true self had just been standing. As for his second true self, he was hovering in midair where Naruto had just been.

"Incredible!" he thought, his eyes going wide. Panting, he looked down at the Lightning Cauldron, and his eyes shone with a strange light. He could immediately tell that this cauldron would be extremely useful in magical combat.

In fact, its usefulness wouldn't be limited to battle. He could use it in many circumstances. It truly was Heaven-defying.

"It has other abilities too," he thought. "It can unleash lightning, and is also incredibly heavy, capable of carrying out true crushing!

"Furthermore, it was created in ancient times. The sturdiness of the materials used make it is such that other magical items can't even compare!" His eyes flickered as he suddenly thought of the statues inside the Lightning Cauldron, as well as the inner cauldron.

"This is truly a precious treasure!" he thought, breathing heavily. He put the Lightning Cauldron into his bag of holding, then flew up into the air. Together with his second true self, he shot off into the distance.

Moments later, he teleported out of the ancient Blessed Land and found himself once again on the lotus-shaped platform deep in the recesses of the former Black Sieve Sect. The door was no longer operational, and broke into tiny pieces, which then vanished.

Naruto glanced back at the disappearing door, then shot up out from within the earth. The Blood Demon Sect disciples were waiting outside, and when they caught sight of Naruto, they clasped hands and bowed.

"Blood Prince, we welcome you back with deep respect!"

The two Ironblood Patriarchs could sense that there was something different about Naruto, although they weren't sure exactly what it was. As for the Golden Frost Sect Patriarch and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch, they were now Blood Clone puppets, and had no way to tell.

When it came to the hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators, not a single one could pick up on even the slightest clue. All they could tell was that Naruto… somehow seemed stronger, and more ancient.

"The Black Sieve Sect is destroyed," declared Naruto, looking around at the crowds of people. "Next… is the Solitary Sword Sect!"

"The Solitary Sword Sect!" The forces of the Blood Demon Sect flickered with killing intent, and their desire to slaughter burned like wildfire. The hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators were also getting excited.

"He's actually going to completely wipe out the four powers who allied against him!"

"If the Blood Demon Sect does that, then they really will unite the

Southern Domain!"

Even as the hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators expressed their shock, a glow like that of lightning appeared beneath Naruto's feet, and he shot off into the distance, followed by countless beams of light that were the Blood Demon Sect disciples.

Several days later, the sky outside the Solitary Sword Sect began to rumble. The clouds collapsed as a mighty gale-force wind swept through the area. A storm seemed to be gathering above the Solitary Sword Sect.

The sect was completely sealed up. Disciples inside were not permitted to leave, and the entire sect was poised as if to face a mortal enemy. Everything was sealed to protect against reprisals from the Blood Demon Sect.

The mood in the Solitary Sword Sect was gloomy and distressed. Everyone was nervous. There were only a few tens of thousands of disciples left, and all of them were on edge. The sect's Dao Seeking Patriarch was dead, and the strongest people in the entire sect were their three Spirit Severing Cultivators, including Sir Jian. 1

When they saw the beams of light flying through the air that were the

Blood Demon Sect, they knew that they could do nothing to fight back. They could only hope that their grand spell formation, designed to protect the sect, would be able to stand up to the revenge-bent Blood Demon Sect.

The air outside the sect rippled as tens of thousands of beams of light approached. Naruto was in the vanguard position, and the murderous air around him was thick. His eyes flashed with killing intent as he glanced over the Solitary Sword Sect.

In this part of the Southern Domain, the mountains stuck straight up like swords. In the middle of the sect was a shocking mountain surrounded by thin mist. Looking through the mist at the sect, it appeared to be completely bleak and desolate.

Although the mist appeared to be thin, it was actually the first spell formation of the Solitary Sword Sect's grand spell formation.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples behind Naruto joined their voices together into a raging sound that boomed like waves through the Solitary Sword Sect.

"SURRENDER, OR DIE!"

There was no response. However, the thin mist that surrounded the Solitary Sword Sect began to spin, transforming into numerous swirling dragons. The dragons rapidly merged together, shockingly forming… an enormous Sword Dragon!

The dragon was lizard-like, and gigantic enough to cover the entire sect. Its back was covered with innumerable great swords that stuck up like needles. It was green, and shocking to the extreme. As soon as it appeared, it raised its head up and roared at Naruto. 2

Naruto's eyes flickered with coldness. He slapped his bag of holding with his right hand, and the Lightning Cauldron flew out. It thrummed, expanding rapidly until it was the size of a mountain. Endless bolts of lightning shot out from it, causing the entire sky to become a world of lightning.

A shocking pressure weighed down, and the sight of the cauldron caused Sir Jian and the other two Spirit Severing Patriarchs to become extremely nervous. As for the other disciples, they were shocked to the core.

However, there was one man off in a far corner of the Sect who did not seem nervous at all. He looked almost like an old man, but was in fact middle-aged. He had a stubbly beard, and looked lonely. Although he was a Solitary Sword Sect disciple, he wore no sword at his side.

The only thing he had was a flagon of alcohol from which he drank. He stared at what first seemed like an ordinary boulder that rested a bit further up the mountain from him. However, upon closer inspection… a person was visible inside the boulder. That same person existed for all eternity in his heart.

"Junior Brother," the man said. "Kill them…. Kill everyone in the Solitary Sword Sect. Avenge my master, and pay for my crimes." With a bitter smile, he took another long swig of alcohol.

As the shocking Lightning Cauldron expanded in size, more and more lightning appeared, causing everything to tremble.

The Blood Demon Sect disciples, as well as the hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators that came to observe, were all flabbergasted. They looked on in awe as the Lightning Cauldron sped toward the Solitary Sword Sect's Sword Dragon.

RUMBLE!

"Stand firm!" roared Sir Jian.

"All disciples, pour full energy into the spell formation!" cried another of the three Solitary Sword Sect Patriarchs.

Tens of thousands of disciples gritted their teeth and poured all of their energy into the spell formation. Instantly, the Sword Dragon looked even more corporeal than before.

Everyone watched as the Lightning Cauldron descended toward the Sword Dragon, which roared and then charged up to meet the Lightning Cauldron in mid-air.

Shocking booming sounds rang out.

Gasps rang out in all directions when the Sword Dragon slammed into the Lightning Cauldron, only to begin to shatter into pieces! It was incapable of standing up to the Lightning Cauldron in even the slightest capacity, and its entire body collapsed into fragments in only the blink of an eye….

It was destroyed as easily as crushing dry weeds!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Joseph Small, SongJaeGu, and LB_

Sir Jian was introduced in chapter 715. He was among the people who ganged up on the Blood Demon Sect Patriarchs while Naruto was missing. After Naruto returned, he was quickly cowed. If you recall, in chapter 717 Naruto had a staring contest with Gu Tianxiang, and Sir Jian got caught in the middle, and was injured ↩ "Sword Dragon" could also be translated stegosaurus. However, I have seen Chinese art in which such creatures are not stegosauruses. Although there is no way to know exactly what Er Gen envisioned (he did describe it as having swords sticking out of its back and looking like a lizard), I decided to go with the more literal translation of the characters. Also, there is an obvious connection to the name of the sect, so it seems apropos ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 754

Chapter 754: The Tale of Might Guy

The Lightning Cauldron crushed the Sword Dragon amidst incredible rumbling sounds, then struck the Solitary Sword Sect's spell formation head on.

Ripples spread out through the air, and from the perspective of cultivators on the outside, the Solitary Sword Sect distorted and looked as though it might be ripped apart at any moment. Inside the sect, the three Patriarchs trembled and coughed up blood.

As for the tens of thousands of Solitary Sword Sect disciples, they also trembled, and their faces were pale as they spit up mouthfuls of blood.

"Second Spell Formation!" cried Sir Jian, his voice echoing throughout the sect. Immediately, tens of thousands of disciples produced medicinal pills to consume.

They knew deep in their hearts that this battle would determine whether the Solitary Sword Sect survived or was destroyed. If their spell formation could hold, then they would be able to continue on sealed in their mountain. If it could not hold… then that meant the Solitary Sword Sect would be wiped away from the Southern Domain.

Of course, there was also the possibility of surrender.

As the forces of the Solitary Sword Sect unleashed the full scope of their power, countless sword beams appeared from within the ground, the mountains, and the buildings; from every corner of the sect.

There were more than 100,000 of them, and they flew out to circulate around the entire sect, like a tempest. As the tempest raged, the swords began to merge together, forming the shocking image… of a gigantic greatsword!

It was more than 30,000 meters long, and the entire Solitary Sword Sect fit inside of it. It was essentially a sword-shaped shield.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he gestured out into the air. The Lightning Cauldron shrank down and returned to him. When it touched down onto his palm, he was instantly surrounded by lightning.

"Break that formation!" he said coolly. The Golden Frost Sect Patriarch and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch immediately charged ahead. As they neared the sword shield, they waved their hands, causing peak Dao Seeking cultivation base power to explode out. Booms echoed as tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples also sent out attacks. Divine abilities and magical techniques descended like rainfall, slamming into the Solitary Sword Sect's grand spell formation.

Naruto sent his thoughts out to control his second true self, who suddenly appeared along with the Wooden Time Sword, and then immediately shot into the fray.

The combined power of tens of thousands of cultivators, which included three peak Dao Seeking cultivation bases, slammed into the spell formation. Instantly, the Solitary Sword Sect's greatsword shuddered, and then began to crack.

Naruto hovered in midair, watching the scene coldly.

Booms filled the air for an entire hour, after which the Solitary Sword Sect's greatsword could not hold out any longer. Many of the swords which made up the sword formation began to collapse. Once the spell formation was no longer complete, its demise could only hasten.

In the end, a huge explosion occurred, in which the spell formation was breached. The flying swords were shattered, sending shrapnel flying about. The Solitary Sword Sect's grand spell formation now had a huge gap torn into it, visible through which was the true Solitary Sword Sect. Tens of thousands of pale-faced disciples could be seen, as well as the three despairing Spirit Severing Patriarchs.

Boom!

Naruto's second true self entered the gap. Eyes flashing, he stretched his hands out to the left and right, causing cracking sounds to echo about. The gap was torn even larger, until the spell formation was completely destroyed.

At the same time, the Blood Demon Sect disciples charged in like a cloud of blood, ready to slaughter the entire Solitary Sword Sect.

In their despair, the Solitary Sword Sect disciples could not even muster the will to resist. It was impossible to say who did it first, but they all began to drop to their knees and kowtow.

"Surrender! I want to surrender!"

"We surrender!"

Of the three ashen-faced Spirit Severing experts, two laughed bitterly and were just about to voice their own surrender, when suddenly, Sir Jian's eyes flickered. He quickly performed a minor teleportation, reappearing some distance off next to the middle-aged man with no sword and a flagon of alcohol.

As soon as he reappeared, his hand snaked out and latched onto the top of the man's head. Sir Jian's eyes filled with insanity and savagery.

"NARUTO!" he screamed. "This is your Elder Brother from the Reliance Sect, Might Guy. I know he's your close friend, so if you dare to make a single move, I'll kill him, even if it means I die too!"

This development caused the Blood Demon Sect disciples to stop in their tracks and look coldly over at Sir Jian. Even the Solitary Sword Sect disciples gaped in shock. None of them looked happy in the least bit and, in fact, their faces went as pale as death.

This was especially true of the two other Spirit Severing Patriarchs, who were completely caught off guard. They knew that they were no match for the Blood Demon Sect. Their failed attempt to fight back moments ago was clear evidence of that.

Surrender was their only option!

And yet, Sir Jian suddenly pulled this trick, dragging the entire Solitary Sword Sect along with him in provoking the jinx Naruto. The two Patriarchs' faces instantly fell.

"Sir Jian, you must not do this!"

"Sir Jian, you…."

Sir Jian's expression grew even more vicious. He glared down at Might Guy's head for a moment, then back toward the Blood Demon Sect forces, and Naruto.

"Naruto, give me the Solitary Sword Sect's Immortal Puppet! All I want is the Immortal Puppet. Once I have it in hand, I won't harm a hair on Might Guy's head!"

When Naruto first laid eyes on Might Guy again back at the Ancient Dao Lakes, he could tell that he was in a bad situation. He had wanted to help, but could tell that Might Guy was already dead inside. He had actually come to the Solitary Sword Sect this day for two purposes. One was vengeance for the Blood Demon Sect. The other was his concern for Might Guy.

"Are you insane?" replied Naruto, his face grim.

"So what if I'm insane!?" Sir Jian roared back, his eyes bloodshot. "I just want the Immortal Puppet. Hand it over, and I'll let him go!"

Might Guy's face was pale as he looked over at Naruto. He said nothing, but he was smiling. It was the same smile he had worn when he had reunited with Naruto all those years ago in the Southern Domain. 1

"Junior Brother, you've grown up…." That was what he had said all those years ago. Now, he wore the same smile, and Naruto could almost sense the same high-spirited Senior Brother he remembered from the Reliance Sect, the same Might Guy who was so focused on pursuing the Dao.

Seemingly in a flash, hundreds of years had passed, and Might Guy had changed. The one thing that remained were the emotions forged between them back in the Reliance Sect.

"Naruto," said Sir Jian, his eyes filled with maliciousness, "you might be high and mighty now, but your Elder Brother's life has been filled with bitterness!" When he saw the grim look on Naruto's face, he relaxed a bit. At first, he was worried Naruto wouldn't care about whether Might Guy lived or died. Hoping to foster further pity on the part of Naruto, he coldly continued.

"This Might Guy was once a Chosen in the Solitary Sword Sect, and was even one of the Seven Swords. Unfortunately… he should never have fallen in love with Shan Ling!

"Shan Ling was the incarnation of a mountain boulder, and other than the legacy precious treasure, she was the most important treasured item in the Solitary Sword Sect!

"She was not permitted to foster emotions or desires of the flesh! Were she to do so, she would no longer be a spirit, and would separate from the boulder. That would affect the fate of the entire Solitary Sword Sect!

After all… according to legend, that stone came from the Ninth

Mountain!"

As Sir Jian spoke, Naruto recalled the first time he had come to the Solitary Sword Sect, and the beautiful woman he had seen floating down the mountain. 2

"Might Guy violated sect rules. He fled with the boulder, altering fate and absconding with Shan Ling. In the end, the Solitary Sword Sect captured them…. Then, because of Might Guy, his master…."

"Enough!" roared Might Guy. His eyes snapped open, and they were shot with blood.

Naruto's heart trembled. He had known Might Guy for years, and this was the first time he had seen him so emotional. There was pain in his eyes, even madness, the type that made Naruto recall his own state when he caught sight of Hinata's discarnate soul back in the Black Sieve Sect.

"Enough?" said Sir Jian. "How is it enough? When it came time for the fury of the sect to fall upon you, your master took your place. His cultivation base was crippled, and he was reduced to a mortal, which was how he died.

"As for you, if Shan Ling hadn't threatened to destroy herself and the boulder…. Well, in the end, she made an arrangement with the sect to spend the rest of eternity as a boulder, never to awaken, all to save your measly little life!"

"ENOUGH! No more…." Might Guy was trembling, and tears poured down his cheeks. Although his expression was one of intense pain, he smiled bitterly. His eyes seemed to grow more and more dispirited.

He would never, ever be able to forget how his master stood in front of him, bowed his head to the sect, and said, "He is my apprentice. I will accept responsibility for his mistake."

He had watched wide-eyed as his master's cultivation base was crippled. The man who had once been a powerful Nascent Soul expert, became an old man, a mortal. Until the day he died, his master did not complain a single time. On the contrary, he was as warm and gentle as ever. Unfortunately, that only caused Might Guy's pain to increase, a feeling that was enough to drive him to insanity.

His master's son hated Might Guy with a passion, which was yet another thing that made him wish he could simply die. 3

Might Guy was filled with hatred. He hated that he was powerless to change any of the things that had happened, and he hated the Solitary Sword Sect for being too callous.

He wanted to die.

And yet… he couldn't stop thinking about her.

The only thing left to do was drink. In his drunken dreams, he could return to the wonderful times of the past.

He had let his master down. He had let Shan Ling down. He had let anyone who had anything to do with him down.

Naruto stood there, taciturn. Now that he understood what had happened to Might Guy, he realized how someone who had once been so high-spirited and full of mettle, could sink into such a depression.

"Enough…" murmured Might Guy bitterly, bowing his head.. "I beg of you, please… enough…. Please…."

Sir Jian laughed coldly. "Were it not for Shan Ling's actions, do you really think you could have committed such a heinous crime and gotten away with nothing more than a shattered Nascent Soul? Do you think the only price to pay would have been the inability to break through to the next stage of cultivation?

"Your existence is nothing but a tool the sect can use to influence Shan Ling. Unfortunately… the war with the Blood Demon Sect changed things too unexpectedly." Sir Jian then looked at Naruto. "Only the Patriarch knew how to control the boulder. Otherwise, you would never have been able to break through our spell formation so easily." Seeing that Naruto seemed to be more and more focused on his words, Sir Jian began to believe that his control of the situation was growing. He looked back at Might Guy.

"You singlehandedly drove your Master to his death and ruined your beloved. And yet you still say 'enough?'"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" roared Naruto. His voice echoed like thunder, and his eyes flashed with killing intent. His words caused Sir Jian's pupils to constrict, and his heart to seize. He immediately began to squeeze down with his right hand.

However, it was at this exact moment that the Lightning Cauldron in Naruto's hand flashed.

Form Displacement Transposition!

What changed positions was not Sir Jian, but rather, Might Guy!

It was in chapter 179 that Might Guy and Naruto met up again for the first time after parting ways in the Reliance Sect ↩ Shan Ling was introduced in chapter 180. Her name literally means "Mountain Spirit" ↩ Might Guy's master was introduced in chapter 41, when he took Might Guy to the Solitary Sword Sect. Later, we met his son Zhou Shanyue in chapter 178. It was eventually revealed that Might Guy had a precious treasure gifted to him by his master, and that the son felt it belonged to him. Later, Zhou Shanyue and his friend were conned by Naruto in the events around chapter 184 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 755

Chapter 755: I Pray That You Find Happiness

When the Lightning Cauldron in Naruto's hand began to sparkle with brilliant lights, and then emit a rumbling sound, Sir Jian's face fell, and a bad feeling welled up in his heart. Without the slightest hesitation, he squeezed down with his hand, planning to stab his fingers into Might Guy's head, injuring him as a threat to Naruto.

However, the instant his fingers began to move, an incredibly shocking power shot back into his hand. It was as if what he was squeezing was not flesh and blood, but a red-hot iron. The backlash of power made it feel as if needles were stabbing into his palm. Sir Jian was completely shocked.

At the same time, he was astonished to find that, instead of staring at Naruto as he had been this whole time, he was now looking at Might Guy.

Heart pounding, he slowly looked down to see his hand resting on Naruto's head!

His eyes went wide, and his scalp numb. He immediately shot back, spooked out of his mind.

"What divine ability is that!?" Sir Jian was completely astonished, and also terrified. He bit down on the tip of his tongue and spit out some blood which he used to flee even faster than before.

"Trying to run away?" said Naruto, his eyes flickering with killing intent. He pointed out with his left index finger, and his second true self immediately unleashed the Wooden Time Sword. Even if Sir Jian could move faster, it still wouldn't be enough to escape the Wooden Time Sword.

It was upon him in the blink of an eye, causing everything around it to twist and distort. To his shock, Sir Jian began to wither rapidly. He let out a miserable scream, upon which the Wooden Time Sword stabbed directly through his head.

Slaughtered with a solitary sword!

Tidy and efficient, not the least bit sloppy. Sir Jian's body was withered, his Nascent Divinity killed. As he fell, it almost seemed as if ten thousand years passed; he quickly turned into nothing more than dust floating in the wind.

There was nothing left to indicate that he had ever been. He was completely and utterly… dead.

The two other Spirit Severing experts of the Solitary Sword Sect, along with the tens of thousands of other disciples, were shocked into complete silence. Their faces were pale white, and barely a moment had passed before one of the Spirit Severing experts gave a start and then dropped to his knees to kowtow.

"Blood Prince, we wish to surrender to the Blood Demon Sect!"

The other disciples immediately dropped to their knees, their hearts pounding and voices trembling as they cried, "Greetings, Blood Prince!"

Despite the fear in their voices, there were tens of thousands of them, and the sound of their cry formed a sound wave that rolled out in all directions.

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he looked back at Might Guy. Might Guy's face was downcast, filled with an expression that betrayed his lack of interest in life. To him, life was a pain from which he wished to extricate himself.

Naruto's heart twinged with pain as he thought back to the Eldest

Brother that existed in his memories. That person didn't look like this. That person wholeheartedly sought after the Dao and had lofty ambitions. Although at times he could be a bit stuffy and uptight, he was a hero who never hesitated for even a moment to stand in front of Naruto and protect him from any danger.

That Might Guy viewed Naruto as a Junior Brother, someone he needed to care for after their sect vanished. He was an Elder Brother who even worried about Naruto finding a wife.

"Elder Brother…." said Naruto, his voice soft.

Might Guy was silent for a moment before slowly looking up at Naruto. After a moment, he forced a smile onto his face.

"Junior Brother, you've grown up…. I can finally stop worrying…. Do you have some time right now? If you do, let's drink a bit."

Naruto immediately nodded, waving a hand to dismiss the Solitary Sword Sect disciples and the Blood Demon Sect disciples. All of them left the sect and waited outside, cross-legged.

The entire Solitary Sword Sect was quiet. Naruto and Might Guy sat down on the mountain peak, beneath the strange boulder. Might Guy produced a flagon of alcohol, which he handed over to Naruto.

A complex look could be seen in Naruto's eyes, but he wasn't sure how to even begin to give advice, so he simply accepted the flagon and took a long drink.

The alcohol was strong and burned like fire as it slid down his throat.

Might Guy looked at the boulder and softly said, "She's your sister-inlaw."

Naruto sat there quietly.

As Might Guy continued, tears began to stream down his face.

"We promised each other that since the path to Immortality was filled with so many obstacles and unforeseen twists and turns, it would be better spend our lives with each other.

"She's sleeping now, and might not wake up in this lifetime. But then again, maybe she will…. I'll stay here to accompany her. That was our agreement.

"I let down my master. I was unworthy of him…." Might Guy looked like an old man. More and more tears poured down his face.

He rarely wept, not even when he and Shan Ling were captured and brought back to the sect. When Shan Ling made the decision to rest in sleep, there were tears in his heart, but they wouldn't come out. The first time he truly cried was when his master accepted the punishment for him.

The second time he cried was when his master died.

The third time was here, in front of Naruto.

"Elder Brother…." began Naruto, but he wasn't sure what he should say, so he stopped talking. After a moment, a determined look appeared in his eyes. He suddenly raised his right hand, and a drop of blood slowly formed on the tip of his finger.

When the drop of blood appeared, his face went a bit pale. A scintillating, blood-colored glow appeared, and Might Guy's eyes went wide. After a moment, his eyes flashed in realization, and he shot to his feet.

His expression stern, he cried, "Junior Brother! What do you think you're doing!? Stop this instant!"

"Elder Brother, I can't do very much to help you. The only thing I can do is help you to restore your cultivation base. That way, your longevity will be increased, and you can… you can have more time to stay with your beloved." With that, he gestured with his finger. His lifeblood instantly shot forward and merged into Might Guy's forehead.

Might Guy trembled. Years ago, his Nascent Soul had been damaged, cracked; at this moment, however, time seemed to run in reverse. His Nascent Soul absorbed the blood, and the cracks sealed up.

The blood didn't just contain some of Naruto's life force, it also contained some of the power of his Eternal stratum. It was that power that enabled Might Guy's cultivation base to be restored.

Of course, Naruto only had a few such drops of lifeblood. If he parted with too many, that which was Eternal within him would be no more.

But Might Guy was his Elder Brother. The friendship that had formed between the two of them, and everything that had happened since then, made it so that Naruto didn't even hesitate. If he didn't give his lifeblood to Might Guy, that would mean… that he wasn't Naruto.

Might Guy started trembling, and after a moment passed, coughed up a huge mouthful of blood as his Nascent Soul instantly reappeared like new. Now that he had a Nascent Soul again, his cultivation base surged, and his salt-and-pepper hair turned black.

His aged features once again became young and heroic, and he no longer looked like an old man. He was middle-aged and bursting with energy.

Now he looked more like the Might Guy that Naruto remembered.

Official ISSTH Might Guy artwork

Might Guy gaped at Naruto. "Junior Brother, you…."

"There's no need to talk about it," said Naruto softly. "You're my

Elder Brother…."

Might Guy held his tongue, and after a long moment passed, slowly nodded. He picked up the flagon of alcohol, looked at the boulder, and began to drink.

The sky gradually grew dark, and eventually the moon rose. When the dawn sun peeked its head over the horizon, Naruto took the initiative to start a conversation. He and Might Guy began to chat about the Reliance Sect, and all the things that had happened after that in the Southern Domain. They talked about all the wonderful things from the past.

When the sun was high in the sky, Naruto rose to his feet.

"Elder Brother, I need to go now…. If you ever grow weary of being here, you can always find me in the Blood Demon Sect."

Might Guy didn't respond at first. He looked at the boulder, and the woman who rested inside with her eyes closed.

"You've grown up," he said softly, "and your Elder Brother has gotten old…. Don't worry about me. You follow your path…. and I'll follow mine. I'll stay here with her until the day I close my eyes for good.

"When that day comes, Junior Brother… can you please bury me here? That way I can watch the sun rise and set with her forever. If there is another life after this one… I'll find this place again. Life after life… I'll wait, until the day she wakes up." He turned to look deep into Naruto's eyes.

"Junior Brother… take care of yourself. Your Elder Brother isn't good at much, so all I can do… is pray that you find happiness. I hope that your path… leads you to greatness!"

Naruto stared at Might Guy, and his face was filled with a variety of complex emotions. He also had an indescribable feeling in his heart that led him to believe he would never forget that person from the Reliance Sect who was so focused on pursuing the Dao. He would never forget the person standing in front of him to protect him. He would also never be able to forget… the Elder Brother from now, who stood there softly murmuring his story.

"Elder Brother… take care of yourself," Naruto said quietly. He clasped hands and bowed deeply, then turned and left, sighing inwardly.

Might Guy sat down cross-legged and watched Naruto leave.

"Ling'er, he's my Junior Brother. In my heart, he's family…. I don't have much family, just him and Junior Sister Xu. Only those two.

"If you still have some awareness of the outside world, then let's pray together that they find happiness…."

Naruto flew out of the Solitary Sword Sect. As soon as he appeared, the Solitary Sword Sect disciples and the Blood Demon Sect cultivators rose to their feet, their expressions that of deep respect.

Naruto looked over the Solitary Sword Sect and then said, "Produce strands from your souls and swear blood oaths. After that, you may remain here and become an auxiliary branch of the Blood Demon Sect. Everything will remain as it did before, although your jade slips, ancient records, and legacy items will all be handed over to the Blood Demon Sect.

"Henceforth, there is no Solitary Sword Sect in the Southern Domain, only an auxiliary branch of the Blood Demon Sect.

"The man who sits beneath the boulder on the mountain top is my Elder Brother Might Guy. No one is allowed to step even half a pace onto that mountain. No one may disobey him in the slightest."

The Solitary Sword Sect disciples voiced their agreement. From the moment they had agreed to surrender, they were prepared for something like this to happen. Their soul strands and blood oaths were organized by the Blood Demon Sect, then transformed into a soul slip, which was given to Naruto. Next, the magical items and ancient records in their treasure house were removed, as well as their legacy items.

Finally, some Blood Demon Sect disciples were stationed in the sect permanently. After that….

Naruto flicked his sleeve, and the Blood Demon Sect took to the skies.

Their next target was… the Golden Frost Sect!

As for his second true self, he had already vanished, sent to a different location by Naruto.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 756

Chapter 756: Crazy Fatty!

In the Golden Frost Sect, it didn't matter that the whole sect had been sealed. The disciples were still faced with difficult decisions.

Should they continue to defend their position, or should they leave the Southern Domain…?

Should they surrender to the Blood Demon Sect, or die in battle…?

The destruction of the Black Sieve Sect was nothing astonishing. However, the Solitary Sword Sect's surrender had been witnessed by hundreds of thousands of Southern Domain cultivators. Word had long since spread, and even the sealed-off Golden Frost Sect had gotten the news.

It didn't take very long at all for the Golden Frost Sect to grow incredibly alarmed. Of course, the least alarmed of all was Shimura Fugui. However, despite his lack of alarm, he was still quite nervous. Recent days found him sighing with distress, and at a distinct loss.

The Golden Frost Sect had treated him well, very well, from the very beginning. He had been given many beautiful beloved companions, which left him exhausted, but happy…. On the other hand, Naruto had been his brother ever since their days in the Reliance Sect.

They had joined the sect together as Outer Sect disciples. They had caught wild chickens to eat, and had even run the general store together. Naruto had looked out for him, and that was something he would never forget.

The two of them were truly brothers.

Now, though, he was in an awkward predicament, and was actually somewhat confused about what to do. His brother was on the way to destroy the Golden Frost Sect, and he wasn't sure how to handle the situation.

A few days after the surrender of the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect's only Spirit Severing expert, along with Shimura Fugui's master, personally came to him to discuss the matter.

"Sue for peace?" said Fatty, gaping in shock at the Spirit Severing Patriarch, who looked quite exhausted.

"You're on good terms with Naruto. He's the type of person who… despite being cruel and merciless, capable of carrying out horrendous massacres, and with an unfathomably high cultivation base, is still… someone who cares about past friendships.

"We can verify that from the news about the Solitary Sword Sect. Based on what happened with Might Guy, it's possible to tell a little bit about what Naruto is thinking.

"Li Fugui, think about it. How has the sect treated you ever since you joined? We're now facing imminent catastrophe. Hopefully, you can step forward bravely and use your friendship with Naruto to help us weather this storm!

"The Golden Frost Sect is willing to surrender. Our only request is that we don't become an auxiliary branch, but rather, allies!

"We will do everything in our power to comply with the Blood Demon Sect, but we want to preserve our core Daoist teachings and doctrines, so that our sect will not be wiped away from the Southern Domain. Perhaps years from now, we can once again rise to prominence. We must fight for that chance."

The Golden Frost Sect's only Spirit Severing Patriarch clasped hands and bowed deeply to Shimura Fugui. Shimura Fugui's master stood off to the side, looking at him.

Li Fugui was quiet for a moment before nodding seriously.

Another day of nervousness passed for the Golden Frost Sect. Finally, the clouds seethed outside of the sect's grand spell formation, and tens of thousands of beams of light appeared. They were like a towering sea of blood, bright red as they shot toward the Golden Frost Sect.

These were the Blood Demon Sect disciples. They had destroyed the

Black Sieve Sect and forced the Solitary Sword Sect into compliance. Now, they turned toward the Golden Frost Sect, their hearts filled with the desire to kill.

Behind them were the rogue cultivators, even more than before. Hundreds of thousands were following the Blood Demon Sect through the Southern Domain to bear witness.

Outside of the Golden Frost Sect was an area where the air did not ripple with the distortions of a defensive spell formation, nor was there any enshrouding fog. Instead, an illusion barrier protected it, revealing only the image of a barren mountain.

As soon as the Blood Demon Sect disciples appeared on the scene, and before they could even react, a beam of light could be seen, and Fatty's round figure was there on the mountain.

"Don't attack, don't attack, it's me!" he called out at the top of his lungs. Seeing the tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples, and the hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators behind them, left Fatty completely frightened.

Naruto looked at Fatty, and then glanced over at the Golden Frost Sect. It only took him a moment to figure out what the Golden Frost Sect was planning. Inwardly, he had already been experiencing some doubts regarding how to handle them.

Fatty was here, and Naruto knew that no matter what he did to the Golden Frost Sect, it would affect Fatty negatively.

Seeing Fatty suddenly appear, Naruto waved his sleeve, causing the air around him to distort. He vanished, then reappeared in front of Fatty. They were then surrounded by a blurriness that prevented anyone from seeing clearly what was happening.

A faint smile appeared on Naruto's face. He looked over Fatty's rotund figure, then laughed out loud. Fatty heaved an inward sigh of relief, and the two of them embraced.

Unfortunately, it didn't take long for Naruto's smile to turn wry.

"Your belly… is too huge," he said. Fatty was so fat that it made it hard to hug him.

"Yeah, I got fat again," said Fatty, smiling and rubbing his head. "Recently I've been thinking of trying to lose some weight." He looked past Naruto toward the tens of thousands of murderous-looking Blood Demon Sect disciples.

"So, um…. Eldest Brother Naruto, what do you say we get down to business?" Fatty looked extremely nervous.

"Oh?" replied Naruto, blinking and looking back at Fatty with an enigmatic smile.

Fatty sighed and then just directly explained. "The sect's Spirit Severing Patriarch sent me here to sue for peace. How about… we don't fight!? The sect will surrender as long as they can preserve their core Daoist teachings and doctrines…."

As the two of them chatted, the disciples of the Golden Frost Sect looked on nervously from within their sect, wondering what the result would be.

"I wonder if Elder Brother Shimura will succeed or not…?"

"Naruto really values friendship. He shouldn't have a hard time convincing him."

"You can't say for sure. Naruto is the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect. He's killed countless people, and is completely cruel and ferocious. There's no way he'll agree to our demands so easily." Even as they discussed the matter, Naruto was listening to Fatty make his demands. An even wider smile broke out on Naruto's face.

"Fatty, you're working so hard to represent the sect and sue for peace, but what has the sect offered you in return?"

Fatty gaped for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh. A look of fury appeared on his face.

"Fudge! You're right! Those bastards didn't offer me anything! Alright, Naruto, don't agree to anything yet. I'm gonna go back to the sect and tell them that the negotiations didn't go well. After they offer Young Master Fatty something good, then I'll come back."

Naruto chuckled and shook his head. Then he flicked his sleeve, causing the blurriness around them to fade away. As it cleared, everyone in the outside world could see the two of them.

Naruto's face darkened, and Fatty's eyes gleamed. Realizing that it was time to put on the show, he flew into a rage and then roared, "Naruto, how could you be like this!?"

Burning with rage, he turned and headed back to the Golden Frost Sect.

The faces of the Golden Frost Sect cultivators fell, and their hearts began to thump.

Fatty angrily returned to the sect, and was immediately surrounded by anxious-looking disciples.

"I'm done with that fool! Done!" cried Fatty. "Naruto doesn't care at all about friendship! I'm through trying to reconcile with him!" Hearing Fatty's ranting caused the Golden Frost Sect cultivators to grow even more alarmed.

The only Spirit Severing Patriarch immediately strode forward and asked, "He didn't agree?"

"As soon as I brought up the matter of suing for peace, he asked me what authority I had to negotiate for the sect! On what authority?! I'm a Golden Frost Sect disciple, dammit! What an insult!" As he spoke, Fatty's eyes shifted back and forth craftily.

The surrounding Golden Frost Sect disciples had been suppressing themselves for too long now. They had placed all their hope on Fatty, and now that he had failed, they couldn't suppress themselves any longer.

"Well if he's going to be like that, then let's fight!"

"Yeah! It would be better to die in battle than be insulted like this! Even

Elder Brother Shimura couldn't do anything about it. Let's fight!"

"FIGHT!"

Their desire to go to battle soared, and soon, the entire sect was filled with a murderous aura. People even began to rotate the sect's spell formations into battle readiness.

Fatty was stupefied. He thought he had made things pretty obvious, and was shocked that no one had picked up on his hidden meaning.

The Spirit Severing Patriarch stood there silently, looking at Naruto floating in midair off in the distance. He sighed inwardly. He had no desire to go to war; the Golden Frost Sect didn't even come close to matching up with the Blood Demon Sect. But now… what other options did they have?

Normally speaking, he would have picked up on the hidden message in Shimura Fugui's words just now. However, he was so anxious and alarmed that he simply didn't notice.

"If we're going to fight, then we should make the first move!" said the Spirit Severing Patriarch, gritting his teeth. "Fight now, and worry about everything else later!"

Fatty's eyes went wide, and his heart started to pound. Realizing that things were getting out of control, he quickly stepped forward.

"Actually…" he said. "I think there's still some hope…."

"Elder Brother Li, there's no need for further discussion. We're going to fight!"

"Yeah! Junior Brother Li, we've been pushed into a corner. The only option now is to fight!"

"We'll show them who the Golden Frost Sect is! We might be down and out now, but we still have the power to fight!"

Fatty was now extremely nervous. "Hey everybody, you need to listen to me! I think…."

"Li Fugui, there's no need!" said the Spirit Severing cultivator, his eyes cold. "I made an error in judgement. It seems we'll have to fight first before we can have a shot at turning this around. Disciples, heed my command…." He flicked his sleeve and was about to issue orders when, all of a sudden, Fatty lifted his head up and roared.

"Patriarch, give me one more chance! I, Shimura Fugui, will put my life on the line to secure peace for the sect!" He was so nervous that his throat was hoarse.

Immediately, everyone turned to look at him in shock, even the Spirit Severing Patriarch.

Li Fugui slapped his chest so hard that it stung, and tears welled up in his eyes.

"You're an amazing kid," said the Spirit Severing expert, clearly moved. "You… you really don't need to put yourself in such danger. We will fight them, and show them the true power of the Golden Frost Sect! That's our only hope!" With that, he prepared to give combat orders.

Fatty was trembling, and veins bulged out on his forehead. Once again, he let out a mighty roar.

"Don't worry, Patriarch. I'm a disciple of the Golden Frost Sect. Even if I die the most cruel death, I will help the sect to pass through this crisis! This time I'll just tell that Naruto that I'm a disciple of the Golden

Frost Sect, and its future Golden Prince. If he doesn't agree to our terms, I'll kill myself right in front of him!" With that, he flew up into the air, his face calm and unflinching.

A tremor ran through the Spirit Severing Patriarch, and the other disciples were completely moved to see Fatty's tear-soaked face and calmness in the face of death.

"Regardless of whether or not you succeed," said the Spirit Severing Patriarch, "you are now the Golden Prince of the Golden Frost Sect!" By this point, he felt that something fishy was going on, but considering the crisis they were in, he couldn't focus too much on that.

Fatty immediately started to get excited. In his opinion, it was the time to push things a bit further, so he took a deep breath and then ripped off the top of his robe, revealing his rolls of fat. His expression serious and filled with the determination to die for his sect, he cried out, "Patriarch, please bestow me with a titular tattoo!

"Please carve the characters 'Golden Prince of the Golden Frost Sect' onto my back!"

The Spirit Severing Patriarch stared in shock, and his face twitched.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by John Doh, Juan S Santana, Nararat_

 _Vachiramanaporn, and Anonymous_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 757

Chapter 757 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 757: Calamity for the Shimura Clan!

As soon as the words left Fatty's mouth, all of the Golden Frost Sect disciples stared in shock. The Spirit Severing Patriarch's face twitched, and then he took a deep breath and, with effort, spoke as if he were very moved.

"What an amazing kid. Amazing! The sect will never forget you! You are our hero!

"Very well, I'll bestow the tattoo unto you!" With that, the Spirit Severing Patriarch waved his right hand toward Fatty, causing the characters 'Golden Prince of the Golden Frost Sect' to appear on his back.

The characters were carved… quite deeply, causing intense pain that made Fatty clench his teeth, and even squeeze out some tears. However, he didn't make a sound. Once the characters were inscribed, he took a deep breath, and then swept his fellow disciples with a meaningful gaze.

"I'm going now," he said, "and perhaps I won't return. Even if I die, I will still belong to the Golden Frost Sect, whether in flesh and body, or in spirit and soul!

"Fellow disciples! My beautiful, beloved companions! I'm leaving now!" With that, he flew out of the sect.

As he shot through the air, quite a few disciples had unsightly looks on their faces, and one even began to give voice to suspicions.

"I'm not sure, but wasn't Junior Brother Shimura acting a bit weird just now?" he asked.

In response to his question, there were a few disciples who frowned and were about to respond, when the Spirit Severing expert snorted coldly.

"Li Fugui is willing to risk his life for the sect, and even requested that I give him that tattoo…. " After mentioning the tattoo, the Spirit Severing Patriarch paused momentarily, struggling with himself internally. Although he hadn't picked up on any of the clues at first, he had lived for many years. In the end, how could he not have seen through Fatty's incongruous behavior?

It only took a moment of thought for him to thoroughly understand that

Fatty was milking the glory for all it was worth. Although the Spirit Severing Patriarch didn't really approve, considering the current situation, he couldn't very well say anything.

Not only was he forced to hold his tongue, he also had to help cover for Fatty's earlier conspicuousness and make the story seem more convincing. As he realized this, he couldn't help but sigh inwardly.

"Anyone who has any suspicions can go take his place if they want!" he continued.

When he thought back to how he had bestowed the tattoo, the Spirit Severing Patriarch couldn't help but think that the whole thing seemed so fake…. "Why couldn't Shimura Fugui put on a more convincing performance?" he thought. "Damn it all, what the hell is a titular tattoo anyway…y-y-you…!"

However, considering the relationship Fatty had with Naruto, he couldn't risk offending him. Therefore, he began to consider coming up with some good, justifiable reasons as to why he had bestowed the tattoo, reasons that everyone would believe.

Even as the Patriarch was wrestling with such thoughts, Fatty was flying out of the sect, his face as calm and unflinching as ever. Inside, however, he was grinning ear to ear.

"Hahaha!" he laughed inwardly. "Grandpa Fatty outsmarts them again! Especially that titular tattoo thing! It completely sets the matter in stone. In the future, if anyone dares to deny that I'm the Golden Prince, all I have to do is take my shirt off!" Feeling quite pleased with himself, he flew toward Naruto.

Naruto waited, hovering in mid-air. When he saw the shining white ball of flesh flying through the air toward him, he gaped. Staring quizzically at Fatty as he arrived, he waved his hand, causing the area around them to blur. Then he noticed the characters tattooed on Fatty's back.

"Well? What do you think?!" said Fatty, his expression one of wild joy.

Naruto stared for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

"What's wrong?" asked Fatty, not looking very pleased. He subconsciously produced a flying sword and started to file at his teeth.

"How can you have such low ambitions?" said Naruto with a wry smile. "Why didn't you have them write 'Sect Leader of the Golden Frost Sect?'"

Fatty suddenly stopped filing his teeth, and his eyes went wide. He let out a roar, and his eyes went bloodshot.

"Dammit! DAMMIT! How come I didn't think of that?! This won't do. Naruto, don't agree to the terms yet. Hold on a moment, I'm going back to the sect!" He turned, and was just about to speed back to the sect when Naruto reached out and grabbed his arm.

Naruto looked speechlessly at him. Then he thought back to how bumbling Fatty had been back in the Reliance Sect, and he suddenly understood everything.

"Golden Prince is fine," he said quickly. "Look at me, I'm a Sect Prince, too." Worried that Fatty would continue to mess things up, he quickly projected his voice to fill the entire Golden Frost Sect.

"Golden Frost Sect, considering that Shimura Fugui has become your Golden Prince, I will exempt you from the death penalty for your act of besieging the Blood Demon Sect. From now on, you are a part of the Blood Demon Sect!

"I shall permit you to retain your core Daoist teachings and doctrines, but you must immediately provide soul strands and blood oaths!"

In response to his words, the Golden Frost Sect's spell formations opened up to reveal the sect. The Spirit Severing Patriarch, as well as tens of thousands of disciples, all flew out and bowed to Naruto.

"We will obey the decrees of the Blood Demon Sect!"

The Golden Frost Sect surrendered, and its members gave soul strands and blood oaths. Fatty became the sect's Golden Prince, and although some people didn't approve, no one dared to say anything. After all, the threat posed by Naruto was far too great.

In any case, their discontent was not severe. Had Naruto personally forced them to raise Fatty to Golden Prince, the situation might have been different. In any case, resolving the issue of the Golden Frost Sect in this way was not the most ideal method for Naruto, but he could accept it.

Unfortunately, he felt a bit guilty for the Blood Demon Sect disciples. They had come to exact revenge, but in the end, hadn't been able to kill anyone. Their fury and resentment could only fester in their hearts, with nowhere to vent it.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes.

"Next, the Shimura Clan!" he shouted.

He had never had any good impressions of the Shimura Clan, especially towards Shimura Daoyi, whom he had met many years before. If one didn't consider their tangential relationship, then the only other person from the Shimura clan that Naruto had anything to do with would be the Shimura Patriarch inside the blood mask, who had been turned into a Soul of Lightning.

Naruto turned to the Blood Demon Sect cultivators behind him, to the disciples who had suppressed their killing intent for too long, and said, "There will be no surrender for the Shimura Clan!"

With that, he flicked his sleeve and flew up into the air. The tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect cultivators turned into beams of light as they followed him, consumed by their desire for carnage. In the battle for the Blood Demon Sect, they had narrowly escaped with their lives, and the majority of their comrades had died. The resulting desire for revenge now burned hot and deep.

This was an enmity that could only be washed away with blood!

The Black Sieve Sect had essentially been empty. The Solitary Sword Sect surrendered. The Golden Frost Sect had Shimura Fugui. They could understand Naruto's decisions, but their desire to kill had been held back for too long, and needed a release.

The place it would be released was none other than the Shimura Clan!

There was no peace and quiet in the Shimura Clan; everything was abuzz with activity. There were tens of thousands of clan members left alive, and the sole remaining early Dao Seeking Patriarch had been awakened from sleep to take charge. They were attempting to teleport the entire clan out of the Southern Domain.

Originally, they had assumed that sealing the clan off from the outside world would be sufficient to prevent reprisals from the Blood Demon sect. However, the Solitary Sword Sect's spell formations had crumbled, which destroyed their hopes. As of that moment, they suddenly realized that… the Shimura Clan could by no means remain in the Southern Domain.

They considered surrender, but once the Golden Frost Sect did that very thing, the Shimura Clan's Dao Seeking Patriarch realized that a great catastrophe was heading their way.

"The Blood Demon Sect mobilized to exact revenge," said the Patriarch.

"There was no slaughter carried out at the Black Sieve Sect, Solitary Sword Sect, or Golden Frost Sect…. That means that the Shimura Clan is in grave danger!" It was without hesitation that preparations began to teleport the clan out of the Southern Domain.

Unfortunately, at almost the same moment that their teleportation portal began to rotate, a massive rumbling filled the air, and an enormous parasol formed of magical symbols appeared above the clan.

The parasol shone with boundless radiance as it immediately exploded, causing formless ripples to emanate outward. The ripples enveloped the Shimura Clan, not to destroy it, but to seal it.

Having been sealed, the Shimura Clan's teleportation portals immediately ceased functioning.

The seal was formed by the power of a peak Dao Seeking divine will, and in just a twinkling, spread out for hundreds of kilometers in every direction.

This area was like a world unto itself, cut off from everything else.

Unless the Shimura Clan had another peak Dao Seeking expert, then even with the aid of some special magical items it would be extremely difficult for them to break the seal without expending a great deal of time. Furthermore, Naruto's second true self now floated cross-legged in midair above the sect, eyes closed in meditation, completely ignoring the Shimura Clan down below.

He had been dispatched to the Shimura Clan directly from the Solitary Sword

Sect, sent here by Naruto specifically to prevent the Shimura Clan from attempting an escape upon learning of what had happened.

Although the second true self sat there with eyes closed, his body emanated the pressure of peak Dao Seeking. All of the Shimura Clan members within the area of the seal were trembling in terror. It was a dread that came from the depths of the heart, and it quickly infected the entire clan.

"Naruto!" said the early Dao Seeking Shimura Clan Patriarch, who happened to be their 9th Patriarch. He flew out from the Clan estate, flicking his sleeve to cause a scroll painting to appear.

The scroll painting depicted a woman whose eyes were closed in meditation. At first glance, she seemed indescribably beautiful and striking, but upon closer inspection her features were somewhat indistinct. As soon as she appeared, shocking ripples spread out in all directions. The 9th Shimura Clan Patriarch performed an incantation gesture, causing the ripples to surge through the air in an attack on Naruto's second true self.

Booms echoed out, and the air distorted. Naruto's second true self slowly opened his eyes to reveal somber coldness. He looked down at the 9th Shimura Clan Patriarch, gave a cold snort, and pointed downwards.

The gesture instantly caused the city below to begin to quake. Signs of withering appeared within all of the cultivators; it almost seemed as if the natural law of the world inside the sealing area had changed.

The face of the 9th Shimura Clan Patriarch fell, and he cried out inwardly. Then he bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood, which was then absorbed by the scroll painting.

"Ancestor, save me!" he cried miserably.

As his voice rang out, the scroll burst into flames, and the woman inside opened her eyes!

When she spoke, her voice was raspy and yet strangely magnetic. "The

Li Clan is not originally from Planet Ninshu, but rather, Planet North Reed. If you insist on slaughtering these people, Fellow Daoist, the Shimura Clan will not rest until you are dead.

"I won't hold you accountable for your lack of knowledge about the origins of the Shimura Clan. Simply sever your arms as punishment. Furthermore, dig out both of your eyes…. That is the punishment for anyone not of the Shimura Clan who lays eyes on me.

"Now, as to whether or not you try to wipe these Shimura Clan members out, the choice is up to you."

Vol. 5 : Chapter 758

Chapter 758 1

The eyes of Naruto's second true self gleamed with killing intent. Although the soul of the second true self was not Naruto's, thanks to the hidden power within the fleshly body, as well as Naruto's divine will, he could control him as if it were his own body.

"Screw off!" said the second true self, his voice cold.

The words did not come with a thunderous roar, nor were there any boundless ripples. There was only monstrous coldness that spread out in all directions, causing everything for hundreds of kilometers to freeze over.

Within the flaming painting, the woman's eyes widened.

"You really don't know what's good for you!" she exclaimed through gritted teeth. She lifted her right hand, causing a tempest of flame to appear, which immediately shot out in all directions to attempt to fight against the region set up by the second true self.

The second true self snorted and then closed his eyes, completely ignoring the rumbling that filled the air. He had completely sealed down everything, making it impossible for the Shimura Clan to flee.

Time passed, and the Shimura Clan only continued to grow more panicked. No matter what techniques they attempted to use, they were incapable of teleporting away, nor could they break through the seal created by the second true self. Even the face of the woman on the screen was beginning to look unsightly. After all… she was only a strand of divine will, and even if she were stronger than she was now, she was still nothing more than a scroll painting, with a cultivation base at the mid Dao Seeking level, falling short of the peak.

After all, the Shimura Clan of Planet Ninshu was merely one of many offshoot branches of the main Shimura Clan on Planet North Reed. If it weren't for the fact that they had some unique ties to the main clan, they would already have died out. As for their previous heights of glory and their present state of decline, in terms of the complex inner workings of the Shimura Clan as a whole, it actually didn't amount to much.

Three days later, rumbling continued to fill the air just as it had the entire time. The woman in the scroll painting was more than half burned away, having gone all out with the power available to her as a divine will clone to bolster the Shimura Clan's frantic efforts to break through the seal. As a result, cracks were finally becoming visible in it.

It was at this point that suddenly, tens of thousands of beams of light appeared off in the distance. They shot through the air like a red cloud, radiating killing intent.

It was the Blood Demon Sect's tens of thousand of disciples who had all been holding themselves back for so long. In the lead was Naruto, flanked on the left and right by his Dharma Protectors.

As he neared, the eyes of the woman in the scroll painting glittered; she could tell at a mere glance that this was the true self of the clone.

Her eyes flickered with killing intent, and she was just about to say something, when coldness burst out of Naruto's eyes. Without so much as a word, he waved the index finger of his right hand, and the Golden Frost Sect Patriarch and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch shot toward the Shimura Clan, eyes shining with a glow like blood.

At the same time, the tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples exploded with a blood-colored glow as they finally unleashed the rage that had been pent up this entire time.

"Kill them!"

"Spare no one! Kill them all!"

The tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect Disciples recalled the bitter images from the battle outside their own sect, and their eyes turned red. Bloodthirsty and mad with rage, they charged the Shimura Clan. In response, the tens of thousands of Shimura Clan members began to fight back in desperation, looks of hopelessness on their faces.

This was a battle where no quarter would be given; its sole objective was to wipe out an entire clan.

Off in the distance, the hundreds of thousands of rogue cultivators were shaken by what they saw.

"The killing has started…."

"The Blood Demon Sect's revenge is now truly being carried out!"

"The Shimura Clan… will be no more in the Southern Domain."

"The Shimura Clan is going to be wiped out, and the Uchiha Clan was mysteriously destroyed in a single night. The only clan left in the Southern Domain will be the Song Clan!"

"Of the five great sects, the Black Sieve Sect was eradicated and the Solitary Sword Sect surrendered and lost their core Daoist teachings and doctrines. It was only because of Shimura Fugui that the Golden Frost Sect maintained theirs, but they will not be able to return to their former glory for many years. That just leaves the Violet Fate Sect…."

The slaughter intensified as the shocked rogue cultivators looked on. The left and right Dharma Protectors had lost their conscious wills, and attacked with shocking power. The woman in the scroll painting was defeated in exchange after exchange, and the 9th Shimura Clan Patriarch's face was ashen. Blood sprayed from his mouth as his fleshly body was destroyed by the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch. His Nascent Divinity flew out at top speed.

"3rd Patriarch!" he shrieked miserably.

Unfortunately for him, the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch was not aware of what was happening, and his only reaction was to attack again.

The Shimura Clan members fought back miserably, but were incapable of standing up to the elite cultivators of the Blood Demon Sect.

Thousands were killed just in the initial salvo.

The battlefield was soon soaked with blood, with slaughter being carried about constantly. Naruto didn't attack, nor did his second true self. They merely observed the battle.

By now, Naruto was starting to grow weary of the bloodshed. In all the years since he had begun to practice cultivation, he had never killed so many people…. Even during the migration in the Western Desert, he had not seen such endless slaughter.

He felt a great weariness in his heart, and his expression was somewhat blank.

His ears were filled with the din of slaughter, bloodcurdling screaming, curses uttered moments before death, and battle cries. Despite the sheer volume of these sounds, all of it seemed to transform into a drone that came from very, very far away.

He suddenly realized that he reeked of blood. He could even sense that his heart was changing color… and was almost black.

It was the result of the accumulation of murderous desires and too much killing. When his heart became completely black, Naruto knew that would probably mean… that he had reached the point where the excessive killing didn't bother him any more.

But was all of this what he really wanted?

He suddenly missed his days back in the Demon Immortal Sect, back during the Western Desert migration, back in the Southern Domain as an alchemist, and even his naive life in the Reliance Sect.

But now, he was surrounded by killing, and he was exhausted because of it. When he closed his eyes, he could sense the countless vengeful spirits of the people he had killed, swirling around inside of him. They engulfed him, transforming into an intense, resentful miasma that was like a curse. A never ending curse.

Naruto stood there, taciturn and silent.

He really was… very tired.

"Perhaps this is why I have been unable to push the Blood Demon Grand Magic past the fourth level," he thought with a sigh.

"After all, I am still not the Devil that Patriarch Blood Demon wishes me to be…. I simply can't be that cruel and merciless. I just can't kill and kill without being shaken inwardly."

After reaching the fourth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, he had tried on multiple occasions to achieve enlightenment regarding the fifth level, but all to no avail. It was as if he had reached the end the road.

He looked out at the bloody carnage and the twisted expressions of those that were caught up in the slaughter, and the weariness and exhaustion within him surged even higher. Finally he had his answer.

"Perhaps, deep in my heart, I'm simply not truly willing to allow myself to become completely blackhearted. I don't want my happiness to come from the ghosts of those who I have killed. I don't want my path to be filled with slaughter. In that case… I guess I'll never reach the fifth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic in this lifetime.

"The fifth level requires even more killing. It requires innumerable souls…. It requires more and more vengeful spirits to gather around me to successfully cultivate the magic.

"Only if I concede and become a Devil can I fully embrace the Blood Demon Grand Magic. At all times, regardless of the circumstances, I must embrace the colors of red and black.

"That is the only way. And it is a way… that I cannot accept." He stood outside the Shimura Clan looking at rivers of blood, mountains of corpses, and ruins. Booms filled the air as cultivators from both sides fought back and forth ferociously, almost as if they had lost any semblance of reason.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly came to a realization….

The battle didn't last very long. With the left and right Dharma Protectors in action, it barely took two hours before the Shimura Clan's fate was sealed.

The woman in the scroll painting could not be killed. She was a strand of divine sense that would return to her true self on Planet North Reed upon the painting's vanishment. As she began to fade away, her cold voice echoed out.

"You chose the path of extermination! From now on, if you step foot outside of Planet Ninshu, the Shimura Clan will hunt you down wherever you go in the Ninth Mountain, for as long as it takes!"

Naruto's eyes flickered with coldness. His second true self waved its right hand toward the woman in the scroll painting and the fading of her figure was suddenly arrested, and the flames which burned around her died down a bit.

The woman gaped in shock, during which time Naruto pointed out his right index finger.

 _Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!_

Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex!

The combination of these two great hexing magics being unleashed at the same time caused the woman to tremble violently. She was formed from divine will, but all of a sudden, she found herself severed from the divine will of her true self.

"What are you doing!?" she cried in shock, her face falling.

Next, Karma enmeshed her, and strands composed of the five elements sealed her inside. Naruto lifted his hand, and the woman's body gradually began to shrink. In the blink of an eye, she became a glowing white sphere which floated down to land on his palm. He immediately crushed it.

A boom echoed out as Karma was shattered. The woman let out a bloodcurdling scream as she was completely destroyed along with her Karma.

Now, she was completely incapable of returning to Planet North Reed and her true self.

"Court death, and you just might succeed," said Naruto coolly. He opened his hand, and countless glowing particles rose up into the air. Naruto could now sense another vengeful spirit circulating around him.

No one could see the venomous stares; Naruto was the only one who could sense them.

Meanwhile, on one of the four great planets that circulated the Ninth Mountain, Planet North Reed, there was a continent that covered half of the entire planet. The entire continent belonged to one clan, and that was the Shimura Clan!

According to some legends, this Shimura Clan was founded by the descendants of Lord Shimura of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. As to whether or not that was true, it was impossible for any gossipers to determine. Although, if it were true, why hadn't Lord Hebi exterminated this Shimura Clan?

In the vast lands of the Shimura Clan was a towering altar, the design of which was very unique; it was shaped like an enormous trident. At the very tip of the trident, a woman sat cross-legged in meditation. She had very long hair that hung down her body, and she was exceptionally beautiful, almost celestial.

Suddenly, her eyes snapped open to reveal a sharp, but confused light.

"The divine sense clone I left behind for my younger brother's clan on

Planet Ninshu just died…."

—–

Note from Deathblade: The following "sneak peek" is a NON-SPOILER! Feel free to discuss it in this chapter's comments!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Thien Nhien Huynh, Antoine Villatte, and_

 _MM_

This chapter actually has no title in the original Chinese. ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 759

Chapter 759 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 759: The Northern Reaches Mobilizes

The Shimura Clan was destroyed.

Not a single clan member was left behind. All were killed. It was nothing Naruto could do to stop. Nearly seventy percent of the disciples of the Blood Demon Sect had died. Although there was a certain coldness between disciples of the sect, this was war, and when fellow disciples passed away, the survivors would pay any price to exact vengeance.

Vengeance became an obsession!

The Solitary Sword Sect was the first to surrender, so the Blood Demon Sect disciples could choose to endure.

Because the Blood Prince's dear friend was a member of the Golden Frost Sect, they were able to hold on to survival.

But when it came to the Shimura Clan, they could endure no more. Perhaps the Blood Demon Sect disciples did not hate the Shimura Clan any more than the others, but they needed to kill. They needed their revenge. They needed an outlet for their obsession.

The Shimura Clan was awash with rivers of blood. What had once been

glorious, was now in ruins. In the years to come, the clan would eventually turn into nothing more than barren dirt.

Of course, many mortals live in the Shimura Clan's headquarters. However, the Blood Demon Sect had not sunk to the level in which they would massacre mortals, so they were left alive.

Finally, the Blood Demon Sect disciples left. They returned to the Blood

Demon Sect, and at long last, the slaughtering was over in the Southern

Domain. Peace and quiet returned. However, all of the Southern

Domain's cultivators were well aware… that from now on, the Blood Demon Sect was not just the number one sect in the Southern Domain, it was… the ruler!

There was no power that could resist them. The Blood Demon Sect now had… four peak Dao Seeking cultivators!

Patriarch Blood Demon, Patriarch Golden Frost, the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch, and the fourth member, Naruto's clone!

With four peak Dao Seeking experts, the Blood Demon Sect had the power to sweep unhindered across the Southern Domain. They were even comparable to some of the true super sects of the Eastern Lands.

Furthermore, the level of power they had displayed recently was just the tip of the iceberg.

After the destruction of the Shimura Clan, the Southern Domain was once again stable and quiet. Unfortunately, the overall number of cultivators in the land as a whole had been significantly reduced. There were even some areas that were noticeably empty.

Naruto didn't immediately go back to the Blood Demon Sect. First, he went to the Violet Fate Sect, which of course sent the entire sect into a stir. When he arrived outside the main gate, he looked up silently at the enormous statue of Reverend Violet East.

The Violet Fate Sect was silent for a short while, and then the East Pill

Division and the Violet Chakra Division appeared in solemn, ceremonial form.

Naruto saw many familiar faces, and he sighed.

His desire had not been to reunite with the Violet Fate Sect in such a way. This type of meeting… made him feel like a stranger.

The elderly Violet Fate Sect Sect Leader strode forward, an old man who was very familiar to Naruto. He looked very nervous as he clasped hands and said, "Blood Prince, your gracious presence is a bright light shining down upon our humble sect. Please, come in!"

The Violet Chakra Division and the East Pill Division made similar welcoming declarations. Among their number was the sect Elder from years ago who had identified Naruto's incredible latent talent. He saw Violet Furnace Lords Lin Hailong and An Zaihai, as well as the man he had become entangled with all the way back in the State of Zhao, Wu Dingqiu. 1

All of them approached Naruto and clasped hands in respect.

Hanxue Shan made an appearance, but not Sakura.

The respect shown to him by the Violet Fate Sect made Naruto sigh in his heart. He couldn't help but speak up and ask them not to treat him in such a way, but unfortunately, he could not change the murderous air which swirled around him. The events that had occurred in the Black Sieve Sect, the Solitary Sword Sect, the Golden Frost Sect, and the Shimura Clan had struck fear into the entire Southern Domain. It all turned into something like a palpable pressure which radiated out from Naruto.

He could tell that Wu Dingqiu was nervous, and could sense the fear in the hearts of An Zaihai and the other Violet Furnace Lords. Even Hanxue Shan seemed reluctant to approach him.

There were other familiar faces, and it was the same with all of them. Apparently, his murderous aura was too strong, like a stabbing needle that prevented people from getting near him…. Naruto stood there, silent, his heart twinging painfully.

"After someone gets too powerful," he thought, "must he grow apart from the people he used to know…?" Naruto suddenly felt very lonely. It was the kind of isolated feeling that came when you were with your friends, then suddenly realized that you felt as if you were all alone in the vast world.

Naruto thought of Might Guy and Fatty. For some reason, he even thought of Grand Elder Ouyang from the Reliance Sect, and Sect Leader He Luohua. Throughout the hundreds of years, Naruto had never run into them. 2

Feeling both like a friend and a stranger, Naruto entered the Violet Fate Sect.

Normally, the peak Dao Seeking Patriarch of the Violet Fate Sect would never appear in public, but now that Naruto had arrived, he emerged from secluded meditation.

He was a middle-aged man with an ancient, transcendent air. He was skinny, and had no brilliant glow in his eyes, but his peak Dao Seeking aura was not weak. He peered out from within the temple, watching Naruto approaching with Violet Fate cultivators crowding around him.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, please have a seat." With a slight smile, the man waved his hand, causing a long table to suddenly appear in the center of the temple's main hall. Alcohol and spirit fruits could be seen on the table, and off to the side were floating figures playing beautiful music.

The rest of the Violet Fate Sect members stopped outside of the temple hall. They clasped hands and bowed deeply, then slowly left. Soon, only Naruto and the middle-aged man remained.

"Patriarch, there's really no need for all of this," said Naruto.

"You're a guest, Fellow Daoist," the man said with a smile. "Even though you used to be a disciple of the Violet Fate Sect, now that you've come in this fashion, how could I not entertain you? Please, have a seat."

Naruto stepped forward and then sat down at the table. With a smile, the middle-aged man sat down across from him.

"I am Sun Tao, and to be honest, I'm not a Patriarch. I am simply an apprentice alchemist, so there's no need for you to address me as Patriarch. Actually, to be most correct… I should actually call you Young Lord." The man laughed and then poured Naruto a cup of alcohol.

Naruto stared at him in shock.

"In the past, I was apprentice alchemist to Reverend Violet East." Sun Tao looked at Naruto for a moment, and then smiled. "In fact, I still am."

At this point, Naruto's eyes glittered.

"It is neither necessary nor proper for you to ask the question that is on your mind," continued Sun Tao. "I know exactly why you have come here. Unfortunately, your master is in secluded meditation, and cannot come out…."

Naruto's heart trembled. The reason he had come to the Violet Fate Sect was because he wanted to see his master. They had been separated for many years, but he had never forgotten the three kowtows.

"Your master sent me here to explain something to you," Sun Tao went on. "When practicing cultivation… one must cultivate the heart!

"As long as the heart is there, it doesn't matter if it is red or black. Your will is the most important factor. Your will is like a blade, and that blade… can still be used in your Third Severing. There is no need to be swept up with confusion.

"Life is a series of decisions. Whether you make the correct decisions or not doesn't matter. The important thing is to keep going forward. Years later, when you look back, perhaps you'll find that the incorrect decisions you made… weren't really incorrect. Similarly, the correct decisions… might not necessarily have been correct.

"Why struggle with frustration? Why proceed with confusion? In all things… resolution only comes from continuing to move forward. "Following this line of reasoning, if there is no such thing as 'incorrect,' then how can the 'correct' exist? Similarly, if there is no 'correct,' then how can the 'incorrect' exist?

"Another matter," said Sun Tao, gazing at Naruto. "The Dao of alchemy is a great Dao. Your master wished me to remind you to never abandon it. Although it might not be of much use to you in your cultivation here in the lands of Planet Ninshu , your future path… will take you far away from here.

"At that time, the Dao of alchemy… will be of incredible assistance. It will ensure that regardless of whatever hardships you face, your alchemic flame will never be extinguished."

Naruto sat there silently. After a long moment, he lifted his glass and took a long drink of alcohol. Then he stood, clasped hands, and bowed deeply to Sun Tao.

"Many thanks for the enlightenment, senior," he said. "Please pass word to my master that I will never forget his teachings!"

Sun Tao remained seated, but gave a slight nod in response. Naruto took a deep breath and then turned to leave the temple hall.

At the same time, in an Immortal's cave in the number one mountain peak of the East Pill Division, a white-haired old man sat cross-legged in meditation. The air around him twisted and distorted as if due to a great Dao.

His eyes opened a crack as he looked out at Naruto leaving the main temple, and an expression of contentment could be seen on his face.

As soon Naruto emerged from the temple hall, the Violet Fate Sect Leader, Elders, and others hurried forward. At the same time, Naruto suddenly stopped in place and turned his head to look toward the mountains of the East Pill Division.

After a long, long moment, he looked back at the Sect Leader. "I'd like to visit my old Immortal's cave," he said. The Sect Leader immediately nodded, and the group escorted him to the East Pill Division.

Almost as soon as he entered the East Pill Division, a strange expression appeared on Naruto's face.

He had just caught sight of… an iron spear!

After all these years, the spear was still here in the Violet Fate Sect…. It was stabbed into the ground, surrounded by an ornate barricade. The spear had now become a landmark in the Violet Fate Sect.

Seated cross-legged by the spear were two old men. Despite their age, Naruto still recognized them. They were none other than…. Lu Song and Qian Shuihen. 3

As of now, they were both Core Formation cultivators and Honor Guards of the Violet Fate Sect. The moment Naruto laid eyes on them, they rose to their feet, expressions of deep respect on their faces. They immediately clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto.

"Greetings, Senior Naruto."

The Violet Fate Sect Leader laughed heartily. "Hahaha! Blood Prince, do you still remember this spear? It was originally brought back to the sect by Wu Dingqiu. This area is now a famous place in the sect."

"Senior Naruto, you can rest your heart at ease," said Lu Song excitedly.

"Yes, senior, we will definitely care well for the spear!" agreed Qian Shuihen.

Lu Song and Qian Shuihen had long since forgotten their resentment from years ago. Now, they viewed Naruto with almost feverish adoration. In fact, everything that had happened between them and Naruto years ago was a source of pride for both of them.

Naruto cleared his throat and then rubbed his bag of holding. Only he knew that inside was a gold spear that he still hadn't found a chance to con someone with…. 4

Off to the side, Wu Dingqiu shuddered. Grumbling inwardly, he was just about to edge backward when Naruto suddenly looked over at him.

A tremor ran through Wu Dingqiu, and he immediately plastered a smile onto his face. However, his heart was pounding, and he could not stop cursing Eccentric Song for instigating the spear incident.

Even as Naruto was in the Violet Fate Sect, reminiscing about old times, a desolate and frightening scene was playing out on the border of the Northern Reaches, near the Milky Way Sea.

Nearly a million cultivators were standing at combat readiness near the shore. They were divided into more than ten battalions according to the various sects and tribes they were from.

There were also numerous 300-meter-tall beasts, shackled so tightly with iron chains that they couldn't free themselves no matter how fiercely they struggled.

Up in the sky were countless vicious flying beasts that emitted piercing cries as they circled about. Their wings cast enormous shadows down below as they nearly blotted out the entire sky.

Further off in the distance were dozens of roaring giants as tall as mountains that wielded bone cudgels.

Even further off in the distance were dark clouds that circulated about, apparently concealing countless savage and evil spirits.

This was the army of the Northern Reaches which had gathered next to the Milky Way Sea. Apparently… they were waiting for something!

Most shocking of all were the eleven unbridled and lofty auras which roared high into the sky. These auras… were all peak Dao Seeking auras!

—–

Note from Deathblade: For those of you who don't read the chapter releases, I recently changed my translation schedule. My translation "week" now starts on Saturday and ends on Friday. Because I instituted this arrangement on Sunday, this week technically only has 6 days in it. Despite that, I will stick to the usual "7-per-week guaranteed free chapters" arrangement, although the maximum sponsored chapters will be 7 (two less than normal). As such, this is how the current week stacks up:

5/7 guaranteed chapters and 3 sponsored chapters, for a total of 8 chapters so far. Therefore, between now and Friday, there will be a minimum of 2 chapters and a maximum of 9.

If you're digging the story, please consider making a donation toward a sponsored chapter (if that's appropriate for your current situation in life!). sponsors, your donations on will be processed starting on June 1, and will be added to the queue sometime in the next week or so.

Wu Dingqiu was the one who made the bet with Eccentric Song in chapter 48, and was involved in the incident with the spear. He last appeared in chapter 717 when Naruto went to the Ancient Dao Lakes ↩ Grand Elder Ouyang and He Luohua last appeared in chapter 43, although they were mentioned a couple times throughout the story when Naruto thought back to the State of Zhao ↩ Lu Song and Qian Shuihen were the disciples who got sucked into Naruto's spear scam in chapter 55. Both of them made appearances later on at the Song Clan, and also during Naruto's time in the Violet Fate Sect ↩ I think many of you still remember the gold spear that Naruto had made in chapter 46. It was part of a set of three, one being iron, another silver, and the third gold. ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 760

Chapter 760 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 760: Your Mother Was Here

Storm clouds were gathering.

Up above the Violet Fate Sect, dark clouds formed in thick layers. Flashes of lightning could be seen, accompanied by the rumble of thunder.

The rain would soon begin to pour down.

When it came to weather like this, with rain or snow, most sects would do nothing to shield the sect from the elements. Instead, they would allow the rain and snow to fall onto the sect itself. They believed that rain and snow were part of the Dao of living things, and that by experiencing such weather, the spiritual energy in the sect would thrive.

By preventing the rain and snow from entering the sect, the sect might have the appearance of an Immortal paradise but, in fact, it would lose some of its connection with nature.

Naruto glanced one more time at the iron spear, then cleared his throat and spoke a few polite words. Then he headed further into the East Pill Division, toward the small mountain that had once been his home. Throughout all the years that had passed, no one had ever been allowed to occupy the mountain. It was as if the mountain had been reserved for him for all eternity.

From this detail, he could tell that, as far as his master Pill Demon was concerned, Naruto… would always be a disciple of the Violet Fate Sect.

When Naruto entered his old Immortal's cave, the Violet Fate Sect Leader, Elders, and others could all see the reminiscence in Naruto's eyes, and they discreetly took their leave. Naruto was left alone in his old residence.

Before long, the thunder overhead grew louder and the rain pattered onto the ground as it began to fall in earnest. A fine mist was kicked up, but it didn't rise too far before it was seemingly beaten back down by the oncoming rain. Small rivulets of water could soon be seen.

Everything grew hazy as the sheets of rain descended. The entire scene was one of charm and peacefulness.

Naruto stood at the door of his Immortal's cave, looking out at the rain, thinking about his days as an alchemist.

Time passed. The sky grew dark, and the rain continued to fall harder and harder. Naruto stood there for a long time, expecting… a certain someone to appear. However, by the time the glow of dawn appeared in the sky, she hadn't.

Naruto smiled and shook his head silently.

As the sun rose, the rain ceased. The sky was clear, and the moisture left behind by the rain made the air thrum with exuberant life force. Naruto walked out of his Immortal's cave and prepared to leave the Violet Fate Sect.

On his way out, he visited Bai Yunlai and gave him a hefty sum of spirit stones and medicinal pills.

He also went to see Hanxue Shan and some of his other old acquaintances. He gave gifts to all of them, even… Sakura.

After a moment of silent consideration, he left her a jade slip with a strand of his divine sense, which would protect her in a moment of deadly crisis. He gave the jade slip to Hanxue Shan and asked her to pass it along to Sakura. With that, he flew up into midair, then transformed into a beam of colorful light that shot off into the distance.

In the moment that he left, Sakura sat in her Immortal's cave in the East Pill Division, gnawing on her lip as she looked up into the sky.

"You made your choice, and I have my pride!" she murmured softly. Eventually, Hanxue Shan came. She hesitated for a moment before offering the jade slip to Sakura.

Sakura was silent for a moment. At first, she didn't want to accept the gift, but in the end, she couldn't control herself. She lifted her hand up and took the jade slip.

Hanxue Shan gave a slight sigh and then left.

Sakura trembled as she held the jade slip in her hand. It was hard to say when, but at some point, tears began to roll down her cheeks.

Naruto left the Violet Fate Sect and flew through the boundless sky over the familiar lands of the Southern Domain toward the Song Clan!

The Song Clan was in the south, in a special area that did not suppress the cultivation base of cultivators, but made it impossible for them to absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth.

Years ago, Naruto had no way to understand why the Song Clan was like that. However, considering the current level of his cultivation base, he now knew that it was a feature created by a peak Dao Seeking expert.

Dao Seeking cultivators could form their own personal natural laws, which grew more and more powerful as they approached the peak of Dao Seeking. Eventually, such natural law could create special regions, just like the Song Clan.

When Naruto entered the territory of the Song Clan, the entire clan was thrown into a commotion. The Song Clan Patriarch, who had been in secluded meditation under the surface of the clan, immediately opened his eyes and went out to meet Naruto.

The clan would not allow the slightest bit of disrespect to be shown to

Naruto. In fact, there was not a single cultivator in the entire

Southern Domain who would treat Naruto disrespectfully now.

Perhaps Naruto himself was not incredibly strong, but his second true self was a peak Dao Seeking cultivator, and Naruto was the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect.

The entire Song Clan arranged a grand banquet to honor Naruto, the scale of which was completely unprecedented. As he sat there, Naruto looked around at the Song Clan and mused that this was his second time visiting this place.

The first time was for the Song Clan's search for a son-in-law. That was when he had acquired good fortune and met… Shui Dongliu.

The Song Clan Patriarch sat next to Naruto and couldn't help but sigh emotionally.

Even more emotional than the Patriarch, however, was Eccentric Song…. He was still a Nascent Soul cultivator, and he sat in a position not too far away from Naruto, his head bowed, fearful that Naruto would look his way.

Despite his bowed head, Naruto still noticed him.

"Fellow Daoist Song," he said coolly, "How are all those wild beasts that you collect?" After all, Naruto had never viewed himself as the type of person to hold a grudge….

Eccentric Song shivered, and thought back to what he had witnessed Naruto do back at the Ancient Dao Lakes. After it was all over, Eccentric Song had assumed everything was water under the bridge, but now that Naruto was actually in the Song Clan, he was more nervous than ever.

As soon as Naruto asked his question, Eccentric Song lurched to his feet and clasped his hands toward Naruto, bowing repeatedly. His face was covered with a flattering smile that was even more unbearable to look at than if he had begun to cry.

"Senior, I am honored by your concern. However… I don't collect wild beasts any more…."

"Oh…." replied Naruto. As he gazed at Eccentric Song, he noticed the pleading look in the man's eyes.

Naruto smiled slightly and then looked away.

Eccentric Song heaved a sigh of relief and quickly sat down, whereupon he picked up his glass and took a long drink of alcohol. Although his fear had been allayed, moments ago he had been frightened to death. He had long since heard stories of Naruto's shocking, murderous air. Naruto could kill without blinking an eye. He had exterminated Dao Seeking experts, and slaughtering Spirit Severing cultivators was as easy to him as killing dogs. As for Nascent Soul cultivators… he could blot them out of existence by simply breathing.

Naruto's presence, and the fact that he was sitting next to the Song

Clan Patriarch, left Eccentric Song completely terrified. Ever since Naruto returned to the Southern Domain, Eccentric Song had begun to regret his past actions. Then the Blood Demon Sect rose to prominence, and his fear grew.

"I absolutely, positively, without a shadow of a doubt should NOT have provoked that jinx all those years ago…. Who would have ever guessed that the brat would eventually become so terrifying…. Aiiiii, nobody could have predicted it." Sighing, Eccentric Song thought back to the events in the State of Zhao, and how Naruto had slaughtered a path all the way to the top of the mountain with the iron spear. Eccentric Song almost seemed to be in a trance as he remembered all the spirit stones and medicinal pills that were taken away.

"Although," he thought, "how many people in the Southern Domain can say that they caused that jinx, Naruto, to flee from them? I guess this just goes to show how great I am." Now that he thought about it, Eccentric Song felt a bit pleased with himself. "Besides, it was that old bastard Wu Dingqiu who instigated the whole incident!"

There was another person at the banquet who sighed emotionally, and that was Song Jia's mother. As for Song Jia, she sat next to her mother, her expression indifferent. Her mother was the one with the excited expression.

"According to what that woman said all those years ago," she thought, "Jia'er can become Naruto's maidservant…. Not bad, actually! How do I bring it up to him, though?" She frowned and then looked over at the Song Clan Patriarch, only to find that he was looking at her. 1

She immediately understood what he was thinking, and abandoned her previous plan.

The banquet lasted for a few hours. Naruto's primary objective in coming to the Song Clan was to reassure and pacify them. After all, the Blood Demon Sect was now the greatest power in the unified Southern Domain. The Song Clan had maintained neutrality, so it was necessary for the Blood Demon Sect's Blood Prince to personally visit them.

There was no need for formal agreements. Naruto's visit was enough to explain the stance of the Blood Demon Sect. Similarly, for the Song Clan Patriarch to personally entertain him showed the Song Clan's attitude.

As evening fell, Naruto politely refused the Song Clan's urgings that he stay behind for longer. When he rose to leave, his gaze fell upon

Song Jia, and he hesitated for a moment before producing a jade slip.

The jade slip contained a strand of divine sense similar to the one he had given to Sakura. Naruto knew that he was beholden to Song Jia. His youthful hot-headedness had influenced her search for a husband, and was the reason she had never married. Naruto had always felt like he owed an apology for the matter.

Considering that he had personally gifted her with the jade slip, and also helped her in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, he finally felt as if there was some resolution to the matter.

Song Jia accepted the jade slip and bowed her head in thanks, her expression as calm as ever.

Off to the side, the Song Clan Patriarch smiled as he looked on, and his eyes glittered. Finally, he laughed heartily and then escorted Naruto out of the Song Clan ancestral mansion.

"Patriarch, there's no need to see me out," said Naruto. "If I have some free time in the future, I'll come back to visit." He clasped hands, then made to leave.

"Naruto, my young friend," said the Patriarch with a laugh, "there's no need for such formality. Actually, we're already like family, right? My little granddaughter Song Jia has long since become your maidservant, so there's no need for you to treat the Song Clan as if we're strangers."

"Maidservant?" said Naruto, stopping in his tracks. He looked back at the Patriarch with a strange expression.

"Oh? You didn't know, young friend?" The Song Clan Patriarch could tell the truth from Naruto's expression, but he feigned astonishment nonetheless. "Back during the Song Clan search for a son-in-law, your mother came personally to ask us to make my little granddaughter your maidservant."

Naruto's heart began to pound with great waves of shock. However, after practicing cultivation for so many years, he was not the novice he had been years ago, and his expression remained the same as ever.

However, a profound gleam appeared deep in his eyes as he looked back at Patriarch Song.

"Patriarch, there's no need to beat around the bush," said Naruto.

Considering Naruto's countenance, Patriarch Song's expression became solemn.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure if it was your mother, young friend. After the incident occurred, I realized that there are two possibilities. Either it really was your mother, or… it was the mother of the Resurrection Lily!

"I have no way to determine for certain, but what I can tell you for sure is that she is an Immortal. As to whether she is a false Immortal or true Immortal I don't know…. However, she definitely came from the Eastern Lands!" Patriarch Song slapped his bag of holding to produce a jade slip, which he handed to Naruto.

"This is her likeness, which I inscribed onto this jade slip from my memory."

Naruto silently accepted the jade slip. He almost didn't dare to look at it. Taking a deep breath, he sent his divine sense inside, whereupon he saw the image of a woman. Instantly, towering waves of shock filled him.

Even if his composure were even stronger, it would still be shattered nonetheless. He suddenly felt as if a hundred thousand thunderclaps were exploding in his ears. His body trembled, and his eyes shone with intense attachment and obsession.

He had long since stopped trying to track down information about his parents. He had long since assumed that his childhood dream of traveling to the Eastern Lands was something of the past.

But now, he had an intense impulse to immediately go to the Eastern Lands to ask… WHY?!

That was because the woman in the jade slip….

Looked exactly like the image of his mother that existed in his memories!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by: Susanto Ali Budiman, Fabian Müller, and Joshua Evans_

The incident with "that woman" occurred in chapter 190 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 761

Chapter 761: An Old Friend….

Naruto's hand slowly tightened around the jade slip.

Although he kept his thoughts concealed deeply in his heart, and would not easily reveal them, Patriarch Song had practiced cultivation for many years, and was able to pick up on some clues from the motion of Naruto's hand. He knew that his gamble had paid off.

Naruto took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed deeply to Patriarch Song.

"Many thanks!" he said.

He said nothing more than those two words, but to Patriarch Song, that was enough. He nodded and clasped hands in return.

"Naruto, my young friend, if you ever go to the Eastern Lands, the Song Clan's branch there may be able to provide you with some assistance."

Naruto nodded, then, without another word, transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Patriarch Song watched him fly off. After a long moment, when Naruto was no longer visible, he turned and headed back into the Song Clan ancestral mansion.

As Naruto flew through the air, a complex expression could be seen on his face. Images from his childhood appeared in his mind, which had not faded after the passing of years, but were clearer than ever.

"Mom, dad… just… why?

"Why did you have to leave? Why did you leave me behind? Why?! Why would you come to the Song Clan… and not tell me?! You were obviously there!

"WHY?!"

Naruto felt as if his heart was being stabbed with a knife. These questions had been buried in his heart for far too long, with no answers.

The answers… were in the Eastern Lands!

Finally, Naruto sighed and regained his composure. He was a powerful expert who had practiced cultivation for hundreds of years. The only thing that could cause him to lose control was the matter of his father and mother.

"The Eastern Lands," he thought. "It was always my dream to go there…. That… is where I MUST go!" Decisiveness appeared in his eyes. He took a deep breath and then sped onward.

As evening deepened, he shot forward at top speed. He had called upon the Song Clan and visited the Violet Fate Sect. Now, it was time to return to the Blood Demon Sect and spend the rest of the hundred years with Hinata.

Even as he continued along, his gaze was suddenly drawn to something that was happening off in the distance.

"So, it's him…." he thought, surprised.

Currently, he was in the border region between the Song Clan and the Blood Demon Sect. Fifty kilometers or so from his current position, three streaks of light sped through the air.

Clearly, there were two cultivators chasing a third cultivator. The target was a middle-aged man who wore a blood-stained white robe. From the look on his face, he had experienced many things. He seemed exhausted, and even more so, full of grief.

It was easy to see that once upon a time, he had been incredibly handsome. Now he looked old, but still carried himself with an extraordinary, heroic spirit. However, the years had not been kind to him, and he had undergone a baptism of ruthlessness. Now, his life was one of pain.

"Wang Sasuke , where do you think you can run to now?!"

"You used to be a top Chosen of the Uchiha Clan, but now you're nothing more than a stray dog! All you know how to do is run away!"

"What are you running for? Come on, show us some of your skills from all those years ago. You used to be the pinnacle of arrogance! You chased me and my brother for years trying to kill us. Now we finally get to meet again, and you're running away?!"

"Hahaha! Of course he's running. There's no Uchiha Clan in the Southern Domain anymore! It was wiped out in a single night! Uchiha Sasuke just got lucky and escaped death! Unfortunately for him, he ran into us here! Uchiha Sasuke … you're dead!"

The person being chased was none other than Uchiha Sasuke !

The pursuers were two middle-aged cultivators with late Core Formation cultivation bases, only half a step away from the Nascent Soul stage. As for Uchiha Sasuke , he was also in the late Core Formation stage. However, he was clearly wounded, and could do nothing more than flee from his two opponents.

His face was ashen, and filled with intense grief. Apparently, the words spoken by his pursuers stabbed deeply into his heart. After the Uchiha Clan was destroyed, he had experienced far too many slanderous insults. He had once been Chosen, but in the blink of an eye had turned into an outcast. Originally, he told himself that he could get used to this new situation, but every time he heard words such as those being hurled at him now, they hurt deeply.

It felt as if people were digging his heart out of his chest, and it made the pained expression on his face grow even more intense.

He had been there that night when the Uchiha Clan was wiped out. He had personally witnessed the Patriarch's insanity as he slaughtered one clan member after another. That night, it felt as if the sky had fallen.

His father and mother died. His grandfather died. Everyone died, one by one.… As for himself, he had been consumed by terror and sorrow. And then, his older brother… the older brother who he had always wanted to surpass, struck him on the head with a palm.

That palm swept through him like thunder, rendering him unconscious.

The last thing he remembered was his brother murmuring in his ear,

"Hey kid, you need to stay alive…."

When Uchiha Sasuke woke up, he opened his eyes to find himself in a sea of blood. He was surrounded by the corpses of his fellow clan members. Laying directly on top of him… was the body of his older brother.

His brother had covered him with his own corpse, using the aura of death to hide Uchiha Sasuke . That was how Uchiha Sasuke … managed to escape the disaster caused by the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, who in his demented state had not bothered to search very carefully. 1 At that point, Uchiha Sasuke had begun to weep.

He had nothing. No clan. No family. Everything was gone.

He felt like he was the only person alive in the entire world. Bitterly, he had crawled to his feet and began to wander….

He was alive, but it was as if he had already died. People who had once been his friends now looked at him with cold mockery. The constant ridicule was a vast difference from how he had been treated in the past, and it caused the trembling Uchiha Sasuke to come to a realization.

All he could do was bow his head and bitterly accept the ridicule.

He wanted to find the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, and ask him… why?!

Why did you eradicate the entire Uchiha Clan, sir?!

WHY?!

It turned into the only reason for Uchiha Sasuke to continue living. He began to search the entire Southern Domain, using his bloodline connection to try to find the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. Even if he died in the process… he would get his answer!

It was finally in this area that he had sensed the presence of the 10th Patriarch. He had started a thorough search, but before he could track him down, ran into these two people who he had previously disdained as being unworthy to even be looked at. They were nobodies whom he and his subordinates had hunted down and tried to kill over some magical item.

Now, he could only flee from them.

Wang Sasuke 's two pursuers performed incantation gestures, causing two flying swords to speed out. Glittering, they shot toward the ashenfaced Uchiha Sasuke , who quickly produced a small drum that he tossed behind him. It rapidly expanded and reverberated with a pounding sound as the two swords neared it. The items collided and…

Boom!

As the explosion reverberated out, Uchiha Sasuke spit out blood. His face was pale white as he braced himself and pushed forward at top speed. He didn't take the time to try to retrieve the drum. The two pursuing cultivators laughed as one of them took the drum. Then they shot forward in pursuit once again, their eyes shining with greed and killing intent.

They continued to fight back and forth, and Uchiha Sasuke continuously coughed up blood. The sword glow beneath his feet began to fade, and a look of despair could be seen in his eyes. To him, the whole world seemed…to have turned gray.

"You used to be so arrogant, didn't you?!"

"Back then you were so high and mighty. You looked down on everyone else as if they were bugs, and you were the Chosen of Heaven! Where is your arrogance now, huh?!"

"Wang Sasuke , you're dead! If you get reincarnated, then remember not to be so arrogant in your next life!"

The two pursuers' eyes flashed with killing intent, and they attacked simultaneously, unleashing their most powerful divine abilities. Sword Chakra swirled, and a massive palm rumbled out toward Uchiha Sasuke .

Wang Sasuke smiled bitterly. He knew that he couldn't escape, so he suddenly turned in place and started to laugh. He had had enough of life, and should have died with the rest of his clan anyway. He was just about to throw caution to the wind when….

Suddenly, a sigh could be heard echoing throughout the land.

Once they heard the sigh, Uchiha Sasuke 's two pursuers stopped, and their faces went pale. They instantly began to tremble as they looked behind Uchiha Sasuke .

"Blood… Blood Demon Sect. The Blood Prince!"

"It's Naruto!"

Naruto floated down from behind Uchiha Sasuke until he stood between him and the two pursuers.

"This person is an old friend of mine," he said. "Fellow Daoists, would you mind giving me a bit of face?"

The two pursuers gasped, and their hearts filled with terror. They immediately clasped hands and bowed with the utmost respect. "Senior, we didn't know that Uchiha Sasuke was an old friend of the

Blood Prince. Please don't be offended, your excellency."

"We'll, we'll be leaving now…."

The two cultivators were completely shaken. There wasn't anyone in the Southern Domain who was unfamiliar with Naruto's face. They didn't care a whit about Uchiha Sasuke , but as for Naruto, he was terrifying to the extreme. Even as they spoke, the two men backed up, trembling.

Wang Sasuke gaped at Naruto's back, then saw the expressions on the faces of the two men, and felt stabs of pain in his heart. Such expressions were the type that would fill the faces of people who looked at him, the kind of expressions he savored back before the Uchiha Clan was eradicated. But now….

Wang Sasuke 's face distorted. He felt as if a blade was stabbing through his heart as he glared angrily at Naruto. His hatred for Naruto ran deep, and even before the destruction of the Uchiha Clan, he had dreamed of personally slaying him.

He hated Naruto for taking away his legacy. He hated Naruto for taking away his fiancé. He hated Naruto for all his success. In Uchiha Sasuke 's mind, everything that Naruto had achieved, should have been his!

In recent days, whenever he heard stories of Naruto, he felt like his heart was being crushed. He almost felt as if he would go insane. His hatred ran all the way to his very marrow!

"I don't need your help!" he cried out. "Kill me, alright? Just kill me! KILL

ME!

"I'm done with living, Naruto. You wanna kill me? Fine! You don't have to pretend! Come on! Uchiha Sasuke 's spirit is indomitable! I'm standing right here. Come on, kill me!

"You took away all my good fortune! You took away all my opportunities!

You even took away my fiancé. I will NOT live under the same sky as

you, you charlatan! You lowlife! Come on, kill me!

"You were NOTHING back in the Reliance Sect. I could have killed you with the wave of a finger. If Grand Elder Ouyang hadn't interfered, I would have cut you down!

"I am Chosen! Chosen of the Reliance Sect! Chosen of the Uchiha Clan!

And you? You're… an insect!"

Wang Sasuke started to laugh maniacally. He had repressed himself for too long, and now he hysterically shouted out all his grievances.

Although he is not mentioned by name, Uchiha Sasuke 's brother was

Wang Lihai, a recurring character who appeared in the Blood Immortal

Legacy Tournament arc, the Dao Geyser arc, and the Demon Immortal Sect arc, and perhaps some other places that are currently skipping my mind ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 762

Chapter 762 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 762: 10th Patriarch

Wang Sasuke 's hysterical screaming did nothing more than cause Naruto to frown slightly. However, the other two cultivators' faces went deathly pale, and their hearts began to pound with fear.

They suddenly recalled an event that had caused a minor stir in the Southern Domain, the matter of the love triangle involving Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke , and Sakura.

"Not good! These two used to be rivals in love!"

"Dammit, we happened to run into both of these guys, and then heard some things we weren't supposed to…." The two cultivators' faces fell, and they backed up nervously. Seeing that Naruto wasn't paying attention to them, they fled at top speed, cursing the fact that they couldn't sprout wings.

"Come on, kill me! KILL ME!" raged Uchiha Sasuke , his eyes bloodshot.

He even began to approach Naruto, until he was right in front of him.

"Didn't you want to kill me back in the Reliance Sect, Naruto? I remember your fingernails sticking into the flesh of your palms, and the blood dripping down. Back then you were an ant, and I was Chosen! 1

"Now look at me! I bet you're happy, aren't you. Very happy, right? Come on, kill me!

"I've lived enough already. My clan is gone, my clan members are gone, my family is gone. My older brother gave his life for me, but what's the point? At least dying at your hand will release me from my worldly cares!

"Why haven't you made a move yet? Kill me!"

A complicated expression could be seen on Naruto's face as he looked back at Uchiha Sasuke . He had long since learned of what had happened to the Uchiha Clan. As for everything from the past, it was nothing more than that, the past.

"I'm a Uchiha Clan Chosen. When I was a child, a drop of blood from a Flying Rain-Dragon fell from the skies. I followed my instincts and intuition, and after paying a huge price, finally found the Reliance Sect!

"The Flying Rain-Dragon legacy belongs to me! But you took it away! You took away my legacy! And you took away my Inner Sect qualifications in the Reliance Sect too! You destroyed any chance I had of getting the Sublime Spirit Scripture!

"Then you even took my fiancé away from me! Sakura was MY fiancé! But she dissolved our engagement… all because of YOU!

"Do I owe you a debt from my previous life or something, Naruto? Why? Over and over again, you took away EVERYTHING!" As Uchiha Sasuke screamed and yelled, tears began to stream down his face.

"Now you have everything that belongs to me. I should be the number one person in the Southern Domain. I should be on top. And you… you should be like I am now!

"Everything you have… was taken from me! And now, here you stand in front of me, the winner again. You're gonna save me?! You're not saving me. I don't need your pity or compassion, I just need you to kill me!

"Don't give me that look, Naruto," he said, tears streaming down his cheeks. "I'm Uchiha Sasuke !" After the destruction of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Sasuke had been the subject of endless ridicule. It was a pain that he could handle. There was only one thing in the world that he couldn't abide. A single person.

Naruto!

He would rather die than see pity and perplexity in Naruto's eyes. He was Uchiha Sasuke ! If he had to die, fine, but he would die with pride!

Naruto sighed, then shook his head. When he recalled everything that had happened between him and Uchiha Sasuke , he knew that he had acted a bit impulsively.

He had been young and hot-headed, and now that he looked back, he realized that… many of the things he had done were a bit excessive. For example, the matter with Sakura…. Perhaps… if he hadn't deliberately sabotaged Uchiha Sasuke and Sakura, the two of them would still be together today, happy and content.

At least they would be better off than they were now.

Naruto didn't say anything. He produced a jade slip and imprinted it with some divine sense, then tossed it over to float in front of Uchiha Sasuke .

"Take this," he said softly. "If you get into grave danger, it can save your life a single time. You and I… are old friends. I truly hope… that you can find your way." With that, he turned to leave.

Wang Sasuke stared in shock at the jade slip hovering in front of him. Then he lifted his head up and began to laugh madly as more tears poured down his face. He didn't want goodwill from Naruto. He didn't want to be weak in front of the person he had once hated more than anyone in the world. After the destruction of the Uchiha Clan, he had experienced many things, and had come to experience the hypocrisy of the world.

Former good friends kicked him when he was down. Past companions avoided him as if he were a poisonous vermin. Such pain was something he could accept. If past enemies tried to kill him, at least he could selfdetonate and end in common ruin with them.

How could he ever have imagined that the person he hated the most… would be the only person to treat him kindly after his fall from the top?

He didn't want to accept it, and could not accept it. His hysteria was a way to vent. His tears were an expression of sorrow.

He waved his hand, sending the jade slip clattering to the ground.

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke ! I don't need your sympathy!"

Naruto stopped and looked back, then sighed again. He was just about to leave when suddenly, he heard a long cry coming from within the nearby forest.

The cry caused colors to flash through the sky, and sent the clouds churning. A figure emerged from the trees who emanated an aura that exceeded the peak of Dao Seeking.

"Hahaha! Immortal Ascension, Immortal Ascension…. Hahaha! I will become Immortal!" It was a deranged old man with unkempt hair, tattered clothing, and filthy skin.

Naruto's pupils constricted, and killing intent flickered in his eyes. His second true self suddenly materialized next to him, and took a step forward.

The deranged old man look very different from before, but Naruto could still tell that he was… the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch!

Naruto had previously made some inquiries about the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. He knew that the Patriarch, in his madness, had destroyed the Uchiha Clan, then gone completely insane. However, this was the first time he had personally encountered him in the Southern Domain.

"Patriarch!" cried Uchiha Sasuke .

"10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch!" growled Naruto grimly. He raised his hand and pointed a finger, causing his second true self to shoot through the air toward the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch.

Rumbling explosions filled the air as the two of them instantly began to fight. As for the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, Immortal Chakra swirled around him. His hair was completely disheveled, and his aged face was filled with a confused expression.

"Immortal Ascension. I will become Immortal…." Laughing foolishly, he waved his hand, causing the air to distort. Powerful cultivation base ripples spread out as he battled with Naruto's second true self.

Naruto gave a cold snort and flew out. He had a Dao Seeking fleshly body, as well as the Lightning Cauldron, which he produced as he closed in on the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch.

Booms echoed out as Naruto and his second true self fought back and forth with the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. The wind screamed, and the land quaked.

"Sever!" Naruto's second true self let out a cry and sent the Wooden Time Sword slashing out. Tens of thousands of years of Time power swept out like a great river. However, the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch was no ordinary peak Dao Seeking cultivator. He had Immortal qi, and an Immortal aura which he sent out to resist the Time power. A boom echoed out, and the second true self fell back. The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch's face went pale, and all of a sudden, the confusion in his eyes began to be replaced with clarity.

"Naruto…." he said, staring fixedly at Naruto. His voice was hoarse, and he spoke haltingly as he regained his senses.

"Patriarch!" shouted Uchiha Sasuke urgently, flying toward the 10th Patriarch.

"Teng… Fei…." said the 10th Patriarch, looking over at Uchiha Sasuke . Suddenly, his expression was one of extreme pain. He lifted his hands up to clutch at his head, and then let out a miserable shriek. "Don't come near me!

"The Uchiha Clan…. I'm guilty, guilty…. I killed everyone in the Wang

Clan. I killed everyone…. All to become Immortal. All for Immortal

Ascension. Was it worth it…? WAS IT WORTH IT?!" The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch lifted his head and let out a mad howl, and his face was distorted by intense bitterness.

Naruto's eyes flashed as he stood off to the side with his second true self. They did not attack, but simply looked on, eyes flickering with killing intent.

"I'm guilty… I was the one who personally slaughtered all of my fellow clan members…." The 10th Uchiha Clan patriarch howled, and tears streamed down his face. He felt as if his heart were being crushed. He felt regret, helplessness, and insanity swirling around inside his head. The faces of the clan members he had personally killed began to appear around him, and he trembled. His face was awash with indescribable agony.

He suddenly turned to look at Naruto, head in hands and his eyes bright red. "You. It was all because of you!"

Every so often, the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch would regain clarity.

Whenever that happened, it was a time of unspeakable guilt and pain. His heart would fill with horror and regret, and the madness that arose from knowing that his hands were stained red with the blood of his fellow clan members, made him want to die.

But his cultivation base had reached the point that dying… was not easy.

He made to charge Naruto, but Naruto dodged to the side, his eyes flickering with coldness. He did not attack, and yet the enmity in his eyes grew deeper. A cold smile appeared on his face.

"Want to die?" he asked. "It won't be that easy! How could I let you die? Death squares all accounts, so letting you die would simply be releasing you from your pain and bitterness. I think I'd rather just let you continue living in your madness. Every so often you will wake up and be wracked with guilt and pain! That is the vengeance you deserve!"

The hatred in Naruto's eyes burned. He detested the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. If it weren't for him, Hinata would not be in her current situation. He would not have faced so many deadly crises. In fact, considering what had happened in the Rebirth Cave, he truly had died already.

Such enmity was not something that a mere death could wipe away. To force the Uchiha Clan Patriarch to live a life of suffering… that was true vengeance!

Naruto laughed coldly as he backed up. However, it was at this point that the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch's face once again began to fill with a blank look. He began to smile foolishly, as if amnesia was beginning to wash away all the pain.

But Naruto couldn't allow him to so easily forget.

He raised his hand and pointed out his finger.

The Seventh Demon Sealing Hex. Karmic Hexing!

He didn't fully employ the art. Instead, he just used the Karmic magic to cause the 10th Patriarch to be tormented by Karma even when he was in a state of senselessness. He infused the Karma Threads with the lives of the clan members that had been killed. Now, they would constantly pester him, reminding him of his bloodstained hands. He would now always be plagued by the memories of what he had done.

Rumble!

The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch's Karma Threads were thrown into chaos. His body trembled, and his eyes filled with tears. Although his expression was blank, he let out a roar of madness. Pain stabbed at his heart, and he lost control.

"Immortal Ascension…. D-d-don't get near me! My soul…. Kill…. Kill….

Kill you all…. Little brother, don't get near me…. AGGHHHHHH!

Immortal Ascension…."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Aaron Dewitt, Daniel Parkes, QD BUI,_

 _Nick Foley, Aaron Embry, Kim Ward, and Bahati Gitego_

When Uchiha Sasuke almost killed Naruto in chapter 18, Naruto's fists clenched so hard that his fingernails dug into his palms and then broke off ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 763

Chapter 763: The Deepest Love

The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch was already insane, but as of this moment, he had sunk even further into insanity. He was insane, and yet lucid, unable to control his body or his consciousness. The only thing he could do was constantly relive the destruction of the Uchiha Clan.

As of this moment, he could no longer forget the things which he so wanted to forget.

From the methods Naruto used, it was clear how deeply he hated him.

After finishing his work, what Naruto acquired was not a feeling of happiness, but rather, deep exhaustion. It was an exhaustion that stemmed from the heart, and it caused him to sigh.

He turned to leave. He wanted to be far away from this place. He had no further desire to see the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. Exacting further revenge was meaningless. Hinata had less than a hundred years to live before she needed to travel to the underworld to be reincarnated.

Naruto felt blank. He was just turning to leave when Uchiha Sasuke , his eyes filled with determination, smiled bitterly and took a deep breath. He suddenly flew directly toward the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, who hovered in mid-air, his head in his hands, tears streaming down his face.

"Immortal Ascension…. Kill…. Kill…." He was completely immersed in the memories of slaughtering his fellow clan members. His soul seemed to be imprisoned in that particular day, forever doomed to repeat what he had done.

"Patriarch!" cried Uchiha Sasuke . As soon as he neared, the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch's eyes gleamed with a fiendish glow.

"Soul…. Soul…. My soul…." he said, staring fixedly at Uchiha Sasuke . To him, the souls of fellow clan members were an irresistible temptation. He was attracted to them on an instinctual level, as he believed them to be something he needed to mend his own soul.

It was an instinct he had no control over. His body flashed as he shot toward Uchiha Sasuke , whereupon his hand snaked out to latch onto the top of his head.

Wang Sasuke did nothing to evade him. He allowed the 10th Patriarch to near, allowed his hand to latch onto his own head. There was even a cracking sound as fingers pierced into his skull.

To Uchiha Sasuke , the intense pain didn't really matter.

The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch's eyes glowed with avarice and madness as he prepared to extract Uchiha Sasuke 's soul and use it to try to mend his own.

Naruto's mind reeled, and he spun around, his eyes flashing. He lifted his right hand, and his second true self immediately shot toward Uchiha Sasuke .

"Naruto!" Uchiha Sasuke cried, his face twisted and ashen. His body shook as it began to wither; apparently, all of the essence of his life force was being sucked away as soul nourishment. "This is my choice! This is the whole reason I've been searching for the Patriarch!

"Don't interfere! This is Uchiha Sasuke 's choice!" His body quivered as

his legs were sucked dry. The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch's eyes gleamed with a strange light, and his right hand tightened.

"My life has no meaning. I'd rather die at the hands of the Patriarch than be killed by some other person. Let my soul help to restore his soul!

"Naruto, I don't need you to come save me. There's no need! Let me… die in a way that has meaning!

"I think this is the most meaningful thing I've ever done in my entire existence. My family, my parents, my big brother, all my clan members… they've already given their souls. I'm the only one left… and now… it's my turn!

"I can't choose to keep living, Naruto, but I can choose how to die…. Just leave me alone, don't save me. This is a Uchiha Clan affair, and it has nothing to do with you!" Uchiha Sasuke trembled as the rest of his body withered up. His life force was pouring into the 10th Patriarch's soul, causing strands of white mist to rise up from the places where the fingers had pierced him.

An expression of struggle could be seen on the face of the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. However, the instinct to absorb his fellow clan members did not go away, and he continued to suck away the life force. Uchiha Sasuke 's body began to fall apart, and vast quantities of white mist rose up out of his head. His soul.

His eyes faded, and he seemed to age. It seemed like he had reached the end of his life. He was no longer the perfect, handsome young man that Naruto remembered. He was grotesque, nothing more than skin draped over a skeleton.

"Naruto, back then… it was all my fault…. I just realized it too late. It wasn't until my clan had been exterminated that I realized… how aggravating I must have been to everyone.

"No wonder Yuyan left me…. She was right…. Naruto, my hatred for you is mostly just jealousy and envy. Everything I said after you saved me earlier…. Actually, I just didn't want to admit that after everything changed for me, you were the only person who treated me better than before….

"Naruto…." Uchiha Sasuke looked at Naruto, and he seemed reluctant to part with the world. The look in his eye was the same look of wild ambition that had existed before, and the same pride.

"Naruto, I… have one last request. Can you… please treat Sakura well?!

"She's a good girl, and I don't deserve her. She might seem detached, but inside, she's very weak…

"Naruto, since you have my legacy, and since you took my good fortune, well then, you… must definitely… keep on going! Reach the pinnacle! Leave Planet Ninshu and climb to the highest heights….

"That's my dream. You… must keep on going!" Uchiha Sasuke chuckled as he realized that he didn't actually hate Naruto. Along with his laughter, he suddenly seemed to relax. Apparently, he was losing himself in the wonderful times of the past, in the perfect simplicity of the Reliance Sect.

He smiled, and then his head sagged and his life ended….

His soul was completely extracted by the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, who then placed it into his mouth. More tears streamed down the Patriarch's face as he violently chomped down on the soul and then swallowed it. Then, he lifted his head up and roared.

"Immortal Ascension…. Immortal Ascension…. Kill. Kill…." Roaring, he barreled off into the distance, weeping and howling miserably.

Naruto stood there agape. After it was all over, he closed his eyes for a long time. When he opened them, exhaustion could be seen. After seeing the determination in Uchiha Sasuke 's eyes, he understood. Even if he and Uchiha Sasuke hadn't run into each other this day, once Uchiha Sasuke found the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, he would still have done

the exact same thing.

Because the blood of the Uchiha Clan coursed through his veins, the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch would still have pounced on him and instinctively sucked out his soul. Nobody could do anything to change that. As for Naruto, all he had done was force a bit of lucidity onto the Patriarch, to ensure that he would eternally regret his actions.

In the end, who was really at fault…?

Was it Naruto? He was also a victim. Was it the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch? Perhaps his pain was greater than anyone's.

The Uchiha Clan members were completely innocent. As for Uchiha Sasuke , his decision was solemn and stirring.

Who was at fault…? It was an unanswerable question that ran in circles. If blame truly needed to be assigned somewhere, perhaps… greed was the answer.

If the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch had not lusted after Naruto's Perfect Dao foundation… then perhaps none of these things would have happened.

"Karma is a cycle with many twists and turns…." murmured Naruto. All of a sudden, his understanding of the cause and effect of Karma deepened. However, this understanding had come at a terrible price.

Naruto sighed dejectedly, then slowly turned and made his way off into the distance.

Wang Sasuke 's final choice was something Naruto could never have predicted. As he flew through the air, he suddenly recalled the first time he saw Uchiha Sasuke back in the Reliance Sect.

He thought about their first battle, and the Flying Rain-Dragon legacy. Then there was the contest to get into the Inner Sect, as well as all the events that played out in the Southern Domain. Everything seemed to have occurred so long ago. Right now, Naruto knew… the most profound memory of Uchiha Sasuke would be the words he had spoken moments before he died, and the expression on his face.

"And that was Uchiha Sasuke !" he murmured softly.

He finally returned to the Blood Demon Sect, exhausted, immersed in enlightenment regarding Karma, and with hands stained red with blood. The first place he went was Blood Prince Gorge.

He found Hinata, and then wrapped his arms around her for a long, long time. He buried his head in her fragrant hair, and said nothing.

Hinata seemed to understand. She held him, softly patting his back in comfort.

He felt tired out. First was the emotional tale of Might Guy, and then the news about his mother. Finally… there was Uchiha Sasuke and the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, and his understanding regarding the gravity of Karma.

"Hinata, I want to sleep," he said softly.

"Sleep then," she replied gently. "I'll stay here with you…."

He closed his eyes.

Hinata held him. She sat down outside the log cabin in Blood Prince Gorge, and he lay across her legs and slept.

She looked down at him, and twirled a strand of his hair around her finger. The expression on her face was one of pity, and deep love.

Naruto slept for two days. When he finally opened his eyes, it was night. Up above in the darkness, the canopy of stars twinkled brightly, but they couldn't come close to matching the beauty of Hinata's eyes. They were neither as warm and resplendent as her gaze, nor as soft and entrancing as her expression.

Naruto looked into her eyes, and she looked back.

Suddenly, something seemed to click inside Naruto's head.

"The deepest expression of love is simply to stay with someone…." he murmured. He suddenly understood why Elder Brother Might Guy chose to stand guard over that boulder instead of leaving to practice cultivation. To Might Guy, simply staying with his beloved was an expression of love.

Naruto also understood why Uchiha Sasuke chose to die. To him, it was more important to stay with his clan members, and his Patriarch. That… was his expression of love.

It didn't matter if you spoke of love for friends, love for family, or romantic love…. The deepest expression of love was simply to stay with someone.

You stay with me, I'll stay with you…. That was love.

For himself, the fact that Hinata chose to stay with him made him realize what the meaning of love really was.

"Hinata," he said, looking at her earnestly, "let's… have a bonding ceremony. Let's get married."

A tremor ran through Hinata; her eyelashes trembled and her heart began to pound. To any woman, a wedding is one of the most important occasions possible in life. Hinata's cheeks flushed, but she didn't avoid Naruto's gaze. She looked back at him and then slowly nodded.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Chung Nicholas and Important_

 _Livestreamer Matengunsang_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 764

Chapter 764: The Wedding Stirs the Southern Domain

Naruto's grand wedding!

It only took a few days for news to spread from the Blood Demon Sect throughout all the lands of the Southern Domain. Soon, every cultivator in the Southern Domain was talking about it. Within a period of ten days, the whole continent was in an uproar.

Naruto's name was now irrefutably famous and illustrious, like a grandiose rainbow, stretching to the far reaches of the sky.

Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect!

Peak Dao Seeking clone!

Formerly known as Grandmaster Pill Cauldron!

Because of his various identities, Naruto's grand wedding became the focus of attention of all Southern Domain cultivators. In the past, there had never been a wedding that caused so much of a commotion, and likely, there would never be another like it in the future.

The news was like a gale-force wind that swept across the Southern Domain, causing innumerable minds to tremble. Countless cultivators shook with the desire to be able to personally attend.

In fact… those who did qualify to attend were the subject of intense admiration and envy.

"Did you hear? The Blood Demon Sect's Blood Prince, Naruto, is getting married on the fifteenth of next month!"

"Yeah, of course our sect heard about the grand wedding of his excellency Naruto. Our Patriarch even came out of secluded meditation to personally prepare a wedding gift!"

"I bet all the most powerful experts in the entire Southern Domain will be gathering at the Blood Demon Sect."

"Your news is out of date! My master already found out that his excellency Naruto's grand wedding isn't going to be at the Blood Demon Sect. It's going to be on the border of the Southern Domain, at some big lake!"

Naruto's wedding was the news everyone was discussing. All the various sects and clans sprang into motion to prepare valuable and remarkable gifts for the wedding.

The wedding date was the fifteenth of the following month, and the location, a lake on the border of the Southern Domain, was unique enough that people quickly began to analyze its significance.

"That's… where the State of Zhao used to be!"

"A few hundred years ago, the State of Zhao mysteriously disappeared. The only thing left behind was a huge hole in the ground. As time passed, it filled up with water and turned into a lake…."

"That's right. The exalted Naruto and his beloved, Hinata, are both from the State of Zhao. How fitting for the bonding ceremony to be held there!"

Even as the discussion raged, the tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples excitedly left the Blood Demon Sect and happily headed toward the location of the bonding ceremony, that enormous lake.

After arriving, they would immediately get to work constructing the necessary buildings and decorate the entire region, turning it into something grand and palatial!

Naruto's wedding was a major event for the Southern Domain, and even more important as far as the Blood Demon Sect was concerned. After the determination Naruto had shown by putting his life on the line in the war with the four allied powers, all the disciples of the Blood Demon Sect burned with fanatical devotion for him.

Therefore, the Blood Demon Sect disciples, down to the last one, were determined to ensure than not the slightest negligence be shown in the preparations.

Naruto was aware that it was impossible to keep his marriage to Hinata a secret. It was the most important event in their lives, and they would become bonded cultivators. It was necessary to inform the Southern Domain. As for the people who attended the ceremony that day, all of them would be distinguished guests.

Thus, Blood Demon Sect disciples sent out invitation cards to the various sects and clans. Any sect or clan who received one would be filled with excitement and incredible pride.

However, there were some locations that deserved exceptional treatment. Naruto took Hinata there personally to deliver invitations.

The first stop was the Violet Fate Sect. The Violet Fate Sect's peak Dao Seeking Patriarch, Sun Tao, happily appeared to accept the invitation.

After a polite exchange, Naruto glanced in the direction of the main peak of the East Pill Division. He and Hinata both clasped hands and bowed deeply toward Grandmaster Pill Demon's secluded meditation location.

Almost at the same moment that Naruto bowed, an ancient voice rang out in joyous laughter from the mountain.

"Hao'er, master will emerge on the day of your wedding. I will be the official witness!"

Naruto trembled and raised his head to look in the direction of the main mountain peak. Next to him, Hinata smiled shyly and bowed her head.

"Many thanks, master!" Naruto said softly.

When he and Hinata left, something happened that Naruto didn't notice, although Hinata did. On one of the mountain peaks in the East Pill Division stood a woman. She looked sad as she stared silently at Naruto and Hinata.

It was Sakura.

Her body shivered slightly in the stiff mountain breeze that fluttered her garments. She looked like a goddess, but in that moment, her heart felt as if it were sinking into a pit of ice. She felt coldness engulfing her, and pain stabbed through her.

She stood there bitterly, and tears streamed down her face.

Naruto didn't see those tears, but Hinata did.

Hinata held her tongue as she turned and left with Naruto.

On another mountain stood Hanxue Shan. She wasn't happy either, and she kicked a rock that lay in front of her. The man who stood next to her, Ye Feimu, was even less happy than she was. He glanced over at Hanxue Shan, a complex expression in his eyes. He said nothing as he remained standing at her side.

Naruto and Hinata also paid a personal visit to the Song Clan. Because of the matter of the Song Clan Patriarch giving him the jade slip, Naruto knew that he owed the Song Clan a favor.

Patriarch Song would never say anything about it, of course, but the matter was extremely important to Naruto.

Patriarch Song laughed heartily as he accepted the invitation. Then, he looked at Naruto and Hinata with a long sigh. After Naruto and Hinata flew off into the distance, a certain woman inside the Song Clan cut a lonely figure as she stood there, by herself. She sighed, but in her heart, she truly wished for Naruto and Hinata to find happiness.

That woman was Song Jia.

The next stop was the Solitary Sword Sect. As soon as they entered, the Solitary Sword Sect disciples bowed with extreme respect. They clustered around Naruto almost as if he were a Patriarch as they escorted him into the sect.

Might Guy was still sitting cross-legged next to the boulder, meditating. When he opened his eyes and saw Naruto and Hinata, he smiled happily.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother. Finally you'll get to hold a beautiful woman in your arms. You know, I could tell way back in the Reliance Sect that you had some feelings for Junior Sister Xu.

"At long last, you two are getting married. Well, I think you're a match made in heaven!

"It's too bad we can't find Grand Elder Ouyang and Sect Leader He. Although, if they're still in the Southern Domain, they'll surely hear about the wedding."

Might Guy was very happy to see Naruto and Hinata, and he laughed more that day than he had in decades.

They visited with Might Guy for a whole day. Before leaving, Naruto and Hinata clasped hands and bowed to the boulder which contained Shan Ling, the wife of their brother Might Guy. In response, the boulder glowed faintly, as if it were wishing blessings upon them.

Finally, Naruto and Hinata went to the Golden Frost Sect. Fatty was ecstatic. Not only did he wink salaciously at Naruto, he had all of his more than one hundred beloved companions come out in quite a flaunting display.

The more than one hundred women extended greetings in tittering, melodic whispers. Naruto had a strange expression on his face, and although Hinata appeared to be smiling, she looked at Fatty with a gaze that showed that she was not amused.

Fatty didn't notice, and proceeded to regally instruct Naruto to be more like himself and collect a few more beloved concubines….

"Li Fugui," Hinata interrupted coolly, "don't forget that it was me who brought you to the Reliance Sect that year."

Fatty was taken aback. Then he saw Naruto's awkward smile, suddenly shivered in realization, and then quickly changed the topic of conversation.

They stayed at the Golden Frost Sect for a night, and then left.

They didn't return to the Blood Demon Sect or the lake. Naruto took Hinata to travel through the Southern Domain like mortals. They didn't fly, they walked, through mountains and past rivers. During the days they strolled along together, and at night they slept in each other's arms. They walked through deep mountain ranges and across vast plains, gracing them with the traces of their passage.

Occasionally they would encounter people, all of whom would immediately clasp hands in greeting. Soon, word began to spread through the Southern Domain of the Beatific Sweethearts.

During that month, they traveled to many places. Hinata laughed happily as she accompanied Naruto. Naruto stopped worrying about cultivation and the future. He focused on relaxing and enjoying Hinata's company.

When the month was up, and their traveling finished, they proceeded toward the enormous lake that occupied the spot where the State of Zhao used to be.

The land there had undergone a complete transformation, and now looked like a celestial paradise. In the center of the lake, upon the rippling water, sat an island with jade buildings which had been ringed with ornamental statues and carvings. It was not excessively opulent, but held a great deal of charm.

That was where they settled down to wait for the half month until… the day of the wedding!

The sound of laughter rang out as tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect disciples bustled about in the area surrounding the lake, using magical techniques to completely change the entire area. Occasionally, the disciples would look over their shoulders toward an island in the middle of the lake, and their faces would fill with fanaticism and benediction.

Soon, Southern Domain cultivators began to show up and gather in the area as they awaited the big day.

Meanwhile, in the central region of the Southern Domain, in a very ordinary town, was a street food stall that sold noodles. Two old men would set up the shop in this particular location around this time every year. Their noodles were quite famous in the area.

One of the old men had a stooped back, white hair, and a kindly expression. The other looked to be a bit younger, but still had quite a few gray hairs on his head. When he was younger, he had obviously been quite handsome.

The two men would often lounge together and watch the sunset while smoking from long-stemmed pipes. They usually sat together in silence and didn't chat much.

Day after day, year after year, that was how they spent their time. When they moved to this place, they were middle-aged, but as time went by, they had become old.

On one particular evening, when the evening was being replaced by night and the twinkle of lamplight began to spread throughout the town, the stooped old man suddenly put his pipe down.

"Should we go?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

The other old man next to him also put down his pipe.

"You were the one who took a liking to him all those years ago. You paid quite a heavy price for the kid without a word of complaint. Now he's famous. Probably couldn't be any more famous, actually. When the wedding day comes… maybe I could decide not to attend, but you… could you really stay away?"

The stooped old man laughed and then stood up. "Alright, it's settled. We're going. I could tell as soon as I looked at that pup that he had potential!"

"Well, fine," said the other man. "Neither of us have much longevity left. Let's go see all the kids, then we will have accomplished everything and can die content."

The two old men exchanged a glance, then disappeared laughing off into the night.

These two were none other than Grand Elder Ouyang and He Luohua from the Reliance Sect. All those years ago, Grand Elder Ouyang had already been running low on longevity; the fact that he was still alive now indicated that he had run into some sort of good fortune since then.

Similar scenes played out in the Black Lands.

Naruto's grand wedding had sent all the lands astir.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 765

Chapter 765: Seventh Year Tribulation!

The great tribes in the Black Lands were also focusing on the Southern

Domain right now. The matter of the four allied powers besieging the Blood Demon Sect, and the following events in which the Blood Demon Sect unified the Southern Domain, were all well-known.

When Naruto's name rose to prominence, the Golden Crow Clan in the Black Lands was especially excited. When news arrived of Naruto's grand marriage, the Clan Chief personally led quite a few clan members out of the Black Lands to attend the ceremony and offer wedding gifts.

The other great tribes also did the same.

Last but not least, the Church of the Golden Light called out their signature catchphrase as they ran toward the Southern Domain, surrounded by a swirling fog.

Meanwhile, in the Eastern Lands, in theNamikaze Clan ancestral mansion, was a tall tower. It looked very similar to a Tower of Tang, although it was roughly thirty meters taller. 1

It was thirty meters taller than each and every one of the other Towers of Tang throughout the Southern Domain.

Within the tower stood a man and a woman who were in the middle of a fierce argument. Tears streamed down the woman's face as she looked off in the direction… of the Southern Domain, and Naruto.

"We left him before his seventh birthday…. He faced grave danger so many times in the Southern Domain, and we didn't help him. We didn't even dare to get near him…. I shouldn't have gone to see him at the Song Clan, but… he's my son! He's OUR son!

"His Dao foundation was stolen in the Milky Way Sea, and I knew we couldn't go help him, but that didn't do anything to alleviate the stabbing pain in my heart. Then Hinata gave up so much for him in the Rebirth Cave. I saw everything that happened. Everything! I like that girl….

"Now, he's getting married, and I'M GOING!" The woman looked over at the man, her eyes flashing with determination.

The man was trembling, and sadness filled his eyes. His heart also felt stabs of pain. However, there was nothing he could do other than endure them, and place all of his hopes on what would happen in the future.

"Just wait a little bit longer, Lili 2," the man murmured. He trembled, and gripped the column next to him until his knuckles turned white. "Can't you just wait a bit longer…? We suffered untold hardships to bring him here and give him a chance to live. Once he reaches Dao Seeking, then the danger will be past. Dao Seeking, that's all.

"Just a little more waiting. The day he enters Dao Seeking, we'll go together. We'll explain everything, together!" Deep love could be seen in the man's eyes as he looked off into the distance.

"We can't make any mistakes," he continued. "If we fail this time… Lili, the fourth life, the Seventh Year Tribulation. Can you really bear such pain again?

"I'm his father, and he is our child. It was for him that both of us swore

Dao oaths to guard the door of Planet Ninshu for 100,000 years, and not step foot out of Planet Ninshu for that entire time. All of that was for this one chance. Just keep waiting…." The man closed his eyes. For his son, he would gladly sacrifice his life, his everything.

"Seventh Year Tribulation…." More tears streamed down the woman's face as she recalled the bitter memories of the past. "But so many years have already passed…."

"Spirit Severing stabilizes the soul, and Dao Seeking lays the blood to rest," the man murmured, and it was hard to tell whether he was talking to the woman, or to himself. "Every day before Dao Seeking is another day that the Seventh Year Tribulation… remains unneutralized. His body is already at Dao Seeking, all that remains is his cultivation base…. Soon. The day will come… soon."

The wedding day approached. When the bonding ceremony was only five days away, more than a million cultivators had already amassed in the Northern Reaches, adjacent to the Milky Way Sea.

Vicious beasts, wicked spirits, powerful experts…. It all transformed into something like a cyclone that could sweep across everything in astonishing fashion.

Dao Seeking Patriarchs from various clans, tribes, and sects flew up into the air, eleven astonishing figures who then stared out at the Milky Way Sea, toward the Southern Domain which lay beyond the horizon.

"The chance for Immortality lies in the Southern Domain!"

"The Southern Domain has just faced incredible misfortune. They are at their weakest now, and could never imagine that our army would appear now!"

"This is an incredibly rare opportunity!"

"In this war, we will exterminate their Dao Seeking experts, slaughter their Spirit Severing cultivators, eradicate all of their Nascent Soul disciples! As for Core Formation, they don't really matter."

"Shatter their foundation, cut off their chance for Immortality, and then we can occupy the Southern Domain! We can gain enlightenment about Immortal destiny, and we can become Immortals!"

"In this war, we, the allied forces of the Northern Reaches, with the help of the Resurrection Lily, will definitely seize control of everything!"

"Strike fast and hard! Don't give the Eastern Lands a chance to interfere!"

These eleven Dao Seeking experts were all adorned in different attire. Some were covered in tattoos. Others were festooned in bone accouterments that emanated black light. Some wore Daoist robes. However, all of them possessed incredible power.

They hovered in midair looking out at the Milky Way Sea. Suddenly, an incredible roaring filled the air. There was no wind, but massive waves still rolled out across the sea.

The Milky Way Sea's Fourth Ring, Third Ring, Second Ring, all of the areas in the entire sea outside of the Inner Ring, were covered with huge waves. The disciples of the three great sects in the Third Ring were completely astonished.

The cultivators who lived on the various islands in the sea could hear the roaring, and were shocked.

This was not the ordinary roar of the sea, but rather, was filled with a monstrous, murderous air. The water surged up, as if some colossal creature was attempting to rise up from the depths of the sea!

As everyone looked around in astonishment, deep in the dark recesses of the Second Ring, a gargantuan Resurrection Lily was writhing like mad. This… was the source of the roaring that filled the Milky Way Sea.

Rumbling echoed out constantly as the gigantic Resurrection Lily suddenly began to grow, almost without limit. It only took the space of ten or so breaths of time for massive tentacles, each thirty meters thick, to rise up from within the Second Ring. Seawater poured off of them as they shot up over the sea.

The tentacles emitted a shocking aura as they sped through the air. At the same time, countless smaller tentacles spread out along the seafloor. When they reached the waters of the Third Ring, they too shot up into the air.

More tentacles spread out, piercing into the Stormwind Divide that separated the Third and Fourth Rings.

If you could stand in a position high up in the sky where the entire Milky Way Sea was visible, you would be able to see that more than 100,000 tentacles were spreading out. It appeared as if… a fearsome presence lurked beneath the waters.

Of course, it was none other than the Resurrection Lily!

The Resurrection Lily grew rapidly, growing larger until finally, to the astonishment of all the cultivators, it rose up completely from the water. The tentacles merged, braiding together.

They formed… a bridge!

It was a bridge, one side of which was formed from fifty thousand tentacles, more than 1,500 kilometers across. Shockingly, this part of the bridge neared the Southern Domain, but didn't touch it.

The other side of the bridge arced out to connect to the Northern Reaches!

In the very middle of the two sides was a huge Resurrection Lily that was so large you could scarcely see from one side to the other, dripping vast quantities of water as it rose up.

The scene was indescribably shocking and astonishing. A gigantic flower had risen up to form a bridge with its branches and leaves, a bridge that connected two great continents!

The greatest difficulty in waging war between these regions was the problem of transporting the troops. But now, that problem had been solved, and the great war could begin at any time.

Rumbling filled the air as the Resurrection Lily bridge appeared. The more than 1,000,000 Northern Reaches cultivators lifted their heads up and roared. The eleven Dao Seeking experts waved their hands, and the cultivators headed directly toward the Resurrection Lily bridge.

The evil spirits were behind the cultivators, followed by the mountainlike giants, as well as countless wild beasts. All of them charged onto the Resurrection Lily bridge, where they used all the speed they could muster, as well as some of the built-in teleportation features of the bridge, to proceed forward. Soon, the distance between them and the Southern Domain was rapidly reduced.

They would only need a few days to reach the Southern Domain.

The wedding day got closer.

The big lake that used to be the State of Zhao was now decorated with lanterns and brightly colored decorations. Tables were set up all around, and Blood Demon Sect disciples circulated to entertain the guests.

The sounds of happy laughter and cheerful voices permeated the air.

Might Guy arrived, as did Fatty, along with one after another of Naruto's friends from the Violet Fate Sect, who had all rushed to the location as fast as possible. Hinata's smile grew more and more beautiful. When she looked at Naruto, the warm look in her eyes seemed like it could thaw even the coldest ice.

Naruto was also smiling, although sometimes he seemed to be at his wits' end, not quite sure what to do or where to go. Thankfully, the Blood Demon Sect's Spirit Severing Patriarchs were familiar with weddings, and they did their best to manage affairs properly. There was also Fatty, who had already been formally united with more than a hundred beloved concubines. With all of their advice and help, Naruto was kept quite busy with all the formalities.

In the end, Sakura eventually came. She arrived with a smile that seemed sincerely congratulatory. However, deep in her heart she felt frustration and disappointment. When Naruto ran into her, he opened his mouth to say something, but in the end all he could do… was sigh.

Hinata pulled Sakura off to the side, where they began to confer quietly.

Hanxue Shan and Song Jia also came. Soon all the women, along with Fatty's beloved concubines, made their way to the island in the center of the lake, after which the twitter of their voices could often be heard floating out from within.

A few days later, the big day arrived, and wedding bells tolled cheerfully.

Starting at dawn, countless honored guests flowed in from sects and clans all over the Southern Domain. Soon it became apparent that there weren't enough banquet tables, even though they had prepared more than 100,000. There was standing room only, and everyone was packed tightly together as far as the eye could see. There were even cultivators hovering in the air far off in the distance. Even if they couldn't have a seat, they still wanted to watch the bonding ceremony and cheer in congratulations.

Spirit Severing cultivators and Dao Seeking experts were all present! As the wedding bells rang out, a violet streak appeared in the air. It was an old man in a violet robe, ancient and dignified. However, a kind smile covered his face, and the aroma of medicinal pills wafted around him. As soon as Naruto caught sight of him, a tremor ran through his body, and he flew up into the air. In front of all the other cultivators present, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, master!"

The old man was none other than Pill Demon. He looked at Naruto contentedly, and with love. Laughing, he helped Naruto to straighten up.

"Today is your grand wedding, and I'm here to bear official witness."

As I've mentioned before, I convert the ancient Chinese measurements into metric. The tower is nine "zhang" taller, and as we all know, nine is a significant number in Chinese culture and ISSTH ↩ "Lili" is a repetition of the character Shimura 丽, from Naruto Li's name ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 766

Chapter 766: Grand Wedding!

The Church of the Golden Light arrived!

The disciples approached the wedding site in formation, surrounded by billowing fog.

The Golden Crow Tribe arrived!

All sects and clans dispatched members to attend, to bear witness to the first grand wedding ceremony to occur in the Southern Domain in many years.

It was unprecedented and unrepeatable.

The wedding guests surrounded the huge lake. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators had arrived, perhaps nearing eighty percent of the population of the Southern Domain.

It was impossible to take them all in with a single glance. Everywhere you looked was densely packed with people, and based on the mass of wedding gifts that had been delivered, it was possible to see the incredible wealth of the Southern Domain.

Grandmaster Ouyang and He Luohua arrived. They stood in the crowds, unable to get very close. However, from afar, they could see Naruto and Hinata, as well as Fatty and Might Guy. The two old men's faces broke out with benevolent smiles.

They were happy, and also proud of themselves. They knew that these Chosen of the Southern Domain were all former members of the Reliance Sect!

Tribes of the Western Desert also came, most of whom Naruto was familiar with, or the other way around. Even though there were hundreds of thousands of people present, there was no chaos. Fatty and the Blood Demon Sect disciples kept everything orderly and yet also colorful and dramatic.

The atmosphere was cheerful and happy; the sound of laughter and chatting filled the air.

The powerful experts had gathered. This wedding was definitely one of the grandest and most important events to ever occur in the history of the Southern Domain.

When she made her appearance, Hinata was incredibly beautiful. She wore a red wedding gown, and Naruto stood next to her. All the onlookers began to cheer and call out blessings and well wishes.

"Congratulations to the exalted Naruto and goddess Hinata on their marriage!"

"Congratulations! May you live to a ripe old age in conjugal bliss and love each other for all time!"

"Congratulations…."

The sound rolled out like waves in all directions. Naruto's heart was pounding; even he couldn't stop himself from getting nervous. He also wore a long red robe, and his handsome features were filled with happiness.

Official ISSTH art of Naruto and Hinata on their wedding day

He held Hinata's hand as they floated there in midair, the center of all attention.

Naruto took a deep breath and squeezed Hinata's hand. "Ladies and Gentlemen. Fellow Daoists. Many thanks to you for coming to witness my and Qing'er's bonding ceremony."

With that, Naruto and Hinata clasped hands to the crowds.

Hinata's face was flushed, and her heart thumped rapidly. At a time like this, any woman would feel the same. Moments like these are when women are the most beautiful, the most nervous, and the most excited.

The entire Southern Domain had come to bear witness to Naruto and Hinata's entrance into a binding agreement for life.

Rumble!

An incredibly loud sound filled the air as ten Spirit Severing experts suddenly flew up into the air. They unleashed spectacular divine abilities that, from a distance, transformed into ten beautiful balls of flame.

The color of the sky instantly changed, and all the cultivators down below stared up in awe at the beautiful sight.

The cultivation bases of the ten Spirit Severing experts exploded out as they caused the brilliant, colorful divine abilities to surge with power. Boundless light shone out, making it seem like there were ten suns up in the sky.

As the rumbling echoed out seemingly without end, the ten Spirit Severing experts continued to fuel the divine abilities, causing ripples of magic to constantly flow out above the crowds.

Immediately, a buzz of conversation rose from the crowd as they watched the spectacle, their hearts trembling.

"Heavens! He really does deserve to be the Blood Prince of the Blood Demon Sect. Despite their status, ten Spirit Severing experts are willing to put on a performance by summoning fireballs!"

"In all the Southern Domain, only Naruto could pull something like this off!"

"When the day of my bonding ceremony comes… if I could get some Core Formation cultivators to do something similar, that would probably be the most incredible thing in my entire life!"

Anyone who was watching closely was able to see that this was just the beginning.

The divine abilities of the ten Spirit Severing experts suddenly changed. Shockingly, the fireballs began to connect together to form a long dragon and a colorful phoenix.

The dragon and the phoenix were auspicious symbols that could bring prosperity and good fortune. They swirled through the sky in astonishing fashion, looking extremely lifelike.

Next, a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators flew up, stabilized themselves in midair, then closed their eyes and summoned their life force fire to create a thousand flickering candles.

Candlelight illuminated Heaven and Earth, creating a resplendent and indescribably beautiful atmosphere.

The display still wasn't over. After the appearance of the thousand Nascent Soul cultivators, ten thousand Core Formation cultivators flew out. They circled about in mid-air, unleashing magical techniques that seemed to create the outline of a staircase that stretched up into the sky.

The staircase glittered like a magical treasure, and was completely astonishing. The glittering light from the candles made it seem like even the Heavens were participating in the wedding ceremony. The dragon and the phoenix crisscrossed through the air, occasionally letting out piercing cries. The atmosphere at the wedding ceremony seemed to have reached a pinnacle.

Just when many people assumed that the pomp was over, two colorful beams of light shot into the air. They were two old men who, although they had blank expressions on their faces, immediately caught the attention of the crowds.

They were… the Golden Frost Sect Patriarch and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch!

They were the peak Dao Seeking left and right Dharma Protectors of the Blood Demon Sect. As soon as they appeared in midair, they performed incantation gestures and then flicked their sleeves. Immediately, at the top of the seemingly never-ending staircase that rose up into the sky, the air began to twist and distort as it turned into an Immortal's temple palace.

The Immortal's temple palace was enormous and dignified. Every tile that decorated its surface glowed like a magical treasure. This was an illusion summoned by the power of two peak Dao Seeking eccentrics' cultivation bases.

If that were all there was to it, it might not have been a huge deal. However, in the instant that the temple palace appeared, a rainbow descended from up above the palace, causing its beauty to increase exponentially.

It was then that cranes appeared, as well as innumerable other auspicious creatures. They flew gracefully through the air, calling out blessings. The entire scene was almost like a dream.

Down below, the cultivators gasped. This was the first time a display like this, a show of such extravagance, had been witnessed in the Southern Domain.

It was at this point that Patriarch Song laughed, and then said, "Young friend Naruto, please allow me to add a bit of cheer to your grand wedding!"

He lifted his arm and pointed up into the sky, immediately causing energy to surge out.

Up above, a brilliant glow shot out in all directions. Countless motes of light appeared, each of which transformed into the image of an Immortal goddess. In the blink of an eye, they appeared on the temple palace, on the rainbow, on the staircase, above the candle flames. In unison, they clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto and Hinata.

They acted like bridesmaids, and at that moment, the illusion up in the sky became even more realistic. That was because in each of the Immortal goddesses' hands could be seen a spirit fruit. All of the spirit fruits… were real!

This was the wedding gift of the Song Clan.

In the group from the Violet Fate Sect, peak Dao Seeking expert Sun Tao chuckled. All of a sudden, his voice rang out.

"Young Lord, allow me to add some cheer to your grand wedding as well!" With that, his spit out a mouthful of qi, which shockingly transformed into a gigantic pill furnace that came to rest outside the temple palace. Wisps of medicinal smoke began to rise up out of the furnace, swirling around the area. Within the wisps of medicinal smoke were numerous imperial bodyguards wearing golden armor.

In total, there were 10,000 bodyguards who spread out in the area, emanating shocking energy. All of them turned toward Naruto, stabbed their swords down in front of them, and then dropped to their knees to kowtow.

The cultivators down below were almost in a frenzy.

Four peak Dao Seeking experts had lent their hands to the affair, along with the magical images of the ten Spirit Severing experts, the burning candles of a thousand Nascent Soul cultivators, and the treasure-like staircase of ten thousand Core Formation disciples. It was a scene that thoroughly astonished all of the cultivators down below.

"This is unheard-of! Completely unheard-of!"

"Immortal goddesses as bridesmaids, Immortal soldiers as groomsmen, an Immortal's palace as the temple, a rainbow to add blessings, an auspicious dragon and phoenix summoned by Spirit Severing cultivators, wedding candles provided by Nascent Soul cultivators. Everything provided by cultivators…."

"I'll never forget this bonding ceremony even after I die!"

"How incredible to be able to see something like this!"

Everyone was in a huge stir!

A kind smile appeared on Pill Demon's face as he stood next to the Immortal's palace, looking down at Naruto and Hinata.

"Let the ceremonies begin! There is no need to be concerned too much with trifles. However, you must still climb the treasured staircase, pass the burning candles, and ascend to the Immortal's palace."

Naruto took a deep breath and squeezed Hinata's hand. It was trembling, and a bit sweaty. They exchanged a glance, and could see both nervousness and warmth in each other's eyes.

They smiled, and then flew forward to the staircase. The Immortal goddesses bowed as they passed, and the Immortal soldiers kowtowed. They ascended the stairs, passed the candles and the circulating dragon and phoenix. Finally… they stepped onto the rainbow. The cranes and auspicious beasts clustered around them as they stood in front of the Immortal's palace temple.

They turned, and from their vantage point they could look out to see the Milky Way Sea, and look down to see the hundreds of thousands of cultivators down below, all of whom were cheering and shouting. The sound of it echoed out in all directions, shaking Heaven and Earth.

The sound of it even managed to make its way all the way to… the Milky Way Sea!

By this point, the bonding ceremony could be considered half finished. The next part was the most critical part, the part where Pill Demon would begin to officiate!

Pill Demon looked at Naruto and Hinata, and then his voice boomed out, "It is my pleasure to announce…"

Down below, the crowds cheered wildly.

However, before Pill Demon could finish, even as the crowds were cheering, Naruto's expression suddenly flickered. A sharp light appeared in his eyes as he looked out at the Milky Way Sea.

Although it appeared to be normal, something had abruptly caused him to shake with fear. It was as if some shocking danger was lurking in the Milky Way sea, as if an enormous gaping mouth full of teeth were approaching.

In the same moment that Naruto looked out toward the Milky Way Sea, all of the peak Dao Seeking experts felt similar trembling in their hearts. They, too, looked out toward the sea.

Although everything looked normal, Naruto blinked his right eye nine times and circulated the Chakra of Immortal Shows the Way. His view of the world blurred, and then grew clear. Now, he was able to see two different worlds.

The first world was the normal Milky Way Sea. In the second world… the sea was in a fury, waves surging and roaring. An enormous, shocking bridge formed from a Resurrection Lily could be seen!

On top of the bridge were hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators, surging forward with towering murderous intent!

Among the Northern Reaches' cultivators was an enormous stone cauldron, supported on the backs of ten thousand cultivators. The cauldron seemed ancient, and its insides were filled with pitch-black dirt. Shockingly, a single stick of incense could be seen sticking up out of the soil!

The incense stick was small, far smaller than the huge cauldron, and was easy to miss.

However, the feeling it gave off was one of complete terror and evil.

Even the peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Reaches seemed to fear it.

The forces from the Northern Reaches drew closer and closer. As of this moment… they had almost reached the lands of the Southern Domain!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Junior Fortytwo, Byron Seto, and_

 _Anonymous_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 767

Chapter 767: The Northern Reaches Invades!

"Northern Reaches!" thought Naruto, his pupils constricting.

Currently, the other peak Dao Seeking experts were unable to see what Naruto was seeing. Except for… Pill Demon. His eyes began to shine with golden light, and his face fell.

The cheers were still echoing out through the air as all the cultivators down below awaited Pill Demon's words of officiation, and the final moments of the wedding ceremony.

However, Naruto and Pill Demon's hearts froze up and, as of this moment, were sinking to the lowest depths!

From the expression on Naruto's face, Hinata could immediately sense that something was wrong. "What's wrong…?" she asked, nervously gripping his hand.

"The Northern Reaches… are invading us," he said quietly, clasping her hand tightly.

Although none of the cultivators below could hear what he said, the nearby peak Dao Seeking Patriarchs' faces suddenly fell.

"That's…." Pill Demon's eyes went wide as he looked at the enormous, shocking bridge that stretched out over the Milky Way Sea, as well as the enormous cauldron which drew nearer and nearer.

Pill Demon's face flickered. Worried that panic would ensue, he kept his voice low as he said, "Naruto, look closely. Do you see that stone cauldron with no decorations, filled with pitch-black soil? Is there… an incense stick… sticking out of the soil?!"

Even as Pill Demon spoke, the cheering cultivators down below suddenly grew quiet. Expressions of confusion appeared on their faces, and soon, everyone began to realize that Pill Demon was looking at the Milky Way Sea.

In response to Pill Demon's question, Naruto blinked his eye nine more times. Instantly, his view of the Milky Way Sea zoomed in, and he confirmed that there was indeed an incense stick in the black soil that filled the enormous cauldron.

"Yes," he said, nodding his head.

Pill Demon's face went ashen, and his pupils constricted. He immediately flew up into the air, and called out in a loud voice: "Southern Domain cultivators, all of you must immediately unleash the power of your cultivation bases and interfere with the flow of spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth. Create a barrier immediately. HURRY!

"Patriarch Song, apprentice alchemist and Naruto, come with me. Bring Patriarch Golden Frost and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch!

"We must not under any circumstances… allow that stone cauldron to touch the lands of the Southern Domain!" roared Pill Demon as he shot toward the Milky Way Sea. "That is none other than Hellwither Nineruins Incense, refined from the flesh and blood of a true Immortal! It is the most malicious of curses; if it even touches the land, the curse will spread out to all cultivators born in the Southern Domain! Their fleshly bodies will wither, and their cultivation bases will decline! There is no cure or antidote, and it is impossible to flee, not even by leaving the Southern Domain. Anyone born in the Southern Domain will be cursed!" Patriarch Song's face fell, and Sun Tao of the Violet Fate Sect had a similar reaction. Without hesitation, they followed along at top speed.

Naruto's eyes flashed with killing intent. Today was his grand wedding, the most important day in his life. Hinata had less than a hundred years of longevity, and all he wanted was to give her a magnificent wedding. Unfortunately, they had been interrupted halfway through.

The arrival of the Northern Reaches cultivators was completely unforeseen. How could Naruto not be enraged?

He looked at Hinata, and although her heart was filled with concern, the only thing that could be seen on her face was a gentle expression.

"The wedding ceremony isn't over yet," she said softly. "I'll be waiting here for you."

Naruto nodded, then flew up into the air. His second true self materialized next to him, and Patriarch Golden Frost and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch emerged from within the Immortal's palace. In the blink of an eye, they all transformed into beams of light that shot toward the Milky Way Sea.

The Spirit Severing cultivators who had formed the dragon and phoenix immediately appeared. The power of their cultivation bases surged out, causing the air to distort. Down below, the hundreds of thousands of other cultivators, still reeling in shock because of the sudden developments, also unleashed the power of their cultivation bases. It only took a moment for the air to distort, and a violent windstorm to rise up.

Meanwhile, the Northern Reaches cultivators on the Resurrection Lily bridge over the Milky Way Sea realized that they had been discovered. With no further need to conceal their presence, rumbling filled the air, and the appearance of the Milky Way Sea instantly changed!

It no longer looked sunny and calm. Instead, massive waves surged across its surface, as well as numerous corpses. Those corpses were none other than Milky Way Sea cultivators.

Also fully visible was the ferocious-looking Resurrection Lily bridge, as well as the million Northern Reaches cultivators, stretching out in formation like a huge dragon.

"Within a month, the Southern Domain will be destroyed!" a cold and ancient voice rang out. It was an old man within the Northern Reaches forces. He wore animal-hide clothing, and a necklace of bone teeth was strung around his neck. He flew up into the air, followed by three shocking figures.

Of those three people, two were old men and one was a boy.

The two old men looked exactly alike, except that one wore all black clothing and the other wore all white. Astonishingly, their cultivation bases were at the peak of Dao Seeking. As for the boy, he held a Cinnabar Fruit in his hand, which he would occasionally gnaw at. A red glow could be seen in his eyes, and he was surrounded by a thick, murderous air. He was also at the peak of Dao Seeking.

These four people were the Patriarchs leading the first wave of the Northern Reaches army. A few days behind them was the second wave of hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators.

The first wave was so close that they could see the mountains of the Southern Domain, as well as the six bright beams of light that were shooting through the air.

At the same time, they also noticed the shocking windstorm created by the cultivation bases of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators, which rose up into the sky, emitting shocking power.

"These Southern Domain cultivators are clever. They actually sensed us ahead of time, and knew exactly when we would arrive."

"Not only did they know the time, they also knew the place, and are in combat readiness! They've even combined the cultivation bases of several hundred thousand cultivators into a windstorm! They hope to reduce the power of our sacred balm!"

"From their reaction, it seems they actually know about our plan! Thankfully, we're thoroughly prepared. It's too bad the sacred balm is most effective when they are scattered!"

"Of the six people approaching, four are at the peak of Dao Seeking. One is early Dao Seeking, and the third, the red-robed youth… it seems he's only a Second Severing cultivator?"

"Whatever, it doesn't matter, we'll stick to the plan and sacrifice our sacred balm!"

The four Northern Reaches Patriarchs exchanged glances, and then the old man with the bone-tooth necklace snorted coldly. He produced a red medicinal pill which was covered with bizarre magical symbols, which he immediately consumed. Then he stretched his hands out and lifted his head back to let out a wild roar.

"Dragonfish Transformation!"

At the same time, his body instantly began to expand and grow scales. In the blink of an eye, he was dozens of meters tall and bulging with muscles. Shockingly, the bone teeth around his neck shot out to swirl around him in a spherical spell formation!

Rumbling filled the air, along with a roar from within the spell formation. Suddenly, a huge black crocodile emerged, three hundred meters long!

The crocodile slapped its tail down, causing ripples to spread out. Immediately, the 10,000 cultivators bearing the huge stone cauldron flew forward and landed on the crocodile's back.

The crocodile let out a roar, and its eyes began to glow red as it charged forward toward the Southern Domain.

As for the several-meter-tall old man, his body emanated savage energy as he followed, acting as an escort to the crocodile.

Behind him, the two old men, who looked identical except for the contrasting black and white clothing, both swished their sleeves. Shockingly, they began to emanate an incredible aura of death. Even more astonishing, two hopping vampires appeared behind them, also wearing contrasting black and white clothing! 1

The two hopping vampires had long teeth and vicious expressions. They wore hats, and moved in leaping motions along with the two old men as they escorted the stone cauldron.

Last, was the young boy. As he advanced, a giant emerged from the forces atop the Resurrection Lily bridge. It wielded an enormous wolftooth club, and roared as it shot forward, kicking up a huge wind. The boy flew up to stand on its shoulder.

He had eaten almost half of the Cinnabar Fruit, and held the other half in his hand, rubbing it occasionally.

The crocodile in the lead position had bright red, glowing eyes. It roared as it advanced at top speed, transforming into what almost looked like a black lightning bolt. As it neared the Southern Domain, Pill Demon, Patriarch Song and the apprentice alchemist Sun Tao rushed to meet it.

There was no talking. As soon as they met, the fighting began.

BOOM!

Sun Tao summoned a pill cauldron that emanated medicinal smoke. Within the smoke appeared countless warriors in golden armor that immediately blockaded the entire area.

Patriarch Song gave a cold snort and performed an incantation gesture. Instantly, the spiritual energy in the area faded, and a copper coffin appeared, the precious treasure of the Song Clan.

As for Pill Demon, he shot directly toward the stone cauldron.

The crocodile roared, as did the several-meter-tall old man next to him.

Suddenly, the old man flickered and appeared directly in front of the crocodile, then punched out.

"Piss off!" he cried.

BOOM!

The fist strike was backed by the power of his fleshly body. It shattered the air as it screamed toward Sun Tao's golden warriors. Immediately, the warriors began to wither and collapse into pieces.

The old man was extraordinarily strong. Natural law swirled around him, making the entire area around him his own. He barreled forward, smashing through the barricade, followed by the crocodile.

Meanwhile, the old men in the black and white clothes closed their eyes. Their bodies grew blurry, and astonishingly, they merged with the two hopping vampires behind them. The eyes of the hopping vampires suddenly began to glow with intelligence. As they leaped forward, their death aura rose up into the air, transforming into a vortex. Countless pale-white arms then stretched out from within the vortex. One of the hopping vampires shot toward Patriarch Song, the other headed to block Pill Demon.

The last to make a move were the boy and the mountain-like giant. The giant brandished its wolf-tooth club, and the boy pointed out, causing Sun Tao's face to fall. All of a sudden, a huge blister bulged out of the boy's forehead. It was bright red, and looked exactly like a Cinnabar Fruit.

A battle between peak Dao Seeking experts exploded out in the blink of an eye. Booms filled the air as Naruto approached, followed by his second true self and the left and right Dharma Protectors.

"Hao'er," said Pill Demon urgently. "Block that stone cauldron! Don't let it touch the ground!"

Having sized up the battle, Naruto's eyes flashed, and he shot like lightning toward the crocodile.

The several-meter-tall old man in front of the crocodile had a fleshly body that could crush enemies like dried weeds. When he saw Naruto approaching, he completely ignored Naruto and focused on the three peak Dao Seeking cultivators next to him.

"SCREW OFFFFF!" roared the old man, punching out into the air.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous, Drk, and Espen_

 _Leonhardsen_

Here is some info about "hopping vampires." And here is a picture ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 768

Chapter 768: Hellwither Nineruins

Boom!

The old man's punch gave rise to an enormous vortex, the center of which was black, like a black hole. A terrifying gravitational force exploded out, distorting the air as it shot toward Patriarch Golden Frost.

Patriarch Golden Frost's expression was blank, but he had a peak Dao Seeking cultivation base. He waved his hand, causing mist to billow out, which then formed together into a mist sword that shot toward the vortex.

The 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch glided through the air, the glow of spell formations swirling beneath his feet. As he shot through the air, he left behind sealing marks that emanated powerful ripples. In the blink of an eye, he had circled completely around the old man and the crocodile, surrounding them with sealing spells.

Naruto's second true self waved his right arm. His eyes glittered as the Wooden Time Sword circled around him, and a river of Time power swept out. He advanced, stepping through the air to appear right next to the crocodile, whereupon he reached his hand out toward the stone cauldron.

As for Naruto, he slapped his bag of holding to produce the lightning cauldron, then cast a cold glance toward the old man in the animal skin garments, and waited for the right opportunity.

The old man's face was vicious as he lifted his head up and roared. Again, he grew larger, and a mocking smile twisted the corners of his mouth. It was at this point that he actually… self-detonated!

This sudden and unexpected self-detonation of a peak Dao Seeking cultivator was something that nobody in the area could have predicted and prepared for. Such a gambit was something that was fundamentally inconceivable.

And yet… it happened!

As his fleshly body exploded, roaring filled the air, and shocking ripples surged out in all directions. All the natural law in the area was disturbed, and everything was locked down, making teleportation impossible.

Patriarch Golden Frost and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch quickly fell back and used their full power to fight back against the power of the selfdetonation. Naruto's second true self had no choice but to do the same and evade.

As for the crocodile, it transformed into a black lightning bolt that shot forward at incredible speed toward the Southern Domain. In the blink of an eye, it was in midair, just about to slam into the ground.

The stone cauldron on its back began to emanate black light. The black soil inside the cauldron began to squirm and writhe, and the incense stick… began to spontaneously combust!

Smoke swirled up, and the faces of all the Southern Domain cultivators fell.

Pill Demon, Patriarch Song and Sun Tao of the Violet Fate Sect all shot back toward it at high speed in an attempt to block it. The old men dressed in black and white laughed and flew forward in pursuit.

As for the young boy who continuously stroked the Cinnabar Fruit, he also followed. In the blink of an eye, the entire group was above the Southern Domain, getting ready to attack.

When Naruto saw the crocodile descending toward the ground, his hand shot up and he pointed forward.

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Immediately, invisible Demonic Chakra formed together. It wrapped around the crocodile, which suddenly stopped in place. It struggled to free itself, but before it could, a golden vortex appeared around it.

Blood Demon Grand Magic!

The golden vortex spun round and round, causing Chakra and blood, as well as cultivation base, to be sucked out of the crocodile. At the same time, Naruto shot forward at top speed. It only took a moment for him to close in on the stone cauldron, and then reach his hand out in preparation to grab it.

"Looking to die?!" said the two old men in black and white. With cold snorts, they descended upon Naruto, although Patriarch Song and Sun Tao immediately moved to intervene.

The boy who stood on the giant's shoulder laughed coldly, tossed the remaining half of the Cinnabar Fruit off to the side, then flew into the air to charge toward Naruto.

At this point, the left and right Dharma Protectors immediately approached with all the speed they could manage.

A truly chaotic battle was unfolding!

Naruto was almost on top of the crocodile, and was just about to make contact with the cauldron when suddenly, his eyes widened. A strange feeling arose within him, something he could sense only because of his status as a Demon Sealer; it felt as if some terrifying crises were just at hand.

It wasn't just him who felt it; his second true self also had a similar feeling, which Naruto could sense through their connection.

It was at this point that a withered hand suddenly burst out from the soil inside the stone cauldron. The hand was clenched into a fist which punched out toward Naruto's grasping hand.

An ancient voice echoed out from within the stone cauldron: "Measly

Spirit Severing cultivator! Screw off!"

A huge boom exploded out!

Naruto could sense an incredible power rushing toward him like floodwaters. Cracking sounds immediately sounded out from his body. If he didn't have a Dao Seeking fleshly body, this punch would have severely injured him.

However, his Eternal stratum immediately went to work healing him. Not only did he not fall back, his eyes began to radiate a murderous air. His right hand reached out and grabbed the withered fist, then wrenched at it violently.

BOOM!

The soil in the stone cauldron exploded out as an old man wearing animal hide garments was jerked out by Naruto. When he appeared, the crocodile's body began to wither even faster. Part of its life force and cultivation base was being absorbed by Naruto, but the majority was being sucked up by the old man. As he absorbed the power, he rapidly returned to his previous several-meter-tall appearance.

He… wasn't dead after all!

What had self-detonated was not his true self, but a clone!

"Dao Spirit Pill!" exclaimed Pill Demon, his eyes widening.

Dao Spirit Pills were rare in the lands of Planet Ninshu . It was a type of ancient medicinal pill, few of which existed. When a Dao Spirit Pill fused into a cultivator's aura, it produced an incarnation which could not exist for a very long time, perhaps enough time for an incense stick to burn.

The self-detonation had been caused by none other than the Dao Spirit Pill incarnation!

As soon as the old man in animal skin clothing was wrenched out of the soil by Naruto, a look of shocked surprise could be seen in his eyes. However, the expression quickly turned into one of ferocity as he punched out with his left hand.

Naruto's eyes glittered with coldness as he also punched out!

A huge boom could be heard, and blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto's mouth. He shot backward through midair and then exploded. However, even as the blood and gore began to shoot out, they pulled back together to reform his body.

The old man in animal skin clothing laughed loudly and said, "I am the High Priest of the Imperial Bloodline Clan of the Northern Reaches! Fellow Daoists from the Southern Domain, you might be fast, but are you fast enough to stop THIS?!"

He reached out and grabbed the stone cauldron, hauled it up into the air, and then threw it toward the ground.

The stone cauldron moved with incredible speed. In only a moment, it was less than a thousand meters from the ground.

Patriarch Song, Sun Tao and the left and right Dharma Protectors pursued as fast as they could. They wanted to teleport, but the selfdetonation of the old man's clone had sent the area into chaos, making teleportation impossible.

That was his plan all along, and it was working perfectly!

The two men wearing black and white, as well as the young boy, did everything in their power to prevent the stone cauldron from being blocked. All they needed to do was delay for a few moments.

Considering their opponents were of the same stage as them, that was no difficult task!

When Naruto's body finished forming back together, his eyes were calm. His second true self neared, and they both flew out together. As the second true self unleashed a river of Time power, Naruto produced the lightning cauldron and then pushed down on it, simultaneously looking at a boulder down on the ground.

A boom rattled out from the lightning cauldron, and lightning crackled, causing everyone to look over.

However, the instant in which they caught sight of Naruto… he vanished! In his place was an enormous boulder!

At the same time, Naruto appeared in the previous location of the boulder, down on the ground. He then shot up into the air and grabbed hold of the stone cauldron!

"Impossible!" The old man in animal skin clothing stared in disbelief. It wasn't just him, the old men in black and white clothing, as well as the young boy, all stared with wide eyes. They almost couldn't believe that a Spirit Severing cultivator would be able to do something like this.

Furthermore, the smoke from the incense stick swirled out and entered into Naruto's body to wither it. However, his Eternal stratum completely suppressed that power.

Naruto's eyes flickered with determination. He could not allow the thing to continue to burn, so he reached out with his right hand to extinguish it. However, even as he grabbed the burning head of the stick between his fingers and squeezed, an incredible power radiated out. Once the incense stick was ignited… it could not be put out!

"Fine, I don't need to put it out…." thought Naruto, his eyes radiating coldness. With that, he produced the lightning cauldron, and then looked around. A moment later, his eyes came to rest on the crowds of Northern Reaches cultivators still above the Milky Way Sea.

"NOOOO!" howled the Northern Reaches experts, turning to shoot toward Naruto.

They were a bit too slow. The lightning cauldron rumbled, and lightning flashed. Naruto's body vanished, to be replaced by a confused looking Northern Reaches cultivator.

As for Naruto, he was now above the Milky Way Sea, in the middle of the crowds of Northern Reaches cultivators. He immediately tossed the stone cauldron down toward the cultivators on the bridge.

His incredible speed made it impossible to obstruct his way. Rumbling sounded out as the cauldron descended and then exploded. Utilizing the force of the detonation, the incense stick burned all the way to the end, releasing boundless strands of gray smoke. The smoke seemed to be sentient, and hungry for flesh and blood. It immediately began to search for nearby bodies, then started boring into the hundreds of thousands of

Northern Reaches cultivators. Some of them even bored into the

Resurrection Lily, causing some sections of the bridge to turn gray.

Miserable shrieks could be heard as the horrified Northern Reaches cultivators found smoke burrowing into them and withering their bodies before they could even step foot into the Southern Domain.

Naruto heaved a sigh of relief, but the sense of danger he felt did not dissipate. Instead… it grew stronger to the point where his scalp was numb!

"What's going on?!" he thought, shooting up into the air as gray smoke swirled toward him. Suddenly, Naruto caught sight of something far off in the distance. It was a half-eaten Cinnabar Fruit, falling towards the ground. When he saw it, his eyes went wide.

It was almost impossible to tell, but the Cinnabar Fruit… was burning!

If you looked closely, you could tell that hidden almost undetectably inside of the Cinnabar Fruit was an incense stick!

Pill Demon also could sense that something wasn't quite right. The incense smoke that he saw was just like the Hellwither Nineruins Incense that he remembered, but he still had the feeling that they had overlooked something.

His face flickered as he looked around and then suddenly saw… the

Cinnabar Fruit that the Northern Reaches boy had casually tossed away!

"NOT GOOD!"

The Cinnabar Fruit itself didn't seem to be anything extraordinary; the only noteworthy thing about it was that it had been bitten in half. It hadn't fallen at a high speed, and because of that it had been difficult to detect. By the time it was discovered, it had already landed on the ground.

A rumbling sound could be heard as the Cinnabar Fruit shattered into pieces. Hidden inside it was half of an incense stick, much smaller than the incense stick in the stone cauldron. However, it was burning, and as soon as it touched the ground… the ground turned gray. Then, the grayness spread out rapidly. There was no way to stop it.

Naruto's face fell!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Daniel Rodriguez, Count Grey, Shin,_

 _Philipp Schröder, Clement Moriceau, Nam Tran, , and Jacques-_

 _Landry Kengne_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 769

Chapter 769: The Power of the Curse!

Hellwither Nineruins was refined from the blood, flesh and fat of a true Immortal. By congealing the deep rancor felt by a true Immortal in the moments before death, a powerful curse was formed. As long as it didn't touch any land, its power was ordinary. However, once it touched the land, the power of the curse would be unleashed on all living things that were born in that land.

It only had one fatal flaw, or perhaps it would be more accurate to say a weakness. While it was true that it used the refined rancor of a true Immortal's flesh and blood to curse the land, the curse couldn't be sustained for very long. At the most, it would last for three months before the land naturally purified itself!

Unfortunately, three months was enough time for all of the cultivators in the Southern Domain to be completely withered up and weakened to the point of death. For those who didn't die, their cultivation bases would be significantly reduced.

The best way to use it was to enact the curse the moment the army arrived. Then, the Northern Reaches army could slaughter their way in like a thunderbolt, and quickly eliminate the foundation of the Southern Domain.

The Northern Reaches placed significant importance on the war with the Southern Domain. Because of that, the Imperial Bloodline Clan had spared nothing, not even the final remnants of its Hellwither Nineruins Incense, of which there was not one piece, but two.

One of the incense sticks had been used in an overt attack, the other in a sneak attack. That way… they hoped to ensure that at least one of the incense sticks touched the ground of the Southern Domain.

The Northern Reaches only had two chances!

And both of those chances were due to… the bizarre treasures of the Imperial Bloodline Clan!

The Imperial Bloodline Clan… could actually trace its origins back to the Southern Domain. However, long ago, they were suppressed by Lord Hebi when he unified the four great planets and became the Lord of the Ninth Mountain.

As for the Imperial Bloodline Sect of the Northern Reaches, they were actually a branch of the Imperial Bloodline Clan, with the same bloodline. The only difference was that, instead of following the Imperial

Bloodline's internal family hierarchy, its structure was set up in the form of a Sect. Furthermore, they had sent out a big announcement to attract outsiders to join, and thus increase their overall power.

Under normal circumstances, the Northern Reaches would not dare to use such a bizarre treasure right under the noses of the Hebi Clan in the Eastern Lands, not even with the Southern Domain in chaos.

But now… the true Immortality destiny had appeared. During this period of time, whoever came out on top in the struggle for the Immortality destiny would be able to achieve true Immortal Ascension. Using a special technique, the Imperial Bloodline Clan was able to determine that the source of the Immortality destiny… was in the Southern Domain!

That was why they attacked with such madness!

By occupying the Southern Domain, they could control the source of the Immortality destiny.

Currently, miserable shrieks could be heard coming from the crowds on the Resurrection Lily bridge. The first wave of hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators screamed as their bodies were withered, and their cultivation bases dropped.

They were sustaining significant losses before they even stepped foot into the Southern Domain. That caused the four peak Dao Seeking leaders that had come with this first wave to go mad.

Their hatred for Naruto instantly exploded to monstrous heights.

However, the lands of the Southern Domain were still in imminent danger!

In the blink of an eye, the grayness of the Hellwither Nineruins Incense spread out rapidly, and it wouldn't take long for it to cover the entire Southern Domain.

It was a deep gray, almost black. Plants and vegetation withered and died as far as the eye could see. Wild animals screamed miserably and tried to flee, but rapidly weakened and then fell to the ground, trembling, eyes filled with despair.

Up in midair, Patriarch Song's face went pale white. Even though he was floating above the ground, his body instantly began to emanate black smoke. The same thing happened to Sun Tao, the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch, and Patriarch Golden Frost.

Black smoke curled up as their flesh and blood began to rot. It was the same with Pill Demon.

"Hellwither Nineruins Incense…." said Pill Demon with a bitter chuckle. "The Northern Reaches want to cut off our Southern Domain cultivators' foundation. This curse… even if we flee the Southern Domain at top speed, it won't do any good. Anyone born in these lands will be incapable of fleeing…. This curse is so potent!" Even as he spoke, black smoke rose up from his body in wisps, and the grayness spread further. "If only we could stop the curse from spreading… but how?!" It was in this moment that Pill Demon, his face twisted with sorrow, looked over at Naruto, who was trembling with rage, his eyes bloodshot. Pill Demon gaped. "Hao'er… you're… you're not affected by the curse!"

Naruto's body wasn't emanating any black smoke at all…. Earlier, before the Hellwither Nineruins Incense touched the ground, it had affected him. But now that the Southern Domain had been cursed, only people who were born there would be affected. However, Naruto… didn't seem to be affected at all!

As for his second true self, it had been created using his own fleshly body, so it was the same.

Naruto didn't have time to think about why the curse wasn't affecting him. His eyes were shot with blood as he flew down toward the ground. He could see that there was nothing he could do to stop the rapid spread of the curse. He could also see that the grayness of the curse had already reached the location of the wedding ceremony. Everything was turning gray.

At the site of the wedding, hundreds of thousands of cultivators were combining their cultivation base power to form a windstorm in a desperate attempt to fight back. The purifying effect of the windstorm was somewhat effective in reducing the power of the curse, but could not completely block it.

Black smoke was already starting to roil up in shocking fashion.

By now, the four Northern Reaches peak Dao Seeking experts had noticed that Naruto was wearing garments that cultivators normally wouldn't wear. They also saw the wedding decorations off in the distance. Finally, they understood.

"Don't tell me that the Southern Domain cultivators were actually gathered here to attend this guy's wedding!" said the old man in the animal skins. His eyes flashed with a bright light.

The two men who looked like animated corpses smiled ruthlessly. "Hundreds of thousands of cultivators gathered for a cultivator bonding ceremony!" said one of them. "It's destined to be soaked with the color of blood!"

"Hahaha!" laughed the young boy. "A wonderful Red Wedding!" 1

"It's too bad they're all gathered together, though. If they were scattered out across the land, the Hellwither Nineruins could spread out with even greater impact. Now… it seems it will be a bit weaker."

Naruto shot at top speed back toward the site of the wedding. He immediately burst through the windstorm to appear above the island in the lake.

Hinata, Sakura, everyone was all sitting cross-legged, pouring the power of their cultivation bases into the windstorm to fight back against the curse.

Hinata's body was trembling especially hard. Because of her unique situation… the curse affected her even more severely than the others!

As soon as Naruto saw Hinata, his eyes filled with resolve. He stretched out his right hand and slammed it hard onto the surface of the ground. Immediately, the fourth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic spun into motion.

Instead of absorbing blood or cultivation bases, he would use the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex to try to absorb the curse power of the Hellwither Nineruins!

Naruto wasn't sure if it would work, but he could think of no other options. The Northern Reaches had invaded on the day of his wedding. A joyous occasion had become lifeless. This was something he could not accept!

His heart quivered, and he was on the verge of insanity. The Blood Demon Grand Magic spun rapidly, a golden vortex that encompassed him, the island, and the entire lake.

It rotated rapidly, causing the lake water to also spin around. However, although it seemed as if the Hellwither curse was being affected at first, it suddenly seemed to completely ignore Naruto.

"Get over here!" he roared. He ripped open a huge gash in his right palm, sending bright red blood splashing down onto the ground. At the same time that the blood entered the soil, the Blood Demon Grand Magic reached the pinnacle of its speed. Finally, the Hellwither curse was affected and started to near him. However… it was going far too slow!

"Second true self!" he cried. His second true self shot down from up above and landed behind him. He sat down cross legged, then stretched his right hand out and placed it on the middle of Naruto's back.

By combining his own power with that of his second true self, Naruto was able to push the fourth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic even faster.

RUMBLE!

It was like flinging a drop of water into a hot frying pan. The water in the lake boiled, with Naruto at the center. The Hellwither curse power that filled the land immediately began to surge toward Naruto.

It followed his blood and flesh to his palm, where it entered his body. He instantly began to tremble, and his hair turned white. His body also started to wither as vast amounts of curse power gathered together within him.

He was forcing the curse to fuse into him!

The Eternal stratum immediately surged into action as he used his own body to attempt to purify the land of the Hellwither curse. Any other person would be incapable of doing this. Naruto only had such a chance because he had the Eternal stratum.

Rumbling surrounded him as the Eternal stratum restored his body. As soon as it happened though, more curse power began to wither him away. It was a vicious cycle; in the short space of a few breaths of time, the Eternal stratum restored his body countless times.

Everything rumbled as the grayness in the area… began to change. From up above in the sky, it was obvious that Naruto was like a black hole into which the grayness of the curse power was being sucked, cleansing the land.

The four peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches were completely shocked.

"Impossible!"

"Who is he?! That peak Dao Seeking cultivator is his clone!"

"He was clearly not affected by the curse! He wasn't born in the lands of Planet Ninshu 2! But his physical body… is actually… so powerful that he can can affect the Hellwither curse by himself!"

In all their years of cultivation, they had never encountered a cultivator as fearsome as this.

"Inhuman!" In their shock, they flew forward in an attempt to stop Naruto. However, how could Patriarch Song and Pill Demon possibly let them do as they pleased? After all, they had now seen a ray of hope. Along with Sun Tao, Patriarch Golden Frost and the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch, they flew forward, using their full strength to block the way.

Booms echoed out and the four Northern Reaches cultivators howled. However, they could do nothing to break through and had no way to interfere with Naruto.

Naruto's body trembled visibly as it was continuously withered away and then restored. The severity of the pain was enough to cause all but the most strong-willed person to pass out.

He gritted his teeth and continued on doggedly. However, then he looked over and saw Hinata sitting there, shivering even more violently than before.

"Too slow! I need to go faster!" He pushed his left hand down onto the ground.

RUMBLE!

Curse power surged madly toward his two hands, furiously pouring into his body.

The grayness of the land was gradually fading away!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Teemu Joensuu, Michael Michalczyk,_

 _Caleb Gleason, Kirkion, Nathaniel Charles, Kevin Le, Monty St John,_

 _Antony Coe, Remco Schimmel, Abu, Michael Q, Ng Inn Shan, and Joel F._

Yes, this is the same term used to describe the Red Wedding in Game of Thrones, at least in the TV show. It literally means "blood-colored wedding," but considering it appears to be a direct reference to THE Red Wedding, I think this is the best way to translate it. Incidentally, Game of Thrones is also popular in China. Some people download it, others watch the subtitled, edited version which is available to view streaming online. That version is mostly edited for sex, not violence. ↩ Questions have been directed to me in the comments section, on Reddit, and via e-mail, so I'm adding this footnote. The original Chinese says "Planet Ninshu " in this part. It is not a typo ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 770

Chapter 770: That Laughter….

The ground quaked, and the gray color had faded by ten percent!

Up in midair, the four Northern Reaches Dao Seeking experts were in the midst of magical combat with Patriarch Song and the others. When they saw the color changing down below, they were astonished.

"Ten percent!"

"Dammit! How could he be so inhuman? He used his own body as the vessel to absorb ten percent of the curse power!"

Naruto trembled as the curse power filled him. His flesh and blood constantly withered, and his Eternal stratum continuously restored him. Within a brief span, this cycle had already been repeated innumerable times.

It was an even more brutal sight than what had occurred when Naruto stood outside the Blood Demon Sect's shield while fighting the four allied powers.

Blood oozed constantly out of the sides of his mouth, and even his eyes leaked black, viscous blood. His face was as pale as a corpse, and yet his hands remained planted firmly on the ground. The Blood Demon Grand Magic spun rapidly as it sucked the curse power from the ground.

His second true self was also trembling as he used all the strength he could muster to raise the gravitational force of Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic to a shocking level.

The entire island was surrounded by a gray whirlwind, which emitted shocking rumbling sounds as it rotated, covering the entire lake and spreading out into surrounding areas. The endless curse power that had spread off into the distance was gradually sucked into the Blood Demon Grand Magic, and then into Naruto's body.

The intensity of the pain that stabbed through him was impossible to describe. The cycle of withering and recovery seemed like the most vicious and painful torture imaginable. Soon, Naruto's hair couldn't be restored, and was no longer black. Instead, it was gray, and turning whiter by the moment.

"Have to go even faster!" thought Naruto. He gritted his teeth and then spat up a huge mouthful of blood. His body swayed back and forth, but his ten fingers were firmly planted on the ground as he sucked in curse power at an incredible speed.

Twenty percent!

Thirty percent!

The color of the curse was changing throughout the entire Southern Domain. In a short moment, Naruto seemed to have been reincarnated a hundred times. It was almost like his body didn't belong to him any more; only his will remained as steadfast as ever.

Up in the sky, the four Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches were completely astonished, and couldn't help but gasp. They could scarcely believe what they were seeing.

The fact that someone could do this, could use their own body to resist the Hellwither Nineruins curse, and even absorb it, was beyond their imaginations. In fact, had any one of them been in that position, it would have been impossible for them to do the same.

From their perspective, Naruto was taking a huge, suicidal risk.

"Crazy! That guy's crazy!"

"How could he not be crazy!? Today is his wedding day, and now it's turned into a funeral!"

"He'll die for sure. There's no way his body can take it! He'll turn into a pool of blood that will be an even more noxious curse!"

"He's DEAD!"

As for the hundreds of thousands of cultivators who had come to participate in the wedding celebration, their bodies were still slowly withering. Although Naruto was frenziedly attempting to absorb the curse, as long as the curse was still there, everyone would still be under its effects.

One face after another grew pale and aged. At the same time, Hinata… was trembling. She looked like a flower that would completely wilt at any moment.

Naruto's heart was filled with a grief and indignation that was like a pent-up breath of frustration which could not be exhaled. It surged through his body, and his eyes turned red. Within his mind, a single thought revolved….

He had to do everything he could to absorb the entire curse!

However… it was apparent that ability of his body to recover from the curse was slowly lessening. In fact, his skin was already beginning to shrivel and parch. His Eternal stratum, even were it stronger than it already was, would be incapable of infinite recovery.

"There really isn't anything truly Eternal in this world…." Naruto thought as blood flowed out from his mouth. He knew this, and knew that his Eternal stratum would be incapable of sustaining him in perpetuity. However, as before… he chose to continue to absorb the curse.

RUMBLE!

The color faded even more.

Forty percent!

Not much time had passed, and he had already absorbed forty percent of the Hellwither Nineruins curse. As a result, he was filled with unspeakable pain.

His teeth were loosening in his jaw, and his skin was growing old. His bones were softening, and blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. And yet to Naruto… none of that mattered!

He looked over at Hinata and took a deep breath. There was a vast amount of curse power built up in him already, to the point that the Eternal stratum couldn't dispel it. His vital organs were now beginning to wither and rot.

At this point, Hinata's eyelashes fluttered and she… opened her eyes.

She looked at Naruto and didn't have the energy to speak. However, anxiety, deep concern, and anguish could be seen in her eyes. It was an expression that broke Naruto's heart.

The wedding ceremony… had only been half completed.

Now, everything was gray… and the color of blood!

It should have been the happiest day of his life, but now… it was turning into a tragedy.

Naruto laughed. He lifted his head up to the sky and laughed. That laughter sounded maniacal, enraged, filled with intense discontent. Rumbling sounds could be heard from beneath his palms. His body was already nearly completely withered by the curse, and yet he continued to absorb it.

RUMBLE!

The ground changed color again.

Fifty percent!

Boundless curse power rumbled toward him. Naruto was a black hole at the center of the windstorm, absorbing everything.

Blood poured out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. His skin was tearing, and he was now sitting in the middle of a pool of blood. The accumulation of curse power within him was reaching a peak.

The Hellwither Nineruins curse contained incredible powers of withering. It withered the land, and also caused the cultivation bases of all the cultivators born in that land to wither. Now, that power was building up inside of Naruto. The Eternal stratum could not wipe it away, causing Naruto to tremble violently.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly made unexpected progress. After all, he cultivated the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao. Within those seven characters was the 'withering' character!

As of this moment, he gained complete enlightenment of withering!

With the complete understanding of the 'withering' character, Naruto's body rumbled, and the curse power within him began to shrink. It condensed into his blood vessels, his soul, his flesh, and transformed into… a 'withering' character divine ability!

At that moment, Naruto sucked in a deep breath as the Withering

Character Incantation combined with the Blood Immortal Divine Ability. In combination with the frenzied assistance of the second true self, massive rumbling sounds filled the air.

Sixty percent!

The color of the curse throughout all the Southern Domain changed once again. Everything shook, and the four Northern Reaches peak Dao Seeking experts up above were further shocked.

"His body… his body is actually at Dao Seeking!"

"There's something strange about the technique he cultivates. This guy… this guy's body can constantly regenerate!"

"He can actually absorb the withering power of the curse!"

The four men only continued to be more and more astonished. In fact, even Patriarch Song and the others could hardly believe what they were seeing. The only one who wasn't surprised was Pill Demon. He looked sadly at Naruto, as well as the lands below.

He was Naruto's master, and he knew why Naruto was risking everything. Today was his wedding day, and his wife was on the same island he was.

"Unless he absorbs one hundred percent, the effects can't be completely reversed…." murmured Pill Demon.

When Naruto absorbed sixty percent of the curse, the withering effect on the surrounding hundreds of thousands of cultivators was visibly reduced. Although they were still trembling, the effects of the curse seemed to have eased up a bit. When they opened their eyes, what they saw… was Naruto, coughing up blood, his body slowly dissolving.

Sixty percent… was not enough!

Naruto produced the lightning cauldron and attempted to pour the curse power into it, but it didn't work. The lightning cauldron and the curse were two completely different things. He thought about using the Wooden Time Swords to afflict the curse with the passage of time, but doing that would also affect the curse power in the bodies of the Southern Domain cultivators.

Once the Time power activated, it might end things… but it would also cause the destructive power of the curse to be inflicted faster.

He thought of many other options, but none could resolve the problem.

The only thing left to do was to continue to absorb the curse power. He once again sent the Withering Character Incantation into operation.

Once again the land rumbled, and the color changed.

Seventy percent!

The Withering Character Incantation was reaching its limit. With seventy percent of the curse power absorbed, even it was incapable of absorbing more.

Naruto had truly reached his limit.

His Eternal stratum was on the verge of fading away. His body couldn't handle any more withering from the curse. He was ancient now.

Tears rolled down Hinata's face.

The four peak Dao Seeking cultivators from the Northern Reaches had already been completely shaken by Naruto. However, now they could see that he had reached his limit, and they heaved sighs of relief.

"It's over. He's reached his limit. He can't absorb any more!"

"He absorbed seventy percent of the curse power and yet didn't die. The power of withering even seems to exist within him! As far as I can tell, this guy… is the number one figure in the entire Southern Domain!"

"To destroy the Southern Domain we must first destroy him! Damnation!

There's only thirty percent of the curse power remaining!"

Back on the island, Naruto saw the tears on Hinata's face, and it seemed as if the entire world went completely silent.

He looked at her, and his life force ignited. His cultivation base exploded with power. The mark on his hand that had appeared in the past appeared once again.

He raised his head up and laughed. It was a shrill laughter that echoed out. Naruto was burning everything he had in one mad, desperate attempt to absorb more curse power.

"NO!" Hinata cried weakly, trembling. The moment she cried out was the same moment that Naruto made his final, crazed attempt.

The ground trembled and the color changed again, growing more faded.

Eighty percent!

After eighty percent of the curse power entered his body, Naruto attempted to absorb all the way to ninety. But then, his body trembled and he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Some sort of massive power pushed back against his palms, and he was sent tumbling backward. Blood sprayed out. He was now… incapable of absorbing any more curse power.

"Impossible!" thought the four Northern Reaches peak Dao Seeking experts.

Without Naruto to absorb it, the remaining twenty percent of the curse power suddenly exploded out to inundate the hundreds of thousands of cultivators…. Their cultivation bases surged with all the power they could summon as they fought back. The result was… the curse power was reduced by another ten percent.

As of now, ninety percent of the curse power had been wiped away. Only ten percent was left behind. That ten percent seemed to erupt with unprecedented power. The hundreds of thousands of cultivators all coughed up blood.

However, there was an intense, murderous look in the eyes of each and every one. To these cultivators, the remaining ten percent of the curse power was no catastrophe. It was something they could bear. Furthermore, there was little weakening to their cultivation bases.

One by one, they stood up, and in their eyes was monstrous killing intent. In that moment, wild colors flashed in the sky, and the clouds churned. The four peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches felt their scalps going numb. They were completely shaken.

It was only Hinata, still clothed in her red wedding dress… who coughed up blood and continued to grow weaker. Because of her body's unique situation, even the ten percent of the curse power that remained could be fatal to her.

She suddenly began to topple over. Naruto, around whom swirled black wisps of death aura, immediately lurched forward and caught her in his arms. Filled with grief and rage, he carried her off into the distance, far from the raging war that was about to erupt.

He had saved the entire Southern Domain, but couldn't save his wife. In his insanity, Naruto began to laugh with grief. Laughter that sounded like weeping echoed out across the lands.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Isaac, Christopher Choi, Quang Tran,_

 _Nazmul, Daniel Antoniuk, Pedro, Sven Salberg, Rawlric Sumner, Cole_

 _Hausner, Martin Jensen, Hal, Richard, Thomas Dixon, Dominic Samson,_

 _Avijit Wadhawan, John Rufino Aguilar, Griff-And-Or, Kari Yi, Budescu_

 _Ionut, Dan Gabber, Thomas, Potkeny, Nils Müller, Davis Won, Kenneth_

 _McCarty, Nich, Patrascu Gabi, David Jeltema III, Fiber Optic, Joseph,_

 _Andreas Asselman, ONI_Ghost, and Arkanth_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 771

Chapter 771: Let Me Rest a Bit

An incredible silence suddenly filled the entire battlefield. After that, killing intent exploded up into the Heavens.

"KILL THEM!" Hundreds of thousands of cultivators charged madly toward the Milky Way Sea, towards the hundreds of thousands of withering Northern Reaches cultivators.

The war… had begun!

Naruto left. And yet, not a single Southern Domain cultivator felt even the slightest bit upset because of that. They had attended Naruto

Hao and Hinata's wedding, as well as the invasion of the Northern

Reaches. They had also experienced the Hellwither Nineruins curse.

They only thing they felt regarding Naruto was sorrow, as well as hope that he would eventually have the strength to continue on.

A huge massacre unfolded on the border of the Southern Domain.

Naruto held Hinata; both were still wearing their red wedding garments. He held her in his arms, and she leaned up against his chest. A dark aura surrounded Naruto, and his body was incredibly withered. Tears filled his eyes, and his heart was torn to pieces. He felt as if he was being continuously stabbed with countless sharp blades.

A black aura also appeared on the withered Hinata. She had already died once, and although her body had been restored, it was only meant to survive for a hundred years.

The remaining ten percent power of the curse might not affect others very much, but to Hinata, well… it was something her body couldn't handle.

The remaining ten percent of the curse power was like exponential time power. Within only a few days, she would live out an entire lifetime.

Hinata suddenly forced her eyes open to look at her husband as he held her. He was the most dear and important person in her entire life. Her voice weak, she said, "I want… to go back to the valley."

She didn't want Naruto to be unhappy, nor did she want to see him hurt even the smallest bit. She wanted to be happy with him forever, with no pain, and no sadness.

 _No matter what, as long as you are safe and sound, then I'm content._

"Alright, let's go back…." said Naruto with a nod. His heart trembled as he looked at her. He didn't want his grief to affect her, so a warm smile appeared on his face.

Except, it was a smile that was filled with silent tears.

"You did the right thing," she murmured. "They came to attend our wedding, and we shouldn't let the guests be harmed. We owe them now…. In the future, if I'm not here, make sure to pay everyone back." With that, she sunk into his chest exhaustedly and closed her eyes.

When she closed her eyes, Naruto stopped in place. After sensing that she was simply unconscious, he felt that he could finally unleash his grief. He looked up into the sky… and tears began to pour out.

He didn't want to alarm Hinata, so he held her very gently as they proceeded off into the distance. They passed over mountains and lands until they reached the Blood Demon Sect, Blood Prince Gorge, and their log cabin.

He went to seek advice from Patriarch Blood Demon, but the Immortal's cave was sealed with a blood-colored shield, preventing him from entering. Patriarch Blood Demon was asleep, and incapable of awakening.

Back in the valley, Naruto held Hinata, and his heart ached. Straightening her hair, he softly said, "We agreed to spend a hundred years together. After that you would be reincarnated, and I would go find you…."

Hinata opened her eyes and smiled at him. What she didn't see was that when he stroked his hand through her hair, it was filled with withered strands of hair that had fallen out.

Naruto saw, and he trembled. He quickly clenched his fingers, causing the hairs to vanish.

Hinata's face was pale. Her hair, like her life, was withering away. Her face was also slowly changing. She was no longer young and beautiful. Wrinkles were spreading out across her face.

The flow of time affected her body in a way that made it seem as if many years had elapsed.

As Naruto watched her pretty features growing older, he felt as if he didn't have a heart anymore. All he had was a feeling of emptiness, as if a painful black hole existed within his chest.

Hinata looked at the night sky, and the twinkling stars. Her voice soft, she murmured, "I wish… we could go back in time to the Reliance Sect. I could be your Elder Sister in the sect and you could be my Junior Brother….

"I would take you to meet my family. I remember that before I was taken to the sect, I had a younger brother….

"I wish… I could be with you forever…." She was growing weaker. She closed her eyes and slept.

Naruto could tell that Hinata's life force was reaching its end. Her fleshly body was withered, and it seemed as if it might vanish at any moment. She had no energy left, like a candle in the wind….

Hinata was aging. She no longer appeared to be in her twenties, but rather, middle-aged. However, to Naruto, she would eternally be that beautiful young woman to whom he had once given a Cosmetic

Cultivation Pill.

"I won't let you wither away," he said softly. "We agreed to spend a hundred years together, and we will!" Eyes filling with a flame of unprecedented decisiveness, he reached down to stroke her cheek.

After a long moment, he closed his eyes briefly, then reopened them and extended his right index finger. From the look of it, it was now the only part of his body that hadn't been affected by the withering. That was because… it contained what little remained of his Eternal stratum.

He carefully sliced a cut into his finger and slowly squeezed out a few drops of blood onto Hinata's lips, blood which contained his Eternal stratum.

Her lips turned the color of blood, and it almost seemed they they were the only part of her body that had any color. It formed a stark contrast to her ashen skin. As the blood seeped into her mouth, her face suddenly wasn't old any more.

Naruto, on the other hand, trembled, and his body withered up a bit more. His Eternal stratum was now weakened, but in his heart, he felt hope.

However, after three days passed, Naruto realized that his Eternal stratum could not prevent Hinata from withering. Finally, he started laughing bitterly.

Hinata's hair was now mostly white, and her face looked middle-aged.

She was skinny, and no longer beautiful like she used to be. However, the warmth in her eyes, and the curve of her smile, were things that Naruto would never forget.

Finally, she smiled and prevented Naruto from using any more of his Eternal stratum blood. It hurt her heart to see him doing such a thing, even more so than the thought of her imminent death.

"Just stay with me," she said. "Until the end. Take me to be reincarnated…. That's good enough.

"We agreed to a whole lifetime. So, it's just like… I'm going to sleep for a bit. When I wake up, I'll see you there. Right…?"

"Absolutely!" said Naruto, his voice quavering.

Days passed, and Hinata grew older. The time she remained awake every day lessened. Most of the time, she slept.

Naruto stayed by her side, and didn't take even half a step outside of the valley. He held her the entire time, held her in a way that said he never wanted to let her go.

As for his own body, as the days passed, the Eternal stratum gradually awoke and began to restore him. Even as the curse power was slowly expelled from within, Hinata continued to grow weaker.

Naruto tried every method possible to reverse the fading of Hinata's life force, all to no avail. He hated that his cultivation base wasn't high enough, and even more so, he hated the cruelty of the Northern Reaches curse.

His heart was already Devilish, but he had been suppressing it, almost as if with shackles. But now… the shackles began to loosen….

He could do nothing but watch over Hinata. He watched as her hair turned white, and her youth disappeared. She went from being middleaged to being elderly. Although he could have changed her out of the red wedding dress, he didn't, and she still wore it.

At one point she forced her eyes open to look at him, but they were cloudy, and she couldn't see him clearly. "Sakura is a good girl," she murmured. "I told her that I can only stay with you for a hundred years, and that she should help me take care of you.

"Song Jia isn't bad either…."

Naruto didn't say anything. He looked at her, his eyes filled with grief as he slowly caressed her wrinkled face. What he saw was her former beautiful face that had changed in only a few days as he held her.

By now, the Devil in Naruto's heart was unshackled and awakening….

In those few days that passed, great changes occurred outside in the Southern Domain. In the battle on the shore of the Milky Way Sea, the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators all died. The Milky Way Sea was stained red with blood.

Then the second wave of the Northern Reaches' forces arrived. The hundreds of thousands of Southern Domain cultivators began to retreat. The battlefield grew from the border of the Southern Domain, to engulf fully half of the entire continent.

Fierce fighting raged every day. Among the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators were seven Dao Seeking experts, which made it virtually impossible for the Southern Domain to hold their ground. They were constantly forced into retreat.

All of the Southern Domain's cultivators were mobilized. It didn't matter the sect or clan, everyone was called into action for this war of life or death!

It was without a doubt a fight to the death. The Northern Reaches' invasion was not one in which surrender was sought. They wanted the complete annihilation of the Southern Domain cultivators' foundation. Furthermore, because of the casualties suffered by the initial wave of attackers, the Northern Reaches cultivators harbored an even more intense and deep-seated hatred for the Southern Domain than they had in the beginning.

No one would rest until the other side was dead!

Sects were laid to waste and one clan after another was left in ruins. Eventually, the war focused on six different fronts. It was as if six mighty arrows had been shot from the Northern Reaches directly into the Southern Domain.

The third and fourth fronts eventually overlapped, and became the location of the largest concentration of cultivators. Hundreds of thousands of Southern Domain cultivators were there, as was the main force of the Northern Reaches army. The carnage was never ending, and the Southern Domain was in a state of constant retreat.

Severe casualties were inflicted every day, and bloody paths strewn with corpses stretched across the land.

Several days later, over half of the hundreds of thousands of Southern Domain cultivators in the third and fourth fronts were dead. The remaining 200,000 were now falling back to the Blood Demon Sect.

A final line of defense was being set up outside the Blood Demon Sect to resist the Northern Reaches' murderous assault.

Rumbling filled the battlefield, along with miserable screams and the sound of fierce combat. The colorful lights of divine abilities filled the air, and the ground quaked.

The Northern Reaches had come with giants the size of mountains, who wielded enormous wolf-tooth clubs. They charged onto the battlefield in the vanguard, and even when their bodies had been covered with bloody wounds, they continued their awful massacre. Then there were the countless wild beasts and innumerable evil spirits that accompanied the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators. They were a powerful force of destruction that crushed everything in their path.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 772

Chapter 772: No Regret Regarding the Grand Wedding!

The chaotic sounds of battle drifted into the Blood Demon Sect. All the remaining Blood Demon Sect disciples were outside, alongside the other Southern Domain cultivators, defending against the advancing Northern Reaches army.

The Southern Domain cultivators had no choice but to fall back to the Blood Demon Sect. As the Northern Reaches army advanced, this location had became something of a holy land for the Southern Domain.

The Blood Demon Sect was the most powerful sect in the Southern Domain!

The Blood Demon Sect had Naruto, who had saved the entire Southern Domain from the curse!

The Blood Demon Sect also had the legendary, incredibly powerful Patriarch Blood Demon.

Therefore, that was the location the forces from the third and fourth fronts retreated to. The Northern Reaches cultivators were happy to see this; they wanted to destroy the foundation of the Southern Domain. If they could take out the Blood Demon Sect, then they would be able to deliver the coup de grâce to the Southern Domain cultivators in one fell swoop.

The other fronts throughout the Southern Domain were also changing locations, getting closer to the Blood Demon Sect. From the look of things, they wanted to make the Blood Demon Sect the location of their final stand.

The Southern Domain… did not seem to have any hope of winning. By now, the Northern Reaches had mobilized the third wave of their army, which would arrive in only a few days from the Milky Way Sea.

That third wave army represented the ultimate power of the Northern Reaches.

Constant carnage could be witnessed in the area surrounding the Blood

Demon Sect. Pill Demon, Patriarch Song, and in fact, all of the peak Dao Seeking experts in the Southern Domain, were there at what was essentially the primary battlefield of the war. They had been fighting and killing for so long that their eyes were completely bloodshot.

Patriarch Song had lost his right arm, as well as an eye. His aura was weak, and he had even been forced to start burning his life force.

Sun Tao from the Violet Fate Sect had lost his fleshly body, and was now nothing more than a Nascent Divinity. However, he was surrounded by swirling pill furnaces, and continued to fight nonetheless.

Patriarch Golden Frost was severely injured. As the battle had progressed, he had recovered some of his senses, and was no longer muddle-headed and ignorant. In the moment when he became lucid, he did not flee, but rather began to laugh bitterly.

"I have sinned!" he roared. "Sinned against the Southern Domain!" With that, he began to fight even more frenziedly than before.

The 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch did not recover his senses. He died fighting.

His death shook the entire battlefield. He was at the peak of Dao Seeking, and in the end, opted to self-detonate. Although he wasn't able to kill any of the peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Domain, he did manage to severely injure three of them.

Pill Demon was completely exhausted, and also injured. At some point, a violet mark had come to appear on his forehead. Apparently, it was something that had previously been sealed, but now… he was experimentally unleashing it.

When the mark appeared, his cultivation base left the early Dao Seeking stage, passed through the middle stage and ended… by emanating the power of the late Dao Seeking Stage.

It was as if terrifying waves had been unleashed inside of him that rolled around constantly in an attempt to break out.

Even more Spirit Severing experts died.

The Northern Reaches suffered similarly large casualties. The war unfolded rapidly, and in a short period of time, rivers of blood flowed everywhere.

As the sound of battle and slaughter rumbled from the outside world into Blood Prince Gorge, Naruto sat there holding Hinata, watching her gradually grow older and older. More wrinkles covered her face, and her hair was now completely white. Finally, the pain in his heart seemed to form a resonance with the fighting and killing going on outside.

There was no way for him to keep Hinata's life force from slipping away. There was nothing he could do but watch as her beauty slowly faded.

There was no sparkle or reflection in her cloudy eyes when she opened them; her whole world had become blurry.

"After I'm gone, will you miss me…?" she asked.

When Naruto heard this, more tears welled up in his eyes, and stabbing pain filled his heart. He held her tight, and his tears dropped down onto her face.

"Don't cry…." she murmured, using what scant energy she had left to raise a withered hand and try to wipe his face dry. "I'm happy. Happy that I ran into you that day on Mount Daqing….

"I hope that after I'm reincarnated and then regain my memories, it will be on another Mount Daqing… with you….

"Naruto, I've been dreaming a lot recently. I always dream… that we are back on Mount Daqing, or in the Reliance Sect…." As she spoke, the flame of her life force began to slowly fade away.

By now, she was fully conscious. Clearly, this was the last bit of lucidity she would experience before death, the last burst of life force. Her eyes were not clouded now, but clear, filled with warmth as she recalled past times, and also brimming with an intense reluctance to leave.

She didn't want to leave the lands of the Southern Domain. She didn't want to leave Naruto. There were too many things keeping her here, too many memories. She didn't want to part with any of them. She wanted to stay with Naruto for the rest of the hundred years. Unfortunately… that was now impossible.

She sighed, and deep in her heart she felt regret. Regret that the wedding ceremony… was only half completed.

"Naruto… take care of yourself…. You live, I live… you die, I die…. When the day arrives that I recover my memories after being reincarnated, you need to be there…. If you're not, then I don't ever want to wake up from the darkness of being unaware." The light that flickered in her eyes was gradually fading. The hand she had lifted up moments ago grew so weak that it fell back down.

In the moment that it began to fall, Naruto reached out to take hold of it. Deep in his eyes, grief mixed with warmth as he looked at Hinata.

He placed his right hand onto her back and poured more of his own life force into her. In that moment, his hair turned completely white.

The simple act bolstered her fading life force just a little bit, allowing her to stay alive in the world just a little bit longer. She could breathe bit more of that air she didn't wish to part with, and her eyes glowed with just a little bit more light as she looked at Naruto.

"Let me go, okay…?" she murmured weakly.

Naruto's eyes glowed with determination. "Our wedding hasn't been finished," he said. "So you can't go yet…. I'm going to give you a complete cultivator bonding ceremony!" With that, he held her tight and flew up into the air.

He dared not loosen his grip on her. It was his flow of life force that was preventing her from fading away.

They were still wearing their red wedding gowns, and both had snow white hair. They were old.

It was as if great rejoicing and great calamity were fused together as Naruto flew out of Blood Prince Gorge. Off in the distance, he could see the shocking battle which was underway.

Hundreds of thousands of cultivators fought like mad. The ripples cast off by magical techniques flowed out in all directions. Bright colors flashed in the sky, and the clouds churned chaotically. Booms and explosions accompanied death and destruction…. At any given moment, miserable screams could be heard drifting across the battlefield. They turned into waves of sound that resembled the Yellow Springs of the underworld.

The sky above and the land below seemed to have become the color of blood, filled with endless corpses….

It was evening, but the shattered air and swirling tempests caused the sky to look as dark as night.

When Naruto appeared, it instantly attracted quite a bit of attention.

The powerful experts of both the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches saw the old man carrying the white-haired old woman, both of whom were clad in red wedding attire.

They could also sense the profound mixture of calmness and grief that radiated out of the man.

When the Southern Domain cultivators saw him, they couldn't help but feel bitter and pained.

"Naruto…. It's the exalted Naruto!"

"Don't tell me… is that Hinata in his arms…? That… that curse power is…."

"I was there at the wedding ceremony. I've never seen a more spectacular sight in my whole life…."

Patriarch Song looked at Naruto, and it seemed like he wanted to say something. In the end, he didn't. He could sense the profound pain in Naruto, the kind that was like losing your own heart.

The awoken Patriarch Golden Frost also remained silent.

Sun Tao had nothing left but a Nascent Divinity. He looked at Naruto from some distance off, then turned and continued to fight.

Pill Demon's expression was one of sorrow. He saw his apprentice and couldn't help but think about how the wedding ceremony had turned into this current situation. Great rejoicing had turned into great sorrow. He wasn't sure what he should say.

Virtually none of the Northern Reaches cultivators recognized Naruto at first. However, once they saw his clothes, and the white hair, as well as the agonized expressions of the Southern Domain cultivators, they thought of a name that had already become legendary among the Northern Reaches cultivators.

"Naruto! It's definitely that damnable Naruto!"

"Yeah, that's him! He infected the entire first wave of the army with the

Hellwither Nineruins. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators… massacred!

The Milky Way Sea turned red with blood!"

"Our Northern Reaches forces invaded the Southern Domain on the day of his wedding. What bad luck for him! His wedding day turned into a day of death and sorrow!"

"Well, he deserves it! Now that he's shown his face again, he'll die for sure. It's actually a good thing for him! They can go to the underworld together! A happily married pair of dead souls!"

The Northern Reaches' peak Dao Seeking experts were among the forces that were currently abuzz with surprise. All of them were hurt, especially the three who were seriously injured by the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch's death. Among those three, one was the man dressed in animal skins, and another was the young boy, both of whom were from the first wave army. The third was an old woman from the second wave army.

"That's the Naruto that the Southern Domain cultivators always talk about!" said the man in animal-skin garments, frowning. "He absorbed eighty percent of the curse power and still didn't die!"

"He could be considered the archenemy of the Northern Reaches," said the boy through clenched teeth. His eyes burned with killing intent. "If he had died, it would have been lucky for him. Since he's not dead, then I'm going to turn him into mincemeat today!

"Actually, it's good that he's still alive. Let him wallow in the feeling of withering up with his beloved on his wedding day! Let him be immersed in the sensation of growing old! Let his pain be a sacrifice to put to rest the souls of the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches heroes who died because of him!"

Next to the three wounded peak Dao Seeking experts were several

Northern Reaches Patriarchs. They had long since heard the name of Naruto, and now that they laid eyes on him personally, their killing intent spread everywhere.

Countless eyes across the battlefield were fixed on Naruto; his expression was one of grief as he looked at the aged, white-haired Hinata. Finally, he looked up, and his gaze came to fall upon his master, Pill Demon.

"Master," he said. "I want to finish the wedding ceremony here and now.

Master, could you please continue to bear witness to the marriage!" Although his words were calm, that calmness contained something that caused the spirits of all the Southern Domain cultivators to be completely shaken.

Hinata's eyes were fixed on Naruto. She fought with all her power to prevent them from closing, and as she did, scintillating teardrops welled up inside and then seeped out down her cheeks.

A tremor ran through Pill Demon.

At the same time, the eyes of the Southern Domain cultivators began to glow with red light.

"The Blood Prince's grand wedding ceremony will continue!"

"Blood Prince, I couldn't prepare a wedding gift for you, so let me kill some Northern Reaches cultivators for you! Their heads can be my wedding gift, and their blood my means of congratulating you!"

"Exalted Naruto, let the wedding ceremony continue!"

The sorrow in the hearts of the Southern Domain cultivators transformed into a massive roar that echoed out across the battlefield.

Immediately, Blood Demon Sect disciples flew out to create an area decorated with lanterns and banners. It only took a moment for the place to look like a joyous and happy wedding was taking place there.

The battlefield now seemed to be completely split in two!

On one side was blood and slaughter!

On the other side was Naruto's wedding!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 773

Chapter 773 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 773: Hinata Enters Reincarnation

To hold a wedding ceremony in the middle of a battle was something that had never happened in the Southern Domain. As the Southern Domain cultivators roared with grief and rage, Pill Demon hovered in midair, looking at Naruto and the white-haired Hinata. Pill Demon's heart trembled.

"I… will absolutely continue to bear witness for you and Hinata!" he said, his voice ancient and his heart filled with grief.

His voice echoed out across the battlefield, prompting a roar of response from the Southern Domain cultivators.

The hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators were shocked by the scene that was playing out in front of them. As for their seven peak Dao Seeking experts, their eyes flickered with killing intent.

"The first half was a Red Wedding. Therefore… let's make the last half even more red with blood!"

"Northern Reaches cultivators! Eradicate all of the Southern Domain cultivators! Stain the ground red with blood! Fill the place with discarnate souls! Soak this Red Wedding… with blood! CHARGE!"

In response to the words of the peak Dao Seeking experts, the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators' killing intent rocketed up. Roaring, they charged forward.

"KILL THEM!"

The carnage once again continued. The ground shook and the air rippled with distortions. The battle between the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches was like an enormous grindstone. Every time the two sides clashed, miserable screams would ring out. Every time they slammed into each other, blood and gore would spray in the air and discarnate souls would cry out in misery.

The Southern Domain cultivators had gone mad, and their hearts surged with righteous ardor.

"We've come this far, now the time has come to die in battle! FIGHT!"

"The Southern Domain is my home while I live, and the Southern

Domain shall be my haunt when I die!"

"The wedding will blossom like a flower in the heart of bloody battle! How grand! Present the blood and heads of the Northern Reaches cultivators as wedding gifts! KILL THEM!"

Deadly combat filled the battlefield. For the Blood Demon Sect disciples, the mountains were the wedding candles and the land below was the wedding veil. With the wave of a few hands, a palace rose up, beautiful and grand, with lanterns and streamers. The palace appeared to display the facade of a happy wedding. Everyone was smiling, except within their smiles could be seen deep grief.

Naruto held Hinata, and she rested her head against his chest to look out at the scene. She could hear his heart beating, and could feel her own connection to the world.

She looked up at Naruto as if she were trying to burn his image into her very soul in such a way that reincarnation would be incapable of wiping it away, the River of Forgetfulness would be incapable of washing it clean, and not even the tea of old lady Naruto could make her forget.

Popping sounds could be heard as magical techniques and divine abilities were employed to create what looked like fireworks. Beautiful colors filled the land and sky; the sight was beautiful to behold.

The new bride and groom were a huge contrast to the battle around them!

Naruto's white hair floated around him as he held Hinata in his arms and poured life force into her. Hinata's hair was also white, and her face was covered with wrinkles. However, it also seemed to glow with a certain purity and holiness.

Even as an old woman, she could continue to smile despite the fact that her beauty had faded away!

Naruto was also smiling, and yet, the grief in his heart continued to grow more and more profound. As of now, the only thing he could do was look deeply into her eyes. He knew that if he loosened his hand, she would fade away.

She would part from the world of the living and find her way to reincarnation.

"KILL THEM!" roared the seven peak Dao Seeking experts as they charged down from above. Patriarch Song's expression was one of grief as he roared and shot to meet them. Sun Tao's Nascent Soul and Patriarch Golden Frost joined him, along with Naruto's second true self.

Booms echoed out as four people completely blocked the way of seven!

Bitter fighting continued all around; roars filled the air along with bloodcurdling screams. Both Northern Reaches cultivators and Southern Domain cultivators were fighting with madness, killing everything that moved.

The ground trembled as the fighting raged like wildfire.

Nearby, it was visible to everyone that… the wedding ceremony was officially commencing.

Pill Demon flew into the air to hover in front of Naruto and Hinata. He looked at Naruto, and he looked at Hinata, whom he held in his arms. Despite the fact that Pill Demon's heart felt like it was being ripped apart, his lips couldn't help curving into a gentle smile.

Naruto held Hinata as he looked at Pill Demon.

"Master, make the declaration, okay?" he said.

The ground was trembling, but there was still a significant number of cultivators in the area who dropped to their knees to kowtow. It was a spontaneous action on their part, their way of thanking Naruto for absorbing the curse and saving their lives.

Such kowtows were kowtows that came directly from the heart.

From far up above the battlefield, it could clearly be seen that, shockingly, the entire place had been split into two areas. In one area, the wedding ceremony was being carried out. In the other, it was complete carnage!

Those present who had attended the first half of Naruto's wedding ceremony were now participating in the second half, and they would by no means retreat!

It didn't matter if the wedding was stained blood red or turned ash-gray. It would be finished! This was Naruto's choice, and also the way for the Southern Domain cultivators to repay him. Naruto and Hinata's wedding… would not be a wedding of regret!

The kowtowing cultivators were spattered with blood. Some was the blood of enemies, some was their own blood. As for their exhaustion, they hid it inside. As for their grief, they bottled it up in their hearts. The only thing that could be seen… were the smiles on their faces.

These smiles were like brilliant sunlight that caused the entire battlefield to be shaken.

Pill Demon's heart was trembling as his ancient voice once again rang out to cover the entire battlefield.

"I declare… that henceforth…."

The seven peak Dao Seeking cultivators from the Northern Reaches fought with increasing ferocity. The hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators down below bellowed with rage as they charged in wave after wave of attack.

"Henceforth… Naruto and Hinata are bonded cultivators. Their hands are bound by destiny for all time. Whether they live or die, that connection will never be broken!" His voice echoed from one end of the battlefield to the other.

Hinata, nestled in Naruto's arms, heard the words, and her face flushed. She smiled shyly. A wedding is the most important day in a person's life, and to a woman, it is a day when dreams come true.

She and Naruto were now husband and wife. Heaven and Earth bore witness, as did the hundreds of thousands of cultivators from both the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches. Pill Demon officiated, and the ceremony was held under the vast canopy of the sky. Discarnate souls were present to bear witness, and the entire scene was as red as blood.

Together, all bore witness to the fact that… they were married!

"Our hands are bound by destiny for all time," murmured Hinata, gazing at Naruto. "Whether we live or die, that connection will never be broken…." Tears poured out of her eyes to disappear in the wrinkles that covered her cheeks.

"Our hands are bound by destiny for all time," repeated Naruto, looking into her eyes. "Whether we live or die, that connection will never be broken…."

The ground shook, and the kowtowing cultivators in the area looked up. Then they joined their voices together in a cry that sent out shocking soundwaves. "Naruto and Hinata! Their hands are bound by destiny for all time! Whether they live or die, that connection will never be broken!"

The sound echoed across a battlefield that reeked of blood and gore. Amidst the carnage, a Southern Domain cultivator dashed forward, grabbed the severed head of a Northern Reaches cultivator and held it high into the air.

In the blink of an eye, chaotic fighting erupted out as the Southern Domain cultivators let out unprecedented roars of rage and went berserk. They seemed to be trying to outdo each other as they offered up one wedding gift after another.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto, this is my wedding gift to you!"

"Exalted Naruto, this is my wedding gift!"

"This is mine!"

"Hahaha! Who dares to fight me over this severed head! This is my wedding gift for the Blood Prince!"

The sudden counteroffensive caused the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators to tremble in their hearts. For the first time… they actually fell back under the attack.

"They've gone crazy! It's just some wedding, but it's pushed them into insanity!"

"Insane! Completely insane! Wedding gifts?!"

"Dammit, they're turning us Northern Reaches cultivators into wedding gifts!"

As such comments echoed across the battlefield, Naruto stood in the temple, holding Hinata. He didn't want the grief he felt to show on his face. However, by this point, the grief had completely inundated his heart. It was reaching the point where suppressing the Devil in his heart was virtually impossible.

He held tight to Hinata, unwilling to release his grip on her.

Hinata smiled, and to Naruto, it was the most beautiful smile to ever exist in the world. When he saw her smile, what he saw was not her age and her white hair. He didn't care about any of that. All he cared about… was Hinata herself.

"Take me… to enter the cycle of reincarnation…." she said softly. "Now that we are husband and wife, I have no regrets…. Let me go…. Let me… leave. Please."

Naruto's eyes were shot with blood.

Hinata's hand trembled as she reached up to stroke his cheek. As she murmured these things to Naruto, her eyes suddenly flashed with a final, brilliant radiance like that of a sunset. She had severed her own arteries!

She did not wish to see Naruto continue to deliver his life force to her, to give her a little bit of extra time at the cost of his own vitality. It pained her, and she did not want him to receive injury. She did not want to see any more white hairs on his head because of her.

"Qing'er!"

A tremor ran through Naruto.

Hinata looked at him one final time. A smile appeared on her lips, and it was the same smile that had appeared when she saw him for the first time, leaning out over the cliff on Mount Daqing. Of course, Naruto had never seen that smile.

A final tear rolled out of the corner of her eye.

In that exact moment, her body dissipated, transformed into motes of glittering light. There was no body for the teardrop to fall onto, so… it fell down onto the ground.

"You're my wife…." murmured Naruto. "The Heavens. The Earth. None of it matters. No matter how long it takes, let the cycle of reincarnation bear witness. No one will take you away from me. When you are born again, I will find you!" He tried to keep ahold of her, but the only thing that remained was motes of light. Inside of him, the pressure weighing down on his heart transformed into a roar.

The battlefield suddenly went silent. In that moment, all gazes fell upon

Naruto, whether they were from the Southern Domain or the Northern Reaches. They saw Hinata transform into motes of light that turned into a river which flowed up into the sky.

—–

Chapter 773: Hinata Enters Reincarnation

 _This chapter was sponsored by Rameet Bhatti, Roderick Sinnamon, Joris_

 _Middendorp, and Daniel Raggl_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 774

Chapter 774 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 774: Dao Seeking Felled!

The motes of light turned into a long river. In the darkness of the sky, the river of light was resplendent and glittering as it swept higher and higher.

A vast vortex suddenly appeared up above, rotating silently. It was as if the sky itself was being split open to reveal the starry sky above it. There, out in the stars, another river was visible, vast, mighty, and incomparably boundless. The water of the river seemed withered and yellow, and was filled with innumerable… discarnate souls!

The cultivators down below were shocked.

"The River of Forgetfulness!" 1

"Heavens! That's the legendary River of Forgetfulness!"

What the people down below could see was only one small portion of the river that flowed through the starry sky, visible through the vortex.

Hinata, now a collection of light motes, was just about to flow through vortex and merge into the River of Forgetfulness, then be swept away to the underworld of the Fourth Mountain.

Naruto hovered in midair staring blankly at the scene. Tears streamed down his face, and his heart was wracked with stabbing pain. Up above, the motes of light seemed to form the outline of a face as they entered into the vortex. It was Hinata's face.

It looked just like the face that Naruto saw underneath the moonlight in the Reliance Sect. His heart quivered.

Hinata's face seemed to be smiling at him. She looked at him for a moment, then turned and once again turned into a flowing river that flowed up toward the vortex.

Among the seven peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches, the young boy in the red robe had an evil glint in his eye. His body flickered as he shot directly toward the motes of light.

His voice was high-pitched as he cried out, "Want to enter the cycle of reincarnation…? You're dreaming! If you're gonna die, your soul is going to disperse into nothing!"

When Naruto saw the boy closing in on the motes of light that were Hinata, he began to tremble. A Devilishness, along with a desire to kill, exploded out in his heart, both of which were impossible to suppress.

In the same moment, just when the red-robed boy was about to reach the motes of light, he let out a miserable shriek. A mysterious power enveloped him, and he was sent tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth. He looked up at the vortex with shock in his eyes.

He had already been seriously injured in battle earlier when the 3rd Shimura Clan Patriarch self-detonated. Without an incredibly powerful cultivation base to support him, he would have long since died.

Right now, the power that swept out from within the vortex was filled with a shocking aura, something that left him frightened out of his mind. Furthermore, it seemed to only be a warning.

The vortex continued to spin as Hinata disappeared inside and merged into the great river. She was now one of many souls floating along in the waters.

However, there was something different about Hinata's soul. She had a red glow surrounding her, protecting her, making it so that none of the other discarnate souls could even get near her. All was quiet around her… as she drifted in the river water, far off into the distance.

The vortex vanished, and the sky returned to its normal state.

Naruto was silent. The temple vanished, and the candles were extinguished. The lantern and banners transformed into ash, and the happy atmosphere disappeared. The only thing that remained was a battlefield.

Naruto slowly descended to the ground. He looked down at his hands, and for a moment it almost felt as if he were still holding Hinata. Except… she was no more.

"Gone…." he murmured, his voice hoarse. "We made an agreement to spend a hundred years together…. But now you're gone…." His face twisted, and his white hair began to rise up as an intense murderous aura rose up.

The murderous aura grew more intense. In the blink of an eye, it was an inferno, a black mist that roiled around him. Everything around him froze, and an aura of death spread out. The black mist rose up to turn into an enormous face up in midair.

The face was none other than Naruto's face!

His eyes were no longer red, but black, with no pupils. It was as if he could see nothing but infinite blackness.

As he stood there, he lifted his head up and began to laugh bitterly. When the laughter entered the ears of the Northern Reaches cultivators, their hearts began to tremble, and their souls shivered.

Suddenly, cracking sounds filled Naruto's body, although only he could hear them. It was the sound of shackles breaking. Within him… a Devil was being unleashed, something that had existed within him since the events in the Milky Way Sea.

As of this moment, he no longer had any desire to control it. He did not wish to suppress it. He only had one desire….

To kill each and every cultivator from the Northern Reaches who had invaded the Southern Domain! To kill each and every peak Dao Seeking expert. Kill them! Kill them ALL!

He would pay any price to be able to do that!

If he couldn't become an Immortal, then what was the harm in becoming a Devil!?

As he laughed bitterly, his body rumbled, and black mist poured out of him. His hair was now completely white, but his features were no longer withered. His youth was restored, and his face was shockingly icy.

He looked like a blood-thirsty Devil that could only see blood and killing.

Cracking sounds rose up from the ground as blood-colored ice spread out in all directions. Intense coldness spread around him, as if the seasons were suddenly changing. Black snowflakes began to flutter through the air.

Naruto had thoroughly unleashed the Devil within him, and he had removed any suppression of his desire to slaughter. He was now completely grim and cold, not just to his enemies, but even to himself.

His wedding day had been turned into a tragedy, and the only thing he could do now was become a Devil!

In the instant that his inner Devil was unleashed, the Blood Demon Grand Magic finally began to move away from the fourth level toward the fifth.

Naruto's gaze looked out into the sky toward… the red-robed boy.

"You," he said. "You shall die!"

Instantly, his second true self looked over with flickering eyes.

At the same time, Naruto vanished, then shockingly, reappeared up in midair. His body was wreathed in seething black mist and Devil flames. Along with his second true self, he shot toward the red-robed boy.

"Your clone is pretty tough," said the boy with a snort, "but your true self? Screw off!" In unison with his words, the fighting on the battlefield broke out once again. Whether it was the peak Dao Seeking experts up above or the madness of the close-quarter combat of the Southern Domain and Northern Reaches down below, the battling was intense. This was far beyond the fighting which had taken place outside of the Blood Demon Sect in the initial war.

Naruto's second true self shot toward the red-robed boy at high speed. As soon as they met, winds blasted out and lightning boomed. Explosion after explosion rang out as, within a short period of time, they exchanged thousands of moves.

As for Naruto, as soon as he flew out, the old man in animal-hide clothing moved to intercept him. Grinning viciously, he punched out violently toward Naruto.

"Your beloved is dead! What's the point in continuing to live? Why don't you go join her!"

As the fist descended toward him, Naruto looked at it coldly. He lifted his right hand, and the Lightning Cauldron appeared, causing the old man's face to instantly flicker.

It was then that lightning poured out from within the cauldron to surround Naruto. Brilliant light was cast out onto the battlefield, and then he suddenly vanished. So did the old man!

Their positions had been reversed!

When Naruto appeared in the spot previously occupied by the old man in animal-hide clothing, he didn't even turn to look back. Even as the old man roared in fury and shot in pursuit, Naruto proceeded forward. He had one target: the red-robed boy!

It was that boy's Cinnabar Fruit that had cursed Hinata!

Furthermore, he had just attempted to interfere with Hinata entering the cycle of reincarnation!

Naruto was like a Devil in his determination to slay him!

The red-robed boy was currently fighting Naruto's second true self. He had already been seriously injured, and as such, was not a match for the second true self. He continued to fall back in retreat, his eyes bloodshot as he attacked with reckless abandon. When he saw Naruto bearing down on him, he pointed out with a finger.

"Trying to get yourself killed on purpose?! Fine, I'll kill your true self!" In the instant that the boy pointed out, Naruto used the Lightning Cauldron again. There was a flicker, and he switched places with his second true self.

A boom rang out as his second true self appeared in the spot he had just occupied. As for Naruto, he was now… closer to the boy than anyone else on the battlefield!

Naruto's use of the lightning cauldron had reached the acme of perfection!

The red-robed boy's mind trembled. His finger attack just now was incapable of doing anything to Naruto's second true self. He jerked around and was about to make a deadly attack against Naruto, when suddenly, Naruto waved his hand. Shockingly, a magical symbol appeared in his hand!

It was a single character!

Wither!

This was the Withering Character Incantation which had appeared after he absorbed eighty percent of the curse power! The incantation could be used as a divine ability that could be continuously maintained for a long period of time. As Naruto's cultivation base grew higher, the withering power of the magic would grow more consummate, its might, more and more terrifying.

However, he could also focus its energies into a single instant attack. This would deplete the magical symbol and cause it to dim, requiring it to recharge and absorb more withering energy before it could be used again.

"I haven't personally killed a peak Dao Seeking cultivator before," said Naruto quietly. "You're going to be the first. The pain that my wife felt before she died, is now something… that you will have the pleasure of experiencing!"

Naruto's voice was calm, calm in a way that caused the red-robed boy's heart to pound. A profound sense of deadly crisis appeared inside of him.

The 'withering' character caused the red-robed boy to begin to pant. His scalp went numb, and he instantly tried to flee.

At the same time, Naruto, his eyes cold, coolly said, "Withering

Character Blast!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, blinding gray light shot out from the palm of his hand. It immediately filled the sky, causing the hundreds of thousands of cultivators down below to look up in astonishment. They could sense the withering curse power exploding out up above.

The old man in animal-hide clothing gasped, then immediately began to back up.

"NO!" screamed the red-robed youth. Cultivation base power exploded out, and he produced massive quantities of magical items to try to fight back against the power of his own Hellwither Nineruins curse.

However, no matter what he did, when it came to the explosive withering power, he was like a praying mantis trying to block an army. In the blink of an eye, he was inundated by the grayness.

The only thing that remained behind was a bloodcurdling scream that echoed out across the land.

—–

Chapter 774: Dao Seeking Felled!

Although the river Lethe from Greek mythology is also known as the

River of Forgetfulness, this is a different river, one that comes from Chinese mythology. I couldn't find much information about it in English, so I translated the summary from the baidupedia article about the River of Forgetfullness (this is information about the mythological river, not necessarily the river as portrayed in ISSTH): _In Chinese mythology, after people die, they pass through the gates of Hell and travel the path of the Yellow Springs to the underworld. Between the Yellow Springs and the underworld itself is the River of Forgetfulness. The water of the river appears to be both yellow and blood-red. Within the river are countless wandering souls and wild ghosts that cannot be reincarnated, as well as endless bugs and vermin. The stench from the river buffets your face like a wind. Running over the river is the Bridge of Helplessness, beside which sits an old woman, who is old lady Naruto. To cross the River of Forgetfulness, you must drink the tea of old lady Naruto. If you don't drink the tea, you can't cross the Bridge of Helplessness, which means that you cannot be reincarnated_ ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 775

Chapter 775: FIGHT!

The Withering Character Incantation had absorbed eighty percent of the Hellwither Nineruins' curse power. It was the most powerful magical symbol he possessed, and when its power erupted with the curse, it could slay the peak of Dao Seeking.

Naruto was well aware of this fact.

However, it would only work once, after which, the magical symbol would grow dark. Naruto had decided to use that one sure kill on the red-robed boy.

Grayness filled the world, and the red-robed boy screamed miserably. Everyone could hear it, and they were completely shaken and astonished.

It was just possible to see the red-robed boy within the grayness of the curse. His robes were in tatters; his hair was white and falling out of his head. His skin dried up; his flesh, blood, bones, organs and soul were all withering away.

Seeing the boy screaming miserably, Naruto calmly asked, "Does it hurt? Qing'er didn't want me to see her pain over these past few days. She endured it.

"Can you imagine how a fragile girl like her was able to endure such shocking pain?"

Everyone on the battlefield could hear his words, and it caused an intense coldness to well up in their hearts.

"I've also experienced such pain," Naruto continued slowly. "Now, it's your turn."

The boy's horrible shrieks grew even more intense. His entire body shook, and he even tried to detonate his Nascent Divinity, but was incapable. His Nascent Divinity had already become withered, just like his soul.

During that short moment, he experienced indescribable pain. His teeth fell out, and soon he didn't even have the energy to scream….

Eventually, he was nothing more than a pool of yellowish liquid.

He had been withered to death!

After he died, the gray curse power up in the sky flew back to Naruto

Hao's palm. It transformed once again into the 'withering' character. However, the magical symbol was not as resplendent as before. It was now dimmer by half.

Half of the curse power remained after killing the red-robed boy. From this, the terrifying power of the curse could be seen.

By this point, the battlefield was utterly silent. Even the battle between Patriarch Song and the other peak Dao Seeking experts had stopped, and they were looking on, dumbfounded.

After a brief moment of silence, the Northern Reaches cultivators burst out into an uproar.

"The Patriarch of the Coffin Altar Sect… just died?"

"The Patriarch of the Coffin Altar Sect was at the peak of Dao Seeking!

He… he just perished!"

At the same time, the Southern Domain cultivators were enlivened, and seemed to have been rejuvenated, resuming their furious attacks with increased strength!

Once again, the fighting broke out down below. As for the Northern Reaches' peak Dao Seeking experts, they were inwardly shaken. This was the first time since the invasion had begun that a peak Dao Seeking cultivator had died.

The old man in the animal-hide clothing had eyes shot with blood. The red-robed boy had been one of his closest friends. With an enraged roar, he shot toward Naruto.

Off to the side were the two old men who looked completely identical except for their contrasting black and white robes. They joined the old man in charging Naruto.

The second true self's eyes glittered as he moved to intercept them. Booms rang out as he began a tremendous fight with the black and white twins.

The old man in the animal hide clothing was going berserk. He spit blood out of his mouth and performed a double-handed incantation, causing all of his skin to suddenly change color. It rapidly became blue, and his speed increased dramatically. He skirted the second true self to head directly toward Naruto, toward whom he extended a powerful punch.

"DIE!"

Naruto was quite close. His face was pale, and blood was oozing out of his mouth. This was the first time he had used only his own power, and not that of his second true self, to attack and kill a peak Dao Seeking cultivator.

As the man in the animal hide clothing closed in, Naruto extended his right hand down toward the ground. Immediately a huge vortex appeared within the Northern Reaches army.

The vortex was no longer golden, but black. It looked like a huge mouth, ready to consume everything. Immediately, miserable screams could be heard from the Northern Reaches cultivators caught inside. They rapidly withered, and their cultivation bases flowed out through their mouths and noses. Even their souls were shaken, and appeared to be on the verge of being sucked out.

RUUMMBLLLE!

Shockingly, seven such vortexes appeared all over the battlefield!

Seven huge vortexes enveloped nearly thirty thousand Northern Reaches cultivators, extracting power from their blood and flesh, which shot up toward Naruto and fused into his body.

It was the same with their cultivation base power!

Naruto closed his eyes, and when he did, his cultivation base shot up. Suddenly, he transformed into what looked like a shooting star that sped directly toward the attacking old man.

As he flew through the air, his eyes snapped open. The black mist face above him suddenly formed into the shocking shape of an enormous palm that slammed into the old man.

A shocking boom filled the air!

The old man tumbled backward in shock, blood spurting out of his mouth. At the same time, the miserable screams continued to echo out from down below. Quite a few within the vortexes had already withered and died.

Naruto shot backward, biting the tip of his tongue and spitting some blood out. As soon as the blood emerged, it expanded, transforming into a lake of blood!

That blood contained, not just the power of Naruto's Chakra and blood, but the power of the Chakra and blood of the thirty thousand cultivators stuck in the vortexes. All that power transformed into a lake that rumbled toward the old man in animal hide clothing.

The old man's face fell. He pulled his hand back, and it increased in size and sprouted spikes of bone. Then he punched out, and a shocking boom rattled out. The lake of blood collapsed into pieces.

In that moment, the black mist which surrounded Naruto once again shot forward in attack. In a short period of time, constant booms rang out as hundreds of exchanges occurred between Naruto and the old man.

The black mist surrounding Naruto continued to increase. The qi, blood, and cultivation base power from the cultivators down below was like a huge river pouring into his body, giving him shocking battle prowess.

"Dammit! BREAK!" roared the old man. He was leery of Naruto's

'withering' character magical symbol. However, he never imagined that Naruto, without even using the magical symbol, would be so difficult to deal with. Finally, he slapped his chest and began to burn life force as he made a double handed attack.

Two fists punched out, shattering the air, causing the sky to dim. Naruto's eyes shone with a cold light. He said nothing, nor did he evade. Instead, he shot forward, relying on his cultivation base, his fleshly body, the Ninth Mountain, everything. It was an explosive attacked that contained his mad, Devilish will, combined with the qi, blood and cultivation bases absorbed by the vortexes, all merged into one palm strike.

Another direct showdown!

"Still not dead?!" thought the old man, even as he retreated, coughing up blood.

Naruto was also sent tumbling back, and his body exploded.

However, the Eternal stratum kicked in. Unfortunately, only a sliver of Eternal power remained in him. It had been severely drained during his battle with the curse power. Currently, there wasn't enough power left to completely heal him.

Seeing this caused killing intent to glitter in the old man's eyes.

"DIE!" he cried, extending his hands out in front of him, not in fists, but stretched out like claws. As he leaped out, the air distorted around him, and shockingly, he transformed into an enormous bird-like creature!

It looked like a roc, with a beak that emitted a cold glow and talons that could rend Heaven and Earth. He shot toward Naruto with such incredible speed that he was nothing more than a streak flashing through the air.

A fiendish wind buffeted Naruto's face as he lifted his right hand up to reveal the Lightning Cauldron.

The cauldron began to flicker, and Naruto looked down at a Northern Reaches Nascent Soul cultivator down below. Suddenly, Naruto vanished. The savage Nascent Soul cultivator then appeared in the spot Naruto had just occupied, and Naruto was now where he had been down below.

Form Displacement Transposition!

The Nascent Soul cultivator saw bright colors flash across his eyes, and then suddenly, he was up in midair. He couldn't help but be shocked. Moments ago, he had been preparing to plunge his hand through the chest of a Southern Domain cultivator. Now, he was floating up in the air.

Suddenly, an intense sense of deadly crises surged through him as he saw a vicious roc flying toward him at indescribable speed. It was impossible for him to dodge, and even his nascent soul was scared so witless that it seemed as if it would crumble to pieces.

Boom!

The roc smashed into him, sending blood spattering out in all directions. A roar of rage filled the sky as the roc turned blurry and the old man reappeared. He glared down at the ground, his eyes flaring with killing intent.

"Naruto!" he raged. Once again, he transformed into a roc that shot toward the ground amidst a gale force wind.

Down below, Naruto stood in the midst of a huge force of shocked Northern Reaches cultivators, among whom he had seemed to just randomly appear. Before any of them could react, he gestured down toward the ground.

Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Rumble!

An enormous vortex appeared, with Naruto in the center. It instantly enveloped several thousand people. As for the Southern Domain cultivators it caught up, they felt a gentle force pick them up and eject them from the vortex.

Naruto remained within the vortex, his white hair swirling around. Once again he gestured downward, and his eyes were filled with calm coldness.

"Qi and Blood."

Rumbling could be heard as the Northern Reaches cultivators within the vortex began to shriek miserably, and visibly wither at a rapid rate, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases.

Huge quantities of Chakra and blood power poured into Naruto. His body grew stronger, and his internal injuries were healed significantly because of the borrowed power.

"Spirit Meridians!" he said.

Rumble!

More miserable shrieks could be heard from the thousands stuck in the vortex. They were little more than skin and bones now that their Chakra and blood had been removed. The only thing they had left, their cultivation bases, transformed into white smoke that began to ooze out of their eyes, nose, mouth and ears. Their eyes bulged and their faces began to grow blank. They were completely paralyzed, and the only thing they were capable of doing was trembling and screaming.

Their cultivation bases flew out to be absorbed by Naruto, causing his own cultivation base to rise. His wounds were also healed even further.

By this time, the old man in the shape of a roc was now bearing down on him, roaring with killing intent.

"Soul!" said Naruto, yelling out the final word.

He WOULD break through to the fifth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Once he did, he would be able to control something that even his second true self couldn't control, something special that had been created for him by Patriarch Blood Demon… a false Immortal puppet!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 776

Chapter 776 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 776: Fifth Level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

The 'soul' character had been uttered!

At that moment, the Northern Reaches cultivators stuck in the vortex around Naruto let out the last miserable shrieks that they would ever utter. Their bodies were withered dry, their cultivation bases vanished. Now, they felt an intense pain enveloping them like floodwaters.

Everything went black in their eyes, and the world disappeared. Their lives… were no more!

Numerous wailing, struggling souls emerged from their eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Each and every cultivator's back was arched, their face sunken, and their eyes gray. Their mouths were stuck open stiffly.

Their souls emerged and then fused into the vortex, becoming a cyclone of souls. Anyone who could see the spectacle was flabbergasted.

"Demonic magic! That's Demonic magic!"

"Such a sinister divine ability has got to be Demon magic!"

The Northern Reaches cultivators in the area were trembling, and their hearts were filled with terror. Horrified, they watched as the souls spun into a cyclone, and Naruto gestured toward the ground, then looked up. His white hair floated around him, and his eyes glowed with a cold ruthlessness.

His face was also as pale as death, making his overall appearance like that of a Devilish god. The souls of the slain around him looked like slaves that were incapable of escaping him.

Up in the sky, the old man who was in roc form gasped, completely shaken by what he was seeing. However, killing intent flickered in his eyes, and ferociousness burned in his heart. He continued to dive directly toward Naruto.

"Your occult trickery won't work on me! DIE!"

Naruto's eyes flickered, and as the old man bore down on him, he suddenly blasted up from the ground. The cyclone of countless struggling souls surrounded him, looking almost like a river as he sped to meet the roc.

A boom echoed out and even as strong and stalwart as he was, the old man couldn't stop the blood from oozing out of the corners of his mouth. He could no longer maintain the form of a roc, and reverted to his human form as he tumbled backward.

Blood sprayed from Naruto's mouth, and the ground beneath him cracked and split, radiating in all directions.

The struggling souls exploded, transforming into motes of soul light that then sped toward Naruto and fused into his body. Naruto could sense that he had reached… the threshold of the Blood Demon Grand Magic's fifth level.

"I need even more souls!" he thought, his eyes flickering. Not waiting for the old man to charge him again, he produced the Lightning Cauldron. There was a flicker, and he switched places with another Northern Reaches cultivator.

He appeared once again in the middle of the Northern Reaches' army, whereupon he immediately gestured toward the ground. A vortex appeared as the Blood Demon Grand Magic once again surged into motion.

It almost seemed as if, to Naruto, the Northern Reaches cultivators were merely food. They were essential to his ability to combat a peak Dao Seeking expert. As he absorbed them, miserable screams filled the air. Qi, blood, and cultivation bases were sucked away, used by Naruto to strengthen his fleshly body to the point where it burst from the mid Dao Seeking stage into late Dao Seeking.

As for his cultivation base, it now exceeded Spirit Severing and had temporarily entered into Dao Seeking! Natural law swirled around him, making Naruto… even more valiant!

The Blood Demon Grand Magic was most suited to fighting against multiple opponents!

The more enemies there were, the more invincible one could become!

Up in midair, the old man in animal hide clothing roared. His body flashed as he transformed, not into a roc, but into a gigantic black python. He opened his vicious mouth and struck toward Naruto as if to swallow him up.

Naruto waited in the vortex as the python closed in. Thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators could be heard screaming as their bodies withered, their cultivation bases faded, and they neared death.

Suddenly, Naruto said 'soul,' and a rumbling could be heard as the thousands of cultivators exploded, and their souls flew out.

Then Naruto vanished. Even as the python was about to reach him, he was off in the distance, where another Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex sprang up.

The old man was completely infuriated, and yet there was nothing he could do to stop Naruto and the Lightning Cauldron. The agile teleportation-like ability made it incredibly difficult to pin Naruto down, and left him shocked in his heart.

"Dammit! Naruto, I dare you to fight me one on one!"

Killing intent flickered in the old man's eyes. This time, he didn't pursue Naruto, but instead flew toward the Southern Domain's army of cultivators.

"If you won't come out and fight, then I'll just start killing some Southern Domain cultivators!"

Naruto stopped in place, then waved his right hand. The Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared, and the Lightning Cauldron flickered. This time, he changed positions with the old man.

After the exchange took place, the old man… was shocked to find himself directly in the middle of one of Naruto's vortexes.

Naruto hovered in midair, looking coldly at the old man.

"Wanna fight?" he said. "Let's fight, then!" He stretched his arms out to either side, and the multiple vortexes he had created moments ago echoed with the shocked screams of Northern Reaches cultivators. Chakra and blood flowed toward him, causing Naruto's body to once again reach the peak of Dao Seeking.

Rumbling filled the air as the old man's body began to wither. However, he was able to struggle his way out, whereupon he aimed a punch at Naruto.

"DIE!"

Naruto clenched his fists and shot forward to meet him. The two of them flashed back and forth over a hundred times, causing booms to rattle everything in the area. Finally, the old man's eyes flashed with a bright light. Suddenly, two golden birds flew out from within his pupils, emitting shrill cries as they shot toward Naruto.

At the same time, the old man began to spin rapidly like a top. He lifted his right leg high into the air and then slammed it down toward Naruto's head. If the kick connected, Naruto would obviously suffer a serious injury.

Naruto's eyes glittered coldly as he said. "Spirit Meridians!"

Immediately, more miserable shrieks could be heard coming from the Northern Reaches cultivators stuck in the vortexes down below. Their cultivation bases were sucked away through their noses and mouths to shoot directly toward Naruto. Cultivation bases swirled around Naruto in the form of a tempest, bolstering his own cultivation base until it was as strong as the peak of Dao Seeking.

He quickly performed an incantation gesture and pointed towards the sky.

"Ninth Mountain! CRUSH!"

Rumbling filled the air as the majestic Ninth Mountain appeared up above. It was huge, almost like a real mountain, and the natural law that swirled around it stirred the sky and caused the land to shake. Massive pressure crushed down on the old man.

The old man lifted his head up and roared. His body expanded rapidly as he turned into a mountain-like giant. He immediately raised both hands into the air and grabbed onto the Ninth Mountain.

A boom could be heard as the Ninth Mountain slammed into him. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and cracking sounds could be heard as he managed to resist it.

"Soul!" said Naruto, his eyes radiating coldness. As the Northern Reaches cultivators in the vortexes toppled over dead, struggling souls flew toward Naruto from their eyes, ears, noses and mouths.

The vast quantities of souls that were merging into Naruto's body caused a rumbling sound to fill his head. All of a sudden… he reached the fifth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

In that moment, Naruto's cultivation base did not change. However, his battle prowess instantly grew several times over!

His hair whipped about, and he looked every bit like a Devilish divinity. His eyes shone like suns, and the entire battlefield down below was obscured by the shadow of the black mist that surged around him. It was as if he was blotting out the entire Heavens.

He took a deep breath and then advanced forward.

The old man let out an enraged roar as he shoved upward with his arms. Apparently, he was causing some form of natural law to spring into motion. Now, cracking sounds could be heard coming from the Ninth Mountain, and then it shattered into countless pieces.

"Little bastard!" said the old man, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. Collapsing the Ninth Mountain had taken quite a bit of effort on his part. Now, his body flickered as he transformed into a white tiger, which roared and pounced toward Naruto.

This time, Naruto didn't evade. The two cultivators met in midair; booms echoed out as they fought back and forth.

"Qi and Blood!" said Naruto coolly. This time, a tiny vortex appeared in the palm of his hand. When he landed a blow on the front leg of the old man's tiger form, the entire leg instantly turned into skin and bones!

The sudden, shocking turn of events caused the old man's face to fall. He gasped, a tremor ran through his white tiger form, and he retreated at top speed.

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent. How could he possibly allow the old man to flee as simply as that? His body flashed through the air, and he appeared right next to the old man. The vortex in the palm of his right hand shot toward the old man's back.

"SCREW OFF!" roared the old man. Immediately, his cultivation base surged with an explosion of Chakra that shot outward. Naruto gave a cold snort and continued on with his palm strike.

"Spirit Meridians!"

A boom could be heard as he absorbed, not Chakra and blood, but cultivation base. As the terrifying cultivation base explosion emanating from the old man reached Naruto, Naruto simply touched it with his hand, and it appeared to collapse. Boundless cultivation base power immediately began to fuse into Naruto's palm.

The old man's scalp went numb. He could never have imagined that Naruto's magical technique could be so shocking. In two short moments of contact, he had lost ten percent of his cultivation base as well as his Chakra and blood. It was nothing short of terrifying to the man, and he immediately fell back in retreat.

Naruto pursued without any hesitation. They fought back and forth, and the old men let out continuous roars. He didn't dare to get too close but could only flee at top speed under an unending bombardment from Naruto. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he fell back.

Naruto's face was cold, and his killing intent raged.

Onlookers could hardly believe what they were seeing. The old man in animal hide clothing was incapable of fighting back against Naruto, and was being beaten to the point that he was forced to retreat.

"Save me!" he cried, his mind trembling. His body was quickly becoming nothing more than skin and bones, and he had lost forty percent of the power of his cultivation base. He knew that he was in a moment of grave crisis.

The Northern Reaches cultivators were astonished, and the other five Northern Reaches peak Dao Seeking experts up above were shaken. Moments ago, when Naruto had slain the red-robed boy, they were shocked. However, in their minds, Naruto had simply used some sort of trickery to win. But seeing what he was doing now left them thoroughly rattled.

Just when they were about to make a move to help the old man, the 'withering' character flickered into being next to Naruto. Gray light radiated out, and all of the peak Dao Seeking experts halted in place.

They didn't dare to get close to him!

That was exactly why Naruto hadn't used the 'withering' character again. The magical symbol's greatest use to him right now… was as a threat against any outside interference!

Chapter 776: Fifth Level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 777

Chapter 777: Dawn Immortal, Do You Dare To Fight Me?!

Naruto was a shooting star that closed in on the old man in animal hide clothing. He pointed out his index finger, and the Eighth Demon

Sealing Hex appeared, causing the old man to freeze in place, trembling.

In that moment, Naruto's thrust his right hand violently at the old man's chest and stabbed into the flesh.

"Qi and Blood, Spirit Meridians!"

Boom!

The old man howled miserably as he fell back. His body withered up, and his cultivation base flowed out from him. He quickly bit the tip of his tongue and spat out some blood. The blood expanded in midair, shockingly transforming into a huge blood-colored cauldron which slammed towards Naruto in an attempt to shake him off.

Naruto snorted coldly, then clenched his hand into a fist and punched. He landed a blow onto the cauldron that was backed by his Chakra and blood, the energy of tens of thousands of cultivators, and even the power of the old man himself. A huge boom echoed out over the battlefield.

The cauldron immediately shattered into pieces. As Naruto's fist passed through the remnants, it transformed into a palm, and then a claw which latched onto the old man's face.

Rumbling filled the air as qi, blood and spirit meridians were rapidly sucked out of the old man's body. The old man screamed in pain and shoved his hands out toward Naruto. In response, Naruto vanished, then reappeared behind the man. He slapped his hand down onto the man's back.

"Save me!" cried the old man. The sense of deadly crisis he felt caused his mind to reel.

"No one can save you now," responded Naruto, his voice icy cold.

However, it was at this moment that a leaf suddenly appeared. Not just one leaf, but many, emanating scintillating glows as they descended from above.

An aura also appeared that Naruto was very familiar with!

The voice of a woman then echoed out coldly across the battlefield.

"What if I save him?"

Leaves fluttered down over the lands of the Southern Domain.

The innumerable leaves began to to spin, then rapidly formed together into the shape of a woman. She wore a colorful gown, and exuded a palpable, exotic allure that would attract anyone who looked at her.

However, this was no girl. It was a woman.

It was… the mother of the Resurrection Lily. The Dawn Immortal!

She stretched out her right hand and pointed toward Naruto.

Numerous branches suddenly appeared around him. They expanded rapidly and then grew together, transforming into a cage that threatened to completely seal Naruto up.

"You showed up at the battle of the Blood Demon Sect, and now you show up again here! Screw off!" Killing intent flashed in Naruto's eyes as his cultivation base exploded with power. It transformed into a cyclone that thrashed about in all directions, smashing a hole in the cage of branches. Naruto instantly shot out from within, and immediately headed in the old man's direction.

The Dawn Immortal laughed coldly and waved her right hand. Shockingly, a seven-colored leaf appeared, which shone with prismatic light as it sped toward Naruto.

Naruto's mind trembled, and yet he didn't slow down in his pursuit of the weakened old man. He caught up in a short moment, and then reached out his hand to push down onto the top of the old man's head.

"Soul!" he said calmly.

The old man immediately let out a shriek of pain. His body trembled, his mouth opened wide, and his eyes bulged. His soul… began to seep out through his nose and mouth in many delicate strands that were quickly absorbed by Naruto.

"Looking to die?!" said the Dawn Immortal, her eyes flickering with killing intent. The seven-colored leaf picked up speed as it closed in on Naruto. In the blink of an eye, it was about to hit him.

Naruto took the old man and violently tossed him forward to slam into the leaf. A boom echoed out, and the old man's body exploded. He was dead in body and spirit.

As for Naruto, he retreated immediately, his face somewhat pale. Having absorbed the old man's complete cultivation base, as well as all of his Chakra and blood, plus his soul, he was now filled with indescribable energy. Resisting the leaf attack caused him to retreat, but did not injure him!

Now that the leaf was heading toward him for a second attack, his eyes flashed with killing intent. The Lightning Cauldron appeared, and a flash of electricity could be seen. In that moment, he switched places with one of the peak Dao Seeking experts who was fighting Pill Demon and the others, the old woman!

In response to the Form Displacement Transposition, the old woman's face fell. The seven-colored leaf ground to a halt, then changed directions and shot after Naruto. By this point, Naruto was next to Patriarch Song, with whom he joined forces to launch an attack against the white-robed hopping vampire that was a Northern Reaches peak Dao seeking expert.

A boom could be heard, and the white-robed old man coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even as he fell back, the seven-colored leaf neared.

The flash of electricity surrounded Naruto, and he then appeared in the middle of the Northern Reaches army down below. Blood Demon Grand Magic vortexes instantly appeared, enveloping thousands. Qi, blood, spirit meridians, and souls were all absorbed, and miserable screams rang out. Then Naruto vanished again.

Naruto had long since completely mastered the use of the Lightning Cauldron!

The peak Dao Seeking experts in midair were shocked.

"Dammit!"

"What kind of magical item is that Lightning Cauldron!? This Naruto is too hard to pin down!"

Naruto's actions in the battle were strange and mysterious. He attacked with ruthless viciousness that left them thoroughly shaken. By now, Naruto was an archenemy in their minds!

He was such a threat that they knew he needed to be eliminated immediately!

"I'll deal with him," said the Dawn Immortal coolly. Her eyes flashed with seven-colored light that bathed the entire area, apparently in an attempt to seal it.

"That toy of yours is quite mysterious," she said a moment later. "I can't completely seal it, but what I can do is slow down the transpositioning speed. Go ahead and try it out now." Then, she began to advance on Naruto.

As she neared, an intense pressure weighed down on everything. Furthermore, a vicious, seven-colored Resurrection Lily appeared behind her!

The flower swayed back and forth, obviously immaculately beautiful, and yet at the same time, boundlessly evil.

Naruto's expression was calm, and did not reveal the slightest shift in emotions. He put away the Lightning Cauldron and then pulled out… a blood-colored puppet the size of a hand.

The puppet flew out from Naruto's hand and then began to grow. By they time it was thirty meters tall, it exploded with a shocking aura. Wild colors flashed through the sky, and the clouds churned. This was the aura of an Immortal!

Not a true Immortal aura, but that of a false Immortal.

Either way… it was still Immortal!

The Dawn Immortal's face flickered for the first time, and the handful of peak Dao Seeking Experts from the Northern Reaches were all shocked.

This puppet was the trump card of the combined forces of the Solitary Sword Sect, Golden Frost Sect, Black Sieve Sect and Shimura Clan when they besieged the Blood Demon Sect. Were it not for the appearance of Patriarch Blood Demon back then, it would have clinched the victory.

Instead, Patriarch Blood Demon slaughtered the Solitary Sword Sect

Patriarch, then made some alterations to the puppet so that only Naruto

Hao could use it. That was his reward for reaching the fifth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Naruto's body flickered as he merged into the thirty-meter-tall bloodcolored puppet. Moments ago, its eyes had been dark, but now they radiated a grim light, just like Naruto's eyes.

As Naruto took control of the puppet, it suddenly stood up. A shocking false Immortal aura exploded outwards across the battlefield, turning into a shock wave that swept out, forcing the Northern Reaches cultivators to fall back amid shocked gasps.

As for the Southern Domain cultivators, their spirits were lifting, and they began to shout out Naruto's name.

Sound waves rippled across the land, causing everything to shake!

"Dawn Immortal, do you dare to fight me!?" Naruto flew up into the air and then pointed toward the Dawn Immortal. A sound like thunder could be heard, and an intense pressure rumbled out. The earth cracked and the air shattered. In the blink of an eye, a black wind rose up to sweep across the land.

The Dawn Immortal did not speak, but her eyes glittered with a mysterious light. She stretched her beautiful hand out and pointed. The apparition of the Resurrection Lily behind her passed through her body and flew into the air, its tentacles writhing in a bizarre and awe-inspiring fashion as it charged toward Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly. Due to his control of the puppet, he felt as if he was completely connected to Heaven and Earth. He waved his hand, and dark clouds appeared in the sky. Lightning descended like rain, transforming into a lake of lightning that enveloped the Resurrection Lily.

"Nothing but a false Immortal," said the Dawn Immortal coolly, shaking her head. "If you use it, you'll sow Karma with the Hebi Clan." Suddenly she vanished, and when she reappeared, she was directly in front of Naruto. She lifted her hand up, then dropped it.

Seven-colored light radiated brightly, transforming into a seven-colored sun that exploded into Naruto.

A huge boom shook everything. Even the peak Dao Seeking experts were flung aside. The old woman among their number was just about to retreat, when shockingly, Sun Tao of the Violet Fate Sect transformed into a powerful beam of light that completely inundated her.

She let out a miserable scream that echoed out in all directions.

"My body has already returned to the dust, and I can't hold out any longer," echoed the voice of Sun Tao from within the light. "Before I leave… I'll take this woman with me. Fellow Daoists… I sincerely hope that you achieve complete victory!

"Master, I can't be your apprentice alchemist any longer, nor will I be able to see you achieve true Immortal Ascension…."

A huge boom could be heard as the light exploded. The screams of the old woman from the Northern Reaches were suddenly cut off. Brilliant light covered everything, even Naruto and the Dawn Immortal.

Naruto felt stabs of pain in his heart. When the light faded away, Sun Tao was gone, as was the old woman.

Pill Demon trembled, and tears streamed down his face. He lifted his head up and began to laugh sadly. Suddenly, innumerable magical symbols began to appear on his body. One by one, they started shattering into pieces. In the blink of an eye, more than half of them were gone.

At the same time, his cultivation base shot up. He was no longer in the mid Dao Seeking stage. He broke completely through to the late Dao Seeking stage and then broke through again into peak Dao Seeking!

The destruction of the magical symbols was not something he could consciously do. Rather, it was provoked by the intense feelings that surged through him.

Now that Pill Demon was in the peak Dao Seeking stage, an unfamiliar aura appeared on his body. Furthermore, his appearance had changed. Now… he looked exactly like the statue of Reverend Violet East from back in the Violet Fate Sect!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 778

Chapter 778: Decisive Battle with the Dawn Immortal!

"Reverend Violet East…." Having seen everything that had happened, Patriarch Song's expression was a complex one.

"A powerful expert from 10,000 years ago," he murmured. "At one time… you were the number one Chosen in the entire Southern Domain. Reverend Violet East. You founded the Violet Fate Sect, and were its first generation Patriarch!

"You were at the peak of Dao Seeking 10,000 years ago, but weren't willing to become a false Immortal. You vowed to tread the path of true Immortal Ascension. Before transcending the tribulation, however, you realized that you were on the incorrect path. You personally concocted a medicinal pill that contained a strand of your own soul. That pill became your vessel, with which you reestablished your cultivation!

"Now in our time you have once again reached the peak of Dao Seeking as Pill Demon. When all of the magical symbols are destroyed, the true Immortal Tribulation that you have been suppressing… will finally be unleashed!

"Unfortunately, throughout the years, far too many people have died during true Immortal Tribulation. Few have ever succeeded. Pill Demon… can you succeed?" Patriarch Song sighed.

Pill Demon didn't reply. Violet Chakra swirled around him as he advanced forward. His aura was completely different than it had been before. Shockingly, he was now powerful enough to single-handedly fight two of the most powerful Northern Reaches peak Dao Seeking experts, and apparently, even suppress them.

Booms echoed out as Pill Demon's intense power caused everyone to be filled with shock. Even the mother of the Resurrection Lily, the Dawn Immortal, looked over and raised an eyebrow.

Patriarch Song shook his head and sighed, then once again began to fight the other peak Dao Seeking experts, along with Naruto's second true self and the severely-wounded Patriarch Golden Frost.

Down on the ground, the Northern Reaches cultivators were shocked to the core to have seen such a succession of defeats just now. After adding in the losses that had occurred earlier, the tide of battle between the Northern Reaches and the Southern Domain had completely reversed. The Southern Domain cultivators' eyes were red as they closed ranks and then screamed through the air in attack, more than 100,000 strong.

Blood flowed in rivers, and the sky darkened. The sounds of slaughter immediately caused everything to shake.

Up above, Naruto and the Dawn Immortal were fighting fiercely. The forces unleashed by their attacks seemed capable of collapsing the sky and the land. The Dawn Immortal's cultivation base was mysterious and enigmatic. Although this was nothing more than a clone, it was still incredibly powerful. In the short time she had been battling Naruto, they had exchanged more than a thousand moves. Massive rumbling caused many of the nearby mountains to crumble. Now, only Mount Blood Demon stood strong and tall.

However, Patriarch Blood Demon remained inside, his eyes closed in deep sleep. His body seemed to lack even the slightest scrap of life force. Despite the violent trembling in the world around him, he did not awaken.

The ground cracked, and rifts appeared in the sky. Naruto and the

Dawn Immortal's combat was like the collision of two storm fronts. The Ninth Mountain appeared, then shattered. The Black White Pearls appeared, then were suppressed. The Resurrection Lily writhed, transforming into a whip which the Dawn Immortal used to slash holes into the air itself.

The difficulty of this battle far exceeded what the Northern Reaches cultivators could ever have imagined or predicted. Naruto's appearance on the battlefield had completely turned the battle around.

First was the death of the red-robed boy, and then the old man in animal hide clothing perished. The pinnacle of the Northern Reaches' fighting forces had been reduced by thirty percent. That… was something that could determine victory or defeat in a battle!

Then the Dawn Immortal appeared, and she seemed to be capable of getting control of the situation. But, contrary to what everyone would have expected, Naruto… pulled out a false Immortal puppet.

With the body of a false Immortal puppet, he was now engaged in a duel with the Dawn Immortal that cast the sky and land into complete shadow.

In addition, Pill Demon awakened, unleashing peak Dao Seeking power. Now, the Northern Reaches cultivators were getting quite anxious. At the moment, it seemed that securing victory… was no easy task!

Rumbling echoed out and Naruto spit up blood. Popping sounds could be heard as cracks spread out through his puppet body. Up ahead, the Dawn Immortal was frowning. The false Immortal puppet was forcing her to use all the power she could muster.

Even more shocking was Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic, which continuously popped up around the Dawn Immortal. The more he used it in battle, the stronger he got. It was extremely difficult to deal with.

The Dawn Immortal's true self was in the Milky Way Sea and could not leave, which meant that the battle was now in a deadlock!

Of course, the fact that there was a deadlock was a good thing for the Northern Reaches cultivators!

This group here was the main force of the second wave of invaders.

Currently, there were four other armies in other parts of the Southern Domain, stabbing toward the Blood Demon Sect like sharp arrows. It would only be a matter of time before they arrived.

Although those armies did not contain any peak Dao Seeking experts, only Spirit Severing leaders, their combined forces numbered over 100,000. Once they arrived, they would be a critical factor in ending the deadlock.

Most important of all… the hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators were only the second wave of the Northern Reaches' expeditionary army. Currently, the third wave of 1,000,000 cultivators was making its way across the Resurrection Lily bridge.

The third wave was en route, in battle formation, and once they arrived in the Southern Domain, they would add four peak Dao Seeking experts to the battle!

Furthermore, they were not just any peak Dao Seeking experts, they were the four most powerful Patriarchs in the entire Northern Reaches!

Among their number was the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, whose cultivation base was monstrous; he was capable of battling false Immortals!

Once they reached the Southern Domain, victory would be assured!

This was something all the Northern Reaches cultivators were aware of, and the Southern Domain cultivators could conclude via speculation. All of the peak Dao Seeking cultivators in midair were also aware of these facts.

There was nothing the Southern Domain could do about it. If things went on too much longer, great tribulation would fall upon the Southern Domain!

Unless… they could quickly overcome this second wave of Northern Reaches cultivators before the third wave arrived. Perhaps that would buy them enough time to set up some spell formations, as well as get some much-needed rest.

If that didn't happen, and the ferocity they had experienced so far continued with wave after wave of opponents, then the Southern Domain forces would continue to sink further into exhaustion, and would have no time for vital preparations.

Naruto's eyes shone with a cold light as he fought back and forth with the Dawn Immortal. He, too, was aware of the overall situation, and it caused his eyes to flicker with killing intent. He took a deep breath, and even as he moved in for another attack, an expression of determination filled his face.

Without the slightest hesitation, he performed an incantation, causing a divine ability to appear. Using all the power of the false Immortal puppet that he could muster, he suddenly caused a blinding light to shine out.

Beams of light appeared, making Naruto's puppet look like a sun above the battlefield, casting bright light in all directions.

A powerful destructive force then began to surge out from the puppet.

This was a sign of self-detonation, which would unleash an unthinkably destructive force. After all… this was a false Immortal puppet. The power released by its self-detonation would turn into a petrifyingly powerful attack.

The terrifying aura that appeared immediately caused the minds of everyone on the battlefield to spin. As for the peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Reaches, their faces fell.

"He's going to self-detonate!"

"The self detonation of that puppet will unleash an incredible shockwave that would cause even a false Immortal to perish!"

"Naruto…."

The Dawn Immortal's pupils constricted, and her heart filled with a sense of grave crisis. As she prepared to retreat, she twirled the Resurrection Lily whip into circles, creating a defensive shield.

Naruto's determination left her completely shocked. She knew that this was a false Immortal puppet, something that would put Naruto in a superior position virtually anywhere he went in the lands of Planet Ninshu .

Any powerful group would attach incredible value to a false Immortal puppet. It was a precious treasure that could certainly lead to violent conflicts.

And yet, Naruto was now going to blow the thing up!

The shocked Dawn Immortal had just finished forming her shield when Naruto, utilizing the intense surge of power that came just before the detonation, increased his speed and suddenly appeared directly in front of her. He did nothing to prevent her from unleashing various divine abilities; instead, he stretched out his hands, coughed up blood… and then wrapped his arms around her.

He held tight to the Dawn Immortal, after which the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex suddenly caused her body to momentarily lurch, frozen in place. Under Naruto's control, the puppet shot high up into the sky.

"You're looking to die!" she said coldly, her face flickering. For the first time, she appeared to be truly angry. The illusory Resurrection Lily whipped about, unleashing wild attacks.

Instantly, more cracks spread out across the puppet. Inside, Naruto coughed up blood and trembled. Each of the attacks being slammed against him could have injured someone at the peak of Dao Seeking.

As the puppet continued to disintegrate, innumerable beams of light shot out, and the ground quaked. All of the cultivators looked up in astonishment.

What they saw looked exactly like a sun!

Pill Demon's heart was racing; he knew of Naruto's Eternal recovery abilities, as well as the Blood Demon Grand Magic. However, this was the self-detonation of an Immortal's soul. Pill Demon had no idea whether Naruto could survive such a blast.

Patriarch Song was also incredibly nervous.

Most nervous of all were the four remaining peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches.

They hearts were pounding as they realized that… if the Dawn Immortal was destroyed in the detonation, and Naruto survived… then there would be no way for them to continue fighting this battle. Unless the third wave of the army showed up, they would be forced to either flee or be killed.

Up in the air, the Dawn Immortal was struggling wildly. Naruto's face was twisted ferociously, and a vicious air surrounded him. He had been pestered for years because of the Dawn Immortal, and was completely fed up with her.

"The one that's going to die… is you!" he said through clenched teeth, shooting higher up into the sky.

Self-detonating down below wasn't an option; too many people would be killed, both friend and foe alike. His only option was to self detonate high up in the air, and focus all the power on destroying the Dawn Immortal.

When he reached the apex of his flight, fear appeared on the face of the Dawn Immortal for the first time. By now, she realized that no matter what she did, she could not free herself. A strange light began to gleam in her eyes, and suddenly, countless leaves began to sprout out from her skin. The enormous whip transformed into an huge Resurrection Lily that began to wrap around her.

At this very moment, the light emanating from Naruto's puppet had reached its brightest point. The air was shattered and the sky flashed with colors. An explosive boom and an indescribably powerful destructive force exploded out, sweeping across the entirety of the Southern Domain.

Everything was shaken violently!

The gigantic flower which surrounded the Dawn Immortal was ripped into pieces, destroyed like a dried weed, exposing from within a face filled with complete terror!

In the next instant, the Dawn Immortal's figure was enveloped by the wave of destructive power.

Inside the puppet, Naruto's flesh was slashed into pieces, and he began to burn. Some of his skin even began to melt. At that moment, when he was just about to be enveloped… the Lightning Cauldron appeared in his hand. Coldness gleamed in his eyes. He might be in a deadly and critical situation, wracked with intense pain, but he was not flustered in the slightest.

His eyes shifted… to look down toward the battlefield… at one of the peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Domain. It was a middle-aged Patriarch with a long violet robe, surrounding by a swirling, illusory flood dragon.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Jake Ridgeway_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 779

Chapter 779 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 779: The Northern Reaches Routed!

Heaven and Earth trembled, and the thunder-like, rumbling sound of the explosion echoed out through the entire Southern Domain. The selfdetonation of the false Immortal puppet didn't just shake the Southern Domain. Ripples of air turbulence spread throughout the Northern Reaches, and the clouds above the Eastern Lands churned.

Simultaneously, as the destructive power washed over Naruto, his body flashed with lightning.

Form Displacement Transposition!

His body vanished, and when he reappeared, he was in the spot just occupied by the middle-aged man with the violet robe and flood dragons. The peak Dao Seeking expert from the Northern Reaches reappeared where Naruto had been. He did not even have enough time to let out a miserable shriek before the power of destruction overwhelmed him.

Massive rumbling sounds filled everyone's ears; it almost seemed as if the sky would collapse and fall.

The peak Dao Seeking expert was instantly killed and the Dawn Immortal was enveloped by the destructive force. Even any sound or sign of her was incapable of escaping.

However, the two halves of the Resurrection Lily bridge that stretched out across the Milky Way Sea trembled, as if they were being wracked with intense pain. Rumbling sounds could be heard as parts of the bridge collapsed, the tentacles transformed into nothing more than ash.

A screeching cry sounded out from the Resurrection Lily, so powerful that it caused the ground to split and the sky to shake!

"NARUTO!"

Back in the Southern Domain, Naruto appeared next to Patriarch Song on the battlefield, and his body was a bloody mess.

The only part that remained intact was the hand that held the lightning cauldron. The rest of his body was in tatters. His skin was flayed off and his blood dried up. His vital organs were visible inside, and half of his head was destroyed. Upon cursory glance, it seemed that he would be incapable of anything but dying.

His Eternal stratum was virtually exhausted, and still in the process of repairing itself. As such, it was incapable of restoring Naruto's body. These were wounds that even the most miraculous medicinal pills would be incapable of healing!

Immense amounts of destructive force had battered Naruto. The fact that he didn't die in the blast was actually pure luck. Were it not for the Heaven-defying Lightning Cauldron, Naruto would most assuredly have been destroyed!

Even still, when he reappeared, the remaining three peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches gasped and unconsciously fell back. They didn't dare to try to take the chance to make a move.

Naruto's initial savagery and ruthlessness, his fearsome act of selfdetonation, the slaughtering of the Dawn Immortal's clone, the casual slaying of the peak Dao Seeking expert… all of these things ensured that his fearsome name struck terror into the hearts of anyone and everyone.

A buzz of conversation rose up from the more than 100,000 cultivators from the Northern Reaches.

"He's still not dead!"

"Look at how mangled his body is, and yet, he's still alive!"

Pill Demon rushed over with medicinal pills, while Patriarch Song and Patriarch Golden Frost immediately sped to Naruto's side to stand guard.

"Hao'er!" said Pill Demon, with great urgency.

As for Naruto's second true self, he sagged listlessly and darkened. After all, if Naruto died… then he would most certainly also die.

Naruto couldn't speak. His eyes were blank and his expression looked confused. An aura of death swirled around him, as if he might pass away completely at any moment. He only had one tiny scrap of consciousness remaining. He looked down toward the ground at the astonished Northern Reaches cultivators.

Then, the Lightning Cauldron flickered, and he vanished. When he reappeared, he had switched places with one of the Northern Reaches cultivators. Then, his hand exploded. The only intact portion of his body that remained was half of his head!

Even the last remaining part of his head exploded into a bloody mist as it fell on the ground. The mist didn't vanish, though. It suddenly bored into the body of a nearby Northern Reaches cultivator, entering through his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. The Northern Reaches cultivator let out a bloodcurdling scream. His body began to writhe, and blue veins popped out on his forehead. His expression was one of astonishment and horror.

"NO! Help me—" In the middle of his sentence, his words were cut short.

He began to wither as his qi, blood, cultivation base and soul were all sucked away.

As he died, vast quantities of red mist emerged from inside of him, which then split into two streams that then spread out once more.

Miserable screams rang out; quickly a shocking change occurred on the battlefield!

Rumbling sounds filled the air as one Northern Reaches cultivator after another withered up and died. The blood mist then split from two parts into four, then eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two, then sixty-four…. In the end, hundreds of streams of blood mist spread out, boring into hundreds of bodies, sucking away their qi, blood, cultivation base, and soul. Then, the mist spread out again.

All it took was the blink of an eye for thousands of streams of red mist to be visible. It was evil, Devilish, and seemed to be sentient as it spread out, avoiding all Southern Domain cultivators and seeking only Northern Reaches cultivators to destroy.

Up in mid-air were the three peak Dao Seeking Patriarchs from the Northern Reaches. There were the two identical old men who wore black and white clothing and looked like hopping vampires. The other bore the semblance of a young man, around whom swirled mysterious magical symbols. From the look of it, each one of those magical symbols contained some type of weapon, just ready to be unleashed.

All three of them looked at what was happening with complete shock. After exchanging glances, they didn't hesitate any longer. Employing all the speed they could muster, they fled off into the distance.

How could they possibly dare to continue the fight?!

The Dawn Immortal was dead. Of the seven peak Dao Seeking experts, four were gone, three of them slain by Naruto. Furthermore, it seemed apparent that Naruto… still wasn't dead!

There was no way they could possibly dare to stay behind. Besides, Pill Demon was now at the peak of Dao Seeking, as were Patriarch Golden Frost and Patriarch Song. Those three alone were enough to cause problems, and that was not to mention Naruto's second true self. He might seem weak, but if Naruto recovered, he would be yet another powerful enemy!

There was simply no way to continue to fight.

The death of the Dawn Immortal's clone had sealed the fate of the Northern Reaches' second army.

The remaining three peak Dao Seeking experts fled, shivering in fear. Their only hope was to rendezvous with the third wave army. Only then would they possibly dare to reappear and face Naruto.

It wasn't that it didn't occur to them to seize this opportunity to try to kill Naruto once and for all…. Rather, the risk was too great. Fleeing was the safest option.

The three fleeing Dao Seeking experts completely ignored the remaining

100,000 or more Northern Reaches cultivators down below. As for Patriarch Song and the others, they hesitated for a moment as they considered whether or not to pursue them. In the end, they decided that Naruto was more important.

Even if they did catch up with them, it wouldn't be easy to secure a win in a short period of time.

Pill Demon and the others exchanged glances.

"Don't interfere with him," said Pill Demon. "Let's start setting up spell formations to seal this place off and protect him!

"That's the correct course of action. He's using the Blood Demon Grand Magic to recover! Let's go!" Immediately, they split up and began to seal down the area.

Down below, the blood mist raged. It was now split into more than ten thousand streams, which completely obfuscated the sky and land. Vast quantities of Northern Reaches cultivators were being consumed. No Blood Demon Grand Magic vortexes could be seen; the blood mist bored directly into the cultivators. They were incapable of fleeing, and their bodies were withered rapidly. Their fate was sealed; their Chakra and blood, their cultivation bases and their souls all became living sacrifices!

Miserable shrieks filled the battlefield, along with cries of pain. The Southern Domain cultivators were completely shocked and surprised by what they were witnessing.

What they saw was countless withered corpses with wide eyes and lifeless faces filled with what seemed to be the utmost pain.

The blood mist grew larger and larger. Soon there were tens of thousands of streams, which were now forming a nucleus in the place where Naruto had initially exploded. As for the mist itself, it seemed to stretch out from that central nucleus.

Soon, a tempest of bloody mist seethed around that nucleus, rapidly transforming it into something that looked like a cocoon. Then, something that resembled a shocking heartbeat could suddenly be heard.

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump!

Thump-thump!

Every heartbeat caused the land to tremble, and the sky to darken. It was as if the entire world were being covered by infinite ferocity. Boundless red mist seemed to be stretching out from the cocoon. There were now more than 50,000 streams sweeping about, making impossible for the Northern Reaches cultivators to flee.

"NOOO!"

"Damn you, Southern Domain cultivators! You're too ruthless!"

"Kill them! Kill some of these Southern Domain bastards while there's still the chance!"

The Northern Reaches cultivators who had invaded the Southern Domain seethed with hatred and let out enraged shouts.

Meanwhile, far out among the stars outside of Planet Ninshu, there was a mighty river that no cultivator would be able to see, speeding along.

At first glance, the river seemed to be frothy and muddy, but upon closer inspection it grew more clear. This river was called the River of Forgetfulness, and its source was the Fourth Mountain 1. It swept through the great Nine Mountains and Seas, controlling the cycle of reincarnation, and the path to the underworld.

Any living being which died in the Nine Mountains and Seas, assuming their soul did not disperse, would enter into this great river, and then be carried to the Fourth Mountain, after which they would begin their cycle anew.

There appeared to be endless souls within the great river, most of whom looked around wide-eyed, moaning and screaming. Many struggled to escape the river water, including powerful beasts and mighty cultivators.

Of the numerous fierce beasts in the river, one was a pangolin who was covered with long spikes. It was fully three thousand meters long, and was currently roaring in rage. 2

It was half submerged in the river water and struggling mightily. Once it was completely submerged, it would lose its mental faculties. As it struggled desperately, the beast let out a mighty roar.

"I'm an Immortal from the Mountain Deity Tribe! My grandfather is the Dao Lord of the Wind People of the Seventh Mountain! How dare you try to drag me into the cycle of reincarnation!"

As the beast roared, it began to rise up. It was just on the verge of leaving the water, when suddenly, the river began to seethe. A spray of water burst into the air, which expanded out to form a sea. A rumbling sound could be heard as the beast was submerged. A miserable shriek rang out through the void as the gigantic creature was smashed, transforming into countless discarnate souls that merged into the river water.

The scene caused all the surrounding beast souls to tremble with fear and astonishment, even terror.

Off in the distance, an old man sat upright, floating above the surface of the water, surrounded by the melodious music of a great Dao. Every bit of his soul radiated Immortality, and his body shone with radiant light that spread out in all directions over the vast river. He seemed like a preeminent Immortal, towering over the River of Forgetfulness. He ignored the water, which seemed incapable of fazing him in the least.

"I am an almighty Dao Lord of the Sixth Mountain. My longevity might have ended, but in the past, the longevity of Dao Lords in the Nine Mountains and Seas was unlimited! Now… under what authority are you dragging me into the cycle of reincarnation, Fourth Mountain?!" The old man suddenly looked up, and his eyes seemed like two suns. Any souls that he looked at immediately began to scream and dissipate.

Chapter 779: The Northern Reaches Routed!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Jake Ridgeway, Jose Acosta Comas, and Michael Gibson_

I think I mentioned in a footnote before that in Chinese, the number 4 is pronounced almost the same as the word for "death," and they are usually associated with each other ↩ In Chinese, pangolins have a pretty cool name. The characters literally mean "pierce mountain armor" ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 780

Chapter 780 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 780: Slaughtering an Underworld Judge

The old man slapped his hand down onto the surface of the water and then began to fly upward. His hand flashed in an incantation gesture, and then a rift tore open in the starry sky, which he prepared to enter.

However, it was at this point that a black fish suddenly splashed out of the water. It had sharp teeth and looked incredibly ferocious. As soon as it appeared, black rays of light began to shine out from it, making it look like a black sun. It only took a moment for it to appear in front of the old man.

An indescribable pressure exploded off of it.

"You're… an underworld fish!" said the old man, his face paling. "There's an Underworld Judge of the Fourth Mountain who is an underworld fish. You're his clone!" Just when the old man prepared to fight back, the underworld fish flickered and then stabbed into the old man's forehead. The old man shook, and then his body began to dissipate.

Even as he began to fade away, the old man's eyes suddenly flickered with a glow of determination.

"I might be dying, but you Underworld people must be dreaming if you think I'll go down without a fight! My Dao manifested the music of a great Dao. Dead souls of the river, if you have any reluctance at all to part with the living world, then awaken! Listen to the call beckoning you to stay in the world of men! Break free, return, and exist as undead!" With that, he lifted his head back and laughed loudly. His body collapsed, but the sound of his voice rolled out through the River of Forgetfulness, which stretched out further than the eye could see.

The old man died, but the music of his great Dao echoed out over the discarnate souls within the River of Forgetfulness. They trembled, and were then unable to control themselves as they flew up into the air. They transformed into a tempest of souls which shot madly toward the rift out in the void.

"Let's go home!"

"Flee this place and return home!"

Rumbling could be heard as the countless souls whistled through the air. On the surface of the river water lay a woman surrounded by a bloodcolored light. She also flew up into the air to join the other souls in the tempest.

The underworld fish next to the rift looked coldly at the souls.

"You people are already dead!" the underworld fish said coolly. "If you want your souls dispersed as well, then as an Underworld Judge, I can accommodate!

"All souls in the River of Forgetfulness… will have no trial! Your sentence is to be refused entry into the cycle of reincarnation! Your souls will be exterminated immediately and melted into the River of Forgetfulness, where they shall remain for all eternity!" A black glow emanated out from the fish, transforming into a Dharmic decree that spread out in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the entire area was covered with a black glow.

Any soul who touched it screamed and then faded away, having been instantly eradicated!

"I don't want to die!"

"Ahhhh, soul dispersion! I refuse to submit!"

"My life was ended, and now I get no second life?! I can't accept this!"

It took only a moment for all the souls above the river to fade away, with the exception of the woman's soul. The black light was blocked by the red glow that surrounded her.

The black underworld fish looked over with glinting eyes that suddenly went wide.

The woman was none other than Hinata's soul!

"So you already have a Dharmic decree attached to you, directing you into reincarnation?" The fish hesitated for a moment. Generally speaking, souls with Dharmic decrees had incredible backstories. The fish couldn't help but look more closely at Hinata.

After further examination, a look of surprise gleamed in the fish's eyes.

"This woman has a Dao root? And it just sprouted? I've never heard of something like this before! I've been looking for a new slave girl. This one will do just fine!" Suddenly, black light appeared in front of the fish which then transformed into a huge hand covered with fish scales. It reached out toward Hinata to grab her.

However, as soon as it made contact with the red glow, shocking ripples flowed out. The hand trembled, then shattered into pieces, leaving the underworld fish astonished. It only took a moment for a bright glow to appear in its eyes.

"Interesting. This woman with the Dharmic decree must be some shocking, almighty figure. Now that she's died, she's weak and exhausted. If I can suppress her here in the River of Forgetfulness, then there won't be any chance of her coming back to look for me later!" The underworld fish's body flickered, and the River of Forgetfulness began to crash with enormous waves. The waves surged, merging together, hundreds of thousands of them. The red glow fought back against the waves, but was eventually incapable of resisting the mysterious power of the River of Forgetfulness. After some time passed, the glow began to fade.

When it completely dissipated, the underworld fish laughed loudly and then summoned the black hand to once more reach out and grab at Hinata.

"I'll bless you with some good fortune! Wipe your memories and sever your path to mortality. You won't be going into the cycle of reincarnation, from now on, you're going to be the slave girl of an Underworld Judge!"

Just when the black hand was about to grab onto Hinata, a strand of divine sense suddenly flew up into the air and began to emanate an astonishing power. The strand slashed down, slicing the black hand in two!

A miserable scream could be heard from the underworld fish. With an expression of complete astonishment and terror, it shot backward in retreat.

At the same time, a cold voice echoed out through the River of Forgetfulness.

"How dare you touch the daughter-in-law of the one surnamed Fang!" The voice seemed enraged, and the entire River of Forgetfulness shook. The underworld fish couldn't look more shocked.

"You…. Fang…. You're…." It began to tremble with such fear that its soul nearly dissipated. Before it could finish speaking, the strand slashed out into the starry sky, severing all natural law. The strand continued to slash down toward the underworld fish. It screamed as its body was sliced into two halves. The strand then appeared to be preparing to finish the job and completely destroy it.

"Your excellency, please spare my life!" cried the underworld fish. It was completely terrified, and filled with a sense of deadly crisis.

Unfortunately, it was incapable of fleeing, and had no other option than to beg for mercy.

It was at this point that another voice, ancient and archaic, echoed out from within the River of Forgetfulness.

"Elder Brother Fang, calm your anger. Considering my position as king, can't you give me some face…."

In conjunction with the voice, an enormous face appeared within the River of Forgetfulness. It had a third eye on its forehead, and as soon as it appeared, all the stars in the sky trembled.

"No, I can't," was the cold response. A bloodcurdling scream rang out from the mouth of the underworld fish. Its body was destroyed, completely and thoroughly. Then, a will of extermination appeared that quickly found the true self that the clone originated from, and destroyed it as well.

Nothing could prevent this from happening!

The starry sky was now tranquil and quiet.

"Elder Brother Fang, we haven't seen each other for years, but you still have the same temper…. You know, you might just be a stream of divine sense come from the lands of Planet Ninshu , but that's still a violation of the agreement.

"The 100,000 year period has just begun. You and your beloved are not permitted to leave Planet Ninshu !"

"During the 100,000 years, I can send out one stream of divine sense," replied the cold voice. "That was also written in the agreement."

Down below, the eyes of the enormous face in the River of Forgetfulness flickered. "True, true. Although, you may only do that one time, ostensibly to provide a Dao Protector for your son. I never imagined you would use the divine sense on this girl."

"The son ofNamikaze is a dragon of Heaven and Earth! He doesn't need me to act as Dao Protector!"

"Oh? You're not afraid that someone might kill him?!" the face replied coldly.

"If someone kills my son, I will kill his everything!" responded the voice, cold and calm. "I will destroy his entire family, and their chance at reincarnation!" The words were spoken with a monstrous, domineering air. Intense, icy coldness spread out, and as for the face on the river, it trembled inwardly.

"Even after all these years, he definitely deserves to be called the number one Chosen of theNamikaze Clan," thought the face. "For the sake of his crippled son, he was stationed on Planet Ninshu for 100,000 years… unable to leave. Planet Ninshu is old and dull, and his cultivation base cannot advance. It won't take 100,000 years for plenty of other people to pass him up."

At this point, the cold voice continued: "This is my daughter-in-law. My strand of divine sense will stay with her to protect her and ensure that she is peacefully reincarnated. During her time in the underworld, no one is allowed to interfere with her in any way." With that, the strand of divine sense slowly floated down to circle around Hinata's arm, then faded into her.

The face on the river water said nothing. After a moment passed, it slowly sank back down into the water. This stretch of the vast River of Forgetfulness now had no souls in it other than Hinata's. Gradually, she drifted off into the distance.

Back in the Southern Domain, on the battlefield, the Southern Domain cultivators milled about, not attacking, but merely surrounding the Northern Reaches cultivators. They had long since grown accustomed to the reek of blood. They looked on coldly as the Northern Reaches cultivators let out their final screams.

Everything was sealed. The Northern Reaches cultivators couldn't flee. By now, there were less than 30,000 left, each and every one of whom… was withering away into a corpse.

The corpse-littered battlefield was huge, but now it was possible to see that in the very center, there was a giant blood-colored cocoon, within which sat a cross-legged figure. It was impossible to see the figure clearly, only its outline, but when the Southern Domain cultivators looked at it, their eyes filled with reverence and fanaticism.

A magic had been used that merged the qi, blood and cultivation bases of more than a hundred thousand people, to mold a new body. Such magic was matchlessly sinister and vicious. And yet, the magical technique itself was neither evil nor good. The nature of good and evil is often decided by the masses, and the heart.

To the Northern Reaches cultivators, the blood mist was evil to the extreme and indescribably cruel. They hated it to their bones. However, to the Southern Domain cultivators, it was exactly the opposite.

The living sacrifice of the Northern Reaches cultivators allowed their esteemed Naruto to mold a new body. It was something that left them incredibly moved on an emotional level.

It was impossible to say who it was that spoke first, but soon, all of the more than 100,000 surviving Southern Domain cultivators spontaneously began to cry out. Their voices grew louder and louder, until everyone was shouting out one name.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

They were calling out to Naruto, calling out for him to awaken!

The sound rumbled out over the remaining 20,000 or so Northern

Reaches cultivators. They were enveloped by red mist, and their miserable screams were a sharp contrast to the calls of the Southern Domain cultivators. Two very different sounds could be heard on the battlefield.

The Northern Reaches cultivators only lasted for the space of a few breaths before they were completely withered up. 20,000 corpses toppled over, and the thick red mist surged back into the enormous, blood-colored cocoon. Then, the heartbeat coming from within the Blood Cocoon… grew louder!

Thump-thump! Thump-thump! Thump-thump!

Not only did the heartbeat grow more intense, the image of the person inside began to grow clearer!

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

100,000 Southern Domain cultivators were shouting at the top of their lungs, and the sound of it caused everything to shake, and even penetrated into the Blood Cocoon itself!

Within the Blood Cocoon, the figure's eyes… suddenly opened!

"Who… calls me…?"

Chapter 780: Slaughtering an Underworld Judge

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Armin Hüneburg, Joseph Ryan_

 _Honeymoon, Alessio Bastardi, Tony Krøger, Nico Zeese, and Ng Shan_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 781

Chapter 781: Naruto Awakens!

Within the Blood Cocoon sat a cross-legged figure with pale white hair. His body had no skin on it, making it possible to see the various blood vessels and other meridians. Overall, he looked completely horrifying.

His eyes were listless, and a monstrous Devilish aura emanated off of him, making him seem like a Blood Devil!

This was Naruto!

He had absorbed the qi, blood and cultivation bases of more than 100,000 cultivators, as well as their souls.

However, he had been destroyed by the explosion of the false Immortal puppet, washed over by the force of eradication. Therefore, even what he had already absorbed was not enough to completely restore his body.

The cultivators in the outside world called his name, and the sound continued to grow louder. It entered into the Blood Cocoon and echoed in Naruto's ears, muffled and distorted as if time were passing slowly, stretching out the sounds.

Gradually, Naruto's eyes were no longer blank, but rather, bright and clear.

"I… am Naruto…." he murmured. A tremor ran through him, and his mind seemed to fill with rumbling as his memories flooded back.

There were memories of his early childhood, and then that night when he was seven years old. His parents went missing, and he ran out into the fog to look for them. Then there was the Reliance Sect, the Violet Fate Sect, the Western Desert, the Demon Immortal Sect, the Milky Way Sea, and finally the war of the Southern Domain.

He remembered everything. He remembered his and Hinata's wedding. He saw her soul enter the River of Forgetfulness. All of it caused him to tremble. Then he looked down at the back of his right hand and saw that same mark that had appeared before, flickering and glittering.

This time when he looked down at the symbol, there was more…. There were unfamiliar memories, broken fragments that he couldn't quite piece together.

Within those fragments were memories from before when he was seven. However, the setting was unfamiliar. It was not the State of Zhao, but some other place. It was some location where there seemed to be seven moons, one of which was bright, six of which were dark.

Underneath that unique sky, he was being carried in the arms of a woman. Off to the side was a young man who was smiling at him. Further off to the side was a tall old man, who was laughing kindly.

The man and the woman were not unfamiliar to him. They looked exactly like the father and mother that he remembered from when he was young.

As for the sky and the land, it was a world Naruto didn't recognize.

What he did know was… it was not Planet Ninshu .

"That curse targeting one of the lands of Planet Ninshu didn't affect me at all…. Is it possible that I actually wasn't born here?" Before, Naruto didn't have the time to consider the question. Now, here in this Blood Cocoon, his mind stirred with scattered fragments of memories.

After some time passed, the mark on Naruto's hand faded. He looked up, and heard the voices calling to him from the outside. Slowly, he rose to his feet. The Blood Cocoon exploded, transforming into a shocking, blood-colored whirlwind.

Naruto stepped out from within the whirlwind, into the view of the Southern Domain cultivators. What they saw was a Naruto with white hair and ferocious features. His body had no skin, making him even more terrifying. However, they continued to call his name.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

Pill Demon, Patriarch Song, and Patriarch Golden Frost sped over to appear at Naruto's side. Naruto's second true self was also recovered, and appeared off in the distance.

"Hao'er…." said Pill Demon. Seeing Naruto's current condition pained him in his heart.

Naruto clasped hands in greeting, then softly said, "Master, I'm fine…. These are merely the excesses of the sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic."

"The sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!" Patriarch Song exclaimed with a gasp.

This truly was the sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic. As soon as Naruto's body fell apart, the sixth level automatically activated. It seemed that in order to truly enter the sixth level, it required all the blood in the body to dissipate.

"As of now, you…." Pill Demon trailed off and didn't finish his sentence.

"Master," said Naruto, his eyes flickering with red light, "are there still cultivators from the Northern Reaches' second wave army left in the

Southern Domain?"

"Yes!" he replied. "There were a total of six fronts. The third and fourth overlapped here, but there are still four others scattered in the four cardinal directions. There are still roughly 100,000 Northern Reaches cultivators out there." A flicker of worry could be seen in Pill Demon's eyes. He knew what state Naruto was in. He was bedeviled, and would carry out slaughter like a Devil.

"Master, I've found my path to the Third Severing," said Naruto. He looked at Pill Demon, then clasped hands and bowed respectfully.

Pill Demon looked at him seriously for a moment, and then suddenly laughed out loud. Relieved, he waved his hand, sending a jade slip flying out that detailed the locations of the four Northern Reaches armies.

Naruto caught the jade slip, then turned to clasp hands toward Patriarch Song and Patriarch Golden Frost. Finally he looked out at all the Southern Domain cultivators, clasped hands and bowed. With that, he flew up into the air. His second true self rippled and vanished, becoming his shadow as he shot off into the distance.

After Naruto left, Pill Demon produced a pill furnace and then unleashed a vast quantity of medicinal pills for the Southern Domain cultivators to use to recover. Then he, Patriarch Golden Frost and Patriarch Song started to set up spell formations.

They knew that the war wasn't over. The Northern Reaches' third wave, which was the strongest of all, was currently en route. It wouldn't be long before it arrived, and then the true battle for victory or defeat would begin.

In the end… the Southern Domain's chances of winning were small. But they would fight nonetheless!

It would be better to die in battle than let the Southern Domain be overrun.

Meanwhile, Naruto shot through midair in a beam of blood-colored light. He sped forward, jade slip in hand, heading toward the second front, which wasn't very far off.

"The Blood Demon Grand Magic has three strata. With the first stratum, I can battle early Dao Seeking. With the second, I can battle mid Dao Seeking. With the third stratum complete, and my current cultivation base, I can definitely shake the peak of Dao Seeking!

"If I can perform my Third Severing and step into Dao Seeking, then… I would be considered invincible within the Dao Seeking stage!" Naruto's expression was placid, but his heart was thumping.

"Regarding my Third Severing… I already have the basics lined up." He looked down toward the ground and saw a shadow that others would not be able to perceive, which was his second true self.

As he proceeded onward at top speed, he was soon able to hear the sounds of battle. Though It was not the shocking sound of hundreds of thousands of cultivators fighting, it still caused everything in the area to shake.

There were tens of thousands of people on the battlefield, locked in combat.

One side was in a state of constant retreat, and the other side was pushing them relentlessly. The ground was stained with blood and littered with corpses.

20,000 Northern Reaches cultivators were currently fighting 10,000 Southern Domain cultivators. Most of the group of Southern Domain cultivators was made up of Violet Fate Sect disciples. Among their forces were Chosen of the Violet Fate Sect who had not completely grown into their prime, and as such, were unable to take the lead. Currently, the cultivators taking the lead were three aged Spirit Severing cultivators.

On the Northern Reaches' side, there were four Spirit Severing cultivators.

Booms filled the air as the Southern Domain army was forced into constant retreat. Their three Spirit Severing cultivators were seriously injured. Their army had suffered severe casualties. Sakura was there fighting, her face pale, blood oozing out of her mouth.

There were many familiar faces, some who had already fallen, some who were still holding firm.

Naruto shot down from the sky like a bloody shooting star that stained the sky red. As soon as he appeared, the tens of thousands of bitterly fighting combatants were shocked to the core.

This was especially true of the Southern Domain's Spirit Severing cultivators, whose pupils constricted. They were unable to tell whether or not this person was a friend or an enemy!

That was not the case with Sakura. She dodged a fatal strike, coughed up some blood, and then looked up at the figure in the beam of light. Her heart trembled.

He had white hair, and no skin. He was fearsome and terrifying to the extreme. And yet, she could still tell… that it was Naruto.

"What's… happened to you…?" she thought, her heart aching. She had her pride, but even with that pride, when she saw Naruto like this, pain filled her heart.

BOOM!

Naruto slammed into the middle of the Northern Reaches forces like a meteor. Massive fissures spread out across the land, and numerous Northern Reaches cultivators coughed up blood and then directly exploded.

The four Spirit Severing cultivators from the Northern Reaches were in shock. They gritted their teeth and attacked, but before they could even get close to Naruto, he waved his hand out in front of him, causing a vast red mist to spread out.

The four Spirit Severing cultivators had just begun their charge when the mist bored into them. They began to scream; shocking, earth-shaking screams. They were powerful Spirit Severing experts, but it only took the blink of an eye for them to begin to wither up. Qi, blood, cultivation bases, souls; all were extracted. As the mist spread out, anyone caught in it became a desiccated corpse that toppled to the ground.

The sight of it shocked all of the Northern Reaches cultivators. More miserable shrieks rang out as the red mist continued to spread.

Moments ago, the Northern Reaches cultivators' faces had been covered with malevolent, murderous expressions. Now, they were trembling in terror. Their bodies withered up, their cultivation bases vanished, their souls were wrenched out.

Soon, the entire battlefield was filled with the sounds of screaming. The Violet Fate Sect disciples backed up, their faces ashen. The scene which was playing out in front of them left them stunned, with looks of horror on their faces.

"Who is that!?"

"His entire body is the color of blood! He has no skin! His magic is

Demonic!"

"How come… that looks a lot like Naruto's Blood Demon Grand

Magic…?"

Sakura looked at Naruto in the middle of the Northern Reaches cultivators, and it felt like she was looking at a Blood Devil. Her heart ached as she realized that Naruto also had an air of sorrow to him.

Rumbling filled the air. The 20,000 Northern Reaches cultivators around Naruto screamed miserably as, one by one, they became desiccated corpses. Eventually, the red mist returned to Naruto. Cracking sounds could be heard from inside of him.

His previously skinless body now had some skin on it. His Chakra and blood were more vigorous, and up above in the sky, thunder rumbled.

"Naruto! It's… Naruto!"

"It really is Naruto! I couldn't tell before, but now that there's some skin on him, you can tell… it's Naruto!"

"How come he looks so different!?"

The Violet Fate Sect disciples were shocked. However, even as their voices rose, Naruto leaped up into the air. He looked down at the crowds, and his gaze lingered for a moment on Sakura. As he turned to leave, his voice rang out.

"Go meet up with the others at the Blood Demon Sect!"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 782

Chapter 782: Three Swords Sweep Across the Eastern Lands!

In the same moment that Naruto left the second front in the Southern Domain, a man and a woman stood in a monolithic Tower of Tang in the Eastern Lands, just as they had been standing there the entire time.

Looking toward the Southern Domain.

"Soon…. He's going to break through soon!" the man said softly. "Once he does, once he reaches Dao Seeking, we can go to him. We can tell him the truth about everything!

"Before he reaches Dao Seeking, we cannot interfere with his Karma. We have to be extremely careful even with things tangentially related to him.

"If any accidents happen, this lifetime will have been a failure…. I… I don't want to see him go through any more suffering." As he spoke, a love shone in his eyes that seemed capable of melting even the coldest ice.

The woman standing next to him had tears in her eyes as she stared off toward the Southern Domain. She could see Naruto, and his current skinless visage caused her heart to quiver.

"But… he's just a child," she said, and the tears began to flow down her cheeks.

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, her expression suddenly changed. Shocking, murderous intent flickered in her eyes as she turned her head to look in a different direction. Toward… the Hebi Clan!

At this very moment, the clouds there were seething as an enormous vortex appeared above the clan, a vortex that anyone under Dao Seeking would be incapable of seeing.

It was something only visible to Dao Seeking and higher.

Within the vortex, a gigantic altar appeared. It was none other than… the Immortality Bestowal Dais!

Behind the Immortality Bestowal Dais, up in the sky above the Eastern

Lands, a huge face appeared. Its eyes were closed as if it were sleeping. However, as soon as it appeared, an indescribable pressure emanated out that weighed down on all living creatures in the Eastern Lands.

"The false Immortal puppet'er used was infected with Hebi Clan Karma," said the woman. "He already had Hebi Clan Karma on him to begin with, now… they're going to make a move!" The killing intent in her eyes grew even more intense.

At this point, rumbling sounds could be heard from within the

Immortality Bestowal Dais; clearly, it was just on the verge of performing a teleportation.

"Remove my seal," the woman said urgently. "They're going after

Hao'er, and I'm going to stop them!" The man didn't say anything. However, his hand released the column it had been gripping and clenched into a fist.

"There's no need," he said calmly. "I'll handle it myself." The woman looked over in shock. As far as she could remember, her husband always opposed her when she tried to interfere in matters. They had quarreled about such things many times.

But now, HE was going to do something!

"You…."

"Hao'er is at a critical juncture, and can't be disturbed. If WE can't interfere, then… neither can the Hebi Clan!" A cold gleam appeared in his eyes as he stretched his hand out and pointed up into the sky.

Instantly, the entire Eastern Lands started to tremble. The face in the sky distorted as a gargantuan finger appeared up above, which then poked viciously down toward the Immortality Bestowal Dais.

As the rumbling filled the air, roars of rage could be heard from within the Hebi Clan. Three figures appeared, which shot up toward the Immortality Bestowal Dais, and the descending finger.

The song of a great Dao rose up from the Immortality Bestowal Dais, and from the ancestral lands of the Hebi Clan. The sky trembled, and the eyes of the enormous face opened a sliver.

Instantly, the enormous finger began to shudder, seemingly incapable of withstanding the force.

Then, the man in the Tower of Tang snorted coldly.

The Eastern Lands consisted of 216 states. The Northern Reaches had 113. The Southern Domain, 219. The Western Desert had none, and was also the only region that had no Towers of Tang.

In the lands of Planet Ninshu , there were a total of 548 Towers of Tang!

Currently, roughly a third of those Towers of Tang began to emit bright light. Brilliant beams shot up into the air, which sped toward the Tower of Tang in the Eastern Lands, where they formed into the shape of a sword.

It seemed to be a simple, ordinary iron sword. There was nothing resplendent about it whatsoever. However, as soon as it appeared, wild colors flashed throughout the sky, and Planet Ninshu… quaked.

Immediately, the sword slashed out with such speed that it was impossible to even see. It cut through the Immortality Bestowal Dais, rending a huge gash and causing the altar to fall down toward the ground.

"This dais wanted to seal my son. It shall remain fallen for 10,000 years!"

Then the sword slashed a second time, toward the three incoming figures from the Hebi Clan. They could do absolutely nothing to block it, and disappeared in a haze of blood. The sword continued to slash downward into the Hebi Clan ancestral mansion. A massive gorge was hewn out through multiple layers of the mansion as the sword headed toward the same location where the man's wife had been stopped the last time she had gone to that place. Sitting at the top of a tall staircase was a young man. 1

The young man's face flickered, and he immediately roared and counterattacked with all the power he could muster. A boom rattled out, and blood sprayed from his mouth as both of his arms were severed! They flew up into the air and spontaneously combusted, gone for all eternity.

"Your clan wishes to infect my son's Karma!? You're nothing but a puny peak Immortal Realm so-called Dao Lord who hasn't even opened the great door to the Ancient Realm, and yet you dared to chide my wife?

I'm severing your arms! Furthermore, you'll never reach the Ancient

Realm in this lifetime!" 2

The sword slashed a third time, toward the face up in the sky. Massive amounts of sword Chakra billowed out, and a huge rift was opened up in the sky. The face vanished.

"If your honored clan chief were here, I would obviously be no match for him. But the trifling strand of divine will that has become the Heavens of Planet Ninshu … is not enough to keep me under its thumb!

"You listen to me, Hebi Clan. I, Fang, have a family with four people in it. We've only been in the lands of Planet Ninshu for a few hundred years, and have done nothing to interfere with your operations here. But starting today… I will fully assume my status as the Prison Warden of the Ninth Mountain. Henceforth, the Hebi Clan will keep itself in line! If you harbor even the slightest ill intentions… well, let me remind you that you're nothing more than an offshoot of the Hebi Clan. Besides, even if you were the main branch, I've lost count of how many people I've killed from there!"

The Hebi Clan instantly fell silent.

It was at this point that the woman's proud voice could be heard from within the Tower of Tang.

"Listen up, you people. When my'er returns, you little twerps who owe him spirit stones had better pay them back or else!"

Her way of handling things was somewhat reminiscent of Naruto….

Everyone in the Hebi Clan was trembling. The Chosen, the Array disciples, even Hebi Xiaoxiao, all felt their scalps go numb. At first, they weren't sure who these voices were talking about, but once they heard mention of the debts of spirit stones, all of the Chosen who had been to the Demon Immortal Sect shivered and recalled the same person, that oftremembered bastard who had conned them out of who knew how much, and had left them gnashing their teeth.

Deep in the Hebi Clan, the young man who had lost his arms sat silently on an altar. A complex expression filled his face, and after a long moment, he sighed.

"He sealed himself here for 100,000 years, and is unable to leave Planet Ninshu . He even became the Ninth Mountain Prison Warden. All to give his son a slim chance at life…. And it turns out that little kid down there is his son!"

The iron sword vanished, and the Towers of Tang in the lands of Planet Ninshu went dark. Everything that had just happened was something that mortals wouldn't be able to see. Even most cultivators would not have been able to see anything.

As everything faded away, the woman turned to stare at her husband, and a strange light gleamed in her eyes.

The man's face was calm, his voice cool as he said, "Surprised? You interfered a few times already, which was quite dangerous. I lectured you before, but actually, I interfered once too. I prevented some punk child from trying to mess with Hinata's soul."

The woman suddenly smiled. "Afraid Naruto would resent you if you didn't?"

"When Hinata left the lands of Planet Ninshu and entered the River of Forgetfulness, I was then truly free to act," he continued. "She is his beloved, which makes her our daughter-in-law. That strand of divine sense will protect her in her reincarnation, all the way until we meet her in person.

"As for'er…. I have faith that he is a dragon among men. He's not some spoiled brat that needs to cower under the protection of his father and mother.

"We must stay here on Planet Ninshu for 100,000 years. That was the agreement. An oath. We can't leave, yet neither can we force him to stay with us here for those 100,000 years. His path lies much further off in the distance. In this lifetime, he relied only on himself to get as far as he has, and we can be proud of how far he's risen. Therefore, we must have faith that in the future… he will continue to make us proud!" He spoke softly, and it was hard to tell whether he was speaking to his wife, or to himself.

Back in the lands of Planet Ninshu , Naruto's skin was now thirty percent recovered. He didn't look as terrifying as before, although his expression was as cold as ice. He flew through the air in a beam of blood-colored light as he headed toward the next battlefront.

Of the six fronts in the Southern Domain, the third and fourth had merged together. The other four were already being pushed toward the Blood Demon Sect. Considering the incredible speed Naruto was capable of, it didn't take long for him to appear in the air above the first front.

There were a few Violet Fate Sect disciples here, as well as many rogue cultivators. All of them were united to defend against more than 20,000 Northern Reaches cultivators. A bloody battle was being fought.

Desperate fighting was under way, and corpses littered the ground as far as the eye could see. It was completely shocking.

When Naruto appeared, he swept down like a red wind.

Among the Northern Reaches cultivators was an unusually domineering Spirit Severing expert. He was soaked with blood, although little of it was his own. His expression was merciless, and his eyes radiated killing intent as he occasionally laughed cruelly. Two human heads were hanging at his waist. One of them was a person Naruto recognized; it was one of the Blood Demon Sect's two Ironblood Patriarchs.

"Southern Domain cultivators!" roared the huge man. "You act like your way of cultivation is the only way, but now you're less than dog crap! I've even killed two of your Spirit Severing Patriarchs. All of you can go die!" He laughed loudly as he brandished his huge war club. Wherever he went, he left a trail of destruction.

Behind him were two giants as tall as mountains. They roared as they slammed into the virtually defenseless Southern Domain cultivators.

It was at this point that Naruto arrived, swathed in red. A red mist rose up around him that, from a distance, almost looked like a cloak… a cloak that covered the entire sky.

Naruto exuded the air of a Paragon.

The burly Spirit Severing cultivator saw him, and his expression flickered. Roaring filled his mind as an indescribable pressure bore down on him. He suddenly felt as if he couldn't breathe. Cold sweat broke out all over. He felt like a tiny little animal facing up against a lion.

"Stop him!" cried the man, shivering. He fell back as the two giants lunged toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression was indifferent as he closed in. He simply passed by the giants, refraining from attacking. The red mist spread out to cover them up, and then, bloodcurdling roars rang out. The giants withered up in the blink of an eye and then toppled over onto the ground.

The Spirit Severing cultivator gasped, and his eyes filled with astonishment. "You're… you're at the peak of Dao Seeking. Definitely the peak of Dao Seeking! Dammit, aren't the Southern Domain's peak Dao Seeking experts all at the central battle? How could one of them be here?!"

He had no time to think about the question. In the blink of an eye, the red mist enveloped him, like the ravenous mouth of a Devil. He was swallowed up, along with the rest of the Northern Reaches cultivators.

For a few moments afterwards, miserable screams abruptly rose up into the air.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Richard Nilsen Karlsen_

Naruto's mother trashed the Hebi Clan in chapter 426 ↩ For those of you who don't remember the four great realms of cultivation as explained by Ke Yunhai in chapter 587, they are Spirit, Immortal, Ancient, and Dao. ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 783

Chapter 783: Overwhelming

A short while later, the red mist reformed into the shape of Naruto. His skin was now roughly fifty percent restored. He no longer looked so hideous, but the coldness of his expression made his Devilish aura even more intense.

He flicked his sleeve, and then, under the shocked gazes of the Southern Domain cultivators, pierced through the air to disappear off into the distance in a beam of prismatic light.

Of the six fronts, hostilities had now ceased on four, and only two remained.

Naruto flew as fast as possible. The air shattered around him and lightning crackled as he sped across the land. Soon he appeared at the fifth front. Few Southern Domain cultivators remained on this front, only a few thousand. In contrast, there were more than 10,000 Northern Reaches cultivators, battling fiercely, pushing the Southern Domain force back in constant retreat.

Shockingly, Fatty was there in the crowd, spattered with blood, his expression fierce. Although his cultivation base was not incredibly high, he abounded with magical items. Furthermore, as the Golden Prince of the Golden Frost Sect, he was constantly guarded by other members of the sect.

Even so, currently facing a dangerous situation. After coughing up some blood, he leaped out, enraged, and bit a chunk out of the enemy's flesh.

When Fatty bit things, it didn't matter if it was flesh, bone or magical items; everything would be crushed and ripped. It was an incredibly fierce and cruel sight.

The Northern Reaches forces who pursued Fatty were covered in wounds that appeared to be bite marks.

"Dammit! Is this a person or a wild beast? How can he have such sharp teeth!?"

"What technique does he cultivate?!"

"Slay him and pry his teeth out! I'm positive that you can refine them into a shocking magical item!"

Their killing intent seethed, and the glow of magical items swirled around their bodies as they gave chase to Fatty.

"Bring it on!" roared Fatty. "Grandpa Fatty's gonna bite you to death!"

The fighting raged, and the Southern Domain cultivators fell back again. The Northern Reaches army advanced with unbridled frenzy, and from the look of the situation, it seemed that the Southern Domain Cultivators would soon be completely wiped out.

Fatty's eyes had long since been shot with blood. Off to the side, one of his beloved concubines received an injury, causing him to leap to her aid. He pulled her back and then lunged out, snapping his teeth at the arm of a Northern Reaches cultivator who was about to land a palm strike on her.

The Northern Reaches cultivator immediately fell back, scalp numb. Although Fatty only ended up biting air, the sound it emitted was completely shocking.

"Dammit!" cried the Northern Reaches cultivator. Shamed into rage, he waved his arm, causing a lump of bronze to appear. He tossed it out in front of him, whereupon it exploded with a bluish light that was apparently sentient; it immediately shot toward Fatty as if to consume him.

Fatty's face fell, and a sensation of deadly crisis washed over him. He shot backward at high speed, pursued by the blue light.

Just when the light was about to slam into Fatty, a cold snort echoed out across the land. It was a mere sound, but it instantly caused the Northern Reaches cultivators' bodies to tremble. There were some who coughed up blood and felt their minds reeling unstably.

The cultivator who was after Fatty suddenly went pale in the face. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he turned his head in astonishment. What he saw was a blinding red light filling the sky.

The following moment, a hand stretched out from behind Fatty, grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. It was then that Naruto appeared.

"Naruto!" cried Fatty exuberantly. Immediately, the spirits of the surrounding Southern Domain cultivators lifted.

"The exalted Naruto has arrived!"

"We're saved! Naruto is here!"

The Northern Reaches cultivators had all heard of Naruto; they knew that he was the one who had wiped out the first wave army. When they heard his name, many of them gasped and subconsciously backed up.

Someone who could wipe out an army of 100,000 cultivators was clearly an astonishing figure, no matter how he accomplished the task.

As soon as Naruto appeared, his energy transformed into an oppressive air that sent the minds of the Northern Reaches cultivators spinning. At the same time, Naruto stretched out his hand and flicked the blue light that had been bearing down on Fatty.

"Disperse!" he said coolly. The blue light shuddered, then emitted a screech as it shot backward and swallowed up the Northern Reaches cultivator. Unable to escape, it then shrank back down into a lump of bronze and was pulled back through the air into Naruto's hand.

The lump of bronze trembled, seemingly pleading for its life with Naruto, who looked at it for a moment and then put it into his bag of holding. Then he glanced around at the more than 10,000 Northern Reaches cultivators.

A dark look gleamed in his eyes, and he stepped forward. Vast quantities of red mist instantly roiled out, like countless vipers. They shot toward the more than 10,000 enemies, boring into their bodies, causing shocking miserable shrieks to fill the air.

Naruto still stood there, arms raised into the air, eyes closed.

Rumbling sounds filled the air as one after another, the Northern Reaches cultivators transformed into desiccated corpses. Red mist poured out from their eyes, ears, noses and mouths, which then flowed back to Naruto. His skin grew rapidly, and in the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, the screams faded away. The corpses toppled over, and Naruto opened his eyes.

His skin was now over seventy percent restored. His white hair floated around him, and he emanated a fiendish air that caused the Southern Domain cultivators to feel both anxious and shocked.

"The sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic… soon…." murmured Naruto. Eyes gleaming with cruelty, he turned to look at the Southern Domain cultivators. When his gaze fell upon Fatty, he smiled.

Yet… the smile caused Fatty to inhale sharply.

"You…." he said hesitantly.

Naruto didn't respond. He turned and shot up into the air, preparing to head to the final front. That was where… he would complete the sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Fatty looked at Naruto flying up into the air, and couldn't hold back from shouting out, "You're not Naruto! Who are you?!"

When Naruto had appeared, he had been filled with joy. But after a moment, he had realized that there was something unfamiliar about him. There was a coldness that hadn't been there before. Fatty suddenly got the feeling that this person was not the Naruto that he remembered from the past. He was different.

Very different!

It was the same feeling Sakura had experienced, except that with Fatty, it was even stronger.

The Naruto he remembered was not the type of person to carry out massacres. He was not so savage and cruel. He would not consume others' qi, blood, life force and souls to further his cultivation. Those techniques were the craft of Devils!

Such practices would give rise to shock no matter what era or location they appeared in.

Cruelness, ruthlessness, the ability to treat life as worthless… that was how this Naruto was acting. He was completely different from the con-loving Naruto who existed in Fatty's memories.

Naruto came to a halt up in midair, and Fatty's words echoed about in his mind. He paused for a moment without looking back down at Fatty, then vanished off into the distance.

The sixth front was the location of the final remnants of the Northern Reaches' second wave army. The cultivators responsible for holding them back were from the auxiliary branches of the Blood Demon Sect: the Solitary Sword Sect and the Golden Frost Sect.

This was the only front out them of all where… the Southern Domain maintained a superior position!

There were originally over 20,000 Northern Reaches cultivators, but now there were little more than half that. The Southern Domain cultivators fought back fiercely, and their enraged battle cries filled the area.

Might Guy was in the middle of it all, along with Shimura Shiqi. The battlefield was filled with the glow of magical techniques and the power of divine abilities.

Might Guy's cultivation base had returned to the Nascent Soul stage, and he fought with a sword. He truly looked like a sword cultivator, fighting as he did with shocking, killing blows. Shimura Shiqi was surrounded by a blood-colored glow. Of course, she did not cultivate the Blood Demon Grand Magic, but rather, used other magical combat techniques of the Blood Demon Sect.

Booms filled the air, and the sky suddenly turned bright red. Rain began falling, red rain. It was completely unexpected, and both the Southern Domain and Northern Reaches cultivators were astonished.

It was at this point that the falling rain transformed into a red mist that shot, swirling, toward the Northern Reaches cultivators. In the blink of an eye, it bored into their bodies.

The Southern Domain cultivators were shocked, and immediately fell back. They watched, shaken, as the Northern Reaches cultivators began to scream with unprecedented misery. Their bodies withered up and their hair fell out as their cultivation bases and souls were extracted through every orifice.

It was the same with the nearby mountain-like giants. Even the ghoullike spirit creatures that the Northern Reaches had brought were screaming. Their bodies faded as if they were being erased.

The Southern Domain cultivators gasped at the sudden, shocking turn of events. It almost seemed as if they were witnessing in a living hell.

Corpses fell to the ground one by one. The giants died, and the evil spirits screamed and faded away. After that, everything was silent.

Within the silence, the red mist surged up toward the red clouds in the sky, taking the qi, blood, cultivation bases and souls with it.

The scene left a deep impression on all of the Southern Domain cultivators. The red mist churned and rolled, and as they looked up at the red clouds, they saw someone sitting there cross-legged.

That was the person who was absorbing all the red mist!

Naruto's skin was now fully regrown. He was dressed like a scholar; however, his previously scholarly aura was now as cruel and merciless as a Blood Devil.

His white hair floated around him, and when his eyes slowly opened, it seemed as if red lightning were crackling within them. After absorbing all the power from the battlefield below, his body flickered, and he vanished.

There were friends down below, but he didn't want them to see him like this.

"Living sacrifices! He used some evil technique to turn them into living sacrifices!"

"Who was that person in the clouds!?" Most of the Southern Domain cultivators made such exclamations. However, there were some people whose faces flickered as they seemed to recall a similar, although not quite as vicious, scene.

Might Guy stood there silently, a complex look on his face as he looked up into the sky.

Not too far off was Shimura Shiqi, who stood there trembling. She was a Blood Demon Sect disciple, and although she did not cultivate the Blood Demon Grand Magic, she was not unfamiliar with it.

"It was him…."

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Richard Nilsen Karlsen_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 784

Chapter 784: The Final Battle!

When the fighting stopped on the sixth front, the war of the Southern Domain finally became peaceful and quiet. However, everyone knew that this was only the calm before the true storm.

The storm was nigh!

The final, decisive battle was coming!

As to where the location of the final battle would be, many opinions were voiced by various Southern Domain cultivators. Some people had their minds set on the Blood Demon Sect. With the spell formations that were already in place, much time could be saved. Furthermore, the majority of the battle-ready cultivators in the Southern Domain were already congregated in the area.

Many others felt that the best location was the point where the Northern Reaches cultivators actually entered the Southern Domain. Doing so would prevent the Northern Reaches cultivators from razing and pillaging the rest of the Southern Domain.

In the end, Pill Demon, Patriarch Song, and Patriarch Golden Frost all agreed that time was the most valuable commodity!

Thus, the Blood Demon Sect was selected. It was far from the Milky Way

Sea, but relatively close to the Black Lands, and could be considered to be on the border of the Southern Domain. Although this would cede a large amount of territory, every day that they continued to survive was another day that the Northern Reaches would not be able to completely conquer the Southern Domain.

Furthermore, the Northern Reaches cultivators would have to travel all the way to the Blood Demon Sect, which meant that the Southern Domain cultivators would have more time to prepare.

After the decision was made by Pill Demon, Patriarch Song, and

Patriarch Golden Frost, all the battle-ready cultivators of the Southern Domain were marshaled. There were approximately 200,000 of them, and they were divided into multiple defensive fronts, with the Blood Demon Sect at the center.

Meanwhile, Pill Demon and the others personally went around the Southern Domain to the remaining sects and clans to collect vast quantities of supplies and treasures. They also set up enormous spell formations, ten in total, which caused shocking pressure to weigh down around them.

The atmosphere was tense. All of the Southern Domain cultivators were focused on healing and recovering their energy. Every area on the final battleground was filled with silence.

The final battle would determine victory or defeat. If the Southern Domain was victorious, they would be able to welcome in a new era of peace. After a period of rest and reorganization, they would be able to once again bloom like a beautiful flower, even more resplendent than before.

However, if they were defeated….

The Southern Domain would essentially become part of the Northern Reaches. Their core Daoist teachings and doctrines would be wrenched away. Their cultivators would be exterminated and the foundation of the Southern Domain would be lost. They would be ruled by the Northern

Reaches, and years later… perhaps no one would even remember the formerly glorious Southern Domain.

This was the battle for everything!

They would live or die. There was no option for surrender.

A few days earlier, Naruto had returned to the Blood Demon Sect, where the final battle would soon take place. He went back to the same location where he had held Hinata and watched the sunrises and sunsets. Except now, there weren't two shadows falling on the ground. There was only his own.

His white hair fluttered in the wind, and his blood-red robe swayed.

His face was pale white, morbid and seemingly devoid of blood. It was a sharp contrast to the redness of his robe. However, his eyes radiated darkness.

Anyone who looked at him could sense a pulsing feeling, as if his body contained a terrifying Chakra and blood power. Also barely visible were over 100,000 shrieking souls that swirled around him. They seemed to spread out endlessly, and their howls were astonishing.

Apparently, these were the people Naruto had consumed and destroyed. They were shackled to him for all eternity, unable to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

"Qing'er," he murmured, "are you doing well…?" His eyes were cold, and contained a trace of loneliness that made his aura seem even more desolate.

Anyone who looked at Blood Prince Gorge would feel that it was filled with blood and mysteries. The news had long since spread that Naruto had consumed the qi, blood, cultivation bases and souls of the enemy cultivators. Virtually all of the cultivators in the entire Southern Domain knew about it, and in fact, most had witnessed it.

Deep in their hearts, the veneration they felt toward Naruto was now coupled with dread.

The Southern Domain was finally rested, and their spell formations were prepared. Five days passed….

Near the border of the Southern Domain, where it touched the Milky Way Sea, the sea water roared. Massive waves surged across the surface of the water. It almost seemed as if the Southern Domain would be drowned. Up above, shockingly bright lights could be seen on the Resurrection Lily bridge; apparently, teleportation portals were in continuous use.

Slowly, people began to appear. Soon they packed the bridge, seemingly without end.

The Resurrection Lily bridge trembled as two mountain-like giants appeared. These giants were different than the ones from the second wave. They were more powerful, and wore suits of golden armor. The pressure they exuded was astonishing.

Shockingly, these giants were not comparable to the Spirit Severing stage, but rather, Dao Seeking!

It was only early Dao Seeking, but considering their enormous frames, they could clearly crush any cultivator within the same stage.

Furthermore, they wore armor, and had enormous greatswords strapped to their backs, making them even more fearsome.

Behind the two giants was a monstrous, sinister death aura that took the form of an emerald-colored mist. In the region near the mist, numerous dead sea creatures could be seen floating on the surface of the water. Inside of the mist were three 10,000-year-old wraiths!

The wraiths all emanated an air similar to Dao Seeking as they swirled about within the mist, shrieking and howling.

In addition to these, there were hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators that composed the main military force. They were packed in tight formation atop the Resurrection Lily bridge, and anyone who saw them would surely gasp in shock.

However, what was most eye-catching was what could be seen in the very rear position of the army.

It was a gigantic iron cage, fully three hundred meters tall. It was being pulled forward by countless iron chains, and sitting inside was a monkey that had bright red eyes. It was covered with numerous magical symbols, and sat motionless in the cage, breathing heavily.

In the vanguard position of the army were three people that emanated shocking auras. They hovered in midair, looking coldly out at the Southern Domain.

In the center position among the three was an old man with red hair and a ruddy face. He wore a white robe, and a mysterious pressure emanated off of him. He was surrounded by countless bolts of lightning that formed together to make what appeared to be… true dragons!

If you continued to watch, you would see the true dragons swirl together to form something entirely different… a miniature cauldron!

Were Naruto here… he would instantly be able to tell that this cauldron closely resembled his own Lightning Cauldron. However, on this cauldron was engraved… a dragon with lightning bolts curling around it!

The old man hovered there, clearly emanating the power of peak Dao Seeking. And yet, the feeling of his aura was somewhat similar to that of Naruto's false Immortal puppet.

Yet again, further examination would reveal that his aura was even more ancient and archaic.

He seemed to possess an aura that was somewhere between a true Immortal and a false Immortal.

This old man was the most powerful person in the entire Northern Reaches, the Clan Chief of the Imperial Bloodline Clan.

On either side of him stood a man and a woman. The man was gentle and effeminate, with phoenix-like eyes and a frame as lithe as the wind.

However, within his eyes could be seen what appeared to be the crosslegged image of two Immortal Divinities, reciting scriptures. A mere glance at the man would show that he was completely beyond the ordinary.

He was also at the peak of Dao Seeking, with a strange air similar and yet different to that of a false Immortal.

The woman, on the other hand, was by no means beautiful. She had a black birthmark on a face that was twisted and uncouth. Furthermore, her body was neither elegant nor appealing and she was extremely obese.

Wrapped around her neck was a crimson snake that occasionally flicked its forked tongue out. Its eyes were grim, and if you looked closely, you would see that the snake did not actually have a physical body; shockingly, it was actually composed of countless discarnate souls.

This was the third wave army of cultivators from the Northern Reaches, the final wave, and also the most powerful!

As soon as they arrived at the border of the Southern Domain, three beams of light emanating the power of peak Dao Seeking shot toward them. They were the three Northern Reaches Patriarchs that had been frightened off by Naruto.

When they joined the force, it increased the number of peak Dao Seeking experts in the third wave to six!

In addition, there were the two giants and three wraiths. This army of Northern Reaches cultivators was incredibly powerful.

The three newcomers did not say anything. They produced jade slips which they tossed out to the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief and the others, who examined them closely for a few moments. Although their expressions did not change, serious looks could be seen in their eyes.

The six cultivators exchanged glances and then began to transmit a conversation.

"Naruto…."

"I've already received your earlier reports about him. It seems this Naruto… is the greatest hindrance to our Northern Reaches' invasion of the

Southern Domain!"

"He has a peak Dao Seeking clone, and his true self can absorb life force, qi, blood, cultivation bases and souls…."

"We must eliminate him. Without him, the Southern Domain is ripe for the picking!"

After a moment, their flickering gazes came to rest on the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief.

Lightning danced around him, and his closed eyes suddenly snapped open. He spoke for the first time, and his hoarse voice was filled with strange power.

"To deal with him, I approve the use of the ancestral statuary!"

The other five nodded in response. There was no further discussion. Moments later, the third wave army marched off of the Resurrection Lily bridge and into the Southern Domain!

In that instant, the killing intent of the Northern Reaches cultivators exploded out. The sky darkened as they shot through the air like a black cloud.

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief looked off into the distance. Lightning danced around him as he snorted coldly and then stretched his hand out and pointed upward. Immediately, a bolt of lightning shot up into the sky.

The air distorted, and then a fist-sized, translucent eyeball appeared up above. The lightning smashed into it, blasting it to pieces.

"The Southern Domain knows we've arrived," said the old man. "Push forward at top speed. We will finish this war in one swift blow!" In response, the Northern Reaches cultivators roared and surged forward at incredible speed.

Colors flashed in the sky, and the wind screamed. Down below, the earth quaked under their killing intent!

Outside the Blood Demon Sect, Patriarch Song's face flickered as he opened his eyes.

"They've arrived!" he said. "There is an old man with lightning surrounding him, most likely the most powerful person in the Northern Reaches, the Clan Chief of the Imperial Bloodline Clan. His cultivation base is astonishing. He noticed my Arcane Scrying Eye.

"They will be here in three days at the latest!"

Pill Demon and Patriarch Golden Frost exchanged glances. Seeing the profound gleam in each other's eyes, they suppressed their anxiety and rose to their feet.

"Spread the word. The final battle is about to begin!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Chia-Wen Chang, Tanawut_

 _Pitchayaboonwong, Richard Nilsen Karlsen, and Grant Petry_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 785

Chapter 785: The Battle Begins!

Ten successive spell formations protected the Blood Demon Sect. When the 200,000 Southern Domain cultivators inside heard Pill Demon's proclamation, they opened their eyes from meditation. Their eyes were still bloodshot; their righteous ardor had by no means evaporated.

Although they had been able to rest for a few days, their minds were like taut bowstrings that had not relaxed in the least. Everyone was waiting… for the final battle to begin.

Now the moment was upon them.

No one spoke. The sound of their breathing formed a thunderous, reverberating echo. Each and every cultivator exuded a murderous air. All of it mixed together into a shocking aura that caused everything to tremble.

In this battle, there would be nowhere to retreat to!

In this battle, the ultimate frenzy of the Southern Domain would be unleashed!

In this battle, defeat meant death, and victory meant a chance for life!

No one was confident that they would be alive after the battle was over.

Not even Patriarch Song and the other powerful experts had such faith.

However, in a battle of this scale, between two major territories and hundreds of thousands of cultivators, anything was possible.

They sat there, taciturn. Many removed jade slips from their robes and inscribed them with their most consummate and powerful abilities, then applied blood curses to ensure that anyone who studied such arts in the future would be forced to view the Northern Reaches cultivators as their ultimate archenemies.

Some people produced magical treasures or other arcane heirlooms that represented important memories. They held them in their hands and stared at them, murmuring.

They appeared to be… making their farewells….

Naruto sat motionless in Blood Prince Gorge. During these days of rest, he did not practice cultivation. As for the Blood Demon Grand Magic, it was not fully complete. He still lacked some souls harvested from battle.

He sat there in the same spot where he had held Hinata, his mind a blank. It almost seemed as if his aura had vanished.

Time passed. On the evening of the second day since Pill Demon's proclamation, the Southern Domain cultivators' breathing had grown even louder and hoarser. It sounded like muffled thunder, echoing about. As before, no one spoke.

Finally… a black streak appeared far off on the horizon!

Soon, it became apparent that the shocking black streak was actually countless Northern Reaches cultivators!

They shot through the air, hundreds of thousands of them, bursting with energy. The clouds churned due to their passage, and rumbling echoed out across all the lands.

The ground quaked as the two giants in golden armor ran, stepping over entire mountains with each stride. The mere sight was terrorizing. The three wraiths flew through the air surrounded by swirling emerald mist. Wherever they passed, the living things down below died, and the mountain peaks appeared to melt.

Up in front were the six peak Dao Seeking experts, led by the Clan Chief of the Imperial Bloodline Clan. They streaked through the sky, looking almost like a gigantic talon, ready to rip the sky asunder.

The Southern Domain cultivators looked up. They put away the jade slips and the precious heirlooms, and stopped thinking about loved ones. As of this moment, they cleared their minds and allowed the desire for battle to burn hot and bright.

"Fight!"

It was hard to say who said it first, but the cry spread quickly. They had been suppressing themselves for days, and now they could finally vent. The roars grew louder.

"Fight!"

"FIGHT!" One by one, the Southern Domain cultivators rose to their feet. Their roaring caused the sky to dim as an explosive murderous air surged up, passing out through the spell formations to contend with the energy of the Northern Reaches cultivators.

Rumbling filled the air as the energy from the hundreds of thousands of cultivators fought against each other. It was an invisible conflict, but casualties were still inflicted. The Northern Reaches cultivators stopped in place, and there were even some with blood oozing from their mouths. It was the same with the Southern Domain forces.

Suddenly, a cold voice echoed out from the Northern Reaches forces.

"Central regiment, advance! Flanking regiments, form into a blade! Summon the Immortal Gate to smash the entire place flat!" The voice came from a veiled woman who floated cross-legged within the green wraith mist.

In response to her words, three regiments split from the army of hundreds of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators. The central regiment numbered 100,000, and advanced directly forward. The two flanking regiments had 50,000 cultivators each, and formed together into something that looked like sharp blades that shot forward.

Simultaneously, a rift suddenly opened up above in the sky. An enormous golden door emerged, which then smashed down toward the ground.

The two mountain-like giants in golden armor leapt forward, howling as they stretched their arms out to catch the enormous golden door, which they then hefted on their shoulders!

The door slowly opened to reveal a void of primal chaos, within which was a giant, green tree.

The tree slowly began to emerge from the door, and an ancient, archaic aura spread out to fill the land. It was shocking to the extreme.

"Activate the formations!" said Patriarch Song. Rumbling could be heard as the ten spell formations began to rotate. Innumerable illusory spirit swords flew out, blotting out the sky as they shot toward the Northern Reaches cultivators.

"Break that formation," the woman in the green mist said indifferently.

Instantly, the two giants with the door on their shoulders began to run toward the Southern Domain's spell formations. More of the enormous tree had emerged from the door, roughly three hundred meters worth.

The two giants possessed extraordinary strength, and were incapable of being obstructed. In the blink of an eye, they were right on top of the Southern Domain cultivators' tenth spell formation, which they struck with the gigantic tree.

A boom rang out, and cracking sounds could be heard. The tenth spell formation was completely incapable of withstanding the attack, and shattered into pieces.

Inside the spell formation perimeter, Patriarch Song's and Patriarch Golden Frost's faces fell.

"What is that!?"

"It's a Formation Breaking Tree!" said Pill Demon, his face grim. "The Northern Reaches has access to profound resources. I can't believe they still have one of those trees left!" Even as the words left his mouth, the two giants strode toward the ninth spell formation, followed by a massive wave that was the Northern Reaches army. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators prepared to inundate the Southern Domain forces.

At the same time, five of the six peak Dao Seeking experts up in midair flew forward at top speed toward the ninth spell formation. They reached it in the blink of an eye, and employed divine abilities as they joined the two giants in attacking it.

A moment later, the land trembled and the sky filled with rumbling as the the ninth spell formation was destroyed, and then the eighth. When the seventh formation was destroyed, a destructive power hidden within it was unleashed that transformed into an explosive shockwave which roared outwards.

The giants bearing the golden door were incapable of fighting back against the attack. Trembling, they were forced back about three hundred meters. Many of the Northern Reaches cultivators behind them were incapable of standing up to the attack and were destroyed in body and spirit.

As the attack power spread out, the five peak Dao Seeking experts immediately sprang into action. Colorful divine abilities were employed, causing the ground to tremble, and the attacking power to dissipate….

"Charge!" roared Patriarch Song. He, along with Pill Demon and Patriarch Golden Frost, flew out, followed by five Spirit Severing experts and the 200,000 Southern Domain cultivators. This was the opening salvo of the final battle!

Pill Demon and the others headed toward the five peak Dao Seeking experts. Patriarch Song and Patriarch Golden Frost could only fight one enemy at a time, but Pill Demon had two lives worth of cultivation backing him. Although the magical symbols constraining him had not been fully removed, his peak Dao Seeking power far exceeded that of the other two.

When he attacked, the song of a great Dao swirled around him. A pill furnace materialized that seemed capable of refining Heaven and Earth, which he immediately sent against the effeminate Northern Reaches cultivator. At the same time, he waved his sleeve, enveloping the whiterobed man who looked like a hopping vampire.

Booms filled the air as the three Southern Domain peak Dao Seeking cultivators waded into battle.

Unfortunately, the Northern Reaches had sent five peak Dao Seeking experts. There was still one left that could not be obstructed. That was the obese woman, who grinned as she shot toward Patriarch Song with a lethal attack.

However, even as she shot forward in attack, her scalp suddenly went numb and her face fell. She stopped in place and then retreated as a wooden sword suddenly materialized and slashed through the space where she had just been. The sword glittered with the power of Time, which caused the air around it to suddenly pass through tens of thousands of years of time.

"Who is it?!" she thought.

Naruto's second true self stepped out of thin air. He waved his hand, causing hundreds of magical symbols to appear, and a spell formation shaped like a parasol shot toward the woman.

The woman opened her mouth and spit out a writhing mist that transformed into the shape of a wild beast. It charged toward Naruto's second true self, and rumbling sounds filled the air. The woman's face flickered. She was not an ordinary peak Dao Seeking cultivator; she exceeded that. Normally, she could easily slay other peak Dao Seeking experts. She could never have imagined that she would meet someone here who was not weaker than her.

"So you're Naruto?" she asked. She wasn't the only one who had such thoughts. The effeminate man who was fighting Pill Demon looked over. The leader of the Northern Reaches, who had been observing the battle instead of fighting, also glanced over.

"That's Naruto's clone!" said the old man that looked like a hopping vampire.

Booming could be heard as the peak-level experts' battle unfolded in midair.

At the same time, the five Spirit Severing experts whistled through the air down below. Unfortunately, the Northern Reaches had sent seven Spirit Severing cultivators to block their way.

Five battles quickly broke out as the remaining two Northern Reaches Spirit Severing experts heading toward the ordinary cultivators from the Southern Domain with evil gleams in their eyes.

On the battlefield, no one discriminated regarding cultivation base, not when it came to killing. Battles were won or lost depending on how many of the enemy you could kill.

It was at this point that the cross-legged woman in the mist once again spoke out coldly.

"Three Elders of the Northern Sky, please make your move."

Immediately, the three wraiths in the mist began to cackle. Surrounded by swirling mists, they shot down toward the Southern Domain cultivators. Their eyes shone with mysterious light and bloodthirsty intent, as if they planned to consume the life forces of as many cultivators as possible.

The situation did not look good for the Southern Domain. However, there were still spell formations left standing. With that foundation, it was always possible to fall back to safety.

And yet, there still seemed little hope for victory. The most powerful expert from the Northern Reaches still hadn't made a move yet.

As the three wraiths descended like death toward the Southern Domain's main army, Naruto sat in Blood Prince Gorge. He saw what was happening, and the blankness left his eyes. A blood-like glow suddenly appeared, and then he vanished.

When he reappeared, he was in the middle of the battlefield!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 786

Chapter 786: Slaying Wraiths!

Naruto appeared without a word or a sound. Not many people in the battle would be able to detect his sudden appearance. One of the few who did was the number one most powerful expert from the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief up in midair.

Naruto appeared just outside of the spell formation, swathed in red, his face pale white. He looked almost as if he were devoid of blood. He held the Lightning Cauldron in his right hand, which crackled with lightning as he suddenly vanished again.

Shockingly, when he reappeared, he had taken the place of a despairing Southern Domain cultivator who was being attacked by a burly Spirit Severing cultivator with wild hair.

The Southern Domain cultivator originally thought he was going to die, and was preparing to self-detonate. Then, his vision went blurry, and he switched places with Naruto. Even as his mind reeled with shock, Naruto reappeared in front of the burly cultivator with wild hair.

The burly man had already struck out with his hand. When he saw Naruto, his face flickered and his pupils constricted. Shocked, he was about to fall back when Naruto, like a soul vampire, moved forward and touched the man on the right arm.

A miserable shriek rang out from the burly man's mouth as his arm rapidly withered. The technique being used against him was like a black hole that rapidly sucked away his Chakra and blood. In the blink of an eye, his burly frame was nothing more than skin and bones. His cultivation base was gone and his soul was sucked away. His body fell into pieces as massive quantities of red mist were absorbed into Naruto.

Naruto didn't even pause. After casually killing the man, the lightning cauldron flickered again, and he reappeared in front of a Spirit Severing expert who was slaughtering his way through the Southern Domain forces.

The old man's scalp went numb; the speed with which Naruto had killed the burly man was such that he didn't even have time to react. Even as his jaw was still dropping from shock, Naruto appeared in front of him.

Naruto's profound and mysterious face was devoid of any trace of blood, and a mysterious, dark glow filled his eyes. The old man was scared out of his mind.

"NO!"

He was about to flee when Naruto reached out and placed his hand on top of his head. The old man screamed miserably as his body withered, sucked out through the top of his head into Naruto's hand.

All of this happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Naruto had just appeared, and already, two people had been slaughtered. The speed with which it happened caused all the onlookers to be taken aback.

Starting with the handful of people who Naruto had just saved, the Southern Domain cultivators began to chant his name.

"Exalted Naruto!"

"Exalted Naruto!"

"EXALTED NARUTO!" The combined voices of all the Southern

Domain cultivators turned into a massive sound wave that rolled out.

Naruto stood there, his blood-red robe fluttering, his white hair floating around him, his energy surging.

Up in midair,The Northern Reaches' number one most powerful expert, the Imperial Bloodline Clan chief, looked down with wide eyes.

"That kid is seeking death!" he said. Without hesitation, he transformed into a Lightning Roc surrounding by crackling electricity that shot toward Naruto in a deadly attack.

Naruto's expression was as cold as ever as he caused the Lightning Cauldron to flicker, and he vanished yet again.

In another location on the battlefield was one of the three wraiths, which vaguely resembled an old woman. She wore a twisted smile as she grabbed onto a Southern Domain cultivator, opened her mouth wide, and bit into the man's head. Crunching sounds could be heard as his skull cracked open and she began to absorb his soul.

The screaming man was still alive when suddenly, he vanished and was replaced by Naruto. The darkness in the woman's eyes flickered, and relying on the fact that her spirit body was illusory, she didn't pause. Laughing evilly, she opened her mouth to bite Naruto.

"Well," she said, "since you've delivered yourself up, let's see exactly how strong you are!"

Her mouth opened, a mouth which could cause the soul of an ordinary cultivator to be extracted with ease. Naruto's expression was cold as the mouth neared him. It was at this point that he opened his own mouth and began to inhale.

As he inhaled, the woman's body began to tremble. An indescribable sense of deadly crisis rose up in her, and she screamed. She immediately let go of Naruto and began to back up.

"Dammit! Are you even a cultivator?! How could it be that you practice ghost magic!?"

Before the old woman could back up very far, Naruto inhaled even deeper, and her body collapsed. It transformed into countless motes of sparkling light which shot into Naruto's mouth.

It was possible to see the image of the woman in one of those motes of light. She was screaming as Naruto swallowed her down. His face darkened for a moment, then returned to its previous pale white, shrouded by a head of billowing white hair. Nearby, the other two wraiths were already flying away in retreat, thoroughly horrified.

Behind Naruto, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief descended, roaring. He moved with incredible speed, and in the blink of an eye, was almost upon Naruto.

Naruto's eyes glinted with coldness. He suddenly turned, then shot up into the air, spinning rapidly. A droning sound could be heard as he smashed directly into the Lightning Roc.

Boom!

The deafening roar that rippled out shocked even the peak Dao Seeking experts fighting in midair. Even as the Lightning Roc collapsed, an ancient looking hand emerged and punched down toward Naruto.

Naruto was sent tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth. As he fell back, the Lightning Cauldron flickered, and he switched places with a Northern Reaches cultivator off in the distance. Now he was directly in the path of one of the fleeing wraiths.

Shockingly, everything that was happening was exactly as Naruto had planned it.

The instant he appeared, he leaped forward without the slightest hesitation. His right hand flickered in an incantation gesture, then he waved his hand, and his body began to emanate red mist. The mist transformed into a cyclone that headed straight for the wraith.

The wraith's face fell and it let out a high-pitched shriek as it sped backward. Such action was useless, however. The cyclone swallowed it up instantly, whereupon it was shredded to pieces, destroyed both in form and spirit. As Naruto absorbed it, he could tell that the Blood Demon Grand Magic was becoming more refined.

"Just need a little bit more!" he thought, his eyes flashing with red.

The final wraith was now completely and truly scared to death. After sweeping across the Northern Reaches for years, he had finally been captured and transformed into a wraith. In the past he had been a powerful expert, but was then forced to consume souls as a form of cultivation. To him, feasting on human flesh to bolster his spirit was the natural order of things.

However, this was the first time he had encountered… a terrifying existence that could consume ghosts and wraiths like himself!

The wraith flew backward in complete astonishment, merging back into the green mist that hovered in midair, not daring to emerge again.

Up above, the two mountain-like giants with the golden door on their shoulders, and the huge tree, were now once again bombarding the Southern Domain's spell formations.

The sixth spell formation collapsed into pieces, and the fifth formation started crumbling.

Down below, the number one expert of the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, was once again in human form, his body surrounded by crackling lightning that formed his own Lightning Cauldron. He suddenly lifted his hand and waved his finger toward Naruto.

A lightning bolt immediately shot out from his Lightning Cauldron. It was black, and looked like a dragon as it sped through the air.

At the same time, the old man changed shape again, transforming into a three hundred meter long dragon. This was no ordinary dragon, this was a Lightning Dragon! 1

"Primordial Lightning Dragon Transformation!" cried the old man, his voice thrumming with what seemed like the power of Heaven. A savage and archaic aura rose up from his body, as the incarnated Primordial Lightning Dragon charged toward Naruto.

Unfortunately for the old man, this was not a true Primordial Lightning Dragon, but merely the shape of one. Even still, it was shockingly powerful!

For the first time, Naruto's face flickered; this old man was the most powerful person he had ever encountered other than the Dawn Immortal!

Although this man didn't match up to the Dawn Immortal in terms of bizarreness, the domineering extent of his energy exceeded hers. That was especially true of this Primordial Lightning Dragon incarnation, which clearly emanated a feeling of an archaic time. It seemed monstrously aggressive, as if anything which stood up against it could be crushed like dried twigs.

"What kind of dragon is that!?" thought Naruto, his eyes flickering as he backed up. "That cauldron in his hand just now looked very similar to my Lightning Cauldron…." Suddenly he vanished, switching places with a Northern Reaches cultivator off in the distance.

As soon as the Northern Reaches cultivator appeared where Naruto had been, he was ripped to shreds by lightning.

"You can't flee!" roared the old man in Primordial Lightning Dragon form. "There's nobody who can even lift a finger against the Primordial Lightning Dragon! Lightning Transformation!" His speed suddenly increased explosively by severalfold; he was clearly not going to allow Naruto to have another chance to flee with his Lightning Cauldron.

"I don't plan to flee," said Naruto, his eyes glittering. "As for this

Lightning Dragon… I'll show you what happens when I lift a finger!" As the Primordial Lightning Dragon bore down on him, Naruto raised both hands into the air. A vortex appeared, which was Naruto himself. As it pushed outward, the countless struggling souls which surrounded him screamed bitterly. Hundreds of thousands of them were under his control. They flew like raindrops, merging together into the shape of a gigantic head.

This head was the color of blood, and had a horn sticking out of its forehead. It was none other than the head of a Blood Demon!

Before the two divine abilities could slam into each other, a miserable cry rang out from the sky up above.

Over the past days, Patriarch Golden Frost's wounds had remained unstable, despite the medicinal pills provided by Pill Demon. Currently, he was in full retreat up in the air, a look of madness in his eyes.

"My longevity was already reaching its end," he said. "I'm going to die soon anyway. The only reason I didn't die in previous battles was because the Shimura Clan Patriarch saved me. And now… if I'm going to lose my life, dying as part of the Southern Domain's struggle means my death is not in vain!" He roared, and suddenly his body burst into flames as he unleashed the flame of his life force. In the blink of an eye he was temporarily at his ultimate peak!

His legs had burned away, and his body began to dissipate. Apparently he was using every aspect of his life force to transform into… the final sword form of his entire life, a forbidden sword art!

"Golden Frost Immortal Slaying!"

A power capable of devastating Heaven and Earth rumbled forward.

The golden glow of the sword rose into the heavens, and it only took a moment for it to reach the black-robed old man who looked like a hopping vampire. He was incapable of evading, and after the sword passed by, his head toppled down toward the ground.

Patriarch Golden Frost, having unleashed this final sword form, completely faded away. His soul was dissipating, and would be incapable of entering the cycle of reincarnation.

"Patriarch!" Down below, the Golden Frost Sect disciples among the Southern Domain cultivators were all filled with grief and anger.

"If there was one mistake I could take back, it would be joining the Solitary Sword Sect to go to war with the Blood Demon Sect. It's the biggest error I made in my entire life. Hundreds of thousands of cultivators were pointlessly sacrificed in that war, and Fellow Daoist Blood Demon was injured so badly… that he cannot awaken!

"Were that not the case, the puny Northern Reaches would never be so arrogant as to dare to invade the Southern Domain!" Regret could be seen in Patriarch Golden Frost's eyes. Finally, he turned into nothing more than dust, and vanished from the lands of the Southern Domain.

"Lightning Dragon" or "Thunder Dragon" is also how you would translate

"brontosaurus" ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 787

Chapter 787: The Rise of a Blazing Sun!

Of the powerful experts of the four powers that had waged war against the Blood Demon Sect, the Solitary Sword Sect Patriarch had perished in battle, as had the Black Sieve Sect Patriarch. Now, Patriarch Golden Frost transformed his life force into a sword, which slaughtered a Northern Reaches cultivator and then became ash in the wind.

As far as he was concerned, if the war with the Blood Demon Sect hadn't occurred, the Southern Domain would currently be much stronger. Even if the Northern Reaches did have eleven peak Dao Seeking experts, they still wouldn't have dared to send troops into the Southern Domain.

After all, the five great sects and three great clans had deep Dao reserves. Although they only had eight peak Dao Seeking cultivators, they did have several other Dao Seeking experts.

When you added in the precious treasures of the various sects and clans, it would have been more than enough to make the Northern Reaches cultivators pay a heavy price for any incursion.

But now… all of that was mere wishful thinking.

"Patriarch!" cried the Golden Frost Sect cultivators down below. Their minds were filled with grief as they watched their Patriarch fade away. As for Patriarch Golden Frost, in his mind, he was atoning for his sins committed in the past.

Now there were only five peak Dao Seeking experts among the Northern Reaches forces. Unfortunately, the Southern Domain cultivators now only had the increasingly weakened Patriarch Song and Pill Demon, and then Naruto's second true self.

It was the three of them versus four peak Dao Seeking opponents!

Rumbling filled the air, and the fierce fighting continued down below.

Heaven and Earth were wreathed in shadow, and the clouds churned. Miserable howls drifted through the air, as did the boom of magical techniques. In the final moments before death, some people chose to self-detonate. All of this transformed into something like a funeral dirge that echoed like thunder throughout all creation. Rivers of blood flowed wide and deep.

Down below, the number one most powerful person in the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, had transformed into the shape of a Primordial Lightning Dragon. Lightning crackled out from his body, seemingly connecting all the way up to the sky. The power it contained as he shot toward Naruto was indescribable.

Naruto had rotated the Blood Demon Grand Magic to the pinnacle of its speed. Hundreds of thousands of enslaved souls, incapable of entering the cycle of reincarnation, had merged together to form a Blood Demon's head, with its vicious horn. The head was huge, and anyone who saw it couldn't help but be astonished.

This was a duel between a Primordial Lightning Dragon and a Blood Demon!

This was a battle that could possibly have actually occurred countless years in the past. Now, it was occurring again. The Primordial Lightning Dragon and the Blood Demon were once again locked in deadly combat!

In the blink of an eye, the Primordial Lightning Dragon and the Blood

Demon slammed into each other. The Blood Demon Head shattered and then exploded into countless pieces.

Simultaneously, the Blood Demon's horn glittered like a sharp blade which sliced into the body of the Primordial Lightning Dragon, then slashed through it, splitting it completely in half.

A shocking boom rolled out, accompanied by the roar of the Lightning Dragon and towering Demonic Chakra from the Blood Demon head. It turned into a powerful blast that rapidly spread out in all directions.

All of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators on the battlefield were momentarily shaken into senselessness by the blast.

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief appeared in the spot where the Lightning Dragon dissipated, blood oozing out of his mouth. Veins bulged out of his forehead as he glared at Naruto.

Naruto trembled and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. He staggered backward a few paces, and even as the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief looked over, the lightning from his Lightning Cauldron covered him and he vanished. When he reappeared, he looked back to see a Northern Reaches cultivator standing in the spot he had just occupied.

As soon as he reappeared, Naruto stretched out his hands, causing vast quantities of red mist to spread out. The mist was apparently sentient, and it immediately shot toward thousands of nearby cultivators.

Miserable shrieks rang out across the battlefield as it bored into their bodies. One after another, the Northern Reaches cultivators' bodies dried up and died; their qi, blood, cultivation bases and souls emerged and flew toward Naruto.

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief was in a rage. Lightning seemed to pulse in his eyes as he took a deep breath and caused his body to expand. In the blink of an eye he had turned into a thirty meter tall giant. As his long hair floated around him, he lifted his head and roared, a roar which contained a bizarre natural law. Everything around him ground to a halt.

It almost looked like everything around him was moving slower, whereas he was moving faster!

His body flashed as he shot toward Naruto and punched out.

Naruto's eyes glittered coldly. This old man was powerful, and considering his current cultivation base and divine abilities, was difficult to fight back against.

"Unless… I could use the sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic!" Naruto pushed his hand down toward the ground, then lifted it up, causing the thousands of corpses in the area to fly up and shoot like meteors toward the incoming Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief.

"Time to die!" cried the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, his voice echoing out coldly. The corpses crumbled to pieces, and he appeared in front of Naruto. His punch landed!

BOOM!

Blood sprayed from Naruto's mouth as he suddenly vanished. He reappeared some distance away, where the Blood Demon Grand Magic suddenly surged into motion. The screams of thousands of surrounding cultivators once again rose into the air.

"Dammit!" the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief roared, enraged. He immediately shot forward in pursuit, in state of complete astonishment because of Naruto's gory technique. He couldn't allow Naruto to just sweep freely through the Northern Reaches cultivators. If he did, it wouldn't be long before that technique absorbed all of their lives.

"It doesn't matter what age or era this evil technique appeared in, anyone would consider it Devilishly evil!" he yelled. "Everyone would rise together to destroy it! Cultivating a technique like this has doomed you to face the wrath of Heaven! You WILL meet a violent end!"

"Magic is neither good nor evil," replied Naruto calmly. "That exists only in the heart. You are incapable of harming the Dao heart of Naruto!" He flickered to reappear in another location on the battlefield. The astonished Northern Reaches cultivators in the area tried to flee, but they weren't as fast as Naruto's red mist, which bored into their bodies and began to absorb them.

"Let's see who's faster, you or me!" said Naruto, his eyes flashing with the desire to kill. He could sense that he was just about to achieve the sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief 's eyes gleamed with a profound light as he ceased pursuit. Instead, he shot up into the air, his target being the location where the Northern Reaches' peak Dao Seeking experts were fighting Patriarch Song and the others.

"You kill Northern Reaches cultivators? Fine, I'll kill Southern Domain peak Dao Seeking cultivators!"

As the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief shot up into the air, Naruto's lips twisted into a cold smile. He stopped absorbing the life forces of the Northern Reaches cultivators and then caused the Lightning Cauldron to flicker. In response, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief laughed.

It only took a moment for his laughter to turn choked.

That was because Naruto had not switched places with someone nearby to block his path.

Instead… he reappeared next to the two giants, who were barreling forward with the giant golden door and the huge tree.

"Dammit, how insidious!" thought the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, his face falling. "This kid is vicious and merciless. If we don't get rid of him, it's going to be difficult to finish wiping out the Southern Domain!" With that, he shot in Naruto's direction.

Naruto had reappeared directly next to one of the golden-armored giants, and a strange light gleamed in his eyes. Completely ignoring the fact that the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief was closing in on him, he stretched his hands out. Rumbling could be heard as red mist exploded out from him.

It shot forward in the blink of an eye, boring into the body of one of the golden-armored giants, whose face then filled with astonishment. It let out a terrified howl.

Its body began to shake, and its eyes shone with an expression of unbearable suffering. Its body withered rapidly as its boundless qi, blood, cultivation base, and soul were rapidly extracted.

Its entire body withered in the blink of an eye. Cracking sounds could be heard as its legs, incapable of supporting the giant golden door, began to disintegrate. The giant then began to lean to the side, on the verge of collapsing.

It was then that the enraged Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief arrived. His fist slammed into Naruto, causing blood to spray from his mouth. Naruto immediately shot backward in retreat, his eyes shining with an extraordinary light.

"Die!" yelled the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, advancing at top speed. The Primordial Lightning Dragon appeared again, along with the roc, the python, as well as white tigers. The energy being unleashed was astonishing, and it all combined into a single punch.

Just when the punch was about to slam into Naruto….

The withered giant in the golden armor couldn't hold on any longer. Its life force vanished, and its corpse slammed into the ground. Massive amounts of red mist glittered brightly with the power it had absorbed.

The brilliance of the glow far exceeded that shown when Naruto had absorbed countless tens of thousands of Northern Reaches cultivators. As the red mist fused back into his body, he began to tremble.

The energy in his body was completely recovered, and the Blood Demon

Grand Magic… all of a sudden reached…

The sixth level!

His energy was now vastly different than it had been moments before. Instantly, a blood colored tempest sprang up around him, stretching up high into the sky.

Within him, the Blood Demon Grand Magic was rotating at the pinnacle of speed. Naruto raised his hand in a palm strike that surged directly toward the incoming Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief.

A vortex appeared around the palm. At first it was only three meters across, but it rapidly expanded to three hundred meters. It looked like a huge mouth, biting voraciously toward the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief.

For the first time, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief felt a sense of deadly crisis. He immediately put all the power he could muster into his own strike.

A shocking, thunderous boom echoed out!

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief was consumed by the vortex. A moment later, an enraged roar could be heard, and the vortex collapsed. From within, a blood-soaked figure flew out.

It was the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. He was severely wounded, with blood spurting out of various wounds. An expression of astonishment could be seen on his face as he realized that twenty percent of his power had been withered away in the brief moment that had just passed.

The collapsed vortex immediately flowed back into Naruto. A tremor ran through him as his fleshly body grew even more powerful. In fact, even a bit of Immortal will could be detected!

His cultivation base also surged with rumbling power.

He hovered in midair, the blood-colored tempest raging around him, the Lightning Cauldron crackling with electricity, his hair whipping around. He looked like a Paragon!

He glanced down coldly at the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, and the

aura of a Paragon grew even more intense. Colors flashed in the sky and the wind screamed. The hundreds of thousands of cultivators on the ground, even the peak Dao Seeking experts locked in combat up above, were all completely shocked.

Naruto looked like a blazing sun, rising up with infinite splendor!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 788

Chapter 788: Suppression!

The number one most powerful expert in the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, stared at Naruto with wide eyes. Earlier, Naruto had been pestering him, but now, the feeling he gave off was like that of some primordial wild beast. His gaze, his aura, the blood-colored tempest, all caused the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief to feel incredibly shocked.

His expression was grave as Naruto walked forward, eyes glowing with coldness. It only took him a moment to reach the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, after which he waved his hand, causing a blood-colored light to spread out. In the blink of an eye, the two of them had exchanged dozens of blows.

Booms echoed out. Around them, the fierce fighting continued, and up above, the battle of the peak Dao Seeking experts continued.

Originally, the Southern Domain had been in the weaker position, but now that Naruto had risen up with his Blood Demon and the sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, everything… had been turned around!

If Naruto could just kill the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, then the Southern Domain… would probably… have a chance to eke out a victory!

The morale of the Southern Domain cultivators surged, and they lashed out with increasingly vicious attacks.

Outside of the spell formations, one of the golden-armored giants had been killed, and the other stood there trembling, completely terrified of Naruto. The huge golden door, having lost one of the giants that had been supporting it, was now tilting awkwardly to the side.

The giant watched in horror as Naruto fought the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, and its scalp began to grow numb. Finally, it threw the huge door down and turned to flee.

After all, it was not a cultivator, but rather, a giant descended from an ancient bloodline. The thought of fighting Naruto struck terror into its heart.

However, in the same instant that it turned to flee, the cold, detached woman who floated in the churning green mist looked over with flashing eyes. Her beautiful hand stretched out and pointed at the giant.

"Fleeing before the battle is finished? I'll exterminate your bloodline to the ninth degree of kinship!"

Immediately, the giant began trembling, and a sealing mark appeared on its forehead. The mark began to burn, deep into its skin, all the way to the bone. The giant let out a miserable shriek, and madness appeared in its eyes.

"I shall erase your mind," said the woman calmly, "send you into insanity, replace your life force with madness. Kill a hundred thousand enemies, and the curse will be lifted." The giant howled, and its expression twisted into one of insanity. Its eyes were blood-red as it leapt toward the Southern Domain army.

Any Southern Domain cultivators it encountered were ripped to shreds before they even had a chance to flee. The giant crushed them with its feet, then picked them up and tossed them into its mouth. Blood flowed down its chin, and it seemed to be completely mad.

To the Southern Domain forces, a mountain-like giant with strength similar to Dao Seeking was a huge influence on the battle as a whole. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of Southern Domain cultivators were killed.

It was virtually impossible to stop. The only way to faze it would be for tens of thousands of cultivators to all attack it in unison. Unfortunately… there was no way the Northern Reaches cultivators would give the Southern Domain the opportunity to do such a thing. Under the direction of the woman in the green mist, the Northern Reaches cultivators began to push forward in an offensive.

An endless sea of people surged forward like the tide in a general charge.

In the battle between the Dao Seeking experts up above, Patriarch Song and Pill Demon were anxious, and yet were incapable of doing anything to provide assistance to the Southern Domain. All they could do was watch as the flow of battle once again reversed.

Booms filled the air as Naruto fought back and forth with the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. The number one figure from the Northern Reaches had powerful energy, an incredible cultivation base, and wild, vicious attacks. That, along with Naruto's sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, made it seem as if the ground itself were about to explode up into the sky.

As they struggled back and forth in combat, Naruto saw the giant going crazy, and could sense the sinister woman hovering in the green mist.

"Time to die!" he said to the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he lifted his right leg up and then began to spin around rapidly. He turned into a cyclone that shot forward and slammed into the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief's incoming fist attack.

A huge boom echoed out, and blood sprayed from the mouths of both opponents. However, it was at this point that Naruto suddenly vanished, then reappeared in the place of a Northern Reaches cultivator next to the charging giant.

"You'll die for that!" roared the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. Naruto

Hao's nimble manipulation of the battlefield was giving him a headache. He was just about to give chase when Naruto decisively waved a hand, causing a gigantic red mist to appear. The mist instantly churned into a vortex that swallowed up the roaring giant.

A crunching, chewing sound could be heard. The sound was grating to the ears, and anyone who heard it couldn't help but be shocked.

Blood flowed out from the vortex, along with miserable screams. Rumbling could be heard as the vortex then faded away. The red mist within flowed toward Naruto, fusing into him, making him… even stronger!

He turned and punched directly at the incoming Imperial Bloodline Clan

Chief. A huge boom could be heard as, for the first time, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief was sent tumbling backward. His expression showed first shock, and then fury. Then his body flickered as he changed shape into a three-legged golden crow!

Brilliant light shone off of him, making him look like a sun. Intense heat blasted against Naruto's face.

At the same time, the woman in the mist looked on with coldly glittering eyes. She stretched out her hand, causing nine magical symbols to fly out at top speed. They swirled together in midair to form a huge sealing symbol!

The shockingly powerful sealing symbol immediately flew directly toward Naruto.

"Suppress!" said the woman lightly, her voice cold and devoid of any emotion. Her face was pale to begin with, but unleashing the nine magical symbols left it even paler.

Naruto's eyes flashed with killing intent. His cultivation base surged as he raised his left hand, within which appeared a shocking black claw, roughly the same size as a human fist.

As soon as the claw appeared, a brutal aura exploded out. At the same time, something that resembled the shriek of a cat echoed out, causing everything to shake.

This claw was none other than one of the items Naruto had acquired during the eruption of the ancient Dao Lakes! After refining it for some time in the past, he was finally able to use it!

It was not the claw of some wild beast, but actually, a cat!

It was a cat's claw!

The claw was black, and the cat it had come from was also completely black.

As soon as it appeared, a brutal aura filled the air, and the astonishing shriek of the cat shook the minds of everyone in the area. It almost seemed to be an attack levied against the soul. Catalyzed by Naruto's cultivation base, the claw flew up into the air and expanded. It grew larger and larger until it was dozens of meters wide. Instantly, the claw slashed toward the incoming three-legged golden crow.

The three-legged golden crow trembled, but was incapable of evading the strike. The claw slashed into it, and its three legs instantly exploded. It let out a miserable shriek as it morphed back into the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his arms were slashed to pieces. He shot back in astonishment, simultaneously using a magical technique to instantly regrow his lost arms.

His face was ashen and his voice weak as he said, "Nine Hells Burial Cat!"

At the same time, the sealing symbol continued to barrel toward Naruto. He looked up at it, and the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex rumbled up around him, transforming into a tempest, and then a Blood Demon head. Its expression was savage as it shot toward the sealing symbol, surging with a shocking energy that seemed capable of ripping everything apart.

"Disperse!" said Naruto, his voice echoing out. The huge sealing symbol shuddered, then began to split apart. Cracking sounds could be heard, and then it exploded, transforming once again into nine magical symbols. Three of them were now dark, and gradually faded away. The other six flew back to the woman in the mist.

Then, Naruto began to slaughter his way toward the woman.

"Your turn to be suppressed!" he said. "Ninth Mountain!" He pointed out with his index finger, and everything shook. The Ninth Mountain appeared, followed by the Blood Demon Grand Magic, which fused into it, turning it bright red. It then shot directly toward the woman in the mist.

As it descended, a huge fissure opened up in the ground below, which consumed no small amount of Northern Reaches cultivators. The woman's face flickered, and she suddenly reached out and grabbed the remaining trembling wraith, then hurled it up into the air.

The wraith transformed into a shooting star which shot toward the Ninth Mountain. At the same time, the woman performed an incantation gesture, which caused her six remaining magical symbols to fly up at top speed and form a halo that joined the wraith as it slammed into the Ninth Mountain.

BOOOOOMMMMM!

Shockingly, the descending power of the Ninth Mountain seemed to have been obstructed.

"Black White Pearls!" Naruto said coolly. A black and white mist appeared around the Ninth Mountain, which then turned into two pearls. As they rotated around the Ninth Mountain, a rumbling could be heard, and the mountain began to descend once more. The wraith was shattered into pieces, and the halo exploded in a brilliant flash of colors. They were incapable of blocking the Ninth Mountain as it continued to descend toward the shocked woman.

Colors flashed in the sky and rumbling filled the air. The green mist was blasted to bits. The woman, as well as quite a few of the Northern Reaches cultivators in the area, were all completely crushed under the mountain.

As of this moment, there was a new mountain in the land!

Everyone in the area was shocked, including the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. His eyes were shot with blood. Because of Naruto, the Northern Reaches had sustained far too many losses in this difficult battle.

Originally, victory had been a certain thing for the Northern Reaches, but now… all because of Naruto, the tide had turned! If they couldn't handle Naruto, then the Northern Reaches… would lose!

Having reached this conclusion, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief's eyes flickered with determination. Originally, he wanted to avoid using the ancestral statuary, as it would waste a significant amount of Chakra reserves. That was why he had first attempted to handle Naruto himself.

Now he could see… that he had made a mistake.

"I should have used the ancestral statuary from the beginning, regardless of the cost! However, it's still not too late!

"Naruto, to be suppressed by my clan's ancestral statuary will be your good fortune!" The Imperial Clan Chief's eyes radiated determination as he pointed one finger up toward the sky and another down toward the ground.

"Ancestral statuary, please reveal yourself!"

Vol. 5 : Chapter 789

Chapter 789: A Huge Crisis!

As the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief's voice rang out, Naruto's eyes flashed, and an ineffable sense of deadly crisis abruptly rose up inside of him.

Naruto did not retrieve the Ninth Mountain, but rather, left it there towering above the land, emanating incredible pressure.

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief pointed up at the sky and down toward the ground. A bolt of blue lightning suddenly appeared, piercing Heaven and Earth….

Some distance away from the battlefield was an area that had previously been completely cloaked, but was now suddenly visible. It was as if a curtain had been pulled back to reveal… an enormous cage!

Inside the cage was a monkey, its body completely covered with magical symbols, and its eyes as red as blood. It seemed to be filled with a madness that could consume the Heavens.

As soon as Naruto caught sight of the cage and the monkey, his mind reeled. Even he… had been completely unable to detect the existence of the cage.

That indicated that the intense power of the cage exceeded Naruto's cultivation base by a huge amount!

Right now, even a false Immortal would be incapable of completely evading Naruto's detection. Thus, it indicated that the cage… was comparable to a true Immortal!

Furthermore, the Imperial Bloodline Clan would never use anything less powerful as their ancestral statuary!

It was a precious treasure formed from countless years of collected Chakra reserves.

The cage slowly rose up into the air, surrounded by lightning which stretched from the ground all the way up into the sky. The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief immediately dropped to his knees in worship, raised his hands into the air, and began to chant a bizarre spell.

The air suddenly filled with the music of a great Dao. It sounded like the chanting of countless voices, droning dully in a way that made it impossible to hear clearly. However, the surrounding cultivators who did hear it were shaken mentally. The peak Dao Seeking Patriarchs up in midair looked on with shock.

Naruto took a deep breath. The sense of deadly crisis had reached a pinnacle inside of him. He lifted the Lightning Cauldron up, and lightning spread out to cover his entire body. He suddenly switched places with a cultivator close to the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. He flew up into the air, performing an incantation gesture that caused the Blood Demon Grand Magic to appear as he sped toward the clan chief.

He could not allow the man to continue to perform his magic; the strange, ancient cage was something that filled Naruto's heart with fear.

BOOM!

His divine ability slammed into the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, who didn't do the slightest thing to evade. He knelt there in worship just as before, the spell's words pouring from his mouth. As Naruto's divine ability reached him, it was blocked by some invisible power, and then… dissipated.

Naruto's face fell.

It was at this point that, inside the cage, the monkey's eyes suddenly flickered. The countless magical symbols on its body began to squirm and wriggle, and then flew into motion across the surface of its body. Golden light emanated off of the monkey, along with an aura like that of an Immortal Divinity.

Naruto's scalp went numb, and his sense of deadly crisis rose even higher. Seeing that he couldn't attack the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, he began to back up, preparing to leave this area of the battlefield and the terrifying cage.

However, even in the moment that he began to back up…

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief looked up, and his expression was one of madness. "Ancestral statuary," he cried out in a loud voice, "please slaughter this person!"

Lightning descended to dance around the cage, making it like a sun of lightning in midair.

The magical symbols on the monkey's body began to move even faster than before. Then, all of the magical symbols on its right arm suddenly vanished, scattering to other parts of its body.

The magical symbols were like seals that kept it under constant suppression. Now… the right arm had been unsealed.

Next, one section of the cage in front of the monkey rippled and twisted into an opening!

A ferocious gleam appeared in the monkey's eyes, and it suddenly roared: "The world of Immortals is the root of all evil! Immortals… must be suppressed!"

As its voice echoed out, it stretched out its right hand, passing through the gap to appear outside the cage as it reached toward Naruto.

Naruto's scalp was numb. The Lightning Cauldron crackled, and he vanished, reappearing some distance off, where he immediately transformed into a shooting star that sped away.

In the instant that he took to flight, however, the arm stretching out of the cage began to expand. In the blink of an eye it was three hundred meters long. Another blink, and it was three thousand. Then thirty thousand!

An enormous hand shot after Naruto. It was huge, filling up the sky, blocking the light, exceeding mountains and rivers as it closed in on Naruto.

It was impossible to tell exactly what type of divine ability was involved. Naruto was astonished, as were the peak Dao Seeking experts.

Naruto spat out a mouthful of blood as he pushed himself forward at indescribable speed. However, the enormous hand seemed to have no limits. It was like a continent unto itself as it shot after him. It spread out to completely encompass him. Up ahead of him, what looked like five gigantic mountain peaks were descending from up above!

Naruto's eyes went wide from astonishment regarding this ancestral statuary. However, a cold gleam then appeared in his eyes, and the image of a roc appeared on his forehead. He burst forward as the image of a fish appeared in the air around him, its flapping tail shattering the air around him as he propelled himself forward. 1 The war chariot appeared, and he circulated the Chakra of Immortal Shows the Way. Rumbling filled the battlefield as he shot forward.

Utilizing the power of the war chariot, he was able to pass through one of the gaps between the five descending mountains.

Behind him on the battlefield, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief spat up a mouthful of blood. Immediately, the magical symbols reappeared on the arm of the monkey in the cage. The chief was enraged; how could he ever have imagined that the ancestral statuary would be incapable of capturing Naruto?

"Dammit, this is unbelievable!" The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief bit the tip of his tongue and spat some more blood out. Then he took out a skull fragment, which he pushed down onto his forehead. His body began to tremble, and rumbling sounds could be heard. A boundless radiance shone out from him, and countless voices spoke in unison.

"Ancestral statuary, please seal this person!"

As the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief's roar echoed out, the monkey's eyes flickered. No longer did they glow with red light; instead, they began to darken, as if the flame of its life force were burning out. It was at this point that the monkey transformed into a stone statue.

When that happened, the cage began to shine with brilliant light, simultaneously increasing in size. Then, it abruptly vanished.

Meanwhile, Naruto was speeding off into the distance, utilizing all the possible power of the war chariot. In the blink of an eye, he was far, far away. He turned to look behind him, and when he could see no enormous hand, he sighed with relief. Then, killing intent flickered in his eyes, and he was about to return to the battlefield, when suddenly, his mind reeled with shock.

Everything around him was flat and drab. The whole world looked peaceful and calm. In fact, there seemed to be no life present at all.

He looked up, and could see a mountain range off in the distance.

"Considering the power of the war chariot, and how hard I pushed it just now, I should be able to see the Milky Way Sea from here…." His mind spun, and a bad feeling welled up in his heart. Eyes flashing, he sped forward toward the mountain range he had just seen. Then, his face fell.

Those… were no mountains! Instead, they were enormous pillars!

Naruto's scalp tingled. He turned again and, shockingly, found himself looking up at a gargantuan statue.

It was a statue of a monkey, and the expression on its face was one of derision.

A thunderous roar filled Naruto's mind. If by this point he didn't understand what had happened, then he wouldn't be Naruto.

"I'm inside that cage!" he thought with disbelief. He had just employed the top speed he could muster, and had clearly outrun the monkey's palm. Panting, he again sped off into the distance. It only took a bit of flying around for him to determine that he was definitely not in the lands of the Southern Domain, but rather, a square-shaped world.

In each of the four directions, he ran into pillars. In the center of all of them was the gigantic stone monkey. Finally, Naruto's face fell.

It was at this point that chanting sounds began to pulse toward him from all directions. The voices seem to contain some unspeakable power. As they floated about, the world began to tremble. What happened next was clearly visible to Naruto. The entire world… began to shrink!

At the same time, a shocking pressure weighed down.

The more the world shrank, the more intense the pressure became. It was a suppressing force that made Naruto tremble; it felt as if a mountain were crushing down onto him.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, Pill Demon, Patriarch Song, and the others hovered above the battlefield, shaken. Down below, the cultivators of the Southern Domain looked hopeless.

Everyone could see that the cage up in midair, which was covered by countless lightning bolts, now contained a figure inside that was Naruto!

However, he seemed to have been shrunk down to a tiny size, and was being suppressed by some power within the cage.

A ruthless gleam appeared in the eyes of the Imperial Bloodline Clan

Chief. He put away the skull fragment, then spit out a mouthful of blood.

His body aged visibly; manipulating the ancestral statuary in the way he just had came with a steep price.

"This campaign has been fraught with setbacks. However, Naruto has finally been suppressed. At long last, the war of the Southern Domain shall end. The Northern Reaches will now control this territory!

"The Immortal destiny will definitely appear within a Northern Reaches cultivator!" He lifted his head up and laughed. The heavy price he had paid was worth it considering that the result was that Naruto was suppressed.

Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he shot up into the air, heading directly toward the battle with Patriarch Song and Pill Demon. After killing them, the battle would be completely in hand.

Down below, the Southern Domain cultivators were in a state of hopelessness, whereas the Northern Reaches cultivators were enlivened. Roaring, the Northern Reaches cultivators charged in attack; in the blink of an eye, the Southern Domain suffered heavy casualties, and were pushed back. The only thing they could do now was fall back behind the protection of the spell formations.

The spell formations were strong, but not strong enough that they could block an entire army of hundreds of thousands of maddened cultivators. The enormous golden door was once again hoisted up by tens of thousands of cultivators. The fourth spell formation was destroyed, then the third. Although some Northern Reaches cultivators died in the process, the second spell formation was also broken.

The Ninth Mountain still hadn't faded away. It remained there, emitting rumbling sounds, as if someone was inside trying to break out!

The Southern Domain was in a huge crisis!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Michael Gibson, Peter Manolov,_

 _Nightrunners, and Bjorn Jeune_

Don't forget that rocs, or "kunpeng," start out their existence as a fish.

Vol. 5 : Chapter 790

Chapter 790: He Once Said….

Up in the air was another crisis!

Blood sprayed from Patriarch Song's mouth. He had lost another eye, ripped out by the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. Were it not for Naruto's second true self interfering with the Time Sword, he would surely have perished.

Patriarch Song, having lost both his eyes, was in a sorry state. Suddenly, his forehead tore open, and a brilliant glow appeared, which was his Nascent Divinity. Since he had no fleshly eyes, he would use his Nascent Divinity as his eyes so that he could continue to battle.

He couldn't afford to self-detonate. If he self-detonated in this moment of grave crisis for the Southern Domain, it would not only ensure that Pill Demon and Naruto's second true self would be defeated even sooner, it would also be a crippling blow to the morale of the Southern Domain cultivators.

"A fight to the death! What's the big deal in that?!" Laughing, Patriarch Song continued to battle on.

Pill Demon coughed up blood. He was fighting against two opponents, and considering how powerful the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief was, he couldn't hold his own. Thankfully, Naruto's second true self intervened, pinning down the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief as well as the obese woman.

"I already suppressed your true self, you trifling clone!" said the Imperial

Bloodline Clan Chief with a cold laugh. "Screw off!"

He waved his hand, and the Primordial Lightning Dragon appeared. Roaring, it bore down on Naruto's second true self.

Naruto's second true self looked coldly at the dragon. After his true self had been sealed, the connection between the two of them had been lost. Although he was incredibly nervous about the matter, there was nothing he could do about it except stall against the enemy.

The ground shook, and cracking sounds could suddenly be heard from the Ninth Mountain. A rift appeared on its surface, as if the person it was sealing would soon be freed. It was in that moment that a huge boom rang out; the Southern Domain's final spell formation was destroyed.

The backlash attack that it unleashed sent the Northern Reaches cultivators flying backward in retreat. However, it was only moments later that they charged once again, eyes bloodshot, faces covered with ferocious, cruel expressions.

The Southern Domain cultivators had been pressed down to the limit. Of their original force of 200,000, less than half remained. Now, they were prepared to put everything on the line in a final, brazen charge.

"Kill them!"

The ground quaked, rivers of blood flowed, and fierce fighting raged.

There was so much blood that the sky itself reflected it, turning red. The killing field that was the final battle for the Southern Domain shook violently.

Back inside the cage, Naruto was also experiencing deadly tribulation. His body trembled underneath the pressure, and he coughed up blood. It seemed that… the Southern Domain… would inevitably suffer a huge defeat!

The cultivators were in a disastrous situation. The Dao Seeking experts were in sore straits. The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief's eyes glittered ruthlessly; the battle seemed moments away from being won.

However, it was at this point that….

"South Cleaving!" An ancient voice rang out to echo through the land. It was like a windstorm that swept out in all directions.

"South Cleaving!" A second voice rang out, uttering the same words. It was an equally archaic voice that swept out to fill Heaven and Earth.

"South Cleaving!"

"SOUTH CLEAVING!" More voices rang out, until finally it was impossible to tell how many there were. Everything shook, and the sky flashed. Looks of shock began to appear on the faces of the Northern Reaches cultivators. The Southern Domain cultivators looked equally confused.

Up in the air, Patriarch Song and Pill Domain stared in shock. The Northern Reaches' Dao Seeking experts turned to look off into the distance.

As for the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, his face flickered.

"South Cleaving!" Amidst the rumbling, 10,000 figures suddenly appeared, striding through the air. They wore green armor that brimmed with an ancient air. It was as if these figures had existed for countless years; many were even dilapidated and broken down.

Inside the armor could be seen expressionless faces that appeared to be completely lifeless. They were puppets! Green-armored Demon guardians!

Every one of the green-armored Demon guardians had a core formation cultivation base, and the ground trembled as they advanced. Behind them were ninety additional figures wearing black armor.

Pitch black and circulating Demonic qi, these were… black-armored Demon guardians!

Each one had a Nascent Soul cultivation base, and possessed shocking power. As they advanced, it could be seen that behind them were six figures in violet armor.

Each of those six figures emanated Spirit Severing auras and shocking energy. As soon as they appeared, the ground trembled and the sky dimmed.

Behind those six figures were three old men wearing bronze battle armor. Their hair was white and floated about them, and their facial features were ancient. They seemed to have existed for many, many years. These old men were also puppets, no longer cultivators. However, the auras they emanated were that of the peak of Dao Seeking!

As these more than 10,000 people appeared, they all shouted the same thing.

"South Cleaving!"

As the sound rose up into the sky, the Southern Domain cultivators began to think about an ancient legend.

According to the legend, the Southern Domain and the Western Desert had not always been on stable terms like they were now. In fact, there had been lots of friction, including several instances of war.

In one of those wars, the Western Desert had been in the weak position, whereas the Southern Domain was much more powerful. The Southern Domain invaded the Western Desert, which prompted the Western

Desert cultivators to join forces to create the South Cleaving Sentinels. Supposedly, all of their peak Dao Seeking cultivators volunteered to give up everything and become puppets. They created a mountain range to cleave the south from the west; it completely and thoroughly separated the Western Desert and the Southern Domain.

From that time forward, those boundless mountains were called… the South Cleaving Mountains!

Within those mountains existed eternal guardians of the Western Desert, which was the former legion… of the South Cleaving Sentinels! 1

Afterwards, the Western Desert declined in power, and then the Violet Sea arrived. No more Dao Seeking experts had arisen there, and so, relations with the Southern Domain gradually stabilized.

"South Cleaving Sentinels!"

"Those are the Western Desert's South Cleaving Sentinels!" The appearance of this new force left the Southern Domain cultivators completely shocked. That was especially because they weren't sure if the South Cleaving Sentinels came as enemies or allies!

The Northern Reaches cultivators were in the same position. The sudden appearance of a third party left them astonished.

It was at this point that a group of tens of thousands of people could be seen charging out from behind the South Cleaving Sentinels. They wore simple clothes, and looked rough and coarse. They had barbarous expressions, and their hair flung about wildly like savages.

They also gave off an archaic air, as if within their veins pulsed blood that had existed for countless ages. These people were… the Golden Crow Clan, the great Wild Flame Tribe, the great Demon Butterfly Tribe, and the great Cloud Sky Tribe!

The Western Desert had become the Violet Sea, the great tribes had migrated to the Black Lands, and these people were the warrior tribes of the Black Lands.

"Fellow Daoist Pill Demon, we are indebted to you for your kindness all those years ago. Fellow Daoist Naruto, we are here to join you in battle!"

"Patriarch Naruto, we're here!"

"We might have had our differences with the Southern Domain in the past. However, when the Violet Sea Apocalypse came, the Southern Domain permitted the Western Desert to occupy the Black Lands, and did not interfere with us. Nor did you take advantage of our situation to harm us. Such kindness… will be repaid by the Western Desert cultivators on this very day!"

"We have already consulted with South Cleaving Pass on this matter, and the Patriarchs agree. We will aid the Southern Domain to drive out the Northern Reaches!"

As the voices rang out into the ears of the Southern Domain and Northern Reaches cultivators, everyone was shocked.

The Southern Domain cultivators were trembling. They had never imagined that at the eleventh hour, the Western Desert… would actually send troops to their aid!

The Northern Reaches cultivators were also trembling. Just when the battle seemed to be clinched, another setback occurred!

It was at this time that behind the Western Desert Cultivators could be seen hundreds of thousands… of wild beasts!

Although the beasts were not incredibly strong, their speed and numbers were enough to darken the sky. Numerous Dragoneers could be seen controlling the beasts as they charged toward the battlefield, forming a pincer formation with the Southern Domain cultivators to completely surround the Northern Reaches forces!

The Southern Domain cultivators' spirits were instantly raised, and they began to fight passionately.

Trembling, Patriarch Song lifted his head and laughed. Next to him, Pill Demon also appeared to be moved. He had treated the Western Desert well in the past, often providing them secret assistance. That was because long ago, Reverend Violet East had once been on good terms with the Western Desert. 2

Now that the Western Desert cultivators had arrived, the Southern Domain had been given a new lease on life from its imminent crisis!

This was especially true considering the presence of the South Cleaving Sentinels. As soon as they reached the battlefield, the old men in the bronze armor immediately shot toward the peak Dao Seeking experts' battle.

"Dammit!" roared the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. "You Western Desert barbarians are looking to die!" He was immediately pulled into fighting with one of the three peak Dao Seeking Western Desert puppets from the South Cleaving Sentinels. Fierce fighting caused everything to shake.

Three great territories were now locked in battle! The Western Desert! The Southern Domain! The Northern Reaches!

As the battle raged, the sky grew dark. The land was shattered into pieces, and the air itself was rent. The sky above was torn, revealing a peek of what appeared to be a different set of stars up above. Even the whole of Planet Ninshu seemed as if it had been tilted on its axis, and the entire planet trembled.

Originally, the Hebi Clan would have stepped in to prevent these three territories from going to war like this, and from shaking the very foundation of the lands of Planet Ninshu . But now… the Hebi Clan was acting as if they didn't even notice. Not a single Hebi Clan member appeared.

Within the rumbling of battle, beasts and cultivators slashed murderously at each other. The Southern Domain, the Western Desert and the Northern Reaches all fought with madness. Currently, it was actually difficult to tell who was in the winning position.

No one was confident of clinching victory, neither the Southern Domain and Western Desert, nor the Northern Reaches.

The lands flowed with blood, and fierce fighting raged everywhere.

Miserable screams drifted about, and countless corpses fell to the ground. Everything was stained with blood. The sky was dark. Everyone seemed to have become mired in a bloody slaughterhouse. The only thing to do was kill… and keep killing!

Up in midair, the five Northern Reaches Dao Seeking experts were fighting against three Southern Domain cultivators and three Western Desert experts, a total of six. Their battle thoroughly shook the sky up above, dissipating the Hebi Clan's sky and revealing the true starry sky of ancient times.

On any other occasion, the Hebi Clan would never have allowed such a thing to happen. But now… the Heavens of Hebi were severed. They had lost their protector, making it so that the current sky distorted into a massive vortex.

The spinning vortex looked like a huge eye, within which spun a starry sky!

The Violet Sea churned and the Milky Way Sea roared. The massive quaking was such that, in the area where the two seas bordered each other, it was possible to see that the Violet Sea was now leaking out into the Milky Way Sea. Instantly, shocking transformations began to occur.

The transformations were astonishing by themselves, but what was even more astounding was that… the blood that inundated the battlefield did not soak into the ground, but rather, began to slowly flow into the Milky Way Sea.

The lands which had once been the Blood Demon Sect were awash with blood that now poured into the Milky Way Sea. Considering that the Violet Sea was also flowing into it, the Milky Way Sea… erupted.

At this point, a faint voice rose up over the Milky Way Sea.

"He once said… when the vortex eye appears in the sky, when the lotus transforms, when there is a gap between Immortal and Devil, the Blue Lotus will appear…. And now…

"The stars can be seen, the blood of millions of cultivators flows freely, and the vortex eye can be seen in the sky.

"The Western Desert Apocalypse and the boundless Violet Sea concealed the transformations of the lotus.

"On the day the Heavens are numbed 3, filled with legions of grieving ghosts, I desire… to see the Blue Lotus!

"I will turn the blood of millions of cultivators into mud! I will transform all the wronged souls into a sludge. I shall… emerge spotless and unblemished from within that sludge of endless bloody mud! I shall… cast off the body of the Resurrection Lily and become the Blue Lotus!" 4

The South Cleaving Mountains were described in chapter 504, and Naruto encountered a South Cleaving Sentinel in chapter 506 ↩ There is a reference that I'm sure some of you will remember that seems to connect Pill Demon with the Western Desert. It even relates to Zhou Dekun. Check out chapter 263 ↩ I previously translated this "on the day of vicissitudes." I think this version is more accurate, and will go back to change the previous references later. Also, this line and the previous two lines rhyme in Chinese ↩ Confucian scholar Zhou Dunyi wrote, "I love the lotus because while growing from mud, it is unstained." ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 791

Chapter 791 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 791: Great Dao Resonance!

When the Milky Way Sea merged with the Violet Sea, its color changed; it was now indigo-blue!

The water on the surface churned, and the foamy waves suddenly looked like hair floating up from within the sea.

The enormous Resurrection Lily bridge that connected the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches suddenly began to tremble. Then the tentacles retracted from both the shores of the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches!

They pulled back to the surface of the Milky Way Sea to form… a shocking Resurrection Lily!

A seven-colored Resurrection Lily!

The Resurrection Lily was blooming, and its colors were fading along with the Milky Way Sea's change in color. It now bore the semblance of an indigo-blue lotus.

Boundless spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth surged toward the Blue

Lotus that had once been a Resurrection Lily, as if the process of transformation desperately needed the entire planet's energy.

Colors flashed in the sky, and the winds screamed. The Hebi Clan immediately noticed these phenomena, and the clan members' minds were shaken.

In the lands of the Southern Domain, the ordinary cultivators didn't notice anything more than a slight reduction in the spiritual energy around them. However, the Dao Seeking experts up in midair could detect the astonishing changes that were occurring in the direction of the Milky Way Sea.

The number one most powerful expert of the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, couldn't help but look shocked. The other peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Reaches were also astonished. Now that the Resurrection Lily bridge had disappeared, they had no escape route back to the Northern Reaches!

"Dammit!" Their faces fell.

As for Pill Demon and Patriarch Song, their eyes flickered with killing intent. They weren't sure what the Resurrection Lily was planning to do. Right now, the most important task at hand was slaughtering the Northern Reaches cultivators!

Even if the sky were falling, they would still fight as desperately as before.

Rumbling filled the air, and fierce fighting raged. The three parties of the Northern Reaches, the Southern Domain and the Western Desert all fought bitterly. The Dao Seeking experts up in midair were the same. With the addition of the forces from the Western Desert, the battle was now much more even.

It was now a fair fight!

However, the battle was being fought in the Southern Domain, the home of the Southern Domain cultivators. If the fighting kept going on much longer, the Northern Reaches cultivators would surely be beaten!

Unfortunately, the Southern Domain and the Western Desert would have to pay a grievous price to win this war. However, it had to be won, no matter the cost. Anything was better than the foundation of their cultivation being destroyed.

"Kill them!"

The ground trembled and blood flowed everywhere. The sky was rent, and wild winds whipped across the land. The entire rotation of Planet Ninshu was influenced.

In fact, there were even some areas of the Southern Domain which quaked so badly that the land collapsed, allowing the Milky Way Sea to rush in.

Meanwhile, the Imperial Bloodline Clan's ancestral statuary floated in midair, emanating an ancient aura. Inside the cage, Naruto was now facing the most critical danger he had ever faced in his life.

The cage's world was shrinking. As of this moment, he could see that the entire world was barely 30,000 meters wide!

An intense pressure bore down on him, sealing him completely.

Blood oozed out of his mouth. He performed incantation gestures to summon divine abilities. The Blood Demon Grand Magic raged as he attempted to break through the seal. However, nothing worked. No amount of power did anything to affect the area around him.

He could only watch, wide-eyed, as the 30,000-meter world became 25,000 meters, and then continued to shrink.

"Dammit!" he said, his eyes bloodshot. He flew up into the air, focusing all the power of his cultivation base to transform into a shooting star that sped up into the sky in the hopes of making a hole and breaking out.

BOOM!

Naruto's body shook violently and he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. He slammed back into the ground, having done absolutely nothing to weaken the power of the seal.

The area was continuing to shrink. Now there were only 20,000 meters left!

Naruto's head suddenly jerked up. His hair was in disarray, and his body was filled with rumbling. He took all of the Chakra and blood power that he had absorbed earlier and focused it in his right hand, creating… the most powerful punch he had ever unleashed.

At the same time, his cultivation base exploded with incredible ripples, as he focused all of the cultivation base power he had absorbed into his right hand. By now, his right hand was glowing with a blinding, dazzling light.

"Souls!" Naruto roared, and vast quantities of struggling souls screamed out. Hundreds of thousands of them seemed to blot out the sky. Then Naruto's hand became a black hole that began to suck in the souls.

By now, his fist contained a terrifying destructive power, a power that was the absolute peak of what he could summon. He flew up and then struck out at the sealing barrier which surrounded him.

A massive boom raged out which caused the entire world to shake. Time ground to a halt, and a gigantic vortex ripped open that seemed capable of sucking the whole world into it.

Heaven and Earth distorted, and cracking sounds could be heard. The seal seemed to be on the verge of falling apart, until… the stone monkey in the middle of the world suddenly opened its eyes. A bizarre light shone out, which then surrounded the entire world.

Everything seemed to be freezing over!

BOOM!

The vortex collapsed, and the distortion disappeared. Everything returned to normal. The previous 20,000 meter distance was now 10,000!

Naruto coughed up some blood and backed up. The world was shrinking too much, and the pressure weighing down on him had doubled. He coughed up more blood.

An archaic voice echoed out from the stone statue.

"The world of Immortals is the source of all chaos. Immortals are the source of all slaughter. The Immortal Realm must be sealed! Immortals must be suppressed!"

The pressure grew more intense, and Naruto could hear cracking sounds inside of him, as if his bones were being broken.

Anyone else in this situation would already have been crushed out of existence; it was only because of his incredibly powerful fleshly body that he could hold out.

"What the hell are you talking about?!" he said. The words spoken by the stone monkey didn't make any sense to him. However, his eyes were completely shot with blood, and the killing intent he felt in his heart continued to grow stronger. Being stuck in this sealing cage was causing him to feel completely helpless.

"I was a bit too weak just now," he thought. "This stone monkey's gaze negates anything I do! I don't have the power to break open the cage, but… I can borrow some power!" His eyes suddenly filled with a gleam of determination. He took a deep breath, and no longer made any attempts to violently break out. Instead, he sank back down to the ground and sat down cross-legged, a profound look in his eyes.

"I've already reached an understanding regarding the path of my Third Severing…. I've only been hesitant about the correctness of the path. But now… I might as well just go ahead with it!

"I'll borrow the power of the blade of the Third Severing, the Dao

Severing blade, to break open this cage!" His eyes gleamed with decisiveness.

"My First Severing cut away the Resurrection Lily, and carved out freedom. That was my direction!

"My Second Severing cut away the past, and carved out my Dao Fruit!

"My Third Severing… will cut away the Devil in my heart! I will carve away my desire to become Devilish. That is Devil Severing!

"I must… Sever the Devil and Seek the Dao!" When he looked up, an intense glow could be seen in his eyes. He took a deep breath and began to rotate his cultivation base. He used all of the power of his cultivation base to stimulate the blade of the Third Severing!

In Spirit Severing, there were three blades. As long as one was confident of the Dao, and one's spirit was ready, the blades could link with Heaven and Earth to cause a Dao blade to descend!

If the Severing was correct, then the cultivation base would experience a breakthrough. If the Severing was incorrect, the body would perish and the Dao would dissipate!

Spirit Severing cultivators who were not 100% confident would not easily perform a Severing. What they feared most was realizing at the last minute that they had Severed incorrectly. Their fate would then be death.

The First Severing was difficult, and the Second was incredibly dangerous. As for the Third Severing… that was the most critical of junctures!

If the Severing was correct, then the cultivator would step into Dao Seeking. If it was incorrect, the cultivator would die. If the Severing was somewhere in between, neither correct nor incorrect, the result was an existence of being crippled. No further advancements would be possible, and they would forever remain in the Third Severing stage until their longevity ran out and they returned to the dust.

As for what was correct and what was incorrect, the answer could only be found in the heart of the cultivator!

If the heart was correct, everything was correct. If the heart was incorrect, so everything else would be!

It had been a profound mystery since ancient times, and even in modern days, no one completely understood the matter.

Naruto's cultivation suddenly surged out. It was irrelevant that he was in a cage, or that he was sealed. The Dao was amorphous, and although places existed in Heaven and Earth where there was no Dao, clearly… this cage was not one of those places!

Almost as soon as Naruto's cultivation base exploded out to call his blade of the Third Severing, lightning and thunder crashed in the world outside. Rumbling filled the air, and the sky split. A vortex appeared, and the power of a great Dao suddenly emerged.

This great Dao power descended from the starry sky, nearing the lands of Planet Ninshu , and the battlefield on the Southern Domain!

In the blink of an eye, virtually all of the cultivators down below could sense the power of the great Dao. One by one, looks of shock appeared on their faces.

"That's… a great Dao of Spirit Severing!"

"Who's calling to a Dao of Spirit Severing!?"

"Don't tell me someone is about to break through to Spirit Severing right in the middle of the battlefield!?"

Despite the fact that battle was raging, the appearance of the power of a great Dao made it impossible for people to remain calm. From the expressions on the faces of the peak Dao Seeking experts of the three territories, it was clear that they were thoroughly astonished.

Their gazes swept about, but none of them could see anyone who seemed to be attaining Spirit Severing enlightenment.

It was at this point that suddenly, the rumbling great Dao power intensified by tenfold. The vortex up above seemed to be completely obscured. It was as if nothing were left in the world except for the great Dao.

Even the cultivators who were locked in vicious combat suddenly found that it was extremely difficult to utilize any magical techniques or divine abilities. It was as if they were being assimilated by the great Dao.

It was the same with the peak Dao Seeking experts up in midair. People began to gasp, and expressions of shock could be seen everywhere. "That's not a blade of First Severing, that's a Third Severing blade!"

"That can't be right! There's never been a Third Severing blade with such astonishing power before!"

"Don't tell me that…."

Rumbling echoed out as the power of the great Dao grew more intense.

The entire sky of the lands of Planet Ninshu was shaking and blurred. And yet, the power of the great Dao grew even stronger. Even the Resurrection Lily in the Milky Way Sea was astonished.

The power of this great Dao was shocking the entire world. It was like a wall that prevented anyone on the battlefield from attacking. Their expressions were that of shock as they realized that the Imperial Bloodline Clan's ancestral statuary cage was now emanating intense light.

After looking closely, it was possible to see that the source of that light was none other than Naruto, who was still in the cage!

The bright light appeared to be some sort of resonance!

A Great Dao Resonance!

Chapter 791: Great Dao Resonance!

Vol. 5 : Chapter 792

Chapter 792: The Dao Becomes a Mist; the Mist Becomes a Blade!

"It's Naruto!"

"It's the exalted Naruto! How could that dinky ancestral statuary possibly suppress his excellency Naruto!?"

"Isn't his excellency Naruto at Dao Seeking…? How could there be a great Dao of Spirit Severing?"

The Southern Domain cultivators were in an uproar, and many of them were completely flabbergasted. From the feeling most people got, Naruto couldn't possibly be in the Spirit Severing stage. Essentially, most people had long forgotten that his cultivation base was actually at the Second Severing level!

In the history of the lands of Planet Ninshu , there had never been a Spirit Severing expert who possessed a peak Dao Seeking clone. Nor had there ever been a battle in which a Spirit Severing cultivator actually fought and killed someone at the peak of Dao Seeking.

The things which these cultivators were witnessing were completely unheard-of. Therefore, there were quite a few people who actually believed that Naruto… was at the peak of Dao Seeking!

Of course, the Northern Reaches cultivators' shock and astonishment was even more intense.

"The ancestral statuary can't keep him suppressed! Just… where is this guy from!?"

"He's actually at the Spirit Severing stage? That's impossible!"

"Heavens! How… how could he possibly be a mere Spirit Severing cultivator!? If he can fight the peak of Dao Seeking now, then when he steps into Dao Seeking, doesn't that mean he could fight false Immortals!?"

The Northern Reaches cultivators were thoroughly astonished. One by one, they all looked over toward Naruto with expressions of shock and disbelief.

These people were not very familiar with Naruto. Now that they realized the truth about him, it was almost impossible for them to accept.

As for the Western Desert cultivators, they immediately began to make loud exclamations, the noise of which turned into a sound wave that shook everything.

"The number one non-Immortal in all the lands of Planet Ninshu !"

"The exalted Naruto is about to free himself!"

"Spirit Severing into Dao Seeking!"

As for Pill Demon and Patriarch Song, they were unfazed. Although they knew Naruto's true cultivation base, and had gotten used to his incredible power, they had stopped paying attention to the fact that he was actually still in the Spirit Severing stage.

However, the Northern Reaches cultivators did not know this, and they stared with gaping mouths. The obese woman was especially astonished, and she suddenly glanced over at the expressionless face of Naruto's second true self.

Then she started to tremble, and her scalp went numb. She suddenly had the feeling that the Northern Reaches had made a colossal mistake in invading the Southern Domain.

There was someone who was even more shaken than her, a person whose heart filled with massive waves of astonishment. That was the number one most powerful expert from the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief!

He was in a daze, and could hardly believe what was happening. In fact, he wasn't willing to believe. The incredible battle he had just experienced with Naruto had left him wounded, and had forced him to use the ancestral statuary. And that… was a battle with a Spirit Severing expert!?

"Impossible!" he gasped. His eyes were filled with not just shock, but also terror. He could never have possibly imagined that there really was an unequaled Chosen who could accomplish the things Naruto had while merely in the Spirit Severing stage.

In his disbelief, he felt his scalp grow completely numb.

"No matter how you put it, you have to say that the Third Severing is the most critical of all," he thought. "The slightest mistake, and you immediately perish. Even if you aren't completely right or wrong, your cultivation base will be forever restrained.

"Naruto obviously hasn't prepared well for the Third Severing, that much can be determined. Therefore, this Spirit Severing right now is being done because he's been forced into a corner. It's a forced Severing!

"In that case… if he fails, then he will perish this very day!

"Naruto… there's no way that you can succeed!" The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief was truly frightened, and simply couldn't believe how unimaginably powerful Naruto would be if he succeeded in entering into Dao Seeking….

The great Dao was growing even more powerful. The entire sky above Planet Ninshu was now completely obscured.

In the lands of Planet Ninshu , in that tower of Tang, the man and woman stood together, trembling. The woman was excited, and the man was apparently trying to keep his cool, but failing.

They had been waiting for this day for a very, very long time.

"We still can't go," murmured the man. "Just wait a bit longer. Only a little bit…. This is the final stretch!

"If he succeeds, then we will finally be able to reunite. If he doesn't succeed…."

His wife clasped his hand tightly. Both of their palms were slick with sweat.

In their entire lives, this man and woman had never been so nervous, nor was there any event they had ever experienced that was so important. Even if some shockingly powerful individual attempted to interfere with what was happening, they would pay any price to stop that person from causing even the slightest bit of trouble!

"We've waited for three lives. For hundreds of years…. Just for this moment!"

"Hao'er, you… must… succeed and reach Dao Seeking!"

Back in the cage, Naruto sat cross-legged, trembling slightly, his hair floating around him. The world around him had shrunk down to only about three thousand meters. There was virtually nothing around him except for air. All of the mountains and everything else had been crushed into dust by the shocking pressure.

Cracking sounds could be heard emanating out from his body, as if his skeleton were being ground away.

However, Naruto didn't notice. All of his concentration was focused on summoning the blade of the Third Severing. The more intense his summons grew, the more obscure Heaven and Earth became in the outside world.

The great Dao grew stronger, to the point where a mist appeared…. The mist was first seen on the battlefield and then spread out to cover all of the lands of Planet Ninshu .

The peak Dao Seeking experts from the three territories immediately recognized what was happening. They began to speak in hushed tones, which were overheard by the other cultivators, causing their hearts to tremble.

"That's…."

"A Dao turned into mist!"

"The only time a Dao will take form as a mist is when an incredibly powerful expert gains enlightenment of a great Dao! Only then will such transformations of Heaven and Earth take place!"

"This is something you only hear about in legends! It's virtually unheard of in the lands of Planet Ninshu !"

A gleam of excitement appeared in Pill Demon's eyes, and he almost couldn't hold back the laughter that burst out in his heart.

Patriarch Song looked equally excited.

In contrast, Naruto's second true self suddenly closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged in midair!

The descent of the great Dao caused all hostilities to cease. Even the peak Dao Seeking experts were incapable of making attacks during the great Dao's descent. The Northern Reaches experts could do nothing but stare in wide-eyed disbelief at Naruto's second true self sitting there cross-legged.

"Dammit! You'd better not pull it off, Naruto!" thought the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. His heart was pounding.

Currently, all of the powerful experts of the Northern Reaches, Western Desert and Southern Domain were closely observing the scene. Back in the Eastern Lands, the Hebi Clan was completely quiet. As for the young Patriarch with the missing arms, he was staring fixedly at what was happening.

By this time, there were other powerful experts from various sects and clans in the Eastern Lands who had also sensed what was happening. Shocked, they sent out their divine sense to observe. However, no one dared to do anything. After all, if the Hebi Clan wasn't interfering, how could they dare to interfere?

It was at this point that, back in the cage, Naruto abruptly lifted his head. His eyes opened, and he cried out: "Third Severing!"

His voice echoed back and forth within the world, which had now shrunk to 1,500 meters. At first it didn't seem that the sound could be heard in the outside world, but in actuality, it was as if there were innumerable Narutos issuing an echoing cry that could be heard faintly by those outside.

It almost seemed as if the sound was coming from the mist itself, as if the echoing response came from within the descending great Dao itself.

Countless ears heard the voice, and everyone who did was completely and thoroughly shaken.

As the voice echoed out, the mist that covered all of Planet Ninshu suddenly surged back, roiling as it condensed above the battlefield in the Southern Domain. There, in midair, it formed into the shape…

Of a Mist Blade!

Mist Blade!

Dao enlightenment! 1

As soon as the Mist Blade appeared, the eyes of all of the peak Dao Seeking experts on the battlefield went wide. Their minds filled with a roaring sound. Even Pill Demon wore an expression of disbelief.

The fact that there was a Dao that became so strong it turned into a mist was shocking enough. Something legendary like that was possible to accept. However… to see the mist turn into a blade was something that filled them with uncontrollable shock.

"Mist… Blade!" thought the shocked Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief.

"That's… something that should be experienced on the Immortal Mountain, just before pushing open the Door of Immortality, when reaching Immortal Ascension!"

"Those who achieve true Immortal Ascension must face Immortal

Tribulation. After they transcend the tribulation, they will stand on an

Immortal Mountain of their own. As they take that step forward, a Mist Blade will fall. Then, they will be severed from the Spirit Realm and have the power to push open the Door of Immortality, and become a true Immortal!

"But he… is using a Mist Blade to perform his Third Severing! When that Mist Blade slashes through him, it will sever his Spirit Nucleus and stabilize the path to true Immortality!"

His mind was reeling, and his body trembling. Suddenly, he realized that sending troops into the Southern Domain had been a monumental error!

All of the peak Dao Seeking experts up in midair were shocked. Of course, it wasn't just them. In the Eastern Lands, the Patriarchs of the various sects were equally astonished. They could hardly believe what they were seeing, and were filled with shock and disbelief.

"Who is that young man!?"

"He's using a Mist Blade for his Third Severing! If he fails then it doesn't matter, but if he succeeds, wouldn't it be a defiance of the Heavens?!" "If he succeeds, then will he step into Dao Seeking, or Immortality?"

The armless young man in the Hebi Clan suddenly rose to his feet, his eyes wide and filled with disbelief.

"Rumor has it thatNamikaze Xiufeng, the number one Chosen in theNamikaze Clan, used a blade composed of twenty percent mist in his Third Severing. That caused a huge commotion among the ancient clans of the Ninth Mountain. Even the Patriarch watched the whole thing with rapt attention. 2

"This Naruto… he… he's actually even more Heaven-defying in his

Spirit Severing thanNamikaze Xiufeng. He's actually… using a complete Mist Blade!"

In the Tower of Tang, the woman gasped.

"The Dao became a mist, and the mist became a blade!" The woman's eyes shone with excitement, and she was trembling violently. "Husband… can you believe'er is doing this!? He even… he… he didn't just bring SOME of the mist together, he actually used all of it to make a Mist Blade! He's vastly more shocking than you!"

"Seventh Year Tribulation," murmured the man. "Four lifetimes. Three incarnations predestined…. Only by preventing his Karma from being contaminated by ours, could we give him a slight chance at life!

"The Dao became a mist, the mist became a blade. That blade will complete the gap between Immortal and Devil!" The man's eyes shone with a bright light, and he couldn't help but lift his head up and laugh. "It's natural that a son ofNamikaze is even more astonishing than his father!"

—–

Fang Xiufeng wp-content/uploads/2016/07/fang_xiufeng. mp3

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Alessio Bastardi, Camilo Rey, and Valera McDaniel_

There is an important play on words here. In Chinese, "Mist Blade" is pronounced "wù dāo," almost exactly as the pronunciation of Dao enlightenment, which is "wù dào" ↩Namikaze Xiufeng's name in Chinese is 方秀峰 fāng xiù fē is a surname which also means "square" or "direction." Xiu means "elegant" or "handsome." Feng means "peak" or

"summit" ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 793

Chapter 793: Sever the Devil, Seek the Dao!

Third Severing!

The mist sent the sound of his voice throughout the lands of Planet Ninshu , and then it, along with the contraction of the mist, was sucked back in. In the end, the mist was formed into a Mist Blade, and Naruto's voice echoed above the battlefield in shocking fashion.

The Mist Blade looked ordinary in every aspect.

It was made from nothing but mist, and yet that mist… was formed by a great Dao that had reached an utmost purity! Inside of that blade was the distillation of the entirety of the great Dao that had descended!

That blade didn't just contain the mist from before, all of the obscurity that had existed in the sky had been turned into countless amorphous strands of power that joined the mist in transforming into the enormous blade.

It was a blade, and it was a Dao!

It was a mist, and it was enlightenment!

It was a Mist Blade, and it was Dao enlightenment!

SEVER!

The Mist Blade descended toward the cage. Inside, the stone monkey's eyes snapped open, and they gleamed with a strange light that tried to fight back against the blade. However, almost as soon as it shone out, the light shattered. The blade dropped, slicing into the cage and bearing down on Naruto.

The stone monkey howled and leaped up into the air in an attempt to block the blade.

As soon as it touched the blade, however, rumbling filled its entire body and blood sprayed from its mouth. Then… it was directly sliced in half, powerless to affect the Mist Blade in the least.

There were only three hundred meters left within the world of the cage. As the Mist Blade sliced down, it easily split what had moments before been an unshakable barrier to Naruto.

Rumbling filled the air as the cage was completely split open!

The walls collapsed, the stone monkey was split in half. The cage that was the ancestral treasure of the Imperial Bloodline Clan was completely destroyed. It finally shattered into countless pieces, and Naruto once again appeared in the outside world!

He sat cross-legged just as before, looking up, his white hair fluttering around him. Devilish flames engulfed him, and his skin glowed with a black aura that seemed to penetrate deep down inside him.

That was his Devilish will, the source of his desire to kill. That was his Devilishness!

Rumbling filled the air as everyone looked on mutely. All onlookers were incapable of moving, even the peak Dao Seeking experts.

They could only spectate, wide-eyed, as this once-in-a-lifetime event occurred right in front of their eyes!

The Mist Blade rumbled as it sliced down. When it touched the top of

Naruto's head, a twinge of pain could be seen on his face. The blackness that surrounded him rapidly flew into motion, becoming countless struggling, twisted faces.

Naruto quivered; the pain he was experiencing was indescribable. He almost felt like his body was being ripped apart. And yet, his eyes shone with determination.

By now, it wasn't just the crowds on the battlefield who were watching him. The Patriarchs in the Eastern Lands were using a variety of methods to observe, some of which even came at a high price.

The Hebi Clan was looking on, as were the couple in the Tower of Tang.

Everyone was watching closely, keen to find out whether Naruto would succeed or fail!

"Sever the Devil!" thought Naruto, his eyes shining with decisiveness. He looked at the Mist Blade and let out a powerful roar, and his cultivation base exploded out with incredible power as he stimulated the Devilish will inside of him. Deep within his heart, the desire to slaughter rose up. At the same time, images appeared of all the murderous massacres he had carried out after becoming bedeviled.

The Mist Blade trembled, then continued to descend. This time, it stabbed three inches down into the top of Naruto's head. No blood flowed out, because this was not a physical blade, but a Dao!

And yet, Naruto still experienced intense pain, a pain more powerful than he would feel were the blade physical. The black aura began to spread out from him, where, shockingly, it transformed into a face.

That face… looked exactly like Naruto's!

However, it was filled with vileness, savagery, and madness. Devilish Chakra roared up, and the face opened its mouth, soundlessly howling at the Mist Blade.

The Mist Blade gradually descended further. The power of this blade did not come from the Heavens, from the Earth, or from the underworld. No, it was Naruto's!

This was Naruto's Severing!

The power of the Severing came from his own will. Whatever he wished to Sever, this blade would Sever. If he gave up, then the blade would fade away, and his Spirit Severing would be a failure!

"SEVER!" he said hoarsely, through gritted teeth. Rumbling could be heard as the Mist Blade continued to slice down. It cut through his head, then his neck. The blade trembled. As for the ferocious, vile face that existed around Naruto, it was now possible to see a huge split down the middle of it, something that would never be mended.

Miserable screams could be heard coming from the vile face's mouth. Then the face scattered and surged back into Naruto's body. Now, everything below his head was completely black.

"My path is not incorrect!" he murmured. "True freedom and true independence! The Resurrection Lily was incapable of possessing me! I even awoke from death! My Dao… is not the Dao of the Devilish!

"Devilishness can be a type of obsession. That kind of perseverance is something that I need. What I don't need is something that controls me. I am not a Devil. I am not an Immortal. I am me and nothing else!" He took a deep breath, and more power poured into the Mist Blade. Rumbling could be heard as it began to slice down once more.

RUMMMMMBLE!

The Mist Blade sliced through his shoulders, and then down to his dantian region. There was now only a moment left, and Naruto's Severing would be complete.

Currently, black Chakra had merged together on either side of him to form the shape of two wings. Gradually, they took on the appearance of Naruto himself. One of the figures was roaring in rage at Naruto, the other was whispering to him silently.

They seemed unwilling to be severed away; they were born of his Devilish will, and were part of him. They wanted to exist within his mind, and were not willing to be severed.

Naruto sat there silently, a blank expression on his face.

As of this moment, he forgot that he was engaged in Spirit Severing. In his mind, he saw two images of himself, and they were fighting each other.

As the Devilish will raged, he thought back to the things he had seen the first time he had charged into the Black Sieve Sect. As the other Devilish will whispered to him, he thought of how he had held Hinata's corpse, and the ruthless laughter of the Northern Reaches cultivators.

He paused.

In that moment in which his will paused, the Mist Blade also paused.

Everyone on the battlefield was watching him closely, as were the Patriarchs of the various sects in the Eastern Lands.

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief wore an expression of joy. Seeing that Naruto was hesitating, he joyously called out in his heart: "Stop! Just stop!"

In the Hebi Clan of the Eastern Lands, the armless young man, the Patriarch, looked on with shining eyes.

In the Tower of Tang, the woman looked extremely anxious. And yet, there was nothing she could do. Anything she did to interfere could have a huge negative influence. Everything… was completely up to Naruto.

Ten breaths of time passed.

Even though it was a mere ten breaths, to everyone watching it seemed like a very, very long time.

Naruto sat there quietly, his eyes closed. When they opened, they were calm, so calm that it was impossible for anyone to tell what he might be thinking. However, the two Devilish images on either side of him appeared to be delighted.

"People say that there are two opposing concepts: good, and evil," murmured Naruto.

"Rather than say my Third Severing is a Severing of the Devilish, it would be better to say that it is a Severing of the evil.

"But… is it really possible to completely Sever evil?

"If humanity was left only with goodness, perhaps that would make the world a more beautiful. Unfortunately, that isn't realistic. Without the existence of evil, perhaps good… would no longer be called good.

"Good and evil are the desires of the heart. If I earnestly perform good deeds, evil can be suppressed. Likewise, if I malevolently perform evil deeds, good will be suppressed.

"Perhaps there is nothing truly good or truly evil in the world, similar to what my master Pill Demon told me about what is correct and incorrect. 1

"What I have… is my own will!

"The choices I make decide everything!" As his voice echoed out, the music of a great Dao rose up around him, as well as the power of natural law. These were things that did not exist moments before, but gradually appeared along with Naruto's words.

Apparently…The laws of nature were being dictated by the words that Naruto spoke!

When the Dao Seeking experts sensed that natural law, their minds trembled. It was at that exact moment that…

"Oh great Dao, continue your severing!"

RUMBLE!

The Mist Blade sliced down through Naruto's dantian region, completely passing through him. Miserable shrieks could be heard emanating out in all directions as the two Devilish figures on either side of him were separated completely from his body.

In that instant, any ferocious air that Naruto had faded away. The aura of a scholar returned. Furthermore, the mark on his right hand once again flickered brightly, filled with an aura of mystery. Powerful natural law surged around him, distorting the air, transforming into a shocking windstorm that swept about.

After witnessing what was happening, the Southern Domain cultivators on the battlefield instantly understood what had happened, and their faces went wild with joy.

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!"

"Naruto!" The combined voices of a hundred thousand people rose up. Their eyes were filled with fanaticism. Fatty was in the crowds, yelling at the top of his lungs despite his hoarse throat.

The Western Desert cultivators were also roaring, especially the members of the Golden Crow Tribe and the Church of the Golden Light.

In sharp contrast, the Northern Reaches cultivators trembled and looked at Naruto with fear and dread.

Up in midair, Pill Demon was laughing uproariously, along with Patriarch Song, despite his weakened state.

The peak Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Reaches' faces were ashen and pale. All of them were wondering… exactly how powerful Naruto was about to become!

"He just entered Dao Seeking," thought the Imperial Bloodline Clan

Chief. He clenched his jaw. "Well, I'll make sure that the day he enters

Dao Seeking is the day that he perishes!" He pushed aside his dread, and intense killing intent could be seen in his eyes.

Meanwhile, the two Devilish wills merged together, transforming into a monstrous black aura. Since they had been Severed, they were unable to exist any longer, and began to fade away.

"It really would be a pity to let a Devilish will like this simply dissolve…."

Naruto said coolly. With that, he lifted a finger, causing the Devil Construct to tremble. Then, it shot directly toward Naruto's second true self.

The second true self's eyes snapped open, and he sucked in a breath. Immediately, the Devilish will surged into him through his nose and mouth. The second true self's eyes instantly began to glow with intense coldness. It was a coldness that seemed to be completely callous and grim, even vile. The desire to kill began to emanate off of it.

He was surrounded by a black aura that made him look completely like a Devil Immortal!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Woo Fredrick, Tyx Ev, Kato Berti, Tyler_

 _Rhone, and Daniel Parkes_

It was in chapter 759 that Pill Demon passed a message to Naruto about what is correct and incorrect ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 794

Chapter 794 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 794: Invincible Naruto!

Meanwhile, out on the Milky Way Sea, the enormous Resurrection Lily was shrinking in on itself. The petals folded up into a bulb, and the tentacle roots weaved together to form the shape of a Blue Lotus!

The Blue Lotus swayed back and forth, and although it appeared to be in full bloom, there also seemed to be something missing, as if it was unstable and could revert to the shape of a Resurrection Lily at any time.

"The gap between Immortal and Devil has appeared…."

On the battlefield in the Southern Domain, the crowds were crying out with loud voices. The Northern Reaches cultivators stood there ashenfaced as the great Dao blade slowly faded away.

At the same time, the state of motionlessness which had been imposed on everyone gradually disappeared. However, no fierce fighting broke out. The Northern Reaches forces began to form up in groups. Up above, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief let out a roar and transformed into the Primordial Lightning Dragon. Bypassing the three South Cleaving Sentinels in bronze armor, he shot toward Naruto.

"Let's see just how strong you are now that you're in Dao Seeking!" he roared.

As the old man neared, killing intent flickered in the other four peak Dao Seeking experts' eyes. Their cultivation bases burst with power; they knew that their only chance was to attack in unison. If they didn't do that now, the battle would definitely end in a huge defeat!

If they could kill Naruto now, then… they might have a chance to turn a defeat into a victory!

Five people closed in at incredible speed.

"Kill him!"

"He was already powerful before, so there's no chance that he won't be Heaven-defying now that he's in Dao Seeking. Except, his cultivation base is unstable since he just completed his Third Severing. Kill him now!"

"Only by killing him can we turn this battle around! We can't leave him alive!"

"Kill him before he truly enters Dao Seeking!"

Those were the thoughts running through their heads as they closed in, roaring.

The extremely obese woman rumbled through the air, surrounded by colorful streams of mist that transformed into seven hypertoxic strips of paper!

Each strip was a different color, and each one was covered with countless glittering magical symbols that pulsed with Dao Seeking auras.

Flying next to her at top speed was the effeminate man whose body emanated shocking coldness. The coldness transformed into an obscene statue that possessed both male and female properties. Furthermore, it emanated a Dao will that seemed to combine the properties of both yin and yang.

Glittering light spread out, and the effeminate man suddenly began to transform into a woman, extremely beautiful, and yet filled with a murderous aura.

Of the other two peak Dao Seeking experts, one of them was the old man who looked like a hopping vampire. Suddenly, black fur sprouted out all over his body, and his eyes began to glow with a green light. Cracking sounds could be heard as his body grew larger, and an aura of death surged out from him. Now he looked like a drought ghoul! 1

He was surrounded by an aura of death, and although he should have emanated yin-type coldness, he actually burned with ghost fire. The ghost fire spread out, its faint glow causing the sun and moon to tremble. Within the flames could be seen countless evil spirits, so many that they blotted out the sky and the land. Rumbling filled the air as they shot toward Naruto.

The last Dao Seeking expert was the man in the violet robe who had participated in the second wave army's attack. Despite being seriously injured, he had continued to fight all the way down to this final, decisive battle. He spit up blood, and seemed like an arrow at the end of its flight, completely spent of all energy. Nonetheless, he let out a roar, and his body suddenly grew larger. His features became aged, and in the the blink of an eye, he looked like an old man.

By sacrificing longevity, he was able to gain earth-shaking power. His body expanded rapidly, and scales grew out to cover his skin. A horn even grew out of his forehead, and a long tail appeared behind him. He now completely resembled a Demon Devil!

A savage aura burst out, as well as rancid wind. Dust swirled around him in the wind, transforming into a sandstorm that flew directly toward Naruto.

These four peak Dao Seeking experts went berserk as they unleashed pyrrhic divine abilities that could kill a thousand enemies at the expense of eight hundred allies. As for the number one most powerful person from the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, he instantly transformed into a Primordial Lightning Dragon. Thunderous booms filled the air as he shot toward Naruto.

The five of them swept through everything in their path, as if nothing could possibly block them. They closed in from five different directions, radiating such indescribable power that the air vibrated and everything shook. Not even Pill Demon and the others could block them.

From the look of it, even a false Immortal would be seriously injured by this allout attack by five peak Dao Seeking experts, in which caution was thrown to the wind!

Down below, the Southern Domain cultivators' eyes were shot with blood.

"Your excellency Naruto!"

"Not good! Blood Prince Naruto just performed his Third Severing and hasn't had time to stabilize himself! Those damned Northern Reaches cultivators!"

Patriarch Song's and Pill Demon's faces fell. They were just about to risk everything to try to block the Northern Reaches cultivators when all of a sudden, Naruto's voice echoed out.

"Allow them to come."

It was one sentence, with only four words. 2 They were words spoken with the utmost confidence, such confidence that apparently he didn't even need to utilize his second true self.

As soon as those words rang out, the Southern Domain cultivators calmed down.

No one did anything to block the Northern Reaches cultivators. As for the five peak Dao Seeking experts, rumbling filled the air as they shot through the air in five beams of colorful light.

"Naruto, you're DEAD!" they roared.

As they neared, Naruto looked up at them, his face calm in an unparalleled manner. Then he slowly rose to his feet from his crosslegged position.

The movement only took a moment, but during that time the air around him rumbled as a power exploded up within him that seemed capable of splitting Heaven and Earth apart.

Shocking thumping sounds filled the air.

As he stood, the power of natural law descended and the area around Naruto filled with streams of ancient magical symbols. They glittered brightly as they formed Naruto's personal natural law of Dao Seeking.

It was a Dao of freedom, a Dao of good and evil, formed from Naruto's will. It was a law that could transform Heaven and Earth with a single thought.

When the natural law appeared, the rumbling in the area grew even more shocking. The sky shook as something appeared that seemed to be a mountain. It was not the Ninth Mountain, but rather a lush, green mountain…. It was…

Mount Daqing! It was also a Dao-confirming mountain!

As soon as it appeared, it began to shine with brilliant light. Naruto took a deep breath and looked down at the mark on his right hand. It was also pulsing with an aura that merged into his body and then transformed into the aura of an Immortal.

It was Immortal qi!

After experiencing the mist blade, Immortal Chakra had appeared on Naruto!

When the Immortal Chakra appeared, the world trembled. The Northern Reaches cultivators down below were shaking in their boots, and the

Southern Domain forces were getting even more excited than before.

Pill Demon gasped, and then murmured, "Severing the Devil and Seeking the Dao. This is something rare that only exists in legends!" Patriarch Song was equally excited.

Moments before, the peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches had a sliver of hope that they might win by a fluke. Now that the Immortal Chakra had appeared, they gasped, and their minds were sent spinning.

The five peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches were astonished.

"He just stepped into Dao Seeking and he already developed Immortal qi! Impossible! I've been in Dao Seeking for years and still haven't developed even a scrap!"

"Just what level of cultivation base does he have! I actually… can't even clearly make out what his cultivation base is!"

"It seems like early Dao Seeking, but at the same time, mid Dao

Seeking, and also peak Dao Seeking! What's going on!?"

"Now that I think about it, there's a legend about a type of Dao Seeking which isn't split into multiple levels! As soon as you step into it, you're at the peak…."

However, they were already like arrows unleashed from the bow. They had to go through with their attacks; if they didn't, their fate would certainly be death.

Considering that retreat meant certain annihilation, then the only course of action they could take… was to attack!

The five of them closed in on Naruto, surrounded by rumbling sounds!

The fastest of them all was the man who had assumed the shape of a beautiful female cultivator. He was was the first to arrive, surrounded by a shocking cold aura. The matchlessly bizarre statue emanated faint light; it had been refined by the man after he had reached Dao Seeking, by sacrificing some of his his own life force. It could unleash a shocking divine ability.

"Yin-Yang Nine Tribulations!" the cultivator bellowed, stretching out both hands. His goal was to completely destroy Naruto in one shot.

However, even as he neared, Naruto clenched his right fist and punched out. It was a tidy and efficient blow, delivered with indescribable speed. The air was sucked in, and massive energy surged. The beautiful cultivator's face fell as he sensed an unsurpassable pressure surging toward him like Heavenly might. It was something impossible to contend with, and the amorphous power blasted into him before he even had a chance to retreat.

BOOOOMMMMM! A huge explosion rattled out.

The beautiful cultivator was at the peak of Dao Seeking, and was burning life force in an incredible display of power. Despite all of that, blood sprayed from his mouth in a constant stream. The statue shattered into pieces. His body trembled, and then exploded into pieces. His Nascent Divinity sped out, shrieking.

One punch had completely destroyed a peak Dao Seeking expert who was burning life force!

The sight caused countless gasps to ring out. At the same time, Naruto gave a cold snort. His eyes shone with a strange light as he unexpectedly did not destroy the Nascent Divinity, but instead, slapped his hand out toward the extremely obese woman and her hypertoxic, multicolored strips of paper.

The slap was calm and even leisurely, almost as if he were swatting a fly. As it neared her, the woman's eyes went wide and she let out a miserable shriek. She went all out with every scrap of power she had, causing the seven strips of paper to emanate blinding beams of light. Ghost images sprang up from the papers, making them look like a bound book. She placed her hand on the book and shoved it out to meet Naruto's palm.

BOOOOOOMMMMM!

A deafening explosion caused everything to shake.

The book composed of seven pieces of colored paper trembled, and didn't even manage to stay together for the space of one breath of time. It exploded into swirling confetti, which then became dust. As for the woman, her hypertoxic mist was completely incapable of fazing Naruto. She flew backward, blood spurting from her mouth. After ten meters, her arm exploded. After twenty meters, her entire body began to crack. After thirty meters, her body completely exploded.

Naruto did not destroy her Nascent Divinity either, but rather, allowed her to flee, her face filled with with terror and astonishment.

"And now you," Naruto said coolly, turning to the hopping vampire. He pointed out, and its body began to tremble. A look of despair appeared on its face as the ghost-fire which covered it was immediately extinguished. To Naruto, it was so weak it couldn't withstand a single blow. The man's Nascent Divinity emerged, surrounded by an aura of death. He looked at Naruto, trembling, his eyes shining with intense fear and astonishment.

"Invincible! He's invincible!"

Everything was shaking. Of the five peak Dao Seeking Experts, three had just had their fleshly bodies completely destroyed. As for the violetrobed man who looked like a Demon Devil and the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, they were roaring madly as they descended upon Naruto, like moths to the flame.

Chapter 794: Invincible Naruto!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous_

The "drought ghoul" refers to a mythological creature. Although the wikipedia article indicates that it is a specific person, this kind of creature can be seen in games as a type of enemy creature. Normally it would be "drought demon," but considering the implications of the word "demon" in the story, I'm going with the word "ghoul." The character "妖 yao" does not appear in the name of the creature itself ↩ I can't always match up the words to the sentences, but in this case it's the same in

Chinese. One sentence, four characters! ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 795

Chapter 795 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 795: Half a Step Into Immortality!

The violet-robed man who looked like a Demon Devil had skin covered with scales. Even his face had transformed; his eyes were deeply sunken in, whereas his jaws protruded, revealing a mouthful of wicked fangs. He had a long horn with a razor sharp tip, as well as a lashing tail.

He had already been shaken by Naruto, but now he had no other choice than to attack. He roared as his body burst into flames, causing his cultivation base to instantly surpass that of the three Nascent Divinities nearby. He became a cyclone that shot directly toward Naruto.

As he neared, he stretched out both hands in front of him and made a ripping motion.

"Rupture the Heavens!" he roared, causing everything around him to shake. A huge rift was ripped open in the air, like a gigantic mouth that wanted to swallow Naruto whole. However, even as the rift was almost upon Naruto, Naruto gave a cold glance in the old man's direction.

It was a single glance, a simple look.

The rift collapsed, and the fiend-form old man let out a miserable shriek. Naruto's gaze was like that of a god. Indescribable pressure bore down on the old man, causing first his hands, and then both arms to explode in a haze of blood.

His eyes were red, and he tilted his head as he attempted to use his horn to pierce through the pressure radiating out from Naruto's eyes. Perhaps he couldn't kill Naruto, but at least he would be able to wound him in some way.

However, just when the horn seemed about to stab Naruto, he reached up and grabbed it. His expression was calm, but he seemed to be recalling the brutal image of the old man slaughtering Southern Domain cultivators earlier. Naruto twisted his hand, and a cracking sound could be heard as the horn snapped off.

Screaming, the old man tried to attack with his tail, but before he could get near, a rumbling sound filled his entire body, which then began to collapse into pieces. Terror flooded into his mind, completely submerging him. His Nascent Divinity burst out, terrified, and tried to flee. As he did, one word blared out in his mind.

"Invincible…."

Down below on the ground, the cultivators gasped. Everyone was looking on, eyes wide with disbelief.

Four of the five peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches now had nothing left but Nascent Divinities. It was unclear why Naruto hadn't destroyed them; if he wanted to, though, all four of his opponents would already be dead.

As for Naruto, he was calm and unruffled. And invincible!

The last person left was the number one most powerful expert from the Northern Reaches, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, who was still in the form of a Primordial Lightning Dragon. He roared at the top of his lungs, and it was a roar filled with indignation, despair, and even… the desire for death.

"DIIEEEE!" he howled. Lightning crackled as he shot through the air, surrounding him with a lake of lightning. It was lightning summoned from the highest Heavens; apparently he wished to die together with Naruto.

At this point, the air behind Naruto rippled, the sky above him rumbled, and the ground down below quaked. The entire world seemed to be in motion, set off as a foil to Naruto himself.

The Immortal Chakra in his body grew stronger as he finally finished rising completely to his feet. He was surrounded by a boundless, blinding light as he gazed at the incoming Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. Suddenly, behind him, all of the motion swirled together to form… a giant!

The giant looked exactly like Naruto in every way, but was unimaginably tall. Its head touched the sky, and its feet were planted on the ground. Its body emanated a shocking pressure that caused the land to quake. The countless cultivators down on the ground below were completely shocked to find that their cultivation bases were utterly suppressed.

Gradually, all of the natural law in the area began to swirl around the enormous figure behind Naruto. Starlight from the starry sky outside of the vortex up above shone down on it, bathing it in brightness, giving it a completely unearthly energy.

It looked like a Paragon!

The enormous image behind him looked very much like the type of image that Dao Seeking cultivators could normally summon. And yet, it was completely different. The images summoned by Dao Seeking cultivators were illusory, powerful beings from ancient times who were summoned via means of a magical technique. In contrast, the image behind Naruto was like a projection of himself!

Of the two kinds of images, one was illusory and the other was a projection. Although neither were real, the difference in caliber between the two was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.

In fact, one day, if Naruto ever became strong enough, then anyone who received his approval could summon the same image by calling upon his name.

That was another area in which his image was completely different.

This image was referred to by a unique name….

Dharma Idol!

"It's a Dharma Idol!"

"He… he actually summoned a Dharma Idol!"

"Only Immortals can summon Dharma Idols! But look, he has one!"

As soon as the Dharma Idol appeared behind Naruto, everything began to rumble. All of the lands of Planet Ninshu were shaken.

The Dao Seeking experts of the Northern Reaches, the Western Desert and the Southern Domain all gasped. In the Eastern Lands, gasps of disbelief could be heard in all of the ancient sects.

"He just stepped into Dao Seeking, but I can't see his cultivation base! That can only happen in that legendary state when both the fleshly body and the cultivation base are in the Dao Seeking stage! That man… that man couldn't have a Dao Seeking fleshly body, could he?! Impossible!"

"Immortal qi. He actually has Immortal qi! And it's not false Immortal qi, but that of a true Immortal! True Immortal qi! He hasn't even stepped into the boundless Immortal Realm, and yet he already has that aura!"

"The path to Immortality opens every 10,000 years. Don't tell me that

Planet Ninshu 's sole true Immortal from this generation is that man!?"

"He actually produced a Dharma Idol. That's…. that's a divine ability that, according to the legends, belongs only to Immortals. That kid… that kid is half a step into true Immortality! Other than the Hebi Clan and a few other mysterious beings, this kid could could stand up to anybody!"

The great sects of the Eastern Lands were all shaken. Naruto hovered in the air above the battlefield, his face calm, and his aura devoid of anything even the least bit vile. Now, he looked like a scholar from the mortal world. He wore a green robe, and his hair was no longer white, but pitch black.

His eyes shone brightly, and the enormous Dharma Idol behind him radiated a shocking pressure that stifled the breathing of everyone in the area.

Next to him was his second true self, which radiated monstrous Devil flames. It was sinister to the extreme, filled with a vileness that carried the desire to kill. It looked around at the world with cold eyes.

"DIE!" the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief roared as he threw all caution to the wind, bearing down on Naruto in his Primordial Lightning Dragon form.

Naruto looked at the man and then waved his finger.

As he did, the Dharma Idol behind him also waved its finger. It seemed to blot out the Heavens, transforming into a gigantic land mass that descended to slam into the Primordial Lightning Dragon.

A massive boom rattled out. The Primordial Lightning Dragon collapsed into pieces. The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief coughed up blood and staggered backward, his face filled with astonishment and disbelief. He came to a stop several hundred meters back, where he continued to cough up seven or eight mouthfuls of blood. His body was listless and weak.

"You…." he said, his face deathly white. Naruto was now so powerful that the simple wave of a finger left the man seriously injured. Then, Naruto's gaze fell upon him, and he felt his mind reeling as an intense, indescribable pressure weighed down him. It felt like countless bolts of lightning were about to slam into him.

"That little cauldron of yours is connected to me by destiny," said Naruto, a bashful expression appearing on his face. He waved his hand, causing the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief's Lightning Cauldron to fly over onto his palm.

The Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief's face grew even more pale, and he coughed up more blood. He seemed to have aged rapidly in just the past few moments, and his eyes shone with hopelessness. Behind him were the other Northern Reaches peak Dao Seeking experts, all of whom shook with fear as they looked at Naruto.

His gaze swept over them, and they trembled so violently that it seemed their Nascent Divinities would explode at any moment.

Finally his gaze shifted to the forces of the Western Desert, and the South Cleaving Sentinels. "Fellow Daoists from the Western Desert, many thanks for your assistance. This kindness… will be remembered by the Southern Domain for generation after generation. It will never be forgotten!"

With that, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

Immediately, the South Cleaving Sentinels bowed back with deep respect, as did all of the Western Desert cultivators. Naruto's incredible bravery and power, coupled with the events of past years, made it so that the Western Desert cultivators viewed Naruto as one of their own.

"This war is now over," said Naruto, looking out at the Northern Reaches cultivators.

"More killing would be meaningless. There is no path for you to return to your home, so you will stay in the Southern Domain. The price you will pay for this invasion is that your cultivation bases will be sealed. From this generation forward, your bloodlines will not produce Nascent Soul cultivation bases. Your path to Immortality is broken. Henceforth… you are felon citizens." Naruto's voice was calm, but his words struck like thunder, making it clear that his words would be strictly enforced. When he said 'felon citizens,' the words were branded deeply into the hearts and minds of the Northern Reaches cultivators, and they knew that this would be their identity for generations to come.

Furthermore, among the more than 100,000 Northern Reaches cultivators, all of the Nascent Soul cultivators trembled as their Nascent

Souls involuntarily shattered. Their cultivation bases fell, and in the blink of an eye, not a single Nascent Soul cultivator could be found among the Northern Reaches forces.

Next, he turned his attention to the Dao Seeking experts.

"As for you people…. Your war has shattered the Southern Domain. Innumerable cultivators have died, and the spiritual energy of the land has become sparse. The five of you will be suppressed and turned into the Southern Domain cultivators' foundation in the future. For generations to come, the power of your Nascent Divinities will be extracted to replenish the spiritual energy in the Southern Domain!" Even as he spoke, he waved his hand, causing the Ninth Mountain, which had been trembling this entire time, to suddenly rise up into the air. Revealed beneath was a woman, blood oozing from her mouth, left with only a tiny scrap of life force.

The mountain then shot toward the five Dao Seeking experts.

"Henceforth, this mountain shall be called Sin of the North!"

Meanwhile, back in the Hebi Clan, in a hidden location, the armless young Patriarch took a deep breath. A look of regret appeared in his eyes, and he shook his head.

"Fang Clan…." he murmured. "Son of a Chosen, with fifty percent of the power of a true Immortal. Half a step into true Immortality…. That mark on his hand… it must be… THAT mark." A strange light appeared in his eyes, and he smiled. Apparently he had just recalled something.

"Interesting. I just remembered that the main branch of theNamikaze Clan on Planet East Victory has a peerless Chosen by the name ofNamikaze Wei. If the two of them ever meet, I wonder what will happen."

At the same time, the couple in the Tower of Tang wore excited expressions. They exchanged a glance, then clasped hands and stepped forward.

"It's time to reunite…."

"We've been waiting for this day for so long…."

"Seventh Year Tribulation. Ah, the Seventh Year Tribulation. My son has transcended the tribulation. Now the fish will make its leap into being a dragon amongst men!" 1

Chapter 795: Half a Step Into Immortality!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Anonymous_

This is a reference to a common Chinese expression about a fish

"leaping" to success and becoming a dragon ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 796

Chapter 796: Putting the North in its Place

"NO!"

"I've practiced cultivation for thousands of years! I refuse to be suppressed!"

"Sealing the path to the Nascent Soul for Northern Reaches cultivators? Suppressing us with a mountain? Extracting our spiritual energy to bolster the Southern Domain?! I won't allow it!" The five peak Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches, including the Imperial

Bloodline Clan Chief, were in a rage. However, they were no match for Naruto, now that he had produced a Dharma Idol and was half a step into true Immortality.

The peak of Dao Seeking was simply not a match for him, not even when they joined forces like they had earlier. Roaring, the five transformed into prismatic beams of light as they attempted to flee.

In this war, the Northern Reaches had been defeated… completely and utterly defeated!

However, as long as the five of them remained alive, there was always the possibility that they could turn things around in the future. Therefore, they fled at top speed, each one heading in a different direction.

Naruto floated in midair, calmly looking on. He waved his hand, and the Ninth Mountain rumbled, shooting forward to appear directly in front of the obese woman.

The woman was moving with indescribable speed. However, as soon as the Ninth Mountain appeared, her body sank down and her Nascent Divinity flew out amidst the shattering air. She let out a miserable scream, and a boom rang out as the Ninth Mountain completely suppressed her, sealing her Nascent Divinity inside of it.

Then the mountain flickered again, reappearing off in the distance, where it began to suppress the old man who had looked like a hopping vampire. His cultivation base was the weakest of them all, and his Nascent Divinity had a look of despair on its face. He tried to attack madly, but was completely incapable of doing anything to the mountain. Rumbling could be heard as he was sealed inside.

After that, the mountain flickered again, to appear in front of the effeminate man. His body was covered with glittering magical symbols that made him look almost like a moon. Seeing that he would be incapable of escaping, a ruthless gleam appeared in his eyes, and he chose to self-detonate.

He would rather die than be suppressed!

However, before he even had time to self-detonate, the rumbling Ninth Mountain sealed his Nascent Divinity inside, filling the effeminate man's eyes with despair.

After quickly sealing those three people in succession, the Ninth Mountain's spiritual energy was incredibly strong. A droning sound filled the air as it moved once again, causing winds to stir and the air to distort. It was now in front of the old man who looked like a Demon Devil. He struggled, but it only made the situation worse. He was suppressed and absorbed into the mountain.

Finally… the mountain vanished for the final time, to appear in front of the Northern Reaches' most powerful expert, the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief. The man's face was ashen, and he began to laugh bitterly. Turning his head to Naruto, he said, "We will replenish the spiritual energy of the Southern Domain, but you have to give the Northern Reaches a time limit… then I will help you!"

"Ten thousand years!" said Naruto, his voice neutral.

"Ten thousand years…." The old man laughed bitterly, but ceased his struggling and allowed the Ninth Mountain to suppress and seal him.

After suppressing five powerful experts, the mountain was now bursting with spiritual energy. It looked like a spirit mountain as it slowly descended down to the lands below. When it touched down, it would fuse with the Southern Domain, and use the spiritual energy coming from the five peak Dao Seeking cultivation bases to nourish the land.

These five people were now like five spirit stones; their spiritual energy would be slowly sucked away until the Southern Domain's spiritual energy once again flourished like it used to.

It was then that, all of a sudden, a faint sigh echoed through the land. At the same time, a woman appeared, coming from the direction of the Milky Way Sea.

She wore a blue gown which spread out to cover everything beneath her, almost like a stretch of sky. She floated toward the battlefield from off in the distance, a swath of blue drifting between Heaven and Earth.

Official ISSTH art of the Dawn Immortal (note the Resurrection Lily in the background)

As soon as she appeared, the natural law in the world faded. Even time seemed to come to a standstill. The Ninth Mountain hovered there in midair, incapable of touching down onto the ground. As for all of the cultivators on the battlefield, they stood there trembling.

Even the Dao Seeking experts could do nothing but stop in place.

Everything was motionless.

The woman was the only one who was moving. She strode through the air up toward Naruto.

"He once said… when the vortex eye appears, the lotus transformation will be seen; in the gap between Immortal and Devil, the blue lotus will appear…. And now…." The woman's voice was faint but profound as it echoed out through Heaven and Earth. Behind her, a faint image appeared, that of a Blue Lotus. It was… a Dharma Idol!

"Under the gaze of the countless stars, the blood of a million cultivators flows, and the vortex eye appears.

"The Western Desert Apocalypse created the boundless Violet Sea, within which was concealed the transformations of the lotus.

"The day has arrived in which the Heavens are numbed and filled with grieving ghosts. Now my Blue Lotus… can appear!

"The only thing I am missing is the gap between Immortal and Devil…. The Mist Blade descended, you severed the Devil and sought the Dao, and thus, the gap between Immortal and Devil appeared." The woman's gaze seemed somewhat distant. At first glance, her eyes looked calm, at second glance, insane, and at a third glance, profound. It was as if her gaze contained countless cycles of reincarnation.

"I will use the blood of millions as mud. The countless aggrieved ghosts as muddy stains. I will… emerge unstained from the blood-soaked mud, without a blemish upon me. I will… shed the Resurrection Lily and become a Blue Lotus!

"I sought the Dao on the day the Heavens were numbed. By dawn, I had already reached Immortal Ascension. I severed my goodness, and cut away my root of Immortality. Only when my evil reached the pinnacle, could I risk everything to make a transformation." She strolled forward, and came to a stop three hundred meters in front of Naruto.

"I've been making preparations for a long time. Now that the gap between Immortal and Devil has appeared, I can assimilate you, and then be complete.

"I scattered countless roots years ago, so the gap between Immortal and Devil was bound to appear eventually. Originally, I wouldn't have selected you, but you became part of the League of Demon Sealers. It seems you were fated by Karma. Now… I must thank you." With that, she gave him a curtseying bow.

Naruto didn't respond at first. The pausing of the natural law of Heaven and Earth, and of time, was all due to this woman. However, cracking sounds could suddenly be heard around Naruto, like that of something shattering. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was restored to normal. The Dharma Idol behind him began to shine with resplendent light.

"Mother of the Resurrection Lily," he said. "Dawn Immortal."

The woman nodded, and a faint smile could be seen on her face. It was a beautiful smile that contained reminiscence. As she studied Naruto, she suddenly looked a bit distracted.

"You don't look like him… but your aura is the same," she said softly. "From ancient times until now, the League of Demon Sealers… has been cold and heartless.

"I'll assimilate you, and become a Blue Lotus. Karma will be fulfilled. What was sown that year will be reaped this year. From now on, I owe him nothing, and he owes me nothing." She stretched out her hand and pointed toward Naruto.

Immediately, everything seemed to change. The world filled with shocking, illusory waves of seawater that swept toward Naruto from all directions, seemingly preparing to inundate him. However, it was at this point that the Dharma Idol behind him suddenly opened its mouth and roared.

It was one roar, but it caused everything to shatter. Cracking sounds echoed out, and the waves collapsed. The seawater vanished as if it had evaporated, transforming into endless dark clouds up above.

"Back in the Reliance Sect," said Naruto coolly, "you were lurking in the shadows. When I was in the Milky Way Sea, you were there hiding. You even showed your face at the battle of the Blood Demon Sect. And yet again, here you are in this territorial war.

"I don't care about your motive for all of this. You want to assimilate me…? Unfortunately, you're not qualified." His Dharma Idol's eyes glittered; it then took a step forward and lifted its hands up. The Blood

Demon Grand Magic appeared, an enormous vortex which shot toward the woman.

If you looked closely, you would see that the Blood Demon Grand Magic was similar to the vortex up in the sky. As it rotated, the clouds up above swirled and also surged toward the woman.

"When the Resurrection Lily blooms with seven colors," the woman said softly, "the petals fall, Immortality in one thousand years." She looked at the incoming vortex, then waved her finger. Shockingly, a seven-colored Resurrection Lily appeared in front of her. Instantly, it shattered, forming seven multicolored wisps that floated through the air like dandelion seeds as they collided with the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex.

A shocking boom could be heard. As the seven multicolored wisps passed through the vortex, they trembled slightly. They might have seemed weak, but they didn't pause at all. They transformed into beams of multicolored light that shot directly toward Naruto.

As they neared him, they became seven flower petals that resembled magical sealing marks.

Naruto's eyes flashed with coldness. His Dharma Idol roared, causing the surroundings to distort, and the seven petals to stop in place.

It was at this moment that he raised his right hand, in which… the copper mirror appeared!

A glittering light could be seen within the copper mirror. If you looked closely, you would be able to make out… Demon Weapon Lonelytomb!

When Naruto merged the Demon Weapon into the copper mirror, he had been unable to use it. Only after he had entered Dao Seeking, had Immortal Qi, and could summon a Dharma Idol, was he finally able to sense Lonelytomb inside.

He pushed down onto the copper mirror and grabbed, and a huge roar filled the air. A gust of Demonic Chakra surged out, filling the air everywhere. It was at this point that a long, red spear appeared in his hands.

It was both red and white, the colors intertwined in a way that made it impossible to describe with any word other than Demonic.

With Lonelytomb in hand, Naruto didn't hesitate for even a moment. He immediately struck out toward the seven petals.

The spear shot through the air, and everything rumbled. Demonic Chakra surged out, sweeping across everything. As Demon Weapon Lonelytomb surged through the air, shockingly, a tombstone suddenly appeared in front of Naruto.

The tombstone instantly suppressed everything in the area.

BOOOOMMMMM!

The seven flower petals were destroyed, exploding into seven-colored motes of light that spread out into the air.

In this moment, Naruto stood there, holding Demon Weapon Lonelytomb in hand, and he looked like a Paragon of Heaven and Earth, undefeatable!

The woman's expression was the same as ever, as if she didn't care at all about Naruto's grandiose aura. In fact, a look of pity appeared on her face.

"You are of the League of Demon Sealers, so I won't lie to you. Nobody can save you. This planet's branch of the Hebi Clan owes me a favor, and they won't do anything to stop me.

"Other than them, there are a few ancient beings on this planet, but none of them will do anything to obstruct my way either. Today… nobody can save you.

"The time has come, for you… to be assimilated." As she spoke, she began to glow with boundless light. Behind her, the Blue Lotus began to sway and emit an indescribable, crushing pressure. For the first time, Naruto's facial expression flickered.

Neither he nor his Dharma Idol were capable of moving even the slightest bit. Furthermore, it even appeared as if a Blue Lotus… was about to sprout out of his body!

At this exact moment… a cold snort echoed out like thunder, shattering the air as it rolled across the land.

"I dare you to touch him. Just try it!"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Ahmad Tawfiq Ahmad Fuaad, Panov_

 _Roman, Isaac Martis, Cedric Serre, Leonardo Sampaio, Tanawut_

 _Pitchayaboonwong, David Obando, Dang Quang Tran, Jose Acosta_

 _Comas, Anon, Juan Hernandez, and Nyoman Angga Adwitya Kirana_

Vol. 5 : Chapter 797

Chapter 797: Reuniting….

"I should have killed you the last time we met in the Milky Way Sea, slut!" This second voice was that of a woman.

The two voices instantly shattered the pause which had caused everything to cease moving. The Ninth Mountain continued to descend, and all the cultivators could move again.

Even as the cold snort continued to echo about, a sword beam shot through the air to completely sever the invisible connection between the Dawn Immortal and Naruto!

Booming echoed out, and a tremor ran through Naruto. The Blue Lotus vanished, and his Dharma Idol was restored. His eyes went wide as he saw two figures approaching from off in the distance.

It was a man and a woman, and when Naruto could see them clearly, his mind filled with thunderous roaring.

He knew those faces well. Even if tens of millions of years passed, he would not be able to forget them. The woman was his mother, the mother who had held him in her arms when he was a child, and told him stories. The man was his father, who seemed strict, but whose eyes were filled with boundless fatherly love.

Official ISSTH art ofNamikaze Xiufeng, Naruto's father Official ISSTH art of Naruto Li, Naruto's mother Cute version ofNamikaze Xiufeng Cute version of Naruto Li

Naruto began to tremble, and could do nothing more than stare blankly. At the same time, the mark on his hand began to shine brightly.

As soon as the man and woman appeared, the Dawn Immortal's face flickered. She began to pant, and her expression was one of complete disbelief as she backed up.

She had only retreated by three measures when the man's gaze locked onto her.

A rumbling sound echoed out, and then blood sprayed out of the Dawn Immortal's mouth. A look of astonishment covered her face. It was at this point that the Dharma Idol behind her directly exploded into countless pieces.

Furthermore, the enormous resurrection lily on the Milky Way Sea, which was the Dawn Immortal's true body, also exploded, shattering into countless pieces. The Resurrection Lily… was completely defeated.

"One look from him shattered my Dharma Idol," thought the Dawn Immortal, her face pale. "It even seriously injured me…. What just severed my Blue Lotus bridge just now was not a sword, it was his gaze!

"Who is he!?

"His level of power is unimaginable. Even the Hebi Clan can't begin to compare!" Her foundation had been destroyed, and now, she didn't dare to back up any more. In the face of an almighty being like this, whether or not she lived or died wasn't up to her.

"Before I came to this planet," the man said coolly, standing between Naruto and the Dawn Immortal, "an old friend revealed to me that there was a flower here within the ocean, left behind by his benefactor. The flower had long since become a Demon that had existed for countless years.

"It had experienced nirvanic rebirth numerous times, and was not willing to truly ascend to Immortality. You must be the flower he spoke of.

"You clearly could have achieved true Immortal Ascension long ago, and made your way out into the starry sky. Why have you made things hard on yourself, and on others? Well, considering your existence has provided some benefit to my son through all his tempering, I won't slay you this day.

"Go break through to Immortal Ascension already!" The sky and land trembled as if struck by countless peals of thunder. When this man spoke, natural law conformed to his words. The Dawn Immortal's face went pale, and more blood sprayed from her mouth as she fell back a full three thousand meters. Finally, she looked up, and a smiled a heartrending smile.

The woman standing next to the man suddenly spoke up. "Why waste your words on her? Just sever her head!"

Naruto stood behind the two of them, his mind spinning with disbelief. His heart was in complete chaos, and he had no idea what to say.

"Sever me?" The Dawn Immortal laughed bitterly. Her face twisted savagely, and her hair was thrown into disarray. She had lost her foundation, the actual Resurrection Lily. Her Dharma Idol had been destroyed. And yet, a look of madness could be seen in her eyes.

"The League of Demon Sealers are all a heartless bunch. I kept that man company, but he severed me in the end!

"My heart beats with HATRED!

"I was born in ancient times, and yes, I could have achieved Immortal Ascension on many occasions throughout the years. The only reason I never left this place is because of what he told me back then.

"He severed me here, and then left on his own. I killed countless members of his bloodline, but my hatred remains!

"And now you… YOU want to sever me too!?" She lifted her head up and laughed. Then she flung her arms out wide.

"I have existed in the lands of Planet Ninshu since ancient times. I may have stayed hidden and out of sight, but now, I call on all of the people who owe favors to me, the Dawn Immortal…. All of you… help me assimilate this child!

"Help me achieve my desire! Abide by your promises from the past!"

Her shrill voice echoed out throughout all the lands of Planet Ninshu . As it did, a soft sigh could be heard echoing out from within the Ancient Dao Lakes. The sigh seemed to contain helplessness, and at the same time, shocking power.

"I should not emerge. According to the treaty from back then, I cannot emerge. And yet this favor… must be paid back." A gold-violet beast suddenly appeared from within the Ancient Dao Lakes.

At the same time, dust began to fall off one of the statues inside the Ancient Temple of Doom. The statue's eyes opened. At first, they looked confused, but then an archaic light began to shine out, and the statue slowly rose to its feet.

"It was she who enabled me to go into hiding in this ancient temple, and acquire that joss stick's power. If I don't emerge, I can't rest my heart at ease."

Far beneath the surface of the Milky Way Sea, an emaciated figure suddenly clawed its way out from within the mud and silt.

"The favor from years ago will be repaid today. However, before that happens, I must consume more blood."

In the vast Western Desert, because of the draining of the Violet Sea into the Milky Way Sea, its water level had been greatly reduced. Not too far beneath the surface of the Violet Sea was a mountain that at first seemed completely ordinary. But then the mountain began to shake, and suddenly a face appeared on it. This mountain… began to rise up.

It was no mountain, but rather, an enormous giant. It looked like a mountain deity as its head broke through the surface of the water. Its expression was archaic as it flew up into the air.

"Slaughter! To repay my debt, I shall slaughter a million cultivators!"

Also underneath the Violet Sea was a mountain range called the Black Dragon Mountains. The mountain range began to tremble, sending numerous boulders tumbling down its sides. Shockingly, an enormous crocodile appeared. It swished its tail as it shot out of the water, causing everything to shake.

A brutal gleam could be seen in the crocodile's eyes, and it did not speak. However, its unbridled ferocity exploded with intensity.

In the Northern Reaches, in the lands of a minor tribe, was an altar, upon which rested a skull that had remained in that position year in and year out. It was impossible to tell how long it had been there. At this moment, a dim light began to shine out from the skull, and it flew into the air.

Also in the Northern Reaches was a valley that was sealed over with ice. It was a forbidden zone for cultivators, and deep in its depths… was a chunk of ice. Sealed inside of the ice was a man who had golden wings growing out of his back.

The man's eyes snapped open, and cracking sounds could be heard as the ice shattered. He stepped out, frowned, then gave a light sigh.

"Back when I arrived, I was seriously injured and was on the verge of death. She kept me alive… and made me promise to pay her back." In the vast Eastern Lands were two forbidden zones.

One was the Ancient Paradise. Rumor had it that the entire place was filled with countless ancient medicinal plants, each one of which emanated strong auras of death. That was because the Ancient Paradise was actually… an ancient battlefield.

Within the Ancient Paradise was an enormous, withered tree, whose roots spread throughout the ground. The tree trembled in response to the Dawn Immortal's call, and its roots retracted back into the body of the tree. When that happened, the tree… surged with shocking energy!

There was another forbidden zone in the Eastern Lands, which some people called the Immortality Temple. It was located in a sprawling mountain range, and was filled with innumerable restrictive spells. Deep in the mountains was an ancient, dilapidated temple.

The statue of whatever divinity it was that the temple had been erected to had long since crumbled, and was impossible to see clearly. However, inside the temple was an oil lamp which had not been lit for uncountable years. As of this moment, that oil lamp blazed with fire, and began to pulse with a divine light.

The light covered the entire ancient temple, as well as the statue of the divinity. Suddenly, a figure appeared, who then sighed.

"Well, she came from here, and is connected to me…." It separated from the image of the divinity, floated up out of the ancient temple, then flew off into the distance.

A total of nine auras surged out, causing rumbling to spread throughout all the lands of Planet Ninshu . The sky turned dark, and the living creatures in the land trembled. All of the cultivators on the battlefield appeared to be on the verge of losing consciousness.

The great sects of the Eastern Lands were completely astonished, and their Patriarchs began to think about the various legends recorded in their ancient records.

In the Hebi Clan of the Eastern Lands, the armless young Patriarch stood up, and a strange light gleamed in his eyes.

"The Dawn Immortal is incredible! Even I could never have imagined that she would have set up so many contingencies!

"And it's no wonder! She has existed for… countless, countless years. If she had focused solely on cultivation, it would be impossible to even speculate what Realm she would be in."

As the lands of Planet Ninshu trembled, the husband and wife stood there in front of Naruto. The woman's face flickered as she looked around, then she stepped back to stand next to Naruto.

Naruto's mind was still spinning, and as he looked at her face, he felt like he was in a trance.

"Are you… really my mom…?" he murmured.

"Hao'er," she responded. "You've suffered many hardships throughout the years." This woman was none other than Naruto's mother. When she looked at him, her heart stabbed with pain. She reached out to clasp his hand, and her eyes were filled with both love and tears.

"It's all my fault," she said. "I'm a bad mother for not being able to take care of you. You were so young back then…. When daddy and I left, you ran out of the house crying and yelling. I saw you fall down, and my heart broke." 1

It was at this point that the man turned back to look at Naruto. It was a gaze that caused Naruto's mind to tremble. It was filled with love and kindness, and it instantly caused tears to begin to stream down Naruto's face.

He never imagined that he would cry at this moment in time. He had never imagined that he would reunite so quickly with his father and mother.

He wasn't sure what to say, but he couldn't stop the tears from streaming down.

His mother saw Naruto weeping, which caused more tears to flow down her own face.

"Hao'er…." she said, and then embraced him warmly, which made Naruto think about the times when he was a boy, and how he hated leaving her side.

"Don't cry," said his father, tousling his hair. He was smiling, and the love in his eyes seemed to grow even stronger.

"You're grown up now…." he said calmly. "You're already half a step into true Immortality, so it's time that I pass on some Daoist magic to you. My Dao, is the Dao of the sword…. Watch carefully, I'm going to show you nine sword forms.

"First form!" He extended his left leg and bent it slightly. Then his body sprang into motion. He bent backward gracefully until he looked almost like a taut bow, completely at one with Heaven and Earth. In the next breath, it seemed as if Heaven and Earth were wholly incompatible with him, and yet were helpless to do anything. It was as if he had drawn an incredible burst of power down from the Heavens.

He extended his right hand, within which appeared an ordinary iron sword. 2

The sword… swept toward the Southern Domain's Ancient Dao Lakes!

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Seth Kerremans_

Naruto had a vision of when his parents left him, way back in chapter

653 ↩ We have seen this iron sword before, in chapter 782 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 798

Chapter 798 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 798: Father Makes a Laughingstock of Planet Ninshu

"Three thousand great Daos," the man said softly. "They each have their powerful and extraordinary aspects. In fact, it's impossible to say which is the most powerful….

"The Dao exists in the heart, and the heart is born of the will. If your will is strong, then your Dao will be powerful, and your sword… will be invincible!

"Pay attention to my movements. There are nine in total, and each one can stir up the power of the stars." The iron sword descended.

The sky and land shook, and all the light in the world seemed to vanish. The only thing left behind was the sword beam. Everything grew faded and blurry; the only thing remaining was the iron sword!

The sword beam surged, and the iron sword descended. It appeared above the Ancient Dao Lakes, directly in front of the flying beast that had just emerged. The beast stared in shock at the sword beam, and its face fell completely. It let out a miserable shriek, and appeared to be in a state of thorough astonishment and disbelief. It raced backward in an attempt to get back into the Ancient Dao Lakes.

"This… this…." Even as the beast retreated, the sword beam closed in. At the same time, the Ancient Dao Lakes erupted, and an archaic voice echoed out.

"Your Excellency, please calm your anger. I beg of you to show mercy to this clan member of mine…."

"Request denied!" growled a voice which caused explosive pressure to fill the air above the Ancient Dao Lakes. The sword beam swept through the air, and the beast let out a bloodcurdling scream. Its body exploded into burning chunks as it was destroyed in body and spirit.

One sword blow blotted it out of existence. Everything rumbled as one out of the nine auras which had appeared was wiped away. The remaining eight auras froze in midair, and their faces filled with astonishment. After only a moment, they hurriedly retreated.

Unfortunately for them, it was too late!

"Hao'er," said Naruto's father, "look carefully at the second sword form. Always remember that when you attack with a sword, your mind must be empty, free of all distraction. You are the Dao, and the Dao is the sword!" Shockingly, what he was passing on was the most powerful Dao he had ever mastered in his life.

A Dao could not be passed down lightly. However, this was his son.

Considering that he had agreed to stand guard over Planet Ninshu for 100,000 years for Naruto, there was no need to even wonder about whether he would pass down a Dao.

Even as he spoke the words, he stepped forward with his right foot. The move was made so quickly that it kicked up a fierce wind. The second sword beam exploded out. The sky vibrated under the terrifying power; it almost seemed like all the man had to do was exercise a thought, and the Heavens could be slashed apart!

Rumbling could be heard as the sword beam appeared above the

Southern Domain's Ancient Temple of Doom. The image of the statue was terrified, and already fleeing at top speed. However, before it could enter the temple, the sword beam slashed through the air. A bloodcurdling scream rang out as an almighty being was beheaded. His body raged with fire as he was completely destroyed.

The only thing that remained was the lingering cry of death.

"Above the Spirit Realm is the Immortal Realm," said Naruto's father. "Right now, you are half a step into true Immortality, which means you are in the space between the Spirit Realm and the Immortal Realm. When you complete that step… you will enter the Immortal Realm!

"Now, pay attention to the third sword form." Breathing steadily, he caressed the blade of the sword with his left hand, almost as if he were awakening its spirit. In this third sword form, the blade was stabbed down into the ground, causing the entire land to shake. The sword beam appeared beneath the Milky Way Sea, behind the withered figure there that was fleeing at top speed.

"Who are you!? Don't kill me! I surrender! I can be your son's Dao Protector!"

Back in the Southern Domain, Naruto's father looked back at him.

"Hao'er, do you want him?"

Naruto stared in shock, and then subconsciously shook his head.

His father laughed.

"Dao Protector? You're not worthy to play such a role for my son." As his voice echoed out, the sword descended. Rumbling filled the withered figure as his body collapsed into pieces which burned into nothingness. Three sword forms had slaughtered three almighty beings!

When the Patriarchs of the ancient sects in the Eastern Lands saw what was happening, they rose to their feet and began to tremble with terror. As they observed, they began to surmise what exactly was happening.

In the Hebi Clan, the armless young Patriarch sighed.

"If you people hadn't showed your faces, none of this would have happened. He wouldn't have gone to make trouble for you. At any other time, it wouldn't have mattered. Considering his temperament, he really wouldn't have paid you any attention. But now… you had to go and mess with his son.

"Messing with his son is like rubbing a cat's fur backward! Who would dare to do such a thing?"

The remaining six auras were trembling violently. How could they ever have imagined that the Dawn Immortal would actually provoke someone this terrifying? Of these six auras, two ceased falling back, and instead shot high up into the sky, as if to flee the planet itself.

One was the skull, the other was the mountain deity from the Western Desert's Violet Sea.

"On the path of cultivation, one cannot rely on the protection of others.

You haven't left Planet Ninshu yet in this lifetime. Let me tell you, I've seen far too many Chosen who utilize the help of Dao Protectors. By now… each and every one is as useless as a wild chicken or a stray dog." Naruto's father turned to him and chuckled, then performed an incantation with his left hand, extending his index finger and middle finger together. It almost seemed as if he were wresting away energy from Heaven and Earth, causing a bizarre glow to surround his entire body as he took two more steps forward. With each step, a blast of sword Chakra shot up into the sky.

A moment later, the mountain deity let out a miserable shriek. Its enormous frame was clearly just about to escape Planet Ninshu. Nonetheless, it collapsed into pieces, which then burned into nothing.

As for the skull, it shot out into the starry sky and was speeding away. Unfortunately for it, even with such speed, it could not outrun the sword qi.

"NO!" screamed the skull. Then, it was completely destroyed, including its Nascent Divinity.

Naruto's eyes widened, and he stared blankly at his father. He had taken five steps, and unleashed one sword after another. One by one he had slaughtered five terrifying beings as easily as if he were killing baby chickens. Those almighty creatures' auras were such that any single one would leave Naruto dazed; any of them could have slaughtered him easily. And yet, a single beam of sword Chakra from his father, and they were completely eradicated.

"What… what Realm are they in?" Naruto murmured.

The first to reply was his mother. "They have opened their Immortal meridians, solidified their Dao Fruit, and stepped into the peak of the Immortal Realm. They refer to themselves as Dao Lords, but are unable to open the door to the Ancient Realm. They aren't even true Immortals, and will one day return to the dust."

"In the Spirit Realm, Dao Seeking is the absolute peak," said Naruto's father. "In the Immortal Realm, there are two paths. The first path involves offering worship to an ancestor, acquiring that ancestor's Dao Fruit, and then using it to tread the path to Immortality. On that path, you will never have a Dharma Idol of your own. Immortals like that are referred to as false Immortals. That is because, if that ancestor ever perishes, everyone who worships him will experience a drop in their cultivation base!

"That is the easy path to Immortality, the one which the vast majority of people choose to follow. However, there is another path…. On that path, you worship yourself. Your Dharma Idol is your own. You experience Immortal Tribulation and tread your own path. Others can worship you and tread your path of cultivation as false Immortals. This second path is the path of… the true Immortal!"

Naruto's father moved like the wind as he took two more steps forward. Each step caused the ground to quake. His hair swirled around him in the air, and wisps of mist rose up from the top of his head. He waved his right hand, causing two more beams of sword Chakra to fly out, one toward the Eastern Lands, the other toward the Western Desert.

In the Ancient Paradise of the Eastern Lands, the tree's branches were rustling, and its aura surged. Its mind was unprecedentedly focused as it drew upon all the power it could muster. The entire Ancient Paradise began to vibrate. The ground split, and the tree's roots writhed as it prepared to fight back against the incoming sword qi.

A boom rang out, and the tree wailed. All the power it could muster did nothing to stop the incoming sword qi. The tree was split completely in half, and then began to burn. Screams of pain filled the air as the tree was transformed into ash.

Beneath the surface of the Violet Sea in the Western Desert, the crocodile was trembling. It fled with all the speed it could muster, but the sword Chakra descended upon it nonetheless. In the blink of an eye, it was right above its head.

The crocodile wore a look of hopelessness.

"I… I can be a mount!" the crocodile cried out. "I don't qualify to be a

Dao Protector, but I… I'm willing to be a mount!"

When it cried out, the sword Chakra suddenly came to a stop in midair. It swirled around, transforming into a sealing mark which fused onto the crocodile's body.

"You possess some of the bloodline of a Scaly Dragon. Thus, you are qualified to be a mount for my'er."

The crocodile trembled, and its mind was completely occupied by terror and fear. After being sealed, its body shrank down until it was only about three meters long. Then it was pulled back rapidly until it appeared in front of Naruto.

The crocodile knew that it was dealing with a Little Patriarch, so it immediately put on an ingratiating air and swished its tail back and forth.

Naruto looked at the crocodile, an awkward expression on his face. "Unfortunately," said Naruto's father, shaking his head, "you've only opened 53 meridians. If you could open at least 60 or more, then you could summon the power of the Scaly Dragon's bloodline.

"Hao'er, in the Immortal Realm, there are no stages. There are only the 100 meridians of the Dao of Immortality.

"All living creatures have 100 meridians, that is a constant. No living thing has more or less.

"Once you enter the Immortal Realm, you will cultivate those 100 meridians. The soul is grouped into three spiritual aspects and seven physical aspects; a total of ten vessels. The meridians are organized into groups of ten, each of which form a vessel. If all 100 meridians are opened, you have achieved the Immortal Soul, and will produce your own unique Dao Fruit, whereupon you can open the door to the Ancient Realm! 1

"Unfortunately, success in the Immortal Realm is not so easy. From ancient times until now, someone with 50 opened meridians would be considered to be at the peak of the Immortal Realm, and could attempt to open the Ancient Door. According to legend, it is as easy to find someone with 80 opened meridians as it is to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn. Only Chosen who are direct descendants of various great sects and clans would have a chance to do so.

"90 opened meridians is something even rarer, and exists only in legends. As for the full 100 meridians… from ancient times until now, no one has ever done it."

"But you can,'er!" said his mother immediately.

His father laughed, then suddenly crouched slightly, then straightened up, his posture like a giant holding up the weight of the world. He took two steps forward and waved his arms, causing two beams of sword Chakra to shoot out, one toward the Eastern Lands, the other toward the Northern Reaches.

Considering the level of his cultivation base, he actually didn't need to use such meticulous movements; he normally moved as fluidly as the clouds or flowing water. However, for Naruto's sake, he was demonstrating all of the movements in detail.

In the frozen valley in the Northern Reaches, the man who had walked out from the ice earlier was now laughing bitterly. He didn't make any move to evade, but rather, sat there cross-legged, chuckling, his eyes shining with a light of madness.

Suddenly, his skin turned purple, and the power of a curse began to circulate around him as the sword Chakra bore down.

"Anyone who kills me will have their bloodline cursed!" he cried, and the wings on his back suddenly opened wide.

A cold snort echoed out. "Someone from a measly species of curseusers? Your bloodline isn't pure, and yet you dare to try to curse the house of Fang?"

The sword Chakra descended, slashing directly into the winged man's head.

Flames burst out, dissolving the curse power. It never even had a chance to be unleashed before it was dissipated completely.

Chapter 798: Father Makes a Laughingstock of Planet Ninshu

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Fabian Müller_

Considering Naruto's father's explanation of the physical and spiritual aspects of souls, it now becomes more clear why the Uchiha Clan Patriarch was said to be incapable of truly reaching Immortal Ascension as described in chapter 682 and especially 683 ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 799

Chapter 799: Born On East Victory!

The final blast of sword Chakra shot through the ground toward the deep mountains of the Eastern Lands, and the ancient temple. An intense, glowing light rose up from the temple, as well as the music of a great Dao. It seemed as if there were countless Immortal Divinities sitting cross-legged inside the temple. The mountain itself, as well as everything surrounding it, seemed to be part of a Daoist rites temple. It was even possible to see that crowds of Chosen had practiced cultivation there throughout the years.

"Oh?!" exclaimed Naruto's father. The sword Chakra came to a stop.

The door of the ancient temple opened up, and a figure emerged. It was impossible to see the figure clearly, but it stood there facing Naruto's father.

"I didn't realize that there was an Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple here…. How rude of me! Well, since this location has been activated… hand over the Immortal Ancient Daoist Medallion!"

The figure was silent for a moment, then waved a hand. The ancient temple rumbled, and out flew a command medallion that pulsed with Immortal qi. The bright light emanating from the temple faded, and the figure vanished.

Nine powerful experts had appeared; one after the other perished. The crocodile became a mount, and the figure from the Immortal temple offered up an Immortal Ancient Daoist Medallion to prevent any trouble. The other seven were all slain.

It all happened incredibly quickly. By the time Naruto's father finished speaking a few words to Naruto, everything was over.

The cultivators on the ground in South Domain were astonished. The peak Dao Seeking experts in midair were completely shaken.

The Dawn Immortal laughed bitterly and staggered back a few paces. Blood oozed out of her mouth as she looked at Naruto and shook her head.

"Fate, how cruel you are…." she said. "I wanted to become a Blue Lotus… not for the sake of true Immortality, but because he said… once upon a time… that he loved lotuses." The Dawn Immortal chuckled sadly and backed up further. Her body seemed to be starting to dissipate.

She had lost her foundation, and since she couldn't assimilate Naruto and become a Blue Lotus, the only thing left for her to do now was fade away.

"Naruto…." she murmured. "You are of the League of Demon

Sealers. From ancient times, they have always been cruel and heartless. One day, if you ever encounter one of them who mentions Resurrection Lilies, I'd like you to ask him something for me….

"Ask him if he remembers a flower back in the lands of Planet Ninshu ….

A Resurrection Lily whom he severed away."

She looked up into the sky, and tears glistened down her cheeks as she began to fade away. "I am filled with hatred…. But what I hate is not you. I hate myself… for not being a Blue Lotus." Her soft voice echoed out across the lands before fading away.

Naruto's mind trembled as he watched the Dawn Immortal vanish into nothing.

The war between the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches… was over.

The Western Desert left, their towering South Cleaving Sentinels leading the way. The Southern Domain would never forget the kindness shown to them by the Western Desert; it would be engraved in their memories for generation after generation to come. As for the sinners from the Northern Reaches, they had lost their path back home, and become felon citizens….

There were now only a hundred thousand cultivators in the Southern Domain. Many sects and clans had been completely wiped out. Numerous core Daoist teachings and doctrines had vanished. Even the spiritual energy in the land was sparse. Thankfully, the mountain that Naruto had created continued to infuse the land with spiritual energy.

Perhaps many years later, the Southern Domain would once again shine with its former glory.

Pill Demon went back to the Violet Fate Sect, and Patriarch Song to the Song Clan.

If you didn't count Naruto, they were the two remaining peak Dao

Seeking experts in the Southern Domain. Furthermore, the Violet Fate

Sect and the Song Clan were now like Holy Lands within the Southern Domain.

In the days to come, they would lead the Southern Domain cultivators to rebuild their sects and clans, and also select appropriate people from among the mortal populace to begin practicing cultivation. Slowly, the Southern Domain would be restored.

What was needed was time; at the very least, hundreds, or perhaps thousands, of years.

The mountain in which the five peak Dao Seeking Northern Reaches cultivators was sealed, the one named Sin of the North, stood tall above the lands. As time passed, it would become a famous landmark in the Southern Domain.

The war… was over.

During that war, Naruto had risen to complete prominence. His name was famous in the Southern Domain and the Western Desert. It had even shaken the Eastern Lands. Naruto… had become the focus of attention of all the lands of Planet Ninshu .

As for all the Chosen of his own generation, some were dead and some had faded into obscurity. None of them were able to keep up with Naruto, let alone surpass him.

To the cultivators of the Southern Domain, Naruto's stories were the stuff of legend.

He had started out in the Reliance Sect, acquired the Blood Immortal Legacy, thrown the Southern Domain into chaos, and shocked everyone at the Song Clan. Then, in the Violet Fate Sect, he had rocked the entire Southern Domain again under the name of Pill Cauldron.

At the Rebirth Cave, he had slain one of the sons of Ji, a Quasi-Array member!

In the Black Lands, he had participated in the siege of Holy Snow City!

In the Western Desert, he had led his tiny tribe through the Violet Rain Apocalypse. Because of him, they rose to glory one step at a time, until he finally brought them to the Black Lands.

Then, he had vanished, only to reappear years later, fighting the Spirit Severing expert Patriarch Huyan in a shocking battle that had astonished the Western Desert and Black Lands alike. Then, he had left everyone reeling in shock as he went to the Demon Immortal Sect.

The Chosen of the Southern Domain had congregated in the Demon Immortal Sect, but couldn't do anything to Naruto even after joining forces. After wresting away virtually all of their good fortune, Naruto had next appeared in the Milky Way Sea!

The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch had appeared in person, and Naruto narrowly avoided death. His Perfect Dao foundation was stolen, and just when he was about to truly die, Hinata saved him, proving that they were destined to be bound in marriage. After he awoke in the Rebirth Cave, he battled the Black Sieve Sect, then shockingly, descended into Bedevilment.

At the Ancient Dao Lakes, he had snatched the soul of a true Immortal.

Four powers of the Southern Domain had allied against the Blood Demon

Sect in a shocking war. Then, on the day of his grand wedding, the Northern Reaches invaded. Hinata died, and Naruto went mad. Fight, fight, FIGHT!

Kill, KILL, KILLLL!

Finally, he severed the Devil and sought the Dao, stepping halfway into true Immortality.

Naruto's story swept through the Southern Domain like storm winds.

The Western Desert heard the tales, as did the shocked Northern Reaches. Even the Eastern Lands caught wind. Naruto's name… had truly risen to prominence!

Currently, Naruto sat in Blood Prince Gorge in the Blood Demon Sect. His father and mother sat in front of him. Naruto was no longer shaken like he had been before. Instead, he sat there quietly, even taciturn.

Hundreds of years had passed, and he had finally reunited with his parents. Although the memories from when he was seven years old had not been erased, they were somewhat foggy. However, the affection he felt because of the blood connection with his parents made things even more complicated.

There were so many things he didn't understand, too many perplexing conundrums. Why did his father and mother leave that year? Why had they suddenly reappeared now? Where had they been this whole time…?

Where were they when he was experiencing grave crises?

Where were they when the Resurrection Lily infected him?

Where were they when the Uchiha Clan Patriarch stole his Perfect Dao foundation?

Where were they when he nearly died in the Rebirth Cave?

Where were they… when Hinata died?

If they were merely mortals, it wouldn't matter. But they had just casually slain nine incredibly powerful experts in a single short battle. Naruto now knew that his father and mother were powerful. So powerful, in fact… that the Hebi Clan hadn't appeared during the entire affair.

He needed an answer. He needed an explanation. His heart… felt twisted into a knot.

"Hao'er…." began his mother, tears streaming down her face. "You don't need to worry about Hinata. Your father placed a stream of divine sense on her. It will keep her safe during reincarnation, and will guide her back to you."

"I know what is gnawing at your mind," his father said. "You must have many questions." There was love in his eyes, and it was clearly strong. He stretched out his hand, and a brilliant glow appeared at the tip of his finger.

"Allow me to take you into the past, to awaken your memories. Then… you will see the explanation with your own eyes." The brilliant glow rose up and approached Naruto.

Naruto looked at his father, and then looked at the brilliant glow. Finally, he closed his eyes. The bright glow fused into his forehead, then pulled him down into the deepest recesses of his memories.

When he was born, there were two moons in the sky, and countless stars. It was picturesque.

He heard laughter ringing about in a magnificent temple. The temple was so enormous that it spread out across half of the entire planet it occupied. That entire area belonged to…

TheNamikaze Clan!

"This boy will be a qilin of theNamikaze Clan! 1 Throw a banquet that will last for 300 years! Invite all of the Fellow Daoists from Planet East Victory!

"Wait. Planet East Victory isn't enough. My grandson's name will definitely shake the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea! Invite the Fellow Daoists from all the other three planets! Invite the ancient sects as well!

"This child is my daughter's son, which means that his future path of might will encompass the Eighth Mountain too! Invite everyone from the Eighth Mountain to come offer their congratulations!"

The voice rang out amongst endless cheerful laughter. When Naruto opened his eyes, these were the things he heard and saw.

A woman was holding him in her arms. When he looked up at her, he saw his mother, although she looked much younger. Standing next to her was a young girl of five or six years of age, looking at him with a curious, mischievous smile. Occasionally, she would take advantage of her mother's distraction to make faces at him. That was his older sister.

Further off in the distance was his father, who looked very excited. He was surrounded by old men who were constantly toasting him.

Naruto's birth caused a huge sensation throughout Planet East

Victory. The reason was that… his father was a direct descendant of theNamikaze bloodline, and also the eldest son. As for Naruto… he was also a direct descendant, and the eldest grandson!

Another reason was that Naruto's maternal grandfather was not from the Ninth Mountain. He was from the illustrious Naruto Clan of the Eighth Mountain. In fact, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain was surnamed Naruto!

When Naruto was born, even the Hebi Clan sent congratulatory gifts, and Lord Hebi sent a Dharma Clone to visit.

Naruto's birth rocked all four great planets, the entire Ninth Mountain, and all the ancient sects.

There were many people who understood that as long as this baby didn't turn out to be completely useless, then considering the power of theNamikaze and Naruto clans, he would one day shine with blazing brilliance among the stars and seas.

This was especially the case because the child had been born with a special mark on the back of his hand. It was a Nirvana Brand!

"Young Lord, you can't go in there! That's a restricted area! You can't just barge in!"

"Young Lord, I beg of you, please don't bite that!"

"Young Lord, stop it, stop it! You can't dig holes there! The Patriarch planted that tree there personally! Y-y-you… that tree never did anything to you, don't dig it up…."

He was a five-year-old boy who caused headaches for everyone in theNamikaze Clan. He was simply far too naughty.

Virtually every day he ran around followed by a trail of fellow clan members. If there wasn't someone keeping an eye on him at all times… havoc would be wrought.

"Little brother, you've been naughty again!" said his older sister, cracking her knuckles and looking at him with narrowed eyes and a mischievous smile. She was a head taller than him, and the sight of her stomping toward him caused Naruto's scalp to go numb. He backed up, stammering, and was just about to try to make an explanation when the smackdown began.

As his sister grew up, she continued to be very strict on him, to the point where Naruto's heart filled with fear at the thought of her and her violent personality.

This expression is used to describe a child that will bring good fortune and prosperity to the family ↩

Vol. 5 : Chapter 800

Chapter 800: Seventh Year Tribulation!

"Young Lord, you need to study now…."

"Young Lord, stop bullying your cousin Prince Wei! Look, he's crying because you hit him!" 1

"Aiya! Young Lord, don't bully Princess Ling'er. She's… she's your future beloved! The Patriarch already issued the official order!"

Naruto gaped at everything that was happening. He watched the five-year-old version of himself pummeling another boy his age. Apparently the boy had told on him, which earned Naruto beating from his sister. This was his revenge. In the end, the boy was in tears and begging for mercy. In another scene, he saw himself setting fire to the hair of a young girl who was about the same age as him. That left him feeling quite shocked. In fact, he couldn't help but think… this kid couldn't really be him, could he?

He saw many unfamiliar faces, and he also witnessed the carefree life he had lived until he was seven years of age. The life he had lived was one of simple happiness.

He wasn't studious at all, which made Naruto recall how poorly he had fared in the Imperial examinations.

However, on his seventh birthday, everything changed!

The day his seventh birthday arrived, something completely unforeseen happened to him. It was a misfortune, an extremely shocking matter that caused a huge commotion throughout the entireNamikaze Clan, although the news was quickly hushed up.

TheNamikaze Clan had a bloodline legacy, a Daoist Magic that was completely Heaven-defying. It manifested differently among different clan members, depending on their bloodline. It was a Daoist magic that could… allow for Nirvanic Rebirth up to four times! It was an ability that essentially gave them a chance to live up to four lifetimes!

The character 'Fang 方' is composed of four strokes, just like those four lifetimes 2. It was this Daoist magic that ensured that theNamikaze Clan remained as a towering force in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, regardless of whether it was the era of Lord Shimura or Lord Ji.

Any clan member who was born with a Nirvana Brand was considered Chosen. If a clan member was born without it, it was very difficult to develop it later in life.

Furthermore… throughout all the years, it was virtually unheard of for anyone to actually live all four lifetimes. Even some of the clan Patriarchs, when they became old and weak, could only experience Nirvanic Rebirth once. Those who had been able to experience Nirvanic Rebirth twice were extremely rare.

It required a deep cultivation base, as well as a very pureNamikaze clan bloodline.

Every time Nirvanic Rebirth was experienced, a Nirvana Flower would bloom. It would meld into the body, and allow the subject to become incredibly powerful by living an entire additional lifetime!

On Naruto's seventh birthday… he experienced Nirvanic Rebirth!

He did not have a powerful cultivation base, and yet… he experienced Nirvanic Rebirth!

This matter shook the wholeNamikaze Clan. Naruto's father and mother were even more astonished!

That was because… although Nirvanic Rebirth was a good thing, and enabled someone to live more lifetimes, for something like that to happen to a seven-year-old child was the most brutal of calamities! 3

He hadn't even lived a life yet. He had a road of endless possibilities ahead of him, but was stifled before he could explore any of them! All of the essence of his flesh and blood, all of his fated good fortune that had yet to be revealed, was sucked into the Nirvanic Rebirth as he started over from the beginning!

His body began to degenerate as he passed backward from seven years of age until he was in the same state he had been when he was born. The Nirvana Brand on the back of his hand faded some, and a layer of it fell off, which then transformed into a flower. Shockingly, the flower… gave bloom to a fruit!

That fruit gave rise to further shock in theNamikaze Clan. Even the Patriarchs who were locked away in secluded meditation came out to see.

According to the legends, the pinnacle of theNamikaze Clan's Nirvanic Rebirth Daoist magic was none other than the Nirvana Fruit!

Nirvana Flowers were rare, but there were people in every generation who produced them…. However, for many many years in theNamikaze Clan, the Nirvana Fruit had only been spoken of as the stuff of legend. Up until then, in the entireNamikaze Clan there was only one shriveled up, auraless husk of a Nirvana Fruit.

Nirvana Flowers bloomed when a member of theNamikaze Clan experienced Nirvanic Rebirth and began to live another lifetime. They were born inside of the body, and could enable one to grow incredibly powerful. When that clan member died later on, the Nirvana Flower would wither and fade away.

However, Nirvana Fruit… were the absolute pinnacle of power. They could be preserved… and passed on as legacies!

And now… little Naruto actually produced a Nirvana Fruit!

This matter shook theNamikaze clan, and many clan members started to view Naruto as an extraordinary Chosen. However, his father and mother were a bit uneasy about the matter. And as they watched as their son reverted from being seven years of age to being an infant, that unease grew more intense.

This type of good fortune was something that they didn't dare to think too deeply about. If they did… it caused their hair to stand on end in terror. It was the prospect of a child who, at seven years of age, had lost an entire lifetime, as if an eighth year of life didn't even exist for him.

Naruto's paternal grandfather looked on silently. Then one night, he left. Before leaving, he told Naruto's father and mother that he was going to seek an Outsider, who he believed was the only person who could explain what was happening. Naruto's maternal grandfather, the venerable old man from the Eighth Mountain's Naruto Clan, went with him.

The two of them disappeared into the starry sky.

Little Naruto grew up again, almost as if he had been reincarnated. He did not retain the memories of his previous life, and his personality had changed drastically. He was much quieter. He also noticed the strange looks that many clan members would give him when they thought no one was looking, and it scared him.

Such gazes were not the look you would give to a child, but rather, some type of Heavenly material or Earthly treasure.

When people looked at him in that way, his older sister would burst into a ranting rage and storm over with Naruto in tow to beat them up. She was frequently at his side, watching out for him.

"Don't be scared little brother, your big sister is here to protect you!" She was fifteen or sixteen years old now, and was already slender and elegant. However, her violent personality hadn't changed. In fact, she had actually grown more violent. 4

One day, a senior member of the clan gave Naruto that same strange look, which left him very frightened.

Later, he told his father about it. His father smiled and tousled his hair, then rocked him to sleep. After Naruto fell asleep, his father turned to leave, and his face was extremely grim. That day, the entireNamikaze Clan was sent into an explosive uproar, and many miserable shrieks rang out. Naruto's father swept through the entire clan, sword in hand.

From that day onward, there were far fewer such gazes cast Naruto's way.

Time passed. The other children who were once Naruto's age were now older, and the people he used to bully began to make progress along the path of cultivation. He could no longer set fire to that increasingly beautiful girl's hair. He was completely incapable of beating up Prince Wei, whom he found so objectionable. None of his former friends would play with him. Although he was constantly attended by various clan members, he was still plagued by a festering feeling of loneliness. Eventually, he also found out about the rebirth he had undergone when he had turned seven.

The only people who he truly had to accompany him were his father, his mother, and his older sister. During this second lifetime, Naruto rarely went outside. Most of those seven years were spent in silence….

Finally, the seventh birthday of his second lifetime arrived, and… he once again went through Nirvanic Rebirth.

When it happened, Naruto felt fear, and pain. His body withered, and everything went blurry. It was as if his flesh and blood were fading away. The mark on the back of his hand once again shone with a bizarre glow.

TheNamikaze Clan was yet again thrown into chaos. As Naruto experienced the Nirvanic Rebirth, his mother held him in her arms, and tears flowed down her face onto his. As he experienced these blurry memories, Naruto couldn't help but stare blankly at his mother, and the look of pain and heartbreak on her face.

Little Naruto's voice was hoarse as he said, "Mother… don't cry….

Didn't you tell me that this is just like sleeping a bit…? I'll rest for a while and then wake up…. When I wake up, you have to tell me a story, okay…?" His older sister stood off to the side, weeping as she watched her little brother. She was already twenty years old, and to see her little brother grow up twice, only to experience Nirvanic Rebirth twice, was heartrending.

His father stood off to the side, fists clenched tightly at his sides, eyes seemingly on the verge of dripping with tears of blood. Unfortunately, there was no way for him to vent the anguish he felt in his heart.

Nirvanic Rebirth was certainly Heaven-defying. However… for it to happen twice to a young child on his seventh birthday, was no good fortune. It was a tribulation!

Seventh Year Tribulation!

If it happened a third time, and then a fourth, then what awaited Naruto would be certain death. He would leave behind four Nirvana Fruits, and would then vanish into nothing.

His life would be one in which… he never reached eight years of age.

A strange atmosphere fell over theNamikaze Clan. Many people were watching, waiting for Naruto to complete the Nirvanic Rebirth, and then give bloom to a second Nirvana Fruit. However, no strange looks could be seen, and no one spoke.

They watched as Naruto gradually degenerated, once again becoming a young child…. The mark on his hand produced a flower, which then bore a Nirvana Fruit.

Thus, the curtain fell on Naruto's second incomplete life.

When he finally became an infant yet again, he didn't cry. As his mother held him in her arms, he gazed blankly up at the stars.

His mother wept. Trembling, his father lifted his head up and roared. Unfortunately, that didn't change anything. They could see the mark on the back of Naruto's hand, the Nirvana Brand, and they knew that the third lifetime had begun.

This time, he was clearly doomed to experience Nirvanic Rebirth again on his seventh birthday.

There were many aged members of theNamikaze Clan who were observing what was happening. Many of them appeared to be very distressed; others sighed.

Word of the matter finally began to spread outside the clan. However, the secret of Nirvanic Rebirth was maintained. The only thing that people on the outside knew was that theNamikaze Clan's eldest grandchild, the direct descendant of the bloodline, was born with tribulation attached to him. Every seven years he would experience such tribulation.

A child like that was essentially crippled.

Naruto's mother spent her days with tears staining her face. His older sister's violent temper caused her to get into fights virtually every day, as if that was the only way for her to give vent to the anger in her heart. His father did everything in his power to try to figure out a way to solve the problem, but it was all in vain.

His two grandfathers never returned.

When he was one year old during his third lifetime, a young man came to Planet East Victory. His arrival caused the elder members of the clan to reel in shock. One after another, they came out to bow in respect.

The young man said he had been sent by Naruto's grandfathers. After laying eyes on Naruto, he was silent for a long time. His face flickered with memories and conflicting emotions, as well as surprise. "In life, all things relate to the reaping and sowing of Karma. Farming is an example. You must work hard before you can bring in the harvest…. You must pay out before you can profit.

"As a husband and wife, are the two of you willing to abandon any future glory, to give up your current status and become the Prison Wardens of the Ninth Mountain, to guard the door of Planet Ninshu for 100,000 years? Are you willing, no matter what Heaven-shaking Earth-shattering events take place, no matter what calamitous tribulations occur in the outside world, to spend 100,000 tedious years in that one place and not step foot outside of Planet Ninshu ? Are you willing to guard the gate of Planet Ninshu , and not let any living beings from the outside world pass through it?

"If you are willing to leave behind everything that has been polluted by your Karma, then take this child to Planet Ninshu . That place is the origin of the entire Ninth Mountain. If you take him there… then you must leave him before his seventh birthday. Keep your distance from him until the day he reaches Dao Seeking. You must not meet him, and must not allow your Karma to contaminate him. All of this will depend on the level of your sincerity. If you are truly sincere, then you can succeed.

"He must not be surnamed Fang. Have him take his mother's surname.

"If you do these things, then perhaps… he will have a chance at a life."


	4. Chapter 4

364

Vol. 6 : Chapter 801

 _Book 6: Fame That Rocks the Ninth Mountain; the Path to True_

 _Immortality_

Chapter 801: We Will Meet Again!

Naruto father and mother didn't hesitate for even a moment. As long as there was a chance for Naruto to get better, they were willing to pay any price. If that price was a loss of freedom, and required them to relinquish their status and prestige and go to Planet Ninshu to guard it for 100,000 years…

Then they were willing!

They would leave Planet East Victory, and take Naruto and his older sister with them. They would leave the Namikaze Clan!

On the eve of their departure, the entire elder generation of the Namikaze Clan emerged to see them. Because they could not take anything with them that was contaminated with their Karma, Narutos father was forced to leave everything behind.

The only thing he took was an iron sword.

They did not take Narutos two Nirvana Fruits with them. The clan's elder generation, including the Patriarch, chose to hold them in safe keeping. When Naruto recovered and returned, the two Nirvana Fruits would belong to him.

Narutos father sneered coldly in response to this. How could he not understand the true meaning behind the directive? Originally, he hadn't planned to leave the Nirvana Fruits behind.

"Very well, the Nirvana Fruits will be left here with the Clan Chief," he said, his eyes glittering with a sharp light. "In a few years, Hao'er will personally return to retrieve them!" With that, he tossed out the precious treasures that were the Nirvana Fruits.

Of course, what the elders didn't know was that to Narutos father, these two precious treasures were actually the source of incredible sorrow.

They left a few days later, taking Naruto and his older sister with them. Ever since the most recent Nirvanic Rebirth, he had been lethargic and somewhat blank.

When they arrived at Planet Ninshu, they went to the remote

Five element nations, beneath Mount Daqing, and settled down in Yunjie

County. Narutos sister didn't stay with them. She went to the

Eastern Lands, where she joined the Eastern Lands division of the Namikaze Clan, and focused on cultivation. She wanted to leave her father and mother alone to spend what remained of the seven years with her little brother.

During those seven years, Naruto was actually very happy. He gradually grew to be very intelligent, and began to focus on studying. On the eve of his seventh birthday, a violet wind gusted outside. His parents were heartbroken and anxious, but in order to save his life, they left. They had no other choice.

When he awoke and began to weep, his parents broke down….

Naruto opened his eyes. The tears streaming down his face had soaked his garments. The vision faded away, and he saw his father and mother sitting there in front of him.

He could now see some white hairs on his mother's head that hadn't been there before. His father's face looked older than it had in the past.

They were looking at Naruto with a love that made his heart tremble.

Now he understood everything. His doubts were resolved. His questions were answered. When he saw the events that had taken place in his previous two lifetimes, they seemed like a dream. Yet now he had awakened, and still, everything that had happened during the dream remained in his head, and would never be wiped away.

"Seventh Year Tribulation…." he thought. "My parents agreed to guard this place for 100,000 years…. for me. 100,000 years…." Naruto couldn't even wrap his head around such an incredible period of time. The twisted feeling in his heart was completely gone. He no longer felt wronged, and in fact, felt a bit of pain and regret.

His parents did not deserve blame.

They had paid far, far too much, and never complained even once. They did not make any demands of him, nor ask for any compensation. They only wanted… for him to be able to live.

Naruto trembled, and even more tears began to stream down his face.

"Mom…." he said softly. "Dad…."

Trembling, his mom stepped forward and took him into her arms. She was crying too.

"Hao'er, everything's going to be fine. You transcended the tribulation.

Everything will be okay…."

Narutos father, who was once the eldest son and direct bloodline descendant of the Namikaze Clan, an astonishing Chosen who was still marveled at in the outside world, stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his wife and son.

"It's past us now, Hao'er. It's all in the past now…." His voice quavered a bit, and he was crying too. This was only the second time he had ever cried as an adult.

The first time was when Naruto had experienced Nirvanic Rebirth for the second time. When he watched his son revert from being seven to an infant, when he saw the pain on Narutos tiny face, when he saw his eyes slowly grow listless… he had cried.

"What about my big sister…?" Naruto asked softly. He would never be able to forget the image of his stern older sister protecting him in his second lifetime.

Nor would he ever forget the words she had spoken.

 _Don't be scared little brother, your big sister is here to protect you!_

Weeping happily, his mother responded, "She's been in secluded meditation in the Eastern Lands for some time. After we go back, we'll wait for her to emerge, and then we can have a big reunion!"

"What about Grandpa Uzumaki and Grandpa Namikaze …?" asked Naruto.

When he asked the question, his father stood there silently for a moment. Narutos heart began to thump. He remembered that his two grandfathers had left together to go search for an Outsider.

The Outsider came, but his two grandfathers had never returned.

After a long moment, his father said, "All things come with a price. Your Grandpa Uzumaki's and Grandpa Namikaze 's life lamps still burn. They are still alive, but… we don't know where they are."

Naruto sat there silently, and his heart twinged painfully. Now that he knew the reason for everything, he felt deep guilt regarding his two grandfathers.

Were it not for them, that Outsider would never have appeared, and he would have long since returned to the dust, with only four Nirvana Fruits left behind.

It was because of him that his two Grandfathers had never returned.

Furthermore, his parents were stuck guarding South Heaven for 100,000 years. When he thought about this, Naruto felt even worse. He looked at his parents, and although he didn't say anything, his feelings were already etched deeply in his heart.

He would never be able to pay back the kindness shown to him by his parents and relatives.

Patriarch Blood Demon never awoke, and soon it came time for Naruto to leave with his father and mother. His father and mother faced to Mount Blood Demon, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

A few days later, when the restoration work was well under way in the Southern Domain, Naruto and his parents left. Before returning to the Eastern Lands, they went to visit his master, Pill Demon.

His mother and father were very grateful for everything Pill Demon had done, and even offered expensive gifts. In response, however, Pill Demon's face darkened. It didn't matter that he was facing people with mighty cultivation bases, he refused to accept the gifts.

"Naruto is my disciple! How could I accept gifts from you!?" he said.

Narutos father clasped hands and bowed deeply to him, then sent out a strand of his Dao will, which solidified inside of Pill Demon's body and caused a tremor to run through him.

Dao Will such as this was something very important to Pill Demon, and would help him to verify his path of cultivation.

"How rude of us," said Narutos father. "Forgive me, Grandmaster.

Please accept this strand of Dao will. Hao'er was not born in the lands of South Heaven, so the Immortal destiny for this ten thousand year period cannot belong to him. Grandmaster, I very much admire your aspirations regarding the Dao. When your true Immortal Tribulation arrives, I will personally act as a Dao Protector for you!"

They stayed in the Violet Fate Sect for several days. Chu Yuyan continuously avoided Naruto, which caused him to sigh. However, he didn't force the matter, and eventually left with his parents. They went to visit Patriarch Song, and then finally left the Southern Domain.

When they transformed into beams of prismatic light that shot off into the distance, Chu Yuyan was standing proudly on a mountain peak in the Violet Fate Sect. She said nothing, but merely stood there, looking somewhat desolate. When Pill Demon caught sight of her, he sighed.

It was in this fashion that Naruto left the Southern Domain with his parents.

On the way, Naruto mentioned that he wanted to stop by the Milky Way Sea to look for that old turtle Patriarch Reliance. Narutos mother shook her head with a smile.

"The turtle you're talking about left a long time ago. He's not in the lands of South Heaven any more."

Naruto gaped, and then a hateful expression appeared on his face. "It's a good thing he left so quickly," he thought to himself, "otherwise I would have tracked him down and shown him a thing or two!"

Meanwhile, out in the starry sky….

An enormous turtle was drifting among the stars. He had an entire continent on his back, upon which existed countless lives, including numerous cultivators and sects.

Of course, they didn't realize that they were floating out among the stars. When they looked up, what they saw was a magically produced sky.

The turtle, of course, was none other than Patriarch Reliance. Currently, his head was tucked inside of his shell, and he was humming a little tune. He looked incredibly happy and proud of himself.

"Heh heh heh! The Patriarch is the most incredible, yet again! Now that I've fled out here, that little bastard will never be able to find me!

"Hahaha! From now on, my future is as boundless as the sea and sky! The Patriarch has freedom at last!

"Let's see how that little bastard reacts when he finds out that I'm no longer on Planet Ninshu. He'll be struck dumb! Hahaha!" The thought of Naruto going to the Milky Way Sea to look for him, only to be unable to find him, caused Patriarch Reliance's spirits to instantly be lifted even higher. He continued to muse on how he was vastly more intelligent than Naruto.

"You want the Patriarch to be your Dao Protector? Impossible! Ai… it's all the fault of those old bastards from the League of Demon Sealers. They must have damaged my brain somehow. How come it didn't occur to me before that I could simply fly away from Planet Ninshu?!

"Although, it's better late than never. Now that I've finally flown away from South Heaven, I feel like I've actually gotten smarter!

"Aiyaaa, where should I go now? Ah, it doesn't really matter. I remember that years ago I had a beloved on Planet East Victory. I wonder how she's doing after all these years? I should go see my old sweetheart." Sighing somewhat emotionally, Patriarch Reliance flickered as he shot toward Planet East Victory, taking the Five element nations with him.

As he flew, he hummed his little tune, feeling extremely happy….

There was someone else speeding along through the starry sky. It was a crazy old man who was clearly not Immortal. However, for some reason, he emanated a strong Immortal qi, and was capable of flying among the stars.

"Immortal Ascension…. Immortal Ascension…." As his voice echoed out, a strange transformation seemed to be occurring. His face was ancient for a moment… but then looked young all of a sudden.

However, the old face and the young face looked different from each other. They were two different people!

This was the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. As for the transformation to his appearance… were Naruto here, he would recognize that young face. It was none other than… Uchiha Tengfei, whose soul had been swallowed up by his ancestor!

Meanwhile, two figures appeared on the border between the Northern Reaches and the Eastern Lands, creeping forward stealthily. One of them was a young man in black robes who looked delicate and pretty, almost like a scholar. If you looked closely, he actually resembled Naruto. However, there was a perverted expression in his eyes that completely ruined the entire image.

Next to him was a tall, fat man, who occasionally mumbled complaints.

"Run, run, run away. All you know how to do is run away. I've been telling you all along, this is wrong. It's immoral! It's very, very shameless! We should never have fled back then…. We're finished. Completely finished! Naruto has become incredibly powerful…. What do we do now? What is Lord Third supposed to do now?"

"Shut the hell up!" the young man replied loftily, looking at the fat man out of the corner of his eye. "Lord Fifth hasn't even said anything yet, what are you flapping your gums for? What the hell do you want? Let me ask you, do you know what comes after three? Can you count all the way to five?

"Well, Lord Fifth can!

"Have faith in the Lord Fifth, gain eternal life! Lord Fifth is taking you to the Eastern Lands! With this feather that fell from the sky, we're definitely going to be able to live the good life!" The young man shook his body in much the same way that a bird does when straightening out its feathers.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 802

Chapter 802: Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion!

In the vast Eastern Lands was the ancient city of Chang'an.

It was a place that countless scholars in the lands of South Heaven dreamed of. All of them hungered to pay homage to the Great Tang, and to stroll through Chang'an.

The military strength of the Great Tang was incredible, and even possessed garrison states populated entirely by cultivators. There was no location in the mortal worlds of South Heaven in which people did not pay homage to the Great Tang.

It was no surprise that there were great numbers of sects and clans in the Eastern Lands. Their strength and influence exceeded that of any of the powers that existed in the Northern Reaches, Southern Domain or Western Desert. In terms of sects alone, there were nine major ones.

In addition, there were seven great clans with vast numbers of disciples, followers, and clan members. The Eastern Lands were a flourishing place with countless Chosen, many of whom were famous even in the other continents.

Even the Imperial family had its own Daoist teachings and doctrines, which they used to exercise control over the whole continent. Emperor Tang himself possessed a powerful cultivation base, and although he rarely made public appearances, his power held sway over the all the land.

Chang'an was the center of it all, and was encircled by ten defensive fortresses. Of those, eight belonged directly to the Great Tang, with the remaining fortresses belonging to two different clans.

One was the Namikaze Clan and the other was the Hebi Clan!

Just because they occupied the defensive fortresses didn't mean that these two clans bowed their heads to the power of the Emperor. They were independent, and in fact, above everyone else. It was the other sects and clans who bowed their heads to them!

This was especially true of the Hebi Clan. The Heavens themselves belonged to the Hebi Clan, so who was there that could possibly surpass them?

As for the Namikaze Clan, they had vast and powerful resources at their disposal. Although they were only a subdivision of the main clan, they were still deep and immeasurable. Of course, in compliance with their clan rules, they respected the Great Tang, and would protect the Tang Dynasty for all time. After all… the Tang Emperor was surnamed Li! 1

However, despite the fact that these were the circumstances surrounding Naruto at the moment, they were far distant from his daily life.

Currently, Naruto sat cross-legged in a courtyard in the Namikaze Clan, underneath an ancient tree. Sitting next to him was a trembling little crocodile who was oh-so-cautiously looking at the man sitting crosslegged in front of Naruto.

That man was none other than Narutos father.

"Hao'er," he said, "your future path is your own to tread. As to what you do and how you do it, your mother and I can assist from the sidelines, but will not help you directly. The most important thing you should focus on is… Immortal Ascension!

"You're already halfway into true Immortality, lacking only that final half step. Then you will be in the Immortal Realm.

"The chance to gain true Immortality is something that comes along once every 10,000 years. There are many cultivators of the elder generation, and even current Chosen, who are willing to suppress their own cultivation bases, all for the chance to get that true Immortal destiny.

"During this 10,000 year period, the true Immortal destiny lies in the lands of South Heaven. However, since you weren't born on South Heaven, it cannot belong to you. The location of your true Immortality is on Planet East Victory.

"The simplest way to achieve true Immortal Ascension is by means of the rarely seen Immortality Illumination Vine. Use that to gain enlightenment regarding the meaning of Immortality, and you can achieve true Immortal Ascension.

"Although Immortality Illumination Vines are rare, it is not impossible to acquire them. In fact, there are enough that, during each 10,000 year period, most powerful sects manage to produce one or two true

Immortals. However, the vines are only effective in the 1,000 years after the true Immortal destiny appears.

"The second way to achieve true Immortal Ascension is very difficult, and that is to acquire the Immortal destiny that appears once every 10,000 years, and use it to tread the path to true Immortality. That is the path your master Pill Demon must take.

"Both of these types of Immortals are true Immortals.

"Your master is going about it the most difficult way. If he succeeds, then he will most certainly be taken away by some powerful organization and made a Conclave disciple.

"Therefore, when the time comes for your master's true Immortal

Ascension, the lands of South Heaven are going to be a very lively place.

The various Chosen of other sects and clans who have left South Heaven will return to fight for their chance. When that time comes, I will act as Dao Protector for your master.

"As for you, after you help your master transcend his tribulation, then you will go to Planet East Victory. Father has already prepared an Immortality Illumination Vine for you there!

"Initially, using the Immortality Illumination Vine produces a slightly inferior result. However, cultivation isn't always dependent on the first steps, and using that method can also lead you to great glory.

"So there are only these two ways to achieve true Immortal Ascension?" asked Naruto, a bit surprised. "Why could the Resurrection Lily achieve it?"

"People aren't flowers and flowers aren't people. The path of the Resurrection Lily can be learned from, but if cultivators try to follow it, they will find it very difficult to realize their Dao.

"There is a third path which is not dependent on any of the planets or any Immortal lands. It is to achieve true Immortality… by your own power!

"This is a very rare thing. According to the legends, only Patriarch Kṣitigarbha, the Earth Store Bodhisattva of the Fourth Mountain 2, has ever traveled that path. Other than him, no one has ever pulled it off.

When he did, it caused all of the Immortal Chakra in the Mountain and Sea

Realm to surge and swirl towards him, such that everyone knew about it.

"As to how to tread that path, even I don't know." Narutos father shook his head. Even though he had a high opinion of Naruto, he didn't think it was possible for him to tread that third path. "For now," he said, looking at Naruto sternly, "focus on my nine sword forms. Make sure you understand them thoroughly."

Sadly, Narutos older sister Namikaze Yu was still unable to emerge from secluded meditation. Narutos return had caused many in South Heaven's Namikaze Clan to act with great caution. They were unfamiliar with him, and didn't dare to even try to probe him for information.

Word of Narutos deeds in the Southern Domain had long since spread amongst the cultivators of the vast Eastern Lands.

When it came to the Hebi Clan, there quite a few people there who were currently vacillating nervously…. Those people were the Chosen who owed Naruto spirit stones from back in the Demon Immortal Sect. There were Chosen from other sects in the Eastern Lands as well, all of whom had mixed feelings about Naruto.

As they sat there beneath the tree, Narutos father waved his hand, causing a scintillating command medallion to fly out toward Naruto. It came to rest in front of him, where it floated in the air. It only took a glance for Naruto to be able to sense the vast ancientness pulsing off of it.

"This is an Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion," said Narutos father.

"In the future, when you leave the lands of South Heaven, you could return home to the clan to continue your cultivation, or you could use this medallion to join the Ninth Mountain's Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite and cultivate their Daoist magic!

"In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, there are many Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temples. Whenever one of those temples opens its doors, it will attract a lot of attention.

"Currently, only the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite of the Ninth Mountain continues to pass on its legacies. Many cultivators practice cultivation among them, making them one of the most superlative Daoist Societies in the Ninth Mountain. By the time any Daoist rite temple is revealed to the world, it will already long since been left untended and abandoned.

"Only the most powerful of Chosen can join the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. Lord Li joined, as did Lord Ji. The Namikaze Patriarch of that era also joined. Their requirements for accepting disciples are very strict.

However, if you possess an Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion, then you can join directly as a Conclave disciple.

"Take good care of this medallion!

"The medallion has another function. I happened to discover an

Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. Although it's deserted, if you enter it, the temple will automatically come to life….

"Accept the medallion's guidance, and you can cultivate enlightenment in the temple. It will greatly improve your chances at achieving Immortal Ascension.

"However, after the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple comes to life, others will detect it. Therefore, Chosen from the sects and clans of the other planets will come to try to seize the luck and good fortune in the temple.

"What they will be most interested in obtaining is the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion.

"That will be your chance to hone your skills."

Naruto looked closer at the medallion, and inside, he could just barely make out an Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, filled with countless figures practicing cultivation. There was also a glowing Immortal who was giving a sermon regarding the Dao.

The music of a great Dao floated through the air, which Naruto couldn't hear clearly. However, it caused him to perceive an unusual sensation of being bathed in an celestial radiance, with Immortal Chakra swirling around him.

After a long moment, he trembled, and recovered his senses. He quickly reached out to take hold of the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion.

"Keep the Dao medallion safe, and achieve Immortal ascension. Those are my tests for you. If you can't accomplish these things… then it would be better for you to stay here with me and your mother.

"If you can fight with all your might against the Chosen of the sects and clans of the other planets, if you can protect this medallion, if you can achieve true Immortal Ascension, then… your mother and I will be confident that you are ready to leave us and forge your own glorious future!"

Naruto clutched the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion, looked up at his father, and slowly nodded.

Narutos father looked back and then smiled. It was a smile full of love and encouragement.

"Go," he said. "Leave this crocodile here. When you achieve Immortal Ascension, it will be the mount you can use when you leave. Hao'er… you did not have me and your mother at your side in this lifetime. You've reached your current stage by relying only on your own efforts!

"Likewise, I believe that in the future… you won't need help from me or your mother. Your path will lead you much further… and you can do it on your own!"

Naruto took a deep breath and then bowed to his father.

"Now go. We cultivators don't focus on the trifles in life. Besides… you've grown up." His father's smile grew wider. From the look in his eye, you could see that he wished for his son to be a dragon, to truly succeed. It was a look similar to the one Naruto had seen in the eyes of Ke Yunhai.

Naruto rose to his feet and caught sight of his mother approaching. She walked up to him, adjusted his clothes, and then looked at him lovingly. She clearly did not wish to part with him, and was also worried.

"Mom, I'm fine," he said with a bashful smile.

When she saw his smile, his mother shook her head.

"That's the same smile you used to make when you were little," she said, "whenever you were about to get into mischief."

Narutos smile grew even more bashful. He chatted a bit more with his parents, then clasped hands and bowed. Giving them a final deep look, he turned and made his way off into the distance.

They watched him leaving, and Narutos mother sighed.

"This is how cultivators were meant to practice cultivation," his father said calmly. "Hao'er is a dragon amongst men. His path… is his own to tread!"

"I'm still worried though…" his mother said.

"It was without our help that he stepped halfway into true Immortality," his father replied proudly. "He's grown up, and given his personality, it would be impossible for him to stay with us here for 100,000 years. Since we can't leave, he needs to temper himself with appropriate challenges. Moreover… in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea, there truly are few who have achieved a cultivation base like his at such an age!"

"I'm just afraid that this Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple that you've activated will attract people above the Spirit Realm…" his mother said softly.

Narutos father laughed coolly. " Namikaze Xiufeng makes the rules here on Planet Ninshu, and I say… if anyone above the Spirit Realm dares to enter, I'll just kill them!"

Naruto left the Namikaze Clan, the first time he had done so since arriving. The streets were busy, and as he looked around at the bustle, it was clear that this was a city of mortals. There were cultivators present too, but they didn't dare to act superior to others. Apparently, cultivators were not permitted to act aggressively in the lands controlled by the Great Tang.

Naruto looked up, and off in the distance he could see an enormous city. That was… Chang'an.

At first glance it looked ordinary, but when Naruto circulated his

Immortal qi, he was shocked to find that there were ninety-five gold dragons spiraling through the air above the city. Occasionally they would let out shocking roars. Of course, it was something that everyone else could not see or hear.

Gradually, the ninety-five dragons merged together into a figure sitting there in midair. When Naruto looked at it, the figure seemed to sense his gaze, and then looked back at him.

Suddenly, a majestic voice filled Narutos mind. "The son of Elder Brother Namikaze . As expected, you are quite extraordinary. It's a pleasure to meet you. Allow me to bless you with some Chakra reserves to incorporate into your body."

The ninety-five dragons each spit streams of draconic qi, which merged together into an extremely lifelike golden dragon. It turned into a golden beam of light that shot through the air and merged into Naruto. As it swirled through his body, an incredibly refreshing feeling filled him.

Cracking sounds could be heard from inside him, and an otherworldly aura seemed to be washing over him, like a baptism. It almost seemed as if he had formed a resonance with the land, and could now see various Daoist magics and natural laws wherever he looked.

Narutos mind trembled as the figure looked away from him.

"Emperor Tang!" gasped Naruto. He was certain that the person just now…. was the Emperor of the Great Tang!

"The lands of South Heaven are filled with hidden dragons and crouching tigers…." he thought. "The Emperor of the Great Tang has an unfathomable cultivation base. Is South Heaven the only place like this, or are the other planets similar? Perhaps only people in the same Realm as father can understand such things."

Naruto clasped hands and bowed toward Chang'an. Then, he transformed into a beam of colorful light as he followed the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion's guidance toward the temple. His second true self became the shadow beneath him, following him wherever he went.

Naruto had just appeared outside the city, and was about to head off into the distance, when his eyes glittered.

"I heard mom say that the Hebi Clan isn't too far away from here…." A bashful smile appeared on his face and he rubbed his bag of holding. He still had many promissory notes inside, some of which were written by Chosen of the Hebi Clan.

"I think it's time to go settle accounts…." Naruto thought with a dry cough. He took out a jade slip which continued a detailed map of the vast Eastern Lands. After examining it for a moment, he headed toward the Hebi Clan's fortress….

The character in the surname of the Tang Emperor is 李, which is a very common name. It's th same as Lord Li, previous ruler of the Ninth

Mountain as well as the Li Clan, which we know exists on Planet North

Reed, and whose auxiliary branch was destroyed by Naruto ↩

Ksitigarbha was previously mentioned in chapter 702 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 803

Chapter 803: Going to the Hebi Clan to Collect Debts

The Hebi Clan didn't just have one ancestral mansion, but many. The one located within the fortress was just one of those.

It was enormous and sprawling, taking up roughly thirty percent of the entire fortress. On the outside it looked relatively ordinary, but once you stepped foot inside, you would catch sight of indescribably beautiful carved balustrades and marble steps.

An ancient, aged will emanated out in all directions, making every block of wood and stone seem sentient. It was something completely extraordinary that even the Eastern Lands' Namikaze Clan couldn't equal.

Naruto navigated his way through the fortress using the map, and eventually found the Hebi Clan's main gate. He walked up the gate and cleared his throat. As he looked around, he didn't see anyone around standing guard.

He knocked, and, seeing that there was no reaction from within, flew up into the air and prepared to simply fly into the mansion. However, a massive pressure bore down on him as soon as he rose up into the air. Clearly, the airspace here was restricted.

Naruto suddenly heard someone chuckling behind him.

"Fellow Daoist, don't waste your time! People like you come here every day hoping to pay respects to the Hebi Clan."

There were two cultivators there who had caught sight of Naruto as they were passing by.

"The Hebi Clan is the number one clan in the lands of South Heaven," said the first one, "and this is one of their ancestral mansions. You think you can just waltz right in? The only way to get inside is if you're invited by the Hebi Clan."

"Why even try?" chuckled the second one. "You might end up irritating one of the Hebi Clan members, and then you'd be in grave danger."

Actually, Narutos handsome appearance and down-to-earth disposition left these two cultivators with a good impression, so they really were trying to help him out.

"I'm not here to pay respects," said Naruto, coughing lightly. "I'm here to collect some debts." His eyes suddenly glittered brightly as he caught sight of the two iron hoop handles that adorned the main gate.

The two iron hoops seemed ordinary, but by using his Celestial Vision technique, he could instantly sense the aura of ancient magical symbols pulsing off of them.

"These things are magical treasures!" Naruto thought. Taking a step forward, he grabbed one of the iron hoops and then yanked hard on it. Unfortunately, the gate didn't budge an inch. The two startled cultivators looked on in shock.

"Fellow Daoist, what… what are you doing?"

Naruto took a deep breath, and strange gleam appeared in his eyes. As he prepared to yank on the iron hoop a second time, the wide-eyed cultivators behind him began to back up. They came to the citadel frequently to go shopping, and often saw cultivators pacing back and forth in front of the Hebi Clan's main gate, hoping to gain entrance to offer respects.

However, they had never, ever seen someone covet the iron hoops on the main gate. The mere sight of it made their scalps numb. As they backed up, Naruto wrenched at the iron hoop with full force.

Some distance away, a group of seven or eight youths were loitering on the street corner, chatting and laughing. When they noticed what Naruto was doing, one of their number gaped for a moment and then let out a roar of fury. He instantly flew into the air toward Naruto.

"How brazen! Did you just eat a dragon heart?! How dare you behave so boorishly in front of the Hebi Clan!?"

The two cultivators near Naruto were so scared they could barely speak, and began to back up even faster.

"Not good! It's Hebi Xueming! He's a Quasi-Array disciple of the Hebi Clan!"

Ji Xueming's hands flashed in an incantation gesture as he whistled through the air. Bright light pulsed off of his body, which then transformed into a long spear that emanated a strong force like a tornado. He stabbed the spear toward Naruto without hesitation.

As Naruto stood there at the entrance to the Hebi Clan, he turned his head to look at the incoming spear, then gave a cold snort. He waved his right index finger, causing the long spear to tremble and then explode into pieces. The shockwave didn't even lift a hair on Narutos head, but Hebi Xueming was sent tumbling backward through the air. He slammed into the ground about three hundred meters away, coughing up blood, his face ashen.

His companions' faces filled with rage as they looked over at Naruto.

"Looking to die!?" Hebi Xueming howled, crawling to his feet. His cultivation base was at the late Nascent Soul stage, and although Narutos cultivation base was not visible to him, he raged at him nonetheless.

"You're Hebi Xueming?" Naruto asked. "Okay, hold on a second…." With that, Naruto slapped his bag of holding to produce a large stack of promissory notes. After flipping through them for a moment, his eyes sparkled and pulled out one in particular.

"Are you related to Hebi Xuelin?" he continued, sounding hopeful. 1

"He's my big brother! How dare you act so wildly in the Hebi Clan! You're DEAD!" With a shrill cry, he waved his right hand, causing spiritual energy to surge in mid-air, giving rise to ripples that only a cultivator could see.

Naruto smiled bashfully, then proceeded to ignore Hebi Xueming and look back at the iron hoops. He was getting even more excited about them.

"This is really a lovely treasure!" he thought, causing his cultivation base to begin to rotate. His Dharma Idol flickered into being behind him, which then reached down to grab an iron ring and yank on it.

A boom could be heard as the entire main gate shuddered. Even the ground quaked as the iron ring… was ripped off the door by Naruto.

The two cultivators who had just been trying to persuade Naruto to leave, were now watching with wide eyes.

Ji Xueming's companions' eyes went even wider with disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost. As for Hebi Xueming, his shrill cry gurgled to a stop, and he gaped at Naruto in shock.

The huge boom just now had echoed throughout the city, and quite a few cultivators had hurried over to see what was happening. When they saw what was going on, they instantly began to cry out in shock.

"He… he ripped off a door hoop?"

"That's… that's impossible…."

"Is that guy crazy!? How could he possibly dare to provoke the Hebi Clan!"

"This is the Hebi Clan's ancestral mansion, a representation of the whole clan's face! And yet… he actually ripped a door hoop off!"

"He's poking the Heavens in the eye!"

A buzz of conversation immediately echoed out.

Narutos expression was the same as ever as he hefted the iron hoop in his hand to get a sense of its weight. Then, his eyes shone with a gleam of pleasure.

"Truly a lovely treasure," he thought. It was at this point that his head swiveled to look at the other iron hoop. He was just about to reach out and grab it when a cold snort echoed out from inside the Hebi Clan. Next, the gates silently swung open and a young man walked out.

His long hair draped down over his shoulders, and his features were handsome, albeit cold. A Spirit Severing aura swirled around him as he strode out. Instantly, a rumbling sound filled the air, as if bizarre ripples were spreading out from his body.

"According to the clan rules," the young man said as he walked out, "anyone who damages the clan gate will be exterminated to the ninth degree of kinship." He looked over coldly at Naruto, and then suddenly, his jaw dropped.

Three hundred meters away, Hebi Xueming didn't notice that point. He was extremely excited and cried out, "Big brother, kill that guy!"

Narutos eyes gleamed with a strange light. As soon as he laid eyes on this newcomer, he couldn't help but feel happy. He laughed loudly and then said, "Fellow Daoist Xuelin, do you remember me?"

At first, the young man's bearing had been cold and aloof, but after looking closely at Naruto and hearing his words, his face went deathly white. Even if he had a more steely will, he would still have cried out hoarsely in alarm. As it was, he couldn't prevent himself from staggering backward several paces.

"No, I don't remember!" he cried out, then slammed the gate shut.

Eyes glittering, Naruto lifted his right foot up and then kicked hard onto the huge gate. A boom echoed out as the gate crashed open. Hebi Xuelin was on the other side, and was sent tumbling backward, blood spurting out of his mouth. Then he began to cry out loudly.

"Narutos here! Narutos here!"

His urgent call immediately caused the faces of numerous Hebi Clan oldtimers to flicker. As for the Chosen who happened to be in the mansion, they didn't comprise all of the Hebi Clan Chosen. However, there were four or five who happened to owe Naruto spirit stones, and their faces filled with shock.

When the people gathered outside the Hebi Clan heard Hebi Xuelin's call, they were completely taken aback. Many weren't able to put the pieces together, but there were some whose expressions flickered with understanding.

"Naruto? That's the guy who ended the war between the Southern

Domain and the Northern Reaches! He's half a step into true

Immortality, and is the number one figure in his generation!"

"It's him… he's actually in the Eastern Lands. Dammit! Now that I think about it, the sect issued orders recently that we are not to offend Naruto in any way! I didn't understand before, because I thought he was in the Southern Domain. But it turns out he's already in the Eastern Lands!"

"So… he really is Naruto!"

Stories of the war of the Southern Domain had long since spread widely throughout all the lands, and Narutos name could be heard everywhere. He had sealed the cultivation bases of more than 100,000 Northern Reaches cultivators, cutting off their path to the Nascent Soul stage and reducing them to felon citizens. Furthermore, he had summoned a huge mountain to suppress five peak Dao Seeking experts.

Because of all of that, Naruto was now thoroughly famous in all the lands of South Heaven.

Ji Xueming stood there quivering, face pale and eyes wide. He vaguely remembered that some time ago, word had been passed down through the clan forbidding anyone from provoking Naruto.

Everything trembled as Naruto entered the Hebi Clan. As he passed the nearly destroyed gate, he casually reached down to wrench off the other iron hoop, which he put in his bag of holding.

The sight of him doing so caused gasps to rise up from the people who stood outside watching; Narutos domineering manner had already left them with a deep impression. On the other hand, flames of rage could be seen burning in the Hebi Clan members' eyes.

After all… there were only a few people who actually owed him spirit stones. To all the other members of the Hebi Clan, Narutos actions just now were nothing short of blasphemous.

Immediately, eight older members of the Clan snorted coldly and then stepped forward. Hands were waved, and divine abilities appeared. However, when they neared Naruto, his eyes flickered and he flicked his sleeve. Rumbling echoed out as a storm wind rose up. It blasted out in all directions, causing the eight older clan members to tumble back with blood spraying from their mouths.

Naruto cleared his throat and pulled out some promissory notes.

"I'm not here to cause a ruckus," he said, as he began leafing through the notes. "I just want to collect some debts. Hebi Xuelin, Hebi Tianyi, Hebi Xiaoxiao…." In a brief moment, he recited seven or eight names.

Finally, he looked up.

"When exactly were you people planning on paying me back the tens of millions of spirit stones you owe me?! Hand them over!"

His voice roared out to be heard not only by the entire Hebi Clan, but also everyone on the outside. Instantly, all of the people whose names he recited, with the exception of those not present, suddenly grew incredibly wrathful. How could they not? After all, the sheer amount of spirit stones owed… made it impossible for them to pay off the debt.

"You're shameless, Naruto! You forced us to write those promissory notes!"

"We didn't want to write them! You made us!"

"Yeah, you threatened us! We had no choice but to sign the promissory notes, so they don't count!"

When the other Hebi Clan members heard what was being cried out, they couldn't help but be shocked. The cultivators on the outside were also looking on with wide eyes.

"I can't believe Naruto was so daring back then! He actually forced Ji

Clan Chosen to write promissory notes!"

"Tens of millions of spirit stones! How… how do you force someone to the point of signing that kind of promissory note?!"

Narutos eyes went dark. "Not going to acknowledge your debt!?"

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Jake Ridgeway_

In traditional Chinese culture, all males of the same generation in a family will have the same first character in their given name. In this case, it would be logical to assume that since the first character in Hebi Xueming's name is Xue, that he would be related to Hebi Xuelin, who also has the character Xue. Incidentally, Madam Deathblade's family follows this tradition, so her brother and cousins all have the character Zhi 智 in their given name ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 804

Chapter 804: Debts Must Be Repaid!

The Hebi Clan members glared furiously at Naruto, their eyes brimming with killing intent. For years on end, no one had ever dared to crash through the Hebi Clan's gate. Well… except for a certain husband and wife.

Now, Naruto was the third person to do so.

"What a pack of lies!" a voice said from among the Hebi Clan members. As the same time, a surge of energy burst out, accompanied by three older clan members. They moved with incredible speed, and were in front of Naruto in the space of one breath. Their cultivation bases emanated the shocking power of Dao Seeking, and even as they arrived in front of Naruto, they snorted and launched attacks.

They knew Naruto was extraordinary, which was why they joined forces to attack in unison. Everything trembled violently, even the sun and moon. The illusory image of an altar appeared which rumbled toward Naruto, exuding incredible pressure.

"For the sake of your parents, we won't kill you today, but that doesn't mean we'll let you off without teaching you a lesson!" The ground quaked as the altar descended toward Naruto.

Narutos expression was calm. He smiled and glanced at the incoming altar, then suddenly clenched his fist. Even as his punch sailed through the air, the Ninth Mountain materialized, which then slammed into the altar.

A huge boom rattled out and the altar was sent spinning backward. The Ninth Mountain floated there, emanating shocking pressure, and most shocking of all, surrounded by swirling Immortal qi. The three Hebi clan members staggered backward, blood oozing out of their mouths, their faces filled with shock.

In the same moment that they fell into retreat, seven more older clan members flew up into the air. They also joined forces, shoving their hands down from above to summon an enormous lake. There were fish swimming to and fro within the lake, one of which leapt out and transformed into a red dragon that roared and headed toward Naruto.

Naruto lifted his foot up and took a step forward. The ground quaked as a massive force rippled out in all directions. The three Dao Seeking experts coughed up blood and fell back once more, astonishment written on their faces.

As for the seven old clan members who had summoned the red dragon, blood sprayed from their mouths and they tumbled back through the air like kites with their strings cut.

Then there were the ordinary clan members, whose faces fell as they felt themselves being shoved back violently, their bodies completely beyond their own control. They looked over in shock at Naruto, who stood there, towering above everyone.

The people on the outside continued to watch with wide eyes and gaping mouths. To them, Naruto looked like a Paragon, standing there unmatched and invincible!

"Debts must be repaid!" Naruto said, walking forward again. "It's a law of Heaven and a principle of Earth! If you renege on your debt, then I'll just have to come take it myself." As he advanced, the Hebi Clan members were forced to fall back. It was almost like they couldn't even control their own bodies, and were literally being forced back by an incredible power.

One of their number was a young man who suddenly felt an incredible force wrapping around his body. He was suddenly hauled out from the other Hebi Clan members and pulled directly in front of Naruto.

It was Hebi Xuelin.

"Naruto, you're pushing things way too far!" he cried shrilly, glaring furiously at Naruto. He looked like he was about to fly into a rage, but inwardly, he was trembling. Even as the words left his mouth, he braced himself for something horrible to happen. However, he had no choice but to speak such words; after all, this was the Hebi Clan, and if he didn't say something, how could he possibly hold his head up in front of his fellow clan members?

"You owe me money, and I'm here to collect! How is that pushing things too far?"

In the face of all the nearby Hebi Clan members, Naruto grabbed Hebi Xuelin's bag of holding and opened it up. He frowned.

"You barely have more than 1,000,000 spirit stones? How could that be!?" Narutos tone turned stern. "Ji Xuelin, that's simply not enough. Okay, let me see…. you owe me 7,650,000 spirit stones…." He reached out, stuck his hand into Hebi Xuelin's robe and started to loosen it.

"Naruto! Y-y-you…." Hebi Xuelin let out a roar. Naruto had just snatched away his bag of holding, and then taken away some of his other personal belongings. After that, shockingly, Naruto began to disrobe him! This caused Hebi Xuelin to be frightened out of his wits, filled with unprecedented terror and astonishment.

"Y-y-you… what are you DOING!?"

He wasn't the only frightened one. The other Hebi Clan members looked on with wide, disbelieving eyes as Naruto pulled Hebi Xuelin's robes off. "You owe me money! These clothes are pretty nice. I bet I could sell them for a few spirit stones." Naruto put the robes away and then looked at the shivering Hebi Xuelin. Finally, he heaved a sigh of pity.

"If I had known things would turn out this way," Naruto said, shaking his head sympathetically, "I would have done things differently back then. Ah, young people. You shouldn't write promissory notes so easily, you know? I hope that in the future, you keep that in mind. Turn over a new leaf!

"Although, don't forget that you still have to pay me back what you owe me. This little bit today can just be considered interest."

Ji Xuelin let out a mighty roar, and then coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was so enraged that he then passed out and flopped over onto the ground, although it was hard to say whether it was real or an act….

It was at this point that a cold snort echoed through the air. A shadow passed over the mansion, and an incredibly cold aura spread out. Boundless killing intent roiled through the air as an enormous black hand appeared up above. Rumbling pressure weighed down in all directions, transforming into the power of peak Dao Seeking. As Naruto looked up, the hand descended toward him.

Just barely visible behind the huge hand was an old man wearing a black robe. He was thin and emaciated, and emanated an aura of decay and rot, as if he had just climbed up from a grave.

"You don't qualify to run amok in the Hebi Clan!"

Rumbling filled Heaven and Earth, and astonishing killing intent filled the air. It seemed evil to the extreme, and caused the bright spring day to suddenly became as cold as dead winter. Black snowflakes began to flutter down, and the entire place appeared to have turned into… a midwinter battlefield.

Suddenly, countless corpses appeared on the battlefield, as well as innumerable cultivators locked in deadly combat. All of was incredibly realistic! It was… a Dao Seeking Region!

It was a peak Dao Seeking Region!

As Naruto stood there in the middle of the Region, his face grew dark and grim. Anyone who saw the expression found their hearts suddenly thumping. This version of Naruto seemed completely different, a vicious version which had been hiding inside him all along!

"Killing intent? You can't have more than I do," he said coolly. Suddenly, the shadow beneath his feet rippled, and his second true self emerged. At first, his eyes were closed, but as he stepped out, they opened, and blood-colored light spilled out. A killing intent radiated out that was exponentially stronger than the previous killing intent. It caused the sky to change color and the clouds to seethe. The sun and moon trembled as the intensity of the killing intent caused everything in the area to shake.

The emaciated man up in midair gasped, and his face filled with disbelief. The surrounding Hebi Clan members were all shaking in astonishment, and many of them were coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

Everyone on the outside felt as if they were frozen in place by icy coldness, and were shivering violently.

This was Narutos second true self, who had absorbed his boundless Devilish will!

The Devilish will was shocking; a black aura exploded out from Narutos second true self, transforming into roiling black clouds that then formed into the image of an enormous face. The face was matchlessly savage, and seemed to contain a madness that wished to exterminate all forms of life.

The intense killing intent immediately exerted incredible pressure on the emaciated old man, who felt his scalp go completely numb.

"This… this…." His mind was reeling. This ferocious spirit, this killing intent, this madness… were something rarely seen in life.

Narutos mood had turned sour. His voice level, he said, "As for this battlefield illusion, let me ask you… have you ever seen a real battlefield before?"

His second true self's body distorted, causing what looked like beams of light to shoot out in all directions, causing… a different battlefield to appear!

It was a battlefield of complete carnage, with rivers of blood flowing everywhere. A mountain-like giant roared, and a woman was hidden in ball of mist. Fierce fighting raged as people chose to self-detonate rather than see their home be overrun. The ground was stained bright red, and up above in the sky, peak Dao Seeking experts fought at close quarters. One of them laughed uproariously and self-detonated.

The scene was incredibly realistic, because… these were images of things that had actually occurred in the war between the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches!

"Have you ever been on a battlefield like that?" asked Naruto. His second true self's eyes flickered and he took a step forward. His ferocious spirit merged with the energy of the battlefield, which then rose up into the air to meet the descending pitch-black hand, and the emaciated old man.

A huge boom rang out as the black hand collapsed into pieces. The emaciated man coughed up blood and was flung backward. As he flew through the air, he coughed up three more mouthfuls of blood. His cultivation base dropped, and cracking sounds rang out as a lifeprotecting jade slip was destroyed. Without that jade slip, he would most certainly have been dead.

Everything was dead silent. The Hebi Clan members were completely shaken as they stared at Naruto. It was the same with the cultivators on the outside.

"Now that… is Naruto!"

"He is a Chosen who rose to fame during the war between the Southern Domain and the Northern Reaches. He's the number one figure of this generation in the lands of South Heaven…."

"That battlefield just now must have been images from the war…."

A sharp inhalation could be heard, followed by the image of Naruto shaking his head. "Couldn't control it fully," he said.

With that, he made a beckoning motion, and his second true self vanished, once again turning into his shadow. From what everyone watching could see, it appeared as if Naruto was once again calm and tranquil.

"That's enough, you little punk!"

The next voice that echoed out was ancient and archaic. It came from deep within the Hebi Clan ancestral mansion, from a location that looked very different from the beautifully decorated buildings around it. It was a thatched cottage that seemed completely ordinary in every respect. Suddenly, the cottage's door opened, and a teenager stepped out.

He appeared to be about fifteen or sixteen, but had a full head of white hair. His expression was the type you would see on an old man; clearly, he cultivated some technique that allowed the body to reverse the effects of aging.

As soon as he stepped out, everything in front of him trembled. Shockingly, an enormous Dharma Idol appeared behind him.

The Dharma Idol was not humanoid, but rather, was an enormous bottle gourd which was a swirl of red, blue and yellow colors. As soon as it appeared, shocking light spread out to cover over the entire fortress.

As soon as the Hebi Clan cultivators saw the bottle gourd and heard the ancient voice, their spirits were lifted. Regardless of age, they all turned toward the gourd, clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Patriarch Nine!"

"It's Patriarch Nine! Greetings, Patriarch Nine!"

Simultaneously, the teenager strode forward a single step. It was as if the entire Hebi Clan fortress shrunk; in the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of the crowd of Hebi Clan cultivators. His hands were clasped behind his back, and his white hair floated around him as he stared icily at Naruto.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Michael Harrison_

Vol. 6 : Chapter 805

Chapter 805: We'll Pay You Back!

A false Immortal!

This was a false Immortal!

The teenager made his appearance coldly, and as he stood in front of the other Hebi Clan members, his eyes fell onto Naruto.

"Screw off!" he said. He was well aware that Naruto had powerful backing, and didn't want to provoke him. However, the ancestral mansion was under his personal command. If Namikaze Xiufeng showed up, he wouldn't do anything to offend him. But for a member of the junior generation to dare to act in this way filled his heart with rage.

His appearance on the scene immediately caused the surrounding Hebi Clan members to grow excited. Hebi Xuelin instantly "regained consciousness," and looked excitedly at Patriarch Nine. Then he looked back at Naruto with anticipation regarding his imminent vengeance.

"You're definitely going to get put in place this time!" he thought.

Naruto cleared his throat and looked up at the enormous bottle gourd Dharma Idol floating there.

"Dharma Idol, huh…." Naruto smiled. "Well I have one too." Eyes glittering, he took a step forward. Up to this point, he hadn't called on the full extent of his power. Now, he rotated his cultivation base, and Immortal Chakra emerged. As soon as it did, everything trembled and shook, and an enormous Dharma Idol appeared that seemed capable of holding up the sky.

The strength of this Dharma Idol was extraordinarily shocking; it was like some primordial giant whose face was that of Naruto!

The sky shook and the ground quaked the moment the Dharma Idol appeared; natural law spread out, along with a vast pressure that weighed down on everything. The bottle gourd began to quiver, and it seemed to be expending all of its energy as it struggled to fight back against Narutos Dharma Idol.

The sky looked like it was on the verge of being torn to shreds, and earshattering booms filled the air. The incredible pressure seemed capable of tearing Heaven and Earth apart from each other, and the land looked as if it were about to shatter into pieces.

Almost instantly, Naruto and the teenager were in a deadlock!

The Hebi Clan members looked on, panting, their expressions blank. Their scalps were numb and their minds reeled. They knew that Naruto was strong, but… how could they ever have imagined that… he would be this strong!?

He could even fight Patriarch Nine to a standstill. And their Patriarch Nine… was an Immortal!

The teenager's face sank, and a strange light appeared in his eyes as he looked at Naruto. Inwardly, he let out a long sigh. He had known before that Naruto was extraordinary, but it wasn't until he actually faced up against him that he realized… he had underestimated him. "So it's true that he's actually… half a step into true Immortality!"

By now, the nearby cultivators had spread the news that Naruto had charged into the Hebi Clan fortress. The news reached other sects, and soon all of the powerful experts of the Eastern Lands knew. Divine sense streamed forth, and gasps could be heard in the various sects throughout the Eastern Lands when they saw that Naruto could grapple with a false Immortal.

"This Naruto is incredible!"

"His father is extraordinary, and… so is he!"

"The Namikaze Clan…."

Countless eyes throughout the Eastern Lands were now fixed on the Hebi Clan, and Naruto. Narutos eyes blazed with the desire to do battle; ever since his incredible cultivation base breakthrough, he had not battled a false Immortal. He truly wished to know how such a battle would turn out!

He reached out his hand and pointed toward the teenager, and his desire to fight was clear.

"Make your move!" he said.

The Hebi Clan cultivators were panting, especially those who normally flaunted their status as Chosen. Their faces were pale, and they were forced to admit that there was now a vast, unimaginable gap between themselves and Naruto. It was like the difference between Heaven and Earth, and was a chasm that could not easily be crossed.

"He… is so much stronger than us!"

"It's laughable to say that we are of the same generation. We can shake things up, but he… he can battle with our Patriarch!"

"We… don't even qualify to be his opponent…." This fact was quite a blow to the Chosen. Earlier, they had heard about Narutos strength, but to witness it with their own eyes was shocking to the soul.

As he faced up against a bristling Naruto, Patriarch Nine realized that he was in somewhat of a dilemma. As the saying goes, if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off. Even as he hesitated, an archaic voice suddenly rang out from thin air to fill the Hebi clan.

"The Hebi Clan cultivates Karma. Spirit stones are material objects, and can be considered a seed of Karma. The Hebi Clan must not be infected by such Karma. Anyone who owes this person spirit stones must pay them back!

"All of you, pay heed. The Hebi Clan's cultivation is different than that of the masses. To cultivate Karma, we must revere Karma. If you do not have the power to sever Karma, then you must yield to it!

"Give it to him! Him coming here to ask for his spirit stones is in fact an aid to you in severing Karma with him. Do you still not understand? Once the Karma is severed, your cultivation will surely flourish."

As these few sentences reverberated through the air, the voice vanished. Patriarch Nine's body jerked to a stop as he realized that the voice had come from the true Patriarch of the Hebi Clan here in the Eastern Lands. His energy immediately dissipated along with the Dharma Idol, and he clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Many thanks for the assistance you have provided to these children of the Hebi Clan in severing Karma, my young friend. Please inform me of exactly how many spirit stones are owed, and I will give them to you."

There were many people who appeared to be enlightened, and not just members of the Hebi Clan. As for the handful of Chosen who owned spirit stones to Naruto, their bodies trembled as brilliant Dao light shone out from them. What seemed to be the music of a great Dao swirled around them, as if in this moment, their Dao heart was nudged forward.

Naruto gaped in shock at this sudden reversal. That was especially so when he saw that the Dao light shining off of Hebi Xuelin had intensified. From the look of it, he was experiencing a cultivation base breakthrough, which caused Naruto to breathe deeply.

"I can't believe the Hebi Clan's magic is so Heaven-defying!" he thought. "Cultivate Karma, revere Karma, sever Karma…."

He watched wide-eyed as Hebi Xuelin suddenly clasped hands and bowed to him.

"Elder Brother Naruto, many thanks for helping me to sever the Karma from that year."

The Chosen who owed Naruto spirit stones immediately began to clasp hands toward him and bow in thanks. "Many thanks, Elder Brother Naruto!"

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist Naruto!"

Naruto abruptly took a few steps back. He was actually a bit angry. He had merely come here to collect some debts; how could it have ended with him helping them?

"Who was that old geezer who was talking just now?" he thought, frowning. "He's so powerful! With just a few words, not only was he able to settle the dispute, he provided his clan members with good fortune AND turned me into the grindstone to help them polish their understanding of severing Karma.

"Dammit!" Naruto was just about to leave when Patriarch Nine hurried forward, smiling.

"Young friend, what are you doing?" he asked. "How many spirit stones do they owe you? Tell me and I'll hand them over to you."

"Uhh, no, that's fine," Naruto said hastily. "All of us are actually good friends, and I was just pulling a little prank. Let's leave the debt in place, alright? I'm… I'm in no hurry." By this point, he was already back at the huge gate.

"No, that won't do," said the youthful-looking Patriarch Nine. "There's no need to say anything more, young friend. You're being too magnanimous." He turned to the Chosen. "All of you, tell me how much you owe. And tell me how much Xiaoxiao and the other two owe, too." Patriarch Nine had also been somewhat enlightened now. He knew that to sever a Karma infection was something of great importance to these Chosen.

To Hebi Xuelin and the others, it was clear that great fortune had just arrived. Having just been enlightened about such a great truth, they immediately responded.

"7,650,000!"

"9,180,000!"

"14… 14,000,000!"

"8,330,000!"

"Altogether, Xiaoxiao and the other two probably don't owe more than

30,000,000…."

When the youthful-looking Patriarch Nine heard how many spirit stones were involved, he stared in shock, then looked deeply at Naruto.

"Young friend, you really are very magnanimous. In the future, you'll surely be incredibly rich."

"You're too kind, really," said Naruto clearing his throat, and backing up. "Since Hebi Xiaoxiao and the other two aren't here, they can't return what they owe personally and it doesn't count as them settling the debt." As far as he was concerned, these people from the Hebi Clan were a bunch of lunatics. Who would possibly offer to pay back so many spirit stones? If he owed so many spirit stones to someone, he sure wouldn't pay them back, even if he were beaten to death!

"Really," he said, "there's no need to be hasty. How about this… you people get back to what you were doing. My dad asked me to help out around the house, so I'll head home now…." By this point he was outside the main gate. However, just as he was about to leave, a bag of holding flew out and landed in his hand.

"Inside that bag are all the spirit stones owed to you from the people here. As of now, they have no Karma connected to you."

There was a booming sound as the Hebi Clan's main gate slammed shut.

Naruto chuckled bitterly. The promissory notes in his bag of holding instantly turned to ash. Luckily… there were still three remaining, the ones belonging to Hebi Xiaoxiao and the others. Since they weren't here, they wouldn't be able to resolve their Karma.

Naruto had his money, but was actually a bit depressed. Of course, what he didn't know was that his matter of collecting his debts had actually shaken the entire Eastern Lands. Countless gazes were being cast in his direction at that very moment.

He looked at the Hebi Clan's main gate, then recalled the iron hoops in his bag of holding. He hesitated for a moment.

"Fudge, who cares about all that crap he said about Karma!? I'm keeping the iron hoops!" With that, he turned, clasped hands to the surrounding cultivators, then turned into a beam of prismatic light that shot off into the distance.

He moved with such speed that in the blink of an eye, no trace of him remained. He reappeared far off in the distance, in the sky above the Eastern Lands. He sent some divine sense out to make sure that no one was watching him, and then his expression darkened.

After a long moment, his eyes flickered.

"I think that in the future, I should get more people to write promissory notes. Getting them to personally write the notes… is Karma….

"Interesting. Perhaps these promissory notes will be of some use in the future!" Eyes glittering, Naruto was just about to allow the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion to guide him to the Daoist rite temple when suddenly, he stopped in place.

"If I remember correctly… I still owe money to some people too…. I owe Steward Zhou three pieces of silver…." When he considered the matter, something about it didn't seem right.

"But when went looking for him before, Steward Zhou was already dead.

Should I go find his descendants? Agh! That damned Patriarch Reliance has the Five element nations on his back. And he left the lands of South Heaven! How… how am I supposed to settle that Karma!" After a moment, he smiled bitterly.

Shaking his head, he sighed, then sent some divine sense into the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion. Following its guidance, he headed off into the distance.

Several days later, Naruto appeared at the edge of a boundless mountain range in the depths of the Eastern Lands. He then vanished as he entered the mountains. As he proceeded along, he saw no signs of life. He passed many treacherous locations, and faced quite a few dangers.

As he traveled further into the mountains, the air up above became restricted, and eruptions of black mist would occur frequently. Despite Narutos incredibly powerful fleshly body, he could still be injured by that black mist, which filled his heart with trepidation after it happened a few times.

"They don't seem like restrictive spells," he thought. "Could it be that somebody buried something here? Whatever they are, they're incredibly dangerous!" After some careful examination, Naruto was certain that there were items buried beneath the ground that would explode if stepped on.

There were also naturally occurring restrictive spells which, if he got caught in their explosions, would certainly cause his cultivation base to drop.

Thankfully, the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion was very effective in avoiding both the restrictive spells and the objects buried underground. Using the medallion's guidance, he was able to proceed onward for several days with no incident. Finally, he found himself on a narrow path which cut deep through the mountains in such a way that he could only see a sliver of the sky up above. This path also was laced with the buried, explosive objects. Thankfully, by means of the medallion, and utmost caution, he was able to proceed along the path for some time without incident. Three times, eruptions occurred, but in the end, he finally found himself… in front of a run-down old temple.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Masaki_

Vol. 6 : Chapter 806

Chapter 806: The Wind Stirs in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Twenty days earlier on Planet Ninshu, Narutos father had slashed out with his sword, causing sword Chakra to descend on the Eastern Lands. It had pierced into a mountain range, to a dilapidated old temple, whereupon the illusory images of a Daoist rite temple had appeared. The whole thing had been unsealed by Narutos father.

When such a thing happened, it was only the beginning. The invisible ripples that spread out were very difficult to conceal, and in fact made their way from Planet Ninshu out into the starry sky, whereupon many almighty figures sensed them.

On Planet East Victory, about half of the entire planet belonged to the Namikaze Clan. Actually, if the Namikaze Clan wished it, they could easily take control of the entire planet.

When the invisible ripples spread out from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple on Planet Ninshu, an ancient voice floated out from inside of an archaic temple on Planet East Victory.

"So, another Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple has been unsealed… and in the lands of South Heaven…. Have the Array Chosen of the clan go to acquire good fortune…. Namikaze Xiangshan. Namikaze Yunyi. Namikaze Donghan. You three have a predestined connection to go seek your fortunes there. Your clan uncle Namikaze Xiufeng is there on South Heaven, so he might be able to provide you with some assistance.

"As for the other clan disciples, although you might not have the destiny, if you wish to go… you may." The voice echoed out throughout the entire planet, and in response, incredible energy surged up from three specific locations. One such location was a lake, on the surface of which was a solitary boat. Sitting cross-legged in the boat was a woman wearing white garments, who seemed graceful in an otherworldly way. Her long, lustrous hair fell like a cape down her back, and she seemed ethereal, beyond that which was mortal. On either side of her were two indistinct figures, guards who were there to protect her at all times.

The woman's eyelashes fluttered as her eyes opened.

"If this is your order, Patriarch, then Xiang'er will definitely make the trip."

In another location was a wild stretch of mountains that was constantly filled by roars of wild beasts so shocking they seemed capable of ripping the sky apart. This place was actually referred to as a restricted area, and was incredibly dangerous. Standing there in the mountains was a young, bare-chested young man currently locked in deadly combat with a gigantic ape that glowed with glittering, golden light. The ape roared, and shockingly, a Dharma Idol appeared. However, the vicious young man still managed to rip the ape in half, showering himself with copious amounts of blood.

"Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple?" said the young man. "That means that an Immortal Ancient Daoist Medallion will certainly appear! Namikaze Wei is out training and won't be back any time soon. This good fortune will certainly fall to me, Namikaze Donghan!" The young man drank a huge mouthful of ape blood then rose to his feet. Two beautiful woman materialized, not with physical bodies, but with spirit bodies. Any worldly-wise person would know at a single glance that these were Wind Spirit bodies, something that only members of the Wind Spirit people could possess. Few members of their people existed like this; only a handful would be born in any given generation that were suitable to cultivate this type of Wind magic.

The two women picked up a cloak, which they draped over the young man.

The third location was an enormous basin filled with countless chunks of broken stone. These were no ordinary stones; each and every one came from outside in the starry sky, and had fallen to this place as meteors.

As a result, the basin was filled with incredible pressure, and any cultivator inside would find it hard to even take just a few steps. When inside, it felt as if one's entire body were bound tightly, and if you managed to force yourself to be able to walk, your body might explode.

Currently, a young man could be seen sitting cross-legged in the depths of the basin. He had no hair, and wore golden clothing. Cracking sounds could be heard ringing out from inside of him; his fleshly body was powerful to the extreme. In fact, he could rely on that power alone to resist the shocking pressure that surrounded him.

After a few moments passed, he opened his eyes. Within each of his eyes was the image of what appeared to be a planet, bizarre and strange.

"Interesting. An Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion…. If I could acquire that and give it to Goddess Tsukino, it would probably improve her impression of me." The bald young man smiled and rose to his feet. He walked out of the basin, where he was met by two old men who stood guard at his side.

In addition to these three people, there were more than ten others from

Planet East Victory who chose to compete for this particular opportunity.

Meanwhile, a slender young man stood in the middle of a desert on Planet West Felicity. He wore a green robe which swayed in the wind, and the sword strapped to his back emanated a monstrous sword aura that caused the desert around him to seem like a lake of swords. The music of a Dao floated in the air, and the entire area seemed like a Holy Land. As he stood there, he appeared to be respectuflly listening to someone. After a moment, a brilliant glow appeared in his eyes.

"Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple…. I have the strange feeling that if I don't go, I'll regret it. In that case… I'll just have to go check it out." He smiled faintly, then transformed into a sword beam that shot off into the distance.

In another location on Planet West Felicity, a veiled woman sat crosslegged on a mountain peak. Demonic Chakra swirled about, causing wind and thunder to roll through the air. The woman's eyes were closed, and her aura seemed Demonic, and yet not; Immortal, and yet not.

"Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple," she murmured softly, her voice mesmerizing and charming. "The Southern Domain…." She smiled as she seemed to visualize the image of a young man.

"Ah, why not go and see some old friends?" she said. "I wonder if that little punk succeeded in Spirit Severing."

At the same time, on Planet North Reed, a shocking scene was playing out.

The Li Clan of the Southern Domain had merely been a collateral branch. The real Li Clan was extremely famous in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Currently, a massive airship was flying out of the Li Clan. It was fully 30,000 meters long, and at the front of the ship stood ten clan members, who looked out as the ship shot through the starry sky.

One of those clan members was an icily arrogant woman who sat ramrod straight at the head of the group. Moonlight flickered in her eyes, and the mark of a willow leaf could be seen on her forehead. Her expression was as cold as freezing ice.

"The Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion must be mine!"

There were two other locations on Planet North Reed where similarly shocking sights could be seen. In one location, an old man suddenly materialized outside the mouth of an enormous volcano. He clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Young Lord Luodan, the Patriarch has issued a command. He wants you to lead some people to Planet Ninshu. An Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple has been activated. He wants you to go do your best to seize the good fortune."

Rumble!

A flame-cloaked figure strode out from inside the volcano. He stopped in front of the old man, whereupon the flames that surrounded him merged together to form a flame crow that perched on his shoulder.

He was a tall, strapping young man with a scar that ran from his forehead all the way down to his neck, giving him a thoroughly fearsome appearance. His garments were composed of magical flame symbols, merged together into robes.

"I understand," he said coolly, then made his way off into the distance.

In another location was a pitch-black bamboo forest, within which lurked numerous recently deceased souls that flew back and forth wildly. A young man sat cross-legged on a bamboo stem. He was handsome, with eyebrows like swords and eyes like stars. His eyes shone brightly as he looked over at another nearby bamboo stem.

On that other piece of bamboo was an old man who resembled a monkey. He was staring at the young man with arrogance and contempt, and the young man was staring back at him.

"You're coming with me!" the young man said.

"Like hell I am!" the old man replied with arrogant disdain. "Your Grandpa Xu has been famous for years. You think I'm going to go around with a wimpy little brat like yourself? Scram! If I was like the old me, I would already have beaten the crap out of you!" 1

"I'll remind you I'm surnamed Uchiha !" the young man through gritted teeth said.

"Uchiha Shmong! You bastard!" the old man said impatiently. He waved his hand, sending the young man flailing backward, blood spraying from his mouth.

When he rose to his feet, a ghost flitted over, came to a stop next to the young man, and whispered in his ear. The young man's eyes flickered with irritation.

"You just wait, you crotchety scoundrel! After your Young Master gets the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion, I'm gonna come back here and boil you to death! You belong to me!"

"SCREW OFF!" echoed the old man's impatient voice. "Listen to Grandpa

Xu and screw the hell off!"

The unsealing of South Heaven's Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple sent great waves crashing throughout the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea. In addition to the super planets, there were many other smaller powers who detected the matter. Orders were issued, sending the disciples of many sects to Planet Ninshu to fight for good fortune.

Even the Hebi Clan of the Ninth Mountain was sent into motion. Their clan was located on the peak of the Ninth Mountain, where they ruled over all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Inside the Hebi Clan, several figures approached a teleportation portal. One of them was a tall, slender man who was surrounded by boundless, swirling Karma. It was difficult to clearly make out his features, but the other Hebi Clan members backed up as he neared, expressions of reverence and fanaticism on their faces.

He said nothing as he entered the teleportation portal and sat down cross-legged. When he closed his eyes, boundless Karma surged around him, transforming into thin strands that glowed with brilliant light when they touched each other. Everyone who looked at the scene was dazzled, and felt as if their souls were being tugged over, completely beyond their control.

"This Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple was activated when the Son of Hebi is in secluded meditation and can't emerge. I never thought that Hebi Yin would chose to go!" 2

"The year when those three fought over the title of Son of Ji, the

Heavens and Earth fell into darkness. Even the sun and moon trembled. The whole Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken and countless people looked on…. In the end, Hebi Yin was defeated, and yet, he is still so powerful that he is viewed as a major rival by the Chosen of the Three

Churches and Six Sects, the Three Great Clans, and the Five Great Holy Lands."

"In this generation… not many could stand up to people like him.

Although, I heard that in the Namikaze Clan there's someone named Prince Wei who beat Hebi Yin in a fight once. I'm not sure if that's a true story though…."

The whole Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a stir. Countless sects and clans were spurred into motion and sent Chosen disciples toward the lands of the South Heaven, to try to acquire good fortune in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple.

Even the Ninth Sea, which was located between the Ninth Mountain and the Eighth Mountain, was included in the commotion. You could say that it was a sea, but actually, it was composed of countless fragments of heavenly bodies that emanated spiritual energy, which then turned into a sea of mist.

Rumbling could be heard within that starry sea as an enormous door rose up. As the door appeared above the surface of the sea, countless sea dragons flew out. Trembling, they prostrated themselves in front of the door, which emanated a boundless light, as well as the music of a great Dao. It almost seemed like countless Immortal Divinities were sitting cross-legged in meditation surrounding the door. The energy was completely shocking.

Slowly, the door opened, giving view to an entire world.

A woman walked out from that world. She had long hair that stretched all the way to her calves. She was incredibly beautiful, as if all the charm in Heaven and Earth were collected on her person. She emanated the air of an orchid as she waved her hand, causing the door to close behind her and then sink back down to the bottom of the sea.

"Currently, the Three Great Daoist Societies' Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite only has four Conclave disciples," murmured the woman. "That's one less than my Nine Seas God World. I can't let that daoist medallion fall into anyone else's hands." She took a step forward, and a roaring sea dragon flew out obediently beneath her feet, then carried her off into the distance at top speed.

In the great Ninth Mountain and Sea, the ancient Namikaze Clan, the Three Great Clans, the Three Great Daoist Societies, the Five Great Holy Lands, the Three Churches and Six Sects… were all mobilized into action. A vast group of Chosen were all heading toward Planet Ninshu.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Eric Espinoza_

—–

Note from Deathblade: Wow, there were a lot of characters introduced in this chapter, few of whom were named. Don't worry, when they appear again later, I will link back to this chapter and provide some reminders about who they are!

Grandpa Xu is most likely a character from Renegade Immortal named Xu Liguo, who first appeared in chapter 128 of that book ↩ This "Yin" is the same yin from yin-yang, which connotes aspects such as the moon, darkness, hidden things, female thing, negative things ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 807

Chapter 807: Ancient Immortal Daoist Rite Temple!

Planet Ninshu. The vast Eastern Lands.

In the middle of a seemingly endless range of mountains was an area that was considered a forbidden zone by Eastern Lands cultivators. Even Dao Seeking cultivators who entered it would never come back out. According to rumor, there were fearsome entities inside that stopped countless explorers in their tracks and made it so that no one dared to ever enter.

Even a Patriarch of the Hebi Clan had on one occasion led a group in to search for the Karma within. However, the entire force was completely wiped out except for the Patriarch, who fled back to warn the Eastern Lands' Hebi Clan to never again set foot inside the area.

Actually, that Patriarch still resided in the Hebi Clan. He was the peak Immortal Realm young man who had just recently lost his arms!

Even he was incapable of penetrating the depths of the mountain range. En route, his force was completely rocked by the restrictive spells. This place was a mystery relating to the lands of South Heaven, and as such, the Hebi Clan Patriarch did not report the matter to his superiors. He knew that… there were far too many terrifying aspects to the place.

He never attempted to enter the place again. As far as he was concerned, the only way to do so was by use of incredibly powerful clan treasures. Without such treasures, it was simply impossible.

However, such powerful clan treasures were few and far between. Furthermore, considering his status in the clan, it didn't matter that he was in charge of the forces on Planet Ninshu. He still did not have access to such things. The Immortality Bestowal Dais was one such treasure, but it possessed its own consciousness and was not something that he could wield by means of force. Other treasures… were only bestowed upon Chosen disciples of the clan.

No one really understood why Planet Ninshu was so unique.

There was actually no single power that held complete sway. Even the Hebi Clan's dominant position was maintained only by the threat of their clan's military might. It was a sharp contrast to Planet East Victory, where the Namikaze Clan occupied half of the planet, and yet could easily take over the entire planet if they wished.

In the lands of South Heaven, there were four main areas, each with their own core Daoist teachings and doctrines. If one investigated the matter, it became obvious that… most of the sects on South Heaven did not actually originate there. The majority were auxiliary branches of sects that existed outside the lands of South Heaven.

It was as if most major powers wished to leave some of their core Daoist teachings and doctrines behind there.

Furthermore, it was in the lands of South Heaven that Narutos father had become the Prison Warden of the Ninth Mountain. At first, the word "Prison" seemed to explain a lot….

And yet, when Naruto asked about it, his father told him that the word "Prison" actually didn't carry the usual meaning of the word!

Regarding the particulars, he offered no further explanation. His expression was vague, as if he himself felt that the truth was so unbelievable that it caused him to be at a loss for words.

In any case, the lands of South Heaven… were completely unique!

Naruto had transcended his Seventh Year Tribulation there, and the League of Demon Sealers had also passed down their legacy there.

Patriarch Blood Demon had hidden there when the ancient Demon Immortal Sect was destroyed. Even more unbelievable to Naruto was that… there was a mighty mortal empire, the Great Tang!

Naruto was even more astonished when he thought about the Tang emperor.

One thing that Naruto was very perplexed about was the area beneath the Ancient Dao Lakes, where he had participated in the trial by fire and heard the Overseer mention an ancient treaty. And there was… the terrifying experience of the final level.

The Essence of the Divine Flame!

All of it left Naruto feeling quite at a loss. Now, here he was, having followed the guidance of the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion to this place deep in the mountains. When he caught sight of that ancient temple, his heart trembled.

That was because, all of a sudden, his vision swam and he saw a completely different and unbelievable place.

It was a majestic Daoist rite temple that stretched seemingly without end. Mountain peaks, vegetation, everything around him vanished. He now stood on the green limestone-paved main square of that enormous temple.

Countless figures sat cross-legged around him, and each was so powerful that Naruto couldn't help but gasp. They seemed like innumerable Immortal Divinities sitting there in meditation. The music of great Daos floated around in all directions, and the sun and moon trembled in the sky as if here, in this place, they were incapable of emitting any light.

In the middle of the Daoist rite temple was an altar, upon which an old man sat cross-legged. He exuded the air of a transcendent being, and a faint smile could be seen on his lips as he gave a sermon on the Dao. His voice was muffled and indistinct and seemed to harmonize with and meld into Heaven and Earth. Naruto couldn't quite make out what he was saying, but he could see that many of the people who were listening to his sermon seemed to be gaining enlightenment.

It was at this point that the old man lifted his right hand up into the air, waved it about… and caused an enormous "Immortal 仙" character to appear!

It was was an azure "Immortal 仙" character!

It was simply a character, and yet it caused all the colors in Heaven and Earth to fade. The sun and moon dimmed, and Heaven and Earth seemed to prostrate themselves in worship to it in much the same way that people would.

Naruto trembled as he looked around at the terrifying world around him. Each green slab of limestone beneath his feet seemed to emanate an indescribable energy filled with Immortal qi. The intensity of that Immortal Chakra was difficult to even comprehend.

Also visible in the Daoist rite temple were nine gigantic cauldrons scattered about in different locations. Puffs of green smoke wafted out of them, and numerous worlds could be seen inside the smoke as it swirled up into the air.

Up in the sky… were heavenly bodies. A river of stars flowed; the sun and moon rose and fell. Even more unbelievable was that almighty figures could be seen flying about up in the sky. Occasionally, they would stretch out a hand and pluck a star out of the river of stars! It would then be refined by a massive illusory hand. When the hand returned to its owner, the star would be a glittering treasure in that person's palm!

There were other people who stamped their feet onto the ground, causing massive rifts to appear. Subterranean fire would rise up and transform into living creatures which resembled Earth spirits. The cultivators would snatch them up and then use them to pull war chariots that screamed through the sky, chariots to which were harnessed thousands of Earth spirits.

There was one man up in the sky who laughed heartily then spoke a few words. Popping sounds could be heard as his body grew rapidly. In the blink of an eye, he was so large that you couldn't even see his entire body. The only thing that could be seen… was a toe that seemed to fill the entire world as far as the eye could see!

As for how large his body was, it was impossible to even imagine.

Flying about and plucking stars!

Refining spirits from the depths of the Earth!

Rising up to shoulder the universe!

All of these images swirled together in Narutos eyes, finally merging into one… into a dilapidated temple.

The temple's main door was shut, and the grounds were in a state of complete disrepair. Portions of the outer wall were collapsed, making it so that you wouldn't even need to pass through the gate as there were "entrances" all around. Through these gaps the inner temple hall could be seen, where there should have been glorious statues of deities. Presently, though, all of the statues were in various states of disintegration. Their former glory now existed only in the praises uttered by later generations, and their eternal legends had long since crumbled into a void of nothingness.

There was a bronze oil lamp, covered in layers of rust that told the story of its ancientness. Oil burned within the lamp, emanating faint popping sounds. Lamplight shone out in all directions, within which could be seen the projections of numerous shadowy figures.

Other than that, everything was completely still and silent.

A well could be seen in the courtyard, the bottom of which was pitch black. Perhaps evil spirits lurked there, but it was impossible to tell. However, a single glance at the well would leave anyone scared stiff. Next to the well was a bamboo trellis, covered with dried-up vines. From the look of it, a grapevine had grown up to cover the bamboo trellis many, many years ago, providing a shady and cool place to rest one's head.

Underneath the bamboo trellis were some dried up white flowers, which were completely unremarkable in appearance.

Naruto stood there quietly. Everything he had seen amidst the silence suddenly caused his scalp to grow numb. Were it not for the fact that his father had instructed him to come here, he would immediately turn around and get as far away from this place as possible.

His heart trembled, and although he felt no pressure weighing down him, he found it difficult to breathe. There was no visible danger, yet he felt an unprecedented sense of crisis in his heart.

Everything about this place was completely bizarre!

Why was there a temple in these mountains? Clearly the temple was not in harmony with its surroundings; it was as if it had flown here from some distant place in some age long past.

Naruto took a breath, steeling himself, and then stepped forward.

After only walking a few steps, he suddenly heard the sound of weeping. It was woman, choked with sobs, the sound of which caused Narutos hair to stand on end as it floated past. His cultivation base surged with power, and he whipped his head around to look behind him. However, he saw nothing strange.

There wasn't even a wind blowing….

After a moment's silence, his eyes flickered and he slapped his bag of holding. Instantly, the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion appeared in his hand. Naruto wasn't sure whether or not it was specifically because of the medallion, but now, the place didn't seem as cold and sinister as it had.

He carefully proceeded forward until he was in front of the main gate. The strangeness of this place made him feel that it would be best not to jump over the wall or find alternate routes to enter. The best way to go in… would be the straightforward and above-board way.

He waved his sleeve, pushing the door of the temple open.

He had assumed the door would actually be difficult to open, but it wasn't. It creaked open, revealing the courtyard, the main temple hall, and the well.

A cold wind blew, making it seem as if something was walking past him.

Narutos face flickered as the feeling grew stronger. He circulated the Immortal Chakra inside his body, focusing it on his right eyes. After blinking several times, he looked around.

There was nothing except for ruins.

Naruto chuckled bitterly.

"Dad, what the hell kind of place did you send me to…?"

He took a deep breath and then stepped inside. Overall, the temple wasn't very large, nor was the courtyard. Naruto glanced over at the well, and couldn't shake the feeling that there was something very strange about it. He studied the bamboo trellis for a moment, and was just about to walk further into the courtyard when suddenly his scalp vibrated. He stopped in place and jerked his head to look back at the bamboo trellis. Panting, he walked over to the trellis and looked closely at the dried up little flowers beneath it. He couldn't prevent a look of astonishment from appearing on his face.

"These…. These are… Resurrection Lilies!" Naruto was more than familiar with Resurrection Lilies and was completely astonished to find that… all of the little flowers were Resurrection Lilies!

However, these Resurrection Lilies… were apparently just garden-variety flowers in this place. The scene caused him to breathe heavily; this place really was… completely veiled in mystery.

Currently, the sky was darkening as evening fell. Naruto hesitated for a moment as he looked around at the dilapidated statues of deities, and the dust that covered everything. Even the prayer mats that could be seen were old and worn out, but after a moment of thought, he knelt down on one of them and began to offer worship to one of the broken statues.

"Bless and protect me, Divine Immortal. Bless and protect me, Divine Immortal…." After murmuring his worship, Naruto felt as if the sinister air around him had again faded a bit. Apparently his prayers were effective. As he rose to his feet, a wind blew, and the lamplight flickered. Dust was lifted up from the ground, causing Narutos eyes to narrow. Now that some of the dust had been moved, he could see that the ground… had an enormous character carved into it!

Immortal 仙!

It was the same character he had seen in the vision he had experienced moments ago, when the old man had waved his hand.

It looked completely identical!

When he saw the character, a crude and ancient aura blasted against his face, almost as if someone was whispering something to him. It almost sounded like someone giving a sermon about the Dao, an archaic voice echoing out from ancient times.

However, Narutos heart lightened at the thought of his good luck. He sat down cross-legged and retrieved the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion, then focused all of his attention on the character.

—–

 _This chapter was sponsored by Arhys, Gustavo Gutierrez, Marc_

 _Korzeczek, and Deathblade_

—–

Note from Deathblade: I want to thank the team for all the hard work cleaning up this chapter, especially anonpuffs, who really helped me fix some of the major problems. I'm pretty proud of this final product, but I wasn't happy with my initial translation. In fact, I included a note to the team, which they requested that I share with you. Here it is:

 _I think it's the hardest chapter I've ever translated_

 _I think the translation probably sucks_

 _Chapters often have a WTF moment or two. This chapter is essentiallya string of boundless WTF moments that shake Heaven and Earth, cause the sky to dim, and the land to quake. After reading it, my scalp went numb and my eyes were filled with a look of unprecedented disbelief. I coughed up seven or eight mouthfuls of blood as I thought about the chapter that seemingly contained many truths, as if the emanations of countless Daos floated through the void to the ether of another world that exists in my eyes, like the shining of nine suns in a land of shadows and leaves, thoughtless and yet brimming with a life that seems to surge with apparent realism that is in fact false, and yet true._

Thanks, too, to Azusky, who made memes for every single chapter, even though I let him off the hook and told him he only had to make one. I also added one, so quite the gallery awaits you in the sneak peek chapter!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 808

Chapter 808: Projections Passing Down Daos!

It was difficult to say how much time passed. It seemed both long and short. Outside, the sky gradually darkened, and faint moonlight spread out into the blackness.

Under the darkness of night, the flame in the bronze oil lamp danced back and forth, and it almost seemed as if the shadow of a person existed in the wick, looking up at the moon….

Shadows began to appear inside the temple, revealed by the lamplight. As the lamp's flame danced, the shadows seemed to sway back and forth gracefully.

Naruto didn't realize it, but the color of his garments were fading into a gray color, and were actually becoming tattered. It was as if his clothes were passing through time, becoming ancient even as he sat there cross-legged.

His whole person exuded this same feeling, as if his soul were being transported back through time to the ancient Daoist rite temple, to listen the music of the Dao. At the same time, the effects to his soul spread to his body, causing it to become ancient.

Deep night….

Suddenly, the sound of weeping floated out. It drifted out through the night air, clear and vivid. As the weeping echoed about, it gradually transformed into faint sighing.

"Do Immortals still exist in this world…?" asked a voice. Then there was silence, broken only by the rustling of the leaves in the trees.

At the same time, wisps of smoke began to rise up from the well. If there were someone standing next to the well, they would surely be shocked to find that it was filled with countless long strands of hair!

The black hair swirled out from within the well and then sank to the ground, where they spread out quickly to fill the entirety of the courtyard. It was at this point that cracking sounds could be heard coming from the bamboo trellis.

A dried up vine sagged down, making an arc-like shape that almost resembled a swing. It began to rock back and forth, almost as if… there were a person sitting on the vine, using it as a swing!

The sound of wailing drifted out from within the well, and laughter could be heard from the swing. They mixed together to fill the courtyard with an eerie sense of bizarreness. As for Naruto, he sat there in the courtyard, eyes closed, completely motionless.

He was surrounded by the flickering lamplight and the shadowy projections it revealed. The projections distorted and rippled, and then began to move, walking to and fro in the courtyard. Some sat down cross-legged, some prostrated themselves in worship. Some concocted medicinal pills, some held brooms in their hands that they used to sweep the floor. Some of them even approached the area where Naruto sat and peered at him curiously.

As for the dilapidated statue of the god, it now stood tall and straight like it had in the past. The statue's shadow, which stretched out beneath it, suddenly separated from the statue and transformed into an old man.

The old man's clothing looked very similar to Narutos long, worn-out robe. The man's face was ashen, and blood oozed out from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth; severe injuries could be seen on his head. He looked like an evil spirit as he approached Naruto. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking as he floated to a position behind him, where he stood and looked down at the top of Narutos head.

A moment later, all of the projections within the courtyard turned and looked at Naruto. They approached, crowding around to stare at him closely.

Up above in the sky, black clouds covered half of the moon, and a soft wind blew across the land, along with an intermittent wail that sounded like mournful, choked sobbing.

It was at this point that the ground trembled, and muffled moaning sounds could be heard coming from deep within the temple.

"Home…. This place isn't my home…. I want to go home….

"Take me home…. Take me home, Paragon… take me home…."

When the voice drifted out, the projections in the temple all trembled. In the temple's courtyard, the black hair spreading out from the well suddenly flew up into the air. The swinging vine suddenly stopped moving.

At the same time, a head emerged from the well. It was illusory and pallid, and the expression on its face was incredibly terrifying and ferocious. Apparently this was… a head that had been soaking in the well's water for millions of years, and yet had not decomposed. It was the head of a woman, whose listless, pupil-less eyes stared at the ground.

No figure was visible on the swing, and yet drops of black blood dropped down onto the ground beneath it.

It was at this point that a tremor ran through Narutos body. A hairraising sense of terror filled him, and he opened his eyes. When he looked up, his scalp went numb as he realized that a pitch-black figure was standing directly in front of him.

In fact, he was completely surrounded by shadowy projections, all of whom appeared to be on the verge of touching him. His mind was sent completely spinning.

The shades seemed to know that Naruto had awakened, and they floated backward and then sat down cross-legged some distance away from him. Naruto could clearly see all of the projections, as well as the black hair in the courtyard. He saw the swinging vine, and the floating head. Feeling more creeped out than ever, he slowly rose to his feet to leave the temple.

He was filled with the feeling… that this place wasn't somewhere he should continue loitering about in.

As he stood, he suddenly felt a coldness behind him. Without thinking about it, he turned his head and caught sight of an ancient face only an inch away from his own, blood flowing out of its eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Completely startled, Naruto staggered backward a few steps, his eyes widening.

"Who are you!?" he cried, sending his cultivation base rotating rapidly. His Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and his heart began to pound rapidly. The strangeness of this place left him feeling completely and utterly unsafe.

The old man's expressionless eyes completely ignored Naruto. He turned and walked back toward the statue of the deity. As he neared it, his body gradually faded and then disappeared altogether.

The other projections in the area were still there, some sitting in meditation, some walking about, some practicing cultivation.

Naruto was panting rapidly as he began to leave. However, when he reached the threshold of the temple, he stopped in place and looked over to see a shadowy projection sitting cross-legged off to the side. It had a pill furnace in its hand, and was apparently concocting pills.

Furthermore… Naruto had never seen this method of pill concoction before; it was as if through absorbing the power of Heaven and Earth, no medicinal plants or other physical ingredients were needed!

Naruto gaped in shock. After looking more closely for a moment, his eyes began to shine with a strange light. He was a grandmaster of the Dao of alchemy, and his skill in concocting pills could be considered the highest in the lands of South Heaven, with the exception of Pill Demon.

"Creating something from nothing…." murmured Naruto, his eyes shining brightly. Back in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, he had created a pill from nothing, and it still remained in his bag of holding. He had never consumed it.

Naruto felt that it was a miracle that he had even succeeded in concocting that one pill, and he had even tried on one occasion to duplicate it with the copper mirror, but had failed.

Now he saw this dark projection concocting pills here in this place. Its hands moved with adept proficiency, calm and unhurried.

Naruto blinked, and then decided not to leave. He looked around at the projections around him. Some were practicing cultivation, some were walking to and fro, some were utilizing incantation gestures to perform various Daoist magics.

The scene caused Narutos mind to tremble.

"Passing down Daos!" he murmured. "They're passing down Daos!" His heart trembled even more than before. A Dao was not something to pass down lightly, but that was exactly what these projections were doing. It was as if all he had to do was go observe and contemplate them, and he would have the opportunity to acquire them.

Naruto took a deep breath, then looked back at the dark projection who was concocting pills. He walked over and sat down cross-legged in front of it and watched as it worked. The light in his eyes grew brighter and more brilliant. After a while, he pulled out his own pill furnace and began to imitate the dark figure's pill concocting technique.

A night passed. It wasn't a long time, but it felt very, very long to Naruto. It felt like such a long time that he couldn't properly wrap his head around it. Finally, when the sky began to grow bright, the shadowy figure finished concocting a single pill, which it casually tossed out into the mountain range outside of the temple. At some point, Naruto became aware that he had also successfully concocted his own pill. The sky was light now.

The projections in the temple faded away. The strands of hair in the courtyard vanished, and the vines returned to their original state, as if none of it had ever happened. Panting, Naruto looked down at the medicinal pill in his hand, which was surrounded by swirling blackness.

Actually, it was not really a pill. It was only a mass of swirling black mist. However, when the sunlight touched it, a black peel formed around it, and then it turned into a black-peeled medical pill.

There was no medicinal aroma to it, but rather, an explosive power.

Naruto frowned as he looked at the black-peeled pill. After a moment of thought, he squeezed it, whereupon his face instantly fell. Without hesitation, he threw the pill away from him. In midair, it began to emanate black mist, and then suddenly exploded.

A shockwave swept about in all directions.

"An incomplete concoction… and this is the botched product," he thought. "But it was still creating something from nothing." He was actually quite shocked. The explosive power caused by the medicinal pill's explosion was like an attack.

"It's too bad it's so unstable. Simply touching it causes it to explode.

Although now that I think about it, something about it seems familiar." Eyes flickering, he thought back to the path he had trod up to this ancient temple. He had encountered many areas where the ground exploded. All of a sudden, he thought about how the figure had thrown out the medicinal pill just now, and everything clicked….

"This thing… has another use." Eyes glittering, he thought for a moment, then produced his pill furnace and began to use the same method he had learned the previous night to absorb the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth and use it to concoct more pills.

After several failures, he finally succeeded in producing two of the same swirling masses of black mist. When the sun touched them, they were covered over with a black peel. Holding the pills in his hand, he flew out of the temple. After a bit of experimentation, he found that the explosive effect would be activated simply by throwing it out. It could be used as a trump card.

"Burying it seems like a waste. I can't really control it. Throwing it out directly is the best way to use it. With something like this, I have another life-saving technique at my disposal. It's too bad though. This thing is pretty explosive, but appears to be connected to the unique aura of this place. I doubt I'll be able to concoct them outside." After some more thought, he returned to the temple and continued to concoct pills.

Several days passed. At night, Naruto would seek enlightenment regarding the Daos being passed down by the projections. During the day, he would concoct medicinal pills. Soon he had several dozen. He tried to imbue them with divine sense, but it was a failure and he eventually gave up on the idea.

He even left the mountains at one point to try to concoct the pills on the outside, but it didn't work. That confirmed his theory. This type of pill… could only be concocted using the spiritual energy that existed inside the temple.

After returning to the temple, he continued to concoct the unusual black-peeled explosive medicinal pills.

"I imagine that the Chosen from the other worlds will be arriving soon…." His eyes glittered with anticipation regarding the fighting that would break out when they came. He keenly desired to see how he measured up to them, and… exactly how strong or weak he was.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 809

Chapter 809: Immortal Ancient Dao Meridian!

Time passed. During the nights, Naruto closely observed the projections in the temple. Upon deeper examination, it became clear that all of them were different from each other. There were men and women, old people and young. Some of the figures weren't even human, but were strange and beast-like.

After the passage of so much time, Naruto had long since lost any sense of fear toward the place. He was also used to all the bizarre scenes that played out. Every day at nightfall, the black strands of hair would emerge from the well. Eventually, Naruto found that sitting cross-legged in the hair would fill his body with an incredible coldness that benefited his attempts to gain enlightenment from the figures passing down their Daos.

As for the weeping which came from within the well, after listening to it for some time, Naruto realized that there was a bit of charm within the wails….

Then there was the vine swing. Naruto had the feeling that some great Dao existed within the swinging motion. An image appeared in his mind of a swing, swaying endlessly back and forth.

Naruto even got used to the voices calling out about "going home."

Occasionally he would impulsively stamp his feet on the ground in annoyance when the voices disturbed his cultivation.

Essentially, he got used to everything that went on in the temple. That included the old man with blood oozing from his orifices. Whenever Naruto sought enlightenment, the old man would stand behind him and look at the top of his head.

After a while, he simply allowed the man to continue to do so.

Naruto changed his clothes several times, but no matter how new they were, whenever he awoke after having sunk into enlightenment, the clothes would be tattered and old. Finally, he gave up and stopped changing them.

Recently, Naruto had been observing one particular figure who sat cross-legged in meditation. However, powerful ripples emanated off of the figure's body. After observing for quite some time, the air in front of Naruto grew blurry, and a black roc appeared that emanated a savage energy.

"This is a Daoist Magic form!"

It made Naruto think of his battle with the Northern Reaches' Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief, and the bizarre divine ability he'd used to transform into various wild beasts. In Narutos opinion, it had been completely extraordinary.

He continued his contemplation, losing himself to it. It was as if he actually returned to that ancient Daoist rites temple to hear the music of the great Dao. He awoke when the sky turned bright, having been significantly enlightened.

Everything in the temple returned to normal around him. Naruto could sense that he had made great strides in terms of his cultivation base. His personal Dao Seeking did not contain discrete stages. According to what his father told him, the result of using the Mist Blade to perform his Severing turned his Dao Seeking into a single stage and put him at the very peak of the entire Spirit Realm.

His next step would be true Immortality.

To Naruto, the imparting of these strange Daos was incredibly suitable to his current situation. After working with the Daoist magic of Roc Transformation, he proceeded on to another Dao Projection after gaining some enlightenment.

Unfortunately, he could not gain enlightenment regarding all of the Dao Projections. Many were in conflict with his personal direction, which made it impossible for him to understand them.

Naruto was now watching a Dao Projection near the wall of the temple. The image that flickered in his eyes was that of a man floating in a clear sky. The man's hand formed into the shape of a claw, which he stretched out, causing the land beneath him to shatter into pieces.

"It's a claw attack method!"

Narutos consciousness trembled as he imprinted the image into his mind.

A few days later, Naruto had just gained enlightenment regarding another Dao Projection when he saw a Daoist off in the distance stretching his hand out and grabbing onto a star. He then pulled down violently, causing the star to tremble and transform into a resplendent glow in the palm of his hand.

"That's… a… magic of Star Plucking!"

Naruto immersed himself in gaining enlightenment from the Daoist legacies in the temple. Eventually, he realized that the flame in the bronze oil lamp was showing signs of flickering out. He could tell that when that happened, the good fortune in this particular Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple would be over.

Several days later, Naruto took a deep breath as he woke from meditation. By this point, he had identified all of the Daoist Projections that he could gain enlightenment from; unfortunately they were quite miscellaneous. There were only three that Naruto truly had a basic understanding of.

The Claw Attack, the Roc Transformation, and the Star Plucking Magic.

However, these were just types of magic, not Daos.

"There are millions upon millions of magics, but the Dao can only exist in the heart. Where exactly is… the Dao of this Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple?" Naruto looked around until his gaze finally came to rest on the dilapidated statue of the deity.

Finally, he stood and approached the deity. After sitting down crosslegged, he looked up at the broken statue.

The deity statue was more than half destroyed. It had no head, and its torso was half gone. It was only possible to tell that it was sitting crosslegged, with its right hand extended to form an incantation gesture.

Naruto could make the same gesture, but when he did, he got no special feeling at all from the statue.

Feeling a bit annoyed, he turned to the old man behind him and said, "You've been following me around for half a month already. Is my head that interesting to stare at?"

Looking at the man, Naruto didn't think he looked fierce or frightening at all any more, just dull and lifeless. "You're formed from the shadow cast by the fire of that oil lamp. Don't tell me you've been watching me this half-month for no reason at all?"

"Immortal!" the old man suddenly said, his voice hoarse and scratchy.

Narutos eyes widened. This was the first time the old man had spoken in the entire half month.

"What did you just say?"

"Immortal!" repeated the old man. "This statue is an Immortal!"

Naruto gaped.

"Do you wish to become Immortal?" the old man blurted. His eyes glowed with a strange light as he stared at Naruto.

Naruto was now starting to once again feel that this old man was very strange. His eyes narrowed slightly as he said, "I only have half a step to take and I'll be a true Immortal."

"How could Immortal be split between true and false…? That's an incorrect path." The old man shook his head, and from the look in his eyes, he seemed to be recalling the past. Then he murmured: "An incorrect path…. Has the legacy been cut off…? Too many years have passed since that war…."

All of a sudden the old man started laughing crazily. "They're all dead! The land is shattered! The river of stars is cut off…." The man continued to laugh, then started to pace back and forth in the temple, weeping.

"Cut off! I can't suppress the living, I can only suppress the ghosts….

"Gone, everything's gone…."

Narutos mind was spinning. He looked at the projected image of the demented old man, and realized he seemed to be filled with an ancient forlorn sadness. The weeping from the well grew more shrill, and more blood dripped down from the swinging vine.

"Senior, which war are you talking about?" Naruto asked.

The old man laughed and wailed. The flame in the bronze oil lamp danced wildly, and the projections all rose trembling to their feet and walked around Naruto in circles, laughing and weeping.

Naruto was panting, and was on the verge of saying something when suddenly a popping sound rang out as… the bronze lamp was extinguished.

Everything vanished.

Darkness reigned. Naruto looked around in shock before noticing that far off in the distance, the sun was just beginning to rise.

Naruto was in a bit of a daze for the rest of the day. The old man's words, and all the other events of the previous night, left him feeling that there was some incredible mystery pertaining to this Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple.

It was a secret that perhaps… related to all the lands of South Heaven!

"Why did the enormous Daoist rite temple… disappear just now?

"All of those projections… where did they go to?

"Why is the temple hall in such a state of ruin?"

The day passed, and when night fell, the bronze lamp burned once again, although the flame was dimmer than it had been at the beginning. The old man appeared again. This time, he positioned himself next to the door of the temple hall. He was no longer weeping or crying, but rather, stood there silently.

After a moment, the man suddenly looked over at Naruto. "Your father is powerful. Even in the era in which I lived, he would be considered a powerful expert.

"He is also aware that his path is the incorrect one. However, he can do nothing to change that. If he could, he would be even more powerful.

"You have a good foundation, even better than many of the cultivators from my era. Do you… wish to become Immortal? I do not speak of any sort of false or true Immortal. Just Immortal…. A full 100-meridian Immortal!

"Only by opening all 100 meridians can one truly be considered Immortal! Even in past ages, full 100-meridian Immortals were few and far between. Only those who inherit great Daos might be able to reach that state, and with great difficulty at that."

Narutos heart trembled. According to his father, 80 meridians made one Chosen, 90 meridians were rarely seen, and 100 meridians… supposedly didn't exist. Naruto nodded in response to the man, his eyes glittering.

"Magic can not be spoken of lightly, and Daos cannot be passed down recklessly. Now that this place has been unsealed, the whole Ninth Mountain and Sea will be set astir….This bronze oil lamp was kindled in ancient times, but what it illuminates is the present.

"It has already burned for more than ten days, and will soon be extinguished. Use your blood as the oil and ensure that it continues to burn unceasingly for seven cycles of seven days, forty-nine days. Do not allow anyone to set foot into the temple hall and touch it. Ensure that only your aura is present in it from beginning to end.

"If you do these things… if the flame burns for seven cycles of seven days, forty-nine days, then it will emit a strand of Immortal Ancient Dao Qi. Fuse that into your body, and it will become an Immortal Ancient Dao Meridian!

"If you have that Dao meridian, given the proper circumstances, you can gain enlightenment of the Dao of Immortality!" The old man gave Naruto

Hao a profound look, then turned and merged back into the deity statue.

As Naruto stood there silently, a glow of determination filled his eyes. He looked down at the "Immortality" character carved into the ground, and an ancient aura suddenly rose up from within his heart to fill his whole body.

"False Immortal. True Immortal…. Immortal!" he murmured. The bronze lamp abruptly became dimmer, and showed signs of being extinguished. Naruto walked forward, cut a slice into his wrist and poured some of his blood into the lamp. Crackling noises could be heard as the flame, instead of being extinguished, actually burned brighter.

Naruto sat down cross-legged in front of the lamp, feeling an unprecedented level of clarity in his mind.

A few more days passed. Suddenly, brilliant beams of light appeared in the starry sky outside of Planet Ninshu. An enormous teleportation portal could be seen which caused all of the stars to dim. A glow of starlight spread out in all directions as several dozen figures appeared in the middle of the teleportation portal.

The first three were the Chosen from the Namikaze Clan. Behind them were more than ten additional Namikaze Clan members, as well as their accompanying Dao Protectors from the clan.

Their appearance caused the starry sky to shudder. However, most of them were not in the Immortal Realm, and thus could not stay out in the starry sky for long periods of time, requiring others to protect and escort them. Their cultivation bases were in between Dao Seeking and the Immortal Realm, as were those of the three Chosen.

However, there were some clan members who were beyond the Spirit Realm, and although they were not Chosen, their cultivation bases were Immortal. Their appearance on the scene was completely shocking.

"We're here. This is Planet Ninshu!"

"It seems the Namikaze Clan is the first party to arrive on the scene. Let's go. It's time to acquire some good fortune!" The group of a dozen or so people, including the Dao Protectors, immediately shot toward Planet Ninshu at top speed.

The three Chosen among the group kept their distance from each other. Each one of them was a person who the other clan members looked up to with reverence. The woman was Namikaze Xiangshan, and the other two included the bald young man with stars in his eyes and the incredible fleshly body, Namikaze Yunyi. The other was the one who bathed in the blood of wild beasts, Namikaze Donghan! 1

These three were known as the Three Great Chosen of the Namikaze clan. They had not yet reached the Immortal Realm because they were suppressing their cultivation bases in the hopes of building a solid foundation and breaking into true Immortality.

They were people who refused to become false Immortals!

—–

Namikaze Xiangshan wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ Namikaze _xiangsha 3

Namikaze Yunyi wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ Namikaze _ 3

Namikaze Donghan wp-content/uploads/2016/07/ Namikaze _donghan. mp3

These three members of the Namikaze Clan were introduced in chapter 806. Here are their names in Chinese. Namikaze Xiangshan is 方香姗 fāng xiāng shān. Xiang means "fragrant" and Shan means "lithe." Namikaze Yunyi is 方云易 fāng yún yì. Yun means "cloud" and Yi means "easy" or "amiable." Namikaze Donghan is 方东寒 fāng dōng hán. Dong means "east" and Han means "cold" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 810

Chapter 810: Two Restrictions!

Just as the group from the Namikaze Clan was about to enter Planet Ninshu, a cool voice echoed out from down below.

"Now that the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple has been unsealed, there are two rules here on Planet Ninshu. One. Only cultivators in the Spirit Realm may enter Planet Ninshu. Two. The door to South Heaven will only open once. All who wish to enter must wait to do so together with everyone else."

As the voice echoed into the Namikaze Clan members' ears, their facial expressions flickered.

"That was clan uncle Namikaze Xiufeng!"

"Clan uncle, can you please bend the rules a bit? The Patriarch commanded us to come here for good fortune. Clan uncle, please assist us in acquiring it!"

"Immortals can't enter? That's a good rule for others, but we're all from the same clan! We demand to be allowed to enter!"

The calm voice once again rang out from the lands of South Heaven. "I am the Prison Warden of the Ninth Mountain, and I guard Planet Ninshu. Anyone who breaks one of these two rules… will be struck down."

Killing intent bubbled up, causing the Namikaze clan members' minds to spin. Many were actually enraged. One of the Immortal Realm clan members frowned, and then, relying on the protection his status earned him in the clan, flew directly toward South Heaven.

However, before he could even get close, a beam of sword Chakra shot up and sliced through him like a sharp knife cutting a blade of grass. Blood spurted out in all directions, and the man's eyes went wide as his body was slashed completely in half. He didn't even have a chance to say anything before he was dead.

Immediately, the Namikaze Clan members all went silent. The eyes of Namikaze Xiangshan, Namikaze Yunyi, and Namikaze Donghan went wide, and their faces fell.

" Namikaze Xiufeng, are you saying that we Dao Protectors are not allowed to enter South Heaven?" The voice that spoke was an ancient one. It belonged to an old woman who was positioned behind Namikaze Xiangshan, and whose eyes glowed with a brilliant light as she spoke.

"You may not!"

"What happens if some accident befalls these members of the younger generation? What then?"

"They are Chosen, and have come to acquire good fortune. They should be prepared to die an early death! Life and death are determined by fate!"

"Just… just because your son is a cripple doesn't mean you should make it hard for other clan members! No matter what you say, they are your juniors. They—"

"I dare you to call my son a cripple again!" Namikaze Xiufeng's voice was suddenly ice cold, causing the old woman to shiver. Beads of cold sweat began to drip down her forehead, and she didn't speak another word.

It was at this point that an airship could be seen speeding through the void some distance away. More than a hundred people could be seen onboard; this was the Li Clan from North Reed. Sitting in the lead position was the extraordinary woman with the glittering willow leaf mark on her head.

"That's Li Ling'er!" 1

"They say that she's the Dao Daughter of this generation of the Li Clan!

Her cultivation base is extraordinary, and even exceeds peak Dao

Seeking. She could face Immortal Tribulation at any time!"

Next, another figure appeared in the starry sky. It was a young man who stood on a flying sword. Sword light spread out in all directions as he sped forward.

His expression was placid, his features handsome. Just barely visible on his forehead was a third eye. As he neared, quite a few members of the Namikaze Clan and Li Clan looked over, and their eyes flickered.

"That's Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, one of the Three Great Daoist Societies. Every generation, they only send two disciples out into the world!"

"People say that he once fought Song Luodan from the Song Clan, and defeated him!"

As the buzz of conversation rose up, a cold snort echoed out. A sea of flames appeared in the starry sky off in the distance, within which could be seen dozens of figures. In the lead position was a young man in a red robe. Perched on his shoulder was a flame crow, and his expression was one of fury. He seemed to emanate the air of a Paragon, and as he flew, the area around him twisted and distorted.

"Zhao Yifan!" he cried. "We didn't finish fighting last time. Why not pick things up where we left off!?" This young man was none other than Song Luodan of the Song Clan. As he looked at Zhao Yifan, his eyes brimmed with the desire to do battle.

Namikaze Donghan of the Namikaze Clan stepped forward, his energy surging. Li

Ling'er, daughter of the Li Clan, looked on with a calm expression, but the willow leaf on her forehead emanated an astonishing moon-like glow.

It was at this point that rumbling could be heard from off in the distance as two more teleportation portals appeared in the starry sky outside of South Heaven. Dozens of people appeared within each of the two teleportation portals. In one of them, a veiled woman could be seen. She was slender and graceful, and a bizarre aura emanated out as soon as she appeared on the scene.

Quite a few people looked over at this veiled woman.

In the other teleportation portal, a young man could be seen with eyebrows like swords and eyes like stars. His features were plain, his expression cold. As he stepped forward, his energy surged up with each step. It almost seemed like he wished to exert pressure on the other Chosen, all of whom snorted coldly.

"Demoness Tsukino from the Demon Immortal Sect!"

"That's… Clan Prince Uchiha Mu from the Uchiha Clan! They say that he has energy from the Uchiha Clan Patriarch, and that he can even force the Uchiha Clan's ancient sword spirit to capitulate to him!"

Next, one teleportation portal after another appeared. Rumbling could be heard as people from the Five Great Holy Lands, the Three Churches and Six Religions, essentially every major power in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, all appeared in the starry sky above South Heaven. Ripples flowed out in all directions, and energy surged that seemed capable of repressing the entire planet.

Cries of astonishment could be heard from all directions. Each one of these groups contained Chosen who were already famous in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, so their appearance here was completely sensational.

It was at this point that suddenly, a scroll painting swirled out through the starry sky toward the congregated cultivators. It was fully 30,000 meters long, completely shocking, and depicted an enormous mountain.

Countless figures were seated cross-legged on that mountain. One of those figures was surrounded by a swirling Karma blade. When he opened his eyes, everything around that he looked at instantly began to tremble mentally.

"The Hebi Clan!"

"The Hebi Clan is here! That's… Hebi Yin!"

"The year that the three Hebi Clan members fought over the title of Son of Ji, Hebi Yin was defeated. However, he is still considered Chosen, and few people of this generation could possibly contend with him!"

Everyone was shaken by the appearance of the Hebi Clan; however, the desire to do battle could clearly be seen glowing in the eyes of the various Chosen.

The scroll painting flashed by all of the other cultivators, completely ignoring them as it headed directly toward Planet Ninshu. Before it reached the planet, a beam of sword Chakra flew out toward it. However, an old man then stepped out from within the scroll painting. He waved his arm to block the sword qi, but then coughed up a huge mouthful of blood and staggered backward three thousand meters. He looked up, shaken.

" Namikaze Xiufeng, what is the meaning of this!"

The voice of Narutos father could be heard from Planet Ninshu. "Two things are not permitted. Anyone above the Spirit Realm, and anyone entering ahead of the appointed time. Rule violators will be beheaded."

The old man's face flickered. "You…."

The faces of the cultivators from the other powers also flickered, and then stared down at Planet Ninshu.

" Namikaze Xiufeng…. I heard that he was honored with the position of top

Chosen in the Namikaze Clan. He was a consummately powerful expert who could shake even the Patriarchs of the various sects!"

"It's too bad that for the sake of his crippled son, he agreed to guard

Planet Ninshu for 100,000 years… and not leave it."

"I also heard about his story. It's been a few hundred years, so presumably, his crippled son is long since dead. That's probably why he's not too happy with all these Chosen."

"Hmph! Even if his crippled son isn't dead, there's no way he could compare to the Chosen of all the sects! Why the hell is Namikaze Xiufeng not allowing Immortal Realm cultivators to enter!?"

Even as the standoff continued, a sea dragon appeared, floating through the void. It roared, and the stars seemed to become a sea. Everyone looked over at the woman who sat cross-legged atop the sea dragon, her long hair floating around her.

"That's Fan Dong'er from the Nine Seas God World!"

"It's Goddess Fan Dong'er!"

"I can't believe she's here!" Everyone was looking over at her, most notably, Namikaze Xiangshan and Li Ling'er.

Namikaze Donghan's eyes gleamed brightly, and Zhao Yifan's expression brightened. The eyes of Uchiha Mu from the Uchiha Clan also flickered brightly.

As of this point, all of the Chosen from the Ninth Mountain and Sea who could come, were present!

Narutos father's voice once again drifted up from South Heaven. "The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple has been unsealed. All of you may enter."

Someone immediately asked, "If those of us in the Immortal Realm seal our cultivation bases and limit ourselves to the Spirit Realm, can we enter?"

Narutos father was silent for a moment, and was apparently thinking. Then he said, "If you seal yourself, then yes, you may enter. But if you exceed the Spirit Realm, you will be destroyed in body and soul!"

"Very well!" Although the various groups weren't happy, this was the mysterious Planet Ninshu, and they didn't dare to piss off Namikaze Xiufeng in his capacity as Prison Warden. Furthermore, before coming to South Heaven, all of the Patriarchs from their various organizations had instructed them to be cautious in all matters.

There were well over a thousand people who now flew toward Planet Ninshu. Those in the Immortal Realm sealed their cultivation bases so that they were at the peak of the Spirit Realm. Together, they formed a cluster of light beams that shot toward the planet.

On that day, the cultivators in the lands of South Heaven looked up to see over a thousand shooting stars flying across the sky. They descended like meteors, emanating astonishing energy that caused the minds of all South Heaven cultivators to tremble.

Many sects immediately ordered their disciples to remain indoors and not emerge.

There were some sect Patriarchs who came out from secluded meditation. There were precious treasures within their sects that emitted brightly shining light, apparently having formed resonances with some of the approaching strangers.

The lands of South Heaven were shaken, but the newcomers did nothing to interfere with the planet itself. Before coming here, they had been strictly instructed that because of the unfathomable mysteriousness of Planet Ninshu, it was not to be unnecessarily disturbed.

Therefore, the over one thousand beams of light whistled through the air but did not near any of the sects there. Relying on the auguries from the clan and sect Patriarchs, they headed directly for the Eastern Lands.

They charged into the deep mountains of the vast Eastern Lands, toward the mountain range that housed the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. In the blink of an eye, the sky trembled and the land shook, almost as if it were on the verge of tearing itself to pieces. Countless numbers of cultivators noticed the shocking display.

There were some great sects in the Eastern Lands who came to the conclusion that some valuable treasure had appeared. That was the only thing that would cause such an incredible display of power.

However, nobody emerged. As they looked out from within their sects, they could see that many of the most terrifying figures emitted ripples that were only of the Dao Seeking stage. However… some were very close to being Immortal, and were obviously there to protect the younger members.

As for the young people, the feeling they gave people was that they were like gods. Soon they would be respected Immortals with flourishing energy, completely shocking to everyone. Therefore, the sects of the Eastern Lands were all struck with fear.

"These are definitely Chosen from outside of South Heaven. Not even the Hebi Clan has emerged… they're just watching."

"I wonder what sort of precious treasure appeared to attract so many fearsome Chosen. They… look young, and not because of some art of bodily preservation, but because they truly haven't practiced cultivation for very long. And yet, their cultivation bases are incredible…."

—–

As a reminder, all of these characters were introduced in chapter 806, in which there were physical descriptions as well as other backstory information given.

Li Ling'er's name in Chinese is 李灵儿 lǐ líng er. Li is a very common surname. It's the same Li from the Li Clan, and also the same as Lord Li. Ling has many meanings, but the main meaning is "spirit." Er is just a sound word. wp-content/uploads/2016/07/li_ 3

Zhao Yifan's name in Chinese is 赵一凡 zhào yī fán. Zhao is a common surname. Yi means "one." Fan means "common" or "mortal." wp-content/uploads/2016/07/zhao_ 3

Song Luodan's name in Chinese is 宋罗丹 sòng luō dān. Song is a common surname. Luo means "net" or "sieve." Dan means "red" or

"pill" as in "medicinal pill." wp-content/uploads/2016/07/song_luodan.m p3

Uchiha Mu's name in Chinese is 王木 wáng mù. Uchiha is a common surname. Mu means "wood," and is the same character from " Namikaze Mu." wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Uchiha _ 3

Fan Dong'er's name in Chinese is 凡冬儿 fán dōng er. Fan is the same character from Zhao Yifan's name. It means "common" or "mortal." Dong means "winter". Similar to Li Ling'er's name, Er is just a sound word.

wp-content/uploads/2016/07/fan_ 3 (listen to the hilarious outtake recordings from the "Fan Dong'er" recording session here)

You may remember someone named "Ling'er" mentioned in chapter

800…. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 811

Chapter 811: I've Been Waiting!

The sects were shaken, and even the Hebi Clan simply looked on from the sidelines. Not a single group from the Eastern Lands made a move. Some of the newcomers, upon passing through the Eastern Lands, were shaken by the draconic Chakra of the Great Tang. A few even looked a bit greedy and headed in that direction. However, as soon as they neared, the Great Tang's ninety-five golden dragons roared, and those people exploded into hazes of blood.

That, of course, shocked all of the outsiders; even Fan Dong'er's eyes widened.

After that incident, no one dared to even get near the Great Tang, but steered clear as they headed toward the mountain range that was their destination.

During all the commotion, two figures could be seen lurking in one of the mortal cities that existed in the vast Eastern Lands. They sat there slurping noodles and looking around with shifty eyes.

The mortals could not see all the beams of light that whistled through the air up above, but these two men could. In fact, they were looking at them quite closely, studying them in detail. They noted the location of their bags of holding, as well as any pendants or jewelry they wore.

"It's too bad none of them have fur or feathers!" said one of the two, a young man. He shook his head and then slurped up a mouthful of broth. "Pay attention, Little Third. These people are definitely easy marks!

"In the days to come, we're going to eat and drink to our fill, all thanks to these fat sheep, ripe for the plucking. Come come. Let's pick one of them."

Next to the young man was a fat man who suddenly pointed up into the air. "I pick him! One look and I can tell he's a bad person. Immoral and completely shameless! He is obviously steeped in wicked deeds! Lord Third MUST convert him!"

The person he pointed at was a young man with an arrogant expression on his face. He wore silks and satins, and was surrounded by an entourage of attendants. He even wore a violet crown, making him look extremely powerful and extraordinary.

"Him? Alright. Now, use the method I taught you to turn into a hot babe." The fat man's young companion looked at the target with a wily glint as the two of them vanished.

Back in the deep mountains, Naruto sat cross-legged in the temple. His eyes suddenly snapped open, and he looked up into the sky.

"The time has come to begin the tempering that father talked about…." he murmured.

"The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rites Temple is a test. If I can pass it, and keep the bronze lamp from being extinguished, then a genuine Immortal Meridian will form in my body!

"I also want to see exactly how awesome these Chosen from outside of South Heaven actually are." A bashful smile appeared as he thought about all the black-peeled pills he had arranged outside of the temple.

He closed his eyes and continued to wait.

Time passed. A few days later, many Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were now gathered outside the mountain range, studying the place from afar. Their expressions were somber; in their view, this place was full of mysteries. As they neared, they realized that the airspace up above was restricted, and as they proceeded onwards the restrictions on their movement grew even stronger. There were fatal dangers hidden around every corner that would lead to calamitous results at the slightest inattention.

Of course, anyone who came to this place had made some advanced preparations. The various sects and clans split up and spread out, choosing different routes as they made their way into the mountain range.

Some disciples among the crowd had grim looks on their faces. Apparently something had happened to them in the past few days that had nearly driven them mad. Whatever it was, they weren't willing to talk to anyone about it, and could only grit their teeth and endure their frustration as they followed the other clans and sects into the mountains.

There were quite a few such disciples, several dozen in fact.

The holy Namikaze Clan, the Three Great Clans, the Three Great Daoist

Societies, the Three Churches and Six Sects, and the Five Great Holy

Lands, had all sent people here, with the exception of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. In total, there were over a thousand people entering the mountains, clutching magical items in their hands as they attempted to be the first to make their way into the unsealed Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple.

It didn't take long for the mountains to begin to echo with the sound of magical techniques being employed. Soon, the restrictions in the air above made flight impossible for everyone. Of course, they were prepared for this. However, injuries and deaths still occurred. Nonetheless, as a whole, the group made its way ever closer to Naruto.

"The real contest isn't on the road, but at the actual Immortal Ancient

Daoist Rite Temple itself!"

"Whoever gets inside first will have the best chance at getting the

Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Medallion!"

"Other than the medallion, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temples always have Dao Projections passing down Daos. There will definitely be chances to get divine abilities and Daoist magics!"

"I'll kill anyone who tries to compete with me!"

The Chosen of the various sects and clans proceeded forward with glittering eyes.

One of the Five Great Holy Lands was Mount Sun. According to the legends, the mountain had actually been magically transformed from a sun that had fallen out of the sky. All of the people in that area had experienced a sort of baptism, and were blessed with a special bloodline. That was how the Mount Sun Holy Land came to be.

When Lord Hebi fought the Heavens, Mount Sun offered powerful support. Therefore, in later days Hebi Tian conferred on Mount Sun the status of Holy Land.

There were a few dozen cultivators from Mount Sun in the group that had come to Planet Ninshu. The most impressive of all of them was a young man who was named Taiyang Zi 1. He wore a golden robe that made him look like an actual sun, and radiated intense heat that caused the land around him to burst into flames wherever he went. Quite a few fellow clan members accompanied him, as well as some elder Dao Protectors.

This powerful group charged forward at top speed, and were one of the first to get close to the temple itself.

Eventually, they found themselves in a valley. One of the clan members that was in the lead checked the surroundings and determined that it was free of any obstruction. However, as soon as they set foot inside, a huge explosion rippled out, and a black light shot into the air. The Mount Sun cultivator who was caught up in the blackness screamed miserably and coughed up a mouthful of blood as his body was tossed backwards. At the same time, seven or eight additional explosions could be heard echoing out through the mountains in quick succession. More bloodcurdling screams echoed out.

This gave rise to instant shock on the part of everyone.

Taiyang Zi's eyes flickered with a serious expression. Everyone exchanged glances, then proceeded forward even more cautiously than before. All of the forces that had come to South Heaven were the same.

Among the Namikaze Clan cultivators, Namikaze Donghan's face was grim, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. He was the one who had just been injured by stepping in the wrong place. If he hadn't leapt to the side as quickly as he had, he would barely be alive.

In another area, one of the Li Clan cultivators wasn't so lucky, and was torn to pieces, destroyed in body and spirit. This filled the other Li Clan members' hearts with horror.

The Hebi Clan was moving very quickly, until one of their clan members made a misstep and was ripped to shreds….

Explosions rang out among the sects and churches, followed by bellows of rage.

All of these things were caused by the power of the restrictive spells that only grew stronger and more numerous as they neared the temple. Naruto himself had faced dangerous situations several times on his journey to the place, but with the help of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Medallion, had been able to avoid most of them with ease.

By now, Naruto could hear the explosions from his position inside the temple hall. He knew that this was a struggle over good fortune, and that hostilities were certain to occur. He took a deep breath, and the desire to do battle gleamed in his eyes. Finally, he stood up and poured some more of his blood into the oil lamp. It was something he had to do on virtually a daily basis, lest the flame flicker out.

Next, he left his second true self sitting cross-legged in the temple hall and walked out into the courtyard. When he reached the main gate and was just about to push it open, he paused, then headed back to the door that led into the temple hall. There, he dug a few holes and carefully placed some of the black-peeled medicinal pills inside. Satisfied with the results, he walked outside of the courtyard gate and sat down crosslegged.

It was time to wait for everyone to arrive!

"If there's going to be a battle, then I'll fight to my heart's content!" he thought. He steadied his breathing, and as he did, the glow of a great Dao began to emanate off of him. There were no distracting thoughts in his head; only the increasingly strong desire to do battle.

His current state formed something of a resonance with his surroundings. All of a sudden, he saw images of cultivators fighting a decisive battle in the ancient Daoist rite temple.

As of this moment, Naruto almost didn't seem to belong to the current world. He was back in ancient times, and was inundated by its aura. His entire person emanated an archaic air.

Coupled with his tattered gray garments, he seemed to be a part of the ancient temple which lay behind him. Anyone who looked at him would have a hard time telling whether or not he was from the modern age, or ancient times.

Several hours passed, during which time explosions rang out constantly. On a few occasions, seven or eight explosions could be heard at exactly the same time, causing the ground to tremble.

Because of all these things, the pace of the powerful clan members and Chosen of the various sects had slowed down to a crawl. Further, the closer they got to the temple, the fewer available paths existed, until there was only one left. Of the over one thousand people who had come, many were dead or severely injured. The survivors now looked at the tiny path that led up into the distance. Nobody seemed willing to go first.

"The fact that there are restrictive spells in this place isn't surprising.

However, a mere step activates the explosive devices under the ground.

For some reason, they don't seem like restrictive spells to me!"

"Is it possible that someone buried these things here on purpose?"

"From the looks of it, that's exactly the case. That means that the person who buried these things must be up ahead!"

"Dammit! How pernicious! How many of those things did he set up…?"

"I don't care who did it, when we get to the temple, he's dead!"

As more people joined the crowd, more and more enraged curses could be heard.

Finally, Taiyang Zi of Mount Sun snorted coldly and stepped forward. His body shone with brilliant light, and his expression was indifferent. Quite a few people looked over.

"Of course they aren't restrictive spells," he said coolly. "They are blackpeeled medicinal pills!" With that, he extended his hand. A bright glow appeared in his palm, within which was a black-peeled medicinal pill.

"I happened to dig this pill up from a location further back. There is a chaotic Chakra inside of it, very unstable. It's obvious that someone buried them here on purpose."

At this point, Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto coolly said, "Ladies and gentlemen, these black-peeled pills do indeed contain extremely unstable chaotic qi, and it is certain that the path up ahead is riddled with pills just like this one. Why don't we all join forces to clear the way?"

As a representative of one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, his words carried a lot of weight.

"The chaotic Chakra in that medicinal pill is very dense," said Fan Dong'er from the Nine Seas God World. Her voice was calm and pleasing to the ear, and when the Chosen of the other sects heard her words, they exchanged glances and then began to nod.

Since everyone was in agreement, people began to produce magical items. Ripples that resembled a great Dao flowed out, and a sound like the roaring of dragons and phoenixes could be heard. Beams of light intersected, and the ripples merged together to become a powerful force that surged ahead across the ground. As it passed, it seemed to scrape away the ground itself, cutting out a path about a meter deep.

Figures shot forward as the Chosen employed all the speed they could muster to follow the path toward the temple that could be seen at its end!

When they arrived, they saw a figure sitting cross-legged outside the temple wearing a tattered robe. He emanated an ancient aura, and seemed as archaic as the temple itself. Within the temple behind him could be seen the manifestation of an ancient Daoist rite temple, leaving everyone completely shocked.

The cross-legged man opened his eyes, and he almost seemed to be looking out at ancient times. When he spoke, his voice echoed out, bolstered by an archaic aura.

"I've been waiting for you…."

Everyone gasped and stopped in their tracks.

—–

wp-content/uploads/2016/07/taiyang_ 3

Taiyang Zi's name in Chinese is 太阳子 tài yáng zǐ. "Taiyang" literally means "sun." Zi means "son" or "child." Therefore, his name could also be translated "Sun Child" or "Sun of the Son," or something similar. However, it's literally his name, not a title, so I'm going with Taiyang Zi ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 812

Chapter 812 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 812: I'm the Groundskeeper

There were already more than ten Chosen who came to a stop when they saw Naruto. They had come to the conclusion that someone might have come to this place before them. But when they caught sight of Naruto, their thought process was turned on end.

"He's…."

"He looks young, but from the feeling he gives off, he seems have existed from ancient times all the way until now! Who is he?!"

"Look at his robes! They've obviously passed through countless years of time. Just look at them! He obviously didn't just put on some random tattered robes as a disguise. Those clothes rotted away while he was wearing them!"

"Could it be… could it be that he's the Dao Protector of this Immortal

Ancient Daoist Rite Temple!?"

"That archaic air about him is something you can't fake. It's definitely real!"

It really was true that the feeling Naruto gave off was not that of a cultivator belonging to their current age. By now, the elder members of the various sects and clans from the Ninth Mountain and Sea were arriving. When they saw Naruto sitting cross-legged in front of the ancient temple they couldn't help but gasp.

"This man's ancient aura is exactly the same as that of the ancient temple! Could it be… that he really is a Dao Protector?!"

"I once heard a story that in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, when those four other Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temples were unsealed, there were always strange aspects to them. In one, a person like a Dao Protector appeared!"

"But he… looks too young! What if he got here before us and is just trying to pull a fast one on us!?"

Various comments could be heard. Some people were shaken and some were suspicious. As for the Chosen, they were very intelligent people, adept in the arts of scheming. After all, one could not rely on latent talent alone to become an outstanding Chosen.

Although they had received a bit of a shock, they quickly began to look closely at Naruto, and strange gleams could be seen in their eyes.

Narutos expression was the same as ever, but inwardly he was shocked. When he heard their discussions, his heart began to thump with eagerness, and then a bit of a bashful expression appeared deep in his eyes. After a moment, though, it turned serious, and his dispassionate gaze swept over the crowds.

His tattered robes rippled despite the lack of a breeze, and the ancient aura grew stronger. As he intentionally caused the music of the great Dao to grow stronger, Naruto slowly began to speak in a very ancient-sounding voice.

"The Immortal Ancient has been unsealed and the great Dao has descended. In this place of legacies, you must decide which path is the correct one…. Cultivators of the junior generation, step forward…. I… have been waiting for you for quite some time…." He lifted his right arm and then flicked his sleeve. However, the flicking of his sleeve caused nothing to happen.

The crowds looked around cautiously, eyes flickering. Seeing that nothing untoward was occurring, Taiyang Zi snorted.

"You're an impostor!" he said, striding forward. "A deceitful mischiefmaker!" However, he only made it three steps before he suddenly stopped in place and stared with unprecedented shock at something up ahead of him.

When the crowds saw this happen, their eyes flickered. Namikaze Xiangshan took a step forward, as did Namikaze Yunyi and Namikaze Donghan. After three steps, all of them trembled and stopped in place, then began to pant as they stared at something up ahead.

A strange gleam could be seen in the eyes of Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. He, along with Uchiha Mu and Song Luodan from the Song Clan, all stepped forward. They also stopped after only three steps.

Li Ling'er's eyes flickered as she stepped forward, along with Hebi Yin, around whose body swirled Hebi Clan Karma. They were followed by Fan Dong'er from the Ninth Sea Godworld.

Eventually, all of the Chosen stepped forward, as well as their Dao

Protectors. Only Tsukino remained behind as she stared in shock at Naruto sitting there cross-legged in front of the temple. She blinked a few times in disbelief and then… almost laughed. 1

By now, just about everyone had stepped forward. As soon as they passed into the three hundred meter area surrounding the temple, they experienced the same shocking vision Naruto had seen when he first visited this place.

It was a vision of a grand square made of green limestone. Countless figures practiced cultivation, and on a tall altar, an old man was giving a sermon about the Dao. His voice was impossible to hear clearly, but when he waved his sleeve, a huge "Immortal" character appeared.

A river of stars flowed through the sky, and the moon and sun rose and set. People plucked stars from the sky and stamped onto the ground to extract spirits. A rumbling battleground could be seen, and people gained Dao enlightenment. One man rose to his feet laughing, and his body grew unimaginably large until only a toe was visible. The rest of his body… couldn't be seen.

Everyone was shaken by what they saw. They almost felt as if they had been transported back into ancient times, and it left their minds spinning. What they saw in the end was a figure sitting cross-legged in front of them, a person that looked… like Naruto!

Before they could look closely, the vision faded away and everything returned to normal. Everyone was breathing heavily. Even Taiyang Zi trembled as he looked over at Naruto. Now he didn't dare to speak in the same way he had before.

Now, it seemed obvious to them that when Naruto had flicked his sleeve earlier, it wasn't that a divine ability hadn't manifested. Instead, it was a Daoist magic that was too profound for them to understand.

The people in the crowd exchanged glances. They didn't want to believe, but the shocking images they had just witnessed felt too real.

A random female disciple clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto.

"Senior… are you… the Dao Protector of this place?"

Having heard her question, everyone looked expectantly at Naruto. As for Tsukino, a strange expression appeared on her face.

The Chosen were completely focused. They might have received a shock just now, but their eyes glittered exactly as they had before. Zhao Yifan looked closely at Naruto, and the glow of swords could be seen in his eyes.

Fan Dong'er's expression was tranquil, but a sharp gleam could be seen in her eyes as she looked from Naruto to the temple behind him.

Ji Yin had an icy look. He said nothing as he stood there, and yet a strange pressure radiated off of him, and Karma swirled around him the same as ever.

The were all looking at Naruto. Naruto was now the center of attention of all the Chosen of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain. Many of the people who looked at him did so with narrowed eyes.

"I am not the Dao Protector of this Daoist rite temple," said Naruto, his voice quavering. "I am merely the groundskeeper." A look of reminiscence appeared on his face, something he had learned from the crazy old man in the temple hall.

HIs words instantly caused many people to inhale sharply.

"The groundskeeper? I heard a story once that in many ancient places like this, the most powerful people aren't the Dao Protectors, but rather, the unassuming groundskeepers!"

"I heard the same thing…." Even as people discussed the matter, an arrogant looking young man stepped out, a dark expression on his face. He wore splendidly decorated garments, and a crown. The power of the stars seemed to swirl around him as he walked out from the crowd.

"That's the Quasi-Dao Child from the Church of the Emperor Immortal!"

"I heard that he once killed a false Immortal! Of course, he got injured in the process, but that's something an ordinary Spirit Realm cultivator could never do!"

More discussions buzzed as the young man walked in Narutos direction. He was followed by dozens of disciples of the Church of the Emperor Immortal, as well as several old men who had sealed their cultivation bases. All of these people wore cold gazes and clearly didn't believe anything that Naruto said.

"I don't care if you're a Dao Protector, a groundskeeper, or even if

you're just running a scam. Step aside! I'm going into that temple!"

As they neared, Narutos face darkened. He raised his hand, and even though there was no wind in the area, his clothes rippled. Shockingly, the Black White Pearls appeared in his hand, transforming into an ancient, archaic power that spread out in all directions.

Naruto then recalled how the old man on the boat had looked all those years ago, and mimicked the same look. His eyes filled with an archaic aura as he looked at the young man from the Church of the Emperor Immortal.

"Stop right there!" he said coolly. The Black White Pearls emanated a brilliant glow, and in the blink of an eye, Naruto seemed to radiate an intense archaic will.

The Quasi-Dao Child from the Church of the Emperor Immortal stopped in place, his face flickering. Then he stared dead on at Naruto.

The people who were following him, and in fact, everyone present, were all staring at Naruto. Each and every one of them weren't sure what to make of Naruto, and didn't want to rashly attempt to make a move against him.

"The Immortal Ancient has been unsealed, but that does not mean just anyone can enter and be enlightened regarding this Daoist rite temple. Any who are capable of achieving their Dao may approach."

The Quasi-Dao Child from the Church of the Emperor Immortal hesitated. As he looked at Naruto he got the feeling that he was filled with some mysterious energy, although it was difficult to be sure about the matter. He looked back at the others in the crowd, and saw that they had similar expressions.

Nobody said a word. Currently, they sky was growing dark, and the moon had appeared. Suddenly a wind began to blow, and whimpering sounds could be heard. Darkness began to stretch out across the land. It was at this point that Namikaze Donghan chuckled coldly and stepped forward. His energy surged, and intense power rose up from his cultivation base.

"It doesn't matter who you are. It's time for you to give me some feedback on my combat skills!" He sped up, and was just on the verge of attacking Naruto, when Naruto muttered something to himself. The sky was getting dark, and the whimpering of the wind had given him an idea. He suddenly glared at Namikaze Donghan.

He rose up from his cross-legged position, instantly attracting the attention of all the onlookers. Many of them were skeptical about the whole situation, and didn't quite believe he was telling the truth.

Even Namikaze Donghan's eyes widened. Superficially, his actions seemed impulsive, but he was actually a very cautious person.

As everyone looked on, Naruto suddenly threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"An incorrect path…. Has the legacy been cut off…? Too many years have passed since that war…." He continued to laugh, and soon the laughter was tinged with madness.

"They're all dead! The land is shattered! The river of stars is cut off…." Suddenly, he seemed to be weeping, and began to pace back and forth.

"Cut off! I can't suppress the living, I can only suppress the ghosts….

"Gone, everything's gone…."

His words seemed to provoke a reaction from his surroundings. The wind became cold and strong, and the sound of a weeping woman could be heard drifting about. The land trembled, and everyone's faces flickered as complete darkness fell. It was at this point that….

"Save me, I want to go home…. Paragon, save me. Save me, Paragon…." Dismal voices rose up from the ground, and a shocking coldness filled the air. Black hair roiled out from the well inside the temple. The vines drooped down and began to swing back and forth. The sounds of weeping and laughing filled the air.

The only faint light that could be seen was from the bronze oil lamp's flickering flame.

When you added in Narutos voice, it all turned into a terrifying scene that would make anyone's hair stand on end. All of the Chosen who had doubted Naruto before were now completely shocked. Namikaze

Donghan's scalp went numb, and he immediately backed up. The QuasiDao Child from the Church of the Emperor Immortal gasped, and staggered backward in astonishment.

Naruto continued to weep and laugh in front of the temple, feeling very pleased with himself.

Chapter 812: I'm the Groundskeeper

By way of reminder, Naruto helped Tsukino in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. She then said that the new Demon Immortal Sect would owe him a favor ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 813

Chapter 813: Inky and Lily

With the exception of Tsukino, all of the Chosen who had come to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple were shaken. They were now… starting to feel convinced about Naruto.

Some had been skeptical before, but then, one bizarre thing after another appeared. The strange sights, the cold wind, the shocking aura… made it so they had no choice but to believe.

This was especially true when apparently, Narutos crazed weeping and laughing resonated with his surroundings. It left the onlookers with tingling scalps. The bizarre phenomena in the place, the inky black hair, the swinging vine, the voices rising up from the ground, all of it appeared to them to have been caused by Naruto.

Even Tsukino stared with eyes wide from disbelief. If she didn't already know Naruto, she would have been completely astonished.

If everything went as planned, it might be able to buy Naruto some time, but not much. The people here were all extraordinary, and the slightest misstep could arouse their suspicions. All it would take would be for one person to attack him, and the charade would be broken.

In fact, it was at this moment that an elder member of the Hebi Clan suddenly moved forward, eyes glittering, clearly with the intent of testing Naruto out.

Naruto sighed as he realized that these people really weren't easy to fool. However, it was at this point that the old man from the Hebi Clan suddenly stopped in place, and his face filled with astonishment. Everyone else's expressions also flickered, and not a few people actually gasped.

Naruto was taken aback and wondered what he had done to provoke such a reaction.

It was at this point that a cold wind gusted against his back. It almost felt like ice on the nape of his neck. Reflexively, he turned around to see….

A head floating up from the well behind him. It was a head that looked like it had been rotting away in the waters of the well for millions of years!

When Naruto turned around, the head floated over toward him, and just when it seemed it would touch him, he blinked. Then he turned back to the crowds and, his voice placid, said, "This is Inky. There's no need to fear her."

He cleared his throat and then pointed over to the swinging vine that dripped with black blood. "Over there is Lily. Come on, Lily, say hello to everyone."

As soon as he spoke, the vine stopped moving. Then the dripping blood began to move, as if an invisible figure were walking over to stand next to Naruto.

Even Naruto was shocked by this. He looked at the black blood dripping to the ground next to him and could just barely make out the image of a little girl standing there, but it was unclear whether she was staring at the crowds of people, or at him.

Naruto wasn't sure how much longer he could keep this up. Giving a firm look at the crowd of nearly a thousand people, he sat down crosslegged and closed his eyes to meditate.

He was starting to feel that he might have taken things a bit too far….

In the eyes of all the onlookers, Naruto, with his tattered robe, placid expression, and ancient air, seemed to be at one with the temple. As he sat there cross-legged, the pale-white head floated behind him, surrounded by drifting strands of inky blackness.

Next to Naruto was some invisible being that dripped black blood down onto the ground. Each drop that splashed onto the ground echoed with strange power that filled their hearts with shock.

No one dared to move a muscle, not even Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, who stood there hesitating. Further off, Fan Dong'er was staring at Naruto, a brilliant light flickering in her eyes.

Ji Yin sat cross-legged some distance away, Karma swirling around him in such a way that it was impossible to even see him clearly.

The three Chosen from the Namikaze Clan all sat down. Occasionally, Namikaze Yunyi would look over at Tsukino with a look of adoration. Namikaze Donghan stared at the temple, his eyes flickering with desire.

Song Luodan sat with the Song Clan, proud and aloof. Occasionally he would look at Naruto, and the desire to fight could be seen flickering in his eyes.

As for Li Ling'er, it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. Her head was bowed and she seemed to be studying the earth in front of her. Occasionally she would gently stroke her hand across the surface of the ground, apparently performing some type of augury.

Uchiha Mu sat there with flickering eyes that made it impossible to read his thoughts.

The Chosen of the other sects, churches and Holy Lands were all lost in thought in the darkness of night. Shockingly, they sat there in front of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple for an entire night.

At dawn, the oil lamp winked out. Naruto knew that once night ended, the lamp would stop burning. However, only when it was truly extinguished would the trial by fire actually be over.

The instant the sky became bright, Naruto opened his eyes. The floating head had vanished, and the dripping blood was gone. Everything returned to its normal state. Many people in the crowd opened their eyes to look at Naruto.

Zhao Yifan was the first person to stand up and approach Naruto. Fan Dong'er rose to her feet at almost the same time, and approached from a different direction. Li Ling'er looked coldly over at Naruto and also moved toward him.

In addition, Hebi Yin stood, Karma swirling around him as he began to stride in Narutos direction.

There were other Chosen who also began to approach Naruto, angry looks on their faces.

"Stop right there!" said Naruto coolly.

The others said nothing in response, but rather, sped up. Zhao Yifan was the fastest, and he waved his hand as he closed in on Naruto, causing a stream of sword Chakra to appear. The dragon-like sword Chakra spread out, transforming into nine shocking Sword Dragons. Their roaring caused the air to vibrate as they twirled together to shoot toward Naruto.

"Fellow Daoist," said Zhao Yifan, "I can sense the aura of South Heaven on you! You're no groundskeeper!"

By the time he finished speaking, the Sword Dragons were almost upon Naruto.

"The Dao of the sword exists in the heart, and within one's will," continued Zhao Yifan. The nine Sword Dragons had transformed into nine swords that stabbed down toward Naruto.

Narutos eyes flickered as his desire to fight exploded up. As he rose to his feet, his right hand clenched into a fist that punched out toward the nine swords.

As he punched out, a mountain appeared in front of his fist, which rumbled through the air to slam into the nine swords. A huge boom rattled out, and massive ripples spread out in every direction.

"Your Karma is not that of someone from ancient times." The cold voice belonged to Hebi Yin. As it echoed about, his body went blurry, then reappeared behind Naruto. His right hand flashed in an incantation gesture and then pushed out toward Narutos back with lightning speed.

The motion caused Narutos soul to tremble. All the memories in his life seemed to appear, which transformed into Karma that stirred his mind.

Narutos expression was calm, and he snorted coldly. Since his act had been seen through, there was no point in continuing with the facade. His left hand flashed in an incantation gesture and he pointed toward Hebi Yin.

The Withering Character Incantation erupted out, and the air between

Naruto and Hebi Yin seemed to collapse as a huge black hole appeared.

It instantly exerted an incredible gravitational force that rumbled loudly. Naruto leapt backward as Li Ling'er appeared in front of him, her beautiful face twisted with the desire to kill.

"The memories of this land say you only got here a month earlier than us!" she said. Her graceful hands performed an incantation, and the willow leaf mark on her forehead flickered. Suddenly, a willow leaf appeared in her hand.

As soon as the willow leaf appeared, a boundless life force exploded out of it. When it reached its pinnacle, it suddenly began to show signs of death. The willow leaf turned black, and then flitted out into the air toward Naruto.

"Seal!" said Li Ling'er coolly. The willow leaf emitted a rumbling sound as it exploded. It transformed into a network of black veins that almost looked like a net, which then descended toward Naruto.

Seeing that he was about to be sealed, Naruto snorted coldly and then stretched out both arms. He lifted his head up and shouted, invoking some Daoist magics he had learned that enabled him to sprout feathers and grow hide. Shockingly, he transformed into a huge black roc, cruel and savage in appearance, that escaped the enveloping black veins.

As soon as he shot into the air, he heard a melodious voice speaking in his ear.

"Daoist Brother, you're quite exceptional. You almost had Dong'er here fooled." As the voice was transmitted to him, Naruto suddenly felt his hair stand up on end as a profound sense of danger filled him. Without hesitation, he produced the Lightning Cauldron. Lightning covered his body, and he switched places with Li Ling'er.

As soon as he switched places, he looked over at Fan Dong'er and saw that she had a Blue Lotus in her hand. A moment ago, a young boy could be seen standing on the lotus, beckoning to him as if he wanted to turn him into a lotus seed to pop into his mouth.

There was also a rusted black needle that emanated an aura of rot, which had been thrown toward him by one of the old men standing next to Song Luodan of the Song Clan. If that needle had stabbed into him, he would have been transformed into a puddle of blood.

All of these things take some time to describe, but actually happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Naruto had just exchanged blows with Zhao Yifan of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, Hebi Yin of the Hebi Clan, Li Ling'er of the Li Clan, and Fan Dong'er of the Nine Seas God World.

It seemed like a simple encounter, but in actuality, it brimmed with killing intent. The slightest misstep, and Narutos blood would have showered down like rain. Even as the desire to fight burned in his eyes, Li Ling'er's face fell. The willow leaf mark on her forehead glittered rapidly, and Fan Dong'er made a surprised grunt and held back her attack. Because of that, Li Ling'er was able to avoid the deadly Blue Lotus Magic.

Everyone watching the encounter was completely shocked. Strange gleams appeared in some of the Chosen's eyes as they flew into the air toward Naruto.

"Who is this guy? Zhao Yifan and those others all attacked at the same time, and he still didn't seem to be in a bad position!"

"He can't just be some random person! I wonder how long he's been practicing cultivation. If it's less than a thousand years, then he's definitely extraordinary!"

"He just avoided the Blue Lotus Magic of Goddess Fan Dong'er from the

Nine Seas God World! That Lightning Cauldron has the power of Form

Displacement Transposition!"

"You're missing the most important part, which is… he got here before us! He must be in possession of the good fortune of the Immortal

Ancient Daoist Rite Temple!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 814

Chapter 814 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 814: Call Me Naruto!

At the same moment in which such words were spoken, Naruto fell back. Simultaneously, a cold snort could be heard echoing out from some distance away.

"Last night I could see the clues," said Song Luodan. "However, despite your fakery, the apparition behind you was real. Now… I will cut you down, and show you that nobody makes a fool of me!"

Song Luodan was the Song Clan cultivator with the scar that ran from his forehead down to his neck. Flaming magical symbols burst out around him, and the flame crow on his shoulder stared coldly at Naruto. When Song Luodan stepped forward, the energy of peak Dao Seeking erupted out. However, this was not the ordinary power of peak Dao Seeking, but rather, something that exceeded that.

He was even more powerful than the Imperial Bloodline Clan Chief who Naruto had fought. He had Immortal will swirling around him. Shockingly, despite still being in Dao Seeking, he cultivated a battle prowess comparable to a false Immortal.

Behind him was an emaciated old man who appeared to be nothing

more than skin and bones. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were icy cold. He gave off a terrifying feeling that made him seem like a powerful Immortal that could suppress Naruto in a single move.

His body seemed to have numerous open meridians, but clearly they had been sealed and could not be used. Now, he was only able to wield the power of a false Immortal.

Actually, false Immortals were the highest level of cultivation that Narutos father had permitted into South Heaven.

In the moment that Song Luodan stepped forward, Naruto spun in midair and looked at him and the old man, killing intent flickering in his eyes.

The vicious needle thrown out by the Song Clan just now had been incredibly sinister.

"I'm gonna kill you!" said Naruto, transforming into a huge roc that sped toward Song Luodan. Shocking rumbling filled the air as the roc and Song Luodon exchanged more than a hundred moves in the blink of an eye.

Fire rippled everywhere, and a sea of flames roiled off of Song Luodan. It transformed into the shape of a flame crow that attacked Naruto.

Their attacks were shocking, and caused everything to tremble. Although they were fighting in midair, Naruto didn't want to get too far away from the temple's main gate. As for other locations along the wall where it seemed possible to go in, he ignored those. He remembered from his initial premonition that if someone tried to enter in that fashion, they would be struck dead.

Booms echoed out; Zhao Yifan and the others stopped in place to watch the fighting, as did everyone else.

"That guy is incredible. He was at a bit of a disadvantage earlier when he was up against Fan Dong'er and the others, but now that he's fighting Song Luodan alone… it's hard to say who's going to win!"

"It's got to be Song Luodan! He was able to fight with Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. Supposedly he lost, but he's also very smart, which is his strong point!"

Everything shook, and brilliant lights flashed about. Within his sea of flames, Song Luodan looked like a flame Immortal, calm yet threatening. At one point, he flew into the air, lifted his right foot and violently kicked down toward Naruto.

"DIE!"

The kick gave rise to a flame sea, which then transformed into another flame crow that seemed capable of ripping the air apart. Flames spread out in all directions, and seemed to be on the verge of sealing Naruto.

At the same time, the old Dao Protector at his side laughed coldly and waved his hand. Another decaying needle appeared, which shot toward Naruto. Immediately, Narutos eyes flickered with killing intent.

He snorted coldly, raising his right hand into the air and pointing at Song Luodan. Immediately, the Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared, and a rumbling vortex formed around Song Luodan. Like a dragon gulping down water, it sucked in the flame sea and left Song Luodan completely revealed out in the open.

Song Luodan's face flickered with astonishment. His right foot began to wither, and he let out a roar. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he fell back at full speed. Somehow… in this moment of grave crisis, he actually managed to escape the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex. He retreated, face pale, looking at Naruto with an expression of both shock and the cold desire to kill.

All of the observers were shaken. Amongst the crowd, Tsukino's eyes were wide, and she was panting. The divine ability vortex she had just seen reminded her of a legendary Daoist magic she had read about in the ancient records of her sect, something that had long since been lost to the passage of time.

Zhao Yifan from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto was looking on with shining eyes, the flames of battle flickered in his pupils. Li Ling'er from the Li Clan of Planet North Reed was also panting. Her expression was one of extreme concentration as she stared at Naruto.

The four who had attacked just now did not do so with all their strength. Therefore, the fact that Naruto was able to evade those attacks merely left them thinking that there was more to him than met the eye. Nothing had happened that in any way left them thinking that he was worth paying attention to.

Karma swirled around Hebi Yin, and although it was impossible to see his expression clearly, he was surely surprised.

As for Fan Dong'er, a strange light shone in her eyes, but her expression was placid. She radiated a sense of pureness and holiness, and at the same time, seemed cold and distant. However, her incredible beauty made it so that anyone who looked at her couldn't help but be instantly attracted to her, and would want to embrace her as a wife.

The person who Naruto resented was not Song Luodan, but rather, the old man next to him. Twice so far, he had used sinister needles to attack Naruto. Naruto suddenly stretched his hand out in a clawlike motion which seemed similar to that used by the people he had seen plucking stars. Immediately, his hand seemed to become enormous, and he grabbed the needle out of the air.

Naruto had only gained a smattering of enlightenment about the Star Plucking Magic. If he completely came to understand it, and also had a sufficient cultivation base, he would actually be able to reach up and pluck heavenly bodies out of the starry sky!

As soon as he grabbed the deadly needle, Narutos body flickered, and he shot toward the old man. The old man laughed coldly. Instead of retreating, he began to move toward Naruto.

"Don't know the difference between life and death? Allow me to educate you!"

"Old codger!" growled Naruto, summoning the roc. In response, the old man waved his hand, causing a gray aura to spread out that contained Immortal qi.

"Suppress!" said the old man.

"I'll be doing the suppressing!" replied Naruto. His cultivation base rumbled, and his Immortal Chakra roared as it filled his body. Immediately, everyone in the area was completely shocked.

The Immortal Chakra caused a huge rumbling roar to fill the air, and the old man's face flickered with astonishment.

"What sect or clan are you from?!"

Naruto didn't respond. As the Immortal Chakra swirled, he performed an incantation gesture and then pushed his hand out in front of him. The Ninth Mountain rumbled out, crushing down toward the old man.

"Not gonna tell me?" snorted the old man. "Well, don't blame me for eradicating you!" Suddenly, a Dharma Idol appeared behind him, the image of some powerful deity, a middle-aged man with an incredible bearing. Immediately, everything around him was thrown into chaos.

As Naruto and the old man closed in on each other in midair, Naruto let out a shout, and his own Dharma Idol appeared. The power that came from being half a step into true Immortality erupted out, transforming into an incredible pressure that weighed down on the old man. His face fell, and he shot backward using a magical technique. The killing intent in Narutos eyes flickered, and he waved his right hand, causing eight black-colored medicinal pills to fly out. As soon as they hit the old man, they exploded.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his face fell. He had been seriously injured, and was just about to flee, when Naruto, moving at incredible speed, descended upon him. His right hand unleashed the Star Plucking Magic, and the old man let out a furious howl. He raised his right hand, and what appeared to be the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies could be seen in the palm that he sent surging toward Naruto

The man let out a miserable howl; at the same time, Naruto coughed up blood and staggered backward. The lightning cauldron appeared in his hand, lightning danced, and he vanished as he switched places with Fan Dong'er, who had been attempting to sneak into the temple during the chaos of the fighting.

When he reappeared, Naruto stood tall and straight in front of the main gate of the temple, blood oozing out of his mouth. He seemed to be in command of everything, and when he stamped his foot onto the ground, everything trembled. At this point, he stretched out his right hand and made a claw-like gesture.

Three claw images appeared; it almost looked as if some ancient beast were awakening. The claws shot up into the air along with his Dharma Idol.

The huge attack surged toward Li Ling'er and Namikaze Donghan of the Namikaze Clan, who had just been preparing to charge toward him.

Amidst the rumbling booms, Song Luodan's Dao Protector up in midair suddenly let out a miserable shriek. He had just noticed that, shockingly, a needle was sticking out of his hand! It was the same needle he had just tried to use to kill Naruto!

The decaying power of the needle was just as effective on the old man!

"NOO!" he shrieked, terrified. The flesh on his face was already starting to decay and fall off into bits of ash. Terror filled him. He was well aware of how quickly the vicious poison on the needle worked. In the blink of an eye, the poison contaminated all of his aura.

As his screams echoed out, the crowds gasped. The old man's body collapsed. All of his flesh and blood turned into nothing but drifting ash….

Instantly, complete silence fell.

This old man was no ordinary person. He was a Dao Protector of the

Song Clan, a powerful expert with an Immortal Realm cultivation base. He had opened dozens of meridians, and yet now… he died in this place… at the hands of a Spirit Realm cultivator.

It was only an accident, only a chance occurrence, had only occurred because his cultivation base was sealed. But regardless of those things… he was dead!

Dead at the hands of Naruto!

"Song Luodan's Dao Protector… just died!?"

"He… he actually killed a Dao Protector!"

"Who is this guy? He can't be some random person, and he's definitely not from the lands of South Heaven. He must be a Chosen from some outside sect!"

"But he doesn't look familiar. I've never seen him before…."

Even as the buzz of conversation rose up, Tsukino looked on with wide eyes, astonished. Her cultivation base had originally been in the Immortal Realm, but after acquiring the Demon Immortal Body, she had pushed herself down into the Spirit Realm to reestablish her cultivation and gain a chance at even more power in the future. As such, she was far more powerful than she had been last time she was in the Spirit Realm. Even still, there was no way she could attack and kill a false Immortal.

"Who are you!?" Zhao Yifan suddenly asked.

Ji Yin looked at Naruto, as did Li Ling'er, as well as Uchiha Mu, who still hadn't made a move yet. All of the Chosen from the various sects and clans, including Taiyang Zi, were all staring over at Naruto.

As for Song Luodan, he was panting in shock. His Dao Protector had just been shockingly killed, causing Song Luodan's killing intent to grow even stronger.

Fan Dong'er hovered in midair, now in the position that Naruto had occupied moments before. Fury burned in her heart, but her face was placid as she calmly said, "Daoist Brother, who exactly are you? Would you mind telling us?"

Naruto looked out at the Chosen. He had to admit that these people were strong. However, he still felt like fighting, and in fact, was looking forward to something in particular.

He was looking forward to when he left the lands of South Heaven and entered the world of the Chosen outside. He couldn't wait to see what kind of waves he would stir up then.

He looked calmly at the chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, well aware that after this decisive battle, his name would surely spread rapidly until everyone knew who he was.

"Call me Naruto!"

Chapter 814: Call Me Naruto!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 815

Chapter 815: Fan Dong'er

All cultivators in the lands of South Heaven knew Narutos name. If the Chosen of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea had spent more time there, they would also know the name.

This was their first time hearing it, though, and it would remain in their memories for all eternity.

Naruto!

Tsukino gazed absent-mindedly over at Naruto standing there by the main gate of the temple. She seemed to be recalling that young cultivator she had pushed around all those years ago, and then everything that had happened in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

Recalling all the memories, she couldn't help but take a deep breath. At the moment, she was the only one who knew that Naruto hadn't even been practicing cultivation for five hundred years.

"Not even five hundred years, and he already has Immortal qi…. Furthermore, he's… half a step into true Immortality!

"His Dharma Idol depicts himself. His Immortality… is not false. He walks the path of true Immortality!

"He has high aspirations. Like all of us, he is not willing to become a

false Immortal. He wishes to transcend true Immortal tribulation and become a true Immortal!

"I wonder which sect he represents here. Immortality Illumination Vines are quite rare in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Without one, his only option is to go all-out for Immortal destiny, and then wait for the oncein-10,000-years chance to achieve true Immortal Ascension."

Amidst the rumbling that filled the air, Uchiha Mu from the Uchiha Clan of

Planet North Reed suddenly said, "How long have you been here?"

Naruto looked over at him but didn't respond. He stood there in front of the temple gate, his desire to fight burning as hot as ever.

"He's obviously been here for several days," said Song Luodan, hovering in midair, "and now he wants to prevent us from entering the Daoist rite temple!" Instantly, several Chosen flew out from the crowd, including Taiyang Zi. Multicolored lights flashed, and energy surged as they transformed into eight beams of light that shot toward Naruto.

"Get the hell out of the way!" The voices of these eight people were like crackling thunder.

Behind them flew Dao Protectors from their respective sects and clans, who observed the proceedings with flickering eyes. In total, a few dozen people were now closing in on Naruto.

Even were Naruto more powerful, it would be impossible to do much against so many peak experts. Even Narutos father could never have imagined that going to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple would end him up in such a trial by fire.

Narutos father had assumed he would end up fighting alongside everyone. He had also assumed that arriving early would provide Naruto with some advantages, but he'd never imagined that the primary good fortune of the entire place could be acquired in less than a month.

And yet… Naruto had done exactly that.

Right now, he couldn't back down. He couldn't allow people to enter the temple itself. As the dozens of people bore down on him, Naruto suddenly slapped his bag of holding to produce several dozen blackpeeled pills, which he immediately threw out in front of him. As they banged against each other in the air, they exploded violently.

Any one of those medicinal pills could produce an astonishing level of power, but dozens exploding together caused the ground to quake and the mountains to tremble. A deafening roar filled the air as blood sprayed out of the mouths of everyone near the explosion. There were even two people whose bodies were ripped to pieces.

Bloodcurdling screams filled the air.

"It was him! It was him!" cried Taiyang Zi, his voice shrill. "He's the one who buried all those black-peeled medicinal pills that we encountered!" Taiyang Zi's arm had been completely vaporized in the explosion.

The people who had been injured on the path to the temple looked over at Naruto with killing intent flickering in their eyes. They had had their suspicions when Song Luodan's Dao Protector died, but everything had happened so fast that there was no way to confirm the details.

Now, though, they immediately recognized the black-peeled medicinal pills, which were the same as those buried outside. New hatreds piled onto old ones.

Immediately, more people flew into the air to attack Naruto.

There were quite a few others, including Namikaze Yunyi, who flew toward the wall of the temple in an attempt to enter that way. Just before entering, Namikaze Yunyi was overwhelmed by a terrifying sensation, and stopped in place. The others, however, more than ten of them, unhesitatingly flew through the gaps in the walls.

As soon as they entered the run-down courtyard, they began to tremble, and then screamed miserably. Their bodies instantly began to decay, and in the blink of an eye, they had transformed into pools of black liquid.

Seeing this caused all the onlookers' minds to spin, and their faces to fall. Some of the people who had just died were Dao Protectors, and even they had been powerless to fight back, and been killed instantly.

"You can only get in through the main gate! No other way is permitted!"

"The main gate is the only path!"

"Naruto is blocking the main gate, and all the incredible stuff is obviously on the other side! Kill him so we can get in!"

Now that it was revealed that there was only one entrance, the pressure on Naruto was even greater. Booms rang out constantly. Even with the powerful black-peeled medicinal pills, Naruto would be incapable of holding out for much longer. After all, he didn't have very many pills left.

Killing intent bore down on him from all sides, but Naruto didn't retreat. Instead, he stayed as close to the main gate as possible. Zhao Yifan's sword Chakra surged mightily, and then transformed into the shape of a sword, surrounded by a lake of smaller swords. He then shot toward Naruto at top speed, causing everyone else to move to the side to make way for him. As for Naruto, he immediately felt an intense sense of deadly crisis.

"This guy is strong!" he thought. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and he was injured in several places. Seeing that this was not the time to make a final stand, Naruto glanced at the incoming Zhao Yifan, and then his eyes flickered as he retreated back through the gate.

As soon as Naruto entered the temple gate, Zhao Yifan's sword arrived like a blazing sun, sword Chakra glittering magnificently. Those behind him looked on with gleaming eyes as the temple gate was opened. Immediately, everyone surged forward to enter the temple.

However, in the instant that Naruto entered the temple, a monstrously murderous aura exploded up next to him. Killing intent and icy coldness appeared, along with a Devilish will. Writhing black smoke appeared underneath the evening sky.

A figure that looked exactly like Naruto suddenly walked out from behind him.

Narutos second true self!

He walked out of the temple gate and waved his hand, causing the Wooden Time Sword to appear. Time power rippled out in all directions as the Time Sword met Zhao Yifan's sword.

A boom echoed out. Zhao Yifan's face flickered and he fell into retreat. The second true self gave a muffled snort as he advanced. Time power spread out, causing looks of shock to appear on all of the onlookers' faces. All of them could clearly sense their longevity withering.

"A Time cultivator!"

"Dammit, there's two of them, not just one!"

As his second true self stood outside the temple, Naruto produced some medicinal pills. After consuming them, he sat cross-legged in meditation for about ten breaths' worth of time. Then he opened his eyes and walked out of the main gate to stand next to this second true self. Booms echoed out as the two of them began to fight. Astonishing power was unleashed as a massive battle unfolded.

The first person to attack his second true self was Fan Dong'er. At the same time, others attempted to charge into the main gate.

Naruto growled, and a blood-colored vortex appeared; the Blood Demon Grand Magic was finally completely unleashed. Instantly, everyone's faces fell, and they fell back in retreat.

Naruto was really an annoying headache to everyone present. His second true self had monstrous killing intent and sinister coldness. His attacks were ruthless, and he was surrounded by swirling Devilish will, as well as the power of Time. All of it was very hard to deal with.

Naruto fought back and forth with Namikaze Donghan, and explosions filled the air. In any situation where Naruto was on the verge of being forced away from his position in front of the gate, he would throw out black-peeled medicinal pills, which always resulted in countless angry curses.

He even used the Lightning Cauldron; whenever any Chosen were on the verge of being able to enter the temple, Naruto would quickly switch positions with them.

He switched places with Zhao Yifan, Fan Dong'er, Li Ling'er, Uchiha Mu, Taiyang Zi, Hebi Yin, Namikaze Xiangshan… virtually all of the Chosen had opportunities to enter the temple, but Naruto seemed to be made of eyes, and whenever one of them got close, lighting would crackle and he would use Form Displacement Transposition.

By now, it was getting dark, and a cold wind sprang up. The vine in the courtyard once again drooped down and began to swing back and forth. Black blood dripped onto the ground, and tendrils of green smoke began to rise up from inside the well.

The oil lamp once again began to burn tenuously inside the temple hall, and countless projected images appeared. When all the newcomers saw this, they gasped. As for Naruto, he could feel the pulsing cold coming from behind him.

It was at this point that Fan Dong'er's eyes glittered. Suddenly, the image of a door appeared in her pupils.

"In the gap between yin and yang, Ninth Sea God!" Suddenly her entire body appeared to be sucked into her own pupils! She vanished, and when she reappeared, she was inside of the courtyard!

In that instant, Narutos expression flickered. He tried to use Form Displacement Transposition, but for the first time ever, it failed!

Fan Dong'er's expression was one of indifference as she prepared to enter the temple hall. Naruto immediately flew toward her, extending his hand in a claw-like gesture. This left the main gate exposed, and his second true self was incapable of holding his position alone. In that short bit of time, one of the Dao Protectors managed to slip into the courtyard.

When that happened, he immediately screamed and vanished into a pool of black liquid.

This sudden turn of events caused everyone on the outside to gasp, and cease any aspirations of entering.

Naruto didn't have time to consider what had just happened. He transformed into a huge roc that shot aggressively toward Fan Dong'er.

"Dammit!" he thought. "I forgot whether that crazy old man said to prevent people from entering the temple as a whole, or just the temple hall!" Furious, he called his second true self to join him in his attack.

His second true self's eyes glittered. Everyone looked on raptly as the second true self entered the main gate without any problem.

Seeing Narutos second true self nearing, Fan Dong'er's face flickered.

"How can he get in here too!?" she said. "Ah, he's not a cultivator, he's your clone!"

Rumbling filled the air. Fan Dong'er's face was as indifferent as ever as she began to fight back and forth with Naruto. In the blink of an eye, there were more than a hundred exchanges. Everyone on the outside watched with glittering eyes. A random cultivator tried to use a special magical technique to enter through the main gate, but the result was that he died screaming. By now, everyone understood the situation. "You can enter during the daytime, but not during nighttime!"

"Dammit, Fan Dong'er realized this earlier, so she didn't use her divine ability until yin and yang transposed, and night replaced day! That's when she entered!"

"She let Naruto use Form Displacement Transposition on her a few times before to get him used to thinking it would work on her!"

"Her scheming ability is so profound! I hate those people from the Nine

Seas God World!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 816

Chapter 816: Battling the Goddess

Everyone stood outside the courtyard, looking in with glittering eyes.

Within the courtyard, Naruto and his second true self were locked in combat with Goddess Fan Dong'er of the Nine Seas God World. Off to the side, the vine swung back and forth, and laughter could be heard as the black blood dripped onto the ground.

At the same time, strands of black hair danced through the air. Countless Dao Projections appeared. Some sat in meditation, some concocted medicinal pills, and some employed Daoist magic. The copper lamp flickered weakly, illuminating the area. The crumbling statue of the divinity appeared to be emitting some faint, divine aura.

This was not the first night that these people had spent in the vicinity of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. However, when they caught sight of the Dao Projections, many people made hoarse exclamations.

"Passing down Daos!"

"Those Dao Projections are passing down Daos! If we can just get inside, we can acquire new Daos!"

"The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple is full of good fortune!"

"Dammit! I wonder how many days Naruto was here for before we arrived. From the look of it, he already got the greatest good fortune of all, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Medallion!"

Outside, conversations buzzed. Inside, Naruto and his second true self had already fought over a hundred rounds with Fan Dong'er. Booming echoed out, and Fan Dong'er frowned as she was constantly pushed back in retreat, unable to to get close to the temple hall. Not only that, she was actually being forced to the point where she might get shoved out the main gate.

Naruto had originally been extremely nervous. However, after seeing that everything in the temple hall remained the same even after Fan Dong'er entered the courtyard, he was able to let out a sigh of relief.

"The crazy old man must have meant the temple hall and not the courtyard!" he thought. Eyes gleaming, he stretched out his hand toward Fan Dong'er in a claw-like gesture.

Fan Dong'er was getting angry. She snorted lightly and then lifted the Blue Lotus in her hand. Brilliant light shone out that seemed to contain blessings. It formed Immortal qi, which she sucked in through her eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Then, golden light began to shine out from her eyes. She looked at Naruto and said a single word.

"Suppress!"

That single word caused Narutos pupils to constrict as he felt an incredible force come into existence around him. It instantly began to entangle him; even his second true self could feel its interference.

Fan Dong'er's expression was cool as she prepared to enter the temple hall.

"Emerge!" Naruto shouted, and rumbling could be heard as his Dharma Idol appeared, shining with boundless radiance and surrounded by a great Dao. The Dharma Idol's light shone up into the sky, and it seemed as if countless Immortal Divinities were sitting cross-legged around it, meditating. A snapping sound rang out as the invisible fetters were destroyed. Naruto shook himself free, then stretched his right hand out to use the Star Plucking Magic.

All it took was one snatching motion, and Fan Dong'er, who was still in mid-stride heading toward the temple hall, was dragged back to him.

Her body was completely beyond her own control as she flew through the air. Just when she seemed about to slam into Narutos hand, she gave a cold snort and performed an incantation with her left hand. She pointed to the ground, and a vast sea appeared beneath her, from within which more than ten roaring sea dragons burst out.

Narutos Star Plucking Magic dissipated, but by that point, his second true self had closed in. He waved his sleeve, and a boom could be heard as the air around Fan Dong'er shattered. Blood oozed from the corners of her mouth as she was sent staggering backward. In the meantime, Naruto performed an incantation gesture and pointed out.

The Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex instantly appeared. Both Naruto and his second true self were on the attack. All of the rapid changes in the battle were dazzling to the eye. There was no hesitation on anyone's part, and attacks were made with complete confidence and speed.

RUUUMMMBLE!

Fan Dong'er's face fell. Narutos Blood Demon Grand Magic filled her with dread. She performed a double-handed incantation, causing a bright light to appear that seemed to shine down from the sky above. It descended to form the image of a mermaid behind Fan Dong'er.

The mermaid had extremely long hair, and was incredibly beautiful, and actually resembled Fan Dong'er somewhat, except that she wasn't wearing any clothes whatsoever. Her bottom half was covered with scales, but as a whole, she emanated an enticing aura that would cause anyone to be attracted to her.

"So high and mighty, yet you summon something without clothes?" said Naruto sternly, glancing at the Dharma Idol. "How scandalous!"

"You glib lowlife!" she replied evenly. "One look and I could tell that you were a lecher!" She performed an incantation, causing her Dharma Idol's eyes to shine with golden light.

"Ninth Sea God Lightning!" The four words echoed like thunder, and immediately caused four bolts of golden lightning to crackle down toward Naruto.

His eyes narrowed; these Chosen from the Ninth Mountain and Sea were all incredibly powerful. He had long since ceased to look down on them. He knew that he couldn't view them as being ordinary peak Dao Seeking cultivators. These were all people who had high aspirations; they wanted to achieve true Immortal Ascension.

There were even some of them who had clearly practiced cultivation for many years, but were intentionally holding their cultivation bases back to wait for Immortal destiny.

Some of them gave Naruto a feeling of impending crisis. One was Zhao Yifan, and another was Fan Dong'er.

"There are many Chosen, and powerful experts are as numerous as the clouds," he thought. "My path of cultivation has just begun; the vast world is just now opening up to me…." The desire to fight burned hot in his eyes. He truly couldn't wait to step foot out of the lands of South Heaven into the starry sky, to contend with the Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Today is just a sneak peek," he thought. His body flickered as he sprang into motion. His Dharma Idol roared and grew even larger than before, and then sent a right hand speeding toward Fan Dong'er.

The four bolts of golden lightning sent out shocking ripples, but they were all obstructed Narutos Dharma Idol.

Echoes rattled out, and Fan Dong'er's face fell. The second true self closed in along with a river of Time power, bursting with a murderous aura. Killing intent raged as he launched a vicious attack that very nearly sliced Fan Dong'er's neck open.

"Just who is this Naruto…?" she thought. "There's no need to even mention this clone of his. He himself is incredibly powerful, plus he has a Dharma Idol that depicts himself. Based on his power, he must be half a step into true Immortality!

"At the moment he still hasn't merged back with his clone. When that happens…." Fan Dong'er's eyes flickered.

"He seems to be concerned with people entering the temple hall. Could it be that there is some legacy process underway inside, and he doesn't want anyone to interfere? I must disrupt that legacy!

"I can't let a fifth Conclave disciple appear in this Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple!" Her eyes flickered with coldness.

"Ninth Sea God Will!" she said, retrieving a conch shell from her bag of holding. The conch shell immediately began to blaze with intense light that caused everything to tremble. The music of a great Dao began to spread out in all directions.

Everyone on the outside had long since been shaken by the intensity of the fighting inside. In addition, dread of Naruto had taken root in their hearts.

"To be able to fight with Fan Dong'er of the Nine Seas God World means that this Naruto… is definitely a Chosen too!"

"That's… a precious treasure of the Nine Seas God World, the Nine Gods Conch!"

"According to legend, that conch once slew an almighty Dao Realm expert…."

"That's not the real thing, it's only a copy. However, it's still shockingly powerful!"

As the buzz of conversation filled the air outside, Narutos face flickered. He could sense that this conch was intensely dangerous. His eyes flickered and he performed another incantation gesture, causing the sixth level of the Blood Demon Grand Magic to appear.

At the same time, Fan Dong'er's eyes became ice cold as she raised the conch up and blew into it. As soon as her breath entered the conch, it began to emanate a golden light, within which was a strand of Dao music.

As the music drifted through the air, it sounded like a woman singing. It expanded out amorphously, transforming into three colorful bubbles, within each of which appeared to be a magical symbol. The sky grew dark, and wind screamed as one of the bubbles floated gently toward Naruto. He began to tremble, and his second true self seemed to lose control of his body and stopped in mid motion. It was at this point that bubble popped.

Blood sprayed from the mouth of the second true self as a roaring sound filled his ears. As he fell back, the second bubble floated forward and then popped. Naruto coughed up blood, and suddenly found that he was covered with countless strips of seaweed which were growing out from his skin to cover his whole body. At the same time, the seaweed bursting from his skin caused him to bleed profusely.

His second true self trembled as he too was covered with seaweed. The flourishing seaweed sucked away at Narutos life force, causing it to grow longer, and even take root in the ground. As a result, Naruto and his second true self were rapidly being rooted in place.

People outside of the courtyard gasped.

"The Curse of the Ninth Sea!"

"This Naruto… is going to perish!"

Fan Dong'er coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward a few steps, her face pale; she had payed an incredible price in order to blow on the conch shell.

She took a deep breath as she looked over at Naruto and his second true self entangled in the seaweed. Her expression calm, she turned and hurried toward the temple hall.

Just when she was on the verge of stepping into the temple hall, a tremor ran through Fan Dong'er. The mud beneath her feet suddenly began to emanate a black mist. At the same time, a huge rumbling sound filled the entire area.

The courtyard trembled from the force of the explosion, and Fan Dong'er coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her body was completely beyond her control as she was sent flying into the air, more blood spurting out from her mouth.

"Naruto!" she cried, her heart filled with rage. She had been incredibly cautious in everything, but could never have imagined that Naruto would have buried black-peeled medicinal pills in front of the temple hall's door.

Those pills had been secretly placed there by Naruto as a failsafe against the people from the outside.

At the same time that Fan Dong'er was sent flying backward, the third bubble neared Naruto. He trembled, and his eyes filled with a cold gleam. His second true self shuddered; he slowly began to fade away and turn into Narutos shadow, merging together with him.

"Fuse!" As he merged with his second true self, Narutos left eye was icy cold, whereas his right eye burned with murderous desire. The Dharma Idol behind him then changed; shockingly, half of it became completely black!

To everyone looking at it, it no longer looked holy, but rather, like a mixture between an Immortal and a Devil!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the third bubble popped. However, at the same time, Naruto freed himself from the seaweed and launched a counterattack in the form of a punch.

A huge explosion filled the air and Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. Nonetheless, a bright gleam could be seen in his eyes as his hand snaked out toward the beautiful Fan Dong'er.

Fan Dong'er's face flickered. She had been seriously injured, and now that Naruto had freed himself, she had no choice but to retreat from of the courtyard.

It was then that Narutos hand latched onto her.

"Trying to get away?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 817

Chapter 817: Here You Go, Inky!

The Star Plucking Magic suddenly sprang to life, and Fan Dong'er was snatched up and dragged back by Naruto before she could escape from the courtyard. A look of vicious hatred could be seen on her face, and she quickly performed a double-handed incantation, causing the conch shell to appear again!

Just when she was about to blow it, Naruto flung her forcefully toward the well in the courtyard.

"Why don't you get in that well and blow your shell for my Inky!" he said.

Fan Dong'er's face filled with shock as, before she could blow the conch, she descended into the well, her body completely out of her control.

At the same time, Naruto performed an incantation, summoning the Ninth Mountain and sending it rumbling down toward the well.

A miserable shriek rang out from inside the well as the Ninth Mountain slammed down and sealed the mouth of the well, followed by rumbling booms. Naruto flitted up to the peak of the mountain, where he sat down cross-legged, his face somewhat pale. The murderous gleam in his right eye vanished, and boundless black mist surged out from within him, which then transformed once again into his second true self.

Blood oozed out from the sides of Narutos mouth, and his second true self's eyes were somewhat dimmer than usual.

This was a result of the backlash from forcing a separation before fully fusing.

Everyone outside the courtyard was thoroughly shocked, and stared at Naruto in amazement.

"He… he actually sealed the Goddess of the Nine Seas God World inside a well?"

"If I remember correctly… that head which looks like it's been soaking in water for millions of years… came out from that well!"

"Dammit, I should kill him for treating the Goddess like that!"

As the buzz of conversation filled the air, Zhao Yifan's eyes flickered. He stared at Naruto, his desire for combat growing ever stronger. After all, he lived to fight!

"If you're good enough to suppress Fan Dong'er," he thought, "then… I can't wait for day to break so that we can fight!"

Song Luodan couldn't help but gasp in response to what had happened, as did Uchiha Mu, Li Ling'er, Namikaze Donghan and many others. When they saw Naruto fight Fan Dong'er and then seal her up, it instantly left an indelible impression in their minds.

Taiyang Zi's face flickered, but, not willing to be outshone, he snorted coldly and said, "You finagled your way to victory. If you step foot outside, I'll fuse your bones and blood, burn your soul, and then kill you!"

The Chosen from the other Holy Lands and sects now had a much clearer understanding of who Naruto was, as did the Dao Protectors, whose eyes glittered brightly.

The night grew deeper. Naruto sat on top of the mountain, listening to Fan Dong'er's shrieks echoing out from down below.

She was inside the well, half submerged in water. Her scalp was numb with terror as inky black hair swirled around her. Although her surroundings were pitch black, because of her incredible cultivation base, she could just barely see the water-soaked head gazing steadily in her direction.

If you think about it, anyone in this situation would feel their blood run cold and their hair stand on end. Fan Dong'er couldn't hold back from screaming.

The tendrils of black hair began to wrap around her, and the soaking head got closer and closer….

"Naruto, I won't let you get away with this!" she screamed. However, it didn't matter what divine abilities or magical techniques she used, there was nothing that could get her out of the well. In fact, the more magic she used, the more the black hair wrapped around her, and at one point, the floating head even touched her own head.

An icy sensation spread out across her skin, and Fan Dong'er's scream was even shriller than before.

As Naruto sat on top of the mountain, he snorted and said, "Inky, if you take care of this wench for me, then you can have her!"

By now, he had recovered most of his wounds, and he glanced over to look into the temple hall, at the bronze lamp which, thanks to Fan Dong'er's failure to enter the temple hall, had not been extinguished.

A strange light shone in his eyes, and suddenly a bashful gleam could be seen within.

"These Chosen all have lovely treasures on them, don't they…." He licked his lips and smiled, which the crowds on the outside found very surprising.

"What is Naruto smiling like that for?"

"Hmm. That smile looks… bashful! Is something fishy going on…?"

Naruto flew down off of the mountain and, as everyone watched, dug a hole and carefully put some black-peeled medicinal pills in it. Then, he cautiously stood on top of it, looked up, and extended his hand. The Lightning Cauldron appeared.

Electric light glittered, spreading out across his body, and the bashfulness in his smile grew even more apparent as he looked out at the crowd with anticipation.

"Dammit, Narutos about to pull a con!"

"He has that Form Displacement Transposition cauldron, and blackpeeled medicinal pills under his feet. If you step on that pill lightly, nothing happens. But when he switches positions with someone, the slightest force will cause it to explode!"

"Fudge! How could someone be so evil!?"

"Shameless! I've never seen a bastard as shameless as him!"

Everyone in the crowd began to back up, their faces flickering with various expressions. Narutos eyes finally came to rest on Taiyang Zi, whose face instantly went white, and his eyes wide. Before he could say anything, lighting from Narutos cauldron flashed, and he switched places with Taiyang Zi.

The instant the change occurred, Taiyang Zi appeared in the middle of the courtyard, screaming. Apparently, this method of entering the courtyard did not violate the restrictive spells, so he was not instantly transformed into a pool of blood. However, as soon as his foot made contact with the medicinal pills, four or five of them instantly exploded, and he was engulfed in black mist.

Taiyang Zi let out a bloodcurdling shriek, along with a spray of blood. Narutos second true self instantly closed in on him.

As for Naruto, as soon as he appeared outside the courtyard, he instantly produced his war chariot. Rumbling filled the air as he shot back into the courtyard.

Only an afterimage remained in the spot he had just occupied, which was then instantly inundated by various divine abilities and magical techniques.

"Don't be so polite, Fellow Daoists!" he called out, looking back at the crowd and waving. "I don't need your gifts, really!" The ripples from the explosions couldn't catch up with him, leaving the onlookers so frustrated that their gums itched.

"Shameless!"

"How could he have such a high cultivation base but be so despicable!?" Numerous such curses filled the air.

Naruto just smiled nonchalantly and hummed a little tune as he watched his second true self grab hold of Taiyang Zi and restrain him.

When Taiyang Zi saw Naruto approaching, he began to tremble, and his eyes shone with a brilliant light.

"I'm from the Holy Land of Mount Sun! Our founder was Patriarch Sun—"

SMACK!

Naruto walloped Taiyang Zi directly across the side of the face, causing blood to spray from his mouth, along with a couple teeth. He turned back to look at Naruto, a vicious expression of madness on his face.

"From the moment I started practicing cultivation," said Naruto, "I've heard Chosen like you say things like that when they're about to die. Do you know how annoying it is!?" Thinking about how often he had heard words similar to those uttered by Taiyang Zi, he kicked Taiyang Zi sharply with his right foot.

"Didn't you just say you were going to burn my bones and blood, then roast my soul?" Naruto kicked down again.

The shocked crowd looked on, trembling, as Taiyang Zi's howls entered their ears. The Dao Protectors and other cultivators from Mount Sun were enraged, and several of them flew forward.

"Stay your hand!"

"Dammit, if you harm him, you'll call a great disaster down on yourself that will affect your entire clan!"

"Once the sun comes up, you're dead! No one will be able to save you!"

The two Mount Sun Dao Protectors stood outside the courtyard, glaring at Naruto and threatening him with gruesome words. In response, Naruto kicked Taiyang Zi again, provoking another miserable shriek, then turned and stared a the two Dao Protectors.

"I'm from the archaic Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite! My dad is—" Naruto suddenly stopped talking and cleared his throat. Quite a few hateful looks appeared among the crowd, especially from the people from Mount Sun. It was quite obvious that Naruto had just been mocking Taiyang Zi's words from moments ago.

Naruto grabbed Taiyang Zi and dragged him over to the well. He lifted the mountain and then said, "Why don't you and the wench fool around together down there!"

Taiyang Zi's eyes went wide, and he let out a panic-stricken yelp as he struggled against Naruto.

Naruto cleared his throat and then said, "Alright, I'll give you one last chance. You probably have a lot of magical items on you, right?"

"Let me go, and you can have them all!" Taiyang Zi blurted. He was truly frightened; down below, he could see Fan Dong'er and the soaking head, which was obviously a mysterious evil spirit connected to the Daoist rite temple.

"Hey, I'm a gentleman and a man of my word!" replied Naruto sternly. "What makes you think that I would contaminate my Karma by stealing your magical items!?" His expression became colder so quickly that Taiyang Zi gaped in shock. However, it only took a moment for his mind to flash with understanding, and he quickly unfastened his bag of holding and held it aloft.

"Here, I'm giving it to you as a gift!"

Naruto took it, opened it up, and looked through its contents. His eyes lit up, after which he turned to look at the command medallion hanging at Taiyang Zi's waist.

"Actually, that looks pretty nice…." he said.

"You can have it!"

"Eee? This thing is pretty nice too."

"You… you can have it!"

"I've never seen one of these before…."

"You can have it…." Taiyang Zi was on the verge of tears as he handed his belongings over to Naruto one by one.

Narutos hand closed around a fist-sized chunk of golden-colored stone which emanated an intense heat and blinding light. From the feeling it gave off, it almost seemed like something was sleeping inside. When Naruto swept it with his divine sense, the music of a great Dao filled his mind, and he sensed a pulsating aura of danger.

It almost seemed like this rock… was a sun!

Narutos eyes widened as he looked it over. He had never seen anything quite like this particular item.

He slowly pulled the rock out of Taiyang Zi's bag of holding.

Immediately, people on the outside began to comment in astonishment.

"A treasured magical item! It's a treasured magical item from Mount Sun!"

"Mount Sun is really getting the short end of the stick today…."

Taiyang Zi's face was pale white as he looked bitterly at the rock in Narutos hand. He had never even had a chance to take it out and use it before Naruto took it away from him.

Naruto closed his eyes as he examined the rock with his senses. After a moment, the heat emanating off of the rock seemed to decrease, and Naruto put it away. Then he opened his eyes and looked at Taiyang Zi. Eyes narrowing, he pulled out a piece of paper and a pen from within his robe, then handed them over to Taiyang Zi, whose eyes went wide with shock.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 818

Chapter 818: Changing Fate!

"What are you staring at? Write out a promissory note! However much you think your life's worth, write down that many spirit stones. Although, if the amount you write down is too small, don't forget that I have a lot of spirit stones in my bag of holding, and I might just fork them over to buy you."

"You!" cried Taiyang Zi, almost coughing up a mouthful of blood as he glared at Naruto. After a long moment, he sighed and then wrote down a huge sum onto the promissory note. Naruto carefully placed it with his collection of other promissory notes.

When the people in the crowd, and Taiyang Zi, saw how many promissory notes Naruto had in his bag of holding, they gasped.

"How many people has he conned in the past…? I can't believe he has so many promissory notes!"

"Just where exactly is he from? He couldn't be a cultivator from the lands of South Heaven, could he?"

"There's no way. South Heaven is a strange place, but how could it produce a shameless bastard like that!?"

Taiyang Zi looked at all the promissory notes and suddenly felt a bit better about his situation. With a forced smile, he looked at Naruto. "Elder Brother Naruto…."

"Don't worry," Naruto said earnestly. "Naruto is honest with all customers, and open and aboveboard in all matters. I would definitely never use the promissory note to coerce you." Suddenly, he lowered his voice to a whisper. "Alright, you've been very cooperative. Come come, tell me who among all those bastards out there you have a beef with. I'll grab that person next.

"Choose carefully." With that, Naruto stepped to the side, dug another hole, and then put some medicinal pills in it.

Taiyang Zi stared at Naruto with wide eyes. The crowds outside gasped, and quite a few of their number began to back away. There were even a few who directly flew away.

Taiyang Zi was in a daze for a moment, until finally his eyes flickered and he turned to look out at the crowds. Then, his gaze locked with that of Uchiha Mu from the Uchiha Clan.

"Uchiha Mu!" cried Taiyang Zi, his face twisting with hatred. "He's the one! He stole my good fortune that year. Him!"

When Uchiha Mu, who stood off in the distance, heard what Taiying Zi said, his eyes flickered. The Dao Protectors near him stepped forward, their eyes radiating coldness.

"Got it," said Naruto. He quickly reached out and tied Taiyang Zi up, then tossed him over to the grapevine trellis. Then he produced the Lightning Cauldron, which glittered with electricity as he looked over at Uchiha Mu. Uchiha Mu instantly rotated his cultivation base with all his power.

However, in the next instant, Naruto shifted his gaze to Song Luodan. Instantly, the two of them vanished. Then, Song Luodan reappeared in the courtyard. However, he remained hovering in the air, and didn't touch the ground.

"Do you really think it's worth it to play such ridiculous games?" Song Luodan chuckled coldly. Most of the people in the crowd outside were now prepared for Naruto to use the Lightning Cauldron. However, it was at this moment that Narutos second true self violently stamped his foot onto the ground. Immediately, a boom could be heard as the medicinal pills beneath Song Luodan's feet exploded.

Song Luodan coughed up blood as the explosion rippled out. He had no time to evade. His hair was thrown into disarray, and he let out a miserable shriek. At the same time, Narutos second true self closed in.

As soon as Naruto appeared outside, booms filled the air as Li Ling'er, Namikaze Yunyi, Namikaze Xiangshan, as well as the Hebi Clan members, and even Chosen from other sects, along with their Dao protectors, all attacked.

The gleam of spell formations appeared on the ground, which had been set up in secret earlier in order to cause problems for Naruto.

Some people even used magical items. Massive roaring filled the area in the blink of an eye. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then sped backward in the war chariot. Lightning flickered as he switched positions several times in a row before he was finally able to extricate himself. Just when he was almost back into the courtyard, a sword shot through the air toward him. The sword filled the darkness with brilliant light, and left a bright streak in the air as it bore down on Naruto.

The shocking sword caused Narutos face to flicker. He quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing divine abilities to explode out. At the same time, his Dharma Idol appeared and blocked the sword. Rumbling shook everything as the sword unexpectedly sliced through the Dharma Idol and then slashed down onto the war chariot.

A huge boom filled the air, and blood sprayed out of Narutos mouth. However, he borrowed the momentum from the blast to shoot back into the courtyard. Once inside, he coughed up another mouthful of blood and then suddenly looked up. At some point, Hebi Yin had appeared right in front of the temple gate. His right hand stretched out, surrounded by swirling Karma power, clearly on the verge of passing into the courtyard.

Then, it did pass into the courtyard itself, apparently completely unaffected by the restrictive spells. Rumbling like thunder rippled out as he stretched his hand out about three inches into the courtyard. However, at that point, he could proceed no further and he slowly retracted his hand.

Many gasps could be heard from the crowd as they looked at Hebi Yin, whose back was to them all, making it impossible for them to see his facial expression.

Narutos pupils constricted, and his heart trembled. As of this point, he was now aware of how incredibly powerful Hebi Yin was.

"Let me in, and I'll spare your life," said Hebi Yin. It was hard to tell whether his voice was that of a man or a woman. However, it was completely cold-blooded, and filled with a lust for battle.

Naruto smiled and wiped the blood off of his mouth. He then turned and walked over to the seriously wounded Song Luodan, who had already been restrained and tied up by his second true self.

Song Luo glared hatefully at Naruto, killing intent flickering in his eyes.

Naruto wasn't in the mood for chattering, so he simply slapped Song Luodan in the face a few times, which of course cause his rage to surge even higher. Without another word, he took Song Luodan's bag of holdings, rifled through them, and then finally then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.

"I won't sign that thing even if you kill me!" raged Song Luodan, looking especially ferocious because of the scar running down his face.

"Won't sign it?" Naruto responded coolly. He turned to look over at the swinging vine, from which the sounds of faint laughter and the drip of black blood could be heard. "Lily, weren't you looking for a friend to swing with you?"

From what Naruto could tell, Inky and Lily had changed quite a bit ever since the crazy old man gave Naruto his approval.

As soon as Naruto spoke, the swing stopped moving. Then, the astonished Song Luodan flew up into the air, his body clearly completely out of his own control. Next, his body began to shrink; in the blink of an eye, he looked like he was seven or eight years old. Finally, he floated down to land on the vine, where he began to swing back and forth.

His expression was numb, but intense terror could be seen in his eyes.

At this point, the faint glow of dawn was just becoming visible. Soon, the strange phenomena inside the courtyard would disappear.

Killing intent flickered in the eyes of the crowd outside. This was especially true of the cultivators from Mount Sun and the Song Clan, and the various Chosen who were smitten with Fan Dong'er from the Nine Seas God World.

Naruto frowned. After looking up at the sky, he walked back into the temple hall, where he looked around at the Dao Projections and the ancient bronze lamp. Finally, he sighed.

"49 days total, but only half of them have gone by. Obviously… there's no way I can keep people out of this place for that long.

"There are simply too many of them outside. So far, I've only been able to stretch things out for two days…." He stood in front of the bronze lamp and looked at the flickering flame. During the day, the flame would go out, but after having observed the item for so long, Naruto knew that the flame itself wasn't truly extinguished. The heart of the flame still existed.

The lamp itself only burned brightly at night.

Muttering, Naruto once again poured some blood into the flames, which hissed and then emitted a delicate fragrance that left him feeling enlivened after smelling it.

"I'm not supposed to let anyone come inside to touch the lamp and contaminate it with their aura. It's… fundamentally impossible to meet that requirement." Naruto sighed. The more he thought about it, the more it seemed completely unfeasible. Furthermore, the sky was almost bright….

Naruto could sense the killing intent coming from the groups outside the courtyard. He was like a thorn in their sides, someone blocking their path to good fortune. Furthermore, some of that killing intent resulted directly from him offending people.

"Well, if I have to ask for help from dad and mom because of something as trivial as this, then I'm not Naruto!" His eyes began to shine with a cold gleam. Before reaching Dao Seeking, he had not relied on any assistance from his father and mother. He had stepped halfway into true Immortality all by himself.

He had experienced multiple deadly situations, had battled the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch in the Milky Way Sea, had tread the narrow gap between life and death, had fought in the great war of the Southern Domain, and had risen to the pinnacle of prominence.

Those were all things that made Naruto feel quite proud of himself.

"Besides, my road leads beyond South Heaven, whereas dad and mom… must stay here for 100,000 years. I have to walk my path alone. If I want good fortune… I'll take the risks myself and earn it myself!

"If I did it any differently, I'd be the same as all of those people out there." The desire to fight gleamed in his eyes. He took a deep breath, when suddenly, a new idea appeared in his mind. He stopped in place, and a strange expression filled his face.

"Wait a second….

"That crazy old man said that I couldn't let the flame be extinguished for

49 nights. He also said that I couldn't let anyone come in here to touch the lamp.

"In other words, actually stepping foot into this place isn't the problem. As long as no one touches the lamp, then the requirement will be met, right?" Narutos eyes sparkled.

"If that's true, then it also goes to say that… it doesn't matter what I do; I could even take the bronze lamp away from here. As long as nobody else touches it, and it remains unextinguished, then everything will be fine."

Having reached this point in his train of thought, he began to pant. A gleam of determination appeared in his eyes, and he decided that since he couldn't prevent everyone from entering this place, he might as well… try out his new idea!

He immediately stretched his hand out and grabbed the lamp. The instant he tried to actually pick it up, he realized that the lamp was completely immovable; there was no way for him to put it in his bag of holding. A strange light flickered in his eyes as he rotated his cultivation base at full power. His Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and Naruto used all the power he could muster to try to pull up the bronze lamp.

Shocking rumbles could be heard coming from within the temple hall. The ground trembled and the entire temple shook. A deep, subterranean rumble could be heard, as well as the sound of laughing and crying from the courtyard. The mountain range, and in fact, the entire land, was shaking violently.

The crowds outside the courtyard stared at the temple hall in shock.

In that instant, all of the lands of South Heaven were shaken, to the extent that the entire planet temporarily ceased to rotate!

The Milky Way Sea roared, and all the continents trembled. All the powerful experts in South Heaven were shaking in astonishment!

In the Tower of Tang, Narutos father and mother were in the middle of playing a game of Go when suddenly his father's face flickered. Even as he looked up, Narutos mother's face also flickered.

"That's…."

"The Immortal Ancient is in motion. Not good! There must have been some kind of accident!" Narutos father rose to his feet and was just about to fly up into the air, when both he and Narutos mother stopped in place. Their expressions flickered as they saw a figure approaching from off in the distance.

He had long gray hair, an ordinary-looking robe, and looked completely archaic. His eyes were filled with the glow of heavenly bodies. Not only did he look like a person who existed inside a painting, he looked like the type of person who could paint a multitude of universes with a wave of his hand.

Narutos parents were immediately shaken. They clasped hands and bowed.

"Xiufeng offers greetings, senior!"

"Naruto Li offers respectful greetings, senior!"

This was the same man who had appeared to them on Planet East

Victory, and had indicated that they should come to Planet Ninshu. He was the one who had directed them to guard the planet for 100,000 years. He was… an Outsider!

If Naruto were here, he would immediately recognize that this person was… Shui Dongliu! 1

"The chance for the Immortal was consumed by the Dao of Heaven," he murmured. "The Dao path has overlapped with the ancient. I saw nine fluttering butterflies once again flying in approach 2. I saw the one who has vanished; and the look in his eyes as he turned his head to look back…. It can't be predicted anymore, and I can't see through it anymore…. He… actually managed to change his fate!" A strange gleam appeared in his eyes as he gazed toward the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple in the distant mountains.

Here is a brief refresher about Shui Dongliu. He was introduced in chapters 194 and 197 during the Song Clan search for a son-in-law. He helped Naruto seal the Resurrection Lily into a painting in chapter 208. Er Gen joked about him in the interlude after chapter 222. He made a super brief appearance in chapter 383, when Naruto refined the Eyeless Larva. He prevented Hebi Nineteen from severing Narutos

Karma in chapter 425. Finally, he helped Naruto acquire the Eternal Stratum in chapter 693. ↩ This is not the first time nine butterflies have been mentioned in the story. If you don't remember you can check out chapters 555, 587, 613, 652 and chapter 664 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 819

Chapter 819: A Flickering Vision of Ancient Times

At the same time, within the Inner Ring of the Milky Way Sea, the water was boiling. A gray fog suddenly rose up, which spread out in all directions, filled with an aura of death.

An ancient ship slowly pierced through the fog, and as it did it seemed to cause flickering images of countless worlds to appear within the fog.

It almost seemed like the ship had just come from ancient times, and was now making an appearance in this day and age.

At the prow of the ship was an old man wearing a dilapidated suit of armor. His long hair was the color of silver, and it was impossible to see his facial features. It was only possible to see a pair of blank eyes that seemed to be staring off into eternity, looking for the answer to some unanswerable question.

Suddenly, the old man raised his head up and looked in the direction of the ancient Daoist rite temple off in the Eastern Lands.

"Who… has shaken the world?"

All of the ripples which were spreading out throughout Planet Ninshu suddenly vanished.

Outside the Tower of Tang, Narutos parents listened to Shui

Dongliu's words, and were shaken.

"Impossible to predict. He has changed his destiny.

"You two must not interfere; too many Karmic connections would be detrimental to him…. He… is connected to South Heaven by destiny."

"Senior…." said Narutos father, his voice anxious as he looked at Shui Dongliu.

"The tribulation…. is coming," murmured Shui Dongliu. "I have seen countless corpses, and endless rivers of blood. I have seen the calamity which will leave only nine mountains in the starry sky. That calamity… is not very far off.

"The existences that were once subdued cannot cross over from ancient times, but the ones who escaped subdual will return full of vengeance….

"When was the enmity created? What was its root cause? Forgotten…. They've all forgotten everything…. Nobody remembers anymore….

"They… enslaved the Dao of Heaven. And they are on their way." He shook his head slowly.

Meanwhile, in the depths of the mountains, in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, the ground was quaking outside of the temple. Everyone was astonished as they listened to the shrill sound of weeping mixed with laughter, and the incredible roaring coming from deep beneath the ground. Then they saw the temple itself shaking. Cracks spread out, and suddenly, an illusory Daoist rite temple appeared once again.

Inside the temple hall, Narutos face was pale. All he had wanted to do was to pick up the bronze lamp, so the intense rumbling, and the quaking of the land, caused his eyes to go wide.

Furthermore, he now could not separate his hand from the bronze lamp; intense pain stabbed into his hand, causing the skin to be slit open and blood to spray out, which was then absorbed by the bronze lamp.

After absorbing the blood, the lantern's flame burned even more radiantly. It emanated a red glow which seemed capable of piercing the air and tearing open the barrier to ancient times. Naruto was suddenly able to sense that everything was in motion.

The images around him began to rotate, spinning faster and faster, until they were roaring violently in the form of a vortex.

It was hard to say how long it lasted, but at a certain point the vortex suddenly ceased moving. Shaking, Naruto looked around to see… the exact same ancient Daoist rite temple that he had seen before. He could hear the sound of a sermon being given about the Dao, and everyone sat cross-legged beneath a river of stars.

On the altar was an old man who waved his hand, causing everything in Heaven and Earth to suddenly reverse; an enormous "Immortal 仙" character appeared….

Shockingly, the "Immortal" superimposed over Naruto. It was as if the oil lamp in his hand had turned into the mountain, while he was the person! Together, they transformed into the character… "Immortal!" 1

Countless eyes fell upon him, and Narutos mind spun. Everything that was happening was far too incredible, and he could barely believe it.

Next, the lamp began to absorb more and more of his blood. His face went pale as the world around him spun. Rumbling filled the air as everything once again ceased moving. Shockingly, Naruto found himself looking at yet another world.

An enormous hand could be seen in the sky, which smashed directly into the ground. There were countless cultivators locked in deadly combat; they attacked by hauling stars out of the sky and transforming them into divine abilities.

To defend, enormous swaths of earth were ripped up and hurled into the sky.

There was an enormous, amorphous figure who had stars shining in its forehead. Next to it were innumerable furred creatures with long tentacles, as large as planets, wreaking death in all directions.

It was impossible for Naruto to tell who was friend or foe. There were multiple powers all fighting each other. Far off in the distance, he saw an enormous rift tearing open to reveal… nine suns!

They were nine suns that caused the starry sky to tremble, caused the void to shatter into fragments, and caused all life to be extinguished!

Unexpectedly, the nine suns were hauling an enormous stone statue through the rift. The statue depicted a man who had ordinary features and yet emanated an unforgettable aura!

An indescribably large shadow began to spread out, seemingly intent on covering up the entire starry sky. From the look of it, it was possible to see that it was something completely unique and bizarre.

People began to cry out in alarm, to shout about the Dao of Heaven….

Even more shocking, from a different direction, nine butterflies could be seen flying in approach. They were indescribably gargantuan, larger than anything else. In the moment they appeared, what seemed like portals that led to other worlds opened up on their bodies, from within which emerged clouds of figures. Even more shocking was that behind the butterflies, Naruto could see what seemed like a huge land mass which was threatening to fill the entire sky as it approached.

"The world of Immortals is the source of all chaos! Immortals are the pinnacle of evil!" It was impossible to tell who this voice that rang out in Narutos vision belonged to. The only thing that he could see were the nine suns, the nine butterflies, and below them, nine shocking mountains.

Massive rumbling filled everything, and then the vision faded away. Narutos mind was reeling, and everything around him was shattered to pieces. Once again, a vortex formed, with Naruto in the middle of it. He reappeared from ancient times, and stepped out into the temple hall.

Almost all of his blood had been sucked out of his body into the bronze lamp. As for the lamp…. It had of its own volition floated up into the air above Narutos head, where it was now flickering dimly.

It was at this point that the sky outside… grew bright!

In the moment in which dawn broke, the bronze lamp above Narutos head flickered and transformed into an ember. It was not extinguished, but rather, turned into a weak, green smoke that bored into Narutos mouth, nose, ears, and eyes. All of a sudden, he experienced an unprecedented clarity.

Narutos mind trembled, and his eyes glittered brightly. He knew that now was not the time to hesitate. Followed by the shadow that was his second true self, Naruto emerged from the temple hall, flicking his sleeve to collect up Taiyang Zi and Song Luodan, who he then tossed into his bag of holding. He glanced at the well, which was still sealed by the Ninth Mountain, and then unhesitatingly left the courtyard.

When he emerged from the main gate, he saw that everyone outside had blank expressions on their faces. Apparently, they were still caught up in the vision of ancient times. Even the sons of Hebi were trembling.

Naruto immediately started flying. However, a beam of sword light screamed through the air toward him before he could get very far. It was none other than Zhao Yifan!

As it turned out, he was the first to awaken!

More people began to wake up, and when they saw Naruto, they instantly unleashed magical techniques as they chased after him.

"Hey, the Daoist rite temple is all yours!" he called. The war chariot appeared, and instantly shot forward at incredible speed. The incoming magic from his pursuers very nearly overwhelmed him.

Thankfully, he hadn't paused for even the slightest moment; furthermore, his mind was incredibly clear because of the bronze lamp. Everyone else, even Zhao Yifan, had just come to their senses, and as such, found it difficult to employ the full power of their cultivation bases.

Rumbling filled the air, and Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. However, he was being doggedly pursued, so he shot forward at top speed toward that narrow path surrounded on either sides by high cliffs.

Unfortunately, the airspace was restricted, and it quickly became apparent that the war chariot was having difficulty staying aloft. It began to slow down rapidly as soon as he entered the narrow path, until Naruto was finally forced to put it away. As soon as he touched down onto the ground, he shot away like an arrow from a bow. A whizzing sound could be heard as he shot off into the distance.

There were hundreds of people pursuing him, although none of them were Chosen. Instead, they were the Dao Protectors from the various sects and clans. Only Mount Sun and the Song Clan sent all of their forces after him.

The other Chosen, after awakening, looked at the empty temple and then charged in.

As soon as they entered the place, the mountain above the well collapsed into pieces, and the desolate wail of a woman could be heard.

"Naruto! Things are NOT finished between us!" Fan Dong'er flowed up from within the well, her face pale and her hair disheveled. All of the other Chosen who were so smitten with her were just about to rush forward to her when suddenly, they gasped. They looked at Fan Dong'er with astonishment, and slowly began to back up.

Fan Dong'er gaped, and her face fell. It was then that she raised her right hand; a bright light flashed, and a mirror appeared. When she looked into the mirror she could see that her face, although somewhat pale, was still as beautiful as ever.

She breathed a sigh of relief. Except then….

"Dong'er, b-behind you…."

"There's someone behind you!"

"Why… why did you carry a corpse up here on your back…?"

It was at this point that Fan Dong'er caught sight of something else in the mirror's reflection. Behind her… floated the corpse of a woman, the exact same corpse which had tormented her inside the well.

Fan Dong'er felt like her head was going to explode. She immediately flew up into the air, only to find that the corpse did exactly the same thing. It was almost as if their souls were connected; apparently, it would follow her no matter where she went.

Fan Dong'er could only imagine what it would be like if, no matter where she went, she was followed by a corpse that had been fermenting in water for millions of years…. Such a matter would completely shock the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea once word got out.

Fan Dong'er screamed….

"Naruto, I'm going to kill you. KILL you!"

By this point, the other Chosen had already entered the temple hall. They looked around in shock for a moment, then immediately fled out of the temple complex. Cracks spread out rapidly, and the ground shattered into a chasm, into which the entire temple immediately fell!

Thankfully, everyone moved with enough speed that no one was caught up in the destruction. However, they all looked back in shock as the remains of the temple were sucked down into the ground. After that, the ground returned to its normal state, as if nothing had ever been there….

"Dammit! That bronze lamp that Naruto took was obviously a precious treasure from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple!"

"He definitely has the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion!"

"Get him! The airspace here is restricted, so he can't have gotten far. Seal the entire mountain range! Lock down the air! Dig up the earth until we find him!"

You may remember that Er Gen once broke down the character

"Immortal 仙" as being made up of a person 人 and a mountain 山 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 820

Chapter 820: Who's Trying to Steal My Business?

It took only a moment for everyone from all of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea to be sent into a blur of motion.

They used a variety of techniques to lock down the mountain range. They used shocking divine will, secret magics, and various divine abilities as they spread out in all directions to search for Naruto.

This was especially true of Fan Dong'er, who cried out shrilly as she sped through the air. Normally she was surrounded with a calm, holy air. That was gone now; any beautiful woman would be incapable of doing so when being constantly followed around by a corpse.

She could imagine how soon, news of the matter would spread throughout the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, which made her hatred for Naruto rise to new heights.

As for the Chosen from the rest of the sects and clans, they were proud people, and were the type who didn't like to show inferiority to anyone. Although they were used to the constant competition and fighting with other Chosen and the dangers that came along with that, they were not used to coming up empty-handed in their endeavors. Instead, they usually compared amongst themselves to see who ended up with more good fortune than the others.

But this time… in the lands of South Heaven, when meeting Naruto for the first time, they also encountered another first. They came face to face with incredible good fortune, but were unable to get even a scrap of it.

And when they thought of how Naruto had hoodwinked them all, had run a deadly con on them, it caused them to hate him so much that their gums itched.

"Too shameless! That guy is evil to the marrow!"

"For someone as extreme as that to NOT be famous in the outside world is simply impossible! He's most likely a cultivator from Planet Ninshu!"

"It doesn't matter who he is! We'll make him cough up the good fortune he stole from us!"

Whooshing sounds filled the air as hundreds of cultivators employed their top speed to spread out through the boundless mountains. They formed something like a huge web as they searched for Naruto.

Naruto proceeded along cautiously. Despite employing a variety of methods, he was unable to get the bronze lamp into his bag of holding. He was forced to just deal with it floating there, flickering above his head.

The land around him trembled, and divine sense swept about. Naruto increased his speed. These mountains were huge, and were also dotted with restrictive spells that, if accidentally triggered, would very likely kill him. Because of that, he wasn't able to maintain top speed.

As he proceeded along cautiously, his eyes gleamed brightly. Before, he had moved around in the area in front of the temple, but now the whole sprawling mountain range was open to him.

"Now that they'll be forced to come at me one by one, I'm curious to see which of these Chosen from the outside is actually the most powerful!" Time passed by. Soon, it was midday. Naruto happened to be in a forested area, when suddenly his expression flickered, and he shot backward. A black arrow slammed into the ground where he had just been standing. The ground exploded, sending dirt and vegetation showering into the air. Then a cold snort could be heard.

"So, this is where you've been hiding!" someone said. A young man appeared, wearing a magnificent violet robe embroidered with dragons. He wore a crown on his head, and his cultivation base was incredible, beyond the peak of Dao Seeking. As soon as he appeared, his gaze locked onto the bronze lamp above Narutos head.

"If I can subdue you, then I, Sun Hai, will achieve even more fame than before! The good fortune of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple will belong to me!"

Next to Sun Hai was an old man who radiated an archaic aura. He seemed extremely ancient, and although he was initially unprepossessing in appearance, his eyes suddenly began to shine brightly like two suns.

Sun Hai turned to the old man and said, "Subdue him!"

The old man looked at Naruto and smiled. His body then surged with energy, almost as if an Immortal were inside him, sitting in meditation.

As he stepped forward, ripples spread out, distorting the air around him.

Naruto silently turned to face the two people, and his eyes narrowed. He remembered these two; the young man was one of the Chosen he had seen back at the temple, one of the group of seven or eight who had attacked him.

"Let's see if you've got the skill to suppress Naruto," he said with a slight smile.

As the old man stepped forward, the world in front of Naruto seemed to stretch out, and then suddenly shrink back to normal. When the interchange was completed, the old man was standing directly in front of Naruto.

"Die!" he said coolly, extending his right hand. Something like a sun appeared in his hand, which began to emanate brilliant light. As the light enveloped Naruto, Naruto snorted coldly. Not only did he not retreat, he actually advanced, and as he stepped forward, a shadow appeared behind him that turned into his second true self. It radiated a murderous aura as it headed toward the violet-robed Sun Hai.

"Kill the old one first, then cut down the young one!" said Naruto coolly. His Dharma Idol appeared, bursting with the energy of a cultivation base half a step into true Immortality. The Dharma Idol's hands lifted up and pushed out to fight back against the old man.

Rumbling filled the air, and the old man's arms trembled. A cold light appeared in his eye that was filled with a murderous aura. His body suddenly seemed to turn weak and skinny, but an incredible energy surged out from within him. He clenched his palm into a fist and then punched out toward Naruto.

Off to the side, Narutos second true self was already fighting with the violet-robed Sun Hai. Booms echoed and ripples spread out in all directions.

In ten short breaths of time, Naruto and the old man exchanged over a hundred moves. Suddenly, a blood-colored vortex appeared beneath Naruto, and the old man's face flickered in response. Naruto then shot backward, and the vortex began to speed toward the old man, apparently capable of sucking in any physical object in the area.

The old man's eyes flashed and he performed an incantation gesture. Shockingly, the illusory image of an emperor appeared behind the old man, who then waved his hand toward Naruto.

A look of scorn appeared on Narutos face, and in the blink of an eye, he shapeshifted into a huge roc. With shocking speed, he flew past the old man toward his second true self and the violet-robed Sun Hai.

The old man's face fell, and he immediately shot after him in pursuit.

Sun Hai's face flickered, and he roared, "Wherever the Emperor stands is sovereign territory!" He performed a double-handed incantation and spit out a mouthful of blood. An emperor identical to the one behind the old man appeared behind him and took a step forward, causing the entire area to be locked down.

Naruto didn't say anything. He slapped his bag of holding with his right hand, causing a beast claw to appear. Using his superficial knowledge of its workings, he sent it slashing forward.

Sky and land darkened, and the screech of a cat filled the air. A black illusory cat appeared, which then clawed at the sealing power that had locked down the area. A boom filled the air as the sealing power was shattered.

In that instant, roc-form Naruto moved like lightning to appear directly in front of Sun Hai, whose eyes narrowed. Even as he backed up, Naruto closed in and slashed a claw-like hand at him, and they began to fight.

The Ninth Mountain appeared next to Naruto, blocking an attack from the old man. At the same time, Naruto unleashed the Star Plucking Magic. An enormous hand appeared which grabbed Sun Hai. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he struggled mightily, but Naruto closed in on him and pushed down onto his chest. The Blood Demon Grand

Magic surged, and Sun Hai screamed as his body withered up. Then

Naruto quickly sealed him and tossed him into his bag of holding.

As he turned, the old man let out a roar of rage. His eyes were completely bloodshot as he watched Naruto capture the Young Lord Sun Hai. He was instantly sent into a violent rage.

"Shouting isn't going to do you any good," said Naruto with a cold laugh. "You're not strong enough to suppress me, and yet you provoke me anyway? You've brought your death upon yourself." As Naruto sped backward, the old man shot toward him, howling furiously. The emperor image behind him let off a shocking pressure, causing Narutos face to flicker. This old man was a Dao Protector and, despite his sealed cultivation base, was still incredibly powerful.

Naruto snorted coldly, and his eyes flickered. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, Uchiha Mu burst out from the forest behind Naruto. He had already been in the area when he sensed the ripples emanating out from the fighting. As soon as he appeared, his vision suddenly rippled, and electricity flashed all around him. In the next breath, he and Naruto had switched positions.

"Many thanks, little brother Uchiha ," Naruto laughed. He instantly disappeared into the forest. His second true self transformed into a shadow and then vanished.

Uchiha Mu and the enraged old man slammed into each other, causing a huge boom to rattle out. Then they turned their heads in the direction Naruto had disappeared, and killing intent surged. Without another word, they shot after him in pursuit.

Naruto grumbled to himself in irritation, then gritted his teeth and sped onward.

Two hours passed in a flash. In addition to his incredible speed, Naruto also had the Lightning Cauldron. As he flitted through the forest, he sent his divine sense out. The forested area was not small, and although he was being pursued, it was relatively easy for him to make his way freely through the trees.

After a while, he slapped his bag of holding with his right hand, causing the crown-wearing Sun Hai to appear. "I'm from the Church of the Emperor Imm—"

POW!

Naruto slapped him across the side of the face.

Sun Hai's eyes turned red and he glared at Naruto, panting. However, he didn't say anything further. Naruto completely ignored him, and instead looked through Sun Hai's bag of holding, and then patted Sun Hai down. In the end, his eyes went wide.

"You have nothing at all?" he said angrily. "What happened on your way here, did you get robbed or something?" He felt as if he had been fooled into snatching someone who was actually poorer than himself.

Sun Hai's bag of holding had absolutely nothing in it….

Sun Hai wanted to howl with rage. As a Chosen from the Church of the Emperor Immortal, he had come to South Heaven with vast quantities of magical items, and even some very rare items. In fact, some of the magical weapons were specifically useful because of his type of cultivation base, and could push his divine abilities to the peak of their power. However… before meeting Naruto, he actually had been robbed in a very humiliating fashion.

That was one reason why it had been so easy for Naruto to capture him.

"Are all of you people from Planet Ninshu bandits!?" said Sun Hai through gritted teeth, his heart dripping with blood.

Naruto stared in shock. All it took was one question, and Sun Hai revealed the truth. Naruto thought about it, and couldn't recall anyone in the lands of South Heaven who had tried to steal business from him. However, now that a competitor had appeared, he realized he needed to be on guard.

"Well, whatever," Naruto said with a slight sigh. "I guess it's just my bad luck. Now, write up a promissory note!"

"Y-you…. Forget about it! I'm not writing any promissory note!"

"You don't give me any magical items, and you won't write a promissory note?! You useless piece of crap! If it weren't for the fact that I don't want to cause any unnecessary problems for my dad and mom, I would just cut you down!" Glaring, Naruto reached out and grabbed him by the hair, then sealed his mouth and cultivation base, and finally, cast a minor magical spell on him that he had learned in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Then, he sped off, dragging Sun Hai by the hair behind him on the ground….

Sun Hai was trembling. His cultivation base was sealed, as was his mouth. Whatever magical technique it was that Naruto had just used on him caused his sensitivity to pain to increase severalfold, making it so that being dragged across the ground felt like death by a thousand cuts….

Vol. 6 : Chapter 821

Chapter 821 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 821: Mopping Up Li Ling'er!

As he was dragged along, Sun Hai lost consciousness from the pain several times. However, the misery quickly caused him to reawaken. This was a feeling the likes of which he had never experienced before in his entire life.

Were he able to shout, he would definitely scream with incredible bitterness.

Naruto didn't even look at him. He gripped his hair tightly as he dragged him along, intentionally choosing a rough and difficult path to tread. Sun Hai had no choice but to bump along behind him on the ground like a writhing snake.

Soon, darkness began to fall. When everything was pitch black, the bronze lamp above Narutos head suddenly trembled. Naruto stopped in his tracks as he sensed the blood in his body being absorbed by the lamp. His face went pale as the lamp's flame hissed to life.

The flame was dim, but it cast countless shadows in all directions. Someone far away would not be able to see it, but anyone nearby would definitely notice.

Naruto frowned, but after trying everything he could to prevent the light from shining out, and failing, he sighed lightly and proceeded forward with glittering eyes. Instead of leaving the mountain range, he headed deeper in, proceeding along as fast as possible.

Here, there were many more restrictive spells….

Everything was silent. There was wind, but it made absolutely no noise as it brushed across his face. Sun Hai's pain caused him to hover between life and death as Naruto dragged him around for several hours. By now, it was the middle of the night, and as Naruto walked along, he suddenly stopped in place. A sense of deadly crisis rose up, and he turned to find a woman approaching through the trees.

She was incredibly beautiful, and as she walked out from the darkness, she looked as if she were descending from an Immortal paradise. She wore a long gown and had mark on her forehead in the shape of a willow leaf. Everything seemed to fade in comparison to her beauty, as if she were the only thing worth looking at in the world.

"Give me the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion," she said calmly. This was none other than Li Ling'er from Planet North Reed. When she looked over at Naruto, her eyes seemed to be filled with heavenly bodies.

As she walked along, the grass swayed gently and grew taller, and flowers bloomed, as if her aura breathed life into everything around her.

"When Fan Dong'er was around, I didn't notice that you were also really quite pretty," said Naruto, his eyes widening. Li Ling'er was another of the people who had ganged up to attack him earlier, and in the brief interchange with her, he could tell that she was beyond ordinary.

There was something dreadful lurking within her aura, although the only physical thing that drew Narutos attention… was the willow mark on her forehead.

However, what caused his eyes to become like sharp blades was the fact that… there were no Dao Protectors standing next to her.

He clearly remembered that back when she stood outside of the courtyard, she had been followed by Dao Protectors. That there were none with her now indicated that she was extremely self-confident. Apparently there were quite a few other Chosen who possessed such confidence.

Zhao Yifan was the same, as was Hebi Yin. Fan Dong'er was like that, and now this Li Ling'er.

Li Ling'er's expression didn't change at all in response to Narutos words, as if she didn't care about them at all. She continued to walk forward, an intense energy surging out that caused an enormous, shocking tree to appear behind her.

The tree was wizened and withered, and a vine wrapped around it that looked like a flood dragon. The tree itself was pitch-black, but its leaves were emerald-green.

"Are you going to give it to me, or not?" she asked. Her expression seemed calm, but her eyes were filled with arrogant pride as she gazed at Naruto.

Naruto sighed, and then said, "I want to give it to you, but… I'm already married."

His words caused Li Ling'er's jaw to involuntarily drop. Narutos response had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with her actual question.

Even as she gaped in shock, Narutos eyes began to glow brightly. His Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and he shot forward in a flash, clenching his hand into a fist and punching toward Li Ling'er.

Sun Hai had already been tossed off to the side. He was bound up, so all he could do was look on with anticipation as Naruto and Li Ling'er began to fight.

"You aboriginal South Heaven cultivators are incompetent insects," she said coolly. The vine on the huge tree behind her began to glow, and then countless branches shot out, slamming into Narutos Dharma Idol with a boom. At the same time, Narutos punch slammed into a huge leaf which blocked his way.

However, before Li Ling'er's expression could even change, Naruto snorted and then lifted up his left hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. As electricity danced, a scornful smile appeared on Li Ling'er's face.

"You can't get away!" she said. As the words left her mouth, countless branches sprouted up around Sun Hai, completely locking him in place.

"I wasn't planning to run!" he said, almost simultaneously. Electricity flashed, and Naruto and Li Ling'er switched places!

Naruto really hadn't planned to flee, but instead, switched locations with Li Ling'er instead of Sun Hai!

Li Ling'er was shocked, and before she could react, a rumbling echoed out as, in the blink of an eye, she and Naruto switched places seven or eight more times.

The rapid frequency of the transpositioning was something Li Ling'er couldn't deal with. One time was fine, and two could be dealt with. But after the third time, being shuttled back and forth left her feeling as if she would be ripped apart.

Thankfully, Naruto had an incredibly tough fleshly body, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to handle it either.

What caused Li Ling'er's face to fall more than anything else was how Naruto was able to launch attacks even in the middle of switching back and forth. He was able to use his divine abilities exactly as he normally could, but often Li Ling'ers attacks would be interrupted.

BOOOMMMM!

In the blink of an eye, a brilliant light began to shine out from Li Ling'er.

A vine flew out, which transformed into a flood dragon that shot between her and Naruto, tearing a rift into the air itself, pushing them completely apart.

Li Ling'er shot back rapidly, blood spurting out of her mouth. She looked up to glare at Naruto, shocked at the incredible power of his fleshly body.

"Despicable!" she said. However, electricity crackled around Naruto even as the words left her mouth, causing her face to fall.

However, Naruto did not switch positions; he was merely using the dancing lightning to startle her. He punched out again, followed by his Dharma Idol. At the same time, his second true self appeared, and was just about to assist in suppressing Li Ling'er when, shockingly, a Dharma Clone of Li Ling'er stepped out of thin air!

The Dharma Clone immediately began to battle with Narutos second true self.

Booms filled the air, and Naruto roared as he turned into a roc, which flew forward as fast as lightning. Li Ling'er had already been injured, and now she was being forced back bit by bit. Naruto was incredibly ferocious, and his attacks provoked peals thunder and flashes of lightning. There was an aura of invincibility surrounding him that caused Li Ling'er to feel suppressed.

In a short period of time, the space of only a few breaths, they fought back and forth viciously. The Blood Demon Grand Magic reappeared. In response, Li Ling'er clasped her hands together above her, causing her entire body to glow with brilliant emerald-green light that transformed into the shape of a magical bottle which fought back against the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

Naruto transformed from a roc to the form of a Blood Demon head, slammed into the magical bottle, causing it to explode. At the same time, Li Ling'er waved her right hand, causing the image of a vine to materialize, which then slapped into Naruto.

The Blood Demon head shattered, causing blood to ooze from Narutos mouth. However, he didn't retreat in the least. Instead, he charged forward, his fleshly body bursting with intense power. He waved a hand, causing countless enormous mountains to appear one after another. They became a mountain range that forced Li Ling'er to retreat, her heart filled with shock. From what she could tell, Naruto was actually more powerful now than he had been when fighting Fan Dong'er.

In fact, he seemed to be building up his energy!

"He could actually become invincible," she thought. "I can't let him finish building up that energy. Otherwise… this battle will end with my defeat!" Eyes flickering, she backed up, performing a double handed incantation, her expression unprecedentedly solemn.

"World Tree, detonate. Rebuke the Heavens with your spirit. Transform for me! Stifle all the Earth!" As she spoke, she shoved both of her hands out in front of her. A sound could be heard that seemed explosive, and yet at the same time, stifled, like the thump of a heartbeat.

Narutos face flickered. A second sound rang out, then a third, and a fourth. It was at that point, that the huge tree behind Li Ling'er collapsed into pieces, as if it had just passed through countless years of time. The pieces transformed into a three-hundred-meter log that then passed through Li Ling'er to shoot toward Naruto.

Naruto immediately sensed critical danger as the log neared him, as if it were filled with death itself. In that critical moment, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a rock.

It was a golden-colored rock that looked like a sun, which he shoved out toward the incoming log, filling it with all the power of his cultivation base. Even his Dharma Idol faded as he called upon all the power he could muster. A brilliant light exploded out, illuminating everything in the entire area in a way that everyone in the entire mountain range could see.

Something that looked like a burning sun slammed into the log, causing the ground to quake and the heavenly bodies up above to tremble. The log melted, and the stone's light faded away. Blood oozed out of Narutos mouth, and Li Ling'er convulsed violently. Blood sprayed from her mouth, and she retreated backward with an expression of complete disbelief on her face.

"Trying to run away?" said Naruto, eyes flickering with killing intent. "My mom has no maidservant and you'll do just fine!" With that he extended his hand and pointed toward Li Ling'er.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex immediately surged out.

In that instant, Li Ling'er's face fell. All of a sudden, it was as if she had no cultivation base. Although it only lasted for a moment, in the middle of magical battle, a moment could change everything.

She stopped in midair, and Naruto appeared next to her. He was just about to reach out and grab her when a vicious expression appeared on her face. The air behind her flickered as she prepared to once again utilize the same magic she had used moments before.

However, there was no way Naruto would allow that. The Lightning Cauldron appeared, and they once again switched places. Then, again and again, until they had switched places dozens of times!

Even Naruto was having difficulty enduring, and his skin began to split and tear. Li Ling'er was even worse off; she coughed up blood as she sustained serious internal injuries.

Gritting her teeth, she crushed a jade slip, causing ripples to spread out into the air. Clearly, she was just on the verge of teleporting away. Naruto snorted, then lifted his right hand and employed the Star Plucking Magic… to suddenly viciously grab Li Ling'er's firm rear end and drag her back toward him.

Li Ling'er trembled, and her entire body went numb. Goosebumps spread out over her skin as she was pulled back to Naruto. He sealed her cultivation base, and then everything went dark as she was shoved into his bag of holding.

Chapter 821: Mopping Up Li Ling'er!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 822

Chapter 822 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 822: From Now On, Call Me Li'l Hai!

Off to the side, Sun Hai's eyes were wide with astonishment as he watched Naruto tuck Li Ling'er into his bag of holding. The attacks he had seen just now left his scalp tingling.

"This guy's just one of those aboriginal local cultivators, how… how could he be so powerful!?"

Meanwhile, a roar of rage drifted out from some distance off. The voice belonged to Fan Dong'er, who was followed by a large group of people.

Narutos body flickered as he once again put Sun Hai into his bag of holding. His second true self turned into his shadow as he then sped off into the distance.

The burning lamp floating above his head let off a weak light as Naruto proceeded forward. He wiped the blood off of his mouth and then produced some medicinal pills to consume. His eyes shone with a brilliant gleam as a beam of sword Chakra flew down from a nearby mountain peak, where a single silhouette could be seen.

It was Zhao Yifan, who was separated from Naruto by a mountainous valley. The airspace in this area was restricted, so he was incapable of flying directly over. However, his sword Chakra could slice through the air, and its incredible energy caused huge ripples to spread out in all directions as it descended on Naruto. Everyone to whom it was visible found it completely shocking.

Naruto looked up at the incoming sword Chakra , and couldn't help but recall the nine sword forms taught to him by his father. Although the incoming sword was nothing compared to his father's, he could see some clues regarding the Dao of the sword within it.

His eyes shone with a strange gleam as he took a deep breath, then extended his left leg. His body bent like a bow, and in his mind, he could visualize the breathing technique his father had passed down to him. In that instant, multilayered ripples spread out, and the ground seemed to shrink. Naruto himself suddenly seemed to grow rapidly.

As he breathed, it seemed as if all the energy in the entire area were being sucked into him. Popping sounds could be heard as, although his hand did not hold a sword, shockingly… scattered bits of sword Chakra appeared!

Naruto felt like his body was about to explode. He knew that the next movement involved moving his right foot forward, and that it must be executed rapidly along with a powerful gust of wind. Unfortunately, he wasn't capable of executing the movement properly. His body was already at its limit, filled with incredible, and in fact too much, power.

He decided not to go into the second movement, and instead, swept his arm up into the sky like an arrow. Immediately, all the hair on his body stood on end and the incredible energy within him, along with all the power of his cultivation base, exploded out.

Rumbling filled the air as the onlookers saw a shocking sword Chakra on the mountain Naruto stood on. Although it was unfocused, it was still able to surge out and meet the incoming sword Chakra from Zhao Yifan.

Cries of surprise instantly rang out throughout the mountains.

"The Dao of the sword!"

"What?! He's… he's proficient in the Dao of the sword too!?"

"The sword!? Only people with benevolent hearts can cultivate that Dao. This guy is shameless to the extreme! How is it possible for him to utilize the Dao of the sword!?"

Rumbling filled the air as the two beams of sword Chakra slammed into each other. Brilliant, resplendent light flashed in the air, brightening the entire area.

On the mountain opposite Naruto, Zhao Yifan stood there trembling. Although he was not injured, he was excited. His eyes gleamed more than ever with the desire to do battle.

"It's you…. You are the grindstone to polish my sword!"

Tsukino was off in the distance, and when she saw what was happening, her delicate mouth went wide with shock. The more she learned about Naruto, the more enigmatic he seemed to be. In fact, he almost seemed to be completely different than the Naruto she remembered.

"How could he… have changed so much!?" she thought, gasping. It was at this point that Fan Dong'er's enraged voice could be heard echoing off in the distance.

"Naruto, I'm gonna kill you!" she screamed, seemingly on the verge of going mad. The female corpse floated behind her like a shadow. During the day it wasn't so bad. It was frightening, but at least it didn't make any noises….

However, at nighttime…. The corpse's hair would fly about, and its eyes would shine with a strange light. It would begin to weep with choked, horrifying sobs that penetrated deep into Fan Dong'er's soul. When she sat down and mediated, the weeping would wrench her out of her trance.

The Mount Sun Holy Land and the Song Clan especially wanted to kill

Naruto. However, they were worried because he had taken their Young Lords captive, and they weren't sure whether they were alive or dead. Therefore it was with both great anxiety and deadly intent that they pursued Naruto.

The three members of the Namikaze Clan had spread out in different directions to search. Namikaze Donghan was somber, and rarely made any moves in public. In fact, many people actually overlooked him. However, were it not for the inhuman Namikaze Wei, the blazing sun of the Namikaze Clan would actually be Namikaze Donghan.

Namikaze Yunyi saw nothing unusual about Narutos sword qi, and as for Namikaze Xiangshan, she was completely focused on cultivation and didn't pay much attention to the outside world. If it weren't for the fact that the Patriarch had made the request, she would not have come to this place. Therefore, although she didn't have negative feelings toward Naruto, neither did she have a good impression.

However, Namikaze Donghan was currently staring at Naruto disappearing into the mountains, and his mind was buzzing. He… actually recognized that sword move! It was a mysterious Daoist magic recorded in the ancient records of the Namikaze Clan. The Heaven Severing Sword!

In all of the Namikaze clan, the only person who had mastered the Heaven Severing Sword and forged his own Dao, was Namikaze Xiufeng!

"Naruto…. That kid from all those years ago would actually be my older cousin…. He was the oldest grandson of my generation…. His name was Namikaze Hao!

" Namikaze Naruto Naruto…." Namikaze Donghan took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered brightly.

By the time everyone rushed over to the mountain where Naruto had just been seen, he was long gone and nowhere to be found.

However, it didn't take long for the members of the Li Clan to discover that their Holy Daughter Li Ling'er… was missing.

Soon, people from the Church of the Emperor Immortal realized that their Chosen had also vanished….

After double-checking, they came to the conclusion that Li Ling'er and Sun Hai had in fact disappeared. Obviously… the person responsible for this was most likely Naruto!

"Heavens! Taiyang Zi, Song Luodan, Li Ling'ler, and Sun Hai were all captured by Naruto!"

"Don't forget Fan Dong'er. Although she wasn't taken captive, she's actually in a much more bitter position than if she had."

"This Naruto… wishes to defy the Heavens!"

Few words were spoken for the rest of the night. There were many people searching for Naruto, but the mountain range was simply too vast. The various sects and clans even used some secret powers at their disposal, but because they couldn't utilize flight, they were unable to find Naruto, at least temporarily.

Mysteriously, the restriction on the airspace actually did not decrease when the ancient temple disappeared, and actually, grew more intense, and covered an even wider area.

Soon it was dawn. Naruto stood beneath an ancient tree, his eyes gleaming brightly. After resting for a few hours, his energy was completely restored, and he was just about to continue onward when suddenly he decided to slap his bag of holding and take out Li Ling'er and Sun Hai.

Their cultivation bases were sealed, so all Li Ling'er could do was glare at Naruto. Her hair was a mess, and she was grinding her teeth; as of this moment, there was no aloof pride to her whatsoever.

Sun Hai was shivering, and when he saw that Naruto was about to grab him by the hair, he immediately wailed, "I'll write the promissory note!"

He did not dare to oppose Naruto any further. His clothing had long since been torn to shreds, and his flesh had become a mass of scrapes and wounds. After that, he had witnessed Narutos fight with Li Ling'er, and he immediately decided to yield.

"Why didn't you say so earlier!?" said Naruto, smiling happily. He immediately produced a paper and pen and handed it to Sun Hai, who sighed and then began to write down a huge sum. He looked sullenly at Naruto, and then inwardly swore that if he survived this ordeal, he would never forget Narutos face for the rest of his life.

Having taken care of Sun Hai, Naruto next turned to look at Li Ling'er. She stared back at him furiously, causing him to clear his throat.

"Don't look at me that way," he said. "I really am married already, and my wife is way prettier than you." With that, he took a look into Li Ling'er's bag of holding, and instantly, his eyes began to shine brightly.

"You Chosen… are… really stinking rich!" He took a deep breath as he glanced over the vast quantities of spirit stones in the bag of holding. There were also rare medicinal pills and a jade box.

Inside the jade box was a deep-gold shortsword, upon which was affixed a magical talisman.

The pressure it exuded was comparable to the sunstone he had acquired earlier. It was definitely a very precious item!

The sword was something that required advanced preparation to wield; Narutos incredible power had put her in such a bad position during their battle that she'd never had time to focus on using it.

"I really hate to say it, but I'm going to need to take this sword," he said, clearing his throat. Flames seemed to be on the verge of bursting out of Li Ling'er's eyes. Naruto put her bag of holding away, then reached out and put his hand into her robe, and after searching for a while came out with a jade slip and a few other miscellaneous objects.

Off to the side, Sun Hai looked on wide-eyed, feeling a bit envious of Naruto.

Li Ling'er's face went bright red, and her murderous intent and rage burned even harder. Even as Naruto took away all her miscellaneous items, her body suddenly flashed. Shockingly, she still had a bit of cultivation base accessible. She leaned to the side and then reached out toward the bronze lamp. She moved with lightning speed, having waited patiently for this one moment to make her move. As her hand closed in on the lamp, the flame dimmed, as if it were about to be extinguished.

"What a patient little wench," Naruto said coolly. He then lifted his right hand up and spanked her rear end.

A slapping sound rang out, and Li Ling'er let out a miserable squeal. Her entire body went numb, and she crumpled to the ground in pain, completely incapable of reaching out to touch the ancient bronze lamp.

Her face went pale, and cold sweat began to drop down her forehead. Naruto had struck her… far too viciously. In fact, from Sun Hai's vantage point, it was obvious that… Li Ling'er's buttocks were now uneven….

"You've been bad," Naruto said somberly. He lifted his right hand up into the air again, and as Sun Hai looked on in shock….

SMACK!

Sun Hai's mind was now completely blank as he realized that Li Ling'er's rear end… was now even once again.

Li Ling'er was in such pain that tears rolled down her face, and she couldn't see clearly. Somehow, that made her look even more beautiful than before in a way that could cause people to fall in love with her. Naruto looked like he was smiling, but actually, his eyes were completely calm. After everything he had experienced in his life, he wasn't the type of person to be moved easily by those kinds of things.

After thoroughly sealing Li Ling'er, he put her back into his bag of holding and then looked at Sun Hai.

"Let's see, you're Fellow Daoist Sun, right?"

Sun Hai began to shiver when he realized Naruto was staring at him. His heart trembled, and he put a very fawning expression onto his face.

"Elder Brother Naruto, I still haven't introduced myself. In the future, you can just call me Li'l Hai….

"Elder Brother Naruto, you know, as soon as we all caught sight of you for the first time outside the temple, I could tell that you were a dragon amongst men, a Dao child amongst Chosen, a prodigy amongst Dao Children! Your eyes are like two seas of stars, and from the moment I saw you, my esteem for you was burned deep into the recesses of my soul!

"In fact, I, Li'l Hai, could not be more grateful for the painstaking instruction you have provided me with these past few days. That gratitude is etched upon my very heart, filling its every nook and cranny. Every bit of my soul is filled with respect for you, sir!"

Naruto gaped at him.

"Please," Sun Hai repeated somberly, "from now on, call me Li'l Hai!"

Chapter 822: From Now On, Call Me Li'l Hai!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 823

Chapter 823 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 823: Ambush!

Although Naruto had experienced a lifetime of volatile situations, to see Sun Hai from the Church of the Emperor Immortal so quickly change his tone, to put on such a flattering air and to speak such fawning words, caused him to first gape and then sigh emotionally. He suddenly missed the shameful and degenerate meat jelly and parrot.

After Sun Hai finished talking, Naruto cleared his throat. Although he was actually inwardly pleased, he glared solemnly at Sun Hai and said, "Well aren't we glib!? Do you really think I'm the type of person who likes to be flattered!?"

Sun Hai's heart began to pound, and he muttered to himself that things were not looking good. In his entire life, he had only met a few people with personalities as strong as this, and he knew that they were the most difficult of all to deal with. He hesitated for a moment, and then Naruto suddenly sighed.

"However," Naruto said, "considering that everything you said is completely true, I'll forgive you just this once." With that, he grabbed

Sun Hai by the hair and made to toss him back into his bag of holding.

Sun Hai was inwardly outraged. It seemed to him that his hair was on the verge of falling out completely. However, he didn't dare to struggle, and actually put on a thankful expression.

Inside, he was cursing with grief and indignation.

After putting Sun Hai away, Naruto coughed lightly.

"Gratitude etched upon the very heart, filling its every nook and cranny. Every bit of the soul filled with respect. Well said." Naruto looked up into the sky, then flickered into a blur as he headed deeper into the mountains. His expression was the same, but his eyes gleamed coldly as he proceeded along, completely soundless.

"Considering the level of dad's cultivation base, he could have prevented these people from even coming here. This is a trial by fire for me…. Therefore, it won't exceed the limits of what I can handle.

"All those old bastards are actually Immortals. Their cultivation bases definitely exceed the Spirit Realm, but they've obviously sealed themselves…." Narutos eyes glittered as he considered the speculations he could put together with the clues he had.

"They don't dare to unseal themselves… otherwise they would face a complete catastrophe!"

One by one, several days passed.

Naruto would alternate between resting and traveling. When he would encounter pursuers every so often, he would often flee after a bit of fighting. Sometimes he would intentionally show up in order to baffle them and throw off their predictions of where he would be.

More days passed. Eventually, all of the injuries he had sustained during his battle with Li Ling'er were healed. The bronze lamp floating above his head continued to burn. By this point, he was able to vaguely sense traces of Immortal might swirling around inside of it!

That got him very excited, and fueled his determination to endure for

the entire 49 days.

"The end is in sight!" he thought. Taking a deep breath, he once again sped off into the distance.

Three more days passed. It was evening, and Naruto was moving along as usual, when suddenly, he stopped in place, then dashed backward. A ghostly figure was closing in on him, seemingly heading directly toward his forehead.

At the same time, a person approached from off in the distance. Every step he took caused the ground to quake, as if he weren't a person, but rather, some ancient wild beast.

He had no hair, and was incredibly well-built. His body emanated incredible pressure, and his eyes seemed to be filled with glittering stars. Blinding, brilliant light swirled around him.

These were signs that his fleshly body had been cultivated to the peak. This person… was Namikaze Yunyi from the Namikaze Clan!

"Sure enough, I find you here," he said with a proud smile.

"Sure enough?" replied Naruto, his eyes glittering like swords. The words "sure enough" carried a lot of meaning, and this Namikaze Yunyi was not unfamiliar to Naruto. He was one of the three members of the Namikaze Clan that Naruto had taken special notice of back outside the temple.

Naruto had complicated feelings regarding the Namikaze Clan.

"I don't care about your good fortune. What I'm interested in is you yourself!" As he spoke, he rushed forward like the wind, rapidly closing the gap between him and Naruto.

"Join my entourage… or die!" As he spoke, the heavenly bodies in his eyes grew more apparent, and his energy surged up to the pinnacle.

The last word he spoke echoed out like thunder in all directions, causing everything to ripple. Amorphous rifts were torn into the air, and in the blink of an eye, Naruto turned into a tiny rowboat in a raging sea. The intense pressure weighing down seemed as if it would crush him at any moment.

"Screw off!" said Naruto, looking coldly at Namikaze Yunyi. His simple words rang out as shocking as massive peals of thunder, creating a sound wave that shattered the pressure formed by Namikaze Yunyi's invisible energy

"Looking to die?!" Namikaze Yunyi said with a cold laugh. He took a step forward, clenched his right hand into a fist, and then punched out with the energy of a fleshly body that exceeded peak Dao Seeking. Massive power exploded out. Furthermore, a huge, illusory Dharma Idol appeared behind him. It was blurry, making it difficult to clearly make out what exactly it was, but it was clearly humanoid.

Narutos eyes grew colder, and he said nothing further. He strode forward, and the power of his own fleshly body exploded out as he punched out with his right fist, meeting Namikaze Yunyi's attack directly.

A rumbling boom echoed out as Naruto transformed into a roc. The Mountain Consuming Incantation became numerous mountains that linked together into a mountain range that swept across the area. Namikaze Yunyi's face flickered, and in the blink of an eye, nearly a hundred exchanges had occurred.

Booms rang out, and the air was ripped to pieces. Finally, they both separated. Namikaze Yunyi's face was pale, and he was unable to prevent the blood from oozing out of the corners of this mouth.

Narutos expression was the same as ever as he prepared to leave.

"Stop annoying me!" he said.

Namikaze Yunyi's eyes were bloodshot, and blue veins bulged on his neck and face.

"Heaven Sundering!" he suddenly roared. Rumbling filled the air as the blurry image of the Dharma Idol behind him suddenly became clear.

Shockingly, it was a two-headed giant!

The giant emanated an archaic aura, as if the Dharma Idol itself had originated in ancient times, and had traveled through time to appear here. The two heads tilted back and a shocking, soundless roar filled the air. At the same time, Namikaze Yunyi's energy shifted and became completely different than before.

It now possessed a shocking savagery!

He roared again as he shot forward, aiming another punch directly at Naruto.

Narutos pupils constricted from the sense of grave crisis he felt from Namikaze Yunyi. His expression was solemn as his own Dharma Idol appeared, an equally shocking giant whose appearance caused everything to tremble. Naruto clenched his hand into a fist as he moved to intercept Namikaze Yunyi.

Even as the two of them closed in on each other, the sound of wailing filled the air as a figure appeared, shooting like lightning toward Naruto.

In addition to the wails of grief, the figure howled shrilly, "Naruto!"

The voice was filled with boundless hatred, and its owner was a woman. It was none other than Fan Dong'er, and the wailing did not come from her, but rather… Inky, who was only a few inches behind her.

At the same time, two more figures neared. They were older cultivators, one from Mount Sun and the other from the Li Clan. From the method of their arrival, it seemed as if they knew Naruto would appear here.

Rumble!

As the three newcomers neared, Namikaze Yunyi's mouth twisted into a derisive smile. Although he looked crude and impetuous, he was actually very capable of crafty scheming. His right fist opened up into a palm that moved to grab hold of Narutos fist. He was convinced that all he had to do was delay Naruto for a few breaths of time, and he would be defeated.

At this critical juncture, Narutos eyes flickered. His right index finger pointed out as the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed. Demonic Chakra swept about, and Namikaze Yunyi trembled. His face fell as he realized he was suddenly completely locked in place.

Next, Naruto touched the tips of his five fingers together to form the shape of a mountain. A vicious expression could be seen on his face as his hand stabbed directly into Namikaze Yunyi's palm.

At the same time, his Dharma Idol roared as it slammed into Namikaze Yunyi's Dharma Idol up in midair.

Rumbling filled the air as mountains crumbled. Blood sprayed out of

Namikaze Yunyi's mouth. Shock filled his face, but before he could retreat, Naruto turned into a roc that slammed into his chest. A cracking sound could be heard, and Namikaze Yunyi's face fell. It felt like a star was slamming into him. Even as his breastbone shattered, Naruto unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic, which began to suck away at Namikaze Yunyi. At the same time, his second true self emerged and shot toward Fan Dong'er.

Naruto was now borrowing the strength of Namikaze Yunyi's fleshly body to replenish himself. At the same time, he endured the powerful incoming attacks from the two old cultivators.

A shocking boom could be heard, and Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. Namikaze Yunyi let out a miserable shriek as his body withered up. He was just on the verge of passing into death when Naruto tossed him into his bag of holding and then began to speed off into the distance.

The Lightning Cauldron appeared, crackling with electricity. He was just on the verge of using its powers when suddenly, a beam of starlight appeared. The electricity was snuffed out, and Narutos Form Displacement Transposition failed!

Shockingly, Fan Dong'er held a chunk of starstone in her hand, which radiated glittering starlight.

It was in that moment that a shocking beam of sword Chakra shot down from up ahead, heading directly toward Naruto. That was none other than Zhao Yifan.

"So, somebody figured out that I would pass by this way, and… they set up an ambush!" Were Naruto unable to put the pieces of this puzzle together, he would never have been able to rise to prominence in the lands of South Heaven.

The flame in the bronze lamp above his head was still burning, but was much weaker than before. It looked like it might wink out at any moment. Furthermore, Naruto was in a very difficult position. Not only was everyone attacking him all at once, but at this time he was also the more seriously injured than he had been this entire time.

There was sword Chakra blocking his path forward, which came from Zhao

Yifan, who stood there looking like a sword Immortal. Behind him was Fan Dong'er, who was tangling with his second true self. Her eyes radiated killing intent, and the sea of stars surrounding her surged toward Naruto to smash him.

On the left and right respectively were the two old cultivators. Their faces were cold and grim, and their sealed cultivation bases gave them power similar to false immortals.

Naruto was surrounded on all sides, and was the target of a deadly attack that would surely kill him!

Starlight filled the area, restricting the airspace completely and sealing his surroundings.

At the same time, Hebi Yin from the Hebi Clan sat cross-legged on a nearby mountaintop, surrounded by boundless, swirling Karma that made it difficult to make out his appearance.

However, his eyes obviously glowed with merciless coldness, piercing

out through the layers of Karma to look… at the bronze oil lamp hanging over Narutos head.

"That lamp… does not exist within Karma," he murmured. An unprecedented burning fervor gradually appeared within the coldness of his eyes.

"The main reason I came to the lands of South Heaven was because I could sense through Karma that there was an object here clearly connected to me by destiny!

"This Naruto is extraordinary, but that destiny… belongs to me!"

Chapter 823: Ambush

Vol. 6 : Chapter 824

Chapter 824 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 824: Wrecking the Ambush

It was a deadly ambush. Naruto didn't even have the time to try and take Li Ling'er and the others out of his bag of holding to use as hostages. Power bore down on him from all sides, and in any case, Fan Dong'er and Zhao Yifan wouldn't withhold from attacking him because of hostages.

In the time it takes a spark to fly up from a piece of flint, a threatening, cold gleam appeared in Narutos eyes, and he stopped in place. He took a deep breath and then extended his right hand, within which was the sunstone he had acquired. Boundless blinding heat waves instantly exploded out in all directions.

Rumbling could be heard, and everything distorted as ripples spread out. The two old Dao Protectors stopped in their tracks, and Zhao Yifan's eyes exuded a penetrating glow. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into the shape of a greatsword that slashed down toward Naruto.

At the same time, starlight from Fan Dong'er's starstone shot out to resist Narutos sunstone.

A mere sunstone was in no way capable of doing anything to stop the combined attack of four experts. All it could do was make them pause for a moment. However, Naruto used that moment of time to spin around and transform into a prismatic beam of light that shot toward Fan Dong'er.

He moved with incredible speed, and as he closed in, his Dharma Idol appeared and attacked. In the blink of an eye, he exchanged several moves with Fan Dong'er. Naruto was shaken, and blood even spilled out of his mouth, but he did not back up. A vicious gleam appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly swung his leg in a kick that screamed through the air like a cyclone. A series of booms echoed out, and Fan Dong'er's face fell. Naruto felt completely different to her than he had before; now he attacked relentlessly, consumed with boundless, bloody fiendishness.

Fan Dong'er performed a double-handed incantation, and an enormous conch shell appeared behind her. As the susurrating droning sound of the conch filled the air, Naruto produced his beast claw. The image of a black cat materialized, and a piercing screech filled the air as it slashed toward Fan Dong'er.

A snapping sound could be heard as the image of the black cat was destroyed. However, the conch also trembled and then exploded. Fan Dong'er gave a cold snort, performed another double handed incantation gesture, and pushed forward. The shattered pieces of the conch then swirled together into a cyclone that shot toward Naruto.

Fan Dong'er herself backed up rapidly, then faced off against Narutos second true self.

Narutos expression became even more vicious. Behind him was Zhao Yifan's monstrous sword Qi. The two old Dao Protector's killing intent was even more intense than before as they sped toward him. The ripples of power from Narutos sunstone were now incapable of restraining them in any way.

Naruto shouted as he relied on the strength of his extraordinary fleshly body to slam head first into the incoming cyclone of conch shell fragments. He became a golden roc that moved with lightning-like speed as he smashed through the cyclone. He came out the other side slashed and bleeding, and before Zhao Yifan or the two Dao Protectors could get near, was speeding in pursuit of Fan Dong'er!

Fan Dong'er's face fell. She had never imagined that Naruto could be so vicious. In their previous encounter, she had taken him to be shameless, and nothing more. But in this fight, she could sense an unprecedented level of savagery on his person.

Such savagery wasn't something most people could possess. It was something earned from events that ordinary people couldn't experience, and that gave rise to incredible power.

Narutos eyes flickered with killing intent. The golden roc's wings spread as it swept toward Fan Dong'er. Rumbling filled the air as she hastily made a counterattack. A boom rattled out, and blood sprayed from Fan Dong'er's mouth. She instantly fell into retreat, her eyes filled with hatred as she crushed the starstone she held in her hand!

The stone shattered, causing boundless starlight to spread out and envelop Naruto. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was rendered motionless.

Because of that pause, the incoming sword Chakra from Zhao Yifan… slashed down onto Naruto.

He trembled as the attack slashed a huge bloody gash down his back, revealing the bones within. Were it not for his powerful fleshly body, and the ripples of the sunstone causing everything in the area to be weakened, that sword would have completely cut Naruto in half!

Blood sprayed out of Narutos mouth. In the same moment in which he was slashed by the sword, the two old Dao Protectors closed in from either side. Divine abilities and magical techniques slammed directly into Naruto.

A huge boom filled the air, and more blood sprayed out of Narutos mouth. Thankfully, he was well prepared; a mountain range materialized around him, along with the Black White Pearls. The sunstone was weakened, but Naruto was not dead. However, he was sent spinning like a kite with its string cut. He flew through the air and then slammed into the ground some distance off. He struggled to his feet, coughing up more blood.

"DIE!" cried Fan Dong'er, flickering as she charged toward him. A divine sea appeared around her, within which were countless roaring sea dragons that sped toward Naruto.

Zhao Yifan's expression was calm, albeit slightly disappointed. As for the two old Dao Protectors, they approached Naruto with cold smiles, clearly intent on cutting him down.

Narutos vision was swimming, and the bronze lamp over his head was dim, and seemed to be on the verge of being extinguished. When he saw that, Naruto suddenly smiled coldly.

"Second true self…. Devilish will, return!" When his words rang out, the sky and the land began to rumble. The air twisted as his second true self closed his eyes. Immediately, black mist began to pour out of his nose, ears and mouth.

Shockingly, it transformed into an enormous head which radiated an indescribable murderous desire as it shot forward. This was Narutos Devil Construct, formed from the murderous desire that had led him to kill countless enemies.

Back when he stepped into Dao Seeking, he had severed it, then fused it into his second true self, having believed that he would never need it again. The Devilish will could make him even more powerful, although the consequences would be immense!

It was even possible that it might influence him on a psychological level. In this critical moment, though, it was without hesitation that he took a deep breath, causing the boundless black mist to shoot toward him.

It moved with incredible speed, merging into him in the blink of an eye. Instantly, black veins appeared all over his skin. At the same time, an unprecedented murderous aura exploded out from him.

This was the aura of a Devil!

This was an aura of murder!

This was Narutos previous pinnacle!

Countless evil spirits suddenly surrounded Naruto, ferocious and savage as they emitted soundless howls. These were the ghosts of all the people Naruto had slaughtered.

The entire area suddenly became incredibly cold, and filled with fluttering black snowflakes.

Narutos hair whipped around him as his energy rocketed up. A cold mercilessness appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly gave off the feeling that he was a god of death!

Fan Dong'er started trembling, and her eyes went wide with disbelief.

"Who is this guy?" she thought. "For such a murderous aura to appear all of a sudden, means… just how many people has he killed? Only a powerful expert who has climbed mountains of corpses and swam through seas of blood could have a Devilish, murderous aura like that!" Zhao Yifan's eyes once again began to shine brightly.

The two old Dao Protectors stared in shock, but it was without hesitation that they charged toward Naruto, their killing intent even stronger than before.

As they closed in, Naruto suddenly looked up. Then, he started laughing. A Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex appeared, causing the vegetation and trees in the area to wither. Even the ground began to crack and split.

Narutos energy was still soaring upward, and as his four enemies closed in on him, he rose to his feet and took a step forward. He extended his right hand and used the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex at full power.

RUMBLE!

The Eighth Hex coalesced all of the murderous aura and Devilish will inside of him. Explosive power caused everything to shake as invisible Demonic Chakra caused the four other cultivators to instantly stop in place.

Naruto took another step, and was then standing in front of Fan Dong'er. He raised his right hand and punched Fan Dong'er in the stomach, causing blood to spray from her mouth. Cracking sounds could be heard as three separate jade slips on her person were shattered, as if they took her place in passing away into death.

Narutos face was cold and merciless as his right hand suddenly snaked out to latch onto Fan Dong'er's arm. He violently wrenched down, and a ripping sound could be heard as Fan Dong'er, her eyes filled with determination, allowed her arm to be ripped off as she herself shot backward at top speed. Naruto looked at her coldly, but didn't pursue. Instead, his body flickered, and he appeared in front of Zhao Yifan. Another punch was sent out, and Zhao Yifan was sent tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth.

At that moment, Naruto raised his hand, holding the sunstone aloft.

"Shatter!" he said, his voice raspy. The sunstone shuddered and then exploded, causing a wave of intense heat to billow out in all directions, instantly enveloping Zhao Yifan.

Zhao Yifan's entire body burst into flames, and he let out a muffled grunt, then sped backward at top speed, blood spraying from his mouth.

At the same time, Naruto delivered a third punch. This punch landed on Li Ling'er's Dao Protector. Backed by the full power of the Devilish will, his blow caused the old man to cough up blood. He instantly sagged weakly, his expression one of astonishment.

As of this moment, it appeared as if Naruto had borrowed the power of the Devil Construct to temporarily break past the peak power of the Spirit Realm.

He did not land a fourth blow, as his vision had begun to swim. He could recall his Devilish will, but if too much time passed, the effects would be irreversible. It was at this moment that, all of a sudden, a figure appeared off in the distance.

"Stay away!" cried Fan Dong'er, her facial expression flickering. The most important aspect of their ambush had been to restrict Narutos ability to use his Lightning Cauldron. In addition to using the starstone to suppress it, it was also important that there be nobody in the area that he could switch places with.

This was something that everyone understood, and also why only four people were attacking him, while everyone else waited off in the distance, out of Narutos field of view.

As soon as the approaching figure heard Fan Dong'er's words, it sped backward at top speed. However, Narutos eyes flickered as he looked at the figure off in the distance; suddenly, the Lightning Cauldron appeared in his hand. Electricity danced, and Naruto used Form Displacement Transposition on the distant figure.

The instant they switched places, Naruto heard a voice speaking in his ear.

"Elder Brother Naruto, Hebi Yin is the one who figured out that you would pass by here."

Naruto ignored the voice, almost as if he hadn't even heard the words being spoken. His eyes were dark, and he almost didn't seem to be conscious. However, an almost undetectable flicker could be seen in his eyes when he realized that the person he had switched locations with was none other than Namikaze Donghan!

After switching places with him, Naruto was free of the ambush.

Electricity danced around him as he looked toward the crowds of shocked people off in the distance.

He quickly found another target to switch places with. As long as he could see someone, he could switch places, and would not find himself locked down in an ambush like he had been.

Because of the repeated use of Form Displacement Transposition, his body was on the verge of collapse, and his Eternal stratum was hard at work. However, because it was still recovering from its earlier depletion, it was unable to provide its previous high-speed regeneration until it had fully been restored. And that, would require time.

Chapter 824: Wrecking the Ambush

Vol. 6 : Chapter 825

Chapter 825 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 825: Tsukino Pays Her Debt!

Unfortunately, time was a luxury that Naruto did not have!

He was surrounded by Chosen and Dao Protectors from the various clans and sects of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Virtually all were present, and even though he could use Form Displacement Transposition, he still had his limits.

Furthermore, the Chosen and Dao Protectors had now recovered from being stunned at Narutos escape from their ambush and were once again racing to catch up to him.

Narutos face was pale as he sped along, pursued by Uchiha Mu and some other Chosen. Gradually, more and more figures began to gather in pursuit around him. Although Naruto couldn't actually see any of them, he could sense them, and knew that there were many.

The one-armed Fan Dong'er was clearly visible behind him giving chase, although Zhao Yifan was nowhere to be seen.

Naruto could also see the Namikaze clan's Namikaze Xiangshan in the crowd.

From the look of things, a grand battle was about to break out. However, it was at this point that a huge boom rang out. The ground beneath Narutos feet quaked, and massive fissures spread out as a mountain peak up ahead of Naruto collapsed into pieces.

As it exploded, a huge beam of majestic light shot out from the ruins of the mountain. It appeared to be some sort of precious treasure manifesting itself, and it immediately attracted the attention of all of Narutos pursuers.

At the same time, the ground seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. A huge depression appeared as an enormous yellow loach suddenly exploded out of the ground that was nearly a thousand meters long. Actually, it was not one, but a total of nine that appeared.

In an instant, the situation on the battlefield had completely changed.

"A Demon Loach!"

"How could there be a Demon Loach in this place!?"

"Dammit! Aren't Demon Loaches native to Planet North Reed!?"

The entire area was thrown into an uproar as the nine Demon Loaches roared onto the scene. The ground quaked, and all of a sudden, an urgent voice transmitted into Narutos mind.

"Naruto, head toward the third Demon Loach!"

Because of the voice, Naruto awoke somewhat from his previously hazy mental state. He looked over at the third Demon Loach, and then instantly began to speed toward it. As he neared it, the enormous Demon Loach opened its mouth and swallowed him up, then dove back down toward the ground.

People on ground-level in the area began to call out, and several attempted to block the diving loach. However, it was at this point that the rest of the Demon Loaches spontaneously exploded. Massive booms rattled out over the land. At the same time, the bright light shining from the mountain reached a pinnacle of intensity, covering all the land until no one could see anything except the light.

Eventually, the light got so bright that it turned into blackness!

As for Naruto, everything went dark after being swallowed by the Demon Loach. However, he could feel that the creature was moving along at high speed, so he sat down cross-legged and rotated his cultivation base. He quickly began to exorcise the Demonic will, then consumed large quantities of medicinal pills to begin his healing process.

Naruto had been quite seriously injured in the battle just now. However, throughout his life, he had been seriously injured on many occasions, so from beginning to end, he was calm inside.

Time passed. A few days later, the Demon Loach finally stopped moving, and instead sank downward into the earth. Narutos eyes opened, and he saw that there were three people with him inside of the Demon Loach's tunnel-like body.

The person in the lead position was a woman wearing a veil. It was impossible to see her features clearly, but her eyes were beautiful, and from that it was possible to tell that the woman herself was stunning.

Standing on either side of her were two old women, both of whom were ancient, with faces covered with wrinkles. They seemed to have seen many years between them, and their eyes were dim. Of course, within that dimness was hidden storm-like violence.

Naruto looked at the woman and calmly said, "We haven't seen each other for years."

The woman was none other than Tsukino!

One of the old women standing next to Tsukino coolly said, "The kindness you showed to the Demon Immortal Sect has been paid back to you by us two this day. Our Demon Loach has already taken you away

from the the deadly ambush set for you by Hebi Yin."

The woman glanced at the bronze lamp above Narutos head, then looked away and said nothing further. She, along with the other Dao Protector, sat down cross-legged.

Tsukino stepped forward to stand in front of Naruto. After looking him over for a moment, she covered her mouth with her hand and laughed.

Despite the fact that her face was covered by a veil, her laughter was sweet and attractive.

"Like I said, the Demon Immortal Sect was deeply in your debt," she said. She extended her right hand toward Naruto, within which was a jade bottle. "This is a medicinal pill, an ancient medicine from the Demon Immortal Sect. It should heal your wounds rapidly."

Naruto didn't respond, nor was he surprised by any of this. The urgent voice he had heard transmitted into his mind earlier had belonged to her.

He took the jade bottle and opened it up. There was a red medicinal pill inside, which, based on his skill in the Dao of alchemy, he could instantly tell was extraordinary. After a moment of consideration, he picked up the medicinal pill, examined it closely, then swallowed it.

"You're not afraid?" Tsukino asked suddenly.

"There is nobody in the lands of South Heaven who can harm me," Naruto said calmly.

"Oh? What about that deadly ambush just now?"

"I was tempering myself through training. If there was really a chance that I was going to die, things would have changed." With that, he closed his eyes, which caused the two old women to open their own eyes and look at him.

The pill contained no poison, and as soon as he consumed it, it transformed into a warm current that flowed through his body. The injury on his back immediately healed up, and black mist slowly seeped out of the palm of his right hand.

A few days passed, and by the time Naruto opened his eyes again, his hand was filled with a black mist that was the Devil Construct, which was now completely forced out of his body.

Having expelled the Devil Construct, Naruto felt his heart pounding in trepidation. The danger he had faced in this incident was not the threat to his life, but rather, the influence of the Devilish will. Although the Devil Construct could give him access to incredible power, he had to pay a steep price for that.

Now that the Devil Construct was taken care of, Narutos injuries were nearly completely recovered.

"Thank you," he said to the two seated old women, and Tsukino.

Tsukino looked at the Devil Construct in Narutos hand, thought for a moment, and then looked at Naruto.

"Ji Yin sealed your second true self and took him away.

Narutos eyes glittered coldly.

"That's fine," he replied. "I'll just have to go get him back." With that, he rose to his feet, clasped hands, and bowed deeply to Tsukino and the two old women. "Many thanks to you."

"There's no need to be so polite," replied Tsukino. "We were simply repaying you for the favor from that year." The two old women merely looked deeply at Naruto.

Tsukino smiled. Seeing that Naruto wished to depart, she waved her hand, causing a spinning vortex to appear behind him. Within the vortex could be seen the mountain range in the outside world.

"Regardless, I will remember what you have done for me this day," said Naruto. He bowed again, then gave Tsukino one final look. Tsukino couldn't prevent her heart from quivering a bit as she recalled everything that had happened back in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

Naruto turned and walked toward the portal.

"I heard you got married. Is it true?" asked Tsukino.

Naruto stopped walking.

"It's true."

"Congratulations," Tsukino said with the same calm smile as ever. "Oh, there's one other bit of news that I wanted to tell you. It won't be long now before something big happens in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The Three Great Daoist Societies will be hosting a disciple recruitment event, which will be supported by the Five Great Holy Lands, and the Three Churches and Six Sects!

"This sort of thing happens every so often, and when the time comes, any cultivator in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who is above the Nascent Soul stage and below the Immortal Realm may participate.

"Some people do it in the hopes of joining a sect. Others do it for the precious treasures that are prepared as rewards for the momentous occasion!"

Narutos eyes filled with a look of concentration. After a moment of thought, he nodded his head and then walked into the vortex, whereupon he vanished.

Silence reigned inside the Demon Loach. The two old women's eyes flickered as they exchanged a hesitant glance.

"He did me a great favor," said Tsukino calmly.

The two old women nodded.

"Oh well. He appeared to be injured, but he is obviously as cautious as ever. A Chosen like him would definitely have other tricks up his sleeve.

"Besides, after he woke up, he appeared to be confident in having someone to back him. Now that I think about it, that makes sense, especially considering he was able to get into the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple before everyone else."

Naruto left the Demon Loach via the vortex, emerging beneath an evening sky. A tongue of flame appeared in the bronze lamp above his head, which caused Naruto to breathe a sigh of relief.

The lamp was still unextinguished, and if Narutos calculations were correct, there were only four more days left of the 49 day period.

"Four days…." he thought, a cold gleam appearing in his eyes.

"In four days, the good fortune of the bronze lamp will be completed. When that happens, I won't have anything holding me back from making all of these people pay the price for coming here!" He snorted coldly and then disappeared as he flashed off into the distance.

The first thing he did was find a suitable place to act as a hidden Immortal's cave. He sat down cross-legged to meditate and wait for time to pass.

As the days went by, the situation in the outside world reached a frenzy. In the boundless mountain range, numerous Chosen and Dao Protectors had spread out in all directions in their search for Naruto.

They had set up sealing spells all over the mountains to ensure that Naruto couldn't flee. They literally did everything in their power to find traces of him.

The battle that had resulted from the ambush made it so that none of his pursuers looked down on him any more. In fact, to them, he was now viewed as the cream of the crop when it came to the Chosen.

After all, any other Chosen who ended up trapped in an ambush like he had been, would surely have been killed!

In contrast, Naruto had seriously injured Zhao Yifan, severed Fan Dong'er's limb, and severely hurt a Dao Protector. During the process, he himself had been seriously injured, and yet had managed to escape from the ambush.

Although quite a few people could tell that he had received aid in the end, his reputation was still rapidly growing!

One could imagine how, after all these people left Planet Ninshu, they would spread word of Narutos escapades throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

He had suppressed Taiyang Zi, sealed Song Luodan, captured Li Ling'er and crushed Sun Hai and Namikaze Yunyi.

Because of him, Fan Dong'er was transformed from being a Goddess into a woman haunted by a ghost, and had also lost a limb. Zhao Yifan was seriously injured, and had retreated from battle. He had injured a Dao Protector, and evaded the search of roughly a thousand people for days. All of that… was enough to leave any Chosen completely shaken.

As of this point, Narutos tempering was complete.

And yet… he wasn't satisfied!

"The end is almost here!"

The four day period was over. As the search continued in the outside world, Narutos eyes opened, and were filled with anticipation regarding the bronze lamp.

Chapter 825: Tsukino Pays Her Debt!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 826

Chapter 826: ! 1

This day was the 49th day Naruto had kept the bronze lamp alight!

This day was the last day!

It was currently nighttime, and the moon wasn't visible. The entire mountain range was swathed in pitch black, without the slightest bit of light anywhere.

The only light in the entire land… was in Narutos Immortal cave… from that flickering flame.

The bronze lamp burned with Narutos blood, creating an Immortal flame that had flickered to the very end.

Naruto was staring at the bronze lamp, waiting. He had experienced much carnage to reach this point, and now… the moment was here.

"Keep the lamp burning for 49 days," he murmured, "and then, in the moment that it's extinguished, it will form an Immortal meridian inside me!

"Gain enlightenment about that Immortal meridian, and my path… will be the path of ancient times!" By this point, the Chosen and Dao Protectors of the various sects and clans had sensed that something strange was going on.

A pressure had gradually arisen that weighed down on the entire mountain range. At the same time, the restrictions on the airspace… had suddenly been loosened.

Gradually, a sensation of imminent crisis could be sensed.

Ji Yin stood atop a mountain, looking at the surrounding lands. Karma swirled around him, making it impossible for anyone to see him clearly. However, his eyes shone with intense light.

"Dammit… this Karma wasn't supposed to be his!" Hebi Yin abruptly vanished, transformed into countless strands of light that merged into the mountain range. This was a unique search method that he hoped would be able to locate Naruto.

The other Chosen in the mountain range used various other methods to try to track him down. This was especially true of Fan Dong'er. Her arm had been recovered by this point, but having been thwarted twice by Naruto, her pride had suffered nearly irrecoverably.

"Only by defeating him can I confirm my Dao heart!" she thought, her eyes gleaming with killing intent.

Namikaze Donghan was sitting quietly off in another location, watching everything play out, a smile on his face. His actions earlier had made him the subject of suspicion, but he didn't care.

" Namikaze Naruto Naruto…. Interesting. I can't wait until he runs into Namikaze Wei."

Uchiha Mu's face was grim. He felt that he was always a step too slow to catch Naruto. Every time they crossed paths, he hadn't had the chance to truly engage him in combat. Currently, he sat with his right hand placed onto the ground in front of him. He closed his eyes, and his face went slack as he employed a secret technique. His soul was now merged into the land as he used his divine sense to search for Naruto.

Most anxious of all were the cultivators from Mount Sun, the Song Clan, the Li Clan, and the Church of the Emperor Immortal. Their Chosen had been captured by Naruto, which was a complete humiliation. Glum expressions could be see on their Dao Protectors' faces as they carried out their search.

"Dammit, if our cultivation bases weren't sealed, then Naruto would never dare to be so arrogant!"

"He's dead! Once we find him, he'll be dead without a doubt!"

Everyone was looking for Naruto, and gradually, the search perimeter grew smaller. Everyone was getting closer to Naruto and his Immortal's cave.

Nighttime… began to turn into dawn!

The bronze lamp's flame suddenly grew incredibly intense. It became a torch that illuminated the entire Immortal's cave. In fact, the light seeped out through the walls of the cave… to shine brightly in the outside world.

Naruto trembled as his blood suddenly began to flow in reverse. He started to bleed from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth, drops of which flew up and merged into the flame, causing it to burn even brighter.

Rumble!

The entire mountain range was shaking, and a roaring sound filled it as incredible pressure radiated out. Many of the cultivators began to tremble, and were forced by the incredible pressure to sit down crosslegged and begin meditating.

RUMBLE!

A second roaring sound rose up. At the same time, Narutos

Immortal's cave began to melt as a burning light rose up into the sky.

The ground was quaking even more severely, almost as if giants were running across it, and the intense pressure increased exponentially. On one particular mountain, countless Karma threads suddenly appeared, which then merged together into the shape of a person. It was Hebi Yin, and blood was oozing out of his mouth.

He had no choice but to immediately sit down cross-legged and fight back with all the power he could muster.

As for Uchiha Mu, blood sprayed out of his mouth and he immediately began to meditate. Fan Dong'er and all the other Chosen were shaken and forced to meditate.

Next, a third roaring sound filled the air, and without exception, all of the Dao Protectors in the mountain range coughed up blood and sat down in meditation.

The mountains were trembling, and what seemed like a never-ending vortex appeared up above. Massive roaring sounds shook Heaven and Earth, and it was even possible to see the shape of the land changing!

Outside the mountains, in the Eastern Lands, Narutos father and mother hovered in mid-air with Shui Dongliu, staring off at the mountains. A strange light could be seen gleaming in Shui Dongliu's eyes.

"The moment in which fate is changed!"

In the Milky Way Sea, the old man sat cross-legged on the ship. He slowly opened his eyes and looked toward the mountain range.

Back in the mountain range, in the location previously occupied by the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, there was only a crater. However, at this moment, a figure slowly coalesced in the middle of that crater.

It was an old man wearing a dilapidated gray robe, and he was looking off in Narutos direction.

RUMBLE!

A fourth sound spread out, and this time it was filled with power that could tear open the sky. The blackness of night changed as the vast sky above the mountain range distorted, and then became a starry sky, seemingly that of ancient times.

Up in that starry sky, blurry figures could be seen, speeding along. There were numerous true dragons and mighty Immortal beasts, one after another.

A fifth sound echoed out. The land quaked, and countless mountains vanished as a Daoist rite temple suddenly appeared!

This was the real Daoist rite temple, with countless figures seated crosslegged in meditation. A towering pillar could be seen, seated atop which was an old man, giving a sermon on the Dao. Astonishingly, on top of his head… was a bronze oil lamp!

The flames emitted green smoke that rose up into the sky and, as the man flicked his sleeve, the smoke… transformed into a huge character.

'Immortal!'

In response to the materialization of the character, all of the figures in the Daoist rite temple began to prostrate themselves toward the old man. The stars in the sky dimmed, and countless figures up above began to kowtow.

In that instant, the sun and moon stopped shining, and even the stars bowed their heads. All living things knelt in worship, and it seemed as if all creation were bowing down!

It was then that the sixth roaring sound blasted out. Boundless dazzling flames surrounded Naruto, sending an indescribably brilliant light shining out in all directions.

All of the cultivators in the entire mountain range could now see Naruto as he slowly rose up into the air, surrounded by boundless light.

He was cross-legged, and shockingly, a bronze lamp could be seen above his head!

He looked almost exactly like the old man!

That was especially the case… when Naruto, bathed in light, rose up to superimpose over the image of the old man. Everyone was completely shocked.

Narutos mind was blank, and his body was currently withering. All of the blood in his veins poured into the bronze lamp, which then began to burn with the final vestiges of his life force.

From the onlookers' perspective, Naruto was now replacing that old man!

All of the figures who were bowed in worship were no longer worshipping the old man, but rather, Naruto! The sun and moon trembled, and the stars went dim. All of the dragons and other Immortal beasts kowtowed in worship.

Everyone was prostrated in worship, even the almighty beings who plucked stars, the enormous giant who shouldered the starry sky, even Heaven and the Earth!

It was in this moment that a seventh roaring sound could be heard!

It filled all of the lands of South Heaven, almost like the tolling of a bell.

It did not pass out of Planet Ninshu, and yet… in the other Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple on the Ninth Mountain, the temple where incense still burned and its legacy still existed, the tolling of the bell could be heard, and countless Immortal figures appeared, astonishing everyone on the Ninth Mountain!

At the same time, back in the lands of South Heaven, in midair above the mountain range, the bronze lamp on Narutos head… faded away completely in response to the seventh roaring sound!

The flame was extinguished, but light still spread out!

A wisp of green smoke rose up above the bronze lamp, a smoke that seemed to embody a great Dao. In the moment that it appeared, it transformed into the character 'Immortal!'

A single character made up of green smoke, causing the minds of all onlookers to reel.

Next, the 'Immortal' character once again dissipated into green smoke, which then rushed toward Naruto. It poured in through his nose, mouth, and ears, then circulated through his body, linking together to become… an illusory meridian!

It was… an Immortal meridian!

The moment the Immortal meridian appeared, Naruto felt a tremor run through his body. Everything in his body felt as if it were changing. His bones, his flesh, his blood. All of it was completely transforming.

Rumbling filled the air, as if an Immortal were being born inside of him. His energy surged, and the sky and land darkened.

His Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and his cultivation base experienced an astonishing transformation!

Fifty percent of a true Immortal!

Sixty percent of a true Immortal!

Seventy percent of a true Immortal!

Eighty percent of a true Immortal!

Narutos cultivation base rose in shocking fashion, and his Immortal Chakra grew more intense. His flesh and blood were reaching the pinnacle of power!

As he sat there cross-legged, he looked almost exactly like an Immortal!

The Immortal meridian was complete, and the path to Immortality was open!

He did not need some true Immortal destiny that appeared once every

10,000 years! He did not need some Immortality Illumination Vine! Narutos Immortality was completely his own. He… would tread his own path of true Immortality!

He was not a true Immortal yet. However, based on the path he was treading, once that illusory Immortal meridian became true and complete… then he would, beyond a doubt, be a true Immortal!

When the day came that he opened 100 meridians, because he had this extra Immortal meridian, he would have more Immortal meridians than others. He would be… a 101-meridian Immortal!

When it came to those 100 meridians, whether you had 1 extra or 10,000 extra, they were all extra. Thus… having 1 extra was the same as having 10,000, which was the same as having 100,000,000, which was the same as having an infinite amount!

Everything rumbled as Narutos eyes snapped open. The brilliant light that filled the world suddenly faded, and Narutos voice filled the entire mountain range.

"Fan Dong'er. Hebi Yin. Zhao Yifan. Who of you… will fight me!?"

Yes, the title of this chapter is a mere exclamation point. Either it was intentional, or maybe Er Gen accidentally hit the delete key at the wrong point. He doesn't tend to go back to fix mistakes… Join the contest to come up with good title by leaving your idea in the comments. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 827

Chapter 827: Never Too Late for Revenge!

Narutos voice echoed out through the vast expanse of the sky. He hovered in midair, filled with power that held all under Heaven in contempt. A brilliant light surrounded him, and the Dharma Idol behind him did not look illusory in any way. Furthermore, he emanated pulses of Immortal might!

That… was a pressure that exceeded that of a false Immortal!

That… was eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal!

He hovered cross-legged in midair, looking every bit like an Immortal. His eyes appeared to contain stars, and his voice was awe-inspiring as it echoed through the lands like thunder.

Wild colors flashed in the sky, and the wind screamed. The cultivators in the surrounding rugged mountains could only watch, their minds filled with roaring. This was especially true of the three whose names Naruto had called out. Their minds were filled with panic and shock.

Fan Dong'er's face had completely fallen, and she was panting as she stared at Naruto. Her heart was in tumult, and her face was a mass of disbelief.

"True Immortal might! He actually has true Immortal might!"

Furthest away of the three was Zhao Yifan, who stood on a far off mountain, his face pale. He had suffered severe injuries, and had had no choice but to withdraw from this struggle for good fortune. Now, he gazed silently at Naruto hovering in midair, and began to breathe heavily. The desire to fight burned in his eyes, but his pupils constricted, and it was easy to see that inwardly, he was anything but calm.

The last person who Naruto called out was Hebi Yin. He sat cross-legged on another mountaintop, looking at Naruto, face expressionless but hands clenched tightly at his side.

The entire mountain range was completely silent except for the sound of Narutos voice echoing about. Countless Chosen and innumerable Dao Protectors looked on with trembling minds.

It was in this moment that the restriction on the airspace… suddenly vanished!

It was as if the restriction on the airspace had been in place only in preparation for good fortune to appear within Naruto.

"I'll fight you!" someone bellowed. A figure flew out from the mountains, a young man with eyebrows like swords and eyes like stars. It was none other than Uchiha Mu!

When he flew out, his fighting spirit burned brightly, and his heart was filled with rage. None of the three names Naruto had called out were his, which he took to be a personal humiliation.

As he flew, he performed a double-handed incantation, calling the wind and summoning the rain. Everything trembled as it all transformed into black dragons that roared as they shot toward Naruto.

Naruto looked over coldly at the incoming Uchiha Mu. As he neared, Naruto waved his hand to unleash the Star Plucking Magic!

Backed by Narutos eighty-percent true Immortal cultivation base, the Star Plucking Magic caused everything to grow dark as an enormous hand appeared and shot toward Uchiha Mu.

Rumbling filled the air, and Uchiha Mu let out a shout, extended his hand and pointed out with his index finger. An incredible power exploded out that caused the descending, illusory hand to suddenly stop in place.

Uchiha Mu chuckled coldly and continued to charge toward Naruto. He performed another incantation gesture and then pointed toward Naruto. A will of extermination exploded out, turning into a shocking energy that seemed to contain infinite destructive power. 1

Before that power could even get near, Naruto took a step forward, appearing directly in front of Uchiha Mu, whereupon his hand slapped out with incredible speed. Uchiha Mu's face filled with shock as Naruto completely ignored his extermination attack, and in fact, allowed it to land on him. At the same time, his slap connected with Uchiha Mu.

A boom rang out and Uchiha Mu gave a muffled grunt. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he tumbled backward. A manic look appeared on his face, and he was just about to charge back into the fight when Naruto snorted and transformed into a golden roc.

The golden roc spread its wings, causing golden light to explode out. Then the roc disappeared as it transformed into a golden beam that shot toward Uchiha Mu. Numerous mountains appeared, which linked together into a mountain range that also slammed down toward Uchiha Mu.

Incredible rumbling sounds rose up. Uchiha Mu roared angrily and struggled with all of his might, but Naruto spun toward him like a tornado. Suddenly, a blood colored glow ignited and bashed into Uchiha Mu's shoulder.

A cracking sound rang out as Uchiha Mu's right shoulder was shattered. Intense pain filled him, and a cold sweat instantly broke out all over his body. In the blink of an eye, he began to wither up, and yet, he gritted his teeth, clearly not willing to give up the fight.

"Screw off!" said Naruto, punching Uchiha Mu in the middle of his stomach with eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal. Blood showered out of Uchiha Mu's mouth, and his entire body trembled. Naruto grabbed Uchiha Mu's bag of holding as Uchiha Mu himself shot like a meteor down to the ground, where he slammed into the earth. He coughed up more blood, and his mind was filled with anxiety. He was completely shocked by the level of Narutos power.

All of the surrounding cultivators looking on gasped. The Chosen's eyes were wide, and the Dao Protectors were watching with serious expressions.

"He's almost a true Immortal!"

"He got all of the good fortune of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite

Temple! Dammit!"

As the onlookers' expressions flickered, Naruto gave a cold snort and then swept his gaze across the crowds until he found the Dao Protectors from Mount Sun and the Li Clan. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he looked at the two men.

Their faces fell as Naruto extended his right hand, within which was the Lightning Cauldron. Electricity danced as Naruto suddenly switched positions with someone standing near the Li Clan Dao Protector. As soon as he appeared, he stamped his right foot viciously onto the ground. A boom rattled out, and the ground was shattered. A blood-colored vortex sprang up, and just as the old man was about to flee, Naruto pointed out with his right index finger.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed, and the old man's face fell. He instantly froze in place, and Naruto closed in. Naruto had an incredible fleshly body, and eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, all of which he poured into three powerful punches that slammed into the old man in quick succession.

Blood sprayed from the old man's mouth, and his face went pale. Roaring, he performed an incantation gesture, causing a divine ability to appear. An enormous magical bottle materialized in midair; it radiated boundless energy that instantly surged to envelop Naruto.

Narutos Dharma Idol roared, which caused everything in the area to shake. Ripples spread out, and the magical bottle distorted. Even as the old man's face began to fall, Narutos Dharma Idol punched out.

Booms echoed out as Naruto and the old man fought back and forth in midair. The Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared, a swirling blood-red vortex that turned into a Blood Demon head that viciously headbutted the old man.

Blood spurted out of the old man's mouth, and his body withered rapidly. He fell back, his expression one of astonishment and ferocity. At this point, he prepared to unseal his cultivation base, only to be shocked to find… that he couldn't!

"What…?" The old man's face flickered as Naruto once again turned into a huge golden roc. Blinding golden light flickered as he shot toward the old man with indescribable speed. The onlookers only heard a miserable shriek. When the golden light finally faded away, they could see that the old man's head had completely exploded into pieces.

Naruto took his bag of holding, and before the old man's Nascent Divinity could escape, had his Dharma Idol grab him and pop him into its mouth.

An air of ferocity filled the area, and gasps could be heard in all directions. Narutos body flickered as he next moved toward the Mount Sun Dao Protector. It was time to collect interest from the debts incurred by those who had ambushed him earlier.

The Mount Sun Dao Protector's face flickered, and he shot backward, attempting to unseal his cultivation base. Then, his face completely fell when he also realized… that he couldn't unseal it!

His scalp went numb and he fled as fast as possible.

"Fellow Daoists!" he screamed miserably, "join forces with me to kill this bastard!"

Immediately, four or five people flew forward, clearly intent on blocking Narutos path. However, it was at this point that electricity danced, and Naruto used Form Displacement Transposition to appear directly in front of the old man from Mount Sun. His expression was cold, and his eyes flickered with killing intent as he raised his right hand. The Blood Demon Grand Magic spun, a massive vortex that instantly enveloped the old Dao Protector.

Rumbling filled the air, mixed with the old man's bloodcurdling screams. Naruto and the old man were inside the vortex for only a few breaths of time before the four or five interlopers arrived and launched divine abilities. The blood-colored vortex faded, and Narutos body flickered and reappeared off in the distance. As for the old man from Mount Sun, he was nothing more than a skeleton.

All of his flesh and blood, his cultivation base and soul, had been absorbed!

"Kill him!"

"Join forces to wipe him out!"

"He's on the verge of true Immortality! Refine his body and we might be able to concoct a True Immortality Pill!" Seven or eight people flew out, including several Chosen and Dao Protectors. After joining forces with the people who had just attacked, they made a force of more than a dozen that transformed into beams of prismatic light that charged toward Naruto.

Another group of about ten people approached from another direction.

There were others who looked on with flickering eyes. They had to admit that Naruto was powerful, but he was only one person. In their minds, that wasn't enough to shake all of them together.

Dozens of people closed in on Naruto, who hovered there in midair. Just as they were about to launch their deadly attacks, Naruto laughed coldly. The image of his father's first sword form appeared in his mind as he took a deep breath, bent his body like a bow and raised his right hand.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared to become like a black hole, sucking in all of the power of Heaven and Earth. Sword Chakra appeared, and as the people closed in, Narutos hand suddenly chopped downward.

An astonishing beam of sword Chakra exploded out, slashing about in all directions. Rumbling filled the air, and the dozens of attackers shot backward, faces filled with shock. There were even two or three who were directly slashed by the sword Chakra and then shattered to pieces, leaving behind only bloodcurdling screams.

Naruto used this slight pause to again utilize the Lightning Cauldron, and Form Displacement Transposition to… close in on Fan Dong'er!

"Fan Dong'er, you wanted to kill me, right? Well, here I am!"

Fan Dong'er's face fell. As of this moment, Narutos power made him virtually invincible. There was no way for anyone to stand in his way. So far, Fan Dong'er had lost an arm and been seriously injured. Although she had recovered some, the process wasn't complete, and she knew that there was no way she could win against Naruto. Her face fell as she retreated backward.

As soon as she started backing up, Naruto became a golden roc that shot toward her with incredible speed. Golden light filled the air, and he was upon her in the blink of an eye.

From a distance, everyone could see the beautiful Fan Dong'er, her hair in disarray, facing up against a gigantic, golden roc, which extended its claws viciously toward her.

Many of the surrounding Chosen greatly admired Fan Dong'er, so when they saw what was happening, their faces fell. There were even seven or eight who immediately flew out toward Naruto.

"Naruto, you're pushing things too far!" cried Fan Dong'er miserably.

"Who cares!" replied Naruto coolly. The golden roc closed in.

We are in a slightly odd situation here because Renegade Immortal precedes ISSTH in terms of when it was written, and yet a lot more of ISSTH has been translated. The following information contains what could be considered some minor spoilers in terms of Renegade Immortal, but I think it's important to impart this information. Any

Chinese reader who was a fan of Renegade Immortal and then read

ISSTH would probably notice the following points. Both the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch and Uchiha Mu have now used this ability of "calling the wind and summoning the rain." If you want to check previous times it was used by the Patriarch, go to chapter 630, 647, and 679. Long story short, Uchiha Lin, MC of Renegade Immortal, frequently used an ability "calling the wind and summoning the rain." Furthermore, in chapter 645, the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch mentions "three finger attacks" created by the ancestor of the Uchiha Clan, one of which was the "Extermination Finger." Not only does that seem to be the same attack Uchiha Mu is using here, guess what… Uchiha Lin frequently used a move called "Extermination Finger," the exact same Chinese characters. Obviously, there was a lot of speculation during these parts of the story by Chinese readers, linking the Uchiha Clan of this story, with Uchiha Lin of that story

Vol. 6 : Chapter 828

Chapter 828 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 828: Invincible!

Fan Dong'er's pupils shrank into tiny dots, and she shot backward, simultaneously performing a double-handed incantation. Instantly, a boundless sea appeared behind her, made up of endless heavenly bodies, even suns and moons.

"Nine Seas God World!" she cried. In response, the huge sea behind her grew exponentially in size. In the blink of an eye, it had covered the entire area. Next, the heavenly bodies inside of it all began to shoot toward Naruto.

At the same time, the eight Chosen closed in on him.

"Without a face, a single word, flames of war unify!" As Naruto transformed into a golden roc and shot forward, he began to change color. He was now bright red. The Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared around him, forming a massive vortex.

The vortex then turned into a face that emanated shocking, bloodcolored ripples that spread out in all directions. The incoming group of Chosen were instantly affected. Then, the face opened its mouth and cried a soundless cry, immediately shaking their minds.

Instantly, smoke began to seep out from the tops of their heads, rising up as if from the flames of war! Shocking rumbling filled the air.

Suddenly, their blood began to flow backward, and then their bodies began to fall apart. In the blink of an eye, they were covered with masses of blood and gore. Faces filled with astonishment, they coughed up blood and were forced to retreat.

"Sundered clouds, a bloody rain, seas that cover the sky!" Naruto transformed into a huge, crimson roc that shot toward Fan Dong'er and the Ninth Sea. As they barreled toward each other, sundered clouds appeared up above, and bloody rain fell, which transformed into a sea of blood! Shockingly, two massive seas were now visible in the sky up above.

One was the Ninth Sea, and the other was a sea of blood. Above the Ninth Sea, Goddess Fan Dong'er glowed with boundless light. In the sea of blood, Narutos Dharma Idol stood like a shocking giant. The two slammed into each other, and a massive boom echoed out.

The sky shook, and the land quaked and began to split. Everyone fell back, shocked by what they were seeing.

As the two seas collided, Narutos roc form shot directly toward Fan Dong'er and viciously raked out at her with sharp claws.

Rumble!

Fan Dong'er performed a double-handed incantation. Nine sea dragons materialized around her and roared as they moved to block Naruto. However, sea dragons are not really dragons, only enormous serpents. The golden roc's vicious claws ripped them to shreds. Their miserable shrieks were still echoing in the air when Naruto finally reached Fan Dong'er.

Sharp claws slashed at her, and blood sprayed from her mouth. She fell back yet again, her hair in disarray. Glaring at Naruto, she performed a double-handed incantation that caused the conch shell to appear again. Even as she began to unleash her divine ability, Naruto and his Dharma Idol roared, and he rotated his cultivation base to full power.

Shocking rumbling filled the area, and the sky went dim. The sound from the conch… was unexpectedly suppressed, and began to tremble violently. Fan Dong'er coughed up another mouthful of blood.

At the same moment in which she began to retreat, Narutos right hand extended in the Star Plucking Magic.

Fan Dong'er's face fell once again, and she waved her hand, causing countless illusory, sensuous mermaids to fill the area. It took only a moment for them to organize into a huge formation that moved to block Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly, and a bright, bloody glow rose up into the air. The Blood Demon Grand Magic was unleashed at full power. In the blink of an eye, a blood-colored vortex appeared, fully three hundred meters wide. However, as Naruto surged forward, all that could be seen was a gigantic Blood Demon head that directly headbutted the mermaid spell formation.

The resulting boom filled the entire mountain range. The spell formation collapsed, and the mermaids withered away. Narutos Blood Demon head vanished, but he pressed forward, his body shining with bloody light. A fist descended, and a huge boom rattled out. Fan Dong'er retreated again, blood spurting from her mouth, her face filled with astonishment.

This version of Naruto left everyone feeling shocked to the extreme. Narutos momentum was impossible to stop!

"Die!" he said, slashing his hand toward Fan Dong'er's neck. Just when it seemed to be on the verge of making contact, Fan Dong'er let out a miserable shriek. Her body began to twist and distort as she transformed into a blue flood dragon. Her mouth opened wide as she shot forward to swallow up the golden roc.

There was a boom, and the flood dragon collapsed. Narutos golden roc also shuddered and vanished, revealed Naruto himself.

Fan Dong'er took advantage of this opportunity to use a secret magic. Her body suddenly experienced a rapid weakening in exchange for a burst of speed that put her far off in the distance. Then she waved her hand, causing the blue bracelet on her wrist to fly out. It shattered in midair, forming a wall of fragments that resembled heavenly bodies. It was as if the two areas she and Naruto occupied were now completely separated by a huge divide.

Fan Dong'er glared at Naruto in a way that seemed to suggest she was committing his facial features to memory.

"We will meet again," she said through gritted teeth. "Next time, I'm going to kill you!" She performed a double-handed incantation, after which, rumbling could be heard as a huge door began to coalesce behind her.

That door lead directly to the Nine Seas God World!

Killing intent flickered in Narutos eyes, and he was just about to tear apart the divide composed of heavenly bodies when the seven or eight Chosen who worshipped Fan Dong'er moved to block his way.

They shot forward with incredible speed, immediately unleashing divine abilities. The images of a true dragon and a flaming phoenix appeared, as well as a vicious golden tiger. One of the Chosen waved his hand to produce 1-meter-long giant ants; more than a thousand of them filled the sky as they moved to block Naruto.

"There's not going to be a next time!" said Naruto, snorting coldly. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Behind him, his Dharma Idol began to shrink down in size and then superimposed itself over his body.

In that instant, the Immortal Chakra inside of him suddenly exploded out. In that instant, he was the Dharma Idol, and the Dharma Idol was him!

The eight people closing in on him were instantly shaken inwardly. An intense sense of deadly crisis filled their hearts, and they were suddenly overwhelmed with the sensation that Naruto was too dangerous to even get close to.

As their faces fell, Naruto began to stride forward. The air vibrated, and the two Chosen nearest Naruto fell back in astonishment, blood spraying from their mouths. He didn't even attack them. The mere rise in his energy injured them, causing their terror toward him to climb even higher.

All of these people gasped and looked at Naruto in shock. Their bodies stopped in place, and they didn't dare to move forward even an inch. Everyone in the area was now beginning to back up, fully aware of how powerful Naruto was.

Even Fan Dong'er's face completely fell.

Naruto took his first step forward, and the illusory Immortal meridian inside of him rotated and began to emanate scintillating light that swirled around Naruto. His second step took him through the air and completely into the divide. His body trembled a bit as he passed into it, and yet, he was able to take a third step!

At that moment, countless gasps could be heard from the surrounding cultivators.

"He fused with his Dharma Idol! That's something only people in the Immortal Realm can do! He's not in the Immortal Realm, though he's immeasurably close to it, and yet he can still successfully fuse with it!" "Is he really a cultivator from the lands of South Heaven…?"

"This Naruto is just too powerful! If he doesn't perish in this battle, then he'll become completely famous in the Ninth Mountain!"

All of the exclamations came when Naruto took his third step. When that step fell, the divide began to vibrate; clearly he was just about to emerge from within it.

By this point, the huge door behind Fan Dong'er was now fully visible.

The door began to open, and Fan Dong'er let out a quiet sigh. She gave Naruto one final cold glance, and then turned to enter the huge door.

"Inky!" Naruto suddenly said.

As soon as his voice rang out from the divide, the listless eyes of the corpse that followed Fan Dong'er suddenly flickered. Long strands of black hair floated out and began to wrap around her.

Fan Dong'er's face filled with panic and shock, and she nearly coughed up a mouthful of blood. Just when she was about to step into the door, rumbling filled the air. Naruto had taken his fourth step, and emerged from within the divide. In that instant, his Immortal Chakra was in full circulation, and he stretched his hand out in a claw-like gesture toward Fan Dong'er, who screamed shrilly.

Fan Dong'er was already halfway through the invisible door, and just about to vanish. Naruto frowned. He could sense an incredible feeling of peril from beyond the door, and yet didn't hesitate. He unleashed the Star Plucking Magic, and a gigantic, illusory hand appeared. Just in the moment when Fan Dong'er was about to disappear…. the giant hand grabbed her by the hair.

The hand yanked back viciously. In that moment, a muffled grunt could be heard from Fan Dong'er. She vanished, and the illusory door disappeared amidst a rumbling boom. Naruto was left with only a handful of hair, the roots dripping with blood, which caused his expression to darken.

Naruto looked at the hair for a moment and then thought back to one of the magical techniques he had learned in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. It was a cursing magic, which he immediately unleashed, causing the hair in his hand to burn with green flames. Then, he blew out the flames and performed an incantation, which resulted in a single black hair materializing in front of him. He quickly put the strand of hair away. He now had a powerful weapon to use next time he encountered Fan Dong'er.

Everything was silent. All eyes were on Naruto, and no one was speaking. As far as the Chosen were concerned, Naruto was incredibly intimidating. Furthermore, because the Dao Protectors were unable to loosen the seals on their cultivation bases… they were no match for him either.

The shock was especially intense among the people who had fought with Naruto before. All of them began to edge back, hearts filled with astonishment. Narutos gaze swept across the crowd until they finally came to rest on Hebi Yin, who was still sitting cross-legged on the distant mountain peak.

From start to finish, Hebi Yin hadn't moved from that mountain, and had watched Naruto achieve eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, as well as his apparent invincibility.

"Ji Yin, you took something that belongs to me," Naruto said calmly.

"Are you really sure you want to sow Karma between us?"

"You also took something that belongs me," Hebi Yin replied slowly, looking over at Naruto.

Narutos eyes flickered with coldness as he transformed into a roc that surged with Immortal qi. He flew into the air and shot directly toward Hebi Yin.

He moved with incredible speed, surrounded by a glow of blood. This was not a golden roc, this was a crimson roc!

"Taking care of you will be simple!" said Naruto as he closed in. The words were simple, but they contained a profoundly domineering air. Anyone who heard them felt shock in their hearts.

It must be said that although Hebi Yin had met defeat when struggling to become Dao Child of the Hebi Clan, he was still a Hebi Clan Chosen!

And the Hebi Clan… ruled the Ninth Mountain!

"Laughable!" said Hebi Yin coolly.

Chapter 828: Invincible!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 829

Chapter 829: Severing Versus Hexing!

The words echoed out, and Hebi Yin's eyes flickered. As Naruto bore down on him, he slowly lifted his right hand and pointed toward Naruto.

Ripples immediately appeared around him as two black fish materialized, which then twisted back and forth as they sped toward Naruto.

As they neared, Naruto let out a cold snort. He waved his right hand, causing eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal to surge out. It transformed into a shocking sound which shattered the air in all directions and then transformed into a blood-colored vortex. The vortex was like a giant mouth that directly swallowed up the two fish.

In that instant, however, the fish leaped upward. Shockingly, they transformed in midair into two black dragons, which roared as they proceeded onward toward Naruto. Naruto snorted again and punched out. A mountain range appeared, which then rumbled through the air to crush down onto the two black dragons.

A boom rattled out as the black dragons crumbled to pieces. However, there were two black strands of light that were apparently impossible to blot out. They instantly formed a sealing mark on Narutos palm, and then began to sink into his flesh. In that moment, everyone who knew Naruto suddenly felt their minds tremble, as if there were some amorphous force interacting with the Karma that existed between him and them.

A serious expression filled Narutos face, but a cold smile could be seen on his lips. He advanced, as if he didn't even notice the fluctuations in the Karma. He appeared in front of Hebi Yin and raised his right hand, within which could be seen a blood-colored vortex. He shoved his hand toward Hebi Yin.

Ji Yin's expression was the same as ever. However, his eyes flickered, and all of the Karma that surrounded him surged, transforming into countless illusory images behind him. These were all the people who he remembered, or who remembered him.

Shockingly, one of those figures was Naruto.

All of the figures had Karma Threads attached to them, which then exploded with energy. It was as if Naruto was now fighting back against all of them at the same time.

Rumbling filled the air and nearby mountain peaks crumbled. Naruto and Hebi Yin rose up into the air, and in the blink of an eye they had exchanged over a hundred moves.

The Blood Demon rumbled out, and Hebi Yin frowned. However, he didn't retreat. The Karma attached to him glittered, and then spread out to lock down the entire area. The glow of the confinement magic fought back against the Blood Demon, and was not affected in the slightest by the gravitational force it emitted.

Ji Yin waved his right hand again, then performed an incantation. Then he pointed at the countless figures behind him, and the one that belonged to Naruto began to tremble, and then coughed up blood.

Narutos face flickered, and he felt a stabbing pain in his chest. However, his eyes flickered, and he forced himself to take another step forward. As he raised his hand, Countless mountain ranges appeared, including the Ninth Mountain, which then crushed down toward Hebi Yin.

Rumbling filled the air as Narutos Blood Demon head smashed forward. Wild colors flashed in the sky, and Hebi Yin was forced into retreat. An incantation gesture flashed in his hand, and the boundless Karma that surrounded him began to spread out and transform into threads that shot toward Naruto.

"When it comes to the Dao of Karma, you must not let yourself be contaminated. If you do, an accounting must eventually be made!" As Hebi Yin spoke, the Karma Threads began to entwine around Naruto. As of this moment, Narutos mind was trembling, and he was secretly shocked. Seeing the Karma Threads threatening to bind him up, he threw his head back and roared. Immediately, his body began to expand, as if his Dharma Idol were struggling to break free from the boundless Karma.

"Karmic Severing!" said Hebi Yin, his eyes glinting coldly. Gazing steadily at Naruto, he lifted his right hand up into the air and then chopped it down.

As he uttered the words, the entire sky, all the lands, the whole world suddenly went deathly silent. It was as if all the natural laws had changed, or were influenced. Time almost seemed to stand still.

Absolutely everything went completely silent.

Naruto was locked down tight in midair. And yet, he still managed to lift his right hand and point toward Hebi Yin.

Although he said nothing, the power of the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, Karmic Hexing, was being unleashed.

One was the power of Karmic Severing, the other was the power of Karmic Hexing!

In Karmic Severing, the Karma Threads are severed, and life becomes death!

In Karmic Hexing, Karma is restrained. The more Karma one has, the more powerful the effects!

The Karma that swirled around Hebi Yin seemed terrifying, but from Narutos perspective, he was the perfect target for Karmic Hexing!

As he was rooted there in place, countless flickering threads of numerous shades and hues of color began to emerge from within Naruto. These threads were all of Narutos Karma.

They started out as a solid clump, which then spread out in all directions. Some of the Karma Threads were connected to nearby cultivators, but most spread out over the vast lands of South Heaven.

"I have been shrouded by the Dao of Karma since I was young," said Hebi Yin. "I will not sever all of your Karma, only one thread. However, that will mean that you can never step into the Immortal Realm." Although his voice was calm, he was actually quite apprehensive about Naruto. That was why, when he finally attacked, he did so with his most powerful Daoist magic!

He gestured slightly with his hand, and Narutos Karma seemed to ripple as if someone was flipping through them like they were pages of a book, then begin to rapidly connect to Hebi Yin's Karma.

The scene that was playing out in front of the nearby cultivators caused the expressions of even the Chosen to fill with shock.

"So this is the power of the Hebi Clan…."

"The Dao of Karma is something nobody under Heaven can fight back against. According to the legends, Lord Hebi used the Dao of Karma to place the Heavens over Lord Li!"

"No wonder this Hebi Yin was able to contend for the spot of Dao Child. I heard that there was something bizarre about his birth, that he had Karma on him from the moment he appeared in the world. Supposedly, his skill in the Dao of Karma is incredible."

"Naruto… is definitely dead!"

However, in the instant in which Hebi Yin was browsing through Narutos Karma, his face suddenly flickered with disbelief. Although no observer could see it, all of the Karma that surrounded him was suddenly thrown into chaos.

Then, Narutos karma threads began to separate. Not just one, but all of them. Shocking rumbling sounds filled the air as the Karma Threads joining the two of them began to pull apart from each other.

At the same time, the Karma Threads connecting him and Naruto began to snap one after another. Each thread emitted shocking booms as they snapped, and the Karmic connection between the two was rapidly broken!

At the same time, the Karma Threads around Naruto slowly began to grow dim, and he was no longer locked in place, but could move normally. He hovered there in midair, staring impassively at Hebi Yin.

As for Hebi Yin, he was trembling, and his face was filled with disbelief. His Karma threads were in complete disorder, and rumbling sounds pulsed out from them. It almost seemed like countless screams were echoing out.

His Karma threads spread out in all directions, causing the air around Hebi Yin to ripple. Then the Karma threads began to merge together. Brilliant light would burst out every time one collided with another.

Ji Yin was trembling. It was at this point that one of his Karma Threads drooped down onto him and bored into him like a sealing mark, the power of which then spread out to every corner of his body. After that, another Karma Thread descended onto him, bored into him, and vanished. Then another. And another.

As more and more of the Karma Threads vanished, Hebi Yin's appearance was finally becoming visible.

The onlookers were shocked at this development, and were unsure of what exactly was happening. Moments ago, Hebi Yin had clearly been unleashing the Hebi Clan's Karmic Severing. And yet a moment later, Hebi Yin was suddenly in a losing position.

All of it happened in the space of a few breaths of time. Now, people were able to see Hebi Yin's facial features for the first time ever. As soon as people's eyes fell onto Hebi Yin, the sound of gasps could be heard, and eyes went wide.

What they saw was the face of a young woman, beautiful, with pale skin. On her forehead could be seen an image depicting a pair of fish, and her entire person exuded an air of sickly beauty.

She… was Hebi Yin!

Even in the Hebi Clan, very few people knew that Hebi Yin was a woman!

Everyone looked on silently as Hebi Yin was revealed. She trembled as she sensed her cultivation base fading away. The Karma that she herself had cultivated was now not even under her own control. It was as if some astonishing power were interfering with it, allowing her opponent to use it to lock her down!

"This is impossible…." she thought, her mind reeling. In the entire time that she had cultivated Karma, she had never encountered a situation like this before. It left her feeling… completely terrified!

"You…." Her face was pale as she looked at Naruto. At this moment, the last of her Karma threads bored into her body, becoming a portion of what was sealing her.

As of now, everyone could clearly see that she was a young woman wearing a long black robe. The paleness of her face was a sharp contrast to the darkness of her robe, and for some reason, the contrast made her seem incredibly fragile.

"How are you doing this?" she asked.

Narutos expression was placid, his eyes cold as he stepped forward.

He stood before Hebi Yin, who now had no cultivation base, and was incapable of any struggle. He reached out, grabbed her, and threw her into his bag of holding.

As of that moment, everyone was filled with utter shock. As they looked at Naruto, they wondered what unfathomable secrets he carried.

The onlookers didn't really understand what had just occurred in the battle; only Naruto and Hebi Yin were aware of the frightening truth. Naruto had fallen victim to the Hebi Clan's Karmic Severing before, and knew how terrifying it would have been if Hebi Yin had succeeded.

As for his Karmic Hexing, it was the bane of those who pursued the Dao of Karma. The more Karma someone had, the more powerful its hexing effects, which made it especially shocking when used against the Hebi Clan. It was at this point that a voice rang out from the crowd.

"Kill him! As long as he lives, he retains all the good fortune! He can't be allowed to remain alive!

"He already captured Taiyang Zi, Li Ling'er, Sun Hai, Namikaze Yunyi, and Song Luodan. Now he has Hebi Yin! This guy's set a record for creating calamities! He's definitely going to end up dead!

"He must die! He might be strong, but he's only one person!

"He can fight back against the Dao of Karma, which means he's definitely hiding some precious treasure! It's probably good fortune from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple!" As the voice drifted through the area, it was obvious that this person was trying to stir up the crowd to attack Naruto.

People's eyes began to flicker in response to the voice. How could they not understand what this person's intentions were? After all, his argument made sense.

Even as their hearts began to surge, killing intent flickered in Naruto

Hao's eyes. The Lightning Cauldron danced with electricity, and Naruto vanished. When he reappeared, shockingly, he was standing directly next to a man wearing a wide bamboo hat.

Narutos sudden appearance caused the man's face to fall. This, of course, was the person who had just spoken. He tried to retreat backward, but Naruto was too fast. He burst out with eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, causing rumbling to fill the air as he punched out seven times in quick succession. The young man in the wide bamboo hat was crushed as easily as dried weeds, and exploded into a haze of blood.

Naruto took his bamboo hat and bag of holding, then turned to face the dozens of figures who were currently bearing down on him. Behind them were hundreds of other cultivators, all flying toward him to attack together.

"You shouldn't be in such a hurry to attack me," Naruto said cooly. "Starting from now, and lasting until the time you leave the lands of South Heaven… we're going to play a little game!

"A game of cat and mouse!" His body flickered as he used Form

Displacement Transposition to suddenly appear far off in the distance. Earlier, he had escaped an ambush with only fifty percent of the power of a true Immortal. Now that he had eighty, if he wanted to leave this place, there was nobody who could stop him.

When everyone in the area heard his words, their minds filled with shock.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 830

Chapter 830: Evacuation!

Naruto transformed into a beam of prismatic light that shot off into the distance. Hundreds of people trailed behind him in pursuit, but as of now, most had cultivation bases that didn't compare to his at all, and the others were incapable of releasing the seals that would make them his match. Furthermore, Naruto had the Heaven-defying Lightning Cauldron and its Form Displacement Transposition. Therefore, it only took a few hours for him to completely lose any pursuers.

The hundreds of people who remained behind fell silent. After a while, some of them just decided to give up; they immediately flew up into the air to leave Planet Ninshu. However, there were still quite a few who weren't willing to give in so easily.

This was especially true of the sects and clans whose Young Lords and Ladies had been captured by Naruto. They obviously could not leave, and had no choice but to join together to search for Naruto.

By this point, they didn't care about the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple's good fortune at all. It had all been acquired by Naruto.

Therefore, it was easy to imagine how, once everyone left Planet Ninshu, it wouldn't take long before Narutos name was spread throughout the Ninth Mountain.

Naruto now sped along silently through the mountains, wearing a wide bamboo hat. The hat was actually quite miraculous; after putting it on, his aura was completely concealed, making him completely unfathomable. He could even use the hat to change his appearance.

If that were all there was to it, it wouldn't be a big deal, and the item could be considered as useless as chicken bones. After all, even after changing his appearance and hiding his aura, any intelligent person who had seen him take the hat would know it was him as soon as they saw the hat itself.

However… the bamboo hat had another function. After putting it on his head, the music of a great Dao surrounded him. Although it wasn't very clear, he felt incredibly tranquil once the music entered his ears.

Naruto felt that it wasn't a bad item, so he put it on as he began to rifle through the bags of holding he had acquired. Uchiha Mu's bag of holding had quite a few miscellaneous objects in it that caused Narutos eyes to shine. The Dao Protectors' bags were also filled to the brim.

"Rich! These Chosen from outside South Heaven are all totally rich!" His eyes shone as brightly as two suns. After quickly putting the bags of holding away, his body flickered as he sped onward.

Two hours later, a boom echoed out, and the ground quaked. An enraged roar could be heard, along with a bloodcurdling scream. The source of the commotion was a group from one of the Three Sects and Six Churches, the Church of the Blood Orchid. Only moments before, Naruto had suddenly appeared and attacked them. He didn't kill anyone, but did beat them to a pulp until they were seriously injured, and then took their bags of holding.

Even as he made to leave, he scanned the bags of holding belonging to the Chosen of the Church of the Blood Orchid, after which his fury raged.

The bags of holding weren't all empty, but were definitely much lighter than they should have been. It was almost as if someone had looted them at some point earlier in time!

"Dammit!" cried Naruto. He turned and thrashed the Church of the Blood Orchid disciples a bit more. Their Dao Protectors were enraged to the point of insanity, but with their cultivation bases sealed, all they could do was endure.

As for the Chosen, they were forced to write promissory notes. The hatred they felt for Naruto was now completely beyond description.

"These South Heaven people are all bandits and thieves!" said one of the Chosen from the Church of the Blood Orchid, a young woman who appeared to be on the verge of bursting into tears.

"Don't worry," Naruto said grimly. "I'll help you get your revenge.

Who the hell dares to steal my business!?"

Six hours later, in another part of the mountain range, the ripples of magical techniques spread out in all directions from a group from one of the Five Holy Lands, the Blue Lotus Sky.

Their fate was the same as the Church of the Blood Orchid. Naruto was invincible, booms rang out, and serious injuries were inflicted. Afterwards, Naruto took their bags of holding, and was happy to find that they were much fuller than the last group, and had not been ransacked before.

In the following several days, Naruto roamed about, occasionally killing people, but mostly just inflicting injuries. Despite that, widespread indignation and discontent rose up among the various power groups. Many opted to just leave, and when they finally reached the starry sky outside Planet Ninshu, they breathed sighs of relief. The Dao Protectors' cultivation bases were restored, and they hated Naruto down to their bones. However, they were incapable of setting foot back on the planet, and had no choice but to stamp their feet angrily and leave.

This was… an evacuation….

Naruto had single-handedly stood up to all the Chosen and Dao Protectors of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Sea. Now, the mountains were being evacuated. The fate of anyone he ran into was to be picked clean after failing to escape.

When he came across empty bags of holding, he would often make their owners write promissory notes. Anyone who didn't cooperate suffered the same fate as Sun Hai, and were dragged around by the hair.

More and more sects and clans chose to leave. Even Mount Sun and the Li Clan eventually lost their courage and had no choice but to depart. Sticking around was simply a source of too much pain for them.

Though the Dao Protectors had higher cultivation bases than him, those cultivation bases were sealed. The fact that Naruto, a member of the junior generation, had defeated them, was driving them mad.

A few days later, Naruto spent an entire day searching without finding anyone left behind in the mountain range. After some thought, he came to the conclusion that everyone had left. However, it was at this point that suddenly, he stopped in place and turned to look off in the distance. Because of the level of his cultivation base, he was just barely able to make out some faint ripples.

"There's still someone who hasn't left?" he thought, surprised. During the past few days, he'd been methodically attempting to force a complete evacuation, and had assumed that everyone had already chosen to leave. Unexpectedly, he now found that there were still people remaining.

He disappeared in a flash as he shot off into the distance. Soon, he caught sight of a group of four people who were traveling along at maximum speed. One of them was Namikaze Xiangshan. Next to her were two old women, apparently her Dao Protectors, and finally, an old man, who was presumably one of Namikaze Yunyi's Dao Protectors.

As Naruto neared, the faces of these four Namikaze Clan members flickered. The two old women stepped forward and glared at Naruto. As for Namikaze Xiangshan, hatred flickered in her eyes as she looked at Naruto.

"Everyone else has gone," he said suddenly. "Why haven't you people?"

In response to his words, Namikaze Xiangshan's face flickered suspiciously, and she rushed out from behind her two Dao Protectors to charge toward Naruto.

The old man quickly grabbed Namikaze Xiangshan's arm.

"Young Lady, let's get out of here!"

The other two Dao Protectors, the old women, transformed into beams of light that shot toward Naruto.

"Go find your clan uncle Namikaze Xiufeng! Then you'll be safe! Get out of here!"

They had been advancing with extreme caution, and were obviously scared of attracting Narutos attention. However, now that Naruto was here, there was no need to try to remain hidden, so they sped forward as fast as they could.

When Naruto heard the words " Namikaze Xiufeng", he couldn't hold back from coughing lightly. He was just about to say something when the two old women let out shrill shrieks, and then attacked viciously. A cloud of poison spread out, within which were two skeletons that radiated mysterious light. As they passed through the air, the vegetation beneath them withered up and died.

Naruto frowned, then punched out with his right hand. The Mountain Consuming Incantation caused a mountain range to materialize, which swept out to crush down onto the two old women.

Rumbling could be heard as the two old women attacked with all the power they could muster. False Immortal cultivation base power exploded out as they attempted to block Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly, then waved his hand, causing his Dharma Idol to appear, whose fist slammed into the ground, causing everything to quake and fissures to appear on the surface of the land. The Blood Demon Grand Magic appeared, and instead of chasing after Namikaze Xiangshan, he continued to battle with the two old women.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, booms filled the air and the old women coughed up blood. Their bodies were severely withered as they were tossed down to the ground, where they stared at Naruto with venomous hatred.

"You're dead!"

"We're in the lands of South Heaven, and a powerful expert of the Namikaze Clan is stationed here! Now that you've dared to treat us this way, you're going to die beyond the shadow of a doubt!"

"I wasn't planning to kill you, so stop tempting me," Naruto said coldly.

With that, he turned and shot off in pursuit of Namikaze Xiangshan. He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something fishy going on with her. By now, everyone had left South Heaven, but she was still here. Most important of all was her reaction to his words just now.

"Could it be that there's still some good fortune left to be had in this place?" he thought curiously. Even as he sped through the air, the two old women's faces flickered. Gritting their teeth, they flew after him in pursuit.

Meanwhile, nine enormous teleportation portals had opened up in the starry sky outside of Planet Ninshu. Glittering light spread out in all directions as more than a dozen figures appeared in the nine huge teleportation portals.

The figures were blurry, and were obviously not true selves, but rather divine will clones. Despite being nothing but divine will, for them to appear here caused ripples to spread out through the starry sky, and immense pressure to bear down on Planet Ninshu.

The figures all began to speak at almost exactly the same time.

"Fellow Daoist Namikaze , we can forget about what happened in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple…. However, I only hope that you can return Hebi Yin of the Hebi Clan to us. Fellow Daoist Namikaze , please show some charity…."

"Elder Brother Namikaze , a Chosen of Mount Sun was also captured…. Please, allow him to be released!"

"The Li Clan has a good relationship with the Namikaze Clan. How could Li Ling'er of the junior generation possibly have been taken captive here…? She's a young woman, and if her purity has been compromised, the Li Clan can tolerate it. However, don't forget, Namikaze Xiufeng, Li Ling'er is the future fiancée that links our clans!"

"Elder Brother Namikaze , my eldest son Song Luodan was also taken captive.

We became friends as soon as we met way back when, Elder Brother

Namikaze . Look what's happened now…."

"Elder Brother Namikaze , you're close friends with the Pontifex of the Church of the Emperor Immortal. Ai… the Pontifex is sealed in critical meditation and can't come out. So… could you give us some face? Sun Hai is one of my own descendants."

"Big bro Namikaze … the Patriarch is somewhat at a loss considering what happened, and asked me to come talk with you…. Uh… my son, your nephew, Namikaze Yunyi was also taken captive…."

As the voices echoed about in the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, Shui

Dongliu shook his head and smiled, then vanished. Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li also chuckled bitterly. After the restrictive spells had been removed from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, they had seen and heard everything that had occurred.

"That rascal, he's too…." Namikaze Xiufeng sighed, and couldn't help but feel that he was, indeed, somewhat in the wrong. Had the people outside of South Heaven been rude and abusive, then the situation would have been easier to deal with. However, they were very calm and polite, and they were correct to point out the relationships that existed. As a result, Namikaze Xiufeng felt a bit embarrassed.

His wife, Narutos mother, was actually beaming with joy and was clearly very pleased.

They exchanged a look. Then, Namikaze Xiufeng muttered and then waved his hand toward the sky. Everything trembled, and an enormous rift appeared. More than ten figures immediately flew down from up above.

Even though they were still blurry, their appearance caused all of Planet Ninshu to tremble from the incredible pressure that spread out. However, this was Planet Ninshu, and they still needed to act cautiously.

They clasped hands in greeting to Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li, and in response, Namikaze Xiufeng smiled wryly.

"Fellow Daoists, this matter… oh, never mind. I'll take you to the scene to make sure the members of your junior generation are all safe."

These people were being polite because they had no desire whatsoever to offend Namikaze Xiufeng. In response to his words, the group transformed into prismatic beams that shot toward the mountainous location of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 831

Chapter 831: The Grownups Arrive….

All of the cultivators of the Eastern Lands could see the enormous rift up in the sky, including Naruto, who was currently in hot pursuit of Namikaze Xiangshan. Suddenly, his heart began to thump, and he actually began to feel a bit guilty.

However, his eyes quickly grew calm and unperturbed, and he continued his pursuit.

Namikaze Xiangshan was up ahead. The old Dao Protector continued to grasp her by the arm as he unleashed the fastest speed he was capable of. He even used secret magical arts and blood evasion techniques. Because this was already near the border region of the mountain range, before long they were able to charge out from within the mountains. They transformed into prismatic beams and shot toward the Namikaze Clan's fortress in the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands.

At the same time, the two old women were anxiously pursuing Naruto, their hearts filled with venomous hatred.

"Once we find your clan uncle, all of this will be resolved," the old man said, "and that Naruto will be dead for sure!" Namikaze Xiangshan bit her lower lip and nodded. She was inwardly alarmed, but was also certain that, based on her status in the Namikaze Clan, the clan uncle would definitely resolve the crisis. Furthermore, he would most certainly make Naruto pay the price for what he had done.

She believed this, the old man believed it, and the two venomous old women behind Naruto also believed it.

"My clan uncle is stationed here on Planet Ninshu, so if anyone dares to harm the interests of the Namikaze clan, he'll definitely do something to stop it!"

"Your clan uncle might have imposed restrictions on the people entering

Planet Ninshu, but he's still a member of the Namikaze Clan. This

Naruto is malicious to the extreme, so he'll definitely be killed!"

"All we have to do is lay eyes on the clan uncle, and Naruto will be dead! No matter how deep the resources of Narutos sect here on South Heaven are, nothing will be able to save him!"

There were two people up front, Naruto in the middle, and two old women following from behind. Five people whistled through the air, eventually charging out of the mountain range. It was at this point that Naruto extended his right hand and made a grasping motion.

Rumbling filled the air as he snatched at the old man flying next to Namikaze Xiangshan. The old man's body trembled, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood as he evaded Narutos attack. A rancorous look filled his face as he began to speed away once again.

The two old women behind Naruto anxiously sent forth attacks, filling the air with rumbling sounds.

"Don't push things too far, Naruto! This might be Planet South

Heaven, but even so, this area is the Namikaze Clan's jurisdiction!"

"You're going to die today!"

Naruto gave a cold harrumph, and prepared to attack again. He had no intention of killing anyone, of course; he just wanted to rummage through Namikaze Xiangshan's bag of holding. However, it was at this point that over a dozen beams of light approached from off in the distance, moving with indescribable speed.

In the lead were Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li. Behind them were the more than ten powerful experts from various outside sects and clans.

When Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li caught sight of Naruto, Namikaze Xiufeng glared at him. As for Narutos mother, she seemed to have a somber expression on the surface, but a smile could be seen in her eyes.

When Naruto saw them, the guilt he felt grew. As for the old man next to Namikaze Xiangshan, when he saw the approaching newcomers, his face lit up with joy.

The two old women very nearly started laughing.

"Clan uncle, save me!" cried Namikaze Xiangshan. The old man couldn't contain his excitement, and quickly clasped hands in greeting to Namikaze Xiufeng.

"Greetings, your excellency Namikaze !"

The two old women immediately stopped in place, joy bubbling up in their hearts. They quickly circled out to seal Narutos paths of retreat. Their faces flickered with killing intent; to them, Naruto was already as good as dead.

After this, they clasped hands and bowed to Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li.

"Greetings, your excellency Namikaze !"

Naruto slowed down and came to a stop, after which he stood there rubbing his nose.

In the blink of an eye, Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li were already descending through midair. Behind them, the more than ten powerful experts could be seen, blurry and unclear, but radiating intense power and pressure that caused even the sky to grow dim.

As soon as their gazes fell onto Naruto, it was as if multiple mountains were crushing down around him, sealing him in place completely.

"Clan uncle, it's me, Shan'er!" cried Namikaze Xiangshan excitedly. "Clan uncle, please back me up here!" Now that she had caught sight of her two relatives, she found it impossible to hold back from giving vent to the humiliations she had just endured.

It was at this point that the old man and the two old women glanced over at Naruto. Looking pleased, and eyes brimming with hatred, they began to talk as if they were speaking of a dead person.

"Your excellency Namikaze , this is Naruto. He has a sinister and vicious heart, and is unmatchably shameless! He even used despicable methods to capture Yunyi!"

"You can't leave this guy alive! Not only did he capture Yunyi, he also humiliated Goddess Fan Dong'er from the Nine Seas God World! Plus, he captured Chosen from the other sects and clans! He's contemptible to the maximum!"

"Yeah, that's right! Even more excessive was that he used disgraceful tactics to steal all the good fortune of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple for himself! The thought of it makes your hair stand up in anger!"

"This guy is rotten to the core! Not only did he plant landmines outside of the Daoist rite temple, which caused injury to everyone, but after that, he posed as a Dao Protector outside the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple! He even called himself the groundskeeper!"

"He has absolutely, positively no sense of shame! He occupied the entire Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple by himself, and didn't let anyone else inside, and then, used disgraceful techniques to extort and rob the rest of us! There were many fellow cultivators who were injured by him!"

Tears were now streaming down Namikaze Xiangshan's face as she looked over at Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li and bowed continuously.

"Uncle, aunt. This guy chased me down and was trying to kill me! If I hadn't run into the two of you, Shan'er would definitely have been buried in this place, and I would never have been able to see you again." Namikaze Xiangshan was not a direct bloodline descendant of the Namikaze Clan, so she could only use an informal version of the address "uncle." If she were a direct bloodline descendant, then she would have called him "Uncle Namikaze Xiufeng," and used a more formal version of the word

"Uncle." After all, when it came to the direct bloodline of the Namikaze Clan, Namikaze Xiufeng counted as the eldest son, and Naruto as the eldest grandson.

When Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li heard the words being spoken, their faces darkened. Naruto felt even more guilty, and a bashful, seemingly apologetic, smile appeared on his face.

The ten or more people behind Namikaze Xiufeng then began to laugh coldly as they looked at Naruto.

"So, you're Naruto of the junior generation!"

"How daring, Naruto. You still haven't released the Chosen of our Mount Sun? You'll be coming back to Mount Sun with me to atone for your crime!"

"You have Chosen Ling'er of the Li Clan. To pay for this crime, you must immediately drop to your knees, cripple your cultivate base, and dig out your eyes!"

"Song Luodan is a Chosen of the Song Clan! He is honest and upright, and has an extraordinary cultivation base. What underhanded tricks did you use to capture him!?"

"You have Sun Hai and still haven't let him go? You're obviously young and ignorant, so I'll take your father and mother's place to offer you some discipline!"

If Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li weren't here, any one of this group of people could have cut Naruto down where he stood. Instead, they just spoke cold words that made everything feel as frigid as ice.

Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li's faces were equally icy.

When Namikaze Xiangshan saw all of the people standing behind Namikaze Xiufeng, her heart swelled with joy, and she instantly gave Naruto a spiteful look and said, "Uncle, aunt, this guy even has the Immortal Ancient Daoist Medallion!"

"Ladies and gentlemen," said the old man from the Namikaze Clan. "Your excellency Namikaze . This young man not only has the Immortal Ancient Daoist Medallion, he also has a bronze lamp. That lamp gives him eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal!"

When the other people heard this, they stared at Naruto, who lowered his head with a bashful smile, like a little child who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.

Namikaze Xiufeng turned his head to look at Naruto.

"Is what they said true!?" he said.

Naruto blinked for a moment, then quietly said, "It's not as incredible as they make it sound…. I didn't do it on purpose!"

Namikaze Xiangshan and the others didn't notice anything unusual about the way Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto were speaking to each other. However, among the group of ten or more powerful experts, there were a few who felt their hearts quiver. All of a sudden, something didn't seem right.

Namikaze Xiufeng gave a cold snort and flicked his sleeve. Immediately, the pressure weighing down on Naruto vanished. Although the motion appeared casual, when the onlookers saw it happen, their hearts were shaken.

The expert from the Church of the Emperor Immortal narrowed his eyes.

"It almost seems… like there's some fishy connection between Namikaze

Xiufeng and this kid…."

The representative from the Hebi Clan looked over at Naruto, eyes glittering, then looked back thoughtfully at Namikaze Xiufeng.

Namikaze Xiufeng frowned and looked at Naruto, a serious look in his eyes.

"Why haven't you let those people go already?" he asked.

Naruto cleared his throat. He looked hesitantly at his mother, then back at his father, who was obviously putting on a forced and phony demeanor. Finally, he sighed and patted his bag of holding.

Sun Hai came out first.

His clothes were in ribbons, and his expression haggard. However, as soon as he appeared, he immediately clasped hands to Naruto and fawningly said, "Elder Brother Naruto, Li'l Hai pays his respects, sir…." He was about to continue when he suddenly noticed everyone else in the area. He gasped, and then began to tremble excitedly.

The expert from the Church of the Emperor Immortal had an unsightly expression on his face. He shot a ruthless look in Sun Hai's direction, clearly displeased with the face-losing words he had just uttered.

Sun Hai's heart trembled, and yet, he couldn't hold back his excitement. Tears immediately began to flow down his face.

"Uncle!" he cried out loudly, using the respectful form of address. "Save me, Uncle! He forced me to do it! You have no idea how brutal this shameless bastard is! He took my bag of holding and stole all of my belongings, then he forced me to write a promissory note!

"I didn't want to, but he dragged me around by the hair and did everything he could to hurt me. Look, I don't even have any clothes any more, just rags. He forced me to do everything!" From the tone of Sun Hai's words as they echoed out, everyone could sense what a miserable and terrible experience he had gone through.

Naruto stared coldly at Sun Hai, his eyes wide. He said nothing.

"Hey, what are you looking at, you little punk!?" cried Sun Hai, his eyes widening threateningly. "You're dead!" However, at the same time, he backed up quickly to stand next to his Uncle. Once he was there, he heaved a sigh of relief as he stared at Naruto.

Namikaze Xiufeng watched all of this with wide eyes and slack jaw. Naruto Li blinked a few times, and looked over a Naruto, a grin in her eyes.

"Release the other ones, too," said Namikaze Xiufeng. He looked like he might be getting a headache.

"Oh, right." replied Naruto, then slapped his bag of holding to produce Taiyang Zi.

Taiyang Zi looked miserable; his hair was disheveled, and he looked completely tattered. His eyes even looked blank, and he stood there in a daze for a moment before beginning to tremble with excitement.

"Master Uncle…." he said, his voice quavering with emotion from finally being able to see the light of day, as if he suddenly had seen a gleam of hope in his life again. Then, he sped over to stand next to the powerful expert from Mount Sun. Finally, he turned to look hatefully at Naruto.

"Naruto, I hope that you DON'T die here today! That way, one day I'll have the chance to slaughter you myself! I hereby swear that I will help you to understand what it means to live a life worse than death!" Naruto glared back viciously at Taiyang Zi.

"I dare you to say one more word!" said Naruto, his eyes burning with murderous intent. Taiyang Zi was just about to open his mouth when he saw the look in Narutos eyes, and suddenly, his heart began to tremble, and he didn't dare to speak another word.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 832

Chapter 832 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 832: Everyone Is Released

"What incredible gall!" said the old man next to Namikaze Xiangshan. He snorted coldly and glared at Naruto. Clearly… he hadn't yet picked up on any of the clues. By this time, however, of the more than ten people behind Namikaze Xiufeng, most had realized that the mood in the area… was off.

From the way Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto talked to each other, it didn't seem that they were strangers. In fact, it was more like the way a father and son would talked to each other.

Light gasps could be heard. By following such a path of reasoning, they quickly called to mind the reason that Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li had come to Planet Ninshu in the first place. Then, they looked at Naruto again, but in a different way than they had before.

"Stop stalling! Release them all!" said Namikaze Xiufeng. Inwardly, he was chuckling wryly, but also felt a touch of pride. After all, Naruto had accomplished something that few others could.

With a long face and somewhat of a pout, Naruto released Namikaze Yunyi and Song Luodan. They appeared, looking distressingly haggard. Namikaze Yunyi's injuries seemed especially serious, and he coughed up some blood and then immediately fainted. The old man standing next to Namikaze Xiangshan immediately stepped forward to catch him, then looked back at Naruto, killing intent swirling in his eyes.

Song Luodan was taciturn as he walked off. He turned his head and gave a meaningful glare at Naruto, but didn't say anything. When he reached the powerful expert from the Song Clan, he stood there with his eyes closed. It was impossible to tell what he was thinking.

"Any more?" asked Namikaze Xiufeng.

"Uh… a few," Naruto replied. He reluctantly released three more people from his bag of holding. These were three other Chosen he had captured in the past few days. As soon as they were released, they turned to look at Naruto with fury burning in their eyes, as well as the desire to kill.

When they saw that three additional Chosen had been tucked away in

Narutos bag of holding, everyone gaped, even Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li. No one could have imagined that Naruto would be able to snatch up so many people. This was especially true of the powerful experts from the outside sects and clans.

They stared blankly at the people emerging from Narutos bag of holding, and couldn't help but think that Naruto… truly was terrifying.

"Alright, that's it," Naruto said, spreading his hands wide and looking calmly at the powerful experts standing behind his father and mother.

In response to his words, the powerful experts from the Hebi and Li clans glared back with wide eyes. Namikaze Xiufeng let out a cold snort.

"What about the Chosen from the Hebi Clan, and Li Ling'er!"

Naruto suddenly looked a bit startled.

"Li Ling'er? Who? Uh, I don't know her. Hebi Clan Chosen? I never saw any Ji

Clan Chosen!" As Naruto rambled on, Namikaze Xiufeng looked back at him with a deadpan expression, and finally sighed.

"I need to get off of Planet Ninshu," Naruto thought to himself. "It so boring being held back here." Finally, he decided to pull Hebi Yin out of his bag of holding.

As soon as Hebi Yin emerged, a thick mist appeared around her body, concealing her completely. Finally she looked back at Naruto, a profound expression on her face. Then she turned and began to walk over to the powerful expert from the Hebi Clan.

"Don't forget that you owe me a promissory note!" blurted Naruto. He had long since recovered his second true self, and had also cleaned out Hebi Yin's bag of holding.

Ji Yin's pace faltered briefly, as if she was having to exert intense control over herself. After a long moment passed, she gritted her teeth and continued walking.

"Okay, that was really the last one!" said Naruto resolutely.

The more than ten people behind Namikaze Xiufeng stood there silently. If there were any of them who hadn't yet figured out what was going on by now, then they didn't deserve to have practiced cultivation to the level that they had. The expert from the Li Clan sighed, and apparently felt a headache coming on. In the agreement between the Li Clan and the Namikaze Clan all those years ago, Li Ling'er was supposed to be engaged to Namikaze Xiufeng's crippled son.

From the look of things, she could tell… that the crippled son from all those years ago was actually none other than the Naruto they were facing right now.

The Li Clan expert sighed and looked at Namikaze Xiufeng. "Elder Brother

Namikaze … look…."

Namikaze Xiufeng smiled wryly then turned to glare at Naruto.

"Release her!"

Naruto set his jaw, took a step forward and glared at Namikaze Xiufeng.

"She's supposed to be a maidservant for mom!"

His wording was quite barbaric, but it actually softened Namikaze Xiufeng's heart. He knew that from the time Naruto was very young, he and Naruto Li had been unable to be there for him, and he would surely react negatively to being restrained and instructed.

Naruto Li covered her smile with her hand, then took a few steps forward and looked at her son. Her tone gentle, she said, "Take her out and let me see."

Naruto slapped his bag of holding, and Li Ling'er flew out, her hair a mess and her lips still smeared with blood. Her buttocks were still slightly uneven and still had a deep impression of a handprint on them, and her face was pale. She appeared to be in such pain that she was on the verge of passing out.

As soon as she appeared, a vicious look gleamed in her eyes, and she spun toward Naruto. Her hands twisted into claws that slashed toward Narutos face. Naruto glared at her and extended his right hand.

Li Ling'er's heart trembled, and she instantly fell back, glaring angrily at Naruto.

"Someone as savage as you isn't suitable to be my mom's maidservant. BEAT IT!" Naruto waved his hand dismissively. He was in a foul mood now considering how much he had just lost out on.

"Naruto!" screeched Li Ling'er, so furious that she trembled. She was just about to charge forward and attack again when the Li Clan expert held out a hand to block her way. She pulled her off to the side and transmitted a few words to her. Li Ling'ers eyes went wide, and she stared at Naruto, then looked over at Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li. Suddenly, her face went completely ashen, as if her entire world had gone dark.

"Impossible…." she murmured, almost as if she had been possessed. "It's impossible…."

"Hmph. Fine, that's everybody," said Naruto. "If there's nothing else then I'll be leaving now." He swished his sleeve and was about to leave when the old man from the Namikaze Clan, who still hadn't picked up on what was going on, suddenly laughed coldly.

"You want to leave? Hand over your bag of holding, then get on your knees and beg for mercy!" His body flashed as he shot toward Naruto. As for the two old women, they hesitated for a moment. Something seemed off to them, but in the end, they gritted their teeth and charged toward Naruto.

Namikaze Xiangshan had not practiced cultivation for a very long time, but even she could tell that something was off, although she wasn't quite sure what.

Seeing the three people closing in on him, Narutos face immediately darkened.

"Who the hell do you people think you are!?" His right hand clenched into a fist and he immediately punched out. A boom rang out as the three old Dao Protectors' bodies were shaken. They fell back, and were just about to unseal their cultivation bases when….

Suddenly, another cold snort echoed out, and Namikaze Xiufeng's voice reverberated through the air.

"WHO THE HELL DO YOU PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE!?" An icy light flickered out from his eyes. It was nothing more than a gaze, but it caused the three old Dao Protectors to tumble backward and cough up mouthful after mouthful of blood. Rumbling filled their bodies as numerous sword wounds appeared on them; they appeared to be on the verge of being sliced to pieces.

The three old Dao Protectors' faces fell as ninety percent of their cultivation bases were slashed away. Blood spurted about everywhere, and they were very nearly killed.

"Your excellency Namikaze …."

Off to the side, Namikaze Xiangshan gaped. "Clan uncle…."

"Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Daoists," said Namikaze Xiufeng, a slight smile on his lips. "I still haven't been able to make the proper introductions. This… is my young son." When his voice echoed out into the ears of the powerful experts, they began to smile wryly. Earlier, they had for the most part figured things, so to hear Namikaze Xiufeng personally speak the words came as no surprise.

However, Hebi Yin and all the others looked over at Naruto in complete shock. Li Ling'er was trembling, and her expression was blank. However, the most terrified of them all wasn't her, but Sun Hai. He watched blankly as the scene played out, and thought back to everything he had said earlier. Immediately, a gloomy expression could be seen on his face, as if his whole world had gone dark.

By this point, Namikaze Yunyi had regained consciousness. He and Namikaze Xiangshan stood there with minds abuzz and hearts filled with explosive thunder. The old man and the two old women gasped in disbelief.

They thought about all the threatening things they had said to Naruto… how they had tried to use a son's own father to threaten him. Then… they began to shake in their boots.

"I unsealed the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple on South Heaven to provide my young son with a training ground. From a young age, he has lived a rough, unrestrained life. For the sake of my face, I hope all of you

Fellow Daoists will not be too offended by any of his faux pas."

Laughing, Namikaze Xiufeng clasped hands to all the surrounding cultivators.

The more than ten powerful experts chuckled wryly and shook their heads. They then exchanged some polite words with Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li, at the same time glancing over at Naruto occasionally. As for the bags of holding he had snatched, and all the other things that had occurred in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, it was a bit inappropriate to bring them up anymore.

"Since all of you are here," said Namikaze Xiufeng, "don't be in a hurry to leave. Please, come back with me to my clan headquarters and allow me to entertain you." The more than ten experts laughed to themselves. The matters of the junior generation were things they could afford to ignore. Therefore, they laughed and chatted as they followed Namikaze Xiufeng to the Namikaze Clan.

As for Song Luodan and all the other Chosen, they hated Naruto just as much as before, and he them. They did nothing to conceal this fact, and neither did Naruto. He glared back at them hatefully, then pulled out a thick stack of promissory notes, which he then began to leaf through. Song Luodan and the others had no choice but to grit their teeth and turn to follow the members of the senior generation.

Naruto decided not to go back home to the Namikaze Clan, nor did Namikaze Xiufeng attempt to force him to. Narutos mother straightened his garments and then pinched his nose. Then, in much the manner one would speak to a young child, she warned him not to get into any trouble. Finally, she turned and left.

Namikaze Yunyi and Namikaze Xiangshan were scared witless, and were just about to follow their seniors when Naruto stepped forward and blocked their way.

"C-cousin…." Namikaze Xiangshan stammered.

Namikaze Yunyi snorted coldly and looked away, refusing to speak.

Naruto glared at him, then suddenly reached out and smacked him across the side of the face. Blood sprayed from Namikaze Yunyi's mouth, and he was sent tumbling onto the ground. His Dao Protector stood off to the side, head bowed, smiling bitterly, pretending like he didn't see what was happening.

"You!" said Namikaze Yunyi, looking up at Naruto. However, in the instant that the word was out of his mouth, Narutos foot slammed down onto the sprawling Namikaze Yunyi.

"You refuse to address me as Cousin when you see me!? What kind of upbringing did you have!" Naruto viciously kicked him a few more times, and Namikaze Yunyi screamed. His head was now covered with blood, causing Namikaze Xiangshan to be frozen in fear as she looked on. Narutos viciousness now caused her to remember some scenes from when she was young. If she recalled correctly, she had actually been bullied by this older cousin of hers on a few occasions.

"AAAHHHHH! I'm gonna kill you!" roared Namikaze Yunyi.

Narutos eyes glittered coldly, and he punched out again, landing a blow directly onto Namikaze Yunyi's mouth, shattering his teeth and making it impossible for him to speak. Blood spurted out.

By now, Namikaze Xiangshan was trembling violently. The old man and the two old women were staring in shock, and yet didn't dare to interfere.

Namikaze Yunyi was being beaten senseless. His body was wracked with pain, and he was on the verge of losing consciousness. Memories from his childhood floated up, and he vaguely remembered being beaten up by a certain brother and sister team.

Miserable shrieks rang out as Naruto kicked him again. It seemed that if Namikaze Yunyi didn't speak up and say the right words, he would be trampled to death.

Filled with fear, Namikaze Yunyi spit out a mouthful of blood and then blurted, "C-cousin!"

Narutos foot stopped in midair above Namikaze Yunyi's face. He slowly pulled his foot back, and then a bashful smile appeared on his face.

"Little bro, welcome to Planet Ninshu."

Chapter 832: Everyone Is Released

Vol. 6 : Chapter 833

Chapter 833 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 833: An Amateurish Seduction Con

Naruto turned to look at Namikaze Xiangshan, and in that instant, she produced a dilapidated bottle from her bag of holding.

"Cousin, this is something I found in the mountain range, it has the music of a Dao inside…."

Her heart stabbed with pain, but considering the fate of Namikaze Yunyi that she had just witnessed, she didn't dare to do anything other than hand over the bottle. This was especially true considering everything she had said in front of Narutos parents. When she thought about that, her scalp went numb.

Likewise, how could Naruto forget all of the venomous things she had said just moments ago? He reached out and took the bottle, looked at it, then threw it back to Namikaze Xiangshan. The bottle was not unfamiliar to him; there had been many like it inside the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple.

Although it had the music of a Dao inside, that was simply because it had existed inside the temple for so long.

Ignoring Namikaze Xiangshan, Naruto turned and transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance. When he finally disappeared, the three old Dao Protectors sighed and helped the injured Namikaze Yunyi to his feet, then took him and terrified Namikaze Xiangshan off into the distance.

Several days passed by in a flash. During that time, Naruto traveled around in the Eastern Lands, mostly in the area surrounding the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple mountains. He didn't reveal his appearance or aura, but instead concealed it with the bamboo hat.

As for clothing, he pulled out a long robe that had belonged to Sun Hai from the Church of the Emperor Immortal. He roamed through the area slowly, waiting.

Waiting… for those two damned bandits!

"How dare they steal business from me!" he thought, his expression dark. Naruto had long since been brooding about the two mysterious bandits who had stolen all the items that belonged to him.

"Unless I'm mistaken, I know exactly which bastards pulled such a shameless stunt!" He snorted coldly as he flew through midair.

"Those two bastards fled during my battle with the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, and haven't dared to show their faces since then. This time, I'll definitely track them down!" For some reason, Naruto was certain that there was no one other than the meat jelly and the parrot who could have accomplished something that caused him to lose out on so much.

"Although, those two little bastards aren't that strong. How could they have managed to rob so many Chosen?" Naruto was very curious about this, and it was the one thing he couldn't figure out.

"Did they come across some sort of good fortune?" he thought suspiciously. He continued to fly through midair in the region near the mountain range. Three days passed, until finally, he ran into one of the Eastern Lands' walled cities. He glanced at it, then slowly and deliberately flew around in the city a few times before finally making his way off into the distance.

What he didn't notice was that in one of the city's inns, two pairs of eyes were surreptitiously peering out at him.

Two burly fellows, tall and sturdy, were at a table slurping alcohol and chomping down on meat. One of them sat cross-legged in a chair, the other squatted down next to the table. Apparently, those were the only positions that were comfortable to these two.

Even stranger, the burly fellow who sat there cross-legged would drink the alcohol in huge slurps, and would toss enormous quantities of food into his mouth with each bite. As for the other man, he… pecked at his food almost like a bird would.

"Did you see that?" said the bird-like man. He blinked, and then a wily gleam appeared in his eyes as he watched Naruto disappear off into the distance.

"Huh?" said the other man, looking up to stare at Narutos retreating figure.

"You idiot!" said the bird-like man, smacking the other man hard across the head. "Fool! Get a brain, would you! Lord Fifth has hauled you around for so many years now! How could you still be so stupid!?"

"What the hell?!" roared the big man, food spraying from his mouth, revealing dancing electricity inside. "You're being immoral! You're being shameless! This isn't right! I'm gonna convert you!"

"Quiet down," said the bird-like man self-assuredly. "Listen to me, did you see that guy with the bamboo hat? He was hiding his aura. That hat is definitely some kind of treasure!"

"Treasure!?" said the big man, his eyes lighting up.

"Right. Definitely a treasure. Based on my experience, people who carry treasures like that are usually weaklings. They're basically lambs waiting for the slaughter!

"Have faith in the Lord Fifth; that guy is definitely an easy mark! Furthermore, his cultivation base probably isn't very high, but his bag of holding is probably very deep. Did you see his clothes? Not too long ago, we robbed a guy who was wearing clothes exactly like that.

"Most important of all, he clearly doesn't want people to recognize him. That indicates he has secrets! Secrets, I tell you!" The bird-like man was continuing to get more and more excited.

"Secrets!" exclaimed the big man, his eyes glowing brightly.

"With secrets like that, and a weak cultivation base, plus a plump bag of holding… he's definitely ripe for the plucking. Besides, a single look, and you can tell he's the kind of person who knows how to dress well. He's the perfect mark for us. Trust me, if we can clean him out, then we'll be able to live in complete comfort." The bird-like man was even more excited than before.

The big man's eyes gleamed brightly, but then he hesitated.

"But we failed so many other times, and even almost got captured. Especially in the past few days. Whenever you take on HIS appearance, we end up getting chased by everyone…. Wait, is he a bully?"

"You got it!" said the bird-like man, nodding. "Of course he's a bully. He couldn't be anything else! Look, we'll definitely succeed this time, just have faith in the Lord Fifth. All the other times were mere mishaps. Those Chosen have all left, so the only people left behind have got to be easy marks."

"Straighten him out!" said the big man, clenching his jaw and nodding his head. "Fudge, Lord Third is gonna set him straight!"

"Hold on, let Lord Fifth plan this out. A person like that, hmm… there's an eighty to ninety percent chance that he's a ladies man. Okay, we can't use the same tactic that we used before. This time, we'll directly implement plan #9. Quickly, transform into a hot babe."

"#9? Which one is nine? How dare you ridicule Lord Third!" the big man raged.

"Uh… #3! Plan #3!" replied the bird-like man.

"Well why didn't you say so earlier? Alright, who should I look like?"

"Anybody, it doesn't matter, as long as she's hot and seductive. Come, hurry up, we need to go!"

"Hot and seductive?" The big man thought for a moment, and then a popping sound rang out as he changed form. Now he was a woman, extremely curvaceous and completely alluring, with a beautiful, entrancing face, and eyes that tugged at the heart and soul.

If Naruto were here, he would instantly recognize that this was… Demoness Tsukino.

"Too many clothes!" said the bird-like man. "Come on, less clothes!"

Pop!

The big man changed again.

"Now you're way too revealing! Y-y-you, you idiot! How could you even go outside looking like that!?"

After seven or eight adjustments, the bird-like man was satisfied and prodded the other man out the door.

The big man in Tsukino form wore extremely revealing clothes, and felt completely resentful because of it. Consequently, he started picking his nose and making big, manly strides as they walked down the road, causing the bird-like man to fly into a rage. More adjustments were made.

Naruto had just left the city. Beneath the bamboo hat, he was frowning. After traveling around the area near the mountain range for all these days, he still hadn't run into the two bastards he was looking for.

"Could they have left?" he thought. "Or maybe they detected my aura?"

Suddenly, his face flickered, and he spun around. There, in midair not

too far off, a woman was approaching him. An anxious expression could be seen on her face, as if she were being pursued.

The instant the woman appeared, Narutos jaw dropped in astonishment.

This woman was none other than Tsukino, which was of course the big man in disguise.

She wore revealing clothing, and smelled like a spring breeze. She possessed an alluring charm and grace, and had a flirtatious look in her eyes, eyes that seemed capable of enchanting anyone who looked into them. Most people who laid eyes on her would instantly find their hearts pounding.

As she passed Naruto, she looked over and smiled shyly. Then she made to hurry off. However, before she could get very far, she turned and looked back at him, apparently having been attracted to him in some way. She gave him an entrancing, tantalizing look, then turned and walked off, her curves undulating gently. The sight of her slender figure from behind was enough to cause any man who saw her to palpitate with eagerness.

Naruto gaped.

'Tsukino' was not happy at all, and was inwardly muttering about how obvious things had been made, and yet the mark didn't respond at all. Instead, he just stared with a slack jaw. Finally, 'Tsukino' intentionally spit out a mouthful of blood.

Her face went pale, and she staggered in place.

"Fellow Daoist, save me!" she cried, looking back at Naruto.

Narutos eyes were wide as he examined 'Tsukino.' Then, a virtually imperceptible smile appeared in his eyes. Grinning, he approached. "With me here," he said, "you have nothing to fear, Fellow Daoist."

"Someone's chasing me," said 'Tsukino' lightly, her voice somewhat weak and yet even more enticing than before. "As I fled, I was injured. Fellow Daoist, if you can escort me to my Immortal's cave, then I'll definitely be very grateful…."

Inwardly, Naruto laughed loudly, and mused about how fake this whole act was, and yet he smiled the same as before, and immediately nodded. Then, he flew into the air with the woman. The two of them sped into the mountains, to an Immortal's cave. The woman gestured for him to follow her inside.

At this point, Narutos eyes narrowed. The Immortal's cave seemed extraordinary. The spell formation outside radiated a sense of danger, and based on Narutos cultivation base, he knew that even he would have a tough time breaking out of it.

After stepping into the Immortal's cave, the woman sighed, and then stopped and turned to Naruto with a charming smile.

"Many thanks, Fellow Daoist," she said, intentionally edging closer to him. "Would you mind acting as Dharma Protector for me here? Once my wounds are recovered, I'll definitely repay your kindness."

"Of course, no problem!" said Naruto, suppressing the urge to vomit. He backed up a few steps.

The disguised man frowned. Things weren't going according to plan, and now he wasn't sure what to do. He quickly stamped his foot onto the ground, which instantly sent a secret notification to the bird-like man.

After a few breaths of time passed, the door of the Immortal's cave slammed open, and a monstrous aura surged out that gave Naruto quite a shock. A man emerged, wearing black robes, his features handsome. He even emanated the aura of a scholar.

"So, you're back, wife!" said the young man, laughing. However, when he saw Naruto and 'Tsukino,' he suddenly stopped in place, and then his eyes went wide.

"Slut! Y-you're actually committing adultery right here!?" The young man's face twisted with rage, and his aura exploded with power. Heaven and Earth went dark, and everything began to tremble and seemed to be on the verge of exploding. The door of the Immortal's cave exploded, and the shocking spell formation Naruto had seen collapsed into pieces.

A terrifying aura raged out that far exceeded the Spirit Realm. It was incredibly powerful, and made it seem as if an Immortal was descending. The entire area was instantly locked down, causing an intense sense of deadly crisis to rise up in Narutos heart.

It seemed as if the person standing in front of him had an aura that could easily decide whether or not he lived or died.

"Husband, this is all just a misunderstanding…." said 'Tsukino.'

"Misunderstanding my ass! Get the hell out of my way! Since we're husband and wife, I won't kill you this day. However, this paramour of yours had better give me some compensation! I don't care what sect he comes from, when the one surnamed Naruto wants a person dead, who would dare to save him!?"

Narutos eyes flickered as he looked at the young man, and a strange expression appeared on his face.

This young man looked… exactly like Naruto himself!

Of course, Naruto was wearing the bamboo hat, which changed his appearance in such a way that no one would be able to recognize him.

Chapter 833: An Amateurish Seduction Con

Vol. 6 : Chapter 834

Chapter 834: Take A Look and See Who I Am

"Your majesty, you are…?" Naruto said.

"Hmph! I'm Naruto!" said the young man. "The number one ruler in South Heaven!" His aura scintillated prismatically, and his words caused everything to shake.

"Number one ruler! Do you know what that means!? It means that in all the lands of South Heaven, nobody dares to provoke me!" The young man lifted his chin, and an arrogant expression covered his face.

"Quick, give him some compensation," said the 'Tsukino.' "My husband is the number one most powerful expert in the lands of South Heaven, with the exception of some of those old-timers. He's at the peak of all South Heaven, and even ended the great continental war."

"Shut your trap!" said the young man, glaring and swishing his sleeve. "When men talk, the women should stand quietly off to the side!" He glared coldly at Naruto.

"Naruto says what he means and means what he says! Considering that this is your first offense, I'll let you off with your life, just this one time!"

Naruto wore an odd expression as he looked at this copy of himself talking. Then he looked over at 'Tsukino,' and smiled. He really couldn't think of anyone other than the parrot and the meat jelly who could pull off such a mistake-ridden scam.

"Presumably, you've heard of my illustrious name," the young man continued coldly. "Alright, forget it. I'm not going to make things any harder for you. Just hand over your bag of holding, and I'll allow you to use material goods as your form of apology!

"If you dare to resist, then you will be buried here this very day!" Once again, his aura burst out explosively, transforming into a tempest that swept across the land. Anyone who sensed such an aura would immediately feel incredible distress. It was as if some amorphous volcano were rumbling, and if one attempted to fight back against it, it would erupt, and one would instantly be killed.

The remnants of the spell formations outside of the Immortal's cave were now completely destroyed. Sand and pebbles raged into a sandstorm; mountains collapsed and fissures covered the surface of the land. The intense aura caused a riot of colors to flash through the sky. Even Naruto couldn't stop his eyes from widening.

If he wasn't absolutely sure that the two fellows in front of him were the meat jelly and the parrot, if he wasn't completely familiar with the two dunces, then he would surely be thoroughly intimidated.

"Hey, how do you know this is my first offense?" said Naruto with an enigmatic smile.

The young man gaped, as did 'Tsukino.'

"Dammit!" roared the young man. "Don't tell me this ISN'T your first offense!? This is ridiculous!" He waved his sleeve once again, causing the ground to quake and mountains to collapse as his aura surged up. He looked as if he was just about to smash Naruto into oblivion, but then forcibly restrained himself.

Narutos current manner caused the bird-like man's heart to begin to pound. Suddenly, he had a bad feeling. After exchanging a glance with the 'Tsukino,' he snorted coldly.

"Apparently, you still don't understand Naruto! Do you know who my dad is? He's Namikaze Xiufeng!" Inwardly, the bird-like man was quite pleased with himself for assuming a role that was essentially the most powerful in all of South Heaven. In recent days, after assuming the visage of Naruto, he had learned about Namikaze Xiufeng from some other members of the Namikaze Clan.

"Scared yet?" he said.

Naruto cleared his throat, then blinked somewhat bashfully. "Are you really Naruto?"

"I, Naruto, would never change my surname OR my given name!" the young man said proudly. "Of course I'm Naruto!"

Naruto shook his head. "I heard that Naruto can stomp his foot down so hard that the ground shatters. Can you do that? I don't really believe that you can."

"You don't believe!?" raged the young man, glaring at Naruto.

"I don't!" replied Naruto decisively.

"Dammit! You actually don't believe!" Howling, the young man stamped his foot onto the ground. Shockingly, the Immortal's cave collapsed, the ground quaked and a huge fissure spread out.

"Well, what about that? Believe me now?!"

"That's just one single fissure," Naruto said with disdain. "I'm talking about shattering the earth and making a huge crater. Naruto can do that, what about you? Ah, forget about it. I know you can't."

"AGGGHHHH! You're really pissing me off! You really don't believe!?

Dammit! Alright, pay attention. Watch and see whether Lord Fif— er, Naruto can do it or not!" The young man's eyes were completely bloodshot. There was nothing he hated more than people disbelieving him, nothing dismayed him more than a provocation. He suddenly flew up into the air, then slammed back down into the ground, instantly causing a huge hole to appear.

Narutos eyes glittered as he looked at the ground in front of him, and then compared it to the vegetation off in the distance.

A moment later, the young man flew out pompously from within the hole.

"Believe me now?!"

"It's not deep enough," sighed Naruto.

The young man flew into a rage. His body flickered as he once again slammed down into the hole. A huge boom echoed out, and the land quaked. It almost seemed as if the hole would extend all the way down to the center of the planet; in fact, subterranean fire even shot up out of the hole, along with the young man. He glared at Naruto; from the look in his eye, if Naruto refused to believe him, he was willing to tear a hole all the way through the lands of South Heaven.

Naruto coughed lightly.

"Alright, fine, I'm scared. I have a total of ten bags of holding, how many do you want?"

"All ten!"

"Three! I want three!" cried 'Tsukino,' whose eyes glittered brightly.

"Moron! We want ten!"

"You're the moron!" the big man roared back. "Three is the biggest number! We want three!" It seemed like a fight was about to break out as 'Tsukino' glared at the young man. "You idiot, three bags of holding is a lot! Y-y-you, you want ten? How many is ten? Is it bigger than three, huh?!"

"You IDIOT!" howled the young man. "Of course ten is more than three!

Three is nothing! We want ten!"

The big man stared in shock.

Naruto sighed, and decided to switch conversation partners.

"Ai, Miss Fellow Daoist, for some reason, I get the feeling that this husband of yours is acting a bit too much like a bully. No matter how you look at him, he definitely seems to be a bully. Bullies like that should really be converted. I really feel sorry for you." To any other cultivator, these words would be incredibly childish and essentially wouldn't have convinced anyone. It was so obvious that he wanted to stir up dissension that he might as well just have told them to fight each other directly.

Of course, the big man and the young man didn't pick up on anything strange at all….

That was especially true of the big man. Once he heard Naruto say the word "bully" a few times, his eyes went wide and filled with a vicious gleam.

"Bully? Dammit! That's exactly what you are! You can't do this! You're immoral! You are far too shameless! I'm… I'm going to convert you!" Howling, the big man pounded toward the young man.

The young man nervously shot backward, letting out an equally enraged shout. However… he was slightly quicker on the pickup, and suddenly turned to look at Naruto.

"Hold on! Ol' Third, wait! Something seems off here…. We can't start fighting amongst ourselves. Something fishy is going on. Something's not right. This guy just said a few random sentences, and suddenly we're fighting!" Murmuring to himself, the young man looked closely at Naruto, and only seemed to grow more surprised.

Naruto was smiling the same as before as he stood there. He looked at the expression on the young man's face, and couldn't help but muse that the parrot actually wasn't that stupid after all, and had finally picked up on the clues.

It was at this point that the young man suddenly cried out, "I've figured out his identity! He saw through the flaws in our scam! He used only a few words to get us to fight each other. He's obviously… Patriarch Reliance!"

The young man let out a roar of rage, and the big man began to tremble. A popping sound could be heard as Tsukino disappeared, and the big man reappeared. He gasped, and staggered backward several paces.

"You're Patriarch Reliance!?" blubbered the big man. "You can't blame me! He forced me to change forms! He's the one who changed into Naruto!"

Narutos face darkened. No longer in the mood for fooling around, he gave a cold snort and then removed the bamboo hat.

"You two morons open your eyes wide and see exactly who I am!"

The instant the bamboo hat left his head, his aura changed completely, and his appearance became clear to the young man and the big man. When they saw Narutos face, the big man let out a shriek, and a pop could be heard as he transformed into the meat jelly.

"It's him!" he cried, flying away at top speed. "It's Naruto! He's caught up to us! Finished! We're finished! We're dead for sure. DEAD! It's all your fault! YOUR fault!"

The young man shivered and let out a piercing shriek. A pop could be heard as he transformed back into a colorful parrot, within whose claws was gripped a black feather. His wings began to flap furiously as he apparently prepared to use all the power he had left in his body to make his getaway.

"Dammit! How could you possibly show up here!? This is impossible!

How could we run into YOU!?"

Everything was in complete chaos. The parrot and the meat jelly shrieked and tried to flee at top speed. As soon as they attempted to make their escape, the land in the area distorted and returned to how it looked before. There was no fissure in the ground, no hole, no Immortal's cave, not even any fearsome restrictive spells.

There had never been an Immortal's cave in the area, only a valley. Everything had been an illusion, a very realistic illusion.

The source of the entire illusion was the black feather that the parrot gripped in its talons. The feather gave off a bizarre, flickering glow, a power that would influence the area around it and create illusions.

Naruto watched as the parrot and meat jelly attempted to flee. He made no move to pursue them, but instead stood there and coldly said. "I'll give you three breaths of time to get back here. Whoever returns first will be exempt from punishment. The other will receive double punishment for abandoning me in my moment of crisis that year."

As soon as his voice rang out, the meat jelly and the parrot came to a stop in midair.

"Dammit," thought the parrot, "that meat jelly has a completely onetrack mind. That idiot will definitely be fooled by this. That means that the safest thing is for Lord Fifth to be fooled first!" Immediately, he turned around and shot toward Naruto as fast as he could.

The meat jelly trembled.

"That parrot is completely crafty. He was the cause of all of this! He was the one who incited me to flee in the first place. There's no way I'll take his punishment for him!" Almost in the same instant that the parrot turned around, the air surrounding the meat jelly began to crackle with lightning. He employed all the power he could muster to shoot back toward Naruto.

"I surrender!"

"Fudge! I also surrender!"

The parrot and the meat jelly shot back toward Naruto urgently. Naruto gave a cold snort and suddenly lifted his right hand up into the air, within which appeared the copper mirror. The parrot squawked, transforming into a beam of light that shot into the mirror.

As for the black feather, it floated down into Narutos hand. The meat jelly was trembling as it began to cry out.

"Master, Lord Third has missed you to death! It was that damned parrot who dragged me with him when he left that year! It's his fault, master! Let's convert him together!"

Naruto slapped out with his right hand, hitting the top of the meat jelly's head. A boom could be heard as it shrank down into a tiny ball that Naruto grabbed in his hand then tossed down toward the ground. The ground trembled as a huge crater appeared. The meat jelly let out a miserable shriek as it bounced up and Naruto grabbed it again. As he proceeded forward, he bounced the meat jelly down again and again, causing it to let out continuous screeches.

"Quit faking," said Naruto, causing the meat jelly's screams to instantly turn into entreaties.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 835

Chapter 835 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 835: Pill Demon's Tribulation

For the following several days, the meat jelly spoke nonstop of all the bad things the parrot had done. From the Milky Way Sea, all the way down to their bandit days in the Eastern Lands, it revealed everything, complete with highly embellished details. It even voluntarily handed over three bags of holding that contained all of its portion of the spoils they had taken.

Naruto had constantly smashed it into the ground over and over during the past few days, and it feared further reprisals. Furthermore, Narutos cultivation base was now incredibly high, and if he felt like it, he could use a strand of Immortal Chakra to seal its mouth and prevent it from speaking even a single word. To the meat jelly, that was the most terrifying thing that could happen.

As far as the parrot was concerned, Naruto didn't ask it any questions at all. He kept it sealed inside the copper mirror, with no chance whatsoever to even see anything that had fur or feathers. That was the greatest punishment which could possibly be inflicted on it.

After studying the black feather for a while, Naruto was shocked. The feather brimmed with transformative power, which was why the parrot had been able to release such an astonishing aura. It was all thanks to the feather.

According to the meat jelly, the feather had simply fallen from the sky when the two of them were on their way from the Milky Way Sea to the Eastern Lands….

Naruto wasn't quite sure that he believed this, but after putting the feather away, he returned to the Namikaze Clan. By this time, the members of the sects and clans from the Ninth Mountain and Sea had long since departed. The lands of the Southern Domain had now quieted down. Unfortunately, Narutos older sister still hadn't emerged from secluded meditation.

An entire month had soon passed by.

During that time, word of Naruto began to spread in the world outside of South Heaven, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Of course, the stories told about him were always accompanied by gnashing teeth. Soon, many people in the Ninth Mountain and Sea knew that on Planet Ninshu, there was a shameless fellow who went by the name of Naruto.

He had monopolized the good fortune of the Immortal Ancient Daoist

Rite Temple, had caused the corpse of a woman to become attached to Fan Dong'er, had captured numerous Chosen, had defeated Hebi Yin in one move, and most excessive of all was his unusual habit of forcing people to write promissory notes.

No one could figure out that last matter, or guess why Naruto had such a strange hobby….

There was another matter that shook the Ninth Mountain and Sea during that month, and caused a huge stir among countless cultivators. Many clans took special note of the event.

The Three Great Daoist Societies, which consisted of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, and the Nine Seas God World, were holding a disciple recruitment event open to all cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Anyone of the Nascent Soul stage or higher, but below the Immortal Realm, could participate.

Furthermore, members of the Five Great Holy Lands, the Three Churches, and Six Sects would all participate, so that this disciple recruitment event would be as grand as possible. Any rogue cultivator from the four planets and all over the 9th Mountain and Sea would be able to participate regardless of their age or heritage as long as their cultivation base met the requirements.

To most cultivators, it represented a chance to make great advancements in a single leap. This was especially true of the cultivators who normally had no way of leaving their respective planets. It was a chance they had to seize, a once in a lifetime opportunity that would change their fate if they were successful.

A disciple recruitment event such as this was something that might happen only once in a period of tens of thousands of years. Now that the event was underway, it was impossible to say when it would happen again. In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the four great planets contained many cultivators of the appropriate cultivation base to participate. There were even more such cultivators who actually resided on the Ninth Mountain itself.

Then there were the various meteor-like islands in the Ninth Sea, which were also inhabited by numerous cultivators, as well as various other smaller worlds attached to and dependent on the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It was easy to see that an enormous number of people would be participating.

There were to be three levels of recruitment during the event. Nascent Soul. Spirit Severing. Dao Seeking. The participants from these three different stages would all compete in different areas, and would have no contact with each other.

Even more shocking was the news that anyone who got first place in any of the three stages would not only just be able to join one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, but they would immediately become a Conclave disciple, and would be rewarded with precious treasures.

That even caused the Chosen of the various great clans to be excited. Clan cultivators were not required to remain within their respective clans, but often went out to join other sects. The clans generally did not force their members to stay.

When it came to the Three Great Daoist Societies, they had existed for countless years, and apparently had histories that stretched further back than the current era.

That was one of the reasons why the Three Great Daoist Societies were so aloof, and rarely involved themselves in any sort of conflict. Actually, the only enemies the Three Great Daoist Societies had were themselves. Most important of all, they never participated in various clan struggles.

For instance, in the year Lord Hebi altered the Heavens, the Three Great Daoist Societies did not interfere in any way, seemingly because they had already seen far too many changes occur throughout the long years of their existence.

In this particular disciple recruitment event, the Three Great Daoist Societies were each looking to recruit only one disciple.

From all the vast crowds of cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, they would be the only three who were formally recruited. From this, it could be seen that whoever those three people were, their lives and destinies would soon be completely changed.

As for those who didn't end up being recruited by the Three Great Daoist Socities, it was still possible that the Five Great Holy Lands or perhaps the Three Churches and Six Sects would select them from within the competition.

News of the matter spread like wildfire throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea, via the mouths of innumerable cultivators. Even the four great planets, including Planet Ninshu, were informed.

In fact, Lord Hebi issued a Dharmic decree to Planet Ninshu, which the Hebi Clan there sent throughout all the lands. In the blink of an eye, all of the cultivators on Planet Ninshu who were of the Nascent Soul stage or higher, were filled with excitement.

There were many among them who hadn't even been aware that other worlds existed outside in the starry sky. When they found out, their hearts trembled. As for those who already knew about these other worlds, they were filled with even more intense anticipation.

The whole Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a spectacular stir. The recruitment event was the subject of almost every conversation in every location.

It was at just about this time that Naruto received a jade slip from Grandmaster Pill Demon.

"Return to the Violet Fate Sect immediately!"

The message was short, but Naruto could sense Immortal will within its words!

Namikaze Xiufeng stood next to Naruto. He wasn't looking at the jade slip, but rather, up into the sky, as he said, "Your master is about to attempt to transcend his Immortal Tribulation."

Narutos heart trembled. He was well aware that true Immortal Ascension was a very difficult matter. Furthermore, he knew that when the true Immortal destiny appeared on Planet Ninshu, it would not be his. The true Immortal destiny came once every ten thousand years, and as to which of the four great planets it would appear on, that only became detectable in the few hundred years before it appeared.

Furthermore, only people born on that planet would be qualified to acquire the destiny. Since Naruto wasn't born on planet Ninshu, the true Immortal destiny did not belong to him.

"True Immortal destiny," said his father said calmly. "Immortal Tribulation approaches…. Your master will be competing with people who intentionally arranged for their male heirs to be born on Planet Ninshu. They will come to try to seize the Immortal destiny!

"There will also be other peak Dao Seeking experts from South Heaven who will choose that moment to strike!

"Your master showed great kindness to you, and that kindness will be paid back. I will act as his Dharma Protector during the true Immortal Tribulation. I will not allow anyone from the outside to enter Planet Ninshu. As for the lands of South Heaven themselves… I will leave that to you!"

Naruto took a deep breath, then stood and faced his father.

Namikaze Xiufeng flicked his sleeve, and the air around them began to distort. Ghost images sprang up in front of them, which then formed into the image of a map of the lands of South Heaven.

Namikaze Xiufeng stepped forward, followed by Naruto, and the two of them stepped into the illusory map. Narutos eyes swam, and when his vision grew clear again, he could sense the aura of the Southern Domain.

In one instant, they traveled from the Namikaze Clan in the Eastern Lands, to the Violet Fate Sect in the Southern Domain.

The Violet Fate Sect's grand protective spell formation had long since been activated. A soft glow spread out in all directions, and the enormous statue of Reverend Violet East emanated a bright glow as well. If you looked closely, you would be able to see that Immortal Chakra swirled around it.

Shockingly, a person could be seen sitting cross-legged on the very top of Reverend Violet East's head. It was Pill Demon.

He opened his eyes from meditation and turned his head to look at Naruto and Namikaze Xiufeng. A kind smile broke out on his face, and he waved his hand, causing an opening to appear in the grand spell formation. A beam of light extended out toward Naruto.

"You go," said Namikaze Xiufeng. "Father will wait here for the Immortal

Tribulation to start, and then act as Dharma Protector." He nodded to Naruto, and before Naruto could even enter the spell formation, sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Naruto took a deep breath and then stepped onto the flowing light. In a flash, he appeared directly in front of the statue of Reverend Violet East, and Pill Demon.

"Master…." said Naruto softly, his heart filled with nervousness and worry. He already had a cultivation base with eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal. His path was different from Pill Demon's, but he could still faintly sense that when he reached one hundred percent of the power of a true Immortal, his own Tribulation would descend. That tribulation would be even more terrifying than Pill Demon's true Immortal Tribulation.

In true Immortal Tribulation, the chances of making it through alive were small.

"You should be happy for your master," said Pill Demon, smiling kindly. He looked at the disciple who had kowtowed to him three times, binding their destiny as master and apprentice. Now, his own apprentice was already stronger than him, and that made Pill Demon happy.

"Your master has prepared for true Immortal destiny for two lives…. In my last life, I was Reverend Violet East. At the peak of Dao Seeking, I refused to become a false Immortal. I desired true Immortality, so I reincarnated to reestablish my cultivation!

"In this life, I started out as a medicinal pill, which refined a strand of consciousness and then formed a body. Finally, I have reached this day…. Regardless of whatever destiny or tribulation there is, the next step… must be taken!

"Even if my Dao vanishes and my body dies, I will have no regrets!" Pill Demon sighed softly, then looked up into the Heavens. His eyes gleamed with stubborness and determination, as well as anticipation.

It was anticipation regarding the Dao, and the determination to become Immortal.

"I had thought of giving up before. Not because I didn't dare to make the attempt, but because of you. When Immortal destiny descended, how could I possibly fight over it with my own apprentice? But now, everything is clear. This Immortal destiny… belongs to your master!" As Pill Demon spoke, his energy surged, and Immortal Chakra flourished.

"Immortality 仙. One man 人 and one mountain 山!

"In Immortal Ascension, a Dao Corroboration Mountain is required. The mountain statue from my first life is that Dao Corroboration. It represents my Dao Heart. I shall stand atop my first life, to search for Immortality in my second!

Pill Demon turned to look at Naruto and carefully said, "Whether I succeed or fail, the next few days will be an interesting experience for you.

"Pay close attention. What you see happening will be extremely important to you in your coming true Immortal Tribulation!

"I have your father to act as Dharma Protector, which is good. As for the other old-timers from the lands of South Heaven, they have the same mind-set as me. You don't need to interfere with them. If master isn't confident enough to contend with them, then how could I become a true Immortal!

"You stay here and just watch as your master… transcends true Immortal Tribulation to become a true Immortal!" Pill Demon's voice rang out, and Naruto took a deep breath. He looked at his master, and could sense the determination he had to corroborate his Dao, and pay any price to achieve his goal.

He did not fear death. He only feared… not achieving true Immortal Ascension!

Chapter 835: Pill Demon's Tribulation

Vol. 6 : Chapter 836

Chapter 836: The Door of Immortality Descends

Narutos mind trembled. Seeing his master like this, and hearing the determination in his voice when he spoke of Immortal Ascension, caused his heart to twinge. He offered no words of advice, but rather sat down cross-legged, an enlightened expression on his face.

"If you wish to achieve Immortal Ascension," said Pill Demon, "you must possess incredible willpower and ambition. Fuse them into a Dao Heart, which searches for Immortality.

"That Dao Heart represents a lifetime of obsession that will cause you to feel regret to your dying day if you cannot achieve true Immortality."

Pill Demon smiled slightly, then closed his eyes. In only a few days, the true Immortal Tribulation would descend. During that time, he needed to preserve his calm mind, and keep himself at the absolute pinnacle of readiness. Then, he could be ready to meet the Immortal Tribulation that he had been waiting for two lifetimes to see!

Time passed. More and more Immortal Chakra began to circulate through Pill Demon's body. The Violet Fate Sect's grand protective spell formation was in full rotation, and all of the sect's disciples sat cross-legged reciting scriptures. Their will poured out, forming together to create a bizarre power that bolstered the statue of Reverend Violet East. As a result, the statue appeared to grow more and more lifelike.

Chu Yuyan was in the crowd. She saw Naruto, and then closed her eyes. She could sense that the gap between the two of them was only continuing to grow more vast. Naruto was almost an Immortal, and she was still in the Nascent Soul stage.

It was as if a vast ravine existed between the two of them that cut off any future possibilities.

The atmosphere in the lands of the Southern Domain was gradually becoming oppressive. Patriarch Song came, along with the South Cleaving Sentinels of the Western Desert, as well as countless other cultivators. They did not approach the Violet Fate Sect, but rather took up positions around the perimeter to stand guard and act as Dharma Protectors.

Anyone who had been shown favor by Pill Demon throughout the years appeared to pay back his kindness by acting as Dharma Protectors. At the same time, in the vast Eastern Lands, as well as in other secret locations throughout South Heaven, people who had suppressed their cultivation bases and gone into secluded meditation, began to awaken. These were people who had been waiting their entire lives for true Immortal Ascension.

They stepped out into the various mountains in the wilderness that housed their places of secluded meditation, and used varied methods to approach the lands of South Heaven. They didn't interfere with the Violet Fate Sect, but rather chose nearby locations to set up their own restrictive spell formations, within which they sat cross-legged, rotating their cultivation bases as they waited for the chance to fight for Immortality!

On this occasion, all the cultivators in the lands of the Southern Domain who wished to fight for Immortality, would appear.

This was the reason that the experts from the Northern Reaches had originally decided to wage war on the Southern Domain. They had wanted to occupy the key position in the fight for Immortal destiny.

The sky gradually grew murky; even at nighttime, it was still not completely black. The heavens were in a perpetual state of evening. Furthermore, a shocking pressure weighed down on all of Planet Ninshu.

The mortals all slipped into comas, and the vegetation seemed to fall dormant and become devoid of life. The animals all lay prone on the ground in hibernation.

The highest of mountains no longer seemed high, and the rivers ceased to flow. No waves could be seen on the Milky Way Sea; it was as flat and smooth as a mirror.

It was at this point that countless beams of light appeared outside of Planet Ninshu. Numerous teleportation portals popped up, sending ripples out in all directions. People hurried toward South Heaven from locations all over the Ninth Mountain and Sea. These were people who, by various methods, had left clan members behind on the planet who were now emerging to fight for Immortal Destiny. It was only natural for their relatives to return at this critical juncture.

However, as they neared the lands of South Heaven, a beam of sword Chakra rose up into the starry sky and encircled the entire planet. Namikaze Xiufeng's voice then resonated out.

"Planet Ninshu is now sealed. Fellow Daoists, please take your leave."

When the people rushing through the starry sky heard the echoing voice, their faces flickered. Many of them transmitted requests to step foot onto the planet, along with promises and pledges of various sorts, but Namikaze Xiufeng ignored them. He continued to sit with his eyes closed outside of the Violet Fate Sect, using divine sense to control the sword Chakra that had sealed all of Planet Ninshu.

He knew that such actions directly cut off the path of Immortality for many. He also knew that numerous other sects and clans would be displeased by the matter. Although it wouldn't affect him very much, it wasn't a good thing for Naruto.

Namikaze Xiufeng had previously explained these things to Naruto, who hadn't said anything in response. The determination glowing in his eyes said all that needed to be said.

"That's exactly how my son ought to be," thought Namikaze Xiufeng.

"Kindness should be repaid, and enmities should be avenged!"

Planet Ninshu was sealed, making it impossible for the crowds on the outside to enter. They could only look on nervously. Some of them gritted their teeth and transformed into beams of prismatic light that tried to force their way in. However, before they could even get near, the sword Chakra swept out, and they were sent flying back, blood spraying from their mouths.

"That was just a warning," said Namikaze Xiufeng, his voice cold. "From now on, any trespassers will be executed immediately." The people on the outside were both resentful and, at the same time, filled with fear.

Three days later!

The lands of South Heaven were filled with rumbling sounds that emanated not from the planet itself, but from the starry sky overhead. It was almost as if a giant were roaring from outer space.

Roaring out to cause a character to appear!

That character, was the character 'Immortality!'"

As the sound echoed out, it seemed as if everyone in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea would hear it, and yet… it was only audible on Planet Ninshu!

At the same time, the starry sky outside South Heaven trembled, and countless shards appeared that began to form together into… an enormous door!

The door emanated boundless antiquity. It appeared to be made of bronze, and was carved with countless totemic patterns. Although it was impossible to clearly make out all the details, the archaic air of the door made it seem as if it had existed since the beginning of Heaven and Earth.

The door was somewhat dilapidated, as if it had experienced horrifying wars. Black stains could be seen on its surface that appeared to be blood, and it radiated a powerful, terrifying aura that was virtually impossible to describe. As for the size of the door, it was matchlessly gargantuan, seemingly large enough to prop up the starry sky itself.

Even Namikaze Xiufeng was mentally shaking after sensing the door and its aura. Were this thing a magical item, it would surely be able to suppress all living things once its power was unleashed.

When it appeared in the starry sky, the crowds of cultivators outside, who were incapable of entering Planet Ninshu, looked on with shock and couldn't help but cry out in surprise.

"The Door of Immortality has appeared! True Immortal destiny has arrived!"

"Dammit! Namikaze Xiufeng is blocking the way so that we can't get in! Don't tell me that we're just going to have sit idly by and watch the good fortune get taken away!?"

"Does Namikaze Xiufeng really think that he alone can stop all of us! Let's storm the place!" The eyes of all the onlookers were completely bloodshot.

At the same time, gusts of Immortal mist began to emanate off of the

Door of Immortality, which then flowed directly toward Planet Ninshu.

It covered all of Planet Ninshu in the blink of an eye, making it seem like a planet of mist. Next, the door began to move forward, passing through the crowds to enter those mists, then sink down toward the lands of South Heaven.

As of this point, the cultivators on the outside were going crazy, and

they began to charge South Heaven. In response, Narutos father sent his icy divine will out. Sword Chakra rumbled, sweeping across the crowds that wished to descend onto South Heaven.

Rumbling echoed out, and the starry sky trembled. Miserable screams could be heard, and blood showered down like rain. The sword Chakra swept about, making it impossible for even a single person to pierce through to the lands of South Heaven.

Down on South Heaven, the sky was a mass of roiling Immortal Chakra that replaced the previous perpetual evening. Rumbling filled the air, the result of the mists chafing against each other; this was Immortal thunder.

There were also lightning bolts that danced about within the mists. Every single lightning bolt that appeared filled the onlookers with shock, and they felt as if their souls were about to shatter.

"Immortality!" An archaic voice spoke from within the mists, and the word echoed throughout all the lands of South Heaven, to be heard in the minds of all Dao Seeking cultivators. That character became a key that opened the path of Immortality to any who were qualified.

"Immortality!" Pill Demon looked up and opened his eyes, which shone with intense determination. Slowly, he rose to his feet.

At the same time, there were all the other Dao Seeking experts who were now in the Southern Domain, be they from the Eastern Lands, be they experts who had suppressed their cultivation bases for an entire life, or be they cultivators like Pill Demon who had reestablished their cultivation.

All of them were waiting for this true Immortal Tribulation!

Simultaneously, all of them opened their mouths and began to speak the word 'Immortality.' Then, they began to fly up toward the source of that ancient voice in the mists.

Narutos mind trembled, and he rotated his cultivation base. His

blood began to circulate faster; just now, the Immortal Chakra in his body had been stimulated, and even he had almost began to call out 'Immortality.'

However, he was not born in the lands of South Heaven, and was not part of the group to whom this destiny belonged. Therefore, he endured. However, everything that was happening up in the sky left him with an indelible impression.

Next, the mists began to churn. More thunder rumbled out, and countless bolts of lightning danced as a gigantic door began to descend!

The ancientness of the door was impossible to describe, as if it had existed from the beginning of Heaven and Earth. It was incredibly old, perhaps even older than the Nine Mountains and Seas. Its emergence made it seem as if the lands below were nothing in comparison. The carvings on its surface were stained with blood, and the aura it emanated left everyone breathing raggedly. It was almost as if looking at this door was looking back into the lost pages of history!

"Where did it come from?" thought Naruto as he looked at it. "How come it can turn people into true Immortals?" Suddenly, the bronze lamp in his bag of holding began to vibrate, as if there were some resonance between it and the bronze door.

Pill Demon lifted his head up and laughed.

"The Door of Immortality descends! This… this is true Immortal Tribulation!

"There is no tribulation for false Immortals. They only need a Dharmic decree from a true Immortal, and then they can achieve false Immortal Ascension. However, if a true Immortal dies, then his false Immortals will also die!

"That's not the path of a cultivator. That's charity! What cultivators cultivate defies the laws of Heaven; it is a path of freedom. How could a cultivator become an Immortal enslaved to another?!

"Step onto the Dao Corroboration Mountain, break open the Door of Immortality during Immortal Tribulation. That is true Immortal Ascension!

"If the Door of Immortality doesn't open, and the Immortal Tribulation does not dissipate, then what does it matter if you die?!"

Beneath Pill Demon's feet, the mountain that was the statue of Reverend Violet East uprooted itself. Rumbling rose up as a soft and gentle power spread out, pushing Naruto away from the enormous statue.

At the same time, the same bizarre power caused the statue to rise up into the air and head toward the Door of Immortality.

Simultaneously, seven completely unique mountains suddenly appeared throughout the lands of South Heaven.

Of those seven mountains, the largest resembled a needle-like sword, and the smallest looked like a burial mound. Each one was different, but all seven of them belonged to ancient beings who would contend with Pill Demon over the Immortal destiny. These were the Dao Corroboration Mountains of powerful Dao Seeking experts!

In much the same fashion as Pill Demon, those powerful experts stood on their respective mountains as they rose up into the air toward the Door of Immortality.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 837

Chapter 837: Mistaken? I'll Still Do as I Said!

Beneath the feet of each person was a mountain that was their own Dao Corroboration Mountain. One person 人, one mountain 山, that… was an Immortal 仙!

Eight people, eight Immortals, flying through the air.

The true Immortal Tribulation was not something that would eventually fade away. No, it would only grow more and more intense until, in the end, it would be strong enough to destroy any cultivator in the Spirit Realm. Even cultivators of the Immortal Realm or the Ancient Realm… would all be destroyed when facing that level of power!

The key to transcending the tribulation was attacking the Door of Immortality!

Only by breaking open that door could the tribulation be dispersed, and successfully transcended.

Almost in the same instant that Pill Demon and the other eight began to fly up on their respective mountains, the Immortal mist up above churned, and eight bolts of lightning shot down. Each bolt of lightning was as thick as an arm, and moved with incredible speed. They contained enough power to easily eradicate any normal peak Dao Seeking expert.

A massive boom rang out from the direction of each of the eight cultivators. The ground quaked and the sky churned. Magical items were utilized and divine abilities unleashed. All eight cultivators roared and forced their way through the lightning as they continued on toward the Door of Immortality.

Narutos eyes glittered as he hovered there in midair. He could clearly tell that of the eight bolts of lightning, his master Pill Demon's was somewhat different from the others.

That particular lightning bolt seemed to possess intelligence and personality. Although initially it seemed similar, upon closer examination, it was clearly different.

"That's the main bolt of lighting, while the other seven are auxiliary!" he thought. "Right, father mentioned that the true Immortal destiny of this lifetime belonged to my master. Considering the level of father's cultivation base, and his vast experience, he wouldn't randomly say such a thing.

"It goes to show that the Immortal destiny of this lifetime has selected master. Therefore, the main bolt of lightning sought him out. However, the others could still seize the main position and take his place!" Killing intent flickered in Narutos eyes. He had experienced many things in his time as a cultivator, and had long since developed a decisive and ruthless personality.

He didn't know these seven people, but since they were just about to fight his master over the true Immortal destiny, that made them Narutos enemies.

He snorted coldly, and killing intent glittered in his eyes. He flew out and began to head in the direction of one of the old men, circulating the Immortal Chakra which existed inside of him as he prepared an explosive attack.

Up in midair, Pill Demon was charging toward the Door of Immortality along with the other seven cultivators.

"Hao'er, get back!" he shouted, his tone serious. "Master will fight alone for the Immortal Destiny. Stand down!" Of course, he was also concerned that considering Narutos current state, participating in this Immortal Tribulation might have an influence on him in the future. Therefore, he instructed Naruto to hold back.

Naruto stopped in place. He could hear the urgency and care in his master's words, and he didn't want to cause any distractions. Therefore, he clenched his jaw and ceased his charge. However, eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal surged out explosively. Instantly, a wind whipped up, and the seven old men who were about to contend for the Immortal destiny trembled.

"Listen up, you seven!" said Naruto, his eyes glittering. "Do your best to fight with my master, and I won't interfere. But if any of you try any tricks, then don't blame me for attacking.

"And let's make another thing clear. Even if you succeed in getting the Immortal destiny… well, I've killed a few false Immortals and… I'm itching to try to slaughter a true Immortal." The first statement was intimidating, and the second was outright threatening. His goal was to sow chaos in the hearts of the seven contenders, to thoroughly distract them on their path to fighting for Immortality.

Immediately, two among the seven spoke, their voices cold and sinister.

"The Immortal destiny is descending on Planet Ninshu, and anyone born here qualifies to fight for it. What the hell gives you the right to say something like that!?"

"Hmph! You're playing with fire, kid! Immortal destiny is good fortune, and anyone can get it! If you dare to interfere, then you'll be fighting against the Door of Immortality. I'm also curious to know why the hell you think you can interfere with Immortal destiny!"

Clearly, these two people had been in secluded meditation for far too long, and had no idea what had happened recently in the outside world. The only reason they emerged was because of the Immortal destiny, and they had no idea who Naruto was. Of the rest of the seven, four were from the Eastern Lands, and didn't say anything.

"What the hell gives me the right?" said Naruto, flicking his sleeve.

"How about my father, who's preventing people from all over the Ninth Mountain and Sea from returning to South Heaven to help the offspring they planted here on South Heaven!

"How about the fact that if they managed to return, you would have no chance of fighting for the Immortal destiny!

"How about the fact that the Southern Domain is my home!"

"Who cares about all that?" responded one of the old men among the seven. "Immortal destiny is in front of us and we all have the chance to get it. Your master has been waiting for a long time, but so have we. Even if we steal the Immortal destiny, what's so wrong with that?"

Narutos face darkened. Looking over the seven, he continued, "You're right, there's nothing wrong with it. My mistake. However, even if I'm mistaken, I'll still do exactly as I said."

The old men who had just spoken made no retorts. Not only could they sense the massive ripples of the huge battle being fought in the starry sky outside, they could also feel the determination in Narutos words.

Rumble!

A second round of lightning descended. Booms rang out as Pill Demon and the others were shaken, and came to a stop. A third round of lightning bolts then materialized and slashed down like flying swords. Rumbling filled the air as Pill Demon and the others unleashed divine abilities and magical items. Even still, blood sprayed from their mouths.

However, they continued to press on toward the Door of Immortality. By the time the sixth round of lightning descended, they were there. They arrived at almost exactly the same time, and immediately began to levy attacks against the Door of Immortality itself.

Massive booms rattled out, and yet Pill Demon and the others, despite unleashing the full powers of their cultivation bases, could not budge the door even the slightest bit. It didn't even crack open, which caused all the hearts of all eight to begin to thump.

Down below, Narutos face was anxious.

More waves of lightning crackled down. The sky churned as the ninth wave fell. These lightning bolts were as thick as water buckets, and illusory flood dragons could be seen inside of them. As soon as they appeared, wild colors flashed, and a massive pressure weighed down. The flood dragon that shot toward Pill Demon had a long horn, and was clearly different than the other seven flood dragons.

The booms that rattled out caused the land to quake and the air to shatter. Pill Demon coughed up blood, and the magical items he had just been using collapsed into pieces. He trembled and fell back a few paces. As for the other seven, they also coughed up blood. However, they seemed to have taken less damage than Pill Demon. They gritted their teeth and resumed their attacks on the Door of Immortality.

And yet, the door still would not budge!

It was at this moment that Pill Demon raised his head and roared.

Immortal Chakra swirled around his body, almost as if he were on fire. Beneath him, the statue of Reverend Violet East was also wreathed in flames, and the statue's eyes shone with bright light.

It almost seemed as if the statue were coming to life. As for Pill Demon, he stood on the head of the statue, performing a double-handed incantation. Then he pointed out at the Door of Immortality. Instantly, the statue trembled and, carrying Pill Demon with it, flew up directly through the lightning to appear directly in front of the Door of Immortality. The statue then clenched its right hand into a fist and punched out at the door.

Pill Demon also clenched his hand into a fist and punched out.

This was the combination of two lifetimes' worth of cultivation, all coalesced into a single strike!

The blow coming from the statue of Reverend Violet East almost seemed to be coming from ten thousand years in the past, traveling through time to appear here to join with the power of his second life and create an indescribable force.

"Immortality!" shouted Pill Demon, and his voice echoed out in all directions. The other seven cultivators were shocked to see the punch… slam directly onto the surface of the enormous Door of Immortality.

Crashing sounds filled the air as the Door of Immortality… finally moved! The combined attack of Pill Demon and the statue of Reverend Violet East caused the door to open by a tiny, tiny sliver!

In the instant that the sliver-like opening appeared, Pill Demon coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Beneath him, the statue trembled, and almost looked as if it might collapse into pieces. However… in that moment, the Immortal Chakra within Pill Demon suddenly grew denser.

Tribulation Lightning descended again. As for the other seven cultivators, one lightning bolt descended on each of them. In contrast, three bolts of Tribulation Lightning fell toward Pill Demon. Seeing this caused the seven others' faces to flicker, and their hearts to tremble.

"We can't let him continue to attack! We have to kill him!"

"He's already opened the door by a sliver! If he keeps going, the

Immortal destiny will belong to him!"

"Stop him! Kill him! The only way for us to keep fighting for Immortal destiny is for him to die!"

Narutos threat had been somewhat effective before, but now that the good fortune was clearly visible, and everyone had the chance to get it, how could the other seven continue to act rationally?

Killing intent flickered in their eyes. They had practiced cultivation in hiding down to this very day; they were Paragons of their generation, and this caused determination to flicker in their eyes. There were three in particular who charged directly toward Pill Demon.

"He has the aura of Immortal destiny on him! Whoever kills him will be wresting away destiny!"

As the three closed in on Pill Demon, three lightning bolts also descended. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his face was pale; he seemed to be just on the verge of collapsing.

From his position down below, Naruto looked up, his eyes bloodshot.

Eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal exploded out. His Dharma Idol materialized, and his energy rocketed up. He flickered, appearing in front of Pill Demon, and punched out at the incoming three cultivators.

"Don't force me to kill you!" he said, his voice echoing like thunder. His voice, backed by eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, transformed into a destructive attack that slammed into the three men. Instantly, their faces filled with shock, and blood sprayed from their mouths. There was even one among their number whose arms exploded in a haze of blood. A bloodcurdling scream echoed out, and a vicious gleam appeared in the old man's eyes. His eyes began to bleed black blood, and two beams of black light shot out from them. The two beams seemed capable of defiling anything and everything as they shot toward Pill Demon.

"You're looking to die!" shouted Naruto, his body transforming into something like a hurricane as he whistled forward through the air and let out another punch.

This punch shook the sky and rocked the land. The armless old man was simply too slow to dodge to the side. He didn't even have time to produce one of the magical items he had prepared to help transcend the tribulation. In the end, he was simply at the peak of Dao Seeking; despite the fact that he was participating in Immortal Tribulation, he had still not achieved Immortal Ascension.

"You dare to interfere with Immortal destiny!" he screamed as he died. "You will be punished!" Then he exploded, completely destroyed in body and spirit.

Naruto snorted coldly and turned away. In that instant, the mist up above seethed, and a sound like a roar of rage could be heard as a lightning bolt descended that was clearly different than all the other lightning bolts. This lightning bolt was crimson, and it tore a rift into the air as it shot down toward Naruto.

This was the punishment!

The punishment for interfering with Immortal Tribulation!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 838

Chapter 838: So, You Are a Thief Too!

"Hao'er!" cried Pill Demon anxiously, and was just about to assist him.

Naruto looked up and took a long, deep breath. As he did, his Dharma Idol was sucked inside of him. He performed an incantation gesture and then pointed up toward the red lightning bolt.

Flashes of color swept across the sky and land; mountains crumbled and the land shattered. Massive rumbling filled the air as Naruto was shoved downward several paces. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, but the red lightning bolt vanished.

"That was the punishment?" said Naruto, looking up. "Master, don't worry about me. You keep blasting that Door of Immortality. Apprentice… will act as your Dharma Protector!"

Pill Demon knew that his apprentice was powerful. After all, he had completely suppressed all of the experts from the Northern Reaches, and had transformed over a hundred thousand cultivators into felon citizens. The mountain called Sin of the North still stood, within which were five peak Dao Seeking experts, whose spiritual energy was being used to replenish the Southern Domain.

Pill Demon took a deep breath. He saw the determination in Narutos eyes, and it filled his heart with warmth. He smiled, and then his expression turned decisive. His body flickered as he once again used the power of two lifetimes to attack the Door of Immortality.

Pill Demon knew Naruto, but when it came to the two remaining old men among the group who had attacked Pill Demon, this was their first time encountering him. Their faces fell, and their scalps went numb. The red lightning bolt that had fallen just now was clearly far more powerful than any of the other lightning bolts that had descended during the Immortal Tribulation. Had they been the subject of such an attack, they would surely have been killed.

And yet, the young man in front of them directly fought back against it with his own might. He didn't even use magical items, and most importantly, the only thing that happened as a result was a bit of blood seeping out of his mouth. In their view, that made Naruto completely inhuman, and caused their breathing to come in ragged pants. However, they did not retreat. If one did not succeed in Immortal Tribulation, the result was death.

"If you don't do anything to interfere with my master, and simply struggle normally to acquire the Immortal destiny, then I won't do anything to you," said Naruto. He hovered in midair, looking at the two men in front of him, as well as the other four who were still nearby.

The six men exchanged looks. Even the cultivators from the vast Eastern Lands who knew the might of Narutos status, didn't care about that by now.

"Struggle normally to acquire Immortal destiny…? Killing the lucky one and taking his destiny IS the normal way. There's no going back now!"

"There is no enmity between us, and you block our path to Immortality?

That makes us irreconcilable foes!"

"There is no going back! Defeat means death! Only by killing this guy with two lifetimes can we have the chance to reach Immortal

Ascension!"

Considering their hearts were filled with the desire to transcend the tribulation, how could they possibly fear death? Killing intent flickered within the six men's eyes as they suppressed their dread of Naruto and shot toward him.

Naruto stood there silently. He wanted to block their way, and had no desire to kill any of them. However, when it came to the path to Immortality, there was no right or wrong. Blocking the path to Immortality truly did make them irreconcilable foes.

Naruto hovered by Pill Demon. Not making his stand in this way would be the wrong thing to do. However, from the perspective of the other six men, Narutos actions were an unforgivable sin!

"There is no enmity or hatred between us," said Naruto, his voice profound. "Perhaps blocking your way to Immortal Ascension and cutting off your path to Immortality… will result in Karma. If so, I will do my best to accept it." A cold gleam flickered in his eyes.

As the six men closed in, Narutos body flickered, and suddenly shone with boundless golden light. He transformed into a golden roc that shot screaming toward one of the incoming enemies.

From a distance, it was possible to see the golden roc swooping down, with talons sharp enough to slice metal and rock. It slammed into the old man, who was employing all of the divine abilities he could summon, as well as magical items. None of it made any difference. The gap between him and Naruto was too great. In a few short breaths of time, he was seriously injured and on the verge of death. At the critical moment, his eyes filled with madness and he suddenly reached out his right hand, within which appeared a jade slip.

The jade slip pulsed with Immortal qi, and emanated a feeling of nameless danger that caused Narutos eyes to widen.

"DIE!" cried the old man, crushing the jade slip. This was an object he had prepared for use in a critical moment when transcending tribulation.

However, considering he had been pushed into a corner, he didn't hesitate to use it now. Rumbling spread out as something like a sun materialized in front of the old man. Boundless rays of blinding light shot out from the sun as it hurtled toward Naruto.

Naruto remained silently in place. He could have used the Lightning Cauldron and Form Displacement Transposition. However, out of respect toward these people and their struggle for Immortality, he did not wish to use tricks to kill them.

The jade slip unleashed incredible power, such that even a false Immortal would be shocked by it. Back when Naruto only had fifty percent of the power of a true Immortal, he would have had no choice other than to dodge. Now, though, he had eighty percent of that power. As soon as the sun began to explode, he lifted up his right hand, causing magical light to surge up around him. He shot forward, stabbing directly into the sun. As it exploded, Naruto pointed his finger toward the old man's forehead.

The old man's eyes went wide with disbelief at what he was seeing. The item he had specially prepared to assist him in transcending this tribulation unexpectedly… was incapable of doing anything against this terrifying figure in front of him.

Smiling bitterly, the old man's eyes began to grow dim. Suddenly, however, a gleam could be seen in them once more, as if in looking at Naruto, he had suddenly realized something. His eyes went wide, and he laughed loudly.

"So, it turns out you are a thief too."

A boom could be heard as the sun exploded. Before the ripples could even begin to spread out, Naruto was back in his original position. As for the old man, none of his aura could be sensed anymore.

Naruto waved his hand, and the old man's corpse began to peacefully float back down to the ground.

The Immortal mist up above began to rumble loudly, and a red bolt of lightning even bigger than the previous one suddenly began to fall. It moved with incredible speed, giving Naruto almost no time to react.

A rumble could be heard as Narutos golden roc collapsed into pieces. Naruto himself reappeared, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Then he took a deep breath and shifted his gaze toward another of the incoming old men.

The old man's face was pale white, and filled with the utmost astonishment.

"After all my years in secluded meditation, how could someone so inhuman have appeared in the lands of South Heaven!" he exclaimed bitterly. "Just who is this man!? Tribulation Lightning can't kill him, and he's already killed two of us! Don't tell me this is how our Tribulation will end!?" The old man wasn't willing to give in. His eyes gleamed with venomous madness, and, knowing that he couldn't hide or flee, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a bottle of blood. He placed it against his lips and consumed the entire bottle, and his energy suddenly began to flow in reverse. At the same time, a bloody mist began to emerge from the top of his head.

His face distorted, and veins bulged out on his face as he let out a vicious roar like that of a wild animal.

"Blocking my path to Immortality is the same as cutting off my chance at life! If I can't achieve Immortal Ascension, then I am certain to die. Therefore… it doesn't matter whether I die by the Immortal Tribulation or by your hand. There's no difference!" Face filled with bitterness, the old man charged Naruto.

Simultaneously, lightning crashed, as Immortal Tribulation Lightning bolts descended one after another. They grew stronger and stronger, causing everything to shake. Pill Demon once again neared the Door of Immortality. Surrounded by rumbling sounds, he focused the power of two lifetimes, braced himself against the Immortal Tribulation, and attacked the Door of Immortality again.

Blood sprayed from Pill Demon's mouth, and the Door of Immortality trembled as it opened slightly further. However, it was in that instant the the remaining four old men unleashed divine abilities and magical techniques in a direct attack against Pill Demon.

It was a moment of grave crisis. Pill Demon was already seriously injured, and was fighting back with everything he had. Not only was he forced to fight these four people, but lightning continued to fall on all of them. Everything was shaking as Naruto battled against the beastlike old man.

The old man roared as he fought. He wasn't a match for Naruto, but in his heart, he was prepared to die, and didn't care about defending himself. He attacked with full power, causing Naruto to sigh as he lifted his right hand and utilized the Star Plucking Magic. A gigantic hand appeared out of thin air, and crushed down on the old man, whose body was smashed into pieces as he screamed.

Naruto did his best to keep the body intact as it floated back down toward the ground, then he shot toward the remaining four old men who were attacking Pill Demon. Up above, a third red lightning bolt formed within the roiling clouds. This time, the lightning also contained blackness, which made the entire lightning bolt appear violet. As it slammed into Naruto, his body trembled, and he coughed up two mouthfuls of blood before he managed to continue onward.

He transformed into a golden roc that shot toward the remaining cultivators who were fighting Pill Demon. At the same time, lightning descended onto Pill Demon. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and the mountain beneath his feet seemed on the verge of collapsing.

Magical light swirled around Naruto as he closed in, transforming into a cyclone. Rumbling filled the air as he attacked the four old men, forcing them into retreat, blood spurting from their mouths. They smiled bitterly, and at the same time, their desire to kill grew even stronger.

"All of you, stop forcing my hand!" said Naruto, standing firm in front of Pill Demon. Pill Demon's face was pale and he appeared to be on the verge of collapse. He consumed some medicinal pills and then attacked the Door of Immortality once again with all the strength he could muster.

The door trembled, and the crack opened wider. More Immortal Tribulation descended.

The glittering glow of lightning covered the land, and Naruto stood between Pill Demon and the four other cultivators, almost like a massive, uncrossable ravine!

"There is nowhere to turn back to! Unless we kill this cultivator with two lives and steal his destiny, there is no way we can break open the door!"

"Death lies on the left and the right. Life only exists straight ahead! If we die, we'll die fighting!"

"We have waited for this day for too long. Now that it is here… it seems it truly is a tribulation…." The four men began to laugh loudly. Their hearts were focused on striving for the Dao, a desire that had not lessened even now.

Laughing, they transformed into beams of colorful light, burning their cultivation bases to achieve the absolute pinnacle of power as they shot toward Naruto.

Narutos expression was complex. Silently, he took a deep breath as the four cultivators bore down on him. His Dharma Idol suddenly began to expand, transforming into a giant that stepped toward the four incoming old men. It became something like a wall that the four of them then slammed into.

A huge boom rattled out, and everything shook as an astonishing shockwave spread out. However, because of the Dharma Idol, none of the ripples interfered with Pill Demon.

Pill Demon looked over at Naruto silently. Although he said nothing, it was clear that everything that was happening was being etched deeply onto his soul.

"If this sows Karma," he murmured, "then I refuse to allow my apprentice to bear it! Let their souls be entangled with mine for all generations to come!" With that, his body flashed as he attacked the Door of Immortality yet again. The statue beneath his feet seemed to be on the verge of collapse, and his own body appeared to be at its limit. However, the attack shook the door, which was now opening even wider than before. At the same time, however, the Tribulation Lightning was getting even stronger!

Meanwhile, the four old men on the other side of the Dharma Idol were like lamps with little oil left in them. Laughing bitterly, they all suddenly flew straight up into the air. They did not wish to die by Narutos hands, but rather, chose to die by Immortal Tribulation!

They flew up, and the Immortal Tribulation descended. Booming sounds rang out as all of them were destroyed in body and soul.

Although Naruto didn't kill them himself, they had died because of him. In the same moment that they died, the mist in the sky above seethed, and something like a roar of rage echoed out. Massive quantities of red lightning bolts began to form together, transforming into a sea of lightning that then shot down toward Naruto.

From a distance, the massive quantity of lightning looked almost like a huge hand that wished to crush Naruto to death.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 839

Chapter 839: True Immortality is a Challenge!

Despite the level of Narutos cultivation base, the massive lightning hand that descended caused him to feel a sense of impending doom. Almost as soon as it began to fall from the sky, Narutos eyes glinted with madness. He raised his hand, and the Blood Demon Grand Magic surged with full power. Rumbling filled the air, and his entire body radiated magical light.

In the blink of an eye, all existence was illuminated by the glow of his magic.

At the same time, the Blood Demon Grand Magic vortex roared like a beast from ancient times. All the cultivators in the Violet Fate Sect could clearly see a red horn protruding from the middle of the vortex.

Next, a gigantic head appeared, the head of a Blood Demon that then hurled itself directly toward the glittering lightning hand.

When they met, the resulting explosion caused all creation to shake violently. The Blood Demon head's horn shattered, after which, the entire head collapsed into pieces. The blood-colored vortex shattered, as did Narutos Dharma Idol.

As for the lightning hand, it was also shaken. One finger after another collapsed, until all that remained was a single finger that continued to jab viciously down toward Naruto.

Just when it was about to slam into him, Narutos body began to shine with boundless golden light. He became a golden roc, which flapped its wings, sending him speeding off into the distance. As the palm raced after him in pursuit, Naruto rotated his cultivation base and then unleashed another divine ability. He pointed directly toward the incoming palm.

BOOM!

A huge crash could be heard, and the lightning palm vanished. Blood sprayed from Narutos mouth, and he staggered backward to a position nearly three thousand meters away. After coughing up seven successive mouthfuls of blood, he finally came to a stop.

His face was pale, and his body was wracked with trembling. Sparks of electricity continued to dance around his body, and he had lost more than half of his Chakra and blood. There was a massive wound in his chest, which burned with intense pain.

Naruto gritted his teeth and looked up; his eyes shone with a boundless, intense light.

He had completely surpassed the Tribulation Lightning's punishment!

As of this moment, all of the Southern Domain cultivators who had come to act as Dharma Protectors for Pill Demon were left in complete and utter shock. What they had just witnessed exceeded anything they had ever seen before in their lives.

They had the impulse to rush to help Pill Demon in his true Immortal Tribulation. However, the massive pressure that weighed down not only filled them with awe, it made it impossible for them to even fly into the air.

They could only look on as Naruto acted, and his intense strength only deepened their impression of him.

In the Violet Fate Sect, all of the disciples' minds were shaken.

Everything that Naruto was doing caused their gratefulness to him to become even more intense.

Were it not for Narutos presence, Pill Demon might still have been able to avoid death during this tribulation. However, it definitely would have been much more difficult to acquire the true Immortal destiny. And if he had failed… he would have perished and his soul would have been dispersed.

Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth and looked up into the sky.

He saw his master Pill Demon, standing on the damaged statue of Reverend Violet East, once again combining the power of two lifetimes to strike the Door of Immortality.

Once, twice, three times….

He struck the door again and again, and it continued to open wider and wider. At the same time, more Immortal Tribulation Lightning descended, with increased intensity. By now, all of Pill Demon's magical items were in use, and the Immortal Tribulation had reached a shocking level of intensity.

The Violet Fate Sect's grand spell formation was activated to the fullest extent to help Pill Demon fight back against the Immortal Tribulation. However, the Immortal Tribulation was growing more intense, and the Door of Immortality was only forty percent open! There was still another sixty percent to go!

"Fellow Daoist Pill Demon, use this magical item of mine!"

"Senior Pill Demon, take my magical item!"

"Pill Demon, this is a treasure I prepared to help you transcend the tribulation!"

Many among the crowds down below began to produce various magical items. They severed their own connection with them and then tossed them up into the sky.

The magical items transformed into countless beams of glowing light that shot toward Pill Demon and then swirled around him. These were all lightning-resisting items, and all of them were extremely valuable.

At this moment, they didn't hesitate for even a second to give them to

Pill Demon. Pill Demon trembled, and his heart filled with appreciation. Now was not the time for words, though. He took a deep breath, clasped hands to the crowds below, and then waved his arm, causing the hundreds of magical items to emit a boundless glow that fought back against the Immortal Tribulation!

Naruto hovered off in the distance, watching the scene. He also waved his hand, sending a magical item out, his beast claw. It emitted an incisive glow that, when it joined the other magical items around Pill Demon, transformed into a bizarre light.

Narutos eyes gleamed with the anticipation of being able to bear witness to his master becoming a true Immortal.

RUUMMMMBLLEEEE!

Bolt after bolt of Immortal Tribulation Lightning slammed down, without end. Soon, they were so numerous that they became a lake of lightning. It was almost as if a hole had been ripped into the sky, and lightning was falling like rain in a violent downpour.

Pill Demon's figure was submerged in the lightning to the point where onlookers couldn't see him clearly. Only Naruto was just barely able to see him.

The blasts against the Door of Immortality continued. Fifty percent. Sixty percent….

The magical items surrounding Pill Demon were beginning to shatter. In the instant that the door opened by sixty percent, even Narutos beast claw collapsed into pieces. By the time all of the magical items were destroyed, Pill Demon was like a flickering lamp about to be extinguished. He laughed bitterly, and looked up at the Tribulation Lightning, then at the Door of Immortality, which was only sixty percent opened. Then, he sighed.

"True Immortality really is a challenge…." he said, his voice filled with pain. "A chance that comes once in ten thousand years, and is incredibly difficult…. Despite my best efforts, I fell short by forty percent." The sky rumbled, and the lake of lightning screamed. It seemed to cover everything, filled with destructive power as it bore down onto Pill Demon, who stood in front of the Door of Immortality.

However, at this moment, Narutos eyes glittered, and he smacked his bag of holding. The meat jelly appeared, and Naruto threw it into the air before it could even react. It shrieked as it became a beam of prismatic light that shot toward Pill Demon and the Heavenly Tribulation.

"Master, keep battering that door!" yelled Naruto. As soon as the meat jelly reached the lake of lightning, it let out a curse and then opened its mouth. It began to inhale, and the lake of lightning trembled, then began to move toward the meat jelly.

Popping sounds rang out from the meat jelly, and it turned completely black in the blink of an eye.

"Naruto you bastard, you bully! You've gone too far! Y-y-you…! Lord

Third is gonna convert you!"

Pill Demon trembled, but didn't hesitate for a moment to lash out toward the Door of Immortality with all of his power. The meat jelly continued to consume the lake of lightning, and currently, no more Immortal Tribulation Lightning fell. Pill Demon went all out, combining two lives' worth of good fortune to break open the Door of Immortality!

Seventy percent….

Eighty percent!

When the door opened by eighty percent, a boundless glow of Immortal light spilled out, as well as thick Immortal qi. Instantly, the sky became like an Immortal paradise, and the air filled with the music of great Daos, as well as the sound of scriptures being chanted.

The cultivators down below, and the disciples of the Violet Fate Sect, were bathed in the light of Immortality. Their cultivation bases instantly began to rotate as they acquired good fortune.

However, it was in this moment that the meat jelly let out an agonized shriek. It trembled, and countless rips spread out across its body. Although it was capable of consuming Immortal Tribulation Lightning, it could only withstand so much. Finally, it screamed and flew away, unable to hold on any longer.

The lake of lightning once again rumbled down, enveloping Pill Demon. Pill Demon roared and caused his cultivation base to explode at full power to fight back. His entire body shook violently, and the statue of Reverend Violet east was starting to collapse.

Naruto was getting very worried. However, something suddenly occurred to him, which caused him to take a deep breath. Without any hesitation, he summoned his second true self. He extended his hand and pointed, and his second true self began to tremble. His eyes grew dim as his soul flew out of the top of his head.

This was… a true Immortal's soul!

In the past, Patriarch Blood Demon had mentioned that this soul would be strangely effective when transcending tribulation, most especially when reaching true Immortal Ascension.

Naruto wasn't sure if the soul of the true Immortal would be of any help in this situation; no matter how he had contemplated it or observed it in the past, it didn't seem useful for anything. Having no other options, Naruto extracted the soul itself.

In the instant in which the true Immortal's soul emerged, all of the lightning that was striking toward Pill Demon suddenly stopped in place. Then, it abruptly left Pill Demon and shot toward Naruto, or, more accurately speaking, toward the soul of the true Immortal.

This soul… could actually attract Immortal Tribulation!

Rumbling filled the air as the lightning shot forth. It rapidly surrounded the true Immortal's soul, as if it violated some Heavenly decree, and deserved to die a horrific death at the hands of the lightning.

With no lightning striking him, Pill Demon, his eyes completely bloodshot, went all out. Both he and the Dharma Protecting cultivators below had expended all the resources they could. This was the critical moment. If there was no success now, the result would be death!

Pill Demon roared, and his body burst into flames. He was burning his life force, as was the statue of Reverend Violet East beneath him. This was the power of two lives' worth of cultivation base.

Within the flames, Pill Demon turned into something like a shooting star that sped toward the Door of Immortality. He would blast into it with all of the power of his life force.

A huge boom rattled out through the entire Southern Domain, and, in fact, through all the lands of South Heaven, as the Door of Immortality was knocked open even more.

Ninety percent!

Massive rumbling could be heard as the statue of Reverend Violet East collapsed. Pill Demon had aged dramatically, and he looked as if he were at the very end of his life. However, he was not willing to give up. Roaring at the top of his lungs, he used the power of his life force to once again strike against the Door of Immortality, like a moth drawn to the flame.

BOOM!

The sound shook all of Planet Ninshu, and even rolled out into the starry sky, to be heard by all of the people outside who were trying to fight their way past Narutos father.

When they heard the sound, everyone felt as if… their minds were reverberating with the tolling of bells.

The Door of Immortality… was ninety-five percent open. Only a tiny sliver… and it would be completely open!

However, it was in this moment that the sky churned, and a wind sprung up in the seething mists!

This was a Spirit Extermination Tribulation Wind, the second stage of tribulation that came after the Tribulation Lightning!

When the wind blew, Pill Demon, who was already like a sputtering candle, whose statue of Reverend Violet East had already been destroyed, began to fade away.

He had failed.

In this moment, all the lands went quiet, and everyone who was watching the scene felt waves of sorrow rise up in their hearts. The sound of wailing began to drift out of the Violet Fate Sect.

Pill Demon's body began to rapidly vanish. Behind him, the Door of Immortality started fading away….

It was ninety-five percent open, with only a tiny bit left to go!

Pill Demon sighed. He felt no bitterness. However, his reluctance to part with the world could be seen on his face. He did not wish to leave the people he knew down below. He did not wish to say goodbye to his apprentice. Nor did he wish to abandon his Dao. But he had reached the end.

Pill Demon wanted to say something, but by this point, he couldn't speak. His body was growing illusory, and half of it had already transformed into ash and been destroyed. The rest of his fleshly body was now continuing to turn into ash. His skin fell off, and he began to vanish into the air.

He could only use his gaze to offer his blessings to all of the crowds of people down below.

Naruto was trembling, and his eyes were shot with blood. Seeing that the Door of Immortality was fading, and that Pill Demon was on the verge of death, he couldn't hold back. He shot forward.

"Master, I'm coming to help!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 840

Chapter 840: The Path Ahead Lies In The Stars, Not On This Planet

Spirit Extermination Tribulation Wind was the second form of true

Immortal Tribulation, and was far more powerful than the Tribulation Lightning from earlier. Once the wind blew, the fleshly body would scatter, and the soul would vanish.

In the instant that Pill Demon's body began to fade away, Naruto unhesitatingly shot forward. There was no time to consider the danger he may be facing, nor was he thinking about how his actions might benefit him in the future. In this moment, the only thing he was thinking about… was how kindly his master Pill Demon had treated him.

That kindness had originated in the days of the Violet Fate Sect, and had grown with all the little things that happened after that. It was the relationship of a master and an apprentice.

Back when he didn't know where his father and mother were, back before his father-son experience with Ke Yunhai, Pill Demon had been the only parental figure in his life that had cared about him.

Because of that, Naruto charged in without hesitation.

As soon as he entered the Spirit Extermination Tribulation Wind, his fleshly body began to vanish, his soul began to get blurry, and his spirit began to gradually disappear. However, he didn't care about any of that.

Time seemed to stretch out, but Naruto was filled with determination, and as he closed in on Pill Demon, he used all the power he had to fight back against the agony that the deadly wind sent through him. Then he grabbed Pill Demon and rammed the Door of Immortality himself!

Head first!

BOOM!

The Door of Immortality had been on the verge of fading away, but now it trembled. That tiny bit that had remained unopened, was now thoroughly gone! The door was completely open! Rumbling filled the air, and majestic Immortal light poured out. Naruto had used every scrap of strength he could muster to push Pill Demon into the Door of Immortality!

Blood sprayed from Narutos mouth, and his entire body became incredibly withered, almost completely fading away. Now, he was shooting down toward the ground at rapid speed.

Everything happened so quickly that the people down below didn't even have time to react. Naruto slammed into the ground and flopped over a few times. His body was virtually in pieces, his flesh decayed, his aura incredibly weak. However, his eyes shone brightly, completely devoid of any regret as he looked up into the sky.

Up above, Pill Demon could be seen within the Door of Immortality. His eyes were somewhat blank at first, but as soon as he entered the door, his entire body surged with boundless Immortal qi. It rapidly swirled around him, reforming his body anew. At the same time, the tribulation mist up above no longer sent down tribulation, but rather, swirled toward the Door of Immortality.

At the same time, boundless Immortal light rose into the sky. Immortal Chakra surged, and Dao music floated about. Pill Demon was surrounded by swirling lights as the aura of a true Immortal came into being around him.

"In my previous life, I was Violet East, and in this life, Pill Demon. For a lifetime, I focused everything on cultivating the Dao of alchemy…. Now, I am a true Immortal, and have formed true Immortal pill qi…. This Chakra contains my life force, and I won't restrain it inside of me. Instead, I will give it to my apprentice…." Pill Demon looked down at Naruto down below, and his expression was one of kindness and gratitude. He extended his right hand, and suddenly, a beam of green Chakra flew out toward Naruto.

As it flew through the air, flowers bloomed, sleeping animals awakened, and rainbows filled the sky. All the lands filled with a majestic medicinal aroma. This was the life force pill Chakra formed as Pill Demon became a true Immortal, and it exceeded even an Immortal pill!

Naruto couldn't refuse this pill Chakra even if he wanted to. In the instant it fused into his body, all of his injuries began to heal up. Furthermore, his Eternal stratum, which had never fully recovered, was now completely restored.

With his Eternal stratum fully returned, Narutos body filled with roaring sounds. His injuries healed completely, and he rose to his feet. He looked at his master up in the sky and then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

As Pill Demon stood within the Door of Immortality, more and more Immortal Chakra began to gather. Everyone present felt some of that Chakra washing over them, like a baptism, and their cultivation bases experienced advancement. There were even some who made cultivation base breakthroughs because of it.

The aura of a true Immortal around Pill Demon became more and more intense. After the space of about ten breaths, rumbling filled the air, and Pill Demon began to radiate a mighty pressure similar to that of Naruto.

True Immortal!

As his energy surged, true Immortal will became even more apparent, although it was different than Narutos. Boundless light radiated off of Pill Demon. His soul became the soul of a true Immortal, and his Dao became the Dao of a true Immortal.

His body… became the body of a true Immortal!

In this instant, he was thoroughly, in all aspects, a true Immortal!

The Door of Immortality also rumbled. Apparently, there was an entire world inside of it, a world that others could not see. Even Naruto could barely make out any details. Only Pill Demon could see it clearly, and when he looked at that world inside the Door of Immortality, his body trembled.

Next, a beam of Immortal light emerged from inside the door, within which was a scroll. When the scroll unfurled, one could see that countless names were written upon it.

Some of the names were dim, as if the people to whom those names belonged were now dead. But others shone with light as bright as the sun. It was impossible to see exactly how many there were. These were… all of the true Immortals who had existed in the boundless history of the great Nine Mountains and Seas.

There seemed to be many, but in actuality, when compared to the vast population of cultivators in the Nine Mountains and Seas, true Immortals… were as difficult to find as phoenix feathers or qilin horns.

After all, the Nine Mountains and Seas would only produce nine true Immortals every ten thousand years, one for each of the Mountains and Seas.

Of course, there were also the Immortality Illumination Vines, which meant that the number was larger than that. Even so, the number of true Immortals that appeared in the Nine Mountains and Seas in any ten thousand year period would not exceed one hundred.

And as of now, a new name appeared on that scroll…. Pill Demon!

This meant that as of now, Pill Demon was a true Immortal in all respects!

Furthermore, in the following one thousand years, there would be

Chosen in the Nine Mountains and Seas who used Immortality Illumination Vines to also become true Immortals. Their names would also appear on the scroll, although no one would be there to see that happen. Only after another ten thousand years had passed, and someone else acquired Immortal destiny and achieved true Immortal Ascension, would anyone be able to see them.

The Door of Immortality faded soundlessly, transforming into a beam of light that shot up into the sky and out into space. As for all the crowds in the starry sky, the ones trying to get into Planet Ninshu, they sighed and stopped in place. None of them said anything as they slowly turned and left, filled with regret.

Of course, it would be difficult for them not to harbor resentment toward Namikaze Xiufeng, and the person down below who had succeeded in becoming a true Immortal.

It was at this moment that an enormous teleportation portal suddenly appeared in the starry sky. Boundless light spread out to cover everything, and an old man materialized, mounted on a white deer.

The old man's features were ordinary, and he wore a smile. The white deer he rode had a vicious set of antlers, and its eyes shone with a savage glow. It was only a white deer, and yet, it emanated a completely shocking aura. When the old man made his appearance, everything trembled, and the starry sky went dim. Among the departing crowds were people who recognized the old man, and instantly gasped.

"Daoist Kunlun from the Kunlun Society!" 1

"The Kunlun Society is one of the most mysterious of the Three

Churches and Six Sects, and Daoist Kunlun is their Sect Leader!"

"I can't believe that he actually showed up here…. That white deer must be the fiendish deer that wreaked havoc in the Ninth Mountain fifty thousand years ago!"

Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes glittered, and his pupils constricted a bit.

"Greetings, Daoist Kunlun." Despite how powerful he himself was, Narutos father clasped hands and bowed deeply to Daoist Kunlun.

"Xiufeng," replied the old man with a smile, "I'm here to get my apprentice back. He inherited my teachings via a dream of mine, and his name is Violet East. Now that he has achieved true Immortality, the time has come for him to return." Everyone in the area looked on in shock. Many people's eyes widened, and the hatred they had been feeling toward the person who had just become a true Immortal, vanished completely.

The Kunlun Society was one of the Three Churches and Six Sects, and were shrouded in mystery. They kept their secrets to themselves. Furthermore, had they lent their assistance to Lord Hebi when he altered the Heavens, the Kunlun Society would have become a Holy Land, and there would now be more than five Holy Lands.

Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes widened, but he said nothing. Daoist Kunlun did not pressure him, but instead smiled.

A moment later, the image of Namikaze Xiufeng that had materialized outside of Planet Ninshu stepped aside, then gestured for Daoist Kunlun to enter. Daoist Kunlun smiled and nodded.

"I will not forget this kindness," he said. Everyone watched as the white deer approached Planet Ninshu and then appeared in the Violet Fate Sect in the Southern Domain.

When Naruto caught sight of the old man riding the white deer, his jaw dropped.

Up in midair, Pill Demon saw the old man, and an absent-minded expression could be seen on his face, as if he had suddenly recalled something. He approached the old man, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

"Do you remember now?" said the old man, smiling.

"I remember. Greetings, master!"

"In the childhood of your previous life, I appeared in your dreams to offer guidance in your cultivation, pointing the way to the Dao of alchemy. In that life, before your Nirvanic Rebirth, I left, and you asked when we would meet again.

"At that time, I said that when you reached true Immortal Ascension, that you would become my Legacy Apprentice.

"Today, I'm here to accept you." The old man smiled.

Pill Demon took a deep breath, then bowed once again.

"Master, my own apprentice, he…."

"He has his own path. Come, it's time to leave. Who knows, you may meet him again soon in the future. However, there are a few people within the sect you founded that have the necessary latent talent, and we can bring them along too." After a glance and nod at Naruto, Daoist Kunlun's eyes swept over the rest of the Violet Fate Sect. He raised his hand, and seven or eight people, including Chu Yuyan, slowly flew up into the air with stunned looks on their faces.

"Let's depart. You shall walk the path of Kunlun, and speak of the Dao of Kunlun. From now on, your cultivation will leave with the desire to prostrate yourself before Kunlun."

Daoist Kunlun chuckled, then waved his sleeve, sweeping up Pill Demon, Chu Yuyan and the others as he turned to leave.

Pill Demon looked back at Naruto with an encouraging look in his eyes.

Chu Yuyan also looked back, but she looked as confused as ever.

Complex emotions could be seen in her eyes as she looked at Naruto, but then, her eyes grew calm. She nodded at Naruto, and then turned away.

Naruto looked on in shock as Pill Demon, Chu Yuyan and the others were taken away by Daoist Kunlun. Gradually, they disappeared off into the starry sky.

Then his father appeared next to him.

"Planet Ninshu is too small," he said softly. "You and your master, and even that little girl, all have your own paths to tread… out in the stars, not on this planet.

"Don't waste time missing them. The Ninth Mountain isn't a very big place either. You'll see them again one day."

Kunlun is a pretty famous part of Chinese mythology. Check out the wikipedia article here ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 841

Chapter 841: The Ancient Road of Trial by Fire is Opened!

"The next time we meet," murmured Naruto, "it will be out in the starry sky." The departure of Pill Demon, Chu Yuyan, and the others, was too sudden, and left him feeling empty.

He thought back to his hundreds of years of cultivation, and it seemed like there many people who had ended up departing, and were no longer in the lands of South Heaven.

Patriarch Reliance was gone. Hinata was gone. Pill Demon was gone. Chu Yuyan was gone….

Thankfully, Fatty, Chen Fan, and the others were still there. There were some people Naruto wasn't sure about; the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch for example, Han Bei from the former Black Sieve Sect, and of course Dong Hu, who had joined the Reliance Sect at the same time as him.

Naruto sighed. He did not leave the Southern Domain along with his father. Instead, he went to the Golden Frost Sect. He and Fatty drank together. Fatty sent his more than one hundred beloved concubines away, and he and Naruto sat on top of a mountain, drinking and talking about the past.

They talked about the Five element nations, and about Yunjie County. They talked about the Reliance Sect, and everything that had happened there. Eventually, evening fell, and the stars slowly came out. It was impossible to tell how much exactly they had drunk.

"I'm going to join the disciple recruitment event held by the Three Great Daoist Societies of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" declared Fatty, tossing aside his alcohol flagon and looking determinedly over at Naruto. "I don't want to be stuck in the lands of South Heaven for the rest of my life. I want to go out into the starry sky!"

Naruto looked back at Fatty. He himself had heard from Tsukino about the Three Great Daoist Societies' disciple recruitment trial by fire. News about the matter had now spread throughout the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, even here to Planet Ninshu.

Fatty gazed at Naruto with an expression of determination.

"You don't need to say anything," Fatty continued. "I know that you won't stay in the lands of South Heaven for much longer either. Your path exists in the starry sky. Well, we're brothers, so if you go, then I won't stay behind! I'm going to give it a shot!"

Naruto didn't respond at first. He simply lifted his wine flagon and took a drink, looked at Fatty, and smiled.

Then he said, "Considering those teeth of yours, you'll definitely get some good fortune!"

Fatty laughed uproariously, then grabbed a flying sword and began to file at his teeth. The two of them laughed together, and then continued to chat until the sky turned bright. Naruto stayed with Fatty for a few days before leaving. The next stop on his journey through the Southern Domain was to visit Chen Fan.

Chen Fan sat as he always did, next to the mountain boulder. Naruto meditated silently next to him. Chen Fan no longer drank alcohol, but the stubble of a beard was still visible on his chin. An abstruse gleam could be seen deep in his eyes, but most of his time was spent gazing at the boulder, as if he were immersed in memories.

Naruto didn't interrupt him, but rather sat next to him for an entire night.

When the sky grew bright and the time had come for Naruto to leave, Chen Fan suddenly said, "I've decided to go to the trial by fire held by the Three Great Daoist Societies."

Naruto nodded and left.

His next stop was the Blood Demon Sect. He saw Uchiha Youcai, who, much like Fatty and Chen Fan, was interested in the trial by fire.

He also decided to participate, to take a chance for his future.

Naruto didn't see Patriarch Blood Demon. Outside of Patriarch Blood

Demon's Immortal's cave, Naruto could sense a dense aura of death. He stood there for a long time before finally clasping hands and bowing deeply.

"Senior, I will never forget your kindness in helping me to Sever the Devil and Seek the Dao!" He bowed again.

The aura of death was the same as ever as Naruto finally turned to leave. Off in the distance, he could see the valley where he and Hinata had spent their final days together, as well as the location where they had been married.

It was a mountain, on one side of which were the beautiful memories of Hinata, on the other side of which was carnage and battle. That was where he and Hinata had been married.

As he gazed at the location, Naruto suddenly felt very lonely. After staring for a long moment, he finally left.

Now, he wasn't sure where to go in these sprawling lands. All he could do was look up into the starry sky.

"Perhaps it's time for me to leave as well."

Two months passed in the blink of an eye. Naruto went to the Milky Way Sea, to the Western Desert, to the Northern Reaches, and finally to the Eastern Lands. Eventually, the day came when the sky began to rumble, and the music of a great Dao spread out in all directions. Three enormous, multi-colored vortexes appeared in the sky.

The three vortexes' rotation caused a sound to echo out that could be heard by all cultivators in the lands of South Heaven. Be they in the

Western Desert or the Southern Domain, in the Northern Reaches or the Eastern Lands, in that instant they could all see the three bizarre vortexes up above.

They looked like they were up in the sky, but actually, they existed in everyone's eyes.

Regardless of where the cultivators were located, as long as their cultivation bases met the requirements, and they had the desire to seek the Dao and find good fortune, then all they had to do was take a step forward and enter the vortex.

At the same time the vortexes appeared, an archaic voice echoed out from within them. Everything trembled, and no natural law could prevent the voice from echoing out as if from ancient times, striking fear into the hearts of all.

"The trial by fire was founded by the Three Great Daoist Societies, the Five Great Holy Lands, and the Three Churches and Six Sects!

"Anyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea may participate, regardless of background, regardless of age, as long as the cultivation base requirement is met!

"The three vortexes are for the Nascent Soul stage, the Spirit Severing stage, and the Dao Seeking stage!

"First, walk upon the Ancient Road. The ten thousand people who reach the end the fastest will be able to participate in the honorable trial by fire!

"Of those ten thousand people, seven thousand will be from the Nascent Soul stage, two thousand from Spirit Severing, and one thousand from Dao Seeking! Cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea…. let the trial by fire begin!"

Planet Ninshu trembled. Everyone knew that the enormous disciple recruitment trial by fire held by the Three Great Daoist Societies… was now underway!

Countless cultivators were prepared to participate. Their blood boiled at the possible good fortune in front of them. Without becoming Immortal, it was impossible to tread through the starry sky. Therefore, if they could seize this opportunity, they could have a meteoric rise, and be like a fish leaping from the sea into the heavens.

Simultaneously, similar vortexes appeared on Planet North Reed, Planet East Victory and Planet West Felicity, along with an identical voice with identical words. It was the same in the Ninth Sea and the Ninth Mountain. Throughout all locations in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the voice echoed out, and three vortexes appeared.

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely abuzz, and countless cultivators were filled with determination, and hearts that wished to search for the Dao. They flew up toward the vortexes from innumerable locations.

More than ten thousand people flew up from the lands of South Heaven alone. Most were Nascent Soul cultivators, who flew into the Nascent Soul vortex to tread the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul. There were a smaller group who flew into the Spirit Severing vortex.

The smallest group was that which walked… the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking.

If you looked at the Ninth Mountain and Sea as a whole, it was really impossible to tell how many people tread the Ancient Roads.

This was a grand event for the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, so the

Three Great Daoist Societies, the Five Great Holy Lands and the Three Churches and Six Sects all sent people to stand guard over the three Ancient Roads.

These three roads had a long history. They might be called Ancient Roads, but in truth, they comprised an ancient set of crumbled ruins within the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Within those ruins existed uncountable good fortune, and they had supposedly existed longer than the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

In truth, the three roads were only a small portion of the larger set of ruins that the Three Great Daoist Societies exercised control over. The fact that the roads were opening now aroused ambitions in countless hearts in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

This was especially true because… these ruins were called the Ruins of

Immortality, and in the past, people had discovered Immortality Illumination Vines there. That was what had changed the entire structure of true Immortality in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Furthermore, the other eight great Mountains and Seas had similar ruins in them.

Most areas inside of the ruins were restricted areas. This was especially true in the depths of the ruins. If you entered those places, you would almost certainly die. Throughout countless years, only the most powerful of experts had ever dared to travel into the depths of the Ruins of Immortality, and virtually no one had ever emerged alive.

Rumor had it that Lord Li had traveled into the depths of the ruins, but as for what had happened there, no one knew. They only knew that the Dharma Clone he had left behind issued the Dharmic decree regarding returning life to the Heavens.

It was because of that Dharmic decree that, in following days, Lord Hebi replaced the Heavens, which in turn drew the support of most of the powers within the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

There was another rumor that in the great Nine Mountains and Seas, regardless of which Mountain or Sea, anyone who could gain enlightenment regarding the ultimate secrets of the Ruins of

Immortality, would become the Lord of all the Nine Mountains and Seas.

Although this was a generally acknowledged point, no one could actually accomplish it, not even Kṣitigarbha, the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

Now that the trial by fire had begun, countless figures vanished into the three vortexes. Fatty, Chen Fan, Uchiha Youcai, and others all decided to take a chance to try to get some good fortune.

As for Naruto, he sat cross-legged underneath a towering tree in the Namikaze Clan of the Eastern Lands, looking up at the three enormous vortexes. After sitting there quietly for a moment looking at the flashing vortexes, a strange light gleamed in his eyes.

"You have the Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion, so if you want to join the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, then you don't have to participate in the trial by fire." The voice came from Narutos father, Namikaze Xiufeng, who strolled up from behind him. He stood behind Naruto and continued, "Furthermore, there is always the danger of perishing in the trial by fire.

Aren't you scared of that?"

"Other than the chance to join one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, is there any other good fortune to be had?" asked Naruto.

"Of course there is!" replied his father. "If you get first place, then you can acquire a precious treasure. Considering the resources at the Three Great Daoist Societies' disposal, even I would be excited at the prospect of getting a magical item from them.

"Furthermore, father can tell you another secret. In addition to the founders of the Three Great Daoist Societies, the founders of the Four

Great Clans, the Five Holy Lands, and the three Churches and Six Sects… all previously walked the Ancient Roads of the Ruins of Immortality!

"It was there that they acquired the unimaginable good fortune that allowed them to found their various clans and sects.

"It was the same with the Namikaze Clan Ancestor. That was where he acquired the bloodline that has ensured that the Namikaze Clan stands tall in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. That, of course, is…. the Namikaze Clan's Four Lives Awakening!"

"Dad, did you go there?" asked Naruto.

Namikaze Xiufeng didn't respond at first. After a long moment, he shook his head.

"Originally, your mother and I planned to wait for you to grow up, then we planned to take a trip there."

When he looked at his father, Naruto could sense that some amount of regret existed in his heart. He glanced back up at the three vortexes, and then a gleam of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Dad, I want to go."

"If you want to go, then go. We cultivators should never be afraid of dying!" Namikaze Xiufeng looked at Naruto, and the love in his eyes was clear, as was the look of encouragement.

"At the end of the Ancient Road are the arena matches. Actually… I hope that you do participate in this event!

"Do you know why your father's name is known throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and is even known in other Mountains and Seas? That's because even when I was in the Spirit Realm, I never shrank from a fight with anyone in the same stage as me. I fought and killed my way to the place I am now. I passed up all the members of my same generation, suppressed them, and seized destiny. That is how to become powerful!

"Never forget, the word cultivation 修行 is made of two characters, 修 which implies studying and practice, and 行 which implies action. It is not enough to just have 修, the studying and learning. You must also have 行, action…. You must always strive forward; that is the way to reach the pinnacle of power!"

Naruto coughed dryly, and a bashful smile appeared on his face.

"Dad, I can't really identify with your path. I think… getting all of the Chosen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to owe me money is the ideal way."

Namikaze Xiufeng's jaw dropped as Naruto chuckled and then flew into the air. His body flashed as he flew toward the Dao Seeking vortex. He took a deep breath, and without any further hesitation, entered.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 842

Chapter 842: Just a Misunderstanding….

The vortexes in the sky rotated, sending rumbling sounds echoing out in all directions. In virtually all regions of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, people were flying up into the vortexes. However, many of those people took steps to change their appearance upon entering.

They had various reasons for not wanting others to know who they truly were. After all, a grand event like this would draw the attention of the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

As soon as Naruto entered, he immediately sent some divine will out to the meat jelly. Moaning and groaning, the meat jelly helped Naruto to change his appearance to that of Namikaze Mu, from back in his days in the Violet Fate Sect.

Naruto was attending this event only for the trial by fire, and considering how he had flaunted his abilities in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple on Planet Ninshu, and was now making his way alone off planet, he figured it would be much more convenient to rely on a second identity.

Furthermore, there would be no better opportunity to become famous under a second identity than this trial by fire hosted by the Three Great Daoist Societies.

"It's too bad my second true self is temporarily incapacitated because the true Immortal's soul was damaged by the Immortal Tribulation," he thought. "But, that's not such a bad thing." Narutos eyes glittered brightly after making the transformation, and he looked out at the pitch blackness surrounding him. He could just barely make out a vortex spinning around him, with faint beams of light occasionally coming into view as they spun around him.

The sensation of being pulled along grew even stronger, and he felt increasing pressure weighing down on him.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, a bright light became visible up ahead in the darkness. It grew brighter and brighter, and soon, completely enveloped Naruto.

When his vision grew clear once again, Naruto found himself looking out at a void, which was densely packed with countless platforms. Some were thirty meters wide, others, three hundred, and some three thousand.

The sizes varied, and in the center of each of the platforms was a stone stele, upon which could be seen a map. Beneath each stone stele was a candle holder. The candles were unlit, leaving the maps on the stone steles cloaked in darkness.

As for how many platforms there were, it was impossible for Naruto to count. His divine sense was under incredible pressure, making it impossible to send it out very far. As Naruto looked around, more and more people came into view. Much like Naruto, they stared out in shock at all the platforms.

All of them had peak Dao Seeking auras, and there were even a few who didn't quite measure up to the Chosen he had encountered before, but were very close.

They all wore different clothing, and bore different appearances. There were men and women, old and young. Some weren't even humanoid, but looked like beasts. From what Naruto could tell, there were several hundred in his immediate vicinity, with more and more people appearing off in the distance.

It was hard to tell who it was that flew out first, but soon, one of the three-thousand-meter platforms was occupied by a cultivator. After that, all of the cultivators who materialized in the void shot out toward the platforms at full speed. Each person who appeared occupied a single platform. Fighting broke out, but it was controlled. After all, there was no reason to unleash vicious fighting the moment they entered the Ancient Road trial by fire. It wasn't worth it.

Furthermore, any ownerless platform apparently created a bond to whoever set foot on it first, and the unlit candle would then begin to burn, illuminating the map on the stele.

As such, there wasn't very much fighting. As the saying goes, first come, first served, so anyone who was beaten to a particular platform would quickly leave in search of another.

Narutos eyes glittered. The three-hundred-meter and threethousand-meter platforms were relatively far away from him, and the closest one to him was a thirty-meter platforms, so he quickly made his way toward that one.

However, just when he was about to step foot onto it, someone else nearby apparently had the same idea as he did. It was a tall, hulking man with ripples spreading out from beneath his feet which, if you looked closely, resembled illusory seawater that contained three swimming fish. Overall, it made the hulking man seem incredibly impressive.

He and Naruto were both about to step onto the platform at exactly the same time, when the hulking man snorted coldly. Killing intent flickered in his eyes.

"Screw off!" he said.

With that, his right hand made a hurling motion toward Naruto. The fish began to swim through the water at incredible speed, and an intense power surged out, transforming into an illusory sea dragon which shot toward Naruto, mouth gaping open to consume him.

Narutos expression was as calm as ever, but he moved with explosive speed as he dodged past the sea dragon and then set foot onto the platform one breath of time before the hulking man.

In that instant, the candle on the platform burned to life, sending light spreading out in all directions. The hulking man's face was very unsightly as he glared at Naruto, and he let out a cold snort as he shot toward another nearby platform.

Narutos expression was the same as ever, and he completely ignored the hulking man as he sat down cross-legged in front of the stone stele to examine the map. The map encompassed a huge area, but roughly ninety percent of it was covered in darkness, leaving only about ten percent clearly visible.

Within that small visible area, he could see numerous narrow roads spreading out, the origin of which was the location he was in now. The end location of all the roads was a place near the dark area on the map.

Out in the void, more and more candles were springing to life; apparently the number of platforms here was equal to the number of people who had arrived. Before long, all of the cultivators had occupied a platform.

Unfortunately, a handful of unlucky cultivators ended up dying in the fighting.

As for the hulking man from earlier, he had managed to secure a platform to the right of Naruto. He looked over at Naruto occasionally, his eyes glowing with killing intent. The spat between the two of them had obviously left him irritated.

Apparently, Naruto didn't notice the man, and focused intently on studying the map.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, everything grew quiet. Finally, an archaic voice boomed out through the void.

"I am Ling Yunzi of the Nine Seas God World. As of now… the Dao gate has opened, and the Ancient Road stretches out. All of you must traverse the road… use it to corroborate your Dao, and to corroborate your destiny! 1

"The road is well-lit, but is filled with danger. Any who tread it must do so with utmost caution!

"As of this moment, if you turn back, you still have a chance to retreat. But once you step forward…when you look back, there won't even be the safety of a shoreline." His voice rang out over all the platforms, filling the entire area. All of the Dao Seeking competitors in the trial by fire could hear him.

When Naruto heard the Nine Seas God World mentioned, he looked up. It instantly made him think of Fan Dong'er, and he felt a bit apprehensive. He reminded himself that he had changed his appearance, but still didn't feel any less nervous. He quietly took out the black feather the parrot had acquired, and placed it an easily accessible location in the front of his robe.

"You may now enter the road. This is a trial by fire, and anyone with unsuitable latent talent will be eliminated first, leaving behind only the most suitable candidates.

"After that, you shall not simply walk as you wish along the road. At every stage along the way, you will be tested.

"Depending on your performance in the tests, I will arrange for you to proceed a certain number of steps. Everything you do here is visible to observers on the outside, so you need not fear that I will be unfair in my decisions.

"And now, let the first stage begin, the stage of combat!

"You may use any means fair or foul, even deadly means, to snuff out as many candles as you can in the time it takes an incense stick to burn! Anyone whose candle is snuffed out will lose the qualification to continue. Anyone who is killed will automatically be considered to have their candle extinguished!" As soon as they heard Ling Yunzi's words, all the Ninth Mountain and Sea cultivators in the Dao Seeking trial by fire felt their hearts tremble, and their killing intent exploded up.

Everyone had assumed that all participants would be allowed to enter the Ancient Road, and that the fastest one thousand among them who reached the end would be able to proceed. They had never imagined that the trial by fire would actually begin in this way.

The point of the first stage was to prevent one's candle from being extinguished, and at the same time, put out the candles of the others.

In the blink of an eye, people began sending out Dharma Clones to charge toward other platforms. Instantly, fierce fighting broke out; divine abilities and magical techniques caused everything to rumble and shake. The entire area was thrown into chaos, and roaring filled the ears of everyone present. It only took a moment before screams of death rang out.

Even as Narutos eyes began to glitter coldly, the hulking man off to his right who had been glancing at him murderously gave a vicious laugh and waved his right hand. Instantly, a Feng Shui compass flew out, which then transformed into a glittering spell formation that spread out to protect his candle. Then the man flew out toward Naruto.

"I've killed lots of peak Dao Seeking experts," he said. "Since you dared to compete with me, then you'll be the first person I kill in this trial by fire!" The illusory seawater swelled beneath his feet as he stepped onto Narutos platform. He quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing a sea dragon to roar toward Naruto.

Naruto was sitting cross-legged next to the candle, and when he looked up his face was calm. There wasn't even a cold gleam visible in his eyes. He looked placidly over at the hulking man, then waved his hand through the air in a snatching motion. Shockingly, the Star Plucking Magic was unleashed.

The first thing that it grabbed was the sea dragon, which was completely incapable of fighting back, and although it struggled for a moment, Naruto simply pinched his fingers together, and it collapsed into pieces. The hulking man's eyes widened; he was well aware that the sea dragon had materialized with roughly eighty percent of his total power. Normally speaking, there were few peak Dao Seeking experts in the Ninth Sea who could possibly evade this sea dragon.

However, he had just watched as his opponent casually waved a hand and crushed it to pieces. In that instant, the hulking man's scalp went numb, and he was very nearly scared out of his mind.

"Not good!" he thought. "Don't tell me this is one of those inhuman freaks from one of the sects or clans? Impossible! I've seen all of those people from afar, but I've never laid eyes on this guy before!"

The man's face fell, and he immediately cried out with a loud voice:

"Misunderstanding! Fellow Daoist, this was just a misunderstanding…."

As he spoke, he retreated at top speed. However, Narutos Star Plucking Magic bore down on him and snatched up him. The hulking man's face filled with fear, but Narutos was expressionless as he gently squeezed down.

Boom!

Before the hulking man could even let out a bloodcurdling scream, his body was crushed into pieces, and he was destroyed in spirit and body. When he died, his candle immediately snuffed out.

After making his deadly attack, Naruto pointed toward the Feng Shui compass that covered the hulking man's candle. It trembled, and was just about to fly back toward Naruto when a black beam flew toward it. The beam turned into a black-robed youth, who reached out to grab the Feng Shui compass.

However, almost as soon as his hand latched onto the item, Narutos cold snort echoed out. When it entered the young man's ears, he began to tremble violently, and subconsciously looked over at Naruto. When their gazes locked, his mind filled with a roaring sound.

To him, Narutos gaze felt like two sharp swords, stabbing into his eyes and threatening to slash his mind into pieces, stabbing into his brain and down into his soul.

The young man's face fell, and he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. His face was pale, and he ceased all attempts to grab the Feng Shui compass.

"Fellow Daoist!" he cried urgently in a raspy voice. "Pardon my offense!"

—–

Ling Yunzi wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ling_ 3

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To check out a recording made by Deathblade to go along with this chapter, click here.

Ling Yunzi's name in Chinese is 凌云子 líng yún zǐ – Ling is a surname which also means "rise high." Yun means "cloud," and Zi means "son" or "child." Also, 凌云 is a word which means "soar to the skies." Therefore, his name contains a bit of clever wordplay ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 843

Chapter 843: Fight For Supremacy, the Entire Way!

Naruto didn't immediately slaughter the young man. He calmly beckoned with his hand, causing the Feng Shui compass to fly over and settle onto his hand. Because the hulking man was dead, the item was currently masterless, so after Naruto sent some divine sense into it, it was branded to him.

"It's definitely mysterious," he said, "but unfortunately, not very powerful." He waved his hand again, causing two ultra high-grade spirit stones to fly out from his dwindling collection. He pushed them onto the Feng Shui compass before their aura could spread out and be detected.

In the blink of an eye, the Feng Shui compass changed. Although it looked normal, it now exerted a spell formation which was far mightier than it had been before. It was worlds apart. Naruto quickly placed it down next to him, whereupon its glow spread out to cover the candle.

"Unless someone like Taiyang Zi or one of the other Chosen show up, this should hold out for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Ordinary peak Dao Seeking cultivators won't be able to break through it." He rose to his feet and looked around. By now, half of the time was already gone, and he had only extinguished one candle. There were others off in the distance who had snuffed out seven or eight. Perhaps some people even further off had extinguished even more.

In the same moment that Naruto left his platform, people in the outside world, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, were looking up at what had once been merely swirling vortexes, but now contained enormous viewing screens.

Those screens displayed everything that was happening on the Ancient Roads, although the images were very small. Of course, if one's cultivation base was high enough, it was still possible to clearly see each and every individual despite how small they were on the screen.

Countless people in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were watching the screens. There were people from the Three Great Daoist Societies, the Four Great Clans, the Five Holy Lands, and the Three Churches and Six Sects, as well as various powerful rogue cultivators.

The various sects were paying especially close attention. They were not clans, and therefore had to recruit disciples from outside. Therefore, they would be paying close attention to the trial by fire. Many would not wait until the end of the event was reached, but would select disciples to recruit throughout the process.

Of course, numerous conversations could be heard among the crowds throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"The Three Great Daoist Societies have created ten stages within the three Ancient Roads in the Ruins of Immortality. Each stage involves a different test, which will allow them to slowly filter out the competitors, and leave behind only the future Chosen."

"It's possible that some of the people who get eliminated might have great potential, but were just unluckily knocked out."

"Look, the current leader on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul has already extinguished 39 candles. Although the Nascent Soul cultivators' cultivation bases aren't very high, they have an intense will to fight!"

"The highest number of extinguished candles on the Ancient Road of

Spirit Severing is 27!"

"Who is that masked young man on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking…?

He's already extinguished 19 candles!"

"The Ancient Road of Dao Seeking is the most interesting after all. See that one guy? He's probably a disciple of the Li Clan. He's changed his appearance, but you can recognize who he is from the divine abilities he's using. He's already put out 15 candles."

Even as the discussions were going on outside, Naruto flew out toward a thirty-meter platform on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. As soon as he set foot on it, an enraged roar echoed out, and an old man with disheveled hair appeared. A will of madness radiated out as he charged toward Naruto.

"Die!" he cried, performing an incantation gesture that caused a fissure to appear, which then transformed into a broadsword!

"Void Severing!" he cried, causing some others in the area to look over in shock and then backpedal. Naruto turned, his expression calm as he gazed at the incoming Void Severing attack. He did not retreat, but instead utilized the Golden Roc Transformation. At the same time, he used the powers of the black feather inside his robe so that the golden roc actually looked like a pitch-black vulture instead.

The vulture sped through the air toward the incoming Void Severing attack. When they slammed into each other, a huge boom echoed out, and the Void Severing blade collapsed, completely incapable of fazing Naruto in the slightest. When the old man saw this, his face filled with shock, and he fell back. However, before he could get very far, a blast of wind gusted against him as Naruto swooped down in vulture form. Claws slashed out, and a splattering sound could be heard as the man's head was crushed.

This was a trial by fire, a fight for good fortune. If you didn't kill your opponent, your opponent would kill you.

Naruto had experienced much gory brutality, so he was used to things like this. He wouldn't allow such a thing to affect him inwardly.

When the old man died, his candle went out, and Naruto proceeded to the next platform. If nobody blocked his path, he would merely extinguish the candle; if people tried to kill him, he would return the favor and end their lives.

In a brief moment, Naruto swept across the entire area. No one could offer any resistance for longer than the space of a single breath, and ended either with a death, or an extinguished candle.

Naruto proceeded along as if he were walking across dried up weeds, his intense energy allowing him to rapidly rise up above the others.

Three candles. Four candles. Five candles….

Naruto attacked viciously and decisively. Currently, of the dozen or so people in his vicinity, there were four or five who were concealing their cultivation bases. When Naruto attacked them, their power exploded out; although none of them seemed to be on the level of Taiyang Zi and the other Chosen, they still possessed unique and exceptional divine abilities.

There was even one person who controlled powers which resembled those of Lu Bai, the Chosen from the Northern Reaches who used a Time divine ability. When this person attacked, he could seemingly lock down space and time in shocking fashion. 1

Any other peak Dao Seeking expert who went up against people like this, especially the one who could control space-time, would most certainly perish. However, Naruto possessed eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, and could even eradicate false Immortals. Each and every attack he made either killed someone, or snuffed out a candle. Booms rattled out constantly.

The only time he didn't instantly attack with lethal force was when he faced the old man who could control Time. After a bit of observation, he realized that this Dao of Time was the same type he had gone up against when he fought Lu Bai. At the time, it had definitely tantalized him, but was something that until now he still couldn't quite understand no matter how much he contemplated it.

When he attacked, he paid close attention to the results. Considering he had eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, he was able to pick up some clues. As they fought, the old man grew more and more shocked, until finally he was virtually scared witless. From his view, he was fighting what appeared to be an ordinary youth, one that still somehow appeared to be analyzing and even imitating his Dao of Time. At a certain point he even seemed to be utilizing some of the same power, which left the old man completely shocked.

"Inhuman! This guy must definitely be one of those legendary Chosen!" The old man's heart trembled, and it was without hesitation that he suddenly extinguished his own candle to ensure that he could continue to live.

Narutos eyes glittered in response to the old man's decisiveness, and he made no further attacks. After the candle went out, he gave the old man a glance and simply teleported past him and continued onward.

Roughly a third of the amount of time it takes an incense stick to burn remained, and Naruto had already extinguished 19 candles!

Most of the platforms in the area were empty. As for the people whose candles were extinguished but who were not killed, one by one, they faded and were teleported away by the power of the Ancient Road, having lost any qualifications to continue with the trial by fire.

Many people were shocked by this; it didn't matter if you died or simply lost the qualifications, you were eliminated either way. This was a heavy blow to anyone who had placed high hopes in coming here and skating through some of the tests.

"So that Dao of Time is similar to the power of Time that I wield. There are similarities, but they're actually different!" Narutos eyes were calm, but a thoughtful flicker could be seen in his pupils. The battle just now had not been short, and Naruto had actually benefited quite a bit. 2

As of now, he stood on one of the platforms, and his eyes swept about the area. Finally, his body flickered and he flew off in a different direction.

It was at this point that the archaic voice of the Nine Seas God World's Ling Yunzi suddenly echoed out again.

"Of that one incense stick's worth of time, there are now less than one hundred breaths of time left…. After those one hundred breaths of time, the first stage will be complete. Those of you who extinguish the most candles during that time, and also prevent your own candle from being extinguished, will receive a special reward!"

This announcement caused the entire Ancient Road of Dao Seeking to boil with excitement. Similar announcements were made on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul and the Ancient Road of Spirit Severing. The participating cultivators' killing intent immediately soared upward.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, vast crowds were paying close attention to the three screens visible in the giant vortexes. The Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul was a mass of chaos. On the Ancient Road of Spirit Severing, the fighting was more orderly.

The Ancient Road of Dao Seeking was unique. On the screen, what was clearly visible were over ten thousand locations in which a powerful expert had completely cleared out all of the candles nearby, making something like a vacuum for themselves.

Of those ten thousand or so areas, some were large and some were small. However, if you could rise above the field of competitors like an awl poking through a sack, it proved that you were a powerful expert. Soon, the experts began to fight among themselves.

"There's already someone who's extinguished seventy candles on the

Dao Seeking road!"

"There's not much time left! This trial by fire is completely brutal! So many people have already been eliminated!"

The outside world was abuzz. Back on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, many people were so agitated that their eyes were completely red. Some were attacking with deadly force, and some had already made significant achievements and were just stalling, waiting for time to run out. Naruto looked around, then barreled into a nearby area where eight people were all fighting each other at the same time. All of these people were powerful experts who had already cleared out the other nearby areas.

Shockingly, one of them was a fierce pangolin, a wild beast whose bright eyes revealed that it was no less intelligent than any human.

There was also a woman whose body appeared to be young, but whose face was covered with wrinkles. A pink, illusory image, which was clearly the early form of a Dharma Idol, could be seen behind her.

All of these seven or eight people fought with vicious attacks that sent booms rattling out in all directions. However, none of them seemed capable of overcoming the others, and in fact, some of them appeared to have joined forces.

As soon as Naruto neared, they looked over at him. None of them knew him, nor each other; they were all from different locations in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. They were here to fight for good fortune, so the instant they saw Naruto, the pangolin flashed through the air as it charged toward him. A few of the others also charged Naruto, their eyes flashing.

"No matter how much we fight, we can't overcome each other! Instead of wasting time fighting each other, let's go kill some other people! The good fortune will go to whoever is lucky enough to land the killing blow!"

"Yeah! This guy showed up here after us. His battle prowess is obviously ordinary, otherwise he would have already wiped everyone in his own region out!"

"He's just unlucky! Kill him!"

The seven or eight people charged with killing intent in their eyes. Of course, despite their words, they were still on guard against each other. They might seem to have joined forces to attack someone else, but that didn't mean they were any less likely to attack each other.

As the eight people closed in, Narutos expression was calm, and he stopped in place. There were now less than 61 breaths of time left before the conclusion of this stage; time was running out quickly.

In the blink of an eye, the eight people were upon him. The pangolin's numerous scales lifted up as a divine ability rumbled out, seemingly powerful enough to break apart a mountain. The woman also waved her hand, causing a pink aura to spread out behind her, which transformed into a pink skull.

The others also unleashed various divine abilities as each and every one leveled astonishing attacks.

Naruto looked on calmly, then clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out toward them through the void.

When the punch landed, an indescribable blast rose up, sweeping across the eight attackers. Their faces fell as Naruto made his move!

Lu Bai was introduced in chapter 720 and appeared in several following chapters. He and Naruto entered the world underneath the Ancient Dao Lakes, and he was last seen trying to fight his way up the tower as Naruto left ↩ The abilities of Lu Bai (and this old man) are described with different Chinese characters than the power that Naruto uses. However, both have the same meaning, "Time." The characters of Naruto

Hao's "Time powers" carry more of a sense of "years" as in aging. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 844

Chapter 844 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 844: First Place in the First Stage!

He transformed into a wind. A whirlwind!

The intense whirlwind swept out in all directions through the void, filled with crackling lightning. It was like a windstorm that swept across everything as it shot toward the incoming eight cultivators.

When the windstorm hit them, their divine abilities were shaken, and their expressions became that of shock. Their hearts trembled with astonishment. All of these people had slaughtered their way out of their own respective zones among the platforms, and were essentially the strongest people from those areas. In the outside world, they could be completely domineering in all the Spirit Realm, to the point where it was even difficult for them to outdo each other.

No one had ever been able to stand up to them, or outdo them in terms of power. And yet, Narutos one punch left them feeling as if they had run into a windstorm.

This was a windstorm they couldn't fight back against nor resist. This windstorm… contained the might of Heaven and Earth, limitless destructive power that could rip them to pieces as easily as dried up twigs!

This was… a completely and thoroughly crushing power!

Intense rumbling rose up, and the whirlwind screamed, filled with neverending bolts of lightning as it hurtled at top speed toward the eight cultivators. The eight cultivators' minds filled with roaring sounds, and intense light. The incredible scene instantly drew the attention of other people on the larger battlefield.

In that moment, everyone outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who was watching the trial by fire stared fixedly at the three vortex screens.

On the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, massive carnage was visible. The Ancient Road of Spirit Severing was similar. Fatty could be seen there, soaked in blood, roaring as he pounced forward to latch his teeth onto the neck of an enemy. His eyes were bloodshot, and his teeth glittered brightly. He howled as his opponent's candle was extinguished.

Even Fatty didn't realize how ferocious, and even savage, he appeared. He had already drawn the attention of quite a few sects.

Then there were Chen Fan, Uchiha Youcai, Li Shiqi, and others who Naruto

Hao knew from the lands of South Heaven. They were all on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul. Some died, some were disqualified, others… fought until the very end!

Chen Fen held a sword in his hand. His expression was gloomy, seemingly without the slightest bit of life in it whatsoever. He seemed empty and dark, which affected his attacks, causing them to be filled with a similar gloominess. However, a black aura swirled around his sword, and anyone who encountered it would feel their emotions suddenly being affected. Therefore, Chen Fan was also distinguishing himself on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, and drawing quite a bit of attention.

Fatty and Chen Fan had both been noticed, as had many others. This was merely the beginning of the event, and if they could continue to perform so stunningly, or even take first place on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, then they would definitely have a chance at good fortune.

Of course, what drew the most attention was the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. The fighting there had given rise to a foul wind and a bloody rain and, having come to its most critical juncture, was definitely the focal point for most of the audience.

It was easy to see the contrast with the chaos of the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing. The Ancient Road of Dao Seeking was filled with a shocking murderous aura. Of the previous ten thousand or more areas, each one was now controlled by a single powerful expert, all of whom were now fighting each other viciously as they attempted to extinguish each others' candles.

Victory or defeat was determined within the space of a few breaths in battles like that, and soon, massive changes to the situation on the battlefield could be seen.

"93 candles extinguished! Who is that? I've never seen anything like it!"

"Look at that guy in the mask! He's put out more than almost anyone else. He's the first to extinguish more than 100!"

"Look, the Chosen from the Li Clan has extinguished more than 100 too!"

Everyone was in an uproar, and was crying out loudly.

"200! The person in first place has put out 200 candles!"

"Things are happening too fast! The suspense is killing me! The guy with the mask, he's… he's… he's actually exceeded 300!"

"He's the only one who's exceeded 300. The next four people behind him have around 200 or more. Those five are definitely the most powerful people in this stage!"

"Time's almost up!"

The sound of the uproar filled the air.

Back on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, there were five people who had attracted the most attention from the other cultivators. The cultivators from the Three Sects and Six Churches, the Five Great Holy Lands, and the Three Great Daoist Societies watched the vortex screens, eyes filled with strange gleams. All five of those people shared something in common….

They stood completely alone in their respective areas, surrounded by emptiness!

Of those five people, the most prominent was the young man wearing the pitch-black mask. His black hair floated around him, and he wore a black robe. He looked almost like a shadow, and he exuded a cold, desolate and deadly aura.

His attacks were incisive, and he didn't even seem to use any divine abilities. The simple wave of a finger would cause the divine will of other peak Dao Seeking cultivators to be destroyed, and their Nascent Divinities would be shattered and perish.

There was another person among the five, a young woman. She wore a gauzy violet gown that made her look like the flower of the same name. Her face was obscured by some unknown technique, making it impossible to tell exactly what she looked like. She seemed charming and gentle, but attacked with complete ruthlessness. She was surrounded by countless violet flower petals, and upon each one could be seen a drop of blood. It was an astonishing sight.

The third among the group of five was a boy. He was skinny and virtually hairless, but possessed of remarkable speed. Furthermore, his body was covered with countless blue-colored decorative patterns that looked like sealing marks, which appeared to have formed naturally, as opposed to having been added later.

He exuded a wild and barbaric aura that he concealed as best he could; however as his blood flowed through his veins, the aura seeped out, and it made him seem like he wasn't a cultivator, but rather some savage beast from the wilderness.

The fourth person was a middle-aged man. His expression was cold and haughty, and he wore a white robe. He was surrounded by a cloud of brown mosquitos, each one of them the size of a fist. Their mouthparts were long and pointed, and buzzing could be heard as they circled around him. The sight was enough to cause anyone's scalp to go numb.

The mosquitos' bright red eyes and savage bloodthirsty appearance left everyone trembling from fear.

The fifth person was extremely peculiar. Sometimes he looked old, sometimes he looked middle-aged, and sometimes he looked like a teenager. It was as if his age were in constant flux. Every time he changed, his battle prowess would surge; he clearly cultivated some strange and bizarre Daoist magic.

These five people were currently the focus of most of the attention on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. Each one of them had extinguished more than 200 candles, and the masked young man had put out more than 300.

Ranked behind them were many other Chosen who weren't the focus of as much attention. However, this was only the first stage, so it was really impossible to say how things would turn out in the end.

"There are less than thirty breaths of time left!"

"These people are the mightiest amongst the mighty! With only thirty breaths of time left, it would be hard to change the outcome. The first stage is essentially over! The results are set!" Most people were thinking this way. Even the cultivators from the major sects felt the same way.

It seemed like time was about to expire, but just at this moment the whirlwind created by Narutos fist swept over the eight people who were attacking him.

"Impossible!" cried the woman. Her eyes shone with disbelief, and she performed a double-handed incantation in an attempt to fight back. All of the power she could muster transformed into a mist that blocked the windstorm. However, the mist was instantly shattered, and the woman let out a bloodcurdling scream as she first began to vibrate and then was ripped to shreds by the windstorm, destroyed in spirit and body.

The windstorm spread out, accompanied by her shriek. Three more people went all out with their cultivation bases, and yet were incapable of standing up to the crushing power of the windstorm. Popping sounds rang out as they were exterminated.

The remaining four people were scared out of their minds, and wanted to flee, but couldn't. The windstorm surrounded them, and the shadow of death loomed up. Their original intent was to slaughter Naruto, but his deadly counterattack left them trembling, minds filled with terror.

They were about to plead for mercy, but the windstorm overwhelmed them. Two of them had no time to even speak, and were shattered into fragments. Their candles winked out.

"I refuse to accept this!" roared the beast cultivator, the pangolin. His fleshly body was the most powerful among them, but even he could only hold out for a single extra breath of time before his scales were ripped off and his flesh shredded by the windstorm. In an instant, he was nothing more than a skeleton.

All eight cultivators were dead!

In that moment, Narutos count of extinguished candles broke past the 100 mark and began to climb toward 200!

The windstorm did not fade away. Naruto remained in the center position, his expression calm as he punched downward three more times. Then he took a deep breath and punched another three more times.

Rumbling filled the air as the windstorm experienced a threefold increase in size. Massive amounts of lightning crackled about, and the sound of thunder was deafening. The gigantic windstorm swept out in all directions, and reached a size of 3,000 meters in the following ten breaths of time.

By now, even the people on the outside world had noticed the enormous, lightning-filed windstorm on the vortex-screens.

"What's that!?"

"I didn't notice that before! Where did that huge windstorm come from?!"

"Heavens! That windstorm is still growing!"

It wasn't just the crowds who were now paying attention to the windstorm. Even Ling Yunzi from the Nine Seas God World was eying it. By now, there were only three breaths of time left before the first stage ended!

Three. Two! One!

Boom! BOOM! BOOOMMMM!

In the same instant in which the stage concluded, Narutos windstorm spread out to a size of 30,000 meters! Simultaneously, it exploded, accompanied by numerous miserable shrieks, cries of alarm, and roars of defiance.

Furthermore, the number of candles listed next to Narutos name rose rapidly!

200!

300!

400!

500!

All of the cultivators caught up in the enormous 30,000-meter windstorm were completely wiped out. In the blink of an eye, the entire area of the windstorm was swept completely clean. The only person remaining… was Naruto. He stood in the middle of the windstorm, his hair whipping about, his expression calm. However, even the outside audience could sense that deep within the calmness was a vicious ruthlessness.

In that instant, the entire Ancient Road of Dao Seeking went completely quiet. The audience outside stared at the vortex screens, eyes wide with disbelief at the sight of Naruto standing there, surrounded by complete emptiness.

He had come up from behind at the last minute to clinch first place in the first stage!

Chapter 844: First Place in the First Stage!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 845

Chapter 845: Rising Star!

As of this moment, all eyes were on Naruto!

It wasn't just the people watching in the outside world. The remaining cultivators on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking couldn't help but look over at Naruto. Although everyone was separated by large distances, within the void of the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking he was the only one who had been able to clear out everyone within 30,000 meters. The sight was enough to shock everyone.

Even the person who had previously been in first place, the masked young man, had only been able to clear an area around 20,000 meters wide to call his own.

As of now, the high-level members of the Three Sects and Six Churches, the Five Great Holy Lands, and even the Four Great Clans, were all inwardly shaken. Their eyes glittered brightly, and many voices could be heard.

"Use any means necessary to send that man a message. Whatever his requirements are, get him to join the Burning Incense Stick Society!"

"Getting first in the rankings during the first stage doesn't say too much. There are quite a few more stages to go, so there will certainly be others who rise to prominence. I'm afraid the person who came in second place won't be shown much interest at the moment. However… the first place winner, even if he doesn't do well in the following stages, showed such amazing strength in the first stage that we, the Church of the Emperor Immortal, must have him as a disciple! Send word down immediately!"

"His battle prowess is astonishing, and his temperament ruthless. A person like that is perfectly suitable to join us in the Church of the Blood Orchid!"

Quite a few of the powers who made up the Three Churches and Six Sects were instantly attracted to Naruto because of his flashy display of power.

As for the Five Great Holy Lands, the Four Great Clans, and the Three Great Daoist Societies, although they were astonished, none made any such proclamations. However, they definitely looked at him differently than the others.

Also watching the Ancient Roads on the vortex screens were Narutos parents. They were in the Namikaze Clan in the vast Eastern Lands, looking up at the spectacle. Naruto might have changed appearances, but Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li could still recognize him instantly.

When they saw that he had taken first place in the first stage, both of them smiled. They were smiles filled with pride and anticipation. Of course, Narutos mother's smile also contained a bit of concern. However, she knew that Narutos path… was his own to tread.

In the Kunlun Society, Grandmaster Pill Demon was watching the Dao

Seeking vortex screen. Although nobody else might recognize Naruto, how could Pill Demon not be able to identify that person who had once been called Namikaze Mu?

Chu Yuyan stood next to Pill Demon, looking on silently. There were emotions in her heart which she would never be able or even willing to forget. After all this time, she had grown used to watching Naruto from a distance.

She was Pill Demon's apprentice, but in the Kunlun Society, Pill Demon had been directly accepted as Daoist Kunlun's apprentice, and had instantly become a blazing sun. Because of that, Chu Yuyan also had a unique position. It only took a short time for her to become acquainted with many of the Chosen there. Furthermore, because of her incredible beauty, countless Kunlun Society disciples began to pursue her.

Her worldview was now completely different. There was no sky above her head now, but rather, stars. What she saw when she looked around were not towering mountains, but rather, a sea of heavenly bodies.

Despite all of that, though, the memories of everything that had happened on Planet Ninshu were etched deep into her soul.

The first stage was over. Vast numbers of competitors had been eliminated from the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, and Dao Seeking. Those who had made it through now waited for the second stage, exhausted and anxious.

Next, archaic voices spoke out in the three different Ancient Roads. The words spoken were different, but the meaning was the same, as the voice notified everyone that the first stage was over, and at the same time… announced how many steps each competitor would be able to take!

"Those who extinguished fifty candles or less in the first stage may go forward 3,000 paces! One hundred candles or less, 5,000 paces!

"Two hundred candles or less, 7,000 paces. Three hundred candles or less, 9,000 paces… Five hundred candles, 10,000 paces!" For the first time, Ling Yunzi of the Nine Seas God World appeared personally in the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. He was thin, and wore a long green robe. He had white eyebrows, and a blue mark could be seen on his forehead that seemed to contain an entire ocean!

He stood there, his aura pulsing with monstrous power, as if he himself were made of a sea of stars!

Shockingly, the illusory image of a nine-headed sea dragon could be seen behind him. Although it was illusory, when Naruto looked at it, he felt as if he were looking at some celestial force.

Ling Yunzi could be considered one of the top most powerful experts in the whole Ninth Mountain and Sea!

His eyes swept the area, lingering for a moment on Naruto.

After he finished speaking, Ling Yunzi waved his sleeve, causing everyone in the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking to disappear as they moved forward beyond their own control, traveling an exact amount of steps in accord with the explanation that had just been provided.

Step by step, they advanced, encountering no candles or platforms along their way. They floated through the void until they reached a stretch of endless ruins. The crumbled remains of buildings could be seen, as well as ancient statues, dried up forests, rivers, and mountain ranges.

They were now in… the Ninth Mountain and Sea's Ruins of Immortality.

The void they had just been in was simply the entrance!

The only words that could be used to describe this area were: lifeless, archaic, ancient, mysterious, silent, and enormous!

Those were the six words that floated in the minds of all the competitors as they laid eyes on the Ruins of Immortality for the first time. The last word was actually the most prominent feeling that they experienced.

It was almost impossible to tell that this was a road of any sort. The one thing that stood out were the countless altars that stretched off in a line off into the distance. They seemed to be filled with an air of time, an ancientness. They were carved with complex magical symbols that were impossible for anyone to understand. The altars further off in the distance were covered even more thickly with magical symbols than the nearer ones, and gave off an air of incredible mystery.

If you had to call this place a road, then perhaps… the way the altars stretched out made the shape of that road visible.

It was impossible to tell how many altars there were; they extended out endlessly off into the distance.

Upon first glance, the altars didn't seem very big. However… they were actually incredibly enormous. In fact, the smallest of them were about thirty percent of the size of the entire void they had just been in.

Each and every one of the altars was simply gargantuan!

From this, it can be imagined how shocking the Ruins of Immortality were. From the feeling Naruto got, it was as if this place had not been constructed for use by cultivators, but rather, but some enormous race of giants.

But then, he suddenly changed his mind as he thought back to… what he had seen in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple in the mountains in the Eastern Lands. In his vision, he had seen many things that seemed to indicate that many such things existed ancient times. Perhaps giants and cultivators were actually one and the same.

The group that stopped at 3,000 paces was relatively small. They all ended up on one of the altars, and there was no crowding whatsoever.

The largest group was made up of those who could go 5,000 paces. Despite the large number of people, each person still had a large area to call their own on that particular altar.

Next were those who could move 7,000 paces. There were fewer in that group, and they quickly spread out across the altar, eyeing each other.

When it came to 9,000 paces, there was only the masked young man and the person who could change his age. Currently, he had changed from being an old man to being young. He and the masked youth shared one enormous altar.

As for Naruto, he was the last person to come to a stop, in the lead position. He was the only person to occupy an entire altar all by himself!

Similar scenes were playing out on the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing.

"The second stage, is the stage of killing!" said Ling Yunzi, his voice cold.

"The first stage was a test of your ability to engage in magical combat. Cultivators practice cultivation to be able to fight. We fight people, we fight the Heavens, we fight Earth. Only by fighting can we hew out a Heaven-defying destiny!

"This second stage of killing tests exactly how powerful you are in the Dao Seeking stage!

"This stage seems similar to the first stage, but is actually very different. In the first stage, you all fought different opponents. Some were weak and some were strong. There was no way to objectively determine exactly how powerful you are.

"In the second stage, you will all be fighting exactly the same enemy!

"To us cultivators, the Dao is of utmost importance. Our magics are prepared to protect our Daos. Without sufficient magic, how can we achieve our Dao? Therefore, all of you must unleash all the power you can in this second stage!

"In this stage, the time limit will again be set at one incense stick. This test is not regarding the number of fatalities you can inflict, but rather… how fast you can kill!

"Kill everything that you see. Anyone who cannot complete the task in the time it takes one incense stick to burn will be eliminated. In this second stage, your lives will be at risk. If you wish, you may turn and leave of your own volition right now!" Ling Yunzi's eyes swept across the crowd, but no one chose to withdraw. His expression cold, he swished his sleeve, and immediately, the magical symbols on the altars began to shine brightly. Rumbling filled the air, and brilliant light swirled everywhere.

The light quickly spread out to cover the entirety of each altar, completely enveloping each and every person.

1,000 paces behind Naruto, the masked young man stood there, staring at Naruto as the light enveloped him. His eyes shone with a fierce gleam as he watched Naruto disappearing.

"You won the first stage, but the second stage will not belong to you!"

The old man with the age-changing ability was now a teenager, and his eyes shone with a similar light.

Behind them were all the other contenders who had earned top marks in the first stage. Each one was looking at Narutos disappearing figure, their eyes filled with stubborn gleams.

"Earlier, he obviously used some trick at the last minute. This time… he'll be forced to show his true colors!"

At the same time, on the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing, everyone was also being covered up by the brilliant light. Soon no one was visible at all, and the only thing that could be seen within the glowing light was a list of names.

After each name was a number that indicated how many fatalities they had inflicted.

Back on Narutos altar, a cold voice suddenly rang out in his ear asking his name. Narutos face flickered slightly, and after muttering to himself for a moment, he responded with " Namikaze Mu."

In the blink of an eye, the characters Namikaze Mu 方木 appeared in the altar's light. Immediately, everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea could see it.

"His name is Namikaze Mu!"

"Could it be possible that he's connected to the Namikaze Clan? Although, there are tons of people surnamed Namikaze who aren't connected to the Namikaze Clan."

" Namikaze Mu. Namikaze Mu…. He got first place in the first stage, I wonder how he'll perform in the second stage…."

"Don't think too much of it. There's no way somebody could take first place in the first stage and then again in the second stage. I suspect that he used some sort of forbidden Daoist Magic at the very last minute.

Otherwise, he would never have come to the fore in the first stage.

That's why he suddenly jumped into the spotlight at the last minute."

"Be that as it may, if he takes first place again, it would be totally

Heaven-defying. The sects would be thrown into an uproar!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 846

Chapter 846: Fastest!

The three Ancient Roads were filled with splendorous light that covered everyone. The only thing visible were the lists of names, some of which were real and some assumed.

Soon, the only thing Naruto could see was bright light, and then everything around him changed, even the sky; the altar seemed to become a massive, glowing spell formation. It didn't last for very long, only the space of a few breaths of time, and then the light vanished.

Everything around him had changed. There was no sky up above, only stars. There was no ground beneath his feet, only a gigantic 3,000-meter long ancient beast!

It was an enormous python, completely pitch-black in color, its body covered with scars and wounds. It was even possible to see its bones in some places, and in other locations, you could see all the way through its entire body.

It appeared to be just on the verge of death, its life force fading, with barely enough energy left to even fly. Although it seemed to be just barely clinging to life, there was still a terrifying aura surrounding it it, the power of which shocked even Naruto. Were it to explode out, even a true Immortal would likely be killed by the blast.

Naruto was standing on the head of the ancient python, and it appeared to connected to him, as if he could control it.

After staring in shock for a moment, Naruto looked down to find that he was wearing a suit of armor. The armor seemed brand new, and it radiated a mild energy. Overall, he seemed to physically be in this place, but at the same time, his body also seemed to be illusory. Furthermore, up ahead of him was a planet!

It was much, much smaller than Planet Ninshu, and in fact, might not even have been large enough to actually call a planet. Perhaps it was nothing more than a large asteroid. It also seemed completely unstable, filled with chaos.

Almost as soon as Naruto laid eyes on the black planet, innumerable dots of light appeared that looked like eyes. All of the eyes opened and looked straight at Naruto.

An intense sense of crisis filled Naruto, and his mind trembled. Suddenly, whistling sounds could be heard, and, astonishingly, one thousand beams of light shot toward Naruto from the planet.

Figures could be seen within these beams of light, figures that weren't cultivators, but rather, puppets!

Naruto was not the only one to be seeing this. Each and every one of the cultivators on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking was in a unique world of their own. What they were seeing and experiencing was exactly the same as Naruto.

Narutos eyes glittered coldly, and he didn't instantly spring into action. Instead, he took advantage of the time it would take for his opponents to reach him, to further study the ancient python. It appeared to be severely wounded, and on the verge of death, although it clearly had the power to make one final attack.

Such an attack would surely leave the beast completely dead in spirit and body. However, that final attack would surely be shocking, that much Naruto could tell.

He frowned and sent his divine sense out, then sighed. All of the puppets flying out from the planet had peak Dao Seeking auras, though not one of them was comparable to a false Immortal.

Just then, however, five auras suddenly exploded out from the planet, five auras that were all of the false Immortal stage. If that were all there were to it, it wouldn't be a big deal. But in that moment, yet another aura, even stronger than the others, exploded out.

The planet shook, and ripples spread out in all directions. The energy rose up, growing more and more powerful. It was very similar to the asteroid-like planet, completely filled with a will of chaos and madness.

Narutos face sank, and his eyes widened….

It was a true Immortal!

"One thousand puppets, five false Immortals, and one true Immortal…so this is the trial by fire?

"According to what Ling Yunzi said, I'm supposed to kill all of these enemies within the time it takes an incense stick to burn. That's the only way to pass this stage. Ordinary attack methods would never be able to accomplish such a thing."

Naruto muttered to himself as the more than one thousand puppets whistled ever closer to him.

"There's no way that this trial by fire will eliminate almost all the competitors in only the second stage…." Narutos eyes flickered as he looked down at the ancient python beneath his feet.

"This ancient beast is powerful…. The last attack it makes before dying will be powerful enough to kill all those thousand peak Dao Seeking puppets. Or, if I wait a bit, I could kill the five false Immortals with it. If I wait until the very end to use it, then I could kill the true Immortal.

"I only have one shot….

"That's the choice we competitors are being given!" The light of understanding flashed in his eyes.

In the various other worlds in which the cultivators on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking all faced the same scenario, everyone was hesitating regarding how to stick out from the crowd. There were many Chosen hidden among the competitors, and they were all intelligent people. It only took them a moment to come to the exact same conclusion Naruto had about the crux of this stage.

The masked young man looked out with flickering eyes. Without hesitation, he shot out to fight the more than one thousand peak Dao Seeking puppets, intending to use the ancient python's final attack to kill the true Immortal.

Such a decision was audacious, and required incredible self-confidence.

As for the old man with the age-changing transformation ability, his eyes flickered as he chose the same tactic.

There were, however, quite a few cultivators who chose to use the ancient beast's powerful attack first, rumbling out and slaughtering the thousand peak Dao Seeking puppets. After the puppets had been completely wiped out, the cultivators would step forward themselves to fight against the five false immortals.

There were multiple cultivators who made each of the various choices. Shortly, the echoing sound of booms and the glow of magical abilities rocked Heaven and Earth within each of the various worlds.

However, the actual scenes playing out within these worlds was hidden to the observers out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea; the only thing they could see was the list of names and the numbers representing the kill count next to each name, which were quickly soaring.

As for the high-level Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies,

Four Great Clans, Five Great Holy Lands, and the Three Churches and Six

Sects, they were all sitting cross-legged in an enormous palace in the starry sky, staring at an enormous ancient mirror.

The mirror was split into three sections, within which could be seen clear images of everything that was happening on the three Ancient Roads.

"That masked young man chose the hardest path, but from that, you can see that his heart is as resolute as a boulder. He definitely has potential."

"That cultivator with the age-transformations is most likely an apprentice of Patriarch Mirage. He might also be a rogue cultivator, but in any case, it's quite rare to see cultivators of the Dao Seeking stage who practice time transformation magic."

"There are many potential stars in this trial by fire…."

"From the three choices given them, we can learn about their personalities. Although, it doesn't matter which choice they make, as long as they pass this stage, they can be considered Chosen!"

The old Patriarchs discussed the matter calmly, occasionally glancing at the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing to identify people they deemed worthy of notice.

Naruto, naturally, also received some attention. And yet, on the outside, there were currently no numbers displayed next to the name Namikaze Mu.

Meanwhile, the Patriarchs were continuing to discuss the matter….

"Hmm. That young cultivator with the mosquitos is the first one to make an unexpected move."

"There's also that kid in the yellow robe. He didn't make any of the obvious choices either!"

All eyes in the palace were fixed on one of the scenes playing out on the mirror's surface. The young man with the mosquitos waved his hands, causing his mosquitos to fly toward the python, whereupon they stabbed their mouthparts into it and began to absorb its blood.

Another image depicted a young man who had performed unremarkably in the first stage. His body suddenly went blurry, and he fused down into the python. He quickly took control of it and set it to fighting, hoping to use it to kill both the puppets and the false Immortals.

Not too much time passed before other cultivators also began to use various unorthodox methods that did not conform with the three obvious choices. None of the members of the crowd in the palace seemed to find this unexpected, and in fact, had apparently predicted that such a thing would happen.

"This is excellent. There are far more people doing the unexpected than in the last trial by fire."

"From ancient times until now, there are always competitors in the Ancient Road's trial by fire who make breathtaking achievements in their later days. This group of cultivators is not bad at all!"

"How come that Namikaze Mu hasn't done anything yet?"

Amidst their chatting and laughing, some people had been paying attention to Naruto all along. Instantly, all eyes turned to the image portraying Naruto. He stood atop the head of the python, seemingly in a daze as the more than one thousand puppets bore down on him. They were now only about three hundred meters away.

"That Namikaze Mu most likely doesn't have any plan at all. It's not uncommon for cultivators to struggle when it comes to making decisions."

"That's too bad. I'd hoped to see if he could perform exceptionally well in the second stage too."

"For someone to take first place in two stages in a row isn't unheard of, but isn't very common either. Unfortunately, I'm afraid he's not the type that can do it."

As the puppets whistled toward him, Narutos eyes glittered, and his lips turned up slightly into a cold smile.

"The three choices seem different, but in fact, they are the same. Perhaps by using some unexpected tactics, it would be possible to introduce some degree of variation in the results. However, even if you were able to wipe all of these things out, that would be overlooking something even more important!

"And that is… that planet!" His eyes shone with a strange light as he looked at the planet.

"In truth, this python has another function other than its one attack… and that is the power of flight!

"Before I proceed, though, I need to test out whether or not this body is real!" Eyes glittering, he suddenly reached his right hand out and then slapped it down hard onto his chest.

A boom rang out, his body trembled, and his eyes began to glow with a brilliant light. He'd felt like something was off as soon as he'd entered this place. Although everything seemed real, after experiencing the illusory world of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, he had a much deeper understanding of such things.

In all the other worlds, everyone was already in the midst of furious fighting.

In Narutos world, the puppets were closing in. Naruto suddenly sat down cross-legged and then stretched his hands out to rest on the ancient python's head.

The python's eyes turned bright red, and it let out a roar. Then its body burst into flames as it used the last scraps of its life force to shoot forward at blinding speed.

The puppets scattered as the python swept through them. Even the five false immortals were incapable of blocking it. It moved with shocking speed as it carried Naruto directly toward the planet.

As soon as it reached the planet itself, the python collapsed into bits of ash that vanished. At the same time, the aura of a true Immortal exploded out from within the planet. A figure flew out, wreathed in golden light, moving with astonishing speed toward Naruto, who had just stepped foot onto the planet itself.

Its energy soared, and it looked like a windstorm as it bore down on Naruto.

However, even as it neared, a vicious expression appeared on Narutos face, and he unleashed the Star Plucking Magic. A huge hand appeared that grabbed onto the golden figure, after which, Naruto closed his eyes. With ruthless decisiveness, he caused his cultivation base…

To detonate!

The power of the self-detonation was channeled directly into the golden figure through the Star Plucking hand. It didn't matter how incredibly powerful this figure was; its body was filled with roaring and, because its aura was chaotic to begin with, the power of the self-detonation compelled its inner aura to become even more turbulent, such that the figure was also forced…

To self-detonate!

A massive boom rattled out as both Naruto and the figure selfdetonated together. The entire planet was then thrown into instability, causing it to shatter into countless pieces. A massive destructive power was unleashed as the fragments then transformed into a black hole which began to suck everything in!

The puppets and false Immortals had no time to fight back; they were instantly swallowed up by the black hole.

In the palace in the starry sky, the members of the crowd looked on in stupefaction.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 847

Chapter 847: Talent. Cultivation. Age.

Crowds in locations all over the Ninth Mountain and Sea were watching the events on the vortex screens. However, regardless of location, the eyes of every spectator suddenly went wide with disbelief.

On the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, Namikaze Mu's name had previously had no number next to it. In the blink of an eye, there was suddenly a number: 1,006!

The number appeared so quickly, so suddenly, that people didn't even have a chance to register it mentally before both the number, and Namikaze Mu's name, disappeared.

The light that covered the altar upon which Naruto stood slowly faded away, to reveal Naruto, sitting there cross-legged.

He was the first person…

To pass the stage!

"That's… that's impossible!"

"What just happened? I remember that just now, Namikaze Mu didn't have any numbers next to his name at all. That means he hadn't even killed a single enemy. Then I blinked my eyes, and he passed the stage?"

"A bunch of numbers appeared just now, and then they vanished, and Namikaze Mu passed the stage. Is it possible… is it possible that he used only one move to kill all of the enemies!?"

"Heavens! He got first place in the second stage too! Hardly any time has passed, not even a hundred breaths!"

"He got first place in the first stage, and now first place in the second stage!" Everyone out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely shocked. Cries of astonishment rang out in all of the locations where people were watching, and the buzz of conversation immediately rose up.

In the vast Eastern Lands, Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li were gaping at the scene. Even they weren't too sure exactly what Naruto had done.

Pill Demon and Chu Yuyan were also looking on with wide eyes, staring dumbly at Naruto on the screen.

The crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were in an uproar.

"That Namikaze Mu, he's definitely the star of this whole trial by fire!"

"How powerful is he exactly? He actually… he actually killed all of the enemies with one move!"

"I want to see how exactly he did it. It must have been breathtaking!"

Meanwhile, not too far away from Planet East Victory, an enormous turtle floated in the starry sky, carrying an entire continent on its back. He was staring in shock at the three vortex screens down below on East Victory.

"Dammit. It must be him! Even if he transformed into dust, the Patriarch would still recognize that little bastard!

"But… what exactly did he do? He got first place in the blink of an eye!"

This gargantuan turtle was of course none other than Patriarch Reliance.

At the same time, in another location in the starry sky, a figure could be seen sitting cross-legged on an asteroid, hair disheveled as he looked up at three vortex screens. His expression was taciturn, but a brilliant light glittered in his eyes.

"How could I have imagined that I wouldn't die…. Naruto, Planet Ninshu was only the first half of my life. I have to thank you for helping me understand so much. In the remaining years, I will definitely find a way to pay you back."

Even as everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken, back in the palace among the stars, silence reigned. The Patriarchs of the various sects and clans, even the representatives from the Three Great Daoist Societies, were all watching with wide eyes and slack jaws.

After a long moment, one of the old men chuckled wryly and said,

"That's cheating!"

These people were the only ones who could clearly see what had actually happened.

"The fact that he came up with a way to seize victory like that might be considered cheating, but it's amazing nonetheless!"

"He didn't hesitate to kill himself along with the enemy! Fervor like that is what clinched the victory!"

"Compared to this Namikaze Mu, all the others couldn't even be considered to be using unorthodox tactics. His methods are truly astonishing. To self-detonate with such decisiveness, and furthermore, to control it so ingeniously… we can be certain that Namikaze Mu was the first person to realize that the second stage was an illusory world!"

"Even still, he should be disqualified! Fraudulent methods like that are a complete disgrace!"

"Oh please, you want him disqualified so you can secretly go recruit him! That's not cheating. The other competitors just didn't think of that idea, or perhaps couldn't pull it off. That's just weakness on their part.

This Namikaze Mu has definitely cleared this stage!"

As the discussions continued in the palace, one of the three Elders from the Three Great Daoist Societies who sat at the head of the group suddenly opened his eyes, filling the palace with endless light.

" Namikaze Mu. Stage cleared!" He spoke only four words, but they echoed out from the palace into the starry sky, and then, by means of a special technique, echoed throughout the Ancient Road, and then out into the rest of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Suddenly, a ranking list appeared in the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, and in first place was the name Namikaze Mu. Every spot beneath it was blank.

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was abuzz, and many of the Patriarchs seated in the palace pulled out jade slips to transmit information to their sects, ordering them to attempt to recruit Namikaze Mu.

It was at this point that Naruto opened his eyes. At first, they seemed blank, but then quickly grew bright. His expression was calm as he sat there cross-legged and unmoving.

The second stage was a complete illusion, and the so-called risk to the lives of the competitors was false. However, because of the brutality of the first stage, the other competitors subconsciously assumed that the second stage would be exactly the same.

By now, roughly half of the prescribed time period had passed. Shockingly, a blue-robed young woman from the group who had proceeded 3,000 paces suddenly became visible from within the light that surrounded her. Her eyes brimmed with confidence as she looked over at the ranking list, and then suddenly went wide with shock.

"He was actually faster than me!" she thought. "I possess the Dao of souls, allowing me to take control of the puppets. And yet Namikaze Mu possesses some more powerful divine ability? Just what is it?!"

More people began to clear the second stage after the young woman. It didn't take long for enough time to pass for an incense stick to burn.

Roughly a third of the competitors didn't manage to clear the stage. As for those who did, they used a variety of methods to succeed. When it came to the true Immortal, most of them chose to use the python to destroy it in a single blow.

No one used the same method as Naruto.

As people emerged from clearing the stage, they looked over at the ranking list, and were shocked.

" Namikaze Mu took first place in the first stage, and now he took first place in the second stage too!"

"Dammit!" The masked young man was one of the last to emerge from the second stage. Behind his mask, his face was extremely unsightly. His previously high aspirations had been dealt a heavy blow. As for the old man with the age-transformation powers, he also looked ashen-faced, and was frowning.

Most of the cultivators who distinguished themselves in the first stage did not fare very well in the second stage.

Meanwhile, on the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul and Spirit

Severing, the second stage had likewise concluded. Fatty, Chen Fan and Uchiha Youcai had all succeeded. Chen Fan put on the most astonishing performance, and although he didn't take first place, he was in the top 100, which was quite an accomplishment!

As for Fatty and Uchiha Youcai, they ended up in the top 1,000.

Li Shiqi ranked toward the bottom, and had barely been able to pass.

It was only the second stage, but the previously large number of competitors had already been whittled down by roughly half.

Of course, Narutos performance caused a huge stir in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and the name Namikaze Mu was now planted thoroughly in everyone's minds. Many people were now looking forward to the third stage, to see if he could take first place yet again!

On the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, Ling Yunzi of the Nine Seas God World stood there in illusory form, looking out at the crowds. This time, his gaze lingered on Naruto for a bit longer than it had last time.

Without another word, he then waved his hand, causing everyone to disappear. When they reappeared, they were further along down the Ancient Road. They still stood on altars, although everyone's positions were now changed. Some who were in the lead, were now sent further back, whereas some who had been far in the back, had now caught up.

Only Naruto was alone, far up ahead of everyone on his own altar. Behind him were all the other Dao Seeking cultivators, staring at his back, faces filled with the desire to do battle.

"The previous two stages tested your battle prowess," Ling Yunzi said coolly. "You will now pass through the third, fourth, and fifth stages simultaneously. They will test your latent talent, the depth of your cultivation base, and also… your true age!

"The higher your latent talent, the deeper your cultivation base, and the younger you are, the more outstanding your results will be!

"This is a composite test. Even if you did not perform well in the first two stages, if you do well in this third stage, you can still rise above the other competitors." With that, he waved his hand, causing everything to flash with bright colors, and a wind to pick up. Suddenly, three enormous stone steles rose up out of the altars in front of each competitor.

Each stone stele was inscribed with a single large character.

Talent! Cultivation! Age!

"Place your hand onto the stone stele, and allow its power to enter into you. Let the testing begin!"

The majority of the cultivators on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking stepped forward and placed their hands onto the 'talent' stone steles. In the blink of an eye, columns of light began to rise up from the stone steles, each one reaching a different height. Most reached a height of approximately 30 meters. However, there was one that suddenly shot up to 60 meters, drawing quite a bit of attention.

To any sect, the latent talent a cultivator possessed was actually more important than battle prowess.

Next, a 90-meter column of light appeared, then a 150-meter column, a 180-meter column, and even a 300-meter column!

That one belonged to the young woman who had emerged from the second stage right after Naruto. She looked at the column of light, her expression as calm as it usually was.

Behind her, more 300-meter columns appeared. Among the other cultivators who possessed 300-meter columns were the masked young man and the cultivator with the mosquitos. Those two, along with the young woman, were known to the audience by now. The others whose columns reached 300 meters were all people who hadn't attracted much attention in the previous two stages, but were now making a spectacular showing.

"A 300-meter column of light shows an incredible level of latent talent. I never imagined that there would be seven people with such latent talent in the Dao Seeking division of the trial by fire!"

"There are nine in the Spirit Severing division!"

"There are even more in the Nascent Soul division! A total of seventeen

300-meter columns!"

"I wonder how Namikaze Mu will perform…." While the crowds outside discussed the proceedings, the Patriarchs in the palace who represented the various sects and clans were looking on with glittering eyes. They eyed the various cultivators with exceptional latent talent, and of course, were looking at Naruto.

Naruto hesitated for a moment. He had never really paid much attention to his latent talent, but he lifted his hand up and then placed it onto the stone stele.

As soon as he touched it, a gentle power spread out into his body from the stone stele. It quickly flowed into his Chakra and blood passageways, eventually swirling out through his whole body. However, it was at this point that the illusory Immortal meridian created by the bronze lamp suddenly quivered. Then, it began to emit a gravitational force that… instantly sucked up the gentle power from the stone stele.

Narutos eyes went wide.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 848

Chapter 848: Senior, Bring Another!

On the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, glittering light rose up. Fatty stared blankly at the stone stele in front of him; the beam of light that rose up was only 90 meters tall, although there were still quite a few others that weren't as tall as his.

"Fudge!" he thought, his eyes blazing with fury. "Why the hell isn't my latent talent the best? That doesn't make sense! All those years ago the Golden Frost Sect told me that my latent talent was unequalled in the whole world!" He was especially depressed when he looked over and saw that Uchiha Youcai's column of light was 150 meters tall.

Then he looked over at Chen Fan, and Fatty's eyes went wide with disbelief. Chen Fan's beam of light… was actually among the 300-meter columns!

Li Shiqi's wasn't quite 300 meters tall, but was still tall enough at 250 meters.

On the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, as the competitors placed their hands on the stone steles, radiant light shot up, filling the area with scintillating brightness. Only Narutos stone stele was completely without any light whatsoever. He smiled wryly.

It was impossible for the stone stele to emit any light whatsoever, because the gentle power that was the source of the light never returned from Narutos body into the stele. Instead, it had been swallowed up by the ethereal Immortal meridian inside of him.

Right now, the audiences in the outside world were all abuzz. Much importance was attached to the latent talent stage of the event. After all, latent talent was an important foundation for cultivators, and all sects paid close attention to it. As for the cultivators who displayed unusual amounts of latent talent, they were immediately taken note of.

There were quite a few people who looked over at Naruto. He had taken first place in the previous two stages, which put him directly in the limelight. Many people were waiting in anticipation to see if he would take first place in the third stage as well. Of course, there were also others who looked on with cold smiles, just waiting to ridicule him.

By now, all of the stone steles were lit up, be they on the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul or Spirit Severing, or the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. Now, all attention was focused on Naruto….

This was especially the case because, after taking first in the first two stages, he was now ahead of everyone on the Ancient Road. There weren't even any other cultivators around him, which made his position even more conspicuous.

"What is Namikaze Mu up to?"

"Eee? There's no light coming from the stone stele at all! What's wrong? He can't possibly be completely devoid of latent talent. Even if it's poor, there would still be some light, right?"

"Maybe he didn't actually start the analysis yet. But hold on, his hand is clearly resting on the stele!"

Soon, everyone on the outside was looking over at the image of Naruto on the vortex screens, and were astonished.

The powerful experts from the various sects were also watching, as was everyone in the palace up the starry sky. Everyone from the Three Churches and Six Sects, the Five Great Holy Lands, the Four Great Clans, and even the Three Great Daoist Socities, was now looking at Naruto and his lightless stone stele.

"What crafty scheme is that little bastard pulling off?" thought Patriarch Reliance, his face twisted with fury. Although he had a complex relationship with Naruto, Naruto was the sole Inner Sect disciple from the Reliance sect. Therefore, the scene that was playing out right now left Patriarch Reliance feeling quite disgraced.

Back in the vast Eastern Lands, Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto Li were also staring in shock. They knew exactly what kind of latent talent Naruto had. Although he'd experienced the Seventh Year Tribulation, he was also the first person in the entire Namikaze Clan in years to actually experience a second and even a third lifetime.

Because of that, they knew that his bloodline ran especially strong. A cultivator's bloodline was one of the aspects of their latent talent, so they couldn't understand why the stone stele in front of Naruto did not shine with light.

Naruto cleared his throat and looked around at all the other people and their columns of light. Feeling all the eyes boring down into his back, he slowly lifted his hand up and then pressed it down again onto the stone stele.

The gentle power appeared once again, but just like the last time, the Immortal meridian swallowed it up. It was at this point that Naruto noticed that after absorbing the power, the Immortal meridian was a bit different.

He casually lifted his hand up again and then pushed it down, causing more of the gentle energy to spread out inside him. The spectators looked on in shock as Naruto continuously attempted to activate the light.

After trying seven or eight times, he realized that the Immortal meridian had absorbed too much of the gentle power, and now there wasn't any emanating out from the stone stele at all. However, the Immortal meridian inside of him had changed from it's previous illusory state. About ten percent of it had solidified.

This development caused Narutos heart to pound with wild joy and excitement. He knew that the moment the Immortal Meridian was complete, he would step into true Immortality.

Suppressing his excitement, he plastered an expression of surprise onto his face and then pushed his hand down onto the stele a few more times experimentally. He glanced around, then looked up, apparently frustrated, and called out into the void: "Senior Ling Yunzi, are you there!? This stone stele is broken! Can I have another?

"Actually, sir, it would be best to bring out several, just in case there are any other broken ones. That will save you some frustration in the long run." He gazed up into the starry sky, an expression of eager anticipation on his face.

Everything was silent. The other cultivators on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking all looked on silently.

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs from the various sects were all frowning. However, they knew that the Ruins of Immortality were veiled in mystery. Even though the Three Great Daoist Societies held control of the three Ancient Roads, there were many things about them that they didn't understand.

After a long moment, the Patriarch of the Nine Seas God World said,

"Fellow Daoist Ling Yunzi, give him another."

The voice echoed out into the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, and Ling

Yunzi materialized out of the void. He looked down indifferently at Naruto, then waved his sleeve, causing the stone stele in front of him to vanish as if had been teleported away. Moments later, it was replaced by another stone stele.

Narutos eyes gleamed as he quickly reached his hand out and pushed it down onto the stone stele.

"SHINE!" he bellowed. The gentle power once again entered his body and began to flow about. At the same time, an imperceptible flicker appeared in Narutos eyes as he used both the meat jelly and the black feather to conceal anything that was happening inside of him.

The Immortal meridian quickly sucked in every last bit of the power, although it didn't seem to have a very drastic effect on the meridian itself. Naruto blinked. Then, as Ling Yunzi looked on wide-eyed, he dramatically inspected the stone stele and tried to place his hand onto it several times. Soon, all the power from the stele was sucked away by the Immortal Meridian.

Ling Yunzi wasn't the only person who was paying close attention to what was happening. The people in the starry sky palace were also observing closely, and their frowns deepend.

"There's something wrong!"

"The stone stele isn't defective. Even though everything seems normal, there's actually something strange going on inside of his body."

"He must cultivate some unique Daoist magic…."

As the discussions buzzed in the palace, an old man wearing a long crimson gown suddenly rose to his feet.

"There's no need for any testing," he said. "Ladies and Gentleman, Mount Sun would be happy to dispel any doubts for you. I will recruit him to join Mount Sun, and then all disputes will be resolved." Laughing heartily, he began to walk forward, but then his path was suddenly obstructed.

"There's no need for the Holy Land of Mount Sun to go to that trouble! The Burning Incense Stick Society is more than willing to take the risk of recruiting him."

In the blink of an eye, the atmosphere in the palace was completely

astir. As they verbally sparred over the matter, Naruto stood on his altar on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. Sighing, he looked up at the grim-faced Ling Yunzi.

"Senior, this… this one's broken too! Why don't you give me a few more…?"

Ling Yunzi stared at him silently for a moment, then waved his hand. Rumbling echoed out as four stone steles with the character 'talent' inscribed on them suddenly appeared.

Narutos heart thumped, and he coughed lightly again and began the assessment.

"Hm, this one's broken.

"Eee? This one's broken too! Dammit!

"Heavens! Who would have thought that this one would also be broken!

"I… I can't believe it! This one's broken too!" Naruto looked up with a sheepish, pained expression, as if the Heavens were playing a cruel joke on him. Ling Yunzi looked back with an extremely unsightly expression.

Of course, inwardly, Naruto was extremely excited. Although the five stone steles from just now had not been incredibly effective, they had pushed his Immortal meridian from being ten percent solid to twenty percent.

Of course, all of the crowds looking on in the Ninth Mountain and Sea weren't sure whether to laugh or cry. Although Naruto was no longer in first place, he was actually even more a center of attention than before, when he had placed first.

"Senior, why don't you give me another ten," Naruto said expectantly.

Ling Yunzi's eyelids twitched. With a cold harrumph, he waved his hand, then apathetically announced the first place winner of the third stage.

After that he said, "The next stage assesses cultivation base! Let the assessment begin!"

As his words rang out, the 'talent' stone steles vanished.

The first place winner of the third stage glared at Naruto in frustration, but could do nothing except wallow in anger.

"Senior!" Naruto cried out in distress. "Hey, senior! I'm not done with the assessment! This isn't fair!"

Ling Yunzi completely ignored Naruto, and in fact, vanished into thin air.

Nobody paid any attention to Narutos complaints whatsoever. At the same time, everyone else on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking stepped forward toward the 'cultivation' stone steles. The Patriarchs in the starry sky palace up above looked on with glittering eyes. Although they had been bickering moments ago, it was all in accord with the various plans they had.

As for the crowds in the Ninth Sea, they had originally had high expectations for the third stage, but after what had happened with Namikaze Mu, the mood… was completely different.

"This is so unfair!" grumbled Naruto. He walked forward to the 'cultivation' stone stele, reached out his right hand, and was delighted to find that the gentle power, although somewhat different than the power from before, was actually slightly more powerful. As soon as it entered his body and began to circulate around, the Immortal meridian trembled and then thirstily spread out to absorb all of it.

"Dammit! How could this one be broken too?" exclaimed Naruto, seemingly furious. As all of the other stone steles around him shone with bright light, Naruto continued to attempt to get his to work, looking as though he refused to believe it wouldn't. After the seventh or eighth attempt, he had absorbed enough power from the stone stele to solidify his Immortal meridian to thirty percent.

His cultivation base, with its eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, actually experienced some advancement.

Licking his lips, Naruto once again called out loudly. "This really isn't fair! Senior Ling Yunzi, please, let me switch steles!"

Ling Yunzi materialized and, his expression dark, looked at Naruto and waved his arm. The 'cultivation' stone steles vanished, and then Ling Yunzi's annoyed voice echoed out.

"Pipe down! Any more chatter from you and you'll be disqualified! Next stage, the age assessment!"

Naruto blinked. Feeling slightly guilty, he proceeded toward the 'age' stone stele and pushed his hand down onto it.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 849

Chapter 849: Creativity

On the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, everything was normal. The cultivators on the Ancient Road of Spirit Severing had made incredible progress. These three stages of talent, cultivation, and age assessments tested one's foundation, and as such, were of great importance to the various sects and clans. There were already quite a few people from both the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing whose names had been recorded by the sects. As long as they continued to perform well in the following stages, their future good fortune was essentially guaranteed.

Chen Fan was just such a person!

Unfortunately, Fatty and the others had not yet made it onto any of the lists.

In contrast, the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking was in complete chaos. It wasn't that the proceedings themselves were chaotic, but rather, there was a feeling of unpredictability because nobody was paying attention to who would take first place in the assessments of talent, cultivation and age.

All sorts of conversations were playing out throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Just what kind of latent talent does Namikaze Mu have? And what cultivation base? How old is he?!"

"I can't believe the stone steles didn't work! They even changed steles several times. There's obviously something special about Namikaze Mu!" "Oh right, who took first in the talent and cultivation assessments?"

"I wasn't really paying attention. I'm just wondering whether the ageassessing stone stele will be effective on Namikaze Mu!"

Back on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, Naruto was like an unwelcome guest whose style and actions took the wind out of everyone's sails. He was now, once again, the focus of all attention.

Although he wasn't in first place… the current first place competitor was being completely ignored.

More and more sects were becoming interested in Naruto, and in fact, his name had already been recorded by all of the Three Churches and Six Sects. Furthermore, it was in first place on all of those lists!

Naruto bashfully placed his hand on the 'age' stone stele, sucked in the energy, solidifying his Immortal meridian to forty percent.

He felt that it was quite a pity that Ling Yunzi was so stingy. Sighing wistfully to himself, he thought of yelling out another complaint about how unfair it all was, but managed to keep his mouth shut. He said nothing, but rather, stood there gauging the other competitors' columns of light. No matter how high any of those columns were, everyone's faces were extremely unsightly.

"The age-assessing stage is concluded!" announced Ling Yunzi with the flick of a sleeve. Everyone except for Naruto vanished and reappeared on altars further off in the distance.

Naruto had now gone from first place to dead last.

This development caused everyone who was competing in the trial by fire on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking to be very agitated. Virtually, all of them turned to glare back at Naruto, inwardly musing about how benevolent Ling Yunzi was. In their minds, someone like Naruto should obviously have been disqualified immediately.

"He obviously just doesn't have enough latent talent, so he used some insidious technique to disable the stone steles. How shameless!"

"There must be something weird about his cultivation base that he doesn't want anyone to know about. To use such methods to skirt the issue is really detestable. You know, he should be disqualified! Merely getting sent to last place is really showing him mercy!"

"Punish him to sate our anger!"

Everyone on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking was furious at Naruto, especially those who hadn't made a name for themselves in the previous two stages. Those who had excelled in the assessments of talent, cultivation, and age were especially angry.

"This isn't fair!" yelled Naruto.

"Not fair?" replied Ling Yunzi, glaring back at him. "You didn't earn any marks in the last three stages, you wasted several stone steles, and even depleted some of the valuable resources of the Ruins of Immortality! You're lucky to not be disqualified! I dare you to keep yapping!"

Anyone else who was in Narutos position that received such words and such a gaze from Ling Yunzi would instantly be filled with awe, fear, and concern over the consequences of their words. However, as far as Naruto was concerned, he hadn't come here to join any sect.

"Oh great and powerful senior," he said, "I know that I was in the wrong. Listen, how about this. Just give me three more stone steles to try out. If they don't work, then junior will resign himself to his fate."

Ling Yunzi gaped at Naruto, so angry that he almost felt like laughing. Were it not for Narutos previous performance having attracted the attention of all the spectators outside, he would definitely disqualify him immediately. Naruto was turning into a real headache. In the end, Ling Yunzi just pretended he didn't hear him.

"The sixth, seventh, and eighth stages will assess your divine sense, willpower, and intuition!"

In response to Ling Yunzi's words, Naruto blinked. Inwardly, he vowed that the next time he saw Fan Dong'er, he would definitely show her who was boss, and vent his anger toward Ling Yunzi on her.

"You will pass through these three stages simultaneously. Each of you will find yourself in your own world, filled with unique and strange phenomena, which you will use to create your own divine ability!

"Depending on the results of your creation, you will be presented with a certain number of…." At this point, Ling Yunzi faltered for a moment before speaking the final two words.

"… stone steles!"

When Naruto heard the words 'stone steles,' his heart began to thump, and his eyes shone brightly.

Ling Yunzi waved his hand, causing all of the altars began to tremble; massive amounts of fog began to accumulate, covering over everyone present. Then, the power of teleportation spread out, and everyone disappeared.

Outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, everyone settled their Chakra and calmed their minds, then focused on the scenes playing out on the vortex screens. It could be said that the first two stages tested fighting, and the third through fifth stages tested the foundation. In that case, the sixth, seventh and eighth stages tested creativity!

For cultivators, creativity required divine sense, willpower, and of course intuition.

Every time the Three Great Daoist Societies held a recruitment event, shocking and peerless individuals would create divine abilities in these three stages that would become incredibly famous.

Everyone was watching with keen anticipation.

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs were no longer squabbling, but instead, were watching with rapt attention. The Five Holy Lands, the Three Great Daoist Societies, all of them were closely examining the screens, and the cultivators on the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing and Dao Seeking.

The people who had ended up on the name lists of the various sects were the subject of special scrutiny. As long as they maintained good positions during these three stages, then there was no question about whether or not they would eventually be recruited.

As for the rest of the people who hadn't made it onto the name lists, if they performed spectacularly in these three stages, they would surely be noticed and their names would be added to the lists.

Up in the palace among the stars, everyone was sighing emotionally.

"Creating a divine ability is not a simple thing! It's very difficult…. I can't wait to see what stunning divine abilities we will see!"

"In any other place, it would probably be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone in this group who could create a divine ability. However, the Ruins of Immortality are a special place, with a unique power. There are astonishing things here that would normally be very rare, or even nonexistent in the outside world, things that can inspire the competitors, and influence them inwardly."

"That's right, on the Ancient Roads, it will be much easier for them to create divine abilities. If they can't make one here, it shows that their future path will not stretch very far."

"Divine abilities must be created, a process that stems from the intuition of the creator. Willpower could be considered part of intuition, whereas divine will acts as a Dao Protector. In the final analysis, the same objects and the same source of inspiration will be viewed differently by different people, and can lead to different forms of enlightenment."

"From ancient times until now, the Daoist Societies have held this trial by fire on several occasions. The most powerful person to ever participate was Sir Fan from the Nine Seas God World. When he created his divine ability that year, he caused nineteen stone steles to appear, which is a record that stands to this day!"

"He created The Mortal Sea Becomes Immortal, which was eventually developed into a Daoist magic, one of the most powerful ever!" 1

Meanwhile, as the people in the starry sky palace were sighing in emotional reminiscence, all of the people being teleported opened their eyes as the scenery around them became clear.

A tremor ran through Naruto as he looked around at completely unfamiliar lands. Everything around him was a mass of black soil that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

It was blazingly hot, and nine suns could be seen high up in the sky, almost like nine mighty Immortals looking out across the lands.

This place was a wasteland!

Scattered structures were visible off in the distance, half sunken into the soil; those that remained above the surface were in a state of collapse. However, carvings of auspicious beasts could be seen on their surfaces, harkening back to their former glory.

A moaning wind blew through the land, brushing against the black soil, causing what sounded like a sad melody to spring up. It filled one with the desire to go searching for whoever might have listened to such a song in the past, but as it floated across the land, it seemed to be drifting through countless ages of time, and ancient memories.

Naruto stood there, completely alone in this vast stretch of land.

The only thing to accompany him was the murmuring wind, the black soil that stretched out in all directions, and the ruins that could be seen off in the distance.

Being in such a location caused Narutos mood to sink, and his eyes flickered with a strange light.

"So, this place can influence the emotions," he thought, sending his divine sense spreading out. It swept the area, and in addition to everything he had already seen, he could now sense a faint pressure weighing down on him.

If he hadn't sent his divine sense out, he would have never detected it…. Furthermore, he was only aware of it within the range of his divine sense.

Narutos expression slowly changed as he carefully examined his surroundings using divine sense. Now he could sense that there were actually different ranges of pressures, some strong, some weak, coming from all the various ruins lying about!

It was at this point that Ling Yunzi's voice echoed out to everyone on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. It almost sounded like it was coming from a different world that overlapped with this one.

"Sixth stage, divine sense.

"Seventh stage, willpower.

"Eighth stage, intuition.

"The world you are in contains 99 ruins, as well as a virtually intact Immortal pavilion. The pressure is different in each area, and you will find different forms of enlightenment in each location. The more powerful your divine sense is, the more Immortal ruins you will be able to sense, and the greater your enlightenment will be.

"After you find each Immortal ruin, your willpower will determine whether or not you can stand up to the pressure there.

"Your intuition will decide your final type of enlightenment, and how it becomes a divine ability!" Ling Yunzi's archaic voice echoed about in the wasteland; it almost sounded like he was a figure from ancient times, that his voice was being affected by the agedness of the ruins and then transmitted through time into the ears of the competitors.

The wind whimpered, and the land looked as ancient as ever. Narutos eyes glittered as he sent his divine sense out and found that it was impossible to cover the entire world. He could only see seven sets of ruins.

The nearest was about three thousand meters away, and it appeared to be a dried up well, surrounded by a broken-down wall.

Naruto strolled over, and when he was about three hundred meters away from the well, he could sense pressure pushing down on him. It was powerful, like a windstorm.

The windstorm bore down on him, accompanied by a voice that, when compared to Ling Yunzi, truly did seem to come from ancient times.

"Whenever I see it, I think of you….

"To anyone who hears my voice in the future: Have you felt the same way as I do? Do you also have an object that makes you think of someone?"

Sir Fan's surname in Chinese is 凡 fán, a surname shared by Fan Dong'er, which means "ordinary" or "mortal." In the divine ability he created, the word "mortal" is the same character, a play on words. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 850

Chapter 850: Can the Leopard Change its Spots?

Naruto stopped in place and stared blankly at a vague illusion that suddenly appeared in front of him. He saw a middle-aged man wearing a long white robe, sitting cross-legged in front of the well.

The wall surrounding the well was suddenly intact, and a simple hut could be seen attached to it, the sides of which were covered in bottlegourd vines.

The middle-aged man seemed to be gazing eternally at the well, as if he were locked in a single moment for all eternity.

It was a simple vision, almost ordinary, but Naruto felt himself trembling. The voice in his ear penetrated into his mind and echoed through his soul.

He thought of many things, many people, many objects.

He wasn't sure when, but at some point, he had walked up, sat crosslegged in front of the well and started staring at it. His mind filled with perplexity and struggle, as if the ancient voice from just now was allowing the dilapidated Ancient ruin here to interfere with his willpower and make him lose himself.

Inside, he was fighting against the pressure, and based on the intensity of his willpower, he was able to maintain a scrap of consciousness that prevented him from losing himself.

After two hours passed, the perplexity in Narutos eyes slowly faded away, and was replaced with a bright light.

"What an incredible Dao Projection!" thought Naruto. Sweat pouring down his forehead, he took a deep breath and thought back to the daze he had just been in, and it frightened him. If there were any deadly forces in this area instead of just good fortune and chances for enlightenment, then Naruto would have been in great danger just now.

"Divine sense will allow me to find more of these Immortal ruins, and my willpower will enable me to fight back against the pressure. As for intuition, that is what I need to gain enlightenment. That… is what leads to creativity."

After a moment of silence, Naruto continued to sit there crosslegged, recalling everything he had just seen.

"There must be an object which, when I see it, will make me think of someone," he murmured. He opened his bag of holding and swept it with his divine sense. Suddenly, he paused, and his eyes flickered awkwardly.

"Uh…." He hesitated for a moment, then pulled out a stack of paper from his bag of holding.

"Every time I look at this particular promissory note, I think of the resplendent Taiyang Zi….

"And this paper makes me think of Hebi Xiaoxiao.

"This one makes me think of Song Luodan.

"And this one… Li Ling'er. This one is Sun Hai. It's too bad I don't have a promissory note from Fan Dong'er. Hebi Yin didn't write one either." After looking over the promissory notes, he smiled wryly and realized that the enlightenment he had experienced didn't seem to be the same as that of the middle-aged man in front of the well.

The man obviously missed an old friend or acquaintance, or perhaps a significant other. Narutos experience was quite different than that.

Sighing, Naruto put the promissory notes back in his bag of holding and rose to his feet. After looking at the ruins one last time, he flickered off into the distance.

"I don't think the enlightenment of that place suits me," he thought, shaking his head. "If it did, how come I would think of promissory notes in a place that was clearly designed to make one think of old friends?" He turned into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Of course, his divine sense was backed by eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, so when he sent it out to search for another ruin, he quickly found one, and then flew in that direction.

What he found was a dried-up old river.

The only thing left behind was an empty riverbed, and pressure once again radiated out as Naruto neared. This time, there was no voice, only pressure, and this pressure was stronger than that which he had experienced at the well.

He sat down cross-legged in the riverbed and wrestled against the pressure for about an hour. When he returned to his normal state, he was panting, and more sweat poured down his forehead.

"If there are 99 sets of ruins like this, plus an intact Immortal pavilion, then that means that the more enlightenment I gain, the better my results will be when I create my divine ability.

"However… I'm only at the second ruin and it's already so difficult. I wonder how many ruins some of the others have reached enlightenment in." Naruto frowned and looked at the riverbed. Fighting back against the pressure with his willpower, he began to experience a vision.

He saw water flowing up into the sky, and boundless waves. This river seemed capable of shaking Heaven and Earth. As it flowed upward, it cut a huge rift through the sky.

"I bet if I can understand this river," he murmured to himself, "I'll be able to create a divine ability that has to do with flowing water. When I unleash it, a celestial river would appear all around me that would sweep over everything." After thinking about it, he decided that such a divine ability would definitely be powerful. Therefore, he continued to sit there cross-legged, silently trying to reach enlightenment.

However, after six hours flowed by, he opened his eyes in frustration. After all that time, he wasn't even able to organize his thoughts.

"When I look at the river, I know that it can lead to enlightenment about a divine ability, but I can't stop thinking about the river beneath Mount Daqing, the bottle gourd I threw into it, and the slip of paper that was inside." Scratching his head in puzzlement, he remembered how he had written down his great aspiration onto that note, and how he still hadn't achieved that goal. He couldn't help but sigh. 1

"It seems this place doesn't suit me either," he thought.

Standing, he sent his divine sense out to look for more ruins.

Meanwhile, everyone out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea was watching the various scenes playing out on the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, and Dao Seeking. Of course, everything was quite blurry; not even the Patriarchs from the various sects up in the starry sky palace could clearly see what was happening.

After all, these Immortal ruins were filled with incredible power. It wouldn't be until the various participants created their final divine ability that everyone outside would be able to see what was happening.

However, the audience was able to see the three Ancient Roads, and knew that all of the participants were trying to gain enlightenment from the ruins.

Up in the starry sky palace, the various Patriarchs were discussing the scenes on the screen.

"It seems most of the competitors are still immersed in studying their first Immortal ruin. I wonder what type of enlightenment will be gained by the person who studies the most!?"

"Well whoever that is, they will definitely be able to create an incredibly powerful divine ability, that much is certain."

"That's right, Sir Fan from the Nine Seas God World gained enlightenment from 91 of the Immortal ruins. That was how he managed to create the stunning and peerless Mortal Sea Becomes Immortal! In the end, he got 19 stone steles!"

"Creating divine abilities has a lot to do with one's disposition. Grand and magnificent people create divine abilities that match their personality, whereas people with narrow thinking tend to make extreme divine abilities. Different personalities, different divine abilities."

It was at this point that the Patriarch from the Burning Incense Stick Society suddenly looked over at Narutos screen. "Huh? Namikaze Mu has already gained enlightenment from two Immortal ruins!"

Shockingly, two bright dots could be seen on Narutos screen.

Meanwhile, on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, Fatty was sitting next to a woodpile, seemingly in a daze. The woodpile seemed ancient, as if it had existed for countless years, and was over three hundred meters tall, towering above the lands.

At the very top of the woodpile was a magic fungus!

It was an enormous magic fungus shaped like a millstone, completely violet in color, and emanating a fragrant aroma. Fatty swallowed, and then his eyes began to shine brightly.

"That thing is a treasure…. Just smell it and you can tell it's some Heavenly material or Earthly treasure." He immediately produced a flying sword from his bag of holding and sent it flying toward the magic fungus. The sword trembled as it neared, then was hit with a jolt that sent it flying back. The mushroom did not move one iota.

Fatty's eyes shone with determination, and he produced some more magical items, then pushed out hard with his cultivation base. After an hour passed, he had not even succeeded in breaking the magic fungus' skin.

"I don't believe it!" he said, leaping to his feet. Gritting his teeth, he flew up to the magic fungus and then opened his mouth ferociously and bit it.

When he bit down, he couldn't help but scream out in pain as he tumbled backward. Stars swam in his eyes, and his teeth felt as if they might shatter. Tears flowed down his cheeks, and his expression was much the same as that year back in the Violet Fate Sect when Naruto had concocted a special medicinal pill for him to eat.

"I won't back down!" he roared, flying forward again and using all the power he could summon from his cultivation base and focusing it on his treasure-like teeth. Once again, he bit down viciously onto the magic fungus.

Pain washed over him, but Fatty endured it and surged with even more energy.

"There's nothing that Grandpa Fatty can't bite through!" he cried, his eyes shot with blood as he bit down even more viciously. It was fortunate that no one was here to witness what was happening, otherwise they would have been dumbstruck.

If someone were to paint this scene, it would depict Fatty, looking much like a wolfhound as he tore at the magic fungus with his teeth….

After biting it over and over again for an hour, Fatty let out a roar of rage and finally, was able to bite a tiny chunk out of the magic fungus.

His eyes were bright red as he chewed the magic fungus viciously and then swallowed it. He was just about to continue with his efforts when suddenly, a tremor ran through him, and he flopped over onto his back, unconscious.

After lying there unmoving for two hours, he finally opened his eyes, and they looked blank.

"What a dream!" he thought. "I saw myself creating a divine ability…." After a moment, his eyes began to shine with a bright light, and he resumed ripping at the magic fungus until he tore off another chunk, after which he passed out again.

The cycle repeated itself over and over again, so many times that even Fatty was unaware of how long it had been going on. Eventually, he had managed to eat about half of the magic fungus.

Also on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul was Chen Fan, who stood silently next to an enormous boulder. A brush could be seen in his hand, and his expression was blank, as if he were submerged in a reverie.

Finally, he extended his hand and began to draw the image of a woman.

It was none other than his wife, Shan Ling.

"My spirit has darkened," he murmured, "but I won't forget love, not for the rest of my life."

In another location was Uchiha Youcai, in front of whom was an enormous bronze mirror that looked completely and utterly ancient. He sat there cross-legged, staring at the image of himself in the mirror.

A vicious expression could be seen on his face, which was sometimes replaced by blankness, and then other times, an expression of enlightenment. He had already been sitting there for a long time.

His voice was hoarse as he said: "When I look at the world, when I look out at Heaven and Earth, I see the future, and I see the past…. However, I know that these eyes of mine can see more than that!" He almost appeared to be on the verge of going mad.

When Naruto, Dong Hu, and Uchiha Youcai had joined the Reliance

Sect that year, Naruto could be described as quick-witted, Dong Hu

as somber, and Uchiha Youcai as stubborn!

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	5. Chapter 5

360

Vol. 6 : Chapter 851

Chapter 851: Loyal Personality

There was one other familiar person on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, Li Shiqi.

She wore a long white robe, and walked slowly across the black soil, sending out divine sense until she found an Immortal ruin off in the distance.

She would not make her selection casually, nor rashly begin to test herself against the ruin. That was her personality.

After walking along for some time, she finally came across a bloodcolored lake. At one time, the lake had been vast and deep, but now there wasn't much left to it.

At the very bottom, a bloody flower was visible.

It was an orchid that was as red as blood.

A Blood Orchid.

Li Shiqi looked at the orchid silently for a while, after which a gleam of determination appeared in her eyes, and she walked toward it. This was the first ruin she had selected. Now that she had made her decision, she would see it through to the end. That was her personality.

"There is much good fortune in this world," she murmured softly, "and I can't have all of it. I just want to find something that is suitable for me, that will be good enough." As she walked toward the Blood Orchid, she felt increasing pressure. Eventually, she sat down cross-legged, her expression blank as she submerged herself in contemplation.

Virtually all of the people on the three Ancient Roads were similarly deep in contemplation. Some were like Li Shiqi, who made her selection carefully. Others tried out one Immortal ruin after another.

Different personalities. Different paths.

Time passed. Everyone was fighting for their own future, attempting to gain enlightenment regarding their own personal divine ability. The crowds outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were all watching closely and patiently. This was the creation of a divine ability, not some simple copy of some other magic. The more time one spent developing the divine ability, the more likely it would lead to something breathtaking.

"After these three stages, there will definitely be people who become famous overnight and draw the attention of all of the sects. There might even be some people, whether they are on the name lists or not, who be immediately recruited!"

"There will also be people who suffer disastrous failures and completely lose any advantage they previously had."

"We definitely have to watch closely in case someone creates a ten-stele divine ability. In the future, that person will surely be deemed Chosen."

Conversations like this played out in many of the various areas in the Ninth Mountain and Sea where people had gathered to watch the trial by fire. Some of those people were Chosen like Taiyang Zi, who had been to Planet Ninshu, but most of them were people who had never seen Naruto, only heard of his name.

As of this moment, all of these Chosen were watching the trial by fire with their own thoughts and feelings.

They knew that there very well might be people participating who in future days would be their competition within their own sect.

Time passed by. Soon, three days had passed. Naruto had already passed through 19 Immortal ruins, and after spending some time at each one had left disappointed and wondering if something was defective about him.

"It's so depressing…." he said with a sigh. "How come the enlightenment I achieve at each of these ruins always has to do with spirit stones…." Currently, he was walking up to an enormous copper mirror, which, as soon as he laid eyes on it, filled him with the impulse to pull out a spirit stone and put it on the surface of the mirror.

After a moment, Naruto left the mirror, his face filled with determination.

"Apparently each one of these ruins makes me involuntarily think about spirit stones. That inevitably leads to thinking about those promissory notes… Well then, I'll just make a divine ability that's completely unique!" Taking a deep breath, he made his decision, and his eyes began to shine with a strange light. The more he thought about it, the more sense his choice made.

His body flashed as he shot off toward another Immortal ruin.

More time went by. Fatty had passed out and regained consciousness numerous times during the past few days. Every time he awoke, he would grab hold of the mushroom and viciously chomp a few bites out of it. He was currently chewing the final mouthful of the magical fungus. Feeling a bit anxious about leaving anything behind, he bit a chunk out of the wooden stump that the mushroom had been growing out of, swallowed it down, and then passed out again with a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction, and a look of anticipation.

Might Guy still stood in front of the boulder, painting his beloved wife. His brush moved with increasing quickness, and Shan Ling's image was becoming clearer and more and more lifelike with each brushstroke.

Shikamaru continued to sit in front of the bronze mirror, his eyes bloodshot to the point where tears of blood were dripping down his face and onto his clothes. His entire body was trembling, and blue veins bulged out on his face and neck. His expression was savage and hideous.

"I can see more than this!"

As Li Shiqi quietly stared at the Blood Orchid, her previously white clothes were beginning to turn red, the exact same red as the flower itself.

Three more days passed. Naruto had now passed through 39

Immortal ruins. It was at this point that rumbling echoed out from the

Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, and all the cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who were watching the Ancient Roads turned their attention to the Nascent Soul vortex screen with eagerness.

"Someone succeeded!"

"The sound's coming from the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul! I wonder how many stone steles will appear!"

The Patriarchs in the palace floating in the sky all began to look over.

On the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, an old man had lifted his head back and was laughing uproariously. He waved his hand, and all of the black-colored mud and soil around him suddenly lifted up into the air, then began to form together into a statue. It had three heads and six arms, and as soon as it fully coalesced, emanated a shocking might.

"I have gained the enlightenment of this barrow!" declared the man. "This soil contains spirits, spirits that I will transmogrify into the divine wills of the people who are buried here! This will become my divine ability, which I shall henceforth name… Descent of the Spirits!"

As the old man's voice rang out, two stone steles rumbled out from the void to land in front of him. A powerful glow could be seen that filled the entire world, revealing everything clearly to the onlookers.

"Two stone steles…. Not bad! This guy's pretty good!"

"He also used the least amount of time. Earlier, nobody really noticed him, but now people are going to start paying attention to him." As the discussions continued among the spectators, the representatives from the various sects quickly began to add the old man's name to their records.

However, even while the old man's laughter was still ringing out, rumbling sounds could be heard from seven or eight other cultivators on the three various Ancient Roads, as they too completed their divine abilities.

Rumbling filled the air as one stone stele after another descended. In all cases, though, there were only two pillars, never three.

In the following days, more and more contestants completed their divine abilities, one after another. All of the three Ancient Roads were the same. At the very least, one stone stele appeared, and at the most, four, which of course attracted much attention.

Suddenly, on the seventh day, on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, a roar could be heard unlike anything before it.

The old man with the age-transformation powers now bore the appearance of a middle-aged man, an age that was truly the prime of life. He floated in midair, performing an incantation gesture, causing an extra layer of skin to appear on him, which then began to peel off as if he was molting. These were not scattered bits of flesh, but a fully connected body of skin!

The skin seemed to be smiling, although that smile was horrifying to look at!

"I have created this divine ability, Life Possession!" he said coolly as he floated there in midair. "This skin that I have shed can possess the body of even a false Immortal!" Everything rumbled as eight stone steles descended.

Those eight steles caused wild colors to flash about, and sent the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea completely abuzz.

There were even several Patriarchs in the starry sky palace whose eyes shone with gleams of surprise.

"Eight stone steles! What a shocking creation!"

"He performed well in the previous stages, and now that he's created an eight-stele divine ability, it goes to show that he definitely has potential!"

"Hahaha! The Three Great Daoist Societies might not spare him a second glance, but the Seven Seas Sect must have disciples such as him."

The outside world was in an uproar, too. Eight stone steles was currently the most that had appeared for anyone.

Almost in the same moment as the eight stone steles descended, rumbling could be heard coming from the images of more people on the Ancient Roads trial, as if some specific critical point had been reached. More divine abilities appeared, although none of them caused eight steles to descend; at most, six appeared.

But then… an incredible noise rose up on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, and everything began to tremble. Wind screamed and massive energy surged that stifled even the old man with the eight stone steles. Soon, all of the powerful experts in the outside world were looking over.

The source of the noise… was Fatty!

He hadn't made a very big impression in the previous stages, mostly because of his lack of control. Now, he opened his eyes, and while they seemed blank at first, it was possible to see that nearly half of the huge woodpile had been consumed; it appeared to be in a shambles.

Fatty rose numbly to his feet, then suddenly opened his mouth and took a deep breath. That breath caused the Heavens to tremble, and clouds to gather together. In the blink of an eye… an enormous mouth was visible up above.

The mouth was filled with numerous razor-sharp teeth, and as it bit down toward the ground, it grew larger and larger, until it was more than ten thousand meters wide. Everything trembled violently as the enormous mouth slashed through anything and everything to take an enormous bite.

Everyone on the outside looked on with wide eyes and slack jaws.

It was at this point that the Heavens rippled as thirteen stone steles descended, rumbling, from up above. They were floating in the air around Fatty as his eyes grew clear from his previous reverie.

"Thirteen stone steles! What… what divine ability did that fat guy create?!"

"Thirteen stone steles! That's second only to Sir Fan from back in the day! This little fatty is extraordinary! I never imagined that he would have such powerful intuition!"

In the palace in the starry sky, the sect Patriarchs were all watching with wide eyes. Even the Three Daoist Societies were shocked. It was at this point that the Patriarch from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, one of the Five Holy Lands, suddenly rose to his feet. It was with incredible speed, and before anyone could react, that he shot forward and disappeared into the screen up ahead.

There were four other Patriarchs who stood up, but they weren't fast enough, and the Patriarch from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum suddenly appeared in the world in front of Fatty. He had long gray hair that draped down over his shoulders, and wore a long robe.

"What is the name of this divine ability?!" he asked as soon as he materialized. He immediately waved his hand, causing the entire area to be locked down so that no one else could enter.

Fatty started shivering.

"I'm not sure," he replied, unsure of how this old man had appeared in front of him. "I just ate some of that wood, and the magical fungus, then I had a dream about being really hungry, and my gums were itching and I constantly felt like I had to file my teeth and eat stuff."

"Excellent, excellent. A loyal personality and an excellent divine ability. Henceforth, it shall be known as Gulping Down Heaven!

"Are you willing to join the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum as one of our disciples?!" The old man's eyes shone with a mysterious and approving light as he looked at Fatty.

"Uh, alright," replied Fatty, blinking. Then he asked, "But… but what about all my beloved concubines back home? Can they come with me?"

"As I thought, you're a man who values relationships. Don't worry. Your concubines may also join the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum!" With an emotional sigh, the old man waved his hand. Fatty was covered with a brilliant light, and then he vanished, and the world around him collapsed. Back in the palace in the starry sky, the various Patriarchs weren't very happy, but there was nothing they could do.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 852

Chapter 852: Flowers in Full Bloom

The other Patriarchs were angrily grumbling in the palace up in the starry sky.

"Dammit, I was just a bit too slow and lost out on a potential star! He got snatched away!"

In the outside world, great waves of shock rolled about as a consequence of Fatty being taken as a disciple.

"What was that fat guy's name again? I can't believe he got taken as a disciple by the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, one of the Five Great Holy Lands!"

"I'm pretty sure his name is Li Fugui. His life is sure going to be different from now on!"

"Considering he made a thirteen-stele divine ability, that Li Fugui is definitely Chosen. Think about it; it won't be long before he has a cultivation base breakthrough. Eventually, he'll definitely get to Dao Seeking, and then he'll then move on to Immortality!"

"But what about that tree stump he was on top of? How come it had all those bite marks, as if a dog had been chewing on the wood? Was it like that from the beginning?"

All of the spectators outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were shaken inwardly. Some couldn't figure out what to think, others were filled with envy.

As the discussions continued, another rumbling sound could be heard from the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul. This time, it came from Li Shiqi. By now, her garments were entirely the color of blood. She sat cross-legged next to the Blood Orchid, almost as if she herself had become a part of it!

She opened her eyes, and in that moment, the Blood Orchid… completely wilted!

When that happened, Li Shiqi's countenance shone with unprecedented spirit and vigor. Instantly, her cultivation base rose up, pushing her immeasurably close to Spirit Severing.

At first, she looked confused, but once she regained clarity, she performed an incantation with her delicate hand and then pointed up into the air. All the Heavens up above turned blood red, and a Blood Orchid materialized over her and slowly began to bloom.

Rumbling echoed out, and one stone stele after another descended from the blood-red Heavens. One, two, three… ten, twelve… thirteen….

In the end, fourteen stone steles fell from up above to stand tall in the earth around Li Shiqi, causing everything to tremble and shake. As Li Shiqi rose to her feet, she was the complete focus of all attention.

The audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea exploded into an uproar.

"Heavens! She's even more shocking than that fat guy! Fourteen stone steles!"

"She was enlightened about the Blood Orchid? The Church of the Blood Orchid is definitely going to go crazy! They won't hesitate to pay any price to recruit her!"

"How could it be that two Chosen appeared on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul? Neither of them were very eye-catching before, and yet now, they're so shocking!"

When Fatty made his debut, five Patriarchs in the starry sky palace had flown out, including the Patriarch from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum.

Now, however, seven people flew into the air. No one from the Three

Great Daoist Societies had moved a muscle. However, even the Patriarch from Moonset Lake, one of the Five Great Holy Lands, was in motion.

The seven Patriarchs reached the screen at the same time, and then all of them appeared in front of Li Shiqi in the world of the trial by fire.

"Girl, are you willing to join the Moonset Lake, one of the Five Great Holy Lands?!"

"The Five Great Holy Lands already have plenty of Chosen," said another of the seven. "If you join them, you might never be able to distinguish yourself. Based on your powers of understanding, you could definitely be an Empress of this generation in the Church of the Emperor Immortal!" Everyone was now trying to recruit Li Shiqi.

It was at this point that an old man wearing a blood-colored robe suddenly spoke up.

"You were enlightened regarding the Blood Orchid, and used that to create a divine ability. This shows that you have destiny connecting you to the Church of the Blood Orchid. Join us, and you will be in line to become our Holy Daughter!" The other six Patriarchs present were all shocked. The cultivators recruited from within the trial by fire usually had to pass through a probationary period. However, the Patriarch from the Church of the Blood Orchid offered to make a candidate their Holy Daughter, which was not in keeping with the general rule. However, considering she had been enlightened regarding the Blood Orchid, the others could understand.

Li Shiqi looked quietly for a moment at the old man from the Church of the Blood Orchid. Finally, she made a curtseying bow.

"Senior, I am Li Shiqi, and I am willing to join the Church of the Blood Orchid."

The uproar in the outside world grew even more intense. Li Shiqi left with the Patriarch from the Church of the Blood Orchid, after which all the cultivators from that organization knew that a young woman named Li Shiqi was like the fish who had jumped over the dragon gate, and had successfully passed her examination.

In the future, her glory would likely exceed that of Li Fugui. She had gained enlightenment of the Blood Orchid, and had then created a divine ability from it. To the Church of the Blood Orchid, which had been established because of the Blood Orchid itself, this definitely qualified her to be a candidate to become a Holy Daughter.

By this time, Naruto had passed through 72 Immortal ruins. Fewer people were paying attention to him because of all the commotion caused by Fatty and Li Shiqi. However, some people with especially high cultivation bases were the type to consider the future, and look deeply into matters.

They did not participate in the various discussions, but when they saw Naruto gaining enlightenment from so many Immortal ruins, they were inwardly shocked. The Patriarchs in the palace were also paying attention to this, although no one took the initiative to say anything about it.

By now it was obvious that if any of the other sects tried to fight over someone like Naruto, they would be forced to offend the Three Great Daoist Societies. After all… the Three Great Daoist Societies were in charge of the entire trial by fire.

Everyone well knew that in the assessment of divine ability creation, only those with wild ambitions could gain enlightenment from so many Immortal ruins. Regardless of whether it be on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, Spirit Severing, or the Nascent Soul, there were few people who walked the same path as Naruto. Most others gained enlightenment from a handful at most, which was a vast difference from Naruto.

As people in the outside world discussed the matter of Li Shiqi and Fatty, Shikamaru sat cross-legged in front of the bronze mirror. His eyes were completely red, and continuously dripped with blood. His body was trembling, almost as if he were possessed.

"I can see even more! I can see everything….

"My latent talent doesn't measure up to Dong Hu, and my cultivation base is not as good as Naruto's. But I refuse to back down!" More blood built up in Shikamaru's eyes, and his pupils seemed on the verge of exploding.

"This is my only chance. In the past several stages, nobody was paying attention to me. But now… I WILL rise to prominence!

"I want to see… everything! I want to see all destinies. My eyes will see what lies beyond the Heavens, and past the underworld that lies beneath the Earth!" Blood flowed out of his eyes continuously, and his pupils were beginning to shatter.

After ten breaths of time… a rumbling sound could be heard from the world in which Shikamaru sat. At the same time, Shikamaru's murmuring voice could be heard.

"I can see now…." In the instant he spoke the words, his eyes suddenly collapsed into pieces. Everything in front of him went black, and from this instant, was gone for all eternity. As his eyes shattered, he closed them.

The shattering occurred in a split second, and as it did, the world around Shikamaru cracked and… exploded into pieces.

As everything fell apart, he rose to his feet. Stone steles were descended through the shattered canopy above, one after another. By now, all attention on the outside world was focused on Shikamaru.

They saw the world shatter, and saw the stone steles descended, and everyone gasped.

One, five, ten, thirteen, fifteen….

A total of sixteen stone steles descended, swirling around Shikamaru, who stood there quietly with his eyes closed.

"Henceforth, my eyes shall remain closed in perpetuity. Should they open, Heaven and Earth will experience shocking changes!

"My divine ability, is called…. Blackest Night."

As Shikamaru's voice rang out, the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked on in astonishment.

"Sixteen stone steles! There are actually sixteen stone steles!"

"That's Heaven-defying! From ancient times until now, the only person who ever exceeded that is Sir Fan of the Nine Seas God World, whose exploits are recorded in the ancient records!"

"I bet even the Three Great Daoist Societies are shocked!"

In the starry sky palace, many of the Patriarchs of the various sects gasped as they watched Shikamaru. Even they were shocked by what they were seeing.

"He destroyed his own eyes to create a divine ability, leaving him blind!

However, considering his battle prowess, even though he's in the Nascent Soul stage, he's capable of slaughtering Spirit Severing! When he reaches Dao Seeking, if he opens his eyes, the result will be shocking."

"How ruthless! How stubborn!"

Ten people flew toward the display screens with incredible speed. The fastest was the Patriarch from Moonset Lake. However, he did not enter the screen, but rather turned and clasped hands to everyone else.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, Fellow Daoists, the Daoist magic of Moonset

Lake is quite suitable for this child. After the moon sets, there is no light in the sky. Instead, the black night is endlessly deep. I request… that you please do not fight with me over this child!

"Daoist Elders of the Three Great Daoist Societies, if you give some face to Moonset Lake, then we promise to repay the favor in future days!" He clasped hands and bowed deeply, his expression very somber. Everyone else stopped in their tracks, their eyes glittering. No one spoke, but instead looked toward the Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies.

The Patriarch from the Nine Seas God World thought for a moment and then nodded his head. "I take no issue."

Sitting in the center position of the Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies was an old man who had the bearing of a transcendent being. He wore a white robe, and had a calm expression. Immortal qi swirled around him as he said, "There is a person here who has destiny with the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. However, he will not join us during this trial by fire. Actually, the only reason I agreed to hold this event was to see him. The person you have mentioned is not him, so I will do nothing to stop you."

Next to him was an old man from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. He smiled slightly, a smile that seemed somewhat cold and almost looked like a fierce sword.

"I have also taken a liking to this child, but… huh?" The old man from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto had just begun speaking when suddenly, his face flickered, and he looked over at the screens. Next to him, the Patriarchs from the Nine Seas God World and the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite did the same.

"91!"

"He's gained enlightenment from 91 Immortal ruins!"

On the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, Naruto stood in a tall pagoda.

When his eyes opened, they seemed confused, but quickly regained clarity. Without pause, he left and headed in another direction.

He sent his divine sense out, looking for more Immortal ruins, eventually finding the 92nd, and then the 93rd….

Time passed by on the Ancient Roads. One person after another created their divine abilities, but none were as shocking as those which had occurred earlier. Might Guy created his divine ability, but only eight stone steles descended in response.

At any other time, it would have been shocking, but at this point, it was nothing especially noteworthy.

Time passed, and now more attention was being paid to the participants who had not created their divine abilities yet, but were still continuing to gain enlightenment from the Immortal ruins. Everyone understood that these people would either fail, or would have Heaven-defying results.

Once again, Naruto became the center of attention. By now, the number of Immortal ruins he had gained enlightenment from had exceeded that of Sir Fan!

"96!"

"Does he really seem like the kind of person who can gain enlightenment from all 99 ruins? From ancient times until now, less than a hundred people have ever done that! Of course, of all those people, Sir Fan was the only person that ended up creating a nineteen-stele divine ability!"

"No one else could measure up to Sir Fan. I wonder how many stone steles… will descend when Namikaze Kazama creates his divine ability!?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 853

Chapter 853: Nine Bridges!

Outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, everyone was watching Naruto and discussing his progress.

"Maybe he'll outdo Shikamaru from earlier. Or who knows, maybe he won't match up!"

"There's no way he'll come in behind Shikamaru. From ancient times until now, less than a hundred people have ever gained enlightenment from more than 90 Immortal Ruins!"

"You can tell that this Namikaze Kazama has terrifying divine sense and incredible willpower. The final creation of his divine ability will truly be a test of his intuition!"

In the palace in the starry sky, each and every one of the various Patriarchs were also staring fixedly at the screen that represented Naruto's area.

While everyone paid such close attention to the screens, Naruto was standing atop a towering cliff. His eyes opened, and his expression was blank like before. Then he headed off into another direction.

Nearby the cliff were the ruins of an archaic temple. This was the 97th Immortal ruin he had gained enlightenment from, which then caused another dot of light to appear on his screen in the outside world. That immediately sent everyone into an uproar.

"97 Immortal ruins! This Namikaze Kazama defies the Heavens!"

"I can't wait to see whether or not he can create an even more Heavendefying divine ability!"

"It's not guaranteed. Of all the people who have done a similar thing, only Sir Fan followed up with a peerless divine ability!"

As for all the other people who were going about the trial by fire in the same way as Naruto, the person with the next greatest amount of Immortal ruins under their belt only had 83!

That was the young man in the mask. Had Naruto not participated in the trial by fire, he would definitely have been the complete center of attention in the previous stages, and would now be in first place.

Naruto's appearance on the scene cast him in the shadows.

Currently, he had no idea what was going on outside his own world. His expression was one of determination as he gritted his teeth and continued onward. He left the 83rd Immortal ruin and then began to search for another.

As more time passed, they made slower and slower progress. It took a few days before Naruto finally regained his senses in the 97th Immortal Ruin. After sitting there cross-legged for some time, he slowly rose to his feet and made his way to a different location, a deep crater.

Glittering light could be seen deep within the crater, as if, years in the past, a meteor had smashed down here.

This was not a location that just anyone could find. Anyone who did find it would find it difficult to endure the pressure. Only Naruto, with his incredible divine sense and shocking willpower, was able to descend into the crater and then sit down cross-legged.

"98!" The crowds in the outside world were shocked, and the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace looked on with glittering eyes.

"After this, there's only one more, and that will be all 99!"

"From ancient times until now, no one in the Spirit Realm has ever gained enlightenment from so many Immortal ruins on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking!"

"Who exactly is this Namikaze Kazama?! Where is he from? If he can really pull it off, his fame will shake all of the Ninth Mountain!" The outside world was abuzz, but the palace in the starry sky was dead silent.

All of the Patriarchs from the various sects were paying close attention, and none of them were speaking.

As for the other competitors in the trial by fire, no one was paying attention to any of them. Even the masked young man, who had just reached the 88th Immortal ruin, was behind Naruto, who was clearly in first place.

Five days passed!

Naruto slowly opened his eyes. He looked exhausted, and even more blank than before. This time, he had teetered on the edge of not awakening. The crater was filled with chunks and fragments of stone, each one of which emitted different auras, which had combined together to transform into an ancient vortex that influenced the mind.

It was as if he had been experiencing a Daoist magic that came straight from an ancient era. Someone had waved a hand, and a star up above was crushed down into a meteor, which then slammed into the ground.

The massive blow had cracked the land, and shattered some of the heavenly bodies up above. In that instant, Naruto had felt as if his own divine sense were being ripped to shreds. It was only by virtue of his intense willpower that he was able to claw his way back to lucidity.

"More and more difficult…." he thought. "I've already gained enlightenment from 98 Immortal ruins. According to what Ling Yunzi said, there are a total of 99 Immortal ruins, and after that, an intact Immortal pavilion!

"But, after sending my divine sense out, I can sense the final Immortal ruin, but not any Immortal pavilion.

"Unfortunately, even with my divine sense, I'm only able to sense the general direction of that final Immortal ruin, and not anything specific about it. However, I have a premonition that it… is very dangerous!" After a moment, he stood up and walked silently out of the crater. After that, he stood on the edge of the crater, thinking.

He was currently hesitating about whether to continue onward, or just make his divine ability right here. By this point, he already had some ideas about what type of divine ability he wanted to create.

After a moment, his eyes shone with decisiveness. He was not the type of person to back down easily. Even if the danger was great, he was stubborn. Were that not the case, he would not have been able to travel the long path from being a scholar to possessing eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal!

"The more powerful the divine ability, the more stone steles will descend. And I need stone steles!" Naruto took a deep breath, ceased any thoughts of hesitation, then headed off in the direction of the 99th Immortal ruin, as indicated by his divine sense.

Although he didn't know the specific location, Naruto was confident that he would be able to find it. He just needed to expend a little bit of time.

One day. Two days. Three days….

The palace in the starry sky was completely silent as the Patriarchs of the various sects looked on.

Then, an archaic voice echoed out within the palace. This person had not spoken at all yet, nor had he attempted to solicit recruits. It was an old man from the Kunlun Society.

"Can he find the 99th Immortal ruin? Actually, I'm very curious about something. This 99th ruin which is shared by all three Ancient Roads… what exactly does it look like?

"Fellow Daoists of the Three Great Daoist Societies, could you quell my curiosity?"

Were it any other sect that inquired about the matter, the Three Great

Daoist Societies would pay no heed to the question. But the Kunlun

Society was different. The three Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies exchanged glances, after which the old man from the Nine Seas God World spoke up.

"According to the legends, during the great war, the three exalted Paragons united all of the Immortal Ancient Doyens. They extracted all of the Immortal qi from the world and sacrificed it to a boundless spirit, which was the fallen… Pāramitā Heaven-Trampling Foundation!" 1

These words provoked a collective gasp from all of the Patriarchs. Looks of astonishment appeared on their faces, and some of them even rose to their feet.

"WHAT?!"

"The legendary Pāramitā Foundation?"

The Kunlun Society elder's eyes went wide. He said nothing, but from his expression, he was clearly shaken.

Time passed, and Naruto continued to search for the 99th Immortal ruin. More people created divine abilities on the three Ancient Roads. There were also people who failed, and chose to give up.

Seven days later, there were only seven people on the three Ancient Roads who had yet to create a divine ability!

Those seven people were now the subject of intense scrutiny. Everyone was watching to see what would happen. There was one person on the Ancient Road of the Nascent Soul, two people on the Ancient Road of Spirit Severing, and the remaining four were on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking.

One of them was the young man in the mask, another was the cultivator with the mosquitos.

"If anybody in this trial by fire can exceed twenty stone steles, it's one of these seven!"

"See that one, with 90 Immortal ruins? His name is Li Yan, that cultivator with the mask. He's yet another that has gained enlightenment of 90!" 2

"This is really incredible. Now there's a second person in this trial by fire who has acquired enlightenment from 90 Immortal ruins!"

There were many cries of shock in the crowds in the outside world as quite a few people began to pay attention to the masked young man, Li Yan. As for the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace, they too would occasionally glance away from Naruto to look at the masked young man's screen.

Currently, Naruto was making his way through the world, following the direction of his divine sense as he searched for the 99th Immortal ruin. He had already searched for seven days, and felt certain that he had thoroughly explored all of the areas indicated by his divine sense. Despite that, he still hadn't found the ruin.

"Just… where is it?" Suddenly, Naruto stopped in place. Frowning, he looked around silently, and then simply closed his eyes. He sent his divine sense out again, and could vaguely sense that there were Immortal ruins up ahead of him. When he opened his eyes, he saw nothing.

Muttering to himself, he closed his eyes again. Then, without opening his eyes, he began to walk forward. It was using this method that he proceeded on for about two hours until, suddenly, his body trembled.

He did not open his eyes, and yet, was able to see something incredible with his divine sense, right there in front of him.

He saw… nine bridges! 3

Nine incredibly shocking bridges that seemed to rise above the heavens. The sight of these bridges was unmatchably astonishing as they rose up into the air, each one higher than the one before it. They formed something that almost looked like a staircase, linking up into the boundless starry sky.

As he examined the bridges with his divine sense, Naruto gradually got the feeling that if someone could tread these nine bridges all the way to their end, then that person would definitely become matchlessly powerful.

Naruto's body was trembling; there was an indescribable pressure radiating out from the bridges, something that seemed capable of crushing him in an instant. Right now, it wasn't being sent out at full force, but rather, simply swirling around the bridges.

Even still, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward several paces. He had the intense sensation that these nine bridges were actually incomplete. Were they intact, then even looking at them would destroy him in body and spirit.

"What exactly are these bridges?!" he gasped, not daring to open his eyes. He carefully observed with his divine sense, and began to experience a vision.

He saw illusory images of things that had happened countless years in the past. He saw a figure that looked like a sun attempting to tread on the bridges. However, before he could get past the first bridge, he shattered into countless pieces.

He saw an old man with white hair, who radiated boundless coldness. He stepped onto the first bridge, then the second….

As he proceeded higher and higher, he became more and more powerful. In the end, all the colors in the sky and the land faded. The ninth bridge began to tremble, as if it couldn't stand up to the old man's steps.

The old man reached the end and stood atop the final bridge. Then he turned, and Naruto was able to clearly see his eyes. In that instant, Naruto's mind filled with roaring.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he once again staggered back. When he lifted his head back up, he unhesitatingly opened his eyes.

As soon as his eyes opened, the nine bridges vanished. The air up ahead of him was absolutely empty, devoid of any object.

"This place is the location of the 99th Immortal ruin!" Naruto was panting, and his eyes glowed with a strange light. He wiped the blood from his mouth, sat down cross-legged, and rotated his cultivation base to begin healing his injuries.

It was at this point that, in the outside world, 99 dots of light appeared on the screen which represented him in the outside world!

99!

Here is some more information about Pāramitā. Also, I translated Pāramitā as "resurrection" in the Resurrection Lily. When I first researched the Resurrection Lily, I came across references to Pāramitā in connection to the lily. It could have been translated Pāramitā Flower or Pāramitā Lily. However, the "Pāramitā Lily" is a real flower which (in real life) is sometimes called a resurrection lily, because of how the dead flowers once again bloom in summer. In any case, to forestall any confusion, the Pāramitā referenced here does not have a connection to the Resurrection Lily, and I think in this situation, Pāramitā is definitely the more accurate translation ↩ Li Yan's name in Chinese is 离炎 lí yán –

Li means, among other things, "depart." Yan means "flame" or "scorching" ↩ This is not the first time nine bridges have been mentioned in the story. Check out chapter 437 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 854

Chapter 854: Secret Clues!

"He found it!" In the palace, the old men from the Three Great Daoist Societies were all watching with brightly shining eyes. This was especially true of the old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, whose entire face glowed with unprecedented brightness.

"He is the first person from ancient times until now to tread the Ancient

Road with a Spirit Realm cultivation base and find the Pāramitā

Heavenly Foundation!"

"He can only observe from a distance, not get near. Based on his divine sense and willpower, he should be able to determine that it isn't safe. He won't brazenly get close."

"That depends on his good fortune. In these worlds of the sixth, seventh, and eighth stages, time passes differently than in the outside world. Actually, contemplating enlightenment for one day in there is like spending ten years at it out here!"

Murmured conversations filled the palace.

In contrast, the crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were buzzing with chatter.

When they saw the 99th dot of light, everyone knew exactly what it meant. Everyone was in an uproar, and now, the name Namikaze Kazama was deeply imprinted in the hearts of everyone present.

Even as everyone on the outside was in a tumult, Naruto opened his eyes. He breathed heavily for a moment, then gritted his teeth and closed his eyes again. He sent his divine sense out to once again observe the nine astonishing bridges.

The bridges appeared to be complete, but Naruto knew that if they had been, he would have been killed simply by looking at them. Right now, even observing them from a distance caused him to be injured. Actually, it was a good thing the bridges were broken down. Otherwise, considering his cultivation base, as soon as his divine sense touched them, he would have been completely annihilated.

"Nine Heaven-defying bridges like this were actually destroyed…. These are no mere bridges! They were obviously especially created to allow cultivators to experience incredible cultivation base growth, to be able to punch through to an incredible realm of power!

"I never imagined that I would be able to see something like this here! This is extremely good fortune for me!" As he thought about it, Naruto's mind suddenly trembled.

"There was never any rule about only being able to create one divine ability…. In that case, why not create two?" Originally, Naruto had already devised a plan to create a divine ability, but after seeing the nine bridges, a new form of enlightenment had appeared in his mind, which then transformed into the shape of a divine ability. Furthermore, he didn't wish to give up on either of the two ideas.

The first divine ability aligned perfectly with his personality. As for the second one, Naruto sincerely desired to possess it.

He took a deep breath and then decided to stop thinking about it. He focused his divine sense on the nine bridges, and on resisting the pressure. Not only was he imprinting the image of the bridge onto his mind, he decided to try to get a bit closer, to acquire a bit of good fortune from the pressure weighing down.

Time slowly passed by.

Ten days later, only four people remained. The other three had finally realized they couldn't continue to gain enlightenment from the Immortal ruins, and had decided to create their divine abilities. Of those three, the individual who had found the most Immortal ruins had found 76.

The divine abilities they created were powerful. One of them caused eleven stone steles to descend, which provoked a lot of attention.

Ten more days passed, and of the four remaining people on the Ancient Roads, two of them could not continue, and chose to create their divine abilities. One of them was the young man with the mosquitos, who had found 89 Immortal ruins. At that point, he created a thirteen-stele divine ability.

Quite a few people were astonished by this, and the young man quickly rose to prominence.

As of this moment, there were only two people left on the Ancient Road. One of them was Naruto, and the other was the young man in the mask, Li Yan!

Li Yan had already found the 93rd Immortal ruin, and was now the second person in the trial by fire to have exceeded Sir Fan.

He and Naruto were the focus of the attention of the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Three more days passed. Naruto coughed up some blood, and his vision went blurry. During the more than twenty days that had passed, he had sustained injuries on multiple occasions as he forced himself to continue to contemplate the nine bridges, and imprint their image on his mind.

It was difficult, but with his intense willpower, he was slowly but surely able to continue to grind away. He was not so wildly ambitious that he intended to commit all nine bridges to memory, only the first one.

Finally, the twenty-first day arrived. In this special location, contemplating enlightenment for that amount of time was like spending more than two hundred years on the outside. Rumbling filled Naruto's mind, and his eyes shone with the glow of enlightenment as the full image of the first bridge materialized in front of him.

In that instant, deep within his mind, he was able to sense exactly how damaged the bridge was. Suddenly, ninety-nine percent of the bridge actually vanished, and he found that the first bridge was actually… nothing more than a fist-sized rock!

It was a mere stone, but even looking at it caused Naruto to cough up blood, and he knew that if he approached it, he would be destroyed in body and spirit. These more than twenty days of contemplation were like two hundred or more years in the outside world.

In the moment that he understood the real situation regarding the first bridge, and the outline of the bridge itself appeared in his mind, images began to appear in his eyes, a vision.

Within the vision were nine enormous suns hauling an astonishing statue. They seemed so large that they were impossible to see the ends of. An army of countless cultivators lashed out with attacks that ripped a huge hole in the air, which they then entered.

Behind the shocking statue were nine astonishing bridges that shook the heavens. Boundless light that covered everything radiated off of them.

The scene caused Naruto's mind to tremble, and reminded him of the things he had seen back in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. Some of the images were almost exactly the same. 1

Then, the vision changed. He saw a world-shaking war. Countless living things were being slaughtered, and heavenly bodies collapsed. The starry sky shattered, and in every breath of time, endless numbers of lives perished.

The nine bridges exerted incredible pressure, causing the starry sky to begin to collapse. Next, Naruto saw three enormous figures appear up above. When they joined forces, the starry sky disappeared, and the world went black, as if all the auras in existence were absorbed, condensed to form nine mountains, which then crushed down toward the nine bridges.

The bridges… shattered!

The vision abruptly ended. Naruto had no time to thoroughly analyze the images before they vanished. He was left standing there, his jaw slack, his eyes wide. His mind was blank and trembling.

"Those nine mountains…." Naruto was panting. From what he could sense, he had only been able to glimpse a tiny bit of some huge secret.

"Why does the world I live in consist of only nine mountains and nine seas, with four planets circling around each of those mountains?!

"I never thought about it too much before, but how come Planet Ninshu is so special? Why did that Outsider want my parents to guard it?!

"Also, what about that place I went to underneath the Ancient Dao Lakes on Planet Ninshu? That being which was crushed and then sealed there said something like… Immortals are the source of all chaos! 2

"What exactly does that mean?!" Naruto's breathing was unprecedentedly ragged, and he was shivering all over. He now had an idea of what it all meant, but didn't dare to consider that it was true.

As his mind trembled, the nine bridges in front of him vanished. This time, they really were gone; even when Naruto searched with his divine sense, he was unable to find them.

After a long moment of silence, Naruto sighed lightly. The matter of the vision was something far removed from the current situation, and considering the level of his cultivation base, he wasn't really qualified to begin to probe such secrets.

"One day, I'll understand it all!" he thought, his eyes shining with determination. He took a deep breath and sent his divine sense out one last time. Seeing that it was impossible to locate the bridges, he decided to search for the Immortal pavilion that Ling Yunzi had mentioned.

Several days later, he still remained empty handed. No matter what methods he used, even closing his eyes, he was unable to detect any Immortal pavilion. In fact, he was now fairly certain that he would be unable to find it at all, so he decided to sit down cross-legged in the location where the nine bridges had stood, and begin to create his divine ability!

He quickly slipped into a trance.

Many ideas and thoughts flitted through his mind, as well as numerous flickering images. The enlightenment he had received in the 99 Immortal ruins began to merge together, until finally, a will exploded out from within his mind that was a divine ability belonging solely to him.

As Naruto was piecing together the enlightenment to create a divine ability, Li Yan had passed the 95th Immortal ruin, but could not find the 96th.

After a while, he had no choice but to stop regretfully and begin to create his divine ability.

By this point, everyone out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, as well as the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace, were now waiting to see what types of divine abilities Naruto and Li Yan would create.

There was something else going on that nobody in the palace noticed. Although the elders from the Three Great Daoist Societies seemed to be looking at the vortex screens with glittering eyes, deep within their gazes could be seen faint sighs of disappointment.

Such sighs were deeply hidden, yet seemed to be a disappointment that was not entirely unexpected.

Days passed, and the anticipation among the audience out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea only continued to grow.

"Just what types of divine abilities are Namikaze Kazama and Li Yan creating?

Which one will have the most stone steles?!"

"My guess is Namikaze Kazama. After all, he gained enlightenment from 99

Immortal ruins. That's unheard of!"

"It won't necessarily be Namikaze Kazama. It could be that he just took advantage of some lucky situations. In the end, I bet the best divine ability will be created by Li Yan!"

"If neither of them can create a sixteen-stele divine ability, then that means Shikamaru will take first place in the sixth, seventh, and eighth stages!"

Two more days passed, when suddenly the area around the masked Li Yan burst into flames.

The flames were black, and instantly set the Heavens ablaze. Li Yan's eyes opened, and his pupils were composed entirely of fire!

Flames roared all around him, covering the land, burning everything. The entire world became a sea of flames, and then began to melt, as if it couldn't sustain the heat. The people outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were now able to clearly see Li Yan and everything that was happening in his world.

Gasps rang out from many areas in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and in the palace in the starry sky, the Patriarchs looked on with strange gleams in their eyes. The old man from the Bones of the Flamedevil, one of the Five Great Holy Lands, couldn't help but observe with wide, glowing eyes.

"Li Yan is incredible! What type of flame divine ability did he create? It can actually melt the entire world!"

"He'll definitely get at least sixteen steles. His divine ability appears to be on a similar level as Shikamaru's, but from the feel of it, it's more powerful!"

Li Yan slowly stood, a proud expression on his face beneath the mask. Then, he breathed in three times.

Each breath caused everything to tremble, and the flame sea to spread out even farther. After three breaths, the entire world was engulfed in flames. Finally, Li Yan inhaled deeply.

When he inhaled, all of the flames in the world began to churn and roil, tumbling toward Li Yan as he sucked them into his body.

Next, a rumbling sound emanated out from his body, and although no one could see any flames, when they looked at Li Yan himself, it caused them to feel twinges of pain like that caused by fire.

"A body magic!"

"Heavens! That's the most difficult thing to create! A body magic!"

"It's not just any body magic, that's almost a Daoist magic!"

"Although it's not a complete Daoist magic, it's definitely unique. If in the future he continues to cultivate it to the peak, there's a high likelihood he could refine it into a true legacy Daoist magic!"

—–

Check out a recording made by Deathblade to go along with this chapter, located here.

Naruto saw similar things in the vision in chapter 819 ↩ I think this might be a slipup on Er Gen's part. In the scene underneath the Ancient Dao Lakes in chapter 731, nothing is mentioned about Immortals being the source of chaos. I double checked with the original Chinese and didn't see anything to that effect. The only similar words were actually uttered by that monkey in chapter 789, and were heard by Naruto in his other vision in chapter 819. I'll continue to check into this to see if there's a reference I missed, and if any of you readers happen to know, please feel free to leave a comment. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 855

Chapter 855: A Writ of Karma!

Everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely shaken. In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs of the various sects looked on with strange gleams in their eyes. The elder from the Holy Land of the Bones of the Flamedevil chuckled and rose to his feet.

"Presumably, this young man is not the type to be selected by the Three Great Daoist Societies. This magic is connected by destiny to the Bones of the Flamedevil. Ladies and Gentlemen, I humbly request that you do not compete with me in this matter." Even as he spoke, the old man moved with incredible speed. However, at the same time, eight or nine other people sped forward.

Of the Five Great Holy Lands, Shikamaru and Fatty had been taken by the Moonset Lake and the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum respectively. Up to now, only the Blue Lotus Sky, Mount Sun, and the Bones of the Flamedevil hadn't truly made a move. Now, though, they sprang into action.

Even as they neared Li Yan's world, rumbling echoed out as multiple stone steles descended. One, three, five, seven….

In total, seventeen stone steles appeared!

One more than Shikamaru!

Each one of the seventeen stone steles was fully three hundred meters tall, and as they spun around Li Yan, they turned into a vortex that sent light towering up into the sky. Li Yan stood in the middle of it all, surrounded by the boundless glow, looking like an unparalleled Chosen.

When the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea saw the seventeen stone steles, they were completely shocked.

"From ancient times until now, he's second only to Sir Fan!"

"Seventeen stone steles! He's definitely worthy to have been enlightened regarding 95 Immortal ruins! He created a body magic that summoned seventeen stone steles!"

"It's impossible to predict what kind of future he will have, especially since his cultivation base is at the peak of Dao Seeking. Once he joins a sect, he'll get some training and will definitely become an incredible Chosen!"

All sorts of envious and jealous comments could be heard echoing out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. In Li Yan's world, the Patriarchs from the various sects had arrived. After some bickering, the Bones of the Flamedevil managed to recruit Li Yan as a disciple.

As of now, the only person left in the world of the sixth, seventh, and eighth stages was Naruto. His divine ability had not fully been created yet.

Everyone was now watching closely, including the Three Great Daoist Societies in the palace up in the starry sky.

The anticipation in the air continued to grow more intense.

"If he can outdo everyone else, then he'll take first place! Let's see how many stone steles his divine ability will cause to descend!"

"He gained enlightenment from 99 Immortal ruins. If he gets anything less than fifteen stone steles, it would be completely disappointing!"

"It's hard to say. I heard that one year, somebody gained enlightenment from 98 Immortal ruins, but in the end only created a nine-stele divine ability!"

Three days later, as Naruto sat there cross-legged, his eyes suddenly opened.

"Each time I gained enlightenment from the first 98 Immortal ruins," he thought, "I saw images of spirit stones and promissory notes. In the future, I hope to make all the Chosen in the great Nine Mountains and Seas write me promissory notes!

"That is my grand aspiration….

"Writing me a promissory note is also sowing Karma, and those Karma threads can be used to interfere with fate. However, most people aren't willing to write promissory notes. Therefore… I will create a divine ability that forms ties of destiny with them by force!" Naruto's eyes glittered and he raised his right index finger.

Immediately, the world began to tremble as countless threads appeared.

Some of the threads were bright, and some were dark, but all were Karma Threads, and they did not originate from this world, but from Naruto!

Shockingly, just a movement of his finger had caused all of his Karma Threads to become visible. The entire world began to shake even more violently, and roaring filled the air, as if the entire place were about to collapse.

Naruto looked up and gazed at the Karma Threads, and his eyes glittered brightly. He suddenly formed his right hand into a claw, which reached out and grabbed one of the Karma Threads. The instant he touched it, he suddenly saw an image of Fan Dong'er.

He yanked on the Thread, and it twisted. At the same time, Naruto pulled out a piece of paper. Then, he unhesitatingly caused the Karma Thread to twist into the shape of a magical symbol, which he then imprinted onto the piece of paper.

As soon as the mark appeared, Fan Dong'er, who sat cross-legged in meditation in the Nine Seas God World trying to suppress the female corpse on her back, felt a tremor run through her. Her eyes opened wide and then shone with astonishment.

Next, her face flickered, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. A look of astonishment covered her face.

"What just happened? Did somebody just use the Dao of Karma to plot against me?"

In the instant that Fan Dong'er's face flickered, Naruto's expression became one of excitement. He took a deep breath, and then a strange light appeared in his eyes. This magic which forced ties of destiny was only in the first level of development. In the second level, he would be able to fuse promissory notes into the Karma Threads, and then unleash the full divine ability.

As far as the third level went, he would be able to use the promissory notes as Karma seeds, which, if successfully planted and the magic was allowed to grow to its full extent, would give Naruto the power to determine life or death with a mere thought.

"This is my divine ability. A Writ of Karma. It might not be complete, but in the future, as my cultivation base grows more abstruse, I WILL perfect it!" As Naruto's words rang out, the world around him shook, then filled with fissures. Everything trembled as Naruto came into clear view of everyone on the outside world.

The Patriarchs up in the palace were shocked.

"It's a Daoist magic!"

"It's theHebiClan's Dao of Karma! Wait, no! It's something different than theHebiClan's Dao of Karma! TheHebiClan severs Karma, but this forcefully ties destiny together. It's equally domineering, equally shocking!"

"That's not just a Daoist magic, that counts as a secret magic! Fang

Mu's intuition is incredibly high!"

"I'm curious to know what enlightenment led him to create such a Daoist secret magic like this!"

Daoist magics were rare, but secret magics were even rarer!

The spectators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were looking on with wide eyes. Gasps could be heard, and unprecedented looks of astonishment could be seen.

"This defies belief!"

"This Namikaze Kazama created a magic that seems to be both a Daoist magic and a secret magic! I'm afraid only the powerful experts from the great sects would be able to understand it!"

"In any case, it caused the world to begin to collapse. Now, I wonder how many stone steles will descend!? Will he exceed Li Yan?!"

As the world trembled around Naruto, intense rumbling sounds could be heard as the stone steles began to fall.

One, three, five, seven….

People looked on, astonished, as a total of twenty-one stone steles descended. They Circulated around Naruto endlessly, creating a completely astonishing spectacle.

Instantly, the crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea began to seethe with excitement.

"Twenty-one stone steles! Heavens! That… that exceeds Sir Fan!"

"Inhuman! This guy's battle prowess is monstrous, and his creativity is inhuman! Even though we couldn't see his latent talent, it's surely extraordinary! He'll definitely take first place in this trial by fire!"

"I bet all of the Three Great Daoist Societies are in shock! Twenty-one stone steles! This Namikaze Kazama is definitely going to be famous in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!"

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies were all sitting there as before. However, everyone else had already leapt to their feet. Their eyes shone with incredible brightness. If by any chance the Three Great Daoist Societies did not want to recruit Naruto, then they were ready to fight over him.

All of the disciples that had been recruited before Naruto could still be considered Chosen. However, sometimes people or events can come along that are simply beyond compare. Attempting to compare them with others would be unfair.

In the vast Eastern Lands, Namikaze Minato and Kushina looked at each other and smiled. Kushina's face was covered with a proud smile as she looked back at Naruto on the vortex screen, and her heart filled with love.

"Little bastard!" muttered Patriarch Reliance. "It's good that in the end, you didn't lose me any face!"

Pill Demon and Sakura both let out light sighs. Sakura didn't understand much about Naruto and his proclivity toward promissory notes, but Pill Demon knew something of it, and a strange expression could be seen on his face. As for the rest of the crowds, most of them didn't understand Karma very well, but they could speculate as to the general idea.

"With a magic like this, who will ever dare to refuse to write me a promissory note!" Naruto was inwardly delighted, and completely satisfied with the divine ability he had created.

At this point, everyone assumed that the Three Great Daoist Societies would swoop in to recruit Naruto. The Nine Seas God World and the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto were definitely moved, and they were just getting ready to enter discussions with the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, when all of a sudden, Naruto suddenly closed his eyes again. Apparently… he was sinking back into contemplation!

This scene instantly caused everyone to stare in shock.

"What is he doing?"

"Could it be… could it be that he intends to create another divine ability?" Even as shock rolled through everyone, a bright light suddenly began to shine around Naruto, and the music of a great Dao began to echo out.

Naruto truly was in the midst of contemplating enlightenment. The reason he didn't immediately absorb the power of the twenty-one stone steles was that, considering his current state, he was now ready to use his understanding of the nine bridges to create another divine ability.

"He's actually going to create another divine ability!"

"How… how is that possible? He already created one divine ability, how can he create another one? Does he think that creating divine abilities is as simple as eating or drinking?"

All the spectators in the outside world were completely shocked, even Naruto's father and mother. The Patriarchs in the starry sky palace were also staring with wide eyes.

Li Yan, as well as all the other competitors who were now waiting outside, stared at Naruto in a daze.

This was especially the case when, only a few hours later, a massive rumbling sound surrounded Naruto, and an intense energy surged up from him. Because the previous world had already collapsed, the energy affected the altar Naruto sat on, which everyone could see. There was no need for them to experience the divine ability; everyone was able to sense that this incoming divine ability was incredibly shocking.

"He's actually creating another divine ability! What kind of jinx is this guy?!" The crowds were in an uproar, and before they even had a chance to calm down, Naruto suddenly frowned.

"No," he murmured, "my line of thinking was a bit off." He waved his hand, causing the surging energy that had shocked everyone to suddenly be extinguished. Once again, he began to contemplate.

When everyone saw that happen, they were left completely speechless…. The other competitors in the trial by fire began to smile bitterly. The divine ability that Naruto felt to be off, was actually far more powerful than any of the divine abilities they had created. Each and every one was left completely without words.

After a few more hours, energy once again began to surge up from Naruto. But then….

"Off again!" he said angrily. He once again quashed the energy and started over.

The crowds were now looking at each other, dumbfounded. They began to smile wryly as they looked over at Naruto on the vortex screen.

As for the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace, their eyes were shining brightly, and it looked like they were getting ready for a struggle. An inhuman cultivator like this was someone each and every one did not wish to allow the Three Great Daoist Societies to recruit as a disciple.

The Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies were gaping in astonishment. Then, they exchanged glances, and within each others' glittering eyes, they could all see anticipation and something hidden deep within…. Hope!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 856

Chapter 856: Paragon Bridge

This was a hope that they had held throughout all the numerous times they had hosted this trial by fire in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

It was actually a far more important reason than disciple recruitment!

The three elders were panting slightly, but considering their high cultivation bases and levels of concentration, it didn't matter how many years they had watched the recruitment event with such hope; they wouldn't allow others to pick up any clues by looking at their facial expressions.

However… a virtually imperceptible flicker of astonishment could be seen in the eyes of the old man from the Kunlun Society, who seemed to have picked up on a few of the oddities about the situation.

Time passed by slowly. Several hours later, rumbling once again surrounded Naruto, quickly vanished… and then returned with even more intensity than before.

This indicated that the divine ability Naruto was creating was growing in power!

The audience in the Ninth Mountain and Sea stared fixedly at the vortex screens, and the cross-legged Naruto. They waited in keen anticipation to find out what miraculous divine ability he would create. "That Daoist magic from before caused twenty-one stone steles to descend. Then he started making another divine ability. If he succeeds… I wonder how many stone steles will appear?!"

"This is unheard-of! The ancient records don't contain information about the first time the Three Great Daoist Societies held this trial by fire, but from the time records were kept until now, nobody has shaken the stars like this shocking Namikaze Kazama!"

"A Chosen like that would be the focus of all attention no matter which sect he joined. It's just strange that before today, I've never heard of him before!"

The buzz of conversation echoed out everywhere, both in the outside world, and among the trial by fire competitors on the Ancient Road. Everyone was shaken by Naruto.

They were all waiting… for Naruto's miraculous creation!

The next day, more shocking rumbling could be heard. The following day, the sound of it filled the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking. Three days later… it once again began anew. Even the people on the Ancient Roads of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing could hear it.

It had filled the entire Ancient Road!

More people were astonished than ever!

Four days later, the intense roaring that echoed out from Naruto left the Ancient Road via the vortexes, passing out into the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

When that happened, Naruto finally opened his eyes.

In that instant, boundless, radiant light poured out from his pupils, such that anyone who faced him would feel blinded by the piercing light. Naruto's expression was calm as he raised his hands into the air. There in his mind was the image of the first bridge, indelibly imprinted there, never to disperse for all eternity.

As he raised his hands into the air, the world around him began to tremble, and countless rifts appeared. The air swirled, and began to scatter in layers. In just a few breaths of time, all of the land around him was shattered and began to break down. Wind screamed, and the air collapsed.

As for Naruto, he remained cross-legged, but as everything around him dissipated, it seemed as if he was floating in the middle of nothing, surrounded by twenty-one stone steles, each one three hundred meters tall.

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, a rumbling sound could be heard coming from the boundless void up above. It was like an echoing roar, which was accompanied by… descending stone steles!

One, two, three… a total of nine made their way down to join the other twenty-one stone steles. Furthermore, these new steles were actually silver-colored!

Their appearance was far more magnificent than the other twenty-one steles, and far more shocking.

The Patriarchs in the starry sky palace looked on with widened eyes, and the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were immediately sent into an uproar of disbelief.

"He… he isn't even finished creating the divine ability! He's just mobilizing his energy, but the stone steles already descended!"

"Those stone steles are silver-colored! I've never even heard of such a thing!"

"This divine ability is surely Heaven-defying! If it wasn't, how come a mere surge of its energy would cause the stone steles to descend, even before it's complete!"

"Just what divine ability is this?!"

While the crowds engaged in heated discussion, Naruto sat there, his face calm, his eyes devoid of either joy or sadness. His mind seemed to be completely immersed in silent contemplation of the first bridge.

His energy continued to grow more intense. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, the image of the bridge in his mind suddenly began to expand, growing out in the blink of an eye, until it covered his entire body.

It was as if he had become the bridge!

And at the same time, the bridge… had become him!

Even more noticeable to Naruto was the indescribable pain that completely filled him. It was an anguish that made it seem as if a hundred streams of qi were ripping his insides open.

Great beads of sweat rolled down his face as within his body appeared… one hundred meridians!

These one hundred meridians were Immortal meridians, which previously had not yet existed inside of him. However, now that the bridge had spread out, it forced them open. Although it would only last for a moment, and was not permanent, it actually created a mold for Naruto's Immortal foundation!

When you added in the ethereal Immortal meridian he already had, it was a scene that would thoroughly flabbergast anyone who could see it. However, even the three Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies would be incapable of seeing what was happening inside of him. Even if they tried to force their vision inside of him, all they would be able to see was a blinding light.

The instant the one hundred meridians were forced open inside of Naruto, massive rumbling could be heard as more stone steles descended from up above. Shockingly, there were nine gold-colored steles!

The sight of these nine gold-colored stone steles threw the crowds in the outside world, as well as the other competitors in the trial by fire, into complete tumult.

"Eighteen stone steles!"

"Heavens! Nine silver steles and nine golden steles! The divine ability isn't fully created yet, but… but there are already eighteen stone steles!"

"This guy is peerless among Chosen!"

Naruto couldn't hear the buzz of conversation from the outside world. His body was trembling, and he was filled with the sensation that this divine ability that he had created was indescribably powerful. It seemed like a magic that he was actually incapable of wielding with his current cultivation base.

It was a magic that required all one hundred meridians to be genuinely open before it could be used!

Even a weaker version would still need at least fifty meridians.

At the moment, all of his one hundred meridians had been forcibly opened, but Naruto knew that it was only temporary. He was borrowing power from his own good fortune, a result of his creation of a divine ability, and it was something that wouldn't last for very long. However, to Naruto, it was still incredible good fortune. It opened up a path for him, so that all he had to do was take a step forward, and he would be able to proceeded unhindered into true Immortality.

"Even if I can't actually use this magic for the time being, I will still see it completely created!" His eyes shone with determination as the full power of his cultivation base surged into action, causing an intense roaring to fill the air.

Gradually, the image of a bridge started to be visible behind him!

The bridge was just a vague illlusion. If a perfectly clear image of the bridge could be considered a hundred percent, then this illusory image would only be ten percent!

However, even with only ten percent clarity, it was still filled with an archaic, ancient aura. It seemed to be filled with a natural law that did not conform with the Nine Mountains and Seas. That natural law was Heaven-defying, as if it could split open the vault of heaven, and place the Heavens… beneath its feet!

The energy was boundlessly domineering, as if, when it looked out, all living things would have no choice but to worship on bended knee! This was a supreme power!

Naruto began to tremble with increased intensity. The one hundred meridians that had been opened had been shining with boundless light moments ago, but were now beginning to grow dim, as if their light were being sucked in by the bridge.

In the blink of an eye, only thirty of the meridians remained open. At this point, a frenzied determination shone in Naruto's eyes. He tilted his head back and roared, and the remaining Immortal meridians inside of him went dim. In that instant, the bridge behind him suddenly became twenty percent clear!

That twenty percent caused all three Ancient Roads in the Ruins of Immortality to quake. Up above in the palace, the Patriarchs' minds were reeling. They appeared to be completely shaken. Outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, there were even some cultivators who coughed up blood.

Furthermore, up above in the void appeared nine… seven-colored stone steles!

Nine silver. Nine gold. Nine seven-colored!

The entire world was dumbfounded!

"What divine ability is that!?"

"That's beyond a Daoist magic, and even above a secret magic! Just what magic is it?!"

"Could it be… could it be a legendary Paragon magic!?"

With the exception of the three Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies, everyone in the starry sky palace was on their feet, faces filled with astonishment.

"Paragon magic! For Namikaze Kazama to be able to create a Paragon magic while in the Spirit Realm means that his intuition is stupefying!"

"He can't actually use the magic right now, but in the future, when his cultivation base rises into the peak of the Immortal Realm, he'll be able to use this magic to slay experts of the Ancient Realm!"

The Patriarchs were now in an uproar. The spectators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were completely astonished, and were staring with wide eyes and open mouths. They didn't know what Paragon magic was, but when the bridge appeared behind Naruto, they could sense their cultivation bases trembling!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he was incapable of continuing on any further. The bridge winked out, and his body returned to its normal state. However, he felt completely exhausted, almost as if he were ill, and his face was ashen. But his eyes shone with unprecedented brightness.

"When that bridge appears, it is supreme and unparalleled. In that case, its name shall be…

"The Paragon Bridge!

"This is my second divine ability!"

Naruto slowly rose to his feet, under the eyes of the countless people watching in various locations.

Naruto took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and sent his divine sense out to the forty-eight stone steles.

He suddenly inhaled, and the stone steles trembled and began to emit

Immortal qi. It transformed into a gentle power that rushed toward Uzumaki

Hao, surrounding him like a vortex. As he absorbed it into his body, his Immortal meridian almost seemed to come alive as it voraciously consumed the qi.

Thirty percent, forty percent, fifty percent, sixty percent, seventy percent!

Before coming to the Ruins of Immortality, Naruto's Immortal meridian had only been illusory. But now, it was consuming Immortal qi with shocking speed. The stone steles began to vanish, and by the time the last one was gone, the Immortal meridian inside of him was fully eighty percent solidified!

This was an Immortal Ancient Dao meridian, formed by the ancient bronze lamp. It was an Immortal meridian that exceeded that which any modern cultivator could have, and came from ancient times. According to Shui Dongliu, it had even changed Naruto's destiny!

Now, it was eighty percent complete, and radiated Immortal might. Now, Naruto's cultivation base exploded with intense energy, that of a true Immortal!

With an Immortal meridian that was eighty percent complete, he now seemed to be undergoing huge transformations. Although he clearly was not a true Immortal yet, he was actually… even more powerful than Pill Demon when he had become a true immortal!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 857

Chapter 857: Warrior Pavilion!

The crowds outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were staring with wide eyes and slack jaws. Their minds were completely and utterly blank.

"He gained enlightenment from 99 Immortal ruins, created two grand divine abilities, and caused a total of forty-eight stone steles to descend…."

"Never before has something like this happened, and perhaps it never will again…."

"Which Daoist Society… will he choose to join?!"

As the discussions raged, Naruto stood there, filling everyone with unprecedented shock.

That was especially true of the Chosen of the various sects. By now, the name Namikaze Kazama was deeply rooted in their hearts, and to them, he was clearly the most powerful opponent they would ever face.

"His energy… is that of a true Immortal!" The Patriarchs up in the starry sky palace were all panting, and their eyes shone with light.

"Earlier he was clearly not a true Immortal. Could it be that after creating that shocking Paragon magic, he actually became a true Immortal?!"

"There was a legend in ancient times that creating Paragon magic would transform the cultivation base. It seems that legend is accurate!"

"No, he's still not a true Immortal. He has the energy of a true Immortal, but lacks the Immortal root!"

As the other Patriarchs discussed the matter, the hope in the eyes of the three old men from the Three Great Daoist Societies grew even more intense. They did not speak, but they were all looking at Naruto. More specifically, they were looking at the area surrounding Naruto.

It was at this point that the old man from the Kunlun Society suddenly said, "This Namikaze Kazama has already created a Paragon magic. Logically speaking, he should now appear on the altar on the Ancient Road."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the old men from the Three Great Daoist Societies narrowed their eyes.

By now, the forty-eight stone steles around Naruto had vanished completely. It was then that, all of a sudden, an ancient pavilion suddenly materialized directly in front of Naruto.

It was richly ornamented, and brimming with Immortal will. This was no ruin; it floated up above in the air, surrounded by green stone slabs and exotic plants. Its marvelous appearance made it seem like the only thing in existence.

Immortal qi swirled around it, letting off an ancient will, and a feeling of holiness. It was as if this place had at one time been a Holy Land.

The pavilion was decorated with carved black jade, and emanated intense pressure. It was the same feeling Naruto had gotten when looking at the nine bridges. In front of the pavilion was an enormous boulder, upon which two characters were written in calligraphy as flamboyant as flying dragons and dancing phoenixes.

Warrior Pavilion!

The two characters were blood red, and shone with intense light. When Naruto read them, he could hear roars that truly sounded like they came from real dragons and phoenixes.

As for the crowds outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, they couldn't see what was happening clearly, because the vortex screen depicting Naruto had suddenly gone blurry.

People began to cry out in shock.

"What just happened?"

"All of a sudden, we can't see the screen!"

Back in the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies slowly rose to their feet. The other Patriarchs were staring in shock; they couldn't see the images on the screen either. Apparently, the Immortal pavilion blocked the view of anyone on the outside.

The Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies had very serious looks on their faces as they looked at each other and then transmitted three sentences amongst themselves.

"He actually found it! Activate the spell formation and unleash the Heavenly communication magic!"

"I never imagined that, after all these tens of thousands of years of trials by fire, this day would finally arrive!"

"Throughout the years, our Three Great Daoist Societies have tried every means possible, but have been unable to even lay eyes on it, let alone acquire the legendary item within. According to our previous calculations, only people in the Spirit Realm can actually find the Immortal pavilion!"

Although no one could hear the three Patriarchs' words, the old man from the Kunlun Society narrowed his eyes. After a moment of contemplation, his face suddenly lit up.

"So, it turns out that the Three Great Daoist Societies have repeatedly held this trial by fire throughout the ages, not just to recruit disciples, but for another purpose!"

Other Patriarchs apparently recalled something in particular and, from their expressions, seemed shaken. Despite their cultivation bases and abilities of concentration, they were still panting and trembling.

"Fellow Daoists from the Three Great Daoist Societies, this matter…."

The person who responded was the old man from the Nine Seas God World.

"This is a private affair of our Three Great Daoist Societies," he said, his eyes shining with a strange light. "It has nothing to do with you, Ladies and Gentlemen. In a moment, the trial by fire will continue!"

Meanwhile, Naruto was looking at the Immortal pavilion. It had appeared in front of him quite suddenly, apparently in response to his creation of the Paragon magic.

"Ling Yunzi said that there were 99 Immortal ruins as well as an intact Immortal pavilion. Could it be that this pavilion is… the very one I was looking for before, but couldn't find?" His eyes went wide.

After a moment of thought, he was about to step forward when, quite abruptly, an ancient voice was transmitted into his mind.

" Namikaze Mu, I am Ling Yunzi of the Nine Seas God World. I represent all of the Three Great Daoist Societies to pass a message to you. Use whatever means necessary to enter the Immortal pavilion and bring out a Feng Shui compass that rests inside. If you do, the Three Great Daoist Societies are willing to give you any reward you wish. As long as it is within our power to accomplish, we will do it!"

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he didn't respond. However, he did stop in place, and a look of hesitation appeared on his face.

"There is no need to worry about any danger," Ling Yunzi continued.

"The Immortal pagoda appeared because of your good fortune, and I am personally unable to appear there at all; if I were to appear there, it would cause the pavilion to immediately vanish. As for you, there will be no danger to you when you go inside."

Naruto hesitated for another moment before a gleam of determination appeared, and he hurried forward toward the Immortal pavilion.

No one in the outside world could see what was happening on the screens. However, the Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies were panting, and their eyes shone with a strange gleam.

They could not enter the world Naruto was in either, and could only remain on the outside. They had waited for many years for this particular opportunity.

As Naruto neared the Immortal pavilion, the pressure grew more and more intense. However, for some strange reason, while the pressure would have prevented any other person from getting close, it actually dissipated for Naruto, making a sort of personal path for him to walk.

Naruto's eyes glittered. He sensed no danger, so he slowly walked up to the Immortal pavilion and stood in front of it. Then he took a deep breath as he lifted his hand and pushed on the front door.

Absolutely no sound could be heard as the door opened. However, the instant it did, boundless light shone out from inside, blinding light that completely enveloped Naruto and then spread out in all directions outside of the pavilion. After a moment, Ling Yunzi let out a miserable shriek. As it turned out, he had actually been following Naruto in an attempt to personally enter the Immortal pavilion.

However, the light instantly forced him back. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose and mouth, almost as if he had been cursed. Filled with fear and shock, he immediately shot backward and then left the world, lest he be killed.

Now, Naruto was the only person in the vicinity of the Immortal pavilion. He stood there in the light, completely unharmed, until the glow slowly faded away. He looked blankly at the pavilion in front of him, then took a deep breath.

"What is this place…?" he murmured. Inside of the Immortal pavilion, he could now see numerous shelves, which, shockingly, were completely filled with all sorts of magical items.

There was a whip that was surrounded by a dragon-like mist of swirling smoke. It appeared to have been constructed from sinew and tendons, and it emanated a shocking pressure, as if it had been refined from a true dragon. There was an ancient mirror, covered with cloudy mist. From the look of it, there was some living being sealed inside of it.

There was a crimson eye that, although shut, gave Naruto a shocking feeling when he looked at it.

There was a cauldron that rested atop a toad, which it seemed the cauldron was suppressing.

Further away was a long, green spear, with a spearhead carved from bone. When Naruto looked more closely at the wood that made up the shaft, his mind reeled. He recognized that wood! It was from… the World Tree! 1

There was a broadsword, stained with black, wet blood. That blood seemed to still contain a consciousness and was emitting shocking howls.

In addition to those items, there was also a Feng Shui compass. For the most part, it was ordinary in appearance. However, a white crystal was inset into the very middle of the compass. The crystal emanated a gentle glow that caused the entire Feng Shui compass to appear extraordinary.

From the look of it, the white crystal could be removed from the center of the compass, as if the compass had merely been created to allow the crystal to emanate its power.

There were many magical items of all sorts, the use of many of which Naruto was unable to determine. The whip was one of the more bizarre items, but actually any of them would cause a huge stir if they showed up in the outside world.

In addition to all the magical items, there was also a desk in the Immortal pavilion, upon which were some bamboo slips, as well as various other writing utensils.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with brilliant light as he took a step forward, entering the Immortal pavilion. As soon as he stepped foot inside, the door shut behind him.

Simultaneously, an ice-cold voice suddenly echoed out.

"In compliance with the last will and testament of the Three Great

Paragons, anyone with a Spirit Realm cultivation base who creates

Paragon magic may enter the Warrior Pavilion and select a treasure."

Naruto looked around, but couldn't see anyone except for himself in the Immortal pavilion. The voice that had just spoken was cold and detached, seemingly emotionless. After it spoke that single sentence, it said nothing further.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then began to look around at the various precious treasures, his heart thumping eagerly.

He actually wished he could take all of the magical items in sight, but after gazing about for a bit, his eyes came to rest on the Feng Shui compass.

"That must be the Feng Shui compass the Three Great Daoist Societies want me to get for them," he thought, his eyes flickering. After looking at the Feng Shui compass for a moment, he began to mutter to himself.

"The Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire has an additional purpose, which is to get someone to come in here and retrieve this item for them. If I don't comply with their wishes, I fear my future will be fraught with grim possibilities after I leave this place." He wasn't quite willing to go along with their request, but after a moment of consideration, he looked at the Feng Shui compass with glittering eyes. Then he stepped forward and picked it up.

In the moment he lifted up the Feng Shui compass, he also retrieved a flying sword from his bag of holding and vigorously went to work trying to pry the white crystal out.

"You people think you can profit at my expense!? Never!" Gritting his teeth, he shoved down on the sword until a popping sound rang out and the crystal flew out from its spot in the center of the Feng Shui compass. Naruto grabbed it, then smiled as he carefully put it away in his bag of holding.

Then he looked over the Feng Shui compass again. It actually looked perfect. After ensuring that there were no scratches on it, he cleared his throat and looked around at all the magical items.

"Although that voice said I could only take one treasure, it didn't say anything about repercussions for taking another. I might as well try." His heart began to beat even faster as he walked over to the spear. He reached his hand out, but almost as soon as his hand was about to grab it, a powerful force of expulsion pushed back at him.

The cold voice once again rang out inside the Immortal pavilion.

"This item is not connected to you by destiny. You have already taken a treasure. You may leave now."

"Not connected by destiny?" thought Naruto. "Destiny is like the cause and effect of Karma. So does that mean that I have no Karma connecting me to these magical items?" A strange light gleamed in his eyes, and he suddenly cleared his throat. It was at this moment that the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, the magic of Karmic Hexing, was suddenly unleashed.

Here's a brief recap of the World Tree. It was first described

(apocryphally) in chapter 109, when Naruto bought the Spring and Autumn Tree at auction. It was also mentioned in chapter 158 when

Naruto had a vision about the origin of the Lightning Cauldron. In the Song Clan search for a son-in-law, the competitors entered a painting that depicted the World Tree, which was also when Naruto met Shui Dongliu. That arc started in chapter 194, and the World Tree is mentioned there as well as in subsequent chapters, all the way until chapter 199. In chapter 208, Shui Dongliu mentioned the World Tree when he speaks to Naruto. In chapter 392, Naruto made up a story about the World Tree to impress the people of the Crow Divinity tribes. In chapter 821, Li Ling'er used a magical technique that summoned an illusory World Tree ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 858

Chapter 858: The Last Time!

The Seventh Demon Sealing Hex was a magic unique to the League of Demon Sealers. It seemed similar to theHebiClan's Dao of Karma, but was fundamentally different. As he unleashed the magic, Naruto's eyes gleamed with a strange light, and he looked around at all the magical items.

Instantly, he was able to see numerous threads attached to the various magical items. These were none other than Karma Threads.

All of the magical items had Karma Threads attaching them to the Warrior Pavilion, and now Naruto could see each and every one of them clearly.

"So, even magical items can have Karma on them," he thought. "Well, now I'm not so worried." Clearing his throat, he glanced around craftily.

"First, I'll hex the Karma on these magical items, and then I'll form a destiny connection with them!" Waving his hand, he caused the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex to cover all of the magical items in the Warrior Pavilion.

In the blink of an eye, bright light shot out in all directions, and the entire Warrior Pavilion began to shake.

Naruto's heart pounded as he waited for a few moments. Seeing that there was no further reaction, he relaxed a bit, then looked around craftily one more time.

"The floor tiles here are excellent," he thought, licking his lips. "Later on, I think I'll pry up a few to take with me. And the wood those shelves are made from is anything but ordinary….

"Those decorative tiles are nice too!" His eyes shone brightly as he took a deep breath.

He quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing Karma Threads to appear on top of his head. These were his own personal Karma Threads, which glittered with resplendent colors. Naruto settled his qi and calmed his mind, then searched through his Karma Threads until he found one that seemed to be on the verge of fading away.

That Karma Thread was the one that had been created when he first laid eyes on the spear moments ago. Of course, the thread was incredibly thin, as if even a slight breeze would cause it to scatter.

Naruto took a deep breath, then lifted his hand and pointed out toward that particular thread. Instantly, the Karma Thread twisted into the shape of a magical symbol, which then descended into Naruto's hand.

"Bind destiny!" he said. Instantly, the thread began to glitter with radiant light. At the same time, the spear began to tremble, as if it were struggling against something.

As it fought, the Karma thread attached to Naruto's head that represented the spear suddenly grew very clear. Now it seemed to be even more closely attached to Naruto, as if the Karma between the two of them was growing deeper.

"A Writ of Karma! Bind destiny!" Naruto's eyes shone with bright light, and he let out a bellow. The magical symbol on his right hand began to glitter radiantly as he crushed it. A boom rattled out as the magical symbol shattered. In the moment that it dispersed, the spear ceased struggling, and Naruto could suddenly feel something like a summons, echoing out from the spear.

Unable to withhold his excitement, he stretched his hand out into the air. The spear immediately flew through the air with a screaming whistling sound and landed directly in his hand

Naruto laughed out loud.

"Mine! All of the magical items here are mine now!" Even as excitement filled his heart, suddenly, a murderous aura surged toward him from behind.

The aura was so intense that it seemed capable of destroying him in body and spirit by merely brushing against him.

Naruto's face fell, and he jerked his head around. However, there was nobody behind him. The murderous aura was still there, though; apparently it came from the Warrior Pavilion itself.

Cold sweat dripped down Naruto's face, and he didn't dare to move. The murderous aura filled him with intense nervousness, and he began to edge his way toward the door. The murderous aura followed him as he went, as if it were attempting to intimidate him.

"I was just creating some ties of destiny!" Naruto said quickly. "What are you flipping out for?" After a moment, he continued, "Uhh… a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding. Warrior Pavilion, my brother, this was all just a misunderstanding, alright?" The murderous aura seemed as intense as ever.

After a long moment, though, Naruto sensed that the aura was dissipating. Seeing that it hadn't attacked him, his eyes darted around. He had half a mind to leave, but when he saw all the magical items around him in the Warrior Pavilion, he just couldn't make himself do it.

"Warrior Pavilion, my brother, don't pay any attention to me!" he called out loudly. "I'm fine here by myself. You get back to whatever it was you were doing, alright?" With that, he carefully sidled over to the sword covered with black blood.

Ever-vigilant of the murderous aura, he quickly used A Writ of Karma to find the Karma Thread that connected him to the sword, then bound the destiny as quickly as possible.

The sword trembled, and the murderous aura from the Warrior Pavilion exploded out. Cold beads of sweat broke out on Naruto's forehead, but he gritted his teeth and used Ties of Destiny a few more times. After the third time, the sword stopped struggling, and an invisible connection formed between the two of them.

The sword flew out and began to swirl around Naruto like a dragon.

Naruto had no time to rejoice as the Warrior Pavilion's murderous aura exploded in intensity throughout the entire pavilion. It seemed to be incensed, and matchlessly fierce.

"That was the last time!" said Naruto. "The last time!"

He then licked his lips and stood in place, not daring to move for a long moment, after which he cautiously inched over toward a magical jade flower. Gritting his teeth, he immediately slammed A Writ of Karma into the magical flower. A magical symbol appeared; this flower was apparently different from the other magical items, and he succeeded on his first try.

Almost immediately, the shocking murderous aura caused everything to tremble violently. Naruto's entire body was now soaked with sweat.

"That was the last time!" he cried out urgently. "I promise, that was really the last time!

"Warrior Pavilion, my brother, it was really the last time. I'm taking off now, see you!" The intensity of the murderous aura caused Naruto's face to grow pale, and his heart to tremble. Even as he spoke, he quickly began to walk toward the exit.

However, after only a few steps, he couldn't help but use Ties of Destiny on a little bottle he saw on a nearby shelf. It was blackish-green, and although it seemed unremarkable, Naruto could sense a boundless aura emanating off of it.

"Dammit!" he thought, gnashing his teeth. At the same time, he found the Karma Thread connecting him to the bottle and used it to make a magical symbol. As soon as the symbol landed in his hand, he crushed it and, without taking the time to check whether or not he had succeeded, quickly grabbed the little bottle.

As soon as his hand wrapped around it, his body flashed toward the Warrior Pavilion's exit. At the same time, the murderous aura exploded toward Naruto at an incredible speed, and a faint roar of rage could be heard echoing about.

"The last one!" he cried. "That was really, really the last one. I'm going now, I'm going now!" Naruto's scalp was numb as he shot forward.

Behind him, the murderous aura swept toward him as if to drive him out.

Next to the door was the table he had seen earlier. As he passed, he couldn't stop himself from reaching out to grab a jade slip he saw sitting there.

That seemed to push the murderous aura of the Warrior Pavilion past the limits of its patience. It transformed into an explosive attack that shot toward Naruto.

A faint howl could be heard from within the murderous aura: "Get the hell out of here!"

When it smashed into Naruto, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he was flung toward the door like a kite with its string cut.

The door slammed open, and Naruto was thrown out, whereupon the door slammed shut again.

Almost immediately, the Warrior Pavilion began to fade away. At the same time, the scene was now clearly visible to the Patriarchs of the Three Great Daoist Societies up in the starry sky palace, as well as the Patriarchs from the other sects.

On the screen, they saw Naruto flying out, blood spraying from his mouth, his expression one of incredible determination. From the look of it, he had been willing to look death calmly in the face in order to complete the task assigned to him, and had been willing to pay any cost.

Naruto coughed up another mouthful of blood and then cried out, " Namikaze Mu of the junior generation, despite facing great personal injury and near death, went through hell and high water to accomplish the mission given to him by the mighty Three Great Daoist Societies!" With that, he produced the Feng Shui compass and held it aloft.

It was a very moving image. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his face was pale white. His body trembled, and he was clearly very seriously injured. His words, and the image he presented, instantly moved the three Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies.

The three Patriarchs were panting, and were completely incapable of controlling the wild exuberance they felt in their hearts.

It was at this exact moment that the pale-faced Ling Yunzi suddenly materialized in front of Naruto. He immediately made a grasping gesture with his right hand, and the Feng Shui compass in Naruto's hand flew over to him. He nodded to Naruto, and then sighed inwardly with emotion. He himself had just been injured by the light from the Warrior Pavilion, and knew how dangerous it could be. When he saw the injuries Naruto had received, he was filled with sympathy. Then he noticed Naruto's solemn and stirring facial expression, and he suddenly had the feeling the things that had previously occurred between the two of them must have been misunderstandings.

"What a good kid!" he said. "Here, take this medicinal pill. It'll take care of those injuries!" Moved, he waved his right hand, causing a white medicinal pill to fly out and hover in front of Naruto. Because of his skill in the Dao of alchemy, Naruto could tell from the medicinal aroma of the pill that it was definitely a treasured pill.

"It's too bad I can't duplicate it right here and now," Naruto thought. He quickly accepted the pill and then put it into his bag of holding.

"I think you should eat it now," said Ling Yunzi, looking concerned.

"Those injuries are quite serious."

Inwardly, Naruto chuckled bitterly. He had no desire whatsoever to consume the medicinal pill. All he needed to do was activate his Eternal stratum, and he would recover almost immediately. However, Ling Yunzi's was staring right at him, so Naruto endured the pain of his loss, clenched his teeth, and finally consumed the pill.

As soon as the medicinal pill dissolved into him, a warm current filled his body, and all of his injuries were healed.

"What a loss," he thought. "What a terrible loss. If I could have duplicated that medicinal pill, I could have sold it later for an exorbitant price." Inwardly, he was laughing bitterly, but on the outside he put on an expression of appreciation as he clasped hands and bowed toward Ling Yunzi.

Ling Yunzi nodded again. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Naruto was among the best of the best, both in terms of cultivation base and intuition, not to mention fate.

"I really misunderstood him in the matter of the latent talent and those other stages," Ling Yunzi thought.

Smiling broadly, he then said, " Namikaze Mu, are you willing to become a

Conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World?!"

In response to the words, the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace all looked on with glittering eyes.

The Patriarch from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite smiled faintly, a smiled that contained abstruse meaning. The Patriarch from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto hesitated for a moment. As for the Patriarch from the Nine Seas God World, he laughed out loud.

Naruto gaped for a moment, and was thinking about refusing. Then he thought about how funny it would be if he joined the Nine Seas God World under his assumed name Namikaze Kazama, considering that Fan Dong'er was also a member.

He cleared his throat and clasped hands.

"Junior is willing," he replied. "Unfortunately, I have a few random matters that I have to take care of. If senior is willing to give me a bit of time to handle those affairs, then when I'm finished, I will immediately go to the Nine Seas God World."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 859

Chapter 859: The Final Two Stages

"Of course, if that is your wish," Ling Yunzi said with a smile. "Why don't you think about it a bit. Once you get to the Nine Seas God World, you can give me your final answer." He waved his sleeve, causing a command medallion to fly out to Naruto.

"When you've taken care of your affairs, crush that medallion. It will bring you to the Nine Seas God World." With that, Ling Yunzi turned and vanished. At the same time, the air around Naruto shattered. When things grew clear again, he was back on the altar on the Ancient Road.

All of the other competitors in the trial by fire were looking at Naruto with expressions of disbelief.

As for everyone in the outside world, although they weren't sure about the details of what had gone on between Naruto and the Three Great Daoist Societies, that didn't mean they were any less amazed regarding Naruto's rise to prominence in the trial by fire.

This was especially the case due to Ling Yunzi's recruitment of Naruto as a Conclave disciple.

When the spectators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea heard that, their gazes became torn between envy and admiration. All of them were staring at Naruto on the screen.

"He's pretty much the number one figure in the entire trial by fire. It's no surprise that he ended up joining the Nine Seas God World."

"I wonder if he'll participate in the final two stages. Of course, after that is the most important part… the arena matches!"

"If I were him, I would participate in the final two stages, but not the arena matches. After all, the Chosen from the great Sects will be able to join in the fighting there. They're qualified to do so without participating in the testing, which is why they don't walk the Ancient Road. They can directly go straight to the arena matches!

"This Namikaze Kazama might be strong, but it's doubtful that he can measure up to all those Chosen."

"That's really too bad. Throughout the successive trials by fire put on by the Three Great Daoist Societies, the arena matches are the highlight. There are incredible prizes up for grabs!"

Even as the discussions continued outside, the ninth stage was beginning on the three Ancient Roads.

The number of people still participating in the trial by fire had already been significantly reduced. People had been eliminated consistently throughout the previous eight stages. Plus there were people like Fatty and the others who had been directly recruited and escorted away by various sects, and would not be participating in the final two stages or the arena matches.

Ling Yunzi suddenly materialized on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking.

"The final two stages will assess the heart, and the Dao!" he said. He looked over at Naruto with an approving smile, and then swept his hands through the air. This caused everyone's positions to change once again, and Naruto was yet again in the lead position.

"The ninth stage refines the heart! The tenth stage inquires of your Dao!

"After these two stages, seven thousand Nascent Soul competitors, two thousand Spirit Severing competitors, and one thousand Dao Seeking competitors, will be chosen to partake in the arena matches!

"I must remind you that there are many prizes available during the arena matches. However, your opponents will not just be fellow competitors in the trial by fire. You will also be up against Chosen from various sects, as well as disciples from the Three Great Daoist Societies.

"This might be a bit unfair, but there are many things under Heaven that are like that. The truly mighty will definitely rise above the others!" Ling Yunzi waved his hand again, and the altar once more began to grow hazy.

The crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were gazing steadily at the screens as they waited for the final two stages. In the palace in the starry sky, the various Patriarchs were also looking on with pensive expressions. None of them asked any questions of the Three Great Daoist Societies, but instead, focused on the competitors in the trial by fire who they had taken note of earlier.

The Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies sat up front, their expressions calm. They themselves were the only ones who knew how truly excited they were.

Meanwhile, many discussions were being carried on in the outside world.

"The ninth stage tests the heart, and whether or not the contestants can be victorious over the Devil in their hearts!"

"That stage has something to do with willpower, but not a lot. The key to being victorious over the Devil in one's heart is not just willpower, but most importantly the certitude of one's Dao Heart. That's why the ninth and tenth stages are conducted together.

"I wonder if Namikaze Kazama will continue to be the center of attention in this stage. If he stays in first place like he has so far, then his glory will be completely and utterly established. After all, he's completely surpassed tens of thousands of others in each of the various stages."

"I'd say… not necessarily. He might have come in first in the previous stages, but now that the final two stages are here, he's definitely exhausted. It will be difficult for him to succeed!"

As the discussions continued, the competitors in the trial by fire on the Ancient Roads were gradually being covered over by the blurriness as they were taken to a special world. This world was completely different than the others they had been to.

Naruto opened his eyes to see… a purgatory!

It was a world of flames. Even the sky was on fire, and what land was visible that didn't have flames was dry and cracked, without the slightest sign of life.

Furthermore, Naruto quickly realized that he had been strung up, bound by an iron chain. As he looked around, he saw that there were iron chains everywhere, all of which bound people.

Among those were Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing cultivators, as well as some Dao Seeking cultivators like Naruto. Naruto saw the young man in the mask, as well as Might Guy with his Nascent Soul cultivation base.

"What's… what's going on?!" Before coming into this world that tested the heart and the Dao, he had been full of confidence. After all, he had passed through all the previous levels as the center of attention.

Now, though, as he looked around at this unique world, for some unknown reason he was suddenly filled with a stifling sense of crisis.

He was not the only one to be regaining clarity. Around him, there were roughly a hundred thousand cultivators all recovering their senses. When they realized the situation they were in, they began to cry out in alarm.

"What is this place? How could the final two stages be like this!?"

"I never thought… I never thought that we would all be tested together!" Naruto's breath came in ragged pants as he tested out the chain that bound him and found that he couldn't make it budge an inch. Also, his ability to use his cultivation base had apparently been suppressed, leaving him with nothing but the ordinary power of Dao Seeking.

Even more shocking to Naruto was that he could feel the iron chain that bound him swaying back and forth. Also, when he looked off into the distance, what he saw caused him to gape. In fact, there were even some people whose eyes went wide when they saw what was off in the distance, and they let out cries of shock and alarm.

Naruto was able to clearly see that at the very end of the iron chains that bound all the cultivators was an enormous cudgel, which was in turn slung over the shoulder of a giant!

The giant was gargantuan, and bare chested. He wore animal hide clothing, and his skin was pitch-black, with a violet tint. He moved forward at a run, which caused the iron chains to sway back and forth, making everyone attached to them feel as if the entire world was spinning.

The crowds in the outside world of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were equally shaken. They watched the vortex screens, and the gargantuan giant which had appeared.

"So the final two stages are like this!"

"What kind of test is this?"

It was at this point that a huge rift appeared in the sky of the world that Naruto and the others were in, out of which flew hundreds of thousands of figures.

These figures were not cultivators, but rather, winged beasts. Their appearances were savage, and they kicked up a shocking wind as they immediately began to fly toward the cultivators.

It was at this point that the giant suddenly stopped running, and then swung the huge cudgel into the air, which also swung the iron chains attached to its end. All of the cultivators were buffeted by gale force winds that made it feel as if they had been slammed into a huge cliff face. The cultivators were sent flying directly into the charging flying beasts.

The beasts' eyes were bright red, and voracious grins could be seen on their faces. They immediately pounced onto the cultivators, and in the blink of an eye, miserable screams could be heard. Many people were instantly killed in the initial salvo, completely wiped out by the beasts, who swallowed them alive.

A rain of blood fell down toward the ground, causing the sea of flames down below to dim and darken.

A vicious gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes as his body swung with the chain, completely out of his own control. However, he was still able to attack, and he didn't hesitate to perform an incantation with his right hand. He made a claw-like gesture, and lines of claw marks appeared, which slammed into an incoming beast's head.

A boom could be heard, and the beast shrieked, after which its head exploded. However, even as its body tumbled past Naruto, three more beasts appeared behind it.

More booms could be heard as Naruto attacked like the wind. He had a vicious personality that he now made no attempt to hide. His attacks sent blood flying through the air, and the killing intent which shone in his eyes grew more and more intense. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, more than thirty beasts had died under his attacks.

There were many other cultivators like Naruto, all engaged in fierce fighting. Gradually, more and more of them died. The few people that were left behind were now facing ever greater numbers of beasts.

Furthermore, some beasts had appeared that were similar to the Dao Seeking stage in power. Within an hour, false Immortal beasts were on the scene, and one cultivator after another died around Naruto. After two more hours passed, there were less than a hundred people, who were surrounded and quickly being overwhelmed.

Naruto held on for fifteen breaths of time before his body collapsed and his head was devoured by a beast. In the last moments before his death, he was able to see that he had held out long enough to be the last person to die.

Everything went black.

When things became clear again, Naruto found himself in a world of flames, with a dismal sky, and swaying chains. Everything he saw was exactly the same as before. Other people began to awaken, then stare around themselves in shock.

Naruto was also gaping, and then his scalp went numb. Apparently, nothing had changed. The giant was still running forward, and everyone who had died was back where they had been before.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, the rift opened up in the sky and the beasts poured down. It was all exactly the same as before, almost as if they had been reincarnated. Yet again the giant roared and flung the cudgel out. Naruto and all the other cultivators who were attached to the chains were once again thrust into battle.

Naruto quickly found that exactly the same beasts as before came to attack him.

After two hours passed, Naruto died. When he opened his eyes, the chains were still there, swinging….

Once, twice, three times…. Naruto quickly lost track of time and how many times he had died. Soon, people around him began to grow numb to what was happening. As soon as they were tossed out, they chose to die, then begin the cycle again.

An expression of frustration gradually appeared on Naruto's face.

There was no way to leave this place. This was supposed to be a trial by fire, but there seemed to be no chance to live.

Die, die, and die again.

Revive, revive, and revive again.

Some people began to collapse into frenzied howls. However, that made no difference. Some people silently contemplated different methods of success, but all craftiness and plots were in vain.

Naruto watched as a Dao Seeking cultivator used some unknown method to try to possess one of the attacking beasts, then use it to flee. Soon, he vanished, apparently having escaped.

However, the next time Naruto regained consciousness, the man was still strung up on the chain, just like before.

As to what exactly had happened, the man gave no explanation.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 860

Chapter 860: The Heart is Strong, the Dao is Unyielding!

Dying fills people with fear. Dying 100 times will make people numb.

Dying 1,000 times can cause one to feel lost. Dying 10,000 times…

That can make someone feel as if they aren't even human any more.

Such an experience gave birth to pain, a pain that the competitors could only hope would just come to an end. A pain that spread into the hearts of everyone. Their hearts filled with torment to the point that their Daos were in peril of being lost.

This trial by fire was like an enormous grindstone, slowly crushing away their wills as it turned and turned.

More and more people gave up on fighting back. If fighting back 10,000 times in a row did no good, how many people were there that could persevere…?

Naruto persevered. Every time he woke up, he would continue to fight and kill the beasts that attacked him. 10,000 times.

As time went by, Naruto saw countless cultivators making various decisions. Some chose to try to flee. Some chose to attack the giant. Some chose to commit suicide.

There were even some people who attacked other cultivators.

Regardless of what they did, every time Naruto regained his senses, he saw the same people in the same places on the iron chains, without exception.

The audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea watched the screens, and their hearts and minds trembled. If you said that the spectators had been shocked by the previous eight stages, then this stage left them completely astonished.

Before, they had been envious of the competitors, and had even sighed, wishing that they could switch places. Now that they saw what was happening in the final two stages, however, they could only watch silently.

As for how many times the cultivators had actually died, nobody knew.

"Just what kind of test is this? How does dying over and over again help their hearts and their Daos?"

"These last two stages are basically Hell!" By this point, the audience members were all breathing in ragged pants.

"You can see people trying all kinds of different methods. If you add everything together, it seems they're trying every possibility! But in the end, there's no other result than defeat."

"How can this test be passed? I'm afraid Namikaze Kazama will have no way to clinch first place."

Complete silence reigned in the starry sky palace as the Patriarchs stared wordlessly at the display screens.

The dying continued, over and over again, an endless cycle.

Naruto remained silent and taciturn throughout the process. However, unlike many of the people around him, he never attempted to flee, nor did he lose his desire to fight. From beginning to end, every time he regained lucidity, he would begin killing.

However, his deaths came more and more quickly. That was because more and more of the others ceased resisting. When the iron chains were flung out, they would simply close their eyes and wait to die.

Gradually, fewer and fewer people were like Naruto, constantly fighting back. Of the tens of thousands of people who had started out fighting, there were now only a few thousand remaining. Suddenly, Ling Yunzi's voice echoed out within the world.

"If you say 'I give up,' you can leave."

The instant these nine words spread out, among the countless cultivators who had grown numb to the constant dying and were once again on the verge of being killed, someone quaveringly spoke up.

"I give up…." As soon as he spoke the words, he vanished, leaving the world entirely.

After him, one voice after another began to ring out, and one cultivator after another began to vanish.

Without the presence of despair, if someone is given hope, they might not attach too much importance to it, especially if they have a steadfast heart and an unchangeable Dao.

However… if you torment someone to their limits and place them in the midst of despair, then give them a sudden scrap of hope, an opportunity to be extricated, then most people would not hesitate to grab that chance.

More and more people chose to give up. However, there were also others who had previously ceased resisting, who suddenly seemed to be filled with energy, and began to fight the beasts.

Time passed by. They died over and over again, and as they did, the words 'I give up' seemed to become like an inner Devil, lurking in the hearts of all the cultivators.

Simply speaking, all they had to do was say some words, and the constant torment would be over. They would be released.

"What a brutal test," said one of the Patriarchs in the palace.

"From ancient times until now, the mark to pass this stage has been

30,000 deaths."

"More than 50,000 marks a participant as Chosen!"

"To date, no one has exceeded 79,113. That was the mark set by Sir Fan."

"So, he participated in this part too. Without the element of despair, perhaps many could grit their teeth and continue on. But with hope right there, so close that all they have to do is reach out and grab it, how many people will be able to persevere?"

"The ninth stage tests the heart, the tenth stage inquires of the Dao. These two stages test how strong one's heart is and how unyielding one's Dao is!"

"The longer they endure, the more terrifying everything becomes!" In addition to the Patriarchs in the palace who were discussing the matter, there were many outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who were able to piece together some clues about the nature of the two stages.

"I heard that when Sir Fan reached these last two stages, he died more than 79,000 times. He held on until he was the very last person before giving up."

The outside world was abuzz, but their discussions could not pass into the world in which Naruto was continuing to persevere. Inside of him, two voice were speaking, one of them telling him to give up, the other telling him to endure.

Every time, he would die wracked with pain, and would wake up confused. It is a simple thing to describe, but it was nothing short of torture. The number of cultivators left behind continued to shrink.

The sound of the words 'I give up' that echoed around was like the voice of that inner Devil. It actually caused even more of the remaining cultivators to eventually decide to quit.

Time passed by. Fewer and fewer cultivators remained behind. Soon there were only a few hundred. After three days, there were only a hundred. After another three days, there were only nine.

Of those nine, there were three who were enduring, but had ceased to fight back. It was a somewhat fraudulent method, and although it initially seemed as if it would lessen their torment, in the end, it actually made things even more painful.

The other six included Naruto. Every time he awoke, he would begin to fight.

He had no idea how many times he had died. His eyes were bloodshot, and everywhere he looked, he saw blood. Another three days passed, and the three people who had been passively allowing themselves to be killed, finally couldn't take it any more and gave up.

Of the five people other than Naruto who had continued to fight, four quit.

There were now only two people left. One was Naruto, the other was… Might Guy!

Might Guy fought. Every time he regained his senses, he fought viciously, almost as if he hoped to achieve some special state amidst all the carnage.

Out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, everyone was shocked. In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs were watching with baited breath, closely observing Might Guy.

Might Guy had had his outstanding moments in the previous stages, but had not attracted much attention when creating his divine ability. Now, in these last two stages, he was suddenly rising to prominence.

"With such a heart and such a Dao, this young man has incredible good fortune!"

"He could give up at any time, but has endured all the way to this point!

He's already died 70,000 times!"

"He'll most likely be able to hold on for a while longer. In this stage, the most difficult point is when there is only one person left. At that point, first place is secured, which leads to a softening of the heart, making it difficult to continue on. Even Sir Fan, when he reached that point, didn't last for more than a thousand deaths before giving up.

A day later, Might Guy began to tremble, and finally chose to quit. He had endured for more than 70,000 deaths, which was second only to Sir Fan's performance all those years ago. He was now quite the center of attention, and there were several sects who were preparing to try to recruit him.

At this point in the shocking trial by fire, everyone was looking at the final remaining participant… Naruto.

"He took first place in the first two stages, outshone the first place winner in the middle three stages, and then in the following three stages, took first place yet again. Now in the final two stages… he actually… took first place again!"

"He's definitely going to rise to complete prominence! Nobody can get in his way. As long as he doesn't get killed, then he's going to be thoroughly famous in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea!"

"It's like we're looking at a future Paragon…." All of the cultivators who were watching the trial by fire out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea could now feel their minds spinning.

By now, especially after seeing the final two stages, they all had to admit that if they were in Naruto's place, they would not be able to do what he was doing.

Naruto was still hanging on. He knew that he was the only person left, and yet he didn't give up. A vicious, ruthless smile appeared on his face, and each time he regained consciousness, he would wade into battle with the countless beasts. It was in the middle of this carnage that he tempered his heart and his Dao.

"My Dao is the endless path of life, freedom and independence! Now, I am restrained by these chains, which is the furthest thing from freedom!

"My heart is unconstrained. If Heaven and Earth collapse, it will not be destroyed. If all living things become ancient, it will not wither. But now, it hesitates!

"My Dao is not free, but I desire freedom! My heart hesitates, but I wish to persist past the point of hesitation!

"This trial by fire is testing me, and I'm using it to polish my Dao. In this way, although I might seem to be restrained, in actuality they are nothing but chains. They can't tie me up, they can only polish my Dao!

"As for my heart, if I wish it to be unhesitating, then I need to endure. Endure to the point… where I do not feel pain in this trial by fire, but instead, happiness!

"When I pass this stage, then I will be truly free, and my heart will be incredibly strong!" Eyes shining brightly, he launched an attack.

73,000. 76,000. 79,000….

80,000!

When Naruto died for the 80,000th time, the audiences in the outside world roared, and the patriarchs in the starry sky palace, despite being somewhat accustomed to how Naruto worked wonders, were still completely shaken.

"He exceeded Sir Fan!"

"I just added it up, and that was the 80,000th death! That puts him in first place among everyone from ancient times until now!"

" Namikaze Mu. Namikaze Kazama! This name is definitely going to shock the

Heavens!"

While the audience was in an uproar, Naruto continued to persevere. A smile could be seen on his face, and he actually seemed to be incredibly happy. It wasn't happiness because of dying, or killing, but rather, a happiness because of his own Dao. His heart was now growing even more resolute.

To his heart and his Dao, death… was unworthy of being anything more than a grindstone.

A few days later, he died for the 90,000th time!

A few more days, and it was… 100,000!

That 100,000th death caused universal uproar. When Naruto opened his eyes afterward, wild colors flashed in the sky, and a wind screamed. The giant slowly dropped to one knee and raised the cudgel aloft. The countless beasts that had poured out of the rift all dropped to the ground.

It was as if they were prostrating themselves in worship!

The stage had been cleared!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 861

Chapter 861: First Place!

"What a Chosen!" By this time, all of the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace had risen to their feet with expressions of deep emotion on their faces. They were looking at the vortex screens, where the giant and the beasts were all bowing in worship to Naruto.

All of the sects wanted to recruit Naruto as a disciple, but the Nine Seas God World of the Three Great Daoist Societies had already made a move, leaving them with no opportunity.

It wasn't just the other Three Great Daoist Societies who were in such a position, but also the Five Great Holy Lands.

"This Namikaze Kazama is one of the most incredible Chosen to appear in countless years!"

"Congratulations to the Nine Seas God World. Namikaze Kazama will definitely demonstrate extraordinary talent and skill in the God World!" In response to such words from the various Patriarchs, the old man from the Nine Seas God World laughed heartily. His expression was one of extreme contentment.

By now, it was clear that Namikaze Kazama was definitely in first place in this trial by fire!

Of course, the crowds outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were in commotion. When it came to the final two stages of the heart and the Dao, Naruto was the first person to ever clear the entire stage. Not even Sir Fan had been able to do so.

Naruto had earned everyone's complete and utter attention!

"He definitely deserves to be in first place!"

"His name will soon shake the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea. He's going to be number one among all Chosen! Once he joins the Nine Sea God World, if he continues on this path of growth, he'll definitely become a Divine Son! If he and Fan Dong'er get together, then they'll definitely become a legend!"

"You guys didn't notice, but in the final twenty thousand deaths, Namikaze Kazama was actually happy! Compared to the pain everyone else was in, that's probably even more frightening!"

As the echo of discussion spread throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Patriarch Reliance was out in the starry sky, looked quite pleased. Then, he suddenly shuddered.

"Dammit! I've been thinking about this wrong! What the hell does that little bastard's life or death have to do with me? His being the center of attention has nothing to do with the Patriarch! We're enemies! Dammit! Dammit! I've been looking at it all wrong!"

Also somewhere in the starry sky was the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, his hair disheveled, his eyes narrowed as he looked off into the distance.

"Strong… much stronger than I remember," he murmured. Deep within his eyes flickered the glow of Uchiha Tengfei's spirit. "Naruto, I truly can't wait until the moment when we meet again!" With that, he turned and disappeared into the distance.

In the Kunlun Society, Pill Demon and Sakura looked on with trembling hearts. Having personally witnessed everything that had gone on in the trial by fire, were they not already aware that Namikaze Kazama was Naruto, they would never have possibly drawn a connection between the two.

Namikaze Mu… really was the complete focus of attention.

"Planet Ninshu is too small," Sakura murmured, a twinge of obsession visible in her eyes. "You were being held back there. Your world… is out among the stars."

Back on Planet Ninshu, in the Namikaze Clan in the vast Eastern Lands, Naruto's parents looked at the vortex screens with smiles on their faces. Of course, buried within those smiles were emotional sighs.

"Hao'er really is going to leave us," murmured his mother, her voice soft.

After a moment of silence, his father gently said, "Planet Ninshu is too small for him, and was limiting his growth. He was bound to leave Planet Ninshu sooner or later. After this trial by fire is over, I won't try to get him to stay too long."

"But he's just a child," she replied bitterly.

"He's grown up. If you don't let him fly, how can he ever come to know the boundless universe?"

Meanwhile, on Planet West Felicity, Zhao Yifan was polishing his sword, and the desire to fight flashed within his eyes. Then he looked away from the vortex screen up in the sky.

"I must not underestimate all of the other members of my generation out there. I never imagined someone else like Naruto of Planet Ninshu existed. But now, this Namikaze Kazama appears in the trial by fire!" The desire to fight burned hot in his eyes.

"I truly hope that you participate in the arena matches!" said Zhao Yifan, taking a deep breath and then closing his eyes. He would of course take part in the arena matches, and would actually lead the disciples of the Sublime Sword Flow Grotto into the fighting.

Only one cultivator from the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, and Dao Seeking stages would come out victorious in the arena matches. Then, they would be recruited as a disciple by one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, and become a Conclave disciple at that.

Of course, that didn't mean that participation was restricted. On the contrary, if disciples from the Three Great Daoist Societies participated and took first place, then they would also be able to join the Conclave.

As far as other sects went, they did not participate for the chance to join a Daoist Society, but rather, for the incredible prizes offered up in the arena matches.

In the Nine Seas God World, Fan Dong'er sat cross-legged with her eyes closed. Her complexion was ashen, and there seemed to be a trace of Karma in it. For some reason, she kept thinking about Naruto, whom she hated with a passion that had permeated even her bones.

Behind her, as always, was the female corpse. When her master saw the corpse, he did not attempt to help her get rid of it. Instead, he told her that it was good fortune for her.

However, Fan Dong'er did not wish to have good fortune like this.

"How come just looking at this Namikaze Kazama pisses me off!?" thought Fan Dong'er as she looked up at the vortex screen, her graceful brow furrowed. She was another of the Chosen who would participate in the arena matches.

In the Li Clan on Planet North Reed, Li Ling'er's expression was indifferent as she sat cross-legged in the clan's Daoist rite centers. Seated in front of her was a large group of Li Clan members, all of whom were listening to her give a speech about cultivation. To these clan members, Li Ling'er was like a celestial goddess, selfless, incorruptible, and aloof.

Occasionally, the vortex screens up above would draw the attention of the Li Clan members, and even Li Ling'er would occasionally look over.

When the clan members asked her if she would participate in the arena matches…

"Yes, I will!" she responded coolly.

Taiyang Zi, as well as Sun Hai of the Church of the Emperor Immortal, were both required by their sects to participate in the fighting. Virtually all of the sects and clans sent their Chosen to join the arena matches.

Some of them were people Naruto knew, but many were Chosen who hadn't ever been to Planet Ninshu.

In the outside world, everyone was preparing for the arena matches. As for Naruto, the world around him shattered into pieces. When he reappeared, he was back in the lead position on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking.

Behind him were all the other competitors in the trial by fire. They looked at Naruto with awe in their eyes, even the masked young man and the cultivator with the mosquitos.

Naruto had used his own strength to crush the other participants in virtually every way.

Ling Yunzi materialized up in midair. He hovered there, looking at the crowd for a moment before speaking.

"The ten stages of testing have concluded," he said coolly. "Being responsible for the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, I will now select one thousand people to continue." With that, he waved his hand, causing several thousand Dao Seeking cultivators to instantly vanish, teleported back to their places of origin.

One thousand people remained.

"All of you have passed the testing phase. Next, you may decide whether or not to participate in the arena matches.

"In the arena matches, anyone who makes it to the top 100 will receive a prize of 1,000 Immortal jades. Perhaps some of you are unfamiliar with Immortal jades. They are objects that can be used in cultivation after

you reach the Immortal Realm. They are a rare thing in the Ninth

Mountain and Sea. 1,000 Immortal jades is similar in value to

10,000,000 spirit stones."

Originally, Naruto hadn't been very interested in participating in the arena matches. However, when he heard this, his eyes went wide and began to shine with a bright light.

"10,000,000 spirit stones…." he thought, panting. "The Three Great Daoist Societies are way too rich! You get 10,000,000 spirit stones just for getting in the top 100?!" Naruto was now feeling a bit excited.

"If you get into the top 16, the prize is 5,000 Immortal jades," Ling Yunzi continued. As his voice echoed out, Naruto got even more excited. All of the remaining participants were now panting eagerly.

"If you reach the top 8, the prize is 10,000 Immortal jades!"

Naruto's mind filled with roaring, and he was mentally adding up how much 10,000 plus 5,000 plus 1,000 Immortal jades was in spirit stones. After finishing the calculation, his eyes began to shine with fierce light.

"The prize for reaching the top 4 is an Immortality Illumination Vine!" continued Ling Yunzi, which instantly caused many among the thousand remaining participants to cry out loud in disbelief. Naruto didn't seem to care too much, but the eyes of the others around him instantly went completely bloodshot.

To most people, Immortal jades were just material wealth, and although they could be used in cultivation, that wouldn't help until the Immortal Realm. However, an Immortality Illumination Vine could completely change one's fate in life, and could make true Immortal Ascension possible!

This was especially important because of the fact that a true Immortal had recently appeared on Planet Ninshu. In the following thousand years, Immortality Illumination Vines could be considered precious treasures to everyone, except perhaps Naruto.

They could change fate and determine the future!

There were different prizes offered on the other two Ancient Roads. However, regardless of the stage they were in, when the cultivators found out what rewards that were being offered, it sent their blood boiling. They weren't the only ones. When the crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea heard of the prizes available on the three Ancient

Roads, their eyes went bloodshot, and they began to breathe heavily. Were it not for the fact that they didn't possess the requisite qualifications, they too would be there to participate in the fighting.

This was especially true when they heard that one of the prizes on the Ancient Path of Dao Seeking was an Immortality Illumination Vine.

"I can't believe the prize is… an Immortality Illumination Vine!"

"Dammit! If I had known that, I would have participated! In the next thousand years, anyone who has an Immortality Illumination Vine has a high likelihood of becoming a true Immortal!"

"True Immortality! Although using an Immortality Illumination Vine doesn't measure up to seizing destiny, it doesn't matter how you become a true Immortal among the stars, you're still a true Immortal!"

Ling Yunzi looked out with satisfaction at all the looks of shock. However, when he looked at Naruto, he could tell that although he was cheering like everyone else, it seemed a bit perfunctory. After a moment of thought, Ling Yunzi spoke out again.

" Namikaze Mu, although you are a Conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World, if you don't perform enough meritorious service in the future, you won't be awarded with an Immortality Illumination Vine. You must seize this opportunity to acquire one."

Naruto quickly nodded his head, and then suddenly asked, "How many spirit stones is an Immortality Illumination Vine worth?"

Ling Yunzi's jaw dropped.

"They're priceless," he responded. "If you put one up for auction, it's very likely that it would sell for millions of Immortal jades."

When Naruto heard that, his mind spun, and he began to tremble. Immediately, his eyes went completely bloodshot, and his expression turned completely vicious.

Seeing Naruto like this caused Ling Yunzi to clear his throat. He was gradually starting to understand Naruto's personality a bit more.

"Whoever takes first place will receive a prize of…." Ling Yunzi paused dramatically.

"A drop of blood passed down by the Three Great Paragons!"

The response to his words was complete silence. However, there were some people who began to tremble, and expressions of intense disbelief covered their faces, looks that exceeded the ones that had appeared when they were told about the Immortality Illumination Vines. The outside world was quiet too, but only for a moment, after which a great tumult broke out.

"A drop of blood from the Three Great Paragons! Heavens! That would contain the Dao of the Three Great Paragons!"

"The Three Great Paragons!? According to legend, they were powerful experts from ancient times. They… they actually left behind a drop of blood!?"

"Is this for real?!"

Even the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace could hardly believe it. They shot to their feet, panting, expressions of shock written on their faces.

Only Naruto didn't seem to have much of a reaction. However, Ling Yunzi's next words, which were clearly directed at him, caused Naruto's heart to skip a beat.

" Namikaze Mu, if you put this drop of Paragon's blood up for auction, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone in the Ninth Mountain who could afford it."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 862

Chapter 862: Provocation!

Naruto took several more deep breaths, but he was unable to calm himself. Even he had to admit that deep down, his main weakness was… his love of money.

But that wasn't his fault! He had been poor since he was little, and even though lots of people owed him money, those debts hadn't been repaid. Things really weren't easy for him!

When he was young, he had been so poor that he developed a fear of lacking money. After he grew up, he entered the world of cultivation, and still had never really been rich. There was that short period of time in the Milky Way Sea, and his unexpected windfall. However, when he thought about it, the only reason he had been able to save up the money he had now was because he hadn't used the copper mirror in a long time. When he thought about how voraciously the copper mirror consumed wealth, it made Naruto feel completely impoverished.

1,000 Immortal jades made him excited. 10,000 sent his blood boiling. The value of the Immortality Illumination Vine made his eyes go bloodshot. Now, there was the drop of Paragon blood, which caused Naruto's eyes to go green.

When Ling Yunzi saw that green glow, he stared in shock for a moment.

He had never before seen a light like that shining in someone's eyes.

This was the first time.

However, it only took a moment for more heavy breathing to be heard. Many of the other participants were much like Naruto, and didn't originally understand the value of a drop of Paragon's blood. When they heard Ling Yunzi's second sentence, their minds filled with roaring.

They weren't the only ones. The Patriarchs in the starry sky temple were also panting; to them, a drop of Paragon's blood was like a precious treasure.

They were well aware that an item like that was something that only the Three Great Daoist Societies could possess. They would most certainly not have very many either. It was a precious treasure, the likes of which was not common in this age. And yet, unthinkably, the Three Great Daoist Societies were offering it up as a prize in this trial by fire.

The Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies smiled slightly, but did not speak. Obviously, there was some profound meaning behind offering the Paragon's blood as a prize. Actually, it didn't really matter who it was specifically that acquired it. The point was to let everyone know that they had Paragon's blood!

The crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were seething with excitement. Even the Chosen out in the various sects who were preparing to participate in the fighting began to pant. The disciples from the Three Great Daoist Societies were much the same. Although they were members of the Daoist Societies, it would normally be impossible to acquire the things that were being offered as prizes unless they performed some incredible service to the sect.

But now… all they had to do was win first place, and it would be theirs!

Zhao Yifan rose to his feet, bursting with the desire to fight. "Paragon's blood…. It's impossible to say which Paragon, but if I fuse it into my Dao of swords, it will definitely make my Dao even more incisive!"

Fan Dong'er's eyes went wide, and she began to pant.

"With that blood, perhaps I can finally free myself from this corpse!"

Li Ling'er, Taiyang Zi and Sun Hai, as well as the other Chosen, all had similar reactions. There were even some Chosen who had elected not to participate in the fighting, such as Song Luodan and some others, who immediately regretted their decision.

"The arena matches will take place inside the Ruins of Immortality," continued Ling Yunzi. "However, the location will not be here on the three Ancient Roads, but rather, on an ancient Dao Tree located further within!

"All of you will be given three days of rest, after which, I will personally take you to the ancient Dao Tree!

"During those three days, if any of you wish to leave, you may do so freely." With that, Ling Yunzi turned to leave.

"Patriarch, please wait a moment!" Naruto hurriedly cried out.

Ling Yunzi stopped in place, then turned back to look at Naruto. His eyes were filled with approval, and a smile could be seen on his face.

"What's the matter?"

A bashful smile could be seen on Naruto's face as he somewhat embarrassedly said, "Patriarch, er… earlier you mentioned that I could ask for anything I want, and you would give it to me. Well… I think that a drop of Paragon's blood would do nicely."

When Ling Yunzi heard this, his eyes went as wide as saucers. He was just about to rebuke Naruto, when he noticed Naruto's expression. Then he thought about how stirring all of Naruto's actions had been, and his anger cooled.

"That is not something I can personally decide," he said, shaking his head. "How about this: once you get to the sect, we will continue this discussion." With that, he left.

"I knew all along they wouldn't keep their promise," Naruto thought. "I should have plucked off the pointer needle on the Feng Shui compass too."

Time passed. None of the thousand participants on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking chose to leave. They all sat down in meditation, taking every moment of opportunity to practice cultivation, hoping to put themselves in top fighting condition.

Most of them felt quite drained from the previous ten stages of the trial by fire. They had expended much, were mentally exhausted, and their cultivation bases were running low. This was especially the case after the final two stages, and their near collapse into complete despair.

The torment they had experienced was severely draining mentally. However, the remaining 1,000 people were naturally outstanding individuals, so they took advantage of every moment to restore their energy.

Naruto had his Eternal stratum, so he was the only person who didn't need to spend any time recovering.

"So, there are three more days until the arena matches," he thought. "Why do I have the feeling that I've really lost out on a lot during my time here? I wasn't able to take the floor slabs and decorative tiles from the Warrior Pavilion, not to mention the shelving. There wasn't any time….

"The Three Great Daoist Societies took the Feng Shui compass as well." He turned to look over at the trial by fire contestants on the other altars, then suddenly felt a flash of inspiration. He stood up and flew to the edge of the altar, and as he neared, sensed an intense pressure. A faint rumbling sound could also be heard.

The rumbling immediately attracted the attention of the other thousand participants. They looked over with wide eyes to see what Naruto was doing, and instantly, their faces began to flicker. Even the people in the outside world noticed and were shocked.

"What's he doing?"

"He needs to calm down! Why is he trying to move off of the altar?"

In the palace in the starry sky, the Patriarchs of the various clans looked on with shock. Ling Yunzi suddenly appeared as well, and he looked on in astonishment.

Naruto had once again succeeded in drawing all attention onto himself. As he moved out into the gap between his altar and the one behind it, the pressure grew even more intense. Finally, massive rumbling filled the air, and great beads of sweat broke out on Naruto's forehead. He began to tremble, and yet, his eyes shone with a brilliant light.

When the spectators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea saw this, they immediately picked up on what they thought were the hidden details, and began to heave sighs of praise.

"He's practicing cultivation!"

"He definitely deserves to have taken first place in the trial by fire! Even during the three days of rest before the arena matches, he actually refuses to waste time, and is working hard at cultivation!"

Soon, everyone came to the conclusion that the only possible explanation for Naruto's actions was that he was practicing cultivation.

The Patriarchs in the starry sky palace began to nod in approval.

"Excellent. Using the pressure weighing down on the Ancient Roads to practice cultivation. Considering the level of pressure, cultivating there for three days is like spending thirty days in the outside world. If you spent longer, you would get even more used to the pressure, and once you were released, would be able to unleash explosive might. Such a thing would give you much greater momentum going into the arena battles."

"No wonder he was able to take first place in the trial by fire. His awareness of cultivation is deeper than most people could comprehend."

As the Patriarchs nodded and discussed the matter, the three elders from the Three Great Daoist Societies were all smiling.

Meanwhile, the Chosen from the various sects on the outside were practicing cultivation in preparation for the arena matches. They cared little about most of the people they would be facing up against.

However, there were some that had left them with deep impressions. Naruto, of course, was the one from whom they felt the most pressure.

When the Chosen saw Naruto practicing cultivation out in the pressure of the Ancient Roads, their expressions became serious.

"In a situation like that, to be able to think up such a method to practice cultivation…This Namikaze Kazama really is extraordinary," said Zhao Yifan.

"This Namikaze Kazama will be a formidable adversary." Fan Dong'er frowned.

Li Ling'er, Taiyang Zi, and Sun Hai all had solemn expressions on their faces.

Back on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, Ling Yunzi hovered in the void, slowly nodding his head, the look of praise on his face growing even deeper.

Slowly, the participants on the other altars began to react. Quite a few began to imitate Naruto, and stepped off the altars and into the pressure. However, none of them could last for very long before being forced to return to their altars.

That only served to increase their awe of Naruto.

Four hours passed by, after which Naruto finally managed to close in on the nearest altar. On that altar, Li Yan's pupil's constricted. Although he had long put himself on guard inwardly, his expression didn't change, and he looked over at Naruto coldly.

He had also attempted to move out into the pressure outside the altar, but had only been able to last for an hour before being forced to return. As for Naruto, he had persisted for four hours; that was something that left Li Yan completely shocked.

At first, he assumed Naruto would only rest for a bit and then go back, but in complete contrast to his expectations, Naruto actually approached him.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, come no closer!" he said, his eyes glittering coldly. His hair was already standing on end, and he couldn't be any more vigilant. He waved his hand, causing a shield to immediately appear, bursting with energy.

The scene instantly attracted quite a bit of attention. The people in the crowds in the outside world all began to look over.

"Fellow Daoist," Naruto responded with a smile, "don't get the wrong idea. I have no ill intentions. I'm just here to sell some medicinal pills. Look, right here, I happen to have a wonderful Spirit Reviving Pill." With that, he adroitly produced a medicinal pill from his bag of holding.

"One pill will completely enliven you, and will increase your energy by a hundredfold. How about this: for 100,000 spirit stones, I'm willing to part with this medical pill and give it to you!" He looked over at Li Yan.

Li Yan was staring with wide eyes, as were all of the other competitors in the trial by fire. Up in midair, Ling Yunzi was in complete shock.

The crowds in the outside world looked on agape, and all of the Chosen were staring fixedly. Even the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace were gaping.

"He… he expended all that effort, fought back against that enormous pressure, just to… just to sell some medicinal pills?!"

"And he wants 100,000 spirit stones for a Spirit Reviving Pill? That's… that's way too expensive!"

Ling Yunzi wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. At first he wanted to get angry, but then he thought about how sensitive Naruto was regarding spirit stones, as well as the stirring matter of the Feng Shui compass, and he sighed.

"This kid is definitely a rogue cultivator. He's no doubt experienced many hardships in his practice of cultivation. Therefore, he has a strong attachment to spirit stones."

Li Yan looked hesitantly at Naruto. He actually did want to buy the medicinal pill. The problem wasn't about the amount of spirit stones, but that he didn't dare to actually buy it. At this moment, he wasn't sure if he could trust that what Namikaze Kazama was saying was true or not.

After a long moment, Li Yan carefully replied, "Fellow… Fellow Daoist

Fang, I actually have my own medicinal pills."

"Oh, I see," said Naruto, looking disappointed. He then turned to look at the participants on the other altars.

Most of them looked back silently. However, there happened to be a middle-aged man who stood six altars away from where Naruto currently was. He looked on with an arrogant expression.

"I can't believe someone who cares so much about money could take first place," he called out. "I've really been blind. If you can personally deliver those medicinal pills to me, then however many you want to sell, I, Zhao, will buy.

"However, I'll only wait for half a day. If you can't make it here in that amount of time, then you'll just have to scram."

Naruto looked up at the middle-aged man. Then, a bashful smile appeared.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 863

Chapter 863: Pill Delivery Service!

Naruto stood there on the second altar, looking at the man standing on the eighth altar. There were a total of five altars standing between them!

This man was one of the thousand participants on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, and back home, he was a Chosen. That was why he was able to stick out so well on the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking.

Originally, he had believed himself capable of struggling his way into the top ten, but the brutality of the trial by fire had resulted in him sustaining some severe blows to his self-confidence. However, during the three trials of talent, cultivation, and age, he had taken second place in the trial of talent. He had been very excited about that, but then Naruto had thrown everything into chaos, the result being that few people had taken note of him.

Jealousy of Naruto had taken deep root within him then and there. Then, Naruto's spectacular performance in the other stages had caused that jealousy to transform into bone-deep hatred.

Of course, he was not a witless person. If he was going to attempt to humiliate Naruto in full view of everyone, he would definitely have to ensure his own safety. That was why he had put a half-day time limit on his offer.

He did not believe that Naruto could possibly make it to him in half a day. After all, Naruto had spent roughly four hours to get to the second altar. Half a day contained twelve hours, so therefore, the man was confident that Naruto would not be able to reach him.

"If the time passes and he still comes, he won't be able to do anything at all to me. There are rules, after all! If he tries to attack me, the Three Great Daoist Societies will intervene. That he's a disciple of the Nine Seas God World… makes no difference!

"Rewards come only with risk. If I humiliate Namikaze Kazama, people will definitely notice me. This is my opportunity to get my name out there to the sects. This is my chance to get noticed!" The man's eyes flickered, and his mouth turned up into a cold smile.

A bit of a bashful smile tugged at Naruto's lips. He nodded at Li Yan, then turned and headed toward the edge of the altar. When he stepped out into the void, the pressure of the outside once again weighed down on him. Naruto was like a rowboat in an angry sea, his robes whipping about. However, he proceeded forward with firm steadfastness, moving ahead one bit at a time.

When he started out toward the next altar, it instantly caused all of the competitors in the trial by fire to look over. Their eyes glittered as various thoughts ran through their heads.

"Even if Namikaze Kazama does something more spectacular than he already has, I don't think he can get to that man in half a day."

"That's not very smart. He should just have put up with the man's words and waited to handle the matter after the arena matches."

"That guy really is malicious. He's smart though. He actually went out of his way to provoke Namikaze Kazama. If he ends up humiliating him, he'll really earn a name for himself."

The remaining competitors in the trial by fire were intelligent people, and they quickly understood what was going on.

Up in midair, Ling Yunzi looked on with a cool expression. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he wouldn't pay too much attention to the competitors jockeying for positions. However, he couldn't help but feel quite a bit of admiration for Naruto, and began to watch, wondering if Naruto would be able to reach his destination in less than half a day.

The cultivators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked on with interest, and quite a few of them realized what the middle-aged man was thinking. There were, of course, varying opinions about the matter.

"This Namikaze Kazama is a bit impulsive."

"He shouldn't have tried to sell those medicinal pills. He's just giving his opponents an opportunity and invitation to humiliate him."

The Patriarchs up in the starry sky palace settled their qi and calmed their minds. The conflicts between the trial by fire competitors weren't something they would pay close attention to. However, considering everything that Naruto had accomplished, many of them were waiting to see how he would resolve this issue.

"This is actually a test in and of itself," said the Patriarch from the Church of the Emperor Immortal. "The previous stages all tested internal weaknesses. A person's response to provocation can reveal a lot about their instincts." Many others nodded in response.

Time passed by. Two hours later, Naruto was moving along at a quick pace. He was now between the second and third altars, and the pressure weighing down on him from the surrounding void sent his hair whipping about. However, his expression was calm, and he continued without pause.

The other competitors were all silently shaking their heads. They knew that the half-day timetable was something Naruto couldn't meet.

The middle-aged man's facial expression was one of complete complacency. When he'd opened his mouth earlier, it had actually been with some nervousness, but now he was completely calm and even laughing.

" Namikaze Mu, you only have half a day! If you can't make it here by then, you can just get the hell back to your own altar. After half a day passes, even if you offer your medicinal pills to me for free, I won't take them." The arrogance in his tone was extremely apparent.

Naruto looked up at the man far off in the distance, and smiled. He proceeded forward, taking about an hour to get to the third altar.

This time he finished the trip an hour faster than the last time, which was of course shocking to many onlookers. However, of the twelve hour time limit, there were now only nine hours left. The middle-aged man looked even more relaxed, and laughingly called out.

" Namikaze Mu, you have five altars to go, but only nine hours left! You'd best take advantage of your time. I'm curious to see how many altars you can get under your belt before the nine hours is up!"

Naruto smiled bashfully, then stepped out into the void once again. The pressure surrounded him, and his energy surged. Boundless light radiated off of him, and he continued onward without pause. Although he was moving slower, and the pressure was increasing, he managed to reach the fourth altar in only two hours.

That gave rise to quite a bit of astonishment among the onlookers. The middle-aged man's face flickered a bit, but he called out just as arrogantly as before.

"So what? There are still four altars between us, and you only have seven hours! Do you really think you can make it here?"

"I don't need that much time," said Naruto, his first time speaking to the middle-aged man. Even as he spoke, lightning crackled out around him and he stepped out into the void. Rumbling echoed out because of his incredible speed, almost as if from friction. This time, he used only one hour to set foot onto the fifth altar.

"What!?" Many of the trial by fire competitors jumped to their feet, their expressions that of astonishment. The spectators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were also looking on wide-eyed.

To cross the gap between two of the altars in only one hour required astonishing speed. That was especially true considering that his first attempt had taken a full four hours.

"Was he intentionally holding back the first time around? Or is he just getting used to the pressure!"

"Is this Namikaze Kazama really going to pull off some kind of miracle?!"

The outside world was in an uproar, and the middle-aged man's face had fallen. He was panting as he stared at Naruto, fully cognizant of the fact that there were only three altars between them.

In terms of the time limit, there were six hours left!

"Impossible!" thought the man. His face was ashen, and his eyes wide as he looked over at Naruto charging toward him. There was a shy smile on Naruto's face, and it seemed almost apologetic.

Next, Naruto strode out to cross the void. This time, his speed was such that he only needed the time it takes an incense stick to burn before landing with a bang on the sixth altar. He was now very close to the middle-aged man on the eighth altar.

Without even a pause, he proceeded from the sixth altar out into the void toward the seventh altar. This time, he didn't even need the time it takes an incense stick to burn before he was standing at the edge of the seventh altar, looking at the middle-aged man not too far off in the distance.

The man's scalp was numb as he rose to his feet, an expression of astonishment on his face.

"Impossible!" he said, trembling, and edging backward slowly. He now felt incredible regret, and if he had a chance to do things over, he would definitely never have chosen to provoke Namikaze Kazama.

All of the surrounding competitors were also astonished, especially the cultivators on the seventh altar where Naruto currently stood. They quickly rose to their feet and made a path for Naruto to walk through, clasping hands and bowing deeply at the same time.

Naruto's might left them all stunned. The cultivators watching from outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were equally shocked, especially the Chosen. They stared at Naruto on the vortex screens, and by now, had placed him in a very high position mentally.

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs had strange looks in their eyes.

Ling Yunzi hovered in midair, smiling slightly and looking at Naruto with admiration. His cultivation base was profound, and he had long since seen through the various clues. This was not a case of Naruto concealing his cultivation base, but rather, him becoming accustomed to the pressure in the place.

"For him to be able to create Paragon magic, to have the image of the Pāramitā Bridge in his heart, and considering the profundity of his cultivation base, very few types of pressure under Heaven would be able to stop him."

Now many among the crowds of trial by fire competitors were looking over mockingly at the middle-aged man. His face was ashen, and he was trembling. Earlier, he had been surrounded by no small amount of fellow competitors, but now, they had all edged away from him.

"It's never a good idea to provoke people, and yet this guy chose to provoke Namikaze Kazama."

The middle-aged man trembled, and his heart was pounding. Roaring filled his mind, and he had no time to think of any more ideas as Naruto flew out and crossed the last void in the space of twenty breaths of time.

Naruto looked like an Immortal Divinity as he flew through the void to appear directly in front of the middle-aged man. All of the other competitors immediately clasped hands and bowed, then backed away.

The man trembled and stared fixedly at Naruto. After taking a deep breath, he then let out a cold snort.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, clearly you have a profound cultivation base to be able to come here personally. Fine, I, Zhao, will buy your medicinal pill." With that, he produced a bag of holding which he tossed over.

"There are 100,000 spirit stones in there. Take them and leave."

Naruto smiled as he caught the bag of holding. Then his expression turned a bit bashful.

"Oh, this won't do," he said. "I have a lot of Spirit Refreshing Pills, you know." With that he patted his old bag of holding to produce… a pill bottle.

He waved the pill bottle in front of the middle-aged man's face. Inside were dozens of medicinal pills.

The middle-aged man's eyes went wide, and he began to inch backward.

"You never said how many you had! You…."

"Huh?!" In one moment, Naruto had a sincere smile on his face, but the next, it darkened.

"I came here from all the way over there to deliver medicinal pills to you! And now you're not going to buy them!?" He stepped forward until he was directly in front of the man, and then his hand lashed out.

The man tried to fight back, but how could he possibly be a match for Naruto? A boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of the man's mouth. Naruto grabbed his hair and shoved him down onto the ground.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 864

Chapter 864: The Real Ruins of Immortality!

"Trying to make a fool of me?" growled Naruto, killing intent flickering in his eyes. He lifted his right foot up and kicked down viciously onto the man. Cracking sounds could be heard, and blood sprayed from the man's mouth. Bones were smashed, and the man opened his mouth to say something, but in that moment, a vicious expression appeared on Naruto's face and he punched downward.

A boom echoed out. Naruto had attacked viciously, immediately prompting a miserable shriek from the middle-aged man. He was now broken and bleeding, miserable to the extreme.

"Misunderstanding! Fellow Daoist Fang, this was just a misunderstanding!"

"Misunderstanding my ass!" Naruto leapt up into the air and then trampled down onto the man's face. A bloodcurdling scream rang out. The man was now soaked in blood, cradling his head in his arms as Naruto thrashed him.

"Wanna buy my stuff? Buy it! Don't wanna buy it? You're gonna buy it anyway!" Naruto grabbed the man by the hair, lifted his head up, and then slammed it back down into the ground.

Before the man could even scream, Naruto lifted his right leg up and kicked down hard. A crack could be heard as the man's leg was shattered!

This scene of explosive violence, and the rapid change in Naruto's facial expression, caused all of the surrounding onlookers to stare in complete, jaw-dropping shock.

The audiences outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea gasped, and stared blankly at what was happening on the vortex screens. Naruto's savagery left them totally astonished.

"This guy is definitely someone you can't provoke!"

"What a brutal personality! He's definitely someone to avoid pissing off!"

"I can't believe that a cultivator with a scholarly aura like that could have such a violent temper!"

The Chosen from the various sects were also taken aback, some more than others. For example, Sun Hai looked on with wide eyes, panting. He watched blankly as Namikaze Kazama grabbed the middle-aged man's hair, and then Sun Hai began to tremble. He suddenly called to mind something that had happened to him that he would never be able to forget for the rest of his life, a completely humiliating and embarrassing memory.

"This seems… somewhat similar…. But that's not him, is it…?" Sun Hai hesitated for a moment. After recalling that certain person, a tremor ran through him. The whole incident was a nightmare. After returning to the Church of the Emperor Immortal, he had often been jolted out of meditation by the shocking memories. Furthermore, he had shaved his hair, and was now completely bald.

"From now on, call me Li'l Hai!"

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs looked on with wide eyes, staring in shock as Naruto violently beat the middle-aged man. At first, they were completely shocked, but then they began to chuckle.

"This Namikaze Kazama's personality is kind of amusing."

"He exacts revenge for the slightest offense, and isn't willing to suffer any losses whatsoever. Well, truth be told, the other man was the one who started the whole thing."

On the Ancient Road of Dao Seeking, Ling Yunzi chuckled and shook his head, pretending as if he hadn't seen what was happening.

The middle-aged man was dripping with blood, and was both screaming miserably and also trying to fight back. However, the more he struggled, the more ruthlessly Naruto beat him. More cracking sounds echoed out as another bone was broken.

Of the surrounding trial by fire competitors, one after another gasped, and all of them were looking at Naruto with intense terror in their eyes. They were so afraid of Naruto that their scalps were numb.

"This guy seemed perfectly normal! How could he be so brutal!?"

"Must not provoke him! Absolutely must not provoke him!"

Naruto's eyes flashed with killing intent, and he jabbed two fingers of his right hand toward the middle-aged man's eyes.

The man let out a miserable shriek and then urgently cried out, "Buy! I'll buy!"

The words floated into Naruto's ears like a melody of nature. His right hand stopped in place, and the brutal, vicious expression on his face vanished, to be replaced by a bashful smile and a somewhat embarrassed expression.

He cleared his throat and then said, "Well, look at you! Why didn't you speak up earlier?"

He quickly squatted down and, as the trembling middle-aged man looked at him with terror in his eyes, slowly helped him to his feet.

"You don't need to help me up, really…." The simple action of being helped to his feet caused the man to be even more frightened than before, and he began trembling violently. Before he could even finish speaking, though, Naruto glared at him, and he didn't dare to say another word.

"This pill bottle is full of Spirit Reviving Pills," said Naruto. "Delivery fee included, one pill costs 200,000 spirit stones. There are a total of 15 pills, so that's a total of 3,000,000 spirit stones." He placed the pill bottle into the man's hand and then looked at him expectantly, eyes gleaming.

The man was on the verge of bursting into tears. The single thought that occupied him now was just to get Naruto to leave as quickly as possible, lest he find himself in an even more deadly situation.

"Okay, I'll buy them…." The middle-aged man immediately produced a vast quantity of spirit stones.

Naruto's eyes gleamed as he caught sight of the huge amount of the spirit stones that were still left in the man's bag of holding. He obviously had quite a few left over even after buying the pills. Naruto cursed the fact that he only had one bottle of Spirit Reviving Pills in his bag of holding.

"Look, you're a customer, so I'm responsible for your safety," Naruto said solemnly. "Tell me who it was that beat you up, okay? Or, well, never mind. That's not important. The important thing is that you're hurt, and you're going to be participating in the arena matches that begin in two days. But you don't need to worry, Fellow Daoist. I have more medicinal pills!

"These are top-notch injury-treating pills, for only 200,000 per pill. Don't worry, I'm honest and fair with all customers." Naruto immediately pulled out seven or eight pill bottles, which he then handed to the middle-aged man.

The man stared in shock. He really and truly wanted to weep now. For a moment, he considered not buying them, but when he looked at Naruto and his bashful smile, he began to shiver uncontrollably. Gritting his teeth, he purchased each and every one of the pills.

Naruto took a deep breath, then began to stare at the man's bag of holding, his eyes shining brightly. Clearing his throat, he said, "Fellow Daoist, considering the level of your injuries, I don't think those medicinal pills are enough. It seems even your Nascent Divinity was injured."

"What?" The middle-aged man's scalp was going numb. His Nascent Divinity had not, in fact, been injured, but when he saw the look in Naruto's eyes, he knew that it very easily could be.

The man scowled miserably, and his heart was filled with intense regret. He was already starting to run out of spirit stones; these were his life savings, including special rewards given to him by his sect.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, let me go, alright?" he pleaded. "It really was my mistake…." Of course, deep inside, his hatred burned, and he wanted to tear Naruto into pieces.

Naruto smiled, but his eyes were completely cold as he said, "You know, the first person I ever killed was also surnamed Zhao." 1

The man trembled, and he felt like a cold breeze was filling his entire body. Gritting his teeth, he pulled out some more spirit stones and bought Naruto's new medicinal pills. By now, his bag of holding was completely empty.

Naruto nodded in satisfaction, then patted the man on the shoulder.

"If you have any other needs, don't hesitate to call me over."

The middle-aged man trembled and nodded.

Naruto turned and stepped back out into the void. This time, his trip all the way back to his original position on the first altar only took about an hour. The entire way, the other trial by fire competitors clasped hands and bowed, making way for him, their eyes filled with fear.

Back on the first altar, Naruto sat down cross-legged and began to take inventory of everything he had acquired. Looking at the accumulation of spirit stones inside, he finally felt as if his trip here hadn't been a waste.

"It's too bad that Warrior Pavilion was so stingy, though," he thought. "All I did was take a few magical items, right? I didn't take the floor tiles or the shelving. I didn't even touch the decorative tiles!

"Back in the Bridge of Immortal Treading, I dug up all the floor tiles!" When he thought about how stingy the Warrior Pavilion was, his hatred grew. There was nothing he hated more than stingy people.

"Well, in any case, a lot of small gains can add up to a windfall. As long as I keep going in life, then one of these days, I'm going to be the richest person in the all the Nine Mountains and Seas!" Thinking about his grand aspirations, he took a deep breath. For some reason he felt as if he was now one step closer to fulfilling his dreams.

"When I find Hinata, the two of us will always have more than enough money to spend." He sighed emotionally.

Time passed by, and soon the three day rest period had ended. The trial by fire competitors opened their eyes, and bright gleams could be seen. With Naruto there, most had no thoughts of trying to take first place; they just hoped to make it into the top 8!

Ling Yunzi materialized out of the void and glanced over the crowds.

"The arena matches will be held in the ancient Dao Tree of the Ruins of Immortality. All of you must keep one point firmly in mind. The location of the Dao Tree cannot be considered the depths of the Ruins of Immortality, but it is still a place of extreme danger. Virtually anything could happen outside of the tree while you participate in the fighting. Remember… you must not, under any circumstances, leave the ancient Dao Tree.

"Only by staying on the tree itself can you guarantee your safety. If you leave the tree… it is impossible to say whether you will survive or not!" Ling Yunzi gazed sternly at the competitors, then waved his hand.

Immediately, a red glow sprung up everywhere, and the void trembled. Ripples spread out as everything present, including Naruto, flew up into the air. Ling Yunzi suddenly seemed to grow incredibly large, whereupon he swished his sleeve, causing everyone to fly inside of it.

This scene caused Naruto's heart to tremble!

"What an extraordinary divine ability!" he thought, panting. After all the trial by fire competitors were pulled into Ling Yunzi's sleeve, they could clearly see the outside world whizzing by, and knew that Ling Yunzi was now moving forward at incredible speed.

The audiences in the outside world watched as similar scenes played out on the Ancient roads of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing. The two old men in those locations also flew up, and soon joined Ling Yunzi as they flew off into the distance.

The path they traveled was covered with mist, and occasionally, wails and howls could be heard echoing about, as well as terrifying roars. Gradually, an enormous head became visible, floating there in the mists. Blood oozed out of its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and an enormous centipede could be seen burrowing in and out of its eyes.

When the crowds on the outside saw these things, they gasped and stared at the vortex screens in shock.

"Ruins of Immortality! These are the real Ruins of Immortality!"

"That giant's head is at least ten thousand meters tall!"

Inside of Ling Yunzi's sleeve, Naruto could see everything that was happening outside. He also saw the giant's head, and he couldn't help but feel shocked as they passed it by.

More time passed. The mists grew thicker, and the wailing undulated endlessly. Eventually, a huge vine appeared up ahead, swinging back and forth. Shockingly, there were countless corpses bound up on the vine, corpses that were ancient and shriveled, and yet who possessed magical items and treasures that were related to bags of holding.

Considering that the items still existed after all these years, it showed that… this vine was incredibly mighty, and would tolerate no incursions.

Several days passed, during which time Naruto saw countless bizarre things. He saw an enormous ball of fur the size of a planet. He saw a gigantic bleeding eye. He saw an army of cultivators in tattered clothes, walking slowly through the void with blank looks on their faces.

Each of those cultivators was so powerful that Naruto found it difficult to breathe.

Most shocking of all, though, was when Naruto saw… a ship, floating slowly through the mists. Naruto was not unfamiliar with this ship, and when he saw it, his mind trembled. This was the same ship he had seen in the Milky Way Sea, and just like before, an old man sat at the prow!

Naruto killed a guy named Zhao Wugang in chapter 9 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 865

Chapter 865 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 865: Sixth Demon Sealing Hex!

Seven days went by. Ling Yunzi and the other two old men gradually began to decrease their speed, and looks of concentration appeared on their faces. Although they had made this trip on numerous occasions, every time they did, it was with the utmost caution. These were the Ruins of Immortality, not some other random location. Although not every single step was filled with danger, there were still many shocking things that could fill even them with senses of deadly crisis.

One misstep, and they might end up being buried in this place.

Furthermore, this was a trial by fire, so if there were any accidents, they wouldn't be the only ones who died; all of the people stored inside their massive sleeves would go along with them.

If that happened, it would be a huge blow to the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Ling Yunzi and the others stopped in place for a moment to perform some incantations of augury. Then they exchanged glances, and one of them commented, "Are the lives of the Chosen from the great sects really that much more valuable than all the other lives?"

Ling Yunzi shook his head and declined to answer. Whereas the three of them were personally escorting all of the trial by fire competitors, the Chosen from the great sects would simply wait for them to arrive at the ancient Dao Tree. There, a teleportation portal would be set up, and they could go to the place directly.

The teleportation portal would only be able to remain active for the space of about ten breaths of time, and could only handle a volume of about one hundred people. Even that would require a huge expenditure of resources.

That price would be split between the various sects, all to ensure that their Chosen would reach their destination without any complications.

"There are still ten hours left before the entrance appears," said the old man who carried the Spirit Severing competitors. "Why don't we rest for a bit?" With that, he sat down cross-legged.

The one who had complained before was the old man carrying the Nascent Soul cultivators. He gave a cold harrumph and looked off into the distance.

"Let's bring the competitors out and let them take a look around," said Ling Yunzi. "This ten hour period should be relatively safe." He swished his sleeve, and the one thousand Dao Seeking cultivators, including Naruto, immediately appeared. Many of them gasped as they were finally able to personally see the surroundings. Their minds were clearly shaken, but none of them spoke a single word.

Moments later, the Spirit Severing and Nascent Soul experts appeared in vast groups. They looked around at their surroundings and sharp inhalations of breath could be heard everywhere.

"Do nothing rash, and do not stray too far," Ling Yunzi said, his voice echoing about. "We are now in the real Ruins of Immortality, and there are many dangers lurking about. Considering the level of your cultivation bases, you would never normally be able to come to a place like this. Since you're here with us now, take a moment to experience what it

feels like. You can consider this one of your rewards."

Naruto took a deep breath as he looked around. They were surrounded by mists, some thin, some thick. Many areas radiated intense pressure. Clearly, there were different areas, some of which were possible for people of greater power to enter, other areas not so much.

The area they occupied contained the weakest pressure of all.

Furthermore, the three old men were pushing back, reducing the power by at least half. Even with much of the power being deflected by the three old men, it was still difficult for many of the competitors to hold up.

The majority of the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing cultivators were meditating cross-legged. The remainder that were not forced to focus fully on fighting back against the pressure, were examining their surroundings. Among the Dao Seeking cultivators, about half were meditating, with the remaining several hundred moving about in the area.

Naruto walked ahead until he was about three hundred meters out. There, he stopped. He suddenly had the feeling that the pressure would increase explosively if he proceeded any further. He stood there silently for a moment before smacking his bag of holding to produce a flying sword. He gradually extended it out, and when it went past the three hundred meter mark, cracking sounds could be heard. Fissures spread out across the sword, and after a few breaths of time, it disintegrated into ash.

"Five breaths of time," he thought, his eyes glittering. The flying sword he had used just now was a Spirit Severing treasure, and yet here, it could only last for five breaths of time.

Shaking his head, Naruto began to back away from the three hundred meter mark, when suddenly, a voice echoed into his mind.

"Come… come…."

He stopped in his tracks, and his eyes began to shine with a brilliant light. As he looked out into the Ruins of Immortality, the voice continued to echo in his mind. He turned to look at the people behind him, but apparently, not even Ling Yunzi and the other two could hear what he was hearing. It seemed that only he could detect the voice.

At the same time that the voice echoed out, the ancient Demon Sealing Jade in his bag of holding suddenly began to emanate flickering light.

The Demon Sealing Jade had remained dormant for a very long time, but now it was glowing once again. However, unlike the previous occasions, it did not speak.

The voice from moments before continued to speak.

"League of Demon Sealers… come here… come to me…." As the voice spoke, the mist in front of Naruto seemed to weaken and change, as… a path appeared.

Naruto's mind trembled as he looked at the path. He did not walk forward, but rather, began to edge backward. He knew that the level of his cultivation base placed him at the peak of his peers. However, when you considered the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole, he was merely in the Spirit Realm, which made him very weak.

This path might lead to good fortune, but considering the level of his cultivation base, that good fortune could very well lead to his death.

In the moment that he stepped backward, the voice continued on with even more urgency.

"The League of Demon Sealers…. I am a member too. Come to me, I shall give you good fortune…. I shall give you destiny to step upon the

Heavens, to achieve a meteoric rise! You can directly become

Immortal!"

The more the voice tried to persuade him, the more Naruto backed up. When he had backed up about thirty meters, the mist in front of him suddenly began to churn, as if some incredible power were approaching, heading directly toward Naruto.

His face fell, and he began to speed backward. By this time, Ling Yunzi and the others had sensed that something was happening. Faces flickering, the three of them immediately sprung into action, pulling all of the trial by fire competitors back into their sleeves, and at the same time, striding forward to stand next to Naruto. By this point, the swirling mists had spread to reveal a figure.

It was a cultivator whose body was in a state of decomposition. His head was half destroyed, and his clothes were tattered. An archaic, rotting aura emanated out from him, and he was surrounded by swirling mists. In his hand, he held a tattered banner, and he stood there, staring listlessly at Ling Yunzi and the others with his one remaining eye.

Ling Yunzi and the other old men stared at the man as if he were a deadly enemy. Their energy surged, and the light of magical techniques began to swirl around them.

"Senior, you have already perished," said Ling Yunzi. "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust. We of the junior generation are still alive, and are just passing through here. We disturbed your rest, please forgive us. Senior, kindly return from whence you came!"

The half-headed figure slowly raised his right hand and pointed a decomposing finger directly at Naruto.

"I… want… him…."

Ling Yunzi's face fell, as did those of the other two old men.

Breathing heavily, Naruto backed up until he was behind the three old men. As he stared at the figure, his heart trembled. It was at this point that he noticed that the half-headed man… had a sword stabbed into his waist.

The sword was pitch black and emanated a freezing aura. However, Naruto could also tell that the sword possessed Demon Sealing power. It only took a moment for him to realize that it was the power of a Demon Sealing Hex!

It was at this moment that the ancient Demon Sealing Jade in his bag of holding finally spoke into his mind with its archaic voice.

"Sixth Demon Sealing Hex!"

Ling Yunzi placed his right hand onto his bag of holding. "Senior," he said, "Please don't push us too far!"

The half-headed man suddenly looked over at him, and flames leapt up within his single remaining eye. He suddenly lurched forward, the mists surrounding him seething, as if they contained countless vengeful souls, screaming miserably. He waved the banner, and rumbling sounds could be heard as mist poured toward the three old men.

Ling Yunzi's face flickered and he let out a roar, unhesitatingly slapping his bag of holding to produce a talisman.

It was an ancient talisman that emanated a boundlessly archaic aura. It seemed to have existed through countless years of time. All it depicted was a simple, smiling face. However, as soon as it appeared, the halfheaded man stopped in place, and even the incoming mists stopped, seemingly stuck permanently in place, not daring to get any closer.

Ling Yunzi took a deep breath, performed an incantation gesture, and then pointed out. The talisman immediately floated up into midair. At the same time, Ling Yunzi grabbed Naruto and then shot backward at top speed. The other two old men also retreated, leaving the talisman floating there in the air.

"I can't believe we ran into a revenant here. That talisman should hold it in place for twenty hours." Ling Yunzi frowned and looked over at Naruto. "How did you draw its attention?"

Naruto smiled wryly, unsure of exactly what to say.

"It probably has nothing to do with him," said the man carrying the Spirit

Severing cultivators, who happened to be from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. "The revenants here usually just look for people they think will be suitable to help them to return to life. We've run into them before, haven't we?"

Naruto hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Seniors, what is… a revenant?"

"Some ancient cultivators left strands of resentful will behind when they died. Those strands of will exist outside of the natural law of the

Mountain and Sea Realm, and continuously attempt to return to life.

Those are revenants."

Naruto nodded and looked back at the half-headed man. He had a mind to go and try to retrieve the sword, but he knew that it was impossible to do so. Inwardly, he sighed with regret.

Soon, ten hours had passed, and the surrounding mists were churning. Naruto was back in Ling Yunzi's sleeve, and yet, was still able to see the world outside. Shockingly, off in the distance… was an indescribably large corpse.

It was so huge that Naruto could do nothing less than gasp. It seemed larger than a planet, seemingly without end. A cultivator who stood in front of it would be smaller than an ant.

The corpse appeared to be almost like an enormous continent, hanging there in the void.

As Ling Yunzi and the other two old men flew forward, they each produced a magical symbol that caused their bodies to emanate a gray light. They shot toward the huge body, and in the blink of an eye, touched down onto it and then sped forward.

Naruto looked on gaping as Ling Yunzi and the other two continued onward for an entire month at an indescribable speed. Despite that, they still had not crossed the entirety of the corpse. Eventually, a tree appeared up ahead.

It was a gargantuan, shocking, ancient tree.

Apparently, the tree was growing directly up from within the corpse, as if it were feeding off of its lood and flesh.

The trunk of the tree stretched high up into the air, until, at a certain point, two huge branches split off in opposite directions, making it look like an enormous fork.

The tree was covered with innumerable leaves, each one of which was fully three hundred meters wide. The leaves did not bend downward, but spread out evenly like platforms.

"We're here!" said Ling Yunzi. He and the other two came to a stop, then waved their hands, causing all of the competitors to fly out from within their sleeves and land on the tree leaves.

Chapter 865: Sixth Demon Sealing Hex!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 866

Chapter 866: I Am a God!

The crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were watching on the vortex screens, and could see everything that Ling Yunzi and the others encountered.

That included the decomposing, half-headed man, as well as all the other things lurking in the mists.

Many gasps could be heard from the cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. For most of them, this was their first time ever seeing the Ruins of Immortality. In previous trials by fire, outsiders were not permitted to see these things, but this time was different. Not only were the prizes astonishing, but for the first time, everyone was able to catch a glimpse of the Ruins of Immortality.

Although it was only a tiny portion, it was still enough to capture the attention of innumerable cultivators.

When they saw the gigantic corpse, cries of shock echoed out in all directions. Then the ancient Dao Tree appeared, and even greater shouts of astonishment could be heard.

"It's actually… growing on the top of the giant's corpse!"

"That's the ancient Dao Tree? What exactly is it? Why is it called a Dao

Tree?!"

"That corpse… Heavens! I never imagined that things that huge existed! How is this possible?! If that thing wasn't dead… who could possibly fight it? It's… actually a real corpse!"

The faces of the Patriarchs up in the starry sky palace were calm; all of them were familiar with the Ruins of Immortality.

However, they were all wondering what motive the Three Great Daoist Societies had to allow all the crowds on the outside to see.

A huge corpse. An ancient tree.

"The tree leaves are the arenas," said Ling Yunzi. "The leaves on the left side will be the Nascent Soul battleground. The leaves on the right are for Spirit Severing. As for the central main trunk… that is where the Dao Seeking fights will take place!" As his words echoed out, Naruto stood there on one of the leaves on the main trunk, at the bottom level.

All of the other Dao Seeking cultivators were also located on bottomlevel leaves. When they looked up, they could see that the branches sticking out from it were arranged in layers, the highest of which was ten levels away.

The higher the level, the fewer the leaves. In fact, at the apex, there was only one golden leaf, which was completely eye catching.

As for the battlegrounds on the left and right, they were also arranged in levels, although instead of climbing straight up, they moved out to the side. Similarly, though, as they reached their ends, the leaves grew sparser, until at the very end of each, was a golden leaf!

Three golden leaves. Those were the limits of the ancient Dao Tree, and the locations where the final matches would be fought.

Even as Ling Yunzi provided his explanation, he and the other two old men performed incantation gestures and produced magical materials which they used to begin to set up teleportation portals on the giant's corpse beneath the tree.

After the teleportation portals took shape, the three old men performed incantation gestures and pointed out, causing boundless light to shine up. Out in the sects of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, as soon as the light from the teleportation portals rose up, Zhao Yifan, Taiyang Zi, Fan Dong'er, and other Chosen all stepped forward onto the teleportation portals at their locations. Light flashed, and they vanished.

When they reappeared, they were standing atop the giant's corpse in the Ruins of Immortality.

It only took the space of about ten breaths of time for roughly a hundred people from all the sects to arrive. Then, cracking sounds could be heard as the teleportation portals shattered and faded away.

As Fan Dong'er and the others spread out, they looked around with trembling minds. This was apparently their first time coming to this place as well.

From the leaf he stood upon, Naruto could see Fan Dong'er, Taiyang Zi, even Sun Hai and others. His eyes flickered and a smile appeared on his face.

Ling Yunzi waved his sleeve, causing the nearly one hundred Chosen to fly out toward tree leaves according to the level of their cultivation base.

Soon, Fan Dong'er and the others were standing on leaves on the lowest level of the tree. As for Fan Dong'er, she wore a white robe, and behind her swirled a globe of white mist. It was very thick, making it impossible to see exactly what was inside.

The leaf she stood upon wasn't very far away from Naruto, and he couldn't help but glance over at her. His eye was especially caught by the white mist behind her.

Fan Dong'er noticed him looking at her, and frowned. However, she knew the two of them would soon be fellow disciples of the same sect, so she suppressed her anger and merely glared at him.

Naruto quickly looked away, focusing his attention on Zhao Yifan, then Li Ling'er. When he looked at Li Ling'er, he subconsciously… checked out her rear end.

He could still remember how he had spanked her two times, leaving her buttocks uneven.

Li Ling'er glanced at him coolly, then ignored him completely. Feeling somewhat pleased, Naruto then looked around until he noticed one particular young man who happened to be looking at him.

When their gazes met, the young man trembled. He was… naturally, Sun Hai.

Sun Hai didn't recognize Naruto, but for some reason, when Naruto looked at him, it caused him to gasp and be filled with a cold, unsettling feeling.

At first, Naruto didn't recognize who the bald-headed youth was. But after a moment, his jaw almost dropped.

"What happened to all his hair?" he thought. "I seem to remember leaving quite a bit behind." It wasn't just Naruto who was sizing up these Chosen. Many of the other competitors in the trial by fire were examining them closely.

Not much more time passed before Ling Yunzi's voice was heard once again.

"The arena matches of the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, and Dao Seeking, will be completely separate from each other, and shall progress separately. The ancient Dao Tree leaves upon which you stand contain a teleportation function. Not only will it teleport two people onto one leaf to fight, but it will also teleport the winner to the next level!

"The matches will proceed in this fashion all the way until the final battle.

"In the arena matches, life and death are determined by fate. Defeat will result in elimination from the competition. If you utter the words 'I concede,' then you will also be removed from the competition.

"Bear in mind that we are in the Ruins of Immortality, and danger lurks everywhere! Even if some strange things appear on the outside, things which attempt to distract you, or lure you out, you must under no circumstances leave the tree leaves.

"On the tree leaves, you are safe. If you leave them, though… it is impossible to say whether you will make it back alive.

"And now, let the arena matches begin!"

Almost in the same instant that the words left Ling Yunzi's mouth, Naruto suddenly cried out loudly.

"Patriarch, wait a moment!"

His voice echoed out, attracting quite a bit of attention from those around him. Ling Yunzi frowned and looked over at Naruto. At first he was tempted to ignore him, but after thinking about the expression on Naruto's face when he held the Feng Shui compass aloft, his heart softened.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Patriarch, I wanted to know, the enormous corpse down there, is it a cultivator?" Actually, Naruto wasn't the only person who wanted to know the answer to that question. All of the competitors were wondering the same thing. As for the newly arrived Chosen, they remained silent; they had already asked about the subject when they were in the outside world.

Ling Yunzi remained silent for a moment. He didn't actually have the sole authority to answer such a question. He looked over at the other two men, and all of them exchanged glances. Then, they produced jade slips which they used to communicate with their sect headquarters, inquiring as to whether they were permitted to respond.

After a moment, Ling Yunzi put his jade slip away and looked back up at Naruto.

"This is a God of the Pāramitā!"

After uttering those words, Ling Yunzi didn't wait for anyone's reaction.

He immediately called out again, "Let the arena matches begin!"

Naruto's mind trembled, and he couldn't keep himself from taking in a deep breath in response to the answer he had just received. A God….

Actually, all of the trial by fire participants were mentally shaken. However, even as this happened, the world in front of them distorted, and they began to grow blurry. In the blink of an eye, everyone grew clear again, and they were on the next level of leaves.

However instead of being alone on the leaves, each person was now facing an opponent.

Naruto found himself looking at a young man who had originally been bursting with power. However, as soon as things grew clear and he saw that he was facing Naruto, his face fell.

He was not one of the Chosen from the outside sects, but rather one of the competitors from the trial by fire. Furthermore… he had been on the same altar as the middle-aged man upon whom Naruto had vented his anger earlier. He had personally witnessed the entire incident.

Although he felt torn inwardly, his eyes quickly filled with a fierce light. He let out a powerful roar and employed the full power of his cultivation base as he turned into a prismatic beam of light that shot toward Naruto.

Naruto's face was calm as the young man closed in. He raised his right hand and punched out into the air, then spun and began to walk toward the edge of the arena.

Almost in the same moment that he turned, a huge boom could be heard, and blood sprayed from the young man's mouth. Although he had been approaching like a shooting star, in that instant, his light went dim, and he was forced back more than thirty meters, where he coughed up another mouthful of blood. His expression was now dismal, and his face ashen.

He was well aware that Naruto had been holding back. The blow just now had been directed at the air in front of him, and had it actually landed on his body, he would not have gotten off as easily as being forced back a bit and only slightly injured.

He took a deep breath, then looked sadly at Naruto, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

"I concede," he said, sounding a bit bitter.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he faded away, returning to the first level of leaves, which indicated that he had been eliminated. As for Naruto, he sat down cross-legged at the edge of the arena and looked around at the other matches that were taking place.

He was feeling quite pleased with himself, but as for the cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea watching the arena matches, they were completely shaken by Naruto's power.

"One punch… into the air! And he actually injured a peak Dao Seeking cultivator!"

"This Namikaze Kazama hasn't even used any magical techniques! He's just relying on the strength of his fleshly body!"

"No wonder he could stand up to the pressure outside those altars! Such fleshly body strength is extremely rare!"

The first round of the arena matches was a simple thing for Zhao Yifan, as well as the other Chosen. None of them needed more than ten breaths of time to secure victory.

Naruto looked around at the other arena locations and identified about ten other people besides the Chosen who were worth paying attention to. Among those, one was the masked young man Li Yan.

Another was the cultivator with the mosquitos, and a third was a young boy who was also one of the trial by fire competitors. Although he never spoke, he had made it into the group of one thousand Dao Seeking competitors, and had his own unique capabilities.

In the first round, he attacked viciously, the result being that his opponent was instantly reduced to a bloody pulp.

The fourth person was a garrulous old man who constantly shivered and muttered to himself. His first opponent was a Chosen from the Seven Seas Sect. Strangely, as soon as he appeared in front of the mumbling old man, the Chosen suddenly seemed to go crazy and tried to charge outside of the leaf arena. Were it not for Ling Yunzi immediately intervening to save him, he would have been in great danger.

Of those four people, the one who caused Naruto the greatest consternation was not the garrulous old man or Li Yan, but rather, that unprepossessing young boy!

"He has at least thirty percent of the power of a true Immortal!" thought

Naruto, looking at him closely. Almost in the exact instant that Naruto looked at him, the boy turned his head to return the gaze. Their eyes locked over all the various arenas between them, and the boy's mouth twisted into a vicious smile.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 867

Chapter 867: One Punch! 1

Other than those four, there were six Chosen who Naruto hadn't seen on Planet Ninshu when all the outside Chosen came. Four were men and two were women. One of the women wore a white mask and a long red robe. When she attacked, a Blood Orchid bloomed around her, indicating that she came from the Church of the Blood Orchid.

The other woman wore garments of five colors, and was not very pretty.

She attacked with shocking five elements magic, and even though Naruto had previously cultivated a five elements Nascent Soul, he had the feeling that this woman's skill with the five elements exceeded his own. She was from the Five Colors Sect.

The other four cultivators were all young men. One of them did not personally attack his opponent, but rather, caused a coffin to appear, from within which emerged a corpse. The corpse easily slaughtered the young man's opponent. He was from one of the Five Great Holy Lands, the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum.

The second young man was bony, with eyes that burned like fire. Like the other young man, he did not personally attack, but instead, simply stared at his opponent, who then burst into flames and then transformed into nothing but ash.

The third young man was handsome and, shockingly, had a third eye on his forehead. It was clearly a Dharma Eye, and it remained closed the entire time. The young man wore a slight smile, and he seemed almost completely harmless, as if he lacked any ability to attack whatsoever. Furthermore, his opponent didn't attack either! The two of them transmitted a few words to each other, and then the opponent knelt down on one knee, looking at the young man with a pious expression, and conceded.

This young man was from the Burning Incense Stick Society.

The last person was a hulking man from the Kunlun Society. He was stalwart, with a powerful fleshly body. He started his match standing there like a mountain. When his opponent attacked, he waved a finger, causing a huge mountain to descend, smashing into his opponent and instantly defeating him. However, he did not kill his opponent.

When Naruto saw that, his eyes suddenly shone with the desire to do battle.

As the intense fighting of the first round of arena matches played out, the audiences outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea closely watched the screens in the three vortexes. Each of those screens was divided into multiple smaller screens which depicted each of the battlegrounds.

In the palace in the starry sky, the various Patriarchs were closely observing to the goings on, and were paying especially close attention to the Chosen from their own sects. They were also watching the cultivators from the other sects. Although most of the Chosen were not particularly powerful, they were the future blazing suns of the various sects.

As long as they did not unexpectedly perish and could mature and grow stronger, they would eventually allow their sects to gain more power and influence.

"This generation has come across the fate of becoming a true immortal; in the Nine Mountains and Seas, every 10,000 years, the true immortality destiny descends, and an entire generation of Chosen always comes out of the woodwork."

"I wonder which three will last until the end to take first place in their stage!?"

Everyone was watching the fighting, hearts filled with anticipation.

Back in the battleground, Naruto's expression was calm as he sat there cross-legged on the leaf. He looked around at the other arenas, and could see many people looking back at him.

After looking around for a while, Naruto had the mind to take a look at the Nascent Soul battles, but unfortunately, it was currently impossible to see the fighting taking place in the other two areas. Finally, he closed his eyes and waited for time to pass.

On the Nascent Soul battleground, Might Guy's expression was as gloomy as ever. His attacks appeared to be normal, but his opponent seemed to have been infected by his mood, and as such, was only able to fight with half of the power of his cultivation base.

On the Spirit Severing battleground, the fighting was equally intense.

The first round of arena matches for the Dao Seeking stage was the first to end, after a total of four hours. Half of the competitors were eliminated, and the other half stood on their leaves on the second level, eyes flickering. The leaves beneath their feet began to shine with light that spread out to cover everyone and teleport them to the third layer of leaves.

When he reappeared amidst the flickering light, Naruto was facing an old man whose face was covered with dark blotches. Immediately, a murderous aura sprang up, along with shocking energy. The man held a cane in his hand, and as he walked forward, he suddenly realized he was facing Naruto, and his pupils constricted.

" Namikaze Mu!" he thought, and his heart began to pound with unease. He had never imagined that he would end up facing the mighty Namikaze Kazama in the second round. "His fleshly body is incredibly powerful, and his divine sense is incredible. He has a profound cultivation base and attacks without mercy…. Dammit, why did I have to end up facing him? Although, I might not necessarily be unable to earn a victory. I excel in terms of speed!"

Eyes flickering, the old man turned into a blur as, all of a sudden, nine clones appeared.

The nine clones closed in on Naruto, each one coming from a different direction.

Naruto stood there, looking around coldly at the incoming figures. His expression was calm as he raised his right hand and once again released one punch. As soon as the punch landed on the ground, he turned and, just as he had in the last battle, began to walk to the edge of the arena.

Behind him, massive booms rang out. His one punch caused a huge vortex to appear, which emanated a shocking gravitational force and intense rumbling. Ten figures immediately began to be sucked in toward the vortex. Nine of them collapsed into pieces, and the old man's true self coughed up blood. His expression was one of astonishment as he quickly called out that he conceded.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he faded away to reappear back on the first level of leaves. He had been completely defeated.

By that point, Naruto had reached the edge of the arena, where he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Many people in the outside world were paying attention to Naruto, and what they saw shocked them.

"One punch again! It was exactly the same as the first round, except that the old man's cultivation base was clearly much higher than the guy from the previous fight!"

"This Namikaze Kazama's fleshly body is so powerful that he can create a vacuum! Maybe his speed truly isn't that great, but he's so strong that he doesn't even need speed! Who could possibly fight back against that one punch!"

"He's definitely going to get into the top 16. I can't wait to see him fight against some of those Chosen!"

The outside world was in an uproar. It didn't take long for the second round of arena matches to end, and the third to begin. Naruto appeared on the next level of leaves, where he looked at the glittering lights in front of him and watched his opponent emerge.

This person was no Chosen. Instead, it was the young man with the mosquitos. When he laid eyes on Naruto, instead of looking nervous like the previous two opponents, his eyes gleamed with the desire to do battle.

" Namikaze Mu," he said. "It's my pleasure to be able to fight with you.

Finally, I'll be able to see exactly how powerful you are!"

Naruto's expression was the same as ever; completely emotionless. What he had been paying attention to this whole time was not the young man himself, but rather his mosquitos.

Before the young man even finished speaking, he waved his hand, causing a shocking cloud of fierce mosquitos to appear. The largest were a meter long, and many were the size of a fist. They spread out in a great cloud as they shot toward Naruto.

A buzzing sound could be heard as they closed in. Naruto's eyes flickered as he clenched his fist and then punched out.

Just like the previous matches, it was only one punch. Rumbling filled the air and ripples spread out in all directions. At the same time, Naruto turned and walked toward the edge of the arena.

Behind him, the shocking ripples slammed into the mosquitoes, causing them to collapse into pieces. The young man's body began to vibrate uncontrollably as he shot backward. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his expression was one of shock. He hadn't even been able to attack, and yet his cultivation base was suppressed, and he almost felt as if his vital organs were being tossed about.

At the critical moment, even the young man's voice quavered as he cried out, "Concede… I concede!"

He looked over at Naruto with an unprecedented expression of fear. He had been aware that Naruto was powerful, but had never imagined that he was THIS powerful!

As the scene played out in front of the eyes of the audience in the outside world, it sent them into tumult. In the first round, one punch. In the second round, also one punch. In the third round, facing up against a powerful opponent, and… also one punch!

"Just… just how powerful is he!?"

"He definitely deserves to take first place! With power and confidence like that, he's basically invincible!"

"I'm guessing that only the Chosen from the great sects can actually fight him!"

"I wonder who will force him into using two punches!?"

Up in the starry sky palace, the various Patriarchs were nodding in approval. None of them had any reason to deny that among his generation, Naruto truly was incredibly powerful!

"He must be using a vibration magic. This Namikaze Kazama isn't very old, but he's actually mastered the magic of vibration!" 2

"That's a fleshly body technique that can only be learned when the fleshly body has reached a certain level of power. It can be considered very strong within the Spirit Realm. In fact, even in the Immortal Realm, there are only a handful of people who have mastered it!"

Naruto's performance was flashy and eye-catching, making him the center of attention of everyone watching the arena matches. When it came to the Chosen who were participating in the arena matches, they were also paying close attention to Naruto. Although their matches ended quickly, none of them were able to finish them with the ease that Naruto did.

"Hmph, he's just gotten lucky. How could he have run into so many weak opponents?! If he had faced off against formidable adversaries like we did, there's no way he would've gotten off so easy!"

"The further along we get, the more powerful the opponents will be.

Let's see exactly how many rounds he can last!"

Discussions like these could be heard as the third round of matches concluded, and the fourth round began. By now, most of the cultivators had been eliminated, and only about a hundred remained.

Each and every one… was incredibly powerful!

Naruto stood on the fifth level of leaves as another opponent appeared amidst glittering lights. It was a hulking man who wore a long robe. Ripples spread out as he materialized. This was not the powerful expert from the Kunlun Society, but was a Chosen nonetheless.

He came from the Seven Seas Sect.

In each of the previous rounds, he had torn his opponent to shreds. All of them had died. When walked out into the arena, a cruel smile could be seen on his face, and his eyes shone with a vicious gleam.

" Namikaze Mu…" he said. "We meet at last. You made quite a show in the past few rounds, but that was only because the people you were up against were weaklings!

"This time, I'll help you to understand how wide the gap is between a rogue cultivator like you and us Chosen. That gap… will leave you in despair!" The man laughed uproariously, and put on the appearance of being crude and rash. In truth, he was actually being very cautious, and was careful not to let any of his scheming thoughts show on the surface. As he spoke, he began to charge forward, and illusory seawater appeared around him. Seven seas appeared, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air. Simultaneously, a huge sea dragon materialized and roared toward Naruto.

As of this moment, many people among the audiences outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were watching Naruto in the arena. When they saw the Chosen from the Seven Seas Sect attacking Naruto, many of them sighed.

" Namikaze Mu will definitely be incapable of pulling off something amazing with a single punch like before."

"Hmph. Going up against weaklings makes it easy to seem powerful. But now that he's fighting a Chosen, he'll have a tough time remaining calm. Even if he wins, this battle is definitely going to be like a fierce struggle between a tiger and a dragon."

"I've heard that the Seven Seas Sect's Yun Tianhe has a bizarre energy. After combining that energy with the cultivation base, it create a power that enables him to fight a false Immortal without being at a disadvantage."

The discussions in the outside world could not be heard in the arenas. At the same time, the hulking man from the Seven Seas Sect let out a powerful roar as he closed in on Naruto. Naruto's expression was as calm as ever as, just the same as before, he punched one time!

Since I'm sure there will be some comments, I'll explain about the "one punch" thing. The two characters which make up this chapter name (一拳) literally mean "one fist." However, often this character of "fist" is used to describe the action of punching. A cursory search reveals that there seem to be two common Chinese translations of "One-Punch Man." One translation ( 一击男) comes across as "one strike man," the other (一拳超人) "one punch super man" or "one fist super man," uses the same two characters as the title of this chapter. One-Punch Man apparently rose to popularity in Japan starting around 2012, but the officially licensed Chinese translations didn't come out until late 2015, whereas this chapter was originally published in early 2015. I'll leave it up to you to decide if this is an intentional reference to Saitama.

Although isn't it interesting that a bald character suddenly showed up in the last chapter… ↩ Naruto picked up the "vibration magic" from Guyiding Tri-rain in chapter 644. He used it afterwards on a couple occasions. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 868

Chapter 868: Junior Blood Immortal!

"Looking to die!?" said the hulking man with a malicious grin. He was clearly not pleased with Naruto's plan to end the fight with one punch. Sneering inwardly, he redoubled the power he was putting into his attack, and also unleashed a forbidden technique of his sect, which further increased its power by thirty percent.

He didn't just want to win, he wanted to kill his opponent, and he seemed very excited at the prospect of ending the life of the first place competitor who was also a future Conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World.

Killing someone in an arena match was nothing anyone could complain about, so there was little danger of repercussions. His sect would reward him, and even more importantly, protect him.

What he saw was a chance to make great advancement with little effort, right there in front of him.

"DIE!" he roared, his eyes bursting with a murderous look as he caused the Seven Seas Dragon to suddenly grow another vicious head, which also snapped toward Naruto.

It was at this point that Naruto's fist connected with the dragon.

It was only one punch, but that punch slammed into the dragon with an enormous boom. A violent tremor ran through it, and then its first head cracked and exploded. The second head also exploded, and then, bit by bit, its body.

The seven seas rumbled briefly and then collapsed, vanishing in the blink of an eye, as if they had never been there to begin with. At this point, Naruto's fist slammed into the hulking man's chest.

The big man's eyes went wide as he looked at Naruto, and his face twisted. Naruto's expression was calm as he pulled his hand back and walked off to the edge of the arena.

In the instant he turned, blood sprayed from the hulking man's mouth. Fissures spread out from the point of impact on his chest, and in the blink of an eye, they had covered his entire body. A look of disbelief could be seen on his face, and he opened his mouth to say something. Before any words could come out, though, he exploded.

As the haze of blood and gore blasted out, Naruto reached the edge of the arena and sat down cross-legged. The entire time, only one, placid expression could be seen on his face. He reached up to wipe a drop of blood off of his cheek, then closed his eyes.

Gasps could be heard from the audiences outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea as they watched Naruto in terrified shock.

"That was still… just one punch!"

"Heavens! Just exactly how powerful is this Namikaze Kazama!? That Chosen from the Seven Seas Sect could match up to a false Immortal, and yet he collapsed from a single punch! Namikaze Kazama hasn't even punched two times yet."

"Four matches, and he only punched one time each! Namikaze Kazama is way too powerful!"

"He's already in the top 100, with only four punches!"

Even the eyes of the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace went wide.

Naruto was the focus of the attention of all the Chosen from the various sects, and was now viewed by most of them as a major adversary. Even Zhao Yifan was wondering whether or not he could beat the Seven Seas Sect's Chosen with only one punch. Of course, if he used a sword, he was confident he could.

Rumbling booms continued to echo out as the fourth round of arena matches proceeded. There was another battle that was particularly eyecatching. In fact, after Naruto's match ended, most eyes among the audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea turned to watch it.

That battle was the match being fought by a disciple from the Holy Land of Mount Sun, the illustrious Taiyang Zi!

His body was surrounded by boundless light, making him look almost like a sun. His opponent was a boy, the same competitor Naruto had noticed earlier, and had been paying special attention to.

From what Naruto could tell, he possessed at least thirty percent of the power of a true Immortal.

When the battle started, most of the spectators were confident that Taiyang Zi would come out victorious. And yet, contrary to all speculations, he actually lost!

Furthermore, it was an incredible defeat. If he hadn't uttered the words 'I concede,' then he would almost certainly have died. The boy's magic caused a bloody glow to emanate out, and it seemed incredibly bloodthirsty. The sight of it caused quite a stir among the crowds, and many of the cultivators participating in the arena matches were shocked.

"Junior Blood Immortal! That was one of the names that came up in the trial by fire!"

"He actually defeated Taiyang Zi!"

"He's making his rise to the top!"

While the outside audiences were discussing the matter, Naruto looked over at the boy to find him looking back with killing intent flickering in his eyes.

Two hours later, the fourth round of matches ended. There were now only a bit over sixty people left in the competition. The next round… would determine the top 32!

From more than a thousand people, 32 would move on! One could imagine that even if there were a weak person among that number who had happened to overcome more powerful people by chance, then that luck could be considered an aspect of their power.

"The top 32 are about to be determined!"

"Even some of the top Chosen from the great sects were defeated in the previous fights. I wonder who will make it to the top 32!"

While the outside audiences buzzed, Ling Yunzi stood below the ancient Dao Tree and glanced over the more than sixty competitors who remained.

"In the Dao Seeking arena matches," he announced, "the most powerful people will form the top 32. Unfortunately, you have three too many people to make all the matches even. Therefore, some of you will be fighting more than one battle to make it into the top 32. As for who those people are, only the Heavens know. It will all be up to the Dao Tree's teleportation.

"You will have four hours to rest, after which the battles to determine the top 32 will begin!"

During those four hours, Naruto sat there cross-legged, meditating. He could sense that there were many people watching him, but he didn't open his eyes. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he was clearly at the pinnacle of the competitors in the arena matches. Were it not for the Immortal jades and the precious treasures, he would never have participated.

However, now that he was here, there were a few people who had attracted his interest. Unfortunately, he had yet to face them as opponents.

Four hours later, glittering light covered the leaves of the Dao Tree, teleporting Naruto and all the remaining contestants up to the next level of leaves. From within the glittering light in front of Naruto, a young woman stepped out.

She wore a blood-colored robe, and a white mask. This was the Chosen from the Church of the Blood Orchid, and as soon as she caught sight of Naruto, she stopped in her tracks. However, it took only a moment for her to emanate a powerful will to fight.

The intensity of that will caused Naruto's eyes to shine with a fierce glow.

"Fellow Daoist Fang," she said, her words echoing out coldly from behind her mask, "please give me some fighting tips!" Even as she spoke, she performed an incantation gesture with her right hand, causing a Blood Orchid to appear in front of her. As the flower swayed back and forth, it began to grow rapidly. Rumbling sounds could be heard as, in the blink of an eye, it grew to a size of thirty meters.

It had a thick trunk, blood-colored petals, and looked both extremely imposing and visually stunning. At the same time, the flower twitched, causing branches to shoot toward Naruto.

Naruto stepped forward, clenched his fist, and sent out a single punch.

As of this moment, everyone in the outside world was watching as the punch caused a huge vortex to appear. Rumbling sounds spread out, causing the air to vibrate, and everything else to shake violently.

The incoming Blood Orchid branches twisted and then completely collapsed. However, in that moment, the Blood Orchid's petals spread wide as it bloomed. A drop of blood emerged that flew back to land on the forehead of the young woman's mask. Radiating an intense aura, the young woman then flickered as she shot toward Naruto.

Naruto stood in place, neither retreating nor advancing. However, at the same time, he punched a second time.

This second punch caused the air to ripple, and a massive force to explode out and sweep across the young woman. Her body trembled, and she was about to unleash a divine ability when an intense pressure crushed down onto her cultivation base. In the blink of an eye, she completely lost any ability to rotate her cultivation base, which left her not only completely surprised, but also incapable of avoiding the punch that slammed into her.

A boom could be heard. Beneath the mask, blood spurted from the young woman's mouth, and she staggered backward a full thirty meters, after which she looked up at Naruto, panting.

"You're no match for me," Naruto said coolly.

The young woman was silent for a moment, after which she chuckled bitterly and nodded.

"I concede," she said, and then vanished. When she reappeared, she was back on the first layer of leaves.

Naruto had won once again, but before the audiences outside could comment, light began to glitter on the tree leaf again, and… another person emerged!

It was a boy, none other than the same boy who had just defeated Taiyang Zi. Junior Blood Immortal!

His appearance on the scene instantly sent the audience into tumult.

" Namikaze Mu is one of the people who has to fight twice!"

"There were three extra people in the competition, so some people have to fight more than once to get into the top 32. I never thought that Fang

Mu would be one of them!"

"This is going to be one intense battle! Namikaze Kazama versus Junior Blood

Immortal! I wonder who will be strongest!?"

Junior Blood Immortal emerged slowly, and when he saw Naruto, his mouth twisted into a vicious grin. Killing intent flickered in his eyes.

"So, we meet at last!" he said in a raspy voice, licking his lips. A shocking red glow could be seen in his eyes as he stared at Naruto.

Naruto looked the boy over. He knew that he attacked with bizarre ferocity, and had reduced all of his opponents to pools of putrid blood, with the exception of Taiyang Zi.

Contrary to what one might expect, the boy had not made much of an impression during the ten stages of the trial by fire. He had achieved just enough to make it into the top 1,000. Clearly, he had been holding back in virtually all aspects.

Naruto's expression was calm, and he said nothing. He merely looked indifferently at the boy.

When their gazes met, roaring sounds filled both of their minds as their divine senses made contact with each other. The boy's eyes filled with surprise. He knew his opponent was powerful, and yet, still remained fully confident in himself. Taking advantage of the rumbling caused by the divine sense, he charged toward Naruto, raising his right hand to perform an incantation gesture. Bloody light flickered up, and the in the blink of an eye, a blood-colored bottle gourd appeared, rotating as it sped through the air toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he took a step forward. In that instant, the entire arena match leaf began to quake, and a wind began to swirl around Naruto.

"This divine ability of mine will cause all of the blood in your body to boil and turn into a putrid sludge!" The Junior Blood Immortal's voice was now shrill as he called out. In the blink of an eye, the blood-colored bottle gourd began to exert an incredible gravitational force, as if it wanted to suck Naruto inside of it.

Naruto snorted coldly. He did not level any punches; this Junior Blood Immortal had a bizarre cultivation base, and Naruto would not take him lightly. The wind swirling around him quickly transformed into a violent tempest that shot forward. At the same time, his body transformed into a black vulture, which flapped its wings, charging through the gravitational force to appear directly in front of the boy, where it slashed out with claws vicious enough to shatter stone and metal.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 869

Chapter 869: Top 32!

The boy's expression flickered, and blue veins popped out on his forehead as he howled at the incoming vulture. Sound waves rippled out that seemed to wish to shatter the air. The boy's expression was vicious as he raised both hands up, causing a sea of blood to appear and surge out toward Naruto.

Booms rang out as the two of them fought back and forth in midair. At one point, the boy let out a shrill cry, causing the sea of blood to turn into a blood-colored vortex that tried to suck Naruto in.

Naruto waved his hand, causing numerous mountains to appear, which then linked together to form a mountain range. However, thanks to the black feather, that mountain range actually looked like a huge river, which then surged in counterattack against the blood-colored vortex. The vortex was crushed as easily as dried twigs, shattering into pieces as vulture-form Naruto once again slashed through the air, his claws extended toward the boy's torso.

Boom!

Blood sprayed from the boy's mouth as a huge hole was ripped into his chest. He immediately shot backward in retreat, biting the tip of his tongue and spitting out some blood, which twisted in the air to become ten blood drops. Each drop immediately began to expand, turning into ten seas of blood that spread out to cover everything.

"Ten Seas, Blood Slaughter!" roared the boy. Naruto's face was calm, and he didn't retreat. Instead, he advanced, an aura of invincibility exploding out of him. As he faced the ten seas of blood, he clenched his hand into a fist and punched out into the air. Then, he punched again.

Two mere punches did not seem capable of fighting back against the ten roaring seas of blood. However, the boy's face flickered as he realized that something didn't seem quite right about the two blows, although he wasn't sure what.

In the blink of an eye, and before he had any time to react, Naruto attacked a total of nine times. He didn't even seem to be paying attention to the seas of blood that surrounded him, but instead, was punching directly forward.

Nine punches, each one more shocking than the one before.

This was… a Daoist magic! Nine Heavens Destruction! 1

As soon as the ninth punch exploded out, the boy's face fell. His pupils constricted as he retreated at top speed. At the same time, a massive boom echoed out, so powerful that cultivators in the surrounding arena matches heard it and were shocked.

A gigantic vortex surged out as a result of the nine punches. The blood seas were completely incapable of doing anything except be sucked up by the vortex. As for Naruto, he stood next to the vortex, his expression cold as he watched the boy fleeing. Then he raised his hand and stretched it out in a grasping motion.

Star Plucking Magic!

BOOM!

Blood sprayed from the boy's mouth. An expression of astonishment covered his face as he was dragged back toward Naruto, his body completely beyond his own control. In the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of Naruto, and was close enough that he could even see the cold look in Naruto's eyes.

"You're looking to die!" howled the boy, his eyes bright red. Suddenly, his skin turned crimson, and black mist began to float up from the top of his head. Shockingly, an enormous image began to form above him.

It was a gigantic leech, covered with scales, that emanated an intense pressure. As soon as the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea saw it, their faces flickered with shock.

"Blood Leech Grand Magic!"

"That's a forbidden magic! That boy's actually using a forbidden magic!"

In the starry sky palace, the various Patriarchs were looking on with strange gleams in their eyes.

"That boy has remained undercover this entire time. Considering he cultivates a vicious magic like that, it's little wonder he could defeat Taiyang Zi!"

"However, Saint Blood Leech was exterminated years ago by the Three Great Daoist Societies. Even if some of his Divine Clones survived, they wouldn't be able to do this alone! It seems this boy must have gotten his hands on one of them. Although it's only the first form of the Blood Leech Grand Magic, Namikaze Kazama is still in grave danger."

"According to legend, the only thing that can restrain this magic is the Dao of the Blood Demon. Either that, or an incredibly powerful cultivation base."

Back in the arena, a vicious expression could be seen on the boy's face. This was his trump card, which he had intended to save for someone in the top 4. However, he was now forced into a corner, and had no other choice. His desire to kill Naruto now grew even stronger.

"Killing you won't be a waste of my grand magic," said the boy with a hideous grin. "Considering your reputation, slaying you will make me famous!" The enormous illusory Blood Leech opened its mouth, revealing countless sharp teeth as it pounced toward Naruto.

Naruto frowned slightly. This leech left him feeling as if his blood were unstable, and that it would burst out from inside of him at any moment. He snorted coldly, and rumbling filled the air as his Dharma Idol appeared behind him.

Because of the transformative powers of the black feather, the Dharma Idol now looked exactly like Namikaze Kazama. It was three hundred meters tall, and emanated boundless magical light. As soon as it appeared, it stepped forward and punched toward the enormous leech.

A boom could be heard, and the boy's face fell. Blood spurted out all over his body as he tumbled backward. The enormous illusory leech trembled, seemingly on the verge of collapsing to pieces.

"I refuse to back down! Namikaze Kazama, DIE!" The boy howled as countless rips and tears appeared all over his body. At the same time, the image of the leech shattered, transforming into innumerable fragments that shot toward the boy and fused into him. In the next moment, the boy suddenly exploded.

In that moment of explosion, the boy's flesh and blood transformed into numerous blood-colored leeches, a vast cloud of nearly a thousand. Buzzing could be heard as they shot toward Naruto. In addition to the leeches, a bloody mist spread out in all directions, making it impossible for onlookers to see what was happening clearly.

This new development caused great shock among the onlookers in the outside world. Even the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace were surprised.

"The second form!"

"I can't believe this boy has cultivated the Blood Leech Grand Magic all the way to the second form!"

Not even the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace could see what was happening inside the red mist. Were this some other location, nothing could block their divine sense. However, these were the Ruins of Immortality, so they could only watch with their eyes, not with their divine sense.

Even Ling Yunzi and the other two old men couldn't do anything but watch. Their faces flickered as they considered the danger Naruto was in.

The outside world was in tumult.

"Don't tell me Namikaze Kazama is going to perish!"

What the people on the outside couldn't see was that Naruto was standing in the middle of the bloody mist, his body glowing with red light as he stared coldly at the more than one thousand incoming Blood Leeches. The leeches were now trembling in terror.

The boy's quivering divine sense emanated out from the leeches.

"Blood… Blood Demon Grand Magic? Spare me, Fellow Daoist Fang, spare me…."

Naruto ignored him. After sweeping his own divine sense across the leeches, he exercised a bit of will, and booms could be heard as one leech after another began to explode. All of them transformed into nothing more than drifting ash.

As the bloody mist faded away, Naruto walked calmly over to the edge of the arena and sat down cross-legged.

The outside world was in an uproar.

"That boy's grand magic was actually defeated!"

"There were clearly more than a thousand leeches just a moment ago. Then that red mist covered everything over, and we couldn't see anything. How exactly did Namikaze Kazama secure victory!?"

"Junior Blood Immortal defeated Taiyang Zi, and then Namikaze Kazama defeated Junior Blood Immortal! Namikaze Kazama… is invincible!"

The outside crowds were astonished, and the Patriarchs inside the palace were frowning. They were all looking at Naruto with thoughtful expressions.

They had been unable to see what had happened inside the red mist, but they knew that the second form of the Blood Leech Grand Magic was incredibly difficult to deal with. The fact that it had been defeated so quickly was quite puzzling to them.

As everyone pondered these matters, the old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite spoke up.

"Perhaps the boy's version of the second form wasn't stable, and he accidentally self-destructed," he said slowly, his voice echoing about.

This was the only answer that made sense. After all, the second form of the Blood Leech Grand Magic was very difficult to cultivate successfully.

Back in the arena, Naruto sat there calmly. His battle with the boy just now had caused quite a bit of shock amongst the other competitors, especially the Chosen. The boy had just defeated Taiyang Zi, so the fact that Naruto had ended up killing him caused even more attention to be sent his way.

The Chosen had been quite shocked just to see the Blood Leech Grand Magic; what had played out after that left them filled with a sense of mystery.

Zhao Yifan's eyes flickered, and his desire to fight grew stronger as he looked over at Naruto. He said nothing, but the look flickering in his eyes grew even more intense.

Fan Dong'er frowned. On the one hand, she felt some mysterious and unexplainable loathing toward Naruto, but on the other hand, she had to admit that he was definitely on her level.

Li Ling'er and Sun Hai also looked over at him. Compared to Li Ling'er, Sun Hai's feelings were far more intense; to him, looking at Naruto kept causing him to think about his nightmarish experience on Planet Ninshu.

The other matches proceeded along. Now that Naruto's battle was over, there was another intense match that drew quite a bit of attention. That was the masked young man, Li Yan, who was fighting the emaciated youth from the Bones of the Flamedevil.

The youth attacked with a monstrous sea of flames, and fire burned within his eyes. As for Li Yan, the fighting had reached the point where he had finally removed his mask, revealing a scar-covered face, and eyes that brimmed with the desire to do battle. They fought with shocking attacks until Li Yan finally ran out of power. However, the Chosen from the Bones of the Flamedevil was also seriously injured.

Because of Li Yan's defeat, Naruto now had a much better idea of exactly how powerful he was.

The crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were sighing.

"What a pity. It seems Li Yan isn't strong enough to make it into the top

32\. However, this was a battle against Chen Hao from the Bones of the Flamedevil, and he's incredible. Even though Li Yan lost, he still managed to seriously injure Chen Hao."

"You can only chalk it up to bad luck. At least he can feel proud in defeat!"

"I wonder how many competitors from the trial by fire will be left in the end. Will the first place spot for the stages of the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, and Dao Seeking belong to them, or to the Chosen?!"

In the palace among the stars, the Patriarchs were watching the various battles thoughtfully, but their expressions revealed nothing about what they were thinking.

In contrast, bets were already being placed in the outside world regarding who would make it into the top 8.

Soon, this round of matches was over. The extra three people were eliminated, along with half of the other participants, leaving 32 competitors behind!

These 32 were incredibly powerful cultivators!

Naruto got the Nine Heavens Destruction in the Demon Immortal Pagoda in chapter 585. He used it a few times after that, mostly when he was in the Milky Way Sea, and once when he went to the Black Sieve

Sect after they took Hinata ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 870

Chapter 870: The Fiends Descend!

"Spend the next day in rest and recovery," said Ling Yunzi. "After that, the top 16 will be selected!" Naruto and the others among the top 32 were now getting ever closer to the top of the main trunk of the ancient Dao Tree. Currently, they began to rest and prepare for the battles to get into the top 16.

By now, the battles to select the top 32 had already begun for the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing stages. From Naruto's position up above, he could finally see Might Guy down in the Nascent Soul arena matches.

Although Might Guy was currently fighting against a Nascent Soul cultivator like himself, the level of difficulty to get into the top 32 was extreme.

Nevertheless, he was still enduring. His sword strikes had gained an additional sharpness which, combined with his gloomy demeanor, caused shock to fill the heart of his opponent.

Might Guy had long since drawn the notice of quite a few sects. His sword contained a Domain, even though he himself was only in the Nascent Soul stage. Someone like that was certain to make stunning accomplishments in the future.

One of the Three Churches and Six Sects, the Solitary Sword Pavilion, which was somewhat related to the Solitary Sword Sect, was especially interested in Might Guy. They were actually the first to take note of him.

The day passed by quickly, and in the end, Might Guy made it into the top 32.

As for Naruto, he began to fight for his spot in the top 16!

As the battle began, glittering light spread out, and they moved closer to the top of the tree. Naruto's opponent was another Chosen!

It was the young woman from the Five Colors Sect, who wore robes that were a mixture of five colors. Naruto had been paying attention to her in previous battles, and knew that she had astonishing skill in five elements magic.

This young woman was much more cautious than Naruto; once she saw who her opponent was, her heart began to thump. Of the handful of people she truly feared in the arena matches, Naruto was one of them.

After she and Naruto clasped hands to each other, the young woman took the initiative, performing a double-handed incantation, immediately unleashing metal, wood, water, fire and earth, all five elements. They materialized into a massive sea, a huge battleship, a blazing sun, and an enormous clay golem that wielded a golden greatsword, all of which shot toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes gleamed with the light of anticipation. Body flickering, he waved his hand, causing a Violet Sea to descend, which was his water totem. Then the Golden Crow appeared, his metal totem. After that were his wood, fire, and earth totems. Shockingly, five elements fought against five elements.

The clash caused wild colors to flash about, and rumbling to fill the air.

The audiences in the outside world were looking on with rapt attention.

In the arena, Naruto and the young woman fought back and forth in midair. Metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, the five elements, were unleashed amidst rumbling booms. In a short time, they had exchanged several dozen attacks, but throughout it all Naruto never went all out. Rather, he merely relied on the five elements as the avenue of attack while facing off against the woman.

He was using this fight to strengthen his five elements magic.

Considering that the young woman was even more skilled than Naruto in the use of the five elements, this match gave those watching it the feeling that it was two disciples from the Five Colors Sect who were fighting.

In fact, the disciples from that very sect were somewhat confused, and watched in shock as the battle unfolded.

" Namikaze Mu actually excels in five elements magic as well!"

"This is unbelievable! Although many people can use five elements magic to some degree, no one can compare to the Five Colors Sect. And yet, Namikaze Kazama is actually evenly matched with Han Mei!"

There were sixteen arenas with thirty-two people fighting in them; no one had secured victory as of yet. It was at this point that a black wind rose up within the Ruins of Immortality. Not even the enormous corpse beneath the ancient Dao Tree could do anything to prevent its arrival. It swept out, appearing directly above the huge tree. Inside of the black wind, a pair of white eyes could be seen, which stared down at the crowds of people fighting down below.

The instant the black wind appeared, the faces of Ling Yunzi and the other two old men flickered. It wasn't just them; the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were also shocked.

Most nervous of all were the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace. They all rose to their feet, even the old men from the Three Great Daoist Societies, their eyes widening in response to the sudden appearance of the black wind.

"The ancient Dao Tree was personally planted by the Paragons, and contains a bit of the Paragons' will," said the Patriarch from the Nine Seas God World. "They will be safe as long as they stay on the tree."

By now, all of the fighters on the Dao Tree had seen the Black Wind, and their faces flickered. Ling Yunzi and the other two old men took deep breaths, and then Ling Yunzi's voice rang out.

"You must not leave the leaves of the tree! As long as you remain on the leaves you will be in no danger!"

Almost in the same instant that Ling Yunzi's words could be heard, a scream rang out from off in the distance, a sound so piercing it seemed capable of shredding iron or rock. It echoed about, and to the people on the tree it merely gave them a twinge of pain in their ears, inflicting not even a minor hindrance to them. However, Ling Yunzi and the other two old men coughed up blood and, faces falling, quickly retreated as close as possible to the tree.

In that same moment, an enormous eyeball began to descend from up above. It was thoroughly bloodshot, and as it neared, the veins of blood within the eye began to extend themselves and whip around. Suddenly, a shrill voice echoed out.

"Who! Who plucked out my right eye!?

"My right eye! Get back here, come back…."

As the sound echoed about, the crowds on the Dao Tree coughed up blood. Thankfully, a bright glow spread out from the Dao Tree, ensuring that there were no deaths, only injuries.

The black wind and the eye merely milled about outside the Dao Tree, apparently in dread of it. However, after a moment, the black wind seemed to lose patience. A shrill shriek could be heard as an enormous, decomposing roc flew out from inside. It was shockingly large, and as it flew out, its sharp talons slashed out toward the Dao Tree.

Before it could get very close, brilliant light spread out from the Dao Tree, causing the roc to let out a miserable shriek and fall back. However, it did not leave. Instead, it continued to loiter outside of the Dao Tree, its eyes radiating an intense aura of death and savagery.

Considering that was all that happened, Naruto, although shocked, didn't pay very close attention to the matter. However, just when he was about to resume fighting with the young woman, another figure approached from off in the distance.

It was a man with half a head, his body surrounded by swirling black mist. He held a banner in his hand, and a sword had been plunged into his side. The grievous wound that had taken off half of his head did not appear to have been inflicted while alive, but rather as if some creature had bitten it off after he was already dead. Instead, the fatal blow that killed him was apparently delivered by the sword that was still stuck into his side.

He approached slowly, his one remaining eye sweeping over the crowds until it finally came to rest on Naruto. Then, he began to head directly toward him.

When Ling Yunzi and the others saw the man, their faces fell. Naruto's eyes flickered.

It was at this moment that the young woman from the Five Colors Sect suddenly performed an incantation gesture and attacked. Her five elements magic caused five-colored light to blaze up, transforming into a five-colored sealing mark that rotated rapidly as it shot through the air toward Naruto.

Naruto frowned. He was no longer interested in fighting, so he punched out with his right hand, simultaneously causing his Dharma Idol to appear. Intense energy surged out, and a boom could be heard as the five-colored sealing mark shattered. The young woman's face fell, and blood spurted from her mouth.

It was in this moment that the half-headed man waved his right hand, causing the banner in his hand to unfurl. A black mist appeared, which transformed into a huge vortex. At the same time, he pointed toward Naruto.

"Come… come… come…." His voice was archaic, as if it had originated in ancient times. As the voice echoed out, an enormous gravitational force exploded out and enveloped the tree leaf Naruto was on. Naruto's face flickered, and he immediately dropped to the surface of the leaf. However, the face of the young woman from the Five Colors Sect fell as she was involuntarily swept up into the air. In the blink of an eye, she appeared to be on the verge of… flying completely away from the leaf.

Everyone looked on as it happened, but none of them were able to do anything to come to her aid. Ling Yunzi and the others stared with wide eyes, but could do nothing to help.

The crowds watching in the Ninth Mountain and Sea observed the scene with wide eyes, and many gasps could be heard.

In the starry sky palace, the Matriarch from the Five Colors Sect watched with an expression of unprecedented anxiety. The young woman participating in the arena matches was not a Chosen of the sect, but one of her direct bloodline descendants.

"Save me!" the girl cried in shrill alarm. She was now flying through the air toward the edge of the leaf, and was just about to be sucked outside. She could see the terrifying roc inside the black wind nearby, opening its decomposing mouth. She could also see the eyeball, with the countless veins stretching out from it.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he suddenly extended his hand toward the girl and made a grabbing motion. The Star Plucking Magic was unleashed as he grabbed onto her and began to pull her back. However, the suction force was too strong, and all Naruto could do was slow her down a bit.

"Hurry up and concede!" he growled.

The young woman suddenly seemed to come to her senses, and urgently cried out, "I concede!"

As soon as the two words left her mouth, and just as she was about to be sucked outside, glittering light surrounded her and she vanished. When she reappeared, she was back down on the first layer of leaves, badly shaken and her face ashen. She looked up toward Naruto with an expression of deep gratitude.

Naruto heaved a sigh of relief, then sat down cross-legged, looking out coldly at the half-headed man outside of the Dao Tree.

Everyone else who had been watching also sighed in relief. Ling Yunzi looked over at Naruto with even more admiration than before. Even he hadn't thought of using the words 'I concede' to get out of danger.

Everyone out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely surprised by everything that had happened. They were especially shocked by how quickly Naruto had reacted. To them, it was evidence of incredible quick thinking and resourcefulness.

"That's right! All she had to do was concede, and then she was teleported out. It took a moment, but that was definitely the simplest method. How come I didn't think of that!?"

"This Namikaze Kazama is extremely quick-witted to come up with a plan like that in such a situation!"

Up in the palace in the sky, the Matriarch from the Five Colors Sect took a deep breath and then glanced at Naruto on the vortex screen. Her expression was one of gratitude; she was not the type of person who liked to owe favors to others, so this was a kindness she would be sure to repay in the future.

"The arena matches will now continue," said Ling Yunzi from his position beneath the Dao Tree. "All of you must remember to never step foot outside of the arena. If any situation arises similar to what has just occurred, it would be much better to concede than to die." Ling Yunzi sighed. Although he was aware of why the Three Great Daoist Societies had chosen this place to hold the arena matches, the dangers of the area made it such that those in the Spirit Realm really should not be here.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 871

Chapter 871: Invincible Power!

The arena matches continued as the top 32 continued to fight. The dangers of the outside world had now become a sort of a tempering and assessment of their own.

Because the young woman from the Five Colors Sect conceded, Naruto was the first to complete this round, and he sat there cross-legged in the arena, looking at the half-headed man outside. The man looked back at him.

Although there was a vast gap of empty space between them, as they looked at each other, Naruto could sense the feeling of a summons rising up within him.

"If I get the chance, I WILL take back that sword!" Naruto's eyes flickered. Although the sword might not seem special to anyone else, to Naruto, it had the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex!

Each of the eight Demon Sealing Hexes were strange and mysterious. Both the Body Hexing and Karmic Hexing gave him superiority in flexibility when it came to fighting, and basically prevented anyone from guarding against his attacks.

After four hours passed, the various arena matches wound to a conclusion. The top 16 were now set. From over a thousand cultivators, successive victories had led these people into the top 16. Each and every one could be considered a peak expert of the Spirit Realm.

Experts like this could crush false Immortals, and could even compare to some extent to true Immortals. In fact, most of them would assuredly employ an Immortality Illumination Vine in the near future, after which it wouldn't be long before they became true Immortals.

Their path to Immortality would be a smooth one, and given their accumulated resources, it would only be a few short years before they were at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

This sequence of events happened once every ten thousand years; since every true Immortal could cultivate at a speed that far exceeded a false Immortal, true Immortals always rose to prominence and became famous in all the Mountains and Seas.

Were it not for the incredible prizes being offered up during the arena matches, the various sects would not have sent their Chosen here, but would have kept them in secluded meditation to prepare for true Immortality.

Actually, one of the reasons even more Chosen hadn't joined the arena matches was that most of them were still in secluded meditation. Once they emerged, as long as they didn't fail in the process, they would be true Immortals.

Naruto took a deep breath, rose to his feet and looked around at the top 16 competitors in the arena matches.

Zhao Yifan was among them, as was Fan Dong'er. Sun Hai, surprisingly, was there too, as well as some of the other Chosen who Naruto had previously taken note of. As far as competitors from the trial by fire, Li

Yan had been defeated, as had the young man with the mosquitoes and Junior Blood Immortal. Other than Naruto, the only remaining competitor from the trial by fire was the garrulous old man.

Top 16!

"Rest and recuperate for one day, and then the battle for the top 8 will begin!"

The next day, the battle for the top 8 began!

On the main trunk of the Dao Tree, at the very top, there was a single golden leaf. Beneath that were two silver leaves, further down were four bronze leaves, and beneath that were eight light green leaves.

The battles for the top 8 would be fought on those eight light green leaves!

Eight battles, fought simultaneously. All of the crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were paying rapt attention.

"The top 8 will be selected from these sixteen people! Each one is a top expert of the Dao Seeking stage. This round is definitely going to be spectacular!"

"I wonder who exactly is going to win! Who's going to be eliminated!?

Even the top 16 experts have no way of knowing!"

"The thing I'm most curious about is whether that Namikaze Kazama will be able to enter the top 8!"

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs were also paying close attention.

By this point, many people had already forgotten about the main reason why the arena matches of the trial by fire were being held to begin with. Whoever took first place would have a chance to be taken in by the

Three Great Daoist Sects as a disciple. The three Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies did nothing to remind anyone of this.

It was almost as if the taking of disciples wasn't very important at all.

Light glittered in front of Naruto and next, he was standing on a light green leaf. In front of him, a thin, emaciated figure appeared.

Although he was skinny, amorphous flames spread out around him as he walked forward. They were invisible, but Naruto could feel them, as if what was walking toward him was not a cultivator, but a flame Devil!

Within his eyes, flames could be seen flickering. He wore a long black robe, and his hair floated around him. He stood there, his energy surging, growing more and more powerful. In the blink of an eye, the air around him began to ripple and distort.

This was the Chosen from the Bones of the Flamedevil, one of the Five Holy Lands… Chen Hao!

Back in the ten stages of the trial by fire, the masked Li Yan had repeatedly performed just behind Naruto. He had been defeated by Chen Hao, although he had ended up seriously wounding Chen Hao in the process.

Naruto looked at him calmly, and Chen Hao looked back at him.

Neither of them spoke. The flames in Chen Hao's eyes burned bright, and the air around him distorted as the invisible flames burned. The flames seemed capable of scorching anything and everything as they shot toward Naruto.

No observer could see the fire, but by using divine sense, Naruto was able to sense them clearly. What he saw was an illusory body of flames rushing toward him.

"This is not the fire of the five elements!" Naruto thought, his eyes glittering. The fire of the five elements was a natural law of Heaven and Earth. In fact, the fire wielded by the young woman from the Five Colors

Sect had contained that natural law. However, the flames unleashed by Chen Hao from the Bones of the Flamedevil had no natural law, but instead, a strange will!

After examining it closely for a moment, he realized that it seemed to be bound by some sort of summoning contract, as if… some all-powerful being had bestowed the power of the flames. It was as if this flame was actually a type of life force flame.

Naruto's expression was normal as he clenched his right hand into a fist. As soon as he punched out, a vortex appeared, which sent ripples spreading out. Explosive rumbling could be heard as it slammed into the flames, and was then completely submerged by them.

"Eee?" said Naruto, falling back for the first time. Chen Hao's eyes overflowed with the desire to fight, and as Naruto retreated, he advanced, performing an incantation gesture that caused more roaring flames to appear around him. Shockingly, they transformed into the shape of an enormous mouth that bit toward Naruto.

The sight of Naruto retreating caused quite a stir in the outside world. This was the first time they had ever seen him back up in a fight.

However, as the flame mouth closed in on him, Naruto stopped in place and set his jaw. A look of anticipation gleamed in his eyes as he performed an incantation gesture. Then, he punched out repeatedly, using the Nine Heavens Destruction once again.

Booms rattled out in all directions as Naruto then transformed into a vulture that shot toward Chen Hao like black lightning. Chen Hao's face fell, and he performed an incantation gesture. Immediately, a set of flaming armor appeared around him. He reached out with his right hand in a grasping motion, causing an enormous flame spear to materialize. His hands closed around it, and he stabbed it toward the incoming Naruto.

The scream of the spear was ear-splitting, and countless erupting volcanos appeared around it as it shot toward Naruto in shocking fashion.

Naruto snorted coldly as mountains of his own appeared and linked together into an equally shocking mountain range, although it appeared as a huge river to onlookers. It slammed into the volcanoes, causing a huge boom to rise into the air. It was at this point that Naruto's shocking Dharma Idol appeared behind him.

In that instant, Chen Hao tilted his back and roared. His own incredible

Dharma Idol appeared, a corpse which was covered in scales and emanated black flames. It immediately began to contend with Naruto's Dharma Idol.

When the Dharma Idols collided, Naruto employed the Star Plucking Magic. An incredible force that Chen Hao could not resist suddenly grabbed him, causing a sense of crisis to well up inside of him. Letting out a bellow of rage, Chen Hao caused his suit of flame armor to detonate, using the force of the mighty explosion to fight against Naruto's Star Plucking Magic.

Chen Hao's face was ashen, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. As of this point, he knew that he wasn't a match for Naruto, and yet he chose to continue fighting anyway.

However, in the instant that his flame armor exploded, Naruto's eyes began to shine with an intense desire to do battle. He strode forward; even the roaring flames could do nothing to prevent his charge. As he passed through the sea of flames, he let out a huge roar.

The roar caused the entire leaf to tremble, and even passed outside of the Dao Tree itself. At the same time, his roar caused an enormous wind to spring up, slashing into the sea of flames and cutting a path through them directly to Chen Hao.

Chen Hao's face fell as he realized how powerful this Namikaze Kazama was. It was only at this decisive moment of the battle that he realized that his opponent was completely terrifying. Magical techniques and divine abilities were secondary; the critical factor was his incredible energy.

"He has an aura of invincibility about him!" thought Chen Hao, madness glowing in his eyes. He bit his tongue and spit out some blood, which then transformed into lava, and then exploded into meteors that streaked through the air toward Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly, then pointed out with his right finger as he unleashed the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex onto the sea of flames and the shooting stars. No outsider would be able to tell what was happening, but Chen Hao's face instantly fell as his cultivation base lurched to a standstill.

The cost of that standstill was…

Naruto closed in, causing all of the shooting stars and the entire sea of flames to be sent spinning away. As Naruto bore down on Chen Hao, he punched out. A boom rang out as blood sprayed from Chen Hao's mouth. It only took a moment for him to recover, after which a fierce flame appeared in his eyes. Taking advantage of his backward motion, he spun his right leg around rapidly toward Naruto's head.

At the same time, a look of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Flamedevil Transformation!" he cried out

This battle was the complete focus of all eyes out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. As of now, they were beginning to see how invincible Naruto's power was. As for Chen Hao, he also possessed similar power. As they battled, neither of them spent any time on defense, but instead, consistently attacked!

Naruto did nothing to evade Chen Hao's spinning back kick. He lifted his left hand and grabbed down hard onto Chen Hao's leg, sending a massive power of vibration into it. Rumbling could be heard, and Chen Hao coughed up some blood. However, by this time his entire body was turning red!

This red was not the red of blood, but rather, the red of flames!

It was as if all the blood in his body had turned into lava. Flames burst out all around him, engulfing him entirely. His skin didn't seem capable of bearing the flames, and began to split apart all over. Soon, the rips and tears covered him completely.

However, his energy exploded up, and despite the fact that Naruto was holding onto his leg tightly, he let out a bellow and caused flames to surge toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression was calm as he released his hand, then kicked out viciously with his foot. A boom could be heard as Chen Hao was sent flying several dozen meters back.

"Body transformation magic, huh?" said Naruto coolly. "Well, I'll just have to beat you back into your original state." He suddenly transformed into the vulture, which shot forward at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, it appeared in front of Chen Hao and slashed at him with its claws. Then Naruto returned to human form and punched out with a fist.

BOOOMMMM! After changing forms, Chen Hao thought that he would be even more powerful, capable of fighting Naruto. However, he never imagined that a few punches from Naruto would slam into him like wild tempests. The speed and power were incredible, and he was incapable of standing up to it. Just when he was about to try to resist, Naruto's divine sense transformed into an incredible crushing power that slammed down onto him.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 872

Chapter 872: She Appears!

Naruto advanced as if he were crushing rotten twigs. Chen Hao fell back continuously. In the blink of an eye, dozens of lightning-like exchanges occurred between the two of them. Chen Hao constantly coughed up blood, and his energy was rapidly depleting. In the end, he slammed down onto the surface of the arena. The flames covering his body were extinguished, and blood spurted out all over. After struggling to his feet, he found a long spear leveled against his throat.

It was none other than the spear Naruto had acquired in the Warrior Pavilion, with the shaft made from part of the World Tree, and a sharp bone spearhead. Thanks to the power of the black feather, however, it looked completely different, and was something no one would ever recognize.

Chen Hao shivered as he sensed the murderous aura coming from the spearhead, which left his entire body feeling ice cold. Then there was Naruto, whose eyes had remained intensely cold from the beginning of their battle until this moment. He seemed to be waiting for Chen Hao to say something, and if Chen Hao didn't say it… then the spear would immediately stab completely through his throat.

Naruto didn't say anything. He just looked calmly at Chen Hao.

Out in the world of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, cultivators watched the match with thumping hearts. They had never heard of Namikaze Kazama before, but now, he astonished them in battle after battle, proving that he was more powerful than any opponent could imagine!

"He can definitely take first place!"

"Heavens, he took first place in the trial by fire already. If he also takes first place in the arena matches, then he… he…."

"This is matchlessly breathtaking! Throughout all the years, there has never been another person like this!"

"Just who is he? There's no way a person like him could be an obscure nobody!"

While the audiences were in an uproar, the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch floated in the starry sky. His eyes glittered brightly, and Immortal qi swirled around him for a long moment before he retracted it. The desire to fight burned strongly in his eyes.

"Naruto…."

Near Planet East Victory, Patriarch Reliance switched back and forth between smiling broadly and gnashing his teeth. He definitely had very complex feelings regarding Naruto.

Everyone was watching as Chen Hao lay silently in the arena. He took a deep, painful breath and looked up at Naruto.

"How much of your cultivation base did you use?" he asked suddenly.

"Is that really important?" Naruto replied coolly.

"It is to me!" said Chen Hao firmly.

"Well, not to me." Naruto shook his head, staring at Chen Hao coldly and with a bit of impatience.

Chen Hao's trembling heart filled with coldness. Then he suddenly recalled standing in the outside world, watching some of Namikaze Kazama's bizarre actions. Immediately, he pulled a bag of holding out from within his robe.

"There are over 3,000,000 spirit stones here. I didn't bring many with me today, but you can have them if you just answer my question."

Moments before, Naruto's expression had been ice cold, as emotionless as a cold-blooded killer. Now, however, his eyes narrowed, and a slight smile could be seen on his face. It happened so quickly that Chen Hao stared in shock.

Naruto quickly grabbed the bag of holding and scanned it with his spiritual sense. Finally, his face beamed with joy.

"Elder Brother Chen, there's really no need for this," he said, licking his lips. "It's just a question, right? What's the point in pulling out so many spirit stones? Alright, alright. If I refused them, that would be an insult to you. In that case, I guess I'll just have to suck it up and take them." His current expression was indeed vastly different than what it had been before. Chen Hao stared in disbelief at how different Naruto was now, and how quickly he had changed. It seemed unbelievable how completely natural the change had come to him.

"Taking money to resolve others' issues… Elder Brother Chen… just now I was using…

"Seventy percent full power!" These last four words were transmitted directly into Chen Hao's mind. Of course, as to how much he actually used, naturally, that was something he would never reveal.

Chen Hao rose to his feet, taciturn. He didn't want to believe Naruto, but the answer mostly lined up with his own judgement and perception. Giving Naruto a long, penetrating look, he finally uttered the words 'I concede.'

Immediately, he faded away and reappeared on the first level of leaves.

Naruto was feeling very pleased. He had never imagined that he would be able to earn some spirit stones in the middle of fighting. Suddenly, he looked up in thought, and then an annoyed expression appeared on his face.

"How could I have forgotten about making money? If I'd thought of doing this earlier, I probably could have made a small fortune in the past few matches."

As the battles to decide the top 8 continued, Naruto sat down crosslegged. After glancing around at the other battles going on around him, he looked down toward the Nascent Soul arena matches, and Might Guy.

The Nascent Soul arena matches were also in the middle of determining their top 8. Might Guy was soaked in blood as he fought a young woman. A look of annoyance could be seen on her face as they fought back and forth. Up to this point in the battle, the gloomy will cast out by Might Guy's attacks had kept the woman feeling quite suppressed.

However, this young woman was not one of the trial by fire competitors. She was a Nascent Soul Chosen from the Solitary Sword Pavilion, and was definitely powerful enough to make it into the top 4. She and Might Guy were currently fighting back and forth.

Naruto watched the battle silently. Based on the level of his cultivation base, he was able to tell that Might Guy had reached the end of the line in this battle.

Moments later, Might Guy lost, and was unable to enter the top 8. He clasped hands silently to the young woman as his body faded away, and he reappeared down below.

Naruto sighed. He had sensed the deep bitterness within Might Guy on previous occasions, but it wasn't until Hinata finally departed that he came to understand why Might Guy had fallen so low.

Time passed, and rumbling booms echoed out. Gradually, victory and defeat were determined in multiple arenas. However, it was at this time that, all of a sudden, numerous figures began to appear outside of the Dao Tree. They hovered there, faces blank as they stared at the arena matches on the Dao Tree.

Each and every one of these figures emanated auras that would cause anyone to tremble. Ling Yunzi and the other two old men immediately started to get nervous.

By the time the battles to select the top 8 had concluded, there were numerous terrifying figures outside of the Dao Tree. One of them had the upper body of a cultivator and the tail of a snake. The creature materialized in midair, then looked coldly over at the Dao Tree, her eyes flickering with a bloodthirsty gleam.

There was another shocking thing that attracted all eyes. It was not a living creature, but rather, an enormous battle-ax. The head of the ax was carved with mountains and rivers, and appeared to be flecked with rust. The battle-ax made no sound as it materialized, but after it appeared, most of the other entities near it immediately moved away.

This battle-ax sent the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea into an uproar. However, there were actually few people who knew what the battle-ax represented, other than… the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace.

The three Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies all rose to their feet. Their expressions were deeply solemn, and within their eyes could be seen gleams of hope and excitement.

The Patriarchs from the other clans also had serious expressions as they stood up. One of the main reasons they had agreed to hold the arena matches in the Ruins of Immortality was because of the plan that had been laid out before them earlier by the Three Great Daoist Societies.

If that plan succeeded, then all of the sects would benefit.

"So… will SHE appear…?" asked the old man from the Kunlun Society. When he spoke the word 'she,' his voice quavered a bit.

"Perhaps, perhaps not," said the Patriarch from the Sublime Flow Sword

Grotto. "Either way, we have a chance."

Back in the location of the Dao Seeking arena matches, the top 8 had been selected. They stood on their eight respective green leaves, the center of all attention.

Those eight cultivators included Naruto, the garrulous old man, Zhao Yifan, Fan Dong'er, and Li Ling'er. In addition to those five, there was the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, who fought using corpses and coffins.

The seventh person was the tall, muscular man from the Kunlun Society who attacked with descending mountains. He was the one who had defeated Sun Hai.

The last person was the youth from the Burning Incense Stick Society. He had a third eye on his forehead, and throughout all the matches, had only ever attacked anyone once. All the other times, he merely transmitted some words, whereupon his opponents would prostrate themselves on the ground and look at him with fanatical piety.

Of these eight people, six were Chosen, and two were competitors from the trial by fire. They were now the focus of all attention from the outside world.

Countless eyes looked on with anticipation, waiting to find out which of the eight would make it into the semifinals, and after that, the final battle!

"The semifinal qualification matches will be different than the previous matches," said Ling Yunzi, his voice echoing out in all directions.

"Victory will no longer be determined by a single battle. Each and every one of you must fight at least four battles!

"First, we will determine who are the top 4 and the bottom 4. The winners of the first fight will become the top 4, the losers will be the bottom 4.

"Then, each of the top 4 will fight the remaining three competitors who they did not fight previously. In the end, the four people who end up with the most victories will become the final 4!

"The outcome of any tie will be determined by a tie-breaking match.

"You will have three days to rest and recuperate. After that, the semifinal qualification matches will begin!" This method of determining the final 4 would prevent anyone from winning out through sheer luck. Furthermore, the final 4 would well and truly deserve to be called the most powerful!

The Three Great Daoist Societies had decided on this method, and none of the other sects had disagreed.

Time passed. Naruto sat there cross-legged, feeling quite confident. However, the other seven people in the competition were all powerful experts, especially Zhao Yifan and the others. Naruto had already tangled with them on Planet Ninshu, and was very curious as to how the coming matches would turn out.

Even more curious were the audiences out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Many bets had already been placed on the final outcomes.

"Zhao Yifan will definitely make it to the semifinals!"

"Fan Dong'er will most likely make it as well!"

"I wonder if Namikaze Kazama will be able to continue his legendary run!"

Three days later, just when Ling Yunzi's echoing voice was announcing the beginning of the semifinals qualification matches, and all eyes in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were focused on the vortex screens in anticipation….

Suddenly, music could be heard drifting toward the Dao Tree from off in the distance. The music drifted slowly about, echoing in the ears, penetrating the mind. Everyone who heard it suddenly felt sorrow in their hearts, which immediately influenced their emotions.

It was a sad song, filled with longing, as if it were recalling the past, and an old friend.

As the music echoed about, a woman approached from off in the distance. She wore a snow-white gown, and was stunningly beautiful. She approached slowly and came to a stop above the Dao Tree. Her face was ice cold, seemingly devoid of any emotion whatsoever.

Her sudden appearance on the scene caused everyone to stare in shock. She was as different from the other beings in the Ruins of Immortality as black is from white. Immediately, the black wind shuddered, and the huge roc let out a miserable shriek; they both fled in terror at top speed.

Apparently, that roc had been killed by the woman in the past!

As for the blood-colored eye, it shrank back, trembling, and then fled. The other almighty figures all dropped to their knees and then… kowtowed to the woman!

As for the naga cultivator, she let out a shriek of astonishment and then fled, terrified.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 873

Chapter 873: She's a Paragon!

The battle-ax emitted a droning sound as it approached the white-robed woman, and began to circulate around her. She looked at it, and slowly, an expression of reminiscence and sorrow appeared on her face.

Everyone on the ancient Dao Tree felt their hearts thumping as they stared blankly at the woman.

Ling Yunzi and the other two old men were also trembling, and their faces were pale white. They said absolutely nothing.

Naruto's eyes widened as well. However, what was most concerning to him was not the woman and her appearance on the scene, but the fact that the half-headed man who had been following him, and was now hovering near the arenas, did not flee or bow like the other beings. He quivered a bit, but by force of will remained hovering there just as before.

When Naruto saw this, his heart began to pound.

It was at this point that the Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies urgently stepped forward toward the vortex. Their expressions were that of shock, and they seemed to be thinking a variety of thoughts. Moments later, though, they began to tremble with wild joy.

All of the other Patriarchs were staring at the woman, dumbstruck.

"It's actually… HER!"

"She looks exactly like the image recorded in the sect's records!"

"When the Three Great Daoist Societies told us about their plan, I thought it was crazy…. That woman… how could she be alive after all this time!?"

The Patriarchs from all the sects were now on their feet, staring at the white-robed woman in the vortex screen in disbelief.

"She's the Paragon from the legends…." murmured the old man from the Kunlun Society.

Similar words echoed about in the minds of all of the other Patriarchs in the starry sky palace, and waves of audible gasps arose from the crowd there.

Meanwhile, at the very peak of the Ninth Mountain, was a statue of a cross-legged man, sitting atop a boulder. The statue seemed devoid of any life force whatsoever, and yet, in this instant, cracks spread out across the surface of the statue. At the same time, the stars in the sky above the Ninth Mountain went dim, with the exception of one, which shone brilliantly, almost as if it were a solitary eye.

It seemed expressionless and ancient, as if it could lord it over all the entire starry sky and everything in it. It looked at the nearby vortex screen and saw the woman floating there, and the eye… trembled.

"Paragon…." murmured an ancient voice.

Back by the arenas, the white-robed woman hovered there in midair, looking at the Dao Tree. All of the cultivators on the tree got the feeling that she was examining them personally.

Ling Yunzi was panting, as were the two old men next to him. After a long moment passed, he clenched his teeth violently and then, face ashen, said, "Cultivators of the Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, and Dao Seeking stages in the arena matches, let the qualifying round for the semifinals begin!

"Unleash your most powerful divine abilities. Let loose your most powerful Daos. All of you… are fighting in arena matches. However, this is also… a chance for perhaps the greatest good fortune of your entire lives!

"Whether or not you can seize this opportunity is up to your own destiny!" Ling Yunzi wasn't able to reveal any further information. What he had already said pushed the limits of the boundaries.

His words caused the hearts of all the cultivators in the arenas to tremble. Naruto was especially interested in the white-robed woman.

He got a very strange sensation when he looked at her. He could see her with his physical eyes, but when he tried to look at her with divine sense, it was as if she wasn't even there.

It was at this point that glittering light surrounded all of the cultivators, and they appeared on the green layer of leaves. In the blink of an eye, everyone was facing an opponent.

Naruto's opponent was none other than… Li Ling'er!

Zhao Yifan was facing the hulking man from the Kunlun Society. As for the other matches, the garrulous old man was up against the smiling youth from the Burning Incense Stick Society.

The last match was between Fan Dong'er and the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum.

The match to decide the top 4 and the bottom 4 was now beginning!

As Li Ling'er and Naruto faced off against each other, the willow leaf mark on Li Ling'er's forehead suddenly began to shine brightly, and an incredible aura exploded out from her.

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto's face, and he cleared his throat. Without even thinking about it, he glanced toward her rear end.

"How shameless!" she said with a cold frown. She raised her right hand, instantly causing an ancient, archaic tree to appear behind her. Shockingly, as soon as it materialized, it seemed to form a resonance with the ancient Dao Tree, and brilliant light rose up to surround Li Ling'er, causing her energy to surge.

She waved her hand, causing the ancient tree's branches to whip through the air, weaving together almost like vines as they snaked toward Naruto at incredible speed.

This was not the first time Naruto had gone up against Li Ling'er. Back in the Southern Domain, he had defeated her and taken her captive. However, his victory had come as the result of a bit of trickery; he had used the teleportation power of the Lightning Cauldron to quickly defeat her.

It was not possible to use the Lightning Cauldron in the arena matches, lest he reveal his identity.

However, Naruto was also different than he had been during their initial encounter. Now he had an Immortal meridian that was eighty percent solidified, and his true Immortal powers made him vastly, vastly more powerful than before.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he observed the incoming vines. Then, he kicked out, his energy surging with the power of true Immortality. Behind him, his Dharma Idol appeared, disguised with the transformative powers of the black feather. The gigantic Dharma Idol brandished its fists and then punched out, causing boundless light to appear that transformed into a Dharma Sea, which then shot toward the incoming vines.

A huge boom could be heard, and massive ripples spread out. Naruto didn't back up even an inch, but instead headed directly toward Li Ling'er. Last time, he had relied on his aura of invincibility to capture her. Now, his true fighting style could be unleashed. As he closed in, he transformed into a vulture, which slashed its claws toward Li Ling'er with lightning speed.

Li Ling'er's face flickered, and she performed a double-handed incantation gesture. A magical bottle appeared, which she then tossed out ahead of her.

"Shatter!" said Naruto. His vulture-form slashed viciously at the bottle, and at the same time, he secretly unleashed the claw magic that he had learned from the wall of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. 1

A boom rang out as the bottle exploded. In their last encounter, Naruto had been forced to use the Blood Demon Grand Magic to deal with the magical bottle, but this time, all it took was a single strike on his part. 2

It was just a simple magical technique, but Naruto could clearly sense how much more powerful it was now.

Li Ling'er's face fell, and she began to pant. She anxiously fell into retreat, and yet, no matter how fast she moved, Naruto always kept up, bearing down on her as the vicious vulture. He slashed at her again, causing the air to vibrate, as a will of invincibility exploded out.

BOOOOMMM!

Li Ling'er was defeated in exchange after exchange. No matter how she attacked, no matter what divine abilities or magical techniques she employed, regardless of the various magical items she used, they were all useless. Naruto bashed her over and over again like a buffeting windstorm, as easily as he would step on a dried weed.

After only the space of a few breaths, the two had exchanged dozens of blows. Blood sprayed from Li Ling'er's mouth, and a look of shock could be seen on her face. This match immediately caused her to recall Naruto from Planet Ninshu. He was equally swift and fierce, equally invincible, equally impossible to rattle.

Were it not for the fact that she got the feeling that this Namikaze Kazama far exceeded Naruto, she would definitely have assumed that they were one and the same person!

"They can't be the same," she thought. "Naruto might have possessed a will of invincibility, but his energy was not incredible like this. Namikaze Kazama… has intense energy, far more than that damned Naruto!" She fell back again, gritted her teeth, and performed another incantation gesture, causing her enormous tree to suddenly begin to vibrate.

"World Tree, detonate. Rebuke the Heavens with your spirit. Transform for me! Stifle all the earth!"

Li Ling'er's voice echoed with an ancient cadence, and immediately caused the air between her and Naruto to echo with deep rumbling.

Thump!

The sound caused everything to shake. The surface of the arena trembled, and Naruto's face flickered. Li Ling'er had used this exact same divine ability the last time they had fought, and it was as astonishing as it had been before; the pressure exerted by the image of the World Tree was intense.

Last time, if he hadn't possessed the sunstone, he would never have been able to win the battle. After all, Li Ling'er possessed fifty percent of the might of a true Immortal.

Thump!

Thump!

THUMP!

The successive rumbling sounds seemed to strike at Naruto's heart. The air around him distorted, and wild colors flashed. Everything was shaking as the tree behind Li Ling'er suddenly collapsed. Its leaves fell, and its branches withered until all that was left of the tree was a single log!

It was… the World Tree!

As it fell towards the ground, it emitted a droning sound and passed through Li Ling'er to shoot toward Naruto. She performed a double handed incantation, causing her hair to whip around her head, and more power to pour into the attack.

At the same time, a pearl appeared above her head. It began to rotate rapidly, which would apparently sustain her cultivation base, preventing it from being drained by the tree.

"That's nothing but an illusory World Tree!" said Naruto, his eyes glittering. His cultivation base far exceeded its previous level. He extended his right hand, and the World Tree spear appeared with its bone spearhead. Naruto hefted it and then flung it toward the incoming illusory World Tree.

From the perspective of the spectators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, a green sun suddenly appeared between Naruto and Li Ling'er as the World Tree and the long spear slammed into each other.

In the blink of an eye, a monstrous roaring sound filled the air as the illusory World Tree trembled and, incapable of standing up to the long spear, collapsed into pieces and then violently exploded.

The spear sliced through the illusory tree like a sharp knife through a piece of bamboo, emerging from the shattered remnants to bear down on Li Ling'er with incredible speed.

In that critical moment, the pearl floating above Li Ling'er's head shattered, causing a gentle force to flow out and then shove her off to the side. The long spear whistled through the air, kicking up a powerful wind that instantly sent Li Ling'er's hair into complete and utter disarray. Naruto appeared off to Li Ling'er's side, grasping the long spear and glancing down at her curvaceous rear end.

At the same time, Li Ling'er, who had just avoided the attack, looked over with eyes that flickered with killing intent. In the same moment that she passed Naruto, she raised her right hand, gathered the power of the exploded pearl treasure, and then stabbed her two fingers toward Naruto's eyes.

In that instant, Naruto let out a cold snort and extended his left hand to violently spank Li Ling'er's buttocks!

It was a cruel strike, similar to the strike which had landed on her not too long ago….

The slapping sound was accompanied by a miserable shriek from Li Ling'er. Once again, her rear end was now uneven, she even felt her pelvis creaking. She immediately staggered backward in retreat, her face pale and devoid of any blood.

This "claw magic" is a reference to something he learned in chapter 809

↩ Naruto fought with Li Ling'er in chapter 821 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 874

Chapter 874: Semifinals!

"I'm gonna kill you!" raged Li Ling'er. Subconsciously, she had already superimposed Naruto's image over Namikaze Kazama. She didn't realize that this had happened, as the sudden intense pain in that specific region left her with no time for deep consideration.

Just when she had been about to attack, agonizing pain sent her staggering backward. At the same time, the long spear whistled through the air and came to a stop right in front of her forehead.

Naruto looked down at her coldly. After the previous incident, his mother had told him that Li Ling'er was the same Princess Ling'er whose hair he had lit on fire as a child. He also knew that his Grandpa Namikaze had arranged for the two of them to be married.

However, Naruto did not approve of such an agreement. He only had one wife, and that was Hinata.

Li Ling'er trembled as she felt the coldness radiating off of the spear that was pointed at her forehead. A sensation of imminent death washed over her, and she knew that if she didn't say the two words that Naruto was expecting to hear, the spearhead would unhesitatingly stab directly into her forehead.

"I don't want to kill you," Naruto said coolly. Actually, there was something else that he wanted to say…. He still had Li Ling'er's promissory note in his bag of holding, so until he got his spirit stones, he needed her alive.

If she died, who would repay the spirit stones…?

Li Ling'er glared at Naruto, her ample chest rising and falling as she breathed heavily. Finally, she gritted her teeth and slowly said the two words.

"I concede." Immediately, she vanished, then reappeared on the next layer of leaves. She had not lost her chance to get into the semifinals. If she won out in the following three matches, she would still have that opportunity.

After all, this first round was only to determine who was in the top 4 and the bottom 4.

Immediately, the crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea began to comment.

" Namikaze Mu beat Li Ling'er!"

"He'll definitely be in the top 4! Li Ling'er is a Chosen of the Li Clan, and will without doubt become a true Immortal in the future. I even heard that she's never been beaten before, and that a fight between her and Fan Dong'er once ended in a draw!"

"This Namikaze Kazama is invincible!"

Naruto was actually not the first person to secure a win. Shockingly, the first battle to end was the one between Zhao Yifan and the hulking man from the Kunlun Society.

That battle had been just as astonishing as Naruto's fight just now, and had drawn quite a bit of attention. When the man from the Kunlun Society attacked, he used an enormous chain of mountains. Even he himself seemed like a mountain, completely impervious to all attacks.

However, Zhao Yifan was also a terrifying figure, which became clearly apparent in their battle. He only used six Earth-shattering sword moves in the fight. Each sword attack was more shocking than the one before it, and they slashed down onto the mountains, severely injuring the big man from the Kunlun Society.

The final sword blow was so powerful that the man from the Kunlun Society was powerless to resist it. His mountains exploded, and were it not for the fact that Zhao Yifan was holding back his killing intent, the man would definitely have been slain.

The battle's result caused quite a commotion in the outside world. Unfortunately, the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace were not watching the arena matches, but instead were focused on the white-robed woman. Their expressions were a mix of reverence and other complex emotions.

Booming sounds continued to rattle out as the garrulous old man, one of the trial by fire competitors, fought against the young man from the Burning Incense Stick Society. Although their ages were different, both of them gave off the feeling that they were hustlers of some kind.

One of them didn't attack, but rather, constantly mumbled and chattered madly at his opponents, frothing at the mouth. The other smiled and transmitted words into his opponent's minds, causing them to fall down and worship him. In fact, even after those battles ended, the opponents would continue to look piously at the young man from down below on the lowest layer of leaves.

When they fought, they didn't engage in close quarter fighting. Instead, they sat down cross-legged and looked at each other. Although nothing usual seemed to be going on, those who were in the know understood that they were currently in an extremely ruthless showdown.

"A battle of divine will!"

"The Burning Incense Stick Society excels in the use of divine will. They coalesce the will of many living things to become their Dao of burning incense. Xie Yixian is a Chosen of the Burning Incense Stick Society, and supposedly, he's in the running to become Dao Child! His strength in divine will is spectacular!" 1

"If I remember correctly, the old man's name is Qian Duoduo. He… is actually going to participate in a divine will contest with Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society!" 2

On the other battleground, Fan Dong'er was facing the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum. Fierce fighting raged between the two of them, and the face of the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum twisted with passion. His eyes seemed capable of melting any coldness, but what had driven him mad was not Fan Dong'er. Rather, part of the mist behind Fan Dong'er had been scattered during the course of the fighting to reveal the female corpse behind her.

"That is… the most beautiful corpse I have seen in my entire life!" murmured the young man. Seven coffins were arrayed in front of him, all of them opened to reveal seven corpses, which he was using to fight Fan Dong'er.

Fan Dong'er was on the verge of going mad. Right now, there was nothing she hated more in the world than corpses, and the look in her opponent's eyes filled her with revulsion.

Booms rang out, and time slipped by. The white-robed woman continued to float above the Dao Tree, coldly watching the cultivators in the arena matches. It was impossible to tell what she might be thinking.

After a long moment passed, a boom rattled out next to Fan Dong'er, and the young man coughed up a mouthful of blood. He fell back, and as he did, a black hair suddenly appeared in his hand. It did not belong to Fan Dong'er, but rather, the female corpse.

Fan Dong'er's face twisted into a unsightly expression as the mist behind her vanished. The white-robed corpse was now clearly visible to everyone who was watching in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Official ISSTH art of Fan Dong'er

"I concede!" cried the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum. He coughed up some more blood, but his face was plastered with a look of enchantment. He held the hair up to his nose and inhaled deeply, then carefully put the hair away. Eyes burning, he looked over at the female corpse behind Fan Dong'er.

"She is my true love. Fan Dong'er, you better take good care of her." With that, the young man vanished to appear on the set of leaves for the bottom contenders among the top 8. However, he continued to look down at the corpse, intoxicated.

Discussions immediately rose up among the audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"That guy Xiao Luo from the Paleo-Immortal Museum is such a pervert!

He's a Chosen, but it turns out he's actually a necrophiliac!" 3

"I can't believe what everyone has been saying is true! There's a female corpse floating behind Fan Dong'er!"

"From what I heard, the corpse got attached to her when she ran into some fellow named Naruto on Planet Ninshu!"

As the crowds buzzed about the matter, the match between the garrulous Qian Duoduo and Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society had come to an end. Xie Yixian's face was flushed, and blood gushed out of his mouth. After wiping it off, he sighed lightly, rose to his feet, and bowed to the old man.

"I have been thoroughly convinced that your divine will magic is an amazing inheritance, Fellow Daoist," he said. "I, Xie, concede."

Qian Duoduo's face was also a bit pale. His eyes snapped open and he rose to his feet, then solemnly clasped hands toward Xie Yixian.

Conversations immediately broke out.

"So, Qian Duoduo actually won!"

"He defeated Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society. Just how strong is his divine will? He's really a dark horse in this competition. Earlier I had assumed he wouldn't make it past the top 16. I never imagined he would pull off a win like this and make it into the top 4!"

Regardless of the analyses of the outside crowds, the top 4 had been decided: Naruto, Zhao Yifan, Qian Duoduo, and Fan Dong'er!

The bottom four consisted of Li Ling'er, Xie Yixian, Xiao Luo and the hulking man from the Kunlun Society. What would happen next would be the final three battles of the round!

Now everyone from the top four would have to fight against the rest of the bottom four. After all of the battles were completed, the four people with the most wins would become the semifinalists!

After six hours of rest, when everyone was back at their peak readiness, the second fight in the struggle to qualify for the semifinals began! Naruto stood motionless on the bronze leaf as light glittered in front of him to reveal the hulking man from the Kunlun Society.

The man stepped forward, and it was like the descent of numerous mountains, although Naruto's expression was the same as ever. Regarding the various sects of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, he was already familiar with the Demon Immortal Sect, because of Zhixiang. Also, he knew of… the Kunlun Society.

His master Pill Demon had joined the Kunlun Society, and because of that, Naruto smiled amiably at the hulking man.

The big man stared in shock, then nodded at Naruto and clasped hands.

"I am Yang Yi from the Kunlun Society," he said. "Fellow Daoist Fang, please give me some fighting tips!"

"Of course!" replied Naruto, clasping hands back at the man.

Introductions having been made, Yang Yi's eyes began to glow brightly, and a massive aura exploded out as he charged toward Naruto. As he neared, shockingly, numerous mountains materialized around him.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, but his pupils constricted. He had noticed before that this hulking man was actually wielding… the Mountain Consuming Incantation!

The Mountain Consuming Incantation was a Daoist magic from the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, and previously, Naruto had assumed it was something only he could wield. Having seen the hulking Yang Yi in action, though, he was now much more interested in the Kunlun Society.

"So, the Mountain Consuming Incantation…?" thought Naruto. Laughing inwardly, he also stepped forward, causing numerous mountains to materialize around him. Of course, with the help of the black feather, he made them look like streams of water.

In the blink of an eye, the two began to fight back and forth. They did not use a variety of techniques, but rather, focused on the Mountain Consuming Incantation, and their incredibly powerful fleshly bodies.

RUMMMBLE!

Dozens of exchanges occurred, after which Yang Yi fell back, body trembling, but eyes overflowing with the desire to fight.

"Wonderful! This match is far more enjoyable than the fight with Zhao Yifan!" Yang Yi laughed heartily, then clenched his fists, causing the mountains around him to link up into a mountain range. He himself seemed to change into an enormous mountain.

Naruto was laughing as loudly as Yang Yi. He attacked, causing the streams to unite into a mighty river that rumbled through the air. They fought back and forth again, holding nothing back. Booms echoed out, attracting quite a bit of attention from the shocked audience.

They didn't fight for very long, only enough time for an incense stick to burn. Finally, Yang Yi was sent staggering backward seven or eight paces. Panting, he flicked his sleeve, causing the mountains to vanish. Then he stood there and gazed deeply at Naruto. Finally, he shook his head and laughed.

"I'm not a match for you. I have to concede! However, I do have to say that this was the most fun I've had in all of the arena matches!

"Yang Yi won't be entering the semifinals. However, if you have time, Elder Brother Fang, please come to the Kunlun Society so that we can drink together!"

Naruto laughed. He could sense that Yang Yi was an outspoken and straightforward person. After all of Naruto's years spent in the world of cultivation, he could tell that the man was no hypocrite or faker. Naruto nodded and smiled.

"I will definitely be going to the Kunlun Society!" he said.

Yang Yi laughed as he faded away to reappear on another leaf for his third battle.

Naruto took a deep breath and then sat down cross-legged. After an hour passed, light suddenly glittered as the third battle began. However, no opponent appeared. Instead, rumbling could be heard as nine coffins materialized, smashing down from up above.

"The female corpse behind Fan Dong'er is my true love, so I can't harm her. The rest of you, however, are completely different!" The voice which spoke was soft and feminine, but the figure who walked out of the light was a man.

This was none other than Xiao Luo from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, one of the Five Great Holy Lands!

Xie Yixian's name in Chinese is 谢一仙 xiè yī xiān. Xie is a surname which also means 'thanks." Yi means 'one,' and Xian means 'Immortal' ↩ Qian Duoduo's name in Chinese is 钱多多 qián duō duō. Qian is a surname which also means 'money.' Both Duo characters mean 'many' or 'more' ↩ Xiao Luo's name in Chinese is 肖罗 xiào luō. Xiao is a surname which means 'resemble.' Luo means a lot of things including 'net' ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 875

Chapter 875: Domineering!

When Xiao Luo made his appearance, a cold wind sprang up, causing his hair and robes to flutter. He was clearly male, but there was also something overtly feminine about him. This was especially true when it came to his cheerless eyes, which caused his handsome features to be strangely twisted.

Xiao Luo stood there in the middle of the arena, looking at Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he stood there looking past the nine upright coffins at Xiao Luo.

"Nine Heavens Asura Squad!" cried Xiao Luo, his eyes flickering with killing intent. He waved his hand, causing rumbling sounds to emanate out of the nine coffins, which then simultaneously opened, causing a thick aura of death to spill out.

The air twisted, and strange colors danced. Nine tall figures appeared within the coffins, nine corpses who abounded with auras of death. Their bodies were not decomposing, but rather, mummified. They wore tattered clothing and had vicious expressions, and it was just possible to tell that seven were men and two were women.

"Kill him!" said Xiao Luo with a vicious chuckle. A ruthless gleam could be seen in his eyes as the nine corpses charged toward Naruto, kicking up a foul wind.

They closed in on Naruto in the blink of an eye. However, Naruto's expression didn't change in the slightest. He extended his right hand, within which materialized the World Tree spear with the bone spearhead. Then, he dashed forward like the wind, the spearhead leading the way.

A bang could be heard, along with an ear-piercing rumble as a huge vortex appeared, spreading out in all directions and instantly interfering with the nine corpses' movement.

Naruto moved rapidly, bypassing the corpses and heading directly toward Xiao Luo. In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, Xiao Luo performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed toward the surface of the arena. Immediately, Yin-type qi surged up, transforming into a blast that shot toward Naruto like a huge wall.

A boom could be heard as Naruto's spear pierced the Yin qi wall. The wall shuddered and then collapsed, after which Xiao Luo waved his hand, causing nine black magical needles to appear. They immediately shot toward Naruto like nine black vipers.

At the same time, the nine corpses that were now behind Naruto turned, becoming black beams of light that immediately began to surround Naruto.

Xiao Luo laughed coldly. He had unleashed his most powerful magic in an attempt to catch his opponent off-guard.

"DIE!"

In this moment of deadly crisis, Naruto simply snorted. He stabbed his spear into the surface of the leaf, causing a boom to echo out. Cracks spread out across the surface of the arena as a shocking energy suddenly exploded. It transformed into a storm-like vortex that spread out in all directions, slamming into the corpses. The corpses fell back, trembling, and as for the nine needles, cracking sounds could be heard as they simply fell to pieces mid-flight.

Within the screaming vortex, Naruto released his grip on the spear, then transformed into the vulture. There was a flash, and then he appeared directly in front of Xiao Luo and slashed at him viciously.

Boom!

Xiao Luo's face fell, and he quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing the Yin qi to surge, transforming into another wall to block against the vulture's slash. A huge boom could be heard as that wall collapsed, too. Before Xiao Luo could even fall back in retreat, the vulture vanished and Naruto reappeared, his leg flashing around in a spinning kick.

A bang could be heard as the kick, seemingly powerful enough to smash mountains, formed a semicircle and slammed directly into Xiao Luo. In that critical moment, Xiao Luo's eyes went wide, and he spit a pearl out of his mouth. The pearl emanated a powerful glow that attempted to block the kick, and yet instantly shattered, completely incapable of standing up to the attack. However, it did manage to give Xiao Luo a moment of breathing room. Coughing up blood, he rapidly fell backward in retreat.

At the same time, Naruto increased his speed and levied another attack. Currently, he paid no heed to defending, but rather, attacked like lightning, like a windstorm that could crush anything in its path.

He bore down on Xiao Luo like a tempest, performing an incantation with his right hand and then stabbing his finger out ahead of him. The shocking finger attack caused the air to vibrate, and Xiao Luo's face to fall. This magical battle was unfolding so quickly that Xiao Luo had no time to even breathe. He had to exercise complete and utter attention; the slightest misstep would leave him dead.

Xiao Luo performed an incantation gesture as fast as possible, causing the Yin qi to form into numerous pearls.

"Burst! Burst! BURST!" roared Xiao Luo. Booms rang out as the pearls flew toward Naruto and then exploded, transforming into a powerful shockwave that swept out in all directions. A vicious smile appeared on Xiao Luo's face. The Yin qi pearls seemed ordinary, but in fact, they were a secret magic from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum. Any one of those explosions was powerful enough to slay a peak Dao seeking expert.

Xiao Luo knew his opponent was powerful, but even a Stone Golem would at least be injured by their detonation.

"I just need to put a bit of distance between us," Xiao Luo thought with a cold laugh. "Then I can send the nine corpses to slaughter him!" Just as Xiao Luo was about to continue to fall back, the air twisted as Naruto actually stepped into the explosions. To him, these detonating pearls could do nothing more than inflict flesh wounds. His right hand clenched into a fist and he sent out a punch.

BOOM!

Xiao Luo let out a miserable shriek. Blood sprayed from his mouth as he tumbled backward. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was on him again, slamming out with an attack that could shatter rock. Xiao Luo once again fell back, blood pouring from his mouth.

In the blink of an eye, ten more exchanges were made. Naruto's shocking energy and will of invincibility made it so that all Xiao Luo could do was fall back and focus all of his energy on defending himself. He wasn't the slightest bit capable of attacking.

Naruto's moves were just too swift and too vicious. Booms echoed out in the short span of a few breaths that to Xiao Luo, seemed like a very, very long time. Then, a cracking sound rang out as his leg was broken by Naruto.

Intense pain caused his face to go pale. A look of complete astonishment could be seen on his face.

"Dammit," he thought, "I can't let him build up any more energy.

Otherwise, I'm going to be defeated for sure!"

The crowds outside watched the semifinal qualification rounds with intense concentration. Many were focusing on Naruto, and were completely astonished by what they saw.

"If I were in Xiao Luo's place, I would be just as powerless!"

"This Namikaze Kazama is completely domineering! His attacks are swift and fierce; he's totally incomparable!"

"You definitely can't let yourself be put on the defensive when facing Namikaze Kazama. Doing that… is just giving him a chance to explode with ferocity and turn the battle into a catastrophe!"

Xiao Luo gritted his teeth, and a look of madness appeared on his face. Roaring, he caused bursts of Yin qi to explode out, which formed into numerous ghostly figures. Just as he was going to attempt to make a counterattack, Naruto's fist landed again. All of Xiao Luo's qi collapsed, and he was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut, blood spurting from his mouth.

Then, with indescribable speed, Naruto shot toward Xiao Luo and extended his finger toward his forehead, killing intent roiling.

Xiao Luo's eyes went wide, and his heart was trembling. In this moment of deadly crisis, he bit the tip of his tongue, burning some of his Essence Blood and longevity to unleash a forbidden magic.

"Time to risk it all," he cried. "YIN MOON SEVERING!"

A crescent moon appeared on his forehead, which rapidly transformed into a black-colored moon that shot toward Naruto in a slashing motion.

Naruto's eyes widened as the moon closed in on him. Suddenly, his Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and its fist shot out to meet the incoming Yin Moon.

A huge boom could be heard, and a tremor ran through Naruto as the Yin Moon exploded. Blood oozed out of Xiao Luo's mouth, but he used the short moment of freedom to shoot backward. Face twisted with unprecedented bitterness, he let out a shout.

"Nine Corpses Demon Transformation!" he cried. Immediately, the nine corpses that had continuously been behind Naruto and unable to even touch him, began to tremble violently. In the blink of an eye, long black fur began to grow out of their bodies, and their appearance became even more ferocious than before. Furthermore, Demonic qi began to surge within them, although that was something nobody would be able to detect.

As the Demonic qi surged, the nine corpses' cultivation bases began to rise dramatically. In the blink of an eye, they were comparable to false Immortals!

Nine false Immortals!

This was Xiao Luo's trump card that he had originally hoped to use to secure first place. It was not something he would casually unleash, but he had been forced into a corner, and therefore, in the frenzy of this fight, he didn't hesitate at all.

"DIE!" he roared as the nine false Immortal corpses bore down on Naruto. One by one, they began to lash out with astonishing attacks that caused the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain to reel in shock.

"Heavens! That's false Immortal energy!"

"What magical technique is that!? He actually gave those nine corpses the powers of false Immortality!"

"Xiao Luo didn't even use that divine ability in his fight with Fan

Dong'er!"

As the outside crowds were in a commotion, the nine corpses closed in on Naruto, bursting with explosive energy. As for Naruto, an odd expression could be seen on his face.

"Demons…." he thought, his facial expression quickly returning to normal. His right hand suddenly rose into the air, and he performed an incantation gesture. The art of Righteous Bestowal was unleashed. This art was different than the Eighth Hex, and was designed specifically for subduing Demons!

No one got any special feeling when Naruto unleashed the art. However, as soon as his hand lowered, the nine corpses suddenly stopped in place and began to tremble. Their previously blank eyes then began to glow with bright light.

Xiao Luo's face fell completely, and he retreated in astonishment, frantically performing incantation gestures in an attempt to regain control of the nine corpses.

However, it was at this point that Naruto extended his right hand. A strange light could be seen in his eyes as, under the cover of the transformative powers of the black feather, he unleashed the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, Karmic Hexing!

Rumbling filled the air as the Karma threads connecting the nine corpses to Xiao Luo began to separate. As that happened, the corpses trembled even more violently, and explosive death auras radiated out of them. Then they toppled over onto their faces.

Xiao Luo was trembling, and he coughed up nine successive mouthfuls of blood. From the look on his face, he was completely gobsmacked. He stared at Naruto for a moment, shaking violently.

"I concede!" he yelled, fearful of losing his life in this place.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he was surrounded by flickering lights, and then vanished.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he picked up his spear and walked off to the side.

He stood there, his energy surging, the focus of attention of all eyes in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Three fights, three wins!"

"There's one more fight, but Namikaze Kazama is definitely in the semifinals!"

"Not even Xiao Luo was a match for him. From the look of things, Fang

Mu hasn't even used all of his power yet. Just… how strong is he?!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 876

Chapter 876 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 876: Four Battles, Four Victories!

When Naruto attacked, the white-robed woman floating in midair outside of the Dao Tree looked at him calmly for a moment, although no onlooker would notice that fact, not even Naruto.

Xiao Luo reappeared on another leaf, his entire body shaking as he looked back at Naruto with terror and astonishment. Before their battle, he had been aware that Naruto was powerful, but he had never imagined that he would only be able to defend and would be completely incapable of fighting back against him.

He had even burned some of his longevity and used his Nine Corpses Demon Transformation, explosively increasing their cultivation bases to be similar to false Immortals. And yet, his opponent had then unleashed some unknown divine ability… to cause his nine corpses to stop in midflight, and even sever their connection to him.

As he thought about it, Xiao Luo took a deep breath. This was the first time he had ever truly been afraid of another person.

"He's somebody I can't ever provoke! If I ever meet him again, I'll simply flee! His magical technique… can inhibit my Dao!" Xiao Luo took another deep breath as he looked at Naruto. Intense terror filled his heart, and he rejoiced at his decision to concede when he did. If he hadn't, he himself might be a corpse now.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto finished his match, Zhao

Yifan also secured another victory. After that… the fourth battle began.

Naruto stood as usual on his leaf. From the very beginning to now, he had not moved to the losers bracket. There was only one other among the top 4 who had done the same, and that was Zhao Yifan!

Even Fan Dong'er had been defeated, by none other than Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society.

That match garnered quite a bit of attention, and caused Xie Yixian to suddenly rise up abruptly in the eyes of the onlookers.

The bizarre Qian Duoduo ended up being defeated by Li Ling'er, whose magical techniques were somewhat effective at counteracting the old man. However, in the very end, it was actually difficult to say who won and who lost. Li Ling'er earned her victory mostly due to luck.

As of this moment, Naruto and Zhao Yifan were certain to enter the semifinals, but as for everyone else, it was hard to say.

Naruto's opponent in the fourth battle was the Chosen who had beaten Fan Dong'er, Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society. As soon as he emerged from the glittering light to stand in front of Naruto, his eyes gleamed seriously.

Of all the people who made it to the top 8, he truly feared three of them. One was the spectacular Zhao Yifan, the other was the talkative Qian Duoduo, and the last… was none other than this Namikaze Kazama.

"I am Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society. Fellow Daoist

Fang, please give me some fighting tips!"

Having said this, Xie Yixian suddenly sat down cross-legged and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Immediately, a copper furnace appeared in front of him.

Stuck into the very top of the copper furnace was an incense stick.

As the incense stick burned, streams of smoke curled up into the air to surround Xie Yixian, obscuring him slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Fang, my magical technique is different from the kind you've seen before. If you can stand up to it for the amount of time it takes this incense stick to burn, then I will concede."

Naruto stood in place, his expression the same as ever. He had been paying close attention to how Xie Yixian fought. Right now, Naruto didn't even speak. He took a step forward, and then suddenly, everything around him distorted, and in the blink of an eye, the arena was gone. In its place, a boundless land stretched in front of Naruto.

Countless cities could be seen dotting the land, and within each one was an enormous statue. If you looked closely, you would see that the statues depicted none other than Xie Yixian.

Naruto's eyes glittered.

At this point, a majestic voice rang out throughout the world.

"The Heavens are grand, the Earth majestic!" As soon as the voice echoed out, the statues of Xie Yixian trembled and opened their eyes, almost as if they were coming to life. They flew up into the air, a total of 9,000 of them, which then began to circulate around Naruto and emanate radiant light. In a short moment, the statues merged together into one.

They became… a lifelike Xie Yixian.

He hovered there in midair, smiling slightly at Naruto.

"The Heavens are grand, and the Earth is majestic, but the greatest of all is the host of all living things!

"Living things possess desire. Desire becomes thought. Thought becomes burning incense. Worship the gods, pray for their blessing.

Through the cultivation of this burning incense, if they worship me, then I am a god! If they pray to me, I am a god!

"This place is my Burning Incense World. Here… I am a god, and in this place, I cannot be defeated!

"If I say that a single breath will last for ten thousand years, then ten thousand years that breath shall last!

"Fellow Daoist Fang, you have a monstrous cultivation base, and shocking divine sense. Willpower and determination like yours is something I rarely see. Why not become my follower here? Become part of my Burning Incense Flock. Cultivate the Dao of burning incense. Then one day, you too can be a god." Xie Yixian's words were spoken indifferently, but seemed to contain a bizarre power. As they echoed out into Naruto's ears, he felt his mind trembling, as if there was something within the words that made them impossible to resist, and that was forcing him to comply.

"If I become part of your Burning Incense Flock, how many spirit stones will you pay me per month?" asked Naruto coolly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xie Yixian gaped. After a moment, though, he laughed loudly, then waved his hand. A massive roaring could be heard that transformed into a continent of spirit stones. All of the mountains, cities, even the vegetation, turned into spirit stones.

In the blink of an eye, the entire world transformed into endless, uncountable spirit stones.

"You can have however many you wish."

Naruto looked around and then shook his head. "I don't want these. I want real spirit stones, in the outside world."

Xie Yixian's face darkened, and he gave a cold snort. The sound started out light, but then rapidly turned into something that sounded like thunder, echoing out with incredible pressure. It was like Heavenly might that crushed down onto Naruto.

"Kneel before me!" said Xie Yixian. His voice echoed out shockingly, filled with a will that seemed almost impossible to resist.

Naruto looked up, his expression the same as ever.

"That's all the pressure you can exert?" he asked. Suddenly, he transformed into a vulture that shot toward Xie Yixian. A boom rang out as Xie Yixian's body collapsed. A moment later, he reappeared some distance off.

"My life force is limitless in this place," he said coolly. "You can't kill me!" He raised his right hand, coalescing the power of the world into a huge palm that shot toward Naruto.

Energy raged, and boundless pressure emanated out.

"Can't kill him?" thought Naruto, frowning. "Is that because the magic is an illusion? Or because I haven't affected the essence of his life force?" He extended his right hand and made a grasping gesture. Instantly the Blood Demon Grand Magic surged into action. An enormous blood-colored vortex appeared, which spread out to cover Xie Yixian, enveloping him completely.

A boom rang out as his body collapsed into pieces. At the same time, another image of him appeared off to the side. But this time, his face was pale and filled with astonishment.

"What magical technique is that!?"

"Ah, so it was because the essence of his life force hadn't been affected." Naruto smiled, and then suddenly, his hand turned bright red. He immediately flew out, closing in on Xie Yixian. Even as the young man stared in shock, Naruto slapped out with his palm.

A bang could be heard as Xie Yixian once again collapsed into pieces. Actually, his battle prowess wasn't very high to begin with. What was truly shocking was his magical technique. Unfortunately, that magic wasn't very useful on Naruto.

In the past, whenever someone killed him in this world, he would come back to life. It could happen over and over again, without end, leaving opponents completely dispirited.

Now, though, every time he died, some of his life force was actually drained away. It was something that had never happened to him before, and in his shock, he tried to evade Naruto. However, he was no match at all. Were it not for the magical technique he was using, Naruto could have killed him numerous times in the blink of an eye.

Rumbling echoed out. Every time Xie Yixian died, one of his statues would shatter. Every time Xie Yixian reappeared, his face was covered with astonishment, and he would instantly fall into retreat.

"Elder Brother Fang, stop! I'll let you out, you can leave…."

"You don't need to let me out," Naruto replied calmly, "I can get out on my own." With that, he slammed his foot down onto the surface of the ground. A huge boom could be heard as his Dharma Idol appeared, towering 300 meters into the air, its energy surging.

Xie Yixian's face flickered, and he was just about to say something else when Naruto suddenly stamped his foot down again. Rumbling could be heard as his Dharma Idol rapidly grew in size. Now it was 3,000 meters tall!

Monstrous energy surged, and the power of a true Immortal erupted out. Xie Yixian's face instantly fell as Naruto stamped down a third time.

BOOM!

Naruto's Dharma Idol grew again. In the blink of an eye it was now 6,000 meters tall, seemingly big enough to prop up the sky.

"Tear this place open!" said Naruto, his eyes flickering with killing intent. As he spoke, he raised both hands high into the air, then slammed them down. Rumbling filled the air as his Dharma Idol also raised its hands up, grabbed ahold of the air, and then began to rip it in two different directions.

Massive, shocking rumbles echoed out. Xie Yixian's face flickered as he performed incantation gestures, causing the world to begin to rotate and stabilize. However, despite his efforts, a massive rift appeared in the sky.

The world was actually being ripped apart!

"Impossible!" shouted Xie Yixian. "This is my Burning Incense World! I am God here! Maybe you can hurt my life force, but if I say that nothing can destroy this land, then no power exists that can do so!"

"I'm afraid your cultivation base is simply… not high enough," said Naruto, his voice cool. He stamped his foot down onto the ground a fourth time, and his cultivation base surged with eighty percent of an Immortal meridian, and eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal. His Dharma Idol grew again; it was now 12,000 meters tall. It lifted its hands up, then violently ripped at the sky. The earth quaked and bright colors flashed in the sky. A massive rumbling sound echoed out.

The rift in the sky opened wider, and an enormous rumbling sound filled the air. Naruto's Dharma Idol was literally tearing the sky open!

As the sky was ripped open, the entire world, as well as Xie Yixian, suddenly shattered. When things grew clear again, Naruto was standing in the same place as before in the arena. Xie Yixian was there in front of him. Only about ten percent of the incense stick in front of him had burned so far. A cracking sound rang out as the incense stick suddenly collapsed into pieces.

When that happened, the smoke dissipated, revealing Xie Yixian sitting there cross-legged. He opened his eyes and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Face pale, he looked at Naruto and smiled bitterly.

"Elder Brother Fang, you are quite powerful… I concede!"

Even as the words left his mouth, he coughed up another mouthful of blood. Suddenly, a rip appeared on his forehead, a wound that seemed very difficult to heal. It was a Dao Wound!

The cause of the wound was none other than the tearing open of his Burning Incense World.

This fight had been a very strange one. From start to finish, barely a hundred breaths of time had passed, and all the other matches were still in progress. The audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were instantly in an uproar.

"Four battles, four victories!"

"The last battle seemed ordinary, but actually, the disciple from the

Burning Incense Stick Society was in grave peril!"

"A tear appeared on Xie Yixian's forehead! I heard that if the magic of the Burning Incense Stick Society is broken, it can cause a backlash that will turn into a Dao Wound! Don't tell me… that's a Dao Wound!"

Chapter 876: Four Battles, Four Victories!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 877

Chapter 877: Unleashed!

Everyone watching in the Ninth Mountain and Sea was stunned. Even the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace were looking on with surprise. It was clear that the most-watched person in this trial by fire and these arena matches was Naruto.

From the beginning of the trial by fire, all the way to the end of the arena matches, his path had been one of power and prominence.

The qualifying matches for the semifinals were still underway. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, Zhao Yifan finished his battle. He easily defeated Xiao Luo from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, who had long since lost his will to fight. His connection with his nine most powerful corpses had been severed, making it impossible for him to fight for a spot in the semifinals.

Zhao Yifan was now the second cultivator to secure a place in the semifinals. Throughout all four of the battles he had fought, he never left his arena. He looked over at Naruto, who was two arenas over, and their gazes locked for a moment. Zhao Yifan's eyes brimmed with the desire to fight, but Naruto's expression was calm, and after a moment, he looked away.

An hour later, the other two battles concluded. Li Ling'er, with four battles and three victories, had successfully made it to the semifinals.

Li Ling'er had made quite the comeback. She fought her way from the bottom four into the semifinals, which caused a big stir out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, especially in the Li Clan, where everyone was very excited.

Qian Duoduo had also won three out of his four battles. His only defeat had been at the hands of Li Ling'er. All of his other opponents had temporarily gone insane to some degree or another. Only Li Ling'er did not react to his magic at all, which secured her victory.

Fan Dong'er was eliminated. She had been defeated twice, once by Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society, and once by Li Ling'er. All of this was a huge blow to her.

Her expression was gloomy as she sat there cross-legged on the lowest layer of leaves, staring off into the distance. Mentally, she replayed the various battles she had fought, and finally bowed her head. As of now, she understood that the reason for her failures was that her Dao Heart had been split.

That split was caused by the female corpse.

She took a deep breath, after which her expression brightened.

"This is my personal tribulation," she thought. "However, master said that it's actually good fortune for me. Therefore… from now on, I won't hide the corpse. I will reveal her for all to see, and will not resist her, but accept her!" As of that moment, the mist behind her vanished to clearly reveal the female corpse.

She completely ignored all the people who suddenly turned their heads to look at her. Her eyes gleamed with determination.

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarch from the Nine Seas God World nodded his head slightly. From his perspective, this huge defeat for Fan Dong'er was actually a good thing for her.

The semifinalists had been selected!

These four people were the subject of the complete and utter attention of everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Ling Yunzi glanced cautiously over at the white robed woman floating above the Dao Tree, and then spoke out.

"You have three days to rest, after which… we will find out who is qualified to make into the final round!"

Naruto sat there cross-legged, his eyes closed, not speaking. The half-headed man had remained floating near his arena this entire time, staring at Naruto, not even blinking.

That gaze was enough to cause anyone to feel so terrified that their hair would stand on end. However, after all this time, Naruto had gotten used to it, and ignored the man completely.

A day later, the Nascent Soul and Spirit Severing arena matches produced their semifinalists.

Three days later, the semifinal rounds began!

When Ling Yunzi's voice rang out, a buzz of excitement rose up among the spectators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"There's no suspense at all! Unless Namikaze Kazama and Zhao Yifan fight each other in the semifinals, then the final match will definitely be between them!"

"You're absolutely right. Li Ling'er already lost to Namikaze Kazama, so the only person for him to fight is Qian Duoduo. Qian Duoduo's cultivation base is mysterious and unfathomable. That would be an interesting matchup." "Well, we'll just have to wait and see how the matches are arranged!"

As the audiences waited in anticipation, Naruto vanished from his spot in the arena. Before he or any of the other semifinalists reappeared, a virtually imperceptible flicker could be seen in the eyes of the woman floating outside the Dao Tree. Apparently, that flickering did something to the Dao Tree.

Moments later, everyone appeared.

When Naruto emerged from the light, he was just beneath the golden leaf at the top of the Dao Tree.

The leaf he currently stood on was silver-colored, one of only two such leaves on the Dao Tree.

When Zhao Yifan appeared, the person he found facing him… was not Naruto! Instead, Li Ling'er emerged from the glittering light.

As for Naruto's opponent, it was the crazy old man, Qian Duoduo.

These were the exact match ups that the audiences in the outside world had wanted, and the excitement and anticipation was building. Of course, the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace noticed that something odd had just happened, and many faces flickered. The old men from the Three Great Daoist Societies took deep breaths, and looks of excitement appeared in their eyes.

"So, she actually did something to interfere with the Dao Tree!"

"That shows that she approves of the competition!"

Back in the arena, Naruto's face was calm as he watched Qian

Duoduo approaching. In this group of semifinalists, Naruto and Qian Duoduo had both risen up from through the trial by fire to reach this point.

Qian Duoduo looked at Naruto silently for a moment, and a bright light could be seen coalescing within his eyes. His energy began to rise up, reaching a level far beyond that which had been seen in previous matches.

Not even when he was defeated by Li Ling'er had he focused so much energy.

"I am Qian Duoduo. Greetings, Fellow Daoist Fang. During this battle, I will use all the power I can muster. I want to take first place, and my only chance to do that is by defeating you!"

Naruto gazed at Qian Duoduo. He had been paying attention to this old man earlier. The fact that he had made his way through the trial by fire all the way to here proved that he was beyond ordinary.

That was especially the case considering he had won a victory over Xie

Yixian. Although Naruto had seemed relaxed in his fight against Xie Yixian, if he didn't have the Blood Demon Grand Magic to steal the young man's life force, the battle would have been very difficult. Of course, based on the power of Naruto's cultivation base, the Burning Incense World would not have been able to restrain him forever.

In any case, Naruto wasn't sure exactly how this old man had managed to win out over the Burning Incense World.

"Every person who fought him went crazy," he thought. "Even Xie Yixian and the other people he defeated all showed signs of insanity to some extent or another." Naruto's eyes glittered brightly. "Interesting." Clenching his right fist at his side, he nodded at the old man.

Qian Duoduo took a deep breath, and then all of a sudden, his body began to inflate like a balloon. Cracking sounds could be heard as his emaciated frame suddenly bulged with muscles. In the blink of an eye, he had grown taller by two heads, and his energy surged with power.

The sight of it caused Naruto's eyes to shine. The audiences in the outside world were shocked; Qian Duoduo had never done anything like this in his previous matches, not even when he fought against Li Ling'er.

Rumble!

Qian Duoduo flew into the air with incredible speed, leaving a ghost image behind as he shot forward to appear directly in front of Naruto. He immediately sent out a punch that was met by Naruto's palm.

As a massive boom shook the arena, Qian Duoduo's foot spun through the air toward Naruto in a roundhouse kick.

Naruto's eyes were shining even more brightly now. He didn't

retreat, but rather took an exploratory step forward. He waved his hand, causing numerous streams of water to materialize around him, which then formed together into a massive river that swept across the entire arena.

A bang rang out as Qian Duoduo fell back. However, he immediately performed an incantation gesture, causing the image of a sun and moon to materialize. They rotated rapidly, creating a vortex that surged toward Naruto. Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he transformed into a vulture that charged toward the old man. It was at this point that a look of surprise appeared in Qian Duoduo's eyes, and he suddenly let out a loud shout.

"Wicked!"

The word seemed to contain some bizarre power that poured into Naruto's ears and entered his mind. Suddenly, his mind began to spin, and wicked thoughts suddenly rose up unrestrained within his heart.

Because of the wicked thoughts, Naruto was incapable of maintaining the vulture form, and once again returned to human shape. Qian Duoduo then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger. Naruto snorted coldly and was about to attack when…

"WICKED!" roared Qian Duoduo.

This time, the sound was like a thunderclap that exploded in Naruto's mind. Wicked thoughts multiplied in him with an unbridled frenzy. He was incapable of controlling the thoughts, which filled him with a sensation of insanity.

Gradually, Naruto realized that the Devilish will that he had severed during his time of Severing the Devil and Seeking the Dao… was now reappearing. In the blink of an eye, the Devilish will consumed the wicked thoughts. Apparently, the Devilish will had been inside of him all along, hiding deep inside of him, sealed away.

Now, in response to Qian Duoduo's astonishing magical technique, the Devilish will was forming once again!

In the blink of an eye, Naruto and Qian Duoduo exchanged dozens of moves. Qian Duoduo ended up calling out the word 'wicked' six times. Each time, it caused Naruto's magical techniques and attacks to be interrupted. For the first time in all of his arena matches, Naruto was now forced into constant retreat.

Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his eyes were bloodshot. A terrifying aura seemed to be on the verge of being unleashing from inside of him. Qian Duoduo was the one responsible for releasing the Devilish will, although he actually had no idea what he was unleashing. Despite not knowing what he was dealing with, he was still very excited, and continued to unleash monstrous attacks.

When the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea saw what was happening, their expressions flickered in astonishment.

" Namikaze Mu is actually being beaten back!"

"Just what magical technique is Qian Duoduo using to be able to stifle Namikaze Kazama?!"

"Could it be that Namikaze Kazama will finally be defeated!?"

As the audiences buzzed in astonishment, Qian Duoduo attacked relentlessly, causing repeated booms to echo about. Naruto's face was pale, and his eyes were completely bloodshot, as if he were on the verge of going insane. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and yet, a faint grin suddenly blossomed on his face.

"You're finished!" Qian Duoduo transmitted into Naruto's mind, so that only he could hear. "My magic can steal good fortune from Heaven and Earth! It doesn't matter how strong your willpower is, if you have even a scrap of wicked thoughts in your heart, they will be evoked by my magic!

"When the wicked thoughts explode out, they will cast your body into flames, and you will be defeated!

"I must use this art on you in order to secure my chance at taking first place. I've been holding back this entire time, and I even let myself be defeated by Li Ling'er because I was sure I would make it into the semifinals, and I didn't want you or Zhao Yifan to be on guard..

"The only thing you can blame is your own bad luck, since you're letting Zhao Yifan off the hook by giving him a chance to prepare some defenses!

"I will unleash all of your wicked thoughts, transforming them into a fire of retribution to burn your soul, to destroy you in body and spirit!

"WICKED!" he roared, performing an incantation gesture and pointing at

Naruto. This was… the ninth 'wicked!'

As soon as the words left his mouth, the Devilish will inside of Naruto surged and was completely unleashed. His eyes were bright red as he was wrapped up in a gloomy, ruthless madness. Deep within that madness, was an unprecedented coldness.

Black flames leapt from his skin and raged madly high into the sky.

However, the flames didn't hurt Naruto in the least. He looked up at Qian Duoduo, and a rumbling filled the old man's mind. His face instantly fell.

"These aren't wicked thoughts! What… what exactly did I unleash!?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 878

Chapter 878: Eclipsing Everything

Qian Duoduo's face fell, and he staggered backward several paces, his face ashen and his eyes wide. An intense sense of deadly crisis crashed through him.

"What exactly did I unleash!?" said Qian Duoduo hoarsely. "These aren't wicked thoughts! Wicked thoughts would form fires of retribution, a fire that can burn a person up in moments, destroy them in body and spirit!

"This… this feeling, this aura, even the black flames of retribution are incapable of burning it. This will… is so powerful that it's suffocating!" As Qian Duoduo backed up, his heart filled with incredible regret. Were he given another chance, nothing could have convinced him to unleash whatever it was he had just unleashed.

He had the feeling that he had opened a sluice gate, unleashing a horrific Devil.

The spectators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were all astonished at the sight of Naruto on the vortex screens, covered with black flames that seemed completely incapable of harming him whatsoever.

Naruto's red eyes seemed to be filled with the utmost insanity, and yet… they were also unshakably level-headed. Furthermore, his energy was rocketing higher and higher.

"He… he…."

"What state is he in? What technique does he cultivate? Why did he instantly become so blood-chillingly terrifying?"

"Devil! Heavens! It's a Devilish will! A monstrous Devilish will! Only someone who has carried out endless slaughter, who is cold and ruthless to a Heaven-defying extent, could possibly have a Devilish will like that!"

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs were all on their feet, panting and watching with serious expressions.

"What a shocking Devilish will! But earlier, he seemed completely normal! This kid… this kid has shocking willpower!"

"A Devilish will like that can never be fully expelled, nor completely severed! It will even accompany him through reincarnation!"

"From ancient times until now, anyone who possessed a Devilish will like that has ended up facing countless deadly twists and turns throughout their lives!"

Up above the Dao Tree, the white-robed woman had floated there absolutely expressionlessly for this entire time. However, as of this moment, her eyes began to shine with a curious light as she looked at Naruto.

As for Qian Duoduo, he hadn't ceased backing up, and was trembling with fear. His scalp was numb and he was scared witless. Naruto hadn't even attacked yet, but the energy of the Devilish will and the fire of retribution had astonished Qian Duoduo to the extreme. The sensation of blood and gore, the towering murderous aura, left him shaking in his boots. He almost felt like what he was looking at was not a cultivator, but mountains of corpses and seas of blood, an evil star risen up from the Yellow Springs.

"I conc—" Before he could even finish speaking the words, Naruto's eyes turned to look directly at him.

Those eyes were like oceans of blood, with pupils that emanated brilliant rays of eternal light that seemed capable of absorbing the soul.

As soon as their gazes met, Qian Duoduo's mind roared, and felt as if it were about to explode. His body trembled, and he felt as if sharp blades were piercing into his eyes, stabbing into his soul. They exploded inside of his brain, transforming into a battlefield covered with mountains of corpses and seas of blood. He saw a person on the battlefield, surrounded by a vortex. Wherever that man went, countless cultivators let out bloodcurdling screams as their bodies were withered up, their flesh and blood was absorbed, their souls were consumed. In the end, the only things left behind were desiccated corpses staring wide-eyed up into the sky.

Qian Duoduo coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then, suddenly his vision cleared and he saw that Naruto had appeared directly in front of him, covered with raging black flames. Naruto lifted his right hand and grabbed the old man's neck, then lifted him up into the air. His eyes burned with cold madness, and his mouth twisted into a brutal smile.

"Thank you. This feeling is… wonderful. It's too bad that this state doesn't conform with my Dao Heart. I thought I had completely severed it away, and never imagined that it still existed….

"In any case, I still have to thank you for helping me to realize that it was here all along. And now… I will give you a grand burial ceremony!" Naruto chuckled, and Qian Duoduo's eyes went wide. He was currently incapable of speaking a single word, and was trembling violently. Within his wide eyes could be seen extreme terror.

As soon as Naruto finished speaking, the black flames that surrounded him surged up, transforming into the shape of a huge mouth. The mouth twisted with savagery and insanity as it shot toward Qian Duoduo.

It took only a moment for the black flames to inundate him. He let out a miserable shriek that didn't even sound human. The wretched sound echoed about in all directions, causing all of the cultivators on the Dao Tree to feel not only shock, but sympathy. Then they began to shiver.

Li Ling'er's face went pale when she saw what was happening. Even she began to shiver from the intensely terrifying feeling she got from Naruto.

Zhao Yifan's face was covered with an expression of intense concentration as he looked over. Both he and Li Ling'er were panting.

Qian Duoduo screamed as his body rapidly withered. As he slipped into death, he gazed blankly at Naruto, and his mind filled with intense regret. He knew that he should never have unleashed wicked thoughts inside of his opponent. In the end, he had personally… unleashed a Devil!

In the space of only a few breaths of time, Qian Duoduo transformed into nothing but drifting ash.

Naruto lowered his hand, and the flames winked out, transforming into black sealing marks that were visible on his skin. As he stood there, his energy raged.

At this point, he suddenly flew up out of the arena and landed on the golden leaf at the top of the Dao Tree, then turned and looked back at Zhao Yifan.

"Zhao Yifan, you wanted to fight me, didn't you? Well, come on!"

The half-headed man who was watching Naruto apparently sensed the Devilish will, after which he trembled almost imperceptibly. Apparently, even he was in fear of the Devilish will.

A tremor ran through Zhao Yifan as he looked up at Naruto. A very serious expression covered his face, and his eyes burned with the desire to fight. Completely ignoring Li Ling'er, he also flew up into the air and landed in front of Naruto on the golden leaf.

He reached his right hand out, and suddenly, an azure sword appeared.

The sword was two meters long, and glittered with greenish light, as well as a coldness as vast as a sea. Zhao Yifan looked at Naruto, then raised the sword and slashed toward him like an arrow loosed from a bow.

The sword caused the air to vibrate, and wild colors to flash about. Intense coldness surged out in all directions, and dragon-like sword qi formed together into the shape of an Azure Dragon. The Azure Dragon had vicious claws that slashed the air into pieces, and long whiskers that shattered its surroundings. Rumbling filled the air as the dragon shot toward Naruto. The entire arena quaked, and the air was ripped apart. It almost seemed as if this Azure Dragon could smash through any and all obstacles in its path.

In the blink of an eye, it was directly in front of Naruto. In the moment before it impacted, Naruto's expression was cold, and his eyes were bloodshot. Unexpectedly, he did nothing to avoid it, but instead, lifted his hand up and pushed it out toward the dragon.

Massive rumbling could be heard as beams of sword qi rapidly expanded out in all directions, transforming into an arcing barrier formed of ten thousand swords. Naruto's hair whipped about him… as he stood there unmoving, using only that one hand movement to send sword qi out in defense.

It was as if his one hand could eclipse everything!

Everyone looked on with astonishment at this final, decisive battle!

In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs were also watching with full concentration.

The decisive battle had begun too quickly. As of this moment, everyone in the Dao Tree now served as foils to Naruto and Zhao Yifan, who were the complete center of attention.

Naruto gazed coldly at Zhao Yifan, and slowly clenched his hand into a fist. As he did, the arcing barrier that had spread out began to emit cracking noises, and then suddenly shrank down.

As it shrank, the Azure Dragon within it struggled, but to no avail. Naruto's hand closed into a fist.

Boom!

The sword qi obstacle shattered, and the Azure Dragon collapsed into pieces and then exploded. The sword attack vanished, and all that remained behind to show for it was a white mark on Naruto's palm. It seemed like it should have been a wound, but in the blink of an eye, it was healed, and the mark vanished.

This development was noticed by the audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and they were astonished.

"He has regenerative powers!"

"He used a single hand to block Zhao Yifan's sword, and all it did was cut him a little! Heavens! He already recovered!"

"This is Namikaze Kazama's true power! Before, he was concealing his cultivation base!"

As the crowds were in an uproar, the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace were panting, and staring fixedly at the image of Naruto on the screens.

"That must be… an Eternal stratum!"

"He actually possesses the Eternal stratum of legend!"

"With a stratum like that, he can be considered invincible to his peers!"

Meanwhile, outside of Planet East Victory, Patriarch Reliance was staring blankly at the vortex screen, eyes wide. He began to pant, and then moments later, started muttering curses.

"Little bastard, I can't believe he has an Eternal stratum!"

Another strange gleam appeared in the eyes of the white robed woman floating above the Dao Tree as she looked at Naruto.

At the same time, outside of the arena where Naruto stood, the halfheaded man hovered there, motionless. However, his one remaining eye stared dead at Naruto, glowing with what seemed to be avarice.

Zhao Yifan's face flickered, and he took a deep breath. His Dharma Idol suddenly appeared behind him, and the image it depicted was of himself!

It was an enormous giant, 3,000 meters tall, that radiated shocking energy.

In order to have a Dharma Idol like this, one had to possess one's own power of true Immortality, at least sixty to seventy percent. Back in the Southern Domain, Zhao Yifan had been strong, but not this strong. In fact, it was even possible to just barely see some sort of glowing vine on the Dharma Idol!

It was… an Immortality Illumination Vine!

"Heavens! Zhao Yifan is actually engaging in battle at the same time as he's using an Immortality Illumination Vine! Most other people would be in secluded meditation right now, but he dares to come out and fight!"

"Is he using battle to contemplate enlightenment? Using a duel to illuminate Immortality and open his path to true Immortality? This Zhao Yifan definitely deserves his reputation as one of the two most powerful successors to have appeared in years in the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!"

Even more shocking was that his Dharma Idol gripped a mighty longsword, upon which were inscribed two characters.

Cloud Sealing!

The words were somewhat indistinct, but everyone could see them.

As soon as people caught sight of the two characters, everyone was sent into an uproar.

"A Cloud Sealing Sword! His Dharma Idol actually produced a Cloud

Sealing Sword!"

"The Sublime Flow Sword Grotto has three types of divine swords, and the Cloud Sealing Sword is one of them! They are swords which don't exist in reality, but can only be summoned by cultivating Daoist magic from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. There are only a few Chosen who have the magical techniques and divine abilities to do it.

"But… but for the sword to appear in the hands of a Dharma Idol is completely unheard-of! Doesn't that mean that he can use any magical technique and divine ability he wants, and still unleash the power of that

Cloud Sealing Sword at the same time!?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 879

Chapter 879: Peak Battle!

Zhao Yifan suddenly looked up at Naruto, and his eyes overflowed with the desire to fight. Before his trip to Planet Ninshu, there had only been two people of his same generation who filled him with such a desire to fight.

After Planet Ninshu, there was another, Naruto. And now… yet another, Namikaze Kazama.

Monstrous fighting desire raged inside of him. Behind him, his 3,000meter Dharma Idol held the Cloud Sealing Sword, and was radiating shocking sword qi. As Zhao Yifan raised his head, he also lifted up his hand. Simultaneously, his Dharma Idol raised the Cloud Sealing Sword.

"First Sword, Felling the Mortal!" cried Zhao Yifan, and the sword descended!

The sword did not transform into an Azure Dragon, but rather, a green beam of light that instantly caused the entire golden arena to quake. A huge rift was ripped open in the air, and a massive rumbling sound echoed out. Wild colors flashed, and the heavenly bodies shook. Radiating a monstrous will, it shot toward Naruto, seemingly incapable of being blocked.

Almost as soon as the first sword descended, Zhao Yifan's energy

surged upward, and in the midst of the already intense power, more explosive power appeared. Zhao Yifan swept forward like a whirlwind, and then gave a piercing shout. "Second Sword, Shocking the Spirit!" After that, a third sword appeared.

"Third Sword, Severing the Immortal!"

This sword caused rumbling to fill the air as it followed the first two swords, splitting Heaven and Earth, surging forward invincibly!

After that, a fourth sword appeared.

"Fourth Sword, Shattering the Ancient!"

Each sword was faster than the previous sword, and more powerful. The four swords caused colors to flash, and the air to vibrate. Everything began to shake, and all the other cultivators on the Dao Tree looked on in astonishment.

The heavenly bodies seemed to grow dark, as if all the splendor of the world was being replaced by these swords.

However… Zhao Yifan wasn't finished.

"Fifth Sword, Trampling the Heavens!"

Shockingly, a fifth sword appeared. This fifth sword was far more incisive than all the previous four swords. Everyone who could see it with their own eyes felt as if they were being suffocated. The spectators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea made a collective gasp, and the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace looked on with shining eyes.

Five swords, shocking to the extreme!

Naruto remained standing in his original position. Although his expression was calm, a nearly undetectable desire to fight flickered in his eyes. As the five swords descended toward him, the black sealing marks all over his body began to move, swirling across his skin. His Devilish will exploded out, distorting the air and even affecting time. To him, it seemed as if everything he was seeing was now moving in slow motion.

He didn't move, but instead lifted his hand, performed an incantation gesture, and then tapped the first sword.

A boom could be heard as black light spread out from Naruto's finger. The first sword, with its astonishing energy, came to a stop in front of the fingertip. A howl of rage could be heard echoing out from the sword as it suddenly transformed into millions upon millions of swords. Just when they were about to try to sidestep the power of Naruto's finger attack, they began to tremble, and then simply exploded. Sword qi spread out in all directions, causing the golden arena to shake violently, seemingly on the verge of collapse. Naruto took a step forward, then pointed out a second time with his index finger to tap the second beam of sword qi.

A massive boom rattled out in all directions. Everything shook as the second sword collapsed in response to Naruto's finger attack, transforming into even more swords than had appeared just moments before, all of which then exploded.

When the spectators on the outside saw this, they were astonished. Everything was happening too quickly, giving them virtually no time to react. Naruto took a third step forward, right into the middle of endless sword shadows. Boundless sword qi swirled around him, and the number of swords was innumerable. It was almost as if he had entered a world of swords.

The third sword attack formed a globe of swords that began to shrink down as soon as Naruto stepped into it, transforming into one sword that slashed down toward him. Naruto's right hand lifted up, and a third finger attack was unleashed.

When it touched the third sword, a boom rattled out that shook the whole Dao Tree. A massive wind kicked up, and everything went dark for a moment. Even the mists outside of the Dao Tree began to churn.

In the midst of all the noise, the third sword attack… shattered into pieces. Everyone in the outside world watched as the sword world collapsed, and Naruto stepped out, his fourth step.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually, Naruto's four steps took place in the space of only a few breaths. By this time, the fourth and fifth sword attacks were bearing down on him simultaneously. They were like two lightning bolts that slashed through the air, bearing monstrous sword will.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he raised his right hand. He waved his finger two times, once for each of the two beams of sword qi. Shocking rumbling could be heard, booms that caused everything to quake. The air surrounding the arena twisted and distorted, and even the barrier separating the Dao Tree from the outside world seemed to be affected.

The sword qi collapsed, dispersing as Naruto took his fifth step. By that time, he was directly in front of Zhao Yifan, whereupon his right hand stretched out in a claw.

Zhao Yifan immediately fell back, waving his arm and causing a sixth sword to appear. After that came a seventh sword, which descended toward Naruto amidst massive rumbling. Two beams of sword qi swept toward him, although they did nothing to prevent him from advancing.

"Seven Swords Slaughter Mount Heaven!" roared Zhao Yifan in an earth shattering voice. His Dharma Idol took a step forward, raising its right hand to lift the 300-meter Cloud Sealing Sword. In this moment, it looked incredibly realistic, as if it truly existed.

Colors flashed, and a will of invincibility exploded out as the sword descended toward Naruto.

Naruto stopped in place and looked up. A vicious smile then appeared on his face, and he stamped his foot down onto the surface of the arena. Rumbling could be heard as… his own enormous Dharma Idol materialized!

When the Dharma Idol appeared, it was 3,000 meters tall, filled with shocking energy. It stepped forward and performed a double-handed incantation, then punched toward the huge sword descending from above.

From a distance, it was possible to see the two enormous Dharma Idols engaged in fierce fighting. Down on the surface of the arena, Naruto's body was wreathed in black flames, making him look like some sort of terrifying Devil. He advanced toward Zhao Yifan, waving his hand to cause millions of streams to appear, which then transformed into an enormous river.

Zhao Yifan's face flickered; he bit his tongue and then spit out some blood, each droplet of which transformed into an enormous sea, all of which then formed together into an even larger shocking composite sea. This was a sea that was not composed of water, but countless swords!

It was… a sea of swords!

The sea of swords immediately slammed into the massive river that was Naruto's Mountain Consuming Incantation. A shockwave spread out in all directions, causing everything to tremble. The dazzling light of magical techniques and divine abilities radiated out in all directions.

Naruto didn't stop for a moment. His body flickered as he transformed into an enormous black, flaming vulture. He whistled through the air, piercing the sea of swords to appear in front of Zhao Yifan and viciously slash razor-sharp claws at him. Zhao Yifan's face darkened as he fell back in shock. At this moment, he finally understood why all of Naruto's previous opponents had suffered setback after setback in combat. Now that he was experiencing the same thing himself, he truly felt terror of Naruto.

Naruto had an aura of invincibility, and he only attacked, sparing nothing for defense.

Facing this energy, one had no choice but to retreat, and by doing so, involuntarily fall into Naruto's rhythm of battle. Eventually, the continuous retreat would lead to one end… defeat.

Booms echoed out as over a hundred exchanges occurred between Zhao Yifan and Naruto. The golden arena was wracked with massive booms. As for the crowds outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, they watched the scene unfold with pounding hearts. The only thing they were paying attention to was the groundbreaking championship battle between Naruto and Zhao Yifan.

"I can't keep retreating!" thought Zhao Yifan, blood oozing out of his mouth. Suddenly, a fierce gleam appeared in his eyes as his Dharma Idol, which was currently locked in combat with Naruto's Dharma Idol, grew to a height of 6,000 meters, causing something like a violent windstorm to spread out across the arena.

Taking advantage of that blast of power, Zhao Yifan took a deep breath, and looked at Naruto with an unprecedented look of solemnity.

"Five Cleaving Swords, First Cleaving… Rising Sword Form!" As he spoke, he lifted his right hand. Sword qi began to swirl around each of his five fingers, and his speed suddenly increased to shocking effect. He waved his hand, causing numerous beams of sword qi to shoot out.

In the blink of an eye, 100 swords appeared in the form of sword qi. Shockingly, they flew up into the air, then spun and began to fall down toward Naruto like a rain of swords. Naruto's eyes glittered as he stretched out his right hand and made a grasping motion, which caused the long spear with the World Tree shaft and the bone spearhead to appear. He immediately swept it out in front of him, causing rumbling sounds to be heard as the 100 swords were deflected and sent stabbing into the surface of the arena.

However, Zhao Yifan's divine ability was still unfolding. 1,000 swords appeared up above, which then whistled down toward Naruto. The long spear danced, and more booms could be heard as the thousand swords were scattered and sent plunging into the ground. However, it was at this point that 10,000 swords appeared up above.

Rumbling filled the air as they began to fall. The arena had now become a world of swords. Naruto was surrounded by a whirlwind, which was the long spear. Banging sounds could be heard as the 10,000 swords were vanquished and sent stabbing into the ground.

However, it was at this point that Zhao Yifan spoke again.

"First Cleaving, Swords Cleave the Heavens!" Instantly, the 11,100 swords that had been stabbed into the ground rose up into the sky, where they merged together to form one huge sword.

One shocking sword appeared, a sword that caused the entire world to go still. For the first time, Naruto's facial expression changed as he looked up to stare at the huge weapon. He took a deep breath, raised his right foot up, and then stamped it down hard.

A boom echoed out, and his Dharma Idol suddenly began to expand until it too was 6,000 meters tall. It took a step forward and then punched out toward the huge sword.

The resulting boom was deafening, and the entire world trembled. The sword slashed through the fist of Naruto's Dharma Idol, then continued to cut down until it was only seven inches away from the top of Naruto's head, where it came to a stop. A defiant droning sound could be heard from the sword, and then it collapsed.

When the sword fell to pieces, Zhao Yifan coughed up blood and staggered backward.

Naruto looked up at the collapsing sword, and then turned to look at Zhao Yifan.

"You're pretty strong…." he said. "But now, it's my turn." With that, he vanished. When he reappeared, he was directly in front of Zhao Yifan, whereupon he clenched his hand into a fist and punched.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Naruto punched nine times; this was none other than the Nine Heavens Destruction.

The final blow unleashed violent upheavals. Zhao Yifan was sent tumbling backward, blood spraying from his mouth. He toppled head over heels along the ground, but before he could get very far, Naruto transformed into the vulture and swooped down toward him.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 880

Chapter 880: Shocking Transformations!

The vulture's claws could shred metal and crush stone!

Blood sprayed from Zhao Yifan's mouth, and his chest was a mass of mangled flesh. However, his mouth was twisted in a cold grin and he suddenly opened his mouth, causing a sword to fly out. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the air and was about to stab into Naruto. Naruto's eyes shone with a gleam of surprise, and he let out a mighty roar.

The sound of the roar caused ripples to spread out, and the sword stopped in place for a moment. In that short pause, Naruto's right hand moved like the wind, unleashing the Star Plucking Magic to grab the sword and crush it violently. Cracking sounds rang out as the sword shattered. Zhao Yifan coughed up blood yet again.

However, he also took advantage of that moment to leap up into the air.

"Dharma Idol True Body!" An expression of madness flickered on his face as he held his ground and refused to concede. As his words echoed out, his Dharma Idol suddenly vanished as it merged into his body. A moment later, a 6,000-meter giant appeared in midair.

It was Zhao Yifan.

" Namikaze Mu, our battle isn't over yet!" With a roar, he lifted his right hand, within which appeared the Cloud Sealing Sword, which he slashed down toward Naruto.

Almost in the same moment in which the sword began to fall, Naruto closed his eyes. When he opened them, his Dharma Idol vanished and merged with his body, whereupon another 6,000-meter giant appeared. His foot sped through the air in a roundhouse kick, smashing into the sword. Then, the two of them began to fight back and forth up in the air.

Booms echoed out, and the audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were breathing heavily.

"They're too powerful!"

"Neither Zhao Yifan nor Namikaze Kazama are Immortals, but even false Immortals would be like ants to them! They could kill them without expending any effort at all! They could probably even fight true Immortals!"

"They're both only at the peak of the Spirit Realm, but they're shocking even to me, and I've opened 30 meridians!"

"Too powerful!"

"If the two of them actually become Immortals, then of the ten stages in the Immortal Realm, they would definitely have at least 90 meridians!"

In the starry sky palace, the various Patriarchs were staring fixedly at the proceedings. Although any one of them could easily defeat Zhao Yifan or Naruto, the battle that was playing out in front of them was stunning and spectacular. After all… even though it was only a Spirit Realm battle, the Patriarchs were able to sense that both Zhao Yifan and Naruto both had the potential to be future Paragons.

"They both have 6,000 meter Dharma Idols. That's comparable to a stage two Immortal. In the ten stages of the Immortal Realm, each stage adds 3,000 meters to one's Dharma Idol!"

"Both of them have built a strong foundation for success. Zhao Yifan has been suppressing himself in the Spirit Realm for a long time, just waiting for true Immortal destiny to appear. Then, he can use his Immortality Illumination Vine to achieve true Immortal Ascension. One thing is for certain, once he enters the Immortal Realm, his cultivation speed will be explosive. He'll most likely reach the peak of the Immortal Realm in less than a hundred years!"

"It looks like Namikaze Kazama is in the same position. In fact, the Chosen of the all the important sects in the Ninth Mountain and Sea are all like that!"

Back in the arena, Naruto and Zhao Yifan were fighting fiercely. However, Naruto had not yet unleashed his full power. Even though his Devilish will had been rekindled, making him stronger than ever, he could sense that Zhao Yifan was still hiding some sort of terrifying aura, so because of that, Naruto was also holding back.

Rumbling filled the air, and Zhao Yifan's eyes were completely bloodshot. By this point in the battle, he was already using everything that he could exercise control over, and yet was still not a match for his opponent. In fact, he was consistently forced into retreat.

"I refuse to accept this!" he thought. Killing intent flickered in his eyes, and even as he fell back, he suddenly took a deep breath. It was at this point that a vine suddenly appeared, wrapping around his body and emanating gentle light, as well as Dao music. It was none other than an Immortality Illumination Vine.

Zhao Yifan threw his head back and roared. At the same time, the Immortality Illumination Vine began to glow radiantly. He began to tremble, and then grew even larger. He was now 9,000 meters tall!

His 9,000-meter tall body radiated shocking power, a power that Zhao Yifan actually found difficult to control, a power that came from sacrificing the Immortality Illumination Vine.

When the crowds out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea saw what was happening, they were sent into an uproar.

"He was actually suppressing his cultivation base before!"

"Heavens! He's actually… comparable to a stage three Immortal!"

" Namikaze Mu is finished!"

Zhao Yifan's vision had grown blurry. The only thing that he could see now was Naruto, and the only thought that existed in his head was that he had to defeat Namikaze Kazama!

BOOM!

Zhao Yifan's body flashed, and his energy surged to the heavens. He closed in on Naruto, sword qi raging in all directions, shattering the air. Rumbling sounds rang out as they once again began to fight.

Naruto's eyes glittered. Black flames surged around him as his Dharma Idol body suddenly grew with explosive speed. Now he was 9,000 meters tall too!

In that instant, a collective gasp of disbelief could be heard out in the

Ninth Mountain and Sea, and even from the cultivators on the Dao Tree.

"Heavens! Namikaze Kazama was also concealing his true cultivation base. I can't believe that he… is also comparable to a stage three Immortal!"

"Just who is going to win this battle!? Who… is going to take first place!?"

Booms rang out as Naruto and Zhao Yifan fought back and forth. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of exchanges had taken place. The ground quaked, the entire golden arena was shaking, and rifts could be seen in the air in all directions.

Finally, Zhao Yifan staggered backward, blood spraying from his mouth, a look of despair on his face. He had unleashed all the power he could muster, had done almost everything he could do, and yet still could not gain victory over his opponent.

"No," he thought. "I still haven't used everything. I still haven't used the Second Cleaving of the Five Cleaving Swords. But…."

Zhao Yifan's eyes radiated madness, and as he fell back, he suddenly stared straight at Naruto.

" Namikaze Mu, unleash the battle prowess of your most powerful cultivation base! We're going to determine victory and defeat with one move!" With that, Zhao Yifan tilted his head back and laughed uproariously. His lips were twisted with madness, and the obsession to win. Suddenly, he began to shake, and a burning aura exploded out.

In that instant, his Dharma Idol body began to emit blinding light. The light spread out and then all of a sudden… shrank back down!

This was… Dharma Idol self-detonation!

"Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, Five Cleaving Swords, also known as Five

Immortal Swords. With my current power, I can unleash the First Cleaving. Now, I will utilize the power of self-detonation to unleash the Second Cleaving!

" Namikaze Mu, if you can't stand up to this attack, then you will be defeated!" As Zhao Yifan spoke, his Dharma Idol rapidly grew smaller. However, his terrifying aura grew more and more powerful.

The audiences in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were in an uproar. In the starry sky palace, the Patriarchs had all risen to their feet. The old man from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto stamped his foot onto the ground.

"So impulsive!" he thought, frowning. As he watched the scene playing out on the vortex screen, his expression darkened.

" Namikaze Mu," cried Zhao Yifan, "after this attack, I will be powerless to do anything. If I don't die, then at the very least, I'll have to go into secluded meditation to recover, and it will be difficult for me to create another Dharma Idol. But I, Zhao Yifan, have no regrets!

"This battle, this attack, contains all of my hope! Show me… exactly how strong you actually are!" By now, Zhao Yifan had shrunk from 9,000 meters tall to only 900. His energy continued to surge, and the air around him shattered. Even the arena itself was trembling.

Naruto looked in Zhao Yifan's eyes, and what he saw was a madness inspired by the heat of battle. He nodded his head silently, and suddenly, the Devilish will inside of him exploded out. Black flames surged into the Heavens, and his Dharma Idol once again began to grow!

9,500 meters. 10,500 meters. 11,500 meters…. All the way to….

12,000 meters!

He stood there, surrounded by intense rumbling. All of the cultivators on the Dao Tree were flabbergasted. None of them had ever heard of someone in the Spirit Realm who was comparable to a fourth stage Immortal!

They could understand Zhao Yifan's extraordinary display of power, especially because he had an Immortality Illumination Vine to rely on. But Naruto's Dharma Idol had no Immortality Illumination Vine!

Such a thing was… completely terrifying!

Out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the crowds were going wild. The buzz of conversation echoed about everywhere, and anticipatory shouts drifted about.

"Zhao Yifan is detonating his Dharma Idol and drawing on his life force to unleash his most powerful sword attack! And Namikaze Kazama… is actually comparable to a fourth stage Immortal!"

"Victory and defeat will be determined right now! I wonder which of these two… will take first place!"

The most anticipated moment of the entire trial by fire, and of all the arena matches, had now arrived!

The audiences' eyes were glued to the vortex screens as Zhao Yifan's body shrank down to the size of a normal person. His 9,000-meter Dharma Idol had collapsed, and all of the power of that collapse had been coalesced into the sword that he held in his hand.

This was no ordinary sword!

"Five Cleaving Swords, Second Cleaving…. Immortal: Why Sever the Mundane World?!" As Zhao Yifan's voice rang out, he lifted his right hand, and his eyes shone with unprecedented brightness. This sword attack contained his life force, his Dharma Idol, his willpower, his everything!

He raised his sword up, and then swung it downwards. It transformed into a Heavenly sword, something that could sever mortality. It was as if the sword were asking an Immortal, 'will you sever the mundane…? Or not?!'

Rumbling filled the air as the sword slashed down. Naruto took a deep breath. He had eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, and the power of an Immortal meridian. All of that power exploded out as his Dharma Idol performed a double-handed incantation, then prepared to punch out. Shockingly… an Immortal meridian appeared in the air around his Dharma Idol!

The Immortal meridian looked like a strand of silk, swirling around him, bursting with shocking Immortal qi that coalesced onto his hand, creating the most powerful punch he was capable of. The punch slammed out into the air above the arena.

When the sword and the punch collided, a massive boom rattled out, shaking the entire Dao Tree. The air churned, and even the people outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea could sense it. In the starry sky palace, the various Patriarchs were all panting.

BOOOMMMM!

The sound seemed capable of ripping open the Heavens. A gigantic vortex appeared, instantly spreading out to cover the entire golden arena. The aura inside the vortex grew more and more intense, as all of the power unleashed by Naruto and Zhao Yifan gathered together. At the same time, the entire arena began to collapse!

It was at this point that a massive backlash of power rose up in the vortex, which then swept down directly onto Zhao Yifan. It was far too much power for him to bear, and a wan smile suddenly appeared on his face as he realized that he had been defeated.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, and cracking sounds could be heard all over his body. More than half of the bones in his body were shattered as he was violently thrown out of the Dao Tree itself.

"I lost…." he murmured. In the moments before he lost consciousness, he saw Naruto standing there, fighting back against the power. Then Zhao Yifan passed out.

After Zhao Yifan lost consciousness, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. Instantly, the flames from the Devilish will were extinguished, and a peaceful glow appeared in his eyes. However, the force of the attack against him sent him tumbling back, out of control. Rumbling could be heard as he was sent flying off of the arena and outside of the Dao Tree!

In that exact moment….

The half-headed man who had been lurking outside of the arena the entire time looked over with an expression of excited greed. Utilizing incredible speed, he shot from his position by the arena toward Uzumaki

Hao, who was tumbling through the void above the Ruins of Immortality.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 881

Chapter 881 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 881: Sixth Demon Sealing Hex!

"Dammit!" Naruto's face fell. Everything that had happened moments ago seemed almost like a dream. When Qian Duoduo drew out his Devilish will, it influenced Naruto on an emotional level, and had also changed his personality. Although he had seemed calm and coolheaded, it was merely an external thing. He had actually lost any sense of what was going on around him.

Situational awareness was something incongruous with the Devilish will.

And now, here he was being ejected from the arena into the outside.

Because of the intense power he had just unleashed, the Devilish will had been completely set aboil, and because of the force that caused him to shoot out of the arena, it had dissipated by more than half. Because of that, Naruto's consciousness was not being interfered with any more; it was almost as if he had awoken from a dream.

There was no time to worry about expelling the rest of the Devilish will. Naruto was now in the middle of a maelstrom of danger. As soon as he left the arena, the half-headed man closed in and grabbed ahold of him.

His hand was ice-cold, and as soon as it latched onto Naruto, Naruto's entire body turned icy. He was just about to try to struggle when, all of a sudden, his face flickered. This was a result of something the half-headed man did, a magical art that he unleashed that Naruto was very familiar with!

It was… the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

In an instant, Naruto was completely confined, incapable of even the slightest movement. At the same time, his life force, his cultivation base, everything was instantly sent toward the half-headed man, as if he wanted to voraciously consume it.

Naruto's mind was reeling as the half-headed man instantly shot off into the distance with Naruto in tow, to disappear into the mists.

It all happened too quickly. Naruto was gone before anyone on the Dao Tree could react.

Ling Yunzi's face fell, and he flew up into the air. However, when he looked out into the boundless void, despite his anxiety, he knew… it was impossible for him to go out into the mists.

The other two old men also had dark looks on their faces as they stared out at the spot where Naruto had disappeared into the mists.

Everyone on the Dao Tree gaped in shock.

Everything had happened too quickly, and it was something nobody could have predicted. As for Zhao Yifan, he now lay crumpled on the ground beneath the Dao Tree, unconscious and hovering on the brink of death.

Outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the cultivators who had been watching the battle now felt their minds trembling. Expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces as they watched the half-headed man take Naruto away.

"He… he got first place, but…."

"What's going on? How could something like this happen? This is impossible!"

"Dammit! He got first place! He defeated Zhao Yifan! He got first place in the trial by fire, and then first place in the arena matches. He's supposed to become famous in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. How come… how come it had to end up like this!?"

"I can't believe the Ruins of Immortality are this dangerous! Why did they have to hold the arena matches in a place like this!?"

Many people in the crowds outside in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were furious. They had all just witnessed Namikaze Kazama's rise to prominence. Many had even come to view him as a future Paragon, and yet all of it disappeared in an instant.

There were some people who actually breathed sighs of relief. Namikaze Kazama was far too powerful, to the point where cultivators of his generation felt stifling pressure. For him to simply disappear was the best outcome, as far as they were concerned.

" Namikaze Mu is definitely dead. That half-headed man took him away to experience an untimely death."

"What an unlucky Chosen. Well, now there's one less person for me to challenge in the future."

While the crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were abuzz, the Patriarchs in the starry sky palace looked on in shock. The Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies also wore grim expressions as they slowly rose to their feet. First, they looked toward the spot where Naruto had disappeared, and then they turned their attention to the white-robed woman who hovered above the Dao Tree.

The woman glanced down at the unconscious Zhao Yifan, then turned her head to look out into the void. She appeared to be muttering to herself for a moment, and then suddenly she turned and disappeared in the same direction Naruto had gone.

After seeing this, the Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies were extremely excited.

"Perhaps… Namikaze Kazama isn't dead!"

"Perhaps… we really will succeed this time!"

"Ah the Echelon. In the great Nine Mountains and Seas, only the Ninth

Mountain and Sea have yet to send someone into the Echelon…."

Meanwhile, outside of Planet East Victory, Patriarch Reliance floated among the stars, his eyes wide with astonishment, breathing heavily as he looked at the vortex screen.

"Is the little bastard going to die just like that? Impossible! If the little bastard was that easy to get rid of, well wouldn't that be poetic justice? Although, how come… how come that half-headed man… looked so familiar…?"

The 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch sat cross-legged on an asteroid shooting through the starry sky, watching silently as the events played out on the vortex screen up ahead.

In the Kunlun Society, Pill Demon was trembling, and a brilliant light shone from his eyes. Although he didn't believe Naruto could be killed so easily, it was the Ruins of Immortality….

Sakura was also shaking. Her breath came in ragged pants, and her face was pale white. She didn't dare to believe that Naruto was really dead. All of the energy seemed to drain out of her, and she staggered back a few steps. Tears began to stream down her face.

"He won't die…."

On Planet Ninshu, in the vast Eastern Lands, Naruto's parents sat in the Namikaze Clan, their faces pale, holding hands tightly. Namikaze Minato's expression was calm, but in his heart, a monstrous desire to kill had risen up.

After a few deep breaths, he growled, "Hao'er is not the type of person to die young. He won't be killed. But if he does perish… then I, Fang

Minato, vow that I will continue to guard this planet. However, after the 100,000 years have passed, then I will personally open the door to release the evil Devils, and ensure that the Three Great Daoist Societies are buried together with my son!

"Furthermore, those Ruins of Immortality… will serve as burial objects!"

When Might Guy, Fatty, and Li Shiqi saw what had happened, they trembled in disbelief.

All of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was in an uproar. Naruto had just earned first place, and then… had disappeared to who knew where!

Naturally, Naruto was not dead.

The half-headed man grasped him tightly as they shot through the mists. Naruto trembled as his life force, cultivation base, and aura were absorbed by the man.

Slowly, the flesh and blood of the man's head began to heal. His aura gradually moved away from death, and a bit of life force could be detected. However, he still seemed to be lacking in terms of consciousness, as if he had no mental faculties, and was only acting on instinct.

Naruto couldn't move, and his thoughts were sluggish. Icy coldness filled him. However, as his life force was sucked away, the remaining Devilish will inside of him was also absorbed.

As the half-headed man absorbed more and more of the Devilish will, he suddenly stopped in place, and black flames flickered on his body.

The man had feared the flames of the Devilish will before, and now that he was absorbing Naruto's cultivation base and life force, he himself began to burn, and an expression of anguish appeared on his face.

In that instant, Naruto was suddenly able to move again. He also recovered his mental faculties, and was instantly shocked.

"He… he can use the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!" he thought. "Who is he? Don't tell me… he's also from the League of Demon Sealers!?

"That sword contains the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex, and it's stuck into his side. If he's from the League of Demon Sealers, then either there was infighting within the League of Demon Sealers, or… he stabbed the sword into himself, as a sealing!" Numerous speculations ran through Naruto's head, but in this critical moment of danger, he had no time to think too much about it.

Eyes glittering, Naruto took advantage of the moment to unleash his cultivation base. His Immortal meridian began to emanate Immortal qi, which he attempted to use to struggle against the half-headed man. Unfortunately, the man was far too powerful, and Naruto's efforts were in vain.

However… Naruto was not interested in battling the man. Instead, he used the brief moment in which he could move to suddenly reach out and grab the sword that was stabbed into the man's side.

As soon as he touched the sword, the ancient Demon Sealing Jade in his bag of holding began to vibrate madly. At the same time, the halfheaded man began to let out a miserable shriek. As this happened, Naruto used every scrap of power he could muster to yank the sword out from the man's side.

As he pulled the sword out of the man… a stream of black blood sprayed out with it. The man trembled, releasing Naruto, who then backed up at top speed, face pale and blood spurting out of his mouth.

He had lost a lot of life force, and his cultivation base was in chaos. He was in very sore straits, and yet, he didn't pause for even the least bit, but instead, unleashed every bit of speed that he could to escape.

The half-headed man trembled, and pushed his hand down onto his wound. However, no matter what he did, blood continued to stream out of the wound.

"Who am I…? Who… who am I?" the man murmured, a confused expression on his face. His mind seemed to be in chaos as his words echoed out.

"My sword… my sword…." As his words rang out, the blood flowing from his body suddenly congealed together to form into blood snakes. Their bodies were covered with long feelers, and they looked extremely vicious. More and more of them continued to pour out of the man's wound, until they filled the area, nearly a thousand of them.

Naruto's scalp was going numb.

It was at this point that a shrill whistling sound could be heard from off in the distance. A black wind was approaching, along with the decomposing roc, the same things Naruto had seen outside of the Dao Tree. The roc closed in greedily, heading straight toward the halfheaded man.

As it neared, the man murmured something, and then his eyes glittered, and he performed an incantation with his right hand, then pointed at the roc.

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

That one wave of a finger caused the huge roc to stop in place and then fall downward.

Naruto's mind was trembling.

Next, the mists began to churn as more and more figures appeared. One of them was the naga cultivator, and all of them were staring greedily at the vicious blood snakes that were boring out from within the man's wound. From the look in their eyes, it was as if they were staring at treasures. In the blink of an eye, they charged forward madly.

"I am… the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer…." the half-headed man said. He looked around blankly at the incoming figures. His hand was pressed onto the wound at this side as he attempted to prevent the blood snakes from emerging. Within his eyes, a gleam of clarity suddenly appeared.

"Sixth Demon Sealing Hex… Life-Death Hexing!"

With that, he waved his finger.

Chapter 881: Sixth Demon Sealing Hex!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 882

Chapter 882: 13th in the Echelon!

Sixth Demon Sealing Hex, Life-Death Hexing!

The Sixth Generation Demon Sealer pointed out with his right index finger, and instantly two streams qi poured out, one black and one white. They swirled around each other to form a vortex.

That vortex… was gray!

The gray vortex expanded rapidly; in the blink of an eye it was over

3,000 meters wide, and exerted a gravitational force in all directions. The figures that surrounded the area began to let out miserable shrieks; they trembled as their bodies decomposed, and magical symbols appeared all over them.

Those magical symbols were also gray, and they glittered as the figures screamed, then looked blankly toward the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer, dropped to their knees and bowed in worship.

Even the powerful naga did so.

As Naruto watched all this, his scalp tingled, and he continued to back up rapidly. However, it was at this point that the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer slowly turned his head to look directly at Naruto.

In that instant, the man's jaw dropped.

Naruto felt as if his blood were freezing. An intense sensation of deadly crisis appeared, and he suddenly stopped in place and stared back at the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer. He had the sudden feeling that if he continued to back up, the man would attack him.

Currently, the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer seemed to be hesitating, thinking.

Time seemed to slow down. More and more black snakes poured out of the man's wound, and they swirled around him, seemingly on the verge of escaping. However, for some reason they also seemed to be locked in one area, unable to leave.

After a long moment, the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer began to speak.

"End the League of Demon Sealers in exchange for keeping the spirit of Pāramitā asleep," he murmured, "or… allow fate to run its course, and give hope to the League." He gazed deeply at Naruto for a long moment, and then looked down at the sword Naruto held.

"Take this chance to contemplate the matter thoroughly," he said softly, his expression kindly. Then he turned, keeping his hand pressed down onto his wound, and began to walk off into the distance, surrounded by shrieking black blood snakes. The snakes apparently wished to flee from the area surrounding the Sixth Demon Sealer, but were incapable of doing so, and were dragged along with him as he walked off.

As for all of the other figures in the area who had been caught up in the Life-Death Hexing, they seemed to have lost all sense of themselves, and slowly began to follow the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer.

"Senior!" Naruto suddenly cried out. "What happened to you? Where are you going!?"

"I was defeated in the third Mountain and Sea Tribulation…." The Sixth Generation Demon Sealer's voice was archaic and ancient. "I am going to search for my final resting place…. As for you… in the future, you will also face the Mountain and Sea Tribulation. If you are defeated, then we will be waiting for you on the road to that final resting place.

"Demon Sealers. The League. We are the most powerful in the Nine

Mountains and Seas. We are also the ones… who bear the most grief.

"It is a rough and bumpy road, so take care of yourself…."

Naruto looked at the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer's back as he floated off into the distance.

"Defeated?" he said, staring in shock. Then he suddenly thought back to the words uttered by the Eighth Generation Demon Sealer, which were recorded in the jade slip. He had also spoken of transcending the Mountain and Sea Tribulation!

"What is the Mountain and Sea Tribulation!?" Naruto asked urgently. As he looked at the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer, Naruto suddenly had an intense premonition that one day… he could end up just like this.

"Ancient Dao; Tenacious Desire to Seal the Heavens, Benefaction for All in the Mountains; Dao Tribulation Must Come to the Nine Mountains and Seas; My Fate is the Aeon!

"Ancient Dao; Study Demons of Myriad Variations; Tread not the Path of Immortals; Face the Tribulation of the Nine Mountains and Seas; My Dao is Eternal; the Masses Have Erred, but My Dao Is True; My Fate is the Aeon!"

Those same two verses!

Naruto's mind trembled. They were the same words that had been uttered by the Eighth Generation Demon Sealer.

"What happens in the case of success!?" Naruto asked. The Sixth Generation Demon Sealer was already far off in the distance, but after a long moment, his ancient voice echoed weakly into Naruto's ears.

"With a thought, the Nine Mountains came into existence. With a thought, the Nine Seas appeared. The Nine Mountains and Seas, return to the Essence."

Naruto's face was pale. Everything he had seen since leaving the arena was like a dream. It turned out that the half-headed man was actually… the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer.

"If all that happened was that he failed to transcend some tribulation… then what horrifying thing happened to his body? And what were those blood snakes?!

"With a thought, the Nine Mountains exist. With a thought, the Nine Seas appear. Nine Mountains and Seas, return to the Essence. Just what does that mean?

"Nine Mountains and Seas. The Essence…. The League of Demon Sealers…." Naruto was now panting.

"Also, how could the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer use the Eighth Hex?"

After a long moment, he grew silent and then looked around. Then, doing his best to remember the path the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer had taken to get to this place, he began carefully making his way back.

There were far too many dangers lurking in this place, many of which would be fatal to him. All he could do was remain as cautious as possible. The slightest misstep could lead to him perishing.

Time passed.

The arena matches were over. A pained expression could be seen on

Ling Yunzi's face. He really had attached a lot of importance to Naruto. He couldn't forget the steadfast expression on his face when he'd retrieved the Feng Shui compass.

He left, along with the other two men from the other Great Daoist Societies. They took the cultivators away from the arenas, the Dao Tree, the God corpse, and the Ruins of Immortality. They returned to the starry sky.

Some people went home, others were taken in by the sects as disciples. The Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire and accompanying arena matches were officially concluded.

Zhao Yifan was taken back to the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. When he regained consciousness and heard about what had happened, he balled his hand into a fist and slammed it into the ground. Blood spattered out of his fist, and intense regret could be seen in his eyes, along with determination.

In the end, Might Guy was taken in as a disciple of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto.

Fatty went to the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum. When his master accompanied him back to Planet Ninshu and found out that he had over a hundred beloved concubines, he stared in shock, and was speechless for a very long moment.

Li Shiqi joined the Church of the Blood Orchid. Considering her experience fusing with the Blood Orchid, she was immediately put into the running to become Holy Daughter.

Shikamaru's unsurpassed brutal experience, a madness in which he had destroyed his own eyes, leaving him in a world of darkness, was actually in perfect concordance with the Dao of the Moonset Lake.

After moonset, there is no light whatsoever in Heaven and Earth. Before light arrives, when there is no moon, everything is covered by…darkness.

In addition to these four, there were quite a few others from Planet Ninshu who participated in the trial by fire and were accepted as disciples into other minor sects. Others returned home in disappointment.

Time passed, an entire month. During that month, the name Namikaze Kazama became well-known throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Even cultivators who hadn't been watching the vortex screens heard of the stories.

He was not Immortal, and yet was as powerful as a stage four Immortal!

He took first place in the trial by fire and first place in the arena matches. Because of everything that had happened, Namikaze Kazama became a legend. That was especially true when it all ended with him disappearing into the Ruins of Immortality. Because of that, the legend spread even more widely.

Meanwhile, Naruto plodded along through the Ruins of Immortality, his face pale. He sent his divine sense out, but didn't dare to send it too far. During the past month, he had already faced several dangerous situations. On three of those occasions, he had almost ended up dead.

On more than one occasion, he saw a group of huge floating heads. Each of the heads seemed to be as big as a planet, causing Naruto to pant, and his mind to spin.

He saw an ancient battlefield, filled with countless corpses. Roving amongst the corpses were people who… feasted on the rotting flesh around them. He had no idea when the battle had actually taken place, but the corpses still had flesh on them, as if they would never rot away.

He saw a huge medicinal plant garden, choked with weeds. However, within the weeds, Naruto caught sight of some legendary medicinal plants, the sight of which left him panting.

They were plants that Pill Demon had spoken of back when he cultivated the Dao of alchemy in the Violet Fate Sect, plants that were supposed to be extinct. However, within that medicinal plant garden, he saw at least a hundred different varieties of such legendary plants.

There was something else he saw there that was especially noteworthy… an Immortality Illumination Vine!

The only problem was that there were innumerable black beetles in the area, seemingly without end. If he got too close, they would fly up in great clouds, forcing him to flee off into the distance. If he had been even the slightest bit slower, it would surely lead to his death.

He saw something the size of a planet, but covered with tentacles. Even the mere sight of it in the distance caused Naruto's scalp to grow numb, and he immediately fled.

At one point, he saw a right hand that was so huge it looked as big as a galaxy….

In addition to these things, he saw innumerable corpses floating about in the Ruins of Immortality. There were shattered remnants of buildings, vast stretches of land, and even wild beasts whistling through the air.

Compared to these vast and mysterious Ruins of Immortality, Naruto himself was tiny and weak. Compared to all of the amazing things he saw, he was nothing.

During the month, some of his life force actually vanished. However, his cultivation base was slowly recovering, which gave him some more confidence. Most importantly, the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer's sword contained some strange power. Any time he faced some danger, the sword would emanate a bright light, which was one of the main reasons Naruto was still alive.

When he touched the surface of the sword, he was able to feel the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex. However, this hex was a difficult one, and during the month, Naruto was unable to gain enlightenment.

After walking around for a month, he was unable to find the corpse of the Pāramitā God. Nor did he ever see the Dao Tree. The only way for him to find his path back home was if he found that corpse and that tree.

One day, he saw an Immortal's cave, floating there in the air. It appeared to be in the midst of a phasing teleportation cycle, occasionally there, occasionally not there.

It was covered with cracks, as if countless battles had been fought outside of it. When Naruto looked at the cracks, his mind spun, as if there were shocking divine abilities and magical techniques inside of them.

In the instant that he caught sight of the Immortal's cave, its door opened soundlessly, and a white-robed woman could be seen sitting there. In that moment, it seemed as if everything else disappeared except for the woman, sitting there all alone.

Her gaze was tranquil as she looked off into the distance, and also seemed to be filled with an unending loneliness….

She seemed to be the type of person who could elicit the worship of all living things, who could cause the Ruins of Immortality to tremble. She seemed to have lost something that she could never get back, something that only the sad song that had echoed out by the Dao Tree could possibly clearly explain.

She slowly looked up, and her gaze fell onto Naruto.

Naruto trembled as he realized that this woman… was none other than the one who had appeared by the ancient Dao Tree, the one who had caused all the other figures to bow in worship.

"Henceforth you are 13th in the Echelon," she said slowly. Her echoing voice sounded as if it was resonating out from ancient times.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 883

Chapter 883: Snatching Food From the Tiger's Mouth!

"13th in the Echelon?" said Naruto, gaping at the woman. He had no idea what she was talking about.

The woman didn't respond at first. She simply looked at Naruto, her expression one of seeming reminiscence, as if she were thinking of something she had once experienced. After a long moment, her cold voice echoed out once again.

"In the great Nine Mountains and Seas, there are only room for nine. There are a thousand years until the plan can be carried out. The nine people who break into the Ancient Realm first, can set off on the journey.

"There are already seven people ahead of you who have succeeded.

"The Ninth Mountain and Sea has already fallen behind by quite a bit." With that, she extended her right hand and pointed at Naruto. He was incapable of resisting as a sealing mark flew out and settled onto his forehead.

The sealing mark glittered with dim light, flashing thirteen times before it faded away.

The sealing mark caused Naruto to tremble, and suddenly, he felt as if an additional stream of qi had appeared inside of him. The qi circulated throughout his entire body, then concealed itself, fading away.

"This sealing mark can protect your soul from being destroyed, but only twice," the woman said, her ice-cold voice echoing about.

"After that, if your soul is exterminated, then naturally your qualifications will vanish. However, if you eventually enter into the top nine rankings… then your future potential is limitless.

"Seize this opportunity." Having finished speaking, the door of the Immortal's cave began to close, and the Immortal cave itself began to fade, as if it were about to vanish.

"Senior," he replied, "the opportunity you speak of, and this setting off on a journey. What's the destination?"

The woman's voice echoed out from within the Immortal's cave: "Outside the great Nine Mountains and Seas, to the outside world. To find out the true reason that ancient war was fought.

"There are some who wish to awaken a certain person," the woman murmured. "There are some who wish to bring a certain person back to life…. The fault does not lie with us!" She seemed to be on the verge of fading away.

"Senior, wait a moment," said Naruto. He still had the feeling that the sealing mark wasn't a good thing, and that the so-called good fortune was good fortune in word only. Currently, he was left with a sense of extreme danger. "I still don't understand," he continued. "If my soul is exterminated, and my qualifications vanish, then what about the person who kills me?"

"Whoever kills you will acquire the sealing mark. If they can come to me here, then they will be the successor of your qualifications." The Immortal's cave was now approximately seventy percent vanished, and the woman's voice was faint.

Naruto's eyes widened, and he anxiously said, "Senior, um… my father and mother are getting old, and I also have an older sister. I'm waiting for my beloved to return to me. Uh… can I decline to go? I don't really want this sealing mark."

"You were enlightened regarding Paragon magic, took first place in the arena matches of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and have the qualifications of a Daoist Society. Therefore… you cannot decline to receive my sealing mark. If you do not wish to make the journey, then go out and find someone to exterminate your soul twice." The Immortal's cave was fading away rapidly, and now only ten percent remained.

"You…." Naruto was getting really anxious now. "Senior, I'm stuck here, and can't get out. If I'm 13th in the Echelon, is there any way you can get me out of here?

"If I can't get out, then I might perish, then you putting me in the Echelon would have been completely in vain. Furthermore, this place is simply too dangerous for someone like me."

Naruto was pretty sure that most of the sects would have no idea what this woman was talking about when she mentioned the Echelon. However, the Three Great Daoist Societies definitely knew. And while they might not bear him any ill intentions, he didn't like his own life or death to be determined by a mere thought on the part of someone other party.

The vanishing of the Immortal's cave paused momentarily, and after a moment of silence that lasted for the space of a few breaths, a crystalline beam of light shot out from inside to land in Naruto's hand in the form of a jade slip.

"That jade slip will teleport you out of here. You can only use it once, and it will take you anywhere that you can mentally recall." After she finished speaking, the Immortal's cave vanished completely.

Naruto held the jade slip in his hand, and his eyes widened. Then he frowned and touched his forehead. After a moment passed, his eyes began to glitter.

"Forget about this Echelon business for now. Just finally being able to get out of here is good thing!" Naruto knew that if he only relied on the power of his cultivation base to get out, it would be far too difficult.

After taking a deep breath, he hefted the jade slip and was about to use it to teleport out, when suddenly he gave a start.

"Now that I can leave any time I want… well, if I left now, it would be a bit of a waste." After thinking about it for a moment, his eyes filled with determination, and he gritted his teeth.

"I'm gonna give it a shot!" he thought. That was Naruto's personality. To go out and return empty-handed was a waste. Therefore, he turned and retraced his tracks back to the medicinal plant garden.

Rewards come only with risk!

After Naruto left, the Immortal's cave that had just vanished suddenly reappeared. The white-robed woman also returned, and she watched Naruto walking off into the distance, a look of reminiscence on her face.

"The League of Demon Sealers…." she murmured. In that moment, a rare tenderness appeared on her face.

Naruto proceeded cautiously through the Ruins of Immortality. In almost any location in this place, it was possible that there were terrifying things lurking about that could destroy him in body and spirit. There were many places that he couldn't avoid no matter how cautious he was. It was fortunate, therefore, that Naruto had already traveled this path before and thus didn't attempt to explore any of those locations. Instead, he proceeded slowly and carefully for about half a month until he once again found himself outside the medicinal plant garden, where he stood there and salivated at what he saw.

From a distance, the medicinal plant garden seemed like a vast stretch of land overrun with countless weeds. However, amidst the weeds were random medicinal plants, many of which were virtually extinct in the outside world, and which would be called Celestial medicinal plants. There were even some locations that had legendary holy medicinal plants.

The problem lay in the innumerable, frightening black beetles with razorsharp mandibles that had occupied the entire garden and posed a threat to everything nearby.

"That's… Reincarnation Leaf!

"And there's a Sun Blossom!

"That's Arhat Grass!" Naruto was trembling with anticipation. Even from a distance, he was able to recognize these three Holy medicinal plants. Any one of them was enough to cause people in the outside world to go crazy.

Further in, there were a greater quantities of even better Holy medicinal plants, but Naruto knew how to restrain himself. It would clearly be impossible to get that far in. Not to mention, even though everything in the area of the much-closer Reincarnation Leaf seemed harmless at the moment, Naruto remembered that when he had come here earlier, a step too close had given rise to clouds of black beetles.

The Reincarnation Leaves were growing on a small violet-colored tree. There were nine of them in total, and they were shaped like crescent moons; a unique magical symbol glittered brightly on each of them. Just looking at the tree gave a person the sensation that they were looking at the cycle of reincarnation itself.

As for the Sun Blossoms, they creeped along the ground, tiny orange flowers that looked exactly like suns, glowing with brilliant light.

Then there was the Arhat Grass, which was an ordinary-looking plant that resembled a dandelion.

Naruto took a deep breath and then narrowed his eyes. Holding the jade slip in his left hand, he gritted his teeth and then slowly caused his aura to weaken.

"When I came here before," he thought, "tens of thousands of beetles appeared when I got within three thousand meters of the medicinal plant garden…. It seems the beetles are sensitive to auras…." His aura continued to grow weaker and weaker, until he had suppressed himself to the point that he bore the appearance of a Core Formation cultivator.

"A bit more!" he thought, still not quite convinced that it was enough.

After pushing his aura down even further, it was at the Foundation Establishment stage. This was the limit of what he could accomplish at the moment.

Next, his body flickered as the shapeshifting meat jelly was tossed out. It was just about to begin jabbering when it suddenly looked around and started shaking.

"Dammit! Dammit! I was only asleep for a bit and y-y-you… you brought me to a place like this? Heavens! Heavens! This… this place is way too dangerous!"

"Quiet!" snapped Naruto. He quickly retrieved the black feather, gave it to the meat jelly, and then provided a few instructions. After hearing his plan, the meat jelly was shocked, and shook its head vigorously. However, after Naruto uttered enough threats, the meat jelly put on a long face and agreed to the plan.

Naruto crept slowly toward the medicinal plant garden. He'd already made the decision that if he couldn't acquire the Holy medicinal plants, then he would swallow his regret and teleport out. However, by this point, he had reached the 3,000-meter position that had caught the attention of the countless beetles before.

His heart pounded madly as his foot stepped past that point. He stared up ahead, vigilantly preparing for the beetles to appear, yet none did. "This method works!" Licking his lips, he continued forward until he was at the 1,500 meter mark. Suddenly, dozens of black beetles flew up from within the weeds. Naruto's face fell, and he gripped the jade slip tightly. However, he held his ground, gritting his teeth and remaining stock still.

The dozens of black beetles all emanated ferocious auras as they flew about. However, after finding nothing, they slowly flew back down to the ground.

Beads of sweat rolled down Naruto's face. He knew that at this distance, if the black beetles suddenly attacked, he would be in great danger.

After a long moment passed, he gritted his teeth and crept forward again. He was now at the 1,000-meter mark, and a thousand beetles flew up buzzing into the air. Naruto was even more nervous than before.

"The only way I can get close is be suppressing my aura to the point where they think I'm too weak to be a threat." A moment later, the black beetles all flew back down to the ground, and Naruto crept forward once again.

600 meters. 300 meters. 150 meters!

As soon as he passed the 150-meter mark, his eyes widened, and his throat tightened as everything turned black.

Tens of thousands of beetles instantly shot up into the air.

In that moment, Naruto urgently sent out divine will. Further out, the meat jelly was trembling and cursing inwardly. Gritting its teeth, it used the black feather to suddenly cast out a shocking aura.

Immediately, the beetles up ahead of Naruto were sent astir. A black sheet of light rose up that was composed of tens of thousands of black beetles, all of whom shot directly up into the sky.

The auras cast out by the beetles brushed against Naruto, and blood sprayed from his mouth. However, his expression was one of complete determination and utter excitement. His body flickered as he shot down toward the Reincarnation Leaf. Without the slightest hesitation, he didn't collect the leaves, but actually tried to wrench the entire tree out of the ground, along with the Immortality Illumination Vine that was at its root!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 884

Chapter 884: Family Reunion

The little violet tree was actually very tough; unexpectedly, it resisted Naruto's efforts to pull it out of the ground. A brutal gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes, and he used all the force he could muster; the power of a stage four Immortal exploded out as he tugged violently on the tree until a boom could be heard, and the tree was pulled up out of the ground.

"Rich! I've struck it rich!" Naruto's eyes gleamed with excitement, and his heart pounded with happiness. He turned and sped toward the Sun Blossoms. Eyes burning with madness, he waved his sleeve to pull them up by the root as well.

All of this happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. In the meantime, the meat jelly was hollering and blubbering as it speedily retreated through the sky above, its entire body numb as it looked at the endless black beetles flying toward it. As it shot backward, the illusion created by the black feather fell away.

With its aura suddenly weakened, Naruto's actions down below were instantly noticed by the black beetles. Such provocation was something they hadn't experienced in years; no one had ever had the gall to try place themselves within the mouth of the tiger.

Rumbling could be heard as the beetles performed an about face and shot toward Naruto. They moved with incredible speed, blanketing the area as they closed in. The meat jelly gritted its teeth. It didn't want to follow the plan that Naruto had laid out, but it thought about how dangerous the place was and changed its mind. Wailing piteously, it used the black feather to make itself look like a black beetle, which then joined the army of other black beetles in their charge.

Such a transformation would be very difficult to pull off without the black beetles noticing, and sure enough, some of the beetles detected the anomalous presence of the meat jelly. Some of them charged toward it madly and began to voraciously bite it. The meat jelly howled, but continued to shoot toward Naruto as fast as possible.

Naruto's face flickered as he looked at the cloud of black beetles closing in on him. Scalp tingling, he used his left hand to press down on the jade slip. Rumbling could be heard, and a bright light began to shine as the power of teleportation exploded out.

In that instant, Naruto used the Star Plucking Magic to grab another Holy medicinal plant off in the distance. In the blink of an eye, the plant flew through the air to land in his hand.

At the same time, the black beetles roared down toward him. The quickest of them all was the meat jelly; when it saw the light of teleportation growing stronger around Naruto, it nearly went crazy. It had no desire to be left behind in this place, so it burst forward with all the speed it could muster, latching onto Naruto's robe with its mouth and holding on for dear life.

The countless black beetles pounced onto Naruto, but in that instant, the power of teleportation peaked, and he vanished.

Suddenly, the land began to tremble in response to the provocation of the teleportation. In all directions, everything turned black as millions of black beetles flew up into the air, covering the sky. At the same time, the land continued to change violently. Even though the beetles had flown up into the air, the land didn't change color; it was as black as ever.

A muffled roar could be heard from the ground, and everything was shaking. Suddenly, it became clear that… the land was not land at all, but actually, an enormous black beetle!

In a scene reminiscent of Patriarch Reliance that year, the land in the area turned out to be resting on the back of an enormous black beetle!

Snatching food from the tiger's mouth!

If Naruto did not possess the teleportation jade slip, then even if he had a cultivation base in the Ancient Realm, it wouldn't have mattered. He would have been killed in body and spirit.

In the vast Eastern Lands on Planet Ninshu, snowflakes drifted through the air, and the land was the color of silver. It was winter.

In the mountains where the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple had once stood, a bright light rose up into the air as an enormous teleportation portal appeared.

Rumbling could be heard, and the bright light faded to reveal Naruto. As soon as he appeared, he shot forward at top speed. The meat jelly was still latched onto his robe, and there were seven black beetles following him that had been caught up in the teleportation.

The black beetles were streaks of black light that shot murderously toward Naruto.

He took a deep breath, and, sensing that he was back on Planet Ninshu, lifted his head up and laughed. The feeling of narrowly escaping a catastrophe was exhilarating. He turned and faced the seven black beetles, his eyes flickering coldly.

"Seven? That's nothing!" He extended his right hand and unleashed the full power of his cultivation base, the power of a stage four Immortal. His Dharma Idol appeared, throwing a punch that gave rise to a tempest, which then bore down onto the seven black beetles.

Of the seven black beetles, five were similar to false Immortals, and two were even more powerful, emanating the aura of stage two Immortals. Back in the Ruins of Immortality, when the beetles were all grouped together, their collective power was like that of the peak of the Immortal Realm. It was something completely hair-raising. But now, there were only these seven, and under the power of Naruto's punch they were all flung backwards. Their carapaces were crushed, and they were flung violently against the side of a nearby mountain.

Despite being injured, they were as vicious as ever. Radiating ferocity, they once again shot toward Naruto in a deadly attack.

Naruto's eyes glittered brightly.

"My attack just now could have killed a stage two Immortal with twenty opened meridians. But these seven beetles are as ferocious as ever. No wonder, considering they're from the Ruins of Immortality. It would be a real waste to kill them!" He flickered forward, and as the seven black beetles closed in, he reached out, grabbed them, and threw them into his bag of holding, where he forcibly sealed them.

The seven black beetles struggled in vain as the sealing marks were laid onto their bodies. Even afterward, they still viewed Naruto as an enemy, and although they couldn't escape, they would be difficult for him to control.

"When I have the time, I'll refine them a bit. Or maybe when I fully understand the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex, I can use that to control them." Naruto took a deep breath and then headed off into the mountains.

"The trial by fire ended with an unforeseen occurrence. I really need to get home to see dad and mom. They're going to be worried." Naruto turned into a beam of light that shot out of the mountains and headed toward the Namikaze Clan.

On the way home, Naruto saw snowflakes filling the sky, and colorful lanterns and streamers decorating the homes he passed. Children played happily, and a feeling of warmth and joy filled the air. Lights burned brightly in all the windows.

"Is it New Year already?" Naruto suddenly stopped in midair. He suddenly realized that he missed his family. During the New Year festival, such feelings tend to grow stronger. He was just about to continue onward when he suddenly thought of something. 1

"Hey, I got first place in the final arena match! But I never got my prizes! My Immortal jades! My Immortality Illumination Vine! My Paragon's blood!" When he remembered these things, his jaw dropped.

When he thought of the value of the Immortal jades, how precious the

Immortality Illumination Vine was, and how many Immortal jades the Paragon's blood was worth, his eyes were instantly shot with blood. After a long moment, he clenched his jaw.

"This won't do. Those things belong to me! I'm definitely going to be heading to the Nine Seas God World! The Three Great Daoist Societies had better pay me what they owe!" There was nothing he could do about it now, though, so he had no choice but to sigh in frustration and fly back to the Namikaze Clan.

It didn't take long before the Namikaze Clan fortress appeared up ahead, decked out with lanterns and colorful banners. The feeling of New Year was heavy in the air. All of a sudden, Naruto sensed an aura, not of a true Immortal, but perhaps twenty to thirty percent of that of a true Immortal.

At the same time, a young woman appeared. She flew out from the Namikaze Clan and hovered in midair, looking at Naruto.

It was none other than Namikaze Yu.

She had emerged from secluded meditation while Naruto was in the trial by fire. Her cultivation base had risen all the way to the peak of Dao Seeking. With some guidance from Namikaze Minato, she was now more powerful than a false Immortal. She also would travel the path of true Immortality, although she would use an Immortality Illumination Vine to do so.

When Namikaze Yu saw Naruto, her face lit with happiness. Moments later, Naruto's father and mother appeared from behind her, smiles on their faces.

Actually, Namikaze Minato had sensed Naruto as soon as he had appeared on Planet Ninshu. He gazed at Naruto with a loving, although somewhat reserved, smile. As for Naruto's mother, tears were streaming down her face. The past few months in which they hadn't been certain whether Naruto was even alive, had left her haggard from grief.

"Dad, mom, I'm back," Naruto said, smiling. Then he looked at Namikaze Yu, and couldn't help but recall memories from Planet East Victory. This was his big sister, who had protected him when he was small. She had a violent personality, which as a youngster had left him awestruck, but there was a warmth between them that came from being family, and Naruto could never forget that.

"Sis…." he said cautiously. He actually felt a bit guilty. Before, when they had met for the first time, he had been unaware of who she was, and they had actually battled each other. 2

"When you say it like that, it sounds a bit forced," she said with an enigmatic smile. After emerging from secluded meditation and learning that Naruto had transcended his tribulation, she was very happy. When the two of them were young, and she was forced to watch as he never grew older, it had filled her heart with pain. It was a feeling she would always remember.

Seeing her own little brother in misery was a misery for her as well. His frustration left her feeling unhappy. She would never forget how she had watched him lying in their mother's arms, reverting from seven years of age back to infancy. Namikaze Yu had stood there, hands clenched into fists, tears streaming down her face as she watched.

She was willing to do anything for her little brother, as long as it would let him be happy, and actually grow up. Back when they were both young, she had stood in front of him on countless occasions, unleashing her violent personality onto any clan members who bullied him.

Back on that occasion when they first met, outside the Rebirth Cave in the Southern Domain, she had immediately sensed something familiar about him. Then she saw the mark on his hand, and despite her violent personality, had been shaken inwardly, and had barely been able to hold back from crying.

In that instant, she recalled all the hardships her parents had endured, and then suddenly feared that Naruto might notice something about her, so she had deliberately spoken some confusing and meaningless words to throw him off the trail. From that day forward, she had been looking forward to the day when their whole family would finally be reunited.

Of course, there was also the time she ran into him in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. At that time, she had an even stronger sense of family. After all, he was her little brother…. 3

She couldn't refrain from forcing him to call her 'big sis.' Later, some of the other Namikaze Clan members had scorned Naruto, which had caused her rage to flare. She had even been worried that Naruto wouldn't be able to find a host body, and had given one of the Namikaze Clan's host bodies to him.

There had been one moment in the Demon Immortal Sect when she had been fightingHebiXiaoxiao and the otherHebiClan Chosen. Naruto had turned to leave, and in that moment, she was assured that he didn't know who she really was. And yet, seeing him leave like that broke her heart.

Then he had stopped and turned back to look at her fighting theHebiClan, and she had smiled.

"It's not forced!" Naruto replied quickly. He smiled. "Sis, you look prettier than ever!"

"Oh, really?" Namikaze Yu smiled and began to walk toward him. She lifted her hands up and cracked her knuckles. At the same time, explosive energy surged up, and a brutal aura began to emanate out from her.

Naruto's face fell, and he began to fall back. Even as he took his first step back, Namikaze Yu pounced on him like an explosive dragon.

"Back then you dared to say I was violent!? Well, today I'll show you what violence really is!"

Namikaze Minato and Kushina looked at each other and smiled. Then they turned to watch Naruto getting chased and beaten up by Namikaze Yu. He didn't even dare to fight back against her. Namikaze Minato and Kushina sighed emotionally.

"It's been so long since our whole family… has been together like this."

Off in the distance, magical fireworks exploded in the sky. A beautiful New Year had arrived.

The New Year referenced here is Chinese New Year or Spring Festival, the Lunar New Year, a very important holiday in Chinese culture in which almost everyone returns to their ancestral hometown and spends time with family ↩ Naruto and Namikaze Yu met for the first time in chapters 309 and 310 ↩ The events referred to in the Demon Immortal Sect started around chapter 561. Namikaze Yu appeared in and interacted with

Naruto in several chapters throughout the arc ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 885

Chapter 885: Revisiting Old Haunts

Naruto spent an entire wonderful year with his family. The laughter and happiness they shared would exist forever in his heart.

Some days after that year ended, Namikaze Yu left. She did not return to the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory. Namikaze Minato made different arrangements. An Elder from the Church of the Emperor Immortal came to Planet Ninshu to personally take Namikaze Yu away.

Namikaze Minato had decided long ago that Namikaze Yu should join the Church of the Emperor Immortal. Her latent talent conformed with the their cultivation requirements. Furthermore, in the past, Namikaze Minato and the current Pontifex of the Church of the Emperor Immortal had experienced harrowing adventures together.

With the Pontifex watching out for Namikaze Yu, and the threat of Namikaze Minato himself, it was assured that no one would cause problems for her, despite the fact that Namikaze Minato couldn't leave Planet Ninshu .

Namikaze Minato was very protective of his daughter, but when it came to his son, his line of thinking was different.

Before leaving, Namikaze Yu hugged Naruto tightly, and then gave him a long look. The affection in her eyes caused Naruto's heart to fill with a deep reluctance to part ways with her.

"Little brother, we'll meet again out in the stars," said Namikaze Yu, tousling his hair. In this moment, there was nothing violent about her at all. She was just a gentle older sister.

Karin bade farewell to her parents, then took a deep breath and followed the respectful Elder from the Church of the Emperor Immortal as he stepped into the teleportation portal. Bright light flashed, and they vanished.

Namikaze Minato and Kushina were also reluctant to part with their daughter, especially Kushina, whose eyes were filled with tears. Being unable to leave Planet Ninshu, she was very worried about Namikaze Yu, and currently clutched Namikaze Minato's hand tightly.

Namikaze Minato patted his wife gently on the shoulder and watched as his daughter left. His eyes were filled with both sadness and hope. Then he turned to look at Naruto.

He knew that it wouldn't be long before Naruto also left Planet Ninshu.

"Hao'er, your path doesn't lie in becoming a true part of the Namikaze Clan," he said. "I've already arranged for you to join the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, although, if you're not happy with that, you don't have to go there.

"Whatever choice you make, there is one thing that you absolutely must do before anything else.

"You must first go back to the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory. I left an Immortality Illumination Vine there for you, so that you can achieve true Immortal Ascension!

"Even more importantly… your two Nirvana Fruits are also waiting for you there!

"Those two Nirvana Fruits belong to you. Now that you've transcended your tribulation, you can assimilate them, and they will help you reach the peak of the Immortal Realm in a very short period of time. In the future, you must not fall behind the other Chosen, but instead, must surpass them! Leave them behind you for all eternity!"

Next to speak was Kushina.

"If you have the chance," she said softly, "you can go to the Eighth Mountain and Sea. That… is mother's home."

Naruto nodded his head solemnly. He understood the deeper meaning in his father's words, the meaning that was left unspoken. His father wanted him to return to the Namikaze Clan and rise to prominence there. He wanted to makes sure everyone knew that Namikaze Minato's son was no cripple, but rather, a blazing sun!

Therefore, Naruto vowed to himself that not only would he rise to prominence in the Namikaze Clan of Planet East Victory, in the future… he would definitely go to search for his Grandpa Namikaze and Grandpa Uzumaki.

"You can leave the lands of Planet Ninshu any time you want," Namikaze Minato continued. "When you're ready, just let me know. I'll arrange for someone from Planet East Victory to come and escort you there.

Remember, your path is that of true Immortality. On Planet East

Victory… you can become a true Immortal. Force all the people in the Namikaze Clan to tilt their heads back to look up at you; make them acknowledge that you are my son." Namikaze Minato looked deeply at Naruto, his son, and his pride in life.

Naruto took a deep breath and then nodded deeply.

A few days later, Naruto left the Eastern Lands. There were a few more matters he needed to attend to, after which he planned to leave Planet Ninshu.

"My path to true Immortality is different from that of others," he murmured to himself as he flew through the air. "When the Immortal meridian inside of me is completely solidified, then I will become a true Immortal.

"I actually gained a lot from the trial by fire in the Ruins of Immortality, both in terms of the creation of divine abilities and in progress with my Immortal meridian…."

Naruto was able to sense when he cultivated via breathing techniques that his Immortal meridian was continuing to naturally solidify. However, the process was very slow, and unfortunately, things like the stone steles from the Ruins of Immortality were things that could only be encountered serendipitously.

"Back when master opened the Door of Immortality, the power that emerged from within the door was probably similar to the power in those stone steles. Both of them can be used to become a true Immortal.

"The fastest way to achieve true Immortal Ascension is via the Door of Immortality….

"Could it really be true that it's now impossible to achieve true Immortal Ascension here in the lands of Planet Ninshu ?" Naruto sped through the air, lost in thought. He passed over the Milky Way Sea and then reached the Southern Domain.

He flew down into the Violet Fate Sect, although nobody noticed him. He stood on a tall mountain, looking out over the sect. The statue of Reverend Violet East was no longer there, but this particular mountain that he stood on was one that Pill Demon had frequented.

As he stood there, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He rotated his cultivation base, and the Immortal meridian inside of him, at full power. The Immortal meridian was eighty percent solid, and shone with glittering light. Dense Immortal qi emanated out from Naruto, and eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal merged into the surrounding lands.

In the blink of an eye, winds began to sweep about, and the lands rumbled and quaked. All of the cultivators in the Southern Domain trembled inwardly. Soon, it wasn't just the Southern Domain that was affected. The Western Desert, the Northern Reaches, and even the Eastern Lands were all experiencing bizarre transformations.

Gradually, a vortex formed above the mountain peak where Naruto sat. However, almost as soon as the vortex appeared, some sort of incredible restraining power exploded out from Heaven and Earth, destroying the vortex.

It faded away, and everything returned to normal. The lands were quiet, and the cultivators of Planet Ninshu were left wondering what astonishing event had just occurred.

Naruto opened his eyes and sat there quietly for a long moment before shaking his head.

"Sure enough, it didn't work…. I can sense the path of true Immortality, but am not able to summon the Door of Immortality. In each of the Mountains and Seas, Immortal destiny will appear on one of the planets, every 10,000 years. The rule cannot be broken.

"What if I used the Immortality Illumination Vine…?" Eyes glittering, he produced an Immortality Illumination Vine from within his bag of holding, the one he had acquired in the medicinal plant garden in the Ruins of Immortality.

After a bit of muttering, he shook his head.

"The Immortality Illumination Vine can definitely lead to true Immortal Ascension. However, it also cuts off the Spirit Realm, and all the advancement made therein. It's a forced breakthrough.

"The Chosen of the other sects build themselves up for years, restrict their cultivation bases until the critical moment, and then use Immortality Illumination Vines to instantly break through.

"As for me, I'm currently at eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal. If I used the Immortality Illumination Vine to break through, I would become a true Immortal, but I would be stuck at eighty percent. That eighty percent would then become my one hundred percent.

"Apparently, my path of true Immortality really can't be tread here on

Planet Ninshu. Perhaps going to Planet East Victory like my father said is really the best choice." Naruto's eyes flickered as he gave up on the thought of using a vine to make his breakthrough, and then he took a deep breath and turned to leave.

No one detected his arrival or his departure from the Violet Fate Sect. He next went to the Blood Demon Sect, where he stood outside of Patriarch Blood Demon's Immortal's cave. The only thing he could sense was an aura of death; there didn't seem to be even the slightest bit of life force inside.

Patriarch Blood Demon did not emerge.

After standing there quietly for a long time, Naruto went to Blood Prince Gorge. It was maintained by Blood Demon Sect disciples on a daily basis, who kept the entire valley neat and clean. Naruto looked at the log cabin, and all the other familiar sights in the valley, and suddenly he seemed to go into a bit of a trance. He saw the outline of a woman, smiling sweetly at him.

"Hinata…." he murmured. He would never forget the agreement that he and Hinata had made.

"Wait for me…. I WILL find you!" A warm look could be seen on his face as he recalled the times he had spent with Hinata in Blood Prince Gorge. After a while, he left the valley and walked over to the place where he and Hinata had held their wedding.

A few days later, Naruto left. This would be the final time he visited these places, where memories of Hinata abounded, before leaving Planet Ninshu.

After visiting the Blood Demon Sect, he traveled about in the Southern Domain. He stopped outside the Song Clan and swept it with divine sense. He could see Patriarch Song, who was incapable of detecting Naruto's presence.

Naruto also saw a familiar woman, Song Jia. She sat there crosslegged, meditating. Although she was beautiful, it was possible to see the signs of aging on her.

"She didn't go to the trial by fire to join a sect among the stars. Does she really want to stay behind on Planet Ninshu…?"

Images from the past flitted through Naruto's mind. After a long moment, he turned and left, leaving Song Jia undisturbed.

He went to the Rebirth Cave, walking through the pressure that had been so difficult to deal with all those years ago. Back then, it had been difficult to take each step, but now, it was as easy as walking down a paved road. The surrounding cultivators in the region of the Rebirth Cave looked at Naruto casually walking toward the Rebirth Cave itself, and their faces flickered with astonishment.

"Who is that?"

"He… he's actually walking right into the depths of the Rebirth Cave region! The pressure here is difficult even for Spirit Severing experts."

"Why does he look so familiar…?" As he neared the Rebirth Cave itself, more people saw him, and all of them were astonished.

He calmly proceeded deeper into the region, and was soon near the cave mouth itself.

About 1,500 meters from the cave, he saw two old men with Spirit Severing cultivation bases. They sat there cross-legged, resisting the pressure and staring at each other as if they had some enmity between the two of them. Their life forces burned low, and, they clearly hoped to find some good fortune within the Rebirth Cave.

As soon as Naruto approached, the two stared at him in shock.

"Who are you?" one of them growled. Then Naruto simply walked past them.

This left them in complete shock, and they watched wide-eyed as Naruto casually walked past the 1,500-meter mark and then entered the cave itself.

Panting, they exchanged glances, and could see the disbelief in each others' eyes.

"He looks familiar…."

"Is… hey! That was Naruto! Heavens! He's the Blood Prince of the

Blood Demon Sect! He sealed the Dao Seeking experts from the Northern Reaches, and turned a hundred thousand Northern Reaches cultivators into felon citizens! That was Naruto!"

When the two old men realized it was Naruto, their minds filled with a roaring like that of thunder.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 886

Chapter 886 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 886: Another Challenge at the Dao Lakes!

Naruto calmly walked into the rugged interior of the Rebirth Cave. He saw bones lying about, which grew fewer the further he went into the cave. He stood in the spot where he had died, and as he looked down, his heart twinged in pain.

He thought of Hinata.

She had used her own life force to keep him going, and then, in order to resurrect him, had ended up being imprisoned in a restricted area in her own sect. Everything that had happened after that flitted through Naruto's mind. After a long moment, he sighed.

He then walked further into the depths of the Rebirth Cave, but saw nothing there.

There was no Immortal's corpse like the one that had fallen from the sky all those years ago, nor were there any other bizarre beings. There was a strange power that he could sense, but other than that, there was nothing.

"Rebirth Cave…. Rebirth Cave…. Yes, it was here that I actually… experienced a rebirth." Naruto shook his head and was about to leave, when all off a sudden he stopped in place and turned his head to look toward the very end of the Rebirth Cave. The cave wall there appeared to be normal, but moments ago, he had sensed a strange aura emanating out from that very spot.

He walked over and examined the area carefully, after which his eyes suddenly went wide, and an expression of astonishment and disbelief filled his face. He had just seen a door in the cave wall.

A closed door!

He took a deep breath and looked closer, but saw nothing. However, he was very certain that moments ago he had not been mistaken in what he saw.

"Now this is the kind of mystery that makes the Rebirth Cave worthy of its name," he thought. He stood there looking at the cave wall for a long time, before finally turning and leaving. He was very curious, but after his experiences in the Ruins of Immortality, he well knew that there were many great secrets in the world, secrets that the level of his cultivation base did not allow him to understand.

When he walked out of the Rebirth Cave, the two old men were still sitting there cross-legged. When they saw Naruto, they began to pant, and immediately got to their knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, Blood Prince Uzumaki."

"Greetings, your excellency Naruto!"

Naruto stopped, nodded to the two men, and then prepared to leave.

One of the old men, whose life force was very dim, hesitated for a moment and then asked, "Your excellency Naruto… uh… what exactly is inside the Rebirth Cave?"

Naruto didn't respond at first. After a moment passed, he said,

"Hope."

Then he left.

The two old men's spirits lifted. Sighing, they settled back down crosslegged, hope surging in their hearts.

"According to the legends, the exalted Naruto actually experienced rebirth inside of the Rebirth Cave!"

"He said hope exists in there, so maybe we do have hope!" The glanced at each other, and their eyes shone brightly.

After leaving the region of the Rebirth Cave, Naruto flew up into the air and looked around emotionally. Finally, his gaze came to rest on the Ancient Temple of Doom.

After a moment of silence, he shot in that direction. It only took a moment for him to appear in midair above the Ancient Temple of Doom. He looked at the grand temple, and thought about Sakura, and the gorge they had spent time in, and the Blood Immortal Legacy tournament.

"Now that I think about it, this temple… protected me from the Heavenly Tribulation that year." He floated down from midair to stand directly in front of the archaic and dilapidated Ancient Temple of Doom.

Stone steps led up to the temple itself, and numerous deity statues could be seen within, statues that bore the appearance of Immortal Divinities, solemn and grand.

There were quite a few cultivators congregated outside of the temple.

This was one of the three most mysterious locations in all of the Southern Domain, and was the least dangerous of all, which attracted cultivators who wanted to try to acquire some of the good fortune inside.

Naruto's arrival was noticed by a few of the cultivators, but no one paid very close attention to him.

Naruto looked at the temple for a moment, then walked forward. Not too far behind him was a cultivator who was observing the temple, but didn't dare to get very close. When he saw Naruto walking closer the temple, he called out in a sincere voice.

"Fellow Daoist, you can't get too close to the Ancient Temple of Doom!

It's very dangerous!"

It wasn't just this man who noticed Naruto now. Many of the surrounding Southern Domain cultivators saw him approaching the temple. Quite a few looked on with cold sneers, or even open ridicule as they waited for something exciting to unfold.

"This temple is something that the average person can't get close to. Our location here outside of the perimeter is the closest one can get. With the exception of some of the Patriarchs, anyone who gets any closer is dead for sure!"

"That guy doesn't look very familiar, what sect is he from?"

As the crowd discussed what was happening, Naruto reached the staircase and then began to climb up one step at a time. The other cultivators looked on with wide eyes, panting. Expressions of disbelief and astonishment could be seen.

"He's… he's actually going up the stairs!"

"What cultivation base does he have? This is impossible!"

"How come… he looks somewhat familiar…?"

As the cultivators looked on in shock, Naruto finished climbing the stairs and now stood directly in front of the towering temple. The doors had long since been broken completely open, and as Naruto stood there, he could clearly see all of the deity statues inside.

Each and every one depicted a powerful expert from the Ancient Doom Clan.

"They fought withHebiTian…" murmured Naruto, "and were defeated. Before their clan was exterminated, they built this temple, the Will of which shall eternally resist the Heavens of Ji…." As he stood there, he felt as if he were looking at a former mighty clan, displaying all the brilliance of their long history.

After a long moment passed, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to the temple.

The entire Ancient Temple of Doom trembled in response to his show of respect. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and all of the cultivators further out felt their minds trembling, and backed up in astonishment.

That astonishment came from the fact that they were witnessing Naruto bowing to the temple, and in response, more than half of the statues inside the temple bowed in return, as if they had come to life.

Furthermore, a brilliant light rose up from the temple, which spread out in all directions to cover everything.

"Heavens! What's going on? How can this be happening!"

"The statues in the Ancient Temple of Doom, they're… they're actually alive!"

"Who is that cultivator?! Can it really be that the temple cannot bear to accept his show of respect without returning the salute?" Even as the crowds were in an uproar, Naruto looked up and saw that roughly sixty percent of the statues were bowing to him. The other forty percent were looking at him with faint smiles.

At the very back of the temple stood three majestic statues who remained completely unmoving. However, they looked at Naruto without any ill will whatsoever.

"That's… that's his excellency Naruto!"

"It's Naruto! That's Blood Prince Naruto!" As more and more people recognized him, a buzz of conversation instantly rose up.

As Naruto looked into the temple, he gradually became aware of numerous ancient voices murmuring in his ears. The voices were obscure, but they seemed to contain anticipation, hope that one day they would be able to leave the temple and carry out a slaughter in the Heavens.

After a long moment, Naruto bowed again, then turned to leave. As he flew into the air, the light shining up from the Ancient Temple of Doom slowly faded, and the temple returned to its original condition.

After leaving the Ancient Temple of Doom, Naruto did not depart from the lands of the Southern Domain, but instead, headed toward the Ancient Dao Lakes.

"I wonder if Lu Bai and those others are still trapped under there," he thought. He proceeded onward, passing the various locations where he had experienced such dangerous situations that year, and eventually came to a stop above the enormous Dao Lake in the middle of the region.

As he hovered there in midair, looking at the lake, a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. Were he to pick one place in the Southern Domain that was the most dangerous place of all, the Ancient Dao Lakes would definitely be his choice.

That was especially true due to the third level of the trial by fire therein. When Naruto thought back to that incident, he was still unsure as to whether or not he could succeed if he went back. But then his eyes glittered, and he patted his bag of holding to produce a white crystal that emanated pulsing coldness.

The coldness seemed faint, but according to Naruto's speculations, there was something about this object that was completely extraordinary. This item… was the crystal he had acquired from the Feng Shui compass in the Warrior Pavilion in the Ruins of Immortality.

"The Essence of Divine Flame…." A gleam of curiosity appeared in Naruto's eyes. He still remembered the enormous flame seed inside the third level. The incredible intensity of that fire had been beyond his imagination.

Because of the level of his cultivation base that year, Naruto didn't understand what the term 'essence' meant. Even now, he still didn't fully understand; he only had a vague idea.

"Even with this white crystal, it will be difficult to pass the test in that level. I only want a little bit of that flame… but what can I take it away in?"

After a moment of silent thought, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a bronze oil lamp whose flame had long since been extinguished. As he gazed at the lamp, his eyes glittered.

"Once I leave Planet Ninshu, it's impossible to say when I'll return. I'll definitely be facing all sorts of peril. If I can take some of that flame essence with me, it can serve as a trump card for me in dangerous situations. I'm not sure if I can succeed, but I have to try." Naruto took a deep breath and then flew down to the surface of the Dao Lake, which he then sank down into.

In the blink of an eye, he was at the bottom of the lake. There was no entrance visible; everything looked completely ordinary. However, considering that he had eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, when Naruto looked at the lake bottom, he saw a huge teleportation portal.

His body flickered as he moved to stand within the portal, and yet nothing happened.

As he stood there, he transmitted a message with divine will. "Oh senior member of the people who guard the world beneath the lake, I have returned to once again challenge the third level!"

In response to his divine will, the lake began to churn. After a moment, the teleportation portal rotated into operation, and brilliant light swallowed Naruto up.

A moment later, Naruto could see again, and he was underground.

He was surrounded by numerous mountains formed from magical items, and countless beasts of different colors. There was an enormous door, before which lay a golden beast. All of a sudden, the beast turned to look at Naruto.

"You… wish to challenge the third level?" The echoing voice had been very intimidating the first time Naruto had come here, but now he simply looked out calmly over the first level. At the moment, he couldn't see any of the other people he had come here with that year.

"There's no need to look for those people," the voice continued. "With the exception of Lu Bai, all of them… have long since perished.

"Are you certain that you wish to challenge the third level?" asked the golden beast, its voice rumbling out like thunder. All of the other beasts in the area looked at Naruto, their eyes radiating ferocity.

Naruto took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yes, I wish to make the challenge!"

Chapter 886: Another Challenge at the Dao Lakes!

—–

The last time Naruto attempted the third level, and also the last time he saw Lu Bai, was in chapter 731

Vol. 6 : Chapter 887

Chapter 887: The Essence of Divine Flame!

The golden beast looked deeply at Naruto, then threw its head back and roared. Instantly, all of the other beasts in the first level parted, creating a path for Naruto to follow to the huge door.

Naruto proceeded forward, passing through the animals, his gaze fixed on the door. Suddenly, an enormous beast off to the right who possessed a Spirit Severing aura, roared and pounced toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression was normal, and he didn't even look at the beast. He simply raised his right hand and made a grasping motion toward its forehead.

When compared in size to the enormous beast, Naruto's hand was miniscule. However, he viciously grabbed onto the beast's head, instantly causing it to begin to howl miserably. In response, the surrounding beasts leapt angrily to their feet.

Naruto's expression was calm as he continued to walk forward. He did not loosen his right hand, but instead, dragged the enormous beast along with him as he walked.

The golden beast lying beneath the huge door looked on with wide eyes. However, it did nothing to interfere. It allowed Naruto to approach the door, where he finally released the beast from his hand, then looked at the golden-colored beast and nodded. Then he stepped through the door.

When he reappeared, he was on the second level, where he saw the same ancient, white-colored overseer beast that he had seen the last time. He also saw Lu Bai, sitting cross-legged in meditation, just a single pace away from the final level.

The stubble of a beard could be seen on Lu Bai's face, and his clothing was in tatters. However, his face shone with a brilliant light, and as soon as Naruto appeared, he glanced over. A look of shock appeared on his face.

Naruto stood down below and looked up at the ancient beast. "Senior, I would like to attempt the third level."

The beast looked down at Naruto and, after a long moment passed, nodded its head. Naruto immediately flew up to the peak of the level.

The beast's pupils constricted, and a look of concentration appeared on its face.

"You've changed," said the beast. "You're far more powerful than the last time we met…. However, I would like to give you a bit of advice. Considering the level of your cultivation base, you will not be able to pass this third level.

"Considering how you passed the second level last time, you were given a chance to experience the third level for a moment, which is how you escaped death. This time… if you fail, you will likely have no chance to leave the level, and will perish inside.

"The test of the third level is to completely absorb the Essence of Divine

Flame into your body."

Naruto looked back silently at the overseer, but his eyes gleamed with determination. He nodded.

The beast thought for a moment, but did nothing more to block Naruto's way. It waved its hand, and an enormous vortex appeared, within which could be seen the flicker of flames. This sea of flames was none other than the entrance to the third level.

Naruto was just about to step in when….

Lu Bai couldn't hold back from calling out.

"Naruto…. Um… how are things outside?" He had been privy to the

Northern Reaches' invasion plans, and as such, he knew that the

Southern Domain should have been occupied. However, now he saw Naruto, with a cultivation base even more terrifying than before. He himself had performed his third Severing, and had successfully stepped into Dao Seeking. However, with his early Dao Seeking cultivation base, he was unable to clearly see Naruto's cultivation base.

He had a very bad feeling, a feeling that caused his face to go pale.

Naruto stopped in place and looked back at Lu Bai silently for a moment before replying.

"The Northern Reaches' invasion failed. Most of your Dao Seeking experts were killed."

"Impossible!" replied Lu Bai, his voice hoarse. "The Grand Elder, the High Priest, and all the others aren't just at peak Dao Seeking. Some of them are comparable to false Immortals! Plus, they have powerful magical items! Even a false Immortal who went up against the Northern Reaches would perish! How could they all be dead?!

"The Northern Reaches has vast resources! How could an army of a million cultivators suffer a defeat like that!?"

Naruto's voice was calm as he responded, "The Grand Elder you speak of, as well as the High Priest, and a few of the other strongest Dao Seeking experts are all suppressed under a mountain called Sin of the North. Their cultivation bases are being used to replenish the spiritual energy in the lands of the Southern Domain.

"As for the army you speak of, most of those million cultivators died. The surviving hundred thousand or so had their cultivation bases severed and were turned into felon citizens. For generations to come, the bloodlines of the Northern Reaches' cultivators will never produce Nascent Soul cultivators.

"And then there's you. If you get out of this place, you can go to Sin of the North to bear witness yourself. If, from this day forward, you agree to practice cultivation peacefully, then I won't kill you where you stand. However, if you cause any problems… there are people in the outside world who will slaughter you." With that, he ignored Lu Bai and stepped into the vortex.

Lu Bai's face was pale white, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. From the way Naruto spoke, he could tell that his words were not false. Everything he had said was true.

He was silent for a moment, and then began to chuckle bitterly. He thought of his friends from home, his master, his Patriarch. He had never imagined that while he was stuck in this place… the entire world outside would be turned upside down.

In the moment that Naruto stepped into the vortex, he felt as if he were passing through a boundless sea of flames. At the same time, a terrifying roaring could be heard.

The roaring became very clear as soon as Naruto stepped fully into the world of the third level. In front of him was no sea of flames, but rather, a blood-colored field.

The lands were also filled with white grass.

A total of 990,000 pagodas could be seen circling out in all directions, in the middle of which was a black city. The city was overgrown with the white grass, and a flame spark hovered in midair above it. The flame seemed as if it would burn for all eternity, and cast brilliant, flickering light throughout the entire world.

Then, the same voice Naruto had heard the previous time he had been here echoed out.

"Dao Fang, you must die!

"You killed me, Dao Fang, and if I'm reincarnated, I'll definitely kill you!

"The Immortal World is doomed to experience tribulation! The Immortal lands will grow old, and the Immortals will perish! But I refuse to give in!

"I know the truth! No matter how long you suppress me, I won't admit defeat!

"Damned monkey! If I can get free, I'll have your hide!

"If I'm transmigrated, I will slaughter myself out of this place! If my transmigration fails, I will fall into oblivion like all other living things, with virtually no hope of reawakening even after countless cycles of reincarnation. Therefore, I will leave a Dharmic decree for this place!

"My decree contains the essence of my Dao flame, the last vestige of me, Huoyan Zi. I hope that countless years later, that vestige will still exist!"

The voice was like a sharp sword, stabbing into his mind. His head spun, and he felt as if his body were about to collapse into pieces.

However, this time, not only had Naruto come prepared, but also, his cultivation base was far different than before. It was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Now, the only thing that happened was that he bled from his eyes, ears, nose and mouth. His body did not begin to fall apart like last time. As the sound echoed out, Naruto looked at the enormous Essence of Divine Flame up ahead.

The Essence suddenly burst with power that rumbled out through the entire world. Originally, there had been no flames here, but now, everything burst out with fire. The land, the sky, everything turned into flames. In the blink of an eye, the whole world was aflame.

The flames were shocking, and Naruto felt a sense of deadly crisis as soon as they spread out. These flames were definitely powerful enough to kill him.

In the moment of crisis, Naruto unhesitatingly produced the white crystal from his bag of holding. As soon as he grabbed ahold of it, icy coldness spread out to cover his body, blocking the flames.

When that happened, Naruto sighed in relief. The whole reason he had dared to come to this place was because of the crystal. However, he had only been eighty percent sure that it would be successful, and had thus hesitated. However, now that he saw that the crystal was indeed effective, Naruto's eyes glittered brightly.

He looked up at the Essence of Divine Flame, and smiled in anticipation.

The huge flame spark hovered in midair, spewing out a sea of flames, as if it were the source of all flames.

Naruto took a deep breath. Then, hefting the crystal, he began to slowly move forward. The flames around him raged ferociously, battering against him in waves. The power of the fire was shockingly intense, and he knew that if even the tiniest ember from those flames touched him, even his Eternal stratum would only keep him alive for a short time before he was completely destroyed.

Time passed, and Naruto continued to get closer and closer to the enormous Essence of Divine Flame. After a while, he came to a stop a few thousand meters away from the flame. He found it very difficult to progress further, not because the crystal was incapable of absorbing any more of the flame's power, but because he was physically unable to approach any further even by employing his cultivation base at its maximum power. The pressure in the area was just too intense.

If he didn't have the crystal, at most, he could reach a point around ten thousand meters away from the flame.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked around at the sea of flames.

By this point, he could see images within the flames, including beasts, magical items and types of vegetation.

Each image was intensely powerful, something that would shock even someone at the peak of the Immortal Realm. The closer he got to the Essence of Divine Flame, the more terrifying the flame spirits became.

"I don't want to take away the entire Essence of Divine Flame," he thought. "I just want a bit of fire to use as a trump card in the future." He cautiously sent his divine sense out, opened a gap in the protective shield created by the crystal, and pulled in a flame spirit that looked like a butterfly. Once it was inside, he backed up at top speed, and used all the power of his cultivation base to use the power of the crystal to envelop the flame butterfly.

After backing up some distance, the power of the flame sea decreased a bit, and Naruto stopped. Panting, he looked at the butterfly fluttering around within the power of the crystal. Then, he carefully sent a stream of divine sense toward the flame butterfly. As soon as it made contact, his divine sense ignited into flame, and he instantly severed the connection.

Determination appeared in his eyes as he produced the ancient bronze lamp from his bag of holding. Exercising the utmost caution, he extended it toward the flame butterfly.

"If this works, then I'll have an excellent trump card to use in the future. If I fail, well… I won't have lost out on anything." Gritting his teeth, he touched the bronze lamp to the flame butterfly.

In that instant, the bronze lamp suddenly flickered. The flame butterfly landed on the lamp's wick, and a puffing sound could be heard as the flame blazed to life!

It only burned for a moment, and then went dark. However, there was now a glimmering spark inside the lamp.

Naruto excitedly attempted to put the lamp back into his bag of holding, and was successful. Then he pulled it back out and blew on it. Instantly, a sea of flames erupted out, and Naruto held his breath. A moment later, the flames died out, and only a spark remained in the lamp.

"Success!" he said, laughing loudly. Licking his lips, he thought about trying to collect some more flame, but then he looked at the Essence of Divine Flame floating there in midair and considered the bizarre nature of the place. In the end, he decided that it wasn't wise to act rashly. Reigning in his greed, he backed up a bit and then put the the crystal away. He allowed the flames to burn him a bit, then, eyes glittering, stepped into the exit and vanished.

In the moment that he vanished, a vertical eye suddenly appeared within the Essence of Divine Flame. It stared coldly at Naruto as he faded away, and then, after a moment, a long sigh could be heard.

"After all these years, he is the first person to succeed…. He… will definitely be back!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 888

Chapter 888: Let Them Fly On Their Own!

As soon as the old white-colored beast saw Naruto appear back in the second level, he looked a bit surprised.

"Considering your cultivation base, you were doomed to fail," he said, his voice echoing about. "And yet, you didn't perish in there…." He looked deeply at Naruto, and when he noticed his tattered, charred clothing, his suspicions mostly vanished.

Naruto smiled wryly and shook his head, then took a deep breath.

"Senior, I was crude and rash. I thought that my cultivation base was different, and that I could give it a try. I never thought that, as you mentioned, I would fail…. Thankfully, I didn't get too close, otherwise I would have ended up dead and buried in there."

The old beast nodded, and Naruto clasped hands and bowed. The old beast did nothing to prevent Naruto from vanishing into the exit portal.

As for Lu Bai, he silently watched Naruto leave.

In a certain region outside the Ancient Dao Lakes, glittering light rose up as Naruto was teleported out of the underground world. His expression was one of excitement as he patted his bag of holding and took a deep breath.

"That fire spirit from the 3,000-meter region is a trump card I can use if I ever run into a dangerous situation involving someone at the peak of the Immortal Realm. Unfortunately, the fire isn't eternal. I wonder how many times I'll be able to use it? Not many, I'm sure." With that, Naruto vanished.

Naruto appeared in many places throughout the Southern Domain over the following days. He went to many familiar places, including the Black Lands, where he visited many old friends.

The Western Desert was still, for the most part, covered by the Violet Sea, and was lifeless.

After bidding farewell to his friends in the Black Lands, he went to the place where he'd once encountered the being who had fought with the Heavens of Ji. When he got there, there was no trace of anyone present at all. 1

After that, he went to the Milky Way Sea, where everything was still and silent, a sharp contrast to how it had once been. It was in the Inner Ring was where he had seen the ancient ship to which he felt so much gratitude, the same ancient ship he had also seen in the Ruins of Immortality.

After circling about the Milky Way Sea, he went back to the Eastern Lands. Finally, he let out a long sigh as he realized that it really was time to depart.

"Fatty is now in the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, Elder Brother Might Guy went to the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, and Shikamaru joined Moonset Lake…. Even all those Chosen I know from theHebiClan have left to go to the Ninth Mountain." These were all things Naruto had recently been told by his father.

All of the Chosen that he had known from the Southern Domain were either dead, gone, or far beneath him in terms of power. Most did not even qualify to meet his gaze.

"It's really time to leave," Naruto thought with a sigh. He was now walking through the Eastern Lands, past mountains and through plains, making sure that his memories of the lands of Planet Ninshu were firmly implanted in his mind. One day, he found himself on the shore of a mighty river in the Eastern Lands, where he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

He had sensed a familiar aura, although it was incredibly faint. If he hadn't been walking through this area, he would never have noticed it.

"This aura…." He looked at the river in front of him, which was considered the main river in the Eastern Lands. It divided the subcontinent in half, and actually flowed out from the Milky Way Sea.

The strangest thing was that this aura was not just familiar, it was incredibly familiar. It was… his own aura!

Muttering to himself, Naruto followed the traces of the aura until he found himself on a remote shore of the river. There were no people anywhere nearby, and evidence of wild animals could be seen.

At a certain point, he suddenly caught sight of an object on a shallow bank nearby that instantly caused him to stop in place and stare with wide eyes.

Time seemed to suddenly come to a standstill, and the world seemed to cease its rotation. Everything else in front of Naruto vanished, except for that one item, floating there in the water. It seemed as if it were something eternal, and quickly became the only thing he could see.

It was a bottle gourd.

It was stuck between two rocks, battered by the elements, having soaked in the river water for countless years. It was thoroughly dilapidated and apparently on the verge of rotting to pieces completely. It floated there quietly, as if it were waiting for someone to come along and pick it up.

Perhaps, were it not for the two rocks that kept it stuck in place, the bottle gourd would have floated away long ago. Perhaps… it would have made it to the Great Tang.

Naruto began to tremble. The bottle gourd looked ordinary, but it was something he would never be able to forget.

Back when he was a young scholar, he had yet again failed in the Imperial examinations, then stood atop Mount Daqing, where he wrote something on a slip of paper, stuck it in a bottle gourd, and threw it into the river at the bottom of the mountain. 2

That river had been said to flow all the way to the Eastern Lands, but Naruto had long since learned that it connected not to the Eastern Lands, but to the Milky Way Sea.

It was as if, over the years, there were some power that had guided the bottle gourd across the Milky Way Sea and all the way to the Eastern Lands, where it got stuck in this river.

Naruto stared at the bottle gourd with its familiar aura. He had never imagined that one day he would once again see this bottle gourd. He had assumed that it had long since sunk to the bottom of the river or the sea, or had been picked up by someone.

"I threw this bottle into the river before I began to practice cultivation. Now, just when I'm about to leave, I've run into it again…." He walked quietly over to the bottle-gourd, then bent down to pick it up.

It was rotting, and as he held it in his hand, he felt as if he didn't even need to expend any effort to break it open.

"But how… could it possibly still be around after hundreds of years…?

It's just an ordinary bottle gourd. It should have vanished long ago." After looking at it for a long moment, he uncorked the gourd. Inside, it was slightly damp, but there was no water. Naruto turned it upside down, and a rolled up strip of paper fell out.

When he saw the paper, an emotional expression of reminiscence appeared on his face. He thought back to the youthful version of himself, standing there on Mount Daqing, and the bellowing rage he had flown into after each time he failed the Imperial examinations.

He also thought about his life in Yunjie County, and all the things that had happened there.

He gingerly uncurled the strip of paper. Although the words were somewhat blurry, he was able to vaguely make out the grand aspiration that he had written down that year….

He looked at the piece of paper, and as he smiled, it seemed as if the bottle gourd no longer bore the weight of his desire, and it transformed into ash. The strip of paper also gradually disintegrated into tiny pieces that drifted through his fingers and vanished with the wind.

Naruto then felt that familiar aura fade away.

He stood there quietly for a moment, saying nothing. Finally, he closed his eyes. Time passed. One day after another went by, until an entire week passed. The river water flowed, the sun and moon rose and set. Birds and beasts scampered to and fro along the river bank.

Seven days later, Naruto opened his eyes, and they shone with enlightenment.

"There is a mysterious power in the world…." he murmured.

"And that power is desire.

"That ordinary bottle gourd was able to survive down to this day because it was sustained from within by my desire. As a cultivator, the desire that I had back then has grown stronger even as I have grown stronger, however far away the realization of it was.

"It was my own familiar aura which helped that bottle gourd… to survive all these years.

"After picking it up, the desire that had coalesced in the bottle gourd

and the piece of paper vanished and returned into my hand. That is why it disappeared into Heaven and Earth.

"It's similar to what Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society said during our arena match. Burning Incense… coalesces the desires of all living things, and the cultivation of that desire is burning incense. 3

"I never imagined that I would be enlightened here regarding the power of burning incense." After a moment he looked down at his hand, which he then waved.

Time seemed to move in reverse, as the drifting pieces of ash from seven days before suddenly reappeared. They transformed into a piece of paper, as well as the bottle gourd which had vanished.

Naruto's expression was calm as he once again placed the strip of paper into the bottle gourd and tossed it into the river. As the water flowed, the bottle gourd bobbed up and down, drifting off into the distance.

"I still haven't achieved what I desire, so how could I let that bottle gourd disappear…? Perhaps years from now, someone will find my bottle gourd and open it up to reveal my desire… and my aura…." As he watched the bottle gourd disappear into the distance, a faint smile broke out on his face.

"It's time to leave," he said. Taking a deep breath, he turned and, his expression one of determination, strode off into the distance. Eventually, he appeared up in the sky, where he became a beam of light that disappeared off into the distance.

One day later.

In the Namikaze Clan of the Eastern Lands, a huge teleportation portal had been set up in a rear courtyard. Glittering light rose up from the portal, next to which stood Naruto, his parents, and another middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man acted extremely respectfully toward Namikaze Minato and Kushina, and when he looked at Naruto, an emotional and loving expression could be seen.

"Hao'er," said Namikaze Minato, "this is your 19th Uncle. He's my younger cousin and a member of our bloodline."

Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply.

19th Uncle laughed heartily and quickly straightened Naruto up from his bow. His expression of fondness only continued to grow deeper.

"You're a good kid," he said. "Wonderful, truly wonderful. When we get back to the clan, I hope that you can help me take care of my own son. He loafs around all day and is always a big headache."

"The Namikaze Clan is on Planet East Victory, which is far away from Planet Ninshu," said Namikaze Minato, looking at Naruto with a serious expression. "With your cultivation base, you can't travel directly through the stars. You will need two teleportation portals to get there. Your 19th Uncle has come here personally to escort you along the way."

Kushina stood next to Namikaze Minato, clearly reluctant to part from Naruto. However, she knew that Naruto's path lay among the stars, not on Planet Ninshu.

All she could do was start straightening up his luggage. Although he had a bag of holding, she had personally sewn some luggage for him. She straightened up his clothing, then looked over her son, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Mom," he said softly, "don't worry, I'll be fine."

"I can't leave Planet Ninshu," said Namikaze Minato. "If you face any dangers out there, I can't protect you. This crocodile can temporarily act as your Dao Protector, but in the end, you must watch out for yourself." He waved his hand, causing the crocodile to emerge and obediently shrink down and descend onto Naruto's palm, then scurry up into his sleeve. Namikaze Minato continued quietly, "If you perish….

"Father will get revenge for you!"

Naruto and 19th Uncle stood in the teleportation portal. Soft light glittered out as Naruto looked at his parents standing outside of the portal. Suddenly, his eyes felt moist, and he dropped to his knees to kowtow three times to his parents.

"Dad, mom. I'm leaving now…. You don't need to miss me or worry about me, I'll come back to visit often."

Rumble!

The light from the teleportation portal rose up into the air. In the moment before he vanished completely, Naruto waved at his parents.

Kushina couldn't hold the tears back any longer as she watched Naruto disappear. Her heart filled with worry, and in that brief moment, she grew older.

Namikaze Minato seemed strong on the outside, but even his eyes grew blurry.

"The kids have grown up. We have to let them fly on their own."

Naruto interacted with the being in the Black Lands in chapter 321 ↩ The scene of Naruto tossing the bottle into the river happened in chapter 1 ↩ The arena match with Xie Yixian was in chapter 876 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 889

Chapter 889 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 889: Killing Intent Lurking Everywhere!

The scintillating lights on Planet Ninshu lasted for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before fading completely away.

Out in the starry sky was an asteroid field that seemed to be eternally drifting among the stars.

The largest of the asteroids were tens of thousands of meters wide, the smallest were dozens. From a distance, the asteroid field almost looked like a river of stars floating through space.

This portion of space was actually not completely black; occasional dots of sparkling light glittered to and fro. At first glance, the starry sky seemed without end, but in fact, it was not so. It also seemed to pulse with life.

The asteroid field was filled with many large asteroids that were apparently surrounded by shocking power, almost like shields.

One of those asteroids was tens of thousands of meters wide, and emanated glittering light. It was possible to see numerous teleportation portals carved into its surface, over a thousand of them packed tightly together.

One of those teleportation portals was currently emanating dazzling light, and the figures of Naruto and 19th Uncle slowly became visible.

"Hao'er," 19th Uncle said with a smile, "there is a vast distance between Planet Ninshu and Planet East Victory. It would be difficult to teleport there directly. That's why we need to transfer teleportation portals here." When he looked at Naruto, the emotion and love in his gaze was apparent.

He was very pleased that his older cousin's son had successfully transcended his tribulation, and was finally able to return to the clan.

When he thought of the steep price Namikaze Minato had paid over the years, he couldn't help but sigh in his heart.

"You can take a look around," 19th Uncle continued. "This asteroid belongs to the Namikaze Clan, so we're in no danger. I need some time to make some adjustments to the teleportation portal. The way it is now, your body probably couldn't handle it. I need about… enough time for an incense stick to burn." With that, he began to make adjustments to the teleportation portal.

Naruto nodded in response, then stepped out of the teleportation portal to look around.

There was no sun and no sky. The only things he could see were sparkling stars amidst pitch black darkness. Although this was not Naruto's first time stepping out into the starry sky, it was different than those other times.

"I've really left Planet Ninshu…." He looked off into the distance, but actually had no sense of direction, and no way to determine where Planet Ninshu might be. His heart felt a bit empty, and he was also nervous about arriving as a stranger on Planet East Victory.

Of course, that was where he had been born, and was also a planet that belonged to his own Namikaze Clan.

He patted his bag of holding, within which was a jade slip given to him by his father. It contained a map of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, along with various paths among the stars.

"Once I've finished making these adjustments, we can be on our way," 19th Uncle called out, smiling as he continued to adjust the teleportation portal to suit Naruto. "The Patriarchs are all in secluded meditation, and have left the Grand Elder in charge. He was very happy to hear that you're returning, and has arranged for large numbers of clan members to gather together and receive you.

"It's going to be very lively! Hahaha! Once we're back, you really have to help me get my son in line!"

Naruto nodded, and for some reason, he wasn't able to keep a bit of warmth from rising up in his heart. That was the warmth of family, a warmth that had begun to grow cold almost as soon as he left Planet Ninshu and stepped out into space.

"19th Uncle, does all of Planet East Victory belong to the Namikaze Clan?" he asked.

"Your father didn't tell you? Well, that makes sense. Cousin is a bit resentful of the clan. Ai….

"Hao'er, you probably already know that all the lands and stars are actually part of nine mountains and seas. Another way of putting it is that nine mountains exist in the starry sky, and each mountain has a sea, thus, nine seas.

"The Nine Mountains and Seas are divided into groups of mountains and seas, and thus nine worlds.

"In each of those, there are four planets which rotate eternally around their respective mountains. Outside of the Nine Mountains are two enormous heavenly bodies; the sun and a moon.

"Because of the reflections cast by the sea of stars, the sun and moon look different on each of the planets, but in fact, there is only a single sun and a single moon for all the Nine Mountains and Seas.

"In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, one of those four planets is Planet East Victory, which belongs completely to the Namikaze Clan. Although there are other sects and power structures on the planet, if the Namikaze Clan wanted to, we could unify the other powers. Instead, we permit them to exist.

"Actually, the largest planet in the Ninth Mountain and Sea is not Planet

East Victory, but rather Planet North Reed. It is several times larger than Planet East Victory, and is where the Uchiha Clan, Song Clan, and Li Clan, the Three Great Clans, all call home.

"Then there is Planet West Felicity, where you can find the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, as well as other illustrious sects.

"To further analyze matters, you have to look at the Ninth Mountain and the Ninth Sea as a whole.

"Compared to everything else, Planet Ninshu is special. Since your father didn't tell you the details about that, then I won't presume to talk about them." After providing his explanation, 19th Uncle smiled and continued with his adjustments to the spell formation.

Naruto's eyes glittered with an intense light. 19th Uncle's description overlapped with his own understanding of matters to provide a much larger picture in Naruto's mind.

"19th Uncle, what other sects are on Planet East Victory?" he suddenly asked.

"The most famous are the Church of the Blood Orchid and the Church of the Puppet God, which are listed among the Three Churches and Six Sects. In addition to them is the Medicine Immortal Sect. They might not be listed among the Three Churches and Six Sects, but when it comes to the Dao of alchemy, in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea, they are second only to the Kunlun Society.

"Most accurately speaking… the Medicine Immortal Sect has a deep connection with the Namikaze Clan. Ai… it was actually founded by a Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan who got angry and left to start his own sect.

"After we get back to the clan, my son, your cousin, can tell you more about all that." 19th Uncle extended his right hand and pushed down onto the surface of the teleportation portal, causing bright light to glitter up.

"Alright, that's it! Let's get going, Hao'er. After enough time passes for an incense stick to burn, you'll be able to lay eyes on Planet East Victory!" Laughing loudly, 19th Uncle stepped into the teleportation portal, followed closely by Naruto. As the light of teleportation surrounded them, a glow of anticipation could be seen in Naruto's eyes.

Naruto and 19th Uncle soon vanished with the light. However, in the moment that they faded away, a black-robed cultivator appeared above the teleportation portal.

He wore no expression at all on his face, which was as cold as ice. He almost seemed completely devoid of emotion. He appeared without making a single noise, and when he saw that Naruto and 19th Uncle had disappeared into the portal, he stamped down viciously with his right foot, instantly shattering the teleportation portal.

The teleportation portal was fundamentally very difficult to shatter. Otherwise, Naruto and 19th Uncle would not have been so confident in using it; after all, this asteroid belonged to the Namikaze Clan, and was protected by a shield, making it very difficult for outsiders to get into the place.

The black-robed man pulled out a jade slip and sent some divine will into it.

"Target acquired. Teleportation portal's foundation destroyed." With that, he vanished.

Almost in the same moment that he vanished, brilliant lights could suddenly be seen at a point somewhere between the asteroid and Planet East Victory, accompanied by massive rumbling. In the middle of the light was a hole that had been ripped in the void, from which a multicolored glow surged out, as well as deadly ripples. A roar could be heard, which was 19th Uncle, who shot out from within the hole, his hair in disarray, his expression that of rage, and his cultivation base rotating at full power. Next, Naruto stepped out from within the hole, surrounded by thunderous roaring.

19th Uncle's face was grim, while Naruto's eyes gleamed with an intense light. Moments ago, they had been in the midst of teleportation, when suddenly, the teleportation tunnel collapsed. If 19th Uncle hadn't protected Naruto with his powerful cultivation base, then Naruto would definitely have been killed.

Almost as soon as 19th Uncle and Naruto appeared, ripples began to spread out all around them. In the blink of an eye, nine completely emotionless black-robed figures appeared. From the look of things, they had already calculated any avenues of escape that would be open to 19th Uncle and Naruto, and had sealed them off; this was a deadly ambush!

Rumbling echoed out as the nine people attacked in unison… all with peak Immortal Realm power!

"Dammit!" roared 19th Uncle. "You people really have gall! Didn't you know that was a teleportation portal of the Namikaze Clan!?" He immediately performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing an explosively destructive aura to surge out in all directions.

However, it was at this point that a faint aura suddenly materialized in the void, and then roared out explosively. This aura was not that of the Immortal Realm, but a step beyond that, the early Ancient Realm!

The appearance of this new aura caused 19th Uncle's face to flicker. He gritted his teeth, and a look of determination appeared on his face. He quickly grabbed Naruto and threw him off into the distance, as well as some other object, which turned into a beam of light that followed Naruto.

"Hao'er, they're probably after me. You get out of here, and I'll come after you later!" 19th Uncle then began to perform a double-handed incantation.

"Great Heavenly Void!" cried out 19th Uncle. His entire body suddenly transformed into an enormous vortex that instantly sucked in the hidden Ancient Realm aura, as well as the nine peak Immortal Realm cultivators. Then, they all vanished.

Everything happened extremely quickly. From the collapse of the teleportation to 19th Uncle unleashing his divine ability and swallowing up his opponents, barely enough time passed to blink an eye.

Naruto was panting as he tumbled through the void. The beam of light that had been following him materialized into a flying shuttle, which surrounded Naruto and sped off into the distance. The shuttle would provide Naruto protection from the starry sky for quite some time.

Naruto's face flickered, and he turned to look back at the spot where 19th Uncle had fought the mysterious assailants. There was nothing to be seen; apparently, Naruto was now the only person out here among the stars.

"Were those people after 19th Uncle, or were they… coming after me!?" Naruto's eyes flickered. He was not a novice in the Cultivation world. Contrariwise, he was extremely discerning. After all, he had traveled the road of cultivation all the way to the peak of Dao Seeking completely on his own power and ability, all without even knowing his father and mother. The tempering he had gone through had left him with shocking willpower and intuition.

Without pausing for a moment, he sent some divine sense into the flying shuttle. After a moment of thought, he realized that while he didn't distrust 19th Uncle, he also knew that if those people weren't targeting him, then he could do whatever he wished right now. However, if they were targeting him, then that meant they had the ability to determine not just 19th Uncle's location, but his own. Therefore… he was not safe in this shuttle.

He decided not to use the shuttle after all. He took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and then flew out of the shuttle into the starry sky.

As soon as he left the shuttle, a suffocating pressure bore down on him. His body was immediately sent out of balance, and he began to sweat profusely. Fundamentally speaking, anyone who was not Immortal could not tread among the stars.

"I have eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal. I can kill false Immortals as easily as turning over my hand, and I'm actually comparable to a 40-meridian Immortal. Plus, my fleshly body is incredibly powerful. Therefore… I can rely on myself to fly through the stars!

"Although my speed might not be that great, I can still do it safely!" He lightly tapped the shuttle, sending it flying off in another direction, and splattered some blood onto it at the same time, which instantly transformed into a crude Blood Clone that could not wield divine abilities.

The flying shuttle speedily drifted off into the distance carrying his Blood Clone.

With that, Naruto turned into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Chapter 889: Killing Intent Lurking Everywhere!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 890

Chapter 890: Battling Formidable Opponents!

Traveling through this endless void was different than traveling through the Ruins of Immortality. Here, Naruto had experienced an intense sensation of weightlessness. Here, things were different.

However, with his cultivation base, Naruto was able to quickly adjust and find his center of gravity, then was able to right himself and proceed along stably.

"So, I really can travel among the stars with this cultivation base," he thought, his eyes glittering. He could not breathe, but to cultivators, merely rotating their cultivation base was enough. He did not need anything from outside his own body to sustain himself.

He tapped his bag of holding to produce the jade slip his father had given him. After scanning it with divine sense, he quickly pulled up the map, and found Planet East Victory. When he found his own location and compared the distance between the two, he realized… that although it didn't look too far away, his current location was actually incredibly remote.

He muttered to himself for a moment, then put the jade slip away and continued speeding along. As he traveled, he would frequently unleash magical techniques and divine abilities, all to get more used to magical combat among the stars.

Several days later, as he proceeded along, his face suddenly flickered. He had just sensed that the Blood Clone he had left in the flying shuttle had disappeared.

"So, they were targeting me after all!" he thought. His eyes flickered with the desire to kill.

At the same time, in another location in the starry sky, two black-robed men hovered there, frowning. They wore the same type of clothing as that which had been worn by the black-robed men from earlier, although they were clearly not among the ten who had already shown their faces.

In front of them was the wreckage of the flying shuttle. Moments ago, a body could be seen inside the shuttle, but it had vanished, leaving behind only a spatter of blood, which then turned into a mist and faded away.

"What a cunning little son of a bitch," said one of the men. "I never thought someone so young could be such a profound schemer. He's really playing it careful."

"He's just a Spirit Realm cultivator," replied the other. "Even if he's comparable to a false Immortal, with forty or fifty percent of the power of a true Immortal, he won't be able to get very far. It will be very difficult for him to travel through the starry sky. Let's split up and look for him. There's still time to track him down!"

After exchanging a glance, the two men split up and began to search in two different directions with their divine sense.

Each of these men was at the peak of the Immortal Realm. However, they were incapable of opening 80 meridians, and in fact only had 70 or so. That made them stage 7 Immortals, which was their apex .

Naruto's face was grim as he sped along. As he grew more familiar with the starry sky, his speed increased. Soon, there was little difference between this type of travel and moving about on a planet.

Anyone else would be incapable of achieving something like that.

However, based on all the things Naruto had experienced, he was naturally able to quickly adapt.

"I'm not sure how they managed to interrupt the teleportation process in the first place," thought Naruto, "but it shows that they're clearly very powerful.

"If 19th Uncle hadn't unleashed his divine ability, they might have just tried to pin him down, then go after their true target, me!

"Who is it exactly that wants to kill me?" Naruto frowned, killing intent flickering in his eyes.

"Could it be those Chosen that I crushed back then on Planet Ninshu ? Or was my identity as Namikaze Kazama revealed?

"There's also another possibility, that the enemy tracked down and destroyed the flying shuttle to simply get rid of witnesses. Maybe they weren't targeting me." There was really no way for Naruto to be sure, but there was also one other guess as to the enemy's motives that he had contemplated in silence…but it was an answer that he didn't dare to lightly consider, and instead, focused on continuing forward at top speed.

Seven days passed, during which time the black-robed men continued to thoroughly search the area. Another black-robed cultivator arrived, making a total of three. Despite their combined efforts, there were no results.

Finally, they met back together to confer.

"Dammit! Did the kid grow wings and fly away? There's no sign of him anywhere!"

"Maybe he has a magical item that allows him to survive for long periods out in the stars. Let's widen the area of our search. We absolutely must track him down and kill him!"

"Once we find the son of a bitch, he's dead for sure!"

The three headed off in different directions to carry out a wider search.

One of them ended up searching the area where Naruto actually was.

A few days later, Naruto was speeding along when suddenly, his face fell. An intense killing intent exploded out from behind him, and he turned to find a black-robed cultivator closing in on him through the void.

The black-robed man was expressionless, and a flicker of ridicule could be seen within his cold eyes. Before he even got close, his voice echoed out.

"We underestimated you," he said. "Never thought you could get this far." As he closed in, the power of a stage seven Immortal exploded out, and a huge statue appeared behind him.

The statue was 21,000 meters tall, and pitch black. It was fearsome in appearance, and looked absolutely nothing like the black-robed man.

He wasn't a true Immortal, but a false Immortal. However, even a false Immortal who had reached the seventh stage, and opened 70 meridians, possessed shocking energy that would pose quite a bit of difficulty for Naruto.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and his expression was one of alarm and terror as he edged backward.

"W-what do you want?!" he cried out loudly, his voice quavering. "I'm from the Namikaze Clan! My father is Namikaze Minato! How dare you try to kill me!" It was almost impossible to see in his eyes that he was actually gauging the distance between him and his opponent.

The black-robed man grinned viciously. He didn't respond, but instead got closer, raising his right hand into the air. The eyes of the statue behind him glittered, and it sent its massive hand out toward Naruto, clearly intending to crush him to death in a single blow.

Naruto stood in place as if he were scared stiff, allowing the huge palm to fall down toward him. At the same time, the black-robed man continued to get closer. He was now less than three hundred meters away.

In that instant, Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent. Three hundred meters was close enough for him to unleash some of his divine abilities. He stretched out his right hand and pointed toward his opponent. Instantly, the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed. The starry sky distorted, and the black-robed man was suddenly locked in place.

Blood began to ooze out of Naruto's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, a result of the backlash caused by using this Hex on someone whose cultivation base vastly exceeded his own. However, no look of pain could be seen in his expression, only the desire to kill. His expression grew more and more fierce.

In the same moment that his opponent was locked in place, Naruto waved his sleeve. A black beam flew out, along with a astonishing energy, as the crocodile appeared. Shockingly, the crocodile was also comparable to a stage seven Immortal, and as soon as it appeared, it swished its tail. A boom could be heard as the black-robed man's eyes went wide and blood sprayed from his mouth. Because he was so close to Naruto, there was no way for him to dodge. He had no choice but to take the blow straight on and then shoot backward in retreat. The enraged crocodile pounced on him, and they began to fight back and forth.

"Dammit!" said the black-robed man, his face pale. He now realized that he had underestimated his opponent, and had been fooled. The battle hadn't even started, and he was injured, causing his killing intent to boil. He was just about to make an attack, when Naruto waved his hand out in a claw-like gesture. Immediately a long spear appeared that had a haft made from the World Tree, and a bone spearhead. Even as he hefted it, his Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and his cultivation base exploded out. Now was not the time to hold back, so in the blink of an eye, his Dharma Idol grew to 12,000 meters.

As soon as the Dharma Idol appeared, the black-robed man's face flickered with disbelief. According to the report he had received, his opponent only had power equivalent to thirty or perhaps fifty percent of that of a true Immortal. However, he was now obviously facing a stage four Immortal, which was especially shocking considering his target… was clearly not in the Immortal Realm.

"No wonder his majesty ordered this kid dead. He's incredibly discerning and cunning, and has a Heaven-defying cultivation base! He can't be left alive!" Astonishment filled the black-robed man's heart as Naruto closed in, killing intent glittering in his eyes. Behind him, his Dharma Idol barreled forward, and at the same time, the Mountain Consuming Incantation was unleashed, causing countless mountains to appear, which then linked together to form a mountain range that crushed down onto the black-robed man.

The black-robed man's face fell, and even as he prepared to fight back, the crocodile roared and lunged forward again. The already injured black-robed man was once again forced into retreat.

Rumbling could be heard, and blood poured out of his mouth. However, it was at this moment that a second black-robed man suddenly appeared, moving toward them at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he was upon them. A boom rang out from the shocked Naruto's chest as it instantly caved in. He was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut, blood spewing from his mouth.

It didn't matter that Naruto's cultivation base was so much lower than the second black-robed man; he attacked him with full power anyway. However, when the man caught sight of Naruto again, a look of surprise could be seen on his face.

"Not dead?" His body flickered into motion as he attacked Naruto once again.

Naruto's chest was wracked with intense pain, and blood flowed from his mouth continuously. His chest was a mangled mess, but his eyes overflowed with killing intent. His Eternal stratum was currently healing him, but even as it did, Naruto realized that a third black-robed man had appeared off in the distance.

"There are actually three of them!" he thought, an imperceptible flicker running through his eyes. Temporarily suppressing the restorative power of the Eternal stratum, he transformed into a golden roc to evade the second black-robed man. A boom rang out, and Naruto transformed back into human form, blood spraying from his mouth. The second black-robed man frowned and then shot toward Naruto once more, utilizing bizarre speed.

However, just when the man was almost upon him, he suddenly extended his right hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. Electricity danced, and rumbling echoed out as he vanished to switch places with the third black-robed man.

The sudden switch in position aggravated Naruto's wound, and blood sprayed from his mouth. As he back up anxiously, the third black-robed man's eyes lit with a bright light.

"Precious treasure!"

A gleam of greed could be seen in the second black-robed man's eyes as well. He and the third black-robed man employed the full explosive power of a stage seven Immortal at almost the same time. To them, Naruto was something that could easily be killed, and yet, even still, they employed all the power they could possibly muster, transforming into beams of light that shot toward Naruto in quick succession.

They looked like strings of light flashing through the air, like arrows that, in the blink of an eye, were only thirty meters away from Naruto.

"Die!" the second cultivator said coldly. The killing intent in Naruto's eyes flickered, and suddenly, his body split in two as his second true self appeared. His second true self stepped forward and spread his hands wide to block, while Naruto's true self backed up. Then, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a bronze lamp.

As soon as the bronze lamp appeared, a weak flame flickered inside, and a terrifying aura exploded out. The two black-robed men's faces fell completely.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 891

Chapter 891 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 891: Divine Flame Incinerates Immortals!

The faces of the two men instantly fell, and they immediately wanted to flee. They were in a dangerous situation, but considering the level of their cultivation base, it wasn't impossible to dodge aside. However, it was at this moment that Naruto's eyes flickered with a vicious gleam.

He immediately sent out a message with divine will: "Second true self, detonate!"

His second true self's eyes flickered, and his arms locked in place. In the blink of an eye, he self-detonated. This was the self-detonation of a true Immortal's soul and Naruto's fleshly body, as well as the Devilish will inside. A massive explosion shook the stars, and brilliant light spread out in all directions, almost like a sun.

BOOOMMMM!

The sudden detonation of Naruto's true self was a decisive move that few other people could pull off. However, Naruto had practiced cultivation for many years and had experienced many deadly situations. Because of his decisive personality, he didn't hesitate for a moment to detonate his second true self.

The two black-robed cultivators had been on the verge of fleeing, but the self-detonation was something that shook even them. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they lost their chance to retreat.

At the same time, raging killing intent could be seen in Naruto's eyes. He held out the ancient bronze lamp and then blew. A tiny bit of his breath brushed against the lamp, causing the flame inside to suddenly expand. Instantly, a flame sea sprang into being in front of Naruto.

The stars trembled as the flame sea raged.

It didn't spread out very far, only a few dozen meters. However, within that space, the shocking flames caused everything to ripple and distort. From a distance, the sea of flames resembled an enormous fiery butterfly, spreading destruction as it fluttered its wings.

The two black-robed men let out miserable screams. They tried to use magical items to defend themselves, but even the third black-robed man's treasures were instantly destroyed. Flames engulfed their bodies, and their skin cracked and burned.

The potency of the flame went beyond even Naruto's expectations. In the end, it only took a few breaths of time for the fire to completely incinerate the two black-robed men, who had actually excelled in terms of speed. One of them, in the moment before his death, glared at Naruto viciously, then used some unique divine ability to rapidly wither his own body and send a burst of energy out.

"We die together!" he howled. The energy surged toward Naruto, enveloping him.

Naruto's entire body began to tremble; massive power began to shred his skin. In the exact same moment that his body exploded, his Eternal stratum surged into action. The only thing left behind was the bronze lamp. By that time, the second black-robed man finally transformed into ash, and his soul dispersed. In the last instant before he died, no regret could be seen in his eyes; he had accomplished his mission.

The two men were incinerated, even their bags of holding and very bones transformed into nothing but ash.

Any presence of their existence was completely blotted out.

Off in the distance, the first black-robed man was still tangling with the crocodile. When he saw what had just happened, his jaw dropped in disbelief and terror.

"What fire is that!?"

He could never have imagined that the person he was going up against would be so terrifying. In order to kill him, two of his compatriots, both stage seven Immortals, had been killed, and had even been forced to attempt to end their own lives to accomplish the mission.

Those flames left the black-robed man's face completely ashen, and his heart pounding. He was now even more frightened than before, and was actually rejoicing that he hadn't been so hasty in his attack earlier. If he had been, he would most likely be dead now.

"This Naruto was vicious! He actually detonated his own clone to kill his opponents! Were it not for his decisiveness, the two of them would have been able to flee. With their cultivation bases, they shouldn't have been destroyed in body and spirit.

"If this kid hadn't met such an early end, then he would definitely have become famous throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

"Well, it's too bad that he did die!" A look of greed appeared in the man's eyes. Even as he fought with the crocodile, he looked over at the bronze lamp, which had a slice of bloody flesh laying across it. Next to it was Naruto's bag of holding.

"That precious treasure belongs to me now! Also that Lightning Cauldron with the transposition powers!

"Plus, now I will get all the credit for killing Naruto!" However, it was in this moment of excitement that his face suddenly filled with disbelief.

Voice hoarse, he said, "Impossible!"

In that moment, the shredded, bloody pieces of Naruto's body formed back together. An ancient aura spread out that carried the feeling of Eternity. In only a moment, Naruto was completely formed anew!

His face was pale, but his eyes flickered with the desire to kill. He looked up at the black-robed man, his expression icy, as if he were looking at a dead man. The black-robed man's face fell and, despite the level of his cultivation, he was filled with terror and wanted to flee. Unfortunately for him, the crocodile went crazy to block his way.

Naruto coldly patted his bag of holding to produce a set of clothing, which he quickly donned. Then he put the bronze lamp back into his bag of holding. The spark inside was clearly much dimmer; it would probably only be usable once or twice more.

After putting everything in order, Naruto looked at the spot where his second true self had detonated. He waved his hand, causing all of the bits of blood and flesh to fly toward him. The soul of the true Immortal had not completely dissipated, although it had been reduced to only ten percent of its former power. All that was left of his body was a lump of gore, within which was the fully coalesced Devilish will. The whole thing resembled a black heart.

After sealing it and putting it away, Naruto headed toward the crocodile and the black-robed man.

He had sustained heavy losses in this fight, but had survived thanks to his Eternal stratum. If he hadn't made the sacrifices he had, he would definitely be dead now.

The black-robed man looked at him, his heart filled with fear. Naruto looked like some ancient fiend as he slowly approached.

The black-robed man was filled with shock, and had already sustained injuries. His heart was in chaos as the crocodile suddenly bit down on his right leg, causing cracking sounds to emanate out as the leg was shattered. It was in that moment that Naruto arrived, a red vortex beneath his feet. The vortex grew larger and larger until it resembled a sea of blood.

"Come no closer!" howled the black-robed man. He tried to retreat, but the crocodile had him pinned down, and he was injured again. By this point, he couldn't even unleash the full power of his cultivation base; he was now at the level of a stage five Immortal.

Naruto moved forward with incredible speed, the blood sea beneath his feet growing larger and larger. In the end, the sea of blood churned in a massive vortex that surrounded Naruto, until he wasn't even visible anymore.

BOOM!

The black-robed man performed an incantation, unleashing a divine ability that slammed into the sea of blood. It began to fall apart, but then reformed. The black-robed man's face was pale white, as he performed constant incantation gestures and constant attacks. He continued to try to retreat, and was continually harassed and injured by the crocodile.

His will to fight had long since vanished. Seeing his two companions die had struck quite a blow, and then Naruto had returned to life, which was an even more intense shock.

Furthermore, no matter how he attacked, Naruto's blood sea vortex couldn't be destroyed. Every time the vortex began to fall apart, it would quickly recover. In the space of a few breaths of time, the blood sea vortex reached the black-robed man and then began to envelop him.

Booms rang out, accompanied by the black-robed man's muffled, bloodcurdling shrieks. The vortex collapsed, but then exploded back out. Every time it collapsed, it reformed, until gradually, the screams grew weaker. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, the cries faded away.

After a moment, the blood sea began to shrink back down, transforming into Naruto once again. In front of him was the desiccated corpse of the black-robed man, who stared up with wide, vacant eyes. His flesh and blood, cultivation base, and even soul had been sucked dry.

Naruto's face was a bit flushed as he hovered there among the stars, eyes closed. After a long moment, he opened his eyes, and he looked exhausted. Yet, within that exhaustion could be seen the desire to kill.

"So, they're actually from… the Namikaze Clan!" In the end, Naruto had used one of the abilities of the ultimate form of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, a terrifying divine ability with potentially fatal side-effects, that required only a bit of time to perform.

It was an ability that left him completely vulnerable to outside attack, which was why he had never used it before, a divine ability that allowed him to completely absorb the victim's memories.

"How cute," he thought, "and what a lovely clan. I haven't even arrived yet, and they've already sent people to kill me….

"Clearly, someone doesn't want me to get back to the Namikaze Clan alive….

"It's too bad that someone used a memory-wiping technique on this black-robed cultivator, making it impossible to determine who gave the orders to kill me. Clearly that person truly fears me." Naruto smiled, although it was a somewhat sinister smile.

As of now, he was no longer the Naruto who, after reuniting with his father and mother, could rely on their help. He was back to his old self, running wild, with only himself to depend on.

"The more somebody wants to prevent me from getting back alive, the more I want to get to the Namikaze Clan," he thought, his eyes flickering with murderous intent. Gradually, the killing intent faded into the recesses of his mind. He opened the black-robed man's bag of holding, but there was nothing inside other than a flying shuttle.

The flying shuttle operated on spirit stones, and would enable to him to make his way through the stars. As long as he had spirit stones, it would work. Unfortunately, because of the quality with which it was constructed, and the spell formations that it operated, its effectiveness was limited. However, higher quality spirit stones would enable it to move much faster

After he saw the flying shuttle, Naruto examined it closely. After determining that there were no booby traps or similar dangers, he quickly branded it with divine sense, then waved his hand, causing the shuttle to grow larger. When it reached thirty meters in length, he sat down inside of it, then, suppressing the pain he felt, placed a high-grade spirit stone down onto its surface. Rumbling could be heard as the shuttle then began to move forward.

Meanwhile, in another location in the starry sky, another black-robed man whose cultivation base exceeded the Immortal Realm suddenly stopped in his tracks. He lifted his right hand, and three shattered jade slips appeared within it.

"Dead? I sent those three to kill a Spirit Realm cultivator, and they ended up getting killed…? Did someone else interfere?" After a moment of silence, the black-robed man continued onward at top speed, intending to search for Naruto personally.

"In order to have Naruto killed, his excellency even sent people to keep Prince 19 from interfering. All just for this chance. Failure is not an option. Naruto… must die! He must not get to Planet East Victory alive!"

Chapter 891: Divine Flame Incinerates Immortals!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 892

Chapter 892: East Heaven Gate

The flying shuttle was a beam of bright light that shot through the starry sky at a speed far, far greater than that Naruto was capable of achieving. At the same time, the rate with which it consumed spirit stones was terrifying.

Naruto's heart hurt, but he had no other options at his disposal. He could only continue to feed the high-grade Spirit Stones into the slot.

This type of flight method was something most people only used over short distances. To use it over a long period of time in the way Naruto was using it right now was quite rare.

"Just to be safe…." Naruto patted his bag of holding and the meat jelly appeared. It immediately began to jabber on and on but, this time, no matter what Naruto said in response, it wouldn't agree to help him.

Having no other choice, he finally produced the copper mirror and brought out the parrot.

As soon as it emerged, it began to wail and shout.

"Dammit, Haowie! Dammit!" it cried, seemingly on the verge of tears. "Dammit, Lord Fifth is finally out!" It had been sealed in the mirror for a long time; from its perspective, it seemed almost like 10,000 years. Now that it was free, it flew out squawking.

Naruto looked at the meat jelly and the parrot, and suddenly felt a headache coming on.

"Have the meat jelly change my appearance again," he said. "Otherwise I'll seal you back inside."

The parrot was enraged and refused to cooperate, but then it thought of the pain of being sealed away, and recalled being unable to have furred and feathered lovers, and was suddenly extremely frightened.

Finally, they reached an agreement. As long as the parrot agreed not to do anything out of line, it wouldn't be sealed away again. It immediately flew up to the meat jelly and began to arrogantly use some unknown method to get the meat jelly to suddenly look very anxious. Finally, with a dour expression on its face, it helped Naruto change his appearance, as well as the appearance of the flying shuttle.

The flying shuttle then whooshed away, taking a circuitous route toward Planet East Victory, instead of heading directly toward it.

Several days later, the black-robed man with a cultivation base exceeding the Immortal Realm appeared in the location where Naruto had fought the other black-robed men. After looking around for a moment, he was visibly moved.

"What flame was it that burned them up…?

"Don't tell me he has a Dao Protector who cultivates a flame power of the Ancient Realm!" An unsightly expression appeared on the man's face. After a moment, he sent his divine sense out, but couldn't find any traces of Naruto. Most importantly, he couldn't detect Naruto's aura, and thus couldn't lock down a specific area in which to search for him.

Finding someone in the middle of space is like looking for a needle in the middle of an ocean.

"If I say you can't escape, then escape you shall not!" said the man with a cold harrumph. He lifted his right hand, within which could be seen an archaic turtle shell which was obviously very, very old.

"His excellency even gave me this precious treasure to use, all for the purpose of seeing you dead! With this item, I can definitely track you down." Eyes glittering, he slowly raised up the turtle shell and began to chant a complicated, awkward-sounding incantation. Finally, he spit out some blood onto it.

" Namikaze Hao!" he growled. The turtle shell sucked in the blood and then began to quiver. Slowly, bubbles began to rise up from it, and images floated within each of them.

The black-robed man stared intently at the bubbles, chuckling coldly. He was very confident that this strange treasure would be able to find Naruto because of the clan blood that ran in his veins.

A moment later, the treasure began to shine with flickering light, and Naruto's image appeared. However, in the exact moment that he appeared…

The strange treasure began to shake, as if during the process of searching for Naruto, it had encountered some indescribable force of interference. Then a boom could be heard as the treasure exploded into countless fragments.

As it exploded, a shocking aura surged out from the treasure that caused the black-robed man to tremble, and a roaring sound to fill his mind.

It happened so quickly that he didn't have time to react. The force of the explosion sent him flying thirty thousand meters away, where he coughed up three mouthfuls of blood. A look of shock filled his face.

"His fate is untraceable?!" he said, his face ashen. Then he thought of the aura just now, and his scalp went numb.

Time passed. Three months. The atmosphere in the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory was a strange one during that time. Three months before, a clan member had been set to return, and yet no one showed up.

The welcoming ceremony was cancelled. Eventually, they realized they had lost contact with Prince 19, who had been sent to escort the direct bloodline grandson back. His disappearance made the atmosphere even stranger than before.

All of the members of the direct bloodline were furious. Many of them even left Planet East Victory to conduct searches of their own, but it was all in vain.

It wasn't just the direct bloodline clan members who went out searching. Ordinary clan members also went out to search for Naruto. Of course, the black-robed men were out searching as well, to find either Naruto or his corpse.

No one dared to deliver the news to Namikaze Minato on Planet Ninshu. When Prince 19 finally returned and made his report to the Grand Elder, his face was extremely dark.

The Grand Elder appeared to be enraged, and even personally went out to where the teleportation tunnel had collapsed. Eventually, he determined that it had been an ambush set up by a sect who had harbored enmity with Prince 19.

The fact that Naruto had been dragged into this situation caused quite an uproar, and the Namikaze Clan eventually sent some experts to destroy the offending sect completely, which was quite a shock.

After three months with no news from Naruto, his 19th Uncle wallowed in guilt on a daily basis. He would constantly go out to search for Naruto, but never found anything. 19th Uncle felt especially guilty towards Namikaze Minato, but didn't dare tell him about the matter.

Of course, he had been scared of his older cousin from the time he was small, and knew exactly what type of personality he had. If Namikaze Minato found out what had happened, who knew what could happen as a result.

One thing was for sure… a catastrophic storm would definitely occur.

Slowly, things calmed down in the Namikaze Clan. Fewer people went out to search for Naruto, until eventually, only the direct bloodline members were interested in the matter.

The Namikaze Clan was huge, and the direct bloodline had once been at the peak of glory. Naruto's grandfather had a monstrous cultivation base, there were other direct bloodline Patriarchs, and of course Naruto's father was a Chosen who struck awe into the hearts of everyone in his generation.

Now, however, Naruto's grandfather was missing, the other direct bloodline Patriarchs were reaching the point of Nirvanic Rebirth, and were in secluded meditation, and Namikaze Minato had gone to Planet Ninshu.

In addition to all that, Naruto, the eldest grandson, had been born crippled. Gradually, the direct bloodline was now losing its power and influence. Before, it had been at the height of power, but now, only about ten percent of the other clan members were still loyal to the direct bloodline.

As the direct bloodline declined, auxiliary bloodlines rose. There was one bloodline in particular from which the Chosen Namikaze Wei descended. His father, and other Patriarchs of the bloodline, were shining radiantly, and in the past few hundred years, had worked hard in service of the clan. Their reputations had even spread outside the clan, and therefore, their power only continued to grow. Soon, they commanded the loyalty of roughly thirty percent of the clan.

The remaining sixty percent remained in a position of neutrality, maintaining their own power structures and assisting each other as needed.

An entire half year passed. It was now almost a year since Naruto had gone missing. By now, even the direct bloodline had little hope that he would return, and ceased virtually all searching.

Even the cultivators in the black robes gave up, having assumed that Naruto died out in space. Not even the black-robed expert whose cultivation base exceeded the Immortal Realm was able to find traces of Naruto. Space is an enormous place, and it was impossible to completely lock down the starry sky which surrounded Planet East Victory; there was simply too much activity there.

Planet East Victory gradually returned to normal, and people stopped thinking about Naruto.

On one particular day, two thirty-meter flying shuttles limped and tottered into the starry sky outside Planet East Victory. As they gradually approached the planet, Naruto could be seen sitting cross-legged in one of the shuttles. His clothes were in tatters, and his face was withered and yellow. However, his eyes shone brightly. At first glance, he seemed to cut a sorry figure, but deep in his eyes, he seemed even more powerful than when he had left Planet Ninshu.

He had been traveling for nearly a year to get to the planet up ahead; at long last, he was almost there.

The number of spirit stones he had wasted had reached a shocking level. Whenever he thought about it, he gnashed his teeth, and his heart hurt painfully.

Throughout the year of travel, he had been forced to be extremely cautious in order to avoid being tracked down and killed. Even so, he had faced many dangers and run into many evil cultivators. Magical battles had ensued on multiple occasions.

It could even be said that he had experienced tough training throughout that year. He quickly forgot about the protection he had enjoyed from his father and mother. Once again, he experienced what it was like to be on his own.

"Finally… I can see Planet East Victory with my own eyes!" he thought, looking at the planet up ahead. It was huge, composed of about thirty percent blue ocean water, and seventy percent land. One of the continents spread out over nearly half the planet, was red in color, and emanated a bizarre aura.

The planet also had a glowing ring surrounding it, composed of countless drifting asteroids. The sight was spectacular.

As he looked over the scene, Naruto was shocked to find that there were cultivators sitting cross-legged in meditation on many of the asteroids. There were even some asteroids that had Immortal's caves cut into them.

The planet seemed to teem with powerful experts, and their shocking auras combined together to emanate dazzlingly out into the starry sky.

Without even setting foot onto the planet, Naruto was able to tell that it was a flourishing place. Countless cultivators entered and exited the planet. Colorful beams of light flashed to and fro, and the whole scene looked very different than Planet Ninshu, causing a cold light to shine in Naruto's eyes.

A young man sat cross-legged in the flying shuttle next to Naruto's. Smiling, he used divine will to transmit a message to Naruto.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, this is Planet East Victory. Once you take care of your affairs, don't forget to come visit me in the Medicine Immortal Sect. I can introduce you to some nice friends."

The young man's name was Feng Xun. Naruto had rescued him from the clutches of a gang of rogue cultivators, for which Feng Xun had been eternally grateful. After they had begun chatting, Naruto found out that he was a disciple of the Medicine Immortal Sect. Upon hearing that Naruto was traveling to Planet East Victory, he had immediately volunteered to personally escort Naruto there.

"Many thanks, Elder Brother Feng," Naruto replied with a smile. "I definitely will." As he looked at Planet East Victory, the bright light in his eyes suddenly turned cold.

"According to my analysis," he thought, "the people in the Namikaze Clan who tried to kill me are definitely also afraid of my father. There seem to be some other reasons as well. Perhaps because of certain clan affairs, they feared anyone finding that they were the ones who killed me if they succeeded.

"That's why they lured 19th Uncle away, and then sent those blackrobed men to kill me. Plus… those men had their memories erased, which lends proof to my speculation.

"Well then, although the Namikaze Clan might seem to be a dangerous place for me, I should actually be pretty safe there. They won't dare to kill me right in the middle of the clan!

"I have a high position in the Namikaze clan, so they definitely wouldn't be so bold as to do something in the open." Chuckling coldly, Naruto sent the flying shuttle closer to Planet East Victory. As soon as he neared, a powerful divine sense shot out from the planet. It swept over him, then vanished and transformed into a vortex.

Simultaneously, a cold voice transmitted into his ear.

"Foreign cultivator: enter the vortex up ahead of you, and it will take you to the planet. Prepare your travel permits and jade identification plaque."

An imperceptible gleam flickered in Naruto's eyes. A vortex had appeared in front of Feng Xun as well. Looking around, Naruto saw similar scenes playing out with other arriving cultivators. Apparently, this was how things worked on Planet East Victory.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, there are a lot of rules on Planet East Victory. Everyone who arrives here is treated like this. If you have no travel permits and no identification plaque, then you'll have to pay dozens of times as many spirit stones, but will still be able to enter. Of course, the amount of spirit stones you pay will depend on how long you plan to stay on the planet.

"If you try to force your way in, you'll be killed.

"There's really nothing you can do about it. The entire planet is under the power of the Namikaze Clan. Years ago, LordHebiactually gave the entire place to them…." Smiling wryly, Feng Xun collected his flying shuttle, clasped hands to Naruto, and stepped into the vortex.

After a moment of thought, Naruto also put his flying shuttle away and stepped into the vortex.

Glittering light filled his eyes, and when everything became clear, he was no longer out in space. A sparkling shield of light stretched out beneath his feet, allowing him to see the lands below.

Directly in front of him was an enormous gate!

The gate was thirty thousand meters tall, forged from bronze, and was completely ancient in appearance. Carved with designs that appeared to have come from ancient times, it was completely shocking. However, if you looked at it closely, the images on the gate would be too blurry to make out.

There were three characters inscribed on top of the gate that were visible to all.

East Heaven Gate!

It was just a gate, but when Naruto looked at it, his pupils constricted. This gate… actually resembled the Door of Immortality.

Arranged in formation in front of the gate were over a hundred cultivators, looking around coldly at the over 1,000 other people who were lined up, waiting to enter.

On either side of East Heaven Gate were three other gates, much smaller. One of those gates was inscribed with the characters Puppet God, and on the other was a carving of a Blood Orchid.

The last gate was special. It looked archaic and bizarre, but it pulsed with a power that stimulated the bloodline power within Naruto.

Feng Xun appeared next to Naruto and began to explain.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, this is East Heaven Gate. Those other two gates are for the Church of the Puppet God and the Church of the Blood

Orchid. The last one… is only for children of the Namikaze Clan."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 893

Chapter 893: Might As Well Make a Scene!

East Heaven Gate was the only gate that had large numbers of cultivators lined up outside of it. The gates for the Church of the Puppet God and the Church of the Blood Orchid had no lines whatsoever, nor did the Namikaze Clan's gate.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, the only way to get onto Planet East Victory is by going through this gate. I'm actually from Planet East Victory, and even though the Medicine Immortal Sect has no gate, I have special privileges. However, since this is your first time here, I'll wait in line with you." Feng Xun ended his words by clasping hands and bowing.

Naruto clasped hands in thanks and the two of them took their place at the end of the line. He looked around at everything that was happening and mused about how completely different this was from Planet Ninshu.

Planet East Victory was huge, and in terms of how it was guarded, as well as how orderly everything was, there was a sense of sternness to everything. There also seemed to be an excess of rules.

Any cultivator who entered the Planet was carefully inspected. Only members of the sects from Planet East Victory enjoyed any sort of special treatment, and the most special treatment of all went to the Namikaze Clan.

As Naruto stood at the end of the line, he noticed that virtually all of the cultivators around him were in the Immortal Realm, although the majority were only stage two or three. There were few who were stage five or higher. Furthermore, although there seemed to be large numbers of them, they were all False Immortals.

After all, only cultivators in the Immortal Realm could step out into the starry sky. Cultivators in the Spirit Realm could only go there temporarily.

As time passed, the cultivators in line slowly passed through East Heaven Gate. Naruto remained in place, his expression calm, as he watched the cultivators handing over spirit stones in exchange for jade medallions.

Occasionally, miscellaneous cultivators from the Church of the Puppet God or the Church of the Blood Orchid would return from the stars, and would disappear into the gates specially set up for their sects. Every so often, people would leave from those gates as well.

Four hours passed rather quickly. Soon, Naruto was toward the front of the line, with only about seven people ahead of him. It didn't take long until their turn arrived. It was in this moment that ripples suddenly spread out up above in the starry sky. In the blink of an eye, eight streaks of light shot down.

They were eight cultivators, dressed in luxurious clothing, laughing and chatting as they proceeded along, as comfortable as if they were walking through the garden of their own house. The two cultivators in the lead position seemed to be in high spirits, full of energy and with extraordinary cultivation bases. They emanated an air of elitism.

"Look, people from the Namikaze Clan!" Feng Xun whispered to Naruto. "I recognize the two in the front. They're from a collateral bloodline of the Namikaze Clan that is second only to the direct branch of the clan."

The cultivators in the area immediately began to whisper to each other.

Naruto's expression didn't change, though a barely detectable flicker could be seen in his eyes.

When the hundred or so cultivators gathered in front of the East Heaven Gate saw the eight newcomers, their expressions turned solemn. They immediately stepped forward, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Princes."

The two cultivators in the lead position among the eight smiled and turned back to a young woman among their number.

"Junior Sister Hong," one of them said, smiling, "9th Uncle has been waiting for some time for you to return from your outside training!"

The pretty young woman smiled in response. Then she and the rest of the group walked past the bowing cultivators, nodding to them as they headed toward the Namikaze Clan gate. One by one, they passed through the gate, and as they did, glowing beams of light rose up into the air. The height of each beam was different, and when the young woman who had been addressed as Junior Sister Hong stepped through the gate, the light shot up roughly 300 meters into the air.

Expressions of envy could be seen on the faces of the cultivators around Naruto as they discussed what was happening in low tones.

"A 300-meter Bloodline Gatebeam! That young woman… she definitely has a high position in the Namikaze Clan! Could she really be THE Namikaze Hong!?" 1

"It probably is. The Namikaze Clan gate only opens for members of the Fang

Clan, and the thicker their bloodline is, the higher that beam of light!"

"Last year I was fortunate enough to catch sight of Prince Wei. When he walked through the Namikaze Clan gate, the Gatebeam was 24,000 meters high! It was spectacular!"

Of course, despite their envy, there was nothing they could do to alter their own bloodline backgrounds. Even if they became Outer Clan disciples, having Namikaze Clan blood was still an honor they wouldn't have.

Feng Xun was a disciple from the Medicine Immortal Sect, but even he was sighing in envy. Then he proceeded to explain all the advantages of being a member of the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory to Naruto. Of course, despite everything he said, it was still possible to hear how proud he was of his own identity.

"The Namikaze Clan might be powerful, but I'll never leave the Medicine Immortal Sect," he concluded.

Naruto listened silently during Feng Xun's explanation.

Eventually, the bowing cultivators straightened up. Their ingratiating expressions became once again solemn, and they resumed collecting spirit stones from the line of cultivators in exchange for allowing them to enter one by one.

Finally, Naruto was standing directly in front of the gate. The cultivator responsible for collecting spirit stones had a black birthmark on his forehead, making him look quite ferocious as he stared coldly at Naruto.

"How long do you plan to stay?" he asked. "If you have no identity medallion, then you'll have to pay 100 spirit stones per day. If you exceed a month, the price increases to 1,000 per day. After two months, the price is 10,000 per day."

Naruto frowned. He had heard the prices mentioned earlier, when he was further back in line, and they seemed extremely expensive. In contrast, if you did possess an identity medallion, then the price was only 10 spirit stones per day.

"I have no identity plaque," Naruto muttered, holding out a hundred spirit stones.

"One day?" The cultivator with the black birthmark grinned slightly. Over the years, he had encountered many cultivators who had claimed to only plan to stay one day, but who actually intended to stay longer, and just wanted to avoid paying the spirit stones.

People like that were eventually arrested by the Namikaze Clan, and then ended up paying even more spirit stones.

The man looked Naruto up and down, then tossed him a white command medallion and looked at Feng Xun, who stood further back.

Feng Xun's demeanor was different now than the one he used with Naruto. He looked a bit proud and arrogant as he threw his medallion over to the man. As soon as the cultivator saw the command medallion, his face broke into a smile, and, although he didn't clasp hands the way he had for the members of the Namikaze Clan, obviously treated him differently than Naruto.

Naruto held the white command medallion in his hand and walked toward East Heaven Gate. Just as he stepped into the gate, a powerful repelling force surged out, enveloping him and ejecting him from within the gate.

This scene immediately caused expressions of sympathy to appear on the faces of the cultivators in line. Feng Xun gaped in shock, then suddenly seemed to realize something, and involuntarily frowned. As for the cultivators standing guard outside the gate, their cultivation bases exploded with power and they immediately surrounded Naruto.

"Ejected by East Heaven Gate, huh? Seems you must have some evil intentions! Come with us. If the investigation proves that you're innocent, then you'll obviously be set free!"

"East Heaven Gate only rejects people who harbor malicious thoughts. Your cultivation base isn't very high, so if you resist us, we'll just kill you!"

The guard cultivators all stared at him with cold eyes.

Naruto frowned and looked down at the identity plaque he held. A moment ago, he had clearly sensed that the reason he had been obstructed by East Heaven Gate was because of the jade medallion, not he himself.

Feng Xun immediately approached, not hesitating to mention his status as he smoothed the matter over. After he finished speaking, the cultivator with the black birth mark, the one who had given Naruto the jade plaque, spoke up.

"Since Fellow Daoist Feng here is willing to vouch for you, we can forgo the investigation. Just hand over 10,000 spirit stones as bail, and we'll forget the matter." His eyes overflowed with scorn as he looked at Naruto. He was convinced that a person like Naruto, with no identity medallion and a low cultivation base, had obviously run into trouble outside, and was now attempting to seek refuge on Planet East Victory.

Had Naruto been generous to begin with, and just handed over 10,000 spirit stones to purchase the right to stay there, then he wouldn't have caused any problems for him. However, he was obviously seeking a favor from Planet East Victory, and yet at the same time was being stingy. Whenever the cultivators who guarded the gate ran into people like this, they would make sure to teach them a lesson.

Of course, if Naruto had an incredible cultivation base, then they wouldn't dare to do something like that. But with his current cultivation base, he was definitely the type they would give a hard time to.

If it weren't for the fact that they wouldn't do anything to offend Feng Xun personally, they would definitely do everything they could to take advantage of Naruto.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. He had never imagined that just being a little stingy and handing over too few spirit stones for the toll would cause such a fuss.

Especially since… this was his home, the Namikaze Clan of Planet East Victory.

Especially since… he had experienced numerous twists and turns on his journey here, and had even had people trying to track him down and kill him. All of those things which had been brewing in Naruto's heart were now on the verge of causing him to explode.

Originally, his plan had been to get onto Planet East Victory, look around a bit, and then go to the Namikaze Clan. But as of this moment, he changed his mind. Now that he had finally arrived at Planet East Victory, he actually needn't keep a low profile any more. It was time for him to see who it was that actually dared to try to kill him!

He chuckled coldly, slapped his bag of holding, and caused 10,000 spirit stones to trickle out and form a small mountain.

The surrounding cultivators who guarded East Heaven Gate looked on with snide smiles. The man with the black birthmark made a grasping motion to collect the spirit stones. Then he looked scornfully at Naruto and threw him a jade plaque.

"If you'd done this to begin with you could have saved yourself a lot of trouble. Now, you may enter Planet East Victory."

Feng Xun quickly walked over to Naruto and murmured, "I forgot to mention this earlier, Elder Brother Uzumaki. These aren't ordinary guards, they're Outer Clan members of the Namikaze Clan…. If you had just spent a bit more money, then they wouldn't have given you a hard time.

"But, you only bought one day on the planet, and you didn't even have an identity medallion…." Inwardly, Feng Xun was shaking his head; were it not for the fact that Naruto had saved his life before, he would never have intervened and vouched for him.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he looked at Feng Xun and coolly said, "Many thanks for your assistance in this matter, Elder Brother Feng. However, on Planet East Victory, if somebody takes my spirit stones, they will pay me back a hundredfold."

His words caused Feng Xun to gape.

Naruto turned and headed, not toward East Heaven Gate, but rather, in the direction of the Namikaze Clan's gate.

This immediately caused all of the cultivators in the area to stare him shock.

The more than one hundred gate guards were also looking on in astonishment.

"Is this guy crazy? He's actually heading toward the Namikaze Clan's gate?"

The man with the black birthmark sneered and said, "How reckless! Well, if he tries to force his way through the Namikaze Clan gate, then he'll be crushed to death. We don't have to do anything."

Feng Xun's face fell and he immediately hurried forward.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, it's… it's impossible for you to enter this gate! If you don't have the blood of the Namikaze Clan in you, then you'll be killed!"

Naruto paid him no heed, and in the blink of an eye, was in front of the gate. While all the other cultivators looked on in astonishment, he lifted his foot and stepped into the gate.

—–

Namikaze Hong wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fang_ 3

Namikaze Hong's name in Chinese is 方虹 fāng hóng. Hong means 'rainbow'

Vol. 6 : Chapter 894

Chapter 894: His Bloodline Shakes the Clan!

Discussions immediately broke out among the onlookers outside of East Heaven Gate.

"This guy is nuts…."

"If he doesn't have Namikaze Clan blood, then he's dead for sure! But, if he does possess a Namikaze Clan bloodline, then why would he wait in line and even pay a spirit stone tax?"

"Maybe he has some other way to get through the Namikaze Clan's gate. But wait, that's not possible! No matter what you do, even if you're from the

Namikaze clan itself, you can't hide your bloodline. Anyone who isn't from the

Namikaze Clan will definitely be killed by that gate."

The over one hundred Namikaze Outer Clan members standing guard outside the gate looked on with cold smiles, especially the cultivator with the black birthmark, whose eyes especially shone with scorn.

"You went looking to die, so you can't blame anyone else," he sneered. "Fellow Daoist Feng, it's not that I didn't give you face, sir. I already gave him permission to enter East Heaven Gate, and yet, he's choosing to kill himself."

Feng Xun stamped his foot, and then an anxious expression appeared on his face. However, there was nothing he could do.

It was in this moment that Naruto began to step into the Namikaze Clan's gate. Only half of his foot had actually entered the gate when it began to rumble.

"It's going to crush him to death!" said the cultivator with the black birthmark, a coldly sinister smile plastered across his face. A moment later, that smile suddenly froze, then turned into an expression of disbelief. Everyone else who was discussing the matter also stopped, and their eyes went wide.

The more than one hundred Outer Clan disciples who were guarding East Heaven Gate stared with open mouths.

Feng Xun's eyes flickered with shock, and his brain filled with roaring as he gasped in astonishment.

Everyone could clearly see that as Naruto stood there, the gate trembled and… began to shine with light.

It took only a moment for a 300-meter beam of light to rise up, completely filling the pupils of all onlookers with glittering reflected light.

"Impossible!" said the cultivator with the black birthmark, his voice hoarse. He suddenly began to quiver.

The more than one hundred cultivators guarding East Heaven Gate gasped, and their minds reeled.

The crowds immediately went into an uproar.

"A 300-meter Gatebeam! Heavens! He's a member of the Namikaze Clan, and not an ordinary one at that! The fact that he has a 300-meter Gatebeam shows that his bloodline exceeds that of an ordinary clan member!"

"If he's a member of the Namikaze Clan, then why did he try to go through

East Heaven Gate?"

It was then that the crowds fell silent.

As soon as Naruto's foot touched onto the ground, and half of his body entered the gate, the beam of light shot up… from 300 meters to 3,000 meters, accompanied by deafening rumbling sounds.

The 3,000-meter Gatebeam was spectacular to behold, and all of the cultivators outside of East Heaven Gate felt as if they couldn't breathe. They stared in shock and disbelief, their minds reeling.

"A 3,000-meter Gatebeam…. Heavens! He's a Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!"

"Who is he? A cultivator with 3,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam can't be a nobody! He must have a high status in the Namikaze Clan!"

The cultivator with the black birthmark staggered backward a few steps, his face deathly pale, and a feeling of intense regret rose up in his heart. He even felt resentful.

"Y-y-you… you're actually a member of the Namikaze Clan!" he thought, panting continuously. "With a bloodline like that, why would you go through East Heaven Gate!? Why did you have to make trouble for me…? Well, even if you do have a 3,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam, I was just enforcing the law as I should have, so my actions were justifiable!" Even still, his heart was filled with intense apprehension.

Feng Xun stood there gaping at Naruto, unable to even speak.

If that were all there were to the matter, it wouldn't be a big deal. But then, Naruto finished stepping into the gate, which caused the rumbling sounds to increase, and the beam of light to shoot higher into the air.

3,000 meters. 4,500 meters. 6,000 meters. 7,500 meters….

In the space of only a few breaths of time, the beam of light reached a height of 9,000 meters!

A plopping sound could be heard as the cultivator with the black birthmark suddenly seemed to lose all of his cultivation base and strength. He sat down onto the ground, his face as pale as a corpse's, without the slightest sign of color.

"9… 9,000 meters!" he thought. "Finished. I'm finished! If… if it were only 3,000 meters, I could still say I was just enforcing the law, but he… he has a 9,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam. A clan member like that, I… I…."

He wasn't the only one who was acting like that. The Namikaze Outer Clan members who had surrounded him earlier and mocked him coldly were now looking on with fallen faces. Their scalps were numb, and they were terrified.

The rest of the people standing outside of the gate were watching with wide eyes and slack jaws, their minds trembling.

"9… 9,000 meters…. What bloodline is that? That's second only to the number one Chosen in the Namikaze Clan, Prince Wei. When Prince Wei entered the door, his Gatebeam reached 24,000 meters!"

"Who is this guy…?"

It wasn't just the people outside the gate who were shocked. In the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion in Planet East Victory, there was a huge bell. Moments ago, that bell had begun to toll. The sound of it rang out through all of the clan's various branches. No outsider could hear it; it rang out only in the minds of the members of the Namikaze Clan.

In the main hall of the ancestral mansion, an old man with a full head of white hair sat cross-legged in meditation. His expression was solemn, and when he opened his eyes, his gaze was profound, and his eyes flickered like lightning. Sitting in front of him were eight other people, all of whom were engaged in a discussion.

When the bell tolled, the faces of all of the men in the main hall flickered, and they looked up.

"Someone with a strong bloodline just entered the Namikaze Gate and has invoked the toll of the bell!"

"The Dao Bell only tolls when a clan member enters the gate for the first time, and a Bloodline Gatebeam of 3,000 meters or higher appears!"

"What member of the junior generation has gone to test out their bloodline?"

Everyone was shocked, and the old man sitting up front looked up, suspicion flickering in his eyes.

When members of the Namikaze Clan came of age, they would enter the Namikaze Gate to test their bloodline. The Dao Bell would only ring the first time they did so.

As of this moment, there were many locations within the Namikaze Clan in which expressions of surprise could be heard. Naruto's 19th Uncle was currently sitting cross-legged next to a lake, clutching a flagon of alcohol, his face glum and anguished. When the bell tolled, he almost didn't seem to hear it, and just kept drinking. Off to the side, a young man with a bitter expression on his face hung upside down in midair.

In another location was a stretch of pitch black land from which a volcano rose up. Sitting cross-legged deep inside the volcano was a middle-aged man, whose eyes suddenly snapped open and began to shine with brilliant light.

In another area, there was a blood-red desert, where a young man could be seen sitting. He suddenly raised his head and looked up into the sky.

In a variety of locations, clan members began to take notice of the tolling of the bell. When it tolled a second time, even more people were visibly moved. When it tolled a third time, even more people were shocked.

However, after the third tolling of the bell… it didn't stop!

Naruto stood there in the Namikaze Clan's gate, unmoving, surrounded by a gentle aura that swirled around his body, stimulating his bloodline. His face was calm; since he had chosen this route, then he would continue to shock Heaven and Earth.

He took a deep breath and fully released the power of his bloodline, allowing the gentle power of the gate to thoroughly assess its strength.

In the blink of an eye, the Gatebeam exploded up. It broke through from 9,000 meters to 12,000, causing the bell to toll a fourth time!

That fourth bell toll could be heard by all the Namikaze Clan members over the entirety of Planet East Victory, and caused even more people to feel astonishment. Next, however, the Namikaze Gate's Gatebeam shot higher, reaching 15,000 meters. A fifth bell toll echoed out, shaking the entire Namikaze Clan.

"Five bell tolls! Who is testing out their bloodline? It's… so strong!"

"In the younger generation of the Namikaze Clan, there are less than fifty people who can achieve a 15,000-meter Gatebeam! When it comes to a 18,000-meter beam, there are less than ten, and as for a 21,000-meter beam… there are only three! And then there's… Prince Wei, with his 24,000-meter beam!"

The Namikaze Clan was in an uproar. Naruto stood bathed in light in the Namikaze Clan's gate, the Gatebeam so bright that no one could see him inside of it. Naruto took another breath, and his eyes glittered as the Gatebeam… shot up once again!

It went from 15,000 meters up to 18,000 meters, the scintillating light seemingly limitless. All of the people outside of East Heaven Gate were struck speechless.

When the sixth bell tolled, the entire Namikaze Clan was sent into a stir.

Multiple figures shot up from various locations in the clan and headed toward East Heaven Gate. Even the Elders in the main hall of the Ancestral Mansion flew outside and then began to teleport toward the gate.

Tens of thousands of people all flew out at the same time, including countless powerful experts. In the blink of an eye, numerous people emerged from East Heaven Gate and looked over toward the Namikaze Clan's gate.

The other cultivators outside of East Heaven Gate began to edge backward, their bodies trembling, their expressions that of excitement. They looked at the people walking out of East Heaven Gate and realized that all of them were cultivators from the Namikaze Clan, powerful experts.

These people peered at the Namikaze Clan's gate, but were unable to clearly see who was inside.

"I wonder which branch's child has achieved such a level!"

"Hahaha! The Immortals are blessing the Namikaze Clan. Another Chosen has appeared!"

"Who is it? Is it Tao'er? Or Young Hai? Perhaps Hong'er?"

The Namikaze Clan members who had just arrived were all waiting in anticipation. It was at this point that a group of eight figures appeared, led by the white-haired old man who had been sitting in the lead position in the main hall of the ancestral mansion.

As soon as he appeared, the other Namikaze Clan members looked over in shock, and then clasped hands.

"Greetings, Grand Elder!"

This old man was none other than the person who had been left to preside over the Namikaze Clan's affairs after the Patriarchs had gone into secluded meditation. He was… the Grand Elder, Namikaze Tongtian! 1

Just as his name suggested, Namikaze Tongtian had an exceedingly high cultivation base that was virtually beyond comprehension. As he walked out of East Heaven Gate, he looked over at the Namikaze Clan's gate, but even he could not see who was inside. All he could see was a vague shadow.

Namikaze Tongtian laughed loudly and said, "An 18,000-meter Gatebeam is an incredibly important matter for the Namikaze Clan. Very well, very well… a clan member with a bloodline like this means that the Namikaze Clan will definitely have a new Chosen!"

At the same time, more and more Namikaze Clan members were emerging from East Heaven Gate.

Meanwhile, the Outer Clan cultivators who had been guarding the gate were so scared that their limbs had become like jelly. They seemed on the verge of dropping dead from fright. As for the cultivator with the black birthmark, he was laying on the ground shivering uncontrollably.

Feng Xun was also shaking. He looked around at the powerful figures around him, and then back at the Namikaze Clan's gate, his face covered with a look of disbelief.

It was at this point that more rumbling sounds could be heard as the light exploded up once again. It went from 18,000 meters to 21,000 meters, completely shocking the Namikaze Clan and everyone else outside the gate.

Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian's eyes were shining with unprecedented brightness.

—–

wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fang_tongtian.

mp3

Namikaze Tongtian's name in Chinese is 方通天 fāng tōng tiān. Tongtian

means 'all-powerful' or 'exceedingly high' ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 895

Chapter 895: He's… Back!

"21,000 meters! In the current generation of the Namikaze Clan, there aren't even ten people who can cause a 21,000-meter Gatebeam to appear! Today… there's one more! Who is this person?"

"It's definitely someone from an auxiliary bloodline. I'm eighty percent certain that it's Tao'er."

The Namikaze Clan members outside East Heaven Gate were completely astonished. Meanwhile, back on Planet East Victory, seven bell tolls had rung out into the ears of all Namikaze Clan members. It was at this point that Naruto's 19th Uncle, who sat by the lake drinking alcohol, suddenly quivered. He slowly put the flagon of alcohol down and looked up into the sky.

"Seven bell tolls…" he thought. "Who exactly is stepping into the Fang

Clan's gate for the first time. Could it be… that it's Hao'er?!" 19th

Uncle suddenly stood up and waved his hand. The young man who had been hanging there upside down let out a shriek as 19th Uncle grabbed him and flew up into the air.

"Dad! Dad, it was my fault! I really made a mistake…." 19th Uncle completely ignored the young man's shrieks, simply carrying him along as he shot toward East Heaven Gate. He had to see if this newcomer… really was Naruto!

Meanwhile, in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, there was another temple hall in which two people sat. One was an old man, the other slightly younger. They sat there cross-legged, listening to the tolling of the bell.

The old man's eyes opened, and he coolly said, "Go see which bloodline this person comes from. If it's ours, then it doesn't matter. If not… ask that person to come here; I can always adopt another grandchild."

The middle-aged man's expression was dignified, and he actually somewhat resembled Namikaze Minato. He nodded, then strode away and vanished. When he reappeared, he was up in the sky.

His eyes glittered brightly.

"Latent talent with a 21,000-meter Gatebeam. That's only a little bit less than my boy, and makes this person worthy of becoming his little brother."

At the same time, deep down in the earth beneath the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, there was an Immortal's cave. It was filled with dense Immortal qi, the reason being that the entire Immortal's cave… was made of Immortal jade!

A young, bare-chested man sat cross-legged in that Immortal's cave, surrounded by nine wizened old men. The old men were bound with iron chains that were in turn connected to spell formations. The men howled shrilly as Immortal qi flowed out from them into the spell formations, and was then absorbed by the young man.

There were an additional three old men who stood in the cave, observing the process with slight smiles.

"Prince, your cultivation base is continuing to progress."

"Considering your latent talent, Prince, you can definitely be reckoned one of the very best in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Soon, even the Chosen from the Three Great Daoist Societies will have no choice but to bow their heads in your presence."

"Prince, you have incredible ambitions. It won't be long before you reach true Immortal Ascension. Then, you will be able to sweep across all the Chosen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea."

It was at this point that the tolling of the bells reached their ears, and the faces of the three men flickered. The young man, however, continued to meditate.

None of the non- Namikaze Clan members on Planet East Victory could hear the bells. However, more and more Namikaze Clan members were flying out and heading toward East Heaven Gate, gathering there to look at the boundless Gatebeam.

"Just who exactly is it…?"

"There's no need to get excited. We'll be able to see who it is soon enough. Pretty soon, this person's rank in the clan is going to be very different from everyone else!"

Within the crowd, Naruto's 19th Uncle peered toward the shadow in the Namikaze Clan's gate, trembling. Nobody else had ever seen Naruto before, and thus, wouldn't recognize him. However, 19th Uncle could sense something familiar about the shadow.

"Who is it?" asked the young man next to 19th Uncle, staring with wide eyes. "Who has a 21,000-meter Gatebeam?" In response, his father smacked him hard.

"Dad…." grumbled the young man, scowling. He was just about to say something else when, all of a sudden, more rumbling could be heard, and the beam of light coming from the Namikaze Clan's gate… shot higher once again.

RUMMMBLLLE!

It went from 21,000 meters all the way to 24,000 meters. The grand sight caused all the Namikaze Clan Members outside East Heaven Gate to stare blankly.

"Heavens! What's… what's going on!?"

"24,000 meters. I can't believe… that it actually reached 24,000 meters! Prince Wei's Gatebeam is also 24,000 meters! This person's bloodline is actually as strong as Prince Wei's!"

"Who is there in the clan that could pull this off? It's impossible! If I remember correctly, there is no clan member at all who has a bloodline like this!"

Amidst all the uproar, there were a few old men in the crowd from the Namikaze Clan whose expressions were grim and bitter, and who said nothing. There weren't many people like that in the crowd, but they were all direct bloodline descendants of the Namikaze Clan!

Their glory was now a thing of the past. First Naruto's grandfather had gone missing, then his father went to Planet Ninshu. After that, the direct bloodline Patriarchs all went into secluded meditation and wouldn't emerge. The direct bloodline was in decline, and the situation was only continuing to grow worse.

When they saw the boundless light in front of them, they could only sigh.

"Our bloodline used to have someone who could considered a true Chosen! It's too bad… he was supposed to return last year, but… now we don't even know if he's alive or dead."

There was another person in the crowd, a person who had just arrived. He was the middle-aged man who intended to try to acquire Naruto for his own bloodline. Originally, he stood there in the middle of all the other clan members, smiling broadly.

However, now that the Gatebeam had reached 24,000 meters, his eyes widened, and deep therein could be seen a flicker of killing intent. It didn't matter who this person in the gate was, the fact that they had caused a 24,000-meter Gatebeam to appear meant that they were a threat to his son.

Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian's pupils constricted imperceptibly. However, his expression was one of kindness, and even more so, excitement.

"Wonderful! It appears that the Namikaze Clan will soon have another almighty Chosen like Namikaze Wei!"

The Namikaze Clan was in an uproar. On Planet East Victory, the bell had tolled eight times, and the clan members who had not already flown up into the air were astonished. Whether it was the young man in the bloodcolored desert, or the middle-aged man practicing cultivation in the volcano, or anyone else, they all flew up.

Back in the ancestral mansion, the old man who had sent his son to East Heaven Gate suddenly opened his eyes, and they shone with terrifying light.

"24,000 meters. Other than my grandson, there is no one in the current generation of the Namikaze Clan who has such a strong bloodline. This person must not be from Planet East Victory!

"It's him… it must be that damned son of a bitch! He's not dead after all!" At first, killing intent flickered in his eyes, but then he frowned, and felt fear welling up in his heart. This was Planet East Victory, and because of the Namikaze Clan Dao Reserves… it didn't matter how high up he was in the clan, he didn't dare to publicly break clan rules.

"Dammit, he's making such a big scene! You can tell he's a profound schemer!"

By now, everyone in the Namikaze Clan was shaken. Naruto's Gatebeam put him on par with the number one Chosen in the clan, Namikaze Wei. The strength of such a bloodline was completely terrifying.

The ordinary clan members were all excited, but those clan members with deep cultivation bases or otherwise held significant influence watched with various expressions. They were happy to see a Chosen appear. However, if that Chosen's power reached a terrifying level… then it wouldn't actually be a joyous occasion.

If this person threatened Namikaze Wei's status, a fight would surely break out like that between a dragon and a tiger, the result would be a clan member dying, and would affect the struggle for supremacy by the various sub-branches in the family. In-clan fighting was a very complicated thing.

Naruto stood there in the Namikaze Clan's gate, his eyes closed but his blood surging. As it flowed through his body, he could sense that… there was still more power locked in his blood.

He took a deep breath and then suddenly opened his eyes.

"If I'm going to make a big scene, then I might as well go all out!" His cultivation base exploded with power, his blood flowed, and the entire gate began to shake. The Gatebeam outside once again shot up higher into the sky.

25,000 meters. 26,000 meters… 27,000 meters!

A buzz of conversation rose up, but was quickly silenced as… the beam continued to climb higher!

28,000 meters. 28,500 meters… 29,000… All the way to…

29,900 meters!

30,000 meters! 1

All of the Namikaze Clan members were completely shaken to the maximum. Although Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian's pupils dilated with shock, his face was plastered with a huge smile. The older members of the clan were frowning, but the ordinary clan members were shouting out in happiness.

"30,000 meters! That's even more than Prince Wei! This person's bloodline purity is unprecedented!"

"A 30,000-meter Gatebeam! In the tens of thousands of years of recorded clan history, there has never been something like this before!" "According to the legends, only the early ancestors of the clan had a 30,000-meter Gatebeam. That means this person's bloodline… evoked an Ancestral Awakening!"

Naruto's 19th Uncle was incredibly excited, and his eyes shone brightly.

"It's definitely Hao'er. Only a grandson of the direct bloodline could have blood like that!"

On Planet East Victory, the ninth bell tolled, and then a tenth. As they echoed out, the old man in the ancestral mansion suddenly shot to his feet, an expression of disbelief on his face. Deep beneath the surface of the ground, the young man in the Immortal's cave who was absorbing the Immortal qi from the nine old men suddenly opened his eyes. His pupils were violet, and shone with a strange glow.

"So, has he returned…?" the young man murmured.

On this day, the Namikaze Clan members were sent into unprecedented astonishment.

On this day, the crowds were packed tight outside East Heaven Gate.

On this day, all of the powerful experts of the Namikaze Clan flew out to East Heaven Gate.

On this day, the cultivators who had lined up outside East Heaven Gate experienced something they would never forget.

On this day, Feng Xun saw something that he would remember for his whole life, something like a dream. A cultivator he knew as Naruto… stepped into the Namikaze Clan's gate, and a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam shot up. It was the stuff of legends, and perhaps, the foundation of a myth.

Rumbling echoed out from the Namikaze Clan's gate as the brilliant light slowly faded away. The eyes of all onlookers, of all the Namikaze Clan members, were cast toward the gate. Gradually, what became clear was an unfamiliar young man who walked out to stand in front of everyone.

He was tall and slender, and wore a long blue robe. His black hair drifted about in the air around him, and his face was somewhat sallow and thin. However, as he stood there, he looked like he was standing on top of the sun.

His eyes shone brightly, like stars, and as he stood there, he looked around at everyone a bit bashfully.

"My father is Namikaze Minato. My mother is Kushina. My big sister is Namikaze Yu. I took my mother's surname, and my name is Naruto. Grandfathers and Grandmothers, Uncles, Brothers and Sisters… greetings!"

Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply.

In the original Chinese, 30,000 meters is written as 10,000 'zhang.' When the two characters '10,000' and 'zhang' are combined into a word, it also means "extremely high/deep" or "lofty" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 896

Chapter 896: The Namikaze Clan of Planet East Victory!

Naruto looked at all the members of the Namikaze Clan and introduced himself in an unprecedented fashion. The response to his words was complete and utter silence.

All the clan members looked at Naruto, at his unfamiliar face, and the Namikaze Clan gate behind him. The 30,000-meter beam of light from moments ago had faded away.

Naruto was a name they weren't familiar with, but when it came to Namikaze Minato, that was a name that had once been the most glorious name in all the Namikaze Clan, and a name that would never be forgotten. Namikaze Minato was the eldest son of the direct bloodline, and the number one Chosen of his generation. He had swept easily across all the other clan members of the other bloodlines, and had also suppressed the Chosen of various other sects in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

During that time, Namikaze Minato was so mighty that he was like a blazing sun in the sky and all others in his generation were like ordinary stars that served only to illuminate him in his splendor.

Furthermore, he ended up marrying an exceptional daughter of the Uzumaki Clan. People came from the Eighth Mountain to attend their cultivator bonding ceremony, turning it into a grand occasion that people from both of those great Mountains and Seas still discussed.

Then Naruto was born, which pushed Namikaze Minato and Kushina to the peak of fame.

But then, in much the same way that luxury often fades to poverty, everything had changed in the blink of an eye. To the surprise and disbelief of many, Namikaze Minato's father disappeared, and then Namikaze Minato… went to Planet Ninshu to guard it for 100,000 years….

And all of this was for his son, Namikaze Hao!

He was a boy with a strong bloodline, who had experienced Nirvanic Rebirth at the age of seven. He had a Heaven-defying bloodline, but had been born crippled. During those years, there were many people who believed that Namikaze Hao was holding his mother and father back.

But now, Naruto had returned!

Or perhaps you could say, Namikaze Hao had returned!

The return of this one individual had prompted the entire clan to emerge to receive him. When he left with his parents, it shook all of Planet East Victory. Then he returned, and similarly shook the entire planet once again.

That was because his return was marked with a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam, which immediately vanquished the number one Chosen of the Namikaze Clan, Namikaze Wei. His actions swept across all clan members, and made him the focus of all eyes.

After a moment of silence, the clan members erupted into conversation.

"Naruto…. He's Namikaze Hao! The eldest grandson of the direct bloodline!"

"Heavens! It's actually him! He's returned! He's the kid from years ago who had the strong bloodline and underwent Nirvanic Rebirth at the age of seven! He's… back!"

When Naruto spoke the names of his parents, the direct bloodline clan members in the crowd began to tremble with excitement. 19th Uncle strode forward, staring at Naruto. During the past year, he had been wallowing in guilt and self-blame for letting his older cousin down, to the point where he had almost drowned in the negativity. Now that he saw Naruto safely returned, and also surging with incredible power, the joy he felt was virtually impossible to even describe.

Laughter rang out as Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian walked forward. He looked at Naruto and then smiled kindly.

"As long as you're back, that's what's important. It doesn't matter if your name is Naruto or Namikaze Hao, you are still a member of the Namikaze Clan, and the eldest grandson of the clan's direct bloodline!

"I held you in my arms when you were a little kid, you know." Namikaze Tongtian laughed heartily, and the kindness on his face was readily apparent. The more he looked at Naruto, the happier he seemed.

Behind him were other elder members of the clan, all of whom wore happy smiles on their faces as they approached Naruto.

"What a good kid! You must have suffered many hardships through the years."

"As long as you're back, that's what's important. Now that you've returned to the clan, your future prospects are limitless."

"Today is a day for great rejoicing! Wonderful! Simply wonderful!"

All the members of the Namikaze Clan were crying out in joy. In the cultivation world, when it comes to clans and sects, bloodlines and family, while they may be complicated, they are sometimes very simple.

Naruto's return was the subject of great happiness for countless individuals. The previously taciturn middle-aged man was laughing out loud. He stepped forward, looked Naruto over, and then sighed deeply.

"Hao'er, I'm your 2nd Uncle. Years ago, your father and I fought in battles together, grew up together, and practiced cultivation together. In fact, you and Wei'er were born only an hour apart. You were virtually born together.

"The most important thing is that you're back. You're a member of the

Namikaze Clan, and within our clan, you are definitely Chosen!"

More people crowded around Naruto, especially the direct bloodline clan members. They were more excited than anyone else. Naruto's return was a source of incredible inspiration and encouragement. Furthermore, the appearance of the 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam finally gave them hope for their own bloodline.

"Hao'er," said the Grand Elder, "come. Come here to me, and we can return home together." The praise and geniality in his eyes were clear.

19th uncle approached and began to introduce everyone to Naruto. "Hao'er, this is the Grand Elder. The Patriarchs are all in secluded meditation. Fortunately, the Grand Elder is here to handle clan affairs."

Naruto quickly clasped hands and bowed.

"Junior offers greetings, Grand Elder."

The Grand Elder laughed; he seemed to be growing fonder of Naruto by the minute.

"However, I can't return to the clan at the moment," said Naruto, sounding a bit embarrassed. In response to his words, everyone stared in shock.

"A few moments ago, somebody stole some of my spirit stones," Naruto continued, sighing. His gaze swept across the group of Outer Sect cultivators who had been guarding East Heaven Gate, lingering for a moment on the cultivator with the black birthmark. In response, a tremor ran through the man, and then he passed out from fear.

"How much was stolen?" asked the young man standing next to 19th Uncle, looking excitedly at Naruto.

"A million," Naruto replied indignantly.

"Alright, well I'll take care of it." The young man licked his lips. "Oh, my name is Namikaze Xi." This young man was also a direct bloodline descendant, and was Naruto's younger cousin. 1

The rest of the Namikaze Clan members started to laugh out loud. The scene that was playing out in front of them was almost like a comedy. Clearly, someone had offended Naruto earlier, before they had known who he was. The Namikaze Clan members viewed the honor of the clan as an important thing, and wouldn't tolerate that honor being trampled, not even by Outer Clan cultivators who weren't aware of Naruto's identity. Those cultivators had unwittingly committed a grave mistake, and would have to be punished.

Immediately, clan members sprang into action, lining up the ashenfaced guard cultivators and taking them away.

As the cultivator with the black birthmark was taken away, he howled miserably. In his regret, tears streamed down his face.

The Grand Elder shook his head and laughed, then clasped Naruto's hand and led him into the Namikaze Clan's gate. The other Namikaze Clan members followed behind. Light from the gate shot high into the air, and rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions.

Feng Xun stared in shock. As Naruto walked off, he turned back and nodded benevolently. Although Naruto said nothing, Feng Xun was very moved.

Gradually, all of the Namikaze Clan members returned to Planet East Victory. A new set of cultivators was brought to stand guard outside the gate. These new cultivators trembled nervously; they knew what fate was in store for the previous guards, and held deep respect and fear for Naruto.

Now, they treated the crowds lined up outside the gate with incredible courtesy as they let them through.

Back in the Namikaze Clan, clan members from various bloodlines returned from afar and gathered together in the ancestral mansion for a grand welcoming ceremony.

Compared to the gathering that had been prepared one year before, it was exponentially grander. After all, the previous gathering had been more for show. This time… many people came back of their own volition. They wanted to see for themselves exactly what Naruto looked like, this clan member who had a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam.

Roughly half of Planet East Victory was under the Namikaze Clan's jurisdiction and was occupied by various auxiliary bloodlines. On this planet, there was no Imperial dynasty, only the Namikaze Clan.

Regardless of whether it was their mortal cities, or their cultivators, the

Namikaze Clan… was so large and powerful that they eclipsed everyone else. Furthermore, the Church of the Blood Orchid and the Church of the Puppet God both had deep connections to the Namikaze Clan.

Of course, the Medicine Immortal Sect was independent, since it had been founded by a Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan who was still alive, creating a unique relationship.

The Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion was essentially a huge city, and served as the capital city of the Namikaze Clan. It was situated next to an ocean, and was the location where the innumerable bloodlines of the Namikaze Clan would come to gather. It was filled with extravagantly decorated palatial buildings and numerous pagodas that stretched out as far as the eye could see.

In the past, only the direct bloodline had occupied the ancestral mansion, but in recent years… as the direct bloodline declined, some areas had been occupied by an auxiliary bloodline. Now, the direct bloodline only controlled about half of the entire ancestral mansion. In fact, signs pointed to that auxiliary bloodline eventually coming to be considered the main branch.

The welcoming ceremony for Naruto's return was an affair attended by tens of thousands of clan members, who were now gathered in the central square in the middle of the ancestral mansion. To Naruto, it looked vaguely similar to what he had seen in the illusory Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple.

The ground was paved with green stone slabs, and numerous spell formations could be seen, which emanated incredible pressure. To Naruto, it almost felt as if an enormous ocean were covering everything and weighing it down.

The buildings he saw in all directions were luxurious, and it was as if an enormous sect that could shake all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea had suddenly revealed a tiny portion of itself to Naruto.

Yet, all of it was really just the tip of the iceberg. There were further layers of power that Naruto couldn't even sense with his cultivation base. All he knew was that it was impossible for him to even imagine how many Namikaze Clan members there were on Planet East Victory, and that wasn't even mentioning the Outer Clans or other cultivators who had been specially bestowed with the surname Fang.

Altogether… it was a staggering number of cultivators.

Furthermore, the people who had appeared earlier outside of East Heaven Gate were only the most illustrious members of their various bloodlines.

The Grand Elder presided over the welcoming ceremony, and introduced Naruto to many clan members. After sacrifices were made to the ancestors, he gave Naruto a command medallion and numerous other trifles. After that, he led Naruto to the Namikaze Temple in the ancestral mansion.

The temple was enormous, and from the outside, resembled some enormous beast sitting there cross-legged. Inside was a coliseum-like structure, with ten thousand seats arranged in concentric rings. At the moment, more than half of those seats were occupied by various elder members of the clan. All of them looked on with sparkling eyes, and had cultivation bases so profound that Naruto couldn't assess them.

Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian sat up in the front, his gaze as bright as fire as he looked at Naruto standing in the middle of the temple. There were many other clan members seated nearby, including his 2nd Uncle, as well as an old man covered with wrinkles, who gazed piercingly at Naruto as he measured him up. That old man… was Namikaze Wei's paternal grandfather, the same old man within whom killing intent toward Naruto had flickered earlier.

There were other clan members seated in the area. Most of them were young, and among their number, Naruto caught sight of Namikaze Donghan, who looked at him and smiled. 2

Naruto also saw Namikaze Xiangshan. When she saw him looking at her, she trembled and lowered her head. She obviously still remembered everything that had happened on Planet Ninshu 3

Many Chosen from the Namikaze Clan were there, including a young man in a white robe, with skin as smooth as jade. He was the young man who had been practicing cultivation earlier in the Immortal's cave deep under the ancestral mansion. Currently, he sat in a seat, surrounded by a group of over a hundred cultivators roughly his age.

One of the young cultivators near him was Namikaze Yunyi! 4

Karinnyi gave Naruto a venomous stare, then leaned over and whispered something into the ear of the young man in the white robe.

Actually, that young man had no need for the entourage. Comparing their energy to his was like comparing the darkness of night to a raging fire. He seemed like a wolf in the middle of a flock of sheep, and was someone anyone would recognize at a single glance.

This was the previous number one Chosen in the Namikaze Clan, Prince Wei… Namikaze Wei!

Official ISSTH art of Namikaze Wei. The gate in the background reads "East

Heaven Gate"

—–

Namikaze Xi – This "Xi" is a bit hard to pronounce. The easiest way to say it is like the word "she" in English. However, the beginning sound in the word actually doesn't exist in English and is more like something half-way between SH and S

wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fang_ 3

Namikaze Xi's name in Chinese is 方西 fāng xī. Xi means 'west' ↩ Back on

Planet Ninshu, Namikaze Donghan was the first person to guess that Naruto was Namikaze Hao, which was in chapter 822. He helped him escape the ambush in chapter 824, and also made an interesting comment about Namikaze Hao in chapter 826 ↩ Namikaze Xiangshan was the girl he was chasing when his parents and the people from the other clans showed up. Those events began in chapter 831 and went on for a few chapters after that ↩ Namikaze Yunyi was beaten up by Naruto for not addressing him properly in chapter 832 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 897

Chapter 897: Namikaze Wei!

Namikaze Wei was always surrounded by groups of fellow young cultivators. No matter where he went, he was the center of attention. After all, he was Namikaze Wei, the long time number one Chosen of this generation in the Namikaze Clan.

He was famous in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Furthermore, although he wasn't the legitimate eldest grandson of the Namikaze Clan, he essentially held that position.

In this generation of the Namikaze Clan, the only person who ranked above him in seniority was Naruto!

As he sat there calmly, he glanced at Naruto for a moment, then closed his eyes. A year before, when the clan had convened the welcoming ceremony, he did not make an appearance; he couldn't care less that Naruto had been scheduled to return.

The only reason he came today was because the strength of Naruto's bloodline had piqued his interest.

The air in the temple was very solemn. All of the people seated inside were Namikaze Clan Elders, and although not every single clan Elder had come, this group comprised the majority of those who were on Planet East Victory.

Each person in the temple looked like an Immortal Deity. All of them, be it in terms of their qi and blood, or in terms of their aura, were terrifying to the extreme. As Naruto looked around, he realized that he couldn't gauge any of their cultivation bases.

As of this moment, Naruto gained a clearer understanding of how powerful the Namikaze Clan was.

If you didn't count theHebiClan, this clan could actually be considered the number one clan in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The year that Lord Li disappeared, if the Namikaze Clan had been stronger by just a hair… the Ninth Mountain and Sea might now be following a Lord Fang.

Naruto was also well aware that he was really only looking at the tip of the iceberg. The Namikaze Clan had even deeper and more powerful resources, making them a force that few would ever trifle with lightly.

Furthermore, Naruto… was the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline of the Namikaze Clan. It was easy to imagine what would have happened if he hadn't experienced the Seventh Year Tribulation. Had he grown up in the Namikaze Clan, his status and fame would definitely have made him well-known throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea, as well as the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

All of the Elders were now looking at Naruto. It was impossible to tell whether they were happy or angry; their expressions were abstruse and impossible to read, and filled the hall with incredible pressure. As for Namikaze Wei, and his father and grandfather, undetectable gleams flickered in their eyes.

Naruto was the only person standing, right there in the middle of the temple. As for the pressure that emanated from those surrounding him, Naruto didn't even flinch.

After a long moment, Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian finally spoke.

" Namikaze Hao!" he said, his expression solemn. His voice echoed out in the temple, making it sound almost as if a throng of people were speaking.

Everything trembled.

"Having offered sacrifices to the ancestors, you are now officially a member of the Namikaze Clan. Henceforth, you shall enjoy access to the Namikaze Clan's cultivation resources, and many things will now tilt in your favor.

"However, there is something you must never forget!" The Grand Elder's expression was suddenly threatening, although it lacked any anger.

"Now that you are a member of the Namikaze Clan, you must follow all of the clan rules. Violate those rules, and it doesn't matter how strong your bloodline is, or that you have a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam. Despite that… you will still be punished!

"Speaking of the clan rules, I will give you a detailed copy that you can study in a moment."

Naruto stood there silently, looking at the Grand Elder.

After the Grand Elder finished speaking, a white-haired, ruddy-faced old man seated off to the side smiled and said, "Ladies and Gentlemen of the clan, let us discuss how the cultivation resources will be allocated to Namikaze Hao."

"Hao'er is the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline," someone said. "In fact, he is the highest-ranking grandson of his generation in the entire Namikaze Clan. He's had a hard time in the outside world during these years. Now that he's back in the clan, he should naturally be given the very best of everything!"

"The Immortal's cave next to Brightmoon Lake has good fortune of Heaven and Earth inside," another person said. "Furthermore, the remains of a Heavenly Dragon can be found therein. It is absolutely the best Immortal's cave in all of Planet East Victory. From my perspective, that Immortal's cave should definitely be given to Hao'er."

Another of the Elders looked at Naruto with praise in his eyes and said, "That's right. For years, no one has possessed the qualifications to have that Immortal's cave. We of the direct bloodline have him as our eldest grandson, and in fact, the highest-ranking grandson of his entire generation! He is the only one who could possibly be qualified to have that Immortal's cave."

This was not a situation where people were trying to bring Naruto down by over-praising him. These people truly wanted Naruto to have the best resources to help him advance himself in the quickest manner possible.

Almost as soon as the Elder from the direct bloodline finished speaking, other Elders began to speak.

"That's not entirely proper. Hao'er has just returned, and hasn't yet made the least contribution whatsoever to the good of the can't reward him with that Immortal's cave on the basis of his position alone. That wouldn't be fair."

"Precisely. In the Namikaze Clan, one's standing is based on how much one has contributed to the clan. To avoid causing other clan members to have feelings of resentment, Hao'er should not be given that Immortal's cave."

It only took a moment for a clamor to arise as numerous Elders began to give their opinions. In the end, Naruto could tell that about thirty percent of the Elders disagreed, with only about ten percent standing on Naruto's side. The rest maintained their silence.

The Grand Elder had predicted that something like this would happen, so he sat there silently, his expression the same as usual.

It was at this point that suddenly, Namikaze Wei, who sat in a chair surrounded by over a hundred young companions, suddenly opened his eyes to speak.

"Respected Elders, I regret to inform you that Junior has already taken the Immortal's cave by Brightmoon Lake and gifted it to someone." His voice was placid and seemingly devoid of any emotion whatsoever. As soon as he spoke, the direct bloodline Elders' faces grew dark. However, none of them offered any sort of response.

An imperceptible flicker appeared in Naruto's eyes. The words spoken by Namikaze Wei carried much meaning. This was a meeting of Namikaze Clan elders, and none of the other members of the younger generation had seats except for Namikaze Wei.

Furthermore, his words actually carried a domineering weight that seemed to be intolerant of any opposition. It was so domineering… that even the direct bloodline Elders didn't dare to retort.

Naruto looked over at Namikaze Wei, and Namikaze Wei looked back at him for a moment before closing his eyes.

Then, the direct bloodline Elder spoke up again.

"Other than the Immortal's cave, there are also the ten batches of

Rainbow Immortal Evanescence Pills concocted by Pill Elder from the Dao of Alchemy Division. That type of pill is a rare medicine that provides mysterious assistance when rising from the Spirit Realm into the Immortal Realm. Seven batches of those pills should be given to Hao'er!"

"That's not appropriate either," said another Elder. "Only ten batches of pills are concocted per year, and the medicinal plant ingredients are all extinct in the outside world. The Rainbow Immortal Evanescence Pill is the Namikaze Clan's strongest type of pill that exists in the gap between the Spirit and Immortal Realms. They are concocted for the benefit of the entire junior generation. Therefore, giving seven batches to Hao'er is impossible. I say, one batch should be enough."

As before, the Grand Elder said nothing. It was at this point that the white-robed Namikaze Wei opened his eyes and spoke again.

"Respected Elders, I regret to inform you that Junior has already made arrangements for all ten batches of Rainbow Immortality Evanescence

Pills."

Immediately, silence once again filled the entire temple. Fury burned in the direct bloodline Elders' eyes, but all they could do was clench their jaws and maintain silence.

Naruto had not spoken yet either, but his brow had gradually become furrowed as he looked over at Namikaze Wei. Namikaze Wei had only spoken twice, yet each time his words had silenced the Elders. This fact revealed a lot.

In addition, Naruto was gradually coming to detect something familiar about Namikaze Wei, although he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. After a moment, he began to wonder if he was just imagining it.

Silence reigned in the temple, and while the direct bloodline clan members sat there gloomily, there were Elders from other bloodlines who were smiling slightly. Finally, Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian cleared his throat and then began to speak, his eyes shining.

"Well, since we have a disagreement regarding the Immortal's cave and the medicinal pills, let's put those matters aside for now. Hao'er, you are the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline, so I will take responsibility for you now. There will be no more discussion. You will be given the highest quality compensation from the clan." With that, he waved his right hand, causing a jade slip to fly out and come to float in front of Naruto.

"Take this jade slip to the clan's Hall of the People. That is where you can withdraw your monthly set cultivation resources.

"As for the Immortal's cave…." The Grand Elder muttered to himself for a moment, then waved his hand, causing a gentle light to spread out, which rapidly solidified into a map.

There were various dots of glowing light on the map, each of which represented an Immortal's cave. The closer the Immortal's caves were to the center of the map, the stronger the auras they emitted. In the very center of them all was a lake, which was none other than Brightmoon Lake.

"Hao'er, go ahead and select an Immortal's cave from among the ones you see here. The dim lights represent Immortal's caves that have already been spoken for." As the Grand Elder spoke, about eighty percent of the lights on the map went dark. Not many were left behind. There were still a few next to Brightmoon Lake, but most were located in other areas, and especially along the edges.

All eyes were on Naruto, and most of the onlookers seemed concerned, although it was impossible to tell whether such feelings were true or false.

Naruto was silent for a moment, then clasped hands and bowed to the Grand Elder.

"Grand Elder, Junior has come to Planet East Victory upon my father's request to take my two Nirvana Fruits. I don't really care about Immortal's caves or medicinal pills. I don't need them. I just want my Nirvana Fruits." Having directly spoken these words, Naruto gazed at the Grand Elder.

Complete silence filled the temple.

Finally, the Grand Elder waved his hand as if he couldn't accept Naruto's refusal of the Immortal's cave and other things.

"Hao'er, you just got back to the clan," he said, his voice kind. "You need some time to get familiar with everything. An Immortal's cave, cultivation resources, and those medicinal pills are things that, as a member of the Namikaze Clan, belong to you by right.

"Regarding the Nirvana Fruits, fear not, they're yours. Naturally, they will be returned to you. I personally promised your father exactly that when he left.

"Don't worry about that matter. Although, it is a significant affair. Two days from now, I will make an announcement throughout the entire clan, inviting clan members here to bear witness to the returning of the Nirvana Fruits into your hands."

Naruto didn't respond. Originally, he didn't have any desire to come to the Namikaze Clan. Now that he was here, and he understood the situation, he was even less willing to stay.

In fact, he was even of a mind to simply leave right then and there. However, when he thought of his parents' hopes, he took a deep breath, and a fierce glow appeared in his eyes for a brief moment. He nodded, and then decided to say one more thing.

"Grand Elder, there is also an Immortality Illumination Vine that my father had prepared for me. Could you please return that to me as well?"

Before the Grand Elder could even respond, the white-robed Namikaze Wei's voice could be heard.

"I regret to inform you that I've already made arrangements for that Immortality Illumination Vine as well," he said coolly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto's eyes sparkled with icy coldness. He looked over at Namikaze Wei, smiled slightly, and then began to speak.

"Junior Cousin Namikaze Wei," he said, his voice ice cold despite his smile, "apparently, I beat the crap out of you too hard when we were young. That's the only explanation for why you've become such a nutcase. Otherwise, what would possibly make you think it was acceptable to steal from me?" 1

When Namikaze Wei heard this, his eyes glowed with icy coldness as he stared dead at Naruto.

In chapter 800 it talked about Naruto bullying Namikaze Wei when they were both children ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 898

Chapter 898: Do You Want to Die?!

"Could it be that as long as something belongs to me, you'll try to steal it?

"Your twisted view of life is really my fault. In the future, I'll do my best to help you correct the error of your ways." Naruto said these things while staring directly at Namikaze Wei.

"Do you want to die?" replied Namikaze Wei coolly.

"How pretentious of you!" said Naruto, walking toward Namikaze Wei. Each step he took caused the ground to tremble, and his eyes were cold as he stared at Namikaze Wei.

"In terms of status," he continued coldly, "I am the eldest grandson. In terms of bloodline, my Bloodline Gatebeam was 30,000 meters. In terms of clan seniority, I'm your Elder Cousin. It's my duty to admonish you, and you have no grounds upon which you would be justified in resisting! Since you insist on spewing hogwash, I have to ask you, Namikaze Wei… do YOU want to die?" Naruto's words were incredibly aggressive.

After he finished speaking, he turned to the Grand Elder and clasped his hands.

"Grand Elder, Namikaze Wei has shown disrespect to his elders, which undermines the norms of etiquette, a sin that neither Heaven nor Earth can forgive. For a clan to prosper, it must have a standard of conduct. Given the Namikaze Clan's status as a great clan of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the rules must be stricter than others. Respect for seniority is the standard which must be met for the future growth of the clan!

"Do the clan rules permit someone to act in this way? If not, then he has violated clan rules. What might the punishment be for such actions?" As he spoke, the surrounding Elders' eyes went wide, especially the direct bloodline Elders, who were greatly shocked.

When Naruto spoke, his words were as sharp as a sword, completely astonishing everyone in the audience. None of them could possibly have imagined that he would speak in such a vicious tone.

Of course, they didn't know that Naruto had been raised as a scholar, and loved to spar with words. Back in his days as an alchemist, he had engaged in a debate that had resulted in his opponent's Dao Heart becoming unstable. From that, it could be seen how sharp his words could be.

Furthermore, he had verbally dueled with the meat jelly on many occasions, which could be considered further training in debate.

It was at this point that Namikaze Wei's father, who sat off to the side of the Elders, suddenly spoke, his voice cold.

" Namikaze Hao, clan rules prohibit internal conflicts. How could you speak such malicious words? You need to spend some time in selfexamination! Men, take him away!"

Naruto showed no fear in response, but instead, began to laugh uproariously. Now that he was here in the Namikaze Clan, and could now take advantage of the Clan's regulations and ordinances, he would not allow anyone to dare try to openly put him at a disadvantage.

"2nd Uncle, correct? Were my words really malicious? I said that I beat him too severely when we were young. That is a simple fact. I said that he has become abnormal, an expression of regret. Then I said that I wish to help him correct the error of his ways. As his Elder Cousin, all of this is a condemnation of myself!

"As his senior, it is my responsibility, in fact, my DUTY to help my Junior Cousin. Therefore, I am unsure as to why 2nd Uncle would call such words malicious."

Namikaze Wei's father frowned. "How nasty and derogatory! Your histrionics will do you no good! Facts are facts!"

"I'll tell you the facts," retorted Naruto. "This headstrong Junior Cousin wants to steal my Immortal's cave. He also wants to steal my medicinal pills. Despite that, I said nothing. He is the Junior and I am the Senior. If I ALLOW him to have those things, then very well, he can have them.

"However, the reason that I chided him was because he also expressed his desire to steal the Immortality Illumination Vine left for me by my father. Since that item belongs to my father, how could a Junior member of the clan possibly steal it? Can a Junior member of the clan actually be permitted to steal things that belong to someone of the Senior generation? 2nd Uncle, is it possible that you actually approve of such a thing?

"Isn't such behavior a violation of clan rules? It certainly does not respect the rules of seniority, does it? Aren't such actions tantamount to open rebellion?

"In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, what clan exists that permits members of the Junior generation to steal things from the Senior generation? What clan exists that believes such a thing to be proper? Furthermore, what clan exists that intentionally misrepresents the facts, inverting right and wrong?

"2nd Uncle, please, enlighten me. Junior's experience is limited, and I'm really unsure of the answers to these questions." Naruto flicked his sleeve and looked over at Namikaze Wei's father, his eyes glittering.

"You…." Namikaze Wei's father looked enraged, but he apparently couldn't think of anything to say in response.

The temple hall was completely silent. The Elders who had originally maintained a position of neutrality were now looking over curiously at Naruto.

19th Uncle's son, Namikaze Xi, was also there in the crowd, staring blankly at Naruto. He had never imagined that Naruto could speak so incisively.

Naruto had just taken a small matter and turned it into something important, had transformed a relatively minor event into a huge one. He had struck people speechless. Such skill in speaking was something that Namikaze Xi had never encountered before in his life, and it caused his eyes to shine brightly.

"Enough!" said Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian. He frowned and swished his sleeve.

"We're all members of the same clan; there's no need for bickering. The matter has passed and will not be brought up again. Hao'er, the Immortality Illumination Vine left behind by your father will be given to you." With that, he made a grasping motion, causing a bag of holding to suddenly appear in his hand. He tossed it out toward Naruto, who grabbed it and scanned it with spiritual sense. Inside, he could see the Immortality Illumination Vine, roughly three inches long and as thick as a finger.

Killing intent flickered in Namikaze Wei's eyes. He gave a cold harrumph, then stood up and walked out of the temple, completely ignoring Naruto in the process. Rustling sounds could be heard as his more than one hundred followers left with him. Each and every one glared menacingly at Naruto as they left, especially Namikaze Yunyi, whose eyes were filled with intense venom.

Naruto ignored Namikaze Wei, as if he wasn't worth looking at. He clasped hands and bowed to the Grand Elder, then looked back at the map of Immortal's caves. As of now, he was determined to rise to prominence in the Namikaze Clan, all for the sake of his father and mother. As such, he would need to make some preparations.

"Dad and mom want me to fight hard and excel for their sakes, and they want me to make sure all the people in the Namikaze Clan see it…. As their son, that's exactly what I'm going to do!"

After looking over the Immortal's caves, he found one that didn't seem very extraordinary at all, although it did have a nicely-sized medicinal plant garden.

"Grand Elder, I'll take this Immortal's cave."

The Grand Elder nodded and performed an incantation gesture. Immediately, a command medallion appeared and flew out toward Naruto.

"Very well. This clan meeting will now adjourn." Next, he looked kindly at Naruto and said, "Hao'er, in two days, come back here, and I will personally give you your Nirvana Fruits. There's no need to feel anxious about that." It seemed the Grand Elder approved of how Naruto had behaved during the meeting.

As the crowds dispersed, 19th Uncle called Naruto over and introduced him to the Elders of the direct bloodline. When they looked at him, emotional expressions of reminiscence could be seen on their faces.

Some of these men had watched Naruto's father grow up, and had even held Naruto when he was a baby. They began to talk, and when Naruto's father was mentioned, they sighed. Then the subject of his grandfather came up, and their expressions darkened.

It was evening before they finally dispersed. Namikaze Xi volunteered to escort Naruto through the ancestral mansion to his Immortal's cave.

En route, Namikaze Xi took him to get his cultivation resources, and the two of them began to chat amiably.

"Ai, Coz, it's a good thing you're finally back. If you hadn't returned, the direct bloodline would only continue to waste away….

"You have no idea how angry I've been recently. Every time I see Namikaze Wei, I have to hold back from giving him a taste of my fist! What's so special about that bastard, huh? His latent talent? His strong bloodline?

"Hmph. If it weren't for his father and grandfather, and their Patriarch who occasionally shows his face, their branch would never have started eyeing the ancestral mansion!"

Namikaze Xi continued to complain to Naruto the entire way.

"In terms of latent talent, Coz, yours is definitely the best. Your Bloodline Gatebeam was 30,000 meters high! Namikaze Wei can't even compare! Let's see how he continues to claim to be the number one Chosen in the future!

"And then there's that good-for-nothing Namikaze Yunyi. He's vicious! Coz, in the future, you really need to be careful about him.

"Come to think of it, Coz, your cultivation base needs some improvement. It's too bad about those Rainbow Immortal Evanescence Pills. They're powerful, very powerful. With pills like that, coupled with the power of an Immortality Illumination Vine, it's easily possible to achieve true Immortal Ascension, and then have a big improvement in your cultivation base.

"It's one of the Namikaze Clan's miraculous pills. In fact, when you consider medicinal pills for the Spirit Realm, Rainbow Immortal Evanescence Pills are one of the top types of pills in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

"Damn that Namikaze Wei! If it wasn't for him, all of those pills would have been yours." Namikaze Xi jabbered on and on, almost like the meat jelly. Eventually, he started to tell Naruto stories from when he was young, starting from the time he was one year old and going all the way until he was hundreds of years old….

Naruto just smiled and listened to Namikaze Xi's grumblings and other explanations about the Namikaze Clan. From all of this, he now had a much better understanding of the Namikaze Clan. Gradually, though, Namikaze Xi's energetic blabbering turned into nothing more than a buzzing in Naruto's ears.

Overall, though, Naruto could sense the sincerity in Namikaze Xi.

As they walked along, they ran into many Namikaze Clan members, all of whom looked curiously at Naruto. Some wore smiles, other scowls. Just about any expression imaginable could be seen.

"Coz, there's another important thing. You were really badass back at the temple! I've never seen anybody from the Junior generation dare to stand in the middle of the temple and talk like that. Every single thing you said was true and sensible. They were all struck speechless!"

Night had fallen by the time Namikaze Xi led Naruto to his Immortal's cave, which was located in the far northern section of the ancestral mansion. It was a quiet, idyllic location that almost looked like a painting. It was night, but the two moons in the sky lit up everything, making it a beautiful scene.

Naruto's Immortal's cave was actually a sprawling two-story residence, beautifully decorated and quite luxurious. There was a small lake nearby, and a stone path which led to it. The canopy of stars overhead was reflected by the lake water, making everything sparkle.

A garden surrounded the little lake, within which grew a variety of medicinal plants. There wasn't a huge amount, but they still caused a sweet fragrance to fill the air. Lotuses could be seen floating on the surface of the lake, and overall, the entire scene looked like something celestial.

Naruto looked around and was quite content. Although this place might not count as very special when compared to all of the other Immortal's caves in the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion, in the outside world, it would be considered one of the best.

There was abundant spiritual energy here, as well as Immortal qi. Naruto walked into the courtyard and then took a deep breath; he really liked this place.

"Coz," said Namikaze Xi, "about your gift of the tongue… do you think you could teach me about that? My dad says that I jabber all the time, but that nothing I say makes sense. He's even beaten me on more than one occasion because of it. Coz, could you help me out? Please?" Namikaze Xi's tone was one of piteous entreaty.

Naruto turned to look at Namikaze Xi and smiled.

"Are you sure?"

Namikaze Xi's expression brightened, and he nodded.

Naruto hesitated for a moment, but seeing Namikaze Xi's hopeful expression, he couldn't help but sigh. Tapping his bag of holding, he caused the meat jelly to appear in his hand.

The meat jelly immediately pouted and then began to jabber discontentedly.

"Naruto, you bastard, you deserve to die a horrible death! You dumped me and then exploited me! Wait. No. You exploited me then dumped me! Y-y-you, you're immoral! You're shameless! You're a big bully! I'm going to convert you!"

" Namikaze Xi," said Naruto, clearing his throat, "keep coming to visit me. Every time you do, you can chat with this thingamajig. When you can hold a conversation with it for three days, you'll be a badass."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 899

Chapter 899: Difficult To Distinguish Between Enmity and Benevolence

"That thing?" said Namikaze Xi, staring with wide eyes at the meat jelly. The meat jelly suddenly stopped talking and looked at Namikaze Xi. Both of them seemed to be somewhat at a loss at first, but soon, bright glows appeared in both of their eyes.

"Killing intent!" gasped Naruto, backing up as he sensed the aura building between the meat jelly and Namikaze Xi.

"So, finally a worthy opponent!" said the meat jelly, leaping up into the air and landing next to Namikaze Xi, an expression of unprecedented solemnity on its face.

"It seems I've met my match!" replied Namikaze Xi, having sensed the energy within the meat jelly. It was an explosive energy that only he could sense, and from it, he knew that the meat jelly could continue a conversation for days on end.

"It seems I need to warm up a bit first," said the meat jelly, clearing its throat. "Ahem. Look kid, Lord Third is going to tell you a story that took place three three three three three… well anyway, countless three years ago. This was back in the early days of Heaven and Earth…."

"Cut the crap! All you know is three? Three three three three three.

What a disgrace!" Namikaze Xi hadn't even begun speaking when all of a sudden, the parrot flew out from Naruto's bag of holding. It landed on a nearby tree branch and looked at Namikaze Xi with a look of disdain.

"Kid, don't listen to his jabbering," said the parrot. "You study with Lord Fifth. Look at my mouth, is it sharp or not? From that, you should be able to imagine how sharp-tongued I am!"

Naruto quickly left the courtyard and fled into the Immortal's cave itself. In his opinion, the battlefield occupied by the meat jelly, the parrot and Namikaze Xi, was a place he shouldn't remain in. He had already experienced some of Namikaze Xi's gift of the tongue on the way here. He had talked the entire way, telling stories from the day he was one year old all the way to the present, and tales from the founding of the Namikaze Clan all the way to modern times. When he had run out of conversation topics, he had then begun to introduce the different members of the Namikaze Clan to Naruto.

Of course, it wasn't an introduction made in person, just his own opinions….

Inside his residence, Naruto looked around and saw extreme luxury. Even the furniture was made of spirit stones, which caused his eyes to grow wide.

"The Namikaze Clan… is really rich! And I'm the eldest grandson! Yet… I'm so poor…." Sighing at the injustice of it all, he waved his hands, causing all of the spirit stone furniture to be sucked into his bag of holding.

The once luxurious residence was now simple and stark, and as he looked around, he felt much better. Finally, he sat down cross-legged on the ground, his eyes glittering.

"Father wanted me to get my Nirvana Fruits. It goes without saying that reason is because he wants me to rise to prominence in the Namikaze Clan….

"It won't be incredibly difficult to do that, but as for the Nirvana Fruits… the Namikaze Clan… will they actually be able to give them to me?" Frowning, Naruto considered the ambush he had experienced on the way here, and how they had tried to kill him, and his eyes glowed with coldness.

"I wonder if Namikaze Wei's branch of the clan sent the assassins…." Naruto had learned of how the clan's direct bloodline was currently in a very poor situation. On the other hand, Namikaze Wei's branch of the clan was on the rise. Not only did they have the support of many of the clan Elders, but they had even occupied some of the ancestral mansion. Some branches of the clan remained neutral, but for the most part, Namikaze Wei's branch had completely eclipsed the direct bloodline.

"The Grand Elder was acting strange," Naruto thought. "He seemed kind, but in my opinion, it was just an act." He smiled coldly. Other people all assumed that he had been taken care of by his father and mother from the time he was young. They believed that, although his life had not been what it might have been had he stayed in the Namikaze Clan, surely he had not experienced the twists and turns of a dangerous life.

The truth of the matter was that from the age of seven onward, Naruto had been completely alone. In the mortal world, he had struggled hard during his youth, and had developed a spirit of independence. Then he had entered the cultivation world, and had experienced many things, and had survived numerous deadly crises. Step by step, he had advanced through life to reach his current situation. The help he had received from his parents had been scant, to say the least.

Although he might not be a perfect judge of character, he rarely made mistakes when sizing people up. He had quite a bit of experience in contending with others, and naturally, had become quite good at it.

"In two days, they will most likely not give me the Nirvana Fruits. They'll come up with some excuse that I won't be able to dispute, and then delay the matter….

"Of course, me returning to the clan has probably caused a huge headache for whoever it was that was trying to have me killed. However… the higher my position within the Namikaze Clan, the more afraid they will be to do anything to me."

After some more thought, his eyes flickered, and he opened the bag of holding that contained his cultivation resources from the Namikaze Clan. After looking it over, he couldn't help but take a deep breath.

There were a hundred bottles of medicinal pills, 1,000,000 spirit stones, and one hundred magic manuals. Although there were no Daoist magics, there were many powerful divine abilities. As for the Namikaze Clan's most powerful Daoist magics, of course there were none.

That was something else Naruto had learned from Namikaze Xi. Not even Namikaze Wei could have access to those core Daoist magics, not without performing deeds of merit. Such deeds were considered contributions to the Namikaze Clan.

The more deeds of merit one performed, the more rewards could be acquired.

It was a rule that applied to all of the Namikaze Clan; not even the Grand Elder could violate it.

"I get one thousand merit points every month based on my status in the clan alone. Unfortunately, that's simply not enough to enable me to get some of those core Daoist magics." Naruto's eyes gleamed as he pulled out a jade slip which listed the names and properties of countless medicinal pills, Daoist magics, and other magical items.

All of these things were items that could be purchased with merit points.

There were many that caused Naruto's heart to thump after seeing them.

"There are many ways to earn merit points. The most common way is to complete some of the various trials by fire that are publicly announced throughout the clan. Different trials by fire can earn you different amounts of merit points."

At the same time that Naruto was studying the jade slip, Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather were seated cross-legged in a temple in the eastern section of the ancestral mansion.

Namikaze Wei's father was named Namikaze Xiushan. Frowning, he looked at his own father and said, "Dad, I can't believe that brat has returned…." 1

"It doesn't matter," the old man replied coolly. "I've already taken care of the matter." A sinister gleam appeared in his eyes. "If he had returned and kept a low profile, it wouldn't have mattered. But since he has decided to act so high and mighty, he's already placed himself half a step into the Yellow Springs.

"Make sure Wei'er focuses on his cultivation. He's a Chosen of the Namikaze Clan, and the Patriarch of our bloodline has high hopes for him. Don't let him get distracted."

"Dad, there's no need for you to worry about that. Wei'er has true willpower. He won't be rattled by that son of a bitch." Namikaze Xiushan smiled.

"The direct bloodline is rapidly declining," said the old man confidently, his eyes flickering as if with fire. " Namikaze Hehai has been missing for years, and although his life force flame has not been extinguished, if he were capable of returning, he would have long since done so. 2

"His son Namikaze Minato agreed to guard Planet Ninshu for 100,000 years for his crippled son. All of that has doomed the direct bloodline to fall!

"It has also ensured that our bloodline will once again become the next lords of the Namikaze Clan, and the new direct bloodline!

"Years ago, Namikaze Hehai suppressed me, and his son Namikaze Minato suppressed you. In this generation, our Wei'er will definitely rise to prominence. That insignificant Namikaze Hao will be nothing more than a mere stepping stone to him." The old man flicked his sleeve.

Time passed. For two days, Naruto did not leave his residence. He sat there meditating, doing breathing exercises to absorb Immortal qi.

Those two days were like an entire month spent on Planet Ninshu. Being able to practice cultivation like this was of great benefit to Naruto.

He pulled out the heart of his second true self and began to nourish it with the Immortal qi near his villa.

It was about noontime when Naruto opened his eyes from his trance to slap his bag of holding and produce a jade slip that was glowing brightly. He quickly scanned it with divine sense.

"Hao'er, come to the main temple." It was the voice of the Grand Elder, and in response, Naruto smiled coldly. He put the jade slip away and walked out of the residence. The first thing he saw in the courtyard was Namikaze Xi. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his aura was incredibly weak.

The meat jelly and the parrot were currently taking turns bombing him indiscriminately with various arguments.

As soon as Namikaze Xi saw Naruto, he hurried to his feet and looked over at Naruto with an expression of both madness and veneration.

"Coz, you're incredible," he called out. "Having these two following you day in and day out, and living to tell the tale, it must be so hard. Coz, don't worry. I'll definitely learn the ways of a sharp tongue!" Namikaze Xi gritted his teeth with resolve.

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto's face, and he cleared his throat, unsure of exactly what to say. Then he saw the determination in Namikaze Xi's eyes, and he patted his shoulder and left the courtyard.

"Speech is endowed by Heaven, but requires tempering," he thought. "If he can endure the training provided by the meat jelly and the parrot, then he will eventually gain the long-windedness of the meat jelly, and the acidic speech of the parrot." Clearing his throat again, he hurried toward the main temple.

The ancestral mansion was huge, and flight was prohibited there. It took Naruto two full hours to stroll all the way to the temple. When he got there, he could see tens of thousands of clan members, as well as the Grand Elder, filling the area, seated cross-legged.

As soon as he saw Naruto, the Grand Elder's face broke out in a kind smile, and he nodded his head.

"Hao'er, your Immortal's cave is some distance away. How about this, I'll give you a command medallion that gives you special privileges in the ancestral mansion. Other than some specially restricted areas, you will now be able to fly wherever you wish." With a smile, he handed Naruto a violet jade slip. When the onlookers saw this happening, they gaped in shock and jealousy.

Normally speaking, only Elders were permitted to fly inside the ancestral mansion. Of the members of the Junior generation, only Namikaze Wei had the honor of being able to do so. Now, Naruto did too.

Naruto accepted the jade slip. If he didn't trust his own judgement, then it would seem for all intents and purposes that the Grand Elder really did like him a lot. Considering his position as Grand Elder, it appeared as if what he was doing was not only a true kindness, but at the same time, just and even-handed. He was doing his best to follow the clan's rules.

"Today, many clan members have gathered to bear witness to an important event!" the Grand Elder proclaimed.

"Years ago, Hao'er became weak with illness. His Seventh Year Tribulation caused many clan members to worry greatly about him. As for me, when I saw a young lad like him enduring such incredible suffering, it also pained my heart.

"Thankfully, the Immortals are blessing the Namikaze Clan, and an Outsider came, providing us with a way to deal with the problem. Namikaze Minato and his wife took the child away, leaving the Nirvana Fruits behind with the clan."

Naruto stood in front of the Grand Elder, staring in shock. From the way the old man was speaking, and the expression on his face, it didn't seem at all like he was going to delay the matter; rather, it looked like he was really going to hand the Nirvana Fruits over.

"Don't tell me I was overthinking things…?" thought Naruto.

—–

Namikaze Xiushan wp-content/uploads/2016/08/fang_xiushan.

mp3

Namikaze Xiushan's name in Chinese is 方秀山 fāng xiù shān. Xiu means

'elegant' or 'handsome.' Shan means 'mountain.' It's very similar to Namikaze Minato's name. The Xiu in both names is the same, which makes sense since they are of the same generation. The final character in Namikaze Xiushan means 'mountain' whereas the final character in Namikaze Minato's name means '(mountain) peak' or 'summit.' The final character in Namikaze Minato's name actually has the 'mountain' component as part of the character. Look at the two names side by side and you will see what I mean. In the final character of Namikaze Minato's name, you can see the mountain squished on the left side of the character. Namikaze Xiushan 方秀

山. Namikaze Minato 方秀峰 ↩ Namikaze Hehai's name in Chinese is 方贺海 fāng hè hǎi – He means "congratulate." Hai means "sea" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 900

Chapter 900: Third Grandpa

"Years ago, the Patriarchs who are now in secluded meditation personally said that these Nirvana Fruits were to be returned to Hao'er when he came back to the sect. What once belonged to him, will always belong to him!

"It doesn't matter that he only just arrived and is not yet familiar with the clan, or that his cultivation base is not at the proper stage to assimilate the Nirvana Fruits, or that he has not performed any meritorious service to the clan!

"No…. He is the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline, and was once a blazing son of the Namikaze Clan. He has endured many hardships over the years, and as such, now that he has returned to the clan, none of those other things matter. It is as if they don't exist!

"These two Nirvana Fruits are his!

"Today, I will take the responsibility to give him these Nirvana Fruits! If the Patriarchs come out of meditation in the future and ask about the matter, I will assume all responsibility!" The Grand Elder's words were spoken decisively, and his face was very solemn. When it came to the part about the past, he sighed emotionally.

Many of the surrounding Elders had looks of surprise written on their faces, and those from the direct bloodline seemed, at first shocked, but then excited.

Naruto was panting as he looked at the Grand Elder speaking so warmly. Naruto had never imagined that the Grand Elder would say such things in front of so many people.

"Don't tell me… I really misjudged the situation?" thought Naruto. "Impossible! He'll definitely say something more." Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself.

" Namikaze Hao!" the Grand Elder said suddenly. His eyes shone as he looked at Naruto. "Remember, you will always be a member of the Namikaze Clan. The blood of the Namikaze Clan runs through your veins. You can always determine what will happen to you in the future, but you can never make any decisions regarding your birth!

"Your surname is Fang!

"We Elders are old, and the Patriarchs are even more ancient. Even if they are still alive now, they will eventually perish. But you… you are a future blazing sun of the Namikaze Clan! You are the hope for the future.

"You must work hard in your cultivation. The day will surely come in which you will grow into a mighty tree that stretches up into the Heavens!" Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian seemed quite excited. As he spoke, he raised his hands up, clasped them together, and then bowed toward the rear of the temple.

"Respected Patriarchs. On this day, I, Namikaze Tongtian, ask all of these clan members to bear witness to the return of the Nirvana Fruits to Namikaze Hao!" With that, he lifted his right hand up into the air and made a grasping motion.

Immediately, shocking rumbling filled the sky, echoing out in all directions. A huge vortex appeared in midair, and as it spun, it slowly revealed some sort of celestial abode.

A tall pagoda could be seen, glowing with boundless light that attracted all eyes. The nearby Namikaze Clan members saw the pagoda and began to cry out in shock.

"It's the Ancestral Treasure Pagoda!"

"In the Namikaze Clan, only precious treasures can be placed within the

Ancestral Treasure Pagoda!"

"The pagoda itself is a precious treasure left behind by the first generation Patriarch!"

"Even if Heaven and Earth were destroyed, the Ancestral Treasure Pagoda would survive. Even the Grand Elder can only exercise limited control over it to retrieve items. He says the name, and the pagoda will send the item out."

Naruto couldn't believe it. What was happening went completely contrary to his sense of judgement. Everything that was happening was the opposite of how he had expected it to be. His heart was now starting to pound with shock.

He had great faith in his sense of judgement, but what was happening right now was impossible to disbelieve.

The Grand Elder took a deep breath, then performed a double handed incantation gesture. Finally, he shouted, "Ancestral Treasure Pagoda, please produce the Nirvana Fruits!"

Immediately, rumbling could be heard, and more beams of brilliant light shot out. At the same time, a jade box flew out from the pagoda. In the blink of an eye, it had already sped out of the vortex and landed in the Grand Elder's hands.

After that, the vortex up above gradually faded away, obscuring the treasure pagoda, which disappeared from sight.

Naruto was panting as he stared at the jade box. Even now, he still couldn't believe that the Grand Elder was simply going to hand the Nirvana Fruits over to him.

He had assumed it would be difficult to get them, but it had turned out to be quite the opposite. It all seemed too simple.

The Grand Elder unhesitatingly opened the box and lifted it up for all the surrounding clan members to see.

Naruto immediately caught sight of two withered fruits. They were so dried up that it seemed as if the slightest breeze might cause them to vanish. As soon as he laid eyes on them, Naruto's blood surged in his veins, and he felt a sensation like that of a summoning. He was immediately able to tell that these were, in fact, Nirvana Fruits.

"Nirvana Fruits!"

"Years ago, I saw Hao'er's two Nirvana Fruits, and those are definitely them!"

Many of the surrounding direct bloodline clan members were shocked, especially Naruto's 19th Uncle.

"Those are Nirvana Fruits!"

Naruto panted as the Grand Elder looked over at him with glittering eyes. Suddenly, a thought occurred to Naruto.

"Maybe he's giving them to me because he intends to send someone to steal them from me?" Naruto still had faith in his own judgement, and he just couldn't believe that the grand Elder would hand over the Nirvana Fruits so lightly.

The Grand Elder suddenly tossed the jade box out into the air toward Naruto, who caught it. As soon as he touched the box, the blood in his veins seemed to boil.

"There is one more thing that I must say in the presence of all you clan members," said the Grand Elder, looking around with coldly glowing eyes. "Let me make one thing very clear.

"These Nirvana Fruits belong to Hao'er, and now, he has them in hand.

Perhaps there will be people who harbor malicious intentions. However, in all of Planet East Victory, neither the Church of the Blood Orchid nor the Puppet God Sect would dare to try to steal a precious treasure of the Namikaze Clan. Even now that they are in Hao'er's possession instead of the clan's, they still wouldn't dare.

"Regarding the other sects around here, they would be even less willing.

When it comes to people not from Planet East Victory, we have the East

Heaven Gate, which restricts most people from entering. Therefore, if Hao'er's Nirvana Fruits turn up missing, then the only culprits would be other members of the Namikaze Clan!

"Therefore, do not blame me for reminding all of you that if any person steals the Nirvana Fruits from Hao'er, I will have no choice but to carry out the will of the Patriarchs and exterminate that person's entire bloodline! Namikaze Heshan, your bloodline would do well to keep this in mind!" As he spoke the final words, the Grand Elder's eyes shone with cold light as he stared at Namikaze Wei's grandfather. The old man's face was unsightly, and he bowed his head in acknowledgement. 1

"The rules of the clan must be complied with. Today, I swear an oath that if anyone dares to steal Hao'er's Nirvana Fruits, I will without fail take action. Furthermore, if I myself have any selfish thoughts regarding the matter, the Heavens shall eradicate my soul!" As soon as the words left his mouth, rumbling sounds could be heard up above; Oath Thunder, which indicated that he was swearing upon the Dao.

The other clan members were shaken. Moments ago, some of them had actually harbored some malicious intentions. As of this moment, however, those malicious intentions were completely wiped away.

Naruto's mind trembled even harder. He really couldn't believe everything that was happening. However, the facts were right in front of him, and the Grand Elder had even gone so far as to swear an oath.

"Perhaps I was actually wrong…." Naruto thought. "But, how come I still feel like the Grand Elder is putting on an act…. Of all the things he's said, what is true and what is false?" Naruto didn't say anything. He took a deep breath, put the Nirvana Fruits away, and then bowed deeply toward the Grand Elder.

The Grand Elder looked at Naruto, his kind smile wider than ever.

"Hao'er," he said loudly, "I've already made arrangements for the Rainbow Immortal Evanescence Pills. Seven batches are really too much, so you'll be given five batches!

"As for the Immortal's cave, you can switch at any time. It doesn't matter what arrangements have been made, I have the authority to make these decisions!" The surrounding clan members' hearts trembled.

Now, they looked at Naruto in a completely different light than before.

"All of you are dismissed," said the Grand Elder, waving his arm. "Hao'er, you come with me." As he led Naruto inside the temple, the surrounding clan members burst into conversation. The events that had just occurred would surely spread through the entire clan in a very short period of time.

Naruto took a deep breath and suppressed his suspicions as he followed the Grand Elder into the temple.

The temple was quiet, and nobody was inside other than Naruto and the Grand Elder.

As soon as they were inside, the Grand Elder turned and looked at Naruto. His expression was one of approval and reminiscence, as if looking at Naruto caused him to remember things which had happened in the past.

"Grand Elder…." Naruto said softly.

"When no one else is around, you can call me Third Grandpa," said the Grand Elder. "Your grandfather is my older brother, and he used to occupy the position of Grand Elder. However, he went missing, and your Second Grandpa and his bloodline are up to no good…." He sighed. "Therefore, the Patriarchs asked me to assume the title of Grand Elder. The Namikaze Clan has no Clan Lord, and since the Patriarchs are normally in secluded meditation, the Grand Elder is responsible for just about everything in the clan.

"I… am also a member of the direct bloodline," he said quietly. "Your grandfather and I are blood brothers.

"However, from the moment I took on the position and responsibilities of Grand Elder, I officially belonged to no bloodline. I maintain the entire clan's operations, and have to keep a balanced relationship with all the different bloodlines.

"There are many things in which… I have no power. My heart lies with our bloodline, but my position forces me to be unbiased in everything. All my decisions… must be in accord with the clan rules!

"This is the only occasion in which I asserted my authority and made a decision unilaterally, and gave you your Nirvana Fruits!" The Grand Elder looked kindly at Naruto, almost as if he were looking at his own grandson.

"I have no son, and since your grandfather is my Senior in the bloodline, it means that his grandson is also my grandson.

"Grand Eld—" almost as soon as Naruto began to speak the words, the Grand Elder scowled. Naruto quickly said, "Third Grandpa!"

His heart was filled with complex emotions. He still felt that something fishy was going on, but he couldn't figure out what it was that made him feel so uneasy.

"Hao'er, these two Nirvana Fruits are now several hundred years old, and have long since dried up. However, they are precious treasures formed from the Namikaze Clan's bloodline. Therefore, they won't wither away. As long as you have some Spirit Extract, you can return them to their previous state.

"The next step you need to take is to cultivate these Nirvana Fruits on a daily basis. Fuse as much Spirit Extract as you can into them. Because they belong to you, you can actually absorb them very easily. Once you absorb them… your cultivation base will advance by leaps and bounds. You can easily advance to be the Number One Chosen in the Namikaze Clan, and become the blazing sun that you once were!

"Remember, you must absorb them as quickly as possible. This might be shocking to the clan, but the longer you wait, the more likely it will be that someone will recklessly try to make a move against you. However, once you absorb them, they won't be able to do anything.

"Hao'er, remember, absorb them as quickly as possible. Third Grandpa has bought you some time, but I'm afraid it won't be much."

Naruto nodded in acknowledgement, but inside, his heart was thumping.

"Spirit Extract…." he thought. "Is it possible that my feelings of suspicion have something to do with the Spirit Extract?"

"Another thing," said the Grand Elder. "The Spirit Extract you need to absorb the Nirvana Fruits requires your own blood to be part of the mixture. That's something nobody else would have access to. Therefore, you don't need to worry about that aspect. How about this: I noticed that the Immortal's cave you selected has a medicinal plant garden. Assumably, you know something of the Dao of alchemy.

"Why don't you go to the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division. You can use your merit points to get some medicinal plants and Spirit Extract formulas. Spirit Extract is easy to concoct, so making it yourself will be the safest thing." The Grand Elder seemed very sincere in his words. Perhaps what he had said was coincidental, but the result was that all of Naruto's conjectures were shattered.

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	6. Chapter 6

1

If I want something, the Heavens better have it. If I don't want something, the Heavens better not have it! This is a story which originates between the eighth and ninth mountains, a world in which "My fate is to seal the Heavens like a demon!" "I Shall Seal the Heavens" is a new novel from Qidian's Er Gen. It tells the story of a scholar named Naruto, who enters the world of cultivation and slowly undergoes great change of character, eventually becoming an old eccentric. Overall, the story is not depressing like "Beseech the Devil (Qiu Mo 求魔)," but Naruto does have some of Uchiha Lin's rebelliousness and Su Ming's stubbornness. Author(s): N/A

Vol. 6 : Chapter 901

Chapter 901: A Thorough Investigation

Naruto silently clasped hands and bowed deeply to the Grand Elder, who looked on with a kind smile as Naruto left.

Finally, the Grand Elder was the only one who remained in the temple.

Gradually, the kind look faded away, to be replaced by a tranquil calm. However, deep within his eyes, a sinister coldness flickered, something no one would be able to detect.

He turned, and headed deeper into the temple.

A cold voice suddenly echoed out within the temple, causing the Grand Elder to stop in his tracks for a moment.

"Thank you."

"I'm not helping you," the Grand Elder replied, "I'm just following the clan rules. Everything… is for the clan!"

Naruto sped through the ancestral mansion in a bright beam of light until he reached his Immortal's cave. As soon as he set foot into the courtyard, he saw Namikaze Xi sitting there quietly in front of the meat jelly and parrot.

Considering how mentally preoccupied he was, Naruto walked past them and sat down cross-legged in his residence. Eyes glittering, he pulled out the box containing the Nirvana Fruits and looked down at it.

"Contrary to expectation… the Grand Elder really did hand it over to me….

"Nothing he said in the temple seemed fake, but I still can't shake the feeling… that there was more to what he was saying than what was on the surface."

Naruto wasn't acting paranoid. After stepping into the cultivation world, things had not always gone as he had expected. He knew that if he wasn't constantly on the alert, he could easily have ended up perishing on multiple occasions.

He was also aware that he was in danger here in the Namikaze Clan. If he wasn't cautious in everything, he could easily find himself in a deadly situation.

"There must be something wrong with the Nirvana Fruits themselves!" he thought, his eyes glittering. He was still sticking to his original judgement of the Grand Elder; none of the things the old man had said could change that. Finally, he looked down at the box and slowly opened it up.

A faint pressure began to emanate from within the box as Naruto looked in thoughtful silence at the two withered fruits inside. Each of them was about the size of an infant's fist.

The blood in his veins surged, a bloodline connection to the fruits that caused Naruto to suddenly feel a twinge of doubt regarding his judgement.

"These truly are Nirvana Fruits, and they're definitely stimulating my blood. It seems like… they really are the Nirvana Fruits I produced all those years ago.

"Don't tell me that I really was thinking too much into things?" He sighed and then slowly picked one of the Nirvana Fruits up. As soon as he touched it, the reaction from his blood was even stronger, as if it longed to assimilate the fruit. He placed it directly in front of his face and looked at it closely.

"I need a lot of Spirit Extract to return these Nirvana Fruits to their original state. At that point, I can absorb them…." He sighed again and then began to place the Nirvana Fruit back into its box. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, his hand stopped in place, and a bright gleam appeared in his eyes.

"Wait, something's off. The aura of Time on these Nirvana Fruits… is not that of only a few hundred years!" Panting, he slowly lifted the Nirvana Fruit back up and stared at it closely. After a long moment, a grim expression filled his face.

Naruto had cultivated the magic of Time in the past, and had used Time-based divine abilities. Therefore, there were few people who could accurately judge matters of Time the way he could. Although the auras of the Nirvana Fruits were incredibly weak, they had been perfectly preserved inside the jade box. Because of that, the aura of Time was still there, and even though it was almost impossible to detect, Naruto… could sense it!

This was something that nobody, not even the Grand Elder, could possibly have predicted.

"It's time to find out exactly how old these particular Nirvana Fruits are!"

He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, unleashing Time magic. He made a sealing mark, and then the light of augury could be seen in his eyes as he slowly stripped away the layers of mystery that surrounded the fruit.

100 years. 200 years. 300 years….

Two hours passed, after which Naruto began to breathe heavily.

"10,000 years already!" By this point, he could determine with absolute certainty that this Nirvana Fruit was not his. A cold light flickered in his eyes, and after taking a deep breath, he continued to utilize Time magic to determine exactly how old the Nirvana Fruit was.

15,000 years. 20,000 years. 25,000 years….

If Naruto didn't possess eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, and have an Immortal meridian inside of him that was eighty percent complete, then he definitely would not have been able to use Time magic for such an extended length of time. The sun soon set, and the moon rose high into the sky. A tremor ran through Naruto; his cultivation base was almost thoroughly exhausted… However, he was finally able to roughly determine the true age of the Nirvana Fruit.

"More than… 100,000 years!"

Naruto panted, and a look of disbelief could be seen on his face. He then glanced over at the second Nirvana Fruit. To his senses, both seemed to be exactly the same.

"They both exceed 100,000 years!

"These aren't MY Nirvana Fruits! Whose are they?" Naruto's eyes flickered, and as of this moment his faith in his own judgement was stronger than ever. The Grand Elder definitely had some sinister motive in giving him these Nirvana Fruits.

"The problem doesn't lie with the Spirit Elixir, nor in the words he spoke. Instead… the problem lies in that which I would least suspect… the Nirvana Fruits themselves!" His face darkened.

"Now that I think about it, one of the things he emphasized the most, the part that seemed to be spoken out of care for me, was the part about absorbing the Nirvana Fruits as quickly as possible. That part… is definitely suspicious!" Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. As of now, he was certain that if he tried to absorb the Nirvana Fruits, he would find himself in some sort of deadly crisis.

Snorting coldly, Naruto put the Nirvana Fruits back in the box, then strode out into the courtyard and interrupted the duel between Namikaze Xi and the parrot and meat jelly.

" Namikaze Xi," he said, "have you heard of anyone else in the clan producing Nirvana Fruits?"

Namikaze Xi looked completely exhausted, although a gleam of stubborness and even excitement could be seen in his eyes. When he heard Naruto's question, he gaped in shock.

"No, I haven't," he replied. "Only Nirvana Flowers, but those are kind of useless. The only person to ever produce Nirvana Fruits is you…. Eee? Wait, now that I think about it, there's a rumor that the first generation

Patriarch produced Nirvana Fruits. Why, what's wrong?"

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he promptly avoided answering the question. However, more feelings of suspicion rose up in his heart.

"The Nirvana Fruits of the first generation Patriarch," he thought. "They would definitely be considered a precious treasure. Why would the Grand Elder give them to me? Apparently, these Nirvana Fruits are incredibly ancient, over 100,000 years old…."

Starting the next day, Naruto made his way around the ancestral mansion filled with doubts, although no trace of his feelings could be seen on his face. He met quite a few clan members, and went to quite a few different buildings. He did his best to act exactly as a clan member would who had been missing for years, and finally returned to the clan. For example… he thirstily devoured information about the clan's history.

Everything he did seemed completely normal, and not suspicious in any way. Days passed. About a week later, Naruto's interest in the Clan History Pavilion seemed to grow deeper.

Much of the information about the clan's history was recorded there, and Naruto often showed up to pore through the records, which no one found strange. There were a vast quantity of jade slips filled with information about past events. Unfortunately, there wasn't much information about clan Patriarchs, usually just a sentence or two, or a brief description.

Half a month passed. Occasionally, the Grand Elder would kindly summon him and remind him to concoct the Spirit Elixir as soon as possible, and then absorb the Nirvana Fruits. In the end, Naruto finally managed to piece together a relatively intact story from all of the scattered bits of information he had found.

Currently, he sat cross-legged in his residence, eyes closed as he reviewed all of the information he had gathered in the past days.

"A sixth generation Patriarch, with an exceedingly high cultivation base, went into secluded meditation for a single day… and suddenly died!

"A tenth generation Patriarch was also in secluded meditation… and suddenly died!

"The same thing happened to a thirteenth generation Patriarch and a sixteenth generation Patriarch. Both of them went into secluded meditation and then… suddenly died!

"It wasn't just them. In the past 100,000 years, there were other Chosen and various clan members who went into secluded meditation and then mysteriously died."

All of this was information he had discovered in the jade history slips, tiny clues and scraps of knowledge that at first seemed unremarkable.

Although they didn't seem out of the ordinary when taken alone, Naruto, being in the crisis that he was, had discovered all the information and organized all the clues. In the end, an intense desire to kill rose up in his heart.

"Roughly 30,000 years ago, the frequency of the sudden deaths decreased. Nowadays, they rarely occur." When he opened his eyes, they shone with a bright light.

"After tracking down more information about those ancestors who had died… there was one common factor connecting all of them together. Some of them went directly into the Ancestral Treasure Pagoda, and others traded merit points to acquire rewards from the same pagoda. "That's definitely suspicious. Throughout the past 100,000 years, many clan members have earned rewards from the Ancestral Treasure Pagoda. These people were the only ones who died suddenly. It does seem suspicious, but somewhat circumstantial.

"Until…." Naruto patted his bag of holding to produce a jade slip. His eyes began to glow coldly.

"Until I found out this bit of information about the last clan member to suddenly die, 30,000 years ago, information recorded in the diary of his son!

"Just before dying, he managed to pass word to his son that he was going to assimilate an object belonging to an ancestor. It was something no one in the past had ever succeeded in doing. Furthermore, anyone else who had attempted to accomplish the same feat had died. However, word had been passed down by one of the ancestors that if someone could successfully absorb it, it would solve the riddle of the Namikaze Clan bloodline!"

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. After a moment, they opened again, and were extremely calm. There were no waves of shock or astonishment as he looked down at the jade box.

"If my speculations are correct, most, if not all, of those people suddenly died for exactly the same reason. And that reason was none other than these two Nirvana Fruits!

"These Nirvana Fruits… originally belonged to that ancient ancestor!" A cold smile broke out on Naruto's face.

"The Grand Elder is pushing me to absorb them because he wants me to experience that same sudden death!

"The Grand Elder gave me the Nirvana Fruits in front of everyone, so that it would be no secret. All the things he said, even that biased oath, all seemed extremely aboveboard and honest.

"Therefore, if I died while absorbing the Nirvana Fruits, just like

everyone else who has attempted to do so, he would have done nothing except lead me in that direction with his words. Any blame for my death would have been placed solely on the Nirvana Fruits.

"Quite a flawless plan. I would die a meaningless death, and the Grand Elder might even hold an incredible funeral service for me…." Naruto's smile became even colder than before.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 902

Chapter 902: The Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy

The Grand Elder didn't think he had underestimated Naruto, but in the end… that is exactly what he had done.

To the Grand Elder, Naruto was simply a member of the Junior generation. However intelligent he might be, he was still just a Junior.

He could never have imagined that Naruto had cultivated Time magic, and that because of his unbridled persistence, would need only half a month to sift through the vast clan histories and piece together random clues into the truth!

The two Nirvana Fruits were exactly what Naruto had speculated; items belonging to the first generation Patriarch that had been left behind as precious treasures. However, one clan member after another had suddenly died while trying to absorb them. Eventually, they became something like taboo objects.

30,000 years ago, the clan had clamped down on all information regarding the two Nirvana Fruits, and they had been put into long-term storage in the Ancestral Treasure Pavilion. Despite being objects from that first generation Patriarch, they were completely useless.

Nowadays, it was possible that there were a few people in the clan who knew that one of the Patriarchs had left Nirvana Fruits behind, but it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who remembered about those clan members suddenly dying.

Not even Naruto's father would be aware of such a thing.

Were it not for Naruto's suspicious nature, and his ability to use his Time magic to determine the true age of the Nirvana Fruits, then even if he did search through the clan histories, he would never have been able to detect all of the random, inconspicuous clues that he had.

"Well then, what about MY Nirvana Fruits," he thought. "Are they still around… or not?" He looked down at the jade box, a complicated expression on his face. As of now, Naruto realized that all of the spectators who had looked on as the Grand Elder handed him the jade box must have thought that the Nirvana Fruits really did belong to him.

Sometimes, if everyone believes something to be true, then the matter basically becomes true, and cannot be changed.

After a long moment of thought, Naruto looked down at the two Nirvana Fruits, and his eyes began to glitter.

"In terms of value, these two Patriarch's Nirvana Fruits are surely priceless…. Based on all the clues I pieced together, those clan members who suddenly died all ended up as desiccated corpses, as if their life force had been sucked away.

"From the look of it, the Nirvana Fruits can't be restored simply by feeding them some Spirit Elixir as the Grand Elder suggested. Doing that will probably only revive them temporarily. Absorbing them during that period of brief restoration will most certainly lead to death.

"That's because fundamentally, they are still dry and withered. Unless…. I can truly and completely restore them. Perhaps… then I actually could absorb them.

"Of course, there must have been clan members who came to that same conclusion, and yet they also failed. Perhaps my line of thinking is just as flawed as theirs…. In that case, perhaps it's simply impossible to gather enough Spirit Elixir to restore them completely!

"If that's the case, then there are two possibilities. One is that not even the Namikaze Clan… can afford the terrifying wastage of resources that would be required to get enough medicinal plants. After all, the supply of medicinal plants is not infinite. Perhaps it's really impossible to restore the Nirvana Fruits completely, even if you use substitute ingredients in the Spirit Elixir.

"Even more likely than that possibility is the second possibility. Perhaps these Nirvana Fruits were withered from the very moment they were created." Naruto's eyes flickered for a moment, after which he patted his bag of holding to produce the copper mirror.

"There's always the chance that I really could restore the Nirvana Fruits to a state of completeness!" Naruto was panting, and a strange gleam could be seen in his eyes. Then he thought about his beloved spirit stones, and he gritted his teeth in hesitation.

"There are plenty of Chosen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and in the future, I should have plenty of chances to bleed them dry of spirit stones. But if I could restore these two Patriarchs' Nirvana Fruits, then absorb them… then it would be the greatest good fortune I could get here in the Namikaze Clan!

"Time to go to where they concoct pills around here!" As of this moment, a gleam of determination could be seen in Naruto's eyes.

The next day at dawn, he walked out of his residence to find that Namikaze Xi was nowhere to be seen.

In the end, Namikaze Xi felt that he had made great strides in his gift of the tongue, and was ready to graduate to the next level. Therefore, he had decided to test his debating abilities out on the masses.

The meat jelly and the parrot, claiming that it was time to test him out, had gone along to supervise.

The courtyard was silent as Naruto transformed into a beam of light and flew toward the direction of the clan's Pill Concocting Quarter.

The Namikaze Clan was an enormous clan, so they naturally had their own Dao of alchemy, and had set up their own Dao of Alchemy Division. Every cultivator there was drawn from the Namikaze Clan itself, and no matter what bloodline they came from, once they were inducted they belonged solely to the Dao of Alchemy Division.

The clan's Dao of Alchemy Division was set up outside the ancestral mansion, in its own area. It was almost like a sect, with mountains winding about in all directions, dotted with various pavilions and buildings. Radiant light shone up into the air, and the place pulsed with energy.

The Dao of Alchemy Division was made up of more than 100,000 alchemists, ensuring that the aroma of medicinal pills would always waft about and never disperse. It was always possible to see the colorful aura of medicinal pills, which was beautiful beyond compare.

The Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division had a strict division of ranking among alchemists. It was not like the Violet Fate Sect, which simply divided the higher levels into Furnace Lords and Violet Furnace Lords. In the Namikaze Clan, the alchemists were organized into nine tiers.

Tier 9 was the absolute peak, whereas tier 1 was the level for novices. Underneath the alchemists were vast numbers of apprentice alchemists, roughly 1,000,000 in total.

When practicing cultivation, medicinal pills were an absolute necessity. That was even more true in the Immortal Realm, in which cultivators cultivated boundless Immortal qi. There simply wasn't enough Immortal Chakra in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to support all of the cultivators, which meant that they needed to rely on the assistance of the power of plants and vegetation within medicinal pills to condense the vast amount of Immortal Chakra that they needed.

Because of that, alchemists occupied a very lofty position. Of course, not every clan member was gifted in the Dao of alchemy; people with such talent were not common. This was especially true of tier 6 alchemists, who were quite rare. When it came to tier 9 alchemists, there was only one in the entire Namikaze Clan, and he was referred to as Pill Elder.

For the most part, he only concocted pills for the clan Patriarchs who were in secluded meditation for long periods of time.

From the moment Naruto flew out of the ancestral mansion, he could see the mountains that made up the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division. As he neared, he could sense a terrifying spell formation that had been set up to block the entrance to the mountains, so he produced his jade identity plaque, whereupon the spell formation flickered. After confirming Naruto's identity, bright light spread out over him, stimulating his blood flow. Finally, he was allowed to enter.

The aroma of medicinal pills washed over Naruto, and he felt enlivened. It was a very familiar scent, and it instantly made him recall the Violet Fate Sect. He took a deep breath, and immediately began to analyze what different medicinal plants he could detect in the air, and how they had been blended together.

When it came to the Dao of alchemy, even Pill Demon had to admit that Naruto exceeded him. His pill concocting skill had reached a terrifying level.

Mountains could be seen in all directions, and Naruto could sense the aura of numerous alchemists. There was also the heat of Earthly fire, making the entire place quite hot. He could see alchemists moving about to and fro among the mountains, although it was more common to see apprentice alchemists in their unique jackets, flying back and forth in beams of colorful light between the various regions that comprised the Dao of Alchemy Division.

"I wonder what the alchemists here are like…?" thought Naruto, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Clearly, the Grand Elder had made arrangements in advance, because as soon as Naruto entered the Dao of Alchemy Division, a middleaged man flew toward him from a nearby mountain. He landed in front of Naruto and then looked him over, sizing him up.

"You're Namikaze Naruto? The one with the 30,000 meter Bloodline Gatebeam?" The man wore a long green robe, and his expression was one of arrogance. The collar of his robe was embroidered with five golden dragons, indicating that he was a tier 5 alchemist.

Naruto nodded.

"I really don't know what the Grand Elder was thinking," said the man, looking at Naruto a bit impatiently. "It doesn't matter you have a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam, this is the Dao of Alchemy Division. If you want to study pill concocting, having a strong bloodline won't help you one bit.

"You need to be gifted in the Dao of alchemy to study pill concocting.

Can you concoct pills?"

This question caused Naruto to hesitate. The Dao of alchemy was vast and limitless, so he wouldn't dare to say that he thoroughly understood pill concocting.

"I understand something about it," he responded.

"Something?" The man didn't seem too pleased. He himself had been immersed in the Dao of alchemy for many years, and the more he understood about it, the more he realized how boundless it was. Even an entire lifetime of hard work was not enough to grasp a tiny a corner of it. If someone asked him how much he knew, he would never dare to say that he knew 'something.' At most he would say that he understood 'a bit.'

And yet this young man standing in front of him, a Chosen with a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam, actually dared to say that he understood 'something' about the Dao of alchemy. Obviously, he knew nothing!

"How many years did you spend formally studying pill concocting?" the man asked coldly, his expression even more displeased than before.

Naruto hesitated for a moment and then said, "In terms of formal studying, I guess a little more than a year…."

The man's face darkened, and he impatiently threw a bag of holding toward Naruto.

"Inside, you'll find the formula for the Spirit Extract that the Grand Elder wanted you to have, plus ten sets of medicinal plants." The man then waved his hand and sent a wooden placard in his direction.

"Concocting Spirit Extract is much simpler than concocting pills. Just follow the description in the formula and you'll be able to concoct it with no problem. If it's too difficult for you, find an apprentice alchemist to make it for you. If you want to study the Dao of alchemy, you need to start by learning to identify medicinal plants. Take that placard to Alchemy Lodge Peak #7191. Study there for about a hundred years, then come back and find me." With that, the man turned, took about seven or eight steps, then stopped and looked back.

"Don't forget," he said, "the Dao of alchemy is vasty and mighty. In the future, if someone asks you about it, don't give such a wildly arrogant answer. You think that after studying for a year you can know 'something' about the Dao of alchemy?!

"Furthermore, your 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam doesn't mean anything here. Here, you're not a Chosen, you're just a regular clan member. If you don't have the natural talent, then there's no need to stick around here wasting the clan's resources! Just go back to wherever you came from!"

Having finished reprimanding Naruto, the man turned and transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Naruto smiled wryly. He felt that his answer had been quite appropriate, but it had ended up irritating the man. Naruto scanned the bag of holding with divine sense, then pulled out the formula. He looked it over, and found that the Spirit Extract really was incredibly simple to concoct. One didn't need to be an alchemist to concoct it; even an apprentice alchemist could do so.

However, the medicinal plant ingredients were quite expensive, including some medicinal plants that were considered quite rare on Planet Ninshu.. There were enough sets of ingredients to produce ten batches of Spirit Extract.

There was one plant that only had three leaves, and emitted Immortal qi.

"Three Immortals Leaf!" he thought, his eyes glittering. Seeing that particular plant helped him understand exactly what resources were at the disposal of the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy division.

"If I can have access to plants like Three Immortals Leaf, that means this Dao of Alchemy Division is like a Holy Land!" Naruto's eyes glittered, and his breathing sped up a bit. He actually wasn't sure exactly what level his Dao of alchemy had reached. After all, when it came to many of the medicinal pills that were frequently used to gauge the strength of someone's Dao of alchemy, he had always lacked some of the key ingredients, and had never had the chance to concoct them.

"Well, I might as well go see how strong my Dao of alchemy is in comparison to the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy!" Clutching the wooden placard in his hand, he followed the map toward Alchemy Lodge Peak #7191.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 903

Chapter 903: A Brief Glimpse of Cutting Edge Talent

The mountains that made up the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division stretched out boundlessly in all directions. There were 10,000 mountains in the inner region that were occupied by alchemists, which were surrounded by 100,000 additional mountains.

The higher a given alchemist's ranking, the closer that alchemist could get to the center of all the mountains.

The 100,000 outer mountains were divided into ten districts, which were areas in which apprentice alchemists studied. They were known as Alchemy Lodges, and were comprised of 10,000 peaks each.

Naruto's destination was Alchemy Lodge Peak #7191.

Thankfully, there was no prohibition on flight here, otherwise it would have taken Naruto a very long time to reach his destination. He shot forward at top speed and, with the help of the map, soon reached an ancient and primitive-looking mountain peak.

The peak was not sharp and tall, and in fact, it appeared as if the top had been directly cut off to create what looked like a huge public square. Currently, several hundred people sat cross-legged surrounding a raised central platform, listening to an old man give a lecture about medicinal plants. He wore a long robe, the collar of which was embroidered with a single golden dragon.

The old man rambled on and on, occasionally holding out a medicinal plant. Every so often, one of those plants would bloom, and would be surrounded by multicolored light. The audience members were apparently experiencing significant enlightenment as they watched.

In the audience of hundreds of cultivators could be seen men and women, old people and young, all of whom were members of the Namikaze Clan, come here to study pill concocting. Of course, everyone had to start out as an apprentice alchemist.

No one paid much attention to Naruto's arrival. He sat down off to the side to listen to the old man's lecture.

"This is Godshine Flower," the old man said coolly, "which is also known as Sunbirth Leaf. On any given day, its medicinal strength is at its peak at high noon. Make sure to pay close attention to this flower's vein pattern, because it looks very similar to Godrain Flower." With that, he pulled out another medicinal plant and began to introduce it.

Occasionally, the old man would look out at the crowd, and when he saw the earnest expressions of the faces of the apprentice alchemists, he felt quite a sense of accomplishment.

He was a mere tier 1 alchemist, and had virtually no hope of ever being promoted for the rest of this life. Therefore, he had been assigned to deliver lectures on plants and vegetation to the apprentice alchemists. It was only during times like these that he could enjoy the sensation of a crowd looking at him enviously.

Even as he continued his lecture, a glimmer of displeasure suddenly flickered within him. He had just seen a young man in the audience frowning at what he was saying. At first, he didn't pay the matter much attention, but over the course of the next two hours, he realized that the young man had frowned seven or eight times.

That made the old man more and more irritated. He had been giving lectures here for many years, and every single apprentice alchemist looked at him with deep respect and courtesy. Even Chosen from other clans' Dao of Alchemy Divisions would recognize his authority in this place.

The old man had never encountered someone like Naruto, who frowned at what he said. The more he saw this happening, the more offensive he found it.

Naruto continued to listen to the lecture. Eventually the old man began to talk about Brightmoon Vine, and Naruto frowned again. He could clearly tell that this old man had an incorrect understanding of plants and vegetation. He was making mistakes that, if the audience of apprentice alchemists paid attention to, could cause problems for them in the future. They might even pay heavy prices before they understood the truth.

"This type of tree grows in the frigid weather of regions that were once extremely hot. It is called Midwinter Tree. When it is burned, it can produce a type of sap that is considered a precious treasure, the name of which is Midwinter Sap!" As soon as he finished speaking, he saw Naruto frown yet again. That made it more than ten times in which Naruto had frowned. At long last, the old man couldn't take it any more. Face cold, he pointed directly at Naruto.

"You! What's your name!?" he asked, his voice rumbling like thunder. The surrounding apprentice alchemists had just been listening to his lecture in a virtual trance, and were instantly shocked. They quickly followed the line of the man's finger to see Naruto.

" Naruto," replied Naruto coolly. "Or, you can also call me Namikaze Naruto"

"You have no regard for your elders and betters! In my role as an alchemist, I will ask you, an apprentice alchemist, a question. Let's see if you dare to stand up and answer!" The old man chuckled coldly.

Naruto had no desire to get into an argument with the old man, so he casually stood up.

"Do you acknowledge your error?" the old man demanded. "Well, too late! Let me ask you: why was your attention wandering during my lecture? Why did you keep frowning? If you don't enjoy listening to my lectures here, then you can just get lost! You're not permitted to stick around here and annoy people!

"You're name's Namikaze Naruto, huh? From now on, you are not welcome here!" He snorted coldly. This old man was not a tolerant person, so Naruto's continued frowning had really been a provocation, or even a challenge.

Naruto frowned, and an icy coldness could be seen within his eyes. He looked at the old man for a moment, but didn't say anything. As he turned to leave, the old man snorted again.

"Did I say you could leave? If you can't explain why you were frowning just now, then I'll throw you out! You can't just walk away!"

Naruto stopped in place and slowly looked back at the old man. Then, he began to speak, his voice calm.

"The first time I frowned was when you mentioned Sunbirth Leaf. Although that leaf's medicinal strength is indeed greatest at high noon, that is not a suitable time to harvest it, let alone to use it to concoct medicine. At that time, the Yang energy in the leaf is too intense. If you concoct medicine with it then, and it is not the primary ingredient, then it doesn't matter. However, if you use it as the primary ingredient, the concoction will fail! The correct time to harvest said leaf is at a specific time AFTER high noon!"

Naruto's voice boomed out in all directions as he took a step forward toward the man.

The old man's face darkened, and he was just about to say something when Naruto continued to speak.

"The second time I frowned was when you talked about Groundfall Root.

What you said was completely incorrect. You said that Groundfall Root contains an aura of rot. However, true Groundfall Root is the part that connects the plant to the ground. Half an inch is underground, the other half is above ground! If you harvest the incorrect part of the plant, then any pill you concoct will be black and full of toxins. It would be detrimental to anyone who consumed it."

As he spoke, he took another step forward, and his energy surged.

The old man's face flickered. When it came to Sunbirth Leaf, he had an argument that he could make in his defense. But when it came to Groundfall Root, as soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, his heart began to thump. He suddenly remembered that when he had attempted to concoct a pill with Groundfall Root in the past, the result was exactly as Naruto had described.

"The third time I frowned was when you brought up Tenderwillow Branch. The first half of what you said about it was absolutely correct. If you take nine of its leaves and refine them together, it will form a true Tenderwillow Leaf. However, you missed something very important; it is vital to collect some of the soil from beneath the tree itself and combine that into the mixture. The reason is that the soil in areas where Tenderwillow Branches grow, when compounded with wood and metallic elements, can purify the metal portion, leaving behind a newborn plant!"

As Naruto took another step forward, the old man's face flickered again. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and he subconsciously took a step backward. As Naruto neared, the man sensed an amorphous energy that filled him with fear.

Most importantly of all, what Naruto had said about the Tenderwillow Leaf left him completely shocked. It was actually the first time he had heard of such a thing. However, it suddenly caused him to think back to a time when he had been invited to visit another alchemist, who at the time happened to be concocting a pill with Tenderwillow Leaf. He had actually put some soil into the mixture. At the time, the old man had been confused as to why he would do that, but too embarrassed to ask about it.

"The fourth time I frowned was when you spoke of Cloudsipping Grass. How could that grass possibly grow inside of clouds, which is exactly what you said? That's nothing but sheer and utter nonsense! It's a grass that grows in mountain streams, surrounded by wisps of cloud and mist. THAT'S why it's called Cloudsipping Grass!" The next step Naruto took left the old man completely ashen-faced. Yet again, he subconsciously stepped back. He suddenly remembered that

Cloudsipping Grass was exactly as Naruto had just described it. When he had talked about it earlier, he had intentionally spouted some hogwash; his explanation actually had nothing to do with reality. That was because he had no idea what the plant really was.

"The fifth time I frowned was when you talked about the Tree of Nine Eyes….

"The sixth time I frowned was because of what you said about Gauzewood Moss….

"The seventh time I frowned…."

Every time he spoke, Naruto took another step forward, and the old man's face grew paler as he fell back in retreat. His expression soon became one of panic, which caused the surrounding apprentice alchemists to stare in shock.

"The twelfth time I frowned was because you said that Brightmoon Vines have flowers that bloom with two different colors. One color is toxic, the other isn't. You spoke of the plant's medicinal properties, but then never explained how to tell the difference between the two. That is why I frowned!" Naruto advanced with each of his explanations, and the old man fell back. By this point, Naruto was now standing on the platform.

"The last time I frowned was when you talked about Midwinter Sap. I have no idea from whom you learned about plants and vegetation, but even though Midwinter Sap can be produced by burning it with a cultivation flame, that will produce an inferior product. The highest quality Midwinter Sap requires magically induced lightning to create!" With that, Naruto flicked his sleeve.

Voice echoing, he continued, "The Dao of alchemy is vast and limitless. The number of medicinal plants is like the water in the sea. No one can remember all of them, and the mistakes you made are not unforgivable. However… we are in our clan's Dao of Alchemy Division. The apprentice alchemists here to listen to your lecture are all fellow clan members. If you know something, then talk about it. If there's something you're not clear about, no one will make fun of you for that. That being the case, there is absolutely no reason to make up random garbage! If you do that, these apprentice alchemists might end up paying with their lives because of the mistakes they will make in the future!"

Naruto's words were spoken with little courtesy. Originally, he had intended to simply leave. However, the old man had aggressively provoked him, and as such, he laid bare all of the reasons why he had frowned earlier.

The old man opened his mouth to respond, but there was nothing he could say. His mind spun as he realized that there were indeed aspects of his speech in which he didn't know what he was talking about. However, he had fallen into a habit of lecturing on those things merely based on his own personal experience and judgement.

Currently, his face was as pale as death, and he was trembling. There was nothing he could do to refute Naruto's stern criticism. In fact, for some reason, the feeling he got when he looked at Naruto was the same feeling of awe he'd had years ago when he was an apprentice alchemist looking at the full alchemists.

Everything Naruto had said left him shaken, and actually answered many questions that he himself had wondered about.

In the silence that followed, the surrounding hundreds of Namikaze Clan apprentice alchemists began to talk.

" Namikaze Naruto…. I just remembered! He's the one with the 30,000-meter

Bloodline Gatebeam! His bloodline is inconceivably strong! It's that Namikaze Naruto!"

"It's really him! He came from Planet Ninshu. Supposedly, he experienced some kind of Seventh Year Tribulation. Now he's back, and not only does he have a strong bloodline, he also managed to silence an alchemist on the subject of plants and vegetation!"

"He's the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline! His bloodline is even stronger than Prince Wei's. I can't believe he's here in the Dao of Alchemy Division!"

"After hearing him talk about all those different medicinal plants, I suddenly feel like I understand them far better than I did before! Could it be that Namikaze Narutois also an alchemist?"

Naruto was just about to leave when the trembling old man stepped forward. Clasping hands, he bowed deeply to Naruto.

"Alchemist Namikaze . Sir, you were right to chide me. My name is Namikaze Qun, and everything was my fault. Would you mind staying for a moment and clearing up some of my confusion, Alchemist Namikaze ? I… I actually have some questions about plants and vegetation that I hope you can help me with." Although Namikaze Qun seemed a bit embarrassed to say these things, he didn't hesitate to speak them. 1

His words caused instant excitement among the surrounding apprentice alchemists. They could clearly see that Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation far exceeded that of Namikaze Qun.

The idea of being able to hear a lecture by an alchemist like that was a rare opportunity, and true good fortune.

"Please, Alchemist Namikaze , stay for a bit. Give us some pointers!"

"Alchemist Namikaze , we have a lot of questions about plants and vegetation! For the sake of us fellow clan members, could you stay and dispel some of our confusion…?"

Everyone began talking at once, clasping hands and bowing. Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked around for a moment before nodding.

A cheer of excitement rose up from the enthusiastic crowd.

—–

Namikaze Qun

wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ Namikaze _ 3 Namikaze Qun's name in Chinese is 方群 fāng qún. Qun means 'group' ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 904

Chapter 904: Now Let's Throw Down

"Heavenrain Leaf veins will only appear when they are soaked by heay rainfall. As far as what types of medicinal pills can be concocted with those veins, I know of 87,645 different types….

"Golden Mean Tree cannot be used as a primary ingredient. However, you can add it to the mix during the concocting process to increase metal-type energy. Furthermore, it will add a golden color to the medicinal pill."

Naruto was currently standing on the platform. He had just introduced a variety of unique medicinal plants that were easily misidentified, and was now fielding questions from the apprentice alchemists.

Namikaze Qun sat down below, constantly asking questions about various plants and vegetation that he wasn't clear about. He seemed very excited.

"Milky Way Stone isn't really a type of rock. It's actually a type of sea moss that grows in the narrow crevices rocks. Furthermore, the more cracks a stone has, the higher the quality will be.

"Nine Dragons Spice is not naturally occurring. No, it is actually the result of a graft of nine different medicinal plants. The grafting formula is actually a secret, so all I know about it is from my own conclusions based on what I've heard about the pill itself; I can't actually be 100% certain of the exact method of grafting."

Naruto spoke patiently to the apprentice alchemists and the excited Namikaze Qun. The sky was growing dark, but the audience didn't seem tired at all. Quite the opposite. Many of them were excitedly recording the information Naruto was giving them onto jade slips.

Soon, the moon hung high in the sky, and yet, nobody had left. Eventually, passing apprentice alchemists from nearby mountains noticed that something was going on, and came over. When they saw that an alchemist was listening to this lecture about plants and vegetation, they were shocked. That was especially true after many of them recognized Namikaze Qun. In the end, these curious newcomers… didn't leave either.

It didn't take long before the mountain platform was packed tight with, not several hundred people, but several thousand. All types of questions were asked, and there wasn't a single one that Naruto couldn't answer.

Some people even started to intentionally ask trick questions, but Naruto didn't even need to think before providing an answer. Everything he said was correct and complete, which caused even the questioners trying to trip him up to feel completely astonished.

Eventually, the mountain was packed. The new arrivals, who of course didn't want to leave, had to float in the air nearby to listen.

Naruto tried to conclude the lecture on numerous occasions, but there were too many people in the audience, and too many questions. He wanted to leave, but considering that he was trying to rise to prominence in the clan, the Dao of alchemy was probably his best chance to do so. Therefore, he stayed.

Gradually, an entire night passed, and to these alchemy cultivators,

Naruto's lecture was almost like a sermon about the Dao. More and more apprentice alchemists crowded around. By the time the sun rose, there were over 10,000 people present.

That in and of itself sent the surrounding areas into a commotion. More people approached to hear Naruto's lecture, and to ask questions. However, from start to finish, there seemed to be nothing Naruto didn't know, and no question that he couldn't answer, or even give him the slightest pause.

Shock spread through all hearts, and soon, some of the other alchemists in the area who had been preparing to give their own lectures noticed. At first they chuckled coldly, but soon their eyes grew wide with disbelief.

"His skill with plants and vegetation… it's actually… it's actually incredibly high!"

"Heavens! The questions are never-ending, and they touch upon virtually all aspects of plants and vegetation. But this guy can actually answer all of them! What an incredible knowledge base!"

Gradually, the size of the audience grew. Naruto spoke for three days straight, and eventually, there were 30,000 people in attendance. The entire world of the apprentice alchemists in the Dao of Alchemy Division was shaken. There were even many tier 1 alchemists who came. As for the tier 2 alchemists, however, most stayed in the inner mountains. They rarely interfered with the affairs of the outer mountains, nor did they pay too much attention to what happened there. After all, most alchemists spent their time in seclusion, concocting pills.

"Three Immortals Leaf is a rare medicinal plant. I would never have expected the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division to be able to grow them. If you use this medicinal plant as the main ingredient, a vast amount of medicinal pills can be concocted. Although I haven't personally concocted anything using Three Immortals Leaf, I'm aware of around one thousand pill formulas that use it.

"Sun Blossom? That's a legendary medicinal plant that has long since gone extinct. Naturally, I've never laid eyes on one, but I've heard that if you add Sun Blossom to a medicinal pill, you are certain to produce a one hundred percent consummate pill." 1

Naruto was now seated cross-legged on the platform, smiling as he spoke. Everyone in the audience was still excited. Even after three days, they didn't seem tired at all. All of them were deeply aware that this was a very rare opportunity for them.

Meanwhile, word spread to the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion. Namikaze Yunyi sat in his Immortal's cave, listening as an apprentice alchemist gave a lively description of Naruto's lecture on plants and vegetation.

Namikaze Yunyi's face darkened, and then after a moment, broke out into a cold smile.

"What does that prove?" Namikaze Yunyi said coldly. "Any tier 2 alchemist from the inner mountains of the Dao of Alchemy Division could go out and give a lecture on plants and vegetation. Any one of them would draw a crowd of tens of thousands, or even more.

"Piddling Naruto. You come here from a backwater place like Planet Ninshu, so even if you have a bit of skill, it's still bound to be quite limited. You just joined the Dao of Alchemy Division and are already acting so arrogantly? You're nothing but a loser who thinks he's hot stuff." He still constantly brooded over the events that had taken place on Planet Ninshu, and hated Naruto to his bones.

He really wanted Prince Wei to go punish Naruto. Unfortunately, Prince Wei never did anything, no matter how Namikaze Yunyi pushed the subject. Now, just as he was managing to quell his frustration, this apprentice alchemist came to tell him about the waves Naruto was making in the Dao of Alchemy Division. Finally, he snorted and sent the apprentice alchemist away, then sat there frowning.

"This damned Naruto, I can't just let him trot around so happily!" Grinding his teeth, Namikaze Yunyi produced a transmission jade slip, imprinted it with divine sense as well as some various promises, and then threw it out.

The jade slip immediately shot into the air.

Shortly thereafter, somewhere within the 10,000 inner mountains of the Dao of Alchemy Division, on one particular mountain that was fairly close to the outer mountains, a middle-aged man was concocting some medicinal pills. He wore an alchemist's robe that had two golden dragons embroidered on the collar.

The pill furnace in front of him glowed bright red, and flickered with light. A medicinal aroma wafted out from the furnace, which surrounded the entire mountain and seemed to nourish all of the vegetation in the area.

In the middle of his concocting, a jade slip suddenly appeared. It floated there off to the side, but the middle-aged man ignored it completely, instead continuing with his pill concocting. Two hours passed before the bright red color of the pill furnace began to fade away. When the furnace cooled completely, the man began to murmur to himself.

"I've been working on this batch of Mortality Convergence Pills for three months. It's too bad I wasted so many ingredients…. I wonder if I succeeded this time. If not, I'm going to have to go get some more medicinal plant ingredients." The man frowned and then waved his hand, causing the jade slip to fly over. After scanning it with divine sense, his eyes began to glitter.

" Namikaze Naruto? Even I've heard of that name recently. He had a 30,000 meter Bloodline Gatebeam. However, in the Namikaze Clan, you can't only rely on your bloodline.

" Namikaze Narutomight be a Chosen….

"But this is the Dao of Alchemy Division, and things are different here. Nobody cares if you're a Chosen or not. Furthermore, I have no conflicts with Namikaze Yunyi, and considering what he's offering me, it won't hurt to help him out this once." He hesitated for a moment and looked at the pill furnace. If this batch of pills went bad, then he would have to go get more medicinal plant ingredients, which he really didn't want to do. He thought for a moment, then decided not to refuse Namikaze Yunyi's request. He quickly headed toward the outer mountains.

"What kind of ability could some trifling clan member from Planet Ninshu have? Besides, skill with plants and vegetation is a low-level fundamental skill, that's all. Any tier 2 alchemist could get a whole bunch of apprentice alchemists to gather around them.

"As for the tier 1 alchemists, well…." He snorted coldly. In the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy division, the only tier 1 alchemists who were stationed in the outer mountains were the ones who had no hope of advancing to the next tier.

"7191…. Right, I remember. That place is overseen by Namikaze Qun." The man chuckled. Namikaze Qun was the lowest ranking of all the tier 1 alchemists. The fact that he had passed the test was a completely lucky break.

The man flew out of the inner mountains at top speed. Whenever any apprentice alchemists saw him, they respectfully clasped hands and bowed. He hurried to the outer mountains as quickly as possible, and after enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, he caught sight of Alchemy Lodge Peak #7191. The first thing he saw was the crowd of tens of thousands of apprentice alchemists packed together. It almost looked like a static cyclone.

The sight of it caused the middle-aged man to give a cold harrumph. He was actually a bit offended. Whenever he went to the outer mountains to give lectures, he would usually draw a crowd of about 10,000. However, there were clearly about 30,000 apprentice alchemists in attendance here.

The man neared, but because all of the apprentice alchemists were paying close attention to Naruto, no one noticed the newcomer.

The man frowned and then snorted coldly, the sound of which echoed out and caused numerous nearby apprentice alchemists to turn around in shock. When they saw him standing there, their faces fell and they quickly clasped hands in greeting.

"Greetings, Alchemist Xuzhong!" 2

"It's Alchemist Namikaze Xuzhong!"

It didn't take long before everyone was turning to Namikaze Xuzhong and bowing in greeting. He nodded back proudly, and proceeded forward. People backed up, creating a path that he followed all the way to the mountain peak, where he stood on the platform next to Naruto.

He looked Naruto over a few times.

All of the apprentice alchemists, and even Namikaze Qun, rose to their feet, bowing to Namikaze Xuzhong with clasped hands.

Naruto was the only one who remained seated. It was obvious that this man came with ill intentions, and the measuring look in his eye also contained a bit of scorn.

"So you're Namikaze Naruto?" he asked coldly.

Naruto nodded, after which Namikaze Xuzhong smiled, and the disdain therein was clear. He waved his sleeve and coldly announced, "You're only an apprentice alchemist, and yet you dare to give a lecture about plants and vegetation? How scandalous!

"However, I won't make things hard for you. I'll ask you about three types of medicinal plants, and if you can't answer, you will put end to this commotion immediately, and focus on being a good apprentice alchemist instead of arrogantly assuming the mantle of a full alchemist!" After saying these things, Namikaze Xuzhong suddenly recalled an additional requirement that Namikaze Yunyi had laid out.

"Also," he added coldly, "for however long you sowed chaos in the Dao of Alchemy Division with your lecture, you will kneel here for the same length of time!" 3

Naruto looked at the arrogant man standing in front of him, and frowned.

"I'm just an apprentice alchemist and you're a full alchemist. Doesn't this count as bullying? Also, what happens if I answer your questions correctly?"

"Then you can continue your lecture!" replied Namikaze Xuzhong with a cold laugh.

Naruto hesitated, as if he was debating whether to accept the challenge. Then he looked around, as if he was considering the face he would lose in front of all these people if he didn't accept. Gritting his teeth, he produced a bag of holding and put it down off to the side. Eyes bloodshot, he looked over at Namikaze Xuzhong.

"I came here with good intentions to explain matters of plants and vegetation to fellow clan members. You've come to stop me. If I lose the challenge, you want me to kneel here in humiliation. However, if you lose, there is no loss on your part. That's not really fair. Why don't we REALLY throw down? If you match the number of spirit stones in that bag of holding, then I'll accept your challenge!

"If not, then I might as well just leave."

Namikaze Xuzhong frowned. Coming as he had in his role as a full alchemist really was a case of the big bullying the small. There were a lot of people watching, and he had to consider how the matter would affect their view of him. However, if he didn't get Naruto to kneel, then he wouldn't be meeting the requirements laid out by Namikaze Yunyi. Finally, he looked at Naruto and laughed coldly, imagining what it would look like when he was humiliated and kneeling on the ground. He would definitely have to make Namikaze Yunyi give him an extra bonus as a reward. Without further hesitation, he pulled out a bag of holding and threw it down next to Naruto's.

He said nothing, but his eyes glittered coldly.

Naruto took a deep breath and licked his lips. A bashful smile appeared on his face, and he even looked a bit embarrassed.

"Many thanks, Alchemist Namikaze . Now, let's throw down."

Sun Blossom is the plant Naruto snatched from the black beetles back in the Ruins of Immortality in chapter 883 ↩ Namikaze Xuzhong's name in Chinese is 方须中 fāng xū zhōng. Xu means 'necessary.' Zhong means 'middle' ↩ In Chinese culture, kneeling on both knees publicly is very humiliating ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 905

Chapter 905: Plant and Vegetation Throwdown!

Alchemist Lodge Peak #7191 was now surrounded by tens of thousands of apprentice alchemists, all of whom were staring fixedly at Naruto and Namikaze Xuzhong on the platform.

It was especially interesting that there was a wager between the two of them, and the apprentice alchemists couldn't wait to see what happened. Many could read between the lines, and knew that Namikaze Xuzhong had intentionally come here to stir up trouble with Naruto. However, considering that it didn't affect them personally, those people were even more excited than the others. They wanted to see who exactly was better when it came to knowledge of plants and vegetation.

If Naruto hadn't just given a three-day lecture on the subject, the apprentice alchemists would not have hesitated even a moment to say that Namikaze Xuzhong would prevail. Now, however… it was hard to say.

Naruto looked extremely bashful as he embarrassedly scanned Namikaze Xhuzhong's bag of holding with divine sense. Then he licked his lips and looked back over at Namikaze Xuzhong. He felt luckier with every minute that passed. He had never imagined that, having only been in the Dao of Alchemy Division for a few days, there would already be someone who came looking to deliver up spirit stones.

When he realized what he was thinking, he suddenly felt a bit more embarrassed.

Seeing all the eyes focused on him, Namikaze Xuzhong snorted coldly. He had been immersed in the Dao of alchemy for many years, and was highly proficient when it came to skill with plants and vegetation. As the saying went, his proverbial pill furnace glowed with the bright green of perfection. Actually, he was already qualified to be promoted to a tier 3 alchemist, and as such, was absolutely confident in being able to win the bet.

Were it not for the fact that he was badly in need of alchemy resources, he would never have come here. After all, participating in something like this was really beneath his status.

His expression proud and lofty, Namikaze Xuzhong raised his hand high and then smacked his bag of holding. Instantly, a medicinal plant appeared in his hand. It was green, and looked no different from an ordinary blade of grass. He waved his hand, sending it flying through the air to hover in front of Naruto.

"I won't make things hard for you," he said coolly. "I'll show you three medicinal plants. You simply have to tell me their names and properties. This is the first one." From his perspective, this plant in and of itself was enough to stump his opponent. He planned to show this Namikaze Narutothe height of the Heavens and the depths of the Earth. He would help Namikaze Narutoto know exactly how vastly separated the two of them were in terms of qualifications.

As a tier 2 alchemist, he wanted to ensure a quick victory. Considering his status in the Dao of Alchemy Division, knocking his opponent out of the competition with a single blow would be the most suitable result.

Namikaze Xuzhong smiled coldly, swished his sleeve, then clasped his hands behind his back and looked arrogantly at Naruto. "Forget about this guy," he thought. "Not even a tier 1 alchemist would recognize this medicinal plant."

Naruto was smiling just as before as he looked at the medicinal plant.

All of the apprentice alchemists were also staring at it, trying to guess what it was. The tier 1 alchemists in the area were also digging through their memories, and yet, none of them could recall even the slightest scrap of information about a plant like this.

Immediately, a buzz of conversation rose up.

"This can't be right. That medicinal plant doesn't look special at all. It doesn't even look like a medicinal plant! Is it just an ordinary plant from the mortal world?"

"I might not have incredible skill when it comes to plants and vegetation, but I know a bit. However, this plant… is something I've never seen before."

"He definitely deserves to be a tier 2 alchemist. He pulled out a medicinal plant that nobody even recognizes!"

Namikaze Xuzhong looked haughtily over at Naruto.

"If you don't recognize it, then kneel upon this mountain peak for three days, and then screw off." Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, however, Naruto suddenly looked up at him and chuckled.

"Alchemist Namikaze , I never imagined that you would actually possess this type of Wind Spirit Grass. Such a plant is useless for medicinal purposes. However, when struck by a strong wind, it will blossom with a Spirit Flower. That flower can bloom with up to seven colors, with seven being the optimal number. That medicinal flower is one of the most important ingredients used when concocting wind-type medicinal pills.

"Unfortunately, Alchemist Namikaze , this particular plant of yours has a lot of imperfections. It will only produce a three-colored flower."

Naruto's words left the surrounding apprentice alchemists in shock. Even the tier 1 alchemists were astonished. They had never even heard of Wind Spirit Grass, although many knew of Wind Spirit Flower. At this point, they suddenly had an epiphany, and realized the origin of Wind Spirit Flowers.

It was at this point that Naruto blew onto the blade of grass. Because of the level of his cultivation base, that breath was like a gale force wind. A rumbling sound filled the area, and then the blade of grass began to wriggle and sway back and forth. Everyone watched as a threecolored flower bloomed at the tip of the blade, and a medicinal aroma filled the area.

"It really has three colors!"

" Namikaze Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation is astonishing after all! He didn't just recognize that plant, he was able to judge its nature entirely!"

The surrounding crowds were in an uproar. The tier 1 alchemists were now looking at Naruto with complete and utter respect. In the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division, powerful alchemists were treated with fervor and veneration.

Namikaze Xuzhong's eyes widened, then he stared dead at Naruto, and a serious look spread out across his face. The Wind Spirit Grass might seem like an ordinary medicinal plant, but it was actually a line of demarcation when it came to determining skill with plants and vegetation. Even many tier 2 alchemists wouldn't know much about it. Even more shocking to him was how his opponent had identified how many colors the flower would bloom in. That was something that only tier 3 alchemists should be able to do.

"So, this guy has some skill after all," he thought. "It seems I need to take things a bit more seriously." Namikaze Xuzhong waved his hand to pull the Wind Spirit Grass back into his bag of holding, from which he then produced another medicinal plant.

This plant had more than one hundred leaves, which formed the shape of a triangle. The stamen of the plant's flowers were long and almost looked like tentacles as they drifted back and forth.

A single look at this medicinal plant, and it was clear that it was beyond ordinary. Everyone looking at it also felt a faint sense of danger.

"In order to avoid any accusations of bullying," said Namikaze Xuzhong, "I will not require you to explain the properties of this plant. Merely telling me its name will suffice." He stared icily at Naruto. Although he didn't say anything further, inside, he was laughing coldly. In his opinion, he had underestimated his opponent a bit when it came to the first medicinal plant. However, with this second one, he was completely confident that he could secure victory.

"When I first got this medicinal plant," he thought, "I didn't have any idea what it was. It was personally grown by one of the tier 5 alchemists, and I had to spend a small fortune to acquire it.

"It's completely one-of-a-kind. Not a single manual of plants and vegetation will contain a description of it. It was grafted together from a variety of other medicinal plants, using the top-secret technique of a tier 5 alchemist.

"I simply can't believe that an inconsequential apprentice alchemist will be able to identify it!" Smiling coldly, Fan Xuzhong lifted his chin and stood there, hands clasped behind his back as he looked at Naruto.

He could visualize his opponent with tears streaming down his cheeks, racking his brains as he tried to identify the plant. He would probably spout a bunch of nonsense, for which Fan Xuzhong had already prepared appropriate words of response.

Everything was completely quiet. All eyes were focused on the medicinal plant. Because of the vague sense of danger it emanated, everyone was now paying close attention to it. Gradually, the medicinal aroma wafting out from the plant vitalized the minds of all present.

"What medicinal plant is that!?"

"I'm pretty sure I've never seen it before, although something about it seems familiar. How strange!"

Even the tier 1 alchemists were all frowning and trying desperately to recall what this plant was. Some people even pulled out jade slips containing information about plants and vegetation, which they began to search through for clues.

"That plant is even more mysterious than the Wind Spirit Grass from before!" As the members of the audience began to speculate further about the plant, Naruto looked at it, and his eyes began to shine.

"I never imagined that the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division would be so skilled with plants and vegetation," he said. Immediately, the audience went silent, and everyone looked at Naruto.

Namikaze Xuzhong laughed coldly.

"Can you identify it, or not? There's no need to be deliberately cryptic." Naruto chuckled in response.

"This medicinal plant is something I doubt you could grow," he said.

When the onlookers heard this, they didn't think too much of it. However, Namikaze Xuzhong's heart began to thump.

"It has no name," Naruto continued slowly. "Or, perhaps you could say… the only person qualified to name it, is the alchemist who created it."

When Fan Xuzhong heard this, his face flickered. Naruto's two sentences were like lightning bolts striking his brain. How could he ever have imagined that his opponent would be able to pick up on the clues with just a glance? He quickly prepared to retrieve the plant and put it away, since Naruto's first two sentences had already revealed the truth regarding the name of the plant.

He recalled how the first time he had ever laid eyes on this plant years ago, he had stared in shock. To him, it had seemed like some strange and miraculous item. It wasn't until the tier 5 alchemist explained the plant to him that he understood the truth, and prostrated himself in admiration.

"Just how skilled is this Namikaze Naruto?" he thought. "He actually recognized the plant! Dammit! No, I really have to pull a fast one!" Feeling more on guard than ever, he immediately had the urge to slander his opponent. However, in the Dao of Alchemy Division, reputation was extremely important, and with so many people looking on, word would spread quickly.

Namikaze Xuzhong gritted his teeth, and was just about to retrieve the medicinal plant and put it away when suddenly, Naruto started talking again.

"This is a medicinal plant produced by a grafting technique. Let me see…. It seems to be grafted from nineteen different medicinal plants. Those nineteen plants consist of Watershed Root, Spiritdream Grass, Mount Heaven Leaf, Mortality Bloom…." Naruto calmly listed all nineteen varieties of plants.

Namikaze Xuzhong's eyes widened, and he began to pant. He subconsciously staggered backward several steps, his expression one of disbelief. As for the next plant he had planned to pull out, Naruto had just mentioned it in the list he had rattled off, so Namikaze Xuzhong had no choice but to abandon any idea of using it. How could he have ever imagined that this person could possibly…

Could possibly name all of the plants that made up the graft! Namikaze Xuzhong's mind was spinning. Of course, he couldn't be absolutely certain as to whether what Naruto had said was completely correct or not, because only the tier 5 alchemist who created it would be able to verify it.

After all, this was… a top secret technique!

Eventually Naruto reached his conclusiion and said, "…afterwards, use the magic of the four seasons, invert Yin and Yang, graft three plants simultaneously. Combine all nineteen medicinal plants, do not allow them to be touched by the sun, allow the Yin Chakra to coalesce, which completes the process.

"Because this medical plant was created by grafting nineteen other plants together, if it is used in pill concocting, there are many possible transformations. An ordinary alchemist would probably be incapable of using it to concoct anything at all. Presumably, the alchemist who gave you this medicinal plant also gave you a pill formula specifically designed to be used with it.

"Tell me, Alchemist Namikaze , am I correct?" Naruto smiled and looked at Namikaze Xuzhong.

Naruto's words were followed by deathly silence. Everyone was looking at Namikaze Xuzhong, whose face flickered back and forth between various emotions. He felt like lightning was crashing around in his head, and without realizing it, he stepped backward. He was now looking at Naruto with wide eyes, as if he were some type of evil spirit.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 906

Chapter 906: The First Waves

"Impossible! This is Impossible!" Namikaze Xuzhong's heart trembled violently. He had no idea how the medicinal plant had been grafted together and no way of knowing whether Naruto was correct or not. However… based on his skill in the Dao of alchemy, he was fairly certain that what Naruto had said was true.

Most importantly, the tier 5 alchemist from whom he had acquired this medicinal plant had indeed given him a pill formula to use with it. Furthermore, the words that alchemist had used to describe the plant were exactly the same as the words Naruto had uttered just now!

"You…."

The surrounding apprentice alchemists noticed Namikaze Xuzhong's pale face, the fact that he had backed up, and his facial expression. Virtually all of them understood exactly what it meant; Naruto had been completely correct in what he had said.

There was no other reason for Namikaze Xuzhong's expression to change the way it had.

" Namikaze Narutowas right again!"

"Not even Alchemist Namikaze Xuzhong is capable of outdoing Namikaze Narutowhen it comes to plants and vegetation!"

"It's a good thing I kept good notes from when Namikaze Narutowas lecturing about plants and vegetation earlier. I'm going to go back and review them thoroughly!"

The surrounding apprentice alchemists were abuzz. After all, as mere apprentice alchemists, they didn't really understand much about alchemy. Even the tier 1 alchemists were panting and looking on with wide eyes. Then they exchanged glances, and saw similar looks of disbelief on each other's faces.

They were alchemists, and though they might only be tier 1, their knowledge base far exceeded that of apprentice alchemists. Since they couldn't identify the medicinal plant Namikaze Xuzhong held in his hand, they initially hadn't felt that there was anything special about it. However, after Naruto spoke, and especially after he revealed the grafting technique, their minds trembled.

"Uh… that grafting technique is a top secret method of a tier 5 alchemist!"

"Nineteen medicinal plants! I'm afraid only a tier 5 alchemist could create something like that. But… but Namikaze Narutois so inhuman that he actually… easily identified the grafting method by simply looking at the plant!"

"Just what is the full extent of his skill in plants and vegetation, and his Dao of alchemy? How frightening! It's almost like no secrets that relate to plants and vegetation can be kept from him!"

Because of their advanced understanding, the tier 1 alchemists were thoroughly astonished.

Namikaze Xuzhong's face was pale white as he looked at Naruto, who in his view had become completely inscrutable and terrifying. He could never have predicted that anyone would be able, with a single look, to see through an alchemist's top secret technique and reveal the grafting method.

To him, such a thing was vastly terrifying.

As of this moment, he knew that he was absolutely no match for Namikaze Narutowhen it came to skill in plants and vegetation. He simply didn't stand a chance of winning when up against an inhuman like this in a competition.

"Damn you, Namikaze Yunyi!" he thought. "You just wait until I get back. I'll teach you a thing or two!" Namikaze Xuzhong was filled with bitterness, as well as a sudden, bone-deep hatred of Namikaze Yunyi. As for Naruto, he didn't dare to hate him.

Because the Dao of Alchemy Division had its own way of doing things, he could ignore the fact that Naruto was Chosen. However… after getting a sense of Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation, he was frightened to death.

"With skill like that," he thought, "even if he's not very good at pill concocting, he'll still rise to complete prominence…. Furthermore, what if he's just as gifted in pill concocting? That would be petrifying. He'll certainly exceed me in the Dao of Alchemy Division. Now, thanks to Namikaze Yunyi, I've offended him. It definitely wasn't worth it…."

Namikaze Xuzhong took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and was just about to admit defeat when suddenly his heart quivered. He suddenly realized that this defeat could actually be turned into an opportunity. He hesitated for a moment, then clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"Alchemist Namikaze , your skill in plants and vegetation is profound. I'm no match for you. I was crude and rash earlier, and I hope you can look past that. Please take the spirit stones in that bag of holding as my gift to you upon our first meeting. I admit defeat…." His words sent the apprentice alchemists into an uproar. However, the tier 1 alchemists had already surmised that he would take such action.

There would obviously be something wrong with any of them who would still feel confident enough to continue even when faced with someone so inhuman as to be able to identify a top secret grafting technique. "However, I would also like to ask for some pointers, if that's okay. I… I saw a medicinal plant a while back. I've asked many people about it, but no one can tell me exactly what it was." Namikaze Xuzhong once again clasped hands and bowed. "Alchemist Namikaze , if you can help me out a bit, I'd be more than happy to give this grafted medicinal plant to you as an expression of my thanks."

Naruto's expression was as calm as ever. However, inwardly, he sighed, thinking that he should have acted a bit weaker earlier. Showing off so much had only deprived him of a chance to fleece this fat sheep.

"It's too bad," he thought. "I have a lot more spirit stones in my bag of holding, and I was planning to con this guy even harder. Now I've lost the chance." Feeling a bit depressed, he waved his hand to collect Namikaze Xuzhong's bag of holding. After scanning it with divine sense and seeing how many spirit stones were inside, he felt a bit better.

Then he looked up at the grafted medicinal plant. He knew that the value of such a plant would be significant. Besides, the grafting techniques that had been used were intriguing. As a result, he nodded to Namikaze Xuzhong.

Namikaze Xuzhong's expression brightened, and he immediately produced a jade slip from his bag of holding, which he respectfully handed over to Naruto, who accepted it and scanned it with divine sense.

Immediately, an image of a violet flower appeared in his mind, growing on top of a tiny, hand-sized horse, which was galloping at top speed.

That was all he saw before the image vanished.

Naruto's expression became more serious, and he scanned the jade slip again. After a moment of thought, he asked, "Where did you see this?"

"On an island in a sea district here on Planet East Victory. I just randomly happened to see it, and chased after it for a while to no avail. I asked some of the local fisherman about it, and all of them reported seeing it before on occasion.

"However, even after returning to the location on a few times, I was never able to find it again." Namikaze Xuzhong had shown this jade to slip to numerous alchemists, but none of them had ever been able to identify it. The best he had gotten were speculations that it was some type of rare medicinal plant.

"I think that horse is actually the root of the medicinal plant," said Namikaze Xuzhong.

"You would be wrong," said Naruto, shaking his head. "That's not a medicinal plant. It's… a medicinal pill! A sentient medicinal pill!"

"What!?" exclaimed Namikaze Xuzhong, feeling both shock and disbelief. None of the numerous alchemists he had asked about this image had ever come to the conclusion that it was a medicinal pill. No matter how you looked at it, the only answer that made sense was that it was some kind of medicinal plant.

"How is that even possible?" said Namikaze Xuzhong, mostly to himself. "Medicinal pills are medicinal pills! They're concocted by people! How could a medicinal pill come to life?"

"Such things do exist," said Naruto. "I've seen them." Without providing any further explanation, he handed the jade slip back to Namikaze Xuzhong, then clasped hands and bowed to the crowd. Finally, he turned and left.

Even after Naruto left, Namikaze Xuzhong was still in a state of disbelief. The surrounding apprentice alchemists all began disperse excitedly.

Soon after, Namikaze Xuzhong returned to his residence, whereupon he took out Namikaze Yunyi's jade slip and then grimly transmitted a stream of divine will into it.

Meanwhile, Namikaze Yunyi was in the ancestral mansion, meditating in his residence as he waited for news from the Dao of Alchemy Division. "Alchemist Namikaze Xuzhong is a tier 2 alchemist. His skill in the Dao of alchemy is incredible. Once he shows up, that Naruto will definitely get put in his place. Forcing him to kneel there for three days will definitely lighten my heart a bit." He chuckled coldly, and he felt incredible anticipation for the moment when he could visit the Dao of Alchemy Division and personally look at Naruto kneeling there.

"Your dad was there on Planet Ninshu, and that's why you could be so arrogant and despotic. But here, you're an outsider. Let's see you try to be pompous here!" A wide smile appeared on his face. It was at this point that his expression flickered as he produced a jade slip from his bag of holding. Then he laughed out loud.

"Alchemist Namikaze sent me a message!" His expression one of anticipation, he sent his divine sense into the jade slip. After a moment, the jade slip began to glow, and an illusory version of Namikaze Xuzhong's face appeared. His expression was grim.

As soon as he saw Namikaze Xuzhong's expression, Namikaze Yunyi gaped in shock. Before he could even say anything, Namikaze Xuzhong had already begun to speak.

" Namikaze Yunyi, what enmity is there between us?! You set me up, you bastard! You wanted me to humiliate Namikaze Naruto? His skill in plants and vegetation is inhuman! Namikaze Yunyi, I'm not going to forget the trouble you've caused me!"

Namikaze Yunyi's face fell.

"Alchemist Namikaze , this…."

"Don't call me Alchemist Namikaze ! From this day forth, when you want pills concocted, don't come looking for me! Furthermore, none of my alchemist friends will concoct for you either!

" Namikaze Yunyi, what you've done is far too excessive!" Namikaze Xuzhong glared at Namikaze Yunyi for a moment, then gave a cold snort and severed the divine will connection.

Namikaze Yunyi's face flickered with various emotions, and then suddenly, he shot to his feet and pulled out another jade slip, which he used to connect with the apprentice alchemist he had sent away earlier. After finding out what had happened between Naruto and Namikaze Xuzhong in the Dao of Alchemy Division, his face darkened. He wrathfully smashed the jade slip, and his face twisted with rage.

" Naruto!" he howled, and his hatred for Naruto grew even more intense.

In the Dao of Alchemy Division, everyone watched Naruto leave, and then dispersed. It didn't take long before Naruto's name began to be spread by all of the apprentice alchemists who had been present. The story of the bet between Naruto and Namikaze Xuzhong was especially popular.

When the apprentice alchemists from the outer mountains learned that Naruto had actually defeated Namikaze Xuzhong in terms of plants and vegetation, it only made Naruto all the more mysterious, and the subject of even more debate.

He had a 30,000 meter Bloodline Gatebeam, he had experienced the Seventh Year Tribulation, was the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline, and was a Chosen of the Namikaze Clan.

Word of all of these things spread, and soon, Naruto's name began to rise to prominence among the apprentice alchemists. There were even some low-level alchemists who took note.

In the ancestral mansion, Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather sat in a temple, their faces grim as they listened to a tier 1 alchemist retell the story of what had happened that day at the Dao of Alchemy Division.

After a long moment, the tier 1 alchemist left. Namikaze Wei's father, Namikaze Xiushan, looked incredibly gloomy.

"Dad, if that son of a bitch keeps doing things like this, it's going to cause waves of disturbance…."

"It doesn't matter," the old man said somberly. "He won't live much longer. Besides, even if he becomes famous in the Dao of Alchemy Division, the rules of the Namikaze Clan are clear; anyone who practices cultivation must contribute merit points.

"He just arrived, and will be provided with a set monthly allowance of merit points. It doesn't matter if it's in terms of cultivation or pill concocting, he won't be making any waves.

"Besides, if he wants to earn more merit points, he'll have to accomplish tasks set forth by the clan…. When that happens, it doesn't matter if he's avoided death so far, he'll be on the outside, where accidents can happen at any time."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 907

Chapter 907: I Definitely Don't Want It!

Naruto had returned to his Immortal's cave residence. He already had some idea as to what would be happening right now back in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and some of those things were exactly what he wanted.

"My cultivation base isn't good enough to help me rise to prominence in the Namikaze Clan, but since they have their own Dao of alchemy, why not rise to prominence there? That can make me just as popular and famous.

"The higher my status in their Dao of Alchemy Division, then the higher my status will be in the clan in general.

"The Dao of alchemy…. If I could become the most powerful alchemist in the Namikaze Clan, then I would definitely be super famous. When I control the entire Dao of Alchemy Division, then finding out what happened to my two Nirvana Fruits won't be very difficult!" His eyes gleamed, and a cold smile appeared on his face.

After a moment, Naruto closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation base, as well as his Immortal meridian. The portion of it which remained illusory was slowly becoming solid.

"I still need more time before my Immortal meridian is full and complete.

When that happens, I'll be a true Immortal!" He took a deep breath.

Outside, it was gradually growing dark, and the moon had risen. Naruto's eyes finally opened, and he waved his hand, causing the ten sets of ingredients for Spirit Elixir to emerge.

Naruto looked them over carefully, then examined the formula for a while.

"This formula is pretty simple," he thought. "Also, the Spirit Elixir it produces won't be very high quality." Eyes glittering, he produced the jade box and took out the Nirvana Fruits. After examining them for a bit, he tried his hand at concocting the Spirit Elixir.

First, he made one batch using the method described in the formula. To Naruto, that method was simply too basic. After concocting the first batch, he decided to use his own method. He altered the formula a bit, then produced a total of nine batches of Spirit Elixir, each one slightly different than the others.

Then, he carefully dripped them onto one of the Nirvana Fruits one batch at a time, and observed the various reactions.

He was immediately able to see signs of restoration on the fruit. By the time the ninth batch of Spirit Elixir had been absorbed, the Nirvana fruit was no longer cracked and wrinkled, and in fact looked wholly recovered. It even emanated a splendorous light that strongly stimulated the blood in Naruto's veins.

He even had the mistaken feeling that he should immediately absorb the Nirvana Fruit into his body. He quickly closed his eyes and suppressed the impulse to try it out. After four hours, the Nirvana Fruit slowly began to wither back up. By the time six hours had passed, it had returned to its original dried-up shape.

"If I had actually tried to absorb it," he murmured, looking at the withered fruits, "then I would have been turned into a desiccated corpse just now. A sudden and unexpected death.

"If I want to absorb these Nirvana Fruits, then I need to truly restore them so that they aren't dangerous. Of these nine batches of Spirit Extract, the seventh was the strongest. It was around twice as strong as any of the others." He looked down at the final remaining set of ingredients. After a moment of hesitation, a gleam of determination appeared in his eyes.

"This formula still isn't good enough. The medicinal plants used to concoct the Spirit Elixir can actually be substituted with other medicinal plants." Naruto sank into contemplation regarding the combination of medicinal plants. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, he gritted his teeth and pulled out a Sun Blossom and a Reincarnation Leaf, legendary medicinal plants that were extinct in the outside world.

After adding them to the formula, he began to concoct more Spirit Elixir.

This time, it took him two full days to complete the concoction. When the medicinal plants were finally refined into a liquid, he ended up with a glob of emerald-green fluid about the the size of a fist, which he then placed into a small bottle.

It was filled with dense Immortal qi, and because it contained Sun Blossom and Reincarnation Leaf, it meant that this bottle was shocking in terms of both quality and value.

Enduring the pain in his heart, Naruto produced the copper mirror and duplicated it, then very carefully poured a single drop from the bottle onto one of the Nirvana Fruits. It instantly returned to life, and began to glow with scintillating light.

However, Naruto knew that the fruit had not truly recovered. He continued to pour one drop after another onto the fruit, a total of one hundred. When the liquid was completely absorbed by the Nirvana Fruit, it gradually began to transform. Although it was difficult to describe the exact nature of the transformation, Naruto was just barely able to detect some sort of life force from within.

"It's working!" he thought, his eyes flickering. However, his heart then began to twinge with pain. Duplicating that single bottle of Spirit Elixir had removed a distressing amount of spirit stones from his bag of holding.

He clenched his jaw.

"It's just a bit of money, right…?" he said through gritted teeth, and then duplicated another bottle. Time passed. Five days.

"Dammit! Do you absorb Spirit Elixir or spirit stones!?

"Y-y-you're… you're still absorbing the Spirit Elixir!?

"It-it… it's like I've fallen into a bottomless pit!

"Argh, my spirit stones!"

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at the Nirvana Fruit. During these five days, he had depleted the number of spirit stones in his bag of holding by half. He had duplicated an ocean of Spirit Elixir, all of which had been absorbed by the Nirvana Fruit. The life force inside of it was growing stronger, but there seemed to be no end in sight. Naruto could clearly sense that it was thirsty to absorb more Spirit Elixir.

If you calculated exactly how much Spirit Elixir the Nirvana Fruit had absorbed, anyone in the Namikaze Clan would have been shocked.

Furthermore, that Spirit Elixir was of the finest quality. A few bottles might not have been a big deal, but for most people, it wouldn't just be a problem of spirit stones; they simply would never be able to gather that many medicinal plants. Especially not the Sun Blossoms and Reincarnation Leaves.

"Only when it reaches the point that it can't absorb any more Spirit Elixir, will I know that it's fully restored!" Naruto's heart dripped with blood, and he ceased duplicating the Spirit Elixir. He quickly packed the Nirvana Fruit up and then closed his eyes.

After a moment, he opened his eyes again and then frowned.

"This isn't the right method. I need to increase the Spirit Elixir's power.

To do that, I need to replace all of the current medicinal plant ingredients. If I can create an even more powerful Spirit Elixir, that would be the best thing. Although it might cost more spirit stones to duplicate on an individual basis, overall, I'll be able to save a lot of resources."

Naruto took a deep breath and then rose to his feet, ending the current madness of duplication and concoction. He was now preparing to make another trip to the Dao of Alchemy Division, and figure out a way to get the medicinal plants he needed.

"Unfortunately, I don't have the clan merit points I need…. However, that problem is solved easily enough." Eyes shining brightly, he turned into a beam of light that shot toward the Dao of Alchemy Division.

People recognized him almost as soon as he arrived. That was especially true when he reached Alchemy Lodge Peak #7191. The apprentice alchemists there, including the old alchemist Namikaze Qun, immediately rose to their feet excitedly, clasped hands, and invited him onto the platform.

Naruto didn't decline, but instead took his place and began to lecture about the Dao of alchemy, and even asked the apprentice alchemists to go invite others to come listen.

"All of this is for the clan," Naruto announced in a profound voice. "I hope that, even with my meager skills, I can help to advance our clan's Dao of alchemy." His voice seemed to be full of loyalty and righteousness toward the clan.

The apprentice alchemists were getting excited, and immediately took out jade slips to inform their friends, who quickly hurried over, and also spread the word.

Over the course of the following four hours, the mountain peak came to be surrounded by tens of thousands of onlookers, who packed together to listen to Naruto lecture about plants and vegetation. Many among the audience were people who had heard of the events that had previously occurred, and were skeptically listening to Naruto for the first time. However, after listening for only a short time, their eyes went wide, and they were quickly absorbed in the information, seemingly entranced.

Naruto lectured for an entire day, after which he started to look a bit tired.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of the clan, it's not that I don't wish to continue, but I really don't have enough time. I have to go do some tasks for the clan. Next time I'm free, I'll be sure to come back."

No matter what the crowd said to try to get him to stay, Naruto refused, and immediately left the Dao of Alchemy Division.

Later, for no apparent reason, Namikaze Xi suddenly became interested in the Dao of alchemy. He pulled some strings to get a chance to become an apprentice alchemist, and went directly to Peak #7191, quickly becoming familiar with some of the apprentice alchemists there.

In the following days, whenever Naruto returned, Namikaze Xi was in the crowd. Every time Naruto showed up, it was evening, and he would only talk for four hours before leaving.

Of course, each and every time, he would stop right at a critical moment in the lecture, which made the apprentice alchemists even more excited to hear what was next. He would always appear to really wish to keep lecturing, but be unable to because of Clan assignments, and would leave.

On one particular occasion, he lectured for about six hours before preparing to leave. It was at this point that one of the apprentice alchemists called out in a loud voice.

" Namikaze Naruto, isn't the point of performing clan assignments to get merit points? How about I give one of my merit points to you, and you keep talking for two hours! What do you think?!" This apprentice alchemist was none other than Namikaze Xi. From the look on his face, he was prepared to go all out, to pay any price necessary to gain more knowledge of plants and vegetation.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the surrounding apprentice alchemists hesitated for a moment. However, there were a few others who immediately voiced their approval, calling out to Naruto, who stopped in his tracks.

"Oh, I don't think that's a good idea…." he said hesitantly.

"What's not good about it!?" hollered Namikaze Xi at the top of his lungs.

" Namikaze Naruto, your skill in plants and vegetation is so high that even a tier 2 alchemist is no match for you! If you're willing to sacrifice your own merit points for the clan, and for us, then we're willing to do the same thing for you! If we weren't, it would be a huge shame for us!"

Other apprentice alchemists began to chime in.

"That's right! Namikaze Naruto, during these days, we've personally witnessed the sacrifices you have been making for the sect, and for us. We're all very grateful…."

" Namikaze Naruto, you're a Chosen, and yet, you're not arrogant at all! No matter what questions we come up with about plants and vegetation, you patiently answer them all! You deserve to get merit points from us!"

"That's right! Anyone who refuses to part with their merit points should just get the hell out of here! The most valuable thing in the world isn't bullying other people! It's knowledge!"

As the atmosphere in the area grew more passionate, Naruto's face filled with emotion. Finally, he took a deep breath and stood tall on the platform, nodding his head.

"Very well," he said, sounding determined. "Thank you for your support, everyone. Since all of you demand this, then I will forgo any service to the clan, and will instead personally impart all of my knowledge of plants and vegetation to all of you!

"For two hours, I'll charge only one merit point per person! Don't offer any more! If you do, I won't accept!"

The surrounding apprentice alchemists all had strange looks on their faces. Some were actually looks of disdain; how could people not have at least some idea of what had just happened?

Vol. 6 : Chapter 908

Chapter 908: Medicine Pavilion

Immediately, conversations rippled through the crowd.

"He's actually charging a fee!"

"Doggone-it! How shameless! How fake!"

"Let's go to some other peak. None of the other alchemists charge merit points!"

Almost immediately, tens of thousands of apprentice alchemists flicked their sleeves and left. Naruto watched them leave and sighed.

"These Namikaze Clan people are so stingy," he thought. "There were so many people before, but as soon as I mentioned charging merit points, so many of them just got up and left…."

In the end, only about a thousand people remained behind. To them, one merit point wasn't very much; considering it was Naruto who was lecturing, they felt it was worth it.

This time, Naruto lectured for six hours, after which, he collected several thousand merit points, then left the Dao of Alchemy Division and returned to his Immortal's cave. A few hours later, Namikaze Xi returned, looking both excited and cautious at the same time. The parrot perched on one of his shoulders, the meat jelly on the other. He looked very proud of himself.

"Coz! We really made a profit this time!"

Naruto laughed, and his eyes glowed with bright light. In the Namikaze Clan, merit points were essentially the same thing as spirit stones, or even Immortal jades. Anything you wanted required an exchange of merit points.

Naruto waved his sleeve, producing a jade medallion. After scanning it with divine sense, he partitioned a hundred merit points and transferred them to Namikaze Xi.

"We need to make sure the apprentice alchemists you hired don't get discouraged. Tell them that the better they do in promoting me, the more merit points they can earn."

Namikaze Xi was actually quite excited. He had never before thought of using such a method to earn merit points. Normally speaking, the most he could ever get in a one-month period was about five hundred. But just now, it only took about six hours to make several thousand. To him, it made Naruto even more enigmatic than before.

It was at this point that Namikaze Xi said, "Coz, I promised them ten points apiece…."

"Don't be stingy, Namikaze Xi," Naruto replied, sounding very solemn. "Look, don't take this the wrong way, but you're simply too stingy. You need to think big! It's just a bit of money, right?! If cultivators like us are constantly thinking about material things, then how can we ever increase our cultivation base?"

Namikaze Xi gaped for a moment in hesitation, but couldn't hold back from carefully saying, "Coz, what I mean is… you didn't give enough. I promised them ten per person, and I hired 173 people…."

Naruto's face immediately flickered, and he said nothing for a moment.

His silence caused Namikaze Xi to immediately get nervous, and he quickly continued, "Coz, I know I messed up. Next time I hire them, I'll tell them it'll be fifty per person."

Naruto's cheek suddenly twitched. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Namikaze Xi and sincerely said, " Namikaze Xi, listen. You haven't lived the hard life, so you don't know how difficult things can be. Do you know what cultivators like us use up the most? Resources! Spirit Stones! Immortal jades!

"If you want to be stronger than everyone else, then you need more spirit stones! More resources! That's the path to power!

"Now, don't take this the wrong way, but you need to learn how to work hard and live a simple life! Be diligent, thrifty! Learn how to take only one merit point, and split it ten ways! That's how cultivators like us can reach the top and stay there!" Naruto patted Namikaze Xi's shoulder. Suppressing the inward pain he felt, he took out his command medallion and once again sent his divine sense out, causing a thousand merit points to transfer over.

"Remember what I just told you," Naruto urged. "One merit point, split ten ways…. You can't just throw your money away!"

Namikaze Xi gaped at Naruto in utter shock. The words he had spoken just now were the complete opposite of what he had said before. And yet, both made sense.

In the end, Naruto couldn't hold back from adding, "Next time you hire people, it's one merit point per person. That should be enough." Sighing, he turned and headed into his residence.

Of the more than three thousand merit points he had started out with, he now had less than half left. It was quite a blow.

Add to that the fact that later that night, Naruto had to duplicate more Spirit Elixir to use on the Nirvana Fruit, and the result was that by the following day, his bag of holding once again seemed sadly shrunken.

By that time, Naruto truly felt as if he were about to go crazy.

He loved spirit stones, and loved being wealthy. Furthermore, what he loved least was spending his spirit stones….

To him, it felt like draining out his own blood.

At dawn, Naruto emerged. When Namikaze Xi saw him, he stared in shock.

"Coz, what's wrong?" he asked, concerned.

Naruto's eyes were completely red, and his expression had become somewhat vicious. He took a deep breath and cleared his head. Deep within his eyes, a brilliant light flickered.

"I HAVE to get rich! I HAVE to get merit points!"

Naruto returned to the Dao of Alchemy Division, and to Peak #7191. Yet again, he lectured about plants and vegetation. However, this time, there were actually fewer people than last time, only about nine hundred.

There wasn't much he could do. In order to get as many merit points as possible, he lectured for an entire day before leaving in exhaustion.

Each time he came after that, there were fewer people. After about a month, there were just over four hundred people who came, causing Naruto to sigh. The ones that stayed behind were the original group of apprentice alchemists, the ones whose fervor toward Naruto was the most intense.

Among their number was also tier 1 alchemist Namikaze Qun, who fairly worshipped Naruto.

After finishing his lecture, Naruto didn't leave. Instead, he went to Namikaze Qun's Immortal's cave and directly asked some questions.

" Namikaze Qun, in the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy division, how do apprentice alchemists get promoted to full alchemist?"

Namikaze Qun always treated Naruto very respectfully. Despite his surprise about the question, he quickly answered.

"To become a full alchemist, you have to concoct at least a thousand tier 1 medicinal pills, and must also pass through the first level of the Medicine Pavilion.

"The first thing to do is pass through the Medicine Pavilion. That indicates that your skill with plants and vegetation has reached the level of a tier 1 alchemist.

"Unfortunately, it's very difficult. Anyone in the Dao of Alchemy Division who hasn't studied plants and vegetation for at least ten years would have a very hard time passing the first level. Take me, for example. I can concoct tier 2 medicinal pills, although my success rate isn't very high. However, despite my best efforts, I barely passed the examination of the Medicine Pavilion. Due to my lack of skill in plants and vegetation, I wasn't able to get past the second level, and in the end, I became a tier 1 alchemist." Namikaze Qun chuckled bitterly.

"Medicine Pavilion?" asked Naruto, his eyes sparkling. "How do you get into it?"

"It doesn't matter if you're a full alchemist or an apprentice alchemist, anyone can enter the pavilion at any time. The Medicine Pavilion was set up in the past by a Patriarch of the Dao of Alchemy Division. It tests everything that you can think of, and has nine levels, which corresponds to the nine tiers for alchemists.

"Anyone who feels confident enough, can pay one hundred merit points to go to the inner mountains and take the Medicine Pavilion trial by fire.

"It's extremely hard," said Namikaze Qun, lowering his voice. "Of all the apprentice alchemists from Peak #7191, only about seven or eight might be able to attempt it, and that would only be after another ten or more years of study. As for the rest, most would need dozens of years of study before they could even think about trying. If you were to try to brute-force imprint your memory with knowledge, your mental world would burst from being overwhelmed by the infinite possible varieties of plants and vegetation. Unless your cultivation base is at an unfathomable level, of course."

Naruto knew that when it came to plants and vegetation, there were endless variations, which were hard to imprint with spiritual sense. After hearing Namikaze Qun's explanation, Naruto began to mutter to himself. Then, a plan started to form in his mind.

"Is there any other way to become a full alchemist?" Naruto asked.

"Other ways…?" Namikaze Qun thought for a moment, and then his eyes brightened. However, they grew dull again just as quickly. "There is, but it's too difficult. In fact, it's impossible to succeed that way.

"For tens of thousands of years, there have been three specific medicinal pills in the Dao of Alchemy Division which, if any full alchemist or apprentice alchemist can concoct, will allow them to immediately be promoted to tier 8 alchemist. That person would instantly become famous in the entire clan.

"Those three pills are famous pills concocted by past Patriarchs. Unfortunately, even though they left pill formulas behind after they perished, no one has been able to successfully concoct them.

"In all of Planet East Victory, even the Medicine Immortal Sect is only capable of concocting two of those pills. Of course, even though the Medicine Immortal Sect has its roots in the Namikaze Clan, and might even be considered a branch of the sect and a part of our Dao of alchemy, they are still almost considered outsiders. The fact that they can concoct pills that we cannot is somewhat disgraceful.

"That's why those three pill formulas were placed in the Pill Pavilion. The clan has posted incredible rewards for concocting them. Supposedly, the reward for even the most simple of the three includes Immortal jade, tons of spirit stones, and 5,000,000 merit points, not to mention vast quantities of medicinal plants, magical items, and technique manuals. "Unfortunately, after all these tens of thousands of years, nobody has ever succeeded. Even our only tier 9 alchemist, Pill Elder Namikaze Danyun, had to admit that he can't concoct them." 1

Namikaze Qun shook his head.

Naruto's eyes glittered and then almost seemed to glaze over.

"Another thing: because the cost of the medicinal plant ingredients is so high, anyone who attempts to concoct the simplest of those pills is must put up 1,000,000 merit points as a collateral. Regardless of whether they succeed or fail, the merit points will be erased."

When Naruto heard that, he felt like someone had grabbed him by the neck and started squeezing down tightly. It took him a long moment before he could breathe again.

"Merit points! Merit points again!" He suddenly frowned, and pushed down the impulsive feelings rising up in his heart. After spending a bit of time planning, his eyes began to glitter.

"Take me to the Medicine Pavilion!" he suddenly said.

"You… you want to try to challenge the Medicine Pavilion!?" asked Namikaze Qun, looking shocked. Then, he suddenly looked excited. He was well aware that he had no idea as to the limits of Naruto's skill in plants and vegetation.

"Try to challenge the Medicine Pavilion?" Naruto replied, sounding surprised. "What, are you going to pay for it? Nah, I'm not going to try to challenge it, I'm just going to take a look at the first level." With that, Naruto flew out of the Immortal's cave.

"Uh… no, I'm not going to pay for it…." Namikaze Qun hurried to follow as Naruto shot through the mountains.

Soon, two mountain peaks appeared ahead of Naruto, between which was an enormous treasure pavilion, floating there in mid air, emanating brilliant and colorful light. Clouds and mist floated around it, and it truly looked like an abode of Immortals.

Two old men sat cross-legged outside of the treasure pavilion, next to an enormous stone slab.

"This is the Medicine Pavilion," Namikaze Qun said softly, a pious look in his eyes. "According to the stories, this pavilion is actually a magical item, a precious treasure that the first generation Patriarch brought from off planet. It was originally owned by someone else, and had always attempted to fly away to rejoin him. However, after the Patriarch passed away in meditation, it has remained locked in place here, floating in midair and unable to go anywhere."

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he flew up into the air directly toward the Medicine Pavilion. As soon as he got close, an incredibly powerful medicinal aroma hit him in the face. In the blink of an eye, he sensed millions upon millions of different types of medicinal aromas all mixed together.

"So many types of plants and vegetation!" thought Naruto with a gasp. He was still outside, and yet could already tell how terrifying it must be inside.

As he neared, the two old men who acted as guards outside the Medicine Pavilion opened their eyes. They appeared to be incredibly ancient, as if they were Immortal Divinities with unfathomable cultivation bases. From what he could tell, they were even more powerful than the Grand Elder.

His face solemn, he clasped hands and bowed.

The two old men looked over Naruto, and it almost seemed as if they could see through him. Finally, they retracted their gazes and closed their eyes. Naruto took a deep breath and then looked at the huge stone stele that rested off to the side.

The stone stele was divided into nine levels, upon each of which were written names. The first level had the most names, hundreds of thousands of them. After the first level, the higher you went, the fewer names there were, and some of the names were gray-colored. On the ninth level, there were ten names, with nine being gray, and one shining brightly.

Namikaze Danyun!

—–

wp-content/uploads/2016/08/ Namikaze _danyun.

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Namikaze Danyun's name in Chinese is 方丹云 fāng dān yún. Dan means

'pill.' Yun means 'cloud' ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 909

Chapter 909 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 909: Cheating!

In the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division, there was currently only one tier 9 alchemist, the man known as Pill Elder… Namikaze Danyun.

Naruto looked at the ten names on the ninth level of the stone stele, and suddenly thought of his master Pill Demon.

"From my current perspective, it's now obvious that Pill Demon's skill in the Dao of alchemy vastly exceeded any standards for Planet Ninshu. Were it not for the fact that he lacked certain medicinal plant ingredients, he would surely have been able to concoct some medicinal pills that were famous in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Now, he's a member of the Kunlun Society, with even more resources at his disposal and able to focus completely on the Dao of alchemy." When Naruto thought of his master, he couldn't help… but also think of a certain woman. It was Sakura, who had left with Pill Demon to go to the Kunlun Society.

"Waiting to meet out in the big wide world… is a beautiful type of regret." Naruto shook his head. To him, emotions were not everything. In this life, it was enough for him to have only Hinata.

Even more important was to accomplish something incredible, all on his own.

"I'm going to become the richest person in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" he thought, his eyes filling with determination as he strode into the Medicine Pavilion.

As soon as he entered, a gentle light swept over him, and his identity jade medallion flew out. Glittering light could be seen as one hundred clan merit points were deducted from within.

Naruto's heart twinged in pain. Those one hundred merit points represented lecturing to a hundred apprentice alchemists for two hours.

"No pain, no gain!" he thought. "I'm going to go for it!" Gritting his teeth, he continued onward into the Medicine Pavilion. Suddenly, he found himself surrounded by thick mists that made it difficult to see.

After a moment, a glowing light appeared in front of him, within which were 1,000 types of medicinal plants. It was hard to see them clearly, as they were obscured by mist. Simultaneously, an archaic voice echoed throughout the first level.

"One hundred breaths of time. Identify at least 900 medicine plants and imprint them with divine sense. You will be given ten sets; completing nine of them will count as passing the level."

As soon as the voice finished speaking, the mists covering the 1,000 medicinal plants vanished, leaving them clearly visible. Naruto's gaze passed over them, and he immediately recognized all of them. However, he did not imprint any of them with divine sense, but instead committed all 1,000 plants to memory.

One hundred breaths of time quickly passed, and the light flickered. The

1,000 medicinal plants vanished, to be replaced by another set of 1,000.

Naruto quickly looked them over, and his eyes sparkled as if with electricity. After committing the medicinal plants to memory, he waited for the hundred breaths of time to end, and the third set of 1,000 medicinal plants to appear.

In this manner, he consumed all ten opportunities that he was given. After being shown 10,000 medicinal plants, he was wrapped up by a gentle force, and, in the blink of an eye, sent flying out of the first level of the Medicine Pavilion, to appear outside.

Namikaze Qun was waiting outside, filled with anticipation. As soon as he saw Naruto appear, his jaw dropped. Whenever anybody passed the first level, glowing lights would appear. And yet, the first level looked exactly the same as when Naruto had entered it.

Namikaze Qun gaped in shock, and was about to step forward when Naruto suddenly strode directly back toward the entrance, paid his one hundred merit points, and entered the Medicine Pavilion again.

Inside, he once again memorized the 10,000 medicinal plants that were shown to him, and was expelled. Gritting his teeth, he went in again.

Twice, three times, four times…. In a relatively short period of time,

Naruto entered ten times. His merit points were vanishing rapidly. However, he stuck with it. Namikaze Qun was struck dumb, and could scarcely believe that Naruto couldn't pass the first level of the Medicine Pavilion. And yet, here he was watching the bizarre scene play out right in front of him.

"What exactly is he doing?" thought Namikaze Qun. In his estimation, it should be a relatively simple matter for Naruto to pass the first level of the Medicine Pavilion. He just couldn't figure out why he would want to go in at the same level over and over again.

Time passed. Naruto, seemingly bewitched, tried out the first level ten times, twenty times, thirty times. In the end… he entered the first level a hundred times.

That was 10,000 merit points, and considering he hadn't even earned 20,000 merit points over the last month or so, that meant he had now depleted his supply by more than sixty percent.

"100 times!" he said after appearing outside. He looked over at the Medicine Pavilion and took a deep breath.

After taking the examination over 100 times, he had been shown 1,000,000 medicinal plants. However, many of those were actually duplicates. After some thought, he looked at the more than 4,000 merit points he had left, gritted his teeth, and entered the Medicine Pavilion yet again.

After passing through 40 more times, Naruto had less than a hundred merit points left. The two old men sitting outside the Medicine Pavilion watched his odd behavior with fascination. They could clearly sense the determination that filled him.

"140 times! You would think that 1,400,000 medicinal plants would appear. But in reality, when you eliminate the repetitions, there were only about 1,000,000.

"From all those 1,000,000 medicinal plants, each section of the test only selects 1,000. All you need to do is recognize 900, and then, do that nine times…. In other words, in any given test, you actually only have to identify about 8,100 medicinal plants correctly!

"When you think about it that way, it's not really that hard." Naruto mused thoughtfully. In particular, there were about 5,000 medicinal plants that recurred most often in the test, which had special significance. These were plants that were easily confused with others.

Eyes glittering, he turned and left, followed by Namikaze Qun. Namikaze Qun wanted to ask some questions, but after seeing Naruto's thoughtful look, he hesitated, and then decided not to interrupt.

Evening was falling, but Naruto did not return to his Immortal's cave. Instead, he accepted Namikaze Qun's invitation to stay at his Immortal's cave for the night. During that time, he did not practice cultivation, but instead took out a jade slip and began to analyze and record information from his 140 examinations in the Medicine Pavilion, and to gather together information about the most common medicinal plants to appear.

Day and night, he classified and categorized the different plants. Three days later, he emerged, his expression one of exhaustion, and yet with brightly gleaming eyes.

"Measly Medicine Pavilion," he thought. "I'm going to help all of the apprentice alchemists who listen to my lectures pass the first level of the Medicine Pavilion. When that happens, there will definitely be a huge increase in my audience." He laughed heartily, and his eyes shone with anticipation and determination. To do something like he was doing was something no other alchemist would ever think was possible.

The reason Naruto could do it was because his skill in plants and vegetation had reached a completely terrifying level. Because of that, he was capable of memorizing and then organizing all of those 1,000,000 medicinal plants.

Of course, other high level alchemists might be able to do the same thing. However, they would never think to use the same method, to waste such energy and such a large amount of merit points, to organize all that information for the purpose of cheating.

After spending a few more days organizing all of the information and data, Naruto was completely confident. The next time he went to lecture the more than 400 fanatical apprentice alchemists, all the content was regarding information about those specific medicinal plants.

He especially focused on the most common plants, as well as the ones that were most easily misidentified.

This was a method that focused specifically on memorizing correct answers. Naruto completely forgot any exhaustion he felt, and committed himself to lecturing. A month later, the number of apprentice alchemists didn't increase, but neither did it decrease.

By the time that month ended, Naruto had finished introducing all of the plants that most commonly appeared in the Medicine Pavilion test.

After finishing a lecture, he would wave his hand, and use the magic of a divine ability to cause 1,000 medicinal plants to appear.

"Next, I'll give you a little test," he said. "I'll give you two hours to try to identify as many of these 1,000 medicinal plants as possible. Mark down any that you don't know. When the time limit is up, I'll give you the correct answers."

This was a completely fresh and new experience for these apprentice alchemists, but as for Namikaze Qun, he looked on with wide eyes. After listening to Naruto's lectures for a month, he was starting to feel a bit apprehensive. After all, he had passed through the first level of the Medicine Pavilion, and was starting to pick up on what Naruto was doing. This was especially the case when Naruto started using the same testing method as the first level of the Medicine Pavilion. It was at this point that he started panting, and a look of astonishment could be seen on his face.

"Don't tell me… he actually went through the first level of the Medicine pavilion more than a hundred times just to be able to see all the test's contents!

"That's… that's basically the same as just seeing all the answers! Now that he's giving specific lectures about the answers, these apprentice alchemists will have a much, much higher chance of passing the examination. That's… that's cheating!

"It's even more so the case considering he's using the same testing method as the Medicine Pavilion, just to get them used to it…." Namikaze Qun couldn't help but gape in shock.

Two hours later, the images vanished, and the apprentice alchemists began to ask questions about the medicinal plants they couldn't identify. Naruto emphasized various key points, and then waved his hand again, causing another set of images to appear.

It was in this fashion that time slowly passed. Naruto rarely returned to his Immortal's cave. Most of his time was spent in the Dao of Alchemy Division. Eventually, he reduced the amount of time he gave the apprentice alchemists from two hours to one hour. Then to the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Then half that amount of time.

By the time another month had passed, Naruto had reduced the time limit to one hundred breaths.

His audience gradually got used to it, and eventually started to get excited about the continually increasing number of medicinal plants they could identify, and the continuously increasing speed at which they could identify them. Actually, it was virtually impossible for them NOT to identify the medicinal plants, because during that time, Naruto lectured exclusively on the contents of the Medicine Pavilion examination.

During that three month period, the apprentice alchemists gave most of their merit points to Naruto. In exchange, there were more than a hundred among the group who had reached the point of being able to identify more than 900 medicinal plants in one hundred breaths of time.

On that day, Naruto ceased lecturing. Instead, he looked seriously at all of the four hundred members of his audience.

"Your merit points have not been spent in vain," he announced. "Right now, all of us are going to the Medicine Pavilion to participate in the first level examination. Trust me, at least twenty percent of you will definitely pass!" In response, the apprentice alchemists looked at him with shock and hesitation.

" Namikaze Qun, lead the way!" said Naruto, waving his hand. Namikaze Qun gritted his teeth, nodded, and walked forward. The four hundred unconfident apprentice alchemists then followed his lead to the Medicine Pavilion.

Naruto flew along with them.

Along the way, more than few people noticed what was going on, and when they heard that the group was going to the Medicine Pavilion to take the examination, they began to laugh out loud.

"How long have they been studying? And they think they can take on the first level of the Medicine Pavilion?"

"Without studying about plants and vegetation for dozens of years, how could you possibly succeed in the Medicine Pavilion? Do you people want to just throw away their merit points or something?"

"That's funny. A lot of them have barely studied plants and vegetation for three years, right?"

More and more apprentice alchemists took note. All of them wondered what the reason was for all of this, and they began to laugh and ridicule them.

Chapter 909: Cheating!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 910

Chapter 910: Rocking the Pavilion

The ridicule caused many of the four hundred apprentice alchemists to feel very embarrassed, and even hesitant. They weren't confident in their chances of success at all, but Naruto was very enthusiastic about the whole matter. Were it anyone else, they would think they were intentionally being set up to look bad.

"Ignore all of them! Trust me!" cried Naruto, his expression solemn. The four hundred apprentice alchemists gritted their teeth.

They still weren't confident, and yet, were still interested in knowing how far away they were from being able to succeed in the first level of the Medicine Pavilion.

The sound of the onlookers' mockery rang out, and there were quite a few people who decided to follow along to see what happened when the group tried to pass the examination in the Medicine Pavilion. There were some tier 1 alchemists who recognized Namikaze Qun and, when they saw what was going on, shook their heads.

" Namikaze Qun is really too shortsighted. Those are apprentice alchemists from Peak #7191, right?"

"Although it's true that an alchemist lecturer will receive a reward if any apprentice alchemist from their peak passes the first level of the Medicine Pavilion, these people only have a few years of experience with the Dao of alchemy; they definitely have no chance of succeeding."

"I heard that Namikaze Narutotook over for Namikaze Qun over the past few months to give lectures at Peak #7191. He even started charging merit point fees. What a joke."

Surrounded by laughter and ridicule, Namikaze Qun and the four hundred apprentice alchemists slowly passed into the inner mountains and then appeared in front of the Medicine Pavilion. Although some of the alchemists in the inner mountains noticed them passing by, none took an interest.

Granted, there were four hundred people all going to take the test together, but that wasn't something unheard of. After all, there were many, many people who were members of the Dao of Alchemy Division. Furthermore, the Medicine Pavilion was a mysterious place; entrance was not limited to a single person. Even 10,000 could enter at one time if they wished.

The interior of the pavilion would appear empty to each participant, as if they were taking the test alone.

The four hundred apprentice alchemists gritted their teeth, paid their merit points, and were about to step into the Medicine Pavilion when Naruto took a deep breath and called out.

"All of you, remember, just do things the way you normally do, and you won't have any problems!"

The four hundred apprentice alchemists gave nervous, forced smiles to Naruto as they clasped hands and bowed to him. Then, clenching their jaws, they entered the Medicine Pavilion one after another. In the blink of an eye, four hundred people vanished.

By this point, a few thousand people had gathered to watch, and were all laughing and joking.

Namikaze Qun was extremely nervous. Many of the people who had gathered were familiar with him, and he could clearly hear their jokes, but there was nothing he could say in response.

Naruto's expression was calm as he floated there in midair looking at the Medicine Pavilion.

Meanwhile, inside, the four hundred apprentice alchemists inside all faced empty mists. Then, 1,000 medicinal plants appeared in front of them, and the vast majority were shocked.

"Huh? How come it's exactly like the tests Alchemist Namikaze gave us?"

"This seems… actually, kind of simple! I know almost all of these…."

"One hundred breaths of time? I've practiced so many times, I'm used to it!" Virtually all of the apprentice alchemists were shocked and excited. Earlier, they never believed that they could succeed, but now they suddenly felt hope.

Time passed by…. One thousand breaths.

Of course, the onlookers were all still laughing about the matter.

"I really don't get what Namikaze Qun is thinking. And as for all those apprentice alchemists, they don't know the height of the Heavens and the depths of the Earth. There's no way they can succeed."

"Time's almost up. They'll be coming out soon. If even one of them succeeds, I'll beat myself to death."

It was at this point that a beam of light appeared on the first level. Instantly, the laughing was silenced.

"Wow, somebody actually succeeded? Well, I guess out of four hundred people, it was inevitable that someone would get lucky…."

"It's possible that person is a Chosen in the Dao of alchemy. It's a given that someone like that would perform shockingly."

Even as the discussions broke out, silence once again reigned as a second beam of light appeared on the first level.

After that, a third, fourth, and a fifth…. 113 beams of light appeared in the blink of an eye. They formed a dazzling spectacle that could be seen from quite a distance away.

The onlookers were deathly quiet and stared with gaping mouths. Their eyes were wide and filled with disbelief, and their minds roared.

This vastly exceeded anything they could have ever imagined, and they could hardly believe it.

It was at this point that, from within the dazzling lights, four hundred apprentice alchemists appeared. The ones who had succeeded in passing the first level were wild with joy. As for the ones who had met with failure, they weren't dejected at all. Instead, their eyes shone brightly with hope; they knew that they had come very close to succeeding.

All of them rushed over to Naruto and began crying out excitedly.

"That was so simple! I actually identified all of them!"

"I did it! Hahaha! I passed! I've only studied the Dao of alchemy for three years, but I passed the first level of the Medicine Pavilion and I succeeded!"

"Thank you, Alchemist Namikaze ! Thank you!"

Namikaze Qun was equally excited.

Naruto smiled widely, then cleared his throat. After glancing over at the shocked onlookers, he looked back at the apprentices and then put a solemn expression onto his face.

"What's there to be excited about? What's the surprise?

"During these three months, you paid a few hundred merit points to listen to my lectures about plants and vegetation, so the big surprise would be if you didn't pass the measly first level of the Medicine Pavilion.

"Now, all of you, tell me. Was it worth it to spend those merit points on listening to my lectures?"

The instant the question left his mouth, the more than four hundred apprentice alchemists joined their voices into a mighty roar of approval. All of the onlookers began to tremble inwardly.

Naruto laughed heartily, then turned to leave, sure that this matter would quickly turn into a massive wave that swept through all of the Dao of Alchemy Division.

"I need to stop giving lectures for a few days," he thought. "I'll wait a bit… and then there will surely be more people willing to fork over their merit points." His eyes glittered with anticipation.

However, Naruto had actually underestimated the matter. Over the course of the following days, the Dao of Alchemy Division was struck by a massive tempest. After all, four hundred people had simultaneously taken the Medicine Pavilion examination, and then more than one hundred had successfully passed.

That in and of itself was not shocking. However, when you took into account the amount of time those test takers had been studying the Dao of alchemy, it was completely astonishing.

Those who had studied the longest had five years under their belt. The shortest amount of time any of them had studied was three years. An event such as this was enough to cause shock even among the alchemists of the inner mountains.

It eventually reached the point that the Alchemist Council, which was responsible for the operational affairs of the Dao of Alchemy Division, called a session to discuss the matter. Nineteen alchemists converged in the meeting location; these were the Pavilion Elders of the Dao of Alchemy Division.

All of these nineteen Pavilion Elders were tier 8 alchemists!

Deep in the inner mountains, on the cloud-cloaked peak of a tall mountain, was an ancient temple. Ten enormous statues stood guard outside the temple, each one of which represented a glorious past alchemist of the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division.

This was the location where the Alchemist Council held their session. In the main hall of the temple, nineteen enormous seats floated in the air, in the middle of which was an enormous illusory pill cauldron that emanated flickering light.

The seats were occupied by ancient old men with extraordinary cultivation bases, and whose Dao of alchemy could shake Heaven and Earth. Any one of these old men could be the founding Grandmaster of an alchemic sect.

" Namikaze Narutoarrived four months ago from Planet Ninshu," said one of the old men, whose face was covered with wrinkles. He barely seemed to have the energy to open his eyes, but a strong medicinal aroma was eternally attached to him. "With a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam, he is a Chosen of the clan. Later, the Grand Elder from the main clan arranged for him to come to the Dao of Alchemy Division. Therefore, tier 5 alchemist Namikaze Huiguo took responsibility to send him to Alchemy Lodge Peak #7191!

"I made some of my own inquiries, and also got some answers from Namikaze Huiguo. Namikaze Huiguo believed that while Namikaze Narutomight have some understanding regarding pill concocting, he was also wildly arrogant. Let's ignore his subjective presumptions for now. Within two hours of Namikaze Naruto's arrival at Peak #7191, he discovered twelve areas in which tier 1 alchemist Namikaze Qun made errors in explaining plants and vegetation. Namikaze Narutothen personally gave a lecture about the subject that attracted tens of thousands of spectators.

"Tier 2 alchemist Namikaze Xuzhong was incited by the main clan's Namikaze Yunyi to challenge Namikaze Naruto, making a wager regarding plants and vegetation. Namikaze Narutoeasily defeating him, instantly identifying the top secret grafting technique of a tier 5 alchemist, and also revealing the collocation technique. I personally went to verify that the collocation technique was indeed correct!

"Later, he used his plant and vegetation lectures to collect merit points from the audience…." At this point, the old man paused. Some of the other elders began to chuckle.

"His audience dwindled to only a few hundred people, and his profit ranged only in the tens of thousands of merit points. Unsatisfied, he went to the Medicine Pavilion, where he took the examination 140 times in a row.

"He didn't pass, not even once. However, that was because he intentionally failed. After finishing, he organized all the information about plants and vegetation from the exam and began to lecture the apprentice alchemists of Peak #7191 regarding… all of the test material from the first level of the Medicine Pavilion.

"In this way, by developing a cheating technique and preparing the apprentice alchemists for the test by training them in the test method. He then took four hundred people to the first level of the Medicine Pavilion, and over one hundred of them succeeded.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, these are the results of my investigation into Namikaze NarutoWhat do all of you think?" The old man's voice was cool the entire time. Even he found Naruto to be somewhat amusing.

People immediately began to voice varying opinions.

"Is the kid crazy or something? I can't believe he charged merit points for lectures on plants and vegetation! Why didn't I think of that when I was his age!?"

"Amusing, but in the end it was cheating. He should be punished somehow. Perhaps have him clear out the pill rubbish receptacles?"

"No way! A punishment like that is too severe. Let me handle it. I'll have him try to concoct some of my pills for me; I'll show him a thing or two." "That's not really cheating. To be able to memorize all of the medicinal plants from the first level of the Medicine Pavilion shows that he has a terrifying level of skill with plants and vegetation. I'm curious to see what level he could get to in the pavilion if he really tried."

There were differing views on the matter. Some of them thought it was nothing more than a small matter, and were actually interested in Naruto. Others thought he was a problem waiting to happen, which should be punished and dealt with immediately.

Eventually, everyone finished speaking without reaching a consensus. Located in the middle of the nineteen chairs was an old man who wore a long robe and had flowing white hair. He hadn't spoken the entire time and was instead sitting there with his eyes closed. Finally, his eyes opened, and they seemed to be filled with starlight. It was as if all the heavenly bodies had been shockingly fused together, and existed inside of him.

He cleared his throat.

In that moment, all of the other elder alchemists quieted down and looked at the old man with expressions of ardor and veneration.

"He's nothing more than a member of the Junior generation," the old man said slowly. "Let him do as he pleases. Although, the rules of the first level of the Medicine Pavilion will need to be changed."

In response to his word, all of the Pavilion Elders bowed their heads in acquiescence.

As they did, a strange light appeared in the old man's eyes.

"Kunlun Society alchemy methods… and some vestiges of the Demon

Immortal Sect. Interesting. Very interesting."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 911

Chapter 911: Changes in the Dao of Alchemy Division

When four hundred apprentice alchemists all challenged the Medicine Pavilion together, and over a hundred succeeded, the news didn't cause a huge stir in the inner mountains, but in the outer mountains, a tempest erupted.

To any apprentice alchemist, passing the first level of the Medicine

Pavilion was a major step in life, and something incredibly important. That was even more so for those who had been studying for dozens or even more than a hundred years, and yet still could not pass. They were on the verge of going crazy.

Then there were the apprentice alchemists who hadn't been studying for very long. When they saw others who had been studying for a similar period of time suddenly succeed, and not because they were naturally gifted, but rather, because they had studied with Namikaze Naruto, and listened to his lectures, it is easy to imagine how violent of an uproar it caused.

Even more so, the apprentice alchemists who had chosen not to pay merit points to listen to Naruto felt intense regret, and couldn't help but think about how a few hundred merit points over the course of three months could have gotten them past the first level of the Medicine Pavilion. Then they would have been pre-qualified to become tier 1 alchemists, which could not be bought with merit points, no matter how many they offered to pay.

Naruto didn't make an appearance for three days. In the meantime, the storm among the outer mountain apprentice alchemists continued. Tens of thousands had gathered outside of Peak #7191 to wait for Naruto. Some people even got into magical combat in order to get a good seat.

On dawn of the fourth day, Naruto appeared in the Dao of Alchemy Division. A soon as people spotted him, word spread like wildfire.

Naruto was quite pleased about all this. Murmuring to himself about how his methods really were effective, he eventually reached Peak #7191. When he saw how many people were waiting, he immediately got excited.

"There have to be about 40-50,000 people here," he thought, panting.

"At one merit point a piece for a two hour lecture, I would get around 50,000 merit points! If I lecture for four hours, it would be 100,000. If I lectured for eight hours, 200,000!" Eventually, he took a deep breath. Smiling the whole way, looking like a preeminent Daoist master who viewed material wealth as filth, he slowly strode forward.

When all of the apprentice alchemists gathered around the mountain saw him, they clasped hands and bowed. Then, they joined voices in greeting.

"Greetings, Professor Namikaze !"

The combined voices of all the apprentice alchemists echoed out like thunder. Naruto stepped foot onto the platform, looked out at the audience with shining eyes, and then cleared his throat.

"Today, I will lecture for eight hours," he said.

Immediately, Namikaze Xi flew out of the crowd with a jade slip in hand, and called out, "Professor Namikaze is kind and generous. To him, material wealth means nothing. In previous months, we had to force him to accept our payment. Now, because he cannot bear to watch the clan's apprentice alchemists fail the examination of the Medicine Pavilion, he has come here to lecture about plants and vegetation. We can't let him down!

"Come come. Everyone put some merit points into this jade slip. Even if Professor Namikaze doesn't want it, we'll force him to take it!" At the same time that Namikaze Xi yelled out these words, a group of several hundred apprentice alchemists flew out from the crowd in various areas, jade slips in the hand. They immediately began to accept merit points from the other apprentice alchemists in their area.

This time, not a single one of the 40-50,000 people departed. All of them paid their merit points, and then the several hundred jade slips were placed in front of Naruto.

Naruto's face darkened.

"What do you people think you're doing!?" he snapped, flicking his sleeve and looked very displeased.

Yet again, Namikaze Xi took the lead in crying out.

"Professor Namikaze , this is only what should be yours by right. Sir, please accept!" When Namikaze Xi finished speaking, his hundreds of companions began to shout.

"Accept it, Professor Namikaze . If you don't, we'll be very upset!"

After listening for a moment, Naruto hesitated, then let out a long sigh and collected up the jade slips.

"Very well," he said emotionally. "Since you demand it, all I can do is work as hard as possible to help you pass the examination of the Medicine Pavilion.

"Material wealth is nothing," he said, shaking his head. "What I care least about in life is just that, money." Inwardly, of course, he was extremely excited and was shouting about how he was rich now.

The eight hour lecture ended quickly. Naruto again talked about the key medicinal plants from the medicine pavilion. After a while, he would wave his hand, causing a thousand medicinal plants to appear, just like the examination in the Medicine Pavilion. Many of the apprentice alchemists who were experiencing this for the first time were instantly enlivened.

In the following days, Naruto was engrossed in lecturing about plants and vegetation. He lectured for eight hours a day, and as time progressed, more and more people came to listen, until the audience exceeded 100,000!

The area was packed full of people, and no end could be seen to the massive crowds. This only spurred Naruto on to put even more energy into his lectures. He even employed his cultivation base and some divine abilities to broadcast his voice out into the distance so that every person could hear him

He was now making hundreds of thousands of merit points every day. To Naruto, that income was a powerful motivating force. Eventually, his lectures became the center of attention of all the outer mountains.

As Naruto got more and more merit points, he was able to get more and more valuable medicinal plants. As such, the ingredients he needed for the Spirit Elixir were all replaced by what could be considered treasured items. Soon, the efficacy of the Spirit Elixir reached a terrifying level.

As for the leftover merit points, he would acquire other medicinal plants, which he would take to his Immortal's cave to concoct medicinal pills. This enabled his Dao of alchemy to steadily improve with each passing day.

He would also exchange merit points for spirit stones, which he would use to duplicate the Spirit Elixir. The life force in the Nirvana Fruits continued to grow stronger.

Of course, not a few people saw what was happening, and their eyes went bloodshot. The other alchemists gazed over at Naruto like ravenous wolves. Although they had never thought to use a method like his, when they saw how much he was profiting, many of them began to imitate him. There were even tier 5 alchemists who left the inner mountains and began to lecture about plants and vegetation, all in order to earn merit points.

Because the Alchemist Council didn't oppose what was happening, it meant they tacitly approved. In fact, they were happy that more alchemists were opting not to spend all their time concocting pills, but instead, were going to the outer mountains to speak to the apprentice alchemists about plants and vegetation, as well as the Dao of alchemy.

It was as if the entire Dao of Alchemy Division was invigorated, and now bustled with activity. Things were very different than before. Now that more alchemists were coming out of the inner mountains and charging to give lectures, some of Naruto's audience was being drawn away.

However, there were a million apprentice alchemists in the Dao of

Alchemy Division, so even if a few left, others would take their place. The Dao of Alchemy became a place where numerous viewpoints and expressions were now being heard, and everyone was struggling to promote their own perspective.

Alchemists began using all sorts of methods to attract more apprentice alchemists to their lectures. Some would even lecture about their top secret methods. Gradually, because they were able to attract more and more attention, everyone was able to make a handsome profit.

Soon, tier 6 alchemists and even some tier 7 alchemists were moved to the point of emerging from the inner mountains. The atmosphere in the Dao of Alchemy Division had reached a peak, and even the main clan was was affected, and the Grand Elder, shocked, made a personal visit.

That event caused quite a stir, and word soon spread throughout the clan.

As the apprentice alchemists began to run low on merit points, they chose to perform service for the sect, all to get more merit points.

People even began to compete over the tasks assigned by the Dao of Alchemy Division. Everything was flourishing.

"What a change in the Dao of Alchemy Division!" Even the nineteen tier 8 alchemists were very excited. They watched the developments in the atmosphere in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and could tell that if things kept going on this way, the Dao of Alchemy Division would definitely experience a great rise, and a new generation of alchemists would soon come forth.

All of it started with Naruto, and because of it, everyone was once again speaking his name!

Back in the ancestral mansion, the Grand Elder sat silently in the temple, his face dark. It had already been several months since he gave Naruto the Nirvana Fruits, and there had been plenty of time for him to concoct whatever type of Spirit Elixir he wanted. And yet, Naruto had not suddenly died. By this point, the Grand Elder was starting to put the pieces together.

"I underestimated him," he thought with a sigh. "He must have detected something somehow. What a pity…. In any clan, clan rules are everything. All clan members must respect the clan rules. As for him…." The Grand Elder shook his head, and within his eyes could be seen a glint of killing intent.

In another temple in the ancestral mansion, Namikaze Xiushan and his father sat there, extremely grim faced because of the huge name Naruto was making for himself.

"That damned son of a bitch!" grumbled Namikaze Xiushan, frowned. "He actually thought up a scheme like this to earn large amounts of merit points! The amount he's earning on a daily basis is enough to cause even my eyes to turn red…. With things like this, it's going to be impossible to constrain his development." He looked over at his father.

The old man opened his eyes, and a cold glimmer could be seen within. "What are you losing your head over?" he said coolly. "He's just a child. The only reason he came up with this method was because someone from the direct bloodline is coaching him. Even still, it doesn't matter.

"I have my methods to cut off his source of merit points!" With that, he produced a jade slip, imprinted it with some divine sense, and then flung it out the door.

"Just wait and see," he said, closing his eyes once again.

As Naruto rose to prominence, Namikaze Donghan, who was a member of one of the neutral bloodlines in the clan, was watching. From the very beginning, he had been paying attention to Naruto and Namikaze Wei, and now that he saw Naruto becoming famous in the Dao of Alchemy Division, his sense of anticipation was growing. 1

"It won't be long now before he and Namikaze Wei fight each other!" he thought. He took a deep breath and then smiled.

In the ancestral mansion, in the subterranean Immortal's cave, Namikaze Wei sat cross-legged in meditation. Yet again, there were nine old men surrounding him, who trembled as their Immortal Chakra was absorbed by Namikaze Wei.

Namikaze Yunyi kneeled in front of him respectfully, eyes shining with zeal as he looked at Namikaze Wei.

A moment later, Namikaze Wei opened his eyes and finished his session of cultivation. Of the surrounding nine old men, three of them coughed up blood, and then their bodies rapidly withered away until they were desiccated corpses.

"What's the matter, Yunyi?" Namikaze Wei asked coolly.

"Cousin," replied Namikaze Yunyi, "your Cultivation base is incredible. You're just a step away from the Immortal Realm. When you finally become Immortal, you'll be able to sweep across all of the Chosen of the Ninth

Mountain and Sea!"

Namikaze Wei's expression was the same as ever, and he didn't respond. He just looked at Namikaze Yunyi.

"Cousin," continued Namikaze Yunyi, "do you remember Namikaze Naruto? He's that bastard who was disrespectful to you in the temple a while back. You are generous and open-minded, and would never sink yourself to his level, but he's not like that. He is narrow and petty-minded, and already views you as a thorn in his side.

"Recently, he's been using despicable methods to make a name for himself in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and he's even started spreading harmful gossip about you. Cousin, he's tarnishing your name, which really makes me mad. Unfortunately, I can't beat him. I can only watch as he rises to prominence in the Dao of Alchemy Division." Namikaze Yunyi chuckled bitterly.

Namikaze Wei's expression was the same as usual. He seemed neither joyful nor angry. He looked calmly at Namikaze Yunyi, as if he could see all the way through him, as if he could tell exactly how much of what he had just said was true or false.

Seeing that Namikaze Wei was studying him, Namikaze Yunyi suddenly began to tremble in fear. He had no idea what Namikaze Wei was thinking, so he didn't dare to say anything further. He was just considering leaving, when Namikaze Wei finally spoke.

"Tell me about it."

Namikaze Yunyi was immediately enlivened, and began to explain in detail everything Naruto had done in the Dao of Alchemy Division.

After listening to everything, Namikaze Wei closed his eyes for a few moments. Then he opened them and coolly said, "There are a lot of people in the world who like to get things for free. When you have the option of getting something for free, or paying, most people will opt for the first. Namikaze Yunyi, do you get my meaning?"

Namikaze Yunyi gaped. After a moment of thought, his eyes grew bright, and he rose excitedly to his feet, laughing.

In chapter 826, Namikaze Donghan mused about Naruto and Namikaze Wei fighting ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 912

Chapter 912: Hardships Prompt Changes!

The Dao of Alchemy Division was undergoing a renaissance in the form of competition. One high level alchemist after another came out from the inner mountains to give lectures, all to get merit points from the apprentice alchemists. The Dao of Alchemy Division was booming, and the bustle was incredible.

Furthermore, competitive fire is something that exists in all people's hearts, and although the alchemists didn't pay too much attention to it, everyone knew that the number of apprentices that could be attracted to any given alchemist's lecture would show how much influence that alchemist had, as well as the level of their Dao of alchemy.

Soon, competition between various parties formed. However, the resulting conflicts proceeded according to the Dao of Alchemy Division's rules governing competition. The result was that in the outer mountains, the apprentice alchemists had to make a daily choice: which alchemist would they go listen to?

Of course, Naruto wasn't very happy about this. More and more of his audience was being stolen away. In the end, he was only able to keep about 50,000. That was about half of his original audience, which meant that he was losing out on over 100,000 merit points per day.

It was as if someone was slicing off his skin.

He could endure it though. After all, his lecture was something unique, and in the end, the apprentice alchemists who listened to his lectures had exponential increases in their confidence in being able to pass the first level of the Medicine Pavilion.

However, it wasn't long before Naruto became furious. The reason was because, on the mountain just across from him, Peak #7192, a tier 7 alchemist had suddenly appeared to give lectures.

It was an old woman who rode an enormous five-colored peacock, and whose expression was haughty and arrogant. She was a tier 7 alchemist, someone the apprentice alchemists could only hope to meet in person on accident, and could never go to seek out. She was like a supreme entity to them.

Up to now, there had only been one tier 7 alchemist who had come out to give lectures. Furthermore, that alchemist did not come out on a daily basis. The 100,000 seats available for those lectures were always the subject of fierce contention. In fact, were there even more seats available, it was certain that more people would attend.

Now, another tier 7 alchemist appeared. She was very famous in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and when she came to give a lecture right across from Naruto, a lot of the alchemists in his audience immediately went over to listen to her.

In a single day, Naruto lost more than half of his current audience, leaving him with only about 20,000 apprentice alchemists. He stood there on the platform, looking at the 100,000 people crowded around that old woman, and ground his teeth angrily.

"That old granny is doing this on purpose!" he thought with a cold harrumph. The outer mountains were vast, and the lecturing alchemists would always distance themselves from each other, and would certainly never get very close. Considering the old woman intentionally selected this particular location, if someone tried to convince Naruto she wasn't doing it to target him, he would refuse to believe them.

Any apprentice alchemists who came to listen to Naruto would look the scene over and then be forced to make a decision. Would they listen to Naruto, or would they choose the tier 7 alchemist? Naruto was furious, especially because the old woman only charged one merit point for four hours of lecturing.

That was half as much as Naruto.

Naruto's audience continued to shrink. Three days later, only about 10,000 remained to listen to him.

Were that all there were to the matter, it wouldn't be a big deal. Although his audience had been significantly reduced, he was still making tens of thousands of merit points per day. But over the following days, Naruto gradually came to the realization that someone had been imprinting his lecture information onto jade slips, which they were distributing for free! Information people had to pay three merit points to hear personally, could be acquired without charge in this fashion.

This was a near-fatal blow to Naruto's lectures. Soon, his audience dwindled from 10,000 down to only about 1,000.

Naruto could only watch helplessly as the enterprise he had created was ruined. His audience had started at a peak of 100,000 members, in which he was making hundreds of thousands of merit points per day, and was slowly reduced to only 1,000. Now, he was only making a few thousand merit points per day.

One day, Naruto took a deep breath and ended his lecture. Then he flew over to the old woman, paid some merit points, and began to listen to her speak.

The old woman sat cross-legged on the platform, her five-colored peacock circling through the air above her. The peacock would occasionally spread its beautiful tail feathers, making it even more magnificent than normal. The old woman spoke indifferently about plants and vegetation, and occasionally mentioned some things about certain techniques of the Dao of alchemy, which would provoke a buzz of comments from the audience. Every single thing the old woman said was original and distinctive.

Naturally, she noticed Naruto arrive, and an expression of scorn appeared on her face. There weren't even a hundred tier 7 alchemists in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and although she was not the most powerful among that group, but more toward the middle of the pack, she still possessed the skill of a tier 7 alchemist. She had passed the seventh level of the Medicine Pavilion, so it was a simple thing for her to speak on the subject of plants and vegetation.

Her command of knowledge regarding plants and vegetation was terrifying, and normally speaking, she would never show her face to target Naruto in the manner she had. However, a member of her auxiliary branch, someone who she could not easily refuse, had made a request. Of course, she was a member of the Dao of Alchemy Division, which operated under their own system. But when all was said and done, she was still a member of her clan division, and thus had emerged from the inner mountains.

In her opinion, the gap between herself and Naruto was as vast as that between Heaven and Earth. She didn't even actually have to try; all she had to do was give random lectures, and that would be enough to completely destroy Naruto.

Naruto hovered there quietly, listening to the woman speak about plants and vegetation. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, his eyes flashed, and he turned to leave. The woman glanced over at him making his way off, and then completely ignored him.

In her opinion, Naruto's lecture audience would be whittled down until only a few hundred people remained. Eventually, he would be incapable of making any big waves whatsoever.

The main reason for her confidence was that she had heard a rumor that the rules of the examination in the first level of the Medicine Pavilion were going to be changed.

Sure enough, three days later, an announcement was made in the Dao of Alchemy Division that the Medicine Pavilion's first level rules had been changed. All of the 1,000,000 medicinal plants had been replaced. Now, the examination content could be taken from 10,000,000 plants of various varieties. It was really a terrifyingly high number.

In addition, another rule change had been made. Now, the test was to determine how many medicinal plants could be identified in a given period of time. That change instantly caused Naruto's lectures to be thrown into chaos. To top it all off, and prevent any unforeseen problems, each apprentice alchemist would only have one chance per month to enter the Medicine Pavilion.

These changes completely foiled any of Naruto's cheating techniques.

All of this was a critical blow to Naruto. Within two days, his audience dropped from 1,000 to only a few hundred.

Most of those were the people who had been his audience all along.

However, after some time, many of those also chose to leave. After all, the situation was different than it had been in the beginning, when Naruto was outshining anyone and everyone. After all, they now had the chance to hear tier 7 alchemists speak, and who would turn down an opportunity like that?

In the end, Naruto was left with a bit more than 70 audience members….

All of these blows had struck like lightning, leaving Naruto panting. He looked out at his sparse audience of several dozen apprentice alchemists, and suddenly a bright light appeared in his eyes. Then, he turned his head to look over at the nearby mountain with 100,000 people circled around it.

"Coz, what do we do?" Namikaze Xi asked quietly from off to the side. "Even

Lord Third and Lord Fifth headed over there…." Unexpectedly, the parrot and the meat jelly had rushed over to the other mountain to listen to the tier 7 alchemist's lecture. It was impossible to say whether they understood what she was talking about, but from the look of it, they were entranced.

Naruto, of course, knew that the parrot was actually hung up on the five-colored peacock. As for the meat jelly, it was completely oblivious, and had merely been dragged along by the parrot. "Hardships prompt changes, changes bring solutions!"

Namikaze Xi gaped.

"Somebody is trying to restrict my path to wealth, to cut off my path to riches! It's like they're trying to chop me into pieces with a knife!" Naruto clenched his jaw and then flicked his sleeve as he flew into the air.

Namikaze Xi followed as he made his way off into the distance. He didn't really understand what Naruto had just said, so he quickly asked, "Coz, what's the plan now?"

"There's no plan," Naruto replied, "My name is going to rock the Dao of Alchemy Division, and END this predicament!" As his voice echoed out, he pushed his speed to the maximum. Rumbling sounds could be heard as he shot into the inner mountains. Avoiding any restricted areas, he headed directly toward the Medicine pavilion.

It didn't take long to reach it.

There were a few apprentice alchemists gathered outside, hesitating as to whether or not to enter. There were even some full alchemists off to the side. They all noticed Naruto arrive, and suddenly seemed energized, and began to talk amongst themselves.

"I heard word spreading outside that the rules of the first level have been changed. It was all because Namikaze Narutomemorized the entire first level, and figured out some way to cheat. That's how all those apprentice alchemists were able to pass so easily!"

"Could it be that he's shown up to try to figure out a way to cheat on the first level again?"

"Interesting. Although, considering the way the rules have been changed, it would be difficult to do that. He can only go in once per month."

Naruto didn't pause for even a moment as he headed toward the Medicine Pavilion. The two ancient old men sitting outside the pavilion opened their eyes and looked at Naruto. Although they didn't normally pay attention to what went on in the outside world, the occasion in which Naruto had charged through the first level 140 times had left a deep impression on them. Combined with the rumors they had heard, they now knew that Naruto's efforts back then had been a deliberate effort to study the level for the purposes of cheating.

The two old men looked at Naruto solemnly.

"This is the Dao of Alchemy Division," one of them said. "How can one always think of getting in via alternative paths? Your latent talent is excellent, as is your skill in plants and vegetation. You should tread the straight and narrow path."

Naruto, apparently directly accepting the advice, clasped hands and bowed to the two old men.

"Elders," he said immediately, "I am aware of my mistake. Now is the time for repentance and reformation. I am not here to research cheating methods. I am here to truly test myself!"

The two old men nodded and closed their eyes.

Naruto took a deep breath. As everyone in the area looked on, he stepped into the Medicine Pavilion. As soon as he entered, a few among the Dao of Alchemy Division's nineteen tier 8 alchemists immediately noticed. They ceased their pill concocting and sent out divine sense, which coalesced outside of the Medicine Pavilion.

It was three white-haired old men who materialized.

"Don't tell me this Namikaze Narutohas showed up looking for ways to break the system again? Is he addicted?"

"How can the little bastard be such a slow learner? We spent a lot of effort to make the first level completely flawless, and yet he shows up again?!"

"If this kid gets up to troublesome things again, I have half a mind to pull him out and smack him around. I wouldn't be scared even if his father showed up. I concocted pills for his father once, you know."

Although they seemed angry, they were actually very excited. In all their years, no one had ever appeared who could cause so many problems for them. To them, the whole situation was very amusing.

No one was able to detect their presence except for the two old men keeping guard outside the Medicine Pavilion, who merely glanced at them.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 913

Chapter 913: Changes Bring Solutions!

"Hardships prompt changes, changes bring solutions!" Naruto's eyes shone with the light of obsession. This saying was something he had come across in a book he had read when he was a scholar living at the foot of Mount Daqing.

Nowadays, he had not forgotten the true meaning of the phrase. However, because of his personality, he had come to a new understanding. To him, the first character of the expression… referred to being poor! 1

"If I can't make a profit when it comes to merit points, then it means I'm poor… therefore I need to think of some ways to change the situation. That's the only way to make it through the impasse. After I make it through, then I can start earning merit points again."

After stepping into the first level of the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto was surrounded by mists. He took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine brightly.

"In the past, I didn't have a lot of spirit stones, but with over

100,000,000, it couldn't count as being in short supply…. But, dammit! The Nirvana Fruits basically consume spirit stones! I barely have thirty percent of my original stockpile….

"It's like a bottomless pit! Considering I've spent so many spirit stones on them, I definitely can't stop now. I have to keep going! I wonder if the Grand Elder knew all along that I had a lot of spirit stones, and wanted to use this method to force me to go broke!

"A tier 7 alchemist sitting next to me, lecturing about plants and vegetation, cutting off my path to wealth! That's outright bullying! Unbelievable!" Naruto was actually very angry.

Fueled by obsession and anger, he stalked into the first level of the Medicine Pavilion and was surrounding by swirling mists. In the blink of an eye, three incense sticks materialized in front of him.

Black smoke rose up from the first incense stick, swirling through the air to surround Naruto. Shockingly, a brilliant light appeared, as well as the images of countless medicinal plants.

At first glance, there appeared to be at least 10,000,000, packed together endlessly. It was only by looking closely that it was possible to clearly make any of them out.

In the space of a single breath, before Naruto could imprint any of them with divine sense, the 10,000,000 medicinal plants suddenly flickered with light, and then began to superimpose over each other. In the blink of an eye, they all merged together in the form of an ancient tome.

The book seemed archaic and old, and three characters were written on its cover.

Classic of Plants and Vegetation. (草木经)

Next, an ancient voice echoed out through the first level.

"In the time it takes three incense sticks to burn, identify the first 10,000 medicinal plants in the Classic of Plants and Vegetation. If you make a hundred mistakes or more, the result will be failure."

"Now that the rules have changed," thought Naruto, "this test is certainly a bit more impressive." He sent out his divine sense to open the Classic of Plants and Vegetation to the first page. Visible there was a single medicinal plant.

"Quickspirit Flower!" he thought, identifying it immediately, branding it with divine sense, and also providing a quick description of its properties and use in medicines.

The tome flickered, and the second page appeared. Naruto made another divine sense imprint with incredible speed. Gradually, it began to appear as if a strong wind were blowing across the tome in front of Naruto. The pages flipped rapidly in quick succession.

Naruto stood there, not speaking, his divine sense covering the tome. To him, identifying these medicinal plants was a simple matter.

Before the incense stick had even finished burning, it seemed as if the tome's pages were flipping by so fast they couldn't go any faster. Dozens of pages would flip by in the blink of an eye. By the time the incense stick had burned to about 90%, Naruto had already identified 10,000 medicinal plants without making a single mistake.

However, he didn't stop there. If his goal was simply to pass the level, then it wouldn't matter. But if he was going to take this exam, he would do so in shocking fashion. He would make sure his name spread far and wide. That was the only way he could ensure that his lectures on plants and vegetation were profitable.

Therefore, he continued to identify medicinal plants. Soon, hundreds of pages flipped by in every blink of an eye. As soon as Naruto scanned them with divine sense, the profiles and information regarding these plants and vegetation appeared in his mind.

10,000. 30,000. 50,000. 100,000.

Faster and faster.

In the time it took an incense stick to burn, Naruto had identified

1,000,000 medicinal plants without a single mistake. The mist around him churned, and brilliant rays of light flickered. It was just barely possible to see countless magical symbols swirling around in response to Naruto's miraculous performance.

Outside the Medicine Pavilion, it was impossible to tell what was happening on the inside. Many of the full alchemists and the apprentice alchemists were discussing and speculating about the matter. None of them believed that Naruto would fail to pass the level, but then they considered how the rules had been changed, and figured that even he might have to expend some effort.

The three old tier 8 alchemists looked at each other and then began to talk.

"How come the kid is taking so long?"

"If he's really interested in taking the examination, then he should be able to pass the first level in the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Since he hasn't come out, does it mean… that the kid is actually going to try to crack the test?"

Back in the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto was frowning.

"Time's running out. It seems I was going a bit slow before." His eyes flickered, and his right hand suddenly reached out to grab the tome's right cover. At the same time, his divine sense exploded out, entering the tome. Naruto closed his eyes.

In that moment when his eyes closed, his divine sense filled the tome completely. It was as if countless medicinal plants had appeared in front of him, which he immediately began to identify and imprint at top speed.

1,000,000. 1,500,000. 2,000,000!

In the blink of an eye, rumbling sounds could be heard, and the mists surrounding him were churning in a violent and shocking manner. Brilliant light shone out, and more magical symbols appeared, with Naruto seemingly at the center of them all.

3,000,000. 4,000,000. 5,000,000!

The second incense stick was almost completely burnt out. Naruto's skill in plants and vegetation was extremely deep and profound, so much so that it had even left Pill Demon shaken back in his days in the Violet Fate Sect. When you added in his later experiences, his mastery had only increased. By the time he went to the ancient Demon Immortal Sect's illusory world, he had been able to master much of that sect's Dao of alchemy as well. Due to that, his skill in plants and vegetation had risen even higher, reaching an indescribably terrifying level.

Right now, all of that accumulated knowledge was exploding out, causing the tome's pages to flip by at incredible speed. It was now impossible to even see the pages moving. Several thousand pages would flip by in the time it takes to blink an eye.

The second incense stick finished burning, and the third incense stick ignited. Naruto grabbed the other side of the tome with his left hand. It was at that point that eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal exploded out.

Glittering light shone out in all directions, and the mists were seething. A sound like thunder rumbled, and the magical symbols swirled around him endlessly. As of now, this place didn't resemble the Medicine Pavilion, but rather, some bizarre world in which Naruto was the nucleus of everything.

By now, 10,000 pages flipped by with each blink of an eye. Not a single medicinal plant caused the slightest problem for Naruto. Each and every one of them was already encompassed by Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation.

Outside the Medicine Pavilion, expressions of bewilderment could constantly be heard. Although they couldn't see the shocking scene on the interior of the Medicine Pavilion, they felt that something was amiss. Even though some of the people present had ill feelings toward Uzumaki

Hao, everyone felt that it would be a simple matter for him to pass the first level.

And yet, enough time had passed for two incense sticks to burn, and yet Naruto still hadn't emerged from the first level. Everyone was astonished.

However, the three tier-8 alchemists had serious expressions on their faces. As they looked at the Medicine Pavilion's first level, expressions of shock became visible on their faces. Although they couldn't see what was happening inside, these three men were gradually coming to realize that the first floor was building up with incredible pressure.

"What's this kid doing?!"

"That pressure appears when someone identifies more than 1,000,000 medicinal plants. Is it possible that this kid has identified more than 1,000,000 medicinal plants in the time it takes two incense sticks to burn?"

As the old men looked on in shock, Naruto had his hands planted firmly on the tome. His eyes shone with brilliant light as he thoroughly identified all of its contents.

6,000,000. 7,000,000. 8,000,000….

The third incense stick was still burning, but still had about halfway to go. Finally, a tremor ran through Naruto's body, and he looked up. His hands slowly released the tome. He had finally reached the very last page!

10,000,000!

The entire first level of the Medicine Pavilion was rumbling, and brilliant light shone out in all directions. Magical symbols swirled about, and something that sounded like Immortal music could be heard drifting about.

Usually, when someone passed the first level, a beam of light would appear on the outside. However, when Naruto reached the last page of the tome, what people on the outside saw was the entire first level shining with unprecedentedly bright light!

It was as if the first level was completely bathed in boundless, unfathomable light that spread out in all directions, and even up into the Heavens. The Heavenly bodies trembled, and strange colors flashed through the sky.

Each and every person in the Dao of Alchemy Division, in all 10,000 inner mountains and all 100,000 outer mountains, could now see what was happening.

"What's going on!?"

"Why are there such transformations in Heaven and Earth!? What is that pillar of light!?"

All of the apprentice alchemists listening to lectures were thoroughly shocked as they looked up into the sky at the boundless light. As for the alchemists, their faces flickered with shock.

"Could it be that some member of the Senior generation is concocting pills?"

"No, that's not it! Look at that light! It's rising up from the location of the Medicine Pavilion!"

Even the clan members in the ancestral mansion could see the bright light coming from the Dao of Alchemy Division. Many clan members left their residences and looked in that direction, expressions of shock on their faces.

Everything was shaking, and the countless apprentice alchemists of the Dao of Alchemy Division, as well as numerous full alchemists, were all staring in shock. When they realized that the light was coming from the Medicine Pavilion, they began to fly toward it.

In a brief moment, innumerable beams of colorful light filled the Dao of Alchemy Division.

The crowd outside the Medicine Pavilion was panting, and their minds trembled. They were shocked, and completely ignorant of what exactly was happening. They didn't understand how Naruto passing the first level would cause such a boundless light to appear.

The three tier 8 Elders exchanged glances and could see the shock in each others' eyes.

"He identified 10,000,000 medicinal plants! Because the rules have been changed, it's something that nobody has ever done before! The result of his passing the first level in this way is this incredible pillar of Dao Light!"

"I can't believe this Namikaze Naruto… has such an incredible foundation in plants and vegetation!"

"That's comparable to a tier 4 alchemist! Perhaps even beyond that! However, it's still not quite at the level of a tier 5 alchemist."

In Chinese, the first character of the phrase "Hardships prompt changes, changes bring solutions!" by itself could mean "poor," but the general meaning of the phrase refers to overcoming an impasse or difficult situation ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 914

Chapter 914 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 914: First in Level After Level

The Dao of Alchemy Division was in a tumult. More and more people were showing up outside the Medicine Pavilion to stare with astonishment at the brilliant light that shone up into the sky. Eyes wide, they immediately began to ask others in the area what was going on, and when they heard that Naruto had entered the Medicine Pavilion, giving rise to these transformations, their expressions were that of incredible shock.

"I can't believe it's Namikaze Naruto!"

"So, he's the one going through the Medicine Pavilion. His… his skill in plants and vegetation actually made the Medicine Pavilion shine with that much light!?"

"I listened to one of his lectures on plants and vegetation once…. But, is the person who caused such shocking transformations really Namikaze Naruto?" By now, more than 10,000 people were present. Even as everyone was staring in shock at the bright light, some people turned their attention to the stone stele outside of the Medicine Pavilion.

Hundreds of thousands of names could be seen on the lowest level of

the stone stele. As of this moment… all of the names went dim, and then seemed to move backward one space. At the very top of the list… was a new name!

Namikaze Naruto!

When the onlookers saw the name there at the top of the list, another buzz of conversation rose up.

"It's really Namikaze Naruto! His name is first on the list!"

"Most people who pass this trial have their names show up in the bottom, and only a few ever make it even to the middle of the pack! And yet Namikaze Narutois actually in first place!"

"For him to take the first spot means that his skill with plants and vegetation is greater than all of the other hundreds of thousands of people on the list!"

"Of course, all the strong alchemists' names are higher up on the stele.

Who knows whether Namikaze Narutowill actually continue higher in the Medicine Pavilion this time, or whether he'll try to find a flaw in the system to benefit the apprentice alchemists, just like the rumors said he did last time."

The conversations continued. Eventually, they realized that Naruto had not emerged from within the Medicine Pavilion. That led them to the conclusion that… he was continuing with the examination!

Everyone immediately got even more excited than before. Also, they wanted to know… the exact level of skill Naruto had with plants and vegetation, this newcomer who had just recently risen to prominence in the Dao of Alchemy Division.

It wasn't just them who wanted to know. The surrounding alchemists were also very curious.

Inside the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto took a deep breath and waited for the mists around him to slowly fade away. A staircase appeared in front of him, which led to the second level. Naruto immediately headed up the stairs.

"If I'm going to shock people, then I might as well do a thorough job of it," he thought. "I'm also curious how far my level of skill with plants and vegetation will take me in the Namikaze clan's Medicine Pavilion.

"In the Namikaze Clan, plants and vegetation are the most important aspect of their Dao of alchemy. In order to rise among the ranks of the alchemists, one must first earn qualifications in the Medicine Pavilion. Actually, this system makes a distinction between apothecaries and alchemists!" After reaching the top of the stairs, he found himself on the second level.

Bright light filled the second level, and yet again, 10,000,000 medicinal plants appeared, some of them repeats from the first level. They quickly merged together into the form of a tome.

This time, it wasn't three incense sticks that appeared in front of him, but six.

Yet again, an archaic voice echoed out through the second level.

"You have the time it takes six incense sticks to burn to identify the first 100,000 medicinal plants, in which case you can pass this level. If you make ten or more mistakes, you fail."

Naruto frowned, then looked around at the second level for a moment.

"So this is the second level," he thought. He stepped forward and opened the book, then poured his divine sense into it and began to imprint the medicinal plants.

Three incense sticks of time seemed to pass relatively quickly. Boundless light shone off of the tome; Naruto had already imprinted all 10,000,000 medicinal plants. Rumbling sounds filled the air, and another staircase appeared in front of him.

He climbed the stairs to the third level without hesitation. After looking around, an expression of disappointment could be seen on his face. The third level again featured 10,000,000 medicinal plants floating around, which then superimposed to create the same Classic of Plants and Vegetation.

However, the requirement to pass this level was not just to identify 100,000, but to identify 1,000,000, and also to list them in order according to a special method required by the ancient tome. Furthermore, just three mistakes would be considered a failure.

To Naruto, that wasn't very difficult at all. Shaking his head, he stepped forward and opened the ancient classic.

This time, he only needed two incense sticks' worth of time before the tome began to rumble, and the third level sent bright light outside. Yet again, Naruto had passed. When he reached the fourth level, his expression finally brightened.

What he saw on the fourth level was fully ten times as many medicinal plants as he had seen on the third level. There were over 100,000,000 plants, which caused his eyes to glow with a bright light.

"Now things are getting interesting," he murmured. "Although there are still too few plants." The 100,000,000 medicinal plants formed together into an ancient tome, which was labelled, yet again, the Classic of Plants and Vegetation.

The requirement for the fourth level was to identify 10,000,000 medicinal plants, without making any mistakes. A single mistake meant failure.

"100,000,000 medicinal plants, huh?" Naruto took a deep breath, eager to try. Back in the Violet Fate Sect, he had really enjoyed examinations like this. They reminded him of his scholar's days back in Mount Daqing, and his experiences with the Imperial examinations.

Without hesitation, he placed his hands onto the book, poured in his divine sense, and immediately began to brand medicinal plants.

By now, over 100,000 people were standing around outside the Medicine Pavilion, having been drawn there by the bright lights. Before the light from the first level had even dissipated, a brilliant light already shone up from the second level, and then the third level.

Although the new light wasn't as scintillating and blinding as the light from the first level, it was still shocking. Most importantly, as Naruto's name moved up to the second and then the third level, it maintained its position as first in the lists!

Many of the surrounding alchemists were watching with very serious expressions.

"He's gotten to the fourth level!"

"This Namikaze Narutopassed all the way through the third level in a very short time. I wonder if the fourth level will cause any problems for him!?"

"In the Dao of Alchemy Division's Medicine Pavilion, the first three levels are simply foundational. From what I've heard, no more than 10,000,000 medicinal plants will appear. The fourth level is different. The difficulty level is ten times higher!"

Back inside the fourth level, Naruto's eyes shone with a bizarre light. His divine sense rumbled as he imprinted medicinal plants at an incredible speed. He immediately recognized every medicinal plant that he saw, causing the tome's pages to flip by rapidly. It turned into a blur that, if any outsider was able to see, would leave them shocked.

Actually, Naruto wanted people on the outside to see. If they could watch, it would definitely be a big help in his efforts to earn merit points. After a moment, he retracted his divine sense and then decided to ask the Medicine Pavilion if such a thing was possible.

Everything was quiet for a moment, before an archaic voice slowly spoke out.

"The Medicine Pavilion has no such power now. However, if you can identify all 100,000,000 of these medicinal plants, then I can attempt to do so on the next level."

Hearing this, Naruto immediately nodded his head, took a deep breath, and continued imprinting.

"In order to give the people on the outside more of a reason to listen to my lectures, in order to earn more merit points… I'm going to go all out!

"Just wait until I get out of here! I'll definitely raise my prices! Two hours, two merit points!" His eyes shone with determination, which seemed to affect his divine sense, making it even faster than before.

1,000,000. 10,000,000. 30,000,000….

Naruto continuously imprinted the medicinal plants that appeared in his divine sense. The feeling he was experiencing made him sigh emotionally. If he'd had a skill like this when he'd taken the Imperial examinations that year, then he would surely have become a high official in the Five elemental nations.

"Although, not for very long," he thought. "Several hundred years have passed since then. If I hadn't started practicing cultivation, I would be long dead." He shook his head, sighed, and continued to imprint.

The tome couldn't even be seen clearly. The pages flipped by so quickly that the whole book seemed frozen in eternity, almost unmoving.

40,000,000. 50,000,000. 60,000,000…

Time passed. To Naruto, it felt like he wasn't expending any energy at all. Furthermore, his mastery of plants and vegetation seemed to be growing even more firm.

70,000,000. 80,000,000. 90,000,000….

In the end, Naruto let out a sharp breath and slammed the book shut.

100,000,000!

The Medicine Pavilion trembled, and boundless light shone out in all directions. A staircase appeared, which Naruto climbed, filled with anticipation.

Everyone outside the Medicine Pavilion looked on as brilliant light from the fourth level spread out in all directions.

"He passed the fourth level!"

"If he passed the fourth level, that basically means he's a tier 4 apothecary! If his pill concocting skill is just as strong, he'll be a tier 4 alchemist!"

The crowd was in quite a commotion. Of course, there were some people with looks of disdain on their faces. In their view, any tier 4 alchemist could pass the fourth level, which meant that Naruto hadn't accomplished anything unusual. At the most, he had done something special on the first level only.

However, before the discussions could finish, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the fifth level. It flew into the air and then began to ripple out.

Shockingly, within those ripples, appeared… a screen!

Naruto was visible within the screen, walking up a staircase into the fifth level.

This scene caused the surrounding 100,000 spectators to stare in shock. Even the three tier 8 Elders were astonished.

The screen was so huge it seemed to fill the sky. There were many people in the Dao of Alchemy Division who hadn't come to the Medicine Pavilion but, after catching sight of the huge screen, were suddenly curious, and began to head over at top speed.

One of them was the old woman, the tier 7 alchemist who had disrupted Naruto's lectures. Shocked, she flew in from the outer mountains.

Everyone around the Medicine Pavilion began to discuss the unprecedented appearance of the screen. They were all very excited.

"What's going on? I've never heard of a screen appearing when people entered the Medicine Pavilion."

"Could it be that that this is a new divine ability manifested by the

Medicine Pavilion now that the rules have been changed?"

"Hahaha! This is great! We'll be able to clearly see how Namikaze Narutopasses through the fifth level. This is much better than before!"

The three tier 8 Elders stared in shock and then exchanged suspicious glances.

It was strictly prohibited to reveal what happened inside the Medicine Pavilion. Even though some people might secretly find out some details, they would keep things low key and not spread the information around. That was especially true of the fifth level and higher.

"Pill Elder is in control of the Medicine Pavilion, could it be that he has some secret plan?" Even as the three old men transmitted a discussion, everything around them went quiet. On the screen, it was possible to see Naruto, who had just stepped foot off of the stairs and onto… the fifth level.

At the same time, on the stone stele located outside of the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto's name appeared on the fourth level, yet again first on the list!

Chapter 914: First in Level After Level

Vol. 6 : Chapter 915

Chapter 915: Striving for the Pinnacle of Perfection

In the instant that he entered the fifth level, Naruto stopped in his tracks and looked around. Then he took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine with a brilliant light.

He began to tremble, a trembling that originated from the excitement in his heart, and seemed very difficult to control. Naruto would never act like this in a life-or-death battle, but this was an examination, a test of his skill with plants and vegetation.

He truly wished to know the extent of his skill. Therefore, he wanted the examination to get harder, and for there to be more medicinal plants involved.

As of this moment what he saw was… an enormous fifth level, filled with glittering lights and seemingly infinite medicinal ingredients. There were plants of all kinds and types, and even some things that bore the semblance of wild animals.

From the look of it, this level had ten times as many items as the previous level!

"1,000,000,000…." Naruto thought, his eyes shining as he looked around. As of this moment, he now had a much deeper understanding of the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy. These 1,000,000,000 medicinal ingredients were essentially anything that could be counted as medicinal that had appeared in the Ninth Mountain and Sea throughout tens of thousands of years of history.

These items weren't just limited to plants and vegetation!

They were not grafted plants either. Everything was whole. Naruto glanced over them and saw tens of thousands of items that he didn't recognize.

He began to breathe heavily. These 1,000,000,000 medicinal resources suddenly superimposed over each other in front of Naruto to transform into an enormous ancient tome that was as tall as a person.

Yet again, it was the Classic of Plants and Vegetation.

However, underneath the title of the book were the words 'volume one.'

"This must be the full first volume of the Classic of Plants and Vegetation!" thought Naruto, his heart pounding. "1,000,000,000 medicinal plants. The Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy truly is boundless and profound!"

The crowds in the outside world were equally shocked.

More and more cultivators were showing up, and when they saw the image on the screen, their jaws dropped.

"Is that… the fifth level?!"

"1,000,000,000 medicinal plants…. The only way to ever be promoted to a tier 5 alchemist is to pass this level! Any tier 5 alchemist in the Dao of Alchemy Division is incredibly famous and powerful in the outside world!"

As the buzz of conversation filled the air outside, an archaic voice could be heard filling the fifth level.

"1,000,000,000 medicinal plants. Identify the first 100,000,000 in the

Classic of Plants and Vegetation to pass this level. One mistake means failure."

Naruto's eyes glittered with a bright light. Expression solemn, he slowly walked forward. As far as he was concerned, this was the first time the test had actually seemed difficult. Even his first cursory scan confirmed that there were tens of thousands of items that he wasn't familiar with.

One mistake in those first 100,000,000, and he would fail.

"It seems I've underestimated the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy," he thought. Expression serious, he reached out, placed his hand on the ancient book, and sent his divine sense into it.

Immediately, countless medicinal plants appeared within his divine sense, which he immediately began to imprint. The pages of the ancient book began to flip at high speed. In the blink of an eyes, several thousand pages had already been turned over.

None of the observers had ever seen anything like this before. Now, though, the scene was playing out right in front of them, clearly visible on the screen. Tens of thousands of observers on the outside looked on in shock. Deathly silence filled the air, and all minds reeled as they watched Naruto and the ancient book.

The apprentice alchemists' eyes went wide, and as for the full alchemists, they began to pant. Even the tier 5, 6, and 7 alchemists were stunned.

The three tier 8 Elders gasped. The scene playing out left even them truly amazed.

They even began to wonder whether they could make the tome's pages flip so quickly. From the look of things, Naruto was simply a natural born genius when it came to plants and vegetation.

"Just how familiar is he with plants and vegetation? He doesn't even need to think! He recognizes them the instant he looks at them!" "His foundation in plants and vegetation really is terrifying. With whom did he study the Dao of alchemy to lay such a foundation!?"

"This is unbelievable!"

As the audience's reaction swelled into an uproar, Naruto was inside, concentrating solely on the contents of the Classic of Plants and Vegetation. Time passed, and he identified more and more of the tome's contents, faster and faster.

10,000,000. 30,000,000. 50,000,000….

It didn't take long before he had identified 90,000,000. The spectators observed with rapt attention. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, Naruto stopped turning the pages of the ancient book. There on the page in front of him, a heart had appeared.

It was a wooden heart, parched and cracked. A few tiny flowers could be seen growing out of it, and when Naruto saw it, he stood there quietly.

The alchemists in the world outside were watching the screen closely. Some of the tier 5 alchemists looked at the wooden heart, then frowned and began to wrack their brains to try and identify it. Some of the tier 6 alchemists hesitated, and were unable to determine with certainty exactly what it was.

Even the old woman who had stolen Naruto's business looked on with flickering thoughtfulness.

Only the three tier 8 alchemists didn't seem fazed. They exchanged glances and began to transmit a conversation.

" Namikaze Narutoreally got unlucky. In the fifth level, there are ten types of medicinal plants that have long since become extinct. They are plants no outsider would ever know about. Even we didn't find out about them until we reached tier 8."

"He definitely won't be able to identify the Woodbear Heart."

"The test is over. What a pity. However, he can try again in a month. Considering the momentum he built up before, as long as he doesn't run into a medicine plant he's never seen before, he shouldn't have much of a problem passing the fifth level."

"Although, I find it strange that this particular medicinal plant would appear in the first 100,000,000. Yet, there it is."

The three old men were then lost in thought, and didn't converse any further.

Back on the fifth level, Naruto looked at the image in front of him, muttering. He didn't recognize the item, and in fact had never seen it before. At first glance, if you didn't know it was wood, you would probably think it was an actual heart.

Naruto extended his right hand and pointed at the page. Immediately, glittering light rose up, and an illusory version of the wooden heart appeared in front of him, then rapidly grew very clear.

He could even sense a faint medicinal aroma emanating out. After inhaling deeply, he closed his eyes and began to make some mental deductions. Although he didn't recognize this wooden heart, he was still able to use his skill with plants and vegetation to analyze its medicinal properties.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he began to make an imprint with divine sense.

"Effective against chills that enter the body. Is filled with rich spiritual energy, and the power of fire and wood. Contains 9,137 variations. Can be grown using Spirit Extract, and when it reaches maturity, it contains the potential to materialize Immortal qi. When using it to concoct medicinal pills for the Immortal Realm, depending on which variations are used, and which of those is the main ingredient, then, regardless of which medicinal pill is created, as long as you add Apefever Flower, its medicinal strength can be increased by ten percent!" Naruto quickly finished imprinting the information. Although he didn't know the exact name of this medicinal item, the name… wasn't actually important.

After finishing the imprint of information, the wooden heart vanished from the page, to be replaced by a block of text that thoroughly described the plant's properties and growth characteristics. The description was incredibly detailed, including information about medicinal effects, details vital to using the ingredient to concoct medicinal pills, descriptions about how to harvest it, and other information.

When Naruto saw all the information, he took a deep breath. Although he had determined many correct bits of information about the wooden heart, his information had not been as detailed as the final description. He quickly committed the information to memory.

Then he waved his hand and continued to flip through the pages.

When the spectators saw what had happened, they were shocked. Even the three tier 8 Elders gasped, and stared with wide, astonished eyes.

"He most likely has never seen that Woodbear Heart before. And yet, he just smelled it a few times and then was able to explain its medicinal properties!"

"What an incredible Dao of alchemy! What profound skill with plants and vegetation!"

Deep within the Dao of Alchemy Division was a mountain that was considered to be a sacred location. This was where Namikaze Danyun resided, the Dao of Alchemy Division's only tier 9 alchemist!

He had a full head of white hair, and as he sat there cross-legged on the mountain peak, his eyes slowly opened. He then gazed in the direction of the Medicine Pavilion, his eyes shining with a gleam of curiosity.

"I wonder which Grandmaster of the Dao of Alchemy trained a disciple like this…. His skill with plants and vegetation has already reached incredible heights. He came from Planet Ninshu…. I haven't ever heard of any Grandmaster on Planet Ninshu who could develop such a talented pupil." The old man sighed.

"Although, Planet Ninshu is shrouded in mystery. It's possible this kid… has had some unique opportunities." He continued to look at the Medicine Pavilion in silence.

Back on the fifth level, Naruto continued to rapidly flip through the tome's pages. They moved so fast that the entire book seemed like one connected piece. Soon, he had completely imprinted ten percent of the 1,000,000,000 items inside. However, Naruto didn't stop there.

His mind was completely absorbed in the book, to the extent that he forgot his original reason for drawing everyone's attention to him here. Gradually, the ten percent became twenty, then thirty….

After completing fifty percent, his speed gradually slowed. He would occasionally encounter medicinal plants that he didn't recognize, but in those cases, he actually got excited.

He wanted to see more medicinal plants that he had never seen before. That was the only way for him to experience the sensation of groping for the correct answer. That was when he could truly unleash his skill with plants and vegetation, analyzing the item from various angles and using his best judgement to determine, not necessarily the name, but rather, enough information to imprint it with divine sense. When the full description appeared, he would commit it to memory. He was now getting the feeling that attempting to pass through the Medicine Pavilion was really helping him to learn a lot more about plants and vegetation.

Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation had reached an incredible level. By now, there were few types of plants or vegetation within the Ninth Mountain and Sea that he was unaware of. Every single new one that he encountered pushed his skill to an even more refined extent. Sixty percent. Seventy percent. Eighty percent….

Naruto wasn't aware of how much time had passed. However, the closer he got to the end of the book, the more medicinal plants he encountered that he was unfamiliar with, which required even more time. And yet, his excitement only grew.

Outside of the Medicine Pavilion, there were now nearly 200,000 cultivators clustered around, watching the screen with blank expressions. The excitement on Naruto's face was clear, and the more medicinal plants he identified, the more everyone's minds reeled.

"Inhuman…. When it comes to plants and vegetation, this Namikaze Narutois a beast!"

"Don't tell me he was actually a medicinal plant in a past life?

Otherwise, how else could he be so inhuman!"

"The fifth level has 1,000,000,000 medicinal plants, and from the way he's going, it looks like he's going to identify them all…."

"I just realized something! The merit points I paid to hear him lecture about plants and vegetation were worth it! Definitely worth it!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 916

Chapter 916: Lotuses With Each Step!

As time passed, a few people noticed that under normal circumstances, the fifth level would have already concluded. However, Naruto was still plugging away.

Apparently, the time limit had been cancelled, leaving Naruto free to spend as much time as he wanted there.

Slowly, the number of plants and vegetation he identified increased. Eventually, three days went by.

Naruto could never have imagined that he would need to spend so much time and energy on the fifth level. His eyes were bloodshot, and he felt that he was on the verge of mental exhaustion. However, he was still excited and his spirits were high.

Among the final twenty percent were many types of of the plants and vegetation that Naruto didn't recognize. Each one required a great deal of time and energy to analyze and judge before he could identify some clues that would lead him into further levels of investigation. Eventually, he would get enough information to be able to create a divine sense imprint.

Detailed introduction on the plant would appear every time he made his imprint. That was what he truly looked forward to; he was like a dried-up sponge, just waiting to absorb boundless knowledge about plants and vegetation.

Three more days passed…. None of the audience members left, but instead settled themselves cross-legged in the area. Were these ordinary cultivators, they would probably find the affair boring. However, they were alchemists and apprentice alchemists, people who had devoted their lives to the Dao of alchemy. Watching Naruto's examination on the screen enabled them to see medicinal plants that they might otherwise never be able to see, which was an incredible opportunity.

Everyone was imprinting the information into their minds, studying and learning.

More and more people joined the crowd. On the tenth day, there were nearly 300,000 people present, densely packed together as far as the eye could see.

On the fifth level, a tremor ran through Naruto's body as he woke up from his reverie of plants and vegetation. There in front of him was the final page of the ancient book.

At that moment, all of his exhaustion from the past days enveloped him, and his head felt swollen and began to pulse with pain. To him, these past ten days left him feeling more worn out than when he had fought the three black-robed Immortal Realm cultivators.

And yet, he did not close his eyes. He examined the tome, upon which his results for this level were revealed.

He hadn't paid any attention to the results for the first four levels, because he was absolutely confident that he hadn't made any mistakes. However, on this fifth level, he wasn't so confident.

"I missed more than 200…." he murmured, "all of them in the final 300,000,000 plants." Finally he closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation base to restore his composure

He wasn't happy with his results at all. However, he had been introduced to many, many unfamiliar medicinal plants on this level, and his skill with plants and vegetation had increased by a whole level.

To the outside audience, the results were completely shocking, and that included the three tier 8 Elders. Everyone gasped, and then a huge uproar occurred.

"1,000,000,000 plants and he only missed a bit over 200…. He's definitely inhuman!"

"Any tier 5 alchemist would pass by identifying the first 100,000,000.

But Namikaze Narutorequired more of himself! He went through all

1,000,000,000. From the look on his face, he seems a bit disappointed."

The sound of the conversations among the 300,000 audience members was like thunder that spread out in all directions, and was heard by quite a few of the Dao of Alchemy Division's apprentice alchemists and full alchemists. The ground trembled and the clouds in the sky shattered.

The three tier 8 alchemists wore forced smiles on their faces as they exchanged glances.

"When I attempted the fifth level that year, I couldn't have done that."

"Forget about back then. Even right now, we're probably the only people who could. Even the tier 7 alchemists probably couldn't pull something like that off."

Bright beams of light appeared off in the distance as more tier 8 alchemists appeared. Of course, no one present could see them. As they arrived, they looked at the Medicine Pavilion… and their eyes were filled with anticipation.

"Finally, our Dao of Alchemy Division has… a truly Chosen member of the clan!"

Back on the fifth level of the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto opened his eyes. Much of his tiredness and exhaustion had vanished. He took a deep breath, rose to his feet, and stepped forward toward the ancient tome. Then, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks for bestowing me with such kindness!" he said softly. Each and every word rose up from the depths of his heart. To cultivators of the Dao of alchemy, Naruto's experience just now was truly like being gifted with an amazing Dao.

The tome vanished after Naruto bowed, and a flight of stairs appeared up ahead of him. At the same time, his name moved from its previous position up to the fifth level, where, as before, it was now in first place on the list!

His expression was somber as he strode forward toward the steps and began to climb up to the sixth level. When he arrived, what he saw absolutely nothing.

There were no medicinal plants, there was no tome, there was no mist.

There wasn't even any light. There was only complete darkness. Everything seemed empty, as if nothing at all existed there.

Naruto gaped in shock, and he wasn't the only one. The people outside were also staring at the screen, astonished.

The only ones who didn't were the alchemists who had previously been on the sixth level. Their faces were grave as they stared closely at the screen. The tier 7 old woman looked on, her face grim. Now that she had seen how inhuman he was, she regretted what she had done earlier. She had offended him, but she also knew that there was little she could do about it now, and so she might as well stick to her guns.

After all, from her perspective, he might be inhuman, but he couldn't compare to the people who had sought out her help in the clan. The compensation they had provided was incredible.

"I might not be able to do what he did in the fifth level," she thought to herself, "but that doesn't matter. As an alchemist, you don't need to have such breadth and depth of knowledge regarding plants and vegetation. It's enough to be intimately familiar with the ones that you do know.

"I failed dozens of times at this level before finally passing. There's no way this Namikaze Narutowill succeed on his first try. After all, the sixth level is completely different from the first five." She smiled coldly.

The nearby tier 5, 6, and 7 alchemists were shaking their heads. All of them had challenged the sixth level of the Medicine Pavilion, so they knew how difficult it was.

"This level is a watershed," commented one of the tier 8 Elders, his voice light.

"The first five levels require sufficient knowledge of plants and vegetation. The last four levels are completely different, and it only gets harder and harder."

On the stone stele outside of the Medicine Pavilion, hundreds of thousands of names could be seen on the first level. There were only 100,000 on the second level, 50,000 on the third level, 20,000 on the fourth level, and less than 10,000 on the fifth level.

As for the sixth level, only 5,000 people had ever passed it.

The seventh level had 1,000 names and the eighth level only had a bit more than 200. The last level, the ninth… only had 10.

It mustn't be forgotten that those numbers represented the accumulation of all the generations that had existed since the founding of the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division. From this, it was easy to imagine how difficult the Medicine Pavilion was.

Furthermore, whenever anyone passed the sixth level, the first thing that would happen would be that a Dao Bell would appear in the sky above the ancestral mansion. No outsider could see that bell, and when it tolled, only the members of the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory could hear it in their minds.

That bell represented true honor and glory!

Naruto stood on the Medicine Pavilion's sixth level, looking around at the pitch black around him. Even after sending his divine sense out, he could sense nothing but darkness. After hesitating for a moment, he took a step forward.

As soon as his foot landed, he stopped in place and cocked his head. His expression flickered.

Just now, he hadn't seen anything within the darkness, but had been able to smell the fragrance of medicinal plants. Some of the aromas were faint, some were dense. They all melded together to fill the entire area, and seemed to grow even thicker further on.

It was at this point that the archaic voice echoed out through the sixth level.

"Aroma Scrying is one of the realms of skill with plants and vegetation. You may take up to 100 steps. With every step, you will smell the fragrance of different medicinal plants.

"Determine what each plant is based on its smell, and imprint the information into the darkness. One mistake means failure."

Naruto wasn't the only one who could hear the voice. The audience of more than 300,000 in the outside world could also hear it, and it caused their faces to flicker with expressions of disbelief.

"How… how could you possibly provide all the answers! No wonder this sixth level is considered so difficult. Aroma Scrying is virtually a legendary realm!"

"I never thought that the test would involve Aroma Scrying! I heard about this realm when I first became an apprentice alchemist. To think that over all the past tens of thousands of years in the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division, 5,000 or so people have actually passed this level!"

The outside world was in a huge commotion. Virtually everyone took this test to be excessively difficult. It was in a completely different league than the previous five levels.

The tier 7 old woman chuckled coldly. As she thought back to the difficulty of this level, she actually felt frightened.

"The seventh level is even harder, for any alchemist," she whispered to herself. "And then there's the hell-like eighth level!"

Back on the sixth level, Naruto began to breathe deeply, allowing the fragrances of countless medicinal plants to enter his nose. Immediately, his mind exploded as images of numerous medicinal plants appeared, each one of which was associated with one of the fragrances he had detected.

There were no less than 10,000, but in the blink of an eye, his divine sense swept out, and the images of medicinal plants began to appear in the dark void around him.

Furthermore, the outline of an illusory lotus appeared beneath his feet.

He took a second step, and once again breathed in deeply. A tremor ran through his body, and another 10,000 images appeared around him. A second lotus appeared beneath him.

One step after another, and another….

Naruto proceeded forward, and with each step he took, he breathed in deeply. Afterward, numerous medicinal plants would appear around him, causing the pitch-black world to be lit up by what looked like a procession of blazing lanterns.

Furthermore, lotuses continued to appear beneath his feet.

After taking 69 steps, 69 lotuses had appeared, and he was surrounded by millions of shining medicinal plants.

To everyone who was watching, Naruto almost looked like a holy being, surrounded by swirling plants, lotuses blooming with each step he took.

"Lotuses with each step!" thought the old woman. Her eyes were wide, and she was panting. She well knew how difficult the sixth level was, and also knew that the only way a lotus would appear would be if he correctly identified the fragrance of every single medicinal plant, and imprinted it correctly.

When she had passed the sixth level, she had only caused three lotuses to appear. But Naruto… shockingly… created lotuses with each step!

She wasn't the only shocked one. All of the alchemists who were familiar with the sixth level were shaken. They watched Naruto on the screen, and the image they saw would eternally be imprinted into their minds. It was an unforgettable scene that they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 917

Chapter 917: Climbing Higher!

The handful of tier 8 alchemists in the area were visibly moved. They looked at Naruto on the screen, and their eyes shone with both praise and hope.

The Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division was not a sect, but rather, a division of the clan. All of the alchemists and apprentice alchemists were clan members, and their sense of clan pride and honor was at the core of what had kept the clan from falling into ruin over the ages.

Actually, merit points were one of several methods that kept clan members from becoming estranged from the clan.

Of course, the Dao of Alchemy Division hoped for a truly Chosen alchemy cultivator to appear, to arouse interest in the Dao of alchemy and to bring glory to the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division once again. However, despite the passage of many years, although other divisions of the clan had produced Chosen, the Dao of Alchemy Division had remained a quiet and desolate place. Chosen alchemy cultivators were something that could only be happened upon, and never sought out.

There were some who had the talent for it, but were not the type who were inclined to study the Dao of alchemy, and instead preferred to focus on cultivation. People like that believed that the road to power would only be obstructed by focusing on other practices.

Today, though, these tier 8 Elders finally had a bit of hope.

On the sixth level of the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto was taking his 70th step. In that instant, he deeply inhaled the dense odor of plants and vegetation. His nose and brain exploded with soundless rumbling, and a tremor ran through him. All of the blood in his body suddenly began to circulate in reverse.

Images of medicinal plants began to float up in his mind, endless varieties of them. This type of Aroma Scrying did not just test someone's skill with plants and vegetation, it also tested instincts!

To be able to know how many types of medicinal plants there were by simply sniffing, without thinking about it too much…. This was something… that could really only be done by instinct, and by being incredibly familiar with all sorts of plants and vegetation.

This higher level of skill with plants and vegetation was like the Instantaneous Formula Scrying of the Dao of alchemy. They were actually two branches of the same skill and the same realm. 1

The level of difficulty of this sixth level examination was such that the requirement to pass was that the test-taker successfully take twenty steps. With each of those steps, ten or more misjudgements were tolerated before that step would be counted as a failure.

The reason for the rules being set in such a fashion was because this level was simply too difficult.

Therefore, it was easy to imagine how Naruto, who had already taken 70 steps, with lotuses blooming for each step, would be so incredibly shocking to all the alchemists outside who understood how difficult the test was. They could hardly believe their eyes.

71 steps. 72 steps. 73 steps…. Naruto didn't pause. He kept moving forward, heading further and further in. The aromas of plants and vegetation grew stronger, and were filled with even more types.

And yet, Naruto continued to produce… lotuses with each step.

It wasn't until he reached the 80th step that he finally started to slow down, although to the alchemist watching outside, it still looked fast.

81, 82, 83…. With each step he took, the surrounding void of darkness glittered more and more brightly. Botanical lanterns shone with scintillating light, until the entire sixth level now appeared to be brightly lit.

Having taken his 90th step, he only had 10 more steps to go. He was now moving even slower, as if these ten steps were difficult even for him. Each step took a lot more thought, which was clear to the audience.

His instincts now felt clouded, and now he needed to spend more time analyzing and deducing each aroma. It was only after painstaking examination that he was finally able to identify all of the medicinal plants.

The outside world was filled with silence. 300,000 spectators were all staring at Naruto on the screen. Behind him was a path of lotuses, and he was surrounded by endless numbers of botanical lamps.

As of this moment, Naruto was like an Immortal of plants and vegetation. He was the focus of all attention; even that old woman looked on silently.

91, 92, 93… each step now took approximately two hours. Each time, lotuses would bloom, and bright lanterns flickered everywhere.

The 95th step took him six hours; he stood there motionless within the boundless aroma before he finally imprinted all of the plants and vegetation within it.

The 96th step took twenty hours.

The 97th took two days.

By the 98th step, Naruto had long since lost track of time. Everyone in the outside world was staring closely at the screen. Five days later, he stepped forward again, and another lotus bloomed.

The 99th step took ten days, but yet again, a lotus bloomed, and the crowds went wild.

By now, approximately 400,000 people had gathered in the area. All of them were breathing heavily as they waited for Naruto… to take the final step.

The 100th step!

There on the sixth level, Naruto's eyes were closed. He had no idea how many steps he had taken. Without even thinking about it, he took another step forward. Rumbling sounds filled his mind, and his body trembled.

Naruto was panting. Every imprint he made forced him to sift through a blur of obfuscating information, and required much analysis.

More time passed. Everyone in the outside world waited. Three days. Seven days. Ten days….

Finally, twenty days passed!

The outside world was abuzz; no one had ever been able to spend so much time testing inside of the Medicine pavilion. Naruto had already taken nearly two months to pass from the first level all the way to the sixth.

Five more days passed, when suddenly, all of the innumerable botanical lamps in the sixth level exploded with scintillating light. Beneath Naruto's foot… appeared the 100th lotus!

His eyes opened, and his body shook. Blood sprayed from his mouth. This level was so difficult that Naruto only passed it by shedding blood, sweat, and tears. The last step had pushed him to the limits of his skill with plants and vegetation, which, in the end, had enabled him to pass with perfect marks!

Up ahead, the innumerable botanical lamps merged together to form a staircase of vines, something that seemed suitable only for a sovereign of plants and vegetation.

The seventh level was now open!

At the same time, from the view of the outside world, the sixth level began to shine with boundless light. The sky went dim, and all darkness was dispelled. The Dao of Alchemy Division was now the focus of all eyes.

Naruto's name appeared on the stone stele, in the first position on the list of names for the sixth level!

The audience was abuzz.

"He… passed the sixth level! Lotuses blossomed with each step! One hundred steps, one hundred lotuses!"

"Could it be that this Namikaze Narutois going to bring about a renaissance in the Dao of Alchemy Division!?"

"Just wait until he's finished here in the medicine pavilion! I'm definitely going to go listen to his lectures on plants and vegetation!"

Meanwhile, an enormous, ancient bell appeared in the air above the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion. From the look of it, the bell appeared to have seen the passage of ages. It was engraved with mountains and rivers, and as soon as it appeared, it rang loud and sharp.

The sound echoed out through Planet East Victory, to the ears of anyone with Namikaze blood in their veins. Outsiders could not hear, but the Namikaze Clan members could!

The Namikaze Clan was shaken. Everyone in the Dao of Alchemy Division who was not already at the Medicine Pavilion was aroused. Sensing the light shining up from the Medicine Pavilion, many of them immediately flew in that direction.

Everyone in the ancestral mansion was equally shaken. First, there was the light shining up from the Dao of Alchemy Division, and then there was the bell. All Namikaze Clan members were shocked, and many flew toward the Dao of Alchemy Division to see what exactly was going on.

The Grand Elder stood silently in the main temple, his expression complex, and even somewhat confused.

"Did I… make a mistake?" he murmured. "No, I didn't. Everything is for the clan. Everything I have done is according to the rules of the clan!" The Grand Elder took a deep breath, but he still seemed to be at a loss. He looked over at the Dao of Alchemy Division, and a fierce glint could be seen in his eyes.

Naruto sat cross-legged on the sixth level of the Medicine Pavilion. After meditating for a period of time, he opened his eyes, which were still slightly bloodshot.

"From the difficulty of the fifth and sixth levels, I can see the boundlessness of the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy," he murmured. "I made a lot of mistakes on the fifth level, and the sixth level was actually even harder. It's only because I absorbed the Resurrection Lily that I can have such instincts with plants and vegetation!

"Therefore… my ability with Aroma Scrying is actually a bit of a cheap trick.

"This seventh level will definitely be even harder than all the others!" With that, he stood up, and his eyes flashed with a glimmer of obsession. When he had started in the Medicine Pavilion, his goal had been to amaze the world and become an overnight celebrity. It had all been for the merit points. Now, however, he was doing it to improve his skill with plants and vegetation.

He wasn't just concerned with passing the level; he wanted to pass every level at the pinnacle. That was the only way for him to increase his skill with plants and vegetation.

He took a deep breath and began to walk up the stairs.

At the same time that he set foot on the seventh level, all of the hundreds of thousands of spectators outside were looking on. Compared to the sixth level, the seventh level didn't seem very extraordinary. The only things that were visible were two enormous books.

One of them was, of course, the first volume of the Classic of Plants and Vegetation, with its 1,000,000,000 medicinal plants.

The second was empty. It apparently had no content whatsoever.

Even as Naruto laid eyes on the two books, the archaic voice rang out through the seventh level.

"Using grafting techniques and your knowledge of the mutual augmentation and suppression between different types of plants and vegetation, you must create… 10,000 unique medicinal plants. That is the threshold to pass this level. If you wish to pass the level with perfect marks, you must create 100,000."

Naruto's heart trembled. He took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine with bright light.

"Finally… a level like this!" He knew that having accumulated so much knowledge regarding plants and vegetation, the time had eventually come to step into a new realm. It was a realm which used the principles of mutual augmentation and suppression, along with grafting techniques, to create medicinal plants that belonged to him and him alone.

Using medicinal plants like that to concoct pills would make it very difficult for others to identify the pill formula. Even if they could, it would still be very difficult to create the necessary medicinal plant ingredients. This was also a higher realm of pill concocting.

Back when Naruto was in the Violet Fate Sect, he had encountered such things, but not very often. The ancient Demon Immortal Sect's Dao of alchemy also touched on such matters, but he had never had a chance to systematically study it.

Now, he settled his Chakra and calmed his mind, then stepped forward

toward the tome and closed his eyes to think.

All of the people in the outside world who had never heard of what the seventh level was like, now gasped. Actually, according to the requirements of the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy, alchemists began to explore grafting techniques beginning in tier 5. In order to become a tier 7 alchemist, it was necessary to create 10,000 personally grafted medicinal plants.

Among the hundreds of thousands of spectators, the tier 6 and 7 alchemists all began to whisper among themselves.

"I wonder if Naruto will be able to pass the seventh level…. How many kinds of grafted medicinal plants will he create!?"

"It's going to be difficult for him to pass. No one has ever done so on the first try. Not even his excellency Pill Elder was able to; it took him four tries."

"Only with a profound knowledge base, and significant experience with grafting plants and vegetation, can someone even attempt the seventh level, let alone pass it."

Naruto learned Instantaneous Formula Scrying in chapter 218, and it was mentioned a few times after that in chapters 244, 252, 253 and

254\. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 918

Chapter 918: Boundless Dao of Alchemy!

On the seventh level of the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto stood in front of the tomes for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, thinking. Then, his eyes opened, and he waved his hand, causing the Classic of Plants and Vegetation to rapidly flip open to a certain page. Instantly, a medicinal plant appeared and floated up into the air.

More pages flipped in quick succession, nine of them, and nine more medicinal plants appeared. Naruto made a grasping motion, causing all nine plants to appear on the blank tome's first empty page.

Next, the plants followed his line of thought. Some were stripped of their bark, others had flowers removed. In the end, they formed together within Naruto's divine sense, where he used the techniques of mutual augmentation and suppression to graft them together.

The medicinal plant on the first page glittered brightly, whereupon the book seemed to analyze and judge it. After the blink of an eye, the page slowly turned, indicating that Naruto had successfully created his first medicinal plant.

He once again waved his left hand over the Classic of Plants and Vegetation, pulling out more medicinal plants and using his divine sense to transform and graft them together, continuing to create different medicinal plants according to his desires.

Time passed. To cultivators who didn't understand the Dao of alchemy, this examination seemed somewhat boring. However, to the cultivators of the Dao of Alchemy Division, it was an unprecedented opportunity for good fortune.

Even the tier 7 alchemists looked on with strange lights glowing in their eyes. As Naruto created his medicinal plants, they gained more enlightenment, and were continuously shocked. In fact, their own skill with plants and vegetation was slowly creeping upward.

"I can't believe that you can make cold-type plants that way…. After adding nine hot elements, the original formula was to add one cold element. But instead, he added nine cold elements. According to the law of mutual augmentation and supression, you would think that the result would be neutral. And yet, the result is like that!"

"That Moonspirit Flower can actually turn into Sunsplendor Leaf through grafting! What an outrageous line of thinking, and yet, it works!"

Even the old woman stared with wide eyes. Subconsciously, she began to imitate Naruto, and her own skill with plants and vegetation gradually began to increase.

The tier 5 and 6 alchemists were incredibly excited. When it came to plant and vegetation grafting, they were just in the initial stages of learning. As they watched Naruto at work, they committed everything they saw to memory.

To them, this was an extremely rare opportunity.

As for the lower level alchemists, this was a realm far removed from them. However, they all understood that if they wanted to travel far along the path of the Dao of alchemy, then they would eventually have to learn how to graft plants and vegetation. Therefore, they also did as much as they could to take advantage of the situation.

The apprentice alchemists were even less clear about what was happening. However, seeing the intent expressions on the faces of the higher level alchemists, they also realized that what Naruto was currently doing with grafting techniques was astonishing. Therefore, they kept their eyes glued on Naruto and did their best to try to remember what sort of grafting techniques he used.

The world outside the Medicine Pavilion was completely quiet. Even the two old men who stood guard outside had opened their eyes and were looking at the screen up in midair.

The tier 8 alchemists stood there silently, watching Naruto and observing his grafting techniques. All of them were filled with anticipation.

Naruto once again lost track of time as he absorbed himself in the grafting of plants and vegetation. His left hand sped over the first volume of the Classic of Plants and Vegetation, seemingly flipping pages nonstop.

Time passed. Naruto created more and more medicinal plants. 10. 100. 1,000….

Seven days later, Naruto finally created 10,000 medicinal plants. He took a deep breath, but he wasn't finished. Instead, he focused inwardly for a moment, experiencing a similar feeling regarding plants and vegetation to that which he felt when practicing cultivation. He could clearly tell that as he created more medicinal plants, his understanding of plants and vegetation grew more refined.

Although it had been a long time since he had concocted medicinal pills, he could also sense that his pill concocting skill… was becoming stronger.

"My hand is the pill furnace, and I will blend all Heaven and Earth together in my palm to create an almighty medicinal pill!" His eyes shone with a light that originated from his Dao, with his Dao of alchemy. With this Dao, he could corroborate his heart, and then use that heart to concoct pills.

Seven more days passed. By now, Naruto had created more than 15,000 medicinal plants. Everyone outside was shaken, and their admiration for Naruto had reached the pinnacle.

Even the old woman had to ask herself whether her own skill with plants and vegetation was equal to Naruto's. In the end, she had to sigh and admit that people like Naruto were exactly what the Dao of Alchemy Division lacked, and in fact, desperately needed.

As for her… if she continued to comply with the wishes of those in the main clan who wanted her to target Naruto, perhaps she would fall out of harmony with the Dao of Alchemy itself.

"Forget it," she thought, her eyes shining with determination. "After all… I am a member of the Dao of Alchemy Division!" She took a deep breath, and dispelled all thoughts of targeting Naruto. All of a sudden, it felt as if a great weight had been lifted off of her. She focused on the screen, and on contemplating plants and vegetation.

15,000. 20,000. 30,000….

A month passed by, during which time Naruto created 30,000 medicinal plants. More people gathered outside. By now, there were over 500,000, spread out in all directions.

Everyone was watching Naruto create medicinal plants. Occasionally, people seemed to go wild with joy at what they were seeing, and at other times they looked confused. However, in the end, everyone watching was able to gain something.

Unfortunately, Naruto was completely absorbed in what he was doing, and had no idea what was going on outside. If he did know, he might well have gone nuts. After all, this was a prime opportunity… to charge merit points.

If at this moment he stepped out of the Medicine Pavilion and bellowed out that he demanded payment, virtually everyone in the audience would instantly pay what he asked.

From the moment he had entered the first level until now, a full four months had passed. Although cultivators had a long lifespan, and often a single meditation session might last years, to them, four months would still seem to pass by slowly if they weren't meditating.

Despite that, no one grew impatient. Instead, they continued to make gains by watching.

Naruto immersed himself in grafting, and he was happy. There was no other place like this Medicine Pavilion, with 1,000,000,000 medicinal plants inside that he could choose from.

Although they were all illusory, that didn't really didn't matter to Naruto. They could still help him advance to a higher level in his skill with plants and vegetation.

Another month passed, and Naruto's eyes were bloodshot. He had now created 50,000 medicinal plants.

In the beginning, it had been relatively simple. However, the further along he progressed, the more difficult it became. Were he content to do a perfunctory job, this level would have been simple. However, he placed high requirements on himself. The medicinal plants he was creating now all were composed of at least one hundred other medicinal plants.

In fact, the past 10,000 he had created were grafted from at least five hundred other medicinal plants!

Exhaustion swelled up within him. The fifth, sixth, and seventh levels had all been quite a mental strain on him. In fact, as a result, he had even unwittingly grown a great deal in terms of divine sense.

Even more amazing to Naruto was that over the past months, his cultivation base was nearing ninety percent of the power of a true Immortal.

As the sixth month arrived, Naruto trembled. His mental energy was almost completely depleted, and his head felt as if it were swollen.

Piercing pain occasionally stabbed through his temples, and even his thinking had slowed.

However, he had now created nearly 70,000 medicinal plants.

Not a single one was a repeat, and any of them that appeared in the outside world would certainly cause a huge stir. That was especially true of the last 5,000…. Each one of those contained more than a thousand different grafting elements.

Medicinal plants like that could be refined into a pill just by adding a few minor ingredients.

The spectators outside were entranced and deeply moved by Uzumaki

Hao's skill with plants and vegetation. Another half a month passed. Finally, Naruto's energy was spent. His face was ashen, and he seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Even his Eternal stratum couldn't keep up with the mental strain.

He let out a long sigh and finally ceased working.

He had created over 75,000 plants.

"My mind isn't up to the task," he thought. "If I keep going, I might injure my foundation. Most important of all… my mastery of plants and vegetation isn't good enough, at least not in terms of grafting.

"I think perhaps 10,000 more would be my absolute limit.

"Furthermore, considering my current skill with plants and vegetation, creating an almighty medicinal plant composed of 10,000 grafts, would be too difficult." He took a deep breath and then slowly rose to his feet, his eyes shining with a gleam of obsession.

"I must deeply study the Namikaze Clan's way with plants and vegetation!" With that, he turned and vanished. When he reappeared, he was outside the Medicine Pavilion. When he saw the packed crowd of 500,000 cultivators, he gaped in shock.

Although he had assumed some people would come to observe, he had never imagined that so many people would show up. He even saw that all sorts of full alchemists were present, many of them still not fully awakened from the reveries of enlightenment they had fallen into while watching Naruto.

He was too tired to say anything. The only thing he wanted to do was return to his Immortal's cave and rest for a few days. He immediately flew into the air, transforming into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

As soon as he flew into the air, the crowds began to come to their senses. They looked at Naruto making his way off into the distance, and then went completely crazy.

"That was Namikaze Naruto!" someone shouted. "He came out!" More people came to their senses, and when they realized that the screen was gone, they understood that Naruto had already emerged from the Medicine Pavilion.

"75,000 medicinal plants, huh. He's a Grandmaster of plants and vegetation! He fully deserves to be called an apothecary!"

"With Grandmaster Namikaze Naruto's skill in plants and vegetation, if he wanted to simply pass through the Medicine Pavilion, I wouldn't dare to say he could pass the ninth level, but the eighth level would definitely be no problem!"

Everyone was in a tumult as they watched Naruto leave. Their eyes shone with fanaticism and reverence. In the world of cultivation, the strong are respected, and it was no different in the Dao of Alchemy Division.

"He stopped on purpose this time, but in a few months, he'll definitely keep going!"

The surrounding alchemists watched Naruto leave, and they all sighed emotionally. This was especially true of the tier 8 Elders, whose faces were filled with hope and excitement.

Deep in the inner mountains, Pill Elder Namikaze Danyun had been watching Naruto the entire time. Finally he sighed, and a smile appeared on his face. "There is finally a successor for the Dao of Alchemy Division…."

He waved his right hand, within which appeared an ancient book, upon which were written the words "Classic of Plants and Vegetation."

"Give this to Namikaze Naruto," he said softly, waving his hand again. A mysterious light appeared, covering over the book and taking it away.

Naruto flew out of the Dao of Alchemy Division, not even fully aware of his surroundings. However, a moment later, he suddenly stopped in place, and his eyes went wide. His mind felt as if it had just been struck by lightning.

"Dammit! How could I have forgotten to charge merit points!? There were more than 500,000 people there just now! How many months was I in the Medicine Pavilion!? This… This…."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 919

Chapter 919: Provocation

Naruto trembled, his face pale white. At first, he tried not to calculate how much he had lost, but in the end, he couldn't stop himself. His mind filled with a terrifyingly huge number of merit points, and he almost coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"Screwed! Royally screwed!" He felt like weeping, but no tears would come. All he could do was curse his horrible luck at having completely wasted such a good opportunity to earn merit points.

At this thought, he threw his head back and roared, which caused quite a few nearby birds to scatter in flight.

Trembling, heart bleeding, face ashen, Naruto felt completely drained of energy. Listless and depressed, it was at this point that he suddenly noticed that someone was flying through the air behind him.

He turned feebly and saw a young woman; his lifeless countenance caused her to stare in shock.

She was graceful and beautiful, with an entrancing face. She wore a long pink garment, and her fragrance was delicate and pleasing.

She looked at Naruto in shock for a moment, before tentatively asking, "Um, are you… Elder Cousin Namikaze Naruto?"

Naruto listlessly nodded his head. He was still inwardly tied up in knots over the huge sum of merit points he had lost. In his mind, even the sky had turned completely black.

The young woman's face grew serious as she looked at Naruto. She thought to herself that this person was willing to drive himself crazy before giving up, all for the sake of skill with plants and vegetation. She could see a level of unswerving determination in Naruto that she did not possess.

"Elder Cousin Namikaze Naruto, I saw you in the Medicine Pavilion just now, and I, Wan'er, couldn't help but admire you." She clasped hands and bowed, then held out a tome toward Naruto. "This… is a tome that his excellency Pill Elder wanted me to give you."

Naruto was still in a daze. Face blank, he muttered, "I just had an unimaginable amount of merit points placed in front of me, but I didn't cherish them as I should have… what a waste!"

The young woman gaped for a moment, unsure about the meaning of what she had just heard. "Elder Cousin, what did you just say?"

Naruto shook his head and dejectedly accepted the tome. Then he turned and, looking incredibly depressed, headed off into the distance. The young woman watched him make his way off, and couldn't help but feel even more admiration for him.

"He is definitely worthy of being the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline. Elder Cousin Namikaze Narutois crazy about the Dao of alchemy. He created more than 70,000 medicinal plants on the seventh level of the Medicine pavilion, but he still feels disappointed. It's almost like he's lost his faith and ideals. A person like that is really rare. No wonder his excellency Pill Elder wanted me to give him that tome.

"Wan'er," she said to herself encouragingly, "you have to work hard and study more, like Elder Cousin!" She looked at Naruto leaving, and was filled with reverence.

Naruto had no idea how much encouragement his expression had given to that fragile young woman. He continued along his way toward the ancestral mansion, drowsy and out of sorts.

As soon as he entered the ancestral mansion, his mood worsened. Even as he transformed into a beam of light and shot forward, a group of seven or eight people strolled out ahead of him, chatting and laughing.

Among that group of people was a young woman who Naruto recognized from when he had first arrived at East Heaven Gate. She was a female cultivator named Namikaze Hong. She was clearly a natural born beauty, and she currently wore a long, pale garment. She held her hand in front of her mouth and laughed as she walked along. Among those walking with her, three had cultivation bases at the peak of Dao Seeking, similar to false Immortals. There were a few others who were in the Spirit Severing realm.

All of them were people Naruto had seen following Namikaze Wei back in the temple.

Behind them trailed an old man with salt-and-pepper hair and an apathetic expression. He held his hands in front of him, tucked into the opposite sleeves, and followed the group with a slight bow, almost as if he were a servant.

He was not a member of the Namikaze Clan, but had a different surname, and had taken shelter with the Namikaze Clan in exchange for acting as a Dao Protector to members of the younger generation.

The young cultivators around Namikaze Hong chatted and laughed.

"Hong'er, I heard that when you went out for training this time you ended up taking Reverend Shui Yun as your master. Senior Shui Yun might be just a rogue cultivator, but his cultivation base is incredible. Congratulations! Oh, and now that you're back, don't be in a hurry to leave again. It won't be long now before the centennial rising of the East Ascension Sun. Prince Wei will be in charge of the East Ascension

Pavilion, and he's already invited Chosen from quite a few other sects to come enjoy the spectacle. When the time comes, you can meet all of them."

"Yeah, that's right! Princess Hong, of all the Chosen in the Namikaze Clan, there are few whose cultivation bases exceed yours. You'll definitely be a blazing sun in the East Ascension Pavilion.

In response to what everyone was saying, the young woman smiled slightly and shook her head, although her expression revealed traces of pride.

"Prince Wei and Prince Han both have cultivation bases higher than me," she said. "And as for you, Prince Tao and Prince Hai, with your cultivation bases, as long as you make the proper preparations, you should be able to use an Immortality Illumination Vine at almost any time."

"Not necessarily," said one of her companions. "The clan has Immortality Illumination Vines, but they're rare. There are only a few available in this generation. Unless you're one of the top three in the current generation, then the only way to get one is to pay a ton of merit points. It's really difficult."

"That's not the case with you, though, Hong'er. With the help of Reverend Shui Yun, you have a much better chance than all of us." Sighs could be heard. It was at this exact moment that Naruto flew overhead in a beam of light. The people down below looked up, and the three youths with cultivation bases similar to false Immortals all frowned.

Even the young woman Namikaze Hong was frowning.

In the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, there were only two people who were qualified to fly. One was Namikaze Wei, and the other… was none other than Naruto.

"Sir Chen, I don't like people flying over my head," said Namikaze Hong, her voice calm. In response, the old man who had been following the group looked up, and his previously calm eyes began to glow brightly. He looked up at Naruto flying through the air.

"Get down here!" he bellowed. He didn't attack, he just spoke. His words didn't echo out very far; they were directed solely at Naruto, and appeared to contained natural law that required his orders to be followed. They transformed into something like explosive, muffled thunder that only Naruto could hear.

Boom!

Naruto suddenly screeched to a halt in midair as an enormous force built up around him. It was as if the air around him had been restricted, and he was suddenly forced downward. Something like a huge hand pushed down, forcing him out of the sky.

His body trembled, and he felt incredible pressure like that of the peak of the Immortal stage, that of a stage 7 Immortal.

"Huh?" thought the old man, frowning. Seeing that he hadn't instantly suppressed Naruto, he gave a cold snort and caused his cultivation base to explode out with power. Massive pressure swelled out, and Naruto lost control of his body completely and fell out of the sky.

It wasn't until he landed on the ground that the pressure faded away. The old man's face was calm as he lowered his head, almost as if nothing had happened.

Namikaze Hong and her followers all looked over at Naruto.

Immediately, Namikaze Hong's followers spoke up.

"So, you're Namikaze Naruto, the one who caused all the ruckus in the Dao of

Alchemy Division?"

"Don't forget, it doesn't matter if the Grand Elder gave you the qualifications to fly in the ancestral mansion. If you don't have enough power, don't randomly fly over people's heads."

"You may go now."

These people didn't know much about Naruto. After all, the first thing he had done after returning to the clan was spend most of his time in the Dao of Alchemy Division.

All they knew was that his Bloodline Gatebeam was 30,000 meters. This made them feel a bit self-conscious. When it came to the Dao of alchemy however, they viewed it as a lesser type of Dao that wasn't worthy to share the stage with cultivation.

Having spoken their words, they resumed chatting and laughing, completely ignoring Naruto as they brushed past him.

Naruto had already been in an abominable mood. He had just been flying along, minding his own business, when suddenly he was forced down to the ground. Considering his personality, how could he possibly accept such a thing? His eyes grew cold, and a smile slowly spread out across his face.

It was a smile, but it was a very cold smile.

"So," he said indifferently, "you people see me but don't offer formal greetings! It seems you've forgotten all about the clan rules!"

The eight people frowned and stopped in place, slowly turning back to look at Naruto.

"Sir Chen," said Namikaze Hong, "get him out of here, why don't you."

Sir Chen's expression was as calm as ever as he nodded, then stepped toward Naruto. He pushed out with his right hand, causing an incredible force explode out toward Naruto. His goal was to physically push Naruto completely away.

As he advanced, the force rumbled out ahead of him. Naruto flicked his sleeve, causing a black beam of light to fly out, which transformed into the crocodile. It swished its tail, causing an incredible energy to surge out.

The old man's face flickered as the tail slammed into him, causing a huge boom to fill the air.

"You, a foreign servant, dare to raise your hand against me?!" Naruto said coolly. Then he stepped toward the group of eight.

The eight young cultivators' faces fell as they first saw the old man fighting the crocodile, and then saw Naruto walking toward them.

"And then, you people! I can't believe you see me but refuse to offer greetings!" He advanced toward them, his energy surging and a cold gleam flickering in his eyes.

The three young men with cultivation bases equivalent to false Immortals immediately stepped forward.

"Why the hell do you think we would offer greetings to you?" said one of them.

"Why the hell do I think you would offer greetings to me? Because I'm the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline! It doesn't matter which bloodline you people are from, or which branch. All members of this generation call me Cousin!" Even as Naruto's voice echoed out, he slapped out with his right hand.

The three young men snorted, and were just about to attempt to fight back, when all of a sudden, their faces fell. They were completely incapable of doing anything; Naruto's shocking wave of power completely destroyed all of their divine abilities and magical techniques.

Booms rang out as Naruto's hand slapped into all three of their faces in succession. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they were sent tumbling backward.

In that same moment, Naruto stepped forward, and his leg blurred into a whirlwind as he kicked the three young men over and over again. Booms mixed with bloodcurdling screams as they were sent hurtling backward, where they slammed into the ground.

Cracking sounds could be heard as more than half of their bones were broken.

"What do you think you're doing!?" said one of them, his face falling.

"We're inside the clan, you—"

"Oh, so it turns out you do know that we're in the Namikaze Clan," said Uzumaki

Hao coldly. "Don't tell me you've forgotten that I'm also surnamed

Namikaze !?" He stepped forward again, then waved his right hand, causing Namikaze Hong's Spirit Severing acquaintances to cough up blood as many of the bones in their bodies were crushed. Miserable shrieks rang out.

"You see me and actually don't extend greetings!? I'm the eldest grandson, so I guess all I can do is teach you a lesson about the clan rules. And then there's you…." He turned to face Namikaze Hong. As soon as he stepped forward, a voice called out from the distance.

"Stay your hand!"

Namikaze Hong's face flickered, and she quickly lifted her right hand into the air, causing a huge, illusory cauldron to appear, upon which the character ' Namikaze ' could be seen. It immediately crushed down toward Naruto.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 920

Chapter 920: An Exception!

"Ten percent of the power of a true Immortal!? Puny!" Completely ignoring whoever it was behind him, Naruto smiled coldly and clenched his hand into a fist. He punched out, causing a boom to echo out as the cauldron shattered. His fist continued on toward Namikaze Hong.

Another boom could be heard. Blood sprayed from Namikaze Hong's lips as she doubled over in pain. Naruto's punch was too fierce, and her Chakra passageways were shattered as she hurtled backward. It didn't matter that she was a woman, Naruto was as cold as ever.

After punching her, he turned icily to to face the group that was speeding toward him in the distance.

" Naruto, you twerp! How dare you!" Six people were flying through the air. Three of them were white-haired old men with cultivation bases in the Immortal realm. The one in the middle was clearly more powerful than the others, and was at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

That was the one who had spoken just now.

Behind the three old men were two masked cultivators, one whose cultivation base was hidden, making it impossible to see how deep it was. However, he emanated a desolate, murderous aura that was especially strong, as if his only job in the Namikaze Clan was to kill people.

The last of the group was none other than Namikaze Yunyi!

He was the one who had yelled out to Naruto to stay his hand.

As for the old man who had just spoken, he appeared next to Namikaze Hong even as his words echoed out. He immediately picked her up in his arms and gave her some medicinal pills.

Namikaze Hong's face was pale, and she was quivering. Blood oozed out of her mouth, and it was with difficulty that she swallowed the medicinal pills.

"Grandpa," she said with a bitter smile, "my… my Chakra passageways…."

The old man had already noticed that Namikaze Hong's Chakra passageways had been shattered, and he responded, "Don't worry. Grandpa will fix this for you!" With that, he turned to glare at Naruto, his eyes flickering with killing intent.

"What gall you have! How dare you slaughter people within the clan! There's no need to send you to the clan dungeon, I'll execute you here and now!" With that, the other two old men who had accompanied him began to close in on Naruto.

"That crocodile too! Kill it!" The two masked cultivators immediately headed toward the crocodile. Sir Chen instantly fell back to Namikaze Hong's side, his face anxious.

A cold smile appeared on Namikaze Yunyi's face, and inwardly, he was going wild with joy at finally being able to catch Naruto off guard. This time, he knew that Naruto was going to be killed without a doubt.

"Sixth Grandpa, correct?" Naruto stood his ground, completely ignoring the two old men who were closing in on him. "Let me ask you, did you see me slaughter anyone?" He slapped his bag of holding to produce his identity medallion.

"I'm the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline. My dad is Namikaze Minato , and the Grand Elder is my Third Grandpa. If you people dare to kill me, you'll be violating clan rules. Anyone who violates clan rules will be put to death!" As his voice echoed out, the two old men who were moving toward him suddenly stopped in place, their faces flickering as they hesitated.

"I was flying happily through the air," Naruto continued calmly,

"when these clan members asked this foreign servant to suppress me. And after seeing who I was, they refused to greet me respectfully. Apparently, they aren't familiar with the clan rules, so I set about to teach them a lesson. Sixth Grandpa, have you suddenly developed a vision problem?" He stood there, his expression stony.

"Kill him!" cried Namikaze Hong's grandfather a second time, with a cold snort. Hearing his words, the two old men clenched their jaws and continued on toward Naruto.

Naruto's face flickered, and he fell back. Even before the two old men could get close to him, he slapped his own chest with his palm, coughing up a huge mouthful of blood, and then letting out a miserable shriek. At the same time, he ripped open his bag of holding, causing the jade box that contained the Nirvana Fruits to fly out.

Next, he yelled out at the top of his lungs, "You want to steal my Nirvana

Fruits! Grand Elder! Third Grandpa! Someone's trying to steal my Nirvana Fruits!"

Using all the power his cultivation base could muster, he sent his voice echoing out in all directions.

When the Grand Elder gave Naruto the Nirvana Fruits, he had sworn an oath that anyone in the clan who dared to steal them from Naruto would be exterminated. As Naruto's voice spread throughout the clan, many people heard it. The two old men who had been closing in on Naruto to kill him, suddenly stopped in place, and their faces fell.

Even Namikaze Hong's grandfather's face fell, and he gritted his teeth.

"I get it!" continued Naruto, backing up, and at the same time, crying out loudly. "You clan members of my generation pulled me out of the sky because you're… you're in collusion with that foreign servant to steal my Nirvana Fruits!

"You Heaven-damned clan delinquents! How could you be so ruthless! How could you try to steal my Nirvana Fruits!

"Grand Elder, save me! Third Grandpa, if you don't show up quickly, my

Nirvana Fruits are going to be taken away! Third Grandpa, Grand Elder, SAVE ME!"

His bellowing caused the enraged three youths with the near-false Immortal cultivation bases to one again cough up blood.

"Stop talking nonsense!" cried Namikaze Hong, blood oozing from her mouth. She was also getting nervous. "We saw you flying toward us and just wanted you to go around us! We never brought up anything about your Nirvana Fruits!"

"You sharp-tongued troublemaker!" howled Namikaze Hong's grandfather. "You're not from the Namikaze Clan! DIE!" As he closed in on Naruto, it became apparent that the Grand Elder was nowhere to be seen.

Naruto's eyes flickered coldly, and he suddenly lifted his right hand. The Lightning Cauldron appeared. In that critical moment, he looked over at Namikaze Yunyi, whose face instantly fell.

Rumble!

They instantly switched places, and Naruto watched from off in the distance as the old man's palm descended onto Namikaze Yunyi, who let out a piercing scream.

The old man pulled his palm back at the very last moment, then turned to look at Naruto. He was just about to charge toward him once again, when suddenly, several dozen beams of light shot through the air toward them from various directions.

"6th Older Uncle, my Older Cousin entrusted Naruto'er to me for safekeeping. If you dare to touch him, I'll wipe out your entire bloodline. Worst case scenario, afterward I'll take my entire family to stay with my Older Cousin on Planet Ninshu!" The speaker was none other than Naruto's 19th Uncle, who came to a stop directly in front of Naruto. He looked over coldly at Namikaze Hong's grandfather.

More beams of light descended. Two were middle-aged men, who intercepted the attacks of the masked cultivators against the crocodile, saving it from certain annihilation.

In the blink of an eye, the entire situation had changed. Naruto was surrounded by more than a dozen cultivators. However, the man who 19th Uncle had called 6th Older Uncle was also joined by quite a few newcomers.

As they faced off with proverbial daggers drawn, the archaic voice of Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian suddenly echoed out from deep within the ancestral mansion.

"That's enough. Namikaze Hong, Namikaze Tao, Namikaze Hai, and the rest of your companions, you disrespected the rules of seniority. You will be punished in the Fire Smelting Pit for ten days!

" Namikaze Naruto, although clan members treated you disrespectfully, there was no need to attack so viciously. You will also be punished in the Fire Smelting Pit for ten days!

"The sentence will be carried out immediately!"

As soon as the Grand Elder's voice rang out, Namikaze Hong and the others' faces went pale. The Fire Smelting Pit was also called Hell, and to spend ten days there would be like being skinned alive.

The clan members in the area, both those of Naruto's bloodline and 6th Older Uncle's, didn't dare to say another word. 6th Patriarch's eyes flickered and he held his tongue.

However, Naruto opened his mouth immediately.

"Third Grandpa, Grand Elder, um… my Spirit Elixir is almost finished! I'm almost ready to absorb the Nirvana Fruits, so I really don't have time to go to the Fire Smelting Pit. Look, if you make an exception, I'll make up the punishment later. What do you think?"

Naruto's words were met with utter silence. No one would ever dare to contradict the Grand Elder's orders. Namikaze Hong and the others looked on with wide eyes. In their opinion, Naruto was really far too brazen. Even the other Elders in the area were gaping at him.

Namikaze Yunyi was elated, and inwardly, started laughing uproariously. In his hatred for Naruto, he rejoiced at Naruto's words to the Grand Elder, and couldn't wait for Naruto to experience even more misery.

"Be quiet!" hissed 19th Uncle. All of the other clan members surrounding Naruto also felt that his words were far too crude and rash.

"What?" said the Grand Elder. He had never imagined that Naruto would dare to speak up, and when his voice echoed out, it seemed to send a chill through the entire area. However, after the space of a few breaths went by, he spoke further, and the words he uttered caused everyone to gasp.

"Very well. Absorbing the Nirvana Fruits is a very important matter. As soon as you finish, go to the Fire Smelting Pit!"

"Many thanks, Third Grandpa," said Naruto, looking very grateful. Everyone else looked on with shock and other strange expressions. In their memory, the Grand Elder had always been unswervingly just, which was how he had earned the clan's respect over the years.

But now, he was clearly being partial toward Naruto.

"This… the Grand Elder actually just…."

"He called the Grand Elder by the address Third Grandpa…. Now that I think about it, the Grand Elder used to be part of the direct bloodline!" All of a sudden, thoughtful expressions could be seen on the onlookers' faces. The 6th Patriarch's face flickered, and he gritted his teeth. Finally, he let out a cold snort. His face extremely grim, he flicked his sleeve and carried Namikaze Hong away.

As Namikaze Hong was taken away, she looked back at Naruto, and she couldn't help but muse about how terrifying he was.

"The Grand Elder actually showed partiality toward him…."

The youths with the near-false Immortal cultivation bases were trembling as they clasped hands and bowed toward Naruto.

"Cousin…."

Naruto grunted in response, then looked over at Namikaze Yunyi, who was gingerly attempting to sneak away, and gave an obviously fake smile.

Namikaze Yunyi's scalp went numb, and the images of what had happened on Planet Ninshu flitted through his mind. Gritting his teeth, he bowed his head.

"Cousin…."

Naruto smiled, then turned to clasp hands and express his gratitude to 19th Uncle and the other members of his bloodline. All of them looked at him encouragingly as he transformed into a beam of light and shot away.

"When the Grand Elder looks at Naruto, he must be thinking of Naruto's own grandfather. The two of them were brothers, and were very close!"

"Yeah, that's right. The Grand Elder is always unswervingly just. In the past several hundred years, he's never shown partiality toward anyone. He hasn't made a single exception!"

"Hao'er is really a blazing sun of the Namikaze Clan. The fact that the Grand

Elder is willing to make an exception for him illustrates that point!"

Even as they discussed the matter, Naruto disappeared off into the distance.

Eventually, he reached his Immortal's cave.

As soon as he set foot inside, his eyes turned cold, and a grim expression covered his face.

"Grand Elder. Third Grandpa. Why do you want so badly for me to die…?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 921

Chapter 921: Objectives

Naruto took a deep breath as he sat there cross-legged in his residence. Although he was physically in the Namikaze Clan right now, he didn't have much of a sense of belonging.

"This isn't my home," he murmured softly. "My dad and mom aren't here. Since they're on Planet Ninshu, Planet Ninshu is my home."

At the moment, he was completely exhausted. After spending half a year in the Medicine Pavilion, and then experiencing the encounter moments ago, he was worn out mentally and in pain physically.

Then he thought again about all of the merit points he had basically lost while he was in the Medicine Pavilion. It was like a knife stabbing through his heart.

"Oh, the pain…." he thought, clenching his jaw. "Thankfully, I didn't go all the way through. Next time I'm definitely going to arrange things ahead of time. No merit points, no watching me!" Having made this decision, he let out a long sigh and then closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation base to begin his recuperation.

Ten days later, he opened his eyes, and they shone with an energetic gleam. He took a deep breath. During the past half year, he had expended a lot of mental energy. Now that he was fully recovered, his eyes glittered. He produced the tome that had been given to him from his bag of holding.

"So, Pill Elder gave this to me…." After a moment of thought, he began to flip through the pages. The more he saw, the more brightly his eyes glowed. This was the true Classic of Plants and Vegetation, and it was incredibly detailed. There were even medicinal plants recorded therein that he hadn't seen in the Medicine Pavilion.

As he skimmed its contents, Naruto suddenly realized that his divine sense had experienced growth after his experience in the Medicine Pavilion. He sent it out into the courtyard, where he saw Namikaze Xi sitting there abjectly. The parrot and meat jelly were not sitting on his shoulder as usual. They were nowhere to be seen.

Naruto gaped for a moment. He remembered seeing Namikaze Xi in the group of 500,000 spectators outside of the Medicine Pavilion, but he couldn't remember if the parrot and meat jelly had been there. He pushed open the door of his residence, and the sound caused Namikaze Xi to look up. His eyes were a bit blank, and when he saw Naruto, he sighed and rose to his feet.

Hanging his head, he bitterly said, "Coz, you need to punish me. It was all my fault. Lord Fifth and Lord Third, they… I… I…." Apparently, he couldn't finish his thought.

"What's wrong?" asked Naruto in amazement.

"I don't know what happened with Lord Fifth. After you came out of the Medicine Pavilion, I was going to take him and Lord Third back here. However, something happened to Lord Fifth. All of a sudden… he headed toward tier 7 alchemist Namikaze Shuiyan, that old woman. Lord Fifth and her peacock started fighting….

"There was nothing I could do to stop it. Lord Fifth went crazy…. Lord

Third couldn't say anything to stop what was happening either, so he eventually just joined Lord Fifth." Namikaze Xi seemed to be completely out of sorts, and wasn't even speaking coherently.

As soon as Naruto heard Namikaze Xi's story, he knew exactly what was going on. He remembered that peacock, and its luxuriant coat of feathers….

"Don't worry about it, the parrot was just having some fun with the peacock," Naruto said euphemistically.

"Having fun? Coz!" exclaimed Namikaze Xi in agitation. He seemed upset. "There was definitely nothing fun going on!

"You didn't see what happened. It… it was terrifying. The peacock's rear end virtually exploded! It was horrific!" Namikaze Xi shuddered. When he thought about what he had seen, he felt a sense of terror. Then he thought about how much time he'd spent with Lord Fifth, and how the parrot was constantly glancing behind him, and all the hair on his body stood on end.

"Coz, that bird… you need to find a place to set it free. It's simply appalling!" Namikaze Xi's breath came in ragged pants.

"You're still young so you don't understand," Naruto said, sounding very sure of himself. "As far as the birds are concerned, it was just having fun."

"Coz, there's something else I didn't mention," Namikaze Xi continued, unable to hold back. "Once when I went out with Lord Fifth and Lord Third, we encountered a fierce bear, and Lord Fifth… Lord Fifth had… had some fun."

Naruto patted Namikaze Xi on the shoulder and explained once again that it was all in good fun.

"In the end," added Namikaze Xi, "Lord Fifth and Lord Third were taken away by Alchemist Namikaze Shuiyan…."

"Don't worry," said Naruto, waving his hand nonchalantly, "That meat jelly can't be killed, and if the parrot dies, then the world will simply have one less scourge to worry about. Don't pay them any more attention." He was well aware that the two morons were incredibly tenacious, and couldn't be hurt easily. They were virtually indestructible.

"But—"

"Really, don't say anything more. Come on. Let's head over to the Dao of Alchemy Division. I wasted an entire half year in the Medicine Pavilion. It's time to go make some merit points!" Naruto shot out of the Immortal's Cave and Namikaze Xi reluctantly followed him. The two of them sped toward the Dao of Alchemy Division as fast as possible.

Along the way, Naruto's heart began to surge with excitement. He very much wanted to find out if his tactic of going to the Medicine Pavilion would solve his problem with the merit points.

"Hardships prompt changes, changes bring solutions, solutions resolve hardships!" Before long, the two of them reached the Dao of Alchemy Division and entered the outer mountains. Naruto was instantly recognized.

"It's Namikaze Naruto! He's here!"

"Could it be that he'll go to the Medicine Pavilion again!? It's too early, isn't it? Wait, don't tell me… he's going to give a lecture on plants and alchemy!?" As soon as the nearby apprentice alchemists saw Naruto, they got very excited, and began to spread word to their friends in the clan.

By the time Naruto got to Peak #7191, he was being followed by tens of thousands of people. He stepped onto the platform, cleared his throat, and was just about to begin speaking when suddenly, numerous beams of bright light shot toward the area. In the blink of an eye, the crowd exceeded 100,000 people.

There were even alchemists who emerged from within the inner mountains to come hear Naruto lecture about plants and vegetation.

Naruto had proven to everyone how terrifyingly skilled he was with plants and vegetation. By now, most people were convinced that his skill was at least tier 8 level!

In the entire Dao of Alchemy Division, not counting Naruto, there were only nineteen people who were presently at tier 8 level when it came to skill with plants and vegetation. Those were the tier 8 alchemists, also referred to as Pavilion Elders of the Pill Pavilion.

People like that would never go out and give lectures. From this, it can be imagined how enthusiastic the audience was. Before much time passed, the audience swelled to 200,000.

Naruto didn't need to say a word about the merit points. Everybody knew the rules, and immediately paid their due.

Naruto was also excited to note that the old woman Namikaze Shuiyan was no longer present on the opposite mountain peak. Without any competition to worry about, he shelved his idea of increasing prices and proceeded to give his lecture.

Six hours later, having collected hundreds of thousands of merit points, Naruto gritted his teeth and decided to talk for four more hours. That pushed his profit into the 1,000,000 range, and Naruto went wild with joy.

With so many merit points, Naruto now felt much more at ease. All he had to do was give a lecture for a few hours a day, and vast amounts of merit points would come flowing in. All of a sudden, he felt a sense that the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division was showing him quite a bit of hospitality.

Naruto now lived a life of extravagance. He bought vast quantities of medicinal pills and medicinal plants. He even procured plenty of Immortal jade, which, after absorbing the spiritual energy, causing his Immortal meridian to become even more solid. On one occasion, after acquiring what was essentially the clan's entire yearly supply of Immortal jade, he was able to instantly solidify his Immortal meridian to a degree of ninety percent!

His cultivation base experienced rapid growth. He no longer had eighty percent of the power of a true Immortal, but rather, ninety percent. His battle prowess even broke past that of a stage 4 Immortal. Back in his Immortal's cave, he produced the crocodile, and after a bit of sparring, determined that he was now comparable to a stage 5 Immortal!

He was also just barely able to detect the power of Tribulation forming. He knew that once he became one hundred percent true Immortal, the Door of Immortality would descend.

"I've been waiting for a long time for that day to arrive," he thought, eyes glittering with excitement. "I've prepared well, so once I step into true Immortality, I'm going to absorb huge amounts of Immortal Chakra from the Door of Immortality. I'm going to open dozens of Immortal meridians in one shot!"

This was the same reason why the Chosen of so many sects consolidated their power and waited for true Immortal destiny before making their breakthrough. They wanted to burst into true Immortality by opening multiple Immortal meridians. There were even some Chosen who opened sixty or seventy Immortal meridians in one shot.

Such opportunities were available only when the Door of Immortality appeared. At other times, it would be impossible to experience such a wild leap in one's cultivation base.

At the same time, Naruto continued to concoct Spirit Elixir with increasingly rare plants. The quality of the Spirit Elixir he was producing had reached a terrifying level.

The life force in the Nirvana Fruits was growing stronger. Of course, his spirit stones were rapidly depleted, and when he finally reached the end of his supply, he started exchanging merit points to get more spirit stones.

Unfortunately, after making a few exchanges, he was unable to acquire any more spirit stones; the number of spirit stones that could be doled out to any given person was limited.

Actually, few people were aware that such a rule existed. After all, not many people would ever spend as many merit points as Naruto had on spirit stones. Naruto was shocked by this development, and nearly went mad.

Right now, he did not lack merit points, he lacked spirit stones. He even thought about selling his merit points for spirit stones, but that was actually a violation of clan rules. Of course, violating the rules didn't bother him, since he didn't care much about the rules to begin with.

However, the Namikaze Clan was in a delicate state at the moment. Naruto knew that there were quite a few people who were secretly watching him, and even the slightest mistake could be turned into a major issue.

There were some areas of the ancestral mansion that Naruto had never visited. He had stuck to and risen to prominence in the Dao of Alchemy Division. Thanks to his fame and position there, the people who considered him a problem couldn't make a move against him easily.

For the most part, he wasn't very familiar with the Namikaze Clan. He wasn't well acquainted with the various relatives from other branches, and didn't even know very many people from the direct bloodline.

The people he had dealings with the most were Namikaze Xi and 19th Uncle. He didn't really feel like getting very close with anyone else.

He caught sight of Namikaze Donghan a few times, who always seemed to be trying to avoid him. Naruto knew quite well that he was a Chosen, just like Namikaze Wei. However, he had been suppressed by Namikaze Wei, and was looking forward to when Naruto and Namikaze Wei finally squared off. Naruto understood how he felt.

As far as Namikaze Xiangshan went, she also avoided him. On the few occasions when they ran into each other, Naruto could see the fear in her eyes.

He couldn't help but sigh at this. Was he really that scary?

Regarding the other Chosen, he didn't know them, nor did he have any desire to get to know them.

He had no plans to stay in the Namikaze Clan for a long time. After all, he had only three objectives in coming here.

The first was to get his Nirvana Fruits. The Second was to excel for his dad and mom's sake, and make all the Chosen of the Namikaze Clan look at him with respect.

The third was to reach true Immortal Ascension!

Once he achieved those objectives, Naruto would leave the Namikaze

Clan. Then, he would use his Immortal Ancient Dao Medallion to join the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. There… was where he would continue practicing cultivation and truly rise to prominence.

"It's important to have someone to rely on. I learned that when I was in the Reliance Sect. Here in the Namikaze Clan of Planet East Victory, the Dao of Alchemy Division is what I have to rely on." Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered. Moments later, though, he grimaced.

"However, I'm out of spirit stones. What do I do about that…?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 922

Chapter 922: The Sound of a Drum in the Pill Pavilion!

"Spirit stones… spirit stones!" Naruto's face glowed and he took a deep breath.

" Namikaze Qun told me that the Dao of Alchemy Division has three types of medicinal pills that no one has ever been able to concoct. The clan will give a huge reward to anybody who does. Since I don't have any spirit stones, I might as well go see if I can concoct one of them and get that reward!" This was the simplest method he could think of, and he was just about to go try it out when Namikaze Xi's excited voice could be heard outside his residence.

"Coz, are you there?!"

Before Naruto could even respond, Namikaze Xi pushed the front door open and rushed in, looking very excited, even entranced. As he ran over, Naruto noticed that sky outside looked somewhat different than usual.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in concentration.

It was currently midday, but the sky outside almost appeared to be aflame. The entire sky was crimson red, yet no sun was visible.

It was just barely possible to see that the natural law of a great Dao hung up in the sky.

"Coz, I just saw Goddess Fan Dong'er from the Nine Seas God World!

"And Li Ling'er from the Li Clan! And also some new disciple from the Church of the Blood Orchid!" Namikaze Xi seemed very excited. When he mentioned Fan Dong'er's name, his eyes seemed to gleam with adoration, and he seemed especially enthusiastic when he talked about Li Ling'er.

"Lots of Chosen have come. Taiyang Zi, Sun Hai from the Church of the Emperor Immortal, Uchiha Mu from the Uchiha Clan, and Song Luodan from the Song Clan. There's even a guy from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, someone named Zhou Xin!" As Namikaze Xi spoke, Naruto rose to his feet. Eyes shining, he reached out and grabbed Namikaze Xi's shoulders.

"Taiyang Zi is here? And Song Luodan? Li Ling'er? And Sun Hai…?" Naruto started laughing out loud. Just when he started worrying about his lack of spirit stones, a whole throng of people showed up who all happened to owe him money.

"Over the next few days, even more Chosen are going to arrive from the various sects and clans. They're here to watch the East Ascension Sun from the East Ascension Pavilion," Namikaze Xi exclaimed excitedly. Although he felt that Naruto was acting a bit strange, he didn't put too much thought into it.

"East Ascension Sun?" This was the second time Naruto had heard someone mention East Ascension. The first time had been when Namikaze Hong's group had mentioned it.

"Every hundred years, the sun outside of the Nine Mountains and Seas reaches the point in its orbit in which it is closest to Planet East Victory.

At that time, Planet East Victory will experience a brand new rising sun!

"Daoist magic and natural laws of Heaven and Earth will appear. Because the sun is so close, if you have the intuition and understanding, then in the moment that the East Ascension Sun rises, you can bathe in the resulting boundless sunlight. That sunlight contains a great Dao that can strengthen your fleshly body!

"Coz, you definitely have to go watch. When the East Ascension Sun appears, all of the clan members under the age of 1,000 will fly up to bathe in the sunlight. The higher you fly, and the closer you get to the sun, the more you'll benefit!

"A hundred years ago," Namikaze Xi continued excitedly, "Wu Daozi from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite made a breakthrough, and his fleshly body reached a height almost comparable to true Immortality!"

Naruto's eyes glittered. His fleshly body was already incredibly powerful, but now that his Immortal meridian had appeared, his fleshly body was actually a bit weaker than his cultivation base. Furthermore, he knew of no way to improve it. If he could use this chance to do so, it would be great good fortune.

"When does it start?" Naruto asked.

"In seven days," Namikaze Xi replied.

Naruto rubbed his bag of holding and then licked his lips. "Where are

Taiyang Zi and all the others?" he asked. "Take me to them."

"Huh?" Namikaze Xi hesitated for a moment. Just now, he had seen the aforementioned group at the ancestral mansion's main gate. "Oh, Namikaze Wei invited them all to the East Ascension Pavilion in the East District. That… belongs to their branch of the clan. It would be appropriate to go there on the actual day of the East Ascension Sun, but right now…."

"Oh, I see…." Naruto's eyes glittered, and he smiled. "Well, never mind, then. I'll just see them in seven days. First, I need to make a trip to the Dao of Alchemy Division. Why don't you come along?"

Namikaze Xi shook his head.

"Dad wanted me to go find him. I only came here to tell you about the

East Ascension Sun. You go ahead without me, Coz."

Naruto nodded, and he and Namikaze Xi walked out of the residence, after which they went their separate ways.

Naruto transformed into a beam of light that shot out of the ancestral mansion and headed toward the Dao of Alchemy Division. Before long, he arrived. Many of the apprentice alchemists were discussing the East Ascension Sun, and numerous full alchemists were making special preparations to concoct pills during that time. Condensing the power of the sun into fire-type medicinal pills would significantly increase their medicinal strength.

Furthermore, the power of the sun could be used to condense sunlight itself to concoct East Ascension Pills. Such pills could only be concocted once every hundred years, during the rising of the East Ascension Sun!

Furthermore, only tier 7 alchemists or higher could actually concoct such pills.

Naruto did not go to Peak #7191, but instead, went to find Namikaze Qun. After he explained what he wanted to do, Namikaze Qun stared back at him in a daze. He had never seen Naruto concoct pills. In fact, he wasn't the only one. No one in the entire Dao of Alchemy Division had ever seen Naruto concoct pills.

Because of that, many people speculated that Naruto only understood plants and vegetation, not pill concocting.

Others believed that Naruto would definitely have an understanding of the Dao of alchemy, and only wondered what realm his pill concocting was in.

When Namikaze Qun heard that he was going to try to concoct one of the three legendary pills that nobody had ever concocted, he stared in shock. A moment later, though, he started to get excited. Nodding his head, he began to show Naruto the way.

The two of them sped through the Dao of Alchemy Division, straight into the inner mountains. Many apprentice alchemists saw them, and their eyes began to shine.

" Namikaze Naruto's going into the inner mountains? Could it be that he's heading to the Medicine Pavilion again?!"

"I need to go early this time or I won't get a good seat."

"Come on, let's follow him!" Numerous apprentice alchemists hurried to follow Naruto, and soon, he had a crowd of thousands following him.

Bright beams of light shot through the air into the inner mountains. Many of the alchemists there sensed what was happening, and immediately joined the crowd.

After they realized he wasn't heading to the Medicine Pavilion, many of them were disappointed. However, it was at this point that people started to realize that he was actually headed…

To the Pill Pavilion!

The Dao of Alchemy Division had a Medicine Pavilion and also a Pill Pavilion!

Enshrined within the Pill Pavilion were vast quantities of medicinal pills. Whenever alchemists concocted pills, they could actually sell them here in exchange for other items that they needed.

It was also the location where a huge reward was offered for those three sacred pills!

"He's going to the Pill Pavilion? Maybe he's going to buy some medicinal pills?"

"No, that isn't right…the Pill Pavilion doesn't sell pills, it only buys them…. Don't tell me he knows how to concoct pills?"

All of the people following Naruto were very curious. Few of them left; most continued to follow him as he neared the Pill Pavilion.

This pavilion didn't look very different from the Medicine Pavilion. There were also two old men standing guard outside, as well as a huge stone stele that was packed tight with the names of various medicinal pills. Another difference between the two was that the Medicine Pavilion floated in the air, seemingly held in place by fetters, as if it wished to fly out of the Dao of Alchemy Division into the sky.

The Pill Pavilion did not float in the air. It was held down on the ground by an enormous stone hand, the fingers of which pierced into the pavilion itself. It, too, seemed to wish to fly away, but was forever obstructed by the gigantic hand.

"The Medicine Pavilion was obviously snatched from somewhere else and then brought to the Dao of Alchemy Division by the Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch," thought Naruto. "That's why it's held in place with fetters; to prevent it from returning to its original master. As for the Pill Pavilion, at a single glance you can tell that it was also snatched from somewhere else, and is being held in place to prevent it from going back to its true master." A strange expression could be seen on Naruto's face as he looked at the Pill Pavilion. From the situation of these two pavilions, it was possible to see how domineering the first generation Namikaze Patriarch had been.

In front of the Pill Pavilion were three enormous drums, each of which looked ancient, as if they had existed for countless years. On each of the drum heads could be seen ancient characters, glittering with radiant light.

Heavenly One Thought Pill!

Sea-Cleaving Heaven-Defying Pill!

Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!

Three drums, three sets of ancient characters. These three medicinal pills had been the life's work of three Patriarchs of the Namikaze Clan of ages past. And yet, in all the years since, no one else from the Namikaze Clan had been able to concoct them!

It was even publicly acknowledged that not even this generation's most powerful alchemist, Namikaze Danyun, could concoct it. However, some people speculated that, although Pill Elder could not concoct the Heavenly One Thought Pill and the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill, he actually could concoct the easiest of the three pills, the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill.

Naruto took a deep breath and sent out his divine sense. As soon as it touched the three drums, an archaic voice echoed inside of his head.

"Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. Whoever concocts this pill will receive a reward of 100,000,000 spirit stones, 100,000 Immortal jades, 5,000,000 merit points, 10,000 medicinal plants of your choice from the Dao of Alchemy Division, three clan Daoist magics, and one Immortal treasure.

Furthermore, the Dao Bell will toll nine times! Those who wish to attempt this pill, strike the drum and produce the fee of 1,000,000 merit points to acquire a set of ingredients.

"Sea-Cleaving Heaven-Defying Pill! Whoever concocts this pill will receive a reward of 1,000,000,000 spirit stones, 1,000,000 Immortal jades, 20,000,000 merit points, 100,000 medicinal plants of your choice from the Dao of Alchemy Division, six clan Daoist magics, and one

Ancient treasure. The Dao Bell will toll 18 times! The ingredient fee is

10,000,000 merit points."

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he began to pant. He looked at the drums with wide eyes.

"Heavenly One Thought Pill. Whoever concocts this pill will be the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division! The prerequisite to attempt this pill is to concoct the previous two pills. The ingredient fee is 100,000,000 merit points."

Naruto's mind reeled. He knew that, considering the rewards that were available, and the fact that tens of thousands of years had passed without anyone concocting the pills… the Heavenly One Thought Pill was incredibly difficult to concoct.

"I don't really need to concoct the Heavenly One Thought Pill," he mused. "If I can simply concoct the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill and get that 100,000,000 spirit stone reward, that will be enough." Licking his lips, he kept the thought of the reward in his mind as if he had just imprinted it onto his soul. His eyes were completely bloodshot.

"For the spirit stones! And for that Immortal treasure!" He flew forward.

"I'm going to go all out!" Transforming into a beam of light, he shot toward the Pill Pavilion as the surrounding audience of several thousand looked on. He didn't enter the pavilion, but instead, headed toward the three drums. The eyes of the audience went wide.

In the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of the drums. He then extended his right hand toward the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill drum and struck it with his palm.

DONG!

The drum reverberated with a deep thrum that echoed out through the entire Dao of Alchemy Division. Ripples spread out in all directions, and all alchemists and apprentice alchemists heard the sound.

"That's… the sound of someone striking a drum at the Pill Pavilion!"

"Someone's trying to concoct one of the three impossible medicinal pills! Even the simplest one requires a fee 1,000,000 merit points. Who could possibly be so rich? Those pills can't be concocted! It's a complete waste of 1,000,000 points!"

"That's… an entire 1,000,000 points!"

The Dao of Alchemy Division was instantly thrown into an uproar.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 923

Chapter 923: Naruto Concocts Pills!

Many of the apprentice alchemists in the outer mountains were listening to various alchemists giving lectures about plants and vegetation. When the drum echoed out, all of the apprentice alchemists lifted their heads up in shock. When they realized that the sound of the drum came from the Pill Pavilion, their faces flickered.

"That's the sound of the drum from the Pill Pavilion! Someone's trying to concoct one of the three legendary medical pills from the Dao of Alchemy Division!"

"The simplest of them all requires a fee of 1,000,000 merit points!

Unless you successfully concoct the pill, those merit points are wasted!"

"Who is it, I wonder?"

The apprentice alchemists in the outer mountains weren't the only ones to have such a reaction. The alchemists in the inner mountains also heard the sound of the drum, and their faces filled with shock. There were some who even subconsciously sneered.

"Nobody has tried to concoct one of those pills for years. I wonder which alchemist is going to try."

"1,000,000 merit points is such a waste. It's a real pity. Although, things like this only happen every so often, so I definitely need to go watch." Many alchemists flew up from the inner mountains. There were even many alchemists who rarely made public appearances, but still flew toward the Pill Pavilion. After all… this was a spectacle that could only be had at the cost of 1,000,000 merit points.

The tier 7 alchemists in the inner mountains flew into the air with glittering eyes. Even the nineteen tier 8 alchemists heard the sound of the drum, and several of them immediately flew toward the Pill Pavilion.

In the very center of the inner mountains, Pill Elder Namikaze Danyun sat cross-legged on his mountain peak, looking off toward the Pill Pavilion, his eyes shining with a light of curiosity.

"So, Namikaze Narutois finally going to try his hand at pill concocting."

It took only moments for tens of thousands of people to gather around the Pill Pavilion. Beams of light shot toward it continuously as more and more people arrived. When people saw that it was Naruto standing outside the Pill Pavilion, they were shocked.

"It's Namikaze Naruto!"

"Now it makes sense that someone could afford so many merit points. It turns out to be him! But… can he concoct pills? Even if he can, does he really dare to take on those legendary pills, a challenge that countless people have failed over the past tens of thousands of years?"

"He has too many merit points. You know, I think he's just flaunting the

1,000,000 merit points to attract the attention of the whole Dao of

Alchemy Division, and thus, gain more fame. That's all."

Naruto ignored the crowds that were gathering. As the sound of the drum reverberated out, he held out his identity jade medallion, and 1,000,000 merit points vanished.

Simultaneously, the sound of the drum seemed to enter Naruto's body, and suddenly, a pill formula appeared in his mind. The pill formula was extremely mysterious: he could see it clearly, and yet was unable to commit it to memory.

It was also impossible to imprint it onto a jade slip. Apparently, it was protected by some unique restrictive spell. Actually, Naruto was not unfamiliar with such a situation; he had experienced similar things in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

"They want to protect the pill formula, in order to make sure it doesn't get leaked outside the clan." His eyes flickered as the head of the drum in front of him suddenly rippled like water, and a set of medicinal plants floated out.

In total, there were thirteen of them.

Each medicinal plant could be considered extremely precious. There were five of them that caused a shocking botanical aroma to spread out in all directions as soon as they appeared. Even Naruto's pupils went wide because of that. There were two plants in particular that he found shocking.

One was completely black, with a single delicate flower. It was beautiful, and at a single glance it was obvious that it had an aura of extreme heat circling around it.

Surprisingly, the other plant… was a Sun Blossom!

Naruto took a deep breath. He had thought Sun Blossoms to be virtually extinct in the outside world. He had never imagined that he would run into one here. Unfortunately, when compared to the Sun Blossom he had harvested in the Ruins of Immortality, this Sun Blossom was damaged and incomplete. However, it was still a Sun Blossom.

"Considering all of this, those 1,000,000 merit points were actually worth it…." he thought, taking a deep breath. However, he knew that he couldn't simply take these medicinal plants away; he had to use them here and now to concoct a medicinal pill.

Naruto sat cross-legged in front of the Pill Pavilion and closed his eyes to analyze the pill formula. Time passed. More and more people arrived, and soon, 500,000 people were crowded around.

All of them stared at Naruto. The sight of someone spending 1,000,000 merit points to concoct a pill was a sight that could only be come across serendipitously. And yet, such a scene was playing out right in front of them. Whether or not Naruto succeeded, all of the onlookers were happy to be able to watch this rare scene.

Four hours later, Naruto opened his eyes, and they shone brightly.

"This medicinal pill… will not be easy to concoct," he murmured. "I've never come across anything like it before…. It might not be as difficult as concocting something from nothing, but it's still very challenging. Most importantly, if I fail, the cost will be immense!" He frowned.

"The concocting method actually changes depending on the weather and the time of day. Furthermore, it must absorb Yang Chakra from each of the twelve two-hour periods in the day without interruption. Divine Will then comes into being, and it can become a sun spirit!

"However, that's not all. The first word in the name of the pill,

Skypalace, is important. It's actually referring to that mythical celestial palace which exists beyond the clouds in the sky…."

Naruto frowned deeply. After a while, he patted his bag of holding to produce a pill furnace. It was pitch black, and a face was just barely visible on its surface, which stared fiercely at Naruto.

This was the pill furnace Naruto had acquired years ago when he became a Violet Furnace Lord in the Violet Fate Sect. 1

He tapped the pill furnace, and a clear, crisp sound echoed out. The pill furnace shuddered, and the face's vicious expression suddenly turned into one of fear and respect.

When the sound of the pill furnace spread out, the apprentice alchemists didn't think much of it. However, the expressions on the faces of the tier 5 and higher alchemists all changed. No longer did they look at Naruto with scorn, but rather, with intense concentration.

Whenever masters go to work, the evidence of their foundation can be seen.

All of the tier 5 and higher alchemists could tell that the method with which Naruto tapped the pill furnace contained the Dao of alchemy!

"All pill furnaces need to be warmed up! Even a pill furnace that has been used millions of times needs to be warmed up before its full power can be unleashed. But Namikaze Narutosimply tapped the furnace… and produced the same result! Ingenious!"

"It's a different technique for warming up the furnace! How domineering! He dispersed the medicinal Chakra within the furnace, making it easier for the pill to take shape!"

"To accomplish something like that requires incredible skill in the Dao of alchemy!"

Naruto ignored all of the comments from the audience, and focused all of his attention on the medicinal pill he was going to concoct. No matter how he went about it, he had to attempt to the concoct the pill in order to solve his spirit stone quandary.

"I'm actually not sure I can do it," he thought. After reflecting for a moment, he reached out to grab one of the medicinal plants. As he held it there in his hand, it seemed to come to life. All of its impurities dissipated, and it turned transparent, like crystal. Then Naruto crushed it and placed it into the pill furnace.

This action also caused the other alchemists to be visibly moved.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked up into the sky. Then, he placed his left hand onto the pill furnace, causing it to burn, although there was no flame. The medicinal plant instantly began to melt into a liquid.

Two hours later, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he selected another medicinal plant. Soon, 24 hours had passed. Last, he put the Sun Blossom into the mix, and then, he placed both hands onto the pill furnace.

Everyone was panting as they watched. During the last day in which they had watched Naruto work, they had been able to catch glimpses of his pill concocting techniques. People began to grow more and more shocked at Naruto's proficiency in the Dao of alchemy.

"Time to look at this pill!" Naruto growled above the rumbling sound that echoed out from within the pill furnace. Suddenly, the pill furnace's lid popped off, and a medicinal pill flew out.

As soon as it appeared, it radiated incredible light for 300 meters in all directions, causing everyone's minds to reel, and a collective gasp to ring out.

"He succeeded?"

"He… actually succeeded?"

Naruto closed his eyes. Cracking sounds could suddenly be heard from the medicinal pill, and it shattered, transforming into black sediment that appeared to be somewhat toxic. The sediment slowly transformed into wisps of black smoke.

Failure.

After a moment of silence, everyone burst out into conversation. Naruto sat there with his eyes closed, thinking. In truth, he had already known that he had failed about halfway through the concocting process.

However, a failure was exactly what he needed. Based on his skill in the Dao of Alchemy, his analysis of the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill formula told him that there were thousands of different possible concoction methods. Each one seemed as if it would lead to success, and yet simultaneously seemed doomed to lead to failure.

After an hour, Naruto's eyes suddenly opened. "Based on what I learned from this failure, further analysis now reveals 791 possible concocting methods remaining."

With that, he extended his hand and struck the drum again. The sound

of it echoed out, and 1,000,000 merit points vanished. Once again, thirteen medicinal plants flew out.

The audience saw Naruto making another attempt and thought he was crazy. Despite the outrageous amount of merit points he was spending, he had decided to try again.

24 hours later, the pill furnace rumbled, and another medicinal pill flew out. This time, it radiated light for 3,000 meters. The pill itself was violetgold in color, and looked like an inimitable treasure. However, a moment later, cracking sounds could be heard, and it collapsed into wisps of black smoke.

"As expected," Naruto thought, "Based on what I learned this time, I've narrowed it down to 216 concocting methods!" Without stopping to rest, he hit the drum, paid another 1,000,000 merit points for thirteen more medicinal plants, and started a third concocting effort.

The audience gaped in shock. When they saw him squandering such a vast amount of wealth, even they felt pain in their hearts.

"Just how many merit points does he have to squander them so freely? After all these years, nobody has ever successfully concocted that medicinal pill, what makes him think he can?"

"If he thinks he has too many merit points, he should just give some of them to me…."

Another 24 hours passed, and rumbling could once again be heard. Naruto's third concoction was a failure.

However, his expression lacked the slightest bit of dejection, and in fact, his eyes were glowing.

"From this third defeat, I've now narrowed it down to 17 possible methods that could lead to success!" He struck the drum a fourth time, shocking everyone. Even the tier 6 alchemists thought he was crazy.

After another 24 hours, four straight days of concocting, he failed again. "From this fourth failure, I have now narrowed down the total possible methods to only 3!" Taking a deep breath, eyes completely bloodshot, he struck the drum again.

The sound reverberated through the air as he began a fifth concoction.

24 hours later, a medicinal pill flew out of the furnace, shone with brilliant light, and then collapsed. Naruto suddenly shot to his feet.

"I understand now!" Eyes shining, he struck the drum a sixth time!

Naruto got the black pill furnace in chapter 281. The furnace initially resisted him, making it impossible for him to use. Later, he handed it over to the meat jelly in chapter 295. Eventually he forced it to capitulate when he concocted the Perfect Gold Core Pill in chapter 336. He also used it in chapter 394, when he was in the Western Desert ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 924

Chapter 924: Skypalace Sunspirit Pill

All of the successive failures left the onlookers astonished. However, the tier 7 alchemists were starting to catch on to what Naruto was doing.

"Every failure actually represents an exponential increase in the chances for success!"

"He… might really be able to succeed in concocting it!" The tier 7 alchemists were all panting as they exchanged shocked looks.

As for the tier 8 alchemists present, their eyes shone with curious gleams.

Naruto now only had a bit more than 1,000,000 merit points left. If he failed for a sixth time, he would be unable to continue with further attempts. He spent the merit points, and then his eyes flashed as the thirteen medicinal plants flew out.

"The first difficult aspect of concocting the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill is that the medicinal plants must be adjusted every two hours according to the weather, time, and strength of the spiritual energy in the area!

"Success requires profound skill with plants and vegetation, as well as significant preparation in terms of grafting techniques.

"The second difficult aspect has to do with the pill itself. Although the role of the thirteen medicinal plants in the pill formula seems fixed, in actuality, there is no true set pill formula. The thirteen medicinal plants cannot be used in a fixed sequence, but rather, must be added according to the time of day in which the pill is being concocted.

"The original pill formula can definitely be used to successfully concoct a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, but only in a unique place, at a unique time, and under unique conditions of spiritual energy. Under any other circumstances, concocting the pill with the original formula would lead to failure." Naruto eyed the thirteen medicinal plants and took a deep breath.

"A third area of difficulty… is that this pill actually does not require a pill furnace. It requires twelve two-hour periods to concoct, and yet thirteen medicinal plants are provided. One of those medicinal plants… acts as the pill furnace!

"A fourth difficulty is that the concocting must be completed in exactly twelve two-hour periods. Even one breath beyond that amount of time will lead to a high chance of failure." Naruto's eyes shone with a bright light. He had concocted many pills, and had even concocted something from nothing.

His skill in the Dao of alchemy was unfathomable. And yet, this was his first time encountering a medicinal pill that had so many intrinsic internal variables. He took a deep breath and looked up at the sky. Currently, it was midday.

He waited silently. Time passed one breath at a time. Most of the audience looked on, astonished, but the tier 8 alchemists' eyes were suddenly shining brightly.

Simultaneously, at the center of the inner mountains, Pill Elder rose to his feet and gazed at the Pill Pavilion. A glimmer of excitement could be seen deep in his eyes.

"He's onto something!" murmured Namikaze Danyun. "Actually, I can also concoct Skypalace Sunspirit Pills, but only on this mountain, during the middle of the centennial rising of the East Ascension Sun. That is the only day… when I can perfectly concoct it.

"On any other occasion, my success rate of concoction would be only one in ten, and the result wouldn't be of very high quality."

Back above the Pill Pavilion, the sky was now shifting into afternoon.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he quickly reached out to grab the Sun Blossom. All of its branches and leaves were stripped off in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the flower petals themselves, which spread open into the shape of a bowl.

"Refine the Sun Blossom into a pill furnace!"

In the moment that the Sun Blossom was successfully transformed into a pill furnace, Naruto's eyes flickered with the glow of augury as he mentally analyzed all of the twelve medicinal plants. Then, he reached out to grab one of the medicinal plants, at the same time sending the power of his cultivation base out to transform the shape of the plant. Its medicinal properties were neutralized, and he began to mold it according to the current Yang Chakra and spiritual energy in the area.

A moment later, the entire medicinal plant transformed into a drop of shining, golden liquid, which he dropped into the Sun Blossom.

Beads of sweat dotted his forehead by the time he finished with that first drop. He continued to channel heat into the Sun Blossom, and also meditated to clear his mind. Soon, the second of the two-hour time periods arrived, and his eyes snapped open. He looked up at the sky, felt the sunlight and the spiritual energy, and then selected another medicinal plant. Following the same method as before, he transformed it into a liquid, which he dropped into the Sun Blossom.

The third two-hour period arrived, then the fourth, and the fifth…

Time passed. The sun set, and dusk fell. Two moons rose as Naruto refined a black flower. His expression was extremely intent, especially during the final four two-hour periods. He was clearly expending an incredible amount of mental energy, as much as he had when challenging the Medicine Pavilion.

Every two hours, he had to select the appropriate medicinal plant, and then transform it in accordance with the transformations of Heaven and Earth. This required significant consideration and judgement, and was something that even tier 8 alchemists would have difficulty with.

If it wasn't for the fact that Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation was at an incredible level, and that he also had shocking talent in the Dao of alchemy, he would never have been able to accomplish this.

The ninth two-hour period came, then the tenth and the eleventh….

Noon of the second day arrived as Naruto selected the final medicinal plant. He transformed it into a liquid, and then dropped it into the Sun Blossom pill furnace. Eyes bloodshot, face a mask of exhaustion, he extended both hands and pushed down onto the Sun Blossom.

His action caused the Sun Blossom to wrap around itself, transforming into a fist-sized flower bud that slowly floated up into the air.

As of this moment, the eyes of hundreds of thousands of panting spectators were all fixed on the flower bud.

The events of the past six days had left everyone shaken, apprentice alchemists and full alchemists alike. Naruto's pill concocting was something that exceeded the imaginations of everyone present. Despite having witnessed the matter with their own eyes, it was still something that words could not describe. They weren't even sure exactly what he was doing.

The moment had arrived which would reveal whether this concoction was a success or a failure.

Naruto looked up at the floating Sun Blossom bud.

Suddenly, beam after beam of light began to shoot out from inside. They pierced through the petals, shining out for 100,000 meters in all directions, penetrating Heaven and Earth.

More beams of light continued to shoot out, the pinnacle of resplendence. The flower bud slowly began to open, the petals spreading apart one by one to reveal a blinding light.

The light caused the sky to fade and all the land to go quiet. In the blink of an eye, all color everywhere dimmed, despite it being high noon. It was as if these flower petals… contained a sun.

That sun rose up, and just barely visible within was a figure seated cross-legged. It was almost as if this figure had been born inside the sun, and was a sun spirit!

Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!

DONG…. DONG…. DONG….

The ancient Dao bell slowly appeared above the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion and began to send out its ancient toll. Nine tolls could be heard, which echoed out in all directions. At the same time, writing became visible on the surface of the bell itself.

 _Namikaze Naruto– Skypalace Sunspirit Pill Concoction – Success!_

The words, along with the sound of the bell, were transmitted into the minds of every clan member on Planet East Victory. As of that moment, everyone knew exactly what had just occurred.

The entire Dao of Alchemy Division was thrown into an uproar. Even people who had not come to watch events unfold at the Pill Pavilion could see the blinding light emanating from that very area, and their faces flickered.

Then the toll of the bell could be heard in their minds, and they flew into the air toward the Pill Pavilion.

At the same time, every Namikaze Clan member on Planet East Victory felt roaring in their minds, regardless of where they were or what they were doing at the moment.

" Namikaze Narutoagain! He… he actually concocted a Skypalace Sunspirit

Pill!"

"Nobody has been able to concoct that medicinal pill for tens of thousands of years. I can't believe he succeeded! From today on, his position within the Namikaze Clan is going to be completely different!"

All bloodlines were astonished, and countless clan members felt their minds reeling. By now, the name Namikaze Narutowas committed to all of their memories. It could be said that during the past year, Namikaze Naruto… had repeatedly astonished the Namikaze Clan.

In all of the Namikaze Clan, he was the one who had caused the Dao Bell to ring the most. Not even Namikaze Wei could do something like that. Even more important… he caused his name to appear on the Dao Bell itself. To the Namikaze Clan, that was an inestimable honor!

His name, and the words next to it on the Dao Bell, would last for an eternity. As long as the Namikaze Clan existed, along with its Dao Bell, those words would remain!

The direct bloodline was thrown into a state of complete excitement. The more Naruto rose to prominence, the greater their hope in the revival of the direct bloodline.

"Cousin, it's clear that Naruto'er is a true Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!" thought 19th Uncle, laughing loudly as he looked in the direction of Planet Ninshu.

Meanwhile, Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather sat gloomily in the ancestral mansion. Namikaze Wei's father, Namikaze Xiushan, grabbed a magical jade bottle that rested next to him, and crushed it.

"That damned son of a bitch! I can't believe his Dao of alchemy is at such a high level!

"He concocted a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. By rising to prominence in the Dao of Alchemy Division, he has risen to prominence in the clan in general. Nobody will dare to make a move against him now!" Namikaze Xiushan gritted his teeth, and a vicious expression could be seen on his face.

"Dad, that son of a bitch MUST die, for Wei'er's sake! We need to open the Namikaze Clan Immortal World!"

His father took a long, deep breath, and his eyes flickered with killing intent.

"That's not something I can do on my own," he said. After a moment of thought, even stronger killing intent flickered in his eyes.

In the main temple of the ancestral mansion, Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian stood at the door, gazing off toward the Dao of Alchemy Division. On his face could be seen rare look of surprise.

"Did I… do the wrong thing?" The Grand Elder suddenly seemed to grow a bit older. "No, I didn't. It's all for the clan!"

In another location within the East District of the ancestral mansion was a lake known as Brightmoon Lake. Long ago, an ancient Heavenly Dragon passed away in this location, making the Immortal Chakra abundant there. In fact, the location was essentially a one-of-a-kind Blessed Land on Planet East Victory.

In the middle of the lake was a beautifully ornamented building. It was very large, and was currently occupied by a few dozen people who were talking and laughing. In the middle of them all was Namikaze Wei, next to whom as Namikaze Yunyi and other Namikaze Clan Chosen such as Namikaze Hong.

Namikaze Donghan and Namikaze Xiangshan were there, as well as Taiyang Zi, Sun Hai, Song Luodan, Uchiha Mu and Li Ling'er, and Chosen from other clans.

Fan Dong'er was also in the group, with the female corpse floating there behind her. Her expression was calm, and she did not seem out of sorts like she had back in the Ruins of Immortality. Quite the opposite; she now wore a sweet, beautiful smile.

Namikaze Wei was also smiling softly. He was versed in the ways of etiquette, and was very cultured and refined, causing quite a few of the female cultivators to be in very high spirits.

Currently, the group was discussing the Three Great Daoist Societies' recent trial by fire. Of course, the name Namikaze Mu came up; many people believed that Namikaze Mu… was either not a member of the Namikaze Clan, or was actually Namikaze Wei himself.

Namikaze Wei did nothing to refute the idea that he was Namikaze Mu; all he did was shake his head and change the topic. Of course, that only confirmed the suspicions of many.

"I've heard that the Namikaze Clan has an Astral Projection magic," said

Taiyang Zi, his eyes glittering. "So in the end, is Namikaze Mu… really you,

Elder Brother Namikaze ?"

Namikaze Wei smiled, and was about to say something in response when his face suddenly flickered. It wasn't just him; the faces of all the members of the Namikaze Clan flickered, and they subconsciously turned to look toward the Dao of Alchemy Division.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 925

Chapter 925: Future Brother-In-Law?

Namikaze Yunyi's face suddenly looked extremely unsightly. The faces of the other Chosen who surrounded Namikaze Wei also darkened, as did the faces of all the other Namikaze Clan members who were there to accompany Namikaze Wei.

In their opinion, even though Naruto was the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline, in the Namikaze Clan, it was Namikaze Wei who had been declared Dao Child by the Patriarch. Namikaze Wei was sure to reach the Ancient Realm within a thousand years, and therefore, he was someone that no one could afford to depose or offend.

In addition to that, there were Namikaze Yunyi's provocations; he constantly told everyone about how vicious Naruto was. In the end, many of the Chosen of the clan were already fed up with Naruto.

Deep within Namikaze Donghan's eyes was a virtually imperceptible flicker. Everything that was happening was exactly what he wanted to see. The more Naruto rose to prominence, the more at odds he would be with Namikaze Wei, and the two would surely become irreconcilable adversaries.

"The two of them are going to fight each other sooner or later," he thought. "And my own opportunity to rise up will come… when that battle ends!" He lowered his head so that others would not be able to see the wild ambition in his eyes.

Namikaze Xiangshan stood off to the side, panting, her eyes wide. She had seen Naruto a few times within the clan, and had always scurried away at the sight of him. Now the sound of the bell echoed in her mind. How could she ever have imagined that Naruto… would actually concoct a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill?

The entire Namikaze Clan was shaken!

"What happened?" asked Song Luodan with a smile, his eyes flickering. The Chosen of the other clans all looked curiously at Namikaze Wei, even Li Ling'er and Fan Dong'er.

A touch of scorn could be seen within Li Ling'er's expression. When the subject of Namikaze Mu came up earlier, she could only laugh grimly at how Namikaze Wei had acted. She well knew that Namikaze Mu was not Namikaze Wei, but rather, the detestable Naruto.

Namikaze Wei's expression returned to normal, and he smiled slightly as he turned back to the other Chosen.

"Oh, nothing really," he said. "Just a clan member concocting a pill, which caused the Dao Bell to toll, that's all. Fellow Daoists, once this day passes, the day of the East Ascension Sun will be upon us.

"I, Namikaze Wei, would like to congratulate all of you ahead of time on what you will gain. This is a day of jubilee for the Namikaze Clan that happens once every hundred years, and as one of the Four Great Clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, it is always our pleasure to invite disciples from all the various sects and clans. Let us once again enjoy this East Ascension Sun together!"

Namikaze Wei's words made it difficult for anyone to ask further questions. They resumed chatting and laughing, although nobody forgot about what had just happened.

Sun Hai's expression was that of extreme haughtiness as he chatted politely with the Namikaze Clan cultivator next to him. The Namikaze Clan members didn't show the slightest bit of disrespect. After all, they had recently heard that Sun Hai had clinched the nomination to become the Imperial Child of the Church of the Emperor Immortal.

"Now that you mention it," said Sun Hai, laughing heartily and rubbing his bald head, "I actually have a deep connection with the Namikaze Clan.

"I have a Junior Sister in the Church of the Emperor Immortal who happens to be a member of the Namikaze Clan." When Sun Hai mentioned this Junior Sister, his eyes glowed with adoration. He still remembered the first time he had seen the young woman, how he had stared blankly, and how it felt as if his mind were being struck relentlessly by lightning. In that moment, it had seemed as if that young woman from the Namikaze Clan was the only thing that existed in the whole universe.

Although her true identity was kept a secret in the Church of the Emperor Immortal, Sun Hai knew that she was a member of the Namikaze Clan.

He had sworn an oath that, one day, the two of them would be united as beloved. In the course of pursuing that dream, he had already been violently beaten up on several occasions, all just to be near her….

Each time he was beaten up, he got extremely excited, as he took it as an expression of her desire to be on intimate terms with him.

Within the East Ascension Pavilion, everyone was talking about the imminent sunset, and then the following rise of the East Ascension Sun. Outside of the pavilion, the shores of Brightmoon Lake were encircled by more than a hundred thousand people. Most of them were Namikaze Clan members younger than 1000 years of age, and although they were all extremely excited in their anticipation of the following day's sunrise, they were now all shaken inwardly by the tolling of the Dao Bell.

Namikaze Xi was in the crowd, a bit closer to the lakeshore than most of the others. Currently, he was clenching his fists in excitement, but also feeling a bit disappointed that he hadn't gone to watch Naruto's performance earlier.

In his excitement, he didn't notice that within the East Ascension Pavilion, Namikaze Yunyi's grim gaze had come to rest on him.

"I don't dare to provoke Naruto again," Namikaze Yunyi thought, "but

Namikaze Xi… is always following him around! He's just looking for trouble!" With a cold snort, he turned his head to a nearby clan member and whispered a few sentences. The young man hesitated in response, after which Namikaze Yunyi spoke a few more words. The young man immediately left the pavilion to go make the appropriate arrangements.

Meanwhile, back in the Dao of Alchemy Division, Naruto was looking at the medicinal pill floating in midair. He exhaled deeply as the blinding but gentle light surged out from the medicinal pill. Finally, he made a grasping motion, causing the pill to fly down into his palm, whereupon he examined it closely.

The minds of the surrounding cultivators trembled as they stared blankly at Naruto and the medicinal pill in his hand. Gasps filled the air.

It was clearly… a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!

The medicinal pill contained unsurpassable Yang characteristics, as well as a divine air. To cultivators who cultivated fire magic, it was like a

Heavenly material or Earthly treasure. In fact, it was a medicinal pill that Spirit Realm cultivators couldn't consume, and even Immortal Realm cultivators who used it would do so with extreme caution.

After absorbing it successfully, one's fire magic would without doubt achieve an incredible breakthrough, as would one's cultivation base. Any fire poisoning that resulted would actually be an incredible divine ability to any cultivator who practiced fire magic.

Furthermore, because of the East Ascension Sun on the following day, if this pill was consumed at that time, the internal fire and the external fire would combine, catalyzing the pill's medicinal properties and making it endlessly powerful in terms of body refinement!

To any alchemist, this pill… was even more precious. By studying it, one could potentially refine and improve one's Dao of alchemy. When it came to the other two rare medicinal pills of the Namikaze Clan, there were none left in the Pill Pavilion. There were still some Skypalace Sunspirit Pills remaining though, less than ten.

Rumor had it that those pills had been there for a long time, and could only be acquired by exchanging a significant amount of merit points.

Of course, the Medicine Immortal Sect could concoct the pill, but to purchase it there required a vast and dreadful expenditure of spirit stones. Even tier 7 alchemists wouldn't necessarily be able to buy one.

Immediately, the surrounding alchemists began calling out, desirous of purchasing the pill.

"Alchemist Namikaze , are you going to sell that pill?"

"How many spirit stones are you selling it for?! I want to buy it!"

As soon as Naruto heard spirit stones mentioned, his eyes began to glow. As he hesitated, the previously invisible tier 8 alchemists in the area suddenly materialized.

Immediately, the faces of the full alchemists in the crowd flickered, and they simultaneously clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Pavilion Elders!"

Their reaction caused the other members of the audience to gasp and look at the unprepossessing old men who had just appeared. Their minds spun as they realized that, other than Pill Elder, these were the most supreme figures in the Dao of Alchemy Division, the Pavilion Elders!

"Greetings, Pavilion Elders!"

"Greetings, Pavilion Elders!"

All of the surrounding hundreds of thousands of cultivators clasped hands and bowed. The rumbling sounds of their voices echoed out like thunder. In response, the five Pavilion Elders' faces remained expressionless. One of them, a rather short, hunchbacked old man, smiled and waved his hand, causing him to flicker and then appear in front of Naruto.

" Namikaze Narutooffers greetings, Pavilion Elder!" said Naruto, clasped hands and bowing.

" Namikaze Naruto, there's no need to act like this. The Dao of Alchemy Division has a rule that any person who concocts one of the three sacred pills will be granted the status of Pavilion Elder. Come. I shall take you to pay a visit to Pill Elder." The old man's face glowed with admiration and approval. The other four elders around them, despite their expressionless faces, emanated similar feelings.

Naruto took a deep breath as he obediently followed them. The entire group transformed into beams of prismatic light that shot further into the inner mountains.

They left behind hundreds of thousands of cultivators, all of whose faces shone with envy. As for all of the apprentice alchemists who had listened to Naruto's lectures, they looked extremely excited. Since they considered themselves to be followers of Naruto, that meant… they were the followers of a Pavilion Elder!

Off in the distance in midair, the Pavilion Elders looked at Naruto's obedient and charming demeanor, and their approval of him deepened.

"Neither arrogant nor rash," said one of the elders, smiling. "Furthermore, you have no flaws of character, and also understand etiquette. You might be a bit greedy, but there's no harm in that. Naruto'er, you're really remarkable! Far more exceptional than your father." "My dad?" Naruto gaped.

"Back before your father met your mother, he came to me to concoct some pills. He was extremely arrogant and domineering, and even threatened me! He said that if I didn't concoct the pills for him, he would set up my granddaughter with some Junior Brother of his." The old man suddenly looked a bit irritated, and he harrumphed.

"Really?" exclaimed Naruto, staring with wide eyes. He could hardly believe that his father, who seemed so mighty and solemn, eternally strict, would act like the person this Pavilion Elder had just described.

"It's absolutely true in every way!" said another of the Pavilion Elders, nodding earnestly. "After he met your mother, your father became much more restrained. To think that, back in the day, he was the number one bully on East Victory. He oppressed all the men and subjugated all the women!" The old man sighed.

Naruto cleared his throat and shook his head, unsure of what to say, and still not quite able to believe what he was hearing.

"That's why I say that you're remarkable, Naruto'er," said the hunchbacked old man. "Wonderful and with boundless prospects." He laughed heartily and looked at Naruto with an expression of praise.

"Pavilion Elder," Naruto asked, "in the end… did you refine the pills for him?"

"Hmph! I am upright and proud," the old man said haughtily. "I won't bow my head to anyone! I have my principles, and because of that, if I don't feel like concocting pills, it doesn't matter who comes to me, even your father, do you think I would make an exception? Therefore, I only concocted five hundred batches of medicinal pills for him. Not one more!"

Off to the side, another old man who hadn't spoken so far looked at Naruto and winked.

Naruto blinked, cleared his throat, and didn't dare to ask another question.

Before long, the Pavilion Elders had led Naruto to the very center of the inner mountains. Off in the distance was a peak that towered up into the swirling clouds. Upon close inspection, it was possible to see countless caves riddling the heights of the peak.

Gradually, a droning sound became audible from within the caves, a sound that caused Naruto's scalp to go numb.

Before they could get very close, countless black beams shot out from the caves. In the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with millions of black beetles, which were usually known as Split-horned Scarab Beetles! 1

Buzzing sounds filled the air as millions of them swarmed around Naruto's group, emanating astonishing energy.

"Fear not," said the hunchbacked Pavilion Elder, smiling. "We call these bugs Unicorn Immortals, and they are personally raised by Pill Elder himself. Actually, there's something about him you probably don't know. Pill Elder… excels, not in the Dao of alchemy, but in the Dao of insects!"

Naruto was shaken. Pill Elder didn't excel in the Dao of alchemy, and yet was a tier 9 alchemist. One could only imagine how terrifying he would be if he did excel in it. Seeing these Unicorn Immortals, caused him to recall the countless black beetles he had seen in the medicinal plant garden in the Ruins of Immortality.

It was at this point that an archaic voice suddenly echoed.

" Namikaze Naruto, come…."

The Unicorn Immortals circled around the mountain peak and then shot back into one of the caves.

In Chinese, the word for scarab beetle is literally "Golden Turtle." There is an extra line that I'm leaving out of the main text which reads, "Although the name has the world 'turtle' in it, these weren't turtles, but vicious bugs!" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 926

Chapter 926: Daos and Tools!

Naruto took a deep breath and headed toward the mountain peak. When he arrived, he saw an old man in white robes, surrounding by swirling mists. He stood on top of the mountain, his back to Naruto. As Naruto approached, the man turned to face him, and smiled.

Naruto's eyes widened as soon as he caught sight of him.

The feeling he got when he looked at this old man was very similar to the feeling he got from Pill Demon!

It was actually extremely similar. In fact, although their physical appearance was different, in terms of the energy within him, it seemed almost exactly the same.

As he stood there with the mists swirling around him, Naruto almost thought he was looking at his master.

Both wore white robes, and both had long white hair. Both were aged, and both were surrounded by a swirling medicinal aroma. They seemed equally kind, and seemed to both be filled with the same feeling of anticipation.

The old man looked over at Naruto and said, " Namikaze Naruto, to be able to concoct a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, especially considering that it was done at a time of year and time of day not specific to the pill formula, means that your Dao of alchemy has already reached the pinnacle."

From the man's words, Naruto was already able to tell that the rumor about Pill Elder being incapable of concocting the three sacred medicinal pills was likely not true.

The key to understanding the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill was understanding that there was 'no specific' time or hour. For Pill Elder to say this indicated that he already had a deep understanding of the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill.

Naruto thought for a moment. As he looked at Pill Elder, the drone of the Unicorn Immortals filled his ears. Sometimes, all of them would make noise at the same time, giving rise to an incredibly intense sound. Other times, only a few would make noise. Either way, the sound was continuous.

" Namikaze Naruto, look over there, and tell me what you see." Pill Elder glanced off into the distance, toward the numerous cloud-wreathed mountain peaks.

Naruto suddenly realized that his heart had become very calm after laying eyes on Pill Elder. He felt free and at ease, as if listening to the old man speak had caused him to enter some strange state.

Although he couldn't explain it clearly, for some reason his heart felt more and more calm as he looked off into the distance at the mountains and clouds.

Instead of answering the question, he asked one of his own. "Senior Pill Elder, may I ask, what do you see, sir? Or perhaps you can tell me what it is you wish me to see?"

Pill Elder laughed at Naruto's slippery words. He didn't seem to mind, and in fact, seemed to approve. Apparently he hadn't been looking for an answer to begin with.

"I see mountains, and I see clouds," said Pill Elder. "I see the cultivators of the Dao of Alchemy Division, and I see the world that belongs to our Dao of Alchemy Division." He sighed.

Naruto remained silent, unsure of what hidden meanings might be contained within Pill Elder's words.

"These things are tools. They are both tangible and intangible, visible and invisible. They are tools of the Dao of Alchemy Division, or perhaps you could even say, its physical form.

"30,000 years ago was the golden age of the Dao of Alchemy Division. Our Dao and our tools were united, and seemed as if they would exist for all eternity…. However, many of the Patriarchs of the Dao of Alchemy Division passed away into meditation. Then, the last of the Patriarchs from that age turned against our Dao of alchemy, and founded the Medicine Immortal Sect.

"At that time, we were battered by theories from other Daos of alchemy from the outside world. From that time on, the tools of the Dao of Alchemy Division… were shattered.

"For tens of thousand of years after that, one generation of alchemists after another has contemplated alchemy, and attempted to restore us to our previous pinnacle. However… their Dao of alchemy had long since forgotten the existence of our own tools, and was influenced by the Daos of alchemy from the outside world.

"It was as if their Dao of alchemy was soulless.

"As if their souls had fled, leaving behind an empty husk.

"It was as if the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy had been walking in a dream. Its soul had been struck too viciously by the outside world, and had been influenced by too many random alchemical philosophies. The body of the Namikaze Clan had no soul, and therefore rested all its hope in aimless searching… among the philosophies of the outside world.

"If things continue in this fashion, then the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy will gradually become a lost part of history, and will fade into nothing. "Daos and tools must be combined. Pick up the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy, and restore it to its pinnacle. That is the true way to cause the Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division to rise to prominence once again. "And thus, the three sacred medicinal pills!

"Do you understand?" His gaze returned from the distance to settle on Naruto. His eyes seemed to be piercing deep into Naruto, to be viewing his very soul.

Naruto was silent for a long moment and then nodded at Pill Elder.

"I think I understand some of what you mean, Senior," he said. "Tools can be tangible or intangible. The Namikaze Clan's Dao of Alchemy Division used them for many years, after which they formed a soul. That soul must return to the body, lest the Dao of Alchemy Division be submerged in ignorance."

Pill Elder stood there quietly, unspeaking.

"However, there is one thing I don't understand, Senior," Naruto continued calmly. "People who comprehend the Dao, and who also absorb various schools of thought, will eventually form their own Dao.

Isn't such a thing unavoidable when coming to comprehending the

Dao?"

"Absorbing various schools of thinking regarding the Dao of alchemy in order to achieve your own Dao, is absolutely a path to comprehending the Dao. However… the premise is that you possess your own Dao to begin with. If you do, then of course you can absorb the ideas of others. However, if you don't, and simply attempt to tangle with the tools of the other schools of thought, then you won't be absorbing them, you will be assimilated by them.

"Tools are like a home. The Dao is the heart. When you merge tools with the Dao, then your heart is home! Namikaze Naruto… do you really understand?" He once again looked deeply at Naruto.

After a moment, he casually continued, "I heard that the Grand Elder gave you two Nirvana Fruits."

It was hard to say whether or not it was a coincidence, but as soon as he began to speak those final words, the Unicorn Immortals on the mountain suddenly began to buzz loudly. If Naruto hadn't been standing very close to Pill Elder, he wouldn't have been able to hear clearly.

As soon as he finished speaking, Pill Elder waved his hand, causing a bag of holding to fly over and hover in front of Naruto.

"In there are the rewards for concocting the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, with the exception of the Immortal treasure. Think about your exact requirements for the treasure, and tell me later. I'll make the arrangements to have it forged for you."

Naruto trembled. As he thought about the two exhortations just given to him by Pill Elder, he had to ask himself if he truly understand what it all meant….

"Perhaps the deeper meaning in his questions about the Dao of alchemy are a reminder that the Nirvana Fruits are not mine," he thought. "Or could it be that he's indicating that there are still secrets I don't understand about the Nirvana Fruits?" Naruto didn't pursue the conversation topic. Instead, after hearing about the Immortal treasure, his eyes flickered.

After a moment's hesitation, he said, "Senior Pill Elder, um… I really don't need any Immortal treasures. Can I exchange that reward for something else?"

Pill Elder looked at Naruto for a moment, and then began to chuckle. This was the first time he had actually smiled. "What exact reward would you like to exchange it for?"

"Um…." Naruto cleared his throat and decided that he might as well give his idea a shot. "Senior Pill Elder, I think those Unicorn Immortals are pretty incredible. Would you mind teaching me a bit about the Dao of insects, sir?"

"Oh?" Pill Elder replied with a smile. "Well, these Unicorn Immortals have the power of Ancestral Awakening in their bloodline. I raised them for years before they reached the point where they could be trained. The Dao of insects is a top-secret magic. Even though you're a clan member, you would still need to undergo an assessment before you could start to work with it."

Naruto's eyes glittered. Considering that Pill Elder hadn't refused him outright, that meant that there was a bit of hope. As soon as he had neared this mountain, those Unicorn Immortals had drawn his attention. Ever since he'd returned from the Ruins of Immortality, there had been an idea percolating deep within him.

He had long since become quite envious of that cloud of beetles he had seen in the Ruins of Immortality. Ever since, he had thought that if he could wave his hand and cause tens of millions of black beetles to fill the sky, then any opponent he faced would instantly become as petrified as he had been that year. With a mere thought, he could instantly turn his enemies into nothing but ash.

The mere thought of being able to do something like that one day, left Naruto very excited.

This was especially true considering that there were several black beetles currently inside his bag of holding. Their life force was incredibly powerful, and they had not died, but rather remained dormant inside his bag of holding after being sealed.

"Senior, look, you know… I'm the kind of old-fashioned cultivator who doesn't like to rely on external weapons." As he spoke, his tone continued to grow more somber. "If you start using magical items, then eventually you'll start to rely on them. The Dao of insects is different! It's like a divine ability, an academic art, even more so, a Dao!

"Senior, I don't want any magical weapons. I just seek the Dao." As he spoke his final sentence, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

In his mind, he felt quite satisfied with his eloquence, especially in the delivery of that last line.

Pill Elder looked at Naruto for a long moment, then waved his right hand. A jade slip flew out to hover in front of Naruto. It was emerald green, and one side was carved with the image of a Unicorn Immortal. The creature seemed matchlessly vicious, with a monstrous killing aura.

The other side was carved with another Unicorn Immortal. However, this one was extremely placid, and looked like it wouldn't even hurt a fly.

"Take a look at the first of the three volumes on the Dao of insects. If you have the talent, I'll teach you.

"You'll also find a command medallion in that bag of holding. According to the rules of the Dao of Alchemy Division, anyone who concocts the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill will automatically become a tier 8 alchemist. Your status in the clan is now equal to a Clan Elder. You may also select any mountain in the Inner Mountains to serve as your Immortal's cave."

With that, he waved his sleeve, causing a gentle wind to materialize. It swirled around Naruto, causing his vision to swim. When it became clear again, he was far away from the mountain.

He looked back toward the mountain peak in the center of all the other mountains. For just a moment, he could make out all of the caves on the peak. Eyes glittering, he took a deep breath, clasped hands and bowed.

Then, he left.

He flew out of the inner mountains, during which time he encountered several alchemists. As soon as they saw Naruto, their expressions filled with awe, and they immediately clasped hands in greeting. The story of Naruto concocting the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill had already spread throughout the Namikaze Clan, and everyone knew about it.

There were some people who hadn't been convinced by Naruto charging all the way to the seventh level of the Medicine Pavilion. Now, though… Naruto had concocted a legendary medicinal pill. In Dao of Alchemy Division, he was as stable as Mount Tai, and not a single voice of doubt could be heard regarding him.

In the world of cultivation, respect is given to the powerful. It was no different in the Dao of Alchemy Division!

Just as Naruto was about to leave the inner mountains, he suddenly stopped in place and turned his head to look at one particularly beautiful mountain peak. The entire mountain was jade green, and its snowcapped peak was surrounded by swirling clouds.

Almost in the exact moment that he turned to look at the mountain, he heard a miserable, bloodcurdling shriek echo out from within the misty mountain.

That scream was not the scream of a cultivator, but rather… it came from the beak of a beautiful peacock.

At the same time, a bellow of rage could be heard that obviously came from the mouth of an old woman.

"You damned mutt of a bird! It's time we fight! I'm going to refine you into a pill!"

Next, the arrogant and despotic voice of a parrot could be heard squawking out. "Do you know how many years Lord Fifth has swept across Jianghu? Huh? Look, you old crone, Lord Fifth screwed a hole through the Heavens before you were even born!

"Do you know who Lord Fifth's master is? Well I'll tell you, and you're gonna be scared to death! Lord Fifth's master is Namikaze Naruto!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 927

Chapter 927: The Shore of Brightmoon Lake

Naruto's face was unsightly. Feeling somewhat helpless, he watched a multicolored parrot flapping its wings as it flew through the air. A small bell could be seen attached to its claw, and the parrot looked very pleased with itself. It somehow seemed licentious, and even had a black strip of cloth wrapped around its head, covering one of its eyes. The remaining visible eye gleamed brightly as it flew out from the mountain peak.

"You just wait for Lord Fifth, you old hag. And as for you, my beloved concubine, don't worry, Lord Fifth will be coming back for you. I'll risk everything to rescue you from this place!"

Behind the parrot was the tier 7 alchemist, the old woman. Her face was a mass of fury as she shot after the parrot at top speed. Behind her was a beautiful young woman, clad in a white robe, the picture of purity and innocence. This was the same young woman who Naruto had encountered after challenging the seventh level of the Medicine Pavilion, the clan Junior Sister named Wan'er.

Miserable shrieking could be heard in the distance, and Naruto could just barely make out a beautiful peacock, gasping and struggling in vain to rise to its feet. From the look of the situation, it had just experienced some unimaginable catastrophe.

Naruto sighed, feeling quite sorry for the peacock. Anything with feathers that showed up in front of the parrot would find it difficult to escape the bird and its fiendish hobbies.

As soon as the parrot flew out, it caught sight of Naruto, and its uncovered eye lit up. It hurried over and began to cry out plaintively.

"Master, save me! Master, this old hag is out of control! She's trying to kill me! Save me, master!" As the parrot cried out, the bell attached to its claw suddenly made a popping sound and transformed into the meat jelly, which also began to cry out to Naruto.

"Master, here you are, finally! There's a bully following us! Master, she's a real bully!"

Not too far behind, the furious old woman caught sight of Naruto, as did the young woman in the white robe. The young woman's jaw dropped in surprise, as if the Naruto in her mind couldn't possibly have anything to do with this shameless parrot.

Clearing his throat, Naruto hurriedly backed away, and then made to continue on his way as if he hadn't seen anything that was happening.

"Master, save me…." the parrot screeched immediately, flying toward Naruto at top speed.

Naruto waved his hand, and his body disappeared in a minor teleportation. When he reappeared off in the distance, the parrot immediately changed directions and continued to speed toward him. As for Naruto, he suddenly seemed to radiate an air of righteousness. Expression solemn, he began to speak.

"I do not know you, evildoer! Exactly who the hell are you?" he said. Then a slightly confused expression appeared on his face as he looked at the pursuing old woman.

" Naruto!" squawked the parrot, glancing back the old woman, who was about to catch up. "I have spirit stones!"

"Hold your tongue, evildoer!" said Naruto, stopping in place. His face was somber, as if he was the sole representative of justice. "There is no enmity between us, and yet you try to frame me? Well, never mind. I might as well just put you in your place right now!" With that, he waved his right hand.

Naruto didn't even have a chance to unleash a divine ability. Before anything could actually happen, the parrot let out a miserable shriek, and then its body went stiff, as if it had just been seriously injured. Then, it shot directly into Naruto's sleeve.

Naruto cleared his throat and inwardly cursed the parrot's unconvincing performance.

"Senior," he said to the old woman, cautiously backing up. "This bird is vile and detestable. I'm just on my way back from visiting Pill Elder, after having been fortunate enough to become a tier 8 alchemist. Junior will help you take care of this bird, don't worry."

The old woman's cultivation base was so profound that Naruto couldn't assess it. In the Dao of Alchemy Division, alchemy was the true Dao, and one's cultivation base played a mere supporting role. However, because of all the life-or-death scenarios that Naruto had faced, he still edged backward carefully as if guarding against any contingencies, simultaneously flashing his tier 8 alchemist's command medallion.

The old woman looked at Naruto backing away, and said nothing. Eventually, he transformed into a beam of light that fled into the distance. At that point, the old woman's eyes flashed.

The young woman hesitated for a moment, then quietly said, "Grandaunt, that bird…."

"Just forget about it," said the old woman, turning to head back toward the mountain. The young woman followed.

Along the way, the young woman couldn't refrain from asking, "Grandaunt, Namikaze Naruto…?"

The old woman did nothing other than shake her head. A flash of insight could be seen deep within her eyes. From the moment Naruto had challenged the seventh level of the Medicine Pavilion, she knew that he would be a new force coming to the fore of the Dao of Alchemy Division. Then he concocted the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, which left her shaken inwardly, and also thoroughly convinced that Namikaze Narutowould be a blazing sun of the Dao of Alchemy Division!

She wasn't sure if he was the type of person to nurse grudges. Because of the level of her cultivation base, she had been aware all along that the parrot and the meat jelly belonged to him. Furthermore, she had intentionally driven them out at the exact moment in which Naruto had been passing by.

Her entire goal had been to resolve any feelings of resentment Naruto might have toward her.

She was much higher than him in terms of clan seniority, had a profound cultivation base, and had been famous for many years. Therefore, she was well versed in finding clever ways to resolve problems, and the scene that had played out just now was just the method she had come up with to resolve her issues with Naruto.

Naruto continued flying through the Dao of Alchemy Division. When he realized that the old woman wasn't pursuing him, his eyes flickered. He, of course, understood her intention.

As they emerged from the Dao of Alchemy Division, the parrot's spirits seemed to lift. It flew out of his sleeve and arrogantly cried, "You just wait for Lord Fifth, you old hag! Lord Fifth will be back!"

Off to the side, the meat jelly nodded its head vigorously. For the meat jelly to act in such a way was clear evidence of the sufferings these two dunces had endured in recent days.

However, as soon as the parrot finished speaking, Naruto's right hand shot out, grabbed the parrot, and dragged it in front of him. The parrot's eyes bulged.

"What are you doing!? What are you grabbing your Lord Fifth for!?"

"What did you say just now about spirit stones?" Naruto asked coldly. Whenever he and the parrot interacted, it was never with courtesy.

"Spirit stones?" the parrot pretended to be confused. "What spirit stones?"

Naruto glared at the parrot, and then suddenly, a bashful expression appeared on his face. The parrot's eyes immediately went wide, and it began to shiver.

The meat jelly gasped and let out a muffled shriek.

"It's that expression again! Finished! We're finished! Whenever that expression appears, it means the end is near! The bird is really done for this time…."

The parrot's eyes filled with fear, and before Naruto could even say anything, it fawningly said, "Hahaha! I'm just playing around with you! Spirit stones… ah, spirit stones. That old hag has a whole vein of spirit stones underneath that mountain of hers. Whenever you feel like going to steal them, Naruto, I'll help you dig them up.

When Naruto heard the words 'vein of spirit stones,' his eyes began to shine. He then began to ask about the specifics.

One man, one bird, and one meat jelly flew back toward the ancestral mansion, conversing with each other in hushed tones.

By now, evening was falling. Off in the distance, the setting sun filled the sky with golden light. When Naruto got back to the ancestral mansion, he saw numerous clan members heading toward the East District. Naruto looked in that direction and suddenly remembered what was going to be happening in the morning.

"East Ascension Sun!" Muttering to himself, he changed directions and flew toward the East District. The parrot perched on his shoulder, and the meat jelly transformed into a bell and attached itself to the parrot's claw.

Meanwhile, in the East District's East Ascension Pagoda, Namikaze Wei smiled as he chatted with the various Chosen. Not once did he mentioned the event which had just sent the entire Namikaze Clan astir.

Although nothing seemed unusual about the way the other Chosen were carrying themselves, all of them had long since caught on to the fact that something unusual had happened. The mere fact that Namikaze Wei had brushed the matter aside was what had led them to this conclusion in the first place.

At one point, somebody brought up Namikaze Mu again. Just like before, Namikaze Wei didn't openly admit that he was Namikaze Mu, and yet, he looked over and gave Li Ling'er an apologetic smile. Quite a few Chosen noticed this, and began to consider what it meant.

Li Ling'er snorted coldly, and even more derision could be seen in her expression. She was even more convinced than Sun Hai that Naruto was Namikaze Mu. She hated Namikaze Mu deeply, but when she looked at Namikaze Wei, her expression was one of ridicule. She seemed to be sickened by him.

When Namikaze Wei saw the look on her face, his eyes flickered imperceptibly. He suddenly changed the topic and began to chat about the East Ascension Sun.

Sun Hai's eyes flashed, but when he thought about how the girl he adored was a member of the Namikaze Clan, he didn't say anything. Instead, he pulled another of the Namikaze Clan Chosen off to the side and asked whether or not he knew a member of the Namikaze Clan clan named Namikaze Yu.

The sky was growing dark, and more and more members of the Namikaze Clan clustered together around Brightmoon Lake. Originally, they had been waiting quietly, but now they were all discussing the matter of Naruto concocting the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. Although the Dao Bell had long since ceased to toll, the sound of it still rang within their hearts. "I can't believe Namikaze Narutoactually concocted a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!"

"That's one of the three sacred pills! I never could have imagined that he would be able to concoct one of them!"

"When Namikaze Narutoreturned, I didn't really think much of him. He was kind of quiet. But now he's causing all sorts of waves!"

Words such as these echoed out constantly. Namikaze Wei's expression was the same as ever, making it impossible to determine what he was thinking. In contrast, Namikaze Yunyi's face only continued to grow darker. Then he looked over at Namikaze Xi near the lakeshore, chatting excitedly with the clan members around him, and he snorted coldly.

A cold gleam flickered in his eyes, and his lips twitched into an icy smile; the people he had arranged to take care of Namikaze Xi were now closing in.

"The direct bloodline… is crap! They had their glory in the past, but now they're in decline. The Namikaze Clan… is no longer a place where they hold the upper hand!" Namikaze Yunyi snorted again. "Today is the day when I humiliate Namikaze Xi of the direct bloodline!" His eyes narrowed.

Meanwhile, Namikaze Xi stood in the crowd, excitedly flaunting his recent experiences to the clan members standing next to him.

"Of all the people over all the years in the Dao of Alchemy Division, nobody has ever been able to concoct that medicinal pill. But my Coz concocted it!

"He had a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam, and he even challenged the seventh level of the Medicine Pavilion. And then he concocted the legendary Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. That's my Coz! Namikaze Naruto!" The other clan members panted as they heard the stories of Naruto. More and more people were elevating their personal estimation of Naruto's status to the same level as Namikaze Wei.

About this time, two young men appeared nearby, pushing their way through the crowd. Their expressions were icily arrogant as they neared

Namikaze Xi, then rudely waved their hands, causing a burst of wind to materialize. It descended onto Namikaze Xi, causing his face to flicker. He tried to fight back, but was no match. He made a slight grunt as he was involuntarily shoved backward ten paces.

"The clan has ordered that it is prohibited to be loud and disorderly during the rise of the East Ascension Sun!" said one of the two young men, his eyes cold. "Anyone who violates the rule will be stripped of the qualifications to observe!"

"You…." said Namikaze Xi, looking up with rage in his eyes. However, when he saw who the two young men were, his face fell. The other clan members in the area also looked shocked, and immediately backed up.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 928

Chapter 928: You Stick With Me!

The young men who had pushed Namikaze Xi back wore long black robes decorated with images of a moon. There seemed to be an especially stern and forbidding air about them, an icy coldness that caused anyone they looked at to feel as if they were being stared at by a viper.

Furthermore, they had stage 3 Immortal cultivation bases, and emanated amorphous ripples that gave them the appearance of mighty Immortals.

As soon as the surrounding clan members saw who the two young men were, their faces flickered and their hearts filled with awe. They slowly backed up.

"They're Blackmoon Guards!"

"Lots of Chosen from other sects are here for the East Ascension Sun, and the Blackmoon Guards have been tasked with keeping things orderly!"

"There are nine guard corps in the Namikaze Clan, four of which are stationed off-planet, and five of which have jurisdiction here on Planet East Victory. Of those five, the Blackmoon Guards and the Violetsun Guards are responsible for the ancestral mansion!"

The nine guard corps of the Namikaze Clan had each earned glorious achievements in battle, and had shaken the Ninth Mountain and Sea. As for the Blackmoon Guards, they were known for being sinister and vicious, just like vipers.

That was their reputation among outsiders and within the Namikaze Clan itself. Everyone feared the Blackmoon Guards.

Namikaze Xi looked at the two young men, and his face flickered. Whatever words he had been about to say stuck in his throat. He might be from the direct bloodline, but everyone in the clan knew that the direct bloodline was on the decline. He… could not afford to offend the Blackmoon Guards.

" Namikaze Xi," said one of the young men, his voice cold, "for loud and disorderly conduct on the shore of Brightmoon Lake, for disturbing public order, and for losing face for the clan in front of guests from other sects, you will move your ass 300 meters back from this location!" The young man spoke without the slightest bit of courtesy.

"If you dare to step within 300 meters of any Blackmoon Guard," said the other young man, his eyes brimming with scorn, "then it will be taken as an act of insurrection! Namikaze Xi, get the hell out of here!" With that, he waved his hand, causing another shocking wind to appear, which swept Namikaze Xi up and forced him back.

Namikaze Xi was powerless to resist, and in the blink of an eye had fallen back nearly three hundred meters. There was complete silence as all of the surrounding clan members looked over at Namikaze Xi.

He finally came to a stop at 299 meters. His face was pale, and he was trembling. Rage flickered on his face as he glared murderously at the two young men.

He was no fool, and knew that these two had intentionally come to humiliate him in front of the other clan members. Word would quickly spread that he had been unceremoniously dismissed by them.

What was especially obvious… was the sinister way in which they went about humiliating him. With their cultivation bases, they could have easily pushed him 300 meters away. Instead, they only pushed him 299 meters, making sure that Namikaze Xi would have to voluntarily step back the final meter.

Namikaze Xi's eyes were bright red, and he panted as he glared at the two young men nearly 300 meters away. He did not wish to step back, but he also knew that clan rules took precedence over anything and everything. The Blackmoon Guards were responsible for keeping order in the area, and if he defied them openly, they would have a vast array of options regarding how to deal with him. Most important of all was that the Blackmoon Guards… were under the direct control of Namikaze Wei's branch of the family.

Namikaze Xi clenched his fists tightly and, as everyone watched, bowed his head and stepped back one last meter until he was at the 300-meter mark.

That final step was a movement that crushed Namikaze Xi's dignity, and humiliated his bloodline. However, Namikaze Xi had to accept it; there was no way he could fight back.

He stood there trembling as everyone looked at him. Not a word was spoken by anyone, although many of the onlookers sighed inwardly.

As for the two young Blackmoon Guards, they laughed coldly and then, ignoring Namikaze Xi, turned and left.

Everyone who was watching assumed that the chiding of Namikaze Xi was now over. Even Namikaze Xi assumed that by bowing his head, he would face no further difficulties….

However, it was at this point that two Blackmoon Guards suddenly appeared next to Namikaze Xi. Instantly, they waved their hands, causing their cultivation bases to surge with power. A fierce wind kicked up, wrapping around Namikaze Xi and driving him backward yet again.

This time, he was yet again sent back 299 meters.

"The Blackmoon Guard has already warned you once," said one of the two, his voice cool. "You must remain 300 meters away from any location we occupy! We're standing here now, so scram!"

"YOU!" Namikaze Xi was trembling, and his eyes were bright red.

The two Blackmoon Guards laughed at Namikaze Xi's reaction, and their eyes radiated cold glows. It was as if they were just waiting for Namikaze Xi to fight back. Although they might fear his father, they had received orders under the auspices of Prince Wei. Besides, they were responsible for maintaining order here, so if Namikaze Xi did anything rash, their backers would shield them from any consequences.

Namikaze Xi was in a rage, and he wanted to cast everything aside and fight back. But then he thought about how often his father sighed about the decline of the direct bloodline. Namikaze Xi didn't have a strong personality, and in fact, was often gentle. Not wanting to cause any further troubles for his father, he bitterly took another step back.

As he stepped back, a hint of dejection could be seen in his eyes.

It was at this point that more than ten Blackmoon Guards suddenly appeared. The crowds stepped back, making a wide path for them. The Blackmoon Guards stared at Namikaze Xi with cold eyes.

Namikaze Xi lowered his head and continued to retreat. 300 meters. 1,500 meters. Soon he was almost out of the crowd entirely, a full 3,000 meters away from Brightmoon Lake. The Blackmoon guards stared contemptuously at Namikaze Xi, who was by now figuratively scarred and battered.

"One more step!" said the Blackmoon Guard closest to Namikaze Xi, his voice cold. Currently, they were separated by 299 meters.

Nothing could be heard but silence. Many of the Namikaze Clan members sighed inwardly, but said nothing. The Namikaze Clan's direct bloodline was on the decline, and Namikaze Wei's was on the rise. That was current state of affairs.

Namikaze Xi laughed bitterly as he realized that he couldn't stay here any longer. He was just about to turn and leave when suddenly, a hand appeared behind him and patted him lightly on the back, preventing him from taking that final step.

At the same time, a calm voice could be heard from behind him.

"What's wrong, Namikaze Xi?"

When Namikaze Xi heard that voice, a tremor ran through him. He turned back to see that Naruto was behind him, having appeared there at some undetermined point in time. Perched on Naruto's shoulder was the parrot, who winked at Namikaze Xi.

Naruto had appeared without the slightest sound, and not a single one of the nearby clan members had even noticed. All they saw was Naruto suddenly standing there, right behind Namikaze Xi.

The more than ten Blackmoon Guards looked over with fiercely glinting eyes. They were shocked, because even they had no idea how Naruto had appeared there. He had literally shown up in the blink of an eye.

His appearance on the scene immediately caused a stir among the Namikaze Clan members.

"It's Namikaze Naruto!"

"What a strange way to make an entrance! He didn't make any ripples of displacement at all!" Many people felt their hearts beginning to pound. Naruto had just concocted the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, and had caused the Namikaze Clan's Dao Bell to ring. By now, Naruto was a person many of the clan members were pondering deeply.

"Coz…." said Namikaze Xi, looking over at Naruto. His expression was one of grievance, the kind of look that appears when a dear relative shows up right when you are being picked on.

Naruto smiled lightly, then patted Namikaze Xi's shoulder. However, within Naruto's heart, icy coldness surged up to monstrous heights. A moment ago, he had been off in the distance, watching Namikaze Xi being pushed back by the sinister Blackmoon Guards.

" Namikaze Xi, you stick with me. Let's see who tries to stand in my way." With that, Naruto stepped in front of Namikaze Xi and then began to walk forward. Namikaze Xi took a deep breath. Eyes filling with determination, he began to follow Naruto.

The dozen or so Blackmoon Guards watched with various expressions as Naruto walked forward. When he had walked about thirty meters toward them, two of the Blackmoon Guards snorted and then closed in on him.

"You may approach," said one of them, "but Namikaze Xi disturbed the public peace here, and if he dares to step within 300 meters of us, he'll be punished!" In the blink of an eye, the two Blackmoon Guards were right in front of Naruto.

Their words still hung in the air as Naruto suddenly lifted his right hand and pushed it out in front of him. Rumbling could be heard as a gale force wind sprang up. An incorporeal Flying Rain-Dragon suddenly appeared, roaring soundlessly as it shot toward the two Blackmoon Guards. In the blink of an eye, it was upon them. Their faces flickered, and they fought back with all the power they could muster. However, blood sprayed from their mouths as they were tossed to the side.

This development immediately sent the crowds into an uproar. It must be noted that even though the Blackmoon Guards had targeted Namikaze Xi, the only thing they did was drive him away. They did not attack or injure him. In sharp contrast, Naruto attacked with domineering force, immediately injuring the two Blackmoon Guards.

Namikaze Xi instantly started to get nervous, but Naruto's expression was as cold as ever. As he proceeded forward, the rest of the dozen or so Blackmoon Guards up ahead began to head toward him.

"You've disturbed the peace and even dared to hurt people! Namikaze Naruto, it doesn't matter if you're backed by the Dao of Alchemy Division, you will still face the clan's punishment this day!"

The dozen or so Blackmoon Guards bore down on Naruto. When they were only a few dozen meters away, brilliant beams of light suddenly exploded from Naruto's eyes, and he said one thing.

"SCREW OFF!"

The words rang out like claps of thunder. Rumbling filled the area, and even the Chosen in the East Ascension Pavilion heard it and looked over.

The Blackmoon Guards in front of Naruto felt as if some enormous, invisible mountain was crushing down onto them. Blood sprayed from their mouths, and deafening roars filled their ears. They suddenly felt as if their cultivation bases had become unstable. It didn't matter that they were in the Immortal Realm; they began to tremble as a terrifying wind swept over them, sending them tumbling backwards. Naruto's one sentence caused their minds to reel, and sent them flying away.

The surrounding Namikaze Clan members were completely shocked.

Namikaze Xi looked on, stupefied, as Naruto calmly proceeded to walk forward. The crowds immediately parted, making a path for him that led all the way to Brightmoon Lake!

On the island in the middle of the lake, within the East Ascension Pagoda, Namikaze Wei and the others around him all saw the crowd part as if some sort of Immortal Divinity had appeared.

Naruto strode out, back straight, long hair draped over his shoulders like a cloak. His expression was grave and stern, as if his rise to prominence gave him a blinding aura that no one could ignore.

When the Chosen in the pavilion saw that it was Naruto who was walking toward them, a variety of different expressions could be seen.

Li Ling'er's face flickered with hatred as she stared at him.

Sun Hai's eyes went wide, he took a deep breath, and subconsciously edged backward.

Song Luodan and Taiyang Zi saw Naruto at the same time, and their eyes shone with piercing light.

Then there was Fan Dong'er, whose gaze turned as sharp as a dagger. In that moment, she had no stronger desire than the wish to chop Naruto into tiny pieces. She began to pant, and it suddenly became impossible for her to maintain her previously stoic expression.

" Naruto…."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 929

Chapter 929: Momentum

Namikaze Wei's gaze immediately fell onto Naruto. His expression was the same as ever, although his pupils constricted. He wasn't surprised to see that Naruto had shown up. Back in their initial meeting in the main temple, the moment they looked at each other, Namikaze Wei could tell that Naruto was not a pushover. However, he hadn't paid much attention to him, and had in fact disregarded him. It wasn't until Naruto rose to prominence in the Dao of Alchemy Division that he had been forced to take him seriously.

That was especially true now, when he was suddenly acting so aggressively. Namikaze Wei snorted coldly.

A moment later, his expression was seemingly as placid as ever, without any hint of disturbance.

Uchiha Mu was also there in the East Ascension Pavilion. When he saw Naruto, his eyes shone with a sharp light, and his desire to do battle increased.

Namikaze Yunyi stood there as well, looking venomously in Naruto's direction, a cold smile twisting the corners of his lips.

The crowds surrounding Brightmoon Lake were in an uproar. They made way for Naruto as he strode slowly forward, Namikaze Xi in tow, who was both excited and nervous. The Blackmoon Guards were one of the nine guard corps of the Namikaze Clan, and were responsible for maintaining peace. They would most certainly not respond kindly to Naruto provoking them.

"Coz…." he whispered. Suddenly, whistling sounds could be heard as more than thirty figures closed in on Naruto from all directions.

These were more Blackmoon Guards, the keepers of the peace! As they flew toward Naruto, their cultivation bases roared with power; shockingly, all of these cultivators were in the Immortal Realm!

Two of them were even stage 5 Immortals, and as they all closed in at high speed, they unleashed divine abilities and magical techniques. Brilliant light shot out in all directions, exerting intense pressure.

"How brazen!"

"You dare to attack the Blackmoon Guard? You dare to sow public chaos!? It doesn't matter who you are, kneel now and prepare to be sent to the dungeon to be tortured!"

As the shouts echoed out, Namikaze Xi started to look anxious.

However, Naruto's expression didn't change at all. Instead, he smiled coldly.

"It seems that even random nobodies dare to squawk in front of me," he said. "Could it be because I haven't used force often enough in the clan?" With that, he stepped forward. As soon as his foot touched the ground, he transformed into a bright beam of light.

The beam of light was gold-colored, and inside, Naruto took the form of a golden roc. A droning could be heard as he shot toward the incoming Blackmoon Guards at high speed.

In the blink of an eye, he slammed into three of them. The roc's talons slashed, ripping the air and causing cracking sounds to ring out. The three Blackmoon Guards' faces fell and blood sprayed from their mouths and their bodies twisted before they could even fight back. They were instantly sent flying backward by Naruto's talons, powerless to resist.

Even as they flew backward, coughing up blood, they looked back at Naruto with expressions of shock.

"How… how could he be so strong!?"

Naruto didn't pause for even a moment; he instantly swept towards the other guards. The roc flapped its wings, and in the blink of an eye, five more Blackmoon Guards let out muffled grunts. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they were thrown into the air, and looks of shock covered their faces as they looked at roc-form Naruto.

"What cultivation base does he have? Even the combined power of all five of us can't stop him!"

To describe all of these actions takes quite a few sentences, but these eight people were injured and sent tumbling hundreds of meters away in a brief flash. Eight people had been injured and flung over 300 meters away. Now, there were seven Blackmoon Guards left in front of Naruto.

Among those seven were the two stage 5 Immortals, who were now panting. Their expressions that of astonishment, they gritted their teeth and joined voices to call out, "Blackmoon Formation!"

Immediately, the other five of their number joined with the first two, combining together to form the shape of a moon!

Because their clothing was black, that moon… was also black!

A black moon!

As soon as the moon appeared, a monstrous energy surged out that weighed down on everyone in the area. The Chosen in the East Ascension Pavilion all looked on with strange gleams in their eyes.

"The Blackmoon Guards' first fusion art!" said Taiyang Zi, his eyes flickering.

"Rumor has it," said Sun Hai, eyeing the black moon, "that with this art, seven people make the formation, seven formations make a magic spell, seven spells make a divine ability, seven divine abilities make a Dao!"

Others had similar reactions, although Li Ling'er simply watched with coldly flickering eyes.

The crowds surrounding Brightmoon Lake were also in a commotion.

Namikaze Xi's face fell, and Namikaze Yunyi smiled an overtly sinister smile.

In that moment….

Naruto, in golden roc form, didn't hesitate for a moment. He charged toward the black moon, and as he did, the roc turned blurry and transformed into numerous mountains. The mountains linked together to form a chain of mountains that then crushed down onto the black moon!

This was none other than the Mountain Consuming Incantation!

From a distance, it looked like massive mountain peaks suppressing the very moon in the Heavens. Boundless, enormous mountains filled the sky, and as for that black moon, it was visibly shrinking.

Everyone watching was astonished, especially the Chosen in the East

Ascension Pavilion who had previously crossed swords with Naruto. When they saw the mountains, they were reminded of that year in the lands of Ninshu, when Naruto had single-handedly swept over all of the Chosen. Despite being chased by over a thousand opponents, he had been as valiant as ever.

Booms echoed out in all directions.

The black moon only lasted for the space of a few breaths under the crushing pressure of the mountains. Subsequently, it shattered into pieces, and the seven people inside coughed up blood and tumbled backward, their faces filled with terror.

The mountains faded away, and Naruto stepped out from within them. He once again transformed into a beam of light that shot forward. " Namikaze Xi, keep up!" he said loftily. "I'm taking you to the pavilion on the lake!" To everyone who heard his booming voice, it was as if Naruto was the only person in existence.

There were many clan members who suddenly felt as if they were meeting Naruto for the first time. Their hearts trembled with shock, and even Namikaze Xi was panting. Gritting his teeth, he flew to follow Naruto.

The two of them proceeded onward toward Brightmoon Lake, Naruto in the lead, Namikaze Xi following.

In the East Ascension Pavilion in the middle of Brightmoon Lake, the various Chosen were all looking at Naruto. Regardless of whatever conflicts they had with him, as of this moment all of them had no choice but to admit that Naruto… was a blazing sun!

Namikaze Wei stood there quietly, his eyes icy. Namikaze Yunyi, on the other hand, had an expression filled with incredible venom.

Namikaze Hong was already in awe of Naruto, and subconsciously stepped backward, as did Namikaze Xiangshan. Namikaze Donghan was secretly excited; this outcome was exactly what he wanted, a fight between Naruto and Namikaze Wei.

As everyone watched Naruto nearing the edge of Brightmoon Lake, all of a sudden, a person appeared on the shore.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a black robe embroidered with two moons. He had the flourishing cultivation base of a stage 6 Immortal.

"You ignominious fool!" the man said coldly. "Back down!" This stage 6 Immortal was the leader of the Blackmoon Guards in this area. He stood there, brow furrowed, doing nothing to conceal his loathing of Naruto. Even as he spoke, he pushed his hand out in front of him, causing shocking pressure to roil out. At the same time, an enormous, illusory hand appeared that shot toward Naruto.

"I'm from the direct bloodline of the Namikaze Clan," Naruto replied, "I'm the eldest grandson of this generation, with a supreme status in the clan. You're the one who'll be backing down!" Instead of slowing down, he sped up. At the same time, he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out into the air nine times.

Nine Heavens Destruction!

RUMMMBLLLLE!

Massive roaring filled the air as his Dharma Idol suddenly materialized behind him. 15,000 meters tall, shocking to the extreme, it also punched out. Nine blows descended toward the middle-aged man, seemingly capable of shattering Heaven and Earth.

When Naruto's attacks slammed into the palm strike, the hand shattered. The man's face fell as Naruto's fist continued onward the man himself.

Dozens of blows were exchanged in the blink of an eye. Each exchange caused the man's face to flicker; his expression was now being taken over by fear as he realized that his cultivation base was being weakened, as was his life force. It was being absorbed by Naruto!

In the end, blood sprayed from his mouth, and he was forced to retreat.

In that moment, Naruto grabbed Namikaze Xi. As everyone watched, he flew up into the air… directly out over Brightmoon Lake!

As soon as Naruto was airborne, all of the dozens of Blackmoon Guards in the crowd urgently took flight and sped toward Naruto. It didn't matter if he was a fellow clan member, his flagrant challenge of the Blackmoon Guards was something that could not go unanswered.

However, Naruto completely ignored them. He dragged the astonished Namikaze Xi through the air, transforming into a long beam of light that shot over Brightmoon Lake toward the East Ascension Pavilion.

Inside the pavilion, the Chosen were all shocked. Li Ling'er clenched her jaw, and a cold light could be seen in Fan Dong'er's eyes. Uchiha Mu was itching to fight, and Song Luodan's face was icy. As for Sun Hai, he was getting nervous. Taiyang Zi and the others felt their energy surging as Naruto sped toward them.

Namikaze Wei frowned. Namikaze Yunyi was panting; seeing Naruto's powerful momentum caused him to subconsciously step backward.

Everyone watched as Naruto carried Namikaze Xi across the water. In the blink of an eye, he was almost at East Ascension Pavilion. Just when he was about to set foot inside….

"You don't qualify to be here," Namikaze Wei said calmly.

He took a step forward and then struck out with his palm!

The palm strike unexpectedly… caused everyone to feel as if the land were quaking and the mountains were trembling. The surface of Brightmoon Lake churned, as if some ancient being were awakening underneath and was now emitting a terrifying aura.

The palm strike looked ordinary, and yet as soon as it was delivered, a golden magical symbol appeared outside of the East Ascension Pavilion. The symbol was like the sun, instantly causing everything outside to turn golden.

In response to the palm strike, all of the Chosen in the pavilion, even Fan Dong'er and Zhou Xin from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, narrowed their eyes in concentration. Various expressions could be seen; the explosive energy of Namikaze Wei's attack left everyone shocked.

This was even more the case when people realized that Namikaze Wei's attack contained an aura of reincarnation. It was almost like a natural law, as if… anyone who opposed Namikaze Wei was actually an enemy of the Heavens!

A sense of crisis rose up in Naruto, and his eyes widened. He released Namikaze Xi, simultaneously causing the Black White Pearls to swirl out. Furthermore, a Blood Chakra rose up, transforming into the head of a Blood Demon. All of it coalesced onto Naruto's hand, after which he also… struck out with his palm.

Rumbling filled the air in the space between Naruto and Namikaze Wei in the East Ascension Pavilion.

This was the first time that Naruto and Namikaze Wei exchanged blows!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 930

Chapter 930: I've Missed All of You!

It was a collision of gold and blood!

It was a struggle between the power of reincarnation and the Black White Pearls!

This was Namikaze Wei… versus Naruto! Their first battle!

Rumbling filled the air as the colors of gold and blood smashed into each other. The night sky suddenly grew bright as the power of reincarnation and the Black White Pearls collided, causing Heaven and Earth to tremble. Massive roaring echoed out in all directions.

The Blood Demon head collapsed, and the world of gold shattered. The sensation of reincarnation faded away… and Naruto's Black White Pearls also collapsed.

A tremor ran through Naruto, and his Eternal stratum immediately surged into action, giving him the power to completely shrug off the blow. What all onlookers saw was that Namikaze Wei's palm strike did nothing to stop him! He didn't even pause… he just stepped right into the East Ascension Pavilion!

Namikaze Wei's eyes brimmed with icy coldness, and his face had turned a bit pale. Although he had been separated from Naruto's counterstrike to his palm attack, he was still struck by the backlash.

Most shocking of all was that this was Brightmoon Lake, a place where Namikaze Wei practiced cultivation. He had formed a resonance with the lake water, and therefore held the upper hand. Furthermore, Naruto had been protecting Namikaze Xi.

In the end, however, it was really difficult to determine which of them was actually more powerful!

Almost in the same moment that Naruto set foot into the pavilion, dozens of Blackmoon Guards flew out across the lake toward him.

Naruto completely ignored them. Instead, his cold gaze flitted across the crowd and came to fall on Namikaze Wei.

"Junior Cousin Namikaze Wei, why is it that I'm not qualified to enter this pavilion?"

"Anyone who is being pursued by the Blackmoon Guards is naturally not qualified to set foot inside," Namikaze Wei replied coolly. The Blackmoon Guards were closing in on the pavilion, and even more were now converging further out beyond the lakeshore. Furthermore, it would only be a short time before their true experts arrived.

In his heart, Namikaze Wei laughed coldly. He truly wanted to see how Naruto could possibly resolve the current situation.

Namikaze Xi's face was ashen as he stood there next to Naruto, panting. He had never been inside the East Ascension Pavilion before, and would normally have been very excited. Right now though, the Blackmoon Guards were moments away from catching up, and when he thought about what would happen then, he couldn't help but take a deep breath and brace himself to go for broke.

He had already decided that because all of this was happening because of him, he would take full responsibility, and make sure that the clan didn't cause any problems for Naruto.

"Is that so?" replied Naruto, smiling. Sharp whistling sounds could be heard as seven or eight Blackmoon Guards shot through the air behind him. Their expressions brimmed with killing intent, and they were just about to attack when…

Naruto casually raised his hand and showed something to the Blackmoon Guards behind him.

Then, without even turning his head, he coldly barked, "Screw off!"

As his voice echoed out, the Blackmoon Guards outside of the pavilion saw the item in his hand. Their faces fell, and they suddenly stopped in place, staring in disbelief at Naruto's hand, and the object therein.

Then they began to pant. Meanwhile, more Blackmoon Guards converged in the area. All of them had the same reaction, as if lightning were crashing around inside their minds.

The dozens of nearby Blackmoon Guards, and the hundreds that were gathered further off, all stared wordlessly in shock.

When the Chosen in the East Ascension Pavilion saw what was happening, their eyes gleamed with a strange light. Namikaze Wei suddenly seemed to remember something, and his face turned extremely unsightly. Namikaze Yunyi gaped, unsure of how to react to this sudden development.

He couldn't understand what the Blackmoon Guards had seen that would suddenly cause them to stop in place and not dare to get any closer.

Namikaze Hong stared in shock. Namikaze Xiangshan hesitated. Namikaze Donghan's eyes shone with curiosity.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" said Naruto icily, still not deigning to look behind him.

The instant the words left his mouth, the Blackmoon Guards behind him gasped. They suddenly clasped hands and bowed to Naruto, then bitterly turned and made their way off.

Many among the audience around Brightmoon Lake saw this, and gaped in shock. They had just personally witnessed the Blackmoon Guards, brimming with killing intent, suddenly stop in place and then retreat en masse, clearly not daring to get even an inch closer.

There were a few people in the crowd who had exceptional eyesight, and managed to catch a glimpse of the object Naruto held in his hand.

They gasped, and expressions of blank disbelief appeared on their faces.

"The command medallion of a tier 8 alchemist!"

"That's the same as a clan Elder's command medallion…. A tier 8 alchemist's command medallion! That gives him the same status as a clan Elder! And clan Elders… are qualified to order the Blackmoon Guards to stand down!"

" Namikaze Narutoconcocted a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, which means that he instantly became a tier 8 alchemist!"

The sounds of the tumult outside drifted into the pavilion, causing the cultivators gathered there to inhale sharply.

Namikaze Xi gaped, and then suddenly went wild with joy.

Naruto slowly lowered his hand, looking at Namikaze Wei with a slight smile.

"Would you say I'm qualified now?"

Namikaze Wei's expression was extremely unsightly as he stared at Naruto. Before he could even respond, Naruto stepped forward and raised his right hand. Namikaze Yunyi's face fell, and he tried to escape, but his body involuntarily flew through the air toward Naruto, who grabbed him by the neck.

"You see me, and don't greet me properly," Naruto said, smiling, gently patting Namikaze Yunyi's cheek. "Ah, Yunyi, it seems that the last time I taught you a lesson, you just didn't get it."

Naruto's smile caused Namikaze Yunyi to begin to tremble. He was about to say something, when suddenly Naruto's face darkened and he slammed Namikaze Yunyi onto the floor of the pavilion.

The pavilion was magically reinforced, and couldn't be damaged by such an action. It was incredibly tough, which resulted in Namikaze Yunyi letting out a bloodcurdling scream. Next, Naruto slammed him into the ground seven or eight more times.

Blood sprayed from Namikaze Yunyi's mouth, and he screamed over and over again. He even begged for mercy. Namikaze Wei frowned.

"That's enough!" he said.

Naruto smiled and looked over at Namikaze Wei.

"Under my authority as an Elder, I'm reprimanding a clan member. Junior Cousin Namikaze Wei, on what authority did you speak those two words to me just now?"

With that, Naruto grabbed Namikaze Yunyi by the hair, swung him around and then chucked him off to the side. Blood spattered everywhere. The Chosen in the room watched and said nothing. However, as they observed at Naruto's actions, each of them were thinking different things.

That was especially true of Sun Hai, who was shivering slightly.

Namikaze Wei's expression was extremely grim as he looked at Naruto. He was about to say something, when Naruto laughed.

"On the other hand," he said, "the moon is out tonight, and the stars are bright. Tomorrow is the rise of the East Ascension Sun, an auspicious day. Besides, I see a lot of old friends here, which makes me happy. I won't make things any harder for you." He looked out at all the Chosen, each of whom had different expressions on their faces.

Sun Hai subconsciously bowed his head. Li Ling'er stared in rage. Fan Dong'er's face flickered with killing intent, and Uchiha Mu looked like he wanted to fight then and there. Song Luodan and Taiyang Zi were both staring at him with clenched jaws.

Their past experiences with Naruto were things that they would never be able to forget.

Naruto looked slightly embarrassed, then chuckled bashfully as he looked down at the terrified Namikaze Yunyi, who lay there bedraggled and broken-boned.

"Write me a promissory note," Naruto said, narrowing his eyes and smiling. He immediately produced pen and paper from his bag of holding, which he held out in front of Namikaze Yunyi. "You know me, and you know what to write."

With that, he patted Namikaze Yunyi on the head.

Namikaze Yunyi's face was pale white. To him, Naruto was the most evil fiend imaginable in Heaven and Earth. Trembling, he used his own blood to write out a promissory note.

Naruto accepted the promissory note, blew on it a bit to dry it, and gingerly placed it in his bag of holding as if it were a treasure. Then, he smiled at Namikaze Yunyi and said something that caused Namikaze Yunyi's blood to run cold.

"Yunyi, you'll get no third chance. If you act like this again the next time you see me… I'll make sure you live a life worse than death." Naruto's smile stretched from ear to ear, but his words were as cold as ice. It was a stark contrast that caused all of the Chosen in the pavilion to look on in reticent silence.

Namikaze Yunyi started to pant and tremble, and his expression turned into one of extreme terror. He could sense the murderous intent in Naruto's words, and was also certain that when Naruto said he would do something… he would never fail to follow through on his promise.

Namikaze Yunyi knew that if he did not respectfully greet Naruto the next time he saw him, Naruto would definitely… leave him wishing he were dead.

He was frightened, well and truly frightened. Even Namikaze Wei was incapable of helping him in this situation, causing his fear to reach heights that it could not be described even with the word 'terror.'

"Now, screw off to whatever hole you crawled out of," said Naruto. He grabbed Namikaze Yunyi by the hair and violently tossed him out of the pavilion. Intense pain wracked Namikaze Yunyi's body as he flew out over Brightmoon Lake and landed in the middle of the crowd outside.

After being helped to his feet, he left immediately, trying to put as much distance between himself and Naruto as possible. The entire time, his heart was gripped with icy terror.

Back in the East Ascension Pavilion, Naruto looked around at the various Chosen, and a bashful smile appeared on his face, as if he were slightly embarrassed to have suddenly run into so many old friends.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoists!" he said. "We meet again! I've missed all of you!"

Looking quite at ease, he walked up to Sun Hai and, before he could back away, slid his arm around his neck, as if they were good friends.

"Hey, if it isn't L'il Hai! How are you?! Have things been well? Why did you shave your head? Not bad, I think it's quite a unique hairstyle."

Sun Hai started to tremble, and he looked as if he might start crying at any moment. Naruto's shadow lurked perpetually in his heart, a point that could be seen clearly from his cleanly-shaven head.

Naruto rubbed Sun Hai's shiny head and patted it a few times. Sun Hai choked with silent fury, feeling frustrated to the extreme. At this point, Naruto's gaze came to rest on Li Ling'er. Subconsciously, he couldn't refrain from… looking at Li Ling'er's curvaceous rear end.

"Aiya! Little sis Ling'er, I haven't seen you for so long! You're even prettier than before. Your rear end… looks really nice…." He cleared his throat. "Hey, don't look at me that way! You know, now that I think about it, we were actually engaged as children!"

Li Ling'er's expression was extremely dark as she stared at Naruto. Her chest rose and fell as she panted, and she looked like she was on the verge of exploding. Were it not for the fact that she knew she wasn't a match for Naruto, and that they were also in the Namikaze Clan, then she would definitely go all out to fight him.

Seeing that Li Ling'er was on the verge of bursting, Naruto quickly looked away, turning his attention to Fan Dong'er. Instantly, his eyes brightened.

"Eee? Inky! You're here too! Little sis Dong'er, I've already loaned you

Inky for quite a while now, when will you be giving her back to me?"

Fan Dong'er's eyes blazed with rage, and she raised her right hand. Cracking sounds could be heard as two violet flying daggers suddenly appeared. Mysterious flames hissed up from the daggers, and they emanated terrifying auras.

"I dare you to say one more word!" she said through gritted teeth.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 931

Chapter 931 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 931: Her Name is Namikaze Yu!

Her words overflowed with killing intent, as if a single inappropriate word would lead to a fight.

Naruto blinked and then coughed lightly. Keeping his arm wrapped around Sun Hai, he looked around at some of the others.

"Well, if it isn't Song Luodan! And Taiyang Zi! Uchiha Mu, you're here too! Wonderful! You're all here. Well then… when are you going to be paying back the money you owe?"

Naruto's handful of sentences instantly provoked a reaction from the various Chosen in the East Ascension Pavilion. Some burst out angrily, others glared at him furiously, and some had bloodshot eyes.

"Shut the hell up!"

"Shut your trap!"

" Naruto, you're pushing people too far!"

" Naruto, if you dare to insult me one more time, we're going to have a blood feud the likes of which has never been seen before!"

When Namikaze Xi saw all of this happening, he stared at Naruto in blank shock. Then he looked at the enraged Chosen, and took a deep breath. He had no idea what Naruto had done to provoke such widespread indignation, to cause these Chosen to be so wrathful.

Namikaze Xi was even more thunderstruck by the words exchanged between Naruto and Li Ling'er, as well as Fan Dong'er. Actually, Fan Dong'er was the celestial goddess of Namikaze Xi's dreams….

And yet, in the blink of an eye, that celestial goddess had summoned deadly weapons. Any rapturous illusions Namikaze Xi had about her were instantly dispelled by her vicious wrath.

Namikaze Xi wasn't the only shocked one. Namikaze Hong also stared with wide eyes. She couldn't imagine what disputes Naruto had with these people to make them act in this way. Apparently, Naruto's brief words had stabbed deep into their hearts.

Even Namikaze Wei was at a loss as to how Naruto could be so familiar with these people….

Only Namikaze Xiangshan and Namikaze Donghan truly knew of the inspiring and tragic connection between all of them, and how world-shaking those events had been.

The surrounding Namikaze Clan members stared in shock at Naruto and the Chosen, their minds reeling.

Naruto's appearance in the pavilion made him the complete center of attention. Even Namikaze Wei was somehow surpassed.

The Chosen's response to his words caused Naruto's face to suddenly darken.

Before he could even say anything though, the parrot, which had maintained silence up to this point, rolled its eyes and then glared at all the people.

"He who owes shall repay!" it squawked. "This is a principle of Heaven and Earth! You shameless bunch had better repay what you owe immediately!

"If you have no money, then find some furred or feathered beasts for

Lord Fifth! If Lord Fifth is satisfied, then he'll help you pay back the debt!

What do you say?"

Naruto snorted coldly and glared at the crowd. Then he slapped his bag of holding and produced a stack of promissory notes. He began tapping his finger on the notes, and then looked up.

"White paper and words written in blood. The handwriting is very clear, yes? Do you people really dare to renege on your debts?" Naruto was clearly incensed. He was well aware that concocting the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill had temporarily resolved his spirit stone quandary.

However, according to his calculations, what he had earned still wouldn't be enough. Now, his joy at finding so many people who owed him money was turning into fury.

In the instant that Naruto pulled out the stack of promissory notes, Namikaze Xi gasped. Namikaze Hong's eyes went wide, and even Namikaze Wei stared in shock.

All of the surrounding members of the Namikaze Clan stared blankly in disbelief at Naruto standing there, tapping his finger on the promissory notes. This image of Naruto was now deeply ingrained in their hearts.

"How… how many promissory notes does he actually have?"

"Didn't Namikaze Narutocome from Planet Ninshu? How could there be so many people who borrowed money from him?"

"What exactly does this guy do? Is he a cultivator? How come he just doesn't seem like a cultivator to me?"

The Namikaze Clan's Chosen gaped as their minds filled with buzzing thoughts.

"Sun Hai," said Naruto, sounding very displeased. "Why don't you start first." He patted Sun Hai's head. "Don't think that because you're bald now that I can't grab ahold of you. There's always going to be some place on your body that has hair, right?"

Upon hearing these words, the parrot's eyes suddenly shone brightly, and it stared at Sun Hai with interest.

Sun Hai began to quiver. He gritted his teeth and was about to protest, when Naruto's words suddenly reminded him of his nightmarish experience on Planet Ninshu. Finally, he scowled.

"Uh…can I pay back a little less than I owe?"

Naruto was instantly pleased.

"Alright!" he said, eyes shining. "Let's start with the interest, how about that?" Sun Hai grimaced, clenched his teeth, and then slapped his bag of holding, producing some spirit stones that he handed over to Naruto.

Naruto quickly collected them up, licked his lips, and then eyed Sun Hai's bag of holding.

"Considering how rarely we run into each other, why don't you repay a bit more than that?"

"I really can't," said Sun Hai. "I… I actually came to the Namikaze Clan to buy something particular…. It's… well, I know this girl from the Namikaze Clan, and I really want to buy her a gift. Hey, you never know, we might end up being family!"

"Oh, so that's how it is," said Naruto. "Why don't you repay a bit more of your debt, and I'll put in a good word for you." He smiled and patted Sun Hai's head.

He suddenly realized that patting Sun Hai's head actually felt very good, so he patted it a few more times for good measure.

"Li'l Hai, don't worry. Pay back those spirit stones, and I'll help you out.

In the Namikaze Clan, the highest Elders and the lowliest branch members all have to give me face."

Sun Hai hesitated for a moment. He knew that Naruto was the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline. Even though the direct bloodline was in decline, Naruto's father was still alive, and Naruto had certainly been throwing his weight around the clan recently.

Based on his earlier inquiries, none of the other Chosen in the clan were familiar with the girl he liked, which was making Sun Hai anxious. Now that he saw how domineering Naruto was, he figured… he might as well give Naruto's suggestion a shot.

"I wonder if he'll really put in a good word for me…." Sun Hai thought, gritting his teeth. He was thoroughly entranced with this Namikaze Clan girl, to the point where he wasn't even acting rationally. Finally, he slapped his bag of holding and passed an even larger sum of spirit stones over to Naruto.

When Naruto saw them, his eyes shone with brilliant light.

"Li'l Hai, don't you worry. You leave everything to your Big Bro." Naruto put the spirit stones away, and before Sun Hai could say anything more, began to walk over to Li Ling'er.

She stared at him, furious, her expression icy.

He hesitated for a moment, then glanced down at her rear end. Sighing, he thought about his actions as Namikaze Mu, and realized that there was an eighty percent certainty that Li Ling'er had recognized him. Therefore, he couldn't push her too far.

He turned to look at Fan Dong'er, but when he saw the deadly-looking violet flying daggers swirling around above her hand, his expression turned somber, and he turned to walk toward Taiyang Zi and the others.

"Taiyang Zi, Song Luodan, Uchiha Mu!" he barked. "All of you owe me money. It's time to PAY UP!"

Taiyang Zi and the other two glared back at Naruto, flames of rage flickering in their eyes.

They all stared at each other for a few breaths of time, after which Naruto took a step forward toward them. At this exact moment, Taiyang Zi and the others attacked simultaneously. Booms echoed out as all four of them flew out of the pavilion and began to fight.

Rumbling filled the air as Naruto transformed into a golden roc that slashed its talons toward Taiyang Zi. At the same time, a chain of mountains rumbled out next to him, crushing down toward Song Luodan. A moment later, he flapped a wing, causing the air to shred as power shot toward Uchiha Mu.

Booms echoed out in all directions. Even though it was late at night, and very dark, the light of magic filled the air, and all of the Namikaze Clan members down below stared up to watch. When they saw Naruto single-handedly battling three amazing Chosen, their minds trembled.

"That's Song Luodan from the Song Clan. And Taiyang Zi from the Five

Great Holy Lands! The last one is the Uchiha Clan Chosen, Uchiha Mu!"

"All three of them are in the process of rising to be true Immortals! Once they do, they'll definitely be even more famous than they are now!"

"I can't believe Namikaze Narutois fighting all three of them at the same time!"

Booms echoed out as the four of them fought back and forth constantly.

Naruto clenched his fist and then punched out, unleashing the Nine

Heavens Destruction. Blood sprayed from Song Luodan's mouth. As for Uchiha Mu and Taiyang Zi, one of them called wind and summoned rain, while the other transformed into blinding sunlight. Even as they closed in on Naruto, he snorted coldly. A Blood Demon head appeared, which head butted Uchiha Mu. Simultaneously, the Ninth Mountain materialized, slamming toward Taiyang Zi.

"You guys are a lot stronger than the first time we fought," said Uzumaki

Hao. "Unfortunately for you… I could put you in your place last time, and I can do the same thing today!" His cultivation base surged with power, and he extended his hand. Rumbling filled the sky as numerous mountains descended, cutting off all avenues of escape for Taiyang Zi and the others.

Roaring, the three of them materialized their Dharma Idols. Naruto responded in kind. The Dharma Idols belonging to Taiyang Zi and the others all bore visible traces of Immortality Illumination Vines.

As they fought, Taiyang Zi and the others were continuously forced to retreat. Finally, a boom could be heard, and blood sprayed from their mouths as they tumbled backward. Naruto's eyes glittered, and he prepared to rush forward in pursuit.

However, it was at this point that an archaic voice rumbled out from the ancestral mansion.

"Magical battle is prohibited during the rise of the East Ascension Sun. If anyone makes another attack… their right to bathe in the sunlight will be revoked!"

As the voice echoed out, two ancient figures noiselessly appeared in midair around the East Ascension Pavilion. Massive pressure radiated out, separating Naruto from Taiyang Zi and the others.

These two old men were Elders of the Namikaze Clan. They looked over at Naruto, frowned, then looked at Taiyang Zi and the others.

"All of you get back into the pavilion. Sunrise is almost upon us."

Taiyang Zi and the others took deep breaths. Then they clasped hands and bowed to the two old men. Glaring angrily at Naruto, they flew back into the pavilion.

Naruto glared back at them, then headed back to the pavilion himself.

"Still won't pay me back?" he said with a cold smile. "From now on, any time I run into you, I'll definitely put you in your place!" After setting foot back into the pavilion, he looked around until he saw Namikaze Xi and Sun Hai, after which he walked over to Sun Hai.

As time passed, most everyone in the pavilion sat there cross-legged. Namikaze Wei remained quite subdued; after Naruto returned to the pavilion, he remained mostly silent. His expression did not reveal anything either, as if the previous clash between the two of them didn't matter to him at all. In fact, when Naruto had fought with Taiyang Zi and the others, he had taken one glance and then looked away as if he didn't care.

Soon, everything quieted down. Daybreak was nearing. Eventually, it reached that darkest of pre-dawn moments in which everyone knew that the East Ascension Sun… was about to rise!

Naruto's eyes shone with a strange light, and he took a deep breath. It was at this point that Sun Hai hesitated for a moment, then quietly began to speak.

" Naruto… um… about that thing you promised earlier…."

"Don't worry, I'll take care of it," said Naruto, yawning. "Oh, right, how far along are you in your relationship with this girl?"

Sun Hai's face reddened, and he lowered his voice even more.

"I'm not really sure," he said. "She always beats me up…."

When Naruto heard this, he suddenly perked up.

"Well, that won't do!" he said. "What's her name? Is she here in the pavilion? Of all the nerve! How could she dare to beat people up?!"

"Oh, it doesn't matter," Sun Hai hurried to respond. "Every time she hurts me, I actually feel very happy…. She's not here now, though. She's a disciple of the Church of the Emperor Immortal. Her name is Namikaze Yu."

Chapter 931: Her Name is Namikaze Yu!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 932

Chapter 932: The Sun Rises!

It was now the moment before daybreak. Everything was pitch black, and all eyes were fixed on the east!

It wasn't just the group inside the East Ascension Pavilion who were staring eastward. All of the Namikaze Clan members on the shores of Brightmoon Lake, throughout the rest of the ancestral mansion, and even on all of Planet East Victory, were now waiting.

However, back in the East Ascension Pavilion, Naruto heard the name ' Namikaze Yu,' and his expression instantly changed. His eyes went wide, and he turned to look at Sun Hai.

Sun Hai looked a bit embarrassed. Whenever he said Namikaze Yu's name, he felt happy, and an expression of longing would appear on his face.

"Did you just say that the girl you like is named Namikaze Yu?" asked Naruto. He was starting to pant, and he suddenly had a very bad feeling.

"Yeah, that's right," Sun Hai replied, nodding his head. "Her name is

Namikaze Yu. She's a member of the Namikaze Clan, but also a disciple of the Church of the Emperor Immortal." The happiness he felt grew stronger, and as of yet, he hadn't noticed the change in Naruto's facial expression.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki, it's all up to you now," he continued. "However many more spirit stones you need, as long as I can get my hands on them, I'll give them to you. Elder Brother Uzumaki, please, please put in a good word or two for me…."

Naruto's expression changed again. Now he was staring blankly.

Unwilling to accept the truth, he asked another question.

"That Namikaze in her name, is it the same Namikaze as from my Namikaze Clan? And the Yu, is it the same character that means 'beautiful jade?'"

"Yeah, that's right!" said Sun Hai, looking somewhat intoxicated. "She's none other than Namikaze Yu, as beautiful as a piece of fine jade."

Naruto's heart started to pound. "Did she join the Church of the Emperor Immortal less than two years ago?" he asked, still hardly capable of believing what he was hearing.

"Eee? How did you know? That's right! She just joined the Church of the

Emperor Immortal a little less than two years ago! However, Junior Sister Namikaze 's latent talent is shocking. It's impossible to say clearly what her future prospects are." Sun Hai sighed.

"You…." Blue veins had popped out on Naruto's forehead, and he was staring wrathfully at Sun Hai.

Sun Hai gaped as he finally noticed Naruto's strange expression.

Surprised, he quickly said, "Elder Brother Uzumaki, don't worry. Sun Hai will never forget this kindness. If Namikaze Yu and I ever get married, I'll definitely invite you to the wedding banquet…."

Naruto's mind filled with roaring as he thought about the explosive temper of his older sister Namikaze Yu. If she knew about what he had promised to do for Sun Hai, it would be impossible to say how many times she would beat him up the next time she saw him…. All of a sudden, he felt like the biggest idiot in the entire world. He had actually… sold his older sister off….

Sun Hai then continued, getting more and more excited as he spoke.

"If we have a son, you can even be his godfather!

"As a husband and wife, we will never forget your kindness for the rest of our lives…. It's all riding on you, Elder Brother Uzumaki….

"Oh, Elder Brother Uzumaki, could you help me ask around and find out which bloodline Namikaze Yu is from? I'm planning to go make a formal visit soon…."

"Shut your mouth this instant!" roared Naruto. He truly felt stupid for not having thought of this possibility. His sudden outburst caused numerous faces in the pavilion to turn and look his way. Sun Hai gaped, uncertain of why Naruto would suddenly be so angry.

Naruto reached out, grabbed Sun Hai, and pulled him close. Jaw clenched, he stared Sun Hai in the eye, certain that Sun Hai had done all of this on purpose, had dug a pit for him, and then pushed him in headfirst.

Yes! It was definitely on purpose!

"Do you have a younger sister?" Naruto asked through clenched teeth.

Sun Hai was momentarily struck dumb. From the feeling he got at this moment, Naruto seemed to be on the verge of flying into a rage.

"Uh… yeah, yeah I have a younger sister, she—"

"Who's more of a bitch, you or your sister!" Naruto interrupted loudly. "You joker! I can't believe you have the gall to con ME!" His eyes were bloodshot, and his heart pulsed with rage. All his life, he had been the one to con others, and had never imagined that somehow, Sun Hai would manage to pull a con on him.

That was especially true when he remembered that he had promised to act as a go-between. Naruto couldn't help but sigh inwardly. There was no way that he would dare to have anything to do with his sister's love life. Any time he thought of her violent temper, he would feel his head starting to ache.

"I didn't con you!" said Sun Hai, looking confused. "I really do have a younger sister. Her name is Sun Chan." Naruto's flare of temper was really strange to him. Moments ago, everything had been going smoothly, then he flew into a rage in the blink of an eye. All of a sudden, Sun Hai had the feeling that Naruto and Namikaze Yu were very similar in some ways.

Naruto burned with anger and was just about to say something else when light appeared in the darkness outside.

The light swept out instantly, shredding the darkness into pieces. Sunlight expanded in all directions, a mighty power that instantly suppressed all the dark of night.

In that instant in which darkness and light intersected, where white and black clashed, all eyes in the world seemed to be locked… on the east, which was the source of all the beams of light.

"It's here! The East Ascension Sun!"

"The East Ascension Sun rises every 100 years. The one hundred year cycle reaches its culmination now! This is when the Sun is at its closest point to Planet East Victory!"

"If you bathe in the light of the East Ascension Sun, your fleshly body can reach a point of incredible power!"

Even as the buzz of conversation spread out, the entire world of Planet East Victory suddenly became filled with indescribable, broiling heat. It was almost as if the whole planet had been wrapped in fire!

Black smoke rose from the ground, and steam ascended from bodies of water. The land seemed to ripple, as if the heat was affecting the entire planet.

The East Ascension Sun… was rising!

Even Naruto forgot about his plans to cause trouble for Sun Hai, and looked up.

The sight immediately sent his mind spinning, because… the sun was clearly rising up from the east, and, according to how things would normally go, it should rise up slowly. However, in the instant that Naruto glanced over, what he saw… was the noon sun!

It was as if the process of the sun rising up from the horizon into the middle of the sky took only the space of a few breaths.

Actually, this was not the movement of the East Ascension Sun, but rather, the movement of Planet East Victory. In that instant, some unfathomable method caused the entire planet to rotate, adjusting its angle so that the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion was fixed at the point closest to the sun!

It was now moving along with the sun, which meant… that with the East Ascension Sun in the sky, instead of a normal 24-hour day, the daylight would last for 36 days!

36 days later the Sun would continue to move off into the distance, and would no longer be closest to Planet East Victory, whereupon the planet would return to its normal state of affairs.

That would mark the end of the rise of the East Ascension Sun. As for the people on the other three great planets in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, they might receive some benefit, but because they were further away, they would not gain nearly as much as those on Planet East Victory!

Sunrise lasted for only a moment and then, for 36 days, it would be high noon!

The entire scene was even clearer when viewed from out in space. Planet East Victory hung there, shimmering, smoke rising up from it, almost as if it were on the verge of melting!

The power that put Planet East Victory on the verge of melting… came from a bright, shining field of light that lit up the entire starry sky!

The light shone from the east, sweeping through the starry sky, its power dissolving anything that it touched.

Countless meteors and debris vanished without a trace, almost as if they had evaporated.

If there were some almighty figure who stood inside of that light, they would be able to see that, to the east of Planet East Victory, within the previously pitch-black void of space, there was now… suddenly… a matchlessly enormous heavenly body!

This heavenly body was crimson, as if it were formed from lava, and it emanated intense heat and light. This was… the sun!

This was one of the two heavenly bodies that existed outside of the Nine Mountains and Seas. The sun!

Outside of the Nine Mountains and Seas was an enormous sun and a gigantic moon, which maintained fixed orbits around all of the mountains and seas. Around and around, they had spun for countless years without crossing paths, and apparently, would continue to do so for an eternity.

Because of the position of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, it and the First Mountain and Sea were the places in which one could now bathe in the light of the sun and the moon. As for Planet East Victory, it was the closest one could get to the sun in all the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

As of this moment, there were few cultivators who could survive out in the space between the sun and Planet East Victory. The only people who could… were Dao Realm experts of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

There were other almighty figures who had long been waiting for this moment to be able to bathe in the light of the sun, and thus acquire good fortune.

Almost in the exact moment that the sun rose, numerous cultivators on Planet East Victory flew up into the sky, to feel the light of the sun, to be bathed and baptized in its light.

Such people were not qualified to go to the Namikaze Clan to bathe in the light of the sun, and could only experience a scaled-down version of it in various other regions.

Of course, in the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion, the East Ascension

Pavilion atop Brightmoon Lake was the absolute closest location to the East Ascension Sun. Currently, that was the most desirable place to be on the entire planet.

Other than stepping out into the starry sky itself, there was no better place to bathe in the light of the sun than the East Ascension Pavilion. Of course, no one under the Dao Realm could possibly step out into the starry sky to face the sun without dying.

As such, it is easy to imagine how precious of an opportunity it was to be present in the East Ascension Pavilion.

At the same time, the Namikaze Clan Elders mobilized 30,000 powerful experts, who sat down cross-legged, outlining the shape of a massive spell formation. When the spell formation was activated, a huge pillar of light shot up!

The pillar of light surrounded Brightmoon Lake, stretching out to a width of 9,000 meters and then shooting from the ground all the way up into the Heavens, seemingly linking them to Planet East Victory. This beam of light made it impossible for any outsider to enter that area, and made the power of the East Ascension Sun, which had already been much stronger here than in any other area, exponentially stronger than it had been before!

Within the 9,000-meter beam of light, ninety percent or more of the people were members of the Namikaze Clan. Any others were Chosen who had recently come to Planet East Victory.

You could say that even if someone merely sat down cross-legged within the light, and didn't even rise up into the sky, they would still experience incredible progress with their fleshly body. The main question was how long someone could remain in the light. If someone pushed beyond their limit, their entire body would be burned to ash.

Of course, the truly powerful experts would not be content to just sit cross-legged on the ground. They would choose to fly up into the air. The higher one flew, the closer one got to the East Ascension Sun. If one were able to reach the boundary between the planet and outer space, that person would experience unimaginable gains.

Unfortunately, throughout all the years, no one under the Dao Realm had reached such a point.

Furthermore, it was impossible to tell exactly where that point lay!

Some people said it was at 150,000 meters. Their line of reasoning was that 150,000 meters was where the sky was no longer blue, but rather, a deep violet color. Other people said that the point lay at 300,000 meters, because in that location, the sky was black, and there was little difference between that area and the starry sky itself. From there, one could look down and see the entire planet beneath one's feet.

There were some people who said the point lay at 600,000 meters, and others even said 900,000 meters. There were many opinions. However, no one could make any definite judgements. After all, the size of the planet itself actually had a lot to do with the matter.

Therefore, the exact height of the Heavens of Planet East Victory was difficult to judge.

According to the Namikaze Clan, the point of demarcation between the planet and the starry sky was set at 300,000 meters!

Right now, nobody under the Dao Realm could possibly fly to that end point of 300,000 meters!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 933

Chapter 933: Struggling for Supremacy!

Of course, people in the Dao Realm didn't need to passively bathe in the the light of heavenly bodies. They could fly off the planet itself and directly face the light of the sun!

Right now, within the the 9,000-meter area around Brightmoon Lake, everyone sat cross-legged, bathing in the light of East Ascension Sun. Suddenly, Namikaze Wei flew out from the East Ascension Pavilion, and proceeded to shoot up into the sky without the slightest pause.

The boundless sunlight was shockingly hot. The entire world seemed visibly distorted, as if all of the moisture in the air had been completely sucked away. All of Brightmoon Lake seemed to have evaporated into a mist, and was now completely dried up.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the ground as the Namikaze Clan members around Brightmoon Lake soaked in the power of the sunlight and used it to strengthen their fleshly bodies to shocking levels.

When Namikaze Wei flew out, it attracted a lot of attention. He was a Chosen, a blazing sun of the Namikaze Clan. He instantly shot up to a height of 3,000 meters with incredible speed. It was there that he took a deep breath and then settled down cross-legged, seemingly transforming into a black hole that rapidly sucked in sunlight.

A commotion immediately broke out.

"Prince Wei is really deserving of his reputation!"

"He's not just absorbing the sunlight, he's gobbling it up! What profound understanding of the East Ascension Sun!"

Even the experts and Elders in the ancestral mansion were silently nodding their heads.

The second person to fly up into the sky was Uchiha Mu, Chosen of the Uchiha Clan. His eyes flickered with a strange gleam as he flew up into the air, his expression quickly turning into one of excitement.

"The Patriarch had a magic called Sundered Night, which was created after he gained enlightenment of the rising sun…. Today, I, Uchiha Mu, will contemplate the East Ascension Sun, which will improve my own enlightenment of Sundered Night!" 1

After Uchiha Mu, it was Taiyang Zi, who rose up into the air laughing. He was from one of the Five Holy Lands, Mount Sun, and he cultivated a magical technique that had a lot to do with the sun. Therefore, the good fortune of this day meant more to him than anyone else.

Taiyang Zi immediately flew to a position roughly 2,400 meters high. He took a deep breath, and then… completely transformed into something that looked like a sun! Everyone who could see him was instantly shocked.

Next were Fan Dong'er and Li Ling'er. The two young women flew up, one to a height of 3,000 meters, the other to a height of 2,700 meters, where they both settled cross-legged. Both of them were beautiful to begin with, but underneath the light of the sun, they were scintillating, and emanated a feeling of holiness. Anyone who saw them would feel their hearts pounding, as if they were looking at celestial beings.

Song Luodan followed closely behind. After him were the other Namikaze Clan Chosen, among whom Namikaze Donghan was the swiftest. He came to a stop at a position roughly 1,800 meters high, astonishing many clan members.

Naruto released Sun Hai, whose expression was somber as he stepped forward and then flew up to a height of 2,100 meters. He emanated the energy of an Emperor, causing vast quantities of sunlight to build up around him.

Of all the Chosen who flew out from East Ascension Pavilion, none stopped at a position lower than 1,200 meters. Even Namikaze Xi managed to make it to 1,200 meters, where he began to meditate. There were quite a few other clan members in that same position, most of whom flew up from positions surrounding Brightmoon Lake.

Naruto didn't fly up. He remained sitting cross-legged in the pavilion. The heat from the outside penetrated into his body, making him feel as if he had caught fire.

It caused beads of sweat to begin to roll down his face, all of which were pitch black. It was as if there were impurities within his body that were now being forced out. At the same time, he began to absorb some of the heat, strengthening his Chakra passageways, toughening his bones, and increasing the power of his blood and flesh.

"East Ascension Sun!" he thought, taking in a deep breath. The heat battered his face, pouring into his body, which began to tremble. After some time past, he finally flew out of the pavilion.

The instant he appeared outside, he could hear the clamor of voices. People weren't talking about him, though, they were focused on… Namikaze Wei!

"21,000 meters! I can't believe Prince Wei reached 21,000 meters!"

"It's only been an hour, and he's already at 21,000 meters! the heat there could vaporize an ordinary Spirit Realm cultivator in the space of a single breath!"

"Prince Wei really deserves his reputation!"

Naruto heard the cries of surprise ringing out. Earlier, he had spent one hour inside of the pavilion to get used to the sunlight of the East Ascension Sun. Now, as he looked up into the sky, he could see the various Chosen up in their various positions high in the sky.

The highest, of course… was Namikaze Wei!

He wore white garments, and floated alone at a height of 21,000 meters, grand and magnificent. Golden light surrounded him as sunlight poured into his body.

Namikaze Wei's hair floated around him, making his normally handsome appearance even more shockingly elegant and graceful. Anyone who caught sight of him would be unable to withhold a cry of praise.

The three people just below Namikaze Wei were Taiyang Zi, Fan Dong'er and… someone Naruto wasn't familiar with. When he had been with the other Chosen earlier, laughing and chatting, Naruto had learned that this was the Chosen from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto… Zhou Xin!

Seeing Zhou Xin reminded Naruto of someone else from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto….

"I wonder how Zhao Yifan is doing…." he thought.

When Naruto had first gotten to know all of these Chosen, Taiyang

Zi's cultivation base did not allow him to stand on a level similar to Fan Dong'er. However, the magic he cultivated gave him an advantage due to being connected to the sun, and therefore, he was at the same level as the other two, 19,500 meters. Below them at the 18,000-meter mark were Li Ling'er and Uchiha Mu!

Song Luodan, Sun Hai and the others were all at the 15,000-meter level. Namikaze Donghan was among their number, and many were paying attention to him. The main reason for that was that he normally kept a very low profile in the Namikaze Clan, and yet on this occasion, unexpectedly made it 15,000 meters high.

Meanwhile, back in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, many of the Elders and other powerful experts were watching events play out. The Grand Elder was one of them, and as he looked at Namikaze Wei's lofty position, his face was devoid of any expression. No one who looked at him would possibly be able to guess what he was thinking.

Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather sat some distance away from the Grand Elder. Both of them were smiling.

"Wei'er has been preparing for years, building up resources, all with the goal of reaching a height of 300,000 meters…."

"If anyone can do it, it's Wei'er!"

Outside of the East Ascension Pavilion, Naruto watched as everyone, including Namikaze Wei and the other Chosen, slowly climbed higher and higher. As they did, the good fortune they acquired increased.

Naruto's eyes glittered.

"I haven't kept a low profile at all in the Namikaze Clan, and today will be no different!

"Moreover, this sunlight will greatly benefit my fleshly body. In fact, it's possible that… I can take my fleshly body… to the level of true Immortality!"

Naruto took a deep breath and then began to rise into the air. In one simple movement, he reached 3,000 meters. He stopped there for a moment to take a breath. The sunlight distorted as it engulfed him, and was then sucked into his mouth.

Because of the massive amounts of sunlight that Naruto was absorbing, a rumbling sound suddenly echoed out!

It was a sound created from light containing natural law being accelerated to a high speed in the process of being absorbed. It was a strange sound that first sounded like rumbling, but then, if one listened closer, sounded like an enraged roar.

As the sound spread out, it immediately attracted quite a bit of attention.

"That's Namikaze Naruto!"

"What was that sound just now?"

"It's coming from around Namikaze Naruto! The rays of light are distorted. He's gulping them up just like Prince Wei did!"

Naruto ignored the buzz of conversation. His body felt like it was about to burst into flames. He trembled for a moment, then closed his eyes, relishing the feeling of becoming like an incarnation of flame. His fleshly body was on fire, and because of it, was in the midst of transforming!

"Wonderful," he thought, opening his eyes. Flames danced within his pupils. He threw his head back and laughed, then proceeded on higher. He was now at the 6,000-meter position!

As soon as he arrived, the other clan members at the 6,000-meter position looked over at him. Namikaze Xi was there, and when he saw Naruto, he started to get excited.

Naruto took a second deep breath, sucking in more sunlight. The intense temperatures around him turned into a whirlpool, and he was completely inundated by sunlight.

Yet again, that strange noise emanated out!

Next, Naruto laughed and then proceeded on a third time, then a fourth, then a fifth!

9,000 meters. 12,000 meters. 15,000 meters!

The shocking sound echoed out yet again, three times!

RUUUMMMMBLLLE!

Everything in the area shook, and the clan members sitting cross-legged on the ground, bathing in the sunlight, began to look up, startled by the sound. When they saw what was happening, their expressions flickered with shock and astonishment.

They weren't the only surprised ones. All of the people at the 15,000meter position were shaken as they personally watched Naruto approaching at top speed. Every time he moved, he rose 3,000 meters, and creating massive rumbling sounds!

"Five steps to get 15,000 meters! Namikaze Naruto… isn't just astonishingly skilled in the Dao of alchemy, his fleshly body is incredibly powerful!"

"It takes a strong cultivation base to bathe in the sunlight, but even more important is a strong fleshly body to support you! Without that, if you climb too high, you'll be instantly killed!"

In the ancestral mansion, a strange gleam could be seen in the Grand Elder's eyes as he watched Naruto. Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather were frowning. As for all the direct bloodline clan members, they were starting to get excited. Namikaze Xi's father, 19th Uncle, was laughing happily.

Naruto took a deep breath as he hovered there at the 15,000-meter position. He took a moment to experience the shocking temperature, and the sunlight that was apparently capable of refining his body. He felt as if his entire person were being refined inside of some sort of furnace of Heaven and Earth.

"With Heaven and Earth as the furnace, pills can be refined, and so can people!" Naruto moved onward. To the shock of the other clan members at the 15,000-meter location, it only took one movement for him to shoot another 3,000 meters to the 18,000-meter position!

By this time, Namikaze Wei had reached 27,000 meters. Taiyang Zi, Zhou Xin, and Fan Dong'er were at the 24,000-meter position, and Li Ling'er was only 3,000 meters away from Naruto's current location!

By now, all of them had noticed Naruto. Of course, none of them were surprised to see him climbing so high. Deep in all of their hearts, they had long since begun to consider Naruto to be Chosen just like them.

This was especially true of Li Linge'r, who knew that Naruto and Namikaze Mu were one and the same. Seeing him below her, she clenched her teeth and pushed on higher.

Namikaze Wei, at the 27,000-meter position, wore the same facial expression as usual. When he looked down at Naruto below him, a flicker of scorn could be seen in his eyes. He didn't care that Naruto was rising higher; he chose to disregard him the way he always had.

"My goal is 300,000 meters," Namikaze Wei murmured. "I don't need to compare myself to others.

"As I continue to advance on my path, I will surpass everyone and leave them in my dust….

"I will be the person that everyone tries to catch up to. Namikaze Naruto… your goal is most likely to outdo me. Well, you'll have to work a bit harder. Don't get left too far behind." With that, Namikaze Wei pushed higher, stepping into the 30,000-meter position.

Uchiha Lin from Renegade Immortal used a divine ability called Sundered

Night. This would have been known to readers of ISSTH who also read Renegade Immortal, but as far as I'm aware, it hasn't come up yet in the translation of Renegade Immortal. The references I found were in the chapters after 1,000, although I suppose it could have come up before then ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 934

Chapter 934: Neck and Neck

The instant Namikaze Wei stepped into the 30,000-meter position, the Namikaze Clan members started getting excited.

"30,000 meters! Prince Wei is the first person to reach 30,000 meters this time!"

"It was inevitable. A hundred years ago, Prince Wei was already close to the Immortal Realm, and in the end, he reached over 69,000 meters!"

"After a hundred years of cultivation, Prince Wei is definitely going to exceed 150,000 meters!"

Discussions raged. When he was born, Namikaze Wei had not been the center of attention in the Namikaze Clan. That spot had originally been occupied by Naruto.

However, in the hundreds of years after Naruto's parents took him away from Planet East Victory, Namikaze Wei slowly became the focus, and eventually, the leader of his generation of the clan.

With a status and position like that, as well as the fact that his father and grandfather were leading his bloodline into prominence, Namikaze Wei had become the most famous person of his generation.

After reaching the 30,000-meter mark, Namikaze Wei took a deep breath.

Cracking sounds could be heard from his body as the boundless sunlight washed over him. When he looked down, he saw everyone beneath him, and although his expression was the same as ever, in his heart, he felt as if he were trampling on the world, proudly placing everyone beneath his feet.

"From up here, they look like ants.

"It is destiny. I am the first person to reach 30,000 meters, therefore, I am also destined to lead the pack the entire way. I will forever… leave everyone behind in my shadow.

"That is because I have only used thirty percent of my cultivation base to reach this 30,000-meter mark." Namikaze Wei smiled and closed his eyes. After a few breaths of time, his eyes opened, and his cultivation base surged. A windstorm kicked up around him, inwardly shaking anyone who looked at it.

The windstorm grew more and more powerful. After three breaths of time, Namikaze Wei advanced, causing rumbling sounds to echo out. He picked up speed as he flew up into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he was three thousand meters higher. Then six thousand. In the time it takes to breathe in and out, shockingly, he was 45,000 meters high.

He didn't stop there. He continued, his cultivation base surging. Golden light surrounded him, and he turned into a golden streak that shot to a height of 54,000 meters.

From that position, he overlooked all the lands, and his heart filled with even more intense pride.

All of the Namikaze Clan members below stared up with wide eyes. Taiyang Zi was the second to reach 30,000 meters. After him were Fan Dong'er and Zhou Xin, who reached 30,000 meters at almost exactly the same time.

Taiyang Zi let out a long cry as sunlight surrounded him. He looked like he was a sun of his own, battling to outshine the sun in the sky.

Amorphous flames surrounded him, and surprisingly… he did much the same as Namikaze Wei had, shooting up to 45,000 meters, garnering mass attention.

However, moments later, Fan Dong'er and Zhou Xin also unleashed their cultivation bases. To Chosen like this, reaching 30,000 meters was simply a warmup. After getting accustomed to their surroundings… they would be able to acquire the true good fortune!

The higher they got, the greater that good fortune would be!

Fan Dong'er was surrounded by a magical sea that seemed to sweep her up along with it as it rose higher, to a height of 48,000 meters. At the same time, Taiyang Zi, despite his special method, was beginning to fall behind.

Zhou Xin from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto was surrounded by sword light as he shot upward, reaching a spot somewhere between Fan Dong'er and Taiyang Zi.

Then there were Li Ling'er, Uchiha Mu, Song Luodan and Sun Hai, all of whom reached 30,000 meters, then unleashed their cultivation bases and began to shoot higher.

The explosive rise of the Chosen caused the Namikaze Clan members down below to be completely shocked. They knew that in the future, these Chosen would be the most powerful experts in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Were it not for the fact that they had been waiting for Immortal destiny, any one of them could have long since entered the Immortal Realm. They had built up resources and prepared for years, and once they fused with an Immortality Illumination Vine, they would instantly be able to explode to the peak of the Immortal Realm.

"30,000 meters is only the first step for them. After that, they unleash their cultivation bases, utilizing indescribable energy!" "Luckily, our Namikaze Clan's Prince Wei is in first place!"

"With Prince Wei here, all of the other Chosen from the Ninth Mountain and Sea will have to hold the Namikaze Clan in awe!"

At the same time that the Chosen started rocketing skyward, Naruto advanced for the eighth time, then the ninth, and the tenth.

24,000 meters. 27,000 meters. 30,000 meters!

He moved with incredible speed, 3,000 meters per movement, quickly joining the group of people who had made it to the 30,000-meter point. There, he took a deep breath and looked down at the shrinking land beneath his feet. He saw the ancestral mansion, and all the vast lands surrounding it, including the mountain range that was the Dao of Alchemy Division.

The sunlight here was incredibly intense and hot, enough to melt a Spirit Realm cultivator. Of course, to Naruto… that was not enough to prevent him from advancing.

As he breathed, the heat fused into his body. Sweat poured out of him, each drop of which removed impurities from his body.

He was slowly becoming transparent, and his fleshly body was becoming increasingly powerful.

He clenched his hands into fists, cracking his knuckles as he felt himself growing stronger and stronger.

"The warmup is finished. Now… it's time to burst out!" Eyes glittering, he took a deep breath, and then, his cultivation base began to seethe, and suddenly exploded with power. A vortex formed around him in the blink of an eye.

The vortex spread out in all directions, becoming like a massive black hole that sucked in all of the light and heat and merged it into Naruto's body. In that instant, he suddenly shot up at high speed.

The sight was shocking, causing all of the countless Namikaze Clan members down below to gasp.

They watched as Naruto sped upward like an arrow loosed from a bow. Nothing could stand in his way. No obstacle could obstruct him.

Rumbling filled the air as he reached 39,000 meters. 45,000 meters. 54,000 meters….

He passed Li Ling'er and the others. He passed Taiyang Zi. He passed Fan Dong'er and Zhou Xin. As he did, their eyes widened. Then he shot even higher.

In the blink of an eye, he reached 60,000 meters!

This development sent huge waves of shock through the Namikaze Clan members down below. Their eyes went wide with disbelief, and hoarse exclamations rang out.

"That's… that's impossible!"

"He exploded with speed after 30,000 meters, advancing another 30,000 meters in the blink of an eye! I can't believe Namikaze Naruto… is so shocking!"

"He's the eldest grandson of the direct bloodline. Namikaze Naruto! Back when he was here in the clan, Namikaze Wei was nothing. Namikaze Narutois the true Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!"

Amidst the uproar from the crowd, almost exactly at the same time as

Naruto flew past the 60,000-meter mark, he was joined by Namikaze Wei!

Namikaze Wei was completely shocked, but his expression soon filled with determination. Without the slightest hesitation, he caused his cultivation base to surge, holding nothing back as he flew higher, neck and neck with Naruto.

At the same time, Fan Dong'er and the others near her looked on in shock. Then they pushed hard with their cultivation bases, flying higher. Li Ling'er and all the other Chosen were the same. Thanks to the provocation from Naruto, all of them pushed higher.

RUMMBLLE!

From the ground, it looked like numerous beams of light were slicing through the air. Highest of all were the two beams of light that were Naruto and Namikaze Wei, and it was impossible to tell who was in front and who was behind.

Further back were Fan Dong'er and Zhou Xin, speeding along. Li Ling'er was close behind, as was Taiyang Zi, thanks to his special technique.

As for everyone else, none were very far behind, and were working hard to catch up.

"Barely two hours have passed. And yet, each rising of the East

Ascension Sun lasts for 36 days!"

"Are these people crazy, or what?! And look! Namikaze Narutois going neck and neck with Namikaze Wei!"

"They're not crazy. That's called being competitive!"

The crowds below felt their hearts trembling. Namikaze Xi remained at a position several thousand meters up, and even there, it was difficult for him to absorb the heat and light. Despite that, he was very excited.

He looked up at Naruto shooting higher and higher, and his expression was one of extreme enthusiasm.

"Coz, you definitely have to exceed Namikaze Wei!"

In the ancestral mansion, the Namikaze Clan Elders were all looking up into the sky, watching as the Chosen used this unique method to engage in battle. The Grand Elder's face was expressionless; on the other hand, Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather, who were not too far away from the Grand Elder, looked extremely grim.

All of the members of the direct bloodline were very excited.

The members of the Dao of Alchemy Division were more excited than anyone else, and were all watching the developments with rapt attention.

"That's Alchemist Namikaze Naruto!" people cried out. There were now more than ten tier 8 alchemists in the inner mountains who were paying close attention to the proceedings. They were smiling as they watched, but at the same time, their hands never ceased moving as they continuously concocted medicinal pills.

To the Dao of Alchemy Division, the rise of the East Ascension Sun was the perfect time to concoct fire-type medicinal pills!

Pill Elder Namikaze Danyun sat cross-legged on the mountain peak with the Unicorn Immortals. Shockingly, a seven-colored flame could be seen in the palm of his hand, within which a medicinal pill was beginning to form.

If Naruto were there, he would instantly recognize the pill that was being concocted. It was none other than… a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!

High up in the sky, the sunlight was extremely intense. The higher one got, the more capable it was of burning away anything and everything.

Namikaze Wei's expression was grim as he unleashed all of his power. However, he was still incapable of passing up Naruto. At the moment, neither of them had seized the highest position.

66,000 meters. 72,000 meters. 78,000 meters. 84,000 meters….

It was at that point that Namikaze Wei snorted coldly. His body trembled for a moment, and then he suddenly exploded with golden light. Within that golden light, he seemed to turn completely golden. Simultaneously, his Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and he suddenly shot up with incredible speed.

"I will always be the person you hope to exceed!" he said. Even as Naruto heard his words, Namikaze Wei shot past him. In the space of a few breaths of time, Namikaze Wei reached the 90,000-meter mark!

But then, Naruto's Dharma Idol appeared behind him as well, and his speed also increased dramatically. He also shot up to 90,000 meters in exactly the same way Namikaze Wei had moments before!

"You think a bit too highly of yourself," he said coolly.

As soon as Namikaze Wei reached the 90,000-meter mark, he paused. His looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, then ignored him and settled himself cross-legged to meditate.

Naruto's expression flickered as he realized that the sky at 90,000 meters was not blue, but almost violet. Furthermore… the sunlight here was also violet!

Apparently, 90,000 meters was a line of demarcation. Naruto hesitated for a moment, then crossed his legs and began to breathe deeply. A vortex formed around him as he began to absorb the indescribably hot, violet sunlight.

His fleshly body was now becoming even more powerful!

Soon, he would reach a critical point, the threshold of a true Immortal fleshly body!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 935

Chapter 935 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 935: My Nirvana Fruits!

The violet sunlight contained shocking heat. It was like a violet sea of flames that submerged Naruto inside of it, burning him inside and out. He was engulfed in flames.

The impurities within him were being thoroughly scorched away, causing his fleshly body to draw ever closer to that of a true Immortal.

Namikaze Wei was also absorbing the light and heat. One by one, Fan Dong'er and some of the others arrived at the 90,000-meter level. All of them crossed their legs and began to meditate, absorbing the violet sunlight to strengthen their fleshly bodies.

Most of the other cultivators were down below, beneath the 30,000meter mark. There were only a handful who were hovering at around

60,000 meters. The division between the various groups was very clear.

In the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion, the Elders were watching the unfolding events closely. As they did, the conversed among themselves.

"The Heavens at 90,000 meters are violet. At 180,000 meters, they become deep violet that borders on black. At 270,000 meters, they're pitch black!"

"Each of these 3 strata of height will provide shocking results in terms of fleshly body tempering. I wonder if anyone will be able to reach 180,000 meters this time!?"

"For countless years, less than thirty people have ever been able to reach 180,000 meters."

Time passed. Eight or nine people were now at the 90,000-meter level, including Naruto. All of them had their eyes closed in meditation as they absorbed the violet sunlight. It was also possible to see vortexes spinning around all of them like black holes as they voraciously swallowed up the heat and sunlight.

The most astonishing of all of these were the black holes around Naruto and Namikaze Wei, which were hundreds of meters wide, and absorbed all of the violet sunlight in their respective areas.

The entire time, it was high noon. The more than 60 hours that passed by were equivalent to the normal passing of three days.

When the 100th hour arrived, Taiyang Zi was the first person to open his eyes. He took a deep breath as rumbling sounds echoed out. His eyes shone with a brilliant light, and incredible heat radiated off of him as he rose to his feet.

"My body has reached its limit here at 90,000 meters. An obstacle has appeared that prevents me from absorbing any more…. The only thing I can do… is to go higher and absorb more intense sunlight and heat. Only then can I destroy that barrier and push my fleshly body to another breakthrough!" He looked around at the others near him, and his gaze eventually came to rest on Naruto and Namikaze Wei.

"To be born in the same era as them… is both a blessing and a curse." He sighed lightly, then gritted his teeth. Eyes shining with determination, he took a deep breath and raised his right hand. A stone suddenly appeared in his palm which, despite the violet light surrounding it, still emanated bright golden rays.

"Sun Immortal Veins!" he roared, clasping the stone tightly. Behind him, an enormous Dharma Idol appeared, several thousand meters tall. Shockingly, the Dharma Idol depicted Taiyang Zi himself, and the Immortality Illumination Vine wrapping around it appeared to be burning.

At the same time, a pattern of veins suddenly spread out across Taiyang Zi's entire body, causing him to surge with shocking power.

"When this is over, it doesn't matter what the level of my fleshly body is! I'm going into secluded meditation, and I'm going to break through to the Immortal Realm!" Taiyang Zi's body burned like a shooting star as he shot past the 90,000-meter level, rapidly rising several thousand meters. He reached the 120,000-meter level in the space of a few breaths, which was when he finally started to slow down. Despite that, he gritted his teeth and continued onward.

He next broke through to 150,000 meters. At 159,000 meters, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the stone in his hand began to crumble. His body looked as if it was about to melt, but he forcibly held it together, crossed his legs, and began to meditate.

"I still have three of these precious Divine Sunstones. However… this is the absolute limit for my fleshly body. If I go forward even one more meter, then I'll die!" His expression was one of defiance, and yet, he closed his eyes and absorbed the sunlight madly.

Soon after, Sun Hai opened his eyes. His energy surged like that of an Emperor as he produced a crown and placed it on his head. Then, he began to rise, struggling to a height of 156,000 meters before finally coming to a stop.

Uchiha Mu followed close behind Sun Hai. His cultivation base roared as a strange aura appeared around him that seemed to contain elements of the rising sun. In his hand was a jade slip that seemed able to dispel any darkness of night that he might perceive around him. Shockingly, he rose to a height of 162,000 meters!

When the 126th hour arrived, Li Ling'er opened her eyes. At the same time, so did Song Luodan. Neither of them looked at the other, and yet they simultaneously produced objects from within their robes.

Li Ling'er pulled out a magical bottle that rose to float above her head. Occasionally, drops of liquid would seep out. When they splashed onto Li Ling'er, they transformed into steam that she then absorbed.

Song Luodan pulled out a Feng Shui Compass composed entirely of translucent crystal, which emanated a pulsating Chakra that he breathed in through his nose and mouth.

Similar to Taiyang Zi, these two were using items prepared especially for them by their respective organizations, treasures useful in resisting sunlight. Their energy surged, and they shot higher up at almost the exact same time.

"They're Chosen, but so am I!" thought Song Luodan. "Only by trampling them beneath my feet can I succeed in treading my path!"

"Immortal destiny has appeared, and I have an Immortality Illumination Vine," thought Li Ling'er. "I can see my path to Immortality, and I will succeed!"

120,000 meters. 150,000 meters…. At 165,000 meters, Song Luodan coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was wreathed in flames, and he finally had no choice but to stop. Li Ling'er held on until 174,000 meters before stopping, her face pale. Blood oozed out of her mouth, which instantly transformed into a bloody steam.

Song Luodan chuckled bitterly, closed his eyes, and began to absorb sunlight. Li Ling'er said nothing. She looked at the 180,000-meter position, only a few thousand meters away, and sighed inwardly.

Her current position was the absolute limit for her fleshly body.

Time passed. When the 200th hour arrived, Zhou Xin from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto and Fan Dong'er both opened their eyes. They, too, produced sun-resisting treasures and flew up at high speed. They passed everyone, reaching 177,000 meters before their faces went pale and they started to slow down. However, they still managed to force their way to a height of 180,000 meters before they each coughed up three successive mouthfuls of blood, then trembled and settled down cross-legged, their bodies wreathed in flames.

This scene caused all the observing Namikaze Clan members to tremble inwardly with shock.

"They… really deserve to be called Chosen!"

"All of them are fighting with all of their might! For their own Dao, for the path they wish to tread!"

"As Chosen, the pressure they feel and the responsibility they have are equally weighty! They aren't willing to let others supersede them, and they're all striving to leave behind their own mark of glory…."

When the 240th hour arrived, only Naruto and Namikaze Wei remained at the 90,000-meter mark. At this point, Namikaze Wei's eyes opened, and he looked over at Naruto, his expression grim.

"Still haven't reached your limit yet…? Well, that doesn't matter. Goals are everything, and I… have only one goal. To reach 300,000 meters!" Eyes shining brightly, he rose to his feet. Unlike the other Chosen, he used no precious treasure. Instead, his energy burst out, sending golden light emanating out in all directions.

Finally, his Dharma Idol appeared!

In addition to the golden light, his body emanated the aura of reincarnation. It grew stronger and stronger until, in the end, it created a vortex around him. Namikaze Wei then began to rise up higher into the sky.

In one move, he rose 30,000 meters!

When he reached 120,000 meters, he began to slow down. However,

Fan Dong'er and everyone else up ahead him looked on with wide eyes.

"He's not using any magical items! He's relying only on his cultivation base and his fleshly body!"

"He's using a unique divine ability. That's the aura of reincarnation….

That must be one of the Namikaze Clan's special magics, One Thought

Reincarnation Incantation!"

Everyone in the Namikaze Clan was watching as Namikaze Wei reached the

120,000-meter mark, including the Elders in the ancestral mansion.

"Reincarnation Second Life!" roared Namikaze Wei. Immediately, the aura of reincarnation that surrounded him exploded out. Rumbling could be heard as, shockingly… a second Dharma Idol appeared behind him.

This Dharma Idol didn't look like his first Dharma Idol. It was blurry and unclear.

As soon as the second Dharma Idol appeared, Namikaze Wei's body flickered, and he continued to advance, quickly reaching a height of 150,000 meters.

A hubbub of conversation rose up from down below, and shock filled the hearts of Song Luodan and the other Chosen.

"Reincarnation Third Life!" Namikaze Wei cried out. As his shocking call echoed about… a third Dharma Idol appeared behind him. His cultivation base roared to monstrous heights as he advanced a third time. Rumbling could be heard as he instantly reached a height of 180,000 meters!

He planned to put everyone beneath his feet!

All the crowds were in an uproar. Actually, not everyone in the Namikaze Clan could actually see 180,000 meters into the sky. Only the most powerful experts could do so. However, those who could see were incredibly excited, especially the members of Namikaze Wei's bloodline, who were elated.

"The Reincarnation Incantation can reincarnate four lives. Prince Wei's latent talent is so shocking that he's already refined three lives!"

"He… he isn't even in the Immortal Realm yet! Once he breaks through, he'll definitely be a 90-meridian peak Immortal!"

"With a Chosen like that, our Namikaze Clan is destined to last throughout the ages!"

Namikaze Wei hovered at a height of 180,000 meters. From this vantage point, he could see the arcing curvature of the planet, and almost seemed to be floating in the starry sky. He did not cough up any blood as he looked down at the other Chosen with their varied expressions, and at Naruto.

When he looked at Naruto, he realized that Naruto's eyes were not closed. Instead, he was staring back at Namikaze Wei with an abstruse look in his eyes.

Naruto had actually opened his eyes earlier, when Namikaze Wei had begun to fly up. The instant their eyes met, Namikaze Wei could see a piercing glow in Naruto's eyes, and a smile on his face.

Next, Naruto's lips moved slightly, and although he didn't speak, Namikaze Wei instantly knew what he was saying.

"Are my Nirvana Fruits working well for you?"

Immediately, Namikaze Wei's eyes widened, and his expression turned grim.

Chapter 935: My Nirvana Fruits!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 936

Chapter 936: Naruto vs. Namikaze Wei

When Namikaze Wei started flying higher into the sky earlier, Naruto awoke from meditation, not naturally, but because he had felt the intense sensation of something calling to him, something very familiar.

That sense of familiarity came from Namikaze Wei.

It was a sensation like nothing else, and it came specifically from Namikaze Wei's second and third Dharma Idols. It was now obvious that they were calling out to Naruto's blood.

He had felt that there was something familiar about Namikaze Wei's aura from the very beginning. He'd had his speculations, but it wasn't until now that those speculations were validated. 1

From Namikaze Wei's second and third Dharma Idols, Naruto got the feeling that… they actually belonged to him.

They were… manifestations of his Nirvana Fruits!

Now that the truth had presented itself in front of Naruto, he was unexpectedly calm. The entire clan had witnessed the Grand Elder giving him "his" Nirvana Fruits, so bringing up the subject would be useless.

Naruto smiled, a cold smile that contained no anger, but rather, calmness.

He slowly stood up, then began to fly upward, relying on no magical items to resist the sunlight and heat. He put the matter of the Nirvana Fruits aside for now, and instead focused on a Daoist incantation.

Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!

Flame Character Incantation!

A blistering heat rose up inside of him that rapidly spread throughout his entire body. The heat turned into a sea of flames that spread out from Naruto, raging up to merge with the violet sunlight and absorb its heat.

His Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and it was also surrounded by a sea of flames, making it look incredibly shocking.

In that moment, his fleshly body seemed to be on the verge of making a breakthrough as he madly absorbed all of the intense heat around him.

Within his mind was not just the Flame Character Incantation; he also had the Withering Character Incantation and the Self Character Incantation. These three Daoist incantations all seemed to merge together inside of him. Under the intense heat, Naruto's body began to wither, and yet, within that withering was an intense life force. 2

In fact, as he withered, more violet sunlight and even more intense heat were incited by the Flame Character Incantation, causing his body to recover. The withering was then focused inside of him, transforming into a true black hole.

Naruto's Flame Character Incantation rapidly solidified as it absorbed the vast amounts of violet sunlight, causing the incantation to become thoroughly completed.

"The Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao contains seven incantations," Naruto murmured. As of this moment, he gained more understanding of this Daoist magic that he had picked up in that primordial Demon Immortal Sect.

"Even so, it doesn't quite measure up to the Namikaze Clan's Reincarnation

Incantation." Naruto sighed. The One Thought Reincarnation Incantation was one of the four great Daoist magics of the Namikaze Clan, and was famous throughout the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Those four great Daoist magics were Daos of the clan, and even Uzumaki

Hao couldn't study them unless he exchanged enough merit points for it. Even then, he wouldn't personally be able to master them without the help of a Patriarch-level expert.

"Fire…. Light…." Naruto was suddenly lost in thought, and began to see images in his mind. Within the vision, he saw a spherical mass of fire and light that was like a sun, or an eye.

It was none other than… the Essence of Divine Flame beneath the lands of Ninshu!

That was the most intense mass of fire and light that Naruto had ever seen in his entire life!

He closed his eyes and began to recall his experience with the Essence of Divine Flame. Things began to grow clearer as he remembered returning to the third level of the underground land. In the moment that he had acquired some of that Essence, what he had seen was not the light of a sun, but rather… the flaming eye formed by the Essence of Divine Flame!

In the same moment that Naruto was experiencing this vision, back in the lands of Ninshu, in the third level of that underground land, a place guarded by all the bizarre beasts, within a world of flames, the eye of the Essence of Divine Flame suddenly… opened!

The moment that the eye opened, it seemed to form a resonance with the image of the Essence of Divine Flame that existed in Naruto's mind. Rumbling sounds could be heard, and Naruto's energy level suddenly began to rise.

At the same time, the sea of flames around Naruto suddenly turned black. They swirled around him, transforming into an enormous spherical globe.

Naruto existed in the very center of that globe, held up by his Dharma Idol. From a distance, it almost looked like he had… become a sun!

This sun was far bigger and more realistic than the sun created by Taiyang Zi's divine ability, and the heat it radiated was boundless.

Down in the ancestral mansion, the faces of the Elders who were watching the scene instantly flickered with shock. Even the Grand Elder, who had remained completely calm this entire time, felt his eyes going wide.

"That's… a projection! A projection of the sun!"

"What divine ability is Namikaze Narutousing!? I can't believe he's created a projection of the actual sun!"

"In all the past years, only two people have ever created a projection of the sun during the rise of the East Ascension Sun, and they were Patriarchs, tens of thousands of years ago! And yet Namikaze Naruto… is actually doing just that!"

Deep down in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, in a stony cavern, seven archaic old men sat cross-legged.

These seven were all incredibly famous figures. If they emerged into the outside world, they would cause a huge stir in the starry sky, and could suppress all living things.

They sat cross-legged in meditation, and looked as if no aura of life existed in them whatsoever. The color of their clothing was varied, and currently, the old man who wore a crimson robe suddenly opened his eyes.

He slowly raised his head, and his gaze penetrated through the rock and stone into the outside world.

"The aura of Essence…."

Back outside, in the 90,000-meter position up in the sky, Naruto slowly opened his eyes. To those looking on, it appeared as if he was surrounded by a projection of the sun. However, Naruto knew that this was not the case. Instead… he had used his memories of the Essence of Divine Flame, as well as the Flame Character Incantation, to borrow the power of the sun and copy its image.

He looked up at Namikaze Wei in his position at the 180,000-meter mark, and his expression became even more placid than before. Then, he lifted his right leg and then pushed it down, propelling himself high into the air!

It was one movement, but it caused massive rumbling to fill the air. The void rippled, and even the sun high in the sky seemed to distort. At the same time, the sun surrounding Naruto began to expand.

The path that stretched out in front of Naruto's eyes seemed to shrink, as if the intervening 90,000 meters were nothing more than a single meter!

One movement spanned a single meter… but caused him to leap 90,000 meters! 3

He passed Li Ling'er, superseded Sun Hai and Taiyang Zi, and appeared directly above Fan Dong'er!

He… moved directly to a height of 180,000 meters. When he appeared next to Namikaze Wei, Namikaze Wei's eyes widened, and he shook visibly.

Naruto was now radiating boundless violet light in the shape of a sun. It was a sight that shook Heaven and Earth, leaving everyone astonished. People watching from down below even had the mistaken impression that the sun had descended!

"You!" said Namikaze Wei. This was the first time he had become flustered.

His face flickered, and he was so shaken by Naruto that he involuntarily retreated backward.

Fan Dong'er was panting as she stared up at Naruto. She had to admit that as of this moment, Naruto was shocking even to her. He had formed a projection of the sun, and crossed 90,000 meters in a single movement! It was terrifying!

Zhou Xin of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto looked on with a sharp gaze, virtually unable to believe the feeling of defeat that existed in his heart.

Li Ling'er took a deep breath as she gaped in shock. She knew that Naruto was Namikaze Mu, and she knew that with his latent talent, he was the number one figure in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Even still, she was once again completely shaken by him.

Gradually, Naruto's position in her mind was reaching the pinnacle, like a huge mountain that was impossible to supersede.

Song Luodan trembled and bitterly lowered his head. Taiyang Zi stared blankly for a long moment before sighing.

"It is a blessing to be able to live in the same age as him, and thus, bear witness to his actions. It is a curse… because his brilliance casts everyone else in shadow."

Uchiha Mu's fists were clenched tightly, and deep inside, he wanted to fight. His gaze was defiant as he repeatedly told himself that his surname was Uchiha , and that the surname Uchiha … had a very special meaning!

To be a Chosen of the Uchiha Clan meant that you didn't lose to anyone!

Sun Hai was shaken, and chuckled bitterly. He actually had no desire to compete with Naruto, and yet, he still sighed.

Naruto hovered at the 180,000-meter position. Here, the sky was deep violet, almost black. It was so dark that only by looking closely could you pick up the violet hues. In addition, the sunlight was vastly more powerful than at the 90,000-meter position, so much so that it seemed capable of melting the body.

Even magical items would be instantly transformed into a liquid that would quickly become nothing more than steam.

However, Naruto's expression was calm. He was like a black hole, furiously absorbing the sunlight and heat. The sun that surrounded him looked just as magnificent as the sun that hung up above in the Heavens.

Naruto turned to look at the grim-faced Namikaze Wei.

" Namikaze Wei," he said calmly. "Do you want to have a little competition?

Let's see… who can go the highest!"

Namikaze Wei's eyes widened as he stared at Naruto.

"We don't even need to bet anything specific," Naruto said with a slight smile. "However, the winner will get to punch the loser. Once. It's just that… I really feel like punching you."

Namikaze Wei snorted coldly, declining to say anything in response. Instead, he responded with action. The three Dharma Idols behind him suddenly exploded with power, and he himself shot high up into the sky.

Naruto's expression was the same as usual. As soon as Namikaze Wei flew up, he followed, and the two of them turned into bright streaks of light that shot upward.

In the blink of an eye, they had reached 210,000 meters!

Naruto's entire body was covered in flames. The sun which surrounded him was still in place, despite the fact that the light and heat here was ten times as powerful as it had been at the 180,000-meter position. Namikaze Wei was trembling, and the Dharma Statues behind him fell to pieces. Gritting his teeth, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill, which he immediately swallowed.

It was a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, and as soon as he consumed it, he threw his head back and roared, then shot even higher than before. 225,000 meters. 240,000 meters!

The sky was now completely black. Namikaze Wei's body was in flames, and fissures were spreading out across his skin. Even with the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, he was incapable of staying at such a height for very long.

Naruto's sun was beginning to collapse, and his body withered. His flesh and blood appeared to be evaporating and dispersing. The intensity at the 240,000-meter position was ten times as powerful as before, and the heat and light had reached a terrifying level. However, even as his body withered, he looked over at Namikaze Wei with a cold gaze.

"What's wrong?" he asked. "Can't keep up?"

To Namikaze Wei, this incredible heat and light was terrifying. It was the same for Naruto. However, there was something unique about Naruto; however ruthlessly he treated others… he treated himself even more ruthlessly.

Naruto also had a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, and yet, he didn't consume it. He wanted to use Namikaze Wei's arrogance to bring him down, to openly, and without any tricks, mess with him until he was destroyed and brought to ruin!

He also wanted to damage Namikaze Wei's Dao heart, by defeating him without even needing to consume a single medicinal pill. It would be like a mortal blow to Namikaze Wei.

Considering Namikaze Wei's level of intelligence, how could he not understand that Naruto was leading him on? This was obviously… a battle for the position of number one Chosen in the Namikaze Clan!

As of this moment, all of the Namikaze Clan's experts, all of the Elders, and even the Grand Elder, were paying rapt attention!

Naruto mentioned in chapter 897 that he sensed something familiar about Namikaze Wei ↩ Naruto acquired the Withering Flame Demon Magic

True Self Dao in the Demon Immortal Pagoda in chapter 584. He

reached a culmination of enlightenment about it in chapter 720, outside the Ancient Dao Lake. He used the "Self Character Incantation" to create his second true self, starting in chapter 733. He combined the

"Withering Character Incantation" with his Blood Demon Grand magic in chapter 770, and killed a Dao Seeking expert with the same incantation in chapter 774. It was mentioned quite a few other times, these are just some of the highlights. ↩ Because of how I convert the measurements to meters, and also because of how Chinese uses special words for certain units of measurement (they have a unique word for 10,000), this sounds a lot cooler in Chinese. "Zhang" is about 3 meters and "chi" is about 1/3 of that, in other words, one meter. The direct translation would be: It seemed as if a three 10,000 zhang distance had become three chi! One movement was three chi… but he stepped three 10,000 zhangs! ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 937

Chapter 937 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 937: One Punch!

Namikaze Wei's eyes were bright red as he glared at Naruto. The pride in his heart had been trampled upon; he had already consumed the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, and yet… he was still not able to shake Naruto.

Even more impossible for him to accept was that from the very beginning until now, Naruto still had not used any external aid. He was relying only on his fleshly body and cultivation base, and yet was still capable of reaching this incredible height.

That fact was a massive blow to Namikaze Wei.

"I'm the number one Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!" he thought, gritting his teeth. "From the moment I was born, I was destined… to shake the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" He lifted his right hand, within which appeared a bone fragment.

It was covered with intricately carved magical symbols, and emanated a barbaric aura, as well as a feeling of incredible ancientness. Namikaze Wei violently clenched his hand around the bone fragment, which did not fracture, but rather sank down into the flesh of his palm.

Drops of blood appeared, along with a faint, bizarre power. As the pieces of the bone fragment merged into his body, Namikaze Wei began to tremble, and blue veins popped out on his face.

"I, Namikaze Wei… will never lose!" As he spoke the words, rumbling echoed out, and he once again rose higher into the sky.

Naruto's eyes flickered. He could have allowed his Eternal Stratum to heal him, but had not done so yet. He wanted to completely and utterly destroy Namikaze Wei's self-confidence, to thoroughly crush him and drag him down into destruction.

Enduring the intense light and heat, Naruto also shot upward.

The two of them became beams of colorful light as they ascended. Anyone who could see them, be they the Chosen from the various clans or the Namikaze Clan experts, watched as Naruto and Namikaze Wei shot up into the sky with determination and roiling energy.

249,000 meters!

Rumbling echoed out at this incredibly high position. Blood sprayed from Namikaze Wei's mouth; even with the power of the bone fragment, he had barely managed to force his way those extra 9,000 meters higher. This position was truly his final limit.

He had possessed only one Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. Such pills were rare, even for Namikaze Wei. His father and grandfather had paid a steep price to get their hands on a single Skypalace Sunspirit Pill from the Dao of Alchemy Division.

After all, the Dao of Alchemy Division could act autonomously in the clan, and not even the Grand Elder could give them orders, unless the clan was in a state of war.

In the same moment that Namikaze Wei couldn't hold out any longer, the black sun surrounding Naruto suddenly crumbled away in layers, transforming into countless fragments that rapidly evaporated due to the intense heat.

Naruto was now completely exposed, and his skin began to wither up. Soon, he looked like nothing more than a desiccated corpse that might melt away into death at any moment.

And yet, his eyes sparkled as he looked at Namikaze Wei.

"Admit defeat?" he asked, his voice hoarse.

Namikaze Wei's heart trembled as he gazed upon Naruto's intense strength. He saw Naruto's withered body, and to Namikaze Wei, it appeared as if he could proceed higher only a few hundred meters, Naruto would be unable to keep up, and would be killed by the power of the sun.

As he hovered there silently, a gleam of madness suddenly appeared in his eyes. He said nothing, but instead threw his head back and let out a mighty roar. His body shook as his three Dharma Idols suddenly appeared.

"Three Lives of Reincarnation! Glory of a Lifetime!" he howled, flashing an incantation gesture that caused all three Dharma Idols to superimpose. Next, an aura that appeared to be Namikaze Wei's rose up, growing stronger and stronger until it reached a boundless level.

"I am Namikaze Wei, and I… will NEVER lose!" He clenched his teeth and once again rose up higher, surrounded by rumbling sounds. As he soared higher, his body began to wither, and the flame of his life force began to grow dim. And yet, looking every bit like a shooting star, he continued to rise higher.

252,000 meters. 258,000 meters. 267,000 meters!

Namikaze Wei's blood was being transformed into mist as he pushed himself higher. Naruto followed silently, and his body became even more withered. His cultivation base was in full rotation, and his Dharma Idol was supporting him from behind. His energy was operating at the full peak.

Especially noteworthy was his Immortal meridian, which glowed with intense light that filled his body. A Blood Demon head materialized around him, and the Ninth Mountain appeared, as well as the Black White Pearls.

He also used A Writ of Karma, as well as various other divine abilities and magical techniques. His aura surged to its limit as he combined everything at his disposal to keep pace with Namikaze Wei. Soon, he too arrived at the 267,000-meter position.

It was at that point that Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body was now withered virtually to its limit, to the point where it seemed that if Namikaze Wei took only one more step, Naruto would be left behind and would be unable to keep up.

Namikaze Wei looked at Naruto, and his eyes blazed with the desire to fight. From the very beginning until this very moment, Naruto had constantly seemed to be on the verge of death. And yet, as he advanced, he was not melted by the sun.

Namikaze Wei had already gone all out, and had almost reached 270,000 meters, and yet, it seemed that he would be incapable of surpassing Naruto.

Both Naruto and Namikaze Wei hovered at 267,000 meters, and neither one of them was in the lead position.

" Namikaze Naruto…." said Namikaze Wei. He gazed at Naruto with a look of madness. Panting, he slowly lifted up his right foot. It was a simple motion, but it caused his body to tremble violently, clearly on the verge of complete collapse.

At that point, back down in the ancestral mansion, Namikaze Wei's father's face fell, and he suddenly called out.

"Wei'er, just remain in that position and meditate! Get used to your surroundings before proceeding higher!" It wasn't just Namikaze Wei's father who had such a reaction. There were other Elders of his bloodline who all started calling out to Namikaze Wei to stop trying to get higher.

" Namikaze Wei, don't fall into his vicious plot! Don't be rash!"

" Namikaze Wei, you need to rest and adjust your breathing! Your goal has nothing to do with other people, it is Heaven itself!"

Namikaze Wei said nothing. Neither did Naruto, who simply hovered off to the side, looking coldly at Namikaze Wei.

Time passed. After the space of several breaths had passed, Namikaze Wei's eyes suddenly filled with determination and he stared at Naruto.

"I know the meaning behind your actions earlier," he said. "I also know what you're trying to do. You want to coax me into competing with you in the hopes of delivering a blow to my Dao heart. Such things… I understand." His eyes gleamed with the light of obsession.

"However!" he continued. "I am Namikaze Wei, and I won't lose to anyone. You want to fight? Then let's fight! You want to compete? I'll compete with you! I'm going to move one step further, and if you're good enough, see if you can keep up!" Eyes bloodshot, Namikaze Wei lowered his right foot and moved higher again.

In that instant, his grandfather let out a bellow of rage.

" Namikaze Wei, get back here!"

Rumbling echoed out. As Namikaze Wei finished moving up, blood spurted out all over his body, and his hair was burned completely away. His skin began to burst, and he appeared to be engulfed in a sea of flames.

He even began to stagger, as if he couldn't support his own weight. However, at the same time that this was happening, Naruto also moved higher. Similar rumbling echoed out, and he was also inundated in a sea of flames. He also began to tremble, and yet… he remained solidly in place. Then he looked back at at Namikaze Wei.

Blood sprayed from Namikaze Wei's mouth, and he tumbled backward.

Naruto expression was a complicated one. There were actually some things about Namikaze Wei that he felt to be worthy of praise. He had stubborness, which was something incredibly valuable to cultivators. However, everything was a matter of perspective, and because of the way things were, Naruto could never sympathize with him.

"You're simply not good enough," he said calmly. "You even have my Nirvana Fruits, and yet you still don't measure up." Those words were like a sharp sword that stabbed directly into Namikaze Wei's heart. His face went ashen, and he coughed up more blood.

"All you did was get one step past me!" he said, gritting his teeth as the flames surged around his body. He had only fallen back one pace, but then held his place, forcing his body to stay together as he glared at Naruto.

"One step?" said Naruto softly. It was at this point that he unleashed his Eternal stratum. It exploded out, and in the blink of an eye, Naruto's withered frame began to heal. His hair grew out long, and his skin shone with a gleaming luster. All of his injuries were now completely restored!

This development caused Namikaze Wei's face to fall again. His mind reeled, and the blood drained from his face as he tumbled further backward.

"Impossible! This… this…."

"Why do you think it's impossible?" Naruto said coolly. With that, his body flickered, except, instead of moving up higher, he appeared directly in front of Namikaze Wei.

"You lose," he said, and with that, he punched out toward Namikaze Wei.

Namikaze Wei's three Dharma Idols reappeared as Naruto's the punch descended, and the aura of reincarnation exploded out. He went all out to resist Naruto, and yet, at that moment, Naruto said four words.

"A Writ of Karma!"

BOOOMMM!

One devastating punch slammed into Namikaze Wei, sending him hurtling from a height of 270,000 meters in the sky all the way down toward the ground.

One devastating punch shattered two of Namikaze Wei's three Dharma Idols. Those Dharma Idols had been formed from Naruto's Nirvana Fruits, and by forming ties of destiny with them using A Writ of Karma, they were instantly shattered and sealed.

The deeper the Karma, the more intense the power!

In the instant that Naruto's blow landed, seven or eight figures shot up from the ground below to appear around Namikaze Wei. They grabbed him, and immediately poured cultivation base power into him to heal him. Then they looked up angrily at Naruto, killing intent surging.

At the same time, more than a hundred powerful streams of divine sense immediately formed near Naruto. From the look of it, if he made any further threatening actions toward Namikaze Wei, they would exterminate him immediately.

Even more shocking, the Grand Elder's gaze shot up to the 270,000meter position, where it hung over Naruto like an infinitely sharp blade, ready to cleave his life force away.

When Naruto sensed all of the divine sense focused on him, as well as the murderous looks being given him by the seven or eight elders down below, he simply smiled arrogantly.

He had never had any plans to wrest back his Nirvana Fruits and kill Namikaze Wei. If he did do something like that, it would be in a way that nobody in the entire clan could voice a word of dissent.

He had punched Namikaze Wei just now for the purpose of teaching him a lesson, nothing else.

Of course, it was a very tough lesson.

Ignoring all of the divine sense, the murderous looks from the seven or eight Elders down below, and the gaze of the Grand Elder, Naruto looked up into the pitch black sky, and his eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"I wonder… how far up I can get?!" With that, he turned and transformed into a beam of light that shot upward. Everyone down below watched in shock as he rocketed upward. Apparently… Namikaze Wei was nothing more than a passing distraction who, after being surpassed, wasn't worth looking back at.

Chapter 937: One Punch!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 938

Chapter 938: Rise of a Blazing Sun

To the cultivators down below, Naruto turning and heading further up into the sky made their impression of him grow even greater. As for the Chosen up in the sky with him, the increasing distance between him and them seemed to represent the vast difference in their levels, a difference that only continued to increase.

Profound sensations of utter defeat and powerlessness appeared in their hearts.

Fan Dong'er watched silently, even defiantly. After a long moment, her eyes glittered.

"He has his road, and I have my path. His road and my path might have different ends, but… the journey is the most important part!"

Zhou Xin's eyes widened as he looked at Naruto. He felt incredible pressure that, for some reason, made catching up to Naruto become his new primary goal.

Sun Hai, Taiyang Zi, and Song Luodan all watched silently. Deep in their hearts, all of them had a similar feeling; being born in the same age as Naruto was both a blessing and a curse. Gradually, they began to form a sympathetic resonance with him, and yet, that resonance quickly shattered and was replaced with looks of determined obsession. This was the case even with Sun Hai.

"This is just a little contest about the sun," he thought. "The path into the future is long; there will be plenty of other chances to outdo him."

Li Ling'er was the only one among the group who understood Naruto better than everyone else. Her hands were clenched into fists, and her teeth grated together as she rotated her cultivation base and began to rise up into the sky.

Uchiha Mu was panting. He stared at Naruto getting further and further away, and the desire to fight him burned within his eyes.

Down on the ground, the Grand Elder sat there silently, as did the clan members from the neutral bloodlines. No one viewed Naruto with indifference, the way they had previously. Things had changed.

Looking at Naruto now made them feel as if they were looking at a future Paragon!

This was even true of the Grand Elder. Now, there was something different flickering in his eyes as he watched Naruto.

Of course, there was no need to even mention the members of the direct bloodline, who were boiling with excitement.

The only people who were grim-faced were the members of Namikaze Wei's bloodline. Their killing intent was strong as they looked at Namikaze Wei up in midair, coughing up blood. Although there were clan members next to him, healing him, the injuries to his fleshly body were so great that he was incapable of preventing his Dharma Idols from collapsing.

That collapse seemed to contain the power of some sort of natural law, as if something had been indelibly branded onto Namikaze Wei's soul. He could only watch as two of his three Dharma Idols shattered into countless pieces that were unable to reform.

Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather even teleported up to him. His grandfather scanned his wounds, and his face grew extremely unsightly. "What a vicious little son of a bitch," he said, killing intent flickering in his eyes. "This is the power of Karma. That bastard must be connected to the Hebi Clan somehow. He's sealed Namikaze Wei's Dharma Idols!"

Namikaze Wei's face was ashen, but he remained calm. He even prevented his father from treating his injuries, and hovered there in midair, teetering unsteadily as he looked at Naruto far, far up above.

Naruto was a beam of light high up in the air, shooting higher and higher. He looked almost like a bird, wreathed in flames. He was not living within those flames, but being consumed by them, an undying phoenix with burning wings that soared high into the sky!

As he soared through the air, the essence of the Flying Rain-Dragon that had existed inside of him for so long suddenly surged into action, causing a gentle power to spread throughout his body.

270,000 meters!

276,000 meters!

282,000 meters!

Even when he reached that position, he continued to go higher. The determination in his eyes increased, and the flames that burned his body raged into a peak of intensity. Even with the healing of his Eternal stratum, he would soon be completely destroyed.

However, the impending failure of his Eternal stratum didn't cause Naruto to hesitate. He immediately pulled out… the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill that he had personally concocted!

This would be his first time consuming the pill, and the first time he would rely on its power. As soon as the pill entered his mouth, his body filled with rumbling, and a boundless life force exploded out from within him. It was fiery, and contained a light and heat which stemmed from Heaven and Earth, from plants and vegetation, from the twelve 2-hour time periods in a day. That light and heat then transformed into a flame of life force.

As that flame surged inside of him, it caused his Eternal stratum to suddenly roar to life.

285,000 meters. 291,000 meters. 297,000 meters!

He flew like a phoenix reborn from within the flames, as if he had been born with the will to soar, as if he was a sovereign of the sky, a Flying Rain-Dragon!

As the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill dissolved and spread through his body, not only did it fill him with a boundless life force, it also caused his fleshly body to grow even tougher than before.

It was as if a sun now existed inside of him, a sun that radiated an everburning light and heat. It even made it so that Naruto seemed to form a resonance with Heaven and Earth, and with the sun that existed outside of the starry sky.

That resonance caused Naruto to suddenly be partially enlightened regarding certain natural laws, although they were vague and he couldn't quite grasp them. He could sense that these natural laws contained the Dao of the sun, a Dao that became clearer the closer one got to the sun itself.

"If I had one more Skypalace Sunspirit Pill…." he thought. His eyes glittered as he used the power of the pill to begin to push himself through the final stretch to reach 300,000 meters!

RUMBLE!

He rose up like a blazing sun, the focus of all attention as he… passed the 300,000 meter mark!

Throughout countless years, and all the generations of Chosen, no one in the Immortal Realm or under had ever reached this height. From his position, Naruto could see the vast majority of Planet East Victory.

All of the other Chosen in midair stared with wide eyes. All of the other powerful experts of the Namikaze Clan were completely silent for a moment before bursting into conversation.

"He… he flew up to 300,000 meters!"

"From ancient times until now in the Namikaze Clan, nobody in the Immortal Realm or under has ever reached 300,000 meters! Namikaze Narutois the first!"

"Unheard-of! This Namikaze Narutohas suppressed all of the other Chosen, even Prince Wei! He's now the complete center of attention!"

As the conversations buzzed in the ancestral mansion, the Elders' eyes filled with strange gleams.

Of course, the Elders were able to keep themselves under control much better than everyone else. Naruto really was the first person in the Immortal Realm or under to ever reach 300,000 meters. However, there were in fact a few Ancient Realm cultivators who could accomplish this same thing.

And yet, this trial by fire of fleshly body tempering was good fortune set aside for members of the younger generation. The clan experts of the Ancient Realm held their training sessions in other places.

Namikaze Wei stared fixedly at Naruto's receding figure. Watching him reach a height of 300,000 meters felt like having a massive fist slam ruthlessly into his chest. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and his expression darkened. Inside, he was nearly going mad with defiance.

"I should be up there… not him!"

As everyone was shaken mentally, Naruto hovered at 300,000 meters. It was impossible to breathe this high up, but with Naruto's cultivation base, he didn't need to breathe. He hovered there like a peerless Paragon.

Because of his Eternal stratum, his fleshly body was very close to that of a true Immortal. Furthermore, he tread a path that was different than everyone else, a path that even exceeded Pill Demon and his true Immortal destiny. His path… was to become a true Immortal among true Immortals!

His was a path in which he relied only on himself. He needed no Immortal destiny. He would move directly into true Immortality. In fact… among the few people who tread such a path, his was unique. He already had an Immortal meridian inside of him, an Immortal meridian… from a primordial Daoist Rite Temple!

All of these things were reasons why he now hovered above 300,000 meters!

Here, the light and heat surrounded Naruto in a strange way. He couldn't see the light, or feel the heat… he existed inside of the light, and was being smelted in the heat itself.

He slowly looked up, and began to tremble as his fleshly body was tempered to an even greater degree.

Up ahead of him was the boundless starry sky, and then beyond that, he could see… the actual, true sun!

It was an enormous, crimson sphere, seemingly in the depths of the starry sky, illuminating everything.

When Naruto looked at it, he could sense the Dao of the sun, much more clearly than before. However, it still wasn't clear enough. Even flying up 300,000 meters left the sun too far away!

"My fleshly body is just a hair away from a breakthrough!"

His eyes filled with determination. Everyone believed that he had reached the ends of the sky and could go no further. However, he charged onward, using the power of his cultivation base, his fleshly body, and the sun of the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill to support him as he flew.

303,000 meters. 309,000 meters. 315,000 meters…. His flight speed was not incredible. Time went by, and he continued higher!

Everyone down below was in a complete uproar.

"I can't believe he's still going!"

"300,000 is an end mark! Going any further vastly increases the danger. At a certain point, he's going to step into the starry sky. That's a place where only Dao Realm experts can enter!"

"What is he doing…?"

Chosen. Clan members. Everyone was astonished.

When he reached 315,000 meters, everyone thought that he was finished. But then…

The constant cyclical interchange between his Eternal stratum and the light and heat caused his fleshly body to begin to emit rumbling sounds. A white light then exploded out from inside of him!

As soon as the light appeared, anyone who could see it gasped. Even the Chosen who felt so separated from him were instantly shocked.

"That white light… it's…."

"That's Immortal light!"

"That's a type of true Immortal light of Heaven and Earth that only appears right before the fleshly body reaches the true Immortal level!"

Fan Dong'er and all the other Chosen felt their minds reeling. The Elders of the Namikaze Clan, and other members of the clan who could see the light, were all trembling inwardly.

Namikaze Wei saw the light, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face. Even his father and grandfather felt as if they were being struck by lightning, and gaped in shock.

Many people immediately flew out from within the ancestral mansion to look up into the sky. Their expressions were first that of astonishment, then disbelief, and finally, amazement!

"Immortal light…" The Grand Elder was struck speechless, something that rarely happened.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 939

Chapter 939: True Saint Fleshly Body

"I can't believe he's forming Immortal light!" In the stony cavern deep beneath the ancestral mansion, the withered old man in the crimson robe was watching with a gaze that blazed like fire.

"Could it be that someone from the Namikaze Clan… will finally be able to look down on the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea? After all these years, will there be another rarely seen… fleshly body true Saint!?"

Cultivators in the Immortal Realm who had true Immortal fleshly bodies were called Saints!

Saints are victorious, so the term itself implied that they were unrivaled in the Immortal Realm! If a true Immortal cultivation base was then added on top of that, then… that person would be a true Immortal and a true Saint at the same time. That was… a Paragon! 1 That was… an invincible Paragon of the Immortal Realm!

All of that would be preceded by light.

Immortal light!

Before the true Immortal fleshly body appeared, white light would shine out. Immortal Chakra would naturally exude from within that light, creating a unique color, which was none other than that unique Immortal light!

Only… when a true Saint fleshly body appeared, would it be possible… to see that light!

Within the light, Naruto trembled slightly. He could feel the dense Immortal Chakra in the light around him, a Chakra that did not come from the outside world, but rather, had grown inside his body.

It was as if it had been hidden in his blood vessels, concealed in his soul, obscured within his life force!

When the Immortal light appeared, it came with dense Immortal qi. Naruto's fleshly body began to emanate rumbling sounds as it rose madly toward the state of being a true Immortal fleshly body.

A flame burned deep inside of Naruto's eyes as an incredible power surged up within him. In that moment, he began to fly. He had long since stopped paying attention to the flow of time. From the moment he had flown out of the pavilion until now, more than half of the East Ascension Sun's 36 days had passed. By now, only 15 days remained. And yet, Naruto had not stopped moving.

318,000 meters. 324,000 meters….

330,000 meters!

The light surrounding him grew stronger and more intense!

There was more Immortal qi, and the light and heat that existed in the blackness of space had turned into something like a cocoon, wrapping around Naruto, waiting… to be broken open to reveal new life!

The cocoon also nourished him, making Naruto's new life force grow even stronger!

His eyes glowed with an obsession to become more powerful. Therefore, he didn't stop, but instead, pushed onward. A soaring phoenix circled around him, which was the manifestation of the will of his soul. He roared like a Flying Rain-Dragon, which was caused by the will of the sovereign of the skies that nestled inside of him.

RUMBLE!

333,000 meters!

"Still not enough!" thought Naruto, squinting his eyes against the blinding light around him. By now, the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill inside of him had been thoroughly absorbed. At this height, even surrounded by Immortal light, his body was still burning up. It was something that was impossible for him to deal with; even his Eternal stratum couldn't keep him going. Unless he stopped, then when the cocoon around him broke, he would die.

"There's another way…." he thought, his eyes glittering. He suddenly extended his hand, causing a black flame to appear in his palm.

"I can concoct a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill right here and now! I don't have the medicinal plants, so I'll have to use the grand alchemic Dao of creating something from nothing!"

His eyes gleamed with determination as he suddenly stopped in place. Enduring the incredible scorching heat, he held out his hand, causing the flame to grow. At the same time, the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill formula suddenly appeared in his mind.

Creating something from nothing was using one's imagination to materialize a real medicinal pill. That pill could not be consumed by anyone else, nor could it be sensed by others. Only the person who concocted it would be able to see it and consume it.

"At this height of 333,000 meters, there is incredible light and heat.

These are the optimal conditions for concocting a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!" He closed his eyes and performed an incantation with his left hand, simultaneously imagining the medicinal ingredients he needed. Then he waved his hand, causing the light and heat to swirl around into the image of several medicinal plants, which he then grabbed with his right hand.

His right hand was like a grand furnace of Heaven and Earth, blazing hot and bright.

All of his energy was focused on the medicinal pill. He relied on the

Immortal Chakra that swirled around him, on his mind, on his soul, on his will. He almost seemed to be having an out of body experience as he focused himself fully on creating something from nothing.

He could not fail, and he would only have one chance. He could stay here for a maximum of twelve 2-hour periods. If his pill concocting failed, he would have no other choice than to break out of the cocoon into his true Immortal fleshly body.

But that was an outcome he couldn't accept! He knew that if he could get even higher, his fleshly body breakthrough would be even more incredible.

This was a chance, a good fortune that he was willing to fight for!

At this height, his actions weren't visible to most of the people down below. However, everyone who could see clearly was now staring in shock, unclear as to what exactly he was doing.

Only the most powerful experts gradually began to put the pieces together and to speculate as to what was going on. Their speculations led to disbelief; it was a prospect that none of them dared to believe.

"He's actually…."

"Concocting pills!?"

"I don't see any medicinal plants, and yet he really is concocting pills!"

"I once heard Pill Elder talk about a legendary realm of the Dao of alchemy… they call it… creating something from nothing!"

The Namikaze Clan Elders' faces all flickered with shock.

The Grand Elder was panting as he looked high up into the sky. His expression was that of terror; Naruto had repeatedly and continuously shocked him with his actions and achievements.

Meanwhile, in the Dao of Alchemy Division, the dozen or so tier 8 alchemists suddenly stopped concocting pills and slowly looked up, as if they were reacting to the sensation of Naruto's alchemy. In the space of a few short breaths, their expressions completely and utterly changed.

"That aura…."

"That's…."

"Creating something from nothing!"

Within the Dao of Alchemy Division's inner mountains, on the mountain filled with Unicorn Immortals, Pill Elder stood there, looking up into the sky. Slowly, a smile spread across his face, a smile that grew wider until he started laughing.

The Chosen from the various sects were flabbergasted. How could they have ever imagined that Naruto… was able to concoct pills himself. He was already at a terrifying height, surrounded by shocking heat and light, and yet he actually… was still able to concoct pills!

These Chosen had been groomed by their sects and clans for years, and had seen many things. Some of them suddenly thought of that legendary realm of pill concocting.

"How is this possible!?" thought Li Ling'er, gaping at Naruto with wide eyes. The only thing she could hear was her own heart pounding in her chest.

Fan Dong'er, Zhou Xin, Sun Hai, Taiyang Zi, all of them were gaping with wide eyes.

"Is there anything he can't do?" thought Uchiha Mu, his heart filling with a sense of profound defeat.

Then there was Namikaze Wei, within whose expression could be seen a touch of blank confusion.

Time passed. Soon, the twelve 2-hour periods had passed. Naruto

was trembling, and his body was withering. His energy was rapidly fading away.

He was now thoroughly immersed in pill concocting. Despite being in the middle of the rise of the East Ascension Sun, in which there were 36 straight days of noon, alchemists were naturally able to measure the passage of time through their body's senses.

Most importantly, he was already incredibly familiar with the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. He was able to adjust the pill formula based on his environment, so when the thirteenth 2-hour period arrived, scintillating light exploded out from the palm of his hand into the darkness that surrounded him.

The only thing that any observer could see was that resplendent light. However, what Naruto saw was a medicinal pill resting in the palm of his hand.

It was a Skypalace Sunspirit Pill created from nothing!

In these extreme conditions, he had used the technique of creating something from nothing to concoct a medicinal pill. The result was that he appeared to be on the verge of collapse. Although this was not his first time creating something from nothing, it was the most exhausting .

In fact, he had the feeling that if he attempted to duplicate this attempt, he would fail.

The creation of the medicinal pill marked his absolute limit. He looked at the pill laying there on the palm of his hand, radiating light like some magnificent treasure of Heaven and Earth. Without the slightest bit of hesitation, he took the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill that no one else could see, and placed it into his mouth.

As soon as the medicinal pill entered his mouth, it exploded, transforming into a brilliant sun inside of him that generated boundless light and heat. It transformed into life force that in turn caused the Immortal light around him to become even more shocking.

"He… he succeeded!" One by one, the tier 8 alchemists in the Dao of Alchemy Division rose to their feet. Pill Elder's laughter once again echoed out from the inner mountains.

In the ancestral mansion, the Grand Elder's face was a mass of disbelief. The other Elders in the area were silent for a moment before their eyes also began to radiate a strange light.

There was little need to mention the other Chosen, who had long since been indescribably shaken by Naruto.

This time, Naruto… was rising to prominence under his own name! He was truly stepping into the cultivation world of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Bolstered by the power of the medicinal pill, Naruto looked up, and his eyes burned with decisiveness.

"True Immortal fleshly body!" he said. His body rumbled, and blinding light shot out of him as he climbed higher into the sky. Days passed as he went higher and higher and higher. 348,000 meters. 354,000 meters….

360,000 meters!

369,000 meters. 378,000 meters…. 387,000 meters!

When he reached that shocking height, the Immortal light around him exploded out in all directions, enveloping the entire area.

It was also in that moment that Naruto's fleshly body broke through the bottleneck. A distinct shattering sound could be heard that rapidly transformed into a boom like rolling thunder.

At the same time, he completely absorbed all of the Immortal Chakra and Immortal light, and his body suddenly surged with earth-shattering power.

The swirling Immortal Chakra transformed his body into something like a precious treasure. Every bit of his flesh and blood was like a true Immortal magical item. His bones became strong to an astonishing degree, and his Chakra passageways opened wide, allowing terrifying power to flow through them.

His hair grew long, and his body became slightly taller and more slender. His face was strikingly elegant, and his aura was enough to strike fear into the hearts of all Immortals. His entire body was like a precious gem that hovered there high in the sky, causing everyone who could see him to be completely shaken.

True Immortal fleshly body!

True Saint!

There is a play on words here, as well as another thing I need to explain. First of all, the two words Saint 圣 and victorious 胜 are complete homophones, meaning they are pronounced exactly the same, shèng. Incidentally the latter is the same character as in the name of the planet, East Victory. Paragon can be translated in a variety of ways, and essentially refers to a supreme entity of some sort. We've already seen this term appear a few times in the story, and, as is explained here, is usually used to refer to someone of supreme and unrivaled power in their Realm ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 940

Chapter 940: The End of the Sky

A true Immortal fleshly body meant that he was a true Saint!

This in turn meant that Naruto's body was now powerful to a terrifying level. He had been baptized in Immortal light, which had then coalesced inside of him, creating…. an Immortal body!

Naruto clenched his fists. He could tell that if he ran into a so-called peak Immortal Realm cultivator, one punch would easily be able to rock such a person.

He could sense his might; it felt as if he had completely changed on a fundamental level. The terrifyingly powerful light and heat from before now seemed vastly weaker.

"This is the power of a true Immortal fleshly body…." He looked up higher into the sky, and his pupils glimmered with fire.

"Now it's time to find out… how high the Heavens really are!"

Rumbling could be heard as he climbed relentlessly up into the sky.

Even at this height of 387,000 meters, the light and heat were no longer something that Naruto felt incapable of enduring. He rose up from Planet East Victory in a piercing beam of light.

Naruto was now so far up that few down below could see him. The only thing most people could see was a long streak of prismatic light that seemed to be on the verge of rattling the Heavens and the starry sky, rising higher and higher.

Naruto was surrounded by flames as he soared higher at top speed. If you were close up, you wouldn't be able to see them, but from down on the ground, the clan members could see them clearly.

Naruto seemed to exist inside a scorching sea of flames, within which he could live eternally!

The Chosen up in midair were shaken; to them, Naruto seemed as if he were a mighty mountain. Subconsciously, they all simultaneously reached a similar conclusion: perhaps they would always be behind Naruto in this lifetime.

Perhaps they would never have a chance to outdo him, never have a chance to catch up to him. Perhaps… they would only continue to fall further and further behind!

Of course, it was impossible for them to know that one of the past Sovereigns had already classified him as… 13th in the Echelon of the entire Nine Mountains and Seas!

Fan Dong'er watched in silence. Zhou Xin said nothing. Li Ling'er, Taiyang Zi, Song Luodan, Uchiha Mu, Sun Hai, and all the other Chosen from the sects and clans had complex expressions on their faces. They looked at Naruto getting even further away from them, a blazing sun wreathed in flames.

Namikaze Wei trembled, and slowly, he closed his eyes, making it impossible for anyone to see the gloominess and resignation therein.

Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather were on the verge of going mad. They looked at the blazing sun up in the sky, and unprecedented murderous rage welled up from the bottoms of their hearts.

The Grand Elder sat silently in the ancestral mansion, looking up into the sky. No one could tell what he was thinking, nor even guess what he might possibly be feeling.

" Namikaze Naruto…. Namikaze Wei," he murmured.

Naruto continued on at top speed, like a Flame Phoenix, like a Flying Rain-Dragon. The Flying Rain-Dragon core inside of him was now rapidly dissolving, and bits of the legacy's knowledge appeared in his mind.

However, Naruto didn't pay any attention to that. The only thing he was thinking about was… finding out how high the Heavens were!

His expression was that of resolute will. Rumbling surrounded him as he flew another three thousand meters until he was 390,000 meters high. And yet, he did not stop.

The pressure was shocking, the transforming light and heat was petrifying. But Naruto did not decrease his speed at all, nor did he pause for even a moment. He was as unimpeded as his Dao heart, seemingly untouched by any impurity.

One day. Two days. Three days…. Time passed quickly, until only a few days of the East Ascension Sun remained.

Naruto proceeded onward, piercing through space, heading toward the only goal upon which he kept his eye; the sun which hung outside of the starry sky!

By now, he had far surpassed all of the other Chosen, all of the other members of his generation who had sought good fortune in this trial by fire. Now, the only person left for him to supersede… was himself.

He would surpass himself! He would pursue his dreams! It was like his Dao, a Dao that sought to cross numerous mountains, to pass over rivers and seas. It was a Dao of freedom and independence, unrestrained and unfettered, always moving toward glory.

Even the Heavens could not cover him up or cause his Dao heart to fall!

One day. Two days. Three days!

393,000 meters. 399,000 meters… 405,000 meters….

And he kept going!

The other Chosen up in the sky looked on, taciturn. They saw Naruto, and his obsessive progress, and the same thought floated up in all of their minds.

"In the end… how high will he get!?"

Li Ling'er was thinking this, as were Fan Dong'er, Taiyang Zi, and Song Luodan.

The various Elders were also watching closely.

"The boundary between the planet and the starry sky is vague, and can fluctuate due to various factors. In the moment when the sun is nearest, that boundary will become clearer."

Days later, Naruto was still speeding along.

417,000 meters. 420,000 meters!

He felt like he was reaching the end. The light and heat around him had reached an indescribably high level. Despite the fact that his fleshly body was in the true Immortal Realm, he still felt as if he were about to be melted into a pool of blood, and then evaporate into a bloody mist.

He shook, and his Eternal stratum worked madly to restore him and support him, to allow him to go even higher.

"I can hold on a bit longer," he thought, his eyes narrowing as they focused ahead with firm determination.

RUMBLE!

426,000 meters!

432,000 meters!

438,000 meters!

The sun appeared to be getting closer and closer. His eyes were crimson, and his entire body was shaking. He was now withering away, and yet… he kept flying!

The flames around him grew more boundless, and from a distance, it almost seemed as if the sky would catch fire. The flames spread out like wings that seemed to be flapping, preparing to attack the Heavens.

The lands quaked, and the hearts of all onlookers trembled.

At some point, the Grand Elder had emerged from within the ancestral mansion. He stood in the wide public square, looking up into the vast sky.

"Time is almost up…." he murmured softly.

Right now, all eyes were on Naruto. It wasn't just the Namikaze Clan. Shocked powerful experts from all corners of Planet East Victory had all long since turned their attention to the scene that was playing out.

"Who is that?!"

"That person flew out from the Namikaze Clan. Could it be… Namikaze Wei?!"

"Even Namikaze Wei couldn't fly that high! This person is getting close to the boundary with the starry sky! Once he steps out there, he'll die unless he's in the Dao Realm!"

As the experts of Planet East Victory were shaken, there happened to be a huge island in a sea somewhere on the planet. As it floated there, an old man with the bearing of a transcendent being was gaping up at the sky in shock.

"Fudge! That little bastard… Dammit! Dammit! The Patriarch comes all the way here to hide and he… he actually found me!?"

The old man was in such a bad mood that he let out a series of howls that shook the entire island.

Standing next to the old man was a shockingly beautiful young woman.

She smiled happily as she looked up into the sky.

Rumbling emanated out from Naruto as he gritted his teeth and sped higher. 444,000. 447,000!

Naruto's expression twisted with madness. From the outside, it looked as if his body were literally burning up. His internal organs were scorched, and he was on the verge of being transformed into nothing more than ash.

And yet… he didn't stop!

447,300 meters. 447,900 meters. 448,500 meters….

Naruto let out a bellow as the flames engulfing him grew even stronger, inundating him completely. He flew another 900 meters, reaching a height of 449,400 meters.

By now, the 36th day was almost over. Naruto only had about an hour left!

"I have to get past the 450,000 mark!" Naruto was filled with madness and determination. By now, the only thing about him that was visible was a vague, shadowy outline.

449,700 meters. 449,850 meters. 449,970 meters…

Time flowed by. The world was silent, and the lands were still.

Everyone's attention was fixed on Naruto… as he arrived at a height of 449,990 meters!

He was now only 10 meters away from the 450,000 meter mark!

Furthermore, there were only fifteen breaths of time until the rise of the East Ascension Sun ended!

Those final 10 meters seemed so close, and yet, they were the boundary between the planet and the starry sky!

How high were the Heavens of Planet East Victory? As of this moment… Naruto knew the answer. The Heavens… were 450,000 meters high!

He was now only 10 meters away from that height when he came to a stop, his body wreathed in flames, but his eyes shining with sharp light.

In addition to the enormous sun, he also saw a strange scene out in the starry sky. When he focused his eyes… he saw an enormous crimson Tribulation cloud. Shockingly, a gigantic yellow tree was just barely visible within that cloud.

The tree emanated an archaic aura, as if it had come into being along with Heaven and Earth, as if it had always existed within the Nine Mountains and Seas. It would not appear easily, and could only be seen under very special circumstances.

That was… something that would appear after acquiring a true Immortal fleshly body, and becoming a true Saint. It was… Saint Tribulation!

It was similar to the true Immortal Tribulation that came along with true Immortality!

Immortal Tribulation had a door, Saint Tribulation had a tree!

One movement would take Naruto out of the planet and into the starry sky.

One movement would cause the Saint Tribulation to descend!

Naruto stopped at that 10-meter mark and silently examined the distance.

In that moment, the Elders down below with profound cultivation bases looked on with incredible shock.

"Saint Tribulation!" thought the Grand Elder. His eyes closed, and his right hand clenched into a fist.

Naruto's eyes shone with a threatening decisiveness, a decisiveness as sharp as a honed blade. Finally, he sighed.

"If I don't go out into the starry sky and face the sun directly, then this whole trip will have been a waste.

"Time is almost up…. If my calculations are correct, I can endure… for ten breaths of time!" With that, he looked up, waiting for five breaths of time, and then moved forward one more time.

One movement, ten meters!

In the instant that Naruto moved forward, all of the observing cultivators on Planet East Victory were shocked, and cried out in surprise.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 941

Chapter 941: Ten Breaths of Time With the Sun!

That final movement took him ten meters… and now, there were only ten breaths of time until the rise of the East Ascension Sun was over.

That final movement put Naruto at a height of over 450,000 meters. He had now stepped… out of Planet East Victory and into… the starry sky!

In that instant, he felt an indescribable wave of light and heat bearing down on him. It seemed capable of melting him to nothing in an instant. At the same time, he also saw the yellow tree in the Tribulation Cloud suddenly begin to shoot toward him.

All of these things literally happened in the blink of an eye.

In the moment that he made that final move out into the starry sky, his Dharma Idol materialized behind him, and it wasn't 15,000 meters tall anymore, but rather 21,000 meters!

21,000 meters was comparable to a stage 7 Immortal, or an Immortal with 70 opened meridians. To most ordinary cultivators, a stage 7 Immortal would be considered the peak of the Immortal Realm.

The reason Naruto had a Dharma Idol 21,000 meters tall was not because he had seventy Immortal meridians. No, he still only had one.

However, he was hovering on the verge of a breakthrough.

Now that he had a true Immortal fleshly body, his aura had been stimulated significantly, which caused the Immortal meridian to be further solidified.

However… even though it wasn't complete, it was enough that Naruto was now able to use the most powerful divine ability he had been enlightened regarding… the Paragon Bridge!

He had begun to contemplate enlightenment of this divine ability in the Ruins of Immortality! The Paragon Bridge!

Many people had seen the manifestation of the divine ability, so if he used it now, his identity as Namikaze Mu would be revealed. However, he had prepared beforehand, so when he unleashed the Paragon Bridge, it did not look like a bridge, but rather, a huge tree.

The huge, ancient tree that appeared around Naruto was in fact the Paragon Bridge. As it materialized, it exploded with a supreme level of energy.

That burst of energy dispelled the light and the heat, and then rumbled toward the Tribulation Cloud.

When it struck the cloud, Naruto's entire cultivation base surged, pouring all of its power into the tree-form Paragon Bridge as it went allout in attack!

BOOOOMMM!

A huge explosion resulted when the two massive trees collided. The Tribulation Cloud's tree trembled and then… unexpectedly collapsed, layer after layer, eventually shattering into fragments.

Simultaneously, the Paragon Bridge shook, and then faded away. The Paragon Bridge was powerful, but Naruto's cultivation base currently wasn't powerful enough to be able to use it to full effect. However, by going all-out with every bit of power he could, even to the point of adding in the power of his life force and soul, he destroyed the Tribulation Cloud completely.

Naruto trembled and coughed up a mouthful of blood. It was a completely and utterly shocking event to witness.

Never before had anyone fought back against Immortal Tribulation by destroying it completely. Furthermore, the boundless power of the Paragon Bridge was incredibly domineering.

As the Tribulation Tree shattered, and the Tribulation Cloud dispersed, bursts of Immortal Chakra shot toward Naruto. They entered his body through his pores, filling him, transforming his body so that as of this moment, he truly and utterly possessed an Immortal body. He was now a true Saint!

Immortal Chakra poured into him with unbridled frenzy, giving him the qualification to be in the starry sky and look at the sun. Even though it was the barest of possible qualifications, snatching himself out of the mouth of death for a few brief moments, to Naruto… it was still enough!

Using the nourishment of the Immortal qi, he hovered there calmly in space, ignoring the Tribulation Cloud and its tree, resisting the heat and the light. All of what he had done… was for these ten breaths' worth of time.

He stared at the huge sun, bolstered by the Immortal Chakra and sustained by his true Immortal fleshly body. Even still, only someone in the Dao Realm could possibly stand up to the terrifying power of the sun. Therefore, he began to melt. After only three breaths of time, his legs were completely melted. After six breaths of time, his arms and body were gone. However, his eyes remained, staring fixedly at the sun.

Enlightenment flickered in his mind. Natural law, a Daoist magic, poured into his thoughts. He quickly absorbed it, and at the same time, completely maintained his composure. This was not a disregard toward death. No, Naruto knew… that he wouldn't die!

After seven breaths of time, his body was a blur. By eight breaths of time, only one eye remained unmelted. By nine breaths of time, his head had collapsed.

In the moment of death, he only had one eye left, which continued to stare fixedly at the sun. He was not the least bit alarmed. Everything that had occurred since he stepped out into the starry sky was exactly as he had anticipated ahead of time. Nothing unexpected had occurred.

At last, the final breath of time… arrived!

In the moment in which Naruto's consciousness was about to fade away, the huge sun began to fade. At the same time, Naruto could see a profound natural law. A huge shadow suddenly appeared in front of the sun, completely eclipsing it.

The shadow obscured the sun, causing everything in the starry sky to go pitch black. The light and heat faded away without a trace.

The deadly, scorching heat that surrounded Naruto was gone. His Eternal stratum immediately began to restore him, and in the space of a few breaths, his body once again appeared in the starry sky.

He looked up, his expression the same as it had been the entire time, calm and unruffled. He looked out into the darkness of the starry sky, and, although he saw nothing, he could sense the sun's presence.

"The Ninth Mountain just eclipsed the sun…." he murmured. In his mind, he recalled the scene of the sun being covered up, and the natural law of the sun that he had been contemplating during those ten breaths of time.

Finally, he closed his eyes, gathered together the fragmented images of what had just occurred, and then settled himself cross-legged. In that same moment, numerous figures suddenly flew up from Planet East Victory. Namikaze Xi's father was among a group of over a hundred individuals, each and every one of whom was… a powerful expert from the direct bloodline.

Their expressions were that of excitement, and as they neared Uzumaki

Hao, they realized what he was doing, and they were shocked.

"He's contemplating enlightenment!"

"Only Dao Realm experts can face the sun in the starry sky, but this kid was able to do it, even with his cultivation base. It was only ten breaths worth of time, but to him, such good fortune is astonishing!"

"We can't let anyone disturb him." The direct bloodline Elders immediately took positions around Naruto to act as Dharma Protectors. Soon, other direct bloodline members approached in excitement and also took positions as Dharma Protectors.

Amidst rumbling, Planet East Victory resumed its previously-halted rotation. The light of the sun faded away, and night fell.

The rising of the East Ascension Sun was over, and the opportunity for good fortune had ended.

Fan Dong'er and the other Chosen left Planet East Victory with varied emotions. However, as they flew out toward the starry sky, each and every one took a long and hard look at Naruto.

Zhou Xin, Song Luodan, Uchiha Mu, Taiyang Zi, Sun Hai, Li Ling'er… all of them were the same.

As they passed by, they saw the direct bloodline members surrounding

Naruto, and all of them murmured a sentence or two to themselves.

Zhou Xin looked at Naruto and quietly said, "I'm going to go back, head into secluded meditation, and not come out until I've reached true Immortality!"

"Unless something unexpected happens," Li Ling'er said, glaring angrily at Naruto, "I'll reach true Immortality within a hundred days!" With that, she turned and sped off in her flying shuttle.

" Namikaze Naruto," Fan Dong'er said through grated teeth, "based on all of the preparations we've made, each and every one of us will directly rise to the peak of the Immortal Realm, and open 90 or more Immortal meridians…."

"I hope you keep working hard," Uchiha Mu said, clenching his fists at his side. "Otherwise… when you step into true Immortality, you'll leave me plenty of opportunity to exceed you!"

They left, and the focus of the Namikaze Clan became Namikaze NarutoTo most people, he had now superseded Namikaze Wei… to become the number one Chosen of his generation.

Namikaze Wei remained silent as he returned to a location deep in the ancestral mansion with his father and grandfather. He refused to admit defeat, and went down to his subterranean chamber, where his eyes glinted with determination as he looked back at his father and grandfather.

"I'm going to cultivate… the One Breath Yellow Springs Incantation!" he declared.

When his father heard this, his expression flickered.

"Absolutely not!" his father replied angrily. "It's one of the four great signature magics of the Namikaze Clan, but it's not complete. It's far, far more dangerous than the One Thought Reincarnation Incantation. You have the mark of the Sixth Patriarch on you, and will be in charge of the Namikaze Clan in the future. You can't lose control of your Dao heart because of one measly defeat!"

"But it's the Namikaze Clan's most powerful Dao," Namikaze Wei replied calmly. "With it, 98 Immortal meridians can be opened, which is four more than the One Thought Reincarnation Incantation. I think that will be very pleasing to the Sixth Patriarch!"

Namikaze Wei's father was about to say something further when Namikaze Wei's grandfather stopped him. He looked deeply and Namikaze Wei, and then said, "Have you thought this through clearly?"

"Very clearly," Namikaze Wei replied softly, closing his eyes. "I shall cultivate the One Breath Yellow Springs Incantation. If I use this Dao to achieve Immortal Ascension, then within one hundred days, I'll either fail and sink into the Yellow Springs, or succeed and open 98 Immortal meridians!

"Father, grandfather, if I fail, then return Namikaze Naruto's items to him.

"However, if I succeed, then it means he was doomed from birth to help me achieve my goals!" His eyes sparkled with a piercing light.

Namikaze Wei's father did not respond. However, his eyes glittered as he nodded his head, then turned and left the hidden chamber.

Namikaze Wei's grandfather held his tongue. Seeing Namikaze Wei's determination, he sighed. At the same time, his heart surged with the desire to slay Naruto.

"It doesn't matter whether Wei'er succeeds or not," he thought. " Namikaze Naruto… you won't live past a hundred days!" Face dark, he turned and left.

Time passed. After the end of the Rise of the East Ascension Sun, all of the Chosen in all of the various clans and sects of the Ninth Mountain and Sea began to go into secluded meditation.

It was time for them… to break through to the true Immortal Realm!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 942

Chapter 942 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 942: Third Divine Ability!

Seven days later, Planet East Victory had returned to its usual state. The rising of the East Ascension Sun was now a thing of the past. However, because of the amazing display of the acquisition of good fortune, the name Namikaze Narutorose to new heights.

All of the Namikaze Clan was talking about Namikaze Naruto, and the name also began to spread to the rest of Planet East Victory.

He had a 30,000-meter Bloodline Gatebeam!

He dominated the Medicine Pavilion all the way to the seventh level!

He concocted… one of the three sacred pills, the Skypalace Sunspirit

Pill!

He had a true Immortal fleshly body!

He stepped out into the starry sky to face the sun!

Word spread of Naruto's various deeds, and the Namikaze Clan was completely shaken. Other cultivators on Planet East Victory now viewed Naruto as a blazing sun of the Namikaze Clan.

During that entire time, Naruto remained cross-legged in meditation up in the starry sky. Facing the sun had been a shocking type of good fortune for him, especially when he saw the Ninth Mountain eclipse it. That image thoroughly shook him inwardly.

He contemplated enlightenment for seven days, during which time his body shone with bright light. When the light spread out, shockingly, his Dharma Idol appeared behind him.

The Dharma Idol was 21,000 meters tall, and when the direct bloodline clan members saw it, they stared.

That was because almost as soon as it appeared, the Dharma Idol started to grow!

At the same time, Naruto's Immortal meridian grew even more solid. Apparently, this period of enlightenment was pushing Naruto even closer to true Immortality.

Time passed, three more days. Naruto's entire body radiated brilliant light, and his Dharma Idol was no longer 21,000 meters tall, but rather 22,500 meters.

Such height was equivalent to an Immortal Realm cultivator with 75 opened meridians, and immediately lifted the spirits of the direct bloodline clan members.

Five more days passed. Naruto had now been contemplating enlightenment for half a month. At that point, more light exploded out from him, and his Dharma Idol grew from 22,500 meters to 24,000 meters!

A Dharma Idol like that could shake Heaven and Earth, and caused the direct bloodline clan members to stare in excitement.

Naruto was now equivalent to an Immortal Realm cultivator with eighty opened meridians. That was a level of the Immortal Realm achievable only by Inner Sect disciples of certain sects.

"He still hasn't even become a true Immortal, and he's already comparable to those Inner Sect disciples!"

"All of you, look closely…. Naruto'er's Dharma Idol… has no Immortality

Illumination Vine on it!"

The direct bloodline clan members' hearts trembled as they peered at Naruto, and then voiced expressions of disbelief.

"He's not using an Immortality Illumination Vine. Could it be… could it be that he's walking his own path to true Immortality!?"

"Walking one's own path to Immortality is incredibly difficult! But look, his Dharma Idol is already 24,000 meters tall!"

"The direct bloodline is destined to rise again!"

It was at this point that Naruto slowly regained his senses and opened his eyes. Within his mind flashed images of everything he had learned from the sun regarding natural law. In that moment, they suddenly fused together into a divine ability.

His enlightenment of the sun, and the sight of the Ninth Mountain eclipsing it, allowed him to create yet another divine ability, his third!

He slowly lifted his hand, within which appeared a spark of light. The light became a sphere, which then sucked in all the heat in the area, causing Naruto's appearance to ripple and distort.

Seeing that Naruto was awakening initially caused the direct bloodline members to get very excited. However, their faces quickly fell and they backed away.

They had just noticed that their entire bodies had become icy cold in a very short period of time, as if all the heat was being sucked out of them.

Even more shocking was that the entirety of Planet East Victory was apparently affected. Countless streams of heat rose up from the ground, from all living beings on the planet.

The amorphous heat caused everything to distort as it shot toward Naruto. His expression was calm as he observed the scene; from the look in his eyes, it seemed that he was still sunk in contemplation.

The sphere of light in his hand continued to suck in the heat, faster and faster. In the end, he raised his hand, and the sphere reached a size of thirty meters. Within the sphere circulated brilliant light that emitted a shocking aura.

The aura seemed to increase in strength as it absorbed heat until it even began to absorb light.

The sphere grew larger and its aura grew more intense. All of the light and heat around Naruto was being absorbed, leaving everything ice cold….

Down below on Planet East Victory, the effects were even more noticeable. Gradually, the temperature on the entire planet began to drop.

Not only that, everything started to get darker. Powerful experts all over Planet East Victory noticed, and instantly sent divine sense out to investigate the cause. Soon, they saw Naruto, and the enormous sphere of light above him, now several hundred meters wide.

It looked like a small sun, and anyone who saw it was left feeling shocked. The aura it contained was mad and brutal, and… truly made any onlookers feel as if they were looking at the sun!

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Planet East Victory's temperature dropped further, and it got even darker. The globe of light was now over 3,000 meters wide, and caused anyone who looked at it to feel a sense of impending crisis.

If the energy inside the globe were to explode out, it would leave even experts of the Ancient Realm astonished and pale-faced.

Most shocking of all, it appeared that if Naruto were given enough time, the sphere would continue to grow without limit. This caused many powerful experts on Planet East Victory to be filled with a sensation of vigilance. There were even streams of divine sense that converged on the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion.

The direct bloodline clan members in Naruto's vicinity immediately began to urgently transmit messages with divine will.

" Naruto!"

"Hao'er, wake up!"

Naruto trembled as the surrounding clan members called out. His eyes gradually began to grow clear and bright as he regained his senses. At first he looked confused, but then he raised his head up to look at the 3,000-meter sphere of light up above.

" Naruto, cease that magical technique!" barked Namikaze Xi's father.

A sense of crisis gradually rose up in Naruto from the streams of divine sense, and also from the fact that he realized that he was about to lose full control the globe of light.

Eyes flickering with concentration, he let out a growl and lifted both hands up above his head. Using all the power he could muster, he exercised control of the last strand that connected him to the sphere to reverse its suction.

The sphere gradually stopped absorbing light and heat, and then started to shrink. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, the sphere began to fade away. Sweat poured down Naruto's forehead.

He utilized all of the energy in his body, and knew that even the slightest lapse in concentration would result in the sphere exploding.

After it finally disappeared, the direct bloodline descendants approached him. Smiles could be seen on their excited faces.

Naruto looked back at his 24,000-meter Dharma Idol, and sensed the Immortal meridian within him, and knew that it would be complete with only a tiny bit of effort.

"Soon, the day will arrive in which my cultivation base will move into the Immortal Realm!" Naruto's eyes shone with determination.

"Hao'er," said one of the direct bloodline Elders, smiling, "what magical technique was that?"

"It's a divine ability I created after being enlightened regarding the sun…." said Naruto, turning to clasp hands to the Elder. He had now created three divine abilities. One was A Writ of Karma, the other was the Paragon Bridge, and the third… was this sphere of light.

"I'll call it… Supernova Magic!" he said, his eyes shining brightly.

"Supernova Magic…. Naruto'er, this divine ability of yours… is powerful! It's able to absorb a virtually limitless amount of heat and light and create a copy of the sun, and depending on how much it absorbed, the force of its explosion would be inestimable." The Elder gazed deeply at Naruto. "However, it has a fatal flaw. It would be easy to interrupt you while you use it. Furthermore, it takes too long to prepare. It only reached 3,000 meters in the time it takes an incense stick to burn. To reach 30,000… would take several hours.

"In addition, I could tell that you were not in complete control of it. If it had grown any larger, you would likely have lost control completely.

"You need to analyze this magic thoroughly before you use it again." It only took a few sentences for the old man to analyze the magic's strengths and weaknesses.

Naruto nodded, then clasped hands and bowed deeply to all of the direct bloodline clan members who had stood as Dharma Protectors for him. He felt very grateful toward them, and the sensation of being their blood relative grew even stronger.

Soon, the group of them turned into prismatic beams of light that shot back toward the surface of Planet East Victory. As they neared, Naruto saw numerous clan members flying out of the ancestral mansion, their faces filled with respect.

"Greetings, Prince Naruto!"

This term of address caused Naruto to stare in shock. After blinking a few times, a warm smile appeared on his face, and he offered formal greetings to all the direct bloodline clan members. Then he made to return to his Immortal's cave.

It was in that moment of departure that the Elder who had pointed out the flaws in his divine ability moments ago transmitted a message with divine will.

"Be careful of Namikaze Xiushan!"

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. He knew that Namikaze Xiushan was Namikaze Wei's father, so he nodded in response and then left.

After returning to his residence, he sat down cross-legged to meditate. After some probing, he came to the conclusion that his Immortal meridian was now more than 99% complete.

"Just a bit more," he thought. "In less than a hundred days, it will be perfectly complete, and then…." His eyes glittered with cold light. "I will become a true Immortal!"

"As far as my Supernova Magic is concerned, it has some flaws.

However, once my cultivation base gets high enough, I can fix them, and then I'll have another trump card to use in battle!" He lifted his hand, and a sphere of light appeared in his palm. As it grew larger, the Namikaze Clan suddenly got colder. Naruto did nothing at first, allowing it to grow larger for a certain period of time. Then he cut off the absorbing power.

"I gained a lot during this rising of the East Ascension Sun. My Dharma Idol grew to 24,000 meters, and I gained enlightenment of the sun. Plus, my fleshly body… finally had a breakthrough and reached true Immortality!

"I wonder how strong I'll be when my cultivation base has the same breakthrough!?" Naruto's expression flickered with anticipation.

Chapter 942: Third Divine Ability!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 943

Chapter 943 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 943: Killing Intent Approaches!

Several days later, Naruto emerged within the clan. All the clan members who he ran into looked at him with extreme respect, and the fervor with which people had previously treated Namikaze Wei was now shown toward Naruto.

As for Namikaze Wei, he had apparently disappeared, and was nowhere to be found.

Namikaze Xi made some inquiries, and finally got a smattering of information that he immediately passed on to Naruto. When Naruto heard that Namikaze Wei was in secluded meditation in an attempt to break through to true Immortality, his eyes flickered coldly.

"A Writ of Karma will lock down the Nirvana Fruits inside of him that belong to me. My good fortune with the sun was a huge blow to his selfconfidence, and surely cracked his Dao heart. And yet, he stood up tall after all of that." He thought about their interchange high up in the sky for a moment, and sighed.

Naruto was displeased with Namikaze Wei, but all told, he was not guilty of any terrible crimes. In fact, Naruto knew that if he looked at things from Namikaze Wei's perspective, Namikaze Wei hadn't done anything wrong.

"The ones who are wrong…are certain other people in this clan," he mused. As he thought back to everything that had happened since he had returned to the clan, he was struck with the increasing sensation that there was some vast conspiracy afoot.

It was a mystery involving Namikaze Wei, and also had something to do with the Grand Elder. Perhaps… even a Patriarch.

That was why the Grand Elder had been acting so strange. That was why everyone maintained silence regarding Namikaze Wei. Apparently, a Patriarch had appointed Namikaze Wei to a position of authority years ago, although Naruto wasn't completely sure of the truth behind it all.

It was as if the entire matter was taboo. No one dared to speak of it.

"Do you understand…?" That was what Pill Elder had said to him on the mountain peak. 1

"Was he warning me that there was something wrong with the Nirvana

Fruits the Grand Elder gave me? Or was he hinting at something else…?" Naruto frowned. After considering that matter for a bit longer, he began to duplicate some Spirit Extract, which he placed onto the Nirvana Fruit.

Naruto had already decided that once he fully restored the Nirvana Fruit, he would definitely absorb it. He had the feeling that the benefits it would provide him would be immense, and would help him begin to unravel the enigma of the Namikaze Clan.

That feeling stemmed from his confidence in his ability to analyze and judge matters, as well as his keen intuition.

"Nobody has ever been able to absorb the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruits. I wonder what miracles will result if I succeed?" After a while, he stopped considering the matter, and calmed his mind.

Seven days later, Naruto looked worriedly at the copper mirror, which had rapidly consumed all of his hard-earned spirit stones in exchange for batch after batch of Spirit Extract. That Spirit Extract had then been greedily absorbed by the Nirvana Fruit.

As he nourished the Nirvana Fruit with the Spirit Extract, it seemed to be gradually awakening, as if… it were almost completely restored.

As the copper mirror consumed all of the spirit stones he had acquired from concocting the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, as well as what he had gotten from Sun Hai, stabs of pain filled Naruto's heart. It was as if he had just thrown away a vast sum of spirit stones directly into the Nirvana Fruit.

Each one of those spirit stones was enough to break Naruto's heart.

"Making money is so hard, so how come spending it… is so easy?" he thought with a sigh.

Even the entire Namikaze Clan would be incapable of producing so much Spirit Extract. After all, the medicinal plants he had used to make it were the ones he had acquired in the Ruins of Immortality, plants which were rare and, in fact, virtually extinct in the outside world.

As such, this Spirit Extract was essentially priceless. Not even the Namikaze Clan as a whole would be able to afford to restore this Nirvana Fruit; only Naruto, with his copper mirror, could manage it.

"Dammit!" he thought, gritting his teeth and then letting out a long sigh.

"I need to think of yet another plan to make some more spirit stones…." He sat there with furrowed brow for a long time before finally clenching his jaw.

"Those sacred pills are not easy to concoct. They will be my last resort. I still haven't finished the seventh level of the Medicine Pavilion. I should take advantage of the fact that I'm so famous in the Namikaze Clan right now. Maybe I can strike it rich in one fell swoop!" Having made up his mind, he called Namikaze Xi over and the two of them spent some time discussing the matter. Finally, Namikaze Xi left in excitement to enact the plan.

It only took a few days for word to spread through the clan like stormwinds.

"Did you hear? Tomorrow, PrinceNarutois going to the Dao of Alchemy

Division to challenge the Medicine Pavilion!"

"Last time he went to the Medicine pavilion, he completed every level perfectly! It caused a huge sensation in the Dao of Alchemy Division."

"From ancient times until now, it's been easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who can make it through the ninth level of the Dao of Alchemy's Medicine Pavilion. Each and every one is a Grandmaster of the Dao of Alchemy. I heard that Prince Naruto's goal is just that: to make it through the ninth level!"

News about Naruto challenging the Medicine Pavilion quickly spread through the clan, and especially through the Dao of Alchemy Division. In the end, it was like great waves rolling across the entire clan.

Naruto was very pleased with this sort of clan environment, and had things all worked out with Namikaze Xi. Namikaze Xi would wait outside the Medicine Pavilion area to collect spirit stones. Anyone who didn't pay spirit stones would not be allowed to observe.

Before, it would have been difficult for Naruto to pull something like that off. However, after the rising of the East Ascension Sun, he was the number one Chosen in the Namikaze Clan, and his every word and deed was the subject of widespread attention.

"This time, I'm definitely going to make a killing!" he thought. The next morning at dawn, he woke early and pushed open the door of his residence. Just when he was about to fly into the air toward the Dao of Alchemy Division, he saw six beams of light flying toward him at high speed. They quickly arrived and surrounded him.

These six people surged with energy. Five of them were stage 7

Immortals, and Naruto could sense that the remaining one had a cultivation base as profound as a deep sea. He was a middle-aged man with a grim face who looked Naruto over and then said, "The Grand Elder has summoned you, Namikaze NarutoCome with us."

Naruto frowned at the six men and then coolly replied, "Understood. I'll go over a bit later."

With that he strode forward and prepared to fly past the men.

When the middle-aged man heard Naruto's response, his face tightened with displeasure.

"The Grand Elder has summoned you, and you dare to cause a delay?

You're coming with us now, or else—"

"Or else what?" said Naruto, stopping in place and looking at the man with an enigmatic smile. A vast coldness swirled deep within his pupils.

"Arrest him!" said the man, staring back at Naruto.

Immediately, the other five stage 7 Immortals transformed into beams of light, and their cultivation bases surged. Dharma Idols appeared, 21,000-meter illusory giants. Of course, none of these Dharma Idols represented the cultivators themselves; all of them were false Immortals!

They closed in on Naruto in the blink of an eye. One of the Dharma Idols was an enormous war drum, which emanated a rumbling like that of thunder. Two of the other Dharma Idols were vicious black dragons, which roared as they slashed through the air toward Naruto.

Of the final two Dharma Idols, one was a three-headed six-armed statue, and the other was an enormous crimson python with a forked tongue and sinister eyes.

The five men all attacked simultaneously, and it didn't look like they were trying to arrest Naruto. Instead, killing intent flickered in their eyes, although it was faint and well-concealed. However, Naruto had experienced many things during his life, including two intense wars on Planet Ninshu. He had also slaughtered countless people, so killing intent like this was something he was keenly attuned to.

"Wanna kill me?" he asked with an icy cold smile. He took a step forward and clenched his right hand into a fist. It shot toward the crimson python at high speed, creating a sonic boom that echoed out in all directions. The air distorted as the power of Naruto's true Immortal fleshly body exploded out.

As the boom rang through the air, the crimson python shattered, revealing the cultivator behind it, ashen face awash with shock. Before he could retreat, Naruto leaped forward and kicked him viciously with his right foot. Cracking sounds could be heard as it slammed into the man's chest, and blood sprayed from his mouth. He tumbled backward.

At the same time, the other four cultivators closed in, divine abilities and magical techniques raging. Naruto's face flickered with iciness. Instead of dodging to the side, he turned and transformed into a golden roc, then shot directly toward his four opponents with incredible speed. A wave of a hand caused numerous mountains to appear, which formed a mountain chain that dropped down toward them.

Next, he made a grasping motion, and a long spear appeared in his hand, the haft carved from the World Tree and the spearhead made from white bone. When he stabbed forward with it, everything darkened, and a sobbing sound rang out. The war drum collapsed into pieces, and the cultivator within it coughed up blood and fell into retreat.

Simultaneously, the head of a Blood Demon appeared, and a bloodcolored halo materialized beneath Naruto's feet. He punched again, and the three-headed, six-armed statue exploded. At the same time, the two black dragon Dharma Idols managed to land attacks on Naruto's chest.

The two cultivators controlling the black dragons glared with killing intent. Their cultivation bases exploded with power that would be enough to fell virtually any other cultivator who was weaker than a stage 7 Immortal.

A boom could be heard, and suddenly everything went silent. The two cultivators who had just successfully landed attacks on Naruto stared in shock, and then gasped. It wasn't that they weren't aware that Naruto had a true Immortal fleshly body. However… in their minds, his cultivation base was not at the true Immortal stage, so therefore, they didn't believe his true Immortal fleshly body would really be all that powerful.

As of this moment, though… they had a clear idea… of what exactly a true Immortal fleshly body was!

"So weak!" Naruto said casually. He glared at the men aggressively, and it was like piercing light stabbing into their eyes.

Naruto hadn't even budged an inch. In fact, he didn't even appear to be harmed at all. At the same time, the two men who had just attacked him felt a powerful counterattack surging toward them, and suddenly, blood oozed out of their mouths.

The two men were scared witless, and were about to retreat when Naruto reached out and grabbed one of them, then lifted him into the air and shook him back and forth. The man couldn't control his own body, and felt massive power battering him. Cracking sounds could be heard as his bones were broken and dislocated, and he was then thrown violently toward the second retreating man.

A boom rang out as the second man was sent tumbling backward, his bones shattered and blood spraying from his mouth.

All of this took place in only a few breaths' worth of time. Five stage 7 Immortals were seriously injured, and Naruto remained standing there. He then turned toward the first middle-aged man, the one with the unfathomable cultivation base.

The man's eyes widened. He had never imagined that a true Immortal fleshly body would be so shockingly powerful. It was an exceedingly rare thing for a cultivator to have a fleshly body developed to this level, and was in fact something he had never seen before.

Chapter 943: Killing Intent Approaches!

Pill Elder talked to Naruto in chapter 926 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 944

Chapter 944: The Grand Elder's Stance

As the two of them faced off, Naruto's Dharma Idol appeared, 24,000 meters tall. Combined with his true Saint fleshly body, it caused his energy to surge with intense power that only continued to increase. He then extended his right hand, and a glowing sphere materialized above it. As it floated there, the sphere seemed to suck in all of the warmth in the area and cause everything to instantly grow cold.

The man's expression was solemn, and his eyes focused intently on Naruto. He sensed a feeling of grave danger when he looked at the sphere of light. And then, Naruto started to walk toward him. It was at this moment that…

"Hao'er, come to the main temple!" The Grand Elder's archaic voice echoed out around them.

Naruto said nothing, but his eyes flashed almost indiscernibly. As for the middle-aged man, when he heard the Grand Elder's voice, he gave an inward sigh of relief.

At the same time, his eyes emanated a sharp glow, and a murderous will gradually rose up in his heart. That was because he had realized that Naruto's Dharma Idol was still standing there, and Naruto's powerful energy hadn't faded away. It was almost as if he was preparing to refuse the Grand Elder's summons.

The man's eyes glittered as he readied himself. He looked at Naruto.

Ten breaths of time passed, during which Naruto's expression never changed. Finally, his Dharma Idol vanished, and his surging energy dissipated. Everything returned to normal. However, the glowing sphere remained floating there. As he began to walk forward, it drifted up toward the top of his head, sucking in all of the heat and light around it.

Naruto put the bone-tip spear away, and then completely ignored the middle-aged man as he flew into the air toward the ancestral mansion's main temple.

Inwardly, the middle-aged man sighed in regret, and then reined in the killing intent in his gaze. Finally, he followed Naruto. As for the other five men, they had not received fatal injuries, but were still very seriously hurt. They wouldn't be able to fully recover any time soon, so for the moment, all they could do was struggle to their feet and then consume some medicinal pills. After that, they followed along, faces pale.

Naruto flew the entire way, followed by the six men. Quite a few clan members saw him. Many of them had originally intended to go observe his efforts in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and were taken aback when they saw him flying toward the main temple.

This was especially the case when they saw the six men following him, five of whom were seriously injured and had dismal, ashen faces. The clan members who saw this were all shaken inwardly.

From the look of things, a violent storm was brewing under the surface of the Namikaze Clan, and was just barely being kept under control.

At some point, the sky above the Namikaze Clan had changed from its usual bright, sunny, and endlessly blue appearance. Now, black clouds gathered, and the rumbling of thunder shook the ground. Flashes that resembled silver dragons could occasionally be seen flickering in the clouds.

When the Namikaze Clan members saw this, they grew very quiet. They weren't sure exactly what had happened, but they could clearly sense that the air was growing increasingly colder.

Naruto's expression was calm as he proceeded forward. The sphere of light above his head continued to grow larger. Soon it was 300 meters wide, and incredibly shocking in appearance….

The six Namikaze Clan guardsmen behind him looked on with tingling scalps, completely astonished. No one else understood why the sky had changed color and the air was growing cold, but they knew. It was all caused by the glowing sphere of light above Naruto's head!

As Naruto headed toward the main temple, the sphere of light continued to absorb all the heat and light around him!

"This is the divine ability he created when he faced the sun!" thought the leader of the group of six men. His eyes widened, and despite the level of his cultivation base, he still felt fear growing inside of him.

It didn't take long before the sphere of light was 600 meters wide. Naruto was now outside of the main temple. The first thing he noticed was the Grand Elder, sitting there inside.

There were also numerous Elders sitting in the enormous seats that filled the temple hall. Each one of them wore calm expressions, and none of them spoke, which actually caused the temple hall to be filled with enormous pressure.

Sitting near the Grand Elder were Namikaze Wei's grandfather and father. Both of them looked over icily at Naruto.

Killing intent flickered deep within Namikaze Xiushan's eyes.

Naruto's expression was as calm as ever. Without any hesitation, he stepped into the middle of the temple hall.

As for the 600-meter sphere of light, Naruto left it floating just outside of the temple, where it continued to absorb light and heat.

Because of the sphere, Naruto's entrance into the temple hall was accompanied by icy coldness. The light even began to fade, and frost began to appear on the ground.

The surrounding Elders' facial expressions did not change, but they had long since sent their divine sense out to inspect the sphere of light hovering outside the temple.

" Namikaze Narutoextends greetings to the Grand Elder and other Elders," he said, his voice neither haughty nor humble as he clasped hands and bowed deeply. He was clearly following the clan rules down to the letter.

The Grand Elder's face was expressionless as he looked at Naruto.

"Hao'er," he said slowly, "you displayed shocking talent during the rise of the East Ascension Sun. You flew up higher than any member of the Junior generation of the clan has ever flown throughout our countless years of history.

"You stepped off of the planet and into the starry sky, you faced the sun for ten breaths of time, and you received significant good fortune and enlightenment.

"All of these things make me very happy for you." Although he spoke words of praise and encouragement, his expression was completely emotionless the entire time.

Naruto stood there silently and scanned the crowd. He remembered the words of that direct bloodline Elder who had warned him about Namikaze

Xiushan. Half a month had already passed since then, and from what

Naruto could tell, this summons could not be a good thing for him.

That was especially true when he noticed the anxiety within the eyes of the direct bloodline Elders who were present in the temple. Furthermore, Namikaze Xi's father was present, and was looking nervously at Naruto.

"The Elders have all proposed that you be rewarded for your actions," the Grand Elder continued, "and after much thought, I have come to the conclusion that I agree. Your reward will come in the form of access to the clan's ancestral land, which was created by the first generation

Patriarch. At one time, our ancestral land was part of the Ruins of Immortality. However, the Patriarch cut that part of the Ruins away and brought it here."

When Naruto heard this, his eyes narrowed. He knew that the Namikaze Clan possessed deep resources, but he hadn't been aware that the first generation Patriarch was so strong that he could take away part of the Ruins of Immortality and bring it back to the clan to serve as an ancestral land!

"The divine abilities and magical techniques of the Namikaze Clan were not all simply handed down by the first generation Patriarch," the Grand Elder explained. "Instead, for generation after generation, members of our clan have entered the ancestral land he left behind. After thoroughly searching it over and over again, the various magics of the Namikaze Clan have slowly been collected together.

"However… there are still many magical techniques that have yet to be discovered. To find them is a matter of chance and good fortune.

"Furthermore, for countless years, any Namikaze Clan member who reached the Dao Realm and did not perish off planet, chose to be buried in this ancestral land when it came time for them to return to the dust. There, they would leave behind their cultivation magic and other secrets, where they remain, just waiting for a predestined successor to go in and acquire them.

"As for the first generation Patriarch's five great Daoist magics, four of them have been located. However, the most powerful of them all, the One Thought Stellar Transformation, has never been found. 1

"In addition to all that, there are also medicinal plants and pill formulas in the ancestral land. There are even Immortal Ancient Daoist Treasures, all just waiting for their destined person to come along and take them." As the Grand Elder spoke, his cold voice echoed throughout the temple hall.

Naruto listened to everything, his face as still as stone.

"Opening the ancestral land requires a significant expenditure of resources. Generally speaking, we only open it once every thousand years. However, even though the appointed time has not arrived, we are going to make an exception and open it for you.

"However…." It was at this point that the Grand Elder suddenly paused and looked deeply at Naruto for a long moment before continuing.

"Great danger lurks inside. That danger exists in the form of trials by fire left behind by the first generation Patriarch for his successors. The ancestral land is a bizarre place, in which various strange beings can arise.

"Therefore, to someone like you, the ancestral land might be a place of good fortune, but it can also be extremely dangerous. Although not many people have actually died in the ancestral land over the years, some have.

"You may consider… whether or not you wish to take advantage of this reward." The Grand Elder's final words caused Namikaze Xiushan's and Namikaze Wei's grandfather's expressions to flicker almost imperceptibly. Without even thinking about it, they glanced over at the Grand Elder.

Namikaze Xiushan's brow furrowed. According to their previous agreement with the Grand Elder, when the ancestral land was opened, Naruto would be forced to enter it whether he wanted to or not. He was not to be given a choice in the matter.

As of this moment, both Namikaze Xiushan and Namikaze Wei's Grandfather couldn't understand why the Grand Elder, who had always supported their bloodline, would, at the very last moment, suddenly give Naruto the option of whether or not to enter!

As the two of them hesitated, the Grand Elder waved his finger, causing a vortex to appear in midair in the middle of the temple. The vortex spun out, growing to dozens of meters in size. It was filled with swirling mists, within which slowly appeared the image of another world.

Gradually, that world grew clearer and clearer.

Naruto's face was calm as he looked at the Grand Elder. The fact that he had been given a choice was somewhat strange. After a moment of thought, he glanced over at the direct bloodline Elders, and could see that they were also hesitating. He was now being given an opportunity that he would be hard-pressed to come across in any other situation.

At the same time, he was facing imminent danger.

"Hao'er," said Namikaze Xi's father, 19th Uncle, "you really need to consider the matter carefully. I suggest that you don't enter the ancestral land. Wait until you're in the Immortal Realm. In another few hundred years, then you can go into the ancestral land. That would be much better. There's really no reason for you to enter now. Naruto'er, consider things carefully."

Naruto was silent for a moment before turning back to the Grand Elder, clasping hands and bowing deeply.

"Grand Elder, am I the only one who can enter on this occasion? May I choose to decline the chance to enter?"

"If you enter, you will do so alone," the Grand Elder said slowly, his expression one of neither joy nor anger. "If you wish to decline the chance to enter, you may go to the Dao of Alchemy Division to challenge the medicine pavilion."

Off to the side, Namikaze Xiushan sat there nervously. He had paid a very heavy price to arrange this matter, and if Naruto didn't enter, it would be impossible for him to have Naruto killed.

"Bear in mind," continued the Grand Elder, looking at Naruto with a piercing gaze, "all contact with the outside will be severed once you enter the ancestral land. Nothing that happens inside will be visible to any of us."

Those words caused Namikaze Xiushan's face to twitch. He looked over at his father, and saw that, although his face was expressionless, his pupils had constricted.

Naruto was unsure as to why the Grand Elder was taking this stance. The normal thing to happen would be for the Grand Elder to give him no choice in the matter. For things to turn out this way caused Naruto to look over at the vortex thoughtfully. He was just about to say that he would decline what was obviously an ambush set up by Namikaze Xiushan when suddenly, a tremor ran through his body. As he looked into the world inside of the vortex, his eyes suddenly went wide.

For a moment, it seemed as if he had caught sight of something completely unbelievable. However, his expression quickly returned to normal. Nontheless, inwardly, he was more shocked than if he had been struck by lightning. His heart began to pound beyond control.

Mouth and throat dry, he immediately said, "I choose to enter the ancestral land!"

Yes, the final characters of the name of this magic are the same characters as the novel Stellar Transformations by I Eat Tomatoes ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 945

Chapter 945: Naruto's Tears

When the Elders in the temple who tended to support Namikaze Wei's bloodline heard Naruto's words, they looked over at him expressionlessly. As for the direct bloodline, anxious expressions could be seen on their faces. However, since this was Naruto's decision, they did nothing to persuade him to change his mind.

After all, the Grand Elder had clearly explained that there would be great danger in the ancestral land. Considering that Naruto had chosen to enter even under such circumstances caused 19th Uncle and the direct bloodline Elders to be able to sense his level of determination. All they could do was sigh inwardly.

The Grand Elder looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, his expression revealing nothing about what he was thinking. However, the way he was looking at Naruto did seem… somewhat strange.

Most excited of all was Namikaze Xiushan. He took a deep breath and stared at Naruto without revealing any of the boiling killing intent in his heart. Namikaze Wei's grandfather frowned thoughtfully at the way the Grand Elder was looking at Naruto. For some reason, he had a very uneasy feeling inside.

The Grand Elder was silent for a moment, then coolly said, "Since that is your decision, then go now."

He waved his hand, and a gentle breeze rose up, wrapped around Naruto, and sent him toward the vortex.

"In two months, the ancestral land will automatically open again, and you may come out. During those two months… please take care of yourself." Even as the words rang out, Naruto flew through the air in the wind. In the blink of an eye, he was right outside of the vortex. When he looked inside, his heart pounded madly, and a feeling of reminiscence floated in his heart.

RUMBLE!

Upon contact, he sank into the vortex as if it were water. Then he vanished. The vortex stopped moving, and then faded away from the temple hall.

In that same moment, there were nine areas in different parts of Planet East Victory which suddenly shone with mysterious black light. That light was cast up by teleportation portals, within which sat nine cold and expressionless cultivators wearing black robes.

These nine cultivators seethed with murderous auras, as if innumerable foes had been slain by their hands.

If Naruto were able to see any of them, he would recognize them immediately. The black robes worn by these nine men seemed to be exactly the same as the ones worn by the people who had ambushed him and 19th Uncle en route to Planet East Victory!

As they sat there cross-legged in the teleportation portals, light suddenly rose up around them, and they vanished. This was in the exact moment in which Naruto vanished into the ancestral land.

Another thing happened at exactly the same time. Deep underground beneath the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, seven withered figures sat cross-legged in meditation. One of them was the crimson-robed old man who had opened his eyes during the rising of the East Ascension Sun, aroused by Naruto's Essence of Divine Flame. At this moment, his eyes opened, and they shone with boundless ancientness.

"This kid's bloodline is strong…. He's a descendant of Eldest Brother. He must be THE Chosen of this generation of the clan." The old man's eyes flickered as he sensed the black-robed men vanishing, and then a cold light gleamed therein.

"Interesting. Someone actually dares to violate clan rules and fight inside the clan…. Not only that, but they chose to fight within the ancestral land!" The coldness in his eyes grew more intense.

"Is it Sixth Brother's bloodline….?" The old man's brow furrowed in thought for a while. He turned his head to look at the sixth figure sitting there meditating in the inky blackness of the stony cavern.

There were a total of seven people inside this underground lair. Originally, the old man in the crimson robe should have been asleep, and should not have awakened in this age. According to the clan rules, it was the Sixth Patriarch who was supposed to regain consciousness in this millennium.

However, Naruto's Essence of Divine Flame had stimulated his aura during the rise of the Eastern Ascension Sun, reviving him. Afterward, he had planned to return to meditation, but had then changed his mind.

"Sixth Brother is in an astral projection. His soul is no longer in his body." He thought for another moment.

"Sixth Brother has already cultivated the Reincarnation Incantation Daoist magic to the pinnacle. But… was it worth it?" The old man closed his eyes. This closing of the eyes was not a return to a state of inactivity. Instead, he quietly sent out some divine sense, which transformed into a stream of divine will that made its way through the earth… toward the ancestral land!

Heaven and Earth trembled as lightning and thunder danced about in

the clouds, as if seeking a way to lash the earth. The ground itself was a brownish color that made it look like it was soaked with blood, and stretched out as far as the eye could see.

What parts of the land were not covered with deep cracks were choked with weeds.

A seemingly eternal air of desolation and bleakness spread out in all directions. Off in the distance, ruins could be seen, and even further off, a volcano which belched thick black smoke.

Occasionally, frightening roars could be heard echoing about, which raged across the lands like storm winds, causing everything to shake.

The mystery of this place came from the fact that it used to be part of the Ruins of Immortality. Its solemn dignity came because it was now an ancestral land of the Namikaze Clan.

The first generation Patriarch was buried here. Other Dao Realm Patriarchs of the clan, his descendants, were also laid to rest here after passing away in meditation.

The entire ancestral land was laid out in the shape of a straight line. The further one went in, the more danger there was. As for the brownearthed region near the entrance, two chains of mountains were visible.

These two mountain ranges were like two stone dragons, lofty, imposing, and jagged.

Between the two mountain chains was a path, so far down from the peaks of the mountains that the sky was almost like a sliver up above. It was like a great door leading into the ancestral land, although there was no actual door present, only… an enormous statue larger than the mountains themselves!

This statue looked as if it were inseparably connected to the mountains. It was pitch black, and wore a heavy suit of armor. Its two hands rested on the pommel of a greatsword, and the statue itself seemed incomparably ancient.

The sword was dozens of meters wide, and was thrust down into the earth. Ancient magical symbols were engraved onto its surface, which seemed simple and almost crude, and yet contained profound meaning that was impossible to decipher.

The statue's eyes lacked any expression whatsoever, making the statue itself seem completely lifeless. It almost seemed to be a mere decoration standing guard over the ancestral land.

However, from a distance, it was possible to see that the statue was looking up into the sky, staring off into the distance as if… it was waiting for something.

Any Namikaze Clan member who had been to the ancestral land knew about this statue. According to the legends, the origins of the statue were a complete mystery. Supposedly, it had flown here from somewhere out in the starry sky, the same year that the Hebi Clan changed the Heavens and took over the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

From then on, the statue had remained in this spot, apparently guarding the ancestral land.

Over the years, rumors began to spread that the statue was not just there to guard the ancestral land, but actually, all of the Namikaze Clan's bloodlines.

Years and years passed, and eventually, the rumors and stories died out. In every generation of the Namikaze Clan, there would be many people who came and laid eyes on the statue. However, they never called to mind the absurd stories of the past. After all… they were simply legends.

As for the reason why the statue held its head up as if it were waiting for something, people had long since stopped wondering about it.

No one had any idea why this statue had come here to the Namikaze Clan on its own… nor what it was waiting for.

It emanated the aura of a powerful expert, an intense aura that was strong enough to shake Heaven and Earth. When Naruto looked at it, the feeling he got was so intense that not even the Grand Elder could compare.

This statue was so strong… that in the past, Naruto wouldn't have been able to even identify how powerful it was. Now, though, when he looked at the statue, he understood…. This statue's aura was almost like that of a Paragon!

Naruto stood in the vast land between the two mountain chains. This was the location that he had appeared in upon entering the ancestral land. Currently, he was standing there stock-still, looking thoughtfully at the statue.

He was well aware that this trip to the ancestral land was an ambush. He also knew that the best choice had been to not come here, but instead take advantage of the opportunity given him by the Grand Elder.

In fact, originally he had no plans whatsoever to enter this place. However, after looking into the vortex and seeing this enormous statue, his heart had filled with roaring.

The roaring had soon inundated him completely, tugging at him, pulling him into distant memories.

He trembled, and his eyes flashed with reminiscence. He couldn't even control himself as he walked forward to stand in front of the statue. He came to a stop in front of its foot, after which he reached his hand out and patted it gently.

His hand shook, and after it touched the statue, his whole body started trembling. He slowly looked up at the enormously tall statue, and then started to float up into the air.

He moved slowly, as if he wanted to take a clear look at the entire statue. Eventually, he reached its head, and looked into its eyes. It was at this point… that tears appeared in his own eyes.

"Terracotta soldier…." he murmured softly. Finally, the tears began to roll down his cheeks and fall to the ground. He remembered this terracotta soldier being about three meters tall. Even though it was now much bigger than before, he would never forget this terracotta soldier with whom he had such a connection.

The only reason he had chosen to enter this ancestral land despite all the danger… was because of this statue.

Back in the temple, when he had looked into the vortex and seen the statue, he almost couldn't believe it.

How could he have forgotten about this statue…? How was it even possible?

This was… one of the two terracotta soldiers that had been created for him in illusory world of the Second Plane of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, by his foster father Ke Yunhai!

He would never, ever be able to forget the life he had lived as Ke Jiusi back in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

"Father…." said Naruto, tears streaming down his face. His entire body shook, and as he looked at the statue, he wept. All of the memories of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect flooded into his mind. All of a sudden, Ke Yunhai's stern and yet loving face appeared in his mind.

The ninety-nine bell tolls from that year seemed to echo in his ears once again. 1

He had long since assumed that he would never see the two terracotta soldiers again. He had searched for them in the Third Plane of the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, in the real world, but hadn't found them.

There was no possible way that Naruto would ever have thought that he might see one of the statues here… in the Namikaze Clan's ancestral land.

Ke Yunhai, knowing that his longevity was reaching its end, had created this terracotta soldier to protect Naruto. It was only because of it that Naruto had unhesitatingly entered the ancestral land, despite knowing of the dangers.

It wouldn't have mattered if the danger had been was exponentially greater than it was, Naruto would never have hesitated to come here.

And the entire reason… was because of Ke Yunhai!

—–

Note from Deathblade: I originally translated the statue as stone soldier, and even called it a wooden soldier, once. I'm officially changing it to "terracotta soldier," and have already gone back to change previous references.

Ke Yunhai died on the ninety-ninth bell toll in chapter 597 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 946

Chapter 946: A Certain Object, a Certain Person

What was it waiting for?

This was a question that no one in the Namikaze Clan had been able to answer for generations.

Naruto looked at the statue, weeping, fully aware… that the statue had been waiting for him.

It had waited here alone for him for tens of thousands of years….

The reason it had flown here to the Namikaze Clan was because of the soul blood that had emerged from Naruto's forehead to connect him to the statue. Because of that, it didn't matter how much time separated them, or who ended up taking possession of the soldier. Naruto… was always its original master. 1

Years ago, before Naruto had even been born, the statue flew through space, guided by his blood, all the way to the Namikaze Clan. It had found a place where it sensed a familiar bloodline, and then chosen to wait there in silence.

This was the simple answer to the question asked by so many members of the Namikaze Clan.

This was only one of the two statues that had been created for Uzumaki

Hao by Ke Yunhai.

As for the other statue, perhaps it had fallen in battle at some point throughout the years. Or perhaps it was in some other distant location, standing alone and looking off into the sky just like this statue, waiting for Naruto to come.

Time passed by slowly, and eventually, Naruto sat down cross-legged on the statue's head. He patted the surface of the statue, and his expression continued to be one of reminiscence. He recalled everything that had happened in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, and his heart filled with sorrow.

Sometimes, a certain object will make you think of a certain person.

When Naruto looked at the statue, he missed Ke Yunhai. He missed the man he had called father in that ancient world.

At the same time that Naruto sat down on the statue, there were nine areas in the Namikaze Clan ancestral land where the air distorted, and nine black-robed men emerged. They immediately produced jade slips that they could use to detect bloodlines, then transformed into beams of light that shot away from their original locations.

Killing intent boiled in the ancestral land.

One of the black-robed men held the jade slip in hand, and the desire to kill gleamed in his eyes as he realized that he was the closest of them all to Naruto. He made no effort to conceal the level of his cultivation base. Power exploded out as he shot through the air in a beam of light, following the jade slip's guidance.

His cultivation base caused the clouds up above to seethe, and the ground to shake. This was an Ancient Realm cultivation base, and as he sped through the air, it was possible to see nine lamps behind him.

They were wooden lamps that burned with green flames. Eight of the lamps were lit, one was began orbiting around the man, and they pulsed with the power of a natural law of Heaven and Earth!

The Ancient Realm is also called the Ancient Soul. Based on the accumulations and preparations made in the Immortal Realm, a minimum of nine Soul Lamps will appear upon breaking through to the Ancient Realm. More can appear depending on the profundity of the cultivator's cultivation base. To proceed through the Ancient Realm, the lamps must be extinguished one by one. The extinguishing of each lamp counts as a deadly test, and if the cultivator can extinguish all of the lamps and remain alive, then they will be qualified to step into the Dao Realm!

However, to do so is incredibly hard!

The more Soul Lamps one possesses, the harder it is to break through, and the greater the chance of death. At the same time, though, the more Soul Lamps one has… the more shockingly powerful they will be if they succeed in breaking through!

That was so much so that there were some people with ten or more Soul Lamps who, after reaching the late Ancient Realm, were qualified to fight with someone in the Dao Realm!

In any given clan or sect, a cultivator with one extinguished Soul Lamp would be considered to have the status of an Elder. The single stamp of a foot could shake everything. Just one such person would be enough to slaughter Naruto, but Namikaze Xiushan was obviously uneasy about the situation. It was impossible to say what vast price he had paid, for he had actually hired nine almighty Ancient Realm cultivators, each of them with one extinguished Soul Lamp. Clearly, he wanted no mishaps or accidents in having Naruto exterminated.

Meanwhile, a vague image appeared high up in the air where it was impossible for anyone to see. An old man hovered there, looking down at Naruto, who was still sitting on the statue's head.

This image was none other than the divine will of the Seventh Patriarch from the subterranean cavern beneath the Namikaze Clan.

When he saw Naruto sitting there abjectly on top of the statue, he gaped in shock.

"What's the kid doing?" he thought.

Naruto sat there atop of the statue for a while before raising his head and looking off into the distance, where he saw a figure speeding toward him like an arrow piercing through the roiling clouds.

The figure moved with incredible speed, bursting with astonishing energy that seemed capable of splitting Heaven and Earth. This was a power that Naruto could never fight against. Behind the figure were nine lamps, eight burning and one extinguished, which emanated a primordial will that cast strange colors into the sky.

Naruto's eyes widened. This was his first time seeing Soul Lamps, and after a moment of consideration, the coldness in his eyes grew more intense.

"Soul Lamps are cultivated in the Ancient Realm…." he murmured. "So, an Ancient Realm expert has appeared in the ancestral land. Namikaze Xiushan… is this the expression of your killing intent?" He looked at the figure that split the air as it shot toward him. It was a powerful expert wearing a black robe, and he was closing in rapidly.

He made no effort to conceal his monstrous cultivation base or his massive killing intent. A wind kicked up, spreading across the lands and kicking up dust. The wind couldn't dispel the bleak feeling that lay over the land, and in fact, made everything even more harsh and desolate.

The moment Naruto saw the black robe, killing intent flickered in his eyes. He immediately thought back to how he had fled from deadly pursuit in the starry sky.

"So, I guessed correctly," he thought. "It was Namikaze Wei's bloodline who tried to prevent me from making it back to the clan alive." His face was calm as he faced the wild wind. His robes and hair flapped in the wind, and yet, he continued to calmly pat the statue's head.

The Seventh Patriarch's divine will image floated in midair, astonished. In his opinion, Naruto was now facing an Ancient Realm expert with one extinguished Soul Lamp. For him to be acting so calm left the Seventh Patriarch in a state of wonderment.

"Let's see what kind of trump card the kid has to get him out of this deadly situation," thought the Seventh Patriarch, smiling and paying close attention. He had already decided that he would take action in the moment before Naruto would actually be killed.

The reason he had come here, though, was not for Naruto, but rather, for those people who had dared to violate the clan rules.

Screaming wind filled the air as the black-robed man shot toward Naruto. He was middle-aged and very skinny. His expression was calm, without the slightest bit of excitement visible. To him, killing a member of the Junior generation who wasn't even an Immortal, was far too simple of a task.

It didn't matter if his target had a rare true Immortal fleshly body. To him, Naruto was merely a member of a younger generation. In his opinion, Namikaze Xiushan was making a mountain out of a molehill to ask nine people to all attack Naruto.

By this point, he was about 3,000 meters away from Naruto. In a flash, that distance shrank to only a few hundred meters.

He said nothing, just extended his right hand and pointed toward Naruto.

In response, the land up ahead twisted as a huge fissure opened up. It looked like a vicious, evil dragon that shot toward Naruto.

Bizarre colors flashed, and natural law manifested. The light and the darkness in the world seemed to be in flux.

From a distance, the sky appeared to have become a huge net; as soon as the fissure appeared in the ground, the entire sky seemed to have shattered!

Naruto's pupils constricted. The man's arrival made it seem as if a stifling pressure were weighing down on the entire area, like Heavenly might. The pressure caused his blood to seethe, and his cultivation base to begin to shatter. Even his fleshly body began to emanate cracking sounds.

"So this is an Ancient Realm expert, huh…?" A strange light gleamed in Naruto's eyes as the air ripped apart in response to the man's waving finger. This man's manipulation of the natural law of Heaven and Earth had already reached the acme of perfection; apparently, if this man wanted the air to rip apart, then the air would absolutely do just that.

An intense sensation of deadly crisis rose up in Naruto.

However, as that fissure snaked toward him, Naruto's lips twisted up into a smile of ridicule.

In that moment, he did not move. What moved was the statue beneath him!

The statue's eyes had previously been blank, without the slightest sign of life. But now, they suddenly began to shine with bright light that turned into consciousness. The face now flickered with expression, and its aura roiled out.

It was nothing more than an aura, and yet it caused Heaven and Earth to tremble, and the fissure that was extending rapidly toward Naruto suddenly vanished into nothing!

The massive net up in the sky also collapsed.

Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions, and the ground quaked. The mountains themselves shook as Naruto's statue seemed to wake up from a slumber that had lasted for tens of thousands of years. It was as if it were being resurrected from the dead.

Its aura grew stronger and stronger, growing infinitely close to the level of a Paragon. This type of Paragon was not the same type of Paragon as the title held by that white-robed woman who had appeared in that year in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire. This was… the QuasiDao Realm, which was referred to by the title Paragon in the Nine Mountains and Seas!

As for why exactly it was referred to in that manner, there was a specific reason!

The terracotta soldier's eyes were growing brighter and clearer, and its energy was surging to monstrous heights. It was as if the statue was now rising up to accomplish the mission assigned to it by Ke Yunhai all those years ago!

Its mission… was to protect Naruto for all time, to eternally act as his safeguard!

It was to never allow Naruto to come to any harm, to never experience grief, and most definitely to never be killed. That… was the statue's mission, and the entire purpose why Ke Yunhai had created it.

Naruto sat on top of the statue, and he saw Ke Yunhai in his mind's eye. His face was stern, but his eyes were filled with love. Yet again, tears appeared in Naruto's eyes.

Once again… he felt Ke Yunhai's fatherly love.

This time, it was manifested in the real world.

Cracking sounds could be heard, and everything shook. Fissures appeared in the mountain chains and then spread out in all directions.

The middle-aged man's face flickered with disbelief and astonishment, and his mind reeled. He subconsciously stopped in place, and his eyes widened.

He was also a member of the Namikaze Clan, and what he was seeing left him stupefied. He watched with his own eyes as the legendary protector of the ancestral land and the Namikaze Clan itself, that enormous statue which had never budged over countless years… suddenly moved!

He saw Naruto sitting atop the statue as it lifted its right foot and took a step forward.

From a distance, the statue looked boundlessly tall and shockingly powerful. When its foot landed on the ground, the entire world quaked. At the same time, the statue's arms moved, and cracking sounds could be heard as the mountains that were connected to the statue crumbled, transforming into nothing but rocks and dust that rolled off of the statue down onto the ground.

Naruto was bound to the statues by blood from his forehead in chapter 572. Later, he went looking for them unsuccessfully in chapter

598 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 947

Chapter 947: Quasi-Dao Paragons

Everything was covered in a haze of dust, which only served to make the statue in the center of it all even more shocking.

It raised its other foot and took another step, causing the land to rumble, and more mountains to collapse.

The haze of dust continued to spread out rapidly in pulsing waves, creating an astonishing sight. The middle-aged man's scalp went numb, and his mind spun. This was literally the most unbelievable thing he had ever seen in his entire life. His face instantly became devoid of blood, and he looked shocked beyond belief.

He suddenly cried out involuntarily, "That's… that's… that's the aura of a Quasi-Dao Realm Paragon!"

His eyes were wide, and his heart pounded wildly.

He was well-aware how powerful a Quasi-Dao Paragon was, and what they represented. He was extremely conscientious of the fact that the Quasi-Dao Realm… was a completely astonishing Realm within the Nine Mountains and Seas. It was a realm of madness and terror, so powerful that strongest experts in the Nine Mountains and Seas had no choice but to call people in that Realm… Paragons!

The middle-aged man wasn't the only shocked one. The old man up in midair, the manifestation of the Seventh Patriarch's divine will, was watching with wide eyes and open mouth. He was completely astonished, and could scarcely believe what he was seeing.

"How is this possible?!" he thought, panting, his mind spinning. "The

Dao Guardsman, is actually… moving!" He suddenly looked at Naruto sitting on top of the statue's head, and viewed the look of sorrow on his face in a new light. For an instant, the rarely-shocked Seventh Patriarch's scalp went numb.

The ground quaked and mountains crumbled. A massive rumbling sound filled the air, and the haze of dust churned as boulders crashed down.

The weeds in the area were blown flat by the wind, and cracks appeared in the surface of the ground, although it was all rapidly covered over by the dust.

Up in the air, the Seventh Patriarch was panting as he stared mutely at the statue.

As for the skinny man, he couldn't be more shocked. His mind reeled as he looked at the earth-shaking statue. He could sense the aura emanating out from it, and it turned his face ashen. Without another moment's hesitation, he fled.

This unexpected turn of events was something he couldn't handle. From his perspective, killing Naruto should have been as simple as turning over his hand. Moments later, though, everything was completely reversed.

He suddenly realized why Namikaze Xiushan would hire nine experts like himself to kill a mere member of the Junior generation. Although the conclusion he reached was actually fallacious, in his mind, it was the obvious answer.

"Dammit! How could things turn out like this! Namikaze Xiushan, you bastard, you conned me. Y-y-you sent me, with one extinguished Soul Lamp, in here to kill a cultivator protected by a Quasi-Dao Paragon? Why didn't you tell us ahead of time that this inhuman Namikaze Narutocould actually bring the Dao Guardsman back to life!?" The man retreated with all the speed he could muster.

However, in the moment that he began to flee, the statue's gaze stabbed through the haze of dust like a beam of light to land directly on the man.

In the instant the statue's gaze locked onto him, a sound like thunder rumbled in the man's mind. An intense sense of deadly crisis rose up, and he let out a bellow. He instantly spit out blood and unleashed a secret magic to try to flee.

He was scared. As an Ancient Realm expert, he did not often encounter frightening situations, but as of this moment, he was afraid. In fact, he was terrified, all the way down to his bones.

He knew exactly how terrifyingly powerful a Quasi-Dao Paragon was. Years ago, he had actually personally witnessed the wild and devastating power of just such an individual.

There was no way he couldn't feel terror. The awakening of the statue shook his mind, and caused him to think back to the legends he had heard regarding the statue.

"I… have provoked a truly inhuman monster! I can't believe… I can't believe this is happening!" He felt incredible regret, and swore that, if he managed to live through this, he would make things very difficult for Namikaze Xiushan when he got out of the ancestral land.

However, it was at this moment that the huge statue's hands tightened on the enormous greatsword that was thrust into the ground. Rumbling and cracking sounds could be heard from the ground as fissures spread out from the sword in all directions. Suddenly, the greatsword… was pulled out from the earth!

The shocking statue's eyes were as cold as ice as it hefted the greatsword in both hands. Then it swung the sword, which descended as fast as lighting toward the fleeing man.

The sword caused the whole world to go silent.

The avalanches of boulders made no sound. The crumbling mountains were silent. The haze of dust seethed in terrifying quietude. It was as if time itself… were frozen in place.

The fleeing man also seemed to be stopped in midair, his expression that of terror and astonishment. His pupils were frozen in place, and the nine Soul Lamps behind him were motionless. It was as if everything in the world were completely incapable of moving.

The only thing that was moving was the statue's greatsword. As it cleaved downward, blood oozed from the man's forehead, then trickled down his nose, then his chin. Finally, the sword passed through his torso, simultaneously shattering his Soul Lamps.

The world returned to normal. The terracotta soldier's greatsword once again stabbed into the ground, which trembled and quaked. Sound returned… in midair, the middle-aged man's body had been completely cleaved into two pieces, and all of his Soul Lamps were destroyed.

The man had numerous magical items, all of which were shattered, and flew out in pieces along with the man's flesh and blood.

There was no way for him to fight back or block. He couldn't even struggle, let alone evade.

Blood sprayed out as his Nascent Divinity, his Soul Lamps, all of him… faded away.

Only his bag of holding remained, which came to float in front of Naruto.

Naruto sat silently on the statue.

High up in the air, the Seventh Patriarch took a deep breath. Even he felt a sense of fear when he looked at the statue, and also knew how shocking and terrifying its sword was.

"That sword has its own Dao that replaces the natural law of Heaven and Earth! That sword… can sever Daos, sever natural laws, can sever… anything that exists!

"This is definitely the power of a Quasi-Dao Paragon! However… it's obviously nothing more than a statue! If a statue could be so powerful, then whoever created that statue… must be even more terrifying!

"I suppose… only someone in the true Dao Realm, who also possessed some rare Heavenly material or Earthly treasure, would be able to create something like this. But…with such a treasure, it would make more sense to craft some other item, something that would be of more use to a Dao Realm cultivator." Simply looking at the statue caused the Seventh Patriarch's heart to tremble.

He knew that Quasi-Dao Realm cultivators… were a maniacal bunch. They were madmen who could ignore anybody; they were people who nobody dared to provoke.

They were people who had prepared for years, who had transcended one deadly Soul Lamp tribulation after another, who had reached the peak of the Ancient Realm filled with hope. But after extinguishing their final Soul Lamp, they were unable to enter the Dao Realm, and would exist forever half a step away from it. Their lifespans had crumbled away, and they would be left with only a few dozen years of life. People like that… were in the Quasi-Dao Realm!

They were doomed to die, and could not be saved by anything in

Heaven and Earth. Therefore, they went mad, stuck half a step into the Dao Realm, possessing a certain level of Dao Essence that earned them respect and awe. No one dared to provoke them, and everyone called them Paragons.

For tens of thousands of years, only eleven such people had ever appeared in the Namikaze Clan. Some of them went mad and carried out slaughters. Some of them quietly waited until their life force reached its end.

When the Grand Elder had spoken of past Dao Realm Patriarchs of the

Namikaze Clan who were buried in the ancestral land, he was referring to… Quasi-Dao Paragons! The only one among these who was a true Dao Realm expert was the first generation Patriarch!

Ke Yunhai had also met with failure at that final step. However, his cultivation base was so terrifyingly profound that, even after his failure, even being only half a step into the Dao Realm, even with a failing longevity… he had still managed to force out many more years of life to protect his son.

At that time, his battle prowess had far exceeded the Ancient Realm, and could actually be considered to be in the Dao Realm.

As for his final Soul Lamp, that was the very lamp with the body of a dragon and the wick of a phoenix, the one he had been buried with! 1

He had actually used that lamp to make the terracotta soldiers, which had thus contained much of Ke Yunhai's life force. As a result… they were incredibly powerful!

The Seventh Patriarch was panting as he looked at the statue in fear. He himself… was not in the Dao Realm; he was only in the Ancient Realm. However, he had summoned fifteen Soul Lamps, and to date had managed to extinguish thirteen of them.

"Only Elder Brother, the Earth Patriarch, could suppress that statue with his Dao Realm cultivation base. Nobody else could, not even Old Second and Old Third with their fourteen extinguished Soul Lamps. They only have one more lamp each to extinguish, but they still wouldn't be matches for this statue. After all, they're still merely in the Ancient Realm!"

Most shocking of all to him was that this Dao Guardsman of the Namikaze Clan was actually protecting Naruto!

"This kid actually managed to get the Dao Guardsman to move! How did he pull it off? Why was he able to do it? The fact that he was so

confident before shows that he was sure ahead of time that the statue would fight for him and protect him!

"This… is absurdly unbelievable!" The Seventh Patriarch took an incredulous breath as he looked down at what was happening. There was no way for him to explain what was going on, and if his divine will wasn't here to personally witness it, then, if he had been told the story later, he would have called it nonsensical ravings.

And yet, here he was watching it happen, shocked.

Naruto patted the statue's head. Gradually, the land around him quieted down. The dust faded away, and everything returned to normal. Naruto looked up, and returned the precious memories of Ke Yunhai to the depths of his heart. Sometimes a certain object will make you think of a certain person. His memories filled him with grief that he couldn't somehow undo the death of Ke Yunhai.

He closed his eyes for a long moment before opening them again. The he looked down at the statue. To him, it was no mere terracotta soldier, but rather, a precious memento left to him by Ke Yunhai.

"Let's go," he said softly. "Come with me to take a look around this ancestral land of the Namikaze Clan." The statue's eyes shone brightly as it flew into the air and took Naruto further into the ancestral land.

That simple action almost caused the Seventh Patriarch's eyeballs to pop out of his head. He very nearly cried out in shock.

Ke Yunhai's lamp was described in chapter 569. He used it to make the soldiers in chapter 572. In chapter 597, it mentioned that the only thing in Ke Yunhai's tomb was the lamp. The lamp was mentioned again in chapter 600 when Naruto went to visit the tomb later. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 948

Chapter 948: Terrifying

He gasped, and a look of disbelief covered his face as he stared at the statue taking Naruto off into the distance. He was well-aware of the difference between Naruto getting the statue to protect him, and getting it to carry him around. They were two completely different things.

One required passively responding, the other required taking action!

"He… can actually control the clan's Dao Guardsman!" The Seventh Patriarch was panting. Now that he knew the full situation, his mind spun, and he completely forgot about any rule-violating members of the clan. He looked at Naruto with shining eyes, and couldn't help but be filled with the growing notion that Naruto would be a future pillar of the clan.

As Naruto proceeded along, he opened up the bag of holding that had belonged to the man who had just been killed. He scanned its contents with divine sense, finding a good quantity of spirit stones and Immortal jade. There were also a lot of medicinal pills, and even some jade slips. One of those jade slips was black, and Naruto's face grew frosty as soon as he picked it up and scanned it.

"He was an Elder of the Namikaze Clan!" he murmured. The command medallion he held in his hand was a token of authentication provided by the clan, and revealed that the man from moments ago was definitely one of the clan Elders.

After all, this was the Namikaze Clan's ancestral land. Namikaze Xiushan wanted Naruto dead more than anything, but he still wouldn't dare to allow outsiders into the ancestral land. He wouldn't have been able to bear the consequences of that.

In his estimation, when it came to killing Naruto, reducing the risk and aftermath was only a matter of using his bloodline's status in the clan a bit cleverly.

After grabbing the identity medallion from the bag of holding and tossing it aside, Naruto pulled a jade box out. It glittered with bright light, and emanated strong Immortal qi.

After opening it, he began to pant, and his eyes shone brightly.

Inside the jade box was a tiny bell made completely of jade. It was exquisitely beautiful, and Immortal Chakra swirled around it. Naruto instantly recognized that it was an Immortal treasure of the highest quality. It was definitely no ordinary object.

He picked up the tiny bell and held it in his hand. Then, he sent some Immortal Chakra from his Immortal meridian into the bell, which caused it to emit a droning sound. It flew up into the air above his head, growing to a size of three meters and rotating around him, emitting countless magical symbols at the same time.

An intense pressure immediately spread out.

Naruto's eyes shone, and he took a deep breath.

"As far as Immortal treasures are concerned, this bell is definitely of an extremely high quality!" He could sense the Immortal might emanating off of the bell, and his eyes glittered as he opened his mouth and breathed in. In response, the bell shrunk and then turned into a beam of light that shot into Naruto's mouth and came to rest inside of his Immortal meridian.

Immediately, his entire body filled with the echoing toll of a bell. The bell began to emit bright light, and at the same time, his Immortal meridian grew more solid.

Naruto's spirits were instantly lifted. What he didn't know was that this Immortal bell had been a gift prepared by Namikaze Xiushan for that clan Elder. Although it wasn't an Ancient treasure, it was an extremely high quality Immortal treasure, and with a bit of refining could have been turned into something similar to an Ancient Realm treasure.

Ancient treasures were rare, and were something that many Ancient

Realm experts didn't even possess. Even though the man had been a Namikaze Clan elder, he had only extinguished one Soul Lamp, and therefore didn't qualify to acquire Ancient treasures from the clan.

Actually, Namikaze Xiushan had expended quite a bit of resources a few years back to acquire the tiny bell. However, for the sake of having Naruto killed, he had employed everything at his disposal.

"He was a clan Elder, and all he had was this one magical item?" Naruto seemed a bit skeptical, but then he remembered all of the magical items that had shattered in the moment of his death.

"There seem to be many unique aspects to the Ancient Realm," he thought. He scanned the rest of the jade slips in the bag of holding, and then suddenly, his eyes came to rest on one of them. After further scanning, his face darkened.

This jade slip was a bloodline tracker. He could clearly see nine dots of light, one of which represented himself. The other eight were spread out in various directions, and were all heading towards him.

The nearest one wasn't very far away.

"So, you actually sent nine people to kill me." Naruto's eyes were like ice as he sent out some divine will that caused the terracotta soldier to stop in place, then change directions. Suddenly, it began to speed off in the direction of the dot of light closest to Naruto.

"There's no need to come looking for me," said Naruto. "I'll come to you!" He sat there cross-legged atop the statue, his eyes boiling with murderous intent. His pupils shone with an intense light like that of a razor-sharp blade.

As of this moment, his entire person seethed with the desire to kill.

He wouldn't dare to kill anyone inside the Namikaze Clan itself. That was a violation of clan rules. However, in this place… he had no compunctions whatsoever. Since these people had come here to kill him, then he might as well return the favor one by one!

"This place won't open up again for two months. That's plenty of time for me to have some fun with you people!" Powerful killing intent flickered in his eyes, and the murderous aura which surrounded him grew stronger.

Up above, the Seventh Patriarch followed along, his excitement and interest in Naruto growing stronger.

The terracotta soldier moved with such incredible speed that it caused sonic booms to echo out. It shot forward, seemingly slicing a hole into the air of the ancestral land.

Naruto sat cross-legged up above, his hair whipping about as the powerful wind buffeted his true Immortal fleshly body.

Roughly five hundred kilometers ahead of him, a beam of light shot through the air, within which was a black-robed young man. Although his appearance was young, there was something about the way he furrowed his brow that seemed to carry an ancient will.

He was surrounded by nine lamps, which rotated around him. Just like the other man, eight were burning and one was extinguished. These Soul Lamps didn't seem to be real, but rather illusory.

His passing caused the sky and the land to distort, and he kept his hands clasped behind his back as he proceeded.

His expression was calm, but a gleam of vigilance could be seen deep in his eyes.

"I can't believe one of us died…." he murmured, his eyes flickering. "All we're supposed to do is kill someone from the Junior generation, and yet somebody actually perished…. Furthermore, he wasn't killed by something dangerous from within the ancestral land. He died a short time after making contact with that member of the Junior generation." A strange gleam appeared in the young man's eyes. Moments ago, one of the dots of light had vanished from the jade slip he had been observing, which left him shocked.

"No wonder Namikaze Xiushan wanted nine of us to come in here. This Junior… must be harboring some incredible secret!

"Whatever that secret is, it enabled him to kill an Ancient Realm cultivator with one extinguished Soul Lamp, while he himself barely counts as being in the Immortal Realm!

"However, whatever method he's using definitely can't be used longterm." A cold glow appeared in the young man's eyes, and his pupils glittered with greed. He lifted his right hand and sent divine sense into the jade slip held therein. Then, his face flickered, and he suddenly stopped in place.

"That can't be right," he thought, frowning. "He changed direction, and now he's heading toward me…. And look at how fast he's moving! Even with a true Immortal fleshly body, he shouldn't be able to move that fast!" The young man hesitated.

"Is it just an empty show of strength, a bluff? Is he just trying to scare me off, or… does that secret technique give him the confidence to think he can kill me?" The young man's eyes flickered a few times before filling with determination.

"It doesn't matter. I can just check the situation out from a distance to see whether or not he's just putting on a show." With that, the young man hovered there in midair, coldly looking off into the distance as he waited for Naruto to approach.

He was being very cautious, and was even ready to flee away at top speed if necessary. He kept his cultivation base rotating, ensuring that he was at the peak of power and readiness.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, a rumbling sound could suddenly be heard from off in the distance. Everything began to shake.

Even the condition of the sky changed; the clouds churned, and endless bolts of lightning danced about.

The young man's eyes went wide, and he sent his divine sense out to scan the area up ahead. It was at this point that a tremor ran through him, and his eyes went wide with disbelief. He couldn't even breathe, and his eyes bulged. It almost looked like someone was strangling him. His mind filled with a buzz, as if someone has struck him hard on the top of the head.

He staggered backward, panting, face pale.

"That's… that's…." He almost didn't dare to believe what he was seeing. "What is that!?"

Tens of thousands of meters up in the sky, the clouds parted as an enormous statue appeared. It was thousands of meters high, and caused the clouds to surge away from it as it descended.

Its energy was shocking and virtually impossible to describe!

Its speed was incredible, causing flames to lick the air around the terracotta soldier. It was like a shooting star!

Naruto sat cross-legged atop the terracotta soldier, eyes flashing with killing intent. He looked like a drawn sword that refused to be sheathed without shedding blood!

RUMMMBLLLLE!

Massive roaring sounds filled the air as the terracotta soldier screamed through the air toward the black-robed youth. As it neared, the aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon rippled out in all directions, shaking everything.

The terracotta soldier's eyes were icy and emotionless, and it held a greatsword in its hand. When the young man saw all of this, his face drained of blood.

"That's the ancestral land's Dao Guardsman!

"It has the aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon!

"How… how could this be? He… he can actually control the Dao Guardsman!?" The black-robed young man's scalp was tingling so hard it seemed like his head was about to explode. Flabbergasted and scared witless, he didn't even have time to think. He immediately turned and employed all the power he could muster in a mad dash to flee.

As of that moment, he cursed the fact that he had only extinguished one Soul Lamp. He cursed the fact that he couldn't flee fast enough. He cursed the fact that he had been conceited enough to just stand there waiting for his opponent to arrive.

He suddenly understood why that other Ancient Realm Elder had died!

"Damn you, Namikaze Xiushan! I can't believe you sent us in here to kill a monster who can control the Dao Guardsman! You… you didn't send us in here to kill him… you obviously sent us in here so that he could kill us!" The black-robed young man's heart was pounding, and his face was as white as death. Nearly frightened out of his mind by the sense of deadly crisis, he roared, spitting out blood and using all the secret magics he knew to try to get away.

—–

Note from Deathblade: Please e-mail typos or mistakes to

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Vol. 6 : Chapter 949

Chapter 949: Perilous Ancestral Land

No one outside could see the things that were happening in the ancestral land.

Neither the Grand Elder nor Namikaze Wei's father and grandfather could see anything at all. The Grand Elder hadn't been lying when he had explained that point. It was literally impossible for anyone to observe what occurred inside.

In the Namikaze Clan, everything was going along as normal, except that the direct bloodline clan members were very nervous. Namikaze Xi was in incredibly low spirits, and was very worried about Naruto.

The Dao of Alchemy Division had received news of Naruto heading into the ancestral land as a trial by fire, and were also extremely anxious. In fact, the eighteen tier 8 alchemists all went in person to speak with the Grand Elder.

A huge argument ensued that ended with the tier 8 alchemists storming off in a fury. Not long after, the Dao of Alchemy Division announced that they wouldn't concoct pills for the clan until Naruto returned safely.

As word of this development spread, the entire clan was shaken. The Grand Elder then personally went to the Dao of Alchemy Division to pay respects to Pill Elder, yet Pill Elder flatly refused to see him.

It was at this point that Namikaze Wei's bloodline was starting to realize that Naruto had firmly rooted himself within the clan, and had built up such a level of power that even they were beginning to feel fear rising up inside of them.

The Dao of Alchemy Division was definitely Naruto's bastion of reliance within the clan!

The whole matter was a major slip-up on the part of Namikaze Xiushan. The only thing he could do was spend vast resources to placate the anger and dissatisfaction of the Elders in his own bloodline regarding the losses they had suffered.

However, Namikaze Xiushan still had hope. As long as Naruto died, then the Dao of Alchemy Division wouldn't fight against the clan over a corpse. Everything would be resolved, and his own son, Namikaze Wei, would once again be the number one Chosen in the clan, and his bloodline would finally be able to supersede the current direct bloodline!

However, his hope… was rapidly unraveled because of what happened next.

Namikaze Wei was currently sealed in secluded meditation in his secret chamber. Namikaze Xiushan sat cross-legged outside, his face a mass of disbelief as he looked at a crystal he held in his hand.

Within the crystal was an image of the Namikaze Clan's Lifeslip Hall. There, countless jade slips that represented the lives of Namikaze Clan members were on display.

If a clan member died, the jade slip would shatter, immediately notifying the clan, which would then investigate the matter.

Moments ago, Namikaze Xiushan had been looking at Naruto's jade slip, which rested among all the other countless jade slips.

As soon as Naruto had returned to the clan and acquired a jade command medallion, he had also left a lifeslip in the Lifeslip Hall. Currently, it glowed with bright light, and wasn't even the least bit cracked.

On a higher shelf were the lifeslips of all of the clan's Ancient Realm clan members. Just now, one of those jade slips had made a cracking sound and then shattered. This instantly attracted a lot of attention, and an investigation had begun.

The shattering of that jade slip caused Namikaze Xiushan's heart to begin to pound.

He had paid a heavy price to arrange for nine Ancient Realm Elders to go into the ancestral land and kill Naruto.

"What happened in there!?" he thought, panting. "An Ancient Realm Elder… actually died? How!?

"To top it off, that damned son of a bitch is still alive!" He couldn't even imagine what possibly might have happened inside the ancestral land.

The clan began a thorough investigation into the Ancient Realm clan member's death. Fortunately for Namikaze Xiushan, he had previously arranged for all nine of the experts who entered the ancestral land to make it seem like they had left the planet to carry out clan assignments.

However, that would only delay the clan for so long. The rigorous investigation would eventually turn up clues.

"He probably died because of some dangerous situation in the ancestral land," thought Namikaze Xiushan. "This was nothing more than an accident…. It won't be much longer before that damned son of a bitch is dead in body and spirit!" Killing intent flickered in his eyes, and he couldn't wait to see Naruto's lifeslip shatter.

"Once the little son of a bitch is dead, and Wei'er makes his breakthrough to true Immortal Ascension, then… it doesn't matter even if people do discover the truth. By that time, it won't matter. Namikaze Naruto's death will be meaningless to the clan!"

Namikaze Xiushan took a deep breath, and his eyes filled with veins of blood.

Meanwhile, in the Namikaze Clan ancestral land, the black-robed young man was indignantly cursing Namikaze Xiushan as he fled in terror.

"How shameless!" he thought. "What a deception! Two months? Dammit! There are still two more months… before this place will open up and I can get out of here. W-what do I do?" The young man's face was pale white as he fled. Behind him, rumbling sounds echoed out, piercing through his ears into his very heart.

Further back, Naruto's statue was wreathed in flames as it shot after the young man. Naruto sat cross-legged atop it, and as they closed in, his eyes flickered with killing intent.

The distance between them narrowed. 30,000 meters. 25,000 meters. 15,000 meters. 10,000 meters….

At that point the black-robed young man was virtually going crazy, and was ready to pull out all the stops. He spun in place, performing an incantation gesture that caused his nine Soul Lamps to rotate rapidly and then shoot toward Naruto.

He was attacking with Soul Lamps that contained his own life force. From this, it was possible to see how mad and desperate he was.

When the eight lit and one extinguished Soul Lamps neared Naruto, Naruto's statue raised its greatsword, and the explosive aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon exploded out.

"Leave him alive," Naruto suddenly said.

Instantly, the terracotta soldier switched the great sword from its right hand to its left. Then, it's right hand shot out to grab the black-robed young man.

Instantly, everything in the area stopped moving, just like before. The black-robed young man was stuck in place, his body stiff and incapable of moving. His consciousness even began to fade.

A power surged out that was impossible to resist or fight against and seemed to envelop the entire sky. In front of the terracotta soldier, the black-robed young man with his one extinguished Soul Lamp was like nothing more than an insect.

When the terracotta soldier's huge hand reached the nine Soul Lamps, it almost seemed as if it was on a different plane of existence. It passed directly through them and, to the astonishment and despair of the blackrobed young man, closed around him in the blink of an eye. As the hand tightened, cracking sounds could be heard as many of the young man's bones were crushed.

After grabbing and retrieving him, the world returned to normal. The air once again moved, and the sounds of the black-robed young man's screaming echoed out in all directions.

Blood sprayed from his mouth, and intense pain wracked his body. He was completely trapped inside the terracotta soldier's hand, his cultivation base dissipated and as weak as a mortal. He trembled, and hopelessness filled his eyes, along with the fear of dying.

" Namikaze Xiushan!" he screamed. "I won't let you off for this even if I become a ghost!" At the moment, he hated Naruto, but he hated Namikaze Xiushan even more.

"And you, Namikaze Naruto," he raged, "if it weren't for our clan's Dao Guardsman, I'd kill you… it would be as easy as crushing a chicken to death!" Blood oozed from his mouth, and his eyes shone with hatred for Naruto.

"At the moment," said Naruto, his face calm. "I could crush you to death much easier than crushing a chicken."

Eyes flickering, he performed a strange incantation gesture with his right hand. Suddenly, numerous magical symbols appeared on his hand.

The magical symbols flickered, some of them white and some of them black. It almost looked like his hand had turned black and white.

A bizarre aura appeared around him, seemingly forming a stream of Chakra that converged on his hand and then merged with the magical symbols. Soon, everything in the area looked black and white.

Naruto's hand trembled, although no onlooker would be able to tell, not even the Seventh Patriarch up in midair. All he could sense was that the black and white magical symbols on Naruto's right hand contained the aura of some sort of Essence.

This was… the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex!

Naruto had acquired it from the sword in the Ruins of Immortality, which contained the aura of the Sixth Hex. He had continuously contemplated enlightenment of the Hex, and was now attempting to use it. However, the magic was too difficult, and although he could complete its casting, he had never successfully used it.

Much of this had to do with his lack of appropriate targets to practice on, and right now, he had just such a living target in front of him.

His eyes shone with a strange light as his right hand suddenly stabilized, and he pointed at the black-robed young man. Instantly, the black and white magical symbols merged together and shot toward him.

The man's eyes went wide, but he was incapable of resisting. The magical symbols flickered as they slammed into his forehead, and then began to bore into his body.

Naruto watched closely for the space of a few breaths. The blackrobed young man's face distorted, and veins popped out on his forehead. He then let out miserable scream.

The sound of that scream even caused the Seventh Patriarch to wince.

Indescribable pain wracked the young man; it felt like his soul was being consumed and his body was being ripped away. Soon, his screams turned into something that sounded like the shrieks of an animal.

It lasted for the space of about five breaths before the young man's body suddenly exploded into a haze of blood and gore. He was dead, in body and in spirit.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch gasped. As his solemn gaze came to rest back on Naruto, his eyes gradually began to fill with admiration.

"Quite ruthless," he thought. In his opinion, Naruto's temper was actually very similar to his own.

Naruto frowned and then sighed.

"Another failure. Maybe I'm not using it correctly." He thought back to the way the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer had used the Life-Death Hex, and how all the people he had hexed suddenly had their control of their own life or death taken away from them. Those people… had essentially become like puppets in the hand of the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer.

In the same moment that the young man died, Namikaze Xiushan was sitting in his place back in the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion. His face was pale as he saw… another of the life slips shatter.

"Impossible! This is impossible! The ancestral land is just too perilous!" Namikaze Xiushan was trembling, and his eyes were bloodshot.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 950

Chapter 950: Scraping It Clean

In the moment that the young man died, a sharp cracking sound rang out in the Namikaze Clan's Lifeslip Hall in the ancestral mansion. The sound immediately attracted the attention of all the Elders in the ancestral mansion.

As beams of light began to shoot through the air, Namikaze Xiushan took a deep breath and forced himself into a state of calm. Then, he also flew into the air.

It didn't take long for multiple Elders to arrive at the Lifeslip Hall. Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian was already there, hands clasped behind his back as he studied the shattered lifeslip. His expression gradually grew darker and darker.

People began to crowd into the hall, and agitated expressions appeared on their faces when they saw the shattered lifeslip.

The crowd began to converse in low tones.

"Another one… that's two lifeslips that have shattered in the past few days. I can't believe two Elders have perished!"

"Something strange is going on…."

"The strangest thing of all is that it was impossible to determine where exactly the first one died!"

Finally, the Grand Elder turned around and looked out at the crowd. His gaze lingered on Namikaze Xiushan for a moment.

Namikaze Xiushan's heart thumped, but his expression was calm.

"Two Elders have died in succession," the Grand Elder announced in a dignified voice. "And yet it has been impossible to use the power of their lifeslips to determine where exactly they died…. Where did they go?"

An Elder stepped out of the crowd, clasped hands and bowed. "According to my investigation, both of them went out alone on assignments from the clan."

"Assignments…? Do you really believe that?" Looking irritated, the Grand Elder flicked his sleeve and started to walk out. "Continue the investigation. Find out exactly how many Elders have gone out on supposed assignments. Furthermore, find out who gave them these assignments. I want all the details! Every single scrap of information!" The Grand Elder's voice continued to echo out in the hall even after he was gone.

Namikaze Xiushan felt incredible pressure as he departed along with the rest of the crowd. Suddenly, the Grand Elder's icy voice sounded out in his ear, transmitted via divine will.

"In our clan, nothing is more important than the clan rules. Therefore, I will be sure to shield Namikaze Wei from any trouble. However… if a third Elder dies, you had better start thinking of a way to explain all of this to me."

Namikaze Xiushan trembled silently.

Back in the ancestral land, the black-robed young man died, and the seven other cultivators with the single extinguished Soul Lamps… all stopped in their tracks.

It was impossible for them to do anything else. All of them had a bloodline jade slip, and had clearly seen the other two suddenly die as soon as they got close to Naruto.

The first one could be chalked up to an accident, but two…. If any of these seven still believed that to be an accident, then they didn't deserve to be called Ancient Realm experts.

The faces of all seven men flickered with shock. They couldn't imagine what had happened, why two of their group who were supposed to kill a member of the Junior generation, were instead themselves killed.

Their hearts were shaken, and fear of Naruto gradually began to build inside of them. All of a sudden, the dot of light that represented Naruto seemed strange and mysterious.

Suddenly, the situation on Naruto's jade slip changed, and his mouth twisted into a cold smile. The seven dots of light were no longer closing in on him; in contrast, they were now speeding away from him in different directions.

"I bet you people are also stuck in here for two months. There will be plenty of time for us to have a little game of cat and mouse." Naruto patted the terracotta soldier again, which turned and flew off into the distance with him.

Naruto's eyes gleamed as he looked at the lands speeding by below, and gradually, a bashful expression appeared on his face. "Since I'm here, I need to get my hands on some of this ancestral land's good fortune, no matter what."

Up in the air, the Seventh Patriarch saw the gleam in Naruto's eyes, and then nodded to himself.

"Based on the gleam in his eyes, it seems he's going to go searching for some of the good fortune in the ancestral land. Good, this is what a descendant of the Namikaze Clan ought to do." Stroking his beard, he smiled. "The kid looks a bit dainty; although he slaughters enemies ruthlessly, he's also pure and charming. I wonder what kind of good fortune he's destined to get here."

This was the first time the old man had ever seen a gleam like that in Naruto's eyes, and also the first time he had seen him act bashfully….

"Whenever I visit a place, I scrape it clean," Naruto thought, justifying his actions to himself as best he could. "With this terracotta soldier to accompany me, if I let this place off any easier than usual, I would definitely regret it in the future!" With that, the gleam in his eye grew brighter.

Under Naruto's control, the terracotta soldier flew off into the distance.

The ancestral land was laid out in a long strip, and Naruto's current location was at the very beginning. After some time passed, and he had a chance to survey the lands up ahead, he sent some divine will into the terracotta soldier.

The terracotta soldier stopped, and Naruto rose to his feet and stared down at the ground. There below was a field of huge boulders. The surface of each boulder was carved with various images that contained natural law.

Naruto leapt off of the terracotta soldier and floated down into the field of boulders. As he looked around, his eyes began to shine brightly.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch nodded to himself.

"Excellent. This area is nothing extremely special, but is actually very well suited to him. To gain enlightenment of some magical techniques would still count as good fortune." The Seventh Patriarch began to smile, but then quickly gaped in astonishment and then in confusion.

Down below, Naruto had backed up a bit, then sent his divine will out. Next, the terracotta soldier descended and used both of its hands to reach down and pluck a boulder out of the ground.

Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he quickly stored the boulder in his bag of holding, then sent the terracotta soldier to another boulder. It didn't take long before the dozens of boulders in the area were all pulled from the ground and placed into Naruto's bag of holding.

Afterwards, Naruto flew back up and sat down on the terracotta soldier's head, then proceeded onward excitedly.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch still hadn't recovered from his shock. He stared at the dozens of holes in the ground left behind by Naruto, then gazed blankly at Naruto making his way off into the distance.

"What… what is he doing?" he murmured. "Didn't he come here to contemplate enlightenment? To gain good fortune?" Naruto's actions left him thoroughly shocked.

Time passed. Naruto caught sight of a rather small lake that looked like a mirror. As the sun glinted off of its surface, magical symbols rose up from the water.

Naruto waved his hand, and the terracotta soldier chopped down with its greatsword. After a few slashes, it managed to slice all of the ground surrounding the lake. Afterward, Naruto struggled mightily to wrench the entire lake out of the ground and then put it in his bag of holding.

He actually had many bags of holding, some larger than others. After laboriously forcing the lake into one of them, he produced yet another bag of holding. Looking around shiftily, he sat back down on the terracotta soldier and proceeded onward.

The Seventh Patriarch was panting, and his eyes were wide as he watched what was happening. He even began to tremble.

As Naruto continued on, he saw a small mountain, which he took!

He saw a little pagoda, which he took!

He saw a bamboo forest, which he took!

He saw a log cabin, which he took!

He saw a carved sculpture, which he took!

Everything that he saw, every location that seemed to house good fortune, was taken away by the giant hands of the terracotta soldier, and then put into a bag of holding.

Naruto had a vast collection of bags of holding. When he ran out of big ones, he used small ones. If something was too big, he would dismantle the object into smaller pieces and cram it in.

As he sped along, he looked a bit ill at ease, even embarrassed. Up above, the Seventh Patriarch was trembling, and his beard was in disarray. His eyes shone with disbelief, as if he simply couldn't imagine how such a charming, innocent child… would actually do something like this!

Were it not for the fact that he actually feared the terracotta soldier, the Seventh Patriarch might have instantly slaughtered the treasonous and disgraceful Naruto!

"Wha… what is he doing!? He's not contemplating any enlightenment!

He's just taking all of the various items created and collected by the past

Patriarchs… and putting them in his bags of holding!"

This was especially true considering that, at one point, Naruto reached a palace. The Patriarch's jaw dropped as he watched Naruto quickly began to dismantle the entire palace, including the floor tiles. He moved with a precision and accuracy that made it seem as if this was something he did on a daily basis.

This finally seemed to provoke a reaction from the ancestral land. Even as he went about dismantling the palace, stripping away even the columns, leaving it completely stark and bare… roaring could be heard from off in the distance as a pack of giant apes flew toward him.

There were more than a hundred of them, and each one had a cultivation base that was similar to the peak of the Immortal realm. Their bodies were covered with thick coats of luxuriant fur, and their eyes glowed bright red. Apparently, they were the palace guards, and their eyes were fixed hatefully on Naruto as they charged forward.

When Naruto saw the apes, he didn't have the terracotta soldier attack. Instead, he slapped his bag of holding, causing the parrot to fly out.

It had apparently been stuffed into the bag of holding for too long, because as soon as it emerged, it flew several circles in the air at top speed. The meat jelly was attached to its foot in the shape of a bell, and immediately began to let out nonstop jingling sounds.

"Lord Fifth is out again!

"When Lord Fifth appears, who dares to cause strife!

"Attention, all furred and feathered concubines, Lord Fifth is here to dote upon you!" Almost as soon as the parrot appeared, its eyes suddenly went wide, and it almost forgot to flap its wings. It even began to drool as it stared fixedly at the luxuriantly furred apes.

"So many concubines…." it said, eyes shining excitedly. Suddenly feeling quite hot and bothered, it squawked and then shot toward the charging apes at top speed.

Naruto cleared his throat, then flew back up to sit on the terracotta soldier, which sped off into the distance.

The Seventh Patriarch's eyes went wide as it watched the parrot and the troupe of apes, and he suddenly felt completely nauseous.

It didn't take long before miserable shrieks rang out, seemingly filled with indescribable tragedy.

By that time, Naruto had reached a location where the land was black. He saw a huge coffin, atop which was a stone statue of a majestic old man!

Beneath the statue were various offerings of tribute. There were chunks of rare Immortal jade, as well as other objects seldom seen in the outside world. There were high-grade spirit stones, as well as three magical items that emanated shocking auras, and even two dark green bamboo lamps.

As soon as Naruto saw the coffin and the statue, his expression turned serious. He dropped to the ground, then clasped hands and bowed deeply to the statue.

" Namikaze Clan member Namikaze Narutopays respects to you, Ancestor!"

When the Seventh Patriarch saw Naruto acting in this way, his expression softened a bit. However, what Naruto said next cause him to almost go blind.

"Ancestor," he said, his tone grave, "I'm not sure which generation Patriarch you are, sir, but… I can't believe the other Namikaze Clan members behaved so shockingly. How incredible that none of the previous clan members ever exchanged any of these offerings for new ones!

"Look, sir. These offerings are all dusty! They've clearly been sitting here for far, far too long. Patriarch, don't you worry. I'll help you to switch them out. As a member of the Junior generation, this is something

I simply must do."

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	7. Chapter 7

368

Vol. 6 : Chapter 951

Chapter 951(Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 951: Demon Sealers Appear Again!

Over many generations, clan members who came to this place would prostrate themselves in front of this coffin and statue with the utmost respect. None of them had ever even thought of having designs on the offerings.

Naruto was the first.

His expression was somber as, after bowing deeply, he swished his sleeve in a way that made it seem like he was truly and wholeheartedly performing a service for the Patriarch. He walked up to the offerings without the slightest hesitation.

He couldn't help but let out a long sigh when he looked at the fist-sized chunk of Immortal jade.

"Patriarch, those other clan members who came to visit in the past were truly disloyal descendants. I can't believe they let so much dust pile up on this Immortal jade! To leave it sitting here for so many years is really shocking!

"SHOCKING!" Naruto truly seemed angry as he stooped over and picked up the Immortal jade. In that same instant, a powerful aura suddenly shot out from the three magical items enshrined there.

Naruto didn't seem to be fazed in the least. He actually ignored the magical items completely. He was the type of person who dared to snatch items directly from that Immortal pavilion in the Ruins of Immortality, so how could he possibly be scared of these three magical items?

He quickly put the large Immortal jade away, and then produced a fingernail-sized piece of Immortal jade to replace it. He carefully placed it onto the tribute dais.

"Patriarch, look, this piece of Immortal jade is sparkling and crystalclear. It's beautiful and lacks even the slightest speck of dust. Only a piece of Immortal jade like this is befitting of a Patriarch like you." Naruto cleared his throat, then looked toward the other offerings and spirit stones with shining eyes.

It was at this point that the auras of the three magical items exploded out, causing incredible pressure to weigh down on the area.

"Beat it!" roared Naruto , glaring at the magical items. "I'm from the

Namikaze Clan, and I have Namikaze Clan blood in me! If I want to tidy up the Patriarch's grave by replacing some of the tribute items, then do you magical item spirits dare to stop me?!" The auras emanating from the magical items suddenly stopped in place.

In that instant, Naruto employed the fastest speed he could muster to quickly place the items and spirit stones into his bag of holding.

"How shocking! These spirit stones are all covered in dust! As a Junior member of the clan, I simply can't tolerate such a thing!" He immediately produced some fingernail-sized, low-grade spirit stones which he somberly placed onto the tribute dais.

"Outrageous! They only placed some bamboo lamps in front of this Namikaze Clan Patriarch's grave? That won't do. As a member of the Junior generation, it is my duty to exchange these for iron lamps!" He looked

at the two bamboo lamps, which glowed with mysterious light, and licked his lips.

He was just about to grab them when the auras of the three magical items exploded out again, filled with intense killing intent, seemingly incensed. It was as if they felt Naruto had committed an offense against morality itself.

Apparently, if Naruto dared to touch the bamboo lamps, the three magical items would slay him where he stood.

Naruto stopped, then cleared his throat in embarrassment and slowly pulled his hand back.

"What are you getting so excited for?" he said quietly. "It's not that big a deal! I'm acting in good faith." He eyed the three magical items covetously, then thought for a moment. Eventually, he gave up on the idea of using Karma to force a destiny connection with them. After all, this wasn't that Immortal pavilion, in which the items had no connection to a particular master. These three magical items were clearly objects that had belonged to the fallen Patriarch, and the spirits inside of them were charged with protecting this place.

Naruto might be greedy, but he had principles.

"Fine then. You're clearly very loyal to the Patriarch. I have to admire that." Sighing deeply, Naruto took a few steps back. Face solemn, he clasped hands and bowed low.

Up above in midair, the Seventh Patriarch was now in a rage. Seeing Naruto switching out the offerings, and then hearing his words, left the Seventh Patriarch stamping with fury.

"How could the Namikaze Clan bloodline possibly produce such a shameless scoundrel!" he said through gritted teeth. Then he saw Naruto clasp hands and bow, and couldn't help but gape again. Sensing Naruto 's sincerity, he looked on silently for a moment, and finally, his gaze softened. From the look of things, Naruto wasn't completely beyond redemption.

"Let's see what this little hoodlum is actually like deep down, and what sort of waves he can make in this place!" After a moment, he looked off into the distance with a wistful expression.

"The ancestral land is divided into six main areas," he murmured. "The

Dao Guardsman, the Field of Magic Enlightenment, the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs, the Nine Nethermountains, the Ancient Burial Ground, and the Misty Heaven Vault!

"Those six areas are essentially arranged in a straight line. The further one goes along, the more danger they will face. However, the good fortune… also increases!

"This particular tomb lies on the border between the Field of Magic Enlightenment and the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs.

"From ancient times until now, the Nine Nethermountains have been the farthest that most clan members can make it into the ancestral land. It would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who could reach the Ancient Burial Ground. As far as the necropolis in the Misty Heaven Vault, not even Eldest Brother, an almighty Dao Realm expert, was destined to enter it.

"The reason, of course, is that at the end of the Ancient Burial Ground, there is no path.

"The necropolis of the first generation Patriarch is located somewhere inside the Misty Heaven Vault, along with his most powerful magical technique… the One Thought Stellar Transformation!" Finally he closed his eyes.

He had never actually seen the first generation Patriarch. The only person who actually had was the old man in the stony cavern that the Seventh Patriarch referred to as Eldest Brother.

The other six people in that cavern had been born in different generations. However, after extinguishing ten Soul Lamps, matters of seniority weren't important, and because of the bloodlines that connected them all, they called each other Brother.

"The clan has experienced three catastrophes…." said the Seventh Patriarch, sighing. Because of those three catastrophes, the small group in the stony cavern were the only cultivators in the entire clan who had extinguished more than ten Soul Lamps.

In the moment that the Seventh Patriarch sighed, Naruto finished bowing to the stone statue, and then sped away on the terracotta soldier.

Meanwhile, something was happening that even the Seventh Patriarch didn't notice. As Naruto made his way through the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs, taking anything he saw that appeared to be valuable, an aura was slowly building up in the ancestral land, an aura that had never appeared there before.

The aura had actually first appeared when the terracotta soldier had caused the mountains to crumble, and then flew up into the air. When the statue then picked up all of the boulders that contained enlightenment of Daoist magics and divine abilities, the aura had grown even stronger.

Gradually, a very thin mist was building up over the lands.

Time passed. Naruto sat atop the terracotta soldier as it proceeded forward. As he traveled, he continued to encounter enormous tombs. Strangely, these tombs had no tombstones or writing on them whatsoever.

Naruto could only speculate based on what the Grand Elder had told him that this was the location where the Dao Realm Patriarchs were buried.

However, he didn't know their names, so he found the nameless tombs to be somewhat odd. It was as if they had intentionally come here before perishing, and didn't want anyone to know who they were.

"Weird…." thought Naruto . However, this didn't stop him from carrying out his duty to tend to the tombs, and help the Patriarchs exchange their various offerings.

As Naruto swept the tombs of the Quasi-Dao Patriarchs clean, the Seventh Patriarch up above was finding it much harder to contain his wrath.

The only reason he could maintain his temper was that Naruto always respectfully bowed to the grave upon arriving and departing, and didn't touch the tombs themselves.

A few days later, Naruto descended from above once again. This time, the sight of the coffin and statue caused his eyes to widen. He stopped in place and looked at the statue and the tombstone in front of it.

Up to this point, he had encountered seven tombs. None of those seven tombs had any writing to explain who was buried there, but the tomb he was in front of now did have a name!

Namikaze Pinqi!

The name was written in calligraphy that was as bold and flamboyant as dancing dragons and phoenixes, and emanated a boundless aura. Beneath the name was the Patriarch's life story.

Naruto read over the life story of the Patriarch named Namikaze Pinqi, and it caused rumbling sounds to fill his mind.

The story described Namikaze Pinqi's life from the moment he started practicing cultivation. When he stepped into the Immortal Realm, he was the foremost true Immortal of his generation. His path was always that of a Chosen, and was viewed as a blazing sun by the clan. When he entered the Ancient Realm, he summoned fifteen Soul Lamps.

He performed countless meritorious deeds for the sect, and even forged new paths in the Ruins of Immortality. He became the most outstanding member of his generation, and successfully accomplished the deadly task of extinguishing fourteen Soul Lamps, eventually becoming the Patriarch of his generation. In the end, despite having extinguished the final Soul Lamp, he failed to break into the Dao Realm, and became a Quasi-Dao Paragon.

However, he did not go mad like most others did, becoming evil and committing heinous acts. Instead, he maintained a tranquil heart, and lived out his final fifty years of life in peace.

During those fifty years, he still worked hard for the clan before finally closing his eyes and passing away into meditation.

That was why this tomb was inscribed with his name and story. It also contained a vivid introduction of the Quasi-Dao Realm, as well a clear description of how terrifying it was.

By the time Naruto finished reading the story, he was panting. Now, he understood the meaning of the term 'Quasi-Dao Paragon'.

He thought back to the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, and how Ke

Yunhai had passed away in meditation. He also thought about Ke Yunhai's description of what it meant to be at the peak of the Ancient Realm.

"So, it turns out that between the peak of the Ancient Realm and the true Dao Realm, there is another realm called the Quasi-Dao Realm. In that Realm, one's longevity collapses, leading to certain death. As such, people go mad, and are called Paragons by others as a form of respect. It's almost as if people think using such a title will prevent those people from going fully mad." He looked at the stone tablet for a moment, and then refrained from even touching any of the offerings. Instead he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

After a moment, he left. It took a few more days to finish passing through the tombs of the Quasi-Dao Patriarchs. There were eleven of them in total, only three of which bore inscriptions.

They all had different experiences, but similar endings. The inscriptions were almost like a book of comfort written for the clan, instructing them about that Realm between the Ancient Realm and the Dao Realm. The people in that realm, the Quasi-Dao Paragons, either went mad and performed horrific deeds, or were worshiped in veneration for generations to come.

"The Dao Realm…." After passing the last tomb, Naruto stood there and looked back thoughtfully. "The path of cultivation is one of grave danger. Life or death crises present themselves at every step. Very few people… can make it to the very end." Naruto sighed, then clasped hands and bowed to the tombs of all the Quasi-Dao Patriarchs.

Just as he straightened up to leave, he felt something vibrating in his bag of holding. It was the ancient Demon Sealing Jade, which had remained silent for such a long time. The intensity of the vibration even exceeded the time when he had encountered the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer!

At the same time, Naruto suddenly felt an intense sensation that he was being summoned, coming from deep within the ancestral land.

"How could the League of Demon Sealers be buried in the Mountains and Seas? They tread the path of Dao Tribulation of the Nine Mountains and Seas. If they succeed… then the Mountain and Sea Realm… will return to the League of Demon Sealers!"

After hearing this, Naruto instantly began to tremble.

Chapter 951: Demon Sealers Appear Again!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 952

Chapter 952: Nine Nethermountains

"So, there are clues about the League of Demon Sealers here!" Naruto 's mind spun; he almost couldn't believe that the League of Demon Sealers was somehow connected to the Namikaze Clan ancestral land.

"Return…. That voice just now said the word 'return'!" Naruto began to breathe heavily as the ancient voice of the Demon Sealing Jade faded away. However, the summons that came from deeper within the ancestral land only continued to grow stronger.

That summons was the type he felt when encountering another cultivator from the League, and it was something that only other members of the League of Demon Sealers would be able to feel in this place.

Suddenly, a new voice could be heard echoing in Naruto 's ears. This voice was not ancient, but rather, sounded like that of a young man.

"The Nine Demon Sealing Hexes. The Mountain and Sea Realm. The Nine

Hexes united as One. A concept unknown in all the skies….."

Naruto 's heart began to pound uncontrollably, and the aura around him suddenly changed. It was as if countless streams of Demonic Chakra were shooting toward him, accompanied by the roars of innumerable Greater Demons.

After a while, the voice faded away, but Naruto could feel the summons growing stronger.

Panting, he eventually turned and looked further into the depths of the ancestral land. Far off in the distance, he could just barely make out nine enormous mountains.

The summons was coming… from somewhere beyond those nine mountains!

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he thought about the similar summons he had felt in the Ruins of Immortality, and he felt somewhat unsettled. There was far too much about the League of Demon Sealers that he didn't understand. As the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, he wanted to know… what was the actual origin and purpose of the League of Demon Sealers!

He thought back to what the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer had told him, and about the terrifying events in the Ruins of Immortality that had led to him being named 13th in the Echelon by the white-robed woman. There was something very strange about how that woman had looked at him.

Naruto would never be able to forget that.

He had the feeling that the League of Demon Sealers… was wrapped up in some Heaven-shaking, world-shattering secret, something that defied description, a secret that was connected to all of the Nine Mountains and Seas.

After standing there silently for a bit, Naruto managed to settle his thoughts. His eyes shone with determination and he gazed deeply in the direction of the summons. Finally, he turned and once again bowed deeply to all of the ancestral tombs behind him.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch could not hear the call or feel the summons, nor could he sense the Demonic Chakra that swirled around Naruto . However, he could tell that something strange had just happened, and despite being unable to see what it was, it left him feeling shocked.

"The aura just now on this member of the Junior generation…." A profound gleam appeared in his eyes. As time progressed, the Seventh Patriarch continued to be filled with the sensation that Naruto was a person of deep secrets, secrets that he himself could not see through.

As Naruto made his way off into the distance, the Seventh Patriarch looked back at the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs, and let out a soft sigh.

"All he did was switch out some offerings. He didn't disturb the tombs themselves, and even bowed in formal greeting. And he didn't touch any of the items from the tombs with inscriptions…. He might be a bit greedy, but he has a good heart, and knows how to keep himself in line….

"One day, when the time comes for me to extinguish my final Soul

Lamp, if I fail…. I wonder if I will be able to preserve my Dao heart. After I perish and am laid to rest here in the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs, I wonder if they will erect a tombstone for me…." The Seventh Patriarch was well aware that the entire purpose of the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs was to ensure that members of the Junior generation would clearly understand the madness of the Quasi-Dao Realm. It was to serve as a warning to any of them who had the chance to attempt to step into the Dao Realm!

After leaving the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs, Naruto sat atop the terracotta soldier, which whistled through the air at top speed. Occasionally, motes of light would pulse out from the terracotta soldier and then melt into the surrounding air. Moments later, they would reappear and return to it, almost as if it were breathing.

It was something Naruto had just noticed as he controlled the terracotta soldier's movements.

As he proceeded along, the feeling of the summons would occasionally get more intense, and at other times would fade. Naruto 's eyes flickered, although his facial expression remained unchanged. Inwardly, he remained as vigilant as ever.

Due to everything that had happened with the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer, he currently felt proverbial alarm bells going off in his head.

As he continued forward, Naruto scoured the lands below for possible good fortune, and also spent some time observing the terracotta soldier. He soon realized that it had some sort of strange connection with the ancestral land.

It was as if a resonance existed between them.

This realization caused certain speculations to form in his heart. After a while, he sighed, and looked at the terracotta soldier, thinking about how he didn't wish to part ways with it in the future.

Days later, Naruto 's mood gradually stabilized. The summons continued to tug at him, but he had grown used to it and ignored it. Instead of following the pull, he did his best to scrape the area clean of any good fortune.

The more things he acquired, the wider his smile grew.

Eventually, the land in front of Naruto turned crimson in color, and he saw nine mountains.

The Nine Nethermountains!

This was the fourth region in the Namikaze Clan's ancestral land, and could be considered the depths of the lands. From ancient times until now, most people could not get past the Nine Nethermountains and into the Ancient Burial Ground.

Nine mountains towered up into the sky, and when you looked at them, it seemed almost impossible to see their tops, as if they connected the ground and the sky.

Roaring sounds could be heard drifting out occasionally from the nine mountains. They were sounds miserable and savage, shocking to the extreme.

There were many dangerous areas here, and many aspects that could easily kill you. Such fatal aspects came in the form of various beasts, as well as from the nine mountains themselves.

A thick aura of death filled the area, and from a distance, Naruto could see layers of gray mist swirling around the mountains. Because of the gray mists, the entire area was blurry and difficult to see clearly.

About the time that he neared the Nine Nethermountains, the parrot and the meat jelly caught up with him. Many of the parrot's feathers were missing, and it looked disheveled and out of sorts. However, its expression was one of extreme satisfaction.

As it flew over, it didn't even wait for Naruto to call out to it before it looked over at the nine mountains, heard the roaring coming from within them, and suddenly shivered. Looking extremely excited, it let out a few piercing squawks and then sped toward the mountains, brimming with energy. The meat jelly bell jingled the whole time.

"You can't do this! It's wrong! It's immoral! It's shameless! I'm going to convert you…." The echo of the meat jelly's garrulous chatter rang out from off in the distance.

Naruto glanced at the parrot for a moment and then ignored it completely. This place might be full of dangers, but the parrot and the meat jelly were capable enough, and would be very difficult to kill.

In front of the Nine Nethermountains, a stone stele rose up roughly three thousand meters tall. It emanated an archaic aura that seemed to indicate that it had existed for many, many years.

There were three lines of text on the stele.

"Nine Nethermountains, filled with endless treasures. Each one of these mountains is filled with endless opportunities. Any who challenge the mountains will have the chance to get good fortune and divine abilities!

"They are a deadly trial by fire. For those under the Immortal Realm, half a mountain is your limit. For those under the Ancient Realm, you will be able to proceed through three mountains. If you can pass through all nine mountains, you can acquire the secret magic of the Nethermoon!

" Namikaze Clan descendants can use their bloodline to open the path through the mountains. Whether you live or die is up to fate!"

The words were not attributed to any person in particular, but they seemed to be filled with an intense pressure, indicating that any person who entered this place would be facing grave danger.

Naruto looked at the nine mountains, and an odd expression could be seen on his face. Gradually, his eyes began to shine, and he licked his lips. He glanced down at the terracotta soldier, which then began to shrink rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it was only about three meters tall.

"This ancestral land really is a Blessed Land for me!" To other clan members, it was a place of extreme danger. To him, though, these weren't nine dangerous mountains, they were nine treasure mountains.

He slapped his bag of holding, producing the bloodline jade slip. After scanning it with divine sense, he smiled.

The seven Ancient Realm Elders had all scattered in different directions. One of them was inside of the Nine Nethermountains. Obviously, he had tried to acquire some of the good fortune therein, but had ended up trapped and unable to extricate himself.

"Well, no need to get anxious. Just wait for me to track you down." Naruto 's eyes began to shine brightly, and he cleared his throat. Immediately, the terracotta soldier began to walk forward into the mountains.

Naruto quickly flew up to sit on the statue's shoulder as it began to charge forward.

"Challenge one mountain at a time, and then clear all nine of them of treasure…." These thoughts immediately filled him with excitement.

As the terracotta soldier sped along, the Seventh Patriarch sighed and looked on helplessly. When he saw the light shining in Naruto 's eyes, he began to murmur to himself.

"To him, these really are treasure mountains. The little scoundrel has the Dao Guardsman to protect him, leaving him free to do whatever he wants!

"Now that I think about it, if I had the Dao Guardsman to protect me when I came here for the first time, how could I possibly have left any of the treasures in these mountains to be passed on to anyone else?" There was nothing he could do, so the Seventh Patriarch calmed himself, looked at Naruto charging into the mountains with the terracotta soldier, and sighed.

Time passed. Naruto sat on the terracotta soldier's shoulder, which wielded its greatsword the entire way as they charged into the first mountain. When they encountered restrictive spells, they would simply break through them. When they encountered beasts, they would put them down. When they encountered obstacles, they would smash them to pieces.

Nothing could stand in their way and nothing could stop them!

Things weren't thrown into absolute chaos, but suffice to say, the first mountain was filled with miserable shrieks and roars.

"Whoah! That boulder actually has a carving of a magical technique! Pretty nice! I'm taking it!

"Who could be so immoral as to leave a bunch of Immortal jade laying around in this place! I'm taking it!

"So many spirit stones…. Hey, slow down, Onyx! Let me pick these things up, then we can keep going!"

Naruto 's eyes continued to grow brighter, and he quivered with excitement. He had collected quite a bit of Immortal jade and spirit stones so far, as well as a good collection of magical items. A deafening roar could be heard as he neared the mountain's peak, heralding the approach of a two-headed giant.

The giant held an enormous cudgel in its hand, and was clearly the mountain's boss, tasked with guarding the mountain peak. When it leapt out, roaring, the terracotta soldier's aura surged.

The surging aura caused the previously overbearing two-headed giant to shiver, and immediately cease roaring. It stared blankly at Naruto , then at the terracotta soldier he was standing on, and cold sweat began to drip down its two foreheads.

After looking at them for the space of two breaths, the two-headed giant let out a plaintive shriek, then turned and fled back inside the mountain, vanishing without a trace.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 953

Chapter 953: Getting the Hang of the Sixth Hex

Naruto looked around proudly as the terracotta soldier set foot on the peak of the mountain. From here, he could see an enormous cliff, upon which was carved a half moon.

Naruto 's eyes widened as the same image of a half moon suddenly appeared in his mind.

He couldn't take the stone cliff away, nor could he duplicate or reproduce it physically. It seemed that the only thing he could do was to look at it. That said, a single glance would completely engrave the image inside of him. However, Naruto could also tell that the image would only last for nine days.

Nine days later, the image of the half moon would fade, and he would be unable to remember it.

"This is the Nethermoon…? So, I guess I need to gaze upon all nine mountains within nine days, huh?" Naruto smiled. To others, this would have been difficult, but to him, accomplishing such a task would be quite simple.

"This place really is a Blessed Land." He sighed, then patted the terracotta soldier, causing it to fly down the first mountain and head toward the second.

From the time the Nine Nethermountains had been created by the first generation Patriarch years ago until now, something like this had never happened. As Naruto proceeded forward, anything that was available for the taking was placed into a bag of holding.

All obstacles, all beasts, were like dried weeds that he could crush without any effort….

Even the mountaintop bosses would cower in hiding as soon as they saw the terracotta soldier. Naruto was allowed to easily pass through the second mountain, and then the third….

He acquired so many legacies and magical techniques that he lost track of how many there were. Nor did he have time to keep them organized. As long as he had an available bag of holding, he would throw his acquisitions inside.

"Blessed Land!

"Once I get out of here, I might be able to trade these things for even better stuff in the clan!" Naruto was only continuing to get more and more excited. For the first time in this place, he was beginning to experience the sensation of being rich.

The feeling fueled his excitement, and he quickly sped onward through the fourth and fifth mountains.

At the cliff on top of each mountain was an image of a half moon. Each time Naruto looked at the image, the imprint of the half moon inside of him grew clearer. Gradually, an increasingly powerful pressure began to emanate out from the imprinted image in his mind.

Time passed. By the time the third day had gone by, he was at the eighth mountain.

Meanwhile, a black-robed old man stood at a position near the top of the eighth mountain, stuck in a spell formation, looking with alarm at a certain jade slip. For the past three days, he had been observing the jade slip continuously, and could clearly see the dot of light that represented Naruto getting closer and closer to his own position within the Nine Nethermountains.

When he saw Naruto choose to start at the first mountain, he sighed with relief, and even laughed coldly. In his mind, Naruto most likely didn't dare to select the mountain that he himself was on. This caused him to consider chasing after Naruto after all.

However, his new idea was quickly shattered to pieces when he saw, to his astonishment, that Naruto actually… passed through the entire first mountain in only a few hours.

After that, it took him just three days to go from the first mountain all the way to the eighth mountain, upon which he stood. This scene caused his scalp to tingle so much it seemed about to explode. His mind buzzed, and he began to get jittery from fear. He wished he could simply leave the mountain and flee.

He had no idea how Naruto was doing what he was doing. But actually, that wasn't important. By this point, he was certain that if he ended up meeting Naruto , he would more than likely end up dead.

"What do I do? What do I do…?" The black-robed old man looked at the jade slip, and the dot of light that represented Naruto . It was now heading toward him with terrifying speed, causing the old man to begin to pant with alarm.

After several hours passed… he could see Naruto , barreling toward him from further down on the mountain. Then he saw… the terracotta soldier Naruto was sitting on. The old man let out a cry of alarm.

"That's the aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon!

"This… this…." As soon as the old man saw the statue, he understood everything. Then he realized that the statue looked very familiar, and it only took a moment for him to realize what it was. At that point, his legs suddenly grew weak, and the shadow of death spread out across his entire body.

He began to pant as hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind. After a breath of time passed, Naruto and the terracotta soldier were closing in. The old man took a deep breath, then, expression somber, clasped hands and bowed deeply toward Naruto .

"I am Namikaze Daohong!" he gushed. "Greetings, PrinceNaruto! 1

"Prince, you must be quite shocked to run into me here. That contemptible and shameless Namikaze Xiushan made a lot of promises to me to convince me to come here and kill you, honorable prince. However, Namikaze Xiushan was unaware that I am actually upright and not given to flattery, and have always admired the exalted Namikaze Minato ! How could I possibly give aid to a villain like Namikaze Xiushan!?

"Therefore, I accepted Namikaze Xiushan's proposal. However, my true goal was to come here and protect you, Prince! PrinceNaruto… um, you know, when you were small, I actually held you in my arms…."

Even as Namikaze Daohong spoke, the terracotta soldier came to a stop directly in front of him. It was nine meters tall, not gigantic, and yet it emanated a certain pressure, as well as a Quasi-Dao aura, that caused the old man to tremble. He swallowed hard, then forced a smile onto his face, trying to make himself look as harmless as possible.

Naruto sat on the terracotta soldier, looking down at Namikaze Daohong.

"You held me when I was a baby?" Naruto asked calmly.

"Yeah, that's right!" he replied, nodding his head vigorously. "PrinceNaruto, I really did hold you in my arms. You were so cute when you were small! And now you've grown up to be so handsome…." This old man was not the type to speak flattering words, but in this situation, he didn't hesitate at all.

Naruto looked at the old man thoughtfully for a moment, then nodded.

"Fine. Since that's the case, drop your cultivation base to the Immortal

Realm. I'm going to hex you with a restrictive spell. From now on, you'll be following my orders."

Namikaze Daohong was shocked to hear Naruto 's words. However, the terracotta soldier's aura exploded out before he could refuse. It was like a mountain crushing down on Namikaze Daohong, and he was filled with a sense of deadly crisis that caused him to grow ashen, and sweat to pour down his face.

Inwardly, he was cursing Namikaze Xiushan to death. His hatred for Namikaze Xiushan had reached an indescribable level, and he was also filled with deep and profound regret.

Then he saw the cold gleam in Naruto 's eyes, and his heart seized. After a moment of silence, he let out a long sigh, unhesitatingly lifted his right hand up, and then smacked it down onto his chest.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as many of his Chakra passageways were shattered, and his cultivation base dropped from having one extinguished Soul Lamp, down to the peak of the Immortal Realm.

Naruto did not seem to be moved by this action. With the terracotta soldier present, there was no question that Namikaze Daohong would agree to Naruto 's requirement. However, if Naruto didn't have the terracotta soldier to protect him, there was no doubt in his mind that the old man's face would be as cold as ice, and he would slaughter him where he stood.

Naruto did not show pity to enemies; sparing the man's life was more than enough kindness.

When he saw Namikaze Daohong's cultivation base drop, Naruto extended his right hand and unleashed the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex. Instantly, streams of black and white Chakra began to swirl around his hand. The two streams of Chakra illuminated his face with flickering black and white, making him look extremely bizarre.

Namikaze Daohong's scalp went numb; the black and white Chakra left him trembling with fear.

He hesitated for a moment and then asked, "PrinceNaruto… what… what is that restrictive spell?"

"Oh, it's a hexing spell I learned a few days ago," Naruto replied, glancing at Namikaze Daohong. "I'm still getting used to it, but don't worry. This is the first time I'm really confident that I can succeed. In fact, if you lower your cultivation base a bit more, there's a much higher chance of success."

Namikaze Daohong's face fell.

"You learned it a few days ago? Still not used to it? This is the first time you've felt confident in using it?" More beads of sweat popped out on the old man's face. He was getting the increasing feeling that these two streams of black and white Chakra could suck his soul away. He even had the premonition that if the hexing failed, he would most likely die an agonizing death.

He watched as Naruto pointed at him, whereupon Namikaze Daohong threw his hands up in front of him and cried out.

"Wait, hold on…." He began to step backward, but then, the terracotta soldier raised its greatsword, which radiated killing intent. Namikaze Daohong immediately stopped in place.

His face was pale white as he clenched his jaw and then slapped his chest several times in quick succession. He coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. The severe self-inflicted injury caused his cultivation base to drop from the Immortal Realm down to something equivalent to the Dao Seeking stage. At that point, he stopped, looking up at Naruto with an ashen face and a bitter smile.

His sudden action caused Naruto to look at him closely for a moment, then point out with his right finger again. Immediately, the black and white streams of Chakra shot through the air and burrowed into Namikaze Daohong's body. He trembled, fell to the ground, and began to shriek miserably. At the same time, gray magical symbols began to appear on his skin, where they circulated back and forth. Apparently, these magical symbols grew up from inside his body and manifested on his skin.

Naruto stared closely at Namikaze Daohong. This time, he had used a slightly different method to utilize the Sixth Hex. If this method didn't work, then he would have to attempt some other way.

Time passed. Namikaze Daohong's shrieks eventually grew weaker. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, he suddenly went very stiff, and all of the magical symbols faded away. The only thing left behind was a new magical symbol, on his forehead. That magical symbol then made a popping sound as it flew out from his forehead and merged into Naruto .

When that happened, Naruto could sense a warm current flowing within him. At the same time, the image of a tiny person appeared in his mind, a tiny person whose physical appearance was exactly the same as Namikaze Daohong.

"Did it work?" thought Naruto , looking a bit shocked. After so many times trying out the technique, this seemed like his first success.

Namikaze Daohong stared in shock for a moment, then crawled to his feet. The overwhelming pain he had experienced moments ago was now gone. He blinked a few times, then moved his arms and legs a bit. He didn't feel the least bit different than before.

"Prince, you… you succeeded?" he asked tentatively.

Naruto frowned as he studied the tiny figure within his mind. Heart thumping, he imagined smacking the tiny figure with his palm. As soon as he did, Namikaze Daohong let out a shriek. It was as if some enormous, invisible hand had just smacked him; blood sprayed from his mouth, and he was knocked to the ground. After struggling back to his feet, he looked around in confusion.

Naruto 's eyes began to shine as he imagined the old man being struck by lightning.

Nothing visible happened, and yet, Namikaze Daohong screamed as if he were being struck by lightning.

Naruto 's eyes shone even brighter as he imagined the old man being burned, drowned, trampled, crushed by a mountain….

Namikaze Daohong shrieked miserably as he felt his hair burning, his body being submerged in water, his muscles bruised, and, in the end, he lay pinned on the ground as if he were being crushed by some gigantic object. All of these things caused him to look at Naruto with terror. He knew of all sorts of hexing magics and restrictive spells, but he had never heard of anything as unbelievably terrifying as this.

He suddenly had the sensation… the Naruto was going to toy with him until he died.

"So, this is the Sixth Hex, huh…. The Life-Death Hex… is absolute control." He took a deep breath and then smiled.

His smile caused Namikaze Daohong to shudder. The sense of humiliation he felt at that moment was intense, and that caused his hatred of Namikaze Xiushan to seep down into his bones!

Namikaze Daohong's name in Chinese is 方道宏 fāng dào hóng. Dao is the same as "the Dao," which could also mean "path" or "way." Hong means "grand" or "magnificent" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 954

Chapter 954: Sun and Moon in the Nine Nethermountains!

The Eighth Hex was the hexing of the body, and could even be called Bodily Cultivation Hexing!

The Seventh Hex was Karmic Hexing!

The Sixth Hex was Life-Death Hexing!

The three Demon Sealing Hexes that Naruto had learned spun in his mind. Each Hex had its own unique features, and each could be considered a powerful secret magic!

The League of Demon Sealers was terrifying, and as of this moment Naruto could say that he had experienced it personally. In fact, he got the feeling that it was very likely the Hebi Clan's Karmic Severing had actually been created by imitating the Seventh Hex.

"I wonder what type of hexing magic… the Fifth Hex is!?" Naruto 's eyes glittered, and he took a deep breath. Ignoring Namikaze Daohong, he sent some divine will into the terracotta soldier, causing it to leap into the air and head toward the mountain peak. As for the spell formation that Namikaze Daohong was trapped in, the terracotta soldier shattered it casually.

When Namikaze Daohong saw that happen, he trembled inwardly, and suddenly realized that the decision he had just made was definitely the correct one. Without any hesitation, he began to follow Naruto .

After reaching the mountain peak, Naruto saw the half moon carved into the cliff face, and once again, the image imprinted in his mind grew clearer. Furthermore, the image of a half moon was now visible on his forehead.

"Nethermoon secret magic!" gasped Namikaze Daohong. Suddenly, he recalled how Naruto had charged through the seven other mountains, and then, his eyes began to fill with envy.

"Is the Nethermoon Magic powerful?" Naruto asked.

Namikaze Daohong immediately began to explain: "The first generation

Patriarch left behind five great Daoist Magics and three secret magics. The Nethermoon Magic is one of those three great secret magics.

"The Nethermoon Magic becomes more destructive the higher your cultivation base gets. It can alter the sun and the moon, and can unleash power exponentially greater than your cultivation base. It's an excellent trump card in battle!

"Back in the clan, the only way to get the Nethermoon secret magic is to pay a huge amount of merit points. In fact… there are only a handful of people in the entire clan who have mastered it!" The look of envy in his eyes was becoming more and more obvious.

Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he chuckled. He looked over at the ninth Nethermountain with anticipation. The terracotta soldier then began to speed toward the ninth mountain, with Namikaze Daohong flying close behind.

Namikaze Daohong panted the entire way. Finally, he understood how Naruto had been able to move so quickly from the first mountain all the way to the eighth. The clan's Dao Guardsman could sweep through anything and everything; it didn't matter what appeared up ahead, it was easily crushed.

Several hours later, Naruto reached the ninth Nethermountain. What he saw was a large group of luxuriantly furred beasts. They were in miserable condition, and their eyes were bright red as they chased the parrot.

The Parrot soared through the air, occasionally letting out a mighty squawk. It appeared to be incredibly excited, and every so often it would transform into a colorful beam of light that shot back into the group of beasts. When it emerged, it appeared to be incredibly satisfied, and would let out loud whoops of triumph.

The parrot's enthusiastic demeanor caused Naruto to feel a bit bad for the beasts of this ninth mountain. However, considering that the parrot had essentially cleared the mountain of beasts, Naruto was able to proceed through it very smoothly.

At the peak of the mountain was the final cliff, and the final image of the half moon, which caused Naruto 's mind to tremble.

The half moon on his forehead glittered brightly and then faded away. However, even though it wasn't visible, the half moon seemed to be eternally imprinted into his memory. Flashes of enlightenment also appeared in his mind.

After some time passed, Naruto opened his eyes, and his aura seemed different than before. He lifted his left hand up, and the half moon appeared on his forehead. At the same time, a black half moon floated above his palm.

The sudden appearance of the moon caused an emotional look to appear on Namikaze Daohong's face. However, moments later, his eyes went wide when he suddenly saw… a sphere of light also appear above Naruto 's hand.

The sphere was white, and looked like a sun. Its light reflected off of the black surface of the moon as the two of them circulated around each other above his palm. Black and white. The sun and the moon. At this moment, they let off a shocking pressure.

Even Namikaze Daohong could feel it, and was astonished.

"A unified magical technique," he thought. "I can't believe that he actually combined two magical techniques. Only people who have extinguished multiple Soul Lamps, who can grasp Essence transformations, and who have the image of a great Dao within them, could possibly combine magical techniques and create such powerful transformations. And yet he… he actually combined them! He isn't even in the Immortal Realm! How can he have the image of a great Dao in his heart?"

Namikaze Daohong almost couldn't believe it. To create a combination of magical techniques in this way was a very complicated matter, and even he didn't understand much about it. All he did know was that it had something to do with the image of a great Dao, as well as the legendary Essence.

Naruto looked at the sun and the moon floating above his hand, and muttered to himself thoughtfully. It was at this point that suddenly, a tiny mountain appeared next to the sun and the moon.

This was none other than the projection of the Ninth Mountain, which

Naruto had seen during his dreamlike voyage on the boat that year.

The image of the Ninth Mountain might seem incredibly powerful, but actually, it was already too weak to be useful to Naruto in his current state. However, its appearance now seemed to be in accord with some sort of natural law. As the sun and the moon rotated around it, it surged with even greater energy than before.

The powerful energy caused Namikaze Daohong to gasp, and his face to flicker.

"Th-th-that's another sequential combination! What kind of monster is this kid!? Even with such a low cultivation base, he managed to perform two combinations of magical techniques! How many images of great Daos does he have…?" Namikaze Daohong took a deep breath. He knew that images of great Daos required mysterious enlightenment. Even he, who was in the Ancient Realm, had only ever had a single great Dao appear within him. And yet, he had just personally witnessed one great Dao image after another appear in Naruto 's hand. It was unbelievable.

Even more shocking to him was the threatening feeling he got when he looked at the Ninth Mountain and the sun and moon!

Namikaze Daohong was panting, and he looked on with wide eyes. However, it was at this point that a thoughtful expression appeared on Naruto 's face, causing Namikaze Daohong's heart to start pounding.

"Could it be… that he… he's going to… make a third consecutive magical technique combination!?" The mere idea of this virtually blew Namikaze Daohong's mind.

Even as the thought entered his mind, two pearls appeared outside of the Ninth Mountain and the sun and moon. The pearls were black and white, and they began to circulate noiselessly around the Ninth Mountain and the sun and moon.

The Ninth mountain was in the center, around which rotated the sun and moon, with the two pearls orbiting in an outer ring. They didn't interfere with each other, and in fact rotated in harmony, creating a resplendent image.

An even more incredibly powerful aura then exploded out.

It only lasted for the space of a single breath before the Black White pearls faded away, the Ninth Mountain collapsed, and the sun and moon went dark. Naruto frowned and muttered to himself for a moment.

He didn't notice the terrified expression on Namikaze Daohong's face, who stood off to the side, jaw hanging and mind spinning.

"Three combinations… he really did it three times…."

Moments ago, the aura he had felt had filled him with complete astonishment. He was an Ancient Realm expert, and yet was astonished by the magical technique of a cultivator who wasn't even in the Immortal Realm yet. Such a thing was completely unheard-of!

"He still isn't a true Immortal, but he will be soon…. Once he's a true

Immortal, how many meridians will he open? I'd say 90 at the least!" As Namikaze Daohong looked at Naruto , he suddenly realized why Namikaze Xiushan had spared no cost in trying to have Naruto killed.

"He's not even human…."

Naruto was just about to make another attempt when suddenly, the summons from the League of Demon Sealers flared inside of him with incredible intensity.

He dropped his hand and looked out from his position on the peak of the ninth Nethermountain.

From where he was standing, he could see a vast region that stretched out below the mountain in front of him. The ground was pitch black, and the sky seemed to be split in two; everywhere else it was the middle of day, but this one region lay in the darkness of night.

The area where it was night was actually the center of the region of black earth. Sitting there cross-legged was a young man with a pale face and a head of long hair which floated around him. He wore a long robe, and was surrounded by innumerable corpses whose faces were twisted and distorted, as if they had experienced indescribable suffering before they had died.

There were men and women, and there were cultivators. Some of them had the bodies of beasts, and there were some with even stranger appearances, sinister and malevolent, things that didn't seem to be creatures from the Nine Mountains and Seas.

The corpses were dressed in ancient garments, clothing that reminded Naruto of the garb worn by the people in his visions back in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple!

He had seen things just like this in his vision of the massive Heavenly war in which nine suns and nine butterflies had appeared! 1

A sense of extreme ancientness emanated out from the young man, and the area around him was filled with illusory rifts that almost looked like huge mouths that occasionally opened and closed. From the look of it, there were roughly 100,000 such rifts.

The young man was completely encircled by the rifts. As Naruto looked over at him, the young man looked back, and a gleam of anticipation could be seen in his eyes.

"Come…." he said, his voice soft. It seemed to be transmitted to Naruto through the air, floating from the depths of time, boring into his ears.

A tremor ran through him. He blinked, and when he opened his eyes, the entire area up ahead was empty. There was nothing there except the rifts in the air; not even the shadow of a person was visible.

It was as if everything Naruto had just seen had been an illusion!

The only noteworthy thing that he could see was an enormous stone stele, standing right in the middle of the region of night. Although it was very far away, Naruto could still sense the stele's majestic aura, and could also clearly see… that it seethed with Demonic qi!

The reason that this region was different was due to the influence of this dense Demonic Chakra , which ensured that it was a land of perpetual night.

Naruto stood there silently for a moment, then looked over to make sure that Namikaze Daohong had not been able to see the images he had just seen. He continued to stand there in contemplation for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn before a look of determination appeared in his eyes.

Without any further hesitation, he sent out a stream of divine will. The terracotta soldier's eyes gleamed as he carried Naruto forward. Rumbling filled the air as it transformed into a shooting star that sped forward at top speed.

Namikaze Daohong followed along as they proceeded forward.

Several hours later, the region of night was getting closer. Naruto could clearly see the area filled with the 100,000 rifts up ahead. He stood at the border of the entire region, and it felt like he was standing on the edge between night and day. With a single step forward, he would be in the dark of night.

The sound of wailing rose and fell within the darkness.

Almost at the same moment that he came to stand on the border between night and day, the feeling of the summons rose up again within him. It was as if a huge hand had plunged into his chest and grabbed ahold of his heart. Panting, he looked up at the illusory rifts ahead, and once again caught sight of the young man sitting there in the middle of everything.

It was impossible to see the young man's face clearly, but his voice echoed out within Naruto 's mind.

"Come….

"Successor of the League of Demon Sealers…. Come….

"I am… the Fifth Generation Demon Sealer…."

His vision of that included nine suns was in chapter 819, although something similar was also mentioned in chapter 587 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 955

Chapter 955(Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 955: Fifth Demon Sealing Hex

Few people ever made it to the Ancient Burial Ground region of the clan's ancestral land. For most people, the Nine Nethermountains were the limit. Over the ancestral land's countless years of existence, even the few people that did make it to the Ancient Burial Ground had been unable to proceed any further.

It wasn't that nobody had ever passed this stage before. However, of the very few of those who had successfully challenged this region, none were able to pass the final region, the Misty Heaven Vault. Even for those in the Dao Realm, none could progress more than a few steps into it.

Naruto stood at the border of the Ancient Burial Ground, looking at the darkness of night up ahead. A strange gleam flickered in his eyes, and after a moment of contemplation, he sent out some divine will, causing the terracotta soldier to stride forward and enter the darkness of the Ancient Burial Ground.

In the moment that they entered, all of the illusory rifts suddenly opened wide, like huge mouths. Instantly, the entire area was surrounded.

Naruto could see different worlds inside the rifts, each of which appeared to be some sort of trial by fire.

There was also an incredible pressure that emanated out of them. Some of these rifts seemed to have auras similar to the terracotta soldier.

He could sense numerous terrifying auras that caused his eyes to flicker. This was the first time he had encountered an environment that would pose a danger to him even considering the presence of the terracotta soldier.

"This place is like a maze, huh…. Getting through all these trials by fire is a matter of luck, but will also depend on one's cultivation base." Naruto 's eyes shone with determination, whereas the terracotta soldier's glittered with a cold light. It strode forward, selected a rift, and stepped in.

Meanwhile, the Seventh Patriarch floated in midair. His brow was furrowed, but a bright light flickered in his eyes. To him, there was something different about the Ancient Burial Ground.

"Something seems off…." he thought. After looking around, his gaze settled on something in the distance, and he suddenly began to tremble.

"Huh?" He sent out some divine sense, and after a moment, his expression changed to one of surprise.

He had just discovered that at some unknown point, a mist had begun to rise up within the ancestral land. It covered everything. This was something completely unprecedented, and left him astonished. After the Ancient Burial Ground was the Misty Heaven Vault, a place no one had ever been. Apparently that was the source of this mist, and apparently, the mists in the Misty Heaven Vault were growing thicker.

This change caused the Seventh Patriarch's eyes to narrow in thought.

Namikaze Daohong didn't dare to get any closer than he was. He stayed at the border of the Ancient Burial Ground, watching as Naruto unhesitatingly entered the rift. He paused for a moment as he considered leaving. Then he thought back to the pain he had endured, and he realized that he didn't dare to. He sat down cross-legged to wait in silence.

When Naruto entered the rift, he found himself in a majestic land, in the middle of which was a huge rift that was the exit.

As soon as he appeared in this world, numerous globes of ghost fire appeared and then shot toward him. As soon as they got close, they began to self-detonate.

Booms filled the air as the terracotta soldier swung its sword. A QuasiDao aura exploded out, and the self-detonating ghost fire globes couldn't even get close before they were frozen in midair.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he sat on the terracotta soldier. It proceeded forward, and before long, emerged from the rift back into another location within the Ancient Burial Ground, several thousand meters further in than it had originally been.

Once again, they were surrounded by numerous rifts. Just as Naruto had speculated, this place was a maze, with each of the rifts acting as a tunnel that led to another location.

"How exactly do you get to the end of a maze like this…?" Naruto thought with a frown. His eyes flickered for a moment before he closed them. His Demon Sealer's aura then emanated out, gradually forming a resonance with the stone stele in the central position of this region.

A moment later, Naruto 's eyes opened. Without hesitation, he commanded the terracotta soldier to reverse direction and step into one of the numerous nearby rifts.

After entering the rift, he found himself in a world of lightning and thunder. There was no ground, only a sea, with huge waves, each dozens of meters high.

Gigantic shadows could be seen beneath the surface of the water, which would occasionally lash out, transforming into giant tentacles that attacked Naruto . An aura similar to the Ancient Realm emanated out from the bottom of the sea.

Naruto 's face was calm as the terracotta soldier extended its right hand and then pushed downward toward the surface of the sea. Immediately, a blue light emanated out from its body, and ice spread out across the water. Cracking sounds could be heard as the entire sea was transformed into a chunk of ice!

The waves were frozen in place, and the tentacles were turned into statues. Even the Ancient Realm aura beneath the surface of the water was completely sealed.

The terracotta soldier proceeded onward, flying through the air until it reached the exit. They reappeared in the Ancient Burial Ground, a bit closer to the center region.

Naruto didn't hesitate at all. Relying on his strange Demon Sealer resonance, he entered a third rift.

A few days passed in which he went through rift after rift. Soon, he had passed through more than a hundred. Most of them contained an enemy or enemies who were comparable to the Ancient Realm.

There were three in which he encountered beings who were at the peak of the Ancient Realm.

However, the most dangerous situation he faced was an encounter with an illusory middle-aged man who, shockingly, was a Quasi-Dao Paragon.

That battle was world-shaking, and although the terracotta soldier won in the end, it did suffer damage.

The difficulty of the challenges he faced left Naruto shocked. Without the terracotta soldier, and relying only on his own power, he would never have been able to reach this point. Fundamentally speaking, this good fortune simply did not belong to Naruto !

Naruto might have thought that what he was doing was quite a challenge, but as for Namikaze Daohong, who was still waiting at the border of the Ancient Burial Ground, he was flabbergasted yet again. As an Elder of the clan, he was well-aware of how terrifying this place was.

There were 100,000 rift worlds, none of which were fixed in place. They could change at any time, and inside of each world, there could be enemies of the Spirit Realm, the Immortal Realm, the Ancient Realm and the Quasi-Dao Realm. There were even some terrifying beings of the actual Dao Realm!

Their appearance within the worlds was completely random, making passage through them extremely difficult.

This place had been constructed by the first generation Patriarch in his later years, and was a place of bizarre mysteries.

"He's gotten through more than a hundred, and each time it seems like he picks the right one and gets closer to the center!" It wasn't just Namikaze Daohong who had made this judgement. The Seventh Patriarch was also watching Naruto 's progress through the rifts with silent astonishment.

"The little hoodlum somehow knows which path to follow? No, that's impossible! There is no path to follow. It's just that his luck is way too good! Not a single choice he made is a waste; every step he takes brings him closer to the center!"

As Namikaze Daohong and the Seventh Patriarch looked on in shock, Naruto entered another rift. He continued forward relentlessly until, the following day, he emerged from a rift and found himself in the exact center of the Ancient Burial Ground!

Directly in front of him was an enormous stone stele, rising tall up into the air, emanating a mysterious light!

To Naruto 's eyes, though, this was not a stone stele, but rather, a young man wearing a long robe, sitting there cross-legged. As Naruto approached, he looked up.

Their eyes met, and Naruto 's mind filled with roaring. At the same time, the ancient Demon Sealing Jade in his bag of holding began to vibrate.

When the young man spoke, his voice was soft.

"For you to be able to stand in front of me indicates that your cultivation base is probably at the peak of the Ancient Realm, only a hair away from the Dao Realm. You probably already have a profound understanding of the Essence.

"Years ago, when I left the Mountain and Sea Realm, someone told me that I should leave a stream of divine sense behind, to give some hope to future generations of the League of Demon Sealers….

"Therefore, I left my Daoist magic behind, sending it throughout the

Mountain and Sea Realm for people to acquire…. Throughout the great

Nine Mountains and Seas, my magic created numerous Ancient Burial Grounds. Each and every one of those Ancient Burial Grounds contains my magic, but only members of the League of Demon Sealers can receive my true legacy.

"What you are looking at now is just one of these locations. Throughout the Nine Mountains and Seas, there are a total of more than 90,000 such locations. Anyone can be enlightened regarding my magic, but the legacy can only be passed on four times. After that, the divine will that I left behind in the Ancient Burial Grounds will disperse amidst the Mountains and Seas, never to be seen again. Currently… this is the fourth time my legacy is being passed on.

"I am not a cultivator from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and only arrived here by accident. I became the Fifth Generation Demon Sealer due to a mishap; a chance occurrence, you might say, and was only able to stay in the Mountain and Sea Realm for a thousand years. My Hex is called, Inside and Outside.

"The countless rifts around you are like the surface of a mirror. The concept of being inside or outside of that mirror is a concept which also exists in your own heart.

"There are 100,000 rifts here, and this… is my Fifth Demon Sealing Hex… Inside-Outside Hexing!" With that, he lifted his right hand, and a tiny rift opened up in his palm, which began to rotate.

At the same time, the surrounding 100,000 rifts began to spin around, a bizarre scene that caused the Seventh Patriarch and Namikaze Daohong to stare with wide eyes and reeling minds.

"This is the Essence of Inside and Outside," the young man said coolly. "When I say Inside, Heaven and Earth can be consumed…." At this point, all of the rifts opened wide, causing the entire Ancient Burial Ground, as well the rest of the ancestral land, to twist and distort. Simultaneously, outside in the Namikaze Clan, twisting distortions could also be seen on Planet East Victory.

It was as if some invisible, terrifying force were about to swallow up the whole planet!

A terrifying hexing magic like this caused Naruto 's mind to reel. How could he ever have imagined that the Fifth Hex… would actually be so powerful it could shake Heaven and Earth!?

Then the young man spoke again.

"When I say Outside, the Heavens are released…." All of the rifts suddenly shrank, sealing up. The Ancient Burial Ground, the ancestral land, the Namikaze Clan, and Planet East Victory all returned to normal in the blink of an eye.

All of these strange transformations happened so incredibly quickly that most people didn't even notice them.

However, deep beneath the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, in the stony cavern, the Namikaze Clan Patriarchs who had been asleep suddenly trembled and then began to open their eyes.

Furthermore, in the deepest recesses of the cavern, the Earth Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan slowly opened his eyes. The sky faded, and the lands trembled.

"Inside and Outside. Consuming and releasing. This is my Hex…. Sit in front of me and contemplate this hexing magic. In the League of Demon Sealers… when the Nine Hexes are combined, the Mountain and Sea Realm will be returned to the Demon Sealers!

"If you are destined to leave the Mountain and Sea Realm, and I, Tian

Pingzi am still alive, then you can seek me out. I owe the League of Demon Sealers, and can act as your Dao Protector." With that, the young man closed his eyes.

Chapter 955: Fifth Demon Sealing Hex

Vol. 6 : Chapter 956

Chapter 956: A Struggle of Generations!

A tremor ran through Naruto , and he began to pant. He knew that this area was somewhere he should never even have been able to step into. Furthermore, his cultivation base should have been at the peak of the Ancient Realm before attempting to accept the legacy of the Fifth Hex.

And yet, because of the terracotta soldier, here he was!

Naruto 's eyes narrowed, and he didn't immediately take action. He still remembered the sense of crisis he had felt because of the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer, and thus, he proceeded with caution and even a bit of hesitation.

He did not sense any feeling of danger from the Fifth Generation Demon Sealer, and the ancient Demon Sealing Jade hadn't acted strangely. He muttered to himself for a bit, unwilling to give up so easily.

"It's too bad my second true self is still in the process of recovering after being destroyed. If he was here I could have him try it out first." After a moment, his eyes shone with determination.

Rewards come only with risk, and it is better to take a gamble than to simply give up.

He decided to hesitate no longer. He walked up to the young man and bowed. Then, maintaining full vigilance, he gradually sent his cultivation base to rotating. If anything unexpected happened, he would use all of his divine abilities to flee instantly. Furthermore, he used divine will to have the terracotta soldier stand guard next to him.

As he crossed his legs and began to meditate, the young man slowly extended his arm and pushed down on Naruto 's forehead.

The two of them suddenly seemed to be connected through ages of time and distant space.

A legacy was being passed on!

They were separated by many generations, by many years, and by the distance between them. Despite that, they were both here in the Namikaze Clan ancestral land, performing the bequeathment of a legacy!

A massive rumbling like a Dao river or a Heavenly sea poured into Naruto 's forehead. In the blink of an eye, he felt as if his mind would collapse, his head explode.

His heart trembled as though lightning were exploding relentlessly inside of him. His face instantly turned ashen, and blood oozed out of his mouth. An intense sense of deadly crisis appeared. There was no sensation that made him think the young man in front of him wished him dead. It was simply that Naruto 's cultivation base was insufficient, not strong enough to support the legacy.

However, he gritted his teeth and, expression one of determination, continued to accept the legacy that he originally should not have been able to accept given his current level of power.

His body gradually came to occupy a space between illusory and corporeal. His aura weakened, as though the flame of his life force were dimming.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch stared in confusion. He was able to tell that something strange was going on with the Ancient Burial Ground because Naruto had entered it.

He looked closely at Naruto , and then, his pupils constricted as if he had just noticed something. He was visibly moved and took a deep breath.

"He's accepting a legacy!

"This Ancient Burial Ground has been here for countless years. Although not many people are capable of reaching this location, there have been a few. Those rifts are locations of trials by fire, not legacies. And yet… this kid is actually contemplating enlightenment of a legacy!" The Seventh Patriarch's mind filled with roaring.

"But whose legacy is it that he can sense?" A profound gleam appeared in his mind as he looked in the direction of the Misty Heaven Vault off in the distance.

Time passed slowly. Naruto 's aura grew weaker, and the flame of his life force dimmed. Anyone who could see him personally would realize that he was accepting a legacy. However, on the bloodline jade slip, it simply looked like he was dying.

Of course, there were six other black-robed cultivators in the ancestral land in addition to Namikaze Daohong, and all of them were checking their jade slips. What they clearly saw was that the dot representing Naruto was growing weaker and darker. They also saw that Namikaze Daohong's dot of light was very close to Naruto .

This made it very easy for them to jump to the wrong conclusion.

They all thought that Naruto 's light was growing weaker because of Namikaze Daohong.

Although the remaining six black-robed men were in general being very cautious, all of them had different personalities. Some were decisive, some were hesitant, some were anxious, and some were impulsive!

About five hundred kilometers from Naruto 's current location was a middle-aged man in a long black robe, whose eyes were glittering brightly. " Namikaze Naruto definitely has some sort of valuable treasure. That's how he was able to kill two Ancient Realm Elders in a row. Most likely, he can't utilize the power of that magical item for a long time, because his cultivation base isn't sufficient. And now… Namikaze Daohong is there…. Since he's not dead, that means we have a chance!

The man was skinny and had a long, hooked nose, making him look especially sinister.

"A precious treasure that can enable a cultivator nearly in the Immortal Realm to be able to slay an Ancient Realm cultivator…." The middleaged man hesitated for a moment, then looked at the bloodline jade slip again. What he noticed was that two other dots were already moving in Naruto 's direction, which caused his eyes to fill with determination.

"I'm the closest, so as long as I'm careful, there shouldn't be any problems!" Without hesitating any further, the man quickly shot off into the distance.

At the same time, two other black-robed cultivators were nearing from two other directions. They were thinking the same thing as the first black-robed man, and rapidly began to close in on Naruto .

As for the other three black-robed men, two of them wavered back and forth a bit before deciding to play it safe. The final black-robed man… was an old man who was standing at the entrance to the ancestral land, where the Dao Guardsman had once been.

He was examining the collapsed mountains; the endless amounts of ruins and rubble that filled the area caused his mind to tremble. Unable to even think of what to say, he just looked at the scene for a while before taking in a deep breath.

"The Dao Guardsman… is gone?" he thought. Great waves of shock filled him, and he began to shiver. A look of astonishment filled his eyes as he suddenly realized that the first Ancient Realm Elder who had been killed… died in this location.

He almost immediately realized why. When the answer occurred to him, he could hardly believe it. However, that answer explained everything, as unbelievable as it was.

"How could Namikaze Naruto have possibly taken control of the Dao Guardsman!?" He took out the bloodline jade slip and looked at the fading dot that represented Naruto . Then he looked at the three other cultivators who were rapidly closing in on him. There was no way for him to get word to the others while he was in the ancestral land, so he could only watch as the three dots began to converge on Naruto , drawn like moths to the flame.

"If those people die, then it will confirm my speculation that Namikaze Naruto has somehow managed to take control of the Dao Guardsman!" The old man panted, unwilling to accept that he was correct, and yet unable to come up with any other explanation.

Time passed by quickly. It was now three days later, and Naruto had already been in the ancestral land for about a month. Currently, he sat cross-legged in front of the stone stele, eyes closed, completely motionless.

His aura was extremely weak, and the flame of his life force was almost on the point of being extinguished. His mind crashed with lightning and thunder as the legacy of the Fifth Hex continuously poured into him. The images he saw made him feel like he was descending into some bottomless abyss.

It was as if his mind were being forcibly distended, which led to intense, tearing pain. He felt like he was stuck in a living hell.

Because he was accepting a legacy like this with such a low cultivation base, his Eternal stratum had long since gone to work, and was in a perpetual state of support, ensuring that his mind did not collapse or explode.

As for his true Immortal fleshly body, it was immense help in keeping his mind stable.

As the legacy of the Fifth Hex poured into him, it began to form a pattern like that of a hand that continuously flipped back and forth in his mind.

Sometimes it faced up, sometimes it faced down. That cycle seemed to contain Yin and Yang, as if the entire cosmos was hidden within it! It contained a great Dao of Heaven and Earth!

The 100,000 rifts that surrounded him in the Ancient Burial Ground also went into a cyclical pattern, as if they were breathing. Occasionally they would open, other times they would close. From a distance, it looked like 100,000 eyes, continuously opening and closing.

The cycle continued for three days, never ending.

Namikaze Daohong had long since begun to gape at the scene. He was once again completely shaken by Naruto , and couldn't help but view him as a terrifying figure, a cultivator essentially in the Immortal Realm, the likes of which he had never before seen.

In fact, he had never even heard of anything like this.

"If he reaches Immortal Ascension… he'll definitely shake all of Planet East Victory!" Namikaze Daohong's eyes shone with a strange light, and he suddenly realized that having his life or death controlled by Naruto , wasn't actually… a particularly unacceptable thing.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch looked down at Naruto , and his mind trembled even more than Namikaze Daohong's. His eyes shone with a brilliant light as he looked at Naruto , and he suddenly had the feeling that he was looking at the future of the Namikaze Clan.

"He already has a true Immortal fleshly body, and the Immortal Chakra within him has almost reached the pinnacle….

"He has absolutely no aura of an Immortality Illumination Vine on him. Or perhaps his Immortality Illumination Vine has already been fully absorbed by his Dharma Idol. In that case… this kid is going to reach Immortal Ascension in less than a hundred days!

"In the future, he will definitely become a pillar of the Namikaze Clan!"

Meanwhile, outside of the Ninth Mountain, in the boundless sea among the stars, the Ninth Sea, a shocking aura suddenly exploded out.

That aura caused vast mists to roil up from the surface of the sea, which formed into the shape of countless figures that seemed to dance about gracefully. Lightning crackled up above, and a Tribulation Cloud began to form.

At the same time, an enormous Door of Immortality gradually came into view above the Ninth Sea!

The Ninth Sea had countless islands, many of which were inhabited by cultivators. Currently, all of those cultivators' minds filled with shock, and they looked up into the air. No matter how far away they were, they could sense the Immortal Chakra that was roiling out.

"That's… a Door of True Immortality!

"Who is about to reach true Immortal Ascension!? Who is about to batter open the Door of Immortality!?"

As the cultivators on the various islands in the Ninth Sea were all shocked, a massive rift opened up in the surface of the sea below the Door of Immortality. From within that rift appeared another massive door, which rose up from inside the water.

Inside the door was a young woman, behind whom floated a female corpse. The woman didn't hesitate for a moment before flying up into the air toward the Door of Immortality.

At the same time, more than a thousand cultivators also flew out of the door in the sea. There were men and women, and all of them wore extremely somber expressions as they fanned out in every direction to form a huge spell formation. Next, a hundred enormous sea dragons shot out of the door, roaring as they circled about the area to act as Dharma Protectors for the young woman. Ten old men also appeared, each one of whom emanated astonishing auras. All of them were at the peak of the Ancient Realm, and each one had extinguished a minimum of thirteen or fourteen Soul Lamps!

These… were the cultivators of the Nine Seas God World! The Three Great Daoist Societies had deep reserves, as was plainly visible now!

The last person to appear was an old woman who wore a sea-blue robe. Her aura superseded the auras of all the other cultivators present, as if her presence could cause even the Heavens to acquiesce to her.

"Dong'er, your day of true Immortality has arrived," the old woman said coolly. "Open that Door of Immortality, accept the Immortal qi, and achieve true Immortal Ascension!"

Fan Dong'er took a deep breath and then shot toward the Door of Immortality.

Lightning crashed and thunder boomed, and yet, it could do nothing to cause Fan Dong'er to even pause. Her body suddenly exploded with an energy that could rival the Immortal Tribulation itself.

A great event was beginning, heralding the arrival of a new generation of Chosen. Among them was someone who had suppressed her cultivation in the previous era just for the sake of becoming a true Immortal in the current era. A cultivator of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the second to follow in the footsteps of Pill Demon and achieve true Immortal Ascension… Fan Dong'er!

As of this moment, people in sects and clans all over the Ninth Mountain and Sea used a variety of methods to observe as Fan Dong'er achieved Immortal Ascension above the Ninth Sea!

Meanwhile….

In the underworld of the Fourth Mountain, next to the Bridge of Reincarnation, a cold woman stood there, looking over her shoulder profoundly at what seemed to be the direction of the Ninth Mountain. It was as if she hoped to get one clear look at the Ninth Mountain so she would never forget it. Her long, black hair danced in the wind. She looked as graceful as a butterfly as she stepped forward into Reincarnation.

In her previous life, her name had been Hinata.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 957

Chapter 957: Inner Devils of the Chosen!

The Door of Immortality appeared above the Ninth Sea, and Fan Dong'er rose up into the sky. In the instant in which she slammed into the door, the various clans and sects throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea could sense a sudden change in the Heavens.

The change was not drastic; it was merely a slight strengthening in the Immortal Chakra of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. However, the change was like slight ripples on a glassy surface of water, and was detectable by many.

It was most obvious in the areas around the Door of Immortality in the Ninth Sea. There, the Immortal Chakra surged as a great Dao descended. Rumbling filled the air, Tribulation Lightning crackled, and mists churned.

Fan Dong'er was surrounded by Tribulation Lightning as she slammed into the Door of Immortality. Her eyes were filled with determination, and her heart was filled with one thought.

" Naruto , I absolutely must surpass you!"

Fan Dong'er was the second person in this generation after Pill Demon to attack the Door of Immortality. At the same time, the other Chosen who were in secluded meditation were preparing to emerge and attempt to break through to the true Immortal Realm. They could sense the change in the Immortal qi, but they ignored it. Eyes shining with determination, they continued with their secluded meditation.

Zhao Yifan currently sat cross-legged in a secret chamber in the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto.

"The age of true Immortal Ascension has arrived," he murmured. "The

Three Great Daoist Sects, the Four Great Clans, the Five Holy Lands, the Three Churches and Six Sects… have been building up power and resources for years, all for the Chosen who will become true Immortals.

"They all plan to use their collected resources and dammed-up cultivation to surge forth into the true Immortal Realm. It will be like the saying 'The bird is silent, but its first song amazes all men!'" Zhao Yifan's eyes suddenly opened.

"Opening 70 meridians is average. 80 meridians qualifies one to be Chosen. Opening 90 meridians… makes you the blazing sun of a generation!

" Namikaze Mu… I wonder if you will be able to enter this age of true Immortality!?" Zhao Yifan's eyes gleamed brightly. He had long since recovered from his injuries, as well as from the psychological blow he had suffered. However, he knew that deep within his heart, a shadow lurked, weighing down on him. It had become something like an inner Devil.

Naruto , in his guise as Namikaze Mu, had become Zhao Yifan's inner Devil!

It was with his true identity of Naruto that he had become Fan Dong'er's inner Devil!

Similarly, all of the other Chosen he had encountered in the Ninth Mountain and Sea had inner Devils because of him!

On Planet East Victory, in the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion, Namikaze Wei was trembling. His life force aura occasionally glittered brilliantly, and occasionally went dim. Sometimes his features twisted savagely, while at other times he wore a smile. Strange ripples undulated off of him as he absorbed Immortal Chakra from the nine withered old men who surrounded him.

" Namikaze Naruto… true Immortality is upon me. If I fail, then there will no longer be a Namikaze Wei under the Heavens. However, if I succeed… then the instant I become a true Immortal, I will cut you down and sever this inner Devil of mine!"

On Planet North Reed, in the restricted area in the Li Clan, there was a lotus pond. The pond waters were clear, and fish could be seen swimming to and fro. Birdsongs filled the air, along with the fragrance of flowers. It was like a miniature utopia. Li Ling'er sat there cross-legged atop a lotus. Her skin was clear and delicate, and slightly flushed. She wore a simple, plain robe, but it still managed to accentuate her exquisite and alluring body.

She was also about to break through to the true Immortal Realm!

At the same time, Uchiha Mu, Song Luodan, Taiyang Zi, Sun Hai, and many others were in their respective sects and clans, all preparing to break through to the true Immortal Realm.

As all of these people made their breakthroughs, Naruto 's image floated in their minds. Naruto … had become the inner Devil of an entire generation of Chosen.

Meanwhile, a young man sat cross-legged on an asteroid floating in the starry sky of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. He wore a black robe, and had long white hair. His features were handsome, and at the same time, ancient.

Immortal Chakra swirled around him, and shockingly, he held an Immortality Illumination vine in his hand.

"In the Uchiha Clan… Uchiha Mu is the blazing sun, and I have been forgotten. That doesn't matter. The only thing I need is this Immortality Illumination Vine." The young man lifted the Immortality Illumination Vine above his head and looked off into space.

" Naruto , I very much look forward to the day when you and I can meet again…." This young man was none other than Uchiha Tengfei!

At around this time, Uchiha Youcai, Fatty, Cheng Fan, and all of Naruto 's other companions from Planet Ninshu who had scattered out to the various other sects, were all being informed by Senior members of their respective organizations about the matter of true Immortality. All of them were looking up into the Heavens.

"I wonder where Naruto is right now…." Fatty murmured, sounding a bit depressed.

In the Kunlun Society, Sakura quietly sat there cross-legged. No Immortal Chakra swirled around her, but she wasn't anxious. She had a whole thousand years after true Immortal destiny appeared in which she could achieve her own true Immortal Ascension.

Although she couldn't keep up with the first wave, she was confident that she would be able to reach true Immortality in those thousand years.

"The age of True Immortality is here…." murmured Pill Demon, who stood on a nearby mountain boulder. He looked up into the stars.

At the same moment, another person spoke those same words.

It was an old man who stood there on Planet Ninshu , in a mountain in the Eastern Lands. He looked up into the Heavens and muttered the exact same sentence.

That man… was Shui Dongliu.

Naruto was unaware of the stir that had been caused in the Ninth Mountain and Sea due to Fan Dong'er's Door of Immortality. He continued to sit cross-legged in front of the stone stele in the Ancient Burial Ground, accepting the legacy of the Fifth Hex.

His aura was incredibly weak, and the flame of his life force seemed to be on the verge of being extinguished. The 100,000 rifts around him were trembling slightly, their cycles of opening and closing becoming more rapid. The Ancient Burial Ground was starting to look even more bizarre than usual.

Gradually, mist appeared on the ground; it grew thicker as it spread out through the ancestral land, into all of the regions and areas.

The mist also collected in the Ancient Burial Ground, and was especially thick in the area around Naruto . It covered the terracotta soldier, making it invisible even to divine sense.

Naruto 's figure began to grow blurry.

Namikaze Daohong was extremely frightened. He worried that if Naruto died, then because of the strange hexing magic, he would also die.

As he continued to grow more and more frightened, a beam of prismatic light appeared off in the distance. It was another of the black-robed men, who shot in his general direction. Initially, his speed was not particularly fast, but at about thirty thousand meters away, the man seemed to catch sight of something that caused him to accelerate explosively.

Namikaze Daohong's eyes flickered as he turned to look at the man in the beam of light. He shot forward with incredible speed, coming to a stop about three hundred meters away. The man's face was grim as he looked over.

"Elder Daohong, we're all in this together, if one of us hogs everything for himself, it will be difficult to explain to the others." The man's eyes glittered as he looked further into the Ancient Burial Ground. He saw

Naruto sitting cross-legged in meditation, mostly covered by mists. He didn't notice the terracotta soldier, which was now completely enveloped by the mists.

His eyes sparkled with avarice, then he looked back at Namikaze Daohong and smiled insincerely.

"If you want to go in there, I won't stop you," Namikaze Daohong said loftily. "However, there's no need to play with words." He snorted coldly, acting as he would under normal circumstances.

The other black-robed man's eyes flickered as he turned from Namikaze

Daohong to look at Naruto . Inwardly, he was a bit hesitant. However, Naruto 's current state made it seem like he was on the verge of death; the man was unable to see that he was accepting a legacy.

"Well, never mind then. Since you're waiting patiently, Elder Daohong, then I'll just wait with you." With that, he smiled and then sat down cross-legged.

Namikaze Daohong showed no reaction whatsoever to this. Inwardly, though, he breathed a sigh of relief. His life was now under Naruto 's control, and even if he appeared to be on the verge of dying, Namikaze Daohong wasn't about to take any risks. In fact, he was even more nervous than Naruto would be; he feared that Naruto 's death would result in his own soul dispersing.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Naruto trembled. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and only a tiny spark remained of his flame of life force. His body was now stiff, and he looked as pale as a corpse.

The rifts around him flickered rapidly as they opened and closed. They were like 100,000 eyes blinking, and left Namikaze Daohong and the other black-robed man feeling incredibly shocked.

One of them was nervous. The other one waited in anticipation.

Around this time, two more beams of light sped along, apparently having detected Naruto 's abnormal state. They shot forward with explosive speed until they appeared at the border of the Ancient Burial Ground, where they turned into two black-robed men.

As soon as they appeared, Namikaze Daohong's eyes narrowed. One of the men didn't pause at all, but rather, instantly shot into the Ancient Burial Ground. Taking advantage of a moment when the rifts were closed, he shot forward about three hundred meters.

Namikaze Daohong's heart began to thump, and the black-robed man who had arrived earlier frowned. After a moment, he also waited until the rifts were closed and then stepped forward into the Ancient Burial Ground.

The third black-robed man also flickered forward, advancing toward Naruto .

" Namikaze Naruto has a valuable treasure! Let's kill him and get the treasure.

We can decide what to do with it afterward!"

"Excellent plan!" After coming to an agreement, the three men waited until the 100,000 rifts closed again, and then advanced at top speed.

Namikaze Daohong watched in silence, coldly eyeing the three men as they proceeded into the Ancient Burial Ground. Finally, he decided to join them, although he moved slowly, ensuring that he was bringing up the rear.

Four men walked in a line, heading ever closer to Naruto in the center of the Ancient Burial Ground.

Enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, in which time the 100,000 rifts opened and closed. Eventually, the two fastest men reached a position about six hundred meters from Naruto .

Another tremor ran through Naruto at that point, but instead of just a trickle of blood oozing out, Naruto coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and all color drained out of his face. At that point, the flame of his life force actually winked out.

In that moment, the rifts in the area all shuddered and closed, leaving a clear path all the way to Naruto .

With the exception of Namikaze Daohong, who was still extremely anxious and feared that he was about to die, the black-robed men's eyes all glowed with greed. They had been acting very cautiously before, but that seemed to be forgotten as they exploded with speed. Rumbling filled the air as they closed in on Naruto .

However, when the two black-robed men in the lead were only about thirty meters away, Naruto 's eyes suddenly snapped open. They were bloodshot, and his gaze was as sharp as a blade, filled with naked savagery.

An indescribably terrifying aura suddenly exploded out from Naruto . In that instant, all of the closed rifts in the area suddenly opened simultaneously.

It was like 100,000 eyes had instantly opened and were looking at the four men!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 958

Chapter 958: Strolling Through the Immortal Kingdom!

Being glared at by 100,000 cold eyes is something that would cause many people to be so terrified their hair would stand on end. These black-robed men had profound cultivation bases, and might have been able to disregard the phenomena, were it not for the fact that Naruto had opened his eyes at exactly the same time.

There was also a brutality that seemed to surround Naruto . Add the fact that he had just recently killed two Ancient Realm experts, and it caused the faces of the nearest two black-robed men to flicker.

However, they were decisive people. Killing intent flashed in their eyes. Having come this far and having no path of retreat, they decided that they might as well attack!

"He's as weak as an arrow at the end of its flight! Killing him will be easy!"

"His precious treasure is probably difficult to activate! Considering his current state, he definitely can't use it! Kill him!"

Their eyes flickered coldly, and their killing intent raged. Their cultivation bases surged as their nine Soul Lamps, eight burning and one extinguished, caused the aura of the Ancient Realm to swirl about. The natural law in the area was affected, and ripples spread out.

They also pulled out magical items. One of them had a jade cauldron; the other, a piece of green bamboo. Inside the jade cauldron were several flying swords engraved with dragons, and the bamboo was surrounded by arcs of crackling lightning. Both objects were clearly extraordinary.

They waved their sleeves, causing the magical items to speed toward

Naruto , as they sped close behind. Bolstered by the power of their Soul Lamps, their killing intent surged, and their greed was impossible to conceal.

In almost the same moment that they attacked, the terracotta soldier, which was still covered by the mist, suddenly stepped forward.

The ground quaked, and some of the mist dissipated from around the terracotta soldier, making it mostly visible.

A ring-shaped ripple surged out, with the terracotta soldier and Naruto at the center. When it passed over the jade cauldron, the swords inside shattered as if they were nothing more than dried up twigs. The cauldron itself cracked and then collapsed.

As for the green bamboo, it was the same; it shattered into countless pieces that became nothing more than flying ash. The lightning in the bamboo was also snuffed out, and vanished without a trace.

As the ripple spread out, the pressure it emanated caused the two blackrobed men's hearts to tremble. Blood sprayed out of their mouths as they fell backward in retreat, almost falling into one of the rifts behind them.

When they finally came to a stop, they looked at the terracotta soldier, and their faces fell as they were almost struck speechless.

The greatsword it held in its hand, the suddenness with which it its aura had burst out, as well as the familiarity of its figure, immediately caused the men to feel roaring in their minds, as if an enormous, shapeless hand were ripping apart their psyches.

"That's the aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon!"

"There's actually a statue here!"

"That statue looks so familiar…."

"That's… that's… the Dao Guardsman!" The two cultivators' eyes went wide with disbelief. They felt as if a mountain were crushing down onto them; their minds reeled as they realized their lives were about to meet an uncertain end.

"This is impossible!" They were thoroughly astonished, and now that they could sense the terracotta soldier's aura, they had no doubt in their mind as to how the other two Ancient Realm elders had suddenly died.

"He… he can actually control the Dao Guardsman!" They no longer had any desire whatsoever to engage in battle. Their scalps were numb, and they were scared out of their minds. They thought back to how they had bravely charged into this situation, and they suddenly realized that doing so was potentially the most foolish and stupid thing they had ever done in their lives. They backed up at top speed, cursing their weak cultivation bases, and cursing all of the rifts in the area that made it impossible to escape.

The other black-robed man was also looking on with wide eyes, panting in disbelief.

Namikaze Daohong was the only one whose facial expression was calm. Inwardly, he heaved a sigh of relief, and his eyes began to flicker. His cultivation base had long since recovered, and he was now trying to decide how he could perform some meritorious service in aid of Naruto .

In the exact moment that the two black-robed men up front began to retreat, Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent. The terracotta soldier raised its greatsword and then slashed it down toward one of the two men. In the blink of an eye, everything went still and quiet. Scintillating, blinding sword light appeared, slashing toward the blackrobed man's throat.

"Bring him to me, alive," Naruto murmured weakly.

The world returned to normal. The terracotta soldier's blade twisted, turning the strike from a slash into a slap. Blood sprayed from the blackrobed cultivator's mouth as his body crumpled. The terracotta soldier reached out, grabbed him, and pinned him down on the ground in front of Naruto .

Naruto 's face was pale white as he reached out and pushed his hand onto the black-robed man's forehead. He took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with the glow of blood as he utilized the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

The black-robed man's eyes went wide, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream. When the other people present heard the scream, their minds trembled because of the indescribable tragic wretchedness therein.

The black-robed man's body withered. His cultivation base rapidly faded away. Even his soul was absorbed by Naruto . Everything, even his life force, was used by Naruto to aid in his recovery.

It took only a moment for the screams to fade away. The only thing that remained behind was a terrifying desiccated corpse that lay motionless beneath Naruto 's hand.

Naruto 's face was no longer as pale as death. His skin had a bit of color, and his breathing was steady. His eyes shone brightly once again.

As he thought back to how he had accepted the legacy of the Fifth Hex, Naruto realized that he had narrowly escaped from death. He really should have died, and had only managed to survive by a fluke.

Considering the level of his cultivation base, he was really incapable of acquiring the Fifth Hex. The price he had paid was actually his life. The flame of his life force really had been extinguished, leaving him hovering on the brink of death. Thankfully, just as he was about to die… these black-robed men came, giving him a second lease on life.

He had only slightly recovered, but this caused the other two blackrobed men to feel an even greater sense of deadly crisis.

"W-what technique was that!?"

"Damn you, Namikaze Xiushan! For sending us in here to kill this kid… you deserve to die a horrible death!"

The two men retreated, looking back in fear at Naruto .

However, they were surrounded by rifts that made it impossible for them to escape.

Up above, the Seventh Patriarch watched with a serious expression. He slowly retracted his hand, and looked over thoughtfully at Naruto .

"Is that the legacy technique he just acquired?"

Back on the ground, Naruto slowly rose to his feet. His face was mostly back to normal, and a profound look gleamed in his eyes. He seemed to be filled with a sea of power that caused anyone who looked at him to feel as if their souls would be absorbed.

"Grab me another one," he said calmly.

In response to his words, the terracotta soldier immediately strode forward toward the nearest black-robed man. The man howled and, having no other options, leapt into the nearest rift.

The third of the black-robed men was a bit further away from Naruto . He gritted his teeth and was about to jump into a nearby rift, when Namikaze Daohong suddenly blocked his way. The man roared in rage, and the two of them began to fight.

Booms echoed out in all directions. The terracotta soldier stepped into the rift in pursuit and emerged after the space of only a few breaths, holding the black-robed cultivator who had been trying to flee.

The man was trembling, and his face was pale. Even as he looked over at Naruto , Naruto raised his hand, causing an illusory rift to appear. That slight movement, though, caused the bit of his life force that had been painstakingly restored to be sucked towards the palm of his hand. This caused Naruto to immediately stop what he was doing. After a moment of analysis, Naruto realized why.

"Although I've accepted the legacy, I'm incapable of actually using the Fifth Hex. Considering the level of my cultivation base, if I try to force it, even if I use all of my cultivation base to cast it, I still can't form the Inside-Outside rifts of the Fifth Hex!

"Perhaps I'll be able to after I reach the Immortal Realm! This Fifth Hex is similar to the Paragon Bridge. I'll be able to use it as a trump card when I reach the Immortal Realm!" With that, he pushed his hand out toward the black-robed man, who was then surrounded by blood-colored light.

Miserable screams rang out as the man was transformed into a desiccated corpse. Naruto 's face finally looked normal, and he was completely recovered. He then closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation base.

In response to this, the black-robed man who was fighting Namikaze Daohong looked terrified. What he was seeing was far beyond any other deadly crisis that he had ever experienced.

"This guy can't be a near-Immortal Realm cultivator," he thought. "How could someone of that level have such a terrifying divine ability!? Namikaze Xiushan, if I don't die in here, then after I get back to the clan, you and I are going to have a reckoning!"

Namikaze Daohong's expression was the same as ever, but inwardly he was trembling. The mysteries surrounding Naruto only seemed to grow deeper. After a moment of hesitation, he looked over at the man he was fighting with.

" Namikaze Linhe, if you want to get out of here alive, then listen to me and don't fight back!" These words caused Namikaze Linhe to gape in shock. Then he thought back to how Namikaze Daohong hadn't died despite being near Naruto for so long. Suddenly, the hope for life appeared in his heart. Gritting his teeth, he allowed Namikaze Daohong to strike him in the chest. 1

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as Namikaze Daohong struck him over and over, seriously injuring Namikaze Linhe and causing his cultivation base to drop. Soon, it was comparable to a Spirit Realm cultivator, whereupon Namikaze Daohong stopped his attacks. Giving a meaningful glance to Namikaze Linhe, he immediately turned and bowed respectfully to Naruto .

"Prince, it would be quite a waste to let this man die. Why not use your restrictive spell on him? Once we get back to the clan, he and I will both want a chance to get revenge on Namikaze Xiushan."

Naruto 's eyes opened, and he looked coldly at Namikaze Daohong, then at Namikaze Linhe, who was acting very subserviently. Without another word, streams of black and white Chakra appeared in his hand. After rotating around each other for a moment, he sent them flying toward Namikaze Linhe's forehead. Namikaze Linhe screamed, then began to shudder. Sweat soaked him almost instantaneously as magical symbols appeared all over his body. Eventually, they converged on his forehead into the form of a single magical symbol that flew out of his forehead and then merged into Naruto . Namikaze Linhe then let out a weak sigh.

Naruto looked up at the rifts in the area, and now, they seemed familiar to him.

It almost seemed as if he could control their opening and closing.

"Let's go," he said. "We're going to find out what else is past this Ancient Burial Ground." With that, he stepped forward. Immediately, the rifts all closed, allowing him to walk directly off into the distance.

Naruto strode along like a monarch to these rifts that contained the Fifth Hex. He looked like he was simply taking a stroll through his own Immortal kingdom.

Namikaze Linhe's name in Chinese is 方临河 fāng lín hé. Lin means "to face" or "to overlook." He means "river" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 959

Chapter 959: A Lamp!

The scene playing out in front of Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe left them shaken mentally. They immediately followed behind, staring at the terracotta soldier next to Naruto . When it came to the statue, Namikaze Daohong was slightly less surprised, whereas Namikaze Linhe was completely astonished.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch looked closely at Naruto , his expression growing more serious by the moment. Based on everything Naruto had done along the way, and all his unprecedented accomplishments, as long as he didn't lose his life, he would surely shake the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea one day.

"In the future, he will be the main pillar of the Namikaze Clan!"

Meanwhile, Fan Dong'er was still in the midst of her Immortal

Tribulation, battering her Door of Immortality. In the Namikaze Clan Ancestral Mansion, Namikaze Xiushan was staring pale-faced into a crystal, observing what was happening in the Lifeslip Hall.

One after another, without even half an incense stick of time between them, the lifeslips belonging to two Ancient Realm Elders emitted cracking sounds and then shattered into pieces….

The other jade slip that he had been watching this entire time remained completely unchanged.

"Impossible…. The deaths of the previous two could be chalked up to dangers in the ancestral land. But… but a whole month has passed, Namikaze Naruto is still alive, and two more Ancient Realm Elders are dead!

"What exactly is going on in the ancestral land? How could this be happening? What's going on!?" Namikaze Xiushan's eyes were completely bloodshot, and his hair was in disarray. He sat there trembling, having long since moved from his own residence to a hidden chamber.

This chamber was very close to where his son Namikaze Wei was in the middle of secluded meditation. At the moment, Namikaze Xiushan didn't dare to set foot outside. Currently, he had no way of resolving the situation, so he had no choice but to conceal himself here.

"As long as Wei'er becomes a true Immortal, the Grand Elder will handle everything according to the clan rules. The clan is most important, so he won't make things too difficult for me. Plus, I have father to help take care of things. This matter will soon be a thing of the past.

" Namikaze Naruto, you shall die! If you don't die in the ancestral land, then you'll die at Wei'er's hand!" Namikaze Xiushan's expression twisted, and he gritted his teeth. Apparently, that outcome was the only one which could release the shock and anxiety he felt in his heart. However, he still couldn't understand why the nine Ancient Realm Elders he had hired couldn't kill a solitary Namikaze Naruto. In fact, over the course of a month, four of them were now dead, while Namikaze Naruto was still alive.

Just what had happened in there to cause this unforeseen turn of events? This was currently the source of his greatest confusion.

Even as Namikaze Xiushan sat there thinking, the Grand Elder was in another location in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion. He was in a rage, his face twisted in anger over what was happening in the Lifeslip Hall. He, of course, was well aware of exactly why all the Elders had died.

His eyes glinted coldly when he summoned Namikaze Xiushan, only to

receive a reply that Namikaze Xiushan was in secluded meditation near Namikaze Wei. That caused the Grand Elder to hesitate for a moment.

At the moment, Namikaze Wei's Immortal Ascension was the most important matter in the whole clan. All other matters were of secondary importance.

" Namikaze Wei. Namikaze Naruto…. Let's see which of the two of you… is the true Chosen." After another moment of thought, the Grand Elder flicked his sleeve and left.

Back in the ancestral land, Naruto proceeded along. The rifts closed wherever he went, all the way until he reached the end of the Ancient Burial Ground. After having passed through regions of 100,000 rifts, he was now surrounded by thick mist.

The mist didn't just exist in this place. The entire ancestral land was filled with it, something that was completely unheard of. Even the Seventh Patriarch was shocked.

Naruto stood at the edge of the Ancient Burial Ground, looking at the thick mists up ahead of him. Compared to the mist in his immediate vicinity, the mists up ahead seemed boundless, as if they covered everything, even the Heavens.

Everything was covered in endless, majestic mists.

Off to the side was another huge stone stele, upon which was written three shocking characters….

Misty Heaven Vault!

Beneath the three characters were lines of text, each one being the name of a person.

Next to each name was a number.

The first name on the list was Namikaze Shoudao, and next to it was the number 39.

There were nineteen names in total, and the last few names on the list all had the number 1 next to them.

The names emanated an ancient feeling, as if they had existed on the stele for many years. When Naruto reached the ninth name on the list, his eyes widened in surprise.

The name was Namikaze Danyun!

He was the Dao of Alchemy Division's current Pill Elder!

Namikaze Daohong stood next to Naruto explaining the location in a low voice. "There is no path through the Heavenly Mist Vault.

"This is the last section of the ancestral land…. The first generation Patriarch's necropolis is located somewhere inside, although nobody knows exactly where.

"From the moment of its creation, this place has been the end of the line for the clan members who come here. According to the rumors, nobody has ever found the necropolis within the mists. The reason for that, of course, is that there is no path inside.

"From ancient times to now, only nineteen Senior clan members have ever made it to the Misty Heaven Vault, and those numbers next to their names are how many steps they were able to take inside."

Naruto 's eyes focused intently on the stele.

"Nobody's ever been able to step into the necropolis?" he asked. As he looked at the list of names and numbers on the stele, he sent his divine sense out into the mists. As soon as it entered, it encountered an intense repelling force, and was expelled. These mists truly seemed to be like an impenetrable fortress that did not allow anything to enter.

"Prince," Namikaze Daohong hurried to say, "you really shouldn't try to go in…. This is a place where people under the Immortal Realm can't even enter. Not even the Dao Guardsman can go in.

"If you want to enter the Misty Heaven Vault, you have to meet two conditions. First, your cultivation base has to be in the Ancient Realm or higher so that you can use your Soul Lamp to guide the way. The second requirement is that you have to possess a corporeal body."

Naruto didn't respond. He sent some divine will into the terracotta statue, and sent it forward toward the mists. However, as soon as it touched the border, the same force shoved back, making it impossible for the terracotta soldier to move forward. When he tried to force it to do so, a terrifying pressure exploded out from within the mists.

Naruto 's mind was shaken, and he immediately pulled the terracotta soldier back.

"Prince, your… your cultivation base isn't in the Ancient Realm, and you have no Soul Lamp. You simply can't proceed." Namikaze Daohong glanced over at Naruto and stepped toward the mists.

As he did so, he inhaled deeply and nine Soul Lamps appeared around him. As they rotated around him, they slowly merged together. When they had combined into a single lamp, they floated forward to make contact with the mists. As soon as the lamp touched the mist, it sank back by a centimeter.

"Look, Prince," said Namikaze Daohong, sighing slightly and stepping back to stand next to Naruto . "This is my limit, only a single centimeter. If you had a powerful Soul Lamp, you would be able to resist the mists and get much further in."

Naruto frowned. Having gotten all the way to this point, he just couldn't resign himself to leaving. If this was the first generation Patriarch's necropolis, then it meant that the Namikaze Clan's most powerful Daoist Magic, the One Thought Stellar Transformation, would be inside.

It was like standing in front of a mountain of treasure and being incapable of reaching it. To Naruto , it was a very intolerable feeling.

However, he was not the type of person to be easily convinced by what could be fallacious information. He stepped forward and, as he stood there in front of the mists, extended his right hand and pushed it forward. Immediately, a powerful force pushed back, as if there were an invisible barrier which prevented him from pushing his hand in at all.

Naruto tried pushing a few more times before letting out a resigned sigh. He was just about to retract his hand when his eyes then went wide as he suddenly sensed his Immortal meridian pulsing wildly in a way it never had before. It was almost as if it were reacting to something that existed inside the mists, something that was attracting his Immortal meridian.

Naruto had experienced such a sensation before; it was the same sort of feeling he got when the Immortal meridian had strengthened itself by consuming the massive quantities of energy from the stone steles in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire.

Naruto started panting, and his eyes began to glitter brightly. He had an intense premonition that if he could get into the Misty Heaven Vault, then perhaps… he could break through to true Immortality right here in the ancestral land!

Naruto immediately began to attempt numerous methods to succeed. After two hours passed, he finally had to admit… that it was a place he really wasn't able to enter.

"Prince," said Namikaze Daohong, "there's no need to keep trying. We still have less than a month before the ancestral land opens up again. There are still other places with good fortune, places that you can easily get to with the Dao Guardsman. As for this place here… without a Soul Lamp, you might as well just forget about it."

Naruto stood there silently.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch was currently paying close attention to what was happening. He watched Naruto make his repeated attempts, then sighed, and his eyes flickered with disappointment.

"I guess I set my expectations too high," he thought, shaking his head.

"The Misty Heaven Vault requires an Ancient Realm Soul Lamp. That's something the Dao Guardsman can't help out with. The more powerful the Soul Lamp, the further into the Heavenly Mist Vault you can get. However, not even Eldest Brother, the Earth Patriarch, could get more than 39 steps in."

Suddenly, Naruto looked up at the Misty Heaven Vault, and his eyes began to gleam with light of curiosity.

"You need a Soul Lamp…. A Soul Lamp to lead the way…. A lamp…. I have a lamp!" Naruto began to pant as he glanced back at the Soul Lamps circling around Namikaze Daohong. Just now, a completely preposterous idea had formed in his mind.

It was a completely absurd plan, and it involved an object he had never before thought to associate with the Soul Lamps of Ancient Realm cultivators.

Even now, it seemed like something completely improbable.

Finally, though, it reached the point where he couldn't hold back. He just had to try, so, eyes flickering, he slapped his bag of holding… causing a bronze lamp to suddenly fly out!

This bronze lamp was none other than the one he had acquired from the temple hall in the ruins of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, the same treasure from which he had acquired his Immortal meridian, that now contained a flame from the Essence of Divine Flame.

Holding the bronze lamp in hand, Naruto took a deep breath and then slowly walked toward the wall of mist up ahead. When Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe caught sight of the bronze lamp, they gaped in shock. Were it not for the fact that Naruto held their lives firmly in his hand, they would most certainly be incapable of holding back from laughing at Naruto 's apparent insanity.

However, their expressions quickly changed to ones of open-mouthed astonishment, and they began to tremble uncontrollably.

As Naruto neared the mists, rumbling sounds suddenly filled the air.

Strange colors flashed as everything shook. The mists began to fall apart, churning in an unprecedented fashion. All of the mists inside of the ancestral land seemed to be going crazy, and immediately, more mist began to surge out from every nook and cranny, making it so that the entire ancestral land became just like the Misty Heaven Vault.

The mist was trembling, almost as if in fear!

Naruto 's bronze lamp seemed to have cast the entire ancestral land into a state of awe, and the mists almost appeared to be prostrating themselves in worship!

As for the mists directly in front of Naruto , as soon as the bronze lamp neared them, they seemed to be torn apart with domineering force. It didn't matter who this place previously belonged to, or who used to dwell here, as of this moment, everything was submitting to the bronze lamp.

Amidst the rumbling, the mists were torn apart… and parted down the middle!

A path was carved out… which led straight ahead!

It was a huge path, at the end of which, shockingly… was an enormous, pitch-black temple hall!

This sight caused Namikaze Daohong's and Namikaze Linhe's minds to reel, and their hearts to lurch with enormous waves of shock. They trembled violently, filled with unspeakable astonishment. Even knowing that Naruto had taken control of the Dao Guardsman hadn't turned their world upside down as much as the scene that was playing out in front of them right now!

The Seventh Patriarch had been on the verge of turning away and leaving.

"Impossible!" he said, voice quavering.

He began to tremble, and his mind filled with roaring and he almost fell out of the sky in shock. Even his cultivation base was now somewhat unstable.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 960

Chapter 960: Whose Soul Lamp Is It!?

He panted, staring dead at the bronze lamp in Naruto 's hand. The lamp caused his scalp to grow numb, and terror washed through him as a shocking question filled his mind.

"That Soul Lamp… whose is it?!"

The mist in the Misty Heaven Vault seethed, spreading out to fill the entire ancestral land. The Ancient Burial Grounds, the Nine

Nethermountains, the Quasi-Dao Patriarch Tombs, and even the Field of Magic Enlightenment were all submerged in endless mist.

The lands almost looked like they had become a sea of mist, concealing all, casting everything into shadow. The area around Naruto was the only area of light, which was illuminated by the glow of the Essence of Divine Flame.

Naruto was panting, and his heart pounded even more strongly than Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe, or the astonished Seventh Patriarch.

Taking out the bronze Soul Lamp had been a simple experiment, and in fact, even Naruto had assumed the idea to be laughable and virtually impossible.

He had always thought that it was nothing more than an ancient bronze lamp…. He had never, ever thought to compare it to the Soul Lamp of an Ancient Realm cultivator.

But now, as he looked around at the churning mists, at the path that had been ripped open in front of him, and the tunnel leading toward the pitch-black temple up ahead, his heart pounded with unprecedented intensity.

"This Soul Lamp… whose is it?!" That was the mind blowing question that rolled around in Naruto 's mind as he thought back to that year in the temple hall when he had acquired the bronze lamp.

How many years had it been there…?

He had kept the lamp alive with his own blood, and when it was extinguished, he had absorbed the black smoke that it emitted. That was what… had caused him to become different than everyone else, to have a true Immortal meridian inside of him.

"It's actually a Soul Lamp. A mere lamp contains such shocking, domineering power that even this Namikaze Clan ancestral land has no choice but to submit to it!

"If this lamp is so powerful… then whatever almighty being created it must be unbelievably powerful!" Naruto was panting at this unbelievable turn of events. It truly was a matter that couldn't be pondered too deeply, for the more he thought about it, the more it astonished him.

"Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple…." Naruto 's eyes glowed with intense light as a new sense of determination filled him and he made a firm resolution. "I definitely need to go to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite!" The only clues to the story behind this lamp, which he had found in the temple hall in the ruins of Planet Ninshu 's Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, seemed to lay in the four words 'Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite'.

From the way things looked, grabbing this bronze lamp that year had changed his entire fate in life!

Nearby, Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe were looking on with numbed scalps, and minds that felt as if they were being struck by lightning. Their jaws hung open and their eyes were wide.

They simply couldn't believe or even think of words to describe what they were seeing. It was as if they had been struck dumb. Then, they saw Naruto take a deep breath, tightly grasp the bronze lamp in his hands, and step toward the path. That image seemed to shake them to their senses.

"How could this be happening…?" thought Namikaze Daohong as he quietly watched Naruto walking toward the path in the mist. He felt like he was in an illusion, a dream or fantasy in his own mind.

Namikaze Linhe punched himself hard in the chest, and the resulting pain caused his eyes to widen with surprise. He felt like the world had been turned upside down. Up ahead was the necropolis of the first generation Patriarch, a place no one had ever entered, and yet Naruto … had casually pulled out a bronze lamp, and then… walked right into the mists.

Namikaze Linhe shuddered, and he was suddenly struck with a feeling of rejoicing, rejoicing at the fact that he had attacked someone as terrifyingly inhuman as this, and yet was still alive.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch was also panting. In terms of both his inward disposition and his external expression, he was incapable of maintaining his calm. It didn't matter that his cultivation base was at the peak of the Ancient Realm, he was still profoundly shaken by Naruto .

"Eldest Brother has a 1 Essence Dao Realm cultivation base and the status of Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch, and yet he could only advance 39 steps into the mists. However, the lamp that kid is holding can actually scrape a path clean through the Misty Heaven Vault all the way to the necropolis!

"If you calculate that path based on the number of steps that can be taken, it must be at least 1,000!

"It's just a soul lamp, and yet it even exceeds the power of 1 Essence.

What was the cultivation base of the person who formed that Soul Lamp? In terms of level, were they a 6 Essences Paragon? Or perhaps a 9 Essences Paragon?!

"Impossible, in all the Nine Mountains and Seas, there aren't even any 9

Essences Paragons at all! The only people who ever entered the 9 Essences level of the Dao Realm were those three Paragons from the legendary age of the Immortal Ancient, during that Heaven-shaking, Earth-rocking war!

"I shouldn't even be thinking about 9 Essences. Even 7 Essences Paragons don't exist in the Nine Mountains and Seas. The highest cultivation base in this day and age is only 6 Essences!" The shock roiling in the Seventh Patriarch's heart was impossible to describe. He looked at the scene of Naruto striding down the path in the mists with lamp in hand. Then, he took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine with a strange light.

There was no greediness that arose within him. Since Naruto possessed the bronze lamp, he was qualified to enter the Misty Heaven Vault. To others, however, this would be the end of the line.

Although the Seventh Patriarch couldn't help but look covetously at the bronze lamp, he did not attempt to snatch it away. He was an elder of the Clan, and furthermore, he was one of its guardian entities. Besides, he had his principles when it came to objects belonging to the members of the Junior generation.

Those were the clan rules!

They were rules that allowed the clan to multiply and grow, and to withstand the test of time!

Members of the same generation could fight and steal destiny from each other. Such things were permitted. But even if the Heavens did not care whether members of the Elder generation stole from the Juniors, it was something that was completely prohibited by the clan rules.

Although some people might brave the risks and do such things, the Seventh Patriarch was not that type of person.

"From the time the ancient first generation Patriarch passed away in meditation until now, this is… the first time his necropolis has become visible! Could it be that the One Thought Stellar Transformation will make a reappearance in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!?" The Seventh Patriarch looked at Naruto 's back as he walked off into the distance. He suddenly felt a premonition deep within him.

"His future prospects might not just be limited to the Ninth Mountain and

Sea! Perhaps he can lead the Namikaze Clan to new heights of glory!"

Back on the path in the Misty Heaven Vault, Naruto 's heart was pounding. He held the bronze lamp in his hand as he slowly walked forward through the mists. Although it appeared as if there was an empty void beneath his feet, the ground was as solid as ever as he trod upon it.

The light of flame flickered out from the bronze lamp, and the mists on each side of him churned. Any obstructions ahead dissipated as Naruto continued onwards.

As he passed in further, the mists closed up behind him, blocking off the path. Any outsider, including Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe, and even the Seventh Patriarch, gradually lost sight of Naruto as he disappeared into the mists.

Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe exchanged a look, and could see the shock in each other's eyes, as well as… the astonishment.

Their life or death was in Naruto 's hands, so to them, the more powerful Naruto got, the less chance they ever had to escape. However… as he increased in power, their future prospects… actually grew even more limitless.

"Perhaps Namikaze Xiushan has inadvertently given the two of us a chance to achieve a meteoric rise to success!" Namikaze Daohong said hoarsely.

Namikaze Linhe took a deep breath and nodded. "If Namikaze Naruto can get some good fortune in the necropolis, if he can become the only person in the clan who can cultivate the One Thought Stellar Transformation, then his future prospects are limitless!"

Their eyes shone with determination as they sat cross-legged outside of the Misty Heaven Vault, acting as Dharma Protectors as they waited for Naruto to emerge.

Back in the Misty Heaven Vault, the pitch-black temple at the end of the long path didn't seem to be very far away. However, Naruto ended up walking for a long time.

One day. Two days. Three days.

On the third day, Naruto finally began to get close to the pitch-black temple. Although the temple was still about three thousand meters away, he knew.. that he was in the region of the necropolis!

Rising up above the pitch-black temple was an enormous statue of a middle-aged man. He wore a Daoist robe, and had an expression that was lofty and imposing, yet exposed no trace of anger, and even contained a hint of debonaire. He sat there cross-legged, eyes closed as if he were doing breathing exercises. It was merely a statue, but when you looked at it, it almost looked alive.

He looked somewhat similar to Naruto , or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that all members of the Namikaze Clan had some features similar to this statue.

That was because he was none other than the first generation Patriarch.

He was the peerless, breathtaking man who had risen to become the first Patriarch of a clan!

Eighteen enormous coiling dragons could be seen on the steps leading up to the temple, each of which emanated an archaic feel. It almost looked like those eighteen dragons were actually supporting the entire necropolis with their bodies.

Simply put, it was a majestic sight!

Naruto 's heart trembled as he looked at the huge temple; he knew that this was the final resting place of the first generation Patriarch!

The first generation Patriarch was how the Namikaze Clan had come to be. It was because of him that the powerful Namikaze Clan currently existed in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and there was no end to the legends and myths about him that circulated in the clan.

There was a legend that the first generation Patriarch acquired the bloodline power of the Namikaze Clan in the Ruins of Immortality, and had followed Lord asura in his campaign to subjugate the Ninth Mountain and Sea to quell the chaos and unify all!

There was another story that the first generation Patriarch didn't actually die, that he had lived a fifth life, in which he disappeared to live a carefree existence.

There were various legends that spun in Naruto 's mind. He took a deep breath as he passed the 3,000-meter mark, approaching the necropolis itself. When he neared the steps, he looked up at the huge temple doors and bowed deeply.

"Junior generation Namikaze Clan member Namikaze Naruto extends greetings, first generation Patriarch!"

As his words echoed, the temple began to tremble, and the ornately decorated temple doors began to slowly open!

It was in that exact moment that… outside of the ancestral land, outside of Planet East Victory, Fan Dong'er slammed into the Door of Immortality above the Ninth Sea, causing the door to slowly begin to open. Boundless Immortal light was set free, washing over Fan Dong'er, causing her to gradually become translucent. The holiness that she exuded grew even more intense.

She was already beautiful, but as of this moment, her beauty was beyond compare.

The cultivators of the Nine Seas God World stared at her intently, for they knew… that the critical moment had arrived.

Now was the time to see exactly how many Immortal meridians Fan Dong'er would open!

It wasn't just the Nine Seas God World cultivators who were watching closely. All the other sects and clans were using various methods to observe exactly what happened with Fan Dong'er!

The old Dao Realm woman stood there quietly, looking up at Fan Dong'er with a slight smile, eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 961

Chapter 961: Necropolis

Above the Ninth Sea, the Door of Immortality opened, and boundless Immortal light emanated out, completely bathing Fan Dong'er. At the same time, enormous quantities of Immortal Chakra exploded out from the door and bored into her body.

When the Door of Immortality opens, so do Immortal meridians. Every person is different, so the number of Immortal meridians that can be opened depends on a variety of aspects.

Take Pill Demon for example. Although the moment of his true Immortal Ascension did not come with any display of Immortal meridians, that was because he was the first true Immortal of the era. Therefore, he had gained the approval of all the Nine Mountains and Seas, and his name was engraved upon the Immortal scroll.

Those who used Immortality Illumination Vines to become true Immortals were also approved by the Nine Mountains and Seas, and their names were also recorded on the Immortal scroll, although they were viewed as lacking some of the destiny of Heaven and Earth that Pill Demon had.

However, at its root, cultivation is about defying the Heavens and contending for control of fate. The path to Immortality is one of ascension through defiance of the Heavens.

As far as Naruto was concerned, if he succeeded in becoming a true Immortal without using an Immortality Illumination Vine, and without acquiring the Immortal destiny to gain the approval to become a true

Immortal, then his true Immortality would be completely domineering!

He would be an overbearing true Immortal who everyone had to acknowledge, whether they wanted to or not!

Currently, Immortal Chakra raged above the Ninth Sea. Everyone watched as Fan Dong'er's body emitted scintillating light, and her aura exploded with power.

10 meridians. 20 meridians. 30 meridians…. The light which emanated out from her grew more intense, and shocking images like that of dragons or phoenixes swirled around her!

40 meridians. 60 meridians. 80 meridians…. Rumbling filled the air and shook the hearts of all onlookers as she reached 90 meridians! She was now the complete center of attention, and yet, wasn't done yet!

91 meridians. 93 meridians. In the end… she opened 96 meridians!

The entire Ninth Sea was completely astonished!

As the Door of Immortality faded away, Fan Dong'er hovered there in midair, her 96 Immortal meridians emanating Immortal power. She could sense that she had been thoroughly remolded, and was now vastly more powerful than before.

She looked out into the starry sky in the direction of Planet East Victory.

" Naruto …. I'm a true Immortal now, and when I utilize the Ninth Sea Immortality Incantation, I can double my power. There is still a fight to be had between us, so I hope you're able to keep up with the current generation."

At almost the same moment that Fan Dong'er opened 96 Immortal meridians, back in the Namikaze Clan ancestral land on Planet East Victory, within the mist, Naruto was holding the bronze lamp aloft as he stepped into the open door of the necropolis.

He was now entering a place… that no one had ever entered from the moment the first generation Patriarch passed away in meditation until now! The necropolis!

As he entered, he looked up and saw a field of twinkling stars. There was also a huge mountain, which was surrounded by four planets. Next to the mountain was a starry sea.

It was the Ninth Mountain, the Ninth Sea, and the four planets.

That was the ceiling of the enormous hall in which he found himself. Starlight glittered down onto a middle-aged man who sat atop a woven rush mat. His face was calm, without the slightest hint that he might be dead. And yet, his entire person emanated an aura of rot.

He was almost like a statue that had been sitting there motionless for countless years.

He wore a simple robe and a scholar's hat. He sat there cross-legged, his lips turned up in a slight smile. In his hand he held a scroll of bamboo slips, and a glowing sphere of starlight hovered around him, flickering.

In addition to this, there was a pill furnace, without any cover. Inside of the furnace was a swirling mass of seven-colored mist, making it impossible to see clearly whatever was inside. Above the pill furnace, occupying Naruto 's entire field of view, was… a dragon.

It was… a dragon cast from bronze, its long body twisted around the columns that supported the roof. Cracks spread out from the areas where the dragon's claws sank into the column, and its tail disappeared into the darkness. Its head hung down directly above the pill furnace, into which it was gazing with an expression of greed. Its mouth was open as if it were about to consume whatever was inside the pill furnace.

The bronze dragon was incredibly realistic, even down to the scales, making it almost look alive. Naruto even noticed several areas on the dragon's body where the scales were severely damaged, as if they were scars earned from hundreds of battles.

As he looked at everything around him, Naruto began to pant. He almost couldn't believe that this was merely a bronze casting of a dragon; to him, it almost felt as if it were a real, flesh-and-blood dragon.

One of the reasons for that sensation was that when he looked at it, the Immortal meridian inside of him began to pulse violently and emit an aura of longing, as if it wanted to completely absorb it!

Naruto hesitated for a moment. In a situation like this, he would not act rashly. He scanned the huge temple hall, and then decided to skirt the pill furnace and head over to the man sitting on the rush mat. He looked at him sitting there meditating, and realized that he looked exactly like the statue outside.

"First generation Patriarch…." murmured Naruto . As he looked at the man, his blood began to thrum, as if it were a resonance between the two of them.

After a long moment, Naruto knelt down and kowtowed to the man.

" Namikaze Naruto of the Junior generation offers greetings, Patriarch," he said, his voice sincere. Although he might have a bit of enmity toward the Namikaze Clan, he only had feelings of respect for the first generation Patriarch who had founded the clan.

After kowtowing, Naruto got to his feet and looked at the sphere of starlight hovering around of the first generation Patriarch. Deep inside the light, he could just barely make out a fingernail-sized asteroid.

As the starlight entered his eyes, Naruto 's breathing sped up a bit. From what he could tell, this object… was probably a manifestation of the One Thought Stellar Transformation.

He tried to reach out and grab the starlight, but no matter how he attempted to take ahold of it, it did no good, as if the sphere were completely ignoring him. It just continued to orbit the first generation Patriarch.

Naruto thought for a moment, then abandoned any attempts to force the matter. After all, the sphere of starlight was hovering around the first generation Patriarch, so any attempt to forcibly take it away would probably involve making contact with the Patriarch's corpse, a level of disrespect that Naruto wouldn't show.

He took a few steps back, looking around and then floating up into the air to take a closer look at the places where the bronze dragon's claws sank into the column. After a moment, he took in a deep breath, and his expression was one of complete disbelief.

He then sank back down to the ground and glanced around vigilantly, his heart pounding.

Moments ago, he had been able to determine that the cracks had not been carved there, but had occurred naturally, as if… on some day in the past, a real dragon had actually latched onto the column with its claws.

As he continued to gaze at the bronze dragon, images began to appear in his mind. In the vision, he saw the hall, empty and peaceful. Then a dragon charged in, swirling through hall and then wrapping around one column after another. Its claws pierced into the columns as it lowered its head, eyes flickering with greed as it attempted to consume the pill furnace. It was in that moment that a powerful force rippled out, and the dragon died instantly, transforming into nothing more than a bronze statue.

As soon as Naruto experienced this vision, he was filled with shock.

"This necropolis sure is full of strange things…." he thought, blinking. He looked back at the first generation Patriarch, then was struck by a sudden impulse. Naruto walked past him, then sat down across from him, back facing the Patriarch, looking out into the hall.

His scalp instantly went numb as he realized that from this position, he could directly see the dragon's chin, and the lower part of its body. Furthermore, it appeared that… if he were powerful enough, he could use a single finger to cause the entire bronze dragon to explode.

He raised his hand and pointed in that very manner, then stood up and followed the line that his finger had pointed at. When he arrived at the place where that path intersected with the dragon's chin, and examined it more closely, he could sense something that caused his mind to tremble.

He was almost frightened out of his senses when that specific spot on the dragon's chin rippled as if with magic; apparently there was still the residue of some sort of magical technique, left behind in this spot.

That indicated… that this was the point of impact that had led to the bronze dragon being turned into a statue!

Naruto slowly turned around to face the first generation Patriarch. Mouth parched and dry, he forced a smile onto his face and then clasped hands and bowed.

"Patriarch," he began carefully, "I am a member of the Namikaze Clan, the sole descendant of the direct bloodline. I'm the only heir. Do you get what that means, sir?! Basically, if I die, then the direct bloodline will be gone!

"Sir, you are an exalted and magnanimous person, so, um… well, I'm here, not to disturb you, sir, but rather, to acquire a legacy so that I can perform meritorious services for the clan!"

Naruto 's speech was met with silence, so after a moment, he backed up, thought for a moment, then looked over at the pill furnace in hesitation.

"Whatever it was that caused this incredibly powerful dragon to feel such greed must definitely be a precious treasure…. Who knows how this dragon managed to charge its way in here, but it shows that it's definitely not weak. Most likely, it actually came here before the Misty Heaven Vault was created, and before the first generation Patriarch perished. The fact that the first generation Patriarch caused the dragon to remain in the necropolis shows just how powerful it was.

"And the item it desired…." Naruto 's heart thumped as he hesitated, torn about what to do. Finally, he looked up and yet again clasped hands to the first generation Patriarch.

"Patriarch, my Bloodline Gatebeam rose up 30,000 meters, making me fit to be called the number one figure of the Namikaze bloodline right now. That indicates… that you and I have a very close connection, grandfather." He blinked.

"Considering our close relationship, if you were still alive, sir, well, I think you would be very happy to see me. I have a pretty good personality, and an even temper. I'm very obedient, and always follow instructions. Pretty much everyone likes me." Naruto slapped his chest proudly as he described himself.

"Patriarch, you're a member of the Elder generation, so to see someone of the Junior generation after so many years, especially someone as outstanding as myself, must surely make you very happy. You definitely would want a member of the Junior generation like me to be handsomely rewarded.

"I actually want nothing else than the contents of that pill furnace. Why don't you give it to me, okay? Oh, and the One Thought Stellar Transformation? I'd love to continue to develop it. Right, about that dragon, I'll clear it out for you, how about that!?" Naruto , feeling emboldened, and yet also gritting his teeth, slowly approached the pill furnace and looked at the seven-colored mist inside. He then gently blew on the mist.

As soon as his breath touched the mist, Naruto saw that inside of the pill furnace was a jade plate, upon which was a blob of seven-colored liquid.

The moment he saw the seven-colored liquid, all of the hair on his body stood on end. As a Grandmaster of the Dao of alchemy, it didn't matter that he had never seen a liquid like this before, his intuition instantly informed him that this was something that could not be consumed by cultivators.

It contained a shocking, violent aura which indicated that any cultivator who consumed it would be killed instantly.

It was at this moment that a thrumming sound could suddenly be heard from within his bag of holding. The jade box inside shattered, and the two Nirvana Fruits that had been given to him by the Grand Elder, the ones that belonged to the first generation Patriarch, suddenly flew out of their own volition. Seemingly striving to outdo each other, they shot toward the seven-colored liquid inside the pill furnace.

It was as if the first fruit to touch the liquid would be completely restored!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 962

Chapter 962: The Number One Person of Immortal Destiny!

It happened so suddenly that Naruto could only watch with wide eyes as the two Nirvana Fruits shot toward the pill furnace. The one that took the lead was the one which Naruto had spent so many spirit stones on, and was on the verge of already being completely restored.

Naruto 's mind filled with roaring as he suddenly realized that the seven-colored liquid must have the same function as Spirit Elixir. It wasn't meant to be consumed, it was meant to be used to restore Nirvana Fruits.

A Yin aura of death could be sensed within the liquid, an aura that represented the lack of life and destruction. The Nirvana Fruits had been withered for eons, and were essentially dead. However, it seemed that when they touched the seven-colored liquid, the Yin death aura would reach a pinnacle in which life force suddenly appeared!

That life force represented the restoration of the Nirvana Fruits.

The violent surge of energy from the seven-colored liquid would replenish the Nirvana Fruits, leading to a rapid increase in life force.

Naruto 's mind trembled; the first thought that entered his mind was that he must not under any circumstances allow the Nirvana Fruit which he had so painstakingly worked on to succeed right now. If it did, the losses he would sustain as a result would be too incredible.

He used all the power he could muster to reach out and grab the Nirvana Fruit, which was just on the verge of touching the seven-colored liquid. Even as he did this, the other Nirvana Fruit that he had ignored all this time melt down into the liquid.

In that instant, blinding beams of seven-colored light stabbed out, and a thick, seven-colored mist spread out to cover the entire pill furnace.

The other Nirvana Fruit, which Naruto now held in his hand, seemed to calm down, and ceased moving. Naruto quickly tossed it into his bag of holding, and then backed up several paces, his facial expression fluctuating with anxiety.

He looked over at the first generation Patriarch, then back at the sevencolored mist in the pill furnace, and began muttering to himself in uncertainty.

"No one has ever been to this necropolis before…. Therefore, nobody knows that the Spirit Extract within the pill furnace can provoke such a reaction from the Nirvana Fruits…. This is the necropolis of the first generation Patriarch, and the Nirvana Fruits belong to him.

"I wonder if, after the fusion is complete, the Nirvana Fruit could be consumed?" Naruto hesitated for a moment; currently, he couldn't see anything in particular inside of the pill furnace's mist.

"If I can consume it, then it would definitely be a big win for me!" Naruto 's eyes shone with bright light.

"Even if I can't consume it, losing one of the Nirvana Fruits isn't completely unacceptable." With that, Naruto took a deep breath and calmed himself down. Then, he looked up at the bronze dragon.

This time, it seemed different than before. Its greedy expression had changed into one of fear, and instead of its mouth being open in preparation to consume the pill furnace, it now looked as if someone had violently wrenched its mouth open with the purpose of distilling the essence of its life force.

That essence seemed to be formed from the frenzied terror it had experienced in the moment of death. Then, after it died, the Yin death power formed together… merging to create a drop of liquid filled with boundless Yin death and violence. That drop had then descended onto the jade plate in the pill furnace.

Naruto wasn't sure whether or not he was mistaken, but it seemed that as soon as the Nirvana Fruit merged into the liquid and the dense mist filled the pill furnace, some sort of natural law seemed to have been nullified, which made the bronze dragon's expression change again. This time, it seemed almost relieved, as if it had experienced a release.

Next, cracks suddenly spread out across the bronze dragon's body. They rapidly covered its entire body, to the point where the dragon gradually… began to dissipate right before his eyes!

He stared in shock, and took a deep breath as he backed up.

He looked on as the bronze dragon began to fade, transforming into strands of mist that maintained the shape of a dragon as they intertwined with each other and began to swirl around the hall.

When it got close to Naruto , the misty dragon head looked at him thoughtfully. Eventually, a gleam of appreciation could be seen in its eyes, after which it shot forward and slammed headfirst into Naruto !

It instantly began to fuse into him, transforming into Immortal qi, which then surged into his Immortal meridian.

Naruto 's mind trembled, and his Immortal meridian shook violently. It even began to resemble the appearance of a dragon as it madly absorbed the misty dragon's Immortal qi.

Cracking sounds could be heard as his Immortal meridian solidified even further, and Naruto 's true Immortal aura grew stronger and stronger.

A strange gleam appeared in his eyes. His breath came in ragged pants as he experienced the sensation of the true Immortal Realm more strongly than he ever had before. Previously, he had been at the point of needing a hundred days to completely solidify his Immortal meridian, but now it was proceeding much faster than before.

In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, rumbling filled Naruto 's body as his Immortal meridian was completely formed!

Immortal light pulsed out from him, and Immortal Chakra multiplied rapidly, circulating through his body, causing his Cultivation base to change completely.

He had been waiting for this moment for a long time. His journey had started in the lands of Ninshu , in the moment that he witnessed his master Pill Demon reach true Immortal Ascension. That was when his anticipation had begun to build!

From this moment on, he was not a mortal, but an Immortal.

During the Daoist Societies' trial by fire, Naruto had seen the glimmer of hope. After arriving on Planet East Victory, his anticipation deepened. Originally, he thought it would take a bit longer, but now, in the ancestral land, within the necropolis, he acquired the vast, heavenly good fortune to complete that final step into true Immortality.

Were Naruto not in this necropolis, which was part of the Ruins of Immortality, then Immortal Tribulation would currently be forming up above, and a Door of Immortality would appear.

Only by bashing open that door would he be able to make the final leap to success by opening the rest of his Immortal meridians.

However at this moment, the Door of Immortality had no way to sense Naruto 's aura, no way to realize that he was about to step into the Immortal Realm. Therefore, it did not appear.

Because of that… Naruto 's cultivation base had actually reached an indescribably shocking level.

Lucky breaks like this were something incredibly rare. To be able to achieve true Immortal Ascension like this required three criteria; to achieve Immortality without the use of an Immortality Illumination Vine, to be in a place with both a necropolis and a piece of the Ruins of Immortality, and for that place to have sufficient Immortal qi.

Though it seemed that the three stipulations would be a simple matter to meet, it was actually incredibly difficult. Normally speaking, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to meet the first requirement, not to mention the other two!

They were so difficult that, although you couldn't say they were impossible to meet, they were definitely extremely, extremely unlikely. In fact, in the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, Naruto was the only person who, by a series of chance occurrences, had managed to achieve it!

Perhaps in some of the other Eight Mountains and Seas, there had been other people throughout the years who attempted to do the same thing. However, none of those people could compare to Naruto . That was because he had started out with a foundation for true Immortality, which was the Immortal meridian that had been given to him by none other than the bronze lamp!

It was an authentic Immortal meridian, exceeding that of all other Immortals, making him… a true Immortal among true Immortals!

Naruto was actually the first person in all of the Nine Mountains and Seas to come across such a lucky break!

However many extra Immortal meridians he had now would remain with him when he underwent his Immortal Tribulation on the outside, and would not superimpose with those Immortal meridians he acquired, but would increase their number!

All souls had three spiritual aspects and seven physical soul aspects, with ten meridians composing each of the ten vessels. Immortals with 100 meridians had three spiritual soul aspects, seven physical soul aspects, and ten soul vessels. People who exceeded 100 meridians were extremely rare in the Nine Mountains and Seas. In fact, such people existed virtually in legend only. Each meridian that exceeded 100 resulted in an additional soul vessel!

Naruto 's body filled with rumbling as his first Immortal Meridian was completed. Furthermore, thanks to the misty dragon, a second Immortal meridian was also beginning to take shape. As soon as it appeared, it began to solidify.

Good preparation leads to success. Other Chosen had already prepared themselves to their utmost limits, so, when they stepped into true Immortality, it would be a shocking event. As for Naruto , he had taken himself to be well prepared, but now, with this sudden lucky break, he was accumulating even more potential.

If any outsider became aware of this kind of extra preparation, it would shock the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

At the same time that Naruto sat there cross-legged, madly absorbing Immortal Chakra and forming a second Immortal meridian, clouds were forming in the starry sky outside of Planet East Victory. It started as a mist that rapidly formed into Tribulation Clouds alongside a shocking Door of Immortality.

A Door of Immortality had been floating over the Ninth Sea just a short time ago, and now, one materialized over East Victory and was slowly descending toward the planet.

Countless people saw it, and it immediately led to a complete uproar. Namikaze Clan members looked at it excitedly, especially the clan Elders.

"True Immortal Tribulation!" the Grand Elder gasped, eyes shining brightly.

The descent of the Door of Immortality was not because of Naruto ; rather, it was because of… Namikaze Wei!

Beneath the ancestral mansion, Namikaze Xiushan awakened from meditation, body trembling, expression one of excitement as he looked over at the stone wall next to him. Suddenly, the stone wall opened up to reveal a tall figure striding out, who was none other than Namikaze Wei.

His left eye was pitch black, a darkness that seemed to contain death itself. His right eye was completely white, as if it contained the vitality of daytime. His entire person radiated the aura of true Immortality.

His expression was sober and serious as he simultaneously exuded the aura of reincarnation and the icy coldness of the Yellow Springs.

"Wei'er," said Namikaze Xiushan excitedly, "you…."

"Dad, I succeeded," was the reply. Namikaze Wei immediately blasted a hole in the ceiling of the chamber and then flew out into the air above.

Namikaze Xiushan tilted his head back and began to laugh loudly. Seeing Namikaze Wei fly out filled his heart with excitement, and he knew that as of this moment, all of his violations of clan rules were no longer important, and could easily be swept under the rug.

Indeed, it really was true. As Namikaze Wei shot up into the sky, the Grand Elder caught sight of Namikaze Xiushan and gave him a deep look, although he didn't say anything.

At the moment, Namikaze Wei was the only person flying up in midair. Seeing this from their positions down below, the Elders of his bloodline also flew up to act as Dharma Protectors. At the same time, the Namikaze Clan's grand spell formation was also activated, making Namikaze Wei the center of all attention on Planet East Victory.

Down in the stony cavern beneath the ancestral mansion, the other six Patriarchs stirred and began to observe the scene. Although they didn't appear in person, their divine senses locked down the whole planet.

As of this moment, Namikaze Wei was the focus of all eyes!

Namikaze Xi stood within the crowds, fists clenched, eyes filled with defiance.

" Namikaze Naruto should be the one reaching true Immortal Ascension!

" Namikaze Naruto, Coz, I hope you're okay, and I hope you know that Namikaze Wei… succeeded with his Immortal Ascension and is now preparing to attack the Door of Immortality and open his Immortal meridians!"

Rumbling filled the Heavens as the Door of Immortality descended. All of the clans and sects in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were using various methods to observe what was happening on Planet East Victory.

If you didn't count Pill Demon, Namikaze Wei was the second person in this generation after Fan Dong'er… to become a true Immortal cultivator!

"Fan Dong'er opened 96 Immortal meridians. I wonder… how many Immortal meridians Namikaze Wei will open?!" That was the question on the minds of all the people watching throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Namikaze Wei looked like a shooting star as he soared up into the sky toward the rumbling Immortal Tribulation. Lightning crashed around him as he roared, eyes filled with determination as he completely ignored the Immortal Tribulation and focused completely on the Door of Immortality within the cloud.

"My goal is to open 98 meridians!" he murmured softly. "After I have my Immortal meridians, Namikaze Naruto… you will be nothing more than an ant to me. Your two Nirvana Fruits will make me, Namikaze Wei, the number one person within my generation!

"However, I'm still going to crush you to death to sever the Devil in my heart!" Namikaze Wei's eyes shone with pride and arrogance as he contemplated his desire to… return to the position he had occupied before the rising of the East Ascension Sun… Prince Wei of the Namikaze Clan!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 963

Chapter 963: Namikaze Naruto, Come Out and Fight!

As Naruto meditated in seclusion in the necropolis, having completed his first Immortal meridian and moved on to his second, the Door of Immortality rumbled above Planet East Victory, and Immortal Tribulation descended.

Namikaze Wei flew up above the land, heading into the tribulation, the focus of all eyes, not only on Planet East Victory, but in all of the sects and clans, who used various different methods to bear witness to Namikaze Wei becoming a true Immortal.

Fan Dong'er had opened 96 meridians, causing widespread shock. Now that Namikaze Wei had reached Immortal Ascension, everyone was considering the question of how many meridians he would open. His Immortal Ascension represented the potential rise of a new almighty figure within the Namikaze Clan.

As everything rumbled, the Immortal Tribulation battered Namikaze Wei, and he roared. Lightning crashed down, and he let it. The aura of reincarnation swirled around him, and the will of the Yellow Springs surged strongly.

Furthermore, a bizarre light shone in his eyes. The left one was black, the right one white, which was the manifestation of the successful cultivation of One Breath Yellow Springs Dao. As for the aura of reincarnation that swirled around him, that was from the One Thought Reincarnation Incantation!

These were signature divine abilities of the Namikaze Clan, and shockingly, he had cultivated two of them!

Amidst the rumbling, Namikaze Wei slammed into the door of Immortality, immediately opening it a crack. Boundless Immortal light began to spill out, and the Immortal tribulation grew more intense, covering everything in the sky.

Time passed. Soon, three days had gone by.

During those three days, Namikaze Wei's image shocked everyone. He continued to completely ignore the Immortal Tribulation, which didn't seem capable of pushing him back even the least bit. In fact, he even seemed to be gaining strength from it. Lightning filled the Heavens, and Namikaze Wei's presence there left everyone astonished.

" Namikaze Wei is the number one Chosen of the Namikaze Clan! He's the Namikaze

Clan's Prince Wei!"

"The Immortal Tribulation is going to dissipate! He's about to truly open the Door of Immortality!"

" Namikaze Wei! Namikaze Wei!" Everyone in the Namikaze Clan was excited, and their voices quickly filled the air, turning into sound waves that rolled out in all directions.

Moments later, a shocking boom could be heard as Namikaze Wei pushed open the Door of Immortality. Immortal light surged out, filling the sky, the blinding beams immediately dispersing the Immortal Tribulation.

The Immortal light wreathed Namikaze Wei as he threw his head back and let out a long shout. His hair whipped about, and his tall frame grew even more refined as it shed its mortal constraints. He was now stepping into the true Immortal Realm.

At the same time, the Immortal light sent out boundless Immortal Chakra that surrounded Namikaze Wei and poured into his body.

Everyone down below was in an uproar as they observed the proceedings. The Grand Elder's eyes shone with brilliant light. Off to the side, Namikaze Wei's grandfather and Namikaze Xiushan both looked extremely excited.

20 meridians. 40 meridians. 60 meridians. 80 meridians!

In the space of a few breaths worth of time, Immortal light washed over Namikaze Wei, and he opened 80 Immortal meridians, causing intense pressure to radiate out. Rumbling echoed out from within him as the Immortal meridians writhed like vicious dragons, and emanated the power of true Immortality.

83 meridians. 87 meridians. 90 meridians!

The Namikaze Clan was in a huge commotion, and all observers on Planet East Victory were trembling. The clan members of other clans were all looking at Namikaze Wei as he rose once again to prominence, opening 90 meridians!

However, things weren't over yet. More shocking rumbling could be heard from within Namikaze Wei. 91, 92, 93….

When the 96th meridian appeared, there was universal astonishment!

"Fan Dong'er opened 96 meridians, and now Namikaze Wei has actually done the same thing!"

"He fully deserves to be called a Chosen!"

"He… he actually seems to have a bit of energy left. Just how many resources did Namikaze Wei pour into his preparations!? This is astonishing!"

Rumbling sounds continue to echo out as the 97th meridian opened inside of Namikaze Wei!

Namikaze Xiushan was trembling, and his expression was one of intense excitement. He looked up into the sky and began to laugh heartily. Next to him, Namikaze Wei's grandfather looked very pleased. Even the Grand Elder appeared to be smiling.

The entire Namikaze Clan was roused into complete excitement.

However, Namikaze Wei wasn't satisfied. He remained in the Door of Immortality, surrounded by Immortal light, his cultivation base climbing higher and higher. He continued to rise higher as he suddenly shouted out.

"98th meridian, OPEN!"

The instant his voice echoed out, a shocking rumbling sound could be heard. In the blink of an eye, his aura leaped exponentially, emitting a terrifying aura as he formed… a 98th meridian!

98 horned dragons appeared around him in the void, swirling gracefully, causing anyone who saw them to begin to pant.

In the moment that the 98th meridian was formed, 10,000 illusory figures appeared in the area surrounding the Door of immortality. They wore armor and held Immortal weapons, and they quickly surrounded Namikaze Wei and then themselves prostrated in worship.

Everyone on Planet East Victory who saw this couldn't help but gasp, and the cultivators from the other sects and clans were completely shaken.

"The Namikaze Clan has produced a qilin-like prodigy!"

"98 meridians! It's rare for even one person like that to appear every 10,000 years! Strange signs will appear whenever anyone exceeds 95 meridians, for example, the flying dragons and phoenixes of Fan Dong'er. However, Namikaze Wei… actually caused 10,000 ancient Immortal warriors to appear!"

"He's been touched by the destiny of the Mountains and Seas! Destiny of the Mountains and Seas is upon him!"

The Namikaze Clan was abuzz, and the rest of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was also shaken. Even the Hebi Clan on the Ninth Mountain took notice.

As of this moment, Namikaze Wei was now the number one figure in his generation!

As the Door of Immortality slowly faded away, Namikaze Wei hovered in midair, his robe as pure as fresh snow, his long hair swirling about. He had been handsome to begin with, but now his demeanor was even more elegant and entrancing. His eyes shone with a pride that looked down on both Heaven and Earth; as of this moment, he made no effort to conceal his cultivation base. He allowed it to explode out, causing the sky to tremble, and Immortal might to shake the land.

" Namikaze Naruto, come out and fight!" he suddenly roared, his words echoing out like thunder. No one had expected these words to be the first things to come out of his mouth.

" Namikaze Naruto, get out here and fight me!" His words echoed back and forth constantly, roaring like thunder.

It was at this point that quite a few people recalled Naruto . Actually, in the days following the rise of the East Ascension Sun, the number one Chosen in the clan wasn't Namikaze Wei, it was Naruto !

No one said anything. The entire Namikaze Clan went quiet. Actually, not many people knew about Naruto entering the ancestral land. Most of them had no idea that Naruto was not currently inside the premises of the Clan.

Even Namikaze Wei wasn't aware of the current situation!

As his voice echoed out, the clan went quiet as they waited to see if Naruto would come out. Namikaze Xi was in the crowd, jaw clenched tightly. Finally, he let out a mighty cry bolstered by all of his cultivation base.

"My Coz Namikaze Naruto is in the ancestral land! Once he comes out, you won't need to go looking for him! He'll find you to do battle!" In response to Namikaze Xi's words, Namikaze Wei's expression remained the same as ever. However, icy coldness appeared in his eyes as he looked down at Namikaze Xi.

"Well then, I'll just wait for him to come out!" With that, he shot down toward the ground, appearing just outside the main temple hall, where he sat down cross-legged.

Indeed, like he had said, he was going to wait for Naruto to return so that he could fight and kill him!

Even if Naruto hadn't achieved true Immortal Ascension yet, Namikaze

Wei would kill him anyway. After all, if Naruto didn't achieve true Immortality, naturally he would not be qualified to be Namikaze Wei's rival. To kill a lesser person such as that would clear his clouded mind.

"You'd better not disappoint me," he thought, the killing intent in his eyes growing as he looked at the temple hall.

The fact that Namikaze Wei and Naruto were soon going to have a decisive battle attracted quite a bit of attention on the part of the rest of the clan. Earlier, many of them had taken a liking to Naruto , but now that they had personally watched Namikaze Wei become a true Immortal, their hearts wavered.

"Will Namikaze Naruto lose…?"

"How could one even fight against a Chosen like that…?"

The expressions of the direct bloodline members were somewhat gloomy. Only Namikaze Xi had the utmost confidence in Naruto . He stood there, hands clenched into fists, completely sure that Naruto would never lose!

Meanwhile, Naruto was sitting cross-legged in the necropolis in the ancestral land. He was surrounded by swirling tendrils of mist. The misty dragon's head was now completely absorbed into him, while the body still remained in the necropolis.

Naruto 's expression was the same as always. He stood there unmoving, and yet, his heart was filled with crashes like that of lightning. Great waves surged through him as his second Immortal meridian solidified with shocking speed.

Ten percent. Twenty percent. Thirty percent…. It was impossible to say how much Immortal Chakra that bronze dragon's body contained. After all, only the head itself was enough to cause Naruto 's second Immortal meridian to reach a state of forty percent completion.

It must be stated that Naruto 's Immortal meridians were different than that of others. Not even Fan Dong'er or Namikaze Wei's could compare with his at all.

His Immortal meridians were those of a true Immortal among true Immortals!

Each and every one was like a true dragon!

As they formed, they required massive consumption of Immortal qi, to such an extent it was almost unbelievable.

"The more I build up in preparation here, the more I'll be able to explode out later!" Naruto performed a double-handed incantation, and rotated his cultivation base, madly absorbing the misty dragon.

Time passed, and the dragon undulated. Naruto 's second Immortal meridian reached fifty percent, sixty, seventy and finally eighty percent!

Any onlooker who could see such a thing would be flabbergasted.

Naruto trembled as he went all-out to absorb the Immortal qi. His second Immortal meridian rapidly reached ninety percent and then… one hundred percent!

In that moment, popping sounds rang out from within him as his second Immortal meridian solidified completely.

As of this moment, he had two Immortal meridians inside of him, a sort of preparation leading to Immortality that was without compare in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

"I can keep going!" thought Naruto , panting. His heart began to pound; he had long since realized that this opportunity was the greatest good fortune he could have encountered in aid of achieving true Immortal Ascension.

He opened his eyes, and they shone with a strange light. Deep within his pupils, a flame burned, a flame that was… a fiery thirst to become a powerful expert!

"I will… become even more powerful!" He took in a deep breath, and rumbling could be heard as more of the misty dragon poured into him. As he absorbed it, a third Immortal meridian began to form!

"There is now about half a month until I have to leave this place…. When I walk out of the ancestral land, my name… will definitely spread throughout the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea!

"Dad. Mom. I'm going to astonish the entire Namikaze Clan. I'm going to be the focus of the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea. I know that you're stuck on Planet Ninshu , so… I'm going to make you proud from here!"

Naruto 's eyes flickered like a blade, filled with loyalty and obsession.

Finally, he closed them again.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 964

Chapter 964: We're Waiting!

Pill Demon opened up a new age, giving rise to a majestic prelude to a long-anticipated 10,000-year-era.

It was a 10,000-year-era that contained endless possibilities, and no one could possibly predict how far these blazings suns of various sects and clans would progress during that time.

Perhaps other blazing suns would appear, and rise up like dark horses! For example, Uchiha Tengfei!

After Pill Demon initiated the prologue, Fan Dong'er lifted the curtains, allowing all to clearly see that a new age was upon them.

As for Namikaze Wei, he was a rising heavenly body in the first act, the center of all attention. His appearance caused everyone to realize that the age of true Immortals… had arrived.

Fan Dong'er's rise to true Immortality shook half of the Ninth Sea, making her instantly famous. Namikaze Wei's rise to true Immortality sent waves throughout Planet East Victory, and the appearance of 10,000 Immortal warriors bowing in worship to him cause utter astonishment.

However, nobody had predicted that the one who would come after Fan

Dong'er and Namikaze Wei to become the third person to provoke Immortal Tribulation would not be some well-known Chosen from one of the sects or clans. Instead, it was an ordinary member of the Uchiha Clan… who happened to be located on an asteroid in the starry sky!

The Door of Immortality descended, and amidst the Immortal Tribulation, Immortal Chakra swirled in the starry sky. The sects and clans were bewildered as they turned their attention in that direction.

Uchiha Tengfei!

After experiencing shocking changes in his life, he had gained a new level of maturity. He had gone through many ordeals, and death had even appeared on his doorstep, only to pass him by. Uchiha Tengfei was no longer the perfect young man he had been back on Planet Ninshu .

He was now taciturn, and lacked any sort of arrogance. Because of the many things he had gone through, he ended up achieving great revelations regarding life.

He looked at the Immortal Tribulation and the Door of Immortality, and he chuckled. As he laughed, his eyes shone with obsession. At the same time, he recalled the images of the destruction of his clan on Planet Ninshu . He saw himself falling. He went from being a Chosen to being completely down and out, and in the end, helped the Patriarch fulfill his goal.

Through all of those things, Naruto 's shadow always seemed to loom over him. It had never faded away and couldn't be blotted out. From the Reliance Sect onward, it was always there….

" Naruto …." Uchiha Tengfei threw his head back and laughed, then flew up into the air toward the Immortal Tribulation. Rumbling could be heard, and the stars trembled. All of the sects and clans were now focused on Uchiha Tengfei.

Especially… the Uchiha Clan!

Up to now, they had completely disregarded Uchiha Tengfei. He was merely from Planet Ninshu 's collateral branch of the clan. Now, the clan Elders looked at him, and their hearts quivered.

Uchiha Tengfei rose up like a blazing sun amidst the Immortal Tribulation. The Door of Immortality opened, and Immortal light exploded out. In the end, he opened 95 Immortal meridians!

95 Immortal meridians didn't match up to Namikaze Wei, and was one less than Fan Dong'er. Even still, the matter was enough to shock all of the various sects and clans.

That was especially true because of the strange signs that appeared after he opened the 95 meridians. Although observers might not have noticed anything extremely unusual, when the Uchiha Clan Elders saw it, massive waves of shock rolled through their hearts.

The image that appeared for Uchiha Tengfei was that of some sort of heavenly body. It was not something enormous, but rather, very small, and it appeared… on his forehead!

It rotated there, emanating a shocking aura, making it seem as if Uchiha Tengfei's body was now very different than it had been before.

"That's… the mark of the Ancient God bloodline!"

"That kid actually awakened the most powerful bloodline of our entire

Uchiha Clan, the Ancient God bloodline!" 1

The entire Uchiha Clan was sent into a stir, and quite a few people flew out to act as Dharma Protectors.

In a bamboo forest that was a restricted area in the Uchiha Clan, there was an old man who had reprimanded Uchiha Mu previously. He currently squatted on a long stalk of bamboo, his body wizened, his expression one of boundless ancientness. Although he normally looked disreputable, right now, he suddenly looked much more serious, and a terrifying light could even be seen in his eyes. 2

He stared out into the stars, his expression somber.

"At long last… a descendant has appeared who is worthy of that jinx's bloodline…. He's definitely better and more powerful than any of the other bastards who have appeared recently."

In the subsequent days, which amounted to a little more than half of a month, the Door of Immortality frequently appeared in various regions throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Zhao Yifan opened it, and were it not for Namikaze Wei, he would have been the complete center of attention with his 97 Immortal meridians.

Because of him, the Three Great Daoist Societies once again became the focus of all the clans and sects.

After him, Song Luodan also stepped into true Immortality. Taiyang Zi, too, joined their ranks.

Next was Sun Hai, whose final step took him to 90 Immortal meridians. Although it was not an extraordinary number, he wasn't very far behind all of the others, and could be considered to have made the grade for this era.

Li Ling'er also pushed open the Door of Immortality amidst the Immortal tribulation. She bathed in the Immortal light and opened 96 meridians. This clearly proved that the Four Great Clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea possessed deep resources and great power!

After stepping into true Immortality, all of the Chosen happened to do the same thing. Their eyes turned toward Planet East Victory, as if they were waiting for a certain person!

Fan Dong'er, Namikaze Wei, and all of the Chosen who had stepped into true Immortality were all the center of attention, and gradually, the sects and clans picked up on what was happening. Even rogue cultivators noticed.

Soon, a rumor began to spread through the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"The Chosen are all waiting for a cultivator by the name of Naruto .

He also goes by Namikaze Naruto, and he's a member of the Namikaze Clan!"

"On Planet Ninshu , he forced all the other Chosen into submission. Then, in the rise of the East Ascension Sun on Planet East Victory, he was the number one figure! He even looked directly into the sun for ten breaths of time!"

"He was the first person Namikaze Wei wanted to fight after reaching true

Immortal Ascension!"

"The reason Fan Dong'er has that corpse floating behind her is because she offended him, and he forced Karma onto her!"

"Supposedly, he's Li Ling'er's future beloved!"

"I heard that Taiyang Zi, Song Luodan, and Uchiha Mu were all defeated by him!"

"According to the rumors, Zhao Yifan once said that even he wasn't as good as Naruto !"

"Rumor has it that he even captured Hebi Yin from the Hebi Clan!"

"People say that he has a whole stack of promissory notes, and that all the other Chosen are in massive debt to him!"

"They're all waiting for Naruto … to reach Immortal Ascension!"

Naruto 's name spread throughout the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, even to Planet Ninshu , and everyone heard about him. Namikaze Minato and Kushina stood in the Tower of Tang, looking up into the stars, offering blessings to their son.

Meanwhile, Naruto sat in the necropolis in the blessed land. He had already formed, not just three Immortal meridians, but four, and then five! He was now working on his sixth.

The mist dragon was now more than half gone. The necropolis itself was no longer filled with mist. Naruto sat there cultivating, and clearly, he wasn't finished.

He wanted something completely unprecedented. He didn't just want to build up preparations. What he wanted was to be able to utterly explode out the instant he entered true Immortality.

He would either do nothing, or would completely amaze people in an unprecedented fashion.

Rumbling filled his body as his sixth meridian reached a state of fifty percent completion. It kept going, soon reaching sixty percent, seventy percent… eighty percent!

Naruto had no idea how long he had been inside the necropolis, but he didn't want to waste any time, and kept pushing forward.

Eventually, he reached ninety, and then one hundred percent. After that, boundless energy exploded out from him. Majestic light could be seen, causing his body to become translucent, like crystal. In the blink of an eye, he almost looked like a spirit stone.

In fact, if Naruto could see himself right now, he… might just fall in love.

However, six meridians wasn't the end. Naruto didn't hesitate for a moment; he immediately began to consolidate the power of his cultivation base, absorb more power from the mist dragon, and then start a seventh Immortal meridian!

Naruto now fully realized that long, long ago, that bronze dragon had been completely terrifying. Were it not, there would not be such a shocking amount of Immortal Chakra preserved inside of it after the passing of ages.

Soon, the seventh Immortal meridian formed.

Outside of the Heavenly Mist Vault, Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe were waiting, unsure of exactly what was happening inside. All they knew was that not too long after Naruto entered the Misty Heaven Vault, the entire ancestral land became a sea of mist.

Up in midair, the Seventh Patriarch watched the changes in the Misty Heaven Vault, and gradually got the sensation that Naruto was making a drastic transformation, and was leaping forward to incredible heights.

Time passed. Soon, only three days were left until the ancestral land was scheduled to open. Naruto was in the necropolis, his seventh Immortal meridian fully formed. Brilliant light shone from his translucent body, completely illuminating the necropolis.

Naruto opened his eyes, and the light that shone out was completely different. There was something profound about it, like moonlight reflected on flowing water. By now, the only thing that remained of the mist dragon was its tail. Although the Immortal Chakra it contained was as dense as ever, there wasn't much of it left.

"I can still open… another meridian!" His eyes gleamed with madness as he took a deep breath, rotated his cultivation base, and unleashed the power of his seven Immortal meridians. Rumbling could be heard as he absorbed the mist dragon's tail.

His body almost seemed like it was about to explode as the eighth Immortal meridian began to form. An aura began to intensify inside of him, and he actually wasn't sure exactly which Realm he belonged in. However, that didn't matter.

There was only one thought on Naruto 's mind, and that was to stockpile this power to the utter limits, and form that eighth Immortal meridian!

"If I can succeed with this meridian, then theoretically, in the end, I could open, not 101 Immortal meridians, but 108….

"However, that's just in theory. In reality it might even be possible… to exceed that number!

"No matter what happens, I've worked hard for the true Immortal Realm. I've struggled and have prepared more than anyone else! My Immortal meridians… will definitely exceed everyone else's!

"However, my goal cannot merely be to exceed any other person. My goal… for all eternity… will be to exceed myself!

"To constantly exceed myself, to continually break through my own barriers! I will always walk my own path, all the way to the end!

"Thus, the Dao of Naruto is a direction. Freedom! Independence! No cares or worries! What I want, the Heavens shall NOT lack! What I don't want, had BETTER not exist in the Heavens! 3

"Being domineering. Having freedom. This… is the Dao of Naruto !" Rumbling filled Naruto 's body as more Immortal Chakra rushed in, continuing to form the eighth meridian.

Ten percent. Thirty percent. Fifty percent….

Two days passed, and there was now only one day left before the ancestral land opened. Naruto 's eighth meridian… was now one hundred percent complete!

Eight Immortal meridians!

In Renegade Immortal, Uchiha Lin stole the bloodline of the Ancient God.

Or something along those lines, I haven't read it personally, although I've heard it happens relatively early on in the story. He also had a similar mark on his forehead. Anyone with better information on this please send me a message so I can make this footnote better. ↩ The scene with Uchiha Mu and the old man was in chapter 806 ↩ This is the same quote as from the official synopsis of the book, which I translated a long time ago and is still floating around out on the intrawebz. I tweaked this version a little bit to (hopefully) add a bit of the feeling that was lacking in my original translated version. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 965

Chapter 965: The Ancestral Land Opens!

Eight Immortal meridians caused intense power to surge through Naruto . Immortal Chakra flowed through him, and he exuded intense pressure. His eyes shone with Immortal light, like two burning lamps that ignited to life within the necropolis.

Everything now looked different to him, clearer. He could even magnify the tiniest speck of dust until he could see the entire structure that composed it.

"This feels… great," he murmured. Eight Immortal meridians was his limit; there was no more Immortal Chakra in the area, making it difficult for him to make any further increases.

The mist dragon had completely vanished, having been completely absorbed by Naruto . The necropolis was now totally empty and quiet.

He slowly stood up, and cracking sounds could be heard as intense power surged through him.

"As soon as I leave the ancestral land, my Immortal Tribulation will appear!" His eyes shone brightly as he caused more power to explode out in a test to see exactly how much good fortune he had acquired.

Soon after, Naruto looked up and then glanced around. He saw that the mist in the pill furnace had already faded away; shockingly, there was now a Nirvana Fruit sitting there on the jade plate, glowing brightly!

It was as translucent as crystal, and incomparably beautiful.

A fragrant aroma began to spread out which contained a great Dao; apparently this Nirvana Fruit was now completely restored.

Naruto walked up to the pill furnace and looked at the Nirvana Fruit, eyes glittering. After a moment, his eyes shone with determination; he quickly reached out, picked up the fruit and held it in front of his face.

"Nirvana Fruit… the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit." He looked at the Nirvana Fruit and realized that, as of this moment, he had only two options.

"I've waited a long time, just for the sake of a Nirvana Fruit. Well, what is there to hesitate about?" He chuckled to himself silently. Finally, he turned toward the corpse of the first generation Patriarch, clasped hands, and bowed deeply. Then, without any further hesitation, he made up his mind. Now was not the time for further hesitation.

The fact that the Nirvana Fruit had been restored by fully absorbing the seven-colored liquid didn't bother Naruto at all. He hefted the fruit and pushed it hard onto his forehead.

Time to gamble!

Nirvana Fruits were not eaten like other fruits. They were absorbed directly into the body.

As soon as it touched Naruto 's forehead, rumbling filled his body, and he felt like he was about to explode. It rapidly fused into his forehead, and disappeared without a trace. He suddenly began to tremble violently.

A massive power exploded out within him, filling his entire body and circulating through it in a continuous cycle. It rapidly found many sealed areas within Naruto 's body, areas he didn't even know about, and burst them open!

Blood oozed out of his orifices, and he shook. Pores all over his body opened and expanded.

Intense pain wracked his four limbs, and yet, his eyes shone brightly.

He did not feel any sense of crisis, but rather, sensed that power surged through his body, making him more powerful than before!

His Dharma Idol appeared behind him, and then, shockingly, a second Dharma Idol appeared!

It looked different than Naruto 's Dharma Idol, although it was similar. This second Dharma Idol… actually belonged to the first generation Patriarch!

An even more intense power surged through Naruto 's body, and he began sweating profusely. However, his eyes shone brightly.

"So… this is what it feels like to use a Nirvana Fruit!

"I can form a second Dharma Idol, and my cultivation base can explode with even more power! And yet… in addition to the extra Dharma Idol, there is actually an even more important function…. It can exponentially increase the power of my Immortal meridians!

"Right now I have eight Immortal meridians. After absorbing the Nirvana Fruit, I can wield power equal to 16 Immortal meridians!

"That is the true purpose of the Nirvana Fruit!" Veins popped out on Naruto 's forehead. He currently only had eight Immortal meridians, but the power he was able to wield was twice as much!

"The reason Namikaze Wei didn't utilize that power before is most likely because it's only possible to do so after you reach the Immortal Realm!

"If I open 100 Immortal meridians, and also have this Nirvana Fruit, then I'll be able to unleash the power of 200 Immortal meridians!

"The other sects and clans presumably have similar secret magics.

However, considering how rare Nirvana Fruits are, it's logical to come to the conclusion that those other secret magics do not measure up!

"Otherwise the Namikaze Clan wouldn't have been able to maintain their position as one of the Four Great Clans, especially during times when Nirvana Fruits did not appear!"

Naruto trembled as his power only continued to increase. However, he could also sense that he wouldn't be able to stay in this state of fusion for very long. He struggled to lift his head and then extend his right hand out toward the sphere of light that orbited around the body of the first generation Patriarch.

This time, all he had to do was grab at it, and the sphere began to tremble. A thrumming sound could be heard, and massive amounts of light exploded out in all directions. After a moment of what almost seemed to be hesitation, it suddenly transformed into a streak of light that shot toward Naruto , transforming into a starstone which came to rest on Naruto 's palm.

It sat there, flickering with starlight, beautiful to the extreme.

Naruto looked at the starstone for a moment, then closed his hand over it and clenched hard.

In that instant, ripples began to emanate from the starstone, which poured into Naruto 's mind and rapidly transformed into an incantation mnemonic composed of multiple verses.

That incantation mnemonic was none other than… the One Thought Stellar Transformation!

"No wonder nobody was ever able to acquire One Thought Stellar Transformation! It's connected to this necropolis, and most importantly… only one person at a time can gain enlightenment of it! Once the legacy is passed on, nobody else can learn it unless that first person dies!

"That's because One Thought Stellar Transformation is both a Daoist magic… and also NOT a Daoist magic!

"It's a magical item… and NOT a magical item!

"It's a type of magical item which, after being fused with, can temporarily erupt with… a will of invincibility!" Having gained enlightenment, he squeezed down on the starstone again, causing it to melt into a black liquid that covered his hand. It then rapidly spread out to cover his entire body, then bored into him. Moments later, shockingly, speckles of starlight appeared in his left eye!

The speckles of starlight were strange, and as they flickered, it almost seemed as if his left eye had become a starry sky. Frightening ripples appeared as he looked out, and anyone who met his gaze would surely be terrified.

After absorbing the starstone, Naruto 's body trembled again, and his eyes widened. More veins popped out on his forehead, and he looked like he was on the verge of exploding. Rumbling sounds emanated out from within him, and gradually, the Nirvana Fruit that he had absorbed started to become visible on his forehead, as if it couldn't stay inside of him for much longer.

It was in that moment, though, that Naruto could clearly sense that the Nirvana Fruit was emanating traces of a Dao.

That type of Dao seemed to contain a boundless starry sky, and innumerable magical techniques and divine abilities. In fact, there were even thoughts that did not belong to Naruto himself. As if… they were the memories of someone else, the remnants of someone who had existed in the past!

Ancientness. Remote antiquity.

Images appeared in Naruto 's mind of a middle-aged man, his long, white hair whipping around him. Four Nirvana Fruits circled around him, each one emanating an aura that left Naruto terrified and undergoing constant transformations. Any one of them was powerful enough to split apart Heaven and Earth, to cause heavenly bodies to collapse.

This man was none other than the first generation Patriarch!

His eyes were filled with a gleam of obsession. He was surrounded by starlight, and was currently forging his way ahead toward an unsurpassable elevation.

Naruto wanted to see more, but couldn't hold on any longer. His face was ashen as the Nirvana Fruit flew out of his forehead of its own volition. As it landed on the palm of his hand, blood oozed out of his mouth, and he sat down cross-legged to meditate. After a moment of recuperation, his eyes opened, and he was fully recovered and at his peak.

He took a deep breath, calmed his mind and heart, and then began to calculate time.

"Thirty breaths!

"Considering that the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit doesn't belong to me, and also considering the level of my cultivation base, I can only fuse with it for thirty breaths of time! If they were my own Nirvana Fruits, then I could fuse with them… for all eternity!" Naruto 's eyes gleamed with a strange light.

"I wonder what place the first generation Patriarch was going to in that vision. I must have been experiencing a memory. A memory that exists inside the Nirvana Fruit.

"Perhaps… there are even further uses for Nirvana Fruits!" When he thought back to the vision, he remembered that the first generation Patriarch was surrounded by four Nirvana Fruits, and that each one of them had emanated an aura that caused even the Heavens to tremble.

" Namikaze Wei…." After a moment of thought, Naruto looked up, and his eyes flashed with viciousness. Finally, he turned and bowed deeply to the first generation Patriarch, then waved his right hand, causing the main door of the necropolis to swing open, after which he strode out.

"It's time to get out of here!"

Back outside in the Misty Heaven Vault, Naruto yet again produced the bronze lamp. Immediately, the surrounding mists began to vibrate, and then recede. Once again, a path opened up in front of him.

He proceeded along with much greater speed than he had upon entering, and it only took a few hours before he flew out from the Misty Heaven Vault. As he did, he saw no trace of Namikaze Daohong or Namikaze Linhe.

He could also sense that a huge vortex had appeared in a remote area of the ancestral land.

"The way out has opened!" he thought. He looked off into the distance, unsure of exactly how long the exit had been open. Obviously, Namikaze Daohong and all the others had already left.

Only the terracotta soldier remained waiting for Naruto . As soon as he emerged, its eyes glittered with a brilliant glow. Naruto looked back at it, his gaze filled with a reluctance to part.

Earlier, he had picked up on various clues that had led him to a certain conclusion. Now, with his increased cultivation base, he was able to see things even more clearly.

During the vast time in which the terracotta soldier had been waiting for Naruto , it had undergone certain transformations. It had been assimilated into this ancestral land, and would therefore be able to exist here eternally, at the peak of its power.

However, if it emerged into the outside world for too long without returning, then it would begin to decay, and would age by tens of thousands of years in a relatively short period of time.

"The only way for me to take it away would be if I had a piece of the

Ruins of Immortality. If I did, I could take it with me long term." Naruto flew up to sit on the terracotta soldier, after which it yet again changed shape to its enormous form, them employed its top speed to head off toward the exit.

The closer it got to the exit, the stronger the signs of dissipation got. Naruto sighed, and, after confirming what was happening, and despite his unwillingness to part with it, he decided that he couldn't just watch it suffer harm.

He decided to leave it next to the crumbled mountains where he had found it. His voice soft, he said, "Go ahead and change back into a statue. I promise you that one day, I'll come back here to take you away. It's too bad that once the ancestral land closes, our connection will break."

As soon as the words left his mouth, the statue's eyes glittered. It suddenly hefted its greatsword and then swung it through the air, causing a huge rift to open up, almost completely slashing the entire sky open.

Naruto 's eyes sparkled.

"You can slash your way out of here any time you want, huh?" Naruto asked. "In other words, you can go anywhere you feel like, right?"

The terracotta soldier nodded, but then shook its head. Finally, it gave Naruto a deep look, and for the first time, spoke, in a muffled, hoarse voice.

" Namikaze Clan… ancestral land… five hundred kilometers… I protect you."

As soon as Naruto heard the voice, his heart seized. It was a voice he would never forget: Ke Yunhai's voice.

"Foster father…." In that moment, Naruto realized that Ke Yunhai didn't just use some of his life force from the dragon lamp with the phoenix wick to create the terracotta soldier. He had also used a strand of his soul.

After a very long moment, Naruto looked at the terracotta soldier one last time, then turned and headed toward the exit. After packing away the memories deep into his heart, his entire person began to radiate a harsh, murderous aura. He was like an unsheathed sword, shining

coldly!

" Namikaze Wei, it's time to finish things between the two of us!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 966

Chapter 966: Storm Winds Gather!

The main hall in the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion on Planet East Victory was packed tightly with members of the Namikaze Clan. Virtually all areas of the ancestral mansion were occupied, and there were even some who could not squeeze in and were left outside.

All of the alchemists in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and all of the apprentice alchemists, were all staring intently.

In addition to the Namikaze Clan, other powerful factions and cultivators on Planet East Victory had learned of Naruto and were now waiting.

In fact, in virtually all of the various sects and clans in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, people were looking on, waiting to find out exactly what kind of person could so capture the attention and estimation of all the famous, newly ascended true Immortals.

Naruto hadn't even emerged yet, but his fame had already spread throughout all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

People watched closely as Namikaze Wei sat cross-legged outside the main temple. Finally, he slowly raised his head, and his eyes gleamed with incredible coldness as he looked at the temple hall.

It was at this point that the Grand Elder, after a long moment of silence, resolutely waved his right hand. Rumbling sounds could be heard as a huge vortex appeared.

The vortex spun and then rose higher, rising up out of the main temple hall, high up into the air to where everyone could see it.

"The ancestral land is opening! Namikaze Naruto is going to come out!"

"What's the point of him even coming out? Prince Wei wants him dead, so he'll die for sure!"

"It's too bad. His bloodline is stronger than Namikaze Wei's, and their latent talent is about the same, but in terms of reaching true Immortality, he was just a bit too slow…. Once you fall behind even one bit, you'll be left behind at every step. And that's not even to mention advancing from true Immortality into the Ancient Realm in the future."

The crowds were abuzz, and Namikaze Xi stood among them, fists clenched, expression anxious as he panted. However, he continued to have faith that Naruto would pull off a miracle!

" Namikaze Naruto, Coz, you have to win!"

Namikaze Wei's expression was calm, but his eyes flickered with killing intent, and his desire to do battle grew stronger. Everyone could see as his gaze shifted over to the vortex like a drawn dagger.

He had waited for this day for a long time, and it was finally here. He was going to make sure that the whole Namikaze Clan, and all of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, knew that Namikaze Wei was the Chosen of this generation! He, Namikaze Wei, was the future pillar of the Namikaze Clan!

The humiliation he had endured during the rise of the East Ascension Sun would now be thoroughly avenged!

" Namikaze Naruto, you are merely a stepping stone beneath my feet. Your only function is for me to step upon you as I climb to the top!" His expression was one of arrogance, and his heart filled with coldness. His killing intent grew only more intense, and he looked like a sharp, glinting sword!

At this point, time seemed to have frozen, and the entire world grew silent. Innumerable gazes were fixed upon the exit to the ancestral land!

As the vortex up in midair slowly rotated, it suddenly began to gleam with brilliant light like a sparkling body of water, and a figure appeared in the shimmering depths.

As soon as the figure appeared, countless eyes went wide, and people began to hold their breaths. Namikaze Wei's killing intent reached a pinnacle, causing rumbling to fill the sky. It almost seemed as if the temperature had instantly dropped!

Soon everyone began to gape. The person they were all looking at, the person emerging from the vortex… was an old man with long gray hair. He walked out excitedly, as if he had just emerged unscathed from a deadly crisis. He was trembling, as if he had experienced untold terrors in the ancestral land. He looked as though he had been holding innumerable anxieties within him, but was now able to relax. At the same time, he seemed slightly uneasy, as if he held a gloomy outlook on his own future.

"That's not Namikaze Naruto, that's…."

"That's Elder Namikaze Shuiyun!"

"Why is he walking out of the ancestral land!?"

The Namikaze Clan members gaped in shock.

When Namikaze Xiushan saw the old man, he stared in shock. Then his face flickered slightly. The Grand Elder's brow suddenly furrowed.

After the old man appeared, he looked around at the crowds of clan members, and gaped. Then he saw Namikaze Wei sitting there cross-legged, and instantly sensed his true Immortality.

"He… reached true Immortal Ascension. Ah, Namikaze Xiushan… now I understand!" The old man's eyes were bloodshot as he glared fiercely at Namikaze Xiushan.

" Namikaze Xiushan," he barked, "things aren't finished between us! I won't rest until one of us is dead!" His words caused a collective gasp to rise up from the crowds. Nobody could figure out exactly what Elder Namikaze Shuiyun was talking about.

However, before any of them could begin to discuss the matter, the vortex behind the old man rippled, and other figures emerged. Three people walked out amidst glittering light.

None of them were Naruto !

The appearance of these three men resulted in further astonishment on the part of the surrounding clan members. They were also clan Elders! Everyone was bewildered, and thoughtful looks began to appear in their eyes as they began to speculate why all of these Elders would emerge from the ancestral land. Everyone had assumed that it would be Naruto who came out.

As soon as the three men emerged, they looked at Namikaze Wei, now clearly in the Immortal Realm, and then turned angrily toward Namikaze Xiushan. Voices icy, they spoke wrathfully, in much the same manner as the first old man, as if their resentment was now carved into their hearts, and even into their bones.

" Namikaze Xiushan! You deserve to die a horrible death!"

"You had better give us a good explanation, Namikaze Xiushan, otherwise you're finished!"

" Namikaze Xiushan, how could you con us in this way!? I will never forget this enmity!"

It wasn't that they couldn't hold their tongues. However, everything that had happened with Naruto had left them completely shaken. Based on their cultivation bases and levels of wisdom, it was obvious to them that that if they made too much of this matter, the result would be unfavorable to them.

And yet… after the ancestral land had reopened, they had planned to use a special method prepared for them by Namikaze Xiushan to secretly make their escape. That method was not one that utilized the main exit. Imagine their rage when they found out that Namikaze Xiushan's special method… didn't work at all!

They immediately realized that Namikaze Xiushan had planned for them to die all along. Whether or not they succeeded in killing Naruto , when they emerged from the vortex, their punishment for entering the ancestral land without authorization should be death.

In their minds, Namikaze Xiushan had certainly thought of some way to escape responsibility. At first, none of them were sure exactly how he planned to do it. However, after bracing themselves and emerging through the exit, they sensed that Namikaze Wei had reached the Immortal Realm, and then everything became clear.

Because of Namikaze Wei becoming a true Immortal, Namikaze Xiushan, being his father, would definitely be able to extricate himself from any punishment.

Therefore, all of them spontaneously decided to wholeheartedly denounce Namikaze Xiushan!

This was why all of them emerged from the vortex, looked at Namikaze Wei, then turned and spoke wrathful words to Namikaze Xiushan.

Namikaze Xiushan's face flickered yet again. He had personally requested assistance from all of these men in his efforts to kill Naruto . According to his original plan, when the ancestral land reopened, they should have been able to use his special method to successfully leave without going through the exit.

However, things had progressed beyond his control. Then these newly emerged Elders suddenly said what they did. Namikaze Xiushan's face darkened, and his eyes narrowed coldly.

It was at this point that the Grand Elder flicked his sleeve.

"Enough. The clan will handle this matter later. Stand down, all of you!" The Elders who had just emerged from the vortex looked hatefully over at Namikaze Xiushan. However, fearful of the Grand Elder, all of them backed down.

In the same moment that the four of them stepped back, the vortex glittered once again, and all eyes once again swiveled over. Namikaze Wei also frowned and looked over.

However… as the vortex swirled, two figures emerged. Yet again, neither of them were Naruto . Instead, they were Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe. Originally, they had planned to wait for Naruto inside of the ancestral land. However, once the exit opened, and before either of them could react, a powerful wind had sprung up and swept them out of the Misty Heaven Vault. When they emerged, they found themselves directly in front of the exit.

As soon as they emerged, all eyes were fixed upon them.

"I can't believe it's not Namikaze Naruto!"

"Interesting. There were actually six clan Elders in the ancestral land.

How did they get in? And… what exactly was their purpose inside?!"

" Namikaze Naruto was also in the ancestral land. Could it be… that these elders were there to harm him in some way?"

Of course, many of the clan members were intelligent people, and it didn't take long for them to analyze the situation and come to an approximately correct conclusion.

That was especially true of the members of the direct bloodline, who were furious. Many of their Elders stepped forward, including Naruto 's 19th Uncle. All of them were enraged, and a rare killing intent toward their own clan members could be seen in their eyes.

Namikaze Xiushan smiled coldly, as if he didn't care about what was happening at all. If Namikaze Wei hadn't become a true Immortal, then all of these things would result in a heavy punishment for him. However, considering things had turned out the way they had, it was a different matter.

"Considering I'm being protected by the Sixth Patriarch, what can a single, piddling Namikaze Naruto possibly count for!?" thought Namikaze Xiushan, calming his heart. Standing next to him was Namikaze Wei's grandfather, who frowned slightly but said nothing.

Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe scanned the crowd silently. They did not berate Namikaze Xiushan, but rather, sat down cross-legged just outside the vortex, completely ignoring everyone.

This scene filled quite a few hearts with shock. The Grand Elder's eyes widened; even he felt as if something strange was going on.

Time passed, enough for an incense stick to burn.

Suddenly, the vortex spun once again. This time, it was completely different from the previous times. Rumbling like thunder could be heard as a tall, slender figure slowly began to step out.

Before he could completely emerge, the sky above Planet East Victory filled with tempestuous lightning. Roaring sounds echoed out, as clouds piled on top of each other. Massive Tribulation Clouds had appeared in the blink of an eye.

These Tribulation Clouds were shocking to the extreme. Anyone who looked at them couldn't help but stare wide-eyed with disbelief and shock. The reason was that these Tribulation Clouds were simply gargantuan!

They covered all of Planet East Victory!

From out in the starry sky, it looked as if Planet East Victory had turned into one giant mass of clouds. All of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken as… the area covered by the Tribulation Clouds… continued to grow!

Fan Dong'er. Namikaze Wei. All of the other Chosen who had just stepped into true Immortality had never provoked Heaven-shattering, Earthshaking Tribulation Clouds like this!

Compared to these Tribulation Clouds, the Tribulation Clouds they had faced were like childrens' toys!

"W-w-what kind of Tribulation is that!?"

That was the question running through the trembling minds of all the observing cultivators.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 967

Chapter 967 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 967: Paragon Immortal Tribulation

As of this moment, the cultivators of Planet East Victory were shocked, the members of the Namikaze Clan were shocked, and all the cultivators from the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea who were watching, were… completely shocked!

Their eyes were wide and their minds reeled as they saw the Tribulation Clouds cover Planet East Victory, and then spread out continuously.

"What… what kind of Tribulation is that?"

"How could there be a kind of Immortal Tribulation like this!?"

"Those definitely can't be Tribulation Clouds! Could it be that there's some sort of unpredictable, Heaven-shaking disaster brewing?"

"A Tribulation like this is simply impossible!"

Planet East Victory was in an uproar, as was the entirety of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. As of this moment, all eyes were filled with complete shock and disbelief.

That was especially true of the Chosen of the various sects and clans, who were completely tongue tied, and whose minds were filled with unprecedented roaring.

Namikaze Wei was completely taken aback. He stared at the Tribulation Clouds up in the Heavens, and his body began to tremble. His face fell, and he could think of only one thing to say to himself.

"Impossible!"

In the same moment in the Nine Seas God World, Fan Dong'er stood in front of an enormous crystal, upon which she could see an image of the scene playing out on Planet East Victory. Her face was pale white, and her eyes filled with disbelief as she stared at the Tribulation Clouds on the crystal.

Actually, she didn't even need to look at the crystal. With her divine sense, she could feel the incredible fluctuations rolling out over the Ninth Sea due to the incredible events occurring on Planet East Victory.

"Is it him…?" she thought. "Although, even if he is in the middle of true Immortal Ascension, he couldn't possibly cause Tribulation Clouds like that to form. I've never even heard of anything like that. Just… how thoroughly did he prepare to burst out in such a fashion!?"

Zhao Yifan was in the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, staring blankly up into the sky, his mind reeling. His recently mended Dao heart, which had been filled with confidence because of his recent rise to prominence, was now… beginning to crumble.

"How could this be happening…?" he murmured, trembling. "His true

Immortality is… different from mine?"

At the same time, Uchiha Tengfei was in the Uchiha Clan, his hands clenched tightly into fists, veins bulging on his forehead. It was impossible for him to remain calm! "Just what is his true Immortality…?"

Regarding Song Luodan, Uchiha Mu, Taiyang Zi, Sun Hai, and all the newly ascended true Immortals, as of this moment, their minds and hearts were all filled with roaring.

Li Ling'er looked up into the Heavens. She had a complicated relationship with Naruto , and as of this moment, her mind was in chaos. She had expected that Naruto would reach true Immortal Ascension. However, she simply couldn't wrap her mind around the fact that Naruto 's Tribulation Clouds were so incredibly unbelievable.

Sakura and Pill Demon could also sense the massive transformations in the energies of Heaven and Earth. On Planet Ninshu , Naruto 's parents were also watching.

As of this moment, all eyes were focused on Planet East Victory.

The members of the Namikaze Clan looked at the figure emerging from within the vortex of the ancestral Land in disbelief.

"Is it because of him…?" The hearts of each and every member of the Namikaze Clan were filled with incredible shock.

Namikaze Xiushan gaped, and Namikaze Wei's grandfather gasped. As for the Grand Elder, his mind was reeling, and he stared in shock.

It was at this point that Naruto slowly stepped out of the vortex. In the moment that his right foot emerged, Heaven and Earth rumbled so intensely that it seemed as if the air itself would split. Power seemingly capable of destroying all life surged out.

It was as if some sort of Immortal God were concealed within the clouds, looking down at the lands, roaring amongst the starry sky. As the roaring echoed out, the clouds suddenly turned red, as red as fire. Instantly, everything up above was crimson.

It was the same out in the starry sky.

It was as if the clouds themselves were bearing witness to the emergence of Naruto , to the appearance of an unheard-of Immortal in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

By now, the Patriarchs of the various sects and clans were waking up, emerging from secluded meditation. Even the Patriarchs of the Three Great Daoist Societies responded to the shocking events playing out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

In the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, all of the Patriarchs, including the recently returned Seventh Patriarch, were all shocked. That was even true of the one the Seventh Patriarch had referred to as Eldest Brother.

If you traced the Earth Patriarch's bloodline back, he was actually descended from the same almighty Dao Realm expert as Naruto .

"He has made profound preparations," he murmured in confusion, "leading to this explosive eruption of Immortal Tribulation. But, how come I'm unable to see the true depths of the kid's Tribulation…? Just how terrifyingly well-prepared is he?!

"This is unprecedented! In all the ancient records I've read, I've never seen any mention of Tribulation Clouds like this when someone steps into true Immortality!"

The Patriarchs of the other sects and clans all looked into the starry sky in the direction of Planet East Victory, and various thoughts went through their heads.

Standing next to Fan Dong'er in the Nine Seas God World was her master, the old woman who was in the Dao Realm. Currently, she was frowning.

"What profound preparations for someone who's only in the Spirit Realm!" she thought. "Only a cultivation base with 90 or more meridians should provoke Tribulation Clouds like this. But… something strange seems to be going on. Why do those Tribulation Clouds seem to be simply too large!?"

In fact, the Patriarchs of all the various sects and clans were frowning and reaching similar conclusions as the old woman.

"There's something strange about those Tribulation Clouds!"

"Even if this guy was more of a blazing sun than he already is, and even if he was more profoundly well prepared, it's highly unlikely that

Tribulation Clouds like that would appear! They almost don't look like

Tribulation Clouds, but rather, a strange sign!"

"Perhaps he's using some type of secret magic?"

Gradually, the Patriarchs were able to pick up on clues that caused them to begin to make various speculations. As they stared in the direction of Planet East Victory, Naruto fully emerged from within the vortex.

In that instant, shocking thunder crackled, and the Tribulation Clouds churned. Countless red bolts of lightning danced about in the clouds, emanating a terrifying aura.

At the same time, the Tribulation Clouds continued to expand out into the starry sky. They sped out like a charging army, rumbling, growing larger and larger. From a distance, it looked like some bizarre Demonic sign.

Everything shook violently!

Even the Hebi Clan of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken. An ancient gaze pierced out from the Ninth Mountain, which then came to rest on Planet East Victory.

The gaze was filled with intense pressure as it focused on Naruto .

Naruto 's expression was calm. He stood there, tall, robes whipping about, long hair dancing in the wind. His eyes were filled with a profound gleam that seemed to contain a boundless starry sky. His left eye sparkled with starlight that seemed capable of sucking away one's soul.

As he stood there outside of the vortex, his aura seemed normal. However, the Heavens above him were bright red. And then, there were the churning, roaring Tribulation Clouds. All of it made Naruto seem to be like some sort of Immortal God!

Upon cursory examination, Namikaze Wei's energy couldn't even possibly compare.

Naruto 's aura said… that he would become an Immortal whether the Heavens agreed or not! It was a domineering power that said, "If you approve, fine. Don't approve? TOO BAD!"

All of the members of the Namikaze Clan were watching Naruto . They looked at the terrifying Tribulation Clouds up in the Heavens, and inhaled deeply.

" Namikaze Naruto…."

"He provoked energy and Tribulation Clouds like that, all in the instant he stepped out of the ancestral land! Namikaze Naruto… is going to step into true Immortality!"

"Prince Wei's true Immortal Tribulation earlier doesn't seem to measure up. PrinceNaruto…. Is definitely going to astonish us!"

The members of the direct bloodline were extremely excited. Namikaze Xi stood there, hands clenched into fists, filled with anticipation as he looked at Naruto .

" Namikaze Naruto, Coz, you definitely have to succeed!"

Namikaze Wei began to tremble slightly, shaken by Naruto 's energy, and the terrifying Tribulation Clouds up in the Heavens. He could hardly breathe.

Veins popped out on his forehead as he shot to his feet.

" Namikaze Naruto!" he roared.

"Do you dare to fight with me!?" His voice echoed like peals of thunder, and his eyes radiated intense killing intent. His energy surged up, as power from his 98 Immortal meridians exploded out. His Dharma Idol appeared behind him, seemingly powerful enough to support all the lands.

Naruto 's expression was the same as usual as he looked at Namikaze Wei

"Just let me push open the Door of Immortality," he said coolly. "After that, there won't be any need for you to fight me. I'll just take back what belongs to me." Then he turned to look back at the Tribulation Clouds up in the Heavens, and his eyes brimmed with the desire to fight.

The moment he had been waiting so long for, was finally here!

It was now time to step into true Immortality!

Naruto suddenly shot up into the air, flying up into the Heavens as everyone watched.

"Immortal Tribulation! Why haven't you made your move yet!?" Naruto 's expression was as calm as ever, but his desire to do battle grew even stronger. His voice echoed out in all directions, piercing the Tribulation Clouds, causing a huge indentation to appear in the layers of clouds. The power of his voice smashed into the clouds, hewing out a huge hole.

What appeared next was… A Door of Immortality with a breathtaking aura, descending from the starry sky.

This Door of Immortality was enormous, so large that Planet East Victory seemed like a toddler in front of it. Boundless Immortal light surged out, and countless magical symbols glittered on its face. The clouds scattered as the enormous door came to rest in front of Planet East Victory.

This Door of Immortality was larger than any other Door of Immortality which had appeared during a true Immortal Ascension!

When Namikaze Wei saw the Door of Immortality, his face went pale. The Door of Immortality that he had faced wasn't even ten percent as large as this door!

Furthermore, when the Door of Immortality appeared, numerous gigantic palaces flew out from the clouds. They looked like heavenly palaces, and stretched out seemingly without limit. It wasn't just the people on Planet East Victory who could see them. Everyone on the other three planets were also able to use various methods to observe.

The boundless palaces, each one incredibly huge, emanated Immortal might throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The Ninth Mountain trembled and the Ninth Sea raged. All of the cultivators of the various sects and clans, even the Patriarchs, were thoroughly shocked.

In the Nine Seas God World, the old woman standing next to Fan Dong'er took a deep breath as she finally understood.

"That Door of Immortality… Those Immortal Palaces…. I understand!" she thought. "He's not using an Immortality Illumination Vine, he's… reaching Immortal Ascension on his own! This kid has incredible willpower! What determination! What destiny!"

She wasn't the only one who understood what was happening. The other Patriarchs of the various sects and clans all reached the same enlightenment, and were completely shaken.

"If the Heavens approve, well and good. If they don't want to, they'll still be forced to acknowledge an Immortal who verifies their own Dao and reaches Immortal Ascension on their own. No wonder the Tribulation Clouds are so huge!

"From ancient times until now in the Nine Mountains and Seas, people who verify their own Dao in such a way are incredibly rare. Only Kṣitigarbha, Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, ever verified his Dao on his own, and eternally suppressed the underworld!"

In that very moment, far out in the starry sky of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, a woman in a white robe sat in an Immortal's cave somewhere in the Ruins of Immortality. This was the same woman who had appointed Naruto as 13th in the Echelon. Her eyes suddenly opened, and she looked off into the distance.

"Paragon Immortal…." she murmured. A rarely seen light suddenly flickered in her eyes.

Chapter 967: Paragon Immortal Tribulation

Vol. 6 : Chapter 968

Chapter 968: Transcending Tribulation!

The Heavens rumbled as the red Tribulation Clouds surged, as if there were a mighty army marching within them. Booms could be heard that shook the land, filling all of Planet East Victory.

The area encompassed by the Tribulation Clouds expanded out past Planet East Victory into the starry sky. They were matchlessly large, and the minds of the cultivators from the sects and clans were filled with something like the crashing of lightning as they watched.

As for the Immortal Palaces in the clouds, they were beautiful and ornately decorated, and emanated shocking Immortal might that roiled out into the stars. Furthermore, it looked as if there were countless Immortals floating about within the Immortal Palaces.

Although they were illusory, it was the first time from ancient times until now that Immortal Palaces like this had appeared in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Even in the Nine Mountains and Seas in general, an Immortal Tribulation with Immortal Palaces like this was the stuff of legend only.

In addition, the Door of Immortality was completely shocking. It hovered there outside of Planet East Victory, enormous and ancient, with a primordial aura that seemed to represent the will of the Nine Mountains and Seas themselves.

This Immortal Tribulation, this Door of Immortality, and these Immortal Palaces were unlike anything else!

That was because Naruto was about to become a true Immortal among true Immortals!

Everyone on Planet East Victory watched as Naruto shot up into the sky like a meteor. Almost the instant he flew up, the Tribulation Clouds up above seethed with uncountable bolts of red lightning. It was like a massive web that dropped down from the clouds, which then condensed together into one gigantic red lightning bolt that seemed capable of ripping apart Heaven and Earth. The lightning bolt then shot directly toward Naruto .

This was Immortal Tribulation!

Anyone who looked at a Tribulation like this would feel their face fall, even Namikaze Wei and the true Immortal Chosen of the various sects and clans. As for everyone else, they all gasped. When compared to the tribulation faced earlier by the true Immortal Chosen, it was virtually impossible to describe how much more powerful this tribulation was.

In the stony cavern deep beneath the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion, the Earth Patriarch sat with the other six Patriarchs and looked at the red lightning.

"Experiencing true Immortal destiny is like being selected by Heaven and Earth," he said. "It seems difficult to become a true Immortal in that way, but actually, the will of the Nine Mountains and Seas always leaves a small chance of success. People who achieve true Immortal Ascension like this then have some of the destiny of the Nine Mountains and Seas in them!

"Using the Immortality Illumination Vine is essentially cheating, and involves no true Immortal destiny. Because of that, the Immortal Tribulation is actually more powerful. However, successfully opening the Door of Immortality results in the same approval of the will of the Nine Mountains and Seas.

"However… reaching true Immortal Ascension on one's own is the most domineering of the three paths. It shows contempt for the Heavens, and derision of the will of the Nine Mountains and Seas. It is to be… an Immortal, in and of oneself, and a true Immortal at that. And that is why, whether the Heavens approve of him or not… they will be forced to acknowledge him!

"The Heavens are forced to acquiesce, and as such, this third type of true Immortal Tribulation offers no way out!"

The Patriarchs of the various sects and clans were all paying close attention to the goings on. Normally speaking, a Spirit Realm cultivator stepping into Immortality was not something they would deign to observe, unless it happened to be a Chosen from their own organization. The Immortal Tribulation of members of other sects or clans was not something that the Patriarchs would care about in the least.

But Naruto was different!

He was walking the third of the three paths, a path that stirred even the Patriarchs. They wanted to see… if he would actually be able to succeed!

What was happening now was something that they might have a chance to see only once in a lifetime.

Heaven and Earth rumbled, and red lightning shot down toward Naruto with indescribable speed. He hovered there in midair, his expression the same as usual, his eyes filled with the desire to do battle.

"The moment I have been waiting so long for is finally here!" Naruto lifted his right hand, causing ripples to spread out from his true Immortal fleshly body. His Immortal meridians rotated, and his willpower solidified as he clenched his hand into a fist.

He punched out at the red lightning, and a massive boom filled the air. The lightning instantly began to collapse. However, it only collapsed by about seventy percent, and the remaining thirty percent smashed into Naruto .

However, Naruto simply hovered there in midair, allowing the lightning to strike him. Innumerable sparks flew out, and his hair swirled around him as he threw his head back and laughed.

"Is true Immortal Tribulation really this weak?!" Naruto actually felt a bit disappointed. It was back when he had witnessed the Immortal Tribulation of his master Pill Demon back on Planet Ninshu , that… he began to look forward to transcending his own tribulation.

As he laughed, the Heavens rumbled and the clouds churned. Countless lightning bolts once again began to form, rapidly transforming into another, even more shocking lightning attack that shot toward him.

As it neared, Naruto once again laughed uproariously. The sound was so intense that it could pierce metal and crush rock. Everyone who heard it was shocked inwardly. Suddenly, Naruto transformed into a golden roc that flapped its wings and shot toward the lightning.

This did not seem like transcending the tribulation, this seemed like a baptism within the tribulation!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The lightning descended, crackling around Naruto in golden roc form. It was like a giant globe of lightning, casting scintillating light throughout Heaven and Earth.

"Bring it on!" Naruto 's voice echoed out, and the golden roc shrieked as he shot toward the clouds up in the sky. Lightning crashed, a third bolt, a fourth, a fifth….

Terrifying lightning descended like rain, accompanied by shocking rumbling sounds. Naruto in golden roc form sped upward as fast as ever, smacking through the lightning like a sharp knife through a piece of bamboo. The lightning was like dried twigs that he easily crushed as he charged directly into the Tribulation Clouds.

Planet East Victory was filled with a sound that resembled the heartbeat of a giant. The land quaked, the planet trembled, and all the cultivators on the planet were completely shaken.

The Tribulation Clouds began to part, showing a tiny hole that Naruto had not quite pierced through yet. However, behind it, the Door of Immortality was clearly visible.

Unfortunately, between him and the Door of Immortality were the Immortal Palaces!

This was Naruto 's true Immortal Tribulation. Not only were the

Tribulation Clouds vastly larger than anyone else's, behind those

Tribulation Clouds were the Immortal Palaces. If he wanted to get to the Door of Immortality, he would have to get through all those Immortal Palaces first!

Naruto reverted from his golden roc form, coughing up a mouthful of blood as he was shoved backward several paces. His eyes then began to shine brightly with the desire to fight.

Most of his clothing was shredded away, leaving him completely bare chested. His hair whipped about, and not a single injury could be seen on him. In the moment that he coughed up the mouthful of blood, his Eternal stratum kicked into work, repairing him instantly.

When Namikaze Wei saw all of this, his face grew unsightly, and his eyes flickered with killing intent. After a moment, he took a deep breath, and the killing intent grew even more intense.

Off to the side, Namikaze Xiushan was astonished. His hands were clenched into fists, and inwardly, he was cursing Naruto . What he hoped for most was that Naruto would perish during his Immortal Tribulation. Then, all of the problems would be resolved.

"Die, you little son of a bitch," he growled inwardly. "Die in the Immortal

Tribulation! That's your fate!"

The Grand Elder's eyes shone with a strange light as he stared at Naruto up in the sky. Then he began to pant. In the end, it was impossible to guess what he might be thinking.

The members of the direct bloodline were incredibly excited, and even the other ordinary clan members were getting worked up.

As Naruto fell back down a bit, the hole in the Tribulation Clouds began to close up, as if it had never existed in the first place. At the same time, an unprecedented pressure radiated out, and more lightning began to gather.

There were no chances, and no lucky breaks!

This was why it was so challenging to reach true Immortal Ascension on one's own!

The Patriarchs of the various sects and clans all looked on with curious eyes.

In the Nine Seas God World, Fan Dong'er breathed heavily as she looked at the crystal in front of her. She could see the image of Naruto slamming into the Tribulation Lightning, and the sight of the vast Tribulation Clouds caused her mind to go blank with shock.

"Master, will… will he transcend the tribulation?" she asked softly.

"Your master has never seen Immortal Tribulation like this before," the old woman replied slowly. "I've only heard about it in stories. There are no opportunities for survival in this type of tribulation. Of course, since it's Immortal Tribulation, the lightning won't exceed the limits of the Immortal Realm by too much. However, I've heard that the lightning will never end. Furthermore, those Immortal Palaces blocking the way will be very difficult to get past."

Words similar to this were being spoken in all of the other various sects and clans.

"Is this supposed to be difficult…?" thought Naruto , his desire to do battle swirling to new heights. He let out a roar as his Dharma Idol appeared behind him. It was only a single Dharma Idol, but it was fully 21,000 meters tall.

The moment the Dharma Idol appeared, Naruto flashed up toward the Tribulation Clouds. Rumbling filled Heaven and Earth as numerous lightning bolts struck down. In the blink of an eye, more than ten bolts were about to crash into him.

Crashing sounds could be heard as the lightning bolts slammed into him. At the same time, Naruto lifted his right hand, within which appeared a long spear. Its haft was made from the World Tree, and the spearhead was crafted from white bone. Hefting the spear, he charged up into the sky.

Everything shook as the lightning collapsed into pieces, completely destroyed. As he neared the clouds, Naruto roared, and his Dharma Idol reached out with both hands to grab ahold of them. Veins popped out on Naruto 's forehead.

RUMBLE!

Naruto 's Dharma Idol appeared to be ripping the Heavens apart. It grabbed the Tribulation Clouds and wrenched them to either side. The lands quaked, and massive rumbling filled the air. The stars shook as a huge rift was torn directly in the middle of the Tribulation Clouds.

It was as if a huge sword had simply sundered them in two. Now, the palaces behind the Tribulation Clouds were clearly visible. Immediately, Immortal light began to shine out, and the Immortals in their palaces stopped in their tracks and turned to look at Naruto .

It was at this point that Naruto lifted the spear up and then threw it violently ahead of him.

"BREAK!" he roared. The spear transformed into what looked like a lightning bolt as it shot through the rift in the Tribulation Clouds and headed toward the Immortal Palaces.

It sped through the void like a hot knife through butter. The rift in the Tribulation Clouds grew larger, and numerous Immortals flew out to meet the spear. Massive booms could be heard as many of the Immortals were destroyed. The spear itself stabbed into one of the Immortal Palaces, causing it to explode.

In that moment, Naruto 's speed reached an apex. He transformed into a beam of prismatic light that sped through the rift in the Tribulation Clouds.

However, it was then… that the Tribulation Clouds began to seethe and contract. Suddenly, massive pressure radiated out as numerous clouds formed together into an enormous hand, which then slapped toward Naruto . The huge hand filled his field of vision, obscuring everything else as it shoved him back down toward the ground.

A fierce gleam appeared in his eyes, like a bloody blade filled with ferocity.

"Trying to get in my way?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 969

Chapter 969(Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 969: 30,000-meter Dharma Idol!

The Tribulation Clouds were enormous, and to anyone else in the

Immortal Realm, the pressure they exuded would be incomprehensible. However, Naruto already had eight Immortal meridians, Immortal meridians that were simply incomparable to normal Immortal meridians. In addition, he had his true Immortal fleshly body!

His level of preparation going into this Immortal Tribulation was unheard of, and made him preeminently qualified to face it.

When you added in his Eternal stratum, it made it so that when he looked at the enormous descending hand, a crazy idea suddenly sprang up in his mind.

Immortal Tribulation… had always been a situation in which the cultivator almost passively transcended the tribulation by madly avoiding or rushing past the Tribulation Lightning and then ramming open the Door of Immortality amidst the hail of lightning.

Everyone had used similar methods. Pill Demon, Fan Dong'er, and Namikaze

Wei had done things in such a manner, as had all of the other Chosen who had recently stepped into true Immortality.

Upon opening the Door of Immortality, Immortal light would pour out, and the Tribulation Clouds would dissipate.

As of this moment, Naruto 's face filled with a wild look as his idea developed. A vicious aura rose up, transforming into a domineering air as he looked at the gigantic hand, and then punched out.

"I will walk the path of true Immortality! If the Heavens approve, so be it! If they don't approve, too bad! That is my domineering path to Immortality! Therefore, I should handle things… in an unprecedentedly domineering way!

"For me, it's Immortality or death!"He threw his head back and let out a long cry as he shot like a meteor toward the huge hand. When they slammed into each other, booms echoed out in all directions. The air shattered, and the huge hand collapsed. Blood sprayed from Naruto 's mouth, and his hair was thrown into disarray. However, his Eternal stratum surged, and then, blood-colored light swirled around him, forming a bloody mist which quickly transformed into an enormous Blood Demon head.

It flashed as it shot toward the tribulation Cloud and the endless bolts of lightning up above. In Blood Demon head form, Naruto slammed into the Tribulation Clouds, causing booms to echo out in all directions. Yet again, a massive rift opened up.

However, the Tribulation Clouds churned, and quickly began to repair themselves. And yet… the result of this constant cycle of destruction and repair was that the amount of Tribulation Clouds up in the starry sky was reduced!

The Tribulation Clouds were not infinite and without number. As Naruto destroyed them, their numbers lessened; apparently, if someone attacked them continuously, then the shocking Tribulation Clouds… would eventually completely dissipate.

Something like that had never, ever occurred before throughout all the years!

However, that didn't mean… that it couldn't happen!

The crazy idea that Naruto had just come up with was that if the Tribulation Clouds wanted to block his way… Then he would bash them into nothing! He would destroy them completely!

THAT was domineering!

That was the way to do things! When you entered true Immortality, the only option was to make a huge scene!

The Blood Demon head collapsed, and Naruto hovered there in midair, surrounded by booming lightning. Every bolt of it caused him to tremble, and yet, his true Immortal fleshly body was able to withstand it easily. His Eternal stratum continuously healed him, and his eyes shone with obsession. His cultivation base surged, and his Dharma Idol launched endless attacks against the Tribulation Clouds.

One punch! Another! And another!

Colors flashed in the sky, and the lightning surrounding Naruto appeared to be boundless. From time to time, blood sprayed from his mouth as he was flayed over and over. However, he didn't hesitate for a moment as he charged forward and attacked yet again.

The clouds churned, and simultaneously, began to visibly shrink!

The sight of it caused all the members of the Namikaze Clan to stare in speechless shock.

All of the other cultivators on Planet East Victory who were watching couldn't stop themselves from gasping at the shocking sight.

Namikaze Wei stared in amazement, and the killing intent in his eyes grew to a shocking level of intensity.

"He overestimates himself!" he thought.

Namikaze Xiushan stared in shock, panting, not daring to believe what he was seeing.

The Grand Elder's eyes were wide as he watched Naruto . He almost felt as if he were watching Naruto 's grandfather, or his father Namikaze Minato . Both of them were people who had given him such a sensation of madness.

Underneath the Namikaze Clan, the seven Patriarchs were visibly moved. This was especially true of the Seventh Patriarch, who was already relatively familiar with Naruto . As of this moment, he looked up at Naruto with an expression of praise and approval.

"To become a domineering true Immortal, you must have a domineering will," said the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch, who was also a member of

Naruto 's bloodline. His voice soft and his eyes contained deep praise.

"This kid… might just succeed!"

The Namikaze Clan was shaken, and the cultivators in the sects and clans in the outside world were utterly shocked.

Fan Dong'er gasped when she sensed the madness in Naruto .

"I can't believe he's picked this way to do things," she thought.

"There's… there's no way it will work!"

Zhao Yifan was shaken mentally. Song Luodan stared with wide eyes. Uchiha Mu was panting. Taiyang Zi watched with an expression of complete disbelief.

As everyone reacted to the insanity of Naruto 's actions, he coughed up some more blood. By now, the lightning around him was not red, but black, and was even more powerful than before. A vicious expression could be seen on his face as he faced the black lightning, backed by his Dharma Idol, which began to grow from a height of 21,000 meters to 24,000 meters!

He was like a stage 8 Immortal fighting against Immortal Tribulation! "Nothing is impossible!" he thought. Determination could be seen in his eyes. He performed an incantation gesture, causing numerous mountains to appear, which then shot toward the Tribulation Clouds. As they exploded, Naruto advanced decisively, going on the offensive with all of his might.

Massive booms filled the air. The ground quaked, and his 24,000-meter Dharma Idol battered the Tribulation Clouds, causing them to get smaller and smaller. Time passed, and it was impossible to say exactly how many black lightning bolts had struck Naruto . His Eternal stratum was in full operation, and his eyes were completely bloodshot.

And yet, he never ceased attacking.

The gigantic Tribulation Clouds gradually shrunk smaller and smaller. At a certain point, the black lightning bolts turned into five-colored lightning bolts, and the clouds had shrunk down by thirty percent of their original size!

This sight left all observers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea completely shocked.

Naruto 's hair was disheveled, but he looked as shocking as ever as he did something completely unheard of in history!

"Time to enter the realm of the… Stage 9 Immortal!" Surrounded by five-colored lightning, Naruto threw his head back and roared. His Dharma Idol exploded up, growing from 24,000 meters to 27,000 meters!

As of this moment, everything was shaking violently!

"That's… a 27,000-meter Dharma Idol, similar to a stage 9 Immortal! Just how much did Namikaze Naruto prepare for this? What type of cultivation does he practice? He hasn't even opened the Door of Immortality, and yet his power has already reached such an incredible level!"

"Chosen! That is a real Chosen! He's so powerful! If he steps into true

Immortality, he'll basically be invincible!"

"I remember now, he has a true Immortal fleshly body! If his cultivation base reaches the true Immortal Realm, then… He'll be an Immortal Realm Paragon!" Rumbling filled Planet East Victory, and all of the cultivators watching in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were completely shocked.

"Who could possibly compare to him? Not Namikaze Wei and not Fan Dong'er. None of the other Chosen can measure…perhaps the only one who could…."

"The only one who can compare… is Namikaze Mu!"

" Namikaze Mu! He was the one who became the number one figure in the Ninth Mountain and Sea in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire!"

"To bust open the Tribulation Clouds and destroy them completely….

Perhaps Namikaze Mu could also pull it off…!"

Everyone watched in shock as Naruto 's 27,000-meter Dharma Idol battered the five-colored lightning with its fists. The clouds shattered and collapsed, and the lightning dissipated.

Everything went quiet. Naruto hovered there alone in the sky for a moment before charging at the Tribulation Clouds again. His 27,000meter Dharma Idol ripped away at them. From the look of things, Immortal Tribulation was by no means invincible when it was up against Naruto .

Time passed. The clouds in the starry sky continued to dissipate. By now, they had been reduced by about forty percent. The five-colored lightning was incapable of standing up to Naruto 's 27,000-meter Dharma Idol. But then, the lightning became seven-colored!

The seven colors combined, and the lightning didn't even seem like lightning any more. It appeared to contain life force, and it rumbled toward Naruto , seemingly incapable of being obstructed. As it neared, Naruto felt a sense of deadly crisis.

Without any hesitation, he unleashed his Immortal meridians. Behind him, his Dharma Idol grew from 27,000 meters to an astounding 30,000 meters! Everyone… was completely and utterly shocked!

A 30,000-meter Dharma Idol!

Golden light emanated out, illuminating the lands below. As the sevencolored lightning descended, the 30,000-meter Dharma Idol punched out. The lightning exploded, and blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth. However, he continued to hover there in midair, just like before.

"Impossible!" Namikaze Wei suddenly rose to his feet, a look of complete shock on his face.

Off to the side, Namikaze Xiushan's jaw dropped, and he staggered backward, his eyes wide.

The Grand Elder was in the crowd, staring at Naruto 's Dharma Idol, and his face flickered several times.

"It's actually… 30,000 meters…." he murmured.

The most excited of all were the members of the direct bloodline, as well as Namikaze Daohong and Namikaze Linhe. The two of them stared up into the sky at Naruto and his 30,000-meter Dharma Idol, and they knew that becoming followers of Naruto was definitely an incredible stroke of good fortune!

All of the members of the Namikaze Clan, all of the cultivators on Planet East Victory, were sent into a tumult.

"30,000 meters…. It's really 30,000 meters! I don't know how Namikaze Naruto did it, but he's actually… equivalent to a stage 10 Immortal before even stepping into true Immortality!"

"Stage 10 Immortal! That's… that's a realm of legend! Even Namikaze Wei and the others only opened 90 or so Immortal meridians. Namikaze Wei himself only opened 98!"

"This Namikaze Naruto… if he… if he manages to open the Door of Immortality, then what do you guys think? How many… meridians will he actually open? A hundred?"

The entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely shaken. Fan Dong'er's face fell as she stared at the crystal. She was panting like she never had before in her life. The old woman who stood next to her watched with gleaming eyes. She knew that with a 30,000-meter Dharma Idol, these Tribulation Clouds now posed no further threat to Naruto .

Even if the tribulation grew more intense, it was nothing more than Immortal Tribulation, and would never exceed the power of the Immortal Realm.

Zhao Yifan's mind reeled, and his eyes grew blank.

Song Luodan stared in shock, and Taiyang Zi gaped. Uchiha Mu gasped. The only one who didn't react in such a way was Uchiha Tengfei, whose eyes began to glow with unprecedented brightness.

Li Ling'er's face fell, and Sun Hai's scalp went numb.

The Chosen of the various sects and clans were completely astonished by Naruto 's 30,000-meter Dharma Idol.

"If he really manages to open the Door of Immortality… How many meridians will he open?!" That was the question that raged through the minds of each and every Chosen, and filled them with bitterness.

By now, Naruto made them feel completely powerless.

As for the Patriarchs of the various sects and clans, the same question was running through all their minds regarding Naruto , this peerless member of his generation. How many meridians would he open…?

Chapter 969: 30,000-meter Dharma Idol

Vol. 6 : Chapter 970

Chapter 970: Paragon Immortal Palaces!

The 30,000-meter Dharma Idol shone with boundless golden light as it struck the seven-colored Immortal Tribulation Lightning. Naruto closed his eyes, and then began to merge with his Dharma Idol. When he opened his eyes, he was his Dharma Idol and his Dharma Idol was him!

A fist descended, and the Heavens rumbled. A huge gap opened up in the Tribulation Clouds, and at the same time, numerous bolts of sevencolored lightning crackled toward Naruto .

He did nothing to evade, instead allowing the Immortal Tribulation Lightning to strike him. He spread his arms wide, and his eyes were filled with nothing but the Tribulation Clouds.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Time passed. The Tribulation Cloud clouds shrank down to sixty percent of their normal size. Fifty percent. Forty percent…. The seven-colored Immortal Tribulation Lightning seemed to be endless. Naruto 's Eternal stratum worked ceaselessly, and his 30,000-meter Dharma Idol attacked relentlessly, causing Heaven and Earth to tremble as divine abilities were unleashed.

Naruto threw his head back and howled. At the same time, his Dharma Idol suddenly expanded in all directions. Simultaneously, Naruto extended his right hand, within which appeared a rift.

The rift only lasted for three breaths of time.

It was the Fifth Demon Sealing Hex. During those three breaths of time, that rift became like a black hole in the void. It emanated an incredibly shocking gravitational force that instantly sucked the Tribulation Clouds into it.

Thirty percent. Twenty percent. Ten percent!

RUMBLE!

When the rift vanished, the vast majority of the Tribulation Clouds had vanished with it. There weren't even enough to cover all of Planet East Victory. Naruto hovered there in midair, face ashen, but filled with a desire to battle that was even more intense than before.

He looked up at what remained of the Tribulation Clouds up in the sky, as well as the Immortal Palaces that floated behind them. Currently, they did not emanate as much threatening pressure as before.

"Hey, Tribulation Clouds. SCRAM!" Naruto said coolly, waving his right hand. His Dharma Idol separated from his body, transforming into a golden beam of light that pierced through the Tribulation Clouds and then suddenly exploded.

The explosion caused the remaining Tribulation Clouds to roil, after which a roaring sound echoed out from within as the clouds… shattered into pieces that scattered in all directions.

Everyone looked on as the Tribulation Clouds… vanished!

In that moment, all of Planet East Victory went completely silent. Both the members of the Namikaze Clan as well as the other cultivators stared in shock at the sky which was now completely empty of Tribulation Clouds.

Transcending tribulation in this way was something completely unprecedented!

Transcending tribulation with such madness was domineering to an incredible extent!

It was as if Naruto was prepared to destroy anything that blocked his way along his path to Immortality.

No one had ever been able to do something like this before, because no one had ever been comparable to a stage 10 immortal when transcending tribulation.

This was… like saying, "If I want to become an Immortal, the Heavens can't do anything to stop me!"

This was… a domineering attitude that said, "If I want it, the Heavens had BETTER have it! If I don't want it, the Heavens had better NOT have it!"

It seemed unbelievable, but if one thought about it carefully… when someone was equipped with the battle prowess of the one hundred meridians of a stage 10 Immortal, then to that person, there was nothing impossible when it came to transcending Immortal Tribulation.

After a brief moment of silence, Planet East Victory burst into a huge commotion. Everyone in the Namikaze Clan was yelling in excitement.

They saw the look of madness, fervor, and obsession in Naruto 's eyes, and they knew that he was a member of the Namikaze Clan. The glory he brought to himself made them proud.

" Namikaze Naruto!"

" Namikaze Naruto!"

" Namikaze Naruto!"

Numerous figures flew up into the sky to sit cross-legged close to Naruto . None of them took any action, they just sat there… as Naruto 's Dharma Protectors!

The entire direct bloodline mobilized. Namikaze Xi looked excitedly at Naruto , then threw his head back and laughed. Other than the direct bloodline, most of the other people who moved out to help Naruto … were members of the neutral clan branches. After seeing the future prospects that Naruto 's performance displayed, they were moved in an unprecedented way.

When it came to choosing between Naruto and Namikaze Wei, they chose… Naruto !

Namikaze Wei stood there silently, looking at Naruto . Yet again, his eyes flickered with the desire to do battle. In contrast, Namikaze Xiushan stood next to him, face pale, glaring at Naruto and roaring inwardly.

"Damn you, Namikaze Naruto! Why did you have to show up! You already left the Namikaze Clan! Why did you have to come back!? Why did you have to reach Immortal Ascension!? Why!?

"And you, Namikaze Minato ! You were always ahead of me, always stifling me. And now, just when my own son is rising up like a qilin, your goodfor-nothing child is suppressing him!" Namikaze Xiushan just couldn't keep calm. His entire body trembled, and his eyes shone with venomous hatred.

The Grand Elder stood there, silent and taciturn.

Namikaze Wei's grandfather sighed softly and looked over at Namikaze Xiushan, his expression one of disappointment. Then he turned back to look at Namikaze Wei, and his expression changed to that of anticipation.

Planet East Victory was completely shaken, and the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were astonished. By this point, Naruto 's name and face were firmly fixed within the minds of countless people, and many people were thoroughly fascinated to the point of zealotry.

Of course, all of the Chosen watched in taciturn silence.

"This matter isn't concluded yet. The Immortal Tribulation hasn't dissipated, and the Door of Immortality hasn't been opened. We have yet to see… exactly how many Immortal meridians he will open!" Thoughts such as these were going through the minds of all of the Chosen who had recently ascended to true Immortality. Their eyes were all fixed in the direction of Planet East Victory and Naruto .

The Patriarchs of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea sighed, exchanged glances with those around them, and then began to discuss the matter.

"Who of this generation can possibly match up to Naruto …? Perhaps only the famous star of the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire… Namikaze Mu!"

" Namikaze Mu is obviously an assumed name. Nobody knows who he really is…. However, the Nine Seas God World accepted him as a disciple, and he still hasn't accepted the top prize from the Three Great Daoist Societies. Eventually… he will definitely make an appearance."

"Perhaps he is the only one who can actually compare to Naruto . This generation doesn't belong to us any more, it belongs to them…"

Actually, they weren't the only ones thinking of Namikaze Mu. There were many other cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea who also remembered Namikaze Mu's eye-catching performance!

He took first place in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire!

The old man from the Nine Seas God World with whom Naruto had developed a good relationship that year sighed. The Patriarch from the foremost of the Three Great Daoist Societies, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, stared in the direction of Planet East Victory and smiled slightly, and his eyes shone with a bright gleam.

"You are connected to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite by destiny….

Eventually, you will make your way here."

Naruto floated in midair above Planet East Victory, his hair floating around him. He took a deep breath, and his Eternal stratum continued to work as he looked up into the Heavens.

There were no Tribulation Clouds. The only thing left in front of him were boundless Immortal Palaces that obstructed his path to the Door of Immortality.

The Door of Immortality hovered there behind the Immortal Palaces, emanating powerful pressure.

"The character 'Immortal' is made up of one person and one mountain. I should have a Dao Corroboration Mountain…." Naruto looked at the Immortal Palaces for a moment and then began to advance forward.

"My Dao Corroboration Mountain should be the mountain which forever remains in my memory…. Mount Daqing.

"It's too bad that Mount Daqing is still in the State of Zhao, which was taken away by that bastard Patriarch Reliance. And right now, I have no idea where that old turtle bastard has gotten off to.

"Since that's the case, I will just have to become my own mountain. My fleshly body will be my mountain, and my soul will represent my life. One person 人, one mountain 山. I… am an Immortal 仙!" Naruto 's energy surged, and his speed increased. In the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of the Immortal Palaces.

In that instant, the figures moving about inside the Immortal Palaces looked like celestial soldiers. They turned toward Naruto and then charged in attack. At the same time, roaring sounds emanated out of the Immortal Palaces, which also flew toward Naruto in attack. They apparently wanted to crush him, and powerful Immortal might surged out as they neared.

At first glance, it almost seemed impossible to count how many Immortal Palaces there were. However, there were actually 100,000, and they were illusory, not corporeal. They looked like 100,000 seal marks, crushing down toward Naruto . Furthermore, the Immortal Palaces actually emanated… the energy of a Paragon of the Immortal Realm!

This was a tribulation that only an Immortal Realm Paragon was qualified to transcend.

Colors flashed, and the starry sky shook as 100,000 Immortal Palaces screamed toward Naruto in illusory form.

Incredible pressure weighed down on all the lands, causing Planet East

Victory to shake. Naruto was the sole focus of this Immortal Tribulation, which he could sense on a profound level. It felt like innumerable heavenly mountains were crushing down onto him.

His cultivation base surged, and his 30,000-meter Dharma Idol shone with golden light as it leveled a punch toward the first of the incoming Immortal Palaces.

As the Dharma Idol punched out, celestial soldiers vanished, and the incoming Immortal Palace began to fall apart. In contrast, his Dharma Idol trembled a bit.

Next, a second Immortal Palace was destroyed, then a third, and a fourth…. One Immortal Palace after another was crushed. Blood oozed out of Naruto 's mouth as he continued to attack.

Unfortunately, he was slowly being pushed back down toward the surface of the planet. The Immortal Palaces never seemed to end, and apparently, they wanted to crush Naruto down into the ground and grind him into pieces!

Every attack against the Immortal Palaces resulted in a backlash, making things increasingly difficult for Naruto . He could crush 10 of them, destroy 100, shatter 1,000. But… there were 100,000 in total!

Their energy continued to rise, and the aura of an Immortal Realm Paragon spread out. It was as if all Immortals… would be forced to kowtow to this aura!

If you didn't kowtow, you would be crushed!

When the members of the Namikaze Clan saw what was happening, they

grew increasingly nervous. The other cultivators on Planet East Victory were shocked. This Immortal Tribulation was something they had never seen the likes of before.

Namikaze Xiushan was getting excited. He stared at Naruto , wishing that the Immortal Palaces would become a hundred times more powerful than they already were, and completely eradicate Naruto in an instant.

The Patriarchs of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea appeared to be visibly moved, and discussed the matter in hushed tones.

"Those are images of Paragon Immortal Palaces!"

"Only a Paragon among Immortals would be able to fight back against an Immortal Tribulation like that!"

"I'm afraid that this Namikaze Naruto… will proceed no further than this step."

Even as they murmured, Naruto punched out against another Immortal Palace. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his Eternal stratum operated ceaselessly. His eyes grew even more vicious than before.

"They're merely projections of Immortal Palaces with Paragon auras…. Well, I'll just have to show this Immortal Tribulation… what the projection of a real Paragon entity looks like!

"Now that I've come to this point, it doesn't matter if I expose my identity. The time has come to show the Ninth Mountain and Sea that I am Namikaze Mu, and Namikaze Mu… is none other than me!" Naruto took a deep breath and extended his right hand, waving it through the air to employ his most powerful Paragon Daoist magic.

"Paragon Bridge!"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 971

Chapter 971: I am Namikaze Mu!

Originally, Naruto had planned to keep his identity as Namikaze Mu secret, as a contingency for after he left the Namikaze Clan. But as of this moment, he had changed his mind. Instead of keeping Namikaze Mu hidden away and concealed, he would make a grand entrance!

He would make sure that everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea know that Naruto was the number one Chosen of the Namikaze Clan. At the same time, he was Namikaze Mu, the number one competitor in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire!

He was also a Conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World! Although this move might seem like it could put him in danger later, in actuality… being so famous was also somewhat of a protection!

Keeping things low key was fine, but if you made a move, the best thing was to shock everyone!

Naruto 's eyes shone with a strange light as he hovered there in midair, the center of all attention. Countless spectators all over the Ninth Mountain and Sea were using various methods to watch him as he lifted his right hand into the air and waved it toward the approaching Immortal Palaces.

In response to the wave of his hand, colors flashed, Heavenly bodies trembled, and a huge wind kicked up. Planet East Victory shook, and roaring sounds echoed out, causing all cultivators to tremble as they sensed an indescribable pressure exploding out from Naruto .

The starry sky shook as innumerable ripples spread out, and the aura of a Paragon rose up from Naruto , growing more powerful and shocking by the moment.

His gaze was like a sharp blade, filled with obsession, making him look like an Immortal divinity.

As of this moment, the faces of all the members of the Namikaze Clan flickered.

Deep underneath the ground, the seven Patriarchs of the Namikaze Clan were all shaken!

"That aura…."

"That aura is similar to that of the Immortal Palaces, except stronger!"

"That's…." Fan Dong'er's eyes widened, and the old woman who stood behind her stepped forward to peer into the crystal. Gradually, her eyes filled with astonishment.

"It's him!" she thought. Even though this old woman had a Dao Realm cultivation base, she couldn't help but gasp.

At the same time, the expressions on the faces of the Patriarchs in the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto changed. Imposing beams of sword light rose up into the sky, then swept out in all directions. "That's… the aura of a Paragon Daoist magic!"

"This Naruto , he…. Could it be that he…."

Other than the Hebi Clan, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite of the Three

Great Daoist Societies was the most powerful entity in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and they were more shocked than anyone. Inside a courtyard in the Daoist Rite temple, the Patriarchs' energies surged as they looked toward Planet East Victory and Naruto 's aura.

"Pāramitā's Paragon Bridge!"

Li Ling'er looked silently at what was happening. Everyone else was shocked, but she was calm. She had long since realized that Namikaze Mu… was none other than Naruto !

"Does this era belong to him…?" she thought, sighing inwardly.

It would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find other people in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who knew the truth about this matter. Even considering the aura he was emitting right now, most people were shocked, but hadn't yet made the connection with Namikaze Mu

Naruto floated there above Planet East Victory, his clothes whipping in the wind, his aura rising to a terrifying degree. It continued to grow more and more intensely powerful.

After the space of a few breaths of time, people sensed more intensely that he was like a Paragon. The Immortal Palaces roared toward him until they were only a few dozen meters away.

Naruto looked up, and his eyes shone with sharp light. It was in that exact moment that he waved his hand, causing his Immortal meridians to rotate and his cultivation base to explode out. The imprinted image of the Paragon Bridge that existed in his mind suddenly appeared in the starry sky.

The world seemed to go still, and everything in Heaven and Earth stopped moving. A huge bridge appeared, enormous and emanating an ancient and primordial aura. It was a boundless energy that placed it above anything in Heaven and Earth.

The bridge grew rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it exceeded the 100,000 Immortal Palaces in front of Naruto , completely suppressing them.

Boundless light shone out, accompanied by innumerable magical symbols. The aura of a Paragon caused everything to shake, and the Immortal Palaces seemed cowed. Even the planet itself seemed forced to acquiesce, as if this bridge were a path to becoming a Paragon that one powerful expert after another had walked upon!

Rumbling echoed out, and the planet quaked. It was as if everything in the world suddenly went dark except… for the Door of Immortality, which hovered there high in the starry sky, equally matched and standing in stark opposition to the bridge.

In the instant that the bridge appeared, Namikaze Wei felt as if an invisible punch had just viciously crushed him. His face went ashen, and he staggered backward several paces, his face filling with an expression of disbelief. He stared up at Naruto , and the astonishing Paragon Bridge with its Paragon aura!

"This is impossible! This… This is…." Namikaze Wei's mind was reeling. He recognized the bridge, and was well-aware that it was the divine ability created by Namikaze Mu during the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire!

In recent days, many people had speculated that Namikaze Wei was actually Namikaze Mu. Namikaze Wei had been enigmatic and done nothing to dispel such rumors. He didn't admit to being Namikaze Mu, but neither did he deny it. Because of that, quite a few people made speculations that led them to the conclusion that he… was actually Namikaze Mu!

It was only as of this moment that Namikaze Wei found out to his bitterness that he had essentially turned himself into a clown. The real Namikaze Mu was actually… Naruto !

He almost couldn't believe it, and he wasn't alone. The other members of the Namikaze Clan looked over at the bridge, their minds reeling.

" Namikaze … Namikaze Mu?"

"I've seen that bridge before! In the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire, the first place competitor Namikaze Mu created it as a divine ability!"

"This… don't tell me… Namikaze Naruto is actually Namikaze Mu!?" The entire clan was shocked. Namikaze Yunyi stood in the crowd, and his vision went dark. The world seemed to be spinning; he simply couldn't imagine how Namikaze Mu… could be Naruto !

Namikaze Xiushan's mind filled with roaring, and his face was pale white as he stared at the Paragon Bridge up in the sky. In the past, he had suspected that the Namikaze Mu from the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire was actually a member of the Namikaze Clan. However, he had quickly dismissed the idea that there was someone else in the Namikaze Clan who could possibly outdo his own son, who was the number one member of his generation.

Now that he realized that Naruto had been Namikaze Mu all along, he felt his entire world spinning in reverse.

Namikaze Wei's grandfather sighed bitterly.

The members of the direct bloodline were extremely excited. No matter if it was Namikaze Xi or Naruto 's 19th Uncle, they all found the matter hard to believe. They had watched Namikaze Mu during the trial by fire, and now they gasped as they realized that… Naruto was the only one who could possibly be Namikaze Mu.

"Is he really… Namikaze Mu?"

The Grand Elder's heart pounded violently. He was extremely familiar with the name Namikaze Mu.

All of Planet East Victory was shaken by the appearance of the Paragon Bridge. More and more people began to think of Namikaze Mu. At first, they were a bit hesitant to accept the truth. However, the Paragon Bridge was a divine ability created by Namikaze Mu, and a divine ability like that… could not possibly have been created a second time by someone else.

" Naruto . Namikaze Naruto. Namikaze Mu…. He really is Namikaze Mu!"

As of this moment, all of the cultivators of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked on with shock, their minds reeling.

As for the various Patriarchs, their minds trembled. This was especially true of the Patriarchs of the Three Great Daoist Societies. Namikaze Mu was the first place winner of the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire. After defeating Zhao Yifan, he disappeared into the Ruins of Immortality. They had assumed he died, and yet, here he appeared now, as a Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!

As for the other Chosen who had just stepped into true Immortality, their minds were also spinning.

"I should have guessed that he was Namikaze Mu!" murmured Taiyang Zi. Song Luodan stood there silently, and Uchiha Mu gnashed his teeth. Everyone was completely shaken!

Naruto hovered there above Planet East Victory. He took a deep breath as his long hair flew about. He knew that as of this moment, his identity as Namikaze Mu had been revealed, and that the Ninth Mountain and Sea was surely in an uproar. However, he didn't care.

"Yeah, I'm Namikaze Mu!" His eyes shone with a bright light as he looked at the Paragon Bridge that stretched out over the 100,000 Immortal Palaces toward the Door of Immortality.

Down below the bridge, the Immortal Palaces trembled, as if they couldn't bear the weight of the Paragon's aura that emanated out from the Paragon Bridge.

Naruto 's eyes glittered, and his desire to do battle surged. He kept his eyes fixed on the Door of Immortality as he moved forward and set foot on the Paragon Bridge.

His first step caused deafening rumbling sounds to spread out through all of Planet East Victory. As the sound echoed out into the starry sky… 10,000 Immortal Palaces instantly shattered into pieces!

They crumbled into debris that scattered about and then dissipated out into the stars….

One step onto the Paragon Bridge destroyed 10,000 palaces!

It was a single step onto the Paragon Bridge, but anyone watching got the feeling that Naruto was stepping out into the stars. 10,000 Immortal Palaces were destroyed, sending ripples out in all directions, and completely shocking all the observing cultivators.

Heaven and Earth shook as pressure from the bridge, the will of a Paragon, demolished the Immortal Palaces. Yet Naruto also suffered a major backlash; he could use the Paragon Bridge, but only at great cost. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, but his expression remained one of determination as he took a second step.

The second step instantly caused another 10,000 Immortal Palaces to shatter into pieces. A huge wind kicked up that swept the debris out into the starry sky.

No one had ever seen an Immortal Tribulation like this. The Immortal Tribulations experienced by all the other Chosen were like nothing compared to what Naruto was going through.

At the same time, nobody had ever transcended Tribulation in such a fashion. He completely destroyed the Tribulation Clouds, and crushed the Immortal Palaces one step at a time. As of this moment, everyone was bearing witness to Naruto 's surging energy.

When he took a third step, his aura surged out again. It was as if he was the only existence in all Heaven and Earth, a splash of color amongst black and white. At the same time, the inner backlash from using the Paragon Bridge grew stronger. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, causing the bridge to be stained a garish red as he passed.

And yet, he didn't stop for a moment. He braced himself against the inward shaking, endured the trembling of his cultivation base and the power of the backlash. He took a fourth step, then a fifth, and then a sixth!

The Paragon Bridge only had ten portions!

As Naruto took each step, 10,000 Immortal Palaces were destroyed. It happened a third time, a fourth time, a fifth time!

He took six steps, and his energy soared. The Paragon Bridge shone with boundless light, as did Naruto himself!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 972

Chapter 972: Barrage on the Door of Immortality

"The will of an Immortal Realm Paragon…."

"This Namikaze Naruto is shifting the paradigm; in the Immortal Realm, now that he's ahead of everyone, he'll be ahead of them every step of the way!"

"From now on, he's going to be completely famous in the Ninth

Mountain and Sea!"

Everyone looked at Naruto up in the sky, and their hearts were filled with the same thought: "This era belongs to him!"

Everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea watched Naruto take six steps that destroyed a total of 60,000 Immortal Palaces. The sight was incredibly moving.

As of this moment, the shattered Immortal Palaces served as a foil to Naruto . The Paragon Bridge was the background of the image, and the picture it all painted was now firmly etched in the minds of all onlookers.

The Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea stared silently. Even Uchiha Tengfei was left speechless. They could only watch as Naruto walked forward, destroying the Immortal Palaces in the process.

Namikaze Wei's face was pale white. Naruto 's Immortal Tribulation was shocking, and his method of transcending the tribulation was astonishing. However, Namikaze Wei refused to back down.

"Let's just wait and see how many Immortal meridians he gets after he opens of the Door of Immortality!" Namikaze Wei's eyes were completely crimson.

Everyone watched as Naruto calmly took a seventh step. Cracking sounds emanated out from his body, and blood spattered onto his clothing. His face was pale white, and his Eternal stratum worked like mad to restore him, although by now it was unable to keep up with the backlash he was receiving. His legs were shaking, but the 10,000 Immortal Palaces underneath his feet also shook, then crumbled into pieces like the ones before them had.

Naruto 's eyes were bloodshot. By now, he wasn't even paying attention to the Immortal Palaces. Now that he was standing atop the Paragon Bridge, he suddenly began to experience a vision of the past. He saw all of the people who had tread the bridge in bygone years.

This bridge was a bridge that allowed people to reach the highest of heights. The bridge had been shattered, but the Paragon's aura still was there, a manifestation of its former glory. Anyone who could reach the end of it would feel a sense of unmatched supremacy like that of a Paragon of Heaven and Earth.

Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth as his hair whipped around him. He watched as countless vague images of people from former times appeared and walked past him.

"I can do it too!" he murmured, stepping forward an eighth time.

The instant he took the eighth step, the Paragon Bridge rumbled, and another 10,000 Immortal Palaces were shattered. By now, there were only 20,000 left!

The ninth step!

Heaven and Earth rumbled, and all the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea that were looking on felt their minds racing. They recalled everything that had happened in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire. They thought back to how they had felt as they watched Namikaze Mu.

Right now, that same feeling returned as they looked at that very same person!

As they stared at Naruto , they felt like they were suffocating as they waited to see if he would reach the end of the Paragon Bridge, destroy all of the Immortal Palaces, and stand in front of the Door of Immortality.

Amidst the rumbling, Naruto 's eyes glowed with the desire to do battle. Another 10,000 Immortal Palaces were destroyed as he… took his final step.

The tenth step!

As he took that final step, the remaining 10,000 Immortal Palaces beneath the Paragon Bridge shattered into fragments. They were destroyed, exploded into bits that were swept out into the wind, accompanied by what sound like a roar of rage.

Apparently, they refused to accept that they were being dispersed, and were unwilling to approve of Naruto becoming a true Immortal in this way!

However… it didn't matter if they approved or not. They had no choice but to accept it!

All of the Immortal Palaces were completely destroyed and eradicated. Then, the Paragon Bridge slowly faded away from beneath Naruto 's feet. In the blink of an eye, it was gone. He trembled as the full force of the backlash caused blood to spray from his mouth. He staggered in place, almost as if he were on the verge of falling down out of the sky. However, he forced himself to hang on, and his body trembled so badly it looked like it might collapse.

The Paragon Bridge was a trump card for Naruto , but considering the level of his cultivation base, it was all he could do to do take the ten steps he had. After passing over the Immortal Palaces, the full force of the backlash seriously injured him. Were his willpower even slightly weaker, he would not have been able to reach the end.

However, everything was worth it!

Naruto 's eyes shone with a brilliant light as he stood there in front of the majestic Door of Immortality!

Intense roaring sounds filled the air, echoing out in the Namikaze Clan, in Planet East Victory, and in all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

The members of the Namikaze Clan were in an uproar, and the other cultivators on Planet East Victory were equally shaken.

"He destroyed the Immortal Palaces with ten steps! Namikaze Naruto did it!"

"He scattered the Immortal Tribulation Clouds and destroyed the Immortal Palaces! Transcending tribulation in this manner is completely unheard of! He definitely deserves his reputation as Namikaze Mu!"

"He's forcing his way through the tribulation! How domineering! Perhaps that's the nature of his Dao!"

Gradually, people were starting to get a vague understanding of Naruto 's Dao!

It was completely domineering, as if nothing and no one could stand in his way! Or perhaps, it would be better to say that since he truly believed that he would eventually surpass everyone else, the one person he perpetually wanted to supercede was himself!

He ignored all others and only tried to outdo himself.

Neither his personality nor what he said mattered; these were spurious. His true will… was one of complete domineering!

Freedom! Independence! Those two things were domineering as well!

The members of the direct bloodline were extremely excited. The rest of the Namikaze Clan was abuzz. Planet East Victory was in an uproar.

All of the other sects and clans were astonished to a profound degree by the way Naruto was transcending his tribulation.

"He's in front of the Door of Immortality now! Now the only thing left to do is open it!"

"Push open the Door of Immortality, bathe in the Immortal light, and open Immortal meridians!"

"I wonder… how many meridians he will open!?"

All of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, including the Chosen and the Patriarchs, were wondering the same thing…. How many Immortal meridians would Naruto open up!?

"He's already built himself up to the level of a stage 10 Immortal. He'll probably open up 99 meridians!"

"I wonder if it's possible… that he'll actually open… 100 Immortal meridians!?"

The uproar continued throughout the various regions in the Ninth Mountain and Sea as everyone discussed the matter of how many meridians Naruto would open. By this point, everyone was wondering about it.

"How many can he open…?" thought Fan Dong'er as she gazed into the crystal.

Li Ling'er stood there quietly, but in her heart, she had already answered the question. Naruto would definitely open… 100 meridians!

Zhao Yifan, Taiyang Zi, Song Luodan, Sun Hai and the other Chosen were all panting.

By now, even Fatty, Mught Guy, and other people familiar with Naruto were now watching the scene play out in their respective sects.

On Planet Ninshu , Shui Dongliu looked up, and a smile broke out on his face.

"His era has arrived… the era of true Immortality."

Namikaze Minato and Kushina stood in the Tower of Tang, looking at a huge mirror. Within, they could see Planet East Victory and Naruto .

Also on Planet Ninshu , on Mount Blood Demon, the previously death-like aura of Blood Demon suddenly flickered with a final trace of life force.

"At long last…." the ancient voice echoed out. "In the moment before my death, the moment I have been waiting for arrives. The time has come for me to give you my last gift of good fortune."

Where the temple hall once existed in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, there was now only a crater. As of this moment, an old man suddenly appeared there, gazing up into the starry sky. Next to him was a withered Resurrection Lily, within which flickered a bit of life force.

"Immortal meridians…" the old man murmured. "You owe him some

Karma, you know. Ah, forget it, I'll just pay him back for you." He looked down at the withered Resurrection Lily on the ground next to him.

In the Church of the Emperor Immortal, Sun Hai stood there. A young woman was at his side, staring out into the void. All of the disciples of the Church of the Emperor Immortal were all watching a huge screen, and Naruto 's image upon it.

"Come on, little brother, you have to open 100 meridians!" the young woman murmured to herself. She was none other than Namikaze Yu. Suddenly, she felt a creepy stare, which caused her to turn viciously and kick Sun Hai in the shin, causing a sharp twinge of pain. However, a doting look appeared on his face, and he turned to look at her.

"Babe, you can kick me a few more times if you want. The harder the better…."

His expression, and his wording, caused goosebumps to cover Namikaze Yu.

Everyone was now completely focused on Naruto ….

He looked up at the enormous Door of Immortality. Compared to it, he was like a speck of dust.

"The Door of Immortality…." he murmured. His eyes brimmed with the desire to fight, and even as his injuries healed, he stepped forward, clenched his hand, and then punched out toward the Door of Immortality.

"Open up!" he roared, his voice echoing like thunder. A huge boom could be heard as his fist made contact with the Door of Immortality. The sound echoed out, shaking the lands. Suddenly, a crack appeared as… the door began to open!

As soon as that crack appeared, boundless Immortal light spilled out, lighting up the Heavens and shining out into the starry sky.

The resplendent Immortal light poured out from the Door of Immortality, becoming a beam that pierced out into the darkness, illuminating everything.

Although it was only a crack, the Immortal light was filled with strong Immortal Chakra that shot toward Naruto and poured into him.

His eyes shone with brilliant light. All of the cultivators watched closely, and there was no question in any of their minds as to whether or not he would succeed. They knew he could open it.

What they were concerned with was how many Immortal meridians he would end up with after the door was opened!

Naruto 's expression was one of determination as the Immortal Chakra poured into him. His eight current Immortal meridians transformed into eight dragons that swirled around him madly, absorbing Immortal Chakra and making him stronger.

However, a tiny crack was not good enough for Naruto .

His 30,000-meter Dharma Idol appeared behind him. Radiating golden light, it stepped forward. At the same time, Naruto transformed into a huge golden roc, which joined the Dharma Idol in bashing against the Door of Immortality.

"OPEN UP!" he roared again. As he slammed into the door again, it opened… a little bit more!

More Immortal light poured out, along with strong Immortal qi!

As of this moment, countless spectators gasped as they watched Naruto attacking the Door of Immortality.

An incredible power radiated out from the Door of Immortality, and as the Immortal Chakra poured into Naruto , blood sprayed from his mouth. However, his eyes shone with even brighter light than before.

He lifted his right hand, causing numerous mountains to appear. They formed together as they smashed into the Door of Immortality. At the same time, a Blood Demon head appeared, which butted against the door.

And of course there was his 30,000-meter Dharma Idol, which battered the door with its huge hands. Heaven and Earth shook, and booms rang out in all directions. The Door of Immortality slowly opened wider, causing more light and Immortal Chakra to surge out.

As of this point, the door had opened enough… that a person could slip through!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 973

Chapter 973: Opening the Immortal Meridians

In that moment, an incredible light shone out from the Door of Immortality, which transformed into the image of an ancient head. The head looked at Naruto and then let out a roar that echoed out like a powerful attack. Blood sprayed from Naruto 's mouth, and he staggered back. As for the Door of Immortality, it slowly began to close!

Everyone in the Namikaze Clan was completely shocked by this. When Namikaze Wei attacked the Door of Immortality, it had only continued to open wider and wider. It had never shown any signs of closing back up. Everyone gasped.

"What's going on? This Door of Immortality… is so hard to open!"

" Namikaze Naruto's Tribulation Clouds were different than everyone else's, plus there were those Immortal Palaces. It's only to be expected that his Door of Immortality is unusually hard to open!"

Namikaze Wei's eyes glittered as he stared at Naruto , and it was clear that he wanted to fight. As for Namikaze Xiushan, the killing intent in his eyes grew stronger, and his expression was transforming into one of wild joy.

"He can't open the Door of Immortality!"

The cultivators from the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were all shocked by what they were seeing.

"Immortal Tribulation like this, and a Door of Immortality like this, would be impossible for any other Chosen to deal with!"

"It's hard to say whether Namikaze Naruto… will actually be able to open the

Door of Immortality!"

Outside of Planet East Victory, within the starry sky, Naruto was forced backward by about 3,000 meters before coming to a stop. He wiped the blood from his mouth as he looked at the Door of Immortality with a vicious gleam in his eyes.

His cultivation base suddenly exploded with power, and his 30,000meter Dharma Idol reappeared. He fused with the Dharma Idol, transforming into a 30,000-meter giant that took a 3,000 meter step forward to appear directly in front of the Door of Immortality.

He raised both of his hands, placed them onto the Door of Immortality, and roared. Then he shoved forward violently, causing massive rumbling sounds to echo out in every direction.

The Door of Immortality trembled, sending a powerful backlash attack against Naruto . He shook as his Eternal stratum exploded out, restoring him even as he rotated his cultivation base and shoved again violently.

RUMBLE!

The Door of Immortality opened by another crack, causing Immortal light to shine out in the starry sky once again. Immortal Chakra spread out, and Naruto 's eyes turned red. He gritted his teeth against the backlash, and went all out, pushing with all the might he could muster.

RUMMMMBLLLE!

The Door of Immortality slowly opened wider, causing more Immortal light to spill out. In the blink of an eye, it was just as open as it had been before. The face of the old man that had been materialized by the Door of Immortality appeared once again. He roared in rage at Naruto , and once again, powerful light exploded out in an attack against Naruto .

This time, Naruto was ready. Even as the force descended upon him, he stepped backward and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then shoved his hands straight out in front of him. Immediately, his eight Immortal meridians sparkled, causing eight streams of power to flow out into his right hand. He then unleashed a punch directly toward the old man's face, causing the Immortal Chakra to shoot out.

In the blink of an eye, they slammed into each other, sending a huge boom echoing out in all directions. The face faded away, and the eight streams of Immortal Chakra swirled together and returned to Naruto . Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and yet, his desire to fight was even stronger. He stepped forward, placed his palms on the Door of Immortality, then began to push.

The Immortal light grew stronger, and the Immortal Chakra more dense. Booms echoed out as the Door of Immortality opened further.

All of the things that had just happened left everyone completely amazed.

"What was that just now? Eight streams of Immortal qi?"

"What divine ability was that…?"

All areas of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were in a complete commotion.

Blue veins popped out on Naruto 's forehead as the Door of Immortality opened wide enough for a person to fit through, but not Naruto 's Dharma Idol.

"I completely destroyed the Tribulation Clouds and shattered all of the Immortal Palaces. As for the Door of Immortality… if it remained closed, it wouldn't matter. But once I start, I'm going to open it all the way and step inside!" Naruto 's eyes were completely bloodshot as he once again rotated his cultivation base and shoved against the door. It opened a bit more, and yet, in that same instant, he suddenly backed up.

As he did, glittering starlight appeared within his left eye. In the blink of an eye, light began to pour out of his eye, transforming into a beam of light 3,000 meters long. Then it was 30,000 meters long, enveloping Naruto completely. It was at this point that… five characters appeared in Naruto 's mind.

One Thought Stellar Transformation 一念星辰变 ! 1

It was the most powerful Daoist magic of the Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch!

Rumbling rose up as the light surrounding Naruto began to spread out. The starlight flew out of his left eye, transforming into the starstone. The starstone rapidly dissolved, forming a liquid that shot toward Naruto and, in the blink of an eye, completely covered him.

In the space of a few breaths of time, even as the Door of Immortality was closing, the light that surrounded Naruto vanished. In his place, there was no longer his normal form, but rather, what appeared to be… a gigantic asteroid!

The asteroid was fully 3,000 meters wide, and shocking to the extreme. The void around it cracked and shattered, as if the mere appearance of the asteroid was enough to rock the starry sky.

Next, an intense aura exploded out from it. Countless motes of starlight appeared, which then descended onto the asteroid's surface.

All of a sudden, it didn't look like an asteroid any more, but rather, a planet!

A droning sound began to emanate out from the planet as it smashed into the Door of Immortality. Everyone watching was filled with shock as the huge stone bashed into the door.

"One Thought Stellar Transformation!" gasped the Grand Elder, his face flickering as he stood there among the other members of the Namikaze Clan.

As soon as his words echoed out, other clan members gasped as they gaped in astonishment at the enormous stone.

"What?! That's…. One Thought Stellar Transformation!?"

"That's the first generation Patriarch's most powerful Daoist magic, One Thought Stellar Transformation! Supposedly, you can use it to actually transform into a planet! It can basically destroy anything!"

" Namikaze Naruto actually acquired the One Thought Stellar Transformation when he went into the ancestral Land! According to the clan's ancient records, the most powerful form of that magical technique is that you can transform into a real planet!"

All of the cultivators on Planet East Victory and the rest of the Ninth

Mountain and Sea were shocked by Naruto assuming planetary form. At the same time, that very planet slammed into the Door of Immortality, causing a huge boom to rattle out.

Ripples spread out in every direction; apparently the attack had contained enough energy to cause tremors to spread far and wide. The Door of Immortality shuddered, and a massive wind kicked up. In the blink of an eye, the Door of Immortality opened completely.

One swift attack, and the Door of Immortality opened wide!

It was as if a sluice gate had been opened. Boundless Immortal light spread out rapidly, filled with wildly surging Immortal qi.

In that moment, the planet vanished, and Naruto reappeared. His face was pale, and he coughed up four or five mouthfuls of blood as the Immortal light and Chakra surrounded him.

The boundless Immortal Chakra surged into him, filling him. His eight Immortal meridians trembled, and began to transform. Immediately, a ninth Immortal meridian began to form!

However, outside of his body, and visible outside of the Door of Immortality, what people saw was not a ninth meridian, but rather, the first meridian.

Whenever someone reaches true Immortal ascension, in the moment that they open the Door of Immortality, their Immortal meridians will cause images of Immortal dragons to appear above the Door of Immortality.

Right now, the first Immortal dragon was rapidly solidifying high above Naruto and the Door of Immortality, swirling in the air.

Immortal Chakra surged and glittered brightly, illuminating the starry sky until it seemed like daytime. Everyone watching on Planet East Victory cried out in shock.

"The Door of Immortality… opened!"

"He's opening his Immortal meridians! I wonder how many meridians

Namikaze Naruto will be able to open!?"

Countless cultivators were watching as the first Immortal dragon appeared above the Door of Immortality. As it roared, a second Immortal meridian formed, then a third and a fourth and a fifth.

In the blink of an eye, boundless Immortal qi, which far exceeded what had come from the bronze dragon in the ancestral land's necropolis, inundated Naruto . 10. 20. 30 Immortal meridians appeared.

30 Immortal dragons swirled through the air, roaring. Each one of those

Immortal dragons was noted by the audience in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and caused their hearts to tremble. They stared blankly, especially the other true Immortal Chosen, whose hearts were pounding.

"Those are… those are Immortal meridians?"

"How come each one of his Immortal meridians seems to be multiple times bigger than the Immortal meridians that appeared for everyone else who just achieved true Immortal Ascension!?"

"The level of difficulty of his Immortal Tribulation was unheard of. His Door of Immortality was so hard to open! Considering he succeeded, it's little wonder that his Immortal meridians exceed that of others. They're so strong!"

Everyone in the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory was completely shocked. Namikaze Wei watched with a pale face, staring at Naruto . Despite everything Naruto had done to fight against the Immortal Tribulation and open the Door of Immortality, Namikaze Wei still wanted to battle him.

Even as expressions of shock could be heard throughout Planet East

Victory, the cultivators from the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked on with astonishment as Naruto opened his Immortal meridians.

"The strength of his Immortal meridians represents his battle prowess within the Immortal Realm," said the old woman next to Fan Dong'er, her voice soft as she peered into the crystal. "He will be incomparable…. He experienced Paragon Immortal Tribulation, and he has become… the only Paragon Immortal!"

The Patriarchs of the other sects and clans also came to similar conclusions as they watched Naruto with glittering eyes and thoughtful hearts.

Naruto stood in the Door of Immortality, bathed in Immortal light, surrounded by Immortal qi. Rumbling echoed out in all directions as boundless Immortal Chakra poured into him. Cracking sounds could be heard as 40 Immortal meridians opened, and then more!

41\. 45. 50….

Amidst all the rumbling, the Immortal dragons outside the Door of Immortality were now 50 in number. They flew around, roaring, causing anyone who heard the sound to be completely shocked.

However, things weren't over yet!

55\. 60. 70. 80….

80 Immortal dragons appeared outside of the Door of Immortality in a relatively short period of time. Those 80 Immortal dragons exuded shocking energy as they flew around in the starry sky.

Naruto 's body was surrounded by roaring. His body felt like it was being shredded as the boundless Immortal Chakra poured into him, causing the 81st Immortal meridian to form….

Soon, the 81st meridian was finished, after which was the 82nd. Then there were 83.

As everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea watched, Naruto reached 90 Immortal meridians!

I left in the Chinese characters of One Thought Stellar Transformation so you could see the "five characters" that were mentioned, despite the translation being four words ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 974

Chapter 974 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 974: More than 100 Meridians!

90 Immortal meridians swirled around the Door of Immortality. Each and every one of them was multiple times larger than any of the Immortal meridians of the other Chosen who had recently ascended to true Immortality. They looked fierce, the dragon scales glinting, the claws sharp as razors. Their bodies were stalwart and filled with shocking energy.

The light blazing out from the Door of Immortality was matchlessly majestic. As the Immortal Chakra appeared within the Immortal light, it seemed almost infinite, eternal and never-ending as it surrounded Naruto , boring into his pores to fill his entire body.

It was a baptism, a type similar to that experienced by any true Immortal who opened the Door of Immortality.

The more thoroughly one prepared, the deeper the resources one built up, then the more extravagant the baptism would be.

Intense rumbling echoed out of Naruto 's body as the Immortal Chakra headed toward his 91st Immortal meridian. It didn't take very long at all for the 91st Immortal meridian to fully form.

Yet another Immortal dragon appeared outside of the Door of Immortality.

92 meridians. 93 meridians. 94 meridians…. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Immortal Chakra pouring into Naruto caused 95 meridians to appear inside of him.

All of the sects and clans on Planet East Victory, as well as those out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, were completely shocked.

"95 meridians! He's already exceeded most of the other Chosen!"

"I wonder if he'll be able to exceed Namikaze Wei with his 98 meridians?

Namikaze Wei of the Namikaze Clan is currently the number one true Immortal!"

As the buzz of conversation filled the air everywhere, Namikaze Wei stared up at Naruto . Inwardly, he was beginning to get nervous; he couldn't stand the idea of someone else stealing any of his glory, and his eyes filled with a savage light as he glared at Naruto .

Namikaze Xiushan gritted his teeth; his hatred for Naruto had reached a pinnacle.

Of course, in sharp contrast, the members of the direct bloodline were extremely excited. They looked excitedly at Naruto ; to them, it was as if they were looking at the hope for the direct bloodline to rise again.

RUMBLE!

Roaring sounds echoed out from Naruto as a 96th Immortal dragon appeared. After that was a 97th. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn… a 98th Immortal dragon appeared in the starry sky outside the Door of Immortality!

It started out fairly blurry, but quickly became clear. After a few breaths of time passed, the Immortal dragon was fully formed. It soared about, emitting shocking roars.

Before anyone from the Ninth Mountain and Sea could react, more rumbling sounds emanated out from Naruto 's body. Directly next to the 98th Immortal dragon, shockingly, there appeared yet another blurry image of an Immortal dragon.

It rapidly became visible, turning into a 99th dragon!

Instantly, the Ninth Mountain and Sea was thrown into a huge tumult, and shouts of astonishment could be heard in every direction.

The Namikaze Clan was completely silent for a moment, after which they exploded into complete pandemonium from the shock and astonishment, of personally witnessing… the rise of a true Chosen!

"99 Immortal meridians! He's surpassed Namikaze Wei to become the number one blazing sun of the Namikaze Clan!"

"For years, nobody has ever reached this height! Namikaze Naruto… is the only one!"

"99 Immortal meridians! That's only one meridian away from the legendary great circle!" The Namikaze Clan was flabbergasted. As for Namikaze Wei, he stood there calm and quiet, eventually closing his eyes.

However, it was possible to see how he felt inside from the trembling that wracked his body. After Naruto opened 99 meridians, he was filled with an unspeakable disquiet. He didn't dare to watch any longer, for fear that he might lose his will to fight.

He wasn't the only one. As of this moment, the other true Immortal Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea all closed their eyes. They… chose to pay no further attention to Naruto .

They had their own Daos, and their own paths. If they lost selfconfidence in their ability to proceed forward, if they lost their Dao hearts, then their cultivation base would be eternally unable to progress any further.

Naruto had long since become a huge mountain blocking the path of all other cultivators of his generation!

Unless someone could split that mountain open, it was possible to

predict that the mountain-like Naruto would crush all other Chosen of his generation, and continue unobstructed to the pinnacle.

Namikaze Xiushan's face was pale and bloodless. In the moment that Naruto opened his 99th meridian, it was like an invisible fist smashing into his heart. He clearly understood that as of this moment, Naruto … had already soared high into the Heavens.

"Yeah, but he's only in the Immortal Realm!" thought Namikaze Xiushan. Deep within his eyes, a gleam of madness suddenly sparked to life.

As of this moment, everyone was speculating as to whether or not 99 meridians would be Naruto 's true limit. Naruto 's face glowed with the light of obsession as he rotated his Immortal meridians, causing Immortal power to flow through him. After it performed a full cycle, it suddenly exploded out!

In that instant, an intense, tearing pain suddenly shot through him, and a rumbling sound once again emanated out.

It was as if yet another Immortal meridian was suddenly gouging itself into his body.

"100 meridians!" he roared.

Shockingly, all of the Immortal dragons outside of the Door of Immortality suddenly stopped in place and looked up at the shadowy, sinuous figure that had just appeared.

It looked like a shocking bolt of electricity, and its image instantly exploded like thunder into the minds of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

The 100th Immortal dragon formed outside of the Door of Immortality. After the space of a few breaths, it was clear to all onlookers!

It was absolutely clear that this was the 100th Immortal dragon!

As soon as it became visible, the spectators felt as if their hearts were being struck by lightning. Gasps could be heard, along with loud cries of shock and alarm that echoed throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

100 meridians had been opened, and 100 Immortal dragons swirled above the Door of Immortality, causing astonishing roars to fill the air!

100 Immortal dragons joined their voices together in a shocking roar that shook the land and caused the heavenly bodies to tremble.

The members of the Namikaze Clan were silent as they stared in shock at the 100 immortal dragons flying outside the Door of Immortality. After a long moment, shouts of astonishment rang out.

"100 meridians…. He really opened 100 meridians!"

"Our Namikaze Clan… has produced a blazing sun that opened 100 meridians!"

" Namikaze Naruto! Naruto ! Namikaze Mu! From this day forward, his name will completely shake all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!"

The direct bloodline was going crazy, as was the rest of the Namikaze Clan, and even all of the other other cultivators on Planet East Victory.

They looked up at Naruto , and all they could see was his shadowy form wreathed by boundless Immortal light. However, their eyes were filled with fervor.

100 meridians, fully opened, was a legendary Realm that virtually no one had entered for countless years. Naruto … was the first!

Namikaze Wei finally opened his eyes and saw the 100 Immortal dragons, and blood oozed out of his mouth. He clenched his hands into fists.

Namikaze Xiushan began acting abnormally; his eyes revealed a menacing glint which grew stronger and stronger.

Off to the side, the Grand Elder was shocked. His eyes grew cloudy as he thought back to the scene of Naruto returning to the clan, standing in East Heaven Gate, his Bloodline Gatebeam rising 30,000 meters into the air.

All of the seven Patriarchs underground had risen to their feet and were looking at Naruto , their expressions unprecedentedly solemn.

"This kid is a future Paragon of the Namikaze Clan!" the Seventh Patriarch said softly. He glanced over at the Sixth Patriarch, who looked shocked. However, a strange coldness also gleamed within the Sixth Patriarch's eyes.

Planet East Victory was boiling with excitement, as were the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. As for the Chosen, many who had opted to close their eyes now opened them and looked at the 100 Immortal dragons swirling around Naruto . Their hearts grew increasingly heavy.

"100 meridians? It is what it is! It's a legendary Realm, but who cares?

So what if he's an Immortal Realm Paragon?!"

"This isn't going to stop me from fighting him!"

"That's nice. He has his Dao, and we have our paths. Nothing… is set in stone yet!" The Chosen stood there silently, their eyes flickering with the desire to fight.

"Finally… it's over." As everyone looked at the Immortal light inundating Naruto , and the shocking sight of his 100 meridians, they knew that his good fortune of opening the Door of Immortality was now over.

However, it was in that moment… that people suddenly realized, the Immortal light and Chakra were continuing to swirl madly around Naruto as he stood there in the Door of Immortality. He took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with a bright light.

"Since my identity as Namikaze Mu has been revealed," Naruto murmured, "then a mere 100 meridians simply isn't enough…." He threw his head back and let out a shocking cry.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The shocking sounds grew more intense, spreading out in all directions as the light shining from the Door of Immortality grew more magnificent, and even more Immortal Chakra was released.

Anyone who could see what was happening was thoroughly shocked.

"Hey… what's going on?!"

"Could it be that he's going to open 101 meridians!?"

"That's impossible! 100 meridians is already a thing of legend! How could he possibly open 101?"

Everyone looked on with disbelief and astonishment as the eight Immortal meridians that he had already possessed suddenly began to manifest on the outside!

101 meridians. 102 meridians. 103 meridians! 104 meridians!

In the blink of an eye, he had four more meridians!

As of this moment, everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who was watching, regardless of whether they were ordinary cultivators or Patriarchs of the various sects and clans, all felt their eyes go wide and fill with disbelief. Everyone went silent.

Even as they stared at Naruto and his 104 meridians, a 105th meridian appeared!

"Come on!" Naruto roared as the Immortal light and Immortal Chakra surged into him. The sound of his shout echoed out into the starry sky as… a 106th meridian appeared!

Blue veins popped out on Naruto 's face as the 107th meridian appeared!

"COME ON!" he roared. A shocking rumbling echoed out through all of Planet East Victory, piercing into the starry sky as 108 meridians appeared!

The 108th meridian that appeared was actually… the very first meridian that he had ever formed!

By this point, the hearts of countless spectators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were pounding madly.

What they saw was 108 Immortal dragons swirling around the Door of Immortality, fierce and savage. They also saw Naruto , wreathed in Immortal light. From the way he looked… he wasn't satisfied!

Chapter 974: More than 100 Meridians!

—–

Note from Deathblade: Normally I don't translate the post-chapter notes from Er Gen. However, this one seemed noteworthy. Apparently some people noted in the comments of the original chapter releases about how long this tribulation arc was taking. I'm including THIS note, because sometimes people mistake Er Gen's notes for my notes. NOTE: the following note is a note from Er Gen, the author. Noted? Now, on to the note:

Note from Er Gen: I saw some complaints from various Fellow Daoists, and want to assure you that I have tried to condense the action as much as possible. If I cut things down any further, the chapters won't be good.

I have written this way for all the seven years during which I worked on Renegade Immortal, Beseech the Devil, and I Shall Seal the Heavens. Whenever it comes time to transcend tribulation, it always requires, at minimum, six or seven chapters.

I don't think that what I have written contains anything in waste. In fact, the chapters about actually transcending the tribulation were only six in total. There were three for the Tribulation Clouds and three for the Immortal Palaces. Then there have been two so far which are about opening the Immortal meridians.

There will actually be some more about the Immortal meridians because this is not just a matter of simply opening the meridians, there are also a lot of unexplained plot points that will be resolved.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 975

Chapter 975 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 975: Blood Demon and Resurrection Lily!

All cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea who were watching looked completely astonished and tongue-tied as they observed the 108 Immortal dragons soaring through the starry sky outside the Door of Immortality above Planet East Victory.

"100 meridians is a legend, but 108? This… this is the first time I've ever heard of someone getting more than 100 meridians!"

"No one in the past has ever done this, and most likely, nobody in the future will either!" The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a tumult, and that shock actually spread out throughout the Mountains and Seas.

All of the members of the Namikaze Clan watched with gaping mouths. They knew that Naruto was the type of person to defy the Heavens, but when they saw him open 100 meridians, they had assumed he was finished. They could never have imagined that Naruto would actually… open up 108 meridians all in one shot!

"Impossible!" Namikaze Wei went pale. He could reluctantly accept the idea of Naruto using the One Thought Stellar Transformation Incantation to open 100 meridians, and use that as an excuse for why he didn't measure up to Naruto . But now… 108 meridians had appeared, causing Namikaze Wei to completely lose self-control.

Namikaze Xiushan was trembling as he stood there in the crowd, and the icy aura inside of him flourished.

As far as anyone knew, the Namikaze Clan only had one Dao Realm expert, which was the Earth Patriarch. Currently, his eyes shone with a brilliant light as he murmured, "There's only one explanation…. Before he started transcending this tribulation, the kid… already had 8 meridians.

He experienced something just like Kṣitigarbha, the Lord of the Fourth

Mountain and Sea!"

His words struck like lightning into the hearts of the other six Patriarchs present.

"The necropolis!" exclaimed the Seventh Patriarch. "I personally saw that kid enter the necropolis of the first generation Patriarch!"

Meanwhile, in the Nine Seas God World, Fan Dong'er staggered backward a few paces, her face pale. She looked bitterly at the images in the crystal, at the 108 Immortal dragons soaring around Naruto . She had no choice but to admit that there had already been a huge gap between her and Naruto , and that after reaching true Immortality, that gap… was only widening.

"Such profound preparation and reserves," murmured the old woman standing next to her. "In all the great Nine Mountains and Seas, the only person other than this kid to do something like this is… the number one most powerful expert, Kṣitigarbha! According to the legends, when Kṣitigarbha reached true Immortality, he opened more than 100 meridians. Very few people actually know how many, though…. After all, those events took place many, many generations ago." A strange gleam appeared in her eyes.

As of now, all of the true Immortal Chosen were staring at Naruto . They had no desire to look at Naruto 's 108 meridians, and yet, they were unable to look away. To open so many Immortal meridians was something that shocked everyone.

That was especially the case when they realized that Naruto didn't seem to be happy with only 108 meridians. All of them gasped. "Could it be… that he's actually planning to open more meridians!?" Naruto was absolutely not satisfied!

Now that he had opened the Door of Immortality, he was completely confident that he could open more than 108 meridians.

"This is a rare opportunity," he thought. "Very rare. I'll only get this one chance…." He stared at the Door of Immortality, and realized that the glowing light was beginning to fade, and the Immortal Chakra was slowly beginning to dissipate.

He well knew that once this opportunity passed, it would be very difficult to get another chance like this in which he could absorb as much Immortal Chakra as he wanted, and then open more Immortal meridians.

That was something he was sure of based on his experiences with the slow and difficult process of opening his first Immortal meridian.

"However, it seems like 108 meridians really is my limit…." he thought, looking up at the 108 Immortal dragons flying about, which were the manifestations of his Immortal meridians.

Among those Immortal dragons, there was one that was azure in color. It looked especially graceful, and was much larger than all the other dragons. It emanated an ancient air that seemed to make it contemptuous of all Heaven and Earth. It was almost as if this dragon could make all the Heavens submit, and could force the Earth to bow in worship!

It was as if all the other dragons were following that azure-colored dragon, their roars filling all the Heavens.

The azure Immortal dragon was formed by none other than the very first of Naruto 's Immortal meridians, which was actually the last one to be opened!

As Naruto stood there silently, the Immortal light coming from the Door of Immortality faded even more, and was soon incapable of covering his entire body. The Immortal Chakra lessened, and the even Door of Immortality itself began to fade.

"Is it over?"

"So, his limit was 108 meridians, huh…?"

"Those extra eight meridians were his limit. Although he can't open any more, his name is still going to rock the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea!"

As the discussions raged in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Namikaze Wei stood there on Planet East Victory, and he gave an inward sigh of relief.

He wasn't the only one. The other true Immortal Chosen all sighed deep in their hearts.

The intimidation they felt from Naruto only continued to grow more intense. Now that they saw the Door of Immortality dissipating, their sighs led to a stirring of their fighting spirit. All of them knew that they weren't his match, and yet they still wanted to fight him!

The Door of Immortality grew more indistinct, and the Immortal light grew darker. The immortal qi… was virtually gone.

The starry sky was no longer bright, and as Naruto stood there, he looked at the 108 flying Immortal dragons, and his eyes glimmered with regret.

"It's over…. 108 meridians." Naruto sighed and turned to head back to Planet East Victory, when suddenly, a tremor ran through his body. He stopped in place and turned his head to look out into the starry sky.

He was looking… in the direction of Planet Ninshu !

In that moment… a voice suddenly echoed out in his heart. It was extremely weak, and vastly ancient. It was like the voice of an old man who was about to die, a departed spirit who had forced itself to remain in the world of the living, never allowing that last gasp to escape. Even if the flame of his life was snuffed out, he would leave behind an ember that clung on by a thread. It was as if that final remaining spark had been waiting for this moment!

" Naruto … I only have one breath left, and it has been waiting for this day…. Allow me to use my fading life force to gift you with one last bit of good fortune!"

When Naruto heard that voice echoing in his mind, he recognized it instantly. It was… the voice of Patriarch Blood Demon from Planet Ninshu !

Patriarch Blood Demon's origins had not been made clear. However, Naruto knew that his terrifying fleshly body was buried under the surface of the lands of Ninshu . And in truth, in his heart, Naruto had already come to know the answer to the question of who he really was.

Patriarch Blood Demon… was one of the three Archdemon generals of Lord asura, a figure referred to as a consummate expert!

"You are from the League of Demon Sealers," continued Patriarch Blood

Demon in his ancient voice. "Furthermore, you are the Ninth Generation. I can speculate… about some of what will happen to you in the future, and therefore, I will tell you now what I can of the benevolent possibilities in your future. You don't understand right now… however, if you are able to combine the Nine Hexes in the future…. you will know how to repay me. Right now, I will do something that I hope will make you consider the question of… what Immortal meridians really are."

When Patriarch Blood Demon finished speaking, a stream of bloodcolored Demonic Chakra exploded out from Mount Blood Demon on Planet Ninshu . At the same time, Patriarch Blood Demon's fleshly body, which rested under the surface of the land, dissolved, and became part of the stream of Demonic qi.

As the Demonic Chakra surged up into the Heavens, it transformed into a blood-colored magical symbol.

The magical symbol flickered nine times, then vanished.

In the moment that it vanished, Patriarch Blood Demon met his complete and utter end!

As he died, the magical symbol vanished, and simultaneously, Naruto felt the Blood Demon Grand Magic inside of him begin to rotate on its own. Rumbling sounds could be heard as a bloody light surrounded him, spreading out and… forming a 109th Immortal meridian!

It was… a Blood Demon meridian!

The previously fading Door of Immortality suddenly shook, and in the blink of an eye, was back to its previous state. The fading Immortal light suddenly exploded with intensity, covering Heaven and Earth, filling the starry sky. The Immortal Chakra grew stronger, descending onto Naruto 's body and pouring into him.

The Blood Demon Grand Magic rotated inside of him, transforming into a magical symbol, which was exactly the same magical symbol that had appeared in the moment of Patriarch Blood Demon's death on Planet Ninshu .

It was the color of blood, and after flashing nine times inside of Uzumaki

Hao, it began to melt, transforming into a shadowy Immortal meridian.

As the Immortal Chakra poured into him, the Immortal meridian grew more solid, and before long, it was complete! Naruto trembled as… a 109th Immortal dragon appeared!

The roaring Immortal dragon was the color of blood, and completely shocking in appearance. Endless ripples spread out from it in all directions, causing the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain to be completely stunned.

However, in the moment that the 109th Immortal meridian appeared, another tremor ran through Naruto , as he felt a different aura rising up inside of him, forming a powerful resonance!

That resonance was coming from… the same planet that Patriarch Blood Demon had just died on!

Naruto looked up, and his eyes flickered as he looked at what he considered to be his true home, Planet Ninshu .

Just vaguely, he could see the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. There in the former location of the temple hall, he saw… what appeared to be a flower.

It was… a Resurrection Lily!

When the Resurrection Lily blooms with seven colors, petals fall, Immortal Ascension, one thousand years!

Naruto had been plagued with a Resurrection Lily for hundreds of years. In the end, he had severed it away. However, vestiges of it still remained, like memories that were very difficult to get rid of.

It was another type of Karma, or… a type of restitution!

On Planet Ninshu , in the vast Eastern Lands, in a wild stretch of mountains, was a deep crater that was all that remained of the temple hall of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple. An old man stood there, and next to him was a Resurrection Lily.

"My power is useless to the living…." he murmured vaguely, "but you… were bequeathed with the legacy of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. You took master's Soul Lamp, and changed your destiny…. The

Resurrection Lilies sowed Karma with you, and now that you've reached Immortal Ascension, I will represent them to pay you back what they owe.

"If you can reach enlightenment regarding Immortal meridians, then it will be good fortune for you. Whether or not you understand is all up to you."

The man's words were muttered somewhat incomprehensibly, as if the arrangements of the words themselves had been thrown into chaos. The old man waved his right hand, causing the Resurrection Lily next to him to transform into ash.

As the ash swirled through the air, a violent tremor ran through Naruto . He gasped, and for some reason, he suddenly recalled all of his struggles with the Resurrection Lily.

The memories flowed like water, and as they did, the Karma that had built up from the years of struggle transformed into an aura, into a Resurrection Lily, into… a Resurrection Lily Immortal meridian!

As soon the Immortal meridian formed, Naruto 's hair whipped about, and his body seemed to turn into a black hole that madly sucked in Immortal qi. Intense rumbling sounds filled the air as another Immortal meridian formed!

This was… his 110th meridian!

In the moment that the meridian appeared, a 110th Immortal dragon roared into being next to the Door of Immortality.

Chapter 975: Blood Demon and Resurrection Lily!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 976

Chapter 976: Dao Corroboration!

In the Nine Mountains and Seas, the Elder generation always passed down a certain tradition to the younger generation of Chosen of the various sects and clans. That tradition was that when the age of true Immortals arrived, one must remember the saying… preparation is the key to success!

By preparing well and accumulating profound resources, one could explode out with extraordinary power, and open up the most Immortal meridians possible.

Therefore, for generation after generation, people would make preparations for the time when the age of true Immortality arrived. They would hold themselves back at the peak of the Spirit Realm and wait until they could unleash all of their resources to achieve true Immortal Ascension.

Throughout all the years, that was how things were done. However, as of this moment, the Patriarchs of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were somewhat in a daze as they watched what was happening.

As they looked at Naruto , all of a sudden they seemed to come to an understanding.

Naruto also knew what it meant to prepare in advance to succeed….

It wasn't just a matter of cultivation base, nor was it simply about forming Immortal meridians in advance. It also had to do with… destiny!

Before someone attempted to achieve true Immortal Ascension, their advanced preparations involved the various destinies they encountered throughout their lives, as well as the Karma they sowed. All of those things were components to the preparation; however, there was a premise to such destiny….

"He is corroborating his own Dao to achieve Immortal Ascension…." said the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch, his voice light and hoarse. His expression was one of enlightenment.

The old woman next to Fan Dong'er sighed.

"Only those who achieve their own Immortal Ascension can wrest away good fortune from Heaven and Earth," she said, "achieve true Immortal Ascension, and acquire the destiny to personally form Immortal meridians."

In that moment, all of the Patriarchs came to the same understanding. However, that didn't change anything. They had never personally watched while someone reached true Immortality on their own, but, they had seen far, far too many people fail.

It would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who had succeeded; that was how rare they were. From ancient times until now… Kṣitigarbha was apparently the only person who had ever succeeded. Now, however, there was one more.

Although they reached this understanding, there were far more people who didn't understand. When the 110th Immortal dragon appeared, the Ninth Mountain and Sea was thrown into chaos. It was a commotion the likes of which had never occurred before.

It paled in comparison even to the time that Naruto , using the pseudonym Namikaze Mu, had seized the title of first in the trial by fire. It was hard to say who was the first person to begin to cry out, but soon, all of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were yelling and shouting.

"Th-tha's… the 110th meridian!"

"Crazy! This is insane! How could there possibly be an Immortal Realm cultivator in the world with 110 meridians!?"

"Wait a second, something seems weird. Those two Immortal dragons that just appeared look different from the others. One is blood-colored! The other one… looks even more mysterious!"

The 110th Immortal dragon was very unique and, although it emanated intense Immortal light, for some reason it gave people the impression that it was related to plants and vegetation. In fact, if you looked closely, you could even see that the dragon had seven different colors circling around in its body.

Amidst the astonished cries of the crowds in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Naruto stood there up in the starry sky, his heart calm as he probed these two new Immortal meridians. When he did, he could clearly sense Patriarch Blood Demon and the Resurrection Lily.

As of this moment, all of the destiny and good fortune he had built up was now exploding out.

"Now I understand that destiny is a type of preparation," he murmured. "In light of that, what exactly are Immortal meridians…?" Even as he reached some form of enlightenment, he continued to contemplate the 110 Immortal meridians inside of him.

"100 meridians really are a limit…. Cultivators' bodies, their flesh and blood, can only form 100 meridians.

"My extra eight meridians are actually not part of my flesh and blood. They are actually a different kind of meridian, constructed on a foundation laid by the bronze lamp's smoke!" 1

"It looks very similar to an Immortal meridian formed from flesh and blood, but actually, they are completely different on a structural level.

"As for the other two Immortal meridians, they are also different. They were formed from the consolidation of power, one from Patriarch Blood Demon and the other from the Resurrection Lily.

"Well then… what exactly are Immortal meridians…?" Slowly, he lifted his head, and his eyes shone with a bright light.

"Immortal meridians are a type of verification! They are a declaration to Heaven and Earth that one is qualified to become a true Immortal. It's undeniable proof; it doesn't matter whether Heaven and Earth approve or not, in the end they WILL acknowledge you. It is also …. Dao corroboration!

"That Soul Lamp's power opened my path to true Immortality. My flesh and blood Immortal meridians pushed me to the pinnacle. The bronze dragon's power helped me to expand upon that original Immortal meridian. Then, the power of Patriarch Blood Demon and the

Resurrection Lily helped me to open up more Immortal meridians, and also… to understand them!

"Immortal meridians acquired before true Immortality are a type of good fortune. However, all other types of preparations and magical techniques have the possibility to… become Immortal meridians!"

"That is a manifestation of power, and a kind of concrete representation of the Dao!

"Anything… can become an Immortal meridian!" Naruto reached enlightenment at this point, at which point something like fetters shattered within him.

It was as if there were an obstacle inside of him that had suddenly shattered. As Naruto raised his head, his hair whipped about, and his clothes flapped in the wind. Brilliant light began to shine out of his eyes.

"I understand…."

Meanwhile, in the Ruins of Immortality, there was an Immortal's cave. Sitting in that Immortal's cave was a woman, the white-robed Paragon. A slight smile suddenly broke out on her cold face. That smile was faint, yet was something rarely seen on her.

"Pretty good intuition!" she said softly.

At the same time, there was a location in the Fourth Mountain and Sea that was filled with a sinister mist, within which was concealed the Yellow Springs, reincarnation, and the boundless underworld. This location was a resting place to which all dead souls eventually returned.

Within that mist was a palace built from richly ornamented buildings. It emanated an ancient, archaic air and dense Yin qi. Gradually, in the depths of that mist, an enormous figure became visible, who sat there cross-legged.

The figure looked like a statue, like an Immortal Divinity who exerted pressure over the entire underworld, as if he suppressed the entire Fourth Mountain and Sea. That figure's eyes seemed as if they would remain eternally closed, and yet, in that moment, they suddenly cracked open slightly.

"So, I am not alone in my Dao…." he said slowly, his voice echoing out through the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

Back outside of Planet East Victory, Naruto 's eyes glowed, and as the cracking sounds emanated out of body, his enlightenment grew.

"Anything can become an Immortal meridian," he thought. "Such a thing would be impossible for other true Immortals, but for someone who has reached true Immortality on their own, it is possible!

"Heaven and Earth cannot restrict or restrain me. I will not be caged by the starry sky, nor buried under the vault of Heaven!

"I don't need any approval from Heaven and Earth! True, authentic

Immortals approve of Heaven and Earth, not the other way around!"

Rumbling filled Naruto 's mind. The cracking sounds grew more intense, and his body trembled even more violently. Brilliant light flickered out of his eyes as he suddenly raised his right hand and then pointed toward the Door of Immortality.

"I freely cultivated the Sublime Spirit Scripture!" Naruto murmured. "I reached the great circle of Chakra Condensation, acquired the Perfect Foundation, the Perfect Core, the Perfect Nascent Soul! I formed Perfect Dao Fruit, and even broke through into the Eternal stratum!

"My will cannot be eradicated within an Eternity, so therefore, my

Eternal stratum… will be the basis of my 111th Immortal meridian!

"OPEN!" In that moment, his Eternal stratum surged, causing numerous motes of light to appear inside of him. Those motes of light rapidly formed together, transforming into… a 111th Immortal meridian right next to his other 110 Immortal meridians!

The Door of Immortality trembled, and Immortal light surged out.

Immortal Chakra poured into Naruto , solidifying his Eternal stratum Immortal meridian. The meridian grew stronger and stronger, and was soon completely formed!

At the same time, the 111th Immortal dragon appeared outside of the Door of Immortality. It was a dragon of Eternity which caused the starry sky to tremble with its roaring.

Everyone out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea stared in complete shock. When they saw the Eternal Immortal dragon appear outside the Door of Immortality, great waves of astonishment surged inside of them.

"Y-yet another… Immortal meridian?"

"Is he even human?"

"Could he be an ancient Immortal, reincarnated into modern times?"

Countless cries of shock could be heard.

The Dao Realm Patriarchs of the various sects and clans were even more shaken than the other cultivators. People like them were extremely rare, and most sects and clans only had one. However, as of this moment, all of them emerged from secluded meditation and stepped out into the starry skies to stare toward Planet East Victory.

"The Namikaze Clan… has produced an incomprehensibly exceptional person!" Waves of shock surged through the Patriarchs, and complicated expressions appeared on their faces.

"If he is allowed to reach his potential…the Namikaze Clan will flourish tremendously!"

"I'm afraid the course of future events is going to change. This matter isn't necessarily good for the Namikaze Clan, and is even less beneficial for the rest of us. As for who is worst off… it's the Hebi Clan!"

"The last person to corroborate the Dao on their own was the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Kṣitigarbha. Now another person has corroborated their own Dao…." The eyes of the Patriarchs from the various sects and clans flickered, many of them with hesitation.

It was at this point that more rumbling sounds emanated out from Naruto . More Immortal Chakra poured into him as a 112th Immortal meridian began to form inside of him.

This was a Chakra and Blood Immortal meridian that he formed from his true Immortal fleshly body!

In the moment that Naruto achieved enlightenment on the fundamental nature of Immortal meridians, everything changed. Now, a 112th Immortal dragon roared into being next to the Door of Immortality.

Each and every one of this Immortal dragon's scales brimmed with the shocking power of Chakra and blood.

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, a beam of light shot out from the peak of the Ninth Mountain. The light was gray, and it pierced through the starry sky directly toward Planet East Victory.

The gray light moved with incredible speed, and seemed to be filled with the aura of Karma. Apparently, if any living being touched it, they would be infected by Karma, which could then be… severed!

The beam of light turned into a blade of Karma Severing which, in the blink of an eye, appeared outside of Planet East Victory and then slashed down toward Naruto , who was right in the middle of forming Immortal meridians!

Instantly, a cold voice echoed out from the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion beneath the surface of Planet East Victory.

"Ji Clan, dost thou dare!?"

It was the clan's Earth Patriarch, the Dao Realm Patriarch, whose face flickered as he suddenly vanished from his position and then reappeared out in the starry sky, right in front of the gray light. He waved his right hand, causing Essence power to surge out soundlessly. It slammed into the gray light; Karma power erupted, but was shattered and then faded away.

The Dao Realm Patriarch retreated a few paces, and when he raised his head, his eyes were cold and somber. He raised his hand and pointed out into the sky, causing a massive ripple to sweep out from his finger, transforming into a shield which surrounded all of Planet East Victory.

"Anyone who dares to mess with this qilin son of the Namikaze Clan will fight with me to the death! Even you, Hebi Clan…. Don't force me to request the first generation Patriarch's corpse to come out; I'll lug him up the Ninth Mountain on my back and then only one of us will come out alive!"

Naruto laid that foundation with the bronze lamp in chapter 826 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 977

Chapter 977 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 977: Demon Sealer Meridians!

The Namikaze Clan's Dao Realm Earth Patriarch was a white-haired old man. He was tall and muscular, and as he hovered there in the starry sky, he emanated a powerful Essence aura that seemed capable of forcing all Heaven and Earth to acquiesce.

A gleam like that of lightning flickered in his eyes as he stared coldly out into the void. His piercing gaze tore through the starry sky all the way to the peak of the Ninth Mountain!

By this time, virtually all of the Dao Realm Patriarchs from the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea had emerged and were looking toward Planet East Victory. Each one was was very quiet, and did not speak. However, their eyes flickered, and their hearts were anything but calm.

The Hebi Clan could be considered the Paragon of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

In the past, certain sects had put on a show of contending with the Hebi Clan, but in reality, everyone feared them. If ever there came a situation in which real fighting might occur, they would back down.

Throughout all the years, very few situations had ever arisen in which real conflict occurred. Now, however… such a situation had now arisen with the Namikaze Clan!

And all of it was due to a single person…

Naruto !

Matters that pertained to the Dao Realm were not visible to the whole of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Only peak Ancient Realm cultivators could sense some of the pressure coming from up above. No one else had any idea.

Not even Naruto knew that by opening the Immortal meridians as he just had, he ended up rousing killing intent in the Hebi Clan. Nor did he realize that the Namikaze Clan Patriarch had rushed to protect him in such a domineering fashion.

The starry sky was silent for a long moment, after which the Hebi Clan responded to the Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch with a cold snort.

The snort turned into intense ripples that exploded out of the Ninth Mountain. The face of the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch flickered in response. Suddenly, a cold voice echoed out from the Nine Seas God World in the Ninth Sea.

The voice was extremely archaic, and immediately filled the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea. Of course, nobody could actually hear it except for the less than twenty Dao Realm Patriarchs from the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea who had currently revealed themselves. However, the words caused their minds to spin.

" Namikaze Mu is a Conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World."

In the instant that the voice could be heard, the Hebi Clan's energy suddenly faltered.

Next, another cold voice rang out from one of the other Three Great

Daoist Societies, the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto on Planet West Felicity.

The voice almost seemed to be echoing out from ancient times as it spread out through the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

" Namikaze Mu was named the top candidate by the Three Great Daoist Societies!"

In response to the voice, the Hebi Clan's energy faltered again. Now, it seemed to be hesitating.

In the instant that the Hebi Clan paused, yet another voice rang out from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite on the Ninth Mountain. The voice was calm, but was filled with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron. It was a voice that was even more domineering than the one from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!

" Namikaze Mu is connected by destiny to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite.

Fighting between him and members of his generation is permitted, but

Elder generations slaughtering him is NOT!"

When the Dao Realm Patriarchs from the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea heard these voices, their minds trembled, and their eyes shone with a strange light.

"The Namikaze Clan by itself couldn't possibly win in a fight against the Hebi Clan, but they still can't be underestimated. The Hebi Clan would surely suffer serious losses. However, if you add in the Three Great Daoist Societies…."

"The Hebi Clan is definitely more than a match for any given sect or clan. However, if the Three Great Daoist Societies joined forces, they would easily be a match for the Hebi Clan. Now that the Namikaze Clan has taken a stand, if the Hebi Clan doesn't resolve the situation deftly, it could result in a huge war in the Nine Mountains and Seas!"

"Most important of all is that the Three Great Daoist Societies' reserves are far too profound…. The Lords of the Mountain and Sea may change, but the Daoist societies will exist for all eternity."

The Patriarchs' eyes glittered. However, some of them had secret connections to the Hebi Clan, and these looked toward Planet East Victory with cold indifference.

The Hebi Clan remained silent. Gradually, seemingly after having considered the situation, their energy dissipated and an ancient voice echoed out.

"Is this really worth it?"

Then, the Hebi Clan's energy disappeared completely.

The auras of the Three Great Daoist Societies also faded away from the starry sky.

The Ninth Mountain and Sea returned to normal. Few people knew about what had just happened. However, the Namikaze Clan's Dao Realm Patriarch didn't return to his original position. Instead, he sat down cross-legged in the starry sky to stand as a Dharma Protector for Naruto .

As he looked at Naruto , who was not too far off, by the Door of Immortality, his mouth turned up into a slight smile, and his eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"Alright, kid. It's time for you to unleash all your potential. Show us what you have, and don't be afraid. Cultivators like us need to live for glory!"

As if by some bizarre coincidence, more rumbling sounds could be heard as soon as the Namikaze Clan's Dao Realm Patriarch looked over at Naruto .

Naruto 's hair and clothes whipped in the wind, and scintillating Immortal light and Immortal Chakra swirled around him.

Naruto 's eyes glowed brightly as his 112th Immortal meridian was completed. Now that he understood the nature of Immortal meridians, he wanted to determine exactly how well he understood them.

If he was going to rise to prominence, he might as well leave everyone completely and utterly shocked.

"I really want to know… exactly how many meridians I can open!

"My 113th meridian will be based on Hexing magic! The Eighth Demon

Sealing Hex, Bodily Cultivation Hexing… that is my 113th meridian!" Naruto 's right hand flashed in an incantation gesture, then waved through the air. Intense rumbling sounds could be heard, and although nobody else could see it, the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex transformed into a magical symbol inside of him. Immortal Chakra poured into him, and began to solidify….

Another Immortal meridian rapidly formed, which then absorbed shocking amounts of Immortal Chakra until it was fully formed!

Naruto 's aura grew stronger, and at the same time, a 113th Immortal dragon appeared outside the Door of Immortality. Its roaring echoed out in all directions, shaking the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

This Immortal dragon shone with bizarre light, and if you looked at it for too long, you felt your cultivation base becoming rigid, and your body growing stiff.

All of the cultivators who saw it were filled with shock.

Before anyone could even begin to comment, though, more rumbling could be heard from Naruto as… he opened another Immortal meridian!

The Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, Karmic Hexing, began to send the aura of Karma out into his body. Not a bit emerged outside of him. Immortal Chakra was sucked in, and after the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the meridian was completely formed!

114 meridians!

Another Immortal dragon appeared, fierce and emanating a power of Karma that shook Heaven and Earth. The aura of the Hebi Clan seemed to be on the verge of erupting again, but in the end, it didn't.

"OPEN AGAIN!" Naruto 's eyes shone with determination as he used the Demon Sealing Hexing Magic to form Immortal meridians. His aura grew stronger as he then moved on to the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex, Life Death Hexing!

Rumbling emanated out from his body as all of the cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked on with wide eyes and open jaws.

Soon, the Sixth Hex completed its meridian inside of Naruto , and a 115th Immortal dragon appeared outside of the Door of Immortality!

"115 meridians! J-just… just how many meridians is this Namikaze Naruto going to open!?"

"A Chosen like this is completely unheard-of…."

"How come he can open so many meridians? The most that other people were able to open is 98! There has to be some reason! It's impossible for someone to have prepared so well and be so talented that they could reach such an inhuman level!" The Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely shaken, and countless cultivators were in an uproar. They had been shocked as it was when Naruto had opened 100 meridians, but now that he had reached 115, their shock had actually turned into suspicion.

They really didn't understand how Naruto could possibly have outdistanced everyone else by so much!

Amidst their excitement, the members of the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory had also begun to conjecture, and all sorts of theories sprang up, but only the direct bloodline had no doubts at all and seemed to be filled with nothing but pure excitement.

Namikaze Wei looked up into the sky and clenched his fists tightly.

"Is it because he reached true Immortality on his own, and corroborated his own Dao…?" he murmured to himself. After taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes again and decided to watch no further.

"It doesn't matter how many meridians you open…. I have Nirvana Fruits, so I can still kill you!"

It wasn't just Namikaze Wei who was thinking along these lines. The other true Immortal Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea also picked up on clues that led them to similar conclusions. In their hearts, they felt nothing but bitterness.

"So it turns out that corroborating the Dao on one's own has this kind of effect…."

"But to corroborate the Dao on one's own is monumentally difficult. Naruto must have come across some indescribable good fortune, which is why he was able to succeed."

"Cultivation is a matter of defying the Heavens, so who cares if he opens 115 meridians! We all have secret augmentary magics that will enable us to fight him!"

Even as discussions raged in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Naruto looked up. His cultivation base surged with the power of Immortal Ascension.

Immortal power filled him with a sense of incredible might, to a degree that it was impossible to even compare to what he was like before opening the Door of Immortality.

"I can still get stronger," he thought. "115 Immortal meridians… is not my limit!" He gritted his teeth; his eyes were shot with blood, and seemed to be filled with insanity.

"Fifth Demon Sealing Hex, Inside Outside Hex!" He lifted his right hand, within which appeared a finger-nail sized rift. He quickly clenched his hand into a fist, after which rumbling sounds filled him, along with numerous tiny, illusory rifts.

Boundless Immortal Chakra was sucked into him, causing him to tremble, and his face to go pale. His body seemed to be filled with rifts; after all, he could barely force the usage of the Fifth Hex. This Hex… was a Daoist magic designed to be used at the peak of the Ancient Realm.

"OPEN UP!" he roared. Rumbling and cracking sounds filled him as majestic Immortal Chakra continuously flowed into him. Eventually, enough time passed for two incense sticks to burn. Naruto endured the intense pain the entire time, after which he coughed up a mouthful of blood and then began to chuckle.

As his laughter rang out, a 116th Immortal meridian solidified!

He had forced it to open and solidify!

The Immortal meridian was unstable, but even still, it was there. Naruto 's aura soared up, and… yet another Immortal dragon appeared outside of the Door of Immortality.

This dragon… was both illusory and real. It was occasionally blurry, and occasionally clear. As it soared about, the void around it seemed to both collapse and bulge, causing all observers to gasp.

Chapter 977: Demon Sealer Meridians!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 978

Chapter 978: An Immortal Flying Through the Sky!

"He still hasn't reached his true limit yet…?"

"116 meridians. Does that make him Chosen? I've been stuck in the Immortal Realm for years now. I may just be a false Immortal, but I opened 70 meridians. He… has nearly 50 more than me…."

"As he continues to grow, the Ninth Mountain and Sea most likely won't be his limit. He'll probably advance even further!" As everyone watched Naruto , various thoughts ran through their heads, some frustrated, some emotional, some grudging, some jealous.

Namikaze Wei's eyes were closed, and he refused to watch. As for the Chosen of the various other sects and clans, most of them were acting similarly. Only Li Ling'er continued to observe.

Naruto hovered in the starry sky, quietly probing his meridians.

116 Immortal meridians!

100 of them represented the limits of his own body. 8 were Immortal Chakra meridians arising from the bronze Soul Lamp.

2 had been gifted by outer forces, materializing power buried within him.

Another 2 had been formed from his own divine abilities and cultivation base, becoming meridians of Immortal magic!

The final 4 were different. They were meridians formed because of the Demon Sealers, and were not true Immortal meridians, but rather… Demon Sealer meridians!

This was his current limit. He hovered there outside of the Door of Immortality, looking at the 116 Immortal dragons swirling gracefully in the starry sky. He had never imagined that his opening the Door of Immortality would be accompanied by such splendorous glory.

"Preparation is the key to success…." he murmured. As he said the words, he realized that upon opening the Door of Immortality, he had unleashed all of the accumulations of good fortune and destiny in his life.

He was like a flower that had bloomed at the perfect time.

"Dad, mom," he said, looking off in the direction of Planet Ninshu , "you're on Planet Ninshu , but can you see what I'm doing here…?

"Your son hasn't lost any face for you. I'm right here… a blazing sun, the center of all attention."

Naruto could well imagine how his current actions were shaking all of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. That would be especially true of the true Immortal Chosen, who would be stabbed to the heart by the number of Immortal meridians he had opened.

However, he didn't care. His goal had never been to catch up to any other person. His only goal was to exceed himself.

"I think…. I can probably open one more meridian!" His eyes were bloodshot, but they shone with brilliant light as he stood there tall and straight beneath the Door of Immortality, like a sharp, unsheathed sword.

Almost as soon as his eyes began to shine, something happened in a sect on the Ninth Mountain.

Within that sect were countless buildings, divided into ten areas. Each area was filled with crowds of cultivators, all of them in the midst of practicing cultivation.

The entire sect seemed to form a gigantic city, which exerted suffocating pressure even from a distance. It was a sect that, from the look of it, had existed for ages.

All of the buildings seemed to exude the feeling of time, as if they had existed for years upon years. If you traced the origin of these buildings, you would find… that apparently, they were older than the era of Lord Hebi or even Lord asura. They had existed for virtually as long as the Nine Mountains and Seas themselves.

This was none other than the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite!

This was the foremost of the Three Great Daoist Societies of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

This was the only sect that could cause the Hebi Clan to stand down, the most paramount sect, which existed on the Ninth Mountain itself.

In the middle of those ten areas of the sect was a huge public square paved with green stones. It emanated a primordial aura that spread out in all directions.

Currently, four old men sat cross-legged in the middle of that square. Shockingly, all of them radiated the power of the Dao Realm. Any one of these old men could completely shake the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"This kid is connected by destiny to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite," said one of them, his voice ancient. "According to our Dao rules, if he can open 117 meridians, then we will unleash the power of the Daoist Rite and help him to create an Immortal Ancient Daoist meridian." The other three men nodded.

"Let's just watch and see the extent of his good fortune. He currently has 116 meridians. Will he get that 117th meridian, and then ours, to make two more meridians…?"

"Legend has it that Kṣitigarbha of the Fourth Mountain and Sea opened

120 Immortal meridians!"

"If he opens one more, and then gets ours, that would put him at 118. It's impossible to judge what his future will be like. Yet, it would be extremely difficult to exceed Kṣitigarbha. The kid has already reached his limit. Even if we help him by adding another, he most likely won't be able to do so."

"Let's see what his destiny holds, and how much good fortune he has accumulated…. If his destiny is sufficient, it might not be impossible!"

At the same time that the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite was deciding what to do with Naruto , he hovered there outside of Planet East Victory, beneath the Door of Immortality, his eyes shining intensely. Veins of blood shot through his eyes, which radiated intense determination.

"I used four great Demon Sealing Hexes to form Immortal meridians. Well then, looking at all my other divine abilities and magical techniques, I wonder if I can do the same thing with One Thought Stellar Transformation?" Starlight began to shine in Naruto 's left eye, but no matter what method he attempted, he couldn't get it to form into a meridian.

However, that didn't stop him from trying to do the same thing with all the other powerful divine abilities he had mastered. He gave it a shot with all of them but, regrettably, none of them allowed him to form Immortal meridians.

All fell short, even One Thought Stellar Transformation.

"There is still one more divine ability…." he thought, slowly raising his head.

"The Paragon Bridge! I can use the projection of the Paragon Bridge to form a Paragon Immortal meridian!" Without any further hesitation, Naruto unleashed the power of the Paragon Bridge. In the instant the power surged out, he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The fact that he used it repeatedly in such a short amount of time caused the backlash power to increase by multiple times.

During this time, the Immortal light began to fade, as if it had sensed that Naruto was unable to open up any new Immortal meridians.

Soon it was completely gone. The starry sky was pitch black, and the

Door of Immortality began to slowly fade away and shut. No more Immortal Chakra emanated out, and it looked like it would disappear into the starry sky at any moment.

"Not enough destiny." The four old men in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite sighed. Their Immortal Ancient Daoist meridian was not something that they would bestow lightly. They would only give it to someone who had opened 117 meridians; that was a Dao rule of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite that had to be followed.

It was at this point that many audience members out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea let out long sighs. Naruto was completely inhuman, and terrifying, but now that everything was over, people began to recover from all the shock.

"116 is more than enough!"

"A collection of Immortal meridians like that is enough to scare anyone."

"What a pity. I was really hoping to see if he could actually open… huh? Wh-what is he doing?" Even in the midst of all the discussions, cries of shock suddenly rang out in various regions.

Gasps could also be heard as everyone looked over at Naruto . In the exact moment in which the Door of Immortality was about to close and fade away permanently, Naruto suddenly raised both hands into the air.

Simultaneously, the 116 Immortal dragons that soared around him let out roars that shook everything. The starry sky trembled as the 116 dragons shot toward Naruto .

Rumbling echoed out as they slammed into him and then disappeared. Naruto 's aura then began to explode up as the power of 116 Immortal meridians was unleashed.

"Paragon Bridge, appear!" Naruto 's eyes were bright red as he went all-out with every scrap of power he could muster. He threw his head back and roared. His body trembled, and thumping sounds could be heard. Patches of skin exploded, and a haze of blood and gore could be seen as the Paragon Bridge materialized inside of him.

At the same time that the Paragon Bridge appeared, the indistinct Door of Immortality paused, then suddenly rematerialized. Immortal light poured out, and strong Immortal Chakra surged toward Naruto .

Boundless Immortal Chakra poured into his body, causing the Paragon Bridge to turn into an Immortal meridian. Everyone who was watching was astonished, and the four old men in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite watched very closely.

Massive rumbling filled the air as Naruto 's mangled body was wracked by waves of intense pain. As the pain inundated him, he gritted his teeth and forced the Paragon Immortal meridian to rapidly solidify.

Ten percent. Twenty percent. Thirty percent…

Blood oozed out of Naruto 's mouth, and his vision grew blurry. However, he clenched his jaw and forced his 116 Immortal meridians to explode with power.

Forty percent. Fifty percent. Sixty percent. Seventy percent….

"OPEN UP!" he roared. Shocking rumbling sounds could be heard as gradually, he reached eighty percent, then ninety percent…. Finally, the Immortal meridian reached one hundred percent completion!

Heaven and Earth shook, and countless onlookers were left in a state of shock. Many people who had been sitting there cross-legged suddenly rose to their feet, their eyes wide with intense astonishment.

Amidst the crashing roars, Immortal light swirled, and a 117th Immortal meridian formed inside of Naruto . At the same time, a 117th Immortal dragon appeared outside of the Door of Immortality, shocking to the extreme.

Furthermore, this most recent Immortal dragon emanated the aura of a Paragon. This was none other than a Paragon Immortal dragon!

Inside the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, the four old men looked on with strange gleams in their eyes. After exchanging glances, they began to smile with anticipation.

"Unleash the power of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. Merge the wills of the Daoist Rite cultivators to call upon the Immortal Divinity of the ancient Daoist Rite…."

"Bestow the meridian!"

The four men immediately began to perform incantations. Intense rumbling could be heard as four streams of shocking Chakra shot out into the starry sky. At the same time, a primordial will erupted out from all of the structures in the sect.

Cracking sounds could be heard as the ground between the four men tore apart to form the character 'mouth' 口.

All of the cultivators in the Daoist Rite went into a trance as they heard voices speaking into their ears. They settled down cross-legged and began to chant Daoist scriptures, the sound of which echoed out in all directions.

The ground quaked as a gigantic square cauldron flew up into the sky. Inside of that cauldron was a scroll painting that was yellowed with age, as if it had existed for countless years. The painting depicted three people.

A woman, a middle-aged man, and an old man.

The woman was incredibly beautiful, with a smile like a flower. The middle-aged man wore a light smile, and had surging energy. The light in his eyes seemed to contain all living things. As for the old man, his bearing was lofty and dignified, like that of a transcendent being, and yet, he wore a frown. If you looked closely at his brow, you would be shocked to notice… the furrowed wrinkles formed the character 'Immortal' 仙!

If Naruto were present, his mind would definitely be reeling with shock. That was because… the woman in the painting… was none other than the white-robed Paragon from the Ruins of Immortality!

Gentle light radiated out of the painting, spreading out to fill the entire area. The sky above the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite transformed into an illusory world.

Within that world were countless life forms sitting cross-legged in meditation, listening to a sermon being given regarding the Dao, delivered by an old man who sat cross-legged at their fore.

That old man was the same old man depicted in the scroll painting. He nonchalantly waved his hand, causing an enormous Immortal 仙 character to appear.

It was virtually impossible to describe the shocking energy that emanated from this character, which seemed capable of suppressing all Heaven and Earth.

It glittered for a moment before suddenly shooting out into the starry sky, creating a beam of glistening light as it sped toward Planet East Victory and Naruto !

Vol. 6 : Chapter 979

Chapter 979: An Eruption of Good Fortune!

The Immortal character flew out, piercing through the starry sky, transforming into a spectacularly stunning beam of light.

It looked like an Immortal flying through the sky. In the blink of an eye, it appeared outside of Planet East Victory, next to the Door of Immortality, where it once again materialized into an enormous Immortal character.

The character emanated pressure comparable to that of the Door of Immortality, causing it to tremble as if it were being provoked. Ripples began to spread out as the character trembled and moved toward Naruto .

Naruto 's mind was spinning as he looked at the huge Immortal character, and his whole body shook. That character looked very familiar… it was just like the character he had seen unleashed by the old man in the visions he had experienced back in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple on Planet Ninshu . 1

"The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite…." he thought. He gaped in shock as the Immortal character approached him. It rapidly shrank until it was only a few centimeters tall, whereupon it fused into Naruto 's forehead.

In that instant, scintillating light filled with a primordial, savage aura exploded from within Naruto . Right now, he didn't even need a scrap of Immortal Chakra from the Door of Immortality. The Immortal character immediately transformed of its own volition into an Immortal meridian, becoming Naruto 's 118th meridian!

In the same moment, the Immortal meridian that had formed from the smoke of the bronze Soul Lamp began to glitter with a strange light, as if it were now reflecting the glory of this new Immortal meridian.

Rumbling echoed out from within Naruto as an 118th Immortal dragon appeared outside of the Door of Immortality, where it roared and swirled through the starry sky. This dragon was completely golden, and seemed to embody everything Immortal. Its roars shook the hearts of everyone who could hear.

"That's… that's…."

"Am I seeing things? Was that actually an Immortal character that just fused with Namikaze Naruto?"

"Where did that Immortal character come from?" The Ninth Mountain and Sea was abuzz with shock, and all onlookers were astonished. Only the Dao Realm Patriarchs from the various sects and clans looked with glittering eyes toward the Ninth Mountain.

Obviously, they weren't looking toward the Hebi Clan, but rather, the other force that was qualified to occupy the Ninth Mountain… one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite!

Naruto also looked up in the direction of the Ninth Mountain. Although his cultivation base wasn't strong enough to allow him to see it, he could still sense it. He knew that the Immortal character did not originate from Planet Ninshu .

He also knew that outside of Planet Ninshu in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, there was another Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, one that was not in ruins. It was in fact one of the Three Great Daoist Societies!

Naruto didn't say anything, but he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

It was a bow full of gratitude. He knew that the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite had bestowed him with good fortune by opening another Immortal meridian for him. Giving him an Immortal meridian was a type of good fortune that was no simple task. Even with their deep reserves, they had surely paid a heavy price for what they had just done.

"Many thanks!" he said softly. His 118 Immortal meridians caused everything to shake, and Naruto knew… that everything was now over.

118 Immortal meridians was a level that Naruto was satisfied with. Now, he wanted to know… after the Door of Immortality closed, exactly how powerful he would be!

However, there was something Naruto wasn't aware of. Floating in the starry sky outside of Planet East Victory was someone who was feeling very torn at the moment. It was none other than the Namikaze Clan's Dao Realm expert, the Earth Patriarch.

He hovered cross-legged, acting as Dharma Protector for Naruto , and currently, his eyes were bright red, filled with a look that encompassed both struggle and hesitation.

"Damn you, Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite! What the hell do you people think you're doing, huh?

"So you're blessing the qilin son of the Namikaze Clan with some good fortune, not out of the kindness of your heart, but to undermine our clan? You think blessing him with some good fortune will fill him with enough gratitude to want to become your disciple?

"Dammit, that's a good thing, but… but if you let everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea know, it will definitely cast the Namikaze Clan in a very bad light! What, you think we don't have our own Immortal meridians to hand out?" The Patriarch was incensed. It was like there were two rich people, one of whom had a son. Suddenly, another rich person came along and arranged for his own daughter to marry the son, and then loudly announced that he was fulfilling a responsibility of which the young man's father was incapable.

To a member of the Elder generation of the clan, something like this was like a slap to the face. He was now in a complete rage.

"Fudge! Stinking Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite! Our Namikaze Clan has existed for generations, we can do the same thing!" Enduring the pain of it, the Earth Patriarch gritted his teeth and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pointed down toward Planet East Victory.

That gesture caused Essence power to erupt out. Planet East Victory quaked violently, and even stopped rotating momentarily. At the same time, a drop of blood shot out from the forehead of all of the members of the Namikaze Clan.

That included the Grand Elder, Namikaze Xiushan and even Namikaze Wei. They could exercise absolutely no control over the drop of blood that came out of them.

"NO!" cried Namikaze Wei. His eyes were wide, and his expression was one of fury. Considering the level of his cultivation base, though, how could he possibly resist? He could only watch as the drop of blood emerged and then flew away!

"Bloodline Dragon!" the Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch roared. All of the drops of blood flew into the air, one for each and every member of the Namikaze Clan.

There were no exceptions. All of the drops of blood merged together in midair to form a Blood Dragon, which roared as it shot through the air. A drop of blood even emerged from the Earth Patriarch's forehead, and when it merged into the blood dragon, the dragon burst into flames, causing all of the blood from the Namikaze Clan to be refined and tempered to the ultimate degree.

After that, the Namikaze Clan Patriarch gritted his teeth and then pointed toward the Namikaze Clan again. The Namikaze Clan's Dao bell materialized and tolled loudly. At the same time, an ancient bottle flew out from inside the bell, within which were three drops of blood, one of which flew out into the air.

It was a single, tiny drop, but it caused Heaven and Earth to fill with flashing colors. A huge wind kicked up, and blood-red light shone onto the faces of all observing cultivators.

"That's soul blood from the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan!"

"Crazy! The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite pissed off Namikaze Shoudao so much that he actually pulled out a signature treasure of the Namikaze Clan! Everybody says that Namikaze Shoudao has a short temper and is easily provoked. Looks like it's true!" 2

"Those three drops of soul blood must have been left behind after the

Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch passed away into meditation. Even Lord Hebi would covet that!" The Dao Realm Patriarch from the various sects and clans all looked on with gaping mouths.

Deep beneath the surface of the Namikaze Clan, the six Patriarchs' minds were spinning.

"W-what… w-what is Eldest Brother doing?!"

The Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch had a vicious look on his face. After a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and then waved his hand through the air. Immediately, the first generation Patriarch's drop of soul blood shot toward the Bloodline Dragon, and then merged into it.

A boom could be heard as the dragon began to seethe again, and then rapidly shrink down to form a blood-colored character!

Namikaze 方 !

This single character emanated a shocking sensation of bloodline power, including that of reincarnation. The power of four lives of reincarnation that pulsed in the blood of the Namikaze Clan now shook the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

The Namikaze character glittered and pulsed with shocking power as it shot toward Naruto , who stared with wide eyes at what was happening, but wasn't completely dazed. He could sense the bloodline aura coming from the character, and it set his own blood a-boil. A sensation of mutual attraction suddenly caused his heart and mind to tremble fiercely.

"What's going on?" he thought. "The Namikaze Clan is actually helping me?" Naruto 's eyes were wide as he watched the blood-colored Namikaze character bear down on him and then merge into his forehead.

Rumbling immediately filled his body, and his blood seemed to grow stronger than ever. At the same time, the Namikaze character caused a Bloodline Dragon to form inside of him.

A 119th Immortal meridian formed, stimulated by the soul blood of the first generation Patriarch, with the blood of all members of the Namikaze Clan as its foundation. Therefore, it did not need any Immortal power from the Door of Immortality.

At the same time, a 119th Immortal dragon appeared next to the Door of Immortality. It emanated the aura of the Namikaze Clan bloodline, and caused everything in the area to shake violently.

Naruto could sense his cultivation base growing more powerful, and he could sense his Namikaze Clan bloodline become even stronger. Although he was not able to test it right now, he was sure that his Bloodline Gatebeam would no longer be 30,000 meters, but even more terrifyingly powerful.

Apparently, this was the power of Ancestral Awakening!

Next, the voice of the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch echoed out through the starry sky into Naruto 's ears, causing him to gape.

"Alright Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, if you people are so powerful, then bestow another Immortal meridian to my clan's qilin son! If you do, the Namikaze Clan will match you!

"Come on! We'll match you one meridian for another!" As soon as the Earth Patriarch's voice rang out, the Patriarchs of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea all quieted down. The four old men in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite snorted coldly, but didn't dare to respond.

They… had no more meridians to send.

The Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch looked quite proud. Although it hurt him inwardly, and although it seemed like he was acting impulsively, anyone who reached his cultivation level would be able to control their own thoughts. Seeing that there was no response from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, he frowned.

"Not gonna send another one?" he thought. "Well, it's too bad that we couldn't swindle another meridian out of them. In any case, this kid has reached this point all on his own, plus he doesn't feel much loyalty to the clan. Therefore, it was necessary to give him that drop of soul blood."

When Naruto heard the words spoken by the Namikaze Clan Earth

Patriarch, his expression was a bit strange. He looked at the 119th Immortal dragon, then back down at Planet East Victory. Although it wouldn't be correct to say that his feelings of detachment had completely dissipated, at least he didn't feel as much of an outsider as before.

"119 meridians," he thought, looking back at the Door of Immortality. It was at this point that a new voice suddenly whispered in his ear, an ancient, archaic voice.

"Do you… still remember me?

"My name is… Choumen Tai!"

When Naruto heard those two sentences, and that name, his heart seized. He suddenly jerked his head to look out into the stars. What he was looking for seemed to be outside of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Far away on another planet, a middle-aged man sat cross-legged. His eyes slowly opened, and he smiled.

"I didn't perish…. My clone fell onto Planet Ninshu years ago, and left you with Immortal Shows the Way. I told you that when you reached Immortal Ascension, you could use its power to cause a starry sky to descend.

"Today, I'll give you… a bit of the starry sky of Pāramitā's world to form an Immortal meridian, and help you to future glory….

"Remember, come to Planet Tiger Cage in the Seventh Mountain. I left a little gift for you there.

"There's someone I want to resurrect and… I hope you can help me out with that in the future…. Therefore, I'm going to help you now." RUMBLE!

Naruto 's mind spun as he recalled Choumen Tai, the Immortal's corpse that had fallen from the sky way back when he was a mere Chakra Condensation cultivator! 3

Naruto 's visions in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple were in chapters 807 and 819 ↩ Namikaze Shoudao's name in Chinese is 方守道 fāng shǒu dào. Shou means "protect" or "guard." Dao is "the Dao," or also "path" or "way" ↩ Please note that in my original translation of what

Choumen Tai said, I misinterpreted some of his explanation of Immortal Shows the Way, but have since gone back and fixed that section. The part where he introduces himself and explains Immortal Shows the Way is in chapter 301. He made a brief cameo in chapter 555, when he woke up in the Rebirth Cave. Later, he showed up when Naruto went to the

Rebirth Cave in chapter 689 and then was kicked off of the planet by Shui Dongliu in chapter 692. His name was brought up in numerous other chapters, usually when Naruto reflected on the things he said ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 980

Chapter 980 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 980: Foster Father Sends a Meridian!

The ancient voice echoed in Naruto 's mind like thunder. The sound eventually turned into a series of explosive reverberations that stirred Naruto 's memories.

He saw scenes from events on Planet Ninshu . He saw that moment in which he stood atop the Tower of Tang in the State of Zhao, and looked upon foreign battlefield within the clouds. On the battlefield was an enormous coffin, next to which was a corpse, who suddenly opened its eyes.

Then the corpse plummeted down to the earth. Later, after his trial by fire in the Violet Fate Sect, he actually entered into the corpse. All of these images played out in Naruto 's mind.

In the end, the rumbling in his mind transformed into three characters, which formed a name!

"Choumen Tai!" Naruto looked up, and his heart trembled violently as a beam of light flew towards him from outside of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Shockingly, it came from the Seventh Mountain!

It swept across the Seventh Mountain, passed through the Eighth Mountain, then flew with indescribable speed past countless shocked cultivators to appear in the Ninth Mountain!

Presently, the starry sky above the Ninth Mountain and Sea began to undulate. The Dao Realm Patriarchs from the various sects and clans hovered in midair, watching the beam of light with unprecedented seriousness.

In the Hebi Clan on the Ninth Mountain, an eye appeared that seemed capable of gazing upon the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, and it stared at the incoming beam of light.

The light shot like a meteor directly toward Planet East Victory and Naruto !

The stars shook, and all living beings were astonished!

"The cultivation base of a Dao Lord. At minimum, that's a 4-Essences cultivation base!"

"Only a cultivation base like that, something higher than a 3-Essences Dao Lord, would be able to shake Heaven and Earth in such a fashion!

It's coming from the Seventh Mountain!"

"There are only a few Dao Lords in all the Nine Mountains and Seas…. Who is this person!? That aura is completely unfamiliar!" The Dao Realm Patriarchs of the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked on with wide eyes.

The beam of light caused rumbling sounds as it split the sky, appearing directly in front of Naruto and then slamming into his chest.

Instantly, it fused into his body!

Massive rumbling filled him, and he stretched his arms out wide. He threw his head back and roared, and his hair whipped about wildly. The sound of the roar echoed out uncontrollably as Chakra filled his body, as if the Chakra wanted to escape through his throat.

That beam of light seemed to have been materialized from the starry

sky of some tiny world. It was a starry sky meridian!

It rapidly fused with Naruto , transforming into an Immortal meridian. It was like a heavenly body, complete with boundless starlight that caused Naruto 's aura to once again experience a breakthrough. It climbed rapidly to an extent that even many Ancient Realm experts with one Soul Lamp extinguished were alarmed.

When the beam of light faded away completely, a massive tremor ran through Naruto , and indescribable pain filled him. The starry sky meridian solidified rapidly, and was then visible to the naked eye.

It forced its way open with virtually no resistance. The Door of

Immortality trembled, and Immortal Chakra poured out to assist. After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Naruto opened his eyes, and shocking rumbling sounds could be heard.

120 meridians had appeared!

In the moment that the meridian appeared, another Immortal dragon arose, swirling through the air.

The 120th Immortal dragon was a Starry Sky Dragon. The dragon's body appeared to have been formed from starlight, and when it appeared, it seemed capable of merging into the starry sky at any time. Shocking pressure emanated out as it roared along with the other dragons.

All of Planet East Victory was shaken, as was the Ninth Mountain and

Sea. Each and every person… was completely focused on Naruto !

"Such destiny… is completely unheard of…."

"That Dao Lord from outside this Mountain and Sea bestowed him with a starry sky meridian. The level of good fortune this kid has is something I've only seen one or two other people possess!"

"I thought 100 meridians was his limit, and then he opened 108. At that point, I thought he was really done, but then he opened 117!"

"I figured that he couldn't possibly exceed 117, but then his destiny erupted and the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite AND the Namikaze Clan both gave him a meridian, as well as a Paragon from outside this Mountain and Sea!"

The Patriarchs of the various clans didn't say anything, but it was impossible for them to keep their hearts calm. They could never have possibly imagined that a member of the Junior generation opening Immortal meridians would cause them to be so shocked.

The Hebi Clan on the Ninth Mountain also maintained silence. The eye that could gaze upon the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea vanished as if it had never appeared.

The Chosen watched the scene with blank expressions. When they saw Naruto successfully open 120 meridians, profound sensations of powerlessness filled them.

The distance between them and Naruto , seemed… to only grow greater and greater.

Naruto 's parents stood excitedly in the Tower of Tang on Planet Ninshu . Their eyes shone with pride as they looked at the illusory image of Naruto opening his Immortal meridians on Planet East Victory.

"Hao'er…." Kushina whispered. She was elated to see her son rising to prominence, and her eyes shone with a gentle warmth.

Next to her stood Namikaze Minato , whose facial expression was the same as ever, but whose heart was bursting with pride. He could sense that one reason why Naruto was doing this was for their sake.

Naruto wanted to prove to everyone in the Namikaze Clan that it didn't matter if it was before or now, he was the number one Chosen in clan, and always would be. As for his father and mother, it didn't matter that they were far away on Planet Ninshu , he wanted to make sure they still enjoyed the clan's respect.

120 Immortal meridians completely shook the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

It was at this moment that, in the Fourth Mountain and Sea, deep within the mists in the mysterious underworld, that enormous statue suddenly opened its eyes.

Instantly, all of the underworld went silent; time suddenly seemed to stop in the entire Fourth Mountain and Sea, which went completely quiet.

The innumerable souls being reborn in the Yellow Springs and the River of Reincarnation all stopped moving.

It was as if only that statue existed in the Fourth Mountain and Sea. A profound gleam appeared in its eyes as it stared off in the direction of the Ninth Mountain. After a long moment passed, the statue lifted its right hand and performed an incantation gesture that appeared to be a type of augury. After a long moment, a sigh could be heard.

"I can't see his future….

"From the moment my Dao was realized until now, this is the third person whose future I have been unable to see…. However, I AM able to see his past….

"I'll sow some positive destiny. After all, he and I will meet eventually." After murmuring these words, the statue extended its right hand, causing a Dharmic decree to appear.

This Dharmic decree emanated a supreme will; although it seemed illusory, this was actually the highest level of Dharmic decree that could be issued in the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

Visible on the Dharmic decree was a string of text, written in large characters!

"Among the souls being reincarnated from the Ninth Mountain and Sea is a woman surnamed Xu. Send 10,000 ghosts to escort her. Give her first-rate good fortune, and a life of peace and safety!"

The Dharmic decree glowed with boundless light, then gradually faded away. The statue closed its eyes, and in that instant, the Fourth Mountain and Sea returned to normal.

That statue… was none other than the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Kṣitigarbha!

In the year that Naruto had taken that boat trip through the starry sky with that mysterious old man, even he had taken Kṣitigarbha… very seriously!

Naruto could never have imagined that in the moment that he reached true Immortal Ascension, he would attract such a commotion. Apparently, his opening of the Door of Immortality was like a tipping point. All of the destiny he had built up in his life merged together to form into a golden opportunity, as if they had been waiting for this moment.

Choumen Tai. The Resurrection Lily. Patriarch Blood Demon. The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. Each and every one exploded onto the scene when Naruto formed his Immortal meridians.

Naruto hovered outside the Door of Immortality, and his eyes flickered with brilliant light. He could sense the boundless power of his 120 Immortal meridians. He saw the 120 Immortal dragons roaring, and could sense his own strength.

He slowly lowered his head and then clasped hands and bowed toward the starry sky.

That bow was a bow of thanks to everyone who had assisted him, an expression of appreciation for all the destiny and good fortune he had encountered.

All of the cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked on silently as Naruto bowed. None of them could possibly have imagined that Naruto 's opening of the Door of Immortality would end in this way.

As everyone looked on, it appeared… as if the event was now ending!

The Door of Immortality once again began to grow blurry, the Immortal light began to fade away, and the Immortal Chakra began to dissipate.

However, many people had the feeling deep inside, that Naruto … was still going to open more Immortal meridians.

Time passed. As the Door of Immortality seemed to be on the verge of fading away completely, that feeling also began to vanish. Finally, people began to sigh.

"It's finally… finished…."

"120 meridians is something completely unheard of…."

"In my entire long life… this is the most powerful true Immortal destiny I've ever seen!"

On Planet East Victory, Namikaze Wei's jaw was tightly clenched. Suddenly, rumbling sounds could be heard as he shot up into the air. All of the members of the Namikaze Clan looked on in shock as he rose up into the sky.

" Namikaze Naruto, it's time for us to fight!" Namikaze Wei's voice was hoarse as it echoed out in all directions. His cultivation base surged to life. He had no choice but to fight. It didn't matter how powerful Naruto had become, he would still fight. He would fight in front of all eyes, including all onlookers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. He would defeat Naruto in front of all of them. He would kill him!

That was the only way for him to step out from behind Naruto 's shadow.

In that same moment, the faces of all of the other true Immortal Chosen flickered with the desire to do battle. They were thinking the same thing as Namikaze Wei; whether they won or lost, they had to fight. If they lost their will to fight, then they would never again have the opportunity to stand on equal ground with Naruto .

Even as their desire to do battle rose up, the Patriarchs of the various sects to which those Chosen belonged silently waved their hands, causing numerous teleportation portals to appear.

All the Chosen had to do was step into those portals, and they would be able to go to Planet East Victory.

However, even as they clenched their jaws and prepared to enter the teleportation portals, even as Namikaze Wei's voice echoed out into the starry sky, even as the Door of Immortality was about to vanish completely….

Suddenly, a sigh could be heard echoing out among the stars. It filled the sky above Planet East Victory, and entered Naruto 's ears, whereupon he suddenly trembled and looked up.

"Hey little brother, I'm going to take father's place to give you a meridian!" The voice was soft and ancient. And when it echoed out, an aura exploded up from the Hebi Clan on the Ninth Mountain. Apparently, someone there knew where that voice came from, and it left them completely shocked.

Chapter 980: Foster Father Sends a Meridian!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 981

Chapter 981(Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 981: Illusory Soul Lamps!

The voice came from… the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect!

It was a mysterious location in the starry sky of the Ninth Mountain and

Sea, a place that opened at a set interval of years. It was not part of the Ruins of Immortality, nor as mysterious as those ruins, but due to other historical events, had become a taboo area within the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Whenever it did open up, Chosen from the various planets would travel to the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, a place which was both familiar and strange to everyone.

It was a location originally created by Lord asura, and was where the Hebi and Namikaze Clans had resided and flourished. It had existed for ages, during which time the so-called sects of modern times were mere denominations of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

That was true of both the modern day Holy Lands as well as the Three Churches and Six Sects. Only the Three Great Daoist Societies were not part of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect at that time.

According to the legends, a fierce creature existed there who frightened even Lord Hebi something named Night!

The stories said that Night could control the power of time and space, and could send people into ancient times in a dreamlike state….

Supposedly, there was also a person in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect who forevermore lived on top of a mountain peak. Sometimes he would laugh, at other times he would cry, and occasionally, he would just stand there silently….

Now, this voice echoed out from the very same Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, and as soon as Naruto heard it, he recognized that voice. It was… Ke Jiusi!

Because he had been a rash and impulsive person, because he had been arrogant and domineering, because he had instigated catastrophe after catastrophe, his father Ke Yunhai changed his name to Jiusi, to remind his son that instead of considering a matter three times before taking any action, he should consider it nine times! 1

Naruto began to tremble. He had never imagined that in the middle of opening his Immortal meridians, after all of his destiny had erupted, that his destiny from the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect… would also erupt.

Ke Jiusi. It was an unforgettable name. Even more unforgettable was… Ke Yunhai.

He was Naruto 's foster father, someone who caused Naruto to finally experience fatherly love. It was a memory that he would be unable to forget for all eternity, no matter what.

Whenever he thought about Ke Yunhai, Naruto 's eyes turned red, and he couldn't stop the tears from welling up. He missed Ke Yunhai. He missed all the things about the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, and he especially missed the man whose fatherly love was like a mountain. "Hey little brother, I'm going to take father's place to give you a meridian…." Naruto had long known that because of the the approval he had earned from Ke Yunhai… Ke Jiusi was now effectively his older brother.

Naruto looked thoughtfully out into the starry sky. The words he had just heard seemed to take him back in time.

Out in the starry sky in the vicinity of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, was a place covered over by mists. Deep within that mist were endless ruins… ruins in which there was no Heaven and Earth, only darkness.

There, you could just barely see… a mountain peak, atop which stood a figure in a white robe. The robes swayed, and the man seemed as quiet as eternity.

Also on top of that mountain peak was a coffin….

That white-robed man was none other than Ke Jiusi, who stood there quietly, a slight smile on his face. He looked ancient, filled with both memories and emotional sighs.

"Little brother," he murmured, "father is gone, but… I'm here to look after you." Even as he spoke, he waved his right hand, then pointed off into the distance. Immediately, the ruins of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect began to quake, and for a moment, it seemed as if slumbering Night was also shivering.

At the same time, time seemed to suddenly pass by in front of Ke Jiusi. It went in reverse, ten years, a hundred, a thousand, ten thousand… tens of thousands….

The countless buildings and innumerable corpses were slowly transforming. The collapsed ruins were gradually restored, and the dead people rose to their feet, once again in possession of flesh and blood bodies. The vanished Heaven and Earth were restored to perfect clarity.

The sound of chatting and laughter could be heard, and rainbows could be seen in the sky. Someone was giving a sermon about the Dao, and roaring Immortal beasts could be seen on all of the mountain peaks.

There was a Flying Rain-Dragon, like a sovereign of the skies, whistling through the air.

Everything… was restored. The mountain that Ke Jiusi stood on, and even Ke Yunhai's Immortal's cave, were all restored to glorious splendor. Brilliant light shone up into the sky, and massive pressure weighed down on everything.

A rumbling sound could be heard as the door of Ke Yunhai's Immortal's cave slowly swung open. A middle-aged man stepped out, his expression serious but not angry. It was none other than… Ke Yunhai!

His aura radiated out brightly, and not the slightest bit of Death aura could be sensed on him. He had the aura of a Paragon, the type that, if it exploded out, could cow all Heaven and Earth.

Ke Yunhai walked out, then climbed up to the peak of the mountain to stand in the same position as Ke Jiusi. The two of them overlapped with each other….

It was impossible to say exactly what year it was, or what month, or what day, that Ke Yunhai stood on top of that mountain peak, superimposed with his son, to pass through years of time.

After a long moment, Ke Yunhai slowly extended his hand, and his Soul Lamp flew out. It had the body of a dragon and the wick of a phoenix, and when it landed on his palm, Ke Yunhai looked at the soul fire for a long moment, and then smiled. Then he waved his hand, and a dragon flew out, which instantly emanated a powerful Demonic sensation. Clouds and mist roiled as it roared a shocking roar that caused everything to shake.

"Demon Immortal Dragon," Ke Yunhai said coolly.

In the same moment that Ke Yunhai spoke the words, Ke Jiusi also murmured the same thing.

"Demon Immortal Dragon."

His motion was the same as Ke Yuhai's as he waved his hand. The only difference was that there was no Dragon-Phoenix Soul Lamp in his hand.

"This dragon embodies the fate of the Demon Immortal Sect. It contains some of the Essence of the Ninth Mountain, and is perfectly suitable for opening an Immortal meridian." Ke Yunhai said. He pointed out with his finger, and the Demon Immortal Dragon shot up into the clouds, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

When the dragon vanished, Ke Yunhai's image slowly began to fade. Soon, only Ke Jiusi remained behind. During the course of the following few breaths of the time, the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect passed back through many years of time to the modern age. It once again became ruins, filled with corpses.

A sigh could be heard echoing across the lands as Night's eyes opened. Atop the mountain peak, Ke Jiusi's eyes had filled with tears.

"Dad… I miss you…." he murmured. After a long moment, he looked up into the dark sky and pointed his finger. The clouds up above churned, then opened up to reveal an ancient dragon flying down.

It was… that same Demon Immortal Dragon.

Moments ago, that dragon did not even exist. It was the power of Night that caused it to materialize from ancient times.

"Go…." murmured Ke Jiusi. "Little brother, I'm standing in for father to give you this gift." He waved his hand, causing the Demon Immortal Dragon to roar, and then shoot through the clouds off into the distance.

As it sped off, Ke Jiusi's figure gradually began to darken, and the entire Ancient Demon Immortal Sect once again began to sink quietly into the mists….

The Demon Immortal Dragon ripped through the starry sky, and soon appeared in front of Naruto , outside Planet East Victory.

Naruto was trembling as he looked at it; he could clearly sense Ke Yunhai's aura upon it.

"Foster father…." he murmured, his heart filled with grief. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Demon Immortal Dragon fused directly into Naruto . He didn't do anything to resist. He allowed it to enter him and immediately open up a murky Immortal meridian.

It was… the 121st meridian!

It was… bestowed upon him by Ke Yunhai, and presented by Ke Jiusi.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Naruto 's aura exploded up wildly, far exceeding its previous level. Furthermore, it was even possible to see the vague images of lamps behind him!

Suddenly, the Door of Immortality, which had been on the verge of fading away, seemed to be wrenched open by some massive, invisible hand. Immortal light poured out, and Immortal Chakra once again exploded forth, filling Naruto , pouring into his 121st Immortal meridian, causing it to rapidly solidify.

Soon, the Immortal meridian was completely formed, and another Immortal dragon soared past the Door of Immortality.

The 121st Immortal dragon brimmed with a Demonic aura that seemed to pass through time itself. It was impossible for anyone to see exactly what color the dragon was, but it was possible for them to tell that it was extremely ancient, as if it had existed for countless ages.

In the same moment that this new Immortal dragon appeared, Zhixiang sat in the modern Demon Immortal Sect. The entire sect began to shake violently, and the offerings within the sect began to vibrate as if they had formed a resonance with something.

Naruto 's aura rose up rapidly, and all cultivators who could see the illusory lamps behind Naruto were shocked and felt their minds reeling. Although they had been astonished by Naruto multiple times, they couldn't prevent themselves from once again being completely moved.

"Are those… Soul Lamps!?"

" Namikaze Naruto is powerful to an incomprehensible degree! He… he actually caused illusory Soul Lamps to appear!"

"It might just be illusory, but those are definitely Soul Lamps!"

Conversations buzzed through various regions of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

In the Kunlun Society, Sakura had been staring at Naruto this whole time, watching as he opened one Immortal meridian after another. Her face was flushed, and her eyes shone with a bright light.

Naruto had long since become indelibly imprinted onto her heart.

Pill Demon stood off to the side, smiling as all of the Kunlun Society looked at the illusory image, gasping. He shook his head, and his smile was filled with kindness.

"To be surpassed by one's own disciple… I guess it counts as a joyful occasion too," he thought.

At the same time, Planet East Victory was in a huge commotion. The members of the Namikaze Clan watched the scene with wide eyes. Namikaze Xiushan staggered backward several paces. From the moment Naruto 's Immortal Tribulation had begun, he had been shocked over and over to the point where he was on the verge of collapse.

"Impossible. Simply impossible…." He almost couldn't believe that he was looking at the dim lamps behind Naruto .

Namikaze Wei hovered in midair. Although he didn't say anything, his body was trembling, and his determination to fight Naruto was rapidly waning.

The Grand Elder was as shocked as a wooden chicken, and his mind was reeling.

"I really was… mistaken." It was at this point that he finally gave voice to the feeling that he had been suppressing in his heart for so long.

Chapter 981: Illusory Soul Lamps!

As a reminder, Ke Jiusi's name is a play on a Chinese expression which says "think three times before you act." The "Jiusi" could replace the first two characters of that expression to say "think nine times before you act" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 982

Chapter 982: Hinata's Good Fortune!

This was… the 121st meridian!

In the vast, boundless Heavens of the Nine Mountains and Seas, there had never before existed someone who opened 121 meridians, not even Kṣitigarbha with his 120!

What Naruto had accomplished was something that was completely without precedent!

He hovered there in midair, his energy soaring, his 121 Immortal meridians rotating madly. It was as if 121 Immortal dragons were roaring inside his body.

He slowly clenched his hands into fists, and felt the power coursing through him, and the boundless energy of his cultivation base. What he sensed… was a power unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

This breakthrough exceeded any other acquisition of good fortune that he had ever experienced.

This explosive rise of power could not be matched by any other destiny he had encountered.

It was a sloughing off of the mortal body, it was an exchange of the ordinary for the extraordinary, it was… a complete transformation of his entire life!

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken, as were the four planets. Boundless ripples spread out into the starry sky. There was a legend that, when corroborating one's own Dao, upon true Immortal ascension, the entire mountain and sea would shake. And now, Naruto was showing everyone… that this legend was true!

As the rumbling echoed out, Kṣitigarbha sat silently on the Fourth Mountain.

"Immortal meridians…." he murmured. "From the time the great Nine Mountains and Seas were created until now, the great circle has always been 123 meridians. No one has ever reached that level. I wonder if he will be able to?" After a long moment of silence, Kṣitigarbha raised his hand and issued another Dharmic decree.

This Dharmic decree consisted of only one sentence!

"I will take Hinata as my 49th apprentice!"

That one sentence was something that could change a person's entire life! Hinata, who was already in the middle of reincarnation, was now certain to experience incredible splendor when she was born again, to experience the pinnacle of honor.

"That's my big bro!" roared Fatty, grabbing onto the person who stood next to him in the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum.

"You see that? He's Naruto , my big bro! Fudge! From now on, who will possibly bully me!? If anyone dares to try to steal any of my beloved concubines, I'll have my big bro come and fight him to the death!

"Dammit! I had more than a hundred beloved concubines, but now… I only have three left!" Fatty's angry voice echoed out in all directions.

Uchiha Youcai was in Moonset Lake, his eyes closed. Of course, his eyes had been blinded, and he could only gaze at eternal darkness. However, everyone in Moonset Lake looked at him with fear and dread.

A vicious person like him was someone that nobody had any desire to provoke.

He had no eyes, but now, there was a young woman sitting next to him. Her expression was gentle as she described everything that was happening with Naruto and his Immortal meridians to him.

Uchiha Youcai said nothing the entire time. However, his mouth turned up into the faintest of smiles.

" Naruto , I won't let you leave me behind…."

Mught Guy was in the Solitary Sword Pavilion, one of the Three Churches and Six Sects. Their reserves were profound, but could not match up to the Five Great Holy Lands. Mught Guy was not well known in the sect, and in fact, didn't even have any friends. Throughout the years, nobody had really paid much attention to him. He stuck to himself to practice his sword arts, and as of this moment, was sitting by himself on a mountainside. He held an alcohol flagon in his hand, from which he took a drink. He looked up into the sky above the sect, at the huge screen which had been set up, and Naruto 's image upon it. He raised the alcohol flagon up into the air. 1

"Bottoms up, Junior Brother!"

People were getting excited. Some wished Naruto well, some were envious. Some had feelings that went beyond envy. All sorts of thoughts were going through the minds of the people in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Naruto hovered in the starry sky, his eyes gleaming with a bright light of… ambition!

Before, he hadn't been happy with only 108 meridians. Therefore, he had opened 117. Originally, he thought that was his limit, but then events unfolded, and he understood the profound result of verifying his own Dao.

At the moment, it wasn't that he was unsatisfied with 121 meridians.

However, deep in his heart, he thirsted for more.

"I can still open more!" A brilliant gleam flickered in his eyes, and his Immortal meridians thrummed. He sent divine sense into his body, whereupon he found… the first bit of good fortune that he had acquired… when he first stepped onto the path of cultivation.

It wasn't the ancient mirror, but rather… the good fortune he had wrested away from Uchiha Tengfei, the legacy of the Flying Rain-Dragon!

Flying Rain-Dragons were the sovereigns of the sky, and as Naruto had made his successive breakthroughs in cultivation, the Flying RainDragon's legacy had fused deep into his flesh and blood, even into his soul.

He had always had a hunch that the Flying Rain-Dragon was by no means weak, and was in fact incredibly powerful!

When he was in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, he saw a Flying RainDragon that had been subjugated by cultivators and turned into the guardian of one of their mountain peaks. However, he had always had the feeling that his Flying Rain-Dragon… should be even stronger than that! 2

The reason for that feeling was the unforgettable experience of the time when he had just acquired the legacy of the Flying Rain-Dragon, and it was attacked violently by the copper mirror. In all the years since then, he had never seen the copper mirror react so wildly. 3

Naruto knew the parrot well, and knew that its origin was extremely mysterious. Of course, that only caused him… to have more faith in the Flying Rain-Dragon's power.

"Perhaps my cultivation base isn't strong enough to unravel this mystery now. However… the legacy of the Flying Rain-Dragon was able to fuse into my Dao Pillars and afterwards, my Core. It even merged it into my

Nascent Souls…. In that case, why wouldn't it be able to… turn into an

Immortal meridian!" 4

"Follow me into the Immortal Realm, and beyond!" Naruto 's eyes shone with intense light as rumbling sounds emanated out. His Immortal meridians exploded with power, and his divine sense, which was vastly more powerful than it had been before, didn't expand out, but rather, swept about inside of him to arouse the legacy of the Flying RainDragon!

After a moment, it found a mote of light inside of him, quite inconspicuous, a dot of brightness inside of his Nascent Divinity.

If you looked closely at that mote of light, you would see an incredibly miniscule Flying Rain-Dragon.

"Flying Rain-Dragon Immortal meridian, OPEN!" cried Naruto . His cultivation base roared as he poured power into the mote of light. In the blink of an eye, the light grew blinding, and exploded outward. Endless rumbling filled Naruto . The Immortal Chakra from the Door of Immortality poured madly into him and then into the mote of light.

Time passed as more and more boundless Immortal Chakra merged into the mote of light. The Flying Rain-Dragon inside of him gradually grew larger until finally, the dragon opened its eyes, and they shone with a brilliant glow.

That brilliant glow contained profound dignity and haughtiness. It despised everything on the land below, and domineered over everything in the sky. It had no cares or worries, and thirsted for freedom and independence.

That… was Naruto 's Dao!

Naruto 's heart trembled. He had never imagined that his own Dao would be so similar to the Flying Rain-Dragon's nature.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The Immortal Chakra grew more majestic as the Flying Rain-Dragon opened its eyes. It spread out its wings inside of Naruto , and massive rumbling sounds could be heard as it transformed into an Immortal meridian which rapidly grew solid!

Thirty percent. Fifty percent. Seventy percent….

Naruto 's eyes gleamed with a brilliant light, and he suddenly took in a deep breath, absorbing all of the Immortal qi. Rumbling sounds could be heard, after which, the Flying Rain-Dragon Immortal meridian reached eighty percent, ninety percent, and finally… one hundred percent!

When that happened, Naruto 's aura rose explosively!

The vague images of lamps once again appeared around Naruto , swirling through the air. It was impossible to clearly see exactly how many lamps there were, and yet, they were definitely much clearer than earlier.

An energy rose up from Naruto 's body that seemed to be Immortal, and yet not, and at the same time Ancient, and yet not.

In addition, a 122nd Immortal dragon appeared outside the Door of Immortality, and this time, it looked completely different than the other dragons. It was a Flying Rain-Dragon!

It had huge wings, its tail was a poisonous viper, and its head was shocking in the extreme!

This was a Flying Rain-Dragon, which in the Nine Mountains and Seas was known by another name. It was also called… Outsider Dragon!

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in an uproar.

To open another meridian after the 121st was fundamentally shocking, but then, it resulted in an Outsider Dragon materializing. Everyone was completely shocked.

It was as if every time Naruto reached his peak, and the conclusion was in sight, he would tell you through his actions… that things WEREN'T over!

The Patriarchs of the various sects and clans all had profound gleams in their eyes as they watched Naruto , this cultivator of the Junior generation, who performed one shocking deed after another.

Gradually, they were coming to the conclusion that they were watching the rise of a young Paragon.

"It's been a very, very long time… since a stunning individual like this has appeared in the Ninth Mountain!"

"The only other one… was Lord asura!"

"That's right! The only other person like this… was Lord asura, the mysterious figure who legends say wasn't even from the Nine Mountains and Seas!"

The Elder generation of cultivators sighed, and they wore complex expressions on their faces as they looked at Naruto and said nothing further.

The Chosen who were of the same generation as Naruto stood in front of their respective teleportation portals, collapsing mentally. They were proud people, and right now, they were being trampled on. All of their vast preparations were laughable, and the glory they had just acquired… was already becoming a thing of the past.

A young man from Planet Ninshu , a cultivator who everyone had disregarded… had, in front of their very eyes, transformed into an insurmountable mountain.

All of them felt a twinge of sympathy for Namikaze Wei. After all, this kind of feeling would be much stronger for him.

As for Namikaze Wei, he hovered in midair, laughing bitterly and trembling. Watching Naruto made him feel like his own existence was a joke. His eyes started to shine with madness, a madness that gradually began to overflow with jealously, and then, killing intent even more intense than before.

"None of this matters. I still have ways to kill you!" Namikaze Wei raged inwardly. "I'll strike you down using your own Nirvana Fruits!"

Namikaze Xiushan stood in the crowds, his face pale. Suddenly, he felt regret, not for provoking Naruto , but for not being more ruthless before. Why hadn't he just violated clan rules and killed Naruto at the very beginning?

In contrast to Namikaze Xiushan, his own father, Namikaze Wei's grandfather, stood there calmly not too far off. He looked at Namikaze Xiushan, and then Namikaze Wei, and sighed.

"As long as a person is alive, he must have a goal. Since things have come to this point…I'll set the plan in motion earlier than anticipated.

"Does the Namikaze Clan exist eternally within a raging inferno, or will it diverge from its path and rise out of that inferno like a phoenix? Everything… depends on what happens now!" Namikaze Wei's grandfather, the normally taciturn old man, suddenly smiled.

It was a smile that contained an emotional sigh, but also, incredible ferocity!

Apparently, there were dark forces that had existed for unknown years in the Namikaze Clan… that were slowly beginning to bare their Namikaze s!

Up in the starry sky, Naruto probed his 122 Immortal meridians, then looked up at the Door of Immortality. Once again, a wild look began to burn in his eyes.

"I can still… open one last meridian!" he said softly. It was at this point that he produced the bronze lamp from his bag of holding, within which burned a tongue of flame.

It was…

The Essence of Divine Flame!

In previous chapters it said that Mught Guy joined the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. I believe that was actually a mistake. Er Gen went back and forth between the few a couple times, and I thought he meant the former, but in the end, I'm pretty sure it should be the Solitary Sword Pavilion. I'll confirm this later and then go back to edit the previous mistaken chapters ↩ References to the Flying Rain-Dragon in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect can be found in chapter 560 and 568 ↩ The mirror attacked the Flying Rain-Dragon Core in chapter 24 ↩ Naruto fused the Flying Rain-Dragon's Demonic Core into his Dao Pillars in chapter 99, and his own Core in chapter 303. I don't think it was specifically mentioned when he was actually forming his Nascent Souls, but when he reached Spirit Severing, the Flying Rain-Dragon made an appearance, in chapter 676 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 983

Chapter 983(Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 983: The Great Circle of the Immortal Realm!

Naruto 's eyes were filled with obsession and madness. He had opened 122 meridians and had walked a path no one had trod before, even in ancient times. Not even the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Kṣitigarbha, had done something like Naruto had when he became a true Immortal.

Naruto hovered there in the starry sky, the center of all attention. And yet, he still wasn't ready to give up. Flames danced in his eyes, a reflection of the Essence of Divine Flame in his palm. It was as if the Divine Flame had become the ambition within Naruto 's eyes.

"My final meridian… the Essence of Divine Flame!" Naruto 's heart was pounding. He knew that the Essence of Divine Flame was terrifying, but he couldn't hold back his excitement at the idea of it becoming his final meridian!

"If I can succeed in making this my 123rd meridian, then I won't have any regrets!

"It's a gamble, but if I succeed, I'll have one more meridian. If I fail…."

Naruto 's heart thumped, but his eyes quickly gleamed with obsession.

"Who cares if I fail?!" His hair and clothing whipped about as his energy began to rise up. The starry sky trembled and rumbling sounds echoed out.

"Before the world appeared, before the beginning of Heaven and Earth, before time could even be calculated, perhaps… there were no such things as Immortals. Therefore… how did the first Immortal come to be?!

"That first Immortal definitely walked his own path. He must have tried many things, and must have suffered many defeats before he finally found the correct path. The first person to succeed called himself Immortal, and that is how Immortals came to be!

"It must have occurred in that way. Therefore, I can do the same thing. I,

Naruto , will become an Immortal in MY way!"

The majestic Door of Immortality, the boundless Immortal light, the unobstructed Immortal qi, the swirling Immortal dragons. These things served as foils to Naruto .

If this bit of Divine Flame were much larger, then it wouldn't matter how determined Naruto was, he would be incapable of absorbing much of it. However… there wasn't much of the flame present!

There was only a tiny bit in that bronze lamp!

"Rewards come only with risk. In life, there are many times… when the only way to acquire something is to make either a sacrifice or a huge gamble!" Naruto gripped the bronze lamp tightly, staring wildly at the Essence of Divine Flame therein.

As of this moment, the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was all watching the cultivator named Naruto , and everyone could see the bronze lamp he held in his hand. Everyone could also see the flame that flickered inside of it.

However, even the Dao Realm experts were unable to see the bizarre properties of the bronze lamp. But they could sense that the flame inside of it contained… the power of Essence!

"Essence! That flame in his hand is rippling with Essence!"

"Unfortunately, it's miniscule. If there were more of the Essence, then we might be able to gain enlightenment from it."

"In any case, whatever destiny that kid ran into before allowed him to get that Essence-containing object. Situations like this are extremely rare! Perhaps we might find some clues as to the origins of that Flame Essence on his person?" The almighty Dao Realm experts from the various sects and clans looked at the flame with brightly shining eyes.

However, it was at this point that the Dao Realm Patriarch of the Kunlun Society suddenly spoke, his voice ringing out in the ears of all his contemporaries in the Dao Realm.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this kid… comes from Planet Ninshu ."

When everyone heard that one sentence, their eyes widened, and many of them quashed whatever plans they had been making just now, and their expressions quickly turned into looks of regret. For people in the Dao Realm, Planet Ninshu was actually…

Completely taboo!

However, when the four old men from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite saw the bronze lamp, their expressions… flickered with astonishment!

They gasped, then exchanged glances. Their eyes were filled with absolute disbelief.

"I can't believe it…. That thing actually exists!"

"I always thought it was just a legend. But, there it is! There can't be any mistake… the patterns on that bronze lamp mean that there can be no doubt…."

"Somebody was actually able to touch it…. This… this…." The four old men felt their minds spinning, and great waves of astonishment battered their hearts.

As of that moment, all cultivators were staring at Naruto .

Everyone watched as Naruto , without any further hesitation, held the bronze lamp aloft. His expression was one of determination as he gritted his teeth for a moment, then opened his mouth and inhaled deeply.

In that instant, the flame in the bronze lamp flickered, then flew out of the bronze lamp. In the blink of an eye, it was sucked into Naruto 's mouth.

He consumed the Divine Flame!

When Naruto sucked in the Essence of Divine Flame, his mind filled with a roaring sound. At the same time, indescribable heat exploded within his throat.

Intense flames almost immediately scorched Naruto 's blood dry. Before he could even blink, his body was being burned into ash. No longer was it merely blue veins popping out on his face, instead… numerous fissures spread out across his body.

The fissures were red, and when they opened, it seemed almost as if lava were about to explode out from inside of him.

He let out a protracted howl, and he shook violently. His eyes filled with madness. It was as if swallowing the Divine Flame was the same as swallowing an entire volcano!

Or perhaps… he was actually becoming a volcano!

His 122 Immortal meridians rotated at full power, and boundless Immortal power surged through him. However, all it could do was keep Naruto alive, and couldn't assimilate the Divine Flame.

Indescribable pain filled him as the flames roared, and he was rapidly reaching the point where he couldn't take it any more.

Popping sounds echoed out, and more fissures tore through Naruto 's body. They spread out across his face and neck, and soon afterwards his entire body was covered.

Within those fissures was crimson light that seemed to indicate his body was about to explode.

Nobody could help him, not even the Dao Realm experts. This was his tribulation, his meridians, and his choice!

The only person who could help him was himself. And only by weathering this trial, only by successfully fusing with the Essence of Divine Flame, could he save himself.

"I absolutely must succeed!" The glow of fire seeped out of Naruto 's eyes, and he could clearly sense the wild and intense power flowing through him that was the Divine Flame!

If he didn't already possess 122 Immortal meridians, then he would already have been completely transformed into ash. However, regardless of how unprecedented his previous gains were, he was still… approaching the point of collapse.

Right now, all of the Dao Realm Patriarchs were watching closely. The Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch looked nervous, and his eyes were wide with anger.

"Bastard! Moron! Y-y-you… you seemed so smart, kid! How could you do something as rash as this? Dammit! 122 meridians is amazing. Why did you have to be so stubborn and try to open more?!" After cursing up a storm, the Earth Patriarch finally sighed and soon looked over at Naruto , his eyes glowing with praise.

From the perspective of the Namikaze Clan, he didn't want Naruto to be facing any serious peril. However, from the perspective of a cultivator, he had to admit that he approved of Naruto 's wildness. When practicing cultivation, only by having an obsession with power that bordered on madness could one… truly become powerful.

He wasn't the only person thinking such thoughts. The Dao Realm Patriarchs from the various sects and clans were all watching Naruto , and suddenly, they looked at him differently than before. They could sense his madness, and his obsession with becoming powerful.

To make such a wild bet, to risk everything in the way he was, left them moved.

The experts from the Three Great Daoist Societies felt the same way.

Namikaze Wei hovered in midair, mind shaking as he watched what was happening. As for his father Namikaze Xiushan, he was starting to look extremely excited, even joyful.

"He's just looking to die!" he thought. "Well, the little son of a bitch is going to kill himself. Hahaha! I hope he blows up!"

The true Immortal Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea saw Naruto 's manifestation of obsession, and various expressions could be seen on their faces.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the fissures spread out to cover Naruto completely, causing him to seem like he was cobbled together from a patchwork of pieces.

There were even some places on his face where the fissures merged together, causing pieces of his skin to begin to flake off and transform into dust. Finger-nail sized wounds could be seen, within which were not flesh and blood, but rather, a sea of flames.

As more and more of his skin began to fall off, Naruto 's 122 Immortal meridians transformed into 122 Immortal dragons, and yet, even their 122 streams of power was not enough to stop what was happening.

Everyone watching began to pant, and their minds trembled.

Naruto roared, and his body shook. His vision was growing dim, and yet, the obsession in his eyes was growing more intense.

"I'm not going to fail! 122 Immortal meridians, and their more than 100 streams of power, seems incredible. However, since they're separated, it's naturally not enough….

"However, if those 122 Immortal meridians could all become Eternal Immortal meridians, then… my Eternal stratum would be 122 times more powerful!

"And then, I could definitely succeed!" Even as his mind spun, he considered his current predicament, and quickly came up with a solution. He suddenly trembled as all of his Immortal meridians began to change, transforming into…. Eternal Dragons!

122 Eternal Dragons exploded out, and the Eternal stratums they formed instantly shook everything.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Naruto threw his head back and howled. The fissures covering his body began to shrink, and the flames inside of him rapidly began to condense, gradually forming a Divine Flame Immortal meridian.

At the same time, the Door of Immortality erupted with billowing

Immortal qi, which fused into his body, solidifying the Divine Flame Immortal meridian. Simultaneously, the terrifying injuries he had just sustained began to heal.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, his body was completely restored. When that happened, his eyes shone with an intense light of confidence. Furthermore, there was an energy inside him that rose up, making him even more powerful!

"Open the Divine Flame Immortal meridian!" he murmured, waving his hand as another Immortal meridian opened up inside his body.

123 meridians!

This was… Naruto 's final meridian!

Another Immortal dragon began to fly around the Door of Immortality!

The 123rd dragon!

The final dragon!

The great circle!

In that moment, Heaven and Earth filled with rumbling. They sky changed colors, and the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken!

Naruto had accomplished what no other person had ever accomplished, and perhaps… never would! He had opened 123 meridians, and had reached the great circle of the Immortal Realm!

Chapter 983: The Great Circle of the Immortal Realm!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 984

Chapter 984(Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 984: 33 Heavens!

In the Immortal Realm… the number of Immortal meridians someone possessed would determine how weak or powerful they were in battle.

That was something everyone knew. However, virtually nobody knew what sort of destiny or transformations would appear when someone corroborated the Dao on their own.

That was because in the Nine Mountains and Seas, only Kṣitigarbha had ever succeeded. However, now that Naruto had opened 123 meridians, the Dao Realm Patriarchs, as well as the true Immortal Chosen and Ancient Realm experts, were all completely shaken, and were beginning to realize that something else might happen.

Immortals who corroborate their Dao on their own can actually transform their Immortal meridians!

This was not an ordinary transformation, but something which allowed the meridians to be merged in the form of a divine ability. In a brief moment… 120 times the level of normal power could be unleashed, a terrifying and shocking development that would strike awe into the hearts of any and all cultivators.

"Immortals who corroborate their Dao on their own do not need any sort of secret magic to be able to increase the power of their Immortal meridians when fighting. That is because such Immortals' bodies are a secret magic unto themselves!"

"Such a thing is fearful and shocking! No wonder Kṣitigarbha came to be the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea!"

"This kid… has unimaginable potential!"

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a commotion, as all eyes remained glued to Naruto .

What Naruto had done would surely turn into a legend, a myth!

123 meridians did not just place him in the number one position in the Immortal Realm in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Such a number was the most that had been opened by anyone in ALL the Nine Mountains and Seas!

A true Saint fleshly body, and a true Immortal cultivation base!

As of this moment, he was a Paragon! An Immortal Realm Paragon!

He was surrounded by 123 astonishing, roaring Immortal dragons. The last of those dragons was composed entirely of flame, and emanated a powerful Essence aura!

"It's over." Naruto murmured. He could sense the boundless Immortal power within him, making his cultivation base completely different than before. By way of comparison, it could be said that before Naruto had been a tree, and now, he was a forest!

The sense of power that flowed through his body causes his eyes to shine with bright light as he looked up. He could sense his blood boiling, and could clearly detect the Immortal Chakra within him.

After a long moment passed, he stretched out both hands.

"Return!" As the single word echoed out, the 123 Immortal dragons outside the Door of Immortality roared, and then shot directly toward Naruto . Rumbling could be heard as they merged into him, causing his energy to surge.

Finally, the Door of Immortality began to fade away. The Immortal light faded until it was gone, and the Immortal Chakra dried up. Naruto 's true Immortal Tribulation…

Had been thoroughly transcended!

He was now an Immortal!

His long hair flew about, and he emanated the aura of an Immortal. His entire person had moved beyond the mortal form, and he was now completely different. Before, he had been handsome, but now he exuded an otherworldly air, as if his mere presence was enough to attract the attention of all onlookers.

In the same moment that the Door of Immortality faded away completely, it was suddenly possible to see a projected image around him!

Countless celestial soldiers wearing golden armor appeared. They stretched out in all directions, too many to count, and they gazed at Naruto briefly before dropping to their knees to kowtow.

At the same time, the numerous Immortal Palaces appeared anew, filling the area. An enormous pedestal appeared beneath Naruto 's feet, which lifted him up to overlook everyone.

Immortal light appeared again, spreading out boundlessly, and swirling clouds filled the area.

Innumerable golden dragons swirled about up above, letting out subservient roars. From a distance, it was possible to see the celestial soldiers kowtowing, the golden dragons capitulating, and then, countless blurry figures emerging from the Immortal palaces, who then clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto .

The sky went dim, and the starry sky trembled. All of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea who were watching Naruto went completely silent when they saw what was happening.

This was… a sign!

When Fan Dong'er became Immortal, dragons and phoenixes danced. When Namikaze Wei reached Immortality, 10,000 soldiers bowed. In fact, signs had appeared when all of the other Chosen had reached Immortal Ascension.

Now, a sign appeared for Naruto as well.

However, compared to those of the others, this sign was far more majestic and shocking!

In fact, many people assumed that this sign was the end when, all of a sudden, something else appeared in Naruto 's vicinity… nine mountains!

These were nine mountains that caused Heaven and Earth to tremble, mountains that were like Imperial Lords!

Between each mountain was a sea, which meant that there were also nine seas!

Nine Mountains! Nine Seas! A sun, a moon, and heavenly bodies all orbiting around them!

Everyone who could see this was shaken mentally. To people who lived in the realm of the Nine Mountains and Seas, there was nothing more stunning than this image, nor would anything be able to match its splendor.

"Nine Mountains and Nine Seas…. I can't believe he caused a sign like that to appear! So corroborating your own Dao is actually this powerful!"

"Could it be… that this represents the approval of the Nine Mountains and Seas themselves? Above Paragons are Imperial Lords! Does he have the aura of an Imperial Lord on him?!"

"From today on, the Ninth Mountain and Sea… has a new blazing sun that will surely cause all of the Mountains and Seas to tremble!" Everyone was in an uproar as they looked at Naruto ; they simply couldn't remain calm. From the moment he had begun to transcend his tribulation, he was completely different than anyone else, and that wouldn't stop. Even though he had already finished transcending tribulation, and the Door of Immortality had vanished, he was still shocking everyone.

Naruto glanced around at the signs around him, and then looked emotionally in the direction of Planet Ninshu .

"Dad, mom," he murmured. "I've risen to prominence in the Namikaze Clan!

"Master, can you see me from where you are in the Kunlun Society?

"Foster father, can your spirit in Heaven see me, sir?

"Qing'er… can you see me?" This was a moment in which he should be extremely happy and excited. However… in reality, there was no one standing next to him with whom to share his smile.

His father and mother were on Planet Ninshu . His master was in the Kunlun Society. His foster father… had long since returned to the dust. His wife Hinata… was now in some unknown place undergoing reincarnation.

Naruto sighed, then looked up and did his best to put his emotions in order. Once again, his eyes began to shine with a bright light.

"My Immortal meridians are opened. Next… it's time to form my Immortal souls!

"Everyone has three spiritual souls and seven physical souls. Therefore, 100 opened meridians can form 10 souls!

"Based on my understanding, after 100 meridians, each additional meridian should be able to produce another soul!

"Immortal souls… form!" he said calmly. In the moment that the words left his mouth, his Immortal meridians emitted intense rumbling sounds.

Shockingly, a huge Dharma Idol appeared behind him. As of now, it was most accurate to say that the Dharma Idol… was the soul of a true Immortal!

36,900 meters! 1

Rumbling could be heard as a 2nd soul formed, then a 3rd, and a 4th….

10 true Immortal souls all appeared, each one of which exuded shocking power that emanated out in all directions. Then an 11th, a 12th, a 13th… all appeared.

Each soul which appeared caused anyone who looked at it to shake and tremble. Ripples emanated out into the starry sky, and Naruto 's energy rose up higher and higher.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

21 souls. 22 souls. 23 souls!

Soon, 29 souls had appeared, and then 30!

An entire collection of Immortal souls appeared behind Naruto . In addition to the original 10, more Immortal souls appeared due to his various aggregations of destiny and divine abilities.

31 souls. 32 souls…. In the end, there were 33 souls!

These 33 true Immortal souls caused 33 types of incredible pressure to spread out. It was as if… 33 Heavens had appeared!

How many Heavens exist? The 33 Heavens are ultimate!

In the legends of the Nine Mountains and Seas, above the Nine Mountains were 33 Heavens. If someone could break through those 33 Heavens, they could leave the Nine Mountains and Seas.

That was referred to… as the path of the Mountain and Sea Tribulation!

Naruto 's cultivation base roared, but he did not turn to look back behind him. He could sense the power of the 33 true Immortal souls behind him, and yet wasn't sure exactly how powerful he was.

However, he was sure… that if he went back to the ancestral land now and faced those Ancient Realm experts with one extinguished Soul Lamp, then he wouldn't even need the assistance of the terracotta soldier… to slaughter them!

Heaven and Earth rumbled as Naruto hovered there in the starry sky. Beneath his feet was a pedestal, and he was surrounded by innumerable kowtowing celestial soldiers. Nine Mountains and Nine Seas could be seen, including a sun and a moon. Further off, figures emerged from the Immortal Palaces to clasp hands and bow.

Behind him were 33 true Immortal souls, which transformed into 33 Heavens!

Anyone who could see what was happening was thoroughly shocked.

"33 Heavens…. No wonder he opened 123 meridians!"

"That is the limit of the Immortal Realm in the Nine Mountains and Seas. That is the true great circle!" The Dao Realm Patriarchs of the various sects and clans all understood this point. They looked at Naruto , and what they saw was a blazing sun of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, someone who would soon move on to even more glory.

At the same time, the true Immortal Chosen of the various sects and clans all looked on silently. From their expressions, it was possible to tell that they wished to fight Naruto more than anything. All of the Chosen, regardless of whether they had ever had dealings with Naruto , were filled with an intense desire to do battle.

"I have to fight! If I don't, I'll be eternally plagued by this inner Devil!"

"The only way to walk my own path is to dare to battle him, and defeat

him! Then I can struggle for glory in this era!"

"He has the secret magic that allowed him to become an Immortal who corroborated the Dao on his own. However, we have our own secret magics, legacies passed down in our sects, which enable us to dramatically multiply the power of our own Immortal meridians. Therefore, fighting him… is not an impossibility!"

Taiyang Zi was obsessed. Song Luodan had both fists clenched. Uchiha Mu's expression flickered with killing intent. Zhao Yifan had drawn his sword. Fan Dong'er's eyes glittered brightly.

Li Ling'er, Sun Hai, and even Uchiha Tengfei, as well as others who Naruto had never even seen before, all of the Chosen who had broken through to true Immortality…

All had the intense desire to fight!

Naturally, Namikaze Wei was no exception. He hovered in midair, looking up at Naruto in the starry sky, and in his eyes gleamed with all of the desire to fight that he could muster.

"I'm Namikaze Wei, and in this era, Namikaze Naruto, you can't be allowed to be the only one who shines with glory!" Namikaze Wei took a deep breath and then calmed himself. Personally witnessing Naruto transcending his tribulation was a life-changing experience, almost like a baptism.

Chapter 984: 33 Heavens!

36,900 meters is 12,300 zhang. Or if you read it directly in Chinese, it's

ONE (ten thousand) TWO (thousand) THREE (hundred) ZHANG! ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 985

Chapter 985: Fight!

33 Immortal souls were completely shocking. Countless celestial soldiers kowtowed, causing the starry sky to tremble. Naruto stood in the void atop a pedestal, looking around as the signs gradually faded away.

After they were completely gone, he was officially in the true Immortal Realm, and had reached the peak of the Realm, making him an Immortal Realm Paragon.

In that moment, the Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely silent. All observing cultivators stopped breathing as the image of Naruto turned into a mark which was branded onto their hearts.

It was an indelible mark that would never fade away!

It didn't take long, though, for a hubbub to break out, especially on Planet East Victory. Everyone, including members of the Namikaze Clan and other clans, exploded into a huge commotion.

Cries rang out in all directions.

" Namikaze Naruto!"

" Namikaze Naruto!"

" NAMIKAZE Naruto!"

Naruto 's name was being shouted out by innumerable mouths, echoing out in all the Heavens, rocking the lands. As of this moment, he was the blazing sun of the Namikaze Clan, their pride and joy.

Namikaze Xiushan stood in the crowd, his face a mass of ferocity. His fists were clenched tightly at his sides, and he was panting. Venomous ideas sprouted inside his mind and swirled violently.

His taciturn father bowed his head so that no one would be able to see the sinister glint in his eyes.

The Grand Elder stood not too far off, silent. He sighed inwardly.

The rest of the members of the Namikaze Clan were crying out with joy. Up in midair, Namikaze Wei hovered calmly and silently, the desire to do battle that shone in his eyes growing more and more intense.

All of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were boiling with excitement.

Far up in the starry sky, Naruto turned to face Planet Ninshu , dropped down onto one knee, and bowed deeply.

The eyes of all the cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were upon him as he bowed toward Planet Ninshu . What he was bowing to was not Heaven and Earth, and was not the planet itself. No, he was bowing to his father and mother!

In that moment, Namikaze Minato and Kushina stood in the Tower of Tang on Planet Ninshu , watching Naruto . His mother was extremely excited, and tears of joy filled her eyes, as well as intense pride.

That was her son!

Namikaze Minato couldn't keep his expression calm. A wide smile broke out on his face, the smile that comes from seeing one's own son become like a dragon. He took a deep breath and then started to laugh.

Naturally, he was well-aware who Naruto was bowing to.

As of this moment, the rancor that had been building up in him after leaving the Namikaze Clan was finally released, thanks to his son Naruto . Not only had his son returned home to the clan, he had risen up to become a blazing sun.

Outside of Planet East Victory, Naruto rose to his feet again. The signs had faded away, and now the 33 Immortal souls also vanished.

It was then that the true Immortal Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea felt their desire to fight raging, and their faces flickering with obssession.

FIGHT!

What did it matter if they were defeated? They would fight anyway!

If they did not fight, then the inner Devil that Naruto had become would plague them for the rest of their lives, and that Devilish image would make it almost impossible to walk their own paths.

Therefore, they had to fight!

They needed to go all out, to hold nothing back and fight!

Their only option was to confront him directly. That was the only way to ensure that they would have the chance for further breakthroughs in the future. That was the only way to guarantee that they could pursue their own Dao!

Taiyang Zi was the first true Immortal Chosen to step into a teleportation portal. He was the Dao Child from Mount Sun, one of the Five Great Holy Lands. He was one of only two members of Mount Sun who had stepped into true Immortality in this generation. He had his pride, and he had his goals and obsessions, and he would fight!

Rumbling sounds filled the air as he set foot into the teleportation portal and vanished. When he reappeared, shockingly, he was right outside of Planet East Victory. He immediately turned toward Naruto and began to fly toward him.

" Naruto !" He did not shout the name Naruto used in the Namikaze Clan, Namikaze Naruto, nor did he shout the name he had used in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire. He shouted his true name, the name he had used on Planet Ninshu !

His cry turned into something like a sound wave that surged out through the starry sky. Taiyang Zi then transformed into a sun that radiated boundless, scintillating light, shocking to the extreme as he barrelled toward Naruto .

"Let's fight!" Taiyang Zi's eyes were bright red, and he fairly burst with power. He had opened up more than 90 Immortal meridians, and all of them surged with power. The energy of a true Immortal erupted out.

As his energy skyrocketed, sun-form Taiyang Zi instantly caught the attention of all cultivators, who were completely surprised.

"They're going to fight!"

"They have to fight this battle. If I were a Chosen, I would attack too. I wouldn't be afraid of losing, or of dying. What I would fear… would be not daring to fight! Not daring to draw my sword!"

"This Taiyang Zi is the first person to attack! He will definitely be an extraordinary individual in the future!" Innumerable spectators were now waiting for the fight to begin.

"In this era of true Immortals, whoever manages to defeat Naruto … will be able to rise to the top!"

Naruto 's eyes glittered as he looked at Taiyang Zi shooting toward him. Back when he was making his breakthrough, he had assumed people would come to fight him. However, he never imagined that the first person to do so would be Taiyang Zi, and not Namikaze Wei.

"Well," Naruto said indifferently, "you owe me some money, you know…." His expression was very calm, as if his words were completely and utterly proper, without the slightest bit of impropriety.

His words instantly caused Taiyang Zi's aggressiveness to falter….

All of the cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who were watching the event stared in shock.

"But…" continued Naruto , "if you want to fight, then let's fight!" As soon as he finished speaking, brilliant light burst out of his eyes, and he took a step forward toward Taiyang Zi.

As he stepped out, Taiyang Zi roared angrily, and his aggressive energy soared up again. Innumerable magical symbols appeared on the surface of his sun-form, which transformed into shocking ripples that shot toward Naruto . Taiyang Zi roared, then extended his right foot and began to spin in circles in an attack on Naruto .

All of the power of his cultivation base burst out, just for this battle!

Behind him, an enormous Dharma Idol appeared. Shockingly, it was an image of a sun, which merged with his divine ability to make his sunform incredibly realistic. He looked exactly like a real heavenly body, as if he had poured all of his life force into this attack.

Naruto 's right hand balled up into a fist, and as Taiyang Zi's leg descended toward him, he casually struck out, almost as if he weren't even trying!

In the blink of an eye, the fist and the leg slammed into each other.

A huge boom rose up, shaking the starry sky. The Heavens dimmed, and the wind changed direction. An intensely powerful shockwave spread out in all directions. All of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea watched as Taiyang Zi's sun-form completely collapsed under the force of Naruto 's blow. It shattered and dissipated instantly.

It was as if Naruto had detonated a sun!

Blood sprayed out of Taiyang Zi's mouth, and he flopped backward like a kite with its string cut.

Naruto hovered in the starry sky. His hair was not flying about, and his clothing was completely smooth and unmoving. His fist remained outstretched in that pose for a moment, and then, face calm, he slowly pulled his arm back.

One punch!

Naruto had crushed the divine ability of a true Immortal Chosen with more than 90 meridians as easily as stepping onto dry weeds!

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely silent. Although everyone had assumed that Naruto would win spectacularly, to witness what they just had just witnessed left them shocked. That was especially true… because although they weren't capable of assessing the full extent of Naruto 's power, they could now make some speculations.

"That was only one punch…. He didn't even use his Dharma Idol…."

"This Naruto , just… just how powerful is he!?"

Even as everyone gave voice to their shock, Taiyang Zi managed to force himself to a stop. His face was pale, and he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. He looked up, his face twisted with rage, and his desire to do battle even stronger than before.

" Naruto , our battle isn't over yet!

"Secret magic, Sacred Sun Scripture!" Taiyang Zi performed a doublehanded incantation gesture, then hit various pressure points on his body, 49 times. Apparently, he wanted to continue, but had reached his limit. His face turned bright red, after which he threw his head back and roared as his energy surged up.

Moments ago, he had been filled with the power of more than 90 Immortal meridians. Now, though, ripples spread out that contained at twenty percent more than that level of power! He now had the energy of more than 110 Immortal meridians!

Secret magic!

Every sect and clan had Immortal Realm secret magics, powerful magics that could be cultivated at a heavy price, and were bestowed only upon members who qualified to study them.

In fact, Naruto had never been able to learn any of the Namikaze Clan's Immortal meridian secret magics!

As Taiyang Zi's energy rose up, his Dharma Idol disappeared, and in its place, shockingly, were 9 Immortal souls!

Each of those Immortal souls took the shape of a sun, making it so that Taiyang Zi was backed by 9 suns. The suns linked together, transforming into a majestic image that emanated shocking energy.

Booms echoed out in the Heavens, spreading out through the starry sky. Taiyang Zi's eyes were bright red as he looked at Naruto . He suddenly pointed out, causing the 9 suns to shoot toward Naruto . At the same time, Taiyang Zi performed an incantation gesture, causing the power of more than 110 Immortal meridians to form an image of a bow in his left hand. He gripped the bowstring with his right hand, pulled it back, and then released it.

"Sacred Sun Scripture, Immortal Arrow Nine Suns Destruction!"

All eyes were glued on the scene playing out. Countless individuals felt their hearts pounding as a streak of golden light shot through the starry sky like a sharp arrow.

Naruto 's expression was as calm as ever. It didn't matter that Taiyang Zi had unleashed a secret magic like this. Naruto simply sighed.

"You owe me a lot of money, which makes fighting you a bit more tricky," he said. Shaking his head, he took a step forward. As his foot descended, the 9 suns bore down on him, inundating him completely.

"Detonate!" roared Taiyang Zi. The 9 suns exploded, creating a deafening roar that sent ripples out in all directions. At the same time, the golden arrow stabbed in through the ripples.

Taiyang Zi's face was ashen, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was now much weaker; utilizing the secret magic was far too much of a drain on him. It was at this point that his eyes suddenly went wide with disbelief and astonishment.

As the ripples faded away from the starry sky, Naruto became visible, hovering in the exact same position he had been before. He wasn't injured in the slightest, and in fact, his expression hadn't even changed. Held in between his thumb and index finger was a trembling, golden beam of light.

"Your debt is now doubled," he said coolly. With that he pushed down, and a cracking sound could be heard as the golden light… shattered.

Taiyang Zi coughed up a mouthful of blood, staggering backward in shock. He had been prepared for the possibility that Naruto could defend against his divine ability, but he could never have predicted that even after draining himself to unleash a secret magic, Naruto would actually… defeat it with only two fingers!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 986

Chapter 986 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 986: Six Experts vs. Naruto !

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely silent.

All of the cultivators who had just watched the fight between Naruto and Taiyang Zi were completely astonished. Even members of the Ancient Realm were a bit frightened by Naruto .

At the moment, none of them were truly clear regarding… exactly how powerful he was!

That was because, as far as anyone could remember, there had never been a person like Naruto in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. He had corroborated the Dao on his own, and had opened 123 meridians, then formed 33 Immortal souls.

"He… didn't even use his Immortal meridians, or his Immortal souls…."

"He fought Taiyang Zi using only the power of his fleshly body!"

"I think I get it. He has a true Immortal fleshly body, and because he has Immortal meridians and is bolstered by Immortal qi, his fleshly body is already at the peak of the Immortal Realm!" After a moment of silence, voices began to ring out. Everyone was completely mystified by Naruto 's unfathomable secrets.

Taiyang Zi's face was pale as he looked bitterly at Naruto . He took a few steps back, and was just about to simply leave, when suddenly, the starry sky filled with the glow of multiple teleportation portals.

This time, there were two that opened up at almost exactly the same time. The bright light of teleportation shone out, and soon, more people arrived.

Two figures emerged from the teleportation portals.

One was Song Luodan, Dao Child of the Song Clan, true Immortal

Chosen of his people. The other person… was a true Immortal from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum. He was young, and had a dark red bundle strapped to his back.

The vertical bundle was narrow and somewhat tall, and from the look of it, contained a corpse.

This was someone Naruto had never seen before.

" Naruto !" Song Luodan's energy surged violently as soon as he appeared, and he immediately unleashed a Song Clan secret magic, which caused his Immortal meridians to explode with far more power than normal, sending ripples out in all directions.

In much the same way as Taiyang Zi, he was using a secret magic to cause his Immortal meridians to increase in power by about twenty percent. It was as if he had more than 110 meridians. Furthermore, 9 Immortal souls appeared behind him.

However, just when everyone assumed Song Luodan was finished powering up, he threw his head back and roared. Instantly, a 10th Immortal soul appeared behind him, and then another one!

With a total of 11 Immortal souls, Song Luodan's power erupted; he raised his right hand, within which appeared a long spear.

The spear was green, and emanated a profound ancientness. As soon as it appeared, the starry sky trembled.

" Naruto , come and fight me!" Song Luodan hurled the spear out with a burst of energy.

At the same time, the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum stood there grim-faced and silent. He suddenly raised his right hand, causing the bundle to fly out from behind him. It rapidly unwrapped, revealing a shriveled corpse!

The corpse was completely withered, and emanated an archaic air. This was none other than… a corpse from ancient times!

The young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum bit down on the tip of his tongue, then spit out a mouthful of blood. At the same time, he dropped down to sit cross-legged, and closed his eyes. He pushed down onto his forehead, from within which shot a beam of light. After fusing with his blood, it turned into a blood-red beam that entered into the corpse.

A tremor ran through the corpse as its flesh and blood seemed to revive. In the blink of an eye, it turned into a middle-aged man, whose eyes snapped open. His body rumbled, and the aura of Immortal meridians instantly surged out.

This was also a secret magic, manifest via the use of an ancient corpse. Although no Immortal souls appeared, it emanated a shocking pressure that exuded ripples equivalent to 120 Immortal meridians. At the same time, Immortal dragons appeared and began to swirl through the air.

Everyone was now paying rapt attention to what was happening!

"Wow, look at Song Luodan! He's even stronger than Taiyang Zi! He's also cultivated the second level of his secret magic. As for the first level, although he hasn't made too much progress and can only increase his Immortal meridians by twenty percent, that's still extremely powerful!"

"I heard that all the sects and clans in the Ninth Mountain and Sea have secret magics. They're all virtually the same in that they have three levels. The first level can essentially add illusory Immortal meridians, even doubling the real ones in some cases! The second level expands the number of Immortal souls, and the last level… takes the illusory and makes it corporeal!"

"Yu Xinglong from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum is also extraordinary. Their magical techniques are sinister and bizarre, and even though he hasn't cultivated the second level, his advancement in the first level still increases his power by more than twenty percent, a power similar to about 120 meridians!" 1

Even as the Ninth Mountain and Sea cultivators commented on the scene playing out, Naruto 's voice echoed out through the starry sky.

"Danny," he said, belittling Song Luodan by calling him a pet name, "you also owe me some money." He looked over at Song Luodan, and frowned. His demeanor and his wording were exactly like someone from the Senior generation reprimanding a naughty member of the Junior generation.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Song Luodan's face went purple. The matter of being in debt to Naruto was something he considered to be the biggest humiliation of his entire life. He let out a roar and charged directly toward Naruto .

Naruto then looked over at the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, and his eyes shone with a strange light.

"No one from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum owes me money yet….

However, I do happen to know somebody by the name of Xiao Luo." 2

Almost in the same moment that Song Luodan launched his attack, Yu

Xinglong from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum sent the corpse forward. Its energy surged as it attacked with Song Luodan, the two of them versus Naruto .

They moved with incredible speed. Song Luodan's spear ripped through the air, sending ripples out into the starry sky as it stabbed toward Naruto . Booms echoed out in all directions.

A vicious gleam appeared in Naruto 's eyes. He took a step forward, and suddenly the starry sky seemed to shrink. In the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of Song Luodan. Once again, he lifted his right hand and punched out.

BOOM!

When the punch landed, the spear shattered, and blood sprayed out Song Luodan's mouth. At the same time, the 11 Immortal souls behind him roared, rumbling down toward Naruto like eleven giant mountains. Once again, Naruto 's fist lashed out.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The fist slammed into the eleven mountains, causing them to tremble and then collapse into pieces amidst massive rumbling sounds. Naruto 's one punch destroyed them all as if they were dried grass. Then, it slammed into Song Luodan's chest.

Song Luodan let out a muffled grunt. Blood spurted out of his mouth as he tumbled backward.

Simultaneously, Naruto spun, eyes blazing as he faced the incoming ancient corpse. His gaze was like lightning, instantly stifling the ancient corpse's surging energy.

Then… he let out another punch!

A huge boom could be heard. Naruto had held back a bit with Song Luodan. However, the young man from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum didn't owe him any money, so when he punched, he backed it with the full power of his fleshly body. The ancient corpse had Immortal power similar to 120 meridians, but that didn't matter; it instantly shook and then simply exploded, shattering into countless pieces as it was completely destroyed.

In the moment that the corpse exploded, Yu Xinglong spat up a mouthful of blood. His eyes snapped open, and they were filled with astonishment.

"Too powerful!"

At the same time, three teleportation portals suddenly flashed into being in the area around them. Boundless light rose up, and ripples emanated out into the starry sky.

Three figures flew out from the teleportation portals at top speed, not stopping for even a moment as they headed toward Naruto .

One of them was Uchiha Mu!

As a Chosen of the Uchiha Clan, this was not the first time he and Naruto had fought. He was the youngest of these Chosen, but his ambitions exceeded that of most the others.

" Naruto !" he roared. As he flew out, a strange aura surged. His Immortal meridians emanated the ripples of a secret magic as his energy rose up. All of his power then focused onto his index finger as he pointed toward Naruto .

The second person to fly out was Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society. 3

During the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire, Xie Yixian's power attracted quite a bit of attention. He was a Chosen who had made it into the top 4. As soon as he appeared near Naruto , mists swirled out around him, forming an area that was like his own kingdom!

" Namikaze Mu!" Xie Yixian's eyes flickered with the desire to do battle, and his Immortal meridians erupted with the full bolstering power of a secret magic.

The final person to appear was Chen Naruto from the Bones of the

Flamedevil, one of the Five Great Holy Lands. 4

As soon as he stepped out of the teleportation portal, a sea of flames erupted around him. It quickly transformed into more than 100 flame dragons, which roared as they swirled around him. Behind him, 12 Immortal souls appeared that looked like enormous flame giants.

The three people all emerged at the same time and attacked Naruto simultaneously.

At the same time, Song Luodan gritted his teeth, ignored the pain of his wounds, and attacked again. Next to him was Taiyang Zi, whose eyes gleamed with determination. Although these people were all Chosen, Naruto was so powerful that they had no choice but to join forces to fight him.

"I just have to beat him one time! Only once!" roared Taiyang Zi as he charged forward.

Then there was Yu Xinglong, whose face flickered with various emotions. Although his ancient corpse had been destroyed, he could still fight on his own. He joined in as well, his body emanating a death aura, and his Immortal meridians erupting with power as he shot toward Naruto .

Six cultivators joined forces to attack!

The starry sky filled with radiant light. All of the cultivators in the audience held their breath as they watched. It wasn't that powerful people had never appeared before throughout the history of the true Immortal Realm of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, but never in any generation had there been one blazing sun who had outstripped the other Chosen so far that it required several of them working together to put up a fight.

Naruto 's eyes narrowed in concentration. As of this moment, even he had to take things a bit more seriously. His six opponents all had more than 90 meridians, and were utilizing secret magics. These people were the result of countless years of preparations on the part of their respective sects and clans, and were the hope for their future.

All of them were Dao Children in their sects and clans, and if Naruto hadn't appeared on the scene, would be in a position of glory. "Interesting," said Naruto . His eyes gleamed with the desire to do battle, and to see exactly how powerful he was.

"The power of Immortal meridians…." he thought. His body emanated booms, 123 of them, each one of which represented the activation of one of his Immortal meridians.

"I also want to see if I, by myself, can fight back against all of these true Immortal Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" His body rumbled as it emanated a powerful, domineering aura.

He didn't wait for his six opponents to close in. His body flickered as he charged them!

It was time to fight!

Chapter 986: Six Experts vs. Naruto !

Yu Xinglong's name in Chinese is 于兴龙 yú xìng lóng. Yu is a surname. Xing means "interest" or "desire." Long means "dragon" ↩ Xiao Luo fought Naruto starting in chapter 874 ↩ Xie Yixian fought Naruto starting in chapter 876 ↩ Chen Naruto fought Naruto starting in chapter

871 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 987

Chapter 987: Naruto 's Ambition!

However, in the moment that Naruto stepped forward, the energy of his six opponents surged higher. They transformed into six beams of light that shot directly toward him. As for Uchiha Mu, his eyes suddenly gleamed with a bizarre light, and he seemed to go crazy, causing ripples to spread out through the starry sky.

He suddenly raised his right hand, and a murky, flickering light appeared that began to suck in all of his soul and life force. It transformed into an attack… a profound Daoist magic of the Uchiha Clan that was incredibly difficult to master!

"Immobilize!" Uchiha Mu roared. His fingertip seemed to tear open the starry sky, causing all the ripples to stop in place. A terrifying power appeared which instantly wrapped around Naruto , forming invisible bonds that instantly immobilized him.

Although he couldn't move, it was different than his bodily Hexing. It was as if time had been stopped in place, as if Naruto 's body was now suspended in eternity!

The scene which was playing out left everyone completely amazed.

However, before anyone could even react, the six attackers, including

Uchiha Mu, transformed into something like six sharp swords. Their eyes flickered with battle lust, and their energy erupted as they attacked Naruto with virtually all of the life force they could muster.

Uchiha Mu's aura might have been greatly weakened, but even still he attacked explosively. He lifted his right hand and an illusory finger materialized.

"Uchiha Patriarch Finger Attack!" Rumbling echoed out as the gigantic, illusory finger seemed to replace the starry sky and descend upon Naruto . Brilliant energy surged, causing everything to seem to be on the verge of transforming into ash.

Xie Yixian's Burning Incense aura seethed, transforming into his own personal kingdom and world. Using the power of his Immortal meridians, he fueled his Burning Incense World, causing the energy from the aura to form his personal kingdom. It transformed into countless images which then crushed down towards Naruto .

Chen Naruto roared in rage. Flames surged around him as his Immortal meridians erupted with power. His flame dragons merged together, transforming into a gigantic dragon head, which opened its mouth as if to consume all living things.

Taiyang Zi went all out with everything he had. He spit out mouthfuls of blood, causing nine suns to appear in front of him, superimpose, and then transform into one huge sun that shot forward with deadly force.

Song Luodan's energy rocketed up. Gradually, a blade appeared above his head, the blade of the Song Clan, which was also a Dao. 1 A

Heavenly blade slashed down, like the arrival of a Heavenly Dao.

Last of all was Yu Xinglong. His body was completely stiff, as he spared no expense to transform himself into an ancient corpse. The aura of reincarnation emanated out, forming an incredible power that manifested in the form of a Corpse Needle.

The needle stabbed through the air directly toward Naruto 's forehead.

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely shaken. Everyone looked on with reeling minds as the scene played out. Earlier, they had been shocked to see Naruto 's one punch completely defeat various Chosen, and couldn't help but look down on the true Immortal Chosen a bit because of that. But now they were shocked to find that any one of these Chosen could single-handedly be blazing suns that could rock everything.

Now, the six of them joined forces in an Earth-shaking, Heaven-rocking attack.

" Naruto is going to lose!"

In the blink of an eye, they engulfed Naruto . However, it was at this point… that intense booming sounds echoed out from within Naruto . They were like thunder and lightning, exploding and rumbling ceaselessly. BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM….

Shockingly, exactly one hundred such sounds echoed out!

The hundred booming sounds represented the power of 100 Immortal meridians unleashing all their power. Instantly, the Uchiha Clan's bizarre immobilization technique fell apart.

As it collapsed, Uchiha Mu coughed up a mouthful of blood. It was as if his entire body had been scraped clean from the inside out. His expression was one of shock; he had never before experienced such an intense backlash from someone of the same generation as himself.

As for Naruto , all eyes were on him as booming sounds echoed out constantly. The power of one Immortal meridian after another erupted, causing Naruto 's energy to skyrocket.

"Now it's my turn," he said, his eyes flickering with a cold light. Moments ago, the Uchiha Clan's magical technique had left him shaken. Now, his eyes brimmed with coldness as his body flickered, suddenly reappearing directly in front of Xie Yixian. As usual, he clenched his right hand and began to punch!

The first punch caused blood to spray out of Xie Yixian's mouth. His Burning Incense World, his kingdom, collapsed into pieces, and he was sent tumbling backward.

The second punch landed in front of ChenNaruto. The flames which surrounded him suddenly encountered a fierce wind, and were extinguished. The shocking flame dragon head exploded, causing Chen Naruto to let out a roar of defiance. However, he couldn't stop the blood from spraying out of his mouth.

The third punch descended towards Uchiha Mu. Naruto actually had fairly complex feelings regarding the Uchiha Clan. However, he also feared their divine ability. When his punch made contact with the finger attack, a huge boom rang out. The finger attack collapsed, and Uchiha Mu spit up a mouthful of blood and passed directly into unconsciousness.

Four punches, five punches, six punches!

Song Luodan's body was covered in a haze of blood. Taiyang Zi's chest caved in, and he appeared to be on the verge of death. Yu Xinglong from the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum saw his needle collapse into nothing more than bits of ash. His face was pale as Naruto 's punch very nearly caused him to explode. In the end, he passed out.

Naruto didn't kill any of them. He had no enmity with them, and knew that as true Immortal Chosen, they were fighting this battle with him because of their own Daos.

Six punches. Six enemies completely swept aside. Naruto hovered there in the starry sky, hair whipping about. More booms could be heard coming from inside of him, until a total of 123 rang out, indicating that Naruto had unleashed the full power of his Immortal meridians.

"Too powerful!"

"Immortal Realm Paragon!" Cries of astonishment could be heard throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Naruto 's current battle prowess left everyone completely shaken.

Countless spectators were watching this battle in the starry sky closely. It was a battle of Chosen, a battle of true Immortals that would determine the future standing of the various sects and clans.

At some point during the action, a strangely ordinary ship appeared in the boundless starry sky, completely undetectable even to the Hebi Clan.

An older man sat on the ship, next to whom was a young man, who was frowning as he looked out at an illusory screen which depicted Naruto battling the various Chosen.

"Why are they fighting him?" the young man asked. "They have to know that they're not his match. What's the point? Don't these so-called Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea completely overestimate their ability? If it were me, I would definitely prepare secretly to rise to prominence later! Looks like these people from the Ninth Mountain and Sea amount to virtually nothing. They're all idiots. Fools!"

"That's because… they are Chosen," replied the older man softly. "They can accept defeat, and they can accept that they do not measure up to others. However, if they lack even the courage to fight, the determination to draw their swords, then they will forever… be unable to lift a finger against this boy named Namikaze Naruto.

"They are in the Immortal Realm now, and despite the huge gap, if they refuse to fight now… then in the future, that gap will only widen. Then… they would forever lack the courage to fight." He lifted his glass of alcohol and took a sip.

"They'll even team up to fight him?" the young man said with a cold laugh. "Whatever would it prove if they won that way?"

"It would prove that he could be beaten by peers from the same generation," was the calm reply. "Lin'er, that is the difference between you and them. You cannot underestimate these people from the Nine Mountains and Seas."

The young man laughed coldly. "Ah, who cares? When it comes to them, we already–" He was about to continue when the older man glared at him sternly. The young man's heart thumped, and he swallowed his words.

No one detected the existence of the ship, as if they actually existed in a different time and space. They floated slowly through the starry sky, drifting off into the distance.

The battle was being watched by countless spectators, which was especially true considering… that what should have been a battle to showcase everyone's glory ended up being a whole group of people joining forces to attack Naruto , which made things even more interesting to the onlookers.

Of course, not all Chosen teamed up to attack Naruto . Namikaze Wei hovered motionless in midair, his eyes closed as he completely ignored what was happening in the starry sky. However, he was slowly building his energy, and his aura continued to grow more intense thanks to the amalgamation of his various Namikaze Clan secret magics. Furthermore, he had two Nirvana Fruits inside of him, which began to pulse as if they were beating hearts.

He was waiting for his energy to reach its peak, whereupon he would battle it out with Naruto !

In addition to him, Fan Dong'er was also building up her energy. Then there was Zhao Yifan, Li Ling'er, as well as two other people…. One was from the Hebi Clan, someone nobody else noticed because of the fact that the Hebi Clan had kept the Door of Immortality concealed when it came to this person. The only thing that people knew was that she had entered true Immortality; no one had any idea of how many Immortal meridians she had. It was Hebi Yin!

She was not the Dao Child of the Hebi Clan. However, she was the number one figure underneath the Dao Child!

In addition to Hebi Yin, there was Fan Dong'er of the Nine Seas God World, who had by this point been forgotten by the majority of people. Also from the Three Great Daoist Societies were Zhao Yifan and Zhou Xin from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. Of course, there was also the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite….

There was no one who knew of what blazing sun might emerge from the Rite, nor had anyone even heard any whispers of who it might be.

Almost in the same moment that Taiyang Zi and the other five Chosen were defeated, rumbling sounds filled the starry sky as more teleportation portals glimmered into existence. Numerous true Immortal Chosen appeared from the Three Churches and Six Sects, and also from the Holy Lands.

Some of them were people Naruto recognized, others were strangers. There were eleven or twelve of them, and they instantly caused explosive ripples to spread out. Each one of these people were blazing suns from their respective sects, and it was without hesitation that they joined forces to attack.

They knew that they couldn't possibly defeat Naruto by relying on their own strength. However, they needed this battle to result in a victory!

Therefore, they teamed up. If they could win, that would be enough to purge the Devils in their hearts, and would prove to them that Naruto … could be defeated in battle!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Massive roaring echoed out as the dozen cultivators' Immortal meridians erupted. This was the era of true Immortals, so anyone who had risen to true Immortality, who had opened at least 90 Immortal meridians, and who had secret arts, unleashed their Immortal souls and powered up. They transformed into a dozen beams of prismatic light that shot directly toward Naruto .

All of them unleashed different divine abilities as they attacked Naruto .

Naruto 's eyes shone with the desire to do battle. He looked around at his thirteen opponents, and his mouth twisted into a smile. A very cold smile.

His 123 Immortal meridians were in full rotation. As his enemies closed in, Naruto charged forward like an explosive dragon. Massive rumbling echoed out as a completely domineering aura emanated out from him. He clenched his hand into a fist and punched.

He slashed through everything like a sharp knife through bamboo. Everywhere he went, divine abilities collapsed, secret magics were destroyed, blood sprayed about, and everything shook.

Boundless ripples spread out through the starry sky like waves over water. Roars of defiance echoed out as Naruto simultaneously fought all of these true Immortal Chosen!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The starry sky trembled and the Heavens dimmed. One punch. Another punch. ANOTHER!

Numerous enemies were sent tumbling away, blood spraying from their mouths. Bright beams of light were shattered, divine abilities were completely destroyed….

Among the audience, jaws dropped and eyes widened. Naruto was like a celestial warrior, and the image of him fighting was branded indefinitely into the minds of everyone in the current generation.

In the end, when all of the opponents were left ashen-faced, and when the final Chosen was sent flying backward in defeat, Naruto raised his hand and waved it toward the Heavens.

"A Writ of Karma!" Numerous Karma threads suddenly emerged from his body, as well as from the bodies of all of the Chosen, including the six he had fought earlier. In total, eighteen streams of Karma could be seen coming from the true Immortal Chosen.

Because of Naruto 's domineering cultivation base and Daoist magic, he was able to force the formation of Karma. It transformed into numerous promissory notes, which materialized in thin air and then floated down onto Naruto 's palm.

There was no need to write anything, nor any need for anyone to agree to the matter. That was because… they now owed him money!

His Karmic Daoist magic forced ties of destiny!

The instant that A Writ of Karma appeared, his eighteen opponents coughed up blood, and their eyes went bright red. The feeling of having destined ties and promissory notes forced upon them, and the sense that their Karma would be disturbed if they failed to pay back that debt, caused all of the Chosen to look over at Naruto , eyes bloodshot and seething with rage.

" Naruto , how dare you!"

"Dammit, you're too shameless!"

The true Immortal Chosen all roared with fury.

"Shameless, huh?" he replied, his expression the same as ever, although slightly bashful. He cleared this throat continued on with an air of selfrighteousness. "Well… you people wanted to fight me to solidify your Dao hearts; you were even willing to gang up on me. If you defeated me, your Dao hearts would be freed of their obstruction. In that case, I think I need to collect some interest from you. If you think about it that way, I'm sure you'll agree…." It was just as he had said to Namikaze Minato , that his dream was to get all of the Chosen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to owe him money. 2

That dream… was already becoming a reality. All of a sudden, Naruto realized that he had actually set his ambitions a bit too low.

"I should have said that I want all of the Chosen in all the Nine

Mountains and Seas to owe me money!" As this grand ambition rose up in his heart, he looked up, and his long hair drifted in the wind. His energy pulsed, and it was as if his desire caused all of the starry sky to tremble. Countless ripples emanated out in all directions.

As of this moment, the Ninth Mountain and Sea had fallen silent.

Everyone was speechless as they gazed at Naruto . The true Immortal Chosen were in a rage, and yet, couldn't think of a single thing to say in response.

As a quick reminder, "blade" and "Dao" sound very similar ↩ Naruto mentioned his ambition to get everyone to owe him money in chapter

841 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 988

Chapter 988: Wanna Get Married, Wifey?!

Namikaze Minato wore a strange expression as he stood there on Planet Ninshu , looking at Naruto 's A Writ of Karma. He also noticed Naruto 's expression, and couldn't help but sigh emotionally.

Off to the side, Kushina was chuckling. When she saw the look on Namikaze Minato 's face, she knew exactly what he was thinking.

"This kid was a charmer from the moment he was born," she said, laughing.

"Charmer?" said Namikaze Minato , gaping. He hesitated for a moment.

"He's your son. Right before he left, he did say that he wanted all of the Chosen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to owe him money…."

"WhenNaruto'er was born, I always knew that he would set different aspirations than everyone else. As for me, I was hoping that his grand ambition would be to get all of the pretty girls in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to become his beloved concubines." Kushina smiled, and from her expression it could be seen how much she loved spoiling Naruto .

Namikaze Minato stood there silently, shaking his head and smiling wryly. Only he knew that deep within his heart, there was something he felt somewhat indignant about, and that was the "Foster Father" Naruto had mentioned when Ke Jiusi gave him the Immortal meridian.

As Naruto 's real father, the feelings that had been on display at that moment had caused a sour feeling to rise up in his heart. He couldn't quite accept the situation.

"You still haven't told me why you sentNaruto'er to Planet East Victory. I know it's not just for those two Nirvana Fruits. I've asked you many times, and you never tell me, but this time, I want an answer!" Kushina turned and gave Namikaze Minato a serious look.

Namikaze Minato looked quietly at his wife for a moment before finally saying, "You'll know soon enough."

Currently, the Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely silent, and everyone was staring at Naruto . Naruto , who had single-handedly defeated all of these Chosen of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Some had even joined forces, and yet, had still been defeated. Many of the observers were left completely shaken.

As Naruto hovered there in the starry sky, he looked around at the more than ten true Immortal Chosen, who were staring at him wrathfully. Unfortunately for them, there was nothing they could do. It was at this point that another teleportation portal suddenly blazed into existence in front of Naruto .

Zhao Yifan suddenly walked out of the teleportation portal, accompanied by a massive pillar of sword Chakra which billowed up from him. The stars trembled as mighty rumbling echoed out in all directions. The true Immortal Chosen in the area instantly stared over at him.

The cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were all watching as Zhao Yifan made his appearance.

" Naruto ," he said. "Or should I say… Namikaze Mu! Long time no see!" As ever, he wore a long, cyan robe, which rippled as he walked, and had a sword strapped to his back. At the moment, the energy that emanated off of him far, far exceeded that which he had displayed at the three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire. It was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.

Zhao Yifan of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!

Naruto had fought him twice before. The first time was on Planet Ninshu , when the two had been separated by quite a distance, and had exchanged a single sword attack in midair.

The second time was during the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire. They had vied for first place, a battle in which Naruto had been forced to draw on all his battle prowess, and had even allowed a hidden Devilish will to send his heart and mind into chaos, all to be able to only injure Zhao Yifan!

Now, the two of them stared at each other, scenes from the past playing out in their mind's eyes.

"Zhao Yifan…." Naruto said slowly. Suddenly, the desire to fight rose up in his eyes. No further words needed to be spoken. There was no enmity between them, only… the need to do battle for the sake of their own Daos in this new era.

The surrounding true Immortal Chosen quickly grew silent and backed up. They had all been defeated, and would not attack again. Furthermore, they knew how powerful Zhao Yifan was, so their eyes flickered as they prepared for the battle which was about to take place.

The observing cultivators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were recalling the things which had happened in the past between Naruto and Zhao Yifan.

"A battle between those two deserves to be the center of attention!"

"Back in the trial by fire, Zhao Yifan suffered a huge defeat. But now… he's become a true Immortal. Now that he's making another appearance, I wonder… if he'll get defeated again?"

"Going up against someone as inhuman as Naruto … Zhao Yifan will definitely suffer defeat!" As everyone discussed the matter, Naruto and Zhao Yifan faced off with proverbial swords drawn. Just when they were about to explode into action, a second teleportation portal suddenly appeared, then, immediately afterward, a third. Bright light filled the starry sky as Fan Dong'er walked out, the female corpse behind her, hair draped over its body. The incredible aura of a powerful expert instantly erupted out of Fan Dong'er.

" Naruto !" she said calmly, her alluring voice so icy that everything turned as cold as winter.

The corpse behind her had long black hair, and emanated the aura of death, causing anyone who looked at it to tremble.

"Eee?! Hello, Inky! I've missed you!" Naruto said, eyes shining brightly. After a moment, he continued, a bit embarrassedly, "And as for you, little sis Dong'er, it's time you paid my money back!" His words caused Fan Dong'er's face to immediately darken. She didn't know why, but the instant she saw Naruto face to face, and heard his voice, and especially upon seeing the expression on his face… her Dao heart filled with an almost uncontrollable urge to give him several vicious kicks.

Even as she gritted her teeth, the third teleportation portal opened up behind her, and Li Ling'er slowly stepped out. She wore a long red gown, and her eyes blazed like lightning as she stared at Naruto . Her expression actually seemed a bit torn.

Naruto blinked, then smiled and said, "Heyo! Ling'er! Wifey! You're here too? Did you want to get married or something?"

When the observers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea heard his words, their eyes went wide. It was as if their ears had been struck by lightning.

"What did he just call Li Ling'er?"

"Dammit! He dared to call Li Li Ling'er wifey?!"

"Now that I think about it, this Namikaze Naruto…. Years ago, the Namikaze Clan and the Li Clan were supposed to have made a marriage alliance…."

As the audience in the Ninth Mountain and Sea went into an uproar, Li Ling'er stared at Naruto and then suddenly smiled. In that moment, the complex look in her eye faded away. She was inherently beautiful, and when she smiled, she instantly radiated a bewitching charm.

"Husband," she said, smiling a beautiful smile, "you've gotten yourself involved with far too many beauties. Once you sever ties with them, then we can get married."

Naruto 's eyes went wide. He had never imagined that Li Ling'er would accept his statement. When he saw the grin on her face, it made him feel that the there was something suspicious about the whole situation. He laughed it off awkwardly, then his gaze turned cold as he turned to look at Zhao Yifan.

As soon as his gaze fell upon Zhao Yifan, Zhao Yifan's sword Chakra erupted, and he took a step forward, reaching his hand out, within which appeared an illusory, azure-colored sword. As his fingers closed around the hilt of the sword, he did not speak. Instead, his body bent like a drawn bow, and then he suddenly slashed the sword out toward Naruto .

The sword caused everything to vibrate; the Heavens dimmed, and more than ninety Sword Dragons appeared within the sword light. They rapidly merged together to form a gigantic Azure Dragon, which roared as it slashed at the void with its claws. Its long whiskers floated in the air as it charged Naruto . Everywhere it went, the void shattered and was rent asunder, as if this Azure Dragon could destroy any and all obstacles that got in its way.

As the Azure Dragon closed in on Naruto , he raised his right hand and pointed out. Instantly, massive rumbling sounds could be heard as the Azure Dragon roared to a halt, and was incapable of moving forward even a centimeter.

"Shatter," Naruto said coolly. A boom could be heard as the Azure

Dragon collapsed, transforming into countless glittering sparks that rapidly dissipated.

The scene that was playing out instantly caused quite a few people to recall what had happened in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire. What was happening now was somewhat similar, except that back then, Naruto had used a palm, and now he was using the casual wave of a single finger.

Zhao Yifan's eyes glittered brightly as he reached out with his right hand, causing what appeared to be an ordinary sword to appear. It was none other than… his Cloud Sealing Sword!

He took five quick steps forward, and with each step, his energy soared higher and grew stronger!

"First Sword, Felling the Mortal!

"Second Sword, Shocking the Spirit!

"Third Sword, Severing the Immortal!

"Fourth Sword, Shattering the Ancient!

"Fifth Sword, Trampling the Heavens!" With every step, his energy surged, and he would slash out with his sword. Five steps, five Heavenshaking sword attacks. The starry sky seemed to be on the verge of collapse. Cracking sounds could be heard as a huge fissure appeared, from within which appeared a gigantic claw that lashed out toward Naruto .

The claw looked like the five-taloned claw of a Sword Dragon, formed from five swords. As soon as it appeared, the Heavens trembled, and the expression of all onlookers instantly flickered. The audience in the Ninth Mountain and Sea gasped.

The desire to do battle gleamed even brighter in Naruto 's eyes. His expression was cold as his own energy surged, and the power of 123 Immortal meridians erupted!

He had seen these same sword forms the last time he had fought Zhao Yifan, but this time, they were far, far more powerful! Furthermore, at the moment, Naruto wanted nothing more than to see exactly how strong he was.

He took a step forward and raised his hand. He didn't use any sort of divine ability, just one punch, which rocketed toward the incoming fivetaloned claw!

123 Immortal meridians erupted, combining with the power of his fleshly body to form an astonishing aura that instantly slammed into the fivetaloned claws.

Massive roaring filled the air, and everything shook. The claw shook for a moment and then shattered into countless pieces. Naruto continued to advance, his hair whipping about, his aura surging.

"Zhao Yifan, it's time to use your most powerful secret magic.

Otherwise… you're just no match for me!" Naruto 's voice echoed out, and the domineering tone rose with each step he took. Zhao Yifan suddenly felt an intense pressure and urgency weighing down on him. Fan Dong'er's face flickered, and Li Ling'er's pupils constricted.

Zhao Yifan threw his head back and roared, then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand.

"Five Cleaving Swords, Rising Sword Form!" He waved his right hand, causing his Immortal meridians to rotate at full power. His more than 90 Immortal meridians now erupted with the battle prowess of more than 110 meridians.

"First Cleaving, Swords Cleave the Heavens!" Instantly, tens of thousands of flying swords filled the starry sky above Zhao Yifan. Under the shadow of all those swords, Zhao Yifan looked like a Paragon among swords, shocking to the extreme. Now, the power of more than 120 Immortal meridians exploded out within him!

"Second Cleaving, Immortal: Why Sever the Mundane World?!" Zhao

Yifan's aura exploded up. In their previous battle, he had been forced to destroy his Dharma Idol in order to fuel the second cleaving. This time, he unleashed the form without the slightest hitch. Furthermore, using this power caused his energy to surge to something similar to more than 130 Immortal meridians!

This was a true display of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto's Five Cleaving

Swords. It was also the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto's secret magic for the Immortal Realm. It was actually powerful enough to create a number of illusory meridians which could surpass the normal limit of 123 meridians. However, the Immortal souls that could be formed from those meridians were still limited to one soul per 10 meridians. Furthermore, because of the constraint of 33 Heavens, the maximum number of meridians possible, including those granted by secret magics, was 330, which was considered the great circle.

Throughout countless years, no one had ever been able to achieve that!

Naruto raised his head, and his eyes shone with brilliant light, like a cold, sharp sword.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 989

Chapter 989: That Same Feeling!

"Third Cleaving, Who Is Most Honored in Heaven!?" Zhao Yifan cried out. His Immortal meridians once again sent out incredible pressure, and soon, the power he radiated was equal to more than 140 Immortal meridians!

As soon as this power manifested, the Heavens dimmed, and a wild wind sprang up. All of the stars in the sky trembled, and, at the same time, Zhao Yifan began to shake. Having added to his Immortal Realm power by more than fifty percent, he had reached his limit, and was in a state that he could only maintain for a short time.

" Naruto , prepare to receive my most powerful attack!" He threw his head back and roared, causing the tens of thousands of swords around him to merge together into fourteen Immortal souls!

These souls, formed by the illusory Immortal meridians of the secret magic, could not measure up to the souls created, one soul per meridian, after corroborating one's Dao and becoming Immortal.

To the true Immortal Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, an inhuman cultivator like Naruto was someone they simply couldn't measure up to.

Zhao Yifan's aura surged, and his sword descended. Behind him were 14 Immortal souls, who caused the descending sword blow to become a beam of light that illuminated the entire starry sky. Everyone was dazzled by the blinding, scintillating light.

Zhao Yifan's most powerful sword attack!

Rumbling echoed out as the sword shot straight toward Naruto .

Naruto 's desire to fight seethed as he caused all of his 123 Immortal meridians to rotate at full power. Immortal souls appeared behind him, which was the first time he had used such a power when battling the true Immortal Chosen.

He advanced, clenching his hand into a fist to deliver, as usual… one punch!

It was as if, whatever enemies he faced, he would only use his most simple and direct method of attack. One punch!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Massive rumbling filled the area in the starry sky where Naruto and Zhao Yifan met in battle. A massive hole tore open in the void. Blood sprayed out of Zhao Yifan's mouth. The light caused by his most powerful attack flickered and then shattered into fragments that spread out and transformed into a tempest.

Within that tempest, Zhao Yifan could be seen, smiling bitterly, coughing up consecutive mouthfuls of blood. He had lost, but his heart was not defeated. He now knew that he possessed the strength to bare his sword at Naruto .

Naruto emerged from within the tempest and then looked back at Zhao Yifan.

It was in that moment that Fan Dong'er surged into action, as did Li

Ling'er. They attacked virtually at the same time. As for Fan Dong'er, the Ninth Sea materialized around her. A pulsing magical symbol appeared on her forehead. With each pulse, her Immortal meridians were

increased by ten percent of their original power.

After it pulsed four times, she had added forty percent to her power, and her Immortal souls had appeared around her.

She waved her hand, causing the Ninth Sea to shoot forward, filled with countless Sea Dragons. It transformed into something that looked like a huge head, with a solitary horn sticking out of the forehead. It was a Sea Giant that instantly attempted to head-butt Naruto .

Its bright energy surged in all directions!

In another direction, Li Ling'er performed an incantation gesture, causing numerous trees to appear around her. Cracking sounds could be heard as the starry sky around her was transformed into a land mass. In the blink of an eye, more than ninety trees had appeared around her. She continued to perform incantation gestures, then tapped on various areas of her body. More rumbling sounds could be heard as the number of trees increased to more than 130 in total.

Either of these young women alone could not exceed Zhao Yifan. However, their combined battle prowess was such that even Zhao Yifan's face would turn pale if he faced them in a fight.

They did not speak to Naruto , they simply attacked, in the exact moment in which the fight between Naruto and Zhao Yifan concluded.

Naruto turned his head, and his eyes shone with a brilliant light. He snorted coldly and caused the power of 123 Immortal meridians to explode out. All 33 Immortal souls appeared behind him, transforming into 33 Heavens, which emanated astonishing pressure!

The domineering sensation of the Immortal Realm Paragon suddenly radiated out.

"Think you can beat me? I'll just have to put you in your place!" He took a step forward and raised his right hand, not in a fist, but in a palm. He viciously thrust his palm forward, causing the 33 Heavens behind him to shake the starry sky as they transformed into a gigantic hand, which slammed into the Ninth Sea. Huge rumbling sounds filled the air as the seawater exploded. The Sea Dragons let out shrill cries, and the giant with its horned head shattered into pieces.

As its head exploded, Fan Dong'er's face fell, and she began to retreat. At the same time, Naruto advanced, causing the huge hand to rumble directly toward her.

Fan Dong'er's eyes shone with a bright red light as she performed an incantation gesture. Instantly, the corpse behind her looked up and began to emanate an explosive, murderous aura; it appeared to be on the brink of attacking Naruto .

In the same instant that the murderous aura radiated out from the corpse, Naruto called out in a towering, dignified voice: "Inky, stand down!"

The female corpse immediately bowed its head, the murderous aura vanished, and it even retreated by several dozen meters.

Fan Dong'er stared in shock, and her scalp went numb. In that moment, Naruto 's attack closed in. Just when it was about to slam into her, though, he heard someone cough dryly in his ear.

That cough sounded ancient, and it obviously came from the throat of a very old woman. Naruto frowned, causing the hand to flip over. Instead of slamming directly into her like had just been about to, it slapped Fan Dong'er's rear end.

" Naruto , how dare you!"

As the slapping sound rang out, Fan Dong'er let out a shriek, and her face fell. Her buttocks were now uneven, and intense pain filled her trembling body. In fact, it was the most intense pain she had ever experienced in her life.

Trembling, Fan Dong'er was now on the verge of collapsing unconscious.

Blood sprayed from her mouth, and she staggered backward, her hatred for Naruto rising to near madness.

When Li Ling'er saw this, her expression flickered, and she suddenly stopped in place. Her face was ashen, as if she were suddenly thinking about something very frightening that had happened in the past. Glaring at Naruto , she backed up.

"Not quite as good as my wifey," said Naruto , turning to look at Li Ling'er.

Li Ling'er gnashed her teeth and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, the 130 trees surrounding her exploded, transforming into a terrifying whirlwind which shot toward Naruto .

At the same time as the trees exploded, Li Ling'er spit out a mouthful of blood and retreated at high speed. Simultaneously, a cold harrumph could be heard coming from within the explosion.

"Get back here, wifey!" Simultaneously, an intense gravitational force latched onto Li Ling'er. Her face flickered as she was involuntarily sucked backward towards the whirlwind.

Within the whirlwind, 33 Immortal souls swirled around Naruto . They instantly transformed into 33 Heavens, which bore the brunt of the whirlwind and the exploding trees. He advanced, energy surging, backed by the powerful windstorm.

In the blink of an eye, Li Ling'er was swept up, and was being pulled close to Naruto . She gritted her teeth and spun to face him. At the same time, she performed a double-handed incantation gesture, after which the shocking image of a tree leaf appeared on her forehead.

The tree leaf was emerald green, and as soon as it appeared, a strong life force appeared in Li Ling'er. A magic bottle materialized in front of her, which she grabbed and threw toward Naruto .

"I knew you would use that move," he said coolly, waving his sleeve. The 33 Immortal souls behind him emanated shocking power, and the magic bottle instantly shattered.

Blood sprayed from Li Ling'er's mouth as she tumbled backward. In that same instant, Naruto advanced forward, spanning the distance between the two of them to appear right next to Li Ling'er. Then, he raised his hand high into the air, and, as Li Ling'er's pupils shrank with fury blazing in her eyes, smacked his palm down onto her rear end.

This was… the third time!

Li Ling'er let out a miserable shriek as pain exploded throughout her body. Her face went deathly white, and she was sent spinning, her body shaking. She looked back at Naruto with intense killing intent.

" Naruto !"

"Ah, what a familiar feeling," he said with a cool smile. With that, he paid no further attention to Li Ling'er. He had not even used his full power when fighting Zhao Yifan. Rather, he was taking his time to get accustomed to the various degrees of battle prowess that he could display. You could say that the true Immortal Chosen had come to fight him successively. However, this was the optimal situation for Naruto ; he needed continuous fights like this in order to adapt to his newfound battle prowess in the quickest possible manner.

Now, he had mostly finished adapting, and his eyes glittered brightly as he looked out into the starry sky.

At this point, all of the spectators out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were looking at Naruto and his power. This overt display of might caused everyone in the Immortal Realm to be filled with fear, and even caused members of the Ancient Realm to stare in shock.

"He's the… number one figure in the Immortal Realm!"

"He's just fighting the true Immortal Chosen to hone himself! It's like when a mighty sword is forged from divine metal that still need to be sharpened after it comes out of the fire!"

"It's possible that the only person who could be his match is, not someone from his generation, but… someone from the Elder generation!" Discussions raged in all corners of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Naruto hovered there in the starry sky, looking around calmly as he said, "Chosen! Are there any of you left who dare to fight me! If not, then I have some personal matters to handle." He looked down at Planet East Victory, and his eyes flickered coldly.

If you followed his line of sight, you would see… that he was looking at Namikaze Wei, who hovered in midair above Planet East Victory.

Namikaze Wei opened his eyes slowly and calmly.

In the instant that they looked at each other, the rumbling sound of teleportation portals could be heard, as three more portals appeared.

Naruto frowned, and originally planned to ignore them and head directly toward Planet East Victory. However, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and turned toward one of the teleportation portals. His eyes suddenly widened, and an expression of disbelief appeared on his face.

"You're not dead?"

A young man walked out of the teleportation portal. He was tall and slender, and although he did not look physically imposing, anyone who looked at him would be able to tell that his fleshly body was terrifyingly powerful.

"No, I'm still alive," he said.

Something that looked like a star rotated slowly on his forehead. However, if you examined it closely, you would see that there were several other stars in the same position, that seemed to have been sealed, causing them to flicker somewhere between illusory and corporeal.

It was…

Uchiha Tengfei!

Almost in the same moment that Uchiha Tengfei appeared, a figure emerged from the second teleportation portal. She floated out, surrounded by a boundless mist of Karma.

Within the mist, her cold and emotionless eyes pierced out toward Naruto , intense to the extreme.

She was… Hebi Yin!

The last teleportation portal opened, and another young man appeared. He looked like a scholar, and even carried a bamboo scroll in his hand. He looked over at Naruto and smiled in a way that seemed sincere, but actually contained boundless coldness. There even seemed to be a hint of jealously buried deep inside.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki , I am Zhou Shui, from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. My master commanded me to come here. Please give me some face by fighting with me for a bit."

"Taking turns to fight me?" replied Naruto . "When will this end?! Do you really think that I won't dare to kill people with all of your sects looking on!?" His eyes gleamed with intense coldness, but his words were even colder.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 990

Chapter 990: Gods vs. Immortals!

Naruto glanced over the three. Although he was a little taken aback by the appearance of Uchiha Tengfei, he still chose to speak in this manner.

The faces of these three newcomers didn't flicker in the slightest in response to his words. As for Hebi Yin, her face wasn't even visible.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki , my master is from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite–" said Zhou Shui. He was smiling on the surface, but his heart was as cold as ice. Before he could finish speaking Naruto looked directly at him, his expression frigid.

He said nothing further, but instead, advanced. 33 Immortal souls exploded with power, and his 123 meridians rotated, surging with shocking power. Instantly, he was in front of Zhou Shui, launching a punch.

Zhou Shui's eyes flickered with coldness as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. His energy rose up, causing ripples to spread out as power equivalent to 140 meridians exploded out. His Immortal souls appeared, and at the same time, a spark of flame appeared directly above his head, from within which emanated the sounds of scriptures being chanted. Instantly, Zhou Shui's aura exceeded that of Zhao Yifan.

He quickly finished his incantation gesture and then formed his hand into a palm, which he thrust out to meet Naruto 's blow.

A boom could be heard, and Zhou Shui's face fell as his entire arm vibrated. At the same time, he unleashed the full power of his cultivation base, after which a ripping sound could be heard, and the chanting of the scriptures grew louder.

"Nine Cycles Daoist Magic!" As soon as Zhou Shui's voice rang out, the chanting of scriptures surged, transforming into strange ripples that reduced the power of Naruto 's attack, nine times in a row. After the ninth reduction, the attack was easily countered by Zhou Shui's palm.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he looked over at Zhou Shui.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki , is this the full power of the Immortal Realm Paragon's attack?" he asked coolly. However, deep inside, he was shocked. Seeing what he had just seen, and feeling it personally, left him greatly shaken.

"If that's all you have, then it's time to see how you like one of my attacks." With that, rumbling emanated out of his body as… 99 Immortal dragons suddenly appeared around him.

The Immortal dragons roared, causing strange colors to flash in the air, and the Heavens to tremble. This scene caused widespread shock among the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"99 meridians!"

"The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite has profound resources hidden away!

I can't believe they have a disciple with 99 meridians!"

"That's only one short of 100. It looks like Zhou Shui isn't too happy to be fighting Naruto . If the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite had given HIM that meridian, he would have 100 right now!"

Zhou Shui's eyes flickered as the 99 dragons roared, and his Immortal souls appeared. Even as the ripples of the Nine Cycles Daoist Magic spread out, he took a deep breath, and what he absorbed was the Chakra of Heaven and Earth from the starry sky.

After taking one breath, his Immortal meridians thrummed. Immediately, the number of dragons exceeded 99. Soon there were 100, 108, 115, 127, 136… until there were a total of 148!

This scene caused everyone to be extremely shocked. Zhou Shui's aura roared into the sky, and within his eyes appeared a cold light as he looked toward Naruto and barked, "One Breath, Slay Three Corpses!"

Zhou Shui's eyes flickered with killing intent. He knew that he had no hope of actually defeating Naruto , but he still hoped to be able to fight him to a draw, and prove that he was the true Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

As he spoke, his aura surged out, and his Immortal meridians caused strands of Immortal Chakra to form a huge stream of white smoke that shot toward Naruto .

It was only one stream, but it emanated a terrifying aura that seemed capable of slaughtering anyone in the Immortal Realm. Everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea was astonished.

The only person whose expression was the same as ever was Naruto . His mouth twisted into a cold smile as his 123 Immortal meridians caused 123 portions of Immortal power to merge together into his fist. This could be counted as a secret magic that resulted from corroborating the Dao on his own to reach true Immortality.

Yet again, one punch rocketed through the air.

When Naruto fought earlier, it might have seemed like he was using all of the power that his Immortal meridians could provide. However, he had actually employed no skill whatsoever in his attacks, and had relied only on brute force to crush everyone.

Now was the first time that he was using a true Immortal secret magic, unifying the power of his Immortal meridians into one force… to deliver a true Immortal Realm attack.

The one punch generated a massive wind that caused the stars to flicker. Shockingly, numerous Soul Lamps appeared around Naruto , causing Zhou Shui to gape in shock. His eyes went wide, and even as the astonishment washed through him, Naruto 's fist slammed into the stream of smoke.

A huge boom rang out as the smoke instantly collapsed. Blood sprayed from Zhou Shui's mouth, and his body very nearly exploded. Shouting loudly, he utilized the Nine Cycles Daoist Magic, but even after reducing the power nine times, he was still sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut. Blood spurted out all over his body until he was soaked. His aura was vastly weakened, and the flame of his life force flickered on the verge of being extinguished.

"You…." he said. His face was pale, his scalp numb. Vibrations surged through his body to the point where all his Immortal meridians were about to collapse. In the midst of his astonishment, a look of terror appeared on his face, and without hesitation, he produced a jade slip which he crushed, teleporting him away immediately.

The Ninth Mountain and Sea went deathly quiet as everyone mentally replayed the image of Naruto 's attack just now.

"That's… the power of the Immortal Realm Paragon?!"

"Strong! So strong!That strike was comparable to the Ancient Realm!"

"That attack… even someone in the Ancient Realm with one extinguished soul lamp… might have a hard time fighting back against it!"

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken as Naruto turned his head to face Uchiha Tengfei and Hebi Yin.

Ji Yin's face was grim, and she backed up toward the teleportation portal. Apparently, she had decided not to attack Naruto . It was as if she had realized that Naruto , as of this moment, was someone others in the Immortal Realm couldn't beat.

Fan Dong'er's eyes were wide, and Li Ling'er's face was ashen. Zhao Yifan was smiling bitterly, and as for Taiyang Zi and the rest of the group of ten or so from earlier, all of them were sighing.

They now knew that earlier… Naruto was only fighting to get used to his cultivation base. Therefore, he let them attack him. Now… he had no need for such a thing, and if they tried to attack him again, the result would be very different.

Naruto was someone not to be provoked!

Uchiha Tengfei looked up, and the stars on his forehead flickered as he advanced by a pace.

" Naruto , I won't waste your time. One punch. Just one punch!" His eyes flickered with obsession. He had been waiting for this moment for a long time, and in fact, there was no one except the two of them who truly knew all the details of their past.

Naruto looked at Uchiha Tengfei. He was still a bit shocked to find out that Uchiha Tengfei was alive, especially considering that he had personally seen him die at the hands of the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch.

Well aware of what Naruto was wondering, Uchiha Tengfei offered an explanation, his voice soft: "The 10th Patriarch helped me."

Naruto looked back at Uchiha Tengfei silently, and his heart filled with complicated thoughts as he recalled how they had first met all those years ago. It was very likely that Uchiha Tengfei had seen the Flying RainDragon that had become one of his Immortal meridians.

"Very well!" he said, nodding.

Uchiha Tengfei's eyes gleamed with the desire to fight. As he looked at Naruto , his energy began to rise up. He possessed no secret magic, and the number of Immortal meridians that he had opened could not be considered especially outstanding in the current age.

However, he did have access to some of the deep resources built up by the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch. He also had Naruto 's Perfect Foundation, as well as the bloodline power he had acquired in the moment of becoming a true Immortal.

That bloodline power was something shocking even in the Uchiha Clan because it was so rare!

It was the power of Gods!

In the Uchiha Clan, this bloodline power of Uchiha Tengfei was the power of a God!

What he walked, was not the path of Immortal Ascension. What he walked… was the path of Godly Ascension!

This battle was a fight between Gods and Immortals!

Uchiha Tengfei threw his head back and roared. Cracking sounds emanated out from his body, and in the blink of an eye…. he grew until he was 30 meters tall. 300 meters tall. 3,000 meters…. He looked completely and utterly shocking to anyone who saw him, and the area around him instantly filled with rifts and fissures.

He continued to grow larger with maddening speed, and within a few breaths of time, he was directly in front of Naruto , a giant fully 6,000 meters tall!

The sudden appearance of this giant filled Naruto 's mind with shock, and caused him to think back to the vision he had experienced in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite Temple, in which he saw a giant. That giant actually looked very similar to Uchiha Tengfei! 1

Both had thick, tough skin covered with magical symbols, and both had stars on their foreheads. The main difference was that the giant in his vision had more stars than Uchiha Tengfei!

All cultivators who saw what was happening were shocked. Uchiha

Tengfei roared, causing a chaotic, primeval sensation to fill the hearts of anyone who heard it. His right hand clenched into a fist and he punched out toward Naruto .

That fist flew like a gigantic meteor, heading toward Naruto with shocking speed.

Naruto 's expression was one of concentration. He was aware that there was something special about the Uchiha Clan. He had been able tell that from the strange divine ability used by Uchiha Mu earlier. In fact, he had even experienced other strange Uchiha Clan divine abilities on Planet Ninshu . However, he had never imagined that the Uchiha Clan blood contained… the power of Gods!

"Just exactly how powerful was the first Patriarch of the Uchiha Clan?" he thought. He had no idea what era that Uchiha Clan Patriarch lived in, but he was now intensely curious about him. However, now was not the time to ponder such matters. He clenched his right hand tightly into a fist, causing popping sounds to ring out. Then, he unleashed his secret magic, causing his 123 Immortal meridians to fuse with the power of his true Immortal fleshly body.

It was as if his fleshly body was now 123 times more powerful, and as he punched out, the starry sky around him was shattered. The power contained in his fist caused the hearts of all observing cultivators to quiver.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto flew up to make contact with Uchiha Tengfei's fist. When the two slammed into each other, a huge boom echoed out. Stars collapsed and the Heavens went dark. A massive, ringlike shockwave spread out in all directions.

Blood sprayed out of Uchiha Tengfei's mouth as he was sent staggering backward. His enormous body rapidly shrank in size, and after falling back more than ten paces, he was back to normal, his face ashen. He coughed up a few more mouthfuls of blood, and his right arm appeared to be completely shattered. He looked up at Naruto .

"I'm definitely going to defeat you one day!" he said, sounding incredibly determined. With that, he turned, coughed up another mouthful of blood, and then transformed into a beam of light which shot off into the distance.

Naruto stood there silently. He slowly lowered his fist to find that his arm was trembling. Uchiha Tengfei's staggering power contained a domineering force that could destroy everything. Naruto looked down at the back of his hand, and the wound that had been left behind there.

This was actually the first time he had been injured while fighting these Chosen.

"Godly power…." he thought, eyes flickering with anticipation.

"Now, it's time to take care of that personal matter…." He looked down toward Planet East Victory, and Namikaze Wei, who hovered there in midair. Once again, their gazes locked.

" Namikaze Wei!" he said softly, shooting toward Planet East Victory under the shocked gazes of everyone present!

" Namikaze Naruto!" Namikaze Wei's eyes gleamed with obsession as he began to fly up to meet Naruto .

Down on the ground below, Namikaze Xiushan's eyes flickered with a venomous, murderous intent. Namikaze Wei's grandfather narrowed his eyes. Within his hand was a jade slip that he was prepared to crush at a moment's notice.

However, he seemed to be hesitating. Once he crushed that jade slip… there would be no turning back.

The visions of the giant were in chapters 807, 812, and 819 ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 991

Chapter 991: Namikaze Wei vs. Naruto !

Naruto had been waiting for this battle for a very long time. However, to him, it was not some destined battle of fate, but rather, merely something that would happen in the course of getting his possessions back.

In contrast, it WAS a destined battle of fate for Namikaze Wei.

To him, a defeat in this fight would be unacceptable. To lose would mean to lose everything, and he could not allow something like that to happen. He could not allow someone to trample upon his position as Chosen within the clan.

What most people saw was only the glory that he had achieved. They did not see how hard he had worked, earnestly and obsessively, after Naruto had left the clan. When Naruto left, it was as if a giant mountain had been removed, giving him the qualifications to rise to prominence. He had assumed that from then on, his entire life would be like that. He had devoted himself to rising to prominence, sparing no cost to reach his goal, which was… to lead his clan to greater glory.

He would propagate the name of the Namikaze Clan, and eventually, years later, would become a clan Patriarch.

However, all of that… changed as soon as Naruto returned.

"Why did you have to come back!?" The killing intent in Namikaze Wei's eyes surged, and he roared. He then soared up like a shooting star, performing a double-handed incantation gesture. The aura of reincarnation roiled out from him, as did the will of the Yellow Springs. He bit the tip of his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood mist, then began to mumble a bizarre incantation.

This was a secret magic!

A Namikaze Clan secret magic!

As the chant echoed out, intense loud popping sounds rang out from

Namikaze Wei as his 98 Immortal meridians soared out and transformed into 98 Immortal dragons, which then shot toward the incoming Naruto .

Also, thanks to the unleashing of his secret magic, over 40 additional illusory dragons joined them. Added together, there were a total of 143. Heaven and Earth shook violently.

When being used by Namikaze Wei, the Namikaze Clan secret magic increased his Immortal meridians by roughly fifty percent!

Behind him, Immortal souls appeared, a total of 14, causing Namikaze Wei's energy to soar madly.

Everything that was happening shook the hearts of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. They watched Namikaze Wei, and sighed inwardly. The members of the Namikaze Clan looked on silently.

"First there was Namikaze Naruto and now there's Namikaze Wei…. On the one hand, for a clan to produce two Chosen like this is a sign of future prosperity. On the other hand, if things aren't handled with care, it will inevitably lead to one of those glorious figures being extinguished."

"Prince Wei of the Namikaze Clan was their number one Chosen in the past.

He opened 98 meridians and shook all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Ah, what a pity…."

"He had one less meridian than Zhou Shui; the difference between them wasn't much. If Naruto hadn't come along… then those two, along with Zhao Yifan, would be the only three qualified to compete over the status of being the most powerful blazing sun among the Chosen!"

As the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea sighed, Namikaze Wei's cultivation base exploded with power, and he shot toward Naruto through the air above Planet East Victory. By this point, they were only about 300 meters apart.

The two of them looked like meteors, one streaking down from the sky, the other shooting up from the ground. Everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, including the cultivators of Planet East Victory, and the members of the Namikaze Clan, watched with trembling hearts. Namikaze Wei and Naruto were moving so fast… that sonic booms turned into massive, circular ripples that spread out in all directions!

Then, they slammed into each other!

A huge boom shook everything, sending innumerable ripples out in all directions, causing even the Heavens to tremble. A massive wind sprang up, causing Heaven and Earth to dim, and the heavenly bodies to shake.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he launched a single punch backed with the explosive power of 123 Immortal meridians. A huge boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of Namikaze Wei's mouth as he was sent rocketing back down toward the ground.

It seemed as if victory had been determined in the first exchange. Naruto was now an Immortal Realm Paragon, someone who wasn't even fazed by the combined might of ten true Immortal Chosen. They had ended up having destiny forcibly attached to them with A Writ of Karma. Furthermore, he had forced even Fan Dong'er and Li Ling'er into retreat, had outshined Zhao Yifan, and had forced Zhou Shui from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, with his 99 meridians, to flee in fear.

Namikaze Wei was also a Chosen. But the things Naruto was able to do… he simply could not!

To the audience in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, there was just too much of a disparity. In fact, it would be most accurate to say that this battle was really a formality… a formality to officially replace a Chosen of the Namikaze Clan.

All of the members of the Namikaze Clan realized this, and therefore, no one interfered. They all just watched silently.

As Namikaze Wei fell down to the ground, many people sighed inwardly.

Naruto looked down at Namikaze Wei and slowly said, " Namikaze Wei, you're no match for me. Now take out what belongs to me and return it. Everything is over now. If you don't comply… then I won't hold back any further."

Namikaze Wei's body was soaked in blood. His hair was in disarray, and his expression was one of complete viciousness. After falling down about 3,000 meters, he suddenly came to a stop and looked up, his eyes bloodshot. Glaring at Naruto , he began to laugh uproariously.

" Namikaze Naruto, did you really think our battle would end so quickly?! Do you really think you can win so easily?" Shrill laughter rang out as Namikaze Wei suddenly flew back up into the air, his eyes filled with madness and veins of blood.

"If you want to take back what belongs to you, then you should show some skill and take them away!

"Unfortunately… I'm not going to give you that chance!" Namikaze Wei's laughter was filled with insanity as it echoed out. His right hand shot up, and he slapped his palm down onto his forehead.

When that happened, a bizarre aura suddenly exploded out of him, causing his energy to skyrocket. His face twisted viciously, and blue veins popped out as he let out a piercing shriek.

Naruto 's eyes widened as he realized that this aura coming off of Namikaze Wei was actually very familiar, causing him to look at Namikaze Wei with a complex expression.

"My Nirvana Fruits, huh…?" he murmured. All of the cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, especially the Chosen, were gradually shifting their focus to Namikaze Wei, and they looked shocked.

The members of the Namikaze Clan looked on blankly. They could clearly see the newly added illusory dragons around Namikaze Wei, which increased the total number of Immortal dragons to a total of 143!

However, that wasn't what shocked them. They gasped as they saw Namikaze Wei's energy increasing rapidly. He roared, as… shockingly… more Immortal meridians appeared!

One by one, illusory Immortal meridians popped out. 153. 163. 173….

In conjunction with the appearance of these new Immortal meridians, Namikaze Wei's energy soared, drawing excited discussion from all the onlookers. Zhao Yifan and all the other Chosen were dumbstruck.

"What secret magic is Namikaze Wei using? I can't believe… I can't believe he's so strong!"

"Inconceivable! His Immortal meridians were already increased by nearly fifty percent thanks to some secret magic. That, I can understand. But I never could have imagined that he would have another method to add even more Immortal meridians! They might be illusory, but… they're still Immortal meridians!"

"Could it be that he used some forbidden magic? But… I've never heard of any forbidden magic that could unleash such unbelievable power!" The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a total uproar.

As for the Dao Realm Patriarchs from the other sects, they were filled with complete shock.

The Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch's face flickered with complex emotions. He understood exactly what was happening, and sighed silently.

Underneath the ancestral mansion, the six other Patriarchs looked on silently. Only the Seventh Patriarch frowned and glanced over at the Sixth Patriarch with a dark look.

On the surface of Planet East Victory, Namikaze Xiushan looked very excited at what was happening. All of a sudden, hope flickered in his heart.

"Perhaps Wei'er can actually win!"

Even Namikaze Wei's grandfather looked on with glittering eyes. He loosened his grip on the jade slip he had been about to crush. That was his last resort, and he didn't want to enact the plan too early.

After all, complete preparations hadn't been made.

Naruto didn't say anything as the aura of his own Nirvana Fruits grew stronger and stronger on Namikaze Wei. Although the onlookers didn't understand exactly what was happening, he understood.

" Namikaze Naruto!" Namikaze Wei let out a mighty roar, and booming sounds could be heard as his clothes were shredded. His body began to expand, and in the blink of an eye he was much taller. His Chakra and blood surged like that of an Immortal Divinity.

The Immortal dragons around him increased rapidly. Rumbling sounds could be heard as, shockingly, more Immortal meridians appeared! 183 was not the limit! Suddenly, there were 192!

That was an increase of 49 meridians!

Everyone was now paying rapt attention to what was happening!

"He had 98 of his own meridians, used a secret magic to add 45, and then unleashed a Daoist magic similar to a forbidden magic that actually added more Immortal meridians, equivalent to half of his original maximum!"

"192 meridians! This Namikaze Wei… is completely Heaven-defying!"

"I thought this battle was going to be a simple formality. I never imagine that Namikaze Wei would perform so shockingly. Just… how is he doing this!?" The Ninth Mountain and Sea was astir, and the Chosen up in

the starry sky watched with wide eyes and gaping mouths. First there was Naruto becoming their complete and utter superior. Then something happened that they never could have imagined. Namikaze Wei… performed similarly shocking feats!

"I can't believe… that all the destiny of the Ninth Mountain and Sea has ended up in the hands of the Namikaze Clan!"

"Two blazing suns, both from a single clan!"

"It's too bad these two don't get along!"

As of this moment, the Dao Realm Patriarchs of the various sects and clans looked on with glittering eyes. Naruto 's appearance on the scene left them moved. Namikaze Wei's dazzling performance caused them to suddenly have a new understanding of the nature of the Namikaze Clan.

"The Namikaze Clan is incredible!"

"Either Namikaze Naruto or Namikaze Wei could become the blazing sun of this generation!"

"This battle between these two members of the Junior generation… is turning out to be quite interesting."

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in a stir as Namikaze Wei slowly looked up at Naruto . He was now much stronger than before, and fully nine meters tall. His energy surged; he was surrounded by 192 roaring Immortal dragons, and was backed by 19 Immortal souls.

"Like I said, Namikaze Naruto, our battle won't end so easily!" He looked at Naruto , and his eyes brimmed with both madness and the desire to fight. Killing intent swirled as he began to advance. Heaven and Earth trembled, the wind screamed, and the heavenly bodies went dim.

"One Thought Reincarnation Incantation!" Namikaze Wei extended both hands and then waved them out, causing an enormous, shocking vortex to appear in front of him.

The vortex was both black and white, and as it spun, it emanated a shocking aura of reincarnation!

Naruto 's eyes gleamed coldly, and his gaze fell onto Namikaze Wei like a sharp sword.

"You're using what belongs to me, and yet… you're still too weak."

Vol. 6 : Chapter 992

Chapter 992: I Haven't Lost Yet!

When Namikaze Wei heard Naruto 's calm voice, he threw his head back and laughed. The laughter became shrill as he performed an incantation gesture, causing the black and white vortex to rotate rapidly as it began to move toward Naruto .

In the blink of an eye, the vortex was nearly 300 meters wide. It was spinning so fast that the black and white now merged together into a gray color, like that of death. However, within that death, there was also life.

That… was reincarnation!

Namikaze Wei exploded with all of the power his Immortal meridians could muster; 192 meridians became 192 Immortal dragons, which roared as they soared around the vortex, adding to its power and making it spin even faster.

Namikaze Wei's 19 Immortal souls stepped forward and seemed to hurl the vortex toward Naruto .

The vortex grew even larger, until it was 3,000 meters wide!

Rumbling filled the air, causing all observing cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to shake with astonishment. The members of the Namikaze Clan were completely shocked!

As of this moment, Namikaze Wei… was far more powerful than anyone could have imagined, so much so that many people were starting to question their assessment of him.

"Immortal Realm Paragon Naruto … might lose?"

Naruto hovered in midair, looking at the incoming reincarnation vortex. His eyes shone with a cold light. The fact that Namikaze Wei could unleash 192 Immortal meridians wasn't too surprising to him.

What surprised him was that the Nirvana Fruit inside his own bag of holding could increase his own Immortal meridians by double, whereas the Nirvana Fruits Namikaze Wei had could only increase his by half.

"Are my Nirvana Fruits just not as good as the first generation

Patriarch's?" he thought. "Or is it just that they aren't perfectly suitable for Namikaze Wei?" Not quite willing to accept that his fruits were inferior, Naruto snorted coldly and then slowly raised his hand. Inside of him, 123 Immortal meridians began to thrum as he unleashed his own secret magic, fusing them all together into… the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

A blood-colored head suddenly ripped apart the air to appear in front of Naruto 's palm. Its expression was vicious, and it emanated a bright red glow in all directions. It did not roar or snarl, but it let out an indescribable pressure that rippled out in all directions.

This Immortal meridian Blood Demon head was incredibly powerful. Right now… the power of 123 Immortal meridians exploded out, causing the Blood Demon head to rapidly grow. In the blink of an eye, it was 3,000 meters tall!

Its growth was incredibly shocking, and in fact, the Blood Demon head rapidly reached a critical point where it transformed from illusory into corporeal!

Its expression was vicious; it had a single long horn, and blood-colored skin. Furthermore, anyone who looked at it suddenly experienced a pressure that made their own blood feel like it was suddenly going out of control. This feeling spread through all of Planet East Victory.

This Blood Demon head was so powerful that not even Blood Demon himself, when he was in the same realm in years past, would have been able to create such a powerful instance of this magical art.

The fact that Naruto was an Immortal Realm Paragon meant that any of his magical techniques and divine abilities could be bolstered to 123 times their original power by his secret magic! That made them… the most powerful Immortal abilities in the entire Realm!

Behind him were 33 shocking Immortal souls. 33 Heavens descended, spreading out in all directions, causing colorful winds to swirl around him.

As all of this happened, time seemed to slow down. The cultivators on Planet East Victory stopped breathing, and the observers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea stared unblinking.

Namikaze Wei screamed as he went all out, sending his reincarnation vortex closer and closer to Naruto .

Naruto pushed out with his hand, causing the Blood Demon head to suddenly roar, a sound which transformed into the only sound that existed in all Heaven and Earth.

ROOOAARRRR!

The deafening sound was accompanied by surging red light as the Blood Demon head shot toward the reincarnation vortex.

3,000 meters. 1,500 meters. 900 meters…

In the blink of an eye, the reincarnation vortex and the Blood Demon head slammed into each other.

When they did, the land below seemed to roll like waves. Booms echoed out as mountain peaks crumbled and rivers exploded. Even the seas on the planet began to boil.

It was the same everywhere. Lands quaked, mountains shook. Even the Heavens seemed to be on the verge of being torn asunder. A huge rift appeared up above that rapidly spread out.

If you looked closely, that rift was actually a roiling shockwave which spread out with astonishing speed.

The reincarnation vortex was instantly shattered into countless fragments that exploded out in all directions. The Blood Demon head's smashing attack caused the 192 Immortal dragons to let out miserable roars and begin to shatter into pieces.

In addition, the 19 Immortal souls also crumbled, one by one!

When the vortex exploded, a blast of reincarnation aura spread out, transforming into something like a mouth that… began to swallow up the Blood Demon head.

In that moment, Naruto 's eyes went wide and he waved a finger through the air.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Blood Demon fell apart, transforming into 123 Blood Dragons, which roared and shredded the enormous mouth to pieces. As they flew out, they looked dimmer than before, but not a single one was destroyed. They then began to swirl around Naruto , causing him to look like both a Blood Demon and a Blood Immortal!

It was a simple, direct, single attack!

Naruto 's strength as an Immortal Realm Paragon caused everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to be shaken, and the images they were watching were firmly planted in their memories.

The wind screamed, and rumbling sounds filled the air as Naruto hovered there, looking down at Namikaze Wei. He sighed inwardly.

Naruto could see that Namikaze Wei was actually not a fundamentally evil person. He was simply too proud, and could not accept defeat.

"Hand them over!" said Naruto calmly as he descended toward Namikaze Wei, causing Heaven and Earth to rumble. Instead, Namikaze Wei threw his head back and laughed.

Blood spurted out of him, and he trembled as he staggered backward. His skin was in shreds, and he almost looked like nothing more than a mass of blood.

Even as he laughed shrilly, a gleam of obsession could be seen in his eyes.

"I haven't lost yet!" he cried. "I'm Namikaze Wei. How could I ever lose!?"

He stood there shaking, a ferocious expression on his face as he laughed shrilly. People saw his glory, but they didn't see the endless days and nights he had spent maniacally focused on cultivation. While other people had been feasting and chatting with family, he had been out fighting and killing! When other people had been falling in love, he had remained in his secluded meditation. He had endured all the loneliness, and the relentless passage of time!

He only had one goal, and that was to surpass everyone else! He wanted to be the number one Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea! He didn't care about what his father did to others in the sect, nor what plans his grandfather had.

The only thing he cared about was becoming the future Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan!

Because of that, when his grandfather had offered him the two Nirvana Fruits, he hadn't hesitated for a second. He had immediately chosen to absorb them. Because of that, when he kneeled, trembling, in front of the Sixth Patriarch, Namikaze Wei had chosen to agree to his demands.

He knew that his father had sent people to kill Naruto on his way back to the sect, but he didn't care. To him, Naruto was nothing more than a brief memory.

This was true even though the Nirvana Fruits he was using belonged to Naruto ; he simply didn't care. After all, he had always viewed himself as the true number one Chosen in the clan. Everything… already belonged to him.

" Namikaze Naruto, if I lose, then of course you can have what belongs to you. But as of this moment, I haven't lost yet!" As he looked up at Naruto , the blood that covered his face made him look even more vicious than before.

He threw his back and laughed, and suddenly, the aura of reincarnation vanished, to be replaced… by a towering will of death!

This was the One Thought Yellow Springs Dao!

It was the second most powerful signature Daoist magic of the Namikaze

Clan! Only the One Thought Stellar Transformation was more powerful!

To cultivate this magic, one must first die. Then, in death, they had to find a sliver of life. That sliver of life would prevent the soul from dying, and cause the body to merge into the gap between life and death, then form an actual Dao of life and death.

As the aura exploded out, Naruto 's eyes flickered. Down below, Namikaze Xiushan's expression was cruel as he glared at Naruto . Namikaze Wei's current condition filled him with pain, but his desire to see Naruto dead was even stronger. In fact, if he had the chance… he would directly kill him.

"Killing him will bring a conclusion to everything. Even if I descend into the underworld because of it, I'm willing!" Namikaze Xiushan gnashed his teeth as he continued to conceal the killing intent deep within his eyes.

Namikaze Wei's energy was soaring higher and higher. He let out a cry of intense pain, but the more painful it got, the more his eyes shone with obsession, and the more his aura rose explosively.

192 Immortal dragons soared around him, slashing at the air. It was as this point that dumbfounded expressions began to appear on the faces of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. That was because, shockingly, more Immortal dragons began to appear around Namikaze Wei!

199\. 207. 213….

One Immortal dragon after another appeared, shredding the air, causing the stars to tremble. Numerous rifts were torn into the sky around Namikaze Wei.

221\. 234…. His Immortal meridians were exploding out!

It kept going until… he reached 241 meridians!

By this time the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were mindblown. They were speechless, and the members of the Namikaze Clan were in a complete uproar. In the ancestral mansion, the Grand Elder looked blankly up into the sky at Namikaze Wei and Naruto , and he let out a long sigh.

"He… he actually added 49 more meridians!"

"If there was no Naruto , Namikaze Wei… would definitely be the Immortal

Realm Paragon of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!"

" Namikaze Wei is equally as inhuman as Naruto ! Just what method is he using to do that!?"

"241 meridians! There isn't anybody who's done that in ANY generation of Immortals in the Ninth Mountain and Sea! According to the legends, the actual complete limit is 330 meridians, but that's nothing more than a legend!"

The Chosen out in the starry sky felt their minds spinning. They were filled with bitterness that the Namikaze Clan… could have Naruto and Namikaze Wei. Never would any of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea be able to forget the Namikaze Clan!

The Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch hovered silently out in the starry sky. He wanted to step in and intervene, but hesitated. He knew that if he did do something to stop what was happening… he might lose both of them. "Hao'er… did you come back to the clan for the sole purpose of Immortal Ascension? To prove yourself?" The Earth Patriarch's eyes gleamed with a profound light.

"If so, then will those people who have been lurking hidden within the clan… finally reveal themselves?"

Vol. 6 : Chapter 993

Chapter 993: Upheaval in the Namikaze Clan!

Namikaze Wei's voice echoed out across the lands of Planet East Victory. He had 241 Immortal meridians, and 241 Immortal dragons swirled through the air around him, emitting roars which caused winds to surge, and the land to quake.

" Namikaze Naruto!" Namikaze Wei looked up, his expression fierce and filled with madness. His body continued to grow, making him taller and more muscular.

Shockingly, 24 Immortal souls towered up behind him, transforming into 24 Heavens, emitting a pressure that caused anyone who felt it to pant. Gradually, they began to resist Naruto 's 33 Heavens!

This was something that had never occurred before, and was something no other Chosen could possibly accomplish. Only Namikaze Wei could succeed in contending against Naruto 's 33 Heavens!

33 Heavens was the limit for Immortals, and marked one as Paragon of the Realm. However, as of this moment, an intensely powerful energy rose up from Namikaze Wei.

Naruto 's eyes widened as the aura of the Nirvana Fruits Namikaze Wei possessed grew even stronger. In fact, when he closed his eyes, he could clearly sense the two Nirvana Fruits in operation in Namikaze Wei's forehead.

At the same time, far beneath the Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion, the Seventh Patriarch, along with the other six Patriarchs, saw Namikaze Wei exploding with 241 meridians. The Seventh Patriarch was clearly shocked, and deep within the Sixth Patriarch's eyes, impossible for anyone to detect, was a glint of joy and excitement.

"He's grown up…." murmured the Sixth Patriarch, who then closed his eyes.

Up above, Namikaze Wei's energy surged, and 241 Immortal dragons spun through the air with him as their nucleus. Behind him, 24 Heavens caused everything to shake. Namikaze Wei's aura roared up. From the look of it, he was in no way ready to back down in front of Naruto .

After all, Naruto only had 123 Immortal dragons, and although each one was enormous, they were outnumbered by almost double.

However, when you looked at Naruto 's 33 Immortal souls, and his 33 Heavens, he was just as glorious as before.

" Namikaze Naruto, this is my most powerful state. If I'm defeated now, then I'll return what belongs to you. As payment for using them, I'll give you my life as well!" Namikaze Wei's eyes shone with madness as he stared at Naruto , and yet, within that madness was a glint of obsession.

Naruto 's expression grew grave as he looked back at Namikaze Wei and nodded.

As of this moment, Naruto couldn't make himself hate Namikaze Wei anymore. The current situation was just the result of the outworkings of chance.

"Let's fight!" Namikaze Wei roared, throwing his head back and laughing. He stepped forward, performing an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing a river to appear in front of him!

The river was yellow, and within it floated innumerable dead souls that let out vicious howls. In the blink of an eye, the river became matchlessly large. It was… the Yellow Springs!

This was the quintessence of the One Thought Yellow Springs Dao, a manifestation of the Yellow Springs, as if it represented the underworld and its power. A mysterious ripple spread out from the Yellow Springs, shaking all the Heavens, and rocking the minds of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Even more shocking was that there wasn't just a single manifestation of the Yellow Springs. Instead… there were 241! They materialized in front of Namikaze Wei, causing everything to shake and tremble. Even the sky above was tinged yellow in color.

Trembling, veins popping out on his face, Namikaze Wei waved his hands, then pointed toward Naruto and roared.

Rumbling filled the air as the 241 Yellow Springs shot toward Naruto . In the blink of an eye, they filled the entire area and seemed to be on the verge of completely overwhelming him.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and waved. His Immortal meridians rumbled, causing his 123 Immortal meridians to manifest outside of him, not as Immortal dragons, but instead, as chains of mountains!

Chains of Immortal mountains!

123 chains of mountains descended, each one of which caused Heaven and Earth to tremble. Naruto seemed to be surrounded by boundless mountains, all of which emanated Immortal might as they spread out in all directions. Naruto stood in the very center of all the mountains, as if he was their Lord!

He faced the Yellow Springs, extending his right hand and pointing. Rumbling could be heard as all of the mountains began to rotate in the air and then shoot toward the Yellow Springs.

The Yellow Springs might be mysterious, but the mountains could suppress them!

Chains of mountains crushed down onto the Yellow Springs!

The cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea felt their chests tightening as they watched.

Rumbling rose up as the mountain chains crushed down. The Yellow Springs rose up, and the two forces slammed into each other. Each and every one of the Yellow Springs were destroyed, and all of the mountains collapsed. The scene playing out in the sky right now was like a painting. A massive, destructive explosion caused everything to shake, and even caused cracks to appear in the sky.

This was no longer the power of Immortals. Not even cultivators of the Ancient Realm who had extinguished one Soul Lamp could unleash divine abilities with this level of power. The cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were completely shaken.

Blood sprayed from Namikaze Wei's mouth, and his expression was vicious as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then raised his arms above him, towards the sky. Eyes filled with madness, he roared,"Yellow Springs Dao!"

As his words rang out, the shattered Yellow Springs all began to swirl back towards him. Vast amounts of yellow waters transformed into a rain which flowed towards him from all directions. Then, in the blink of an eye, the water began to reform.

It turned into a majestic…. authentic Yellow Springs that caused Heaven and Earth to grow dim!

This was not the Yellow Springs of the Fourth Mountain, this was a manifestation of Namikaze Wei's Immortal meridians, merged together to form his own Yellow Springs. The aura of reincarnation appeared, causing all the lands to quake, and the Heavens to grow dark.

As of now, the only thing that seemed to exist… was his matchlessly majestic Yellow Springs, fully 30,000 meters long!

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but shockingly, 24 Immortal souls also appeared within the Yellow Springs. They might be Namikaze Wei's Immortal souls, but as of this moment… they were Underworld Judges of the Yellow Springs!

24 Underworld Judges, each one of which had a peak Immortal Realm cultivation base. The Yellow Springs was their weapon, and as for Namikaze Wei… he was like their Yama King of Hell! 1

"With the Dao of the Yellow Springs, I will eradicate the soul of the Immortal Realm Paragon!" Namikaze Wei cried madly, waving his hand out to point at Naruto .

As of this moment, all of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea gasped. The crowds on Planet East Victory were astonished, and the faces of the members of the Namikaze Clan flickered.

" Namikaze Wei is so incredibly powerful!"

"So that is the One Thought Yellow Springs Dao!?"

"No wonder it's referred to as a signature Daoist magic! It materializes the Yellow Springs, establishes Underworld Judges, and manifests a Yama King…. Does that mean that the Namikaze Clan's first generation

Patriarch actually had some connection to the Fourth Mountain?"

"This is a true battle of pinnacles, which I didn't think I would be able to see because Naruto was just too powerful! I never thought that I would be able to bear witness to something like this!"

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was shaken. Back on Planet Ninshu , Namikaze Minato and Kushina were getting nervous. All of Naruto 's friends were also starting to feel anxious. Meanwhile, out in the starry sky was the boat that no one could see. The egotistical young man from earlier was also watching the scene with wide eyes.

For the first time, a sense of deadly crisis welled up inside of Naruto .

He looked at Namikaze Wei, and had to admit… that he truly was a Chosen.

The Yellow Springs rumbled toward Naruto , and the 24 Immortal soul Underworld Judges inside of it all launched attacks.

Naruto took a deep breath. The gleam in his eyes that was the desire to do battle grew stronger, stronger than it had ever been when he had faced against the previous true Immortal Chosen.

Within his right eye, a starstone appeared, which transformed into starlight that floated out above Naruto 's palm. In the blink of an eye, starlight had covered his entire body.

"One Thought, Stellar Transformation!" Naruto said. If you discounted his Demon Sealing Hexing Magics and the Paragon Bridge, One Thought Stellar Transformation was the most powerful divine ability that he could unleash!

Boundless starlight covered Naruto , making it look like he wasn't a cultivator any more. As the boundless light spread out, as the starstone surrounded him, he transformed into a planet!

This was no ordinary planetary Daoist magic, this was formed from Naruto 's true Immortal secret magic, the unleashing of 123 times the power of One Thought Stellar Transformation!

This planet was 3,000 meters wide, and when it appeared, all cultivators who were watching thought back to how they had seen the same magic before, when Naruto used it to batter open the Door of Immortality.

"One Thought Stellar Transformation!" The members of the Namikaze Clan were all dumbfounded.

At the same time, Naruto in planet-form shot toward the Yellow Springs. All eyes were on him… as he made the decisive final move in the fight!

The planet rumbled as it moved at top speed. Namikaze Wei was going all out with all of the battle prowess his cultivation base could muster, not holding back the tiniest scrap.

"DIE!" Namikaze Wei roared as Yellow Springs and Naruto in planet-form slammed into each other.

A huge boom exploded out over all of Planet East Victory. The sky shattered and the ground boomed. Namikaze Wei let out a howl of defiance as his Yellow Springs were shattered. His Immortal souls exploded, incapable of standing up to the enormous planet.

Even still, the planet began to shrink rapidly, growing weaker. In the end, though, it still completely ripped the Yellow Springs into shreds, and crushed all 24 of the Immortal souls.

By the time the planet reached Namikaze Wei, it had shrunk down to only about 3 meters wide. It smashed into him, whereupon the cracking sound of shattering bones could be heard.

Blood sprayed from Namikaze Wei's mouth, and he began to laugh bitterly as he rocketed down toward the ground. He slammed into a mountain peak, which immediately collapsed into rubble.

Namikaze Wei's bitter laughter continued to ring through the air as blood oozed out of his mouth. His chest had been crushed to a pulp, his internal organs were shattered, and his soul was crushed. His life was nearing its end.

"Come on… take back what belongs to you!" said Namikaze Wei, using his last breath to cause his words to echo out into the air. The planet faded away, and Naruto appeared. As he looked down silently at Namikaze Wei, everyone from the Ninth Mountain and Sea also quieted down.

"It's over," Naruto said, sighing. He continued to move forward, surrounded by silence. Just when he was about to reach Namikaze Wei, Namikaze Xiushan looked up, and killing intent boiled in his eyes. Suddenly, he performed a minor teleportation. His Ancient Realm cultivation base exploded out with the terrifying power of two extinguished Soul Lamps.

" Namikaze Naruto, it's time to die!" Namikaze Xiushan's hand shot out, and everything shook. However, even as he closed in, Naruto 's 19th Uncle flickered to appear between the two of them. Instantly, the two of them began to fight!

"Beat it!" roared Namikaze Xiushan, unleashing his most powerful divine ability.

At the same time, Namikaze Wei's grandfather was about to make a move, when the Grand Elder took a step forward and looked at him.

"Don't do anything stupid," said the Grand Elder. He sighed. "As for Wei'er, I will–"

Namikaze Wei's grandfather didn't speak. Before the Grand Elder could even finish speaking, he grinned. A look of determination appeared in his eyes as he suddenly lifted the jade slip and crushed it!

"That person was right. The Namikaze Clan needs to change a bit…" he said. "I'm only one part of the plan, responsible for the clan Elders. However, if I make a move, then everyone else… will have no choice but to act, whether they want to or not!" Namikaze Wei's grandfather suddenly cocked his head, and his cultivation base exploded with power!

The Grand Elder gaped in surprise, and his eyes filled with disbelief and shock. That was because in the moment that Namikaze Wei's grandfather crushed the jade slip, vicious expressions instantly appeared on the faces of roughly forty percent of the Namikaze Clan's Elders. Shockingly, they instantly began to attack their fellow clan members!

The Namikaze Clan was facing a huge upheaval!

In the original Chinese, there is a slight difference in the characters Er Gen uses for the "Yama Kings" but the reference is clear, so instead of making a variation on "Yama King" I'll just stick with the original. More information here. ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 994

Chapter 994: The Clan in Chaos!

The Namikaze Clan was in complete chaos!

The observing cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea gaped in shock at the scene. There had been absolutely no indications that anything like this was going to happen. All of a sudden… the entire Namikaze Clan was thrown into disarray!

At the same time, a glowing shield suddenly appeared outside of Planet East Victory, completely covering the whole planet, sealing it off!

The entire area was now isolated, allowing no one to either enter or leave without express authorization!

Sealed inside was not only everyone from Planet East Victory, but also the Chosen from the various sects and clans. They were stuck in the starry sky, looking on in shock as the turmoil played out down on the planet below.

Miserable screams rang out from the Namikaze Clan, along with roars of rage and exclamations of shock.

"You… Namikaze Zheyi, you…"

" Namikaze Haitao, what are you doing? You're my Clan Uncle!"

"This is rebellion! Are you really betraying the clan!?"

Shocking booms echoed out as roughly forty percent of the Elders in the

Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion went from watching the fight between Naruto and Namikaze Wei, to suddenly attacking their fellow clan Elders. They immediately unleashed their most vicious divine abilities.

Some Elders were punched from behind; they tumbled forward, blood spurting out all over, after which they spun around with roars of rage.

Others were attacked by multiple opponents, and before they could even react, were shredded into bits. Heads flew, and their eyes filled with looks of disbelief as they were killed in body and soul.

There were some who managed to evade the deadly attacks. Their cultivation bases surged with power as they turned, trembling with rage and disbelief to face the traitors.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

In the blink of an eye, serious injuries were inflicted on more than half of the sixty percent of the Elders who were still loyal to the clan. There were many who, because they didn't have a chance to defend themselves, were immediately slaughtered!

Blood flowed throughout the ancestral mansion.

That was the situation with the Elders. However, the chaos was not limited to them. Almost all of the members of Namikaze Wei's bloodline spun, vicious expressions on their faces as they attacked their fellow clan members. Divine abilities exploded out as formerly neutral clan bloodlines also turned traitor. They instantly spun, employing vicious attacks on other clan members. Miserable shrieks could be heard as the entire clan was shaken, and countless individuals died.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Namikaze Xiangshan's mouth. She fell back in retreat as one of her Clan Sisters pursued her with killing intent.

Then there was Namikaze Yunyi. He was not among the traitors, so he looked around blankly as his entire world changed.

Namikaze Xi coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was injured by one of the other direct bloodline clan members. Namikaze Xi's expression was one of rage and indignation.

" Namikaze Shui you…."

The young man who had injured him looked on silently for a moment before attacking again, and the two began to fight bitterly.

Scenes of chaos and fighting immediately broke out in numerous locations throughout the Namikaze Clan.

The ground quaked, and buildings toppled. As the chaos spread, the ground ran red with blood. In the blink of an eye, countless individuals died.

Up in the sky, 19th Uncle and Namikaze Xiushan were fighting. Originally, 19th Uncle had only been attempting to block Namikaze Xiushan's way, but now his eyes were bloodshot, and he roared with rage as he unleashed numerous deadly attacks.

Namikaze Xiushan threw his head back and laughed harshly, his expression one of insanity.

Everything was happening too quickly. It was in almost the exact same moment that Namikaze Xiushan's way was blocked by 19th Uncle that Namikaze Wei's grandfather had crushed the jade slip, and that forty percent group of Elders attacked. Up in midair, Naruto closed in on Namikaze Wei, reached out, and was about to touch his forehead.

However, it was in that same moment that, all of a sudden, an unprecedented sense of danger exploded within his heart. That sense of danger wasn't coming from Namikaze Xiushan, nor from Namikaze Wei's grandfather, nor from the upheavals taking place in the clan. Instead, it was coming from… Namikaze Wei himself!

In that instant, a look of struggle suddenly appeared in Namikaze Wei's eyes, and suddenly, four pupils appeared, two in each eye. Then, those pupils merged together.

No one could see it happening except for Naruto . As soon as he sensed what was going on, he shot backward. In almost the same moment, rumbling sounds could be heard as the area where had just been standing collapsed. The incredible power of ten extinguished Soul Lamps of the Ancient Realm suddenly erupted out.

If Naruto had hesitated for even one breath of time, he would definitely be dead already.

At the same time, a hand suddenly emerged from the shattered sky, which then tapped down on Namikaze Wei's forehead.

"Awaken, my doppelgänger!" said an ancient voice. At the same time, Namikaze Wei's body trembled, and he let out a piercing shriek.

Up in midair, Naruto 's scalp went numb, and his expression was one of surprise. It was at this point that he turned his head and saw all of the chaos that was raging in the Namikaze Clan.

He saw countless people dying. He saw clan members attacking each other. The sight caused his mind to spin… he was completely unprepared for something like this to happen, and his heart was suddenly trembling violently.

Everywhere he looked, corpses were piling up. Up in the sky, Namikaze Clan Elders were fighting deadly battles. Down below, all of the members of the clan were going mad. The smell of blood filled the air, so concentrated that there was no way of dispersing it in the slightest.

Naruto almost couldn't believe the sudden and violent scene he was witnessing.

Planet East Victory was completely shaken, including the Medicine Immortal Sect. Even Patriarch Reliance was stunned.

If the powers on Planet East Victory were surprised, there was no need to even mention the reaction of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. When they saw what was unfolding, their minds reeled, and their eyes went wide with shock.

"This… this is impossible!"

"This is the Namikaze Clan! One of the Four Great Clans! How could they be suddenly struck with upheaval like this!?"

"The Namikaze Clan… the Namikaze Clan is descending into civil war!"

"There was a clan conspiracy! It looks like almost half of the entire clan is rebelling!"

"Something like this is going to rock the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea!" People were gasping in shock throughout all of the various sects and clans. They couldn't believe what they were seeing, that there were rivers of blood flowing through the Namikaze Clan!

" Namikaze Heshan, what are you doing!?" the Grand Elder roared at Namikaze Wei's grandfather. "You know that the Patriarchs are in the ancestral mansion in secluded meditation. An uproar like this will definitely wake them up! If even one of them comes out, he will condemn you to eternal damnation!" The Grand Elder's hair was in disarray, he was trembling, and his eyes were bloodshot as if overcome with madness. His heart was filled with pain. This was the ancestral mansion of the Namikaze Clan, a place where the Namikaze Clan had built up resources for countless years. And yet, all of a sudden, it was thrown into revolt.

Throughout the long history of the Namikaze Clan, there had never been a large-scale rebellion like this. The entire matter set the Grand Elder's blood boiling with rage as he shot toward Namikaze Heshan.

Namikaze Wei's grandfather Namikaze Heshan hovered in midair, his face grim as he looked around at the chaos. He saw everything happening in the clan, and saw the countless clan members dying. He could smell the odor of freshly spilt blood.

"What am I doing?" he asked. "This wasn't my decision. It was as that certain person said, the Namikaze Clan truly needs to change. And as for those Patriarchs you just mentioned…?" Namikaze Heshan suddenly began to laugh in a very strange fashion, and didn't say anything further. Instead, he advanced forward and began to fight with the Grand Elder.

When the Grand Elder saw the expression on Namikaze Heshan's face, his heart began to pound.

Massive booms filled the air, causing everything to tremble. Buildings in numerous locations around the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion collapsed. Craters appeared in the ground as fierce slaughtering was carried out on a grand scale.

At the same time that the massive upheavals struck the Namikaze Clan, deep in the recesses of the ancestral mansion, in the stony cavern, the Seventh Patriarch shot to his feet, his expression one of both fury and disbelief. His entire body was trembling, and he was just about to stamp his foot and fly out of the cavern to put a stop to everything.

It wasn't just him. In that same moment, other Patriarchs also rose to their feet. However, in that same moment…

All of a sudden, the Sixth Patriarch extended his hand and pushed forward, causing a powerful ripple to explode out. It instantly turned into a shield that prevented anyone from leaving.

"Ladies and gentleman, I really don't want to attack you," he said slowly. "Please wait here a moment until matters are settled up above. Then I'll let you leave peacefully."

"Old Sixth!" cried the Seventh Patriarch, spinning in place, his eyes blazing with killing intent. In this critical moment of chaos, they needed to act without hesitation, to resolve the matter instantly. Even the slightest slowness in their actions would lead to even more serious losses on the part of the clan.

Even as he spoke, he rushed toward the Sixth Patriarch.

"Do you really think that you can block all of us by yourself? Are you really going to rely only on Namikaze Heshan out there to lead the rebellion to success?" The Seventh Patriarch's rage boiled into the Heavens, and killing intent exploded out of him. However, even as he began to move forward, a snide smile appeared on the Sixth Patriarch's face.

" Namikaze Heshan of the Junior generation is just one pawn in the entire plan. As for here, do you really think I'm acting alone, Old Seventh?"

Even as the words left the Sixth Patriarch's mouth, the Seventh Patriarch's face twisted in shock as the Fourth Patriarch suddenly turned, eyes glittering with killing intent, and then attacked the Fifth Patriarch.

"Fourth Brother, what are you doing?!" Shocking booms could be heard. Everything happened too quickly. The Fifth Patriarch had a profound cultivation base, so despite being attacked unexpectedly, he was still able to rise to his feet.

At the same time, the Second Patriarch began to laugh coldly. Even as he stepped forward, the Third Patriarch's face turned pale.

The Second Patriarch was actually the second only to the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch in terms of power. He stepped forward, his aura murderous, causing the other Patriarchs' hearts to tremble.

Of the six people present, three had turned traitor!

Shocking booms could be heard as decisive attacks were unleashed in the stony cavern. Everything trembled, and blood sprayed out of

Seventh Patriarch's mouth. His expression was one of pain as he cried, "Why?!"

These six had sat in secluded meditation together for many years, and although they weren't blood brothers, in terms of their relationship with each other, it was almost as if they were. They even called each other Brother.

The person to answer the Seventh Patriarch was the most powerful among the people present, the Second Patriarch.

"Old Seventh, I really don't want to lie to you. All of this is for the sake of… the legacy of Lord asura!"

A drastic upheaval was shaking the Namikaze Clan. Booms filled the air, and all of Planet East Victory was shaking. The Dao Realm experts of the various sects and clans looked on with expressions of shock.

Meanwhile, the Earth Patriarch was in the starry sky outside of Planet East Victory. When he saw what was happening, a very strange look appeared in his eyes, although no one would be able to detect it. He saw the clan members dying down on the planet below, and knew that regardless of who won or lost, the clan would suffer huge losses in terms of their overall power. Even still, his eye continued to flicker almost as if he were sneering at the betraying clan members!

His body flickered as he prepared to charge back down to Planet East Victory. Considering the level of his cultivation base, anyone could tell that once he got there, it didn't matter how many rebels there were, they would be completely powerless beneath him!

However, in the moment that he seemed about to make his move, a cold smile appeared on the face of a certain person. This person had come to fight Naruto , but after watching his succession of victories against the other Chosen, had held back. Now, that person suddenly flickered into place directly in front of the Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch.

She was the only person among all of the other Chosen… who hadn't fought Naruto !

She was none other than the person who everyone knew to be Hebi Yin!

However, she actually wasn't Hebi Yin!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 995

Chapter 995: The Hebi Clan Makes a Move!

Everyone was watching as Hebi Yin emerged. Ripples of the Dao Realm suddenly began to spread out from her body. That was Essence aura, meaning that the ripples emanating out from her were the most powerful possible in the starry sky!

The instant the ripples surged out, Fan Dong'er and the other Chosen felt their faces fill with shock. Regardless of who it was, none of them could ever have imagined that Hebi Yin… was not actually the real Hebi Yin!

This was something that neither the Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch nor Naruto had been able to pick up clues about.

It was with complete stealth and silence that a Dao Realm expert suddenly appeared outside of Planet East Victory. It was something that caused all members of all the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea to be filled with shock.

The Dao Realm Patriarchs were all murmuring to themselves.

"The only person who could pull this off without us noticing is… one of the Hebi Clan's five almighty Dao Realm experts… Hebi Xiu Namikaze !" 1

"The Hebi Clan is incredible…."

The Earth Patriarch's face went cold as he stared at Hebi Yin and, one word at a time, said, "Ji Xiu Namikaze !"

Ji Yin began to laugh softly as the boundless Karma which surrounded her began to dissipate to reveal the face of a middle-aged woman.

" Namikaze Shoudao! Long time no see! With me here, you won't be going anywhere." This woman was exactly who the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch had just mentioned, Hebi Xiu Namikaze !

The Earth Patriarch looked at her silently, his eyes flickering with killing intent. Without any further ado, he shot forward, and the two of them began to fight.

Booms filled the air, and the starry sky shattered as the Dao Realm battle shook mountains and seas.

In almost the same moment as the two of them attacked each other, three people suddenly appeared outside the layered sealing shield that covered Planet East Victory. Each one of these people emanated ripples of the Dao Realm, and as they sat down cross-legged, rumbling sounds emanated out from them. Their cultivation bases exploded out as they reinforced the shield, causing it to become even stronger.

Now, Planet East Victory was completely and thoroughly sealed inside.

The cultivators of the other sects and clans saw what was happening, and great waves of shock battered their hearts.

This made it absolutely clear that… the upheavals in the Namikaze Clan had something to do with the Hebi Clan! Furthermore, the Hebi Clan had already made it obvious… that they were determined to come out victorious!

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was in shock. The Dao Realm Patriarchs of the various sects and clans felt coldness rising up within their hearts. That coldness was caused by the mass chaos in the Namikaze Clan, from the sudden appearance of Hebi Xiu Namikaze , and from the three almighty Dao Realm experts outside of the shield.

Up until moments ago, nobody had noticed anything unusual about Ji

Yin, and had overlooked the fact that she was the only one among the various Chosen who hadn't fought Naruto .

Now that they thought about what had happened, they realized that the plan had been carried out without a hitch. If Hebi Xiu Namikaze weren't there, Namikaze Shoudao would have quickly resolved the chaos in the Namikaze Clan.

When the Dao Realm Patriarchs realized this, the chill in their hearts grew even stronger.

"The Hebi Clan… is on the attack! They've sent four Dao Realm experts to deal with the Namikaze Clan. If you ignore Lord Hebi who is as old as the Heavens, and doesn't even count as a cultivator any more, the Hebi Clan has a total of five Dao Realm experts!"

"The Hebi Clan's Dao focuses on Karma. They haven't made a move for a long time. According to the legends, when they do, they always make sure they're one step ahead of everyone else!"

"One step ahead…. For example, the six Ancient Realm experts of the Namikaze Clan. The Hebi Clan already made arrangements for infighting among them, making it impossible for them to participate in the larger chaos. Then there's Namikaze Shoudao, who they arranged Hebi Xiu Namikaze to take care of!"

"In that case, what are those three almighty Dao Realm experts doing with that shield?" As the Dao Realm Patriarchs considered the matter quickly, their faces flickered, and they looked in the direction of the Three Great Daoist Societies.

All of a sudden, powerful ripples spread out from that direction, and rumbling sounds could be heard as figures emerged, as if the sects were mobilizing!

The Three Great Daoist Societies were going to jump into the fray!

Obviously, they would not be helping the Hebi Clan. They… would prevent the Hebi Clan from exterminating the Namikaze Clan!

At this point, everyone realized the purpose of the sealing shield around

Planet East Victory. It was obviously there to prevent the Three Great Daoist Societies, or anyone else, from easily interfering. That meant that the presence of Hebi Xiu Namikaze was even more important than ever!

Even as the energy of the Three Great Daoist Societies built up and the figures shot out, that energy suddenly began to fade. At the same time, the figures who had emerged suddenly returned to their respective sects.

The only people who were aware of this development were the Dao Realm Patriarchs, whose faces flickered as they observed.

Very quickly, their eyes went wide, and their minds began to spin.

In the Nine Seas God World, just as various figures had been preparing to go to Planet East Victory to aid the Namikaze Clan, roughly ten percent of the disciples in their sect suddenly… turned traitor!

There were even clan Elders who participated, ensuring that the Nine Seas God World was thrown into instant chaos.

A similar scene played out in the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, as well as the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. This change was incredibly sudden, and was apparently the result of years of planning that been kept secret, all for the purpose of exploding out in this moment.

Booms echoed out from the Three Great Daoist Societies. They were only small waves of internal disorder that wouldn't last for very long. No major changes would occur, but their primary goal was… to buy time!

The whole point was to delay the Three Great Daoist Societies so that they couldn't provide help for Planet East Victory!

When you added in the sealing shield, that delay could prove to be fatal.

In addition, there was an unspoken warning contained within this sudden turn of events.

The coldness in the hearts of the Dao Realm Patriarchs grew even stronger than before.

"The Namikaze Clan… is going to be eradicated! I just still find it hard to believe that a clan like that could be overthrown just like this."

"The Hebi Clan doesn't attack lightly. And when they do attack… they strike like lightning! This is a catastrophe for the Namikaze Clan…. Unfortunately, I'm worried that the Hebi Clan's machinations still haven't been fully revealed."

"The fact that the Hebi Clan was even willing to activate their sleeper cells in the Three Great Daoist Societies shows how much they want to overthrow the Namikaze Clan…. But in the end, what is the real purpose?" The Dao Realm Patriarchs remained silent, but their eyes flickered with growing rage, fury that the Hebi Clan had even included the Chosen of all the other clans in their machinations.

After all, the entire group of Chosen was now trapped just outside of Planet East Victory!

However, it didn't matter how angry the Dao Realm Patriarchs got; they had existed for many years, and weren't stupid. They knew that no matter how strong the Hebi Clan was, they didn't want to make enemies of all of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Unless the Chosen did something on their own to seek death, they would be safe. As long as they didn't interfere, then once the battle was over, they would be free to leave.

Miserable screams rang out in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion. The bitter fighting between clan members caused the entire area to be soaked with blood. As every moment passed, more members of the Namikaze Clan died.

The internal chaos caused the areas on Planet East Victory outside of the Namikaze Clan to become deathly silent.

Buildings collapsed. Structures toppled. The ground quaked. Naruto hovered in midair, looking out at what was happening, and his eyes were shot with blood. Although he didn't feel very much loyalty to the Namikaze Clan, to see all the clan members being slaughtered, to see Namikaze Xi in such danger, caused a murderous aura to explode out from within him.

He slapped his bag of holding to produce the Lightning Cauldron. Lightning danced as Naruto suddenly vanished, switching places with a clan member near Namikaze Xi.

That moment of transposition was the exact moment in which Namikaze Xi was facing imminent danger from one of the other direct bloodline clan members. Even as the man reached his finger out toward Namikaze Xi's forehead, Naruto advanced without hesitation and waved his sleeve.

A boom could be heard as the power of 123 Immortal meridians exploded out. A terrifying force smashed into the clan member who was attacking Namikaze Xi. Blood sprayed from his mouth for a moment before he exploded into chunks of gore.

Namikaze Xi laughed bitterly as he looked around, a sense of profound powerlessness filling him.

Naruto looked silently at Namikaze Xi for a moment. Then his eyes filled with determination as he began to summon the terracotta soldier. By now, even he had come to the conclusion that the clan rebellion must have been influenced by outside powers. Otherwise, the Patriarch-level experts in the clan would have appeared by now.

He had no idea about the fighting going on deep beneath the ancestral mansion, nor about the Dao Realm battle occurring out in the starry sky. But Naruto didn't need to know about those things to understand that… something very bad was happening in the clan.

However, in the moment that he called to the terracotta soldier, he also felt a powerful obstructing force spreading out to cover all of Planet East Victory. It greatly slowed the opening of the ancestral land, making it impossible for the terracotta soldier to come to him immediately.

His eyes flickered with killing intent. Continuing to call to the terracotta soldier, he turned and began to slaughter his way into the crowd. He was not at the level of an Ancient Realm expert, so he only attacked opponents of the Immortal Realm, and he did so like lightning. 33 Heavens descended, and the explosive power of the Immortal Realm exploded out. Any and all traitorous clan members of the Immortal Realm who met him let out bloodcurdling screams as they were destroyed in body and soul.

He was like an Immortal of death. Rumbling sounds could be heard as he waved his right finger, causing the forehead of a stage seven Immortal clan member to explode. Then he spun, and his cold gaze flickered toward two clan members who were speeding toward him in attack, whose hearts suddenly seized in terror. Before they could even react, Naruto shot past them, and their heads flew into the air.

A complicated expression appeared on Namikaze Yunyi's face as Naruto slaughtered the clan member who had been fighting him, then sped past. Naruto had just saved his life, and now all he could do was smile bitterly.

Explosions rang out as savage fighting was carried out.

Naruto was very adept at killing. On Planet Ninshu , he had killed many, many people.

Furthermore, he was extremely familiar with chaotic battlegrounds. The Lightning Cauldron flickered, and he vanished amidst rumbling sounds. In that moment, a nearby traitorous clan member appeared in the spot he had just occupied, which was then blasted by a combined attack of five Ancient Realm experts who had been trying to kill Naruto .

With the Lightning Cauldron, it was very difficult for anybody to pin him down in the melee. In a very short period of time, dozens of traitorous clan members died by his hand.

This was the first time he had shown such brutal savagery in the clan, and as a result, the surrounding clan members looked at Naruto with astonishment.

That was not even to mention the cultivators in the other sects and clans out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Despite the sealing shield, everyone could still use various methods to see what was happening in the Namikaze Clan. That was something the Hebi Clan didn't prevent from happening. They wanted the bitter tragedy playing out in the Namikaze Clan to be visible to all, as a threat.

However, it was at this point that massive rumbling sounds could be heard from the area in which Namikaze Wei had slammed into the mountain. Terrifying ripples began to spread out as Namikaze Wei's pupils returned to normal.

The terrifying ripples then vanished. He slowly rose up from amidst the rubble, then threw his head back and laughed.

"This doppelgänger is excellent. Wonderful…. It feels great to be so young…. Although it's weak and cannot wield the power of the Ancient Realm… this body has incredible potential. After completely fusing in the future, and turning this into my true self, the peak of the Ancient Realm will no longer be my limit!

" Namikaze Wei, as a descendant of mine in the clan, since you're giving me your body, I'll help you fulfil one of your aspirations." As of this moment, strange ripples began to undulate out from Namikaze Wei. He flew into the air, spotted Naruto fighting in the crowds in the ancestral mansion, and began to fly toward him.

Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he closed in.

In that moment, Naruto sensed a prick of danger in his mind. He looked up, and his gaze locked with Namikaze Wei's.

Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that his gaze locked with… the Sixth Patriarch!

Ji Xiu Namikaze 's name in Chinese is 季秀芳 jì xiù fāng. Xiu means "beautiful," and Namikaze means "fragrant." This is clearly a woman's name ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 996

Chapter 996: The Battle Resumes!

Namikaze Minato and Kushina stood in the Tower of Tang on Planet South

Heaven, watching the upheaval in the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory. Kushina's eyes were wide, and she trembled as she clutched Namikaze Minato 's arm.

"You knew this was going to happen, didn't you!?" she said, her eyes filled with anxiety at the sight of Naruto being in such danger. What she was worried about wasn't the destruction of the Namikaze Clan, she was worried about her son's safety.

Namikaze Minato looked at the images and slowly nodded.

"You have to trust me, and you have to trustNaruto'er. Everything will be over shortly." Namikaze Minato said softly. His fatherly love was not the type that showed on the outside like Ke Yunhai's. His love was kept buried deep in his heart. He was Naruto 's father, and would rather sustain injuries himself than allow his son to be hurt in the least.

However, everything that was happening… had to happen.

On Planet East Victory, Namikaze Wei's and Naruto 's gazes locked, and an intangible rumbling sound filled Naruto 's mind. It was as if everything in the world vanished, and the only things left behind were the two of them.

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent. There was no way he could have predicted that events would turn out this way. He could do nothing about the dramatic events playing out in the Namikaze Clan, and in fact, deep in his heart, he was somewhat at a loss.

A sinister grin could be seen on Namikaze Wei's face as he flew through the air like a shooting star, heading directly toward Naruto .

Naruto took a deep breath, crushing the dazed feeling he felt in his heart. His battle with Namikaze Wei was not over. His Nirvana Fruits had not been returned. In that case… it was time to continue the battle!

Eyes flashing with killing intent, he flew into the air. The two of them pierced through the crowds like meteors, rapidly closing in on each other.

Their speed was incredible, causing everything to shake. Even though all the other members of the Namikaze Clan were locked in battle, they all turned to look at Naruto and Namikaze Wei. The cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea also stared at the two figures as they closed in on each other.

When they slammed into each other in midair, a shocking boom echoed out in all directions, causing the air to shatter and wild colors to flash in the sky.

Naruto attacked with the full explosive force of his 123 meridians. 33

Heavens rumbled, and numerous mountain chains appeared. One Blood Demon head after another roared, causing Heaven and Earth to shake, and wild winds to scream.

Namikaze Wei performed an incantation gesture, causing a divine ability to materialize. Statues appeared, formed of reincarnation, the Yellow Springs, and some other magical technique that Naruto was unfamiliar with. The statues circled around Naruto , unleashing ceaseless attacks.

Naruto frowned. The terrifying Ancient Realm ripples that had been emanating out of Namikaze Wei had vanished. However, Naruto could sense that Namikaze Wei was much more powerful than he had been earlier.

Gradually, Naruto began to sense ripples inside of Namikaze Wei that filled him with a sense of danger.

"He's not Namikaze Wei!" he thought, his eyes flickering with a cold light.

Namikaze Wei was bursting with an energy far more powerful than before. The One Thought Yellow Springs Dao was unleashed once again, but it was different this time. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Yellow Springs swept out, directly attacking Naruto in midair.

A huge boom rattled out as over a hundred moves were exchanged in a very short time.

"That's all you can do?" asked Namikaze Wei, his voice coldly sinister. "This is the Immortal Realm Paragon!?" He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing the Yellow Springs to turn into something like a dragon that lunged toward Naruto with gaping maw.

Naruto 's expression darkened, but he said nothing. His hand extended as a divine ability was unleashed.

At the same time, Namikaze Wei's 241 Immortal meridians appeared. However… apparently, he wasn't finished! Suddenly… more Immortal meridians appeared!

251\. 261. 271….

Massive rumbling filled the air as Namikaze Wei's aura exploded up, to the astonishment of the observing cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

" Namikaze Wei… his Immortal meridians, they're… still increasing!"

"Unbelievable, this… what's going on!?" The cultivators were dumbstruck, but the Dao Realm Patriarchs merely frowned; they were starting to piece together pictures of what was happening.

"He's possessed…."

"After he became Immortal, he was possessed, although not perfectly. It couldn't be; after all, people who can reach the absolute pinnacle of Immortal meridians are not commonplace in the Nine Mountains and

Seas. The only possibility is that someone placed a Dao seed in Namikaze

Wei, as a sort of a gamble. That person would be betting that as Namikaze

Wei grew up, he would have a chance at success."

"That's of secondary importance. The main requirement would be that they were of the same bloodline. Furthermore, they would both have to have cultivated the same technique. Even more important than that is that they would both have to have a drop of blood from the legendary Underworld Clan!" The Dao Realm Patriarchs maintained their silence as they looked at Namikaze Wei with looks of curiosity and shock.

Back on Planet East Victory, Namikaze Wei's Immortal meridians continued to erupt!

281\. 291. 300!

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out. Naruto 's eyes widened as Namikaze Wei's Immortal meridians just continued to increase. Although he was shocked, it didn't cause him to hesitate at all. He waved his hand, transforming into a golden roc. At the same time, numerous mountain chains crushed down toward Namikaze Wei, whose laughter rang out as his energy continued to soar.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes. A domineering air surged out, and his Immortal Realm Paragon cultivation base exploded with power. The starstone vanished from his left eye, transforming into starlight in his palm. It covered his body as the One Thought Stellar Transformation manifested, transforming him into an enormous planet that shot toward Namikaze Wei.

Piercing whistling sounds could be heard as the planet emitted shocking pressure over everything. Rocks shattered and then rose up into the air, and the nearby battling cultivators were pushed away by a powerful force.

The 3,000-meter planetary asteroid shot through the air, filled with incredible power. In the blink of an eye, it was upon Namikaze Wei.

However, in that instant, Namikaze Wei's eyes glittered with arrogance. Extending both of his hands, he roared.

Suddenly, his Immortal meridians burst with power as even more were added!

310 meridians!

320 meridians!

The entire Ninth Mountain and Sea rumbled. All of the members of the Namikaze Clan were shocked. All attention was focused on Namikaze Wei.

330 meridians!

Shockingly, 330 Immortal meridians had appeared in Namikaze Wei, which was the complete pinnacle for an Immortal who had not corroborated the Dao on his own. When the 330 Immortal meridians appeared, 33 Immortal souls also descended behind Namikaze Wei. It was just the same as Naruto … 33 Heavens!

"DIE!" he roared, extending both hands toward the incoming planet. As he pushed out, his 330 Immortal meridians transformed into 330 Yellow Springs, which then combined into one. In addition, his 33 Immortal souls were no longer Underworld Judges, but rather, Yama Kings! An indescribable pressure that was the ultimate pinnacle of the Immortal Realm radiated out from him.

Massive rumbling shook all of Planet East Victory as two peak Immortals began to fight. When they slammed into each other, a huge boom rattled out. Cracking sounds could be heard as the planet began to fall to pieces, and the Yellow Springs disintegrated. Within a few breaths of time, an earsplitting crash rattled out as the planet exploded. Naruto appeared, face pale, expression extremely cold, like a sword. He coughed up a mouthful of blood as he staggered backward across the land, as if he were being shoved by some mighty force. And yet, he did not lose a bit of that sharp and blade-like quality.

"The pinnacle of the Immortal Realm. 33 Heavens. Hm…." He wiped the blood from his mouth, and the coldness in his eyes ignited into a massive desire to fight.

Up ahead, the Yellow Springs shattered, and the 33 Yama Kings collapsed. Namikaze Wei also coughed up blood. Furthermore, although his right eye seemed filled with madness, signs of struggle could be seen in his left eye. That was… Namikaze Wei's soul, fighting back!

Suddenly, Namikaze Wei's true voice rang out, filled with the truth of his own desires: "I am a member of the Namikaze Clan, and my dream is to lead the Namikaze Clan to glory. Father! Grandfather! Patriarch! If your desire is to overthrow the clan, then… I disagree!"

However, almost as soon as Namikaze Wei's true voice could be heard, the Sixth Patriarch cried, "Get back down!" and rapidly suppressed him. The left eye returned to its normal state, and Namikaze Wei coughed up another mouthful of blood, then looked at Naruto .

" Namikaze Naruto!" Namikaze Wei wiped the blood from his mouth and took a step forward. 33 Heavens appeared once again, and boundless Immortal power exploded out.

"What I want… is this feeling! I've finally done it! Finally, I have this perfect body! This is my doppelgänger! In the future, it will be my true self. Namikaze Wei, you are my descendant, which means that this is an honor for you!" Namikaze Wei's right hand lifted up, and 33 Heavens shot murderously toward Naruto .

"I'm going to help you kill this person, to achieve your desire!"

Naruto 's eyes flickered with intense killing intent. He looked coldly at Namikaze Wei for a moment, then began to advance. He raised his right hand, and his own 33 Heavens appeared.

"Paragon Bridge!" he said softly.

As soon as the words left his mouth, rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth. Shockingly, Naruto 's 33 Heavens transformed into the image of the Paragon Bridge. 123 meridians manifested behind the bridge as it sped toward Namikaze Wei.

"Who gives a crap about that thing? Hell World!" Namikaze Wei waved his right hand, instantly causing the Yellow Springs to appear. In addition, an illusory slice of the underworld manifested, rapidly turning corporeal.

As the two attacked each other, Namikaze Xiushan ignored any potential injuries he might receive and broke away from his fight with Naruto 's 19th Uncle. He then performed a minor teleportation, heading directly toward Naruto , eyes filled with killing intent. He waved his hand, causing his Ancient Realm cultivation base to explode with the destructive power of two extinguished Soul Lamps. A gigantic hand appeared which slashed toward Naruto .

"DIE!"

Shockingly, he joined forces with Namikaze Wei to attempt to kill Naruto , to slaughter him in spirit and body!

At this critical moment, Naruto waved his right hand, and the

Paragon Bridge descended to block both Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan.

Booms could be heard as the Paragon Bridge began to collapse. Naruto shot backward, and his expression lacked any sort of alarm. Instead, it was filled with seething killing intent!

He extended his right hand, and there in his palm was a small fruit that was currently not visible to anyone but him.

It was… the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit!

With the Nirvana Fruit in hand, his towering killing intent influenced the entire area, making everything grow cold. Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan looked at Naruto 's eyes, and for some unknown reason, they began to tremble.

Vol. 6 : Chapter 997

Chapter 997 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 997: Namikaze Xiushan… DIE!

Naruto 's 123 Immortal meridians exploded with power, condensing the power of 33 Heavens into the majestic Paragon Bridge to block Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan.

Even as he retreated at full speed, his eyes flickered with a freezing light. He was looking at Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan almost as if they were dead.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, and Heaven and Earth shook violently. The Nirvana Fruit in Naruto 's hand radiated scintillating light.

This was the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit!

It emanated an ancient aura that seemed to indicate that it had existed for countless years, and as soon as it appeared, the sensation of time inside the fruit seemed to influence everything in the area, making the region around Naruto look as if it were in a different era.

Namikaze Xiushan's gaze met Naruto 's, and his heart trembled. He looked at the Nirvana Fruit for a moment, whereupon a sinister look appeared in his eyes, and his lips twisted into a cruel smile. "That's….

"Absorb that, and I won't even need to attack. You'll be dead without a doubt!"

Namikaze Wei's energy soared, but when he looked at Naruto , his heart began to pound. His gaze shifted to the Nirvana Fruit, and all of a sudden, an intense feeling of crisis exploded up in his heart.

He wasn't actually Namikaze Wei; he was the doppelgänger of the Sixth Patriarch. Due to this, he recognized that fruit, and as soon as he saw it, he realized that it… was completely different from the Nirvana Fruit that he remembered!

As soon as Naruto pulled it out, the Grand Elder, who was battling with Namikaze Heshan, looked over. When he saw what was happening, his face fell.

"Hao'er, you can't absorb that thing!" he cried out urgently. Even as his voice echoed out, he felt deep regret in his heart for the decisions he had made.

In the same moment that the Grand Elder called out, Namikaze Wei's eyes widened, and the sense of crisis within him exploded to a peak. His heart was pounding in a way that suggested that if Naruto absorbed that Nirvana Fruit, a momentous and shocking event would occur. He suddenly roared, "STOP HIM!"

Namikaze Wei took a step forward and waved his hand. 33 Heavens and 330 Immortal meridians transformed into the power of the Yellow Springs, exploding out to shake the Paragon Bridge.

At the same time, Namikaze Xiushan, despite his sudden, momentary hesitation, still went on the attack, exploding out with the power of an Ancient Realm cultivation base with two extinguished Soul Lamps. A shocking attack materialized, which consisted of an enormous illusory hand that slashed toward the Paragon Bridge.

The Paragon Bridge shook, and then and then began to collapse layer by layer. It was a Daoist magic that was as powerful as a Paragon, but… with Naruto 's cultivation base, he could only force it to materialize. Considering the fact that Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan had combined forces, it only took a moment before the bridge couldn't hold out any longer, and began to collapse completely.

Once it was gone, there would be nothing to stand in the way of Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan, who would then instantly level deadly attacks against Naruto .

Naruto sped backward at top speed, his eyes cold. Even as Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan bashed against the Paragon Bridge, Naruto lifted the Nirvana Fruit and pushed it up against his forehead.

The fruit melted and sank down into his forehead, causing warmth to flow through him. His body shook and his mind trembled. He felt like was about to be torn into pieces, and blue veins popped out on his face. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

As Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan blasted the Paragon Bridge, Namikaze Wei's heart was pounding violently. He went all out with his most powerful divine abilities, roaring as he… finally destroyed the bridge completely, the fragments of which scattered out in all directions.

Instantly, Namikaze Wei shot toward Naruto like a shooting star.

"DIE!" Namikaze Wei was getting a very bad feeling about what was happening with Naruto , so he pushed faster, his killing intent raging.

Namikaze Xiushan's killing intent also surged, and his desire to kill Naruto was stronger than ever. His cultivation base exploded with power, causing the enormous hand to smash toward Naruto , to crush him and obliterate him to wipe away the hatred in his heart.

As Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan closed in, Naruto was trembling, and his eyes were bright red. A wild and domineering aura suddenly erupted out from within him.

The aura caused Namikaze Wei to stare in shock, and Namikaze Xiushan's face to fall.

Next, Naruto let out a shocking roar. His body suddenly began to grow larger, and at the same time, his Immortal meridians… suddenly… increased rapidly!

He no longer had 123 meridians. The number of meridians increased with rapid speed, as did the Immortal dragons around him. They roared as 139, 152, 171, 196 dragons appeared….

Wild colors flashed in the sky, the wind screamed, and the heavenly bodies trembled!

In the blink of an eye, he had 200 meridians!

Naruto 's aura also climbed wildly, almost as if he… would exceed the Immortal Realm!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

200 meridians was not the limit. The growth continued! 213. 235… all the way to 246 meridians!

That was fully double his previous limit!

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, in the moment that his Immortal meridians doubled, Naruto 's 33 Heavens exceeded that which was Immortal. They surpassed the great circle, erupting in such a way that all onlookers were dumbfounded to look up what appeared to be… 66 Heavens!

If you looked closely, though, you would see that they weren't in fact 66 Heavens. There were two extremes; one was the 33 Heavens up above, the other was the 33 Earths down below. In the middle of the two was Naruto !

His energy soared, and a terrifying aura exploded out. Namikaze Wei and Namikaze Xiushan's faces fell completely. Even Namikaze Xiushan suddenly felt a sensation of deadly crisis.

It was a type of crisis… that would lead to his complete and utter death!

Namikaze Xiushan's mind spun as he hoarsely said, "Impossible! Even if his power increases, he's still just an Immortal. I'm in the Ancient Realm! How could I possibly be experiencing such fear!?"

Namikaze Wei's face was ashen, and his eyes widened as he gasped.

"There's a kind of Immortal that can kill someone in the Ancient Realm…. In fact, according to legend, true Immortality is not the limit of the Immortal Realm. In ancient times, before the other Heavens and Earths in the starry sky collapsed, it was an age unlike the current age of Nine Mountains….

"Above true Immortality was another level. That was the level of… the Immortal Emperor!

"If they look up, and wave a hand, 33 Heavens are destroyed! If they look down, and point, 33 Earths are crushed… an Immortal Emperor!" Namikaze Wei's scalp went numb and his mind filled with roaring. If he were here as his true self, then even if Naruto became an Emperor among Immortals, the Ancient Realm was still superior to 33 Heavens and 33 Earths. It would be as easy to slay Naruto as lifting his hand. But now… this was just a doppelgänger, and was merely a fleshly body that was limited by the constraints of Immortal power. He… was simply no match for Naruto .

His mind spun, and without any hesitation, Namikaze Wei turned to flee.

Namikaze Xiushan didn't understand things as well as the possessed Namikaze Wei, who was actually the Sixth Patriarch. He hesitated, and thus, took a bit longer to begin to fall back. It was exactly within those few breaths of time that Naruto … made a move!

He looked up, and rumbling sounds filled the air. The sensation of being ripped apart caused his eyes to be completely red, filled with veins of blood. His body grew larger and, at the moment, he seemed to be in possession of a vast, intense power. He wasn't sure whether it was just a hallucination, but that power all of a sudden caused him to be filled with… a certain sensation.

It was as if he had reached a state in which he was the ultimate representation of every possible meaning of the word Immortal.

In that moment, the Nine Mountains and Seas trembled slightly, and ripples appeared that no cultivator could sense. These ripples massed outside of the Nine Mountains and Seas, encircling them, causing the sun and moon to pause in their eternal orbit.

If the Nine Mountains and Seas had a will, then as of this moment, it was as if that will was looking at Naruto and causing these ripples to emanate out, and the sun and moon to stop moving for a breath of time, as if to welcome…. something that was appearing for the first time since the formation of the Nine Mountains and Seas… the Immortal Emperor!

In the Immortal's cave in the Ruins of Immortality in Ninth Mountain and

Sea, the white-robed woman rose to her feet. She looked toward Planet East Victory, and her perpetually unchanging expression suddenly flickered.

"With destiny like this, with good fortune like this… he is worthy of being in the League of Demon Sealers of the Nine Mountains and Seas…." she murmured. When she spoke the words Demon Sealers, her eyes flickered with pain and reminiscence.

"Immortal Ancient. Nine Seals. Are you two still around? I'm… the only one left. The only one…." She sounded pained, and in fact, a tear rolled down her cheek. Finally, she waved her hand; the sun and moon once again began to rotate, and the Nine Mountains and Seas went back to normal.

At the same time, the teardrop flew off into the distance, to some unknown land. Perhaps it became part of a violet sea, or perhaps, a tear among a rainstorm.

If it had a spirit, perhaps the teardrop would awaken, and would possess a yearning and a determination to transform into a sea.

Meanwhile, on Planet East Victory, on the back of Patriarch Reliance,

was a young woman. She suddenly looked up, and a blank look could be seen in her eyes, as if she had just thought of something.

Naruto was unaware of the things happening in the Nine Mountains and Seas. At the moment, he was just barely able to endure the tearing pain caused by the terrifying power that filled him. He knew that he could only remain in this state for a short period of time, so he quickly raised his hand and pointed toward Namikaze Xiushan.

In that instant, his Divine Flame Immortal meridian erupted, causing a sea of flames to appear. It covered everything, wreathing the 33 Heavens and 33 Earths with endless flames of extermination.

A massive world of flames instantly shot toward Namikaze Xiushan.

Namikaze Xiushan's face fell, and the sense of crisis within him reached a pinnacle, causing his mind to thrum. He fell back at top speed, performing a double-handed incantation gesture. Innumerable divine abilities appeared, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His Soul Lamps appeared, spinning around him, as did countless magical items, all of which fought back against Naruto .

In the instant that his divine abilities and magical items shot out, the sea of flames transformed into a huge hand which, in the blink of an eye, had completely inundated Namikaze Xiushan.

All of his divine abilities collapsed, and all of his magical items melted. Even his Soul Lamps burst into flames!

When the extinguished Soul Lamps were suddenly ignited, Namikaze Xiushan let out a miserable shriek, and his eyes filled with disbelief and astonishment. His Soul Lamps melted, and Namikaze Xiushan let out a howl as… he was completely covered in fire.

Moments later, the only thing that remained of him was drifting ash.

He was killed in body and soul!

Chapter 997: Namikaze Xiushan… DIE!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 998

Chapter 998 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 998: The Fall of Namikaze Wei!

A brutal attack!

"Xiushan!" When Namikaze Heshan saw what happened, his face filled with grief. He threw his head back and howled. Were it not for the Grand Elder going all out to block his way, he would have instantly charged towards Naruto .

As of this moment, all of the cultivators of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were staring in complete shock at what was happening. They already knew that Naruto was incredibly powerful, but when they saw him kill Namikaze Xiushan, they were completely shaken on a deep and profound level.

They looked at Naruto , eyes wide with jealousy.

"He's a powerful expert who has surpassed everyone in his generation, and can even fight with people in the Ancient Realm!"

"It's too bad that he's going to perish because of the upheaval in the

Namikaze Clan…."

"If he doesn't die in this battle, then his future… will be unimaginable!" Gasps could be heard throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea as Namikaze Xiushan died.

The disbelief on his face in the moments before death was clear. He was in the Ancient Realm, with two extinguished Soul Lamps. And yet, he died at the hands of an Immortal Realm cultivator. He had come to exact vengeance for his Wei'er, and in the end… had himself been annihilated.

From the moment he had learned that Naruto was returning to the clan, he had wanted to kill him. From the ambush out in the starry sky, to the way he had targeted Naruto in the clan, to the attempt on his life in the Ancestral Land, all of that proved that he and Naruto were as incompatible as fire and water.

Even more lamentable was that it wasn't until the moment he died that he realized who his true enemy was. It wasn't Naruto . It was the Sixth Patriarch.

Perhaps Namikaze Xiushan did know. Perhaps he had known all along what would happen. And yet, in his mind, perhaps… he truly felt that allowing the Sixth Patriarch to possess his son would be an honor for Namikaze Wei.

Perhaps his way of thinking was madness, or perhaps not. In any case, it was no longer important.

Everything was settled by Naruto in his current state. The wave of a hand, the unleashing of a divine ability!

Naruto suddenly reached a certain enlightenment.

"Perhaps… all machinations and plots can be foiled with the wave of a hand by a powerful expert? Perhaps everything can even be reversed? If so, then will all of the upheaval in the Namikaze Clan… be changed by the wave of some powerful expert's hand?" Naruto looked around at the Namikaze Clan and the unceasing slaughter that was being carried out. None of the recent turns of events did anything to stop the carnage. Blood flowed everywhere, and screams of terror and rage floated about constantly. It was impossible to tell who was winning or losing, but it was clear… what would happen in the end.

The Namikaze Clan would be thoroughly destroyed.

Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that the upheavals in the Namikaze Clan were simply too strange. In fact, he still wasn't ready to completely accept everything that was happening.

The Namikaze Clan was one of the Four Great Clans, and at one time had in fact been the leader among those four clans. Therefore… it was hard to believe that, just like that, the clan would play out its final act.

Naruto looked over at the fleeing Namikaze Wei, and his eyes gleamed with killing intent.

"I can only stay in this state for seven more breaths of time…." he murmured. This was his most powerful state, and he could remain in it for a total of ten breaths. He took a deep breath, lifted his foot, and stepped forward.

That one step caused everything to seem to shrink. Instantly, he was directly behind Namikaze Wei. That was a speed that exceeded minor teleportation. That was greater teleportation!

Namikaze Wei was astonished to find Naruto suddenly right there. Naruto lifted his hand with indescribable speed and tapped Namikaze Wei.

"Detonate!" he said softly, his eyes glowing with coldness.

It was one word, but it echoed out in all directions, causing everything to shake. Divine Flame erupted around Namikaze Wei, prompting a wild howl. At the same time, Namikaze Wei performed a double-handed incantation gesture and spit out a mouthful of blood. Instantly, a blood-colored shield sprang up around him.

Shockingly, as Namikaze Wei stood inside the shield, the image of an old man appeared in his right eye. As he sat there cross-legged, he opened his eyes, and terrifying ripples of the Ancient Realm spread out.

Namikaze Wei had been completely pushed into a corner, so the Sixth Patriarch was forced to use his doppelgänger's Essence power to fight back!

Rumbling filled the air, and Namikaze Wei coughed up another huge mouthful of blood. His chest sank inward, and the blood-colored shield expanded. Because of the resistance, the Essence of Divine Flame paused for a moment.

In that brief moment, Namikaze Wei transformed into a flickering shadow, and fell back instantly, blood spraying from his mouth, seriously injured. His scalp was numb, and the figure in his right eye was dim. This was only a doppelgänger of the Sixth Patriarch, so he had very little Essence, which he had just used to escape the deadly crisis he had been in. However, in that moment, the power he was using to suppress Namikaze Wei's soul also weakened.

Suddenly, Namikaze Wei's soul appeared in his left eye, struggling. According to the plan, Namikaze Wei would never have fought back. However, the dramatic upheavals in the Namikaze Clan led to an unexpected turn of events.

Namikaze Wei's soul struggled awake and began to fight against the Sixth Patriarch's possession, and over control of his own body.

" Namikaze Naruto, kill me!" he cried, trembling. "I told you that if I lost, you could take back what belongs to you!"

Naruto looked on, taciturn, expression complex. He looked at Namikaze Wei's eyes, then raised his right hand and waved it forward. 33 Heavens rumbled into being above Namikaze Wei's head.

Beneath his feet, 33 Earths appeared, transforming into a deadly snare!

Rumbling echoed out as the 33 Heavens crushed down, and the 33 Earths exploded with power. A powerful aura rose up in Namikaze Wei, and he coughed up blood. The old man in his right eye seemed filled with madness and terror; he was about to fight back, when suddenly a brilliant light shone out from Namikaze Wei's left eye.

"I am Namikaze Wei, Chosen of the Namikaze Clan. If your purpose in possessing me is to sow chaos in the Namikaze Clan, then I would rather… allow the bad to be destroyed with the good, and die together with you!" His true soul, which resided in his left eye, suddenly rose up and began fight directly with the Sixth Patriarch for control of his body.

He had always been matchessly proud, had always considered himself to be the only true Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!

"Dammit!" raged the Sixth Patriarch. Originally, it wasn't that he didn't want to destroy Namikaze Wei's soul; rather, to perform a perfect possession, he couldn't do so, as he needed to slowly absorb the soul. He had never been worried about doing that, and yet, he had never imagined that Namikaze Wei's devotion to the clan would suddenly supercede everything. In truth, he had forgotten about Namikaze Wei's incredible pride.

Namikaze Wei was a Chosen of the clan. He was willing to die in battle, to be possessed, or to slaughter others. He was willing to advance by hook or by crook. However, he was not willing… to betray the clan. His most important purpose was to protect the clan, and to ensure that the other clan members viewed him as a hero!

He wanted to be the center of attention, the focus of the whole clan. He wanted prestige, and he wanted to become a powerful expert. He wanted to lead the clan into glory!

In reality, he had been unaware of the true plans being laid by his grandfather.

Naruto 's expression was a complicated one as he held his right hand up in the air.

" Namikaze Naruto, kill me! If I die, the Sixth Patriarch will be severely wounded.

Perhaps the clan will have some hope then! KILL ME!"

The Sixth Patriarch was going crazy. Namikaze Wei's left eye was growing dim, as his soul fought desperately with the Sixth Patriarch for control of his body.

Namikaze Heshan was still fighting with the Grand Elder, and when he saw the crisis Namikaze Wei was in, he let out a bellow of rage. Booms rang out from his body, and suddenly, a fragment of jade appeared in his hand. He crushed it violently, causing intense ripples to spread out. The Grand Elder's face fell as he sensed the terrifying power in those ripples, and was forced to retreat.

As he fell back, Namikaze Heshan shot toward Namikaze Wei.

"Wei'er!" Namikaze Heshan cried urgently.

Even as he closed in, Namikaze Wei's left eye began to shine brightly again. His left hand rose, trembling, and he pointed toward Namikaze Heshan. In that instant, the Yellow Springs appeared, along with his Immortal souls, all of which blocked Namikaze Heshan's path.

"Grandpa," he said, his voice quavering, "sir, when I was born, do you remember why you gave me the character Wei 卫 as a name? Sir… you told me that it was because I needed to defend the Namikaze Clan…. Grandpa… stay your hand…." When Namikaze Heshan heard his words, he trembled, and grief appeared in his eyes.

" Namikaze Naruto, you have to take my place… to protect the Namikaze Clan! Come on! Take back your Nirvana Fruits!" Namikaze Wei closed his left eye, and rumbling could be heard inside his body. A popping sound could suddenly be heard from his forehead. A split appeared, from within which two fruits emerged.

Naruto instantly felt a sense of intense familiarity. He lifted his right hand up toward the two Nirvana Fruits, which flew directly toward him and landed in his palm.

At the same time, Namikaze Wei coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his energy instantly weakened. The Sixth Patriarch let out a roar of defiance. Of his own initiative, Namikaze Wei shot toward Naruto 's divine ability. No one could prevent him from doing so, and not even Naruto could stop the 33 Heavens and 33 Earths from exploding violently.

In that instant, the Sixth Patriarch in Namikaze Wei's right eye transformed into a wisp of smoke that shot out. However, before it could escape, Namikaze Wei's soul latched onto it and dragged it back.

"NO!" The Sixth Patriarch's doppelgänger soul let out a howl of rage just as it was inundated by the rumbling 33 Heavens and 33 Earths.

Massive booms filled the air, and then the 33 Heavens and 33 Earths faded away. Namikaze Wei's body fell down toward the ground. His right eye was completely dark; the Sixth Patriarch had been exterminated in body and spirit.

Namikaze Wei's left eye was fading. The flame of his life force was snuffed out. Right before he died, he looked at Naruto , and his lips moved. He wasn't able to speak the words out loud, but Naruto understood exactly what he was saying.

He said… "Defend the Namikaze Clan."

All of a sudden, Naruto thought back to what it was like on Planet East Victory hundreds of years ago. He and Namikaze Wei were children. Namikaze Wei had always been stubborn, different from the other kids. He wouldn't follow Naruto around, but rather, spent time alone, in the shadows, working hard, trying to win the approval of others.

He seemed gloomy, but in truth, he had worked extremely hard over the years. All of that led to the Namikaze Wei of today.

Naruto remembered when they were both six years old, and it was time for them to begin practicing cultivation. They had stood in front of all the clan Elders, and been questioned about why they wanted to be cultivators. Naruto 's answer had been that after he grew up, he wanted to protect his dad and mom.

As for Namikaze Wei, the words he had spoken with his tender, young voice seemed to echo now in Naruto 's ears.

"My grandpa picked the name Wei for me! I'm Namikaze Wei, and when I grow up, I'm going to defend the clan!"

The words Namikaze Wei had spoken as a child… were words that he had always remembered, even in the moment of his death!

BOOM!

Namikaze Wei slammed into the ground, and his aura was gone. He was dead!

Chapter 998: The Fall of Namikaze Wei!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 999

Chapter 999 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 999: The Terracotta Soldier Arrives!

As of this moment, the Chosen outside in the starry sky stared in shock. The cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were also dumbstruck by the scene of Namikaze Wei's death.

For a Chosen to perish….

Furthermore, his actions before he had died left everyone moved. Everyone suddenly felt… unwilling to part ways with Namikaze Wei.

Namikaze Wei, Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!

The Namikaze in his name came from the Namikaze Clan. The Wei came from the word 'defend.'

Misery and bleakness covered the Namikaze Clan in their moment of upheaval. The death of a Chosen caused everyone's hearts to tremble. Many people couldn't help but wonder, if they were in Namikaze Wei's position, what would they do?

" Namikaze Wei… I will remember this name!"

"Wei… actually has THAT meaning…."

The chaotic rebellion continued to proceed in the Namikaze Clan. Clan members died at every moment, and the ancestral mansion was soaked with blood. The stench of gore spread out in all directions.

Namikaze Wei's death caused many clan members to suddenly grow very silent and bitter. However, this was not the time to be overwhelmed with grief, so they continued fighting.

Up in the starry sky, Fan Dong'er and the other Chosen looked on silently. None of them would do anything impulsive, so they stood by while the fighting went on.

The Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch fought with one of the Hebi Clan's five Dao Realm experts, Hebi Xiu Namikaze . Their battle was shocking to the extreme. Booms rang out as Essence power was unleashed. Both of these two were 1-Essence Dao Lords, and their attacks caused the starry sky to tremble, and wild colors to flash.

"The Namikaze Clan is doomed to destruction," Hebi Xiu Namikaze said softly. " Namikaze Shoudao, you must know this in your heart of hearts. There's no reason to keep fighting back. That kid Namikaze Wei had backbone, which is laudable. Unfortunately… he was simply born in the wrong clan."

"Oh really?" replied Namikaze Shoudao, his voice light. He waved his hand, causing a river of stars to appear. In the blink of an eye, thousands of exchanges occurred between the two of them. The stars vibrated, and even the sealing shield around them trembled.

"The Three Great Daoist Societies won't be coming," said Hebi Xiu Namikaze , laughing. "The Namikaze Clan… might have put on a good show of being powerful, but the Hebi Clan has long since come to the realization that your clan's pretense of having secret Dao Realm experts is not true. You… really are the only Dao Realm cultivator!

"What do you have, then, that will allow you to reverse fate?" Ji

Xiu Namikaze 's killing intent swirled. Booms echoed out between them.

"If you're so certain of that, then why are you trying to probe me with words?" Namikaze Shoudao replied indifferently. Hebi Xiu Namikaze frowned in response. Actually… she wasn't certain. After all, this was… the Namikaze Clan!

In years past, they were just as glorious as the Hebi Clan, and were one of the two great battle clans that had existed under Lord asura.

The Hebi Clan was certain that the Namikaze Clan was on the decline, that they could only put on a show of glory, and were in fact weak. However, the Hebi Clan could not underestimate the resources at their disposal.

That was especially true when it came to Namikaze Shoudao, who seemed to be completely unruffled by the rivers of blood flowing in the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory. The fact that he was remaining calm caused Hebi Xiu Namikaze to feel a bit uneasy.

"He definitely has some trump cards to play. But what are they…?"

Meanwhile, Namikaze Heshan hovered in midair above Planet East Victory, trembling as he stared at the dead Namikaze Wei. Beneath the ancestral mansion, the Sixth Patriarch, who was fighting desperately with the Seventh Patriarch, coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Naruto maintained his silence as he looked down at Namikaze Wei's corpse. He felt no excitement at having retrieved his Nirvana Fruits. Deep in his heart, he sighed. He walked up to Namikaze Wei's corpse, and knelt down next to it. He put his hand on Namikaze Wei's chest and pushed lightly. Namikaze Wei's body vanished into Naruto 's bag of holding. He did not want the body to be desecrated due to the chaos in the clan. Later, he would be buried, and it would be a grand funeral!

Naruto stood there thinking.

"At first, I didn't want to come here to Planet East Victory…. I wanted to go directly to the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite instead. However, father sent me here because he wanted me to retrieve my Nirvana Fruits."

He thought back to everything that had happened since he returned, and an idea suddenly sprang up in his mind.

"In that case, these upheavals in the clan, all of this… could it be that father actually knew it all was going to happen?"

Even as Naruto stood there thinking, shrill laughter could be heard coming from Namikaze Heshan.

" Namikaze Naruto, what are you doing!? Give Wei'er back to me immediately!"

Naruto turned to look at Namikaze Heshan, then quietly said,

"He's my Clan Brother. My little bro didn't betray the clan, and therefore, his corpse is not to be defiled after his death. Namikaze Heshan, turn back from this path."

"There's no turning back. Xiushan! Wei'er! I… I can't turn back!" Namikaze Heshan's hair was in disarray, his eyes bloodshot. He seemed to have gone crazy, and as he glared at Naruto , his killing intent boiled.

"You son-of-a-bitch! You killed Xiushan and you killed Wei'er! Why are you still alive?! Why the hell are YOU still alive!?" Namikaze Heshan threw his head back and laughed bitterly. His cultivation base erupted; originally, he had the power of three extinguished Soul Lamps, but as of now, he was under extreme provocation, and all of a sudden, the ripples of death spread out from him.

He was going all out, burning his own life force to suddenly extinguish three more of his Soul Lamps!

As of this moment, he now raged with the destructive power of six extinguished Soul Lamps, causing Heaven and Earth to shake. The Grand Elder was just about to interfere, but Namikaze Heshan flicked his sleeve, shoving him away.

" Namikaze Naruto, it's time to die!" Namikaze Heshan roared, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward Naruto with raging killing intent.

Behind him suddenly appeared three Elders from Namikaze Wei's bloodline, who joined Namikaze Heshan in a deadly attack on Naruto .

19th Uncle wanted to intercept them, as did other members of the direct bloodline, but none of them were able to.

"Hao'er!" 19th Uncle cried urgently.

It was at this point that the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit emerged from Naruto 's forehead. His aura and his cultivation base slipped down from his previous level of Immortal Emperor, down to its original Realm.

His expression was calm, though, because… he could sense something that he had been constantly calling out to. The aura of the terracotta soldier!

It was coming!

After much calling, the ancestral land began to emanate ripples that appeared in Naruto 's heart. He calmly looked at Namikaze Heshan, and his eyes suddenly shone with a cold flicker.

He didn't move a muscle. He just looked over.

Namikaze Heshan got closer and closer, until he was less than 300 meters away. The power of six extinguished Soul Lamps burst out explosively. It transformed into a gigantic golden lotus that emanated a shocking murderous aura. This was a golden lotus that seemed capable of exterminating any and all Immortals!

Even Ancient Realm cultivators with four extinguished Soul Lamps or fewer would be killed by it!

Rumbling could be heard as the enormous golden lotus smashed murderously toward Naruto ….

Naruto didn't move. He looked forward as coldly as ever. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, cracking sounds could be heard directly in front of him, and everything started to shake. A massive rift opened up in the air right in front of Naruto !

It was as if someone was slashing an enormous, invisible blade through the air, splitting it apart and creating an gigantic fissure. In the same moment that the rift appeared, it was possible to glimpse… the Namikaze Clan Ancestral Land!

Next, an archaic and ancient greatsword noiselessly emerged from within the rift. It slashed down, seemingly capable of rending Heaven and Earth. Boundless light shone out from the blade.

The light flashed past the incoming golden lotus, which was immediately slashed in two. It fell apart instantly, and then the light moved on toward Namikaze Heshan.

Namikaze Heshan's six extinguished Soul Lamps trembled violently and began to crack and collapse, as did all of his divine abilities and Daoist magics. The light passed Namikaze Heshan and then bore down on the three Ancient Realm Elders, who began to tremble violently.

Their Soul Lamps shattered, and they seemed to be physically locked in place in midair. Their eyes shone with disbelief and astonishment. Even as they forced themselves to look down….

Everything was over!

The light shot up into the sky, and when it vanished, three heads flew high into the air, and three headless bodies plummeted down to the ground.

The entire battlefield went completely silent.

The three Elders behind Namikaze Heshan were dead!

Souls extinguished! Slaughtered!

One sword attack … killed three Ancient Realm experts!

As for Namikaze Heshan, there was a long line of blood on his neck. As it turned out, it wasn't three Ancient Realm experts killed, it was four!

Namikaze Heshan had managed to hold onto his life for a bit longer, and prevent his head from falling off. He looked into the rift with despair and disbelief….

What had just happened rocked the Heavens, shook the earth, and completely shocked all of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

The members of the Namikaze Clan, both the traitors and the loyalists, all felt an unprecedentedly cold aura that caused them to shiver. They looked over at Naruto , and the rift which had just appeared, as well as the archaic sword.

Slowly, a 3,000-meter figure stepped out from within the rift.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

As it stepped out, everyone's hearts started to pound. When the figure became visible, everyone in the entire Namikaze Clan couldn't help but cry out in alarm and disbelief.

"That's… that's…."

"The Dao Guardsman of the Ancestral Land! It's… it's not just a statue?

How come it's moving!?"

"The Dao Guardsman! For years and years it's stood there unmoving! According to the legends, it flew here from out in the Heavens! It's supposedly waiting for someone! Now it's actually moving!"

"Could it be because of the rebellion in the clan!?" All of the clan members were shocked. All cultivators' minds spun. They just couldn't believe everything that was happening.

Simultaneously, the aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon suddenly exploded off of the terracotta soldier.

The aura spread out, causing everything to shake. Endless rumbling sounds could be heard, and all Namikaze Clan members felt their hearts trembling.

Ripples that seemed capable of sweeping across anyone in the Ancient Realm swept out. That was… the madness of a Quasi-Dao Paragon!

Up in the starry sky, Hebi Xiu Namikaze , who was still fighting desperately with the Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch, sensed what was happening, and her eyes widened.

"So, that's your trump card," she said. "Well, did you really think that a Quasi-Dao Realm Dao Guardsman would be capable of resolving the crisis in the Namikaze Clan?"

Even as Hebi Xiu Namikaze spoke, Namikaze Clan Earth Patriarch Namikaze Shoudao felt shock rising up in his heart. This development was something he hadn't anticipated at all.

"The resources of the Namikaze Clan are far too deep for someone like you to speculate about," he said. "The Dao Guardsman is naturally something that I–"

Before he could even get halfway through what he wanted to say, he suddenly stopped speaking. His eyes went wide as he looked toward Planet East Victory. Hebi Xiu Namikaze had the same reaction, and stared in shock.

What they saw… was the Dao Guardsman step all the way out into

Planet East Victory. As the aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon radiated out, the Dao Guardsman suddenly… bent down on one knee and lowered its head in greeting to Naruto !

Everyone was flabbergasted.

"This…. This…."

"The Dao Guardsman is kneeling to Naruto !?"

"How could Karma play out like this? Just what is going on!?"

"Even the Dao Guardsman is going to protect him…?" Blood oozed out of Namikaze Heshan's mouth, and he began to laugh bitterly. Then, blood exploded out of his neck, and his head toppled off of his body, which then tumbled down toward the ground, dead.

Chapter 999: The Terracotta Soldier Arrives!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 1000

Chapter 1000 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1000: The Namikaze Clan's Second Dao Realm Expert!

In the same moment that everyone was flabbergasted by the appearance of the terracotta soldier, it lifted its head and looked at Naruto . Apparently sensing Naruto 's divine will, it hefted its greatsword and began to slaughter its way into the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion.

As of this moment, the traitorous clan members were completely shaken mentally, and could feel fear rising up within them. The terrifying aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon could easily slaughter any and all Ancient Realm experts.

Without a way to fight back against the terracotta soldier, the rebellion would be almost instantly crushed.

A powerful expert could, based on strength alone, crush any and all plots and schemes!

Rumbling filled the air as the terracotta soldier went on the attack. The loyal members of the Namikaze Clan were extremely excited, and the traitors had no choice but to fall back against the onslaught, their scalps numb.

As of this moment, the battle had reached a complete turning point.

The various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were also astonished, and many of them had already come to the conclusion that the terracotta soldier must the Namikaze Clan's trump card.

In the moment that the terracotta soldier began slaughtering its way through the ancestral mansion, suddenly, Hebi Xiu Namikaze began to chuckle, and then sighed inwardly. Even though the Namikaze Clan was awash with torrents of blood, they still made her feel uneasy. She had not been able to tell what Namikaze Shoudao was thinking, and had been ever vigilant regarding their mysterious trump card.

However, now that the Namikaze Clan had played that trump card, Hebi Xiu Namikaze became completely confident. Chuckling, she sent out a type of divine will that… instantly caused the faces of three of the Chosen outside in the starry sky to flicker.

Almost in the same moment that their expressions changed, fissures appeared in their foreheads. In the blink of an eye, those fissures had cut down to their jaws, and then past their chests.

It was as if a sharp blade had sliced them in half! Blood sprayed out as… three unfamiliar cultivators suddenly stepped out from inside of their bodies!

When they emerged, they were no larger than infants, and yet they rapidly grew bigger. They quickly grew to ordinary size, and soon it was obvious that they were three old men!

As soon as they appeared, their energy surged, and a strong Death aura rose up from them, as if not much of their flame of life remained to burn inside of them. Apparently their longevity had left them poised on the brink of death for years.

However, the auras they emitted indicated that they were extremely powerful. The starry sky trembled, and everything went dim, because these men… emanated the aura of Quasi-Dao Paragons!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

As they stepped out, the other Chosen such as Fan Dong'er and the others stared in shock. Their hearts beat wildly as they witnessed everything that was happening.

The three old men smiled coldly, and it was obvious that their eyes were filled with madness. They looked like three Immortal Divinities, powerful enough to shake the Heavens. Endless ripples spread out into the stars, and everything trembled as they shot toward Planet East Victory.

Their speed was virtually indescribable, and they seemed deranged, bent on destroying everything, as if they wished to release all of the darkness that they had accumulated throughout their entire lives.

It didn't matter what the horrifying consequences of their deaths would be, they wanted to go out in a blaze of glory!

All of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea looked at the three men with utter shock, and felt incredible coldness rising up in their hearts.

"So this is how the Hebi Clan does things, huh…?"

"Three Quasi-Dao Paragons. Their descendants… are all sects that long since became subservient to the Hebi Clan!"

"Wow… just how many years in advance did the Hebi Clan prepare to overthrow the Namikaze Clan?!"

Up in the starry sky, Namikaze Shoudao also saw what was happening, and a strange expression could be seen on his face that no one could possibly interpret. When Hebi Xiu Namikaze saw the look, she could suddenly hear her own heart pounding in her chest.

"You're not worried?" she asked.

"Why would I be worried?" he responded. Namikaze Shoudao smiled slightly, then waved his hand, unleashing a divine ability as he resumed battling with Hebi Xiu Namikaze .

"Could it be that the statue isn't his trump card?" she thought, feeling shocked. "Where is Namikaze Shoudao's confidence coming from?! Why is he so unperturbed!?" Killing intent gleamed in Hebi Xiu Namikaze 's phoenix-like eyes. "Well, It doesn't matter, I'll worry about it after the Namikaze Clan is destroyed!"

Booms filled the air as the three Quasi-Dao Paragons descended upon Planet East Victory, filled with the madness of extermination, and shocking auras. The sky went dim, the ground quaked, and rivers flowed in reverse.

From the ground, the three men looked like shooting stars exuding an air of madness. They shot toward the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, sending massive pressure out ahead of them. The ground shook, and numerous buildings collapsed. The resulting dust didn't dare to rise up into the air, but was crushed back down onto the surface of the ground.

All of the members of the Namikaze Clan looked on with flickering faces.

Many couldn't take the pressure, and coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

The three old men shot like meteors toward the terracotta soldier and the loyal members of the Namikaze Clan. The traitors immediately went wild with joy, and booms echoed out as slaughter was once again unleashed in the ancestral mansion.

The terracotta soldier looked up, then, without the slightest hesitation, flew up and went all-out with every scrap of power it had to block the descending three old men!

Everything went dim, the heavenly bodies shook, and a fierce wind kicked up.

Naruto 's mind trembled as he saw the terracotta soldier flying into battle. He saw the look of madness and violence in the three old men; they almost didn't look like cultivators, but rather, wild beasts that wanted to exterminate all living things.

It was as if they wanted to make an accounting with all of Heaven and Earth.

"Why do we have to die so soon when other people can continue to live!? Since we're going to die, the more people we can take with us to the grave, the more glorious it will be!"

"Quasi-Dao Paragon…." thought Naruto , instantly understanding the situation. The reason why Quasi-Dao experts were called Paragons was… because of fear. Because… people in that realm were absolutely insane.

Because they were on the verge of death, they had no fear. All of the darkness that had built up in their hearts could explode out at any time. Each and every one of them could make all living things weep.

The three old men laughed coldly, and when they spoke, their hoarse voices were filled with incredible savagery and insanity.

"Trifling statue! Screw off!"

"Today I will be baptized in blood! Not a single one of you vile Namikaze Clan cultivators will be left alive! You'll all die!"

"From today forth, there will no longer be a Namikaze Clan in the Ninth

Mountain and Sea! There will be a new clan!"

Booms could be heard as the terracotta soldier slammed into the three old men, who joined forces in attack, unleashing powerful divine abilities. The sun, moon, and the skies above materialized, transforming into three beams of destructive light that smashed into the terracotta soldier.

Massive booms could be heard as the terracotta soldier swung its greatsword, using all of its power to fight back against the three men. The terracotta soldier was forced back over and over again. Cracking sounds emanated out from it, and its body was covered in fissures. However, it vastly diminished the speed with which the three old men were advancing.

"Terracotta soldier!" cried Naruto , his eyes bloodshot. His heart hurt to see even one crack on the gift left behind by his foster father, so the fact that numerous cracks were now visible tore at his insides. Unfortunately, the terracotta soldier was not capable of simultaneously fighting back against three opponents relying only on its own power. Furthermore, Naruto 's cultivation base was simply insufficient to make a difference in this genocidal battle.

The members of the Namikaze Clan were in a state of despair. Some let out miserable shrieks and resorted to self-detonation to protect the clan. Others stood there trembling, unsure of what to do.

All types of attitudes and characters appeared within the members of the Namikaze Clan at this point in time.

It was then that, all of a sudden, a cold harrumph could be heard echoing from outside of the ancestral mansion, from… the Dao of Alchemy Division. Next, an incredible aura exploded out from that same region, along with a dense cloud of insects.

They turned into a bright beam of light completely made up of… Unicorn Immortals!

In the middle of all the Unicorn Immortals was a person, who, when Naruto saw him, caused him to gape.

It was… Pill Elder Namikaze Danyun!

His cultivation base exploded with power similar to that of the six Patriarchs located underneath the Namikaze Clan. It was the rippling power of at least ten extinguished Soul Lamps. At first, it didn't seem powerful enough to even cause the Quasi-Dao Paragons to tremble. However, as they flew out, the Unicorn Immortals began to explode. They transformed into beams of light that bored madly into Namikaze Danyun, causing his cultivation base to rise up with shocking speed.

In the blink of an eye, Namikaze Danyun actually… began to emit the aura of a Quasi-Dao Paragon!

This was not borrowed power used to increase his cultivation base.

Instead… this was the loosening of a seal! The innumerable Unicorn Immortals were actually part of his cultivation base, and were now returning to him!

Namikaze Danyun had reached the peak of the Ancient Realm many years ago. Unfortunately, he had failed to enter the Dao Realm, and was actually a Quasi-Dao Paragon. However, he did not go mad, and was eventually able to disperse the power that had built up inside his body. He fused that power into the bodies of the Unicorn Immortals, causing his cultivation base to fall back down. Because of that, he was able to preserve his life force and prevent it from dispersing!

After that, he had devoted himself to the Dao of alchemy in the hopes of refining some sort of medicinal pill that would allow him to seek a new Dao despite being a Quasi-Dao Paragon!

Now that the three Quasi-Dao old men were on the attack, Namikaze Danyun chose to explode out with power to defend the clan. Even though this would accelerate his death, it was still his decision.

A bright beam of light shot through the air to join the terracotta soldier in fighting viciously against the three Quasi-Dao experts.

Namikaze Danyun's appearance on the scene caused the three old men to stare in shock. However, they weren't too surprised by this turn of events. They waved their hands, causing booms to fill the air as four people and one statue fought a raging battle in the sky.

Meanwhile….

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, an incredibly shocking aura erupted from… the Medicine Immortal Sect!

On Planet East Victory, there was one other force that the Namikaze Clan had never once been adversarial to, and that was… the Medicine Immortal Sect!

According to the stories, the Patriarch of the Medicine Immortal Sect had forsaken the Namikaze Clan and established his own school of thought, which eventually became the Medicine Immortal Sect. In fact, they could concoct pills using Namikaze Clan pill formulas that even the Namikaze Clan couldn't produce.

There were actually many rumors floating around Planet East Victory regarding the past relationship between the Namikaze Clan and the Medicine Immortal Sect.

As soon as the aura exploded out, it filled Planet East Victory, suppressing all cultivators. This aura… was not that of the Ancient Realm, nor the Quasi-Dao Realm, but rather… the Dao Realm!

In response to the eruption of the aura, the three Quasi-Dao experts' faces fell. In contrast, Namikaze Danyun didn't seem surprised at all, and continued fighting.

All of the loyal members of the Namikaze Clan suddenly felt their blood boiling in excitement.

Conversely, the traitorous clan members' hearts began to tremble.

These shocking changes to the situation left them completely shaken.

Apparently, all the secret weapons had been deployed!

"Ji Clan, this battle is over!" said an ancient voice. It echoed out from within the Medicine Immortal Sect, shaking everything like thunder. This was the Patriarch who had forsaken the clan years ago. Suddenly, he appeared, a middle-aged man with a calm expression. As he strode out, all of the traitorous clan members coughed up blood and were sent flying backward.

Chapter 1000: The Namikaze Clan's Second Dao Realm Expert!

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	8. Chapter 8

Vol. 6 : Chapter 1001

Chapter 1001 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1001:The Hebi Clan's Last Secret Weapon!

The various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were in an uproar. The Dao Realm Patriarchs had bright gleams in their eyes, and their expressions were extremely serious as they looked over at Planet East Victory, and the middle-aged man emerging from the Medicine Immortal Sect.

" Namikaze Yanxu!"

"It's Namikaze Yanxu! He forsook the Namikaze Clan and started his own school of thought! He established the Medicine Immortal Sect…." 1

"So, he's actually reached the Dao Realm. I remember that back in the day he was an Ancient Realm cultivator…."

"So, this is the Namikaze Clan, huh? Their hidden resources are so profound! The Medicine Immortal Sect is something that everyone knew about, and yet their allegiance went as unnoticed as a shadow in the lamplight!"

Up in the starry sky, a slight smile could be seen on Namikaze Shoudao's face, and there was a profound gleam of meaning in his eyes. Hebi Xiufang , who was still locked in combat with him, suddenly felt her eyes go wide. " Namikaze Yanxu…. So HE's your trump card! I can't believe you were able to hold off on allowing a Dao Realm expert like that to make an appearance…. More than half of the members of your clan have died, and you even waited for us to unleash our secret weapon before making your move!" But then, Hebi Xiufang looked at Namikaze Shoudao and smiled.

"Unfortunately for you," she said, "when the Hebi Clan makes a move, we don't lose! This is your final trump card, right?" She smiled, a smile as cold as ice. Then, just as suddenly, she felt her heart sinking. That was because Namikaze Shoudao actually… was not just calm. No, he was looking into her eyes with a profound look.

The sight of it once again filled Hebi Xiufang with alarm.

"You're bluffing!" she declared. A thousand thoughts ran through her head, but she couldn't think of any area where something had been overlooked in their plan. She was certain that the Namikaze Clan did not have any more trump cards, and therefore, she smiled coldly at Namikaze Shoudao, and began to fight once again.

Booms echoed out in the starry sky, and down on Planet East Victory, the members of the Namikaze Clan were extremely excited. Naruto looked over at the middle-aged man approaching from off in the distance, and could clearly sense the Dao Realm Essence fluctuations.

The faces of the three old men from the Hebi Clan instantly fell. Although their longevity was rapidly withering away, they still had decades of life left to live. Now that they were up against a Dao Realm expert, someone who was qualified to kill them in an instant, roaring filled their minds, and they instantly fell into retreat.

In that moment, however, Namikaze Yanxu of the Medicine Immortal Sect laughed and closed in. He waved his right hand, and an enormous power surged toward the retreating men.

Booms shook everything as Essence power exploded out. The three men let out shrill cries, and blood sprayed from their mouths as they retreated at top speed. As for all of the other traitorous clan members in the ancestral mansion, they began trembling, and likewise fell into frenzied retreat.

All of this seemed to be a complete reversal of the previous events. From the look of things, the rebellion was about to conclude!

However, for some reason, Naruto felt his heartbeat increasing. It was as if… something was about to occur that would cause a monumental change in all of the upheaval in the clan .

This feeling came completely unexpectedly, and only continued to grow more intense.

Up in midair, the three Quasi-Dao experts bellowed in rage. Realizing that flight was not an option, their madness overwhelmed them and they turned and shot toward Namikaze Yanxu. Rumbling echoed out, and the air was shattered. Wild winds screamed, and cracks appeared in the surface of the ground.

The attacks launched by the terracotta soldier and Pill Elder added hail to snow. Blood sprayed from the mouths of the three men, and they howled miserably. One of them lost his right arm, which exploded and vanished into a haze of blood.

They lashed out with extreme power, but it was all contained and blocked. Their faces filled with despair as the shadow of death spread out to cover their hearts.

Down on the ground, the traitorous clan members were being chased down and killed. More blood spread out, and countless people died. Even those who chose to flee ended up finding no place to flee to.

Elders fought viciously. Immortal Realm clan members battled. Spirit Realm clan members went equally wild.

Everything seemed to be turning around for the loyal clan members, and yet Naruto's nervous sensation continued to grow more intense. It was as if… some eruption was about to occur.

As the Patriarchs of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea watched the battle, their feelings, although not as intense as Naruto's, did cause them to hesitate.

"The resources of the Namikaze Clan are extremely profound…. They definitely deserve to be one of the Four Great Clans. However, when the Hebi Clan attacks, could it really be resolved so simply?"

"The Namikaze Clan has unleashed all of their secret weapons. Does the Ji

Clan… have anything left in reserve?"

"Could it be that the three Dao Realm experts outside the sealing shield will join in the battle?"

"Not likely. The Three Great Daoist Societies… have already quelled the uprisings in their respective organizations. If those three dared to enter the fight, the Three Great Daoist Societies would definitely seize the opportunity to make a move!"

"So… what trick does the Hebi Clan have up its sleeve?" The Dao Realm Patriarchs all watched closely.

"Something's off!" As Naruto looked around, he realized that apparently, nobody else had the same feeling as him. He seemed to be the only one in the entire clan who thought something fishy was going on.

Up in midair, booms rang out from the battles going on. Namikaze Yanxu was in a position of complete superiority, and when he attacked, massive explosions resulted. The three Quasi-Dao old men were already injured, and could just barely fight back. Blood spurted out from their wounds constantly, and they were clearly on the verge of being eradicated in spirit and body.

Down below, the traitorous clan members were suffering successive defeats. They were suffering gruesome and severe casualties, and it appeared to be impossible for them to ever again seize the upper hand.

Despite that, the sense of imminent disaster continued to grow stronger in Naruto.

He wasn't sure why, but subconsciously, he found himself looking around at the members of the Namikaze Clan in the ancestral mansion. His gaze swept about, and just when he was about to give up, his eyes suddenly went wide, and fixed upon a single person.

That was… Namikaze Donghan!

Back on Planet South Heaven, he had helped Naruto escape from an ambush. After Naruto returned to the Namikaze Clan, he had not acted with any sort of hostility. Apparently, his main goal was to incite Naruto and Namikaze Wei into fighting each other. After they were both injured, then he would be able to rise to prominence.

That was what Naruto had always assumed. Now, as he looked over at Namikaze Donghan, his heart began to pound. That was because Namikaze Donghan's lips were suddenly twisted into a smile of derision.

Apparently, he was not among the traitors, yet no fighting had occurred in his vicinity. He stood there, apparently able to remain concealed from the views of all others, completely overlooked by everyone around him.

Perhaps you could even say that he had been forgotten!

It was impossible to say what method he had used to make all of the other clan members forget his existence….

He was visible, but anyone that looked at him couldn't remember who he was; it was a strange sensation indeed.

When Naruto looked at him, he could apparently sense it, and looked back. Their gazes locked on to each other, and Naruto's mind filled with roaring. His face flickered as an unprecedented sensation of crisis exploded out within him.

Even as that happened, Naruto's vision swam, and he suddenly felt as if he were entering another world. It was a world where everything was as crimson as blood. The ground was like a mass of gore, and roaring sounds filled the air. All of a sudden, countless iron chains snaked up from the ground. They were red, as if they had been stained by unimaginable amounts of blood, and they flew out in Naruto's direction, instantly wrapping around him to bind him up.

He was absolutely powerless to resist, almost as if he had turned into a mortal. Even more terrifying to Naruto was the fact that he was incredibly sleepy, as if he couldn't even keep his eyelids open.

No matter how alarmed he became, he was incapable of controlling his own body, and was clearly on the verge of falling fast asleep.

As the chains closed in on him, all of a sudden, the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit suddenly began to vibrate inside of his bag of holding.

A tremor ran through him, and then he began to quiver all over. He suddenly woke up, and his eyes widened. The vision he had been experiencing shattered into fragments, which then turned into a windstorm that swept about in all directions. It was as if some massive power had reached out, grabbed ahold of him, and wrenched him forcibly out of that world.

Blood sprayed from his mouth as his vision returned to normal. He was still on Planet East Victory, in the Namikaze Clan. He could see Namikaze Donghan smiling at him, a cold, deviant smile. The sensation Naruto got was that of unspeakable fear and terror. It was as if there was something hiding inside of Namikaze Donghan… some sort of towering Immortal Divinity that could crush even the Dao Realm!

Namikaze Donghan looked deeply at Naruto, as if he were somewhat surprised that Naruto had been able to extricate himself from that strange world.

"He's not Namikaze Donghan!" Rumbling filled Naruto's mind. A single glance had thrown him into a terrifying, blood-colored world, and Naruto got the feeling that if he didn't possess that Nirvana Fruit, then… he would certainly have perished!

Even after having been pulled out, he still coughed up blood, and his chest ached, almost as if his heart had been tugged at by invisible hands. His face was ashen as he backed up, and without the slightest hesitation, he called out to the terracotta soldier with divine will.

 _Get back here!_

The terracotta soldier was currently fighting alongside Namikaze Yanxu against the three Quasi-Dao experts. However, it didn't hesitate for even a moment. As soon as it sensed the divine will, it stopped attacking and shot back toward Naruto.

Even as the terracotta soldier started moving, Namikaze Donghan tilted his head, an icy smile plastered on his face. Then, he extended his right hand and gently waved it through the air.

That movement caused Namikaze Danyun's expression to fall. Rumbling sounds filled him, and blood sprayed from his mouth. He tried to retreat, but before he could move very far, blood spurted out all over his body. Cracking sounds could be heard as numerous rips and tears opened up. It happened ten times in a row, and in the blink of an eye, he was drastically weakened, and even began to emanate a boundless Death aura.

From the look of it, even a Quasi-Dao Paragon… could be severely wounded by a single handwave of Namikaze Donghan!

At the same time, Namikaze Yanxu let out a powerful roar as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Essence power exploded out, the Essence of plants and vegetation. Countless plants appeared in his vicinity, but they immediately withered up. Namikaze Yanxu coughed up a mouthful of blood as he tumbled backward. Apparently, even his cultivation base… was forced back by the attack!

The wave of a hand seriously injured Pill Elder and forced Namikaze Yanxu back. This turn of events was too sudden, and if the terracotta soldier had not been moving toward Naruto, it would have fallen apart. "You…." said Namikaze Yanxu, his eyes wide with disbelief and astonishment. He looked down into the crowd from up in midair, at the person who everyone had overlooked and forgotten… Namikaze Donghan!

"The Hebi Clan is more useless than I thought…." Namikaze Donghan said softly. He stepped up into the air, rising up, his hair floating around him. His appearance gradually changed, and as everyone watched, he became someone else, not Namikaze Donghan, but rather, a middle-aged man.

"Were it not for me awakening just in the nick of time, I'm afraid all of the Hebi Clan's preparations would have been in vain." Namikaze Donghan shook his head as he hovered there in midair, his body emanating boundless cultivation base ripples. He looked like… a Paragon of Heaven and Earth. The sensation of bloodline ripples emanated out from him, making it clear that he was a member of the Namikaze Clan, filling all hearts with rumbling.

"Is there anyone left in the Namikaze Clan who recognizes me?" Namikaze Donghan said, his voice soft but boundlessly ancient.

Chapter 1001:The Hebi Clan's Last Secret Weapon!

Namikaze Yanxu's name in Chinese is 方言墟 fāng yán xū. Yan means

"speech" or "words." Xu means "ruins" ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 1002

Chapter 1002: Who Are You!?

Because of the bloodline aura that emanated off of him, everyone in the Namikaze Clan, including Naruto, could sense that… he was definitely not from the Hebi Clan. He was definitely a member of the Namikaze Clan. Furthermore, the bloodline sense they felt indicated that he was older than almost all of the other clan members. He was incredibly ancient.

Naruto was shaken inwardly. This was the same type of feeling he had gotten from the corpse of the first generation Patriarch in the necropolis!

The entire ancestral mansion was completely quiet, and all clan members stared in shock.

Out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the Dao Realm Patriarchs of the various sects and clans were shaken. Their eyes opened wide, and expressions of shock could be seen on their faces. The feeling they got when looking at Namikaze Donghan was… one of complete terror and fright!

"Who…?" The Dao Realm Patriarchs all felt their faces flickering, and they began to pant. Actually, none of them had the slightest impression of Namikaze Donghan.

"Who are you?!" Namikaze Yanxu's face was pale, and he coughed up another mouthful of blood. His body was almost entirely black, as if some sort of curse power was spreading inside of him.

"Who am I?" asked Namikaze Donghan. Somehow, his expression exuded incredible archaicness.

"I'm Namikaze Daozi. I am… the eldest son of the first generation Patriarch.

Have all you younglings of the Namikaze Clan forgotten about me?" 1 The voice was like thunder striking against all of the Heavens.

His single statement shook all of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. All who heard him, all of the cultivators who were watching, felt their minds battered by waves of shock.

"He's… he's… the eldest son of the Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch?"

"That's not possible! The Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch was of the same era as Lord Ji. He died a long time ago, and his son couldn't possibly have lived for so long!"

" Namikaze Daozi…. Namikaze Daozi…. Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure I've read about that name in the ancient records of the Ninth Mountain and Sea."

The cultivators were in an uproar. As for the Dao Realm Patriarchs, they looked on in wide-eyed shock. However, it didn't take long for them to place the name.

" Namikaze Daozi! I remember that in the earliest generation, there was someone by that name… who was personally killed by the first generation Patriarch. The reason was never made clear!"

"That person existed in an age far, far removed from our own? Is he really still alive?"

"What level has his cultivation base reached?"

Everyone outside the clan was shocked. Strangely, however, the members of the Namikaze Clan stared blankly. None of them had ever even heard of this eldest son of the first generation Patriarch.

It was almost as if there were no record of him in any of the clan's histories at all. And yet, because of the bloodline sensation they got from him, they were certain about one thing. This Namikaze Daozi was absolutely, positively a member of the Namikaze Clan.

Furthermore, he had an ancient bloodline that was completely terrifying!

The Three Great Daoist Societies were shocked by this turn of events. They could never have imagined that a powerful expert like this would be hiding in the Namikaze Clan. Furthermore, his identity was shocking to the extreme. On top of all of that, he was colluding with the Hebi Clan.

As Namikaze Daozi made his appearance on Planet East Victory, the Namikaze Clan's Dao bell began to materialize in midair over the ancestral mansion. Then, it started to emit boundless light, and to toll.

That was… the tolling that could be heard when a clan member appeared with a very strong bloodline. After their identity was recorded in the bell, the resonance that formed caused the bell's tolling to ring out.

The sound shocked all of the members of the Namikaze Clan to the core, and confirmed that Namikaze Daozi… was definitely a member of the Namikaze Clan.

"What an annoying sound," said Namikaze Daoizi, sighing. "It reminds me of that damned old man. Shut UP!" His eyes flickered with an intense light, and as he spoke, the Dao bell suddenly stopped tolling. It went completely silent.

Naruto stood there in the crowd, panting. He looked up at Namikaze Daozi up in midair, and his heart trembled. There was really no possible way he could ever have imagined that there would be such drastic upheavals and momentous events within the Namikaze Clan.

Obviously… these upheavals were closely connected to Namikaze Daozi.

The fighting between the clan members in the ancestral mansion had come to a halt. Everyone was completely shocked as they looked up into the air. Even the traitorous clan members weren't really sure what was happening.

Pill Elder's face was pale white, and he fell back. Namikaze Yanxu wiped the blood from his face and glared down at Namikaze Daozi.

The three Quasi-Dao experts sighed in relief. After glancing fearfully at Namikaze Daozi, their eyes once again filled with the mad desire for destruction, and they glanced coldly at the hosts of cultivators in the Namikaze Clan.

"There really isn't anyone who remembers me?" Namikaze Daozi said with a sigh, his voice incredibly ancient. He then waved his hand and pointed up into the air.

His finger caused the sky to shatter. A huge boom echoed out as a massive vortex appeared. It began to spin, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as something became visible in the vortex.

Shockingly, everyone could see Hebi Xiufang and Namikaze Shoudao fighting each other.

Ji Xiufang then started to laugh. She quickly moved, stepping into the vortex and then appearing in midair above Planet East Victory.

"Xiufang offers greetings, Senior," she said with a sweet smile, bowing to Namikaze Daozi.

Namikaze Shoudao's face went very dark, and he pursued her into the vortex. After emerging from it, he turned to look at Namikaze Daozi, his eyes icy.

" Namikaze Shoudao," Hebi Xiufang said, smiling, "instead of looking at this as the Hebi Clan attacking the Namikaze Clan, it would be better to say… that the Hebi Clan is just paying back a favor to a Senior member of the Namikaze Clan."

Namikaze Shoudao didn't respond. He clasped hands and bowed to Namikaze Daozi.

"Shoudao offers greetings, Patriarch Daozi."

Namikaze Daozi looked over at Namikaze Shoudao and smiled.

"You're a descendant from Old Third's bloodline, right?" he said coolly. "You know, I'm very disappointed by the Namikaze Clan. After all these years, you only have two Dao Realm experts…. Well, since that's the case, I'm just going to have to disband the current Namikaze Clan, starting today!

"A new Namikaze Clan will begin on Planet East Victory, and I will lead it on a different path." With that, he waved his right hand, causing miserable screams to rise up from the members of the Namikaze Clan. Only the traitorous members were unaffected. Everyone else felt their blood begin to boil, as if it were literally burning.

It was the same with Naruto. His blood began to boil, as if it wanted to explode out of him. Namikaze Danyun, Namikaze Yanxu and even Namikaze Shoudao all experienced the same thing.

Because of Namikaze Daozi, the entire clan instantly changed.

Naruto trembled, but endured the pain, his eyes shining with a strange light.

"Father definitely knew all of this was going to happen. He sent me here to Planet East Victory. Therefore… there must not be any real danger. The Namikaze Clan… must still have one more move left."

Namikaze Shoudao was trembling. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he was incapable of stopping his blood from burning. From the feeling he got, Namikaze Daozi was in the Dao Realm, just like him. However, there was something completely unfathomable about him.

Namikaze Shoudao knew that in the Dao Realm, every additional Essence caused your cultivation base to experience drastic changes. A difference of one level was enormous, and yet, despite all this, Namikaze Shoudao's expression didn't reveal the slightest bit of alarm or shock. All he did was close his eyes.

That reaction caused Hebi Xiufang to stare in shock. The alarm she felt in her heart continued to grow.

"For him to be so calm indicates that the Namikaze Clan hasn't played all of their trump cards. Why is he so calm even when poised on the brink of destruction!?"

Even as shock filled Hebi Xiufang 's heart, Namikaze Daozi caught sight of Namikaze Shoudao's calmness, and his heart thumped. Gradually, an idea was forming within his mind that even he didn't dare to think was possible.

As soon as the idea flared up, he pushed it down. He was just about to wave his hand, when his body began to tremble. His face then flickered rapidly, and his eyes flashed as they sought out Naruto from within the crowds.

When he looked over, Naruto's mind trembled. However, he clenched his jaw and looked back at Namikaze Daozi. Next to thim, the terracotta soldier's eyes flickered, and it moved to stand in front of Naruto, exploding out with power to help protect Naruto. It raised its greatsword, seemingly ready to pay any price, even be crushed into dust, to keep Naruto safe.

It was at this point that Namikaze Daozi's face fell. "No. He's not here… he's…."

All of a sudden, he turned to look toward the rift from which the terracotta soldier had emerged.

He was looking… through the rift into the Ancestral Land!

"Impossible!" Namikaze Daozi's eyes widened as if he was looking at something completely and utterly unbelievable. He began to pant, his casual attitude disappeared, and his ancientness suddenly seemed to vanish. Without even thinking about it, he stepped backward a few paces, his eyes turning crimson.

"Impossible! This is completely impossible!" He seemed to be going mad. He roared and extended his right hand, pointing toward the rift. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, three streams of Essence Chakra shot out from Namikaze Daozi, causing everything to shake. Planet East Victory trembled so violently it seemed as though it might collapse.

One of those streams was just like Namikaze Yanxu's Essence of plants and vegetation. It was an Essence of boundless life force, and as soon as it appeared, the sky dimmed and a huge wind kicked up.

The origin and source of all things is Essence!

A thorough understanding of Essence, mastery and control of the control of Essence, that is the Dao Realm!

In addition to the Essence of plants and vegetation, there was a stream of flickering lightning that emitted rumbling sounds. That was… the Essence of lightning, an indestructible lightning that could eternally destroy everything in Heaven and Earth. When it appeared, the lightning bolt seemed to replace all the light in the world.

The third of Namikaze Daozi's Essence streams was, shockingly… an incredibly strong aura of Death. It was the will of the underworld and the Yellow Springs, a magic of reincarnation!

It was the Essence of reincarnation!

These terrifying Dao Realm Essences shot toward the rift, as if to completely destroy it.

However, even as the three streams of Essence neared the rift, a hand slowly stretched out from within. It waved a finger, and all of the Essences vanished. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust….

The hand was incredibly withered, as if it didn't contain an ounce of blood within it. It looked like an old, dead tree, and yet, power appeared within that finger. It was a power that could shock Heaven and Earth, and shook the minds of the Dao Realm experts of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Furthermore, unprecedented ripples spread out from the Ninth Mountain in that instant. It was as if there was someone in the Hebi Clan who slept eternally… but had been awoken by the sudden appearance of that hand.

Namikaze Daozi's body trembled, and his face went ashen. A wild look of disbelief appeared in his eyes.

"The Withered Tree Blossoms in Spring Incantation 2…. Impossible. He's dead! I saw it happen with my own eyes! I felt him die! His Essence vanished, and his soul doesn't exist anywhere in Heaven and Earth. He was never reborn into the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"I'm absolutely certain, that… he really did die that year! He couldn't possibly be alive! Who are you? WHO ARE YOU!?" Namikaze Daozi's heart was pounding, and he was filled with indescribable fear as he yelled, raving madly.

Namikaze Daozi's name in Chinese is 方道子 Fāng dào zǐ – Dao is the same as

"the Dao." Zi is "son" or "child." Actually, the Daozi is the same as what I usually translate as "Dao Child" ↩ This magic is based on a Chinese idiom which means "to get a new lease on life, to be revived ↩

Vol. 6 : Chapter 1003

Chapter 1003: First Generation Patriarch!

There had been many twists and turns during these upheavals in the Namikaze Clan. Namikaze Daozi had awakened; however, even that was not as astounding to the Ninth Mountain and Sea as this current scene.

The Dao Realm Patriarchs of all the sects and clans looked on with pale faces and trembling minds. When the hand stretched out of the vortex from the Namikaze Clan's ancestral Land, their minds went completely blank.

The first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan was a person from the history of the Ninth Mountain and Sea that could never be forgotten

Long ago, when chaos reigned, he followed the mysterious Lord Li on a long campaign to vanquish all the powers of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. He started out as nothing, yet rose to a level of prominence that placed him higher than all the Heavens. He carried out a slaughter which caused all to dread him. His mad valiance stained every corner of the starry sky as red as blood!

It was during that time that they also came to know Lord Ji. They were three stunning, outstanding figures in history, Paragons of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, people who became the nightmares of an era.

They eventually gathered a following of three Archdemons, as well as numerous other powerful experts who joined them for the purpose of unifying the Ninth Mountain and Sea. In the end, there were nine great Doyens.

When the chaos of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was finally brought to an end, the Demon Immortal Sect was founded. It was the most powerful sect in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, a force that all other powers and sects had no choice but to pay obeisance to.

During feasts and other occasions, people would often say that without the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan, perhaps… Lord Li's war for the Heavens would have been much more difficult. That was because there were numerous occasions on which the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan risked his own life to save Lord Li.

Because of all of that, the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan rocked the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea. Even though he had passed away in meditation long ago, the one withered hand that appeared now filled the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea with shock.

The Three Great Daoist Societies were astonished, and a huge commotion rose from the Hebi Clan on the Ninth Mountain.

In fact, the will of the eternally slumbering first generation Patriarch of the Hebi Clan, who had become undying by fusing with the Heavens, suddenly awoke and… looked in the direction of his old friend.

In the moment that he awoke, all of the natural laws in the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea grew calm.

It was as if, in that moment, there was nothing left in the whole Ninth

Mountain and Sea other than the hand that had emerged from that rift. As the Essence power dispersed, a figure appeared, clad in a long green robe. He stepped slowly out of the vortex to become the center of all attention.

All members of the Namikaze Clan who saw him felt their minds rumbling, as if they were being struck by a hundred thousand lightning bolts. This person was very familiar to them. How could they not know who he was?

There wasn't a single clan member who hadn't seen his picture in the past, and bowed in worship to it.

It was… the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan!

Naruto felt as if his scalp was about explode. The shock felt by everyone else was nothing compared to how he felt. That was because Naruto instantly realized that this man… was the same corpse he had seen sitting cross-legged in the necropolis!

"He's… he's actually alive!" thought Naruto, panting. Then he thought back to how he had practiced cultivation in the necropolis, presumably under this man's observation, and he suddenly felt cold sweat dripping down his back.

As soon as the man stepped out of the vortex, Namikaze Shoudao's eyes went wide with excitement and reverence.

"Greetings, first generation Patriarch!" he said, immediately dropping to his knees to kowtow.

Namikaze Yanxu's expression was calm. His injuries from moments ago were still there, but the alarm on his face before had been an act. Now, a look of pious zealotry could be seen as he dropped down to offer worship.

Namikaze Danyun similarly dropped to his knees.

All members of the Namikaze Clan dropped to their knees, their hearts trembling. As for the traitorous clan members, they stood there for a moment, quivering. Then one of them, it was hard to say who, dropped down to kowtow, and they all followed suit.

Suddenly, the earth began to crumble, and a huge hole appeared, which stretched all the way down to reveal the Seventh Patriarch, and all of the other Patriarchs with him, all of whom ceased fighting and dropped down in worship.

Naruto's eyes were wide as he followed along with everyone else to offer formal greetings to the first generation Patriarch.

His mind was spinning as he suddenly thought about the things his father had told him before he had left for Planet East Victory. He had seemed very certain that Naruto would not be in any danger on Planet East Victory.

"The Nirvana Fruits were just bait to get me to come here…" he thought in a sudden moment of realization.

Ji Xiufang stared, dazed, and her entire body trembled violently as the green-robed man walked out of the vortex. She began to pant, and her mind was reeling. She had also seen depictions of the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan, and had heard many of the terrifying legends about him.

He was a person who… had struck even Lord Hebi with terror back in the days when the two of them were contending for control of the Heavens!

It took Hebi Xiufang only a split second to understand everything.

"So this is Namikaze Shoudao's trump card," she thought. "He knew all along that the first generation Patriarch was still alive. The whole time, their goal… had nothing to do with the Hebi Clan. It was all for… Namikaze Daozi!"

When she saw the first generation Patriarch walking out, her face drained of blood. She suddenly realized that from the very, very beginning, she herself had been nothing more than a clown. She had been completely confident that victory was already in her grasp, that all contingencies had been planned for with nothing overlooked. However… she had completely miscalculated the most important thing!

The first generation Patriarch was actually still alive!

"How could this be…? The Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch died! Even the Essence of the Ninth Mountain and Sea confirmed it! There is no way that he could still be alive! The Essence of the Ninth Mountain and Sea belongs to Patriarch Ji! How could he possibly have made a mistake!?" As Hebi Xiufang felt shock rolling through her, Namikaze Daozi gazed at the figure walking out of the rift, and mentally collapsed. "Impossible…. This is simply impossible…." Namikaze Daozi was shaking hard. The person he had most feared in his entire life was none other than his father, the first generation Patriarch.

That terror was so great that, in the years during which Lord Hebi fought for control of the Heavens, he had chosen to Sever his own fear. That fear was his inner Devil, and without severing it, he would have found it very difficult to advance his cultivation base ever again.

That inner Devil was actually a fetter that he had shackled himself with. During the war, he had sided with the Hebi Clan, and when it came time for the Hebi Clan and the Namikaze Clan to fight each other, he was the first person in the history of the Namikaze Clan… to ever betray his clan.

He would never forget the look of disappointment in his father's eyes, that expression of sadness and guilt that covered his face. When Namikaze Daozi saw that, he was incredibly happy, and even started to laugh out loud.

 _You founded the Namikaze Clan? Well I'm going to destroy it! That's because I'm going to make a new Namikaze Clan, MY Namikaze Clan!_

Those were the words Namikaze Daozi had spoken when his father had suppressed him. He had even laughed.

The Namikaze Clan lost that war. The Hebi Clan won, gaining control of the Heavens, and securing Lordship of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The reason for their victory wasn't solely because of the traitor Namikaze Daozi, but his betrayal had played a significant role.

As for Namikaze Daozi, he was eventually put down by the first generation Patriarch. Despite his grave crimes, the Patriarch couldn't bear to kill him. He destroyed his body, letting his soul remain behind to be reborn as a new member of the Namikaze Clan.

By the time the first generation Patriarch passed away into meditation, Namikaze Daozi had been reborn numerous times into the Namikaze Clan. Were it not for Hebi Tian's use of Karma magic after the passing away of the first generation Patriarch, then perhaps Namikaze Daozi would have remained in that cycle of rebirth for all time. Life after life, never remembering who he was.

However, because of the magic of Karma, he awoke.

Then, he remembered everything that had happened, and that wild desire for the destruction of the clan burned in him once again.

He remained deeply hidden, restoring his cultivation base, not letting even a single hint out about his true identity. Eventually, he died and was reborn again. From then on, though, he awoke every time he experienced rebirth. Each time, he would continue to practice his cultivation, and gradually grew stronger and stronger.

However, he never dared to make a move. Although he had heard his father died, he wasn't absolutely, positively certain he was dead. He also wasn't sure whether his father had left behind any precautions before dying. However, he was patient. He waited and watched, never making a move, waiting until he was sure that he would succeed.

However, when Namikaze Heshan crushed that jade slip, the plan went into motion early. Namikaze Daozi's hand was forced. Of course, even if the plan been carried out at some later time, the Namikaze Clan would still have been thrown into complete chaos because of the preparations made by the Hebi Clan.

Their willingness to put the plan into action was due to the matter of the legacy of Lord Li, a legacy that even Lord Hebi had not been able to acquire. The Hebi Clan had suddenly calculated that destiny related to that legacy was on Planet East Victory.

Namikaze Daozi had waited until he was sure the Namikaze Clan had shown its entire hand, and was on its last legs. He was made even more confident… when Naruto absorbed the first generation Patriarch's Nirvana Fruit. Because of the bloodline sensation that Namikaze Daozi experienced, he was finally fully convinced that his father really was dead!

Therefore, he finally chose to reveal himself, and step into the light.

He had never imagined that after all of his analyses, after all of his preparations, in the moment when he was just about to succeed, all of a sudden he would find out that his father… wasn't actually dead!

"This is impossible! If you weren't really dead, why didn't you kill me earlier…?" cried Namikaze Daozi, trembling.

The person to answer was not the first generation Patriarch, but rather, Namikaze Shoudao.

"We were aware of the identities of all of the traitorous members of the Namikaze Clan," he said softly, "except for you. We could have killed them at any time. However, that wouldn't have done any good. As long as you remained alive, wiping them out would only be postponing the calamity.

"As for you, we really couldn't figure out who you were…. Only Hebi Tian could possibly pick up clues regarding the first generation Patriarch's magical technique. Even I couldn't determine who you had been reborn as.

"Only your death can ensure that the roots of the Namikaze Clan's catastrophe would be severed.

"Therefore, we set up this elaborate scheme, the purpose of which… was to lure you out!" As he spoke, his eyes shifted over to Naruto.

Naruto's face flickered. His heart was filled with complicated emotions as he looked at the rivers of blood staining the grounds of the ancestral mansion.

When the Second Patriarch, Fourth Patriarch and Sixth Patriarch heard Namikaze Shoudao's words, their faces went pale white.

"Well, who cares if you're still alive!?" growled Namikaze Daozi. "I might not have succeeded this time, but at least… I get to take a lot of members of the Namikaze Clan to the grave with me! That's good enough!" Namikaze Daozi threw his head back and laughed, his expression vicious. The instant he saw his father walk out, he knew… that he was defeated.

However, what he said as true. More than half of the entire clan had been killed. Rivers of blood and mounds of corpses could be seen everywhere.

Namikaze Shoudao didn't reply. He looked at Namikaze Daozi, his expression complex. As the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch, he was aware of Namikaze Daozi's whole story. He also knew that Namikaze Daozi wasn't aware of the whole truth of the matter, which caused him to sigh.

"Senior Daozi," he said quietly, "this planet… is not the same Planet

East Victory it used to be."

In response, Namikaze Daozi gaped, and his face fell. It was as if he had suddenly remembered something which caused his jaw to drop in shock.

It was in that moment that Namikaze Shoudao turned to the first generation Patriarch and bowed deeply.

The green-robed first generation Patriarch, who hadn't said a single word so far, extended his hand towards the lands around him.

Withered Tree… Blossoms in Spring!

Vol. 6 : Chapter 1004

Chapter 1004: The Namikaze Clan!

"Withered Tree, Blossoms in Spring" contained two meanings. One meaning was that in the conclusion of all things that was death, there would often appear a bit of life. It was just like reincarnation, which connected life and death. It was a cycle, an endless, never-ending cycle. Another meaning of the expression… was not that of reincarnation.

It was a meaning that pertained to a type of cycle, but not the blooming of spring; yet, it was equally about life.

Naruto looked on in astonishment as the first generation Patriarch waved his hand. Then, he watched wide-eyed as one of the most shocking things he had ever before witnessed played out in front of his very eyes.

What he saw was time suddenly come to a stop both inside and outside the ancestral mansion. Then, everything began to move backward!

Breath by breath, moment by moment, everything began to go in reverse. Blood that had sprayed out was returned to the body. Severed heads returned to the necks that they had left. Everyone who had toppled over in death, once again stood in place. People running forward began to speed backward. Adversaries locked in deadly fighting split apart.

Naruto panted as this happened to everyone in the entire Namikaze Clan, with the exception of himself and five other people. None of those five people seemed very surprised by what was happening.

They were: the first generation Patriarch, Namikaze Shoudao, Namikaze Yanxu, Namikaze Danyun and Namikaze Daozi.

Everyone else, including Hebi Xiufang and the three Quasi-Dao experts, as well as everyone else in the Namikaze Clan, was affected by the magic.

Naruto panted as he saw fighting clan members separate and move back in time to their original positions. Even more shocking to Naruto was that he could actually… see himself.

He saw the entire fight with Namikaze Wei. He saw the deaths of Namikaze Wei, Namikaze Xiushan, and Namikaze Heshan, all playing in reverse. Everyone who should have been dead, was now alive.

To be able to watch such things happening led to an indescribable feeling. Naruto was completely rattled.

Throughout the entire Namikaze Clan, time flowed in reverse. The blood that stained the ground vanished, and everyone who had died appeared alive once again, until finally, everyone was watching Naruto and Namikaze Wei fighting up in midair.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, everything went motionless.

Naruto stood there, expression blank as he stared.

It was at this point that the first generation Patriarch waved his hand again, causing all of the members of the Namikaze Clan who had died to all vanish. The loyal ones disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving behind only the traitorous clan members.

Even Namikaze Wei disappeared.

Next, the first generation Patriarch clenched his hand into a fist.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the world in front of him collapsed.

As it did, numerous dots of light could be seen falling down to the ground.

Back in the ancestral mansion, the loyal clan members who had died could now be seen, their expressions blank but tinged with disbelief.

"What just happened? I remember… I remember dying!"

"What is this place? Is this… still the Namikaze Clan?"

"Just what exactly is going on!?" The resurrected members of the Namikaze Clan looked around in shock. The surrounding traitorous clan members began to tremble violently. Then, blood sprayed out of their mouths and their gazes went dark as they toppled dead to the ground.

The Second Patriarch died. The Fourth and Sixth Patriarchs… died. They all died.

There was not a single exception!

Anyone who had betrayed the clan instantly died!

It was as if their deaths were the price that had to be paid to return the dead clan members to life!

Naruto looked out into the crowds and saw a young man who was… none other than Namikaze Wei!

As Namikaze Wei looked around, his expression was at first blank. However, his eyes quickly grew clear, and eventually, he found himself looking back at Naruto. His expression was a complex one as he sighed inwardly.

The cultivators of the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea watched with spinning minds. Even the Dao Realm Patriarchs were trembling, and looked terrified.

"A transformation between life and death? I can't believe that the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan… has actually reached such a realm!"

"But, how come I feel that this isn't transformation, but rather… that he actually reached back in time, grabbed those dead people, and then pulled them here. W-what kind of cultivator is he? To be able to do something like that is absolutely terrifying!"

"How enigmatic! The Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch is impossible to predict!"

As of this moment, Naruto finally realized why his father had been so certain that he was completely safe…. Also, he was now completely sure that his father had played a part in this plan regarding the first generation Patriarch.

"Fudge!" he thought. "Of course I was completely safe. Even if I died, the first generation Patriarch could bring me back…. But… but a magical technique like that is simply too Heaven-defying! How could a Dao like that even exist!?" His heart still surged with waves of shock. For some reason, he had the feeling that the terrifying first generation Patriarch's magical technique was something that could only be used a limited number of times.

Also, it must surely come with some sort of backlash effect, as well as… other limitations. Otherwise, the Namikaze Clan couldn't possibly have lost their war with the Hebi Clan!

"Could it be that it only works on Planet East Victory?" he thought, his eyes narrowing. Then he thought back to something Namikaze Shoudao had said.

 _Planet East Victory is not the same Planet East Victory it used to be…._ Naruto's heart trembled, and an idea suddenly popped up in his mind.

He thought about how the ultimate form of One Thought Stellar Transformation was… to transform into a planet!

His eyes went wide as he looked down at the ground beneath his feet. He almost couldn't believe that it was true.

"So THIS… is the Namikaze Clan?" he thought, his mind reeling.

Almost in the same moment that the members of the Namikaze Clan were resurrected, Hebi Xiufang 's heart filled with waves of astonishment. A critical sensation of life and death danger filled her. Without any further hesitation, she tried to flee, flying up into the air toward the starry sky. Whether or not she could succeed in escaping was irrelevant, she had no choice but to try.

She had never before seen a Daoist magic like this one, and seeing all of the members of the Namikaze Clan being resurrected filled her with intense fear.

It was the same with the three Quasi-Dao old men. Although they were insane, they were still capable of feeling fear. Scalps numb, faces pale, they turned and fled.

Namikaze Daozi stared blankly as the other clan members were resurrected, and slowly, a look of bitterness appeared in his eyes.

"It was all just a play," Namikaze Shoudao said softly, looking at Namikaze Daozi with a look that contained both empathy and pity.

A play. A play in which even the Hebi Clan had become nothing but actors, actors come to participate in a grand performance. The fact that the first generation Patriarch could be so domineering as to plot out such an enormous play caused Naruto to inhale deeply in shock.

However, he still had a strange feeling. Why… did the first generation Patriarch seem to… completely lack any sort of expression?

"Considering that father managed to reach the point of being able to transform into a planet," said Namikaze Daozi, a complex expression flickering in his eyes, "if he had wanted to find me, it would have been a simple matter." He looked hesitatingly toward Namikaze Shoudao.

"Because your father didn't want that," Namikaze Shoudao explained.

When Namikaze Daozi heard that, he began to shake. Then he threw his head back and burst out with bitter, uproarious laughter. He turned to look at the first generation Patriarch in his green robe, his expression one of grief, fury, and countless other emotions.

Considering who he was, and the level of his cultivation base, how could he not understand the situation? The first generation Patriarch in front of him was not his father's true self. His father… was really and truly dead.

What had appeared right now was, not really a clone, but actually… his father incarnated as a planet, then left behind as a trump card for the Namikaze Clan.

He was… the soul of the planet!

It was the soul of his father in a different state of existence!

Despite being dead, despite being the soul of a planet, he still complied with the dying wishes of the first generation Patriarch and did not seek out the reincarnated version of Namikaze Daozi, who harbored such evil intentions toward the clan.

"After the first generation Patriarch passed away into meditation, he left behind some dying words that I came to hear after I became the Earth Patriarch. Only recently did I come to understand that those words were actually meant for you.

"He believed that eventually, the day would come in some particular generation that you would become the Namikaze Clan's Earth Patriarch, and thus, he left those words behind for you." Namikaze Shoudao looked at Namikaze Daozi with a complicated expression.

"Those words were… _Everything I told you the year that I suppressed you… was true._ "

"True…. True…." Namikaze Daozi began to laugh with even greater bitterness. He looked over again at the figure of his father, a middleaged man in a green robe. He would never forget the year that his father suppressed him, and what he had said. Back when he and the Hebi Clan both followed Lord Li on the campaign trail, the Hebi Clan had sown Karma onto the newly born Namikaze Daozi.

That Karma was very deep, and required the expenditure of almost all of Lord Ji's cultivation base, such that even the first generation Patriarch couldn't detect it.

By the time he did, it was too late. He went to war with the Hebi Clan, not for rulership of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, but rather, for revenge.

Namikaze Daozi laughed bitterly, then flew up into the air, his thoughts in chaos. He no longer wished to remain on Planet East Victory, nor to see the other members of the Namikaze Clan. His head hurt, and madness filled him as he shot up into the starry sky.

Naruto felt torn as he watched Namikaze Daozi. Then he turned to look at the first generation Patriarch, and couldn't help but think about Ke Yunhai and Ke Jiusi. He also thought about his own father.

" Namikaze Minato, Namikaze Minato," he sighed. The more he thought about the situation, the angrier Naruto got. "Are you really my dad…? You were willing to throw your own son into a perilous situation like this? Well, you're my dad so I can't say anything, but is mom going to let you off the hook?"

Namikaze Shoudao did nothing to stop Namikaze Daozi. He watched him attempting to leave, then clasped hands and bowed deeply toward the first generation Patriarch.

"Patriarch, please execute those who have offended our clan!"

The first generation Patriarch's expression was the same as ever as he extended his right hand and pointed up into the sky. Rumbling could be heard, and a monstrous killing aura could be sensed. Shockingly… that aura did not come from the first generation Patriarch, but rather… it exploded out from the planet itself.

In that moment, all of the plants and trees on Planet East Victory, all of the numerous buildings, all of the living things, exploded with the desire to kill. This was the wrath of an entire planet!

The intense killing intent surged up into the sky, passing Namikaze Daozi without hurting him in the least. However, when it slammed into the Quasi-Dao experts, the three old men were instantly killed.

Wiping them out was as easy as crushing dried weeds. They weren't even qualified to fight back. Booms could be heard as they were transformed directly into ash. Then, the killing intent spread out further into the starry sky, where it caught up to Hebi Xiufang . Her level of terror couldn't have been any higher as the killing intent slashed toward her.

"Patriarch, save me!" she screamed, scared out of her mind. Despite being a Dao Realm expert, compared to the killing intent of an entire planet, she was weak beyond compare!

As of this moment, all of the powers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were being given a demonstration… of the supremely domineering power that the Namikaze Clan had kept hidden for so long!

They were using actions to tell everyone that the Namikaze Clan… was just as powerful as it had always been! Anyone who offended the Namikaze Clan… would be executed no matter how far they tried to run!

—–

 _End of Book 6: Fame That Rocks the Ninth Mountain; the Path to True_

 _Immortality_

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1005

 _Book 7: Immortal Ancient Builds a Bridge Leaving the Ninth Mountain!_

Chapter 1005: Hope Regarding the Ancient Realm!

As the killing intent of virtually the entire planet began to envelop Hebi Xiufang , an ancient voice calmly spoke out from the Ninth Mountain, echoing out to fill the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Elder Brother Namikaze …." said the voice, seemingly filling the entire starry sky of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Planets trembled, and innumerable ripples shrank down into the form of an eye.

Within that eye, an old man sat cross-legged. He had white hair, and looked very ancient, and as he spoke, he lifted his right hand and pointed toward Planet East Victory.

As he pointed, boundless ripples spread out through the starry sky, covering Planet East Victory as if to prevent the first generation Patriarch from attacking.

Up to now, the first generation Patriarch hadn't spoken a single word. Now, his hoarse voice echoed out, speaking a single sentence that caused the ripples in the starry sky to suddenly stop in place.

"I demand rectification!"

At the same time, Hebi Xiufang screamed miserably. The sound echoed out as her head was separated from her body. Her body was then crushed into nothing but fragments, as if by a gigantic hand.

She was annihilated, destroyed in both spirit and body!

Even an almighty Dao Realm expert couldn't stand up to a single blow from the killing intent of the first generation Patriarch!

In the moment that Hebi Xiufang died, a boom could be heard as the killing intent slammed violently into the sealing shield surrounding Planet East Victory. Cracking sounds could be heard as the spell, being maintained by the combined forces of three of the Hebi Clan's Dao Realm experts, collapsed into pieces.

It shattered into countless tiny pieces that were swept up by a massive wind, which then blew them away from Planet East Victory. Innumerable fissures then opened up in the void, spreading out in a way that resembled a spider web.

The three Dao Realm experts were scared witless, and their minds filled with roaring. Their faces fell as they did everything they could think of to escape, even to the point of unleashing Essence power.

However… the killing intent from Planet East Victory was as intense as ever, enough to shake all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Patriarch, save us!" The three Dao Realm experts were so scared they felt as if their scalps were about to explode. An intense sensation of deadly crisis filled them, a feeling of fear that they had not experienced for a long, long time. It was as if… the killing intent from Planet East Victory wanted to wipe them clean away from the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Any one of these people could set foot onto any planet in the Ninth Mountain and Sea and make it tremble. A mere glance from them could send a sect rising to the top, or could destroy it. But now, they were so terrified that their hearts were trembling.

They knew that the killing intent of the Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch… could prevent them from entering reincarnation. They would never be reborn, and would truly be erased from the world.

They could only watch as the killing intent bore down on them, three Dao Realm Patriarchs of the Hebi Clan. It was at this point that more ripples spread out through the starry sky, as if some power were forcefully interposing itself between the killing intent and the three old men. The ripples formed together into a huge, illusory eye.

The eye appeared to be ancient, and as soon as it appeared, it stared fixedly at the killing intent.

"Elder Brother Namikaze , enough! You're not a match for me."

The killing intent came to a stop in front of the eye. Scintillating light spread out as it formed into the shape of a person. It was the first generation Patriarch, who hovered there, formed from countless motes of shining light that made his visage somewhat blurry.

At the same time, the old man sitting cross-legged within the eye looked over calmly at the first generation Patriarch.

"I might not be able to seal the Heavens, but I can shatter the Heavens of the Ninth Mountain and Sea," the first generation Patriarch said coolly. As his voice echoed out, Naruto was standing down on Planet East Victory. Even with the level of his cultivation base, he was able to see what was happening. He looked up into the sky and saw the killing intent of the first generation Patriarch. He watched him slaughter a Dao Realm expert, and then cause the other three Dao Realm cultivators to flee for their lives. All of this caused Naruto's eyes to gleam with a strange light.

"One of these days, I'm going to be just as powerful as him!" he thought, panting. When he heard the first generation Patriarch's words, an even stranger expression rose up on his face.

"How come it seems like these two guys are playing chess? One of them knows he can't outplay the other, but he still gives the impression that if he gets pissed off enough, he could just flip over the game board…." Naruto cleared his throat. For some reason he suddenly realized that he quite liked the style of the first generation Patriarch.

Up in the starry sky, the old man in the giant eye didn't respond to the Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch.

"The Hebi Clan is not permitted to step half a pace into the starry sky surrounding Planet East Victory," the first generation Patriarch said slowly.

The old man in the giant eye looked deeply at the first generation Patriarch, then slowly nodded. Finally, the eye flew backward, enveloped the three Dao Realm experts, and then vanished.

The matter of Hebi Xiufang and the three Quasi-Dao old men wasn't brought up…. Apparently, the Hebi Clan was willing to give them up as the price to pay to the Namikaze Clan to end the situation.

When the giant eye faded away, the image of the first generation Patriarch also disappeared. No figure was visible, and the killing intent vanished. Everything went back to normal.

However, the Ninth Mountain and Sea was only beginning to be shaken.

All of the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea witnessed the rise of the Namikaze Clan that day. They personally watched as the Namikaze Clan of former glory, which had remained quiet and silent for so many years, once again became one of the most domineering forces in the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Even the Hebi Clan had to pay the price, which caused all cultivators to gasp. Now, they looked toward the Namikaze Clan with expressions of shock and fear.

The Namikaze Clan had remained quiet for a long time, leading many people in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to believe that their strength was just for show. Now, such notions were shattered. The Namikaze Clan made it very clear to everyone that they were just as domineering as they always had been!

The reappearance of the first generation Patriarch, despite him being a clone, or more accurately, the soul of Planet East Victory, caused everyone who witnessed the event to be thoroughly shaken.

Furthermore, it became known that, in addition to the first generation Patriarch, the Namikaze Clan had two Dao Realm experts. In the end, though, it was the first generation Patriarch himself that was the most shocking deterrent.

Considering the Hebi Clan was incapable of exterminating the Namikaze Clan, how could any of the other sects and clans possibly be qualified to be on an equal footing with them?

The Ninth Mountain and Sea was completely and utterly shaken.

The Dao Realm Patriarchs of the various sects and clans mused on the matter silently. It was now with great caution and fear that they looked toward Planet East Victory and the Namikaze Clan.

The first generation Patriarch had slaughtered Dao Realm experts, instilling such fear that they could only gasp in response.

"Considering the Namikaze Clan is like this, they fully deserve to be called… the despots of the Ninth Mountain and Sea."

"When the Namikaze Clan revealed all their trump cards in that battle, and allowed everyone to see, you would think that would remove some of their air of mystery. And yet… that final trump card is simply too astonishing…."

After much thought, the Dao Realm experts sighed and returned to their various organizations.

It was in this manner that the upheavals of the Namikaze Clan ended. The Namikaze Clan was the clear winner. The Namikaze s bared by the Hebi Clan were shorn clean, and they were forced to pay the price of one Dao Realm expert and three Quasi-Dao cultivators.

At the same time, the problem of the traitors within the Namikaze Clan was handled perfectly. After the baptism of blood, the Namikaze Clan… was more stable than ever.

In addition to the presence of the first generation Patriarch, the Namikaze Clan also had a worthy successor. First was Naruto, who was already stunning beyond compare, a person the Ninth Mountain and Sea would never forget. Joining Naruto was Namikaze Wei.

The fact that Namikaze Wei was focused on defending the clan to the death was something that many people had noted.

Naruto and Namikaze Wei were now objects of admiration and envy on the part of the other sects and clans.

"First they have Naruto, who stifled all of the members of his generation! His path… will definitely stretch far and wide. And then there's Namikaze Wei. He might be a bit weaker than Naruto, but he's strong enough to defend the clan!"

"One will wage battle outside the clan, the other will remain inside to defend it! With the two of them, the Namikaze Clan will only achieve greater heights of glory…."

"No wonder the Hebi Clan attacked the Namikaze Clan. It won't be too long before… the Namikaze Clan might be strong enough to contend with Lord Hebi for control of the Heavens again. After all, they're the Namikaze Clan, ya know? They used to be just like the Hebi Clan, a powerful clan of warriors!"

"The Hebi Clan has their Karma, and the Namikaze Clan has their reincarnation.

Two warrior clans who caused a rain of blood to fall upon the Ninth

Mountain and Sea back in the day…."

The war of the Namikaze Clan ended. However, it didn't take long before the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea sprang into action. Various Patriarchs prepared to personally take their Chosen to Planet East Victory to offer congratulatory gifts due to the appearance of the first generation Patriarch.

After the Hebi Clan left, Planet East Victory returned to normal. The only thing that remained of the traitorous clan members was their blood that stained the ground, and the reek of gore that filled the air. The resurrected clan members were filled with complex feelings. Under the direction of the Grand Elder, the recovery work began.

Namikaze Wei stood there silently. After looking around, bitterness rose up in his heart, and he bowed his head.

The first generation Patriarch did not stay. The whole clan bowed deeply in respect as he reentered the rift to the ancestral land. In the moment before he disappeared, he turned and looked at Naruto for a moment.

In that moment, a tremor ran through Naruto, and the first generation Patriarch's voice suddenly rang out in his mind.

"You have signs of the legacy of Lord Li on you…. The legacy of Lord Li is connected to East Victory. At the same time, it is no longer on Planet East Victory; it has already been acquired by a cultivator from this planet.

"As for the Hebi Clan sowing chaos here in the Namikaze Clan, that also had to do with the legacy. Actually, the legacy was used simply to draw out the Hebi Clan; a strategy, that's all. However, when the time comes to activate it, if it is connected to you by destiny, then you should be able to do so.

"One Thought Stellar Transformation…. Without a bloodline clone, it's impossible to cultivate it to the final degree!

"Nirvana Fruits… use them well. The members of the Namikaze Clan have four lives. If you combine them together at the right time, then you can open… the door to the Ancient Realm!

"You and I are connected by destiny, drawn together by blood…. The

Ancient Realm begins with Dao Fruit, but you… if you begin with Nirvana Fruit, then you can accomplish something completely unheard of and shake the entire Nine Mountains and Seas!"

The ancient voice echoed in Naruto's ears before fading away. Naruto trembled as he watched the first generation Patriarch step into the rift and then vanish.

After hearing the Patriarch's words, Naruto's eyes began to shine. Gradually he came to a new understanding. Before, he had been confused as to the role played by the Nirvana Fruits in the whole matter. How effective would they have been if Namikaze Heshan had been able to resist the urge to spring into action? If that had happened, wouldn't it mean that the entire series of events simply wouldn't have occurred?

Naruto now understood that the core element of the plan hadn't been his Nirvana Fruits, but rather, the revelation regarding the legacy of Lord Li. That was why the Hebi Clan had made their move.

"One Thought Stellar Transformation… a Daoist magic that, when cultivated to the ultimate degree, can be used to incarnate into a planet…." The starstone in his left eye glittered, causing his heart to pound even faster. According to what the first generation Patriarch had said, the Ancient Realm… was not too far away for him.

"I have two Nirvana Fruits from the first generation Patriarch, and two of my own. Nirvana Fruits can allow members of the Namikaze Clan bloodline to live four lives!

"Four Nirvana Fruits, when I can absorb all of them with no time limit… that… is when I will step into the Ancient Realm!" Naruto's eyes shone with a bright light. The sight of the first generation Patriarch slaughtering members of the Dao Realm once again flashed in his mind.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1006

Chapter 1006: The Sword and the Shield of this Generation!

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with a brilliant light. After a moment, he sent some divine will into the terracotta soldier.

The terracotta soldier could not stay outside of the ancestral land for a long time. After receiving Naruto's instructions via divine will, it faced him, then clasped hands and bowed. Naruto didn't feel like parting with it, and yet could only watch as it entered the rift and turned into a statue once again.

"One day I'll do the same thing as the first generation Patriarch! I'll use a piece of the Ruins of Immortality… to take you away. That way you… can accompany me as I wage war among the Heavens!" Naruto made this promise to the terracotta soldier deep in his heart. It was a promise, a guarantee, much the same as the one he had made to Han Shan that year in the Realm of the Bridge Ruins. He would never forget such promises.

After the terracotta soldier entered the ancestral Land, the rift closed, and then vanished.

The sky above the Namikaze Clan returned to its normal state. However, the land itself seemed wasted. Signs of withering could be seen on countless plants and trees, and the spiritual energy of the entire planet had apparently been reduced.

Although the upheavals in the clan had not resulted in any overt losses, in reality, the entire planet had been weakened, not to mention the loss of all the traitorous clan members.

Naruto stood there thoughtfully for a moment before coming to the conclusion that the weakening of Planet East Victory must have something to do with the first generation Patriarch's awakening.

An intensely powerful entity like that, a person willing to flip the game board over rather than continue playing, who could strike fear into the heart of Lord Hebi himself, could obviously not be awakened easily.

By now it was evening and, off in the distance, the sun was scattering its twilight rays over the land. The resurrected clan members were lost in reminiscence, thinking about the many people who had once existed around them. No wild joy broke out because of the resolution of the chaos in the clan.

In contrast, heavy sighs existed in the hearts of all the clan members.

The ordinary clan members felt this way, and Namikaze Wei even more so. It was the same with Namikaze Shoudao, Namikaze Yanxu, and Namikaze Danyun, who hovered silently in midair.

"It's over," Namikaze Shoudao said softly, looking out over the entire Namikaze Clan. His voice was deep and archaic, and as it echoed out, all of the clan members looked up into the sky.

"Mortal bodies can sometimes contract vile ailments. If sicknesses like that are not expunged, they can lead to death.

"Clans can also be infected with ailments!

"Yesterday, a foul disease lurked deep within the Namikaze Clan. If it were to explode out, it would definitely affect the entire clan! Today, that ailment was rooted out. Although our Namikaze Clan is now grieving and in pain, at least we now have a new lease on life!

"Tomorrow will be a new day for us! We will cause all cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea to recall the glory of the Namikaze Clan!

"I will no longer remain in secluded meditation. From now on, I will assume the office of Clan Chief. I will lead the Namikaze Clan to unparalleled heights of glory!" As Namikaze Shoudao's words echoed out, it caused flames to ignite in the eyes of all of the members of the Namikaze Clan down below. It was as if his voice carried some mysterious power that entered the clan members' hearts and caused them to burn with determination.

Namikaze Wei stood there silently, completely alone, with no clan members even willing to approach him. He had no friends left. His father, his grandfather, and all of the other members of his bloodline were all dead.

He was the only one who had been resurrected.

Namikaze Yanxu hovered in midair, looking at Namikaze Wei immersed in his bitterness, and sighed inwardly. He waved his finger down toward Namikaze Wei, causing him to shudder, and then suddenly lurch up into the air. All members of the clan watched as he flew over toward Namikaze Yanxu.

As Naruto watched what was happening, he suddenly realized that Namikaze Wei's corpse had long since vanished from within his bag of holding.

"Are you still willing to defend the Namikaze Clan?" Namikaze Yanxu asked calmly.

Namikaze Wei began to tremble. After a long moment of silence, he looked down at the other members of the Namikaze Clan, and at Naruto. Finally, he turned back to Namikaze Yanxu, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

"To defend the Namikaze Clan has been my primary aspiration in life!"

By this point, all of the members of the Namikaze Clan were staring silently at Namikaze Wei. All of them remembered the tragic scene in which he had died; those images were engraved deeply on their hearts.

Namikaze Yanxu looked at Namikaze Wei for a long moment, and it almost seemed as if he were looking into the young man's heart. After a long moment, a slight smile appeared on his face.

"Henceforth, you will follow me. In the future… you must live up to your name and protect the clan! You will not be the sword of the clan; instead, you will become… its shield!"

Namikaze Wei was shaking, and tears streamed down his face as he clasped hands and bowed toward Namikaze Yanxu.

Namikaze Yanxu sighed, then turned and bowed to Namikaze Shoudao. Then he waved his hand and departed with Namikaze Wei, the two of them turning into beams of colorful light that shot away from the Namikaze Clan in the direction of the Medicine Immortal Sect.

Namikaze Danyun and Namikaze Shoudao watched them leave, and sighed inwardly.

Namikaze Yanxu was the current generation's shield, and also its shadow!

Namikaze Shoudao was the clan's sword, as well as its glory, boundless and supreme!

In every generation of the clan, there would be a blazing sun who shone with boundless light, and behind that person, there would be a shadow. That shadow was there to assist the blazing sun, to help that person accomplish many things they themselves could not, to endure more than was possible, to deal with things that could not be touched by the other. Such persons were not shining swords that garnered mass attention. Instead, they became… shields that others would eventually overlook!

A person like that had to be willing to remain silent and unobtrusive. They had to shrink from the light, give up all their status and position, abandon all glory. They were a shadow, and the shield of the clan.

In this generation, Namikaze Yanxu picked Namikaze Wei as his future successor.

It was a path that ordinary clan members might not understand. However, Naruto understood everything, and it caused him to tremble. His expression was a complex one as he stared at Namikaze Wei, recalling what he looked like as a child, and the resolute words he had spoken in his tender, young voice.

"My name is Namikaze Wei! I want to become a powerful expert because I'm going to defend my clan for my whole life!"

The Seventh Patriarch, the Fifth Patriarch, and the Third Patriarch, the Ancient Realm experts also watched Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Wei leaving, their expressions gradually flickering with understanding.

This was the Namikaze Clan, a place where clan rules ensured the continued glory of the clan. In each generation, there were two important people, one who existed in the light, the other in darkness. One was the sword, the other was the shield.

One basked in glory, the other was like a shadow.

Naruto now also understood why, although the first generation Patriarch had passed away into meditation, his clone had transformed into a planet, to defend the clan. It was because the first generation Patriarch's true self had been the clan's sword, whereas his clone was the shield.

Even though his true self ended up dying, his clone could continue to defend the clan throughout all eternity….

"The Namikaze Clan…." he murmured. Gradually, he was beginning to approve of the clan much more than he had before.

Namikaze Danyun bowed to Namikaze Shoudao, then looked down at Naruto with a smile. It was a smile of encouragement, praise, and even more, anticipation, anticipation that he could accomplish something momentous that was far different than what Namikaze Wei had done.

Smiling, he turned and left, heading back to his home in the Dao of Alchemy Division. His longevity was reaching its end, and even given the fact that he could split with his Unicorn Immortals, it would be hard for him to hold on for much longer. Yet, he was without any regrets.

He hoped to use the rest of his life to once again lead the clan's Dao of Alchemy Division into glory.

Much about the Medicine Immortal Sect, the shield of the clan, were merely stories that had been purposefully created by the Namikaze Clan.

However, one thing was true: of the clan's three Holy medicinal pills, the Medicine Immortal Sect really could concoct two, something that the Dao of Alchemy Division was incapable of.

The clan members down on the ground below now burned with determination to see the clan rise to prominence. They began to reconstruct the many areas of the ancestral mansion that were in ruins, and wash away the blood that soaked the ground. It wouldn't take long to restore them. Perhaps by the following morning… the Namikaze Clan would not look very different than it had before, at least not to any outsider.

Namikaze Shoudao watched Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Danyun leave, then began to leave himself. The Seventh Patriarch and the others all joined him.

Naruto blinked, then cleared his throat. The sound wasn't very loud, but it was enough to echo out in the air and be heard by Namikaze Shoudao and the others. However, Namikaze Shoudao pretended that he didn't hear it and continued off into the distance.

Naruto was now starting to get the sense that something fishy was going on. Although the Hebi Clan had come because of the legacy of Lord Li, and would likely still have caused a disturbance even if things had not played out the way they had regarding Naruto…

In Naruto's opinion, he had been part of the plan all along, and although he didn't mind being used by the clan, what he did mind was… being used and not getting anything out of it!

"Hey, they should give me some money!" he thought. "I sacrificed a lot to help out! I was scared to death on multiple occasions, and suffered serious mental trauma! At the very least, they have to give me some sort of explanation, right?!"

Feeling very wronged, he stared at Namikaze Shoudao and the others receding into the distance, and then called out in a loud voice, "Patriarchs, hold on a moment!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Namikaze Shoudao and the others' faces flickered. However, they waved their sleeves, and their bodies began to fade as they teleported away.

Naruto was now getting very anxious.

"Patriarchs, wait! Don't run away! Hey, you old fogies, STOP ＲＩＧＨＴ

THERE!"

Namikaze Shoudao and the others were about half faded away when Naruto suddenly burst out in anger. When the other clan members in the ancestral mansion heard his words, their hearts began to pound.

Namikaze Shoudao suddenly stopped in place, and his vanishing form rapidly grew clear. Realizing that he had no way to get out of the situation, he turned and glared sternly at Naruto.

"You little hoodlum! I'm your grandfather's grandfather! Do you really dare to call me an old fogey!?"

Thinking about how irritated he was, Naruto braced himself and retorted loudly: "Why wouldn't I dare? I didn't do anything wrong! I performed some heroic services for the clan just now!"

Namikaze Shoudao stared at him wide-eyed, then suddenly swished his sleeve. In a flash, Naruto vanished from his position in midair, to reappear inside of a building.

He glanced around cautiously, then backed up a few paces.

Namikaze Shoudao laughed in spite of himself as he sat there off to the side, looking expectantly at Naruto.

"You feel wronged, huh?" he said. "Go ahead and explain yourself."

"During the clan upheavals, I spilled blood for the clan!" replied Naruto instantly. As soon as the words left his mouth, Namikaze Shoudao waved his hand, causing a softly glowing light to wash over Naruto. Instantly, all of his wounds were healed. Actually, his wounds had already recovered by more than half, but now they were completely recovered, and even the pores of his entire body had opened up. In fact, his cultivation base was now even more stable than before.

"There you go, all healed up," Namikaze Shoudao said with a slight smile. As he looked at Naruto with that smile, he looked like nothing more than a wily old fox.

"During the battle, I ate a ton of medicinal pills!" Naruto continued carefully. "I even had to absorb quite a bit of Immortal jade! AND spirit stones!" After he finished speaking, Namikaze Shoudao waved his hand again. This time, no softly glowing light appeared, but instead, a bright screen. Visible on the screen was a detailed accounting of everything that had happened from the moment Naruto had transcended his tribulation, to the end of the battle. During that time… he had not consumed any medicinal pills, nor had he absorbed any Immortal jade, let alone spirit stones.

Naruto's heart trembled, but his expression was unprecedentedly solemn as he looked at fox-like Namikaze Shoudao. All of a sudden, he realized that he was up against a formidable opponent.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1007

Chapter 1007: The Old Fox vs. the Fox Cub!

"When I was fighting those Chosen, I was fighting for the glory of the clan! I made the Namikaze Clan the center of attention of the whole Ninth Mountain and Sea!" Naruto said, staring Namikaze Shoudao in the eye. He had finally realized that the old man's aura was actually very similar to his own.

"Oh, that's a good point. Very well. Henceforth, you are the number one Chosen of the Namikaze Clan. Both to those inside the clan and toward outsiders, you now represent the clan itself!" Namikaze Shoudao waved his hand, causing a golden medallion to fly out in a beam of light and then hover in front of Naruto. It was inscribed with the character Namikaze 方 on one side, and on the other side, the word Chosen 天骄.

Naruto stared at the medallion in shock, then glared back at Namikaze Shoudao. He suddenly had the feeling that he was being toyed with, a serious provocation in the area which he cared most about.

"My heart grows cold with disappointment to be manipulated by the clan like this!" Naruto said, gnashing his teeth.

Namikaze Shoudao waved his finger at Naruto, causing a warm feeling to spread across his chest and over his heart.

"Feel a bit warmer now?" he said coolly.

Naruto was about to flip his lid. He had never, ever met someone as shameless as this old fogey. He had already explained himself quite thoroughly, and yet had been sidestepped three times in a row.

"During the clan upheavals, I single-handedly stopped the possessed Namikaze Wei!" he cried. "I saved a bunch of fellow clan members! I even managed to kill Namikaze Xiushan!

"I was the one who summoned the Dao Guardsman to fight against the three Quasi-Dao experts! I helped make sure that your plan succeeded!

"I also killed Namikaze Heshan!

"In fact, the spark that lit the whole fuse was my Nirvana Fruits!

"I've done a lot for the clan and I demand a reward!"

"Very well, you want cultivation resources, right?" Namikaze Shoudao said with a sigh. "It seems that about half of your personality is exactly the same as your grandfather." Feeling a bit guilty, he cleared his throat. He waved his right hand, causing Naruto's eyes to gleam with anticipation. Immediately, a strip of paper appeared in front of Namikaze Shoudao.

A few swishing sounds could be heard as Namikaze Shoudao then wrote his name down on the piece of paper.

"I know you're fond of getting promissory notes," Namikaze Shoudao said with a smile, "so I've prepared one for you. However much you think the clan owes you, go ahead and write it down yourself."

Naruto gaped at the piece of paper. When he looked up, his eyes were bloodshot. He was about to continue fighting back when Namikaze Shoudao's expression suddenly turned serious.

He took a deep breath and stared gravely at Naruto. Naruto, who had just been on the verge of losing his temper suddenly couldn't help but reign it in.

" Namikaze Hao!" Namikaze Shoudao said, his voice sounding deep and extremely dignified.

"I know of everything you've done for the clan, and I understand that you feel wronged," he continued, his voice now soft and archaic. "I'm even more aware of all the meritorious service you've provided. There's no need to even mention anything else. The simple achievement of opening your Immortal meridians to the pinnacle has shaken the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea. Anyone who did that in any sect or clan would definitely be gifted with a precious treasure.

"It's the same here! You are just as important to our clan as someone of the Dao Realm!

" Namikaze Wei will be the shield of the clan, and you… will be the sword!

"Henceforth, he will be the shadow, YOUR shadow! While you bask in glory, he will remain obscure and unknown. That is because you are the true future hope of the clan!

"Do you really think that the clan is being stingy? Withholding a reward from you?

"You're wrong. Let me tell you, the clan would never treat a blazing sun like you with the slightest bit of stinginess. However… are you aware of the price that had to be paid to awaken the first generation Patriarch?

"The first generation Patriarch passed away in meditation long ago. What you saw earlier was only his clone, or perhaps you could say, the spirit of Planet East Victory. Normally speaking, he remains in slumber. Awakening him causes Planet East Victory to be withered up for a thousand years!

"In order to ensure that Planet East Victory will continue to rotate normally for the next thousand years, the clan has to pay an indescribable amount of resources. Right now the clan… really has no reward to give you!

"Furthermore, there is no reward valuable enough to represent how important you are to the clan. Therefore, I have already made an important decision regarding this matter." Namikaze Shoudao rose to his feet and looked calmly at Naruto.

"I already discussed the matter with your father, as well as Namikaze Yanxu and Pill Elder, and the decision has been made final. From now on, you… will be the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan!" As soon as the words left Namikaze Shoudao's mouth, Naruto's mind began to reel.

"Crown Prince?" Naruto gaped for a moment. To virtually any other member of the Namikaze Clan, a title like that represented supreme glory. However, to Naruto, it represented a future of endless amounts of spirit stones and Immortal jade.

"That's right," Namikaze Shoudao continued, his expression somewhat wistful. "Currently, your cultivation base is weak. However, once you reach the Dao Realm, you will be the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan. As you know, it has been many, many years… since a true Clan Chief has arisen." Namikaze Shoudao looked at Naruto, his expression one of anticipation and love as he extended his hand, causing a command medallion to appear.

It was violet-colored, and glowed with a strange light. Although it was merely a command medallion, it was clearly a rare Ancient Realm treasure!

"This object is the official symbol of your status as Crown Prince. Once you reach the Ancient Realm, you can refine it into a true precious treasure." Namikaze Shoudao waved his hand, causing the command medallion to fly over toward Naruto, where it settled down into his palm. That small command medallion felt as heavy as a whole mountain.

If Naruto didn't possess a True Immortal fleshly body, then he wouldn't even be able to hold it.

"This is your home, and you are a young lord here. In the future, you will be in a position of leadership, and therefore, all of the wealth here will eventually belong to you. If the clan is facing difficulties now, such as being extremely poor, then would it really be the right thing for you to take away the resources of the clan? As a young lord of the clan, you should actually be thinking of ways to increase the clan's wealth!" Namikaze Shoudao let out a long sigh, and a pained expression appeared on his face.

"If you don't believe me, I can take you to see for yourself." Namikaze

Shoudao waved his hand, causing both Naruto and himself to vanish. When they reappeared, they were inside of an enormous tower.

"Over here is where we used to have a mountain-like collection of Immortal jade. Look at it now….

"This used to be filled with an indescribable amount of spirit stones. Now look at it….

"This area used to be packed tight with all sorts of magical items."

Namikaze Shoudao led Naruto through the clan's treasure-houses, and although they weren't completely empty, they were depressingly bare. After finishing the tour, Naruto felt somewhat deflated.

He almost couldn't believe that the Namikaze Clan, was actually… destitute.

"Now do you understand? In addition to all this, the clan also bestowed you with that Bloodline Dragon! It was formed from the blood of the Patriarch himself!" Namikaze Shoudao sighed.

Naruto stood there silently for a long moment, then also sighed.

Finally, he gave up on any plans of trying to get a reward from the clan. As Namikaze Shoudao continued to stand there, sighing, Naruto turned to leave. Moments ago, he had even taken the time to peruse the treasurehouse records, and knew that everything he had seen was the reality of the situation.

He had also gone so far as to scan the lands with divine sense, and could see how withered Planet East Victory was. The places that once flourished with spiritual energy were now dried up. He also closed his eyes and, based on his bloodline, could sense something that no outsider would be able to sense; Planet East Victory was very weak.

However, in the following days, as the sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea came to visit Planet East Victory and offered congratulations, everything that he had just seen began to change.

He personally watched as all of the organizations which came to visit Planet East Victory brought significant gifts. If only one sect or clan came to visit, it wouldn't matter. But the Three Churches and Six Sects, the Five Great Holy Lands, and even the other Three Great Clans, as well as other smaller organizations, all arrived. Naruto couldn't help but stare in shock.

After doing a bit of calculating, he realized that if you added up the value of all the gifts brought by the various sects and clans, it reached a staggering total…. Although it wouldn't be enough to fill the clan's treasure-houses, it was enough to replenish them by about thirty to forty percent.

As Naruto watched Namikaze Shoudao smilingly receive the various guests, he was increasingly struck with the impression that Namikaze Shoudao was a crafty, wily fox. The old man had easily conned him, and there was nothing he could do about it. After all, everything the man had said earlier made complete sense.

Naruto sighed, and decided just to turn a blind eye to the matter.

That was the only way to prevent himself from being incredibly irritated. However, he did not participate in the receiving of the guests, and instead stayed in his residence practicing cultivation, attempting to properly absorb his Nirvana Fruits.

If it was just a simple matter of being conned this once, Naruto could deal with it. After all, he was now the Crown Prince, a status which he was very satisfied with. Several days later, however, the Three Great Daoist Societies also arrived, and he heard that they had prepared an even more terrifying amount of congratulatory gifts. Each one of their gifts were comparable to the combined offerings from several smaller clans put together. This caused Naruto to think that something very fishy was going on.

"Elder Brother Shoudao, Hao'er is both Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, as well as a Conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World. Please accept these meager offerings as the gifts of introduction we would have presented upon his joining the sect."

When the cultivators from the Nine Seas God World arrived, Namikaze Xi immediately hustled over to Naruto's residence, where Naruto was meditating, to break the news. Naruto was instantly enraged, and his eyes went totally bloodshot. As of now, he thoroughly understood how crafty Namikaze Shoudao was. He had definitely conned Naruto… big time.

If Naruto weren't the Crown Prince, the Three Great Daoist Societies would never have prepared such gifts. It was all because of his new status that the gifts the clan was receiving were so valuable.

Naruto gritted his teeth and rose to his feet, then flew up into the air toward the main temple hall of the ancestral mansion, to the location where the welcoming feast was being held.

Naruto didn't mind the fact that Namikaze Shoudao had made him Crown Prince in order to get more gifts from the Three Great Daoist Societies.

What he did mind was that in such an important matter as this, Namikaze Shoudao, that wily old fox, had actually… not given him any share of it! Not even a lousy ten percent! UNACCEPTABLE!

Both the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto and the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite also sent representatives with extravagant gifts. However, in comparison with the gifts offered by the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto and the Nine Seas God World, those given by the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite seemed much more simple.

In the main hall of the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, the Patriarchs of the various sects and clans were all gathered around a long banquet table, where a grand feast was spread out.

"Elder Brother Shoudao, members of any clan or sect may join the Three Great Daoist Societies. That is because the Three Great Daoist Societies are fundamentally quite liberal when dealing with outsiders. That is how we groom generations of Chosen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea."

"Elder Brother Shoudao, the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto focuses on the sword as our Dao. Hao'er's father Namikaze Minato is also known for his Dao of the sword. I truly think that Hao'er would have the most success if he joined the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!"

The Patriarchs continued to chat and laugh as the Three Great Daoist Societies began to argue and debate amongst themselves over who would get Naruto.

Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Shoudao sat in the middle of everyone. Namikaze Shoudao was smiling and nodding, and anyone who didn't know him would think that he looked very kind and gentle. However, when Naruto looked at him, he looked like nothing more than the ultimate wily fox.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1008

Chapter 1008 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1008: Why The Echelon Exists!

Naruto had risen to the top among the true Immortals, and was the Immortal Realm Paragon. After absorbing the Nirvana Fruits, he could leap into the legendary and ancient Immortal Emperor Realm, in which he could slaughter Ancient Realm cultivators with two extinguished Soul Lamps. He had long since shaken the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

When you added in his performance as Namikaze Mu in the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire, he was clearly the most prominent figure in the Immortal Realm. As a result, each of the Three Great Daoist Societies was determined to have him.

It wasn't just the Three Great Daoist Societies. The Five Great Holy Lands and the Three Churches and Six Sects were all extremely interested in Naruto. If it weren't for the Three Great Daoist Societies, whose positions were proud and lofty, and the fact that Naruto was now the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, meaning he couldn't join any other sect BUT one of the Three Great Daoist Societies, then all of the other groups would definitely have started fighting over him.

In addition to the Dao Realm Patriarchs from the other sects, Naruto saw various Chosen with whom he had fought earlier. All of them stood there silently, complex emotions swirling in their hearts.

"His father might cultivate the Dao of the sword, but Hao'er's path is different. He's already become a Conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World! How could he possibly join the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto?!" In addition to Fan Dong'er's master, the old woman, the other person who had come from the Nine Seas God World was none other than the man who had presided over the trial by fire, the same one who had eventually come to praise Naruto so much, Ling Yunzi.

"Who cares about that?" said the representative from the Sublime Flow

Sword Grotto, his tone harsh. "He never formally joined the Nine Seas God World!" He was a middle-aged man, or at least, he looked middleaged. In reality, his cultivation base was in the Dao Realm, and he looked as dangerous as an unsheathed sword.

Seeing that both the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto and the Nine Seas God World were not budging an inch, the old man who was the representative from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite smiled slightly.

"Fellow Daoist Namikaze ," he said, "why don't you summon Naruto and ask him his opinion?"

Namikaze Shoudao laughed heartily, but before he could say anything, the main door to the temple hall echoed with the sound of a cold harrumph. Naruto stalked in, instantly drawing the attention of all gazes inside the hall.

As for the Dao Realm Patriarchs, this was their first time seeing Naruto in person, as opposed to his illusory image on a screen. It was also the first time anyone from the Three Great Daoist Societies had personally seen Naruto after he had reached true Immortal Ascension.

Other than the various members of the Junior generation, all the other people in the hall were Dao Realm Patriarchs. It looked like more than half of all the Dao Realm experts in the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea were present. All of their eyes fell upon Naruto, causing him to feel enormous pressure. However, his expression didn't change at all as he entered the hall. He glared coldly at Namikaze Shoudao, who cleared his throat a bit guiltily. Namikaze Yanxu sat off to the side, looking a bit helpless. He coughed dryly a few times.

Everyone was looking at Naruto as he stated,

"I will join…."

However, before he could finish speaking, the faces of the three Patriarchs from the Three Great Daoist Societies flickered. Intense gleams appeared in their eyes, especially the white-haired old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. Normally, he looked kind and amiable, but as of this moment, his eyes shone with an extreme brightness.

When the members of the other sects saw this, they stared in shock.

The old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite sucked in a deep breath. His expression was very serious as he exchanged a glance with the old woman from the Nine Seas God World and the middle-aged man from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. Then he turned back to Namikaze Shoudao and spoke gravely, "Elder Brother Namikaze , permit us the use of a private chamber!"

Namikaze Shoudao's eyes narrowed. He could tell something strange was going on, but after a moment of consideration, he nodded.

Naruto was a bit astonished, and quickly swallowed the words he had been about to utter.

Namikaze Shoudao waved his hand and immediately he, along with Naruto and the three old-timers from the Three Great Daoist Societies, all vanished from the main hall. Namikaze Yanxu was also disconcerted, but this was the Namikaze Clan after all, so he wasn't worried. Instead, he smiled and began to chat with some of the others who remained behind.

It didn't take long for the sound of conversation and laughter to fill the main hall once again. However, suspicions now filled the hearts of all the Dao Realm experts, even though it didn't show on their faces.

Namikaze Shoudao and the others reappeared within a hidden chamber in the Namikaze Clan. Naruto's eyes narrowed, and his heart filled with misgivings. He immediately stepped back a few paces.

"Fellow Daoists," said Namikaze Shoudao, "please explain why we need to use this private chamber!" Namikaze Shoudao might be an old fox and he might have conned Naruto, but as he stepped forward, he placed himself very close to Naruto. If anything untoward happened, he would go all out with his cultivation base to make sure Naruto stayed safe.

Despite the previous con, everything he had said was actually true. Naruto really was as important to the Namikaze Clan as a Dao Realm expert. Furthermore, appointing Naruto to be the Crown Prince had not been a joke. He really and truly did have that status in the clan.

Seeing Namikaze Shoudao act in this way finally caused Naruto to have the feeling that the man really was the clan's Earth Patriarch.

"Elder Brother Namikaze , this is our first time seeing Naruto in person," said the old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. "On previous occasions, we only saw him on illusory screens, and could not feel… the ripples which are emanating off of him!" The old man looked excited, and breathed heavily when he looked at Naruto. The old woman from the Nine Seas God World and the middle-aged cultivator from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto looked equally moved.

Namikaze Shoudao frowned, taking a few more steps forward to stand directly next to Naruto, whereupon he stared coldly at the other three.

"For Hao'er to reach this point means he definitely has his destiny. He is the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, and if anybody tries to steal his destiny, that person will be crossing the line and provoking the Namikaze Clan's wrath!" Namikaze Shoudao's expression was extremely serious, and his tone was icy.

Naruto stood behind him, staring in shock. All of a sudden, he came to the realization that the true use of being the Crown Prince was a sort of protection. His rise to true Immortality had attracted the attention of the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, and now that he was the Crown Prince, anyone who harbored untoward thoughts would definitely be stricken with fear.

Naruto could sense the care and concern of the Senior generation of the clan, and his heart softened quite a bit. It even caused his perception of Namikaze Shoudao as a wily fox to lessen quite a bit.

"Elder Brother Namikaze , you misunderstand," said the old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, looking over at Naruto.

"Naruto, back when you disappeared into the Ruins of Immortality, did you by any chance… encounter a white-robed woman?" It was impossible for the old man to conceal the nervousness in his voice as he asked his question. The old woman and the middle-aged cultivator wore equally nervous expressions.

Naruto gaped. After a long moment of silence, he slowly nodded his head in response.

"I knew it!" exclaimed the old man, sounded very excited. Strange gleams appeared in the eyes of the old woman and the middle-aged cultivator. The old man took a deep breath and then made a clutching motion, causing a chunk of black stone to appear in his hand.

At the same time, the old woman and the middle-aged cultivator produced similar stones. All three of the rocks emanated mysterious glows as they flew together to form a large stone slab, which hovered in midair.

"Child, place your hand onto that black stone slab," said the old man, sounding very excited. "Don't worry, the three of us don't harbor any ill intentions toward you." He looked at Naruto with anticipation.

Namikaze Shoudao frowned. The Three Great Daoist Societies were acting very strange as far as he was concerned, and he was just about to intervene when Naruto's eyes glittered. As for Naruto, he had long since speculated that the white-robed woman was somehow connected to the Three Great Daoist Societies.

Instead of placing his hand onto the stone slab, he asked, "That whiterobed woman… who is she?"

"Long ago, our world did not consist of only nine mountains and nine seas," responded the old woman from the Nine Seas God World, her voice soft. "During that era, that white-robed woman was one of three supreme Paragons!"

Naruto's mind trembled, and he didn't respond. Finally, he lifted his right hand and calmly placed it onto the stone slab. He was already aware of exactly what these three people were hoping to see.

Blinding light emanated out as soon as his hand made contact with the stone slab. When the light touched Naruto, an ancient magical symbol suddenly appeared on his forehead.

That magical symbol was actually a number!

The number… 13!

13th in the Echelon!

When the old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite saw the magical symbol in the shape of a number, he threw his head back and laughed. His entire body quivered with excitement. The old woman from the Nine Seas God World began to pant excitedly, and her expression was one of delight. As for the middle-aged man from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, he was also panting, and appeared to be going wild with joy.

"The Echelon! As expected, the Echelon!"

"Naruto has actually joined the Echelon! The Echelon, prescribed and maintained by a Paragon! The Echelon of the Nine Mountains and Seas! The key to leaving Heaven and Earth!"

"He's the second from the Ninth Mountain and Sea to enter!"

Naruto pulled his hand back, and the light emanating from the stone slab faded away. Namikaze Shoudao frowned. Inwardly, he was shocked, not because of the magical symbol that had appeared on Naruto's forehead, but rather, because of the excitement of the representatives from the Three Great Daoist Societies.

"Fellow Daoists, could you please provide an explanation?" he said coolly, becoming even more vigilant than ever.

"Elder Brother Namikaze , this matter pertains to the mission of our Three Great Daoist Societies," said the old man. The old woman and the middle-aged man stood off to the side, the expressions on their face solemn once again. "The information we are about to share with you must not be spread beyond this room.

"Every so often, the Three Great Daoist Societies hold a trial by fire. Its purpose is to search for suitable cultivators for that very Paragon to observe as she searches for people qualified to join the Echelon.

"The Echelon determines the true blazing suns of the entire Nine Mountains and Seas. People who join the Echelon are actually qualified to become legends!

"Furthermore, the Echelon is wrapped up in an enormous mystery, a secret that affects all Nine Mountains and Seas! In fact, the origin of Lord Li himself is very likely connected to that mystery!

"For many, many years, the Ninth Mountain and Sea has not produced anyone qualified to join the Echelon. As of today… we now have a second!

"The first person to qualify for the Echelon is no stranger to you. It was actually none other than the first generation Patriarch of your Namikaze Clan! "Sadly, although he met the requirements, when the time came for him to accomplish the tasks required by the Paragon, he ended up refusing to comply. He actually renounced his own qualifications.

"Elder Brother Namikaze , this child cannot join just one of our organizations. He… is actually the sole successor of all Three Great Daoist Societies!

"He is not a disciple, he is a successor!

"When cultivators of the Echelon appear on any of the mountains or seas, they instantly become crucially important to any of the Daoist Societies, and will be protected as such. Elder Brother Shoudao, this child's path is definitely not limited to the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"The fighting that goes on amongst those who wish to enter the Echelon is even fiercer than the fighting which goes on among those who wish to be Chosen. As such, we must not allow Naruto's status as a member of the Echelon to spread prematurely. It won't be long before we arrange for him to leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea and participate in… the Echelon battles of the Nine Mountains and Seas.

"Please place him in our care. We Three Great Daoist Societies are pledged to, and exist solely for the sake of, the Echelon!"

Chapter 1008: Why The Echelon Exists!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1009

Chapter 1009: I'm Already Married!

Naruto's eyes flashed, and he stood there, silent and unresponsive as he listened to the Three Great Daoist Societies discuss both him and the Echelon with Namikaze Shoudao. He didn't mind this. As soon as he had been appointed to the Echelon by that white-robed woman, he had known that the matter would eventually come to be known by others.

Naruto was a cautious person, but now that the matter of the Echelon had been discovered by the The Three Great Daoist Societies, trying to conceal the truth would have been pointless. As of now, it made sense for the clan to be made aware of it too; at least then he would have a foundation of protection.

Namikaze Shoudao didn't respond at first. After some thought, he finally said, "This is a weighty matter, something I cannot make a decision on by myself. How about this: Fellow Daoists, please return to the hall for now. I'll discuss the situation with Hao'er privately, and then we'll give you an answer."

The representatives from the Three Great Daoist Societies exchanged glances and then nodded. In the blink of an eye, they left the private chamber and reappeared out in the main hall.

After they were gone, Naruto glared at Namikaze Shoudao, who looked back at him, cleared his throat, and then smiled.

From Naruto's perspective, that smile looked far too treacherous, causing him give a loud harrumph.

Namikaze Shoudao cleared his throat, then eyed Naruto and said, "I'll give you one percent!" He was well aware that he hadn't brought up the matter of splitting the profits.

"Impossible! I demand fifty percent!" Naruto responded immediately.

Namikaze Shoudao frowned and then said, "All of these gifts are very important to the clan! At the very most, I can give you two percent!"

"Do you know what I've done for the clan? I've–" Naruto was just about to launch into a long explanation when Namikaze Shoudao interrupted with a loud sigh.

"Hao'er, you're the Crown Prince of the clan!" he said, looking very disappointed. He sounded pained as he continued, "Don't you know that as the Crown Prince, you receive special protection from the clan? That shows how much the clan approves of you! How does a piddling profit the likes of which we're discussing now compare to that?

"This is your home!

"And right now, your home is in a very tight spot! The first generation Patriarch is sleeping, and the planet is weak. Other than the resources spent on the fundamental cultivation needs of the clan, everything else is used on the planet itself.

"Plus, we have to be on guard against the Hebi Clan! In addition to all that, we have to keep some resources in reserve in case we need to awaken the first generation Patriarch again. Naruto… do you understand what I'm saying?

"Considering all of those things, how could the clan possibly agree to send our magnificent Crown Prince to the Three Great Daoist Societies to practice cultivation?!

"The Namikaze Clan is your home, and you are one of our family members!

You're even a young lord of the clan! Now is the time for you to forgo a bit of profit to ensure that the clan can have some breathing room. Can you agree to that?

"In the future, everything in the clan will belong to you, right?

"If you think this isn't fair, then go ahead and just take all the gifts! I don't want any of it!" With that, Namikaze Shoudao closed his eyes and sighed.

Naruto stood there silently. All of a sudden he felt like he really was putting too much emphasis on wealth, and felt a bit bad. Finally, he nodded his head.

"No, I'm fine," he said. "Forget about it…."

Namikaze Shoudao opened his eyes, and the kindness in them was apparent as he patted Naruto on the shoulder.

"Good boy…." he said. Then he waved his sleeve, causing both of them to vanish and reappear in the main hall.

The banquet continued, and eventually, it was with much anticipation that the Three Great Daoist Societies listened as Naruto announced that he would join their ranks. However, Namikaze Shoudao, citing Naruto's cultivation base as the reason, said that they would have to return in three months to accept him officially.

Naruto was crestfallen. Although he understood that the clan was in a very difficult situation, when he thought about the vast amount of spirit stones pouring in, not a single one of which were going to him, it filled his heart with pain.

"Ah, it doesn't matter. The Patriarch was right. I'm a member of the clan, and should act as such." Consoling himself all the way, Naruto said his goodbyes and then stepped out of the hall. Just when he was about to fly away, two bright beams of light whistled through the air toward the main hall.

Members of the Namikaze Clan flew nearby in escort, and as the beams of light neared, it turned out to be people from the Li Clan. One was Li Ling'er, whose face was grim and unsightly. Next to her was a middleaged man who had the bearing of a transcendent being. His features were handsome, and his aura was extremely strong with the power of Essence.

When Li Ling'er saw Naruto, she gritted her teeth, and her eyes blazed with fury. In contrast, the middle-aged man's eyes shone brightly, and he laughed heartily.

"Ah, handsome as expected," he said. "Before, I could only observe with divine sense, but now that I can look upon you in person, kid, I have to say, excellent. Truly excellent!" The man laughed as he walked into the hall.

Li Ling'er walked past Naruto, glaring daggers at him. She looked extremely disgruntled, as if her life was so unfair that she were on the verge of completely losing her temper. Naruto stared in shock; something definitely seemed off. Instead of leaving, he stopped and looked back. The first thing he noticed was Namikaze Shoudao rising to his feet, and then… he heard the middle-aged man from the Li Clan laugh and begin to speak.

"Elder Brother Shoudao, after I got your jade slip, I immediately called a clan meeting to discuss the matter. Hao'er is a wonderful kid, and I've really taken a liking to him. In fact, the entire Li Clan agrees! We all support Hao'er, and once he becomes the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan in the future, our two clans will have a powerful alliance!

"I have come here today prepared to give a Dao Realm treasure, 100 precious Ancient Realm treasures, 1,000 Immortal treasures, 100,000,000 Immortal jades, 10,000,000,000 spirit stones, as well as numerous other items, as the wedding gift for Hao'er and Ling'er!" Laughing heartily, the man from the Li Clan clasped hands and bowed toward Namikaze Shoudao.

The way he listed out all the gifts he was enough to cause even the Dao Realm experts to stare in shock. Such extravagant gift-giving was something rarely seen. However, as soon as they heard the word "wedding," everyone reached an epiphany.

Naruto was no longer an ordinary clan member. He was the number one Chosen of the Namikaze Clan, a famous blazing sun in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and even a Crown Prince. With a status like that, any organization would offer up lavish gifts to form an alliance.

A broad smile could be seen on Namikaze Shoudao's face as he walked forward, laughing.

"Elder Brother Li, you're far too polite!" he said. "Hao'er and this lass Ling'er have been engaged since childhood! I just decided to speed up the matter a bit, that's all." Namikaze Shoudao looked over kindly at Li Ling'er.

Naruto stood just outside the door to the main temple, gaping in shock. His jaw hung open and his eyes were wide. He almost couldn't believe what was happening, and he felt his mind spinning.

"He sold me off?" he murmured. He suddenly began to tremble, and rage began to burn inside of him. Generally speaking, it would be the woman who received betrothal gifts. But considering that this was the Namikaze Clan, they were the ones to receive the gifts. What Naruto was even more incapable of accepting was that… everything that Namikaze Shoudao had said moments ago… had clearly been a huge con that he had fallen right into.

In the end, he could accept all of that, for the clan. He could part with all the extravagant gifts, despite the pain it caused him.

However, what was happening now had nothing to do with money!

Naruto's mind suddenly filled with the image of a Red Wedding, of endless slaughter. That wedding had been one of the most painful moments of his life!

He saw himself holding Hinata in his arms until she gradually closed her eyes and faded away. Unforgettable stabs of pain once again filled his heart.

Just barely, he felt as if he could see into the cycle of reincarnation, and all of a sudden, he heard a voice which echoed eternally in his ears.

"I'm in the cycle of reincarnation… waiting for you."

Although Naruto often seemed to treat other women flirtatiously, in truth, there was a place deep in his heart where only one woman could enter.

Sakura could not enter that place, so therefore… how could Li Ling'er possibly do so!?

That was… a place for only one person. It was… a place that belonged only to Hinata!

Naruto took a deep breath. His eyes shone with coldness, and even as everyone chatted and laughed, he suddenly spoke out, his voice icy, "Patriarch. I am already married!"

As soon as his voice rang out, the entire hall went completely silent. The middle-aged man from the Li Clan turned to glance at Naruto, then looked back at Namikaze Shoudao.

Li Ling'er's eyes brightened with anticipation.

Namikaze Shoudao coughed dryly and transmitted his voice to Naruto: "I'll give you twenty percent of the Li Clan's betrothal gift!"

Naruto's face was extremely calm, and his eyes were icy as he stared back wordlessly at Namikaze Shoudao.

"You little hoodlum. Fine. Fifty percent, no more. You know that the clan is in a difficult place right now, and I–"

"Patriarch," Naruto interrupted, his voice calm. "I, Naruto, love money. However, not everything in the world can be negotiated in terms of money and profit. I said. I'M ALREADY MARRIED!

"I have a wife, and her name is Hinata." He spoke the words earnestly and very clearly.

All eyes in the main hall shifted to look at Naruto. With the exception of the Dao Realm Patriarchs, the other members of the Senior generation, as well as all the Chosen Naruto had fought with, had strange looks in their eyes. They stared at Naruto, their gazes shining.

Li Ling'er was very pretty, and would be the type of beloved partner that any clan would view as favorable. Furthermore, the backing of the Li Clan would enable Naruto to achieve future accomplishments with much greater ease, and he could definitely reach greater heights of glory.

Nobody could understand why Naruto would flat-out reject such an opportunity.

Li Ling'er had originally looked forward to seeing Naruto reject the offer. But for some reason, when she heard his explanation and saw how serious he was, she suddenly realized that he seemed very different from the scoundrel she remembered. In fact, he seemed to be hiding some great pain deep within him, a fact that caused her to tremble slightly.

"Where is she?" asked Namikaze Shoudao, sounding very stern. "On Planet South Heaven?" He looked at Naruto a bit more seriously than he had before, and his tone was very grave.

"She's not on Planet South Heaven," Naruto replied softly. "She's in the cycle of reincarnation, waiting for me to go find her." He could no longer prevent the grief from showing on his face. All of a sudden, he saw the vague image of a simple young woman standing in front of him, wearing a plain robe. She was the one who had taken him into the world of cultivation.

She wasn't shockingly beautiful, but somehow, she had worked her way into his heart. He had given her a Cosmetic Cultivation Pill, and in the end, they had experienced a Red Wedding together.

She was Hinata.

His Qing'er….

She had sacrificed her longevity for him. She had entered reincarnation for him. As she died, she had forced a smile onto her face… for him.

In Naruto's arms, she had turned from being beautiful and young into a white-haired old woman. She had withered up and closed her eyes. She had attempted to lift her hand up, as if to wipe the tears off of his face, but then that hand had slumped down lifelessly. That was… the image he saw.

"Her name is Hinata," he continued softly. "She's waiting for me in reincarnation, and we made a promise that I would go find her. She… is my wife. My… one and ONLY wife!" With that, he bowed to Namikaze Shoudao, then turned and flew off, his expression one of pain, grief, and bleakness.

Back in the main hall, everyone was shaken. They could sense the grief in Naruto, and could tell that although he usually seemed happy and frivolous on the outside, he was actually filled with a sea of sorrow and longing.

Li Ling'er shivered as she watched Naruto leave. As of this moment, the detestation she felt toward him was not so profound, and in fact, deep in her heart, pity took root.

—–

Note from Er Gen: I miss Hinata….

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1010

Chapter 1010: A Wager!

After several days of banqueting, the Three Great Daoist Societies left, as did all of the other various sects and clans. The matter of the wedding contract with the Li Clan wasn't resolved. Namikaze Shoudao wouldn't waver in the matter, however, and continued to press for time.

Over the course of a few days, Namikaze Shoudao summoned Naruto on multiple occasions, but Naruto was in a different position than he had been. He wasn't just any young lord of the clan, he was now a blazing sun.

Therefore, he completely ignored Namikaze Shoudao, putting the matter off by focusing on cultivating the Nirvana Fruits.

Three days later, as he sat in secluded meditation in his residence, Namikaze Shoudao came for a personal visit. As soon as he entered the courtyard, he sent his aura out, and Naruto immediately opened his eyes.

It was in that moment that Namikaze Shoudao appeared in front of him. His face was grave as he looked Naruto over. Then he let out a long sigh and sat down cross-legged.

Naruto sat in place quietly, not saying a word.

"She's really that important to you?" Namikaze Shoudao asked slowly, looking at Naruto. Naruto was actually extremely important to Namikaze Shoudao, so important that Naruto didn't even realize the extent of it.

To Namikaze Shoudao, the most crucial matter at hand was ensuring that the Namikaze Clan was able to survive over the next thousand years.

After that, he wanted to help Naruto grow and mature. That was one reason why he didn't refuse the Three Great Daoist Societies' proposal. He believed that in the Three Great Daoist Societies, Naruto would definitely acquire better cultivation magic than he could in the Namikaze Clan.

As for the clan's financial predicament, that was something in which he had not deceived Naruto.

"She's my wife," Naruto replied, his voice soft, his head bowed.

After a moment of silence, Namikaze Shoudao spoke. Although he didn't sound somber like he had when negotiating prices with Naruto, his tone of voice and his expression seemed far more serious and intense than they had at that time.

"Can't you just let her go? You're the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan. Just forget about her.

"If you can't let go of her forever," he said quietly, "then how about for just a thousand years? If you don't like the Li Clan lass, then you don't have to pay attention to her at all. All the clan wants is an alliance. It's the same with the Li Clan. They just want an alliance.

"The marriage is just a formality."

Naruto looked up at Namikaze Shoudao for a moment, then slapped his bag of holding to produce the Ancient Realm precious treasure that was his Crown Prince command medallion. He rubbed it for a moment before carefully placing it down in front of Namikaze Shoudao.

Namikaze Shoudao's eyes widened, and waves of rage began to surge out inside of him. He looked at Naruto, his expression one of pain.

"In your heart, is that girl really more important than the entire clan?" The disappointment on Namikaze Shoudao's face was clear. This was true disappointment, not an act like before.

"Patriarch….

"I don't remember much about my early life on Planet East Victory," he murmured. "What I do remember from my childhood is that my dad and mom left. I have a memory of searching for them in the fog, crying because I couldn't find them.

"After I grew up, I took the Imperial examinations over and over again. Back then, my dream was to be rich when I grew up.

"Eventually I ran into her, and I joined a sect. That was how I came to be part of the cultivation world.

"She's actually my Senior Sister from that sect." After that, Naruto told Namikaze Shoudao everything about Hinata. He recounted all the stories and all the details that he could remember.

"Patriarch, there was one time in which I died. She ruined her own longevity, just to save me….

"When we got married, it was a Red Wedding, soaked in blood….

"I promised her that I would find her in reincarnation." As his voice echoed out, filled with the sensation of memories, Namikaze Shoudao's face gradually softened. He looked at Naruto for a long moment, then sighed.

"It's just a formality," he said, closing his eyes. "Why do you have to be like this?!"

"To the clan, it might just be a formality," Naruto replied calmly. "But to me, it would be a betrayal. Patriarch, please appoint someone else as the Crown Prince. The Li Clan doesn't want a beloved partner for Li Ling'er. All they want is an alliance. It doesn't matter who it is. Anyone could be a match for her. Why does it have to be me? So please, just appoint someone else. It would be the perfect solution for the clan."

Namikaze Shoudao maintained his silence. After a long moment, he rose to his feet and swished his sleeve. He did not take the Crown Prince command medallion, but instead sent it floating back into Naruto's palm.

"In three months, the Three Great Daoist Societies will come for you. I've already prepared 1,500,000,000 spirit stones for you to take with you to use in your cultivation. I wasn't going to tell you about this originally, but considering you can't accept the marriage, well… do you dare to make a little wager with me?

"If you win, then I'll take responsibility to cancel the marriage contract!

"But if you lose, then you can't reject the arrangements made by the clan, and you'll go through with the formalities!"

Naruto stood there silently.

"Hao'er," Namikaze Shoudao continued with a sigh, "if your grandfather was still here in the clan, he would definitely persuade you for me…." Namikaze Shoudao thought of Naruto's grandfather, who was actually the person that he had most favored among the junior generations. In fact, in his view, Naruto's grandfather would have eventually become the clan's third Dao Realm expert!

A tremor ran through Naruto as he recalled the vague image of his grandfather, an image he would never be able to forget.

Naruto's parents had left to guard Planet South Heaven for 100,000 years. As for his grandfather, he had gone to search for an Outsider to ask for help. The Outsider came, but his grandfather had gone missing, and had never made contact with the clan again.

Feeling quite bitter, Naruto looked up at Namikaze Shoudao.

"What's the bet!?"

"Before the Three Great Daoist Societies arrive, do everything you can

to earn 1,500,000,000 spirit stones. Immortal jade doesn't count. If you can do that, from then on the clan won't require that you do anything you don't want to.

"You must not resort to trickery, theft, or borrowing. I won't interfere either."

Naruto stared in shock for a moment. Then, he lowered his head and made some calculations. When he looked back up, his expression was calm again. Gazing at Namikaze Shoudao with a slightly pained expression, he nodded.

Namikaze Shoudao said nothing further. He stood up, turned, and vanished.

After he left, Naruto began to breathe heavily. A thousand ideas were running through his head. He knew that he was a member of the clan, and that it was impossible to sever that blood connection. His parents, his grandfather, and his other relatives would not agree to him severing ties with the Namikaze Clan.

Furthermore… the clan had not given Naruto any reason to do anything that would violate the rules.

If there was a wager, he would win it!

"Three months…. 1,500,000,000 spirit stones." Although he wasn't aware of it, a bashful expression had appeared on his face at some point. As far as he was concerned, winning that bet… wouldn't be difficult at all.

He put away the Crown Prince command medallion and stood up. Then he turned into a beam of prismatic light that shot away to find Namikaze Xi.

Two days later, word began to spread throughout the Namikaze Clan. It didn't take long before all the clan members were talking about the same thing.

"Did you hear? The Crown Prince is going to challenge the Medicine

Pavilion! Last time, he got through six levels with perfect marks! The Dao bell even rang!"

"Last time he challenged the Medicine Pavilion, he got to the seventh level, where he grafted 75,000 types of medicinal plants!"

"Everyone is saying that this time, the Crown Prince is definitely going to charge all the way to the tenth level!"

The news quickly spread, until everyone in the clan had heard about it. All of them were inwardly shaken. Lately, Naruto was the like the sun at high noon within the clan, and was the focus of all attention.

Everything he said or did was noticed. Besides, the glory he had already achieved in the Dao of Alchemy Division was well known. Now that he was going to be heading back there, everyone in the clan was filled with anticipation.

That anticipation reached a peak on one particular morning at dawn, when Naruto flew out of his residence and headed toward the Dao of Alchemy Division, his Immortal Realm Paragon cultivation base surging with power.

He was followed by numerous members of the Namikaze Clan, who all wanted to witness the spectacle.

More and more people started to tag along. By the time he reached the Dao of Alchemy Division, huge amounts of Namikaze Clan cultivators were there, filling the sky as he headed toward the Medicine Pavilion.

The alchemists and apprentice alchemists of the Dao of Alchemy Division were all very excited as they joined in the procession.

The entire Dao of Alchemy Division was abuzz. Countless beams of colorful light shot through the air as Naruto landed outside of the Medicine Pavilion. He looked at the huge stone stele next to the entrance, and his eyes glittered. The same two old men who stood guard outside opened their eyes. When they saw Naruto, they slowly rose to their feet, clasped hands, and bowed.

"Greetings, Crown Prince," they said in unison.

Naruto nodded, and without further word, stepped into the Medicine Pavilion.

As he did, the entire area was packed with clan members, all of whom were waiting to watch. Namikaze Xi was in the crowd. He quickly sent word out via jade slip, and a moment later, roughly 10,000 clan members rose up in various positions and began to cry out.

"The Crown Prince is challenging the Medicine Pavilion! This is a grand event in the Namikaze Clan, and it is an honor for anyone to be able to bear witness. I personally wish to offer 100 spirit stones as a congratulatory gift! If anyone else is willing to offer a similar gift, please place it into this bag of holding!"

"That's right! I don't have a lot of spirit stones, but I'm willing to give fifty as a gift of congratulations to the Crown Prince!"

"Of course this is how things should work! The Crown Prince is challenging the Medicine Pavilion. As fellow clan members, it's only natural that we should offer gifts of congratulations! Here's 100 spirit stones!"

As the calls rang out, more people produced spirit stones to place in the bags of holding. Others hesitated, but then increasing numbers began to do the same thing.

Very soon, a terrifying amount of spirit stones had built up within the bags of holding.

When Namikaze Shoudao saw what was happening, he stared in shock for a moment and then smacked his forehead. His expression immediately changed.

"Dammit! How could I have forgotten…. I remember hearing about how Naruto charged people in the Dao of Alchemy Division to hear his lectures about plants and vegetation!" Then Namikaze Shoudao thought about the rewards posted for the three Holy medicinal pills, and a feeling of alarm built up in his heart.

Those three medicinal pills included first, the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, which Naruto had already concocted. The second was the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill, the reward for which was 1,000,000,000 spirit stones….

The third was the Heavenly Thought Pill. The incredible reward for concocting that pill was to become the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division. All of a sudden, Namikaze Shoudao gasped. After a long moment, he managed to recover his senses, and realized that this time, he had been conned by Naruto.

"You little hoodlum!" he thought, laughing bitterly. However, his eyes quickly glittered.

"However, he didn't choose to go concoct the pills," he murmured, "but instead, to challenge the Medicine Pavilion. That indicates that he's not completely confident in his concocting abilities…. In that case, I haven't necessarily lost the bet…." However, he still was a bit worried, so he suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was in the Medicine Immortal Sect, where he went to consult with Namikaze Yanxu.

Not too long after, he left the Medicine Immortal Sect, and his face was very calm. Based on what Namikaze Yanxu told him, he was now confident in what would happen.

"Not even Namikaze Yanxu can concoct the Heavenly Thought Pill. As for the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill, it's equally difficult. The little hoodlum definitely can't concoct them relying on his own skill alone. I told him that I wouldn't interfere, but that doesn't mean I can't use other methods."

Namikaze Shoudao appeared to be very pleased, and looked more like a crafty old fox than ever.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1011

Chapter 1011: Challenging the Medicine Pavilion Again!

Dao of Alchemy Division. Medicine Pavilion.

As soon as Naruto set foot inside, he was once again on the seventh level.

Last time, he passed six levels in a row, achieving the highest marks possible at each level. He passed them perfectly. Notably, on the sixth level, each step he took caused lotuses to bloom, shocking the outside world and causing the Dao bell to toll.

Now he had returned, and in addition to his desire to earn some money, he was filled with determination, as well as dedication to the Dao of alchemy.

"This time, I'm definitely going to go through all nine levels!" Everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea knew that Naruto was an Immortal Realm Paragon, but few people were aware that that his skill in the Dao of alchemy had reached a point of perfection that could only be described by the saying, "the pill furnace flame turned blue." 1

The last time he was on the seventh level, he had grafted 75,000 medicinal plants and yet, his mental focus had been insufficient. If he had persisted in continuing, he would have sustained mental injuries; the concentration required to pass that level perfectly required an incredible level of mental constitution.

Furthermore, at that time, Naruto's skill with plants and vegetation had not reached a state of perfection. However, he was now much more skilled regarding the numerous variations of plants and vegetation in the Namikaze Clan. Furthermore, the difference between his current cultivation base and his former one was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Naruto was now completely confident that he could pass all the way through the ninth floor!

Inside the Medicine Pavilion, mists swirled everywhere. The Classic of Plants and Vegetation appeared, glowing with boundless light. The first pages flipped over, and Naruto waved his finger, causing a single medicinal plant to appear. His eyes shone with the glow of augury, and in the blink of an eye, he began to produce new grafts.

Eventually, he began to merge the grafts together to produce entirely new medicinal plants.

Time passed.

This time, Naruto only used half a day to graft 75,000 medicinal plants, whereupon the mists churned, and rumbling sounds could be heard.

The rumbling could even be heard outside of the Medicine Pavilion, where a bright light shone from the entire pavilion, rising up into the air above the Dao of Alchemy Division. It was as if the light was building up pressure, waiting for Naruto to reach the pinnacle of the level, whereupon it would burst up into the sky. All of the alchemists in the Dao of Alchemy Division were paying rapt attention.

Namikaze Danyun was there on his mountain peak, looking over with an expression of anticipation.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he extended his hand and continued to graft.

80,000. 83,000. 86,000…. Eight hours later, he had grafted 90,000 medicinal plants!

Massive rumbling sounds could be heard coming from the Medicine Pavilion. To date, no one had ever been able to graft as many plants as Naruto had in the seventh level. He was the first one to ever do so!

Currently, his name appeared on the stone stele outside of the Medicine Pavilion, and the number of medicinal plants he had grafted was clearly visible to all of the other clan members, causing a huge commotion among them.

90,000. However, that wasn't the end! The drain on Naruto's mental faculties was barely even noticeable. His mental constitution had greatly increased compared to before. His eyes glittered, and he lifted both hands, multitasking as he used both hands to graft different medicinal plants!

Rumbling like that of thunder could be heard outside the Medicine Pavilion as the number of grafted plants next to Naruto's name increased.

93,000. 96,000. 99,000…. All the way to… 100,000!

When the last grafted medicinal plant appeared, Naruto was surrounded by 100,000 swirling plants. They let out incredible light that spread out of the Medicine Pavilion, shooting up into the air in a brilliant beam.

The light instantly shot high up into the air above the Dao of Alchemy Division, causing everything to tremble. The entire Namikaze Clan was shaken, and all of the cultivators on Planet East Victory could see the light. Even the alchemists in the Medicine Immortal Sect were shocked.

As for Namikaze Yanxu, although he was in secluded meditation, he opened his eyes and looked over toward the Dao of Alchemy Division, clearly moved.

"He passed the seventh level perfectly…." he murmured lightly. "Well, the eighth level is so difficult it can't even compare to the seventh.

They're completely different."

Meanwhile, the Namikaze Clan's Dao bell appeared in the air above the ancestral mansion. Immediately, its toll echoed out into the minds of all clan members with Namikaze Clan blood, deep and sonorous.

The toll of the Dao bell indicated that Naruto had passed the seventh level in exactly the same way that he had passed the sixth… perfectly!

Furthermore, it had only taken him one day!

Word rapidly spread that he had passed the seventh level perfectly, having grafted 100,000 medicinal plants. The members of the Namikaze Clan suddenly realized that their Crown Prince was not just a blazing sun in terms of cultivation, he was also a blazing sun when it came to skill in the Dao of alchemy!

Naruto had no way to hear or see the uproar in the outside world. Up ahead, light swirled throughout the seventh level, causing a staircase to appear, a staircase that led up to the eighth level!

Naruto took a deep breath. Eyes filled with determination, he stepped onto the stairs and began to climb up.

Immediately, all the light around him vanished, and Naruto found himself looking out at a huge desert. The sky stretched out limitlessly, and up ahead, he could see an azure-colored dragon. It lay there completely motionless, as if it were a corpse.

The dragon was so huge that one glance was not enough to take in the entire thing. Upon closer inspection, it could be seen that it was actually composed of countless medicinal plants that were apparently growing on the dragon's body, using its flesh and blood as nourishment.

He was standing near the tail of the dragon, but even from there, he could sense the terrifying life force that existed inside of it. However, that life force was sealed, and was apparently being absorbed bit by bit by the numerous medicinal plants.

"This is the eighth level?" he thought. Almost at the same time, a cold, archaic voice spoke, echoing out through the entire eighth level.

"1,000,000 medicinal plants grow upon this Azure Dragon. Separate

100,000, and you can pass this level!"

Naruto's eyes shone with bright light as he looked at the Azure Dragon. Gradually, a look of obsession appeared in his eyes.

"In the seventh level, you have to graft various medicinal plants. In the eighth level, you are faced with numerous grafted medicinal plants that you have to deconstruct!

"Return them into their original state, into the original medicinal plants. The level of difficulty here… is far, far greater than the seventh level!

"However, if I can pass this level perfectly, then my skill with plants and vegetation would reach an unprecedented level!

"I can't even imagine a level of difficulty regarding knowledge of plants and vegetation that exceeds this eighth level." Naruto's heart surged with the determination to face this challenge head-on. He took a deep breath and stepped forward. As soon as his foot touched the ground, brilliant light flickered, and an illusory medicinal plant appeared in front of him, blocking his way.

He looked at it for a moment, then waved his finger, causing the medicinal plant to break apart into three distinct plants, after which it faded away.

Without even pausing, he continued forward. Every step he took caused more medicinal plants to appear. Each and every one took only a single glance before it was deconstructed.

10 steps. 100 steps. 1,000 steps. 10,000 steps….

Time passed. Naruto eventually took 30,000 steps, which indicated that he had deconstructed 30,000 medicinal plants. As he proceeded along, the Azure Dragon beneath his feet began to show indications that it was awakening.

From the look of it, if someone could deconstruct all 1,000,000 medicinal plants, then the dragon… would no longer be sealed, and would once again be able to fly through the Heavens.

Outside of the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto's name appeared on the stone stele, among the relatively few other names that had reached the eighth level. Everyone looked on, wide-eyed, as his name quickly climbed up the list.

Booms emanated out from the Medicine Pavilion, filling the ears of all onlookers. When they heard it, it almost seemed as if the sounds could control the beating of their hearts, which caused the entire Dao of Alchemy Division to fall silent.

All eyes were completely fixed on the Medicine Pavilion.

Naruto proceeded forward along the Azure Dragon in the eighth level. 15,000 steps. 18,000 steps. 20,000 steps!

30,000. 40,000. 50,000….

He didn't even pause a single time. Step after step, he deconstructed medicinal plants. Because of his skill with plants and vegetation, none of these medicinal plants were even qualified to cause him to spend time thinking.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The sound filled the Dao of Alchemy Division, and gradually began to resemble the roar of a dragon. By this point, Naruto… had taken his 70,000th step!

Step by step, plant by plant. He continued onward as relentlessly as ever. 80,000. 90,000. 100,000!

By taking his 100,000th step, it indicated that he had separated 100,000 medicinal plants from the Azure Dragon, which was now beginning to glow with brilliant light, and even tremble slightly.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered brightly. Naturally, 100,000 was not his limit. If he had never come to this place, none of this would have mattered, but now that he was here… he wanted to reach the pinnacle!

A tremor ran through him, and he took another step forward. Slowly but surely, he continued onward. 100,000. 150,000. 200,000. 300,000. 400,000. 500,000!

The Azure Dragon's trembling grew more intense, and the roars were now echoing out through all of Heaven and Earth.

The members of the Namikaze Clan outside the Medicine Pavilion were completely shaken as they watched Naruto's name climbing up the stone stele. It had long since reached first place, but the thing that really caused the onlookers to be amazed were the numbers that stood next to his name.

Naruto's eyes shone with a strange light as he continued on. 550,000. 600,000. 700,000. 800,000….

When he reached 800,000, his pace began to slow. However, at this point his energy surged even more explosively than before. He was now drawing on all of his mental constitution. His eyes glowed with a mad light of augury. The level of skill with plants and vegetation that was on display here was intense as he drew on everything to proceed onward.

830,000. 860,000. 890,000….

900,000!

The Azure Dragon roared; it was now ninety percent awake, and a shocking aura emanated out from the eighth level. It almost seemed to be pleading with Naruto to complete the final 100,000 deconstructions, so that it could be free to fly among the Heavens.

A tense silence reigned outside of the Medicine Pavilion as all eyes focused on the numbers on the stone stele. It was as if everyone was waiting for that number to reach 1,000,000!

Naruto suddenly looked up. The level of difficulty here was incredible, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. When it came to these final 100,000 medicinal plants, each one of them was made up of dozens and even hundreds of other medicinal plants.

He took a deep breath, and within him, his Immortal meridians exploded with power, fortifying his mental constitution. An intense Immortal will caused his Immortal Chakra to swirl, and his eyes glittered as if with starlight as he continued onward.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

91,000. 92,000. 93,000…. 97,000. 98,000. 99,000!

Countless medicinal plants appeared in front of him, all of which he separated from the dragon. He lost track of time, and it almost seemed like the medicinal plants would never end. But then, all of a sudden, there were none. Naruto stopped in place.

1,000,000!

When he finished the 1,000,000th medicinal plant, massive roaring filled the eighth level. The entire Medicine Pavilion emanated azure light as the illusory image of an azure dragon roared a shocking roar.

The members of the Namikaze Clan who were watching outside the Medicine Pavilion were thrown into tumult.

"1,000,000! The Crown Prince reached 1,000,000 on the eighth level!"

"This is unheard-of! No one has ever done that in the history of the Dao of Alchemy Division!"

"The Crown Prince is a Chosen in cultivation and a blazing sun in the

Dao of alchemy!"

"The pill furnace flame turning blue" is a Chinese idiom based on the beliefs of ancient Chinese alchemists, who thought that when the flame of their pill furnace turned blue when concocting, it was a perfect success. It's now an expression that means "to reach a point of perfection" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1012

Chapter 1012: Opening the Essence Door

On that day, virtually every member of the Namikaze Clan saw an Azure Dragon fly out of the Medicine Pavilion in the Dao of Alchemy Division, then speed around Planet East Victory before eventually fading away.

As it vanished, motes of green light sprinkled down onto the lands of

Planet East Victory, causing the entire planet to thrum with life force.

This scene caused the hearts of all the cultivators on Planet East Victory to tremble with shock.

In the Medicine Immortal Sect, Namikaze Yanxu saw what was happening and his expression flickered with astonishment. He gazed in the direction of the Dao of Alchemy Division and murmured after a long time, "So the legends about the eighth level are true…. The first alchemist to completely unseal the Azure Dragon of plants and vegetation, will free the dragon and enable it to nourish the lands.

"Naruto's skill in the Dao of alchemy has reached an incredible level…."

Namikaze Shoudao took a deep breath. His eyes were wide as he watched the Azure Dragon fade away, and the nourishing motes of light fall down onto the planet. He even reached his hand out and allowed one of the glimmering lights to land onto his palm.

Simultaneously, the Dao bell appeared in midair over the ancestral mansion. Its toll echoed out into the hearts of all the members of the Namikaze Clan.

Then the hubbub of conversation broke out, in all areas of the Namikaze Clan. After experiencing the rebellion, the Namikaze Clan needed a joyous occasion like this to consolidate the clan and help them grow stronger.

On the eighth level of the Medicine Pavilion, Naruto watched as the unsealed Azure Dragon swirled around and then flew away. Next, the plants and vegetation disappeared into the numerous glittering screens which had just appeared.

Naruto did not immediately proceed to the next level. He sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes, mentally reviewing the 1,000,000 medicinal plants he had just seen, and committing them to memory.

After quite a bit of time passed, he opened his eyes, within which glowed an intense light. Having completed the eighth level perfectly, he looked off into the distance at… a door which had appeared!

There was no staircase, only a door, and that door led to the ninth level!

The final level!

"The Namikaze Clan's Medicine Pavilion is truly a place where good fortune can be wrested away from Heaven and Earth. The transformations of plants and vegetation here have reached the pinnacle, especially on the eighth level.

"Well, I wonder what kind of test I'll find on the ninth level?" He looked curiously at the door for a while before finally rising to his feet and walking over.

Eventually, he came to stand directly in front of it. Eyes glittering, he pushed it open and walked in without hesitation. This was the final level of the Medicine Pavilion.

As soon as he entered, he stopped in his tracks and stared around in shock.

An entire world stretched out in front of his eyes.

The sky was deep blue, and a golden sun hung in the sky, sending out radiant sunlight. Gigantic birds flew about in the sky.

Off in the distance, the ground shook under the feet of a giant, which roared as it ran.

Everything bore the appearance of ancient times. There was one particular plant, a small one, that was growing out from under a rock. It seemed ordinary and not even worth mentioning, but if you looked closely… it appeared as if, at some point in the past, the rock had crushed the plant. However, the plant had fought on, eventually pushing the rock aside and growing up from under its edges.

Naruto was a bit taken aback by everything. However, after only a few breaths of time passed, everything blurred. When things became clear again, he was standing in the same place he had been before. However, the mountains and lands around him had crumbled, even that rock. The little plant he had seen had also collapsed into pieces.

Yet, one of those plant pieces managed to fly up into the air and merge with some of the remnants of the shattered rock, which then spun off into the distance, where they landed in the middle of a pool of water and sank to the bottom.

Time passed. Years flew by, and it was impossible to tell how many. Gradually, another small plant grew up from within the pool of water. It looked different than the previous plant, sturdier and more resilient.

Naruto frowned. He wasn't sure exactly what he was seeing, nor what it had to do with this ninth level. He continued to watch as time flashed by. Suns rose and set. The plant would wither, then grow again, a seemingly endless cycle. Finally one day, the lands were destroyed in a seismic event, and the area where the plant was growing turned into a seafloor.

Soil became sludge, completely burying the tiny plant.

More time passed. The little plant once again grew up from within the sludge. It looked different than before, as if it were some type of seaweed. It looked almost like hair as it grew longer and longer.

Later, the sea dried up, and the plant withered and eventually disappeared. Then, a tree grew up in its place. That tree became a forest, within which was a tree that seemed to be the same tiny plant from years ago.

Time flowed. Naruto watched as the huge tree eventually began to grow smaller. The other trees around it withered in death, but it grew stronger and stronger until, eventually, it attracted the attention of lightning.

The lightning struck it, and it dried up. In the moment that it died, a sprout appeared, which became the only green thing in the whole world, growing up out of the dead husk of the tree.

Naruto stared at the sprout in shock. A powerful aura gradually began to emanate from the sprout, and after much time passed, a hand appeared in the void, which slowly reached out and harvested the tiny sprout.

"Sure enough, it became a Holy medicinal plant," said an ancient voice, the same voice that had spoken on the previous levels of the Medicine pavilion. The images Naruto was seeing crumbled away.

He breathed heavily as everything faded away, and he found himself standing in a medicinal plant garden, within which grew a single medicinal plant.

It was a tiny sprout, the same one whose lives Naruto had seen passing by in his vision.

He stared at the sprout in shock, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.

"Do you understand?" asked the voice.

"What is the highest realm of plants and vegetation? No one can truly answer this question. Everyone has their own explanation!

"A tiny plant from the ancient age that experienced all sorts of good fortune… Who can say whether or not that plant will become some sort of shocking holy medicinal plant?!

"All living things are mundane, and yet, all living things can also be extraordinary!

"Cultivators practice cultivation because of their desire to shed the limitations of the mortal world. They wish to be like the carp that leapt over the dragon gate…. Plants and vegetation are similar. When concocting them into medicinal pills and consuming them, one should not solely focus on strengthening themselves, but should also strive to sense the plant's fundamental will.

"It might seem like the plant dies in the process of becoming a pill, but who can truly say whether or not this is just a rebirth into another stage of life for them?"

As the ancient voice echoed out, Naruto sat down cross-legged and looked at the tiny sprout. All of a sudden, he thought about the image of the first generation Patriarch incarnated as a planet.

He became a planet, from which grew countless types of plants and vegetation….

"This…." Naruto murmured. He felt as if he were just on the verge of grasping something profound, but he wasn't able to put it into words. It was as if countless threads were swirling around in his head, making it impossible to find the correct train of thought.

"Reincarnation?" he said, looking up.

Almost as soon as the word left his mouth, the entire world collapsed.

The fragments then formed back together, causing another shocking vision to appear.

The vision was exactly the same as what he had experienced when he first set foot into the ninth level. He saw the world of ancient times, and he saw the tiny plant growing up from under the rock.

The vision appeared to be identical, except that this time, the hand was present, as if he was now seeing the true beginning to the story.

A voice echoed out within the vision: "Stuck under a boulder, but you still want to live and grow. Well then, allow me to give you a chance at life."

The hand then tapped the plant lightly.

The little plant swayed, then returned to normal. The hand vanished, as if it had never existed in the first place.

The vision faded away, and the void of the ninth level appeared again. The ancient voice echoed out again.

"It's not just reincarnation, but creation! From my perspective, the pinnacle of plants and vegetation is actually creation." After the voice finished speaking, a door appeared next to Naruto, a door which led to the outside.

Naruto maintained his silence. The little plant had been ordinary, but because it had been tapped by that finger, its entire life and fate changed. In the end, the lightning struck it, and it became a Holy medicinal plant.

That definitely was a kind of creation.

After a long time, Naruto rose to his feet, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

Suddenly, the ancient voice spoke again.

"If you had the choice, would you wish to become that little plant, or would you want to become the hand?"

Naruto paused and looked out into the void. Voice calm, he replied, "Neither that plant nor that hand can act of their own accord. Both are controlled by something else. I would want to become… the person who commanded that hand to alter the little plant!" With that, he turned and prepared to step through the door.

Suddenly, the ancient voice in the void laughed. It was a laughter filled with happiness and praise.

"To think that… the Namikaze Clan has produced someone like you.

Delightful! How very delightful!" As the voice echoed out, the image of a middle-aged man suddenly appeared within the void. He looked over at Naruto.

"For years, none of the few people who managed to enter this place made a choice like yours.

"Your reward for reaching this ninth level is that I can answer a single question for you."

Naruto's eyes glittered.

"Is there a pinnacle of skill with plants and vegetation that exceeds that of creation?" he asked.

"That's not an easy question to answer," the middle-aged man said slowly. "First, you must be able to understand… what the Dao is!"

"The Dao?" Naruto gaped.

"Why is there life? Why is there death?" The ancient voiced echoed back and forth endlessly.

"Why is there reincarnation? It's like a circle, with the head and the tail connected, but what exactly does that mean, and is reincarnation the only explanation?

"Why are there cultivators? Why are there cultivation Realms?

"Why is there Daoist magic? Why are there divine abilities?

"How does light shine? How does darkness descend?

"Metal. Wood. Water. Fire. Earth. What are the differences between these elements?

"Fire is fire, and yet, why are there different types of heat?

"What is heat? What is cold? What does it mean when something that can only survive in the ice can be burned to death by a single drop of water?"

The ancient voice spoke with increasing speed, causing Naruto's mind to tremble. Questions piled up in his mind. Each one seemed possible to answer directly, but if he actually had to answer them, he would be left speechless.

"What is the Dao?" That was the final question uttered by the ancient voice, and it left Naruto's mind rumbling.

"The Essence is the Dao, the basis of everything that defies Heaven!" A bright light shone in the middle-aged man's eyes, and he suddenly seemed very serious.

"All such unknowns are Essence. Only when you seek out the Essence, can you comprehend Heaven and Earth, understand all living things, and control everything! When you understand all transformations of Heaven and Earth, when you have defied the Heavens, when you have sealed the Earth, then what could possibly be difficult to you?!" The middleaged man waved his hand, and Naruto's mind trembled. He couldn't stop himself from stepping into the door, and then he vanished into the void.

After he disappeared, the middle-aged man shook his head and smiled, then stepped forward into the medicinal plant garden. He sat down cross-legged and gradually transformed into a tiny sprout.

He was… the final transformation of that little plant. A tiny sprout!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1013

Chapter 1013: Planning to Escape the Marriage!

"I look forward to the day when he becomes the person who controls that hand!" The sprout swayed back and forth, and faint laughter could be heard echoing out into the darkness of the void.

The option of becoming the plant or the hand seemed like a choice, but it was actually a trick question. Although there appeared to be two answers to pick from, in reality, those two answers were one and the same.

That was especially true after one's mind was reeling after experiencing the shocking visions. Before that feeling even faded away, when one had not had a chance to digest the experience, and the heart was still unstable, whatever decision was made would clearly reveal the nature of one's Dao, and the focus of one's heart.

It was not a time in which random or careless things could be said. If one responded in an absurd way that did not correspond to the object of their obsession, it would be like a betrayal of oneself and result in the collapse of their Dao will.

Therefore, for someone to escape the trap and to respond that they wanted to become the person who controlled the hand was something completely remarkable. Any person who entered the ninth level of the Medicine Pavilion and faced that middle-aged man's divine ability, and who had a cultivation base lower than him, would be incapable of speaking lies. The only thing they would be capable of doing was speaking the truth from the bottom of their heart. That was the only way to pass the ninth level!

It required not only utter self-confidence, but also total clarity of self. Furthermore, it required those who answered the question to have an unshakable belief in their own Dao!

That middle-aged man had not seen a member of the Namikaze Clan like that in a long time. Therefore, he decided to provide some enlightenment regarding the Dao of Essence!

"Essence IS the Dao!" thought Naruto. His mind rumbled as he stepped out of the door. In the blink of an eye, he was outside of the medicine Pavilion, surrounded by tens of thousands of clan members, all of whom were looking at Naruto, their faces filled with excitement.

The toll of the Dao bell could be heard, filling the minds of all members of the Namikaze Clan.

Behind Naruto, brilliant light shot up from the Medicine Pavilion to illuminate everything. All of the alchemists on Planet East Victory clasped hands and bowed toward Naruto. The sky went dark.

That was the first time that anyone had perfectly passed through the entire Medicine Pavilion. It would definitely become a legend in the Dao of Alchemy Division, part of the mythos of the Namikaze Clan's Dao of alchemy.

Naruto's name was now listed in the very first position on the stone stele outside of the Medicine Pavilion!

However, all of the cheering barely registered in his ears. The words he had just heard filled his ears and continued to crash around in his mind like thunder.

"Essence… is the Dao…." he murmured.

"Comprehend Essence, and you can step into the Dao Realm!" It was as if Naruto's mind had been opened further, making his understanding of cultivation clearer than ever.

"Use the Nirvana Fruits to enter the Ancient Realm. Use Essence to form the Dao Realm!" Naruto's eyes shone with brilliant light as the ancient voice slowly echoed away into silence. Outside of the Medicine Pavilion, the cries of the clan members gradually grew stronger in Naruto's ears.

"Congratulations, on charging through the whole Medicine Pavilion,

Crown Prince!"

"Congratulations, Crown Prince!"

As the cries echoed out, Naruto gradually recovered his senses. Soon, he was staring around in shock. Something seemed… off. There didn't seem to be enough people in the area. There were tens of thousands, and no more….

From what he could remember, when he entered the Medicine Pavilion, there had been hundreds of thousands, perhaps even more, spread about in all directins. Feeling suspicious, Naruto smiled at the crowds, clasped hands, and bowed. Then he gave Namikaze Xi a meaningful look, and sped off into the distance.

Namikaze Xi followed nervously. The two of them flew out of the Dao of Alchemy Division, and before Naruto could even ask him any questions, Namikaze Xi sighed.

"Coz, something happened. After you entered the Medicine Pavilion, the clan suddenly announced a bunch of important missions. Almost all of the clan members who came to watch immediately had to go back to the clan…." Smiling wryly, Namikaze Xi produced a bag of holding which he handed over to Naruto.

Face unsightly, Naruto grabbed the bag of holding and scanned it.

There were quite a few spirit stones inside, but it was a lot less than he had expected. It didn't take much thought to come to the conclusion that this was definitely a counterstrike from that old fox Namikaze Shoudao. He turned to stare angrily at the ancestral mansion.

"That old hoodlum!" Naruto growled, gnashing his teeth. "That wily old fox!"

Obviously, the old fogey had figured out that he was being conned by Naruto, and had devised an ingenious counterattack.

"Well, it doesn't matter," said Naruto, forcing a smile onto his face as he clapped Namikaze Xi on the shoulder. "You head back now, and I'll start working on another plan."

Namikaze Xi nodded. After bowing to Naruto, he transformed into a colorful beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Naruto hovered in midair, eyes flickering, jaw clenched.

"Since you want to force my hand so badly, you old fox," he thought,

"don't blame the Young Master for flipping over the game board!" Musing about how the first generation Patriarch had stared down Hebi Tian, he turned into a prismatic beam that shot back toward the ancestral mansion.

Back in his residence, he sat down cross-legged.

After a few days passed, in the dead of night, he flickered and disappeared from within his residence and materialized outside of the ancestral mansion, where he transformed into a beam of light that shot soundlessly up into the sky.

Just when he seemed to be on the verge of bursting out into the starry sky, a powerful force bore down on him. It was like a sealing power, which spread out in all directions, forcing him to come to a stop. All he could do now was look out at the starry sky, his expression unsightly.

"So, the old fox already prepared for the possibility of me fleeing before the wedding day. From the look of things, the old fogey intentionally asked the Three Great Daoist Societies to wait for three months before coming back for me. It was all a setup!" He gritted his teeth as put all the pieces of the puzzle together. He was not happy to have been conned multiple times by Namikaze Shoudao. It was the feeling of being defeated by someone else in the field which you considered yourself to be most skilled at.

Naruto snorted coldly, and his eyes glittered. Deep inside, he was actually laughing as he turned and headed back to the clan. He settled down in the ancestral mansion, and made no further attempts to escape the marriage. Nor did he go to concoct medicinal pills. Instead, he spent all of his time poring through the clan's ancient records, and reading through its history.

Namikaze Shoudao was puzzled by this behavior. During recent days, he had been constantly observing Naruto with divine sense. He even saw him attempt to fly away, the result of which left him feeling very pleased.

But now, he couldn't figure him out.

"I can't underestimate this fox cub," he thought. "If I overlook the tiniest thing, I could end up falling into his con." Namikaze Shoudao wore a very serious expression. He attempted to study the same ancient records that Naruto had looked at. However, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, which only served to increase his caution.

An entire month passed in this fashion. Namikaze Shoudao was starting to get a very bad feeling. However, no matter how much thought he put into it, he couldn't put his finger on what exactly the problem was.

Currently, Naruto sat cross-legged in his residence. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and they were shot with blood. His complexion was a bit wan as well. However, inside, he was laughing coldly.

"That's it! I've figured it out!" he murmured to himself.

"During Divine Soul Nourishment, all of Planet East Victory will be covered by ripples that block Dao Realm divine sense for one breath of time. It is also during Divine Soul Nourishment that the One Thought Stellar Transformation… can be used to perform a Stellar Teleportation!

"Therefore, now is the time… to concoct some pills!" His eyes glittered for a moment before he closed them. The next morning at dawn, he rose to his feet and then shot toward the Dao of Alchemy Division in a beam of light.

For the entire past month, Namikaze Shoudao had been completely on edge. He knew that something was going on with Naruto, so as soon as he saw him fly out of his residence, he focused all of his divine sense on him. When he saw that he was heading toward the Dao of Alchemy Division, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hmph. What scares me is not you making your move, fox cub. What makes me nervous is when you do nothing, making it impossible to pick up on any clues. You're just too immature." A wide smile appeared on Namikaze Shoudao's face. He was clearly very pleased with himself.

"So, it turns out he's heading to the Pill Pavilion." he said to himself. His eyes flashed. He was actually in fear of Naruto's Dao of alchemy.

However, Namikaze Yanxu had told him that other than the first generation Patriarch, no one had ever been able to concoct the third medicinal pill. Therefore, he wasn't too worried.

"According to Namikaze Yanxu, the little hoodlum isn't qualified to concoct the second medicinal pill. Of course, it would all depend on his enlightenment regarding certain fundamentals, an enlightenment that no one in the Immortal Realm could possibly achieve. Only those on the threshold of the Dao Realm could achieve it!

"Considering that, it seems that he simply has no way of concocting the second medicinal pill." Namikaze Shoudao coughed dryly. In truth, the matter of the marriage between Naruto and Li Ling'er had really gotten him worried lately.

"Well, there's nothing to be done. I'm his grandfather's grandfather, and I love him more than anyone else in the clan. If I don't worry about his future, then who will, right?" Namikaze Shoudao sighed to himself, then blinked an eye to send some more divine sense out toward Naruto.

Naruto flew through the Dao of Alchemy Division, causing rumbling sounds to echo out. After a month being away, it was his grand return. As various clan members caught sight of him, they began to speculate about what exactly he was doing. Then, people began to realize that he was heading toward the Pill Pavilion, and excitement began to build.

"Could it be that after charging through all of the Medicine Pavilion, the

Crown Prince is now going to challenge the Pill Pavilion?"

"The Crown Prince was already able to concoct one of the three great medicinal pills, the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill. Could it be… that he's going to try to concoct the other two pills?!"

Even as they made their speculations, they flew into the air to follow Naruto. It didn't take long before the entire Dao of Alchemy Division was astir. As for Naruto, he shot through the air at top speed, making no attempt to conceal his actions as he whistled toward the Pill Pavilion.

Soon, he was standing directly outside of it, surrounded by clusters of curious clan members.

What they saw was Naruto unhesitatingly approach the second drum, raise his fist, and strike the drum's surface.

A sonorous boom resonated out, causing everything to shake. The entire Dao of Alchemy Division trembled, and even the ancestral mansion reverberated with the sound.

"The Crown Prince really is going to try to concoct one of those legendary medicinal pills!"

"He already concocted the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill, now he's going to try to make a Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill!"

The sound of the drum echoed out in all directions, causing even more clan members to approach. This was not like the Medicine Pavilion, where people couldn't see inside. Anyone could bear witness to the concocting of the legendary medicinal pills.

Naruto stood outside the Pill Pavilion, hand still clenched into a fist. It was at this point that the list of rewards for concocting the medicinal pill appeared in front of him.

"Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill! Whoever concocts this pill will receive a reward of 1,000,000,000 spirit stones, 1,000,000 Immortal jades, 20,000,000 merit points, 100,000 medicinal plants of your choice from the Dao of Alchemy Division, six clan Daoist magics, and one

Ancient treasure. The Dao Bell will toll 18 times! The ingredient fee is

10,000,000 merit points for one set."

In the blink of an eye, Naruto's clan merit points were reduced by 10,000,000!

A jade slip then appeared in front of him. At the same time, a vast collection of medicinal plants appeared, which floated around him in the air. In total, there were 99 different plants.

Naruto raised his hand to take the jade slip. After scanning it with divine sense, he could see the method for how to concoct one of the Namikaze Clan's three great medicinal pills, the second pill… Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill!

After glancing at the formula, Naruto's eyes narrowed, and he understood why it was so difficult to concoct the pill, and why nobody from the Dao of Alchemy Division had successfully done so over the years.

"The difficulty in concocting this pill comes from the grafts that are involved. There is no grafting technique, only a rough pill formula. Furthermore, the pill formula doesn't even list the names of the plants and vegetation involved. All it does is list the degree to which certain characteristics are required of the plants.

"You need to use these 99 medicinal plants to graft 100,000 different plants that all harmonize with each other. That is the first step, Sea Cleaving.

"As for the Heaven Defying part of the pill, it seems so profound. How do you concoct that portion?" After a moment of silence, Naruto's eyes flickered with a bright glow, and he thought back to what the middleaged man had said on the ninth level of the Medicine Pavilion.

"The Essence is the Dao, the basis of everything that defies Heaven!

"I understand now. This medicinal pill is difficult to concoct because… it requires Essence! That's why Pill Elder couldn't concoct it, and yet… Namikaze Yanxu from the Medicine Immortal Sect could!" Naruto felt as if his mind were being struck by lightning. Then, everything became clear.

"Essence…. well, I have that too!" It was at this point that his terrifying Divine Flame Immortal meridian roared to life inside of him. His cultivation base surged, and massive pressure rolled out. The surrounding clan members were shocked to discover that Essence ripples were pouring out of Naruto!

They might be weak, and as vastly separated from the power of the Dao Realm as Earth is from Heaven. However, it was definitely Essence power!

It wasn't enough power for Naruto to reach the Dao Realm, but if all he was doing was concocting pills….

"It's enough!" A smile broke out on Naruto's face as he waved his right hand, causing all 99 medicinal plants to fly toward him. Then, they blurred as he began to graft them together at high speed.

—–

Er Gen included a note at the end of this chapter commenting on how it was longer than usual. His chapters are usually 3,000 Chinese characters, which usually works out to around 2,000-2,200 English words. This chapter was 3,500 characters, and around 2,600 words.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1014

Chapter 1014: Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill

Almost in the same moment that Naruto's Divine Flame Immortal meridian exploded with power, Namikaze Yanxu sat in the Medicine Immortal Sect, and his face suddenly flickered. He rose to his feet, vanished, and reappeared next to Namikaze Shoudao in the ancestral mansion.

"That little punk actually does understand the threshold of the Dao Realm!" he said. "He's figured it out too early! Without sufficient wisdom, it's not a good thing."

When Namikaze Shoudao heard this, he stared in shock.

"You mean…?"

Namikaze Yanxu looked over at Namikaze Shoudao and then coolly said, "I mean that he CAN concoct the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill after all." Namikaze Shoudao's expression flickered, and then he frowned.

"Why do you have to make things so hard on him?" said Namikaze Yanxu, shaking his head. "Loving memories are what makes our journey along the path of cultivation beautiful."

"The Li Clan was an auxiliary branch of Lord Li's clan," replied Namikaze Shoudao, "and the reason why the Hebi Clan has no choice but to leave them be is that, just like the Uchiha Clan, the Li Clan did not originate in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"The benefit to the clan as a whole is secondary when it comes to forming a marriage alliance with the Li Clan. The most important thing about it is for Hao'er himself. Once he steps into the Dao Realm, being in that marriage would provide him with unexpected benefits.

"He is now the only hope of my bloodline. How could I possibly allow him to fool around willy-nilly?" Namikaze Shoudao sighed and then made a grasping motion, causing a jade slip to appear in his hand.

"If Hao'er gets angry, then I'll just have to bear the brunt of that anger," he concluded. Eyes filled with determination, he sent some divine will into the jade slip.

Back in the Dao of Alchemy Division, everyone watched as Naruto stood in front of the Pill Pavilion's second drum, hair and robes whipping about. He swished his sleeve, and the medicinal plants flying about him blurred as he rapidly grafted them.

He was to use 99 medicinal plants to graft 100,000 variations. That was the first step to concocting the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill.

An expression of concentration could be seen on his face, and his eyes flickered with the glow of augury. More and more medicinal plants appeared around him.

3,000. 7,000. 10,000!

That wasn't the end. Naruto lifted his hand and waved a finger, causing all of the medicinal plants to split apart as he started new grafts. In accordance with the pill formula's requirements, he continued to create more and more medicinal plants that all harmonized with each other.

Doing something like this required incredible skill with plants and vegetation, skill that could only be described as terrifying. It was something that, in the entire Dao of Alchemy Division, only Pill Elder could also do.

No one else in the Dao of Alchemy Division could come close, the reason being that such a level of skill with plants and vegetation required that someone pass the eighth level of the Medicine Pavilion by un-grafting at least 500,000 medicinal plants.

Even in the Medicine Immortal Sect, only Namikaze Yanxu was qualified to do such a thing.

Time passed. Naruto's hand was in constant motion as more and more grafted medicinal plants appeared around him.

20,000. 30,000. 40,000….

It was a dazzling sight, and all of the surrounding members of the Namikaze Clan were shaken inwardly. They had never seen someone concoct pills in such a way. To them, this was not a matter of simply concocting pills. This was a Dao!

The Dao of alchemy!

The alchemists were all moved, and Pill Elder stood on his mountain peak, watching intently.

50,000. 60,000. 70,000….

Naruto's hands moved faster and faster, and the flash of augury sparkled in his eyes. All of his attention was focused on deconstructing, then grafting medicinal plants. Boundless light rose up, and only continued to grow brighter and brighter.

An intense aroma of medicinal plants and vegetation wafted about. It grew stronger and stronger until it filled the entire Dao of Alchemy Division. All of the cultivators who caught a whiff felt enlivened.

Time passed by slowly. Soon, a day had gone by, and Naruto was still deconstructing medicinal plants. During the process, he couldn't make a single mistake. If he did, if he missed out on a single characteristic of a single plant, it would influence the deconstruction of all the other plants and vegetation.

80,000. 90,000…. On the second day, Naruto's hands suddenly stopped moving. Shockingly he was now surrounded by… 100,000 medicinal plants!

From 99 plants, he had deconstructed and grafted 100,000 new, unique medicinal plants!

The surrounding members of the Namikaze Clan, including the alchemists from the Dao of Alchemy Division, were in shock. What they had seen was like something out of a legend. It was like observing a Dao, a type of pill concocting in which refuse was turned into a divine item!

However, nobody spoke. They only looked on, panting. Interrupting someone who was concocting pills was the highest taboo, and considering that Naruto was now immersed in the Dao of alchemy, the members of the Namikaze Clan maintained complete silence. They didn't want to disturb him. However, their eyes were filled with excitement and approval that bordered on madness.

Naruto closed his eyes, then opened them a few moments later. A brilliant gleam could be seen as he extended his hands and pinched down with his fingers.

"Sea!" he barked.

As soon as the word left his mouth, the 100,000 medicinal plants which surrounded him all collapsed into pieces. All of the leaves and branches shattered into dust as if being squeezed dry and dying.

The sight of it caused everyone to gasp. However, the cultivators with strong skill in the Dao of alchemy were instantly astonished.

A wind picked up, gathering up the dust that was the remnants of the 100,000 medicinal plants, leaving behind… something formed from the sap of 100,000 plants… an emerald sea!

The green sea surrounded Naruto, and pulsed as if with waves, sending tremors out in all directions. It almost looked like real seawater, and although it wasn't a boundless expanse, it was truly a sea!

The sea of plants and vegetation rotated ceaselessly around Naruto as he extended both hands and then violently shoved them downward.

"Congeal!"

Rumbling filled the air as the sea of plants and vegetation began to boil, then condense inward. In the blink of an eye it transformed into an enormous ball of sap in front of Naruto.

Almost in that same moment, Naruto's Immortal meridians exploded with power. 33 Heavens appeared, and the secret magic of the Immortal Realm Paragon was unleashed. Instantly, all of his Immortal meridians transformed into Divine Flame Immortal meridians!

123 Divine Flame Immortal meridians surged with power, causing 123 beams of glowing Divine Flame light to shoot toward the sphere of sap.

They merged into each other, and Essence power emanated off of Meng

Hao. His entire body trembled, and beads of sweat broke out on his face. His eyes gleamed with determination as he reached out and manipulated the sphere of sap with both hands.

It began to boil madly. Bulges and depressions rose and fell on its surface, and numerous magical symbols flickered. It was almost as if there were some Earth-shaking Heaven-shattering power inside of it.

It seemed like it might explode at any moment, but Naruto was constantly suppressing it.

Rumbling sounds echoed out from inside of the sphere of sap, which was now the complete focus of all attention.

The sphere grew smaller and smaller as Naruto suppressed it, until finally it was the size of a fist….

Unable to push the sap down any further, Naruto cried out, "Sea Cleaving!"

An incredible force burst out from within the sphere, causing his hands to recoil. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and he backed up.

At the same time, the fist-sized sphere of sap directly exploded.

A huge boom echoed out in all directions as endless amounts of sap splashed out in all directions. It was as if the entire sky… was suddenly stained the green color of plants and vegetation!

"Did he fail?" That was the question floating in the minds of all the onlookers.

"Heaven Defying!" Naruto threw his head back and roared, unleashing the full explosive power of his Divine Flame Immortal meridian.

The splatters of sap suddenly stopped in place, then began to move in reverse. In the blink of an eye, all of the sap had returned and reformed in front of Naruto!

This sight caused the minds of all onlookers to reel. They had clearly seen the sky stained green when the sap exploded. But now, there was a defiant reversal! The Heavens changed color again as the sap completely went in reverse.

Shockingly, the sap congealed together, becoming a green medicinal pill which floated in front of Naruto!

The powerful, intense medicinal aroma exploded out, filling the entire Dao of Alchemy Division, reaching the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, and spreading out across roughly half of Planet East Victory.

Planet East Victory was completely shaken!

If that were all there were to it, it wouldn't be enough to see how valuable the pill was. However, in the exact moment that the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill appeared, all of a sudden, shocking winds swept out through the sky above Planet East Victory as countless Tribulation Clouds appeared.

This was not true Immortal Tribulation, but rather… Pill Tribulation!

From ancient times until now, whenever shocking pills appeared, it would stimulate the power of Heaven and Earth and cause Pill Tribulation to appear, to attempt to eradicate the pill!

The scene caused shock to rise up in the hearts of the members of the Namikaze Clan. Namikaze Danyun's eyes glowed brightly, and Namikaze Yanxu was clearly moved.

The Pill Tribulation formed in the blink of an eye, creating boundless Tribulation Clouds that caused all of Planet East Victory to tremble. The cultivators were shaken as they watched a lightning bolt descend from the roiling clouds.

"Trifling Pill Tribulation!" said Naruto, his expression indifferent. He had transcended Immortal Tribulation, so to him, Pill Tribulation wasn't even worth glancing at. Even as the lightning bolt descended, Naruto extended his hand. All 123 Immortal meridians then transformed into the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

123 Blood Demon heads charged up. The entire sky turned bright red as the Blood Demon heads fused together, becoming a gigantic 3,000meter head with a horn sticking out of its forehead. The massive head surged toward the lightning bolt.

A huge boom echoed out. Everyone was astonished to see the lightning bolt collapse into pieces, completely incapable of doing anything to the Blood Demon head. After that, the head continued onward, whistling through the air toward the Tribulation Clouds!

The Tribulation Clouds… were destroyed!

When that happened, the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill in front of Naruto burst out with brilliant light that shot up into the sky. Simultaneously, the Dao bell appeared in midair above the ancestral mansion and began to toll, shaking everything.

It was not one toll or two, but rather two sets of nine tolls each!

In total, 18 tolls rang out into the minds of the members of the Namikaze Clan, leaving them completely shaken!

For years and years, the Dao bell had never tolled so many times. The result was that everyone in the whole Namikaze Clan was left completely flabbergasted.

Naruto stood outside the Pill Pavilion, his hair whipping about, his eyes shining brightly. The surrounding cultivators and alchemists of the Namikaze Clan had looks of unprecedentedly wild reverence on their faces as they clasped hands and bowed deeply.

When they straightened up, they found that Naruto had not left the Pill Pavilion. Instead, he had walked forward… toward the third drum!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1015

Chapter 1015: Heavenly One Thought!

The members of the Namikaze Clan had suppressed their comments for too long, and now everything erupted.

"The Crown Prince, he… he's going to concoct the Heavenly One Thought Pill?"

"The Crown Prince already concocted the Skypalace Sunspirit Pill and the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill. B-but… the Heavenly One Thought Pill is the number one pill of the Namikaze Clan! Nobody can concoct it!" The entire Dao of Alchemy Division was boiling.

Namikaze Yanxu's eyes glowed brightly with anticipation as he looked at Naruto. Although he didn't believe that Naruto would actually succeed, he wanted to see for himself whether a miracle would occur.

As for the methods Namikaze Shoudao was using to make things hard for Naruto, Namikaze Yanxu didn't approve. When it came to making choices between love and opportunity, some people would pick the former, others the latter, and he didn't feel it was right to interfere with such a decision.

Forcing your own choices onto others was fundamentally wrong. However, he wasn't in a position to say anything about it. After all, Naruto was of the same bloodline as Namikaze Shoudao, and he was not.

Namikaze Shoudao was frowning. He was certain that Naruto would be incapable of concocting the Heavenly One Thought Pill. Furthermore, even if some Heaven-defying event occurred, he had already reduced the prizes so that Naruto couldn't make enough to win the bet.

And yet, for some reason, he had the feeling that he had overlooked something. Unfortunately, no matter how he reviewed all the details, he couldn't pick up any clues about what it might be.

"The little hoodlum is far too crafty," thought Namikaze Shoudao, smiling slightly. "I have to be on guard…. Although, regardless of whether he succeeds or not, he still has to pay 100,000,000 merit points."

Back in the mountains of the Dao of Alchemy Division, atop the Pill Pavilion, Naruto actually wasn't even thinking about the reward for concocting the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill. He was sure that Namikaze Shoudao would have come up with a reason to reduce the reward to ensure that he wouldn't be able to come up with all the spirit stones he needed within the time limit.

Since that was the case, Naruto decided that he might as well make a big show of things. By striking the third drum, it indicated that he would be attempting to do something that nobody in the Namikaze Clan other than the first generation Patriarch had ever done! He would concoct the pill nobody had ever concocted… the Heavenly One Thought Pill!

Neither Namikaze Danyun nor Namikaze Yanxu, nor anyone throughout all the years, had ever successfully concocted the clan's legendary Heavenly One Thought Pill!

When Naruto came to a stop in front of the third drum and turned his head to look around, he saw the members of the Namikaze Clan tightly packed in all directions, staring at him. Their eyes gleamed with passionate fervor.

Naruto took a deep breath. Expression somber, he clasped hands and then bowed to all of his fellow clan members.

"Ladies and gentlemen, fellow clan members. I wish to concoct the Heavenly One Thought Pill!

"Unfortunately… this pill requires 100,000,000 merit points. Right now, I don't have enough merit points. Therefore, I would like to request that all of you give me some of your merit points, so that I can concoct the pill…

"The pill that no one other than the first generation Patriarch has ever been able to concoct… the Heavenly One Thought Pill!"

Naruto's voice echoed out in all directions. If he had said something like this before concocting the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill, very few clan members would have been willing to give him clan merit points.

But now, after having just recently charged through the Medicine Pavilion, and then concocting the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill, he had long since built his momentum up to a peak. That was especially true after putting his Dao of alchemy on display by concocting the Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill. To everyone who was watching, he was like something out of a legend.

Therefore, when he spoke his words, none of the surrounding clan members refused. In fact, they were all very excited to deliver their merit points to him.

They wanted to witness… something that had never happened in the history of the clan. They wanted to see whether or not Naruto would actually be able to concoct the Heavenly One Thought Pill.

"Crown Prince, there's no need to be so polite! I'm more than happy to give you a few trifling merit points!"

"I don't have much, Crown Prince, only one thousand. But you can have all of them to concoct that pill!" Voices rang out in all directions. Varying amounts of merit points were transferred to Naruto's jade slip, causing the balance to rise rapidly.

It didn't take long for there to be more than 10,000,000. Only when the number reached 30,000,000 did it begin to slow down. Yet, there was still far too big a gap before he got as many as he needed.

It was at this point that virtually all of the alchemists from the Dao of

Alchemy Division stepped forward and began to give merit points to Naruto.

"We're all alchemists, and our greatest aspiration in life, other than creating our own unique and unmatched medicinal pill, is to be able to see our clan's legendary Heavenly One Thought Pill!"

"We know that in our entire lifetime we will never be able to concoct this pill ourselves. Crown Prince, since you have a chance to succeed, then how could we hold back?!"

"Crown Prince, I beg of you, you must succeed!" As the voices echoed out, rising and falling, Naruto's merit point balance exploded up. From 30,000,000, it almost instantly rose up to more than 80,000,000.

Naruto's heart filled with warmth, and he clasped hands and bowed to everyone. However, his merit point balance… still wasn't high enough.

All of a sudden, laughter rang out from the center-most mountain deep in the Dao of Alchemy Division. Then, Pill Elder Namikaze Danyun's voice could be heard.

"Hao'er, allow me to give you 20,000,000 merit points!" Namikaze Danyun waved his sleeve, and Naruto's merit points exploded up, rapidly reaching a total of 100,000,000!

In that same moment, Namikaze Yanxu lowered his hand. He had also been planning to give Naruto some merit points. After all… they were all alchemists, and they all longed to see the Heavenly One Thought Pill. It was a desire that non-alchemists probably couldn't imagine or comprehend.

Namikaze Shoudao could only smile bitterly. He had never imagined that

Naruto would be able to overcome the first major obstacle to concocting the Heavenly One Thought Pill so easily. After all, although their original agreement had precluded Naruto from borrowing spirit stones, it had said nothing about merit points.

Naruto stood there outside the Pill Pavilion in the Dao of Alchemy Division. He took a deep breath as he clasped hands and bowed deeply toward Namikaze Danyun's mountain peak. Then he turned, raised his hand, and struck the third drum.

BOOM!

The sound rang out throughout the entire clan. Naruto's 100,000,000 merit points vanished, and in front of him appeared the information about the Heavenly One Thought Pill.

"Heavenly One Thought Pill! Whoever concocts this pill will be the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division! The prerequisite to attempt this pill is to concoct the previous two pills. The ingredient fee is 100,000,000 merit points per set."

Naruto's eyes shone with a strange light when saw the words Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division!

That was the true reason why he was doing this. He wasn't interested in the position itself. Rather, he was interested in the bit of good fortune he would receive after becoming the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division!

That good fortune was something that most people didn't even know about. After all… from the time the first generation Patriarch passed away into meditation until now, there had never been a Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division. The good fortune he would acquire in that moment was something that had long since been omitted from what was taught in the clan about their history.

However, after researching the ancient records, Naruto had found the solution to his problem.

In addition to that, one of the reasons he was so confident that he could concoct the Heavenly One Thought Pill was because of information he had uncovered in the ancient records. There, it contained various journal entries made by certain clan members who had attempted to concoct the pill. From that information, he had gotten some clues.

Those clues had spun round and round inside of Naruto's mind. During the month he had spent doing his research, they had eventually formed together into a very important idea.

"Heavenly One Thought Pill…." he murmured. "Perhaps I am the only person in the entire Namikaze Clan who can actually concoct it." It was at that point that the twinkle of the starstone could be seen in his left eye.

"Time to carry out the plan." In the moment that his fist struck the surface of the third drum, a huge collection of medicinal plants appeared.

There was also a pill formula, which Naruto grabbed and and then began to study. Now, he was even more certain.

"The Heavenly One Thought Pill requires divine sense that can stretch out into the starry sky. One must pluck down a shooting star, a stellar object, then use its power to catalyze the medicinal plants, refine them for at least a few thousand years. Only then can the pill be concocted!

"That medicinal pill… is not meant to be consumed. Rather… it is an item used in cultivating the One Thought Stellar Transformation!

"The Heavenly One Thought Pill…. Actually, the starstone in my left eye… is a Heavenly One Thought Pill!

"In truth, I cannot concoct the pill, not unless my cultivation base is at the same level as the first generation Patriarch, or perhaps if I had the assistance of someone in that Realm.

"However… I already have a Heavenly One Thought Pill. Therefore, there isn't a need to actually concoct it. I can just put on a little show! That should do!" His expression was the same as ever as he waved his right hand. Instantly, the medicinal plants all trembled as he began to graft them together.

There were over 10,000 of them, and as they were grafted together, the aura of plants and vegetation rose up into the sky. Time passed, and more and more types of plants and vegetations appeared around Naruto. In the end, there were 1,000,000 medicinal plants swirling around him. They were packed tightly together, filling the sky, with Naruto at the center, completely surrounded.

These were valuable medicinal plants, and Naruto would naturally not just waste them. Although he didn't intend to actually concoct a new Heavenly One Thought Pill, he did plan to further refine the one that was already in his left eye, to ensure that it was truly branded as his own.

Days passed. There seemed to be an endless amount of medicinal plants swirling around Naruto. Rumbling sounds filled the air as the plants then shattered, creating a sea of plants and vegetation. It shot toward Naruto, encircling him, wrapping him inside and preventing anyone in the outside world from seeing what was happening. It was at that point that the starstone emerged from Naruto's eye and floated in front of him, radiating scintillating starlight as it absorbed the sap from the medicinal plants.

Then he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the Divine Flame inside of him to explode out as he began a second refining of the pill!

The Divine Flame caused the sap to boil. He performed another incantation gesture, further refining the sap until it turned into numerous magical symbols. Using the techniques of mutual augmentation and suppression, he caused the magical symbols to fuse into the starstone. The starstone gradually began to turn black, and then emanate powerful ripples which only continued to grow stronger and stronger.

The ripples rapidly spread out into the Dao of Alchemy Division, shocking all of the alchemists.

They watched as the sap rapidly vanished. Brilliant light filled the air, shining out from the starstone that Naruto held in his palm. Colors flashed in the sky, as if the Heavens themselves were changing. Countless motes of starlight appeared up above, which were apparently reflections caused by the starstone.

"This is the Heavenly One Thought Pill!" shouted Naruto. His voice echoed out in all directions, causing widespread shock. Everyone was staring at the starstone.

"That's… the Heavenly One Thought Pill?"

Ordinary cultivators wouldn't be able to tell that Naruto was putting on a show and pulling the wool over everyone's eyes, but Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Shoudao, as well as Namikaze Danyun, could all tell just by looking.

"Ah, so the Heavenly One Thought Pill cannot be concocted by someone who hasn't cultivated the One Thought Stellar Transformation!" A tremor ran through Namikaze Yanxu as he suddenly understood everything.

"So that's how it is…." murmured Namikaze Danyun absentmindedly.

Namikaze Shoudao stared with wide eyes. "The little hoodlum cheated! He's cheating!"

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, however, the Dao bell suddenly appeared in midair over the ancestral mansion. It's booming toll rang out in three sets of nine. That was… a total of 27 tolls!

Namikaze Shoudao didn't approve, but… the Namikaze Clan's Dao bell did! According to it, Naruto had concocted the pill!

In the moment that the Dao bell began to toll, a strange light began to glimmer in Naruto's eyes. He knew… that it was time for the final step of his plan!

It wouldn't be long before he could leave Planet East Victory!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1016

Chapter 1016(Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1016: Old Turtle Reliance!

The Dao bell began to toll 27 times, echoing out in the hearts and minds of all members of the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory. The fact that the bell tolled so many times caused everyone's hearts to fill with towering waves of shock.

Skypalace Sunspirit Pill!

Sea Cleaving Heaven Defying Pill!

Heavenly One Thought Pill!

For countless years, no one had ever been able to concoct all three of the Namikaze Clan's legendary medicinal pills. However, on this day… Naruto did it in front of everyone, giving birth to what would eventually become a myth!

He also became… the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy! 1

As the majestic sound of the toll rippled out into the Ninth Mountain and Sea, an archaic voice spoke from the bell, and its words could be heard in the hearts of everyone in the Namikaze Clan.

"All members of the Namikaze Clan must bow to the Lord of the Dao of

Alchemy!"

That voice was the will of the Dao bell, the highest form of testimony, which bore witness to the rise of the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy !

All of the alchemists in the Dao of Alchemy Division emerged into the open. All of the apprentice alchemists neared. Even Namikaze Danyun stepped off of his mountain peak, his expression extremely solemn.

No matter what tier alchemist, everyone approached from all directions and congregated around the Pill Pavilion. All eyes were fixed upon Naruto, who stood there above the Pill Pavilion.

"Greetings… Lord of the Dao of Alchemy!" It was hard to say who spoke the words first, but soon similar words were echoing out from all directions. Everyone in the Dao of Alchemy Division clasped hands and bowed to Naruto, from apprentice alchemists on up.

"Greetings, Lord of the Dao of Alchemy!"

"We offer greetings, Lord of the Dao of Alchemy!"

Namikaze Danyun clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto. Naturally, he was aware that Naruto had resorted to a bit of trickery in the end. However, that was not important considering… that the Dao bell approved!

The Dao bell was a magical instrument left behind by the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan, and was a signature treasure of the Namikaze Clan. It had not interfered in the previous upheaval and rebellion, due to the extraordinary circumstances surrounding the internal strife. Were it not for that, the Dao bell would have intervened long before the first generation Patriarch's clone ever did.

As of this moment, the Dao bell shone with boundless, majestic light, which was full of numerous mysterious magical symbols. The symbols glowed, forming a sea of light that swirled around the entire Namikaze Clan.

Because of the brilliant light, the calls of those in the Dao of Alchemy

Division became even more intense. They echoed out of the Dao of Alchemy Division in all directions, until even those in the ancestral mansion could hear them.

Countless voices joined together and were transformed into a call that was the unified will of the Dao of Alchemy Division.

The Lord of the Dao of Alchemy…. Only clan members who had concocted the Heavenly One Thought Pill could be bestowed with the title of Lord of the Dao of Alchemy!

Throughout all the years, the only person who had ever been called the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy was the first generation Patriarch. That is, until this day… when another emerged. The second Lord of the Dao of Alchemy!

As of this moment, the Namikaze Clan was abuzz, and the tolling of the Dao bell caused the clan members' blood to boil. Furthermore, it caused many of them, regardless of whether or not they were members of the Dao of Alchemy Division, to answer the call of their blood and shout out at the top of their lungs.

"Congratulations to the Dao of Alchemy Division on the arrival of the

Alchemy Lord!"

"Congratulations to the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy!"

A huge clamor filled the entire Namikaze Clan, and echoed out to fill roughly half of Planet East Victory. There were even members of the Namikaze Clan in the Medicine Immortal Sect who stood there trembling, their minds reeling. One by one, they clasped hands and bowed in the direction of the Dao of Alchemy Division.

In that moment, Naruto's glory had reached an unparalleled pinnacle!

Even Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Shoudao took deep breaths, stepped forward, and then shockingly, appeared in midair above the Dao of Alchemy Division. As for Namikaze Yanxu, he looked seriously toward Naruto, then clasped hands and bowed!

Of course, he was not bowing to Naruto's person, but rather, bowing to what Naruto's new status as the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy represented!

Namikaze Shoudao hesitated for a moment before finally lowering his gaze and bowing to Naruto. He had no other choice but to do so. Despite being a Dao Realm Patriarch, despite being the acting Clan Chief, the will of the Dao bell had spoken, and as such, no member of the Namikaze Clan could possibly resist!

To resist the Dao bell was to disobey the first generation Patriarch!

Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Shoudao, as well as the three remaining Ancient Realm cultivators who had extinguished more than ten soul lamps, including the Seventh Patriarch, all appeared and bowed.

As of this moment, the entire Namikaze Clan was bowing to Naruto.

The toll of the bell continued to echo out. 18 times. 19 times…. all the way until it had tolled 27 times, shaking all of Planet East Victory.

Then, the brilliant light shining out from the Dao bell descended onto Naruto, surrounding him and causing him to float up into the air toward the bell itself.

This development caused everyone to stare in shock.

Next, an ancient voice spoke out from the Dao bell, which echoed out into the minds of all members of the Namikaze Clan.

"The Lord of the Dao of Alchemy can ring the Dao bell one time, converging the soul, extending divine sense, and allowing the will of the clan to descend onto the body!"

The voice echoed out into the minds of all of the members of the Namikaze

Clan, whose eyes went wide as they stared at Naruto within the light.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, but his heart was pounding with joy.

"So it's true! The dying words of the first generation Patriarch weren't a hoax!

"I was able to find clues in the clan's ancient records, and they turned out to be true!

"The Dao bell is not limited to chiming autonomously, but…it can be rung by others!

"And the only way to do that is to become the Clan Chief or… the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy!" Naruto floated through the light toward the Dao bell.

Countless clan members were looking on, and Namikaze Shoudao's heart was starting to pound. He had overlooked the matter of the Dao bell, as well as the fact that either the true Clan Chief or the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy could ring it.

After all, for countless years in the Namikaze Clan, no true Clan Chief had appeared other than the First generation Patriarch!

If this scene hadn't revealed itself now, he would never even have considered that it could happen.

The foreboding sensation continued to grow stronger within Namikaze Shoudao. All of a sudden, he felt as if things were slipping out of his control. It seemed like something very bad was going to happen, and all of a sudden, he thought about the month that Naruto had spent studying the clan's ancient records.

"Just what is the little hoodlum up to?" he thought, frowning.

All clan members watched as Naruto floated up toward the Dao bell, getting nearer and nearer until he was directly in front of it.

It was simply enormous. Because it usually appeared up in the air, with nothing nearby to compare it to, it normally didn't give people a sense of its stunning size. But now that Naruto was right there in front of it, he looked no larger than one of the magical symbols carved on the bell's surface.

By now, the minds of all the members of the Namikaze Clan were shaken.

The bad feeling in Namikaze Shoudao was getting much more intense.

Naruto stood in front of the Dao bell, took a deep breath, and then looked down at the lands below. He looked at the ancestral mansion, at the Dao of Alchemy Division, and at Namikaze Shoudao.

Then, he smirked, lifted his right hand, and waved to Namikaze Shoudao, almost as if he were saying farewell.

That instantly caused Namikaze Shoudao's eyes to grow wide, and his mind to spin.

"Not good!" Namikaze Shoudao was just about to charge forward when Naruto's hand formed into a fist and he… struck the Dao bell, causing it to ring.

This time the Dao bell did not ring of its own initiative but, rather, it was struck. As soon as Naruto's hand made contact with it, a boom echoed out that was completely different than the previous sound of its tolling. It was sonorous, ancient, filled with endless time. It sounded almost like a sigh, which instantly echoed out in all directions.

All of the members of the Namikaze Clan, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, as long as the blood of the Namikaze Clan pumped in their veins, heard a reverberation that caused their minds to go blank.

It didn't matter that Namikaze Shoudao had a Dao Realm cultivation base. In that moment, his expression turned vacant as the boundless sound of the tolling Dao bell filled his mind. Simultaneously, brilliant light suddenly surrounded the bodies of all members of the Namikaze Clan.

Naruto's mind was also trembling, and it felt as if all of his divine sense was being sucked into the Dao bell. Then, as the bell rang, it was dispersed outward in all directions.

It wasn't just the members of the Namikaze Clan who were affected. All the lands, the entire world, all of Planet East Victory, was affected. Mortals, plants, animals, all living things heard the toll of the bell, and suddenly, their minds went blank.

Naruto's divine sense flowed out with the tolling of the bell; in the blink of an eye it filled all of Planet East Victory. All of the lands in the whole world suddenly appeared in Naruto's mind, as clear as crystal.

He saw every area of Planet East Victory, every living thing. Considering the level of his cultivation base, it wasn't something he could normally do. However, with the Divine Soul Nourishment of the power of the Dao bell and its tolling, his divine sense was now able to spread out virtually without limit.

As of this moment, he was the only clear-headed person on the entire planet. All other life forms went blank, even Namikaze Shoudao, who was now incapable of tracking or holding Naruto in place. Furthermore, if Naruto could come up with some way of teleporting far enough away, then Namikaze Shoudao would be incapable of finding any traces of him.

The bell tolled, echoing out in all directions, wiping out any and all traces of what would happen next!

To Naruto, the tolling of the Dao bell was also extremely beneficial. This good fortune caused his divine sense to expand quite a bit, and stabilize to an unheard of degree..

He saw the Medicine Immortal Sect, as well as numerous mortal cities. He saw mountains, oceans, and rivers. He saw all of the cultivators on the planet, as well as all of the plants and vegetation.

However, in the same moment that his divine sense spread out across all of Planet East Victory, as everyone else was dazed into immobility, Naruto suddenly gaped in shock. What he just saw… was a stretch of ocean some distance away from the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory, where there was an island floating in the water. That island happened to look just like a turtle.

In the moment that his divine sense looked upon it, the island suddenly trembled, and an enormous head appeared.

"Dammit! DAMMIT! Naruto, you bastard. Y-y-you…I came here to find my sweetie, not to wait for you, you little bastard! Yet you actually rang that piece of junk bell to try to catch me!?" The turtle started to curse and, despite everyone else being stupefied and unable to move, it flew up in exasperation out of the sea towards the sky, dragging the continent on its back as it went.

The land on its back was none other than the State of Zhao. It carried with it Mount Daqing, memories of which sprang to mind anew. Guyiding Tri-Rain was also in the State of Zhao, looking toward Naruto and covering her mouth as she laughed.

"Old turtle Reliance!" Naruto stared in shock. He had never imagined that he would once again encounter Patriarch Reliance on Planet East Victory!

Chapter 1016: Old Turtle Reliance!

In past chapters I translated this as "Lord of the Dao of Alchemy

Division." Actually "Lord of the Dao of Alchemy" is more accurate to the Chinese. In my opinion, the meaning of the title has to do with leadership of that part of the Namikaze Clan, or mastery of the Namikaze Clan Dao of Alchemy, or both. However, I don't think it's supposed to mean "THE Dao of alchemy" as in, ultimate mastery of that Dao. I will go back later to adjust previous chapters ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1017

Chapter 1017: Pursued All The Way Out of Planet East Victory

"What are you up to? Hey! What the hell do you want!?" wailed Patriarch Reliance.

"I hid all the way out here and you actually found me!? Y-y-you…."

Patriarch Reliance felt more aggrieved than he ever had in his entire life.

However, he was very quick, and instantly shot up into the sky. In the blink of an eye, he was off the planet and out into the starry sky, fleeing madly. The person he was least willing to lay eyes on in his entire life was none other than Naruto.

He thought about how he had hidden in the Milky Way Sea back in the lands of South Heaven. Eventually, he had gritted his teeth and fled Planet South Heaven to hide on Planet East Victory, nearly halfway across the starry sky of the Ninth Mountain. But then… Naruto had actually found him! Patriarch Reliance's heart continued to fill with grief.

"The world is so big! How… how could you possibly have tracked me down?!" he roared, transforming into a beam of light.

"The League of Demon Sealers are all bastards! Damned Demon Sealers! I should have lived footloose and fancy free, but now, I'm not even free to hook up with the ladies!

"The Patriarch is brave and fierce, the number one Immortal turtle in the Ninth Mountain! Fudge! There's no way I'll let some little bastard make me his mount! Dammit! Impossible!

"Naruto you little bastard, one of these days I'm going to hide somewhere that you'll never find me!" roared Patriarch Reliance, trembling so badly that it shook the State of Zhao.

Inwardly, he couldn't possibly be more depressed. Naturally, he was aware of Naruto becoming Immortal, and had even watched the shocking scene of him opening all his Immortal meridians, which had left him numb with fright.

However, he had also felt a little bit lucky. After all, Planet East Victory was big, so he had assumed Naruto would never be able to find him, or that Naruto would even think to look for him there. This caused him to feel a bit smug, believing himself to have a profound understanding of what it meant to be hidden as well as a shadow beneath bright lamplight.

He had been extremely pleased with himself, and had even frequently bragged to Guyiding Tri-Rain about the whole thing.

Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that Naruto would use the technique of ringing that bell to multiply his divine sense dramatically, sweep it across all of Planet East Victory, and then find him.

As soon as Naruto's divine sense locked onto him, he began to moan.

Naruto's eyes began to shine brightly as he stared at Patriarch Reliance. Underneath the influence of the Dao bell, all other living creatures were so shocked that they were temporarily knocked senseless. As for why old turtle Reliance was able to flee and wasn't affected at all, he wasn't sure.

However, there the old turtle was, with the State of Zhao on his back like usual. Naruto's eyes gleamed with mad joy.

"Stay right where you are, old turtle!" he roared immediately.

The instant Patriarch Reliance heard those words, he trembled and then picked up speed.

Naruto used his next words to frighten and upset Patriarch Reliance, "Old turtle Reliance, if you let me catch you this time, then you can forget about ever getting away! I've already figured out a way to use the Demon Sealing Hexes to lock you down!"

In order to make the threats more realistic, Naruto remained calm and pretended as if he didn't care at all whether Patriarch Reliance fled. At the same time, he lifted his left hand, and ripples of a Demon Sealing Hex appeared, along with a tiny rift in the palm of his hand.

"You can't escape," he said, his expression calm and seemingly filled with utter confidence. From the look of things, all he had to do was wave a finger, and the restrictive hexing seal within Patriarch Reliance would be activated.

His confidence and tranquility caused Patriarch Reliance's eyes to go wide, and his mind to spin. He was bewildered, unable to determine whether or not Naruto was putting on an act. However, the intense feeling of the Demon Sealing Hex was like nothing he had ever sensed before, and it caused him to become extremely nervous and alarmed.

"Impossible! How could this be happening!?" thought Patriarch Reliance, trembling. Then he recalled the terrifying scene of Naruto opening his Immortal meridians to enter the Immortal Realm, and suddenly he realized… that it most certainly wasn't impossible! And yet….

"I won't give in!" he howled inwardly. "No way! I'll risk everything! I'm

GOING to get out of here!"

In the blink of an eye, he was outside of the planet and in the starry sky. Fearful of being pursued by Naruto, he gritted his teeth and began to cast a curse.

Rumbling could then be heard as, up ahead of him, glittering light could be seen out in the starry sky. Innumerable motes of light swirled around as they transformed into a gigantic teleportation portal.

In order to form the teleportation portal, Patriarch Reliance even spat out so much blood that it formed a waterfall that surged toward the teleportation portal and stained it bright red.

"You little bastard! See you again… never!" he roared. Then his body flickered as he shot toward the teleportation portal.

Naruto's eyes flickered at the sight of the blood-colored portal, and he was inwardly delighted.

By now, the power of the Dao bell was weakening, and the dazed cultivators would be coming to their senses at any moment. At this point, Naruto smiled.

"Patriarch Reliance really is my lucky star!" he thought, taking a deep breath. Just when Patriarch Reliance was about to enter the bloodcolored teleportation portal, the starstone in Naruto's left eye began to glitter with starlight.

One Thought Stellar Transformation was the first generation Patriarch's most powerful Daoist magic. In addition to allowing one to incarnate as a planet, it also contained a type of teleportation magic. That magic… was known as Stellar Teleportation.

Before reaching Immortal Ascension, Naruto hadn't been able to use it. Now that he was the Immortal Realm Paragon, he could just barely manage to force its usage. His plan all along had been to wait until Namikaze Shoudao was in a daze due to the Dao bell. Then, he would be incapable of keeping Naruto locked down, an opportunity Naruto could take advantage of to teleport away, and which would also cause Namikaze Shoudao to be unable to pick up his trail.

Unfortunately, Namikaze Shoudao was a Dao Realm expert. Naruto was confident that his plan could get him off of Planet East Victory, but he wasn't so confident in being able to elude Namikaze Shoudao long-term.

The rest of the plan had been to flee at top speed once he got out, then head toward the Nine Seas God World in the Ninth Sea to report in as a disciple.

Although his plan had some weak areas, he had no other choice than to give it a shot.

However, after he saw Patriarch Reliance, he went wild with joy. He could sense how incredible Patriarch Reliance was; considering the old turtle could still move under the influence of the Dao bell, he obviously wasn't weak, and clearly had numerous ways of escaping.

Therefore, Naruto had used words to provoke him, to threaten him, to frighten him. The pure and charming Patriarch Reliance ended up being so terrified that he didn't hesitate to spit out massive amounts of blood to open a blood-fueled teleportation portal.

At a glance, Naruto could tell that the teleportation portal was powerful, and would definitely lead to a distant location, much further than his own Stellar Teleportation could reach.

Almost in the same moment that Patriarch Reliance began to enter the blood-colored teleportation portal, glittering light covered him and began to teleport him away. It was at that point that starlight covered Naruto. Then a boom could be heard as he directly exploded.

Unexpectedly, his body transformed into motes of starlight, which then shot away from the Dao bell at incredible speed. When they reappeared, they were in the starry sky, right next to Patriarch Reliance's bloodcolored teleportation portal.

The motes rapidly reformed into Naruto, whose face was pale and cultivation base trembling. In the moment he appeared, the teleportation portal suddenly bloomed like a huge blood-colored flower, then vanished.

Meanwhile, the effects of the Dao bell were wearing off of everyone.

Namikaze Shoudao was the first to regain his senses, and in the instant he did, he noticed that Naruto was not by the Dao bell, causing his face to fall.

"Not good!" he said, flickered forward to reappear in the starry sky. He sent divine sense shooting out in all directions, rapidly covering all of Planet East Victory as he searched for Naruto. Then, he caused his divine sense to expand out into the starry sky, and his face grew very grave as he caught sight of the location where the blood-colored teleportation portal had just vanished.

"Little hoodlum!" he said, grinding his teeth. He looked like he didn't know whether to laugh or cry. He chuckled bitterly, and then suddenly realized why Naruto had been poring through the ancient records.

A flash of light appeared next to Namikaze Shoudao, which turned into Namikaze Yanxu. He also looked at the location where the blood-colored teleportation portal had been. After a moment of silent consideration, he couldn't help but laugh and shake his head.

"He actually came up with this whole plan, just to escape the marriage."

He smiled. "Nice job, Naruto."

"That little hoodlum searched through the ancient records for a whole month," said Namikaze Shoudao, sounding a bit helpless. "Now that I think about it, he must have found enough tiny clues to piece together some information about the Dao bell."

Namikaze Yanxu sighed in admiration. "To be able to not only find so many clues in the ancient records, but also be able to piece them together and use them to come up with a plan like this shows that Naruto is really extremely exceptional."

"You're even praising him…?" Namikaze Shoudao said. "That little hoodlum didn't concoct any medicinal pill! It was all a feint! His only goal was to become the Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division so that he could ring the Dao bell. As soon as we were knocked senseless, there was no way to restrict his movement, and he had a moment of freedom.

"Although I'm not sure how he managed to teleport away, from the remnants of starlight here it's obvious that One Thought Stellar Transformation must have some teleportation Daoist magic that we're unaware of.

"It might be somewhat of a headache for us that he escaped, but the most important thing is the agreement with the Li Clan. There's still one more month left… before the little hoodlum and that Li lass are supposed to get married." Namikaze Shoudao smiled bitterly.

"Enough, Elder Brother Shoudao. Who else in the Junior generation of the Ninth Mountain and Sea has the skill to escape from right under our noses like he did?

"Since he's gone, why not just let the matter be?" Namikaze Yanxu laughed heartily as he accompanied the flummoxed Namikaze Shoudao back toward Planet East Victory.

Planet East Victory returned to normal. Few people were aware of what had actually happened with Naruto, and those who did, did not spread word.

According to public knowledge, after becoming Lord of the Dao of Alchemy Division, Naruto had gone into secluded meditation in order to concoct medicinal pills.

However, there were a few people who had guessed that Naruto had long since fled. One of those people was Namikaze Wei, who currently sat cross-legged in the Medicine Immortal Sect, looking up thoughtfully toward the sky above the ancestral mansion.

"You're probably gone by now, right…?" he thought. Namikaze Wei had complicated feelings regarding Naruto. However, he would never forget his mission. He was the shield of the Namikaze Clan, and his job was to protect the clan from within the shadows.

After a long moment, Namikaze Wei closed his eyes. He had cut away his past. After dying and then being resurrected, he had told himself… that he was no longer a Chosen of the Namikaze Clan.

Back in the ancestral mansion, the Grand Elder was held responsible for the rebellion, and for his poor handling of many other previous matters. His punishment was to spend a hundred years in secluded meditation. He was not allowed to emerge, and had to remain sitting cross-legged in the stony cavern. He had no idea that Naruto had already fled, and yet Naruto's image continued to remain imprinted on his heart. Occasionally, he would think about him, and would sigh.

The terracotta soldier continued to stand silently in the Ancestral Land. In the moment that Naruto left, it suddenly lifted its head and stared off into the sky, waiting for something.

It was waiting for Naruto to fulfil his promise to one day take it away from this place.

Naruto was gone, but ever since he had come to Planet East Victory, he had spawned many legends and founded many myths!

When he arrived, nobody took much note. But when he left, he was the Namikaze Clan's… Crown Prince!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1018

Chapter 1018: Handling Old Turtle Reliance!

The Ninth Mountain and Sea. Somewhere in the starry sky.

Far, far away from Planet East Victory was a location very near the Ninth Sea. If you hovered in the starry sky in this spot and looked off into the distance, you would actually be able to see that between the Ninth Sea and the empty sky, was a stretch of shadowy ruins.

By passing through those ruins, you could arrive at the Ninth Sea itself. If you passed around them, however, it would take far, far longer.

Those shadowy ruins were none other than… the mysterious Ruins of Immortality!

It was at this point that a blood-colored glow rose up above the Ruins of Immortality. In the blink of an eye, Patriarch Reliance's enormous form suddenly flew out.

"Hahaha! Naruto, you little bastard! Come on! You think you can find me here, huh?!" Patriarch Reliance seemed incredibly happy, even ecstatic, as he flew out.

"It was bad luck for the Patriarch to run into you on Planet East Victory. This time, though, I'm going to hide in the Ruins of Immortality! I simply can't believe that you'll be able to track me down here!

"Hahaha! The Patriarch turns out to be the smartest one in the end. In all the Ninth Mountain and Sea, nobody is as astute and circumspect as me!" Feeling quite pleased with himself, Patriarch Reliance threw his head back and roared, then flew out across the Ruins of Immortality. However, it was at this point that he heard someone speaking behind him.

"Listen up, old turtle," the voice said lazily. "The term 'astute and circumspect' is something you should wait for other people to say about you. You can't use it to describe yourself."

As soon as the voice rang out, a tremor passed through Patriarch Reliance. His enormous head slowly turned around, and when he looked behind him, his eyes went wide with disbelief and shock. He couldn't help but stare at his tail, where sat Naruto, smiling broadly at him.

"You…." Patriarch Reliance gaped in shock. He clearly remembered that in the moment of his escape, Naruto should have been left on Planet East Victory. Now it was clear, however… that the damned bastard had somehow teleported here with him.

One couldn't blame Patriarch Reliance for being so extremely nervous that he didn't notice what had happened. Besides, Naruto's One Thought Stellar Transformation and its Stellar Teleportation were extremely bizarre. His lucky break of being able to reach the teleportation portal was something Patriarch Reliance had never considered possible.

After emerging, he was too focused on what was ahead of him and was too excited at having once again evaded Naruto to notice that at some point, a blood-chilling figure had suddenly appeared on his tail.

"Hey, old turtle, long time no see!" said Naruto, waving at Patriarch Reliance, a bashful smile on his face. From the jovial way he chuckled, he looked like someone randomly meeting an old friend in an unexpected location. His appearance was very amiable.

After staring in shock for a moment, Patriarch Reliance threw his head back and roared as if he were going crazy. The entire State of Zhao quaked on his back.

"Naruto, this is going too far! I can't deal with this!

"I've run away from you a bunch of times now, you and your damned League of Demon Sealers. Dammit, Naruto, you little bastard! Y-yyou… you just push people too far!

"I'm gonna eat you!" Patriarch Reliance was on the verge of collapsing emotionally, and his heart was wracked with grief. He was also enraged; there was nobody he wanted to see LESS than Naruto, and right now, in his moment of complete elation, all of a sudden, Naruto appeared on top of him! He was left feeling like he was about to go insane.

The more he thought about it, the worse he felt. In fact, he felt himself to be the most tragic figure in all existence.

Roaring, he opened his mouth and stretched it out toward Naruto, hoping to snap him up in one bite.

However, even as his mouth neared Naruto, Naruto cleared his throat and lifted his right hand up in front of him.

"Come on, Patriarch, come scratch this itch for Young Master."

A tremor ran through Patriarch Reliance, and his enormous head stopped in place. His eyes were bright red as he stared at Naruto, and yet… he didn't dare to really swallow him.

The sealing Hex inside of him was spinning, and therefore, he didn't dare to harm Naruto in the slightest. If he did, the Hex would explode out violently.

As soon as Patriarch Reliance's head stopped moving, Naruto walked forward and patted his head lightly.

"That's a good turtle," he said, laughing. "Come come, let me see if those words I carved on your back that year are still there." Patriarch Reliance trembled and roared in rage. He felt wronged, provoked even, and couldn't help but cry out, "You little Heavendamned bastard! SCREW OFF!"

He felt like he was about to explode. He swished his tail with incredible force, flinging Naruto out into the starry sky.

At the same time, he spun in place and then attempted to flee as fast as possible.

However, in the moment that he flung Naruto away, Naruto produced the Lightning Cauldron. Electricity danced as Naruto switched places with a random animal in the State of Zhao.

As soon as he appeared on Patriarch Reliance's back, he cleared his throat, then flickered to appear on Patriarch Reliance's head. He stamped down hard with his foot.

"What do you think you're doing, Patriarch?! It wasn't easy to arrange this reunion! What are you running away for!?"

Patriarch Reliance stared in shock, trembling. Eyes bloodshot, he roared; apparently his rage had reached the pinnacle, and yet there was nothing he could do. He could not use any of his divine abilities to harm Naruto in the least.

His aura exploded with power, transforming into waves of Chakra that surged out in all directions, causing Naruto to fly off of his head. Mist roiled out to surround Patriarch Reliance, covering his body as he tried to escape again.

Naruto gave a cold harrumph, then extended his hand and pointed toward Patriarch Reliance.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!"

In the instant that Naruto called out, Patriarch Reliance's massive frame suddenly stopped in midair. Normally, the Hexing magic of the League of Demon Sealers would not have much of an effect on anyone who had a vastly higher cultivation base than Naruto, and it would even produce a backlash.

However, Patriarch Reliance already had Demon Sealing Hexing magic inside of him, and was supposed to be Naruto's Dao Protector. Therefore, he was virtually incapable of fighting back against the Hexing magic.

Naruto hadn't been aware of that years ago when they first met, and afterward, Patriarch Reliance had spent most of his time in hiding. But now that Naruto was the Immortal Realm Paragon, his cultivation base was as different from before as Heaven was from the Earth. Now, he was able to sense the restrictive Hexing magic that was already inside of Patriarch Reliance, which allowed his own Hexes to completely control him.

It was due to this that the moment Patriarch Reliance had seen how powerful Naruto had become, he had begun to panic.

Naruto cleared his throat as he caught up with Patriarch Reliance. As he neared, Patriarch Reliance began to tremble, and then recover from the Eighth Hex.

In that moment, before Patriarch Reliance could begin to roar in rage, Naruto waved his hand once again.

"Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex, Karmic Hexing!" Naruto said, waving his finger. However, there seemed to be no reaction.

"Eee? There's no Karma?" he said, shocked. This was the first time he had ever encountered a situation in which there was no Karma. He tried again a few more times, and upon finding that he only continued to fail over and over again, a strange light began to glow in his eyes.

He was truly shocked. Patriarch Reliance, on the other hand, was so scared his blood was running cold. Thinking back to certain bad memories of the past, he bellowed in rage and then spit a beam of light out of his mouth. The light transformed into a flying dagger that slashed viciously toward Naruto. It seemed intent on slicing open the starry sky, completely separating Patriarch Reliance and Naruto.

The flying dagger looked like a willow leaf, and was seemingly ordinary. However, it emanated an ancient air, and was clearly anything but ordinary.

"Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!" As soon as Naruto saw the flying dagger, his eyes widened and he waved a finger. Immediately, Patriarch Reliance was once again immobilized, and his cultivation base was completely locked down.

It wasn't that Naruto's own Hexing magic was terrifying; instead, it was because of the way it riled the restrictive spell already inside of Patriarch Reliance. That restrictive spell responded to Naruto's will, and exploded out with power.

The flying dagger was now no longer under Patriarch Reliance's control, and stopped moving. When that happened, Naruto's eyes began to shine. He approached the flying dagger and waved his hand, causing it to fly into his hand.

Then, right in front of Patriarch Reliance, he unleashed A Writ of Karma, binding the flying dagger to him with ties of destiny.

When the Eighth Hex faded away, Patriarch Reliance let out a howl of grief.

"My dagger! That's been my favorite flying dagger for years!

"You give it back to me this instant, Naruto! That's my treasured dagger….

"Y-y-you, just kill me, alright?! Stealing my treasures is like ripping off my skin!

"Naruto! Y-y-you…." Patriarch Reliance was on the verge of tears. He couldn't flee, nor could he hurt Naruto. Furthermore, every time Naruto unleashed Hexing magic, the restrictive spell inside of him activated, causing him to fill with the desire to weep.

Besides all that, to the miserly Patriarch Reliance, having a treasure stolen was worse than anything else.

Naruto was like the bane of his existence, the source of the most tragedy in his entire life. In fact, when Patriarch Reliance contemplated how his life had turned out, tears would stream down his face.

While Patriarch Reliance and Naruto were having their little reunion, which was tragic for one and joyful for the other, something else was happening on a planet not very far away from their current location. That planet was… the Ninth Mountain and Sea's Planet North Reed.

That was the planet occupied by the Li Clan, the Song Clan, and the Uchiha Clan, making it the home base of sorts for three of the Great Clans.

Currently, the entire Li Clan was garishly decorated with lanterns and banners. The whole place was infected with a spirit of joy, and everyone knew that in a month, Li Ling'er was to be married to the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan from Planet East Victory.

Although quite a few clan members were somewhat critical of the matter, the sudden wedding had been arranged by the Li Clan's Dao Realm Patriarch and, besides, Li Ling'er's marriage to Naruto had been agreed upon long ago. Therefore, there was no one who could change the forming of the alliance between the two great clans.

Of course, nobody in the Li Clan was aware that Naruto had fled the marriage. Nor was anyone aware of the actions of one particular young woman who was anxiously fleeing from Planet North Reed, heading far off into the distance.

That young woman was none other than Li Ling'er.

It was impossible to tell how she did it, but no one detected her departure. After flying out into the starry sky, she patted her own chest in relief and sped off into the distance.

"I'd marry a pig before I marry that blasted, Heaven-damned Naruto!" she said through gritted teeth. As it turned out, she had made the same decision as Naruto, to flee the marriage.

Unbeknownst to Li Ling'er, the Li Clan Dao Realm Patriarch, the middleaged man, was actually watching her the entire time. His voice cool, he asked, "There were no mistakes in your calculations?"

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, a black-robed man appeared behind him, illusory and somewhat blurry, making it impossible to see his features clearly.

"My clan's augury magic cannot be mistaken."

"The chance to leave the Nine Mountains and Seas, to reunite the Li Clan to the main branch of the clan, is completely tied to Naruto."

The Patriarch remained silent for a moment, then turned and payed no more heed to Li Ling'er. His voice cool, he said, "It won't do to force her.

If she wants to leave, then leave things up to destiny."

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1019

Chapter 1019 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1019: The Hunting of Li Ling'er!

"Naruto, give me my treasured dagger back!" howled Patriarch Reliance. Before losing the flying dagger, he actually hadn't cared about it very much. But now that it wasn't his anymore, countless memories about it suddenly flooded into his mind.

Every memory that surfaced filled his heart with pain.

Naruto pretended not to hear as he lifted his hand and waved his finger a few more times, employing the Seventh Hex. Patriarch Reliance's scalp went numb as Naruto then switched to the Sixth Hex.

Glittering light could be seen as numerous magical symbols appeared on Patriarch Reliance's body. Next, another magical symbol appeared on his forehead, a symbol which was different than Naruto's own Sixth Hex.

When Naruto saw it, he suddenly understood everything.

"Aha! Somebody else already used the Sixth Hex on you!

"Well then, I guess I'll try out the Fifth Hex!" Looking very excited, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand; shockingly, a tiny rift appeared in his palm. When Patriarch Reliance saw it, he was nearly scared out of his mind.

"NARUTO!" he howled miserably.

"What are you planning?" howled Patriarch Reliance. "Just what do you think you're going to do!? You're pushing things TOO FAR!" His body trembled violently, and he seemed to be on the verge of going mad.

"I swear there's nobody who bullies people worse than you! Unlucky? I've got enough bad luck for eight lifetimes! I was bullied by the League of Demon Sealers back in the day, and now I'm getting bullied by you!

"I ran all the way to Planet East Victory to hide from you, you know!? You think that was easy, huh? You think it was a walk in the park!?

"Hey, what are you doing!? You already stole my treasured dagger! Wwhat!? What are you doing? Come on, tell me! Do you know how old I am?! I'm your Patriarch, remember!?"

Naruto scratched his head, starting to feel a bit awkward.

"Alright, how about this," he said, clearing his throat. "If you take me to the Nine Seas God World, I'll let you go for the time being. Then you'll have another chance to hide from me." He still happened to have the jade slip given to him during the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire, the one that was supposed to take him to the Nine Seas God World. Unfortunately, Namikaze Shoudao had somehow found out about that, and had managed to negate the jade slip, making it useless.

Patriarch Reliance suddenly quieted down. After a moment of thought, he bitterly nodded his head. Of course, inwardly, he felt quite pleased, and was even laughing coldly.

"This little bastard is still a bit inexperienced. I'm adept at scheming and have deep foresight, so how could I possibly acquiesce to him!"

Outwardly, he sighed and allowed Naruto to stand on him as he headed toward the Ninth Sea. After flying for a short time, however, Naruto lifted his right hand and caused a Fifth Hex rift to appear in his palm.

"Patriarch," he asked with an enigmatic smile, "are you trying to take me into the Ruins of Immortality?"

Patriarch Reliance suddenly trembled, and his heart filled with rage. However, when he thought about Naruto's restrictive spells, he once again began to bemoan his plight to himself as he immediately changed directions to skirt the Ruins of Immortality.

Based on his current speed, it wouldn't take very long for him to get Naruto to the Ninth Sea.

Naruto beamed at Patriarch Reliance as he slapped his bag of holding, causing the parrot to fly out. The meat jelly was attached to its foot as usual, and the jingling of a bell could be heard when the two of them appeared.

As soon as the parrot flew out, it looked Patriarch Reliance up and down, then blinked and squawked, "Eee? What a big turtle! So strange! How come he seems so familiar?

"Hey, it's you! I remember now! You're that big ol' turtle from the Milky

Way Sea!" The parrot was now very excited. It flew out next to Patriarch Reliance's head and said, "You know, I was always very curious about what you ate to get so big! You're huge! Come come, tell Lord Fifth, and you'll get a reward!"

Not wanting to be outdone, the meat jelly bellowed, "Hey, Lord Third has rewards too!"

Naruto stood on Patriarch Reliance's head, completely ignoring the parrot and the meat jelly as they harassed Patriarch Reliance. With the two of them dogging the turtle, Naruto wasn't the least bit worried about any tricks he might attempt to pull.

It was at this point that he turned back to look at the State of Zhao. A look of reminiscence appeared on his face as he took a step forward and then vanished. When he reappeared, he was on a mountain peak somewhere in the State of Zhao.

The mountain looked different than the way he remembered it. It had been moved and been transformed throughout the years, but it was still the same mountain that he remembered… Mount Daqing.

He stood there, recalling the past. He was currently standing in the same location he had been when he first stepped into the cultivation world, when he had met Hinata.

"Mount Daqing…." he whispered with a sigh. As he looked down the mountain, he noticed that the river that had been there once was now nowhere to be seen. He turned his head again and saw that Yunjie County had also disappeared; it would never again exist.

The only thing left was this mountain, and the memories of Naruto's that it contained.

After standing there quietly for a long, long time, he stepped out off the mountain. As he floated there, he could see that same cave from long ago, which still existed on the side of the mountain.

After another long moment, he sighed and turned. Instead of leaving the State of Zhao, he went to the North Sea. Despite the vast changes to the lands, which left the entire State of Zhao different than before, this lake was still here, just as it had been.

The water was calm and mirror-like, and when Naruto looked at it, he recalled all the events which had occurred in connection with the lake. Eventually, he caught sight of an actual boat out on the water. It was an old vessel, and an old man could be seen at the till, who looked at Naruto as he steered the boat toward the shore.

A pot of alcohol was being warmed inside the boat, and a moment later, a beautiful young woman stuck her head out of the cabin and looked over at Naruto.

"Do you remember my name?" she asked with a grin.

"Guyiding Tri-Rain," he replied, smiling. As he stepped forward onto the boat, the old man smiled and bowed at the waist, then continued to steer the boat out across the water. The young woman sat across from Naruto, lifted up the pot of alcohol, and poured a cup. 1

"Do you remember what you promised me?" she asked, her eyes glistening as brightly as the waters of the lake.

"I promised that one day, I would help you become a sea," he said. Smiling, he raised his cup and then drained it.

The young woman smiled radiantly.

"I want to become a huge, calm sea," she said earnestly. "I don't want there to be any waves or tides. I want to be peaceful. Peaceful and quiet. A sea like a mirror."

Naruto nodded.

"How many things have you promised to do in your life?" she asked.

"Four," he replied.

"And how many of those promises have you fulfilled?"

"None so far."

"In that case, doesn't that mean I'll have to wait a lot longer?"

Naruto smiled, raised his glass again, and took another drink.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto and Guyding Tri-Rain were reunited, something happened not too far away from where they were in the starry sky. The same ship appeared that all of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea had been unable to detect.

Two people sat on the ship, one older and one younger, who had watched as Naruto opened the Door of Immortality, and then his Immortal meridians. The old man was looking out into the starry sky, where he could see Naruto and Patriarch Reliance. At that point, his eyes shone with a strange light, as well as interest toward Naruto.

Next to him sat the young man, upon whose face could be seen a look of scorn.

"A man and a turtle," the young man said with a sneer. "How well-suited for each other. And then there's that parrot. They all match each other."

"That man is no simple man," the old man said calmly. "And that turtle is no simple turtle. As for that parrot, well… it's not just a simple parrot either." He looked over at the young man, and he seemed somewhat disappointed, but didn't say anything further.

"What do you mean, not simple?" the young man said loftily. "Alright, so he opened the maximum number of Immortal meridians, and even became the Immortal Realm Paragon. However, there are tons of people like that in our Spiritstar Realm! They might not actually be Immortals, but… Immortals are worth squat!"

"He's a true Immortal," the old man said with a frown.

"True Immortal? What a joke! Isn't this the same Paragon Immortal Realm that, years ago, innumerable almighty beings viewed with such desire? But now look at it! The only things left are nine mountains!

"If I wanted to kill that guy, all I would have to do is wave my hand, and he would be dead!" Killing intent flickered in the young man's eyes. Apparently, he felt that killing Naruto would be as easy as crushing an ant.

"I might as well target this guy for my training…. I need to kill an Immortal and bring that person's head back to the Spiritstar Realm…. I imagine they'll make it into a battle trophy." The young man licked his lips. 2

Cold light gleamed in the old man's eyes as he looked over at the young man.

"He's a true Immortal, not the type from this age, but rather, the type from primordial times. He embodies what Immortals truly are, the type that in ancient times, could descend to our Spiritstar Realm and cause everyone in the world to bow in worship.

"In the past, our Spiritstar Realm was nothing more than one of the

3,000 Realms below the Paragon Immortal Realm. When the Paragon Immortal Realm collapsed due to various reasons, the role that our world played was microscopic!

"You look down on that turtle, and think it's ordinary. But you know what? When I look at it, it frightens me!

"I can sense some terrifying undulations coming off of that thing.

"And finally, about that man you so look down upon… don't tell me you can't detect that there's something about him connecting him directly to the Nine Mountains and Seas?!" As the man spoke, his wording grew sharper and sharper. By the end, he was clearly rebuking the young man.

The young man sat there quietly, his face slowly growing blue with rage. He didn't dare to backtalk, but when he lowered his head, his eyes were venomously icy.

"Although this place has crumbled down to its present level," continued the old man, "you cannot rashly provoke the people here! Actually, I never wanted to come face the dangers of this place, but since your father insisted, I brought you here for your Immortal-Killing Baptism….

"I was forced to agree, and here we are. If you want to try to kill that man, I won't stop you. However, your father will be able to see all the records of our journey, and cannot blame me… if you seek your own death!" As his cold words rang out, the old man waved his right hand, causing a vortex to appear up ahead. Within the vortex was an image of Li Ling'er, who was currently in the middle of fleeing from her wedding.

"This girl is a bit weaker, and is also an Immortal. Why don't you kill her for your Baptism?" As the old man spoke, the young man looked up at Li Ling'er within the vortex, and his eyes began to shine with a strange light.

"Wow, she's pretty. Master, you wouldn't mind if, before killing her, I indulged in the… services… of an Immortal, would you?"

The old man frowned and looked a bit disgusted, but didn't say anything.

The young man licked his lips, and then stepped toward the vortex.

Li Ling'er sat cross-legged atop a flying shuttle which sped through the stars. She was also heading toward the Ninth Sea, although not to the Nine Seas God World, but rather, to find an island where she could practice cultivation.

She hoped to borrow some of the power of the Ninth Sea to stabilize herself in the Immortal Realm.

She wasn't unfamiliar with the Ninth Sea, considering that she had been there on clan training on several occasions in the past. To her, this would all be a walk in the park. However, all of a sudden, the starry sky up ahead distorted, and a vortex suddenly appeared.

An arrogant young man stepped out of the vortex, and as soon as he looked over at her, an evil and bizarre glow could be seen in his eyes, almost as if he were a hunter looking at prey.

Li Ling'er's eyes instantly flickered with vigilance. She had never seen this young man before, but she could instantly sense that he was dangerous. Furthermore, the way he was looking at her didn't please her one bit.

"Hello, Immortal beauty! Remember my name! I'm Zheng Linfa! You can call me Yi Fazi! 3

"Remember it because, very soon, I'll provide you with the most unforgettable experience of your whole life! And also… the last!" the young man said with a smile. He stepped toward Li Ling'er.

Chapter 1019: The Hunting of Li Ling'er!

The North Sea lake and Guyiding Tri-rain were introduced in book 1.

Naruto was helped by the lake in his advancement through the Chakra Condensation level, which happened in chapter 44. It brought him back to life after he was defeated in battle by Ding Xin of the Violet Fate. That battle started in chapter 65. He eventually met Guyiding Tri-rain in chapter 89, and it was what she told him that helped him deal with Patriarch Reliance in chapter 95. ↩ A note about the word Realm: The word Realm used here is the one that refers to a "world" or even "dimension." It's the same word we've seen in the term "Mountain and Sea Realm" that has already appeared in the story. The Chinese word for the Realms of cultivation (Spirit Realm, Immortal Realm, Ancient Realm, Dao Realm) is different. In most situations the difference is clear from the context of the story. ↩ Zheng Linfa's name in Chinese is zhèng lín fǎ. Zheng is a family name. Lin means "forest" and Fa is a character that can mean many things including "law," "magic," and "Dharma." Yi Fazi is a somewhat strange name that appears to be some sort of nickname. yī fǎ zǐ. Yi means "one." Fa is the same character from his name. Zi means "son" or "child." It's a weird name, and I think it's some sort of name/nickname pattern made up by Er Gen. You might remember a character from earlier in the book named Yi Chenzi (smallheaded guy), whose name followed a similar pattern. I think there was even another minor character with a similar name. Despite consulting with several people, searching online, etc., I couldn't find any information on the name structure, which is what leads me to believe it might be something made up by Er Gen. ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1020

Chapter 1020: Brushing Past!

In an area in the starry sky near the Ruins of Immortality, what appeared to be a huge land mass was cruising along. If you looked closely, you would find that it was in fact no land mass, but rather, a gargantuan turtle.

The turtle had a very sullen appearance, and his eyes shone with ferocity. He appeared to be enraged, yet didn't dare to speak up about it. Instead, he just flew along through the stars.

Naruto sat cross-legged somewhere on top of the turtle, sipping alcohol. Guyiding Tri-Rain sat next to him, smiling as she kept the pot of alcohol warm.

The sweet fragrance of alcohol spread out in all directions, and Naruto felt incredibly at ease. When he thought about how he had successfully fled the marriage, he suddenly felt as if the whole world was full of boundless possibilities. Although he had practiced cultivation for many years, this was his personality. Although it might seem unstable, that was how Naruto liked it; he didn't want to settle down in one place. He wanted to do as he pleased. In his view, when it came to the path of cultivation, sitting around doing nothing was completely boring and meaningless.

His Dao was the Dao of freedom and independence, which was the same as his personality. Everything he did in life was in accordance with his personality.

Patriarch Reliance, on the other hand, was currently so irritated that his gums itched. It was compounded by the condescending parrot, who continually squawked in his ear, trying to get him to agree to be a Younger Brother. That made Patriarch Reliance even more furious.

If that were all there were to it, Patriarch Reliance could endure the situation. However, the meat jelly's nonstop jabbering had pushed him to the brink of collapse. The garrulous chattering was almost like a magical curse, and Patriarch Reliance wondered how Naruto could possibly stand to have the thing around all the time. It couldn't be easy.

"Dammit! The Patriarch is always so unlucky!" he thought. "I have to get the little bastard to the Ninth Sea as soon as possible. Then, I'll completely leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea and never come back!

"I refuse to believe that if I hide somewhere outside of this mountain and sea, that the little bastard will be able to find me!"

Patriarch Reliance felt quite wronged, and was snarling and raging inwardly.

He truly felt that he was being treated unfairly. In his opinion, ever since he ran into the League of Demon Sealers, his life had become as gray as ash.

"One of these days," he blustered inwardly, " the Patriarch is going to swallow the entire League of Demon Sealers! Fudge! I'll give those Demon Sealers some good fortune, if you know what I mean!"

Perhaps because of his continuous internal cursing, at some point he lost track of which direction he was traveling in, and started to drift toward the Ruins of Immortality again.

Naruto cleared his throat and then waved his hand toward Patriarch

Reliance's rear end. At the same time, he glared, and cried out,

"Whoooa!"

Although he actually unleashed the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, the words that came out of his mouth were the same commands you would use when riding a horse.

As soon as the Eighth Hex was utilized, Patriarch Reliance ground to an instant halt. The end result was that Naruto truly did appear to be riding Patriarch Reliance just like a horse.

Patriarch Reliance's eyes went wide and he began to tremble. After a few breaths of time, his body returned to normal, and he threw his head back and roared a sullen and bitter roar.

He had lived for a very long time, so how could he not understand the meaning of the word "whoa"?

"Naruto you little bastard, I'm Patriarch Reliance, not some horse, not some beast of burden!"

Naruto cleared his throat. Having been raised as a scholar, he knew the command words for riding horses, but had rarely had a chance to actually use them. Now that he was sitting atop Patriarch Reliance, he naturally recalled all of those words. "Fine, then. Giddyup!"

As soon as he said the word 'giddyup,' Patriarch Reliance started moving forward without even thinking about it. Moments later, he almost exploded with rage as he realized that he was subconsciously cooperating with Naruto's horse-riding commands.

"I'm gonna eat you! EAT YOU, you hear!?" Patriarch Reliance raged.

Trembling, he was just about to lift his head up when Naruto anxiously said, "Easy, now!"

At the same time, he tossed out a Fifth Demon Sealing Hex rift to the right side of Patriarch Reliance's head, scaring him into instantly turning. Yet again, he subconsciously cooperated with Naruto's verbal commands.

"Naruto!" Patriarch Reliance threw his head back and roared. The sound echoed out into the starry sky, eventually reaching a location not too far off, where it was heard by Li Ling'er, who was currently fleeing for her life.

Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth, and her beautiful face was as pale as a corpse's. Her clothing was torn, and her flesh was cut in numerous locations. She almost looked as if she had been forcefully taken advantage of.

On her forehead was a jagged wound, from which blood spurted out and dropped down into the starry sky.

Her hair was in disarray and her aura weak as she pressed onward.

However, her eyes blazed with fury. How could she ever have imagined that after successfully fleeing her clan, she would encounter a terrifying cultivator like this on her path to the Ninth Sea?

The young man who called himself Yi Fazi was a complete stranger. Therefore, she was definitely sure that he was not a Chosen from any of the other sects or clans. And yet… she could sense terrifying undulations coming off of him.

Despite having a peak Immortal Realm cultivation, Li Ling'er had lasted less than half an incense stick's worth of time against Yi Fazi's divine abilities. She had immediately ended up in sore straits. Were it not for some of the life-saving techniques she had up her sleeves, she would already have perished.

"Who is this guy?!" she thought, biting her lip as a sense of deadly crisis filled her.

"You can't escape," said Zheng Linfa, licking some blood off of his hand. His eyes shone with a mysterious light, and he wore a slight smile. He was in no hurry. After all, his Dao Protector had said that killing this girl would end his trial by fire. Therefore, he wanted to enjoy himself for as long as possible.

Even if things got somewhat out of control in the end, he wouldn't have to deal with the aftermath. His Dao Protector would naturally take care of any difficulties that arose. In fact, as far as he was concerned, his Dao Protector was actually being too cautious about everything.

"It doesn't matter that you're an Immortal," Yi Fazi said, laughing. "You should feel honored to be my prey. You can't even imagine my status where I come from." As he spoke, he clawed his right hand out in front of him. A boom could be heard as more of Li Ling'er's clothing was ripped away. The explosion of power was so intense that if she had been slower to avoid it, she would have been seriously injured.

Despite avoiding the main blast, she still coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her face paled. Her aura was weakened even further, and her flame of life force seemed to be on the verge of being extinguished.

"He's not a cultivator from the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" she thought, gritting her teeth. She had already sent a distress signal to the clan via jade slip, and was confident that if she could only hold out for a bit longer, someone would come to rescue her.

"What are you running for?" said Yi Fazi. "I remember you. You're Li Ling'er, right? You're not just any Immortal, you're a true Immortal! I've been practicing cultivation for years now, and I've never had the chance to taste the blood of an Immortal. It turns out to be quite sweet!" Laughing, he inhaled the fragrance of Li Ling'er's blood, and his eyes shone brightly.

"Oh, I get it. You're trying to buy time. You're waiting for someone to come from your clan and save you. Well, keep on waiting and see if someone comes. See if anyone got the message from your jade slip." Yi Fazi waved a finger, causing a violent wind to spring up. Just as it seemed about to crush down onto Li Ling'er, a green light sprang up around her, filled with countless vines that blocked the wind.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the vines were shredded. Once again, Li Ling'er coughed up a mouthful of blood. Her vision swam, and through the pain, her eyes began to shine with despair.

Based on how much time had passed, if the clan had received her message, then… someone should have come already. Considering nobody was around, it proved that her opponent had definitely prepared well for this encounter!

"Don't worry," laughed Yi Fazi. "I'll be gentle. Before you die, you'll serve me well, and then… I'll gently rip your body apart piece by piece. I'll use your blood… to consecrate my Daoist magic!

"Achieve the Dao by murdering an Immortal! Seize your Immortal body to become my foundation!" Laughing, he closed in on Li Ling'er.

It was at this point that a powerful roar echoed out through the starry sky, causing ripples to spread about everywhere.

"Naruto!"

The two words that comprised the roar echoed about, causing Li Ling'er's eyes to shine brilliantly. Instantly, she headed toward the source of the sound, gritting her teeth as she flew at top speed.

She didn't hold anything back from her cultivation base. She unleashed secret magics and even burned her Immortal meridians to achieve astonishing, temporary speed. In the blink of an eye, she had shot far off into the distance.

Yi Fazi's face darkened. Inwardly, he was actually quite frightened. Although he didn't care about the words that were being roared, he couldn't ignore the fact that the roar itself contained an aura that was so frightening it made his scalp feel like it was about to explode.

It was at this point that he heard his Dao Protector's voice in his ear.

"I've already deployed cloaking magic. No more fooling around. End the battle and kill the Immortal. As soon as your trial by fire baptism is complete, we will leave this Realm!"

Yi Fazi's eyes glittered. He didn't respond, but did increase his speed dramatically. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into a beam of prismatic light that shot in pursuit of Li Ling'er. Shocking killing intent roiled out from him.

Gradually, a black, three-headed python appeared behind him. It roared, emanating a fiendish will that was completely different from anything in the Nine Mountains and Seas.

That will was like a paramount fiendishness of Heaven and Earth!

A whistling sound echoed out, like that of an arrow piercing through the sky. Yi Fazi sped closer and closer to Li Ling'er. After ten breaths of time passed, the distance between him and Li Ling'er was reduced to only 300 meters.

It was at this point that Li Ling'er caught sight of that land mass soaring through the stars. It was Patriarch Reliance, with Naruto sitting on his head drinking alcohol.

"Naruto!" she cried out as soon as she saw him. However, despite her loud cry, Naruto appeared to be ignoring her.

"He can't see you," said Yi Fazi, his voice cold. "If he could, then I wouldn't mind killing two Immortals today." He waved his right hand toward Li Ling'er, causing more blood to spray from her mouth. She could also sense that despite the short distance between herself and Naruto, they seemed to be separated by some sort of illusory screen, making it impossible for him to see her.

"Yi Fazi is too well-prepared to be acting alone. He has to be working with someone. Well, since Naruto can't see me, then I'll just forget about it. Even if he could see, it would only drag him into this situation. How could I cause trouble for him too?"

Despite being filled with bitterness and despair, Li Ling'er's eyes gleamed with determination. Even as Yi Fazi's hand strike closed in on her, she chose to detonate her Immortal meridians!

Booms could be heard as Immortal meridians emerged from her body and transformed into Immortal dragons, which then exploded. Blood sprayed from her mouth as her as the incredible power of the detonation caused her… to shoot directly toward the Ruins of Immortality!

"I'll have a better chance of surviving in the Ruins of Immortality than in the hands of Yi Fazi!" she thought, flying into the ruins at incredible speed.

—–

Note from Deathblade: The following is a note Er Gen included in the original release. Obviously, his release schedule back then doesn't affect the release schedule of the translation.

Note from Er Gen: I'd like to request 3 or 4 days off from everyone in the audience. During that time, I'll probably only be able to post one chapter per day, as I'm taking my daughter to the Beijing Children's Hospital to see the doctor.

Recently, I've been very concerned because of my daughter being sick. I haven't said anything because I didn't really feel like talking about it. I hope that you can understand, brothers and sisters. Thank you.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1021

Chapter 1021: Pursued into the Ruins of Immortality!

Naruto waved his finger at Patriarch Reliance, causing him to suddenly stop. By this point, the turtle's discontent had reached the point of detonation, and he let out a mighty roar at Naruto. As for Naruto, he rose to his feet and looked curiously off into the distance toward the Ruins of Immortality.

"Strange. I got a really weird feeling just now," he said. Although he wasn't sure what had caused it, he was sure that moments ago, something like a veil had passed in front of his eyes. It was as if… there was something he should have seen that had been covered up.

"What do you mean strange?" said Patriarch Reliance, sounding a bit arrogant. "A girl went by just now, calling your name. You ignored her, and she ran off into the Ruins of Immortality. Oh, there was some kid chasing her, looked like he was trying to kill her." Patriarch Reliance looked both disdainful and pleased with himself as he spoke.

Naruto stared in shock.

"Yeah, that's right!" the parrot said, sounding surprised. "Lord Fifth saw it too. You mean you didn't see it?"

"Lord Third saw it too!" the meat jelly said, sounding very serious. "You really couldn't see it!? Come on, stop faking. Faking is immoral. Faking is wrong!"

"I saw it too…." said Guyiding Tri-Rain, covering a smile with her hand.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he looked off into the starry sky. He glanced over at the Ruins of Immortality, muttering to himself.

"Oh right," continued Patriarch Reliance. "Naruto, you little bastard, listen up. That kid just now said something like… since you didn't want to marry the girl, he was going to help fulfill your husbandly duties for you. You know, kids these days seem really kindhearted, the type who really finds joy in helping others." He laughed loudly, seeming very pleased with himself.

"Yeah, that's right! Lord Third also happens to think that kid is really kindhearted! What a good person! There aren't many sincere people like that in the world. Such character and such morals are really worth imitating!" The meat jelly nodded its head vigorously, clearly ignorant of the reality of the situation….

The parrot rolled its eyes and then cleared its throat.

"Naruto, if you don't go save her right now, she'll truly become the plaything of that other guy. If Lord Fifth remembers correctly, that furless girl is named Li Ling'er."

Naruto's face was now extremely unsightly as he stared off into the Ruins of Immortality, and his eyes flickered with killing intent. He wasn't sure why Li Ling'er wasn't back in the Li Clan, but it didn't matter. Regardless of what issues the two of them had, he had no reason to leave her to die when he was in a position to save her.

Furthermore, since her pursuer had mentioned something about fulfilling Naruto's husbandly duties, well, that was something that no true man would be able to accept.

The matter of he and Li Ling'er getting married was a personal matter between the two of them. For someone to say something like that was an outrageous provocation.

Glaring at the parrot and meat jelly, he gave a cold harrumph, then lifted his foot and then stamped it down onto Patriarch Reliance.

"Alright… follow them into the Ruins of Immortality!" he said, his voice cold but his heart filled with vigilance. He knew that whatever technique had been used to obscure his vision had been something completely terrifying. What was even more frightening was the fact that Li Ling'er was being hunted, and yet the Li Clan hadn't sent anyone to rescue her. However… Naruto glanced at Patriarch Reliance and thought about how he had been unaffected when everyone else on Planet East Victory had been knocked senseless. That showed how unbelievably powerful he must be in battle.

Feeling excited, Patriarch Reliance changed directions and headed toward the Ruins of Immortality at top speed. The parrot was also getting excited. It had the feeling that Ruins of Immortality were filled with all sorts of furred and feathered beasts, which made it like the promised land of his dreams.

As for the moronic meat jelly, it was easily convinced of anything in its simple-mindedness.

Rumbling filled the air as Patriarch Reliance exploded with speed. In the blink of an eye, he was already in the Ruins of Immortality, speeding in pursuit of Li Ling'er.

Patriarch Reliance was gargantuan, so as soon as he entered the Ruins of Immortality, everything began to tremble. It was as if the natural laws had been disturbed by his arrival, and were now changing.

Guyiding Tri-Rain trembled, and her expression suddenly turned blank. For some reason, she suddenly felt like something was calling her, summoning her… to a place deep within the Ruins of Immortality.

It was almost as if there were a forgotten portion of her memories that were suddenly unlocked as soon as she entered.

As soon as the small group entered the Ruins of Immortality, the old

man sitting in the ship outside of the ruins frowned.

"It seems I underestimated that turtle… as well as that bird. I even underestimated that bell-like thing, and the girl on top of the turtle." Earlier, he had recognized that Patriarch Reliance and the parrot were powerful, but now he had to admit that they were far more terrifying than he had assumed.

"For them to be able to see through my Daoist magic…." he muttered. It was something that completely exceeded what he had planned for. Originally, his surface plan had been to appear as if he was warning Yi Fazi, and yet surreptitiously provoke him into accosting Li Ling'er.

Through the death of Li Ling'er, the Zheng Clan of the Spiritstar Realm would sow a seed with Naruto. The old man had very much been looking forward to seeing what type of flower would bloom as a result.

But now, things were not going according to plan.

Muttering to himself, he looked over at the Ruins of Immortality, and he seemed to be recalling something that filled him with deep fear.

"The Paragon Immortal Realm of yesteryear…." he thought. Memories swirled within him, and he sighed. Finally, he gritted his teeth and headed into the Ruins of Immortality. He had no choice. He could plot against the Zheng Clan, but he definitely could not allow Yi Fazi to die in the Ruins of Immortality.

Naruto stood on Patriarch Reliance's head, looking around as they sped through the Ruins of Immortality. This was his second time coming here, and things in this area looked much different than the entrance opened by the Three Great Daoist Societies.

The Three Great Daoist Societies' entrance was an area that they had thoroughly explored, and they had taken steps to ensure that it was not dangerous. However, the current area Naruto was in was a place few people ever came to.

Up ahead, numerous stone fragments hung in the air. There were also shattered statues visible, and the sky was covered with fissures that seemed capable of slicing up and swallowing anything and everything.

There were even strange, Demonic voices that echoed about in the air, along with an archaic, ancient aura.

Furthermore, these were only the outskirts of the Ruins of Immortality. As they proceeded onward, Patriarch Reliance's expression grew more serious. However, he still seemed to charge forward with incredible power, blasting through any obstructions as if they were dried sticks.

The strength of his fleshly body had reached a terrifying degree, allowing them to speed rapidly through the outer region of the Ruins of Immortality.

Naruto's expression was grim as he rotated his cultivation base. 123 Immortal meridians exploded with power, none of which seeped out of him. 33 blurry Heavens descended, and the glitter of starlight appeared in his eyes. As he stood there, energy surging, he truly seemed to exude the will of the Immortal Realm Paragon.

"I don't want the same thing that happened before to happen again, where you people can see what's happening and I can't!" he suddenly announced coldly. He lifted his hand, and a Fifth Hex rift appeared.

Patriarch Reliance muttered something to himself, then suddenly opened his mouth and roared. The roar did not spread out in all directions, but rather, was confined to the rather small area around him.

"OPEN!"

Rumbling could be heard as everything around Naruto suddenly changed. He saw floating spatters of blood and other traces that someone was being viciously hunted down!

In a location not too far away, Li Ling'er's face was pale white, and blood sprayed from her mouth. She was like an oil lamp on the verge of sputtering out, her life force at its limit. She had found no hope in the Ruins of Immortality, only despair, causing her to laugh bitterly.

Yi Fazi and his black, three-headed python were right behind her. Everything trembled as a brutal aura spread out in all directions, causing ripples to surge out and push the nearby debris away.

"Feeling hopeless, are we…?" asked Yi Fazi, laughing. His eyes gleamed with an evil light as he raised his right hand.

With the wave a finger, he caused a black beam to shoot out.

Everywhere it passed, rocks and canyons shattered into pieces!

A boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of Li Ling'er's mouth as she slammed down into a field of shattered rocks. She looked back, glaring at Yi Fazi without the slightest hint of defeat or compliance in her eyes.

She might be in a hopeless situation, and she might be about to die, but she would perish with her dignity.

"I love this kind of expression!" exclaimed Yi Fazi. "Back home, all the trophy heads of the Immortals killed by the Patriarchs throughout history have this exact same expression!

"Immortals…." He threw his head back and laughed, and his expression was one of boundless arrogance.

"Immortals must all die, and all Immortal Realms will be destroyed. Who gives a crap about the Paragon Immortal Realm and you crappy

Immortals!" Killing intent flickering, Yi Fazi advanced toward Li Ling'er.

He waved his right hand in a claw-like gesture, causing an enormous power to explode out. Li Ling'er was simply incapable of fighting back or struggling. Her eyes, however, shone with determination, as an aura of extermination suddenly surged up inside her.

She had chosen to self-detonate!

"Self-detonation?" said Yi Fazi with a light smile. He quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, unleashing some type of

Daoist magic that caused Li Ling'er to tremble. Suddenly, the

destructive aura within her dispersed. She was shocked to find that… she couldn't self-detonate!

"I learned this secret magic a long time ago to deal with Immortals who try to self-detonate," Even as he spoke, Yi Fazi appeared in front of Li Ling'er, lifted his right hand up, and clutched her by the neck. Then, he shoved her down onto the ground. His expression vile, he smiled and said, "Alright, be a good girl and allow me to consummate our marriage. After that… I'll use your blood for my baptism."

Li Ling'er was trembling, and she bit her lip as she stared back at Yi Fazi. It was at this point that suddenly, she opened her mouth, causing a brilliant light to shoot out.

Yi Fazi was shocked; at the same time, glittering light suddenly rose up around him. The beam of light flashed past his neck. It was a dangerously sharp willow leaf that had come dangerously close to slitting his throat.

"Slut!" he roared. Inwardly, he was shocked. Without the life-saving shield provided by his clan, that willow leaf would most likely have taken his head off.

Enraged, he was just about to reach in and rip Li Ling'er's tongue out when, all of a sudden, a coldness caused him to look up and off into the distance. What he saw was Patriarch Reliance's massive frame rushing toward him, atop whom stood Naruto, staring coldly in his direction.

—–

Note from Deathblade: Just a reminder that the following note is from Er Gen, NOT ME:

Note from Er Gen: Thank you, everyone, for your concern regarding my daughter. Thank you for your support, brothers and sisters. Thank you. We have an appointment this afternoon at the hospital, and are leaving right now. Again, thank you!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1022

Chapter 1022: Pipe Down!

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes, and fury raged in his heart. There was no major enmity between him and Li Ling'er, just the normal competition that occurred between cultivators.

Regarding the matter of the marriage agreement, that was something that had been decided years ago. Although Naruto had fled the marriage, that didn't mean that he was willing to stand idly by while Li Ling'er faced grave danger.

That was especially so in a situation like this, in which her aura was extremely weak. Before, she had been as proud as the Heavens, but now she was gasping her last breaths. Naruto's fury burned like endless flames.

Li Ling'er had been filled with despair, and wanted to die. But when she saw Naruto, all of a sudden, a faint glow of hope appeared in her eyes. Naruto's arrival was something she could never have predicted.

In the instant she saw him, her desire to live was immediately rekindled.

"It's you…. Can you actually see me?" Yi Fazi stared in shock for a moment, and then a wicked smile spread out on his face, as if he couldn't care less about Naruto. Suddenly, he lifted his right hand, clenched it into a fist, and punched out toward Li Ling'er's delicate head.

He wanted to kill Li Ling'er right in front of Naruto!

However, in that instant, the Lightning Cauldron suddenly appeared in Naruto's hand. It danced with electricity, and rumbling filled the void as he instantly switched positions with Li Ling'er.

Not even Yi Fazi had time to react. All of a sudden, Li Ling'er appeared on top of Patriarch Reliance, after which Guyiding Tri-Rain knelt down, put her hand on her forehead, and began to treat her injuries.

As for Naruto, as soon as he appeared in the position previously occupied by Li Ling'er, he saw Yi Fazi's fist plummeting toward him. Without a moment's hesitation, he rotated his cultivation base, causing the explosive power of 123 Immortal meridians to surge. 33 Heavens descended with terrifying power. All of it was focused directly on Yi Fazi.

Rumbling echoed out, and Yi Fazi's face fell. He jerked back, evading Naruto's attack, his fist transforming into an sealing incantation as he pointed toward Naruto. Instantly, the black, three-headed python behind him roared and then shot toward Naruto as if to consume him.

"I'm glad you showed up!" he laughed. "I originally wanted to use you for my Baptism, so guess what: a year from today will be your first memorial service!"

Yi Fazi threw his head back and laughed. His expression was one of rapture as he waved his hand, causing the black, three-headed python to grow rapidly. Rumbling sounds echoed out as it charged toward Naruto.

"He's not from the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" Li Ling'er cried weakly, her face ashen. Despite the healing from Guyiding Tri-Rain, Li Ling'er was still quite weak.

As for Patriarch Reliance, he remained off to the side, eyes shifting back and forth. Naturally, he was not assisting; in fact, he was even contemplating the fact that if Naruto died, he would finally be free. He was about to slip away quietly when Naruto waved his hand, causing a Fifth Hex rift to appear and slowly circle around Patriarch Reliance's head. Patriarch Reliance was so frightened he started trembling, and didn't dare to move an inch.

As for Naruto, his eyes flickered with killing intent. As soon as he heard Li Ling'er's words, he looked at Yi Fazi, and his eyes began to glitter brightly. He performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and then pointed out.

Instantly, a Blood Demon head materialized, roaring. It wasn't just a single head, but 123 of them. They attacked… unleashing all of Naruto's power.

The 123 Blood Demon heads instantly merged together, turning into an even larger Blood Demon head which then shot toward the black, threeheaded python. The two slammed into each other in midair, causing a huge boom, along with a massive gust of wind that blasted out in all directions. Naruto didn't back up, but instead advanced, appearing directly in front of Yi Fazi and then punching out.

That one punch was filled with Naruto's internal Immortal power, as well as all of his true Immortal fleshly body's strength. Its force was comparable to a powerful magic and contained incredible destructive power.

Dust flew up in all directions, and the void shattered. Yi Fazi's eyes went wide, and an intense sensation of deadly crisis shook him. He had known that Naruto was powerful, but now… he discovered exactly how powerful.

In that moment of crisis, Yi Fazi threw his head back and roared, then performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, light flowed out across his body in the shape of a suit of armor. The armor was golden, and radiated boundless light that made him seem even more like a true Immortal than Naruto.

Naruto's fist rumbled as it slammed into Yi Fazi in his suit of armor.

Instantly, cracks spread out across the armor, and Yi Fazi was sent flying backward. However, in almost the same instant that the cracks spread out across the armor, they repaired themselves. Apparently the power of Naruto's one punch… couldn't harm Yi Fazi at all!

Naruto's eyes glittered with coldness.

Yi Fazi laughed arrogantly and then said, "Naruto, right? A true

Immortal, right? Well, SO WHAT?! You can't even break open my True Plate Armor! What makes you think you have anything powerful enough to fight me with?!

"Immortal? This is a so-called Immortal?

"Bring out some of that awe-inspiring Immortal stuff they used to have back in the day, and let me see it! Let me see what an Immortal is supposed to be!" As Yi Fazi laughed, Naruto stared in shock at what was being said, completely unable to make heads nor tales of what Yi Fazi was talking about.

"You don't understand? You don't COMPREHEND? Oh, I get it. To you people, all of these things are considered a big secret. People like you still don't qualify to know the truth." When Yi Fazi saw Naruto's expression, he began to laugh maniacally.

"Pipe down!" Naruto said coolly. He suddenly flickered, transforming into a huge golden roc that shot toward Yi Fazi with incredible speed. He was on him in the blink of an eye, razor-sharp talons slashing out.

Yi Fazi laughed coldly and waved his hand to summon a magical technique. Shockingly, a black, nine-headed python materialized around him, which roared and charged toward Naruto.

At the same time, a magical symbol appeared in each of Yi Fazi's eyes, as well as on his forehead. The three magical symbols merged together, transforming into a spell formation that also shot toward Naruto.

Rumbling filled the void as Naruto slashed apart the black python and beat his wings in the direction of the incoming spell formation. Suddenly, innumerable mountains appeared, which linked together into chains of mountains that resembled numerous gigantic dragons.

Booms rang out as, in a relatively short period of time, dozens of attacks were exchanged. Every time any of Naruto's divine abilities landed on Yi Fazi, however, his brilliant armor would block the attack.

A ruthless gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes as he took a step forward. Immortal dragons roared as they shot toward Yi Fazi.

Booms rang out, and the ground of the Ruins of Immortality quaked. Countless nearby statues and other ruins were shoved backward.

Yi Fazi's face flickered slightly, and he suddenly fell back. At the same time, though, he called out,

"Heaven, master of mortals. Hell, master of Heaven. Lin, master of hell!" 1 Yi Fazi's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing strange ripples to spread out across his body. Shockingly, two enormous black wings sprouted from his back, which emanated a strange glow. They seemed to fuse with the void around him, causing him to look bizarre to the extreme. At the same time, a huge black bow appeared in his hands.

"Three Masters Exterminate Immortals!" As soon as the words left his mouth, countless magical symbols appeared on his glowing armor, which merged together to form an arrow!

The bow was drawn, the arrow flew!

The void vibrated so violently it shattered. The powerful arrow ripped through the starry sky toward Naruto.

Seeing the arrow close in on Naruto cause Li Ling'er to get very nervous. However, there was nothing she could do to help. As for the parrot and meat jelly, and Patriarch Reliance, they didn't seem concerned at all.

Naruto snorted coldly and extended his right hand, within which appeared a long spear. It had a white spearhead, and the shaft was made from the World Tree. As soon as it appeared, strange colors flashed, and boundless ripples spread out which seemed to stir the entire Ruins of Immortality.

Naruto hurled the spear out, causing massive rumbling to fill the starry sky. The spear shot through the void like a white dragon, both projectiles so fast that ring-like shockwaves were formed in the void through which they traveled. In the blink of an eye they were upon each other, and as they made contact a terrifyingly loud boom blasted out in all directions.

"Naruto, is this your true power? None of your attacks have even been able to break through my armor. Is this really the power of a true Immortal?"

Almost in the same moment that the spear and arrow slammed into each other, Naruto took a step forward.

"Watch and see how I break it," he said coolly. When he took his first step, he waved his right index finger, causing boundless light to shoot up into the starry sky. In the blink of an eye, the light formed into a fistsized globe of light!

It was… the sun!

As soon as the sun appeared, shocking ripples spread out. However, Yi Fazi continued to laugh coldly, as if he didn't care at all about the sun. He didn't retreat at all, but instead, advanced and even revealed a second bow and arrow!

At the same time, Naruto took a second step, and waved his right hand again, causing the image of another shocking heavenly body to appear next to the sun.

It was… the moon!

The sun and the moon began to orbit each other, causing a massive energy to explode out. Yi Fazi's eyes widened, and in that same moment, Naruto took a third step.

As he stepped forward, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Shockingly, the illusory image of a mountain appeared between the sun and the moon!

It was… the projection of the Ninth Mountain!

The sun and moon orbiting the Ninth Mountain!

Massive energy soared up, causing Yi Fazi's face to fall completely. All of a sudden, a sensation of indescribable crisis filled him, and instead of advancing, he began to back up.

However, in the moment that he stepped back, Naruto took a fourth step!

With that fourth step, he waved his sleeve. Rumbling filled the void as… a black pearl and a white pearl appeared and began to circulate around the Ninth Mountain and the sun and the moon!

Terrifying undulations caused Yi Fazi's eyes to widen, and he fell into shocked retreat.

"Magical technique combination! Th-that's a complex type of magic that only almighty experts can control! How are you doing this!?"

Even as Yi Fazi spoke, killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. He waved his right hand, and the sun, moon, and Black White Pearls continued to orbit around the Ninth Mountain as it shot toward Yi Fazi with incredible speed.

The speed was such that Yi Fazi was incapable of evading. Gritting his teeth, he roared and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then pushed his hand out in front of him. The glowing armor immediately began to emanate blinding light as he used all the power he could muster to block the attack.

Rumbling echoed out in all directions. The sun and moon collapsed, and the Ninth Mountain shattered. The Black White Pearls dissipated. However, in that same moment, all of Yi Fazi's glowing armor shattered, layer by layer.

Yi Fazi coughed up a massive mouthful of blood, and alarm filled his face. Just when he was about to fall back at full speed, Naruto took a fifth step, his face filled with savagery and the desire to kill.

It was in that very moment than an ancient voice echoed out like thunder from further back.

"Stay your hand!"

The parrot blinked, and its feathers stood on end. The meat jelly began to tremble, and Patriarch Reliance turned his head, his expression one of unprecedented solemnity.

This passage "Heaven, master of mortals. Hell, master of Heaven. Lin, master of hell," was really a headache to translate, as it's a twist on a passage from famous Chinese philosopher Laozi. Thanks to RWX for helping out. Also, there is a big clue/easter egg about the ISSTH universe in here. Because it's a bit more vague and open to interpretation in Chinese, it was a subject of speculation among the Chinese fans when this chapter first came out, and was not specifically explained by Er Gen, so I'll let you guys have fun guessing about it ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1023

Chapter 1023 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1023: The Mountain and Sea Realm Alliance!

A strange cultivator was almost able to hunt Li Ling'er down and kill her!

Unexpectedly, no one from the Li Clan showed up to stop it from happening. The situation seemed very strange, especially considering… that the Li Clan was not very far away on Planet North Reed. In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, inquiries were rarely made when ordinary cultivators fought and killed another. However, when a Chosen died or was injured, it was always a big matter!

Very few people would actually employ deadly force against a Chosen, mostly because of the numerous ramifications that would be involved.

However, this strange cultivator clearly wanted to kill Li Ling'er. Most importantly… Naruto's vision had been interfered with moments ago so that he couldn't see what was happening.

Clearly, this strange cultivator was not working alone. He definitely had some almighty expert hiding in the shadows, assisting him. Naruto had already reached such a conclusion before coming to rescue Li Ling'er. In the end, he decided that it didn't matter; he had to rescue her anyway.

Therefore, when he heard someone crying out to prevent him from landing his deadly attack on the young man, he didn't hesitate for even a moment to cry out: "Patriarch Reliance, block that man's path for a quarter of an hour, and I'll give you a hundred years of freedom!" This was only the third time he had spoken in the entire battle!

At first, Patriarch Reliance was infuriated, and he was of a mind to ignore a mere hundred years of freedom. But as he thought about it, he realized that if Naruto had said he would give a lifetime of freedom, it would have been completely unbelievable. But if it was only a hundred years, it actually seemed a lot more plausible.

"Fudge!" he cried. Eyes gleaming with savagery, he suddenly lifted his head and looked at the incoming old man, then roared.

At the same time as he let out that intense roar, black light flashed around him as he shot toward the old man.

That old man was none other than the person who had been accompanying Yi Fazi the entire time. His Dao Protector!

When he saw Patriarch Reliance bearing down on him, his eyes widened with fear. Not quite sure what to make of him, he waved his hand, causing an enormous, illusory creature to appear that resembled a tadpole.

It was pitch-black and had no eyes, only a gaping mouth. As soon as it appeared, it opened its mouth wide and lunged toward Patriarch Reliance as if to swallow him.

"Fudgetastic Magical Super-Attack!" Patriarch Reliance roared, shouting as he barreled forward. Even as the words left his mouth, he was taken aback, and wondered why he had said that in particular. However, it actually seemed quite appropriate.

Rumbling filled the air as Patriarch Reliance exploded with all of his power. Normally speaking, that in and of itself wouldn't have caused the old man to pause. However, it was at this point that the old man noticed numerous beams of light radiating off of Patriarch Reliance. Instantly, his face fell, as if he had just remembered something. He appeared to be both shocked and terrified of the beams of light, and did everything he could to avoid them. As a result, he could proceed no further.

Naruto didn't even look back, nor did he slow down. In the blink of an eye, he was upon Yi Fazi. He clenched his fist, his eyes flickering with killing intent, and then began to punch, intent on completely destroying the defenseless Yi Fazi.

Yi Fazi's heart was pounding. In his own Realm, he had an incredibly high position. Were that not the case, he would never have qualified to come to the Ninth Mountain and Sea for a trial by fire, let alone have a Dao Protector to guard him.

However, his experience couldn't possibly compare to Naruto's, nor was he a match for him in terms of viciousness. Yi Fazi couldn't imagine all of the various things that Naruto had experienced.

In this moment of critical danger, Yi Fazi's expression suddenly turned to one of madness. He bit down on the tip of his tongue, then spit out a mouthful of blood, which transformed into a huge, blood-colored lake that spun toward Naruto.

When the lake came into contact with Naruto's fist, it simply evaporated, turning into a blood-colored mist that quickly faded away. As for the fist… it passed directly through the mist to slam into Yi Fazi's chest.

A massive boom rang out, accompanied by cracking sounds. Blood sprayed out of Yi Fazi's mouth as his chest caved in. As he flopped backward, he felt as if there were 123 bursts of energy exploding within him. In the blink of an eye, he exploded.

However, after he exploded, Naruto frowned as he saw all of the bits of blood and gore form back together in midair. Terrifying ripples of power exploded out.

"Naruto! I'm gonna kill you! KILL YOU!

"You destroyed my favorite magical body! I'm going to take you… and refine you into a new magical body for myself! Naruto, I want you dead, DEAD, DEEAAD!"

Howls that seemed to originate from hell itself rang out from the reforming body, filled with boundless rancor and insanity.

As the words echoed out, the shattered flesh rapidly congealed back together, materializing into something that didn't look like Yi Fazi had moments ago, but rather…

A three-headed creature with a long, undulating tail. It looked like neither a human nor a Demon!

The first head looked like Yi Fazi's, the second was half-python, halfhuman, vicious and fierce. The third head was completely snake-like, complete with a flicking, forked tongue.

"Naruto," he cried in a shocking, piercing voice. "I'm gonna tear you to shreds! I'll baptize myself in your blood to complete my Immortal foundation!"

When Naruto saw the reformed Yi Fazi, his eyes widened. Li Ling'er also saw him, and her heart began to thump.

Naruto's mind thrummed as he looked at Yi Fazi. He had never seen any entity such as this before. He had seen Demons, things like mountains or rivers personified, but those were true Greater Demons.

But he had never seen anything at all that looked like this. It was like a beast, but not. Like a cultivator, but not.

Even more shocking… Naruto realized that the Demon Sealing Jade in his bag of holding was suddenly vibrating at a frequency unlike anything he had ever experienced before.

Those vibrations even exceeded what he had felt when he had acquired the Fifth Hex, or when he had encountered the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer.

It was as if an enmity and hatred that could not be wiped away with the passage of time was suddenly exploding out from the Demon Sealing Jade with incredible intensity.

"A Lower Realms rebel! Bloodline of the Zheng Clan! When we Demon Sealers encounter someone like this, he MUST DIE!

"Die. Die. DIE! DIEEE!" Naruto's mind rumbled with the ancient voice of the Demon Sealing Jade. An intense murderous aura erupted out from his Demon Sealer Immortal meridian, which immediately began to rotate.

Apparently, if Naruto did not slaughter this so-called Lower Realms rebel, then his Demon Sealer Immortal meridian would no longer approve of him!

This was an intense madness and hatred that Naruto had never felt before in his entire life.

Almost as soon as Yi Fazi's true appearance was made manifest, the old man who was tangled up with Patriarch Reliance suddenly went berserk. "Fool! IMBECILE! Y-y-you… dammit, you already lost! Why didn't you just go back right away! Why would you possibly be so idiotic as to reveal your true form here! Dammit! DAMMIT! You people from the Zheng Clan are all MORONS!"

He appeared to be completely enraged, and was trembling all over. In addition to the rage on his face, there was also terror and anxiety. It was as if Yi Fazi revealing this form would cause a Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering catastrophe.

In the same moment that Yi Fazi revealed his body, a howl could be heard coming from the Hebi Clan's ancestral mansion on the Ninth Mountain. That howl instantly echoed out to fill the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Not everyone could hear it, though. Only Dao Realm experts were able

to detect the shrill and abrupt call.

It was a sound that hadn't been heard for a very, very long time!

The shocking cry caused the faces all of the Dao Realm Patriarchs in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to flicker.

That was especially true of the Three Great Daoist Societies. Instantly, all of their Dao Realm experts flew out, their faces serious and even nervous.

The entire Hebi Clan on the Ninth Mountain was equally shaken. Their Dao

Realm experts began to pant as they charged out toward the rear of the Hebi Clan ancestral mansion, where… at the peak of the Ninth Mountain, was a celestial pond!

Its waters were as clear as glass, and were covered by wisps of white mist. However, at the bottom of the pond, nine bronze cauldrons were visible. Each of the cauldrons emanated an air of extreme ancientness, as if they had existed within the stream of time for an indescribable length of time.

In the center of the nine cauldrons, shockingly… was an enormous Xuanwu turtle.

That Xuanwu turtle and those nine cauldrons were not items that belonged to the Hebi Clan.

In fact, you could say that they did not belong to any clan or sect at all. They belonged… to the Ninth Mountain!

Any clan or sect who became the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea would have control of them!

The Xuanwu turtle's back bristled with sharp spikes, each one of which was covered by countless magical symbols. It looked incredibly fierce as it sat there, its back just barely protruding out of the water. For years, it had remained in that exact position, unmoving, as if it were a statue. However, moments ago, the gigantic Xuanwu turtle had suddenly moved! A tremor ran through it as it rose up and howled, a terrifying howl that echoed out into the starry sky.

Everything shook, and the pond water seethed. The nine cauldrons began to shake.

The Dao Realm experts of the Hebi Clan were all getting incredibly nervous. They looked at the howling Xuanwu turtle, and their faces fell.

The howl seemed to indicate that the Xuanwu turtle was enduring indescribable pain.

"What happened! Wh-why is the Xuanwu turtle howling as if in pain!?"

"Could it be that someone has made an incursion into our Hebi Clan?!"

"No, I don't think so. Now that I think about it, there's a legend in the

Ninth Mountain…."

Even as the Dao Realm experts were quivering in shock, suddenly, an enormous eye appeared in the sky above the Ninth Mountain!

Within that eye could just barely be seen the image of an old man sitting cross-legged in meditation.

In the instant the eye appeared, the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea trembled.

An ancient voice suddenly echoed out from within the eye: "Outsiders have entered the Ninth Mountain and Sea! Comply with the ancient treaty of the Mountain and Sea Realm Alliance! Slaughter the Outsiders!"

Chapter 1023: The Mountain and Sea Realm Alliance!

—–

Note from Deathblade: The following is Er Gen's note, not mine….

Note from Er Gen: If all goes as planned, I'll return home tonight.

However, my daughter's tests at the hospital haven't been finished.

There are still some more things that need to be checked out. However, unless something unforeseen happens, I'll be home tomorrow night, which means I'll return to my normal schedule the day after. Thank you everyone, I hope you can understand.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1024

Chapter 1024 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1024: A Paragon Slaughters a Dao Protector!

Almost as soon as the sound echoed out, all of the Dao Realm experts in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were shaken. At the same time, a shocking image appeared in their minds.

It was an image of the general location Naruto currently occupied in the Ruins of Immortality!

Obviously, the image was a form of guidance, telling the Dao Realm experts that the Outsiders… were in the Ruins of Immortality!

In the blink of an eye, roughly half of the Dao Realm experts suddenly stepped out into the starry sky and began to speed in that direction. Namikaze Shoudao was one of them. He and the experts from the Three Great Daoist Societies were among the first to head toward the Ruins of Immortality.

On Planet North Reed, the Patriarch and others from the Li Clan also headed in the direction of the location of the image they had seen.

This sudden turn of events shocked them all to the core, and was clearly not a plot by the Hebi Clan. This matter… was momentous. Not even the Hebi Clan would have the gall to scheme in this way.

At the same moment in which the Dao Realm experts employed their top speed to head toward the Ruins of Immortality, the old man who was facing off with Patriarch Reliance felt his scalp go numb, and his face go pale. He was well aware of the danger they were now in because of Yi Fazi revealing his true form.

"Moron! Imbecile!" the old man raged inwardly. "Accursed, Heavendamned Zheng Clan! You were all like this back then, and now this kid is the same! Fool! Moron!" At the same time, he was extremely apprehensive and nervous. He knew all too well what would happen after Yi Fazi revealed his true form. He also knew that even though only nine mountains remained of the Immortal World, and that it was no longer the grand entity which ruled over 3,000 Lower Realms… even still, the Paragon Immortal Realm still held powerful entities that caused his scalp to go numb.

The old man was also well aware of the deep-seated and complex hatred that the people from the Paragon Immortal Realm harbored against the other two major forces from that ancient war. However, even more importantly, he knew that what the Paragon Immortal Realm hated more than anything else was not those two other powers, but rather… all of the Lower Realms which rebelled against the Immortal World in the war!

The Spiritstar Realm was one of those Lower Realms!

The old man gnashed his teeth and completely ignored Yi Fazi. He backed up rapidly, waving his hand to cause the ship to appear. As soon as he set foot inside, he turned the ship around and began to flee.

He intended to employ the fastest speed possible to escape from this world before any of the other cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea could react to his presence. Based on the level of his cultivation base, he could already sense the auras of numerous powerful experts flying in his direction.

Those people, he could afford to ignore. However, he could also sense that somewhere out there, there was an even more fearsome existence that permeated the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"The Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea… Hebi Tian! That moron Yi Fazi really screwed things up this time!" The old man's face was grim, and he gritted his teeth as he sent the ship flying forward. Then he bit the tip of his tongue, then spit out some blood, even burning some of his longevity to achieve a temporary burst of speed. He ripped through the starry sky at incredible speed, piercing out into the void. In a flash, he was on the verge of merging into the void itself.

It was at this point that, deep within the Ruins of Immortality, in what seemed to be an ordinary Immortal's cave, a white-robed woman sat cross-legged in meditation. She slowly opened her eyes, and they glinted with icy cold light.

It was a coldness that encompassed hatred, rage, and the desire to kill. She slowly lifted her right hand and waved her finger toward the void.

That finger caused an illusory thread to snake out into the distance. In the blink of an eye, it pierced through the entire Ruins of Immortality, slashing through the void toward the old man and his ship.

The old man hadn't noticed anything strange happening, and was just on the verge of disappearing, when all of a sudden, his face fell. He was about to turn to look behind him when… his head flew off of his shoulders and blood sprayed up like a geyser.

The thread, like a long strand of hair, flashed past and then disappeared without a trace.

The old man's eyes went wide and his head tumbled through the void, causing his view of the world around him to spin about. He was baffled about what had happened until the moment he died, when he suddenly realized the truth.

"Para… gon…." The old man's head transformed into ash along with his body.

The ship was now no longer capable of merging into the void, and gradually became visible again. Patriarch Reliance glanced at it and then gobbled it up. After he swallowed it, a tremor ran through him. He looked at the vanishing strand of hair, then peered deep into the Ruins of Immortality, his expression somewhat blank.

He suddenly seemed to have recalled something important from the distant past, but no matter how much he tried to think about it, everything was vague and blurry.

Naruto also saw the old man die, and his heart trembled. Then he looked into the depths of the Ruins of Immortality, and recalled that woman in the white robes.

When Yi Fazi saw his Dao Protector die, his scalp went numb, his mind filled with roaring, and his expression was one of fear. He had never had any sense of awe regarding the Nine Mountains and Seas, but now… he was absolutely terrified.

"W-what… what power was that? It actually killed my Dao Protector in one blow!" Yi Fazi was panting, and his eyes were wide as his heart pounded loudly.

All of a sudden, numerous legends regarding this place began to rise up in his mind. He began to shiver, and slowly backed up. The only thing on his mind now was to flee. All of his surging power and momentum from before now collapsed and faded away.

Naruto's eyes flickered. For the moment, he didn't even think about Li Ling'er. Considering Yi Fazi's true form, as well as the words which had just been spoken, along with the intense killing intent from the Demon Sealing Jade, there was no way Naruto was going to allow him to get away. There were too many things he wanted to know, answers… that Yi Fazi could provide!

Naruto didn't even pay attention to the opportunity Patriarch Reliance now had to escape. He instantly flashed through the air in pursuit of Yi Fazi.

Now that Yi Fazi had changed form, he had experienced an increase in both cultivation base and speed. In a short moment, he was quite a distance away. Rumbling filled the air as he also sped away at top speed.

He was scared, and the main thing he was concerned about was escaping Naruto. Then he would find a secluded place where he could figure out a way to return home. At the moment, he had no idea how he would do that. However, his Dao Protector was dead, and he had no desire to end up the same. Trembling, he screamed inwardly.

"Dad will definitely sense that my Dao Protector is dead! He'll come save me! All I have to do is find a place to hide, and Dad will eventually find me!

"Damned Immortal World. Screw this place! Why couldn't it have been completely destroyed all those years ago!?

"And then there's that damned Naruto. I'm not such a bad guy, why does he have to push things so far!?" Cursing inwardly, Yi Fazi increased his speed. Naruto chased him, and the two of them proceeded deeper into the Ruins of Immortality.

Patriarch Reliance blinked a few times. Looking enraged, he made to follow Naruto, but actually flew slower and slower. At the same time, his voice grew louder and louder.

"Stop running! The Patriarch is definitely going to catch you!

"Still running!? You're really pissing me off! I'm gonna chase you down with all my might!

"I'm mad as hell now!" As he roared, Patriarch Reliance's beady eyes darted back and forth. Eventually, Naruto disappeared off into the distance, whereupon Patriarch Reliance did an about-face, employing his top speed to flee in a different direction.

The parrot and meat jelly were still on top of him, as was Li Ling'er. They watched in shock as Patriarch Reliance took to flight.

After a few breaths of time, Patriarch Reliance used some unknown method to appear in another area of the Ruins of Immortality. Then, he shook the continent on his back, causing the parrot and meat jelly, as well as Li Ling'er, to be flung off of him.

"SCREW OFF!" he roared. "From here on out, the Patriarch is footloose and fancy free! Hahaha! Yet again, the Patriarch is the smartest of all. He knows how to take advantage of all opportunities!

"Naruto you little bastard, you just wait! Our business isn't finished!

"I hereby swear that this time, you'll NEVER find me, you son of a biscuit!" Patriarch Reliance was virtually dancing about. He threw his head back and roared. Having tossed Li Ling'er, the parrot, and the meat jelly aside, he then sped off into the distance.

Meanwhile, in another location in the Ruins of Immortality, Naruto's killing intent raged into the Heavens. His cultivation base exploded with power, and the 33 Heavens surrounded him. However, Yi Fazi was moving with incredible speed. Although they were able to fight back and forth a bit, Yi Fazi never slowed down. Nevertheless, under the relentless pursuit, his injuries began to accumulate.

Even so, he used some unknown secret magic that eventually caused his speed to accelerate explosively. There were even many points where he was about to shake Naruto off his trail. However, each time Naruto was also able to use the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex to continuously break his momentum and allow him to make up for lost ground.

Several days of chasing went by. Eventually, they reached an area where a gargantuan floating head rose up just ahead of them.

The head had eyes that looked like black holes, as if someone had dug the eyeballs out in years past. Although it was a complete head, there was actually a huge fissure which split it from the crown of the head down.

Also, a miserable and ancient will seeped out from inside of the head.

As the head neared, an incredible pressure weighed down, forcing Yi Fazi to slow down. When that happened, his face fell.

It was in that instant that Naruto closed in from behind. Lifting his hand, he unleashed the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex.

As soon as he waved his finger, Yi Fazi's body trembled.

"Not good!" At the same time, killing intent erupted in Naruto's eyes. He raised his right hand, causing the Star Plucking Magic to grab toward Yi Fazi.

Yi Fazi threw his head back and howled. Innumerable beams of black light began to emanate off of him, transforming into countless black bats which then shot madly toward Naruto.

Rumbling could be heard as Yi Fazi borrowed the force of the collision and once again shot forward. He was just on the verge of evading the Star Plucking Magic, when Naruto's hand grabbed onto his wings. He wrenched viciously, and Yi Fazi let out a miserable shriek as the wings were ripped off of him. Blood sprayed out of the wounds, and Yi Fazi's face went ashen. He staggered backward, gritting his teeth and speeding away.

Naruto's killing intent hadn't lessened in the least. The Demon Sealing Jade was vibrating more madly than ever as he put the severed wings into his bag of holding. Eyes shining as cold as knives, he once again gave chase.

It was at this same time that the Dao Realm experts began to enter the Ruins of Immortality and search for the Outsiders. The shrill cry of the Xuanwu turtle continued to echo out.

Until all the Outsiders were dead, it would never return to sleep.

Chapter 1024: A Paragon Slaughters a Dao Protector!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1025

Chapter 1025 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1025: Soulsearching Yi Fazi

The Xuanwu turtle's intense cry echoed out through the Ninth Mountain and Sea into the ears of all individuals qualified to hear it. As the Dao Realm experts entered the Ruins of Immortality, a towering killing intent continued to surge through the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Kill the Outsiders! That was the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Although Naruto could not hear the cry of the Xuanwu turtle, the Demon Sealing Jade inside of his bag of holding was vibrating with unprecedented intensity. It emanated a fervent hatred that merged into Naruto. It was as if… the League of Demon Sealers harbored infinite detestation towards all of these so-called Outsiders, a hatred so fierce that it could only be sated by killing any of them that he met!

Naruto was the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, so the feeling was almost overwhelming. However, even without the urging of the Demon Sealing Jade, Naruto would still have chosen to kill Yi Fazi. Naturally, the way that Yi Fazi had provoked him and had acted completely shamelessly ensured that Naruto would never let him go.

Yi Fazi immediately fell back. Waving his hand, he caused the numerous black bats which had appeared moments ago to fill the sky and then descend onto Naruto in an attempt to halt his progress.

Naruto snorted coldly and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Suddenly, a Blood Demon head appeared, so huge that it completely covered Naruto. It shot forward, slamming into the bats, causing miserable shrieks to ring out. In the blink of an eye, the Blood Demon head caused a red glow to spread out, which consumed the bats.

Naruto turned into a red beam of blinding light which pierced through the void of the Ruins of Immortality, pursuing Yi Fazi relentlessly.

Yi Fazi's pale face was filled with an expression of terror and shock. He had known Naruto to be powerful, but this strength… had surpassed anything he could have imagined.

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" Yi Fazi had long since realized that despite revealing his true self, he was still no match for Naruto. His time was up and he couldn't afford to get bogged down here; his Dao Protector was dead, leaving him trembling in fear. He knew that if he was incapable of shaking off Naruto's pursuit, then the only thing that awaited him was… death!

To be killed in body and soul!

Yi Fazi threw his heads back and roared. His eyes were bright red, and although his wings had been ripped off, he still had three heads left. As the heads roared, black rings of light shot out from their foreheads.

Three rings of light emanated mysterious glows as he jerked his heads, transforming into light beams that shot toward Naruto.

"Life Force Light!" he cried, performing an incantation gesture, his eyes shining with madness.

As soon as the three black beams of light appeared, the flicker of electricity could be seen in Naruto's right hand. The Lightning Cauldron flickered, and in the same moment that the black beams bore down on him, he looked over at Yi Fazi and suddenly, the two of them switched places. Yi Fazi had no idea what was happening.

The beams of light screeched to a stop right in front of Yi Fazi, causing his scalp to go numb. He could do nothing but stare in shock as Naruto waved his hand, causing tens of thousands of mountains to appear, which rumbled as they smashed down onto Yi Fazi.

"Naruto," he howled, "if you let me go, then I, Yi Fazi, will owe you a huge favor!" He performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then stretched both hands out wide. Immediately, the three beams of black light twisted around, transforming into a black tempest that fought back against the tens of thousands of mountains. At the same time, Yi Fazi spun, changing directions and shooting off like lighting.

Naruto didn't say a word. When he saw Yi Fazi changing directions, his eyes glittered, and the Lightning Cauldron once again appeared. Electricity danced, and yet, black light surrounded Yi Fazi, fighting back against the transposition power. In a rare turn of events… the Lightning Cauldron failed!

"Eee?!" said Naruto. Yi Fazi then exploded with speed, transforming into a colorful streak of light that immediately sped off into the surrounding ruins and corpses floating around this part of the Ruins of Immortality. Naruto gave a cold harrumph, waving his right hand and pointing toward the fleeing Yi Fazi.

"Paragon Bridge!" As soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, rumbling filled the air. A Heaven-shaking, Earth-rocking bridge suddenly appeared. As it rumbled down into the Ruins of Immortality, boundless ripples spread out, blocking Yi Fazi's path. Yi Fazi's was thoroughly and completely shocked, and he suddenly stopped in place. Even the mere ripples caused him to cough up a massive mouthful of blood. A look of madness filled his face.

"Naruto!" He let out a shrill cry, gnashing his teeth as he performed another incantation gesture. Black light flickered around him, and his three heads all screamed something like a magic curse. Behind him, a gigantic, illusory statue appeared. Shockingly, the statue… depicted an enormous black python. As soon as it appeared, it emanated a terrifying aura.

Apparently, this entity was some sort of spirit that had existed in this Realm in previous times. The sense of ancientness it exuded was shocking, and caused the Ruins of Immortality to tremble.

Gradually, a murderous aura built up and then exploded out from the statue.

"Ancestor, I humbly request your presence!" roared Yi Fazi. The statue rumbled, and as it grew more and more corporeal, it opened its mouth and lashed out toward the Paragon Bridge.

A boom could be heard, and the Paragon Bridge trembled and collapsed. In that same moment, though, the illusory python statue was also shattered. A massive shock wave spread out in all directions, causing innumerable ruins and corpses to be blasted away. Naruto was forced backward several paces, his face flickering in shock.

Blood sprayed out of Yi Fazi's mouth, and his eyes shone with madness. The python statue might have been destroyed, but Yi Fazi was now surrounded by a gigantic stone egg that completely covered him up as he shot into the distance like a meteor.

His current speed was several times faster than his speed from moments ago.

Just when he seemed on the verge of disappearing, Naruto's killing intent flared. The starstone in his left eye flickered and reappeared in his palm. It then melted into starlight, which rapidly surrounded Naruto as he transformed into a planet.

As soon as the planet appeared, it sped through the void with vastly greater speed than Naruto had used before. It crushed everything in its path, and its surging energy caused everything to shake violently.

Faster and faster, closer and closer to Yi Fazi!

As for Yi Fazi himself, the pressure weighing down on him reduced his own speed. In the space of only ten breaths of time, Naruto in planetform had already caught up with him. In the blink of an eye, the planet slammed into the stone egg that was protecting Yi Fazi.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

A huge rumbling sound rose up into the sky, shaking everything. The stone egg shattered, and Yi Fazi let out a miserable shriek. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and of his three heads, the one that was human-shaped, suddenly exploded.

Yi Fazi trembled violently and staggered backward, crying out in despair, "Dad, save me!"

Even as the sound rang out, he drew upon the flame of his life force to utilize a bizarre magical technique to project his voice through the void and outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm into the Realm from which he had come.

An instant later, a powerful and terrifying pressure began to push down onto the Ruins of Immortality!

At this point, Naruto in planet-form shrank down, transforming into his normal appearance and then walking forward. Coldness radiated off of him as he extended his right index finger.

"Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex, Karmic Hexing!"

The wave of Naruto's finger caused countless Karma Threads to appear around Yi Fazi, Karma Threads that no other person would be able to see. However, Naruto could see them, spreading out and fusing into the void, where they seemed to be about to touch that terrifying pressure which was weighing down.

Before they could, the tip of Naruto's finger descended, and the Karma Threads began to tremble. In the blink of an eye, they retracted, almost as if they had been locked down, and were now incapable of spreading out from Yi Fazi's body.

"NO!" screamed Yi Fazi, his expression one of despair. More blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he backed up further. At the same time, Naruto closed in, eyes flickering with the desire to kill as he waved another finger.

"Demon Sealing, Fifth Hex!"

A rift suddenly appeared in front of Naruto's finger, only a few centimeters long. However, in the instant that it materialized, a terrifying power exploded out toward Yi Fazi. It slammed into his second head, which let out a bloodcurdling scream. Then a rumbling sound could be heard as the head appeared to be swallowed up by the void, and then vanished.

"Don't kill me! Naruto, spare me, and you'll sow good fortune with the Spiritstar Realm! I'll definitely pay you back many times over!

"I'll give you endless cultivation resources, endless power! Anything you want, I'll give it to y–" Yi Fazi's final remaining head was quivering as he pleaded with Naruto. His heart was filled with regret, and his despair had reached the pinnacle.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he walked forward, raised his right hand, and waved it toward Yi Fazi. Yi Fazi's body emitted rumbling sounds as his chest caved in. His right arm exploded into a haze of blood, after which Naruto transformed into a golden roc. He slashed at Yi Fazi with his claws, completely shredding half of his body.

Blood oozed out of Yi Fazi's mouth. However, despite having received such a grievous injury, he was still alive. Trembling, vision swimming, he was about to try to flee, when a strange light began to gleam in Naruto's eyes.

He didn't simply want to kill Yi Fazi. More importantly… he wanted to know the Yi Fazi's origin, and the secrets he held within him. Therefore, he was gradually weakening him, and not just killing him outright. Just as Yi Fazi was backing up, Naruto took a step forward and appeared behind him. He lifted his hand, and, eyes gleaming with a strange light… slapped his palm down hard onto the top of Yi Fazi's head.

"Soulsearch!" This was a sinister magical technique he had learned in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect, a way to rifle through the soul and see a person's memories.

Yi Fazi trembled, and his eye bulged as he let out the most bloodcurdling scream he had let out during the entire battle. His body shook violently as indescribable pain wracked him.

At the same time, a tremor ran through Naruto. As he Soulsearched Yi Fazi, memories suddenly appeared in his mind.

"This…." he thought, heart trembling. It was as if he were being struck by uncountable bolts of lightning, all of them exploding in his head and shaking his mind.

Chapter 1025: Soulsearching Yi Fazi

—–

Note from Er Gen (not Deathblade): Back to the normal release schedule. The past few days have been exhausting. Thank you for your understanding, brothers and sisters. Thank you!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1026

Chapter 1026: 33 Realms; Mountain and Sea Tribulation!

As soon as Naruto pushed his hand down onto Yi Fazi's head, his mind filled with rumbling sounds so intense it felt like it would explode. Numerous images and vast amounts of information poured into him from Yi Fazi's brain. Naruto's divine sense fused with Yi Fazi's memories, and he was able to see everything clearly.

He trembled, and began to pant, his eyes shining with disbelief. Although he had prepared himself mentally, he was still profoundly shocked by what he saw in Yi Fazi's memories.

Yi Fazi screamed miserably as he experienced more pain than he had ever experienced before in his life. Never in his dreams could he possibly have imagined that someone who was as important as he was in the Spiritstar Realm would one day be Soulsearched.

He frothed at the mouth, and his bloodshot eyes bulged out dramatically. His body twitched violently as he experienced a sensation like a giant hand rifling through his brain, grabbing things from inside of his head. The pain… was literally impossible to describe!

His screams were enough to cause anyone to seize with terror.

Naruto's hand seem to be exuding an incredibly powerful gravitational force as it latched onto Yi Fazi. No matter how violently Yi Fazi struggled, it was impossible for him to escape Naruto's grasp.

At the moment, Naruto had no time to even pay attention to Yi Fazi's struggling. He panted as he looked at the thoroughly shocking images playing out in front of him.

"This…." he murmured.

He was looking at… an entire world!

In this world, everything was the opposite of how it should be. The sky was below and the earth was above. All of the buildings and mountains and rivers were suspended from up above.

The sun, the heavenly bodies, the moon, were all down below!

If you stood on those heavenly bodies, or on the surface of the sun, and looked up, you would see endless lands, filled with mountains and ancient cities.

Within the cities, statues could be seen, each one depicting a nineheaded python!

Naruto could also see innumerable life forms. Most of them looked just like Yi Fazi, neither completely human nor completely beastly.

There were some that looked like ordinary cultivators. However, Naruto got the feeling that even though they wore that appearance, they were actually just like those other part-human, part-beast beings. The aura they emitted was one of complete brutality and mania. They were cold, with explosive murderous auras.

This… was not any place in the Nine Mountains and Seas.

This was… a world that existed outside of the Nine Mountains and Seas!

Although Naruto had never actually left the Ninth Mountain and Sea, now that he could clearly see and sense Yi Fazi's home, he could tell that the natural law and the undulations in that world were different than what he knew.

It was a brutal place that was diametrically opposed to his own world. It was as if in this other world, slaughter was the most powerful natural law.

"What is this place?!" he thought, gasping as his mind spun. Earlier, he had been certain that Yi Fazi's origin was mysterious, but now that he could see this other world with his own eyes, he was absolutely certain that Yi Fazi… was most definitely not a being from the Nine Mountains and Seas.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto caught sight of that other world, information from Yi Fazi's memories suddenly began to crash into Naruto's mind. They exploded thunderously inside of him, threatening to turn what he knew of the world upside down.

"In ancient times, the Higher Realm had Immortals!

"Where there were Immortals, Paragons were born among them. Because of the position of that Realm, and because of its incredible power, it came to be known as… the Paragon Immortal Realm!

"The Paragon Immortal Realm, the first Realm in all the Heavens and the starry sky!

"Beneath it were 3,000 other Realms that relied on the Paragon Immortal Realm to survive. From generation to generation, they worshiped the Immortal World. Countless living beings practiced cultivation with the hopes of being able to fly up and enter the Immortal World.

"Everyone sought to reach Immortal Ascension!

"Spirits Realm, Star Realm, Waterwood Realm, Deva Realm, Spiritstar Realm, Torrentfall Realm…. 3,000 Realms, all of which bowed in worship to the Paragon Immortal Realm!

"Anyone who descended from the Paragon Immortal Realm to one of those other 3,000 Lower Realms would be like a god!

"Epochs came and went, and after an incalculable amount of time passed, catastrophe struck….

"Everything that happened during that catastrophe was recorded on a huge mural that had existed for eons in the Spiritstar Realm…. On that day, in one part of the starry sky nine suns appeared, which dragged an enormous, colorful statue to sweep across the skies. The statue depicted a man whose hair was eternally white! 1

"On that day, in another part of the starry sky, nine butterflies appeared, dragging an enormous coffin that crushed the void. That coffin was carved with the depictions of all living things!

"Both of those powers were strong enough to rival the Paragon Immortal Realm, and make all of the 3,000 Lower Realms tremble in fear.

"The catastrophe had just begun… a war began in which all of the 3,000 Lower Realms turned traitor. At the critical juncture, they rebelled against the countless epochs in which the Paragon Immortal Realm had weighed down on them. They joined with those other powerful forces to destroy the Paragon Immortal Realm!

"In that war… the Immortal World was shattered. Countless members of the Immortal bloodlines died, and numerous ancient Immortals perished. The powerful Allheaven Dao Immortals perished, and the nine Emperors died. The only survivors were three great Paragons, who used some unknown magical technique to form nine mountains and nine seas that became the broken remnants of the Immortal World. 2

"By the time the war ended, more than ninety percent of the 3,000 Lower Realms were destroyed. In the end, only 33 Realms remained, which rose to prominence and glory, acting like 33 locks, sealing the Immortal World completely!

"Later, those 33 Realms took to killing Immortals for pleasure, as a hobby. People who killed Immortals and were baptized in their blood would become famous in all of the 33 Realms!"

Naruto trembled as all of the information poured into his mind. He didn't realize it, but as this was happening, Yi Fazi gradually grew weaker and stopped struggling.

Fissures began to spread out over his head, and the flame of his life force was gradually being extinguished. His soul was beginning to collapse, and his life force was being exterminated.

Gradually, his body grew cold, and his eyes turned gray.

Cracking sounds could be heard as the information in Naruto's mind turned into something like a windstorm. Unaware of what he was even doing, and unable to control his own power, he instantly crushed Yi Fazi's head into bits.

When the head exploded, Yi Fazi's body fell down into the void and gradually became a part of the Ruins of Immortality. Naruto lowered his hand and made a grasping motion, collecting a ring that had belonged to Yi Fazi.

In the moment that Yi Fazi died, the screaming Xuanwu turtle suddenly quieted down. Its body no longer trembled, and it once again sank down into the pond, unmoving.

The water in the celestial pond returned to normal. No ripples could be seen on its surface, which once again resembled a mirror.

The cultivators of the Hebi Clan breathed sighs of relief. At the same time, Hebi Tian's voice echoed out into the minds of the Dao Realm experts in the Ruins of Immortality.

"Fellow Daoists. Ladies and gentlemen. Please be informed… the

Outsiders have been hunted down and killed."

The massive waves of shock that had filled the Ninth Mountain and Sea now faded away. The Dao Realm experts who were already in the Ruins of Immortality stopped in place. After looking around at the mysterious ruins around them, they turned and left.

Namikaze Shoudao hesitated for a moment, and then also chose to leave.

The Ruins of Immortality returned to normal. Everything quieted down. The eternally drifting corpses continued their neverending journeys.

Deep within the ruins, Naruto looked up, and his eyes were blank. Currently, all of the information he had gleaned from the Soulsearch swirled around inside his mind.

After a long moment, a complex expression appeared on his face.

Although he didn't completely believe everything he had acquired from Yi Fazi's memories, based on what he already knew, as well as his powers of reasoning, he was eighty percent confident that most of it was real.

"So, is that really the history of the Nine Mountains and Seas?" he murmured.

"The Paragon Immortal Realm…. That explains some of the strange things I heard back on Planet South Heaven.

"Immortals…." His eyes began to shine with a bright light.

"The League of Demon Sealers must have something to do with the Nine Mountains and Seas," he muttered. "In fact, there is a high likelihood that they also have something to do with those three great Paragons!" With that, he lifted his head and looked up into the starry sky.

"33 Realms, standing guard outside…. Looking down upon the Nine Mountains and Seas….

"33 Realms, 33 Heavens…." As he followed this train of thought, he recalled something that he had heard from both the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer and the Eighth Generation Demon Sealer's jade slip….

"Mountain and Sea Tribulation….

"Each generation of the League of Demon Sealers must attempt to transcend the Mountain and Sea Tribulation. Clearly, that is the tribulation destined for each generation of the League of Demon Sealers.

In other words… they want to fight their way through the 33 Realms, slaughter them to break through to freedom!" Naruto took a deep breath. His mind trembled for a long time before he finally calmed himself. He knew that despite knowing about this secret, with the low level of his cultivation base, it would be impossible for him to completely understand it, nor do anything about it.

"The Echelon…." he thought, eyes shining brightly. Finally, he looked around, picked a direction, and began to fly. He took all of his doubts and speculations and buried them deep inside. He knew that the most important thing right now was to leave the deadly and mysterious Ruins of Immortality. He needed to get to the Ninth Sea, and the Nine Seas God World.

"I need to go to the Nine Seas God World to collect the reward owed to me by the Three Great Daoist Societies. Then, in the Three Great Daoist Societies, I can grow stronger, step into the Ancient Realm… and then begin to search for my way into the Dao Realm!

"If every generation of the League of Demon Sealers has to face the Mountain and Sea Tribulation, then I need to continue to get more powerful. Eventually, the day will come… when I will make my own attempt to break through the veil that covers the Nine Mountains and Seas! I will make my own determination… of whether the information in Yi Fazi's memories is true or false!" His eyes shone with the gleam of obsession, and his trembling heart gradually returned to normal.

He turned into a bright beam of light that sped through the Ruins of Immortality. As he traveled, he looked at the ruins and corpses floating about, and thought about the legends regarding the Ruins of

Immortality. Supposedly… they were a piece of the Immortal World that broke off during that huge war.

He flew along silently, divine sense spread out in all directions. He carefully avoided any dangerous locations, and was frequently forced to stop in place while various dilapidated statues or other gigantic creatures passed by. At the same time, images from ancient times rose up in his mind, images similar to what he was currently seeing.

Time passed. Soon, half a month had gone by.

During that time, Naruto passed through the center of the Ruins of Immortality. At times, he flew along with explosive speed. Other times he slowed to a crawl. At one point, he turned his head to find that, not too far off in the distance, was an area that was completely black, filled with countless weeds. Many of them… were actually rare Immortal plants that were extinct in the outside world!

As soon as he saw that area, he felt like his scalp would explode.

"Well if it isn't…." His eyes widened.

Regarding the man with white hair, I suggest you click the link to the following baidu image search, look at the search terms, and then check out the first few picture results…. I'm not saying that the person in those images is being referenced here, but it's certainly something that would have crossed the minds of Er Gen fans. Alternative search with more art here. ↩ "Allheaven" could be transliterated as "Luotian." Luotian 罗天 is a concept from real Daoist mythology. Among all the various heavens that exist, it is the absolute highest heaven. Luo 罗 is a character which can be translated a lot of ways, but in this situation basically means "net." The idea is that this heaven stretches out to cover over all the other heavens like a net. However, instead of calling it Net Heaven (sounds like a bad internet cafe or perhaps a fishing shop), I will use

"Allheaven." Incidentally, I've also translated the character luo 罗 as

"sieve" in the past, most notably in the name of the Black Sieve Sect" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1027

Chapter 1027: Stirring Up a Sea of Insects!

It was a land covered with endless grasses that seemed very different from the first time Naruto had laid eyes on it. Most of the grasses here were violet; they rose up tall and swayed back and forth gently.

Rustling sounds floated across the land, but other than that, everything was silent.

Nestled amongst all the violet grass could be seen a variety of medicinal plants. There were Sun Blossoms, Immortality Illumination Vines, and other similar plants. There were even some types of plants rarer than those.

You could say that this place… was like an indescribably valuable medicinal plant garden.

However, Naruto would never be able to forget how, although this quiet and peaceful place might look like a treasure trove to any other cultivator, it was actually filled with countless terrifying black beetles!

The black earth… was actually black because it was covered by the beetles. That was not even to mention the fact that… the entire area actually rested on the back of a shockingly gigantic black beetle.

It wasn't just Naruto. Even someone in the Dao Realm would be so scared their scalp would tingle, and they would be forced to avoid the entire area.

Almost as soon as Naruto caught sight of the land of violet grass, the grass swayed so much that the ground was visible in some places, and it seemed to be writhing and undulating.

Naruto's face flickered, and he instantly lifted his right hand and performed an incantation gesture. Numerous sealing marks appeared on him, stacking up one on top of another, forcing his cultivation base down at rapid speed.

Within a few breaths of time, a droning sound rose up from the land. Next, the ground itself looked as if a layer of it were peeling upward as innumerable vicious, black beetles flew up into the air.

As soon as they flew up, they transformed into something like a windstorm that swept screaming up into the air. Their target was none other than Naruto, hovering there in midair.

Apparently, there was something on him that aroused extreme aggressiveness on their part.

Naruto's face fell. He had almost forgotten that these black beetles behaved in such a way. The higher the cultivation base, the more sensitive they were, and as of this moment, Naruto was vastly more powerful than he had been the first time he had come here. After considering it for a moment, Naruto decided that it was only natural for the black beetles to be able to sense him despite the fact that he wasn't very close.

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto immediately fell into retreat. At the same time, he continuously sealed and suppressed his cultivation base until its aura was similar to the Chakra Condensation stage. However, even then, the black beetles didn't stop. In fact, there were more and more, vast amounts that caused Naruto's scalp to go numb, and his mind to spin.

"Could it be that they're still holding a grudge?" Shocked, he quickly retreated, but they continued to chase after him, crimson eyes filled with hatred and madness.

"Something's off!" he thought, heart pounding. Based on his previous experiences with them, he was sure that he was far enough away that they shouldn't be continuing to pursue him.

His face flickered as he watched the black beetles getting closer and closer. All of a sudden, he realized that virtually all of the black beetles' eyes were fixed, not on him, but rather… his bag of holding!

Gaping in shock during this critical moment, he quickly sent his divine sense into his bag of holding. However, everything seemed normal. There was nothing different about it at all. In fact, the black beetle remaining from the group he had captured the first time he was here was covered in sealing marks, and had not awakened.

"Is it because of this thing?" He quickly pulled out the beetle and threw it toward the incoming army, but… they didn't stop charging toward him.

"Why exactly are they acting like this!?" His face fell, and he lifted his right hand, causing his cultivation base to surge. The power of Immortal meridians exploded out toward the black beetles as he directly fought back against them. Booms rang out, and numerous black beetles died. However, the vast majority were merely wounded by his divine abilities, not killed. In fact, it seemed to just make them angrier, causing them to attack him even more frantically. Furthermore, he saw that even more black beetles were flying up, beetles that were similar to the Immortal Realm and the Ancient Realm. His heart skipped a beat.

"No, there's definitely something in my bag of holding that's attracting them. But what?!" Without hesitation, he began to seal all of the objects in his bag of holding, preventing their auras from emanating out. At the same time, he fell backward in retreat. Eventually, he sealed a certain ring, and all of a sudden, the black beetles stopped in mid-flight.

Then they flew around for a bit, as if they were searching for something.

They looked very irascible.

When he saw this happening, Naruto broke into a cold sweat. Eventually, the black beetles flew back to their original position in the medicinal plant garden, where they landed, once again making the ground look as if it were black.

Naruto hovered in midair. Not even taking time to wipe the sweat from his brow, he stared at the ring in his bag of holding. That was the ring… he had recently acquired from Yi Fazi!

"Is it this thing? Or something inside of it?" Eyes flickering, he pulled the ring out. He had only given it a cursory examination when he had acquired it. It was actually a ring of holding, and required significantly powerful divine sense to open. Naruto was being extra careful due to the fact that he was in the Ruins of Immortality, and had planned to wait until after he had left before opening it up. Now, though, he decided that even if it took significant effort with divine sense, that it was definitely time to open it.

Most of the holding-type treasures that Naruto had seen were bags of holding. It was actually his first time seeing a ring exactly like this one. After a moment, he slipped the ring onto his finger and then sent his divine sense into it.

His divine sense sense instantly went as wild as horse with the reins loose as it was sucked into the ring. After only a moment of trying to open it, Naruto felt like he couldn't take it any longer.

"Don't tell me that because this ring is from another world where the natural laws and cultivation systems are different, I have to expend much more divine sense to open it!?" Frowning, he took out some medicinal pills, swallowed them, and then spent another hour working with the ring. Finally, after pouring vast amounts of divine sense into the ring, cracking sounds began to echo out in all directions.

Next, everything inside of the ring of holding became visible to Naruto. After only a brief look, his eyes began to shine brightly.

There were many things inside, and at first glance, Naruto had no way of knowing which one was causing the black beetles to act so aggressively. At first he thought it might be the medicinal pills inside the ring. Naruto saw many types of pills that Yi Fazi had consumed during their chase. One by one, he took the pills out and then looked over at the black beetles in the medicinal plant garden.

Although he didn't know the names of any of the pills, based on his skill in the Dao of alchemy, it only took a whiff for him to understand them. The result was that he was more and more moved.

These medicinal pills were clearly concocted based using a completely different system of alchemy than that which existed in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, which led to quite a bit of thought on Naruto's part. After a bit more searching through the ring of holding, he found an incense stick.

"An incense stick? Don't tell me this is what I'm looking for?" The incense stick was surrounded by a five-colored glow, which Naruto couldn't identify. However, when he pulled it out of the ring of holding, there was no reaction at all from the black beetles.

He frowned, and then sniffed the incense stick. He only took one whiff, but in that instant, his Immortal meridians surged as if they had been intensely stimulated. In the blink of an eye, all of the Immortal Chakra inside of him was sent spinning.

"What kind of incense is this!" he thought. "One whiff caused my cultivation base to erupt…." He scanned himself with divine sense, and could tell that in this very short period of time, his cultivation base… had progressed significantly.

His eyes shone brightly as he looked at the incense stick, which he now realized was a valuable treasure.

"Incense sticks are meant to be burned. I wonder what would happen if burned this one…?" His heart trembled, but now was not the time to perform such an experiment. He carefully put the incense stick back into the ring of holding, looking very satisfied.

"This incense stick is definitely extraordinary," he murmured. "It must be a precious treasure useful for practicing cultivation." Next, he looked back into the ring of holding at one of his favorite things in the world, which, in his opinion, were the least likely thing to attract the black beetles.

They were black stones, stones that contained natural law. They looked very much like Immortal jade, each piece emanating a mysterious glow, and an aura of life.

Obviously, this was a type of cultivation resource from Yi Fazi's home world, something akin to Immortal jade or spirit stones.

Naruto had no way to assess their value, but this ring of holding was far, far larger than any of Naruto's bags of holding, leaving plenty of room to collect the stones.

In fact, there were at least 1,000,000 of the black spirit-immortal stones.

Naruto took one out to look at it closely, and was even more assured that his previous speculations about them were correct.

However, in almost the same moment that he took out the black spiritimmortal stone, all of a sudden, the land in the medicinal plant garden seemed to explode. Droning sounds filled the air as countless black beetles, even more than before, flew into the air. They turned hungrily toward Naruto and then began to fly toward him at top speed.

Naruto was so frightened he started trembling. With a final glance at the black spirit-immortal stone, he unhesitatingly sealed it back in the ring of holding, and then retreated at top speed.

The black beetles continued to fly around the area for a few hours before slowly and reluctantly returning to their places in the medicinal plant garden.

"So, that's what was causing it!" Heart pounding with fear, he looked at the spirit-immortal stones in the ring of holding, and his eyes began to shine with a strange glow. Finally, he once again began to examine the ring of holding.

There were jade slips, one of which Naruto took out and examined, after which his eyes went wide.

"This is…." The jade slip was imprinted with information. In fact, after further examination, he found that all of them were similarly imprinted. Each one was some type of record, almost the type of receipt a mortal would get at a bank. Essentially… they were notes that allowed one to withdraw spirit-immortal stones at pre-specified locations.

Each one of the slips was worth 1,000,000 spirit-immortal stones, and there were fully a hundred or more inside the ring of holding. After getting a basic idea of how much the jade slips were worth, Naruto's eyes went red. All of a sudden, he was extremely interested in the place that Yi Fazi came from.

At the moment, though, he was most interested in the medicinal plant garden.

Looking over at the medicinal plants, he couldn't help with palpitate with the same eagerness he had the first time he came here.

"When opportunity knocks…!" he thought, rubbing the ring of holding. When he thought about the black stones, his eyes glowed with anticipation. This time, he was prepared to make a killing!

It wouldn't be like the first time, where he only managed to grab a handful of medicinal plants. This time, he would make significant gains, both in terms of medicinal plants, and black beetles!

That was especially true considering that back in the clan on Planet East Victory, Pill Elder had given him the first volume of the Laws of the Dao of Insects. Having studied it a bit already, Naruto was confident that he could subjugate some of the black beetles.

"I'm going to subdue over a thousand of them…." he thought, licking his lips. Then he thought about what it would look like if he had a trump card of over a thousand black beetles, charging in attack, and he got even more excited.

—–

The last time Naruto was in this area was in chapter 883

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1028

Chapter 1028: Stealing My Business?!

Naruto's eyes flickered as he slapped his bag of holding to produce the black feather, an item he could use to change his aura or appearance, and which he viewed as a crucial part of his inventory.

However, he was also aware that these black beetles had unique characteristics. The last time he was here, it was only by using the feather and working with the meat jelly that he was able to grab a handful of medicinal plants from the area.

Naruto knew that the aura-changing abilities of the feather would only work on the black beetles for a short period of time before becoming ineffective.

"Unless there's some way to continuously distract them, then the effect of the feather can be maximized," he thought, eyes glittering. He had long since noticed that the land mass which held the medicinal plant garden did not remain in a fixed location within the void. Rather, it floated around, almost as if it were not subject to natural law. In truth, there seemed to be some sort of pattern to its movement.

After a long moment of thought, Naruto's eyes flickered and he flew into the air. After calculating the trajectory of the medicinal plant garden land mass, he flew out ahead of it. Whenever he came across a stretch of ruins floating within the void, he tossed out a sealed black spiritimmortal stone onto it.

"Based on the speed this medicinal plant garden land mass is moving," he murmured, eyes shining brightly, "it should pass by these sets of ruins in the coming days."

He continued on a bit further, planting about ten spirit-immortal stones in various locations. Then he quickly shot back in the direction of the medicinal plant garden land mass and hid near the location where he had planted the first spirit-immortal stone. There, he waited patiently.

Time passed. Soon, after enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, the medicinal plant garden land mass appeared, floating through the void toward the stretch of ruins Naruto was hiding in.

Naruto quickly reviewed his plan, then without any further hesitation, performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed at the sealed spirit-immortal stone. The wave of a finger caused the seal on the spirit-immortal stone to be removed, revealing its aura.

In the moment the aura spread out, the medicinal plant garden land mass trembled, and countless black beetles flew up madly into the air. They transformed into a black windstorm of beetles, tens of thousands in number. Eventually, they took on the shape of a huge hand which shot toward Naruto.

Rumbling filled the air, along with hissing sounds as the black beetles closed in on Naruto. It was at that point that Naruto whipped out the feather and activated it.

Instantly, he changed his appearance to no longer look like a cultivator.

Instead, he looked like a black beetle, with an aura very similar to theirs.

In that moment, the windstorm-like mass of tens of thousands of black beetles shot into the ruins he had been hiding in. Naruto quickly mixed in with the beetles, heart pounding, trying to look just as fierce and vicious as them. He even roared just like they did, trying to imitate them as closely as possible as they began to fight over the spiritimmortal stone.

Moments later, the entire stretch of ruins collapsed under the explosive power of the tens of thousands of black beetles, and was then voraciously consumed.

The cracking sounds that rang out as the beetles chomped up the chunks of stones caused Naruto's heart to thump. From his perspective, not even Fatty's teeth could measure up to their mandibles.

As for the spirit-immortal stone, one of the fastest black beetles managed to consume it, whereupon Naruto observed as it let out agonized shrieks. Black light rose up from it, circling around as… a vague Ghost Eye became visible.

The other black beetles around it looked over with cold insanity in their eyes, as if they wished to charge over, tear it to pieces, and eat it up. However, before they could even move, the black beetle with the Ghost Eye looked up and roared. The mere threat of the roar instantly caused the other black beetles to stand down.

Naruto looked on with surprise. Then, lost in thought, he went along with the army of black beetles as it flew around a few times and then headed back toward the medicinal plant garden land mass.

He remained cautious as he flew along with the beetles. He would occasionally click his mandibles, occasionally roar, all to make him appear to be exactly like the other black beetles. After returning to the medicinal plant garden land mass, he was careful not to attract the suspicion of any of the other black beetles.

When everything quieted down, he remained calmly on the ground, prone, eyes shifting about. Eventually, he slowly began to sidle his way over to an area behind where most of the black beetles were, where a Sun Blossom was growing. A flash of light could be seen as the Sun Blossom suddenly vanished.

Naruto was nervous, but also excited. Afterward, he began to move carefully off in another direction. When he encountered other black beetle, he would click his mandibles and roar, as if reminding the other black beetle that he… was just like them.

Unfortunately, the sound of his roar did not resemble theirs very closely. However, he was an eager study, and constantly imitated them in an effort to sound exactly like they did..

Anyone who knew Naruto and could watch this scene play out would definitely be extremely shocked and feel it was unthinkable. However, Naruto was getting very excited.

"Rich!" he thought. "I'm gonna be rich!" He crawled along past one black beetle after another, first collecting some Immortality Illumination Vines, and then catching sight of a patch of Divine Spirit Grass. Eyes shining brightly, he crawled over.

It was in this manner that Naruto quickly harvested seven or eight different medicinal plants. The glow in his eyes grew brighter and brighter. At one point, he turned around and noticed a tiny violet tree a few dozen meters away.

"Violet Lightning Tree!" he thought, licking his mandibles. He had just begun to crawl over when, all of a sudden, one of the nearby black beetles looked up coldly at him, as if it were hesitating about something.

Naruto froze nervously. He knew that one cry from the black beetle could instantly incite all of the other surrounding black beetles into a frenzy.

In order to prevent them crying out an alarm in such a way, Naruto had been pretending to be even more fierce and savage than them. He had taken to roaring at them threateningly, as if he were on the verge of attacking them.

Currently the black beetle in front of him was shaking as if in rage, and its expression became extremely fierce as it looked at Naruto.

Naruto glared back, taking a few threatening steps forward and roaring.

A long moment later, the black beetle backed down, making room for Naruto to pass. Heart pounding, he slowly walked past the beetle, then hurried over to the tiny violet tree. A glow instantly surrounded the tree, and then it vanished.

The disappearance of the tree apparently tipped the scales in some way, so that the black beetles finally noticed that something was going on. The whole land mass trembled as one black beetle after another flew into the air. Looking very agitated, they circled at a low altitude, relentlessly scouring the area.

Naruto also flew up into the air, pretending that he was looking for something.

More and more beetles began to fly up into the air, causing Naruto's scalp to grow numb. He knew that if the bugs continued to search, they would eventually find him. His heart began to pound when, all of a sudden, up ahead in the void, he caught sight of one of the locations where he had planted a spirit-immortal stone. Immediately, he unsealed the stone and its aura.

As soon as the aura spread out, rumbling filled the air. The black beetles surrounding Naruto went crazy. Eyes crimson, they turned to the world outside the land mass, and charged forward, Naruto in tow.

Once again, a set of ruins was destroyed and consumed. Another of the black beetles consumed the spirit-immortal stone, and a Ghost Eye appeared on its back. Then, all the beetles returned to the land mass. Naruto once again began to scurry about, collecting medicinal plants.

Any time the black beetles detected him, Naruto would unseal one of the spirit-immortal stones. It was in this manner that several days passed. Naruto had gotten quite familiar with the routine, and had already harvested more than seventy types of medicinal plants.

Also, after having practiced his roar on numerous occasions, it was now almost exactly the same as the black beetles'.

"I've struck the jackpot this time!" he thought excitedly as he crawled toward a Turtle Spirit Flower. Suddenly, all of the black beetles around him suddenly began to stir in agitation, and even roar. They also began to lift their heads and look off into the sky, their eyes cold.

Naruto stared in shock, and without even thinking about it, joined the beetles in their roaring. As soon as he saw what they were looking at, his eyes went wide with shock. Far off in the distance, the previously placid void was now disturbed by ripples.

The ripples spread out like waves on the surface of a pond, and in the middle of them all could be seen a figure, shooting effortlessly through the void, as if… merely walking!

It was a woman wearing a long, pink gown. Her features were beautiful, and although she didn't appear to be very old, there was a slight ancient air to her. She held a lantern in her hand, which shed light all around her as she walked forward.

She seemed to be a very cautious sort, and as soon as she arrived she looked around to make sure nothing was too suspicious in the area before relaxing a bit.

Almost as soon as the woman appeared, the black beetles, along with Naruto, roared and flew toward her aggressively.

However, as soon as the black beetles got close, she lifted her lantern high above her head and then opened its side to reveal the candle holder within. Resting on top of the candle holder was a tiny white branch, currently burning and letting off flickering firelight. The woman didn't pause for a moment; she quickly sliced open the tip of her finger and splashed a drop of blood onto the flame.

When the blood hit the flame, it turned into a cloud of smoke which spread out toward the incoming black beetles. In the blink of an eye, the smoke had surrounded all of them, including Naruto.

Instantly, the beetles around Naruto stopped in place, seemingly in a stupor. Naruto gaped in shock until he realized that the smoke apparently had no affect on him whatsoever.

Although it had spread out very quickly, the light quickly began to die down. After a moment of calculation, Naruto was sure that it would only last for the time it takes an incense stick to burn.

The next thing he saw was the pink-robed young woman looking very pleased with herself as she sped down toward the land mass below. She landed on the ground, sending smoke billowing out wherever she went and causing the beetles that flew up to fall into a coma. She proceeded along carefully and began to harvest medicinal plants.

"Stealing my business?" thought Naruto and was instantly enraged. One of the things he hated most in life was when people stole business from him. Earlier, he had been scared out of his mind to harvest medicinal plants in this area. He had used more than ten spirit-immortal stones, and even spent several days pretending to be a bug, and in the end his effort had allowed him to pick about seventy medicinal plants. However, this young woman only used a lantern and was able to harvest ten plants in one shot! That was something Naruto just couldn't accept.

"I hate cheaters! This wench is a cheater!" Enraged, Naruto gritted his teeth as he watched the young woman quickly harvest medicinal plants. Finally, he shot forward; the smoke that had been used to put the black beetles into a trance had absolutely no effect on him.

The instant he flew into motion, the young woman turned toward him and gaped in shock.

As she looked over, Naruto performed the best possible black beetle roar that he could imitate, a roar that was… remarkably true to life.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1029

Chapter 1029: You're the Insect Demon!

Almost in the same instant that Naruto's roar echoed out… because of its incredible similarity to the actual call of the black beetles, the dazed black beetles in the smoke suddenly awakened and began to join him in roaring.

"Curses!" thought the young woman, her facial expression flickering. "How come one of them wasn't affected!?" Glaring at Naruto, she backed up, then performed an incantation gesture with her right hand. Not only did she crush the tiny white tree in the lantern, she also bit her tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood.

At the same time, Naruto's roar was causing more and more of the black beetles to awaken. They began to fly out of the smoke, radiating savagery and murderous auras as they charged toward the young woman.

Even Naruto had never imagined that he would be able to awaken the black beetles in this way. There were even some of them who appeared to approve of him, and began to fly in circles around him, as if indicating that they wished to follow his lead.

Because of this, Naruto now stood out quite a bit among the sea of insects. In fact, he almost looked like… one of their bosses.

Naruto's heart was thumping, but he felt quite pleased with himself. As for the young woman, he wasn't worried that she would be in any danger. After all, this was the Ruins of Immortality. The way that she had stepped out from the ripples the way she did left Naruto with the impression that she was in the early Ancient Realm. Presumably, she would have her own methods of getting away if necessary.

He had no plans to kill her; his only goal had been to scare her away, and prevent her from stealing away his business.

At the moment, it seemed that his plan had succeeded. The black beetles were swarming toward the young woman from all directions. However, it was then that the white branch the young woman had crushed transformed into white smoke. After absorbing the young woman's blood, it spread out around her like a shield.

Even as the black beetles closed in on her, the white smoke spread out, and the woman vanished. However… as the smoke dissipated, something else became visible… a black beetle!

Much attention to detail had been paid in the materialization of this black beetle. In terms of both physical appearance and aura, it looked exactly like the real black beetles!

In fact, it was hard to tell whether or not it was a materialization, or real!

Naruto stared in shock.

The incoming army of beetles also gaped in astonishment. However, considering that they weren't very intelligent, they had no way to understand what had happened. Naruto watched, furious, as the young woman in black beetle-form quickly became part of the army of insects.

Soon, everything calmed down, and Naruto continued to glare over at the young woman as she carefully crawled around on the ground looking for medicinal plants.

"What a disgrace!" he fumed inwardly. "She's obviously a cultivator!

And yet she abandons all dignity to turn into a bug and look for some worthless medicinal plants! Is that the kind of thing a cultivator does!?" He truly felt that this young woman was completely shameless.

Despite what he was thinking, Naruto continued to do exactly what he had done before, crawling among the sea of insects to the nearest medicinal plant and quickly harvesting it.

However, as he crawled along, he suddenly realized that he was being followed. Behind him were a few of the beetles who had started following him after he had woken them up.

That made Naruto stick out even more than before. Now he had a small entourage of beetles that looked almost like Imperial guards. Actually, they made it much easier to harvest medicinal plants.

At this point, there was quite a bit of distance between Naruto and the young woman. Not only were they not interfering with each other's efforts, but the young woman wouldn't be able to find out for quite some time she had a competitor among the sea of insects.

Naruto, though, was as angry as before, and furiously harvested the medicinal plants with increasing speed. Even though Naruto believed her to be stealing his business, for the sake of being able to stay there longer, he could potentially have accepted the situation if she had refrained from interfering with him.

However, the young woman's methods were somewhat heavy-handed, leading to several occasions in which the black beetles were stirred up. That, of course, affected Naruto.

As more time passed, the black beetles were aroused more and more often. There were even some situations in which Naruto almost found himself in danger. In fact, with every outburst among the black beetles, some of the beetles would then start to patrol the area, forcing Meng

Hao to stop his work.

The increasing severity of these interruptions didn't seem to bother the young woman at all.

However, Naruto was getting to the point where he couldn't take it any more. He waited until the black beetles calmed down, then turned and sped toward the area where the young woman was working.

Gradually the two of them neared each other, and eventually, both of their eyes came to fall on the same patch of Divine Spirit Grass, and they rushed toward it simultaneously.

Finally, the young woman sensed that something strange was going on. She looked at Naruto, and instantly recognized him as the black beetle that had discovered her presence earlier.

The moment she laid eyes on him, she clenched her teeth, then let out a threatening roar. Naruto's black beetle followers immediately roared back and looked fiercely at the young woman.

Feeling he had no other choice, Naruto got a bit closer, and then transmitted: "Is there any way you could possibly be a BIT more careful when harvesting the medicinal plants? Maybe NOT cause such a reaction from the beetles!?"

As soon as she heard his words, the young woman looked at him, shock and disbelief evident even in beetle-form.

"Y-y-you're… you're an Insect Demon!" she said hoarsely, looking aghast. "An actual Insect Demon!" Her initial reaction was not to assume that Naruto was a cultivator like herself, but rather, that he was an insect that had transformed into a Demon.

Of course, it wouldn't be proper to blame her for having this reaction. In truth, Naruto's disguise was simply too effective. From her perspective, he really was one of the black beetles. Her own ability to transform into a black beetle came from a naturally developed power of her own. It was something that, in all of the Nine Mountains and Seas, only bloodline members of her clan could do.

Other divine abilities of transformation could not possibly deceive the black beetles. She had never seen anyone do anything like what Naruto was doing, remaining undercover within the sea of insects. Furthermore, based on his appearance, and the fact that he had an entourage of guards, it made it so that there was no way she would ever think that he was a cultivator.

In her opinion, any cultivator who could possibly entrench himself among the black beetles, and even achieve a position as a boss, well that type of cultivator… would be simply too Heaven-defying.

"YOU'RE the Insect Demon!" retorted Naruto angrily, glaring at the young woman. "Everyone in your whole family is an Insect Demon!

"Listen, I got here first, so if you want to harvest medicinal plants, fine, but at least do it a bit more carefully! Stop stirring up all the bugs! Doing that isn't helpful for either of us!" Naruto clenched his jaw in helplessness. The young woman was capable of harvesting the plants, and obviously wasn't going to leave. Plus, if they started fighting, then it would be impossible for him to continue to do his own harvesting.

The young woman stared back at him in shock. After looking closely at Naruto for a moment, she finally was starting to be convinced that this black beetle boss was actually a cultivator like herself.

To her, it was almost impossible to believe.

"You're really a cultivator?" she asked. Inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. Actually, meeting a cultivator here was a lot better than meeting an insect who had transformed into a Demon. At this point, her eyes began to glow with coldness.

"Well, it doesn't matter if you're an Insect Demon or a cultivator, or whether you got here first or not," she said coldly. "All of these medicinal plants belong to me. Leave immediately! If you dare to fight with me over them, then even if you are an Insect Demon, I'll turn you into a squashed insect! And if you're actually a cultivator, then I'll turn you into a corpse!

"And as for me stirring up the insects, well that's my business! It has nothing to do with you. Now, get the hell out of this place!" Killing intent flickered in the young woman's eyes as she promptly ignored Naruto and then closed in on the same medicinal plant that they had both been heading for to begin with.

"What a blockhead!" thought Naruto, his eyes shining with a cold light as he too sped toward the same medicinal plant. In the blink of an eye, the two of them reached the plant. It was at this point that the young woman suddenly flashed, transforming into three separate beetles!

She rushed forward at top speed to snatch the medicinal plant. However, Naruto was very familiar with how to harvest medicinal plants, and despite the fact that there were three of her, she was simply too slow. In a flash of light, he quickly harvested the plant.

"Are you looking to die!?" she cursed, her eyes glittering with killing intent. She suddenly spit out a blob of smoke which rapidly spread out to cover the area around them, including Naruto.

At the same time, the aura-changing transformation of the black feather was sent into chaos because of the smoke.

As soon as the aura was disrupted, the surrounding black beetles buzzed into action. Even the few that had been following Naruto before suddenly turned ferocious, and flew straight toward him.

Naruto's face fell. He had never imagined that the young woman would use tactics like this. Now that he clearly had the aura of a cultivator, and could no longer conceal himself, Naruto had no choice but to fly away.

As he did, the ground began to quake as tens of thousands of black beetles flew up, stared dead at him, and then charged toward him, causing a droning sound to fill the air.

The young woman in beetle-form backed up quickly, her eyes gleaming with a pleased look. Inwardly, she was laughing coldly.

Naruto eyed the young woman coldly. The properties of the smoke just now had left him shocked; it clearly had the ability to dissolve the effects of his transformation.

"So," he thought, "it was because you already had a magical technique that could interfere with my transformation that you attacked so decisively. You really want to kick me out of this place, huh…?

"Well, then. Let's just see who can kick the other person out first!" Laughing coldly as the black beetles closed in on him, Naruto made a grasping motion. Instantly, a spirit-immortal stone flew out of his ring of holding, which he then tossed in the young woman's direction.

As the black stone whistled through the air toward her, the young woman stared in shock. A moment later, it landed right in front of her.

At the same time that the spirit-immortal stone appeared, its aura surged out, sending the black beetles into a mad frenzy. Rumbling filled the air as the beetles that had been chasing Naruto roared viciously, then changed directions. There were also many other black beetles from other locations on the land mass that began to charge toward the spiritimmortal stone, eyes bright red.

The young woman's face fell. She could never have predicted that Naruto would be able to use a tactic like this to turn the tables on her. Although her aura was not something that would stir up the beetles, because of the black stone in front of her, she was now the center of a huge maelstrom.

"What kind of stone is that!?" she thought. "It's driving the Ghost Eye Beetles crazy! Well, it must be some kind of treasure, which means he can't have very many of them. At the most, he might have a handful. All I have to do is evade these crazy beetles for a bit, and wait until he goes broke!" The young woman clenched her teeth, backed up, and spit out another glob of smoke, which then surrounded her.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1030

Chapter 1030: Su Yan!

It was true that the spirit-immortal stones were treasures, and that he didn't have an endless supply. He only had… about a million of them.

As soon as the beetle-form young woman spit out the mist and backed up to avoid the incoming beetles, Naruto laughed coldly. As he hovered in midair, he waved his right hand, sending two more spiritimmortal stones flying out in the young woman's direction, cutting off her path of escape. As soon as the spirit-immortal stones appeared, the black beetles went crazy.

Massive amounts of beetles flew up into the air, at least 40-50,000 of them. They filled the sky and covered the land as they shot toward the young woman.

Her eyes went wide as she saw the mass of frenzied insects. By now, she was thoroughly convinced that these treasures had to be extremely rare, so, gritting her teeth, she once again fell into retreat. In her attempts to evade the black beetles, she was even forced to use greater teleportation.

"I just can't believe that he has many more of those things!" she thought to herself, taking a deep breath. Although she began to laugh coldly, she was actually quite shocked by the black stones.

Next, Naruto began to throw out more spirit-immortal stones. This time, he threw out five. As they fell, the young woman's body flickered with light as she just barely managed to escape.

The land shook as vast amounts of black beetles flew up in all directions and then charged in the young woman's direction.

Although her heart was pounding, the young woman looked over at Naruto, a cold smile twisting her lips.

"How many more could you possibly have?!"

Naruto answered by tossing out ten more spirit-immortal stones, instantly putting the young woman in a very bad position. However, she remained convinced that Naruto couldn't possibly have many of the stones left.

"Just wait until you run out of those things. With all these bugs around, you'll be the one to meet a dismal fate!" Gritting her teeth, the young woman continued to tell herself that all she had to do was hold on a bit longer, and then she would win. After all, she could easily conceal her aura from the beetles, whereas Naruto would be incapable of doing so.

Because of that, she was certain that all she had to do was endure the commotion caused by the spirit-immortal stones, and she could secure victory.

"He's going to run out soon! He definitely doesn't have more than a few dozen left!" She clenched her jaw as she constantly was forced to evade the crazed beetles. However, because of the sheer number of bugs in the area, she was soon completely bedraggled.

Naruto hovered in midair, the area around him completely devoid of black beetles. He looked down at the shocking amount of bugs down below, and the teleporting young woman, and then waved his hand, causing five more stones to fly out. Then five more. And another five….

Over the space of only a few breaths of time, Naruto threw out more than 40 spirit-immortal stones. Each one incited a virtual riot among the black beetles, and caused the young woman's face to fall even more.

"Impossible! How could he still have more!?" The young woman anxiously evaded the bugs; to her, the spirit-immortal stones were exactly like weapons, shooting toward her across the lands. She had actually considered trying to grab them and put them in her bag of holding, but the crazed looks of the black beetles caused her to hesitate. She was worried that if she grabbed one, the beetles might very well rip her to shreds.

All she could do was evade. As for Naruto, though, as he continued to throw out the spirit-immortal stones, he was essentially controlling the black beetles, forcing them to chase down the young woman with deadly intent.

"Dammit! Dammit!" she thought, terrified and beginning to feel regret that she had so rashly tried to drive Naruto away. If they had cooperated, then she wouldn't be in any danger whatsoever.

Time passed…. 10 more stones. 20. 30. 40…. Blood oozed out of the young woman's mouth as she continuously evaded the black beetles. By now, she was glaring up angrily at Naruto as he continued to chuck spirit-immortal stones at her. His supply seemed endless, to the point where her confidence was beginning to waver.

"Just how many of those stones does he have!?" As she watched the seemingly endless amount of spirit-immortal stones being thrown at her, her scalp gradually began to grow numb. That was especially true when the available places to teleport to in escape grew fewer and fewer. Soon, her eyes began to widen with disbelief and astonishment.

"Impossible!" she cried hoarsely. She almost didn't dare to believe what she was seeing, which was 300 spirit-immortal stones flying through the air toward her like arrows.

"I've got plenty of these spirit stones!" Naruto cried out, sounding very overbearing. Inwardly, he was quite proud that he was so rich as to be able to use spirit-immortal stones to smash his opponent. It was a very domineering feeling.

Although it had been a bit impulsive to throw out more than 300 of the stones, the current volley filled the sky as they shot toward the young woman. As a result, the ground shook, and innumerable black beetles flew out. There were some who were similar to the Immortal Realm or the Ancient Realm. Terrifying ripples spread out in all directions as more than 100,000 beetles filled the sky!

The young woman was terrified and shocked. Never in her wildest imaginings could she have envisioned an object which would provoke this kind of reaction from the Ghost Eye Beetles, nor a situation in which Naruto… would have so many of them!

Hundreds of spirit-immortal stones spun through the air. 100,000 black beetles were in a complete frenzy, roaring, their eyes bright red. They even fought amongst themselves as they charged toward the young woman, who was now certain that she was about to be ripped to pieces by the shocking onslaught.

But then she clenched her jaw tight, and her eyes shone with determination. As the black beetles bore down on her, she was suddenly surrounded by mist. In the blink of an eye, she transformed from being a black beetle into a cultivator. Then, she waved her hand toward the lands beneath her, launching a violent attack.

It was hard to say what divine ability she used to attack, but it caused an enormous tree to materialize beneath her.

It was fully 3,000 meters tall and conical, with the tip being located at the very bottom. As she waved her palm down, the tree began to descend. In the blink of an eye, it slammed into the land below like a gigantic nail, piercing down into the ground.

Massive rumbling could be heard as the gigantic nail-like tree sank down into the ground.

Next, a piercing howl could be heard coming from down below, as everything seemed to collapse. Countless medicinal plants were destroyed as the roar echoed out, shaking everything in the vicinity within the Ruins of Immortality.

Naruto's scalp went numb as he saw the lands below transform into a gargantuan black beetle. Apparently, the nail-like tree had stabbed directly into its body, causing to emit an ear-piercing howl.

Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto flew high up into the starry sky. As for the 100,000 black beetles, the howl seemed to drive them to their senses. They all turned, ignoring the young woman and flying directly toward the huge nail-like tree.

The pink-robed young woman's face was ashen, and she was gasping for breath as she chose to do just what Naruto had done: fly away.

Two beams of light shot away off into the distance as the enraged howl echoed out. The intensity of the roar as it pierced into Naruto's ears actually injured him. Blood sprayed from his mouth, and his cultivation base began to tremble wildly, forcing him to stabilize it.

The young woman staggered a bit, blood spraying from her mouth. Her eyes were filled with terror as she looked back at the medicinal plant garden land mass and muttered something.

As for what exactly she had muttered, Naruto couldn't hear.

His heart was pounding as he sped along. The young woman, aware that she had provoked a disaster, also sped along, face pale.

The sound of the howl echoed about, causing innumerable ripples to spread out. The land shook, and cracking sounds could be heard. Huge fissures spread out in all directions, each one of them hundreds of meters wide, filled with mysterious, glowing light.

There were also wisps of mist that rose up from the fissures, as well as frost that spread out across the ground.

At the same time, a droning sound could be heard, which grew stronger and more intense by the moment. Within a few breaths of time, innumerable black beetles flew up out of the fissures, turning the army of 100,000 beetles into an army of hundreds of thousands.

They seemed to blot out the sky above. They flew out, roaring, transforming into a sea of insects that resembled a gigantic, pitch-black hand that shot toward Naruto and the young woman.

From the look of things… the beetles wouldn't stop until the two of them were dead.

When Naruto saw the vast amounts of black beetles flying out of the fissures, his scalp went numb.

"This is all your fault!" he yelled angrily. "I was just harvesting some plants! Why'd you have to try to hog everything! If you hadn't, they wouldn't be chasing us right now!"

"This is just what I wanted!" she replied, sounding a bit sarcastic. "What are you gonna do about it? I want the Ghost Eye Beetles to chase me, if you've got a problem with that, then go tell them about it!"

Naruto was extremely angry. As far as he was concerned, this young woman was being completely unreasonable. He snorted coldly as golden light flickered around him. His Immortal meridians exploded with power, 123 of them, emanating one hundred percent of their possible Immortal power as he transformed into a golden roc. Flapping his wings, he picked up speed, shooting off into the distance.

The young woman also used some unknown technique that caused her to blur as she increased her speed.

The two of them whistled through the air. Although they were no longer on the medicinal plant garden land mass, the black beetles were still chasing them madly. Not only were the beetles not slowing down, more and more joined their numbers.

A sea of insects like this, a tide of beasts, was something that would cause any cultivator who saw it to be shocked to the extreme.

Rumbling filled the air as Naruto and the young woman sped onward. The black beetles seemed to have no plans to let them go, and continued to give chase, their roars echoing out in all directions.

Naruto gritted his teeth and changed directions. When that happened, the sea of insects split, with one group following him and the other following the pink-garbed young woman.

However, as soon as Naruto changed directions, the young woman's eyes flickered. Her body blurred even more, becoming nearly transparent. Suddenly, the beetles behind her seemed to lose track of her aura, then changed directions and buzzed through the air toward Naruto.

"You wanna fight with me? You're too inexperienced! From the moment I, Su Yan, awoke on the Eighth Mountain, no one's ever gotten the better of me! Now that I'm passing through the Ninth Mountain, there's no way I'll break my record!" She looked extremely pleased with herself as the hundreds of thousands of black beetles chased Naruto. Eyes flickering, she chose not to depart, but to follow along. 1

"Once he's on the verge of defeat, if I threaten him a bit more, he'll definitely hand over the medicinal plants he harvested earlier, to save his life. Plus those black stones. I can definitely extort those out of him!" Su Yan smiled resplendently. She was actually very beautiful, which was accentuated when she smiled. However, there was also a bit of crafty intelligence to her.

That was especially the case because of the beauty mark next to her mouth, which made her even more entrancing.

Su Yan's name in Chinese is 苏焉 sū yān. Su is a surname which means

"awaken" or "revive." Yan means "beautiful" or "capativating."

Interestingly, the character "su" is also used when she says the word

"awoke," making for an interesting character contrast/combination in that passage. Furthermore, it's the same surname as Su Ming, the main character of another of Er Gen's novels, Beseech the Devil ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1031

Chapter 1031: Trying to Control the Black Beetles

It was as Naruto sped away in flight that he saw Su Yan become transparent; the black beetles ignored her and began to turn their attention to him.

Su Yan wasn't completely invisible; her outline was still vaguely apparent. However, she didn't use this opportunity to flee. Instead, she followed the sea of insects, smiling. The expression on her face was something very familiar to Naruto.

"Profiting from my misfortune!" Naruto's heart went black with hatred. That was one of HIS favorite things to do, but now, the roles were reversed. He was now the subject of the machinations of others, which was something he simply couldn't accept.

"This wench is just waiting until I get tired from being chased. Then she'll try to extort things from me! She must have her eyes on my spiritimmortal stones!" When he realized this, he snorted coldly.

"Spirit-immortal stones are essentially the same as spirit stones!" he thought, grinding his teeth. For someone to try to rob his money was equivalent to targeting his life, and Naruto's eyes were instantly shot with blood.

As he fled, a sea of hundreds of thousands of insects whistled through the air behind him. From the look of it, they would die before giving up, and if he slowed down even the least bit, they would rip him to shreds and devour him.

That was especially true of the black beetles who were similar to the Immortal Realm or higher. They were incredibly fast and powerful, and were causing Naruto's head to ache. Even more nerve-wracking were the Ancient Realm black beetles.

"So, you want to profit from my misfortune huh…? Well, we'll just have to wait and see who wins in the end!" Eyes flickering coldly, he lifted his right hand, within which appeared a spirit-immortal stone.

As soon as the stone appeared, the black beetles behind him surged forward, roaring, their speed increasing slightly.

A strange light began to shine in Naruto's eyes as he lifted his left hand and performed an incantation gesture. Gradually, magical symbols began to appear, which began to cluster around his left hand. In the end, they completely sealed the spirit-immortal stone.

When that happened, the spirit-immortal stone flickered in an odd way.

Su Yan was still trailing behind the sea of insects, and when she saw this happening she gaped in shock. Inwardly, she began to grow wary, and slowed down a bit in her flight.

She had long since come to view the spirit-immortal stones as something very strange, and considering that she didn't know what Naruto was doing, it immediately put her on guard.

During the space of a few breaths of time, mysterious light began to shine up from Naruto's left hand. At the same time, the spiritimmortal stone began to vibrate, and the magical symbols on its surface flickered with light.

"Demon Sealing, Sixth Hex!" Naruto's eyes glittered with bright light. Then, he squeezed his hand down hard onto the spirit-immortal stone, causing brilliant beams of light to shoot out.

Shockingly, he had imbued the spirit-immortal stone with the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex, Life Death Hexing.

His expression that of determination, he flung the spirit-immortal stone out, causing it to transform into a beam of light that shot into the sea of insects.

It was just as if he were fishing. Fishing for black beetles!

Whichever black beetle got the spirit-immortal stone would be consuming Naruto's Life Death Hex. Although the likelihood of success was not large, if he kept trying for long enough, he would surely succeed eventually.

Light flashed as the spirit-immortal stone appeared in the middle of the sea of insects. In virtually the blink of an eye, countless black beetles pounced on it, going wild in their struggles to acquire it. Soon, a rather large beetle managed to swallow it down, right in front of its countless compatriots, who glared at it covetously.

It didn't take very long for the black beetle who had swallowed the spiritimmortal stone to begin to tremble. After a breath of time passed, a boom could be heard as it exploded into pieces.

The sight of it caused the Su Yan's face to flicker.

Naruto frowned. However, he knew that the Life Death Hex's success rate was low, and would probably be even lower since he was using it with spirit-immortal stones as bait. However, he wasn't discouraged, and continued to make further attempts. As he fled, he threw out more and more spirit-immortal stones. Every time, a black beetle would consume it, then explode.

However, the black beetles were as crazy as ever. Despite the possibility of dying, they still wanted to eat the spirit-immortal stones.

The pink-robed Su Yan continued to follow, watching with wide eyes and gaping mouth as Naruto used the bizarre, wondrous black stones.

About two hours passed. Then, one particular beetle chomped up one of the spirit-immortal stones that Naruto tossed out, and instead of exploding, its body began to shine with brilliant light and magical symbols. Finally, one particular magical symbol appeared which shot out toward Naruto, then merged into him, causing his face to light up with joy.

In that instant, a tiny, illusory black beetle appeared in his mind. He knew that with a single thought, he could cause that black beetle to die.

"It worked!" he thought, licking his lips. He only had the first volume of the Laws of the Dao of Insects, which was basically an introduction on how to raise Spirit Insects. Naruto was already confident in the use of those methods. However, although he had looked into how to control the insects, when it came to a comprehensive understanding of the Dao of Insects, he was quite lacking.

In the end, though, that didn't really matter; he didn't need to study the control techniques. Since he had the Life Death Hex, he could essentially control them perfectly.

Now that he had succeeded, he was much more confident. He was no longer anxious to flee, but instead allowed the sea of insects to get close to him, and continuously threw out spirit-immortal stones.

When Su Yan saw this, her heart filled with amazement. Although she couldn't see any signs which would lead her to the conclusion that Naruto could control the black beetles, she was still getting a very bad premonition. She was even starting to feel that if she didn't take the chance to flee right now, she might find herself in serious danger.

"Just what kind of stones are those? They're so bizarre!" She almost convinced herself to flee, but couldn't quite make herself do it. Gritting her teeth, she continued to follow, making sure she was fully on guard, even more so than before.

Time passed. Several days later, Naruto had already tossed out more than 30,000 spirit-immortal stones. By this point, he now had control of about 300 black beetles. He didn't summon them to his side, but allowed them to remain among the sea of insects.

However, the rest of the 30,000 insects that consumed his spiritimmortal stones all died, without a single exception.

Gradually, the number of black beetles he controlled increased from 300 to 400. And then to 500….

Of course, the number of black beetles that died also increased, to a total of more than 50,000. Finally, a rumbling cry rang out from the direction of the medicinal plant garden land mass, something that sounded almost like a summons.

Moments before….

Having seen everything that she had over the past few days, Su Yan was completely shaken. She was even wondering whether or not Naruto might actually kill all of the black beetles.

"What kind of inhuman creature is he!?" she thought, heart pounding. She was really starting to worry that if she kept up the chase, something bad might happen to her in the end.

From the moment she had awoken until now, she had never met a cultivator like Naruto, someone who seemed so mysterious and unfathomable that it filled her with dread.

Just in the moment when she finally decided to leave, a roar suddenly arose from all of the black beetles, and they stopped in place.

Naruto's eyes glittered. Based on his connection with the 500 black beetles he had control of, he could feel that they were being summoned back by the gargantuan king of black beetles that existed beneath the medicinal plant garden land mass.

It took only a moment for the insects to stop pursuing Naruto and retreat back to where they came from. Apparently, the death of the 50,000 black beetles caused their king to give up on the idea of killing Naruto.

Almost in the same moment that the sea of insects stopped pursuing Naruto, Naruto's eyes flickered coldly. He suddenly extended his right hand and began tossing out one spirit-immortal stone after another.

The black beetles were now hesitating. On the one hand, they had the enticement of the spirit-immortal stones. On the other hand, they had the call of the beetle king. A buzzing sound filled the air as the sea of insects ripped into two parts, one of which followed the summons, the other of which, composed of tens of thousands of black beetles, charged madly after the spirit-immortal stones.

Su Yan's face flickered. She had never imagined that Naruto would intentionally provoke the sea of insects.

However, after a relatively short period of time, the black beetles simply couldn't resist the repeated calls of the beetle king. Naruto was only able to get control of a few dozen more beetles before they turned and headed back to the land mass.

When that happened, Su Yan hesitated for a moment, then gritted her teeth and turned to leave. She got a very strange feeling after having seen everything that Naruto had done. In addition, she had an even more intense premonition that something bad was about to happen.

At the same time that the black beetles turned to leave, Naruto suddenly called out: "Come!"

More than 500 black beetles stopped in place, then returned to fly around Naruto. All of the beetles had Ghost Eyes on their backs, making them look especially vicious.

Su Yan, who was already some distance away, looked on with shock, and her mind spun. Earlier, she had felt as if something strange were going on, but she had never thought that Naruto would actually be able to control the black beetles. Heart pounding, she quickly did her best to escape unnoticed.

Naruto's eyes flickered coldly. He had endured deadly pursuit for days, all the while being followed by the pink-robed young woman, who he knew was just waiting to take advantage of him. How could he possibly let her get away so easily now?

"My turn to the be the bandit!" He waved his right hand, using the Life Death Hex to cause more than 500 vicious beetles to suddenly fly directly toward Su Yan.

Naruto himself descended to sit cross-legged on the back of one of the black beetles, from which position he stared coldly at the fleeing Su Yan. She was moving quickly, but the black beetles were by no means slow. 500 of them shot through the void, and from a distance, it almost looked like 500 Ghost Eyes, radiating mysterious light and sinister auras.

"How could this be happening!?" thought Su Yan, her mind reeling. "He… he can actually control the Ghost Eye Beetles!

"According to the legends, these beetles are very difficult to bond. The only way to do so is to personally raise them from larvae, and even then, you have to utilize special methods to have the slightest chance at success!

"In this age, though, the methods for raising them have long since been lost! And yet… he's actually controlling them! Most important of all, what he's controlling are not larvae, but full-grown insects!" Su Yan almost couldn't think straight, and her face flickered with intense fear of Naruto.

What she feared was not his cultivation base; she could tell that he was merely in the Immortal Realm. What she feared were his 500 black beetles!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1032

Chapter 1032: Chasing Down Su Yan!

Now the tables were completely turned. Su Yan fled, and Naruto chased her. 500 black beetles soared through the Ruins of Immortality like a black windstorm. All of them were at least a half a meter long or so, and a few of the largest were more than three meters long.

500 black beetles made a small-scale sea of insects. Although you couldn't say that they blotted out the sky, they did cause everything to shake, and sent endless ripples out as they chased after Su Yan.

If it were just a matter of black beetles, Su Yan would have numerous ways of dealing with them and escaping. However… she wasn't just being chased by black beetles; she was being chased by Naruto.

Naruto sat cross-legged on one of the larger beetles, eyes flickering coldly. His gaze only continued to get colder as he looked at Su Yan. After all, she was the one who had ruined his plan to harvest medicinal plants.

Not only did she attempt to steal his business, but she ended up making it impossible for him to even harvest the medicinal plants at all. Then she used the pursuit of the black beetles as a tool to try to kill him. Most unforgivable was that she had planned to take advantage of his misfortune to extort his wealth.

It had been a long time since Naruto had been victim of such plotting. Not even that old fox Namikaze Shoudao aggravated him as much as this.

Some people might prefer to treat women with extra tenderness, but Naruto completely ignored that. With a cold harrumph, he extended his right hand and waved his finger toward Su Yan.

It was none other than the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Even as Su Yan shot forward anxiously, she suddenly trembled. Her cultivation base completely stopped moving, and she screeched to a halt in midair.

Next, Naruto's Immortal meridians exploded with power, and his cultivation base surged. 123 Blood Demon heads appeared, roaring as they charged toward Su Yan.

Su Yan's eyes widened, and she bit down hard on the tip of her tongue. Pain flooded through her along with cracking sounds as she broke free from Naruto's Hexing magic. Then she turned, eyes flickering with fear, but more so, coldness.

Instead of trying to evade the 123 Blood Demon heads, she breathed in deeply, absorbing the power of Heaven and Earth. Then she lifted her right foot up and stamped it down violently, striding in Naruto's direction.

That first step caused the void to tremble. Her second step caused everything in the area to shake. The third step caused fissures to crack the ground for 3,000 meters in every direction.

Naruto's eyes widened with shock at the sight of this pink-robed young woman's divine ability. She took only three steps, but those three steps caused her energy to surge. Naruto's mind was sent reeling. Each of the steps seemed to trample upon his inner thoughts, causing his cultivation base to be thrown into chaos, and the flame of his life force to flicker.

Next, it was with a completely icy face that Su Yan took a fourth step.

Rumbling echoed out everywhere!

When she took her fifth step, the entire world seemed to be turning inside out. Howling sounds could be heard in all directions. It was almost as if this area were turning into a different world altogether.

Her sixth step caused the crashing sound of thunder to fill the area for thousands of meters in each direction, along with an archaic, ancient aura.

Naruto's magical Blood Demon heads all trembled, and were smashed to pieces by the surging energy.

It was in that moment that Su Yan took her seventh step!

"Seven Hellgod Steps!" 1 Su Yan cried out the words as she took the seventh step. The void shattered, and massive roaring sounds could be heard. A huge foot appeared up above, emanating shocking energy. A boundless feeling of savagery buffeted Naruto as the foot stamped down toward him.

The starry sky vibrated as Naruto looked up, eyes wide. Then, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and pointed toward the huge foot.

"Paragon Bridge!" He let out a muffled growl as his 123 Immortal meridians, as well as his 33 Heavens, formed into the Paragon Bridge, which shot toward the foot.

A huge boom could be heard as the bridge and the foot collided. In that instant, the void around them seemed to be torn asunder. Boundless echoes rang out as the savage foot shattered, layer by layer, transforming into innumerable motes of light that then faded away.

The Paragon Bridge also trembled and collapsed into pieces.

Naruto trembled, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. The pink-robed Su Yan's face was ashen, and blood also oozed out her mouth as she looked at Naruto in shock.

She was in the Ancient Realm, and not an ordinary Ancient Realm cultivator at that. She had her own Dao; analogous to a true Immortal relative to the Immortal Realm, she was a Chosen of the Ancient Realm. Despite having only extinguished one Soul Lamp, she was by no means weak.

In her view, Naruto was only in the Immortal Realm, and even if he was at the peak of the Realm, he was still much weaker than her.

Before, she had merely feared his black beetles, and his mysterious, unfathomable spirit-immortal stones. Therefore, she attacked him, hoping to at least injure him, and thus be able to escape the black beetles.

However… in their first true interchange, she found that the two of them were relatively evenly matched. That filled Su Yan with fear, and she instantly fell back into retreat.

Naruto remained seated on the black beetle, eyes shining with a strange light at the fleeing Su Yan. Inwardly, his heart was pounding with anticipation, not because of Su Yan herself, of course, but because of… her divine ability!

Throughout his years of practicing cultivation, Naruto had acquired all sorts of divine abilities and magical techniques. Not many of them left him moved, or left him with a feeling that the technique was especially powerful…. However, during the times he had fought with Uchiha Mu and Uchiha Sasuke, they had used magical techniques of the Uchiha Clan which had left him shaken. In fact, because of those battles, he had even gotten the idea of trying to acquire some of those magical techniques. Unfortunately, the Uchiha Clan of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was one of the great clans, and to acquire their Daoist magics would be incredibly difficult.

Just now, the divine ability used by this pink-robed young woman also left him quite shaken.

"What Daoist magic was that? It only took seven steps to collapse my Paragon Bridge. Theoretically, it might have something to do with her cultivation base, or the fact that my understanding of the Paragon Bridge isn't complete, meaning I can't fully utilize it.

"However, that just goes to show that her Daoist magic of seven steps has its own unique aspects." Naruto was lost in thought for a while as he chased Su Yan. Finally, he raised his right hand, performed an incantation gesture, and then pointed at her.

That wave of a finger caused his 123 Immortal meridians to materialize into a shocking Flying Rain-Dragon, which roared and beat its wings as it shot toward her in pursuit.

Su Yan's face flickered as she saw the Flying Rain-Dragon bearing down on her. She gritted her teeth, performed an incantation gesture, and then placed her hands on top of her ears. Then she took a deep breath, using some unknown Daoist magic that caused the sounds of thunder to echo out. A huge wind kicked up, and Su Yan almost seemed to turn into a vortex that rapidly absorbed the power of Heaven and Earth.

Next… she suddenly turned her head toward Naruto, opened her mouth, and roared!

That roar was loud enough to tear open the Heavens and shred the earth!

The sound of it superseded all other sounds in the world. It shredded the void, causing a massive wind to kick up. Naruto started to tremble, and his black beetles began to rock back and forth. Blood oozed out of his ears, and his mind vibrated so intensely that it felt as if his head was about to explode.

That roar almost didn't seem to be coming from Su Yan, but rather a giant. It was filled with intense savagery, and an unparalleled domineering air that seemed to defy the confines of destiny.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

Sound waves transformed into an attack that blasted toward Naruto.

The result was that he was physically lifted up and pushed backward.

Su Yan coughed up a mouthful of blood; clearly utilizing this divine ability of roaring came at a great price. Her face was pale white as she sped forward anxiously.

"I just need to delay things a bit longer," she muttered to herself, pushing for more speed. "If I can build up enough speed, I can break out of this place!"

Naruto finally stabilized himself, wiped away the blood that had oozed out of his ears, and looked at Su Yan as she fled. His eyes began to shine with an even more intense light.

"You can't escape," he said. "No matter what you say, I'm going to catch you!" His eyes flickered coldly, and his heart beat with excitement. As far as he was concerned, this pink-robed young woman was a treasure trove of divine abilities and Daoist magics.

It would be a big pain to try to acquire one of the Uchiha Clan's Divine abilities. But he would be equally content to get his hands on some of this girl's magic.

The wave of a hand caused all 500 of the black beetles to let out a collective roar. Their eyes were red with madness as they charged forth. Naruto's cultivation base exploded with power. However, Su Yan was moving so quickly that she was already some distance off. Naruto snorted coldly, and extended his right hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. His eyes flickered with a Demonic glint as electricity danced about, and he vanished.

At the same time, Su Yan had almost built up enough speed to unleash another Daoist magic. Her body was beginning to grow blurry, and ripples were spreading out into the void. It was almost as if a tunnel were forming, a tunnel which she was just about to break into.

In that moment, however, countless sparks of electricity suddenly appeared all over her body. This development occurred too suddenly, and she could sense something happening that caused her face to fall.

Suddenly, she vanished, and Naruto appeared in her place. Of course, their speeds were different, so the moment Naruto appeared, the void tunnel promptly closed up.

At the same time, Su Yan reappeared in the spot Naruto had just been occupying… right in the middle of 500 black beetles!

The moment Su Yan appeared, the 500 black beetles immediately roared and shot toward her, radiating explosive ferocity. Su Yan was shocked to the core, and an expression of disbelief and shock instantly appeared on her face.

"That cauldron… how could it be here!? Is your surname Wang?" 2

Naruto's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, but he didn't say anything. Instead, he sent his cultivation base rotating rapidly. The Essence of Divine Flame appeared, combined with the power of 33 Heavens, to shoot directly toward Su Yan.

The 500 black beetles all attacked with full force. In response, the shocked Su Yan performed an incantation gesture and waved her hand, causing divine abilities to shoot out. However, the Ghost Eyes on the backs of these black beetles began to glow, and were easily able to repel her attack, and even began to grow more ferocious.

As Naruto closed in, the Essence of Divine Flame caused Su Yan's mind to spin. She was getting very anxious, but her face filled with determination as she raised her right hand. Instantly, light began to shine out from the creases in her palm, causing three palm prints to begin to appear in the air around her, surrounded by rumbling sounds.

However, before the palm prints could finish forming, the surrounding black beetles took advantage of the moment to attack. Su Yan fell back, blood spraying from her mouth.

It was at this point that, some distance behind Su Yan, two beams of light could be seen shooting through the Ruins of Immortality.

Apparently sensing the ripples of magic, they headed toward Su Yan and Naruto.

Before the approaching figures could even be seen, a voice could be heard from them.

"My master is Naruto! Do you hear me? Naruto! He's the ruler of the Ruins of Immortality, the Lord of the Nine Mountains and Seas! I was just joking with you, alright? Y-y-you… you're being so petty! Why are you trying to kill us! You can't blame me! Everything I did was taught to me by my master! Why don't you go looking for him, alright? Aiya! How dare you attack us! Dammit! Lord Fifth is really getting pissed off! You just wait and see! My master definitely won't let you off the hook!"

The ability used by Su Yan is very similar in both name and function to one of the main abilities used by Su Ming, the main character of Er Gen's Beseech the Devil. It doesn't seem impossible that Su Yan could be somehow descended from or connected to Su Ming, in much the same way that the Uchiha Clan seems to be connected to Uchiha Lin from Renegade Immortal ↩ I saw a lot of questions on the Chinese internet about this part where Su Yan mentions the cauldron and asks if his surname is Wang. Apparently Uchiha Lin from Renegade Immortal had a cauldron with similar properties to this one. However, based on the answers I read in a few threads, that cauldron was clearly destroyed, so it couldn't be the same one. However, this begs the question of why she would be saying something like this? There were various speculations about that too…. ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1033

Chapter 1033 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1033: The Might of the Echelon!

Of those two beams of light, one contained a colorful parrot with a meat jelly in the form of a bell attached to its ankle. The bell continuously let out tinkling sounds which echoed about.

The other beam… contained a young woman. A grim expression covered her face, and blue veins popped out on her forehead. She actually looked a bit haggard, as if she were so aggravated she was about to go crazy. It was… Li Ling'er.

The parrot looked scraggly and somewhat gaunt as it flew through the air. Behind it was an enormous creature, tens of thousands of meters wide and terrifying to the extreme.

It was like a giant sphere, covered with endless amounts of fur which drifted about. It had a single eye that stared out with boundless coldness. Occasionally, the fur which covered the creature would form into tentacles that would slash around, destroying anything they touched. Currently, this bizarre creature was chasing the parrot and Li Ling'er.

Although the creature had a terrifying aura, and was physically shocking to look at, it wasn't moving incredibly fast. It was almost as if it was in conflict with the natural laws that existed in the Ruins of Immortality, resulting in constant pressure weighing down on it. Therefore, as it moved along, it was surrounded by vaguely flickering light.

"I was just messing around with you!" the parrot cried angrily. "What are you being so vengeful for!?"

"Yeah, that's exactly right! He's being immoral! That's wrong! Just wait until Lord Third gets a bit more powerful, I'll definitely convert him!"

"Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" shouted Li Ling'er, who was on the verge of going crazy. Being around the parrot and meat jelly made her feel that her sanity was crumbling away.

After being flung out into the Ruins of Immortality by Patriarch Reliance, she had spent her time exclusively with the parrot and meat jelly. They had cautiously made their way through the Ruins of Immortality, trying to figure a way out.

At first, things had gone well. She could deal with the meat jelly's constant chatter and the parrot's extreme arrogance. After all, before giving a dog a beating, one still has to consider who its master is. Naruto had saved her so, naturally, she had chosen to put up with his little pets.

However… for some reason, the damned parrot seemed to have some completely perverted addictions. Li Ling'er had watched wide-eyed on several occasions in which the parrot, upon simply encountering creatures with fur or feathers, would suddenly act like a complete moron. Regardless of how powerful the creature it encountered was, the parrot would whoop with delight and speed excitedly toward it.

What happened after that was an assault on Li Ling'er's eyes, and yet she couldn't help but gape. She almost felt like her head was going to explode, and everything she had always believed was toppled over.

The most recent time it happened was when the parrot assaulted the gigantic sphere. Originally, that sphere hadn't even been moving. However, after several hundred rounds with the parrot, it got as mad as a hornet. The sphere-like creature couldn't take it any more, and let out a roar that almost shattered Li Ling'er's cultivation base.

They had fled immediately, but the sphere had apparently endured too much humiliation, and chased them in a rage.

As they fled, they had sensed the ripples of magical techniques, and had surmised that they came from people. The parrot had then suggested they go in that direction, which they did immediately, preparing to plead for aid in this moment of disaster.

Almost as soon as they got close, Naruto saw the parrot and Li Ling'er, as did Su Yan. However, Su Yan's attention was more drawn to the gigantic sphere following them.

"Mooneater!" she breathed. Her face fell and her heart began to pound. The sudden appearance of the Mooneater cut off her path of escape. In front was Naruto and his black beetles, and behind her was the Mooneater. She was caught in a dragnet, and the result was that she lost almost all hope.

"Dammit, how could this be happening? There are only a few

Mooneaters in all of the Ruins of Immortality. Normally they just sleep, and wouldn't wake up even if Heaven and Earth collapsed. Even if they do awake, the natural laws are different, so they don't move around. Wh-what's going on? Why is this Mooneater chasing those people?

"How could that woman and that parrot possibly have provoked a

Mooneater into such heights of rage that it would pursue them!?" Su

Yan's scalp was numb; she was well-aware of how terrifying an enraged Mooneater could be. She was just about to try to flee, when Naruto blazed toward her with his Essence of Divine Flame.

Su Yan immediately performed an incantation gesture, causing a divine ability to appear to fight back against Naruto. It only took a moment for the two of them to be locked in a raging battle. As they fought back and forth, Su Yan suffered multiple defeats. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and she realized that although she was well-matched with Naruto, she was constantly distracted by the need to avoid the surrounding black beetles. This caused her to have several close calls.

At the same time, the Mooneater was getting closer and closer. The coldness in its eyes seemed capable of destroying any living thing that it encountered.

"Dammit!" Her face flickered as blood oozed out of her mouth. She knew that she couldn't hold on very much longer, perhaps ten breaths of time at most. Then she would be defeated.

Gritting her teeth, her expression became one of incredible resolve. She allowed Naruto's Essence of Divine Flame attack to slam into her, causing blood to spray from her mouth as she was seriously injured. However, she borrowed momentum from the attack to break out of the encircling black beetles, and then head… directly toward the Mooneater.

As she sped forward, she extended her right hand, causing all of her blood to surge. Moments later, a strange, sweet odor began to emanate off of her.

No cultivator would be able to detect anything unusual about that fragrance, but it instantly caused the Mooneater to look over. All of a sudden, a huge opening appeared on its body that almost looked like a mouth.

It looked completely savage as it opened up directly in the middle of the single eye, giving the creature two eyes. The mouth was filled with rows and rows of razor-sharp Namikaze s, tens of thousands of them, glinting coldly. It almost seemed as if the creature's entire body was made up of Namikaze s!

The gigantic mouth breathed in, and Su Yan tumbled forward like a kite with its string cut, heading directly toward the Mooneater.

In the blink of an eye, she had flown past the parrot, as well as Li

Ling'er, who were still gaping in sight after having caught sight of Naruto moments ago.

Now, the two of them, as well as the meat jelly, watched as the Mooneater open its mouth. When they saw the innumerable ghastly Namikaze s inside, their shock turned into terror.

Naruto frowned. Su Yan appeared to be on the verge of being swallowed up by the Mooneater. Even if he used the Lightning Cauldron to switch places with her… unfortunately, he would then be swallowed by the enormous creature.

"What a clever plan!" he thought. He instantly realized what Su Yan was trying to do. She had obviously incited the creature into trying to swallow her up. Presumably, she had a way to get out of the creature's mouth even if it did swallow her. She was using this as a way to escape, and also to ensure that Naruto couldn't use his Lightning Cauldron. "Well, you still won't be able to get away!"

Naruto was too entranced with Su Yan's Daoist magics. Despite the sudden turn of events, his eyes still flickered as he slapped his bag of holding to produce a Nirvana Fruit!

This was not his Nirvana Fruit, it was the Nirvana Fruit of the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan!

Without the slightest bit of hesitation, Naruto shoved the fruit into his forehead. Rumbling filled his mind as it sank down into him. At the same time, he felt something swelling up inside of him.

RUUUUMMMBLE! As Naruto looked up, he could clearly sense his Immortal meridians exploding with power, growing stronger as his cultivation base climbed higher.

33 Heavens collapsed, transforming into boundless Immortal light that poured over Naruto, transforming into an Imperial robe. As Naruto hovered there in the void, he no longer looked like the Immortal Realm Paragon. He was a step beyond that… he was the Immortal Emperor of ancient times!

Li Ling'er's eyes went wide. She had observed this same thing happening before, although on a screen. Naruto was now bursting with a powerful energy that made him capable of killing even Ancient Realm cultivators with three extinguished Soul Lamps.

However, this was her first time sensing what it was like in person, and it sent her heart pounding. Her cultivation base trembled, and her Immortal meridians felt compelled to acquiesce to Naruto.

Su Yan was terrified. She could never have imagined that Naruto would have a trump card like this. Her scalp was tingling as she pushed with everything she had to fly toward the Mooneater. She was well aware that reaching it was her only hope.

An indescribable energy rose up from Naruto as he stared coldly over at Su Yan nearing the Mooneater. Face expressionless, he took a step forward.

That single step took him past Li Ling'er and the parrot. He then flicked his sleeve, causing a gentle power to push Li Ling'er and the parrot backward, far away from the Mooneater.

His second step caused him to vanish and then reappear between Su Yan and the Mooneater.

Su Yan was now filled with hopelessness. She exploded out with all of the magical techniques and divine abilities she could muster. However, Naruto's hand snaked forward, shattering them all before… clamping onto her neck.

His hand was icy, and as soon as it touched Su Yan, her cultivation base was locked down by Naruto's Immortal power.

"We don't have enough enmity built up between us for me to kill you," he said. "So be a good girl, and I won't slaughter you."

Simultaneously, one of the Mooneater's tentacles shot toward them. Just when Naruto was about to dodge out of the way, the tentacle suddenly stopped moving. It was almost as if it had sensed something

on Naruto, causing it to instantly shrink back.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he turned to look at the Mooneater and its gaping maw, which was now only about 30 meters away. The Mooneater was actually so terrified it was trembling, and… it gradually began to back up. Slowly, its huge mouth closed.

Within its solitary eye was a terror that caused Su Yan to be filled with astonishment!

It was almost as if the thing was afraid of Naruto.

Naruto's eyes shone brightly. Just now, when he had been on the verge of dodging to the side, he had felt something inside of him… the sealing mark placed on him by the white-robed woman when she had made him 13th in the Echelon!

The mark suddenly appeared on Naruto's forehead, flashing brightly.

Naruto began to think about the white-robed woman's status as a Paragon, and his heart trembled. Continuing to hold Su Yan with his left hand, he raised his right hand and made a dismissive gesture toward the Mooneater.

"Get out of here," he said experimentally, all the while preparing to back up if necessary.

The gigantic Mooneater was trembling visibly, and Li Ling'er, Su Yan, the parrot, and the meat jelly were all watching with eyes wide. The Mooneater almost seemed to nod in response to Naruto before backing up and disappearing off into the distance.

Li Ling'er gaped at Naruto, hovering there clad in his Imperial robes of Immortal light, energy surging. He was almost like a Paragon of Heaven and Earth as he waved his hand, causing an enormous, terrifying creature to back down. That image was almost like a scene from a painting, becoming something firmly implanted in Li Ling'er's mind, and would never go away.

The parrot blinked, and the meat jelly stared in shock.

As for Su Yan, a complex expression suddenly appeared on her face regarding Naruto.

"You're… in the Echelon?!"

Chapter 1033: The Might of the Echelon!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1034

Chapter 1034: We're Not Suited

The Mooneater slowly faded away into the sky of the Ruins of

Immortality. Naruto hovered in midair, the energy of the Immortal Emperor slowly receding. Eventually, the Nirvana Fruit emerged from his forehead, which he then put into his bag of holding. He also placed numerous restrictive spells onto Su Yan, sealing her so that he could throw her into his bag of holding as well.

Before she disappeared, a cold smile could be seen on her face. However, the shock and other complex emotions in her eyes could not be concealed.

Naruto ignored that, however. Next, he turned to face the parrot and Li Ling'er.

Li Ling'er subconsciously avoided his gaze. Her past impressions of Naruto still remained in her mind, and currently, her heart was filled with conflicting emotions, including confusion.

She was very certain that, in the past, she had hated him to the bone.

That was especially the case considering how he had humiliated her. When she had learned that it had been arranged for the two of them to be married, her initial reaction had been that she would rather die.

She hadn't been able to even imagine how to handle being paired with Naruto as a beloved partner. To her, it would have been like a living nightmare.

Therefore, she had chosen to flee the marriage. Of course, she had never expected that she would end up being rescued by the very person she was fleeing.

Naruto could sense the conflict inside of Li Ling'er, and he looked away with a light sigh. He knew that she should have been back in the Li Clan at a time like this. The fact that he found her being pursued by Yi Fazi clearly indicated that she had left her clan.

It was easy to guess why. Considering the imminent marriage alliance, the fact that Li Ling'er had left her clan indicated that she had chosen to flee, just like he had. There was no other conclusion that he could come to.

It was at this point that the parrot cleared its throat. "Haowie, why are you butting into other people's affairs?" it said, sounding as wise and proud as he could. "That was Lord Fifth's beloved concubine! Lord Fifth wasn't afraid of it! It was just my way of getting it to come out of its shell.

"Well, now that you made it go away…. Ai. Well, forget about it. Just never mind. I guess it just goes to show that there was no destiny between us."

Currently, the five hundred black beetles were swirling around in the air around Naruto, and the drone of their wings echoed out in all directions. Because of that, Naruto still gave off the feeling that he was someone that shouldn't be provoked, despite the fact that he no longer emanated the energy of the Immortal Emperor.

Each and every one of the insects in the small army had a Ghost Eye on its back, which emanated a sinister coldness. The bugs themselves had cold, emotionless eyes, causing a harsh aura to slowly exude.

Even an Ancient Realm expert would feel fear when looking upon these black beetles.

Naruto glanced back at Li Ling'er and asked, "So, that old turtle left already?"

Before Li Ling'er could answer, the bell-form meat jelly attached to the

Parrot's ankle suddenly roared, "That old bastard is completely immoral! Evil to the max! It deserves a horrible death! Lord Third solemnly swears an oath to convert it! That damnable old bastard of a turtle actually had the nerve to toss me aside and run off by himself!

"I, Lord Third, was a fool to take pity on it earlier, and give it so much advice. Grrr! Lord Third is so pissed off! That thing is shameless! Misguided! A complete bully!" As the meat jelly raged, it was clear that it was infuriated at Patriarch Reliance, and even felt that it had been subjected to a great injustice.

Hearing the meat jelly raging, the parrot then chimed in: "That's totally right! That bastard pushed things too far. Dammit!" However, the parrot went a bit further, going on to make a declaration of a further aspiration. "Next time I see it, Lord Fifth is going to make sure it knows how awesome I am! I'm gonna turn it into one of my beloved concubines!"

Ignoring the two buffoons, Naruto's body flickered as he moved to a nearby black beetle and sat down cross-legged. After glancing around, he looked back at Li Ling'er and then cleared his throat.

"Fellow Daoist Li," he said, "I think there have been some misunderstandings between us in the past…."

Li Ling'er looked up at him. The word 'misunderstanding' caused her to think about many things, especially Naruto's multiple usages of his palm. When she thought about that, she still felt humiliated and angry. She could almost sense a lingering numbness and pain in her buttocks.

"However, I did rescue you, right?" Naruto continued. "Although, you still owe me some money…."

Li Ling'er frowned. "That's because you forced me to write a promissory note!" she said, word by word.

"Right, right. Well, the process isn't important. We're talking about

Karma, so you definitely owe me money." When he saw the look on Li Ling'er's face in response to this, Naruto quickly added, "But don't worry. You don't need to pay me back anymore!"

Based on Naruto's personality, it took quite a bit of effort for him to force those words out.

"Look, neither of us have it easy in life, so why make things harder for each other? Our clans want an alliance, and they're willing to sacrifice us to get it. It seems obvious that the only reason we ran into each other here is because we're both trying to get away from that marriage.

"In that respect, I think we're both in the same boat!" A bright glow appeared in Naruto's eyes as he continued, "Look, I rescued you. I also happen to know that I'm quite handsome, and a lot of girls like me. For example, take that wench that I captured earlier. She made a move on me too, but I turned her down. Then she tried to do all sorts of evil things to me. Stuff like that can't be forgiven!" Naruto said, without even a hint of shame coloring his face. It was a good thing Su Yan couldn't hear what he was saying, otherwise she would have been so angry that blood would have sprayed out of her mouth like a fountain.

"Although…" he continued somberly, "Fellow Daoist Li, you must not under any circumstances continue to misinterpret my feelings. Trust me, nothing's going to happen between the two of us. I have absolutely no intention of pursuing you! Besides, I'm already married. The two of us… just aren't suited for each other."

In response to these words, the parrot stared, the meat jelly blinked, and Li Ling'er gaped in shock. She had never, ever seen someone praise themselves with such a straight face.

"YOU!" she cried, eyes wide.

"Seriously," he said, taking a careful step backward. "We're not suited for each other. Fellow Daoist Li, I know that the image of me surging with energy earlier definitely left you with a deep impression of me. However, you really need to control yourself. Don't let yourself fall for me!

"Women must learn to conduct themselves with dignity in life. The two of… just aren't meant to be."

"Don't worry, Naruto!" Li Ling'er growled through clenched teeth. "If

I had to choose between you and a pig, I would chose the pig!"

"You really mean it?" said Naruto, his eyes shining brightly.

"You…. Naruto, I, Li Ling'er, always follow through on my word!" Li Ling'er was feeling very vexed. Naruto was making it seem like she couldn't wait to marry him. That was even more the case when, in response to her words just now, Naruto appeared to be sighing with relief. That caused Li Ling'er's rage to flare even hotter.

Naruto then let out a hearty laugh. Smiling, he waved a finger at a nearby black beetle.

"Fellow Daoist Li, now that our misunderstandings have been straightened out, I'd like to express my condolences. Come come, have a seat on this bug. I'll escort you safely out of the Ruins of Immortality."

When Li Ling'er heard this, her fury burned uncontrollably, and she looked at Naruto with gritted teeth and said, "Condolences? Naruto, are you even able to talk without being crass? What the hell do you mean, 'condolences'? Don't tell me you actually believe that I, Li Ling'er, thought of you as the love of my life or something? You think that you refusing me necessitates condolences?"

Naruto scratched his head and sighed, his expression one of helplessness.

"Very well, then, I rescind my condolences."

"What do you mean you rescind your condolences!?" Li Ling'er felt like she was about to go crazy.

"No condolences!" he replied quickly. "Even though I refused your expression of love, even though I crushed all the good feelings you had toward me. Even though from now on, all you'll be able to do is gaze at me silently from a distance. Despite all that, I really offer no condolences! Alright? Happy?"

Li Ling'er threw her head back and howled. She gripped her hair in both hands and tugged it hard. It was almost like it was impossible to talk to Naruto without going absolutely crazy.

Trembling, she thought about everything that had happened since she had left the clan, and the grief that welled up from her heart caused tears to flow out. She said nothing further. She simply sat down on the beetle's back, tears rolling down her cheeks.

Naruto didn't say anything more either. The parrot and meat jelly looked at each other, then began to whisper back and forth.

Occasionally, they would look over at Naruto and Li Ling'er, and the meat jelly's expression would be one of puzzlement. In contrast, the parrot's was one of worldy-wise understanding as it apparently explained certain matters to the meat jelly.

The meat jelly nodded its head several times empathetically.

Everything quieted down. The black beetles buzzed along as Naruto escorted Li Ling'er off into the distance. Because of the beetles, their journey through the Ruins of Immortality went along with few hitches. Naruto would look around occasionally and, based on his past experiences in the Ruins of Immortality, was able to gradually lead them out from the depths of the ruins, and toward their border.

Several days later, the broken remnants of the Ruins of Immortality grew more and more sparse. Not far off in the distance, the border was visible, and beyond that, a sea.

It was not a true sea, but rather, a body of dense mists that grew so

thick that they eventually sank downward, forming into a sea of mist. Naruto was able to sense that at its very depths, the mist was so thick that there might actually be a true sea there.

This place… was none other than the Ninth Sea!

Naruto's eyes glowed brightly as he stood up on the black beetle's back. The entire army of beetles didn't slow down a bit; they continued to speed along, getting closer and closer to the border.

However, it was at this point that, all of a sudden, a person appeared out of thin air up ahead.

It was a woman, wearing a white robe, and when she stepped out of the void, it seemed as if the entire Ruins of Immortality went dark. It was like the whole world, including all the light of the stars, was gathered on her person. Even the Ninth Sea off in the distance went still.

This woman seemed to be matchlessly supreme, as if in front of her, even natural law would cease to operate.

She hovered there quietly, looking at Naruto.

As soon as he laid eyes on the woman, Naruto's mind rumbled. He instantly sent a message to the black beetles to stop moving. However, he didn't actually need to do so: all of them were trembling, and didn't dare to approach the woman.

"Naruto offers greetings, Senior!" he said, quivering, clasping his hands and bowing very deeply. This woman was the same one who had placed him in the Echelon… the female Paragon!

In that instant, the parrot ducked its head like it was trying to hide, and it looked scared. The meat jelly was uncharacteristically silent, and didn't even open its mouth.

Li Ling'er could sense the terrifying aura emanating out from the whiterobed woman, and immediately stood up and gave a curtseying bow.

The woman's gaze passed from Naruto and Li Ling'er to come to rest on the meat jelly. "I recently recalled a matter from the past…. Do you still remember me?"

The meat jelly quivered.

"NO!" When it responded, its voice was archaic but light. When it spoke, Naruto couldn't help but think that something was wrong. He had never, ever heard the garrulous meat jelly only speak a single word.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1035

Chapter 1035 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1035: The Meat Jelly was the Lightning Emperor?

The white-robed woman remained silent for a moment, looking at the meat jelly with a complex expression, as if she were recalling the past. Naruto wasn't sure why, but for some reason it almost looked like an expression of… bitter resentment.

All of a sudden, Naruto's scalp began to go numb, and he subconsciously looked over at the meat jelly, then back at the whiterobed Paragon. He had hoped that he had been mistaken, and that there was not really a look of bitter resentment on her face. And yet, when he looked back at her, he was even more certain than before, causing him to blink.

After a moment of silence, the white-robed Paragon slowly asked, "Is it that you don't remember, or that you're not willing to admit it?"

"Don't remember," the meat jelly replied, its voice hoarse, but lacking the slightest trace of its usual long-windedness.

"Years ago, there was a cultivator whose name was Lei Daozi 1. He was a lightning cultivator, and one of the nine Emperors. He was known as the Lightning Emperor. Did you know him?" The white-robed woman expression grew more and more complex as she looked at the meat jelly. Sometimes she remembered things clearly, other times things were a blur. However, recently, she had began to recall many things about the past.

"Never heard of him." The meat jelly's voice was as ancient as ever, and yet, now seemed to contain a hint of pain.

The white-robed woman looked deeply at the meat jelly for a moment, then sighed and softly said, "If it weren't for the great catastrophe, he was the most likely to have become the fourth Paragon. Back then he and I… had an agreement." 2

The meat jelly maintained its silence, saying not a single word.

The white-robed woman closed her eyes for a while, and when she opened them again, they were looking at the parrot. Her expression was one of revulsion, and in response, the parrot lowered its head even further and glanced around furtively. From Naruto's perspective, the parrot looked very nervous, perhaps even scared.

Finally the woman turned from the parrot to look at Naruto. Her voice cool, she said, "Well, you're doing well. Once you enter the Ancient Realm, you will definitely become part of my plans!" Finally, she turned to leave.

Naruto was not a newcomer to the world of cultivation. He was used to schemes and counter-schemes, and knew not to take everything people said at face value. Therefore, it was obvious to him that something was going on beneath the surface here. Clearly, she had only paid perfunctory attention to himself and the parrot. The true reason she had shown up was because of the meat jelly!

It almost seemed like, she had only shown up to ask it those few questions. He had long since known that the parrot and meat jelly had extraordinary backgrounds. However, he could never have imagined that they were wrapped up with the white-robed Paragon. As for the meat jelly, apparently, its past involved some inspiring and tragic tale.

Just when the white-robed woman was about to leave, she suddenly stopped in place, looked at Li Ling'er, and said, "Eee?"

As she peered over, and her eyes filled with a strange gleam.

"You look just like…." she murmured softly. She waved a finger, causing Li Ling'er to involuntarily fly through the air to hover in front of the white-robed woman.

"Are you willing to practice cultivation under me?" she asked, her tone serious.

Li Ling'er stared in shock. Based on how Naruto had treated and talked to the woman, she could tell that there was something unfathomably mysterious about her.

As she hesitated, she looked over and happened to see the shocked look on Naruto's face. With a cold, inward harrumph, she ceased any hesitation and clasped hands toward the white-robed woman.

"Junior is willing!"

The white-robed woman nodded slightly, then turned. As she did, a cloud appeared beneath Li Ling'er's feet, which carried her alongside the woman as she left.

Li Ling'er looked a bit apprehensive, but when she turned and saw Naruto's astonished expression, she suddenly felt a great sense of contentment, and glared into his eyes.

Naruto truly was shocked, and had the feeling that he had been neglected. The fact that the meat jelly had a mysterious background was one thing. However, he had practiced cultivation to the level of becoming the Immortal Realm Paragon. When he absorbed the Nirvana Fruit, he could even reach the level of the Immortal Emperor. And yet, from what he could tell, Li Ling'er seemed to attract even more attention from the white-robed woman than he did.

And then there was the 'peasant-become-king' attitude she exuded as she stared at him hatefully. It was as if she was trying to convey that when they met again in the future, their relative positions would be very different.

Rolling his eyes inwardly, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to Li Ling'er, a solemn expression on his face, as if he couldn't hold back from expressing his condolences to her.

"Ling'er, I apologize. It doesn't matter if you have a new position, I still can't take you as a wife. I'm already married, and you and I just don't suit each other. I wish you all the best, and hope that you can someday find your own happiness." Naruto sighed, and his eyes shone with an expression of condolence.

As soon as Li Ling'er heard his words, she trembled. "Shut the hell UP, Naruto!"

Glaring at him, she gritted her teeth and stamped her foot. With that, she ignored Naruto and followed the white-robed woman off into the distance.

After they disappeared, sighs of relief could be heard coming from the mouths of both the parrot and the meat jelly.

"Now THAT was scary!" Lord Fifth exclaimed. "So, the old Demongranny has gotten some of her memories back!" It patted its chest with its wing, as if it had just survived some harrowing experience.

"Thankfully, it seems that she only got some of her memories back, not a lot," the parrot murmured. "Otherwise, she wouldn't have just looked annoyed when she saw me. She would have plucked me and roasted me for dinner." It seemed truly surprised to still be alive.

The meat jelly let out a long sigh, after which its face lit up with excitement and it said, "How was my acting!? Hahaha! Naruto, and you, you old pigeon, tell the truth. Was Lord Third's acting good or not, huh? Good or not!?

"Hahaha! Hey, I almost forgot that we had a bet! Lord Third wins! Lord Third's acting ability is incredible! However, it seems a bit wrong and immoral. Pidgeon Fifth, don't you agree?" Now that the meat jelly was speaking, it blabbered on, apparently having held its tongue for far too long earlier and was now looking to make up for it.

"Your acting is worth a fart!" said the Parrot, smacking the meat jelly. "You almost gave it all away! You said way too much! Next time, remember that when you talk to the Demongranny, you should only say one word!"

Naruto stared at the meat jelly in shock. The meat jelly had now reverted to behaving like it always had in the past, and from their dialogue just now, it seemed that it and the parrot had been betting with each other about something.

Naruto felt a headache coming on, and wasn't sure what to say to the two ninnies.

However, he couldn't forget the 'Lightning Emperor' that the whiterobed woman had mentioned. He looked thoughtfully over at the meat jelly, but didn't ask any further questions. On many occasions in the past, he had tried to pry out information about their past, but to no avail. He had gotten used to that. Finally, he sent out his divine will, causing the black beetles to speed forward.

Several hours later, Naruto, along with the five hundred or so black beetles, and the incessantly bickering parrot and meat jelly, all emerged from the Ruins of Immortality. They hovered in the starry sky, and out in front of them was the Ninth Sea.

Thinking about everything that had happened recently, Naruto turned back to look through the Ruins of Immortality in the direction of Planet East Victory. His eyes then gleamed with determination as he turned and headed toward the Ninth Sea atop his black beetle.

"The Nine Seas God World will most likely finally give me all the rewards I earned during the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire." A thoughtful expression appeared in his eyes as he mused about it. The Three Great Daoist Societies had all agreed to accept him as a disciple because of his being in the Echelon, and had also expressed the intention of giving him some good fortune.

He also knew that he wouldn't be spending a lot of time in the Nine Seas God World. After picking up his prizes, he would practice cultivation for a bit, and then head to the other two Great Daoist Societies.

"The good fortune they will provide me is most likely something to help me get to the Ancient Realm as quickly as possible!" His eyes glittered. According to what the white-robed Paragon had said, it wouldn't be until he stepped into the Ancient Realm as a member of the Echelon that he would figure into her plans.

As for the Ancient Realm, he had his own path to tread.

"Absorb the Nirvana Fruits!" he thought with a frown. After leaving Planet East Victory, he had tried to absorb the Nirvana Fruits on multiple occasions. However, he couldn't permanently fuse with any of them, not even his own Nirvana Fruits.

Actually, not even Namikaze Wei had been able to stay fused with his Nirvana Fruits for very long. That was something he had been able to sense during their battle.

Naruto maintained his silence as he got closer to the Ninth Sea. Occasionally he would pass traveling cultivators, but when they saw him and his five hundred black beetles, they would fearfully avoid him, not daring to get close.

He didn't want anyone to recognize who he was, so he used the black feather to change his appearance. Therefore, nobody who saw him had any idea that he was actually the preeminently famous Naruto of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

As he neared the Ninth Sea, he gradually heard crashing sounds like that of ocean waves. Up ahead, the sea of mist roiled unceasingly, and an indescribably boundless energy shook everything in the starry sky.

Naruto didn't waste any time. Occasionally, he would attempt to absorb the Nirvana Fruits, and he occasionally brought Su Yan out of his bag of holding. He would try to have casual and friendly conversations with her in the hope of convincing her to give him some of her Daoist magics in exchange for her freedom.

However, Su Yan would only looked at him derisively and make piercing, uncompromising comments.

After several attempts, it was clear that no matter what line of reasoning he attempted, Su Yan would never agree. Finally, he had no more patience. Waving his hand, he covered her with restrictive spells, sealing her completely, whereupon he stuffed her into a bag of holding.

"I bet that if she goes through a bit of suffering, she won't be so uncooperative!" Unless absolutely necessary, Naruto didn't want to use Soulsearch. That was a very vile method, and there was no sort of unresolvable enmity between the two of them as of yet.

The best outcome, and his first choice, would be for her to cooperate and hand over some of her Daoist magics.

Several days later, Naruto, atop a black beetle, finally entered the border region of the Ninth Sea. That black beetle was the only one he kept outside of his bag of holding as he looked out at the mists of the Ninth Sea, a strange gleam in his eyes.

The Ninth Sea seemed boundless, almost completely without end. Mist stretched out as far as the eye could see. Everything seemed damp, leading Naruto to the conclusion that there really was a huge sea at the bottom of all the mist.

"Such a huge sea…." he breathed. Back in the Namikaze Clan, he had seen a map of the Nine Mountains and Seas, and was aware that if he passed all the way through the Ninth Sea, he would end up in the region of the Eighth Mountain.

"The Ninth Mountain and Sea is not the end of the road for me!" As he looked off into the distance, his heart filled with lofty aspirations. On his path of cultivation, he wanted to be free and unfettered. He wanted true freedom and independence.

Heaven could not block his path, and Earth could not obstruct his way!

He patted his black beetle, which let out a roar as it transformed into a black beam of light that shot into the mists of the Ninth Sea.

Almost in the exact moment that he entered the Ninth Sea, countless eyes suddenly snapped open, both in the mists that surrounded him, and the blackness of the depths of the sea.

Those eyes belonged to numerous sea beasts and Sea Demons that inhabited the Ninth Sea. Normally speaking, they did not have conflicts with cultivators, but as of this moment, for some reason they all opened their eyes and roared, and their expressions were that of murderous intent.

It was as if there was something about Naruto's aura that roused all of the sea beasts and Sea Demons of the Ninth Sea into a rage.

Chapter 1035: The Meat Jelly was the Lightning Emperor?

Lei means "lightning." Dao is "the Dao," and Zi means "child" or "son." As I mentioned before "Daozi" is also what is translated as "Dao Child" when used as a title ↩ The word used here "agreement" is a very broad term in Chinese that can mean a lot of things. However, the vague implication based on the context would be some sort of romantic "agreement" or perhaps "engagement." One of the Chinese to English dictionaries I use even has "engagement" as a definition for this word. Of course, based on the context, you can't tell exactly what she means, and it could potentially be just some other random "agreement" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1036

Chapter 1036: Nine Seas God World!

Almost in the same moment that the sea beasts and Sea Demons opened their eyes, some of the sea beasts closest to Naruto began to charge toward him through the mists of the Ninth Sea at top speed.

As they sped along, they caused the mists to seethe, and faint rumbling sounds to echo out. Naruto sat on his black beetle, bursting with lofty aspirations. Suddenly, his eyes narrowed, and he looked up ahead into the mists.

Without any warning, a roar exploded out, and the mists surged away from him as a huge seal burst onto the scene.

The seal was fully nine meters long, with razor-sharp teeth. It almost looked like a dog 1, except that it had no fur, only scales. It sped out of the mists toward Naruto, bursting with energy comparable to the Immortal Realm. In the blink of an eye, it was upon him.

Its eyes were filled with incredible killing intent, as if it simply couldn't live under the same sky as Naruto.

Naruto gaped, flabbergasted. This was his first time ever visiting the Ninth Sea, and as far as he could remember, he had never offended anyone from here, unless you counted Fan Dong'er.

The sudden appearance of this seal was completely unexpected, causing him to frown. A fishy aroma blasted into his face as he glared back coldly at the seal. When it was less than a meter away, seemingly on the verge of latching its jaws onto him, his right hand snaked out and clamped onto the seal's throat.

The seal let out a whimper as it screeched to a halt. It struggled violently, but no matter how it howled, Naruto's vice-like grip did not budge in the least. By now, his fleshly body strength was at the very peak of the Immortal Realm, meaning that only a handful of people were qualified to force him to use magical techniques. Most enemies in the Immortal Realm would be easily crushed by the power of his fleshly body alone.

Naruto's eyes flickered with coldness as he squeezed down with his hand. Cracking sounds rang out, and the seal spasmed a few times before its meters-long body went limp, its neck having been crushed by Naruto, and its soul completely exterminated.

As it died, it glared at him with a look of vicious madness.

He frowned and loosened his hand, allowing the seal's corpse to drop down into the sea below. It was at this moment that, all of a sudden, more roars could be heard as more sea creatures began to charge toward him from all directions. In the blink of an eye, he was completely surrounded by dozens of sea beasts.

There were all sorts of creatures, each one completely vicious-looking. As soon as they appeared, they shot through the air toward Naruto, staring at him with madness and hatred.

There were even the ripples of magical techniques emanating out from them, causing Heaven and Earth to rumble, and the Ninth Sea to seethe.

Naruto's frown deepened. Something definitely felt off. With a cold harrumph, he lifted his right hand, causing his five hundred black beetles to emerge. They instantly spread out toward the sea beasts, causing buzzing sounds to fill the air.

In the blink of an eye, roaring filled the air as the sea beasts and the black beetles began to fight. However, no matter what the sea beasts did, their divine abilities were useless against the black beetles.

When they bit viciously at the black beetles with their sharp teeth, not even a scratch was left behind. In contrast, the beetles chomped at them voraciously; in the space of only about ten breaths of time, the entire area was stained red with blood, and nothing remained of the sea beasts except for corpses. What was left behind of their bodies was quickly devoured by the black beetles.

It was a bloody scene, but when it came to scenes of carnage, Naruto had seen much worse. Something like this wouldn't cause him to feel ill at ease. However, the frown never left his face.

He proceeded along, sending the black beetles ahead of him. In the short span of a few hours, numerous sea beasts from the Ninth Sea attacked him with reckless abandon, almost as if they were insane.

First it was a few at a time, then a few dozen at once, then hundreds attacked him simultaneously. There was even a Sea Dragon that rose up with them from the sea floor, roaring, filled with madness and hatred as it tried to consume Naruto.

"This isn't because of Fan Dong'er," he thought, killing intent flickering. The black beetles slashed at the sea beasts in a frenzy, causing miserable shrieks to ring out. As for the Sea Dragon, which was over thirty meters long, Naruto simply stepped forward and punched its head. It instantly began to fall apart into pieces, after which its body shattered.

Soon, Naruto's mind was trembling. He was now surrounded by seething fog, and as he sent out his divine sense to scan the area, he could tell that almost a thousand sea beasts were charging toward him.

Some of those sea beasts were pitch-black and humanoid. Based on their aura, it was obvious that they were not ordinary sea beasts, but rather, something exceptionally vicious.

When they looked at Naruto, it was with towering hatred.

If that were all there were to it, it might not matter. But gradually, Naruto began to sense that it wasn't just the sea beasts who hated him. It was almost as if, for some inexplicable reason, the Ninth Sea itself was trying to expel him.

Off in the distance, Naruto saw even more sea beasts charging toward him from all directions. Nobody truly knew how many of them existed in the boundless Ninth Sea. However, he could tell that if things didn't end soon, he would become embroiled in a huge battle, and would continue to attract the attention of even more terrifying sea beasts, which caused his scalp to go numb.

If a creature appeared that was similar to the latter stages of the Ancient Realm, he might very well die.

"Dammit, what's going on here!?" he thought, sending the black beetle flying upward, away from the surface of the sea itself. Behind him, more than a thousand sea beasts flew out in pursuit, roaring. It was at this point that he retrieved a command medallion from within his bag of holding.

Raising it high above his head, he cried out at the top of his lungs, "Disciple Naruto has returned to the Nine Seas God World and requests an escort from the sect!"

As his voice echoed out, he crushed the jade medallion. Ripples immediately spread out, carrying his voice echoing out into the depths of the sea.

By now, the swarm of attacking sea beasts was very close to him. Naruto was no pushover. Naturally, he couldn't simply ignore so many sea beasts. Snorting coldly, he caused his Immortal meridians to explode with power, then lifted his left hand, summoning tens of thousands of mountains and sending them crushing down toward the sea beasts.

However, it was at this point that a cold voice suddenly echoed out from the bottom of the sea.

"You're Naruto?" Even as the voice rang out, rumbling could be heard, and the surface of the sea parted as a figure appeared. He stepped out to hover on the mist above the sea.

It was a man, but he had a very strange appearance. His skin was pitchblack, and although it was not covered by scales, he did have a golden fish scale on his forehead.

He was clothed in the garb of a disciple of the Nine Seas God World, just as Fan Dong'er had been the first time Naruto had seen her.

As soon as he appeared, he glanced around at all the sea beasts, resulting in them instantly stopping in place. Then they backed off and then vanished into the waters.

Naruto scanned the area with divine sense and could tell that although they had calmed down, they hadn't actually left. Furthermore, their eyes were filled with just as much hatred as before.

"Many thanks for getting me out of trouble, Fellow Daoist," Naruto said, sighing with relief. He clasped hands and bowed toward the man. "Sir, I am Naruto, ordered by the Three Great Daoist Societies to come to report for duty at the Nine Seas God World!"

From the look of it, this man was not a cultivator, but rather some being that was somewhere between a sea beast and a human. It had cultivated some unique magical technique that allowed it to take human form.

It seemed like a Demon, and yet was different from Demons.

The man stared grimly at Naruto, hatred flickering in his eyes, as well as revulsion, all of which he seemed to be fighting to control.

"Come with me," he said coldly. An instinctual killing intent seemed to rise up within him that he intentionally suppressed as he turned and flickered toward the bottom of the sea.

Naruto's face darkened. He didn't care much about sea beasts, but as for this being that was neither a human nor a Demon, he didn't understand why it hated him and wanted to kill him. After all, he had never done anything to offend the Ninth Sea.

Remaining completely on guard, he watched as the man headed down into the sea, then collected his black beetles, and followed along with a cold harrumph.

The two of them proceeded along in single file, not talking, moving at top speed. Naruto could sense even more types of sea beasts as they neared the sea floor, and all of them seemed to view him as an enemy.

"Why exactly are they acting like this?" he thought. Gradually, they went deeper and deeper, until Naruto's face finally flickered with shock. The pressure weighing down on him as he went deeper only continued to grow more intense. However, his cultivation base automatically rotated to push back against it.

The pressure was not because of some sort of sealing magic, but rather pressure that simply pushed down from the Ninth Sea itself. Because of that, his cultivation base was restricted, much the same as if he had been carrying something very heavy. At the same time, magical techniques that would be easy to unleash on the surface, would be much harder to use here.

The deeper they went, the greater the pressure. Naruto was shaken as he realized that his cultivation base had already been reduced to about seventy percent of its normal level.

Finally, his eyes started to glow with excitement as he suddenly realized why the Nine Seas God World was so terrifying. If you spent long periods of time practicing cultivation there, then when you went out into the outside world, your cultivation base would explode up, and be even more powerful than before.

"The Three Great Daoist Societies really are incredible. There have to be special reasons why they have survived for so many years. Even just the special benefits provided from practicing cultivation here are enough to make the cultivators of the Nine Seas God World much stronger than those of most other sects." At this point, he stopped fighting back against the Ninth Sea, and instead focused all of his efforts instead on enduring it.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, the man led them to… a place that Naruto found completely shocking.

Here, at the bottom of the sea, was a land mass!

It was not the seafloor, but rather, floated in the middle of the waters. It stretched far out into the blackness, making it impossible to see where it ended!

It looked enormous, like the fabled undersea palace of the Dragon King. Ornamental rocks could be seen everywhere, placed next to sprawling buildings. Bizarre and exotic flowers could be seen, as well as mountain ranges, and even rivers and cities.

There were innumerable cultivators, flying around in beams of light. Sea Dragons could be seen swimming about, causing the entire world to overflow with the sensation of life.

Nine golden gates marked the entrance to the sect, and erected above the top of the foremost gate was a sign with four words.

Nine Seas God World!

In Chinese the word for "seal" is literally "sea dog" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1037

Chapter 1037: Hostility!

This was the Nine Seas God World, one of the Three Great Daoist Societies of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

It had existed for tens of thousands of years, stretching back into ancient times, seemingly eternal. Apparently, it had existed for as long as the Nine Mountains and Seas themselves. People who practiced cultivation here for a significant amount of time, and then left for the outside world, would experience an explosive rise in their cultivation base.

In all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the only sect which was so amazing that they could practice cultivation in the Ninth Sea itself, and even lower their sect to the bottom of the sea… was the Nine Seas God World!

Because of cultivation practices like that, it was no exaggeration to say that it was a God World. That was even more so when you considered the power of Heaven and Earth which existed there. In all of the Ninth Sea, this location had the most terrifying concentration of it.

In addition, the deeper you went in, the more boundless that energy became.

Naruto's mind trembled. He had been to many sects, but none of them had left him as shaken as he was now that he was looking at the Nine Seas God World.

He looked at the land mass spreading out in front of him like a continent, and he saw, not just cultivators, but other bizarre beings. They had humanoid bodies, but they were clearly another type of life form.

Each one had a life force that was reminiscent of a sea beast. Naruto's eyes flickered as he realized that these were unique Demonic Cultivators of the Ninth Sea!

They were not true Greater Demons, but had transmogrified during the course of their cultivation, gradually assuming their current appearances.

Even more shocking to Naruto was that the Nine Seas God World actually floated some distance away from the bottom of the sea itself, separated by a mass of pitch black darkness.

The further down one went from there, the greater the pressure was, and the more energy of Heaven and Earth could be found. It could be said that to cultivators… the pressure exerted by the Ninth Sea made this place like a Holy Land for cultivation.

"Nine Seas God World…." he murmured, eyes shining with a strange light as he sensed the vast majesty of the place. He could feel the pressure from the Ninth Sea, and the fact that his cultivation base was limited to seventy percent of its normal power.

His eyes slid across the nine glittering gates that marked the entrance to the Nine Seas God World. Above the main gate were the words 'Nine Seas God World,' and as for the other golden gates, they were actually more like stone steles than actual gates!

Furthermore, the surfaces of those golden gate stone steles were packed with names, each one of which glittered with golden light that was visible to all cultivators in the Nine Seas God World. The names formed a list, and on each of the stone steles, the list included 10,000 names.

On one of the stone steles, Naruto saw Fan Dong'er's name, and it was listed in the 94th position. Next to the golden characters that made up her name, a string of text could clearly be seen. It said, … 24,000 meters down, 54 hours!

There were many other names that had the number 24,000 meters next to them, with a variety of different times.

Other name lists could be seen on the other stone steles, as if these were records of various trials by fire.

Naruto's heart began to pound. The golden gate stone steles reminded him very much of the Medicine Pavilion and the Pill Pavilion back in the Namikaze Clan, as well as the stone stele he had seen in the Ancestral Land. The names all belonged to disciples of the Nine Seas God World, and their presence here indicated great honor and glory for those disciples.

A strange light began to gleam in Naruto's eyes as he followed the cold-eyed man, who completely ignored him as he led the way into the sect.

Occasionally, they would encounter disciples of the Nine Seas God World. When they saw the man leading the way, they would smile and nod, and then their gazes would turn to Naruto.

Some of those people were Demonic cultivators, and when they saw Naruto, they would gape in shock. But then, just as quickly, their eyes would be shot with blood, and murderous auras would surge up from them.

Naruto frowned as he followed the cold-faced man into the Nine Seas God World. Almost as soon as they set foot onto the land mass, it seemed like all of the Demonic cultivators in the entire Nine Seas God World, regardless of what they were doing at the moment, simultaneously looked up and stared at Naruto.

Very quickly, killing intent rose up in their eyes, as well as towering rage and disgust.

There were tens of thousands of these Demonic cultivators, and the feeling of having them all stare at him was something impossible to describe. Naruto's face flickered, and his eyes went wide.

That was especially so when he realized that some of the Demonic cultivators had Ancient Realm cultivation bases. When their cold gazes of hatred fell upon him, his heart began to pound.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but suddenly, streams of divine sense shot out from many of the residences that were visible, filling Naruto's heart with terror.

From the look of things, the tens of thousands of Demonic cultivators were just barely able to keep themselves under control. In sharp contrast, the human cultivators of the Nine Seas God World were looking curiously at Naruto. Immediately, people began to recognize him.

"That's Naruto!"

"I heard that he was accepted as a disciple by all of the Three Great

Daoist Societies…."

"In the battle of Planet East Victory, virtually the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea saw him rise to prominence. He's the Immortal Realm Paragon!" The cultivators all wore different expressions. Some were surprised, some wore cold looks, and others looked derisive.

However, regardless of the various cultivators' expressions, when they sensed the strange behavior of the Demonic cultivators, they were all shocked.

The strange feeling of disquiet in Naruto's heart continued to grow even more intense. He was more on guard than ever as the cold-faced man led him through the air across the Nine Seas God World. As they wound their way deeper in, the killing intent and ferocity of the Demonic cultivators only continued to grow stronger.

It was around this time that, all of a sudden, a cold snort echoed from among a group of Demonic cultivators, followed by a bright beam of light that shot toward Naruto.

It was a middle-aged man, extremely handsome, with a fish scale on his forehead. He wore a white robe, and had two red horns growing out from his forehead. He radiated a powerful, murderous aura, and moved with incredible speed. As he closed in on Naruto, he extended his right hand, causing ripples to spread out that formed into nine flying swords.

In the blink of an eye, the nine flying swords took on the appearance of nine crimson loaches. They roared, expressions vicious as they shot through the air. As for the middle-aged man, he had a murderous aura and an explosive cultivation base. The power of Immortal meridians emanated out, not quite 100; nevertheless, they had at least 90.

Upon seeing him attack, the faces of all the other Demonic cultivator disciples of the Nine Seas God World flickered with even more killing intent.

As for the Demonic cultivator who had escorted him thus far, the man hesitated for a moment, but didn't berate the other Demonic cultivator or attempt to block his way. He acted almost as if he didn't see, proceeding along as if he didn't care whether Naruto was able to catch up or even got killed.

Naruto frowned and backed up by several paces. He waved his hand, causing a chain of mountains to appear and block the nine loach swords.

"Fellow Daoist, what's the meaning of this?" he asked as he backed up. He really didn't want his initial entrance into the Nine Seas God World to be marked by conflict with the cultivators here.

His opponent didn't say a single word in response. He smiled coldly, as if he believed that speaking to Naruto would sully his own mouth. He performed an incantation gesture, and the air behind him rippled as a huge red hand appeared. Shocking ripples spread out as the hand shot toward Naruto.

The man's cultivation base exploded with power. Despite being suppressed somewhat due to being in the Ninth Sea, it was still incredibly shocking. His killing intent was also incredibly intense.

"Fellow Daoist," said Naruto, falling back further, his frown deepening. "Please inform me as to exactly what has happened. If you want to try to kill me, you must at least give a reason."

However, the middle-aged man didn't slow down at all. He advanced, waving his hand, causing the scale on his forehead to glitter. Instantly, he was surrounded by over a thousand fish scales, all of which glittered with cold light as they screamed toward Naruto in the form of a windstorm.

"Scale Slaughtering!" the man said coldly, his killing intent continuing to rise up. Apparently he wanted to slice Naruto into tens of thousands of pieces.

Naruto was so enraged that a smile broke out on his face. After arriving at the Ninth Sea, he had instantly been treated as an enemy, for inexplicable reasons. Then he got to the Nine Seas God World, and the Demonic cultivators there treated him even worse.

To put it rather bluntly, Naruto was the type of person to defy laws and principles, even of the Heavens. His was the Dao of freedom, something that could not accept outside fetters or grievances. Although he was retreating from his opponent, that opponent was not holding back, and was instead more intent on killing him.

"Give them an inch and they take a mile!" thought Naruto, his face darkening. He stopped moving backward, and instead took a step forward. He allowed the fish scales to close in on him, and to slam into his body.

Clanging sounds could be heard, and numerous disciples of the Nine Seas God World stared in shock as the fish scales did absolutely nothing whatsoever to Naruto. In fact, many of them shattered under the backlash of striking him.

Naruto's eyes glowed coldly as he took three steps forward. A massive windstorm sprang up, and as the nine loach swords closed in on him, he lifted his right hand and struck out with a palm.

The nine swords immediately began to tremble.

"Scram!" he said calmly. That one word transformed into nine claps of thunder that sent the nine loach swords spinning away, after which they exploded.

An unmatchable energy exploded up from Naruto, causing his opponent's face to fall. Blood oozed out of the man's mouth as he was forced backward by the energy attack. However, he clenched his jaw and once again performed an incantation gesture. At the same time, Naruto snorted coldly, waving his right hand to summon a Blood Demon head. Although his cultivation base was somewhat suppressed, he was still incredibly powerful within the Immortal Realm. He waved his hand, causing the Blood Demon head to roar, a roar which caused the blood of many surrounding cultivators to shiver beyond their control, as if it wanted to rush out of their bodies.

The ferocious Blood Demon head shot forward toward the middle-aged man, who instantly fell backward, his facial expression flickering as an intense sensation of deadly crisis rose up in him. He had the powerful feeling that if he was even the slightest bit too slow, he would be dead.

Unfortunately, his speed obviously didn't match up to that of the Blood Demon head, which was instantly on top of him. The man's expression was despondent, and his eyes glittered with hatred as he screamed, "Why haven't all of you attacked yet!?"

Immediately, a dozen or so of the surrounding Demonic cultivators stepped forward, cultivation bases surging as they attacked the Blood Demon head.

There were even more who let out bellows of rage and shot toward Naruto. Fully a hundred Demonic cultivators all attacked simultaneously. Killing intent was like a flood that exploded out, causing that area of the Nine Seas God World to seem like it had descended into a chaotic riot.

All of the non-Demonic cultivator disciples of the Nine Seas God World looked on with flickering faces, and some began stepping forward to stop the fighting.

However, Naruto unexpectedly smiled, a smile filled with killing intent. He opted to stop trying to figure out why all this was happening; after all, his opponent had tried to kill him, and therefore… things were now simple. That man would die!

This was Naruto's chance… to establish his place in the Nine Seas God World!

His eyes flickered coldly as he suddenly raised his hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. Electricity danced, and a huge boom could be heard as he suddenly switched places with another of the Demonic cultivators next to his middle-aged opponent.

The man's face fell in shock and alarm as Naruto reached out and tapped his finger toward his forehead.

That single finger surged with a murderous aura, and it was obvious that if he touched the middle-aged man, he would be instantly killed in body and soul, dead beyond the shadow of a doubt.

At that point, an enraged voice shouted out from off in the distance.

"How presumptuous!"

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, almost as if he hadn't heard the voice. His finger continued to descend until it landed on the man's forehead. A boom rang out… and the man trembled violently. His meridians were shattered, and his body exploded into a cloud of gore. Naruto waved his hand, dispersing the blood, then turned to face the newcomer.

"Do you mean that I'm being presumptuous, or that he was?" he asked coldly.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1038

Chapter 1038: I Promise Not to Kill You!

In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, surrounded by a crowd of Demonic cultivators, he killed his opponent with precision and determination!

The surrounding cultivators of the Nine Seas God World looked on with shock, and the Demonic cultivators' eyes narrowed. Everyone was astonished by Naruto's lightning-like attack.

For countless years, it was extremely rare for a Nine Seas God World disciple to have been attacked and killed within the Nine Seas God World itself. Even during the insurrection caused when the Hebi Clan sleeper cells revealed themselves among the forces of the Three Great Daoist Societies, all they did was sow chaos.

As for Naruto, although he was technically a disciple of the Nine Seas God World, the other cultivators hadn't approved of him yet, and essentially viewed him as an outsider.

His methods were vicious, and he attacked to kill. Then he simply waved away the resulting cloud of blood, leaving the cultivators of the Nine Seas God World completely stunned.

When Naruto turned and spoke, his words echoed out into the ears of everyone present. All disciples, both Demonic cultivators and regular disciples, could clearly hear them, and could sense the domineering arrogance within them.

They sounded like words intended to defy laws and principles, even those of the Heavens. As of that moment, everyone was left with a deep impression of Naruto.

At the same time, a bellow of rage echoed out from off in the distance. Naruto's eyes were cold as he watched a black-robed old man approaching. He strode through the air, bristling with rage, cultivation base surging. Shockingly, an enormous illusory image could be seen behind him.

The image was that of a Sea Dragon, pitch black with four sets of razorsharp talons. Its whiskers were long, and floated around its head, making it look especially vicious as it glared at Naruto with cold eyes. A wild wind kicked up, disturbing the energy of Heaven and Earth in the area.

As for the old man, at first glance he looked like a cultivator, except that on his forehead there was a black fish scale. Furthermore, two black, coiled horns grew out of the top of his head, which radiated a flickering glow that made him seem terrifyingly powerful.

"You ruthless rascal! How dare you act presumptuously in the Nine Seas God World!" he said, his voice ancient and thunderous. The sound of his voice turned into massive pressure which crushed down toward Naruto.

Even more shocking, Soul Lamps began to swirl around him, five of which were extinguished.

"That's Elder Hai Sheng!"

"Greetings, Elder Hai Sheng!" The old man's appearance on the scene immediately energized the Demonic cultivators, all of whom offered greetings. The old man ignored them, and focused completely on Naruto. As he approached, killing intent swirled around him, a will of hatred that seemed to ooze out from his bones, as if he couldn't bear to live under the same sky as Naruto.

As he closed in on Naruto, he didn't hesitate for even a moment. Ignoring the surrounding Demonic cultivators, he stretched his right hand out and made a clawing motion. The Sea Dragon behind him roared, then shot past him, flying gracefully toward Naruto and then slashing at him with its claws.

It was a vicious attack filled with killing intent, clearly designed to rip him to pieces.

The claws even seemed to embody natural law, as if they could borrow from the power of the Ninth Sea itself. It transformed into a sealing mark which caused everything in the area to shake. The seafloor quaked, and boundless ripples spread out.

Naruto's eyes glittered coldly as a sense of crisis filled him. Shockingly, he transformed into a golden roc, which let out a piercing cry as it shot toward the Sea Dragon.

Moments later, the roc and the dragon collided, and a huge boom echoed out.

That one interchange caused Naruto in golden roc-form to spit out a mouthful of blood, increasing his speed rapidly to evade the first slash of the Sea Dragon's claws.

As he retreated, the Sea Dragon swept its mighty tail toward Naruto, ripping the air violently as it neared him.

If that tail strike landed on Naruto, it wouldn't matter that he had a true Immortal fleshly body. If he wasn't killed, then at the least, he would be seriously injured. After all, this was the attack of an Ancient Realm cultivator with five extinguished soul lamps.

All of this takes some time to describe, but occurred in only a brief moment. The tail, filled with bursting power, was just about to slam into Naruto. Naruto, face grim, transformed back from a golden roc into human-form, then waved his right hand. Instantly, buzzing filled the air as 500 black beetles appeared in front of him, using their backs to form a huge shield.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The tail smacked into the black beetle shield, which trembled violently and then collapsed into 500 parts. However, despite being dispersed by the blow… the force of the blow had been split amongst the black beetles such that not a single one was killed.

With the help of the black beetles, Naruto retreated roughly 3,000 meters. Waving his right hand, he caused the 500 black beetles to swirl around him as the illusory Sea Dragon prepared a second slashing attack.

The speed of the attack caused the surrounding disciples of the Nine

Seas God World to gasp. They could never have imagined that Naruto, who had an Immortal Realm cultivation base, could fight back against the attack of an Ancient Realm Elder.

The black-robed old man frowned, and his killing intent grew more intense as he advanced again.

Naruto took a deep breath as he glared at the old man. His Ancient Realm cultivation base was not ordinary. However, they were still at the bottom of the sea. If they were outside, he would be even more powerful.

Naruto had his speculations that if he successfully absorbed his own Nirvana Fruits, the explosive power of his Immortal Realm cultivation base might be strong enough to fight back. However… that would only be if the Ninth Sea wasn't suppressing his cultivation base.

His eyes glittered, and as the pressure from the old man crushed down on him, he snorted coldly. However, he did not retreat. Instead, he took a step forward, then spoke out, his voice booming, "Presumptuous!?

"I, Naruto, am a conclave disciple of the Nine Seas God World! After returning to my own sect, I was inexplicably attacked! You, an Elder, didn't even stop to inquire about who was in the wrong, but instead attacked with deadly force. And you say that I'm presumptuous!?

"The person I killed was the presumptuous one! I'm a member of the Namikaze Clan, a disciple of all of the Three Great Daoist Societies! He wanted to kill me? I bet he was actually an agent of the Hebi Clan!

"I heard that not too long ago, the Hebi Clan had sleeper cells in the Three Great Daoist Societies that sowed a lot of chaos. That man must have been a cultivator of the Hebi Clan!

"He attacked me impulsively, and then even called on a bunch of accessories to aid in his treason! Killing me would earn him a lot of credit in the Hebi Clan! Killing me would destroy the reputation of the Daoist Societies! Killing me would accomplish his mission!" Naruto's words were as sharp as daggers. With each sentence he spoke, he took a step forward, taking every opportunity to embellish his words, trumping up the gravity of the situation.

When the surrounding Demonic cultivators heard his words ring out, they were instantly enraged, and began to shout out angrily.

"YOU!"

"You're shameless! SLANDERER!"

"He wasn't a Hebi Clan agent, and we definitely aren't accessories to treason!" Their killing intent grew even stronger, as if they wanted to chomp Naruto up and swallow him. Some of the more irascible ones clenched their fists and began to walk forward.

As for the ordinary cultivators, they looked hesitant. Quite a few had already pressed down on jade slips to notify Elders within the sect. The disturbance was also attracting the attention of disciples from other areas in the sect, who were now flying over to watch the events play out.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, but inwardly, he was laughing coldly. When it came to battles of oratorical wit, he had never been defeated. Not in the Violet Fate Sect, not on Planet South Heaven as large, and not in the Namikaze Clan. It would be impossible to say how many people would grudgingly describe him as sharp-tongued.

"If you're not from the Hebi Clan, then why would attack me as soon as you saw me?!" he retorted, glancing around coldly at all the infuriated Demonic cultivators. Then he turned to the black-robed old man and coolly said, "And now, you even have an Elder joining you! It's a classic case of the big bullying the small! Elder Hai Sheng, could it be that you want to start your own version of the torture chamber right here!? You want to use the greater power of your Ancient Realm cultivation base to kill me?

"That's because you–" The Demonic cultivators' eyes went bright red, but before they could finish responding, Elder Hai Sheng gave a cold harrumph, and his expression became incredibly dark. Naruto was speaking very loudly, causing his voice to boom out in all directions and attract a lot of attention. Elder Hai Sheng wanted to attack him, but didn't dare to be so obvious. Therefore he could only secretly wallow in his fury that Naruto had blocked his previous two attacks.

When he spoke, his voice was like thunder, pushing down oppressively on everyone in the area:

"It doesn't matter what happened. Killing people here cannot be tolerated. Men, arrest him and take him to the sect court to be held accountable!" Elder Hai Sheng could see that the crowd was only growing larger, making it impossible for him to attack Naruto again. He knew that, as of now, it would be impossible to kill him. Inwardly, however, he was sneering coldly.

He looked at Naruto, flicked his sleeve, and thought, "I might not be able to kill you this day, but I will most certainly humiliate you! Your reputation among the disciples of the Three Great Daoist Societies will be ruined! Furthermore, this will ensure that all other powers in the Nine Seas God World know that our Demonic Cultivator Horde and YOU… are irreconcilable enemies! With the Demonic cultivators taking the initiative, more and more people will be unable to suppress their ill feelings, causing more trouble for you!

"That way, you will only find yourself facing more and more enemies in the Nine Seas God World! Even if the Grand Elders and Patriarchs approve of you, they are not your Dao protectors. Eventually, sooner or later, it will reach a point where… you'll definitely die here!

"That is the only way to give vent to the blood enmity that exists between us! That is the only way that we Nine Seas God World Demonic cultivators can ease the stench of your vile aura!

"And if you want to know the reason why… well, too bad! I'm not going to tell you!" Elder Hai Sheng's face was as cold as ice, and his eyes were shot with blood, causing Naruto's heart to sink.

Naruto was still trying to figure out why all of this was happening, but he couldn't be certain. What exactly was it that had caused such deepseated enmity between him and the Demonic cultivators?

"Is it the spirit-immortal stones? Or perhaps me being part of the League of Demon Sealers? Or maybe me showing up here threatens the interest of some unknown party? An old foe of the Namikaze Clan?" Naruto felt a headache coming on. Even after pondering the matter from every angle, he was still perplexed about the situation. After Elder Hai Sheng finished speaking, seven or eight disciples flew through the air toward Naruto, killing intent seething.

Naruto's eyes glittered coldly. He had already started killing people, so he didn't mind killing a few more. Although… if he could get some more promissory notes, that would be even better!

"Since they're not going to provide any explanation," he thought, "I'll just force them to owe me more money than they'll ever be able to pay back!

"Furthermore, I can't believe that this disturbance has gone unnoticed

by those old fogies of the Nine Seas God World. They have to know what's happening!" He was irritated, and seeing how much the Demonic cultivators wanted to kill him, he found the whole situation to be very annoying.

"Don't you worry. As long as you do what I say, I won't beat you to death!" he said coolly. Lifting his left hand, he caused tens of thousands of mountains to crush down from above.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1039

Chapter 1039: I Have Proof!

Of the eight Demonic cultivators, three were female. They were extremely beautiful and charming, as it seemed most female Demonic cultivators were. Despite the murderous looks that currently warped their faces, they were extremely attractive.

Although they all had various body parts that clearly belonged to sea beasts, that wasn't distracting, and if anything, enhanced their beauty. The rest of the male Demonic cultivators were all equally handsome.

Currently, all eight of these Demonic cultivators were now closing in on Naruto.

His eyes glittered as he waved his right hand, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as the Mountain Consuming Incantation materialized into the form of a mountain chain which crushed down onto the incoming cultivators.

The eight Demonic cultivators were prepared, however. Echoing booms rang out as they performed incantation gestures, causing Immortal Chakra to surge out. Each and every one was in the Immortal Realm, although none were true Immortals; they were all false Immortals. They fought back against the mountain chain with divine abilities and magical techniques, as well as with their Dharma Idols.

Booms rang out in all directions. All of these Demonic cultivators were at the peak of the Immortal Realm. It was with cold harrumphs that they fought back against the Mountain Consuming Incantation, causing the mountain chain to collapse. Furthermore, they arranged themselves in a magical formation, allowing them to swap locations and increase the power of their divine abilities. In the blink of an eye, the Mountain Consuming Incantation's mountain range collapsed into pieces.

The eight Demonic cultivators continued to charge forward, led by a beautiful woman who had no scales at all, and looked almost exactly like a normal cultivator. The only difference was that she stood inside of a gigantic shell that was far larger than her own person.

She moved with incredible speed, nearing Naruto, eyes flickering with killing intent. She lifted her hand to reveal, shockingly, a beautiful pearl, which was emanating glittering light.

"Solidify!" she said. Although her voice was beautiful, it instantly caused the surroundings to grow colder.

The glittering light of the pearl emanated strange power as it threatened to lock down Naruto.

His eyes shone with a bizarre light as he lifted his right hand in response, then pointed up into the air.

"A Writ of Karma!" Instantly, black and white light appeared on his hand, which transformed into threads that shot out. Simultaneously, Karma Threads appeared over his head.

Almost as soon as the Karma Threads appeared, Naruto took a step forward. Instantly, he was directly in front of the shelled female Demonic cultivator. Her expression flickered as Naruto's hand reached out to tap her forehead.

The woman's face fell as an intense sensation of crisis rose up in her heart, and her shell rapidly snapped shut to protect her.

However, Naruto snorted coldly, which shook her mentally and sent her cultivation base into chaos. The shell stopped in place, and Naruto's finger shot into the shell like lightning to land directly onto the female Demonic cultivator's forehead.

It was a light touch, but it was enough to bind her Karma Threads. He lifted his hand up and tied the Karma Threads that no outsider could see into a knot, linking them together. The knot then turned into a brilliant light in the middle of his palm, which was then transformed by the magical technique into a promissory note!

The female Demonic cultivator's body trembled, and she felt as if something inside of her had been taken away without her volition. Shocked, she tried to retreat, but it took only the blink of an eye for Naruto to wave his hand, causing a wild wind to sweep over her. Her body was beyond her own control as she was grabbed by Naruto, sealed, and stuffed into his bag of holding.

"It worked!" he thought, falling back and taking a moment to examine the Demonic cultivator he had just captured. His eyes rapidly began to glow even brighter. "Demonic cultivators are great! I can sell them off as pets or even mounts. Anything people will buy!

"Their entire bodies are treasures; I could carve out random chunks if I wanted and refine them into Chakra and blood medicinal pills. That giant shell also has a Demon heart!

"Excellent. Excellent. This is much better than all that seafood from the Milky Way Sea." Naruto appeared to be delighted. As far as he was concerned, if the Demonic cultivators viewed him as an enemy, then he might as well treat them as seafood. All of a sudden, he felt intense regret.

"Dammit, I shouldn't have killed that one earlier!" Even in his moment of pain, his body flickered to appear in front of one of the other Demonic cultivators. This time, it was a man whose back stuck out so far it almost looked like a camel. Actually, it was no hump, but a turtle shell. Shockingly, this Demonic cultivator had started practicing cultivation as

a turtle!

"I hate damned turtles most of all!" Naruto murmured. The Demonic cultivator's face fell, and Naruto extended his right hand. A Writ of Karma appeared again, along with intense rumbling sounds, as he forced ties of destiny. The Demonic cultivator trembled and tried to flee, but Naruto instantly caused a huge hand to appear and snatch toward him.

The Star Plucking Magic rotated as he grabbed the man, sealed him, and stashed him away.

He moved with incredible speed, following the same pattern. In a very short period of time, he had captured four Demonic cultivators!

This scene caused the surrounding disciples to stare with wide eyes.

"What is he doing?"

"Oh, I remember. This Naruto has a strange hobby of getting people to write promissory notes. He even created a divine ability that can… can force people to be tied to him via Karma!"

"He just captured Junior Brother Jin and Junior Sister Shui!"

As for the Demonic cultivators, when they saw what was happening, they were enraged. Roars of fury could be heard as dozens of them charged toward Naruto.

Apparently, Naruto's actions spurred all of the Demonic cultivators into a rage. After the first dozen charged him, they were followed by hundreds more, all of whom flew into the air straight toward him.

Elder Hai Shen's eyes were bright red, as if new hatreds were being piled onto old ones. Gritting his teeth, he was just about to attack when, all of a sudden, he stopped in place and remained silent.

Even if he didn't attack, there were hundreds of Demonic cultivators attacking. Even though they were all false Immortals, there were hundreds of them attacking at the same time, an attack that even an Ancient Realm cultivator would be forced to avoid. Energy surged, shocking magical techniques were unleashed, and killing intent filled the area.

Naruto might be powerful, but the sight of it caused even his scalp to tingle. He grabbed a fifth Demonic cultivator, and then began to back up. The man struggled and howled, but Naruto quickly sealed him and continued to retreat.

BOOM!

The place he had just been standing in shattered. Ripples spread out, and hundreds of Demonic cultivators continued chasing Naruto with frenzied attacks.

"Damn those old farts from the Nine Seas God World!" Naruto thought. "Why haven't they shown up yet!?" He backed up under the onslaught of hundreds of maddened Demonic cultivators, sure that the old bastards were currently watching the spectacle from the sidelines.

"I killed someone before, and they still didn't make an appearance…." he thought as he backed up. Finally, he snorted coldly.

"Well, I was in the right. If something really bad happens, the old fogies will have to take responsibility. In that case… I'm going to force them to show their faces!" Eyes flickering, he raised his right hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron.

He might fear the combined attacks of all of the Demonic cultivators, but in truth, Naruto wasn't the least bit frightened of fighting outnumbered. In fact, as long as he was careful, such large-scale fighting was the best type of battlefield for him.

Electricity danced, and a rumbling sound could be heard as he vanished. When he reappeared, he was right in the middle of all the Demonic cultivators, having switched places with one of their number. In the moment that he fully appeared, and before anyone could react, he reached his hand out and shoved out forcefully. A Demonic cultivator whose body was half covered with scales had its Karma tied up, and was captured.

Next, the flash of lightning could once again be seen, and Naruto disappeared. He showed up in another location, causing the Demonic cultivators to roar in frustration. Naruto was like a loach, virtually impossible to pin down. No matter how much force the Demonic cultivators used in their attacks, they were never able to keep Naruto in one place.

Of course, in all the chaos, Naruto received some injuries. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and yet, his eyes shone as brightly as ever. Often, it would only take one flash of light before he had captured yet another Demonic cultivator.

10\. 15. 20….

Not much time passed before Naruto had captured over 30 Demonic cultivators. Finally, there was someone who couldn't endure the situation any longer. A cold snort echoed out from the very depths of the Nine Seas God World.

It was accompanied by Heaven-shaking, Earth-rocking pressure, a pressure which changed natural law and caused the entire Ninth Sea to seethe and roar.

When that sound echoed out, Naruto's face fell. Shocking pressure rumbled down as a giant finger materialized in midair, which then pushed down toward Naruto.

Essence aura also roiled out.

"Dao Realm!" Naruto's eyes went wide. He had absolutely no way to fight back against the terrifying might of the Dao Realm. However, almost as soon as the finger appeared, a dry cough echoed out.

At long last, the old-timers from the Nine Seas God World couldn't sit still any longer. The dry cough echoed out to cover everything, transforming into a mighty pressure that prevented all of the Demonic cultivators from attacking.

An old man appeared out of thin air. A single step forward, and he was in front of the giant finger that was pushing down toward Naruto. He waved his hand out to touch the finger.

Rumbling echoed out in all directions as the hand and the finger made contact. The finger trembled and then faded away. As for the old man, he staggered backward a few paces, his face a mass of white and red lines, as if his Chakra and blood were in chaos.

"Elder Brother Wu, there's no reason to act thus," said the old man. Naruto immediately recognized him! It was none other than Ling Yunzi! He wasn't the only one to appear. He was followed by seven or eight disciples of the Nine Seas God World, including Fan Dong'er.

She looked coldly at Naruto, inwardly rejoicing at his misfortune.

As soon as Ling Yunzi showed up, all of the disciples of the Nine Seas God World clasped hands and bowed. Even the black-robed Elder Hai Sheng bowed his head.

At this point, a cold and ancient voice echoed out in all directions, replying to Ling Yunzi: "He killed a member of my Demonic Cultivator Horde!"

"Naruto didn't attack first," answered Ling Yunzi slowly. "In fact, he evaded twice. Any member of the sect who attacks a conclave disciple has committed a grave offense that cannot be absolved even if they are killed in the counterattack. Even if he had not died, he would have been immediately expelled from the sect."

"I didn't see any of my Demonic cultivators attack of their own initiative," replied the cold, ancient voice. "I just saw this kid killing my people. Furthermore, he captured 33 disciples of my Demonic Cultivator Horde. Shouldn't he immediately set them free?!"

This time, Naruto didn't wait for Ling Yunzi to respond. He wasn't worried about causing a huge ruckus. After all, he was the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, and was a disciple of all of the Three Great Daoist Societies. If the Nine Seas God World allowed anything unfortunate to happen, it would cause a massive conflict within the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Therefore, full of confidence and courage, he flickered to appear next to Ling Yunzi, then cried, "Those 33 seafood dishes owed me money. HUGE amounts of spirit stones! They can't pay me back, so they sold themselves to me to pay off the debt! I have PROOF!" Even as he spoke, he lifted up his hand, within which were a stack of promissory note formed by A Writ of Karma. 1

—-

Note from Er Gen: Uh… I feel like eating seafood.

Note from Deathblade: I don't particularly feel like eating seafood, although there's a pretty high-end buffet near my house that has unlimited king crab legs. Okay I changed my mind, I feel like eating seafood!

The references to seafood in this and later chapters are pretty funny. The second character of the word seafood is a complete homophone for the word "Immortal." Therefore, when spoken, the word would sound like "Sea Immortal." However, it would equally sound like "seafood," which is a really common word. I will go back and forth between "seafood" and "seafood dish" when translating this term, because "seafood" is an uncountable noun and "seafood dish" is a countable noun. Countable and uncountable nouns do not exist in Chinese, making it difficult to stick with one or the other in certain situations. By the way, the original Chinese characters are consistently 海鲜 (seafood) not 海仙

(sea immortal) ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1040

Chapter 1040: Don't Provoke Me!

Ling Yunzi gaped in response to Naruto's words. The other disciples of the Nine Seas God World behind him also stared with wide eyes. Fan Dong'er gasped.

The other cultivators in the area felt their jaws drop and their minds reel. All of that was because Naruto had said the words… seafood.

Simultaneously, the surrounding Demonic cultivators' eyes went bright red, and their desire to kill rocketed up, transforming into a tempest within the Nine Seas God World.

"He actually dared to call us seafood? He MUST be killed!"

"Kill him NOW! I haven't eaten a cultivator for a long time, and I want to eat HIM!" Roaring sounds raged up into the air, echoing out in all directions.

Naruto laughed coldly, and his expression was the same as ever. His words had been uttered intentionally, of course. He did not believe for a moment that if he spoke politely, the Demonic cultivators would suddenly stop viewing him as an enemy that needed to be killed.

For whatever reason, they hated him and wanted him dead, a situation that didn't seem possible to resolve. Therefore, since he didn't have the power to fight back physically, he would use fatally destructive words as his weapon.

Sometimes, the power of one's words were of more use than the strength of one's cultivation base.

For example, calling the Demonic cultivators 'seafood dishes' was something that no other person would dare to do. In fact, because of the history and roots of the Nine Seas God World, it was most likely a term that no one had even thought to associate with the Demonic cultivators. However, Naruto said it, and the words echoed out for everyone to hear.

On many occasions a single sentence, or even just two words, can completely change the situation.

A perfect example was this very moment, in which the non-Demonic cultivators of the Nine Seas God World were looking around with strange expressions on their faces. Normally speaking, they viewed the Demonic cultivators as fellow sect disciples, but right now, when they looked at them, they couldn't help but think about seafood.

"Lies upon more lies!" raged the ancient voice. Massive killing intent bore down, materializing into a huge hand that rumbled down toward Naruto.

From the look of it, that hand was capable of completely crushing the entire land. As it descended, the air shattered, and natural law collapsed. It was as if the fury of the Heavens were crushing down, causing Ling Yunzi's face to flicker. At this point, a soft sigh echoed out as an old woman appeared in midair. She waved her finger toward the huge hand, causing the hand to collapse, whereupon it transformed into a huge tentacle. A muffled grunt echoed out, but the tentacle didn't fade away. Instead, it swerved around the old woman and continued on toward Naruto.

The old woman did nothing to intervene this time. She merely said, "Enough, Junior Brother Wu. You know how important Naruto is. Don't force me to damage our friendship."

As she spoke, a stream of divine sense shot out from thin air. Although no physical body was present, the aura of the Dao Realm appeared, radiating intense pressure. The threatening nature of the aura was plainly evident.

This aura merged with those of the old woman and Ling Yunzi, creating a towering energy that swept out in all directions, causing all the surrounding regions of the Ninth Sea to seethe.

Almost as soon as the stream of divine sense appeared, a second stream of divine sense also exploded out from within the depths of the Nine Seas God World. This divine sense radiated a sense of madness and ferocity, and was filled with Demonic qi. This was clearly a Dao Realm Demonic cultivator!

However, even with that divine sense merging with that of the cultivator named Wu, they were no match for the old woman's faction.

Things weren't over yet, though. Almost as soon as the Dao Realm aura appeared, two more Dao Realm auras appeared from two different directions. The streams of surging energy actually formed into four factional powers.

The tentacle paused in midair, as if they all were now in the middle of a standoff.

The surrounding disciples of the Nine Seas God World looked on with flickering faces. Neither Demonic nor non-Demonic cultivators could ever have imagined that they would be witnessing a shocking scene like this.

There were only a few disciples who watched with glittering eyes; clearly, they were already aware of the complex nature of the relationships between the various factions within the Nine Seas God World.

Naruto's eyes widened. This brief probing on his part had already revealed the depth and caliber of the Nine Seas God World.

"I can't believe they have seven Dao Realm experts! They definitely deserve to be one of the Three Great Daoist Societies!" Naruto's mind trembled. He could now see that the faction represented by the old woman was the strongest within the Nine Seas God World. That was also the same faction which had insisted on accepting him as a disciple.

After a long moment, the archaic voice echoed out from within the tentacle, cold and filled with killing intent: "We can forget about the person he killed. If he just hands over my disciples that were captured, and kowtows to admit his wrongdoing, then we can put the matter to rest."

The old woman frowned. As far as she was concerned, handing over the captured Demonic cultivators would be fine. However, the matter of kowtowing to admit fault was a bit excessive. She was just about to open her mouth to respond, when Naruto began to laugh.

"Put the matter to rest? After arriving in the Ninth Sea, I was hunted murderously by numerous seafood dishes! Then I arrived at the Nine Seas God World, and even more seafood inexplicably attacked me! There was even one seafood dish which tried to kill me!

"After I killed him, an old seafood dish shamelessly used his Ancient Realm cultivation base to try to murder me!

"After that, a whole army of mini-seafood dishes joined forces to attack me! Then in the end, in an unbelievable turn of events, a Dao Realm expert actually tried to make a move on me! Even I have limits to my patience! You think you can just put the matter to rest? Like hell we can put it to rest!" Naruto's wording was sharp and incisive, his voice cold.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the surrounding disciples frowned.

Many of them believed Naruto to be ignorant of the height of the Heavens and the depth of the Earth. His voice didn't match up at all to that of an almighty member of the Dao Realm.

As for the Demonic cultivators, they began to chuckle coldly, believing Naruto to have vastly overestimated himself.

"Screw off! You don't qualify to speak in this situation!" said the ancient voice, which echoed about like thunder.

Even though Naruto stood next to Ling Yunzi, blood began oozing out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth due to the vibrations of the voice. However, his expression was one of ferocity as he threw his head back and laughed.

"I'm not qualified?

"I'm the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, and in the future I'll certainly be the Clan Chief. The Namikaze Clan has Namikaze Shoudao, the Earth Patriarch, along with Patriarch Yanxu, AND the first generation Patriarch. In the battle of Planet East Victory, they cut down Dao Realm experts as easily as slaughtering chickens. You want me to kowtow to you? That's like having the whole Namikaze Clan kowtow to you! Even if I did kowtow, would you dare to accept it?!"

His words echoed out like thunder into all ears. Even the owner of that ancient voice, who had not appeared in person, but remained hidden in secluded meditation, was speechless.

He could afford to disregard Naruto, but he couldn't afford to disregard the Namikaze Clan. That was especially true after the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan put on such a display of might in the battle of Planet East Victory, and had even cowed the Hebi Clan into retreat. How could he even compare?

This Dao Realm expert had personally witnessed the first generation

Patriarch on the attack, and it left his scalp numb and mind spinning. Suddenly, the legends about the Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch all seemed to rise up into his mind.

He was from a generation of fierce experts, a contemporary of Hebi Tian.

According to the legends, in the great war in which Lord Hebi became the

Heavens, the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan was the number one killer, bathing the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea in blood!

However, Naruto wasn't finished yet!

"By the way, I'm not just a disciple of the Nine Seas God World. I'm also a conclave disciple of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, AND the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto! Did you ask the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite and the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto whether or not you could mess with me!?

"You want me, their conclave disciple, to kowtow? That's the same as having the entire Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite and the entire Sublime Flow Sword Grotto kowtow to you! Well then, let me ask you the same thing as before. If I did kowtow, would you dare to accept it?"

As Naruto's words echoed out, Ling Yunzi stood there silently. As for the old woman, she smiled slightly. She had been planning to interfere in the matter, but now, it seemed there was no need to do anything. Her eyes glowed with amusement as she watched Naruto.

As for the old Dao Realm expert who represented the Demonic Cultivator Horde, he continued to hesitate.

"Do you think your crappy Seafood Horde is the only power structure among all the Three Great Daoist Societies?

"You think I don't qualify? Well then let me ask you, who DOES qualify?

"If you don't give me an explanation right now, do you really think that the Namikaze Clan, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, and these Elder Patriarchs of the God World, couldn't completely wipe out your Seafood Horde?" Naruto's voice grew clearer and clearer, his wording sharper and more incisive. All of the surrounding disciples were gasping, and the faces of the Demonic cultivators fell.

As of this moment, Naruto was now the center of attention of all of the Nine Seas God World.

He stood there, jaw tilted up, his domineering will raging for all to see.

"You know what? I don't even need to call on all those people to help. If you say the word 'kowtow' one more time, how much are you willing to bet that I won't crush this jade slip and summon the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan himself to slaughter you where you stand?!" With that, Naruto held a jade slip aloft for everyone to see.

His words immediately caused an uproar. Not only did the faces of Ling Yunzi and the old woman flicker, so did the faces of the two Dao Realm Patriarchs from the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

The other two almighty Dao Realm experts from the other power factions were equally shaken. As of this moment, Naruto's words were absolutely the most powerful weapon he could possibly wield.

"I know you're probably wondering if I'm bluffing. Well let me explain it to your sorry ass: My first generation Patriarch personally gave me this jade slip, and then promised to appear at my side at any time, because I'm the successor of the One Thought Stellar Transformation!

"I'm also the only one in the Namikaze Clan to ever successfully concoct the first generation Patriarch's three Holy pills!

"Plus, I did something that almost no one else has ever done! I corroborated the Dao on my own, and I opened the maximum possible 123 meridians!

"And in fact, I'm also… in the Echelon!"

Naruto listed out one fact after another. The result was dead silence that lasted only for a moment before complete tumult took over. For all the years that the Nine Seas God World had existed, Naruto was the first person to ever excoriate a Dao Realm expert!

Furthermore, his venomous words were like a sharp sword; anyone who heard them would feel their mind rumbling.

Naruto had decided he might as well go all out with his words, in much the same manner as he had killed the Demonic cultivator earlier. He wanted to firmly establish his position among the various factions in the Nine Seas God World, with their complex relationships.

He didn't just want to unnerve the ordinary disciples, he wanted to awe the almighty Dao Realm experts. His words contained nothing truly secret; the Dao Realm experts could easily do some investigating and confirm the truth of what he was saying.

One of the reasons he wanted to establish his position in this way was that he did not intend to stay in the Nine Seas God World for very long. Therefore, the more domineering he could make himself, the easier and smoother things would be. Instead of starting out by being bullied, he would unsheathe his sword, making himself a giant mass of bristling spikes!

As far as whether or not people believed everything he said, that didn't matter. The important thing was that they knew that he was important to the Namikaze Clan, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, and the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. That would be enough.

Amidst the uproar, the tentacle up in midair suddenly vanished. A cold harrumph echoed out, but was accompanied by no words. The two Dao Realm auras from the Demonic Cultivator Horde vanished.

In that moment, the two other almighty Dao Realm auras from the other two factions stared deeply at Naruto, and then slowly faded away.

Just as Naruto had guessed, the truth of his words weren't important. Everyone could now see how deeply he was backed by the powerful forces in Ninth Mountain and Sea, and also understood the main point of all of his words.

 _Don't provoke me!_

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1041

Chapter 1041: The Origin

 _Don't provoke me!_

Naruto didn't actually speak the words, but based on everything he had said, the message to all his enemies was clear:

 _Don't provoke me!_

If you do, be prepared to deal with the consequences!

Today, I killed one Demonic cultivator and captured 33 more. Well then… if you dare to provoke me tomorrow, then I'll do the same thing. And if you push me even further, then I'll flip the table over and really cause a scene.

The streams of Dao Realm divine sense faded away. Naruto's first day in the Nine Seas God World was a day in which his name spread throughout the entire sect. All disciples heard about what happened, leaving them with a profound impression.

Fan Dong'er looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, but didn't say anything. Her expression from earlier, in which she was rejoicing in his misfortune, was completely gone. Now, her fear of him was even more deeply rooted.

The Demonic cultivators' hatred was still there, but Naruto had established his position in the sect. He still wasn't sure why they hated him so much, but it didn't matter; he had already secured his position. There wasn't a single Demonic cultivator in the entire sect who would dare to make a move against him.

No one in the Immortal Realm was his match. He had castigated the Ancient Realm, and even the Dao Realm was intimidated by him. The glorious scene in which he revealed his terrifying background caused the Demonic cultivators to not only fear him, but to also be jealous of him, and to curse his arrogant and despotic display.

Ling Yunzi left with Naruto in tow. The rest of the cultivators gradually dispersed. When Naruto's vision cleared, he was in a mountain range deep in the Nine Seas God World.

His current location was a mountain, the top half of which was covered with snow; the frigid cold was evidence of the strength of the energy of Heaven and Earth here. Despite the Nine Seas God World being at the bottom of the sea, the entire land mass was surrounded by a huge invisible shield which kept the seawater out. However, the massive pressure exerted by the Ninth Sea was still there.

At the top of the mountain was a temple, which was where Ling Yunzi was taking Naruto. As soon as he entered, he saw that there were two other people sitting there cross-legged.

One of them was the old woman from earlier. She wore a long gray robe, and her face was a mass of wrinkles. Her hair was long and white, and her expression archaic, as if she had existed for many, many years. Her eyes sparkled with a wisdom that seemed to indicate that she could see through the hearts of men.

Of course, Dao Realm experts were all eccentrics with vast experience and unique personalities. They could tell that Naruto's previous threats had been nothing more than explanations about his background. However, he had intentionally spoken them out and then let them hang in the air suspensefully. In the end, it didn't really matter if the Dao Realm experts fully believed him or not, the important thing was to plant seeds of doubt and fear in their minds.

Next to the old woman was an old man with an expressionless face, wearing a green robe. As he sat there cross-legged, his gaze swept over Naruto, seemingly sizing him up.

His eyes seemed to contain a sharpness, an ability to thoroughly probe every aspect of Naruto. His eyes lingered for a moment on Naruto's forehead, and his eyes sparkled.

Under the old man's gaze, Naruto felt his cultivation base involuntarily rotating, and all of a sudden, his forehead flickered as the Echelon mark appeared.

When the old man saw the mark, he nodded and looked away.

"Naruto," said the old woman, smiling, "you can call me Granny Nine." Her expression was kind as she spoke to Naruto.

"As for the Guru sitting next to me, you should refer to him as

Godmaster."

"Naruto offers greetings to Matriarch Granny Nine and Guru Godmaster." Naruto immediately reined in all of his domineering and arrogant manner from before, and put on a very meek and charming demeanor. He even looked a bit bashful as he clasped hands and offered formal greetings.

When they saw Naruto's bashful expression, Granny Nine apparently found it very amusing. She looked at Naruto, her gaze kind and gentle.

Next to her, Ling Yunzi's expression was one of approval. Years ago during the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire, he had long since come to have a good impression of Naruto, especially his willingness to sacrifice so much for the Nine Seas God World. It had definitely left him with a deep impression.

"This is for you," Granny Nine said with a laugh, "consider it your welcoming gift for joining the sect." She made a grasping motion, causing a bag of holding to appear, which she sent floating over to Naruto.

He blinked, then accepted it and scanned it with divine sense. Immediately, his heart began to pound with excitement. The bag of holding was filled with masses of pill formulas and jade slips. There was also a huge collection of medicinal plants, many of which were extremely rare in the outside world. The value of the contents of this bag was astronomical.

Ling Yunzi chuckled and said, "We know you're fond of alchemy, so the three of us old-timers prepared this special gift to give you upon our first meeting. Many of the items in that bag were things that we recently took a trip to acquire just for you."

Although his words seemed straightforward, the medicinal plants were clearly a reminder to Naruto of how much the three of them valued him.

Naruto immediately bowed again, and said: "Patriarchs, I offer profound thanks for this expression of utmost generosity and kindness."

With no hesitation whatsoever, he quickly put the bag of holding into his robe, and as he did, he saw the three old-timers shaking their heads and smiling. Even Godmaster, whose face had been expressionless, was now smiling.

"First of all," said Granny Nine, "allow us to apologize for what happened when you first arrived in the Ninth Sea. That was a bit beyond what we had anticipated. Originally, we would have come out immediately to resolve the situation, but because of some certain unforeseen circumstances, we were unable to. We hope that you can understand."

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. He was not a newcomer to the world of cultivation, and had in fact practiced cultivation for many years. He had experienced many situations of mutual deception, and knew that there were just some matters that couldn't be pursued too seriously.

He might be able to believe that she was unaware of the reaction his arrival would provoke among the Demonic Cultivator Horde, but he was also sure that the resulting conflict had caused Granny Nine and the faction she represented to suddenly have other motives.

After all, they were the primary faction in the Nine Seas God World, and clearly, they wanted to use the opportunity to put the Demonic Cultivator Horde in place. Naruto couldn't really say anything about that.

It was much the same as it had been in the Namikaze Clan. He had been used in a similar way back then… which was fine. However, being used in such a way should come with compensation. Therefore, after receiving the bag of holding, he quickly put any feelings of ill-will to rest.

Naruto was sure that if events hadn't played out the way they had, there would still have been a gift presented. However, it would most likely have contained about half of the valuable medicinal plants that it did.

Seeing Naruto's obedient and charming attitude, as well as his quick wit and lack of any prying into the details of what had happened, caused the praise in Granny Nine's eyes to grow even stronger.

"Now that you're here in the Nine Seas God World, I'll give you a simple rundown of the origin of the Three Great Daoist Societies," the woman began slowly. As soon as she started talking, Naruto's ears perked up. "These are things that we can tell you, but they must not be spread beyond this room.

"The Three Great Daoist Societies have existed eternally from the beginning of the Nine Mountains and Seas down to this day.

"As to how they were started, well, they were founded by none other than the three supreme Paragons!"

"The true names of those three Paragons have long since been forgotten. However, everyone referred to them as Paragon Immortal Ancient, Paragon Nine Seals, and Paragon Sea Dream!

"Paragon Immortal Ancient founded the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. Paragon Sea Dream founded the Nine Seas God World and the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto.

"That is the origin of the Three Great Daoist Societies. You have met

Paragon Sea Dream; she is the one who placed you into the Echelon. She is also the only surviving Paragon…." Granny Nine's voice floated out as if from ancient times, slowly lifting up the veil that covered the truth of the history of the Three Great Daoist Societies.

Naruto was silent for a moment. Some of these things were matters he had already guessed the truth of. However, to hear them personally out of the mouth of the Granny Nine left him quite shaken. Finally, he asked, "The Three Great Daoist Societies aren't specific to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, are they? And what about Paragon Nine Seals? What did he create?"

"Excellent questions," replied the woman, nodding. Her eyes shone with praise. "Each and every one of the Nine Mountains and Seas has Three Great Daoist Societies!"

Her words caused Naruto's mind to spin.

"They are all called the Nine Seas God World, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite and the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto.

"There are nine Nine Seas God Worlds, and when they are combined… that is the TRUE Nine Seas God World!" Granny Nine's voice was calm as she spoke.

"As for Paragon Nine Seals, nobody knows exactly what he founded. However, throughout the years, various clues have been discovered, which have led to sundry speculations and rumors…." At this point, Granny Nine stopped talking, almost as if she were still in shock and disbelief over the words she was about to speak.

The person to complete the thought was not the Granny Nine, but the expressionless old man who was called guru Godmaster. "According to the rumors," he said, "Paragon Nine Seals created… the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!"

When Naruto heard this, his mind filled with crashing rumbling. The information contained in what he had heard was something completely unheard of, leaving him shaken and panting.

"Paragon Nine Seals created the Mountain and Sea Realm?" he exclaimed.

"It's merely speculation," Godmaster said, his archaic voice echoing out through the temple hall. "There's no way to determine whether it's true or not. However, Paragon Nine Seals was the leader of the three great Paragons, so perhaps… during the era of the great war, he was the only one who could accomplish such a feat, to reverse the fate of the cosmos, and to leave behind a tiny strand of incense burning as a memorial for the Immortal Realm." His voice reverberated throughout the temple.

"It is this speculation that leads us to believe that Paragon Nine Seals' Daoist magic was none other than the Mountain and Sea Scripture!

"Whoever can acquire the full Mountain and Sea Scripture, will be the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm! That person will lead us into battle against the 33 Heavens, and restore the Immortal Realm to its former glory!

"The world we live in is the Immortal Realm, the Paragon Immortal Realm which once ruled over all the 3,000 Lower Realms!" Godmaster closed his eyes to conceal the grief contained therein.

Naruto was breathing heavily. He had learned from his Soulsearch of

Yi Fazi that the Mountain and Sea Realm was what remained of the Paragon Immortal Realm. However, to hear the story directly from the mouth of guru Godmaster was a different matter. All of a sudden, images he had gained from the Soulsearch floated up in his mind.

"It's enough that you know just this much," Granny Nine said softly. "It's better that you remain unaware of some of the more complicated details….

"The mission of the Three Great Daoist Societies is to help the Echelon grow. The Echelon was begun by Paragon Sea Dream. All of the nine Mountains and Seas have cultivators who are part of the Echelon. As for the Ninth Mountain and Sea… we have the fewest members. The first was your ancestor, and the second is you.

"Your path is not limited to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, but rather, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. Your competitors, are no longer the fellow members of your generation, but rather… members of the Echelon from throughout the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"The Echelon battles are brutal, and on many occasions, are not just between two opponents. Sometimes, the power of entire sects will back two opponents, even leading to huge inter-mountain wars!

"We are not asking you to be the most powerful member of the Echelon. Rather, we just hope… that you can maintain your spot! If you simply continue on down your path, then whatever price must be paid by the Three Great Daoist Societies of the Ninth Mountain and Sea… will be worth it!" Granny nine looked deep into Naruto's eyes, her expression one of anticipation.

Naruto found it hard to remain calm. Although he had already guessed the truth about many of these things, his heart was still filled with incomparable waves of shock.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1042

Chapter 1042: Trial by Fire of the Windswept Realm

There wasn't even a slight breeze within the temple hall, but as of this moment, Naruto felt like there was a gale force wind buffeting his heart, giving rise to waves of shock. Rumbling sounds filled his mind, causing him to feel somewhat dazed.

"No one can say for certain what Paragon Sea Dream's plan is for the Echelon…." Granny Nine said. Her voice floated like the wind throughout the temple hall.

"However, there is no harm in speculating. Over the years, the Three Great Daoist Societies of the Mountain and Sea Realm have pieced together what we feel is the answer. It is a simple explanation that we think comes close to the truth.

"The Echelon… is a list of Paragons!

"The only people who can join the Echelon are people who qualify to eventually become a Paragon.

"The Echelon was put in place to develop Paragons for the Mountain and Sea Realm!" Granny Nine's eyes shone with flickering light, and her voice was filled with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron.

"After the great catastrophe, no new Paragons appeared within the

Mountain and Sea Realm. Even Ksitigarbha, who everyone acknowledges as the most powerful cultivator in the Realm, is not considered a Paragon.

"That might seem normal," Granny Nine said softly. "After all, to become a Paragon is a very, very difficult thing. However, the truth of the matter is… it defies logic. As for the reasons why such a situation has come to be, perhaps only Paragon Sea Dream knows."

Naruto's mind trembled.

"That is the origin of the Three Great Daoist Societies and the Echelon." As she finished talking, she looked at Naruto. Godmaster sat next to her, eyes closed, unspeaking.

Ling Yunzi also sat there quietly, sighing inwardly.

Granny Nine then gave Naruto a deep look and continued, "As the Nine Seas God World of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, what we can do for you is exert all our power to assist you in entering the Ancient Realm!

"Therefore, we give you authority within all areas of the sect. We will open wide the doors to all of our Daoist magics and all of our resources, and to our utmost ability, make them available to you. However, those things are secondary. The most important thing….

"Is that we will open the Windswept Realm for you!"

As soon as Granny Nine mentioned the Windswept Realm, Ling Yunzi slowly looked up, and Godmaster opened his eyes.

An intense pressure weighed down on the temple as she spoke the name. Apparently, the words themselves contained some shocking power.

Granny Nine lowered her voice and said: "The Windswept Realm is a trial by fire location unique to the Nine Seas God Worlds of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"All of the Three Great Daoist Societies has their own unique worlds within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Each and every one of the various Nine Seas God Worlds, including ours, are qualified to make an appeal to open the Windswept Realm. Over all the years, we have only proposed to do so once, for your Namikaze Clan's first generation Patriarch!

"Now, after so many years have passed, we are prepared to open it a second time… for you!"

"Windswept Realm?" Naruto said, somewhat taken aback. He could tell that these three Dao Realm experts took the matter very seriously. However, he had never heard of this Windswept Realm before. It was completely foreign to him.

"Before the great catastrophe," Granny Nine explained wistfully, "there were 3,000 Lower Realms beneath the Paragon Immortal Realm. During the catastrophe, many of those 3,000 Lower Realms rebelled. War broke out… and in the end, almost all of them were destroyed.

"Only 33 Realms remained complete…."

"The Windswept Realm was once one of the 3,000 Lower Realms. It was one of the rebel Realms that was mostly destroyed in the great war. The bit that remained was taken away by Paragon Sea Dream. All who live there now are the descendants of those felon citizens!

"Over the years, after having been continuously groomed and trained for many years, they returned to upholding many of their former traditions. They came to hold the Immortal Realm in reverence and awe, and became the location of the Nine Seas God World's trial by fire!

"There, you can experience… how utterly supreme the Immortal Realm was in its heyday!"

At this point, a strange gleam appeared in Godmaster's eyes. Even Ling Yunzi was panting as he contemplated his desire for the glories of the past.

"The reason why the Windswept Realm became a location for a trial by fire, and in fact, the first such location for the Nine Seas God World, is because when the Windswept Realm was shattered, its Essence was thrown into chaos.

"Because of that chaotic state, the area is much easier to analyze. Therefore, to cultivators… it is the perfect location to experience the sensation of Essence." Granny Nine's voice seemed to contain a bizarre power as it bored into Naruto's ears, causing his heart to tremble ceaselessly.

"Essence is the door to the Dao Realm," she continued slowly. "Furthermore, traversing the Ancient Realm… is the process of continually making contact with Essence.

"That is especially true in the Windswept Realm. The World Essence can be absorbed, leading to incredible enlightenment regarding the Essence power!

"As for you personally, you will be able to directly form your Dao Fruit, and use the Essence of that world to directly enter the Ancient Realm!"

When Naruto heard all of this, his mind reeled. He had learned about some of the matters of the past from Yi Fazi's memories. But now that he heard Granny Nine's explanation, he understood about the Windswept Realm.

It was… one of the worlds of the past!

Although only half of it remained, it was still a different world!

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with a strange light. His path to the Ancient Realm had to do with Nirvana Fruits. Now that he knew he could use the Essence of that world to form Dao Fruits, he was also certain that it would be of extreme usefulness in absorbing his Nirvana Fruits.

"The Windswept Realm will be opened for your trial by fire by us here in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. However… the Windswept Realm belongs to all of the Nine Seas God Worlds of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Therefore… when you go in, other Nine Seas God Worlds will also dispatch disciples to enter.

"Obviously, since they are qualified to open the Windswept Realm, they will also have arranged for qualified disciples to enter who… are also in the Echelon!

"As such, when you enter the Windswept Realm for your trial by fire, you will likely encounter… other members of the Echelon from the Mountain and Sea Realm." As she said these things, her eyes glowed with a brilliant light.

"If you can, kill the other members of the Echelon from the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, if you aren't able to kill them, don't forget that protecting your own life is your main priority!"

Naruto looked at Granny Nine silently for a moment and then nodded. He understood that the Echelon… was like a brood of magical venomous insects which grew strong by preying on each other. Once you were in the Echelon, only by passing through numerous deadly situations alive, could one become truly powerful.

Currently, the Mountain and Sea Realm needed some extreme power. It needed… a true Paragon!

"Perhaps, what it needs is not just a Paragon," he thought. "After all, the three great Paragons of yesteryear were only able to preserve a small memorial to the Immortal Realm and thus prevent its complete destruction.

"Perhaps… in order to resolve all of the problems that exist, what is needed… is something that exceeds a Paragon!" Naruto took a deep breath, and suddenly, an image appeared in his mind. He saw nine suns dragging an enormous statue. There were also nine butterflies pulling a gigantic coffin. 1

"Although we have already begun preparations to open the Windswept Realm," Granny Nine said calmly, "we still need three months to be completely ready.

"During those three months, stay in the sect and prepare fully for the battles you will face…

"The pressure exerted by the Ninth Sea will put a heavy burden on you in terms of cultivation. You need to acclimate yourself to it as quickly as possible. Not only will it help you in the years to come, more importantly… the fact that the Windswept Realm is half destroyed and its Essence is in chaos means that you will find similar pressure there.

"Only by getting used to the pressure of the Ninth Sea will you be able to function normally in the Windswept Realm. If you don't, every step you take there will be an arduous one.

"In addition, don't forget about our sect's golden gate stone steles. Each one of them represents a trial by fire. I hope that you… can participate in every one of them! You must do everything possible to make yourself stronger during these coming three months!

"I hope to see your name on each one of those steles. You are in the

Echelon, the second of your kind throughout all the history of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" Granny Nine waved her hand, sending a bag of holding flying out to hover in front of Naruto.

"Inside that bag of holding, you will find the first place prize for our Daoist Societies' disciple recruitment event!

"There were many rewards, all of which are inside. Of course, the most valuable of all… would be, secondarily, the ancient Immortal artifact, and most of all… Paragon blood!

"Before entering the Windswept Realm, you can use it to… experience what intense power is truly like!

"How far your path stretches out ahead of you depends on your good fortune." Granny Nine gave Naruto a deep look that was clearly filled with hope and anticipation.

Naruto took a deep breath as he looked silently at the bag of holding.

Finally, his eyes began to shine with a bright light, and he reached out and took the bag. Then he clasped hands and bowed deeply to Granny Nine, to Godmaster, and to Ling Yunzi.

He did not make any promises or utter expressions of thanks. At the moment, anything he said would be meaningless. Only by clasping hands and bowing could he express his sincerity and determination.

Granny Nine's eyes glowed with praise, and Godmaster nodded. Ling Yunzi already thought well of Naruto, and a slight smile could be seen on his face.

"Go," Granny Nine said, smiling. "That bag of holding also contains a jade slip key to an Immortal's cave. It is there that you may practice cultivation in the coming three months. There is also an identity command medallion, which you can use to go anywhere in the sect."

Naruto nodded. It was at this point that Godmaster suddenly spoke.

"When the Demonic Cultivator Horde asked for you to return their disciples that you captured, all you had to do was give them back, and the problem would have been resolved. Why be so uncompromising?" The old man's face was expressionless, but his eyes shone with a profound look.

"If the result of me returning them was a reduction in the hostility shown toward me by the Demonic cultivators, then of course I would have," explained Naruto. "However, that clearly would not have happened. Therefore, why should I return them?!

"I can sell all of those seafood dishes for spirit stones and Immortal jade, or use them as threats." He smiled.

Godmaster was also smiling as he replied, "You will be safe inside the sect. However, if you go out… you must be extremely cautious. If anything untoward happens, do not hesitate to crush your command medallion. As long as you are within 1,000,000 nautical miles of the sect, I can be there within three breaths of time to provide aid!"

Then he closed his eyes and said no more. Now that he was certain about Naruto's personality, he firmly approved of him.

Naruto clasped hands and bowed. He was just about to leave when all of a sudden, he stopped in place and turned back to look at the three old timers.

"Junior wishes to ask a question. What exactly is the reason that the sea beasts attacked me when I entered the Ninth Sea. Furthermore, why did I cause such an uproar among the Demonic cultivators when I arrived at the Nine Seas God World? Why do they hate me so much?

"It almost seemed like the level of their cultivation base didn't matter; they instantly hated me so much that they couldn't live under the same sky as me. I really don't understand. Seniors, can you clear up this matter?" Naruto looked at the three old timers expectantly. He truly wished to know the answer to this question!

He just didn't believe that they didn't know the answer. Considering their status in the sect, even if they had known nothing at first, a brief inquiry would have made everything clear to them.

I have compiled a list of chapters mentioning nine suns and nine butterflies. Have at it! 555, 587, 613, 652, 664, 818, 819, 954, 1026 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1043

Chapter 1043: The Answer!

As soon as Naruto asked the question, both Granny Nine and Ling Yunzi smiled. As for Godmaster, he simply sat there silently with his eyes closed.

"And here I thought you were going to leave without asking," the woman said with a smile.

The person to respond to the question, however, was not Granny Nine, but rather, Ling Yunzi.

"At first," he said, "even we weren't aware of what caused the situation. After some checking, we came to find out that it was your aura which caused everything."

"My aura?" asked Naruto, his eyes widening. He instantly discarded more than half of his previous speculations.

Ling Yunzi didn't immediately provide an explanation, but instead, began to describe Demonic cultivators: "Demonic cultivators are a unique type of life form. They are not cultivators, and yet, they are also not Demons. They originally evolved because of the unique environment of the Ninth Sea; they are transmogrified life forms.

"They seem like cultivators, but are not. They also seem like Demons, but are not. Because of that, they call themselves… Demonic cultivators!

"Demonic cultivators like this can only be found in the seas of the Mountain and Sea Realm. As for the sea beasts you encountered out in the Ninth Sea, they simply have not completely transmogrified, and are not quite sentient. However, give them enough time, and they all have the potential to become Demonic cultivators.

"The Demonic cultivators call themselves a horde, and are extremely xenophobic. Although they are physically different from the sea beasts, they consider themselves to be all part of the same horde. Even the other sea beasts which have not yet awakened to sentience are still viewed as family.

"If you harm one of their family members, even a single one, then they will be able to sense that from your aura.

"In fact, many of them have bloodline connections to other sea beasts.

Because of this, it's not hard to imagine why, in reality, the rulers of the

Ninth Sea are not cultivators, but them."

As Naruto listened, his jaw slowly dropped and his eyes went wide. He had considered virtually all possibilities, and yet nothing he had thought of… had anything remotely to do with this.

The truth of the matter was far, far less complicated than anything he had come up with. It wasn't about the League of Demon Sealers, or the black-colored spirit-immortal stones, or some long-standing enmity with the Namikaze Clan, or some situation in which he threatened someone's power.

Naruto smiled wryly as he realized the truth of the matter.

"Once they become Demonic cultivators," continued Ling Yunzi, "They are actually not very different from cultivators. In fact, in many aspects, they are more powerful than us. In their cultivation, they can achieve Immortal Ascension, can enter the Ancient Realm, and can step into the Dao Realm.

"Throughout the years, many Demonic cultivators have left this area and gone out to other locations in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, even to other planets. There, they reproduced, giving birth to countless successive generations of their kind. Unfortunately, though, it is only in the Ninth Sea that the beasts can gain sentience and then become Demonic cultivators. In other locations, such a thing is impossible.

"Regardless of that, however, the sea beasts in the oceans of the other planets are all descended from the Ninth Sea. As such, they are all fellow horde members, and many of them are even related by blood." When Ling Yunzi saw Naruto's wry smile, a strange expression appeared on his face. He and the other two old-timers hadn't expected a reaction like this.

"I understand," said Naruto, sighing.

"All seafood under heaven is one big family…." he said, musing about how unfair the whole situation was for him. He was now certain that all of the countless sea beasts he had killed back in the Milky Way Sea on Planet South Heaven were definitely fellow horde members of the Demonic cultivators here. But how could he possibly have known back then that this would be the result?

Although the sea beasts were separated by a huge distance, and even multiple generations, and were obviously much weaker than the Demonic cultivators here, it was impossible for them to change their blood. If he had, like the average cultivator, only killed a few in the occasional random encounter, it most likely wouldn't have caused any stir in the Ninth Sea or the Nine Seas God World.

Demonic cultivators were like ordinary cultivators. They wouldn't start a blood feud because of a handful of non-sentient fellow horde members. But Naruto… had not just killed a few random sea creatures. He had killed almost all of the sea beasts in the Milky Way Sea. To the Demonic cultivators, that was almost like a genocide of an entire branch of one of their bloodlines.

Even he wasn't sure how many Demon hearts he had acquired back then.

It wasn't even possible to count how many sea beasts had died because of him. However many, it was enough to completely and utterly contaminate him with an indescribable aura. It was easy to imagine the reaction of the Demonic cultivators to anyone who showed up in the Ninth Sea with an aura like that.

Naruto was now feeling somewhat depressed. Were it some other reason, he could probably figure out a way to change things. After all, this was the Ninth Sea, and he had no desire to have blood enmity with the Demonic cultivators.

This was a matter of aura… and the ability of the fellow horde members to sense each other. In their view, Naruto's hands were soaked in blood, and it was something he couldn't do anything about.

"Can the aura be covered over?" he asked.

"Unfortunately, this type of aura cannot be concealed," replied Ling Yunzi, sighing.

"The only thing you can do is be extra careful. Try not to leave the sect. Unfortunately, it is something we could never have predicted. How could we ever have imagined that you would be infected with an aura as strong as this?" Ling Yunzi was also feeling a bit down.

"The true masters of the Ninth Sea are the Demonic cultivators," Granny Nine said slowly. "Although the Nine Seas God World holds sway here, if you trace things back to the beginning, we essentially forced our way in.

"However, legend has it that the whole reason the Demonic cultivators could achieve sentience to begin with has to do with Paragon Sea Dream. Because of that, we have coexisted throughout the years and have come to accept each other. Furthermore, the Demonic Cultivator Horde is a faction of the Nine Seas God World, both here in the Ninth

Mountain and Sea, and in the other Nine Seas God Worlds in the other Mountains and Seas.

"Don't let yourself worry about it too much. The Demonic Cultivator Horde is a part of the Nine Seas God World, and as such, must adhere to the rules of the sect. Everything… is done for the Echelon.

"Therefore, you can simply view this matter as another trial by fire."

Naruto sighed. All he could do now was nod his head, clasp hands, and bow. Then he turned and left the temple hall. As he walked out and stood there atop the mountain, a cold wind sprang up. He looked off into the distance and, from this elevation, could see most of the Nine Seas God World.

"Well, might as well not worry about it. I can't resolve the problem, so it's not worth stewing over." He pulled out the jade slip key from his bag of holding and scanned it with divine sense. Immediately a map of the Ninth Sea God World appeared.

After perusing the map, he found the Immortal's cave the three old timers had arranged for him. It was near the central district, between two mountain ranges.

He put the jade slip away, took a step forward, and then transformed into a brilliant beam of light that shot rumbling through the air toward his Immortal's cave. As he sped through the air, he encountered various disciples of the Nine Seas God World.

If they were cultivators, they would raise an eyebrow, clearly having recognized who he was. If they were Demonic cultivators, then as soon as they saw him, they visibly restrained themselves, their eyes shining with intense hatred and killing intent.

Naruto simply kept his gaze fixed straight ahead as he sped along. He went faster and faster, and after about an hour, arrived in the region of his Immortal's cave. When he looked around, the first things that stood out were two mountain ranges that looked like dragons, stretching out far and wide.

In the middle of the mountains was a huge cliff that seemed to have been formed by a seismic upheaval. Water flowed over the edge of the cliff, transforming into a towering waterfall.

Rumbling rose up from the base of the waterfall, along with massive quantities of water vapor that spread out in all directions, causing a curtain of mist to obscure the area. The water at the bottom formed a crystalline, blue pool. The energy of Heaven and Earth was very strong in the area.

Next to the pool of water was a two-story residence.

The entire area was filled with the fragrance of flowers and the singing of birds. It was like a celestial garden, filled with exotic plants and flowers, whose fragrance filled the canyon-like area surrounding the pool of water.

Cliffs rose up on all sides like impassable obstacles. Even though his place was almost in the center of the Nine Seas God World, it was secluded and peaceful.

Furthermore, considering that the residence was built into the cliff face, it was easy to imagine that it was far larger than its outward appearance. In fact, deep inside the cliff there would definitely be chambers carved into the stone.

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on it, he was thoroughly pleased.

His body flashed as he flew down past the waterfall and landed next to the pool of water. Numerous animals in the area were startled, and scattered in all directions. The grass and plants swayed gently at the disturbance, causing a fragrant aroma to fill the air. The sound of the falling waterfall instantly lifted Naruto's spirits.

"This place is great!" he thought, looking around contentedly. He walked over to the residence and looked around with increasing satisfaction, then let out a light, "Eee?" He raised his right hand and performed an incantation gesture, then pointed out. His gesture caused a wind to spring up toward a stone stele located in front of the residence.

When the wind touched the stele, it shuddered. Next, a glowing shield sprang up to cover the entire area. The sky up above was sealed off, and the waterfall was interrupted.

No more water fell down, and water began to build up on the shield.

Soon, it looked like a second pool of water, floating in the air up above.

The sides of this new pool were formed by the cliff faces, and its bottom was the shield. When he saw it, Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he realized that this was the ultimate location for secluded meditation.

It was completely cut off from the world, and also, totally safe.

In the same moment that Naruto was looking around contentedly at his Immortal's cave in the Nine Seas God World, far far away, something happened in the starry sky. That place… was not located in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Furthermore, it was a location outside of the 33 Heavens. It was located… in a different starry sky.

Visible was a projection of an ancient land mass. It was so enormous that it was impossible to describe, and it hung there in the void, emanating constant and endless pressure.

Within this projected world was… a huge coffin, as well as nine beautiful, colorful butterflies.

Surrounding the coffin was an endless sea of people, all prostrating themselves in worship.

In front of the crowds of people were three young women who were indescribably beautiful. Their eyes were filled with both hope and reminiscence as they looked at the coffin, and then down at the land beneath their feet.

In front of the three young women was an old man wearing a black robe. At his back was the illusory image of an ancient tree. Currently, his two hands were held aloft, and he was shouting loudly up into the air. It sounded like some sort of curse, although it was impossible to hear exactly what he was saying.

It didn't take long, however, for a mass of black mist to appear in front of him. It roiled and seethed, emanating a strong aura of death.

"I found it… almost. If it is used just one more time, I'll be able to locate it!" After a long moment, the old man coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his body seemed to wither. The tree behind him also withered, as if he had just spent a huge amount of life force to speak those words.

It wasn't just him who paid the price to speak the words. Everyone in the sea of people around him also spit up mouthfuls of blood. The nine butterflies trembled, and of the four wings they each possessed, two fell off.

In another location within the same void in which that world projection existed, was yet another boundlessly majestic projection of a world.

Within that world existed a huge statue of a man!

In that world, there were nine suns!

At the foot of the statue was a young man wearing a white robe. If you looked closely, you would see… that he looked exactly like the statue!

He shook his head and smiled.

"Mother was right. Those who are reborn are always more eager than those who have already returned." 1

—–

Note from Er Gen: Lots of you readers guess the answer. Pretty awesome!

Note from Deathblade: Same with readers of the translation! I saw quite a few correct guesses. Unless you were secretly posting spoilers as "guesses," in which case you have sown vile Karma and will be punished!

I saw speculation by Chinese fans about what this last line means, but nothing very definite. I'll continue to do some research and if I find anything more I'll post on twitter or in a chapter release. ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1044

Chapter 1044 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1044: Initial Absorption of Paragon Blood!

The people of the Mountain and Sea Realm had no way of knowing what was happening outside of their Realm.

Back in the Nine Seas God World, in the valley between the two mountain ranges, the pool of water continued to build up above the shield. At the same time, a figure stepped out noiselessly from within the residence.

Naruto had sensed this person earlier, and as such, his expression did not change when the young boy walked out. He looked to be about seven or eight years old, wore a red robe, and had a completely expressionless face. As soon as he stepped out, he clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"What an incredible puppet," Naruto murmured, walking up to the boy and looking him over. The boy looked almost as if he had been carved out of a lustrous piece of rare jade.

Naruto reached his hand out and pressed it down onto the puppet. Immediately, an additional puppet-controlling mnemonic appeared in his mind.

"This Immortal's cave must be one of the best within the Nine Seas God World," the thought. "Only a place like this could be deserving such a puppet. Whenever I have to deal with acquiring cultivation resources, I can just sent him out to handle things.

"Furthermore, it looks like he has battle prowess equivalent to a stage 7 Immortal."

Naruto was very pleased. This Immortal's cave far exceeded any other Immortal's cave he had ever lived in. Regardless of whether or not the pool of water was being fed by the waterfall, it was as blue and crystalline as ever. Furthermore, the pond itself was actually made, not from freshwater, but seawater.

"How considerate of them," he said. Then he waved his hand, instantly causing the 33 Demonic cultivators to fly out of his bag of holding and splash into the pool.

Before they could even react, he performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger. Popping sounds rang out as all of the 33 Demonic cultivators were sealed. All of them reverted to their original forms, whereupon they spun and began to howl at Naruto in rage.

"Shut up!" he growled. His voice echoed out like thunder, instantly causing all of the Demonic cultivators to tremble. Moments later, everything was quiet. The Demonic cultivators now looked like sea beasts, but they were still glaring angrily at Naruto.

That was especially true of the gigantic shell, which had now cracked open to reveal a pair of venomous eyes staring out at him.

There was also a huge sea turtle, who looked especially fierce.

In addition to those two, there was a big shrimp, a crab, a seahorse, and others. Naruto looked them over, and then a grotesque idea suddenly popped up in his head.

"This pool of water almost looks like a giant pot. If I heated the water up…." He swallowed, then quickly shoved the wicked idea away.

However, it was in that moment that the Demonic cultivators, who had just quieted down moments ago, suddenly lost control and began to roar again. A few of them even tried to charge at Naruto in attack.

With a cold harrumph, Naruto pointed his hand downward, causing all of them to tremble, as if great pressure were weighing down on them. It was impossible for them to escape from within the pool of water, so once again, the sound of vehement curses rose up into the air.

Ignoring them, Naruto waved his right finger, causing a strand of the Essence of Divine Flame to fly out from his Immortal meridians. It landed in the water, and in the blink of an eye, the water began to bubble.

Naruto cleared his throat and then somewhat embarrassedly said, "If you don't keep your voices down, there are no guarantees that I won't boil you up and have a taste!"

His words, combined with the fact that the water in the pool was rapidly getting hotter, caused the Demonic cultivators to tremble. They looked at Naruto, not with hatred, but rather… terror and shock.

They had never imagined that Naruto would actually boil them into a stew!

Seeing that the Demonic cultivators had quieted down, Naruto waved a hand, retracting the strand of the Essence of Divine Flame. The water temperature in the pool instantly began to return to normal.

"That's better. Now!" he said earnestly. "Remember to be good and do as you're told. You people owe me money and can't pay it back. That was why you handed yourselves over to me. Now, I'm going to provide you with a master to help you learn how to achieve your goal, which is… to sell yourselves!" With that, he slapped his bag of holding, causing the parrot to shoot out in a beam of black light.

The tinkling sound of a bell could be heard, along with a torrent of squawks.

"Lord Fifth is out! Lord Fifth swears to never go back into that bag of holding! Lord Fifth is free! Lord Fifth is going to… Eee?!" Even in midst of its tirade, Lord Fifth suddenly looked down at all the Demonic cultivators in the pool of water.

The bell-form meat jelly was also in the midst of howling in rage, when suddenly it realized the parrot had grown silent. It, too, looked down at the Demonic cultivators.

After staring for a moment, the meat jelly got excited and said, "Are we taking a bath together?" as if it wanted to join in.

The parrot flew around in a circle, looking closely at the situation and then roared: "Moron! Idiot! Can't you see he's making some seafood stew? They're not taking a bath! Dammit! How come none of this seafood has fur!?"

Naruto cleared his throat and then addressed the meat jelly: "These are all bullies. You can count if you want, there are three. Three bullies. I caught them just for you and brought them here for you to practice your divine ability of converting people!"

The meat jelly quivered with excitement as it counted. When it was done, it looked over at Naruto as if he were the best person in the whole world. In the meat jelly's opinion, it had never met a master who treated it is well as Naruto did.

Naruto smiled slightly, as if the two of them were best friends. Then he glanced over at the parrot and glared threateningly.

"We can sell every one of these seafood dishes that you can get to behave for a handsome profit. For each one, I'll find one extremely furry creature for you.

"If you can train them all, then later, I'll give you a thirty percent split!"

When the parrot heard the words 'extremely furry' it instantly got very excited. It suddenly began to visualize all sorts of extremely furry creatures, and that only increased its enthusiasm. It immediately agreed to Naruto's proposal.

Naruto promptly ignored the parrot and meat jelly as they began to torment the Demonic cultivators. He was sure that, considering how "strong" they were, getting the Demonic cultivator seafood dishes in line wasn't an impossibility for them.

"Then there's that wench Su Yan," he thought. "I'll wait a few more days and then hand her over to the parrot and meat jelly for re-education. I just can't believe that she'll continue to hold out after that." Having made up his mind, he entered the residence.

The residence itself wasn't very large. However, there was a stone door on the second floor. Behind the stone door were three chambers, each of which were relatively large.

After examining them, Naruto muttered to himself for a moment. Then, eyes glittering, he slapped his bag of holding, causing 30 black beetles to fly out, ten for each chamber.

Glancing thoughtfully at the Ghost Eyes on their backs, he thought, "I heard Su Yan call these things Ghost Eye Beetles….

"They like eating spirit-immortal stones. Well then, I might as well let them eat their fill… and see what kind of Ghost Eye appears in the end!" He had come up with this idea some time ago, so, clenching his teeth, he didn't hesitate any further. He hated losing spirit-immortal stones, but he also knew that on the path of cultivation, you had to lose some to win some.

He waved his hand, causing thirty spirit-immortal stones to fly out into the three chambers. Instantly, the Ghost Eye Beetles went mad, clawing their way forward to grab the stones.

He threw out one stone per beetle in order to prevent them from fighting too much. After all, he only had 500 Ghost Eye Beetles, and wanted to avoid a situation in which they killed each other.

It didn't take long for the Ghost Eye Beetles to consume the spiritimmortal stones, after which they sat there, motionless. However, their auras grew wildly stronger and their bodies grew tougher, as if they were in the process of absorbing energy from the stones they had swallowed.

After a moment of consideration, he decided that since the Ghost Eye Beetles were taking some time to absorb the energy, he would make use of the puppet boy. Summoning him over, he handed some spiritimmortal stones over and then left some divine will instructions that the puppet continue to feed the stones to the beetles as necessary. Then he left the stone chambers and sat down cross-legged on the second floor of the residence.

He took a deep breath, and determination gleamed in his eyes as he extended his right hand. Immediately a bag of holding appeared, which he scanned with divine sense. He saw quite a collection of spirit stones and Immortal jade, as well as an incense burner.

The incense burner had an ancient feel to it, as though its aura was filled with years of time.

"This thing must be the Immortal artifact that Patriarch Granny Nine mentioned," he thought. Ignoring it for the moment, he excitedly searched through the bag of holding to find the most precious item it contained.

A jade vial!

The vial was only the size of a pinky finger, and it contained… a drop of red fluid. It was none other than… Paragon's blood!

He carefully retrieved the vial from the bag of holding, then placed it onto his palm. Panting, he thought back to the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire, and how he had taken first place. For some reason it seemed like a very, very long time ago.

"I finally got my prize! But I wonder… which Paragon did this blood come from? Was it the white-robed Sea Dream, or was it Immortal Ancient? Or could it be from… Paragon Nine Seals?" He took a deep breath, and without any further hesitation, opened the jade vial. Instead of pouring the Paragon's blood out, he slowly sent his divine sense into the vial.

Almost as soon as his divine sense made contact with the Paragon's blood, a bloody mist rose up. In the blink of an eye, it swept back through his divine sense toward him. He was shocked, but after a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and sat in place without moving.

That strand of blood mist bored into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In the same moment, he closed the jade vial, ensuring that the Paragon's blood remained inside. Apparently, that drop was only a thirty percent sample.

However, even that thirty percent created a massive power that surged madly through his body.

Blue veins popped out on his face, and his whole body shook. The blood mist transformed into millions of strands which bored into his Immortal meridians. Gradually, the vague power of a Dao Fruit began to form.

Moments later, it collapsed, battering around the inside of Naruto's body.

Shaken, he quickly produced a Nirvana Fruit and pushed it into his forehead. In that moment, the tens of millions of strands inside of him all seemed to have found their exit.

His body shook, and his aura exploded upward. All of his Immortal Chakra was unleashed. His energy surged as the Nirvana Fruit apparently began to fuse into his blood vessels and Chakra passageways.

If he absorbed it completely, that would indicate that he had fused successfully with the Nirvana Fruit. That would also mean… that he would rise up in his position in the Immortal Realm, and would be be incredibly close to being able to remain in the Immortal Emperor Realm… eternally!

Chapter 1044: Initial Absorption of Paragon Blood!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1045

Chapter 1045: ROCKED!

Time passed one breath at a time. He had long since passed the usual time limit for the Nirvana Fruit. However, after enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, he still sat there, Nirvana Fruit fully absorbed. He opened his eyes, grabbed the jade vial, and was about to open it, but then hesitated.

The hundreds of thousands of strands inside of him were growing dimmer, and would rapidly vanish. Unfortunately, the Nirvana Fruit still wasn't completely fused with him, not even by half. In terms of percentages, then as of this moment, the Nirvana Fruit seemed to be about one percent fused.

"Even if I completely absorbed this entire sample of Paragon's blood," he thought, "then at most, I could achieve a four percent absorption….

"It's not that the Paragon's blood isn't strong, nor that it's fake. Rather…. this drop of blood is simply too diluted. Who knows how many dilutions it's gone through." He sighed inwardly. He knew that even if the Three Great Daoist Societies did have complete specimens of Paragon's blood, they would still be incredibly scarce.

There was no way they would give him a complete drop. It was true that he was in the Echelon. However, taking a broad view, it was impossible to say whether or not another Echelon member might come along in the future. Although the Three Great Daoist Societies valued him, they couldn't possibly give him undiluted Paragon's blood.

Even a highly diluted drop could still be considered a precious treasure! From the very beginning, all they had agreed to give him was some Paragon's blood. They had never said that it would be complete.

"If I could get a complete, full drop, then I'm certain that after absorbing it, I would then be able to completely fuse with the Nirvana Fruit, and I would truly be an Immortal Emperor!" Desire gleamed in Naruto's eyes as he thought about the possibility of being able to eternally retain a cultivation base that exceeded the Immortal Realm Paragon.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone brightly.

"Not complete…. Well then, I'll just have to create my own complete drop of Paragon's blood!" Gritting his teeth, he slowly pulled the copper mirror out of his bag of holding. He was of course concerned about how much it might cost him. In fact, he wasn't even sure if the copper mirror was powerful enough to duplicate the Paragon's blood.

However, determination filled his face as he looked at the copper mirror for a moment, then placed the vial of Paragon's blood on its surface. Immediately, the vial began to sink down into the mirror.

Then, the mirror suddenly went berserk in a way it never had before. It shook wildly, flying out of Naruto's hands and up into the air. Brilliant beams of light shot out in all directions, along with a shocking aura.

In the blink of an eye, the entire residence was inundated by a terrifying aura, which began to spread further out. If nothing was done about the spreading of this aura, it would go on to fill the entire Nine Seas God World, and the entire Ninth Sea. From there it would spread out to fill all of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and eventually… the entirety of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Outside the residence, the parrot was flying proudly through the air, looking extremely excited at the prospect of how happy its life would be after it exchanged all of the seafood for furry beasts.

Having reached this point in its train of thought, it immediately turned to all of the Demonic cultivators and roared: "Now listen well to Lord Fifth! All of you–"

However, before it could even finish speaking, a tremor suddenly ran through its body, as if some incredible power had suddenly sucked it dry. It withered rapidly, causing it to gape in shock. It suddenly turned to look toward Naruto and the residence, clearly astonished. Then it let out the most shrill, anxious squawk that it had ever uttered since it had begun to follow Naruto.

It was usually quite calm and collected. It had never reacted this strongly to anything, not even when it ran into the most luxuriantly furred or feathered creatures. It seemed so nervous that it might collapse at any moment, as if the sky were about to fall or the entire world was about to explode.

"He's still alive!" the parrot shrieked. Then it shot toward the residence at top speed, looking completely flustered. It went so fast that numerous feathers were stripped off of it, falling to the ground. Its body shivered with unprecedented terror.

Inside the residence, Naruto's eyes widened at the intensity of the aura, an aura that seemed to either ignore or trample upon all natural laws. It was vastly domineering, as if the Heavens and the starry sky both might be crushed by its terrifying energy.

Suddenly, he could hear a pulsating voice murmuring from within the mirror. It was archaic, seemingly stretching out from ancient times, causing his mind to reel. All of a sudden, countless images flickered in his eyes.

Of all those various images, there were only three that he could see clearly. The rest were flickering blurs. However, the three images he could see caused his scalp to go numb, and his expression to fill with a look of disbelief and utter astonishment.

The first image was that of the Heavens and a starless sky. It was a picture of chaos. There were no heavenly bodies, only emptiness. Then, a beam of light appeared, shooting along at top speed. Within the flickering light, shockingly… was the copper mirror!

As it flew along, the surface of the mirror flickered. Immediately a heavenly body appeared off to the side. It proceeded along, one after another heavenly body appeared without pause.

In the end its flickering… caused the starry sky to appear, as if it were creating whole worlds!

It continued on without stop, as if there were no end to its movement. Eventually, however, it vanished, having created innumerable stretches of starry sky that formed countless worlds!

Naruto's mind reeled with shock.

The second image he saw was of the uncountable entities which inhabited the various heavenly bodies and worlds that had been created. They were not cultivators, but rather, a vast multitude of indescribable living things.

Some looked like beasts, others were liquid. Some were made of gas, and others were made of metal or stone. There seemed to be an infinite variety, and they were all currently engaged in a chaotic battle!

All of these entities were far, far more powerful than Naruto. They were in the Dao Realm!

Naruto could scarcely even comprehend how there could be so many Dao Realm entities. There were simply too many, and they were all fighting each other, fighting to acquire one object….

That object was none other than… a copper mirror!

Their battling gave rise to countless indescribable ripples. All of a sudden, the copper mirror trembled, and two pearls shot out from it, one black, one white. Each pearl then sped off in a different direction.

Naruto could now see that actually, those two pearls had previously been inlaid on opposite sides of the mirror. The pearls were not the primary components, but rather… just subordinate objects belonging to the copper mirror! 1

Even still, they emanated an aura that left Naruto feeling completely suffocated, as though the two pearls contained an indescribable, paramount power!

And yet… despite that incredible power, they were still… subordinates to the mirror!

They were mere secondary objects!

In the third image, Naruto saw another world. It was a world filled with corpses, corpses that had lain in place for innumerable years. The whole world felt like a graveyard.

A beam of light flew along, within which was the copper mirror. The mirror was just passing by, and yet, as soon as it appeared, something happened which caused Naruto's scalp to tingle. He saw the corpses… rising up one by one. Flesh grew anew, and the blink of an eye, they were resurrected. Their eyes were filled with madness, and even more so, hope. It was as if they had been waiting for ages for this very moment.

Suddenly, a hand shot up, a hand that was mostly white bone, upon which flesh and blood was rapidly forming. The instant it appeared, blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and his mind trembled. The feeling he got from that hand was a feeling he had only ever gotten from one other cultivator.

And that person was… the white-robed Paragon Sea Dream!

Except, from what Naruto could sense, the power of that hand exceeded that of Paragon Sea Dream!

It stretched out toward the copper mirror and made a grasping motion.

That grasping motion caused the starry sky to be crushed, as if the hand could shrink down the stars and the Heavens until they were tiny items that rested in its palm.

At that point, the vision ended. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and the images faded away.

"This copper mirror… where does it come from…?" he thought. He felt as if his whole world had been turned upside down. He looked down at the copper mirror, and the vial of Paragon's blood, which was still sinking down into the mirror.

Most shocking of all to Naruto was that once again, he could see that the surface of the copper mirror… was not complete!

It was shattered, and only had one piece in place. How could he possibly forget how he had helped the mirror to acquire that piece in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect!? 2

Everything that happened takes some time to describe, but actually happened in a flash. It was at this point that the parrot suddenly appeared, and then sped into the mirror itself. The copper mirror trembled, and the light shining out grew even more intense. At this point, the vial of Paragon's blood finally vanished inside.

The terrifying aura ceased to spread out, and instead remained only inside of the residence. After about ten breaths of time passed, it faded away completely, returning to the copper mirror, after which it could not be detected.

After the aura faded away, the parrot emerged. It was emaciated, as if it had just undergone an indescribably desperate ordeal. It smiled wryly as it looked at Naruto, then flopped noisily to the ground. After a moment, it struggled to rise up and fly, but could only lay there, panting.

Seeing the parrot in this condition caused Naruto to think of the images he had just seen, and he couldn't help but ask: "If I hadn't placed that Paragon's blood onto the mirror…?"

The parrot gaped for a moment. Sounding astonished, it replied, "What's it got to do with you? I was just careless and didn't notice that someone was using some magic on this mirror. If the copper mirror wasn't used, then it wouldn't matter. But once it was used, no matter what you duplicate, it will… Huh?"

About half way through speaking, the parrot suddenly seemed to come to its senses. It rolled its eyes shiftily and squawked: "That's right. Dammit! It's you! It's all because of you! You owe me now!"

At the same time that the parrot was berating Naruto, something was happening outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm, outside of the 33 Heavens. Far out in the void of the starry sky, in the middle of the world projection with the huge coffin, an archaic voice filled with excitement and determination suddenly echoed out to fill the entire world.

"I've found it! It's there… right there!

"After all these years, hope has finally appeared. Clan of Gods, prepare to send orders down!

"It is time to wage war! In order to awaken our clan's Underworld God, we will once again… go to war with the Paragon Immortal Realm!" As the ancient voice echoed out, the world projection began to shake.

At the same time, the three women who stood near the coffin exchanged glances, then nodded to each other silently.

In that instant, the entire world projection began to grow blurry. In the blink of an eye, it vanished from within the void of the Heavens.

"Unleash the power of the world. Employ the maximum possible speed of our God Realm's true form to travel there, in order to let our true world descend!" The voices of the three women echoed out into the void, filled with a decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron.

The black and white pearls will likely make some readers recall the scene from the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect in chapter 613 ↩ He added a piece to the mirror in a scene that started in chapter 618 and ended in 619 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1046

Chapter 1046: An Iron Chicken That Can Also Pluck Feathers! 1

Almost in the same moment that the world projection vanished, the three women decided that war should begin. Thus, they caused their own world to approach from its distant location, something that would take time.

In another location in the Heavens was another world, the world with the nine suns and the enormous statue. It was not real, but rather, a projection, in much the same way that the world the three women were in was a projection.

The true worlds were actually in a location far, far away….

In that projected world of nine suns, a decisive, sinister voice was also speaking, the voice of a woman.

"It will take hundreds of years for the other side to arrive. It's the same for us…. This time, spare no cost! We must succeed!"

The woman's voice was venomous, and seemed to be filled with a coldness and disregard for all living beings other than those that currently surrounded her. As it echoed out, the world of nine suns gradually began to distort, and then vanish.

Meanwhile, back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Naruto was completely oblivious to all of these things. He was currently frowning at the parrot. Finally, he gave a cold harrumph. Although he had felt a bit guilty before about what happened, seeing the parrot now caused him to glare angrily.

Before he could say anything, however, the parrot blinked, cleared its throat, and then flapped its wings as it flew up into the air. The copper mirror seemed to have lost any ability to float or fly, and clanked to the ground.

The parrot flew out of the residence, seemingly without a care in the world. However, deep in its heart was a mass of anxiety.

"Calamity… is coming. Ai, I screwed up. I never would have thought the other two powers would be so persistent!

"Screw it, I don't care anymore. In any case, Naruto is the master of the mirror this time, so it has nothing to do with Lord Fifth. Worst case scenario, I'll flee and sleep for a while again." Finally the parrot cleared its thoughts, pushing away all these vexatious worries. Its eyes then began to shine brightly as it looked at the Demonic cultivators in the pool of water. Once again it began to envision swapping them for numerous furry concubines, and the blissful days that would ensue.

"Hahaha! Lord Fifth is back! Now, all of you listen up and behave! Lord Fifth is going to teach you a song!" The parrot whistled through the air toward the group of Demonic cultivators.

"Come, come, let's sing together. The name of this little tune is 'I'm a good little seafood dish!' If you sing well, Lord Fifth has a reward waiting for you!"

Back in the residence, Naruto was frowning. Although the parrot had made light of what had happened, Naruto had practiced cultivation for many years, and was adept at analyzing matters. Everything he had seen regarding the copper mirror, plus the parrot's expression, filled him with a sense of foreboding.

"I'm afraid… something really bad is going to happen," he murmured.

He looked at the copper mirror and thought back to the three images he had seen. Finally, he took a deep breath. More than ever, he felt that the origin of the copper mirror was shrouded in some incredibly profound mystery.

"Just where did it come from?

"Other that duplicating things, it's definitely has other magical divine abilities that I don't know of!

"It seems everyone wants it, even the most powerful experts. They'll do anything to win it….

"Well, then… what exactly is it?! Perhaps 'Mountain and Sea Mirror' isn't its real name!

"If the copper mirror is so mysterious and so powerful, then why did it end up broken?

"Also… who broke it!? And why?!" One question after another popped up in Naruto's mind, seemingly without any train of logic connecting them. After a long moment of thought, his eyes flickered with bright light.

"Regardless of what mysteries lie within the copper mirror, or where it came from, I have it now. Therefore, I will inevitably be involved in whatever quarrels erupt over it.

"Based on my current cultivation base, if something like that happens, I'll most likely be killed. I wouldn't be able to lift a hand against the people who want it. Therefore… the most important thing for me now … is still cultivation!

"Only by becoming stronger and more powerful can I have a chance of surviving through whatever struggles are coming in the future! That's the only way that I can ensure that my own Dao will continue on!" He closed his eyes and calmed his mind and heart. When he opened them again, he made a grasping motion, causing the copper mirror to fly into his hand. He looked at it for a moment, then, without any further hesitation, pulled out some spirit stones and Immortal jade and began to feed them into the mirror.

He did not give up on his original idea, which was… to duplicate the Paragon's blood!

"With enough Paragon's blood, I can get a full, complete drop.

Something like that is incredibly rare, and will help me… to successfully absorb that first Nirvana Fruit!"

He took a deep breath, and his eyes gleamed with passion. The path to the Ancient Realm lay before him, and the only way to be qualified to open the door to that path, was to absorb and fuse all four of the Nirvana Fruits he possessed. Then he could strike the Ancient bell and light his Soul Lamps. He would use the flame of his life force like the wind of the world, to extinguish each of his Soul Lamps in turn!

Thus he would achieve a Realm in which the lamps were snuffed out, yet he still lived!

One spirit stone after another sank into the copper mirror. It was like a black hole that could gobble up spirit stones indefinitely. However, flickering light could be seen with each spirit stone it ate up.

As the rate of flickering increased, Naruto appeared calm on the outside, but his heart was twisted in knots. Although he was used to how the copper mirror devoured spirit stones, and also used to how he would often acquire a huge sum of spirit stones only to obediently feed them into the copper mirror…

Even so… he was still torn. His heart hurt, and gradually, he simply couldn't remain calm any more. All of the spirit stones he had acquired from the Three Great Daoist Societies' trial by fire disappeared into the copper mirror, leaving his face completely ashen.

His eyes were bright red, and yet, like a gambling addict, he continued to throw in spirit stones. The copper mirror glowed with increasingly intense light until finally… a second identical vial of Paragon's blood's appeared!

He let out a long breath. He was shaken, but shook off the urge to mourn his spirit stones and looked the two vials over closely, then began to laugh uproariously.

If Granny Nine and the others could see these two vials, they would be shocked beyond belief. In fact, they might even go mad and unleash an unprecedented catastrophe.

They were identical. Both the vial itself and the blood inside were completely identical!

This was almost like creating something from nothing, a mystical scene of something appearing from thin air that filled Naruto's heart with incredible excitement. Also, he was now able to tell for certain that after acquiring that fragment of the mirror's face from the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, the duplicating powers of the mirror had actually become stronger.

Things that previously could not be duplicated, were now possible to duplicate!

Naruto could even sense that one day, if the all the fragments of the mirror were brought together and the mirror was whole, then he could even duplicate the Heavens, or an entire world Realm! He could duplicate anything.

His heart pounded rapidly, and a brilliant gleam appeared in his eyes. However, at the same time, his heart remained vigilant. He knew that if anyone found out that he had this mirror, it would mean a huge catastrophe for him!

Actually, that was something he had long since been very well aware of. From the moment he had acquired the copper mirror and discovered its function, when he had first started down the path of cultivation, he had always borne that in mind.

After packing away the duplicate vial of Paragon's blood, he used the original to continue duplicating. Time passed by slowly. During the three days that passed, Naruto acted as if he were bedeviled, constantly feeding spirit stones and Immortal jade into the copper mirror.

Outside of the residence, the sound of singing echoed up into the air.

The voices sounded disgruntled, and not very willing to sing, but Naruto didn't even notice it. He was completely focused on the copper mirror and the Paragon's blood.

When he ran out of spirit stones completely, he used Immortal jade.

Eventually, he ended up duplicating seven portions of Paragon's blood. Finally, he ran out of Immortal jade. By that point, his eyes were crimson. He waved his hand, sending his identity command medallion flying out into the hands of the puppet boy, who by now had gone outside to wait for further orders. In compliance Naruto's divine will, he immediately flew away as if he were sentient. He passed through the shield and the pool it had formed to act as Naruto's representative in procuring cultivation resources from the Nine Seas God World.

The three old timers had promised Naruto that all of the resources in the Nine Seas God World were open to him. Although they hadn't agreed to literally give him anything he wanted, it was still an unprecedented guarantee when it came to cultivation.

Not too much time passed before the puppet boy returned with a bag of holding. Immediately, Naruto resumed duplicating the Paragon's blood. He would do anything in his power to fulfill his desire of fully absorbing the Nirvana Fruits.

One day. Two days. Three days.

Time passed, and Naruto barely ever set foot outside. All he did was work on duplicating the Paragon's blood. Soon, he didn't have seven portions, but rather, fifty. That much Paragon's blood was something that even the Nine Seas God World would have a hard time coming up with.

Furthermore, Naruto had laid his hands on a virtual sea of spirit stones and Immortal jade. He didn't even calculate how much it was in total. Mostly because he didn't dare to. If he did, the pain in his heart would surely cause him to cough up a mouthful of blood.

"Still not enough!" he thought, his eyes completely bloodshot. He waved his hand, sending the puppet boy out once again to get some cultivation resources. This time, the puppet boy didn't come back as quickly as he had before. Naruto waited for a while, and when he still didn't return, had no choice but to rise to his feet. Just when he was about to walk out of the residence, his face flickered as he looked toward the leftmost stone chamber of secluded meditation.

Almost in the moment that he looked over, rumbling sounds echoed out from within the stone chamber. Next, the stone door shook, and a huge crack appeared in its surface, as if some incredibly powerful force were smashing against it from inside.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he used the power of the Life Death Hex to peer into the stone chamber. What he saw was that, where before there had been ten Ghost Eye Beetles, now there were none!

Shockingly, an enormous eye had appeared inside the chamber in their stead!

The eye was surrounded by ten tentacles, which whipped around rapidly. There was also a black glow that radiated out from it, which repeatedly slammed into the stone door.

Upon closer examination, it was possible to see that inside of the Ghost Eye was a tiny pitch-black imp, sitting there cross-legged. The imp had no eyes, a huge mouth, and strangest of all, it had a black carapace on its back! 2

Apparently, the bizarre Ghost Eye was actually created by the blackshelled imp.

Naruto's eye widened as he also realized that, all of a sudden, his Life Death Hex was losing its grip!

Almost in the same moment that the Life Death Hex was weakening, a huge boom could be heard as the stone door collapsed. The Ghost Eye burst out, emitting a piercing, deafening shriek that echoed out in all directions. The Ghost Eye then proceeded to charge directly toward Naruto, as if to consume him!

The title of this chapter is based on a Chinese saying about "an iron chicken from whom no feathers can be plucked," referring to a stingy person ↩ In Chinese, a beetle is literally an "armored/carapaced/shelled insect" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1047

Chapter 1047: Magic Pod Soldiers!

The stone door collapsed further, transforming into a haze of fragments that blasted toward Naruto. Amidst the flying rubble was the Ghost Eye, screaming as it charged in attack. Apparently it wanted to consume or possess him.

There was also a blast of cold air from within the stone chamber. In his peripheral vision, Naruto could see that frost had built up inside, as if it were the dead of winter. Even more shocking was that the frost was green!

"It's poisonous!" Naruto was a bit shocked by the weakening of the Life Death Hex. However, in the blink of an eye, he had recovered his composure. Eyes flickering, he did nothing to evade, but instead, waved his hand out in front of him.

Instantly, his Immortal meridians surged, and Immortal power erupted. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the stone door shattered completely, transforming into nothing more than ash. However, before it could dissipate, it began to spin around, becoming a whirlwind of ash with the Ghost Eye at its center.

The wind screamed around the Ghost Eye, seemingly on the verge of completely destroying it. After all, the wind was filled with Naruto's Immortal power, which could even shake the peak of the Immortal Realm.

It happened so fast that it was already over before it could even be described with words. In the blink of an eye, the windstorm surrounded the Ghost Eye. In turn, mysterious light began to emanate out of it, not a beam, but a halo that spread out in all directions.

When the light met the windstorm, the windstorm was rapidly dissolved. A moment later, the Ghost Eye charged out, screaming as it closed in on Naruto.

"Interesting," he thought. He could sense that the Life Death Hex was continuing to weaken, but actually, wasn't really paying attention to that. Rather than try to reinforce the power of the hex, he wanted to see exactly how strong the Ghost Eye was.

Before the Ghost Eye could get very close, Naruto took a step forward and raised his hand. A huge wind sprang up as he clenched his hand and punched out. It seemed like a simple punch, but it actually possessed the condensed strength of all of Naruto's true Immortal fleshly body, as well as his 123 Immortal meridians. That one punch was enough to completely eradicate anyone in the Immortal Realm.

As the punch rumbled out, the Ghost Eye screamed. It wanted to dodge, but was incapable of even moving. The only thing it could do was whip its tentacles up in an attempt to create a defensive barrier in front of it. At the same time, the Ghost Eye, which had remained open this entire time, now closed.

Shocking rumbling sounds could be heard as the tentacles were destroyed as easily as shriveled weeds. The Ghost Eye trembled and was sent tumbling backward. Its energy immediately plummeted, and it began to grow weak and dark. As for the black imp inside, it actually grew clearer.

A moment later, the Ghost Eye collapsed completely. However, the black-shelled imp wasn't hurt at all. It let out a piercing shriek and opened its mouth to reveal a collection of sharp teeth as it pounced toward Naruto.

"Eee?" said Naruto. His expression was one of excitement as he realized that the Ghost Eye, after having consumed so many spiritimmortal stones, and then transmogrifying, had a divine ability like this. It was actually able to resist the power of one of his punches.

As the black-shelled imp approached, Naruto's eyes flickered. He did nothing to evade, but rather allowed it to close in on him. Then, when it reached him, the imp actually passed into his body, merging into him as if it were illusory.

At the same time, a powerful force of possession exploded out within him.

"Ah, so that's what's going on," he thought, his eyes flashing coldly. He could clearly sense how the black-shelled imp inside of him was trying to destroy his soul and then take over his body, possessing him completely.

The power was overbearing, seemingly impossible to stop. However, a slight smile could be seen on Naruto's face. Now that he knew what the black-shelled imp did, he had no desire for further testing. He snorted coldly, and a magical symbol appeared on his forehead, which was the weakened Life Death Hex. Suddenly, it stabilized; how could a mere black-shelled imp permanently weaken the Hexing magic of the Life Death Hexing?!

As soon as the Life Death Hex solidified, a miserable shriek rang out. The black-shelled imp trembled as it was wrenched out from inside of Naruto to appear in front of him. It shook, and its miserable cries intensified until, after enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, it knelt in front of him, a pleading look on its face.

"As I suspected, it actually developed sentience!" he murmured. He waved his hand toward the black-shelled imp. Not daring to resist, it transformed into a black beam of light that shot toward Naruto's palm, where it then turned into a black bean-like pod.

It almost looked like a medicinal pill, and yet, had no medicinal aroma.

Furthermore, there appeared to be undulations of life force inside of it. Naruto squeezed it hard between his fingers, but no damage was done. Apparently, it was extremely resilient.

It wasn't until he exerted seventy percent of his power that the black pod began to tremble. As cracks spread across its surface, a terrified stream of divine will suddenly shot out of it, begging for mercy.

After a moment of thought, he loosened his grip, then put the black pod into his bag of holding. Finally, eyes gleaming, he looked at the other two caves with keen anticipation.

"Similar to the peak of the Immortal Realm, huh…. And also sentient. That means that there's a high likelihood that they can continue to grow!

"Just a single black-shelled imp is far, far more powerful than ten blackshelled Ghost Eye Beetles. And the entire reason for the transmogrification was those spirit-immortal stones!

"If I could get more of these blackpod imps, perhaps a few dozen…." Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he imagined a scene in which he waved his sleeve, causing massive quantities of black pods to fly out. After turning into black-shelled imps, they would possess his enemies, which would then assist him in battle.

"Magic pod soldiers!" 1 he thought, eyes shining. Next, he sent his divine sense into the other two stone chambers. In one of them, the black-shelled Ghost Eye Beetles were currently in the process of consuming each other. In the other chamber, there was only one beetle left, although it was currently sleeping.

Naruto could sense that it wouldn't be very long before two more blackpod imps would be emerging from the stone chambers.

Muttering to himself, he summoned five more black beetles, which he placed into the chamber with the broken door, then fed some more spirit-immortal stones. Then he waved his hand, causing a glittering shield to appear that replaced the shattered door.

It was about this time that the puppet boy flew down through the water and the shield, and then entered the residence. He clasped hands to Naruto, and then handed over a bag of holding.

Naruto immediately looked very excited, and instantly put the matter of the Ghost Eye Beetles aside. He grabbed the bag of holding, scanned it, and then his brow furrowed. There were obviously far fewer spirit stones and Immortal jade inside than had been in the bag before.

Of course, it was better than nothing. It was still a hefty sum, even if it was less than before. Naruto waved his hand to send the puppet boy away, then sat down cross-legged and once again began to use the copper mirror to duplicate the Paragon's blood.

Time passed, and Naruto's life of sitting there duplicating with the copper mirror began once again. His eyes were bloodshot, and he continuously uttered vile curses. The copper mirror's ability to consume spirit stones, and the pain that came along with it, was something that he thought he had grown numb to. However, as it turned out, he was anything but numb.

Thankfully, his supply of Paragon's blood was growing larger. About a week later, he now had eighty portions!

During that time, he had sent the puppet boy out over ten times. Each time, he came back with fewer and fewer spirit stones and Immortal jade. Right now, Naruto was just looking up and taking a deep breath as the puppet boy returned again.

Unfortunately, this time the puppet boy had no bag of holding, only a jade slip.

When Naruto jaw that it was a jade slip, he smiled bitterly. He'd already had a bad feeling about what had been happening, so he wasn't surprised when he picked up the slip, scanned it with divine sense, and heard the enraged voice of Ling Yunzi.

"No more! What do you do with all the spirit stones, boy, eat them?! Or do you just crush them into bits for fun!? It's only been half a month! Do you have any idea how many spirit stones and Immortal jade you've taken away!?

"The Nine Seas God World has been saving up Immortal jade and spirit stones for countless years, and you've already sucked away ten percent!

"Dammit! I know I said all the resources of the sect were available to you, but… but the way you're clearing us out is intolerable! No more! Until we open the Windswept Realm, we have no more! Do you hear me!?"

Naruto felt a bit awkward. Although the jade slip only contained divine sense, and Ling Yunzi hadn't come personally, Naruto could imagine how enraged he, as well as Granny Nine and Godmaster, must look.

"I don't want to waste so many spirit stones either," he grumbled. "It hurts me too!" He was also shocked at the wastage of spirit stones and Immortal jade, and it truly did pain him inwardly. He felt a bit wronged, actually. He hadn't actually calculated how much he had spent, not because he couldn't, but because he was worried that if he knew for sure, he might pass out from the pain of it all.

"Besides, it was a measly ten percent, that's all! The Nine Seas God World is so mighty, and yet so stingy!" Clearing his throat, he continued to use divine sense to examine the message Ling Yunzi had sent.

"I bet you're not convinced, are you, kid? You think that ten percent isn't very much. Well let me tell you, you little whippersnapper, our faction only has access to forty percent of the total cultivation resources of the Nine Seas God World. The Demonic Cultivator Horde controls thirty percent, and the other two factions control fifteen percent each.

"If you want more cultivation resources, well, we can't give them to you. Go challenge the golden door stone stele trials by fire. Win some rewards there. Because you're in the Echelon, the rewards you can get will be double or more. When you win those rewards, the cost is divided out among all the factions!

"If you're skilled enough, then in the following two and a half months you can clear out all the resources of the Nine Seas God World, but at least then the other factions will lose out as well, not just ours!" Ling Yunzi's last words were uttered through clenched teeth. Clearly, the last half month had been one long headache for him, Granny Nine, and Godmaster.

If Naruto weren't in the Echelon, they would most likely have long since descended upon him and slaughtered him and put an end to this no-good, spirit-stone devouring black hole of a glutton.

Naruto frowned as he retracted his divine sense from the jade slip. He looked over at the copper mirror, and then at his 80 vials of Paragon's blood.

"I still need twenty vials!" His eyes then began to shine with a frightening light, and a glimmer of obsession. For the sake of completing the Paragon's blood, and for the sake of fully absorbing his Nirvana Fruits, Naruto was even beginning to think about resorting to robbery and theft.

"I guess I should go check out the trials by fire!" With that, he clenched his jaw, rose to his feet, and walked out of the residence.

As soon as he stepped outside, he heard the sound of organized, choral singing coming from the pool of water.

"Come, come, sing with Lord Fifth. No singing out of key, now! Here we go! _I was a bad kid when I was young, I'm a little seafood dish! Lalalalala! Seafood dish. Dobedobedoooo…. seafood dish._ "

This "magic pod soldiers" is actually a Chinese idiom based on a story where some magic beans turn into an army. Technically, what I'm translating as "black pod" or "blackpod" could also be translated as "black beans." However… I'm sorry, but that's just TOO goofy of a translation. I can't stand the thought of Naruto having "black bean soldiers." If he did, I would be tempted to add a line before he used them in which he asked his opponent "Would you like refried beans or black beans?" Besides, a pod is defined as a "two-valved seed vessel, as that of the pea or bean," so I say it's close enough. In any case, if anyone wants to write a fan fiction about these guys forming a band with Lord Fifth and going on tour, I can think of lots of great band names to go along with it ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1048

Chapter 1048: A Wager!

As soon as Naruto heard the singing, he gaped. Looking over at the pool of water, he took a deep breath. His expression was one of shock as he saw 33 Demonic cultivators, haggard and gaunt, singing at the top of their lungs.

Their expressions were unexpectedly… that of extreme passion that even bordered on worship. As they stared up at the multicolored parrot, they almost looked like cultists. As for the parrot, it was belting out the song at the top of its lungs.

Most intolerable of all was that the meat jelly had transformed into a set of barrel-shaped drums, which were constantly being beaten to go along with the singing.

Naruto simply couldn't imagine what the Demonic cultivators had experienced to cause them to have such devoted gleams in their eyes. As for the singing, other than the little tune that Patriarch Reliance usually hummed, Naruto had never heard a more jarring melody.

He was also shocked to find that when he walked out of the residence and headed toward the pool of water, the Demonic cultivators, including the huge shell that hated him down to its guts, all completely ignored him, and focused wholeheartedly on their song.

Naruto felt as if the entire world were in chaos. He took a deep breath and looked at the hollering parrot, and suddenly realized that he had underestimated it.

Rolling his eyes, he cleared his throat and then produced Su Yan from within his bag of holding. As soon as she opened her eyes, she chuckled coldly, and was just about to deride Naruto when, all of a sudden, the singing caught her attention, and she gaped in shock.

"Parrot!" said Naruto decisively. "I'm handing this wench over to you for training. Get her to be as obedient as all these seafood dishes! Oh right, she's worth… one hundred furred or feathered beasts!" Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the parrot began to tremble in midair. It even stopped singing, and all of the few colorful feathers it had left stood on end. Its eyes shone with brilliant light.

"A hundred? Did you say one hundred?!" It apparently wanted to make very sure that it had heard correctly.

Naruto nodded somberly. "One hundred! Each and every one with luxuriant coats of fur or feathers!"

In order to get his hands on that Daoist magic, he was willing to throw caution to the wind.

Su Yan gaped in astonishment. She wasn't quite sure exactly what Naruto and the colorful bird were talking about. However, she quickly began to chuckle coldly, and her expression was one of extreme derision.

The parrot, however, was very excited, and instantly threw its head back and roared.

"Don't worry, Lord Fifth will get this wench in line!" It looked excitedly toward Su Yan, eyes shining. Off to the side, the meat jelly didn't seem to be very pleased at having been left out.

"Can you sing? Well? Can you?" it asked angrily. "Can you count?!" "Morons!" Su Yan said with a laugh, closing her eyes and ignoring them.

Naruto gave Su Yan a pitying look, then cleared his throat. Not bothering to consider how the parrot would be training Su Yan, he turned and flew up into the air.

In the blink of an eye, he shot through the shield and the pool of water, appearing suddenly in midair. Almost as soon as he emerged, he saw two beams of light flying through the air in his general direction. Within those beams of light, two cold gazes could be seen.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he watched two Demonic cultivators flying by.

They snorted coldly, doing nothing to disguise their contempt for him as they flew past and then headed off into the distance.

Naruto didn't mind. The main reason he was emerging from his Immortal's cave was for Immortal jade and spirit stones. Without further hesitation, he flew into the air toward the golden gate stone steles.

He did not intend to blindly challenge the steles. Instead, he would go learn something about them, then decide later which one to challenge first.

"I need to find the one most suited to me. That way, I'll be able to get the rewards I need in the shortest time possible!" As for his work with the Paragon's blood, he was determined to succeed.

On the way to the golden gate stone steles, he passed various disciples. The regular cultivators looked at him curiously. Some even smiled and clasped hands. After all, Naruto was famous even outside the sect, and earlier, he had talked down a Dao Realm expert. That news had caused quite a sensation in the Nine Seas God World.

However, the Demonic cultivators he encountered all bristled with killing intent. The hatred in their eyes was clear, and when they saw Naruto, it only continued to grow deeper.

Eventually, he came to stand in front of a towering golden gate stone stele. It shone with boundless golden light, and was carved with so many names that they seemed impossible to count. Quite a few cultivators and Demonic cultivators were gathered in the area. Any time someone touched the gate, they would disappear.

People would disappear and people would reappear. It was quite a lively scene.

A middle-aged man sat cross-legged at the base of the stone gate. His eyes were closed, as if he didn't care about what was happening in the world outside at all. However, if anyone attempted to start a fight in the area, or if people attempting the trial by fire tried to cheat in any way, he would instantly know, and punishment would be meted out without hesitation.

Naruto stood off to the side, watching the scene for a while. He was just about to leave when, all of a sudden, a glittering bright red light began to spread out from one of the stone steles. The light rapidly transformed to the image of an illusory world up in midair. Within that world, a young woman could be seen, who was the source of the light!

She was beautiful, but shockingly, a white-robed female corpse could be seen floating behind her, making her even more astonishing.

Cries of envy and shock could instantly be heard from all directions.

"The name list changed!"

"Elder Sister Fan Dong'er got into the top 30!"

"The top 100 are all Ancient Realm cultivators, although you can only make it into the rankings if you have five or less extinguished soul lamps. But Elder Sister Fan Dong'er got into the top 30 while only in the Immortal Realm! She's definitely a true Chosen!"

Cries of shock rang out among the cultivators in the area, including the Demonic cultivators. Many people looked envious, whereas others had dark looks, or even seemed unwilling to accept what had happened.

At the same time, Fan Dong'er's name appeared as the thirtieth name on the list.

The red light shone for a bit longer, then faded away. As it disappeared, Fan Dong'er strode out from the stone stele. Her face was a bit pale, but she looked excited. As soon as she appeared, the surrounding disciples began to clasp hands and call out in congratulations.

Fan Dong'er smiled and clasped hands in return. She was just about to leave, when suddenly, her phoenix-like eyes flashed as she caught sight of Naruto.

Naruto smiled and nodded, then turned to leave. He now knew that this stone stele trial by fire was about divine sense. Although Naruto was confident regarding his own divine sense, it wasn't his strongest area. Furthermore, in previous encounters with Fan Dong'er, he could tell that the reason why her divine abilities and Daoist magics were so powerful was not because of her cultivation base, but rather, her divine sense.

"Perhaps it has something to do with the techniques of the Nine Seas

God World. I really should take some time to go to the their Scripture Pavilion." After another moment of thought, he prepared to make his way off when all of a sudden, he heard the sound of air being shattered behind him. He turned to find Fan Dong'er chasing him down.

As for Fan Dong'er, she was muttering inwardly to herself that if it wasn't for the fact that her master had instructed her to help Naruto familiarize himself with the golden gate stone steles, she wouldn't have even approached him. Thinking about her battle with him after he reached Immortal Ascension caused her heart to fill with hatred. Back when he had first arrived and gotten into conflict with the Demonic cultivators, she had felt quite pleased, and had looked forward to the scene of the Demonic cultivators tearing him to pieces.

"Congratulations on reaching the top 30, Junior Sister," Naruto said with a laugh.

"That's Elder Sister to you!" she replied. Every time she looked at Naruto, she felt uncontrollable fury rising up within her. It was almost as if the mere sight of his face would put her emotions completely out of control.

"There's only one Elder Sister in my life," Naruto responded coolly.

When Fan Dong'er heard this, she gaped in surprise. Instead of pressing the issue, she took a deep breath, calmed herself, and then began to speak again, her face expressionless.

"The golden gate stone steles of the Nine Seas God World number nine in total. The first is the most important, which is a test regarding the pressure of the Ninth Sea. It is one of the most important trials by fire in the Nine Seas God World.

"The other eight gates test different aspects of cultivation. For example, the ninth stone stele is a fleshly body trial by fire. This, the seventh, has to do with divine sense.

"Then there's the fifth stone stele, which is a trial by fire of slaughter. By experiencing a true battlefield, one can achieve the Dao of slaughtering.

"The third stone stele probably won't suit you. It is regarding the Dao of transformation.

"Each person who enters into the top 100 on a golden gate stone stele receives a reward based on what rank they achieve. Greater rewards come as you go from the top 100, to the top 50, and the top 30!" Fan Dong'er rushed through the information, as if she was planning to leave right afterwards. She was worried that if she talked to Naruto for too long, she wouldn't be able to control herself and would begin another allout battle with him.

"What about the top 10?" he asked.

"Top 10? I suggest you don't think that far ahead," she replied, doing nothing to hide the derision in her tone.

"Don't even dream of getting that high. Up to now in the Nine Seas God World, no one with an Immortal Realm cultivation base has ever gotten into the top 10.

"At the very least, you need to be in the Ancient Realm with two extinguished Soul Lamps to even compete over the top 10!

"As for you, you would be lucky to get into the top 20. You might be the

Immortal Realm Paragon, but there are a lot of cultivators in the Nine

Seas God World that you couldn't lift a finger to."

As Naruto looked at Fan Dong'er, his expression turned somewhat bashful, as if he felt a bit embarrassed about what he was going to say.

"You hit the nail on the head," he said. "My goal is the top 10. Do you dare to make a bet with me about it?!"

Almost as soon as Fan Dong'er saw the bashful expression on his face, she felt like her scalp was about to explode. She instantly backed up, rotating her cultivation base and going on full guard, eyeing Naruto with extreme vigilance.

That expression was one which caused her heart to prickle, and it wasn't the first time she had seen it. She knew that whenever such an expression appeared, Naruto would be at his most wicked. Not for the first time, Fan Dong'er dearly wished she could bash his face in so hard that she never had to see it again.

"Well, do you dare?" he repeated, looking at her and blinking.

"There's no reason to try to convince me," she replied with a cold harrumph. "It doesn't matter what tricks you use, I simply can't believe that you could get into the top 10 of any of the golden gate stone steles!

"Furthermore, if you think there's any way I'll be making a wager with you, you can keep on dreaming!" Giving him one final derisive and scornful look, she turned to leave.

"If you win, I'll take Inky back," he said casually.

Those words caused Fan Dong'er to instantly stop in place. She shuddered, then turned back, her face a mass of murderous rage. She glared at Naruto, panting, chest heaving. She was fundamentally beautiful, but when she had a look like this in her eyes, she was even more attractive.

That corpse was something Fan Dong'er had gotten used to. She had viewed it as a way to temper her Dao heart. However, deep down, she would do anything in the hopes of getting rid of it. Not even her master could dispel the corpse, and so, her tempering had been because she had no other choice.

Therefore, how could she possibly keep her calm when Naruto said something like he just had? Furthermore, how could she be sure he could even do what he said?

Well-aware of what Fan Dong'er must be thinking, Naruto smiled and said, "I can, because I was the one who stuck you with her." "YOU!" Fan Dong'er gritted her teeth. "Fine, let's gamble!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1049

Chapter 1049: The Ninth Golden Door!

As soon as the words left Fan Dong'er's mouth, Naruto cleared his throat. For some reason, it didn't feel right to con her in this way. But then he thought about the situation with the Paragon's blood, and the vast amount of spirit stones and Immortal jade he needed, and he realized that he couldn't let even the smallest juicy prey escape his grasp.

"How many spirit stones do you wanna bet?" he asked her.

Fan Dong'er snorted coldly. How could she not tell that Naruto was confident in his abilities? Otherwise, he would never have mentioned the possibility of a bet. However, she was equally confident in being able to win, and in fact, was certain that she would. Naruto had never been to the Nine Seas God World, let alone entered the golden gate stone steles. However, she was very familiar with them, far more so than Naruto.

"Alright, Naruto, let's see who cons who this time!" she thought. Her expression cold, she pretended as if she were throwing all caution to the wind. However, inwardly she was actually feeling quite complacent. This time, it wasn't Naruto who had lured her into a bet, it was she who was pulling the strings.

At the same time that Naruto was scheming about her, she was scheming about him!

"In the interests of time, I'm only willing to bet on the first time you enter one of the golden gate stone stele trials by fire," she said. "If you tried them all, who knows how long it would take for you to finish.

"So, only your first try counts. You can select any one of the steles, and if you can get into the top 10, then I'll give you 100,000 Immortal jades and 5,000,000 spirit stones. Those are the stakes!

"Furthermore, you must make your first attempt at the trial by fire today! I don't have time to sit around waiting for you.

"If you get into the top 10, you can take everything immediately. If you can't, then you must swear an oath upon the Dao that not only will you take this corpse away, you'll also cancel my promissory note! Plus, every time you meet me, you have to get on your knees and kowtow in greeting!" The way Fan Dong'er gritted her teeth and glared at Naruto made it seem like the reason she had added more stipulations was because she regretted her sudden impulsiveness, and was hoping Naruto would back out.

Naruto blinked and looked suspiciously at Fan Dong'er. Then, he slowly nodded his head.

"Alright, fine," he said. "We're old friends, so even though the bet is a bit unfair to me, I'll accept it, all because of our relationship. Let's do it!"

Fan Dong'er couldn't conceal the bright glow in her eyes as she immediately responded, "The agreement is reached…"

"…and the Dao bears witness!" replied Naruto, without hesitation.

Quite a few surrounding disciples overheard what was going on, and were watching closely. That was especially true of some of the male cultivators, who looked at Naruto with open hostility. Apparently, they felt that any enemy of Fan Dong'er was their enemy too.

When Fan Dong'er heard Naruto's response, she immediately smiled.

Now, she no longer made any attempts to cover up her scheming, or the fact that she had been baiting Naruto. She was eighty percent certain that Naruto was going to lose!

When Naruto saw Fan Dong'er's expression, he smiled. Considering his years of experience as a con artist, how could he possibly have failed to notice that Fan Dong'er was leading him along?

He didn't immediately select a stone stele to begin a trial by fire. Instead, he transformed into a beam of light that shot back and forth between the other eight golden gate stone steles as he examined them.

Fan Dong'er followed along, as did other disciples of the Nine Seas God World, including quite a few Demonic cultivators. Many of those people sent messages to friends, and soon, word spread about the bet between Naruto and Fan Dong'er.

Fan Dong'er was the Divine Daughter of this generation of the Nine Seas God World, and was even famous in the outside world. There wasn't anybody in the Nine Seas God World who didn't know who she was. Couple that with the fact that she was spectacularly beautiful, and it would be impossible to say conclusively how many of her fellow disciples completely adored her. Naturally, the fact that she had a wager going with someone quickly drew a lot of attention.

Of course, Naruto was also famous in the outside world. In fact, his name was far more illustrious than Fan Dong'er's. Be it in terms of his identity or his accomplishments, he was the center of much attention. Furthermore, only half a month ago, he had stood up to and even berated a Dao Realm expert. Word of that had spread throughout the entire Nine Seas God World, which made the matter of his wager with Fan Dong'er that much more intriguing.

Demonic cultivators came. Ordinary cultivators came. It didn't take long before there were fully 10,000 cultivators following Naruto around and discussing what was happening. Most of them looked at him with curiosity. However, as would be expected, most of them were inclined to support Fan Dong'er.

Around noontime, Naruto finished his inspection of the nine golden gate stone steles, whereupon he hovered in midair, muttering to himself.

"What's wrong, can't decide which one to pick?" asked Fan Dong'er, sneering coldly. "Don't try to delay things, Naruto. We already made the bet. You can only do the trial by fire today!"

Naruto turned to look at her, then smiled. His eyes flickered with a cold gleam as, without another word, he shot away like lightning. Rumbling filled the air as he headed directly toward… the ninth golden gate stone stele!

The first stone stele was a test regarding the pressure of the Ninth Sea, something he wasn't ready for. After a bit of examination of the other trials by fire, he didn't feel extremely confident in his ability to win the bet in any of them. However, the ninth stone stele was a trial by fire of the fleshly body. In that, he had faith!

Fan Dong'er's eyes flickered, and inwardly, she was laughing coldly. The ninth stone stele was actually one of three that she had speculated he would select. Therefore, it was no surprise to her at all that he chose that one.

"You're definitely going to lose!" she thought, setting her jaw arrogantly.

The surrounding disciples immediately began to discuss the matter.

"The ninth stone stele! This Naruto has a true Immortal fleshly body, so selecting this stone stele is actually a pretty conservative choice."

"However, he's also being a bit rash, wouldn't you say? The ninth stone stele… is very hard!"

"Him losing would be a good thing. Deflate him a bit! After all, this is the Nine Seas God World!" Apparently, none of the disciples believed that Naruto would succeed.

Heaven and Earth rumbled as Naruto shot toward the ninth golden gate stone stele, a beam of prismatic light that split the air. As he neared, it was evident that there were already a large number of disciples gathered there, clearly aware of the wager between Fan Dong'er and Naruto. Their eyes glittered as they watched Naruto unhesitatingly speed directly toward the huge stone stele.

As soon as he touched it, he vanished inside.

Subsequently, the more than 10,000 disciples outside of the stone stele all fixed their eyes on the list of names as they waited for any change. Fan Dong'er chuckled coldly. She was very calm, and completely confident that Naruto would be defeated.

Inside of the golden gate stone stele was an entire world which stretched out in all directions. However, there was no sky or land, just blankness. Naruto frowned as he realized that his Immortal meridians were apparently sealed. He could not rotate them in the slightest, making it impossible to utilize any divine abilities or magical techniques.

"My magic has been sealed off?" he thought. He sent some divine sense into his bag of holding, and found that even it was affected; nearly all of the items inside were impossible to use. Apparently the natural laws in this place restricted anything related to magic.

There were a few Heaven-defying items within his bag of holding that were still available for use. Most shocking of all was that the black pod was still emanating ripples; apparently it was unaffected by the sealing, and could still be used.

Even as shock washed through Naruto, popping sounds suddenly rang out from up ahead. Next, a tall figure strode out from the within the void.

It was a man wearing a mask, with a long head of flowing white hair, and a navy blue robe. Not a single cultivation base ripple emanated off of him as he approached, causing Naruto's eyes to widen.

He could sense that the man had a boundless power of Chakra and blood within him. Although he had absolutely no cultivation base fluctuations, his Chakra and blood power was towering.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he realized what type of cultivation this man practiced.

"A body cultivator!"

Back when he was doing research in the Namikaze Clan's ancient records, he saw information about a common type of cultivation from ancient times. Those cultivators did not cultivate special types of magic, but rather, focused on their fleshly bodies.

People like that were referred to as body cultivators!

The most unique thing about them was that their bodies did not contain the least bit of spiritual energy. However, their Chakra and blood could influence the workings of the world around them.

The man in front of him hadn't reached that level yet. However, his Chakra and blood were still extremely vigorous, shocking to the extreme.

As soon as he appeared, he didn't hesitate for even a moment. He strode forward, and before he was even close, his boundless Chakra and blood surged, transforming into an incredible pressure that crushed down on Naruto.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he couldn't help but smile.

"So I can't use any magical techniques. I can only rely on my fleshly body. Well in that case, it's time to see… exactly how far my true Immortal fleshly body can take me!" He took a deep breath, and without any further hesitation, began to stride toward the man.

As they closed in on each other, both of them clenched their hands into fists and punched out!

A boom rattled out. Naruto went all out with his fleshly body, giving rise to a gale force wind. When his blow landed on his opponent, a massive shockwave spread out in all directions. Naruto's hair was thrown into disarray, and yet, he didn't retreat even half a pace. The initial punch actually got him excited; it felt quite relaxing to be able to unleash such power.

As for his opponent, the man trembled, and fell back a few paces.

"Time to die!" Naruto roared, stepping forward and punching again.

The punch landed on nothing, but it caused the void to collapse, kicking up a huge wind that slammed into his opponent. The man's body shook, and in the blink of an eye, he was completely shattered into bits by the force of the strike.

However, in that same moment, two more men appeared within the void. They looked identical to the first man, with navy blue robes, and masks. Their Chakra and blood were also incredibly powerful, and they immediately charged toward Naruto.

Naruto threw his head back and laughed. He didn't back up, but instead, went on the offensive. Booms filled the air as the two figures were destroyed. A moment later, four figures appeared, with even stronger Chakra and blood.

This happened over and over again. Naruto attacked repeatedly, and a massive energy built up in his body. It was a domineering air, a courageous madness. Rumbling could be heard as the entire world was shaken.

4 opponents destroyed. Then there were 8. After 8 were destroyed, there were 16. After 16 were destroyed, 32 appeared!

After that there were 64, 128, 256….

Each and every time, their Chakra and blood were even stronger. Vast crowds surrounded Naruto, who only continued to laugh. He almost never came across a chance like this, in which magical techniques weren't important, and he could rely only on his fleshly body. Every time he launched a punch, wild colors flashed about.

Furthermore, his name began to rise on the stone stele's list!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1050

Chapter 1050: Celestial Warrior!

Actually, Naruto's name had appeared on the stone stele in the instant he had slaughtered 64 enemies. Prominently displayed on the golden gate stone stele was a list of 1,000 names.

However, while the names of the top 100 shone with brilliant light, the names of those outside of the top 100 were darkened to the point where you couldn't read them clearly without using divine sense.

As for Naruto's name, when it appeared, it was in the 997th position!

On any other occasion, few people would have taken note of this. Most people only paid attention to the top 100. The 900 names below that might have their own bit of glory, but not enough to cause any sort of stir.

As of this moment, however, the 10,000 spectators who were staring at the stone stele immediately caught sight of Naruto's name and began to cry out.

"There it is!"

"He's in 997th place!"

"That was so fast! How long has he been in there?" Immediately, various disciples began to analyze the situation, and soon, they determined that from the time Naruto disappeared into the golden gate stone stele until the time his name appeared, less time had passed than it would take an incense stick to burn!

In fact, in the brief time in which they discussed the matter, his name leapt from the 997th spot to the 831st! And it didn't stop there. It leapt again, from the 831st spot to the 498th!

A huge commotion rose up, and everyone was clearly shocked. Everyone was staring at the stone stele, astonished at the progress Naruto was making. Based on his reputation, everyone was sure that he would reach the top 100, but what was causing such widespread shock was the speed with which he was moving up in the ranks!

He was rising so quickly that everyone was mentally shaken. When fighting a hundred people, defeating them in a hundred breaths of time was a completely different matter than defeating them in fifty breaths of time. Furthermore, to be able to do so in only ten breaths of time was like the difference between Heaven and Earth!

That was how all of the disciples of the Nine Seas God World currently felt about Naruto. Although they could see no images of what was taking place inside the trial by fire, when they calculated how quickly he was moving up, they knew that he was bursting with momentum and energy.

Fan Dong'er's expression flickered, but quickly returned to normal.

"The real difficulty lies in the top 100," she murmured to herself, clenching her jaw. "He might be moving quickly in the early stages, but so what?!"

Back in the golden gate stone stele, Naruto was laughing out loud. His Chakra and blood surged like that of an explosive dragon. He advanced courageously, dispatching the blue-robed figures with constant attacks. They were like dried weeds in front of him.

After dispatching the 256 cultivators with boundless Chakra and blood power, Naruto's eyes glowed with obsession. He was panting a bit, but his heart was filled with the desire to do battle.

"I'm definitely… going to get into the top 10! Even if it technically shouldn't be possible for me, I can still do it!" He looked down at his bag of holding. Located inside was another item, which was the key to his confidence in being able to win the bet with Fan Dong'er.

This might be a trial by fire, and most of the items in his bag of holding were sealed. However, as Naruto had expected, the item that he was counting on could not be sealed. As far as the black pod, the fact that it was also unsealed had been completely unexpected.

Even as he stood there, panting slightly, the void up ahead rippled. Naruto was given no rest as a massive aura exploded out in front of him. Shockingly, 512 men in navy blue robes stepped out.

Each one was far more powerful than any of the previous enemies he had fought. Their Chakra and blood power placed them in a position similar to the peak of the Immortal Realm. However, these were not like Chosen with 90 or more meridians, but rather, more like peak Immortals with 70 meridians or so.

Even still, they were incredibly powerful. Naruto wasn't sure how members of the Nine Seas God World normally passed challenges such as this; perhaps they had a special body tempering technique. In any case, his eyes glittered as he stepped forward and went on the attack again.

Rumbling shook everything as he launched his punch. Massive vibrations could be sensed as he lost track of time, and even forgot that he was in a trial by fire. He focused completely on using his fleshly body to attack and destroy.

This was the first time he had not relied on any magical techniques or divine abilities, nor on his cultivation base. This was a battle fought only with the fleshly body. His entire body was trembling, not because of muscle fatigue, but rather, because it was finally able to utilize the full potential of its power.

In fact, Naruto could sense that, because of the constant fighting within the trial by fire, his fleshly body was now showing signs of a breakthrough, and was becoming even more powerful!

He roared as he shot forward, letting out a powerful punch that instantly exterminated three opponents. By the time he finished with the 512th opponent, blood was oozing out of his mouth and he was breathing heavily. Then he looked up and saw, not 1,024 opponents, but rather… a single person!

He wore a long crimson robe, and as he walked forward, the void around him turned bright red. That red color was not visible to the naked eye… it could only be seen with divine sense.

It was something that came only after reaching a certain level of Chakra and blood power, something that actually influenced the natural law around it!

As soon as Naruto saw this crimson-robed figure, his eyes widened, and he could sense the threatening air exuded by the man.

"So, a true body cultivator has finally appeared!" he thought, eyes shining with the desire to fight.

From the Chakra and blood power emanating off of the man, Naruto was able to tell that he was definitely a match for the peak of the true Immortal Realm.

Meanwhile, everyone in the outside world was in an uproar. The more than 10,000 spectators outside of the ninth golden gate stone stele watched as Naruto's name rose up on the list. It went from the 400's up into the 300's, all the way until it reached the 101st position!

As for how much time had passed since Naruto had started, it was only… a single hour!

To cultivators, a single hour was like nothing. And yet, that was how much time Naruto had used to climb all the way to the 101st position!

"This Naruto, just… just how powerful is his fleshly body?!"

"An hour! It's only been one hour…."

"I suddenly have the feeling that he… might actually make it into the top 10!"

"Not necessarily. Maybe he used some type of secret technique to bolster his fleshly body for a temporary boost in power!" As the conversations went on, Fan Dong'er's face was extremely unsightly. Although she didn't want to admit it, she was actually getting quite nervous. For Naruto to get to the 101st position in only one hour was something extremely rare in the golden gate stone stele trials by fire.

Back inside, Naruto had no idea where his name was on the list, nor did he care. Because of that item inside his bag of holding, he was confident that he wouldn't lose. Compared to what was at stake depending on whether he won or lost, the gains he was making in terms of his fleshly body were far more important.

Up ahead, the crimson-robed man stepped forward toward Naruto. He only took three steps, but each step caused shocking rumbling like thunder to shake everything. Naruto's heart quivered as though it were being stepped on. He felt stifled, as if, when standing in front of this crimson-robed man, he couldn't help but feel regret.

But then, his eyes flickered with the desire to fight, and his Chakra and blood surged, instantly rising up to fight back against the feeling. He did not retreat, he advanced, directly toward the crimson-robed man.

The man looked up, and his eyes shone with a glow like that of blood. As Naruto closed in on him, he also charged.

The two did not speak, nor did they use magic. They simply… fought!

Booms rang out, shaking Heaven and Earth. Naruto launched punch after punch, as did the crimson-robed man. They went back and forth in midair, occasionally throwing sweeping kicks into the brawl. In a brief moment, they had exchanged hundreds of blows.

Naruto was laughing loudly. The more he fought, the stronger he seemed to become. It was as if his true Immortal fleshly body was undergoing tempering. It was exploding past his previous level of battle prowess, leading Naruto to the conclusion that he had overlooked the fact that his fleshly body could only grow stronger when he used it to fight! That was the key to growing more powerful!

Fight!

Naruto's desire to do battle surged. He attacked relentlessly, advanced without pause. The crimson-robed man seethed with Chakra and blood power, but was forced backward over and over again. It didn't matter that he was a body cultivator who had reached the point of being able to affect natural law; he was simply no match for Naruto's true Immortal fleshly body.

About a dozen breaths of time passed. Naruto roared, and then let out a punch that completely destroyed the crimson-robed man.

The world went quiet and peaceful, and Naruto hovered in midair, his Chakra and blood surging, growing more powerful. Shockingly, a red glow began to spread out around him!

Apparently… he was able to influence this world's natural law!

As of this moment, Naruto looked exactly like a celestial warrior!

"I understand. Body cultivators need repeated bloody battles to progress!" His eyes shone with enlightenment. In any other situation outside, he could rely on magical techniques to kill the crimson-robed opponent as easily as turning over his hand. But he had no such access to magical techniques now, forcing him to temper his fleshly body. He was causing his true Immortal fleshly body… to burst out with the true power that it was capable of.

Almost in the same moment that the crimson-robed opponent vanished, Naruto's name once again climbed up on the list. He didn't know that though. What he saw was the void up ahead of him rippling as… two crimson-robed men emerged.

It was like a cycle, with 512 as the limit. Every cycle had different body cultivators, wearing different clothing, from different Realms of body cultivation.

2\. 4. 8. 16. 32. 64….

There was no rest in this trial by fire. His fleshly body grew stronger, his insane desire for battle growing ever more frenzied. He coughed up blood, but it made him more powerful. Underneath the constant onslaught, his fleshly body gradually approached the point of perfection!

It was at the point when 256 crimson-robed opponents appeared that Naruto finally began to fall back. There were simply too many people, all of them body cultivators who could influence natural law. Naruto's fleshly body power was now reaching its limit.

His eyes flickered as they surrounded him, and he gave a cold harrumph. He was not averse to using cheating methods. However, he didn't want to use his final trump card so easily. Therefore, he tossed out the black pod. The imp appeared, screeching as it shot toward the incoming crimson robed opponents.

A group of crimson-robed men immediately split off to deal with the blackpod imp. The imp was ferocious, and didn't attempt to dodge. Instead, it used its carapace to defend itself. Although it wasn't really a match for these crimson-robed men, the more it fought, the more confident it got. When it was injured, the injuries healed. Whenever any of the opponents got near, it would attempt to possess them. However, it quickly became apparent that the crimson-robed men did not actually have the types of bodies that could be possessed. Therefore, the imp simply slashed them to pieces and consumed their flesh and blood!

In the end, the imp was able to take care of a dozen or so crimson-robed opponents, taking a bit of the pressure off of Naruto.

Naruto was actually shocked at this outcome, and split his attention between fighting the crimson robed men and observing the little blackpod imp. Time went by, and after a few dozen breaths of time, the blackpod imp was struck by one of the crimson-robed body cultivators, and was sent flying. As it flew through midair, it spit out a mouthful of blood and then let out an ear-piercing screech.

"Dagger!" As soon as it let out the cry, its body distorted, and it transformed into a dagger which shot toward the crimson-robed opponent.

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	9. Chapter 9

2

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1051

Chapter 1051 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1051: Top 10!

Meanwhile, back in Naruto 's Immortal's cave, rumbling sounds could be heard coming from within two of the stone chambers in his residence. It didn't take long for the two chambers to completely collapse.

Two Ghost Eyes suddenly emerged from within the cloud of dust. When they saw each other, sparks of hostility could be seen, but instead of fighting each other, they flew out of the residence, apparently intent on making their escape.

However, as soon as they emerged, they found themselves facing the parrot, who was in the middle of coaching the Demonic cultivators in their singing. The parrot stared in shock, and then immediately looked displeased.

"They look so familiar, but I can't quite place them. Anyway, why is their fur so sparse?"

"You fool, they don't have fur, those are tentacles!" Off to the side, the meat jelly jumped at the chance to correct the parrot. All of a sudden it felt as if it knew about everything in the world, which also caused it to feel superior to and wiser than the parrot.

"Well it doesn't matter if its fur or tentacles," the parrot responded angrily, "they just don't have enough! Come, come, you two, time to practice some singing with Lord Fifth!" It flew toward the two Ghost Eyes without any hesitation.

The two Ghost Eyes emanated mysterious glows, and without hesitation charged the parrot in attack. Shockingly, the two imps inside of the eyes opened their mouths wide, as if to possess the parrot.

They all slammed into each other, and surprisingly, the parrot wasn't hurt at all. In contrast, the two imps let out miserable shrieks. They had sensed some sort of terrifying aura within the parrot, and began to flee. The Ghost Eyes faded away, revealing the imps, which transformed into black pods as they shot backward.

The parrot looked very proud of itself, and was just about to start speaking, when the two black pods suddenly shrieked: "Dagger!"

It was a shrill sound, tinged with madness. Next, two black daggers shot toward the parrot.

The parrot gaped in shock.

"Black pods that become daggers? Pod daggers? They seem so familiar…."

Meanwhile, back in the ninth golden gate stone stele, the black pod in dagger-form stabbed into a crimson-robed body cultivator, causing him to instantly vanish. Unexpectedly, he was completely absorbed… consumed by the dagger.

Naruto 's eyes flashed, and he kept fighting. Not much more time passed before he was able to wipe out the remaining two hundred or so enemies. Then, the void up ahead rippled once again. 512 body cultivators appeared.

A new round of slaughter had begun. Considering how many people he was fighting now, it was impossible for Naruto to maintain his previous momentum. He began to edge backward, and yet, his expression was calm. Despite being forced backward, he occasionally looked over at the blackpod imp, who was battling with increasing courage. As it continued to absorb the body cultivators, it was beginning to emanate a sensation ofChakra and blood.

That caused Naruto 's awe of the imp to increase.

Outside, the more than 10,000 disciples stared in shock as Naruto 's name rose from 101st place to 97th, 85th, 78th, 63rd, 54th….

Finally, Naruto 's name appeared in the 46th position!

The golden light which shone from the name made it clear to everyone. Furthermore, in terms of time… Naruto reached that position only two hours after beginning the stone stele trial by fire!

Everyone was completely shaken by this. Furthermore, the glittering golden light which rose up attracted the attention of disciples in other areas of the Nine Seas God World. They came over and began to ask about what was happening, and were shocked when they found out.

The Demonic cultivators were more affected than the ordinary cultivators. They stood there with grim faces and swirling killing intent.

As for Fan Dong'er, her face was extremely unsightly, and her hands were balled into fists.

"Considering the power of his fleshly body, he shouldn't have any problems making it into the top 30," she thought, gritting her teeth. "But… why is he going so fast?!" Naruto had long since passed up her own name on the list, which was not unexpected. However, according to her calculations, Naruto should have taken a whole day to get to his current position. Instead… he used only two hours.

By now, many of the Ancient Realm experts had sensed what was happening in the ninth golden gate stone stele, and were sending divine sense over to investigate.

Inside the stone stele, Naruto looked around at the hundreds of crimson-robed cultivators who surrounded him, and sighed. Even with the assistance of the blackpod imp, it was not an easy thing to go up against the combined Chakra and blood might of these body cultivators.

"I wonder how high up I am on the list," he thought. "Definitely not 1st. How did all those the other people from the Nine Seas God World get so high in the rankings? How did they cultivate fleshly bodies more powerful than mine?!" Naruto 's eyes glittered.

"Perhaps it has something to do with body cultivation itself, or perhaps… the Nine Seas God World has true body cultivators!" He hadn't been in the Nine Seas God World for very long, but even in that short time, he had made incredible gains. Not only had his fleshly body grown stronger, but he now had some clues about the path of body cultivation.

Were it not for that, he would have long since already reached his limit. Now, however, he felt that his power was just a bit lacking.

"Although I haven't reached the point of needing to use THAT item, still… my fleshly body power just isn't sufficient." He took a step back, eyes glittering.

"In that case," he said, taking a deep breath, "let's see what types of body cultivators are here in this fleshly body trial by fire!" Although his Immortal meridians were sealed, and he couldn't unleash magical techniques, he had sensed earlier that the secret magic of his Immortal meridians was still accessible.

His fleshly body was modeled after a single one of his 123 Immortal meridians. Therefore, he should be able to… transform all of his 123 Immortal meridians into fleshly body power.

He truly wanted to know exactly how powerful he would become if he transformed his fleshly body that way using the secret magic.

He closed his eyes, and the crimson-robed body cultivators closed in on him. When they were almost upon in, his eyes snapped open, and rumbling sounds filled his body. It was like a giant beating on a drum, intense booms that shook the entire world.

Inside his body, 123 Immortal meridians, despite being sealed and incapable of unleashing magical techniques, were not prevented from transforming into fleshly body power. Rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto 's power exploded upward. Chakra and blood power surged, and massive energy rose up.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The incoming crimson-robed body cultivators were instantly smashed to bits by the surging energy. They became nothing more than ash that swirled around Naruto .

The blackpod imp let out a shriek and immediately evaded, looking back at Naruto with intense fear in its eyes.

All of the red-robed body cultivators were instantly destroyed.

Naruto clenched his fists and looked up, and his eyes shone with a bright light. Outside, his name instantly shot up from the 40's into the 19th position!

From ancient times until now, only eighteen people had ever performed better than Naruto , and they were all Ancient Realm cultivators with at least five extinguished soul lamps.

Furthermore, their fleshly bodies were not necessarily more powerful than Naruto 's. After all, he had cleared the entire stage in only a few breaths of time, whereas many of the others had been forced to slowly kill all of their opponents.

The result was the same, but the process was vastly different.

The outside world was in an unprecedented level of uproar. The disciples of the Nine Seas God World couldn't believe their eyes when they saw his name leap from the 40's all the way to the top 20.

Naruto !

Fan Dong'er's eyes were wide, and she was panting with disbelief and shock. She even gasped.

"The top 20!"

" Naruto got into the top 20! Only four hours to reach the top 20!"

"It's hard to say whether or not… he might actually get into the top 10!"

Boundless golden light rose up from the stone stele, catching even more attention. More disciples were arriving in beams of brilliant light.

Meanwhile, back in the world of the stone stele, Naruto hovered there, looking every bit like a celestial warrior. His energy was impossible to describe.

He was a celestial warrior, the Immortal Realm Paragon. And now, his fleshly body had also reached the level… of the Immortal Realm Paragon.

The blackpod imp was trembling as the void distorted up ahead. Soon, rumbling sounds could be heard as distortions could be seen, from within which emerged a black-robed man.

It was only a single person, wearing a black robe and a mask. However, when he appeared, his explosive Chakra and blood power caused cracks to appear everywhere!

A terrifying energy rose up from him, which was the power of the peak of the Immortal Realm, a level of power equivalent to Naruto 's before he had used the Immortal meridian secret technique. However, compared to Naruto 's present state… this man's energy was far too weak.

Naruto advanced, extending his hand. He didn't use a fist, but rather, just waved his arm, causing fleshly body power to shake the natural law in the area. A huge concave depression appeared, which immediately overwhelmed the black-robed man.

"Break," he said softly.

A boom could be heard as the black-robed man shattered. Next, 2 men appeared. Then 4, 8… all the way until 512 black-robed figures could be seen. Each and every one of them were crushed by Naruto .

His face was one of determination, and he attacked with lightning speed. The power of his fleshly body had already reached the pinnacle of the current generation, and even exceeded that of Ancient Realm experts. However, Naruto knew that this was not his most powerful state.

An even more powerful state would be one in which he could successfully absorb the four Nirvana Fruits. At that time, before he entered the Ancient Realm, he would have the most powerful fleshly body state to ever exist in the Immortal Realm from ancient times until now.

That would be… something that might even exceed the Immortal Emperor Realm!

512 black-robed men were smashed, causing Naruto 's name to jump from 19th place on the stone stele to 5th!

Outside, the crowd went wild.

"5th! Naruto got 5th place! The only people ahead of him are the legendary Four Celestial Warriors!"

"From ancient times until now, from the beginning of the Ninth Sea and the Nine Seas God World, the top 4 of the ninth golden gate stone stele have never been surpassed. Those four names have always been there!"

"Those four people aren't like Chosen from our era! They have been in that same spot for ages! Their record has never been broken by anyone!"

Chapter 1051: Top 10!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1052

Chapter 1052 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1052: Passing on Body Cultivation Techniques

Fan Dong'er staggered back, her face ashen.

"He's cheating! He must be cheating!" she thought, her eyes completely bloodshot. In this particular instance, however, her accusation was completely unfounded. While it was true that Naruto tended to cheat and was even prepared to do so, at the moment he really wasn't.

His continuous fighting led to continuous advancement. As a result, his current fleshly body state was becoming increasingly powerful.

He hovered in the world of the golden gate stone stele, looking at the figures in front of him as they faded away.

Then, the void up ahead distorted, and a white-robed old man materialized.

The old man wore no mask, and he was alone. He seemed almost like the center of the entire world, and yet, no Chakra and blood power radiated off of him. It was almost as if he were a mortal.

However, he gave Naruto an incredibly enigmatic feeling. Deep down, Naruto also sensed an indescribable feeling of crisis that left him utterly shaken.

The old man looked at Naruto for a moment, and then suddenly spoke, his voice ancient and archaic.

"I am the final stage of this trial by fire," he said coolly. "Throughout history, there have only been four people under the Dao Realm who have been able to handle my first fist strike. Of those, two were able to withstand a second. Only one could handle three strikes!

"Anyone who can defeat me will find their reward from the golden gate stone stele increased tenfold! Unfortunately… no one under the Dao Realm has ever done that." As he spoke, he began to shine with a brilliant, golden light, as if his whole body had turned metallic.

Naruto 's pupils constricted. He wasn't even able to gauge how profoundly powerful this old man was, but a sensation of danger flooded through him nonetheless. It was almost as if the person standing in front of him was not a cultivator, but some primordial wild beast!

Without even thinking about it, Naruto reached down toward his bag of holding.

The man looked deeply at Naruto and then said, "Do not attempt any other methods to achieve victory. Body cultivators grow more powerful by engaging in more battle, and making the heart invincible. If one resorts to trickery, the heart will be unstable. It might seem harmless at first, but in the end, your path will become more and more narrow, until you are unable to achieve true success in body cultivating."

A tremor ran through Naruto , and he was silent for a moment, as if having experienced a moment of enlightenment. The hand he had been moving toward his bag of holding slowly stopped in place. Finally, he looked at the old man, took a deep breath, and then clasped hands and bowed. When he looked up, his eyes shone with the desire to do battle. At the same time, his body surged with a bit more energy than before.

His energy even seemed a bit purer, as if some new willpower had awoken within him.

The old man nodded, his eyes shining with approval.

"First fist, Life-Extermination Fist!" the old man said coolly. Then, he slowly lifted his hand up and clenching it tight. It seemed like an ordinary fist, except that he placed his thumb between his middle and ring fingers. It poked out just a little bit, creating a small point of invulnerability!

As he punched, it was clear that there was no magical technique involved. However, a massive wind blasted out, so icy cold that it seemed to be a wind of total annihilation. As soon as the wind began to blow, the entire world turn gray, as if the fist could extinguish all life in the entire world.

Naruto even felt the flame of his life force flickering on the point of extinguishing thanks to the profundity of the fist. His heart trembled, and he suddenly had the feeling that if a planet were struck by this fist, all living things on it would die!

An extermination of life!

This was the Life-Extermination Fist!

Naruto felt like he was suffocating in a cave of ice, and yet, his desire to do battle erupted. He formed his right hand into a fist, filling it with the power of his cultivation base, his willpower, and fleshly body power. His blood thrummed as he unleashed the fist of the Immortal Realm Paragon.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

They met in midair, and when their fists slammed into each other, Naruto 's entire body shook violently. He coughed up a massive mouthful of blood, and was sent staggering backward 300 meters. There, he coughed up another mouthful of blood, which was pitch black.

Furthermore, as soon as the blood sprayed out of his mouth, it immediately froze solid.

Cracking sounds could be heard as a layer of ice instantly spread out to cover Naruto .

A moment later, Naruto shook, and the ice shattered. He was pale and ashen as he looked over at the old man, shaken. The destructive power of that one punch was shocking to the extreme.

Furthermore, he could even sense that the old man hadn't used the full power of the fist.

"Extermination…" he murmured.

"The Life-Extermination Fist can exterminate all living things," the old man said coolly. "It can destroy any creature or being. This fist strike was created for the Dao of death. By attacking with a will of death, the body cultivator can murder Gods!"

Naruto 's mind quivered as if struck by lightning. He took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and contemplated the meaning of the old man's fist strike. When the old man saw this, he looked surprised, and gazed more deeply at Naruto . Finally, a look of praise appeared on his face.

Meanwhile, outside of the stone stele, the fact that Naruto withstood the first fist strike resulted in his name moving up again. Now, he was in 4th place!

Although it was only an increase of a single position, the fact that it was the top 10, or really, the top 5, ensured that the disciples of the Nine Seas God World were completely shocked.

Fan Dong'er's face was pale white. She knew she had lost, and yet wasn't willing to accept that. She still believed that the only way Naruto could reach his current ranking was if he had cheated.

Time passed. This time, four full hours passed before Naruto finally opened his eyes. Looking at the old man, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Understand?" the old man asked.

"Kind of," Naruto responded truthfully. "Well… mostly not."

The old man laughed heartily.

"Well, it doesn't matter. Why don't you try out my second fist strike, the Self-Immolation Fist, also known as the Bedevilment Fist!" As soon as he finished speaking, he took a step forward and raised his right hand into a fist. His thumb's position was normal, without the special finger positioning from the Life-Extermination Fist. It looked completely like a normal fist as he punched out.

However, as the punch rocketed forth, an energy rose up from the old man that caused wild colors to flash in the sky. A massive wind kicked up that could shake heavenly bodies. The energy itself caused blood to ooze out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth, and he was shoved backward relentlessly, denying him any opportunity to counterattack.

That energy was the result of the old man's willpower, a madness and obsession that was capable of paying any price to fuel the destructive power of his fist. It was a level of obsession so high that it could turn one into a Devil. Rather than an act of self-immolation, it was like a bedevilment!

The fist strike shattered the void, crushed Heaven and Earth, and… could not be reined in without shedding blood.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and he staggered backward. He didn't even dare to consider a counterattack; he had the intense premonition that if he did… he would be destroyed in body and spirit.

There was something fatal about the power of that fist, and yet, even as Naruto fell into retreat, the old man roared, "Use what you learned of the Life-Extermination Fist, otherwise… you're dead!"

Naruto looked up, his eyes shot with blood, and took a deep breath.

Then he clenched his fist, placing his thumb between the middle and ring fingers. Using what he had just learned about the Life-Extermination Fist, he punched out.

Beneath the power of the Bedevilment Fist, Naruto 's life force was flickering out. A feeling of death filled him, and yet, he used that will of death to launch the punch. It was as if something in his mind snapped, and he achieved a higher level of enlightenment. His body trembled as… he understood the true, deeper meaning of the Life-Extermination Fist!

Everything was much clearer than before.

"I understand!" His fist, which was already flying through the air, trembled slightly. Then, it surged with a mad energy that hadn't been there before.

A huge wind sprang up, which, under the influence of his fist strike, transformed into a wind of slaughter. Everything around him iced over, and the power of extermination rose up, slamming into the Bedevilment

Fist.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he spun backward as violently as a kite with its string suddenly cut. Great mouthfuls of blood were vomited out, and yet his hoarse, excited voice could be heard: "LifeExtermination Fist! I understand! Life-Extermination Fist!"

The old man smiled, returning his fist to his side as he watched Naruto fall and cough up more blood. However, Naruto 's eyes gleamed with intense focus and determination as he looked back at the old man and bowed deeply.

"Please accept my undying thanks for passing on this technique to me!" he said.

"You are not a body cultivator, and have not experienced baptism in the blood of a God," replied the old man. "Therefore, you cannot withstand my third fist strike. Go. Wait until you have become stronger, and then come find me again. Remember, we cultivators didn't originally practice body cultivation. The purpose of body cultivation… is to slay Gods!

"If you have an opportunity in the future to slay a God, then you can be baptised in its blood. At that time, you can acquire your own battle body!" The old man waved his hand, causing the world around Naruto to collapse into pieces. Naruto felt himself spinning, and everything turned into a blur.

At the same time, an unprecedentedly brilliant light shone from the ninth golden gate stone stele. Massive rumbling echoed out to fill the entire Nine Seas God World. All disciples of the Nine Seas God World could sense it, and especially the Dao Realm Patriarchs. All of them looked over as Naruto 's name rose from the 4th position… all the way to the 2nd position!

Clearly, the old man felt that Naruto was more qualified than the person who had previously reached 2nd place by withstanding the second fist strike!

The God World was in an uproar. All cultivators were shaking, and gasps of astonishment rang out in all directions.

"2nd place! Naruto reached the 2nd position on the list!"

"Of the four celestial warriors who have eternally maintained the top positions, three were pushed aside by him!"

"He definitely deserves his positions of Chosen, Crown Prince of the

Namikaze Clan, and joint Conclave disciple of the Three Great Daoist Societies!" As the crowds raved, Fan Dong'er's face grew paler than ever.

Golden light shone up from the stele, and Naruto 's figure gradually appeared in front of all the crowds.

As soon as he materialized, he didn't glance at anyone, not even Fan

Dong'er. Instead, he turned and looked at the name which occupied the

1st position on the list. He very much wanted to know who it was that could withstand the old man's third fist strike.

"Zong Wuya!" he murmured. 1

He might be someone from ancient times, and might not even exist in the Nine Seas God World anymore. However, Naruto still wanted to know his name.

Anyone who had never experienced the power of that old man's fist strike would be eternally incapable of understanding how terrifying the Life-Extermination Fist and the Bedevilment Fist were to experts who practiced cultivation of the fleshly body.

As of this moment, Zong Wuya's name was deeply imprinted in Naruto 's mind.

Chapter 1052: Passing on Body Cultivation Techniques

Zong Wuya's name in Chinese is 纵无涯. zòng wú yá. Zong is a surname which is also a common character that has multiple meanings including "vertical, release, and jump." Wuya means "boundless" or "limitless." I often ask Madam Deathblade "What kind of name is this? What does it feel like?" When I asked her that question for this name she snorted coldly and said, "It sounds like an wuxia name" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1053

Chapter 1053: Demonic Provocation!

At the same time that Naruto appeared, the disciples in the area were thrown into an uproar. Even the disciples who hated Naruto couldn't help but acknowledge that he was incredibly powerful. The position of his name on the ranking list on the ninth golden gate stone stele left a deep impression on their hearts.

2nd place!

From ancient times until now, the top 4 spots on that name list had never changed. On this day, however, Naruto had risen from the very bottom of the list all the way to the 2nd position!

Many people speculated that there must be a vast gap separating the 1st and 2nd positions on that list. However, only Naruto knew how vast that gap was. Perhaps after he completely refined the Paragon's blood, and then used it to fully fuse with a Nirvana Fruit, then…

He would be qualified to once again challenge the ninth golden gate stone stele, and feel… the power of the fist that came after the LifeExtermination Fist and the Self-Immolation Fist… the third fist strike!

That third fist would surely be spectacular to the extreme, capable of destroying Heaven and Earth. It was likely the pinnacle of body cultivation!

Refining more Paragon's blood required more Immortal jade and spirit stones. Now that he had reached 2nd place on the ninth golden gate stone stele, he would receive a hefty reward!

Naruto looked over at the stone stele, and the description of the rewards. After making some calculations, his eyes shone with anticipation.

A moment later, as the golden light slowly faded away, Naruto turned, flashing through the crowd like lighting toward the pale-faced Fan Dong'er.

"Cheater!" she said, glaring at him. Gritting her teeth, she pulled a bag of holding out and threw it over to Naruto .

She might have lost, but she was no sore loser!

At the same time, though, her revulsion toward Naruto grew even stronger. Expression extremely grim, she turned to leave. She was worried that if she didn't leave quickly, she would lose control and attack Naruto , leading to a big battle. Considering how terrifyingly powerful he was now, she knew that she had no chance of winning.

Naruto caught the bag of holding. After scanning it with divine sense, he smiled. In his opinion, although Fan Dong'er had many weaknesses, she also had her strengths, and was something that he greatly admired. That was… she didn't refuse to accept losing.

Naruto cleared his throat. He was not the type to secretly spare people. If he had an enemy and their differences could not be resolved easily, then in his opinion there was no need to even try. And in fact… he might as well pile on a bit more discomfort.

Naruto had always been that way. Therefore, he smiled and said, "Junior Sister Dong'er, there are still eight more stone steles. I feel bad for winning so easily. Why don't we make another bet? What do you say?"

Fan Dong'er gritted her teeth. Not bothering to even turn around and look at him, she transformed into a colorful beam of light that sped off into the distance.

Naruto felt a bit bad. His words were actually just idle banter. He wasn't very confident about the other golden gate stone stele trials by fire. If Fan Dong'er had agreed to continue betting, he would have been forced to delay the matter.

Looking around at all the surrounding disciples of the Nine Seas God World, he sighed.

"Without a believable accomplice, it's hard to get things done. If I had someone to help, I might have been able to charge people to watch. Yet another lost opportunity for profit." Naruto 's heart hurt at the thought of the spirit stones, which, although they didn't actually belong to him, represented a missed opportunity all the same.

"What a headache. Everyone else worries about cultivation, but I'm always worried about having to make money." Feeling quite bitter, he shook his head and flew quickly over toward one of the other golden gate stone steles.

If he was going to challenge them, then he would need to study them individually. That would give him the best chance to maximize their profitability.

When Naruto left, most of the other disciples followed along with him. Soon, the entire group arrived at the eighth golden gate stone stele.

Shockingly, almost in the same moment that they arrived, nine beams of colorful light appeared up above, screaming through the air toward the same location. Shocking rumbling like that of thunder clouds could be heard, accompanied by the ripples of the Ancient Realm.

In the blink of an eye, the beams of light closed in on the stone stele to reveal nine Demonic cultivators!

Of those nine, seven were men and two were women. All were exceedingly attractive, and looked almost exactly like cultivators, with the exception of the fish scale mark they all had on their foreheads. Another shocking thing about them was that each and every one appeared to have three or four extinguished Soul Lamps.

These were obviously not ordinary early Ancient Realm cultivators. These were Chosen who were close to the mid Ancient Realm.

"It's them! The nine Sea Realm Demons! They're actually making a public appearance! How rare!"

"Of the twenty most famous disciples in the Nine Seas God World, the weakest is the Divine Daughter, Fan Dong'er, although she has one of the highest ranks. In addition to her, there are the nine Divine Offspring. They have profound cultivation bases, and although they were once

Chosen, they've now entered the early Ancient Realm! The Demonic Cultivator Horde is similar. They have a Sea Daughter, who is analogous to the Divine Daughter. In addition, they have the nine Sea Realm Demons, who are similar to the Divine Offspring!"

Immediately, all of the Demonic cultivators in the area started getting very excited.

Naruto 's eyes flickered when he caught sight of the nine Demonic cultivators. They looked back at him, their eyes flickering with sinister light. Each and every one of them could exert threatening pressure on Naruto ; after all, they were all in the Ancient Realm!

There were two who Naruto found the most threatening. Both were men, one of whom had a triangular scale on his forehead, and whose pupils were also triangular, making him look very bizarre.

The other appeared to be the youngest among the group of nine. He was incredibly attractive, and wore beautiful clothing. His forehead had no scale on it, but rather, a mark in the shape of a Sea Dragon. He emanated the air of a ruler or king, that spread out in all directions.

He was… the number one Demon among the nine Sea Realm Demons!

Naruto looked away from them and proceeded to head toward the eighth golden gate stone stele. A moment after he stepped inside, the nine Sea Realm Demons did the same.

Countless eyes were fixed on the developing situation. The Demonic cultivators hated Naruto , a fact that had already spread throughout the entire sect. For the nine Sea Realm Demons to show up here led everyone to the same conclusion; the Demonic Cultivator Horde was making a move on Naruto !

It was not a direct attack but, rather, an attack on the prestige that he was gaining, to use the trials by fire to keep his growing popularity in check.

They were going to use this as a chance to create a clear comparison!

"I wonder what ranking Naruto will achieve this time!?" The surrounding cultivators were buzzing with excitement, yet some of them were still skeptical of Naruto . Although Naruto had proved how powerful his fleshly body was in the ninth golden gate, it was entirely possible that he wouldn't perform well in the others.

The truth of the matter was that was exactly how it was. After enough time for an incense stick to pass, Naruto 's name appeared on the golden gate stone stele, flickering with shining light. His name showed up somewhere in the 100s before he appeared outside.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto appeared outside, shockingly, nine names that were already in the top 20 positions on the list, moved up. Highest among all the newly risen was the name Long Tianhai. Earlier, that name had been in the 7th position, but it was now in the 4th!

"Long Tianhai! He's the number one Demon among the nine Sea Realm Demons. I can't believe he just got into the 4th position!"

"The Demonic Cultivator Horde is favored by the Ninth Sea. In terms of cultivation and enlightenment, they have it so easy!"

"Besides, they were actually born in the pressure of the Ninth Sea. Once they leave it, their cultivation bases will rocket up like mad!"

The spectators were in an uproar as nine figures emerged from the stone stele. It was none other than the nine Sea Realm Demons, who all looked over at Naruto with sneers that they made no attempt to cover up.

"So, the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan turns out to be pretty lame. You would think that with his cultivation base, he would at least make it into the top 100."

"That's the joint disciples of all of the Three Great Daoist Societies? He's too weak to withstand a single blow from one of us! He can't even make it into the top 100, and yet still has the face to stick around in the Nine Seas God World!?"

"You can't say that. Maybe he just doesn't care about the trials by fire. He just has an overinflated reputation that he can't live up to. If you had to blame anything, you should probably blame his arrogance and conceit!" The nine Demonic cultivators didn't hold anything back as they uttered various derisive and mocking words.

The disciples of the Nine Seas God World were shocked, and many of them felt that Naruto must be extremely weak.

"Fan Dong'er accused him of cheating in the ninth golden gate stone stele. From the look of things, he really was! Otherwise, how could there be such a huge gap now!?"

The results were clear. The nine Demonic cultivators went into the stone stele at the same time as Naruto , and had all placed in the top 20. The best of their group had even taken 4th place. In contrast, Naruto was in the 100s.

Normally speaking, if you didn't compare him to others, placing the way he did on his first try would be exceptional. After all, he didn't go all out, he merely went in to observe a bit.

However, because of the contrast in performances, the surrounding disciples of the Nine Seas God World were all startled to find that Naruto actually seemed really weak in comparison!

Naruto looked coldly over at the nine Demonic cultivators, who stared back at him with expressions of blatant provocation and mockery. As for Long Tianhai, his expression was extremely calm. However, it was calm in an arrogant way, as if Naruto were an ant that he didn't even need to think about, and could crush underfoot with a mere thought.

He maintained his silence, and didn't say anything in response. He turned and headed toward the seventh golden gate stone stele, followed by the nine Sea Realm Demons. They all arrived shortly thereafter at the seventh stone stele, after which Naruto entered. The nine Demonic cultivators followed suit, clearly hoping to humiliate Naruto .

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Naruto appeared. This time, he performed a bit better than before, ending up in the 90s. However, moments later, golding light shone up from the names of the nine Sea Realm Demons. Although they didn't make incredible progress, there were some in the top 20. Long Tianhai didn't make it to 5th place, but rather 7th. Another of the nine Demonic cultivators made it into the 9th position.

It was another clear contrast!

Next was the sixth golden gate stone stele, followed by the fifth, the fourth, the third, and the second….

The nine Demonic cultivators stuck as close to Naruto as vengeful ghosts. Every trial by fire he entered, they entered too. The result was that they completely exceeded him… and it was obvious as a slap to the face.

After every single trial by fire, they would utter some derisive words, the acidity of which only continued to grow. Their words were clever, and they made no effort to conceal the fact that they were taunting him.

Naruto 's face grew icier. He didn't try very hard in any of the trials by fire, and as such, didn't allow their words to rile him. He knew that, for the moment, his level of power wasn't sufficient to exceed them.

All he wanted to do was observe the trials by fire and get used to them. It didn't matter if he only got into the top 100 or so. At the moment, he wasn't ready to truly challenge them.

Soon, he had passed through the rest of the stone steles. The final trial by fire tested one's ability to stand up to crushing pressure. After looking the stele over, Naruto decided not to challenge it, and turned to leave.

At this point, the nine Demonic cultivators started laughing coldly. Some of the other disciples of the Nine Seas God World were able to tell what was going on, and yet, the buzz that had built up because of his amazing performance in the ninth golden gate stone stele was now dying out. In fact, there were even people who were now almost convinced that… he was a cheater!

Although Naruto looked like he wanted to leave, but it didn't seem that the nine Demonic cultivators were going to let him.

" Naruto , what do you say to a bet? Do you dare?" one of the nine Demonic cultivators taunted, the ridicule in his tone clear as his voice echoed about.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1054

Chapter 1054: Little naruwie Needs To Be a Good Boy

Naruto was just about to leave when he heard the words and stopped in place, his heart thumping.

He slowly turned to look back at the nine Sea Realm Demons who had repeatedly done everything they could to provoke him. Although he was truly convinced that his own excessive killing had caused this irreconcilable conflict, the regret he felt was mostly gone thanks to the actions of these Demonic cultivators.

Sometimes, it doesn't matter who is right or wrong. Sometimes the only thing that matters… is who has the power to back up their words!

Only the powerful could back up what they said!

As soon as Naruto heard the Sea Realm Demon mention the word 'bet,' he thought for a moment and then smiled. It was a bashful smile, and a bit apologetic.

"I don't think that's a good idea," he said hesitantly.

"Cut the crap!" said the Demonic cultivator. "Do you have the guts to make the bet, or not!?" Immediately, the other Sea Realm Demons started laughing. As for Long Tianhai, he looked over with cool indifference.

They didn't know Naruto , so they had no idea that concealed beneath that bashful smile was a temper so violent that even words like conniption or paroxysm couldn't describe it.

"No bets for me!" Naruto took a deep breath and decided to take the high road for once. He once again turned to leave.

"So it turns out that the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan doesn't dare to make real bets," said the seventh of the nine Demonic cultivators. "The only thing he can do is bully Fan Dong'er!" His words were venomous and cold, and instantly put Naruto in a bad position with the other disciples of the Nine Seas God World.

"Crown Prince?! Pshhh, weak. Seems like the Namikaze Clan… is nothing special after all!"

"Don't even mention the thing about being a joint disciple of the Three

Great Daoist Societies. This guy is as cowardly as a mouse!" The Demonic cultivators continued to spew increasingly vitriolic words. Their taunts were reaching the point of being direct verbal attacks.

Naruto once again stopped in place and slowly turned around. His face was bright red, as if he was barely capable of containing his rage as he stared at the nine cultivators, panting.

"What a bore! This guy can't do anything other than cheat! Useless! Even when making bets, the only thing he can do is bully girls! Screw him!"

"Alright, what do you want to bet!?" growled Naruto through gritted teeth. He glared at the Demonic cultivators and took a few steps backward, as if he were bracing himself to do something he didn't want to do, but had no choice but to do.

The Nine Demons of the Sea Realm looked at him with cold smiles. The person to reply was the third Demon, a woman.

"Well," she said, "obviously we'll bet to see if you can get into the top ten of one of the other golden gate stone steles! Without cheating like you did in the ninth stele, of course.

"As for the stakes, let's say 100,000 Immortal jades, as well as 5,000,000 spirit stones!

"If you can't get into the top ten, you don't have to pay any spirit stones, you just have to get the hell out of the Ninth Sea! And if you ever step half a foot back inside, you'll be killed in body and spirit!"

Naruto 's face twitched slightly, and after taking a deep breath, he started laughing loudly.

"What piddly stakes! You want to bet with me like that? Fan Dong'er and I have a long-standing friendship that you don't even know about. Our bet from before was just for fun! If you really want to make a wager, then you have to put up 10,000,000 Immortal jades!

"Do you have the guts to make the bet, or not!?" Naruto spoke the words especially loudly. After pausing for the space of a few breaths without hearing a response, he started to laugh coldly.

"If you don't have the guts, then forget about it," he said, quickly backing up as if he wanted to take advantage of the silence to leave.

"You're on!" Long Tianhai said coolly, his first time speaking. "However, if you lose, you'll have to leave behind your four limbs for us as a souvenir." His words instantly caused the other eight Demonic cultivators to look very excited.

"You…." said Naruto , appearing to be very shocked. His face was extremely grim as he stared back at Long Tianhai. Finally, he took a deep breath, gritted his teeth hard and said in a cautionary tone, "What I said was 10,000,000 immortal jades PER golden gate stone stele. With eight steles, that means that if I can get into the top ten of all of them, you'll owe me 80,000,000!"

Gasps could be heard in the crowd, from both ordinary cultivators and Demonic cultivators alike. This was an incredible, shocking wager, the types of which were rarely seen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. "80,000,000 Immortal jades…. Heavens! How many spirit stones would that be worth?"

"Enough to equal the life savings of an entire mid-sized clan of cultivators!"

"These people are crazy…."

Even as the crowd went into an uproar, the nine Sea Realm Demons were internally shaken by Naruto 's words. Even Long Tianhai's face fell.

10,000,000 pieces of Immortal jade was a sum they could just barely scrape together. As for 80,000,000… that far exceeded their limit. Even for the Demonic Cultivator Horde as a whole, it was no small amount.

The other eight Demonic cultivators hesitated. Their plan to make a bet with Naruto had been come up with on the fly, and had quickly reached the point that they didn't dare make any decisions unilaterally. All of them turned to look at Long Tianhai.

An unsightly expression could be seen on his face as he stared at Naruto .

Naruto seemingly sighed inwardly, and was just about to speak up as if he were going to give the Demonic cultivators a way out of the bet, when Long Tianhai's eyes glittered.

"You're on," he said. "However, we're going to change things a bit. If you don't get into the top ten of all of the golden gate stone steles, then not only do you have to forfeit your four limbs, you also have to give me… your place in the Echelon!" After the words left Long Tianhai's mouth, utter silence reigned.

Most people had no idea what the Echelon was. However, from the way the Three Great Daoist Societies treated Naruto , people could speculate. The matter of the Echelon was not something that could be kept secret forever, which Naruto knew. That was why he had taken the initiative to bring up the matter publicly earlier.

Sometimes a matter being public rather than secret can lead to certain unexpected advantages.

Deep in Naruto 's eyes was a flickering coldness that no one could detect as he looked at Long Tianhai. They stared at each other for a moment, and within Long Tianhai's eyes, Naruto saw no trace of the coolness and disregard from earlier. Instead, he saw schemes and deceit.

"He was putting on an act earlier!" he thought, eyes glittering.

Finally, he smiled coldly and said, "Well in that case, I don't need 80,000,000. I want 300,000,000 Immortal jades! Add in one Dao weapon, and Naruto will take this bet with your Demonic Cultivator Horde!" Naruto 's words were met with a chorus of gasps from the audience.

300,000,000 Immortal jades was an astronomical sum. It was terrifying even to think about. Even for the Four Great Clans it would be a deleterious blow to be forced to hand over so much money. As for the

Nine Seas God World, their reserves might be deep, but the Demonic Cultivator Horde only had access to thirty percent of the clan's resources. If they lost, it would be a severe blow to their foundation.

As for a Dao weapon, that was a magical item that only a Dao Realm expert could wield. Such things were rare in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and in fact, only three existed, one of which was in the possession of the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

If they lost the bet, and the weapon, it couldn't quite measure up to the value of a place in the Echelon. However, if they won… it would all be worth it!

The crowd was in an uproar, and the noise only continued to get louder. An incredible wager like this was enough to cause cultivators of all Realms to be filled with excitement.

The nine Sea Realm Demons all sucked in deep breaths.

Long Tianhai remained silent for a moment before a bizarre gleam appeared in his eyes. Considering that Naruto had mentioned the Demonic Cultivator Horde, he knew that Naruto had already pieced together some clues as to what was really going on.

However, he didn't care. What he wanted… was Naruto 's place in the Echelon. Before Naruto had arrived in the Ninth Sea, he had put various plans in place. He had never imagined that one of the first things Naruto would do after arriving would be to immediately reveal publicly that he was in the Echelon. Now that many people knew about the matter, most of his plans were rendered unusable.

However, the stakes Naruto had mentioned just now were vast, and were somewhat imbalanced when compared to a place in the Echelon. It was a decision he couldn't make on his own, so he stood there silently for a moment, apparently conferring with someone. Finally, he gritted his teeth and looked over at Naruto , a gleam of determination in his eyes.

"The Dao weapon is off the table. But the 300,000,000 pieces of

Immortal jade… we can do!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto sighed with relief. He had brought up the Dao weapon as a way to test out how determined the Demonic Cultivator Horde was. If they were even willing to put a Dao weapon on the table as stakes, then… he would have immediately declined the wager. No matter how much face he lost, he would never have agreed.

The fact that the Demonic Cultivator Horde refused to put the Dao weapon up as stakes revealed that there was a possibility that the result of the bet would be upheld. This matter most likely involved the machinations of a Dao Realm expert. However, Naruto knew that in all matters, risks had to be taken!

His eyes shone with a strange light as he looked over at Long Tianhai.

"This is a big matter. I'll give you my answer in a month!" Having said that, he turned and shot off into the distance. Waiting for a month gave him the option of both going on the offensive, or remaining on the defensive. Furthermore, it negated the previous comparisons that had been made between him and the nine Sea Realm Demons. Everyone was now completely focused on the matter of the wager.

Long Tianhai also realized this. He watched coldly as Naruto left, his eyes flickering with a gleam of killing intent.

Naruto transformed into a beam of light that shot back toward his Immortal's cave. After passing down through the water and the shield, the first thing he saw was the parrot, surrounded by the two trembling blackpod imps.

The parrot started singing, after which the Demonic cultivators chimed in.

" _I was a bad kid when I was young, I'm a little seafood dish, lalalalala, little seafood dish, dobedobedoooo, little seafood dish…._ "

Naruto stood there silently for a moment, staring at them, after which they switched to a different song.

"Come, come," the parrot shouted excitedly. "Last night Lord Fifth had a dream about another song. Once we get it down, Lord Fifth is going to host a big singing contest for the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea! Alright, sing with me!" Off to the side, the meat jelly started to beat a drum enthusiastically.

" _We're all seafood, our whole family is seafood! Righteous Lord Fifth, mighty Lord Third, lalalalala, we have to make the seafood be good! Dobedobedoooo, we have to make the seafood be good…._ "

When Naruto heard this, his mind spun, and all of a sudden the world seemed like a worse place. He felt bad for the Demonic cultivators, as well as Su Yan. At the moment, Su Yan seemed to be deeply shaken. She was staring at the parrot with gaping jaw, as if… the parrot had completely turned her world upside down.

Naruto cleared his throat and waved his hand toward the blackpod imps that seemed to be acting like backup singers next to the parrot. Instead of resisting him, they gladly flew toward him as if he were rescuing them from a disaster. Immediately, they transformed into black pods that came to rest on his palm, after which he stowed them away in his bag of holding.

The parrot didn't look happy. Glaring at Naruto , it said, "Come, come. Lord Fifth just thought of a new song. Let's all sing it together.

" _Littlenaruwie needs to be a good boy…._ "

A brutal gleam appeared in Naruto 's eyes as he stared at the parrot for a moment. Then he ignored it, turning and walking back into his residence. The wave of a hand caused a sealing shield to appear that blocked out all of the racket from outside.

Moments later, the puppet boy flew out to go collect his reward from the ninth golden gate stone stele, and the smaller rewards for making it into the top 100 of the other eight stone steles.

Naruto sat down cross-legged, took a deep breath, and then gazed at the copper mirror with a look of anticipation.

"This time, I'm pretty sure I got enough Immortal jade to complete my work with the Paragon's blood!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1055

Chapter 1055: Which Paragon Did This Blood Come From!?

Not too much time passed before the puppet boy returned. Just as Ling Yunzi had said, a greater reward than usual was doled out to him and placed in a bag of holding.

He hefted the bag of holding, scanning it with divine sense for a moment before beginning to pant. He quickly retracted his divine sense, unable to bear looking at the contents. What was inevitably about to happen caused his heart such grief that if felt as if it were being cut in half with a knife. Therefore, he chose not to think about it.

This was a precious skill that Naruto had picked up recently. He sighed, gritted his teeth, and took out a vial of Paragon's blood to begin duplicating.

Time passed. Naruto 's eyes were shot with blood and his hair was disheveled crazily as he fed Immortal jade and spirit stones into the copper mirror. Grimacing, he produced one duplicate after another.

Eventually, seven days passed. Naruto had now been in the Nine Seas God World for the greater part of a month. Finally, his bag of holding was completely devoid of all Immortal jade and spirit stones. And there in front of him was a collection of one hundred vials of Paragon's blood!

As he looked at the blood, he began to pant. He kept telling himself not to think about how much he had spent to get this much, and yet he couldn't stop himself. As soon as the slightest thought of it crossed his mind, his heart twisted into a knot.

"When I was young, I always wanted to be rich. After I started practicing cultivation, there were often times when I felt like a rich person. However, it always takes the mere blink of an eye for all of that to go away, and I'm destitute again." He wanted to cry, but no tears would come. He wasn't sure if his lifelong dream would ever actually come true.

After taking some deep breaths, his eyes filled with determination, and he produced a vast collection of medicinal pills. He put them in his mouth, and refrained from chewing them. He merely allowed them to begin to slowly dissolve.

Finally, he waved his hand and caused ten vials of Paragon's blood to fly out. Cracking sounds could be heard as the bottles shattered, and the blood itself swirled out into the air.

Ripples began to spread out as he raised both and began to mold the Paragon's blood together into one glob.

After it did, a terrifying aura began to spread out.

"Parrot! Meat jelly! Get over here and help stop this aura from spreading out!" His words echoed out at the same time that the parrot was encouraging the Demonic cultivators to sing. After it heard what he said, it muttered a few sentences to itself, then flapped its wings and flew over with the meat jelly to help suppress the aura of the Paragon's blood.

Naruto took a deep breath as he waved his right hand, causing ten more vials of Paragon's blood to fly out and shatter. The blood then merged into a larger sphere in front of him. The terrifying aura exploded out violently, spreading out in all directions, causing the residence around him to shake so violently it seemed it might collapse.

Naruto 's eyes shone brightly, and without any hesitation, he waved his hand again. Ten more vials' worth of Paragon's blood collapsed and then reformed. The terrifying aura increased in intensity, and cracks spread out through the entire residence. It was at this point that the parrot arrived. It no longer looked calm and collected, but rather, let out a loud howl as it went all out to suppress the aura.

The meat jelly didn't seem very willing to cooperate, but it transformed into an enormous canopy nonetheless, which covered over the entire residence, completely preventing the aura from escaping into the outside world.

Because of Naruto 's proximity to the combination of thirty vials of Paragon's blood, the intense pressure caused him to shake violently. However, his eyes shone brightly with determination.

"Thirty percent!" he breathed. The pressure of the blood caused him to shake, and cracking sounds could be heard. His mind was spinning violently.

He gritted his teeth and waved his hand again. Rumbling sounds could be heard as ten more vials of blood shattered. The blood flew out to join the huge sphere; now it was roughly the size of an infant's hand.

It was bright red, and shockingly, strands of gold could be seen swirling around inside, making it resplendently beautiful to the point where it tugged at the soul.

At the same time, increasingly intense pressure was cast out by the terrifying aura. The explosive power battered against Naruto , causing blood to ooze out of his mouth, and fissures to spread out across his skin. There was also a powerful expulsion force that threatened to cause him to explode.

His eyes shone brightly with obsession as he rotated his cultivation base, drawing on all the power of his Immortal meridians, using his secret magic to make them all Eternal. Their power surged in his body as he waved his hand again, causing ten more vials to fly out and shatter.

When the blood merged into the sphere, terrifying aura erupted with further intensity.

The pressure was now so incredible that it caused Naruto 's entire residence to collapse into pieces. The entire structure transformed into nothing more than ash!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and his hands almost shattered. His Eternal stratum surged at full power, continuously healing him, allowing him to fight back against the intense power.

The meat jelly roared and the parrot squawked shrilly as they suppressed the aura with all of their might as well.

Naruto was shaking, and his eyes gleamed with madness.

"Fifty percent!" He waved his hand, causing another ten vials of Paragon's blood to fly out. When they merged into the sphere, he sent out another ten, all the way until a total of eighty vials had been added together. It was now as large as an infant's head, and the pressure caused colors to flash, and the sky to grow dim.

Naruto felt like he was the subject of an intensely powerful attack. He was shoved backward, and blood spewed out of his mouth. His Eternal stratum worked like mad, but was incapable of keeping pace with the level of destruction, not even with all of his 123 Immortal meridians combined.

At this critical juncture, he didn't hesitate for even a moment to chomp down on half of the medicinal pills he had in his mouth. Immediately, they melted, flowing into his body with restorative energy. His Immortal power was once again restored, and he managed to bear the brunt of another aggressive blast.

The sphere of blood radiated resplendent light, as if the will of a Paragon were now awakening!

If it wasn't for the meat jelly and the parrot blocking the spread of the aura, the entire Nine Seas God World would be going completely crazy.

The Ninth Sea would be aboil, and the entire Ninth Mountain would be shaking.

However, even though the aura still wasn't leaking out, the natural law in the area around Naruto was being affected. The air filled with distortions, as if another world were forming.

All of that… was because of the Paragon's blood!

It was not merely a single portion, but eighty portions that had been merged together. It hadn't even been refined yet, and was only an amalgamation, yet it was still a sample of Paragon's blood that was only a sliver away from being complete!

"I can do it!" Naruto roared, waving his hand. Rumbling could be heard as the final twenty vials of blood flew out. Half of them shattered, and the blood in them fused with the sphere. Naruto 's hands were mangled masses of flesh, and he suddenly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. However, a moment ago, he had crushed more of the medicinal pills in his mouth, causing their power to flow through his body and stimulate his Eternal stratum into frenzied action. The mouthful of blood he had just coughed up didn't do anything to affect the fusion of the Paragon's blood.

The meat jelly roared with increased intensity as the canopy it had formed fought to control the aura. The parrot was in midair, squawking as it caused numerous streams of magical symbols to swirl down and seal the entire area.

"Dammit! This isn't the Demongranny's blood! She might be a Paragon, but this drop of blood was definitely not produced by her. How could an unrefined drop of blood contain such shocking power!?"

"The last ten vials!" Naruto chomped down on all of the remaining medicinal pills, then waved his hand to cause the final ten vials to shatter. Blood flew out into the sphere, which was now the size of an adult human head!

The sphere of blood contained innumerable golden threads that interlocked with each other, forming vague magical symbols that seemed to contain the origin of the starry sky, the Essence of the world, the basis of all life!

The meat jelly was shaking violently, and fissures snaked out across its body. It looked like it was about to collapse, and it was shrieking in pain. The parrot was getting very nervous, almost like he had during the unforeseen flare-up of the copper mirror.

"It's not the Demongranny's blood, and it's not old man Immortal Ancient's either!" the parrot shrieked, staring in shock and disbelief.

"Could it be… could it be that this… no way. Impossible! Didn't he die? As soon as he died, all of his blood should have vanished from within Heaven and Earth! How could there be some left behind!?

"Dammit! No wonder the mirror was acting so crazy! I thought that it was because someone was casting magic on it, but that was only one part of it! The other reason was because of this blood!"

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and he trembled violently.

Despite the preparations he had made with the medicinal pills, his Eternal stratum was reaching the point where it couldn't sustain him. All of his flesh was covered with cracks and fissures, which were widening, as if he might explode at any moment.

His body was slick with blood, but his eyes were completely focused. His hands trembled as he held the sphere of blood between them and then shoved down hard.

"Refine!" he cried. The sphere of blood gradually began to shrink and refine. As it did, more and more golden threads became visible, until, in the end, the entire mass of blood… was golden!

Naruto was shaking, and more cracks spread out across his skin. He felt the flame of his life force growing dim, all because of the vast pressure cast by the aura of the Paragon's blood. It was only a drop of blood, and yet Naruto was still no match for it. He was on the verge of collapsing. Even though the blood wasn't actually fighting him… it was still powerful enough to utterly exterminate him.

It wasn't just Naruto . Someone in the Ancient Realm, or perhaps even someone in the Dao Realm… would be slaughtered by this drop of blood!

Rumbling sounds echoed out, but Naruto endured. His body hovered on the brink of exploding as the mass of blood rapidly shrank. Soon, it was only the size of an infant's hand.

His body was covered in cracks and tears. His two hands were nothing but bloody flesh, disfigured and misshapen. And yet, his eyes still shone with laser focus.

"Refine!" he roared. It was a roar like the final roar before death, and as soon as it left his mouth, the sphere of blood shrank down to the size of a fingernail!

As of now, it was thoroughly and completely golden!

The incomparable aura of a Paragon instantly erupted from inside the blood.

This was… true, authentic Paragon's blood!

It was complete, utterly rare, Paragon's blood!

You could even say that… it actually shouldn't exist. A drop of blood from the exact Paragon to whom the parrot had referred.

The meat jelly was screaming, and the parrot was bellowing in disbelief. Naruto was just barely managing to hold back from exploding when… an aura appeared which was not the aura of cultivation. It was… the aura of the League of Demon Sealers!

As soon as the aura appeared, the drop of blood began to tremble!

A resonance was forming, almost like that of a bloodline!

"What…." Naruto thought, his mind trembling. Then he thought back to what Granny Nine and Godmaster had said to him. Paragon Sea Dream founded the Nine Seas God World and the Sublime Flow Sword

Grotto. The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite was founded by Paragon Immortal Ancient. As for the third Paragon, the most powerful Paragon, Paragon Nine Seals… nobody knew what he founded.

"He… founded… the League of Demon Sealers!" Naruto felt as if his mind were being struck by lightning.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1056

Chapter 1056: The Mountains and Seas are Rocked!

This was… the blood of Paragon Nine Seals, chief among the three supreme Paragons!

Not even a single drop should even exist in the world. And yet, because of the even more mysterious and unfathomable copper mirror, this Paragon's blood had now appeared in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

In the instant that the blood appeared, it wasn't just Naruto who was shaken. The entire Mountain and Sea Realm began to tremble. It didn't matter that the parrot and meat jelly were covering up the aura with all their might. The aura still managed to spread out invisibly. Although nobody in the Nine Seas God World could sense it specifically, there were other beings in the Mountain and Sea Realm who did, and were completely shocked.

Nine great Mountains and Seas made up the Mountain and Sea Realm, outside of which was a sun and a moon that orbited eternally around it. It was because of those two heavenly bodies that the Mountain and Sea Realm had day and night!

At the moment, both of them were trembling, something that caused everyone, even the mortals, to stare up in shock to look.

As of this moment, people were trembling in shock in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the Eighth Mountain and Sea, the Seventh Mountain and Sea… even the First Mountain and Sea. In all the Mountain and Sea Realm, people were shaking in astonishment.

"The sun… is trembling!"

"The moon is shaking…."

"What's happening!? What's causing this!?" Within the Mountain and Sea Realm, countless living beings were flabbergasted. Even the animals were prostrating themselves on the ground as if in worship. The mortals were astonished and began bowing down with looks of pious reverence on their faces.

As for the cultivators, their scalps tingled as they observed something they had never before seen; the sun and moon shaking. It left them completely astonished.

Countless experts flew out, including all of the Dao Realm cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and the shock on their faces was clear.

Numerous beings saw the sun and the moon shaking visibly; instead of continuing on in their orbit, they were fixed in place, seemingly immovable. It was as if some unknown aura had caught their attention, causing their will to suddenly awaken.

At the same time that the heavenly bodies ceased moving, the Seas in the Mountain and Sea Realm all began to seethe and roar; the Mountains also began to shake, and were apparently roaring.

If you looked very carefully at the sun, you would just barely be able to tell that inside of that heavenly body, shockingly, was a sword!

It was a shining sword, shocking to the extreme. It was a sword that, in the past, had shaken the hearts of countless crowds of people, and had killed innumerable enemies.

That was… the sword of a Paragon! In the past, it had caused the entire

Immortal World to tremble, and during the great catastrophe, it had rocked the 3,000 Lower Realms. The other two major powers in the war shook any time they heard the name…

Nine Seals Sword!

When Paragon Nine Seals perished, his sword went missing. Now, though, it suddenly appeared in the middle of the sun. Or perhaps… it wasn't just appearing there. Perhaps…

The sun of the Mountain and Sea Realm was the manifestation of the Nine Seals Sword of the past!

Anyone who knew anything about the history of the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly felt their minds reeling.

"The Nine Seals Sword! Heavens! The sun is actually the materialization of the Nine Seals Sword… how could this be possible!?"

"Impossible! This goes contrary to everything we know about history!

How could this be happening!?"

At the same time, a massive aura was awakening inside of the moon. Just barely, an object was becoming visible inside of it!

It was not a sword, it was… a suit of armor!

A suit of armor formed from moonbeams!

The armor shone with glorious light that was both soft and austere. It was as if the armor had been splashed with infinite amounts of blood, as if it had seen countless battles. In the past, the name of this suit of armor had rocked the world…

Nine Seals Armor!

Paragon Nine Seals' two great Paragon artifacts!

All of the Nine Mountains and Seas were completely shaken!

"I just remembered a legend I heard about once…." Similar words were echoing in the minds of many of the Dao Realm experts of the Nine Mountains and Seas. It was a story that all of them had taken to be completely wild and absurd.

"According to the legend, each Mountain and Sea in the Realm will have a Mountain and Sea Lord to unify that area! But… the truth of the matter is that the there is a position of power higher than that of the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas! A more powerful being… the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"The Lord of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm can exterminate a Mountain and Sea with a single thought, then create another one just as easily. That person will lead the Mountain and Sea Realm back to the former glory of the Paragon Immortal Realm!

"The legend says that when the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm finally appears, the sun and the moon will stop moving! Light will fill the entire Mountain and Sea Realm! According to the legend… the nine Xuanwu turtles will kowtow and let out a massive roar!" Many of the Dao Realm experts of the Mountain and Sea Realm were murmuring things like this. In the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Kṣitigarbha's eyes were shining with a strange light as he looked up into the Heavens and the starry sky.

It was in that moment that, all of a sudden, a massive Xuanwu turtle rose up from within the celestial pond atop the First Mountain, just like the Xuanwu turtle had done in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Apparently, all of the Mountains had a Xuanwu turtle like this as their nucleus.

The Xuanwu turtle opened its eyes, and it began to tremble, then let out a massive roar that filled the entire First Mountain and Sea.

That roar filled the hearts and minds of all cultivators who had been born in the First Mountain and Sea.

At almost exactly the same time, a similar roar could be heard coming from the Xuanwu turtle who sat atop the Second Mountain in the Second Mountain and Sea. Next, the same thing happened in the Third Mountain and Sea, the Fourth Mountain and Sea, and the Fifth Mountain and Sea….

Finally, the Xuanwu turtle from the Ninth Mountain and Sea joined in, and the roars combined into a unified sound that shook the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

Countless individuals were shaken physically and mentally as the supreme Xuanwu turtles, which represented all of the Nine Mountains and Seas, suddenly rose up into the starry sky, whereupon their roars reached a fever pitch.

In the end, all of them… did something completely shocking. They turned in the same direction and bowed, as if they were offering respectful greetings to their Lord!

The direction in which they faced, shockingly… was the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

The entire world was shaken, and the whole Mountain and Sea Realm was filled with rumbling sounds!

As of this moment, countless Dao Realm experts were thoroughly shaken. All of them turned to look in the direction of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. As for the Dao Realm experts in the Ninth Mountain and Sea itself, they were dumbfounded.

The strangest thing of all was that no one could tell exactly which area within the Ninth Mountain and Sea the Xuanwu turtles were facing!

The roars of the nine Xuanwu turtles echoed out for a long time. The sound was archaic and icy cold, as if it was completely devoid of any emotion. It was almost as if… it were mechanical!

"The Realm Lord cometh… the Lord of all the Mountain and Sea Realm! The Nine Hexes shall be inscribed… in the moment of His return to power!"

The words spread out throughout all of the Nine Mountains and Seas, echoing into countless minds, giving rise to waves of intense shock. It was as if the entire world had been overturned. All cultivators of the Nine Mountains and Seas felt as if their minds were being struck by hundreds of thousands of lightning bolts.

"Realm Lord? The Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm?"

"What exactly is going on? What's happening?!"

"Return? Could it be that when the Realm Lord returns, the fate of all the Nine Mountains and Seas can be controlled by just a single one of his thoughts?"

"The nine Xuanwu turtles are all facing the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Could it be… could it be that the so-called Realm Lord is in the Ninth

Mountain and Sea?!"

Countless minds were sent spinning. On the four planets of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, in the Four Great Clans, the Five Great Holy Lands, and the Three Churches and Six Sects, all of the Chosen were astonished, and were shaking in anticipation.

All of the Dao Realm experts could see that the Xuanwu turtle in their Mountain and Sea… was looking at their own Ninth Mountain and Sea! It was the same in the Three Great Daoist Societies!

In the Nine Seas God World, Fan Dong'er, the Demonic cultivators, the three Patriarchs, and all of the other Dao Realm cultivators, were all shocked. Of course, none of them had any idea that all of these shocking events were being caused by someone within the Nine Seas God World itself.

Also astonished were the current Mountain and Sea Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas. All of them felt their energy surging, filling their respective Mountains and Seas with solemnity and a domineering air.

LordHebialso appeared in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and massive pressure radiated out from that enormous eye.

These Lords… would not be willing to easily accept someone who was placed higher than them, a Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Meanwhile, in the Ruins of Immortality in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the white-robed Paragon Sea Dream sat cross-legged in meditation. Li Ling'er sat next to her in exactly the same posture.

Suddenly, Paragon Sea Dream opened her phoenix-like eyes, and her expression flickered. A shocked expression appeared on her face, and she rose to her feet and stepped forward. When her foot landed, she was outside of the Ruins of Immortality, hovering in the starry sky, looking toward the Ninth Sea!

"Big brother Nine Seals' Paragon blood…." she murmured. A tremor ran through her, and a look of utter disbelief could be seen on her face. After a long moment, she recovered her composure, and a strange gleam appeared in her eyes.

"The League of Demon Sealers. It's him…."

As of this moment, countless figures throughout the Mountain and Sea Realm were making various speculations as to who it was… that would bring such momentous changes in the future, the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Some people were prepared to respectfully welcome such a person. Others prepared to kill and supplant him. Various thoughts rose up in various minds. In addition, many people left their respective Mountains and Seas to fly toward the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Everything was thrown into chaos in a single moment. An unprecedented commotion gripped all of the Nine Mountains and Seas!

Currently, Naruto sat in his mountain valley, experiencing the same shock that everyone outside in the Nine Mountains and Seas was feeling. He could also hear the cry of the nine Xuanwu turtles.

He was trembling, panting, his face covered with an expression of complete disbelief.

"The League of Demon Sealers…. I can't believe it was actually founded by Paragon Nine Seals!" Great waves of shock crashed through Naruto 's heart. Never would he ever have speculated that the League of Demon Sealers… had originated with such a shocking figure!

Furthermore, he was the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer! Nine was the ultimate number, and he was the final generation of the Demon Sealers!

"I'm the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, and this drop of blood comes from Paragon Nine Seals. He founded the League of Demon Sealers, which means… he and I are connected by destiny!" Naruto panted, and his mind trembled.

"The Nine Hexes shall be inscribed… in the moment of His return to power…. Nine Hexes. That means that when I possess all nine of the Demon Sealing Hexing magics, then in that moment… I will be the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!" Naruto felt a bit dizzy. Even now, he found it… hard to believe.

However, he wasn't struck senseless. In fact, in that moment, he was suddenly filled with a sense of impending danger!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1057

Chapter 1057 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1057: Immortal Emperor Naruto !

Imagine a situation in which an empire has no emperor for many years. The regional government officials throughout the country have their own military forces, and occupy their positions for countless years.

Each one of those government officials will eventually come to view the area they control as their own kingdom, and themselves as kings!

That was the situation in the Mountain and Sea Realm, with the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas being nine kings!

The future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm was the Emperor!

None of those various kings would want to be ordered around after such a long time. After having a taste of freedom, they would balk at the thought of someone above them telling them what to do, nor would they accept the fate of being perpetually manipulated by another!

When such circumstances arose in an empire, then… the simplest and most effective way to deal with the situation, and also the method that would benefit most of the parties involved… would be to kill the Emperor before he had a chance to return to power!

That would be the best solution for all of those kings!

Naruto knew that, and because he understood it… he could tell how much danger he was in, and knew that he had to be completely on guard!

Under no circumstances could he reveal his identity. If he did… then the only thing that would await him would be destruction. And he would no doubt drag the Namikaze Clan down with him.

It was at this point that the parrot and meat jelly began to holler.

"Dammit, Naruto ! Hurry up and absorb it! We can't hold on much longer!"

Almost in that same moment, Naruto unhesitatingly reached out and grabbed the Paragon's blood. Then he took a deep breath and shoved the drop of blood into the palm of his hand.

Instantly, the drop of blood merged into his hand, fusing into his body. At the same time, massive rumbling filled his mind. He could immediately sense the boundless, mighty power contained within the Paragon's blood.

Simultaneously, the aura of the League of Demon Sealers erupted wildly. Trembling, Naruto quickly pulled out a Nirvana Fruit and then pushed it down onto his forehead.

Rumbling echoed out as the Nirvana Fruit fused into him, and he began to shake. The Paragon's blood and the aura of the League of Demon Sealers merged together, causing its Paragon nature to be hidden away.

It was in this moment that a terrifyingly powerful stream of divine sense spread out from the Ninth Mountain. It covered the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, reaching out to any and all locations, leaving no stone unturned.

That included the Nine Seas God World. The divine sense swept over it, apparently willing to pay any price in its search, even offending the Three Great Daoist Societies.

However, the Nine Seas God World was uncharacteristically silent, and did nothing to prevent it from happening.

The divine sense covered over everything, swept through all regions. It even passed over Naruto , and yet, it did not seem to find the aura it was looking for. Naruto sat there cross-legged, all traces of the aura covered up. Of course, it was not his own power that was doing the covering up, but rather, the parrot and meat jelly, as well as the combination of the League of Demon Sealers' aura with the Paragon's blood.

Because of that, Naruto was not revealed underneath the powerful divine sense.

After some time passed, the divine sense faded away to search in other areas.

In addition to that powerful divine sense, the Dao Realm experts in other areas of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were also making searches in their respective areas.

Everyone wanted to know… the identity of the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

It wasn't that nobody considered that it could be Naruto . After all, he was in the Echelon, and was the most famous cultivator of his generation. However… the position of Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm was far beyond his current level, so anyone who might suspect him would have only given it a moment of thought. The true object of most people's suspicion… were the people who were already in the Dao Realm.

The Lords of the other Mountains and Seas especially suspected Lord Ji. From the look of things, a massive storm was brewing!

Naruto remained in secluded meditation the entire time. After successfully fusing with the Paragon's blood, he used the power of the blood to absorb the Nirvana Fruit. At the same time, Paragon Nine Seals' blood caused his Demon Sealing magic to grow more exquisite. It was as if he had been the subject of… Righteous Bestowal!

He was the subject of Paragon Nine Seals' Righteous Bestowal!

It was like a form of approval, formally initiating him as the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer!

From this moment on, his Hexing magic would be even more powerful. Because of the amplification of the Paragon's blood, the pressure he could emit would be shockingly greater. Furthermore, his understanding regarding the League of Demon Sealers was now completely different than before.

For example, when it came to the Fifth Demon Sealing Hex, the Inside Outside Hex, he had only been able to open a tiny rift before. Now, however, he could open a rift that was hundreds of times larger!

Everything… was because of Paragon Nine Seals' blood!

Naruto was trembling. He could clearly sense that something was different about him. Absorbing the Paragon's blood was like a tempering or a baptism, causing his fleshly body to become more powerful, to exceed the limits of the Immortal Realm. He was now extremely close… to having an Ancient Realm body!

All he needed was the right set of circumstances, the right opportunity, and he would be able to break through. At that point, his fleshly body would break into the Ancient Realm. Furthermore, he knew exactly where that opportunity lay; it was in the ninth golden gate stone stele of the Nine Seas God World!

Naruto could almost see what it would be like to withstand that old body cultivator's third fist strike. At that time… he would step into the Ancient Realm of the fleshly body!

"I'm GOING to get more powerful!" he thought, his eyes gleaming. He continued to sit there meditating, his Immortal meridians thrumming as the Paragon's blood seeped out into every corner of his body. Strands of golden thread quickly flew out to merge into his Chakra passageways.

As for the Nirvana Fruit which he had absorbed into his forehead, it rapidly melted, and when it touched the golden threads of the Paragon's blood, it fused with them, becoming part of Naruto .

Suddenly, Naruto 's cultivation base shot upward. He was already the Immortal Realm Paragon, but it went higher than that, taking him… into the direction of the Immortal Emperor!

Every step forward he took, he made incredible advancements. He would now be permanently in the Immortal Emperor Realm, unlike before, when he could only be there for a short time by temporarily absorbing a Nirvana Fruit.

"Once I finish absorbing the Nirvana Fruit, I will eternally be within the Immortal Emperor Realm!" His eyes shone with determination. He had been waiting for this day for a very long time, and had spent countless amounts of spirit stones and Immortal jade to get here. He couldn't even speak aloud the tally of how much he had spent; anyone who heard the number would be unable to accept it, not even someone in the Dao Realm.

Because of that massive consumption, the path that Naruto traveled… was completely different from that of other cultivators!

He was treading the ancient path of the Paragon Immortal Realm. Because of that… his future was limitless!

Time passed. Days. Naruto sat there cross-legged the entire time. Eventually, about half of the Nirvana Fruit was absorbed, placing him beyond the level of the Immortal Realm Paragon and closer to that of the Immortal Emperor.

He was getting more and more powerful!

His fleshly body reached new heights of perfection, breaking through barrier after barrier.

Similarly, his powers from the League of Demon Sealers grew stronger.

You could say that the single drop of Paragon's blood led to an explosive growth in all aspects for Naruto , making him vastly more powerful!

Another two weeks passed. Naruto had now been in the Nine Seas

God World for well over a month. Outside in the Mountain and Sea

Realm, the fervent search for the future Realm Lord was still underway. There were even powerful experts from the other Mountains and Seas who made appearances.

Thankfully, everyone kept control of themselves, and no major issues arose. However… the sense of an impending storm continued to grow more intense.

During the half month that passed, Naruto felt divine sense sweep over his location four times. Fortunately, the meat jelly and parrot knew that Naruto was at a critical juncture, and did everything they could to keep him concealed. Also, from the moment that he had absorbed the blood, its aura had dissipated within him. Eventually, people stopped paying attention to him. Although he remained an object of suspicion, in truth there were over a hundred such people under suspect.

Actually, he would have been suspected no matter what the truth was.

Another half a month passed, and Naruto still wasn't finished absorbing the Nirvana Fruit. There was still about twenty percent left. However, the difference between his current cultivation base, and his cultivation base before, was like the difference between Heaven and Earth.

Currently, he sat in place, cross-legged, completely motionless.

Countless sparks of electricity danced around him, and although his eyes were closed, streams of white mist seeped out from between his eyelids, making him appear extremely mysterious.

His skin was whiter, and his aura explosive. Terrifying ripples rolled off of him. The Demonic cultivators in the pool of the water were in a state of shock, and when they looked at Naruto , terror filled their hearts.

As for Su Yan, she was also astonished by the changes she had seen Naruto undergoing. It left her terrified. To her, it felt as if some mysterious will were currently awakening inside of him.

"He has a terrifying aura," she thought anxiously. "But what exactly is it…?" As far as she was concerned, Naruto was completely enigmatic.

Another half month passed. Naruto had now been in the Nine Seas God World for more than two months. Eventually, the day came… when he finally absorbed the last bit of the Nirvana Fruit. The last trace of it faded away into Naruto , and a tremor ran through him.

Along with the tremor were cracking sounds, and a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering energy. In that moment, his cultivation base rocketed up to new heights of power. A massive wind sprung up around him, causing the Demonic cultivators to shake. Su Yan's eyes went wide with disbelief.

Naruto 's energy caused his hair to whip around his head, and his robes to flap. Gradually something formed inside of him, which was… an Imperial will!

It was domineering to the maximum, towering. This was the Imperial will of an Immortal Emperor Realm!

His eyes opened, and the Demonic cultivators could hear something like peals of thunder. There were eight thunderclaps in total, each one shocking to the extreme, causing strange colors to flash about, and making everything shake!

Blood sprayed out of the Demonic cultivators' mouths, and some of them simply passed out. Su Yan found blood oozing out of the corners of her mouth, and her face fell completely.

"Eight illusory thunderclaps, shaking the Heavens!" she said.

"This… you… you actually reached THAT Realm. This is impossible…. "Those peals of thunder are a terrifying sign that will appear when someone reaches the absolute pinnacle of the Immortal Realm. Eight illusory thunderclaps, shaking the Heavens!"

Naruto took a deep breath and slowly stood up. As he did, the aura of the Immortal Emperor suddenly erupted out of him, causing the entire Immortal's cave to shake. Even the Ninth Sea was trembling.

"The limit of the Immortal Realm?" Naruto said coolly. "Apparently, you don't understand… the meaning of being Immortal! The limit is far, far beyond this!" His voice was calm and filled with a threatening pressure that far exceeded anything that had existed there before!

Chapter 1057: Immortal Emperor Naruto !

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1058

Chapter 1058: The Echelon Reacts!

"Any further pinnacle is still just the Immortal Realm!" Su Yan replied through gritted teeth.

"You don't understand," said Naruto , shaking his head. The mark of the Echelon had appeared on his forehead, sinking deeper into him with each pulsing flicker.

Su Yan looked at the mark silently, her feelings clearly conflicted.

Naruto rubbed his forehead, then turned to look at the wreckage of his residence. All of a sudden, he had realized something, something that appeared in his mind after absorbing the Nirvana Fruit completely.

"The word Immortal is extremely profound…." he murmured to himself. He suddenly raised his right hand, within which was a second Nirvana Fruit. He looked at it thoughtfully.

"I can sense that the primary function of the Paragon's blood was to provide true approval of me as part of the League of Demon Sealers. Paragon Sea Dream has her Echelon. However, I am the sole member of Paragon Nine Seals' Echelon.

"The strengthening of my fleshly body, and the absorption of the Nirvana Fruit were side effects.

"Furthermore, after absorbing one drop of the blood, it wouldn't matter if I absorbed hundreds or thousands more. They wouldn't do anything. Also, I can't continue to use Paragon's blood to absorb Nirvana Fruits.

"Moreover… using Paragon's blood to do so is a huge waste." After a moment of thought, he probed his cultivation base to sense how vastly, vastly more powerful he was than before.

A month or so ago, he had been an Immortal Realm Paragon. Now, he was above that, an Immortal Emperor!

The current era had no such thing as an Immortal Emperor. In fact, even in the days of the Immortal World, the Immortal Emperor Realm was something rarely seen, like a level of complete perfection.

It represented a level of profound understanding of the Realm of Immortality.

Naruto might have only 123 Immortal meridians, but each and every one had widened and become extremely sturdy. The feeling of power he was experiencing was something he previously could only feel on a temporary basis with the aid of Nirvana Fruit. Now, he was eternally within that Realm.

The Echelon mark on his forehead glittered brightly, and was clearly more firmly implanted. Because of that, he looked completely different than before.

He even had a new strange feeling. If he closed his eyes, he could almost sense that, far out in the vast Mountain and Sea Realm, in other areas, there were… familiar fluctuations.

Those fluctuations were not coming from a specific person. Rather, it came from other people who… were like him! Members of the Echelon!

In total, there were twelve other members of the Echelon!

He was the thirteenth member, and the most recent one to be added.

He was also the last member of the Echelon. Before him, there were a total of twelve. These were people from other locations in the Mountain and Sea Realm, whom Paragon Sea Dream had pulled into the Echelon.

Naruto had no illusions about how difficult it was to become part of the Echelon, nor how powerful its members were. After seeing the shocking and majestic sight of the first generation Patriarch, he could well imagine how powerful the other members were.

It was only after Naruto received the enlightenment of Paragon magic… that he had been able to join the Echelon.

Naruto could sense twelve fluctuations, and every one left him with a feeling like that of a Paragon. The level of power caused his heart to sink.

"Now I see. Before, my cultivation base and Realm simply did not qualify me to sense their existence. It is only now that I have reached the proper degree to do so.

"Furthermore, that means that as of this moment, not only can I sense them, they… can also… sense me!" He frowned.

By the time that Naruto frowned, the flurry of activity that had resulted from the events the previous month had died down. There were still many people who were paying attention to the situation, but the most tense juncture had passed.

Life went on. The sun and the moon went back into motion, almost as if nothing had happened. However, deep in the hearts of many people, questions still lurked about who the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm was….

In the Eighth Mountain and Sea was a location out in the void that was comprised of a vast field of skeletons that almost looked like puppets. Their eyes flickered with ghost fire as they swirled around. In the very center of all of them was an enormous palace constructed of bones.

Within that palace, a young man in a black robe sat there cross-legged, meditating. He was extremely gaunt, and his face was as pale as death, completely lacking even a trace of color. Furthermore, the flame of his life force was very dim. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and all of the skeletons surrounding the palace dropped down to kowtow. At the same time, a terrifying energy surged out from the young man.

A mark appeared on his forehead, flickering brightly. All of a sudden, he could sense something within the Ninth Mountain and Sea… the fluctuations of the Echelon!

"So, there's actually a thirteenth member…." he murmured, and a sinister glow like that of blood appeared in his eyes.

At the same time, a massive vortex could be seen in the Fourth Mountain and Sea. A handsome young man in a blue garment sat crosslegged in that vortex, meditating. He was surrounded by ten old men, all of whom were at the peak of the Ancient Realm. Clearly, these men were the Dao Protectors of the younger man.

Roughly 3,000 meters away from him in the vortex was a young woman clad in a simple white gown. Her cultivation base was not in the Immortal Realm, but rather, the Nascent Soul stage. However, there was an aura to her that ensured that, despite being inside the vortex, she wasn't harmed at all. She sat there, her eyes closed as she practiced cultivation.

Next to the young woman was an old lady who looked like a servant of some sort. She sat there quietly, completely ignoring the young man and his ten Dao Protectors.

After a long moment passed, the young man in blue opened his eyes and looked at the young woman in white. His eyes flickered with a mysterious light, and he suddenly approached her, after which he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Miss Xu, we meet again! I, Lin Cong, offer greetings to the 49th

Princess of the Underworld!" 1

The young woman in white opened her eyes and looked at the young man. After giving him a slight smile, she closed her eyes again.

The young man smiled back, seemingly having taken no offense. However, when he turned away, a sinister gleam could be seen deep in his eyes. He was just about to leave when, all of a sudden, an Echelon mark suddenly appeared on his forehead, and he could sense that there was now another member of the Echelon in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"The Ninth Mountain and Sea huh…. He's much weaker than any of the others…." Killing intent flickered in the young man's eyes.

Similar scenes played out one after another in other locations in the other Mountains and Seas. Just as Naruto had suspected, the other twelve members of the Echelon were all able to sense him.

Competition was something that came with the status of being in the Echelon itself. Plus, there were also people in the outside world who wanted to kill those Echelon members and take their status for their own. Such an attitude was even stronger among the Echelon members as well.

To them, weak people weren't qualified to stand among them. Although nobody who was truly weak was allowed to even join the Echelon, any member who didn't make progress quickly enough would soon be left behind, and eventually eliminated.

On the First Mountain was a young man with ordinary features. However, on his forehead could be seen a third eye. He currently sat in front of a Go board, holding a game piece in his hand, apparently lost in thought.

In front of him was a young woman wearing a long, emerald-green gown. She was so beautiful that it was impossible for anyone to compare to her. She had an alluring figure, and phoenix-like eyes that radiated a vigorous spirit. The wind slowly blew her long black hair, causing a single strand to gently sweep across her chest. The cosmetics she wore added a bit of color to her face, making her cheeks slightly rosy. She was both lithe and tender, and overall, completely attractive.

She was like a butterfly fluttering in the wind, or a fairy floating across the snow. She was the type of woman who, wherever she went, the flowers darkened, the sun and moon dimmed, and all other women somehow looked less beautiful.

She was also surrounded by Immortal Chakra, which slowly swirled around her, causing her to seem completely extraordinary.

"Elder Brother Chen, it looks like you're going to lose this game too," she said with a smile. It was a smile that made her consummate beauty even more attractive. The wind that was blowing past seemed unwilling to part with her, and instead, continued to swirl around her.

"The world is like a game of Go," the man said lightly. "And life is like a dream. Each stone that is played must be played with extreme thought and precision…. Miss Xue'er, you truly deserve to be the number one successor of Immortal Ancient. You've experienced the wide world in your long travels, and the gracefulness of every step you take causes lotuses to bloom." He looked up at the young woman and smiled slightly. 2

"Miss Xue'er," the man said coolly, "among the twelve members of the

Echelon, you came to find me first. Then you left to travel across the Mountain and Sea Realm, and now, you've come to find me again. It seems like I'm the chosen one."

"Unfortunately, I can't find anyone who can beat me at this game. Elder Brother Chen, among all the other members of the Echelon, you are the one who can hold out the longest. Since that's the case, well…." The young woman lapsed into silence for a moment. Finally, she nodded, and was about to continue speaking when, all of a sudden, her expression flickered.

Simultaneously, the refined young man with whom she was speaking also looked surprised. An Echelon mark appeared on his forehead, and he was suddenly able to sense the fluctuations from Naruto in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"A new member. Too bad he's far too weak." After a moment, the man paid no further attention to Naruto . Instead, he looked at the young woman in front of him. Although his expression was placid, inwardly, he was a bit nervous.

The young woman didn't say anything in response. She looked down at the Go board for a moment, then back up at the man. Finally, she stood up and waved her hand, causing the game board to vanish.

"Since a new member of the Echelon has appeared, I'm going to go extend greetings. I want to see if I'm connected to this person by destiny. Elder Brother Chen… if I have no destiny with him, then I'll come find you again to discuss the Dao."

"A person that weak… wouldn't it be a waste of your time, Miss Xue'er?" the man said slowly.

"The first time I found you, Elder Brother Chen, you did not have the cultivation base you have now either." The woman smiled, then turned and made her way off into the distance.

The man she called Elder Brother Chen sat there quietly for a long moment. Finally, a glow of self-confidence appeared in his eyes, which he then closed.

Naruto 's debut into the Echelon gave rise to a variety of intense reactions among the other members. At the same time, in the other Daoist Societies in the other eight Mountains and Seas, there were people who suddenly became aware that there was a new member of the Echelon!

A true member of the Echelon was difficult to produce. Someone who wasn't qualified to remain in the Echelon, and yet received an Echelon mark, would not be accepted. Naruto , after successfully absorbing his first Nirvana Fruit, finally… was acknowledged as being a true member of the Echelon. Also… he was now placed within the hearts and minds of the other members.

Currently, Naruto was in the Nine Seas God World in the Ninth

Mountain and Sea. His eyes glittered, and he muttered to himself. Finally, he put the matter of the Echelon aside, and focused fully on himself.

"An Ancient Realm expert below five extinguished soul lamps would not be a match for me!" he thought, his eyes shining as he looked down at the Nirvana Fruit in his hand.

"I wonder if it would be possible to continue and absorb a second Nirvana Fruit. If I could exceed the power of the Immortal Emperor… I wonder what Realm that would be? The mere thought filled Naruto with excitement. He lifted the Nirvana Fruit up and, without any further hesitation, pushed it into his forehead.

RUMBLE!

This might cause some readers to recall what was said by Ksitigarbha in chapter 982. ↩ The Xue in this young woman's name is 雪 xuě meaning

"snow" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1059

Chapter 1059(Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1059: Allheaven Dao Immortal!

In the current Mountain and Sea Realm, the pinnacle of the Immortal Realm was the Paragon. After opening 123 Immortal meridians and forming 33 Heavens, one could step into that ultimate Realm of Immortality. That was the highest place in the modern age.

Naruto was the only one who had currently reached that level, surpassing the achievements of the most powerful of the Mountain and Sea Lords, Ksitigarbha of the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

Perhaps with the assistance of various techniques and divine abilities, future powerhouses might be able to brush against this kind of power. But Naruto had reached Immortality by corroborating the Dao on his own. That was a higher level that no one could match!

However… although the Immortal Realm Paragon was the highest level in the modern age, in ancient times, when the Immortal World did not consist of nine mountains and seas within the Heavens and the starry sky, there was a level higher than that of the Paragon, and that was the Immortal Emperor!

The term Immortal Emperor was not just a title, but rather, a Realm.

Before, Naruto could enter that Realm temporarily with a Nirvana Fruit. Now that he had permanently absorbed the Nirvana Fruit, his place within that Realm was stable and, in fact, eternal.

However… the Realm of the Immortal Emperor was actually not the ultimate level. Above that Realm were two more legendary Realms. Only a miniscule number of people had actually reached those Realms. Even in the heyday of the Immortal World, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a Qilin horn than such a person.

Above the Immortal Emperor was the Allheaven Emperor Immortal.

Then, above the Allheaven Emperor Immortal… was the Allheaven Dao Immortal! 1

It was difficult to become the Allheaven Emperor Immortal, and as for becoming the Allheaven Dao Immortal… that was EXTREMELY difficult!

The Allheaven Dao Immortal was the ultimate and absolute peak of the Immortal Realm. It was a Realm that could overthrow experts at the peak of the Ancient Realm, and even shake powerful experts of the Dao Realm!

A person like this, who actually surpassed an entire Realm, was a superpower who, regardless of where they lived or what era they lived in, would be the complete focus of all attention!

Unfortunately, Allheaven Emperor Immortals were extremely rare, even more rare than members of the Dao Realm. Allheaven Dao Immortals were even rarer! In fact, throughout the entire history of the Immortal World, from ancient times til now, there had only ever been nine! As for those nine people, even the three supreme Paragons would treat them with courtesy.

That was because, according to the ancient legends of the Immortal

World, Allheaven Dao Immortals were the root of the entire Immortal World! If a person such as that became a true Paragon… they would exist as the summit of the starry sky!

In fact, it was because Paragon Nine Seals had formerly been an Allheaven Emperor Immortal that he eventually became the chief among the Paragons.

If someone was able to become a Paragon via the path of the Allheaven Dao Immortal, that… would be something that had never been done, not from ancient times until now. It was vastly too difficult. When an Allheaven Dao Immortal entered the Ancient Realm, the likelihood of failing in extinguishing their Soul Lamps, and then dying, was vastly higher than other members of the Ancient Realm. In fact, it was almost a certainty. There was virtually no hope to survive. Because of that… it was essentially impossible to enter the Ancient Realm or step into the Dao Realm!

From ancient times until now, of the nine Allheaven Dao Immortals that had existed, five had died in the Ancient Realm, having failed to extinguish their Soul Lamps. As for the other four… they either died or went missing in the great catastrophe.

In the past, one of the Paragons had attempted to determine exactly how Allheaven Immortals appeared in the Immortal World, but were unable to turn up any clues. There was only one thing that was for certain… if someone had an ancestor who had already become an Allheaven Immortal, even just an Allheaven Emperor Immortal, then the chances of that person being able also succeed were extremely high!

Similarly, if someone had an ancestor who was… an Allheaven Dao Immortal, then that person was also much more likely to reach that same level!

It was almost like an inherited bloodline! In fact, it was said that if you searched through the most ancient of histories, you would find… that everything had its source… in nine family names! 2

Ages ago, the Paragon who had been researching the matter discovered that fact, and was instantly struck with fear, and gave up the research. It was almost as if there were some unfathomable consciousness attempting to prevent the truth from being revealed!

By now, many ages had passed since the destruction of the Immortal World. Before Naruto , no Immortal Emperor had ever appeared. As for Allheaven Immortals, they were naturally a thing of legend; in fact it was something that most people had already forgotten.

But now….

As soon as the Nirvana Fruit made contact with Naruto 's forehead, a tremor ran through him. A tempest exploded within his mind, massive rumbling that made him feel as if he might explode at any moment.

His fleshly body grew larger. In the blink of an eye, he was nine meters tall. It didn't stop there though. He continued growing until he was fifteen meters tall, then twenty-four meters…

Even as he grew, he felt as if his flesh and blood were being ripped to shreds. He shook violently, and if it weren't for his incredible willpower, he would be screaming. Icy, painful sweat broke out all over his body, and blood oozed out of his pores.

The blood and sweat mingled together until Naruto actually looked like he was made completely of blood!

Despite the pain, an incredible fleshly body power exploded out within him. He could feel himself breaking through barriers, exceeding limitations. His heart pounded and his body shook as incredible power surged through him.

Those were just the changes to his fleshly body. A moment later, a windstorm spread out within him, causing him to stagger backward. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as the intense, terrifying windstorm caused his Immortal power to surge. He suddenly realized that his physical growth just now was only the beginning; the true change was happening to his cultivation base!

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

He staggered backward, coughing up successive mouthfuls of blood. He looked like he was completely made of blood, and the windstorm raged inside of him, making him feel like he was being torn apart. All of his Chakra passageways felt like they were about to explode.

The power was too intense, leaving Naruto completely shocked. It was as if this was not the power of the Nirvana Fruit, but rather power from… his bloodline. The Nirvana Fruit was only a key that unlocked the vast and terrifying power that was locked inside of his blood!

"This…." he murmured, alarmed. Massive rumbling filled him that no outsider would be able to hear. However, to Naruto , it was earsplitting. Next, he could sense that his 123 Immortal meridians were… all of a sudden fusing together to form only one single Immortal meridian!

That single Immortal meridian formed a framework inside of him that was a perfect circle!

As the circle formed, Naruto 's cultivation base experience unprecedented, maddening growth. In the blink of an eye, he was far, far past the Immortal Emperor level. His surging energy and terrifying aura exploded to new heights.

As the rumbling echoed out, it eventually reached a point where Naruto couldn't handle it any more. He threw his head back and let out a terrifying howl. The howl gave vent to the tempest inside of him, sweeping across everything in the area. The wreckage of his residence was transformed into ash, and the stone chambers simply vanished. The parrot looked on with wide, disbelieving eyes.

"Allheaven Immortal! You're actually an Allheaven Immortal! Dammit, I can't believe you possess that type of bloodline, Naruto ! Who is your ancestor!? Namikaze Clan. Namikaze Clan! DAMMIT! Why didn't I think of this before!?" The parrot squawked anxiously, flapping its wings and causing a protective shield to form over the shocked Demonic cultivators.

The meat jelly was also trembling, and it suddenly had an impulse to bow in worship to Naruto , an urge that could not be wiped out within the cycle of reincarnation!

Su Yan stared in shock, her mind reeling, and her expression one of extreme astonishment.

It was at this point that Naruto roared again, which caused an azure color to appear around him!

That azure color was the ultimate color, and was the most respected color in the Immortal World!

That was because azure… represented the Allheaven!

And the Allheaven… represented the infinite!

As of this moment, Naruto was radiating resplendent, azure light, as well as the Imperial will of the Immortal Emperor. An incomparably domineering air rose up from him.

If you likened the Imperial will of the Immortal Emperor to that of an actual emperor of an earthly empire, then currently, the explosive energy which radiated out from Naruto … made him so domineering that he could lord over a planet as if it were a kingdom!

In one moment, the Imperial will raged. In the next moment, Naruto 's eyes darkened, and his body suddenly deflated. Based on the explosive energy, if he took just a single more step, he would be in the Realm of the Allheaven Emperor Immortal. However, all of that energy suddenly faded away.

The second Nirvana Fruit emerged from his forehead and smacked down onto the ground. Naruto 's body shrank back down from a height of roughly thirty meters, back to his normal height. His Immortal meridian also split apart and once again formed 123 separate meridians.

Everything went back to normal in the blink of an eye. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and he doubled over. His vision began to go black, and he began to slip into a coma.

As he faded into unconsciousness, he smiled bitterly. Doing what he had just done was a bit rash. However, when he was able to experience the Realm available when he absorbed the second Nirvana Fruit, that level of power… filled him with excitement, madness, and desire.

He didn't know how much time passed before he woke up. When he opened his eyes, he saw the parrot and meat jelly, staring at him. They looked almost like they could see all the way through him, and their eyes were glittering brightly. They looked happy, even excited to see him.

"What are you looking at!?" he asked, gaping. The look in the meat jelly's eyes was the same look it usually got when it saw bullies. As for the parrot, it looked the way it did when it saw luxuriantly furred or feathered creatures.

Naruto 's scalp tingled, and his face flickered. He looked down to see that his clothes were in tatters, but still remained covering him. He didn't feel anything strange anywhere in his body, so finally, he let out a sigh of relief. Although he didn't like to speak about the parrot's unique proclivities, inwardly, he was well aware of them and was always on guard.

"An Allheaven Immortal!" the parrot said excitedly. "Yowza! I never thought you would become an Allheaven Immortal!"

"Allheaven Immortal?" said Naruto , staring in surprise. Then he thought back to what it felt like to absorb that second Nirvana Fruit, and he smiled.

"Not a bad name." With that, he stood up. Cracking sounds echoed out in all directions as his Eternal stratum went to work, rapidly restoring him to his usual state.

" Naruto ," said the parrot solemnly, "Lord Fifth assumed that you were like all the other masters of the copper mirror. All of the masters I've had have never been able to take the mirror beyond the first step and into the second.

"But now… if you can become an Allheaven Dao Immortal, then you can take the copper mirror into its second state! It can become… a Battle Weapon!"

Chapter 1059: Allheaven Dao Immortal!

Allheaven is a term that came up once before in chapter 1026, although at that time I translated it as Luotian Heaven. Luotian 罗天 is a concept from real Daoist mythology. Among all the various heavens that exist, it is the absolute highest heaven. Luo 罗 is a character which can be translated a lot of ways, but in this situation basically means "net." The idea is that this heaven stretches out to cover over all the other heavens like a net. However, instead of calling it Net Heaven (sounds like a bad internet cafe or perhaps a fishing shop), I will use "Allheaven." Incidentally, I've also translated the character luo 罗 as "sieve" in the past, most notably in the name of the Black Sieve Sect" ↩ I'm sure the reference to the nine families will cause some readers to recall chapter

160, which happened to be titled "No Uzumaki in the Nine Families ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1060

Chapter 1060: Threats!

"Battle Weapon?" Naruto asked hesitantly.

"A weapon used in battle," the parrot replied slowly. "A treasure that can seize the Heavens without magical techniques!" The parrot looked very solemn as it spoke. However, its next sentence revealed its true feelings.

"Obviously, it's actually Lord Fifth that becomes a Battle Weapon. Hahaha! Keep working hard, naruwie. Lord Fifth hasn't had a chance to be a Battle Weapon for a long, long time. I really miss that feeling of being able to penetrate all holes that I can lay eyes on…." With that, its eyes began to glow, and it shivered with so much excitement that it forgot to flap its wings and promptly fell out of the air.

Naruto cleared his throat and ignored the arrogant parrot. He looked over at the meat jelly, which was standing there, eyes burning with passion. Considering how uncharacteristically reticent it was being, Naruto could help but ask what was going on.

"Ah, you finally asked," replied the meat jelly. "Seeing you as an Allheaven Immortal moments ago caused me to recall something from years ago. It happened long, long, long ago, so listen carefully as I explain.

"First, we need to start by clarifying some things that happened last year. Gradually, everything will become clear. Ahem… hey, no need to get anxious. We'll go over things very slowly. My estimation is that I can finish explaining within three days." It cleared its throat, tilted its jaw up, and began to speak.

A strange expression could now be seen on Naruto 's face. He was well aware that the Meat Jelly could only count to three. Furthermore, to it, the number three… was essentially limitless.

Based on Naruto 's analysis, the three days that the meat jelly referred to could be three days times a hundred, or times ten thousand, or even millions….

He coughed dryly and quickly sidled away. Turning toward the bare rock cliff, he waved his hand, using a magical technique to carve out a new Immortal's cave. It wasn't a residence like before, but there were still plenty of stone chambers inside, more than eight.

A flash could be seen as he flew inside. The meat jelly's lips twitched slightly. Looking pained, it turned to the Demonic cultivators, and Su Yan, and its eyes suddenly brightened. It then hopped over innocently and stared at Su Yan.

"Hey there Fellow Daoist, would you like to hear my story?"

"Huh?" Su Yan was still shaken by everything that had occurred just now with Naruto . Her mind was still reeling, so she didn't even think before responding to the meat jelly. The meat jelly was instantly very excited. A pop could be heard as it transformed into a tiny bell-shaped hair clip which flew up and attached itself to Su Yan, where it hung down next to her ear.

It sighed, and then began to speak. "Let's start with that huge rainstorm from last year. Lord Third happens to remember being very curious about the rain that day. He really wanted to know exactly how many raindrops were falling. So, Lord Third started counting. One, two, three, one, two, three…."

Gradually, Su Yan began to tremble, and her facial expression slowly changed. Soon, blue veins popped out on her forehead as the meat jelly continued to count, saying the words "one, two, three" over and over again.

"Dammit, get off of me!" she growled, grabbing the meat jelly and throwing it onto the ground. Unfortunately for her, her cultivation base was sealed, so she was no match whatsoever for the meat jelly…. As for the meat jelly, it wasn't afraid of being spoken to, regardless of what was being said; it only feared being ignored. Seeing that Su Yan was suddenly engaging it in conversation, it got very excited. It quickly picked a new position and continued speaking.

The parrot rolled its eyes. In its opinion, the meat jelly didn't set its ambitions high enough. The parrot flew up into the air and began circling around the Demonic cultivators as it went back to teaching them to sing.

A moment later, the sound of music filled the entire valley.

"I was a bad kid when I was young, I'm a little seafood dish, lalalalala, little seafood dish, dobedobedoooo, little seafood dish…."

The parrot and meat jelly were both very happy. Seven days went by. Naruto had now been in the Nine Seas God World for more than two months. The appointed date to enter the Windswept Realm was now only about twenty days away.

Four days earlier, two jade slips had arrived in quick succession. They were obviously imbued with incredible power, as they passed directly through the walls of his Immortal's cave to stop in front of him, hovering and flickering with brilliant light.

After they floated down onto his palm, he glanced at them and then simply continued to meditate, ignoring the jade slips. He did not duplicate Paragon's blood, but rather, spent the time getting accustomed to his new cultivation base, and how it affected his various divine abilities and magical techniques.

At the same time, he sent numerous Ghost Eye Beetles into the surrounding stone chambers and waited for them to transform into the blackpod imps.

By the time the seven days were up, he had eight new blackpod imps, putting the total number that he had under his control at ten.

"If I transform all of the black beetles, I should have about fifty black pods…. It's kind of a small number, but it still qualifies as a small army." He put the black pods away, then quickly carved out some more stone chambers, into which he threw more black beetles to begin their transmogrification. Finally, he ended his seven days of secluded meditation.

"I'm much more comfortable with the Immortal Emperor Realm," he thought. "I just need to have a bit of practice with some of my magical techniques and divine abilities, and I'll be good to go." The rise in his cultivation base had been significant. Although it wasn't quite the same as going from the Spirit Realm into the Immortal Realm, it was still a massive leap upward. A mere seven days wasn't enough time to get completely familiar with his new state. He needed experience in battle to fully appreciate all the differences.

Finally, his gaze came to fall on the jade slips that had arrived a few days before. He picked them up and scanned them with divine sense, after which his eyes glowed with a cold light, and he started to chuckle.

The first jade slip came from the Nine Seas God World's Department of Tasks and Missions. The God World Department of Tasks and Missions was a part of the sect specifically devoted to giving various assignments to disciples. The assignments were arranged into grades, with the highest grade assignments being the type that you couldn't refuse to accept.

Of course, most such assignments were essentially given out as trials by fire. Although they were often dangerous, they would never exceed the capabilities of the disciples they were assigned to. Disciples needed to have a chance to go out and participate in real, live battles. On the other hand, safety was also a priority.

The first jade slip was exactly that type of assignment, something that could not be refused.

"A bloodthirsty cultivator has appeared on Seajacket Island," Naruto murmured as he studied the information. "He has murdered other cultivators and slaughtered numerous sea beasts…. According to the investigation, his cultivation base is not in the Ancient Realm, but rather, at the peak of the Immortal Realm. However, his specific whereabouts are unknown, as he is difficult to track. They only know that his general location is Seajacket Island." With that, his smile grew cold.

Naturally, he hadn't forgotten about his agreement with the nine Sea Realm Demons.

Essentially, Naruto was in an invincible position in terms of the stakes of the bet. If he lost, it didn't really matter. Even if he wanted to give them his place in the Echelon, it was impossible. The only way to get his spot would be to kill him two times. If they wanted to do that, then it would have to be done outside of the sect. There, it could feasibly happen. The Demonic Cultivator Horde seemed to regard themselves as having a great understanding of the Echelon. However, the truth of the matter was that they didn't know much at all. A place in the Echelon was not something that could be given away as the stakes of a bet. It was something that existed as part of a cycle of death.

Unfortunately for the Demonic Cultivator Horde, they didn't know about things like that. After all… after countless years, Naruto was only the second person in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to join the Echelon!

He would naturally agree to a bet that he essentially couldn't lose. The only reason he had said he would give his final answer in a month was to make the situation seem more realistic.

The appointed time passed, and he never responded, then all of a sudden, this jade slip arrived…. It seemed obvious that it was a tactic being employed by the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

The other jade slip was from Ling Yunzi, who informed Naruto that the assignment had been pushed by the Demonic Cultivator Horde. Opening the Windswept Realm required their cooperation, and as such, it had been impossible to refuse.

As a disciple of the sect, Naruto had to carry out assignments for the sect. That was the honorable thing to do, and furthermore, there was no reasonable grounds upon which to refuse.

Even though it was obvious the Demonic Cultivator Horde had arranged the assignment, Ling Yunzi was able to ensure that no Dao Realm experts would be involved, nor peak Ancient Realm cultivators. His request of Naruto was that he not really leave the sect. Instead, he should take a single step outside and immediately turn back, then report that he had failed in the assignment.

If a punishment was involved because of that, Granny Nine and the others would handle it.

If Naruto wasn't comfortable accepting the assignment, he could refuse, and they would try to find another way to resolve the issue. However, if that happened, it would cause an indeterminate delay in opening the Windswept Realm.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever. After a moment of thought he decided that he wouldn't actually complete the mission. He would step out of the sect, but then come back almost immediately and try to come up with some excuse to explain the matter.

What he really wanted to do was challenge the ninth golden gate stone stele again and see whether his current cultivation base could handle… that body cultivator's third fist strike!

"Although, the Demonic Cultivator Horde has most likely thought up some way to force me to accept the mission. I wonder what they'll do…

Well, in any case, if I don't feel like going, they can't control me."

With that, he left the Immortal's cave, flying up through the water to appear in midair. He didn't stop for a moment, but instead, shot directly towards the main gate of the Nine Seas God World.

As he sped through the air at top speed, numerous cultivators saw him.

Strange expressions could be seen on their faces, especially the Demonic cultivators, who clearly despised him and wanted to see him dead.

News about Naruto 's bet with the nine Sea Realm Demons had long since spread throughout the sect. Furthermore, the fact that he had said that he would provide an answer within a month, and yet hadn't sent word, caused the nine Sea Realm Demons to be furious. As a result, they had spread all sorts of nasty rumors, which many of the disciples had caught wind of.

An hour later, Naruto reached the main gate of the Nine Seas God World, beyond which was a pitch black world of seawater. As soon as he passed through the gate, he would be in the waters of the Ninth Sea.

He didn't pause for a moment. He shot out of the gate and into the water, which instantly caused his entire person to be covered with icy coldness.

The instant he stepped out of the main gate, he prepared to go back into the sect. However, it was in that moment that he stopped in his tracks and looked up ahead of him.

There in the dark sea water was a familiar figure. It was… Might Guy!

Naruto 's Elder Brother, Might Guy!

A moment later, his appearance changed, and now, it was Fatty. After another moment passed, it was Sakura!

A quick succession of three people he knew all appeared in front of him. Then, the figure changed again, and now he was facing the leader of the nine Sea Realm Demons, Long Tianhai!

He stood there, smiling at Naruto . Then he opened his mouth and spoke. Although no words could be heard, Naruto could read his lips quite clearly.

"I can track down all three of them."

They were only eight words, but they formed a mighty threat!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1061

Chapter 1061: I Can't Hurt You?!

Long Tianhai smiled lightly at Naruto . He had prepared long and hard to force Naruto to finally step out of the sect. He had investigated Naruto 's personality, and was very curious to see what he would decide to do now.

Naruto 's face darkened. He knew that the Demonic Cultivator Horde was definitely powerful enough to track down Fatty, Sakura and Might Guy. After all, they weren't very important people as far as the Demonic Cultivator Horde was concerned, and all it would take to find them would be a bit of time.

However, using them to threaten Naruto was a bit childish.

Obviously, the easiest way to resolve the situation was to get Granny Nine and the others involved. It wasn't that Naruto felt that his friends were unimportant.

He knew that even if he went all out and attacked Long Tianhai, it wouldn't do any good.

The best course of action would be to immediately notify Granny Nine.

That would show his view, and would settle the matter just like that. Having reached this decision, he turned to head back into the sect.

"Could it be that the results of my investigation are in error?" said Long Tianhai. "You're so cold-hearted! You don't even care that your old flame from your youth, and your best friends, are being threatened? Well… I guess I should show you something else."

Long Tianhai shook his head and sighed. Then he waved his hand, causing an image to appear. As soon as Naruto saw the image, he stopped in place, and his eyes burned with killing intent.

The image depicted a single person. Sakura. Her face was pale, her hair was in disarray, and her lips were purple. Apparently, she had been poisoned.

She lay prone inside of a huge black shell. The mouth of the shell was as sharp as a sword, and was slowly lowering. It seemed like it wouldn't be long before it sliced Sakura's head completely off!

Although the image was illusory, Naruto was familiar enough with Sakura to be able to tell that this was no magical illusion. Nor was it some other person transformed to look like her. This was the real Sakura!

"Are you looking to die?" Naruto asked, killing intent exploding within his eyes. He extended his right hand and pointed toward the image. No ripples of a magical technique could be seen, almost as if nothing had happened, causing Long Tianhai to narrow his eyes in confusion and suspicion.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he seemed to study the image for a moment longer, and then without any further hesitation, waved his hand, causing a jade slip to fly back toward the sect. Then, he transformed into a prismatic beam of light that shot toward Long Tianhai!

Even if the person in that black shell was not Sakura, but Fatty, or even Might Guy, Naruto would do the same thing.

Earlier, he had chosen to return to the sect because that had seemed to be the best way to resolve the situation. Granny Nine could take care of everything. After all, he had assumed that his three friends were safe in their sects. The Demonic Cultivator Horde might be malicious, but they wouldn't have enough time to actually harm his friends, simple as that might be for them to do.

But now… it was too late. He was the one without enough time. Therefore, he simultaneously sent a jade slip to Granny Nine, and also let his rage burn to towering heights. Considering he had no other options left… he would pick the one option he had in front of him!

He attacked, killing intent boiling. Long Tianhai smiled slightly as his body suddenly flickered and began to fade away.

"It seems I overestimated you," he said. "Apparently you didn't notice that this is just an illusory projection! Even if I didn't disappear, you still couldn't hurt me. I guess there's no harm in telling you that the Demonic Cultivator Horde didn't originally plan to do anything to your old flame or your other friends. That was my idea, and we nine Sea Realm Demons were the ones who actually kidnapped her." Long Tianhai chuckled and shook his head, seemingly deeply moved by his own methods.

"Go finish your assignment," he continued. "Sakura is on Seajacket Island. Don't worry, it's not a trick, I can promise you that she's really there. However, if you're not fast enough, if you're even the least bit too slow, she'll die. You only have two hours…." As he faded away, Long Tianhai laughed at the sheer pleasure of seeing Naruto like this, and at the joy of being completely confident in his plan.

However, before he faded away completely, Naruto snorted coldly.

"You think I can't hurt you?" he said, extending his hand and pointing toward Long Tianhai.

The wave of his finger unleashed his Demon Sealer's aura. Hexing magic spread out, transforming into the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex!

Karmic Hexing!

As soon as the Hex was unleashed, a boundlessly terrifying Karmic

power exploded out. Now that Naruto had absorbed the blood of Paragon Nine Seals, his Demon Sealing magical techniques were exponentially more powerful. Now, he was the true and authentic Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, the true successor of the League, approved by Patriarch Nine Seals himself!

Therefore, when he unleashed Demon Sealing Hexing magic, it was shockingly powerful!

It didn't matter that he was facing an illusory version of Long Tianhai. There was still Karma. Of course, the greatest Karma was… connected to Long Tianhai's true form.

The illusory version of Long Tianhai suddenly trembled, and his face filled with shock as he suddenly sensed a feeling of intense crisis. Not only could he sense the crisis on his illusory form; currently, his true form, hidden away in his Immortal's cave in the Nine Seas God World, could also sense the feeling of mortal danger.

"What's going on!?" Long Tianhai was in his Immortal's cave, and hadn't personally gone to Seajacket Island. He was a sinister and cautious person, and his plan all along had been to personally stay inside the sect. After the plan was carried out smoothly, he would emerge to finish things off.

Now, however, his face fell and his heart seized. He immediately and without any hesitation moved to sever his connection with his illusory clone.

But… he was too late!

The power of the Hexing magic caused a Karma Thread to appear on the illusory Long Tianhai's head, a thread that connected his illusory self to his true self. It stretched out back toward the main gate of the Nine Seas God World, where it eventually led to his Immortal's cave.

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent. Considering the level of his cultivation base, how could he not have noticed that Long Tianhai was only there in illusory form? However, that didn't matter one bit. Even though he had no way of killing him then and there, he would definitely teach him a profound and unforgettable lesson.

"I'll show you what it means to get hurt!" he said. His fingers twisted into an incantation gesture, and the Karma Thread distorted. The illusory image of Long Tianhai responded, growing more blurry. However, the Karma Thread grew more clear!

In the blink of an eye, it had transformed into a tunnel, a tunnel leading directly toward his true form!

Shockingly, Naruto 's Karmic Hexing had been developed to the pinnacle. In its current state… he could use Karma Threads to connect the illusory with the corporeal! In the briefest of instants, he could cause the illusory and the corporeal to transpose!

Hurt the illusory, damage the true self!

Between the illusory and the corporeal… exists Karma!

Naruto moved with incredible speed to suddenly appear directly in front of Long Tianhai's illusory form. Popping sounds rang out as his hand smacked onto Long Tianhai's illusory chest. He pushed down, and the illusory body began to tremble. Naruto 's hands moved so fast they were a blur as he hit Long Tianhai nine times in a row.

In the same moment that Naruto appeared in front of his illusory form, back in the Immortal's cave in the sect, Long Tianhai's face fell. He lifted his right hand to try to sever the connection, but even as he did….

Outside of the main gate of the Nine Seas God World, Naruto 's hand smashed into him nine times!

"Nine Heavens Destruction!" His face was expressionless as he uttered the name of the technique!

Booms could be heard as the illusory body was shattered. A miserable shriek rang out, a shriek filled with disbelief and wild astonishment.

Simultaneously, back in the Immortal's cave, Long Tianhai sat there cross-legged, blood spewing out of his mouth. His chest was ruptured, collapsed, nine times in a row, until his entire person exploded.

Bits of blood and flesh spattered about as the power of the attack tore him into pieces. The only thing left was his head, which flew up screaming. Long Tianhai wasn't dead. He was a Demonic cultivator, with special inborn powers and an Ancient Realm cultivation base. All of that gave him powerful regenerative abilities that caused a new body to form almost instantly. Of course, this new body was much weaker than his old body.

" Naruto , you're DEAD!" he screamed, enraged. From the moment he had been born until now, he had never experienced such pain. However, even in the moment of his rage, a cold voice whispered in his ear.

Outside of the main gate of the Nine Seas God World, Long Tianhai's illusory body shattered. At the same time, his new body was forming back in his Immortal's cave, and the Karma Thread which had connected the two began to fade away.

However, Naruto 's murderous rage toward Long Tianhai could not be wiped away by a mere Nine Heavens Destruction attack. He stepped forward and grabbed ahold of the disappearing Karma Thread, which essentially allowed him to lay his hands on Long Tianhai's soul.

"Demon Sealing, Fifth Hex!" he said coldly. A rift appeared in his right hand, which rapidly opened from a size of a few inches to nearly a meter long. Then, the rift and the Karma Thread both disappeared.

When the rift reappeared, it was directly in front of Long Tianhai in his Immortal's cave. It was like a terrifying, gaping maw that instantly caused Long Tianhai to let out a scream of disbelief. Even as he backed up, the mouth chomped down, transposing Inside and Out. Half of Long Tianhai's body was consumed by the rift, and crunching sounds could be heard as blood sprayed out in all directions.

He now had only half of a body left. Screaming miserably, his inborn abilities kicked in again, causing another bizarre regeneration to occur. However, to restore himself twice in a row in such a way caused his Chakra and blood to be significantly weaker, by more than half.

Although he had recovered, his face was pale, and he was trembling with astonishment. He had no idea how Naruto had been able to injure his true form by hurting his illusory body. In fact, if he had reacted even one bit slower just now… he would have been killed!

Long Tianhai was now terrified, for the first time ever. Naruto 's bizarre technique gave rise to an unprecedented level of fear in his heart.

"How could he be so powerful? He's far more powerful than my investigation indicated! Dammit! It's only been a month since I saw him last! How could he have gotten so much stronger so quickly!? Could it be that he was hiding his true power all along!? No, that can't be. It must be that he's just really skilled with that technique!" Long Tianhai was trembling; Naruto left him completely scared witless.

Outside of the sect, Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent. By means of Long Tianhai's Karma Thread, he could sense Long Tianhai's position, and knew that he was still in the sect. From that, he could tell how cautious Long Tianhai was. Earlier, he had also employed Karmic Hexing in the same way on the image of Sakura to determine her exact location!

"Long Tianhai, when I return, it won't matter who's protecting you. I'm going to KILL YOU!" With that, his body flickered like lightning as he headed toward Sakura.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1062

Chapter 1062 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1062: Boiling Sea!

Naruto shot toward Seajacket Island with lightning speed. Now that he was eternally within the Immortal Emperor Realm, he truly looked like a lightning bolt as he sped forward, dazzlingly fast.

It was a speed that even the early Ancient Realm couldn't achieve, and was more akin to someone with six or seven extinguished Soul Lamps. And that… was while he was still under the pressure of the Ninth Sea!

If he left the Ninth Sea, his speed would be even greater!

As he shot along beneath the surface of the water, he only continued to move faster and faster, causing raging waves to roll out on the sea's surface. Killing intent raged in his heart.

His eyes flickered with coldness. It had been a very long time since he had been this angry, since he had itched with the desire to kill. At the moment, it didn't matter who got in his way, they would fall victim to his rage and his desire to kill.

Kidnapping friends to use as hostages was taboo in the cultivation world.

Few people would dare to do such a thing. Everyone had friends and relatives, so if people engaged in such practices, it would lead to… widespread chaos.

Therefore, it was a tactic rarely employed, a bottom line not to be crossed, a principle not often violated.

But now, Long Tianhai had done just that very thing, and it caused Naruto to be filled with the desire to slaughter the entire Demonic Cultivator Horde.

He was not some pious and devout individual. If people left him alone, he would do nothing to them, but now, he had been provoked. Any sense of guilt he felt regarding the situation with the Demonic Cultivator Horde was now completely gone.

"You people deserve to die, and die you shall!"

His eyes flickered with coldness as he sped forward. However, that coldness could not cover up the concern he felt in his heart.

Although he had avoided developing romantic feelings toward Sakura, it would be impossible for him to deny that she occupied a place deep in his heart.

Although she only existed in Xu Chakrang's shadow, and was almost invisible, Naruto could never forget all of the things that had occurred between the two of them. His choice was Xu Chakrang, but that didn't mean he was willing to let Sakura get hurt.

After less time passed than it takes half an incense stick to burn, a rumbling sound echoed out across the surface of the sea as Naruto burst out into the open air. Now that the pressure of the Ninth Sea was gone, his energy rocketed up, and he glowed with the glory of the Immortal Emperor Realm.

He took a deep breath, and a sound like that of muffled thunder echoed out in all directions. The sea around him, and even the air, seemed to cave in.

It only took one breath for him to absorb all of the energy of Heaven and Earth in the area. He used this to ignite his cultivation base and, eyes glowing coldly, he shot off… moving even faster than he had when below the surface of the water!

BOOM!

A piercing scream could be heard as he shot through the air with even increasing speed!

Sonic booms spread out behind him, leaving circular clouds that shook Heaven and Earth.

As soon as he appeared, his aura spread out, and the sea beasts of the Ninth Sea detected it. It only took a moment for numerous beasts to charge toward him from all directions. The first creature to appear was a mass of tentacles that whipped toward him.

The surface of the sea was aboil as huge shapes rose up from underneath the water. It was as if an infinite number of sea beasts were now glaring at Naruto .

In the blink of an eye, the tentacles were bearing down on him as dozens of sea beasts charged in attack.

"Scram!" he said, not even taking the time to pay attention to them or slow down a bit. His words were like thunder, shaking all creation. Because he was in the Immortal Emperor Realm, his single word became a tempest that swept out in all directions over the surface of the sea, smashing everything it touched.

From a distance, a huge depression appeared in the sea, like a crater.

The sea beasts let out bloodcurdling screams as they were slammed into the surface of the water and destroyed. Blood spurted out everywhere and countless tentacles were shredded to pieces. Instantly, the dozens of attacking sea beasts' blood stained the water red.

Naruto continued on, not having reduced his speed in the slightest.

However, it was virtually impossible to even count how many sea beasts resided in the Ninth Sea. To them, Naruto 's aura was something that instantly caused insane rage and hatred to burst out within them. It only took a moment for the sea to seethe as even more sea beasts raced toward him.

Among them were three who were comparable to the peak of the

Immortal Realm. They were enormous in size and had surging energy.

"Looking to die?!" Naruto said, his eyes flickering with killing intent. He waved a finger, instantly causing hundreds of thousands of mountains to drop down from above.

These mountains were the manifestation of his Mountain Consuming Incantation. With his Immortal Emperor cultivation base, the hundreds of thousands of huge mountains linked together into a mountain chain which was far more powerful than any of the sea beasts.

"Crush them to death!" Naruto 's eyes flickered with murder as the hundreds of thousands of mountains smashed down toward the surface of the sea. Countless miserable shrieks could be heard as the sea beasts' bones were crushed, and their blood sprayed out in all directions.

Naruto sped forward at top speed, crushing anything that got in his way. The slaughter was tremendous, and yet, it did nothing to ease the fury in his heart; instead, it caused his anxiety to grow.

The fact remained that there were simply too many sea beasts in the Ninth Sea. Kill ten, and a hundred would take their place. Kill hundreds, and thousands would replace them. Kill thousands, and tens of thousands would appear!

There didn't seem to be any end in sight. Massive rumblings echoed out, along with powerful roars. A huge shell shot up from the seafloor, surrounded by an army of seahorses. All of them slammed into Naruto 's hundreds of thousands of mountains.

A boom rang out as the shell was cracked, and yet did not shatter. It fought back against the mountains, during which time, countless other sea beasts flew past them to attack Naruto .

Naruto was so furious he started laughing, and then coldly said, "It's been a long time since I've collected Demon hearts!"

Eyes flickering with killing intent, he performed an incantation gesture, causing the hundreds of thousands of mountains to vanish. What reappeared in their place was, shockingly, a gigantic, indescribably huge Blood Demon head.

It had crimson skin, bright red eyes, and a shocking, solitary horn. It was fully 30,000 meters tall, and was not illusory, but rather, corporeal. Now that Naruto was the Immortal Emperor, his divine abilities had undergone Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling transformations.

The instant the Blood Demon head appeared, its eyes glowed bright red, and it threw its head back and roared. Suddenly, the head split into two, and then four, and then eight, and then sixteen. In the blink of an eye… more than a thousand Blood Demon heads had appeared, each one vicious and fierce. Naruto swished his sleeve, and 1,000 Blood Demon heads shot toward the surrounding Sea Demons.

Miserable shrieks rang out from the mouths of the sea beasts. As soon as a Blood Demon head touched a sea beast, the sea beast would rapidly wither, and would be killed in body and spirit!

Within only a few breaths of time, a massive slaughter was carried out. Thousands of sea beasts were all killed!

Numerous Sea Demon hearts flew out, which Naruto collected with the flick of a sleeve. At the same time, he never stopped moving. He continued to speed forward, surrounded by the numerous Blood Demon heads.

Based on what he could sense, he was getting much closer to Sakura.

"She's just up ahead!" He shot forward amidst rumblings like that of thunder. All of a sudden, a huge arm shot up from the ocean up ahead. It was blue and covered with seaweed, and as soon as it appeared, it shot toward Naruto .

At the same time, the sea around him churned as countless enraged sea beasts shot out. This time, there were more than 10,000, causing huge waves to spread out across the water.

Naruto could see Seajacket Island off in the distance. However, the roiling sea between him and the island was filled with tens of thousands of additional sea beasts. In fact, there appeared to be almost 100,000.

100,000 sea beasts would be enough to cause any Immortal Realm cultivator to be filled with terror. Even someone in the mid Ancient Realm would begin to pant.

There were even some extraordinarily strong Sea Giants among them, whose heads broke the surface of the water to stare to stare coldly at Naruto .

When Naruto saw the 100,000 sea beasts, he smiled coldly. It was a smile filled with a brutal desire to kill.

"If all 100,000 of these sea beasts die here today, then maybe a bit of my rage can be sated!" With that, he extended his right hand, within which appeared, shockingly… a globe of flame!

The Essence of Divine Flame!

The Essence of Divine Flame was fused into one of Naruto 's Immortal meridians, becoming a trump card that he could use in battle. Intense, blistering heat radiated out as soon as it appeared, and the Sea Giant which had been reaching out toward him suddenly began to tremble. The other sea beasts in the area were also shaking, and an intense sensation of mortal crisis rose up in their minds.

They weren't very intelligent, but that didn't make them any less afraid of dying. Just as they began to back up, Naruto viciously tossed the Essence of Divine Flame down toward the Ninth Sea.

The Essence of Divine Flame turned into a streak of dazzling flame that slammed into the water. Sea beasts began to scream and back up, but unfortunately for them, it was too late!

The Essence of Divine Flame sank into the water, and instantly, roiling heat exploded out. The surface of the water began to steam as intense heat caused the sea water to begin to boil!

In the blink of an eye, the temperature of the water reached an unbelievable level. This was not ordinary water, and it was not an ordinary temperature. It was so intensely hot that it could snuff out the life forces of mighty beings. This entire part of the sea was now so hot that it was beginning to evaporate.

The nearest sea beasts screamed miserably as they were boiled alive, causing their bodies to fall apart into pieces. It didn't matter how tough their armored hides were, they became bright red!

The gigantic shell could do nothing to fight back, and a miserable shriek could be heard as it was annihilated!

The intensity of the heat set the entire sea in the area into a boil. Bloodcurdling screams rang out in all directions. The Sea Giant screamed and the sea beasts struggled. All was in vain. It only took a brief moment… for the entire area to turn into a gigantic kettle!

The Ninth Sea was the water, and the Essence of Divine Flame provided the heat. The sea was being used to stew up some seafood!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1063

Chapter 1063: Paragon Rocks the Might of the Sea!

How tragic!

As the sea around Seajacket Island boiled, and the broken corpses of numerous sea beasts floated up, Naruto waved his right hand, causing the sea to part. The Essence of Divine Flame flew up into his palm and disappeared.

Naruto didn't even glance at the surface of the sea. With a flash, he shot forward toward Seajacket Island, which rapidly grew larger and larger in his field of view.

As he neared the island, eight mighty auras suddenly arose. Shockingly… all of them were of the Ancient Realm!

Each one had three or four extinguished Soul Lamps, and were obviously eight of the nine Sea Realm Demons. They were also Chosen of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, people who had long since left the Immortal Realm and stepped into the Ancient Realm!

Currently, they were bursting with incredible energy, almost as if they were sending a message to Naruto … that they were waiting for him!

Even though they had surely been watching the scene which had just played out… they were as arrogant and tyrannical as ever!

As for Naruto , he could tell without a doubt that Sakura was there on the island!

Furthermore, in addition to her aura, and the auras of the eight Demonic cultivators, there was an additional aura on the island!

That aura was deeply hidden in the heart of the island, almost as if it were in command of the whole area. Currently, it was coldly observing as Naruto neared, apparently believing that Naruto could not detect it.

It only took a single glance for Naruto to be able to tell that this person's cultivation base… was in the Ancient Realm, with six extinguished Soul Lamps!

That counted, not as the early Ancient Realm, but the mid Ancient Realm!

As far as the Demonic Cultivator Horde was concerned, Naruto might be powerful, but he was still a mere Immortal Realm cultivator. The only thing they felt they needed to fear was when he absorbed a Nirvana Fruit, like he had on Planet East Victory. At that time, he had temporarily risen into the Immortal Emperor Realm, giving him sufficient battle prowess to slay two Ancient Realm cultivators.

However, they viewed that as a mere temporary boost in battle prowess. He wasn't capable of maintaining such power for very long, which meant that they could definitely beat him!

Furthermore, as an extra precaution, they had taken even further steps to prepare.

They had set up a trap that was as dangerous as a dragon's pool or a tiger's den!

Naruto could see how well they were prepared, and could also sense the presence of a powerful spell formation on the island. Although he frowned, he didn't slow down at all, but instead, sped up!

There are some things in life that just have to be done!

There are some people that must be saved!

Even if the road ahead passed through mountains of daggers and seas of flames… that didn't matter!

When it came to the practice of cultivation, some people considered everything closely. They evaluated everything based on personal benefit, and for the sake of their own well-being, would bury their own hearts! Naruto had no use for such ways!

He wanted freedom and independence!

His freedom was a freedom to do anything he wished. His independence was being independent in his way of thinking! Perhaps, far in the future he would stand at the pinnacle of everything and look out over the Heavens and the Earth. At that time, he would be able to examine his conscience and be completely free of any guilt. He would have no regrets! His life would be completely free and unfettered by anything!

"I'm going to save her. And as for you, Demonic Cultivator Horde, as long as I live, any of you who I can kill… WILL DIE!" Killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes. Rumbling echoed out as he shot closer to the island.

The instant he entered the island's airspace, a thunderous roar could be heard as the brilliant light of a spell formation shot up along the island's borders. Massive pressure instantly weighed down on Naruto from all directions!

That pressure was pressure from the Ninth Sea! The island's spell formation had only one function, and that was to focus such pressure. As a result, the pressure weighing down on Naruto was instantly greater than what he felt inside the Nine Seas God World, and was increasing rapidly.

The spell formation might seem simplistic, but it was very effective, and was perfectly targeted against Naruto !

Naruto was a newcomer. Although he had been in the Nine Seas God

World for two months or so, he couldn't possibly compare to these Demonic cultivators, who had been born in the Ninth Sea. They were extremely accustomed to the pressure, and he was not, making it his most obvious weakness!

To the Demonic Cultivator Horde, the pressure posed no obstacle to them at all, not unless they went down far enough to where the pressure reached incredible levels. However, the effect it had on Naruto was significant.

A boom could be heard as he suddenly felt as if countless mountains were crushing down onto him, destabilizing his flight momentarily. It was a downward force that seemed like it would shove him to the ground and prevent him from ever standing back up.

The pressure continued to mount. In the blink of an eye, it had reached a level multiple times greater than that in the Nine Seas God World. Naruto could even sense his cultivation base falling rapidly as a result.

And yet, he sped along as quickly as ever, gritting his teeth… as he got closer and closer to Sakura.

Suddenly, snide, mocking laughter rang out.

"So, Naruto , it turns out that you're loyal and affectionate after all! Well, that's good. If you had kept being stubborn, hiding away and refusing to agree to our wager, things would have gotten difficult for us.

"It seems such a shame to have to kill you." Along with the laughter, eight Demonic cultivators flew toward Naruto in prismatic beams of light. Naruto suddenly stopped in place. The pressure weighing down on him was making him tremble, but his eyes were as icy cold as ever.

"Didn't I say that we didn't even need to use the spell formation!?" said one of them. "This brat's cultivation base is so weak we could crush him without it!"

One by one, the eight Demonic cultivators became visible. All of them were chuckling coldly as they neared Naruto .

Uzumaki suddenly laughed and said, "Apparently Long Tianhai didn't tell you yet."

"What's that supposed to mean?" replied one of the eight Demonic cultivators, a woman. Her cultivation base was the strongest of the group, her fifth Soul Lamp being mostly extinguished. From the look of it, she could complete extinguishing it at any moment. Her eyes flickered, as if she was suddenly experiencing an ill premonition.

Naruto chuckled darkly. The pressure weighing down on him was terrifying, but nonetheless, his energy suddenly shot up. A tempest kicked up around him, which spread out in all directions, causing the island to quake and the sea to froth.

The will of the Immortal Emperor was something that the Heavens could not eclipse and the Earth could not cover up. The pressure on the island was intense, but it was not the pressure of the entire Ninth Sea. It was just pressure from one small area, barely 1/10,000th of the full pressure. It was a pressure… that was matched by the will of the Immortal Emperor!

The tempest spread out, rising high into the sky and slamming into the pressure of the Ninth Sea. A huge boom echoed out.

The resulting collision shocked the eight Demonic cultivators, whose hearts began to pound.

"He's trying to fight back against the pressure of the Ninth Sea?!"

"He overestimates his abilities! How could he possibly fight the pressure of the Ninth Sea!?" The eight Demonic cultivators were astonished, and immediately gave voice to their shock. They were just about to advance on Naruto when all of a sudden….

Naruto 's voice crackled out like thunder, echoing in all directions.

"Fight back? I won't be fighting back against it. I'll be OVERPOWERING IT!"

His hair whipped around him as he looked up. He was like a giant, staring in the face of the pressure. The will of the Immortal Emperor surged as he raised both hands into the air and then waved them to either side.

The tempest screamed, apparently on the verge of… overpowering the pressure of the Ninth Sea!

Heaven and Earth shook as the pressure converged by the spell formation seemed to roar in rage. Apparently, it felt deeply insulted that a cultivator dared to fight back against it. The surrounding sea raged as huge waves swept across it.

"You… are not the full pressure of the Ninth Sea! You're just a tiny portion!" The more he trembled under the pressure weighing down on him, the more he wanted to vanquish it.

The pressure increased, and his eyes gleamed with a vicious light. He waved his hand and cried out, "Paragon Bridge!" Instantly, shocking rumbling sounds could be heard as the illusory Paragon Bridge formed. It was only one section of the boundless bridge, and yet, its aura still caused everything to dim, and the surroundings to shake violently. The pressure gathered by the spell formation suddenly wavered.

Apparently Naruto 's actions enraged the will of the pressure. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the pressure redoubled, intent on absolutely pulverizing Naruto !

The eight Demonic Cultivators' faces fell as they watched the island around them begin to crumble. The pressure of the Ninth Sea, which had been completely invisible before, was now causing distortions and ripples to appear.

"He's just looking to die! Now is the perfect time to strike!"

"What a moron! He's actually fighting back against the pressure of the

Ninth Sea! Plus he even raves about overpowering it!?" The eight Demonic Cultivators' killing intent surged, and they whistled through the air in colorful beams of light as they closed in on Naruto .

As they neared, Naruto looked up. Blue veins bulged on his face, and his eyes were shot with blood. The pressure weighing down on him was intense, but not enough to make him buckle. Instead, he fought back with intense power as he did just as he said, attempting to overpower the pressure of the Ninth Sea.

He completely ignored the eight Demonic Cultivators. Instead, he lifted his right foot and then slowly stepped forward onto the illusory Paragon Bridge.

As soon as his foot touched down, intense rumbling could be heard, and an extraordinary aura erupted. Muffled sounds like thunder rolled out, and huge fissures snaked out over the surface of the island as the pressure from above distorted everything.

Cracking sounds could be heard coming from Naruto 's body because of the the pressure. The eight Demonic Cultivators coughed up mouthfuls of blood, as if some massive force had just stomped onto their bodies. Now they were contending with, not just the pressure of the Ninth Sea, but also the power of Naruto 's Paragon Bridge…. They were being affected by the power Naruto was using to fight back against the pressure!

Naruto grinned viciously as he took a second step!

Everything shook as a huge boom rattled out. Naruto then took a third step. Then a fourth!

The eight Demonic cultivators' faces fell as they felt massive, unbearable power trampling them. They fell back, blood spraying from their mouths. They felt like their heads were being crushed. Each step Naruto took caused blood to spurt out of their mouths, and sent their cultivation bases into instability. The aggressive pressure of both Naruto and the Ninth Sea pushed them back so forcefully that they didn't dare to get any closer.

"He…. he's actually overpowering the pressure of the Ninth Sea!"

"How could this be possible!? He's so strong!" Their faces fell and their hearts pounded. It was virtually impossible for them to conceive that someone could vanquish the pressure of the Ninth Sea. Although it was only a small portion, it was still derived from the Ninth Sea!

Then… Naruto took a fifth step!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1064

Chapter 1064 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1064: Annihilating the Eight Demons!

The eight Demonic cultivators raged inwardly, and their hearts trembled.

"Could it be that he was hiding his true power before? Dammit!"

"This Naruto is too treacherous! He has a cultivation base like this but didn't reveal it back at the golden gate stone stele! He did it all to draw us out!"

"Despicable! Shameless!"

Even though Naruto hadn't even made an attack yet, they could see that he was strong enough to overwhelm the pressure of the Ninth Sea. What caused their scalps to tingle most was the sense that without the spell formation focusing the pressure of the Ninth Sea, Naruto … it would be even easier for Naruto to fight them!

"Just what level is his cultivation base at? There's no way someone in the Immortal Realm could be this strong!"

The eight Demonic cultivators trembled as he took his fifth step. Not a single cloud could be seen in the sky, and yet peals of thunder shook everything as the Paragon Bridge clashed with the pressure of the Ninth Sea!

The brunt of the force was taken by Naruto . However, he was eternally within the Immortal Emperor Realm, and his strength, both in terms of his fleshly body and his cultivation base, enabled him to endure it. Besides, he also had his Eternal stratum working to restore him constantly.

However… the eight Demonic cultivators couldn't endure. They might be Chosen from the Demonic Cultivator Horde, powerful Ancient Realm cultivators, but they simply couldn't compare to Naruto at all!

Therefore, Naruto could take his fifth step, whereas the eight

Demonic cultivators… coughed up more blood and were further injured.

Naruto 's steps had been taken too quickly, and each one was like a massive stomp that severely injured the eight Demonic Cultivators five times in a row!

Three of them simply couldn't withstand it. They screamed as their bodies withered and began to collapse.

You could say that before, Naruto had only been able to use a small bit of the Paragon Bridge's power. Now, he was able to unleash far more of that power. Because he had entered the Immortal Emperor Realm, every step he took caused the Paragon Bridge to reveal more and more of its true, supreme power!

The eight Demonic cultivators were reeling in shock as Naruto threw his head back and roared, then took a sixth step. Then a seventh!

Two quick steps in succession caused thunder to rumble. Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth, the price he had to pay to unleash this power. At the same time, the island was beginning to shatter, its edges crumbling and collapsing into the sea, which was also churning, almost as if it were roaring in rage!

The pressure of the Ninth Sea twisted and distorted. It was almost as if… the incredible pressure exerted by Naruto was going to shatter the Ninth Sea's pressure!

To the eight Demonic cultivators, this was a huge catastrophe!

The three of their group who had already reached their limit let out bloodcurdling screams!

"NO!" The rumbling pressure exuded by the collision of the Ninth Sea and the Paragon Bridge caused their bodies to literally explode. They… were killed in body and soul!

Of the eight Demonic cultivators, three were dead. Of the five that remained after that, three more coughed up blood and began to shake violently. Apparently they couldn't hold on any longer; looks of astonishment and terror flickered across their faces. All of a sudden they were filled with regret. They regretted provoking Naruto , and could never have possibly imagined that… he was this powerful!

They were so shocked and terrified that they began to back up and get ready to run for their lives.

"He's definitely not in the Immortal Realm! There's no way someone in the Immortal Realm could be so powerful. He's in the Ancient Realm! Definitely the Ancient Realm! He must have extinguished at least five Soul Lamps, maybe more!" The remaining Demonic cultivators were all flabbergasted.

"Horde Uncle, save us!" they called out, their voices echoing out around the island.

Currently, a middle-aged man sat cross-legged in the center of the island. He looked very much like a cultivator, except that he had a single horn growing out of his head.

The horn was pure white, as was the color of his skin!

He glared over at the battle taking place, and at Naruto walking on the Paragon Bridge, crushing the pressure of the Ninth Sea. He watched as only a few steps either injured or killed the eight other Demonic cultivators.

What he was seeing caused him to pant, and even gasp.

"Dammit! We misjudged his cultivation base! He can actually overwhelm the pressure of the Ninth Sea! At this point, me stepping in won't do any good!

"I have to wait until his power fades. If his final step shatters the pressure of the Ninth Sea, then I'll have to flee. There's no way I could fight him at that point. However, if the pressure is still there after he takes his final step, then… he will have reached his limit. His power will be used up, and it will be the perfect time to attack!"

The middle-aged Demonic cultivator ignored the cries for help and stared anxiously at Naruto .

Seeing that no Senior member of their Horde was making an appearance, the remaining Demonic cultivators felt despair rising up within them.

Even the strongest of their number, the female Demonic cultivator, and the next strongest member, the seventh Sea Realm Demon, were barely able to hold on. They watched Naruto 's energy rising up madly as he walked across the Paragon Bridge; the pressure of the Ninth Sea was losing its grip on him, and the island was collapsing around them. The female Demonic cultivator gritted her teeth and screamed. Her four extinguished Soul Lamps suddenly swirled into motion, and she charged forward toward Naruto .

Naruto heard the cries of the Demonic cultivators. Licking the blood off of his lips, he coldly said, "You people… just don't understand what it means to be Immortal!"

Continuing to ignore his opponents, including the female Demonic cultivator, he took another step….

Eight steps!

The Paragon Bridge shook; gradually, it was becoming more corporeal, and was also emanating an air of extreme ancientness. The surrounding waters of the Ninth Sea seethed, and more portions of the island collapsed.

The three Demonic cultivators who had reached their limit earlier let out miserable shrieks as Naruto took his eighth step. Then the pressure ripped them to shreds, and they were killed in body and spirit.

Nothing remained behind!

At the same time, the female Demonic cultivator coughed up a mouthful of blood, and her body began to wither up. She was incapable of advancing any further. The seventh Sea Realm Demon laughed bitterly, and his eyes gleamed with ferocity. Then, he slammed his palm down onto his own chest, detonating his entire body. Flesh and blood sprayed out, but then transformed into life force power that shot into the female Demonic cultivator.

"RUN!" That was the final thing he said before he died.

Of the eight Demonic cultivators from moments ago, seven were already dead. Only the woman was left, trembling with fear as she received her companion's life force. As it poured into her, her fifth Soul Lamp suddenly winked out, and her cultivation base began to rise.

And yet, an increase in cultivation base at this moment… was too little, too late!

She gritted her teeth, using the additional life force and cultivation base power to back up and flee.

However, Naruto 's killing intent had been building up from the moment he left the Nine Seas God World. He would not allow any living enemy to escape.

In the same moment that the female Demonic cultivator turned to flee, he took his ninth step, his last step. As his foot stepped down, he shuddered and coughed up a mouthful of blood. At the same time, his body withered rapidly.

However, the explosive power unleashed by that final step caused massive quaking on the island, more than thirty percent of which had now collapsed into the sea. One chunk after another splashed into the water and sank down. The water in the area was shoved away, as if by some massive attack, causing a huge depression to appear on the surface of the sea.

The powerful female Demonic cultivator couldn't prevent herself from letting out a miserable shriek from her position 300 meters away. Then she exploded in a haze of bone fragments and blood.

Naruto staggered a bit, as if he were about to fall over. The Paragon Bridge turned illusory again, and the pressure of the Ninth Sea was still there, shoving down on him explosively. It wanted to bury Naruto , whose body emitted cracking sounds. He was clearly in a very sorry state, so tattered that his appearance was appalling.

Just when he was about to fall over, just when the pressure of the Ninth Sea was about to inundate him, a long peal of laughter rang out from the center of the island. A figure shot out as fast as lightning to appear directly in front of Naruto . An explosive Ancient Realm aura of six extinguished Soul Lamps filled the area.

"DIE!" It was none other than the middle-aged Demonic cultivator, who had been waiting this whole time for this one chance. He could almost visualize himself striking Naruto , turning him into a cloud of blood. However, destroying his body would not kill his soul, which he would need to use special magic to extract and condense the mark of the Echelon from. However, it was still no different than a fatal blow.

The thought of being able to personally fell someone in the Echelon caused the middle-aged man to feel extremely excited.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly looked up, and his eyes flickered coldly. In the blink of an eye, he was no longer withered, and in fact, a derisive smile twisted his lips.

He had been waiting for this man to show up. Although he could sense his aura before, he couldn't see him, making it impossible to use the Lightning Cauldron to force him out. The man had remained hidden the entire time, and so Naruto had allowed himself to grow weaker and weaker, certain that the man would eventually show his face. The Demonic Cultivator Horde wanted his place in the Echelon. If he was killed in body and spirit by the pressure of the Ninth Sea, that would not fit with the designs of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, despite their lack of understanding regarding the details of the Echelon. They surely would not permit that to happen.

Therefore, the man had waited until he appeared to be completely weak and on the verge of being overwhelmed by the pressure of the Ninth Sea…. Then he made his move!

When he saw the cold light in Naruto 's eyes, and the derisive smile on his face, the middle-aged Demonic cultivator's scalp went numb, and his heart began to pound.

"You'll be the one dying today!" said Naruto , lifting his right hand up and shoving it forward. As soon as it made contact with the Demonic cultivator's double-palmed attack, flesh and blood cultivation base power suddenly flowed into Naruto , causing his face to flush slightly.

Blood Demon Grand Magic!

The Demonic cultivator gasped hoarsely, and his face filled with astonishment as he backed up. Moments ago, he had felt ten percent of his life force and cultivation base being sucked away.

A moment later he stabilized himself, and killing intent flickered in his eyes. Naruto 's Paragon Bridge was beginning to fade away, causing the man to laugh coldly.

"Who cares if you have some trick moves," he said. "You're no match for me under the pressure of the Ninth Sea!"

"Pressure of the Ninth Sea?" asked Naruto , looking up into the sky. "The Heavens can't eclipse me and the Earth can't cover me up! The pressure of the Ninth Sea might as well stop dreaming about trying to suppress me!"

As he spoke, his energy spiked. Beneath him, the Paragon Bridge grew clear once again. He took a deep breath and then… stepped forward for the tenth time!

That tenth step caused the pressure of the Ninth Sea of shatter. The spell formation was completely destroyed, and the island quaked as… it shattered into pieces that began to crumble apart in all directions!

At the same time, Naruto 's energy was now no longer restricted by anything, and rocketed up. Wild colors flashed and the wind screamed around him, violent enough to slash the Heavens!

He was like… a dragon breaking free of its cage!

Chapter 1064: Annihilating the Eight Demons!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1065

Chapter 1065: Towering Killing Intent!

Gone was the pressure of the Ninth Sea!

Gone was the island's spell formation!

Gone was the interference caused by the eight Demonic cultivators!

The pressure vanished, and the spell formation fell to pieces. The island was collapsing, and the Demonic cultivators were slaughtered….

The will of the Immortal Emperor exploded out fully and thoroughly!

Colors flashed and the wind howled. Naruto hovered in midair, clothes and hair whipping in the wind, radiating pulses of Immortal spirit. It was as if he was completely different than any other living thing in this Realm, as if he… were the Emperor of the entire Immortal Realm!

The lands he walked belonged to him by Imperial right!

If he wished, a single glance could shatter Heaven and Earth!

Every breath he took caused thunder to boom and the sea to seethe as if in fear. The air around him transformed into a huge vortex, spinning around and creating a huge depression in the sea!

The sight was overwhelmingly spectacular. The air twisted and distorted as if it were about to be destroyed, and Naruto 's eyes shone as if with stars, radiant and glittering.

An intense Imperial will radiated out from him, combining with the Immortal spirit to shocking effect. The middle-aged Demonic cultivator's face was pale white as he was shoved backward beyond his own control. Trembling, he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

Heavenly bodies dimmed as Naruto stood there, radiating boundless, glorious light, exploding with the most powerful energy he had ever possessed since he had begun to practice cultivation. This was his current most powerful state, the peak of his battle prowess!

Beneath him, rumbling booms filled the air as what was left of the island was wracked with shocking power, as if it were experiencing an apocalypse.

Cracks spread out in all directions, filling the remnants of the island and shattering them into smaller pieces. What had once been mountains sunk into the sea. Massive rumbling sounds could be heard, almost like the pained roars of some mortally wounded primordial beast.

As the island crumbled to bits, the chain of mountains which occupied the very center of the island teetered precariously until finally, the last remaining mountains were flattened, and the entire area became nothing more than seawater!

At the same time, the collapsing mountains revealed an Immortal's cave which had remained underneath them the entire time. It was now exposed and open for anyone to see.

This Immortal's cave was made up of a violet lagoon, within which was a huge black shell. Laying unconscious in that shell… was Sakura.

Before, they way the shell had been hanging over her seemed like a death sentence. But then, it ended up saving her life!

It wasn't that the shell intended to do that; things had just happened too quickly. Before the shell could even do anything, the mountains had begun to collapse!

Of course, that is exactly how Naruto planned it. Because of the image shown to him by Long Tianhai, he had known all along that Sakura was inside the shell.

The shattering mountains and collapsing lands didn't matter; she was mostly shielded by the powerful shell itself. They were all improvised tools he had meticulously manipulated to save Sakura. Now, as soon as he caught sight of her, he flashed in her direction as fast as a shooting star!

Before blinking your eyes, you would have seen him off in the distance. After blinking your eyes, you would have found that he was in the collapsed Immortal's cave. The black shell trembled and was about to snap shut and decapitate her.

It was in that moment that Naruto suddenly shouted, "Hex!"

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed, causing the black shell to shudder to a stop. It was now incapable of closing! Naruto appeared in front of it, reached out, and grabbed the bottom half of the shell with one hand, the top half with the other.

His eyes flickered with killing intent as he then drew upon the full power of his fleshly body to wrench his hands in opposite directions.

A cracking sound rang out, along with a miserable shriek, as the black shell was ripped apart!

It was completely torn in two!

As the final remnants of the mountains and lands sank into the ocean, Naruto held Sakura in his arms and poured cultivation base power into her. Instantly, he could sense the deadly poison inside of her.

The poison was pernicious, but Sakura's body was still fighting back against it, despite having clearly been poisoned for quite some time. Apparently, she had some innate resistance to it.

However, it was a tricky poison. After pouring some cultivation base power into her, Naruto realized that the poison was somewhat selfaware. It actually avoided him, and in the blink of an eye, it seemed to realize that it was no match for him in a direct fight. Therefore, to resist Naruto 's Immortal power, it was threatening to make Sakura's body the battleground. Trying to force it out would surely harm her.

If things got out of hand, Sakura would end up even more hurt than she already was, and her situation would be impossible to reverse!

Even if Naruto didn't do anything drastic, however, her life force would still drain away. It wouldn't be very long before she was completely withered up, the flame of her life force completely extinguished.

Naruto 's eyes shone brightly, and rage began to burn in his heart.

Sakura had not yet reached Immortal Ascension, and was still in the

Dao Seeking stage. However, in their attempts to snag a place in the Echelon, the Demonic Cultivator Horde had sent Ancient Realm cultivators to capture and poison her, a mere Dao Seeking cultivator!

That was not just accomplishing things by fair means or foul. That was acting with complete wickedness and villainy!

The killing intent in Naruto 's eyes flickered intensely. Suddenly, in the same moment that his Immortal power touched the deadly poison, blood oozed out of the corners of Sakura's mouth, and her eyes flickered open.

The only thing she could make out was Naruto , standing there in front of her. As soon as she realized it was him, she blinked in surprise.

"Am I dreaming again…?" she murmured. Then she lapsed again into unconsciousness.

Those simple words caused Naruto to tremble. As he looked down at her unconscious form, his eyes flickered with complex emotions.

Cultivators didn't dream. Or at least, they rarely did!

The higher a cultivator's cultivation base, the less likely they were to experience dreams. Although Dao Seeking cultivators didn't count for much to Naruto , to many people… they were the pinnacle. The next step beyond that was the Immortal Realm!

At such a level of cultivation, dreams simply shouldn't occur. If they did, it likely indicated that the cultivator was afflicted by an inner Devil!

If she didn't have an inner Devil, and yet still dreamed… then how intense must her thoughts and emotions have been …to cause such a thing to happen? And then there was that word 'again,' which seemed to indicate that it had happened more than once!

Sakura's muttered words caused Naruto to understand exactly what was going on in her heart now that she had left Planet Ninshu .

He sighed and looked up. When he did, his eyes flickered with even more intense, murderous intentions. The angrier he got, the more he wanted to kill. He suddenly shot up into the air, turning around coldly to face the shocked middle-aged Demonic cultivator.

"Impossible!" the man gasped. His face flickered and his scalp tingled to the point where it felt like it would explode. He still couldn't believe that Naruto had actually overwhelmed the pressure of the Ninth Sea!

He almost didn't even notice that the island had collapsed and that Naruto had saved Sakura. He suddenly realized that he was standing directly in front of someone who had shattered the pressure of the Ninth Sea. Even though his own cultivation base was clearly much higher compared to Naruto 's, all of a sudden he realized… that he was the one who was afraid!

In fact, when Naruto 's gaze locked onto him, he subconsciously backed up and then prepared to flee.

But could Naruto really let him go? The intensity of his killing intent was impossible to even describe. As the middle-aged Demonic cultivator turned to flee, Naruto threw his head back and roared. That roar was packed with the will of the Immortal Emperor, causing everything to shake violently. The air shattered as a massive wind sprang up in all directions.

As the wind screamed into motion, it caused pressure to build up, as if… it were replacing the power exerted by the Ninth Sea!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The Demonic cultivator trembled as the wind swept across him. Blood spurted out of his mouth, and his face went deathly pale. He currently had no will to fight whatsoever, and in fact, felt a sensation of intense, deadly crisis, caused by none other than Naruto .

"He's even stronger than before! Dammit! How could he be so terrifying!?"

In a panic, the Demonic cultivator bit the tip of his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood to unleash a secret magic. It instantly gave him a burst of speed, and yet, before it could get him very far, electricity danced around Naruto as the Lightning Cauldron appeared. Rumbling echoed out as he then switched places with the man.

In that moment of transposition, the middle-aged Demonic cultivator let out a hoarse shout of astonishment. Suddenly, he was no longer far off in the distance. Furthermore, the sudden burst of speed was not helping him escape, but was actually helping to hasten him toward death!

That was because directly ahead of him… was Naruto !

It was almost as if he had taken the initiative to charge at Naruto . Just when he was about to change directions, Naruto suddenly waved a finger.

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

The Demonic cultivator's body lurched to a halt, and he hung there in midair, coughing up blood as Naruto strode toward him through the air, waving his finger a second time.

Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex!

Massive amounts of Karma appeared in response to the wave of his hand. It transformed into a mark which completely sealed the Demonic cultivator's Karma. Because Naruto had absorbed the Paragon's blood, his Demon Sealing magical techniques had experienced explosive changes. All of a sudden, his Seventh Hex was revealing a new transformation.

"Seal the eyes, remove sight!

"Seal the nose, remove smell!

"Seal the throat, remove speech!

"Seal the ears, remove hearing!

"Seal the senses, remove reaction! "Seal the world, seal EVERYTHING!"

Everything… by means of Karma!

The Demonic Cultivator screamed as, all of a sudden, his entire world went blank. He could feel nothing, and sense nothing, not even heat or cold, or auras!

It was as if everything had vanished, and he was faced with pitch-black nothingness. He could not see, hear, smell, or sense anything!

"NO!" He trembled as he realized that, not only had he lost connection with everything, but his cultivation base was also locked in place. He couldn't flee even if he wanted to.

Naruto appeared in front of him, eyes bloodshot and face cold. He lifted his hand, and that hand suddenly seemed to transform into a Blood Demon head!

"Demonic Cultivator Horde, that which you have taken away from Sakura, will be taken back by me!" The words were spoken softly, but they were like an icy wind. Unfortunately for the Demonic cultivator, he couldn't hear them at all.

Naruto 's hand touched the man's forehead, and a tremor ran down through the man. His body withered up, but he was incapable of screaming. His life force, his cultivation base, everything that was him… was sucked away by Naruto … and transferred into Sakura!

This was none other than… the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1066

Chapter 1066 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1066: Elder Hai Sheng!

It is impossible to even describe the pain of having one's life force absorbed by the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Only someone who has experienced it could possibly know the feeling. If you had to liken it to something, it would be like having an acidic liquid injected into your veins. As it filled your body, it would melt your flesh and blood, transforming your innards into a shapeless mass.

Then it would be slowly extracted as life force. In this case, Naruto acted like a bridge, delivering that life force to Sakura.

If the Demonic cultivator could cry out right now, it wouldn't lessen the pain, he could at least vent some of the torment he was experiencing.

Instead, the pain simply existed in his heart as an undispellable torment.

He… couldn't even open his mouth. Nor could he see what was happening. However, he could feel everything that was occurring inside of him, and in fact, those feelings were amplified, causing him to experience what was essentially unspeakable torture.

If he could do anything, the first thing he would think to do would be to die instantly!

If he had a chance to do things over, if he had the power to reverse time, he would definitely refuse to participate in this plan!

Unfortunately, there are no such things as second chances!

Naruto 's face was like ice as he stared at the Demonic cultivator's body slowly withering up. Soon, he was nothing more than a sack of flesh and bones, his life force drained.

Finally, Naruto loosened his grip, and the man began to fall down. Then the wind caught him, and he dissolved into dust…. His entire person had been absorbed by the Blood Demon Grand Magic and sent into Sakura.

Moments ago, the flame of her life force had been dim and barely flickering. Now, it was brighter. Her vitality was somewhat restored, and her face was no longer the pale of death, but rather, had some color to it.

However… Naruto knew that all of that was temporary. For every day that the poison remained in Sakura, she would continue to weaken, and would eventually die.

As he held her in his arms, his eyes flickered with focus and determination. He took a deep breath, then carefully placed some seals onto Sakura and the poison inside of her. Doing so would ensure that she would be able to cling to life a bit longer. Finally, he gently placed her into his bag of holding, then looked up and began to speed toward the Nine Seas God World.

It was time to do some killing!

And the first person on his list to kill was Long Tianhai!

It didn't matter where Long Tianhai was, or who was protecting him; Naruto was determined to kill him. That determination would not lessen, no matter what Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling trouble might occur as a result. He would definitely give vent to the murderous rage in his heart.

"Long Tianhai, you shall DIE!

"Demonic Cultivator Horde, I hereby VOW… that one day the Ninth Mountain and Sea will have NO Sea Demons!" His voice echoed up, piercing into the Heavens, which responded with rumbling like claps of thunder!

This was no ordinary promise, this was a vow!

Naruto 's killing intent towered into the Heavens, and it was in the midst of that rage that he uttered this vow!

Almost in the same moment that his thunder-like words echoed out, the entire Ninth Sea shuddered. Even the Ninth Mountain, which rested ponderously out in the starry sky, trembled in response.

The four planets also shook. It wasn't just the Ninth Mountain and Sea, though. As of that moment, the Eighth Mountain, the Seventh Mountain, the Sixth Mountain… all the way to the First Mountain, as well as all of their respective Seas… all trembled.

That trembling caused numerous cultivators' hearts to thump. In addition, the nine Xuanwu turtles on the tops of the Mountains of the Mountain and Sea Realm all looked up and let out a powerful howl, as if they were bearing witness to something they would fix firmly in mind!

The matter pertaining to the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm was still on the minds of numerous entities in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Therefore, what was happening now caused all of those people to gasp.

Simultaneously, the entire Ninth Sea roared, as if the will of the sea were enraged by what Naruto had just said. The members of the Demonic Cultivator Horde were all born in the Ninth Sea, and were essentially its children. If Naruto were some ordinary cultivator, then his words wouldn't have mattered, and would not have caused such a stir.

However… he was not some ordinary cultivator!

He was the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm! He was a member of the League of Demon Sealers! Although few people knew who he was, the Mountain and Sea Realm itself knew. The Nine Mountains knew, as did the Nine Seas!

Of course, though they knew of these matters, until Naruto formally became the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, there would be no direct connection between all of them. The only things in place were rules preventing them from interfering with him.

But now that Naruto had uttered his vow, the Ninth Sea seethed. It was completely shaken, and yet in the end… it chose to maintain silence.

Naruto sped through the air in a beam of light, splitting the Ninth Sea apart as he flew. At the same time, his aura caused countless sea beasts to charge in his direction with murderous intent.

As they neared, killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes.

He waved his hand, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to appear.

Expression icy, he coldly said, "Detonate!"

One word caused the Essence of Divine Flame to erupt. A massive boom could be heard as it transformed into a heavenly fire that rained down in all directions.

Any sea beasts which the fire touched let out miserable shrieks as they were burnt to ash. Some managed to dive down into the water, but a moment later, the flames entered the water, causing the temperature to soar. More screams could be heard, and the corpses of various sea beasts began to rise up from the depths.

Naruto didn't slow down at all. As he sped along, the sea around him boiled, and any sea beasts which came near him were instantly scalded to death!

It was an endless slaughter!

The sea began to turn as red as blood!

However, almost in the same moment that Naruto left Seajacket Island and began to speed toward the Nine Seas God World, all of a sudden, the surface of the sea up ahead of him rose up to form a massive wall of seawater, blocking his path. Next, three more walls of seawater rose up, two on either side of him, and one behind. He was now blocked from four directions.

The four walls of seawater linked together, forming a huge cage with Naruto trapped inside. Even his aura was incapable of escaping.

Naruto stopped in place and looked around, then gave a cold harrumph which echoed out in all directions. A moment later, the wall of water in front of him rippled, and a face appeared. Shockingly, it was not the face of a cultivator, but rather, an enormous Sea Dragon.

It was pitch black and matchlessly vicious, and its eyes glittered with cold arrogance as it looked at Naruto .

Standing on top of the dragon's head was an old man with his hands clasped behind his back. He wore the long robes of the Nine Seas God World, and his face was a mass of derision as he gazed down at Naruto .

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever. He recognized this old man. He was not an ordinary cultivator, but rather a Demonic cultivator, the same person Naruto had fought when he first arrived in the Nine Seas God World. Elder Hai Sheng! 1

"Come looking to die, you old fart?" Naruto said, his voice as cold as a winter wind.

"Every dog has its day, Naruto ," Elder Hai Sheng replied, his voice cracking like thunder and filled with intense, venomous hatred. "I have to admit, the Demonic Cultivator Horde underestimated you. The Seajacket Island plan failed, and the island itself was destroyed. However, with me here… you'll die all the same!

"Don't try to escape my little death trap. It will only open up after someone gets killed. Anyone who tries to force it open, even me, will be hit with a shocking backlash. It's special that way. For the same reason, nobody outside can see what happens in here. Oh, and the natural laws have been changed so that you can't use that teleportation cauldron either!

"And if you're thinking of trying to get Granny Nine and Ling Yunzi to come save you, well, let's put it this way; the Demonic Cultivator Horde has prepared long and hard to kill you. Granny Nine and Ling Yunzi are currently being delayed by the Demonic Cultivator Horde Patriarchs!

"Nobody will be coming here to interfere or to save you!

"Today, you absolutely, positively WILL die!" Elder Hai Sheng stared at Naruto , intense killing intent flickering in his eyes as he waited to see how Naruto would react to his words. Specifically, he was waiting for a look of despair. He didn't just want to kill Naruto , he wanted to see him absolutely hopeless and terrified, whereupon he would torture him to death.

That was the only way to ease the hatred in his heart!

"Today is the day you will receive retribution for slaughtering the members of the Demonic Cultivator Horde from Planet Ninshu 's Milky Way Sea!" growled Elder Hai Sheng through gritted teeth. "I sent my only descendant to Planet Ninshu in the hopes that he would be able to acquire Immortal destiny and achieve true Immortal Ascension!

"But you, you killed him, Naruto , damn you! Before his mind awoke, you killed him!

"Not only did you sever his hope of true Immortal Ascension, you also severed my bloodline!" His words echoed out, causing the walls of seawater to vibrate.

"Look, you big windbag," Naruto said coolly, "I've killed lots of people. You think I remember which one you're talking about?" He casually took out the Lightning Cauldron and gave it a try, but sure enough, it didn't work.

His words sent Elder Hai Sheng's rage into the sky. Bellowing, he waved his hand, causing the Sea Dragon to roar and charge toward Naruto , mouth gaping. In the blink of an eye, the pitch-black Sea Dragon was bearing down on Naruto , preparing to consume him.

Naruto 's eyes glinted coldly, and he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then waved his finger. Instantly, everything began to tremble as hundreds of thousands of mountains began to descend. They formed together into a tens of thousands of mountain chains, which then merged together to form ten enormous mountains that smashed toward the Sea Dragon.

The Sea Dragon roared as it slammed into the ten gigantic mountains, then swept its tail in an attack on Naruto .

Whistling sounds filled the air. Naruto 's lips turned up into a cold smile as he extended his right hand and grabbed the Sea Dragon's tail. Then he jerked his hand violently.

The Sea Dragon roared in surprise and pain as a massive force surged out from Naruto 's arm.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

A huge boom could be heard as the power of the Nine Heavens

Destruction was unleashed. Nine successive attacks were unleashed, the last of which caused the Sea Dragon to literally explode to pieces in midair.

Naruto then looked over at Elder Hai Sheng and murmured, "If I absorb you, then I can give Sakura a bit more life force, and a bit more time!"

Then, he turned into a murderous arrow that shot directly toward Elder Hai Sheng's heart!

Chapter 1066: Elder Hai Sheng!

Naruto met Elder Hai Sheng in chapter 1038 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1067

Chapter 1067: Deadly Catastrophe!

Elder Hai Sheng's mind trembled. Although he had found out about the failure of the Seajacket Island plan, had watched the life force slips of the other cultivators shatter, and knew that Naruto was probably stronger than they had anticipated, he hadn't been aware of the particulars.

Now that he saw his personally cultivated Dharma Dragon shattered by Naruto , his eyes glittered and, unexpectedly, he smiled.

"Now this is interesting," he said. "I didn't think I would have to use this, but it looks like my extra preparations will pay off!" He waved his right hand, causing a jade slip to fly out from his palm. It instantly shattered, causing a black mist to stream out that formed into a black-colored head. The head belonged to an old man, an old man that was clearly not Elder Hai Sheng.

It was a strange-looking head that emanated a shocking aura. It instantly began to speed towards Elder Hai Sheng, mouth gaping as if it wanted to consume him. However, as soon as it touched Elder Hai Sheng, it fused into him. Elder Hai Sheng's expression turned vicious; blue veins popped out on his forehead, and his facial features began to change. Suddenly, a second face appeared, overlapped with his original face!

He laughed cruelly, and looked even more bizarre than before as he strode forward. The instant he began to advance, his Ancient Realm cultivation base rocketed up, and, astonishingly… nine extinguished Soul Lamps appeared!

Naruto 's eyes widened. He remembered that the last time he fought Elder Hai Sheng, the man had five extinguished Soul Lamps. Now, after superimposing with that black-colored face, it was like he was a different person. He now had a stage 9 Ancient Realm cultivation base. It was as if he had survived through extinguishing nine Soul Lamps, placing him at the peak of the mid Ancient Realm!

As his cultivation base rocketed up to stunning effect, everything in the area shook. He took a second step, and he was directly in front of Naruto . His hand instantly shot forward toward Naruto 's neck.

The speed was indescribable. He moved so fast that afterimages were left in his previous position. Furthermore, the movement of his hand seemed to contain the power of natural law, as if some of the power of the Ninth Sea had converged in his hand, becoming a personal Daoist magic.

Naruto 's eyes were wide. After seeing the black-colored face, and the incredibly powerful cultivation base, he could tell that Elder Hai Sheng was far stronger than him. Despite being in the Immortal Emperor Realm, he still felt a sensation of deadly crisis. If an opponent like this managed to seize the upper hand in the fight, it would be very difficult for Naruto to reverse the situation!

The only way to win… was to seize the initiative, and keep it the entire time! That was the lone chance of securing victory!

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent and the desire to do battle! From the moment he had begun to practice cultivation until now, this was the most powerful opponent he had ever faced!

Fighting someone like this was sure to be a huge challenge for him, and would require absolute focus!

"Now I really feel like fighting!" Eyes flickering, he didn't back up. Instead, even as Elder Hai Sheng's hand shot out, Naruto shoved his own hand forward. As he did, he unleashed his own secret magic, merging his 123 Immortal meridians into a divine ability.

True Immortal fleshly body!

His palm closed into a fist, and he flew above Elder Hai Sheng.

Although he couldn't seize control of the battle in terms of cultivation base, at the very least, he could seek to occupy the high ground. If he wasn't able to gain that advantage in this first exchange, it would be difficult to recover from.

"My true form is a Sea Dragon!" Elder Hai Sheng laughed coldly. "The heads of dragons are magically cultivated to be their strongest points! Are you TRYING to get yourself killed!?" He could tell what Naruto was trying to do, but considering the level of cultivation base involved, he paid no heed. He raised his right hand, and his momentum did not stop, but grew even more powerful!

"Digging your own grave!" he said with a cold smile, then reached out with a clutching motion.

At the same time, Naruto 's momentum was also building. As his fist closed in on Elder Hai Sheng, it gave rise to a massive tempest, the center of which was a powerful vortex. The vortex slammed into Elder Hai Sheng's hand, causing a deafening boom.

The tempest collapsed and the vortex fell to pieces. Cracking sounds echoed out from within Naruto , like breaking bones. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and he was sent staggering backward, clearly seriously injured. However, his Eternal stratum immediately spun into action.

Elder Hai Sheng stopped in place, and was actually shoved downward by several meters. However, all he did was let out a cold harrumph and then shoot back toward Naruto .

"No wonder the Seajacket Island plan failed…. If I hadn't prepared well, I might not have been able to kill you. But this is the Ninth Sea, my home ground. I can borrow the power of the Ninth Sea. Even if you get stronger than you are now, you're still dead!" Face twisted viciously, he closed in on Naruto and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, an illusory sea appeared around him, which rumbled toward Naruto in attack.

As it neared, a gigantic sea turtle appeared in the middle of it, which roared as it smashed toward Naruto .

As Elder Hai Sheng neared, Naruto was able to finally determine the difference between the Immortal Emperor Realm and that of a cultivator with nine extinguished Soul Lamps.

That difference was considerable… but not so vast that it left him in despair!

"You're going to borrow power from the Ninth Sea?" Naruto asked coldly. The starstone in his right eye flickered, and as the giant sea turtle bore down on him, he transformed into a planet that shot forward in attack.

When Naruto slammed into the sea, his planet-form collapsed, and he reappeared, coughing up blood. However, in almost the same moment, he transformed into a huge golden roc that pierced through the sea and the sea turtle. He was completely soaked in blood, but his energy was even stronger than before. Radiating madness, he appeared directly in front of Elder Hai Sheng, slashing at him with his claws. A huge rumble could be heard as the two of them tumbled backward away from each other.

"You overestimate yourself!" By this point, Elder Hai Sheng was now only about thirty meters away from the surface of the sea, but he didn't seem to care at all. He waved his hand, instantly causing one of his Soul Lamps to fly out and speed toward Naruto .

Naruto continued to back up, coughing up blood, body withering. At the same time, his Eternal stratum was madly restoring him. Not pausing, he once again went on the offensive. This time, he summoned the Ninth Mountain, along with the sun and the moon, a composite Daoist magic that slammed into the Soul Lamp. The resulting explosion sent shockwaves in all directions. Naruto 's body was on the verge of collapse, but thanks to his Eternal stratum, it didn't phase him at all as he charged downwards again. Next, his Dharma Idol of 33 Heavens appeared, focusing all of his power on another attack against Elder Hai Sheng.

Elder Hai Sheng snorted coldly and waved his hand. Immediately, ripples spread out, transforming into a Ghost Face, which shrieked as it pounced toward Naruto . As it neared, Naruto took a deep breath and clenched his hand into a fist.

He punched, not with an ordinary punch, but… with the might of body cultivation!

The Life-Extermination Fist!

As the fist sailed through the air, all of the life force in the area seemed to vanish, even Naruto 's. Everything seemed cut off, as if this fist contained a will of death, a fist to exterminate all life!

For the first time, Elder Hai Sheng's expression flickered. However, he didn't hesitate, extending both hands in front of him. Shockingly, a dragon scale appeared, like a shield, which Naruto 's fist slammed into.

A massive boom echoed out, and a huge depression appeared in the surface of the water. Elder Hai Sheng was shoved backward beyond his control, landing him in the water below.

"Life-Extermination Fist," he gasped. "That was actually the LifeExtermination Fist….

"However, you were probably barely able to use it!" His eyes flashed with coldness, and he was just about to fly back up into the air when Naruto suddenly smiled.

His goal this entire time had been to get Elder Hai Sheng into the water!

Getting Elder Hai Sheng into that position was the most deadly tactic he could employ. He only did this because of his inability to use the Lightning Cauldron; were it not for that, he wouldn't have allowed himself to be so seriously injured in such a short period of time.

If he himself had gone into the water to try to lure Elder Hai Sheng down, or perhaps used some other methods, he might have had some success. However, all other methods contained certain flaws. That was why had chosen this particular tactic.

It was difficult to pull off, but was the best way to push him downward.

Without his Eternal stratum, Naruto would already have collapsed into pieces. Even with it, he was only recovering slowly. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he extended his right hand and waved his finger toward the surface of the water.

"Flame!" he said softly.

When Elder Hai Sheng saw Naruto 's expression, his own face fell. At the same time, flames suddenly appeared in the water beneath the enclosed trap of seawater walls. Apparently, flames had been there all along!

It was Divine Flame, the same Divine Flame Naruto had used to kill the sea beasts earlier. Essence of Divine Flame!

The Essence of Divine Flame erupted, shooting through the seawater walls to surround Elder Hai Sheng!

The flames rose up in the blink of an eye, turning the water into a sea of flames, a world of fire, a heaven and earth created from the Essence of Divine Flame within which elder Hai Sheng was completely imprisoned.

"Divine Flame! Impossible! I clearly saw this flame outside in the Ninth Sea! Even if it possesses Essence, it still shouldn't be able to get into my death trap so quickly!" Elder Hai Sheng's face instantly filled with disbelief. The Demonic Cultivator Horde had done extensive investigations into Naruto in their preparations to kill him. How could they have missed something as powerful as Essence of Divine Flame?!

At the same time, Elder Hai Sheng could sense that this sea of flames could definitely hurt him. Thankfully, the injuries weren't very serious yet, and if he escaped quickly, the effects would be minimal.

"Piddling Divine Flame. I'm not sure how you managed to pull off this trick. But your threat… is in vain! You can't use this flame to kill me! How juvenile!" Elder Hai Sheng snorted coldly, and was just about to charge out of the sea of flames toward Naruto . Once he did so, Naruto 's gambit to trap and kill him would immediately fail.

He had one other option, which was to go downward into the sea, but that would mean he would have to break the sea wall seal, and he would suffer the backlash attack. That was something he wouldn't do except as a last resort.

"What if you can't get out?" asked Naruto , his voice cold. After absorbing the Paragon's blood, all of his magical techniques and divine abilities had become more powerful. The Divine Flame was Essence, and because of the Essence power in the Paragon's blood, the Divine Flame was far more powerful. That was why it had been able to pierce through the sea walls!

Unfortunately, it had only been able to pierce through them, not completely destroy them. That would have taken much longer.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto 's voice rang out, Elder Hai Sheng tried to escape from the sea of flames. In response, Naruto waved his finger.

"Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!"

As soon as the Hexing magic was unleashed, Elder Hai Sheng stopped in mid-movement. His face fell as his attempt to escape failed completely.

He was surrounded by flames, causing him to rage inwardly.

Naruto paid a bit of a price to unleash the Eighth Hex, causing blood to ooze out of his mouth. However, he ignored the injury and waved his right hand again to unleash a variety of magical techniques and divine abilities on Elder Hai Sheng.

Risking serious injury to himself, he shoved Elder Hai Sheng deeper into the sea of flames.

Elder Hai Sheng trembled, and was just about to recover from the Eighth Hex when Naruto waved his finger and unleashed it again.

This happened over and over, causing Elder Hai Sheng to roar inwardly. He was incapable of escaping, and was stuck in the sea of flames. His skin began to split, and his body began to wither. Gradually, he was beginning to sense a feeling of intense crisis, as well as incredible shock. In the next moment in which he recovered, before Naruto could unleash more restrictive Hexes, he bit the tip of his tongue and spat out some blood, which turned into a Blood Dragon that charged toward Naruto . Simultaneously, Elder Hai Sheng attempted to make another break for freedom.

Naruto 's eyes glittered and he took a deep breath. Once again, he unleashed the Life-Extermination Fist. His body trembled, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. The fist strike instantly shattered any hopes Elder Hai Sheng had of extricating himself. The Blood Dragon was shattered, and the power of the strike slammed into Elder Hai Sheng, whereupon Naruto once again utilized the Eighth Hex.

BOOM!

A ferocious expression could be seen on Naruto 's face. He once again launched an attack, waving his hand. Even as Elder Hai Sheng recovered, Naruto performed an incantation gesture and summoned the Paragon Bridge. It rumbled down viciously toward Elder Hai Sheng.

"Damn you, Naruto !" Elder Hai Sheng roared. He tried again to free himself but failed. The injuries caused by the sea of flames continued to intensify. All protective magical items that he used were useless. No matter what he did, he failed. Meanwhile, his skin was splitting more dramatically, and he was withering up.

What filled him with even more fear was the thought of, after being stuck within the sea of flames for too long, the Divine Flame boring into his body and burning up his internal organs!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1068

Chapter 1068: Who Dares to Save Him!?

Popping sounds echoed out in all directions from within the region of scorching flames as intense pain wracked Elder Hai Sheng. Soon, his internal organs began to burn, intensifying both the pain and the sensation of crisis!

The shadow of death loomed over him, and he could sense that if this went on much longer, he… would die!

He was surrounded by a sea of flames that was rapidly burning him to ash!

He had never even considered the possibility that he might lose this battle, or that he might actually die. He hadn't arrogantly assumed that he could win with only five extinguished Soul Lamps. Instead, he had immediately attacked with his trump card, a Soul Jade given to him by a late Ancient Realm expert from the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

The fact that he was still in a state of critical danger, even after his cultivation base had risen to the level of nine extinguished Soul Lamps… caused Elder Hai Sheng's heart to tremble.

"Just what good fortune has this guy come across to become so powerful? Most importantly, it's not just a matter of raw power; he's vicious and merciless, plus extremely conniving!" As Elder Hai Sheng looked at Naruto , he felt an intense dread and terror rising up in him.

Naruto was an important person in the sect, so the Demonic

Cultivator Horde had gone to great lengths to ensure that no one of the Dao Realm would be able to interfere. Furthermore, even peak Ancient realm cultivators were obstructed. Because of that, only two of the Demonic Cultivator Horde Elders had been sent out as part of the plan. That was their limit.

That was more than enough power to slaughter an Immortal Realm cultivator. Furthermore, Elder Hai Sheng had the Soul Jade as his trump card. To the Demonic Cultivator Horde, the power of nine extinguished Soul Lamps that he wielded was more than enough to clinch a victory. They assumed that nothing unexpected would happen that could upset the balance.

However, they… still underestimated Naruto !

Booms rang out. Naruto 's eyes were bloodshot as he levied shocking attacks against Elder Hai Sheng, over and over again. Elder Hai Sheng couldn't escape, and was forced to remain within the sea of flames, growing closer and closer to death.

Every time he used the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, Naruto had to pay a heavy price, and blood oozed out of his mouth. And yet, he attacked relentlessly and without stop. However viciously he treated others, he treated himself more viciously. That was the trump card he could use to secure victory against a more powerful opponent!

"Dammit!" Elder Hai Sheng's skin was on fire, and he was wracked with intense pain. He was almost on the verge of going mad, and the blackcolored face superimposed over his own was beginning to flicker. Looking completely bizarre, he quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture. When he looked up, the pitch black face let out a soundless roar. Elder Hai Sheng breathed in, raised both of his hands up, then shoved them out toward Naruto .

" Naruto … DIE!"

As his hands rose up, black mist poured out of his body, spreading out to fill the entire area with a sea of black fog.

Suddenly, Elder Hai Sheng was replaced by a gigantic heart. The heart was pitch black, and radiated wickedness and mystery. Furthermore, an archaic aura erupted out from it.

In unison with the aura's eruption, cracking booms as loud as thunder could be heard coming from the heart.

Ba-bump.

Ba-bump!

BA-BUMP!

The echoing sound caused Naruto 's face to flicker. Every movement of the bizarre heart caused the sound to echo out, along with a massive power that slammed down onto Naruto like a mountain!

At the same time, Naruto 's own heart was stabbed with pain. Every beat of the bizarre pitch-black heart caused strange power to stab against him like invisible blades!

Naruto 's heart felt like it was about to be ripped in two!

His cultivation base, his body, everything felt stabbing pain. Blood spurted out as the black heart hung there in midair, battering against the sea of flames.

This bizarre magical technique caused Naruto to begin to pant anxiously. His face was pale white, and his heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest. He gritted his teeth and raised his hand, ignoring the intense pain.

When he waved his hand… eleven black pods flew out.

"Magical Pod Soldiers!" he cried. Popping sounds could be heard as the eleven black pods immediately transformed into eleven black imps. They were eyeless, with vicious, gaping mouths. Piercing screams could be heard as they rushed toward the black heart.

Elder Hai Sheng was instantly shocked by what was happening. Not only was Naruto unfamiliar with his own divine ability, this magic of turning tiny black pods into soldiers was something that Elder Hai Sheng had never even heard of before. The Demonic Cultivator Horde's investigation hadn't mentioned anything about this.

Even more shocking to Elder Hai Sheng was that, as the blackpod imps charged, their screams merged together into a shocking sound that caused the materialized black heart to begin to tremble. Then, it started fading, and the black fog that covered the sea started to retract.

Most unbelievable of all was that the pitch-black face that had appeared after crushing the jade slip earlier… let out a cry of alarm!

At that point, the blackpod imps descended onto the black-colored heart, merging into it as if to possess it!

"Impossible!" exclaimed Elder Hai Sheng, astonished.

This was the most dangerous thing about the blackpod imps; as soon as they appeared, the first thing they did was select a target to possess. It was only because of Naruto 's Life Death Hexing that he had been able to subjugate them. Furthermore, he had brought them under control one at a time. If all eleven had come at him simultaneously, he would also have been forced to flee.

The black heart was shaking in struggle, and the black mist was roiling backward. In the blink of an eye, massive rumbling could be heard as the heart shattered. Elder Hai Sheng once again appeared in the open, letting out a miserable shriek which echoed out in all directions.

No blackpod imps were visible on his person. All eleven were inside of him, causing the pitch black face superimposed over his own to twist as if it were struggling.

"What are these things!?" he said, voice trembling with fear. Suddenly, his cultivation base changed, quickly phasing between nine extinguished soul lamps and his original five.

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent as he took advantage of the situation to close in. His right hand waved, materializing a divine ability, shoving Elder Hai Sheng back down into the sea of flames.

His unstable cultivation base made it difficult for Elder Hai Sheng to fight back against the power of the sea of flames. Also, because of the huge change to his cultivation base, flames wreathed his body, and his organs burned even more quickly.

"SCREWWWWW OOOOOOFFFFFFFFFFF!" Elder Hai Sheng roared madly. The sensation of imminent death was intense, and as he roared, his body grew larger. The scale on his forehead instantly spread out to cover him, and his two horns grew longer. In only a few breaths' worth of time, he had transformed into a Sea Dragon!

He was now a huge, 300-meter long Sea Dragon!

This was his true form!

He was a pitch-black Sea Dragon, and as soon as he appeared, he threw his head back and howled, using some unknown technique to cause his whole body to distort. Popping sounds could be heard as the blackpod imps were suddenly ejected out of him.

However… as his body grew larger, he became more exposed, and flames covered him, burning him. In the blink of an eye, many of his scales were melted, revealing bones underneath.

" Naruto , I'm gonna EAT YOU!" he roared. Enraged, his body twisted and his huge head shot madly toward Naruto . His eyes were crimson, and a foul wind blasted out as he opened his mouth wide to consume Naruto .

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever. His face was a bit pale, but as the dragon closed in on him, he took a deep breath, then clenched his fist… and punched!

One punch. Not the Life-Exterminating Fist, but rather… the SelfImmolation Fist!

A Devilish aura covered over all other auras as the punch shot forward. This was a punch that was willing to pay any price to succeed, as if this fist strike could put one on the path to being a Devil!

Colors flashed in the sky and the wind screamed. The sea walls of the death trap trembled. The attacking Sea Dragon shrank back, letting out a defiant roar as the punch landed!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

A massive, ear-splitting boom rang out. Sea Dragon Elder Hai Sheng let out a bloodcurdling scream. He ceased attacking and attempted to dive back down into the sea of flames. Naruto coughed up eight consecutive mouthfuls of blood, and his vision swam. He then bit down viciously on his tongue, forcing himself to regain clarity.

Terror shone in the Sea Dragon's eyes as he sank down into the sea of flames. He made no further attempts to flee, but instead sped downward toward the death trap sea wall located under water. Shockingly, he was willing to be hit with the backlash that would result from trying to break out.

Elder Hai Sheng had to escape, otherwise he would die!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Sea Dragon Elder Hai Sheng went mad. He battered the wall nine times before a huge hole appeared. His Sea Dragon body trembled as a massive backlash force slammed into him.

He was instantly covered in lacerations. Scales flew off in all directions, and his flesh was mangled. The backlash was intense, even leaving Naruto shocked.

In the blink of an eye, the Sea Dragon body was on the verge of shattering into pieces. Elder Hai Sheng let out a huge roar, and massive quantities of black mist began to pour out of him, which bore the brunt of the backlash. That was the power of the Soul Jade. After a moment, the backlash power faded away, and Elder Hai Sheng forced his way out into the Ninth Sea.

His Sea Dragon form was severely injured, and he was about to lose consciousness. He used all of the power he could muster to swim out into the Ninth Sea.

"Mother Ninth Sea, save me!" he implored as he sped along. He had been born in the Ninth Sea, and grown up there, so to him, the Ninth Sea was his mother!

Almost as soon as his voice rang out, nourishing power from the Ninth Sea poured into his body, healing and restoring him.

Naruto was not too far behind him, eyes flickering with killing intent. When he saw the Sea Dragon's body recovering, his gaze turned as sharp as daggers, and he let out a vicious cry:

"Ninth Sea, if you dare to save him, then I guarantee, when I achieve the

Dao, the Ninth Mountain will have NO SEA!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1069

Chapter 1069: The Ninth Sea is Enraged!

"What a joke!" said Elder Hai Sheng's true form, the huge Sea Dragon. It began to laugh uproariously as it recovered.

"The Ninth Sea is the Mother of the entire Demonic Cultivator Horde! You couldn't cause even a tiny portion of it to tremble. It's so incredible that not evenHebiTian would dare to say something as crazy as that.

"And you, a petty, insignificant cultivator, actually dare to threaten Mother Ninth Sea?

"When you achieve your Dao, the Ninth Mountain will have NO SEA?

"How arrogant! How ignorant! Who gave you the gall to say something like that!?" Sea Dragon Elder Hai Sheng laughed scornfully, as if he had just heard the most ridiculous joke in the world.

However, almost in the exact same moment that his voice rang out, the Ninth Sea suddenly began to churn. The sound of crashing waves rose up into the starry sky!

That instantly caused Elder Hai Sheng to stare in shock.

Naruto was not an ordinary cultivator. Although he might seem weak to many people, the truth was… to the Nine Mountains and the Nine

Seas, Naruto … was the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

From the moment he formally became a member of the League of Demon Sealers, and absorbed the drop of Paragon Nine Seals' blood, it ensured that when he achieved the Dao, he would become the Mountain and Sea Lord!

A status and position like that meant that whatever he said… could cause Heaven and Earth to shake, the Nine Mountains to tremble, and the Nine Seas to quaver!

The Ninth Sea was suddenly silent.

Suddenly, the massive restorative power pouring into Sea Dragon Elder Hai Sheng abruptly stopped. He trembled violently, and his eyes went wide with disbelief and profound astonishment.

Born and raised in the Ninth Sea, he had risen from being a sea beast into a Demonic cultivator, and could be considered a cherished child of the Ninth Sea. In fact, any Demonic cultivator could be called a child of the Ninth Sea!

When a cherished child of the Ninth Sea was injured, the Ninth Sea could send it restorative power. That was something all Demonic cultivators knew about, and was also why they considered the Ninth Sea to be their mother!

That was also why the Demonic Cultivator Horde could occupy such a prominent position within the Nine Seas God World. They were different from the ordinary cultivators. And right now… Mother Ninth Sea heard Naruto 's threat, and… ceased healing the Sea Dragon.

The profound meaning of such an action was mind-numbing, even suffocating, and revealed something that was shocking to the extreme.

"This is impossible….

"Who is he? Is this happening because he's a member of the Echelon? It must be because of that! That's why Mother Ninth Sea is forsaking me!" Elder Hai Sheng shivered as he came to his own conclusion on the matter. However, he was still not sure, and couldn't quite admit that such an answer was correct, or even made sense.

Without the restorative powers provided by the Ninth Sea, Elder Hai Sheng's Sea Dragon body ceased to recover. Blood flowed out, and his dilapidated form continued to flee in despair.

Naruto pursued, drawing closer and closer. Although he was also injured, his Eternal stratum was continuing to restore him, and gradually, his body was returning to its normal state!

His eyes flickered with killing intent, and he waved a finger to unleash the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. Elder Hai Sheng's Sea Dragon body trembled, and he lurched to a stop.

In that moment, Naruto closed in. To him, the Ancient Realm power of five extinguished Soul Lamps was definitely something he could contend with, considering he was in the Immortal Emperor Realm.

He extended his right hand, and his palm turned bright red. Suddenly, it didn't look like a palm, but a Blood Demon head, whose gaping maw lunged at the Sea Dragon.

"Mother, save me!" cried Elder Hai Shen, a sensation of imminent doom sweeping through his mind. He let out a miserable shriek as Naruto 's Blood Demon Grand Magic descended. It was in this moment that, all of a sudden, the Ninth Sea filled with a gale force wind, and huge waves kicked up. Once again, a gentle power flowed into the Sea Dragon from all directions.

Sea Dragon-form Hai Sheng, who had been hovering on the brink of death, suddenly felt his life force flourishing. Filled with joy at the power pouring into him, he shot off toward the horizon.

Naruto 's killing blow struck nothing but air.

Looking up slowly, his eyes were shot with blood as he cried: "NINTH SEA!"

The sound echoed out in all directions, causing the sea water to seethe violently.

Jubilant laughter rang out from the Sea Dragon's mouth. Not only had he not perished, his body was rapidly recovering. Mother Ninth Sea had not abandoned him!

"The Echelon is NOTHING. You can't kill me this time, Naruto , and there's nothing you can do about it!

"You can only watch as I go back to the sect. You just wait, Naruto … I swear that not only will I kill you, I'll also kill all of your friends!

"I know about that Elder Brother of yours named Might Guy, and your Junior Brother Li Fugui. Don't worry, I'll make sure they die slowly! I guarantee that they will regret ever being born in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

"And as for your old flame, well, HAHAHA! I know exactly how to deal with the poison, but I'm not going to tell you. That poison can only be expelled by someone in the Dao Realm, and even then, it would be very difficult. Brace yourself, Naruto . You're going to have to watch as she withers away and dies!" Sea Dragon Hai Sheng's roars of joy at having escaped from the grip of death rang out. Apparently, he was so happy that he forgot to even control himself.

The assistance provided by the Ninth Sea caused a sudden increase of speed that caused him to tumble through the air. Naruto smiled, a smile of fury and coldness.

"I want you dead, so you won't be going anywhere!" The will of the Ninth Sea was vast and boundless; however, because of the laws in place, it couldn't actually do anything to Naruto himself. However, if it was given a choice between Naruto and its own child, it would chose the latter!

To the Ninth Sea, although, it was not a situation of being given a choice… it was being directly provoked!

Although it was in awe of Naruto 's identity, it did not believe that Naruto himself was a threat!

The future was open to far too many possibilities.

As the Sea Dragon attempted to make its escape, Naruto understood everything. Then, a cold smile gleamed in his eyes, and the killing intent there seethed, not toward the Demonic cultivator… but toward the Ninth Sea!

He waved his hand, causing a Blood Demon head to materialize. In the blink of an eye, it split into 123 separate Blood Demon heads, which swirled around into a blood-colored globe. Then, Naruto looked at the fleeing Sea Dragon, and suddenly, the Lightning Cauldron appeared. The cauldron flickered, and Naruto vanished.

When he reappeared, he was in the Sea Dragon's former position. Without a moment's hesitation, he lifted his hand, within which appeared a long spear with a sharp bone spearhead, and a haft carved from the World Tree. As soon as the spear appeared, Naruto hurled it out in front of him. He imbued the spear with all of his strength, injuring himself in the process, and spitting up blood.

The spear whistled through the air, piercing the water, backed by all of Naruto 's Immortal Emperor will, and all of his killing intent. It moved with indescribable speed, instantly slashing through the water and tearing it apart!

Almost in the exact moment that the spear flew out, Sea Dragon Elder Hai Sheng appeared where Naruto had just been.

There he was, right in the middle of the Blood Demon spell formation that Naruto had just set up. Almost as soon as it appeared, the surrounding 123 Blood Demon heads roared and shot toward the Sea Dragon.

Everything happened so quickly that Elder Hai Sheng was stunned. As the Blood Demon heads pounced, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

"Mother, save me!"

As soon as the sound rang out, nourishing power flowed out from the Ninth Sea. However… even as the power fused into the Sea Dragon's body, the long spear arrived, piercing through the air.

The speed was impossible to describe. Elder Hai Sheng's eyes went wide as the spear slammed into his head and pierced all the way through, causing a fountain of blood to spray out. Too much force backed the blow, and the Sea Dragon's body was sent spinning. In that same moment, the Blood Demon heads landed on him and began to absorb him madly.

The Sea Dragon should have been dead already, but the restorative power of the Ninth Sea was boundless, and had kept the flame of his life force flickering. As of this moment, however, the Sea Dragon collapsed.

In that moment in which he was passing away into death, Naruto arrived. He slammed his hand onto the Sea Dragon's head, using his Soulsearch magic to rifle through about thirty percent of Hai Sheng's memories.

By the time that thirty percent was absorbed, Elder Hai Sheng was completely dead!

Simultaneously, a burst of rage rose up from the Ninth Sea, transforming into a massive power that caused everything in the sea to tremble explosively. The power then surged down toward Naruto as if to slaughter him.

"How dare you!" he said, snorting. He knew that the Ninth Sea could afford to ignore him and save the Sea Dragon, but it couldn't hurt him. After all, he was the likely future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

As his voice echoed out, the power surging down toward him suddenly stopped in place, blocked by some law. The rage of the Ninth Sea could only slowly dissipate.

The flame of the Sea Dragon's life force was extinguished. Its soul was shattered into pieces. Only its body remained behind, continuing to receive nourishment from the Ninth Sea. However, even that rapidly faded away. Faced with the onslaught of the 123 Blood Demon heads, it was transformed into ash that sprinkled down onto the surface of the water.

Then, the Blood Demon heads flew back to circulate around Naruto , delivering the Sea Dragon's life force to him. Although some of it helped Naruto recover, after circulating his cultivation base, he sent most of it into Sakura inside his bag of holding.

Having done these things, Naruto hovered there, looking coldly around at the Ninth Sea. His expression was icy, and he spoke no threatening words before turning and speeding back toward the Nine Seas God World.

However… the will of the Ninth Sea didn't know Naruto 's personality.

When he used words to make threats, it actually left leeway for leniency. When he said nothing… it indicated that there was a difference as incompatible as fire and water.

The matter was set. The day that Naruto achieved his Dao, the Mountain and Sea Realm would have him…. and no Ninth Sea. For all eternity!

"Guyiding Tri-Rain, I still have a promise to fulfill. The day that I achieve my Dao, I'll help you to become a sea….

"As of today, I've already picked a good location for you. You might be a bit small at the moment, but I'll help you grow bigger. Now… just wait… for me to achieve my Dao!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1070

Chapter 1070: Slaughtering a Path Through the Sect

Naruto 's eyes flashed with determination as he transformed into a beam of light that sped through the water. He had one goal in mind, and that was to reach the Nine Seas God World and find… Long Tianhai!

Of the people who had attacked Naruto , the two Demonic cultivator Elders had already been killed. Of the nine Sea Realm Demons, only their highest ranking member was left alive. He was the one who had personally kidnapped Sakura, which further intensified Naruto 's desire to kill him.

"Sakura has been afflicted with Underworld Dragon Poison, so getting some Sea Dragon heart-blood is vital to treating her!" That was something Naruto had gleaned from Elder Hai Sheng's memories.

It was a poison that required heart-blood from at least ten Sea Dragons to be able to dispel. The higher the cultivation base of said dragons, the more effective the antidote would be. Furthermore, Naruto had chosen not to seek out Sea Dragons that had not yet achieved the ability to take human form. His goal… was to get Demonic Cultivators from the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

Another thing that Naruto had learned from Elder Hai Sheng's memories was that Long Tianhai's true form was that of a Sea Dragon.

He shot back toward the Nine Seas God World at top speed, during which time his cultivation base continued to restore itself, and his wounds were healed. His Eternal stratum worked hard, and after the time it takes an incense stick to burn, he was back at his peak. Soon, a huge land mass appeared up ahead in the water.

It contained mountain ranges and even its own sky. It was… the Nine Seas God World!

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent as he pushed harder for more speed. He sped forward, nearing the main gate of the sect, and then stepping down onto the land of the Nine Seas God World.

As soon as he entered the sect, he saw three Demonic cultivators, who appeared to be waiting for him. As soon as they saw him, their faces involuntarily fell, revealing shock.

The fact that catching sight of Naruto didn't cause them to radiate killing intent, but rather shock, indicated only one thing….

They knew that Naruto had been set up to die on the outside!

The three Demonic cultivators' faces fell, and they started to back up.

However, even in the moment that their faces flickered with surprise, Naruto 's eyes flashed with killing intent. Considering that they only had Immortal Realm cultivation bases, to Naruto , they were already dead.

Naruto had already killed plenty of people on this day, and had experienced plenty of potentially deadly situations. His killing intent was now beyond abundant. He had no intentions of calming the situation down. He wanted people dead, and he wanted a big scene!

He wanted a slaughter of epic proportions, and a scene that caused Heaven and Earth to crumble!

He barrelled forward, waving his hand violently, causing the pressure of the Immortal Emperor to sweep out, along with a tempestuous wind. The three Demonic cultivators' faces flickered, and they tried to flee with all their power. Unfortunately for them, however, they were pinned down by the sweeping pressure.

Miserable shrieks rang out as the wind shredded them to pieces, causing the windstorm to rain blood.

In the moment that the three died, there were eight ordinary cultivators off in the distance who saw what happened. Their faces filled with shock as they saw that the killer was actually Naruto . They gasped and exchanged glances.

"That's Naruto !"

"Why is he killing people? Didn't he and the Demonic Cultivator Horde agree to a ceasefire already?!"

"Something big must have happened. He just killed three Demonic cultivators! There's no way the Demonic Cultivator Horde will let this stand!" Although they were shocked, they didn't make any attempt to interfere with Naruto . Were he anyone else, they would have done so, and would also have notified their superiors in the sect. But considering it was Naruto , they instantly hesitated.

The tempest swirled, and blood rained out of the sky. As for Naruto , he walked out of the bloody storm and headed straight forward… following the tug of the Karma Thread directly toward Long Tianhai's Immortal's cave.

It only took a moment for his divine sense to spread out and lock down the position of the Immortal's cave. Also, he was able to sense… Long Tianhai's aura.

He transformed into a prismatic streak of light that shot forward like lightning. Any Demonic cultivators that crossed his path were instantly cut down.

It only took a short time for the entire Nine Seas God World to be thrown into an uproar. Numerous cultivators witnessed Naruto slaughtering Demonic cultivators, leading to widespread shock.

His feud had escalated to the point where he figured he might as well resolve the issue with killing. Since they looked at him with hatred, he would just kill them without any further considerations!

Booms echoed out, and Naruto 's killing intent soared. Strangely, however, the strongest Demonic cultivators he met were merely in the Ancient Realm, with two or three extinguished Soul Lamps at that. No one stronger appeared, and in fact, it was mostly Immortal Realm Demonic cultivators who showed their faces.

Naruto 's eyes flashed, and he didn't hesitate at all. The Demonic cultivators he came across looked at him with resentment and hostility, and he killed them all.

He knew that if he didn't kill them, they would try to kill him as soon as they had a chance!

If it becomes impossible to resolve things with reason, then might makes right!

Naruto 's path of slaughter was soaked in blood and filled with bloodcurdling screams. He was like a deity of death as he drew ever closer to Long Tianhai in his Immortal's cave!

From the moment Naruto had first caught sight of Long Tianhai outside of the main gate, to the slaughter of Seajacket Island, to the deadly duel with Elder Hai Sheng, to the massacre going on now within the Nine Seas God World…

Only about six hours had passed!

Six hours earlier….

Deep within the central mountains of the Nine Seas God World was a mighty mountain peak, atop which sat an ancient temple.

Two statues could be seen at the front of the temple, both of which held huge swords in their hands. From afar, they looked like protectors of the entire God World.

Granny Nine, Godmaster and Ling Yunzi sat cross-legged inside the temple, staring coldly at the four other Dao Realm experts who sat across from them. Two were old men who were radiating their Essence auras, and had scales on their foreheads. They were the Dao Realm Patriarchs from the Demonic Cultivator Horde. As for the other two, one was a man, the other a woman. Both had wry, apologetic smiles on their faces.

"We're all members of the same sect," the woman said softly. "We shouldn't involve ourselves in the matters of the Junior generation. I hope the three of you can understand that. Why don't we all discuss the Dao to pass the time? We don't often get opportunities to get together like this." Smiling, her eyes flickered as she waved her hand, causing a screen to appear in front of them. Depicted on that screen was an image… of Naruto emerging from his Immortal's cave.

Ling Yunzi snorted coldly, but didn't say anything. He understood that right now, it was not only impossible for the three of them to do anything, all of the Ancient Realm experts in the entire sect had also been prevented from interfering.

That seemed to include not just their side, but also the cultivators from the other factions. Unfortunately… the combined power of the other three factions exceeded that of Ling Yunzi, Granny Nine, and Godmaster. The other factions also controlled slightly more Ancient Realm cultivators than they did.

However, Ling Yunzi wasn't very worried. He had already secretly warned Naruto to return to the sect as soon as he set foot outside, and told him that he would handle any fallout.

However, it was at that point that the screen flickered with an image of Long Tianhai facing off with Naruto . Everyone in the temple hall could see as the two of them started talking.

Then they saw Sakura, and Ling Yunzi's face flickered. Granny Nine and Godmaster had similar reactions. Granny Nine's face actually darkened with anger, and she shot to her feet. Immediately, the energy of the other four Dao Realm experts surged.

"Granny Nine, we have an agreement, don't we?" said one of the Dao Realm Demonic cultivators, an old man with bright red hair. "Could it be that you're actually going to break your word?

"We Dao Realm experts already promised not to interfere in the vast enmity that exists between Naruto and the Demonic Cultivator Horde. Most of the Ancient Realm cultivators have also been locked down. Granny Nine, if you want to start a war, then so be it!"

"Sit tight!" Godmaster said. Granny Nine paused, and then slowly sat back down.

The images continued to play out on the screen. Soon, Naruto and Long Tianhai had their scuffle. When Naruto 's energy rose up shockingly, various expressions of surprise could be seen on the faces of the Dao Realm experts.

Next was the slaughter of the sea beasts, and the boiling of the Ninth Sea, which caused frowns to appear on the faces of the Demonic cultivators. Then Naruto arrived at the island, where he crushed his opponents and cast off the pressure of the Ninth Sea. With nine steps, he slaughtered eight Sea Realm Demons, and drained the other Ancient Realm Demonic cultivator dry.

The island was destroyed in shocking fashion, a scene which caused the Demonic Dao Realm experts' faces to become even more unsightly. Conversely, Ling Yunzi and Granny Nine breathed sighs of relief.

It was at that point that Elder Hai Sheng's death trap appeared, and all of a sudden, none of them could see what was happening. Granny Nine's heart began to pound, and her face flickered. Ling Yunzi couldn't hold back any longer, and he stood up.

It was at this point that one of the human Dao Realm experts, the man, laughed and moved to intercept him.

"Fellow Daoist Ling Yunzi," he said. "I've experienced some enlightenment recently regarding Time magic. Come, come. Let's meditate and appreciate it together." With that, he raised his hand, causing a resplendent beam of light to fly out that flickered with an aura of Time.

"Get the hell out of my way!" said Ling Yunzi, his eyes shining with killing intent.

The man's face darkened, and he said, "Fellow Daoist Ling Yunzi, have you forgotten our agreement? Besides, are you really going to be so insulting as to refuse to discuss the Dao with me?"

"Sit!" Godmaster said, his eyes shining with profundity.

Ling Yunzi gritted his teeth and slowly sat back down, glaring at the screen. Not much more time passed before the death trap was broken. A Sea Dragon emerged, wailing miserably, followed by a murderous Naruto !

Instantly, the faces of the two Demonic Dao Realm cultivators fell. Then they saw Elder Hai Sheng die, and Naruto threaten the Ninth Sea.

Finally, Naruto sped back, entered the Nine Seas God World, and began to slaughter the Demonic Cultivator Horde!

Instantly, the two Demonic Dao Realm cultivators rose to their feet. But then, Ling Yunzi stood, laughing as he blocked their path.

"We're all members of the same sect," he said with smile. "We shouldn't involve ourselves in the matters of the Junior generation. I hope the three of you can understand that. Why don't we all discuss the Dao to pass the time? We don't get opportunities to get together like this very often."

"Get the hell out of my way!" said the red-haired Demonic cultivator, his voice echoing like thunder. He was just about to charge past, when Ling Yunzi snorted coldly.

"We have an agreement, don't we?" he said. "Could it be that you're actually going to break your word?"

The faces of the two Demonic Dao Realm experts flickered.

It was at this point that Godmaster suddenly moved noiselessly to appear next to Ling Yunzi. He looked darkly at the two Demonic Dao Realm experts and coldly said, " Naruto is connected by destiny to the Nine Seas God World! You can't blame me for killing you if you step out of that door!"

Off to the side, the two human Dao Realm experts were just about to walk out when Granny Nine appeared in front of them, smiling.

"Fellow Daoists, I've experienced some enlightenment recently regarding water magic. Come, come. Let's meditate and appreciate it together." Granny Nine waved her hand, causing a drop of water to fly out. It did not glitter resplendently, and was clearly just ordinary water. Obviously Granny Nine wasn't interested in even bothering with pretenses.

The two human Dao Realm experts looked extremely irritated, and were about to say something in response when Granny Nine's eyes suddenly flashed dangerously.

"Have you two forgotten our agreement? Besides, are you really going to be so insulting as to refuse to discuss the Dao with me?"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1071

Chapter 1071: Living Shield!

Naruto sped through the Nine Seas God World. He didn't lift a finger against the human cultivators, but he massacred the Demonic cultivators. Although he didn't necessarily recognize each and every one of them, overall, he knew who they were.

After all, in the short time he had been in the Nine Seas God World, every time he saw Demonic cultivators, they looked back at him with roiling killing intent. To him, it seemed as if the Demonic cultivators would instantly try to kill him if given the chance.

That was actually true. If it wasn't for Ling Yunzi and the rest of his faction exerting pressure on the Demonic Cultivator Horde, any of its members would try to kill Naruto the instant they saw him!

It was a type of enmity that, in truth… could not be deemed as being in the wrong. And as for Naruto 's massacre of them in return… that was also impossible to judge as either correct or incorrect.

The crux of the matter was that they had different perspectives. Naruto knew that, and as such, he had originally chosen to avoid open conflict, even if they momentarily bared their Namikaze s at him. That was all before they violated the biggest taboo in the world of cultivation.

Furthermore, he had spent most of his time in his Immortal's cave, and any time he had emerged, he had simply ignored the murderous glares of the Demonic cultivators. He had done nothing to provoke them, and had actually felt a bit sorry about what had caused the whole situation. He even felt a bit irritated that the whole situation was beyond his control.

After all, what had happened back in the Milky Way Sea was fundamentally caused by the Resurrection Lily.

However, holding back had resulted in placing Sakura at death's door, and had also put Might Guy and Fatty in a position to be similarly harmed. That was something Naruto could not ignore!

Since he couldn't ignore it, then decided that he might as well attack with deadly force!

Since he decided to kill… then he would make a shocking display. He would turn the matter into a bloody lesson that would be firmly imprinted on the hearts of the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

Before, he had used words to send a clear message to them: Don't provoke me!

Now, he would use actions to tell them: Don't provoke me!

DIE!

He waved his hand, and the long bone-tip spear appeared. With a sweeping motion, he caused a handful of incoming Demonic cultivators to explode into bits. They were killed in body and spirit, transformed into a cloud of blood. The reek of blood began to spread about as Naruto slaughtered his way forward like a deity of death!

Numerous human cultivators kept their distance, watching in shock, but doing nothing to interfere or to try to stop Naruto .

Currently, no Ancient Realm cultivators with five or more extinguished Soul Lamps were showing their faces in the Nine Seas God World.

Virtually all of the Demonic cultivators Naruto ran into were in the Immortal Realm. Only a few Ancient Realm opponents appeared, all of whom had only two or three extinguished Soul Lamps.

To Naruto , these people were nothing more than… dry weeds to be crushed underfoot!

He waved his hand, causing the Blood Demon Grand Magic to appear. Rumbling could be heard as 123 Blood Demon heads formed. They transformed into a blood-red tempest that spread out in all directions.

Miserable shrieks and cries of astonishment echoed out into the air.

As he proceeded forward, nine beams of golden light suddenly closed in on him. They were all Ancient Realm Demonic cultivators with two or three extinguished Soul Lamps, arranged in a spell formation.

Naruto 's eyes glittered when he noticed that one of the nine attacking Demonic cultivators was a Sea Dragon. With a cold snort, he waved his finger, causing hundreds of thousands of mountains to rumble down. Everything shook, and a huge wind kicked up as the nine Demonic cultivators were crushed, sending blood spurting out in all directions.

Their faces filled with astonishment as Naruto suddenly utilized the Star Plucking Magic.

The Sea Dragon Demonic Cultivator suddenly flew through the air to be snatched by Naruto , who then clenched his hand viciously, causing the Demonic cultivator to revert to its true form, a roaring 300 meter Sea Dragon. Then, all of the onlookers looked on as Naruto efficiently slashed his hand into the Sea Dragon's chest.

A miserable scream could be heard from the Sea Dragon. Naruto 's expression was placid as he shoved his hand deeper in and grabbed onto the Sea Dragon's heart. Then he clenched his hand down viciously, causing the heart to explode. Heart-blood fused with the Sea Dragon's soul and life force, transforming into a drop of white blood!

Then Naruto pulled his hand back out and put the drop of blood into his bag of holding.

"One down!"

When the crowds saw this happening, and the intense murderous aura that surged up from Naruto , the viciousness and coldness caused their minds to spin.

It was at this point that Naruto extended his hand to reveal the Lightning Cauldron. Electricity danced as he vanished. Almost in the same moment, a pillar of light slammed down toward the position he had just occupied.

A Demonic cultivator then appeared in that same spot. Before it could even react, it was completely vaporized by the beam of light.

Naruto reappeared off in the distance, eyes flickering as he looked around at several hundred Demonic cultivators who had flown together to form a huge spell formation. Shockingly, their combined forms created a 3,000-meter long sea beast, a gigantic sea crab!

The sea crab spell formation looked extremely strange. In addition to its two huge pincers, there were eight Sea Dragons growing out of its illusory carapace. All of them were roaring at Naruto , causing beams of magical light to fly out toward him.

Naruto blinked nine times in a row, causing his view of the world to change. He could now clearly see that of the more than 1,000 Demonic cultivators that made up the sea crab spell formation, there were eight that made up the nucleus. Those eight were all Sea Dragon cultivators.

"If I add those in, I'll only be short one Long Tianhai!" Killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes.

The sea crab roared, and two beams of light flew out of its pincers, piercing down into the ground and then erupting out from below his feet.

Naruto gave a cold harrumph. He was now fairly close to Long Tianhai's Immortal's cave. Eyeing the sea crab for a moment, he suddenly began to switch locations with random Demonic cultivators, causing him to get closer and closer.

As he closed in, his cultivation base surged higher. His goal was to reach the giant sea crab and then strike like lightning, destroying it in one shot.

He picked up speed, and his momentum built up, but just when he was about to reach the sea crab, a bellowing roar could be heard in front of him, and a black beam of light suddenly appeared. It was like a tornado spinning toward him, which then transformed into a burly man. He looked exactly like a cultivator, except that… he had a huge turtle shell on his back! The turtle shell looked crystalline, and glittered resplendently, making the burly man look impressively powerful.

"DIE!" he roared. Surprisingly, the man did not emanate any cultivation base fluctuations. However, when he struck out with his fist, it contained Heaven-shaking, Earth shattering power.

"The Life-Extermination Fist!" thought Naruto , his eyes widening as he recognized the fist strike.

"A body cultivator!"

As it turned out, the burly man… was a body cultivator. He was a

Demonic cultivator, and yet, he did not cultivate the path to Immortal Ascension. Instead… he pursued fleshly body Immortal Seeking. His name was also on the ninth golden gate stone stele, and although he wasn't ranked as high as Naruto , he was still in the top 10.

At the same time that he attacked with astonishing power, all of a sudden, a huge wave appeared off in the distance, surging toward Naruto along with a cold snort which emanated from within.

The voice belonged to a woman, and was filled with power that could split metal and shatter stone. Even more shocking was that the snort itself was filled with an unbelievably powerful divine sense that sent intense pain stabbing into Naruto 's brain. His entire body was shaken, and he stopped in place.

The burly Demonic cultivator took advantage of that moment to slam his fist into Naruto , who let out a muffled grunt as he fell back seven or eight paces.

However, the burly Demonic cultivator's face fell, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he staggered backward a few dozen steps. He was completely astonished to find that his blow had actually ended up injuring himself!

The backlash power that came from Naruto caused the burly man's scalp to go numb.

Naruto slowly looked up, eyes cold as he sized up the incoming wave. His eyes were immediately drawn to a woman sitting cross-legged inside of it. She wore a blue dress, and was incredibly beautiful, although cold, with a murderous aura.

Naruto was unfamiliar with this woman.

All of a sudden, another cold voice rang out. Fan Dong'er appeared, inky hair swirling around her as she planted herself directly in the path of the wave.

"Sea Daughter Bei Yu, I shall be your opponent this day!"

The woman within the wave was none other than… the Holy Daughter of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, the equally famous… Sea Daughter Bei Yu! 1

Bei Yu frowned as Fan Dong'er appeared in front of her. The two women faced off in midair for a moment and then began to fight. Naruto looked away from them, and as he did, the burly body cultivator up ahead bellowed,

The burly man clenched his fists and declared, "You're also a body cultivator! Do you have the guts to fight me with no magical techniques? Let's have a fleshly body duel!"

In response to the burly body cultivator's challenge, Naruto snorted coldly and began to stride forward, his Chakra and blood power rocketing up.

At the same time, the burly man roared and began to run forward, his own Chakra and blood surging. As they closed in on each other, a crafty gleam suddenly appeared in Naruto 's eyes. Just when they were about to slam into each other, his fist suddenly transformed into an incantation gesture, and the Paragon Bridge appeared to meet the burly man's Life-Extermination Fist.

At the same time, the burly man's left hand began to glow with a flickering light, which transformed into a Ghost Face. However, because of Naruto 's quick switch to summon the Paragon Bridge and its intense pressure, the Ghost Face gave a shriek and vanished.

That Ghost Face was an attack that could be used to limit the Chakra and blood of a body cultivator, and was the body cultivator's trump card. He had never imagined that Naruto would actually rely on a magical technique and not his fleshly body!

The Life-Extermination Fist of the old man in the ninth golden gate stone stele could easily rock the Paragon Bridge. However, this Demonic body cultivator was not nearly as qualified. Rumbling could be heard, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His fist exploded, and he tumbled backward shrieking. At the same time, Naruto didn't slow down for a moment, but rather, shot after him.

"Despicable!" raged the burly man. "You're a body cultivator, but you don't have the guts to fight me with body cultivation!?"

"You think that I won't use magical techniques just because you say so, smart-ass? Besides, you tried to pull a fast one too!" Naruto 's eyes flickered icily as his right hand shot out and performed an incantation gesture, then transformed into a fist. The fist struck out like lightning toward the man's chest. In the moment before it struck, it transformed again, this time into a palm, which smashed into the man's chest and grabbed him. Blood sprayed out of the man's mouth as Naruto then lifted him directly up in front of him.

Shockingly, he was using the burly man as a shield with which to charge the giant sea crab!

—-

Note from Deathblade: The following note is from Er Gen. P.S. he lives in Mudangjiang prefecture in Heilongjiang province.

Note from Er Gen: I'm so depressed today. My wife and daughter went traveling in Harbin and left me home all alone. What to do…? What a headache! Are there any Fellow Daoists in Mudanjiang who want to go get a bite to eat?

Bei Yu's name in Chinese is 贝玉 bèi yù. Bei means "shell". Yu means

"jade" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1072

Chapter 1072: The Disgrace of the Body Cultivation World!

The burly Demonic cultivator was virtually scared witless. After having been captured by Naruto , he was somehow rendered completely powerless, and then placed firmly in front of Naruto as he charged the gigantic sea crab.

Without even thinking about it, the man began to curse: "Have you no face at all!? You're the disgrace of the body cultivation world! You're shameless!"

Naruto ignored him completely, and in fact began to charge forward even faster. The eight Sea Dragons growing out of the sea crab's back roared as they unleashed countless magical techniques. However, all he had to do in response was wave the burly Demonic cultivator, using him as a shield to block all of the magical techniques.

Miserable shrieks could be heard. The burly man trembled, and his back was already lacerated and bleeding. He stared at Naruto , terrified, and continued to curse:

"You're gonna die a horrible death! Dammit! There's nobody more shameless than you!

"Fudge! What did I ever do to you, huh? I declared a fair and open duel with you and then you tried to pull a fast one on me! That wasn't a magical technique that I used, it was a reminder to you that it's improper for us body cultivators to use magic!"

It was at that point that Naruto shifted the burly Demonic cultivator's position to intercept a beam of light that then slammed into the man's back. He let out a miserable shriek, and a tremor ran through him as blood spurted out from wounds all over his body.

"I beg of you! Release me! I really can't handle this…." the burly man wailed. The fact that this was the first Demonic cultivator he had come across that immediately resorted to begging caused Naruto to stare in shock.

"Request denied," Naruto replied, shaking his head. He simply wasn't willing to part with such an excellent living shield. Tightening his grip on the burly man, he charged forward. As he closed in on the sea crab, divine abilities and magical techniques glittered in the form of numerous pillars of light that then merged together in a vicious attack.

Instantly, the entire battlefield was filled with the miserable cries of the burly Demonic cultivator. He had never experienced such intolerable pain. The sense of grave crisis that filled him left him convinced that if things kept going on this way, he would be killed.

"Please, I beg you, don't be like this! Look, we're both body cultivators, obviously we're connected by destiny! Let me go, okay!? I guarantee that I'll leave immediately. I promise…." As the body cultivator spoke, his voice grew weaker and weaker. The flame of his life force was clearly growing dim, as if he were about to die.

Naruto stared in shock yet again. He was sure that the man couldn't possibly be this weak. Although he might be heading toward death, he was still quite a bit away. In fact, he was far enough away from dying that Naruto was fairly certain he would hold out until he could reach the sea crab.

His body flickered as he dodged a magical technique, resulting in him getting slightly closer to the burly Demonic cultivator. Suddenly, the burly man lifted his head up, opened his mouth wide, and chomped out viciously toward Naruto 's neck.

Naruto twisted his hand, and the burly man screamed as Naruto twisted his neck to the point of breaking. A loud snapping sound could be heard as the man's teeth chomped down onto thin air. Naruto 's eyes gleamed coldly as he swung the man around to absorb another round of magical techniques, before finally appearing in front of the sea crab. Then, he brandished the burly man like a weapon, using him to physically strike the sea crab.

A boom could be heard, and the sea crab shuddered. The burly Demonic cultivator screamed. In his mind, his body was on the verge of collapsing, and his soul was about to be shattered.

"I can't handle it!" the man blurted out. "I implore you, I… I can even help you fight! Just give me some medicinal pills to recover, and then I can use my powerful frame to block even more magical techniques for you!"

Even as the words left his mouth, Naruto swung him again, slamming him into the sea crab. Boundless light shone off of the crab as countless divine abilities were unleashed. Naruto immediately lifted the burly man overhead to block them.

Simultaneously, one of the sea crab's pincers whistled down in attack. Naruto just managed to avoid it, when the other pincer shot toward him.

Before Naruto could do anything, the burly body cultivator screamed miserably. He seemed to be more nervous than Naruto about everything that was happening.

"NO!" He quickly bit his tongue and spit out some blood, which transformed into a blood shield that looked very much like the crystalline shell on his back. At the same time, the shell on his back expanded, covering his entire body.

Just as he finished doing these things, Naruto finished swinging him around to defend against the second pincer attack, which snapped down onto the burly man.

A boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of the burly man's mouth. He screamed, but it was weaker than before, almost as if he didn't have the breath to cry out.

"Save me…" he wept, "is there anyone… who can save me…? I… I'm still worth something…."

As soon as he heard the words, Naruto realized that they made sense. The burly man hadn't outlived his usefulness. He quickly waved his hand, causing several medicinal pills to fly out and enter the burly man's mouth. As soon as they melted, the man's body quivered.

In that moment in which hope shone in his heart, Naruto took a deep breath and then summoned all of the boundless Chakra and blood power he could summon. A huge wind kicked up as massive power rose up inside of him.

The burly Demonic cultivator started in shock, and then started screaming as Naruto lifted him high into the air. Then, Naruto used all the power he could muster to fling the burly man viciously toward the sea crab!

" Naruto , you Heaven-damned bastard! You're shameless! You're the disgrace of the body cultivation world! You deserve a horrible death!" The burly man screamed as he turned into a shooting star. The power of his own body combined with Naruto 's power made him look like a long spear as he shot through the air and slammed into the sea crab.

If that were all there were to it, it probably wouldn't have counted as Naruto being very shameless. But next, Naruto shot along behind the burly man, hiding behind him as they headed toward the sea crab.

In the blink of an eye, the man was directly in front of the crab's head.

Glittering light shone, as if there were a shield in place, and yet it shattered, and the burly man pierced into the sea crab's body.

The spell formation that made up the sea crab shook as if it were destabilizing. Furthermore, Naruto followed the man as he stabbed into the sea crab. Electricity crackled around Naruto as he began switching places with and slaughtering the Demonic cultivators around him.

Cries of panic rang out from inside the sea crab. In the space of only about ten breaths, booms rang out, and the gigantic sea crab was more than half destroyed. Then, it exploded.

Hundreds of Demonic cultivators flew out, killing intent raging. They didn't retreat, but instead, charged Naruto . Naruto 's eyes flickered coldly, and he gave a cold snort as he waved his hand, causing Blood Demon heads to materialize and start slaughtering the Demonic cultivators.

Booms rang out, and blood rained down out of the sky.

Every time Naruto switched positions with the Lightning Cauldron, more Demonic cultivators would die. Their miserable shrieks of death gradually blended together into a cacophony that caused each and every one of the Demonic cultivators to begin trembling, no matter how enraged they were.

The eight Sea Dragon Demonic cultivators were the main targets in this assault. He managed to get his hands on one, then two, then three… He was like a deity of slaughter, and anyone who faced him was smashed as easily as rotting wood.

Finally, his right hand snaked out to latch onto the seventh Sea Dragon. He ripped its chest open and crushed its heart, then turned and looked over at the burly Demonic cultivator.

The man was severely injured, but he looked as maddened as ever. His eyes seemed to lack any fear of death, as if it didn't matter how powerful the opponent he faced was, he would still want to fight. Even if his body was crushed into a pulp, he would still fight!

"Kill him! We Demonic cultivators can be beheaded, and we can give up our lives, but we must kill him!

"Kill him! Brothers, rise up! Kill this man!"

His enraged roaring rose up above the other shouts echoing out from among the crowds of Demonic cultivators as he ran along. He seemed to be on the verge of attacking Naruto , who snorted coldly and prepared to counterattack, but then suddenly gaped.

It was not very often that Naruto was shocked into motionlessness on the battlefield. However, as of this moment, he really was dumbfounded, and almost couldn't believe his eyes as he stared at the burly body cultivator.

The man continued to scream threats about being unafraid of death, and yet… he was actually not charging into battle. Instead, he was backing up…. Although he looked like he was running forward and he cried out loudly to attack, he actually started retreating at top speed….

It was something that, if you didn't look for closely, you wouldn't even notice….

A strange expression appeared on Naruto 's face. This shameless fellow was a character that, based on Naruto 's experiences, was on the same level as the parrot and meat jelly.

He gave a meaningful look to the burly man, then looked away and waved his hand to summon hundreds of thousands of mountains. The sun and moon also appeared, exploding out with massive attacking power, killing anything they touched.

At long last, the Demonic cultivators started to show fear.

It was hard to say which among their trembling number was the first to flee. However, in almost a single moment, all of the Demonic cultivators dispersed in chaotic flight. The burly Demonic cultivator was among them. Although he continued to cry out furiously, he was actually running away faster than anyone else.

The expressions on the faces of the Demonic cultivators were no longer that of hatred, but rather, terror and despair.

"Patriarch, save me!"

"Where are you, Patriarch! Where are the Ancient Realm Elders!?"

"The Demonic Cultivator Horde is facing catastrophe!"

"Why!? Why are we being slaughtered inside of our own sect!? Oh

Patriarch, where are you!?"

The voices rang out, filled with grief and sorrow. The Demonic cultivators off in the distance were trembling, and didn't dare to get any closer. The ground was awash with blood and gore.

It was the blood of Demonic cultivators, representing their souls, and their hopelessness.

Almost as soon as the cries began to ring out, the final Sea Dragon could be seen speeding along among the hundreds of other Demonic cultivators.

"Dammit, this Naruto has something against us Sea Dragons!" The fate of all the other Sea Dragons left him terrified and trembling as he fled. However, Naruto quickly teleported to his side, and then reached out. A bloody glow could be seen, and the Sea Dragon cultivator screamed as his body was ripped open. His heart flew out and was crushed by Naruto . When the white blood appeared, he packed it away, then turned and looked down toward three mountains which could be seen down below.

"Long Tianhai, are you gonna come out? Or am I gonna have to tear that mountain open to get you!?" When he spoke, his voice echoed like thunder.

The center mountain down below had an Immortal's cave, within which, Long Tianhai sat trembling, terrified out of his mind.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1073

Chapter 1073 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1073: Allheaven Immortal!

As Naruto 's words rang out, he advanced toward the middle mountain peak. In the blink of an eye, he was upon it, and yet, the glittering light of a shield suddenly sprang up to block his way.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he clenched his hand into a fist and punched the shield, causing it to ripple.

In that exact moment, Long Tianhai sat in his Immortal's cave, a jade slip clutched in his hand. From the moment Naruto had begun to slaughter his way through the sect, he had been transmitting messages into the jade slip.

"Patriarch, where are you!?"

Unfortunately, there was no response at all from the jade slip.

Naruto was killing Demonic cultivators left and right. He destroyed the sea crab spell formation, causing blood to rain out of the sky, and terrifying the surrounding Demonic cultivators to the point where they wouldn't even get close to him. As for Long Tianhai, he had fallen into a state of despair.

He looked up at Naruto outside of his Immortal's cave, and his bloodshot eyes gleamed with madness. Finally, he gritted his teeth and crushed the jade slip.

"Wanna kill me? It's not gonna be that easy!" A flame of madness flickered in Long Tianhai's eyes. He was a cautious person by nature, and was by no means unprepared. During his fight with Naruto outside of the sect's gate, he had sensed how terrifying Naruto was, and had instantly begun to make last-minute preparations, just in case.

However, Naruto had shown up too soon. Everything happened in a matter of hours, which was too short of a time to complete all of his preparations. As of now, he would just have to risk using what he had on hand.

" Naruto , even if I, Long Tianhai, end up dying, well… I'll take you out with me!" With that, he extended both hands and pushed them down onto the ground. Immediately, the entire Immortal's cave shone with brilliant light, which swirled around and covered the entire mountain.

The light spread out from the central mountain to cover the other two mountain peaks as well. Next, the other two mountains began to tremble violently, and then suddenly collapsed. Countless rocks and dirt fell down, and a cloud of dust spread out as two huge Stone Golems emerged.

They roared loudly as they charged toward Naruto to block his way.

Astonishing ripples spread out from the enormous Stone Golems; shockingly, they were similar to Ancient Realm cultivators with three extinguished Soul Lamps.

In the blink of an eye, the two gigantic Stone Golems had clenched their hands into fists and punched out toward Naruto , causing a huge wind to spring up. Up in midair, Naruto let out a cold snort, then performed an incantation gesture, causing a tempest to spring forth from his hand. He waved a finger, and the tempest rapidly grew to a size of 300 meters, and then shot toward the Stone Golems.

When they slammed together, a boom rang out. The windstorm vanished, and the two Stone Golems shuddered and then collapsed, sending countless chunks of rock tumbling to the ground.

However, almost as soon as the Stone Golems collapsed, the rocks flew back up and reshaped into their original form. This time, however, their cultivation bases were not that of three extinguished soul lamps, but rather, five!

Naruto 's eyes flickered, then he pinched his fingers together in front of him. All of the light in the area surged together in the palm of his hand, where it formed into the shocking image of a sun. The sun floated above his hand, sucking in all the other light within the Nine Seas God World, causing the air around Naruto to twist and distort.

His cultivation base rocketed up, and his 123 Immortal meridians merged together. 33 Heavens appeared, and at the same time, a violet moon materialized next to the sun.

The sun and moon began to orbit each other as the Ninth Mountain appeared. The scene was completely dazzling as Naruto waved his hand, causing the sun and the moon to slam into each other and explode in a massive attack that swept out in all directions.

Rumbling could be heard, along with cracking sounds from the Stone

Golems. Naruto strode forward, and the bone-tip spear appeared in his hands. He flung it out violently, causing it to fly through the air in a beam of light. It stabbed through both Stone Golems, causing them to tremble violently and then explode. At the same time, the spear stabbed into the shield surrounding the central mountain.

The shield distorted as if were about to fall apart.

Inside the Immortal's cave, Long Tianhai coughed up blood, and his body withered slightly. He then let out a miserable shriek as his body transformed into a 300-meter Sea Dragon, pitch black like a Black Dragon!

Especially noteworthy was the shocking white scale that could be seen on his forehead. Apparently, that scale indicated that he had a very high position, even among the Sea Dragon Horde.

He had to pay a heavy price of life force to materialize his true form!

"God World Grand Spell Formation! All plants and vegetation, all mountains and stones, become the spirit of the spell formation! I sacrifice my dragon's blood to the spell formation! Activate!" Long Tianhai roared as massive amounts of life force drained out of him, and he visibly withered up. However, the collapsed Stone Golems outside of his Immortal's cave… suddenly formed back together and rose to their feet.

Now… the aura of seven or eight extinguished Soul Lamps erupted out of them.

Naruto 's eyes widened. He was aware that Long Tianhai was cautious by nature, but he had never imagined that he would be this well prepared. Obviously, he had set up this spell formation in advance, just in case Naruto ended up coming here!

"So, he's borrowing the power of the Nine Seas God World's protective grand spell formation…?" He looked down thoughtfully at the two Stone Golems, and could tell that they were somehow linked to the Nine Seas God World.

"However, he can't sustain them for very long. At the most… the time it takes half an incense stick to burn!" He backed up, and was about to make his way off into the distance, when all of a sudden, his mind trembled.

Ling Yunzi's voice suddenly spoke into his ear.

"If you want to kill him, you'd better hurry up. We can't delay them any longer."

At the same time that the voice spoke into his ear, an enraged roar could be heard that caused everything to shake. The sound of it caused everyone to tremble; this was clearly… the voice of a Dao Realm expert.

The crowd instantly responded.

"The Patriarch!"

"The Patriarch is coming!"

Back in the Immortal's cave, Long Tianhai's eyes shone with wild joy as he sensed that the voice behind the roar was none other than the Dao Realm Patriarch of the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

It was a critical moment. Naruto 's eyes flickered with determination, and he took a deep breath. He could also tell that the roar came from none other than the Demonic Dao Realm Patriarch, who was currently speeding toward this very location. Although Ling Yunzi and the others had been able to delay him, unfortunately… Naruto wouldn't even have the time it takes for half an incense stick to burn to finish the fight.

He thought for a moment, then extended his hand, within which appeared a Nirvana Fruit.

"If that's how it is, then I have only one option," he said softly. He hadn't even resorted to using the Nirvana Fruit in his battle with Elder Hai Sheng. It wasn't that he didn't want to use it, rather, the power drain he would experience because of it would render him incapable of fighting after a relatively short period of time.

However, if the Demonic Cultivator Horde's Dao Realm expert was coming, then that meant that Ling Yunzi and the others would be too. That meant that right now was a good opportunity to use the Nirvana Fruit.

"Exactly how powerful… is an Allheaven Immortal?" He suddenly very much anticipated what was about to happen. Without another moment's hesitation, he quickly pushed the Nirvana Fruit down onto his forehead.

The first thing he experienced was intense pain. It exploded out into his body, and even though he was tough, he still couldn't help but throw his head back and howl. It was a hoarse howl that was accompanied by an explosive rise in cultivation base!

Rumbling filled the air, and everything shook. The wind screamed around Naruto , sweeping across everything, crushing everything down as a huge pressure began to weigh down on the Nine Seas God World!

Naruto trembled, and blood spurted out all over his body. His energy began to shoot upward, past the Immortal Emperor Realm and into another terrifying level.

It didn't stop, it just kept going higher and higher. He began to grow taller and bigger as both his fleshly body and his cultivation base rapidly grew more powerful!

Considering he didn't know how long he could maintain this state, he didn't wait for the growth to complete. He advanced, taking a single step that placed him in front of one of the Stone Golems. The Stone Golem roared and punched toward him, but all Naruto did was raise his hand and tap it.

That single finger motion caused a huge boom to echo out as the fist suddenly exploded. A moment later, the Stone Golem shattered into pieces and exploded as well.

There was more to it than that, though. Naruto 's simple finger attack seemed to erupt with a unique power that covered over the rubble of the Stone Golem, and… severed its connection to natural law!

The Stone Golem was forcibly scraped out from within the power of the Nine Seas God World spell formation. It was a domineering act that caused the entire protective grand spell formation to tremble, and not even dare to resist.

This was only the first step and a single wave of a finger, but it left everyone flabbergasted. Even the incoming Dao Realm experts were shaken.

Then, Naruto took a second step, and tapped a second time. The second Stone Golem collapsed in exactly the same fashion as the first. It didn't even qualify to transform into rubble; it was shattered into dust! Naruto had no need to sever it from natural law, instead… he completely wiped it away from the Nine Seas God World!

Naruto hovered there, energy surging, screaming wind causing his hair and robes to whip wildly. It was as if he could stare down the entire world; the domineering air that he exuded only continued to rise.

Next, he stepped forward a third time, which caused the central mountain's shield to shatter, as if it feared him and didn't even dare to try to block his way. Next… even before he completed his third step, the mountain collapsed. Rock fragments flew out in all directions, revealing Long Tianhai there in the Immortal's cave, coughing up blood, body withered, expression that of despair.

"Patriarch, save me!" he howled with the last dregs of strength that he could scrape from his life force. Long Tianhai's true form was that of a 300-meter Sea Dragon, but he was now so weak that he looked like a bag of bones.

Naruto completed his third step and appeared directly in front of Long Tianhai. Naruto was currently about thirty meters tall. He looked like an Immortal Divinity as he stretched out his hand… and clasped Long Tianhai's neck.

It didn't matter how Long Tianhai struggled. Naruto 's vice-like grip was something that could ignore all divine abilities, magical techniques, and even natural laws. When he wanted to grab ahold of something… it would be grabbed ahold of!

"How dare you, Junior!" An enraged roar threatened to shatter the world. It exploded in Naruto 's ears, causing him to stagger backward. At the same time, the Nirvana Fruit appeared on his forehead, and his cultivation base began to sink back down. Without the slightest hesitation, he sealed Long Tianhai and threw him into his bag of holding.

Then, face pale, he reached his hand out to grab the Nirvana Fruit.

He did not pass out like last time. He still had a bit of energy left, allowing him to prop himself up on a nearby rock. He quickly took out some medicinal pills which he began to consume. Then, a bashful expression appeared on his face, and he looked up into the sky.

"Oh, I don't dare, Senior!"

Chapter 1073: Allheaven Immortal!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1074

Chapter 1074: Tongue As Sharp As a Sword

"How dare you, Junior!"

"Oh, I don't dare, Senior!"

This strange interchange of words echoed about in all directions….

Up in midair was an old man wearing a crimson robe, whose hair was just as red as his clothing. There was no scale on his forehead, nor a horn. However, based on his aura, it was clear that among the powerful experts, he was one who could supersede the will of Heaven and Earth, and virtually burst with the aura of a Demonic cultivator.

This was… the Demonic Cultivator Horde's Dao Realm Patriarch!

His arrival caused all of the nearby Demonic cultivators to tremble inwardly. It was as if they finally had someone to depend on, as if they were children who, after being bullied, saw their parents suddenly show up on the scene. Actually, in terms of seniority, the Dao Realm Patriarch really was like their parent.

However… neither they, nor the Dao Realm Patriarch who swept down furiously and was prepared to snatch up Naruto in a single swipe, could ever have imagined that he would respond in such a way.

From the perspective of the Demonic cultivators, it would make the most sense for Naruto to respond in an even more unyielding fashion. How could they have ever predicted that he would say what he did just now…?

Naruto 's voice was soft, even weak, causing strange expressions to appear on the onlookers' faces. Even the ordinary cultivators of the Nine Seas God World were the same.

The only person who had a different reaction was Fan Dong'er, who suddenly stopped fighting with Sea Daughter Bei Yu, and quickly backed up. As soon as she saw the expression on Naruto 's face, her heart began to prickle, and she remembered how he had the exact same look on his face when they had made their bet earlier.

" Naruto , you rogue," she thought, "you definitely have some evil plan up your sleeve." Fan Dong'er was absolutely certain of this.

The descending Dao Realm Patriarch stared in shock for a moment, then continued to wave his hand, which seemed to interfere with natural law, and materialize a gigantic, illusory hand, which snatched toward Naruto .

Naruto did nothing to dodge, and simply allowed the hand to grab toward him. Suddenly, a cold snort rang out from Naruto 's side. Granny Nine appeared, stepped forward, and tapped the gigantic hand.

No noise could be heard, but two natural laws seemed to have collided, and massive roaring sounds echoed out in the minds of all present.

The huge hand collapsed, and the Demonic Dao Realm expert gave a muffled grunt. Granny Nine's face drained of blood, and she looked up with a cold gleam in her eyes.

"Enough," she said. "Your Demonic Cultivator Horde has raised enough of a racket already. Aren't you finished yet?" Suddenly, she made a grasping motion, causing a dragon-head cane to appear in her hand. She tapped it down onto the ground, and rumbling sounds could be heard as Essence power erupted out, with Granny Nine at the center.

Simultaneously, Ling Yunzi materialized, and Godmaster stepped out of thin air. Another Demonic Dao Realm expert appeared, as did the other two Dao Realm experts, the man and the woman.

The appearance of all these mighty Patriarchs instantly caused the rest of the disciples of the Nine Seas God World to prostrate themselves on hands and knees, hearts pounding.

Naruto was the only one who remained standing, leaning up against the stone cliff face.

"We had an agreement," growled the red-haired Dao Realm Patriarch.

"Therefore, regarding the things that happened outside of the sect, my Demonic Cultivator Horde was in the wrong. I'll provide an explanation about that later. We will also do everything in our power to assist in the opening of the Windswept Realm. We will even accept the burden of all the resources necessary!" The red-haired Demonic Dao Realm expert then turned to look at Naruto .

"However, this boy slaughtered disciples of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, and inside the sect at that! There WILL be an accounting for this!"

Granny Nine frowned and sighed inwardly. The inner workings of the Nine Seas God World were very complex, with the different factions struggling for supremacy. Sometimes, the only thing that could be done was to sigh. Currently, her eyes flashed coldly, and she was just about to respond, when Naruto popped a handful of medicinal pills into his mouth and then cut her off.

"Hey, now, Senior, did you just say that the person who killed the

Demonic cultivators out there was ME? Hey! Why the false accusations? I didn't kill them! Really! I didn't. Who saw me do it?" Naruto looked very offended as he continued to munch on the medicinal pills, causing his cultivation base to gradually recover. Inwardly, he was smiling coldly. When going all in, sometimes flexibility was necessary. To blindly refuse to be flexible was simply stupid. Naruto had his principles, but those principles didn't apply to his enemies.

His words instantly enraged the prostrated Demonic cultivators.

"I saw it with my own eyes! You killed lots of my fellow sect members!"

"Dammit! Everyone here could see that it was you!"

The Demonic cultivators appeared to be on the verge of going mad, as if they had never seen someone act this shamefully. Naruto cleared his throat and spread his hands innocently.

Sighing, he said, "Even if you saw with your own eyes, that doesn't mean much. In any case, it wasn't me who killed them. Maybe the person you saw was simply disguised to look like me? That's most likely what happened. In any case, you need to stop it with these false accusations!" Naruto seemed to be getting angry as he explained matters. Even as he spoke, he continued to pop medicinal pills into his mouth. Off to the side, Granny Nine looked at him with a strange expression, then cleared her throat and prepared to speak.

All of the Dao Realm experts up in midair, including Ling Yunzi and Godmaster, were watching the scene with odd expressions on their faces. As for the red-haired Demonic Dao Realm expert, he was incensed, and before Granny Nine could speak, smiled an icy smile.

"Never before has anyone dared to speak with such insolence to ME!" he said slowly. "You say that you didn't kill my Demonic cultivators? Well then, let me ask you, whose Immortal's cave are you in right now? How did you get inside? I personally witnessed you abduct Long Tianhai just now! Could it be that I was hallucinating?" His eyes flickered with killing intent, as he very much wanted to see how Naruto would possibly respond to this accusation. If Naruto tried to insinuate that he was having hallucinations, then he would quickly discover the consequences of trifling with a Dao Realm expert.

"Oh, THAT," replied Naruto , smiling. He quickly clasped hands and bowed to the Patriarch with a look of extreme sincerity on his face. "Patriarch, I think we have a bit of a misunderstanding here. Actually, Fellow Daoist Long and I became good friends the instant we met. However, we recently made a bet that had a specific time limit. I just came here today to tell him that I decided to accept the bet!

"Unfortunately, he was in secluded meditation, and I happen to be an impatient person so I let myself in. I kind of damaged his Immortal's cave in the process. That's my fault, Senior." He turned to Granny Nine with an apologetic look and bowed deeply. "Patriarch Granny Nine, I'm willing to pay for all the damages!"

Granny Nine cleared her throat but didn't say anything in response.

The red-haired old man stared at Naruto , and his smile grew even icier.

"If that's really what happened, then why did you take him captive?!"

"Patriarch, I was worried that he would back out of the bet! But, now that you're here, I can rest easy. He might try to back out, but the entire Demonic Cultivator Horde won't back out, right?!"

Inwardly, Naruto was chuckling coldly. Just now, the Demonic Patriarch had arrived too quickly, leaving him no time to extract the dragon's heart, leaving him no other choice than to take Long Tianhai captive. Clearing his throat again, he took out a medicinal pill bottle and poured the contents into his mouth. Everyone looked on with strange expressions.

"Patriarch, if you don't believe me," he continued, "you can ask anyone here about the wager between me and Long Tianhai. The bet was about whether or not I could get into the top 100 of the nine golden gate stone steles. If I did, he would represent the Demonic Cultivator Horde to pay me 1,300,000,000 Immortal jades and three Dao weapons!"

Almost immediately, some of the Demonic cultivators in the area who were slow on the uptake began to shout in rage.

"That's a load of crap! The bet between you and Elder Brother Long was to get into the top 10 of the golden gate stone steles! Also, the stakes were 300,000,000 Immortal jades, not 1,300,000,000, and there weren't any Dao weapons involved! Also, if you lost, you had to give up your place in the Echelon!"

In response to this, the red-haired old man's face darkened. He was well aware of the matter of the bet, but he had never imagined that Naruto would bring it up.

Because Naruto had been in secluded meditation for a month and not given the nine Sea Realm Demons his response, they had spread word about the matter throughout the entire sect.

The red-haired old man stared coldly at Naruto . He was irritated at Naruto 's glib use of the tongue, but he had to admit that in terms of taking advantage of the circumstances, he had never seen anybody do so quite so well as Naruto .

He was capable of reducing Naruto to a bloody paste at any time, and yet couldn't do so. Naruto seemed to be incredibly gifted at using all of the complicated circumstances to tie other people up into knots, even people vastly more powerful than him. Through various means, he checked them in place, ensuring that they couldn't attack.

The old man felt as though he had infinite power that he simply couldn't unleash.

He was unaware, of course, that when Naruto entered the cultivation world, he had joined a sect called the Reliance Sect. The theory of that sect was something that Naruto had long since imprinted onto his heart.

People should do everything in their power to find someone or something to rely on. Although that wasn't an absolute truth, still… when you were in a situation in which you weren't powerful enough, it made a lot of sense!

"That bet is a personal matter between you and Long Tianhai. If you

lose, you have to hand over your Echelon qualifications. Set Long Tianhai free at once!" The red-haired old man seemed to be losing his patience. At this point, Naruto 's eyes gleamed with a cold light as he stared back at the old man.

"Let's forget Long Tianhai for the moment. Patriarch, Senior, I would like to ask a question of the entire Demonic Cultivator Horde. Are you people even cultivators? Do you know what the biggest taboo among cultivators is?!

"What exactly is your relationship with us cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea? Do you think that as long as someone isn't a member of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, you can kill them with impunity?!

"You hate me? Fine, no problem. You can make a move on me, and if I die while fighting back, then nobody will think twice. But, let me ask you, Patriarch, and the rest of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, what is the meaning OF THIS!?" He slapped his bag of holding, causing Sakura to appear in his arms.

Her face was pale white, and she was clearly unconscious and incredibly weak. It was truly a pitiful sight.

"This is a dear friend from my hometown. She joined the Kunlun Society, and is still a disciple there. However, in order to deal with me, your Demonic Cultivator Horde kidnapped her and brought her here. You put her at death's door and even poisoned her!

"Fellow Daoists of the Nine Seas God World, if your friends or family were tortured in front of your very eyes, used as a threat against you, would you stand for it!?

"What is the biggest taboo for cultivators, the most forbidden thing in the cultivation world? It's THIS!

"If everyone did things like this, then the world of cultivation would be thrown into chaos! I provoked the Demonic cultivators, and they kidnapped and tried to kill my dear friend! What happens if one of you provokes them? They'll likely do the same thing, won't they!? It's a vicious cycle! Fellow cultivators, which of us could ever stand for such a thing!?" Naruto 's words echoed out into the ears of all the surrounding cultivators, who seemed to be profoundly moved.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1075

Chapter 1075: The Special Fifth Golden Gate

This was their first time learning about Naruto 's personal affairs. They all looked at Sakura and were shaken. Just as Naruto had said, if something similar happened to them….

It took only a moment for numerous Nine Seas God World disciples to look coldly at the members of the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

There were even quite a few Demonic cultivators whose faces flickered; clearly this was their first time learning of the matter as well.

Although things like this happened in the cultivation world, it was something that virtually all cultivators detested. Everyone had family and close friends, as well as enemies. If something like this was overlooked once, then it could very well occur again in the future… to them.

"Demonic Cultivator Horde, you owe ME an accounting! Long Tianhai SHALL die. The Echelon will NOT be taken away from me. And even if I lose the bet, you will still have to give me half of the original stakes in Immortal jade!

"That is MY accounting!" With that, Naruto stepped backward a few paces, placing him behind Granny Nine. Enough time had passed that his Eternal stratum had now restored his cultivation base almost to its peak.

The red-haired Patriarch had an extremely unsightly expression on his face. He had actually approved of the tactic of using Sakura. However, according to the original plan, Naruto would have died, and then Sakura's usefulness would have ended, and the entire matter would have been easily resolved.

Who could ever have imagined that despite the deadly trap they had laid for Naruto , he would be able to reverse the situation?

Everything was dead silent. The cultivators of the Nine Seas God World looked around suspiciously at the Demonic Cultivator Horde, having made their own judgement of the situation based on Naruto 's words.

Most of the Demonic Cultivator Horde maintained silence, although there were some of them who derisively refused to admit fault.

It was at this point that Godmaster's cool voice rang out in all directions: "Let us focus on the most important matters. There is still half a month left to go before the opening of the Windswept Realm.

"Avarice regarding the Echelon was the sowing of Karma. The reaping was everything that happened just now. Fellow Daoists Chi Long and Wu Ling, you may send one additional person into the Windswept Realm upon its opening.

"The matter shall now be dropped. Naruto will be allowed to go through with the bet in exactly the way he mentioned. What do the two of you think?" Godmaster looked over at the red-haired old man, and the other Demonic Patriarch.

After a moment of silence, the red-haired old man stared hard at Naruto . Naruto had already left a deep impression on him, but now, he stared at him as if to affix him permanently in his memory. Finally, he snorted coldly and slowly said, "We'll do things as you say, Godmaster. However… since the Echelon won't be part of the stakes, then if the boy gets into the top ten of all nine golden gate stone steles, then the Demonic Cultivator Horde will give him 300,000,000 Immortal jades. But if he fails, then he won't get a single one!"

He understood that with Granny Nine, Godmaster and Ling Yunzi present, the Demonic Cultivator Horde couldn't afford to cause any major problems. In this skirmish, the Demonic Cultivator Horde had been clearly and utterly defeated.

Furthermore, the defeat had caused the Dao Realm experts from the other two factions, the man and the woman, to have a change in their thinking.

The red-haired old man could now only sigh inwardly. As for the Demonic Patriarch surnamed Wu, he slowly nodded his head.

Godmaster looked over at Naruto . Naruto 's eyes glittered, but he was aware that for the matter to have escalated to this level, meant that things couldn't be pushed any further. To do so would be counterproductive. Although the rage he felt in his heart would not be so easily dispelled, he still nodded in agreement. However, while everyone was still watching, he pulled Long Tianhai out of his bag of holding.

He gripped him by the neck and squeezed down viciously. Then, his left hand shot out and stabbed into Long Tianhai's chest. Long Tianhai struggled, and as everyone watched, Naruto ripped his Sea Dragon heart out of his body.

The heart was still beating as Naruto crushed it, producing a white drop of fluid. The onlookers, both ordinary cultivators and Demonic cultivators alike, stared with trembling hearts.

All of a sudden, they were deeply struck by Naruto 's level of ferocity and brutality.

All of them were musing that, unless absolutely no other options remained, they should never provoke Naruto . The cultivators felt that way, and so did the Demonic cultivators, who hated Naruto more than ever and yet maintained their silence.

As the red-haired old man watched, his face twitched, and a murderous aura swirled around him. However, there was no way for him to vent his fury. He flicked his sleeve, turned, and left. He knew that he if he remained behind, he would eventually lose control of himself.

Naruto 's face was extremely calm as he retrieved the other nine drops of Sea Dragon heart-blood from of his bag of holding. He fused them all together into one larger drop, which he placed into Sakura's mouth.

Then, he returned her to his bag of holding. Having completed these tasks, he turned and headed toward the golden gate stone steles, eyes flickering coldly.

Although he had killed some Demonic cultivators, that was not sufficient to give vent to the rage he felt in his heart. Perhaps his actions had been sufficient to cow the ordinary Demonic cultivators, but when it came to the Dao Realm experts, if they didn't taste a bit of pain as well then they might cause him trouble down the line.

As of this moment, his wager with the Demonic Cultivator Horde was like a knife that he could twist into their side. Their Dao Realm experts would definitely feel the pain of losing their wealth!

300,000,000 Immortal jades was a vast sum that would cause anyone to pant with eagerness, even Dao Realm experts. If the Demonic Cultivator Horde lost such a quantity of Immortal jade, it would definitely be a bloody blow to them.

The mere thought of 300,000,000 Immortal jades caused Naruto 's heart to pound. Panting, his eyes shone with a bright light.

"I'm gonna go all out! I'll definitely get into the top 10 of all the golden gate stone steles!" He took a deep breath and pushed faster. Whistling through the air, he quickly neared the location of the closest golden gate stone stele.

It was the fifth stele, and when Naruto looked over at the golden light which shone up from it, he could just barely make out a battlefield of epic proportions, filled with endless, eternal slaughter.

"Fifth golden gate stone stele. Trial by fire of slaughter. Also known as the trial by fire of the Dao heart!" Naruto 's eyes glittered.

He stepped forward, and in the blink of an eye, vanished into the stone stele. In that same moment, vast numbers of Nine Seas God World cultivators converged in the area. Although it wouldn't be accurate to say that literally every person in the Nine Seas God World knew about the wager, it wouldn't be too far from the truth. Besides, Naruto 's massacre, and the way he had stood up to the Demonic Cultivator Horde's Dao Realm Patriarch, had shocked everyone.

When you threw in the astronomical wager, it ensured that it didn't take long before the fifth golden gate stone stele was surrounded by a crowd of people. Even Granny Nine and her group, as well as the Demonic Patriarch surnamed Wu, were all hovering in midair, watching.

"To get in the top 10 in all of the golden gate stone steles… that would be incredibly difficult!"

" Naruto might have gotten to 2nd place in the ninth golden gate stone stele, but the other stone steles are all different. That's especially true of the first golden gate, which emphasizes pressure!"

Everyone was already discussing the matter. Granny Nine and Ling Yunzi looked at each other, and their eyes glittered for a moment before they focused solely on the fifth stone stele.

The Patriarch from the Demonic Cultivator Horde looked on with a strange gleam in his eyes. "The fifth golden gate stone stele… is unique. A very unusual trial by fire."

Meanwhile…. Naruto appeared within the world of the fifth golden gate stone stele. When he looked around, he saw a bright, beautiful world filled with birdsong and the fragrance of flowers. Spiritual energy swirled about, as if the place were a world for Immortals.

Naruto stared for a moment, then looked down at himself. He was wearing an unfamiliar Daoist robe. Furthermore, he was standing amongst a group of people atop a mountain, in a huge public square.

He was surrounded by tens of thousands of cultivators, packed together both on the ground and hovering in midair. A stern and somber air slowly filled the area, causing clouds to obscure the sun.

Up ahead, three figures floated in the air. They were surrounded by radiant golden light, making their features difficult to make out.

An ancient voice echoed out across the square: "Outside clans are invading who wish to destroy our world! Their evil knows no bounds, and they burst with Devilish will! They are fiendish Devils from out among the stars, and in the coming war, you disciples must slay them! The killing will never stop, and yet, there is nowhere for you to retreat to!

"Today, they shall arrive! At the same time… we have discovered that the fiendish Devils have already infiltrated our sect in disguise!" As the voice faded away, the three glowing figures up ahead waved their hands simultaneously.

Immediately, roughly a third of the group of tens of thousands of cultivators suddenly found themselves bathed in bright light. They looked shocked, astonished, as the other cultivators around them began to back up slowly.

Naruto noticed that there were two cultivators standing near him who were now bathed in light.

"Patriarch, this…. I'm not a fiendish Devil! I…."

"What's going on!? Patriarch, I'm a disciple of the sect!"

They were so scared they were trembling, but at the same time, they were angry, as if they were being unjustly accused.

There was only a single response to their pleas.

"Kill them!"

Many among the crowd stood there silently. Although Naruto didn't know any of these people, he did feel a sense of familiarity toward them. Other cultivators in the area were hesitating, and only a few of them chose to actually attack.

"I'm not a fiendish Devil! I'm a sect disciple!" Miserable shrieks rang out, as many of the disciples fled, and even more began to weep.

"Elder Brother Zhang, I'm not a fiendish Devil!"

"Elder Sister, I'm Fan Sheng! I'm your Junior Brother…."

As the slaughter began to unfold, Naruto frowned. He still wasn't sure to make of this trial by fire.

All of a sudden, one of the disciples who was bathed in light, a middleaged man, threw his head back and laughed loudly.

"I, Chen, am no fiendish Devil! I'm a sect disciple! I don't mind dying this day to prove that! However, I don't need anyone to spill my blood for me. If I'm going to die! I'll die with honor!" With that, he smashed his hand down onto the top of his head. A popping sound could be heard, blood sprayed out, and he was dead.

Everyone looked on silently. Soon more anguished laughter rang out as shockingly, more than half of the accused disciples began to end their own lives.

"If I have to die, I won't die at the hands of my fellow disciples!"

"I might die today, but before I die, I just have to say… that I am no

Devil!" Booms rang out constantly, and corpses toppled to the ground. Soon, things began to grow quiet as all of the disciples who had been accused of being fiendish Devils… were dead.

All of the remaining disciples, regardless of whether or not they had attacked moments ago, looked on with complicated expressions. Then, they turned toward the three figures up front, and couldn't prevent the suspicion from showing on their faces.

Naruto felt shaken. For some reason, this trial by fire seemed very strange.

"This isn't a trial by fire about slaughter. Nor is it about Dao heart. There… is some other purpose to it!" Naruto took a deep breath as he realized that the realism of the things he was seeing had caused him to almost forget who he was, and to completely immerse himself in the feeling of being a disciple of this sect.

He realized this because he was also starting to feel suspicious regarding the three figures up in the front.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1076

Chapter 1076: Blind!

Everything was completely and utterly silent. The reek of blood spread out, and the ground was covered in pools of blood…. Dead bodies could be seen everywhere, the corpses of those who had refused be slain by fellow sect disciples, and had instead ended their own lives.

They demonstrated their sincerity by sacrificing their own lives!

Some had fled, but were cut down in the process.

Finally, a sigh could be heard from the mouths of one of the three figures up ahead.

"Elder Brother Li, you are also a fiendish Devil!" Suddenly, two of the three figures joined forces to attack the third. Immediately Essence aura erupted out from all of them.

Shockingly, all three of them were Dao Realm experts.

The third of the group now wore a bitter and complex expression. He offered no explanation, but instead, merely sighed and began to fight. Booms echoed out as he fell back, slowly approaching the crowd of people within which Naruto stood.

He looked up at the other two who were attacking him, and sighed again.

"You really think the Devils infiltrated us…? Well, there's no need for pointless loss. I don't even have a hundred years of life left anyway, so…

"It doesn't matter. Regardless of what you people think, if the members of the Junior generation can kill themselves to prove their sincerity, then how could I possibly fear death!?" With that, he glanced back at the crowd of disciples, including Naruto , and gave them a meaningful look. It was an expression that said he couldn't bear to part with them, and at the same time, wished them well. Then he smashed his hand down onto the top of his head.

That strike caused a tremor to run through his body. Boundless Essence aura then erupted out of him.

"I'm willing to die in body and spirit," he said in his archaic voice. "Let my cultivation base bolster all of the disciples of the sect. Allow them… to fight against the invading enemies! Give them strength!" As he faded away, his aura spread out and merged into the bodies of the disciples.

That included Naruto . He felt something warm flowing through him, causing his cultivation base to rise up. In addition, a glowing light rose up around him, almost like some sort of protective shield.

Within that shield, he could feel an archaic will that filled him with regret and kindness.

Everyone stood there, reticent, hearts pounding, their suspicions growing stronger.

"Are there really enemies coming to invade?" That was the question running through all of their minds. Naruto couldn't stop himself from thinking the exact same thing.

The two Dao Realm experts looked at the shields surrounding all of the disciples, and their faces flickered. They exchanged a look, and were about to say something, when all of a sudden rumbling sounds filled the heavens. The clouds collapsed as a huge rift appeared, as if some giant hand were ripping them open. Next, a bloody glow spread out in all directions!

Within the rift, it was possible to see another shocking world. That world was completely red, as if it had experienced countless ages of bloodshed, staining the whole world the same color.

More shocking was that there was a sea visible that was made up entirely of blood.

Even the sky was red. That world instantly left a deep impression on everyone who saw it.

Next, countless figures in long robes whistled through the air out of the rift. Their faces were pale, and their expressions were that of joy. There were even many who were laughing happily as they looked around.

Almost as soon as these people appeared, a voice shouted out in Naruto 's ears, and in the ears of all the other cultivators: "Kill them!"

Everyone hesitated for a moment, then flew up into the air toward the cultivators coming out of the rift, and began to slaughter them.

The cultivators from the rift stared in shock, and immediately began to shout out various explanations. However, they could not avoid being cut down.

Naruto frowned. For some reason, he got the feeling that these people weren't invading. In fact, many of them seemed to be smiling amiably.

After a moment of hesitation, he attacked, tapping one of the enemy cultivators on the forehead. The man's body collapsed; he seemed to be as weak as a mortal. In the moment before he died, he looked at Naruto , shocked.

"We have no evil intentions. We're escaping to this place! Please, let us go…."

Naruto frowned and sent his divine sense sweeping out. Instantly, he saw that the people were mostly dodging out of the way and offering explanations. Naruto quickly realized that there were even Foundation Establishment cultivators who were only able to make it safely here by means of a teleportation portal.

Furthermore, the strongest among them weren't even attacking. They were just offering anxious explanations, and falling back in retreat. It seemed most of them were actually retreating into the rift, as if to leave this world.

The disciples in the sect army to which Naruto belonged began to hesitate. Everyone seemed confused, and even those who were attacking seemed to be forcing themselves. There were only a handful who were resolutely attacking with full viscousness, carrying out mass slaughter.

"Trial by fire of slaughter?" he murmured to himself.

Naruto hesitated, falling behind the crowd of attacking cultivators. At that point, a stern, dark voice was transmitted into his ear.

"They're fiendish Devils from out in the starry sky! Why aren't you killing them!?" The voice echoed like claps of thunder. One of the two Dao Realm Patriarchs appeared next to Naruto and stared at him solemnly.

"When you look at them, they seem kind and good. That's what you think, but if you trust in the sect, you'll kill them! If you don't have faith in the sect, then what is the purpose of coming to this trial by fire? If you won't slaughter for the sect, then get the hell out of here!" The man waved his sleeve, causing a massive power of expulsion to rise up around Naruto . It was as if the entire world was about to reject him and eject him out forcibly!

Just in the moment in which Naruto was about to be expelled out of the world, the cultivators in the rift suddenly stopped evading. Their kind smiles twisted viciously, and their multi-colored Daoist robes turned as red as blood!

Terrifying auras exploded out from them, and their smiles grew even more ferocious. They now looked completely and utterly different from before. Rumbling could be heard as leathery, blood-colored wings sprouted out of their backs. Now, they truly looked like evil Devils.

"Someone in this world actually knew about our plan…. What a bore! These must be surviving cultivators from one of the other worlds we destroyed!"

"Who cares? Although things might not be as fun, at least… we can still eat them all! That feeling of contentment can make up for some of the lost fun."

"What a pity, they saw through our plan." Sinister howls could be heard coming from the mouths of the Devilish cultivators. The ones who had died just now rose back to life and began to attack, causing a brutally evil air to erupt out.

The blood-colored world inside the rift suddenly erupted with blood-red light. Shockingly, countless souls appeared, screaming miserable screams. They seemed endless, and were apparently the souls of the people butchered by the blood-red cultivators.

What caused Naruto 's eyes to widen even more, and what filled the hearts of the hesitating disciples with complete shock, was that… the blood on the battlefield began to congeal together… and transform into more vicious figures.

Shockingly… they were the disciples the sect had identified earlier as being fiendish Devils! Even the ones who had ended their own lives began to rise to their feet, vicious smiles plastered on their faces.

"What a bunch of morons! How boring!"

"We just started having fun and it's already over! How sad. I never thought that they would realize we were traitors!"

As they rose to their feet, the countless droplets of blood that constituted the remains of the Dao Realm cultivator formed back together. His mouth twisted into a taunting smile, and an intensely powerful aura rose up from him.

"Erupt," he said. Instantly, Naruto and all the other people who had absorbed some of his cultivation base felt their bodies rumbling. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and the warm current that had spread through his body turned malignantly poisonous. Immediately, his organs began to rot and decay.

In that moment, the same words rang out in the minds of everyone present.

 _The sect was right!_

The sect said that these people were fiendish Devils, and they were!

The sect said that the Dao Realm Patriarch was a fiendish Devil, and he truly was!

The sect said that enemies were invading, and they really were!

The sect said that the intruders were not kind and good, but rather, fiendish Devils. They… absolutely were fiendish Devils!

Wrong! All of the disciples who hesitated were wrong!

All of this proved without a doubt that the sect had been right in everything!

Now, the slaughter truly began, and booms filled the air.

Naruto 's mind reeled. Even as he was being expelled from the world, he suddenly raised his hand and waved a finger through the air. Instantly, one of the blood-colored Devilish cultivators coming through the rift exploded.

All of a sudden, the power of expulsion faded away.

The Patriarch surrounded by the glowing light gave Naruto a look, then turned away and waded into the fighting.

Naruto didn't say anything, but his eyes began to glow brightly. After they flickered a few times, he sighed.

"Have faith in the sect…" he murmured softly. "Well done, Nine Seas God World. In a mere trial by fire, you still manage to plant a seed like this in the hearts of your disciples. The last time I tried out the fifth golden gate trial by fire, it wasn't like this."

In the fifth golden gate stone stele, nothing else was really as important as the key to the entire trial by fire…. The message was: don't trust in your own judgement, put your faith in what the sect tells you.

Were it not for the fact that Naruto had corroborated the Dao on his own to achieve Immortal Ascension, had a very strong Dao heart, and had experienced many things, then even his faith in himself would have been affected. If it had, then that seed would also have been planted in him as well.

"To pass this trial in the top 10, I have to slaughter my way to the top." Naruto took a deep breath, and his cultivation base erupted with power. Now that he understood what was going on, he attacked without the slightest hesitation. He slashed his way into the battle like a dragon surrounded by a wake of blood.

Outside, Naruto 's name suddenly appeared on the fifth golden gate stone stele, somewhere in the thousands, flashing with light.

1,000. 700. 500. 300… all the way past 100!

It continued to climb. 80. 70. 40….

People outside gasped at how quickly his name climbed up.

Only Granny Nine and Ling Yunzi, plus the Demonic Cultivator Horde Patriarch and the other Dao Realm experts, watched the stone stele with glittering eyes, lost in thought.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1077

Chapter 1077 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1077: Dao Divinity Scripture!

The main purpose of the fifth golden gate stone stele was to develop the disciples' faith in the sect. When it came to matters of what was right and wrong, sometimes it was important to accept the decisions and explanations of the sect over one's personal judgement.

If a disciple couldn't show faith in the sect, then the trial by fire wouldn't begin, and the disciple would be ejected from the fifth stone stele, just like Naruto had almost been.

If a disciple could show faith, well… at that point the trial by fire would begin. Then, the level of their cultivation base, as well as their depth of faith in the sect, would determine their ranking.

Moments ago, within the world of the trial by fire, the blood-colored fiendish Devils had continued to appear, although their forms and appearances were different each time. When Naruto 's name entered the top 1,000, the slaughter ended. However, the trial by fire did not end. The world around him shattered to pieces, and when it reformed, he was facing a different scene.

He was still in a sect, and was being given orders just like he had been before. This time, they were the invaders. A voice from the sect told them that this land was actually their native homeland!

They had to slaughter any resistance they met, and kill any opposing cultivators.

Things were complicated, leaving many people confused. However, in the end, what the sect said was true. This place… really was their former homeland!

The fighting went on, and Naruto 's name rose up into the 500s. Then, everything changed again. A new world appeared, and new instructions were given by the sect.

Similar things happened when he reached the top 400, 300, 200… and even 100. Apparently, the changes occured with every move of 100 positions.

It then continued to happen with more and more frequency. By the time he reached the top 20… he had experienced many, many worlds. The one thing that remained eternally unchanging was the sect. The orders from the sect were eternal. The judgement of the sect was eternal.

This was almost like a form of brainwashing. All of these experiences told Naruto that, in any matter, the sect was always correct. If he had faith in the sect, the trial by fire would continue. If hesitation regarding the sect rose up in his mind, then he would be expelled.

Eventually… Naruto 's name reached the top 10. The world fell apart in front of him, and when it formed back together, it turned into… a very familiar place.

It was… Planet Ninshu !

This was the home that existed in his memories, a place where many, many things had occurred. He had numerous memories of this place, but right now, when he saw Planet Ninshu , his heart trembled.

His ability to put on a show of faith in the sect began to wane. The power of expulsion seemed to rise up faintly.

"This place… is an Outsider Planet! The true Planet Ninshu of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was destroyed and transformed into a door! Within that door appeared a new planet!

"Destroy this place! Use its power to collapse the Stargate!"

As the voice from the sect faded away, Naruto looked around to see countless cultivators surrounding him. Almost all of them were familiar to him, although he couldn't recall their names. However, he recognized that these people were fellow sect members from this phase of the trial by fire, people with whom he had charged into battle many times before!

Roars rang out as they charged toward Planet Ninshu . Naruto 's heart trembled as he saw the familiar mountains, rivers, and lands, as well as old friends.

"Kill everything that lives on this planet! When the Outsiders come, their bloodlines will awaken, and they will become our enemies! Destroy this planet! Wipe it out from the starry sky!" As the voice echoed out, everyone charged forward into the slaughter. Only Naruto remained hovering there, silent.

The expulsion force began to gather, as if countless voices were beginning to call out to him, urging him forward. After a moment, Naruto took a deep breath and then advanced. He vanished, then reappeared up ahead, between the army of cultivators and the crowds from Planet Ninshu . He raised both hands up into the air to stop the advancing army.

However, in the moment he tried to do so, the expulsion force gripped him, and the voice of the sect roared in his ear.

"After all those experiences, you still don't have faith in the sect!?" it said, sounding pained.

"Since that's the case, then you shall be allowed to personally witness the truth!" The voice of the sect turned into a power that Naruto was powerless to resist, and forced him to remain motionless out in the starry sky.

At the same time, the army of fellow sect cultivators vanished. In an instant, Planet Ninshu seemed to pass through countless years. Suddenly, it began to tremble as an incredible force exploded out. Next, Naruto watched as the planet slowly began to move.

As it moved, shockingly… the former position of the planet revealed a black hole!

It looked like… a door!

After the door appeared, a beam of light could be seen. As it spread out, shocking roars could be heard coming from Planet Ninshu . At the same time as the light spread out, all of a sudden, a butterfly flew out from inside the door!

The butterfly was enormous, seemingly without end. Astonishingly, numerous Outsider cultivators flew off of the butterfly, radiating murderous auras.

Wherever they passed, stars crumbled and planets shattered. Countless cultivators died screaming. The Ninth Mountain collapsed and the Ninth Sea boiled!

Before long, the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was in ruins. Countless people died, many that Naruto knew, many that he didn't. They all died….

Planet East Victory, Planet North Reed, Planet West Felicity…. all crumbled.

In the final scene, a huge Xuanwu turtle let out an agonized howl, seemingly filled with infinite grief. Then it collapsed into a mass of blood and gore.

The vision ended, leaving Naruto gaping. He forgot about struggling and resisting. As the vision faded away, he was gripped by the power of expulsion and ejected from the world.

In the moment before he left, the ancient, grieving voice of the sect echoed in his ears: "Now do you believe?"

A tremor ran through him, and when everything became clear, he was back in the Nine Seas God World, standing outside of the fifth golden gate stone stele. He looked up to see that his name… was listed in 10th place!

Cries of astonishment rang out in all directions, but Naruto still seemed to be in another world. He could barely hear what anyone was saying as he stood there in front of the stone stele for a long moment.

It was at this point that Godmaster's voice spoke into his ear: "Every person's trial by fire in the fifth golden gate begins exactly the same way. However, those who reach the top 10 all experience different things…."

"What you saw could be visions of the future, or could be mere fantasies."

Naruto looked up at Godmaster. After a long moment of silence, he took a deep breath, and dispelled his disquieting thoughts. Whether or not he wanted to admit it, this trial by fire had left a deep impression on him.

"In the end, power is everything!" he thought. "Even if that final scene was real, if I can get strong enough, then when that butterfly shows up, I'll kill it! Then… everything will turn out different!

"Trusting the sect isn't important. The important thing… is to make yourself strong enough!" Naruto 's eyes shone with a bright light as he clasped hands and bowed to Godmaster. Then he turned, his expression one of determination as he flew toward another of the golden gate stone steles.

The three month period was almost up, and before he left, Naruto wanted to get those 300,000,000 Immortal jades. He also wanted to leave an eternal mark on the Nine Seas God World.

"Other than the fifth stone stele, I want my name… to be in 1st place on all of the golden gate stone steles! If I can't do it this time around, then I'll definitely do it before I leave!" Naruto took a deep breath as he sped toward the seventh golden gate stone stele.

The seventh golden gate was the trial by fire of divine sense!

Divine sense wasn't necessarily Naruto 's strong point. However, he had the first manual of the Dao Divinity Scripture, which he had cultivated in the past. According to the legends, the Dao Divinity Scripture was the supreme scripture for strengthening divine sense. However, after cultivating it, Naruto hadn't felt anything particularly impressive! 1

At the very most, it had helped his divine sense a bit when he was in the Mortal Realm. Because he had entered the Immortal Realm and drastically raised his cultivation level, though, it had actually become a weak point for him.

That was why the Sea Daughter had been able to stop him in place with her divine sense. As for his weaknesses, once he became aware of them he would strive to remedy them. 2

"Could it be that I cultivated it incorrectly? Or perhaps it's not the real

Dao Divinity Scripture?"

The Dao Divinity Scripture appeared in his mind as he flew forward. Not too much time passed before he appeared outside the seventh golden gate stone stele. Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped into the golden gate.

Surprisingly, as soon as he entered, his name appeared on the stone stele. All of the disciples who were gathering stared closely at Naruto 's name and began to speculate what rank he would achieve.

Inside the world of the seventh golden gate, Naruto threw his head back and roared, and his hair whipped around. The entire world was a path consisting of 10,000 stone steps. Each step represented one rank.

The first 9,000 were far too simple for Naruto , but the last 1,000 got increasingly difficult. Every time he took a step, he would find himself surrounded by more divine sense power, which tried to bore into and collapse his mind.

Countless thoughts poured into him, confusing him, making it more and more difficult to endure.

At the same time, the longer he endured, the faster his divine sense grew. Furthermore, the Dao Divinity Scripture swirled inside his mind, and as he proceeded forward, he gained continuous enlightenment regarding the various mnemonics.

Time passed. Outside the seventh golden gate, the disciples watched as Naruto 's name continued to rise. This time, his progress was much slower than with the previous stone steles.

"Divine sense is his weak spot!"

"He didn't advance this slowly in either the ninth stone stele or the fifth. The only way to smoothly get through the seventh golden gate is to have strong divine sense. And yet, he's going so slow!"

"From the look of it, it will be just too hard for him to get into the top 10!" Even as the crowd whispered their speculations, Naruto was in the world of the seventh stone stele, trembling violently. His eyes were bright red, and yet, he was smiling.

"So, THAT'S how you cultivate the Dao Divinity Scripture!

"I understand!" Eyes flickering, he extended both hands, performing incantation gestures which caused his body to turn into something like a black hole. Rumbling could be heard as he began to absorb all of the attacking divine sense!

Chapter 1077: Dao Divinity Scripture!

Naruto acquired the first manual of the Dao Divinity Scripture from

Choumen Tai in chapter 301 ↩ I have to admit that despite reading it in Chinese, then translating it and editing, I totally forgot about the part where Sea Daughter Bei Yu stopped Naruto in place with her divine sense. It was only a few chapters ago in chapter 1071 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1078

Chapter 1078 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1078: Eight Gates, All Top 10!

Naruto hadn't cultivated the Dao Divinity Scripture incorrectly. However, this was not a scripture that was meant to be cultivated while sitting cross-legged in meditation. This scripture was unique in that… it was meant to be cultivated during battle, when actually utilizing divine sense.

With every clash of divine sense, the Dao Divinity Scripture would grow stronger. This was… a scripture born for the purpose of battle!

Naruto didn't understand that before, so no matter how he cultivated it, the result wasn't optimal. The last time he challenged the seventh golden gate, he hadn't used the Dao Divinity Scripture, but had relied solely on his divine sense and had gotten all the way to the 91st position, but could proceed no further.

This time, under the bombardment of so much divine sense, he finally understood the Dao Divinity Scripture much more clearly. It was like an epiphany.

"So that's how it is!" Even as his voice echoed out, he transformed into a black hole. As the boundless divines sense power rumbled toward him, just as it seemed on the verge of harming him, it was actually rapidly devoured by his own divine sense!

This was clearly… a terrifying way of absorbing the divine sense of others to bolster one's own!

Naruto was trembling, and yet, his eyes were shining brightly. He sped forward, trembling with every step as his divine sense rocketed up madly.

"More!" he cried, proceeding forward without stop. As the divine sense power smashing down onto him grew more intense, his own divine sense grew stronger.

Outside on the golden gate, his name rose higher on the list, passing the 91st position and quickly reaching the 40th!

An uproar of shocked cries instantly could be heard from the mouths of the audience.

Even more shocking to everyone was that the golden gate stone stele's eternally resplendent golden glow… almost seemed to be fading, as if the innate power of the trial by fire were weakening.

"The golden glow is fading. W-what's happening!?"

Everyone was shouting.

Even Granny Nine and her group, plus the Demonic Patriarch, were staring, clearly moved.

It didn't take long for the Dao Realm Patriarchs to guess the truth.

"He's absorbing the divine sense power inside of the stele!"

"The Nine Seas God World has been collecting divine sense in the seventh golden gate stone stele for all these years to ensure that it remains eternally in place! But now… he's actually absorbing it!"

"A normal Daoist magic couldn't do that! What technique has he cultivated?"

As everyone in the outside world was making various speculations, inside the stele, Naruto , who moments ago hadn't been glowing at all, was now covered with a thin veneer of golden light.

That golden light appeared when he only had 20 more steps to go!

A tremor ran through him, and he coughed up blood, and yet, his laughter grew even more maniacal. He had never imagined that this seventh golden gate stone stele would be so beneficial to him.

It could definitely be considered good fortune!

Not only did it give him a deep understanding of the Dao Divinity Scripture, but his previously weak divine sense was now rapidly becoming more powerful. By now, it was already close to ten times more powerful than it had been before beginning the trial.

Plus… it was continuing to get stronger.

Naruto took a deep breath and proceeded forward again. With each step, the divine sense around him grew more intense; booms continued to ring out like muffled thunder.

Soon, there were only nine steps ahead of him, and his name was already in 10th place on the seventh golden gate stone stele!

Naruto started to stagger a bit, and he could sense that he was reaching his limit; he was already saturated with the divine sense that he had absorbed. However, he also had the intense premonition that if he gave himself enough time to fully assimilate all the divine sense, he would become even stronger, and would be qualified… to vie for 1st place on the seventh golden gate!

In that case, he would also be qualified to vie for 1st place in the ninth golden gate!

Naruto 's body rumbled as he vanished from the world of the seventh golden gate trial by fire. He appeared outside, the middle of an uproar as everyone looked at him in shock.

That was especially true… of a certain beautiful young woman not too far off in the distance. It was none other than Sea Daughter Bei Yu. Her name was currently listed in 3rd place on the stone stele!

She excelled in divine sense, but now, the sensation she got when looking at Naruto was completely different than before. His divine sense was far more powerful, and even just looking at him sent stabbing pains into her eyes.

Of the Nine Seas God World's nine golden gate stone steles, he had already completed three. Now, he sped toward the eighth.

It wasn't long before his name was climbing up the list on that stele too….

In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Naruto 's name reached the top 10, then climbed to the 5th position before stopping. Then he appeared again, bursting with a domineering air that seemed incapable of being halted or blocked as he sped toward the sixth golden gate stone stele.

You could say that Naruto 's path embodied all of the various aspects of cultivation. Earlier, only his divine sense had been somewhat weak. As for his fleshly body and his cultivation base, both of them were incredibly powerful. Now that he had acquired good fortune regarding his divine sense, he was finally able to push himself to his peak.

That was also the peak of the Immortal Emperor Realm!

The Nine Seas God World was shaken, and increasing numbers of cultivators approached to bear witness to Naruto 's madness. It had been years since anything like this had occurred, as Naruto repeatedly challenged one golden gate stone stele after another, and got into the top ten of each one!

"He got into the top 10 in the fifth, seventh, eighth, and ninth!"

"From ancient times until now, there have only been four people who made it into the top 10 of all nine golden gate stone steles! Now there's going to be a fifth!"

In the beginning, the audience watching the scene hadn't been small. However, there were many people who believed that he would never be able to make it into the top 10 of all the stone steles. Now, however, as he continued to make steady progress, more and more people arrived to watch with keen anticipation.

An unsightly look could be seen on the face of the Demonic Patriarch. In fact, all of the Demonic cultivators had dark looks on their faces. They didn't want to admit that there was more than just hatred for Naruto in their hearts, and yet they had no other choice.

Naruto shot through the air in a streak of colorful light as he headed to the sixth golden gate stone stele. The Nine Seas God World was abuzz, and countless cultivators flew from all directions to watch. Naruto vanished into the sixth stele, and almost immediately, his name appeared on the rankings!

It rose up rapidly, almost exactly the same as in the others. Soon, cries of shock could be heard, and the members of the Demonic Cultivator Horde looked grimmer than ever. As with all the others, Naruto 's name eventually reached the top 10!

When that happened, the entire Nine Seas God World, including both Ancient and Immortal Realm cultivators, were all abuzz, and focused on nothing other than Naruto .

The next stele was the fourth, which Naruto rocketed toward and disappeared into. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, his name appeared in the top ten!

The clamor among the crowd grew more intense, and Naruto 's image was even more deeply ingrained in the hearts and minds of all the disciples.

The combination of his razor-sharp tongue, his towering killing intent, and the intense valiance on display at the moment ensured that Naruto had a unique air.

It was… a completely and utterly domineering air!

In the third golden gate stone stele, boundless golden light rose up when he reached 7th place!

In the second golden gate stone stele, massive rumbling could be heard as his name appeared in the 4th position! Everyone felt as if their hearts were being struck by thunder.

When Naruto appeared from within the second golden gate stone stele and headed toward the first, there were tens of thousands of disciples gathered to watch.

They crowded around, all watching and bearing witness to what was happening.

"The ninth golden gate! He's already completed eight! And gotten into the top 10 in all of them!"

"The last one is the first golden gate stone stele. If he can get into the top ten in that one, then those 300,000,000 Immortal jades will be his!"

"For years, only four people in the Nine Seas God World have ever done this! Maybe there will now be five!"

"Not necessarily! The first golden gate is the hardest!"

The sound of countless discussions could be heard as Naruto arrived in front of the first golden gate stone stele, looking as firm and persistent as ever. He eyed the gate for a moment, and then took a deep breath.

"Trial by fire of the pressure of the Ninth Sea!" Without any further hesitation, he headed in!

When his vision became clear, shockingly, he found himself beneath the Nine Seas God World, surrounded by boundless sea water. In this position, the pressure weighing down from the Ninth Sea was even more intense than before.

A tremor ran through him as he sensed what felt like innumerable iron fetters weighing him down. Eyes glittering, he began to sink down.

300 meters. 1,500 meters. 3,000 meters.

6,000 meters. 9,000 meters. 15,000 meters.

The farther he sank, the more intense the pressure became. Gradually, it came to feel as if enormous mountains were crushing down on him. It didn't take very long before he had to exert incredible force even to blink his eyes.

Everything was pitch black, and it almost seemed as if the Ninth Sea had no sea floor, as if it just stretched down and down infinitely.

Soon, Naruto had reached a depth of 24,000 meters. According to the list outside, this was the same position Fan Dong'er had reached. The biggest difference was that she had remained in this position for more than forty hours.

Naruto 's name had long since appeared on the first golden gate stone stele. It flickered as its position continued to change, getting higher and higher. The faces of the members of the Demonic Cultivator Horde grew darker and darker.

"I can still go deeper!" Naruto 's eyes glittered as he realized that he hadn't reached his limit yet. He was different from the other disciples of the Nine Seas God World. They practiced cultivation at these depths, and gradually allowed themselves to endure more and more pressure. In contrast, Naruto wanted to feel the most intense stimulation possible, and then see how long he could stay in that position.

It might be dangerous, but that would be the fastest way to acclimate himself to the pressure, and would also ensure that he was ready to enter the Windswept Realm.

Naruto 's eyes shone with determination!

27,000 meters. 30,000 meters! 36,000 meters… and he kept going!

The pressure increased, getting more intense. However, it continued to meet with resisting power from within Naruto . It was as if Naruto , despite his fleshly body and cultivation base being at their peak, was still growing!

By now, he could see nothing but blackness, and even his newly empowered divine sense could only spread out a short distance. He was now 60,000 meters down.

At this point, he began to shake, and he knew that this was his limit. He could tell that he was on the verge of collapsing. Trembling, he settled down cross-legged and waited to see how long he could hold on!

Chapter 1078: Eight Gates, All Top 10!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1079

Chapter 1079: Omen of the Door of the Ancient Realm

Currently, all the disciples outside were staring fixedly at the first golden gate stone stele, and that glittering name on its surface!

Naruto had made it into the top 10 in all of the other golden gate stone steles, from the second to the ninth. Now, if he reached the top 10 in the first stele as well, that meant that he would have already done enough to win the bet and get 300,000,000 Immortal jades!

When people thought of that vast amount of wealth, they trembled, even Fan Dong'er. It was an enormous sum that would move anyone, including entire clans and sects.

Despite being in the Dao Realm, the Demonic Patriarch's throat instantly went bone dry. It wasn't that the Demonic Cultivator Horde couldn't afford to pay out 300,000,000 Immortal jades. However… it was still an immense sum to them.

With Granny Nine and the others there, there wasn't a single trick they could pull to get out of the situation. Nor was there anything they could do to Naruto in the trial by fire. They could only look on with wide eyes.

Everyone watched as Naruto 's name continued to rise until finally it came to rest… in 15th place!

Hushed whispers could be heard, and many people began to pant.

"15th place! Depending on how long Naruto can hold out at that depth, he might be able to make it into the top 10!"

"Everyone from the 15th to the 5th place remained at 60,000 meters, which is a major boundary. The difference between them is how long they can hold out!"

"If he can endure for 40 hours, then he can squeeze past the current

10th place name, who endured for 38 hours. Then Naruto will occupy

10th place! Only by enduring for 70 hours… can he reach 5th place!"

Time passed. 2 hours. 4 hours… soon 10 hours had gone by. Naruto remained in the sea beneath the sect, body shivering, eyes bloodshot. The terrifying pressure was like an intense attack that continued for every second that passed.

It wasn't that Naruto wasn't powerful, nor that he lacked a profound cultivation base. Instead, he simply hadn't been in the Nine Seas God World for long enough, and was far removed from the cultivators who had actually been born here.

Although people like that didn't have fleshly bodies that matched up to Naruto 's, and even if their cultivation bases didn't match up to his either, they had naturally adapted. To them, sinking down and enduring the pressure was a much simpler thing.

As for Naruto , he had to pay a much heavier price to catch up to the others in such a short period of time.

He continued to hold on, and soon, another 6 hours had passed. Naruto had already been sitting there cross-legged for 16 hours. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his skin was splitting all over. From the look of it, if he made even a slight movement, he would be on the verge of completely collapsing.

His Eternal stratum was hard at work, and his eyes were fully bloodshot.

He could sense that this pressure was the limit his body could take.

Because of the intensity of it, his cultivation base was also fighting back madly, causing rumbling sounds to fill his mind.

The rumbling grew more intense, as if every beat of his heart and every surge of his cultivation base cause his whole body to shake. Although blood oozed out all over him, he could sense that he… was becoming stronger!

"When it reaches the point where I can unleash the full extent of my battle prowess at this depth, that will indicate… that I've completely acclimated to a depth of 60,000 meters!" His eyes glittered, and he clenched his teeth.

Soon the 20th hour had passed. 20 hours. 30 hours….

Outside of the first golden gate stone stele, the crowd was in an uproar. Because he had endured for 30 hours, Naruto 's name continued to rise, all the way from the 15th position to the 14th. Then the 13th, and finally… to the 11th!

"Only 8 more hours, and he'll reach the top 10!"

"From ancient times until now there have only been four people in the

Nine Seas God World who have ever been able to make it into all the top 10s! If Naruto can last for another 8 hours, then… there will be a fifth!"

As the crowd discussed the matter heatedly, Naruto sat with his eyes closed to cover the veins of blood. He continued to endure despite what sounded like thunder pounding inside of his body. He was trembling as his cultivation base fought a desperate battle with the pressure from the outside, pressure that was trying to crush him to death.

"Just a little bit longer. I can hold out just a bit longer!" He wasn't sure where his name was on the list, but he did know that for every hour he could endure, he would be that much more likely to make it into the top 10.

"For empowerment! And for the 300,000,000 Immortal jades!" Naruto 's eyes suddenly snapped open, revealing a gleam of madness. He might be trembling, and gritting his teeth to the point where they were about to shatter, but he knew that he could still hang on.

Soon the 32nd hour had passed. Then it was 34 hours. 36 hours…. all the way to 40 hours!

The atmosphere outside of the golden gate stone stele was explosive. Everyone was completely shaken, and all eyes were fixed on the name that could now be seen in the 10th position.

Naruto !

He had succeeded! He had surpassed the person who had previously held 10th place, and was now in the top 10!

"The top 10! Naruto is now in the top 10!"

"From ancient times until now, he is the fifth person to do this!" The crowd was in an uproar, and their clamor echoed out in all directions.

Fan Dong'er had a complex expression on her face. She couldn't help but admit that Naruto … had surpassed all the other current Chosen of their generation. It was as if his overwhelming superiority enabled him to place himself far, far ahead of everyone else. He was like a vast mountain sitting in front of all the other Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, a mountain that was preeminently difficult to pass over.

The Demonic Patriarch stood there silently. After a moment, he sighed inwardly, then turned and left. He knew that there was nothing he could do now. Naruto had won. He had a mind to renege on the wager, but he knew that it was actually impossible to do so.

Nursing his hatred deep in his heart, the Demonic Patriarch snorted coldly, and his eyes glinted as he shot off into the distance, a streak of prismatic light.

In the moment that Naruto endured past 40 hours, blood spurted out all over his body. He was on the verge of collapse, and could not continue on any further. He could sense that under the vast pressure, his cultivation base was getting weaker and weaker. The more he fought back, the weaker he would get. Even the light in his eyes was growing dimmer. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, his body trembled, and a strange expression appeared in his eyes.

He had suddenly noticed that although he was like a candle on the verge of sputtering out, unexpectedly… a regenerative force had suddenly sprung up inside of him.

That power had apparently been forced out of him because of the intense pressure bearing down on him, and also because he was now in the Realm of the Immortal Emperor. At this point, all of the remaining power within his cultivation base was being forced out explosively.

Rumbling could be heard, and his eyes began to shine even brighter. The regenerative force rapidly restored him, causing his heart to tremble, and his fleshly body… to suddenly grow rapidly, even more so than his cultivation base.

The pounding of his heart sounded like thunder in his ears.

With each beat, the tears in his skin were healed, and gradually, an enormous door opened up in front of him!

That door was even more majestic than the Door of Immortality, and even more ancient. In fact, it was so archaic that it caused everything to tremble violently.

The feeling emanating out of that door was not one of Immortality, but rather, a boundlessly Ancient feeling!

The instant Naruto saw the door, his heart began to pound wildly; he knew exactly what it was. It was the door… that led to the Ancient Realm!

When a cultivator entered the Ancient Realm, the Door of the Ancient Realm would appear, in much the same way that a door appeared when entering the Immortal Realm. Once the door was pushed open, an enormous bell would appear!

That bell was the Ancient Bell, and once struck, it would ignite Soul Lamps. The flame of his life force would materialize the Realmwind, and in the following days and years… that wind would be used to extinguish the Soul Lamps!

Then he would enter a Realm in which the lamps were extinguished but the cultivator was not. When all of the Soul Lamps were extinguished, he would be at the peak of the Ancient Realm, and would have forged his foundation for the Dao Realm!

What he was seeing right now… was an omen of the Ancient Realm!

Anyone else other than Naruto would have long since been able to step into the Ancient Realm. However, the path he walked was different than anyone else. He was not willing to try to step into the Ancient Realm until he had fully absorbed all four of his Nirvana Fruits.

And yet, here was an omen of the Ancient Realm, not because of his cultivation base, but rather…

"My fleshly body!" he thought. His eyes gleamed brightly. He had never imagined that he would be able to force out the omen of the Ancient Realm while facing the pressure of the Ninth Sea.

"I understand now!" His eyes shone with the light of understanding. Actually, his fleshly body had long since passed what could be categorized as an Immortal Realm fleshly body. However, the door to the Ancient Realm had never appeared.

This was something he could not inquire of others about. Even the ancient records of most sects and clans wouldn't contain the tiniest scrap of a clue about the matter. After all… in countless years, it was extremely rare for any body cultivator to reach a true Immortal fleshly body. As for an Ancient Realm fleshly body, that was even rarer. Even if such people did exist, everyone had different circumstances, and as such, would use different methods to make their breakthroughs.

But right now, he understood how to find his own path!

"The more my fleshly body is damaged, the stronger it gets! That is my path! In that case, if I can go down further… then perhaps I can enter the Ancient Realm, and my fleshly body will be even more powerful!"

Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto 's eyes glittered. He was just about to take action when he realized that the regenerative power within him was fading away. Furthermore, the boundless pressure of the Ninth Sea at this depth of 60,000 meters was actually forcing him up from his current position!

In the blink of an eye, he vanished, and when he reappeared, he was outside the first golden gate stone stele. As soon as he appeared, he coughed up a vast quantity of blood. At the same time, the pressure suddenly changed completely. Cracking sounds could be heard from inside of him. Without the pressure against him, his cultivation base suddenly exploded upward. The sound of the roaring crowd washed over him.

All of the Nine Seas God World disciples who had come to observe were completely shaken. They had personally witnessed Naruto 's name rise to the top. They had seen something that hadn't happened for years! A fifth person successfully entered the top 10 of all of the golden gates!

Surrounded by the shouts of the crowd, Naruto turned around to look at the stone stele, and found that his name was in the 10th position.

"10th…." he murmured, and his eyes filled with the gleam of ambition.

"Senior Granny Nine, please give me some instant regeneration medicinal pills!" He suddenly spun, clasped hands and bowed deeply to Granny Nine.

Granny Nine looked closely at Naruto , and was about to say something, when suddenly she looked up, as if she had just noticed something. It wasn't just her. All of the Dao Realm experts, including the two Demonic Patriarchs that had already left, suddenly turned with flickering faces.

"The aura of the great Door of the Ancient Realm. This…." Granny Nine gasped and looked back at Naruto . Deep in her eyes, a strange light gleamed. Without any further hesitation, she tossed a shining, ninecolored medicinal pill bottle down to Naruto .

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1080

Chapter 1080(Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1080: Crimson Door of the Ancient Realm

It was at this point that two aura streams exploded out from the Nine Seas God World. They belonged to the Demonic Patriarchs, and they immediately shot up and then out of the Ninth Sea.

It wasn't just them. The two Dao Realm experts from the other two factions were shaken, and also sent divine sense out to examine the situation for themselves.

Ling Yunzi looked shocked, then glanced back and Naruto with a profound look of anticipation.

Godmaster smiled faintly, then closed his eyes.

No one but the Dao Realm cultivators could sense the aura up above the

Ninth Sea. All they saw was Granny Nine throwing the medicinal pills to Naruto .

The medicinal pills and the medicinal pill bottle seemed completely beyond the ordinary.

Naruto grabbed the bottle, opened it, and took a whiff. Based on his skill in the Dao of alchemy, he was immediately able to determine the effect of the pills. They were pills of restoration that would be considered extravagant even for cultivators of the Ancient Realm. They were something Dao Realm experts might possess, but not in number. Even one could be considered extremely precious.

Naruto was moved, and once again clasped hands to Granny Nine, then unhesitatingly popped a pill into his mouth.

The instant the medicinal pill entered his mouth, Naruto felt like he was shaking violently. His cultivation base was rapidly restored, and in the space of only a few breaths, his eyes began to shine brightly, and he was fully back at his peak state.

Furthermore, because of the way he had fought back against the pressure of the Ninth Sea, he was even more powerful than he had been before!

"I've won the bet, and now those 300,000,000 Immortal jades belong to me!" he murmured, taking a deep breath. Then he turned to look at the first golden gate stone stele, and a wild ambition could be seen burning in his eyes.

"And now, my fleshly body has reached a critical juncture. In that case, I might as well go for broke….

"With the exception of the fifth stone stele, I want to be 1st in all of them!" Under the shocked eyes of the disciples of the Nine Seas God World, and the cold, venomous stares of the Demonic cultivators, he once again entered the first golden gate stone stele.

The moment he vanished, the crowds of disciples went wild.

"He's actually going back into the first golden gate? He already got into the top 10, could it be that he wants to get an even better ranking?"

"This trial by fire isn't something that you can complete in just one shot. It requires repeated cultivation and improvement. Naruto … is a bit impatient."

"Even if he challenges it again now, he won't get higher than 5th place.

He definitely won't get into the top 4!"

Fan Dong'er hesitated for a moment. She just couldn't believe that Naruto would be doing something like this rashly. In her judgement, he was a cunning person who never did things unless he knew they would benefit him. For him to make a choice like this meant that he had good reason to do so.

As the discussions went on outside, Naruto once again appeared in the deep sea beneath the Nine Seas God World. This time, he sank down rapidly and without the slightest pause.

Soon, he he had reached his previous limit of 60,000 meters. There, he paused for a moment, allowing his cultivation base to erupt out and fight back against the pressure. Gritting his teeth, he continued to drop down.

He wanted to advance his fleshly body into the Ancient Realm, to be more powerful. The only way to do that was to continue to sink downward. There, the pressure was more terrifying, and his body would be refined even further.

By forcing himself past that final line of demarcation, and then exploding out… he was convinced that his fleshly body would become incredibly terrifying.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Blood oozed out of his mouth, and cracking sounds could be heard inside of him. As he sank down, the pressure became terrifying to an astonishing degree. His body rippled and distorted as the pressure battered against him.

However, he continued to sink down. 75,000 meters. 84,000 meters….

His mind filled with rumbling sounds, and his flesh was covered with splits and tears. The flame of his life force was fading, and his cultivation base was under such enormous pressure that it almost couldn't budge.

He felt like all of Heaven and Earth were weighing down on him, and his vision began to swim. However, he continued to go all out, to spare nothing to continue on downward.

As he continued to sink to lower and lower levels, certain late Ancient Realm experts of the Nine Seas God World, who were currently in secluded meditation, suddenly opened their eyes and looked up into the sky, their expressions flickering slightly.

Soon, the mid Ancient Realm experts also noticed something happening in the outside world, and their eyes widened.

Meanwhile, Naruto in his madness sank down into the Ninth Sea. He had already reached a depth of 90,000 meters, and the pressure was indescribably terrifying, dozens of times greater than the pressure at 60,000 meters.

Everything was pitch black, and by now, it almost felt like he wasn't surrounded by water, but wind!

Perhaps that feeling was just an illusion; Naruto couldn't sense things very clearly. By now, the flame of his life force was swaying weakly, as if it was about to be extinguished. His body was twisted and warped, as if it might be broken at any moment.

Just as he seemed to be on the verge of losing consciousness, he suddenly let out a shout in his heart.

"This is my final limit! Let the great Door of the Ancient Realm… come!"

Almost in that same moment, even the Immortal Realm cultivators in the Nine Seas God World were able to detect that something was happening. Their faces flickered as they began to look up… whereupon everyone gasped.

"That's…"

"The great Door of the Ancient Realm! That's the great Door of the

Ancient Realm which appears when someone breaks through from the Immortal Realm to the Ancient Realm!"

"Someone is breaking out of the Immortal Realm and stepping into the Ancient Realm!"

"No, that can't be right! How come that door is crimson? It should be gray!"

The Nine Seas God World was in chaos as voices echoed out everywhere. The entire Ninth Sea was roaring, and countless sea beasts trembled in hiding, too frightened even to peek out to see what was happening.

In the starry sky up above… countless motes of starlight had formed together into the shape of a matchlessly shocking door.

That door was completely crimson, but it radiated an ancient, primordial aura which caused the seawater to roil. It seemed to represent Heaven and Earth, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"A crimson Door of the Ancient Realm! That represents… the Ancient

Realm fleshly body!"

"That's definitely… Ancient Realm fleshly body!" Hoarse exclamations like this could be heard coming from the mouths of the wise and knowledgeable late Ancient Realm experts in the Nine Seas God World.

Soon, more and more people began to realize what the crimson Door of the Ancient Realm meant, and soon, the whole Nine Seas God World was abuzz. Almost everyone forgot about Naruto ; after all, witnessing the appearance of an Ancient Realm expert was much more interesting than binge-watching Naruto challenge the golden gates.

Fan Dong'er was the only one who, after sensing the fluctuations of the great Door of the Ancient Realm, suddenly looked at Naruto 's name on the first golden gate stone stele.

In that same moment… the Door of the Ancient Realm above the Ninth

Sea began to emit a crimson glow, which pierced down through the water into the Nine Seas God World, and then… landed on the first golden gate stone stele! Everyone's minds reeled.

"It's Naruto !"

"The only person in the first golden gate stone stele trial by fire is Naruto !"

"How… how is this possible!? Naruto is entering the Ancient Realm?

An Ancient Realm fleshly body?" People cried out in disbelief and shock. Fan Dong'er staggered backward and bit her lip. Naruto was truly an enormous mountain blocking the way of an entire generation of Chosen, a mountain that… was now growing even higher!

Rumbling echoed out as the crimson glow pierced into the golden gate stone stele. and then appeared under the sect in the sea. In the blink of an eye, it was at the 90,000-meter mark… and was on Naruto !

Naruto 's body was twisted and distorted. His divine sense was blurry, and he was on the verge of passing out. However, when the crimson glow enveloped him, his eyes began to shine brightly, and he quivered. The intense roaring that filled him knocked him to his senses.

In that moment of clarity, he raised his head and shot upward from the 90,000 meter mark all the way until he left the golden gate and appeared once again in the middle of the Nine Seas God World.

Everyone, even the Dao Realm experts, were looking at him. Countless eyes could see him, bathed in crimson light, rising up into the air. He passed out of the Nine Seas God World's spell formation, through the seawater… and up into the sky above the sea!

Numerous cultivators flew out of the Nine Seas God World to observe. The Ninth Sea itself was roaring, and countless people were looking up into the sky.

They saw a gigantic crimson Door of the Ancient Realm, and they could sense a will that caused them to tremble. It was a will that seemed to represent Heaven and Earth, a will that left even the Dao Realm experts in awe.

As he hovered within the red light, Naruto 's body rapidly recovered. He rose up, higher and higher, until he was directly in front of the Door of the Ancient Realm. By the time the glow vanished, Naruto was back at his peak.

He could also sense his fleshly body growing incredibly powerful.

Cracking sounds rang out as he rapidly grew to a height of nine meters.

He almost looked like a giant, and although he was tiny in comparison to the Door of the Ancient Realm, his explosive, surging energy could shake Heaven and Earth.

He was the subject of countless gazes who had seen Immortal Realm cultivators step into the Ancient Realm. However, no one had ever witnessed such a feat when it came to the fleshly body!

Naruto took a deep breath. He could sense that his cultivation base was sealed, which meant that he could only rely on the power of his fleshly body. Although the shocking transformations of heaven and earth that were about to occur weren't nearly as strong as when one's cultivation base entered the Ancient Realm, it was still considered Ancient Tribulation!

He suddenly flew toward the Door of the Ancient Realm, roaring as his hands formed, not fists, but palms, that slammed into the door. He did not rotate his cultivation base, but rather, relied only on his fleshly body to push forward.

BOOM!

The great Door of the Ancient Realm shook, and opened a sliver, causing a wind to blow out that instantly weakened the flame of his life force.

"No magical techniques. This is my fleshly body Ancient Realm Tribulation. However, my secret techniques can still be utilized!" As his voice echoed out, his Immortal meridians, despite being sealed, did not prevent him from using that personal secret technique. His 123 Immortal meridians could still be transformed into a single fleshly body meridian.

Suddenly, his fleshly body grew even larger, and an intense power erupted out of him. At the same time, both hands slammed down onto the Door of the Ancient Realm. With a huge roar, he shoved with all his might.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Everyone watched as the gigantic Door of the Ancient Realm… opened!

Chapter 1080: Crimson Door of the Ancient Realm

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1081

Chapter 1081: Summoning Soul Lamps, Stepping Into the Ancient Realm!

The crimson Door of the Ancient Realm let out an intense rumble as it opened. Then, a wind sprang up, which swept over Naruto , causing his life force and his soul to hover on the verge of extermination.

In the face of such danger, Naruto let out a hoarse shout. At the same time, his heart started to beat rapidly, and shocking fleshly body power transformed into a surge of Chakra that fought back against the Realmwind!

The cultivators of the Nine Seas God World who hovered above the surface of the water were all watching as this happened.

After the wind passed, shockingly, something else appeared within the crimson Door of the Ancient Realm. That was… a bell!

"The Bell of the Ancient Realm!"

"The Bell of the Ancient Realm has appeared! When you ring that bell, you can ignite Soul Lamps. However many times you ring the bell, that's how many Soul Lamps you can ignite!"

"Generally speaking, it's one Soul Lamp for every five Immortal meridians that you have!"

"This Naruto … he has 123 Immortal meridians. He… he can ignite more than twenty Soul Lamps?"

"The more Soul Lamps you have, the more difficult the Ancient Realm will be for you. On the other hand, you will be that much more powerful!"

As the shouts of astonishment rang out, Naruto took a deep breath. He was not entering the Ancient Realm with his cultivation base, but rather, his fleshly body. He actually wasn't sure if any Soul Lamps would appear.

Furthermore, Naruto had no one to follow as an example. Although his fleshly body appeared to be that of a body cultivator, he was actually different from body cultivators. Body cultivators needed to bathe in the blood of a God to be able to rise up into another Realm. Furthermore, their type of cultivation was not separated into Immortal and Ancient.

Naruto walked a different path, a path far removed from the norm. His was not the ancient path of body cultivators, but rather, a combination of different systems of cultivation. He was walking his own path.

"Let's find out if I'll get any Soul Lamps or not!" Naruto took a deep breath. and without any further hesitation, stepped forward into the great Door of the Ancient Realm. He saw the enormous Bell of the Ancient Realm in front of him, clenched his right hand into a fist, and punched out.

The tolling of the bell echoed out, and waves surged across the Ninth Sea. Everything blurred, and the world distorted. All the cultivators felt their minds reeling.

A tremor ran through Naruto , and his body showed signs of withering. His life force, as well as his Chakra and blood, were now being absorbed, not by the Bell of the Ancient Realm, but rather, by a black-hole-like vortex that had appeared in his chest!

Naruto took a deep breath and closed his eyes. Moments later, a shocking image appeared in his chest!

It was… the image of a Soul Lamp! It looked like a tiny person, a person sitting there cross-legged in the position of Naruto 's physical heart!

"So Soul Lamps really will appear!"

"Stepping into the fleshly body Ancient Realm also produces Soul Lamps! This Naruto is in defiance of the Heavens!" To the spectators, shock piled upon shock until it seemed beyond belief.

That was because they realized that the tiny person that was the Soul

Lamp was actually not burning, but instead, was already extinguished!

Everyone was stunned. Normally speaking, striking the Bell of the Ancient Realm caused ignited Soul Lamps to appear. Later on, those lamps would be extinguished one by one, giving the cultivator increased power.

However, Naruto 's Soul Lamp was already extinguished…. He was exactly the opposite of everyone else! Fleshly body Soul Lamps did not need to be extinguished, they needed to be ignited!

Godmaster's eyes snapped open, and a slight tremor ran through him.

His voice hoarse, he said, "Anti-Ancient!"

"It's… anti-Ancient!" An expression of disbelief appeared on Granny

Nine's face. Ling Yunzi gasped, and looked shocked. As for the two Demonic Patriarchs, they looked like they had been struck by lightning. They trembled as they stared at Naruto in astonishment.

When the Soul Lamps of the Ancient Realm fleshly body appeared, that was shocking in and of itself. However, for the lamps to appear in an extinguished state caused the Dao Realm Patriarchs to suddenly remember a legendary and terrifying stage within the Ancient Realm!

That was… the anti-Ancient Realm!

According to the legend, in the heyday of the Paragon Immortal Realm, there had once appeared a person whose Ancient Realm was the opposite of the norm. Instead of extinguishing Soul Lamps, that person ignited them.

The details of that person's life was shrouded in mystery, and subsequent generations knew little about him. All that was known was that it was forbidden to follow in his footsteps. The Paragons of the time intentionally wiped out all information about him. Later, the Paragon Immortal Realm was destroyed, and the term 'anti-Ancient' became a term known only to the Three Great Daoist Societies. No one outside of those sects had even heard of it.

In the moment that the Dao Realm experts were shaken, Naruto took a deep breath, opened his eyes and struck his fist out once more toward the Bell of the Ancient Realm.

That strike caused the bell to toll, and Naruto 's body to tremble. He withered some more, and a wave of weakness caused him to shudder.

A second Soul Lamp appeared, this time in his abdomen, absorbing more of his Chakra, blood, and life force!

"Fleshly body Soul Lamps are so powerful…." he thought. He quickly consumed a medicinal pill, then frowned when he realized that the pill… did nothing. It was incapable of restoring him. Furthermore, his Eternal stratum was sealed, and could not spring into motion to help him recover.

His eyes glittered, and he ignored the withering of his body, striking out a third time, and then a fourth!

His body withered even more, until he looked like nothing more than a bag of bones. However, two more Soul Lamps appeared, one in each of his shoulders.

Naruto staggered back a bit; the sense of weakness that filled him seemed to have reached a pinnacle of intensity. However, he wasn't willing to stop with only four Soul Lamps. Gritting his teeth and growling, he punched the bell three more times! Every strike cause him to wither even more!

Instantly, two Soul Lamps appeared in his knees, and one in his forehead. By now, he didn't even look like a person, but rather, a skeleton! His life force was weak, like a candle on the verge of being snuffed out!

This was a type of weakness he had never experienced before, and it made him feel like a feeble old man laying on his deathbed. All of his life force had been handed over to the new Soul Lamps!

Heart, abdomen, shoulders, knees, forehead: a total of seven Soul Lamps!

At this point, the will of the Bell of the Ancient Realm could sense that Naruto had reached his limit, and began to fade away.

"I'm not finished yet!" Seeing the bell beginning to fade away, he threw his head back and roared! Both hands turned into fists, and flew toward the Bell of the Ancient Realm. His entire body appeared to have been destroyed, vanished into thin air. And yet… two Soul Lamps suddenly appeared in his eyes!

Nine Soul Lamps!

His Soul Lamps were unlike anyone else's. They even looked different. The Soul Lamps of others actually resembled lamps, but Naruto 's Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps looked like people!

Each and every one sat there cross-legged, looking very somber and dignified. They seemed threatening without appearing to be angry, and if you looked closely, you would be able to see that they looked like exact representations of Naruto !

Nine Soul Lamps distributed throughout his body. They did not circulate around him, but rather… existed inside!

This was the Ancient Realm fleshly body!

In almost the same moment that the final Soul Lamps appeared, the Bell of the Ancient Realm faded away, and a fierce wind blew out from inside the huge door. When it touched him, he shook, and a majestic Chakra and blood power poured into him.

His body soaked it in like a rice paddy after a drought. It contained boundless nourishing power that transformed into incredible life force inside of him. It nourished his blood and flesh, grew his bones, fed his fleshly body. It caused his Chakra and blood to experience rapid and terrifying growth.

He could clearly sense the incredible transformations occurring. Cracking sounds rang out, and he seemed to be completely shedding his previous self. His fleshly body power broke completely past the peak of the Immortal Realm, stepping into a new level, that of the Ancient Realm!

An Ancient Realm fleshly body appeared, causing all Heaven and Earth to tremble. The Ninth Sea roared, and Naruto could sense the nine Soul Lamps inside of him madly absorbing all of the rushing Realmwind. It was as if… they were using that power to ignite themselves!

Naruto could sense that with each Soul Lamp that he ignited, his fleshly body would grow even more powerful!

As the wind blew, his Soul Lamps began to show signs of igniting. In the end, however, the wind wasn't enough to complete the job. Only the two Soul Lamps in his eyes came to life.

In that moment, Naruto felt like a million lightning bolts were crashing around in his mind. Shaken, he felt his fleshly body power rising explosively. The air around him distorted, and as he clenched his fists, it shattered.

It was a boundless feeling of power, giving him the confidence that he could easily slay Ancient Realm experts with numerous extinguished Soul Lamps. It made him feel like… the power of one punch could shake the entire world. Naruto truly felt… much more powerful!

The difference between himself now and moments before… was incredibly vast!

He took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine with a bright light. Behind him, the great Door of the Ancient Realm slowly faded away. As it disappeared, the Ninth Sea finally returned to a state of calm.

In contrast, the hearts of the countless cultivators above the surface of the sea were anything but calm. The scene they had just witnessed was the fastest they had ever seen anyone enter the Ancient Realm, and also the most shocking!

That shock would not end, nor would it ever be forgotten. This day could be considered the day that Naruto truly rose to prominence in the Nine Seas God World, and was a day that would not be forgotten for countless years to come!

Naruto turned into a bright beam of light that shot back down into the sea, through the water, into the Nine Seas God World, and then into the golden gate stone stele to finally appear beneath the sect in the deep sea!

Great waves rolled out across the surface of the sea, and a vortex appeared deep under the water. However, the regions down below which had previously exerted massive pressure on Naruto now barely affected him at all.

30,000 meters. 60,000 meters. 90,000 meters. 120,000 meters….

Naruto surged with energy as he shot downward madly. At the same time, his name shot up in the rankings on the first golden gate stone stele. Although he was in 5th place, the name in 1st place only had a depth of 99,000 meters next to it! 1

Naruto had already vastly exceeded everyone, except in the matter of the time spent. However… not every rank of depth required time spent. Anyone who could sink down past 180,000 meters would automatically shatter the records of any other name, and would be completely deserving to stand in 1st place!

Rumbling filled Naruto as he sank down further. 150,000 meters…. 180,000 meters. 210,000 meters. 240,000 meters…. Finally, when he reached 261,429 meters, he caught sight of the sea floor, and was completely shaken. 2

Outside on the first golden gate, a bright golden light of unprecedented intensity shot up into the air as Naruto 's name reached… 1st place!

When people saw the number next to his name that represented the depth he had reached, they were thunderstruck.

99,000 meters is "3 wan 3 Chakraan zhang," or "3 (10,000), 3 (1,000) zhang"

↩ 261,429 meters is 87,143 zhang ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1082

Chapter 1082: The Third Fist Strike!

"First golden gate stone stele… 1st place…."

"I once heard that the absolute limit is more than 260,000 meters, but he… actually reached the sea floor! That's a place that only truly powerful experts can see…." Murmurs of astonishment could be heard in the crowd. Fan Dong'er was in a daze, and Bei Yu was panting in astonishment.

261,429 meters!

The distance the land mass of the Nine Seas God World maintained from the bottom of the sea had always been a fixed number from ancient times until now. Furthermore, no one whose name was recorded on the first golden gate stone stele had ever reached that depth.

The rankings only contained names of Ancient Realm experts with five or less extinguished Soul Lamps. Because of that rule, no one with that amount of Soul Lamps… had ever gone so deep.

It was a position that instantly put someone at the peak, in 1st place, even if they only managed to stay there for an instant. Not even Demonic cultivators who were born in the Ninth Sea could go down so far.

The crowds outside of the first golden gate stone stele burst into a commotion. Cries of shock rang out, and the astonishment felt by the disciples of the Nine Seas God World reached a tempestuous level that swept across the entire sect.

The Demonic Cultivator Horde was equally shaken. When they saw Naruto 's name on the first golden gate stone stele, their hearts were filled with dread.

Although they instinctively hated him, in the cultivation world, people respected the powerful. The Demonic cultivators also held this awe deep in their hearts, so despite their hatred of him, henceforth, they would no longer dare to provoke him further.

Naruto was using pure power to shake all hearts.

Currently, Naruto was now down at the bottom of the Ninth Sea. Despite the incredibly terrifying power of his fleshly body, he could still fill the indescribable pressure weighing down on him.

Because of that pressure, he would not be able to remain in this place for very long, perhaps only ten breaths of time. As he looked around, his heart was shaken to a profound level.

At the bottom of the Ninth Sea… he saw a corpse….

It was a vast, gargantuan corpse that seemed to make up the entire bottom of the Ninth Sea!

It was vastly archaic and ancient, and a huge gash could be seen splitting it apart….

Naruto was currently standing on the corpse's head. Visible on the forehead were… eight dim stars!

"A God…." he thought, shaken. He suddenly recalled Uchiha Sasuke, and great waves of shock rolled through him, causing him to stand there silently in the pressure. 1

He had already reached the point where he couldn't hold on any longer, and he gave one last look over the corpse. Then he turned, and prepared to head back up. However, it was in that moment in which he turned, that in his peripheral vision, he suddenly noticed that located on one of the stars on the corpse's head… was a person!

It was a woman, wearing a long, violet garment. It was… a woman that Naruto remembered! It was… an old friend from Planet Ninshu !

She stood there atop the corpse, her expression complex. 2

"Han Bei!" Naruto thought, his eyes widening.

Everything was dark, with only the corpse letting off the faintest of light. Even with Naruto 's intensely powerful fleshly body, and vision as sharp as lighting, he could just barely make out the image clearly.

He began to tremble, and opened his eyes widely to look closer, but by that time, nothing was visible atop the star. It was almost as if what he had seen was nothing more than an illusion.

Before he could react, the pressure at the sea bottom forced him up. He saw the corpse fading away below him, and his eyes flickered.

"I feel like what I saw… was real! It was no illusion!

"I'm not sure what caused that to happen, but that woman… was Han Bei!" Naruto was lost in thought as he recalled all the things that had occurred between the two of them.

"Nine ancient family names…." he thought, eyes flashing. Then he thought back to how Han Bei had gone missing back on Planet Ninshu . After everyone had returned from the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, Han Bei had vanished completely.

Suddenly, Naruto recalled how strange her disappearance was. It was not simply that nobody could find her. Actually… other than him, nobody even seemed to remember her at all.

It was something he had analyzed in the past, the fact that after the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, nobody mentioned Han Bei at all.

Regardless of whether any given person personally knew her or not, all traces of her seemed to have been wiped away.

Thinking about this now, Naruto realized that it was more of a feeling, or a guess. There was one way to prove whether or not his theory was right, and that was Sakura. She was someone who should remember Han Bei.

When she woke up, he would ask her. Then he would know the truth!

If Sakura remembered Han Bei, then everything Naruto had speculated was simply over-thinking. However, if Sakura… didn't remember Han Bei, then… it meant Naruto would definitely have to think it over some more.

"I'll know for sure when Sakura wakes up." Naruto glanced back down at the sea floor before shooting up toward the sect. He wouldn't forget the things he had just seen. Shortly, he reached the top, and vanished.

When he walked out of the first golden gate stone stele, he turned back to look at the list of names, and smiled. Then he sped toward the second stele.

The eyes of all the disciples were involuntarily glued to his back.

After stepping into the second golden gate stone stele, Naruto only needed the time it takes half an incense stick to burn before reaching 1st place. Boundless golden light erupted out from the stele.

This was his second 1st place spot.

The crowd was shouting and hollering. How could the disciples not realize what Naruto was trying to do…?

"He wants to take 1st place in all the steles!"

"1st place in all of the nine stone steles?"

"It's not even worth talking about. From ancient times until now, the most 1st place spots taken by a single person has been six. And that only lasted for a hundred years before the spot was taken by someone else…."

"This Naruto , could it be… that he's going to pull off another miracle!?"

Rumbling could be heard as Naruto flew through the air toward the third golden gate. This time he was even faster; he only need thirty breaths of time before his name sailed past all the other names to the 1st place position.

The third 1st place spot!

The crowds were shaken and in an uproar. Gasps could be heard as Naruto emerged and proceeded… toward the fourth golden gate stone stele!

Moments later, boundless golden light rose up, staining the entire ocean the color of gold. Naruto … had his fourth 1st place spot!

Four steles, all of them 1st place!

The Nine Seas God World was boiling with excitement. Naruto really was pulling off a miracle, and his image was being unforgettably engraved into the hearts of an entire generation.

Naruto chose not to enter the fifth stele. That one, he didn't need!

He shot past it toward the sixth stele, entered, and after the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, had yet another 1st place spot!

Everyone was so excited they felt like lightning bolts were crashing down all around. It had been a very, very long time since something like this had happened in the Nine Seas God World, something that set everyone's blood boiling.

Seventh stele, 1st place!

Eighth stele, 1st place!

Naruto went from one golden gate to another, and other than the fifth stele, which he wanted no part of, he took 1st place in all of them!

He was followed by a crowd of excited Nine Seas God World disciples. The Demonic cultivators were ashen-faced, their hearts filled with intense fear and shock regarding Naruto .

He… was the first person to have ever succeeded at doing something like this in the Nine Seas God World.

It was now a certainty that his name would be an eternal myth passed down through the history of the sect!

Finally, he appeared in front of the ninth golden gate stone stele. He came to a stop and stood there for a moment. Then, face solemn, he took a deep breath, and entered.

The moment he entered, the old man's voice echoed out to fill the entire world.

"Do you believe yourself to be qualified to gain the enlightenment of my third fist strike?"

"Absolutely!" Naruto replied immediately.

"Very well!" As the voice echoed out, the old man appeared out of thin air. He looked at Naruto , and his eyes shone with praise. He began to walk forward, his voice booming.

"First fist, Life-Extermination Fist!

"After extermination, one's own life must be sacrificed!

"After self-immolation, one can… slay Gods!

"My third fist strike is called… God-Slaying!" The old man's voice thrummed with energy. He strode forward, and all of a sudden, it seemed like he was the world, and the world was him!

He neared, fist swinging. It looked like an ordinary punch, not as murderous as the Life-Extermination Fist, nor as domineering as the Self-Immolation Fist. It seemed simple. However, it also filled Naruto with an unprecedented sensation of deadly crisis.

It was as if this one punch could suck in the energy of the entire world, and transform that energy into the power… to slay Gods!

"What are Gods?!" As the fist closed in, the old man's voice continued to echo out.

"Just another name some of the Outsiders call themselves. As for us from the Immortal World, we respect their power. Therefore, if they wish to call themselves Gods, then we approve!

"It is only because we approve of them that… killing them feels so wonderful!

"Remember, Immortals are above everything. And Gods… are like treasures to make ourselves stronger! In my lifetime, I slew 92 Gods. Eventually, I was killed, but my will remained behind in this stone stele, transformed into a soul of battle!" The God-Slaying Fist closed in.

Naruto was shaking, as he realized that he was completely incapable of blocking this fist strike. It was an entire world condensed into one fist. Despite the fact that his cultivation base was now vastly beyond his previous level, it was still impossible for him to resist it.

"Why… should I resist it?" Suddenly, his mind trembled as an idea formed. His eyes began to shine brightly, and instead of trying to block it, he clenched his own hand into a fist and chose to imitate the old man. He decided… to unleash his own God-Slaying Fist!

The old man threw his head back and laughed. When his fist connected with Naruto 's, all of the power of the world poured into Naruto . However, Naruto wasn't injured at all; instead, the power guided him to a new awareness. As the power poured into his fist, the world collapsed.

"Go, you have been enlightened!" The old man's smiling voice echoed out as the world vanished. When everything became clear again, Naruto was outside of the ninth golden gate stone stele.

Behind him, the name in the 1st place position, Zong Wuya… moved to 2nd place.

Naruto 's name shone with boundless golden light as he moved to… 1st place!

Stars appeared on Uchiha Sasuke's forehead when he used the power of Gods to fight Naruto in chapter 990 ↩ In the original Chinese there is a line here which says "she was rubbing/touching (something)" but doesn't say specifically what. I suspect it's a typo/oversight on the part of Er Gen, and I don't want to guess at the meaning. For example, "she was rubbing her temples" and "she was rubbing the corpse" would have very different implications ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1083

Chapter 1083: Lord Fifth's Grand Ambition!

For years in the Ninth Mountain and Sea's Nine Seas God World, the most 1st place spots occupied by any one person was six. That person earned honor and glory that lasted for many years before fading. Even to this day, there was some trace of that glory left behind.

The single remaining trace was on the ranking list of the ninth golden gate stone stele. That person was the previous 1st place spot holder… Zong Wuya. A thousand years before, he had been the number one Chosen in the Nine Seas God World. Although he had become a legend, strangely, his name was not very well known in the outside world.

But now, Naruto had broken his record. He had eight 1st place spots, ensuring that everyone in the sect was shaken, from the cultivators watching everything that happened in person to those who were observing from afar in secluded meditation.

Conversations immediately broke out in the crowd.

"This makes me think of… Elder Brother Zong Wuya from all those years ago…."

"His performance was just as stunning and grand. So domineering…."

"Elder Brother Zong Wuya's achievements slowly faded away over a thousand years. As for Naruto 's achievements… I wonder how many thousands of years will have to pass before he is surpassed… as 1st place on the ninth stele!"

As the buzz from the surrounding crowd continued to grow louder, Uzumaki

Hao took a deep breath, clasped hands, and bowed deeply to Granny Nine and the others. Then, he turned and shot off toward his Immortal's cave.

As Naruto left, he heard Granny Nine's transmitting into his ears:

"Seven days. In seven days, the Windswept Realm will be opened….

Make your final preparations."

He stopped in place, then turned and bowed again, before finally vanishing.

Soon after, he appeared in his valley Immortal's cave, sinking down through the water.

Almost immediately, he heard shrill cries echoing about, which happened to be the excited squawks of the parrot.

"Listen up, it's inspection time! Look lively for Lord Fifth! Come, come.

We sing on my mark! Lord Fifth's future happiness all depends on you!"

The meat jelly didn't want to be left behind, so it cried out: "And Lord

Third too! Lord Third's future all depends on you!"

Naruto looked around, a strange expression on his face. The first thing he noticed was that the group of Demonic cultivators in the pool of water looked extremely gaunt and haggard. However, their expressions were that of mad piety, as if the parrot were truly a god to them.

Even more shocking was that Su Yan looked completely different than before. Her face was pale, and she looked dazed. Apparently, the ordeal of going through these days of indescribable torment had brought her willpower to the point of breaking. She looked like she was going through the motions on pure instinct.

The parrot gave a shout, and the singing began. Everyone belted out the song in harmony, maintaining a strange cadence. Despite having prepared himself mentally, as soon as Naruto heard the song, he could barely force himself to keep listening for more than a few seconds.

"I'm your little, dear little seafood dish! However you love me, it's never too much! I'm your little, dear little seafood dish! Seeeaaaaafoooooood DISH!" 1

The parrot looked around arrogantly, especially as the final verse was sung, and the pitch of the song rose up sharply. In the blink of an eye, the sky went dim, and a huge wind kicked up.

Naruto 's eyes went wide as he stared at all of this happening. He took a deep breath, and was unable to stop himself from admiring the parrot and meat jelly. He had handed over a troupe of hateful Demonic cultivators to the two dunces, and they had come back to him with an impassioned, fanatical singing group.

"STOP!" the parrot cried suddenly, flapping its wings to stop the singing. Not a peep could be heard from the singers. Naruto didn't even dare to think about what they had experienced to cause them to behave so well.

"Look, bitches, don't you remember what Lord Fifth told you!? You can't sing that way! You have to have FEELING! You need to MOVE YOUR EYES!" Enraged, the parrot flew over to a sea turtle and began to beat it viciously with its wings.

"And YOU, you giant scallop! You need to shine! You hear me!? DAMMIT! You idiot!

"And the rest of you, what are you looking so happy for!? What the hell were you doing with that last verse, huh? What the hell? Lord Fifth wants the tone to rise. Do you understand? RISING TONE!"

After more enraged rebuking, the parrot finally flew over to Naruto , looking very apologetic, as if it had failed in its mission.

"Haowie, give Lord Fifth a bit more time. These morons don't listen very well. In Lord Fifth's opinion, if we try to sell them now, we'll really sustain some heavy losses. Just leave them in my hands for a bit longer. Lord Fifth has a dream, and that dream is to have a really top-notch seafood song. I'm going to intensify the training immediately!

"The day will come when I take them out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. We'll tour the entire Mountain and Sea Realm! We'll travel through the starry sky! Their song will become the melody of all the Heavens!" Having found its new ambition, the parrot began to glow with bright light.

Naruto stared in shock. Before he could even say anything in response, the meat jelly jumped in.

"Hey, you old pigeon, why are you glowing all of a sudden?! Waahhhh! How'd you do that?! I want to glow!" It suddenly held its breath, causing its face to turn red. Then it let out a mighty bellow, after which… it suddenly began to glow with bright light as well.

Naruto felt a headache coming on. He quickly nodded at the seemingly insane parrot, then hastily turned and flew toward his Immortal's cave. As he neared it, he could hear the voice of the meat jelly calling out in irritation.

"Listen, you crotchety pigeon, these seafood dishes are obedient thanks to Lord Third's contributions! Lord Third wants bullies! Lord Third wants these seafood dishes sold and exchanged for bullies! I must convert bullies!"

"Moron! How much do you think you could sell them for? Do you even have a brain? Well, do you? You can count, can't you!?"

"Lord Third has a brain! Lord Third's entire body is a brain!"

When Naruto heard this, he cleared his throat and stepped into his Immortal's cave. Moments later, more angry bickering could be heard from the parrot.

"Moron! Fool! Idiot! These seafood dishes would only sell for a trifling sum! However, after they've completed Lord Fifth's training, we'll have an incredible singing group on our hands! Whatever place we go to, we can sell out huge concerts! Do you know how many spirit stones we can make? That's the best way to handle things long-term!"

"You mean like when Naruto got all those spirit stones when he went to the Medicine Pavilion in the Namikaze Clan?"

"Obviously! Except that naruwie doesn't count for bird crap. If he can do that, just imagine how much better Lord Fifth can do! I've already figured it all out. When the time comes, the two of us will be the lead singers. Even naruwie will have to come sing too. When I think of that image, I just get so excited! We need to think of a band name! Come on, start thinking of some ideas."

Naruto slipped into his Immortal's cave and waved his hand, sealing away the outside world. He truly had no further desire to listen to the parrot and meat jelly speaking to each other. As for the song… Naruto believed that he would feel utmost admiration for anyone who could listen to the entire thing.

Although, if the parrot actually did succeed, and the seafood song got popular, maybe he would cooperate and sing with them… for the spirit stones.

He sat down cross-legged and patted his bag of holding. A beam of light immediately flew out, which was Sakura. As he lay her down in front of him, he noticed that her face was no longer pale, but had some color to it. She still wasn't awake, though.

He looked at her for a long time before finally sighing inwardly. Then he reached out and touched her forehead, sending cultivation base power into her, accelerating the process of dispelling the poison.

The heart-blood of ten Sea Dragons was definitely capable of dispelling the poison afflicting her. However, it wasn't capable of doing so very quickly. The process of cleansing her Chakra passageways was a slow one, in which the poison was constantly broken down and transformed into something beneficial to one's cultivation base.

After checking her thoroughly, he sat in thought for a moment, and then decided not to force the process to go any faster. Sakura's current state wasn't a harmful one to her, and in fact, could be viewed as a type of good fortune.

Actually, the Sea Dragon venom was both a venom and powerful tonic. With no antidote, it would be deadly. With the antidote, it was exactly the opposite.

"This catastrophe will actually help her to make a huge advancement in terms of her cultivation base, and bring her that much closer to the Immortal Realm." Eventually, he pulled his finger back, whereupon a tremor ran through Sakura. Her eyes opened slowly, and she looked blankly at Naruto . Then, her eyes went wide for a moment before she closed them again, as if she were thinking.

After a few breaths of time passed, she opened her eyes again, and they were clear and bright.

She seemed extremely calm, although her voice was a bit weak as she said, "Was it you that saved me? Thank you. What is this place?"

When he saw the expression on her face, he was silent for a moment before saying: "It was my fault you got dragged into this…. We're in the Nine Seas God World."

Then he proceeded to explain everything that had happened.

Sakura didn't speak. She merely listened quietly. From the look of it, she was in a very fragile state, and would only be able to stay awake for a short period of time.

After hearing the story, she smiled slightly, as if she had forgotten about everything that had occurred between the two of them in the past, and now thought of them as merely friends. She gave a nod of understanding, doing nothing to reveal what she might actually be thinking.

"I never imagined that after all these years, we would meet again like this."

Were it not for the words she had muttered back on Seajacket Island, Naruto would have had a hard time detecting that she was acting strangely. Now that he was looking for it, it was plain to see that she was putting on an act. Furthermore, within her slight smile could be seen a trace of both disappointment and pride.

Back on Planet Ninshu , she had made a decision. _You have your glory, and I… I have my pride._

"It doesn't matter how it all happened," she said. "Thank you. I will remember the kindness you've shown. Maybe I won't ever be able to pay you back, but I won't forget." She struggled to her feet, then gave Naruto a curtsying bow.

Seeing Sakura act so politely toward him caused Naruto to sit there in quiet reticence.

"I've recovered," she said softly, "so… I'll take my leave now. You… take care of yourself." Supporting herself by leaning against the wall of the cave, she made to leave, but was too weak. After only a few steps, she staggered, face pale, and began to fall over.

Sighing, Naruto reached out to steady her.

Biting her bottom lip, Sakura smiled and said, "Well don't I look silly.

I can walk, Naruto . Thank you."

Brushing away his hand, she took a few steps forward, but then her body weakened, and she toppled over. Her forehead smacked into the stone wall, and because of the weakness of her body, and her lack of any of the protection of her cultivation base, it gashed her skin and blood began to flow.

She gaped in astonishment, and tears welled up in her eyes. She struggled to rise back to her feet, but couldn't. Naruto stepped forward to help her.

"Thank you, but I can do it myself," she said with a weak smile.

"Sakura!" Naruto growled, reaching down and helping her up.

—–

Note from Lord Fifth: Look, bitches, Lord Fifth is too busy training these idiots to spend much time thinking of a band name. So, he colluded with Deathblade to have an impromptu contest. Leave your idea for a band name in the comments below. The winner will receive backstage passes to our debut performance! Well, what are you waiting for!? Are you as stupid as Lord Third? Come on, think of some good names!

This latest seafood song is a direct reference to one of the most popular songs in China in recent years. You can find some information about it, and even hear the tune, here. I feel like I hear this song at least every other day here in China, and it makes me want to rip my ears out, so from now on I'm going to sing Lord Fifth's version of it! ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1084

Chapter 1084: The Path to the Windswept Realm!

Sakura trembled and took a deep breath. Then she turned slowly to look at Naruto and, summoning all the energy she could muster, said: "Let. Go. Of. Me!"

He frowned.

"What, can't keep your hands off me?" she asked derisively. "Just like that year in the volcano?"

"You're very weak right now," he replied calmly, releasing her arm.

"Don't be so anxious to leave."

"Thank you for saving me," she said, her voice even weaker than before. "As for getting kidnapped, you don't need to feel guilty about that. It's not like you did it personally." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and then slowly edged forward, keeping her hand planted firmly on the wall to support herself.

Naruto did nothing to stop her.

Just when she was almost at the exit, her weakness overwhelmed her. Her vision swam, and she lapsed into unconsciousness.

Naruto sighed, stepping forward and grabbing her before she could fall. He then laid her down on the ground and sat cross-legged off to the side, his expression complex.

The Immortal's cave was very quiet, which allowed Naruto to do a lot of thinking. One by one, various scenes of events on Planet Ninshu played through his mind.

Time passed. Two days later, Sakura opened her eyes again. By now, she had recovered a lot of her energy, but was still weak. She struggled to her feet once again, but this time, didn't mention anything about leaving. She sat down cross-legged, gazing blankly at nothing.

"Do you remember Han Bei?" Naruto suddenly asked.

Sakura didn't respond for a long time. Finally she turned and looked at Naruto with a slight frown.

"Who's Han Bei?"

Naruto 's eyes widened. After a moment of thought, he said, "Han Bei, from Planet Ninshu . She was a disciple of the Black Sieve Sect, in the Southern Domain."

"Doesn't ring a bell," she said, looking at him, "I didn't have much contact with the Black Sieve Sect. Why?"

"Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of something that happened a while back." His face darkened as he realized that Sakura's answer didn't really help him much at all. After all… Sakura never really knew much about the Black Sieve Sect to begin with!

Therefore, it made sense that she might not know much about Han Bei. The fact that she didn't remember her now was a bit of a clue, but not true proof, nor much of an explanation about anything. After all, Sakura's position within the Violet Fate Sect had been far different than Han Bei's in the Black Sieve Sect.

It was even possible that she had never even heard of Han Bei, or if she had, never cared enough to take note of her.

Seeing that Naruto didn't want to discuss the matter further, Sakura didn't ask any questions. She closed her eyes to meditate. Right now, she knew that she didn't have the energy to leave; therefore, the best thing to do was to recover as quickly as possible. Then she could leave and return to her sect. She… didn't want to look at Naruto , which made it difficult to know how to interact with him. Every time she saw him, she felt unsettled.

In the days following her departure from Planet Ninshu , she had often asked herself what it was about Naruto that she actually liked. It couldn't just be that one incident in the volcano. Nor could it be all the things that had happened afterward. In the end, she couldn't find a good reason. She knew that she should hate him, but no matter how much she tried, it was as if… his image was burned into her heart. Sometimes it was Namikaze Mu from the Violet Fate Sect, and sometimes it was Naruto . Sometimes it was both.

She couldn't get rid of those images. It was almost like some type of curse.

Sakura sighed, closed her eyes, and continued to meditate.

The Immortal's cave was once again silent. After a while, Naruto 's eyes glimmered as various possibilities flickered through his mind.

"Maybe I'm just reading too much into it, but… the whole situation is very peculiar." After more thought, his eyes began to shine. Although the matter seemed relatively simple, the more he thought about it, the more complicated it got. He was finally convinced that there was definitely something extraordinary going on.

"The easiest way to discover the truth would be to just go back to Planet Ninshu . However… the Black Sieve Sect is long gone, and it would be hard to track down any survivors.

"Well, Chakrang'er was there. Once we're reunited, I can ask her and I'll know for sure. If Chakrang'er doesn't remember Han Bei either, then that means… there's definitely something very mysterious going on!" Due to the imminent opening of the Windswept Realm, Naruto took the time to make various preparations. He used spirit-immortal stones on all of his black beetles, and even increased the number he fed them in order to speed up the process. In the days that passed, he sealed them away one by one into his bag of holding.

In addition to that, he was also maintaining the peak performance of his Immortal Emperor state. He was far, far stronger than before, and also had his newly empowered divine sense. Furthermore, because of all the trials and tribulations that he had experienced, his cultivation base had experienced explosive growth.

However, those were not his trump cards. His trump card was his Ancient Realm fleshly body, and the two ignited Soul Lamps in his eyes. Because of that, his battle prowess was vastly increased.

Another thing he did was organize his bag of holding. He wanted to make sure that he was thoroughly and completely prepared for the Windswept Realm. He also took out the half-burned incense stick that he had acquired along with the spirit-immortal stones. After examining it thoughtfully for a while, he carefully put it back into his bag of holding.

"I should be able to find an opportunity to absorb my second Nirvana Fruit in the Windswept Realm!" he thought, taking a deep breath.

Soon, seven days passed. At dawn, the toll of bells could be heard, filling the entire Nine Seas God World. Naruto 's eyes opened, and they shone brightly.

In the same moment that he opened his eyes, an ancient voice echoed in his ears. It was none other than Godmaster. " Naruto , the hour has arrived. Come to the mountain peak!"

Naruto took a deep breath and rose to his feet. At the same time, he waved his hands, causing numerous bands of black light to fly toward him. In the end, more than fifty black pods landed on his palm, which he then put into his bag of holding.

He looked over at Sakura, who opened her eyes and looked back at him.

"Take good care of yourself," she said softly.

Naruto nodded and walked to the door of the Immortal's cave. There, he stopped.

"The place I'm going to is the shattered remnant of another world. The natural laws there are incomplete, which makes investigation of them that much easier. The venom inside you will dissipate within seven days, and your cultivation base will be restored….

"At that time, you will be on the very edge of the Immortal Realm, on the verge of a breakthrough!

"Because of the chaos of natural law in the place I'm going, it's actually a very suitable place for Immortal Ascension. However, there are also many dangers there. Do you… want to come along?"

Sakura sat there quietly, expressions of confusion and reminiscence flashing across her face. After a long moment, her expression turned to one of resolve. She had suddenly recalled something told to her once…. by Pill Demon.

 _Work hard at cultivation. That way… one day, if you find you've lost everything, you will still have a Great dao with you._

Sakura looked up at Naruto and said, "Thank you. I'll go!"

He didn't respond. He waved his right sleeve, causing an incredible gravitational force to appear. Sakura didn't struggle; she allowed the power to pull her into Naruto 's bag of holding.

Finally, Naruto turned and exited the Immortal's cave in a flash.

As soon as he appeared outside the door, he shot upward. As he did, he glanced down at the Demonic cultivators and Su Yan, then made a grasping motion, sealing them and pulling them into his bag of holding.

"Parrot! Meat jelly! Let's go!"

The parrot gaped in astonishment, and the meat jelly looked flabbergasted.

"Go where?"

"The Windswept Realm!"

RUMBLE!

Naruto shot out of the water and flew up into the sky. The parrot and meat jelly transformed into beams of light that caught up and landed on Naruto 's shoulder. The meat jelly was still blabbering.

"Windswept Realm? Where's that? What kind of place is it? I've never been there! How do we get there, huh? Hey, why aren't you saying anything?"

"Shut up!" the parrot growled. Then it cleared its throat and was about to speak when Naruto interrupted: "There are bullies there. And also creatures with lots of fur and feathers." Instantly, the meat jelly grew very serious, and the parrot, very excited. The two ninnies exchanged glances, then let out whoops of excitement.

Naruto flew over the lands of the sect at top speed. Soon, the same mountain peak where he had first met Granny Nine and Godmaster appeared up ahead.

The top of the mountain was covered with glittering white snow, just like before. However, there was also something new, a pillar of light rising up into the sky, shooting out of the sect, through the Ninth Sea, and up into the starry sky.

Next, six additional beams of light appeared from various locations in the Nine Seas God World, which also shot up into the sky. All of the Nine Seas God World's spell formations were activated, unleashing incredible power in all directions.

As he looked over the scene, Naruto was shocked to find that a Dao

Realm Patriarch could be seen sitting cross-legged within each of the pillars of light. Granny Nine was there, as were Godmaster and Ling Yunzi. Even the two Demonic Patriarchs were there.

In total, seven pillars of light were shooting up into the starry sky. There, distortions could be seen as a huge rift opened up.

Simultaneously, all of the cultivators in the Nine Seas God World, including those of the Immortal Realm and Ancient Realm, sat crosslegged in meditation, organized into a massive spell formation.

As they unleashed the power of their cultivation bases, the energy of

Heaven and Earth descended, which in turn caused the energy of the Nine Seas God World to erupt explosively. The energy poured into the seven pillars of light, causing them to shine even more resplendently.

Soon, the full power of the cultivation bases of all the Nine Seas God World disciples was being unleashed, including that of the Demonic cultivators. The entire sect trembled, and the land quaked. Suddenly, the entire land mass began to rise. Every inch that it rose cause the seven pillars of light to grow even stronger. Massive rumbling could be heard, and the rift up in the starry sky opened wider.

That rift was apparently… the path to the Windswept Realm!

The entire land mass rose higher and higher, faster and faster. Soon, it was rising hundreds of meters with every movement. Sea water cascaded down off of it.

Naruto was shaken as he stood there watching all of this happen, his eyes shining with anticipation of reaching the Windswept Realm!

"Other than the fact that half of the world crumbled away, and many natural laws changed, everything else is a perfectly preserved replica of… one of the Lower Realms of yesteryear!

"The Windswept Realm!" he murmured.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1085

Chapter 1085: Arriving in the Windswept Realm!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Booms like thunder filled the Ninth Sea, echoing out powerfully in all directions. The waters boiled and roared, almost as if an awakening giant were about to burst out from under the surface!

That giant… was none other than the Nine Seas God World! It rose up, 300 meters, then 3,000 meters… in the space of a few breaths, massive rumbling filled the entire Ninth Sea as a huge land mass flew up into the air!

From a distance, it looked like a gigantic island, with seven beams of light shooting up from it. The light flew up into the starry sky, causing the rift up above to grow larger and larger.

At the same time, Fan Dong'er appeared near Naruto on the same mountain. She was also looking up into the sky, her expression that of nervousness… and excitement!

In addition to Fan Dong'er, there were three others, two men and a woman. They looked familiar to Naruto , and he quickly placed them as other Chosen disciples of the Nine Seas God World.

All of them were waiting with keen anticipation.

On the other side of the mountain, more figures appeared in quick succession. Bei Yu was one of them. She stepped out slowly, flanked by three other Demonic cultivators. All of them had profound cultivation bases. One of them, Naruto recognized; he was none other than the burly body cultivator he had fought not too long ago.

Obviously, when the Nine Seas God World opened the Windswept Realm, it would not just be Naruto entering by himself. All of these people would be joining him!

Meanwhile, similar scenes played out in the Eighth Sea. There, columns of light rose up from the God World just like they had in the Ninth Sea, shooting up into the starry sky to open a huge rift. On the Eighth Sea, a huge continent appeared, upon which a group of eight people could be seen waiting in anticipation.

One of those people was extremely gaunt, and stood apart from the others. He was surrounded by countless swirling bones, and his eyes shone with a cold gleam as he smiled slightly.

"Windswept Realm. I should be able to kill to my heart's content."

It was the same in the Seventh Sea, the Sixth Sea, the Fifth Sea, and the Fourth Sea. As of this moment, huge land masses rose up from all of them, as well as towering columns of light which tore open rifts in the starry sky.

On the Fourth Sea, laughter rang out. A young man stood there, wearing a long black robe, laughing heartily. On his forehead, an Echelon mark could be seen, glittering brightly.

A brutally cold gleam could be seen in his eyes, and as the rift in the starry sky slowly opened up, his laughter grew louder.

Countless people stood respectfully in front of him, showing incredible reverence.

By this point, each and every member of the Echelon could be seen on the surfaces of the Seas in their respective corners of the Mountain and Sea Realm. All of them were waiting… for the Windswept Realm to open. All of these people were Chosen, and any one of them could be considered similar to Naruto . To the other Chosen from their parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm, they were seemingly impassable mountains.

Now, all of these mountain-like figures were going to convene in the

Windswept Realm, which would be the location… of the Echelon battles!

Some Echelon members had already clashed on numerous occasions. However, for Naruto , this would be his first time… encountering any of them!

Echelon battles were battles of life and death. They were not expressions of mere friction between members, but a method of determining… who was the most powerful among them!

As for all of the other people who entered the Windswept Realm with the Echelon, they were secondary, mere adornments really. Of course, if they were qualified, it wouldn't necessarily be impossible… for them to kill one of the Echelon members and even steal a place in the Echelon itself!

A young woman flew through the air near the Third Mountain. She wore a long, white garment, and was so immaculately beautiful that she could cause all other life forms to dim in comparison.

This was the same woman who had been playing Go with the young

Echelon member from the First Mountain. She had left to search for Naruto after sensing his presence, hoping to play a game of Go with him and discuss the Dao. She was the Immortal Ancient successor, Xue'er! 1

She suddenly stopped in place and turned her head. A beautiful smile could be seen on her face, and all of a sudden, the entire world, even the entire starry sky, seemed to shine brightly.

"Looks like I can save a lot of energy and not go all the way to the Ninth Mountain," she thought. "I'll just look for him in the Windswept Realm." Smiling, she headed toward the Third Sea.

She was not in the Echelon, but she was someone… who any Echelon member would view as extremely important!

In fact, anyone who could obtain her assistance would assuredly grow much more powerful than the others, and would make much more progress on the path of the Echelon. In fact, their chances of final success… would be even greater!

All of the great Seas in the Mountain and Sea Realm were boiling and roaring. Rifts opened up in the starry sky, growing larger by the moment. If there was a position in the Mountain and Sea Realm that enabled you to see all of the various starry skies, then you would be able to see that…

The rifts above all of the Nine Seas of the Mountain and Sea Realm formed a straight line. However, currently it was as if that line had been cut into nine segments, which were beginning to stretch out across their respective mountains and seas. It was obvious that soon those lines would join together to form a path… a huge rift connecting together through the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

At that time… the Windswept Realm would be completely opened.

Everyone was waiting in anticipation.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered brightly. He could also sense that each and every one of the other Echelon members in the other Mountains and Seas was waiting just as he was.

It was at this point that Godmaster's voice rang out over the Ninth Sea:

"The will of the Ninth Sea accepts the orders once set down by Paragon

Sea Dream. Let the Ninth Sea's will… open the Windswept Door!"

Instantly, the Ninth Sea began to rumble. Huge waves surged back and forth as a sword began to rise up out of the water. It was completely formed of seawater, and in the blink of an eye, it flew up into the sky with shocking speed.

This was a sword that seemed capable of exterminating all life.

Almost in the same moment that the sword appeared, it shot toward the starry sky, where it slashed at the rift. The entire world trembled, and cracking sounds echoed out, causing the minds of all onlookers to tremble. A huge rumbling sound could be heard as the rift suddenly tore open, ripping directly toward the Eighth Mountain.

It almost looked like the starry sky was shattering. It was an assault on the eyes, causing everyone who saw it to be shaken to the verge of madness.

Simultaneously, above the Eighth Sea, countless cultivators watched as the rift from the Ninth Mountain and Sea ripped toward them. In the blink of an eye, it merged with the rift above the Eighth Mountain, whereupon a huge blade shot out from the Eighth Sea up toward the starry sky and ripped it open further!

Rumbling could be heard as the force from the blade caused the rift to rip open toward the Seventh Sea. Next, a huge pagoda flew up from the Seventh Sea, causing the rift to rip toward the Sixth Sea….

It was like a cycle. It continued on to the Fifth Sea, the Fourth Sea, the Third Sea… until the very end, when the huge rift merged with the rift above the First Sea, creating one gargantuan rift above the Mountain and Sea Realm.

In the moment that the rift opened, Naruto and all of the others trembled violently and felt their hearts pounding. They all knew full well that their destination was not a place in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

This trial by fire involved leaving the Mountain and Sea Realm, and going to one of the former Lower Realms!

For Naruto , this feeling was completely different than the feeling he had experienced when leaving Planet Ninshu and heading toward Planet East Victory.

Godmaster's archaic voice echoed out again: "The hour has arrived. Naruto … it is time to leave!

"Keep in mind, you will not be the only disciple going to the Windswept Realm. There will also be cultivators from the other Eight Seas. Remember, the only person you can rely upon… is yourself!

"Even more importantly, remember that the World Essence lies in the central region of the Windswept Realm. That is what you must acquire!

"Whoever acquires the World Essence will be the victor of this trial by fire. It is only then that the great door back to the Mountain and Sea Realm will appear and you will be able to return!

"When in the Windswept Realm, you must rely on yourself, but, you will also have the support of your fellow sect members. Whatever past grievances or grudges existed will no longer apply in the Windswept Realm. I don't care what you do to each other after you get back, even if you start fighting immediately afterwards!

"However, in the Windswept Realm, the most important thing… is that you work together!"

Suddenly, Godmaster waved his sleeve, causing a bag of holding to fly out toward Naruto . Inside that bag of holding was the 300,000,000 Immortal jades he had won from the Demonic Cultivator Horde!

It was at this point that one of the two Patriarchs from the Demonic Cultivator Horde spoke:

"All of you, take heed. While you are in the Windswept Realm, forget about past matters. The most important thing is to work as a team!"

After the words echoed out, Godmaster spoke into Naruto 's mind.

"After you get to the Windswept Realm, it's up to you whether or not to kill the Demonic cultivators. Don't think that the things you have experienced recently are unique to the Ninth Sea. All of the other members of the Echelon from the other Seas have experienced similar dangers!"

Similar provocative words were spoken into the ears of the Demonic cultivators.

Rumbling could be heard as Naruto suddenly shot up into the air. He was followed by Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu, plus the three ordinary cultivators and the three Demonic cultivators. In total, nine streaks of colorful light shot up into the rift in the starry sky.

As they neared, a powerful gravitational force appeared, which grabbed ahold of them and pulled them into the pitch black of the rift.

Streaks of light could also be seen above the Eighth Sea, the Seventh Sea… all the way to the First Sea. In each and every case, there were nine people, no more, no less.

The only exception was in the Third Sea, where the young woman Xue'er joined the group, bringing their numbers to a total of ten.

All in all, 82 cultivators shot into the rift.

Of that entire group, Naruto was the first to enter!

In this instance, it was the Ninth Sea which had opened the Windswept Realm, and Naruto was the most qualified from that location. As such, he was the first cultivator to enter the Windswept Realm.

He was in the lead, surrounded by boundless darkness. However, a wind could be felt, a wind which grew stronger and stronger. Eventually, it was like a windstorm which swept about in all directions.

Within that windstorm, Naruto could see countless corpses and ruins. It looked like the remains of a battlefield, from which he could sense how terrifying the war had been which destroyed all these things.

It was even more shocking than the Ruins of Immortality!

Suddenly, an enormous gravitational force appeared within the windstorm, grabbing Naruto , Fan Dong'er and the others, and pulling them forward.

Up ahead was a rift that bore a strong semblance to a spell formation. It was filled with an ancient aura, making it impossible to determine how long the spell formation had stood there, surrounded by the wreckage of war.

There was no time to examine his surroundings. Despite having seen the glow of magical treasures in the surrounding ruins, Naruto didn't have a chance to grab any of them. He and the others from the Ninth Sea shot toward the spell formation rift, and were instantly sucked in.

In that moment, they were suddenly swept across the void and into a strange world.

Before any of them could even see clearly, Naruto heard trembling, awe-struck voices echoing out around him.

"We respectfully welcome all Grand Immortals!"

—–

Note from Deathblade: Er Gen included an interesting note with this chapter. He mentioned that the release of this chapter marked his birthday "as listed on his identity card." He points out that he usually celebrates his birthday according to the lunar calendar, not the Gregorian (solar) calendar. Madam Deathblade and many Chinese people do the same thing. Tracking the lunar birthday means that the birthday falls on a different calendar day every year when using the JanDec calendar that most of us do.

Xue'er was introduced in chapter 1058. Oddly, this is chapter 1085. ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1086

Chapter 1086: Desire in the Windswept Realm!

The Windswept Realm!

Once one of the 3,000 Lower Realms, it was called the garden of the Immortal World, and was regarded as one of the one hundred most important Realms!

Many, many cultivators appeared here who eventually ascended to the Immortal World, where they occupied numerous positions of Immortal authority. In fact, there was even an Imperial Lord who had arisen from there!

An Imperial Lord was a venerable stage that existed between the Dao Realm and the Paragon Realm!

That was in the heyday of the Windswept Realm, when it was filled with countless lands and seas, and experienced an endless baptism from the Immortal River of the Paragon Immortal Realm.

Back then, the Windswept Realm was even called Little Immortal World. Its skies were bright blue, touched with occasional Immortal Rain that virtually bathed the life forms of the lands in an Immortal will.

The enormous Immortal River in its sky was like a waterfall that fell down onto the lands below, causing an endless wind to gust. That wind would catalyze the life force flames of all living things, making the place extremely suitable for cultivation. Even mortals who lived there had extremely long lives, and it was not uncommon for them to live longer than two sixty-year-cycles.

That was how the Windswept Realm got its name.

To the cultivators of the Windswept Realm, the Paragon Immortal Realm was a fear-inspiring place. They were both inspired by its power, and at the same time, feared it. They showed extreme respect to any Immortal who descended from the Paragon Immortal Realm. To them, even the slightest word uttered by an Immortal was something of profound importance. In fact, any expression or tone of voice that could cause displeasure to an Immortal was not tolerated in the Windswept Realm.

Of course, not all Immortals were so easily displeased. Most Immortals were revered, but not intensely feared. After all, the Windswept Realm had existed for an eternity, and many Patriarchs or other members of the various sects or clans there eventually ascended to the Immortal World.

Unfortunately, all of that changed during the great catastrophe. The Windswept Realm as a whole collapsed, and more than half of its lands were lost, as if they had been swallowed up by some great beast. The fires of war swept about, and as a result, it no longer seemed like a celestial paradise, but rather, was reduced to ruins.

Most importantly of all, the Immortal River was cut off. Like the other Realms, the Windswept Realm was cut off, leaving it in isolation. As the years went by, the world slowly recovered, but that obstacle always remained.

Therefore, the people of the Windswept Realm were unaware of everything happening outside of their world. They thought that the Paragon Immortal Realm was still as eternally powerful as ever. Therefore, any Immortal who visited their Realm was met with a deferential respect that was ingrained in their blood, and was as strong as ever.

Furthermore… it had been a very, very long time since anyone from the Windswept Realm had ascended to the Immortal World. That led to hesitation on their part. As for their cultivation bases, they were limited to the Cauldron Seeking stage, making it impossible for them advance further into Immortal Ascension, which would make it possible for them to leave their world. 1

Because of all of that, any Immortal who arrived was treated with incredible respect, and was even feared. It also caused the cultivators of the Windswept Realm to thirst for the good fortune which might be available from the Immortals…. Therefore, to the people of this generation of the Windswept Realm, the recently arrived cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm… were like deities!

Naruto and Fan Dong'er, as well as the other three ordinary cultivators, plus Bei Yu and the three Demonic cultivators, all arrived in the southeastern region of the Windswept Realm, in the middle of a desert.

Rolling sands spread out in all directions, and the heat was so intense that it caused everyone to sweat profusely. Despite that, there were nearly ten thousand cultivators present, packed together tightly, prostrated on the ground in the shape of a spell formation.

There was no attacking power built into this spell formation; it was merely ceremonial, a show of respect.

It was made of men and women, children and old folks. They all prostrated on hands and knees, their expressions that of awe and reverence. Their heads were bowed, and not a single one dared to look up.

In the middle of this group of people was a huge altar, covered with numerous carvings that emanated what seemed like an eternal, untouchable power.

As of this moment, nine beams of light could be seen illuminating the sky as they shot down toward the altar, which let out rumbling booms.

All of the magical symbols on the altar began to shine and glow, as if to receive the incoming guests.

The rumbling sounds grew more intense, and the surrounding cultivators began to tremble even harder. None of them dared to even lift their heads. One of them, an old man who was located in the ring of cultivators closest to the altar, called out in a loud voice:

"We respectfully welcome all the Grand Immortals!"

His words echoed out for the time it takes about ten breaths of time, after which, brilliant pillars of light shot up from the altar to connect to them. Then the light slowly faded away to reveal… nine cultivators!

Naruto was one of them. All of the people from the Nine Seas God World shone with golden light, making them look completely sacred and inviolable. Furthermore, because their cultivation bases vastly exceeded that of the cultivators of the Windswept Realm, they emanated incredible pressure which pushed down on the surrounding crowd and caused them to tremble.

Naruto looked out of sorts for a brief moment before recovering. His eyes swept about, taking in the altar they were standing on, and the more than 10,000 cultivators prostrated respectfully. He also saw that past the cultivators were even more people, tens of thousands all prostrated on the ground, not daring to lift their heads.

Up in front of those tens of thousands of people was a middle-aged man wearing an Imperial robe. He was also trembling as he prostrated himself. From the look of it, he was the emperor of this region or nation.

Neither Naruto , nor the others with him, were used to having such a large group of people prostrating in deference.

The old man who stood among the 10,000 cultivators was the first one to lift his head and look at Naruto and the other eight. He seemed incredibly ancient, as if he had lived for countless years. However, his cultivation base was only at the Cauldron Seeking stage.

"Grand Immortals," he said, "it is the inestimable honor of our Ninth Nation to welcome you here today! It has been over a thousand years since any Immortal has arrived here to bestow good fortune. Please accept the worship of our Ninth Nation's seven great sects and three great clans!"

Behind him were ten old men, who were apparently the Patriarchs of the sects and clans he had just mentioned. They radiated respect as they slowly raised their heads to look at Naruto and the others, whereupon they once again bowed in worship.

"I am your servant Jian Daozi," said the oldest of the old men, the first one to speak. "Grand Immortals, now that you have descended to our Lower Realm, anything you need or want will be provided to you. We will do anything in our power to satisfy your every desire!" His eyes burned with passion as his voice rang out. 2

"If we asked all of you to end your own lives, would you?" asked one of the Demonic cultivators standing with Bei Yu, his voice cold.

Naruto frowned in response to his words, and even Bei Yu looked displeased.

However, the old man named Jian Daozi didn't hesitate for even a moment.

"Unless another of the Grand Immortals interfered, all you would have to do would be to speak the word!"

The Demonic cultivator hesitated for a moment. However, both Naruto and Fan Dong'er, as well as all of the others, could hear the decisiveness and resolve in Jian Daozi's words, as well as the fanatical passion.

It wasn't just him who had such an attitude, all of the old men, and apparently all of the other cultivators… were exactly the same. Although not every single individual appeared to be madly fanatical, the reverence that shone in their eyes, the type that an inferior person would show toward a superior, caused Naruto 's heart to tremble.

All of a sudden, a young cultivator among the crowd couldn't seem to hold back any longer, and lifted his head to look at Naruto and the other eight. When his eyes fell upon Bei Yu and Fan Dong'er, the youth seemed to be struck breathless.

Almost in the same instant that the young man looked up, the aged Jian Daozi's face flickered with anger. Similar looks appeared on the faces of all of the other old men.

"How dare you!" roared Jian Daozi.

The young man's face went ashen, and a look of panic appeared on his face. He quickly bowed his head, but it was too late.

"Blasphemy against deities is a violation of the laws of the Windswept Realm!" Jian Daozi said coldly. He waved his finger toward the young man, causing a stream of air to slam into his forehead. The young man trembled and then died instantly.

This caused Naruto 's eyes to widen. Everyone else stared in shock.

However, that simple action didn't finish things. One of the ten old men behind Jian Daozi immediately raised his right arm into the air and severed it. His face was pale white as he lifted his severed arm into the air and dropped to his knees.

"That young man was a member of my humble sect," he said. "I did not instruct him well, and am thus implicitly involved. I hope my severed arm will lessen the wrath of the Grand Immortals!"

Bei Yu was panting, and Fan Dong'er was completely shaken. Naruto stared in shock at everything that had happened. Even his willpower was rocked by the behavior of these people of the Windswept Realm.

The feeling was indescribable, as if, in the briefest of moments… they had all suddenly turned into true Paragons!

It would be impossible for them to experience such a feeling in the Mountain and Sea Realm, because there would always be cultivators above them who were far more powerful. Although the number of such higher powers was nothing compared to the people who were weaker than them, the Mountain and Sea Realm was simply too vast a place.

The Mountain and Sea Realm had its rules and etiquette, which were like layer upon layer of nets that entangled everyone. Such things formed natural law that didn't permit unbridled actions.

However, the Windswept Realm was not only cut off from any other

Realm, the highest cultivation bases there were not even in the Immortal Realm. Therefore, Naruto and the other eight… really and truly were deities!

Power, wealth, and anything else they desired… could be had by merely asking!

If it was wealth, a single sentence could cause the riches of an entire nation to be handed over!

If it was power, then in an instant, they could be crowned an emperor!

Wherever they went in the Ninth Nation, if they fancied someone, they could take that person away at any time. They could do exactly as they pleased, and the people below them would not only be incapable of refusing to comply, they would actually feel honored to serve.

This was true from the moment they arrived. Something as astonishing as this caused the minds of Naruto and the others to reel. Finally, they were able to experience… what it was like.. to be completely unconstrained by any rules or customs.

In this place, they made the rules!

At this moment, similar scenes were playing out in all of the other districts of the Windswept Realm. Everyone who had arrived was shaken to the core!

The Echelon members and other cultivators from the Nine Seas of the Mountain and Sea Realm all went to different locations. However, each and every one of those locations belonged… solely to those people who occupied it.

In total, the Windswept Realm had nine nations; therefore, each of the Nine Seas occupied one of those nations.

In the center of the nine nations was the location of the World Essence, an ancient temple…. That was the goal of all of the people who had just arrived.

"Cauldron Seeking" is a stage in Er Gen's other two novels, Beseech the Devil and Renegade Immortal. In terms of cultivation, it's on almost exactly the same level as Dao Seeking, in other words, the last stage (or part of the last stage) before reaching the next Realm. "Cauldron

Seeking" might not be the best translation for the other novels, but here I'm going with the most literal translation to make it sync well with I Shall Seal the Heavens ↩ Jian Daozi's name in Chinese is 剑道子 jiàn dào zi. Jian is a surname which is also the character for "sword." Daozi is what often gets translated as "Dao Child" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1087

Chapter 1087: Eradication!

The Windswept Realm had nine regions, which were occupied by the Nine Nations. All of them together formed a huge ring shape.

In the center of the ring created by the Nine Nations was… the temple!

Between each of the nations was a massive windstorm that stretched from the sky down to the land, keeping all of the Nine Nations separated, and making passage between them very difficult.

Because of the windstorm barrier, the Nine Nations were essentially sealed. Only the Cauldron Seeking cultivators could pierce through, and even then, it required a steep price.

The barriers acted like a protection, allowing the Nine Nations to slowly grow and become more powerful.

But now that the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm had arrived, the barriers separating the Nine Nations were trembling, and the eternal winds were showing signs of dissipating.

Currently, Naruto stood on the altar in the desert of the Ninth Nation, heart thumping. He watched as the young man was executed for simply looking up, and then saw the old man sever his own arm. The old man acted with complete decisiveness, such that blood was still spurting out of the wound as he dropped to his knees in worship.

Apparently… unless one of the Grand Immortals spoke, the man would not stop the blood from flowing.

Fan Dong'er was inwardly shaken, as was Bei Yu. The other ordinary cultivators and Demonic cultivators had similar reactions. They… could count as nothing more than the Junior generation in the cultivation world, and had not seen or experienced all the trials and tribulations that the old-timers had. The shocking scene left Fan Dong'er and the others mentally shaken.

Naruto stood there silently for a moment before waving his right finger. A medicinal pill flew out and landed on the stump of the old man's severed arm. In the blink of an eye, the wound healed, and the missing arm gradually began to grow back.

The old man trembled as he looked appreciatively at Naruto .

Inwardly, he sighed with relief, and then once again bowed deeply.

"Many thanks, Grand Immortal!"

The oldest man among all of the Windswept Realm's cultivators was Jian Daozi. Wisdom flickered deep within his eyes as he casually turned to look over at Naruto . Then he clasped hands and said, "Grand Immortals, we invite you to enter the temporary Imperial residences we have set up here in the Ninth Nation. Grand Immortals… do you plan to reside together, or… live separately?"

As he finished speaking, he waved his hand, causing glittering light to rise up from the ground in front of him. Shockingly, a map of the entire Ninth Nation suddenly appeared.

The various areas on the map were clearly labeled to indicate which ones had spiritual energy, and which ones had abundant cultivation resources. All locations that were suitable for habitation by cultivators were clearly marked.

Furthermore, the various advantages and disadvantages of each location were explained clearly.

In the very center of the Ninth Nation, not too far from its capital city, was a mountain, half of which was covered with snow, and at the foot of which could be seen a lake. Furthermore, it was possible to see that much of the vital energy of the Ninth Nation at a whole was gathered there.

In addition to that mountain, there were two other locations which could be considered superb. As for the others, most were ordinary in nature.

After glancing over the map, Naruto 's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly, and he looked back at Jian Daozi. Once again, he was able to perceive the wisdom and foresight which the old man possessed.

To Jian Daozi and the other cultivators, Naruto and his companions were all Grand Immortals. Although they venerated all of them, it was impossible for them to determine which of the nine… maintained the most superior position.

Not only did they have no way of ascertaining such matters on their own, they could not afford to make any mistakes. If there were any misunderstandings about the seniority of the visitors from the Mountain and Sea Realm, it could lead to dire consequences. This map, and the process by which the Immortals dealt with it, would be one way to get some instant clues.

Fan Dong'er looked over the map, then glanced at Naruto . Afterward, she extended her right hand and pointed at one of the two lesser areas, opting not to take the most optimal location, the mountain with the National Fate.

Bei Yu hesitated for a moment, then subconsciously looked over at Naruto . Her eyes glowed for a moment, and she didn't immediately make a decision.

The other three ordinary cultivators with Fan Dong'er were well-aware of their place, and picked other locations. However, with the exception of the burly body cultivator, the other Demonic cultivators looked at the map with glittering eyes. They edged slowly over to Bei Yu's side, then looked over coldly at Naruto , as if they were itching for a fight.

This scene immediately revealed how much friction existed between them, something that Jian Daozi and the others instantly picked up on.

Fan Dong'er said nothing. She backed up a few paces, unwilling to get involved. The other three ordinary cultivators hesitated for a moment before also backing up, apparently maintaining neutrality as they tried to ignore the increasing tension building up between Naruto and the Demonic cultivators.

The burly Demonic body cultivator seemed to be inwardly conflicted. He gritted his teeth hard before giving an angry glance at the other Demonic cultivators and then backing off. He, too, chose not to get involved. He was already… incredibly frightened of Naruto .

Among the nine new arrivals, five chose to remain neutral. Three Demonic cultivators remained behind, including Bei Yu, all of whom glared murderously at Naruto .

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever, although inwardly, he maintained vigilance. These three Demonic cultivators obviously knew exactly how powerful he was, and yet they still were brave enough to bare their teeth. That indicated… that they were confident enough to go up against him, and were obviously… completely prepared.

Jian Daozi and the others watched what was happening with calm expressions. However, inwardly, they already had an answer to their original questions, causing their eyes to flicker toward Naruto .

Although Naruto didn't look like anything particularly special when compared with the others in his group, everyone's actions clearly showed his position and status.

"My Demonic Cultivator Horde has taken a liking to that mountain," Bei Yu suddenly said. She pointed at the mountain with the collection of vital Chakra.

Anyone could look at that mountain and tell that it possessed National Aura. Furthermore, that was obviously the best place to practice cultivation, and most likely the optimal location to gain enlightenment regarding the Windswept Realm.

"What a coincidence," replied Naruto , smiling. "I happened to take a liking to the same mountain." Although he was smiling, it was a cold smile. He had done nothing to cause any problems with the Demonic cultivators; they took the initiative to provoke him. Although they might have their trump cards, Naruto didn't mind showing them that no matter how powerful their secret weapons were, he could still sweep over them.

If he was willing to make a huge scene in the Nine Seas God World, then here, in a place like the Windswept Realm, with no rules or limitations, he would act even more flamboyantly!

Killing intent flickered in Bei Yu's eyes, and the two Demonic cultivators flanking her smiled coldly. They were just about to step forward when all of a sudden… Naruto 's expression flickered. He backed up a few steps and looked up into the sky, apparently too busy to pay any attention to Bei Yu and the others. Fan Dong'er and all the other cultivators also seemed to sense something, and also looked up. The two Demonic cultivators' faces flickered with confusion, and they ceased any attacks as they looked up into the sky.

In almost the exact same moment that they looked up, an indescribable pressure suddenly exploded downward, crushing down onto everything with destructive force. The entire land quivered, as if the whole Realm were trembling.

The aura seemed to be weighing down from the sky, but in fact, that was not the case. It was actually coming… from the very center of the Windswept Realm, from… the Windswept Realm's temple!

That temple contained the World Essence of the Windswept Realm, and as of this moment, the arrival of all of these people was causing an eruption of that very aura. That eruption was weakening the barriers between the Nine Nations to the point of collapse, and at the same time, was causing a very strange aura to fill the entire world.

The wind was growing stronger, and the sun in the sky was changing color. The plants were swaying back and forth, and the animals of the Windswept Realm were howling into the sky.

Numerous fissures snaked across the sky, only to rapidly close again. Apparently, a natural law that was originally difficult to detect… was suddenly awakened by the arrival of Naruto and the others.

"That's… Essence!"

"I can sense Essence aura!"

"This is the true Windswept Realm! I was wondering earlier why I didn't sense much of anything different after arriving here!"

Naruto took a deep breath as he sensed the natural law of the world. He closed his eyes, and felt as if he could feel Essence itself.

That feeling was completely unprecedented. It almost seemed like all he had to do was reach his hand out to acquire the Essence. It was like the single move of a hand could cause ripples in the natural laws. If you likened the Mountain and Sea Realm to a solid wall, blocking everything, then the Windswept Realm… was like a net, full of holes. Because of all of those holes, the natural laws and Essence were easily visible to everyone present.

Of course, anyone whose cultivation base was not in the Immortal Realm… would be unable to detect these things!

At the same time that the World Essence of the Windswept Realm erupted, intense pressure swept out over the entire world. The pressure weighed down almost as if the entire world had been submerged at the bottom of the sea.

Thankfully, all of the people who came here from the Nine Seas God

World were used to such pressure. Despite its intensity, it didn't affect them very much, Naruto included.

However, Naruto was also aware that were it not for the three months he had spent acclimating himself to the Nine Seas God World, then he would only be able to utilize a small portion of his cultivation base.

As the pressure rose, and the vast power of natural law and Essence revealed itself, the Immortal's caves that were the temporary Imperial residences in the Ninth Nation, all began to change.

That was especially true of the mountain which possessed National Aura.

As of this moment, it seemed to transform into a Golden Dragon.

Apparently… that mountain was the center of all of the natural law and Essence of the Ninth Nation!

Gradually, a windstorm began to build up around the mountain. Thunder boomed as the winds swept about. Anyone could sense that this mountain was extraordinary, and that if you practiced cultivation there, the benefits would be extreme.

Earlier, Naruto hadn't been dead set on acquiring that mountain. But now, it was something he had to have. Eyes flickering, he looked over at Jian Daozi, and noticed that a very faint smile could be seen on his face.

"What a cunning old fox!" he thought. Naruto didn't mind. Without sufficient intelligence and wisdom, the weak could never survive for long in the cultivation world.

Many times, the ability to scheme was the greatest type of power.

"There's something else fishy going on," he thought. "It would be far too simplistic if Jian Daozi's scheming were limited to this." As Naruto stood there thinking, Bei Yu and the other two Demonic cultivators exploded with killing intent, and began to close in on Naruto .

However, it was in that exact moment that, all of a sudden, a clap of thunder could be heard. The sky exploded, and Naruto 's face flickered as he suddenly sensed Sakura, Su Yan, and all of the Demonic cultivators in his bag of holding, spit up blood!

"NINE! Nine is the limit!" a voice rang out. "Every Sea can send nine people into the Windswept Realm!

"Anyone who exceeds that number cannot stay in the Windswept Realm, and will be wiped out!"

Instantly, Naruto understood.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1088

Chapter 1088: The First Death in the Windswept Realm!

In the moment that Naruto 's face flickered, the same reaction could be seen on the faces of Fan Dong'er and her group of cultivators, as well as Bei Yu and the Demonic cultivators who had been roiling with killing intent.

Only the burly body cultivator's expression was the same as ever, as if he hadn't even noticed anything. Everyone else, on the other hand, could sense reactions from things within their bags of holding.

Furthermore, a shining red sealing mark appeared on the hands of all nine of them, marks that seemed to indicate that they possessed certain qualifications.

"Dammit!" Fan Dong'er had an extremely unsightly look on her face, as did all the others. The two Demonic cultivators were no longer even thinking about Naruto . They stopped in place and used every possible method available to brace themselves for what was about to come.

Obviously… Naruto was not the only other person to have brought others with him into the Windswept Realm!

Naruto 's eyes flickered and he backed up a few steps. He sent some divine will into his bag of holding and quickly sealed the Demonic cultivators who the parrot and meat jelly had been training to sing.

However, despite being sealed, when the second clap of thunder rang out, the Demonic cultivators coughed up more blood, and their bodies withered. Obviously, the sealing did no good. Thankfully, the parrot and meat jelly were not affected at all.

Naruto frowned as the third clap of thunder rang out. This time, he unleashed the Life Death Hexing!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

In the blink of an eye, the Demonic cultivators inside of his bag of holding were protected by the Hexing magic. Although their faces went pale, they were unaffected, and were not in danger of being wiped out.

However… Sakura and Su Yan had nowhere to flee to. The two women coughed up blood, especially Sakura, who was already injured. Despite being more than half recovered, she was now on the verge of being exterminated by the thunder. Her injuries were aggravated, and the Life Death Hexing could not be used on her or Su Yan. After all, if Naruto used it, and failed… they would be killed, and he would be powerless to do anything about it!

Su Yan wouldn't be too big a loss, and Naruto didn't really care much about her, anyway. However, he couldn't simply risk Sakura in that way.

Everyone else had reactions to Naruto . Fan Dong'er's face was pale white as she slapped her bag of holding. Two people flew out, both of them young men who wore looks of surprise and shock on their faces.

As for the three cultivators behind Fan Dong'er, they all slapped their bags of holding; in total, they had brought eight people with them, all of them disciples of the Nine Seas God World!

It was the same with Bei Yu, from whose bag of holding flew two old women. Both were Demonic cultivators, with cultivation bases in the Ancient Realm, with five extinguished Soul Lamps each.

As for the other two Demonic cultivators, five people emerged to stand next to them.

At a single glance, you could see that the current group vastly exceeded the limit of nine. However, there was one aspect which was shared by all of the newcomers. None of their cultivation bases… exceeded five extinguished Soul Lamps!

Perhaps their true cultivation bases were higher than that, but at the moment, they had suppressed themselves down to the Ancient Realm with five extinguished Soul Lamps. That made it such that a single peal of thunder was strong enough to wipe them out!

"What's going on!? The natural laws here are different than last time! Before, we could always bring extra people, as long as they had five extinguished Soul Lamps or fewer!"

"As long as we didn't bring too many, the Windswept Realm would never cause any interference. Why are things different this time!?"

As everyone cried out in alarm, Naruto 's eyes glittered. He had never imagined that virtually everyone would try to bring more people into the Windswept Realm. Granny Nine and the others hadn't mentioned anything about the subject, nor had they provided any warnings. After a moment of thought, Naruto realized he had nothing to complain about.

"I'm an outsider to the Nine Seas God World," he thought, "and everything that has happened has been for the sake of mutual gain. They need my Echelon status, and I… need that status to get more powerful.

"To prevent me from bringing a bunch of my own clan members in here, they didn't mention the subject, which I suppose is fair play." As he backed up, he frowned. Although he could ignore the actions of the Nine Seas God World, he was getting very nervous because of the threat to Sakura.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he looked at the mark on the back of his hand, and he instantly understood the situation.

"Nine is the limit… well in that case… as long as we don't exceed the number of people allowed into the Ninth Nation, then there shouldn't be any problem." Suddenly, another peal of thunder rang out, and blood sprayed from the mouths of everyone who didn't possess a mark. At the same time, Naruto flashed across the altar toward one of the Demonic cultivators with a mark on his hand, one of the ones who had been on the verge of attacking him earlier.

"That mark is the crux of things! If you have that mark, you're qualified to be here!" Killing intent swirling, he shot forward as fast as lightning. With the wave of a hand, rumbling filled Heaven and Earth, and chains of mountains descended, sweeping across everything.

The ten thousand cultivators who were prostrated in worship surrounding the altar all remained there with heads bowed, with the exception of Jian Daozi and the other old men. Everyone else didn't even dare to move.

Jian Daozi stood there watching silently. However, deep within his eyes could be seen a flicker of derision. As for the other old men, they stood in place without saying a word.

Similar scenes played out in the other eight nations. Apparently, virtually all of the visitors from the Mountain and Sea Realm had brought people to tag along.

However, the natural laws of the Windswept Realm had changed, causing widespread shock. Nobody was prepared for the sudden onslaught of thunder. The pressure intensified, and the people who had been brought along felt grave senses of crisis filling them. They knew that this force, intent on wiping them away, would not stop.

Chaotic fighting would soon erupt as everyone realized that each Sea could only have a maximum of nine people in the Windswept Realm!

Without some extraordinary exception, the limit could not be exceeded by even one!

Apparently the Third Sea contained an exception. Xue'er had apparently used some unknown technique to ensure that she would be permitted to stay.

Though they had just arrived, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm began to fight each other. Bitter battles erupted, and the peals of thunder continued to echo out.

"Since this trifling Windswept Realm wants to eradicate me, I'll just leave!" cried an enraged old man on the altar in the desert of the Ninth Nation. He was bursting with the power of five extinguished Soul Lamps as he flew up into the air to leave the altar.

As he rose up into the air, others on the altar similarly took to flight. However, as soon as the old man left the altar, a huge bolt of lightning struck down from up above.

The lightning bolt was not complete, and yet it contained natural law and Essence. It moved with incredible speed that made it impossible to evade. It slammed into the old man, and a boom rang out. Before the man could even scream, he was completely wiped out in body and soul, transformed into nothing more than ash.

The scene caused everyone else to gasp, and the cultivators who had just flown into the air suddenly stopped in place, expressions of astonishment covering their faces.

Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he smiled slightly.

"I like this place," he said, extending his right hand and causing the chains of mountains to rumble. Blood Demon heads materialized as he began to fight. Booms rang out, and he turned into a huge golden roc. With a flash, he was slashing the Demonic cultivator's head, after which he turned and unleashed the Life-Extermination Fist on one of the other two howling Demonic cultivators who had leaped to attack him.

The fist struck nothing but air, and yet blood sprayed from their mouths, and booms rang out. One of them exploded into pieces, and the other was sent tumbling off of the altar, after which a bolt of lightning fell and exterminated him.

Simultaneously, a stream of red Chakra rose up from the dead Demonic cultivator. Eyes glittering, Naruto reached out and grabbed it, then sent it into this bag of holding, toward the back of Sakura's hand. It turned into a sealing mark, which instantly put her out of danger. She now had the qualifications to be in this place. He quickly sent her a large quantity of medicinal pills to help her recover.

" Naruto , what are you doing!?" cried Fan Dong'er. The altar was instantly thrown into chaos. The fact that Naruto had instantly resorted to violent fighting caused the older cultivators and Demonic cultivators to guess about the natural laws of the Windswept Realm, and they also began to attack.

"Can't you see?!" Naruto said. "Only nine people are allowed to be here! If we don't kill them… then they'll kill us! It doesn't matter which of us dies… as long as only nine remain alive, everything will be fine!

"Even if you don't attack… those stowaways will continue to grow weaker from the thunder! Therefore… their only option is to kill us and take our places!" Naruto waved his hand, causing his Divine Flame Immortal meridian to erupt with power. Flames rolled back and forth, a mass of destruction.

In response to Naruto 's words, the two young men behind Fan Dong'er suddenly launched attacks, not against Fan Dong'er, but rather, against the other three cultivators who had arrived in the Windswept Realm by the correct method.

Booms echoed out. Fan Dong'er was helpless to stop anything that was happening. Both the Demonic cultivators and ordinary cultivators devolved into even more chaotic fighting. Bei Yu looked extremely nervous as the two old women next to her looked around angrily and then began to levy vicious attacks in all directions.

Of course… the stowaways were the most nervous of all. As the thunder continued to boom, they received continuous injuries. Their current situation was like a sword hanging over their heads!

They could see the red marks on the hands of Naruto and the others, and knew that they represented the qualifications to be in this place, to be immune to the peals of thunder. If they didn't quickly earn themselves qualifications, they would die without a doubt!

Bloodcurdling screams rang out constantly, and fierce fighting raged. As more people died, more chances were presented to survive. Under such pressure of life or death, it was a matter of _this isn't about you dying, it's about me living!_

"Don't blame me! I don't want to do this, but… I have to keep living!" The Demonic cultivator who had brought up the idea of all the local cultivators ending their own lives, ended up dying at the hands of one of the other Demonic cultivators that he had brought along. He could only watch helplessly as he heard similarly cold words spoken to him, and then saw the red mark fade from his hand.

"DIE!" The cultivators brought by Fan Dong'er were also killed by fellow sect members. They died, eyes wide with regret.

Miserable screams rang out constantly as the number of people on the altar slowly grew smaller and smaller. At the same time, the booms of thunder grew more intense and more frequent!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1089

Chapter 1089: Who's Fighting and Who's Watching?

Naruto was in the middle of it all, fighting fiercely whoever he encountered.

The viciousness on display caused Jian Daozi and the others to go cold with fright. Jian Daozi himself gasped and stared at Naruto with renewed fear and awe.

Because of a unique reason, Jian Daozi had lived for a very long time, and seen many Immortals. Although his cultivation base was not very high, he was intelligent and discerning, and could tell that Naruto possessed strength that the other Immortals simply did not.

"He must be in the Immortal World's feared… Echelon!" he thought, his eyes widening.

Blood flowed off of the altar in bright red rivulets, even streams, which spread out into the desert sands. The reek of blood spread out, filling the air, even covering some of the magical symbols on the altar, causing them to cast bizarre light into the air.

Fewer and fewer people could be seen on the altar. Originally, there had been more than twenty, but now, there were only eleven!

Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu were still there, but the other cultivators who had originally joined them had all been replaced, with the exception of the burly body cultivator, who managed to cunningly avoid all attacks levied against him.

Fan Dong'er was no longer flanked by three people, but two. They were both young, their faces pale white, with blood seeping out of the corners of their mouths. Pools of blood could be seen beneath their feet.

Originally, Bei Yu had been accompanied by two other Demonic cultivators. Now, there were five. Two were old women, plus three other Demonic cultivators. Those who had brought them here had been killed by other cultivators, and these were the ones who had managed to hold out until the very end.

However, thunder still boomed, and as for the number of people present… there were still two too many!

Among the eleven people present, eight had red sealing marks on the backs of their hands. Those who didn't included one ordinary cultivator and two Demonic cultivators. All of them had ashen faces, and absolutely no sealing marks!

Those sealing marks were like a seal of life, a mark of approval from the Windswept Realm. Anyone who had that sealing mark would not be wiped away by the Heavenly thunder.

Blood flowed across the altar as everyone stood there silently, staring at Naruto . Fear could be seen deep in their eyes; in the battle just now, more than half of the people slain had been killed by him.

Down below the altar, Jian Daozi and the others were shocked to the core. The image of Naruto slaughtering his enemies was burned deep in their hearts, leaving an indelible impression.

After a few short breaths of time, fighting broke out once again; virtually everyone attacked at the same time, trying to wipe out the three cultivators with no marks on their hands.

Those three knew that if they couldn't get one of the sealing marks, they would be wiped out by the thunder, completely eradicated!

Thunder boomed, and blood sprayed out of the three cultivators' mouths. There was no need to mention the severe internal injuries they had sustained; they were growing so weak that it seemed any of the subsequent thunderclaps could wipe them out. They began to go mad, roaring, burning life force, exploding with all the power they could muster.

It was with utter madness that they attacked the fellow sect members who they thought they could defeat!

Booms echoed out as the fierce fighting raged. The cultivators of the Windswept Realm continued to keep their heads bowed, not daring to even peep at what was happening, although Jian Daozi and his group looked on.

Naruto waved his hand, and the Essence of Divine Flame erupted out. He pushed his hand down onto the shoulder of one of the Demonic cultivators with no sealing mark, and instantly, the man was consumed by Divine Flame. A miserable shriek could be heard as Naruto pulled his hand back, and the Demonic cultivator transformed into nothing but ash.

Simultaneously, the other two with no sealing marks were killed, reducing the number of people on the altar… to only eight!

In addition to Naruto , there were two ordinary cultivators and five Demonic cultivators, all of whom had marks on their hands!

All of them breathed sighs of relief.

"It's finally over…."

"I can't believe the natural laws in the Windswept Realm have changed…."

Even Jian Daozi and the others below the altar assumed that everything was over. However… thunder continued to boom! Everyone's faces fell, but no one coughed up blood. However, the fact that the thunder had not ceased indicated only one thing.

There was still someone without a sealing mark! Furthermore, that person was not present on the altar itself!

"Impossible! We're obviously the only ones left! Why is there still

Heavenly thunder!?"

"Someone must still be hiding people in their bag of holding!" Everyone began to look around suspiciously. Fan Dong'er gritted her teeth as she realized that there were more Demonic cultivators than ordinary cultivators, which was not to her advantage. After a moment of hesitation, she opened her bag of holding and let everyone see that it was empty of people.

The other cultivators behind her didn't hesitate to do the same, and eventually, even the Demonic cultivators, including Bei Yu, did the same. Eventually, Naruto was the only one who hadn't opened his bag of holding.

At that point, all eyes fell on Naruto .

" Naruto already got one of the other sealing marks and put it in his bag of holding!" Thunder boomed, and everyone looked at Naruto with vigilant eyes.

Naruto was the most powerful among them, a fact which had been made very clear in the fighting moments ago. At this moment, Naruto … was the greatest threat to all of them.

Another clap of thunder could be heard, but this time, it wasn't just a noise. A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, slamming onto the altar with incredible destructive power. The entire altar shook, and Naruto dodged to the side to avoid being hit.

" Naruto , what are you doing!? Open up your bag of holding and kill that person!"

"If you don't do something, then don't blame us for joining forces to kill you!" Everyone was shocked by the booming thunder, and the bolt of lightning that had fallen. From their perspective, if Naruto didn't open his bag of holding and kill the person inside, then all of them would end up dead.

Naruto 's eyes widened. Currently, Su Yan was inside his bag of holding, trembling. Her fear was a bit surprising to Naruto ; originally, she had been completely unafraid of dying. Now, however, she seemed terrified of it, a total change that couldn't help but cause a bit of suspicion to well up in his heart.

"Could it be that she has some sort of reincarnation magic, so that if I kill her, she'll be able to resurrect herself, but if she's killed by the thunder of the World Essence, she'll actually die?!" Naruto 's eyes flashed, and then he thought about Su Yan's other unique divine abilities, and realized that such a thing wasn't impossible.

As he stood there thinking, the other people on the altar were increasingly shocked by the thunder and lightning.

"Let's join forces! Even if we can't kill him ourselves, we can at least force him off the altar. Then the thunder will help us kill that person in his bag of holding!"

People began to call out: "Attack together!"

The Demonic cultivators already hated Naruto , so they immediately joined together and attacked Naruto .

At the same time, even Fan Dong'er and the other ordinary cultivators joined together to charge Naruto . Naruto 's actions now affected all of their lives, so how could they not take action?

Naruto 's eyes glittered. Instead of attacking, he fell back, buying time to send divine will into his bag of holding to yell into Su Yan's ear.

"Give me one of your divine abilities, and I'll get you a spot in the Windswept Realm!" He was determined to give this tactic a shot.

Su Yan's face fell. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and her expression was one of unprecedented fear. She could sense the deadly attacks from the outside, but she still wasn't willing to give one of her divine abilities to Naruto .

"I'll die first!" she responded.

"I don't want all of them, just one will do! You have to give me some reason to help you avoid being wiped out by the Windswept Realm!" Naruto continued to back up as everyone attacked him. He danced back and forth, expression calm as he used divine will to try to persuade Su Yan.

Thunder struck again, and it was even more intense than last time. Two bolts of lightning fell, causing everyone's minds to reel. Naruto 's face fell, and the sensation of deadly crisis grew stronger. It was as if… the next volley of lightning would definitely hit him.

Naruto 's eyes glittered. The best option right now would be to simply kill Su Yan, which would cause the lightning to dissipate. If he pushed things too much further, he would be putting himself at grave risk.

"Chances like this aren't easy to come by… it would be a big shame to give up now." His eyes flashed as he once again sensed Su Yan's fear of the thunder and lightning.

Gritting his teeth, he fell back again, and once again sent out some divine will.

Su Yan could sense the will of death in the lightning, and it caused her to tremble. She didn't fear Naruto killing her, but she definitely feared being eradicated by the lightning!

The sensation of imminent death grew more intense, and she could tell that another round of thunder and lightning was coming.

"If I die, you'll die too!" she cried. In response, Naruto slapped his bag of holding and pulled Su Yan out. Thunder boomed, and seven bolts of lightning coalesced up above; at the same time, he made as if to throw her out in front of him,

"I'll only give you one divine ability!" Su Yan shrieked as she looked at the lightning; she couldn't hold on any longer.

"Fine! I want your Seven God Steps!" Naruto 's eyes glittered, and he pushed his divine will toward her. Su Yan knew that she didn't have much time. Although it irked her, she had no other choice, and so she allowed his divine will to enter her mind and take the Seven God Steps Daoist magic. 1

In the moment that Naruto acquired the Daoist magic, the seven bolts of lightning began to fall. Suddenly, Naruto spun, and the Lightning Cauldron appeared in his hand. Electricity danced, and he switched places with one of the old Demonic cultivator women. As soon as he reappeared, next to one of the other Demonic cultivators, he unleashed the Life-Extermination Fist.

He moved so quickly that nobody had time to react. In the blink of an eye, thunder boomed, and the Demonic cultivator exploded into a cloud of blood and gore.

As soon as the Demonic cultivator died, the mark on his hand vanished, transforming into a red Chakra that then solidified on Su Yan's hand.

In that same instant, the seven bolts of lightning vanished without a trace, and the thunder faded away.

There were now only eight people on the altar again, one less Demonic cultivator, and an additional trembling Su Yan.

If you added in Sakura, who was still in his bag of holding, that made a total of nine cultivators!

All of them had marks on their hands, indicating that they qualified to remain in the Windswept Realm!

As of this moment, the fighting stopped. No one continued to attack Naruto . They all backed up, looking around vigilantly, quietly, expressions of sorrow on their faces.

As they looked down at the ten thousand cultivators below the altar, and the tens of thousands of other humans arranged further off, Fan Dong'er and the others suddenly didn't feel at all like superiors. Instead, they felt like cage fighters, with the people surrounding them being the audience, despite the fact that they didn't even lift their heads to look.

The superiors were the show, and the inferiors were the audience. Therefore, just exactly… who were the superiors?

Su Yan used the Seven God Steps (although with a slightly different name) against Naruto in chapter 1032 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1090

Chapter 1090: The Echelon's Declarations of War!

At this point, it was hard to say who was actually the superior in this situation.

On the Ninth Nation's altar, Naruto stood off to the side, looking up into the sky. He had already re-sealed Su Yan and tossed her back into his bag of holding. Now he stood there in the desert wind, which sent bits of dust blowing into his hair and onto his robes.

Behind him, the others stood by quietly, looking at his back, feeling fear and other complicated emotions. Even Fan Dong'er was no exception.

Naruto 's fierce fighting had placed him above the others in terms of power, securing his position of utmost seniority within the Ninth Nation.

Down below, Jian Daozi and the others were also looking at Naruto , and their eyes were filled with reverence for Immortals. Finally, they lowered their heads and dropped to their knees in obeisance.

They knew that, as of this moment, they didn't need to worry about any order given by any of the other Immortals. Until Naruto left the Ninth Nation, or was supplanted by someone else, his words… were the only orders to be followed.

Meanwhile, the altar in the Eighth Nation was littered with bones. An aura of death towered up into the sky, and eight cultivators could be seen, trembling as they prostrated themselves toward a black-robed young man up in front, who sat on a pile of bleached bones. He was none other than the Echelon cultivator from the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

"You people didn't bring many guests with you. Why didn't you bring more? I… feel like doing some more killing." His eyes gleamed with a brutal light as he looked at the trembling cultivators around him. Suddenly, a murderous aura exploded up from him. He was completely surrounded by corpses, none of which remained intact.

Blood stained the altar red.

In the Seventh Nation, a young man stood there with a long spear, surrounded by eight trembling cultivators. Shockingly, seven heads were impaled kebab-like on the spear.

"I don't want to kill all of you, but who said that you could try to steal my Echelon status from me, huh? In the Seventh Mountain and Sea, I don't dare to act too excessively, but here… you people are nothing!" The young man smiled, seemingly brimming with complete confidence in himself.

In the Sixth Nation, a boy sat cross-legged on the altar. He appeared to be only seven or eight years old, and he looked around through squinted eyes at the people who surrounded him, eight burly fellows, all of whom had cold faces.

The Sixth Nation was special. Because no one had brought any extra visitors, no thunder had appeared.

The strangest of all was the Fifth Nation. The altar there was soaked in blood, and only one person remained alive, standing on the edge of the altar. He was a bit overweight, and wore a perpetual smile on his face. However, hidden within that smile was icy coldness.

All of the other people who had arrived with him were now dead; he was the only survivor.

"Wanted to snatch my position in the Echelon?" the young man murmured. "You people simply didn't qualify."

Silence reigned in the Fourth Nation. Lin Cong stood there, wearing a long white robe, looking around proudly. Directly behind him were four cultivators, all of whom had vicious expressions on their faces. They were surrounded by numerous corpses.

From beginning to end, Lin Cong never made a single move. However, his four followers had directly slaughtered the other four cultivators who had come with them, as well as any stowaways they had brought along.

"I hope things get a bit more interesting here," Lin Cong said with a slight smile.

Rivers of blood ran in the Third Nation. However, there was something different there; among the nine people present, not a single one was a member of the Echelon! Among those nine people was a middle-aged man who wore Imperial robes. He stood there with a slight smile that contained contentment and anticipation.

"I've been waiting for far, far too long…. At long last, the day has come. The words spoken by the Imperial Lord turned out to be true!" Even as he spoke, he looked off into the distance, toward a figure speeding through the air.

It was a woman, the tenth person to appear on the altar!

None of the ten thousand cultivators beneath the altar had their heads bowed. Instead, they were looking at the man in the Imperial robes, their eyes burning with fanaticism.

On the Second Nation's altar, everything was quiet. In fact, it was so quiet, the mood was terrifying. There was no reek of blood, but rather, icy coldness spread out, turning the entire altar into a chunk of ice.

In the middle of that ice was a man in a blue robe.

His eyes were closed, and eight unmoving corpses lay on the ground around him.

The First Nation's altar was the strangest scene of all. None of the figures beneath the altar were bowing their heads. No, they had been ordered to raise their heads up. They stood there, trembling with fear as they looked at a white-robed man floating above the surface of the altar.

His expression was calm, as if he were contemplating enlightenment. He was staring at his right hand, within which could be seen, shockingly… a bolt of lightning. The lightning looked extraordinary, and if Naruto were here, he would instantly recognize… the Heavenly lightning of a type of Lightning Cauldron!

The white-robed man appeared to be contemplating it, as if he were determining a way to control it.

With his cultivation base and his level of power, this man could be only one person: the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, widely acknowledged to be one of its three most powerful members!

Behind him were eight other cultivators who had arrived from the First Mountain and Sea. All of them were his personal followers; not a single one was a disciple of any other organization in the First Mountain and Sea.

These were people he had forced to capitulate during the many battles he had fought. Afterwards, they had become his followers, and even fought for him. Most surprising of all was that of these eight people who had chosen to become his followers, one of them was another member of the Echelon!

To join the Echelon, and yet choose to follow that white-robed young man, showed how incredibly powerful he was.

"So it turns out that gaining enlightenment of the Essence of lightning is much easier here than in the Mountain and Sea Realm." After a long moment, the white-robed young man clenched his hand into a fist.

Crackling sounds could be heard, and the lightning vanished, disappearing into his body. His eyes suddenly began to glow brightly.

"The Windswept Realm has been opened many times, but this is my first time here. What do you all say? Do you think I'll be able to collect some people and items that might satisfy me? Will I be able to truly take away the World Essence?

"Although, what I'm actually looking forward to most… is searching for another member of the Echelon, most preferably a male!" The whiterobed young man chuckled. He turned to a woman who was standing behind him, and ran his finger down her jaw. The woman lowered her head and smiled. As for his other followers, two were women and five were men. All of them smiled in response to the young man's words.

The sky in the Windswept Realm gradually cleared. After the space of ten breaths of time, a cold voice suddenly rang out from the Heavens into the First Nation and all the other nations in the Windswept Realm. Apparently, the inhabitants of the Windswept Realm itself could not hear this voice, only the newcomers.

"Let the trial by fire… begin!

"The central temple is where the final decision will be made. Immortal cultivators may not enter there now. Use the Nine Nations as the game board, and the soldiers and cultivators of the Windswept Realm as the game pieces. Let the Grand War of Nine Nations begin!

"Each nation has a Seal of the Windswept Realm. Whoever acquires the most National Seals will be able to enter the central temple!

"And now… the barriers between the Nine Nations shall be removed!" The voice that spoke was ancient, and yet seemed somewhat numb, almost emotionless, as if it were a puppet. Even as the voice boomed out, the windstorm barriers separating the Nine Nations of the Windswept Realm all vanished!

Now there was nothing sealing or protecting any of the nations; they were all connected….

Furthermore, the ground began to quake as all of the natural laws and Essences of the Windswept Realm was unleashed. Spiritual energy surged, and the natural laws went into flux. Essence was revealed in a way that made gaining enlightenment seemingly simple.

Heaven and Earth lost color, and a mighty wind sprang up which screamed out in all directions.

On the First Nation's altar, the white-robed young man laughed heartily. As the windstorm barriers fell, he could instantly sense the other Echelon auras in the Windswept Realm.

To his senses, those auras were like bright lamps in the darkness of night, clearly visible.

As he laughed, the white-robed young man's energy surged, merging into Heaven and Earth. His cultivation base erupted, sending an incredibly powerful aura sweeping out.

He was making a declaration of war… against all of the other eight nations in the Windswept Realm!

At the same time, amidst the iciness of the Second Nation, the bluerobed man's eyes snapped open. He looked at the corpses around him for a moment, and their eyes opened to reveal a gray glow. Cracking and popping sounds could be heard as layers of ice shattered. Energy also surged out of the blue-robed young man, another declaration of war!

In the Third Nation, the middle-aged man in the Imperial robes laughed eerily. Although he clearly had no sealing mark on him, he still emanated the energy of a sealing mark, which rose up into the sky.

In the Fourth Nation, Lin Cong looked around proudly, and his energy spiked. As of this moment, no one was willing to reveal any bit of weakness. They were all members of the Echelon, Chosen of the Mountain and Sea Realm. In the Windswept Realm, where they were completely free and unconstrained, any show of weakness would be sensed by others… and would no doubt lead to their respective nation being the first to be eradicated, and to the loss of their National Seal.

In the Fifth Nation, the smiling young man smiled even wider, and his energy flew up.

In the Sixth Nation, the boy laughed piercingly as he rose to his feet. Shockingly, his energy rose up rapidly, causing the wind to surge and the Heavens to shake.

In the Seventh Nation and Eighth Nation, the Echelon also declared war!

Naruto trembled and looked up into the sky. The other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm could hear the words spoken by the ancient voice. However, they had no way to detect the surging energy and domineering auras of the Echelon cultivators in the other eight nations.

It was as if all of them were sending notices to the other Echelon members that they were on their way.

"A declaration of war, huh…." thought Naruto , his eyes glittering. He had long since left the other members of his generation of the Ninth Mountain and Sea behind. He was like an enormous mountain in their path. All of the important Chosen owed him money, and were bound to him by Karma with promissory notes.

He had long since come to the conclusion that it would be a difficult thing to find any more Chosen to get promissory notes from. But now that he could sense the energy of the other Echelon members… Naruto 's eyes began to shine brightly.

"These guys ought to be even richer than the people from the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" he thought, taking a deep breath and getting even more excited. Finally, he caused his own energy to surge, causing it to blaze like a signal fire. At the same time, he looked slightly embarrassed as he added A Writ of Karma into his surging energy, creating an opportunity for an initial contact of Karma, laying down the first Karma Thread connection.

 _You declare war? I declare a season of promissory notes!_

I will make all members of the Echelon owe me money and give me promissory notes!

Naruto was determined to stick to his path of promissory notes, and not waver!

As of this moment, the energy of all of the members of the Echelon surged in their respective areas, then spread out until they clashed with the others.

Colors flashed in the sky, and the wind seethed. Rumbling filled the air as the energy of the Echelon members clashed.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1091

Chapter 1091: The Scheming of Jian Daozi

The world rumbled, colors flashed in the sky, and the wind screamed…. At the same time, the Echelon members in each of the Nine Nations sent their energy surging, something… that no one but they themselves could sense.

However, everyone on the altars in the various Nine Nations were clearly able to tell that the air of war had filled the world!

Declarations had been made, indicating that the Echelon battles were beginning!

This place… was the long-awaited battlefield for the Echelon. Everyone else would be relegated to mere supporting roles!

Although nobody wanted to admit it, Fan Dong'er, Bei Yu and the other cultivators knew so. They stood there silently, looking at Naruto standing at the edge of the altar, radiating an unmatchable energy as he looked around at the people prostrating themselves down below.

All of a sudden they understood that this place… belonged to the Echelon!

If the options were to be either a bright flower or a dark, faded leaf, fate had given them no choice in the matter, and had relegated them all to be nothing more than leaves….

Fan Dong'er's eyes glittered with an unyielding light. Bei Yu had a similar reaction. She was a woman with the same position as the sect's Holy Daughter. She had high aspirations, and was not willing to be left in the dust by anyone.

After a while, the surging energy that were the declarations of war by the members of the Echelon located throughout the Windswept Realm… slowly faded away. Naruto flicked his sleeve and stepped off of the altar.

"Raise your heads, all of you!" he said immediately. His voice echoed out across the lands into the ears of all of the cultivators of the Windswept Realm, and into the minds of the tens of thousands of mortals off in the distance.

Without even thinking about it, everyone raised their heads and looked at him. As of this moment, all eyes were focused on Naruto . He hovered there in midair, his robes swirling, his hair floating around him. The will of an Immortal Emperor transformed into a unique aura.

It was an indescribable aura, but at the moment, it instilled everyone with the impulse to offer worship.

"Greetings, Grand Immortal!" A chorus of voices echoed out across the lands. As the powerful sound rolled out, Jian Daozi flew up into the air, swishing his sleeve and causing brilliant light to surround him.

"Form the Grand Carriage!" Immediately, a thousand cultivators flew out from the group below and organized into a formation that resembled a flying battleship!

They were followed by another eight thousand cultivators, who also formed flying battleships, making a total of nine. It was possible to see cultivators all packed together to form the battleships, their expressions fanatical, as if serving Immortals was an unmatchable honor.

Each battleship also featured two groups of cultivators on the deck, organized in ranks, men and women. Of the male cultivators, each one was extremely handsome, the type that any woman in the mortal world would instantly fall in love with.

The female cultivators were incredibly beautiful and pure, and each one could be considered a consummate beauty.

All of them knelt there, apparently ready to fulfill any request without the slightest hesitation.

"Grand Immortals, please, after you!" cried Jian Daozi, dropping to his knees.

"Grand Immortals, please, after you!" the other old men cried, along with all the other cultivators.

Naruto stared in shock. Although he had enjoyed the feeling of being completely unrestrained in the Windswept Realm, he was still not used to situations like this.

Using people as a ship…?

"Jian Daozi, you lead the way. As for this ship… I don't need it," he said slowly, beginning to make his way forward. Jian Daozi stared in shock, and an almost imperceptible flicker passed by deep in his eyes. He looked at Naruto for a moment, then, without saying anything, flew to follow by his side.

The fact that Naruto refused to use the ship didn't mean that the other cultivators had to refuse. In fact, the Demonic cultivators were currently staring in shock. Since they had been smuggled in, they hadn't experienced the events from the initial entry. They transformed into beams of light which instantly flew over to the various ships formed from cultivators.

When they stepped onto the ships, they were immediately surrounded by the handsome men and beautiful women, who brought delicious alcohol and spirit fruits for them to enjoy. It was an indescribable feeling. The young cultivator behind Fan Dong'er thought for a moment, then flew over to sit on one of the ships. Immediately, one of the beautiful servants stepped forward and bowed down in front of him.

The young man took a deep breath as he looked around blankly at the ship and everything else.

Eventually, even Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu boarded the ships under the fanatical gazes of the Windswept Realm cultivators. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the ships then flew up into the air.

Down below, the man who appeared to be the emperor of the Ninth Nation led the soldiers into motion. They moved slowly, but there were many of them, and they almost looked like Imperial escorts.

Naruto flew along at the front, silent and taciturn. Jian Daozi followed off to the side. The old man's cultivation base was not in the Immortal Realm, so it took some effort for him to keep up with Naruto . Naruto looked over at him and waved his hand, causing a bright light to appear beneath the old man's feet, which instantly increased his speed so that he could follow along closely.

"Many thanks, Grand Immortal!" Jian Daozi said, clasping his hands in appreciation.

"You can stop it with the false show of respect," Naruto said slowly.

"It pisses me off. Furthermore… I'm Naruto . My surname is not 'Grand' and my given name is not 'Immortal.'" He spoke the words without the slightest bit of courtesy.

A strange expression appeared on the old man's face. He clasped his hands and respectfully said, "I shall comply with your orders, Exalted Immortal."

Naruto proceeded to ignore him. Perhaps because of how they were raised, all of the others from the Mountain and Sea Realm were probably not used to paying close attention to the people they deemed weaker, but Naruto , despite having such a high status, and even being the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, had struggled up to that point from a weak and pitiful standing on Planet Ninshu . He had experienced numerous deadly circumstances, and had eventually developed extremely keen eyes. Therefore, he was easily able to detect that Jian Daozi had been scheming all along.

He could clearly see the various things the old man had done. He had never believed that the people of this world would willingly choose to be inferiors. In fact… the people of the Windswept Realm couldn't even be called inferiors; they were more like slaves who didn't even have control over their own lives or deaths. Their fate was completely under the control of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The entire world was destined to flow with rivers of blood every thousand years, and the inhabitants were like nothing more than crops to be harvested. Their thousand years of rest was merely preparation… for another harvest!

"The natural laws did not change by chance!" thought Naruto , his eyes glittering. He would not be careless in his activities here.

Furthermore, he knew many details of certain matters that Fan Dong'er and the others were unaware of.

"Exalted Immortal Uzumaki," Jian Daozi said ingratiatingly, "Mount Whiteseal is the Ninth Nation's Mountain of National Aura, the source of our nation's natural law and Daoist magic. It supports our entire world, and even has Heavenly power!

"Exalted Immortal, by selecting that mountain, you can receive the added support of the National Aura, and will definitely experience cultivation base growth to a level that you can't even imagine.

"The legends say that the National Aura Mountain was refined from a precious treasure. Perhaps with the abilities and resources at hand as a Chosen, Exalted Immortal Uzumaki, you will be able to acquire even greater good fortune." The wind buffeted their faces as they flew onward, and Jian Daozi's words were carried backward so that Fan Dong'er and the others could hear.

Naruto suddenly stopped in place, turned, and looked deeply into Jian Daozi's eyes. Then, an enigmatic smile appeared on his face, and his eyes gradually shone with an intense gleam.

The look in Naruto 's eyes caused thumping sounds to pound inside of Jian Daozi. However, he maintained the same smile as ever, and ducked his head respectfully.

"You know," Naruto said coolly. "I've killed a lot of people. Many of them were schemers, and when I discovered their plots against me, I removed their heads.

"For example, you used a simple map to quickly divide nine Exalted Immortals without lifting a finger. You benefited from the misfortune of others, and also gained some profound insights. Truly an excellent scheme.

"Later, when the lightning and thunder struck us, you looked surprised, but deep in your eyes, you were actually mocking us. Don't think that nobody noticed your act. How did you come to be aware that the natural laws had changed?"

With each of Naruto 's successive statements, Jian Daozi looked more surprised. He started to look anxious, as if he felt there were some misunderstanding. Terrified, he was about to offer an explanation when Naruto continued.

"One map unleashed internal chaos," he said coolly. "One natural law caused a deadly crisis.

"I honestly don't care much about those things. However, just now, you tried to use that mountain to gain the upper hand again. Did you really think that you could borrow the strength of my hands to slay the others, just because I was stronger than them?" His words caused Jian Daozi's face to grow deathly pale, and he began to tremble in terror.

"Exalted Immortal, please calm yourself. Everything was just a misunderstanding! It… it wasn't like that at all! I…." Sweat poured down Jian Daozi's face, and he seemed horrified, as if he were being wrongly accused of a crime he didn't commit.

"Let me guess," continued Naruto , his voice growing colder by the moment. "If I were you, I wouldn't devise a plan which relied on only one person, even if you did end up convincing me about the mountain. After all, none of them would be likely to try to provoke me directly. What you want to do is throw out some other seeds to attract their interest.

"Those seeds of interest… will eventually give birth to a struggle over the mountain.

"Their obsession over the mountain is like a hidden weapon that would not be easily noticed. In addition to all of that, if I were you, I would definitely prepare some other knives to stick into the backs of us Immortals. That would also provide a warning that… we should not act presumptuously here! My guess is that one of those knives will be making an appearance quite soon."

Jian Daozi smiled wryly, as if he had valid protestations which were merely falling on deaf ears. He seemed to be on the verge of trying to concoct some explanation when, all of a sudden, something became visible off in the distance. There, a waterfall could be seen, at the base of which was a pond. Next to that pond sat a white fox.

A piece of white jade could be seen on the fox's head, which looked completely beyond ordinary. As the fox practiced breathing techniques, it caused all of the light in the area to converge on the fox's head.

Suddenly, one of the middle-aged Demonic cultivators from the Nine Seas God World caught sight of the white fox. His eyes went wide, and he shouted, "Divine Demon jade!"

A look of greed and wild joy instantly appeared on the Demonic cultivator's face. There was a flash as he flew off of the ship he had been riding and headed directly toward the fox.

"If I were you, I wouldn't do that," Naruto said, stopping in place. In response, Jian Daozi's face flickered. The middle-aged Demonic cultivator stared in shock for a moment, then gave a cold harrumph.

He was well aware of what kind of place the Windswept Realm was, that there was nothing here that exceeded the Immortal Realm. It was a place without laws or rules, and therefore, nobody could stop him from taking something he wanted!

He sent out his divine sense and, sensing nothing abnormal, completely ignored Naruto and closed in on the white fox, reaching his hand out to grab to the piece of white jade.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1092

Chapter 1092: Demon Mantra: Mesmeric Rebuke!

Just as the middle-aged Demonic cultivator was closing in on the white jade, all of a sudden, a cold snort could be heard echoing out from inside the waterfall.

"Scram!" someone said.

The single word seemed to invoke thunder and lightning. A shocking energy rose up, causing everything to shake. A windstorm sprang into being, which promptly slammed into the Demonic cultivator.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The Demonic cultivator's face flickered, and blood sprayed out of his mouth in a continuous stream as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut. He fell back several hundred meters before finally coming to a stop, his face pale, his body trembling.

Bei Yu sat on her ship, which currently hovered in midair. All of a sudden, her face flickered, and she spoke four words, one at a time. "Demon Mantra: Mesmeric Rebuke!" 1

The other Demonic cultivators' minds trembled, and expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces as they looked over at the waterfall.

Even Fan Dong'er appeared to be shocked.

Naruto 's eyes narrowed. The voice which had spoken just now used only one phrase to unleash unthinkable power. That one phrase was like a magical technique, a divine ability that could… shake the mind. Not only did it leave the Demonic cultivator's body trembling, it also was a powerful attack on his very thoughts.

Naruto was familiar with the four words that Bei Yu had uttered. He knew that it was one of the three most powerful Daoist magics of the Nine Seas God World's Demonic Cultivator Horde!

"Demon Mantra: Mesmeric Rebuke can turn one's own divine sense into an attack on the self…." he thought. "It is impossible to defend against, and the stronger one's divine sense, the more terrifying the results!"

Very few Demonic cultivators were able to successfully learn it. In the current generation, only Bei Yu and Long Tianhai had ever studied it, as well as the other eight Sea Realm Demons.

From the way it had been used, Naruto , along with Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu, could all tell that whoever was inside the waterfall hadn't attacked with killing intent, but rather, was issuing a warning.

The Demonic cultivator hovered in midair, his face pale white, looking at the waterfall with terror. Finally he clasped hands and bowed deeply, then hurried back to his ship. The white fox hadn't moved the entire time, nor had it even looked up. It simply continued to practice breathing techniques with the white jade.

Naruto 's eyes flickered, but he continued to stand there silently. Bei Yu hesitated for a moment, then moved forward toward the waterfall. Feeling she had no other choice, she clasped hands and bowed, then said, "I am Sea Daughter Bei Yu of the Junior generation, from the Nine

Seas God World. Senior, what relationship do you have with our Demonic Cultivator Horde?"

Demon Mantra: Mesmeric Rebuke was an esoteric magic of the Demonic Cultivator Horde, something that no outsider would ever have access to.

And yet, they had all seen it unleashed right here.

There was no response from the waterfall, and eventually, the white fox opened its mouth and swallowed the white jade. Then, it turned, disappearing into the waterfall in a flash of white.

Bei Yu hesitated for a moment, and finally decided not to risk going into the waterfall. Just now, the power of a single word had revealed that the cultivation base of whoever was inside… was terrifyingly powerful.

After clasping hands respectfully one more time, Bei Yu headed back to her ship. It was in that moment that Naruto blinked his right eye nine times in quick succession. Rumbling filled his mind as his view of the world suddenly changed completely. His vision was suddenly empowered to pierce through the waterfall where, shockingly, he saw an Immortal's cave, and a middle-aged man sitting there cross-legged. Located next to the man was a tomb!

It was as if the man had always been there, and always would be, sitting there accompanying the tomb!

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on him, the man in the Immortal's cave suddenly turned to look at him. As their gazes met, an expression of shock could be seen in his eyes, and he waved his sleeve, terminating Naruto 's vision. Pain filled his mind, and his face reddened, but he quickly recovered.

Despite the vision having ended, he could still clearly picture the man's appearance, and remembered that the man had a white scale on his forehead.

"He was a Demonic cultivator!" he thought. After a moment, he proceeded forward. Jian Daozi hesitated for a moment, then followed. Soon, everyone else on the ships followed suit.

After proceeding onward for a bit, Naruto 's hand suddenly shot out to grab Jian Daozi. Jian Daozi considered dodging, but hesitated, and Naruto 's hand latched onto his arm.

"Grand Immortal…." he said, sounding alarmed.

Naruto 's face was calm as his hand clenched down onto Jian Daozi's arm. Cracking sounds could be heard as he then cleanly ripped off one of Jian Daozi's fingers. The pain caused Jian Daozi to shake, but he didn't dare to show any anger, only fear.

"That Demonic cultivator just now was one of the knives you had prepared to stick into our backs, right?" Naruto said coolly. Then he released Jian Daozi's arm.

A bitter look appeared on Jian Daozi's face, as if he wanted to explain what had happened, but couldn't.

"You can continue to pretend as much as you want, but remember… don't provoke me!" Naruto said one word at a time, staring Jian Daozi in the eye.

"Ripping off your finger was just a warning. If you dare to provoke me again… I don't care who you have hidden here in the Windswept Realm, nor how many knives you've prepared… you will regret it." At this point, Naruto gave a slight smile.

To Jian Daozi, however, that smile was filled with something utterly terrifying, as if the person in front of him were a fiendish monster, someone he didn't dare to ever provoke. If he did, then… he had no idea what the consequences might be.

They didn't encounter anything unusual during the rest of their journey. Nor did Jian Daozi speak any further with Naruto . As they traveled along, Naruto continued to take in the sights, his expression tranquil.

As for the other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, they proceeded along quietly. After what had happened to the middle aged Demonic cultivator, their aggressive attitudes seemed to have been reined in, and they didn't impulsively try to grab any of the desirable things they saw along the way.

The Ninth Nation was not very large. After flying for about half a day, Bei

Yu veered off toward the Immortal's cave she had selected. One by one, the other Demonic cultivators also left, and eventually Fan Dong'er and her young cultivator companion departed. Soon, a city appeared up ahead of Naruto .

It was a city of mortals, and was also the capital city of the Ninth Nation.

Behind the capital city, a mountain was just barely visible. The top half was capped in snow, and the bottom half was emerald green. Beneath the mountain was a lake, which was fed by a river that stretched off into the distance.

The lake was as smooth as a mirror, without the slightest wave or ripple, revealing a perfect reflection of the sky.

Jian Daozi continued to accompany Naruto as he flew past the city and across the lake. Soon, he was directly in front of Mount Whiteseal.

As they neared, a frigid wind blew down from the mountain. It was currently summer, and the heat was oppressive, so the cold wind was incredibly refreshing. It was the kind of feeling that would cause people to instantly take a liking to this mountain that was half-covered in snow.

The feeling was reinforced by the white snow on the top half of the mountain, which formed a striking contrast with the emerald green bottom half. The thing that moved Naruto the most, though, was that as they neared, he could clearly sense the natural law and World Essence… growing stronger and more defined.

It was as if this mountain were the nucleus of the entire Ninth Nation, as if it was the source of all the natural law and Essence.

In addition, the mountain caused Naruto to feel a sensation similar to that which he had experienced from the Towers of Tang on Planet Ninshu .

It was the type of feeling that came from an object that had been the subject of worship for countless tens of thousands of years. It was an intangible energy, similar to that which came from burning incense. After congealing to a certain extent, it became the National Aura of the Ninth Nation, and eventually transformed… into a type of Chakra flow!

The Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm!

Naruto was becoming increasingly moved. His eyes gradually grew wider as he gazed up at the highest peaks of the mountain, from which he sensed some type of summoning.

The sensation slowly grew more and more intense, causing Naruto 's heart to begin to pound. His blood began to surge through his veins, and soon he couldn't control the urge to head to the peak of the mountain and see what it was that was calling him.

Just when he was about to step forward, he stopped.

"Interesting. For some reason, I have the feeling that the purpose of the summons is to try to entice me to fly directly to the peak of the mountain…." After a moment of thought, he didn't do so, but rather, began to ascend the stone stairs which began at the very foot.

Behind him, Jian Daozi and the other old men noticed what he was doing, and exchanged shocked looks.

Mount Whiteseal was the most sacred location in all of the Ninth Nation, a Holy Mountain that many Immortals had visited in the past. Virtually all of them had chosen chose to fly directly to the top, whereas Naruto chose to walk up slowly from the bottom. It was extremely rare.

Actually, ascending the mountain from the very bottom would impart an even more profound sensation regarding the natural laws and Essences that were focused on this nucleus of the Ninth Nation, as well as the National Aura.

Naruto began to walk up the steps, taking his time. Sometimes he even stopped to relish the sensation of the natural laws on the mountain, and the omnipresent Essences. Furthermore, he was also able to sense… the so-called National Aura which had built up on the mountain because of the years of worship.

At one point, he stretched his right hand out into the air and made a grasping motion. "Is this… the Essence of wind?" he murmured.

Although he didn't know it, somewhere out in the Ninth Nation, a galeforce wind sprang up.

"The Essence of water…. And this is fire…. They're all incomplete…."

Time passed as he strolled his way upward. Soon it was night, and eventually the rising sun could be seen once again. Then it was noontime. It was at this point that he passed out of the emerald green portion of the mountain and entered the snow white area. Step by step, he went onward. He immersed himself in contemplation of the mountain, in enlightenment. He forgot about walking, forgot about even moving forward.

He wasn't aware of it, but as he proceeded along up the mountain, all of the lands of the Ninth Nation were shaking. Wind blew and rain fell. Lights flashed in the sky, and Spirit Springs erupted. Mountains vanished and then reappeared, and rivers changed course. The entire world was altered.

All of the changes occurred due to Naruto walking up the mountain and contemplating the world's natural laws. As he gained enlightenment of the Essences of Heaven and Earth, he made acquisitions which manifested as transformations in the Ninth Nation.

Back at the foot of the mountain, Jian Daozi and the others had long since begun to stare with wide eyes and slack jaws. Even more so than the other old men, Jian Daozi's eyes were now filled with profound anxiety. And what he was anxious about was clearly not Naruto .

In fact, Naruto wasn't even aware of the fact that he had already reached the peak of the mountain!

The name of this magic is actually also a chengyu, a Chinese idiom. The definition of the idiom itself is: to mislead the public with rumors, to delude the people with lies. In this case I'm pretty sure Er Gen just copied it because it has the word "demon" in it. The literal character-bycharacter translation would be "demon word delude crowd" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1093

Chapter 1093: His Name Shakes the Echelon!

Atop the snow-capped mountain peak, a frigid wind blew snowflakes onto Naruto 's head. They quickly melted, taking with them some of the warmth inside of him. The resulting sensation was one of icy coldness.

The coldness caused Naruto 's somewhat blank eyes to suddenly clear. As he regained his senses, the incredible transformations to the lands of the Ninth Nation ceased.

"The world has invisible natural laws…." he murmured.

"On top of natural law is the omnipresent power of Essence….

Understanding something's intrinsic qualities, and seeing its true origin, knowing EVERYTHING about it… that is its Essence." Although his journey from the bottom of the mountain to the top had seemed to go quickly, it truth, it had taken quite a bit of time.

That contradiction actually led him to significant enlightenment regarding Mount Whiteseal and the Ninth Nation. However, he still felt as if there were some areas he hadn't been able to probe. There was something about this mountain, this nation, and even this Realm, that was… incongruous.

It was as if there was a power of rejection, a power that, despite Naruto 's observations of natural laws and Essence during his trip up the mountain, ensured that his understanding was merely superficial. Now that he thought back, he realized that there was nothing profound or important imprinted in his heart.

After a moment of thought, he looked around at the snowflakes covering his field of vision and drifting down onto his body.

The ground was covered with a thick layer of snow that quickly captured any snowflakes which landed on it. They lost any ability to dance or flutter, no matter how much the wind blew to pick them up.

However, no matter how much his vision was obscured by the snowflakes, he could still see that up ahead of him was… a statue.

It was a statue surrounded by swirling snow. It depicted a man, apparently middle-aged, with a slight smile on his face. He didn't seem powerful or solemn, but a sharp gleam could be seen in his eyes that appeared to be an admonishing expression. Anyone who caught sight of the statue would be inwardly shaken.

It was the kind of feeling a mortal would experience upon facing a wild beast.

It was as if this person's wrath could cause Heaven and Earth to crumble, could shake the world, could cause all living things to bow in worship. Naruto took a deep breath as he looked at the statue; it almost seemed to be looking back at him.

That simple gaze caused his mind to reel, sent his cultivation base into chaos, and caused his Chakra and blood to seethe. He coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward several paces, his face flickering.

"Just what Realm was this person in?" the thought. "It's only a statue, so it could only have a tiny percentage of the true self's power, and yet its divine will is shocking!

"Wait a second, that's not right. This feeling… is so familiar!" His eyes flashed as he looked up at the statue, and then a strange expression appeared in his eyes.

"I was called here by this statue….

"Furthermore, the power that injured me didn't come from the statue, but rather… the entire Ninth Nation!" His eyes glittered as he turned to look out at the entire Ninth Nation.

"That was… the power of the National Fate. The reason it feels so familiar is because this place is the same as the Tower of Tang! Or perhaps it would be better to say that the power of the Ninth Nation's Chakra flow, when combined, allows this statue to radiate astonishing pressure!

"The Windswept Realm has nine nations, and each one… has a bit more than ten percent of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm!

"The reason I experienced that sensation of rejection is because… I'm not an entity of the Windswept Realm!

"Well, now that I'm here, there should be some method to get rid of the power of rejection, and attain the approval of the National Aura!" Naruto looked back at the statue, and his eyes came to focus on an almost undetectable mark on the back of its hand.

Without careful examination, it would be virtually impossible to clearly make out the mark. Naruto 's eyes shone with determination as he formed his divine sense into a magical technique and shot it out toward the mark. However, the mark seemed impossible to break open, as if some type of seal were in place that would require several hours to break through. Naruto pondered silently, then suddenly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and unleashed the Fifth Demon Sealing Hex.

By now, he was very familiar with the Fifth Hex, and had been able to detect that it was useful when dealing with seals. Reverse inside and outside. Consume and spit out. It could unbind all sorts of seals!

As Naruto unleashed the Hexing magic, Jian Daozi and the others at the foot of the mountain looked on with fixed gazes. Jian Daozi sighed inwardly, and an imperceptible flicker ran through his eyes. Although he was incapable of making any further cultivation base breakthroughs in this lifetime, he had been able to utilize a secret magic to extend his longevity for many, many years.

In fact, he had lived for so long that he had long since forgotten exactly how old he was. Furthermore, he would never be able to forget how Immortals trampled the inhabitants of the Windswept Realm beneath their feet, humiliating them. He would never be able to forget how it felt to be treated like a slave.

"Perhaps if I hadn't met THAT person… then I wouldn't have such feelings," he thought. "After all, the Windswept Realm is one of the Lower Realms of the Immortal World, and is a slave world." He bowed his head to cover the hatred and venom that flickered in his eyes.

Soon, vigilance took over, and he looked up. All such previous looks had disappeared from his eyes, which were now filled with what appeared to be mindless veneration for Immortals.

Actually, of the countless Immortals that he had encountered, none had given him the same feeling as Naruto . His vigilance intensified.

"His cultivation base is profound, he is extremely cunning, and he attacks with utter ruthlessness. He… is not the type of person to be dealt with easily. However, he will most likely fall into a trance here. And even if that doesn't happen… it doesn't matter how strong he is, it won't be long before the Windswept Realm's patience will be at an end, and it will completely explode!" Jian Daozi took a deep breath, and a brilliant light flashed in his eyes before they once again returned to their previous state. He slid his hands into their opposite sleeves, then stooped over low, making himself look inconspicuous and innocuous.

"There is no member of the Echelon who will understand the statue of the Imperial Lord at a single glance. Even though some of the people who come here are aware of its secrets, and each time they come the duration grows shorter, in the end, the fastest one will take at least six hours. This Naruto might be incredibly intelligent, with extraordinary enlightenment, but even he would need more time…." Inwardly, he was laughing coldly as he looked up at Naruto on top of the mountain. Then, his face suddenly flickered, and his eyes went wide with disbelief.

It wasn't just him. The old men behind him were staring with wide eyes, and panting.

In the moment that Naruto unleashed his Hexing magic on the sealing mark, he got the sensation that he was opening a door. His mind trembled, and the world shook. Countless natural laws exploded out of that door, as well as numerous Essences. They swept about, burying him, transforming into a tempest that raged in all directions.

The previously calm Ninth Nation was once again struck with incredible transformations. Mountain ranges rose and rivers changed their course. The incredible transformations caused an indescribable feeling to float up in the minds and hearts of all living creatures in the Ninth Nation.

Naruto 's breath came in ragged pants as the tempest swirled around him. Numerous natural laws and Essences could be seen, but soon, his eyes glittered as he realized that many of them were duplicates. The glow of augury could be seen, and soon Naruto was able to determine… that there were only three thousand!

Among those three thousand, the number that weren't duplicates consisted of only… three hundred!

His eyes flickered as the tempest suddenly slowed down and began to converge in front of him in the form of a flame.

The flame danced down into the statue's hand, as if it were a lamp, a lamp held by the statue!

The dancing flame cast strange light onto the statue, and when that light touched Naruto , he suddenly felt the power of rejection fading significantly.

He gazed at the flame, within which could be seen three hundred natural laws and Essences. Unfortunately, they weren't complete, although that was the very reason that Naruto was able to sense them at all.

When he caught sight of those three hundred Essences, a voice suddenly boomed out like thunder in his mind.

"Three thousand Daos. Three thousand Realms. Nine Windswept

Nations. Nine Nations with three hundred Daos each. They form the World Seal…. The final three hundred Daos are located in the central temple!

"Foreigners, the more great Daos you come to understand, the more enlightenment you receive, and the sooner the day shall come in which you achieve your Dao!"

The voice was profound, but Naruto had no time to think about it; the flame in the statue's hand suddenly caused him to sense… vibrations coming from his Nirvana Fruit.

Those vibrations were that of desire. Naruto suddenly had the powerful sense that… if he could gain enlightenment regarding those three hundred Essences, then he should be able to fully fuse with his second Nirvana Fruit!

In that same moment, a beam of light exploded out from the Windswept Realm's central temple. It shot screaming through the air, causing all cultivators in the world to stare at it with wide eyes.

It caused boundless ripples to spread out, filling the sky of the

Windswept Realm, enabling everyone to see several illusory mountains, all of which had huge statues on them.

Apparently, this illusory world on display… representing unparalleled heights of glory!

Suddenly, one of the statues collapsed, sending a huge boom out in all directions. Even as it collapsed, it reformed, transforming into a new statue, a statue… of Naruto !

An austere voice echoed out into all minds, filling all hearts: " Naruto of the Ninth Nation has exceeded the previous record holder. He has materialized a statue of himself, and shall be rewarded with the Chakra flow of the Ninth Nation!"

"Impossible!" thought Jian Daozi, shaking. Behind him, the other old men stared with wide eyes.

As of this moment, the Chakra flow of the Ninth Nation seemed to fully accept Naruto . As it swirled around him, the power of rejection vanished completely. Panting, Naruto looked up into the sky.

At the same time, the other cultivators and Echelon members in the other nations were completely shaken.

In the Fourth Nation stood a handsome young man, who currently had a strange look in his eyes. Balling his hands into fists, he growled, " Naruto . Why does his name seem so familiar?"

In the First Nation, the incomparably proud number one member of the Echelon stood in front of a similar statue, which was also shining brightly. A ball of flame could also be seen in that statue's hand.

Clearly… he had gained enlightenment mere moments after Naruto had.

After looking shocked for a moment, he said, "Faster than me… interesting. Well, even if he was notified about some of the secrets of this place, the enlightenment here can only be acquired by experiencing it over time."

A profound gleam appeared in his eyes, and he began to laugh. "I think this time I'll be able to add another precious item to my collection. Naruto of the Ninth Nation. He's from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, right?

So, he must be the guy Xue'er is looking for?"

In the Eighth Nation was a young man surrounded by swirling bones. He suddenly looked in the direction of the Ninth Nation. " Naruto …. His surname is Uzumaki!"

Other members of the Echelon were all similarly shocked, and for the first time, Naruto 's name was imprinted into their hearts. They were all members of the Echelon, and were Chosen among Chosen. How could they easily back down from a challenge!?

The desire to fight rose up intensely in their hearts, inadvertently stirred up by Naruto .

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1094

Chapter 1094: The War of the Nine Nations Begins

A massive wind surged up. It was as if the Windswept Realm was building up power, which could explode out at any moment.

Once that power erupted, the Nine Nations would be swept into war, a war between all cultivators. It heralded… the Echelon battles!

It would determine who was truly number one in the Echelon, who was the true peak power amongst them. To become an Echelon cultivator, one had to be a Chosen among Chosen in any given Mountain and Sea. They were people who could, based on their own cultivation base… challenge experts above their own level!

Blazing suns like that were people who wouldn't easily accept being inferior to others; they were people who strove to be the champion of their generation!

Actually… despite the fact that young man from the First Mountain and Sea was publicly acknowledged as the number one in the Echelon… how could the others fear him?!

The fighting would happen one way or another. Furthermore, in the Windswept Realm… this was a chance for all members of the Echelon in this generation… to experience their first true war!

The war began in the instant that Naruto stepped onto the mountain peak, and the light from the central temple shot into the sky, revealing the statues.

As of that moment, Naruto 's name spread throughout all Nine Nations, and was fixed firmly into the minds of all the cultivators from the Nine Mountains and Seas, and all of the other members of the Echelon.

It was at this point that a figure could be seen speeding along through the Fifth Nation. It was a young woman, incredibly beautiful, although frowning slightly. Behind her were eight beams of light, doggedly pursuing her with deadly intent.

Each one of those pursuing figures was in the Ancient Realm.

Furthermore, these people did not have less than five extinguished Soul Lamps; rather, they were so profound as to be unreadable!

That was supposed to be an impossibility in the Windswept Realm, and yet… it clearly wasn't!

The woman was none other than the successor of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, Xue'er. As she sped along, she looked up and saw the light coming from the central temple. She saw the statues and the mountains up in the sky, and she saw Naruto . At long last, she also heard his name.

"Is it him…?" she thought. Despite being pursued the way she was, her eyes shone with a brilliant light, and she instantly committed Naruto 's name to memory. Then, she continued to fly along, and her eight pursuers whistled after her as they tried to catch up.

Meanwhile, back on Mount Whiteseal in the Ninth Nation, Naruto took a deep breath and looked back down from the sky. The fire in the statue's hand cast light into his eyes, filling them with a strange flickering.

After a moment passed, he smiled.

"So, I broke the previous record…. I bet that really sets off the other Echelon Chosen. Well… GOOD!

"I don't care what other strange things there are in this Windswept Realm, or what Jian Daozi and his pals are scheming… they have nothing to do with me!

"I never imagined that I wouldn't even need to go to the central temple to find a method for fully absorbing my second Nirvana Fruit and… stepping into the Allheaven Immortal Realm!" Naruto took a deep breath. His heart burst with anticipation, and intense excitement filled him.

Without any hesitation, he stepped forward and sat down cross-legged. Next, he released Sakura from his bag of holding. After looking around for a moment, Sakura was clearly shaken. She could sense how different the Windswept Realm was, and without any further prompting from Naruto , she sat cross-legged and began to practice cultivation. Her focus was now breaking through into the Immortal Realm.

Naruto nodded silently, then sent out his divine sense into the flame. Instantly, he could detect the three hundred great Daos inside, the three hundred natural laws, the three hundred Essences!

He had the sudden premonition that the more Essences he came to understand, the easier it would be to absorb his second Nirvana Fruit.

"If one nation isn't enough, then it will have to be two. If all of the Nine Nations and their 2,700 Essences are insufficient, then I'll go to the central temple, and use 3,000 Great Dao Essences to fully absorb my second Nirvana Fruit!" He closed his eyes and fully poured his divine sense into the flame.

At the foot of the mountain, Jian Daozi's face flickered. Behind him, the other old men were staring reverently at Naruto . After a while, they began to disperse.

Time passed. A month went by in the blink of an eye. During that time, the Windswept Realm seemed peaceful and quiet. However, dark undercurrents swept about. Although fighting had not yet burst out between the ordinary cultivators, and the Echelon cultivators were still adapting themselves to the locale, the mortal armies of the Nine Nations had already begun to wage war.

The armies of the Nine Nations had long since prepared for this war, and now they began to march toward the center of the Windswept Realm… to the region of the central temple.

That area consisted of an enormous plain, at the very center of which was the temple, which was a restricted area. The grass on that plain was white, and the soil was black.

Also located on the central plain were nine towering pagodas. They were ancient and archaic, as if they had existed there for countless years.

Each one of the pagodas stood for one of the nations, around which the armies of the Nine Nations clustered. Each nation had over a million troops; added altogether, there were a total of nearly 10,000,000 soldiers on the battlefield.

Chaotic fighting instantly broke out. None of the nations allied with each other, ensuring a massive battle royale involving all nine of the nations.

Miserable screams rose up into the air, along with the cries of rage that came before death as countless soldiers were slaughtered. The blades and spears that they wielded seemed to indicate that their mission was to cover the black soil with blood until it turned purple.

Under the orders of their marshals and generals, the armies rapidly turned the entire area into a sea of blood.

There was no right or wrong in the fighting. No one questioned why it was happening. They simply fought an eternal battle, and sometimes, it seemed as if they weren't fighting for the right to live, but the right to die!

As the casualties piled up, the nine pagodas began to glow with the color of blood. Shockingly, the brightest glow was coming from the Third Nation, from which a pillar of blood-colored light rose up 300 meters into the air.

The blood-colored beams rising up from the other pagodas were all several dozen meters high. As for the Second Nation, the Sixth Nation, and the Ninth Nation, their blood-colored beams were only about thirty meters.

The only way to get those beams of light to climb higher… was to fight and kill!

The more enemies they killed, the higher the blood-colored beam would climb!

Almost in the same moment that the blood-colored beams rose up from the nine pagodas, the Echelon cultivators on the various National Aura mountains throughout the Nine Nations all felt the Chakra flow and the speed of their enlightenment changing.

In the Third Nation in particular, the Chakra flow surged up, such that it seemed as if those who were there were receiving the aid of a divine blessing in terms of gaining enlightenment.

There were transformations in the other mountains as well. In the Second, Sixth and Ninth Nations, the National Aura was out of balance, causing the mountains to tremble. Apparently, the contemplation of enlightenment there was unstable, as if something were obstructing it.

The National Aura scattered, causing pressure to weigh down on the nations. The mortals could only vaguely sense it, but to the cultivators, it was very obvious.

That was especially true of the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, who were far more sensitive to it. Fan Dong'er, Bei Yu, and the other Demonic cultivators could all sense the incredible pressure, and their faces flickered as they looked off into the distance.

The pressure rapidly increased, weighing down over them like a sword. It was a very uncomfortable feeling that, if it went on for too long, would significantly restrict their cultivation bases.

Naruto 's eyes flashed as he emerged from contemplation. Moments ago, he had failed in his enlightenment; not only was the task more difficult, much of the Chakra flow on the mountain had scattered. In addition, some of the defensive mechanisms built into the mountain had been weakened.

"Why is this happening…?" he thought, frowning. He quickly realized that he simply didn't understand enough about the Windswept Realm. He rose to his feet and looked out in the direction of the central temple.

Although it was quite a distance away, he could sense it, and knew that the armies of the various nations were engaged in bitter fighting. He could also sense the rising columns of blood-colored light.

After observing for a moment, he spent a moment in thought, and suddenly reached a new conclusion.

"The mortals' war can influence the Chakra flow. The more people are killed, the stronger the National Aura will get. Conversely, if the mortal army of the nation is weakened… then the National Aura protecting the mountain will be influenced, as well as making it more difficult for me to gain enlightenment!"

Naruto 's eyes flickered as they narrowed.

"But I didn't give any orders for the Ninth Nation to send its army into battle….

"Well, no matter what, if they're defeated on the battlefield outside of the central temple, not only will it influence the speed of my enlightenment, the defenses formed by the National Aura will also be weakened, or even disappear. If that happens… then the dangers of having the sealing mark stolen will be increased!

"Perhaps that is the whole purpose of this trial by fire?" After a moment of thought, he understood why the Mountains and Seas sent nine people. The other eight were most likely intended to be sent into battle. Although they couldn't be used to kill mortals, they possessed many, many other methods that could let them influence the tide of battle.

"It seems I need to send some people to help with the battle. Unfortunately, I can't go myself…." He frowned, then spent another moment to confirm his line of thinking. He couldn't even leave Mount Whiteseal; once the process of contemplating enlightenment was begun, it could not be paused. In order to stop, he needed to be enlightened regarding at least 100 Essences.

Currently, he had only been enlightened regarding a bit more than 80 Essences. It wouldn't be long before he reached 100.

After a moment of thought, he reached up and sliced a cut into his forehead, causing a drop of blood to fly out.

He waved a finger, sending some divine will into the drop of blood, which then expanded rapidly, transforming into an almost exact duplicate of Naruto

"It's too bad I still haven't figured out how to repair my True Self Dao clone. The only thing I can do now is make divine will incarnation clones like this." Sighing, he closed his eyes and sent some divine sense out to continue contemplating enlightenment of the World Essence and the great Daos. As for the divine will incarnation, he turned his head and transformed into a beam of light that shot off Mount Whiteseal and into the sky.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1095

Chapter 1095: Loathing Naruto !

The incarnation didn't head to the battlefield, as it didn't possess very much battle prowess; it would dissipate after a relatively short period of time. Instead, it headed to the Immortal's caves occupied by other cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Similar scenes were playing out in the other nations, most notably in the First Nation, where four beams of light sped toward the central battlefield.

Clearly, the Echelon cultivators had all realized that the mortals' war was extremely important!

Losses would result in the scattering of the National Aura, and a weakening of the defenses. If the defenses were removed… they would be in extreme danger!

In one particular mountain range in the Ninth Nation was a valley that looked like an Immortal utopia. Cultivators clustered about inside and outside the valley, staring in deathly silence at a middle-aged cultivator up ahead.

It was one of the Demonic cultivators from the Ninth Sea, who was currently reclining on a divan, surrounded by dancing female cultivators. Beautiful music drifted through the air, accompanied by birdsong and the fragrance of flowers. The entire scene was lovely.

The Demonic cultivator sighed deeply as he looked around. He still wasn't used to the situation; during the last month everyone he had encountered had looked at him with both fear and fanatical reverence.

A single word from him could cause people to commit suicide. A single glance would cause any beautiful female cultivator he saw to approach seductively and cater to his every desire. If he got irritated, everyone trembled in fear. It was as if he were the will of Heaven, and he was completely lost within that feeling.

He had never experienced anything like this back in the Ninth Sea, nor could he ever have imagined anything like it. There were simply too many people who were more powerful than he was.

Even if he went to some remote location, perhaps he could enjoy a life like this temporarily, but someone stronger than him would eventually come along and take it all away, and then his life would return to how it usually was.

But the Windswept Realm was different, leading to a completely different mental state.

Granted, there had been some incredible pressure just now. Plus, he was a disciple of the Nine Seas God World, and understood that he had a mission in this place. However, he just couldn't hold back from indulging in the pleasures of the Windswept Realm.

As he thought about this he reached up and slowly ran his finger down the cheek of one of the beautiful women. When he saw the awe in her eyes, the Demonic cultivator laughed loudly, and was just about to say something when, all of a sudden, his face fell. He looked up and saw a beam of light flying toward him through midair, which then transformed into Naruto .

" Naruto !" The Demonic cultivator's eyes widened, and he rose to his feet, instantly on guard. Then he realized it was nothing more than an incarnation. Of course, despite being only an incarnation, it was still Naruto .

"Go to the central temple battlefield immediately," Naruto said. That simple sentence caused the Demonic cultivator's face to distort with rage.

"You don't have the right to order me around!"

"Maybe not, but I'm strong enough to kill you," Naruto responded coolly. His words were filled with infinite coldness. He might be only a weak incarnation that couldn't do anything to the Demonic cultivator, and yet his words were filled an inarguable murderous aura. "Go. That is your mission in this place. It doesn't matter what pleasures you've enjoyed or how much you've fallen in love with them, if you forget your mission, then there's no reason for me to keep you alive."

With that, Naruto spun and shot off into the distance.

The Demonic cultivator stood there silently for a moment, then threw his head back and roared. He might be furious, but he had no choice other than to comply. He flew up into the air, waved a hand, causing clouds and mist to surround him, and headed straight for the central battlefield.

Naruto wasn't worried that the Demonic cultivator might refuse to go. He was not the first person Naruto had approached, but rather, the second. The first Demonic cultivator had also erupted into a fury, but in the end, was too terrified to refuse. The second Demonic cultivator reacted in the same way as the first one had. In their own little worlds, they were like emperors, with complete authority over everything. After only a month of living like that, they had almost become lost in their own fantasies. It was something that Naruto found extremely frightening. In his opinion, cultivators, even Demonic cultivators, should not have allowed their mindset to be influenced in such a way in the space of just a month.

There were many things from the outside world that were the complete opposite here, and yet, it was happening within an unreasonably short period of time.

It was almost as if there were some bizarre power in the Windswept Realm that amplified one's desires by multiple orders of magnitude, making them more intense and pronounced.

"Have I been influenced as well?" he asked himself, but had no answer.

With a flash, he sped toward the location of the next Demonic cultivator.

His destination was a small city, within which was a blacksmith shop. A burly man was there, bare-chested, and the clang of metal striking metal could be heard as he worked with iron. He occasionally pulled a piece of iron from a furnace, examined it, then began to strike it with a hammer.

The weather was oppressively hot, ensuring that not many people were out in the streets. When Naruto appeared, a tremor ran through the burly man's body, and he looked up and chuckled wryly.

This man was none other than the extremely devious and cunning burly body cultivator from the Demonic Cultivator Horde that Naruto had exchanged blows with.

"You didn't have to come personally," the man said. "I know what my mission is. Once I finish with this sword, I'll be on my way." The man lifted up the bright red strip of metal he had been working with, then shoved it into cold water. Hissing sounds and steam rose up, and after a moment, he pulled the metal back out. It was a blade, riddled with tiny holes, yet overflowing with a murderous aura.

"You're different from all the others," Naruto said coolly. He looked around at the blacksmith shop, which appeared to be completely ordinary, without the slightest bit of extravagance to be seen. From what he could tell, the inhabitants of the city had no idea that this burly man was actually an Immortal.

"My desires are unique," the man said, "and unusually strong. Because of that, they are hard to fulfill." After a moment of thought, the man tossed the huge blade into his bag of holding, grinned at Naruto , and then walked out of the shop.

For some reason, the man's style seemed to be very different from before, causing Naruto to stare at him for a moment.

"I hope you stay this way," he said suddenly.

"That's the plan," was the reply. The burly man laughed loudly, then flew into the air. He quickly disappeared over the horizon. Naruto 's eyes glittered, then he turned and vanished, to reappear directly in front of the man.

Although it had seemed that the man flew off toward the central battlefield, he actually ended up fleeing in the opposite direction. As soon as he saw Naruto blocking his way, he laughed heartily.

"Oops, I took a wrong turn! My mistake!" he said. Then he turned and headed toward the central battlefield.

Naruto watched him disappear. After a moment of thought, he looked back at the blacksmith shop for a moment, then left. He didn't force anyone else to fight. Instead, he merely inspected the Immortal's caves of the other cultivators in the Ninth Nation.

His incarnation was slowly fading away, and perhaps because of that, it was becoming more and more difficult for anyone to detect him.

He saw Bei Yu, surrounded by a sea of flowers. There were also countless cultivators and mortals who were tending to the flowers like gardeners, while Bei Yu practiced cultivation in the middle. Although the entire scene seemed harmless at first, Naruto was able to see that the seeds of desire were slowly taking root within her.

He found Fan Dong'er, whose situation was quite unique. Not a single person could be found in her vicinity, and in fact, she had placed herself in secluded meditation, choosing to have no contact whatsoever with the outside world.

He stood outside her Immortal's cave for quite some time, watching thoughtfully. Eventually he left.

Just before his incarnation faded away, he found the only other human cultivator besides Fan Dong'er, the young man from the Nine Seas God World. In general, he appeared to be refined and even scholarly, and yet the world he had created was like a scene from hell.

The mortals there trembled, and the cultivators were in terror as they excavated Immortal Jade out of an enormous mine!

When Naruto saw the Immortal jade, his mind trembled slightly, and he began to pant. It was as if some enormous power had surfaced in his mind, urging him to instantly slaughter the young cultivator and take all of the Immortal jade for himself.

The impulse rose up without any warning, and was so strong that Naruto 's eyes were instantly shot with blood. His cultivation base surged, and he waved his hand, causing incredible pressure to weigh down on all life forms in the area. Their minds reeled, and a bellow of rage could be heard as the young cultivator suddenly flew up into the air.

" Naruto , what are you doing!?" he roared. Naruto 's incarnation suddenly collapsed into pieces, transforming into nothing more than ash. It wasn't something done intentionally; rather, the incarnation had reached its limit, and the surge of Naruto 's cultivation base had caused any remaining life force it had to vanish.

The young man stared in shock for a moment, and then his face darkened. He looked in the direction of Mount Whiteseal and snorted coldly before floating back down to the ground.

Back on Mount Whiteseal, Naruto was seated cross-legged next to the statue. Suddenly, he coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his face went pale. He opened his eyes, and a shocked expression could be seen on his face.

He immediately performed a double-handed incantation gesture to ensure that his contemplation of enlightenment was not interrupted. If a backlash during the process of contemplating enlightenment of Essence did not destroy him in body and soul, it would still shatter his cultivation base.

Enlightenment like this could not be interrupted; complete focus was required.

"It's like I wasn't under control of myself!" he thought, shaken. "As soon as I saw that Immortal jade, the impulse I felt was too strong. It was… indescribable. Most terrifying of all was that in that moment, I didn't even have the inclination to fight back against it." He took a deep breath, suddenly aware of how truly mysterious the Windswept Realm was. Furthermore, he had the feeling that he was probably being influenced in certain ways that he wasn't even aware of, perhaps from the moment he had arrived in the Windswept Realm.

His heart had grown colder than it usually was, and the thought of that… caused him to tremble.

"Desires are amplified…. Thankfully, that was an incarnation, and it ended up self-destructing. If it had been my true form…." He could only imagine what would have happened in that case.

After a moment of silence, he once again immersed himself in contemplation. However, the vigilance in his heart remained at a peak.

Back on the mortal battlefield in the central district, the three Demonic cultivators had joined the fray, easing some of the tension. However, it didn't take long before cultivators from the other nations arrived, and the fighting grew more chaotic. The Ninth Nation was having trouble mustering its National Aura, causing them to suffer more defeats. In fact, of all the blood-colored beams, theirs was the lowest.

It was at this point… that the gaunt youth in the Eighth Nation, the one surrounded by bones, suddenly stood up. He was the first one to gain complete enlightenment of 100 Essences.

Furthermore, he ceased any continued efforts at gaining enlightenment, and turned toward the Ninth Nation, his killing intent rising high.

" Naruto . Surnamed Uzumaki…. That's the family name I hate more than any other!" With that, a flash could be seen as he shot toward the Ninth Nation, killing intent seething.

"Either way, you'll be the first to die. I'll take your sealing mark, and cut you down! I, Han Chakranglei, will get the glory for slaughtering someone else in the Echelon!" 1

Han Chakranglei's name in Chinese is 韩青雷 hán qīng léi. Han is a common surname. Chakrang is a color, which could be blue, green, cyan, azure or even black. Lei means "thunder" or "lightning" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1096

Chapter 1096: Han Chakranglei!

When Han Chakranglei, the Echelon cultivator from the Eighth Mountain, gained enlightenment of 100 Essences, a bright beam of light rose up from the temple in the middle of the crowded central battlefield with its millions of soldiers.

Colors flashed in the sky, and once again, the images of mountains and statues appeared up above. This time, another of the statues collapsed, to be replaced by the image of Han Chakranglei.

"Han Chakranglei of the Eighth Nation has broken the previous record, gaining enlightenment of 100 Essences, and shall be rewarded with a blessing of Chakra flow!"

As the ancient voice echoed out, red light erupted up from the Eighth Nation's pagoda. It exceeded 300 meters and rapidly approached 450 meters. At the same time, the Eighth Nation's Chakra flow increased, ensuring that the Mountain of National Aura's defenses were increased to a terrifying degree.

Currently, the cultivators from the other nations were shaken. All eyes turned toward the Eighth Nation as Han Chakranglei's name became the second to rock the entire Windswept Realm!

Meanwhile, near the central temple, the red light shining from the Ninth Nation's pagoda was growing increasingly weak. The overall strength of the Ninth Nation was weakening, and Mount Whiteseal's defenses were substantially reduced.

Naruto 's contemplation of enlightenment was going worse than ever, and he was incapable of stopping. He was now on his 98th Essence, and the enlightenment was slow in coming. All the while, he had to be very wary of the powerful influence of the Windswept Realm itself, which tried to incite his desires and lead him astray.

As the Chakra flow of the Ninth Nation faded, the influence of the Windswept Realm increased. Fan Dong'er and the others could sense this. Most importantly, the desires in their hearts grew more intense. If they couldn't understand the reason behind it, they would merely grow more frenzied, more lost. However, those who eventually reached an understanding of what was happening were terrified.

That was especially true of Fan Dong'er. She coughed up a mouthful of blood in the middle of her Immortal's cave, and her face revealed traces of panic. She had been the first among the group to sense the massive change in her inward desires, which was why she had chosen to go into secluded meditation in an attempt to gain control. As of this moment, however, the opposite was happening; she was on the verge of losing control.

As for Bei Yu, she sat in the middle of the sea of flowers, seemingly completely entranced. From the look of it, her entire body was in the process of merging into the sea of flowers, as if she herself were turning into a blossom among the sea of flowers!

At the same time, a bright beam containing countless bones shot through the air above the Eighth Nation at top speed. A day later, it reached the border between the Eighth and Ninth Nations. Without the slightest hesitation, Han Chakranglei shot across the border, laughing maniacally as he burst into the Ninth Nation.

He wore a black robe, and was very gaunt; the murderous aura which surrounded him erupted explosively.

In almost the exact moment that he entered the Ninth Nation, Mount Whiteseal shook violently, and the defensive pressure of the Ninth Nation increased dramatically.

However, such pressure did nothing to Han Chakranglei. Laughing uproariously, he shot out over the lands, a bright beam of light surrounded by innumerable illusory white bones. Shrill screams could be heard echoing out from the bones as he sped forward; the sky dimmed and winds swirled.

Black clouds spread out across the skies of the Ninth Nation, and all the lands were cast into shadow.

The murderous aura which erupted off of Han Chakranglei was like a tempest as he shot toward Naruto !

As he passed along, the earth quaked, and all cultivators and living creatures in the Ninth Nation shook. From their perspective, the previously bright and sunny day had instantly turned as dark as night.

" Naruto , you're DEAD!" he shouted, his voice echoing out as he increased his speed. He was like a lightning bolt that rapidly drew closer to Mount Whiteseal.

As he neared, the Ninth Nation's National Aura dissipated even more rapidly, and the pressure grew more intense. Fan Dong'er once again coughed up a mouthful of blood, and suddenly looked off into the distance.

"What's happening? What caused the influence to increase so much, and so quickly?!" She gritted her teeth and flew out of her Immortal's cave. When she looked up into the air, her face flickered as she saw the roiling black clouds off in the distance.

Inside of those black clouds were countless bones, speeding toward the capital city, and the Ninth Nation's Mountain of National Aura, Mount Whiteseal!

Fan Dong'er wasn't the only shocked one. Bei Yu sat in the sea of flowers, an expression of struggle on her face. She forced her eyes open, and a tremor ran through her as she looked around. Then she started to struggle even harder.

In another area, in the Immortal jade mine, mad laughter rang out. It was a laughter of satisfaction and joy as the young cultivator from the Nine Seas God World was completely lost inside of himself. As he looked around, all he saw was endless Immortal jade.

"Wealth like this will make my cultivation base vastly more powerful!"

As for the burly body cultivator and the other Demonic cultivators on the central temple battlefield, all of them were shaken inwardly, and their desires stirred to mad heights.

Heaven wished them dead, but first, it would drive them mad! 1

In the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the roiling black clouds sped from the border of the Ninth Nation all the way to Mount Whiteseal. The clouds acted like flesh, and the countless bones formed together into what looked like real bone structures. The entire thing transformed into a huge black fist!

It was fully 300 meters wide, shooting down from the sky toward Mount Whiteseal in a deadly strike!

"Time to die, Naruto !" he howled, voice sinister and full of killing intent. Everything shook as the fist descended toward the mountaintop, and Naruto , sitting there cross-legged by the statue.

By this point, Naruto had just gained enlightenment of the 99th Essence, and was very close to completing the entire process of the first stage. All he needed was one more Essence, and yet, because of the fading of the Ninth Nation's National Aura, the enlightenment was very difficult and slow in the coming.

Rumbling could be heard as the fist smashed down toward Mount

Whiteseal. All of a sudden, the statue began to glow, sending out a protective shield that covered the entire mountain, Naruto included.

The huge pitch-black fist slammed into the shield, causing a deafening boom to echo out. Colors flashed, and the lands trembled. Intense ripples spread out, along with cracking sounds, as a huge crack appeared in the shield. It quickly repaired itself, but based on the speed with which it did so, it was obvious that the shield would only hold out for so long.

The fist shattered into fragments, but it was, after all, just formed from clouds and some bones. Han Chakranglei appeared, then transformed into a black bolt of lightning which smashed into the shield.

"OPEN UP!" he roared. Although he was gaunt, he radiated terrifying energy. His cultivation base was only in the Immortal Realm, but he was capable of rocking the Ancient Realm!

An intense power radiated out from him… causing countless bolts of lightning to spring up. Shockingly, they rapidly transformed into nine Lightning Dragons.

Mount Whiteseal shook, but Naruto remained there with his eyes closed tightly. He could not halt his enlightenment before it was complete, and he was focusing his mind in an attempt to speed it up as much as possible.

"Give up!" Han Chakranglei roared. "You'll die today, and the Ninth Nation's World Seal will be mine! I'm also going to wipe out your Echelon qualifications!

"I, Han Chakranglei, was the first to reach a full 100 Essences! I can kill anybody, but the main reason I'm picking you is because you're surnamed Uzumaki!

"After you die, remember to tell your ancestors that the person who killed you was Chakranglei of the Han Clan!"

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, Fan Dong'er appeared in midair.

Killing intent swirled in her eyes, and the wave of her hand caused numerous imprints of magical items to appear on her rapidly expanded, as the hundreds of magical symbols grew to the size of a small mountain.

The sight was monumentally shocking.

Fan Dong'er had no choice but to show up. She knew that if she didn't, and the attack against Mount Whiteseal succeeded, the World Seal would be taken away. The result would be that she could no longer resist the influence of the Windswept Realm without any National Aura.

She could also see that Naruto was at a critical juncture, and wouldn't be able to do anything, so she had no choice but to interfere, for her own sake.

"If I can just buy enough time, Naruto will come out eventually. This guy might be powerful, and might be in the Echelon, but Naruto is too!" Gritting her teeth, Fan Dong'er closed in and attacked Han Chakranglei.

Han Chakranglei's eyes flashed as he caught sight of Fan Dong'er, and he smiled.

"You think a bit too much of yourself," he said, his voice booming like thunder. "I think I need to show you why people like you… don't even qualify to fight the Echelon!" He waved his right index finger, sending four roaring Lightning Dragons toward Fan Dong'er.

Simultaneously, rumbling sounds could be heard as Bei Yu, no longer in the middle of the sea of flowers, also closed in at high speed. One of her eyes was confused and vacant, but the other was clear, and even before she was close, she shouted out, causing invisible divine sense power to coalesce into a needle, which stabbed viciously toward Han Chakranglei.

Han Chakranglei's face flickered, and he waved his left hand, sending four more Lightning Dragons charging out. The fifth, he caused to selfdetonate, borrowing the explosive power to fight back against the power of Bei Yu's divine sense.

"How amusing. Two beauties have teamed up to fight me. I almost don't have the heart to say so, but I can tell you that I look forward to flaying the two of you alive and revealing your true beauty; your white bones. How entrancing that will be!" Han Chakranglei's eyes gleamed with a bloodthirsty light, and he licked his lips. Suddenly, a flash could be seen as he… transformed into three people!

One was his true form, the other two were clones!

All three licked their lips simultaneously. One attacked the shield, and the other two split up to handle Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu respectively. As explosions filled the air, expressions of disbelief appeared on the faces of Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu. Despite the fact that they were both fighting mere clones of Han Chakranglei, to the two of them, it felt like they were fighting someone… vastly more powerful than them!

"Is everyone in the Echelon this strong….?" thought Fan Dong'er. Shaken, she looked over at Naruto sitting there cross-legged in meditation.

"Hurry it up, Naruto !"

This quote "Heaven wished them dead, but first, it would drive them mad!" is very similar to a quote from western literature. However, after a bit of research, it seems to actually be a reference to something said by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty. None of this is really relevant to the plot of ISSTH, but since I did all the research I figured I would share the results ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1097

Chapter 1097: Valiant!

Han Chakranglei, Echelon cultivator from the Eighth Mountain, was so powerful that Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu were both completely shaken. To them, any person who could rock the Ancient Realm while being in the Immortal Realm well-deserved to be referred to as a blazing sun.

As far as Fan Dong'er was concerned, Naruto was actually more powerful than those blazing suns. But now that she had met Han Chakranglei, she had to admit that he was terrifyingly powerful.

The sensation she had experienced when fighting Naruto had now appeared for a second time.

"Are Echelon cultivators powerful… because they're in the Echelon, or is it… their power that earns them a place there!?" Fan Dong'er couldn't quite accept it. She was the Divine Daughter of the Nine Seas God World and before meeting Naruto , she had viewed herself as being above all others, the center of all attention. However, Naruto 's appearance on the scene had changed everything.

Even now, she could remember the first time she had met Naruto back on Planet Ninshu . Back then, he hadn't been as terrifying as he was now. Furthermore, the speed with which he had risen to prominence made the entire situation difficult to accept. Before she could even come to terms with it, he was already far ahead of everyone else. Wherever he went, he became a huge mountain blocking the paths of everyone else.

A boom rang out, and blood oozed out of Fan Dong'er's mouth. She fell back at top speed, waving her hand to cause numerous sealing marks to appear. They merged together in front of her to transform into a magic bottle, which then shot toward Han Chakranglei's hideously grinning clone.

Han Chakranglei's clone laughed coldly and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, a flower of white bones materialized. It spun through the air, radiating a white light as it slammed into the magic bottle. Massive rumbling could be heard as Han Chakranglei shot forward. As he extended his hand, the flesh and blood suddenly transformed into bleached bones. He touched Fan Dong'er's forehead and a boom rattled out. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and she went pale white as freezing cold spread through her. Her vision swam, and a sensation of crisis welled up. Suddenly the air behind her shattered, and a female corpse appeared. Fan Dong'er had kept the corpse hidden up to now, but because the blow had sent her mind into chaos, she could do so no longer. Immediately, an aura of death exploded out, completely astonishing Han Chakranglei. Being the cautious person that he was, he immediately fell back.

In that same instant, the space he had just occupied was inundated by countless black strands of hair, which then exploded out in all directions.

"Interesting," the clone said, smiling. "It seems I'll need to take things a bit more seriously." Off to the side, his second clone was steadily forcing Bei Yu backward.

Bei Yu's divine abilities and magical techniques caused rumbling sounds to fill the air. Her divine sense magical art sent innumerable invisible needles stabbing forward in attack. However, the mere wave of a hand by Han Chakranglei's clone caused a suit of bone armor to appear. He allowed the divine sense to strike him, and it did nothing. Then, the bone-armored clone stretched out both hands, and his fingertips turned into sharp claws which he waved through the air like the weapons of a celestial warrior. Instantly, Bei Yu was put into a very dangerous position.

Meanwhile, Han Chakranglei's true form was performing numerous incantation gestures to unleash all sorts of divine abilities. Bright, multicolored lights slammed into the protective shield, causing it to twist and warp. Cracking sounds could be heard, and more fissures spread out.

Naruto continued to sit there cross-legged beneath the statue. He was currently contemplating the final Essence, and at the same time, was feeling extremely anxious. However, there was nothing he could do but focus all of his power and energy on the enlightenment.

All of a sudden, Han Chakranglei and his two clones suddenly stopped in place and fell back. All three figures then flew toward each other and, instead of merging together, smiled viciously and then levied palm strikes against each other's chests!

At the same time, the three figures cried out: "Three Body Dao!" At the same time, an unbelievably powerful sound like a crack of thunder rang out.

After striking each other with their palms, the three figures' cultivation bases rocketed up, and their battle prowess increased dramatically! In fact, in this state… they were apparently more powerful than Han Chakranglei when he was not split into three!

"Bone Tomb Magic!" The three figures split apart and shot toward Fan Dong'er, Bei Yu, and Mount Whiteseal's shield, bursting with incredible energy.

They moved so fast that they looked like black arrows, and in the blink of an eye, one of the figures was in front of Fan Dong'er. He waved his hand, causing countless white bones to descend, which then transformed into the shape of a tomb, with Fan Dong'er stuck in the middle.

A similar bone tomb appeared around Bei Yu, and another one descended toward Mount Whiteseal.

The three Han Chakrangleis all cried out together: "Three Body Dao! Bone Tomb Magic! Slaughter By Time!" Their voices echoed out, seemingly ancient and filled with the aura of Time.

The three bone tombs rumbled as they began to spin. Shockingly, bone headstones appeared on top of each of them, upon which shapes began to form, as if images of Bei Yu, Fan Dong'er, and Mount Whiteseal were being etched on their surfaces!

The image of Bei Yu was the first to be completed. A miserable shriek rang out, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. Instantly, her body began to wither, and she seemed to be crumbling under intense pressure. She was incapable of escaping, trapped in the pressure of the bone tomb as it pushed her down toward the surface of the ground.

It was… turning into a real tomb!

Inside the tomb, Bei Yu was ashen, losing consciousness, her body rapidly aging as her life force was sucked away.

Fan Dong'er struggled to fight back, but she was no match. Despite the boundless will of death from the female corpse, she couldn't fight back against the pressure. Rumbling could be heard as Fan Dong'er was forced down toward the ground, crushed by the bone tomb. Her life force slowly began to flow away, and she began to age.

" Naruto !" she cried urgently, and yet, her cry was quickly cut short.

At the same time, the third bone tomb was crushing down onto Mount Whiteseal's protective shield. Because of the losing battle on the central battlefield, the shield had been greatly weakened, and so under this attack the already-fractured shield instantly fell to pieces and was destroyed.

Fan Dong'er was being crushed. Bei Yu had lost consciousness. Mount

Whiteseal's shield exploded. From all of these, it was possible to see exactly how powerful Han Chakranglei was, and also, how strong Echelon cultivators were!

Each and every member of the Echelon was an incredibly powerful expert, someone who was above all other blazing suns. Furthermore, the only people of their generation who qualified to fight Echelon cultivators… were other Echelon cultivators!

"Alright, Naruto , let's see how you fight back this time! Killing you like this might be a bit of a bore, but considering that you're surnamed Uzumaki, even if you aren't connected to the Uzumaki Clan, I'm elated to have the chance to slaughter you!" Han Chakranglei laughed uproariously, and killing intent roiled up from his three bodies. As Mount Whiteseal's shield shattered, he instantly pounced down toward Naruto !

However, in almost the exact moment that he closed in, Naruto 's right hand slapped down onto his bag of holding. Then, he waved his hand, sending numerous black pods flying out, his eyes tightly shut the entire time.

Magic Pod Soldiers!

Popping sounds could be heard as the black pods transformed into vicious imps, who screeched as they opened their mouths to reveal long, sharp teeth. There were a total of fifty blackpod imps, and as soon as they appeared on the scene, they shot toward Han Chakranglei's three bodies.

"That's all you've got?!" Han Chakranglei laughed coldly. Despite his words, he was inwardly vigilant. He had in no way underestimated Naruto , as he knew that weaklings would never be able to get into the Echelon.

Although he wasn't sure what exactly was so special about these blackpod imps, the fact that Naruto had unleashed them at such a critical point in the battle led Han Chakranglei to believe that they were not something to be taken lightly. On the surface, he seemed to be acting rashly, but it was actually his clone that shot forward first, while his true form held back.

The fifty blackpod imps screamed as they shot through the air toward the clone. A boom could be heard as more than thirty were sent tumbling away, although they didn't seem to have received very serious injuries.

Han Chakranglei was instantly shocked, and his eyes widened. As for the dozen or blackpod imps that remained on the clone, they opened their mouths wide and began to chew into it.

Han Chakranglei snorted, allowing the clone to block the blackpod imps as his true form and his other clone closed in on Naruto .

"Those blackpod imps are pretty impressive, Naruto . After I kill you, I'll collect them up as souvenirs!" Han Chakranglei and his clone increased their speed as they charged toward Naruto .

A tremor ran through Naruto . He was at a critical juncture, and was just a sliver away from achieving complete enlightenment. Han Chakranglei wasn't giving him enough time! It was at this point that Naruto suddenly heard a deep growl, as if something which had long since been sleeping in his bag of holding were finally beginning to wake up.

It was a very familiar feeling, and after a moment of considering, Naruto realized that it was… the aura of his Blood Mastiff!

"Is the mastiff going to wake up?!" he thought, his mind spinning. However, what appeared was not the mastiff. Instead, as his bag of holding opened up, an archaic voice echoed out, accompanied by the sound of flapping wings.

"Yo! This mountain belongs to Lord Fifth, the Heavens belong to Lord

Fifth, the Earth belongs to Lord Fifth, and this little naruwie is also Lord Fifth's! Lord Fifth has appeared! Are ya scared?!" The parrot flew out in between Naruto and Han Chakranglei, one wing flapping madly in place, the other pointing out accusingly at Han Chakranglei.

On the parrot's ankle was a bell, upon which the face of the meat jelly appeared, which proceeded to yell in an attempt to sound archaic as well. "That's right! This mountain belongs to Lord Third too, the Heavens belong to Lord Third, and the Earth also belongs to Lord Third. naruwie is also Lord Third's. Are ya scared?! Well, are ya?!"

"Screw off!" said Han Chakranglei, smiling coldly. The killing intent in his eyes exploded to incredible heights. Everything shook, a massive wind kicked up, and the darkness intensified. A huge hand appeared, formed of countless bones and filled with a frigid wind. Surrounded by a sea of bones, it shot forward.

The parrot immediately flew forward and slammed into the sea of bones. The result was that several of its feathers, which weren't incredibly numerous to begin with, were knocked off of its body. It watched the feathers floating down toward the ground, and began to tremble. Finally, it threw its head back and let out an unprecedentedly bloodcurdling howl.

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" the parrot raged. "Y-y-you… you actually knocked some of Lord Fifth's feathers off! AAAAGGGHHHHHH! My feathers!

AAAAAGHHHHHHH! My beautiful feathers! That's how I attract lovers…. I'm ruined, I can't handle this! I'm gonna flip my lid! This is beyond ridiculous!

"Summon the seafood! Seafood dishes, ASSEMBLE!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1098

Chapter 1098: Blades Clash!

The parrot was infuriated. It didn't have too many feathers to begin with, and it believed every single one of them to be very precious. They might all be different colors, but that didn't make them any less valuable. Together, they represented the parrot's ability to attract other luxuriantly furred and feathered beasts.

But now some of those feathers had been knocked off, which to the parrot, was the same as being disfigured!

It was sure that lacking those feathers would result in the scorn and mockery of any furred or feathered beasts it met in the future. Therefore, its rage surged into the Heavens.

In response to its roar, Han Chakranglei frowned, but didn't pause for a moment in his charge toward Naruto . However, all of a sudden, numerous black beams of light shot out behind the parrot. In the blink of an eye, a large group of Demonic cultivators had appeared.

These Demonic cultivators were not in human form. Instead, they looked like an assortment of seafood. There were shells, shrimp, crabs, a sea turtle….

"It's time to sing for Lord Fifth!" the parrot squawked. "This bastard dared to ruin some of my feathers. Crush him!"

In response to the parrot's orders, the Demonic cultivators immediately formed up and began to sing. "I was a bad kid when I was young, I'm a little seafood dish, lalalalala, little seafood dish, dobedobedoooo, little seafood dish…."

When Naruto had listened to this song before, he always assumed that it was simply uncomfortably discordant. However, when the group started singing this time, all of a sudden, thunder began to rumble, and bolts of lightning instantly shot down toward Han Chakranglei.

Han Chakranglei's face flickered with shock, and he fell backward in retreat, staring at the clamorous parrot and his singing seafood dishes. He began to pant in disbelief as the singing apparently began to affect the natural laws and Essence of the Windswept Realm.

A powerful energy of expulsion began to gather around Han Chakranglei, causing his face to fall.

"What is that thing!?" he gasped, looking at the parrot in astonishment. Thunder crashed, and wild colors flashed in the sky. Black clouds gathered, and numerous lightning bolts converged. Han Chakranglei's scalp began to go numb.

A single glance told him that this song was completely beyond ordinary, as if it had become the Heavenly will of the Windswept Realm, and could control natural laws, and even Essence, something terrifying to the extreme.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but even more shocking to Han Chakranglei was that the singing instantly caused moisture to build up in the area. Apparently, the song was able to materialize a sea, complete with raging waves.

"Impossible!" he cried. The parrot looked extremely pleased with itself, and whooped out in excitement.

"Scared yet? Dammit! You dared to pluck some of Lord Fifth's feathers!

You dared to ruin Lord Fifth's good looks! Lord Fifth isn't gonna let you off the hook!"

More lightning and thunder crashed as the group switched songs.

"I'm your little, dear little seafood dish! However I love you, it's never too much. I'm your little, dear little seafood dish! Seeeaaaaafoooooood DISH!"

The change in the song caused the sea to churn. Furthermore, mountains appeared up in the sky which began to crush down toward Han Chakranglei. The booms from the mountains crashing against the ground almost sounded like musical instruments, pounding out a rhythm to go along with the song.

"Spell formation?! It's a spell formation that incites the Essences of Heaven and Earth!? What… what kind of bird is that?!" Han Chakranglei's face flickered with continuous astonishment and shock as he finally realized that he was facing a spell formation. However, he had never before heard of any type of spell formation that was unleashed by singing.

He had definitely never heard… of any type of spell formation that could incite Essences of Heaven and Earth. A spell formation like that would be exceedingly rare, the stuff of legends.

Rumbling filled the air, and Han Chakranglei's face went ashen. He fell back again, avoiding the falling mountains. His mind reeled as the seafood group once again changed songs.

"We're seafood dishes! We're seafood dishes. Waaaaaaaaaa! Great and mighty Lord Fifth. Whoaaaaaaaaa! Great and mighty Lord Third…."

The instant the lyrics rang out, the parrot began to glow with blinding light, as if the song were boosting its power. Shockingly, Essences and numerous natural laws began to swirl around, making the parrot look like some sort of divine being. It let out a squawk, which turned into an attack like a powerful arrow that shot toward Han Chakranglei.

"You dared to spoil Lord Fifth's good looks!" it raged, its voice echoing out with thunderous, domineering power. "Lord Fifth is gonna screw you!"

However, it was at this point that the meat jelly attached to the parrot's ankle suddenly began to speak in a very solemn tone. "You can't curse people. Cursing is wrong. You should say that you will slay him, not that you will screw him. Screwing is wrong. Screwing is immoral!" 1

"Shut the hell up!" the parrot roared, shooting toward Han Chakranglei. "Lord

Fifth is gonna screw this guy!"

Han Chakranglei's face fell. "Dammit, it can actually power itself up too!" He suddenly felt as if his entire world had been turned upside down. He had never seen a spell formation that operated on singing. Nor had he ever seen a bird as arrogant and aggressive as this. He most definitely had never seen a bird that roared about screwing things.

"Well so what if you can incite the Essence of Heaven and Earth!? That power comes from the spell formation, and those Demonic cultivators aren't powerful enough to keep it running for long!" Han Chakranglei gritted his teeth and waved his hand, sending his second clone charging toward the parrot. Then he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a throne of white bones to appear. At the same time, a huge throng of skeleton warriors also materialized.

Some of the skeletons were black, and held long bone spears in their hands. They led the other skeletons in a charge against the parrot. When the two forces slammed into each other, a huge boom echoed out.

Countless bones shattered, and the throne exploded. Blood sprayed out of Han Chakranglei's mouth. Roaring, he performed an incantation gesture then waved his finger, ripping the air open. Immediately, a bone hand stretched out and swiped viciously toward the parrot.

The parrot squawked, and the singing of the seafood dishes grew more intense. As for the parrot, it attacked wantonly, piercing through the bone hand to appear directly behind Han Chakranglei's clone, whereupon it charged viciously toward his rear end.

Han Chakranglei's clone looked on in shock, and suddenly dispersed. When he reformed some distance off, the parrot let out another furious squawk and charged him again.

It was clearly a dangerous situation, but Han Chakranglei's true form simply chuckled coldly. A derisive look appeared in his eyes as one of his clones handled the blackpod imps, and the other took care of the bizarre bird.

"Nine Windswept Nations, each with 300 great Daos. The final 300 are located in the central temple. A total of 3,000 great Daos, and whoever gains enlightenment of the most will be able to enter the central temple. Now the time has come… to give me the Ninth Nation's World Seal!"

Chuckling coldly, Han Chakranglei's true form flashed through the air toward Naruto , extending his right hand as if to touch Naruto 's forehead. "DIE!"

Even as Han Chakranglei's finger closed in on Naruto , all of a sudden, the tinkling of a bell could be heard coming from the parrot's ankle. The bell vanished, reappearing between Naruto 's forehead and Han Chakranglei's finger in the form of a fist-sized meat jelly, which slammed into the finger.

The meat jelly was soft but also elastic. Within that elasticity was an incredible toughness which instantly blocked Han Chakranglei's finger.

A boom could be heard, and the meat jelly let out a roar. It looked angrily at Han Chakranglei and said, "You're a bully!"

Han Chakranglei stared in shock. He was quickly coming to the realization that Naruto had a boggling amount of bizarre items at his disposal. First were the blackpod imps, next was the terrifying parrot, and now was this strange meat jelly that had the face of an old man.

"SCREWWWW OFF!" Han Chakranglei roared. He was reaching the limit of his patience. He could never have anticipated that after handling Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu, he would shatter the shield only to face so many setbacks in trying to kill Naruto .

His hand suddenly flashed to the side, striking at Naruto from a different angle. However, no matter how he varied his moves, the meat jelly always blocked him. Furthermore, it continued to scream miserably and to berate him loudly.

"Bully! You're nothing but a bully!

"Lord Third converts bullies like you! Bully! Lower your weapons and allow the great and mighty Lord Third to help you become obedient, kind, and upright!

"AAGGHH! You're still hitting me?! Bully! Bully! BULLY! BULLY!"

Han Chakranglei was on the verge of going crazy. Letting out a furious howl, he performing an incantation gesture, materializing a divine ability. Countless bone swords appeared which stabbed toward Naruto . It was at this point that the meat jelly transformed into a huge canopy which completely covered Naruto and blocked all of the bone swords.

"Lord Third is starting to get pissed off! What are you doing, huh? Hey, what are you doing! You big bully!"

Han Chakranglei was thoroughly enraged at having been repeatedly forced to waste so much time. Eyes gleaming with a bizarre light, he suddenly clenched his hand into a fist. As he did, the flesh and blood vanished and became nothing but bleached bones.

He punched out, not with the power of the fleshly body, but with an incredibly powerful divine ability. It slammed into the meat jelly, who let out a miserable shriek. Its body shrank down defensively. Suddenly, a derisive grin appeared on Han Chakranglei's face.

Eyes glittering he said… "Time… stop!"

When those two words left his mouth, everything around him suddenly seemed to grind to an eternal halt.

Everything went quiet. The meat jelly was stuck in midair, and only Han

Qinglei seemed to be unaffected. His face was pale, however; clearly, using this Daoist magic was not an easy thing for him.

The instant that time stopped, his eyes glittered with killing intent. His hand changed angles, slipping around the meat jelly's defenses and rushing directly toward the top of Naruto 's head in the form of a fist.

"It's over!" he said. However, just when his fist was about to strike Naruto 's head, Naruto 's eyes snapped open, and they gleamed with a murderously cold aura.

His right hand shot up, leaving behind afterimages as it sped to meet Han Chakranglei's fist!

Their eyes suddenly locked.

One of them had a look of shock, the other had a cold gleam in his eyes.

At the moment, one of them looked vicious and cruel, and as for the other, the coldness in his eyes was like that of a sharp blade!

In the line about "say that you will slay him, not that you will screw him," it's kind of funny because the word for "slay" contains the character translated as "screw." Similar to English, this "screw" is kind of a slang usage, so the character in question could mean a lot of different things depending on context. Combine it with another character and it means to kill someone or get rid of them ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1099

Chapter 1099 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1099: Victory!

Their eyes met, their fists slammed into each other, and a huge boom echoed out between the two of them. It resonated up into the Heavens, silencing the entire world. A massive wind kicked up, and nearby mountain peaks shook violently.

The shaking caused crevices to open up in the ground. The meat jelly returned to its normal state, and, seeing that Naruto had awoken, quickly retreated.

Han Chakranglei was hit by a huge backlash, shoving him backward. The air was ripped to shreds as a succession of nine booms echoed out before Han Chakranglei finally ground to a halt, his face ashen, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth.

Naruto was also shoved backward; he now hovered in midair, his face slightly flush, but his eyes as sharp and penetrating as ever!

"You're right, it is over," he said coolly, "… for you! I've had enough of your crap!" He suddenly shot forward like a lightning bolt, using his unique battle style, charging Han Chakranglei in an overwhelmingly domineering fashion!

His cultivation base exploded with power; moments ago during that critical juncture, he had finally gained enlightenment regarding the 100th Essence, and was able to come to his senses.

Han Chakranglei's face fell, but he didn't retreat. Gritting his teeth, he also shot forward in attack. Booms rang out as they met in midair, exchanging hundreds of moves in a few seconds.

Naruto waved his hand, causing numerous mountains to descend, crushing down onto Han Chakranglei. Han Chakranglei performed an incantation gesture, summoning his throne of bones, along with countless other white bones, all of which formed together into a huge bone giant that attacked the mountains.

Naruto gave a cold snort and advanced, transforming into a golden roc. A brutal air rose up as he slashed his claws viciously at Han Chakranglei. Rumbling sounds echoed out as Han Chakranglei performed another incantation gesture. This time, a swarm of bone swords materialized, forming layers of walls that blocked Naruto and fought against him viciously.

Booms echoed out in all directions, the air distorted, and the sky dimmed. Blood sprayed out of Han Chakranglei's mouth, and Naruto 's golden roc faded away. However, in that same moment, Naruto 's right hand clenched into a fist.

The Life-Extermination Fist!

Up to this point, Naruto still had not revealed any hint that he practiced body cultivation. He had only attacked with divine abilities and Daoist magics. Now that he was using this fist, Han Chakranglei's face instantly fell.

"A body cultivator!" he gasped. As the fist neared him, he shrieked and quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing multiple bone shields to appear. However, no matter how many of them appeared, all of the shields collapsed, layer after layer, until the fist slammed into Han Chakranglei.

BOOM!

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he tumbled backward, completely astonished by Naruto . However… he was still filled with the desire to do battle.

One punch sent Han Chakranglei falling backward. Naruto didn't immediately pursue him, but instead waved a finger toward the two bone tombs, causing them to explode. Fan Dong'er appeared, face pale, just having regained consciousness. On the other side, Bei Yu was completely pale and still unconscious.

"Time magic…." Naruto murmured. He performed an incantation gesture and waved his finger, causing the air around Bei Yu to distort. A feeling like that of Time radiated out, causing Bei Yu to immediately recover.

Naruto had a deep understanding of Time, but wasn't able to actually manipulate its flow. However… what he was doing now was not that. Instead, he was simply breaking Han Chakranglei's magical technique.

"You definitely deserve to be in the Echelon like me…." Han Chakranglei said. "In that case, let's fight!" He wiped the blood from his mouth and chuckled. Eyes burning with intense killing intent, he shot toward Naruto in a flash of light.

This time, his two clones threw their heads back and roared, then burned their life forces to shove the blackpod imps away and knock the parrot aside. They joined Han Chakranglei's true form to charge Naruto .

The parrot was still furious, but after a moment of thought, it wasn't confident enough to pursue the clone. Instead, it angrily shouted, "Haowie, crush him to death for me! That damned bastard dared to ruin Lord Fifth's good looks! I want him screwed! In fact, why don't you screw him for me… wait, no. Don't screw him, I want the first go!"

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto 's face as he looked over at the parrot. After thinking about how the parrot had protected him just now, he cleared his throat and nodded.

Next, his cultivation base erupted with power. 123 Immortal meridians surged. 33 Heavens descended with full power. The aura of an Immortal Emperor radiated out, transforming into a tempest that rose all the way up into the sky. Naruto hovered in the middle of it all, his hair flying about, his eyes glittering like lightning as he exuded a massive pressure.

"You want to fight? Fine, let's fight!" he said, his voice booming like thunder. This was the most formidable member of his own generation that Han Chakranglei had ever encountered. Even as Naruto 's words rang out, his three bodies arrived at Naruto .

The three figures slapped their palms together.

"Three Body Dao!"

"Bone Tomb Magic!"

"Slaughter By Time!"

Their cultivation bases rocketed up, causing them to look like three long spears stabbing toward Naruto . Naruto 's face was calm, and he did not fall back. Instead, he took a step forward. Massive winds surged around him as he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out.

Bedevilment Fist!

The striking fist caused colors to flash in the sky, and at the same time, a will of self-immolation to the point of Bedevilment exploded out. That fist seemed to represent the darkness of night. The sky above turned black, and the darkness of a Devil crushed down onto the lands.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

As the fist struck out, and darkness fell, Han Chakranglei's three forms transformed into a huge bone tomb. However, that tomb instantly collapsed into pieces, and the Time magic inside was shattered.

Blood sprayed out of the three figures' mouths as they fell back.

However, their will to fight was as strong as ever.

" Naruto , you qualify to see my complete state! Three Body Unification!" Han Chakranglei threw his head back and howled. At the same time, his two clones began to glow with boundless light. In the blink of an eye, they shot toward Han Chakranglei, merging into him, forming a shocking…

Three-headed, six-armed figure!

The three heads radiated an intense murderous aura as the six arms all performed incantation gestures, unleashing divine abilities and Daoist magics with unmatchable speed.

Han Chakranglei transformed into a beam of light that burst with energy as he shot toward Naruto .

Instantly, the two of them slammed into each other. Naruto was a master of devious divine abilities. He attacked with ruthlessness, and even when injured, would not retreat. He was constantly on the offensive, his Eternal stratum in full operation, his secret Immortal meridian technique ensuring that the power of any divine ability or Daoist magic he used was amplified.

Furthermore, he also wielded the power of an Immortal Emperor. That made his magical techniques even more powerful. Every attack he made could cause the sky to fade. Han Chakranglei was now completely shocked.

Naruto 's way of fighting, his constant aggressive attacks, turned into a heavy pressure that weighed on the mind, and seemed to give him more powerful momentum. Han Chakranglei was being forced back, and thus losing any opportunity to land a decisive strike.

"Dammit, how can this Naruto be so strong!?" Han Chakranglei's face fell, and he gritted his teeth. Six arms all performed incantation gestures, causing a shocking, magical wheel to appear in front of him!

The wheel was not complete, and in fact, only about ten percent of its full state was corporeal, with the rest being illusory. Numerous magical symbols covered it, and it emanated an ancient and primordial aura.

This was the Paragon magic that Han Chakranglei had used to earn his spot in the Echelon. The Wheel of Time!

This wheel had a mysterious origin, and had the power to manipulate Time. Because of it, Han Chakranglei had been enlightened regarding Paragon magic, and was endowed with a mysterious might.

"Paragon magic, Dao of Time!" Han Chakranglei's hands flashed with incantation gestures, and the magical wheel began to rotate. Time seemed to flow, spinning toward Naruto , ripping open the air as it neared him. Shockingly, numerous images manifested by Time appeared, filling the area with countless scenes of the past eras from the surrounding lands.

"Paragon magic, huh…." Naruto gave a cold harrumph. He waved his right hand, and the sky trembled. A huge bridge descended, which was none other than… the Paragon Bridge!

As soon as the Paragon Bridge appeared, the magical wheel trembled, as if… it wasn't even able to match up!

Han Chakranglei's face fell. As the two Paragon magics collided, everything trembled violently. It almost seemed as if the world was going to collapse. Intense shaking filled all of the cultivators in the Windswept Realm.

Rumbling booms could be heard as the magical wheel collapsed. Although the Paragon Bridge was slightly shaken, it continued to emanate intense pressure. Blood sprayed out of Han Chakranglei's mouth, and his body began to fall apart. Two of his heads exploded, and three of his arms were destroyed. Although he let out a miserable shriek, his will to fight had not left him.

His remaining three arms performed incantation gestures, and threw his head back and roared. All of a sudden, a bone statue appeared in front of him, emanating an astonishing aura. This was one of his trump cards, a bit of good fortune that he had acquired. Now that he was using it in battle, Naruto waved his hand, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to appear.

"Essence? Impossible!" For the first time, Han Chakranglei was inwardly shaken, and felt terror rising up in him. This fear was something that caused Han Chakranglei to feel extremely humiliated. He was in the Echelon, and yet here he was, scared of someone else in the Echelon. He wanted to pull his emotions into check, but just couldn't stifle his terror.

"There are a lot of things which you might think are impossible, but really aren't," Naruto said coldly. "You just lack experience."

As he closed in on Han Chakranglei, the world trembled. Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu looked on with complete shock. They knew Naruto , and yet were still astonished. It was as if Naruto … was even more powerful than they had imagined!

It was as if in this battle, Han Chakranglei was completely suppressed, totally on the defensive. In fact, the awe-inspiring way he had fought against them moments ago now seemed like nothing.

Han Chakranglei was forced into retreat over and over. His face fell, and soon he began to laugh bitterly. However, his eyes gleamed with focus.

"You're strong," he said, "much stronger than I imagined. You're surnamed Uzumaki… but there's no way you could have anything to do with the Uzumaki Clan. However… it will definitely be amusing to kill you with one of the Uzumaki Clan's own divine abilities!" Laughing maniacally, he extended his right hand and waved a finger through the air.

"Azure Lightning!" 1 As he spoke, his body trembled, and blood sprayed out of his mouth, as if making this attack pushed him to the boundary of his limits. Innumerable lightning bolts crackled around him, spreading out, transforming into a lake of lightning. Up in the sky, a bolt of azure lightning crackled down, connecting to Han Chakranglei, causing his energy to rise dramatically.

Naruto 's eyes glittered, and a sensation of imminent crisis welled up in him.

"Uzumaki Clan…." he murmured, face flickering. As Han Chakranglei's energy spiked, Naruto took a deep breath and suddenly stepped forward.

That step caused everything to shake dramatically. At the same time, a massive foot appeared in the sky, crushing down toward Han Chakranglei, instantly interfering with his rising energy!

Shockingly, Naruto was now unleashing the divine ability he had acquired from Su Yan, the Seven God Steps magic!

The second step caused the entire world to tremble, and the wind to churn violently.

Naruto didn't stop. He took a third, a fourth, and a fifth step. Each step caused wild energy to surge up around him. It wasn't his own energy, but energy from the magical technique, summoned from the void, from the world, from Heaven and Earth!

When Su Yan had used the Seven God Steps on him, Naruto had been thoroughly shaken. She even used it to resist his Paragon magic. That was what had originally caught his interest, and was also why he had chosen to take this particular Daoist magic from her.

Of all the Daoist magics he was familiar with, none could compare to the Seven God Steps in terms of the momentum it could unleash. This magic… was a Dao of momentum!

As he took those five steps, nothing about him looked out of the ordinary. However, for some reason, the feeling he gave off was that he existed above Heaven and Earth. Massive energy swept out and crushed down toward Han Chakranglei.

Han Chakranglei's face drained of blood. His Azure Lightning was based on energy, and caused the will of lightning inside of him to form together into Heavenly might, which he could then use to crush his enemy.

But now, he was shocked to find that Naruto was even more powerful than that!

"Impossible!" he gasped. Then Naruto took a sixth step, and finally, a seventh. He now seemed vastly higher than anything in existence. Heavenly might formed a gigantic foot that crushed down onto Han Chakranglei.

"NO!" he cried miserably. He quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing Azure Lightning to shoot out from him toward the descending foot.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

When they slammed into each other, the foot crushed the lightning without even pausing and kept going, stomping viciously down onto Han Chakranglei. A huge boom could be heard, and the lands quaked. A gigantic footprint appeared between Mount Whiteseal and the capital city of the Ninth Nation, which sunk deeply down into the earth.

Blood sprayed out of Han Chakranglei's mouth, and his body withered. His aura was severely weakened as he stood there in the middle of the footprint. Laughing bitterly, he crushed a jade slip, which caused a mist to appear that surrounded him and carried him away rapidly.

He was fleeing, and it caused his heart to drip with blood. He was utterly humiliated by his complete and utter defeat in battle. He had been the invader in this instance, and also the one to flee. He had never imagined that he would be forced to escape via this particular jade slip during a battle with someone of his own generation. And yet, here he was, fleeing in the face of death by crushing that jade slip.

"Think you can just leave?" Naruto said, appearing in midair, his face somewhat pale. This battle had been somewhat difficult, but it was nothing compared to the deadly ambush set up for him by the Demonic Cultivator Horde.

With a cold snort, he waved his hand, and a strange light began to

gleam in his eyes. He suddenly waved his finger toward Han Chakranglei.

"A Writ of Karma!" he said, his voice echoing out, filled with sternness, austerity, and holiness….

"Call upon Karma to form ties of destiny! You owe me money!" Chapter 1099: Victory!

Don't forget that Han Chakranglei's name literally means "azure lightning" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1100

Chapter 1100: Fate!

Naruto had sown Karma with the other Echelon cultivators using A Writ of Karma when he was the first person to break through the previous record atop Mount Whiteseal. At that time, his name was spoken throughout the Windswept Realm, everyone came to know him, and invisible connections of Karma were created.

Using Karma in such a way was completely domineering. In fact, before Naruto created A Writ of Karma, nothing like it had ever existed.

Based on the enlightenment he had experienced at that time, and his own personality and requirements, he had created a completely unique and domineering Daoist magic, something that could forcefully create ties of destiny.

It was impossible to evade or resist. Furthermore, as long as Karma had been sown, it would definitely be reaped!

Even as he fled, Han Chakranglei felt a tremor run through him. All of a sudden, he felt as if his fate was being adjusted. The abrupt sensation caused his heart to begin to thump.

He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly couldn't think about anything except Naruto . Naruto 's name seemed to fill his mind, almost like a curse weighing over him.

"What's going on!? I owe him money?!" Han Chakranglei's face fell, and he wanted to struggle, but found that he couldn't. To his terror, his mind and heart were filled with Naruto . Most horrifying of all were the words that were echoing out like thunder in his mind.

 _You owe me money._

You owe me money!

YOU OWE ME MONEY!

The voice boomed like thunder, and caused Han Chakranglei's face to grow even paler than before.

"What magical technique is this?! Dammit!" He was completely alarmed to realize that this was a type of magic that he had never even heard of before.

When Naruto waved his finger, the entire world changed in his eyes. Everything shook and time seemed to slow to a crawl. Faintly, he could see numerous Karma Threads stretching away from the heads of everyone visible. Han Chakranglei himself had an abundance of Karma Threads, so many that it made it difficult to distinguish the individual threads. However, there was one thread connecting him to Naruto .

That thread might not bind them together very strongly, but it was there, glowing with intense light. A Writ of Karma…. The deeper the relationship between the caster and the target, the stronger the Karma Threads. The stronger the Karma Threads, the more domineering the effect of the magical technique.

"The first thing that happened was you learned my name," Naruto said somberly, his expression dignified, as if he were describing some holy aspect of Heaven and Earth. "Then you were completely defeated by me. What's happening right now can be described as Karma!

"Karma serves as destiny. Heaven and Earth bear witness. An indelible brand is created, which manifests as a promissory note. The day your debt is paid back, the Karma will be dispersed!" He waved his hand as if he were writing something, and then, colors flashed in the sky, and the wind screamed. Booms rang out, as if lightning and thunder were bearing witness to the Karma between Naruto and Han Chakranglei.

Han Chakranglei let out a miserable shriek. Despite the fact that he was surrounded by mists, and shooting away at top speed, his mind still filled with a roaring like that of thunder. At the same time that Naruto unleashed his magic, Han Chakranglei felt a faint aura being pulled up out of his body.

It was an astonishing sensation, and also horrifying. He had the sudden premonition that Naruto was marking him in a way that would affect him for the rest of his life.

"NO!" he roared. However, struggling was useless. By now, he had no choice but to ignore the shame he felt. His body trembled, and he wanted nothing more than to be gone from this place. His terror regarding Naruto had reached a pinnacle, and for the first time, he felt complete and utter regret for ever having chosen to attack the Ninth Nation and Naruto .

The parrot hovered not too far off, watching the scene with entrancement. It was envious, extremely envious. Of all the Daoist magics that Naruto was able to wield, A Writ of Karma was the only one that it felt to be breathtakingly beautiful, and the parrot almost couldn't control itself whenever it saw it in action.

The meat jelly was also envious, and wished that it could have such a Daoist magic. If so, whenever it met bullies, it would use A Writ of Karma on them, and things would go much smoother as a result.

Fan Dong'er had an unsightly look on her face. Although she was currently on the same side as Naruto , when she saw A Writ of Karma in action, she couldn't help but think about certain things which had occurred in the past. 1

As for Bei Yu, she had regained consciousness earlier and had seen most of the fight between Naruto and Han Chakranglei. Now, she watched as Naruto , looking like the very picture of holiness, unleashed A Writ of Karma. She almost couldn't imagine what kind of person would go to the lengths of creating a magical technique like this, just to get people to owe him money.

Not only that, when he unleashed the magic, he was filled with a look of piety….

Naruto actually did feel very pious right now. His righteous and reverent voice echoed out across the lands:

"Henceforth, you owe me money! The compound interest shall not be altered! One year, twofold! Ten years, a hundredfold. One hundred years, ten thousandfold! Karma Thread, form the promissory note. NOW!"

As his dignified words echoed out, Naruto clenched his hand viciously onto Han Chakranglei's Karma Thread. It twisted and distorted, letting out brilliant light. In the blink of an eye, the light formed together into a writ, formed from Daoist magic.

It floated gently down toward Naruto , who took hold of it gingerly, as if it were a precious treasure. When he saw the numbers written on the note, he cleared his throat and added it to the thick stack of other notes in his bag of holding.

In the moment that the promissory note appeared, Han Chakranglei coughed up a mouthful of blood. He could clearly sense that the aura which had left him moments ago indicated that he had entered some sort of agreement with Naruto .

That agreement was almost like one of indentured servitude. Most importantly, he had no control in the matter, and had been forced to sign the agreement! Regardless of whether he agreed to it or not, he now owed Naruto a vast amount of wealth.

If he didn't pay it back, then due to Karma, his cultivation base and his future would all be subject to unforeseen changes. A situation like this, and a Daoist magic like this, caused Han Chakranglei to tremble violently. In his terror, he suddenly recalled a terrifying sort of Daoist magic.

"Fate! This is a magic of Fate! He… he actually knows Fate magic! This is impossible! In all of Heaven and Earth, from ancient times until now, no one has ever achieved enlightenment of the Dao of Fate!" Blood sprayed from his mouth, and he let out a mighty roar. Finally, he pushed the mist to increasing speed, and vanished over the horizon.

"This isn't a place where you can just casually come and go!" Naruto said righteously. "First of all, you interrupted my cultivation. Even if I overlook that, though, how could I possibly let you go when you owe me some money!?" With that, he waved a finger toward Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu. Two streams of Chakra flowed into them, causing them to shudder as their cultivation bases were completely restored. They even ended up with more power than before.

"Fellow Daoists, please head to the central temple. Kill all of the cultivators from the Eighth Nation. Weaken the defenses of the Eighth Nation's Mountain of National Fate. Assist me as I go to the Eighth Nation to wrest away their World Seal!

"If I succeed, we can all seek to gain enlightenment together! We can contemplate the natural laws and Essences of the Windswept Realm, and solidify our path to the future!" In response to his words, Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu's eyes glittered. They were intelligent people, and instantly understood Naruto 's plan. This opportunity was definitely a rare one, and besides, Naruto had now offered them a promise!

The two women exchanged a glance, and then nodded. Immediately, they transformed into beams of light that shot off toward the central temple, where they would work hard to assist Naruto .

In the moment that Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu left, Naruto took a step forward, heading in the direction in which Han Chakranglei had fled. He employed full speed as he raced to catch up.

"Don't run, Han Chakranglei! Pay me back that money!" As his voice boomed out, the blackpod imps, the meat jelly, and the parrot all turned into beams of light that shot through the air behind Naruto . As for the seafood dishes, the parrot used a cosmic storage technique to tuck them away into its wings. Then, it arrogantly cried out:

"Don't run, Han Chakranglei! Lord Fifth hasn't screwed you yet, how dare you flee!"

Beams of light shot through the air, causing everything to shake. Han Chakranglei was still fleeing, coughing up blood as the mist around him faded away. This was his life-saving magic, and was something that couldn't be sustained long-term. It was merely a temporary boost in speed, something that would enable him to flee from a deadly crisis.

The incredible speed ensured that he was able to leave the Ninth Nation and return to the Eighth Nation almost instantly. His face was pale, and the sensation of imminent crisis still hadn't left him. He could sense that the terrifying Naruto was currently chasing him down!

As soon as he entered the Eighth Nation, his voice roared out, bolstered by a magical technique.

"Troops of the Eight Mountain, come posthaste!" His voice echoed out through the Eighth Nation to all of the other eight cultivators who had come from the Eighth Mountain. Of that group, four were fighting in the region of the central temple. Their bodies trembled, and they immediately employed their top speed to leave their current locations to speed toward Han Chakranglei.

Time passed. An hour later, Han Chakranglei was still speeding through the air, occasionally coughing up blood. The mist that had surrounded him and hauled him along was now completely gone. Instead, four imposing beams of light surrounded him in a protective formation as he flew toward the Eighth Nation's Mountain of National Fate.

"I need to get back to the Mountain of National Fate as soon as possible!

I can use the defensive measures there to fight back against Naruto .

That will at least give me some time to recover from my injuries!

" Naruto won't be able to spend too much time trying to catch me. If he does, he'll leave the Ninth Nation vulnerable to attack by other members of the Echelon!

"As long as I can buy enough time, I'll definitely be able to get through this deadly crisis!" Han Chakranglei's eyes were crimson red as he shot through the air.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly appeared at the border between the Eighth and Ninth Nations. He looked like a celestial warrior, and as soon as he entered the Eighth Nation, all of the cultivators there could feel the pressure radiating off him, and they trembled.

"When receiving guests, it is improper not to return favors. Since you decided to come to my home and stroll around, I've decided to come to your home to collect my interest." Naruto cleared his throat and looked somewhat apologetic, although he didn't hesitate for a moment before heading immediately toward the Eighth Nation's Mountain of National Fate.

Rumbling filled the air as he closed in. The pressure weighing down from the Eighth Nation grew stronger; by this point, Han Chakranglei had reached the mountain. As soon as he set foot on it, his voice rang out:

"Defend this location to the death! Don't allow anyone to step even half a foot inside!"

In case you forgot, Fan Dong'er was the first person Naruto tested out A Writ of Karma on in chapter 855 ↩

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	10. Chapter 10

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1101

Chapter 1101: Slaughtering Into the National Aura Mountain!

Han Qinglei sat cross-legged on the Eighth Nation's National Aura Mountain, face pale, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. He nervously produced medicinal pills, which he immediately consumed. Not only had his little excursion resulted in significant loss, he was now being chased by Naruto. However, in all of the Windswept Realm, there was no safer place for him to be than on this National Aura Mountain.

As he sat there cross-legged, his wounds slowly began to heal. At the same time, the four middle-aged cultivators from the Eighth Mountain and Sea remained outside of the mountain, both on guard, and at the same time, looking at each other in dismay. All of them were clearly shaken.

They knew Han Qinglei, and they had never encountered a member of the current generation who could outmatch him in this way.

Therefore… seeing Han Qinglei's injuries left them completely unnerved. After all, they were aware that he had previously headed toward the Ninth Nation.

"Was it the Echelon cultivator from the Ninth Mountain who did this?

Naruto…?"

"It must be him! Han Qinglei was heading toward the Ninth Nation, so they must have ended up fighting!" The four took deep breaths, and their expressions turned very serious.

However, they had no choice in the matter. Regardless of whether it was because of their mission, or the effect it would have on their own chances for success in the Windswept Realm, giving up was not an option.

Time passed, and the four men kept their cultivation bases rotating the whole time. Soon, a bright streak of light appeared on the horizon, and before they could even react, massive rumbling sounds filled the air.

It was none other than Naruto!

After entering the Eighth Nation, he had caused an enormous pressure to spread out over the entire nation, in much the same way that Han Qinglei had when he had entered the Ninth Nation. The feeling experienced by Fan Dong'er and the others was now occurring among all the members of the Eighth Nation.

The four men's faces flickered as they looked toward Naruto. Before Naruto even made a move, the four men clenched their jaws tightly and performed incantation gestures to summon divine abilities.

In unison, the men howled: "Four Holy Beasts Formation!"

The sky flickered, and the earth quaked. These four men were not in the Immortal Realm, but rather, the Ancient Realm!

All of them had cultivation bases with five extinguished Soul Lamps, which was the absolute limit for the Windswept Realm. Their attack caused a massive wind to spring up and roaring sounds to fill the air as a huge White Tiger appeared.

The White Tiger was fully 300 meters long, and was clad in a suit of armor. It radiated a terrifying energy, along with a towering murderous aura.

Next was a Black Turtle, extremely domineering and fierce. It was surrounded by rushing black waters, which roiled up into the Heavens. A seemingly infinite power seemed to surround it as an illusory land mass appeared beneath its feet.

Next was a Vermilion Bird, surrounded by a majestic sea of flames that rose up into the sky. Last was an Azure Dragon, whose roars caused the heavens to distort. All four Holy Beasts materialized, causing lightning to dance and extraordinary energy to surge.

"Four Holy Beasts Destruction!" the four cultivators roared. Immediately, the images of the four Holy Beasts roared and leaped toward Naruto amidst churning, seething clouds. The speeding White Tiger was the first to arrive, bursting with a murderous aura.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he gave a cold snort as he stepped forward and waved his hand. Immediately, the Mountain Consuming Incantation materialized, causing countless mountains to descend, crushing down onto the White Tiger. Rumbling could be heard as the tiger was pinned in place. Naruto subsequently descended, then reached out and viciously smacked the tiger on the head.

The smack caused a huge tremor to run through the White Tiger, after which it let out a miserable shriek. Finally, its head exploded, and one of the four cultivators coughed up a massive mouthful of blood.

However, despite losing its head, the White Tiger wasn't dead. After all, it wasn't a real animal, but rather, a magical construct. It still slashed out ruthlessly at Naruto with its claws.

An ear-piercing sound like that of metal grating against metal rang out. However, Naruto wasn't hurt in the least bit; his fleshly body was already in the Ancient Realm, so how could this White Tiger possibly harm him?

The White Tiger froze in shock, and the four cultivators defending the National Aura Mountain were astonished.

"His fleshly body…."

"Dammit, what fleshly body is that?! He actually wasn't hurt at all by the White Tiger!"

As their hearts trembled, Naruto grinned viciously and charged forward, slamming directly into the White Tiger's chest. The Mountain Consuming Incantation was unleashed again, but this time, the mountains didn't descend from the sky. Instead, they burst out from inside the White Tiger. A boom could be heard as the sharp mountain peaks stabbed out through its body, prompting a bloodcurdling shriek. In the blink of an eye, its massive frame was ripped into shreds by the numerous mountains.

The cultivator in control of the White Tiger coughed up more blood, and trembled violently. Cracking sounds could be heard as bones were shattered, and the man very nearly passed out.

He looked at Naruto with complete terror and astonishment as he finally realized how Han Qinglei came to be injured so badly. Obviously, Naruto was so much more powerful than Han Qinglei that… it was almost impossible to imagine!

Before they could even unleash more divine abilities, Naruto turned into a sharp arrow that stabbed toward the roaring Black Turtle.

The turtle was incredibly tough, surrounded by black waters, and standing on top of a huge land mass. All of that made its defenses incredibly high. However, Naruto pierced through all that, slamming into it and causing a miserable shriek to ring out. Cracks spread out over the entire Xuanwu turtle, and in the blink of an eye, the black water faded. The land collapsed, and the entire Xuanwu turtle exploded into bits!

It was thoroughly smashed, incapable of standing up to Naruto whatsoever. In the same moment, blood sprayed out of the mouth of the cultivator in control of the Black Turtle. He instantly began to shrink back and tremble, and an expression of shock covered his face.

The two remaining cultivators roared, causing the Vermilion Bird and the Azure Dragon to also roar, then swirl together in a combined attack to block Naruto's progress.

It was like a dragon and a phoenix attacking together, causing their power to rocket up. The sea of flames surrounding the Vermilion Bird filled the sky, burning everything above and below, threatening to completely eradicate Naruto.

As the intense heat caused everything to ripple and distort, Naruto smiled.

"Flames?" he said. Without the slightest hesitation, he took a step forward and then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Instantly, a ball of flame appeared in his hand.

It was none other than… the Essence of Divine Flame!

He squeezed down, and the ball of flame exploded, sending boundless

Divine Flame swirling around him. As the Vermilion Bird closed in, Naruto waved his hand, causing the Divine Flame to surge outward. In response to Naruto's thoughts, the swirling Divine Flame also transformed into a Vermilion Bird.

Two Vermilion Birds slammed into each other in midair, sending a huge boom echoing out in all directions. Naruto's Divine Flame Vermilion Bird completely vanquished the Four Holy Beasts Vermilion Bird, completely burning it up!

Vermilion Birds were born amidst flames, and despite being a magical construct, this Vermilion Bird had some of the true will of an actual Vermilion Bird. However, only a bloodcurdling scream could be heard as it was reduced to nothing but ash. The cultivator controlling it coughed up a mouthful of blood. Blood also oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The backlash caused flames to surround him, completely eradicating him in body and soul.

All of these things take quite some time to describe, but actually occurred in the space of only a few breaths of time. Of the Four Holy Beasts, three were now completely eradicated, leaving only the Azure Dragon behind. As it closed in on Naruto, he made a grasping motion, causing the bone-tip spear to appear.

This spear's haft was crafted from the World Tree, and the bone spearhead was long and sharp. A murderous aura radiated out from it, causing everything in the area to turn as cold as the dead of winter. Naruto glanced at the Azure Dragon, then hurled the spear toward it. The spear pierced out, slashing a hole into the air as it sped toward the Azure Dragon.

Looking shocked, the Azure Dragon waved its tail in an attempt to brush the spear aside. However, as soon as its tail made contact, it shattered into pieces. The spear moved with shocking speed, leaving behind afterimages as it stabbed into the Azure Dragon with incredible power. The Azure Dragon could not even fight back as the spear slammed it into the ground.

A huge boom rang out as the Azure Dragon was pinned to the ground, causing a huge crater to appear.

Blood sprayed out of the mouth of the cultivator in control of the dragon, and his face turned ashen. Meanwhile, Naruto had already reached the National Aura Mountain, whereupon he clenched his hand into a fist and punched out.

The statue on top of the Eighth Nation's National Aura Mountain suddenly flickered with bright light, and a bright shield appeared to block Naruto's punch. The resulting backlash was so intense that Naruto had no choice but to fall back several paces, frowning.

Almost in that same moment, the surrounding three cultivators clenched their jaws, ignoring the incredible pressure weighing down on them and any potential injury, and charged toward Naruto, unleashing divine abilities the entire way.

"Screw off!" growled Naruto, waving his arm. Rumbling filled the air as an incredible power surged out, slamming into his three opponents.

Blood instantly spurted out of their injuries, and two of them were killed instantly. The remaining cultivator's face went pale, and he retreated in shock.

Naruto did nothing to pursue him. Instead, he clenched his right hand into a fist and struck the shield again. His eyes glittered, and a faint, cold smile could be seen on his face.

Inside the shield, Han Qinglei sat beneath the statue, face pale, but fully focused on recovering from his injuries.

Around this time in the Seventh Nation, the Echelon cultivator from the Fourth Mountain, Lin Cong, was standing in a bronze war chariot as it sped forward. He wore a white robe, and his expression was one of surprise. However, he also radiated indescribable power, as well as supreme confidence in himself and his cultivation base. 1

"So, you're delivering up a plump gift for me, eh Han Qinglei?" he murmured, eyes glittering. He looked at the jade slip in his hand and laughed.

"From the fluctuations, it seems that Han Qinglei and Naruto are fighting already…. Well that's fine. After the two of them have worn each other down, then I can easily snatch the World Seals of two nations. I don't care what plot Han Qinglei has brewing, he's not strong enough to go up against me. I'll crush him as easily as a dried weed!"

Chuckling coldly, Lin Cong sent his war chariot speeding forward. Massive ripples spread out, and at the same time, he flexed his cultivation base, causing a domineering air to spread out. It was as if he were announcing to the world: _Lin Cong is coming!_

He was also using his status in the Echelon as a threat!

He emanated crushing power, and had incredible self-confidence, the result of a series of random events that had led to him fighting against the number one member of the Echelon. Although he had been defeated, that cultivator had personally told him that he was the most powerful person he had ever fought!

—-

The four beasts in this chapter are common Chinese mythological creatures. More information here.

Lin Cong appeared before in chapter 1058 and chapter 1090. His name in Chinese is 林聪 lín cōng. Lin is a surname which also means "forest."

Cong means "intelligent" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1102

Chapter 1102: Han Qinglei's Plot!

Naruto hovered outside of the National Aura Mountain, coldly eyeing Han Qinglei inside of the shield. Currently, he could only look at him with his bare eyes; divine sense could not penetrate the shield.

The only thing he could see was Han Qinglei sitting there, treating his injuries.

Naruto wasn't anxious. At the moment, the shield protecting the Eighth Nation's National Aura Mountain was intact, and would not be easily damaged. However, he was confident that the shield would soon begin to weaken.

And that was exactly what happened. In the region of the central temple, Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu instantly tipped the tide of battle in favor of the Ninth Nation. They immediately issued orders to begin a fullscale assault on the Eighth Nation. Cultivators from both sides began to fight, and the Eighth Nation began to suffer defeat after defeat. The pillar of red light shining above their pagoda began to sink down rapidly.

As it did, the shield surrounding their National Aura Mountain began to ripple. Soon, it was visibly growing thinner, causing Han Qinglei's eyes to widen with shock. From the look of it, this was not what he had anticipated happening, and it caused him to stare murderously at Naruto.

When their gazes locked, Naruto suddenly got an uneasy feeling. Han Qinglei's expression seemed to be the appropriate one, but Naruto simply couldn't believe that Han Qinglei, being qualified to join and maintain his position in the Echelon, would be so easily defeated. People like him would definitely have tricks up their sleeves.

It would be impossible for him to have overlooked the fact that if he retreated here because of being pursued by another, that this safe haven could be weakened because of the situation on the central battlefield.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he clenched his right hand, unleashing the Life-Extermination Fist onto the shield. The shield continued to hold strong, making it impossible for him to observe Han Qinglei with divine sense. Therefore, he decided that he might as well just do his best to destroy the shield; then all would be laid bare!

Booms filled the air, and the shield rippled. Naruto transformed into a gust of wind, battering the shield with fists and magical techniques. Soon, the shield was flickering with colorful lights, and emanating constant booms.

Han Qinglei's face fell as he looked at the shield. He knew full well that it wouldn't be able to last for very much longer, and that once it was broken open, there would be nothing stopping Naruto. Han Qinglei gritted his teeth, and an expression of determination appeared on his face. Suddenly, he began to laugh maniacally.

"I never imagined that I, Han Qinglei, would be forced into such a tight spot. Naruto… you're definitely strong enough to be in the Echelon. You might not be a match for the number one Echelon cultivator, but you're probably powerful enough to fight with Lin Cong from the Fourth Mountain.

"I didn't want to have my cultivation base breakthrough so soon, I was planning to hold off for a bit longer. I have no desire to be a first Echelon cultivator to break through to the Ancient Realm. After all, the more deeply you prepare in the Immortal Realm, the more powerful you will be after your breakthrough!

"But since you've pushed me this far, fine. I'm going to break through, and then we'll resume our battle!" Even as his words continued to echo about out, Han Qinglei performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then pushed his palm down onto his chest, causing cracking sounds to echo throughout his body. The aura of a cultivation base breakthrough exploded out, merging with the Windswept Realm as a whole.

Naruto's eyes widened, and his uneasy feeling got even stronger.

"When I wasn't attacking, his expression seemed normal. But that's not right. As soon as I attacked, he saw the shield falling apart, and then suddenly chose to make a cultivation base breakthrough…." Naruto frowned, but didn't stop unleashing attacks. More distortions appeared on the shield, and cracking sounds could be heard as fissures spread out. As the Eighth Nation suffered successive setbacks in the battle near the central temple, the red light shining from their pagoda continued to fall. At the same time, their shield grew weaker and weaker.

A boom could be heard as a huge crack spread out from where Naruto's fist had just slammed into the shield, piercing halfway into it. Soon, the Eighth Nation's beam of red light was the weakest among all of the Nine Nations. Naruto threw his head back and roared, unleashing the Essence of Divine Flame, causing popping sounds to ring out from the shield.

More cracks appeared, and then, in the blink of an eye, the shield collapsed into countless fragments, sending a shockwave sweeping out in all directions.

The shockwave was intense, but Naruto pierced through it, finally setting foot onto the Eighth Nation's mountain. He instantly sent his divine sense sweeping out toward Han Qinglei to determine whether or not his suspicions were valid.

However, in the moment that his divine sense was about to touch him, Han Qinglei's cultivation base erupted with the aura of a breakthrough.

Colors flashed and the wind screamed, and soon, the power of the great Door of the Ancient Realm began to descend, scattering Naruto's divine sense.

Although all of this seemed coincidental, it all aligned with his suspicions. Everything seemed to make sense. In fact, he could now see that nothing which was happening was coincidental, in fact… it was the opposite!

Naruto's body blurred as he shot toward Han Qinglei, whose cultivation base was rising rapidly into the Ancient Realm. Seeing Naruto closing in, he clenched his teeth and, even while breaking through, performed an incantation gesture and waved his finger at Naruto. Immediately, illusory white bones appeared, which shot toward Naruto.

Behind the bones was a magical Wheel of Time, yet another unleashing of Paragon magic. Numerous divine abilities all struck out toward Naruto.

Rumbling echoed about, but Naruto didn't pause for a moment. He waved his right hand, summoning the Paragon Bridge. Next was the raging Essence of Divine Flame, which swept out in all directions. The illusory white bones were shattered, and the magical Wheel of Time was destroyed.

At the same time, Han Qinglei threw his head back and roared, causing azure lightning to strike down and fuse with his body. Then he extended his right hand and pushed it out toward Naruto.

The gesture caused his entire right arm to explode into a cloud of blood and gore. Shockingly, a bolt of azure lightning filled with a strand of blood shot out from the remnants of his destroyed arm. Instead of shooting toward Naruto, though, it exploded, transforming into an azure shield that surrounded Han Qinglei, the statue, and the entire mountain.

At the same time that the azure lightning transformed into a shield, Han Qinglei threw his head back and roared. The breakthrough energy became more and more powerful, and up above, the energy of Heaven and Earth formed together into something that looked like a huge door.

"You can't do a thing to me now, Naruto!" Han Qinglei cried, laughing uproariously.

However, in the exact moment that his words rang out, Naruto suddenly blinked his right eye nine times, causing the starstone there within to melt and then rapidly spread out to cover his entire body. In the space of a few breaths, he completely transformed into a planet.

This was none other than the Namikaze Clan Daoist magic… One Thought Stellar Transformation!

The sudden appearance of this technique caused Han Qinglei's eyes to widen. He hadn't seen Naruto use it in their previous encounter, and now, his heart started to pound. Before he could even do anything in response, Naruto in planet-form shot forward like a meteor. Anything standing in his way was like rotten wood, and he instantly slammed into the azure lightning shield.

A huge boom rang out as the shield shattered into pieces and Naruto burst in. The planet vanished, and Naruto appeared in normal form once again, directly in front of Han Qinglei. Instantly, his hand shot out and latched onto Han Qinglei's neck.

Han Qinglei could do nothing to block him, and his breakthrough process was interrupted.

"I knew it!" Naruto said calmly. As soon as his hand had touched Han Qinglei, his divine sense flowed through it and swept through Han Qinglei.

"You were aware the entire time your so-called breakthrough would fail.. In fact, you never even intended to break through!

"That's because this isn't even your true form. You're nothing but a clone!

"You tried to hide that fact from me with the aura of a breakthrough, plus, you kept my divine sense stuck outside your shield so that I couldn't see the truth."

"So what if you know?!" said Han Qinglei, laughing loudly, his expression one of derision. "My true form has long since fled! You won't be able to find him any time soon. Besides, you don't even have the time to go looking!"

No one in the Echelon was weak, neither in terms of cultivation base base nor intelligence!

"That's because you intentionally lured other Echelon cultivators here, right?" Naruto said coolly. "With the Eighth Nation's World Seal here as bait, plus the Ninth Nation's seal, the other Echelon members will be trying to kill me, giving you a chance to slip away."

His tone was tranquil, and his words calm. Han Qinglei had previously been quite smug because of his scheme, but all of a sudden, he got a bad feeling. Naruto was definitely completely beyond what he had expected.

"You…." He was just about to continue speaking when all of a sudden, the pressure weighing down on the Eighth Nation grew even more intense, seemingly doubling. That could only mean one thing; another Echelon cultivator had entered the Eighth Nation.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he viciously clenched his right hand. Han Qinglei's clone instantly exploded into pieces, completely destroyed!

The pursuit and dispatching of Han Qinglei's clone had gone quickly and cleanly. Naruto waved his right hand, ignoring anything that might be happening up in the sky behind him, and instead headed toward the statue, reaching out toward the flame of the World Seal in the statue's hand to grab it!

In that instant, a deep voice echoed out like thunder, filled with killing intent and somber dignity.

"That's not for you to take! Touch it, and I'll wipe out your entire clan!"

In conjunction with the voice, everything shook, and a huge wind rose up. The clouds parted to reveal a war chariot emanating a black light like a will of extermination. It radiated a domineering air and an intense pressure as it rumbled down from above.

The sinister chariot was being pulled by 1,000,000 souls, all of which were screaming fiercely, shaking the entire battlefield. As the chariot neared, darkness spread out like that of night, covering everything.

Standing in the chariot was a white-robed young man with long black hair and handsome features. He seemed threatening, although not angry, and he almost looked as if he had just emerged from the Yellow Springs, an emperor of death directing 1,000,000 dead souls into battle.

Each word he uttered boomed like thunder, crashing into Naruto's ears. The mere voice itself caused the Eighth Nation's National Aura Mountain to shake; cracks spread out, and the mountain seemed to be on the verge of collapsing.

Naruto started laughing as he looked up at the war chariot. Then his smile turned cold, and he said, "Wipe out my entire clan? You don't qualify!"

Even as he spoke, his hand reached the World Seal… and grabbed it!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1103

Chapter 1103: The Most Powerful Path of Immortality!

"How dare you!" The clouds above the Eighth Nation churned. The war chariot ripped through the air, pulled by 1,000,000 souls, causing the darkness of night to spread out rapidly. Standing in the chariot was Lin Cong from the Fourth Mountain. He looked like an emperor of death, wielding the power of the Yellow Springs, his voice echoing out like claps of thunder.

Naruto's face was calm, but inwardly, he was musing about how his previous assumption that he was at the absolute peak of the Immortal Realm had been proved wrong during his battle with Han Qinglei. Each and every person who joined the Echelon possessed different destinies and types of good fortune. They were all people who other cultivators simply couldn't compare to. You could say that each Echelon cultivator had their own unique path, and therefore… each member was different.

The paths were different, and thus, the Echelon cultivators were all different!

Han Qinglei's path had been somewhat discordant. He had his white bones and his azure lightning, but none of those things truly belonged to him alone. Therefore, despite the fact that he walked onto the path of the Echelon, when facing off with Naruto, it would be difficult to do anything except lose. Lose over and over again.

That was because Naruto had his own path to Immortality. That was the ancient way, the legendary and most powerful path, that of the Allheaven.

Now, he could see that this Echelon cultivator from the Fourth Mountain obviously had his own path too.

He wasn't sure exactly what path that was, and actually, he didn't even feel the need to know!

The path of the Allheaven Immortal was something that had already been legendary in the time of the primordial Paragon Immortal Realm. However, because many years had passed, it would have been virtually impossible for other paths to Immortality not to spring up in the other Mountains and Seas, paths which people would tread in the hopes of gaining greater power.

"Perhaps it has something to do with Paragon magic," he thought. "After all, you have to gain enlightenment of Paragon magic in order to get into the Echelon. Perhaps… there is some additional reason for the existence of the Echelon besides accomplishing Paragon Sea Dream's plan. Maybe it's also to see which path… leads to becoming the most powerful Paragon in the Heavens!" Naruto wasn't absolutely sure about this assessment. However, he was still about sixty to seventy percent sure that this was what was going on.

"Although, whatever other paths the Echelon cultivators tread, they will find that they are all dead ends when compared to mine. Even if they persist in walking further along those paths, they will find that the Allheaven Immortal… is the most powerful type of Immortal!

"I'm going to defeat all of them one by one, and then they'll understand the truth!" His eyes began to glitter with a brilliant light of confidence.

That confidence… was self-confidence. He was sure that he would travel the farthest, and that being an Allheaven Immortal… was the most powerful path of Immortality!

After these thoughts flashed through his mind, he decided to spend no more time thinking. He turned his gaze away from the Fourth Mountain's Echelon cultivator and his 1,000,000 souls, and instead retrieved the fire that represented the World Seal.

In the instant that he acquired the flame, an enraged roar could be heard echoing down from the sky. At the same time… a beam of light shot up from the area of the central temple.

The intense light caused everything to shake. It was far more intense than the light which had appeared when Naruto or when Han Qinglei had broken the previous records to successfully understand 100 Essences.

It was fully 3,000 meters wide as it shot through the Heavens. From a distance, it looked like a massive column connecting Heaven and Earth. Everyone in the entire Windswept Realm was able to see it, regardless of where they were!

The lands quaked, and the Heavens rumbled. The intense energy rippling out was unprecedented, vastly more powerful than on the previous two occasions. It was even possible to say that it was completely beyond compare.

The two before were like slivers of bamboo, whereas this one was as thick as an arm. Shocking peals of thunder rang out, causing all cultivators in the Windswept Realm to be thoroughly shaken.

The intense sound and shaking caused everyone near the central temple to look on with astonished expressions. The could do nothing but stare as the huge pillar of light shot up into the heavens and then transformed into a massive vortex.

Naruto stood next to the statue, holding the Eighth Nation's World Seal in his hand, and looked up at the vortex, a slight, cold smile touching his face.

"So, it's just as I suspected," he thought. "The first person to snatch a World Seal will break the previous record and provoke a blessing!"

That was one reason why Naruto was so confident, and also why he had been so calm. He didn't care who Han Qinglei got to come here, nor what other schemes he had in place. He was sure that if the first person to be enlightened regarding the National Aura received a blessing, and the first person to be enlightened regarding 100 Essences also got a blessing, then surely, the first person to win a World Seal would also receive a blessing, and a more powerful one at that.

Although it might seem like all these things happened over a long period of time, in fact, they happened almost instantly. Echelon cultivator Lin Cong from the Fourth Mountain flew through the air, causing everyone in the nation to involuntarily look up in shock.

In the sky above the central temple, the vortex rapidly grew larger. In the space of a few breaths of time, it covered the whole sky like a sheet, allowing everyone suddenly gain a glimpse of another world.

It was the same world which had appeared before, a world of mountains and statues. If you looked closely at those statues and mountains, you would see that they were split almost evenly.

Furthermore, within that world were four statues and five mountains that stuck out among all the others. Those statues were the largest statues in the world, as if all the other statues were children in comparison.

The five mountains were similarly taller than all of the other mountains, as if no one had ever been able to subjugate them and turn them into statues. The four statues and five mountains were filled with indescribable ripples of force which, if they spread out into the world, would shake everything.

Numerous mountains and statues floated about, but the four statues and five mountains stuck out the most. They were like the nucleus of the entire world. As of this moment, the first statue began to emanate rumbling sounds, and then suddenly collapsed into pieces, which crumbled down and then reformed into a new statue.

That statue… depicted Naruto!

Instantly, Naruto's appearance was revealed to everyone in the Windswept Realm. They could also see that this statue looked completely different than the first statue that had appeared when he had broken the record and reached the peak of the world!

He was the focus of all attention, causing everyone to tremble with shock!

An ancient voice suddenly rang out: "Naruto of the Ninth Nation has broken the previous record. He defeated Han Qinglei of the Eighth Nation, and wrested away the Eighth Nation's World Seal. He is the first person to win a World Seal, and will be rewarded with twenty percent of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm!"

The voice echoed throughout the entire Windswept Realm, to be heard by everyone. People gasped, and looks of astonishment appeared. This reward was even more amazing than in the previous two. This time, it was twenty percent of the Chakra of the entire Windswept Realm!

It was difficult to even contemplate what it meant for a single person to acquire twenty percent of the Chakra flow of the entire world. It was as if Naruto were being favored by the entire Windswept Realm.

All of a sudden, Naruto was surrounded by an invisible tempest, a tempest that no one could see, and only he could sense.

His mind trembled as he heard what sounded like countless voices, voices which were apparently the prayers and entreaties of countless living beings from the Windswept Realm, over the course of innumerable years.

Furthermore, Naruto felt the Windswept Realm's power of rejection vanish. No longer was it trying to expel him. Instead, it approved of him, as if he were now mysteriously connected to the Realm.

That connection caused Naruto to begin to pant. He could only imagine how much easier that connection would make it for him to understand the Essences. However, that was secondary. At the moment, he could now sense something like the will of the Windswept Realm.

What caused him to pant even more than anything else was that the will of the Windswept Realm now viewed him with kindness, and wished to protect him!

Twenty percent of the Chakra flow… indicated that any opponent who faced him directly could be struck dead by lightning!

Furthermore, if that Chakra flow ever reached one hundred percent….

Then, even if Naruto were a mortal who could wield no magic whatsoever, he would still be like an Imperial Lord within the Windswept Realm.

He closed his eyes and focused fully on connecting with the will of the Windswept Realm within the tempest.

Meanwhile, in the First Nation, the most powerful Echelon cultivator sat there cross-legged. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and they were filled with unprecedented focus.

"Qi flow," he murmured. "So, this reward is Chakra flow too. That's completely different than in times past!" The cultivators sitting around him all looked very serious.

A similar scene played out in the Second Nation!

However, on the Third Nation's National Aura Mountain was a cultivator who was not from the Third Mountain, but had an Echelon mark on his forehead nonetheless. He was a middle-aged man, and currently, he was frowning.

"I WILL lead the Windswept Realm back to prominence!" he murmured coldly, his eyes flickering with killing intent. "As the former sole Imperial Lord of the Windswept Realm, what reason do you have to resist me!?" The Third Nation was special, but as for the Fifth Nation, the Sixth Nation, and the Seventh Nation….

All members of the Echelon, and all other cultivators, were shaken by the reward being given to Naruto. At the same time, Naruto's name was deeply imprinted onto their hearts.

In the Sixth Nation was a young woman, currently involved in a deadly chase. Her face was pale, and she was now being pursued by even more people than before.

"Three records broken, and two of them were him!" she thought.

As she sped through the air, she looked up at the statue of Naruto in the sky, and a gleam of anticipation appeared in her eyes.

"Soon…. I have the feeling that we'll be meeting soon," she murmured. "Naruto… could you be the person I've been waiting for? If you are… then I'll help you become the most powerful cultivator in the Echelon. That's my mission….

"If it's not you, well then I'll just have to go with the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain."

This woman was none other than Xue'er, the successor of Immortal Ancient.

As these world-shaking events occurred, in a city of mortals in the Eighth Nation, a young student sat in a house reading a bamboo scroll. Actually, he only appeared to be reading, and was in fact trembling slightly.

He could sense all of the things happening in the world outside. You could even say that those things were happening because of him!

After a long moment, he put the bamboo scroll down and looked out of the window up into the sky. His face darkened, and after a moment of hesitation, he sighed.

"Naruto…. So that's why you were so calm. You were banking on the reward from the Windswept Realm!

"Perhaps everything that happened in the battle went according to your plans. Naruto… the Echelon cultivator from the Ninth Mountain. I'm going to remember you!" That seemingly mortal young student was… Han Qinglei!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1104

Chapter 1104: Killing You… Will Only Take Seven Steps!

Han Qinglei stood there silently, sighing inwardly. Once again, the desire to fight burned in his eyes.

He kept telling himself that he was in the Echelon, a Chosen among blazing suns. He could accept being defeated in battle, but he couldn't accept being humiliated!

From the moment he had entered the Eighth Nation, he had parted ways with his clone, using it to distract Naruto so that his true form would be able to evade detection. Then he had used a secret magic to stifle his aura and escape to this place.

Without the clone to distract Naruto, his secret magic alone would not have been enough to escape undetected. One of the unique aspects of this technique was that the longer he used it, the more difficult it would be to see through it.

What he had needed was time, which was why he had sent his clone to take his place.

"Lin Cong is the second most powerful among the Echelon, and I'm no match for him. Naruto might have been able to beat me, but to defeat Lin Cong… will be extremely difficult!

"Seven current members of the Echelon stepped into the Ancient Realm in the past, but after realizing that their paths were incorrect, they intentionally lowered their cultivation bases with the purpose of breaking through again later. Each successive time they break through, they become more powerful!

"Lin Cong is so strong that it's impossible to determine how many times he's broken through into the Ancient Realm, only to drop back down….

"Those things don't have much to do with me, though. Since I can't keep hold of the Eighth Nation's seal, it would be better to curry favor by handing it over someone else, than to give it to Naruto. This also means I won't be hunted down, so one of these days, I'll have a chance to make my comeback!" Han Qinglei's eyes glittered, and he took a deep breath. Finally, he bowed his head and continued to hide his presence. He wanted to use another secret magic to observe the battle between Naruto and Lin Cong, but after some consideration, decided against it.

He felt sure that Naruto was no match for Lin Cong, and yet, wasn't completely certain. Naruto's calm face hovered there in his mind's eye, and after a moment of thought, he made up his mind.

Although he chose not to observe the battle, the Echelon cultivators in the other nations all used various secret magics, and utilized significant resources, to be able to observe the battle.

This fight was not just a chance to see how strong Lin Cong was, it was also an opportunity to see Naruto's battle prowess, which would help them be prepared for future encounters.

Glowing screens appeared in front of each of the various members of the Echelon. Those screens all depicted the National Aura Mountain in the Eighth Nation!

Currently, Lin Cong bore down on the mountain in shocking fashion, causing everything to shake. As he neared, his rage erupted.

"Dammit! All of that… should be mine!

"You're stealing the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm that belongs to me. Well then… I guess I'll just have to kill you!" Lin Cong's voice echoed out, and his war chariot rumbled as he bore down on Naruto. He extended his hand and waved a finger at Naruto.

Immediately, the 1,000,000 souls leading the chariot issued intense screams, then spread out like a sea of dead souls, covering everything. They transformed into a gigantic hand, which then smashed down viciously toward Naruto as he stood there on the mountain peak.

Naruto looked up, and his eyes snapped open. The invisible wind which surrounded him split apart, and despite the fact that Naruto clearly didn't make a single move, dozens of lightning bolts suddenly appeared in midair. They stabbed down, smashing into the ground in front of Naruto, blocking the enormous, pitch-black hand of dead souls.

This… was one of the benefits Naruto received after acquiring twenty percent of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm!

Protection provided by Heaven and Earth!

Booms echoed out as the lightning slammed into the 1,000,000 dead souls. They screamed as the enormous hand collapsed into pieces in front of Naruto, incapable of even touching him.

Almost in the exact moment that the 1,000,000 souls fell apart, Naruto's energy spiked through the roof!

"Killing you… will only take seven steps!" he said.

In accompaniment with his domineering words, his cultivation base rocketed higher and higher, and a domineering aura spread out in all directions. He did not retreat. He did not dance about with fancy fighting moves. He just went in for the kill!

However, when his words entered the ears of the other Echelon cultivators in the other nations, they were met with cold laughter. "This Naruto is way too arrogant and conceited. He thinks he can kill Lin Cong with only seven steps? Not even the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain could do that! What makes Naruto think he can!?"

"Lin Cong is powerful. He might be quite a bit beneath the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, but it's real grandstanding for Naruto to claim that he can kill him with seven steps!"

In the First Nation, the most powerful Echelon cultivator, the white robed young man from the First Mountain, coolly said, "It's good to be confident, but reality won't match up."

Of course, Naruto couldn't hear the words being spoken. However, even if he could, he wouldn't pay them the slightest heed. His path was that of the legendary Allheaven Immortal, and in his heart, he knew that to be the most powerful path. To tread such a path required unflinching determination. Furthermore… he would crush anything that stood in his path, walk to the peak, and smash all the other Echelon cultivators. He would use his actions… to show that he was the most powerful in the Echelon!

BOOM!

Naruto stepped forward to begin the Seven God Steps.

Lin Cong in his war chariot threw his head back and laughed. It was an icy laughter, filled with both killing intent and fury.

Never had anyone in his generation dared to say anything like that to him before. Only seven steps… were needed to kill him? The domineering air of those words prompted Lin Cong to laugh maniacally.

"Not even the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain would be confident enough to say something like that to me. Naruto, you're the first!" By the time Lin Cong's words finished echoing out, Naruto had taken his first step!

That step took him from the peak of the mountain to a position in midair.

He was now in front of the chariot, causing the scattered remnants of

the dead souls to tremble and flee in all directions. They were screaming, as if there were some powerful energy exploding off of Naruto, something that, if it struck them, would exterminate them for all eternity!

As the dead souls screamed, Naruto unleashed a punch.

The Life-Extermination Fist!

That fist slammed into the war chariot, unleashing a massive force onto Lin Cong. Lin Cong was just about to use some divine abilities and magical techniques, but the force interrupted him. His face fell when he heard a muffled boom coming from his war chariot, which was then shoved backward by 300 meters!

Boundlessly domineering!

In the same moment that the war chariot was thrown back, Naruto took a second step. His energy once again erupted, making him multiple times more powerful than before.

Heaven and Earth shook as the step landed him in front of the war chariot once again, whereupon he unleashed yet another punch!

Yet again, the Life-Extermination Fist! As boundlessly domineering as before!

Booms rang out as the war chariot, with Lin Cong inside of it, was shaken violently. Yet again, his magical techniques were interrupted. From the very beginning until now, he hadn't even had a chance to fight back!

"He's not just getting in lucky shots!" he thought, inwardly shaken.

You couldn't blame him, really. Anyone who ended up fighting Naruto would encounter the same domineering battle tactics. He destroyed opportunities to attack, and would always aim to seize the initiative, and the first blow!

Everyone back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea had experienced that, and now, it was time for other cultivators to learn exactly how domineering Naruto was!

Three steps, three punches! Booms echoed out continuously as the chariot was again shoved backward!

Four steps, four punches! Massive rumbling filled the air as Naruto dazzlingly set out to prove that he could back up the domineering nature of his words and kill Lin Cong with only seven steps!

If he could, then his self-confidence would grow even greater, his momentum even stronger. His name would rocket to the very top of the Echelon!

Even if Lin Cong didn't die in the end, in the future, his mental state would collapse whenever he saw Naruto.

Lin Cong was flabbergasted at how he was being completely subjugated!

"This is impossible! No one in my generation has ever completely suppressed me during a fight!"

Booms shook the sky as Naruto attacked with frantic madness. Four steps. Four punches!

Each one of those punches was the Life-Extermination Fist, which continuously interrupted Lin Cong's magical techniques, making it very difficult for him to unleash any magic at all. The fourth punch caused cracks to spread out over his war chariot, which then exploded into pieces.

Lin Cong let out a bellow of rage and waved his hand, using the opportunity to try to release a divine ability. The will of death swirled around him, as if the Yellow Springs themselves were rising up from the underworld.

He had to go all-out with everything to fight back. He couldn't allow

Naruto to build up any more momentum, or for himself to be any further suppressed. He was suddenly shocked to realize that if things kept going the way they were, then it wasn't necessarily impossible… for Naruto to actually kill him with seven steps!

However… just when he was on the verge of unleashing his divine ability, Naruto took a fifth step. His energy shot up explosively, far past anything from before. The Heavens flickered, and a huge wind screamed up, making the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm even more evident.

When he took that fifth step, he appeared directly in front of Lin Cong, whereupon he… unleashed yet another punch!

This was a different strike, not the Life-Extermination Fist, but rather, the blow of Self-Immolation, the Bedevilment Fist!

It was an insanity the likes of which could sacrifice anything, even one's own life, to enter a state of mad Bedevilment, which was then materialized into a punch. As of this moment, only one thought existed inside of Naruto's head.

Because he was Bedeviled, that fist possessed both form and will!

Lin Cong's eyes went wide, and his heart filled with astonishment. He was aware before that Naruto was not weak; after all, he had defeated Han Qinglei. However, he had never imagined that Naruto would be this powerful!

From his view, Naruto's power didn't come from his cultivation base, but rather his style of fighting. It was a style that used a completely domineering momentum, it left the opponent incapable of even breathing, all the way until they were destroyed.

Naruto's way of fighting was something completely unique, something he had never before encountered.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

One shocking punch destroyed Lin Cong's divine ability as if it were a rotten log. The mad, Bedeviled fist exploded on toward Lin Cong, bursting with power.

Blood oozed out of Lin Cong's mouth as he was shoved backward. He let out a miserable shriek, feeling completely and utterly humiliated as Naruto took a sixth step!

When that step landed, the world crackled with thunder. Countless lightning bolts exploded up around him as his energy flew even higher. Even the mountain down below was shaking violently; cracks appeared as if it would fall apart at any moment.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1105

Chapter 1105: What Did You Just Say?!

The shattering of the sky grew even more apparent. Cracks rapidly formed and closed up, leaving behind what looked like scars. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary about Naruto, and yet, he had suddenly become a larger-than-life figure, like a giant who stood on equal footing with the Heavens.

A terrifying aura rose up from him as he took his sixth step, and unleashed the sixth punch!

It was the Bedevilment Fist yet again, the strike of Self-Immolation. However, this strike was delivered even more directly than before, and the domineering power of Naruto's energy seemed to fuse with Heaven and Earth.

When the strike landed, Lin Cong let out a miserable scream. He bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood, which transformed into majestic Yellow Springs that swept out in all directions.

Massive booms could be heard as the Yellow Springs were destroyed. Naruto was slightly injured, and yet, the killing intent in his eyes had not lessened.

"Last step!" he said, taking the seventh step in unison with the destruction of the Yellow Springs.

It was as if the entire world ground to a halt, and was replaced by Uzumaki

Naruto. With the assistance of twenty percent of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm, Naruto could fuse with the lands, as if… he were the embodiment of the will of Heaven!

The entire world began to burst; Naruto was like a divine spirit that represented the will of Heaven, becoming its embodiment as he fused with Heaven and Earth!

His foot landed, and it was as if the Heavens were crushing the lands beneath. His fist was like Heaven and Earth, destroying all living things. It was as if Naruto were the most respected entity in all creation.

That was because this was…

The God-Slaying Fist!

When the God-Slaying Fist was unleashed, the Echelon cultivators in the other nations watching the battle let out successive gasps. They had watched Naruto's terrifying momentum grow with each step, had seen the wild and Devilish energy building up, had witnessed his intensely domineering style. It instantly left a deep impression on everyone, and caused them to tremble in astonishment.

The Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, the white-robed youth, felt his eyes going wide as an expression of shock filled his face. Naruto's way of fighting left even him astonished. Naruto seized the initiative and pressed forward, crushing everything in front of him like dead weeds.

All of the Echelon cultivators were completely astonished by this fist strike.

"What fist strike is that?!"

"It might not be impossible… for him to actually kill Lin Cong with only seven steps!"

"This Naruto is actually incredibly strong! Han Qinglei couldn't match up to him, and it looks like Lin Cong is also going to be defeated…. He might be qualified to fight for the spot of the number one most powerful cultivator in the Echelon!"

At this point, Lin Cong performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then shoved his hands out in front of him.

"Holy Requiem Skull!" he roared. Shockingly, a Paragon magic appeared, an enormous, golden skull!

The surface of the skull was covered with innumerable magical symbols, tightly packed in a way that seemed to encompass a will of death that mourned for all living things.

The Holy Requiem Skull was Lin Cong's Paragon magic. By gaining enlightenment of this skull, he was able to craft a Paragon magic, and thus enter Paragon Sea Dream's Echelon!

Becoming part of the Echelon completely changed his destiny, allowing him to rise to prominence in the Fourth Mountain. With the secret support of Ksitigarbha, he had survived numerous deadly trials, and had defended his place in the Echelon.

All of those numerous battles gave him complete and utter control over his Paragon magic, a power which enabled him to peer ahead into the future of the battle!

He was able to find the weaknesses in all other Daoist magics, he was also able to predict what actions his opponents would take. He would then use all of that information to his advantage. Even more shocking to his opponents was that he could see visions of their future.

Because of that, and thanks to the tips and pointers given him by Ksitigarbha, the path of Immortality that he treaded was essentially the same as that of Ksitigarbha! It was a unique path of Immortality that was like striding out from death into a new life!

However, his Paragon magic required a significant expenditure of mental energy, and therefore, he rarely used it. However, having been forced into a corner by Naruto's domineering style, he was left with no choice but to utilize this most powerful Paragon magic.

However, as soon as he unleashed his Holy Requiem Skull Paragon magic, Lin Cong's face completely fell. The only thing he saw in his vision was that there was no way for him to escape from the power of Naruto's fist strike.

There were no gaps!

There was no way to escape!

He was even able to determine that after Naruto's strike landed, he didn't plan to follow up with any divine abilities or magical techniques. It was as if… Naruto was completely and utterly confident that this fist and this step would utterly eradicate Lin Cong!

"How could this be!?" he thought, shaking mentally. He tried to back up, but Naruto's killing intent exploded out, as if the God-Slaying Fist were capable of eradicating all living things in Heaven and Earth!

It would land on Lin Cong, and there was nothing he could do about it!

Tears of blood seeped out of Lin Cong's eyes. After madly depleting his mental energy to use his Paragon magic at this critical juncture, he was able to glimpse a bit of the future.

The only result of that flashing vision was that Lin Cong's face fell.

He had no time to think. Eyes bloodshot, he viciously sent the goldcolored Holy Requiem Skull rumbling forward to try to block Naruto's incoming fist strike.

Naruto hadn't lost even a bit of momentum. He was backed by the will of Heaven and Earth, so no matter what tried to block his path, it would be brushed aside with ease. There was nothing that could stand in the way of his surging energy.

That was because Naruto's God-Slaying Fist was backed by the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm, utilizing the will of Heaven to take it to the absolute peak!

Anything and everything would be reduced to rubble in the face of this fist!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Naruto's God-Slaying Fist slammed into the golden skull, causing massive rumbling to echo out. The skull trembled and then exploded into pieces, allowing Naruto's fist to slam into Lin Cong's chest.

Cracking sounds could be heard, and Lin Cong let out a bloodcurdling scream. His body hurled backward like a kite with its string cut. All the bones in his body shattered, and in the blink of an eye, he exploded. His chest erupted in a fountain of blood, which spread out in all directions until his entire body was destroyed, with the exception of his head!

By now, all spectators in the Windswept Realm were completely and utterly shocked, filled with pounding waves of astonishment. To witness something happening that moments ago had seemed impossible, led to unparalleled stupefaction.

In the First Nation, the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, the white-robed young man, had been sitting there cross-legged moments ago. Now, he was standing, staring at the screen along with all of his followers, whose faces were covered with complete disbelief.

They all knew Lin Cong, and because of that, the scene which was playing out in front of them was completely astounding.

"He… he actually did it!" the followers gasped.

The Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain looked at the screen and then suddenly smiled, although it was a smile of complete coldness. His eyes flickered with a bright light as he said, "This guy does qualify to fight me."

In the Second Nation, on the National Aura Mountain, everything was freezing cold. Countless snowflakes swirled around a man who sat there on the mountain peak. He wore a blue robe, and he was the Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain. His features were cold, but his eyes narrowed as he watched the ice screen in front of him, and the image of Naruto upon it.

He seemed calm on the outside, but inwardly, he was rocked by waves of shock.

In the Third Nation, a strange scene was playing out. One hundred cultivators sat cross-legged on the National Aura Mountain. At their head was a middle-aged man wearing an Imperial robe. His face was extremely dark and sinister.

"Is this Naruto a variable thrown in by the Windswept Imperial

Lord…?"

The pudgy Echelon cultivator in the Fifth Nation, the young boy in the Sixth Nation, and the murderous youth in the Seventh Nation, all watched with flickering faces and trembling hearts.

Earlier, they didn't think that Naruto could kill Lin Cong with a handful of steps, but now they had personally witnessed the battle, and seen Naruto's power and domineering style. It instantly turned into a massive pressure weighing down on them.

Now, not a one of them dared to underestimate Naruto. Although they coveted his two World Seals, as of now, they were forced to weigh the risks associated with trying to take them.

You could say that Naruto's battle just now had completely cowed the Echelon cultivators in the Windswept Realm.

At the same time that all the Echelon cultivators were shaken by Naruto, Lin Cong's body exploded in the air above the Eighth Nation. Just when his head seemed on the verge of exploding, killing him in body and spirit, golden light suddenly began to shine up from the shattered golden skull. It transformed into a golden vortex which surrounded Lin Cong's head, as if to teleport him away.

There was still a bit of life force left in Lin Cong's head, thanks to his special way of practicing cultivation. As long as he still had his head, he could recover, although it came with a heavy price, including a drop in cultivation base.

In the moment that he was about to teleport away, Naruto's energy suddenly rose up even higher than before, and he said, "Think you can just leave? Exterminate!"

The words were spoken softly, but in that moment, an enormous, shocking foot appeared!

The foot seemed to obfuscate the entire sky, and when it appeared, it began to crush down onto Lin Cong, shattering natural law, destroying Essence!

This was the ultimate power of the Seven God Steps!

The previous seven steps were just a buildup of momentum and energy, leading up to this explosive, exterminating attack.

An intense sensation of deadly crisis filled Lin Cong. He had experienced such feelings before in his life, but this was the most intense it had ever been. Even his battle with the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain hadn't been so terrifying and shocking.

There was no possible way he could have ever imagined that Naruto… would be so powerful!

When he saw the foot descending, he realized he didn't have time to complete the teleportation. He knew that he was about to die, so he let out a powerful howl that echoed out in all directions.

"Naruto, if I die, Xu Qing dies too!" Those words entered Naruto's ears like the crash of zillions of thunderclaps. His entire body began to shake. 1

"What did you just say!?" His heart began to pound in a way it rarely did, even causing his divine ability to become unstable. The enormous foot in the sky trembled, and because of his mental instability, his momentum faltered, and his energy began to wane.

Upon leaving Planet South Heaven, he had asked his father about Xu Qing. Namikaze Minato had told him that he left some divine will on Xu Qing to protect her during reincarnation. Finding out her final destination when she was actually reincarnated was a matter of fortune and timing, but Namikaze Minato had assured him that he didn't need to worry.

Even still, and even after so many years had passed, Naruto still worried about it occasionally. His original plan had been to wait until he left the Nine Seas God World, and then go back to Planet South Heaven to find out more about the situation. After all, she was his wife, his beloved partner. Although he didn't often think about the matter, to hear Lin Cong say what he just did filled Naruto's mind with crashing waves of shock.

Lin Cong talked to Xu Qing in chapter 1058 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1106

Chapter 1106: Slaughtering Into the Fourth Nation!

In the moment that the instability of Naruto's divine ability caused the enormous foot to grind to a momentary halt, Lin Cong's head finally got its opportunity to flee. The golden vortex covered his head, then began to spin rapidly. Finally, Lin Cong's head vanished.

The vortex then transformed into countless motes of golden dust, which then vanished as well.

Naruto's face darkened as he looked at the spot where Lin Cong had vanished. His mind was still being battered by waves of astonishment. Xu Qing's place in his heart was something that he didn't allow anyone to touch; it was his weak spot.

Xu Qing was his wife, to whom he had sworn his vows in front of Heaven and Earth. He had watched her beauty fade as he held her in his arms, looked on as her soul entered the Underworld River. They had agreed…

To meet again after she was reincarnated.

Naruto could never have predicted that he would hear Xu Qing's name come out of Lin Cong's mouth in this place. It was something that caused his eyes to glow with infinite coldness.

This was his first time encountering Lin Cong, and he knew that it was also the first time Lin Cong had ever seen him. Therefore… for him to say Xu Qing's name indicated that Lin Cong… had seen her in her reincarnated form!

Then he thought about where Lin Cong came from, and a tremor ran through him. "That means there's an eighty percent likelihood that Xu Qing is on the Fourth Mountain!

"But how could Lin Cong possibly know about the relationship between me and Xu Qing?" Then he thought about Lin Cong's Paragon magic, and the familiar aura he had sensed, and he understood everything. What Lin Cong had seen was not something that he could use to defend against the God-Slaying Fist. Instead, he saw the connection between Naruto and Xu Qing!

A moment later, Naruto's eyes began to flicker with killing intent as he recalled Lin Cong's words.

 _If I die, Xu Qing dies too!_

"Lin Cong, you're courting death!" he said, looking up. Then he took a step forward. He did not return to the Ninth Nation, but instead, didn't hesitate for a moment as he headed toward the Fourth Nation.

As of this moment, World Seals weren't important, and Mount Whiteseal wasn't important. The only important thing… were clues about Xu Qing, and… what Lin Cong had just said!

Without clarifying these matters, how could he possibly return to the Ninth Nation? Even if he did, his heart would be in chaos, and he wouldn't be able to remain calm.

Rumbling filled the air as Naruto slashed through the air in a beam of light, flying like a bolt of lightning. Dust kicked up as he sped faster and faster, his killing intent rising.

Soon, he was nearing the border of the Eighth Nation. He would not enter the Seventh Nation; but rather, head through the region of the central temple. After all, that was the fastest way to reach the Fourth Nation.

He had no way to know whether or not Lin Cong took this route, but there was no time to pause and consider the matter. He sped along, soon leaving the Eighth Nation and entering the region of the central temple.

When he looked down, he saw the fierce, bloody fighting, and the countless soldiers engaged in battle. The entire land was stained red with blood.

He merely glanced at it as he sped by, piercing through the air with shocking momentum. The other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm saw him, and were instantly shocked.

"That's Naruto!"

"That's the Echelon cultivator from the Ninth Nation, Naruto!"

"Why is he here?"

Although none of these people had witnessed his battle with Lin Cong like the Echelon cultivators had, they knew that he had broken two of the previous three records. It was something that filled most of them with incredible awe and fear.

There were some fools among them whose greed and avarice was awakened as soon as they laid eyes on Naruto. From what they understood, if you could kill someone in the Echelon, then you could get their Echelon mark.

Not too long after Naruto entered the central temple region, a stream of sword light suddenly sped through the air toward him. The sword Chakra was shocking, filled with a murderous air, and was apparently imbued with natural law as it stabbed toward Naruto's neck.

"You just showed up, why are you running away?!" someone said coldly. The attack was made by a middle-aged cultivator, but he wasn't the only aggressor. Two other cultivators shot toward Naruto from off to the side.

In other circumstances, Naruto might be filled with a desire to hunt them down and kill them, or might just ignore them. But in his anxietyfilled state, there was only one fate in store for anyone who got in his way.

Instant death!

His eyes were bright red as he extended his hand, grabbing the incoming flying sword, then sending it speeding back in the direction it had come from.

The speed with which it moved now vastly exceeded its previous speed. Intense, incomparable energy propelled the sword forward. The sword itself could not withstand the force propelling it, and began to collapse, starting from the tip. Before it could even collapse by half, though, it stabbed so hard into the forehead of the cultivator who had thrown it that even the hilt blasted through him.

The speed was so indescribable that, despite the extraordinary cultivation base of the middle-aged cultivator, he didn't even qualify to try to dodge it. He was dead instantly.

This scene caused the other two cultivators to gasp and fall back. Other restless cultivators off in the distance looked on with shock, and didn't dare to attempt to get in Naruto's way.

Since no one dared to block him, Naruto shot through the central temple region, quickly reaching the area where it bordered the Fourth Nation.

Many of the cultivators behind him looked on with shocked faces.

"He actually went through the entire central temple region?"

"How is that possible? The pressure there is incredible! Misfortune will befall anyone who enters there. Not even other Echelon cultivators would dare to go in there, and yet… he did!?"

"Could it be… because of the twenty percent of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm?" Everyone was shocked as Naruto sped off.

Meanwhile, Lin Cong's head appeared on the National Aura Mountain of the Fourth Nation. The head promptly withered, causing Lin Cong to let out a howl. Blue veins popped out, and then veins and arteries began to snake down out of his neck. They grew longer and longer, quickly forming the outline of a body. His face was now pale white, but he bit his tongue again and then roared. Next, bones began to form inside of that body.

A recovery like this was one of indescribable pain, and an incredible price had to be paid…one that he could barely manage. Furthermore, he would experience a cultivation base loss that would be impossible to recover from easily.

However, all of that was better than dying.

"Naruto, I'm not going to let you get away with this!" he growled, his expression vicious. As his body reformed, he threw his head back and howled. Venomous rage appeared in his eyes. Just as Naruto had suspected, his Holy Requiem Skull had given him a glimpse, not of a way to survive the fist strike, but rather, another vision.

He had seen the Fourth Mountain, and Naruto, surrounded by a sea of blood and mountains of corpses. It was as if Naruto had traveled there amidst endless slaughter.

In the vision, he saw Xu Qing. She and Naruto were looking at each other, their gazes soft.

The vision not only caused him to feel jealous, it gave him the opportunity he needed.

"Faster, must go faster!

"I don't know exactly what type of relationship Xu Qing and Naruto have, but seeing how nervous he got, she's obviously his weak spot. As soon as I said her name, he just about went crazy. He's definitely on his way here to kill me!

"I have to recover so that I can flee!" He gritted his teeth hard as his body restored itself. Time passed. More than an hour went by, during which time he continued to pay a heavy price for the recovery process.

When his body finally reappeared, he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. This body was incredibly weak; he now possessed only about sixty percent of his original cultivation base.

This was actually the weakest he had ever been since joining the

Echelon. His face was ashen as he reached up and grabbed the World Seal from the statue. He then flew off of the National Aura Mountain, eyes glittering as he was surrounded by four figures, those followers of his whom he had brought with him to the Windswept Realm.

After a moment of hesitation, a look of determination could be seen in his eyes, and he said, "Activate the Stellar Alteration Grand Magic!"

His four followers didn't respond. However, their appearances gradually began to change until they all looked like Lin Cong. Even their auras seemed the same. Then, they sped off in four different directions. As for Lin Cong, he picked a different direction to flee in.

Almost in the same instant that Lin Cong's four followers sped off, incredible pressure suddenly weighed down on the Fourth Nation. The lands quaked and the air distorted; Lin Cong and his four followers all trembled.

"He's here! How could he be so fast!? This is impossible!" Lin Cong said, his face falling. He instantly unleashed a secret magic, dispersing his aura and fleeing at top speed.

Naruto's killing intent raged as he entered the Fourth Nation. He immediately sent his divine sense out and, in the blink of an eye, sensed the five auras. He frowned, then sped toward the nearest one.

Booms echoed out through the Fourth Nation. It only took the space of ten breaths for him to reach the source of one of Lin Cong's auras, and what he found was a cultivator who looked exactly like Lin Cong.

As soon as the cultivator saw him, his face fell, and he backed up. Naruto waved a finger to employ the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, causing the man to lurch to a stop.

Next, his entire world was overturned by Naruto's palm, which latched onto the top of his head.

"Soulsearch!" Naruto's voice was as cold as the wind in the middle of winter. When it blew past the cultivator's ears, the man's head filled with indescribable pain. He began to tremble, and then screamed.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1107

Chapter 1107: Goal: Number One in the Echelon!

The cultivator's face twisted, and screams of pain echoed out in all directions. Everyone who heard them was shocked to the core, and could scarcely even imagine how such pain could be possible. It was something almost beyond description. 1

At best, you could say it felt like a hand being shoved into your brain and rifling around violently. Blood sprayed from the cultivator's mouth, and he suddenly went as stiff as a board. He was dead.

Despite his death, his corpse still adhered to Naruto's hand, and did not fall to the ground.

After a few breaths of time, Naruto's eyes glittered.

"Lin Cong, huh…? So you turned your four followers into doppelgängers to try to pull a fast one on me!" He lowered his hand, and the cultivator's corpse dropped toward the ground. Before it could even land, Naruto had shot off into the distance.

He sent his divine sense out into a wide area, looking for Lin Cong's true form. However, Lin Cong's magical technique was strange, and Naruto could find no weaknesses in it. The remaining four figures sped rapidly off in different directions. Another strange thing was that their auras were all slowly fading. It wouldn't be too long before they would disappear from Naruto's divine sense altogether.

Lin Cong's original plan had been to ensure that there was no aura for Naruto to detect at all. If he did spend time searching, at most, he would find the four cultivators he had switched bodies with.

However, Lin Cong could never have predicted that Naruto would arrive in the Fourth Nation so quickly. Instead of crossing through the other nations, he had chosen to pass directly over the central temple.

That formed a kink in his plan!

However, everything could be resolved as long as enough time passed. Naruto gave a cold harrumph. He patted his bag of holding, and numerous blackpod imps flew out, which he sent screaming out in all directions. They were like black bolts of lighting, emanating murderous auras.

Under the control of Naruto's divine sense, they sped out in pursuit, whereas Naruto did nothing. He did no pursuing whatsoever. He simply hovered there in midair above the Fourth Nation, equidistant from all of the fleeing versions of Lin Cong.

His method for determining which one was Lin Cong was a simple one. He would just wait to see what happened when the blackpod imps tried to possess the four different figures. Success or failure didn't matter; either way he would get some clues.

Soon, he looked up.

"Gotcha!" he said, vanishing.

Meanwhile, near the border between the Fourth and Third Nations, Lin Cong had an extremely unsightly look on his face. He was surrounded by more than ten screaming blackpod imps, all of whom were trying to possess him.

"What are these things!?" Lin Cong had a powerful cultivation base, but right now, he was reduced to about sixty percent of his power. As for the blackpod imps, their possession technique was bizarre. If they failed, they would transform it into a piercing divine sense attack that Lin Cong was having a hard time dealing with. A sensation of deadly crisis welled up in him, and he began to tremble.

As the feeling of imminent death grew stronger, he began to shake even more violently.

"I'm NOT going to die here!" Filled with regret, he sent a mighty wind blowing out to drive away the seemingly unkillable blackpod imps. Then he gritted his teeth and, despite his weakened form, once again unleashed his Paragon magic!

The golden Holy Requiem Skull materialized in front of him, not as a way to attack the blackpod imps, but as a means of trying to find a way out of his current situation!

Lin Cong's face went pale as he realized there was no such way out.

"Impossible! Heaven never cuts off all paths! There's always hope in every situation!" Eyes gleaming with a vicious look, he bit the tip of his tongue, causing his body to wither rapidly. His hair even turned white.

He went all out, sacrificing even his longevity in an attempt to get his Paragon magic to reveal a means of escape.

Rumbling could be heard, and Lin Cong's body continued to wither, when finally, he found what he was looking for in the Holy Requiem Skull. After he saw it, he gaped in shock, then, laughing maniacally, viciously smacked his own chest. A huge blob of blood spurted out, which then splashed down onto the ground.

His laughter grew more and more intense as he spun around, a look of determination on his face. He then pushed his finger down onto his forehead, sending a tremor through his body. His eyes suddenly went blurry, but rapidly grew clear again. He glanced at the Holy Requiem Skull and realized that he was now missing some of the memories he had had before. Expression serious, he headed off into the distance.

Before too long, he was once again surrounded by blackpod imps. At the same time, a long beam of light appeared in the air not too far off, radiating killing intent.

"Lin Cong!" roared Naruto, his voice rumbling like thunder filled with Heavenly might, causing Lin Cong to shake. His divine sense was blessed with twenty percent of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm, transforming his voice into thunder from Heaven, and surrounding his body with a lake of lightning.

Lin Cong was nearly deafened by Naruto's voice. His mind spun, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. After reforming his body, he had only possessed sixty percent of his original cultivation base, making it very difficult to use his Paragon magic. In fact, wasting his longevity and life force the way he had just now caused his cultivation base to drop even further, until it was at only thirty percent of its original strength.

It didn't matter how strong he was before. With a cultivation base like that, he was like a candle flickering in the wind. Naruto's mere voice shook his heart and caused blood to spray out of his mouth. There was nothing he could possibly do to fight back.

All he could do was scream miserably, and look up with an unyielding expression.

He hated Han Qinglei, and hated the fact that he had greedily tried to snatch the Eighth Nation's World Seal. The end result had been complete ruin.

He also hated fate. The speed of Naruto's pursuit had ruined all of his preparations. All he had needed was another hour, and then he would have disappeared without a trace.

But now, everything had changed, and there was nothing he could do about it.

"The Heavens want to destroy me? Well, I'm not willing to die by your hand, Naruto!" Lin Cong began to laugh, a loud, shrill laughter. "You want to know about Xu Qing, well… come on!" he screamed as he hovered there in midair. "Soulsearch me if you want, scrape the information out of my brain! I don't care!

"I just want you give me an honorable death!" He was in the Echelon, and second in power only to the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain.

He was a blazing sun in the Fourth Mountain, and he was a proud person. Even if he died, he wanted to die with honor!

Naruto shot toward him like lightning. Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out and placed his hand onto the top of Lin Cong's head.

Naruto wouldn't believe anything that Lin Cong told him about Xu Qing; he needed to see it for himself!

He unleashed his Soulsearch magic, pouring his divine sense into Lin Cong's brain. Images from Lin Cong's life passed through his mind until finally, he saw Xu Qing!

She actually looked exactly the same as she had before entering reincarnation. She wasn't the most beautiful woman in the world, but her face was etched eternally onto Naruto's heart.

Lin Cong trembled from the indescribable pain. He clenched his teeth tightly, and didn't groan or moan at all. His eyes began to fade, and his body was shaking. However, his subconscious mind… demanded honor!

A moment later, Naruto lifted his hand away, and blood sprayed out of Lin Cong's mouth. His expression was blank, and his body was still trembling. His mind was gone, and apparently, the only thing he had left… was his honor.

Naruto said nothing. He now knew that when Lin Cong had said that

Xu Qing would die if he did, it had been a complete fabrication. Actually, Naruto had already come to the conclusion earlier that such a thing wasn't possible.

He took another look at Lin Cong, then pulled his hand back and tapped his forehead. A massive power poured through him, wiping out any life that was left. Lin Cong shuddered, and for a brief moment, his eyes became bright and lucid. Then he closed them… and died.

His corpse dropped down to the ground, but his bag of holding was snatched by Naruto. Inside was the Fourth Nation's World Seal.

"Qing'er…" he murmured, "so, you're a disciple of Ksitigarbha, on the Fourth Mountain….

"Just wait for me, Qing'er. Once I'm out of this Windswept Realm, I'm coming for you!" Then he turned and disappeared in a flash of light.

He left the Fourth Nation, passing back through the central temple region and entering the Ninth Nation. All of a sudden, a tremor ran through him, and he turned to look back at the Fourth Nation.

"Something's off! I killed the Echelon cultivator from the Fourth Mountain. According to the natural law of the Windswept Realm, shouldn't I be rewarded for breaking a previous record…?" Putting his thoughts aside of Xu Qing, he suddenly reviewed everything that had happened with Lin Cong. Finally, his eyes widened.

He then smacked his bag of holding and produced a promissory note. After looking at it carefully, he confirmed that it was Lin Cong's promissory note, and then he suddenly smiled.

"These people definitely deserve to be in the Echelon. Han Qinglei had his schemes, and Lin Cong his plots. It seems that truly killing them won't be easy.

"So, you're not dead, Lin Cong. However, you will have no chances to rise to prominence here in the Windswept Realm. You'll be forced to hide from me, not daring to even stick your head out!

"I may not be able to track you down and kill you, but I've slaughtered your heart. I've planted a shadow there, ensuring that I become your inner Devil!

"You're not the first, nor will you be the last. The Windswept Realm… is the location where I, Naruto, will rise to prominence in the Nine Mountains and Seas! I will rise to prominence in the Echelon!

"When I leave this place, I will do so as… the number one in the Echelon!" He did not return to the Fourth Nation to continue searching for Lin Cong. Lin Cong's life or death didn't concern him anymore. With the status Xu Qing currently had in the Fourth Mountain, she was not somebody that could easily be trifled with.

Naruto flashed through the air toward Mount Whiteseal. After all of his years practicing cultivation, it was only during these battles that he had gradually formed a unique, domineering style that was all his own!

I have to be honest about something. In the original Chinese, it actually says that the feeling is impossible to describe. However, the following sentence then provides a description. We cleverly inserted the word

"almost" to ensure that everything made sense… ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1108

Chapter 1108: Entering Allheaven Again!

Hidden beneath the domineering air, however, was something others could never detect… the con!

For example, Lin Cong's promissory note. Even Lin Cong knew nothing about that. He had unwittingly fallen for Naruto's scheme. That promissory note had come during their first battle, when Naruto utilized the Seven God Steps. When Lin Cong's attention had been fully preoccupied by the surging energy created by it, he secretly went about creating the promissory note.

He did it that way intentionally, just in case he didn't manage to kill Lin Cong, or if he escaped. That way, he wouldn't come out completely empty-handed. At the very least, he would have a promissory note. Then, the next time they met, he could loudly declare that Lin Cong owed him money!

He would never have imagined that his promissory note habit would end up providing proof that Lin Cong wasn't dead.

As for exactly why he wasn't dead, the answer came to him on the way back to Mount Whiteseal.

"Echelon cultivators can be killed twice without their soul being exterminated!" he murmured, thinking back to what Paragon Sea Dream had told him all those years ago. It was a special ability unique to the Echelon.

The only way for an Echelon cultivator to truly be exterminated, was to kill that person twice, and THEN… a third time. That last kill would be their final death. In turn, whoever killed them would be half a step into the Echelon.

The rest of that half step was to travel to the Ruins of Immortality in their Mountain and Sea, and find Paragon Sea Dream. Then they could get the other half of the mark, and truly become a new member of the Echelon.

As he sped through the air, Naruto reached up and touched the place on his forehead where the Echelon mark was concealed.

At about the same time that Naruto returned to the Ninth Nation, something happened back in the Fourth Nation. During Lin Cong's flight, he had spit up a glob of blood, which had long since soaked into the ground. Now, that patch of ground suddenly trembled, and a hand stretched up.

The hand was as flawless as white jade, like that of a newborn baby. It trembled, and the earth shook for a moment before exploding out as a figure stood up.

It was… Lin Cong!

His face was pale, but his cultivation base was different than it had been earlier. Apparently… it was completely restored to its original peak.

However, his body was trembling. After taking a few breaths, he roared:

"Naruto!" His face twisted with intense rage and hatred. "In the Fourth Mountain and Sea, in all the deadly situations I encountered, I never used up one of my lives! I never imagined that you would actually push me into a corner and kill me!

"The enmity between us is irreconcilable!" He gnashed his teeth, and he even thought about retaliating against Xu Qing after he got back to the Fourth Mountain, to use her to get revenge against Naruto. However, when he considered that Xu Qing was the Princess of the 49th Cavern, he realized that despite the fact that she was Naruto's weak spot, it was actually impossible for him to do anything to her.

The realization filled him with bitterness. He suddenly realized that, even though he was still alive, Naruto had become his inner Devil.

He stamped his foot down onto the ground, and then flew into the air toward the National Aura Mountain. There was no way to vent his overflowing hatred. Even if he felt that he couldn't exist under the same sky as Naruto, the next time they met, all he would do was flee. He did not dare to go up against him.

Currently, he was even wondering if Naruto knew that he wasn't dead.

Naturally, Naruto was completely aware of that fact. Currently, he was landing on Mount Whiteseal, where he sat down cross legged and flicked his sleeve to produce two tongues of flame.

These were none other than the World Seals from the Fourth Nation and the Eighth Nation.

The two flames flickered up into the hand of the statue, where they lined up with the Ninth Nation's World Seal. The three flames made the Essences and natural laws even more majestic.

Naruto took a deep breath. Not wasting any time, he focused on contemplation. He had long since realized that, after taking the World Seal of the Fourth Nation, he no longer possessed twenty percent of the Windswept Realm's Chakra flow, but rather, thirty percent.

As he contemplated enlightenment, time passed. The overall structure of the Windswept Realm changed due to the defeats of Lin Cong and Han Qinglei. The Fourth Nation and the Eighth Nation were routed, and were eliminated from the central battlefield.

The other six nations continued to fight their bloody battles. However, the Ninth Nation had risen to prominence in the war, causing the cultivators from the other nations to join forces against it in resistance. Before long, the intense fighting led to a chaotic battle situation.

Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu began switching off with other cultivators from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, so that there were some of them constantly fighting, almost as if they were unwilling to return from the battlefield.

It was as if they could find peace in the fighting, and would not be influenced by their desires.

Half a month flashed by. The speed with which he was gaining enlightenment of the three World Seals was rapidly increased because of the blessing of thirty percent of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm. By this point, he had gained enlightenment of nearly 500 Essences.

And he wasn't finished.

During the half month, the fighting in the central region changed as more Echelon cultivators gained enlightenment of their respective World Seals. The battles grew even more chaotic.

In order to snatch the World Seals from other nations, it was first necessary to weaken them, which could only be done by gaining an advantage in the central region. Under the control of the Echelon cultivators, the armies in the central region fought with increased intensity.

Occasionally, certain countries would suffer defeats, and the red beams of light coming from their pagodas would grow dim. At that point, other Echelon cultivators would enter that nation to begin fighting.

During the half month, fierce fighting went on in virtually all of the National Aura Mountains of the various nations. There were both victories and defeats, but through it all there were only two mountains that no one dared to enter!

One was the First Nation's Mountain of National Fate, which was controlled by the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain. No one dared to encroach on his territory.

The second nation was Naruto's Mount Whiteseal, in the Ninth Nation. Although all the other Echelon cultivators were aware of how many World Seals he had, after his battle with Han Qinglei, and then his defeat of Lin Cong, he had settled his position. None of the other Echelon cultivators were confident enough to take him on.

It was in this fashion that seven more days passed. Suddenly, a boundless light rose up from Mount Whiteseal, within which Naruto opened his eyes. He slowly stood up and made a grasping motion with his right hand, causing the three flames to fly over into his palm, where they vanished.

Three World Seals, 900 great Daos. 900 Essences. All of that information was burned into his heart. Although he wasn't able to actually wield any of them, the sense of accomplishment he felt caused his aura to be completely different than before.

He looked more elegant than before, and as he stood there, it seemed as if he were connected with the whole world. The light began to fade away, and he closed his eyes. When he opened them again moments later, he suddenly produced his second Nirvana Fruit. His eyes glittered as he pushed the fruit into his forehead.

In the instant the Nirvana Fruit contacted his forehead, a familiar sensation filled him. A massive tempestuous roar filled his mind, causing him to feel as though his head were about to explode.

He began to grow taller. 15 meters. 24 meters. 30 meters. 39 meters….

His fleshly body was ripped and torn, and intense pain rushed through him that was nothing like the last time he had temporarily absorbed the second Nirvana Fruit. This time, his fleshly body was not in the Immortal Realm, but rather, in the Ancient Realm!

His Ancient Realm fleshly body rumbled as it grew. Of his nine Soul Lamps, two had previously been lit. Now, the third and fourth began to burn, and a tiny spark appeared in the fifth.

His fleshly body power was increasing explosively!

His heart began to pound loudly, and then, thunder began to boom around him, as if it were cheering him on!

A power more terrifying than his Ancient Realm fleshly body began to flourish within him.

Soon, he was 60 meters tall, and he looked like a giant, his head raised, surging energy giving rise to madly whipping winds.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

He trembled as a tempest raged inside of him, tearing him apart. It was almost as if his Chakra passageways were going to be completely destroyed.

The Nirvana Fruit was like a key that unlocked terrifying power within his blood. Once again, shocking fluctuations began to flow through his veins!

Naruto could clearly sense that his 123 Immortal meridians were now ripping apart and then forming back together into a single Immortal meridian!

Although it was only one Immortal meridian, it formed something like a painting, a painting which showed the outline of a perfect circle!

His cultivation base rose up rapidly, and his every breath seemed to cause peals of thunder to echo out as he sucked in all of the energy of Heaven and Earth that existed in the area.

Power like this was something that far exceeded the Immortal Emperor Realm.

The mountain shook, and the lands quaked. All of the living things in the Ninth Nation could suddenly sense the shocking and domineering power that now existed on Mount Whiteseal.

The people who could sense it most clearly were the disciples of the various sects in the Ninth Nation, especially Jian Daozi. His face fell as he and all the other cultivators of the Ninth Nation looked off into the distance with expressions of shock.

As of this moment, Naruto was surrounded by the color azure.

Azure represented the Allheaven! The Allheaven represented the infinite!

Radiant azure light radiated off of Naruto as he threw his head back and roared. The sky shook, and massive winds blew.

This time, Naruto was able to endure for twenty breaths of time before his body trembled, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He staggered backward as the Nirvana Fruit emerged and fell down into his hand.

Although he now looked quite disheveled, his eyes gleamed with obsession and excitement.

"Gaining enlightenment of the Essences really will help me absorb the second Nirvana Fruit!

"I now understand 900 Essences, which lets me stay in that terrifying state for twenty breaths of time, which is much longer than before. According to my calculations, if I can gain enlightenment of 3,000

Essences, then I should be able to… permanently remain in the Allheaven Immortal Realm!" This hope caused him to throw his head back and laugh loudly.

"Besides, the first time I tried to absorb my second Nirvana Fruit, it wasted much of the energy in my body, so much so that I couldn't even stand up. But now… it only took thirty percent of my energy!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1109

Chapter 1109: The Echelon War Truly Begins!

As the Nirvana Fruit sank down, the shield surrounding Mount Whiteseal faded away, but the light shining off of Naruto grew stronger. He took a deep breath and then stepped off of the mountain and into the air.

The wind battered him, and although his hair whipped about, not a bit of his aura could be blown away. It was as if the energy belonging to Naruto couldn't be touched at all by the wind, but rather, influenced the entire world around him.

"I've already gained complete enlightenment of three World Seals. If I want to completely absorb the Nirvana Fruit… I'll need more sealing marks!" Naruto's energy rocketed up, and he overflowed with the desire to fight. His eyes flashed like lightning as he shot off into the distance.

As he left the Ninth Nation, his goal was to slaughter his way into other nations… to defeat their Echelon cultivators and steal their sealing marks!

He would take advantage of this opportunity in the Windswept Realm to seize… his greatest available good fortune, which was to become an…

Allheaven Immortal!

He would become number one in the Echelon!

BOOM!

He turned into a streak of bright light that sped through the sky for less time than it takes half an incense stick to burn. Then, he suddenly stopped and looked down toward the ground.

He was still in the Ninth Nation, and far below, he had just noticed a vein of Immortal jade deep under the ground. The human cultivator from the Mountain and Sea Realm was still there, and although he couldn't see Naruto, Naruto could see him.

The man appeared to be mired in madness, completely lost. When Naruto saw the Immortal jade, a feeling of desire suddenly rose up in his heart, but he immediately quashed it.

"I love money, but I'm my own master. I'll never let material things control me!" he said coolly. As he crushed the invisible fetters, a shattering sound seemed to echo about in his mind. He turned away and ignored everything down below as he sped off into the distance.

In the final seven days in which Naruto had gained enlightenment of the World Seal, the Echelon cultivators in other parts of the Windswept Realm were all thrown into a state of chaos by the shocking events which occurred.

The First Nation's Echelon cultivator attacked the Second Nation, completely defeating the Echelon cultivator there. Only by sacrificing one of his lives was he able to flee. Of course, the Second Nation's World Seal was then completely undefended, and was taken away by the First Nation's Echelon cultivator, who completely leveled the entire National Aura Mountain to get to it.

After that, the Echelon cultivators from the Fifth and Sixth Nations fought each other. The shocking battle shook Heaven and Earth, and resulted in both sides sustaining heavy injuries. In a critical moment, the First Nation's Echelon cultivator appeared. He ignored the Third Nation's mountain, passing directly through to the two fighting Echelon cultivators, whom he took on himself.

That battle was shocking to the extreme, and in the end, the entire Fifth Nation was destroyed. Their National Aura Mountain toppled, and in the end, both Echelon cultivators from the Fifth and Sixth Nations were defeated, and the Fifth Nation's World Seal was taken.

No one knew whether or not the Fifth Nation's Echelon cultivator was killed, but in either case, nobody could find him after the battle. The Sixth Nation's Echelon cultivator returned to his National Aura Mountain, severely injured.

After these things happened, the First Nation's Echelon cultivator seemed to be invincible, capable of sweeping over all of Heaven and Earth, leaving everyone astonished.

Of the Windswept Realm's nine World Seals, the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain and Naruto each had three. The others remained in the Third, Sixth and Seventh Nations respectively.

The war had spread out from the central region to the Echelon members themselves. It was about that time that Naruto reached the Eighth Nation.

He didn't pause for even a moment, speeding through the air like a meteor, passing over the Eighth Nation as he headed toward the Seventh Nation. His aura surged mightily, growing ever-stronger.

Before long, he reached the Seventh Nation, and when he entered it, intense pressure roiled out from its National Aura Mountain.

The source was none other than the Echelon cultivator of the Seventh

Nation, Yuwen Jian, the young man with the incredibly murderous aura. He currently stood on the mountain peak, hand curled around the haft of a long spear, looking up into the sky with a gleam of anticipation in his eyes. 1

"It's not my custom to sit around waiting for people to come fight me," he said coolly. He took a step forward, abandoning the defenses of the National Aura Mountain as he flew directly in Naruto's direction.

The entire Seventh Nation trembled as Naruto and Yuwen Jian sped toward each other through the sky!

When Naruto caught sight of Yuwen Jian, he didn't slow down in the least bit. Instead, he sped up and prepared to attack.

When Yuwen Jian saw Naruto, he let out a cold snort. His murderous aura exploded to the sky, and just like Naruto, he didn't hold back, but instead, pushed himself faster.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them collided in midair above the Seventh Nation.

A huge boom rang out, and everything shook. A massive fissure ripped open in the sky between them, and a huge shockwave exploded out.

"Naruto!" cried Yuwen Jian, flying backward. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, after which he threw his head back and laughed. His entire person exploded with the desire to do battle. He hefted his long spear, which thrummed as countless slain souls suddenly appeared, looking incredibly ferocious.

"Listen up, fool, I'm Yuwen Jian, Echelon cultivator from the Seventh Mountain! Naruto, do you dare to make a bet with me? If you win, I won't just hand over the Seventh Nation's World Seal, but I'll trade it with you! The prerequisite is that you qualify to fight me! If you lose, then you have to give one of your three World Seals to me!" Yuwen Jian's voice echoed about, and he took a step forward, a domineering air swirling around him continuously.

Naruto also began to stride forward, eyes glittering. From their initial contact moments ago, Naruto could instantly tell that Yuwen Jian's fleshly body was at roughly the same level as his own.

"A body cultivator!" he thought, his eyes gleaming brightly. He had an Ancient Realm fleshly body, yet didn't come close to being an authentic body cultivator. In fact, the only true body cultivator he had ever met was the burly Demonic cultivator. However, that man was an amateur, and couldn't be considered truly powerful in terms of body cultivation.

But now… Naruto could sense that Yuwen Jian was a true body cultivator!

Looking him over, he could see a faintly red glow coming off of Yuwen Jian. "He must have bathed in the blood of a God!" he thought.

"Well, do you dare?" asked Yuwen Jian, his voice booming. He swept his spear out in front of him, causing a massive rumbling sound to ring out. The air vibrated, and even seemed to be on the verge of shattering, as a massive energy surged off of Yuwen Jian,

He stood there like a celestial warrior, bursting with the mad desire to fight.

"I could fart better proposals than that bet of yours," Naruto said coolly. "But as for your challenge to a duel… how could I not accept!?" He clenched his right hand into a fist and then unleashed a punch.

His fist and Yuwen Jian's spear almost instantly slammed into each other, and an ear-splitting boom rang out. The flexible spear absorbed the backlash and was deflected away, and Yuwen Jian fell back again. Blood poured out of his mouth, and when he looked up, his expression was even more maddened than before. He tossed the spear aside, licked the blood off of his lips, and stared at Naruto with bloodshot eyes.

"That runt Han Qinglei wasn't a match for you, and you also defeated the sissypants Lin Cong. You're strong, Naruto. But… I'm even stronger!

"Did you really think that Lin Cong was actually the second most powerful after the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, DaoHeaven?" 2

"That list was made thirty years ago, and besides, being in the Echelon requires finding your own correct path. The difference in power between us members was once vast. Back then, I might not have been a match for Lin Cong. But now… I could defeat him easily!

"Even Dao-Heaven's title of number one most powerful Echelon cultivator… is just that, a title! He isn't necessarily the most powerful!" Yuwen Jian laughed, and his desire to do battle surged. He then charged toward Naruto in a blur, unleashing a vicious palm strike.

As the palm ripped through the air, sonic booms echoed out. The air around Naruto distorted, as if power from all directions were being sucked in by Yuwen Jian's palm strike.

Naruto didn't flinch back. He strode forward, unleashing the Seven God Steps. However, in that moment, Yuwen Jian smiled ferociously, threw his head back and roared.

"Sealing Magic!" he cried, causing the sky to tremble. The power of a sealing mark descended not toward Naruto, but the area around him.

It transformed into a cage, with Naruto and Yuwen Jian being locked inside. However, because of the cage, Naruto was unable to utilize the Seven God Steps to borrow energy from the surroundings.

"I was ready for that Daoist magic!" laughed Yuwen Jian, advancing forward again.

He roared, and his body suddenly began to grow larger. In the blink of an eye, he was fully twice as large as before, and from the look of it, half of the power of his fleshly body was now converged in his right arm. He was clearly vastly different than moments ago, and as he swung his right arm, shocking power erupted.

His Chakra and blood rumbled, and anyone who was sensitive to auras, even if they were some distance away, would be able to sense the towering bloody glow that rose off of him. It was like a bright lamp in the middle of the night!

"DIE!" he roared as his fist rocketed out with power seemingly capable of shaking Heaven and Earth!

Naruto's face was calm. Freeing himself from the cage wouldn't be difficult. However, now that he had encountered a true body cultivator like Yuwen Jian, his desire to fight boiled hotter than ever.

As Yuwen Jian closed in, Naruto clenched his hand into a fist and leaped forward. Instantly, an aura was unleashed that seemed capable of destroying the Heavens, and exterminating all life.

That power of extermination converged in Naruto's fist, creating a true… power of Life-Extermination!

The Life-Extermination Fist!

The air around them shattered as two streaks of light could be seen speeding through the air toward each other. Then, Naruto's punch collided with the power of Yuwen Jian's fleshly body, and a huge boom echoed out.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Heaven was rent and the Earth collapsed. Everything quaked violently.

Vibrations ran through Naruto as he fell back several dozen paces. The shocking power from body cultivator Yuwen Jian left him shaken and visibly moved. And yet, his desire to fight grew stronger.

Blood sprayed out of Yuwen Jian's mouth as he staggered backward several hundred meters. When he looked up, an invincible will to fight could be seen in his eyes. He threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Exhilarating! Alright Naruto, let's see if you can handle another punch. If you survive, then I'll happily loan you my World Seal to contemplate!"

Yuwen Jian's name in Chinese is 宇文坚 yǔwén jiān. Yuwen is an uncommon two-character surname. Jian means "strong" or "unyielding ↩ Unfortunately, this is a point where because of the nature of Chinese, a minor spoiler is necessitated. Essentially, "Dao-Heaven" is a Daoist name, not this guy's actual name. However, in Chinese, you wouldn't necessarily know that. The two characters are 道天, which are "Dao" and "Heaven" respectively. However, "Dao" could also be a surname, so at first sight you wouldn't know it was a Daoist name ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1110

Chapter 1110: What Are You Doing!?

As Yuwen Jian's laughter rang out in the air, he suddenly took a deep breath, and then a sound like that of a windstorm exploded up around him.

The air in the area collapsed, as if his single breath was sucking in all of the energy of Heaven and Earth around him to merge into his body.

The result was that his body grew rapidly until he was over 18 meters tall!

"Six Times Nine God Body, First Transformation!" Yuwen Jian roared as his body then explosively grew from 18 meters to a shocking 27 meters tall. He looked like a giant, hovering there in midair, exuding shocking pressure. 1

He lifted his right hand up and clenched it into a fist, which he held out toward Naruto. It was a simple motion, but the cracking sounds which rang out as a result caused the air to shatter. He let out another roar, and he looked like a mountain as he then charged toward Naruto.

He was enormous, but he moved with unbelievable speed. In the blink of an eye he was in front of Naruto, his enormous fist punching out with terrifying, exterminating power.

Naruto's eyes glowed with a strange light. His blood surged through his veins, and his desire to fight was strong as Yuwen Jian's fist closed in. He took a deep breath, and although his energy didn't surge in the same way Yuwen Jian's had, but his aura still shot up madly with that single breath.

A madness rose up, a madness like that of Bedevilment. It was a determination like nothing else, something that disregarded everything, even the shattering of all bones, in the pursuit of cutting out a swath of blood.

That entire will was focused into a single punch that rumbled through the air. This was Naruto's second body cultivator fist strike.

The Self-Immolation Fist! Also known as… the Bedevilment Fist!

A huge boom filled the air as Naruto and Yuwen Jian slammed into each other. The lands trembled, mountains collapsed, and the sky flashed. Naruto let out a muffled grunt and staggered backward about twenty paces. When he looked up, he saw Yuwen Jian flying through the air like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying from his mouth. Naruto's single punch had sent him spinning, and it looked like his body was on the verge of being shredded to pieces.

"Second transformation!

"Third transformation!

"Fourth transformation!" Yuwen Jian's voice boomed out as he fell back, and his body continued to grow larger until he was 108 meters tall. Now he really was a giant, with explosive energy. Roaring, he finally came to a stop, and then braced himself and prepared to fight back against Naruto's Bedevilment Fist. As he strode forward, he said, "Fifth transformation!"

Another roar could be heard as he grew even taller. By the time Naruto reached him, he was 135 meters tall. From a distance, Naruto looked completely insignificant.

However, that seemingly insignificant frame contained a power that caused even Yuwen Jian's fleshly body to tremble.

Naruto's eyes were as cold as ice. Yuwen Jian had said his punch from moments ago would be his last one, but here he was attacking again. Naruto was losing patience. Suddenly, his fist opened up into a palm. Such a motion should have caused a drop in his momentum, but instead, shocking ripples spread out.

It was as if his palm had fused with world to become the will of Heaven!

As of this moment, outside of the sealed cage area, a massive pressure seemed to be weighing down, an awakening aura that pierced through the seal and settled onto Naruto.

His open palm then slowly clenched back into a fist, causing the aura to explode out like the will of Heaven, unleashing an intense, indescribable killing intent!

"God Slaying!" Naruto said coolly.

However, in the moment that he spoke, the attacking Yuwen Jian suddenly shivered as he felt a sensation of unprecedented deadly crisis well up inside of him. It was indescribably intense, and he had the premonition that if he went through with his attack, he would end up dead!

"Dammit! How can he be so strong!? He must have been holding back his strength when he was fighting with Lin Cong!" Yuwen Jian's face fell, and his surging energy suddenly faded away. He instantly backed up, shrinking down to his normal size. Then, his face extremely serious, he angrily said, "Brother Naruto, what are you doing! Well? What do you think you're doing!? Didn't we have an agreement? We were just comparing fighting tips, right? I can't believe you're using lethal attacks!?

"As brothers, this really pains me! We might have just met each other, but we became friends at first sight! There's no need try to kill each other! You qualify to exchange World Seals with me! Hahaha! Brother, I already said that last fist strike was my last one, and I always keep my word." Yuwen Jian didn't seem to feel the least bit uncomfortable or embarrassed to switch from being arrogant and condescending to calling Naruto brother. His expression was one of complete sincerity, just as a body cultivator should be; he exuded an air of complete honesty and forthrightness.

"About trading for the World Seal, Brother Naruto, why don't we go to the Seventh Nation's National Aura Mountain together? Trading for the World Seal means that we won't have to damage our relationship. Plus, you can gain enlightenment of further essences. What possible downside could there be?"

A strange expression appeared on Naruto's face, and he cleared his throat as he relaxed his fist.

"That would be for the best."

"Please, follow me!" Yuwen Jian gave an inward sigh of relief, then laughed heartily as he led the way. He and Naruto transformed into two beams of bright light that shot toward the Seventh Nation's National Aura Mountain. Before long, they arrived, and since Naruto had been invited by Yuwen Jian, the National Aura Mountain's defenses did not target him.

Once they arrived at the statue, Yuwen Jian made a grasping motion, causing the flame of the World Seal to float over and hover atop his palm.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he extended his hand in a similar fashion, causing a World Seal flame to appear.

The two of them stared at each other warily for a moment before waving hands and exchanging the two flames.

Yuwen Jian smiled, then nodded and sat down cross-legged. He didn't immediately begin to contemplate enlightenment, but rather, looked at

Naruto and waited for him to begin. After all, once the process started, there was no way to suddenly stop it. If one person started without the other, neither would feel comfortable about the situation.

Furthermore, Yuwen Jian wasn't willing to just hand over the Seventh Nation's World Seal permanently.

After a moment of thought, Naruto waved his left hand, causing blackpod imps to spread out around the area and act as Dharma Protectors. Then he sat down and looked at the flame in his hand.

Yuwen Jian took a deep breath, causing bright lights to begin to swirl around him, which transformed into a protective shield. They exchanged a final glance, and without saying anything else, simultaneously sank into contemplation.

Immediately, tremors ran through their bodies. Remaining ever vigilant against each other, both began to focus on Essences and natural law.

Time passed by. Three days later, they had both reached a critical juncture in their contemplation. Although Yuwen Jian had not previously received a blessing of Chakra flow from the Windswept Realm like Naruto had, this was his home turf, and therefore, his process of enlightenment went quickly.

Conversely, Naruto was not on his native Mount Whiteseal, but instead on the Seventh Nation's National Aura Mountain. That should have made his speed of enlightenment much slower, but he had the benefit of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm. Therefore, although his speed was slightly slower, it was a speed that he could accept, putting him just slightly ahead of Yuwen Jian.

However, on the fourth day, just when Naruto was on the verge of completion, the pressure in the Seventh Nation increased dramatically, and rumbling sounds filled the air.

Yuwen Jian's eyes snapped open, and a grim look appeared on his face.

"Someone's coming!" he growled. Being in the midst of contemplating enlightenment, however, there was very little he could do. He looked over at Naruto, who had also opened his eyes, and was frowning as he looked off into the distance.

Not too much time passed before three beams of light appeared, speeding through the air. In the lead position was a young man with half-black, half-white hair. He wasn't just handsome, he was beautiful, and had a glittering Echelon mark on his forehead.

He was followed by two other cultivators, a man and a woman. Both appeared to be young, but they emanated terrifying cultivation base auras. They were in the Ancient Realm, with five extinguished Soul Lamps each. Furthermore, the feeling they gave off was not that of ordinary Ancient Realm cultivation bases. They seemed more powerful, indicating that these were Chosen.

"Dao-Heaven's number one follower, the eleventh Echelon cultivator, Hai Dongqing!" 2 Yuwen Jian's face flickered, and his eyes went wide.

"Follower? Hai Dongqing?" Naruto asked.

"Hai Dongqing used to be like me, an Echelon cultivator from the Seventh Mountain. However, after he was defeated by Dao-Heaven, he inexplicably joined his entourage. As an Echelon cultivator, it's a complete disgrace to become the follower of some other person!" Yuwen Jian gritted his teeth and stared at the three incoming cultivators. "Dammit, shouldn't Dao-Heaven's goal be the Third and Sixth Nations? I can't believe he's ignoring them and focusing here!" Yuwen Jian's face flickered, and he cursed inwardly. His contemplation of enlightenment was still incomplete, making it impossible for him to fight.

"Do you have a grudge with Hai Dongqing?" Naruto asked suddenly.

Yuwen Jian's face darkened further, and he nodded. "I killed him once, years ago."

Considering that they were both Echelon cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, there was little wonder that they had a hard time maintaining a good relationship, and had ended up fighting to the death.

Naruto sat there quietly for a moment while Yuwen Jian ground his teeth. Although Yuwen Jian couldn't attack personally, he could summon help. He smacked his hand down onto the ground, and rumbling sounds echoed out through the Seventh Nation. Shockingly, numerous holes suddenly appeared all over his body, which then exploded, revealing a group of figures.

They were puppets, dozens of them, with powerful cultivation bases. Naruto's eyes widened slightly, but given that Yuwen Jian was also in the Echelon, it was only natural that he would have some tricks that he wouldn't reveal without good cause.

Almost as soon as the puppets appeared, Hai Dongqing began to descend from above, his hair floating around him, his body radiating shocking energy.

"So, we meet again, Yuwen Jian!" Hatred gleamed in Hai Dongqing's eyes. His voice was soft and effeminate as he floated over. His gaze then shifted to Naruto.

"Naruto? I never imagined I would find you here! Oh well, it doesn't matter. I guess today I'll get to take four World Seals for Elder Brother Dao-Heaven!"

Yuwen Jian's eyes went wide, and he started cursing loudly: " _Elder_

 _Brother_ Dao-Heaven!? What bullshit! You're nothing more than DaoHeaven's lackey, you fool! How shameless do you have to be to join someone else's entourage, huh Hai Dongqing?"

Yuwen Jian's "God Body" increases his height by multiples of "zhang" with each transformation. It starts with 6 "zhang" or 18 meters, and then increases by multiples of 9 after that ↩ Hai Dongqing's name in Chinese is 海东青 hǎi dōng qīng . Hai means "sea" but can also be a surname. Dong means "east." Qing is a color, usually green, blue, cyan, or azure, but sometimes black ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1111

Chapter 1111: Fatality!

"Shut the hell up!" roared Hai Dongqing, looking extremely irritated. As an Echelon cultivator, the fact that he had ended up becoming DaoHeaven's follower was actually a very painful matter to him. Few people would ever dare to bring up the matter in his presence, not unless there was a blood feud between them. Even other Echelon cultivators wouldn't provoke him in such a way.

Only Yuwen Jian dared to do so. Both of them started out in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and had numerous conflicts going back throughout the years. They had long since reached the point where neither could tolerate the other being alive. The venomous words uttered just now by Yuwen Jian caused Hai Dongqing to give a cold harrumph and then step forward. The wave of his hand instantly caused an illusory sword to shoot forward.

It was an azure-colored sword that emanating blinding sword light. As soon as it appeared, it split apart into 100,000 separate swords, which soared through the air toward Yuwen Jian on the National Aura Mountain.

"Why the hell should I shut up, fool?" Yuwen Jian cursed. "You're DaoHeaven's lackey! What, you're afraid of people saying it out loud? I won't shut up, and furthermore, I'll say it again. You're a lackey, a dog! Come on, dog, try to bite me!" He stuck his chin up into the air as if to say, what are you gonna do about it?

Rumbling filled the air as the 100,000 swords slashed toward the mountain, slamming into the protective shield and causing it to distort. At the same time, the two cultivators off to the side laughed coldly, waving their hands to cause two streams of Chakra to swirl out, one black and one white. They merged together in midair to form a gigantic spike, which stabbed down toward the mountain.

Booms rang out as the shield twisted. However, Yuwen Jian's curses continued to echo through the air.

"Come on, bite me, fool!" he raged. "Motherfudging Hai Dongqing, you bitch slut! If you have the skill, come and bite me! If you dare to come at me, then I'll screw you!"

Naruto remained off to the side, looking on with a strange expression. He suddenly realized that during their fight, Yuwen Jian had actually spoken to him quite respectfully. They hadn't been fighting to the death, but had they been, Naruto had the feeling that the harshness of Yuwen Jian's cursing could only be matched by the parrot.

Outside the shield, Hai Dongqing looked more furious than ever. Staring coldly at Yuwen Jian, he waved his hand, causing the number of illusory swords spinning around him to increase to 500,000, radiating brilliant light as they slammed into the shield.

The shield was weakening, and obviously these three cultivators were fully prepared to fight, even in the battles near the central temple.

"Slut! Charlatan!" roared Yuwen Jian. "You don't have any balls at all, you fruitcake! Why don't you use the same skills you use when you service Dao-Heaven! Come on!

"Hai Dongqing, considering we're both from the Seventh Mountain, you can tell me the truth, right? Between you and Dao-Heaven, who gives it and who takes it? I'm really curious!" As Yuwen Jian let off a constant stream of curses, he took moments here and there to lower his voice and speak to Naruto.

"Whenever I see this slut I can't help but curse him. Sorry for getting you involved in this, brother. If your enlightenment comes quickly, then get out of here before you get killed. Just forget about me. After all, if you stick around and I get killed, then your death won't come too long after.

"But… we might stand a better chance if we stand together. AND we'll probably die if we split up!

"Plus, if you leave, then you won't be able to take this World Seal with you. Without someone to distract them, you'd never get away.

"Besides, since you have the Seventh Nation's World Seal, if you leave with it, they'll definitely chase you down."

"Anything else you want to say?" Naruto said coldly.

Yuwen Jian cleared his throat. He turned to let out another string of curses at Hai Dongqing, then turned back and smiled wryly at Naruto.

"Of course there's more, but there's not enough time to explain it clearly. Anyway, go ahead and leave, brother! I'll hold them off for as long as I can!"

Even as he spoke, a huge crack opened up in the shield. Tearing sounds could be heard as the rip expanded, causing the entire shield to ripple. Clearly, it would only be able to hold out for a little bit longer. Hai Dongqing's bone-deep hatred for Yuwen Jian caused him to attack with increased fervor.

The male and female cultivator had profound cultivation bases. Although they weren't in the Echelon, and the feeling they gave off couldn't compare exactly, it was similar. They made another attack, causing two huge spikes to stab down toward the shield.

Murderous gleams could be seen in their eyes. They weren't here to interfere with the matter between Yuwen Jian and Hai Dongqing. They were here for Naruto, and would surely receive an incredible reward if they killed him.

The man and the woman were both staring at him with clear killing intent, and even a gleam of avarice. They obviously wanted to take advantage of his inability to attack… to cut him down.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly rose to his feet. He clenched his right hand into a fist, causing the Seventh Nation's World Seal to fuse into his hand.

Next, he performed an incantation gesture, then waved his finger toward the shield. Immediately, numerous mountain ranges appeared outside, which smashed down toward Hai Dongqing and the other two cultivators.

"Finished with your enlightenment?" Yuwen Jian asked, eyes glittering brightly.

Naruto snorted coldly. Ignoring Yuwen Jian completely, he shot up into the air toward the shield. As he appeared outside, he waved his hand, summoning the Paragon Bridge.

As the Paragon Bridge descended, Hai Dongqing's face flickered. He quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing a sword to appear that radiated an ancient aura.

The sword was broken, with only a finger-length segment of the tip remaining. However, it radiated a frigid aura that caused a huge wind to whip up as soon as it appeared. At the same time, the aura of a Paragon spread out.

This was Hai Dongqing's Paragon magic. With a roar, he shoved both hands out in front of him, causing the broken sword tip to fly toward the Paragon Bridge.

As soon as these two grand Paragon magics appeared, Naruto extended his right hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. His eyes glittered, and electricity danced around him. Suddenly, he switched places with the female cultivator.

In the blink of an eye, and before anyone could react, Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and then waved his hand toward the male cultivator.

The Essence of Divine Flame erupted out explosively, causing the man's face to fall. He tried to retreat, but before he could get very far, Naruto transformed into a golden roc, attacking in unison with the flames to slash violently at the man's chest.

Flames engulfed the man, and he screamed miserably. At the same time, brilliant light flickered around him, and he performing an incantation gesture, causing a suit of armor to cover him. Although it provided some bit of protection, the Divine Flame still bored in, inflicting intense pain. He gritted his teeth, forcing his mind into clarity, then began to fall back. However, how could Naruto possibly let him flee? The golden roc flickered as he returned to human form, then clenched his right hand into a fist and unleashed the Bedevilment Fist.

A boom rang out as he struck the man's chest. The armor exploded, and blood sprayed out. A look of shock covered the man's ashen face; he quickly crushed a pearl between his teeth, and as Naruto's second punch closed in, his body turned illusory, and the fist struck nothing but air.

The man fell back anxiously, screaming,

"Save me!"

That pearl was a life-saving magical item, something he hadn't used for a very long time, and normally kept concealed inside of his tongue. However, it only took a few moments of battle with Naruto before he was forced to unleash its power.

Everything that was happening takes some time to describe, but in truth, from the time Naruto unleashed the Paragon Bridge to the moment he attacked the man, only enough time passed for a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. It was so quick that no one had any time to react.

Hai Dongqing unleashed his Paragon magic a bit too slowly, making it difficult to come to the man's aid. As for the woman, she was now quite some distance away. She was about to use a minor teleportation, but apparently Naruto had predicted that would happen. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger at the woman.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex transformed into invisible ripples that caused a tremor to run through the woman; she was now incapable of teleporting, or of doing anything else to interfere.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. Without speaking a word, he shot toward the man like lightning. With the wave of his hand, 123

Immortal meridians exploded with power, and 33 Heavens descended. They transformed into the paw of a beast, which slashed at the retreating cultivator.

A boom could be heard, and the man let out a miserable shriek. His chest burst into a cloud of blood and gore, and a look of complete and utter panic filled his face, as if he could sense death closing in on him. How could he ever have imagined that he would collapse like a brittle branch under the attacks of his opponent, without even the chance to fight back?

He couldn't help but think back to the fight between Naruto and Lin Cong, and now he knew how Lin Cong felt. He was denied any chance to do anything, and only continued to descend into further danger.

Hai Dongqing was in a rage. His body flashed as he performing an incantation gesture, causing 1,000,000 streams of sword Chakra to burst out, slashing toward Naruto to block his path to the male cultivator.

The woman's face was filled with a murderous look, and she looked incredibly anxious. She and the man were beloved partners, so at the moment, her heart was tearing apart. She even burned her life force to extricate herself from the Eighth Hex. Blood sprayed from her mouth as she charged toward Naruto.

"Stay your hand!" she screamed shrilly.

The man, who had just been on the receiving end of a series of successful attacks on the part of Naruto, gritted his teeth and fell back again. As long as he could hold off long enough for his partner to arrive, he would be saved. Only a few breaths of time would be sufficient.

However, it was in this moment that Naruto suddenly burst into action. He took a few steps, and his energy surged dramatically. The air around him distorted, causing Hai Dongqing and the female cultivator's minds to reel.

Heavy injuries were instantly inflicted upon the male cultivator. He let out a bloodcurdling scream as Naruto closed in and unleashed another fist strike onto his chest.

The man's body instantly exploded into pieces. However, he wasn't dead yet. His Immortal soul shot out intact, and quickly made to flee. However, Naruto let out a harrumph.

The sound contained the power of his Dao Divinity Scripture, an intense divine sense attack that caused the man's Immortal soul to tremble. In the same moment, Naruto's right hand made a grasping motion, and the bone-tip spear appeared, which he then hurled toward the Immortal soul. Before even waiting to see the result, Naruto turned and let out a punch toward the shrieking female cultivator.

Booms echoed out as blow landed. Blood sprayed out of the woman's mouth, and she was sent tumbling backward. The shockwave from the impact spread out and slammed into the incoming beams of sword Chakra from Hai Dongqing, causing them to stall in midair.

It was in that moment that the bone-tip spear stabbed into the forehead of the Immortal soul. It trembled, and a look of disbelief appeared on its face as the soul shattered into pieces, completely destroyed!

"NO!" screamed the woman, trembling, her eyes filling with a look of disbelief and madness.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1112

Chapter 1112: Goodwill!

The actual time it took all of these things to happen was only ten breaths!

Ten breaths of time earlier, Naruto had emerged from within the shield. Ten breaths of time later, one enemy was already dead!

That was a true fatality! Simultaneously taking on three people and killing one of them almost instantly!

It was quick and efficient, without the slightest bit of sloppiness to it. Naruto had anticipated every move up to the killing blow precisely and accurately. Not only did it show how ruthless Naruto was, and how rapidly he took control of the situation, the fact that he had used so many divine abilities in unison… left all onlookers shocked at the level of his battle prowess.

Yuwen Jian's eyes widened, and he took a deep breath. He had known before that Naruto was strong, but he had never imagined that he could actually be… this strong. He asked himself if he could kill that male cultivator in only ten breaths of time, and realized that it would have been difficult. And that was without taking into account the two people trying to interfere.

However, Naruto had accomplished it all as smoothly as flowing water. Then, he spun around and attacked the female cultivator, borrowing her power to also knock aside the incoming sword Chakra at the same time, even utilizing it to increase his speed.

"I can't believe it…. He's not retreating, he's attacking!" When Yuwen Jian saw what was happening, his mind spun. All of a sudden, he realized that the most shocking and terrifying thing about Naruto wasn't his power, but rather, his fighting style and domineering air.

Virtually anyone else in his position would take advantage of the moment to flee, to get a bit of distance from the opponent before resuming the fight. Not so with Naruto. He took advantage of the situation to attack. He moved with such incredible speed that, within the blink of an eye, he was almost upon the female cultivator.

The fact that he made such a choice caused Yuwen Jian to inhale sharply. In the woman's moment of emotional instability, he chose to attack her to gain an advantage.

"However, that's also the most dangerous decision. If it were me, I would go for Hai Dongqing!"

"DIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" the woman howled madly as Naruto closed in. It almost seemed as if she had lost her mind, as if the only thing she could think about was killing Naruto, no matter the cost.

She roared as her body burst into flames, then she sacrificed her longevity, exchanging it for a momentary return to youthful vigor. She performed an incantation gesture, causing countless flower petals to swirl around her, which turned into a tempest, a sea of flowers that surged to overwhelm Naruto.

In the moment before he was inundated, he suddenly waved his hand, causing a host of black pods to fly out. Popping sounds could be heard as they transformed into tiny imps that sped toward the female cultivator, uttering soundless screams.

Clearly, they hoped to take advantage of her mental instability to possess her.

The blackpod imps bored into her body, attempting to forcibly possess her. She began to tremble, and then her face flickered. A miserable scream rang out, and her divine ability lost stability. In the end, Naruto didn't even avoid it, he simply walked through the tempest of flower petals.

Next, he turned into a golden roc. Golden light flashed as he closed in on the woman, then returned to human form and unleashed a fist strike.

A boom could be heard as blood sprayed from the woman's mouth. She flew backward, expression twisted. The blackpod imps were all failing in their possession attempts, and yet upon failure, they would burst out of her and unleash divine sense attacks, causing the already flustered woman to descend further into madness.

All of this happened in the mere time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Hai Dongqing's face fell; he couldn't simply allow Naruto to kill another person. If that happened, he himself would be in danger. Roaring, he performed an incantation gesture, causing nine illusory swords to materialize around him.

"Subdue Heaven! Nine Stifling Swords!" In unison with his roar, the nine swords began to emit a droning sound. Unexpectedly, in the very middle of the nine swords, the illusory image of an old man appeared. Although his face wasn't clear, he emanated a shocking sword will that exploded out, causing the nine swords to shoot toward Naruto.

Naruto frowned slightly. At first, the nine swords hadn't seemed very intimidating. However, once the illusory old man appeared among them, they changed, as if they were suddenly intelligent. In fact, their sword aura redoubled.

He could probably dodge the incoming swords, but if he did, he would lose his chance to slay the female cultivator, giving her time to recover and force out the rest of the blackpod imps. If she and Hai Dongqing joined forces to attack together, it would be very troublesome.

These thoughts flashed through Naruto's mind, and then a flash of determination could be seen in his eyes. Without the slightest hesitation, he ignored the incoming nine swords, transformed into a golden roc, and shot toward the woman, slashing at her with his talons.

The woman screamed miserably as her flesh was flayed, causing blood to spurt out everywhere. Suddenly, her eyes grew clear, and more blackpod imps were ejected out of her. However, doing so caused more divine sense attacks to be levied against her, making her tremble and cough up more blood.

Enduring the divine sense assault, the woman opened her mouth, causing a blood-colored beam of light to fly out. It immediately transformed into a blood parasol, which spread out to deflect the incoming attacks.

Naruto didn't pause for a moment. He waved his right hand, causing a gale-force wind to spring up. A Blood Demon head appeared, roaring as it slashed into the blood parasol. Naruto in golden roc form then sped through the illusory Blood Demon head, clenching his right hand into a fist which he lashed out toward the woman's forehead. It was at this point that the first of the nine swords, the fastest, pierced through the void into Naruto's back. After stabbing into him, it vanished, transforming into a sword will that slashed around destructively inside him.

He gave a muffled grunt, and his right hand trembled, giving the woman an opportunity to try to dodge. Naruto gave a cold snort and continued to deliver the strike, missing her forehead, but connecting with her chest.

Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and her chest collapsed into a mass of gore. She sped back, borrowing the momentum of his blow to force out some more blackpod imps. Her eyes were now even clearer, and as she stared at Naruto, she waved her hand, causing a red mist to sweep out and cover her entire body. Behind Naruto, three more swords bore down.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

Three swords stabbed into him, transforming into destructive sword wills. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and then suddenly, his left eye glittered. The starstone therein then spread out explosively, causing him to transform into a planet that shot toward the red mist. A moment later, he had smashed through it, and was directly in front of the woman.

The female cultivator's eyes went wide, and her hands flew out, causing numerous magical items to appear. Furthermore, a suit of armor suddenly covered her. However, almost as soon as the magical items appeared, they were crushed by Naruto's divine abilities.

Her shields shattered and her armor collapsed into pieces. She appeared to be just on the verge of dying when, all of a sudden, a pendant which hung around her neck began to emanate a soft light.

Bright light covered her, which just barely took on the shape of a man, who then wrapped her up in his arms and flew backward.

That man was none other than the male cultivator Naruto had slain moments ago!

It wasn't a clone, but rather a soul fragment, branded into the pendant, which then became a life-saving magical item. It was the last memory of the man that existed for her in the whole world. Once used up, it would vanish forever.

"NO!" Tears streamed down the woman's face. Although she was retreating, her heart was already broken.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the planet was blocked, incapable of killing the woman. Naruto appeared in his usual form, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. He sighed softly.

"I wasn't looking to kill anybody, but you people started this fight. If I didn't kill you, you would have killed me. Perhaps you two loved each other, but… why did you have to come here and provoke me?" He shook his head and advanced, forming his right hand into a fist. When he punched out, the illusory man who was protecting the woman began to vanish.

"Well, never mind. Even though we're enemies, if I don't kill you, you'll try to kill me. Considering how you feel about each other, I'll… help you out a bit." With that, he stopped punching, and instead waved his hand to cause Divine Flame to explode out. It transformed into a sea of fire, which he sent to engulf the woman and the soul fragment.

The weakened woman instantly began to be burned up by the flames.

Her body rapidly turned into ash, but her Immortal soul didn't vanish. Instead, both of their souls were wrapped up by the Divine Flame, which then began to carry them up into the Heavens.

"This Divine Flame will open the river to the Yellow Springs. The natural laws of the Windswept Realm might be incomplete, but it surely still has an underworld." He then punched upward toward the Heavens, causing the sky to tremble. The Divine Flame ripped open the sky to reveal a huge illusory river, pitch-black, within which flowed numerous sleeping souls.

The souls of the man and the woman entered the black river at the same time. As they sank down into the river, the man's soul fragment turned to look at Naruto. There was no longer any hatred in his eyes, but instead a complicated look that eventually turned into gratitude.

Then they vanished.

Naruto turned to look behind him. He lifted his hands, and the five remaining incoming swords ground to a halt. They radiated killing intent, but they did not advance any further.

Naruto's face was pale white, his cultivation base surging. Seeing Naruto block his swords caused Hai Dongqing's face to darken. Forcing down his shock, he let out an enraged shout and then shot forward.

Performing an incantation gesture, he caused 1,000,000 illusory swords to combine, creating a massive, astonishing greatsword. It did not slash or swipe, but instead… stabbed through the air toward Naruto.

As the massive greatsword stabbed toward Naruto, he lifted his left hand up, clenched it into a fist, and unleashed the God-Slaying Fist, which slammed into the tip of the sword.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Starting at the tip, the entire sword shattered. In the blink of an eye, it collapsed into millions of swords images. Blood sprayed out of Hai Dongqing's mouth, and a look of surprise filled his face.

"Too strong!" he thought, heart pounding because of Naruto's intense power. From the beginning of the fight to this moment, the pressure in his mind had continued to build until he was shaking. The fear that filled him that was the same type he had experienced when facing Dao-Heaven!

As for Naruto, after unleashing his God-Slaying Fist, he threw his head back and roared. His body began to grow, and cracking sounds could be heard as the five swords twisted and then exploded. At the same time, the other four swords which had stabbed into him were ejected out.

He was as powerful as a celestial warrior!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1113

Chapter 1113(Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1113: Killing Hai Dongqing Three Times!

Yuwen Jian was still sitting behind the shield on the mountain, and as he watched what was happening, he began to pant. By this point, Naruto had already made a deep impression on him.

Naruto looked up at Hai Dongqing, then coolly said: "And now, it's your turn!"

His energy erupted, and the healing of his body by his Eternal stratum was plainly visible.

Hai Dongqing's eyes went wide. He found Naruto's strength to be terrifying, and his heart had long since filled with towering waves of shock. He had personally witnessed Naruto slay his two compatriots, using ruthless tactics and lightning-like attacks. The whole thing caused his heart to pound.

"This Naruto is too strong! I can't handle him. Only Dao-Heaven could possibly take him out!" When he realized this, he immediately decided to retreat from the battle. The shadow of death seemed to fill his mind, covering every aspect of his thoughts. Without any further hesitation, and in almost the exact same moment that Naruto looked over at him, he turned and fled for his life.

"Think you can just leave?" Naruto said. He began to walk forward, and his energy spiked as he unleashed the Seven God Steps. One step. Two steps. Three steps.

With each step he took forward, his killing intent surged. Although he physically looked no different than before, the sky flashed with bright colors, the heavenly bodies trembled, and a huge wind kicked up. To Hai Dongqing, it almost felt like Naruto was growing larger with each step, until he was so huge he could hold up the Heavens!

Hai Dongqing's face fell as he recognized the magic. He had personally been watching on a projection screen when Naruto used this art to defeat Lin Cong.

However, in this critical moment of the battle, Hai Dongqing had no time to flee very far. He quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then pushed his hand down toward the ground. Immediately, his body began to tremble as countless streams of sword Chakra erupted out of his body. 1,000,000. 5,000,000. All the way to… 10,000,000!

10,000,000 streams of sword Chakra blotted out the sky, transforming into a tempest that raged across the land toward Naruto. It was at this point that Naruto took a fourth step, a fifth step, a sixth step… a seventh step!

A massive foot descended from up above, smashing down into Hai Dongqing's sword Chakra tempest. As it passed through, countless streams of sword Chakra were shattered and destroyed.

In the blink of an eye, the 10,000,000 streams of sword qi, incapable of standing up to the power of the foot, were crushed. The foot stamped through the air, destroying all resistance as it slammed toward Hai Dongqing.

His eyes went wide from the sensation of deadly crisis. He performed an incantation gesture, causing his body to wither rapidly, with the exception of his hand, which turned translucent and crystalline. Then, he waved his finger toward the foot, his expression one of ferocity and madness.

"Paragon Sky, Daoist Magic Mountain!" he roared. Instantly, a mountain of swords materialized in front of him, emanating shocking ripples as it slammed directly into the descending foot.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

The mountain of swords trembled beneath the weight of the foot. Cracks spread out, and then the mountain shattered, exploding into countless fragments.

The backlash hit Hai Dongqing, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He looked at the foot, eyes wide with despair. It descended, unstoppable, destructive, ripping his sword mountain apart and blotting out the sky. It was a huge shadow that descended onto him with a shocking boom.

It was impossible to stop, and he was incapable of holding it up. It was as if the energy of the will of Heaven were weighing down onto him, and he was nothing more than an ant. A bloodcurdling scream rang out, and he was stamped, crushed, his body exploding into bits of blood and gore that turned into a mist. He was completely killed.

The foot faded away, and the borrowed energy and momentum Naruto had also dissipated. However, he didn't relax in the least. As soon as the energy faded, he transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the location where Hai Dongqing had exploded.

In the moment that he closed in, the mist of blood rapidly formed back together. In the blink of an eye, a power like that of time reversal could be sensed in the area, and Hai Dongqing once again appeared, a look of astonishment on his face. He immediately bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood, which spread out to form a blood shield. At the same time, he fell back rapidly.

Terror filled his eyes, as well as an overflowing hatred.

"I can't believe I just died! Damn you, Naruto, you forced me to waste one of my Echelon lives!

"I refuse to accept this!" he roared. Despite his posturing, inside, he was shaking with fear, and retreated at top speed. Rumbling filled the air as he instantly fell back by 3,000 meters.

Naruto snorted coldly, but didn't seem surprised. After fighting with Han Qinglei and Lin Cong, he had long since come to understand how the soul of an Echelon cultivator couldn't be destroyed. That was the exact reason why he had remained so on guard after killing Hai Dongqing moments ago, and had even continued to advance.

"You don't even deserve to be in the Echelon," Naruto said. "I've never truly killed an Echelon cultivator before, and I'm curious to find out if there will be a reward for doing so in the Windswept Realm." With that, he waved his right hand, causing the Blood Demon head to appear. As he shot through the air, wind buffeting his face, he took a deep breath, and the Blood Demon head slammed into the blood shield, first shattering it into pieces, and then absorbing it.

Naruto pierced over the lands like an arrow, passing through the Blood Demon head to appear directly behind the fleeing Hai Dongqing. As he closed in, his killing intent erupted out explosively.

Hai Dongqing's face was ashen, and he let out a shriek as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. His body twitched, and he opened his mouth. Shockingly, a beam of sword light shot out, which instantly transformed into five swords, each one a different color!

The five swords were all illusory, but their sudden appearance on the scene caused Naruto's eyes widen.

Hai Dongqing began to chant:

"Liver constitutes wood. The Arrival of Spring!

"Heart constitutes fire. The Eve of Summer!

"Spleen constitutes earth. The Halfway Point!

"Lungs constitute metal. The End of Autumn!

"Kidneys constitute water. The Dead of Winter!"

A vicious expression could be seen on his face as he roared, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused the five sword lights to interlace and transform into a sword formation!

"Five organs and five elements, complementary and correspondent! The ebb of day and night, no beginning and no end!

"Minor Five Elements Sword Formation!" He spread his hands wide, causing the five sword lights to spin around each other, transforming into a five elements sword formation that rumbled toward Naruto.

This was a Heavenly sword magic of Hai Dongqing's that was equal in power to his Paragon magic. In fact, this was a special trump card that he had kept secret from everyone, up to this moment.

Not even Dao-Heaven knew that he had this technique hidden up his sleeve. In fact, the main reason he had kept it hidden was that he hoped to use it to free himself from Dao-Heaven one day in the future.

After all, no Echelon cultivator would ever willingly become the follower of another Echelon cultivator. Although he pretended not to care about the matter, he cared very much!

Naruto's eyes glittered as the Minor Five Elements Sword Formation shot through the air toward him. Then, he laughed, and instead of retreating, he pushed forward faster. As he and the five elements sword formation closed in on each other, he suddenly extended his palm out ahead of him.

"Fifth Demon Sealing Hex, Inside Outside Hex!" he said coolly. The Fifth Demon Sealing Hex could break through all sorts of restrictive spells and spell formations, and as soon as he unleashed it, a rift appeared on his palm.

Usually when such a rift appeared, it would consume and absorb. However, this time, it was the opposite. Everything was switched, and as Naruto pushed his hand forward, a rumbling sound could be heard. The five elements sword formation began to tremble, and was then shoved backward. It was as if some incredible, invisible power were pushing the sword formation out from the inside, causing it to expand.

Naruto appeared in just that moment. As the sword formation was spread out thin, he passed through a gap in the middle of it, shooting forward like lightning to appear in front of Hai Dongqing.

Hai Dongqing was astonished, and could hardly believe what was happening. Just when he seemed to be on the verge of going mad, Naruto's right hand snapped out and pressed down onto the top of his head.

Almost in the same moment, though, Naruto inexplicably shot backward, not even taking the time to perform an incantation gesture. Hai Dongqing threw his head back and laughed maniacally, and a rumbling sound could be heard coming from inside of him as he chose to self-detonate.

Rather than allow Naruto to kill him, he killed himself. A huge boom could be heard as he exploded, transforming into a tempest that swept out madly in all directions. Naruto was shoved backward by the shockwave. However, in the same spot where he had self-detonated, a mist of blood could be seen that once again transformed into Hai Dongqing.

This time, his face was ashen; without the slightest hesitation, he shot backward in retreat.

He was trembling, and the courage he had felt when he self-detonated was now gone. That was because he knew… that this was his last life. The next time he died, he would be completely destroyed in body and soul.

Echelon cultivators had two lives. When he had fought Dao-Heaven, there were special circumstances that led to Han Dongqing choosing to capitulate instead of giving up one of his lives. Were it not for that, he really would have died just now.

Trembling, he went all-out to flee, raising his right hand to slap down onto his chest. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his body withered. At the same time, though, his head grew larger, giving him a bizarre and deformed appearance.

Blue veins even began to pop out all over his face.

"Air Aperture!" he roared. By sacrificing his body, he was able to enlarge his head. At the same time, an explosive influx of divine sense converged on his forehead, where it then spread out to form an invisible, enormous spell formation.

It was a teleportation portal, a bit of good fortune he had obtained years ago and imprinted on his soul. He was now using divine sense to activate it and use it to escape.

This spell formation was unique, and something that could only be used by an Echelon cultivator who had been killed twice. Were it not for that stipulation, he would have used it much earlier.

Ripples from the spell formation spread out in all directions as it prepared to whisk him away.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. Seeing how hard it was to actually kill Hai Dongqing gave him a much deeper understanding of what it meant to be in the Echelon. He stepped forward and transformed into a golden roc, bursting toward Hai Dongqing with incredible speed. As the ripples of teleportation spread out, he snorted coldly, extended his hand, and waved a finger toward Hai Dongqing.

"Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!"

The Eighth Hex was the Cultivation-Body Hex, and as soon as it was unleashed, Hai Dongqing's cultivation base was sealed. With his divine sense locked down, the teleportation portal instantly lost the power that was driving it.

"NO!" Hai Dongqing screamed in despair.

"This time, you're really going to die, my first time… really and truly killing an Echelon cultivator!" Naruto's voice echoed out behind him.

Chapter 1113: Killing Hai Dongqing Three Times!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1114

Chapter 1114: Thou Shalt Call Me… Dao Namikaze !

As Naruto's voice reached his ears and echoed about, Hai Qingdong felt a hand pat down onto the top of his head….

BOOM!

Hai Qingdong's eyes went wide as the skin on his head ripped and tore. In the blink of an eye, his entire body collapsed into pieces.

In that moment, all traces of Hai Qingdong existing in the world vanished. The teleportation portal winked out.

Having been killed a third time in a row by Naruto, he was now truly and utterly dead!

In the moment of his death, as the blood and gore drifted about, his

Echelon mark began to glow softly, and then floated toward Naruto.

"Can't believe a word that Yuwen Jian says!" he thought. "Earlier he told me that he had killed Hai Qingdong once before. From the look of things, that was complete nonsense!" That notion had occurred to him earlier when he killed Hai Qingdong for the second time. Now, he gave a cold harrumph as he reached out and grabbed the Echelon mark.

The mark instantly fused into Naruto, causing an intense, stabbing pain in his forehead. Now a more complicated mark had appeared on his forehead, and if you looked closely, you couldn't tell that there were actually two symbols there. It looked complicated and ornate, as if it had undergone profound transformations.

At the same time, a tremor ran through Naruto, and he felt something like an indescribable power flowing out of the mark on his forehead. Simultaneously, his Demon Sealing Hexing Magic spontaneously began to flow, as the legacy of the League of Demon Sealers merged with the aura of the Echelon mark.

When that union occurred, Naruto's body shook violently, and a massive roaring like the destruction of Heaven and Earth filled his mind. It reached out to his soul and caused an invisible beam to fly up into the sky.

Naruto looked up into the sky, and realized that he was surrounded by a pillar of light. The light, with Naruto in it, shot rapidly upward, breaking through all obstacles, emerging from the Windswept Realm and piercing out into the Heavens.

Without stopping, it rose higher and higher. In the blink of an eye it had pierced through everything to appear… in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

He now hovered at an indescribable height, looking down at nine mountains arranged together. A sun and a moon orbited around them, and there were also nine seas. Furthermore, he was even able to see all of the living things in the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas.

Beyond that, outside of the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, seemingly attached to the Realm and yet below it, were three land masses.

One of them… was the Windswept Realm!

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked from the three lower land masses up to the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas. He could see Planet South Heaven, and his parents, standing atop the Tower of Tang. He wanted to call out in greeting, but no sound came out.

He also saw his sister practicing cultivation in the Emperor Immortal Sect. He saw many familiar faces in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. He saw

Fatty, Might Guy, Shikamaru… and in the Nine Seas God World, he saw Granny Nine and the others sitting cross-legged in meditation as they waited for the Windswept Realm to re-open.

Feeling mentally shaken, he looked over at the Ninth Mountain, and on the very peak, he saw an enormous eye that suddenly turned to stare at him in confusion.

He saw Ke Jiusi sitting in meditation in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect. He looked over at Planet East Victory, and saw the clone of the Namikaze Clan Patriarch.

The clone originally was sitting there like a statue, but then suddenly he raised his head and peered through the void toward Naruto, looking slightly startled.

Naruto began to pant as he looked over all of the Nine Mountains and Seas. This was not his first time experiencing such a thing. He remembered something similar happening aboard the ship in the Milky Way Sea. 1

Right now, he couldn't help but think of the deep impression left upon him by the old man on that ship.

As Naruto hovered there silently, he couldn't hold back from turning his head to look toward the Fourth Mountain. He began to tremble when he saw… Xu Qing!

Obviously, she had no way of knowing that he could see her. He felt very close to her, and at the same time, oh so far away, which caused his heart to twinge with pain.

She sat cross-legged in a river of stars, with Dharma Protectors meditating close by. She looked exactly as she had before reincarnation, simple and cold.

"Qing'er…." he murmured.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, a tremor ran through Xu Qing. Her eyelashes fluttered as she opened her eyes. A look of confusion could be seen in her eyes.

Some of the old women sitting next to her immediately approached.

"Mistress, what's wrong?"

Xu Qing didn't respond at first. She just stared out into the void.

Finally, she said, "It was like… someone was calling out to me." Her gaze eventually came to rest… in the direction of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

As Naruto gazed at the Fourth Mountain and Sea, deep inside that very mountain, a pair of eyes suddenly focused on him for a moment, then looked away.

Naruto could sense it, shifted his gaze, and found himself looking at a huge statue. An incredible pressure emanated out from the statue, which Naruto found completely shocking. It was far, far more powerful than the pressure of any other person he had ever encountered.

Suddenly, an archaic voice projected out from the statue: "Ah, so you're on a mental journey, Naruto, my young friend. There is no need to worry about Xu Qing. I've accepted her as a disciple. Young friend… I wish you a safe and sound mental journey."

After a moment, Naruto clasped hands and bowed. Then he looked deeply at Xu Qing one more time, before turning his attention back to the Nine Mountains and Seas at large. He saw Patriarch Reliance floating through the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain, humming a little tune, seemingly without a care in the world.

All of a sudden, a tremor ran through him. He had no hair on his body, but if he did, they would all be standing on end.

"Who is it! Who's spying on me!" he roared.

"Dammit, it feels like… like that little bastard Naruto! AHHHH!

"The Patriarch has fled all the way here, and y-y-you… you just won't give up, huh?!" After looking around for a moment, he stared off blankly into the void for a while, then suddenly began to laugh heartily.

"Oh," he roared complacently, "so you're way over there. Come on, you bastard scoundrel. Come get me if you can!"

Naruto snorted coldly, but then suddenly, his eyes went wide.

Because of the current state he was in, he suddenly saw something on Patriarch Reliance's back, in a seemingly ordinary corner of the Five Elemental Nations .

There on Patriarch Reliance's back, right in the middle of the Five Elemental Nations was… a door!

That door radiated soft light, and as soon as Naruto caught sight of it, his heart seized. There was something very familiar about that door, something like the aura of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

"The legacy of Lord Li!" Naruto's eyes widened, and his heart began to pound as he realized that apparently, the legacy of Lord Li was actually on Patriarch Reliance's back!

He had little time to consider the matter as he found himself rising higher up within the pillar of light, flying higher and higher up into the void above the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He brought the trembling of his heart under control as he looked up into the vault of the void, and suddenly, a gleam of anticipation appeared in his eyes. He realized that all of this was most likely happening because of the Echelon. Although he wasn't sure exactly what was happening, he did know… exactly what the Mountain and Sea Realm was!

"33 Heavens, huh…? According to what I learned from the Sixth

Generation Demon Sealer, breaking through the 33 Heavens is the Mountain and Sea Tribulation!" His eyes glittered as he began to speed faster and faster. 2

He wasn't sure how much time passed, but eventually he broke through some sort of barrier and found himself looking at a path!

A path among the stars!

There were 33 Realms on that path, which seemed like 33 layers of successive seals that completely enveloped the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The beam of light took him along the path, and he pierced through one Realm after another. Eventually, he broke through the 33rd Realm, and it seemed like he was just on the verge of being able to see the truth about what was beyond. However, in that exact moment, a beam of golden light glittered in his eyes, until that was all that he could see.

Everything shattered!

A tremor ran through him, and the light around him began to collapse. The stream of his soul that was in the light began to recede, but before it did, a Heaven-rending Earth-crushing voice boomed out.

"Thou shalt call me… Dao Namikaze !"

Back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, in the Windswept Realm, on the National Aura Mountain of the Seventh Nation, Naruto trembled, let out a cry, and then coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. He staggered backward, his face pale white.

The mark on his forehead flickered rapidly, then slowly faded. His Demon Sealing Hexing Magic also faded away.

"What was that golden light?!

"And that voice. Dao Namikaze . Dao Namikaze …. Why does that name sound so familiar. Where did I hear it before!?" 3 He began panting, and before he could recall anything more about the name, a brilliant beam of light rose up from the central temple of the Windswept Realm.

It was fully 30,000 meters wide, and it shot up into the sky as if to tear open the Heavens. Indescribable ripples spread out, and once again, that world of mountains and statues opened up.

All eyes were fixed up above, including all of the Echelon cultivators. No matter what they were doing at the moment, everyone felt their hearts pounding as they looked overhead.

The entire battlefield surrounding the central temple went silent, and everyone looked in shock at the unprecedentedly bright pillar of light.

In the world up above there was a mountain hidden in the mists behind all of the other mountains and statues. It was the tallest mountain in that world, and all of a sudden… that mountain crumbled into pieces and then reformed into a statue.

That statue looked like a celestial warrior, shocking to the extreme. As soon as everyone saw the face of the statue, they were astonished to see… Naruto!

At the same time, a cold, archaic voice echoed out, seemingly emotionless. It filled the entire Windswept Realm, echoing out through the sky.

"Naruto, Echelon cultivator from the Ninth Nation, has killed another

Echelon cultivator, a criminal act–"

Before the voice could finish speaking, more words echoed out, although this time, they didn't seem to be completely devoid of emotion like before. Grim ripples spread out, and if you listened closely, you would be able to tell… that the voice actually seemed to be different than the first one!

"The reward… is an Ancient Treasure, Heavenly Champion Immortal

Ax!"

Naruto's voyage through the Nine Mountains and Seas happened in chapter 685. For those of you who like to analyze all the details of the story, I recently updated the footnotes in that chapter with some new information ↩ Naruto reached his conclusions about the Mountain and Sea Tribulation in chapter 1026 ↩ Dao Namikaze was mentioned twice in the story before, in chapter 731 and chapter 887. In Chinese, it's 道方 dào fāng. Dao is the same as "the Dao" and Namikaze means "square." It's also the same Namikaze as the Namikaze Clan ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1115

Chapter 1115: Windswept Rebellion!

As soon as the voice echoed out, everything shook. Expressions of shock appeared on the faces of everyone who heard the words. It must be noted that in the Windswept Realm, the rewards given were always related to Chakra flow. Never before had a magical item been bestowed as a reward.

Especially not a magical item that was an Ancient treasure!

Ancient treasures were magical items for use in the Ancient Realm. Although such objects were more common than Dao Realm treasures, they were still considered very rare. For example, as the crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, Naruto had an Ancient treasure in the form of a jade pendant, which he could use to confirm his identity.

However, it was definitely a rare thing to encounter an Ancient treasure.

Therefore, when the words regarding a reward in the form of an Ancient treasure echoed out through the Windswept Realm, everyone who heard it was astonished. That was especially true of the Echelon cultivators, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.

After all, this entire trial by fire was focused on the Echelon, not for the purpose of them being killed, but for them to improve and develop via struggle and conflict.

Of course, it wasn't impossible for one of them to accidentally be killed. However, the fact that Echelon cultivators had multiple lives revealed the truth of the matter.

Paragon Sea Dream did not wish for members of the Echelon to be permanently killed!

Fighting was hard to avoid, of course, and naturally, deadly situations would arise. However, the reason she gave multiple lives to the Echelon cultivators was for the express purpose of ensuring that they were not conclusively slaughtered in body and soul.

The Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, Dao-Heaven, was aware of that, and as such, when he fought people, he didn't go all out with deadly intent. Instead, he attempted to destroy his rivals in spirit.

He was well aware that Paragon Sea Dream didn't approve of actually killing other Echelon cultivators. Therefore, he wouldn't attempt to do so unless it benefited him directly, or he truly detested that person.

"The Windswept Realm seems different from the descriptions of past instances in the sect records…." Dao-Heaven murmured. He was currently in the Fourth Nation, looking up into the sky.

"So it was Dongqing who died, huh. Killed by Naruto…. This time, there are actually prizes for killing Echelon cultivators!

"Kill one, and be rewarded with an Ancient treasure. I wonder what the reward would be for killing two or three, or even… all of them? A Dao treasure?!" When that final sentence came out of his mouth, he began to pant, and his eyes filled with the glow of greed. Killing intent swirling around him, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Things are different this time and… I love it!" A murderous aura erupted out of him that had apparently been kept restrained for a very long time. Now that he could unleash it, he turned and headed off into the distance, bursting with killing intent.

Other Echelon cultivators watched the scene play out with flickering expressions. Ambition rose up in their hearts, but at the same time, sensations of deadly crisis arose as well. All of them began to pant.

The only exception was the middle-aged man who sat on the National Aura Mountain in the Third Nation. He smiled slightly.

"The time has come for things to begin. Unexpectedly, Naruto gained a bit of an advantage. However, he won't be able to escape the coming calamity."

As the other members of the Echelon, and the rest of the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, stood there in shock, something happened outside in the Mountain and Sea Realm. In the Ruins of Immortality was an Immortal's cave, where a white-robed woman sat cross-legged in meditation. Next to her was Li Ling'er, who also meditated cross-legged.

All of a sudden, the white-robed woman opened her eyes, and they glowed with a murderous light.

"Imperial Lord of the Windswept Realm, how dare you!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, her expression flickered.

In the Nine Seas God Worlds in the various Nine Seas, massive rumbling sounds like explosions could be heard. It sounded like some massive structure was collapsing, and the sound sent massive waves surging out across the Seas.

The sounds echoing out through the God Worlds provoked instant reactions from all of the Dao Realm experts, who were currently waiting patiently for the Windswept Realm to reopen.

"What's happening? This… this…."

"I'm suddenly unable to sense the Windswept Realm!"

"Not good!"

Numerous cries of alarm rose up from the various God Worlds. The Nine Seas God World in the Ninth Sea was no exception. Granny Nine and the other Dao Realm Experts, including Godmaster and the two Demonic Cultivator Horde Patriarchs, all began to tremble. Finally, they couldn't endure any longer, and blood sprayed out of their mouths.

As their eyes went wide, the pillars of light stretching up into the sky shattered, and their connection to Windswept Realm was broken.

"Impossible!" Godmaster's face fell. He shot to his feet and looked up into the sky. "The Windswept Realm… has been struck by some massive upheaval! Dammit! Our connection to it was actually severed!"

Meanwhile, out in the vast darkness of the void surrounding the Mountain and Sea Realm, the vast lands of the Windswept Realm trembled slightly. A sound like cracking or shattering echoed out as the previous orbit of the entire Realm was suddenly changed, and it began to float up toward the 33 Heavens up above. Of course, nobody in the Realm itself could sense that!

Paragon Sea Dream jumped to her feet, a murderous aura swirling around her. "Imperial Lord of the Windswept Realm, are you looking to die!?"

She waved her right hand, and her Immortal's cave suddenly faded away. When it reappeared, shockingly, it was in the void of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Then, only after-images were left behind as it shot out of the Mountain and Sea Realm and toward the lands of the Windswept Realm.

The Echelon cultivators in the Windswept Realm were all shaken. Naruto's face flickered as he saw a rift suddenly open up in the sky above. A black beam shot out, within which was a shocking battle-ax!

The battle-ax emanated a boundless killing aura, and was surrounded by swirling images of vengeful spirits, who emanated soundless shrieks. Apparently, they were bound to the battle-ax, and were incapable of leaving it to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

A shocking pressure erupted from the battle-ax, and as it descended, the lands quaked, and bright colors flashed in the sky.

This was the Ancient treasure, an item that would be considered of extremely high quality even among other Ancient treasures!

Heavenly Champion Immortal Ax!

It floated down slowly to hover in front of Naruto, where it emanated a slight droning sound. Naruto's eyes went wide, and his throat went dry as he stared at the pitch-black ax. Finally, he took a deep breath, reached out, and grabbed it.

The instant his hand closed around the haft, an explosive power surged through him. He trembled, and his hair flew up around him. He then flew up into the air, his cultivation base surging.

He swung the ax, and a black beam of light shot out of it, slamming into the ground and cutting out a huge 9,000-meter long gash. The Seventh Nation's National Aura Mountain was right in the middle of that gash, and was cut directly into two pieces!

Its already weakened shield was completely incapable of standing up to such power, which clearly showed… how terrifyingly powerful the ax was!

Naruto's heart trembled as he sensed the incredible energy inside the battle-ax.

Yuwen Jian still sat on top of the National Aura Mountain, which had just been cut into two halves. His scalp began to tingle as he stared at the two cliffs formed by the blow. He felt like his head was about to explode, and a powerful sensation of deadly crisis rose up in him.

Several moments passed before the resulting windstorm died down. Naruto waved his hand, and the battle-ax disappeared. A strange light appeared in his eyes as began to think about the circumstances in which he was rewarded with the ax.

"There were two voices just now, not one!" he thought. "The first voice was the same as the voices from before. It was cold and emotionless, presumably because it was following orders. That must be the result of the naturals laws imposed on the Windswept Realm by the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"I killed an Echelon cultivator, and according to the first voice, that was some sort of criminal act. However… a moment later a second voice spoke, and actually rewarded me with a treasure!

"Is someone encouraging us Echelon cultivators to wipe each other out?" Naruto's heart trembled. If his speculations were correct, then this turn of events surely had some connection to the way Jian Daozi and the others had looked at them when they first arrived in Mountain and Sea Realm, as well as the little tricks Jian Daozi had tried to pull off.

Furthermore, Naruto had heard the others mention that the Windswept Realm was different this time than it had been before. He suddenly gasped.

"Could it be that some great catastrophe is about to strike in the Windswept Realm?" he thought.

His face darkened. At the same time, Yuwen Jian finally gained enlightenment of the 300th Essence from the World Seals. He then leapt to his feet and shouted at Naruto.

"Naruto, y-y-you… you just about cut me in half with that ax!"

His voice echoed out like thunder, interrupting Naruto's train of thought.

Naruto looked down at Yuwen Jian and, voice cool, said, "My hand slipped, that was all. By the way, congratulations on achieving enlightenment. Oh, another thing. Didn't you mention something about having killed Hai Dongqing once before?"

"I said that?" Yuwen Jian responded, sounding a bit guilty. However, he instantly slipped back into a rage. "Look, that's not even important. You just about chopped me in two just now! Did you hear me? It was THIS close! I didn't do anything to provoke you! Your hand slipped? I almost lost my life! I've cowed the entire Seventh Mountain, fool! I've traversed mountains of daggers and seas of flames without getting killed, then I almost get killed because your hand slipped? You owe me for this…."

Naruto wasn't really paying attention. "Sea of flames," he thought.

"Sea of flames…. I remember! Dao Namikaze ! Beneath the Ancient Dao Lakes in the lands of South Heaven, the final level of the trial by fire overseen by those strange beasts, was the world of the Essence of Divine Flame….

"There was an eye of flame there which yelled something that included the name Dao Namikaze !" Naruto's mind trembled as he finally recalled the information he was looking for.

Instantly, his eyes widened, and a bright, intimidating gleam appeared in them.

Of course, from Yuwen Jian's perspective, he had just said a few words, only to have Naruto suddenly fall silent and then stare at him threateningly. He began to tremble, and he remembered how strong Naruto had been when he had killed the two cultivators moments ago. Then he had ruthlessly cut down Hai Dongqing.

He also thought about how terrifying that ax was, and then Yuwen Jian's face twitched with the realization of how impulsive it had been to berate Naruto the way he had. Naruto was clearly a jinx should never be provoked. A bead of cold sweat dripped down Yuwen Jian's temple, and a wide smile broke out on his face. He quickly clasped hands and bowed several times.

"Hahaha! Brother Naruto, let's let bygones be bygones," he said cheerily. "I was just kidding around, brother. Even if you do chop, er, chop me in two, well… no problem. I have lives left, so if you do kill me, I'll come back." Then he laughed heartily.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1116

Chapter 1116: A Meeting in the Sixth Nation!

"Dao Namikaze …." he thought. "Once I leave the Windswept Realm and get back home, I'm definitely going to go back to the Ancient Dao Lakes!" Naruto's eyes glittered thoughtfully, and then the intimidating gleam in his eyes vanished. He looked back down at Yuwen Jian and smiled enigmatically.

How could he not have realized that Yuwen Jian could have reached enlightenment much earlier, and had intentionally dragged things out? Clearly, he had been planning something. Although Naruto's use of the ax had seemed completely spontaneous, it was actually designed as a warning for Yuwen Jian.

Seeing Naruto's smile, Yuwen Jian felt even guiltier. Clearing his throat, he smacked his chest heroically and said, "Brother Naruto, you are truly courageous and extraordinary. Hahaha. Dao-Heaven's three hired thugs were all incredibly powerful. But in front of you, they were like hired clowns. You crushed them like weeds! You're definitely destined to be number one in the Mountain and Sea Realm Echelon!" Although Yuwen Jian's words were blatantly ingratiating, his expression was very sincere, as if every word were spoken from the depths of his heart. 1

"Well said, well said," replied Naruto, chuckling. Then he stared evenly at Yuwen Jian. "However, Fellow Daoist Yuwen Jian, you still need to return the World Seal I loaned to you."

Yuwen Jian's smile stiffened, and his mind spun with hundreds of ideas. However, when he saw the look in Naruto's eyes, his heart began to pound, and he once again thought about the implications of Naruto being rewarded for killing an Echelon cultivator.

"Dammit!" he thought. "The rewards of the Windswept Realm this time are encouraging us to slaughter each other…. I can't provoke this jinx, otherwise I'll find myself in a deadly crisis!" Having reached this point in his train of thought, Yuwen Jian unhesitatingly produced the World Seal and sent it back to Naruto.

Naruto grabbed it and put it away. Smiling just as broadly as ever, he didn't say a single word about the Seventh Nation's World Seal. Yuwen Jian had intentionally sat out of the fight, and had been plotting the whole time. Had he instead joined in to fight Hai Qingdong and the others, then Naruto would naturally have refrained from greedily keeping the World Seal.

However, since Yuwen Jian had clearly been up to something, then Naruto didn't feel guilty at all about turning the tables on him.

Yuwen Jian smiled wryly. Although he was a body cultivator, the fact that he was not only a member of the Echelon, but had also managed to keep his place in it for so long, and at the same time managed to reach such a high level of body cultivation, showed that he was no fool. He might not be considered a genius, he was quite adept at scheming.

It was obvious to even him that Naruto had seen through his plan, and had used the ax as a warning. Not returning the Seventh Nation's World Seal was an additional punishment.

"Well, that's fine," he thought. "Since the Windswept Realm seems to be encouraging us Echelon cultivators to wipe each other out, then those World Seals are like signal flares. The more you have, the more likely you'll be to get killed and have them stolen away. Since I have no World Seal, as long as I'm careful, I'll actually be much safer."

Yuwen Jian was now feeling a lot more confident, so he clasped hands and bowed to Naruto. Backing up a few steps at the same time, he smiled and said, "Brother Naruto, it's getting late. My place is kind of a mess right now, so I won't keep you any longer. Take care of yourself on your way back, brother, and when you get a chance come visit again."

Naruto looked at him, and Yuwen Jian instantly braced himself for something bad to happen. After a moment, though, Naruto merely smiled, swished his sleeve, and turned to depart.

It was in this moment, however, that a beam of light suddenly rose up from the central temple. It was rapidly expanding, spreading out to fill the entire Windswept Realm.

Shockingly, this light was just like the light from moments before… it was 30,000 meters wide!

The massive pillar of light shot up into the Heavens, causing non-stop rumbling sounds to echo out. The sky shook, and countless ripples expanded out, filling the entire sky. Naruto's eyes went wide, and Yuwen Jian's face fell.

As the beam of light burst up into the world of mountains and statues, the tallest of the mountains, the one which was now a statue of Naruto, suddenly blurred as a ghost image appeared next to it. The image then solidified into a second statue!

That second statue depicted a young man with swirling killing intent. He emanated incredible pressure that caused Naruto to pant. Shockingly, that statue was holding a head in its hand!

That head radiated icy coldness, despite being dead.

"Dao-Heaven!" Yuwen Jian exclaimed. "That's the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain! The head in his hand… is the head of the Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain!" His face drained of blood. He well knew that Dao-Heaven had long since taken the Second Nation's World Seal from that cultivator, who had then managed to flee.

He had previously reached the conclusion that lacking a World Seal would place him in much less danger. He had never imagined that after only a few breaths of time passed, his entire line of reasoning would be overturned. The Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain was now dead, heralding the beginning of what would no doubt be a series of bloody and chaotic battles!

It didn't matter whether or not he had a World Seal, he was still in incredible danger!

Next, that cold and ruthless voice echoed out through the Windswept Realm.

"The reward… is an Ancient treasure! Lofty Mountain Immortal Flail!"

All of the Echelon cultivators were instantly shaken. Events were unfolding too quickly. First Hai Qingdong was killed, and then moments later, Dao-Heaven hunted down and killed someone else!

Furthermore, the reward was another Ancient treasure!

Naruto stared at the world up above, and Dao-Heaven's statue. His eyes then began to gleam with an intimidating light. Even though he wasn't sure how strong this Dao-Heaven was compared to Hai Qingdong, from what he could sense, he was incredibly powerful.

"Dao-Heaven…." he thought, eyes glittering.

Just when he was about to leave, Yuwen Jian suddenly flew up into the air and cried out, "Brother Naruto! Hahaha! Look, it's getting pretty late, there's no need to hurry off. Why don't you stick around for a few days!?"

Yuwen Jian was scared, so how could he possibly allow Naruto to leave so easily? If Naruto stayed behind, then there would be two of them to fight against Dao-Heaven if he came looking for them.

Naruto ignored him and was just about to speed off into the distance when Yuwen Jian, thoughts racing, clenched his teeth and then blurted, "Naruto, I know of a way for you to get the Sixth Nation's World Seal without even lifting your pinky finger!"

Naruto stopped and looked back at Yuwen Jian.

Seeing that Naruto had stopped, Yuwen Jian quickly explained, "Listen, Naruto. Of the nine World Seals, Dao-Heaven now has three, and you have four. The remaining two are those belonging to the Third Nation and the Sixth Nation respectively. The Echelon cultivator in the Sixth Nation is that kid Hong Bin. We went through some dangerous situations together and became friends. How about I take you to the Sixth Nation and persuade him to give you the World Seal! 2"he declared, slapping his chest.

"That way, you'll have five World Seals, and will definitely have the upper hand!

"As long as you're not scared of Dao-Heaven, then the Sixth Nation's

World Seal is yours!"

Naruto stared at him coldly. He didn't trust Yuwen Jian very much; although they hadn't known each other for long, he got the feeling that Yuwen Jian was about as unreliable as Patriarch Reliance.

"I don't trust you," Naruto said slowly.

Looking insulted and a bit angry, Yuwen Jian said, "Brother Naruto, it really hurts me to hear you say that. You know what type of person I am? I'm just like the 'jian 坚' character in my name. I'm steadfast in conduct, steadfast in word, steadfast in action, steadfast in everything!"

Unmoved, Naruto coolly responded, "You told me that you killed Hai

Qingdong once."

Yuwen Jian didn't seem the least bit embarrassed about that fact. Laughing heartily, he said, "Brother Naruto, I've been wanting to reform some of my bad habits for a while now. I really managed to make myself look like a fool in front of you, brother. I'm definitely going to make some changes!"

"Your enlightenment earlier went way too slowly," Naruto said.

"Hahaha! Brother Naruto, there's no need to go out of your way to give me face. I wasn't slow, I was just distracted. For that, I must apologize. From now on, I definitely won't daydream anymore!"

Naruto wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. He looked closely at Yuwen Jian for a moment, and realized that not only were his words unreliable, but he was also extremely shameless. In terms of doing about-faces, nobody else could possibly match up to him.

Yuwen Jian's expression was extremely sincere. Smacking his chest, he declared, "Brother Naruto, this time, you just have to trust me. I really am friends with Hong Bin. I saved his life once!"

After a moment of silence, Naruto looked at Yuwen Jian and calmly said, "If you don't get me that World Seal, then you'll see what happens when I really flip out."

It was no threat. His calm words instantly caused Yuwen Jian to become nervous, and he nodded.

No more words were exchanged. Yuwen Jian led the way, and the two of them became bright beams of light that shot through the Seventh Nation toward the Sixth Nation. They moved with incredible speed, so it wasn't long before they arrived.

As soon as they entered the Sixth Nation, intense pressure weighed down on them, a warning of sorts. The boy Hong Bin, currently sat crosslegged on the Sixth Nation's National Aura Mountain, and as soon as he sensed them, his face flickered. The National Aura Mountain's shield sprang up, and Hong Bin was immediately surrounded by several followers, who formed a defensive spell formation.

"Dammit," he said out loud. "Is it Dao-Heaven? Or is it just someone passing through? Either way, keep the spell formation ready. If it's DaoHeaven, we can teleport out of here!" Hong Bin was extremely nervous. Currently, the two people he feared most were Dao-Heaven and Naruto.

Both of them had killed other Echelon cultivators, and had been rewarded with Ancient treasures. How could he not be afraid? He didn't want his own life to be the price paid to get either one of them another Ancient treasure.

As he sat there vigilantly, two streaks of light pierced through the air outside of the National Aura Mountain. Yuwen Jian was in the lead position, and as soon as he got close enough, he urgently shouted, "Hong Bin, old pal, it's Yuwen Jian, come to pay respects!"

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Hong Bin caught sight of

Yuwen Jian. Instantly, his eyes blazed with anger, and he shot to his feet.

"Dammit, Yuwen Jian, you duplicitous bastard! You conned me back then and I never hunted you down about it, but now you have the gall to come looking for me!?

"Hey, who's that behind you? That's… dammit! I can't believe you brought him here! I won't rest until you're dead, Yuwen Jian!"

As soon as Hong Bin's shrill voice echoed out, Yuwen Jian glanced embarrassedly over at Naruto. What he saw was Naruto looking back at him with an icy smile.

"Brother Naruto," he gushed, "just give me the time it takes half an incense stick to burn. Don't worry, I'll definitely succeed!" In a flash, he sped toward the National Aura Mountain!

There is some word play in this passage that doesn't quite translate well. Literally he says, "those three dog-legs (hired thugs/henchmen) of Dao-Heaven were all powerful, but to you they were like dirt-dogs (stray dogs/mole crickets)" ↩ Hong Bin's name in Chinese is 洪斌 hóng bīn.

Hong is a surname which also means "great" or "big." Bin means

"refined" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1117

Chapter 1117: He's Here!

On the Sixth Nation's National Aura Mountain, the boy Hong Bin sat grim-faced, surrounded by nine followers. His teleportation portal was ready to be used at a moment's notice. All it required was a bit of divine will, and then he would be teleported away.

He held the World Seal of the Sixth Nation tightly in his hand as he stared coldly at Yuwen Jian. However, he did not teleport away.

Yuwen Jian hurried over until he was right outside the National Aura Mountain's shield. Of course, without Hong Bin's permission to enter, all he could do was hover outside and smile wryly.

"Brother Hong Bin… listen–"

"Beat it! Whoever you call brother gets struck with bad luck!" Hong Bin had a very unsightly look on his face. He glanced over at Naruto off in the distance, eyes wide. Originally, he hadn't thought much at all about this latest addition to the Echelon. However, Naruto's display of power in the Windswept Realm completely swept away any cavalier attitudes toward him harbored by the other Echelon cultivators.

He had defeated Han Qinglei, routed Lin Cong, and had then gone on to slaughter another Echelon cultivator.

Such achievements in battle ensured that he rose to prominence like a blazing sun, and was a person that no one would take lightly.

Hong Bin gritted his teeth and said, "I'll let you say three more things, and after that you'd better get the hell back to wherever you came from, otherwise, I'm outta here!"

"Outta here? To where?" Yuwen Jian shouted, looking righteously at Hong Bin. "It's not like you can leave the Windswept Realm! No matter where you run to, if Dao-Heaven thinks it's worth it to track you down, do you really think he'll let you get away?"

Hong Bin grimaced. He was also aware that fleeing was not a good longterm option. However, there was really no other choice. Dao-Heaven was simply too powerful.

"You can say two more things!" Hong Bin said, his face grim.

"You're powerless to defend yourself," Yuwen Jian continued, "and so am I, all because of this damned Windswept Realm and the changes to the rules. Don't try to convince me that you haven't noticed the writing on the wall. Furthermore, don't try to get me to believe that you don't know why I brought Naruto here. Cooperation could be doubly beneficial for all of us, whereas splitting up would be doubly detrimental!"

"You can say one more thing!" Hong Bin said slowly, placing his right hand on the ground, which caused the teleportation portal to rev up. All the while, he stared at Yuwen Jian.

"Fudge! I didn't have three things to say, fool!" Yuwen Jian roared. "If you want to chicken out, then get the hell out of here!"

Hong Bin stared in shock, and his expression grew even more unsightly. He shifted his gaze over to Naruto off in the distance, then gritted his teeth after a long moment.

"Can he beat Dao-Heaven?"

"Maybe, maybe not," Yuwen Jian said bitterly. "Even if you join the two

of us, we still might not be able to beat him…. But, this is the only way we'll even have a chance. The alternative is just waiting for Dao-Heaven to slaughter us all one by one!"

Hong Bin replied with silence. If Yuwen Jian had said that he was sure they could beat Dao-Heaven, Hong Bin would have teleported away immediately. Generally speaking, he didn't trust anything Yuwen Jian said. However, for Yuwen Jian to unexpectedly respond in this way caused Hong Bin to hesitate.

"What does he want in exchange for my help!?" Hong Bin asked, looking at Yuwen Jian.

Yuwen Jian looked back silently at Hong Bin for a moment before replying, "Do you really need to ask?" After another moment, he continued, "Fellow Daoist Hong Bin, I might have conned you in the past, but you have to admit that when I did, I didn't hurt you in any way!"

Hong Bin clenched his jaw, then waved his right hand. The Sixth Nation's World Seal flew out, piercing through the shield and flying past Yuwen Jian toward Naruto.

If he was going to purchase a favor, it would be better to have Naruto owe him, than Yuwen Jian.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he reached out toward the incoming World Seal.

"Fellow Daoist Naruto," Hong Bin said, one word at a time. "I'm not sure what this shyster Yuwen Jian told you, but since this is our first time meeting, I want to make something clear…. Dao-Heaven has started killing people, and I don't want to end up a victim. Neither does Yuwen

Jian. As for you… if you want to fight Dao-Heaven, you'll need our help!

"At the very least, you'll need us up until Dao-Heaven is dead!"

Naruto caught the World Seal. After a moment of silence, he nodded.

"You're right," he said slowly. "So. Are you guys ready?"

Such a response from Naruto caught Hong Bin off guard. He had assumed Naruto would make some sort of confident declaration, but instead, he had responded complete contrary to expectation. Yuwen Jian's eyes also went wide. He and Hong Bin looked at each other, and then expressions of determination filled their faces.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki , you're very frank and straightforward," said Hong

Bin. "I don't need to prepare anything. I'm ready to fight right now!" With that, he rose to his feet, his cultivation base surging. His energy soared, and a massive wind sprang up into the sky.

Yuwen Jian's eyes gleamed with resolve, and his cultivation base also erupted with power. A second tempest roared up into the sky, joining with Hong Bin's to shake everything. The shocking power caused the lands to tremble and the air to distort. They were like two burning torches in the dead of night, making a declaration to every other Echelon cultivator, even to Dao-Heaven, that they… wanted to fight!

Naruto took a deep breath. He put away the Sixth Nation's World Seal and then also unleashed his power. Massive rumbling could be heard as his energy quickly surpassed Yuwen Jian and Hong Bin's, causing everything to shake violently.

These were three Echelon cultivators, simultaneously powering up, creating a will to fight that shook everything, issuing a direct challenge to Dao-Heaven!

This was no plot, scheme, or trick. This was an open and aboveboard declaration of war!

The mortals in the Windswept Realm didn't notice anything more than a sudden increase in the air pressure. However, the cultivators could detect the shocking transformations, the trembling of the lands and the chaos up in the sky.

As for the raging will to fight cast off by Naruto, Yuwen Jian and Hong Bin… only other Echelon cultivators could detect it.

Han Qinglei and Lin Cong were no longer in their original nations; both were hiding in random places in the Windswept Realm. In one particular mountain cave, Han Qinglei suddenly looked in the direction of the Sixth Nation, and his face flickered.

Lin Cong was sitting cross-legged at the bottom of a lake. When the lake water began to vibrate, he suddenly looked up, and his eyes flashed.

In the Fourth Nation, Dao-Heaven was flying at top speed through the air when all of a sudden, he stopped in midflight and looked in the direction of the Sixth Nation. A bright gleam appeared in his eyes, and a faint smile turned up the corners of his mouth. He could sense the will to fight in those three bursts of energy, and could tell that they were issuing a challenge to him.

"You want to fight? Well then, let's fight!" he said proudly. Then, he exploded with massive speed, transforming into a Blue Dragon that roared off into the distance.

The roaring shook Heaven and Earth, causing a massive wind to kick up, and the sky to move backward. When compared to the energy of Naruto and the others, his energy was actually slightly greater!

At the same time, he pushed himself with greater speed, piercing through the air and leaving behind only afterimages as he shot toward the Sixth Nation with indescribable speed.

Outside of the Sixth Nation's National Aura Mountain, almost as soon as Naruto and the others unleashed their energy, they felt the response from Dao-Heaven. Yuwen Jian's face darkened.

"Dammit. He's even stronger than before!"

Naruto's eyes went wide. He had never met Dao-Heaven from the First Mountain, but had heard his name mentioned by other Echelon cultivators. He knew that Dao-Heaven was strong, and that, thirty years ago, he had earned the title of number one in the Echelon.

In the subsequent thirty years, other Echelon cultivators would have had the chance to catch up, putting them in the position to fight him. From the way things were playing out in the Windswept Realm, though, it seemed that Dao-Heaven… was still the number one most powerful member.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes flickered with the intense desire to fight.

Inside the National Aura Mountain's shield, Hong Bin felt his heart beginning to pound, and he started grumbling inwardly. Now that DaoHeaven had revealed his energy, the bravery he had felt moments ago was waning.

After a moment, though, his eyes flickered, and he said, "I'm adept with Daoist magic. I'll stay here behind the shield where I'm safe, and use magical techniques on Dao-Heaven. That is how I can support you, Elder Brother Uzumaki and Elder Brother Yuwen."

Yuwen Jian hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth. Determination shone in his eyes, and it looked like he was ready to throw caution to the wind.

"I'm a body cultivator, and I have my Six Times Nine God Body," he said. "Brother Naruto, you might be the most powerful fighter among us, but you've never tangled with Dao-Heaven. Let me take the lead in the battle. I'll buy you some time to analyze him."

Yuwen Jian's sudden statement caused Hong Bin to stare in shock. Yuwen Jian was the type of person who seemed honest, but was actually very treacherous, so Hong Bin would never have guessed that he would choose to do as he just had.

Naruto also looked at Yuwen Jian with a strange expression. After a moment of thought, he nodded. "Very well. It will help to have some time to study him."

The three of them spoke no more words. They sat down cross-legged,

Yuwen Jian and Naruto in midair outside of the shield, Hong Bin

inside. All three remained in their peak states as they waited for DaoHeaven's arrival. Eventually, Yuwen Jian took out a bottle of medicinal pills and quietly consumed one. Rumbling sounds emanated out from inside of him, and he began to shine with a red glow.

"God blood?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"My last drop," Yuwen Jian replied, crushing the bottle to show that it really was the last drop inside.

"How did you get it?" Naruto asked.

"By killing a God!" was the cool response. "Brother Naruto, if you're interested, then as long as I don't die in this fight, I'll take you to the Seventh Mountain one day. We can take a trip to the God Domain and slay some Gods!"

Naruto nodded. "Deal!"

Time passed. Soon, Dao-Heaven was shooting over the sky of the Fifth Nation, causing rumbling sounds to emanate out. The ground quaked, and rifts tore open in the sky.

All of a sudden, a crimson chain appeared, wrapped around DaoHeaven's arm, which emanated the aura of an Ancient treasure. That was none other than his reward for killing the Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain. Lofty Mountain Immortal Flail!

Gradually, what appeared to be images of lofty mountains appeared on the surface of the chain. Occasionally, even Immortal mountains could be seen!

Dao-Heaven shot through the Fifth Nation, face both icy and also filled with pride and self-confidence. Eventually, he reached… the Sixth Nation.

As soon as he passed over the border, incredible pressure weighed down on him.

Back on the Sixth Nation's National Aura Mountain, Hong Bin suddenly said: "He's here!"

Yuwen Jian's eyes began to shine, and he rose to his feet, looking more serious than ever.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked off into the distance. In that direction, he sensed a Heaven-shaking, Earth shattering power of Chakra and blood, rumbling in his direction!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1118

Chapter 1118: Fighting Dao-Heaven!

Dao-Heaven had arrived!

The sky churned and the lands shook. It was as if the king of all the Heavens had arrived. As soon as he set foot onto the lands below, a seemingly invincible energy radiated out with each step he took.

Every step caused the land to quake, and huge footprints to appear in the ground. It was as if an invisible giant were treading forth.

Dao-heaven wore a long white robe, and had flowing black hair. He was handsome, seemingly having cast off all traces of mortality. His eyes shone like stars, and anyone who looked into them would feel as if they were being sucked into their depths.

Thirty years ago… he had been named… the number one cultivator in the Echelon, its most powerful member.

He did not wear a crown, and yet anyone who looked at him would find him kingly. He wore no Imperial robes, only a white garment, and yet he appeared to represent the Heavens.

He strolled along, seemingly in no hurry, and yet filled with icy coldness. The way he looked down at Naruto and the others made it seem as if they were ants to him. Apparently it was only Naruto himself whom he seemed to find even the least bit interesting.

"So, the three of you want to challenge me to a fight?" he said coldly as he hovered in midair. His simple statement echoed out like thunder, tearing through all obstacles to pound into the ears of Naruto, Yuwen Jian and Hong Bin.

Yuwen Jian's face went pale, and he trembled as he took a few steps backward. Then he threw his head back and howled, "Dao-Heaven!" Roaring, he suddenly shot up into the air.

Hong Bin sat behind the shield, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth, a look of astonishment and fear written on his face. He had never imagined that a single statement uttered by Dao-Heaven could injure him so badly. It was almost as if the shield behind which he sat was useless.

Seeing that Yuwen Jian was going on the offensive, Hong Bing gritted his teeth and performed an incantation gesture. Then he waved his finger toward Dao-Heaven, causing numerous stars to materialize up above.

The stars flickered, and then smashed toward Dao-Heaven.

In addition, multitudinous complex lines spread out around Dao-Heaven, forming spinning spell formations that seemed designed to entangle and kill him.

Naruto took a deep breath. Although Dao-Heaven's words didn't affect him very much, now that he was face to face with the young man, he could sense an incredible might emanating off of him. That might was the incredible battle prowess of Dao-Heaven's shocking cultivation base.

"Of all the people I've encountered in my generation, he's definitely the strongest!" he thought, his eyes flickering. He stepped forward, unleashing the Seven God Steps, which caused his energy to begin to rise up.

It takes a bit of time to describe all of these things, but they all happened in almost an instant. Dao-Heaven smiled indifferently, as if he didn't even care about his three opponents.

"None of you even deserve to be in the Echelon," he said, waving his right hand through the air. Instantly, the air seemed to rip apart and then spin toward the incoming stars. Before the stars could even get close to Dao-Heaven, they were shattered into pieces.

Next, Dao-Heaven raised his right foot up and stamped it down. A boom echoed out, followed by a shockwave that spread out with astonishing attack power. As soon as it touched the spell formations, cracking sounds could be heard, and the delicate spell formations were destroyed.

After taking that single step, Dao-Heaven pushed his right finger toward the incoming Yuwen Jian.

Yuwen Jian threw his head back and roared. "Six Times Nine God Body!

Ninth Transformation!"

Rumbling sounds could be heard as his body rapidly grew larger, until he looked like a giant. Incredible power radiated off of him as he sent two fists flying toward Dao-Heaven. In the blink of an eye, his fists connected with Dao-Heaven's finger.

In that instant, the flesh was shredded off of his hands, revealing the bones underneath. Yuwen Jian let out a miserable shriek as he tumbled backward, blood spraying everywhere. Shockingly, his two fists couldn't stand up to the swipe of Dao-Heaven's single finger!

Naruto was shaken inwardly. He had fought Yuwen Jian, and knew that in his current state, even he would be incapable of seriously injuring Yuwen Jian with a single finger swipe.

"Impossible!" Yuwen Jian howled. "Y-you… how many times have you dropped your cultivation base back down from the Ancient Realm?!" It was a huge blow to him to have been seriously injured by a single finger swipe.

"Insects like you shouldn't talk about things they don't understand." 1

Dao-Heaven said coolly, taking another step forward, instantly bypassing Naruto. It was almost like a teleportation, which placed him very close to the Sixth Nation's National Aura Mountain shield.

"Yuwen Jian," Dao-Heaven said loftily, "you don't deserve to be in the Echelon. And you… Hong Bin, you deserve it even less." He waved his finger toward the shield, causing a sun and a moon to appear. They swirled around each other as they sped through the air and then smashed into the shield.

A vicious expression appeared on Hong Bin's face. He performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing numerous streams of light to explode up. 10,000,000 of them spread out, creating a bright river that surged toward Dao-Heaven.

Dao-Heaven's expression was as lofty as ever as his finger touched the shield. A boom rang out, and the shield trembled, distorting even more violently than before. Instantly, cracks spread out from the point where his finger had touched it!

"Break," he said. The cracks expanded rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, the entire shield suddenly shattered. At the same time, Hong Bin's river of 10,000,000 streams of light rumbled toward Dao-Heaven with shocking power.

At the same time, Hong Bin's face went pale, and an expression of fear appeared. Without any further hesitation, he slapped his hand onto the ground, causing the teleportation portal to surge into motion. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of his nine followers as they used their life force to power the portal.

"That's all you've got?!" Dao-Heaven asked calmly, not even looking at the incoming river of light. As it neared, he shot forward through the river, appearing directly on the Sixth Nation's National Aura Mountain. Just when Hong Bin was about to teleport away, Dao-Heaven lifted his right foot up and stomped down onto the mountain.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

A massive energy erupted out from him, causing the entire National Aura Mountain to shatter and collapse. Countless rocks and rubble tumbled out in every direction, and Hong Bin's nine followers exploded into bits. The teleportation portal was also shattered, and Hong Bin was sent flying back, blood spraying out of his mouth, an expression of shock and terror on his face.

"Save me!" he screamed. He was in the Echelon, and was a proud person. But in this moment of critical danger, he abandoned all pride and fled.

Yuwen Jian let out a bellow of rage and attacked again.

Naruto also fell back. The level of power on display by Dao-Heaven had already struck him deeply. He had fought many people of his generation with cultivation bases similar to himself, but none of them could even compare to Dao-Heaven.

"So, is this the real Echelon…?" he thought, feeling shaken. After having defeated Han Qinglei, Lin Cong, and then Hai Dongqing, he had started to look down on the Echelon. As of this moment, all such feelings vanished.

"Nobody can save you now," Dao-Heaven said casually, then laughed and transformed into a blur that shot over to Hong Bin. He raised his right hand and pointed a finger toward Hong Bin's forehead.

The speed was so incredible that before Hong Bin could even do anything, the finger was about to tap onto his head.

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, the Lightning Cauldron appeared in Naruto's hand. Electricity danced around him, and then he vanished. When he reappeared, shockingly, he was directly in front of Hong Bin. As for Dao-Heaven, he was now in the position that Naruto had just occupied.

Despite how powerful he was, he gaped in shock.

In that moment of shock, Naruto's voice echoed out, filled with killing intent.

"Paragon magic, Paragon Bridge!" He waved his hand, causing his cultivation base to surge with power. 123 Immortal meridians and 33 Heavens formed into the Paragon Bridge, which smashed down toward the astonished Dao-Heaven.

As for Hong Bin, there was really nowhere for him to flee to. He had just been snatched out of the jaws of death, and now he hesitated no longer. He performed an incantation gesture, causing his forehead to split open and two fish to fly out.

One of the fish was black, and the other was white. They spun in a circle, head-to-tail, creating a circle in midair. Black and white light shone out as they spun, gradually forming into a spell array. Shockingly, this spell array was Hong Bin's Paragon magic!

"Paragon magic, Dao of Yin and Yang!"

Yuwen Jian threw his head back and roared, and brilliant red light surged up from him. By now, he had fully absorbed the drop of God blood that he had consumed earlier. Now, he could unleash his own Paragon magic.

"Paragon magic, God-Extermination Tattoo!" Yuwen Jian waved his hand, causing half of his clothing to transform into nothing but ash. Shockingly, blood swirled on both his chest and back to form a tattoo of blood!

The tattoo depicted numerous gigantic Gods being massacred in one scene after another. A murderous aura exploded off of Yuwen Jian and, astonishingly, the area around him seemed to transform into the scenes from the tattoo. The sky turned the color of blood, and a multitude of shocking illusory figures could be seen everywhere.

All in one moment, Naruto, Yuwen Jian and Hong Bin all unleashed their Paragon magic.

Dao-Heaven's face flickered, and he suddenly lifted his right hand up and smacked it down onto his chest. Immediately, the sound of a thumping heart began to echo out.

Ba-dump. Ba-dump. Ba-dump…. Nine heart beats boomed out like thunder, shaking the world. Furthermore, with each heartbeat, DaoHeaven's energy shot higher and higher, until he was emanating an aura of the Ancient Realm!

After nine heartbeats, his power was almost indescribable. This was the aura of nine breakthroughs into the Ancient Realm, turning him into a fiendish divinity. When he threw his head back and roared, strange colors flashed in the sky.

"I have stepped into the Ancient Realm nine times before. Nine times, I forced myself back down to re-cultivate and break through again. Do you really think that weaklings like yourself could compare to me? You're DEAD, ALL of you!" Dao-Heaven's voice echoed with shocking pressure, weighing down heavily onto Naruto and the others.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he immediately said, "You stepped into the Ancient Realm nine times, but then forced yourself back down and started over? That means you made nine mistakes, picked nine wrong paths. If your path was correct… the one time would be enough!" Then, he sent his Paragon magic rumbling out.

Dao-Heaven uses a variation on a Chinese idiom which basically means that summer insects cannot discuss ice, meaning that it is impossible to speak to people of limited experience ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1119

Chapter 1119 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1119: Hong Bin Dies in Battle!

Dao-Heaven faced off haughtily against the Paragon magics of Naruto and the others. Suddenly, he took a breath, and his energy surged as he stretched his right hand up and waved it around.

"As for my Paragon magic, I have come to call it… Paragon Painting!" Even as the words left his mouth, the air in front of Dao-Heaven distorted and was ripped apart as a scroll painting flew out.

The scroll painting was pitch black and emanated a boundlessly ancient feeling. It seemed like something that had existed for countless years, and before it even opened, it emanated an incredible, murderous aura.

The power of that aura instantly caused bizarre colors to flash everywhere, and the wind to churn. It was impossible to even describe the level of power; this type of murderous aura was something that Naruto hadn't encountered in his entire life.

It seemed like an aura of someone who had ended countless lives, who had exterminated worlds upon worlds, who had proven his Paragon status by means of endless slaughter!

The air rumbled and distorted beneath the power of this aura of murder. The sky turned dark, as if it were being completely covered up, as if the whole world were turning black.

The ground quaked, and the murderous aura caused fog to spring up and roil out in all directions. In a brief moment, the entire world changed.

Naruto's heart was pounding, and it was the same with Yuwen Jian and Hong Bin, whose faces had fallen.

It was as if within this scroll painting hid a shocking, fiendish beast whose mere aura could suck away all the light of the world!

"Paragon Painting, open!" Dao-Heaven said proudly, performing an incantation gesture and pointing at the scroll painting. Noiselessly, the scroll painting began to open up, not fully, only about thirty percent. However, the thirty percent that was revealed gave a glimpse of the scene depicted. It was a bizarre world, a world of pitch black, and if you looked closely, you would see… a land that seemed to embody death.

Nothing else was visible except for that land, nor would it be, unless the scroll painting was opened further.

However, that tiny portion caused an indescribable power to surge out, which spread out in all directions along with the murderous aura.

Heaven and Earth seemed to be on the verge of collapse. The world seemed about to fall apart. Massive power rumbled out, sweeping toward Yuwen Jian and completely shattering his Paragon magic. When the blood-colored images of Yuwen Jian's Paragon magic collapsed, he was flung backward, blood spraying out of his mouth.

Naruto felt as if a mountain had slammed into him. His body trembled, and blood oozed out of his mouth. He staggered backward thirty meters, and as he looked at Dao-Heaven's terrifying Paragon magic, he realized that it was something he couldn't even fight.

"Just what is painted inside of that scroll!?" he thought, heart trembling.

The worst off of the group was the boyish Hong Bin. He screamed and then coughed up a mouthful of blood as he shot backward. Before he could get very far, a blur sped through the air, which was none other than Dao-Heaven. His face was pale; apparently, the Paragon magics unleashed by Naruto and the others were not things that he could simply ignore, as he had their previous attacks.

They had forced him to the point of using Paragon magic to fight back. If any of his followers were present, they would surely be astonished by this. Dao-Heaven's pride was such that he had never actually unleashed his Paragon magic during battle with members of his generation. In fact, he would only use it to suppress powerful experts of the Senior generation.

But now, Naruto and the others had forced him to use it. Facing their combined attack had actually filled Dao-Heaven's heart with a sense of deadly crisis.

However, that sense of crisis led to the unleashing of his Paragon magic, which instantly turned the tide of battle in his favor. He suddenly appeared directly in front of Hong Bin, his eyes flashing with killing intent as he waved his hand in an attack.

The simple wave of a hand unleashed explosive power, transforming into a will of slaughter that slammed into Hong Bin.

Seeing that he was about to be overwhelmed, a crazed look appeared in Hong Bin's eyes. He threw his head back and roared, choosing to selfdetonate in the same moment that Dao-Heaven went in for the kill.

His eyes were bright red as his cultivation base exploded with mad power. As Hong Bin's body detonated, Dao-Heaven's pupils constricted. He flicked his sleeve, using his robe to defend himself. Hong Bin exploded, his body transforming into a tempest that swept out in all directions.

The massive blast shattered the sky and crushed the land. Dao-Heaven's will of slaughter was bashed away by the force of the explosion, and Dao-Heaven's face went pale. He was slightly injured by the impact, and yet he didn't cough up any blood.

Hong Bin took advantage of the moment to reform from the haze of blood. When he reappeared, he shot backward at top speed.

"Save me!" he screamed. He had died once before during his time in the Sixth Mountain, and if you coupled that with the self-detonation just now, it meant that he could no longer rely on being able to come back. The next time he died, he would die for good.

In the same moment that Hong Bin cried for help, Naruto and Yuwen

Jian went on the offensive. Naruto unleashed the Essence of Divine Flame, and Yuwen Jian roared as red light swirled around him. His fist shot out, causing a figure of blood to appear, a towering giant who pounced toward Dao-Heaven.

Dao-Heaven snorted coldly as Yuwen Jian's blood-colored giant closed in. He performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and pointed out. Suddenly, the Immortal Flail on his arm vanished, then snapped out from his finger, slamming into the blood-colored giant. A huge boom echoed out as the giant exploded. As for the Immortal Flail, it didn't stop, but rather, continued straight on toward Yuwen Jian.

The person Dao-Heaven was actually the most concerned about was Naruto, whose Divine Flame was currently bearing down on him.

"Essence…. I have that too!" he suddenly said. He spit something out of his mouth, and the flash of lightning could be seen. It was a red lightning bolt that seemed to summon lightning from Heaven and Earth. Countless lightning bolts began to fall, transforming into a sea of lightning that shot toward Naruto's Essence of Divine Flame.

When the two forces slammed into each other, the flame Essence and the lightning Essence both collapsed with a massive boom.

All of this takes a long time to describe, but the truth of the matter is that in the same moment that Dao-Heaven blocked Naruto and Yuwen Jian, he didn't pause for even a moment before chasing after Hong Bin.

"DIE!" he said, his voice cool. His right hand clenched into a fist, and he punched out. That blow contained an indescribably wild wind, an explosive tempest that bore down onto Hong Bin.

The light of despair flashed in Hong Bin's eyes, and he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing numerous spell formations to appear in front of him. He also waved his hand, sending various magical items flying out of his bag of holding. He even used life-saving magical items.

He didn't spare a single thing in his defense. However, all of his spell formations and magical items were crushed by Dao-Heaven as easily as if they were dried weeds. Everything collapsed, and just as the tempest was about to slam into Hong Bin, Dao-Heaven suddenly transformed the fist into a claw, which latched onto Hong Bin's forehead.

Dao-Heaven then coldly spoke out three words: "Heavenly Demon

Devouring!"

Hong Bin immediately let out a bloodcurdling scream. His fleshly body rapidly withered away as his life force was absorbed by Dao-Heaven. Instantly, all of Dao-Heaven's injuries were healed.

Blood sprayed out of Hong Bin's mouth, and as death neared him, a spell formation suddenly appeared on his forehead. The spell formation then exploded, shoving Dao-Heaven's hand away. Hong Bin was transformed into nothing but ash, with only his Immortal soul left behind. He let out a piercing cry, and a look of madness could be seen on his face.

"Yuwen Jian, Naruto, it would be better for you to get the reward for killing me than to let me fall by Dao-Heaven's hand! Swear to me that you'll avenge me by cutting him down!" Hong Bin feared death, but he was still a member of the Echelon. Echelon cultivators were proud, and when faced with death, they rarely acted indecisively. Without the slightest hesitation, he shot toward Yuwen Jian.

Yuwen Jian's heart trembled, as did Naruto's. They had all miscalculated. Dao-Heaven was so strong that even the three of them together weren't strong enough to take him down.

"The only person who will be killing you… is me," Dao-Heaven said with a cold laugh. His right hand made a clawing motion toward Naruto and Yuwen Jian. Instantly, rumbling echoed out as the air between them was shattered, transforming into an obstacle-like distortion that separated them completely.

Then, Dao-Heaven shot like lightning toward Hong Bin, his eyes shining with anticipation.

"I wonder what reward I'll get for killing you, Hong Bin? Prepare to die!" Dao-Heaven raised his hand and grabbed out toward Hong Bin, upon whose face appeared a look of despair. Hong Bin was incapable of fleeing, and couldn't even self-detonate. It was as if his body was completely sealed off.

Just when he was on the verge of being killed, Naruto suddenly pulled out the Lightning Cauldron. Electricity danced, but at the same time, Dao-Heaven let out a roar. Suddenly, a red glow spread out, covering both him and Hong Bin. Unexpectedly, Naruto's Lightning Cauldron didn't work!

That didn't cause Naruto to pause for even a moment, however. He raised his left hand and waved a finger toward Dao-Heaven.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed!

Dao-Heaven could be on guard against Naruto's Lightning Cauldron, but could do nothing to stop the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

As soon as the Hexing magic was unleashed, Dao-Heaven suddenly lurched to a stop. For the second time, his face fell, and a feeling of astonishment rose up inside of him.

He was only locked down for the space of about one breath of time.

However, to Hong Bin, that one breath of time was enough for him to escape the shackles of being sealed.

However, he didn't take advantage of that moment to flee. He knew that getting away was an impossibility. Laughing bitterly, and eyes shining with determination, he flew directly toward Dao-Heaven in an attack.

"Get revenge for me!" he said, throwing his head back and roaring.

Yuwen Jian urgently cried out, "Hong Bin!"

Naruto's heart trembled.

It was at this point that Hong Bin's Immortal soul closed in on DaoHeaven. At the same time, Dao-Heaven was beginning to recover from the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. A vicious smile appeared on the face of Hong Bin's Immortal soul as he… self-detonated!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The detonation of an Immortal soul alone would not unleash the same power as if the fleshly body exploded along with it. However… Hong Bin was in the Echelon, and as such, the detonation of his Immortal soul transformed into a power far beyond the ordinary. More importantly, the damage was increased because of his close proximity to Dao-Heaven, who was incapable of putting up a solid defense because he still hadn't fully recovered from Naruto's magical technique.

A huge, shocking boom echoed out as Hong Bin's Immortal soul exploded into nothing more than ash. Dao-Heaven was shaken, and tumbled backward, coughing up blood. This was the first time during the fight that he coughed up blood, which splashed down onto the ground and formed a lake of blood.

"Naruto!" Dao-Heaven roared, screeching to a halt in midair. His face was pale as he turned to look at Naruto, a murderous gleam in his eyes.

The two moments of danger he had experienced so far, had both been because of… Naruto!

This time, because Hong Bin had died by means of self-detonation, DaoHeaven got no reward for killing him!

Chapter 1119: Hong Bin Dies in Battle!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1120

Chapter 1120: The Light of the Allheaven!

Yuwen Jian stared at the spot where Hong Bin had just died, his face ashen, hardly daring to believe what he had just seen.

"This is my fault…." he murmured.

"No it's not," said Naruto, grabbing him by the arm. "If we didn't come, he still couldn't have escaped from Dao-Heaven!" He pulled

Yuwen Jian back. "We can't keep fighting here, let's go to the Fifth Nation!"

As Naruto backed up, Yuwen Jian's expression returned to normal. Burying his guilt and self-blame deep in his heart, he looked over at DaoHeaven, and the desire to kill flickered stronger than ever in his eyes.

He said nothing, though, and simply joined Naruto in retreating.

Dao-Heaven glared at Naruto and said, "Flee to the ends of the earth and I'll still kill you today!"

He had been placed in mortal danger twice, all because of Naruto. Currently, his desire to kill Naruto had reached unprecedented heights. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot after them in pursuit.

Naruto and Yuwen Jian fled, and Dao-Heaven pursued.

The three of them shot through the air in beams of light, sending rumbling sounds out in all directions. Dao-Heaven snorted coldly, and the air beneath his feet folded in on itself as he apparently borrowed power to gain a sudden burst in speed. This was clearly the unleashing of some secret magic. In the blink of an eye, his speed increased several-fold, and he was getting closer and closer to Naruto and Yuwen Jian.

Naruto's eyes suddenly glittered, and he said quietly, "Yuwen Jian, you go on ahead!"

Then he spun and shot back toward Dao-Heaven. Yuwen Jian's eyes flickered; he was an intelligent person, so after a moment of thought, he continued to flee.

Meanwhile, Naruto waved his hand, unleashing the Mountain Consuming Incantation. One mountain after another rumbled down, forming together into a mountain range that crushed toward DaoHeaven.

Dao-Heaven's eyes flickered with killing intent as he waved his hand, causing an explosive, violent wind to spring up. It was a black wind that contained biting coldness, and when it slammed into the mountains, they shattered. Dao-Heaven once again burst forward with incredible speed, nearly ten times as fast as before, to appear directly in front of Naruto. He grinned viciously as he jabbed his finger toward Naruto.

"DIE!" The finger moved with incredible speed until it was just about to stab through Naruto's forehead. However, in that moment, DaoHeaven's eyes widened, and Naruto became nothing more than a ghost image.

Off in the distance, a flash of golden light could be seen, which was Naruto speeding away lightning-fast, in golden roc form. He had long since made his escape.

"How devious!" Dao-Heaven said with a cold harrumph. He originally thought that he could succeed with a single attack. He had never imagined that Naruto would have prepared in advance to flee in golden roc form, using the Mountain Consuming Incantation as a distraction.

The only thing he had left behind for Dao-Heaven was a fleeting ghost image.

"You can't get away!" he said, licking the blood from his lips and once again shooting after Naruto at top speed.

Naruto's face had an unsightly expression. He had never encountered anyone of his generation who was as strong as DaoHeaven. He had to admit that, even in the Immortal Emperor Realm, he was still not a match for him.

"What kind of cultivation does he practice to get so strong? He entered the Ancient Realm nine times, and then pushed himself back down…?" Naruto frowned. Seeing that Dao-Heaven was chasing after him, he waved his hand to summon a Blood Demon head, which roared as it shot back toward Dao-Heaven.

Dao-Heaven snorted coldly and did nothing to evade. As the Blood Demon head closed in with gaping maw, he pushed both hands out in front of him and grabbed onto the upper and lower jaw, then began to rip it apart.

The Blood Demon head let out a miserable shriek; it was no longer a mere illusory form, but even still, it was powerless to stop Dao-Heaven. This was the first time Naruto had ever seen anyone deal with the Blood Demon head in such a way.

However as soon as the Blood Demon head shattered, a blood mist spread out in all directions. Just as Dao-Heaven was about charge through it, his eyebrows suddenly shot up, and he unhesitatingly shoved his hand out in front of him.

As he made the motion, a fist shot out from within the mist of blood, which instantly made contact with Dao-Heaven's palm.

A huge boom rang out, and Dao-Heaven's face fell. He felt an incredibly powerful force surging out of the fist. He roared, and his body surged with red light as he pushed back against the fist.

The blood mist parted, revealing Naruto. The fist strike from just now had been his, and now that Dao-Heaven was resisting it, blood oozed out of his mouth. He backed up a bit, and his eyes went wide as he prepared to pursue. However, Naruto did not flee. Instead, he unleashed another punch.

One punch! Two punch! Three punches!

Naruto had seemingly gone mad. In rapid succession, he unleashed over ten Life-Extermination Fists toward Dao-Heaven.

The two of them flew through midair, zig-zagging back and forth as they got closer to the border of the Sixth and Fifth Nations.

Blood oozed constantly out of Naruto's mouth. After reaching the seventeenth punch, his eyes flickered, and he switched to the Bedevilment Fist.

The punches were delivered with incredible speed, and even as DaoHeaven countered with his palm, his expression flickered for the third time. His face was even paler than before, and as Naruto unleashed yet another punch, he fell back a pace.

As he fell back, Naruto shot forward, seizing the initiative. The Bedevilment Fist was once again unleashed with explosive force, once, twice, three times.

Dao-Heaven's face was extremely unsightly. He had now been forced back by two paces, and as Naruto's momentum built, he stepped back a third time.

"Are you looking to die!?" Dao-Heaven said coldly. After falling back a third time, he forced himself to step forward again. He lifted both hands into the air, stretched them out toward Naruto, and then ripped them apart!

"Heavenly Sundering!" he roared. As he jerked his hands apart, intense pain ripped through Naruto; it felt as if some intense power had entered his body and transformed into two massive hands that were trying to rip him into two pieces, starting with his chest.

In this moment of crisis, his eyes were shot with blood. He thought about using his second Nirvana Fruit, but decided against it. Now was not the time. He endured the pain, then sent his divine sense out into the area and, without any more hesitation, clenched his right hand into a fist, merging everything in the area into… the God-Slaying Fist!

God Slaying!

Rumbling could be heard as he growled and punched out. The blow caused Heaven and Earth to tremble in shocking fashion. It was as if all the heavenly bodies had been covered up, and even Dao-Heaven couldn't help but stare wide-eyed in shock.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The blow screamed toward Dao-Heaven, smashing into the power of his Heavenly Sundering with a boom. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he tumbled backward.

Blood spurted out of Dao-Heaven's mouth. As the blood fell to the ground, it turned into another lake of blood. Dao-Heaven then waved his hand, causing it to bubble and boil, and then shoot toward Naruto. As for Dao-Heaven himself, his face was extremely unsightly, and his hands had actually been numbed.

"Thankfully I saw you use that fist strike against Lin Cong, and was able to prepare for it," he murmured. "Otherwise, it would have been difficult to deal with." The killing intent in his eyes flickered stronger than ever as he stepped forward to pursue Naruto.

Naruto sped backward, producing medicinal pills, which he immediately consumed. His Eternal stratum was also hard at work restoring him. Soon, he was near the border of the Sixth Nation. The Nine Nations of the Windswept Realm all had an invisible border region that existed between them.

Any time you passed through the border, your vision would swim, and you would feel pressure weighing down on you.

Naruto's eyes flashed as he caught sight of traces of Yuwen Jian's aura near the border region.

Without the slightest hesitation, he shot in the same direction as Yuwen Jian's aura, Dao-Heaven hot on his heels. The several-hundred-meter distance between them was rapidly shrinking.

Soon, Naruto passed through the border region, leaving the Sixth Nation and entering the Fifth Nation.

The pressure from the Fifth Nation instantly increased dramatically. Yuwen Jian was waiting just inside the border of the Fifth Nation, and as soon as he saw Naruto, he needed no prompting to guess at the plan Naruto had in mind. He threw his head back and roared, and his body rapidly increased in size. After a moment of preparation, he began to charge forward, passing Naruto and heading toward the barrier region.

Almost in that same instant, Dao-Heaven roared into the same area.

"So you're ambushing me in the border region between Nations, where the pressure is different! Parlor tricks!" Dao-Heaven laughed coldly, and without any hesitation, performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Immediately, a black lotus appeared, which instantly exploded.

Black fog roiled out, along with an incredible force that slammed into Yuwen Jian. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and yet, he didn't fall back, but punched out. Dao-Heaven strode forward, waving his right arm, which caused the Immortal Flail to appear on his arm again. He instantly lashed it out toward Yuwen Jian.

Yuwen Jian's eyes flickered as the Immortal Flail closed in. Suddenly, he stretched his hand out and made a grasping motion. Rumbling could be heard as a battle-ax appeared in his hand! It was none other than the Ancient treasure that Naruto had acquired!

Naruto had delivered it surreptitiously when he had pulled at Yuwen Jian's arm earlier, completely unbeknownst to Dao-Heaven. Yuwen Jian threw his head back and roared, then slashed at Dao-Heaven with the ax, unleashing power that could crush Heaven and Earth.

Dao-Heaven's eyes went wide; this was something that exceeded his powers of prediction. He waved his hand in defense, and yet, almost at the same time, his face fell, not because of Yuwen Jian, but Naruto!

After entering the Fifth Nation, Naruto slapped his bag of holding and pulled out his second Nirvana Fruit. Even as Dao-Heaven and Yuwen Jian began to fight, he slowly lifted the Nirvana Fruit up and pushed it down onto his forehead.

It sank into him, and he trembled as a terrifying aura erupted out from him.

This was what caused Dao-Heaven's expression to fall yet again.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

Naruto threw his head back and roared as his body grew larger. 9 meters. 18 meters. 27 meters…. all the way to 45 meters. 60 meters…. 72 meters!

He was like a giant, with blue veins popping out on his head, his energy bursting up. He now had only one Immortal meridian, and the power of his Chakra and blood, as well as his cultivation base, caused azure light to shine out from him!

That azure light was a color that embodied respect. That was… the light of the Allheaven!

Dao-Heaven's face fell, and his eyes filled with disbelief. He was panting, and inwardly, he felt the most intense sensation of deadly crisis that he had ever felt in his entire life!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1121

Chapter 1121: The Most Powerful State!

Dao-Heaven had a sudden, intense premonition that if he didn't do something to stop Naruto's aura from rising up explosively, then he could very well end up in the middle of a deadly catastrophe.

"Dammit, how could this Naruto be so strong!?" It was extremely rare for Dao-Heaven to encounter anyone who caused him to think in this way.

"Screw off!" Dao-Heaven managed to shove Yuwen Jian back, and then stepped forward amidst rumbling booms. Yuwen Jian was no match for him; even with the battle-ax, he was still forced into constant retreat. However, he didn't shirk from fighting. Roaring, he unleashed the full might of his body cultivation power, fighting fiercely with Dao-Heaven to buy time for Naruto.

Naruto shook as he reached a height of 72 meters. All of his Immortal meridians were now fused into one, and he was surrounded by brilliant azure light.

Unfortunately, he was now distinctly aware of the fact that he couldn't actually fight while powering up. He wanted to, but was incapable. This was his first time absorbing the Nirvana Fruit and reaching the Allheaven Immortal stage during a battle. The previous two times had been mere tests while in secluded meditation.

"Dammit!" he thought, growing anxious. However, no hesitation could be seen in his facial expression. His power continued to surge, and to anyone watching, it would seem obvious that there was more to come.

His aura rose past the Immortal Emperor Realm and he entered half a step into the Allheaven Immortal Realm. Terrifying ripples exploded off of him.

Colors flashed and the winds screamed, as if some huge eye had appeared up in the Heavens and was staring at Naruto.

Thunder crashed, and the sky above the Windswept Realm twisted and distorted. The lands quaked, and the mountains trembled. The whole world seemed to be changing.

Dao-Heaven's eyes went wide when he saw Naruto's power rising up without stop. Even he had to admit that what he was seeing was terrifying to the extreme. He threw his head back and roared, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused his cultivation base to erupt with power. A black fog appeared in front of him, which churned as it transformed into a giant, one-horned beast that charged roaring toward Yuwen Jian.

Yuwen Jian's face fell, and his anxiety grew. He wasn't sure what was going on with Naruto. Although they hadn't laid out specific plans, according to how the situation had developed, this moment was about the time when Naruto should make his move.

"Dammit, what's taking him so long!?" Yuwen Jian roared inwardly. He had half a mind to flee, but instead, gritted his teeth and faced the charging beast.

A huge boom echoed out, and blood sprayed out of Yuwen Jian's mouth. The cracking sounds of breaking bones could be heard. Blood spurted out, and he coughed up chunks of crushed internal organs, and he was sent flying backward. His aura was weakening, and yet, he clenched his teeth, roared, and then decided to go all-out. He hefted the battle-ax and slashed it viciously toward Dao-Heaven, who was trying to rush past him.

With a cold harrumph, Dao-Heaven took a step forward without attempting to dodge the blow at all, lifting his right hand up as he used the Immortal Flail to block the descending ax.

A boom rang out, and then Dao-Heaven turned, as if to shoot toward

Naruto. Yuwen Jian let out a roar and pounced, attempting to grapple Dao-Heaven and hold him in place. Dao-Heaven's face turned grim.

"Are you looking to die!?" His right hand clenched into a fist and he punched Yuwen Jian in the stomach. Yuwen Jian's eyes went wide as he tumbled backward amidst a haze of blood and gore.

"Naruto," Yuwen Jian shouted with a bitter laugh, "you owe me a life!" Even as the words came out of his mouth, his eyes gleamed with determination, and he charged again, preparing to expend one of his lives, in an attempt to block Dao-Heaven for a bit longer.

"DIE!" Dao-Heaven roared, waving his hand. The giant fog beast howled and lunged toward Yuwen Jian. Just when it seemed to be on the verge of hitting him, all of a sudden, the air in front of Yuwen Jian distorted, and a towering figure appeared.

It was none other than Naruto, standing there at more than 70 meters tall!

He immediately extended his hand and pushed it out toward the pouncing beast.

That motion caused the previously shocking beast to let out a shriek like a sick cat. It suddenly stopped in midair, incapable of moving a muscle, its expression one of fear and disbelief as Naruto reached out and crushed its head.

A boom could be heard as the beast exploded, sending bits of black fog roiling out in all directions.

"M-Naruto!" Yuwen Jian panted, shocked at the sight of the figure in front of him. Naruto glowed with azure light, and an archaic aura roiled off of him. It was almost as if… in this moment, Naruto was not a cultivator of the Mountain and Sea Realm, but instead, someone who had traveled through time from the primordial Paragon Immortal Realm.

He stood tall, radiating azure light. Faint, flickering magical symbols could be seen on him as he stood there like a mountain. The air vibrated and the lands trembled. The clouds up above seemed to lower themselves, as if in obeisance.

In the entire world, and in all the lands, it was as if Naruto were the only existence.

That was… a domineering aura that said, REVERE ME!

Naruto looked up at Dao-Heaven.

Dao-Heaven's face flickered with a serious expression as he stared back. Inside, he was starting to get nervous.

"Yuwen Jian, get out of here!" Naruto said slowly. Yuwen Jian would not be of any use in the battle to come, and if he stayed, it could be possible that Dao-Heaven might unleash something akin to the Blood Demon Grand Magic, or something even more sinister like the Heavenly Demon Devouring. That could put Naruto in a bad position.

Therefore, the best thing for Naruto was for him to leave!

Yuwen Jian stared deeply at Naruto for a moment, as if to affix him to memory. Yuwen Jian didn't have many friends, and even Hong Bin only counted as half a friend. However, in the brief bit of time he had spent with Naruto, he had already come to consider him a friend.

"I'm not going to give this battle-ax back to you if you die," he said. "So… don't get yourself killed!" Then he took a deep breath and sped off into the distance with all the speed he could muster. Dao-Heaven didn't even spare him a glance as he left; the threat posed by Naruto was far too great.

"Naruto!" he roared, and his body emanated cracking sounds. In the blink of an eye, he began to grow. His expression distorted, and when he reached a height of 60 meters, he threw his head back and roared. The sound of his heartbeat echoed out, and on the ninth beat, his energy peaked, and he strode toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression was calm. He could sense the power of his sole

Immortal meridian, as well as the terrifying strength of his fleshly body. He began to walk forward, then clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out toward Dao-Heaven.

That fist caused the sky to flash and the wind to scream. Dao-Heaven's face flickered, and yet he laughed viciously. As Naruto's fist strike neared, he suddenly vanished, then reappeared behind Naruto. At the same time, two black, leathery wings spread out from his back.

Next, his hand formed a claw shape, which he slashed toward Naruto's back.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, and he didn't even turn around. Instead, he pushed off with his feet, flying back-first toward DaoHeaven.

Dao-Heaven's hand struck Naruto's back, causing a huge boom to echo out. Naruto didn't react, but Dao-Heaven's hand twisted in place, completely incapable of doing anything to Naruto. Then, Naruto slammed into Dao-Heaven.

An earsplitting boom echoed out, and blood sprayed out of DaoHeaven's mouth. He flew back like a kite with its string cut, his expression one of shock as more than half the bones in his body broke.

"Impossible! How could he be so strong!?" In his astonishment, sonic booms echoed out from him from the incredible speed with which he was thrown through the air as a result of Naruto's vicious attack.

In the blink of an eye, he had passed across much of the Fifth Nation, and was actually nearing the border of the Fourth Nation. Subsequently, Naruto vanished, then suddenly reappeared directly in Dao-Heaven's path. He extended his right hand, and boundless azure light rose up from him as he used the power of an Allheaven Immortal to wave his finger.

"I'm the number one in the Echelon!" Dao-Heaven roared. "You can't beat me! This state of yours will only last for so long!" Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he wrapped his wings around his body protectively. At the same time, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a shield to appear, as well as a vast number of magical items.

A boom could be heard as Naruto's Allheaven Finger pressed down onto the shield. Cracking sounds rang out in all directions, and layer by layer, the shield collapsed. Numerous magical items shattered, and then, Naruto's finger landed on Dao-Heaven's wings.

A boom rattled out as the wings were shredded to pieces, transforming into nothing but ash. Dao-Heaven screamed miserably as Naruto's finger continued on. Then, he raised his right arm, apparently intending to use the Ancient treasure, the Immortal Flail, to block.

Popping sounds filled the air, which came from the Immortal Flail shattering. When it came into contact with Naruto's Allheaven Finger, the Ancient treasure was incapable of doing anything against it. DaoHeaven's eyes went wide with disbelief.

All of a sudden, his right arm exploded into a haze of blood by the lightning-like strike of Naruto's finger.

"Undying God Magic!" Dao-Heaven cried in terror. Blood-red light rose up from his body, transforming into a magical symbol which slammed into Naruto's finger. The magical symbol trembled, but didn't break, and the mighty force of Naruto's finger attack sent Dao-Heaven tumbling backward.

In the blink of an eye, he had flown over the border between the Fifth

Nation and the Fourth Nation. Once in the Fourth Nation, Dao-Heaven's magical symbol finally shattered. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his expression turned haggard. However, his desire to fight was not lessened at all. He threw his head back and howled as Naruto charged through the national barrier and flew toward him.

"Naruto, you can't kill me! How much longer can you hold out? Once you leave that state, you're dead!" Dao-Heaven coughed up chunks blood, and as Naruto closed in on him, performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then waved his hand in front of him. Immediately, the air in front of him rumbled and shattered as a black streak of light flew out.

It was none other than a scroll painting, Dao-Heaven's Paragon magic!

"Paragon Painting, open!"

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the scroll painting began to open up in front of Naruto. This time, it didn't open thirty percent, but instead, seventy percent!

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on the unfurling scroll painting, it revealed a land filled with killing intent. In the middle of the land was a statue of a young man in a black robe, sitting there cross-legged. He had long hair that draped down onto the land upon which he sat.

Rising up from him was an indescribably cold murderous aura.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1122

Chapter 1122: I Call Him Slaughter!

As soon as the intense murderous aura appeared, it roiled out in all directions, kicking up clouds of dust. Lightning crashed repeatedly, and the entire world was stained by the aura of killing until it was black.

It was as if the statue in that scroll was no longer a painting.

Furthermore, the Windswept Realm no longer seemed to be the

Windswept Realm, but instead, the world inside the scroll painting.

Everything was pitch black, both the land and the sky. And yet somehow, Naruto could see everything clearly.

The statue was sitting there cross-legged, wearing black robes. All of a sudden, it twitched, and then slowly began to look up.

It was a simple motion, but it caused rumbling sounds to fill the entire world. The flow of time seemed to cease, and the natural laws seemed to be thrown into massive chaos. Before this person, Essences seemed to prostrate and kowtow in worship.

An intense killing aura stabbed into Naruto's eyes like a sharp arrow, piercing into his mind, causing his entire body to shake. His face fell as he was suddenly filled with an intense sensation of deadly crisis.

This sensation of danger did not come from Dao-Heaven, but rather, from the black-robed figure in the painting.

"Who is he?" Naruto thought, his heart pounding. "Just what kind of Paragon magic is this!?" Every Echelon cultivator had different Paragon magics, and of the various types that he had encountered, only DaoHeaven's left him so astonished.

Naruto's expression was very serious. He was in the Allheaven Immortal Realm, and knew that he was bursting with power. In fact, without this Paragon magic, Dao-Heaven would not be a match for him.

It didn't matter that Dao-Heaven had entered the Ancient Realm nine times before. Each of those times, he had been treading an incorrect path. Naruto's path was that of the Allheaven Immortal, an ancient path, and the most powerful in the Immortal Realm!

Dao-Heaven looked at Naruto, his eyes blazing with killing intent. "You said before that my path was wrong….

"My path was most certainly incorrect. Of that I am well aware. What you don't know is that there is a reason why I continued to tread the same incorrect path, and then return back to the Immortal Realm. That is because the path I want… is the path cultivated by the man in my magical Paragon painting!

"I don't know his name, nor do I know what this painting truly depicts…. But what I do know is that the painting is ordinary, the paper is ordinary, and even the wooden rollers are ordinary. The only thing beyond ordinary about it is the black-robed figure inside.

"Because of him, the ordinary paper and the commonplace wooden rollers transformed into something miraculous and extraordinary.

"He represents slaughter, and is filled with a murderous aura the likes of which I have never encountered anywhere else in my life. Because of that, I call him Slaughter, and in my heart, I view him as… my Master!"

As Dao-Heaven's words rang out, he knelt in front of the scroll painting, his eyes burning with passion as he kowtowed deeply. After he kowtowed, the statue finished looking up, and its face was finally revealed.

It was a pale face, expressionless, and seemingly ordinary. However, within those ordinary facial features could be seen an indescribable iciness as he stared coldly at Naruto.

A mere look caused Naruto's body to shake. He felt an unspeakable pressure crushing down onto him, something superior even to the pressure of the Ninth Sea. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and despite being in the Allheaven Immortal Realm, he began to stagger backward.

He had no desire to fall back, but the gaze of the black-robed man in the scroll painting gave him no choice.

As he fell back, the pressure from the man in the painting pushed down on him to the point where it seemed he couldn't take it anymore, and would be forced to his knees, forced to capitulate, forced to offer worship!

With every step that he took back, Naruto roared. Finally, after seven steps had been taken, and his eyes were completely bloodshot, he forced himself to come to a stop. The price he had to pay was that a cloud of blood sprayed out of his mouth.

His knees shook so violently they felt like they might break.

"I can't believe I'm being forced into retreat by nothing more than a painting!" he thought. "Even if the person in that painting was once an almighty figure, perhaps even a Paragon, right now… he's just a painting. Why the hell… can he force me to fall back!?" Naruto struggled to hold his head up, and a vicious expression appeared on his face. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. However, at the same time, his aura surged mightily.

"My Dao is that of freedom and independence!" he growled. "Other than my father and mother, there's nobody in the world… who can make Naruto kowtow! Who the hell do you think you are!?" He finished with a roar, and his Allheaven Immortal cultivation base spun rapidly. His only Immortal meridian rapidly expanded, forming the framework of a bridge inside of him!

He waved his right hand ferociously, and that bridge-like Immortal meridian suddenly erupted with power. Endless rumbling echoed out as it materialized… a real bridge, right in front of him!

The Paragon Bridge!

Naruto's Paragon magic was a powerful Dao to begin with. Although its power had seemed rather ordinary early on, that was not because of the magic itself, but rather, because Naruto's cultivation base had not been powerful enough to manifest much of it.

Now, though, in the Allheaven Immortal Realm, the unleashing of the Paragon Bridge was completely unlike before. Rumbling filled the air as the majestic bridge descended right in front of Naruto, causing the sky to vibrate, shattering the land.

It didn't appear to be illusory, but rather, a true and actual bridge. It was shocking, indescribably large, as if the entire world was but a mere corner of it.

The bridge filled the sky, sweeping across everything, and it emanated the supreme aura of a Paragon. The world trembled, and the lands were terrified. By using the Allheaven Immortal Realm, Naruto had finally… revealed some of its true splendor and power!

And yet, there was more! Illusory figures appeared atop the bridge. Although it was impossible to see them clearly, they existed on various locations on the bridge.

These figures radiated terrifying might, and apparently, were people from the past who had qualified to stride upon the Paragon Bridge. Although they did not end up walking across the entire bridge, as former almighty figures in Heaven and Earth, they were able to leave behind some divine will.

In the same moment that the Paragon Bridge appeared, the black-robed statue in the painting looked at it, and a look of reminiscence appeared on his face. He suddenly murmured… "Heaven Trampling… Bridge…." 1

His voice was filled with the sensation of memories, and yet, the same coldness as before.

This turn of events caused even Dao-Heaven's face to fill with utter shock. His head jerked up in the middle of his kowtow, an expression of disbelief could be seen on his face. The scroll painting was his, and the Paragon magic was his.

And yet… even he had never before heard the black-robed figure within speak a single word!

It was as if the appearance of the Paragon Bridge had provoked some unpredictable transformation. Even as Dao-Heaven's heart trembled, Naruto's mind began to spin.

"Heaven Trampling Bridge?" he thought, staring at his own Paragon Bridge.

Shockingly, the black-robed statue in the painting suddenly rose to his feet and took a step forward, his long hair trailing behind him.

When he took that step, Dao-Heaven's heart trembled. Naruto was standing directly in his path, and could see things even more clearly. It was as if the step he took contained some type of Dao, something that could bend space and shrink a huge span to the distance of an inch, something that could create something from nothing. With that step, he emerged from the painting, entered reality and appeared… on top of Naruto's Paragon Bridge.

Naruto's mind spun as he looked at the black-robed figure standing atop the Paragon Bridge. The young man's expression was cold, but it was also tinged with reminiscence. He began to walk across the Heaven Trampling Bridge, step after step, passing numerous other figures, as if he wished to walk the bridge to its very end.

But then he stopped walking. He looked down at the bridge beneath his feet, and seemed to grow melancholic.

"This Heaven Trampling Bridge is incomplete…." he murmured.

"I… am also incomplete….

"That year… I stood in front of him, and her, my mission accomplished. Then I turned, heart filled with a strange pain, with sorrow, and I vanished….

"So why…? Why am I still here…?" Then he began to laugh, a laughter filled with icy coldness, and a murderous aura.

"I loved her more than you did!" Laughing maniacally, the black-robed figure swished his sleeve. Rumbling could be heard as the Paragon Bridge collapsed. As it did, the black-robed figure trembled and faded away along with the Heaven Trampling Bridge, his expression one of reminiscence and pain.

When he reappeared, he was back inside the scroll painting, a statue once again, his head bowed.

When that happened, Dao-Heaven made a gurgling sound and vomited a mouthful of blood. A mist of blood exploded around him; apparently, the scroll painting possessed a gravitational force that absorbed nearly half of his life force. Dao-Heaven trembled, and his face went pale white.

He had used this Paragon magic on many occasions, but never had it resulted in a backlash like just now.

Naruto also coughed up a mouthful of blood and fell back. He could sense that his time as an Allheaven Immortal was reaching its conclusion. Eyes glittering, he reached up and patted the top of his head, voluntarily leaving the Allheaven Immortal Realm. The Nirvana Fruit emerged from his forehead and dropped down into the palm of his hand. His aura dropped, and his face turned ashen. He stood there, unmoving, staring coldly at Dao-Heaven.

"Still wanna keep fighting?" he said calmly.

Dao-Heaven panted as the scroll painting faded away. Then he looked over at Naruto, smiled coldly, and said, "What, are you scared? You're beyond weak now! I could kill you as easily as turning over my hand!"

Inwardly, though, he was hesitant. He still wasn't completely sure whether or not Naruto could continue fighting in that incredibly powerful state.

Hundreds of thoughts ran through Naruto's head. Originally, his plan was to try to intimidate Dao-Heaven through his calmness. But then, he realized something, and came up with a new plan. Frowning, he looked over at Dao-Heaven and then held his Nirvana Fruit fruit out in the palm of his hand, where it glittered with brilliant light.

"To kill you would cost me quite a bit," he said. "I would end up heavily injuring myself, which would make it a lot harder to get anything more out of the Windswept Realm.

"However, if you're intent on dying, then I can help you reach your goal."

Dao-Heaven's eyes went wide as he looked at Naruto. Had Naruto remained calm, he would immediately have assumed he was trying to pull a fast one. However, to see Naruto frown the way he did made it seem like he was making this decision because he had no other choice. Suddenly, Dao-Heaven wasn't quite sure what was the truth.

"I'll know for sure if I just attack him!" he thought. Eyes flickering, he shot toward Naruto.

This footnote contains some spoilers for Renegade Immortal, but they are relevant to the plot of this story. By this point, most Er Gen fans would have put some puzzle pieces together regarding who this person probably is, or at least, who he is connected to. Long story short is that Wang Lin from Renegade Immortal had a clone (specifically a Slaughter Clone), whose actual name had the Chinese character "slaughter" in it.

He reached an extremely high cultivation level in RI, a level called "Heaven Trampling," which involved nine bridges. If you want further details about cultivation levels in RI, the story of Wang Lin, the story of his clone, etc., please do it in a proper spoiler thread. ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1123

Chapter 1123: Dao-Heaven Retreats!

Almost in the exact moment that the murderous thoughts rose up in Dao-Heaven's mind, he shot forward. Naruto snorted coldly and suddenly backed up. At the same time, he decisively pushed the Nirvana Fruit down into his forehead. Simultaneously, intense killing intent flickered up in his eyes.

His cold gaze locked onto Dao-Heaven in the same way it might look at a corpse.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Nirvana Fruit merged into his forehead. His energy immediately shot up. This time, the effect was different than before. He wasn't immobilized as his body grew larger. Azure light flickered into being around him, and he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. Then he waved his hand at DaoHeaven, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to erupt out, which filled the sky.

Dao-Heaven's heart trembled, and he suddenly lurched to a stop before shooting backward. As it turned out, he didn't actually want to keep fighting Naruto to the death. He didn't even want to fight at all. The backlash from his Paragon Painting had left him extremely weak. Most importantly… he wasn't confident in being able to take Naruto out right now.

Seeing Naruto once again enter that terrifying state confirmed… that Naruto was capable of killing him.

"This magic of his has a set time limit, or maybe it's limited in the number of times he can use it. Well, whatever the limitations are, he'll still have to pay a price to use it…. That was something he wasn't lying about!

"Even if he did kill me, he couldn't kill my soul; I still have lives left. And actually, the Windswept Realm trial by fire isn't over yet. If we both get severely injured… not only would other Echelon cultivators try to take advantage of the situation, we might lose our chance at getting more good fortune from the Windswept Realm!

"Besides, there's no saying whether or not he could actually kill me in the final battle. Conversely, even if I can kill him, then I would likewise be devastated, and wouldn't be able to recover quickly or easily." DaoHeaven had an extremely unsightly expression on his face. If Naruto hadn't struck fear into his heart, he wouldn't be vacillating in such a way. But now, the facts were out in the open, and he had no choice but to consider the consequences of them inflicting serious injuries on each other.

As he retreated, Naruto stood in place. Instead of giving chase, he looked over coldly.

"Unless you want a fight to the death, don't come looking for me. My patience… has its limits!" Then he took a step forward, stamping his foot onto the ground. The ground quaked and the air vibrated as an incredible power surged up from him. A shockwave blasted out in all directions.

Dao-Heaven continued to flee. He was still suspicious, but he had no way to tell whether or not Naruto was simply putting on a show. It was hard to tell, and he was forced to simply guess.

His facial expression constantly flickered as he ran through the possibilities in his mind, and his eyes glittered. Finally, he laughed loudly.

"Are you so anxious to finish our little fight, Naruto? There are many paths to follow. If you want to pick this one, who am I to stop you?"

Naruto shook his head. Energy surging, he shot forward, leaving afterimages behind him. He waved his hand, causing Divine Flame to spread out above Dao-Heaven.

Dao-Heaven's face fell, and he instantly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then waved his finger toward the ground. Black fog roiled up, transforming into a rumbling vortex. A huge hand then stretched up out of the vortex, which pushed out toward the Divine Flame.

At the moment, raging flames covered Naruto's face, making it so that Dao-Heaven couldn't see his face clearly. All he could see were his cold eyes, flickering with killing intent.

Naruto didn't pause for even a second. As the Essence of Divine Flame and Dao-Heaven's magical technique slammed into each other, he strode forward and said, "God Slaying!"

His right hand clenched into a fist, seemingly embodying the will and might of Heaven. The Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm converged, and his Allheaven Immortal cultivation base caused colors to flash and the wind to scream.

Dao-Heaven's face fell as he continued to retreat, performing a doublehanded incantation gesture. A portal suddenly appeared, which slammed open to reveal nine Bone Dragons. Roaring, they flew out of the portal toward Naruto, surging with energy.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

Naruto's fist caused the world to shatter. The nine Bone Dragons let out plaintive shrieks as they were shattered into tiny pieces. DaoHeaven took a deep breath, and then flashed through the air, instantly falling back by 3,000 meters. Then he laughed.

"Naruto, fighting like this is meaningless. Since you don't really feel like continuing, then I, Chen, will just take my leave…." Obviously, DaoHeaven was his Daoist name, whereas his true surname was Chen. With that, Dao-Heaven fled, his expression normal, but his heart filled with vigilance.

"Based on his personality," he thought, "if he actually stops fighting because of what I said, then I'll know he's trying to trick me!" As DaoHeaven fled, his expression and demeanor made it seem as if he truly wished to get away.

Naruto's face was covered by the Divine Flame, and as such, DaoHeaven couldn't see anything more than Naruto's eyes. Those eyes didn't change at all, and in fact, grew colder than ever. Even as DaoHeaven attempted to flee, Naruto caused the starstone in his eyes to melt, covering his body so that he transformed into a planet!

It was a planet wreathed in Divine Flame, making it look like a shooting star as it sped after Dao-Heaven.

Based on its speed and trajectory, it really seemed as if he wanted to catch up.

Dao-Heaven realized this, and his expression turned dark.

"So he really does still have enough power to stay in that Realm!" Even as Naruto closed in, Dao-Heaven suddenly increased his speed. In a flash, he was a great distance away.

"Naruto," he called behind him, "have you met a girl named Xue'er yet?

"If not, I should really leave you alive so that you have a chance to meet her!

"Next time we run into each other, though, that will be the day you die!" Laughing, he shot off with incredible speed.

"Pipe down!" Naruto said from within the planet, his voice echoing out with incredible pressure. He continued to give chase for another several thousand meters. However, considering Dao-Heaven's incredible speed, soon there was no trace of him. Naruto slowly came to a stop. The planet disappeared, and his human form reappeared.

He looked no different than he usually did. The Nirvana Fruit emerged from his forehead and dropped into his hand. He hovered there in midair, expression cold, looking in the direction Dao-Heaven had fled. Finally, he gave a cold harrumph, turned, and headed off in a different direction.

He took his time leaving, and as for the direction he chose, it was none other than the Third Nation.

Not long after he disappeared over the horizon, a strand of black smoke appeared on the battlefield. It swirled together in midair to reveal an illusory image of Dao-Heaven, frowning. As Naruto disappeared in the distance, he let out a sigh.

"So, he wasn't trying to trick me. After fighting me, he actually chose to go to the Third Nation! This Naruto… is a formidable opponent." The illusory figure shook his head, then vanished.

Meanwhile, Naruto was calmly making his way across the border of the Fourth Nation and into the Third Nation.

As soon as he entered the Third Nation, he staggered to a stop and coughed up eight successive mouthfuls of blood. With each mouthful of blood, his body wasted away by ten percent. After only a few breaths of time had passed, he was so skinny that he looked like nothing more than a bag of bones. His hair had even turned completely gray.

His expression lackluster, he very nearly fell down to the ground. As he stood there, he smiled bitterly.

He actually had tricked Dao-Heaven. His final decision to enter the Allheaven Immortal Realm came at the price of burning his life force almost to the very limit. In fact, he couldn't have proceeded much further even if he wanted to.

It was only when he reached this point, and was behind the barrier between nations, a place where Dao-Heaven wouldn't be able to observe him, that he allowed himself to weaken rapidly. As the blood sprayed out of his mouth, he grew weaker and weaker.

"This Dao-Heaven is incredibly powerful!" he murmured. The reason he had covered his face with the Essence of Divine Flame earlier was because he didn't want Dao-Heaven to realize that he was burning his life force. It was for the same reason that he chose to use the One Thought Stellar Transformation to become a planet in the final chase.

Furthermore, the reason he chose to come to the Third Nation was that, according to his analysis of the situation, the fact that Dao-Heaven had avoided the Third Nation on multiple occasions made it obvious that something was fishy. Picking the Third Nation made it seem like he was far stronger than he actually was.

Fooling Dao-Heaven was not an easy thing. He was incredibly devious and suspicious, and made numerous probing attempts to find out if Naruto was trying to trick him. To Naruto, it was like walking along the edge of a cliff. Even the slightest misstep could have left him in grave danger.

"What a pity…. If I could fully absorb the second Nirvana Fruit, and truly step into the Allheaven Immortal Realm, then I could definitely kill DaoHeaven. Right now, though… I'm not a match for him." Naruto frowned. He had to admit that in all the years he had practiced cultivation, and among all the countless Chosen he had encountered, because of all the good fortune he had encountered, there was no one in his generation who was a match for him. He was even capable of sweeping over the Echelon.

Except for the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, Dao-Heaven. He was a truly formidable opponent!

After all, although Naruto had practiced cultivation for a much shorter time than Dao-Heaven, who had deep and profound resources at his disposal, Naruto also had significant good fortune, and was far beyond ordinary. Anyone who got into the Echelon was by default an extraordinary person.

Also, anyone who had a chance of being acknowledged by Xue'er, the successor of Immortal Ancient, could by no means be a weakling.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he produced some medicinal pills to consume. After a moment, his eyes widened as he suddenly realized something.

"How come I didn't feel any pressure after entering the Third Nation?" Before, every time he passed through border barrier from one nation to another, there would always be pressure weighing down. The only time it hadn't happened was here in the Third Nation.

"Dao-Heaven always seemed to avoid the Third Nation….

"There must be some mysterious secret about this place.

"However, that's a good thing for me, since I'll be able to focus fully on healing myself. Although, I don't want to stay here for too long. Once I've recovered a bit, I'll head back to the Ninth Nation." He flew onward, and before long reached a mountain range, where he found a remote cave. After settling down to meditate, he sealed the cave mouth.

However, in almost the same moment that he began to meditate, his eyes snapped open. A brilliant red light had just begun to shine up from the blood-colored mask inside his bag of holding. Even the bag of holding was incapable of covering it up.

Simultaneously, Naruto could sense the aura of the Blood Mastiff. It had been years since the Blood Mastiff had dissipated in the midst of protecting him. Although he had sensed signs that it might awaken on numerous occasions, this was the strongest by far.

Naruto was delighted, and immediately took the blood-colored mask out of his bag of holding and sent some divine sense into it. As soon as he felt the Blood Mastiff, he realized that a connection and resonance had sprung up between them.

There was an aura of blood in the area, which was incredibly enticing to the Blood Mastiff. It filled it with desire and was the main reason why it was now waking up.

That blood was coming from the earth! From deep within the earth!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1124

Chapter 1124: For the True Dao!

Around the same time that Naruto entered the Third Nation, the middle-aged man in the Imperial robes who sat cross-legged on the Third Nation's National Aura Mountain was looking into a crystal ball that floated in front of him.

Light swirled about inside the crystal ball, and apparently, an entire world existed isolated therein. If you looked closely, you would be able to tell that within that isolated world were three people. They were screaming, and apparently wished to be able to break out of the world, but could not.

If Naruto were there to see them, he would be incredibly shocked, perhaps even feel his scalp go numb. That was because… he knew two of them!

One was the dead boy Hong Bin, and the other… was the tenth Echelon cultivator Hai Dongqing!

As for the third person, it was easy to imagine who it might be. As expected, it was the Echelon cultivator from the Second Nation, who had died by Dao-Heaven's hands.

Although those three people were already dead, their souls appeared to be sealed inside of that crystal ball. What a bizarre situation!

Suddenly, the man in the Imperial robes opened his eyes, and a mysterious light could be seen glowing within them. He slowly turned to look in the direction of the border between the Third and Fourth Nations. In the same moment, Naruto entered the Third Nation.

This man's cultivation base was not incredibly high, and he was not even in the Immortal Realm. However, he had a bizarre aura floating around him that made him seem completely mysterious and enigmatic.

At the same time that he opened his eyes, numerous figures appeared around him, either standing on the mountain peak or floating above it. All of them wore black robes, with cowls that covered their heads, making it impossible to see their faces. However, all of those figures emanated the ripples of the Ancient Realm.

Of course, cultivators of the Windswept Realm were incapable of breaking through to even the Immortal Realm, let alone the Ancient Realm. And yet here were multiple powerful experts of the Ancient Realm. Furthermore, among the black-robed experts were two or three whose cultivation base ripples were stronger than the others, indicating that they were comparable to Elders from various sects and clans in the Mountain and Sea Realm, with ten or more extinguished Soul Lamps.

All of them hovered there silently, awaiting the orders of the man in the Imperial robes.

As for that very man, his expression was the same as ever as he waved his right hand, causing numerous flickering images to appear in front of him. One of those images depicted Naruto entering the Third Nation.

He watched thoughtfully as Naruto coughed up blood, his body withering. The man's eyes flickered.

"Is the girl taken care of?" he asked suddenly.

"We sent people to kill her," said one of the black-robed cultivators, his voice hoarse, like that of an old man. "Unfortunately, she's very crafty, and has managed to evade them thus far. She's still alive."

"She's a dangerous variable," the man in the Imperial robes said. "Go take care of her yourself, just to be safe. Time is wasting away, so make it happen quickly!"

"For the true Dao!" the black-robed man said earnestly, clasping hands and bowing.

"For the true Dao!" responded the man in the imperial robes.

"For the true Dao!" the rest of the black-robed men chanted fervently in unison, lowering their heads.

"Regarding Naruto… he counts for nothing, much the same as DaoHeaven. They are ants in a maze, nothing more. Ignore them. If he dares to come to the National Aura Mountain, then just as Dao-Heaven, he will flee in fright and never dare to set foot back into the Third Nation again. We should tangle with the Echelon only if necessary, so leave them alone. They will become useful to us later. Soon, when we leave this mountain, then… we will achieve our grand design!" The man smiled, gazed into the crystal ball for a long moment, and then closed his eyes.

The black-robed men maintained silence. After clasping hands and bowing, they slowly dispersed, each one heading in a different direction.

In his Immortal's cave in the Third Nation, Naruto's heart trembled as he looked down at the blood-colored mask. Then he glanced at the ground. Eyes flickering, he sent out some divine sense into the earth. After a moment passed, he frowned. His divine sense wasn't able to locate anything unusual.

However, from the way the mastiff was struggling to awaken, he could tell that its intense thirst was increasing. Naruto had never sensed anything like this from the mastiff before.

It was as if, in order to sate that thirst, the mastiff would not only awaken, but do so in a transmogrified state. It would be different than before, having undergone a drastic transformation.

"What exactly is hidden down there…?" he thought. Instead of doing anything rash, he put the blood-colored mask away, closed his eyes, and continued meditating to heal his injuries.

With medicinal pills and his Eternal stratum, he recovered rapidly. After only three days, his eyes opened, and they shone with a brilliant light.

"I'm sixty percent recovered…." he murmured. "From here on out my recovery will naturally slow down." During the three days he had spent recuperating, the mastiff's thirst had only gotten stronger.

He slapped his bag of holding, and the parrot and meat jelly flew out. They looked around nervously for a moment but, seeing no danger, heaved sighs of relief.

"Don't worry, Dao-Heaven isn't chasing us," Naruto said with a cold snort. Sometimes the parrot and meat jelly acted fearless in the face of death. At other times, they seemed like unbelievable cowards. The whole thing was a huge headache for Naruto. He just couldn't believe that they were unaware of the battle that had occurred with DaoHeaven. He had even considered directly summoning them.

However, during the heat of the battle, both of them had been busy playing dead.

"Hey, you can't blame Lord Fifth for this," said the parrot with a guilty chuckle. "Considering Lord Fifth's level of skill, a single glance and a few breaths of time would be all it took to wipe Dao-Heaven out thousands of times over. The problem was I really happened to be napping at the time. Hahaha."

"Lord Third disagrees," the meat jelly said solemnly. "Lord Third thinks that you need practice! In order to become truly strong, you need more and more experience! Lord Third will never help you unless it's absolutely, positively necessary!"

To hear the meat jelly say something like this caused Naruto to stare in shock. Historically speaking, the meat jelly would always just copy the parrot. It wasn't just Naruto who was taken aback; the parrot was also stunned.

"Did you two get into an argument?" Naruto asked curiously.

The parrot cleared its throat, then glared threateningly at the meat jelly.

"Old Third is actually right," it said, putting on an air of superiority. "It seems there's no need for Lord Fifth to hide the truth from you. It's true. Unless there is an extremely deadly crisis, we won't do anything to help you."

"That's right!" yelled the meat jelly. "Lord Third and this evil bird did get into an argument. Damned pigeon. Henceforth, our differences are irreconcilable!"

"What did you just say! I DARE you to say it again!" squawked the parrot, its feathers standing on end.

"I'll say it again," roared the meat jelly, glaring at the parrot. "I'll even say it three times!"

Naruto instantly felt a headache coming on. Seeing that the two of them were about to start arguing, he snapped, "Enough! If you want to argue, you can do it back inside the bag of holding. Parrot, look around and see if you can see anything strange about this place. Meat jelly, you check it out too. There's something off here, there's uh… some bullies!"

At first the meat jelly looked disdainful, but as soon as it heard bullies mentioned, its eyes shone brightly. It looked closely at the ground, and then suddenly gasped.

"There really are bullies! Lots of bullies!"

The parrot looked over, and its expression flickered with disbelief.

"Desolate Blooddriven Heavenly Departure formation!

"That's an ancient evil spell formation, and yet people nowadays are still able to use it!? It operates on sacrifices, but to offer sacrifices here… this is impossible!"

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he sent out his divine sense to merge with the parrot and meat jelly. In that instant, his mind trembled, and he suddenly saw numerous images. Deep down in the earth, far, far below, was a sprawling necropolis!

The necropolis was huge, and featured ninety-nine gigantic pits of boiling blood. The boiling blood let off a blood-colored mist that swirled up into the air.

Sitting cross-legged next to each of the ninety-nine blood pits were countless cultivators. Their cultivation bases were not very advanced, and so skinny that they looked like bags of bones. They stood next to the pits, fanatical expressions on their faces as they slashed their arms with knives and poured the blood out into the pits.

Gradually, the sound of chanting could be heard, filling the necropolis.

Deeper into the necropolis were dozens of black-robed figures, sitting cross-legged in meditation. They appeared to be standing guard. Because they were protected by what seemed to be a spell formation, Naruto couldn't make out the level of their cultivation bases.

Most shocking of all was that at the bottom of each of the ninety-nine blood pits was a cultivator, sitting there cross-legged. There were ninetynine of them, one for each pit, and considering that they were submerged in blood, if it weren't for the fact that Naruto was using a special vision technique, he wouldn't be able to see them.

Naruto recognized one of those cultivators. It was none other than… the old man from the Ninth Nation, Jian Daozi!

Naruto began to pant. With the help of the parrot and meat jelly, his vision pierced down into the blood pits. What he saw was that the pits were actually shaped like funnels, and if you looked closely, there were eyelets at the bottom.

Beneath those eyelets, and beneath the ninety-nine blood pits, was a tunnel that led to another part of the necropolis.

It was much smaller than the main necropolis, almost like a secret chamber connected to the larger structure up above. Both structures together almost looked like an inverted bottle gourd!

Within that secret chamber were several statues that resembled spirit creatures, including a turtle, a crane, and even a bat.

The statues were connected by a ray of light than linked them together, forming a circle. In the middle of that large circle, in the very center of the secret chamber, was a blood-colored block of ice!

That blood-colored block of ice contained something sealed inside of it… a blood-colored bat!

That bat looked the same in every respect as the the bat statue among the surrounding group of statues!

Currently, the block of ice was melting, and as it did, a blood Chakra rose up into the tunnel above, to be absorbed by the ninety-nine eyelets!

"What is all this?!" thought Naruto, his face flickering. When he looked at the blood-colored block of ice, he immediately felt an aura of boundless evil buffet against him. Although he was only looking at it with divine sense, and was separated from it by the parrot and meat jelly, he could still sense it. It was an evil filled with madness and terrifying power.

It was definitely… something that cultivators couldn't control. It was like something that exceeded the natural laws of Heaven and Earth, and even that of Essence.

"That's… a renegade spirit…." the parrot murmured.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1125

Chapter 1125: Take Its Place!

"Renegade spirit…." It was a term Naruto wasn't familiar with. But from the way the parrot said it, it sounded like something that had a long, complicated history.

The meat jelly looked confused at first, but after a moment appeared to have recalled something, and it started to shake.

At the same time, the Blood Mastiff, who was still in his bag of holding, inside the blood-colored mask, began to struggle with an even stronger thirst, as if… it wanted to consume that blood-colored bat!

Naruto's face flickered as he retracted his divine sense from the necropolis. He sat there in the Immortal's cave, lost in thought and hesitation. However, inside the blood-colored mask, the Blood Mastiff was emanating an intense thirst that seemed to be reaching a peak.

"So you want to eat it, huh…?" Naruto murmured. He suddenly clenched his teeth. If he wanted his cultivation base restored to its peak, it would take over a month, even with the combination of medicinal pills and his Eternal stratum.

However, too many things could happen in a month. There were strange goings-on in the Third Nation, and he had no desire to stay here any longer than necessary.

"Well, I'm going to help you!" The mastiff occupied a special place in his heart. He would never forget the first time he had laid eyes on it, how small it had been, and how attached it was to him. He had raised it from when it was tiny, and in the Blood Immortal Legacy Tournament, it had protected him, and had even died for him, without the slightest hesitation. In its final moments, it had merely turned back for a moment in an attempt to lick his face, as doing so one more time would make it completely content.

Images from the past rose up in his mind. How could Naruto ever forget his loyal mastiff!?

As soon as he made his decision, the parrot looked at him in shock.

"Are you crazy!?" the parrot squawked. "That's a renegade spirit, a mysterious entity of Heaven and Earth. It looks like this particular renegade spirit is dead, but it's definitely something that you and the mastiff are no match for!"

"These people of the Windswept Realm can use this renegade spirit," Naruto replied. "Well… why can't I?" Without any further hesitation, he stamped his foot on the ground and began to sink down into the earth.

The parrot let out another squawk and, seemingly throwing caution to the wind, followed Naruto. The meat jelly blinked, and then also followed along.

"Dammit, possess a renegade spirit?" the parrot muttered. "Consume it? Take its place…? Crazy! Naruto, you're crazy! That mastiff is crazy too! Well, fudge! Lord Fifth is also crazy!"

As the meat jelly followed along, it also yelled, "Lord Third is crazy too!"

Naruto sank down into the ground, heading in the direction he had probed earlier with divine sense.

Meanwhile, out in the Third Nation, the man in the Imperial robes sat cross-legged on the National Aura Mountain. All of a sudden, his eyes snapped open. He shot to his feet, his expression one of shock, disbelief, and then rage.

"Dammit! The renegade spirit's blood burial site has a spell formation that obscures divine sense. The secret entrance wouldn't even be visible to someone in the Dao Realm. This Naruto… how did he discover it!?"

The man's face flickered, and without realizing it, he began to take a step forward. However, in almost the same moment, he stopped in place, eyes fixed on the crystal ball. His expression darkened.

"Kill him and bring me his head," he ordered coldly. "Investigate how exactly he was able to see through to the blood burial site!"

In response to his orders, seventeen or so black-robed men appeared nearby, all of whom clasped hands and said, "For the true Dao!"

With that, they turned and disappeared.

Down below the lands of the Third Nation, Naruto sped along, his expression ruthless, his eyes swirling with killing intent. He wasn't fully recovered from his injuries, but he could unleash about sixty to seventy percent of his cultivation base. Bursting with explosive speed, he went deeper and deeper.

Everything was pitch black, and there was no path that could be seen. Even sending out his divine sense, he saw nothing. Soon, he reached the location he had seen with the help of the parrot and meat jelly. He came to a stop.

"It should be around here…." he thought, eyes flickering. He looked over at the parrot, who muttered to itself for a moment before shining with radiant, multi-colored light that spread out in all directions. There up ahead, Naruto's could finally see the necropolis in his divine sense.

He looked at it and gritted his teeth. He knew that there was something strange going on in the Third Nation, and he was well-aware that his cultivation base had not yet been restored to its peak. Therefore, if he was going to fight… he needed to do it decisively.

He shot forward, causing muffled rumbling sounds to echo out underneath the lands. He pierced through the soil like an arrow, and when he emerged, he found that he wasn't inside the necropolis, but rather, had just slammed into a huge, invisible barrier.

The moment his body slammed into it, a backlash attack hit him, and blood oozed out of his mouth. He backed up, and everything began to shake. Cracks spread out on the surface of the barrier.

At the same time, the cultivators inside the necropolis all heard the rumbling sounds, and could sense the trembling. They clustered around the blood pits, and the ones slashing their arms to pour out blood all looked up with expressions of shock.

Simultaneously, the dozens of black-robed cultivators with obscured faces, the ones standing guard, all rose to their feet and looked in the direction from which the sound echoed.

Outside of the necropolis, Naruto bellowed: "Parrot!"

The parrot seemed conflicted about what to do for a moment, but then it squawked and caused the light shining off of it to speed toward the barrier.

"Listen to Lord Fifth and OPEN UP!" it roared. The multi-colored light slammed into the barrier, instantly opening up a hole. Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto shot through the hole, stepping right into… the necropolis!

Everything happened incredibly quickly, which was how Naruto preferred to do things, to fight with decisiveness. Almost as soon as he entered the necropolis, cold snorts echoed out, and dozens of blackrobed men flew into the air. All of them emanated the fluctuations of Ancient Realm cultivation bases. Their energy surged, and they joined forces in a unified attack, which sped through the air toward Naruto.

Almost as soon as Naruto began to charge forward, his face fell. "Dammit," he thought, "the Windswept Realm isn't limited to the Immortal Realm after all! Where did all these Ancient Realm cultivators come from!?"

He waved his right hand, sending the Essence of Divine Flame roaring out toward the dozens of black-robed cultivators.

A boom rang out, and blood oozed from Naruto's mouth as he backed up. The dozens of black-robed cultivators also backed up a bit, but it only took a moment for them to once again close in.

Divine abilities and magical techniques blazed to life, joining together and then smashing toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes glittered as the Lightning Cauldron appeared. Thunder cracked, and electricity danced, but unfortunately, the transpositioning function didn't work. Naruto's heart sank. Putting the Lightning Cauldron away, he didn't hesitate any longer to stride forward and meet the incoming cultivators in battle.

"Screw off!" he roared, relying on the strength of his fleshly body to fight back against the divine abilities and magical techniques. He was like an explosive dragon, battering ahead, his right hand utilizing the LifeExtermination Fist, his left hand the Bedevilment Fist. Both fists struck out with mad, explosive power. Seven black-robed cultivators were blasted aside, blood spraying out of their mouths. Naruto shot like lightning toward the region with the blood pits.

"Halt!" a cold voice cried. The dozens of the black-robed cultivators once again moved to block Naruto's path. Three of them waved their hands and, shockingly, Sea Dragons appeared, which roared toward Naruto.

"Daoist Magic of the Nine Seas God World !" Naruto's eyes widened as he looked over at the black-robed men. Then he snorted coldly, performed an incantation gesture, and pointed out with his finger. Numerous mountains descended, linking together into a mountain range that smashed down toward the men. At the same time, he shot onward, getting closer to the blood pits. By this point he was about 300 meters away.

The entire necropolis trembled, and quite a few of the black-robed men coughed up blood. However, they continued to seek to block Naruto, almost as if they were deranged.

This time, they all performed the same incantation gesture, unleashing a bizarre magical technique.

"True Dao Advent!" As soon as the words left their mouths, a bizarre power of natural law sprang up. It transformed into a huge net-like cage that enveloped the surrounding area. Even as it sought to blanket Naruto, his face flickered and he transformed into a golden roc. As the net of natural law neared, he suddenly shot forward and slammed into the chest one of the black-robed men. A boom could be heard as the man exploded into bits. After shooting onward by about 150 meters, he returned to human form, lifted his right hand, and jabbed a finger at them.

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

This time, what he was hexing was not a single person, but rather, a whole group of people, plus the net of natural law which was descending down onto him.

With the wave of a finger, all of the black-robed men felt themselves shudder to a stop. The huge net also stopped in place. However, Naruto had to pay a heavy price; he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Nonetheless, he didn't stop for even a moment, closing the remaining 150 meters in a flash, appearing next to one of the blood pits.

He waved his hand toward the air above the blood pit, and all of a sudden, all of the blood in the pit rose up and showered out in all directions. There at the bottom of the pit, an old man could now be seen.

Moments ago, he had been submerged in the blood, absorbing it, but now that he had been interrupted, he opened his eyes. Previously, his cultivation base had been at the Cauldron Seeking stage. However, as of this moment it was clear that it was climbing up. Now… he was in the Immortal Realm, despite the lack of any Door of Immortality appearing.

The old man let out a shout, and was about to start fighting Naruto, when Naruto snorted coldly. His right hand shot out with lightning speed in a clawing gesture, latching onto the man's arm and squeezing down hard. Cracking sounds were joined by a bloodcurdling scream as all the bones in the man's body were shattered. In the same moment, Naruto disappeared into the eyelet at the bottom of the pit.

As soon as he disappeared, booms filled the air, and countless divine abilities and Daoist magics slammed into the spot he had just occupied. The black-robed men surged with energy and began to speed over from all directions.

Naruto didn't wait for them to show up. He immediately transformed into a beam of light that shot through the eyelet, and then into the tunnel that led to the secret chamber below.

In almost that same instant, brilliant light filled the necropolis. The dozens of black-robed men exchanged glances, then transformed into beams of light that followed Naruto down into the blood pit and beyond.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1126

Chapter 1126: Hold the Tunnel!

At the same time, the other blood pits began to boil, as if they were being sealed. Clouds of bloody mist rose up into the air, which transformed into blood-colored swords that then hovered up above, radiating murderous auras.

The only pit with no blood sword was the pit Naruto had just vanished into, the one all the black-robed men were speeding toward.

Naruto moved with incredible speed. When he emerged from the blood pit, he found himself in a long, narrow tunnel that sloped downward into the secret chamber below. When he emerged into the chamber, blood-colored light stabbed dazzlingly into his eyes.

Inwardly, he was shocked at the indescribably evil aura that blasted against his face. It was as if countless miserable screams were echoing in his ears. Somehow, the voices seemed familiar, as if each and every one belonged to people he knew.

The effect wasn't limited to just voices. Myriad visual hallucinations appeared, and at the same time, his body felt like it was about to collapse, as if he were in the deepest depths of the Yellow Springs.

His heart began to pound, and his blood flowed in reverse. His face fell, and his cultivation base was almost thrown into chaos, to the point where he almost lost control of it. He quickly bit the tip of his tongue, using the surge of pain to gain clarity. Face pale, he immediately fell back toward the tunnel, and only when he reached it did he manage to stave off the sensations.

Furthermore, he had the strong premonition that even remaining at the entrance of the tunnel for too long would allow the evil aura to infect him completely, and he might even lose his cultivation base!

The feeling of intuition made his eyes widen. He quickly looked around, and saw the statues surrounding him. A Xuanwu turtle, a crane, and even a deer….

"Are they all… renegade spirits?!" he thought, eyes widening. Then his eyes came to rest on the blood-colored block of ice, and he saw what was sealed inside of it, the blood-colored bat.

All of the evil aura was emanating from that blood-colored ice block, and from the blood-colored bat therein. It… was the wellspring of evil in this place!

The parrot and meat jelly looked around, their faces flickering.

It was at this point that a howl echoed out from inside Naruto's bag of holding. The blood-colored mask flew out to hover in mid-air, rumbling and emanating blood-colored light. That blood-colored light indicated… that the mastiff had finally awakened.

It suddenly flew out into the open, turning to look at Naruto with a gaze of deep fondness. It was the same look it used to give him when it was small. In its world, Naruto was its master, its family, and the entire purpose of its life.

After looking at him, its eyes filled with determination, and it howled. Then it turned, transforming into a blood-colored beam that shot into the block of ice, where it began to attempt to possess the renegade spirit, to… take its place!

If it failed, it would die!

But if it succeeded… from then on, it would be a renegade spirit!

If not for the fact that this renegade spirit was extremely weak, and perhaps had already died long ago, it would normally be impossible for the mastiff to succeed. And even in this state, no one could tell whether it had a chance.

Thankfully, it was a spirit born of blood, and therefore had the same origin as the Blood Bat, which gave it a bit better of a chance.

Rumbling echoed out, and the blood-colored ice block trembled. Strange howls could be heard echoing out, along with the sounds of a fierce battle that quickly filled the secret chamber. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he backed up swiftly. He was incapable of helping the mastiff possess the renegade spirit, so the only thing he could do was protect it in this critical moment.

Whether or not it would have the good fortune to succeed depended completely on the mastiff, not Naruto.

Furthermore, he couldn't stay where he was; he had to leave. If he stayed any longer, he would be infected by the evil aura, and his cultivation base would begin to waste away.

Besides, he could hear the sound of the black-robed cultivators whistling through the tunnel behind him.

He took a deep breath and looked over at the parrot and meat jelly. The parrot instantly understood the look in his eyes.

It hesitated for a moment, then let out a squawk.

"Time to go for broke! Fudge! Lord Fifth is gonna go for it! Naruto, you owe me a favor, big time! Old Third, get over here and help me!" The parrot flapped its wings, causing numerous beams of multicolored light to fly out and cover over the blood-colored ice block.

The meat jelly didn't look happy about the situation, but it flew over and let the parrot grab it. They merged together, and then unleashed a bizarre Daoist magic that enabled them to assist the mastiff and increase its chances of success.

"Even with the help of Lord Fifth, its final success will be determined by its own good fortune!" the parrot roared.

"Many thanks," Naruto said. "You've done all that you can. The rest will be up to it…. As for me, I can't help much. But what I can do is stop the intruders, and prevent them from interfering!" He gave a final look at the block of ice into which the mastiff had disappeared, then turned and flew out of the secret chamber and into the tunnel.

Although the evil aura still had a significant influence on him, he could still forcibly resist it for a time. Of course, if Naruto could do that, so could the black-robed cultivators.

He wasn't willing to risk allowing them into the secret chamber itself. After all, he had no idea what actions they might take that could affect the mastiff, and even lead it to fail.

He cared too much about the mastiff, and therefore wouldn't make any decisions lightly. The only surefire option was holding the tunnel against the enemy!

The overall structure of the blood burial site was composed of two parts, the larger necropolis above, and the smaller secret chamber below. They were connected by this tunnel, which was Naruto's current location. Already, he could see the black-robed cultivators closing in on him.

Eyes flickering with killing intent, he didn't hesitate for a moment before going on the offensive.

"Mastiff, you've defended me over and over again. Now… it's my time to defend you!" he murmured. He rotated his cultivation base, and killing intent roiled out of him. He wasn't sure if the mastiff would succeed in possessing the renegade spirit, nor how long it would take to do so. But he did know that, at the moment, there was nowhere to retreat to. Nor did he have any desire or need to retreat.

He took a deep breath, causing his cultivation base and his Immortal meridians to surge with power. He was like a razor-sharp blade that instantly slashed into the attacking black-robed cultivators.

The tunnel wasn't very large, making it a challenge to unleash divine abilities and magical techniques. If Naruto were at his peak, then killing a few dozen people like this wouldn't be problematic at all. However, his cultivation base was only at about sixty percent of its normal level, making it difficult to fight.

It was a tough task, but he was an Echelon cultivator, and was in the Immortal Emperor Realm. He was someone that ordinary Ancient Realm experts couldn't easily tousle with. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he attacked. A Blood Demon head materialized, and Essence of Divine Flame raged in all directions.

"You're not cultivators of the Windswept Realm!" he shouted, speeding like lightning into the midst of the black-robed cultivators. His right hand shot out and latched onto the head of one of them, and he unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic. However, the power of absorption did nothing to the man.

The black robe was shredded to pieces, revealing a young man with the top of his head mangled and bloody. His face was pale as he cried out: "Our Daos are different! Your Dao is fabricated, and ours is real! You can't do anything to us! We live and die… for the true Dao!"

Laughing, he faded away into death.

Naruto's heart trembled. Then, another black-robed cultivator appeared in front of him, and he unleashed the Life-Extermination Fist. Rumbling could be heard as his opponent trembled and coughed up blood.

His cowl was destroyed, revealing his face. He was a middle-aged man who, shockingly, had a scale on his forehead! He was a Demonic cultivator!

"For the true Dao!" he cried, and then began to laugh maniacally before exploding into bits.

There was no change in facial expression whatsoever on the part of the other black-robed cultivators, nor did they speak. However, they attacked with increased ferocity, unleashing a biting wind that swept across Naruto. Suddenly, nine Sea Dragons roared toward him with gaping maws.

The more Naruto fought, the more shocked he was. He was getting a very strange feeling from these black-robed enemies.

Frowning, he summoned the Paragon Bridge, which instantly emanated crushing pressure, forcing the black-robed cultivators away. Naruto made a grasping motion, and the bone-tip spear appeared in his hand, which he stabbed toward the forehead of one of the black-robed cultivators. The cowl of the robe was thrown back, revealing a woman. Despite the fact that she was about to die, she showed no fear.

"For the true Dao!" she said coolly before exploding.

Naruto's hair was beginning to stand on end. If by this point he didn't realize who these people were, then he didn't deserve to be the shrewd and cunning Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan. As soon as he saw their cultivation bases, he immediately thought back to the "warning" given by Jian Daozi when they had first arrived in the Ninth Nation.

Back by the waterfall, after seeing the Demon Mantra: Mesmeric Rebuke in use, he had employed his Celestial Vision technique to observe the figure hidden behind the water.

He had begun to make speculations even at that time. Later, he saw all of the other cultivators sinking into their desires, and he suddenly became aware that it was possible to become lost within the Windswept Realm. Then he realized that… it was probably possible to stay there, to choose to not leave, to remain behind in the Windswept Realm, eternally lost therein.

Back then, he had considered that as a possibility. Now, facing these black-robed cultivators, Naruto received confirmation of his suspicions.

"You people… are cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm!" he roared. "You are from previous generations who came to the Windswept Realm and then lost yourself in your desires! In the end, you chose not to leave!"

The black-robed cultivators didn't answer his accusation. Instead, they simply looked at him and said, "For the true Dao!"

Their voices were calm, and even seemed to contain some strange power that left Naruto in shock. Next, the black-robed cultivators shot forward in attack.

Booms rang out. Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, and his clothes were spattered in the blood of his enemies. Meanwhile, up above in the necropolis, the air rippled as seventeen figures suddenly appeared. These were the people who had been dispatched by the man in the Imperial robes. Black cowls obscured their facial features, and from the ripples coming from the cultivation base of the man in the lead, he actually had ten extinguished Soul Lamps.

When the man spoke, his voice was incredibly ancient: "Hear the orders of the Emperor: kill Naruto; fiendish formation, return to your positions; resume the blood refinement!"

All of a sudden, all of the blood pits began to boil madly. The blood swords hovering over them flew over to the black-robed man, swirled around him, and then lined up into formation, after which they shot down into the tunnel toward Naruto.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1127

Chapter 1127 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1127: You're Zong Wuya!

In almost the same moment that the blood-colored swords began to speed through the air, the bubbling blood in the ninety-eight pits suddenly shrank down, revealing ninety-eight cultivators.

Each and every one was an old man, and they were all radiating bloodcolored light that seemed to burst with evil. Suddenly, their eyes opened, and what could be seen was not the clarity of normal eyes, but a murky, bloody glow. It was as if they weren't even conscious or aware of themselves, as if they had been transformed into puppets that merely followed orders or acted on instinct.

One of those old men was Jian Daozi, who no longer looked shrewd and intelligent like before. However, he didn't seem ancient and decrepit like before either, but instead seemed to burst with the vigor of his prime.

All of them began to breathe, and when they exhaled, the air of evil around them seemed to increase.

"Kill the intruder Naruto!" said the black-robed man, his voice hoarse and raspy. Instantly, the ninety-eight blood-colored cultivators roared and flew into the air. Currently, their cultivation bases were no longer at the Cauldron Seeking stage; they had broken through from the Spirit Realm and into the Immortal Realm!

Although they had just broken through, the evil auras that surrounded them made them seem extremely eerie. Ninety-eight old men became beams of blood-colored light that sped through the air toward the pit where Naruto was located.

"You people too! Get in there!" the black-robed leader said to the other men who had come with him. One by one, they blurred away, vanishing.

The black-robed leader was the last one to do anything. It was impossible to see his face or his expression, but he seemed to be lost in thought for a moment before waving his hand and causing a black light to spread out. It spread out to cover the entire area, apparently sealing it.

Having accomplished this, the man began to slowly walk toward the pit where Naruto was located.

"Naruto of the Ninth Nation, the Ninth Mountain, the Ninth Sea…." he murmured. It was almost as if he were recalling something from the past. He sighed.

In the tunnel below the necropolis, Naruto threw his head back and roared as he unleashed a fist strike with both hands, killing the final members of the first wave of black-robed cultivators.

This battle was being fought with only sixty percent of his cultivation base. To defeat dozens of Ancient Realm opponents in such a way was difficult to say the least. Currently, he was coughing up blood, and his face was ashen. He suddenly looked up at the mouth of the tunnel, where a bright red glow could be seen. At that point, numerous redcolored flying swords could be seen screaming toward him, followed by the explosive, evil auras of the ninety-eight blood-colored cultivators. As soon as their crimson eyes locked onto him, they howled like beasts and charged toward him in attack.

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized that the flying swords were actually sentient. Both the swords and the cultivators seemed to be operating on the same source of power as the blood-colored ice block, except on a much weaker level.

Naruto frowned, and then let out a cold harrumph. The starstone in his left eye melted and spread out to cover his entire body, transforming him into a planet. He then flew toward the incoming flying swords, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.

He shot forth like a meteor, taking up nearly the entire diameter of the tunnel. When he slammed into the flying swords, a huge boom echoed out, and they were sent spinning back toward the blood-colored cultivators. The entire tunnel was thrown into chaos. Although there were quite a few of the blood-colored cultivators, because the tunnel was so narrow, they were unable to scatter or dodge, and were immediately bombarded by the full force of Naruto's One Thought Stellar Transformation.

When it slammed into the men, blood erupted out, and all of them were ripped to shreds. However, it was at this point that the seventeen blackrobed men arrived, incantation gestures flashing in their hands.

Waving their fingers toward Naruto, they roared: "Star-Slaughtering Dao of Lightning!"

As soon as the words left their mouths, the rumbling of thunder could be heard. Seventeen lightning bolts then shot out from the black-robed men, merging together in mid-air to form a single violet-colored lightning bolt!

As soon as it appeared, it emanated a mighty power of expulsion. It seemed powerful enough to reject and expel Heaven and Earth, to reject natural laws, to reject Essence!

At the same time, the world seemed to be rejecting and expelling it!

Naruto's mind trembled; when he looked at the violet lightning, he got the feeling that this was something which shouldn't even exist!

It was not in accord with Heaven and Earth, did not conform to natural laws, and was not harmonious with Essence. The instant it appeared, it seemed to be a Dao from another world. This was not something from the Windswept Realm, nor from the Mountain and Sea Realm. It was a thing of pure destruction, and when it shot toward Naruto and slammed into his One Thought Stellar Transformation, the planet cracked and exploded. Naruto appeared, blood spraying from his mouth as he was sent tumbling backward.

Simultaneously, time seemed to flow in reverse for all of the bloodcolored cultivators who had just exploded. They rapidly reformed, as if they were eternally unkillable, after which they immediately shot forward in attack. Furthermore, each one grabbed a blood-colored sword, making them look exactly like sword cultivators.

Naruto had an unsightly expression on his face. Behind the ninetyeight blood-colored cultivators were seventeen black-robed attackers. Naruto felt threatened, threatened to the extreme, and what was causing it wasn't the cultivation bases of these people, but the divine abilities and magical techniques they used.

Almost in the same moment that the blood-colored cultivators closed on him, Naruto began to stride forward, unleashing the Seven God Steps. His power rose explosively, and was even amplified because of the constraints of the tunnel. It was when he took his sixth step that he balled his right hand into a fist and unleashed the Life-Extermination Fist.

Rumbling filled the air. This strike was filled with the power to exterminate all forms of life, and was backed by the full strength of his Ancient Realm fleshly body. A tempest sprang up, which ripped through the tunnel and slammed into the eternally unkillable blood-colored cultivators. They were instantly shredded into a bloody mist, and even as they began to reform, Naruto passed through them to close in on the seventeen black-robed cultivators.

The cultivators quickly began to perform incantation gestures. Any one of these people who faced Naruto alone on the battlefield would not be his match, not without some special Daoist magic. However, when they joined forces to attack, it was a different story.

As they performed their incantation gestures, violet light swirled around them and formed into a long, violet spear, which instantly stabbed toward Naruto.

It moved with incredible speed, causing intense ripples to emanate out, the same type that both rejected the world around it, and was likewise rejected.

However, this time, Naruto suddenly waved his right hand, causing dozens of black pods to fly out. Popping sounds could be heard as they transformed into blackpod imps, which screeched as they shot toward the black-robed cultivators, intent on possessing them.

The black-robed men possessed unique and bizarre Daoist magics, but they were still just ordinary living beings with souls, and were still in danger of being possessed. Furthermore, they were in the middle of casting magic, and as such, the blackpod imps were easily able to enter their bodies.

The chances for the blackpod imps to successfully possess them were small, but actually, Naruto didn't need them to succeed. When they failed, they were ejected and made divine sense attacks.

The black-robed cultivators instantly began to tremble. At the same time, the Daoist magic they had unleashed, the terrifying violet spear, began to twist in mid-flight, and then simply dissipated.

In that same moment, Naruto flew through the air, right hand clenching and then smashing toward them as the Life-Extermination.

Just when his blow was about to land, a cold snort echoed out from behind the black-robed men, filled with an archaic air. A shadowy figure walked out, another man in a black robe, but taller than the others. This was their leader, the last man to join the fight.

He moved with incredible speed, and was soon directly in front of Naruto.

"The Emperor on the National Aura Mountain sensed that someone had broken into this place. Naruto, you shouldn't have done this. And by the way, that is not the proper usage of the Life-Extermination Fist." As the man spoke, he clenched his right hand into a fist, and suddenly, a will of life-extermination exploded out in the form of a single punch.

Naruto's eyes went wide. He found the man's words to be extremely strange, but had no time to think about why. The two of them sailed through the tunnel toward each other until their fists slammed together.

A deafening boom echoed out, causing everything to shake. The necropolis itself seemed like it might collapse; cracking sounds rang out as the tunnel began to grow unstable. Blood oozed out of Naruto's mouth as he was sent tumbling backward by the force of the blow.

The black-robed man was also shaken, and fell back several paces. When he looked up, his black cowl still covered his face, making it impossible to make out his features. However, his eyes shone brightly with bizarre light. He began to walk forward again, clenching his hand into a fist and unleashing another attack.

"Bedevilment!" he said coolly, his voice hoarse. He punched out, and a wildly domineering air rose up. It was as if this man were the only important thing in the world. He seemed to enter a state of Bedevilment in which he would unleash a blow capable of sacrificing everything.

Naruto's face fell; the injuries he had sustained earlier had not recovered, causing him to be at a severe disadvantage. However, when he saw the black-robed man unleashing the Bedevilment Fist, he stopped moving backward and instead unleashed his own Bedevilment

Fist.

A huge boom rang out when their fists met, and everything shook violently. The necropolis began showing even more obvious signs of collapsing than before.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut. He was pushed back so far that soon he was near the entrance to the secret chamber. He was panting as he looked up at the black-robed old man. The man's cultivation base fluctuations put him at ten extinguished Soul Lamps. Furthermore, the explosive level of his body cultivation gave Naruto the sensation that this man was even stronger than Dao-Heaven!

The old man strode forward, unleashing another punch. "God Slaying!"

In that exact same moment, Naruto's eyes suddenly flickered, and he roared, "You're Zong Wuya!" 1

In response to the words, the old man trembled. Naruto took advantage of that distraction to take a deep breath and unleash his own fist strike.

"God Slaying!"

It was at that point that, in the secret chamber below, the mastiff let out a howl. It was a howl filled with determination, as if the mastiff had reached a critical juncture in the possession process, and was going all out. It would be reborn and replace the renegade spirit, or die in the process!

Chapter 1127: You're Zong Wuya!

Previous times Zong Wuya was mentioned: Chapter 1052, 1082, 1083 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1128

Chapter 1128: True Dao?

Both Naruto and the black-robed man unleashed the God-Slaying

Fist!

It was the last of the three body cultivation fists, which combined the will of extermination, the voluntary self-immolation for the sake of bedevilment, and materialized the will of slaughtering gods. It was… the God-Slaying Fist!

Furthermore, because Naruto had the accumulation of the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm, it also had some of the will of Heaven in it, making it the absolute peak fist attack of the Immortal Emperor Realm.

As for the black-robed man, his God-Slaying Fist came from having experienced countless bloody battles. He had honed his killing will to the extent that apparently… he had actually killed Gods, and fused that will into his fist strike. When he struck out, Heaven and Earth crumbled, and a massive wind kicked up.

The two of them shot through the tunnel like lightning, their fists on a direct collision course.

A massive, shocking rumbling sound shook everything, and that was before their fists even touched. The tunnel appeared to be on the verge of being ripped to shreds, as if it were being torn apart by two enormous hands.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, but his killing intent was already raging. Roaring, he pushed forward until he and the black-robed old man actually made contact.

This was a God-Slaying Fist going directly up against another GodSlaying Fist!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

The area around them exploded. Massive vibrations ripped through Naruto, and blood sprayed out of his mouth yet again. An indescribable and yet familiar force surged back toward him from the black-robed old man. It flowed up his right arm and then filled his entire body, which seemed as if it were about to explode.

The two Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps in Naruto's eyes flickered, and then emanated brilliant light. His Eternal stratum surged to life, and his cultivation base exploded with energy, all of it to counteract the God-Slaying power.

Amidst intense rumbling, blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The massive power shoved him backward relentlessly before he finally ground to a halt in front of the entrance to the secret chamber.

However, the black-robed old man was shaken as well. Blood oozed out of his mouth as he staggered backward seven or eight paces. When he looked up, his eyes shone with a strange light, and he hunched over like a bow ready to unleash an arrow. Then he burst into movement, flying through the tunnel at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he was closing in on the entrance to the secret chamber, where Naruto was.

As he neared, he could see into the secret chamber; the parrot and meat jelly were in full view, as was the blood-colored ice block.

"So you're here for that," he said slowly, flicking his sleeve. Almost instantly, light streamed out of his sleeve, forming into a magical symbol which sped past Naruto and headed toward the blood-colored ice block.

Naruto began to pant, and his eyes glittered with a cold light. He waved his finger, unleashing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex toward the incoming old man.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex transformed into invisible threads which instantly bound the old man up. He lurched to a halt, but after a moment, his body began to expand, and he forced himself free of the Hexing magic.

In the instant that he did, Naruto performed an incantation gesture and unleashed a Daoist magic onto the flying blood-colored magical symbol. Before it could get close to the blood-colored ice block, it dissipated.

The old man's eyes glittered, and he suddenly spoke in an archaic voice: "Daos can be classified as true and false. There are fabricated Daos, and genuine Daos…. My Dao, is from outside the Mountains and Seas, a Dao above Daos!"

As he spoke, he traced a circle in the air in front of him with his right hand which, when completed, roiled with an air of chaos.

An intense power of expulsion appeared yet again. Simultaneously, a beam of light shot out from inside the circle; it was a violet light, something that seemed capable of smashing all magics, and it sped directly toward Naruto.

Naruto's Daoist magic was instantly crushed, and dissipated without a sound. Then the violet light began to fade. However, before it disappeared completely, it transformed into a violet hand that grabbed toward Naruto.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto fought back with all the power he could muster. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he fell back. Behind him, cracks were spreading out over the blood-colored ice block, as a faint roar could be heard from within; an urgent, enraged roar.

As he fell back, Naruto's expression turned vicious. Throughout his years of practicing cultivation, he had faced many deadly situations. Most of the time, he was able to sweep through them and come out on top. It wouldn't be proper to call him invincible, but you could say that very few opponents were a match for him.

After arriving in the Windswept Realm, he had likewise swept forward, virtually unstoppable. He had fought Han Qinglei, Lin Cong, and had even killed another Echelon cultivator. But then he had met the intensely powerful Dao-Heaven, and his previously unstoppable momentum faltered.

Then he arrived in the Third Nation, and during the course of the battle had been forced into his current predicament. Because of his pride and self-confidence, he was feeling a bit overwhelmed, even stifled. It almost felt unfair.

"I'm in the Echelon. I'm Naruto, Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan!

"In my life of cultivation, I have experienced much enlightenment, and have benefited from a lot of good fortune. Even Dao-Heaven will only maintain his edge on me for a short time. I will defeat… everyone! Even you, Zong Wuya!" Naruto's eyes were shot with blood as he ceased any thoughts of retreating, and instead began to charge the black-robed old man.

As he did, his body flickered, and he transformed into a huge golden roc which flashed like a streak of gold toward the old man, and then slashed at him with vicious claws.

The black-robed old man sighed, once again tracing a circle in the air and pushing it forward. Violet flames burned, transforming it into a ring of fire that soared toward Naruto.

"Your Dao is a fabricated Dao," the old man said coolly. "There's no need to try to put on airs." In the mostly destroyed tunnel behind him, the blood-colored cultivators and the other black-robed old men were approaching. Naruto was now completely trapped, without any avenue of escape available.

"Daos are inner paths of the heart, Zong Wuya," Naruto said. "How could they possibly be categorized as fabricated or genuine?! How closeminded!" The golden roc sped toward the violet ring of fire. When they slammed into each other, the violet flames flickered brightly, and the Dao of Naruto's golden roc body seemed to be dispelled. The golden roc rapidly vanished, and Naruto returned to human form, his face ashen as he coughed up a mouthful of blood.

He was shocked to find that he was incapable of overpowering this type of violet Daoist magic.

"When a fabricated Dao encounters a true Dao," the old man said, "the fabricated Dao becomes more illusory, and the true Dao becomes more corporeal." He drew another circle, and it was once again violet. However, this time there were no violet flames; instead, it was a violet ring of lightning.

Rumbling could be heard as the two violet rings shot toward Naruto.

"Do you understand?" the old man asked Naruto.

Cracking sounds could be heard coming from the red block of ice behind Naruto in the secret chamber. More cracks had spread out across its surface, and the aura of Immortality was emanating out, and growing stronger. The roaring coming from inside was becoming more distinct, and more urgent.

A critical juncture had arrived. Determination filled Naruto's eyes as he raised his right hand, unleashing another God-Slaying Fist. This time, he seemed to be holding absolutely nothing back. Despite being seriously injured, he let out three successive punches.

The first two were sent against the two violet rings, and the third one was directed at the floor of the tunnel!

Intense booms rang out. The God-Slaying Fist was the most explosive power he could unleash with his fleshly body, and although the violet rings could cause Daos to vanish, they could do nothing about fleshly body strength.

The two violet rings were instantly shattered by Naruto's two fist strikes. As for his third fist strike, when it struck the tunnel, everything began to collapse. Massive amounts of dust billowed out, completely obscuring Naruto's vision.

At the same time, Naruto dashed backward into the secret chamber!

Flickering light filled the chamber as it was apparently affected by the collapse of the tunnel outside. However, nothing had been significantly damaged. The statues were still there, and the blood-colored ice block was now completely blurry. The blood-colored bat was no longer visible inside; the only thing that could be seen was a turbid red haze.

Numerous cracks spread out across the surface of the ice block, and an intense Immortal Realm aura was emanating out. In fact, by this point, that aura was at the peak of the Immortal Realm. The howling grew more anxious, as if the mastiff were worried about Naruto's safety.

The parrot and meat jelly were completely focused on assisting the mastiff in the possession process. They could spare no attention for Naruto, nor could they afford to let anything disturb their work.

When Naruto entered the secret chamber, more cracking sounds could be heard from the block of ice, and the aura grew stronger.

He began to pant. He had no time to examine the situation closely; time was of the essence. Because of all the chaos caused by the collapse of the tunnel, he had managed to buy a little bit of time. His second Nirvana Fruit appeared in his palm; due to his injured state, had been unwilling to absorb it again. However, he currently didn't seem to have any other options.

Taking a deep breath, he lifted the Nirvana Fruit up and pushed it down onto his forehead. Immediately, rumbling sounds filled his body, and his energy spiked. He grew larger, and the azure light of the Allheaven Immortal Realm erupted around him.

Soon, the entire secret chamber was filled with the azure light, and his energy was rocketing up.

It was at this point that, back in the collapsed tunnel, the black-robed leader brushed the dust and rubble off of his clothing and began to stride forward in an attempt to reach the secret chamber.

Ten breaths of time passed, and then a massive boom could be heard. Dust flew out in all directions as the black-robed old man burst into the secret chamber in a flash of light.

In that exact moment, Naruto looked up. He was surrounded by azure light, and was now in the Allheaven Immortal Realm. His eyes were filled with the intense desire to fight; he took a step forward and once again unleashed the God-Slaying Fist!

That fist was now vastly more powerful than the version he had used only moments ago. Originally, the black-robed old man hadn't paid much attention to it, but now, his face fell, and he stopped in place. Then, he also unleashed the God-Slaying Fist.

A huge boom rang out as the two of them slammed into each other in midair. This time, Naruto didn't fall back. The one who fell back was the black-robed old man, his expression that of shock. At the same time, Naruto let out a roar like that of an explosive dragon as he charged into battle.

Once again, he relied on that same fighting style that he usually used; he seized the initiative and began to domineer his opponent!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1129

Chapter 1129 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1129: The Blood Mastiff Flies!

The black-robed man's face flickered as he was once again sent falling back. The intense level of power Naruto now wielded had struck fear even in Dao-Heaven's heart. The black-robed man might have a powerful fleshly body and bizarre Daoist magic, but fighting with Naruto in his current state caused him to feel immense pressure.

Rumbling filled the air, and blood sprayed out of the man's mouth. Even as he fell back, Naruto closed in for another fist strike.

The man's eyes went wide, and he performed a double-handed incantation gesture.

"True Dao!" he barked. A blinding sea of violet light erupted in front of him, which became a gigantic violet hand that flew toward Naruto.

"Smash all magics? Dispel all Daos?" Naruto said with a cold harrumph. He performed an incantation gesture, and the Essence of

Divine Flame appeared. Backed by the power of the Allheaven Immortal Realm, the Essence of Divine Flame spread out in all directions with terrifying power. Rumbling sounds could be heard as it slammed into the enormous violet hand.

This time, no Dao dispelling effect occurred. The violet hand was incapable of banishing the Divine Flame, and could only resist it. Rumbling could be heard as the Divine Flame began to fade. At the same time, the violet hand collapsed.

The remaining Divine Flame continued on toward the black-robed old man, instantly engulfing him. The man's face fell, and he rapidly fell back in retreat. However, the blood-colored cultivators and other blackrobed old men behind him were not so fast.

In the blink of an eye, the divine flame swept over and enveloped them. Miserable shrieks rang out. Despite possessing undying bodies, the blood-colored cultivators were destroyed nonetheless.

As for the black-robed men, they let out bloodcurdling screams as they were transformed into ash.

The leader of the black-robed men was completely shocked as he fell back. He performed another incantation gesture, causing boundless violet light to appear. It transformed into a series of Daoist magics and divines abilities, which then strung together to form a huge net which shot toward Naruto.

Naruto waved his hand, letting loose another divine ability which shattered the huge net. The black-robed man's face fell. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and he fell back again. Naruto was just about to go on the offensive again, when all of a sudden, his entire body spasmed beyond his control. Intense pain radiated from his forehead as the Nirvana Fruit emerged and fell down. He caught it, but as he did, an intense wave of weakness swept through him.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered back a bit. He now had no offensive power left whatsoever. He felt empty, and he immediately began to simply float down toward the ground.

Seeing this, the black-robed old man quickly shot toward Naruto; he was on him in the blink of an eye. Shockingly, the attack he used was yet again the God-Slaying Fist.

Naruto smiled bitterly. He had no more energy left, and his vision dimmed. Exhaustion filled him, and despite the deadly situation, there was nothing he could do to stimulate himself.

As the black-robed man closed in, a roar of rage suddenly echoed out from within the blood-colored ice block. The ice suddenly shattered, sending chunks flying in all directions. A blood-red streak shot through the air, instantly covering Naruto to protect him from the old man's fist strike.

A boom rang out, and the old man was visibly rocked. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and the backlash sent him flying backward. At the same time, a muffled grunt could be heard from within the blood-red light. Next, the blood-colored light turned into a mist, within which could suddenly be seen the mastiff's enormous head. Scowling viciously, it lunged toward the black-robed man with gaping maw, as if to consume him.

The man's face fell, and he retreated further, avoiding the attack. However, more blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.

"Possession!" the old man cried. "You… you were using this beast to possess the Blood Bat?!"

Naruto panted as the awakened mastiff swirled around him, pouring life force energy into him, reviving him. When he saw the red mist around him, and the mastiff's head, a familiar sensation filled him, and he couldn't help but smile.

"It interrupted the fusion process to save you," said the parrot. "It will take some luck to find another opportunity like it."

The parrot and meat jelly looked exhausted. After glancing at Naruto for a moment, they streaked back into his bag of holding.

The mastiff now emanated powerful fluctuations of the Ancient Realm; it was clearly on par with a human cultivator with ten extinguished Soul Lamps.

It could have been even more powerful; opportunities to possess renegade spirits were extremely rare in the universe. However, Naruto was its master, its family. The only reason it wanted to get more powerful was to protect him. Therefore… if Naruto fell into a deadly crisis, then it would not choose to continue to power up. After all, if it lost its master, its life would have no meaning.

It was a loyal dog, and it was entirely correct to say that it lived for Naruto!

A gentle light could be seen in Naruto's eyes as he looked at the mastiff, which threw its head back and roared. Cracking sounds could be heard from inside the mist, which then coalesced to form the mastiff's body. Fierce bone spurs stuck out all over it, and its teeth were razor sharp. It was blood-red, like a gigantic and terrifying wild beast. Furthermore, it now sported two enormous, blood-colored wings!

The mastiff looked more fierce than ever, like some sort of fiendish blood god. Its eyes radiated a seemingly infinite coldness and ferocity toward the world. It was as if, to the mastiff, there was no such thing as good or evil, right or wrong. There was only… its master!

It looked fierce, brutal, and cold. Any person who lacked courage would instantly be terrified just by looking at it.

Even many of the most ferocious creatures in existence would tremble in fear at a single glance.

There was only one person who this terrifying mastiff would allow to sit on its back, who it would wag its tail for. That person was… the person who had raised it from the time it was small. Naruto.

He was the one and only person who could do such things!

Naruto sat down on the mastiff's back, and it roared. It flapped its wings, then flew up toward the surface of the land above. Everything trembled around it, collapsing, leaving behind an enormous crater as it emerged into the sky.

As it flew out, it apparently broke through some type of seal which had been in place over the area. At the same time, it grew even larger. Soon it was 300 meters long, and as it flew, it let out an astonishing roar that caused everything to shake, and caused a huge wind to spring up.

It was at this point that an enraged cry could be heard rising up into the sky. The sound came from none other than the top of the Third Nation's National Aura Mountain.

"Kill him!" roared the man in the imperial robes. "Get that blood crystal back!"

In the moment that the mastiff flew up into the air, he was able to sense that the blood-colored ice block had shattered. He also sensed that the blood-colored bat had been consumed, and that as a result… the mastiff had taken its place!

As his roar echoed out, numerous incredibly powerful black-robed cultivators appeared around him. They almost instantly transformed into beams of light that shot toward Naruto.

The strongest were the three black-robed men in the lead position, especially the center-most of that group. He wore the same black robe as the others, but his face was not covered. He was a middle-aged man with no hair, and a tranquil expression that seemed to embody wisdom.

As soon as they took to flight, they emanated incredible pressure. When Naruto felt it, his face flickered. Patting the mastiff, he said, "Come on, let's go!"

Immediately, the mastiff threw its head back and roared again. Then it transformed into a beam of blood-colored light that shot off into the distance.

As time passed, more black-robed cultivators converged on the area. At the same time, the black-robed man that Naruto had fought underground emerged from within the rubble of the crater. Instead of joining the groups of other black-robed men, he flew up toward the bald cultivator with the expression of wisdom. Shockingly… he merged into that man!

In the blink of an eye, the two became one. The middle-aged man's appearance then changed. He looked older, and yet, a Quasi-Dao aura suddenly erupted from him!

Although he wasn't truly in that Realm, he was close enough to be considered a Quasi-Dao expert!

"Naruto," the man murmured. "Ninth Mountain. Ninth Sea…." His eyes flickered with reminiscence, and he sighed lightly. Then he shot through the air in pursuit, followed by all the other black-robed men.

The incredible speed with which he moved ensured that he quickly left the other black-robed cultivators behind. He was like an arrow that pierced through the sky with unbelievable speed.

As for the mastiff, it was moving so fast that it left afterimages behind as it shot through the Third Nation toward the central temple region.

Naruto sat on its back, consuming medicinal pills, focusing all his efforts on recovery. His Eternal stratum was hard at work as he took advantage of every moment to try to reach the highest level of power possible. Without being at that peak of his power, there were simply too many dangers within the Windswept Realm.

He could also sense the intense killing aura that was approaching him from behind.

Thanks to the mastiff's incredible speed, they quickly left the Third Nation and entered the region of the central temple.

That was also the location of the grand War of Nine Nations, and the cultivators from the various Nine Mountains and Seas. Although there weren't many people left, everyone had chosen to remain in this area. They knew that this was the area that, although it seemed dangerous, was actually the safest place to be.

Anyone who returned to the Nation from whence they came could be dragged into the fierce fighting of the Echelon cultivators, which was definitely the most dangerous possible situation to be in.

Furthermore, all of the cultivators had come to the realization that the central temple region was the most suitable location in which to control their desires.

As soon as Naruto entered the area, the cultivators and mortals engaged in deadly fighting all looked up at the enormous mastiff, and gasped in shock.

"What is that?!"

"Heavens! How could a blood-colored beast like that show up in the

Windswept Realm!?"

Soon, the shocked mortals and cultivators realized that someone was sitting atop the mastiff.

"Look, on it's back… it's a person!"

"It's Naruto!" Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu were in the central temple region, and they almost immediately caught sight of the mastiff, and Naruto on its back.

It was at this point that the bald Quasi-Dao cultivator let out a slight sigh as he left the Third Nation and entered the central temple region.

"It's been a long time… since I was here," he murmured softly.

Chapter 1129: The Blood Mastiff Flies!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1130

Chapter 1130: Muddling the Dao!

In the instant that the bald cultivator entered the central temple region, Naruto opened his eyes and looked over his shoulder at the man.

The man's gaze also came to fall upon Naruto, and he smiled.

It was a gentle smile, filled with seemingly boundless warmth. It caused the wounds of all the mortals down below to begin to heal. Even the cultivators trembled as they felt their Chakra and blood flourishing.

The man proceeded forward, smiling, to appear directly in front of Naruto.

"Naruto," he said, "you managed to commandeer the blood crystal and flee the Third Nation. It seems you have the qualifications to be awakened. There's no need for you to remain in this fabricated world. Come with me to see the true Heaven and Earth. Then you will understand… the truth."

The mastiff halted in midair, growling and glaring vigilantly at the bald cultivator. There was something familiar about this man's aura, and something terrifying and stifling.

Naruto's eyes widened as he looked back silently at the man. He seemed to possess no killing intent whatsoever, and the words he had just spoken were so strange that Naruto was somewhat befuddled.

Down below, the mortals had ceased combat, and were looking up at the black-robed man floating there in the sky. All of sudden, people began to drop to their knees and kowtow. Soon all of the soldiers of the various Nations were on their knees.

The cultivators from the various Mountains looked on with flickering expressions. This bald cultivator filled their hearts with fear, and they could sense that he overflowed with the violence of a raging sea.

However, that ferocity also seemed to be under control. The only thing he revealed was calm.

Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu felt their hearts trembling. The exchanged a vigilant glance, and then began to back up slowly.

"I don't want to fight with you again," the man said, looking at Naruto with a sincere expression. "Therefore… just come with me. What do you say? Follow, and you will face no danger to your life. In fact, you'll even be able to acquire some good fortune.

"Because of the matter of the blood crystal, your Dao and our Dao are now similar. What is yours, is ours. There is no difference between the two. You have no reason to fear."

Naruto's eyes widened. As soon as the man used the word 'again,' he realized what was going on. After looking at the man closely, his heart began to pound.

"You're… Zong Wuya!" Naruto said slowly.

"What you fought before was simply my clone," Zong Wuya said softly.

"This is the real me, Junior Brother Naruto."

A complex expression appeared on Naruto's face. He could sense the incredible pressure of the man's cultivation base, and knew that he couldn't fight him. Even in the Allheaven Immortal Realm, it would still be difficult for him to contend with a Quasi-Dao expert.

Naruto remembered seeing Zong Wuya's name on the golden gate stone stele in the Nine Seas God World. Before he had gained enlightenment of the third body cultivation fist strike, Zong Wuya's name had been listed in 1st place.

Later, he had investigated a bit, only to find out that there was no Zong Wuya anywhere in the Nine Seas God World.

After a moment silence, Naruto said, "You came to the Windswept Realm, but never left. You decided to stay behind, just like all the other black-robed cultivators. All of you are Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators who came here throughout the years but chose to remain. Obviously you didn't succumb to your desires. Why did you stay?"

"Some people choose to stay because they get lost in their desires," Zong Wuya said calmly. "Others stay to pursue their obsessions. As for me, I chose to stay… because of the true Dao."

"True Dao?" Naruto asked.

Zong Wuya looked at him and smiled. Then he waved his hand, causing a gentle wind to spring up. It carefully picked up everyone down on the ground below, even Fan Dong'er and Bei Yu. "I'd like to discuss the Dao with my young friend here. Ladies and gentlemen, please give us some privacy. Many thanks to you." The wind then carried them all to a location off in the distance.

With that, Zong Wuya floated down to the ground and sat down crosslegged, then looked up at Naruto.

Naruto frowned. After a moment of thought, he floated down to sit across from Zong Wuya.

A gleam of reminiscence appeared in Zong Wuya's eyes as he slowly said, "Naruto, in your opinion, what is true, and what is false?"

"True and false are like inside and out," Naruto replied calmly. "Without what is true, that which is false cannot exist. However, as I mentioned to you earlier, when it comes to Daos… there is no such thing as true and false!"

"Well then, in your opinion, what is a Dao?" Zong Wuya's expression was placid, but the reminiscence in his eyes grew even stronger as they continued to discuss the Dao.

Naruto didn't need to think about the answer. He immediately responded: "The Dao is the obsession in your heart, the path that you choose to follow."

"In that case, what is your Dao?"

"Freedom and independence!" Naruto said, his voice filled with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron.

"Freedom. Independence…." Smiling, Zong Wuya shook his head.

"What is freedom? And similarly, what is independence? Is freedom being free from all restrictions? Is independence an absence of all restraint? As you sit here in front of me, Heaven and Earth restrict you. The entire world restrains you.

"Look up, and you will see the sky. The sky weighs down on you. Beyond the Windswept Realm is the void, the Heavens. There are 33 Realms, all of them are also weighing down on you. Beyond those 33 Realms, are even more Realms and worlds. All of them are also pressing down on you." Although Zong Wuya spoke calmly, his words were as incisive as the stabs of a sword. They even seemed to be filled with a strange power, as if every word he spoke were completely and utterly correct.

As his words entered Naruto's ears, he trembled. He wasn't sure why, but he suddenly thought back to the image painted by Shui Dongliu back on Planet South Heaven all those years ago, and had to ask himself if what existed at the top of that painting was actually the sky, or not…? 1

"What about morality and principles," Zong Wuya continued, his wording growing more cutting. "Are they not restraints? Can you ignore them? Can you trample on them? Where does your freedom come from? Where does your independence come from?" His eyes glittered, and seemed to contain matchless wisdom.

"You are weak," he said, staring Naruto in the eye. "When you meet powerful people, you have no freedom, nor any independence, not unless you are the most powerful person. However, the starry sky is wide, and the Heavens are vast. Perhaps when you think you are the most powerful person in existence, wouldn't you always be wondering if there might be other people over the horizon who also view themselves to be at the ultimate pinnacle?"

"I–" Naruto was about to reply, but was cut off by Zong Wuya.

"You have an incorrect understanding of the Dao. Your freedom is not a

Dao, it is an obsession of yours. And an obsession… is likewise not a Dao!"

His words echoed about, causing Naruto's mind to reel.

"This is actually what I wanted to explain to you. Do you know what the true Dao is? It doesn't matter if it's you or other people, in all of the Mountain and Sea Realm… there is only one Dao. No matter what enlightenment or thought process goes into the Daos of others, what they pursue, are all fabricated Daos.

"Therefore, your Daoist magics and divine abilities, when faced against the true Dao that I follow, will be dispelled. That is because, when faced with what is true, fabrications will naturally fade away."

Naruto was panting as he looked at Zong Wuya, as if his heart was filled with waves of shock. Naruto had never heard words like this spoken before, words that seemed designed to subvert everything he believed in.

Zong Wuya continued: "The life you live, your thoughts, your words, the things you have heard, the enlightenment you have achieved, are all falsehoods. None of it is real; it is all counterfeit. Naruto, reject the Echelon, and come experience the REAL world. I will take you, and together we will leave this place. You can contemplate the true Dao, and then you will understand… what the real world is!

"Don't tell me you have never considered why Immortals are classified as true and false? False Immortals reach Immortal Ascension by being enlightened regarding the true Immortality of others!

"What about the Ancient Realm? It's the same!

"And the Dao Realm…? Also the same!" Zong Wuya eyes shone with a strange light. Deep inside, that look of reminiscence grew stronger, almost as if he weren't speaking to Naruto, but to himself.

It was almost as if these were words being spoken to him by someone else in the past, words that had stirred his heart, that had changed his life. Now, he was in the position occupied by whoever that person had been years ago. He was speaking shocking words to change Naruto's life, and in the process… strengthening his own resolve!

"You live in a Paragon's world, and that Paragon was not the Paragon who founded the Echelon, Sea Dream. No, he was the most powerful entity in the Paragon Immortal Realm, Paragon Nine Seals!

"You live in the world he created, and therefore, all of your enlightenment, has been regarding HIS Dao. In fact, the only Dao of the Mountain and Sea Realm is HIS Dao!

"Do you know what the end result of all this will be? I'll tell you, Uzumaki

Hao. The end result is that all of you, every single cultivator in the Mountain and Sea Realm, are all just fuel, fuel being used to power the resurrection of Paragon Nine Seals!

"In the end… he will be resurrected, and all of you… will lose yourselves for all eternity. You will become his blood, his bones, and all the other parts of his body!

"Perhaps if you become powerful enough, you might even become one of his fingers!

"Therefore, that is why I say that all of those Daos are mere fabrications. All those Daos are falsehoods. Only if you leave this place will you ever gain enlightenment of your own Dao. Then, you can understand… what

it actually feels like to acquire the true Dao. Then you will clearly understand… what the Dao is!

"Give up your fleshly body, and forsake your place in the Echelon. I will take your soul to experience the baptism of tribulation. It will wipe away that which seals you to the Mountain and Sea Realm. In the outside world, there are people who have already prepared a new fleshly body for you, a true fleshly body. Enter that fleshly body, break away from that which is fabricated, and you can become… a real person!

"Only at that time will you be qualified to truly pursue your freedom and independence.

"At that time you will see the true world. There, you will see the true starry sky, not the sun and moon which are mere materializations of Nine Seals' eyes. The magic there is not the magic of the five elements, which are nothing more than the manifestation of Nine Seals' five organs. The rivers and seas there are not made from Nine Seals' blood, and it is not a Mountain and Sea Realm formed out of Nine Seals' magical item.

"Most importantly of all, you will gain enlightenment that is NOT the Dao and will of Nine Seals, NOT the natural law of the Mountains and Seas, NOT the Dao of the Mountains and Seas!

"Naruto, why do you refuse to open your eyes! In the real world, the most radiant symbol is none other than the butterfly! In the real world, the lands flow with the true Dao! Gain enlightenment of the true Dao, and you can even become a Paragon!

"Leave this place with me. Come with me… to experience the true Dao." When Zong Wuya finished speaking, his eyes were shining with even more intensity than before.

—–

Note Challenge from Deathblade: What do you think about what Zong

Wuya said? Leave your comments below before proceeding to the next chapter. _IF YOU DARE!_

The scene in which Shui Dongliu painted a picture and then asked Uzumaki

Hao about it was in chapter 208 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1131

Chapter 1131 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1131: Xue'er!

Naruto's mind seemed to be reeling. Zong Wuya's voice apparently contained some sort of bizarre power, something that could interfere with Naruto's mental faculties, leaving him panting. Zong Wuya's words were mesmerizing, and he seemed powerless to extricate himself.

"The true Dao…." he murmured, his expression blank. He seemed to be at a complete loss, as if he had lost all powers of reasoning and judgement. It was as if one part of him was filled with everything he knew about the Mountain and Sea Realm, while at the same time, everything he believed had been turned on end by Zong Wuya.

Two trains of thought seemed to run through his mind, and they were currently battling back and forth.

Naruto trembled, panting, his eyes shot with blood.

"Come with me," Zong Wuya said. "Our plan is already underway, and nobody can stop us…. Come with me, and we can go to the true world. With new fleshly bodies, we can thoroughly awaken.

"Then you will understand that everything I've told you… is true. Then you will truly be able to feel… the existence of the true Dao."

Although some people could see Naruto and Zong Wuya chatting, no one could hear the words being spoken. Zong Wuya had ensured that all the sound was blocked.

It was at this point that a large group of black-robed men appeared, flying toward them from the direction of the Third Nation. Zong Wuya gave them a look, and they immediately stopped in place at the border. They hovered there waiting, none of them taking even a single move forward.

Naruto looked up at Zong Wuya. It seemed like a struggle, but he managed to say, "I need some time to think."

"I understand that you can't make a decision about something like this in such a short time," Zong Wuya said softly. "Well, I've explained the truth to you. The decision is yours to make…." He looked at Naruto, and deep in his eyes were complicated emotions, and hope, although no one would be able to detect those things. Perhaps what he hoped for was that Naruto would be like him, that he would pursue the true Dao. Or perhaps he was thinking something else….

Only he himself knew.

"I'll give you some time to think. However, during that time, you are not to leave the region of the central temple itself. Naruto… please do take care of yourself." With a final piercing look at Naruto, he turned back toward the Third Nation.

Naruto stared in shock, not quite able to wrap his mind around Zong Wuya's actions, or why he had left just like that.

As Zong Wuya turned and floated up into the air, his gaze happened to pass across the border connecting the Sixth Nation and the central temple region. His gaze casually lingered for a moment on one particular soldier in the Sixth Nation's army. That soldier was trembling, seemingly having forgotten all about the desperate fighting.

Zong Wuya looked away and sighed. Once again, the complicated emotions, and the hope, rose up in his eyes.

As he made his way off, he murmured, "Naruto, what decision will you make…?"

Naruto watched him leaving, and when he saw Zong Wuya look over, he automatically looked over toward the Sixth Nation as well. However, he saw nothing unusual. Before Zong Wuya could get too far away, Naruto suddenly called after him, "What if… everything that YOU believe is true, is actually false?"

Zong Wuya didn't stop moving. He continued onward, responding in a calm voice, "Without looking into the matter, the answer will never be revealed. I'm a cultivator, and the purpose of my life is to pursue the true Dao. It doesn't matter if I fail or succeed. Either way, my heart will be at peace!"

Naruto's heart trembled as he watched Zong Wuya pass over the border into the Third Nation. He waved his hand, and the other blackrobed men all bowed their heads and followed him back into the Third Nation.

Naruto had a strange expression on his face. He sat there quietly for a long time. Zong Wuya's words continued to echo in his mind, and yet, they were incapable of truly affecting his thoughts. In the very beginning, he had been slightly affected, but after that, everything had been an act on his part.

The things Zong Wuya had said seemed like the truth, and virtually any other cultivator who heard them would likely feel as if their entire world had been overturned. But Naruto… was the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer!

He was the true successor of Paragon Nine Seals, and also the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

His understanding of the Mountain and Sea Realm actually exceeded Zong Wuya's. The Mountain and Sea Realm was not Paragon Nine Seals' body, but rather, one of his magical treasures. Furthermore, everything that Zong Wuya had described as being an illusion, was in fact real.

Also, when Zong Wuya mentioned butterflies having something to do with the supposed 'real' world, Naruto couldn't help but recall the vision he had experienced in which he saw nine butterflies dragging a land mass. 1

"Give up my current fleshly body and go to the supposed real world to get a new one? Gain enlightenment of the true Dao? It sounds really incredible, but… it's completely preposterous!

"It's a pack of lies, just like the lies used to incite the 3,000 Lower Realms into rebellion. That was why they joined forces to topple the Paragon Immortal Realm!

"Perhaps the words they used were even the same… the true Dao….

"Or, perhaps that saying is another one of the traps of the Windswept Realm to incite one's desires!" Naruto's eyes glittered.

"However, Zong Wuya was being very obvious that he deliberately gave me time to think. It even seemed like he was doing it on purpose…. But why?" When it came to true or false Daos, Naruto was by no means at a loss. His Dao heart was steadfast, and any talk about fabricated or true Daos was simply a matter of the perspective of the person speaking.

Such talk was a method of inciting rebellion in the 3,000 Lower Realms of long ago. It was something to confuse and bewilder the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm who came to the Windswept Realm. Perhaps others might believe such talk, but Naruto… would not!

The reason he wouldn't believe it was not only because he was the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, or his vision of the nine butterflies dragging a land mass. There was another reason. The supposed true Dao that Zong Wuya spoke of, the true Dao which could dispel fabricated Daos… was completely destroyed by Naruto when he was an Allheaven Immortal.

The supposed true Dao could do nothing to shake the Allheaven

Immortal Realm; if it were the actual 'true' Dao as Zong Wuya described, then how could that be explained away?

Naruto was not confused in the slightest about any of these things. The only thing that confused him was Zong Wuya's attitude.

What he actually felt towards Naruto was a complete mystery.

"Now that I think about it, only when the Blood Mastiff flew out from the renegade spirit chamber did the person on the Third Nation's National Aura Mountain that Zong Wuya called Emperor sense that the renegade spirit had been possessed….

"Something is off about that…." He began to pant, and his eyes glittered as he recalled all the details.

"The Emperor on the National Aura Mountain sensed that someone trespassed into that chamber…. That was the first thing Zong Wuya said!" Naruto murmured inwardly. Suddenly a tremor ran through him. Then he thought back to how bursting out of the crater with the mastiff felt like breaking out of some sort of seal.

"Seal… there was a seal in place, and when the mastiff flew out, the seal was broken. That's when the Emperor on the National Aura Mountain could sense that there was a change to the renegade spirit….

"In other words, the fact that he sensed nothing before then indicates that someone didn't want him to know!

"And that person, the person who put the seal in place… was Zong Wuya!" Naruto looked toward the Third Nation, panting. All of a sudden, he put all the pieces together.

"He's helping me!" he thought, shaking inwardly.

"He chased after me, and his cultivation base is clearly far greater than mine. And yet he didn't attack me, but instead, talked about illusions and the true Dao. Then he even gave me time to think about the matter.

"It would be more accurate to say that he didn't give me time to think, but rather, that he gave me time to recover from my injuries!

"Besides, his arguments about the fabricated and the true Daos could actually… have been made in a completely different fashion. There was no reason to just blatantly state those things out loud. He could easily have used a more subtle approach. That would have been a much more effective way to sway the listener.

"But he didn't do that. He just said things out plain and simple.

Furthermore, he spoke in a way that deliberately revealed the flaws in his argument…."

Naruto took a deep breath. He suddenly flew up into the air, following the exact same path Zong Wuya had taken moments ago. He made sure to do things exactly as Zong Wuya had done, both in his flight trajectory and his posture and body movement. He also turned to look back at the Sixth Nation in exactly the same way.

From this vantage point, he could see the central temple area, as well as the Sixth Nation's army, and the soldier Zong Wuya had looked at. The soldier wore a thoughtful expression, like that which might appear when contemplating enlightenment.

It was as if this person had heard the words exchanged between Naruto and Zong Wuya, and was now contemplating them and, at the same time, coming to a similar conclusion as Naruto.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto looked at the soldier, the soldier looked up, and their gazes met.

Naruto found himself staring at a pair of beautiful eyes. They seemed to contain heavenly bodies, even a starry sky. Anyone who looked into those eyes would want to be lost in them, and to never return.

When their gazes met, Naruto's mind reeled. He quickly blinked his left eye several times in quick succession, utilizing his Celestial Vision technique. He rotated his cultivation base, and his perception of the world changed. The soldier's appearance also changed; an illusion was dispelled, and the soldier suddenly looked like a young woman.

She wore a white robe and had skin like snow. She was spectacularly beautiful, with a sweet, charming smile and stunning features.

A moment later, the image of the woman vanished, to be replaced by that of the soldier. The soldier seemed shocked to have been noticed by Naruto. She blinked, thought for a moment, and then began to walk over.

No one noticed her passage, almost as if they couldn't even see her. Not even the other cultivators could detect her. It was as if to Fan Dong'er and the others, this soldier didn't even exist.

"I was just thinking about whether or not I should finally introduce myself, Elder Brother Uzumaki , considering the circumstances….

"But since you sensed me, then I guess it would be appropriate to do it here." As the soldier approached, her appearance changed yet again, turning into the same beautiful young woman he had seen with his Celestial Vision.

She covered her smile with a hand, and looked at him with sparkling eyes. She seemed completely beyond ordinary, as if she had stepped out from a celestial realm. Her snow-white skin and exquisite features didn't even seem human. A white robe covered a lithe body, a body that could cause any man who saw it to drool with desire. Because of her, all living things in the area seemed to fade and darken.

Naruto was dazzled, but he recovered quickly. A moment later, his eyes flashed like lightning as he gave the young woman an icy stare.

"I've been waiting for you for quite some time, Fellow Daoist Xue'er," he said coolly. A flash could be seen as he flew down to the ground and calmly watched her approach.

The mastiff remained behind him. It could also sense the woman's existence, and it stared at her with brutal, icy eyes.

The young woman looked deeply at Naruto. In response to him immediately addressing her by name, she simply smiled, seemingly haven taken no offense.

Her seemingly cavalier attitude caused Naruto's eyes to widen.

"It seems you've been shadowing me for quite a while," he said coolly.

His previous words had only provoked a slight smile from her, but this statement caused her to stop in her tracks. She looked at Naruto with a trace of a lively glint in her eyes, her expression gradually turning serious.

"A mere glance at my reaction led you to such a conclusion?" she said softly. "It seems I've underestimated you, Elder Brother Uzumaki ." With that, she clasped hands and bowed.

Chapter 1131: Xue'er!

Naruto saw a vision of the butterflies and the land mass in chapter

819\. Actually, the original release of the chapter had a slight mistranslation regarding that part, but it's been fixed. ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1132

Chapter 1132: Shamed Into Rage!

Naruto frowned. For some reason, he instantly disliked this woman Xue'er. She might be beautiful, perhaps more beautiful than any other woman he had ever met. But the feeling he got from her was that she was far too manipulative.

She had obviously used some special technique to secretly shadow him for who knew how long. She might just call it 'observation,' but her methods went far beyond the ordinary definition of the word.

Such methods left Naruto feeling coldly derisive. Back when he fought with Dao-Heaven, he could tell how important he thought she was. He had tried to hide it, but Naruto easily saw through the facade.

She was the type of woman who, even if you knew wasn't plotting against you, would still make you want to be careful. And once you put your guard up, you wouldn't want to relax. Xu Qing was the exact opposite. When he was with Xu Qing, he felt completely relaxed. She did not plot or scheme, and when she looked at him, all he wanted to do was smile softly back at her.

Although these thoughts ran through his head, they did not change his facial expression.

"I'm from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite," Xue'er said. "Not the

Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite you'll find in any of the Mountains and

Seas. I'm the one and only true successor of the real Immortal Ancient." She smiled at Naruto, a radiant smile like a blooming lily, filled with self confidence. It made her and everything around her even more eyecatching.

"Of all the Echelon cultivators I've met," she continued, "the only one that came close to meeting my requirements was Elder Brother Chen from the First Mountain, and he only measured up by half. I was going to select him, but in that very moment, I felt you suddenly appear, Elder Brother Uzumaki .

"And that's why I came looking for you to play a game of Go." She waved her hand, causing a game board to appear between the two of them.

The black games pieces were sitting on one side of the board, the white pieces on the other.

She didn't say a lot, but Naruto could easily detect the profound haughtiness in the words, a haughtiness that was rooted in her bones. She didn't intend for that haughtiness to come across, but it was revealed nonetheless.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki , please, after you," she said softly.

"I don't do Go," Naruto responded coolly.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki , please just cooperate. I've come here to bestow you with some good fortune." She looked at him earnestly.

Naruto frowned, and then suddenly smiled, although it was a cold smile. His eyes were filled with a profound gleam.

"I don't know what sort of decision it is that you're making, nor do I know why the other Echelon cultivators want to get close to you. But as for me, I'd actually like to ask you a question. What makes you think you can get me to play Go with you? Also, what gives you the confidence to secretly follow me around, then suddenly saunter up and start yakking away? Is it just because you're some sort of successor?" He took a step forward, stamping his foot down, which caused everything to tremble. A wave of powerful pressure surged out toward Xue'er.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki , please, calm yourself down," she said coolly.

"Attacking me would be pointless. Furthermore, you're still injured."

Naruto's eyes flashed with coldness. "Even if I am still injured, I can still hurt you!"

He took a second step forward. Behind him, the mastiff threw its head back and roared, causing a murderous aura to spring up. The longer it glared at Xue'er, the more intense the murderous air became. Suddenly, it pounced toward her.

In that same moment, Xue'er frowned and waved her jade-like hand. Immediately, a beam of white light shot out that transformed into a white crane. It let out a melodious cry, along with the fluctuations of an Ancient Realm cultivation base.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki ," she said coolly, "please, just sit down and play this game of Go with me, alright?" In response, Naruto slapped his bag of holding, and the parrot flew out. As soon as it laid eyes on the white crane, it let out a whoop of excitement and shot toward it.

The white crane stared with wide eyes and moments later, an agonized shriek could be heard. Simultaneously, Naruto took a third step, and his energy shot up. He clenched his right hand into a fist and punched.

"Shameless!" Xue'er said, her eyes flashing icily. When she saw the miserable situation the white crane was in, she performed an incantation gesture and then waved a finger toward Naruto. However, even as she waved her finger, Naruto's right index finger extended, and he also waved his finger.

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed. Xue'er trembled, and her face fell. Naruto took a fourth step, a fifth step, and then unleashed a punch.

Rumbling filled the air as Xue'er suddenly dodged backward. As she did,

Naruto snorted coldly and said, "Get back here!"

His right hand opened from a fist into a palm. He made a snatching motion toward Xue'er, using the Star Plucking Magic to grab her. Xue'er's face fell as she felt herself being dragged toward Naruto. She quickly performed an incantation gesture, causing a snowy tempest to appear around her.

Naruto's expression didn't change at all as he took his sixth step, then his seventh. His energy surged as a huge foot appeared up in the sky, which then stamped down toward Xue'er.

At the same time, Naruto shot like lightning toward her.

Xue'er was panting. She had never imagined that Naruto, despite being injured, would still be so strong. At the critical moment, she extended her right hand, within which appeared a bell. She quickly rang the bell, causing a tinkling sound to float out. A murderous aura exploded up, and behind her, a gigantic, illusory image appeared.

It was an old man, gigantic, ancient, wearing a Daoist robe. He seemed infinitely wise, and was apparently in the middle of delivering a sermon about the Dao. His lifted his right hand into the air and waved a finger toward the incoming foot.

The Seven God Steps' gigantic foot collapsed into pieces. Ashen-faced, Xue'er waved her right hand, causing the illusory figure behind her to wave his finger again, this time toward Naruto.

The attack struck through the air toward Naruto, who trembled in response. However, the figure of the old man then faded a bit, completely astonishing Xue'er.

Seeing that Naruto was continuing to advance menacingly, she gritted her teeth. Suddenly a medicinal pill bottle appeared in her hand. "Here, take these pills as compensation!" she said, throwing the bottle toward him.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he grabbed the bottle.

"That's an Immortal Pill," she gushed, "concocted, not from medicinal plants, but from the Essence of a great Dao. Consume that pill, and all of your injuries will be healed; you'll completely recover. This is a show of good faith! I'm not your enemy."

"Eee?" he said, looking at the medicinal pill bottle, his eyes glowing with a strange light. He examined it closer for a moment, then opened the top, closed his eyes, and took a whiff. After a long moment, his eyes snapped open.

"A Time Pill!" he murmured.

Xue'er's face was just starting to look calm again when she heard Naruto's words, and once again appeared to be astonished.

"I never would have thought that your skill in the Dao of Alchemy had reached such a high level, Elder Brother Uzumaki . You're the first Echelon cultivator… to ever recognize that pill. You're right, it is indeed a Time Pill. Since you can identify the type of pill it is, then you surely know that such a pill can heal all of your injuries. As you can see, I'm not deceiving you."

"A medicinal pill that adds at least a year of body transformations is indeed something very rare in modern times." Naruto put the pill bottle away and ceased any aggressions. Then he called the parrot back, although the parrot didn't seem to be too happy about that. The trembling white crane immediately fled back to Xue'er.

Next, Naruto floated over to the Go board, picked up a black game piece, and placed it onto the board.

Xue'er's eyes glittered, and inwardly, she breathed a sigh of relief. This Naruto was a handful to deal with, and really pissed her off. However, there was nothing she could do about it. Seeing Naruto play a black game piece, caused her to frown slightly. She walked over to the game board, picked up a white game piece, made her move and then waited for Naruto to continue.

"I lose," he said, waving his sleeve. Not giving another glance at the game board, he turned and headed toward the mastiff.

"YOU!" she roared, blue veins popping out on her forehead. She had never, ever met anyone like Naruto before. "I'll have you know that forfeiting the game is also forfeiting the good fortune I have for you!" "I'm not interested!" he said coolly, completely ignoring her.

Her frown deepened. Balling her hands into fists, she shouted," You might not be interested now, but let me tell you, if you win, then you'll get my help! With my help, your path in the Echelon will be much smoother!"

"It was already easy enough even before meeting you," he replied. He slapped his bag of holding to produce the medicinal pill bottle. His eyes glittered for a moment, but he quickly put the pill bottle away. He couldn't quite bring himself to consume the medicinal pill inside before duplicating it.

Unable to hold back from listing all the benefits, Xue'er continued: "Yyou know, other Echelon cultivators all want my help! I'm the successor of Immortal Ancient, and my whole purpose in life is to help the Echelon. If you win, you can even have me as your beloved partner!"

"I'm already married." Naruto turned to look thoughtfully in the direction of the Third Nation. He wasn't sure how much time Zong Wuya had bought him, nor how he would resolve the overall situation with the Third Nation.

"I can make you stronger! I can make you the strongest in the Echelon! I can help you accomplish Paragon Sea Dream's plan successfully!" Xue'er stamped her foot angrily. If Naruto continued acting like this, it would be impossible to accomplish the tasks laid out by her Master.

She was starting to get nervous. She had traveled throughout the Nine

Mountains and Seas, and had encountered an entire generation of Echelon cultivators, some of them haughty, some of them gentle, some of the domineering, some of them sinister.

However, regardless of their personalities, she had ways to deal with them. Even the most unwilling would eventually agree to play a game of Go with her. Naruto was completely different from everyone else. From what she could sense, the only reason he had agreed to even make one move… was to get the medicinal pill.

"Just what do I have to do to get you to play a game of Go with me?" she said through gritted teeth. "You can't even imagine what kind of help I can give you!"

Naruto suddenly turned back to look at her and asked, "Are you the first generation successor of Immortal Ancient?"

Xue'er stared in shock, and said, "No, I'm–"

Before she could finish, Naruto interrupted her. "If you're not the first generation successor of Immortal Ancient, then that means there were other successors before you. Throughout the years, there have also been successive generations of Echelon cultivators. Well then, how come none of them ever succeeded in the end? Why hasn't Paragon Sea Dream's plan been accomplished even after multiple generations?

"Becoming the strongest in the Echelon, and accomplishing Paragon Sea Dream's plan, are both… Echelon matters! They have nothing to do with Immortal Ancient successors!

"If I wanted to be blunt," he continued coldly, "I would just say that all the help provided by generations of people like you, ended up being a complete failure!

"You can go help whoever you think needs your help," he concluded indifferently. "As for me, I don't need your help." Naruto swished his sleeve. Although he looked very domineering on the outside, inwardly he was feeling a bit depressed. _What the hell!? I told her I couldn't play Go, then she wants to make me play anyway? Hmph!_

Naruto essentially grew up alone and poor. It was a difficult thing for him to even manage studying, and he had also ended up owing Steward Zhou three pieces of silver. Growing up in such poverty, how could he possibly have ever excelled at things like zither performances, or playing Go? In the end… he really couldn't play Go. She just hadn't believed him.

How depressing!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1133

Chapter 1133: What Will You Put Aside?!

Xue'er was on the verge of going crazy. She wasn't sure what she had done to offend Naruto. All she had done was secretly follow him for a while, and actually had no ill intentions whatsoever.

Furthermore, she'd even given him an incredible medicinal pill just to get him to play a game of Go with her. Those were the instructions given to her by her Master, to find all the Echelon cultivators of the generation, and find the one she was meant to help.

All of the other Echelon cultivators had been easy to convince; Naruto was the only one who wouldn't cooperate.

Seeing him leaving, Xue'er gnashed her teeth.

"I just want to play a game of Go!" she cried. "It doesn't matter who wins or loses, I'll still give you the good fortune, something that can help you escape the black-robed people from the Third Nation!

"I can help you get out of this dangerous situation!" Xue'er ground her teeth. This was the first time in her dealings with Echelon cultivators where she had started offering them her benefits before she had even made a choice.

Naruto stopped and looked back at Xue'er. He had known all along that if Dao-Heaven cared so much about this young woman, there must be something very special about her. Furthermore, he could tell from everything she had just said that she really was very important to the Echelon.

"Your obsession runs too deep," he said coolly, his expression tranquil and impossible to read, even transcendent.

His words caused a tremor to run through Xue'er. Next, he clasped his hands behind his back and began to speak, his tone light. To him, this was like a debate, and going all the way back to his days debating the Dao of alchemy, he had never lost.

"The word obsession is made up of two characters, one relating to thoughts, the second to actions. If your thoughts are occupied by the game, and your actions pertain only to the game board, then… aren't you merely searching for game pieces, not an Echelon cultivator?

"Playing Go is just a way for you to help make your decision, right? But decisions… can be made in many ways. And you seem to be obsessed with this one method. Instead of saying that you are looking for people to play the game, it would be more accurate to say… that you are stuck within the game itself.

"In the grand scheme of things, the game is insignificant, and yet you have sunk yourself into it as if it were Heaven and Earth. Because you are stuck in the game, your path has become blocked, your Dao limited. The game of Go… is for you, not for me."

Xue'er trembled, and from the expression on her face, it seemed as if she were experiencing enlightenment. After a long moment, she took a deep breath, clasped hands, and bowed deeply to Naruto.

"This is my fault for being too fixated," she said. "I also understand why you weren't willing to play Go with me, Elder Brother Uzumaki . If you devoted yourself to the game, you would lose yourself in the game board, and fall into that world.

"Therefore, you only played a single piece, then turned and left. It was like leaving behind a single thought in Heaven and Earth, so that the mountains remain pristine and the waters undisturbed. You left behind no ripples or waves, but instead chose to remain on the outside, observing… watching as great changes unfolded…." Eventually her voice trailed off. Finally, she clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto one more time.

"Many thanks, Elder Brother Uzumaki !" Her expression was completely sincere, and in fact, her aura seemed even more extraordinary than before. It was as if she truly had experienced some sort of enlightenment, as if she suddenly understood more about life. Apparently, even her cultivation base experienced advancement.

Naruto looked startled, but then quickly recovered his calm demeanor and enigmatic expression. He smiled faintly, and a look of praise could be seen within his eyes.

He was actually shocked to see the transformation which had just occurred in Xue'er. The only reason he had made his little speech just now was because he couldn't actually play Go. He would never have guessed that his words would actually affect Xue'er in such a way.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki , I already understand that it doesn't matter who wins or loses this game. However, my Master's stipulations are hard to work around. Elder Brother Uzumaki , please do me the favor of making your move." Xue'er's expression was very sincere, and all the haughtiness from earlier had vanished. She now seemed very respectful when she looked at him, as if to her, his words were the Dao.

Naruto was grumbling inside, and wasn't sure what to do next. However, his expression of praise deepened. Ideas racing through his head, he looked down at the game board and then smiled slightly.

"Do you really understand?" he asked, his voice suddenly becoming very archaic as he attempted to imitate the way Zong Wuya had spoken and held himself moments ago. "You know, just now, someone asked me what the Dao is.

"My answer was that the Dao relates to the thoughts in your heart. Whatever you focus your thoughts on, that is your Dao. The Dao is shapeless, and cannot be touched; it can only be contemplated, just like life."

Xue'er frowned; this time she didn't quite understand what he meant.

"Life?" she asked.

Naruto didn't answer her. Instead, he turned to the mastiff and stroked its fur gently. Its ferocious eyes suddenly turned soft, and it licked him.

At first, Naruto had simply been trying to pull a fast one on Xue'er. However, their conversation caused him to think about the cultivator in the Immortal jade mine. Then he thought about the black-robed men in the Third Nation. He thought about many things.

"Look, this is my mastiff, who I raised from a tiny puppy.

"It is not constrained by morals, nor bound by any rules. It only has its primal desires to guide it. The one thing that is not subject to that, is me.

I am its family, and it is my family. Besides that, all it has is instinct. Even when it kills, it is not a matter of good or evil.

"The Windswept Realm is similar. Foreign cultivators can become forever lost here, and end up being driven into acting only on instinct.

"That is a sort of primitive freedom and independence, and that is the life that they are living.

"If you defined life as having different Realms, then that would be… the Natural Realm." All of a sudden, it was as if he broke through to a higher level in his mind. It was as if he had truly reached a level of philosophical enlightenment that caused his eyes to glow with a strange light.

Xue'er stood there thoughtfully.

"Consider them," he said, gesturing toward the soldiers not too far off in the distance, and the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm. "Now consider yourself.

"You have a special status. You're the successor of Immortal Ancient. You're innately superior, with a unique identity and position, with extraordinary power and authority. What about all those soldiers and other cultivators, though? They also possess such things. The strong have their power, the weak… have their schemes.

"Between humans, the only thing we do is compare ourselves to others, in any and all matters. We compare who has the highest cultivation base, who is richer, who has the better status, who has the higher position, who has the most power, who has the best family background, who is the smartest, or who is the strongest.

"The weak with the weak and the strong with the strong, all people are constantly comparing themselves to each other. Because of these comparisons, people covet what they do not have, and what they do have, they are even more unwilling to lose.

"That is another kind of life, and most importantly, that is the type of life… that most people live. I like to call such life the second Realm, the Pragmatic Realm!

"You are in that Realm, and so am I." By the time he finished speaking, Naruto's voice was soft. He shook his head and sighed.

Xue'er was trembling, and couldn't take her eyes off of him. The words he had spoken echoed like claps of thunder in her mind, causing her breathing to become ragged.

She understood that he was speaking from the heart as he mused about things he had seen and done. He had only come up with the idea of the first Realm after seeing cultivators who had become lost in their desires. She had also seen such lost cultivators in her time here in the Windswept Realm.

In her opinion, the concept of his second Realm came because of the struggles of the Echelon, and how the Echelon cultivators were constantly competing amongst each other. It was also in response to her words and strength.

"So… is there a third Realm?" she asked quietly.

"Of course!" Naruto looked over at her, his expression ever more archaic and his aura swirling even more mysteriously. His eyes glowed with bright light, like twin lamps on a moonless night.

"The third Realm is … when you leave something behind," he said softly.

Xue'er stood there, dumbfounded.

"Are you willing to give that something up?" he asked, shaking his head slowly. "Do you accept letting it go? Are you even able…to leave it behind?

"The third Realm is the realm of abandonment. After you have something, you abandon it, or perhaps you could say… put it aside!

"Put everything aside, and you have emptiness. At that time, you… can finally explain what the Dao is!" He took a deep breath and looked at Xue'er, who was staring at him blankly. Suddenly, he raised his voice beratingly. "Don't you get it?!

"Consider the game board. What is it? That game board is your world, and in your heart, it is your everything. When all is said and done, it has borders, limitations, creating an intangible perimeter beneath your feet, an area in your heart that you cannot leave!

"If you don't put it aside, then you will forever remain in the second Realm. For all eternity… you will be unable to explain… the Dao!" His voice seemed to contain a bizarre power that left Xue'er shaking. Her expression was one of struggle, but after a moment, she looked deeply at him, then stretched her hand out and laid it onto the game board. A pop could be heard as the board shattered into pieces.

She closed her eyes, and all of a sudden, she seemed to relax. When she opened her eyes again, she asked, "What is the name of that third Realm?"

His lips moved soundlessly for a moment, and then he calmly said, "I call that Realm… the Dao!"

"The Dao…." After a moment of thought, she stared at Naruto closely, as if committing his features to memory. Then she waved her hand, causing a beam of five-colored light to fly out.

Inside of that beam of light was a five-colored crystal that glittered with radiant light. It looked like some sort of incredibly valuable treasure.

As soon as the glittering light appeared, a wind sprang up, and everything began to tremble. The world almost seemed to be unraveling. As soon as Naruto laid eyes on the glittering light, the Echelon mark in his forehead began to glow.

It wasn't just him. Dao-Heaven was currently speeding through midair when, all of a sudden, he lurched to a stop. He turned to look back in the direction of the central temple, and after a moment, a look of disbelief and rage covered his face.

"The Echelon Heart. You SLUT!" he roared. "The Echelon Heart should belong to me! Nobody else qualifies to have it!" He changed directions in a flash, heading toward the central temple area. He knew that the Echelon Heart would be going to Naruto, and although he wasn't completely confident of being able to beat him in a fight, his rage offered him no other option than to go find out.

Lin Cong, Han Qinglei, Yuwen Jian and all of the other Echelon cultivators in the Windswept Realm all realized that the Echelon marks on their foreheads were glowing brightly. They could also sense the call of the Echelon coming from the central temple region.

That call was something like a thirst, felt by all Echelon cultivators. Instantly, their faces fell.

"It's the Echelon Heart! Could it be that Miss Xue'er finally chose Dao-

Heaven?!"

"It must be Dao-Heaven. He's going to get so much more powerful in the

Windswept Realm!"

Everyone was shaken, even Naruto. The mark on his forehead glittered brightly, and the five-colored light seemed to be calling out to him. He took a deep breath.

"What is that?" he asked.

"The Echelon Heart. Every generation of the Echelon will have one member who is approved by Immortal Ancient. That person will be bestowed with… the Echelon Heart!"

"Does that mean I've gained approval?" he asked, looking over at her.

"You can't even play Go, and yet you caused me to break my Go board," she replied coolly. "You have won the Echelon Heart. However, you did not win my future assistance. If you ever reach that third Realm of which you spoke, then come find me." With that, she waved her hand, causing the five-colored beam of light to speed toward him. He reached out and caught it, and his mind reeled. In the same moment, his divine sense exploded out to cover the entire area.

"It… belongs to you," she said, giving him another deep look. Then she turned and sped off into the distance.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1134

Chapter 1134: The Echelon Heart!

Xue'er destroyed her game board, bestowed the Echelon Heart, and then vanished over the horizon.

Naruto remained behind, panting. Because of the stimulation of the Echelon Heart, his divine sense continued to spread out rapidly in all directions, and his body was trembling violently.

"Echelon Heart…." he thought, his eyes shining brightly. His divine sense had soon filled the central temple region and began to spread out through the Nine Nations.

As it passed the cultivators and soldiers, their faces flickered. When they looked up, they saw roiling clouds rapidly spreading out to cover the sky.

It was as if the Heavens were being obscured, and the lands covered up. The center of it all was Naruto. The mortals and the soldiers among them couldn't see it, but the cultivators, especially Fan Dong'er and the others, could see a translucent tempest raging around Naruto.

That tempest was the cause of the clouds and the wind that were spreading out in all directions.

Naruto frowned. "Don't tell me that this thing's only function is to power up my divine sense and send it out in all directions, is it?"

He had used a bit of trickery to defeat Xue'er and acquire the Echelon Heart. However, he had not won her assistance, and right now, the exact usage of the Echelon Heart was a bit of a mystery to him.

"It can make Echelon cultivators stronger, huh…." His eyes flashed, and without any further hesitation, he closed his right hand tightly around the scintillating Echelon Heart.

He gripped it hard, and his mind began to spin as the Echelon Heart fused into the palm of his hand. As soon as it melted into him, it transformed into five auras that surged through his Chakra passageways. They spread out separately, filling his entire body. Four of them then disappeared, seemingly concealing themselves inside of him, vanishing without a trace. Only an orange aura remained. It shot into his mind, and then exploded.

That eruption caused blood to ooze out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He groaned, and his divine sense suddenly grew to an exaggerated level, roiling out around him. In the blink of an eye, it covered everything in the Nine Nations. Soon, Naruto's divine sense had covered all of the mountain ranges and rivers, even the nine National Aura Mountains. In a very short period of time, the entirety of the Windswept Realm was completely covered by his divine sense.

He saw all living things, and all cultivators. He saw Zong Wuya, who had a strange look in his eyes. He was followed by a host of black-robed cultivators.

On the Third Nation's National Aura Mountain, he saw the emperor, whose face was flickering. He also saw Lin Cong, Han Qinglei, and Yuwen Jian, all racing toward him, as well as the enraged Dao-Heaven.

Everything was visible in his divine sense. Then, as he panted, it continued to grow, reaching out… into the void beyond!

Outside in the pitch-black void, he could see the Windswept Realm as a whole, which was currently speeding upwards.

The Windswept Realm was moving, rising upward, heading higher and higher into the void.

Naruto's mind spun as he looked off into the distance and saw two balls of light, which repeatedly slammed into each other, as if they were fighting. Within one of those balls of light was the white-robed Paragon Sea Dream. The person she was fighting was a middle-aged man, a man… that looked exactly like the statue he had seen when he had first climbed the National Aura Mountain upon entering the Windswept Realm!

They fought back and forth without speaking, and yet were surrounded by complete destruction.

Naruto was panting. He sensed incredible danger, and didn't dare to send his divine sense out any further. He quickly reigned it back into the lands of the Windswept Realm.

"Just as I suspected," he thought, his eyes flashing. "Some momentous catastrophe has struck the Windswept Realm….

"I couldn't get involved even if I wanted to…. For now, it seems the Echelon Heart's only purpose is to allow me to see more, to allow my divine sense to cover the entire Windswept Realm. And yet, how does that help my cultivation base?" Suddenly, a tremor ran through him. "Oh, what's that…?

"Ah, it's not useless after all! Covering the entire Windswept Realm with divine sense will allow me to contemplate enlightenment of the natural laws and Essences of this place! I don't need any World Seal, because I can sense the entire Realm as a whole. Theoretically, I should be able to directly sense the natural laws and Essences!

"Even if I don't have the required World Seals, I should still be able to do it!

"After all, the World Seals are merely manifestations of the natural laws and Essences of the Windswept Realm!" Panting, his eyes began to shine. He consolidated the power of his divine sense and immediately began to contemplate!

He already had the foundation provided him by the World Seals of the Ninth, Eighth, Seventh, Sixth and Fourth Nations. Therefore, he simply acted according to his plan and used divine sense to begin contemplation.

Rumbling filled his mind as he settled down cross-legged and began to work.

He now had access to far more natural laws and Essences that any individual World Seal would give him. Of the ones he could sense now, around half were the ones that he had already achieved enlightenment regarding from the World Seals in his possession. Now, with the ability to perceive them as a comprehensive whole, enlightenment came to him even faster than it had before.

"There are a total of 3,000 great Daos. 2,700 are located in the various Nations, with the final 300 being located in the central temple. If I can gain enlightenment of all 3,000 great Daos, then I can fully absorb my second Nirvana Fruit, and become… a true Allheaven Immortal!

"At that time, Dao-Heaven will be no match for me!

"That will also be the moment… when I can truly rise to prominence in the Windswept Realm!"

He saw many natural laws and many essences, and he immediately began to gain enlightenment. A shocking aura appeared on him, spreading out in all directions and growing stronger by the moment. The clouds churned overhead, spreading out to fill the entire Windswept Realm.

Everyone was shocked, and even Dao-Heaven lurched to a stop in midair, face flickering with disbelief. He reached out and grabbed a piece of a nearby cloud, looked at it closely, and then his face darkened.

"This is Naruto's aura!"

RUMBLE!

1,300 Essences!

Naruto's hair whipped about in the air as he sat there cross-legged, the lands quaking beneath him. This was his good fortune, the greatest good fortune he had acquired so far in the Windswept Realm.

The speed of his enlightenment increased as he spread his divine sense out to contemplate and observe the natural laws and Essences.

He closed his eyes, making it impossible for anyone to see the flicker of augury contained therein. As of now, his injuries weren't important. His soul spread out along with his divine sense to cover the lands.

1,400 Essences!

1,500 Essences!

He was gaining enlightenment through brute force, violently commandeering good fortune. He was breaking through the limits previously set by the World Seals, walking…. a path of enlightenment that no one had ever walked before.

His aura grew more and more majestic, and his enlightenment was accelerating!

1,600 Essences!

1,700 Essences!

The tempest raged around him, with him at the very center.

The mastiff crouched at his side, its eyes glowing fiercely as it looked about. It would prevent anyone from getting close to Naruto, even someone familiar to him.

Its 300-meter frame was like a small mountain, and its eyes were the picture of brutality, seemingly representative of pure slaughter.

It was at this point that the Emperor in the Third Nation suddenly cried out, urgent and furious. When his voice echoed into the ears of Zong Wuya and the others, Zong Wuya sighed lightly. He could delay matters no further. In response to the words of the emperor, the black-robed cultivators' killing intent soared. They had been waiting for this moment for too long. They hadn't dared to say anything about how Zong Wuya had interfered with them earlier, but their hearts had long since filled with discontent.

In accordance with the orders issued, they ignored Zong Wuya and charged forth with blazing killing intent, heading directly toward the central temple region, and Naruto.

Zong Wuya went along, but did nothing more than enter the area and watch Naruto from afar, his eyes filled with complex emotions and hope.

Everything shook as the black-robed men transformed into streaks of light that shot through the sky, drawing ever-closer to Naruto. The mastiff roared and shot to its feet. Its 300-meter frame erupted with energy and brutality, and its eyes were shot with blood as it gazed coldly at the incoming black-robed cultivators.

Naruto was its master, its only family. Its purpose in life, its mission, was to protect him. It was willing to sacrifice everything for him.

It had been like that when it was small, and now that it had grown up, it was the same.

"Kill him!" Among the black-robed cultivators, there were three who were faster than the others. They performed incantation gestures, summoning a divine ability that formed a massive handprint which shot toward Naruto.

The mastiff threw its head back and let out a deafening roar that echoed out in all directions. It pounced toward the three enemies, and a fiendish wind sprang out. A single swipe of its paw shattered the divine ability, and then it opened its mouth wide, as if to consume the men.

A boom rang out, and the three men fell back, faces flickering with shock. One of them was too slow, and the mastiff gobbled him up. Crunching sounds could be heard, accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream. Then the scream was cut off, and the mastiff swallowed him down.

It stood tall next to Naruto, gazing at the black-robed men with ferocious coldness, radiating hostility.

It was at this point that Naruto's mind rumbled again, and his aura surged even more majestically. He had just gained enlightenment of 1,800 Essences!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1135

Chapter 1135: Leave The Rest To Me!

In the moment that Naruto gained enlightenment of 1,800 Daos, numerous National Aura Mountains collapsed. By now, the Ninth, Eighth, Seventh, Sixth, Fifth and Fourth Nations were all rubble. Suddenly, six pillars of light shot out of that rubble and up into the air, each one 3,000 meters wide.

The lands of the Windswept Realm were quaking, and the clouds up above churned madly. In the spots where the pillars of light climbed up into the sky, massive vortexes formed.

The six vortexes exuded a power of reversal. Were it possible to view the Windswept Realm from out in the pitch-black void, you would clearly be able to see that, despite having escaped the clutches of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the speed with which it was rising instantly dropped by more than half.

Despite being locked in combat, Paragon Sea Dream and the Windswept Imperial Lord both seemed to be shocked by this.

However, that would only be visible from outside the Windswept Realm itself. Inside the Windswept Realm, the only thing that everyone could sense was that the lands were trembling. Then, the sudden reduction in speed apparently broke something in the lands themselves. All of a sudden, everyone felt as if they were lurching up into the air. With the exception of the remaining National Aura Mountains, all of the other mountains were torn from their bases and flew up.

The same thing happened to the rivers, the cities, and all life forms. Everyone suddenly lurched up into the air.

Everything that was happening caused the people in the Windswept Realm to be filled with shock.

On the Third Nation's National Aura Mountain, the emperor threw his head back and roared.

"NO!

"Stop him! Dammit! We haven't reached the appointed place to stop!

Don't let the Echelon cultivators gain enlightenment of the Windswept Dao!" The man's face was twisted with both ferocity and anxiety. He quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing more black-robed figures to appear off to the side. The figures clasped hands and bowed with lowered heads, then vanished, transforming into beams of light that sped toward the central temple region.

That was where Naruto hovered in midair, his body emitting rumbling sounds as his energy rose higher and higher. Brilliant light emanated off of him and filled the entire Windswept Realm. As of this moment, he very much resembled the mastiff when it possessed the renegade spirit. Currently, it was as if he… was possessing the Windswept Realm!

Of course, to describe it in such a way is only an illustration, and yet, it wouldn't be impossible for it to become reality!

RUMBLE!

1,900 Essences!

2,000! 2,100!

Naruto's hair whipped around in the air, and his energy continued to climb. When he gained enlightenment of the 2,100th Essence, the National Aura Mountain in the Third Nation began to collapse. The emperor threw his head back and let out a fierce shriek, and did everything in his power to prevent the collapse, to change what was happening. However, his face quickly fell. He was forced to dodge to the side as a pillar of light rose up from the rubble of the National Aura Mountain.

There were now seven vortexes!

The speed of the Windswept Realm's rise was once again reduced.

"Naruto!" the emperor shrieked. Then he flashed through the air toward the central temple region.

Naruto continued to gain enlightenment.

2,200 Essences!

2,300!

The mastiff was at his side, roaring, its body shining with brilliant, bloodcolored light. It held nothing back as it defended him against the blackrobed attackers. Not a single one of them was able to pass it and get close to Naruto.

The mastiff roared, and Naruto was shielded by blood-red light.

The black-robed men were going mad, unleashing all sorts of divine abilities and Daoist magics. The violet light of the true Dao descended, smashing into the mastiff and riddling it with wounds. However, it continued to protect the area surrounding Naruto. This was the exact way it had protected him back in the Blood Immortal Legacy Tournament. It would defend him until it died.

"Damn this Blood Beast! Kill it!" No matter how the black-robed cultivators attacked, they failed, leaving them utterly flustered. Finally, they attacked the mastiff directly. The mastiff roared and slammed its paw down onto the ground. The lands shook, and blood Chakra swept about in all directions. One by one, the black-robed attackers were forced to fall back.

However, there were three who managed to break through, and quickly bore down on Naruto, eyes bursting with killing intent, performing incantation gestures all the while. However, the mastiff then let out a mighty roar and shot through the air toward them. The swipe of a paw blocked the men, and yet, their deadly combined divine ability ended up slamming into it as a result.

Blood oozed out of the mastiff's mouth, and its body trembled violently. Then it opened its mouth wide and lunged toward them as if to gobble them up. The three men tried to fall back, but the mastiff's roar dazed them. Before they could do anything, the mastiff's jaws closed around them.

"For the true Dao! Detonate!"

"Detonate!"

"Detonate!"

Eyes filled with vicious madness, the three men chose to self-detonate in the same moment that the mastiff bit down onto them. A huge boom echoed out that shook Heaven and Earth. As they exploded, the mastiff let out a plaintive cry. Its body trembled on the verge of explosion before it shrank down from its previous 300-meter size to only 30 meters.

It glared at the black-robed men surrounding it. It didn't fly out in attack, and yet, the blood-colored light emanating out from it grew more intense, transforming into a shield that surrounded itself and Naruto. It was like an inverted bowl that rested on top of them, sending bloodcolored light high up into the air.

The surrounding black-robed cultivators all attacked in unison, causing huge booms to echo out as the shield distorted.

It was at this point that Naruto's energy once again rose as he gained enlightenment of 2,400 Essences!

Next, a 3,000-meter pillar of light rose from the rubble of the Second Nation's National Aura Mountain. Rumbling filled the air, and the clouds seethed as an eighth vortex appeared.

They sky above the Windswept Realm now featured eight prominent vortexes, beyond which was the pitch black of the void.

Apparently, the Windswept Realm's rise into the sky had now been stopped!

At the same time, more black-robed figures sped through the Third Nation, followed by the emperor.

When the Emperor saw Zong Wuya, he glared and said, "Zong Wuya, do you truly dare to hold back from attacking?!"

Zong Wuya stood there silently, opting not to respond.

The Emperor clenched his teeth and said "You–"

"Shut up," Zong Wuya said coolly. "You, a trifling Spirit Realm cultivator, dare to raise your voice to me? I only listen to your orders for the sake of the true Dao. I'm not your slave."

The emperor's face flickered, and he stared at Zong Wuya, huffing and puffing. However, he didn't say anything further.

More black-robed men were converging in the area around Naruto. They attacked in unison, causing violet lightning to fall. Soon, Naruto was surrounded by a sea of lightning, which constantly battered the blood-colored shield.

The shield twisted and distorted, clearly on the verge of collapsing. The mastiff was getting smaller and smaller. It shrank from thirty meters to only about three meters in size. However, it continued to hold on.

Naruto's energy rose higher and higher, and the light emanating out of him grew more intense.

2,500 Essences!

2,600!

He was now only 100 Essences away from a total of 2,700. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, a voice echoed out like thunder from off in the distance.

"Naruto!"

Dao-Heaven appeared in a beam of light that streaked across the sky toward the central temple region. Although a heavy pressure weighed down on him as soon as he entered the central temple region, DaoHeaven had also received the blessing of the Windswept Realm's Chakra flow, and as such, he could easily ignore it.

He headed toward Naruto with incredible speed, and as he neared, he waved his hand and bellowed, "Screw off!"

Several black-robed men who were in his way exploded into pieces, allowing Dao-Heaven to directly approach the blood-colored shield and wave his finger toward it.

The Heaven-shaking, Earth shattering finger swipe caused the shield to tremble. It seemed as if it would collapse at any moment; cracking sounds could be heard, and the shield was now covered with fissures.

The mastiff trembled violently, shrinking down again until it was barely over a meter long. Its aura was incredibly weak, but it it still continued to defend Naruto.

"Give me the Echelon Heart!" Dao-Heaven roared. He waved his right index finger again. When it landed, the shield would definitely collapse, placing not only Naruto, but also the mastiff, in critical danger.

In the moment that the shield collapsed, blood sprayed out of the mastiff's mouth, and it shrank down to the size of a hand. Even as it stood there on shaky legs, Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"Screw off!" he said. Massive rumbling caused everything to shake. A huge windstorm sprang up as his voice echoed out, slamming into DaoHeaven. Dao-Heaven's face fell, and he fought back ferociously. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was shoved backward.

The black-robed men were also shocked by this turn of events. Blood sprayed from their mouths as they were shoved away violently. In a mere moment, all the land 3,000 meters around Naruto and the mastiff was emptied.

Naruto slowly rose to his feet. He was no longer in need of contemplation. He had already gained complete enlightenment of the 2,700 Essences from the areas outside the central temple!

As of this moment, his injuries were completely healed, and he was back at his peak. Completely ignoring Dao-Heaven and the black-robed men, he looked down gently at the mastiff.

Then he squatted down and picked it up in his hand. The mastiff looked like it had when it was young. It squinted up at Naruto and then licked his palm.

"You rest for a while," Naruto said. "Leave the rest to me." He delivered some life force to it, and then put it back into the bloodcolored mask in his bag of holding. Then he looked up.

His gaze swept over the nervous black-robed men, who slowly backed up. To them, his gaze was like lightning, and a single look was enough to strike fear into their hearts. The only person staring back hatefully was Dao-Heaven.

"The Echelon Heart belongs to me!" Dao-Heaven cried.

At the same time, Naruto lifted up the second Nirvana Fruit and pushed it into his forehead.

With 2,700 Essences, he could not fully absorb the Nirvana Fruit, but he could fuse with it for much, much longer… long enough for a protracted battle!

The moment the Nirvana Fruit fused into him, Naruto threw his head back and roared. He did not increase in size like he had before, nor did he require time to complete the process. Azure light flickered, and his energy spiked, like that of a celestial warrior.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1136

Chapter 1136: Naruto Busts Out!

Allheaven Immortal!

Surrounded by azure light, Naruto's energy surged higher, and he emanated a killing will. He had been continuously held back during his time in the Windswept Realm, but now was the time to rise to prominence.

Everyone who had harmed his mastiff would now die!

He felt no apprehensions; now that he was going to go on the offensive, he would cause a scene that could topple Heaven and crush the Earth. He had been restraining himself for far too long!

"All of you, prepare to DIE!"

He sped through the air with such explosive speed that he left sonic booms behind him. A moment later, he appeared in front of one of the black-robed men, and unleashed a punch.

That punch was not the Life-Extermination Fist, it was simply an ordinary punch backed by his fleshly body power while in the Allheaven Immortal Realm.

Everything shook. This black-robed man was an Ancient Realm expert with eight extinguished Soul Lamps. However, he wasn't qualified to even dodge or block Naruto. Before he could even react, the punch landed.

In the blink of an eye, he collapsed, his body shattered, and he was completely dead.

For a single punch to fell an Ancient Realm expert was something that caused all of the other black-robed men to gasp.

However, things weren't over. After delivering the fist strike, Naruto flashed through the air to appear in front of another black-robed cultivator, upon whom he unleashed another punch.

The man's face flickered with a ferocious expression, and he immediately spit a flying sword out of his mouth. Naruto snorted coldly and didn't even pause. He followed through with his punch, destroying the flying sword, which shattered into countless pieces. His shocked opponent could only watch as Naruto's fist slammed into him.

BOOOOOOMMMM!

Naruto moved like lightning. He teleported seven times in a row, and each time he unleashed one punch. Each punch was followed by miserable shrieks, and the death of a black-robed man. Seven of them exploded into clouds of blood.

This slaughter unfolded in the exact moment in which Naruto ascended to the Allheaven Immortal Realm.

The surrounding black-robed men were completely astonished, even disbelieving. Although they had come here to pursue Naruto specifically, they didn't actually know very much about him. As of this moment, they were shocked to discover that the person they had been chasing… was actually an indescribably terrifying individual.

Even as the black-robed men's faces fell, one of their number let out an enraged roar. "Attack together!" he cried. "Even if he were stronger than he is now, he couldn't handle all of us at the same time! Kill him!" A moment later, the man's head was flying through the air. In the moment before he died, a look of shock could be seen on his face. From behind his headless corpse, out walked Naruto, a sword in his hand. A wooden sword.

"Like I said, all of you are going to die today." His voice was cold, and a murderous aura raged up from his body.

The other black-robed men began to tremble with fear. They might be pursuers of the true Dao, but that didn't mean that they were completely without fear of death. To see Naruto in such a powerful state filled their minds with shock, and they began to fall back.

However, it was at this point that the Emperor, who still stood next to Zong Wuya, looked at the men with a red glow flickering in his eyes. He performed a double-handed incantation gesture, and then waved his finger at them.

Suddenly, similar red glows could be seen in the eyes of the retreating black-robed men.

"For the true Dao!"

"For the true Dao!"

Howls rose up like those from enraged beasts. The men had expressions of fanaticism and insanity as they all charged toward Naruto, violet light swirling up from them. From the look of it, they were actually burning their life forces.

There were a dozen or so who flew through the air in attack, summoning numerous divine abilities. There was a volley of violet lightning, an illusory wild beast, glowing magical treasures, and even a gigantic magical hand.

Rumbling echoed out as over ten different divine abilities and magical items filled the sky and descended toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent. He saw the Emperor off in the distance, and snorted coldly. The sword in his hand disappeared, and he took a step forward, turning into a blur that sped through the violet lightning toward the man who unleashed it. He reached out and pushed his finger into the man's forehead, and then, without so much as a backward glance, spun and headed toward the second man. The swish of a sleeve collapsed the man's Divine ability, and then Naruto reached out and tapped his forehead.

He moved again, toward the third black-robed man, ignoring his magical item, closing in, and then shoulder-butting him hard in the stomach. Then he spun, lashing out with his right foot, which kicked up a huge wind as it slammed into the heads of three successive black-robed enemies. When he appeared next, he was in front of the seventh blackrobed cultivator. He punched out, instantly destroying the wild beast created by the man's Daoist magic.

He passed through the creature, smashing his fist into the seventh man's chest. Then he jerked to the side, using his back to slam into the eighth black-robed man. At the same time, he extended his left hand, within which appeared the bone-tip spear. He hurled it out, sending it stabbing into the forehead of the ninth black-robed man. Then, rumbling sounds could be heard as he waved his sleeve, sending Divine Flame rolling out to engulf four other enemies.

With his last movement, he appeared above the head of the fourteenth black-robed man, after which he punched down viciously with his right fist.

The air shook, and a shockwave spread out in all directions, slamming into three nearby black-robed cultivators, causing them to tremble violently and let out miserable shrieks.

To describe all of these actions takes some time, but it actually happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Naruto spent no more effort than it would take to turn over his hand, and the nearly twenty surrounding black-robed men were killed in quick succession, completely destroyed. The lingering sounds of the battle continued to echo out over the battlefield.

Then everything went silent.

The remaining black-robed men looked completely shocked. They stared at Naruto with disbelief and terror, apparently having awoken from their madness and ardor from moments ago. Now, they edged away from him, trembling.

"W-what cultivation base does he have!?"

"How could he be so strong? Is he in the Quasi-Dao Realm?!"

"S-so fast! In a few breaths of time he actually cut down almost twenty of us!"

Off in the distance, the Emperor's face fell. When he looked at Naruto, he was filled with intense terror. As for Zong Wuya, the hope in his eyes deepened, and at the same time, he looked like he wished he could fight.

Dao-Heaven had a very unsightly expression on his face as he sped backward. He simply didn't dare to do anything to provoke the current Naruto.

Even as Dao-Heaven retreated, Naruto's eyes flickered with coldness. Looking Dao-Heaven's way, he said, "Now that I'm done warming up, it's your turn."

As soon as their gazes met, Dao-Heaven's face fell, and he began to retreat with greater speed. He performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing several illusory beasts to appear that charged toward Naruto.

Naruto shot through the air like an arrow. He slammed through the beasts without even slowing down; they didn't even leave a scratch on him, and his passage caused them to explode into bits.

"Dammit!" Dao-Heaven continued to back up, waving his right hand and performing an incantation gesture at the same time. The air rippled as a gigantic portal appeared. From within the portal emerged a blackcolored fist that struck out toward Naruto.

"Break," Naruto said, eyes glittering as he unleashed the LifeExtermination Fist. When it slammed into the black-colored fist, Heaven and Earth trembled, and the fist exploded. As for the portal, it instantly began to disintegrate. Naruto's fist passed through it and made contact with Dao-Heaven's finger.

A boom could be heard. Blood sprayed out of Dao-Heaven's mouth, and his finger exploded, sending him tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut.

At the same time, the chanting of a curse could be heard from within the portal he had just smashed.

"As a Devil Immortal, I call upon the power of my name to curse your blood–"

Naruto snorted coldly. Without waiting for the curse to be completed, he loosened his fist, reached into the door, and grabbed hold of what was inside: a pitch-black, three-horned, humanoid beast.

The beast gaped in shock, then let out a scream of terror and astonishment.

"Y-y-you… you can actually reach through the portal!?"

Naruto's hand flexed as Divine Flame appeared. The humanoid beast was engulfed, and let out a bloodcurdling scream. In the blink of an eye, it was burned into nothing but ash.

"Dao-Heaven!" roared Naruto as he shot through the air in pursuit, sending a massive shockwave outwards. He was upon Dao-Heaven in an instant and let loose another punch, and in response, Dao-Heaven shouted and unleashed all of the power of his cultivation base. The full power that came from reaching the Ancient Realm nine times was sent against Naruto.

A boom could be heard, and Dao-Heaven coughed up a mouthful of blood. Naruto continued to advance. One punch. Two punches. Three punches!

Dao-Heaven continuously coughed up mouthfuls of blood. He roared as his cultivation base surged, then bit the tip of his tongue, spitting out some blood which transformed into an entire sea. It didn't surge toward Naruto, but rather, detonated. The massive unleashing of power enabled Dao-Heaven to separate himself from Naruto. He sped backward, face pale, coughing up mouthfuls of blood. Then he stretched his right hand up into the air; the sky flashed, and a murderous aura exploded out. Countless tendrils of black fog appeared, which formed into the shape of a scroll painting.

"Naruto, I only hit your blood mastiff's shield two times!" he said through gritted teeth. "It didn't hurt your dog! We're both in the Echelon. It's the weirdos from the Third Nation who tracked you down and hurt your Blood Mastiff, not me!" He pointed an accusatory finger at the Emperor. He had no choice but to speak up and say these things, but at the same time, he gripped the scroll painting in his other hand. The scroll painting was his trump card, and also a powerful threat. He was now regretting his earlier impulsiveness, and wished he hadn't come looking to cause trouble for Naruto.

It was at this point that, because of Naruto gaining enlightenment of the 2,700 Essences, the First Nation's National Aura Mountain crumbled. A pillar of light rose up, the ninth. A ninth vortex also appeared in the air.

The ninth vortex ensured that the lands of the Windswept Realm were now completely stopped in place in the pitch-black void.

Rumbling filled the lands, and the Emperor was panting anxiously.

"Zong Wuya," he said, "you can hold back, but the plan will not fail! You must understand the truth of that." Ignoring Zong Wuya, he extended his right hand, within which appeared an earthenware pot.

The pot was the color of blood, and shockingly, nearly overflowed with boiling blood.

"Countless years of preparation have created hope for the Windswept Realm. It doesn't matter if I'm viewed as a saint or a sinner, I will lead the Windswept Realm to escape from under the 33 Heavens. The 33

Heavens will become the 34 Heavens, and all cultivators of the

Windswept Realm will receive the enlightenment of the true Dao!

"Over the countless years, it's impossible to say how many lives have been sacrificed for this cause, for this hope! I will use your blood to help us… activate the Blood World Formation!" Howling, the Emperor viciously smashed the blood pot onto the ground.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1137

Chapter 1137: Drastic Upheavals!

Naruto's eyes flickered. He could sense some sort of indescribably malevolent aura coming from the earthenware pot, as if it contained the willpower of all of the life forms in the Windswept Realm.

A sound like that of infinite screaming rippled out from the blood in all directions, causing the sky to flash, and the nine pillars of light rising up from the Nine Nations to dim slightly. Even the nine vortexes up in the sky seemed to be affected, and looked as though they might stop spinning!

Rumbling could be heard, and the Emperor was laughing maniacally. After having thrown the earthenware pot down, it smashed, sending blood splashing out in all directions. The intangible howling grew more intense, transforming into ripples that spread out everywhere, covering the entire Windswept Realm, twisting it, distorting it.

Naruto was panting. Drastic upheavals were rocking the Windswept Realm, and although he had prepared himself mentally, to see these things happening in front of his very eyes was a shocking thing.

The other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm all had looks of complete astonishment on their faces.

The earthenware pot smashed, and blood splashed out in all directions.

The fierce fighting of the Nine Nations' armies had long since stained the earth red, but as this additional flow of blood spread out without soaking into the ground, and everything it touched became even more deeply crimson.

"Living things, Heaven and Earth, mountains and rivers, wind and clouds… by the power in me, I summon you!" As the emperor's shrill cry echoed out in all directions, the blood from the earthenware pot began to writhe, as if it were alive.

It was as if there was something concealed inside that blood which had now been issued a call. It was like a key that could unlock the door to these blood-colored lands!

The ground in the central temple area was shaking violently. Next, a massive amount of blood began to rise up from in the land, as if it were being called, directed.

A massive rumbling could be heard, as though countless fierce voices were crying out. More blood gushed up out of the lands, transforming everything into a world of blood.

The cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, including Fan Dong'er, were all completely shocked, and had no idea what was happening.

"Windswept blood. Heavenly tears. I call upon you to awaken from your sleep of death!" The Emperor bit the tip of his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. His hair was disheveled, and he looked crazed.

Rumbling could be heard as the ground trembled with increased intensity. Naruto flashed through the air, giving up on pursuing DaoHeaven and heading directly toward the Emperor. He had the sudden intense premonition that if things proceeded as they were, a great catastrophe would strike.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto began to charge toward the emperor, Zong Wuya sighed and stepped forward, reaching out with his hand to block the path.

"Naruto, you can't stop this from happening. Just watch."

Naruto shoved Zong Wuya out of the way, causing a massive wind to kick up. And yet, he was incapable of doing anything to stop the rising blood.

"You intentionally let me live. Why?!" Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing azure light to shine out from him. Instantly, numerous mountains began to descend, the result of the Mountain Consuming Incantation. These were not ordinary mountain ranges, but rather countless azure-colored mountains,

Immortal mountains, which smashed down with shocking power.

"I already know what decision you have made," Zong Wuya said softly. "And you know mine. As for who is wrong and who is right, we'll just have to see…. Time will answer all questions." He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and waved his finger. Instantly, his extinguished Soul Lamps expanded and shot up to meet the azure Immortal mountains. A huge boom echoed out, and he fell back a few paces, trembling.

"As for why I let you live… it was because… I hope that if I'm wrong, you can help me accomplish something." His eyes were once again filled with a look of reminiscence, and complex emotions. He sighed again.

Naruto was also forced into retreat by the backlash. He looked up at Zong Wuya, and saw the look in the man's eyes, whereupon he fell silent.

More and more blood flowed out. In the blink of an eye, everything was covered, making the area a river of blood. Rumbling sounds could be heard, and Naruto's eyes went wide. Off to the side, Dao-Heaven looked astonished, but took advantage of what was happening to retreat.

"Come forth, Windswept blood!" the Emperor cried. His right hand suddenly shot up, and he stabbed his fingers into his own eye. The moment his finger pierced it, the sky filled with crackling lightning.

The blood that covered the lands was boiling, and continued to bubble up from the depths of the earth. The river of blood was now turning into a sea of blood!

In the blink of an eye, all the lands were covered with endless amounts of blood. Even the nine pagodas that represented the Nine Nations were in danger of being covered.

This was the blood spilled by the countless soldiers who had died fighting.

"Windswept spirit, unleash the countless years of rancor, form it into your heroes…." He threw his head back and roared, lifting both hands into the air for a moment before shoving them down violently toward the ground.

The rancor caused the lands to tremble. The sea of blood roared, and then began to congeal into one figure after another. In the blink of an eye, there were too many to count. After appearing, they let out intense roars, and then stared with blood-red eyes at Naruto and DaoHeaven, as well as all the other shocked cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm.

It was an animosity that had been suppressed for far too many years, a hatred that sank deep into the bones, permeated the blood. It had built up for generation after generation, until it became a storm.

"Activate the Nine Blood Formation!" the emperor roared hoarsely. He lifted his right foot up and then stamped viciously down toward the sea of blood. A boom rang out, and the figures congealing from the blood began to speed toward the nine pagodas, howling all the way.

Everyone watched as the blood-colored figures slammed into the pagodas and then completely vanished, having been absorbed by the pagodas, which then transformed into the color of blood.

The blood that remained on the ground continued to flow into the pagodas, which apparently possessed some shocking gravitational force. It only took a few moments for all the blood to be drained away.

The nine pagodas, having absorbed the sea of blood and the blood figures, were now crimson red and glittering brightly. At this point, nine blood-colored beams of light suddenly shot up from the nine pagodas.

They sped up toward the Heavens, piercing through the clouds to form… nine blood-colored vortexes!

Upon close examination, it was possible to see countless blood-colored figures inside of the vortexes, speeding about as if they were running!

The nine pagodas were not very far away from each other, and thus, neither were the nine pillars of light. Furthermore, the nine vortexes up above were also very close to each other. As they grew, they merged together, forming… one enormous vortex!

The cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm were shocked by all of this. A moment later, the shocking blood-colored vortex filled the sky with rumbling sounds, causing the lands below to quake.

The pillars of light from the Nine Nations had been preventing the Windswept Realm from rising up, but the appearance of the bloodcolored vortex instantly shattered the stalemate that they had caused. As it spun, the previously motionless lands trembled, then once again… began to ascend!

From outside in the void, it would be possible to see the entire Windswept Realm suddenly rising up rapidly through the void.

"Defile the National Aura Mountains!" the emperor howled, stabbing his fingers into his other eye, leaving himself completely blind. The only thing that remained of his eyes were gaping holes flowing with blood. At the same time, ear-splitting laughter rang out.

Simultaneously, the cultivators in all of the sects of the Windswept

Realm's Nine Nations began to tremble, almost as if they were awakening from a dream. Their expressions turned fanatical, and they began to call out with loud voices.

"For freedom!"

"For freedom!"

"For freedom!"

From the First Nation to the Second Nation… in all Nine Nations, in all of the various sects, the same words echoed out to fill the world.

At the same time, the cultivators of the Windswept Realm suddenly smashed their right hands onto the tops of their heads. Echoing like that of thunder could be heard. Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and they swayed unsteadily, faces ashen. There were even some who directly dropped dead.

When the blood sprayed from their mouths like fountains, it flew up into the air and then sped toward the rubble of the nearest… of the National Aura Mountains!

Instantly, the shattered National Aura Mountains were faced with numerous streams of blood, flying toward them at top speed.

The blood was being used to defile the beams of light!

The lands quaked, and the sky turned the color of blood. Dark clouds roiled, and of the beams of light rising up from the Nine Nations, one was instantly snuffed out. Then a second, a third, and a fourth….

In the space of a few breaths, all of the beams of light were extinguished!

When that happened, the vortexes they had created vanished, leaving only one thing remaining in the sky… the lone blood-colored vortex rising from the central temple district!

Rumbling echoed out as the lands of the Windswept Realm picked up speed. From out in the void, it was possible to see the lands rising up rapidly.

Because of the incredible speed, mountains and rivers collapsed, and the land quaked violently. Cities crumbled, and all the cultivators, including Naruto and the others from the Mountain and Sea Realm, felt incredible pressure, as if huge hands were pushing down onto them.

Fan Dong'er and the others coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and looks of astonishment could be seen on their faces.

Even Dao-Heaven was shaken inwardly. He fell back a bit, although he didn't flee. He had the feeling that the drastic upheavals facing the Windswept Realm… were reaching a climax.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1138

Chapter 1138 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1138: Obvious Bait!

Naruto's face flickered, and the sensation of an oncoming catastrophe grew even stronger. His eyes glittered, and the threw his head back and roared. Rumbling sounds echoed out as his body grew rapidly from its normal size to 9 meters tall, 21 meters, 30 meters, 60 meters, 90 meters!

He was now a 90-meter-tall giant, whose body rumbled as he fought back against the invisible pressure weighing down on him. He stamped his foot onto the ground and transformed into a meteor that shot toward the Emperor.

Zong Wuya stepped forward to block his way, causing Naruto's eyes to flicker as he unleashed the God-Slaying Fist with his right hand. Instantly, the two of them began to fight.

Booms echoed out, and in a relatively short period of time, the two of them exchanged hundreds of blows. Everything shook violently, and Zong Wuya's eyes filled with a strange light. He was clearly aware that Naruto had just reached a level of power that could cause problems for even himself.

"Zong Wuya!" Naruto growled. He waved his right hand, unleashing the Essence of Divine Flame. However, Zong Wuya all of a sudden fell back, doing nothing more to interfere with Naruto.

Naruto stared in shock for a moment. However, he had no desire to fight with Zong Wuya to begin with, plus, the sensation of imminent crisis was growing more intense. He waved his hand, sending Divine Flame out in a huge blast toward the Emperor.

The Emperor laughed loudly, and didn't even deign to look at Naruto, simply allowing him to approach without even dodging to the side.

A boom rang out, and Naruto's face flickered. His Divine Flame, and his attacking palm, were only about a meter away from the Emperor when suddenly, they slammed into some sort of impassable barrier.

It almost seemed like the will of the Windswept Realm had sprung up around the Emperor, making him… completely invincible!

Not only that, a backlash hit Naruto, flinging him backward by about three hundred meters.

"No one can alter the Imperial Lord's plan. There is no power that can interfere with the hopes of the Windswept Realm. Everything… is for the true Dao. For freedom!" He stood there, eyeless, laughing maniacally as he raised both hands into the air. His cultivation base was clearly not very high, but as of this point, there was an astonishing power of will that had come to converge on him.

"Hear me, Echelon cultivators from the Immortal World: what you want is nothing other than the natural laws and Essences of the Windswept Realm. As the Emperor… I now give them to you!" The Emperor continued to laugh as he waved a finger toward the sky. The Heavens rumbled, and the sky seemed to shatter. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Windswept Realm suddenly seemed to lose its sky altogether.

In its place was a void, within which, if you looked closely, could be seen a blood-colored vortex, rumbling as it spun. It exerted a massive power that relentlessly pulled the entire Windswept Realm higher and higher.

Simultaneously, countless natural laws and Essences that had previously been invisible, were now revealed because of the lack of a sky overhead.

The natural laws were visible as flickering magical symbols that formed a huge net which covered everything. In the locations where the threads that made up the net intersected, colorful motes of light could be seen. Sometimes they were transparent, sometimes they shone brightly. They were… Essences.

Natural laws and great Daos. For the first time ever… they were directly made visible to all onlookers.

All they had to do was send out some divine sense, and they would be able to see the huge net of magical symbols that represented the natural laws. Furthermore, if they touched the colorful motes of light with divines sense, they would be able to detect the presence of Essence.

"Natural laws. Great Daos. There they are, right in front of you!" said the Emperor, laughing. "Echelon cultivators of the Immortal World, you may contemplate them as much as you like. However many you get will depend on your own personal good fortune!" The man's laughter contained derision, contempt, and most of all, disdain.

Dao-Heaven was about to leave the area, but suddenly, a tremor ran through him, and he looked up at the huge net up above. He saw the colorful lights, and began to pant. Then he sent his divine sense out in all directions and began to contemplate enlightenment.

At the same time, the other Echelon cultivators in the Windswept Realm were completely shaken. When they saw the events transpiring up above, they maintained silence for a moment, but then suddenly began to fly through the air toward the central temple area.

Lin Cong was the first to arrive, whereupon he immediately began to contemplate enlightenment.

Next was Han Qinglei, then Yuwen Jian. Finally, the pudgy Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Nation came, the one who had been seriously injured by Dao-Heaven, and had subsequently fled. He flew through the air toward one particular corner of the central temple area, then, body trembling, began to contemplate.

The Echelon cultivators quickly converged in the central temple area and began to contemplate enlightenment of the Windswept Realm's natural laws and Essences. Naruto was the only one who, despite all of the natural laws and Essences, continued to feel the sense of increasingly intense crisis. He was just about to take another step forward toward the Emperor when suddenly, the eyeless man turned and seemed to look directly at him, despite his lack of eyes. Dark pits of blood stared directly at Naruto.

"There's no need to get anxious, Naruto. I might have underestimated you, but that won't happen again. Actually, I hope that you can get stronger…. In fact, I'll even help you!" The Emperor lifted his right foot up and stamped it down violently, sending a huge boom echoing out through the temple region.

The final 300 Essences, which should have remained in the temple, the final prize for the most powerful Echelon cultivator, began to spread out through Heaven and Earth, thanks to the violent stomping of the Emperor's foot.

3,000 natural laws and 3,000 great Daos. That was the complete number, and as for the final number any given cultivator could gain enlightenment of, that would depend on their personal good fortune.

A tremor ran through Naruto. It wasn't just the Echelon cultivators who were contemplating enlightenment. Fan Dong'er and the others were also shaken. They immediately sent their divine sense out to contemplate enlightenment of the precious natural laws and Essences.

"You are Echelon cultivators of the Immortal World, and yet, the

Immortal World treats you too harshly. Ordinarily, it would be a simple thing to acquire these natural laws and Essences. But instead, they make you fight over them.

"As the Emperor, though, I won't be so harsh. The 3,000 natural laws and 3,000 Essences are now all available for you to immediately contemplate!

"The more the better! For each one you get, your future Dao path will be made that much easier!

"I've also prepared another gift for you. It's… a true and authentic gift that no previous generation of Echelon cultivators ever had a chance to acquire!

"Any world will have 3,000 great Daos. That is a law of life, and of the Heavens. However, it is not an absolute!

"Actually, in any given world, it is also possible… for a 3,001st Essence to appear! That is one additional Essence, the most supreme of Essences, which provides unlimited opportunities. It is the ultimate Essence!

"However, to cause that Essence to appear is very, very difficult. In fact, the only time it can appear is when a world is hovering on the brink of destruction. Only then will it begin to take shape!

"That is… a Great Dao Essence, one that the Windswept Realm has been forming for countless epochs!

"It is a complete Essence, the soul treasure of the Windswept Realm. In fact, it is… the World Dao!

"Anyone who can acquire the World Dao can acquire that most paramount World Essence. With it, you can own the entire world, or even make your own world!

"Where is it located, you might ask? In the temple itself!" The Emperor laughed and waved his sleeve. Immediately, a supreme aura erupted out from the temple, causing all nearby natural laws and Essences to grow as dim as fireflies under the shining light of the moon.

All of the cultivators instantly sensed the feeling of a supreme Essence, including Naruto.

"The Echelon cultivator who gains enlightenment of 3,000 natural laws, of 3,000 Essences, can have a chance to fight for… that final, ultimate World Essence!

"As Emperor, have I not treated you well!? And you know what, not only have I given you Essences to gain enlightenment of, I'll help you to speed up the process. I won't even hold back the Chakra flow of the Windswept Realm!" Strange laughter rang out from the Emperor's mouth as numerous beams of light flew down from up above onto each of the Echelon cultivators.

After receiving the light of blessing, Dao-Heaven and the others trembled. Even if they wanted to reject it, they couldn't. The beams of light caused them to feel as if they were fused with the Windswept Realm, giving them a feeling exactly like the one Naruto had experienced before.

The only difference was that Naruto had received the Echelon Heart, whereas they were receiving the help of the Emperor. Although the result might seem the same, the two processes were completely different.

In such a state, gaining enlightenment was much easier, enabling them to acquire enlightenment of all 3,000 great Daos in a much shorter time.

Each and every one was well aware that this Emperor's words and actions were obviously some sort of trap. He was essentially offering up bait. And yet… they couldn't stop themselves from gobbling that bait right up.

Only Naruto rejected the light without even hesitating a moment, causing it to grow dim and have very little influence on him. However, he was still incapable of resisting the temptation of those final 300 Essences that he needed.

He took a deep breath and looked over at the Emperor, his eyes flashing coldly.

"Bait, huh? Fine… I'll bite!" He sent his divine sense out toward the final

300 Essences that he needed, and immediately began to gain enlightenment. Because he already had a Nirvana Fruit inside of him, this process caused it to fuse more fully with him. With each Essence that he gained enlightenment of, the process grew more complete.

In the moment that he had all 3,000 great Daos fused into his heart, his second Nirvana Fruit would be eternally melded into his forehead. For all eternity… he would be, fully and completely, an Allheaven Immortal!

Chapter 1138: Obvious Bait!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1139

Chapter 1139: Toxic Chakra Flow!?

That was the Emperor's gambit!

Although you couldn't say he had honorable intentions or that there were no hidden tricks in his offer, you could at least say that he had revealed his cards and placed the bait right out in the open!

It was as if he were saying, "Here's the bait, are you going to bite?!"

Anyone with a bit of common sense would be able to see that something was going on, something big and dangerous. Most importantly, as these drastic upheavals were striking the Windswept Realm, the Emperor's actions were completely baffling.

However… even though they knew that something was going on, none of the Echelon cultivators could resist such bait. Dao-Heaven couldn't, nor could Naruto. Their entire purpose in coming to the Windswept Realm had been to gain enlightenment of natural laws and Essences.

That didn't indicate that they would instantly acquire that Essence after gaining enlightenment of it. However, the Essence would come to exist in their heart, like a flickering flame that, when they returned to the Mountain and Sea Realm, would make their path towards the Dao Realm less confusing, and make the process much smoother.

The ancient proverb says that before painting a piece of bamboo, that bamboo must exist in your heart. It was similar when dealing with Essences, and when the time came to truly acquire their own Essences, they would have a much clearer picture of their road forward.

Most importantly, having that proverbial bamboo in their hearts would even provoke changes in their fundamental nature!

The more enlightenment they gained, the greater the number of flames that were kindled in their hearts. If they could gain enlightenment of 3,000 great Daos, and thus gain 3,000 Dao Flames in their hearts, then, when they finally entered the Dao Realm, they would be able to wield unimaginable power.

Naruto's divine sense roiled out as he began to gain enlightenment of the 300 Essences that had been released from the temple.

All of the Echelon cultivators were contemplating enlightenment, as were the other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm. The central temple region was completely devoid of any noise other than the Emperor's wild laughter.

His heart burst with anticipation as he waited for the Echelon cultivators to gain complete enlightenment of the natural laws and Essences.

Zong Wuya stood there silently, a complicated expression on his face as he looked at the Echelon cultivators. Finally let out a light sigh.

"Essences! Natural laws! Great Daos!" Trembling, Dao-Heaven began to laugh as his energy rose, causing a windstorm to spring up around him. Because of the World Seals, he had gained enlightenment of 900 Essences. With the additional help of the Emperor, and the blessing of the Windswept Realm's Chakra flow, he now had been enlightened regarding 1,500 Essences. Hope was gradually forming within him, and he could virtually see himself stepping onto the path of the Ancient Realm for a tenth time.

"Who cares if it's bait? However much you send my way, I'll take it all!" he cried. Dao-Heaven's eyes shone with a strange light. He might fear Naruto, but having become the most powerful in the Echelon indicated that his power and intelligence far exceeded the norm. Were that not the case, he would not have repeatedly avoided the Third Nation the way he had.

Lin Cong was trembling. Like Han Qinglei, he had not acquired any additional World Seals, and was limited to the 300 original Essences from his Nation's National Aura Mountain. He had long since resigned himself to being in a hopeless situation. Now, he trembled as his enlightenment reached 600 Essences and continued to rise.

Bait and plots didn't matter to him. He had no other choice than to do what he was doing. Cultivators lived to become more powerful, and to do so, they had to ignore danger. That was something that all Echelon cultivators were adept at.

Instead of saying that this was Lin Cong's strong point, you could say that it was… a representation of his ambition!

It was the same with Han Qinglei.

Yuwen Jian was panting. He already had 300 more Essences than Han Qinglei and Lin Cong, and had now broken through to over 1,000. It wasn't that he hadn't seen Naruto's actions. However, in the current situation, there was nothing more important or enticing than Essences and natural laws.

Then there was the young Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain. He had been maintaining his distance cautiously, but now he looked extremely excited, and instantly sent his divine sense out in all directions.

Everyone was focused on contemplation, both the Echelon cultivators as well as Fan Dong'er and the others.

Naruto was also wrapped up in enlightenment. He was in the best position of all of them, and as his divine sense spread out, because of his advantages, experienced an instant breakthrough.

2,800 Essences!

Rumbling could be heard as Naruto's energy erupted, forming an invisible tempest that spun around him. He was different from the others in terms of his temperament, and he immediately experienced shocking transformations. It was as if he became more confident. He stood there, seemingly far above everyone else.

The greatest transformation that was occurring was inside of him, with the partially absorbed Nirvana Fruit. After gaining enlightenment of 2,800 Essences, it was becoming almost inseparably close to him.

It was as if Naruto's continued enlightenment caused more and more Dao Flames to ignite, allowing him to master the Nirvana Fruit and fuse with it!

By understanding the world around him, he actually didn't even need to take the initiative to fuse with the Nirvana Fruit; it began doing so automatically!

Rumbling sounds could be heard, and his eyes looked like they contained stars, or even the world itself.

Suddenly, the Emperor's voice rang out in a mesmerizing fashion, to be heard by all of the Echelon cultivators.

"Naruto has already gained enlightenment of 2,800 Essences. You other Echelon cultivators had better go a bit faster, otherwise… that precious World Essence which has been building up the temple for so many years will all go to him.

"As the Emperor, I can help you, and can even lend you with more Chakra flow. Just call out to me, and the Chakra flow will be yours!"

Dao-Heaven trembled, and when he opened his eyes, they were shot with blood. He suddenly slapped the top of his head, causing his entire body to vibrate. Then his Echelon mark appeared on his forehead, and his Paragon magic suddenly appeared, not to attack Naruto, but to use as a stimulus for his own power. Regardless of the consequences, he wanted his divine sense to become even stronger.

"Give me that Chakra flow!" he roared. As his voice echoed out, the Heavens rumbled, and an intense beam of light shot down onto Dao-Heaven. It surrounded him, causing the dust in the area to float up into the air and transform into a tempest. Dao-Heaven trembled violently, but his eyes shone brightly.

Under the pressure, he was able to sense that the speed of his enlightenment had been increased by more than tenfold!

1,600! 1,800! 2,000 Essences!

In the moment that Dao-Heaven reached 2,000 Essences, he began to pant, and a gleam of obsession appeared in his eyes, as if he had suddenly caught sight of his own personal Dao!

That Dao was vague, but because of the help of the 2,000 Essences, it could now be said that he had actually found his own path!

"So that's how it is," Dao-Heaven murmured, trembling, his eyes burning with passion. "I never would have thought…. I need to examine it in more detail!"

After Dao-Heaven called for the Chakra flow, Lin Cong and the others gritted their teeth, and then began to follow suit. They unleashed their cultivation bases and went mad with divine sense. Rumbling sounds filled the air as numerous beams of light descended onto them. All of the Echelon cultivators were trembling, expressions vicious as the Chakra flow power gave indescribable assistance to their enlightenment.

Their speed increased dramatically, especially in Lin Cong's case. He had nearly gone mad from being defeated by Naruto; it was something that his enormous pride just couldn't accept. Currently, he was roaring, holding nothing back, and was in fact demanding even more Chakra flow than Dao-Heaven.

He was surrounded by a beam of light 300 meters wide, and his speed of enlightenment was almost unbelievable. In the blink of an eye, he broke past 1,000. After that was 1,200, 1,500, then 1,800. Soon it was 2,000 Essences. He was now in third place among the Echelon, behind only Naruto and Dao-Heaven.

"Naruto, I won't be weaker than you!" he roared, face twisted viciously. His entire body was shaking violently, as if his perception of reality was being forcefully stretched and widened. His consciousness grew clearer, and his eyes shone brightly.

"My path was incorrect," he murmured, "and treading it could never lead to the highest heights. So, that's what was happening. It turns out Immortality… is like this!" It was unclear exactly what he had seen, but he began to laugh loudly.

Han Qinglei gritted his teeth. Seeing Lin Cong and Dao-Heaven doing what they were doing caused a feeling of competition to rise up sharply within him. He decided to throw caution to the wind, and even though it wasn't quite appropriate to call for more Chakra flow from the Emperor, he did it anyway.

Rumbling could be heard as his enlightenment rocketed up. Although it hadn't reached 2,000 yet, he was able to do exactly what Dao-Heaven and Lin Cong had done, and see his own path.

Yuwen Jian was still hesitating, unsure of what to do. It was the same with the young Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly trembled. His aura caused colors to flash and a huge wind to kick up. A strange look appeared in his eyes as he gained enlightenment of…. 2,900 Essences!

He was now only 100 away from 3,000 Essences!

His aura was changing, becoming different. It was as if he was casting off all mortality and becoming completely extraordinary!

A more intense aura of Immortality swirled around him, making anyone who looked at him suddenly be filled with the desire to bow in worship!

Even the other members of the Echelon and the other cultivators were all affected. Beneath Naruto's feet, green grass and celestial flowers sprouted up, blooming, sending their delicate aroma out in all directions. There were even Blue Lotuses among them, swaying back and forth gently.

"When someone attains the Dao, he paves the way for all others!" Fan Dong'er said breathlessly, feeling shaken as she looked at Naruto.

"When someone achieves the Dao, Blue Lotuses sprout and blossom!"

If there were any Dao Realm experts present to watch, they would be astonished. That was because this was an omen that even few people in the Dao Realm could ever incite!

By this point, the Nirvana Fruit was reaching the final stages of absorption into Naruto. It was fusing with him, with his blood, with his soul, as if… it would become an eternal part of him!

As for the visions Dao-Heaven, Lin Cong and Han Qinglei were seeing of their Dao paths, Naruto experienced nothing of the kind. That was because he did not call upon any of the Windswept Realm's Chakra flow from the Emperor. His was a pure enlightenment of the Dao!

Perhaps because of the Echelon Heart within him, his own heart was filling with an increasing sense of deadly crisis regarding the Windswept Realm.

In fact, even if his enlightenment were going slower, he still wouldn't call upon the Chakra flow.

The voice of the Emperor echoed out, filled with a bizarre power that entered the hearts of all who heard him. "Naruto has already gained enlightenment of the 2,900th Essence. He only has 100 left. The rest of you… had better hurry up, lest you be too late!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1140

Chapter 1140 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1140: Eternal Allheaven Immortal!

Outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm was an endless black void, within which the Windswept Realm was now rising up at an indescribable speed. The void twisted and distorted, sending ripples out in all directions.

Gradually, it was possible to detect that far up above in the void, there was some sort of invisible barrier. Normally, it couldn't be seen, but now that the Windswept Realm was approaching it, ripples began to spread out over the barrier. The barrier looked like a huge net, and currently, a slight depression was visible in it that stretched out in all directions.

The giant net was just faintly visible, and it was covered by a multitude of lightning bolts, dancing back and forth amidst crashing thunder.

On the other side of the huge net were glittering lights, chaos, and apparently, other worlds.

The huge net covered the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, ensuring that it… was clamped down and sealed tightly.

Meanwhile, outside of the Windswept Realm were two globes of splendorous light that were constantly battering back and forth against each other. As they did, the void would shatter, then rapidly reform.

Suddenly, an ancient voice spoke out from one of the globes of light, and it sounded exhausted: "Sea Dream, you still haven't recovered from your injuries. I might not be able to beat you, but I can definitely keep you pinned down for a while. Why are you making things hard for me?"

The exhaustion was not that which came as a result of the rigors of magical battle. Rather, this person had lived for a very, very long time, and his life force was growing dim.

"You are the one making things hard for me, Windswept!" Paragon Sea Dream said, her voice cold.

"I became the Lord of the Windswept Realm first. Only after that did I become one of the Immortal World's Imperial Lords. After all these years, I'm finally leading my world into freedom. Is that so wrong?" "That's exactly what the 3,000 rebel Realms said back then!"

Booms echoed out as they continued to fight. Although it only seemed as if the two globes of light were slamming into each other repeatedly, if you looked closely, you would see that every time they connected, it was with power capable of shattering Heaven and Earth. Even the void was damaged. If any Dao Realm experts came too close, they would have been seriously injured by those ripples, or perhaps even killed.

As they fought bitterly, the net up above grew closer and closer to the Windswept Realm. The depression in it also became more obvious. Furthermore, it was just possible to make out the image of various enormous figures waiting behind the huge net.

One figure looked like a giant, with eyes of lightning. Another was some type of beast, with the body of a snake and the head of a dragon, and it exhaled clouds with every breath. One of the figures appeared to be wearing a suit of golden armor, as if it were a celestial warrior. It held a greatsword in one hand as it observed the battle taking place on the other side of the huge net.

There was another figure, barely visible. It was an old man mounted atop a White Ox. He appeared to be sighing.

Further off in the distance was a three-headed six-armed giant, pitchblack in color, with a shocking, murderous aura.

These were all powerful experts from the 33 Heavens, and had come here to observe the approach of the Windswept Realm, as well as the battle between Sea Dream and Windswept.

No one passed through the net to assist. They only watched. It was as if they were trying to decide whether or not the Windswept Imperial Lord, who in the past had unleashed virtually endless destruction upon the 33 Heavens, was actually… turning traitor!

If he was, then they would allow the Windswept Realm to leave the Mountain and Sea Realm, and become the 34th Heaven!

In addition to observing the battle between the Windswept Imperial Lord and Paragon Sea Dream, they were watched as the lands of the Windswept Realm approached. As such, they could clearly see everything that was happening there, including the enlightenment regarding natural law and Essences being undertaken by Naruto and the others.

One of those enormous figures, the one with three heads and six arms, had an especially cold and murderous look in his eyes, and seemed to be paying especially close attention to… Naruto! 1

The Emperor's words were still echoing out through the temple in the Windswept lands. Dao-Heaven and the others experienced enlightenment even more quickly, especially Dao-Heaven. He couldn't bear to be defeated by Naruto, and his eyes were bright red. Although he knew he shouldn't dare take too much Windswept Chakra flow from the Emperor, he gritted his teeth.

"Qi flow!" he yelled. The Emperor laughed and waved his hand. DaoHeaven began to glow more brightly, as if he had become a source of boundless light. It was even hard to tell the difference between DaoHeaven himself, and the beam of light around him. The light poured through him, making it seem as if his body itself were made of light.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Dao-Heaven threw his head back and roared. His divine sense surged out madly, ten times greater than before. In the blink of an eye, he reached 2,000 Essences.

That number increased with incredible speed!

2,400!

2,600!

2,800 Essences!

Dao-Heaven had gone mad. His energy was different than everyone else's, and a powerful tempest surrounded him. His eyes shone with a strange gleam, and he shook violently, as if he had found his own path, his own direction to the Dao.

Simultaneously, Lin Cong threw caution to the wind and called for more Chakra flow. The Emperor's laughter echoed out as he waved his hand, causing more light to descend on Lin Cong. Lin Cong was shaking, and blue veins popped out on his forehead. He then unleashed his Paragon magic, and the Heavens trembled. His speed of enlightenment was second only to Dao-Heaven's. He quickly rose from 2,000 Essences all the way to 2,500.

After him was Han Qinglei, who quickly reached 2,000 Essences.

The Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain gritted his teeth and also called for more Chakra flow. The Emperor's laughter rang out continuously; more light descended, and the young man's enlightenment speed erupted, causing him to quickly break through to 2,000 Essences.

The only one who was still hesitating was… Yuwen Jian. He could see that Naruto was not calling upon the Chakra flow, and was in fact rejecting it with his divine sense. Considering how familiar he was with Naruto, he had the feeling that such a decision must have been made for a good reason.

Still feeling conflicted, he gritted his teeth. His eyes then shone with determination as he refused to ask for more Chakra flow, instead relying only on what he already had to contemplate enlightenment.

More than ten breaths of time passed. Suddenly, Naruto trembled, and his eyes filled with an unprecedentedly bright light. He took in a deep breath, and everything trembled. Lightning crashed, as the aura of the entire world seemed to be sucked into him.

Rumbling could be heard as he grew higher. He was now more than 210 meters tall and growing! Incredible energy surged up from him.

3,000 Essences!

As of this moment, Naruto had achieved thorough enlightenment of… 3,000 Essences!

Not one more, not one less!

In that moment, it was as if 3,000 Dao Flames were burning in his heart, lighting his path, filling his heart, blowing away all of his confusion.

His entire body radiated bright, azure light, light which represented the utmost level of respect. It represented… an Allheaven Immortal!

Massive transformations occurred within him. The second Nirvana Fruit was now completely and thoroughly a part of his bones, his blood, his soul, his everything! It was completely absorbed!

It was no longer a separate thing from him, and would never again emerge from within his forehead. Now, he was eternally an Allheaven Immortal, free from limitations. At any time or place, he could unleash… the full power of a mighty Allheaven Immortal!

Naruto threw his head back and roared as his body grew even larger.

Soon, he was 300 meters tall, a huge giant. But then, he suddenly began to shrink back down.

Perhaps it was not a shrinking, but a compression!

That compression caused cracking sounds to emanate out from inside of him. Resplendent azure light flickered out, and his energy continued to rise, as did his cultivation base!

His 123 Immortal meridians fused together, forming a single meridian inside of him. At first glance, he looked no different from an ordinary cultivator. He appeared to be just his ordinary self. However, that was actually a sign of a complete transformation!

He looked the same, but fundamentally, he was completely different.

You could even say that, as of this moment, Naruto had reached a crucial milestone on his path of Immortality.

Immortal!

Allheaven Immortal!

He let out a long cry that echoed about, causing the whole world to shake. Fan Dong'er, Bei Yu, and the other non-Echelon cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, were all shaking. When they looked at Naruto, it was as if they were looking at a holy saint, an Immortal Divinity. It would be impossible for them to look down on him, and they even felt the urge to worship him.

It was hard to say who did it first, but soon everyone, including Fan Dong'er and the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm, dropped to their knees and kowtowed.

As of this moment, Naruto was surrounded by a pillar of azure light that shot up into the clouds. Despite all of the drastic upheavals, Naruto was now the complete center of attention.

Even the Echelon cultivators were affected. A strange light appeared in Zong Wuya's eyes, and he was trembling. The Emperor gasped, and despite the fact that he had no eyes, and should only be able to see darkness, he suddenly caught sight of the azure light, and the figure therein!

Meanwhile, outside of the Windswept Realm, in the area beyond the depression in the huge net, the figures in the chaotic clouds were letting out exclamations of shock. "That azure light…."

"An Allheaven Immortal!"

"I can't believe there's actually… an Allheaven Immortal in the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

"This is impossible! The bloodlines of the Allheaven Immortals have long-since been eradicated. How could another one have appeared!?"

"Who is this person…?" Various cries of shock and disbelief could be heard beyond the huge net. All eyes were now focused on Naruto standing there in the Windswept Realm.

The pitch-black, three-headed six-armed figure looked on, eyes blazing with flames of hatred.

Even Windswept and Sea Dream couldn't help but look over in the middle of their battling, to gaze upon the azure light shining up through the clouds.

That azure light seemed to be an announcement to everyone that… an Allheaven Immortal had appeared once again in the Mountain and Sea Realm, in the Immortal World!

"Not bad," the Windswept Imperial Lord said thoughtfully, retracting his gaze.

"He's not just an Allheaven Immortal," Paragon Sea Dream said coolly. Then she waved her hand, causing a massive wind to spring up as she dove back into battle.

Chapter 1140: Eternal Allheaven Immortal!

I'm not going to confirm or deny this connection, but I'm sure this threeheaded figure will remind some people of the events in chapter 1023 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1141

Chapter 1141 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1141: The Echelon Fights Naruto!

Shocking azure light rose up into the sky!

Naruto's body rapidly reverted from a height of 300 meters to only 150 meters. However, his cultivation base was rising dramatically.

In the blink of an eye, he then dropped from 150 meters tall to the size of an ordinary person. And yet, his energy seemed to stain the entire sky azure.

"Azure Sky…." Naruto murmured. His mind trembled as a new enlightenment suddenly filled his mind. This was a sign that would definitely occur when an Allheaven Immortal appeared.

At the same time, it was an innate divine ability of an Allheaven Immortal!

Azure Sky!

The Azure Sky subdues all willpower!

Even the distant Mountain and Sea Realm was shaken. After all, despite the fact that the Windswept Realm was now high up in the darkness of the void, it was still… in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Since Naruto was now an Allheaven Immortal, it affected… the entire Realm.

In the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Nine Seas were roiling and roaring. Countless sea beasts were filled with excitement, with the exception of the sea beasts in the Ninth Sea. Only the Ninth Sea… was trembling in fear, and that trembling was not limited to just the sea beasts in it!

The entire Ninth Sea was suddenly struck with uncontrollable terror.

Gradually, the Ninth Sea began to change color, turning azure. Any sea beast who had shown animosity to Naruto in the past suddenly found that they had azure sealing marks shining on their foreheads. The marks flickered several times before vanishing. However, the intense fear of extermination still floated in their minds.

That was because of the oath that Naruto had made. His voice when he uttered that oath seemed to echo eternally within the Ninth Sea. 1

Similarly trembling were all the members of the Demonic Cultivator Horde in the Nine Seas God World. To them, it felt as if a horrific catastrophe was on the way, a massive calamity.

The mountain peaks were also shaking. The Nine Mountains trembled, and all the cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm could sense something, although it was hard for them to put their fingers on exactly what. They just had the feeling that somewhere out there, an aweinspiring figure had just appeared.

The Mountains and Seas were shaken, and rumbling could be heard everywhere. The azure light was especially intense on Planet South Heaven, especially from all of the places there that Naruto had visited in the past.

It was the same on Planet East Victory, as well as with Patriarch

Reliance, who was now floating around somewhere in the Eighth

Mountain and Sea. He trembled as azure light shone up from the State

of Zhao on his back.

Even more shocking was the Fourth Mountain, where Xu Qing sat cross legged in meditation. Suddenly, she was surrounded by shocking azure light. The old women standing guard over her were astonished, and even Ksitigarbha, the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, suddenly opened his eyes.

"Allheaven Immortal…." he murmured.

As the Mountains and Seas rumbled, the sun and the moon suddenly stopped moving, and apparently broke free from their places in the Nine Mountains and Seas, and began to fly in the direction of the Allheaven Immortal aura.

That scene caused widespread shock throughout the Mountain and Sea Realm. Back in the temple of the Windswept Realm, Naruto stood amidst the majestic azure light, and took a deep breath.

"The first two Nirvana Fruits that I absorbed weren't mine, but rather, the first generation Patriarch's," he murmured, eyes glittering brightly. "The next one I absorb will be… my very own Nirvana Fruit!"

He took a step forward, and thunder crashed. Rumbling echoed out in all directions as that single step took him all the way to the temple, where he waved his right hand toward the temple itself and made a snatching motion.

What he wanted was… the supreme Dao which existed in the temple itself.

Rumbling filled the temple. Naruto's hand was filled with Allheaven Immortal power, and yet, it couldn't shake the temple. All it did was cause fissures to spread out, accompanied by cracking sounds.

Naruto frowned in displeasure. In contrast, the emperor's face fell. He couldn't see anything in the world except for Naruto, surrounded by azure light, and that most holy central temple.

"He… actually caused cracks to appear on the surface of the temple. A cultivation base like that… such battle prowess… he's basically equivalent to the peak of the Ancient Realm! He's just half a step away from Quasi-Dao!"

Simultaneously, Dao-Heaven roared anxiously, calling upon even more Chakra flow to rapidly increase the speed of his enlightenment!

2,900 Essences!

3,000!

After reaching 3,000 Essences, he threw his head back and let loose a long cry. A strange light appeared in his eyes; he had never before been so clear about his future path. His energy continued to rise, and cracking sounds emanated out from his body. His cultivation base suddenly experienced explosive growth, rising higher and higher. In the blink of an eye, it was far beyond its previous level.

By means of divine will, he had found his own path, which would change how he practiced cultivation. From here on out, he would travel the correct path, and would experience incredible cultivation base growth.

His energy soared as he transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the temple.

"Naruto, that supreme great Dao belongs to me, Dao-Heaven!"

He closed in on Naruto with incredible speed, waving his right hand to cause a huge handprint to appear. That handprint seemed large enough to support the Heavens, and it immediately began to slap down toward Naruto.

"Screw off!" Naruto said coolly. As the hand closed in, azure light burst out. Suddenly, all of the light in the entire world turned azure.

There was a flash, and Dao-Heaven's eyes went wide with disbelief. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he was flung backward like a kite with its string cut.

"Y-you…." he stammered, astonished. He suddenly realized that Naruto was vastly more powerful than he had been before. Even though he himself was also stronger, he simply couldn't measure up to Naruto.

In almost the same moment that Dao-Heaven fell back, Lin Cong threw his head back and roared. A massive tempest sprung up around him as he gained enlightenment of 3,000 great Daos. His eyes shone with a bizarre light, and his energy soared along with his cultivation base. At the same time, he shot toward Naruto.

"Naruto!" he roared. He waved his right hand, causing numerous screaming ghosts to fly out, covering the sky and emanating an aura of death. They transformed into a gray mist that in turn became a long spear which stabbed toward Naruto.

However, in the moment that the long gray spear bore down on him, Naruto waved his finger. Thunderous booms rang out, and blinding azure light flashed. The gray spear collapsed into countless fragments, and Lin Cong fell back, blood spraying out of his mouth, his face a mass of astonishment and disbelief.

Naruto didn't even look at Dao-Heaven or Lin Cong. Instead, he lifted his left hand and once again slapped out toward the temple. A huge boom echoed out, and the temple trembled. Cracks appeared everywhere, and it appeared to be just on the verge of collapsing.

He wanted to destroy the temple completely and forcibly take that supreme Dao out!

Dao-Heaven's eyes flickered coldly. "We can't let him get it!" he cried. "We should all have a chance to have it. Lin Cong, let's attack him together!"

As far as he was concerned, now that Naruto had the Echelon Heart, if he also got that supreme World Essence Dao, then he would definitely be the most powerful member of the Echelon!

In fact, it could potentially even make him the most powerful Immortal Realm cultivator in all the successive generations of the Echelon!

Dao-Heaven roared, charging forward and waving his hand to summon his Paragon magic. The scroll painting unfurled, and the figure within looked up.

Lin Cong's eyes flickered with killing intent. He had long since come to view the enmity between himself and Naruto as irreconcilable. Naruto had fractured his Dao heart, and had left behind a seemingly unconquerable shadowy version of himself. If he hadn't been able to acquire enlightenment of 3,000 great Daos… he likely wouldn't even have had the courage to make a move. Gritting his teeth, he roared and unleashed his own Paragon magic.

As the two of them attacked, Han Qinglei threw his head back and let loose a long cry. He was the fourth Echelon cultivator to achieve enlightenment of 3,000 Essences. Energy soaring, cultivation base rising explosively, he looked viciously at Naruto and flickered as he charged toward him in attack. As he flew through the air, he waved his hand, causing innumerable bones to appear around him, as well as green lightning.

"Naruto, it's time for us to fight again!"

Three Echelon cultivators were all joining forces to attack Naruto at the same time.

Any of these three Echelon cultivators could be considered blazing suns. When they appeared on the scene, all cultivators would tremble at their strength. They had long since surpassed their own Realm. Ancient Realm cultivators, even late Ancient Realm experts, would quiver in fear upon facing them.

However, considering that Naruto's current cultivation base was equivalent to the peak Ancient realm, just half a step from Quasi-Dao, that meant that all he had to do was absorb another Nirvana Fruit, and he would be able to tackle almighty Quasi-Dao experts.

In fact, if he absorbed a fourth Nirvana Fruit, and his cultivation base broke through from the Immortal Realm to the Ancient Realm, then despite being in the Ancient Realm, he would still be able to hold his own against the Dao Realm.

In the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Dao Realm experts were all people on the same level as the Patriarchs of the most powerful sects and clans.

You could say that Naruto had already reached a level in which he could cause just about everyone to tremble. He was a terrifying figure that nobody could afford to underestimate.

Naruto radiated azure light as he calmly faced the three incoming Echelon cultivators. He seemed threatening without being angry, a true Immortal of Heaven and Earth.

"Before," he said coolly. "I became a mountain obstructing the paths of the Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Today… I will become a towering peak that stands in the way of all of this generation of Echelon cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm!" He shot out in a flash to meet Dao-Heaven and the others. As the four of them closed in on each other, Naruto waved his finger toward Han Qinglei.

Han Qinglei screamed, and his Paragon magic collapsed. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he tumbled away.

Then Naruto struck out toward Lin Cong with his palm. That palm strike caused Heaven and Earth to fade, and became Lin Cong's entire world. His Paragon magic shattered, and he was utterly incapable of defending himself. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he screamed as he spun backward, out of control.

All of these things occurred in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint! Then Naruto turned to look at Dao-Heaven, and struck out with his fist.

That fist caused everything to shatter. The statue in Dao-Heaven's painting emanated a murderous aura, but before it could be completely unfurled, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he looked at Dao-Heaven and softly said, "Withdraw!"

The one to withdraw was not the painting, it was Dao-Heaven!

Chapter 1141: The Echelon Fights Naruto!

The oath made by Naruto regarding the Ninth Sea was in chapter

1068 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1142

Chapter 1142: Who Requested My Presence?!

Naruto was not so full of himself that he would think that, considering the current level of his cultivation base, he would be able to force this terrifying painting into retreat.

Of all the magical techniques Naruto had seen in his entire life, this scroll painting was by far the absolutely most terrifying. That was especially true of the figure inside the painting, who abounded with a murderous aura, almost as if he… were the source of all the murderous auras in Heaven and Earth.

Naruto wasn't sure how many people would need to be slaughtered, nor how many years it would take, to build up a murderous aura like that. Furthermore, it was merely an image in a painting, not the actual person it depicted. And yet, it seemed as if by simply unleashing that murderous aura, he could annihilate the entire Mountain and Sea Realm with little difficulty.

Perhaps the only type of person who could actually battle the person in this painting… would be an almighty figure like a Paragon.

In other words, the black-robed man in the painting… was also a Paragon!

At least, that was Naruto's conclusion. Furthermore, whoever it was that painted this Paragon was obviously a powerful person who wasn't to be trifled with either. That was especially true when Naruto remembered how the man inside the painting had murmured something about the Paragon Bridge being incomplete. That caused the hairs on Naruto's neck to stand up straight.

From the very first moment he had laid eyes on this painting, Naruto had begun to covet it. Unfortunately… it was not some mere magical item. It was the manifestation of Paragon magic. Therefore, even if Naruto wanted to steal it, it would be impossible to do so.

The only way it might be possible would be to figure out where DaoHeaven acquired it, then gain similar enlightenment and somehow make the Paragon magic his own.

Without performing a Soulsearch, though, that would be impossible. Dao-Heaven was the former most powerful Echelon cultivator, and it wouldn't be an easy thing to perform a Soulsearch on him.

Therefore, Naruto would have to attempt some other method. As his fist descended, Heaven and Earth rumbled, and an intense power exploded out. It was a power backed by both his fleshly body and his Allheaven Immortal strength. Dao-Heaven's face fell, and he was incapable of doing anything as the power slammed into him. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and he was sent flying backward, completely out of control.

Almost in the same moment that he began to fly backward, Naruto extended his index finger, unleashing Demon Sealing Hexing magic toward the Paragon Painting.

The Seventh Hex, Karmic Hexing!

Shockingly, he was using this Hexing magic to look for Karma Threads connected to the scroll painting, in an attempt to discover where it came from.

As his finger descended through the air, rumbling sounds could be

heard. The black-robed statue inside the painting suddenly looked up, eyes cold and completely emotionless as he stared dead at Naruto.

That look caused Naruto's mind to reel and his body to tremble. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and he was forced backward. At the same time, his Karmic Hexing landed on the painting, and immediately, countless Karma Threads appeared.

Strangely, as soon as the Karma Threads appeared, they all turned gray in color. Each and every one of them turned into dust, without a single one being left intact.

"Impossible!" thought Naruto, his eyes going wide. What was happening clearly indicated that everyone this so-called Paragon had ever met, or had ever known… was already dead! Either that, or every person he had ever met or known thought that HE was dead!

Because of that, the Karma Threads were all destroyed!

Furthermore, a person with absolutely all of their Karma Threads destroyed would find it impossible to stay alive. If everyone in the world, and especially everyone who knew that person, believed them to be dead, then it would influence natural laws in such a way… that it would actually kill them.

"How could someone like this even exist? Could it be that this painting depicts a dead person!?" Naruto's heart was trembling, and he almost couldn't accept the situation. His eyes then glowed with determination, and he gritted his teeth. Finally, he bit the tip of his tongue and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Ripples of the League of Demon Sealers instantly erupted out of him.

He was using the power of an Allheaven Immortal to stimulate the drop of Paragon Nine Seals' blood, the same one he had used to completely absorb his first Nirvana Fruit. By doing so, he could use his Demon Sealer's aura to connect with Heaven and Earth, to communicate with the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Rumbling could be heard as the distant Mountain and Sea Realm began to shake. The Mountains and Seas trembled, and the sun and the moon began to emit brilliant light. It was almost as if precious treasures existed inside of them that were now forming a resonance with Naruto.

The sensation of the legacy of the Demon Sealers fluctuating inside of him caused Naruto to tremble. All of his Demon Sealing Hexing magics began to vibrate as he extended his finger toward the blackrobed man in the painting.

Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex!

Ignoring the incredible cost he had to pay, he relied on his future status to call upon the assistance of the Mountain and Sea Realm to unleash his most powerful Hexing magic. As soon as it appeared, massive rumbling sounds emanated out from him. His finger descended, and all of a sudden, Karma Threads once again appeared on the man in the painting.

This time, the Karma Threads were very dim, and instantly collapsed into nothing. It almost seemed the same as what had happened last time, causing Naruto's mind to reel. However, in the next moment, his eyes went wide.

What he saw was that the destroyed Karma Threads hadn't dissipated. Instead, they grouped together behind the man. Astonishingly… they formed the outline of a person.

The person flickered a few times, and then stabilized into an image. It was the image of a man, facing in the opposite direction. He had a long head of flowing, white hair.

Furthermore, the man was surrounded by… Karma Threads! These Karma Thread were strange and almost beyond imagination, something Naruto couldn't even think of words to describe.

They seemed numerous, almost infinite, to the point where Naruto was left in complete astonishment. He had never seen anyone who had shocking Karma Threads like this.

As the Karma Threads spread out, most disappeared out into the void. Only a few spread back down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Who is this guy?!" thought Naruto, panting. It was in this moment that the black-robed man in the painting suddenly shivered. He lifted his head and waved his hand, causing the image of the white-haired man behind him to vanish. The Karma Threads also disappeared.

In fact… the painting itself spontaneously shredded into bits, completely disappearing. However… the black-robed man did not disappear with the scroll painting. Instead, he walked out, muttering.

"I shouldn't be here…. Who is it? Who awakened me? Who… requested me to come from my world to this place!?" His voice was filled with a strange and bizarre power, filled with matchless dignity. As it echoed out, the entire Windswept Realm shook. The sky faded, and winds screamed.

Apparently, the previous time he had appeared, he could make the decision as to whether or not people in the outside world could sense him, and had chosen to remain silent. This time, however, he chose to ask this question, causing his aura to spread out everywhere, to echo even through Karma.

Despite the fact that this was Dao-Heaven's own Paragon magic, he let out a miserable scream. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he rapidly shot backward, an expression of shock on his face.

Blood spurted out of wounds all over Lin Cong's body, and he let out a miserable shriek as his body withered. Han Qinglei, Yuwen Jian, and even the Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain and all of the other cultivators in the surrounding area were affected similarly.

Naruto also coughed up a mouthful of blood, and immediately fell back, a look of astonishment on his face.

It was the same with Zong Wuya, who coughed up a mouthful of blood and looked on with shock.

The eyeless Emperor was now shaking violently. He couldn't see the black-robed man; the only thing he could see was a murderous aura that formed a vortex in the spot where the man was standing. That vortex was filled with innumerable faces and countless lives, all of them screaming, as if they wished to break out from inside.

"Sir… who are you!?" the shocked Emperor asked respectfully, not daring to address the man as anything other than 'sir.'

The people in the immediate vicinity weren't the only shocked ones.

Near the Ninth Mountain, on one of the four planets, was the Wang Clan. In that moment, the blood of every member of the Wang Clan began to thrum. Their minds spun, and they coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Furthermore, in one of the Wang Clan's restricted areas, in a grove of bamboo, there was a skinny, decrepit old man, sitting there crosslegged, admonishing several Elders who, to him, were members of the Junior generation. Suddenly, that old man began to tremble violently.

"That aura…." He suddenly vanished, reappearing out in the starry sky. Trembling, he looked off in the direction of the Windswept Realm, his expression one of shock and disbelief. 1

At the same time, not far outside of the Windswept Realm, Paragon Sea Dream's face was extremely calm, and the Windswept Imperial Lord suddenly stopped in place and turned his head. The Windswept Imperial Lord's expression was one of shock, and his heart filled with pounding waves of astonishment.

"Sea Dream, you knew about this, didn't you…. Are you crazy? Why didn't you intervene!?" he murmured, ashen-faced. Clearly, he… knew who this black-robed man was!

"Crazy?" Sea Dream responded coolly, a slight smile on her face. "Perhaps. The only thing left of my home are nine mountains. All the people I was ever close to are buried underneath those mountains, and yet I remain alive….

"I have nothing left to lose. If there's going to be disorder, then… let there be disorder in all worlds, be they the Mountain and Sea Realm or the 33 Heavens, or even the Outside world." Buried within the smile on her face was deep grief, and even madness.

The depression in the huge net above the Windswept Realm only continued to deepen. The figures that waited in the chaos beyond were all staring at the black-robed figure, completely shaken. They appeared to be shocked, flabbergasted. Gasping, they all began to edge backward.

"It's… it's him!"

"No, it doesn't look like him…."

"Impossible. This is bizarre. What exactly is going on?!"

"Report this matter immediately! This is a major development!"

Rumbling filled Heaven and Earth, and the Windswept Realm shook violently. The black-robed man closed his eyes and began to make his way off, taking his murderous aura with him. It was as if he were a lonely soul floating off into the distance, with no place to call home. Further and further away.

Dao-Heaven wiped the blood off of his mouth and urgently cried out: "Master!"

The black-robed man proceeded on, murmuring to himself words that were impossible to hear. He began to vanish into the void.

Dao-Heaven once again tried to unleash his Paragon magic, the result being that his eyes went wide, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. A look of despair appeared in his eyes as he realized that he couldn't use his Paragon magic! Apparently… it had been completely wiped away!

Dao-Heaven spun and glared at Naruto.

"Naruto!" he roared. "Give me back my Paragon magic! Give me back my Master!" Then he charged in attack.

Naruto had never imagined that his Karmic Hexing would cause such a thing to happen. He began to pant as the Black-robed man got further and further away. Heart trembling, he was suddenly able to sense that in his short interaction with the black-robed man, he had apparently created some strange Karmic connection to him.

The old man in the Wang Clan appeared previously in chapters 802 and

964 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1143

Chapter 1143: Echelon Battles!

Naruto looked at the black-robed Paragon, and his overwhelming murderous aura that seemed to embody death. The sensation he got was that of an unmatchable Paragon, someone with incredible dignity, hidden within which was a trace of blankness. And yet, that strange confusion did nothing to lessen the man's Heaven-shaking energy.

He got further and further away, and eventually stepped out into the void. It was at this point that Dao-Heaven's roar echoed out.

"Naruto, give me back my Paragon magic! Give me back my Master!" Face twisted with rage, Dao-Heaven shot toward him, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused black fire to burst out all over his body. It spread out around him, making a black sea of flames, within which numerous enormous creatures appeared, roaring viciously like primordial beasts.

There were a total of eighteen beasts, which joined Dao-Heaven as he closed in. He waved his hand, and the eighteen beasts emitted shocking roars that shook Heaven and Earth so violently that it seemed everything would be ripped apart. They almost looked like they were pouncing out from ancient times to destroy Naruto.

At the same time, Lin Cong gritted his teeth and once again told himself that he couldn't afford to be defeated again. Having gained enlightenment of 3,000 Essences, he had no reason whatsoever to be defeated.

He had found his path to power, had found the path which conformed most to his Dao of Immortal cultivation!

"I won't be defeated!

"Dao of the Yellow Springs; Open Up the Underworld!" he roared, raising both hands into the air and stretching them to either side in a ripping motion. A huge ripping sound could be heard as the air was torn asunder, and a Yellow Springs river shot out, instantly sweeping out across the sky. Within the Yellow Springs were countless vengeful souls that issued bloodcurdling screams.

At the far end of the river was an illusory city, completely sinister in appearance. It seemed to be incredibly ancient, and written above its main gate were three words.

Fengdu Ghost City! 1

The city stood strong and tall, and the Yellow Springs coiled explosively. The Underworld was opened, unleashing massive, boundless pressure, as if all of its power was being unleashed. Lin Cong gripped it like a whip and raised it above his head, causing incredible pressure to bear down on Naruto.

Off to the side, Han Qinglei wiped the blood off of his mouth and roared:

"Naruto, it's time for you to DIE!"

Green lightning swirled around him, and his entire person began to transform into what looked like a lightning bolt. His flesh and blood withered until he was nothing more than skin and bones, and then, nothing more than a skeleton.

He sucked all the power of his flesh and blood into his skeleton, and then brandished the green lightning. His energy surged, and the lightning crackled as he lashed it toward Naruto. In addition to all of this, vicious poison was added to the attack, which bore down on Naruto's head as if to exterminate his soul!

Three Echelon cultivators joined hands, holding nothing back, unleashing mad power.

Dao-Heaven left himself no room to fall back; he hated Naruto down to his bones!

Lin Cong could not accept another defeat. He wanted to expunge Naruto's shadow from his heart, to use this battle to thoroughly wipe him away.

Han Qinglei's dignity and honor would not allow him to accept yet another defeat in his current state. He wanted to win, and in the end, to drink Naruto's blood!

Rumbling could be heard as all three cultivators closed in. At the same time, Naruto's eyes flashed with a cold light. He lifted his right foot into the air and took a step outside the temple. The temple itself shook violently, and began to crack apart.

Naruto used the power of that step to emerge into the open. He moved so fast that he left behind only afterimages as he blasted forward in the shape of a golden roc.

As the golden roc flew through the air, it flickered with light as it changed colors to azure. It was now an azure roc that suddenly appeared directly in front of Han Qinglei. Naruto completely ignored the green lightning as he slashed out viciously with his claws.

A massive boom echoed out as the lightning collapsed. Han Qinglei's eyes went wide as Naruto in azure roc-form slashed at his chest with razor-sharp claws.

Han Qinglei let out a roar and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. His body burst into flames, and his cultivation base roared with power. However, at the same time that his energy surged, Naruto in roc-form let out a powerful shriek and sent divine sense stabbing into Han Qinglei's head.

Han Qinglei let out a bloodcurdling scream, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He was just about to fall back in retreat, when Naruto once again closed in and slashed at the top of his head with his azure roc claws.

 _You want to exterminate my soul? How about I exterminate YOURS!_

A boom could be heard as Han Qinglei's head exploded. Then, his body trembled violently and followed suit, exploding into bits.

Naruto was about to slaughter him yet again when Dao-Heaven's Daoist magic, the eighteen primordial beasts, closed in. Naruto was fine with ignoring Han Qinglei, and even Lin Cong. To him, they were almost nothing. But Dao-Heaven, despite not being a full match for Naruto, was the most threatening of the three.

With a cold snort, Naruto flickered and shot toward Dao-Heaven. Razor-sharp claws raked through the air toward the eighteen primordial beasts.

A boom echoed out between the two of them, and a shockwave surged out. One attack by Naruto destroyed all eighteen beasts. He was like a streak of azure light that smashed them as easily as rotten wood.

Finally, the azure roc flickered, and Naruto's human form reappeared, whereupon he extended his right hand and pushed it out toward DaoHeaven.

Dao-Heaven roared and waved both arms, causing black flames to surge out, transforming into a huge hand that slapped toward Naruto.

From a distance, Naruto seemed incredibly tiny compared to that huge black hand. In fact, the two seemed almost impossible to compare. However, as the hand neared him, Naruto's eyes glittered.

Demon Sealing, Fifth Hex!

Inside Outside Hex!

Within his extended palm appeared a rift, which, in the blink of an eye, became dozens of meters wide. It almost looked like an eye, which first shrank down, then rapidly expanded.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

As it expanded, the incoming hand of black fire exploded, then the flames recoiled toward Dao-Heaven's direction as if they were being blasted backwards by an indescribably fierce wind.

Dao-Heaven's face fell, and he immediately retreated. In that same moment, Naruto suddenly charged forward, waving his left hand to send an azure beam of light to block Han Qinglei's green lightning. Next, he pierced through Lin Cong's Underworld pressure, appearing once again in front of Dao-Heaven, toward whom he slapped his right hand.

Blood sprayed out of Dao-Heaven's mouth as Naruto's palm suddenly transformed into a fist, the God-Slaying Fist.

Massive rumbling filled the air, and Dao-Heaven immediately shot backward, his expression fierce, blood spurting out of various wounds. At this point, Naruto's fist transformed into a finger which waved toward Dao-Heaven with deadly intent. Dao-Heaven's eyes began to glow red, and his hand suddenly snaked out and latched onto Naruto's arm.

"Heavenly Demon Devouring!" Dao-Heaven roared, eyes shining with madness and killing intent.

At the same time, time seemed to flow in reverse in the spot where Han

Qinglei had died moments ago. Blood and flesh rapidly reformed, and Han Qinglei appeared once again, his face pale. As soon as he appeared, he fell back, looking at Naruto with both terror, and at the same time, killing intent.

Seeing that Dao-Heaven apparently had Naruto pinned down, Han Qinglei gritted his teeth, let out a roar, and charged again.

Lin Cong did the same thing. Both cultivators took advantage of the situation to shoot toward Naruto like lightning. The fastest of the two was Han Qinglei, who sped forward like a green lightning bolt!

Lin Cong bit down on the tip of his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood, causing his Underworld Realm to suddenly turn blood-red, and crush viciously down toward Naruto.

"DIE!"

It was in this exact moment that the cultivator from the Fifth Mountain, the overweight young man, suddenly gained enlightenment of 3,000 Essences.

Rumbling filled the air as he rapidly grew in size. His aura immediately changed, and his energy spiked. His eyes flashed with light as he immediately charged into the fray, joining the other three Echelon cultivators to take on Naruto.

Although he had never encountered Naruto before, and should actually view Dao-Heaven as an enemy, at the moment… he could tell that the strongest of them all was no longer Dao-Heaven. If they didn't take out Naruto right now, then none of them would ever have a chance to acquire that supreme World Essence.

However, just as the Fifth Mountain's Echelon cultivator began to move, Yuwen Jian let out a powerful roar. Face twisted into a vicious smile, he leapt up, reaching out into the air to summon the Ancient Realm treasure, the battle-axe, which he instantly slashed down toward the fat young cultivator.

Rumbling echoed out, and the Fifth Mountain's Echelon cultivator dodged to the side, face flickering.

"Yuwen Jian, what are you doing!?"

"Oh, nothing. You just annoy me!" Yuwen Jian replied with a loud laugh. He hadn't gained enlightenment of 3,000 Essences, and yet had decided to stop contemplation. Without another word, he swept out another time with the axe, and fierce fighting instantly broke out between him and the Fifth Mountain's Echelon cultivator.

Meanwhile, Lin Cong and Han Qinglei were both closing in. Dao-Heaven's right hand was clasped onto Naruto's arm, and he was unleashing the Heavenly Demon Devouring. At the same time, Naruto stretched out the rest of his fingers to form a palm, which he slapped down onto Dao-Heaven's arm with lightning speed.

Even as Dao-Heaven unleashed the Heavenly Demon Devouring, Uzumaki

Hao coldly said, "Blood Demon Grand Magic!"

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto's body withered. His life force, his flesh and blood, and everything else was rapidly absorbed by Dao-Heaven. However, when the Blood Demon Grand Magic was unleashed, Dao-Heaven's life force, his soul, his flesh and blood, everything about him was likewise sucked into Naruto's palm.

Two very similar Daoist magics were both unleashed at the same time, causing Dao-Heaven's face to flicker. After all the times he had fought back and forth with Naruto, this was his first time seeing a Daoist magic from Naruto that so closely resembled his Heavenly Demon Devouring.

In fact, Dao-Heaven was shocked to find that his Heavenly Demon

Devouring could not quite measure up to Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic in terms of its absorption and consumption. His face fell, and he began to howl as his cultivation base rotated in reverse, and explosive power began to build up in his arm.

Being as familiar with the Heavenly Demon Devouring as he was, he was naturally aware of how to counteract magics of this kind. Rumbling sounds began to build up between him and Naruto, and he suddenly shoved back. The price to be paid was that his right arm exploded into bits. Dao-Heaven sped backward, face ashen. He suddenly slammed into a random cultivator from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and before the man could react, Dao-Heaven smashed his palm into the man's chest, once again unleashing the Heavenly Demon Devouring. The man screamed as his body withered up. At the same time, Dao-Heaven's right arm rapidly reformed.

Fengdu Ghost City is a famous city in China dedicated to the afterlife ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1144

Chapter 1144: Zong Wuya Makes a Move!

A single Mountain and Sea Realm cultivator turned out to be insufficient to completely restore Dao-Heaven's arm. Without pausing, he appeared in front of another cultivator; this time, his right hand shot out instead of his left, and the mass of mangled flesh and blood that was his right arm stabbed forcefully into the cultivator's chest. A miserable shriek echoed out as the man's body was almost instantly withered up. All of the power of his life force was then absorbed hungrily by Dao-Heaven's right arm.

As that was happening, Naruto flashed through the air toward DaoHeaven, closing in on him rapidly. Dao-Heaven's face twisted with ferocity as he flailed his right arm, sending the shriveled cultivator flying toward Naruto.

As for Dao-Heaven, he immediately fell back, this time heading toward Fan Dong'er.

Naruto immediately frowned. Regardless of the history between himself and Fan Dong'er, she was from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, just like he was. He extended his right hand, within which appeared the Lightning Cauldron. Rumbling could be heard as he suddenly switched places with her.

Dao-Heaven's face flickered in response, and his right hand rose up. As black flames roared to life, he slapped his bag of holding, causing a black tree branch to appear.

He waved the branch through the black flames, and in response, the branch grew with terrifying speed. In the blink of an eye, it became countless vines that whistled through the air toward Naruto.

As soon as Naruto appeared in Fan Dong'er's place, he snorted, performed an incantation gesture, and pointed out. Numerous azurecolored mountains suddenly began to descend, crushing down onto DaoHeaven, causing blood to spurt out of his mouth. He fell back, and Naruto followed, making a grasping motion with his hand to summon the bone-tip spear, which he sent stabbing forward.

Booms rang out as the spear pierced through the air, shredding the vines to bits and rapidly appearing in front of Dao-Heaven himself. In this critical moment Dao-Heaven bit the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. Astonishingly, that blood first transformed into a sea of blood, then roared and became a Blood Dragon, which opened its mouth wide and lunged toward Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, then waved his finger. A Blood Demon head appeared, which shot toward the Blood Dragon. All the while, Naruto's bone-tip spear never stopped moving, continuing on to stab toward Dao-Heaven's chest.

Dao-Heaven let out a ferocious roar and used both hands to strike at the spear. Before the blow even landed, Naruto loosened his grip. An afterimage was all he left behind as he suddenly appeared right next to Dao-Heaven. His right hand clenched and then punched out with the God-Slaying Fist.

Dao-Heaven didn't even have time to turn. He tried to dodge to the side, but Naruto's eyes flashed with light as his Allheaven Immortal might crushed down.

"Dao-Heaven!" Naruto roared, his voice echoing like lightning.

Backed by the energy of an Allheaven Immortal, his voice became a massive pressure that smashed into Dao-Heaven. Dao-Heaven's mind instantly began to spin, and his speed was reduced significantly.

By that time, Naruto's fist arrived, slamming into Dao-Heaven's side, causing his entire body to tremble on the point of explosion. In the next instant, he extended his index finger and pointed down onto DaoHeaven's forehead.

A boom rang out as a massive, bloody hole appeared in the middle of Dao-Heaven's head, piercing through from front to back. He shivered, and his eyes went dark. As his corpse began to fall toward the ground, Naruto prepared to kill him a second time when, all of a sudden, DaoHeaven's corpse dissolved itself into a haze of blood that rapidly spread out in all directions.

It transformed into a single blood-colored magical symbol that began to shine with scintillating red light. The light rapidly transformed into a crimson tempest that shot away with indescribable speed. In the blink of an eye, it was 3,000 meters away, whereupon it reformed into Dao-

Heaven, who coughed up a mouthful of blood and stared hatefully at Naruto.

Dao-Heaven's heart trembled. He had been defeated in this fight, and had even been forced to waste a life.

Naruto stared coldly at Dao-Heaven off in the distance. Declining to give chase, he hovered in midair for a moment before spinning and waving his sleeve as he turned to face Han Qinglei. Han Qinglei immediately stopped in place, and began to tremble and back up. Considering that Naruto was staring right at him, he didn't dare to get any closer.

His heart was filled with intense fear. Without Dao-Heaven pinning Naruto down, he knew that he was no match whatsoever. Although he knew he had one life left to spare, if he did die, considering Naruto's shocking desire to kill, he would likely have little chance to escape with his final life.

In fact, if Dao-Heaven hadn't been there to attack Naruto just now, Han Qinglei would already have been killed multiple times. He would be truly dead, with no lives left to save him. Now, he had no other choice than to flee at top speed.

As far as Lin Cong was concerned, his blood-colored Underworld Realm was in the middle of rumbling down toward Naruto. Naruto snorted coldly, then quickly took seven steps forward. His energy surged, and he waved his finger toward the Underworld Realm.

The Yellow Springs instantly collapsed, and the Fengdu Ghost City was destroyed. The entire magical technique dissipated, and Lin Cong coughed up a mouthful of blood. Body withering rapidly, he fell into retreat.

In the exact moment that he fled, the space he had just occupied collapsed with a boom. If he hadn't fled when he had, he would have died.

Furthermore… he had already been killed once by Naruto in the first battle. Couple that with another life he had wasted on previous occasion, if he died here… then he would be truly dead.

Naruto's eyes flashed as he prepared to give chase.

Off in the distance, the Emperor performed a double-handed incantation gesture and waved a finger toward Lin Cong. Immediately, Windswept Realm Chakra flow descended, enveloping Lin Cong, upon whose face a look of shock appeared. However, without any hesitation, he accepted the gift, then clenched his jaw and unleashed crackling lightning to block Naruto.

Naruto eyed the Emperor coldly. He could sense the Chakra flow bolstering Lin Cong, and as such, decided not to attack him. Instead, he turned and waved his hand toward the temple.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

More cracks spread out across the surface of the temple, and it began to teeter on the verge of collapse. From the look of it, the supreme World Essence hidden inside was now on the verge of breaking out.

At the moment, Lin Cong didn't dare to continue fighting Naruto. Han Qinglei had long since lost his nerve. As for Dao-Heaven, he had regained clarity from the state of grief he had experienced after losing his Paragon magic. Now he knew that he… was now no match for Naruto.

Unless he had help from some outside force, he would only end up losing a second life.

Outside the central temple, Naruto continued to attack, emanating an aura of supreme power.

The temple was on the verge of collapse, as if it might explode at any moment. The Emperor's face flickered; despite having lost both eyes, he was still able to see the current state of the temple.

"We're not in position yet! We still need a bit of time. Zong Wuya, stop

Naruto! Buy us one hundred breaths of time, that's all we need!"

Zong Wuya sighed softly, then suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was outside the temple, very close to Naruto. His hand clenched into a fist, and the power of his cultivation base erupted as he unleashed a blow to interfere with Naruto.

"Zong Wuya!" said Naruto, turning to look at him with a complex expression. He actually had no desire to fight with the man.

"Fight me. There's no avoiding it," Zong Wuya replied coolly. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, and his aura exploded out. Even stronger was the sensation of Chakra and blood which emanated out from him. Everyone present could feel the power, even Dao-Heaven, whose face fell.

Zong Wuya began to stride forward, right hand unleashing the LifeExtermination Fist, then the Self-Immolation Fist, and then the GodSlaying Fist!

RUUUUMMMMBLE! He only took three steps, but the energy unleashed by the three fist strikes that came with those steps was enough to shock any Echelon cultivator. In fact, from the perspective of Dao-Heaven and the others, Zong Wuya was not a bit weaker than Naruto!

"He's at the peak of the Ancient Realm…. A single step and he could step into the Dao!"

"After stepping into the Dao, success would place him in the Dao Realm.

Failure… would make him Quasi-Dao!"

Everyone was shaken. As for Naruto, his expression was a complex one. He suddenly attacked, also unleashing three fist strikes, the exact same ones as Zong Wuya. Life-Extermination! Self-Immolation! GodSlaying!

Shocking booms echoed out as the two of them fought in the air above the temple.

Moments ago….

"Naruto, you asked me before what I would do if the true Dao I believe in is false…." Zong Wuya said. As the first fist strike was exchanged between them, a huge boom rang out, and they both fell back, faces ashen. Without stopping, they attacked again.

"I'm a cultivator, and I seek truth. I seek the Heavens that exists outside of the Heavens, and what I seek is simply an explanation for everything!" Zong Wuya laughed, but Naruto remained silent. The second fist strike, Self-Immolation, caused blood to ooze out of their mouths, and rumbling to echo out. Once again, they both fell back, only to charge forward again.

"I am Zong Wuya from the Ninth Mountain and Sea. I did not become lost in the riches, or the power, or any of the other desires of the Windswept Realm. It's just that… when it came to the true Dao… I couldn't refuse the chance to know the truth!

"I want to see… what exactly this true Dao is. On this path that I pursue, what I fear is not defeat. What I fear is not getting an answer!" Zong Wuya was laughing as their God-Slaying Fists slammed into each other. Booms filled the air and everything shook violently. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as he was shoved backward.

Zong Wuya also coughed up blood and was forced back. His laughter grew clearer and brighter, filled with all of his obsession.

"I, Zong Wuya, have lived a quiet and unassuming life. However, the Heavens can bear witness that I have sought after the Dao. To those who search for the Dao, who live in the morning and die in the evening, death means nothing. I shall search for the Dao! 1

"If I am right in the end, then I will have no regrets in this life. If I am wrong, I will equally be without regret. However, there is one thing that I can't give up on, and I must ask for your assistance to accomplish it." He laughed loudly, lifting up his right hand and looking piercingly at Naruto.

"Naruto, since you are my Junior Brother, one who has mastered all three fists just as I have, then I shall now pass on my fourth fist strike to you!

"I am Zong Wuya, and this fourth fist was invented by me. It is my… Fist of Dao Searching!" As Zong Wuya spoke, his aura changed again. The air around him twisted, and he suddenly seemed to grow larger, so big that he could shake Heaven and Earth.

An invisible wind sprang up that swept across everything, causing the whole world to tremble.

Fan Dong'er and the other cultivators from the Ninth Sea were shocked.

As soon as they heard Naruto say 'Zong Wuya,' and then heard what Zong Wuya said to Naruto, they immediately recalled the name they had heard about in the sect.

"That's… the famous and resplendent Elder Brother Zong Wuya!" Fan Dong'er muttered, staring with wide eyes.

This passage about living in the morning and dying in the evening comes from actual Daoist philosophy. Similar things were mentioned by

Ke Yunhai in chapter 597 and the parrot in chapter 631 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1145

Chapter 1145: When There's Tasty Bait, the Fishes Bite!

As Naruto and Zong Wuya fought, the Windswept Realm continued to rise up through the void, getting ever closer to that invisible border.

The depression in the huge net grew more and more obvious; it was as if some huge, invisible hand were pushing hard into the net. In the deepest recesses of the depression, lightning crackled back and forth with increasing intensity.

Further off in the distance, the battle between the Windswept Imperial Lord and Paragon Sea Dream seemed to be heading toward a critical juncture. Sea Dream was a Paragon of past times, and had long ago sustained injuries which still hadn't recovered, but was no pushover when going up against the Windswept Imperial Lord. In fact, the

Windswept Imperial Lord's defenses were slowly starting to crumble.

Paragon Sea Dream's attacks caused the void to vibrate, and caused the figures behind the huge net to view the situation soberly.

"1,500,000 meters still left to go…." a voice said, murky and archaic. Currently, the Windswept Realm was moving 30,000 meters in every breath of time. It rumbled up at incredible speed, causing a sea of flames to burst out along its borders.

From a distance, it looked like a shooting star, moving relentlessly up toward the huge net, and the 33 Heavens.

1,200,000 meters!

900,000 meters!

600,000 meters!

Back inside the Windswept Realm, Zong Wuya was racing forward, his right hand filled with the power of the fourth fist strike that he had created. He was like a long streak of light that shot forward directly toward Naruto.

Naruto had a serious expression on his face. He could sense Zong Wuya's obsession within that fist strike, and could also sense his sentiments about pursuing the Dao.

"Even if their body dies, they must still pursue the true Dao…. for them, it's all in search of the Dao!

"Even if that search lasts only for a fleeting moment, even if those who search for the Dao are born in the morning and die in the evening…." Naruto murmured. As he watched Zong Wuya closing in, he realized that this fist… was something that he couldn't fight back against.

It wasn't that his cultivation base was insufficient. Instead, it was a matter of willpower, because what he was up against was not Zong Wuya's cultivation base, but rather… his heart, which was completely focused on searching for the Dao.

If a heart like that could be defeated, then Zong Wuya wouldn't be so obsessed with the true Dao.

Naruto sighed softly. After all, he didn't believe in the supposed true Dao of the Outside world. He took a deep breath as the starstone in his left eye melted, covering his body. Instantly, the One Thought Stellar Transformation was unleashed, and Naruto transformed into a planet. Rumbling sounds could be heard as he shot toward Zong Wuya.

"That fist contains your will and your thoughts. I can't defeat it, but, I

can still fight YOU!" Naruto's voice echoed out as he transformed into a planet, and then shot toward Zong Wuya like a meteor.

The two of them flew through the air and collided.

"What does it matter if I die while searching for the Dao!?" Zong Wuya threw his head back and laughed, slamming his fist into planet-form Naruto. Everything around them trembled and shook, and a massive wind sprung up that filled the entire Windswept Realm. The sea of flames caused by the friction of the Realm's flight up into the sky grew even more intense, filling the sky, turning the whole Realm into a world of fire.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto's starstone began to crack, and he was pushed backward. Eventually, the planet exploded, and Naruto became visible, retreating backward, blood spraying out of his mouth. He looked up at Zong Wuya with a complicated expression on his face.

Zong Wuya stood back in his original position, without having coughed up so much as a drop of blood. However, his right hand suddenly transformed into ash and then… vanished. And yet, he didn't seem to mind. He looked up at the flames filling the sky, and the gleam of obsession could be seen in his eyes, as well as hope.

The Windswept Realm was now getting even closer to the huge net. It was now only 300,000 meters away!

270,000 meters!

210,000 meters!

150,000 meters!

90,000 meters!

The lands of the Windswept Realm were beginning to crack and shatter; rivers dried up, and the sky was a mass of burning flames. Just beyond the flames, Naruto could make out that huge net off in the void, beyond which was the murkiness, and the shocking figures that waited there.

Apparently… there was no way to prevent the Windswept Realm from leaving!

30,000 meters!

In the blink of an eye, the Windswept Realm was closer than 30,000 meters. However, it was at this point that the entire Realm suddenly jerked to a halt, as if it had just run into some invisible barrier. A boom rattled out, and the lands seemed to be on the verge of complete collapse. Naruto and the others couldn't prevent themselves from coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

At that distance of 30,000 meters from the net, the Windswept Realm was suddenly stopped, and seemed incapable of making it through the final stretch!

It was at this point that the Emperor's voice rang out with anticipation and fanaticism.

"Living beings of the Windswept Realm, over countless years, you have lamented, hated, and struggled. Helpless, you have spilled your own blood and delivered forth your souls.

"Now, I call on you to return. Souls of the Windswept Realm, use my blood as the path, enter my orifices and become my spirit! COME!" His voice seemed to contain some sort of bizarre power that, as he spoke, caused blackened blood to ooze out of his eyes and ears. He began to shake violently as massive amounts of blood oozed out of all the pores in his body.

His Imperial robes quickly became robes of blood!

Even as the blood soaked him, the earth shook, the sky cracked, and the mountains shook. The dried up rivers quivered, and even the wind and flames trembled.

The entire Realm suddenly began to sway as numerous souls floated up. They bored out of the mountains, the rivers, the sky, and the flames. They came from all parts of the Windswept Realm, souls boring out of every location.

There were too many to count, and they converged from all locations, flying together into that single blood-colored vortex!

They seemed endless, infinite, and each one fairly burst with obsession, fervor, and anticipation. They poured into the vortex, which began to spin, erupting with endless soul power that then powered the vortex!

The vortex spun rapidly. Since the Windswept Realm itself couldn't push itself that last 30,000 meters, then … the souls of the life forms which had died there throughout the countless years would pay the price to make it happen.

They would make up for that little bit of lacking power!

Naruto was inwardly shaken as he saw the congregated souls form into a tempest. The vortex spun rapidly, causing the Windswept Realm to tremble, and then begin to push through the final 30,000 meters.

24,000 meters. 15,000 meters! 9,000 meters!

"33 Heavens!" cried the deaf and blind Emperor. His divine sense had long since wasted to nothing. He was like a candle on the verge of flickering out. By this point, it didn't matter if the Windswept Realm succeeded or failed, he would die!

Of course, he didn't care about that. As he said, he didn't care if people called him a sinner or a saint. His actions were not for the Imperial Lord, but rather… for the Windswept Realm as a whole!

"I convinced the Imperial Lord to make a move, and you people still don't trust me!?

"Well it doesn't matter whether you believe me or not. I will offer up the

Windswept Realm's only World Essence. I beg of you, please… open the door!" The Emperor was trembling as he raised both hands into the air. A boom could be heard as his arms exploded, sending blood spraying out in all directions. At the same time, the already cracked and ruined temple suddenly exploded into bits!

It was as if a cage had been opened, allowing that imprisoned supreme World Essence to suddenly explode out. It was a beam of light that looked very similar to the Windswept Chakra flow, except more radiant, filled with a bright will.

The light shot up into the sky, leaving the Windswept Realm, spanning the 9,000-meter distance and slamming into the huge net.

In that instant, the net trembled, and suddenly shone with brilliant, resplendent light. Countless lightning bolts danced, and massive roaring sounds echoed out. Massive pressure built up over the entire net, which blocked the invading World Essence from entering.

The Emperor threw his head back and laugh maniacally, whereupon his legs exploded into bits.

"Echelon cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, you have benefited from the Chakra flow and Essences of the Windswept Realm, which I bestowed upon you. Now… it is time for you to pay back what you owe!" Even as the Emperor's sinister and bizarre words rang out, his chest exploded, and a crystal ball flew out!

As soon as the crystal ball appeared, the three souls inside burst out. One of them was the 10th Echelon cultivator, Hai Dongqing. The other was boyish Hong Bin. The third was someone who Dao-Heaven instantly recognized; it was the Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain, the one he had killed!

Three Echelon cultivators, whose souls everyone had presumed to be dead. All of a sudden, however, their souls appeared here!

Naruto was shocked, and Dao-Heaven could barely believe his eyes.

As for Yuwen Jian, when he saw Hong Bin's soul, his eyes instantly became shot with blood.

However, before anyone could take any action, ten beams of light suddenly shot out from the glowing pillar that was the World Essence!

Those ten beams of light resembled chains, and they shot forth with incredible speed and power. In fact, there was nothing anyone could do to block them as three of the chains instantly latched onto Hong Bin and the other two souls.

They immediately began to tremble and let out miserable shrieks. Flickering light emanated out from them as their Daos, their life forces, everything about them, were shackled tight and began to be absorbed.

Naruto and the others were shocked. In the blink of an eye, the rest of the chains flew down toward the other Echelon cultivators. Lin Cong and Han Qinglei were incapable of even dodging, and were instantly bound up. Yuwen Jian and the young Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain were similarly caught. Dao-Heaven roared and tried to start fighting, but was incapable of doing anything other than being tied up.

Even Naruto was caught, despite doing his best to evade.

Rumbling filled the air as all of the Echelon cultivators who had taken the bait laid out by the Emperor were instantly shackled. Then, the World Essence began to suck away at them to bolster the shining light!

Screams that didn't even sound like they came from human mouths instantly filled the air. These were Echelon cultivators, but they couldn't even control their voices; they were no longer Chosen, they were now… power sources to strengthen the World Essence!

The Emperor's scheme had finally come to fruition. After all… when there's tasty bait, the fishes bite!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1146

Chapter 1146: What Makes You Think I'll Give Them To You!?

The supreme World Essence was a pillar of light that shot up from the rubble of the central temple to slam into the huge net up above, causing increasingly intense ripples to spread out.

Of the ten chains spreading out from the pillar of light, nine had completely bound the Echelon cultivators inside of them, who let out bloodcurdling screams. The other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm looked on with expressions of shock. Massive waves of astonishment surged through their hearts, and they scarcely dared to believe their eyes.

These were Echelon cultivators, blazing suns of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Any one of them occupied a position far above Chosen, and you could even say that they were Lords of their generation. Eventually, they would grow into the future leaders of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

They were so powerful that they could fight with cultivators of the Senior generation. Even the weakest of their number could look down arrogantly at all Heaven and Earth, and that wasn't even to mention the stunning forerunners like Naruto and Dao-Heaven.

But now… they were chained up, even Dao-Heaven, who trembled and screamed. He had no desire to cry out, and yet couldn't stop himself. He had gained enlightenment of 3,000 great Daos, and now he was experiencing something that felt like Soulsearching. A massive suction force was being exerted on his mind, absorbing him through the chain to feed the World Essence's pillar of light.

However, there were a total of ten chains stretching out from the pillar of light, which meant that there was still one final chain which hadn't latched onto anything, as if it couldn't find its target.

The Emperor was laughing maniacally; his legs had exploded, and he had already lost his arm. Blood flowed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. However, it was at this point that, all of a sudden, an intense light suddenly began to shine out from his forehead: the glow of an Echelon mark!

In the moment that the Echelon mark appeared, the final chain sped through the air like a snake to wrap around him.

Unexpectedly, he was the final person to be absorbed!

His face twisted as incredible pain surged through his body. However, he didn't scream; instead, he just continued to laugh uproariously, laughter filled with obsession and madness. All the surrounding onlookers were completely shocked.

Only Zong Wuya seemed unmoved, and stood there silent and taciturn. He looked up into the void, at the huge net that seemed to be on the verge of being pierced through by the World Essence light.

By this point, the lands of the Windswept Realm were only 3,000 meters away from the net!

Rumbling filled the void as the figures behind the huge net looked on with glittering eyes. Even at this point, they still weren't ready to make any rash decisions. They continued to watch the fierce battle taking place between Paragon Sea Dream and the Windswept Imperial Lord. No matter how they analyzed it, it truly appeared as if neither party was holding back. Paragon Sea Dream was clearly weak, and still had not recovered from her old injuries. Despite that… the watching figures still hadn't emerged from behind the net to attack.

Caution. That was what these rebels from the 33 Heavens had come to view as the driving principle they would stick to after having sacrificed countless amounts of shed blood to gain their freedom!

The figures behind the huge net looked on as the Windswept Realm's World Essence light continued to absorb power from the ten Echelon cultivators, which included the Emperor. As a result, the pillar of light began to glow with even more scintillating brightness. At the same time, a huge black hole began to form within the giant net!

That black hole was like a vortex that spun endlessly and crackled with numerous bolts of lightning. Rumbling sounds filled the air as a teleportation portal formed!

Dao-Heaven was shaking, his screams growing more intense. It was the same with everyone else, including the souls of Hai Dongqing, Hong Bin, and the other Echelon cultivator. Those three should have died already, but the Emperor had used the power of the Windswept Realm to somehow capture and collect their souls.

A boom could be heard as Hai Dongqing was the first to give out. His soul exploded into bits of ash, all of which were sucked up into the chain, which then retracted back inside the pillar of light. The light grew even more intense, and the rumbling black hole in the giant net grew larger.

The next to go was the Echelon cultivator from the Second Mountain. After that was Hong Bin. Both souls exploded and faded away, after which the chains that had bound them retracted into the pillar of light. As more time went by, the other Echelon cultivators were gradually losing their ability to endure.

Blood oozed out of Dao-Heaven's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Lin Cong and Han Qinglei were incredibly withered, as was Yuwen Jian. The worst off was the young Echelon cultivator from the Fifth Mountain. His previously pudgy frame was now little more than a sack of bones. He was trembling violently, and his eyes were blank, as if his soul had already been sucked away.

A moment later, a boom could be heard as he exploded. There was no bloody mist that could be re-formed. He was completely dead, his life gone and sucked away by the chain.

With the death of each Echelon cultivator, the Daos of the Windswept Realm which they had acquired were absorbed by the pillar of light. When none of those 3,000 great Daos were left, then the result would be what happened starting with Hai Dongqing: complete and utter death!

Naruto had a vicious expression on his face. The power of the chain was not as terrifying to him as it was to the others. In fact, he was the one exception among the Echelon cultivators, the only one who wasn't screaming!

And yet, his Essences and life force were still being absorbed!

2,999 Essences!

2,998 Essences!

2,997 Essences!

The chain sucked away his understanding of the 3,000 great Daos, but it wasn't an easy task. It could only suck away one Dao at a time, the reason being… that everyone else had gotten their Daos with the help of the Emperor's Windswept Realm Chakra flow. However, his came with the help of the Echelon Heart. Because of the Echelon Heart, it was as if he himself was the Chakra flow, and had taken its place!

Although his earliest World Seal had come with a blessing of the Windswept Realm's Chakra flow, at that time… the Windswept Realm hadn't been fundamentally changed, and was still operating as normal!

Therefore, Naruto had essentially not taken much, if any, of the

Emperor's bait. If he had taken some in, it was only during his

acquisition of the final 300 great Daos. And even so, it had been accomplished on his own, and not with the assistance of the Emperor's Chakra flow.

And that was what gave him a chance to free himself from the chain!

Yuwen Jian was in the same situation. Although his screams were real, the chain was clearly not absorbing him in the same way that it was with the others.

Naruto looked up, his expression fierce. "I gained enlightenment of these Daos myself! What makes you think I'll give them to you!?"

Then he threw his head back and roared. His body trembled as his cultivation base exploded with power, his own power, which he used to fight against the chain and the World Essence light.

"What's mine is mine, and definitely not yours!" he roared, and rumbling sounds filled his body. The chain erupted with brilliant light, and all of a sudden, it seemed that Naruto might be able to break free.

The other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm gasped in response. Also watching were the figures in the void beyond the huge net, especially the giant three-headed six-armed figure, whose eyes shone with intense killing intent.

"Perhaps these 3,000 great Daos are part of the Windswept Realm, but… in the moment I gained enlightenment of them, they fused into my heart. They… are my Daos!" Intense vibrations wracked his body, and cracking sounds could be heard as the chain shook. As of this point, it seemed incapable of absorbing anything from Naruto.

Not only could it not absorb anything from him, what it had already absorbed suddenly began to flow backward and merge back into him! Naruto began to glow with azure light, in completely awe-inspiring fashion.

2,995 Essences!

2,996!

2,997!

Naruto roared as boundless azure light shone off of him, a representation of the power of an Allheaven Immortal. Power erupted off of him, causing Heaven and Earth to shake violently. From the look of it, the chain was just about to break!

This development caused Zong Wuya to inhale sharply; the Emperor was also shaking, and he turned his sightless eyes in Naruto's direction. Although he wasn't extremely shocked, his expression was extremely dark. He suddenly looked up at the figures out in the void, and began to chuckle bitterly.

"At this point, you people… still don't trust me?!

"The sole World Essence has been unleashed, all you need to do is activate the teleportation portal, and the Windswept Realm… can join you, and leave the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"We've already done everything that we can do. Our 3,000 great Daos have been utilized, our only World Essence has become a pillar of light! We've sacrificed the Echelon cultivators, and coalesced the willpower of all living things here. How come… you just won't trust us!? What do we have to do to get you to trust us?!"

In response to the Emperor's voice, the figures behind the black hole in the huge net looked on silently. Various conflicted expressions could be seen on their faces; some were hesitant, and some were smiling coldly.

Even if the black hole had appeared, and even if the teleportation portal had opened, if they weren't willing… the Windswept Realm could not ascend!

Unless they were completely and absolutely convinced, it didn't matter that Paragon Sea Dream was weak; they still weren't willing to make a move, and wouldn't dare to activate the teleportation portal.

Unfortunately… they didn't want the Windswept Realm!

By this point, azure light swirled thick around Naruto. The chain was vibrating rapidly as he rapidly regained all of his 3,000 great Daos.

2,998 Essences!

2,999 Essences!

3,000 Essences!

In that moment, he raised both hands into the air and stretched them apart. Massive, shocking rumbling sounds echoed out as the chain suddenly collapsed into pieces and exploded!

As the pieces faded away, Naruto took a step forward, completely freeing himself from the absorbing power of the World Essence light!

Without the slightest hesitation, he shot toward Yuwen Jian, extended his right hand, and then grabbed onto the chain that was binding him.

"Break!"

BOOM!

The chain shook for a moment as if it were about to collapse. Yuwen Jian excitedly rotated his cultivation base, joining forces with Naruto. The two worked together and, moments later, the entire chain shattered!

"Many thanks to you, Naruto!" Yuwen Jian said, voice filled with joy. Even as he spoke, Naruto was speeding toward Dao-Heaven.

"Don't thank me. Come on, let's save everyone!" At this critical juncture, Naruto's choice was not to simply sit around and let the other Echelon cultivators die. He planned to save them!

"Save everyone?" Yuwen Jian asked, staring in shock.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1147

Chapter 1147: Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao

The words were still coming out of Naruto's mouth as he shot toward Dao-Heaven, whose face was twisted ferociously as his body withered up. He was the second most powerful next to Naruto, but he still had to struggle to lift his head up. When he did, he stared at Naruto, a conflicted expression in his eyes.

He watched as Naruto approached, grabbed ahold of the chain that bound him and shook it violently, causing a huge tremor to run through it. It seemed like it was already on the verge of exploding.

"Dao-Heaven, help me out here!" Naruto growled with a frown.

"Why are you saving me?" Dao-Heaven asked, feeling completely shaken, and initially holding back from cooperating. He was withering rapidly, and his Daos were being sucked away, and yet to him, his pride and dignity were more important than those things.

Naruto looked at Dao-Heaven and calmly said, "One day when I reach the pinnacle of everything, I don't want to look back and find myself alone. More important than that, all of us… are from the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

His words caused Dao-Heaven to tremble and stare in shock. Then he closed his eyes for a moment, after which his cultivation base exploded with power. He and Naruto worked together to completely shatter the chain.

After Dao-Heaven was freed, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he looked over at Naruto with an even more conflicted expression than before.

Dao-Heaven was completely stunned by Naruto's decision. He would never have imagined that Naruto would save him for such reasons.

"Is it really true that, despite all the competition and fighting, in the end, we're… on the same team?" he murmured. Finally, he threw his head back and laughed. Then he looked back at Naruto with the same complex look in his eyes. However, there was something else there, deep inside, something that had never before existed inside of him…. Admiration!

In Dao-Heaven's entire life, he had never admired anyone, not even Paragon Sea Dream. In his heart, she was simply an expert who was vastly more powerful than him. If there was anyone he could possibly have considered himself to admire, it might have been the statue inside of his Paragon Painting. But now Naruto was there in his heart, someone that he truly admired.

He couldn't help but wonder if he would have made the decision to save everyone, were he in Naruto's position. In the end, he wasn't sure.

Suddenly Dao-Heaven turned into a blur as he, along with Naruto and Yuwen Jian, quickly set about saving everyone else. Lin Cong looked even more conflicted than Dao-Heaven had. When he saw Naruto coming to shatter the chain that bound him, he thought back to everything that had happened between them, and couldn't help feeling a bit guilty.

In truth, there had never been any enmity between the two of them to begin with.

"Thank you," he said gruffly. There were few people in his life to whom he had ever uttered the words 'thank you.'

Han Qinglei was equally conflicted.

"I owe him a life!" he murmured inwardly as he watched the chain shattering. He didn't say anything, but inwardly, he realized that killing people was easy, but saving them was difficult!

That difficulty lay within the heart, within a person's capacity for righteousness. It had to do with one's mental state!

Fundamentally speaking, there were no irreconcilable differences between him and Naruto. The only thing that truly existed between them was competition. However, because no limitations had been placed on that competition, it had escalated to a deadly level.

As Naruto went about saving everyone, surprisingly, the Emperor did nothing to interfere. Zong Wuya also stood there silently. By the time Naruto had released everyone from the chains, the lands of the Windswept Realm were only 300 meters away from the huge net!

In fact… it was so close it seemed possible to reach out and touch it!

Furthermore… when Naruto looked up into the black hole, he could see a blurry figure with three heads and six arms. As soon as he laid eyes on it, his heart trembled.

"It was you who killed my son!" a voice raged. The three-headed sixarmed being glared at Naruto from behind the huge net.

Naruto's eyes glittered coldly, but he didn't say anything. DaoHeaven and the others were arrayed behind him. Whether they were willing to admit it or not, as of this moment, Naruto was their leader.

At the same time, the black hole formed by the solitary World Essence light was getting bigger. However, it wasn't nearly big enough to swallow up the entire Windswept Realm.

The Emperor laughed, a shrill laughter filled with decisiveness and madness. At the same time, his obsession deepened.

"My mission in life has been to lead the Windswept Realm away from the Mountain and Sea Realm and into freedom. I will give freedom to all coming generations of the Windswept Realm….

"I have sacrificed everything for that goal, and because of that, I can also give up everything. This was my mission, and my dream….

"Immortals and Devils of the 33 Heavens, you can choose to distrust me, and you can distrust the blood and souls of the lives of the Windswept Realm. You can distrust the Immortals and you can distrust everyone. But there is one thing that you people… must trust!" The Emperor's murmured words were intermixed with bitter laughter. He suddenly bit down on his tongue, which exploded, creating a chain reaction that destroyed his entire body.

The only thing which was left was his soul, which began to chant:

"Great sacrifice….

"Soul oath….

"With my soul, I henceforth rebel against the Immortal World!

"With my blood, I henceforth leave the Immortal World!

"With my will, I henceforth defy the Immortal World!

"Henceforth, the Windswept Realm's wind, snow, sky, land, mountains, rivers, vegetation, and all other living things… defect from the Immortal World!" As the Emperor spoke those words, the Windswept Realm began to vibrate. The rivers turned black, the mountains turned black, and the land turned black.

The wind howled, the snow roared, the land thundered, the mountains howled, the living things and even the vegetation cried out loudly!

All of the cultivators in the Nine Nations of the Windswept Realm dropped to their knees to kowtow, then lifted their heads up and reiterated the words just spoken by the Emperor.

"Henceforth, we… defect from the Immortal World!"

The wind turned black, the snow turned black, the land turned black, the vegetation withered, and at the same time, a black mark appeared on the foreheads of all of the cultivators.

It was… the mark of a traitorous rebel!

All living things began to speak out the desires of their souls, even the mortals. As they kowtowed, their voices rang out, backed by the power of their blood: "Henceforth, we… defect from the Immortal World!

Black marks appeared on the foreheads of all living things. The cities turned black, as did all other objects within the Windswept Realm. All things… turned pitch black!

Black sky, black lands, black wind, black snow, pitch black upon pitch black….

The Windswept Realm was now completely different on a fundamental level. Deep inside, they became traitorous rebels, which immediately had an effect on the Windswept Realm's 3,000 great Daos. Those Daos, natural laws, and Essences all became traitorous and rebellious!

The entire will of the Windswept Realm was traitorous and rebellious!

The final thing to be affected was the sole World Essence light, which suddenly turned pitch black!

As soon as the black pillar of light became visible, Naruto, DaoHeaven, and the other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm felt astonishment shaking their hearts. When they looked around them, they saw a world of pitch darkness!

Gradually, an archaic voice could be heard echoing out within the Windswept Realm. That voice seemed to come from the wind, lightning, snow, sky, land, vegetation, and all living things.

"Traitorous Sutra of…

"The Rebel Dao…."

That voice was actually the will of the entire Windswept Realm!

As soon as the voice rang out, the black beam of light pierced through the huge net, causing the black hole to expand even larger. As of this moment, the figures behind the huge net were powerless to do anything about what was happening. Their expressions flickered, and a fanatical greed appeared in their eyes.

"That's…."

"The Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao! Formed from a World Essence… it's the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao!"

As the voices chorused out, the Emperor continued to speak from his soul, his own voice weak, yet ringing with the sound of obsession.

"33 Heavens, do you… trust us now?!"

A thunderous voice replied from the black hole, echoing filling the entire Windswept Realm. "We trust the Windswept Realm! The combined will of the entire Windswept Realm has formed the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. Now… we trust you!"

At the same time, the black hole began to rapidly increase in size.

In the blink of an eye, it was large enough to swallow up the entire Windswept Realm. This black hole was a one-way teleportation portal, making it possible for the Windswept Realm to enter the 33 Heavens, but preventing the figures from the 33 Heavens from doing anything except wait in excitement for the Windswept Realm to arrive.

The voice continued to speak out from within the black hole, and it trembled with hope and indescribable excitement.

"Windswept Realm, come… bring your… Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao and offer it up to us!

"We promise to make the Windswept Realm the 34th Heaven, and together, we will eternally suppress the Immortal World. Together, we can all enjoy the blessings of the true Dao!"

Simultaneously, the Windswept Realm rumbled as it got closer and closer to the black hole!

Naruto shivered and began to breathe heavily. His eyes shone with a bright light as he stared at the black pillar of light. He wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but the complete rebellion of the Windswept Realm had caused the precious World Essence to change, becoming the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. In response… all of the blood in his body began to boil!

He suddenly thought back to what the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan had said after he had absorbed the Nirvana Fruit. He had spoken of a mystery regarding the bloodline of the Namikaze Clan! 1

Because of the critical danger he was in, there was no time to ponder the subject at the moment. However, the mere fact that his blood felt like it was burning caused Naruto to recall that there was some secret related to the Namikaze Clan bloodline. He wasn't sure what it was, but the sensation he was experiencing now caused him to be filled with an incredible thirst!

He thirsted… for that Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao!

It was as if it were something of great importance to Naruto, and even more importantly… to the Namikaze Clan as a whole!

Furthermore, the third Nirvana Fruit in his bag of holding was vibrating strongly, and he had the feeling that if he could get that Sutra, then he… would be able to fully absorb the Nirvana Fruit!

From that moment on, he would exceed the Allheaven Immortal and become… an Allheaven Dao Immortal!

Furthermore, buried deep in the Namikaze Clan blood was something like the key to a great door. Once opened… the future of the Namikaze Clan would be one of splendor and glory!

The first generation Patriach talked about the Namikaze Clan bloodline in chapter 1005 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1148

Chapter 1148 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1148: You Killed My Son, Prepare To Die!

Naruto's eyes were bright red. Although the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao filled him with an intense, indescribable thirst… he had no way to get it!

He was incapable of flying, and it wasn't just him. Dao-Heaven and the other Echelon cultivators, as well as everyone else from the Mountain and Sea Realm, were all similarly stuck. The Windswept Realm was now completely different than before, and all of them were feeling an incredible force of expulsion that made it almost impossible for them to move.

Naruto let out a growling shout. He wanted to charge forth, to grab that black beam of light, and thus, the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. Unfortunately, he couldn't.

All he could do was look at the huge net out in the void, and the rapidly expanding black hole into which the Windswept Realm was slowly moving.

There was nothing he could do to stop what was happening, nor any way for him to get the Sutra. In fact, outside of the Windswept Realm, Paragon Sea Dream trembled. She was no longer fighting the Windswept Imperial Lord. He had turned, blood spurting out of various wounds as he fled toward the Windswept Realm. Then, he flew under it and pushed up.

Rumbling could be heard as more of the Windswept Realm was almost completely swallowed up by the black hole!

Paragon Sea Dream sighed, and then waved a finger through the air.

Immediately, a white stream of light flew out toward the Windswept Realm. It stabbed through the blackness of the Windswept Realm and then split apart, eventually landing on Naruto and all the other cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm. It even spread out through the Nine Nations to find the cultivators who hadn't participated in the war.

One of those beams of light shot into a valley in the Ninth Nation, where a young woman currently sat ashen-faced, sweat dripping down her forehead. From the look of it, she was at a critical juncture in her cultivation, but was being interrupted by the expulsion pressure from the Windswept Realm. As a result, she was incapable of moving. That woman was none other than… Sakura!

Sakura had originally been with Naruto on the Ninth Nation's National Aura Mountain. However, after being freed from his bag of holding, she had chosen not to stay on the mountain. As soon as Naruto begun to contemplate enlightenment of the World Seal, she had quietly left.

She had her pride, and it wouldn't let her stick around with Naruto like someone who needed protection. Thus, she had departed.

Eventually, she had found a valley in the mountains of the Ninth Nation where she quietly began to meditate and attempt to achieve a cultivation base breakthrough, to finally ascend from the Spirit Realm into the Immortal Realm.

And now, the white light from Paragon Sea Dream flew down and covered her.

Suddenly, Paragon Sea Dream's voice echoed in their ears: "All of you, listen to me. Your trials by fire are over. Your excursion into the

Windswept Realm has concluded. Nothing can be done to change how things are playing out. Someone went so far as to use the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao to leave the Immortal World…. The 3,000 Lower Realms of the past did exactly the same thing.

"Oh well, I guess that's the end of it…." By the end, Paragon Sea Dream was muttering softly and sounded very disheartened. She made a grasping gesture, and all of the people who were touched by her light began to rise up into the air. Apparently, she was pulling them out of the Windswept Realm before it entered the 33 Heavens, and was going to return everyone to the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Fan Dong'er and the others were the first to fly up into the air, followed by Lin Cong, Han Qinglei, Yuwen Jian and Dao-Heaven.

Then there was Naruto. He slowly rose up into the air, and was soon on the verge of being pulled out of the Windswept Realm altogether. However, his gaze was fixed on the black beam of light, which was just about to fully enter the black hole. At that point, the thirst inside him turned ravenous.

"The Windswept Realm excursion… is over…? My blood is boiling! The

Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao can help me fuse my third Nirvana Fruit, and it's right there in front of me. Is it really… not connected to me by destiny?" Naruto couldn't accept it, and yet had no other options. The expulsion power of the Windswept Realm was too strong, and the pillar of light was actually the source of that power. It was pushing him away so forcefully that he couldn't even approach it.

Furthermore, Paragon Sea Dream was pulling him inexorably away, placing him further and further away from the black pillar of light.

He roared inwardly, his eyes bloodshot as he unleashed all of the power of his cultivation base. Azure light surged out, and blood spurted out of his wounds. Cracking sounds could be heard as injuries were inflicted, all to prevent himself from getting any further away.

However, it was too hard, and he couldn't quite manage to take a step forward toward the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao.

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, Dao-Heaven roared, " Uzumaki

Hao… let me help you!"

He was also being slowly pulled away by Paragon Sea Dream, but when he saw the look on Naruto's face, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing his cultivation base to erupt with power. He even burned some of his life force as he waved his finger toward Naruto, causing an intangible force to slam into him. It was an attack that propelled Naruto forward, blood spraying out of his mouth. Instantly, he flew forward several dozen meters, pushing him a bit closer to the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao.

"Naruto, I'm gonna help you too!" shouted Lin Cong.

"Me too!" cried Han Qinglei.

"Brother Naruto, let me help you too!" Yuwen Jian cried.

Lin Cong threw his head back and roared, waving his hand and causing his cultivation base to ignite. The Underworld appeared, transforming into a force of acceleration that slammed into Naruto. Han Qinglei coughed up a mouthful of blood, sustaining a serious injury to summon green lightning; not deadly lightning, but packed with plenty of force.

Yuwen Jian roared as he grew larger, filling himself with Godly power that he used to unleash ten punches in Naruto's direction. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, but for Naruto, he was willing to do this.

The combined forces of all three Echelon cultivators transformed into an incredible accelerative force that landed on Naruto. A boom rang out as he turned into a beam of light that shot directly toward the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. However… when he was only about thirty meters away, he slowly came to a stop, and could move no further. Once again, Paragon Sea Dream's convergence beam began to pull him back. "I refuse to accept this!" he roared. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and yet, there was nothing he could do.

It was at this point that Sakura appeared in the air above the Ninth Nation, floating up in Sea Dream's light. She instantly caught sight of Naruto, and heard his defiant roar.

Her heart trembled, and she gasped. Then, she bit down on the tip of her tongue and spat out some blood. Gazing deeply at Naruto, she waved her hand, causing a crimson medicinal pill to fly out from within her bag of holding. Without the slightest hesitation, she popped it into her mouth.

She instantly began to tremble, and was soaked with sweat. Her cultivation base erupted with power, and she held nothing back. Blood spurted out, forming a haze around her, and she didn't hesitate for a moment. She was going to… break through to the Immortal Realm and summon the Door of Immortality!

This was the only idea she could think of, and her way of trying to help Naruto. Although trying to break through to the Immortal Realm here and now was fraught with innumerable uncertainties, and probably mortal danger, Sakura didn't worry about any of that.

Her Cultivation base surged as she rapidly grew closer to the Immortal Realm. She wanted to summon the Door of Immortality because its arrival brought with it a boundless power of Heaven and Earth. Perhaps… that power could change the power of expulsion from the Windswept Realm.

It might, it might not. But as long as it held the slightest possibility of being able to help Naruto, Sakura wouldn't hesitate. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and rumbling filled her body. She felt like she was about to explode.

Her face was pale white, but she continued on with her plan, grunting as her Chakra passageways shattered. The incredible pressure weighing down on her from the world itself was making her breakthrough even harder.

And yet, she did not give up. It didn't matter that she had already flown past him, and that he hadn't even turned to look at her. She continued on.

Once. Twice. Three times….

Just when she was about to depart completely from the Windswept

Realm, massive amounts of blood sprayed out from inside her body. Heaven and Earth trembled, and even the black hole out in the void vibrated. Ripples could even be seen on the huge net.

It was at this point that… an enormous, archaic Door of Immortality began to descend from within the void. It flew down toward the Windswept Realm, slamming… right into the black hole!

Clouds and mist appeared, which roiled out in all directions. The archaic Door of Immortality exuded indescribable pressure, a pressure filled with a will of its own and the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm. As it descended, the upward movement of the Windswept Realm suddenly ceased.

Simultaneously, the expulsion power from the Windswept Realm trembled, as if it were terrified of the pressure from the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Behind the huge net and the black hole, the congregated figures began shouting in rage. Just when the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao appeared in front of them, all of a sudden something unexpected happened. "NO!"

"DAMMIT!"

"I can't believe someone is making a breakthrough right now, and summoning the Door of Immortality!"

Some of them could hold back no longer. They unleashed divine abilities and shot into the black hole in an attempt to do something about the Door of Immortality. The Door of Immortality rumbled and distorted.

The expulsion force trembled and ceased operating, giving Naruto a hard-won chance. He suddenly shot forward, looking like a figure of blood as he crossed the final thirty meters. When he reached the light that was the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, his blood vessels were boiling madly.

A smile broke out on Sakura's face. She was now very weak, and although the Door of Immortality was present, she didn't have the power to open it. However, she had no regrets.

"See Naruto, I can be of help to you!" she murmured.

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, in the same moment that the majestic Door of Immortality appeared, it almost immediately began to grow indistinct. Apparently, because Sakura couldn't sustain her current state, because of the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao itself, and because of the actions of the figures inside the black hole, the Door of Immortality faded away in the blink of an eye.

The moment that happened, the expulsion power of the Windswept Realm once again rose up with intensity. At that point, Naruto's hand was only a few inches away from the light of the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao!

It was almost within his reach!

And yet, it was as far away as the Heavens!

Naruto could move forward no further. In fact, because of the expulsion power, he was actually slowly being pushed back. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, it was at this point that a huge hand suddenly appeared from within the black hole. It was ancient, covered with scales, and bursting with incredible might. It instantly began to reach toward Naruto, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.

It belonged to none other than the three-headed six-armed figure. He didn't dare to actually descend fully. However, he couldn't hold back from trying to kill Naruto, so he stretched out his arm in a deadly attack!

"You killed my son, prepare to die!" he roared, his voice filled with a murderous aura as it echoed out. Everything shook, and the Windswept Realm was filled with violent vibrations.

Chapter 1148: You Killed My Son, Prepare To Die!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1149

Chapter 1149: An Arrow Rocks the Heavens!

Naruto's face fell. It wouldn't be impossible to extricate himself from this dangerous situation. After all, he merely had to give up on the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, and then utilize the full power of his cultivation base to cooperate with Paragon Sea Dream. In that case, he would be gone within moments.

Unfortunately, the price to pay for such an action would be that he would forever lose the chance to get the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. Furthermore, it would also be a waste of all the assistance provided by Dao-Heaven and the others, as well as Sakura's sacrifice.

Those were all things that Naruto couldn't accept!

After all, rewards came only with risk. Without the willingness to go allout, it would be difficult to ever acquire any sort of good fortune that other people couldn't!

Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot. In this critical moment, he clenched his jaw and, instead of falling back or giving up, he extended his hand, within which, shockingly, appeared… his third Nirvana Fruit, glittering and mysterious!

Without a moment's pause, he pushed it down into his forehead. It was absorbed immediately, whereupon rumbling sounds filled him, along with a shocking, explosive power.

The terrifying intensity of the eruption caused Naruto to instantly emanate a wild, Quasi-Dao aura, which immediately distorted everything, causing the entire area to twist and ripple.

His body trembled, and blood immediately began to ooze out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His sole Immortal meridian appeared to have been wiped away, turning his insides into a black hole that began to absorb all auras in the area. Natural laws and Essences all roared toward him.

It was as if he were suddenly ravenously hungry. The sensation was difficult to endure; he felt as hungry as if he hadn't eaten for thousands of years. He immediately wanted to consume all life, and all the energy in Heaven and Earth.

Naruto's face went pale; this was his first time absorbing the third Nirvana Fruit, and he had never imagined that it would be like this, that he would be filled with an intense and unendurable hunger. His body trembled and, as if because of the hunger itself, began to wither.

In the same moment, his 33 Heavens also collapsed, transforming into countless fragments that spun through his body. The end result was that he began to emanate a sensation like that of the Dao Realm.

It was… the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm!

He trembled violently, and blood spurted out everywhere. Forcing himself into the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm was actually far too much of a burden!

However, within that intense hunger, he also sensed unprecedented power, a power the likes of which was… only half a step away from that of a Dao Realm expert, and comparable to that of a Quasi-Dao Paragon!

Naruto's eyes began to glow with a strange light, and his breathing grew ragged. Resplendent azure light shone off of him in all directions, as if he were a wellspring of azure. The sensation of the Dao erupted off of him, causing wild colors to flash and everything to shake, including the entirety of the Windswept Realm.

When the members of the Echelon, and the other cultivators being pulled away by Paragon Sea Dream, saw what was happening, their eyes went wide and they began to pant, especially Dao-Heaven. They looked on in a daze as these momentously shocking events occurred.

"So before… wasn't his most powerful state!"

"I can't believe… he's so strong!" Lin Cong, Han Qinglei and Yuwen Jian were all astonished.

Blood oozed out of Sakura's mouth as she watched Naruto. Her gaze was gentle, and her smile continued to grow wider.

All of a sudden, more of the figures beyond the huge net began to turn their attention to Naruto. There were even some who, when they saw the azure light surrounding him, and realized what it meant, began to cry out in shock.

"Allheaven Dao Immortal!"

However, even as they realized that Naruto was in the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm, the gigantic three-headed six-armed figure let out a cold snort. Instead of pausing or slowing down, it moved its hand faster toward Naruto.

"You overestimate yourself!" he said with cold disregard. It was as if to him, Naruto was nothing more than an ant, and that he was someone vastly more powerful, someone capable of crushing him instantly. His hand made a grasping motion, causing the void to shatter. It was as if the entire area around Naruto was about to collapse, burying him in death within the hand.

As the hand rumbled toward him, it was obvious that he could not dodge or resist it. His eyes began to glow with a bright light, and he threw his back and laughed. He could already tell that it wouldn't be possible to stay in this state for very long; at the most, a few breaths of time.

Within those few breaths of time, he would not be able to do anything significant to the hand stretching out from the black hole. However, his intention was not to personally do something to it.

Naruto didn't feel the slightest fear or dread going up against the massively destructive palm and the pressure it exuded. His pupils shrank as, all of a sudden, he used the power of the third Nirvana Fruit to activate the drop of Paragon Nine Seals' blood that was inside of him!

That Paragon's blood had not only helped him absorb his first Nirvana

Fruit in the critical moment, it had also merged into his body, making his Demon Sealing Hexing Magic more powerful than before. Furthermore, he had received the ultimate honor of… Paragon Nine Seals' approval!

Most importantly, because of that approval, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm had been shaken, and Naruto… had become the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Stimulating Paragon Nine Seals' blood was exactly what Naruto wanted to do. In this critical moment in which he refused to give up on the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, it was the only thing he could think of to do!

"I'm the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, the final generation of the League of Demon Sealers!

"I am Paragon Nine Seals' successor!

"I am the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"In the future, I will control the fate of the entire Mountain and Sea

Realm, as well as… everything within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Sun and moon, it doesn't matter whether you used to be Nine Seals' eyes, or former magical items of his. As of this moment, I call upon the authority of my name to order you… to sever this rebel's arm!" These words were roared inwardly, not spoken out loud. However, in the moment that he stimulated the Paragon's blood inside of him, a connection seemed to form between it and the Mountain and Sea Realm.

It was like a passageway linking the words of his heart into all of the Mountains and all of the Seas in the Realm. He was… connected to the very will of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

He was using his own name to call upon the Mountain and Sea Realm… to control it!

It seemed like an insane plan, but Naruto knew that given the situation at hand, in order to become more powerful, if he didn't do something crazy, he wouldn't succeed!

He threw his head back and roared, stretching both hands out wide as he made his mental call. At the same time, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly trembled slightly. The nine Mountains swayed and the nine Seas roared. The Xuanwu turtles on top of each Mountain threw their heads up and howled.

It was as if the entire Mountain and Sea Realm had been hit with massive waves!

The ripples were detectable by Paragon Sea Dream, as well as the figures in the huge net's black hole and the Windswept Imperial Lord. All of their faces flickered in response.

Even more shocking to everyone was that that sun and the moon that normally orbited around the nine Mountains and Seas, suddenly stopped in place. At the same time, an indescribably murderous aura exploded out from them.

As it did, the sun and moon began to shine with resplendent light, and it was gradually possible to see that within the sun… there was a sword. However, that sword rapidly changed shape into a bow! 1

"Hey… what's going on?!"

"Dammit, you can't just stick your hand into the Mountain and Sea

Realm! You incited the killing will of Nine Seals' precious treasure!"

"Impossible, how could a mere arm provoke such a reaction from Nine Seals' precious treasure? It shouldn't even be close to the threshold that sets it off!"

As everyone looked on in astonishment, the three-headed six-armed figure's eyes went wide, and he experienced an intense sensation of danger. However, instead of pulling his hand back, he gritted his teeth and sent it even more quickly toward Naruto, wrapping it around him as if to crush him to death!

"DIE!" In almost the exact same moment in which he spoke, the light shining from the sun suddenly retracted. The bow automatically pulled taut, causing countless beams of light to be sucked into it. A moment later, the bow was loosened, causing an arrow of light to shoot forth at top speed!

The light arrow moved with incomprehensible speed that exceeded even the Dao Realm. In the space of a single breath, it moved from its position far, far away in the Mountains and Seas, piercing through the void, shaking the Heavens, to appear right outside the Windswept Realm.

It moved faster than lightning, causing a sonic boom to echo out that left the figures in the black hole ashen-faced.

Blood oozed out of the mouth of the Windswept Imperial Lord as the light arrow shot toward the huge hand which was threatening Naruto.

The hand was just starting to clench shut, but before it could even touch Naruto, the arrow arrived and slashed through it.

A boom rattled out as the gigantic hand was completely destroyed. It couldn't stand up to the light arrow at all; it was like little more than a rotten branch which instantly shattered to tiny pieces which then became ash. However, the effect didn't stop there. It spread out and, unbelievably… pierced into the black hole. To the horror of the enormous three-headed figure, who was now five-armed and fleeing at top speed, the light continued on into his body.

"NO! Paragon, spare me! Paragon…." The huge figure let out a miserable scream that ended in a grunt as its body exploded, transforming into nothing more than ash.

The entire world was shocked!

That three-headed six-armed individual was something like an Imperial Lord within the 33 Heavens. A powerful figure like that was destroyed by a mere arrow of light, crushed like a dried weed, eradicated from existence. It didn't matter that he was lurking hidden within the black hole; he still met with a fate of complete eradication.

The other figures inside the black hole began to tremble violently. Expressions of terror and astonishment filled their faces, and they almost couldn't believe what was happening. It was almost as if they were thinking about someone from the past, some terrifying figure who haunted their thoughts!

Even as everyone was shaken by the arrow, Naruto's eyes glittered, and he shot forward toward the light of the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. In the blink of an eye, his hand had stretched out, and made contact with the light!

BOOM!

The sword in the sun was mentioned in chapter 1056. Some of you might remember the confusion about whether it was a sword or a bow.

Now you know why. ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1150

Chapter 1150 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1150: Allheaven Namikaze Clan!

When the arrow of light appeared, an arm was destroyed, and then an entire enormous entity was exterminated. Those things caused the light of the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao to grow unstable. It was being interfered with, including by the powerful Door of Immortality. As a result, the power of expulsion coming from the pillar of light temporarily ceased.

Naruto used that moment to finally reach his hand out and sink it into the pillar of light that was the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. Almost as soon as his hand entered the light, Paragon Sea Dream's convergence beam grew a bit stronger.

The intensity was something that no observer would be able to detect, but Naruto could feel it, and it caused his eyes to flicker, although he didn't say anything out loud.

The light pulling at him grew more intense. However, it was in that same moment that, because of the effects of the arrow, Naruto had a moment to finally stretch out and touch the pillar of light in front of him! "Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, you belong to me!" he roared, his eyes shining with a bright light as he plunged his hand into the pillar of light.

Shocking rumbling filled the air and everything was shaking. In response to what was happening, the figures inside the black hole began to let out enraged shouts.

"NO!"

"That doesn't belong to you! Dammit! Let go!"

"That belongs to the 33 Heavens!"

Each and every one of the furious shouts rumbled like thunder, causing Naruto to shake, and blood to spray out of his mouth. Despite the rage of the figures inside the black hole, none of them dared to emerge from inside. What had happened moments ago with the arrow had frightened any and all courage out of them!

All they could do was use their roars of fury to batter Naruto. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, but he was in the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm, and thus, he fought back. His hand didn't stop moving, and as soon as it entered the pillar of light, he made a grasping motion as he took hold of the actual Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao.

In that moment, the blood in his body began to boil even more furiously, as though there were something inside of it that was awakening. Rumbling sounds completely filled Naruto's entire mind.

His body roared as the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao was absorbed into him through his right hand.

As that happened, the pillar of light began to weaken. At the same time, the blood inside of him was completely aboil. Cracking sounds echoed about inside of him, like peals of thunder.

Suddenly, an ancient voice rang out, filled with boundless dignity, a voice that seemed to have existed within Naruto's blood itself all along. However, it was only in this moment, because of the absorption of the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, that the voice began to speak. It was as if its words echoed out from the most ancient of times to appear in the modern age.

"Nine ancient surnames; The source of the primeval; Lords of the majestic expanse; The boundless Heaven and Earth… in this era… of the Nine Allheaven Clans, the Namikaze Clan has taken the lead and tracked down their Essence. In all members of that bloodline, Nirvanic Rebirth exists, and the Chakra s are opened!"

Almost in the same moment that the voice rang out inside Naruto's mind, all of the blood in his body seemed to break down. The Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao then merged into each and every blood cell inside of him, ensuring that every drop of blood thrummed with the same bloodline power!

In that exact same moment, back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, on Planet South Heaven, Naruto's father was currently sitting cross-legged in a Tower of Tang, carrying out his pledge and mission of standing guard over Planet South Heaven.

All of a sudden, a tremor ran through him, and his eyes snapped open. A gleam of shock and confusion ran through him as the blood in his veins apparently began to burn. Gradually, an azure light began to rise up from within him. That azure light was none other than… the light of an Allheaven Immortal!

Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions. Namikaze Minato's cultivation base was at the peak of the Ancient Realm, and as of this moment, it was erupting with power. Heaven and Earth flashed with colors, but after a moment, everything settled down. He did not make a cultivation base breakthrough. However, inside of his body, an azure-colored Dao seed had appeared!

That Dao seed was none other than an Allheaven Dao seed. If he cultivated it, then he would be able to tread the Allheaven path, and would eventually become an Allheaven Immortal!

Namikaze Minato's eyes opened again, his heart trembled, and his face flickered. He was still a bit confused, and couldn't figure out exactly what was happening.

He wasn't the only one experiencing such a thing. In the Emperor Immortal Sect, Naruto's sister Namikaze Yu was currently sitting in secluded meditation. Suddenly, azure light began to glow as an Allheaven Dao seed formed inside of her!

A shockwave blasted out, causing the bald Sun Hai, who was just outside her secluded meditation chamber jabbering on about his love for her, to let out a surprised shout. He was hit as if with a powerful attack, sending him tumbling away, blood spraying from his mouth.

In the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory, everyone with Namikaze Clan blood in their veins all experienced something similar, causing the glow of azure light to fill Planet East Victory. Namikaze Wei was surrounded by an azure glow, as was the Grand Elder. The Namikaze Clan's Dao Realm Patriarchs, and all other members of the Namikaze Clan, experienced an intangible transformation. It was just as the voice in Naruto's mind had said. Because of the Nirvanic Rebirth, the Chakra s were opened!

The Namikaze Clan was the first Allheaven Clan!

Wind screamed through the entire Nine Mountains and Seas. As of this moment, the matter was set… the Namikaze Clan was certain to rise to prominence. With enough time, they would even be able to rock Lord Ji. Furthermore, if even more time passed, the voice of the Namikaze Clan would become the most supreme in the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea, and they would absolutely become the most important clan.

That was because, the Namikaze Clan was now… an Allheaven Clan!

Meanwhile, Naruto was there in the Windswept Realm, rumbling sounds emanating out from him. The third Nirvana Fruit in his forehead did not emerge from within him. Instead, it was madly absorbing the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao and fusing it into Naruto.

He was shaking violently, filled with so much force that it seemed like he might explode. Simultaneously, the entire Namikaze Clan was changing. However, unlike all the other members of the Namikaze Clan, Naruto was not forming an Allheaven Dao seed.

He… had no Dao seed!

That was because the bloodline had been opened due to him. The Chakra s had been unleashed because of his name. As of this moment, from a bloodline perspective, Naruto had exceeded the first generation Patriarch!

He was now the one true patriarch of the Allheaven Namikaze Clan!

Perhaps his cultivation base wasn't high enough at the moment, and he didn't have sufficient status. However, because of the strength of his bloodline… he was the Patriarch!

The bloodlines of everyone in the Namikaze Clan had been awakened because of Naruto. Furthermore, all members of the Namikaze Clan now had Allheaven Dao seeds inside of them. Essentially, that was because of the influence of Naruto's blood. He was the source of it all!

Furthermore… Naruto could even sense the blood of all members of the Namikaze Clan in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Even more shocking was that, the best way to prove that he really was the Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan, was that he could actually control the life or death of all members of the Namikaze Clan!

He could kill any member of the Namikaze Clan with a single thought. His will reigned supreme over everything. That was a power that came from being an Allheaven Dao Immortal, as well as the Clan Chief of an Allheaven Clan. He had the ultimate power of life and death!

All of this takes quite some time to describe, but occurred in a very short period of time. It took only an instant for the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao to be absorbed and then fade away, having been completely sucked into Naruto's hand.

The Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao was now a part of Naruto, a key which had unlocked his bloodline and then disseminated that power to all members of the Namikaze Clan, allowing them to acquire Dao seeds.

At the same time, the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao allowed him to absorb his third Nirvana Fruit, a fusion which was completely different from what had happened with his previous two Nirvana Fruits. Furthermore, the fusion process would take time.

It could take several months for Naruto to fully and truly… be an Allheaven Dao Immortal!

In the Mountain and Sea Realm, he would be the one and only… Allheaven Dao Immortal!

He would be a powerful expert on a similar level as Quasi-Dao cultivators. He could even fight with Dao Realm experts. From ancient times until now, that was the ultimate peak of the Immortal Realm!

In the moment that the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao vanished, Naruto fell back. Paragon Sea Dream's convergence beam pulled at him, wrenching him backward. As he turned his head, he could see that everyone else had long since left the Windswept Realm.

Even Sakura had been pulled away by Paragon Sea Dream.

When he saw Sakura off in the distance, his heart filled with conflicted emotions. Without the help of Dao-Heaven and the other Echelon cultivators, as well as Sakura's Door of Immortality, he would never have come even close to getting the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao.

His feelings for Sakura grew even more complicated, and he sighed.

Of all the people from the Mountain and Sea Realm, Naruto was the last to leave the Windswept Realm. Just as he was about to leave it completely, he looked back at the soul of the Emperor, and saw him smiling faintly. It was almost as if he didn't care that Naruto had taken the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao.

Then he saw the Windswept Imperial Lord, who had a complicated expression on his face.

Finally, he looked at Zong Wuya, standing there in the central temple region. Zong Wuya was looking up at him, an expression of anticipation on his face. Naruto could also sense his focus, as if Zong Wuya could almost feel himself experiencing the true Dao.

The black hole in the huge net had long since opened up fully. Despite the fact that there was no Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, the Windswept Realm's path was not hindered. If anything… the mere existence of the Sutra guaranteed that the Windswept Realm would have a place outside the Mountain and Sea Realm, regardless of whether or not Naruto took it.

Now that the Windswept Realm was gone, perhaps it would become the 34th Heaven, and perhaps not. It was really impossible to tell at this point.

In any case, to the living beings of the Windswept Realm, this counted as a success. They had finally… escaped the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Boundless rumbling sounds echoed out into the void as Naruto flew over the border. Then he watched as the lands were slowly swallowed up into the black hole.

Thunder and wind raged, and then the black hole gradually began to shrink. It disappeared, and the huge net began to fade away amidst crackling thunder and lightning. At that point, Naruto could just barely see numerous figures on the other side of the net. All of them stared at him, as well as at Paragon Sea Dream. After a moment, they vanished.

Soon, the huge net was gone, and the only thing visible… was pitch black.

The Windswept Realm was gone….

As for whether or not Zong Wuya would find the true Dao that he was looking for, Naruto had no way to know. However, he was very certain that one day, he would personally visit each and every world in the 33 Heavens!

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	11. Chapter 11

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1151

Chapter 1151 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1151: Questioning Sea Dream!

The Windswept Realm was gone, no longer a part of the Mountain and Sea Realm. It had departed for all eternity!

Naruto looked out into the void, and a profound gleam gradually rose up in his eyes. Then he turned his head as Paragon Sea Dream's convergence light pulled him over to the rest of the group, which was congregated outside of her Immortal's cave.

No one spoke to each other. They watched the Windswept Realm vanish, and then looked on as the void returned to its placid, normal state. There was not a calm heart to be found in the entire lot. Everything that had happened in connection to the Windswept Realm had left deep impressions on them.

They had started out fighting and killing each other, and had ended up working together. When they thought back to everything they had experienced, they sighed ruefully.

Thinking back, their so-called enmities and grudges from before now seemed insignificant.

Lin Cong felt that way, as did Han Qinglei. Even Dao-Heaven felt exactly the same.

As for Yuwen Jian, he had originally come to hate Dao-Heaven because of the death of Hong Bin. However, after seeing Hong Bin's soul, he understood that Hong Bin's true killer was the Emperor.

They stood there thoughtfully, the events that had just occurred playing out in their minds. Those things were not matters which could be easily forgotten; they were now branded into their souls. After all, they had just witnessed something completely unheard of: an outright rebellion!

Nothing like this had happened in the Mountain and Sea Realm for countless years. However, all the people present had just gone through that very experience. In fact, had Paragon Sea Dream not used her convergence beam just now, all of them would have been taken along with the Windswept Realm to the 33 Heavens….

The Echelon cultivators were able to wrap their minds around the events better than the others. After all, their understanding of matters regarding the Mountain and Sea Realm exceeded that of ordinary cultivators. However, the other cultivators present were shaken to the core.

Heavens existed beyond what they imagined could exist. Any person who came to know about such a thing would definitely be struck by massive waves of astonishment.

Naruto turned away from the void to look at Sakura. She looked away, and even backed up a few steps, acting as if she had no desire to have any contact with him. He stood there silently for a moment, until all of a sudden, footsteps could be heard from within the Immortal's cave. A woman walked out, and that woman was not Paragon Sea Dream. It was Li Ling'er. She looked different than she had before, more elegant, as if she had cast off all mortal elements.

When she walked out, Lin Cong and the others solemnly clasped hands and bowed deeply. Even Dao-Heaven bowed. However, Fan Dong'er's and Sakura's eyes went wide, and they stared at Li Ling'er in disbelief.

Naruto didn't bow. After all, he had essentially handed Li Ling'er over to Paragon Sea Dream. How could he possibly bow to her?

Li Ling'er glared grudgingly at Naruto for a moment, then swept her gaze over the others.

"Hear Paragon Sea Dream's orders," she said coolly. "What occurred with the Windswept Realm is no business of yours. News of this matter must not be spread beyond this group. Not one scrap of news! To have been able to witness these events counts as amazing good fortune for all of you. She hopes that all of you will continue to practice cultivation and find the proper path. When all of you have entered the Ancient Realm, the time to carry out the plan will have arrived!" Then she waved her hand, and a white vortex appeared off to the side.

"Enter the vortex and you will return from whence you came!"

There were quite a few people present, including Dao-Heaven and the Echelon cultivators, as well as Fan Dong'er and the others. However… of the original group of nearly one hundred people, there were now barely over a dozen left.

All of them clasped hands toward the Immortal's cave and bowed silently. Lin Cong was the first to approach the vortex. He stopped in front of it and turned back to look at Naruto.

"Naruto," he said, his voice calm and sincere, "I'll be waiting for you in the Fourth Mountain. Xu Qing… is there too. When you come, I'll definitely challenge you to a fight. Afterward, you and I will be friends!

"When I get back to the Fourth Mountain, the first thing I'm going to do is go find Xu Qing, and tell her… that I saw you. Is there… anything you'd like me to tell her?"

"If it's not too much trouble, Elder Brother Lin," Naruto replied softly,

"please tell Xu Qing… that I haven't forgotten our agreement!" He waved his hand, causing a medicinal pill to fly out toward Lin Cong.

It was a Cosmetic Cultivation Pill.

"Please give that to her for me."

Lin Cong grabbed the pill and nodded. Then he turned, stepped into the vortex, and vanished.

Next was Han Qinglei. He looked over at Naruto with a complex expression, then shook his head, chuckling bitterly.

"You might be surnamed Uzumaki, but thankfully you aren't connected to the Uzumaki Clan from the Eighth Mountain…."

"Perhaps… I am," Naruto replied, a strange expression on his face.

Han Qinglei blinked in shock, staring back at Naruto for a moment. Finally, he sighed, unsure of what else to say. He clasped hands, then stepped into the vortex and disappeared.

After that was Yuwen Jian. He walked up to Naruto, clasped him by the shoulders, and looked him in the eyes. Naruto laughed and pulled him into a bear hug.

"Don't forget to come to the Seventh Mountain to see me," Yuwen Jian murmured. "I'll take you to the Vale of the Godgrave, where you can find… God's Blood!" Laughing, he turned and headed toward the vortex.

Just before stepping in, he shouted: "Oh, I'm taking this battle-axe with me!"

Then he jumped into the vortex and vanished, as if he were worried that Naruto would veto the idea.

Naruto stared in shock. He had completely forgotten about that battle-axe, and now that it had been brought up again, a wave of pain washed through him. However, he could do nothing but chuckle wryly.

"Naruto!" Dao-Heaven said, looking Naruto in the eyes.

"I'm happy to have come to the Windswept Realm, to have been able to bear witness to Heavens beyond what we imagined could exist. Furthermore, you have helped me to understand… that a person exists beyond what I imagined could exist.

"You wiped away my Paragon magic, and after a lot of thought, I've come to realize that the reason… is because I wasn't qualified to control it!

"In the end, you saved me. And yet, I will still challenge you to a fight one day. If you beat me, I'll challenge you a second time. If you beat me again, I'll challenge you a third time. I'll keep on challenging you forever until I defeat you!

"Also, don't think that you're really the number one cultivator in the Echelon. The Echelon originally had thirteen members. However, even including Hai Dongqing, only ten came to the Windswept Realm.

"There are another three, and they… are people you need to watch out for. Those three… are completely… terrifying!" Dao-Heaven had to pause for a moment before uttering the final word, 'terrifying'.

Considering how arrogant he was, it was obviously difficult for him to say such a thing.

Naruto stared in shock.

"Completely terrifying?"

"To be more accurate, they are not of the current generation of the Echelon…." Dao-Heaven looked over at the Immortal's cave with what seemed like fear, as if he had just realized something important. Then he looked back at Naruto, and their eyes met. Naruto could clearly see a certain helplessness in Dao-Heaven's eyes, as well as a smoldering fury. Finally, Dao-Heaven stepped into the vortex and vanished.

Fan Dong'er left, as did Bei Yu and everyone else. Sakura left too; the entire time, she avoided Naruto's gaze and wouldn't even speak a single word to him.

Finally, Naruto stood there alone. Instead of leaving, though, he turned toward the Immortal's cave.

"Paragon Sea Dream, you owe me an explanation!" His tone of voice was both awe-inspiring and icy. He had never spoken to her in such a way before. The previous two times they had met, he had been cautious and solemn. Now, though, his heart burned with fury, and therefore, the words he spoke to Paragon Sea Dream didn't contain any of the respect that they had in the past.

"How dare you!" Li Ling'er said, clearly shocked by his words. Her eyes went wide as she stared at Naruto. Despite the fact that she had just shouted, she quickly gave him a series of very meaningful looks, as if to remind him not to offend Paragon Sea Dream.

Naruto completely ignored her hints, and glared icily at the Immortal's cave.

After a long moment, Paragon Sea Dream's icy voice rang out from within the Immortal's cave. It sounded merciless and cold. "You forget your true standing. There are a lot of Chosen in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Perhaps I should get rid of you."

"Naruto," exclaimed Li Ling'er, "what makes you think you can talk to Paragon Sea Dream like that!? Apologize immediately!" She anxiously turned to the Immortal's cave and clasped hands. "Master, please calm yourself. After the drastic upheavals in the Windswept Realm, Naruto was just confused and made a slip of the tongue. Please forgive him this once."

"Consider that Ling'er has interceded, I'll ignore this matter, Naruto," Sea Dream said calmly. "However, if it happens again, then I'll strip away your Echelon mark. If you still have the gall, try to speak to me like that a third time, then I'll cut you down where you stand."

Li Ling'er breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to glare at Naruto.

She was just about to say something, when Naruto laughed. It was a loud laugh, filled with pride, and lacking the slightest tone of compromise. In fact, it even seemed domineering.

"I forgot my standing? You know full well where I stand, Paragon Sea Dream!

"You also knew exactly what was going on with the Windswept Realm. I don't mind being used, but when I get used… it better not be for free!

"Even more intolerable was that when I was trying to acquire some good fortune that was mine by right, you tried to stop me!

"Paragon Sea Dream, why exactly do you think it's unreasonable for me to ask for an explanation!?" As Naruto's voice rang out, Li Ling'er's eyes widened with shock. His words left her completely speechless.

A long moment passed in which no voice came out of the Immortal's cave. Finally, a white light began to shine as Paragon Sea Dream emerged in her white robes. As she stepped out, the void grew brighter, and a pressure radiated out that Naruto hadn't felt the previous two times they had met.

That pressure was the pressure exuded by a Paragon. It was as if a single thought from her could cause Heaven and Earth to collapse, or cause eras of time to pass. She looked coldly at Naruto and said, "You really do have some guts."

Her words caused Naruto's heart to tremble. He staggered backward several steps, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. However, azure light suddenly exploded off of him, stimulating the blood of Paragon Nine Seals inside of him. The entire Mountain and Sea Realm trembled, and the sun and moon stopped in place. In that instant, a will of slaughter seemed to lock onto Paragon Sea Dream!

"That's right, I do!" Naruto said through clenched teeth.

A tremor ran through Paragon Sea Dream, and she couldn't prevent her expression from turning serious as she looked at him.

"Well, I don't know what you're talking about," she said calmly. Off to the side, Li Ling'er's heart was pounding wildly. Although she hadn't been accompanying Paragon Sea Dream for a long time, she was well aware of how easily her temper flared. She never took time to explain herself to people, and now she had uttered this one sentence. Although it didn't seem like an explanation, the fact that she said it spoke volumes.

Naruto looked at Paragon Sea Dream for a moment, then suddenly said, "I met a young woman who called herself the successor of Immortal Ancient. Her name was Xue'er. I would very much like you to explain, Paragon Sea Dream, why… you didn't extract her from the Windswept Realm! Why did you… let her go with the Windswept Realm into the 33 Heavens!?"

Chapter 1151: Questioning Sea Dream!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1152

Chapter 1152: An Act!

Paragon Sea Dream's response to Naruto's words was an icy face. She didn't speak, and in fact, almost seemed indifferent.

"Perhaps the Door of Immortality collapsed because of the power of that black hole," Naruto said, looking calmly at Paragon Sea Dream. "However, the moment it did collapse, the power of your convergence beam definitely grew stronger." Clearly, Naruto had no intention of backing down. That was Naruto: you could use him, but you had to pay the price. He didn't do things for free!

"In fact, when I decided to go after the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, your main intention lay in obstructing my way!

"If you try to tell me that you didn't know that the rebellion was going to happen, Paragon Sea Dream, well then let me tell you, I wouldn't believe you for a second!

"Perhaps the Emperor's betrayal was real, but don't try to convince me that the Windswept Imperial Lord was also a traitor!" Naruto spoke with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron, and his eyes flashed like lightning. Even still, he carefully observed Paragon Sea Dream's expression in response to his words. Although he spoke very decisively, he actually wasn't completely confident. There had definitely been signs here and there that something strange was going on. In fact, Dao-Heaven had also picked up on them. In the moment before he left, when he looked at Naruto, both of them had understood the deeper meaning in his eyes. However, there was no hard evidence.

"Hogwash!" Paragon Sea Dream said. She extended her right hand, causing a fierce wind to pick Naruto up and carry him toward the teleportation vortex. Clearly, she meant to send him away.

As he was forced back, azure light sprang up, and his eyes glittered. His cultivation base erupted with power as he fought back. However, despite being an Allheaven Dao Immortal, when tangling with a Paragon, he was simply incapable of doing anything. As he was swept closer to the vortex, he roared and called upon the blood of Paragon Nine Seals. The Mountain and Sea Realm shook. The sun and moon trembled, and Naruto ground to a halt at the edge of the vortex. Even so, he was still being pushed inexorably back.

"It wasn't just me who didn't believe it all," he continued immediately. "Even the 33 Heavens probably didn't believe. That's why, from beginning to end, they just sat around watching. Not a single one of them made a move.

"It wasn't until the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao appeared that they got excited. That was when they started getting greedy. Considering their cultivation bases and how intelligent they are, the Windswept Realm will surely be put under strict oversight." However, Paragon Sea Dream had already turned to head back into her Immortal's cave. It was as if she was certain the flick of her sleeve would send Naruto into the vortex and away from this place, as if it were completely impossible for him to remain behind.

She saw him inching closer and closer to the vortex, and could sense the teleportation power building up. Naruto's eyes flashed with determination.

"Battle Weapon!" he said, smacking his bag of holding and causing the copper mirror to fly out. Although the copper mirror seemed completely ordinary, as soon as it appeared, Naruto rotated his cultivation base, causing azure light to stream into the mirror. Instantly, the mirror… began to melt!

It became a bronze liquid which then began to flow out to cover Naruto's hand. 1 Seemingly sentient, the liquid continued to expand until it reached his elbow. In the blink of an eye, his entire forearm and hand transformed into a meter-long blade!

It was bronze, and radiated an archaic air, as if it had existed for countless years. Gradually, it began to emanate starlight, almost like a gem, as if it were the most important object in the world!

The surface of the blade was as shiny as a mirror, and shone with icy light that seemed capable of slicing through all living things. It also emanated an air of incredible mystery.

An indescribable aura erupted from his forearm, a subtle aura that caused the teleportation vortex to emit cracking sounds, as if it were icing over and couldn't operate.

All of the natural law and Essence in the nearby void was shattered. Invisible ripples began to emanate out, with the sharp blade being at the center. It was if wherever the ripples passed, the void was still the void, and yet, was also no longer the void!

The strangeness of what was happening caused Paragon Sea Dream to suddenly stop mid-turn. A tremor ran through her, and she turned back to look at Naruto's right forearm. Her face flickered through several emotions.

"Allheaven Dao Immortal," she murmured. "So you've already reached the point of activating the second state!" Her words caused Naruto's eyes to flicker imperceptibly, although, he had long since come to suspect that she actually knew about the copper mirror.

Li Ling'er's eyes were wide as saucers, and she slowly began to back up.

The sharp blade on Naruto's right arm filled her with shock. It was

like looking at countless stars falling from the sky, and at the same time, hearing innumerable voices roaring angrily in her ears.

Naruto's right forearm had transformed into a sharp blade, with nine serrations that looked like waves. It was a shocking sight, a blade that essentially had nine tips!

This was the second state of Naruto's copper mirror, the Battle Weapon!

As the parrot had said before, once Naruto reached the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm, he could cause the copper mirror to reach its second state. Now Naruto had reached exactly that stage, although the fusion with his third Nirvana Fruit was only fifty percent complete, not one hundred percent!

An explosive sensation radiated out from Naruto's right hand, something almost beyond his control. He began to pant as he suddenly realized that it now felt possible for him to slash open the 33 Heavens!

It was a feeling of intense and shocking power, a feeling that caused him to tremble, and made him feel like he was about to lose control. He forced himself away from the vortex, and then, the Battle Weapon vanished, transforming once again into a copper mirror which came to rest on Naruto's hand.

He knew that although he could now turn the copper mirror into a Battle Weapon, he was still incapable of unleashing a single strike from the blade. Perhaps… that would only happen when he was equipped with the full power of the Allheaven Dao Immortal. Maybe then he would be qualified to wield the blade!

Perhaps swinging that blade would completely drain his cultivation base. However, a single swipe would definitely cause all the Heavens to lose their light, and would eradicate all life. It would shatter natural laws and crush Essences.

Naruto almost couldn't wait for that time. Panting, he waved his

hand, sending the copper mirror away and looking at Paragon Sea Dream, who wore a complex, confused expression.

Paragon Sea Dream had been staring at the copper mirror, and after he put it away, she continued to stand there silently.

Naruto took a deep breath. Eyes shining brightly, he once again spoke: "Paragon Sea Dream, I hadn't finished speaking yet. Now that the Windswept Realm has entered the 33 Heavens, the person who will be most suspect is the Windswept Imperial Lord. In fact, I'm afraid he will lose any and all freedom. To him, having the Windswept Realm become the 34th Heaven is… a huge gamble!

"In fact, it seems almost a certainty that the gambit will fail. And yet, he still went through with it!

"And that's because the entire thing was an act!

"Presumably, the reason you didn't bring Xue'er back is because she is your ace in the hole!"

Paragon Sea Dream watched the copper mirror vanish, then looked at

Naruto with a strange, complex expression. A long moment passed. Finally, she said, "Well then, why do you think I would have done all those things?" This was the first time she directly responded to his questions!

Naruto's eyes narrowed slightly and he took a deep breath.

"The reason for your actions, Paragon Sea Dream, most likely has something to do with the plan you mentioned. I am quite confident that the Windswept Realm, and Xue'er, have been sent off for one purpose and one purpose only!

"To create a teleportation portal!"

After a moment of silence, Paragon Sea Dream said, "You are both right and wrong."

She gave no indication as to which part of what he had said was correct, and which was not. However, despite the fact that she had only responded with a single sentence, it still went to show that Naruto had forced her to provide an explanation.

She could not ignore Naruto's existence. Regardless of whether it was because of his status as Nine Seals' successor, or because he was the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, or because… the Battle Weapon had appeared. All of those things caused her to look at Naruto with a profound gleam in her eyes.

Although she didn't care much about him in terms of cultivation base, there was too much Karma on him that forced her to provide a word of explanation.

Naruto didn't ask any followup questions. He didn't actually want to know what part of what he had said was correct, and what was incorrect. Eyes glittering, he clasped hands and bowed to Paragon Sea Dream.

Clearing his throat, and also looking a bit uncomfortable and bashful, he then said, "All of that was merely speculation on my part, Senior. I was acting a bit emotionally earlier, and said some offensive things. Please don't take offense, Paragon Sea Dream. However, all of that was because I very nearly died on numerous occasions, and something like that is very difficult to deal with. Junior faced many life-or-death situations in the Windswept Realm, and each time, there were nineteen lamentations that flashed through my mind. Each time I thought of those nineteen lamentations, it felt like my heart was being stabbed by a knife. The first lamentation has to do with the fact that I haven't been able to get a piece of the Ruins of Immortality to take with me. If I had, I could have died in the Windswept Realm without any regrets." His expression now was completely different than before.

It was as if he had just traveled in a big, meandering circle, as if he had shown fury, indignation, and even allowed his energy to surge, all for this moment, all for setting up the words he had just uttered.

Paragon Sea Dream had a strange expression on her face as she said, "A piece of the Ruins of Immortality?"

Naruto cleared his throat again. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he sighed.

"Paragon Sea Dream, I would like to request that you help me with this first lamentation of mine. Every time I see the Ruins of Immortality, I can't help but consider the past magnificence of the Paragon Immortal

Realm. Then I started thinking that, if I could just have a piece of the Ruins of Immortality as a keepsake, then it would really be a big motivation in my cultivation. It would help me to progress, and to–" Before Naruto could finish speaking, Paragon Sea Dream waved her hand through the air, causing massive rumbling sounds to fill the air. At the same time, a giant rift was torn open.

That rift appeared to lead to another world.

It was one of the Ruins of Immortality. The Ruins of Immortality were huge, and were scattered throughout the Mountain and Sea Realm. Each and every part of was swathed in mystery. Right now, the piece Naruto was staring at looked almost like a continent. Suddenly, on one corner, it appeared as if an enormous hand were ripping off one section. Rumbling sounds echoed out as a 30,000-meter section of land slowly separated, and then flew toward the rift.

An ancient aura spread out, along with ripples of Time. There was also a one-of-a-kind Immortal air that caused Naruto's heart to thump with excitement!

When you combine the character azure with copper, you get the word for bronze ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1153

Chapter 1153: Too Kind-Hearted, Too Honest!

The Ruins of Immortality were crumbled remnants of the Immortal World. They were a place that even ordinary Dao Realm experts couldn't make budge, let alone carve up to take away as a keepsake. All they could do would be to look at the ruins floating there for all eternity.

Only powerful experts like the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas might be qualified to take a chunk of the Ruins of Immortality. For example, the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan had taken a piece of the Ruins of Immortality to house his mausoleum.

When Naruto saw a 30,000-meter chunk of the Ruins of Immortality floating his way, his heart began to palpitate with eagerness, and his throat went bone dry. This piece wasn't as big as the one taken by the first generation Patriarch, but it was still about thirty percent as large, which was huge.

Forgetting anything else about it, the sheer size was such that, if you used it to crush someone, the effect would be monumentally shocking.

"What a treasure!" Naruto immediately stretched out his hand to grab it.

In almost the exact same moment, as the chunk of the Ruins of

Immortality flew toward him through the void, causing everything to rumble and shake, and sending out shocking ripples, the piece began to shrink.

Naruto's eyes gleamed, and he murmured inwardly that Paragon Sea Dream really was considerate. His heart was going wild with joy. It flew down toward him, shrinking until it was the size of a hand, that then floated down toward his palm.

Then it landed, and an expression of delight appeared on his face. However, an instant later, his expression fell as he realized that he couldn't hold it. It immediately began to drop down; although it had changed in size, its weight was exactly the same as when it was 30,000 meters wide!

This was no ordinary piece of land, it was a remnant of the Immortal World! You could say that it was… a continent from the Immortal World!

A huge rumbling sound echoed out, as the incredible weight caused cracking sounds to ring out from Naruto's hand. Suddenly, the land mass fell out of his hand, spinning down into the void below. Although the void seemed bottomless, as Naruto saw the precious treasure of the Ruins of Immortality getting further and further away, his eyes became shot with blood. Without the slightest hesitation, he flew downward in pursuit.

"Just because you can't keep ahold of it doesn't mean I never gave it to you," said Paragon Sea Dream. "The land in the Ruins of Immortality is imbued with the power of the former Paragon Immortal Realm. It is inherently… a precious treasure. That part I gave you wasn't even very big, and yet it weighs about as much as… one tenth of Planet East Victory!

"Consider that your reward for what happened in the Windswept Realm. As for whether or not you can keep ahold of it, that will depend on you." As soon as her cold words entered his ears, Naruto started feeling incredibly irritated.

Li Ling'er stood next to Paragon Sea Dream, a strange expression on her face. She looked at Naruto disappearing down below, and then back at Paragon Sea Dream. After blinking a few times, she smiled, but held back from laughing.

Naruto was extremely angry, and his heart fairly dripped with blood. If that piece of the Ruins of Immortality had never belonged to him to begin with, then it wouldn't matter if it were lost. But Paragon Sea Dream had actually given it to him; the problem was that he couldn't hold onto it. Seeing it fall away into the distance felt like a knife slashing at his heart.

There was little time to consider matters carefully. Azure light sprung up around him, and he even used the Allheaven Dao Immortal power from the third Nirvana Fruit in his forehead. He shot down with incredible speed…. As he pursued the piece of the Ruins of Immortality, he transformed into an azure roc, increasing his speed until he sped down like lightning.

"Get back here! You're mine. MINE!" Naruto's eyes were bright red, and his heart was wracked with intense pain. Perhaps because of his intense, unyielding attitude, and his incredible frustration, he shot along with explosive, incredible speed that he couldn't normally match even if he were fleeing for his life. Rumbling sounds could be heard as he got closer and closer to the descending piece of the Ruins of Immortality.

As of this moment, he was completely focused on the piece of the Ruins of Immortality. Booms echoed out as he unleashed various divine abilities and Daoist magics. He went all out for the time it takes an incense stick to burn before finally catching up. Then, he stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion toward the descending piece of the Ruins of Immortality.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the descending piece of the Ruins of Immortality stopped in place. With rapid speed, and not holding back the slightest bit of power, he did the same thing over and over again. It wasn't easy, but eventually, the piece of the Ruins of Immortality transformed into a beam of light that flew into his bag of holding.

Although Paragon Sea Dream hadn't warned Naruto about how heavy it was, she had said that she would give him the piece of the Ruins of Immortality, and she wouldn't lie. Thus, although it was incredibly heavy, it had been changed by her powerful magic so that it could be stored inside his bag of holding.

Thanks to Paragon Sea Dream's magical alteration, the land mass which weighed as much as one tenth of Planet East Victory didn't weigh anything at all inside his bag of holding.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, then flew rapidly back up. Soon, he was back at his original altitude, only to find that Paragon Sea Dream was long gone. Both Li Ling'er and the Immortal's cave were nowhere to be seen, and the only thing that remained behind was her echoing voice.

"That mirror is inauspicious. It will harm its owner. It appeared first in ancient times, and now it appears again."

Other than the voice, the only thing in the area was the lone ice-bound teleportation vortex, which slowly started spinning as the ice thawed, waiting for him to enter. Naruto looked around in shock.

The Immortal's cave was gone, Li Ling'er was gone, and Paragon Sea Dream was actually… gone!

"Where are they? They left? She did this on purpose! Definitely on purpose!" From Naruto's expression, it looked like he was about to blow his top.

"I had nineteen lamentations! I, I… I only got to the first one! Paragon Sea Dream, where did you sneak off to? Huh? This is wrong, you hear me!? This is so unreasonable! It's not like I was being greedy! I only had nineteen lamentations, that's not very many!" Naruto was very depressed, and then, he was filled with regret as he realized that he hadn't spoken quickly enough. If he had known things would turn out this way, he would have mentioned all the other eighteen lamentations at the same time. That would have been the best thing to do.

"She's a Paragon, a majestic Paragon! It wasn't easy to gain this chance to ask for reasonable compensation, and in the end, she pulled a fast one!

"If I was acting super greedy, that would have been a different story, and I couldn't hold it against her for leaving. But I wasn't being greedy at all! The only thing I mentioned was nineteen lamentations! Anyone else would probably have mentioned a hundred, or even a thousand!

"Ai. The world nowadays doesn't have as many people as honest and dependable as me. That's why I end up getting bullied. These people are ridiculous! It's like they specialize in picking on honest people!" Naruto was furious, but there was nothing he could do other than let out continuous sighs of regret.

"Well, at least I was able to get some of the Ruins of Immortality. When the time comes, I'll head back to Planet East Victory and finally be able to safely take away the battle golem Stepdad Ke gave me." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto felt a bit better. However, he still couldn't stop thinking about how unfair it was for Paragon Sea Dream to bully an honest person like himself.

Frowning resentfully, he stepped into the vortex, which rumbled with the power of teleportation for a moment before he vanished. Then, the vortex slowly faded away, leaving behind not a single trace.

The matter of the Windswept Realm was now completely concluded.

Henceforth, there would be no Windswept Realm in the void of the

Mountain and Sea Realm. It had vanished for all eternity. The Nine Seas

God Worlds would no longer be able to host trials by fire in the Windswept Realm.

Only the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite and the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto retained their unique worlds.

Meanwhile, a black-robed figure was strolling thoughtfully through the starry sky in the Mountain and Sea Realm. He passed cultivators, passed Mountains and Seas, passed through the void, and yet, no one could see him. He was like a lonely soul drifting about through the Mountains and Seas….

In the moment that the Windswept Realm entered the 33 Heavens, in a location far out in the boundless starry sky, the stars in two different areas were trembling violently as two powerful forces rumbled along.

They were far, far away from the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, the exact distance away didn't matter, as they were… getting closer and closer!

Meanwhile, back near the border of the Ninth Sea of the Mountain and Sea Realm, ripples suddenly spread out. They grew more intense, gradually forming together into a vortex. Naruto stepped out and looked around. Based on the familiar sights around him, he instantly recognized the Ninth Sea.

"Finally… I'm back," he murmured. He thought back to everything that had happened in the Windswept Realm, and he sighed inwardly. Then he looked up into the void and thought about Zong Wuya.

"I wonder whether or not he found his true Dao…." he thought, shaking his head slowly. After standing there for a moment, his eyes glittered.

"The Ninth Mountain and Sea is my home. Unfortunately… I need to leave now. Xu Qing is in the Fourth Mountain and Sea, and I need to go find her, fulfill our agreement, and bring her back here!" His eyes shone with a bright light. His trip to the Windswept Realm had brought him incredible good fortune. He had fully absorbed a Nirvana Fruit, begun the process of becoming an Allheaven Dao Immortal, and gotten some important clues about Xu Qing. Along with all of that came the qualifications to leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

His path, and his world, was no longer limited to the Ninth Mountain and Sea. He would go… to see a much wider and larger world!

"I need to make my stack of promissory notes MUCH thicker!" he thought, his passion rising.

"Echelon cultivators. Chosen. It doesn't matter who. I'm going to make everyone in my generation in the Mountain and Sea Realm all owe me money! And then… I'll get to work on the older generation! I'll… get them to owe me money too!

"Then I'll have become the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm in my own style!" Naruto felt as though his ambitions were definitely set high. He had a huge task ahead of him, but he was sure that he could succeed.

Eyes shining, he flickered as he flew off into the distance.

"Ever since leaving Planet South Heaven, I haven't had a chance to go back and visit mom and dad. Plus there's my big sister…. I definitely have to go to Planet South Heaven to say bye to mom and dad before I leave.

"Planet South Heaven…. There's also the Essence of Divine Flame there. I'm definitely going to go back to challenge that place again!" Naruto shot forward at top speed, a bright streak of light that headed in the direction of Planet South Heaven.

"Besides, now that I've decided to leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea, I should go settle some debts. I have a lot of promissory notes, and now's the time to collect on them all!" Naruto was starting to feel like he was too softhearted. Whenever he saw people with no money, he would always take pity on them, and wouldn't force them to pay back what they owed him, except perhaps some interest.

"This time, no more Mr. Nice Guy!" he berated himself. "Ah, Naruto, you really are far too kind-hearted!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1154

Chapter 1154: Heavencloud Bazaar

Feeling extremely idealistic and kindhearted, and sighing at how honest and sincere he was, Naruto looked around without the slightest flush on his face. Of course, there was no one to see him. After clearing his throat again, he turned into a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.

What Naruto didn't know was that in the very instant in which he had returned to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, all of the members of the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory felt their hearts tremble. It was as if some indescribable pressure had suddenly descended upon them. Even the Dao Realm Patriarchs who were meditating awoke from their trances.

It was a tug that came from their bloodline. It was… a power that existed in Naruto's blood now that he was the true Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan, a power that caused faint and yet unmistakeable pressure within the clan members. With that power, Naruto truly controlled the fate of the Namikaze Clan!

As of now, Naruto was so powerful that it was impossible to even compare to how he was when he had first left for the Windswept Realm. He had begun to absorb his third Nirvana Fruit with the help of the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao, although the fusion wasn't complete, and would take more time.

It wouldn't take too long, though. At the least, a few months, and at the most, a year. When that time came, he would truly be in the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm. Quasi-Dao experts wouldn't faze him, and he would even be qualified to fight early Dao Realm experts!

From the creation of the Mountain and Sea Realm until this day, he was the first… to take the Immortal Realm to the ultimate pinnacle. He was the only person who, while in the Immortal Realm, could actually fight someone in the Dao Realm!

His eyes filled with anticipation, and his speed increased. Rumbling sounds surrounded him as he sped through the starry sky in the direction of Planet South Heaven.

"My third Nirvana Fruit will definitely finish fusing. Now I need to start thinking about my fourth Nirvana Fruit. When I fully absorb that one, then I'll be in a position to try to step into the Ancient Realm!

When I open the Door of the Ancient Realm and summon Soul Lamps, then both my fleshly body and my cultivation base will be in the Ancient Realm. Then… I won't just be able to fight evenly with experts of the early Dao Realm. I'll… be able to beat them!" Naruto was starting to feel more and more confident about himself, and become even more domineering.

Although he did not quite exude a natural air of dignity, this domineering confidence gave him a distinctive awe-inspiring demeanor.

His speed gradually increased as he shot through the starry sky. Back when he first started his journey among the stars, if he had tried to travel from his current location all the way back to Planet South Heaven, it would have taken far, far too long. Even using teleportation portals, it would have taken several months.

But now, even without the use of teleportation portals, it would only take about a month. However, Naruto didn't plan to do that. Naturally, using teleportation portals was the best thing to do.

Three days later, he found himself just outside of an asteroid field. Some of the asteroids were large, some were small. The largest were hundreds of thousands of meters wide, the smallest didn't even measure a few hundred meters. There were several hundred in total, all densely packed together.

Asteroid fields like this one were relatively common in the starry sky of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The asteroids tended to group together, making them very suitable, naturally-occurring locations to set up teleportation portals.

Because of that, the big asteroid fields tended to become places where cultivators did business. Usually, they were busy places with lots of people coming and going, bringing goods from near and far.

This particular location was a mid-sized bazaar. Although it wasn't very large, there was still quite a crowd of cultivators present. The most prominent sight was the central-most asteroid, the largest of the group, upon which sat a huge city which could be seen even from a great distance.

People flew in and out occasionally, and a buzz of activity could be heard inside. There was even a glowing shield, forming a defensive barrier that surrounded the entire place.

The Namikaze Clan had a teleportation portal set up on one of the asteroids, which was guarded round the clock by members of the Namikaze Clan. Clan members could use the portal for free, of course, whereas non-members had to pay a fee.

Virtually all of the asteroids had similar teleportation portals set up. The

Four Great Clans, Five Great Holy Lands, and the Three Churches and Six Sects, all had teleportation portals set up. Occasionally, the ripples of teleportation could be seen coming from those areas.

Some locations in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were controlled by various powerful organizations who restricted access; anyone who wanted to go to such places had to use one of the designated teleportation portals to do so. Such arrangements were important sources of income for many of the powerful groups in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, even the Ji Clan.

Because Planet South Heaven was such a unique and important place, virtually all of the powers had teleportation portals that went in that direction. However, considering how much Naruto hated to waste money, he would naturally choose to use the Namikaze Clan's teleportation portal.

He was just about to skirt the main bazaar and head toward the Namikaze Clan's asteroid when he glanced at the markets and, all of a sudden, his heart trembled. It was clearly a bustling place, filled with all sorts of shops. Some cultivators even had stalls set up to sell hand-crafted items.

In the brief time that he had been watching, numerous people had come and gone via teleportation portal, numbering into the thousands.

In addition to all that, there were also cultivators who patrolled the area and maintained order. They wore magenta robes, and all of them had significantly powerful cultivation bases, being stage 6 or 7 Immortals.

Magical combat was not permitted inside the bazaar. If conflicts broke out, the violators would be immediately expelled. In extreme cases, they might even be executed. Those were the rules in all bazaars like this one.

Of course, for such rules to be accepted by the general public, and to be able to enforce them, required significant power!

Neither the Four Great Clans, the Five Great Holy Lands, nor the Three

Churches and Six Sects would interfere with the interests of the bazaars. After all, most of them were occupied by extremely powerful rogue cultivators. The weakest among them would be in the late Ancient Realm, and there were even some bazaars who were occupied by Dao Realm rogue cultivators.

This particular bazaar was formally called the Heavencloud Plaza. It was controlled by an almighty peak Ancient realm expert, who was only a half-step away from the Quasi-Dao Realm. He was known as Guru Heavencloud, and everyone knew that he could easily break through to being Quasi-Dao, or even to the Dao Realm!

However, Guru Heavencloud was very wishy-washy regarding the whole matter, and didn't dare to try to break through. He knew that if he made a mistake, he would die. The end result was that Heavencloud Plaza remained a place that no one dared to offend. Even the Four Great Clans were careful not to do anything to disturb him. After all… even if he failed in his breakthrough, he would still end up as a Quasi-Dao cultivator.

If a conflict arose, and he broke through to the Dao Realm to deal with it, it would actually be an easier situation to handle. But if he failed and became a Quasi-Dao expert, his life expectancy would be very limited. With such a short time to live, he would go mad, as if he didn't fear death at all. A situation like that would be a big headache for all the major powers.

"I haven't been home for a long time," Naruto thought. "After I go back this time, who knows when the next time will be…. Dad and mom are stuck on Planet South Heaven, so I really should bring them some nice gifts…." With that, he shot toward the bazaar. As soon as he passed through the protective shield, he felt pressure weighing down on him.

At the same time, he also felt numerous streams of divine sense lock onto him. Those would be from the cultivators in the magenta robes. He could tell that if he tried to do anything untoward, they would immediately take action against him.

Of course, no matter how they analyzed Naruto with their divine sense, all they could sense was that he was in the Immortal Realm. They could detect an impenetrable aura on him which indicated that he was hiding something about himself, but cultivators possessed all sorts of magical techniques and items which made it impossible for others to tell everything about them with a simple scan of divine sense. Besides, it would be difficult for them to imagine that Naruto could possibly be a person who even their Patriarch, Guru Heavencloud, would fear.

Of course, Naruto was already quite famous in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. However, there were few people who would recognize him on sight. Most people had only seen his images on projection screens, and weren't too familiar with what he actually looked like up close.

These magenta-robed cultivators were no different. Some of them thought that he looked familiar, but none of them could place where exactly they had seen him before.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he sensed the pressure weighing down on him. If he wanted to, he could easily push back against it, and even destroy the entire shield. However, he had merely come here to buy some gifts, so there was no need to act presumptuously. Therefore, he allowed himself to be pushed down onto the ground.

As soon as he did, the gazes which had been fixed onto him vanished, to observe other incoming cultivators. They paid no more attention to Naruto.

Naruto patted his bag of holding and cleared his throat. After winning the bet with the Demonic Cultivator Horde in the Nine Seas God World, he had quite a few pieces of Immortal jade, and had unknowingly adopted the manner of a rich person. He looked around for a moment, then began to stroll around. For the most part, he knew what kind of place this bazaar was. There were various shops and auction houses, and as for the auction houses, they didn't have membership requirements; anyone could participate in the auctions.

In addition to the shops and auction houses, there were vendor stalls, which actually made up the majority of the establishments in the bazaar. Just about everything you could imagine could be found for sale.

After sizing the place up, Naruto entered one of the shops. The first thing he saw was four or five other cultivators, all of whom were accompanied by salespeople who were introducing the various magical items for sale.

As soon as he stepped in, a young woman walked up. However, before she could even speak, Naruto flicked his sleeve the way he remembered Steward Zhou used to do. Lifting his chin up, he coolly said, "Take me to your luxury goods section."

The young woman looked at him for a moment, and almost immediately began to look down on him inwardly. She had seen a lot of people like Naruto in the past, people who thought they were rich, but, once they saw how expensive things were, didn't actually buy anything.

Expression the same as before, she nodded and led him to one particular corner of the shop, where she clapped her hands, causing the wall to suddenly swirl. Moments later, a collection of dozens of unique magical items appeared.

"This one," Naruto said, pointing at a bell. Then he pointed at another item. "And this one. That one too, and that one. These seven…."

"You have a good eye, Fellow Daoist," the young woman said coolly. "Those seven items are all high-grade magical items. The total cost for them would be about 6,000,000 spirit stones. If you want to pay with Immortal jade, I can give you a bit of a discount…." She looked at Naruto, wondering whether he would dare to try to buy all seven items after hearing how expensive they were.

"Those seven… I don't want," he said calmly.

Inwardly, the young woman was chuckling coldly. Expression the same as usual, she was just about to continue speaking when Naruto said,

"But I'll take all the other ones."

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1155

Chapter 1155: Mr. Moneybags!

"Fellow Daoist, w-what did you just say?" The young woman's eyes went wide, and her heart began to thump with disbelief.

"I said those are the seven I DON'T want. The rest, I'll take." Naruto remained as cool as ever, but when he saw the look on the young woman's face, a feeling rose up in his heart that he had never felt before. He thought back to one time in Yunjie County when he had happened to walk by a shop and catch sight of Steward Zhou buying things in just the same way he was doing right now.

The expression on that salesperson's face, and his tone of voice, was exactly the same as this young woman's right now.

She was panting, and even felt a bit dizzy. Throughout all the years she had worked at his place, she had seen many, many types of cultivators. However, this was the first time she had encountered anyone like Naruto.

"S-Senior… not including those seven, there are a total of 124 magical items on display." Without even thinking about it, she began to explain further. "If you bought them with spirit stones, it would cost at least 40,000,000…. That would be about 4,000 in Immortal jade…."

Naruto lifted his chin and asked, "Well, are you selling, or not?" He currently had hundreds of millions of Immortal jades in his bag of holding, which meant that, if he wanted to, he could buy not only this collection of magical items, but actually, the entire shop, or even, the entire bazaar. He even had enough to buy the whole asteroid field.

After his escapades in the Nine Seas God World, Naruto was probably one of the richest individuals in all of the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, even that level of wealth didn't provide him with any comfort. When he thought about how much the copper mirror liked to consume spirit stones and Immortal jades, he was left with a constant feeling of anxiety.

Even still, the look on the young woman's face made him feel wonderful.

Finally, he could enjoy the life of a rich person. Waving his hand, he sent 4,000 Immortal jades flying out, where they piled up into a small mountain on the ground.

Immortal Chakra instantly swelled out, filling the entire shop, making it like a celestial paradise, complete with floating mists and clouds.

To see so much Immortal jade nearly caused the young woman's eyes to pop out of their sockets. This was the most wealth she had ever seen in one place. At the same time, the other people in the shop stared over in amazement, and even greed.

There were a few cultivators who first started trembling at the sight of the Immortal jade, then looked over at Naruto's bag of holding. Eyes glittering, they quickly scurried off.

Naruto glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, and then a slightly bashful expression appeared on his face.

"Senior, please wait a moment. Just one moment, sir. This… this exceeds my authority. Junior will go ask the shop Elder himself to come over." Panting, the saleswoman quickly edged backward. However, before she could even turn, a blast of wind flew in from the courtyard behind the shop, which quickly materialized into an old man.

He was dressed in extravagant, luxurious clothing, and had the demeanor of a transcendent being. He quickly clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"I am Shui Motian. Greetings, Fellow Daoist. Please, consider me a good friend, and allow me to throw in those seven extra items as a gift." The Elder laughed heartily, quickly performing an incantation gesture and pointing. Instantly, the invisible restrictive spells on the wall vanished, and the magical items flew over to circle around Naruto, who instantly began to radiate the aura of jewels and treasures.

Naruto glanced at the Elder and nodded slightly, then made a grasping motion, causing the items to fly over into his bag of holding.

"Shui Motian, I'll remember that name," he said, turning to leave. The Elder nearly went wild with joy at the last of Naruto's words, and he quickly followed, escorting Naruto all the way out of the shop, bowing and scraping the entire time.

To see him acting like this left all the salespeople in the shop in complete and utter shock. Although the transaction they had just witnessed involved a sum of money that was completely unheard-of, they still found it hard to believe that Elder Shui Motian, who was an Ancient Realm expert, would be so polite to a mere Immortal Realm cultivator.

The pretty young woman, who happened to be very close with Shui Motian, leaned over and whispered: "Elder Shui, if that guy easily forked over 4,000 pieces of Immortal jade, then his bag of holding must–" Before she could even finish her sentence, Shui Motian suddenly turned, eyes burning with rage as he slapped her across the face. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and she staggered backward.

"Shut your mouth!" he said icily. "Do you know who that was? If you dare to say things like that, then considering his status, he could kill you, and me, and even the whole Heavenly Ink Sect! He could even obliterate the entire Heavencloud Bazaar in the blink of an eye!" He ended with a cold harrumph.

As soon as Naruto had produced the 4,000 pieces of Immortal jade, he had been certain of his identity. Although he had felt a sense of familiarity when he had scanned him with divine sense earlier, it took him a while before he had sudden realized who he was. It was then that he decided to offer the seven magical items as gifts.

"Who… who is he?" asked the pretty young woman.

Were it any other person, Shui Motian wouldn't even answer her question. However, considering that she had attended to Naruto, he leaned over and whispered into her ear: "The Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, the only joint disciple of all of the Three Great Daoist Societies.

He's in the Immortal Realm, but can slaughter Ancient Realm experts.

That was… Naruto!"

"That was him!?" The young woman gasped, and her eyes went wide. She turned her head to look for Naruto, but he had already disappeared from sight outside.

Suddenly, the young woman seemed to think of something, and she blurted, "Oh no, this is bad! Just now, there were some customers who snuck out after seeing his Immortal jade. They're probably planning some sort of treachery!"

"Don't worry about it," said Shui Motian with a cold chuckle. "They're just digging their own graves." Shui Motian knew that considering Naruto's identity, not even Guru Heavencloud could afford to let anything bad happen.

Meanwhile, in a relatively remote location within the bazaar, there was a building that few people liked to go near. When people did pass by it, they would glance over with anxiety and dread, then quickly bow their heads and hurry past.

Four middle-aged cultivators sat cross-legged outside the building, all of whom wore garish red robes and had cultivation bases at the peak of the Immortal Realm.

Inside the building, it was very quiet, and the only thing that could be heard was measured breathing. The cadence of the breathing made it seem as if it were in sync with Heaven and Earth, and caused the entire building to occasionally become blurry.

Currently, two cultivators were hurrying toward that very building. They stopped in front of the red-robed cultivators and kowtowed, and when they looked up, one of the two men said something to one of the redrobed men.

The red-robed cultivator immediately stood and entered the building, eyes glittering. After a moment, he emerged and said, "Go shadow him secretly, no matter where he goes. Let's see exactly how much more Immortal jade he has. If it's under 10,000, then it's not worth it for his

Majesty to get involved."

The two cultivators who had just arrived looked very excited. They quickly bowed, then hurried away.

The red-robed men continued to sit there in meditation, and everything was quiet once again. On the second floor of the building, an old man sat there cross-legged. He had some brown blotches on his face, but when he opened his eyes, they glittered brightly, and the fluctuations of the late Ancient Realm rolled off of him.

"Elder Brother runs things too carefully," he said coolly. "The whole purpose of the Heavencloud Bazaar is to make it convenient for us to practice cultivation. Since Elder Brother is in secluded meditation, I'm in charge. 4,000 Immortal jades, huh…. I don't care who he is, with that much Immortal jade, he… will have to fork some over if he wants to leave alive!" With that, he closed his eyes again.

Naruto continued to stroll through the bazaar, acting very rich and imposing. He walked into every shop he saw and bought anything that looked good. Magical items, medicinal pills, medicinal plants, magical technique manuals, and all sorts of other items. He even bought things that weren't for sale. One such item was a huge, paneled room screen decorated with a White Tiger, which he liked mostly because it looked amazing and exuded spiritual energy. He waved his hand, sending out so much money that the shopkeeper could only stare in shock.

Naruto pointed at a throne made of numerous flying swords and said, "This thing looks nice! I bet dad will like it. I'll take it!"

He saw a statue made entirely from spirit stones, which in itself was actually a magical item. "This is wonderful too. I'll take it!"

"This too!

"This armor looks pretty good. I want a thousand sets!

"These Daoist robes are nice. I'll take them!

"How much for all of the jade scrolls in your whole shop? I want them all." When Naruto thought about how his father couldn't leave Planet South Heaven, he decided that buying him a whole scroll-shop worth of reading material would make it very easy for him to keep up on his reading.

Naruto wasn't too confident when it came to things that female cultivators liked. Since he wasn't sure what things his mother preferred, he also decided to buy an entire shop!

"This is a pretty good set of puppets. I'll take them!"

Wherever he went, the shops nearly went mad with joy. Soon, everyone in the entire bazaar knew about the young, rich cultivator who was making the rounds.

Some people even began to follow him and keep track of how much he had spent. Eventually, he had spent the equivalent of about

1,000,000,000 spirit stones, which was about 100,000 Immortal jades.

The cultivators who had been sent to shadow him had eyes bloodshot with madness. They began to report back to their superiors, and soon, the sensation that a storm was brewing spread out through the whole bazaar.

Naruto apparently didn't notice, and continued to rampantly sweep through the shops and buy everything he fancied. He even started looking through the various vendor stalls, and whenever he saw something he liked, he took it, which sometimes even included entire stalls.

He was exactly like a Mr. Moneybags. Normally, spending money gave him a big headache, but considering he was buying gifts for his parents, he didn't mind at all.

He also bought some gifts for his sister. Soon, he had bought up nearly a third of all the items available at the bazaar, and had spent nearly 300,000 pieces of Immortal jade.

As for the two cultivators who had originally been sent to shadow him, they returned to the distant building and reported in. The old man who sat there cross-legged opened his eyes, and they shone with killing intent.

"300,000 Immortal jades…. For him to be willing to spend so much indicates that he must have more than 1,000,000 total in his bag of holding. Heavens! 1,000,000 Immortal jades…." The old man started panting, and a look of mad greed appeared in his eyes. However, he immediately began to doubt himself. Considering this mark had so much money, he was clearly someone with an extraordinary background, a person not to be trifled with casually.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1156

Chapter 1156: Blood-stained Jade Medallion!

The old man was somewhat conflicted. On the one hand, he felt deeply greedy, but on the other hand, Naruto's background caused him to waver and suppress that greed to a certain degree. After vacillating for a moment, his eyes suddenly glittered, and he looked outside the building.

Currently, a red-robed cultivator was out there, bowing deeply with clasped hands.

"Patriarch, the mark is currently on his way to an auction. It seems he plans to participate."

The old man's eyes flickered with determination, and he shot to his feet. He then strode out of the building and headed in the direction of the auction, flanked by four red-robed cultivators. All of them had fierce expressions and radiated killing intent.

"It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from, if you have less than 1,000,000 Immortal jades, I'll leave you alone. Until I know more about your background, I won't touch you…." Having made his decision to go observe Naruto a bit further, the old man's eyes flashed.

Just as the red-robed cultivators had said, Naruto had finished his shopping spree in the shops and vendor stalls, and was now in the main auction house in the middle of the bazaar. He stood off to the side, looking at the main stage, and the items being auctioned off. Not many people were calling out bids. There were quite a few magenta-robed figures in the area, keeping track of the bids, and generally looking very threatening.

No one was allowed to make fraudulent bids, and anyone who did make a bid was required to be able to purchase the lot at the said price. Anyone who tried to cause problems would run the risk of being chased down and killed by the forces of the Heavencloud Bazaar.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he stood there watching. People in the area almost immediately noticed him, and were visibly excited. Word began to spread, and soon everyone in the auction house had become aware of his presence.

After all, having been in the bazaar for a short half-day, he had already bought nearly thirty percent of all the available goods there. He was obviously incredibly rich. It would have been impossible for him not to attract attention, and that was especially the case with the female cultivators. Whenever they looked at him, their eyes gleamed, and they tried to look as pretty as possible. Obviously, they were hoping to catch his eye and have the chance to strike it rich themselves.

There were a few people who seemed to find him familiar. After a moment, their eyes would widen as they realized who he really was.

That was even true of the auctioneer, who couldn't help but glance at him occasionally and pay special attention to him.

Naruto seemed indifferent to the commotion as he stood there calmly; however, inwardly, he was actually feeling quite puzzled.

"Why haven't they come yet? Something's off. They followed me for a long time, and keep coming and going. After reporting back in, they should have told someone all the details.

"Maybe these people aren't that adept at robbery?" He frowned. He didn't have the time to sit around waiting. After a bit of thought, he came to the conclusion that perhaps because he hadn't left the bazaar itself, the people who were after him felt it wasn't convenient to make a move….

"In that case," he thought, "I might as well just leave. That will at least give them a chance." Having made up his mind, he was just about to leave, when suddenly, the auctioneer produced a jade tray which he held aloft.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Daoists, the next lot has a mysterious background," he said, his voice proud. "For the sake of ensuring that our bazaar remains a flourishing place, and for the purposes of gaining fame for our auction house, Patriarch Heavencloud has decided to offer up one of his rarest heirlooms!

"This is none other than a jade pendant, a medallion that is not from the

Ninth Mountain and Sea. No, this medallion comes from the Eighth Mountain and Sea. On one side is carved a lightning bolt, and on the other side, the character Uzumaki 孟. According to our Patriarch's speculations, this is none other than… a command medallion belonging to a member of the Uzumaki Clan from the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Although it's impossible to tell who exactly it belonged to, clearly, they had a high status!

"How do we know? Because this medallion, despite being an Ancient Realm treasure, is stained with blood, sealing it completely, and ensuring that it can only unleash Immortal Realm power….

"Although our Patriarch is unable to remove the seal, there are many almighty entities in Heaven and Earth. Surely someone exists out there who CAN unseal it!" He held the jade pendant out in his right hand, and it glittered with green light. Furthermore, the sound of thunder rattled out from it in all directions. It was even possible to just barely make out a green lightning bolt building up within the light that emanated out from the pendant.

Although it seemed incredible, the sensation it gave off was only that of the Immortal Realm. Even still, the pendant would clearly count as a valuable treasure to any Immortal Realm cultivator.

There was also a deep gash on the surface of the pendant, which had turned a dark purple color, as if it were filled with congealed blood. Its overall appearance was very bizarre.

"The starting bid for this item is 8,000,000 spirit stones!" the auctioneer cried out in a loud voice.

Naruto had originally intended to leave. But then he stopped and looked at the jade medallion, and immense waves of shock smashed through his mind.

As he looked at the jade pendant, he began to pant. How could he ever have imagined that he would run into this object at a bazaar like this?!

It was most certainly a command medallion of the Uzumaki Clan from the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Furthermore, it was not the command medallion of an ordinary clan member. Naruto all of a sudden recalled the visage of an old man, an old man who had come to stand by the side of his heartbroken Grandpa Namikaze when he had experienced his first Seventh Year Tribulation.

That old man was no stranger. It was his Grandpa Uzumaki!

He was the Grand Elder of the Uzumaki Clan from the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

Naruto remembered playing with his command medallion as a child, a medallion had looked exactly like the one on the auction stage right now!

Naruto was panting, and his mind was spinning. He would never be able to forget how his two grandfathers had left looking for an Outsider, all to save him. That Outsider eventually came, and had explained to Naruto's parents what they needed to do. However, his Grandpa Namikaze and Grandpa Uzumaki… never returned.

Naruto would never be able to forget those matters, and he had always hoped that one day, he would be able to find them, or at least some clues regarding what had happened.

Now, looking at the jade medallion, he was filled with the intense sensation that it… was none other than his Grandpa Uzumaki's command medallion.

That thought caused his heart to tremble. He wasn't sure whose blood it was that had stained the pendant, but it filled him with intense concern for his grandfather.

"50,000,000 spirit stones!" he cried out, his voice decisive enough to sever nails and chop iron. "Give me that pendant!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, deathly silence filled the air. Others who had been about to call out prices first gasped, then closed their mouths and refrained from speaking out any bids. One by one, everyone turned to look at Naruto.

Even the auctioneer stared in shock. In his estimation, the jade pendant was worth no more than about 30,000,000 spirit stones. However, Naruto had unexpectedly cried out a bid of 50,000,000.

"Um… are there any other Fellow Daoists who would like to make a bid?" he asked without even thinking about it. Nobody responded. All of the surrounding cultivators were simply awestruck by the price which Naruto had just bid.

The auctioneer swallowed hard and said, "Very well, since that's the case, this lot goes to–"

He had been just about to strike down the auctioneer's hammer, when all of a sudden…

"I bid 100,000,000 spirit stones." An ancient voice rang out as if from the Heavens above. Everyone turned their heads to see an old man stride into the auction house, flanked by four red-robed cultivators.

He had brown blotches on his face, and he seemed threatening without looking angry. His cultivation base was in the late Ancient Realm, and he almost seemed to be at one with his surroundings. His sudden appearance on the scene caused shock among the surrounding cultivators.

"It's Guru Heavenwind!"

"That's Guru Heavencloud's Junior Brother, one of the Patriarchs of the

Heavencloud Bazaar!"

"What's he doing here? And why did he just make a bid? 100,000,000…. Could it be that this jade medallion has some shocking power or ability?!" The crowd immediately went into an uproar. The auctioneer stared in shock and immediately shut his mouth. Instead of striking down with the hammer, he clasped hands and bowed respectfully to Guru Heavenwind.

It wasn't just him. All of the magenta-robed cultivators, as well as all of the other auction attendees, clasped hands and bowed in greeting.

Guru Heavenwind smiled and nodded. Then he turned to Naruto, his expression one of kindness and even regret. When he looked at him, he realized that he seemed familiar, and his heart began to pound. Then, his eyes went wide as he suddenly realized who Naruto was.

But then he pretended to be unaware of his identity. "Young friend," he said, "I offer my sincere apologies. My Elder Brother sent his item here to be auctioned completely on accident. It should never have been put up for sale. However, the reputation of the Heavencloud Bazaar is of the utmost importance. Rather than cancel the auction, I will purchase it. I hope you can understand the situation, young friend."

Upon hearing his words, everyone in attendance laughed inwardly. Although the explanation seemed reasonable on the surface, considering that he owned the auction house, it meant that he could bid whatever price he wanted.

Naruto's gaze turned icy. After looking at the old man for a moment, he completely ignored him and said, "100,000 Immortal jades."

His words immediately caused everyone to gasp. 100,000 Immortal jades was equivalent to 1,000,000,000 spirit stones. Such a sum caused every to begin to pant. Although they all knew Naruto was rich, to hear him mention a number like that left them flabbergasted.

Guru Heavenwind trembled inwardly, but he put on a calm front and said, "We can't sell it to you, young friend. I'll offer one more Immortal jade than you."

"500,000 Immortal jades," Naruto said, his voice calm.

"Young friend, please, don't make trouble for–"

"1,000,000 Immortal jades," Naruto said coldly, flicking his sleeve and rotating his cultivation base. "Give me that medallion!" His cold voice was like an icy wind that swirled from all directions, causing everyone to instantly feel colder. However, even if they were colder, they would still be thoroughly shocked by the price Naruto had just named.

"1,000,000 Immortal jades…. that's equivalent to 10,000,000,000 spirit stones…. Heavens! J-just what kind of jade medallion is that!?"

"Crazy! They're all crazy…."

As the crowd burst into an uproar, Guru Heavenwind felt his heart pounding, and he began to pant. The longer he looked at Naruto, the less he was able to control his emotions. Finally, his eyes went bloodshot.

"The Heavencloud Bazaar doesn't allow fraudulent bidding!" he said, his voice hoarse. In response, Naruto slapped his bag of holding, causing one Immortal jade after another to fly out. In the blink of an eye, a mountain of 1,000,000 Immortal jades had piled up next to him.

The towering mountain caused everyone to stare in complete shock.

Their minds were blank, filled with nothing but a roaring sound.

As soon as the Immortal jades appeared, Naruto flickered toward the main stage, and reached out to grab the jade medallion from the auctioneer.

It was at this point, however, that Guru Heavenwind, eyes bloodshot, suddenly flew into the air to stand in his way. He glared at Naruto and, voice hoarse, said, "10,000,000 Immortal jades and you can have it!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1157

Chapter 1157: I Won't Buy It!

To most of the people present, a jade medallion like the one in question might be worth 20-30,000,000 spirit stones at most. Since one Immortal jade was worth 10,000 spirits stones, that put its value at a few thousand Immortal jades at most, and definitely less than 10,000.

However, Guru Heavenwind had just mentioned 10,000,000 Immortal jades, a sum equal to 100,000,000,000 spirit stones….

It was difficult to imagine or even describe that much wealth. It would be an extraordinary sum to even an entire sect or clan. As for the Heavencloud Bazaar… it would take hundreds or perhaps thousands of years to accumulate 10,000,000 Immortal jades.

For him to demand such a price… was equivalent of bald-faced robbery.

Everyone in the audience gasped in response to what was happening. They were both shaken by Guru Heavenwind's words, and also astonished at Naruto's display of wealth.

"10,000,000 Immortal jades and you can have the medallion!" Guru Heavenwind said. "Otherwise, it belongs to the Heavencloud Bazaar, and it's none of your business what we do with it, even if we crush it to bits!"

Guru Heavenwind's eyes were completely bloodshot. He knew who Uzumaki

Hao actually was, and if the sum involved was less than 1,000,000 Immortal jades, then after mulling it over, he would likely have held back from doing anything to offend him. However, the amount of wealth involved pushed him to the point where he didn't care about who Naruto was.

Wealth can drive people crazy, can make them lose their minds, especially when combined with strong desire. To Guru Heavenwind, 10,000,000 Immortal jades was worth risking his life for. Considering he had reached this decision, it was obvious that he had passed the point of considering whether or not it was worth it to offend Naruto, and had chosen to actually threaten him!

In fact, he no longer even cared about the Heavencloud Bazaar as a whole. From his perspective, if he could get his hands on that much money, he could flee to the furthest corners of the universe. Furthermore, he was sure that even if his Elder Brother came out of secluded meditation, he would be so moved by the amount of money involved that he would not interfere. After all, Guru Heavenwind knew Guru Heavencloud better than anyone else.

"Today, he'll buy this thing… whether he wants to or not!" he thought. His four red-robed followers were all panting the same as him as they joined in to intercept Naruto.

Naruto hovered in midair, staring at Guru Heavenwind, his face turning cold.

"You shameless old fart!" he said with a cold snort. "I offered 1,000,000 Immortal jades, yet you won't accept? Fine… I won't buy it!" He looked over at the auctioneer, who was rushing to leave. Being in no mood to pay any heed to Guru Heavenwind, his body suddenly flickered. He moved with such speed that Guru Heavenwind and his four red-robed followers saw nothing but a blur. Then, a moment later, Naruto was behind them, speeding forward to appear on the main stage, right in front of the auctioneer.

"Give that to me!" he said, stretching his hand out. Trembling, the auctioneer unhesitatingly threw the jade medallion toward Naruto and then fled, unwilling to be involved in the chaos.

Guru Heavenwind's face fell. "Naruto, what are you doing!?" he roared, speeding directly toward Naruto, eyes flashing with killing intent, energy surging.

"What am I doing? Are you blind?" Naruto replied coldly. "Can't you see that I'm robbing you!?" He made a grasping motion with this left hand, and the jade medallion flew toward him. As soon as it landed in his palm, he put it into his bag of holding.

The eyes of every member of the audience went wide, especially in response to Naruto's thunderous words that echoed out in all directions.

This was their first time ever hearing someone talk about robbing others with such confidence, as if it were the most righteous and proper thing to do.

Guru Heavenwind's rage towered into the sky. As he and his four redrobed followers closed in on Naruto, they extended their hands to unleash divine abilities and magical techniques that combined to form a pagoda of magical treasures, which then smashed down toward Naruto.

"Naruto, how dare you throw a temper tantrum here!" Guru Heavenwind raged.

Naruto stood in place, neither dodging nor evading. His eyes flickered with coldness, and he waved his right hand, causing his cultivation base to erupt with power. A massive blast of force exploded out in front of him.

Rumbling echoed out, and Guru Heavenwind's face fell. The pagoda trembled for a moment, and cracks spread out across its surface. Then it simply exploded, as if some giant, invisible hand had crushed it to pieces.

The crushed pagoda transformed into countless chunks of ash which then shot backward in a backlash attack, rushing toward Guru Heavenwind, whose face fell as he realized he was facing a power that he couldn't fight back against. A sensation of deadly crisis instantly filled his mind.

"Impossible!" Guru Heavenwind was completely astonished. He was in the late Ancient Realm, and in the Ninth Mountain and Sea as a whole, could be considered a powerful and important figure. And yet, when facing Naruto, he was filled with terror.

Earlier, he hadn't been able to see through everything about Naruto, although he did know that he was a mere Immortal Realm cultivator with the backing of a large clan. But now Naruto seemed incredibly powerful and even… almighty!

He was so strong that Guru Heavenwind could barely evade his attack.

Furthermore, even his cultivation base had been thrown into chaos. Naruto made his eyes go wide and his entire body tremble. His heart was pounding so hard it seemed like it might simply stop beating.

He had never felt such intense pressure, not even from his Elder Brother Guru Heavencloud. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he fell back at top speed.

He just barely managed to evade the main force of the blow.

Unfortunately for the red-robed cultivators, they were not qualified to do so. A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of their mouths. It was as if a wind of destruction swept across them, shredding their flesh and blood, turning the wind into a haze of red that left behind only their skeletons.

The skeletons remained for only a single extra breath of time before they became ash. Even their souls were completely wiped away.

Everything happened too quickly. With the simple wave of a hand, Uzumaki

Hao killed four Immortal Realm cultivators and seriously injured Guru

Heavenwind. The surrounding cultivators gasped in shock, then looked over at Naruto with expressions of disbelief.

"This… this…."

"What cultivation base does he have? He actually forced Guru

Heavenwind into retreat!"

"But from the look of it, he's clearly in the Immortal Realm…."

"Guru Heavenwind just called him Naruto… Naruto…. I remember! He's Naruto, Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan! He's the sole joint disciple of all of the Three Great Daoist Societies! B-but… how could he be so strong!?"

Everyone was in an uproar.

Guru Heavenwind's heart trembled as he came to the realization that he was simply incapable of fighting Naruto alone. Although his cultivation base appeared to be in the Immortal Realm, after he attacked, Guru Heavenwind could see that he was far, far stronger than he appeared.

Even as he fell back, blood oozing from the corners of his mouth, he suddenly roared: "All disciples of the Heavencloud Bazaar, hear my command. Kill this man at all costs!"

The surrounding magenta-robed cultivators hesitated. Then, a few mustered their courage, roared, and charged Naruto.

Guru Heavenwind took advantage of this opportunity to attempt to escape.

With a cold harrumph, Naruto began to advance. When the magentarobed cultivators tried to block his way, he said, "Screw off!"

His voice echoed like thunderclaps, slamming into the cultivators' ears, causing their minds to reel and their cultivation bases to become unstable. Vision swimming, their minds went blank momentarily.

As for Guru Heavenwind, the words caused blood to spray out of his mouth, and he pushed himself faster as he fled.

"Damnation! How could he be so strong!?" His face was deathly white, and his heart overflowed with regret. Sweat poured down his face as he realized that, considering how viciously he had offended Naruto, there was no way that he would let him go.

Naruto sped through the air in an azure beam of light that transformed into an azure roc. An explosive wind kicked up as the distance between him and Guru Heavenwind was reduced from a few hundred meters to less than thirty.

"Elder Brother, save me!" Guru Heavenwind cried shrilly. By now, his heart was filled with terror.

The entire Heavencloud Bazaar had been thrown into chaos. When the cultivators heard Naruto exploding into action, and then Guru Heavenwind screaming for help, they were shocked to the core.

Everyone in the shops and stalls where Naruto had shopped could see what was happening. They were shocked to hear who he was, but were even more shocked to discover that, not only did he have an incredible background, he was also terrifying in terms of cultivation base.

Of course, what they knew now was only the tip of the iceberg. If they knew that the Namikaze Clan was now an Allheaven Clan, and that Naruto was the true Patriarch of that clan, then their shock would reach a level that would be impossible to describe.

By now, the cultivators manning the various teleportation portals in the asteroid field had sensed the chaos erupting in the bazaar. Many of them were now flying over to see what was happening.

At about that time, Naruto in azure roc form appeared in front of Guru Heavenwind and slashed out with razor-sharp claws.

However, even as he did, a cold and sinister voice echoed out through the bazaar, filled with power, dissatisfaction, and rage.

"Harm him not, lad. I can provide an explanation for everything!" Along with the voice came a beam of sword light, bursting with killing intent. It transformed into a waterfall-like stream that surged toward Naruto.

It was almost as though… if Naruto dared to continue his attack, the waterfall would slash him to pieces!

The words implied a discussion was to be had, but from the type of attack being leveled against Naruto, it was clear exactly how domineering the true lord of the Heavencloud Bazaar was. This was Guru Heavencloud, who was domineering to the extreme!

However, when people tried to be domineering in front of Naruto… then, he would be even MORE domineering!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1158

Chapter 1158: Guru Heavencloud!

When Guru Heavenwind heard the voice of his Elder Brother, Guru Heavencloud, he was instantly enlivened. Believing himself to finally have hope, his eyes flickered with killing intent, and he thought of using the opportunity to try to cut Naruto down in a counterattack.

However, even as the idea flitted through his mind… Naruto snorted coldly. The sound slammed into Heavenwind's ears like an explosive bolt of lightning. His body shook violently, and his mind was thrown into chaos.

At the same time, Naruto in azure roc form didn't slow down, but instead, bore down on Guru Heavenwind, slashing downward into the top of his head. A crunching sound was heard as his entire head was shredded to pieces.

There was no time for him to scream, nor his soul to flee. The azure roc's talons slashed again with obliterating power down into the rest of Guru Heavenwind's body.

A boom rang out as Guru Heavenwind exploded into pieces. Even his soul was destroyed!

Naruto normally didn't attack with such deadly force. However, Guru

Heavenwind had been too greedy. Naruto had offered 1,000,000 Immortal jades in good faith. However, instead of quitting while he was ahead, Guru Heavenwind had used the sum of 10,000,000 Immortal jades as an obvious extortion, and had even threatened to destroy the jade medallion….

Were it any other object, that wouldn't have mattered. But this jade medallion was an important clue regarding his two grandfathers. How could he possibly restrain his killing intent? And then there was the way Guru Heavencloud had spoken to him. Had he been even a bit more polite, Naruto might not necessarily have resorted to deadly force.

However, Guru Heavencloud's words, despite seeming polite, were actually extremely domineering. Clearly, the man was used to running his own personal little fiefdom here at the bazaar. Unfortunately for him, Naruto wasn't used to restraining his temper around people like that.

Neat and tidy. That was how he killed. A moment later, an enraged roar echoed out, causing everything to shake. A figure appeared, flying through the air; simultaneously, the waterfall of swords fell onto Naruto.

A boom rang out as Naruto hovered in midair, completely unmoving. In fact, it was the waterfall of swords that shattered into fragments with a boom, completely incapable of harming him at all!

As the shocking roar echoed about, an old man appeared. He wore a violet robe, and looked extremely dignified. As he flew forth, boundless ripples rolled out. As soon as the magenta-robed cultivators caught sight of him, they dropped to their knees and kowtowed.

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

This was none other than the Patriarch of the Heavencloud Bazaar, Guru Heavencloud. He looked awe-inspiring, and also enraged. However, inwardly, he was shocked. The sword waterfall from moments ago had been unleashed in anger upon Naruto, and yet hadn't even fazed him. However, Guru Heavencloud kept his astonishment hidden, allowing no hint of it to show on his face.

Cries of shock rang up from cultivators in the bazaar. They were amazed by the energy and pressure radiating from the violet-robed old man. These were the ripples of power of someone who could step into the Dao Realm at any time. Even if he failed, he would still be a shocking QuasiDao expert.

The air around him twisted and distorted, and the faint manifestation of numerous natural laws and Essences could be seen. He was boundlessly domineering, causing colors to flash up above, and the starry sky to tremble.

"You have robbed my Heavencloud Bazaar, lad, and also killed my Junior Brother. I don't care if you're the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan! It wouldn't matter if your father Namikaze Xiufeng personally showed up, or even the Namikaze Clan's Dao Realm Patriarch, Namikaze Shoudao, you had better provide me with an explanation, right now!" His voice brimmed with Heavenly might, booming out in all directions, shaking all of the asteroids in the asteroid field.

"I killed your Junior Brother because he tried to kill me!" Naruto retorted coolly. "Furthermore, he greedily tried to use something that didn't belong to him to threaten me! That's exactly the type of people I like to kill!

"As for robbing your Heavencloud Bazaar, I put 1,000,000 Immortal jades onto the table, and in return, you people tried to extort me! In that case… yeah, I robbed you! So what!?"

"No matter how you justify it, no matter what reasons you cite, you killed one of my people and stole my property. You have committed a grave crime. The Heavencloud Bazaar doesn't fall under the jurisdiction of any of the sects or power groups. We are eternally neutral! However, if people try to bully us, then I, Heavencloud, can't possibly stand idly by!" Guru Heavencloud's voice boomed out, and his energy rocketed up. A windstorm sprang up to spin around him in all directions.

His voice fairly burst with a domineering air, as if his words were natural laws of Heaven and Earth. Here in the Heavencloud Bazaar, his words bore the power of the Heavens, and he wrote the rules!

If he said you were in the wrong, you were in the wrong! If he said that you had committed a crime, then you were guilty, whether you had actually committed the crime or not!

His echoing voice filled the surrounding cultivators with shock. They could sense his domineering air, and as for the magenta-robed disciples, they were starting to get excited.

Their eyes filled with ardor; this was their Patriarch, who brimmed with a domineering aura no matter who he was up against.

"Immediately produce the item you stole from my Heavencloud Bazaar, surrender, and admit your fault. Then send for the leadership of your clan to come and personally take you away. That is your only option here!" Guru Heavencloud spoke as coldly and as domineeringly as ever, and his strength could definitely back up this attitude. Normally speaking, he was very cautious in everything, but when he encountered situations like this, he always acted this way.

It didn't matter who was actually in the right or wrong. As long as he was in his own domain, he was ALWAYS right!

One of the reasons why the Heavencloud Bazaar had been able to survive for so long, and even thrive, was because of this combination of a cautious and yet domineering attitude. After all… few powerful groups would be willing to force Guru Heavencloud into a corner merely because of some unimportant matters. He could step into the Dao Realm at any time, which was a huge trump card.

Furthermore, being able to step into the Dao Realm so easily meant that any powerful group would jump at the chance to recruit him, which was another trump card.

Although he could see that Naruto was powerful, he also believed that such power had limits. Therefore, he still looked down on him. His Junior Brother had been in the late Ancient Realm, but his cultivation base had been jumbled. If Guru Heavencloud had wished it, he could have killed him easily at any time.

It might be true that his sword waterfall hadn't hurt Naruto, but considering his years of experience, he was still confident in being able to handle him. After all, he was merely the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, which wasn't actually a very powerful position.

Although the title sounded prestigious, all it did was make Naruto a figurehead. Guru Heavenwind couldn't bring himself to believe that after the war on Planet East Victory, the Namikaze Clan, having suffered so many casualties, would allow a blood feud to erupt just because of a measly Crown Prince.

He simply didn't believe Naruto to be so important. Even if he was the joint disciple of the Three Great Daoist Societies, he couldn't possibly be important enough that the Namikaze Clan would actually go to the lengths of offending Guru Heavenwind in a way that could result in casualties.

The Namikaze Clan might be a big clan, but considering Guru Heavencloud's position, he naturally knew that any sect or clan took the interests of the group into consideration, and didn't make decisions based on one individual.

When it came to insults or backing down, the interests of the clan would be put before the interests of one person.

His analysis was actually correct, and had these events played out before Naruto went to the Windswept Realm, then the Namikaze Clan might have shown up and made a scene, but would have resolved the situation quietly in the end. That would have saved face for both parties. In the end, the jade medallion would have gone to the Namikaze Clan, and the Heavencloud Bazaar would have ended up with all the Immortal jade.

Guru Heavencloud had gone through similar situations before, and the end result was always the same.

Unfortunately for him, there was one thing he didn't understand. And that was… what it meant to be the true Clan Chief of an Allheaven Clan!

Seeing Guru Heavenwind acting in such a domineering way caused Naruto to chuckle. Then his eyes flickered with coldness, and he glanced over to the Namikaze Clan teleportation portal. It was being manned by six members of the Namikaze Clan, all of whom looked familiar, although he couldn't recall their names.

He could sense the faint presence of a Dao seed in all of them, although in most of them it was very faint. Only one of their number seemed to have a somewhat flourishing Dao seed; the others did not.

The entire group was in a state of shock. They had recognized their Crown Prince at first glance, and the current friction between him and Guru Heavencloud left them shaken.

"The six of you heard what Guru Heavencloud said just now, right?" Naruto asked coolly. "Immediately take this information and report back to the clan. Ask Patriarch Shoudao whether or not he's interested in taking the Heavencloud Bazaar and changing its name to the Namikaze Clan Bazaar." Naruto's words were actually even more domineering than

Guru Heavencloud's. Originally, he had planned to visit Planet South

Heaven first, and then go back to the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory.

However, considering how events had developed, he had come up with a new plan. Since he was already planning to go pay respects to his parents, he figured he might as well bring the Namikaze Clan with him!

His parents couldn't leave Planet South Heaven, but he could still honor them by having the clan itself go to them offer greetings!

As their son, this was… a truly great gift that he could offer!

By means of their son, they would receive honor and glory from the entire clan!

The six members of the Namikaze Clan exchanged glances, then clasped hands and bowed to Naruto. Three of them backed up and departed for the Namikaze Clan via the teleportation portal.

Guru Heavencloud did nothing to stop them. He hovered in midair, smiling coldly, waiting for the influential members of the Namikaze Clan to arrive. In his mind, once the entire Namikaze Clan got dragged into the matter, the situation would have devolved to the point that Naruto couldn't resolve it alone.

Naruto looked at Guru Heavencloud, and his eyes suddenly gleamed with the desire to fight. Voice cool, he said: "Well, while we wait for them to arrive, I'd like to see how the great circle of the Ancient Realm… measures up to me in terms of strength!"

Voice cold, Guru Heavencloud said, "How barbaric of you, lad. You–"

However, before he could finish, his face fell as Naruto took a step forward.

Everything began to shake, and cracking sounds echoed out in all directions. The tempest swirling around Guru Heavencloud immediately shattered. The interference to the natural laws and Essences caused the air around him to distort.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto appeared directly in front of Guru Heavencloud, azure light shining. He waved a hand, causing numerous Immortal mountains to descend.

Guru Heavencloud's mind trembled as he sensed the incredibly threatening pressure radiating off of Naruto. Without hesitation, he lifted his right hand and waved it out in front of him. Instantly, all of his Soul Lamps appeared around him, moving in a pattern that resembled a spell formation. They instantly began to rotate, and the pattern erupted with the power of natural law, transforming into countless threads that shot toward Naruto.

"Alter Heavens, Transform Earth. Wind-Cloud Tribulation!" he roared. As the sound boomed through the air, Naruto's Immortal mountains crumbled into pieces. However, by this time, Naruto had taken a second step, whereupon he waved his right index finger!

The air in front of him was ripped open by a huge rift, from within which stretched out a blood-colored head. This was none other than the Blood Demon Grand Magic. However, this time, it was not just a head which appeared, but an entire Blood Demon!

It tore open the rift, causing blood-red light to spill out. Then the Blood Demon charged forward, its hands snatching out toward Guru Heavencloud.

Guru Heavencloud's expression instantly flickered with shock.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1159

Chapter 1159: Forced Backward, Over and Over!

Before fusing with his third Nirvana Fruit, he could only materialize a head when using the Blood Demon Grand Magic. After everything he had experienced in the Windswept Realm though, his Blood Demon Grand Magic had advanced to an astonishing degree, thanks in large part to the third Nirvana Fruit. As the void ripped open, a full Blood Demon emerged, roaring.

The hand which stretched out toward Guru Heavencloud sported razorsharp claws, and radiated boundless blood-colored light. Guru

Heavencloud's blood suddenly seemed to be incited to the boiling point, causing his face to flicker as he waved his finger toward the Blood Demon.

As his finger waved through the air, his forehead split apart, causing a drop of black blood to fly out. It wriggled and twisted as it sped through the air, emitting a shriek like that of a baby as it rapidly grew larger, transforming into a mosquito!

The mosquito was only the size of a hand, but it radiated a boundless murderous aura as it buzzed through the air toward the Blood Demon.

One was gigantic, the other was minuscule. However, when they slammed into each other, a huge boom rang out; apparently neither of the two could overcome the other.

The blood-colored light around the Blood Demon transformed into a sea of blood, but the mosquito was incredibly agile. It dodged to the side, and then stuck its mouthpiece in and started sucking up the blood.

"Interesting," Naruto said with a chuckle. He had never seen a beast like this particular mosquito before. He quickly raised his right hand and performed an incantation gesture, then pointed in Guru Heavencloud's direction.

Numerous Immortal mountains descended, spinning around the area and crushing down toward Guru Heavencloud. Their mere appearance on the scene caused the entire asteroid to begin to tremble.

If you looked closely, you would be able to see that on the peaks of the Immortal mountains were cross-legged figures, meditating. Those figures looked almost exactly like Naruto!

This was a divine ability manifested because of Naruto fusing with the third Nirvana Fruit and reaching the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm.

Guru Heavencloud's heart began to pound. The increasing threat posed by Naruto caused him to suddenly realize that he had acted a bit presumptuously before. However, he was still fully confident in himself.

With a cold harrumph, he waved his sleeve, causing a beam of sword light to fly out, within which was a black flying sword that fairly dripped with deadly poison. As it whistled through the air, the black sword split apart into numerous ghost images. Hundreds of beams of sword light shot toward the Immortal mountains, each one of them filled with the astonishing power of Guru Heavencloud's full circle Ancient Realm cultivation base.

Booms rang out as the sword light closed in on the Immortal mountains. Distortions spread out, and as the Immortal mountains began to collapse, the images of Naruto opened their eyes and looked around with cold gazes. They were like clones of Naruto, all of whom rose to their feet and flew directly toward the sword light.

A huge boom rang out through the air.

"I'm very curious to see how many magical items you have tucked away!" Naruto performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing beams of violet light to shoot out into the air and rapidly form into the outline of a moon!

It was… a violet-colored moon!

The moon transformed into an illusory shadow which shot toward Guru Heavencloud, rapidly shrinking down until it landed on his forehead and sank down inside. Moments later, the mark of a violet moon began to form in that very spot!

It was in that moment that the magic of the violet moon exploded out!

An intense sensation of crisis swept through Guru Heavencloud, causing him to gasp. However, he had no time to consider the situation. Something inside him was telling him that he could under no circumstances allow the violet moon to fully form on his forehead. He immediately fell back, waving his sleeve, causing a white banner to unfurl around him. The banner transformed into numerous Cloud Dragons, which roared viciously as they shot, not toward Naruto, but toward Guru Heavencloud's own forehead.

In the moment before the moon fully formed, nine Cloud Dragons transformed into a protective force that exploded toward the violet moon.

Massive rumbling sounds could be heard as the nine protective dragons caused the violet moon magic to gradually dissipate.

A strange gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes. This was the first time he had encountered someone who primarily used magical items in battle, with few divine abilities. He took a step forward, making a snatching motion, which caused the previously pitch-black void in the area to suddenly erupt with white beams of light.

Numerous intense beams flew out of the ground of the asteroid, and shockingly, even the distant sun!

They rapidly coalesced into a hand-sized image of a sun!

This was Naruto's own divine ability… the Supernova Magic! 1

He tossed the sun out, sending the blinding globe of light shooting toward Guru Heavencloud. As it neared, it continued to suck in more light, growing larger and larger, until it began to send out shocking ripples that caused Guru Heavencloud's face to fall.

Naruto was actually very curious about this battle style which used so many magical items; it was as equally shocking as his own numerous divine abilities.

"How could he have so many divine abilities and Daoist magics!?" he thought, his face falling. "Plus, each and every Daoist magic seems completely extraordinary!" As of this moment, he no longer dared to underestimate Naruto. As the globe of light bore down on him, intense feelings of crisis filled him once again. He suddenly lifted his right foot up into the air and took a step forward. Rumbling filled the air as an enormous Feng Shui compass appeared, spinning through the air and shining with boundless light. Shockingly, numerous ghostly images appeared inside the light, howling viciously as they shot toward the light of the Supernova Magic.

"Lad, I have more magical items than you can even imagine!" Guru

Heavencloud said, his voice dark and sinister. What he said was true. After all, he owned the entire Heavencloud Bazaar for years, giving him access to extraordinary amounts of cultivation resources and magical items.

Rumbling filled the air as the light of the Feng Shui compass slammed into Naruto's Supernova Magic. A boom echoed out, and a huge tempest exploded between the two of them. The entire asteroid field trembled violently, and the cultivators in the area gasped and retreated at full speed.

"Naruto!" roared Guru Heavencloud, waving his left hand to send nine stone statues flying out of his sleeve. Their appearance was completely bizarre; they all looked like old men who, after flying out into the air, opened their eyes and began to shine with brilliant light as they shot murderously toward Naruto.

Guru Heavencloud's eyes flickered, and he smacked his bag of holding. Immediately, a crimson dust appeared, which had apparently been refined from blood. The dust writhed, causing blood to immediately begin to spread out in all directions.

However, Guru Heavencloud wasn't done. He stepped back, waving his sleeve again to send three violet medicinal pills flying out, which radiated boundless pressure as they flew through the air toward Naruto.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually, Guru Heavencloud completed all of these numerous actions in the time it takes to blink. All of a sudden, Naruto was faced with a raging, murderous aura. The light from all the various magical items interlocked to create a multicolored wave of light.

"You certainly do qualify to run a bazaar like this in the middle of an asteroid," Naruto said coolly. "And no wonder the other sects and clans don't want to offend you…. You have a lot of magical items. Well, now I'm looking forward to seeing how many Daoist magics you have." He took a step forward, and the starstone in his eye melted. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into a shooting star!

One Thought Stellar Transformation!

He immediately sped through the air, shattering the void, causing strange colors to flash. Booms could be heard as all the magical items which blocked his path were crushed as easily as weeds or twigs!

It started with the nine statues of the old men, who roared in unison and tried to block Naruto in planet-form as he closed in on them. They began to tremble, and cracks spread out across their bodies. In the blink of an eye, they shattered into countless pieces.

Next was the blood-colored dust which had transformed into a sea of blood. It rumbled toward Naruto, sending tendrils of blood out to try to bind him up. However, as soon as the tendrils appeared, cracking sounds could be heard, and they collapsed into pieces.

They were completely incapable of causing Naruto to falter even half a step!

As for the three medicinal pills, they exploded with electricity, transforming into three violet lightning bolts. However, when they landed on Naruto in planet-form, the only effect was that the planet shrank down and eventually vanished, revealing Naruto himself, who shone with azure light as he transformed into an azure roc. With a flash, he shot forward, arriving directly in front of Guru Heavencloud!

The speed with which all of this happened is virtually impossible to describe.

"Have any more magical items?" Naruto asked, clenching his hand into a fist and unleashing the Life-Extermination Fist.

A massive boom rang out, and the Heavens trembled. The void shattered, and the Life-Extermination Fist, backed by the power of Naruto's cultivation base, instantly caused the sensation of deadly crisis that filled Guru Heavencloud to peak.

And yet, he didn't retreat. Instead, his eyes began to shine with a bright light.

"So, I underestimated you…." he said. Then he exhaled sharply. There was no visible reaction to his exhalation, and yet, the natural laws around him suddenly changed, and the Essences around him gradually formed together into his own personal Daoist magic.

One Breath Shatters the Heavens!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Naruto's Life-Extermination Fist slammed into the breath of air, giving rise to shocking vibrations. Naruto's eyes suddenly gleamed with a vicious light as he also declined to retreat. Instead, as the backlash power hit him, he took another step forward.

BOOM!

He sent the backlash attack spinning backward again, toward Guru Heavencloud, whose face fell as he suddenly fell back.

Every step that he fell back, Naruto took another step forward. One was forced backward over and over, the other advanced step by step!

So far, Naruto had seemed to control the entire battle! He was completely and utterly domineering!

Naruto created the Supernova Magic in chapter 942 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1160

Chapter 1160 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1160: The Namikaze Clan Arrives!

In the blink of an eye, the two of them exchanged over a hundred blows. The more Guru Heavencloud fought, the more shocked he became. He discovered that he had lost the initiative, and had no way to get it back. Even more surprising was that he was constantly being forced into retreat by Naruto.

Naruto's domineering style was on full display as he advanced with relentless attacks. This time, he waved his hand, causing the Ninth Mountain to materialize and crush down toward Guru Heavencloud.

Everyone watching down below was astonished.

"How could Naruto be so strong!?" Astonished, Guru Heavencloud fell back, eyes flickering coldly as he prepared to launch a divine ability. However, it was at this point that Naruto suddenly stopped his current action and then unleashed a punch, staring coldly at Heavencloud the entire time.

When their eyes met, Guru Heavencloud's heart went cold. He tried to dodge back, but was too late.

"Destroy!" Naruto said coolly.

Instantly, colors flashed and the wind screamed. Heaven and Earth shook as an indescribable force was unleashed, the explosive destructive power of Naruto's fist strikes which he had been holding back until now.

Rumbling sounds echoed up into the air as Naruto flashed through the air like lightning. When he appeared in front of Guru Heavencloud, he used the Bedevilment Fist for the first time in the fight.

This was the fist of Self-Immolation, the Bedevilment Fist!

Blood sprayed out of Guru Heavencloud's mouth as he was sent tumbling backward. However, even as he fell back, Naruto followed after in pursuit. A moment later, though, he stopped in place and dodged backward at high speed.

In that same moment, the space he had just occupied exploded in a mass of destruction. Had Naruto not fallen back just now, he would likely have been mortally wounded.

Seeing Naruto evade his killing blow caused Guru Heavencloud's brow to furrow.

"Naruto, you qualify to see my most powerful state!" he said. Then he raised his right hand and pushed it down onto his forehead, causing a rumbling sound to echo out as two magical symbols appeared.

Shockingly, he was currently in a sealed state, something he did to delay stepping into the Dao Realm, and in fact, made it possible for him to attempt to step into the Dao Realm at any time he wished.

The first seal faded away rapidly, and as it did, Guru Heavencloud's energy suddenly exploded with increasing power. He quickly surpassed the ordinary great circle of the Ancient Realm, rising up to a shocking degree.

He had no choice but to admit that Naruto was strong, perhaps even stronger than himself. Because of that, he had to go all out, and even go to the lengths of removing the seals and removing the pressure that kept his cultivation base restricted.

"Great!" Naruto said with a cold snort. "Now that the warmup is over, I guess I'll kill you. Shouldn't be too hard." With that, he extended his right hand and pointed toward Guru Heavencloud, unleashing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex.

Rumbling could be heard as Guru Heavencloud suddenly lurched to a halt. His eyes went wide with shock as Naruto waved his finger a second, a third, and even a fourth time.

The Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, Karmic Hexing, immediately caused Karma Threads to appear on Guru Heavencloud. They were already twisted because of his self-sealing, and now, rumbling sounds could be heard inside of him. Stabs of pain shot through him, and he felt as if he were suddenly losing his perception of the world. Even his memories began to grow fuzzy. His cultivation base began to sink down beyond his control, and apparently, his Karma Threads could be severed at any time.

The Sixth Demon Sealing Hex, the Life Death Hexing, caused magical symbols to appear all over him. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't succeed in turning Guru Heavencloud into a puppet, but the resulting failure caused Guru Heavencloud to cough up a mouthful of blood. His Karma was collapsing, and his cultivation base was in chaos.

Next was the Fifth Demon Sealing Hex, the transposition of inside and outside. A rift appeared, both absorbing and erupting, creating a sharp blade that slashed at Guru Heavencloud, provoking a bloodcurdling scream as he was directly sliced in half!

Everything happened with shocking speed. Four waves of a finger caused Guru Heavencloud, who was still in the middle of powering up, to be cut down by Naruto!

This was the true strength of Naruto; to him, the great circle of the Ancient Realm wasn't even worth paying attention to!

However, Guru Heavencloud wasn't actually dead. Despite being cut in half, he was able to merge his two halves back together. And yet, Naruto didn't give him a chance to do anything with that opportunity. He waved his right hand, causing the bone-tip spear to appear. Whistling sounds could be heard as the spear stabbed directly toward Guru Heavencloud.

A boom rang out as Guru Heavencloud exploded. His Nascent Divinity flew out of the wreckage of his body, heading down toward one of the magenta-robed cultivators. It stabbed into the man's forehead, causing him to let out a miserable shriek. His facial features twisted for a moment, then went calm, after which he looked up furiously at Naruto.

"Naruto!" That cultivator was now Guru Heavencloud. He flew up into the air, roaring in rage. To have been cut down the way he had just now was a complete humiliation. How could he ever have imagined that he would be slaughtered so quickly?

In fact, he had even been forced to use a trump card that nobody had known about, his life-saving magic of Instantaneous Possession!

It was a possession-type Daoist magic that was extremely rare, and allowed him to instantaneously possess the body of another person. Unfortunately, it was an incomplete magic, making it difficult to utilize without great difficulty.

However, in the current situation, he had been left with no choice.

Naruto's eyes flickered with a strange light as he looked at Guru Heavencloud. Then he smiled slightly and began to walk forward, once again on the offensive.

Guru Heavencloud was incensed. Gnashing his teeth, he shoved down on his forehead again, wiping away the second sealing mark.

In that very instant… an incredible energy suddenly exploded out within Guru Heavencloud. All of a sudden, all of his Soul Lamps appeared!

The Soul Lamps were all extinguished, and shockingly, as they circulated around him, it was obvious… that each of those Soul Lamps was made of a tiny person who looked exactly like Guru Heavencloud!

Even more shocking was that each tiny individual had a sealing mark held in its left hand. It was as if each of those symbols contained different Daoist magics, which were being fed by the tiny figures. Furthermore, each figure also had a magical item floating above its right hand!

There were more than ten different magical items, including flying swords, shields, pearls and tiny pagodas. From the feeling they gave off, all of them were high-grade Immortal treasures.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, now that Guru Heavencloud had been forced into a corner, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a violet helmet.

It looked like a helmet which might be worn by an ordinary mortal soldier. However, it seemed incredibly ancient, as if it had passed through countless years of time. As soon as it appeared in Guru Heavencloud's hands, he put it onto his head.

Almost immediately, his power skyrocketed to a shocking level, and his divine sense experienced explosive growth.

Shockingly, this helmet… was an Ancient Realm magical item!

"Naruto! This is my most powerful state. This… is the true great circle of the Ancient Realm. If you can defeat me like this, then I will immediately summon the Door of the Dao Realm!

"If I successfully step into the Dao Realm, then I will cut you down where you stand…. If I fail… then I will be an almighty Quasi-Dao expert. At that time, my life force will begin to dissipate, and the end of my longevity will be within sight. However, killing you in that state… will still be a simple matter!

"You need to think long and hard about whether you wish to continue to fight, or back down!" Guru Heavencloud's heart was filled with regret. He could tell that Naruto was extraordinary and shocking, and now he wasn't so certain about his judgement regarding the Namikaze Clan.

The words he had uttered just now had been spoken grudgingly. Originally, he had planned to save those words for someone of his own generation as a coldly uttered ultimatum.

But now, he had no choice but to speak them to Naruto, in order to remind him that he shouldn't continue to act provokingly….

It was at this point that Naruto's expression suddenly flickered, and he looked in the direction of the Namikaze Clan's teleportation portal asteroid. Guru Heavencloud sensed the same thing Naruto had, and looked over to see that several figures had appeared. He finally sighed inwardly with relief.

He didn't want to admit to himself that he had even done such a thing, but he had no other option. He would rather clash with the Dao Realm experts of the Namikaze Clan than face Naruto. The four finger attacks Naruto had just unleashed filled him with the utmost fear.

Although he was still confident, he couldn't shake the fear that lurked in his heart. Besides, it would be a great, unrecoupable loss to be forced into an attempted breakthrough right here and now.

Despite being enraged, Guru Heavencloud seemed to force himself remain under control. He immediately clasped hands and bowed to the figures who were emerging from the teleportation portal.

Namikaze Shoudao strolled out from the glittering lights, his grim.

Guru Heavencloud's expression flickered, and he suddenly chuckled coldly, projecting his booming voice out to say, "Heavencloud of the Heavencloud Bazaar offers greetings, Senior Shoudao!

"Not only have I never offended the Namikaze Clan, I've never skimped in my yearly tribute, not even by a little bit. Normally speaking, I

accommodate the requirements laid out by your clan without hesitation. I truly respect the Namikaze Clan!

"Although other clans and powers have tried to recruit me, I haven't joined any of them. I'm always respectful to all of the sects and powers, and even more so when it comes to the Namikaze Clan.

"And what do I get in return for all of that? My Junior Brother was brutally slaughtered, and others of my disciples were violently killed. All because someone ignored the laws of the bazaar, laws which expressly forbid robbing and stealing!

"What is the meaning of such humiliation!? Senior Shoudao, could it be that the Namikaze Clan… really wishes to annihilate the Heavencloud Bazaar? After all, moments ago, it was your own Crown Prince who said that he wants the Heavencloud Bazaar to be renamed as the Namikaze Clan Bazaar!

"I could do nothing in the face of such provocation, because he's nothing but a young lad, and the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan. Then he attacked me, and considering the level of my cultivation base and my status, I had to endure for a while. I didn't want to hurt him, and thus, didn't use divine abilities, only magical items.

"However, your Crown Prince was extremely overbearing and menacing. He used sneak attacks to push me into a corner until I could fall back no further. I could have retaliated with deadly attacks on numerous occasions, but didn't, all because I wanted to avoid creating deadly enmity with the Namikaze Clan!

"However, everyone has their limits, and finally, I retreated far enough to reach mine!

"Senior Shoudao, I've already been forced to the point of having no choice but to make a breakthrough. Success would place me in the Dao Realm, failure, the Quasi-Dao Realm. Therefore, I want to know exactly what I did to offend the Namikaze Clan? Why do you want… to exterminate me!?

"The Heavencloud Bazaar might be small, but we're no pushovers! Senior, please take the lead in presiding over justice!"

Chapter 1160: The Namikaze Clan Arrives!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1161

Chapter 1161: The Old Fox

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. He ceased any pursuit of Guru Heavencloud, and looked extremely innocent and charming as he clasped hands and bowed to Patriarch Namikaze Shoudao.

"Junior offers greetings, Patriarch," he said, clearing his throat, as if he wasn't the instigator of the current predicament, and was very curious to see how Namikaze Shoudao would resolve the situation.

What he actually wanted to know, though was… exactly how important he was to the Namikaze Clan, and to Namikaze Shoudao.

He wanted to know if the title of Crown Prince… was actually worth something! Perhaps it was just a title, and wasn't worth anything. Naruto's attitude would be dependent on how the question was answered.

If the Namikaze Clan handled the situation with no regard for him, then he would simply attack. He would show the Namikaze Clan the true meaning of what an Allheaven Clan Patriarch was!

Namikaze Shoudao sent a vicious glare in Naruto's direction, but then, a moment later, his eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Behind him were five or six clan Elders, including the Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian, all of whom heard Guru Heavencloud's enraged words as they walked out of the teleportation portal.

Once again, Guru Heavencloud said, "Senior Shoudao, please take the lead in presiding over justice!"

At the same time, the magenta-robed cultivators in the bazaar all clasped hands toward Namikaze Shoudao and joined their voices together to say, "Senior Shoudao, please take the lead in presiding over justice!"

Their conjoined voices boomed out like crashing waves, causing an unsightly expression to appear on Namikaze Shoudao's face. Inwardly, he was slightly suspicious about exactly what was happening. He once again looked over at Naruto, expression grim.

After a long moment passed, he gave a cold harrumph and said, " Namikaze

Tongtian, you and the other Elders resolve this situation."

Namikaze Tongtian looked back at him in shock. Even as he stood there hesitating, one of the other Namikaze Clan Elders stepped forward, clasped hands, and bowed toward Guru Heavencloud.

"Fellow Daoist Heavencloud, please calm yourself. This truly was an instance of carelessness on the part of the Namikaze Clan. We can explain." Naruto had seen this old man before. He was an Elder from one of the neutral bloodlines. As the words left the man's mouth, Naruto's expression remained completely calm. However, his eyes turned icy cold.

"Naruto, immediately apologize to Guru Heavencloud, and give back the thing you stole!" the Elder said harshly. "As the Crown Prince, you must set a proper example for others! What you've done here is simply outrageous!" There were two reasons this Elder rushed to be the first to speak. The first was that he sensed that Patriarch Shoudao wasn't very pleased with the situation. The second was that he had many connections with the Heavencloud Bazaar, and wished for the situation to be resolved as quickly as possible.

From his perspective, his decision not to side with Naruto was quite proper. After all, the Namikaze Clan wasn't in a position to be antagonizing too many people, not even for the sake of the Crown Prince. Although Naruto had performed some incredible services for the clan, personal interests should never be placed above the interests of the group. Sometimes, it was simply necessary to back down.

He wasn't the only one who had similar thoughts. The other Elders, even the two who were members of Naruto's bloodline, all felt that the best way to resolve the situation was to chide Naruto.

One by one, the Elders began to chime in.

"Hao'er, you shouldn't have killed anyone here. Apologize immediately!

Fellow Daoist Heavencloud, this was just a matter of the Namikaze Clan's

Crown Prince acting a bit impulsively. Let's drop the matter, alright?"

"That's right. Hao'er, what are you doing just standing there? Apologize right now!"

As the Elders spoke one after another, Guru Heavencloud began to laugh coldly in his heart, and also sighed with relief that the Namikaze Clan members were reasonable people.

In his mind, after Naruto apologized, there would be no way for him to pursue the matter further. He himself would be able to sell the jade pendant to the Namikaze Clan, although for a higher price than before. After all, he couldn't quite resolve himself to the idea of letting Naruto away completely scot-free after what he had done.

He felt certain that the Namikaze Clan wouldn't be willing to antagonize people like himself lightly. After all, his cultivation base was at the point where all he had to do was make a breakthrough, and he could be a powerful enemy to any sect or clan.

Once that happened, unless they went all out to exterminate him, he would be able to cause them unending problems in the future.

Similarly, he didn't dare to deeply offend any of the powerful clans. That was why he always tried to maintain a certain level of imperiousness in his actions. He would never exceed that level too much, but he would likewise never become more submissive.

As soon as he heard what the Elders were saying, his face relaxed, and he clasped hands and bowed to the Namikaze Clan Elders.

"Since this was a misunderstanding, then I'll let it go," he said with a light, casual sigh. "We can simply blame my Junior Brother for being too boorish, which led him to an unfortunate and terrible death…. As for the stolen item, since the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan took a liking to it, then please, take it. In fact, I don't even want to have it returned. I just hope that the Namikaze Clan… won't slaughter me and my people!" Although he was smiling bitterly, his heart was filled with venomous malice. In this situation, he was using a tactical retreat to advance his interests, using weakness to defeat strength. He couldn't go so far as to demand that they strip Naruto of his title, but he could certainly get them to punish him. He wouldn't just deal him a flesh wound, he would stab him to the bone!

After all, he viewed himself to be the reasonable one. The people who had died were from the Heavencloud Bazaar. Not only had Naruto killed them, he had also stolen their goods. Guru Heavencloud was counting on all of that to lend weight to his demands.

In the end, it seemed to work out exactly as he had expected. In response to Guru Heavencloud's words, the group of Namikaze Clan Elders frowned and began to rebuke Naruto even more harshly.

"Hao'er, this is disgraceful!"

"Apologize right this instant, Hao'er! Do you really want to humiliate the entire clan because of your personal affair!?"

"Naruto, get down on your knees!" The last sentence was uttered by the first Elder who had begun speaking moments ago, the one from one of the neutral bloodlines.

Naruto's face had remained placid from start to finish. He offered no explanations, instead choosing to stand there looking coldly at the other members of the Namikaze Clan. To all the other cultivators looking on, Naruto seemed to be holding himself in a way that implied that even the Senior members of his clan weren't qualified to talk down to him.

But then Naruto heard that one particular Elder say the words 'get on your knees,' and his eyes flickered coldly.

"You're Namikaze who?" he said. "I forget your given name. In any case, I dare you to repeat what you just said about me kneeling. Go ahead and try it!"

The Elder's eyes flickered with rage, and he was just about to speak when….

"Enough!" said Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian, his face darkening, his voice echoing out in all directions. Although his cultivation base was not as high as Guru Heavencloud's, it was still high enough that Guru Heavencloud wouldn't look down on him.

"Elder Namikaze Shuidan, what you said just now was completely inappropriate," he said, his voice crackling like thunder. "Have you forgotten that you are also surnamed Namikaze ?!

"As for you, Fellow Daoist Heavencloud, don't try to take a mile when we give you an inch. Naruto is the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan. You say he killed some people? Well, even if he killed the entire Heavencloud Bazaar, what would it matter?!

"You say he stole something from you? How absurd! The Namikaze Clan lacks nothing! We have no need to go around robbing people! Besides, Naruto is our Crown Prince, the future Clan Chief! If he did rob you… then you should think of it as an honor!" All the surrounding cultivators' eyes went wide when they heard Namikaze Tongtian's words. Guru Heavencloud's eyes gleamed brightly as he glared back at Namikaze Tongtian.

"Don't be such an aggravating smart-aleck," Namikaze Tongtian continued, his eyes flickering with killing intent. "And don't put on such a show of histrionics. The Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan apologizing to you would be giving you plenty of face as it is. Let's drop the matter here. And if you disagree… go ahead and say so, then see what happens!" Although Namikaze Tongtian was no match for Guru Heavencloud, his status in the Namikaze Clan was such that he could easily cow Guru Heavencloud with his words.

Namikaze Tongtian's diatribe caused the other Namikaze Clan Elders to stare in shock. The other surrounding cultivators were even more astonished.

Even Naruto had a strange look in his eyes as he looked over at Namikaze Tongtian. If he remembered correctly, Namikaze Tongtian had been punished, locked away in secluded meditation because of the chaos that had broken out on Planet East Victory on his watch. For him to appear here now indicated that he must have been pardoned.

Guru Heavencloud glared at Namikaze Tongtian, then began to laugh in fury. He had never imagined that the Namikaze Clan's Grand Elder would dare to speak to him in such a way. He was so disrespectful that it almost seemed as if he didn't care at all about Guru Heavencloud.

He had practiced cultivation for ages, and in the many years after taking control of the Heavencloud Bazaar, he had had dealings with all the major sects and clans. They were always amiable, and neither he nor they ever tried to offend or antagonize each other.

They always spoke very politely to him, so this was the first time he had ever heard any person from any sect or clan talk to him in such a way.

As his angry laughter rang out, Guru Heavencloud seemed to struggle to control himself. He took a deep breath and then clasped hands and bowed deeply to Namikaze Shoudao.

Gritting his teeth, he angrily said, "Senior Shoudao, is this the Namikaze Clan's stance in this matter? You kill my disciples and steal my belongings. Do you want to force me into a corner?!

"Senior Shoudao, I once again ask for you to take the lead–" Before, Guru Heavencloud could even finish speaking, Namikaze Shoudao suddenly flicked his sleeve.

"Shut the hell up!" he said, his voice booming like thunder. The entire asteroid field shook, and the Heavencloud Bazaar trembled on the verge of collapse.

Numerous surrounding cultivators coughed up blood, and Guru

Heavencloud was shoved backward, blood spraying out of his mouth, his eyes shining with shock and disbelief.

It wasn't that he had never encountered Dao Realm experts before. On the contrary, he had actually met most of them. Considering his status and cultivation base, Dao Realm cultivators usually treated him very respectfully and even kindly.

This was the first time that anyone in the Dao Realm had ever disregarded him in this way.

When Namikaze Tongtian saw Namikaze Shoudao's burst of anger, his eyes flickered, but he didn't say anything. However, the other Elders' faces fell, and their hearts suddenly seized with fear. That was especially true of the Elder who had rebuked Naruto and told him to get on his knees. That man's heart began to pound with confusion. From his perspective, Naruto had performed services for the clan, but even the Crown Prince, a direct bloodline descendant of the Namikaze Clan, would be forced to back down in the face of the interests of the clan as a whole. And yet… Namikaze Shoudao's attitude seemed to be the opposite of that.

Namikaze Shoudao suddenly turned to look at the clan members responsible for maintaining the teleportation portal. "Let me ask you, when Hao'er sent word to us, what exactly did he tell you to say?"

The clan members immediately began to tremble, and one of them responded, "The Crown Prince… he said… to ask the Patriarch, you sir, whether or not you wanted to change the name of the Heavencloud Bazaar to the Namikaze Clan Bazaar…."

Namikaze Shoudao paused to think for a brief moment, then looked up and spoke, his booming words echoing out through the entire asteroid field, and even echoing out into the void beyond. "The Heavencloud Bazaar is in collusion with enemy clans! They plotted to harm the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan in order to foment civil war in Ninth Mountain and Sea. They even falsely accused our Crown Prince of robbing them, all with the intention of provoking us. This crime cannot be forgiven! Transmit orders to the entire Namikaze Clan. Exterminate the Heavencloud Bazaar. Leave no one alive! Henceforth, this place will be called… the Namikaze Clan Bazaar!"

Guru Heavencloud's mind spun, and his face was filled with an expression of shock and disbelief.

"Senior Shoudao!" he cried.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1162

Chapter 1162 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1162: Heavencloud Steps into the Dao!

Guru Heavencloud wasn't the only one who was shocked. All of the cultivators in the Heavencloud Bazaar were completely shaken by Namikaze Shoudao's words, and could scarcely believe what they were hearing.

The title of Crown Prince was simply that, a title. And yet, the Namikaze Clan seemed ready to go to war, and even make an enemy of someone who could step into the Dao Realm at any time.

It completely defied reason!

Even the other Namikaze Clan Elders gasped in response.

"Patriarch, this…." The Elder who had reprimanded Naruto the most severely began to speak, his voice hoarse. However, even as the words left his mouth, other Namikaze Clan disciples stepped into the teleportation portal to go spread word to the Namikaze Clan on Planet East Victory.

"Senior Shoudao, sir, what's going on?" asked Guru Heavencloud, his face flickering. "This was just a misunderstanding. Didn't we already make that clear…?" His heart was now starting to thump; he actually didn't want to be forced to break through to the Dao Realm. After all, it was a critical matter of life and death.

"The only thing that was explained clearly was why the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan attacked you," Namikaze Shoudao responded immediately. "What will happen now is that you will be punished for daring to use deadly force to try to punish the Crown Prince!

"My Namikaze Clan's Crown Prince, Hao'er, has incredible latent talent, and is matchless in the entire world. He is a qilin of the Namikaze Clan, and of all the members of the Junior generation, I favored his grandfather the most. His father, is also one of the young lads I look most kindly upon. And as for Naruto himself, I will risk my life for him, for the sake of protecting a Chosen of the Namikaze Clan!

"He is our future Clan Chief!

"He is our future Patriarch!

"He is the most, most precious person in the entire clan! The most, most, most cherished one of us. The most, most, most, most important person!" Namikaze Shoudao's proud voice echoed out in all directions, causing the other members of the Namikaze Clan to stare with wide-open mouths. All of the other cultivators in the area were also looking on in shock.

Even Naruto had to clear his throat. His face was a bit flushed, not with bashfulness, but with true embarrassment….

"Anyone who dares to provoke him is provoking the entire Namikaze Clan!" Namikaze Shoudao declared. "Anyone who dares to harm him, will provoke the Namikaze Clan into instant action, even if that action is a war of mutual destruction!

"Hao'er is absolutely one-of-a-kind in the Namikaze Clan, and there's not enough time in the day to show our care and affection for him. Heavencloud, you brat, I can't believe you actually dared to berate Hao'er, much less slander him! I'm going to kill you!" His voice echoed out in all directions, pouring into the ears of every person present, causing them to stare in shock.

Virtually everyone who was listening got the impression… that he was actually ingratiating himself to Naruto. For him to say such things in this situation really seemed strange….

In fact, it was obvious that he wasn't making this speech to the bystanders. It was clear that he was… speaking directly to Naruto.

However, this in itself caused everyone to be even more shocked than before. To hear such fawning words coming out of Namikaze Shoudao's mouth, especially to a member of the clan's Junior generation, actually revealed an even more stunning truth!

Guru Heavencloud's heart was pounding, and from Namikaze Shoudao's words, he could tell that there was something he didn't know about. Obviously, Naruto's status far exceeded that of a simple Crown Prince. He was obviously so important that Namikaze Shoudao was willing to publically brown-nose him. This left Guru Heavencloud shocked to a profound degree.

"And you!" Namikaze Shoudao continued, turning to glare angrily at the Elder who had reprimanded Naruto earlier. "How dare you ask the future Clan Chief, the future Patriarch, the clan's current immaculate qilin, our matchless Chosen… to kneel! Are you really surnamed Namikaze ? Fudge! If I'd known you were this kind of person, I wouldn't have arranged a beloved partner for your grandfather all those years ago! If your father hadn't been born, then I wouldn't have to deal with you, you spineless coward!"

The Elder began to shake, and the blood drained from his face. He was just about to offer an explanation when Namikaze Shoudao turned back to Naruto, a kind, albeit strange, look in his eyes. Seemingly excited, he laughed loudly and said, "Hao'er, how do you think we should punish this bastard?" "Patriarch–"

Before Naruto could say anything more, Namikaze Shoudao glared at him. "Don't call me Patriarch," he said. "Call me Great-Grandpa. That's a bit more cordial."

Naruto cleared his throat. "Great-Grandpa, allow me to take care of him."

With that, he waved his finger toward the Elder, causing the old man to instantly tremble. Although nothing happened visibly, the Dao seed inside of him suddenly vanished. Instantly, the man seemed to grow older, and his vitality seemed to wane.

Although his cultivation base was not harmed, the wave of Naruto's finger had cut off his path to the Allheaven!

Even the old man didn't really understand what he had lost. However, in an Allheaven Clan, what Naruto had just done was actually the most severe type of punishment!

Namikaze Shoudao's heart flip-flopped, and he took a deep breath. After taking a close look at the Elder, all of his previous suspicions were dispelled, and he looked back at Naruto with indescribable excitement.

Then he waved his sleeve, causing the whole asteroid field to shake as a beam of light spread out to cover the entire area, completely locking it down.

At the same time, light began to rise up from the Namikaze Clan's teleportation portal as hundreds of figures began to emerge. This was the Namikaze Clan. Even Namikaze Wei was present, along with Ancient Realm experts of the Elder generation.

"Wipe out the Heavencloud Bazaar!" Namikaze Shoudao said, waving his sleeve. Heaven and Earth rumbled, and wild colors flashed. Instantly, all of the teleportation portals on all of the asteroids were sealed, regardless of which sect or clan they belonged to.

It was now impossible for anyone from outside the asteroid field to interfere.

The cultivators who were not affiliated with the Heavencloud Bazaar were shocked, and did nothing to fight back against the Namikaze Clan. They were merely passers-by, and as long as they did nothing to help the Heavencloud Bazaar, they would not be affected.

The magenta-robed cultivators' faces turned deathly pale. It was hard to say who did it first, but they all began to flee. However, the Namikaze Clan cultivators immediately flew out to give chase, cold smiles on their faces.

"Surrender and we won't kill you!" Threatening voices immediately rang out from the Namikaze Clan, causing everything to shake, and the void to vibrate. Surprisingly, azure light was emanating out from the members of the Namikaze Clan. Although it was faint, everyone could see it, and it caused them to feel a pressure and a trembling within their souls. It was as if… that azure color commanded the ultimate respect!

When Guru Heavencloud saw what was happening, his face fell, and he backed up. However, even as he did, Namikaze Shoudao snorted coldly and prepared to attack. However, Naruto stepped forward first.

"Great-Grandpa, allow me," he said, his voice echoing about. Then he shot forward and resumed fighting with Guru Heavencloud. Within a few breaths of time, the two of them had already exchanged hundreds of moves, causing rumbling sounds to echo about. Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, unleashing the Essence of Divine Flame, a flame sea that engulfed Heavencloud's Soul Lamps and magical items.

Guru Heavencloud's Ancient treasure was then hit by the azure light from Naruto, causing it to tremble and crack. Naruto charged forward, blasting out with the God-Slaying Fist.

Wild colors flashed, and a screaming wind kicked up. All of the other fighting cultivators in the area began to tremble, and when they looked over, they gasped.

It was as if all the energy of Heaven and Earth in the entire area was being sucked into Naruto's fist. As his fist descended, it felt as if the will of Heaven were descending.

No matter what Guru Heavencloud tried to do to fight back, it was useless. The magical items held by his Soul Lamps shattered and transformed into ash, and his helmet was crushed. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he tumbled backward, his body half pulverized.

When Namikaze Tongtian saw this, his eyes went wide, and as for Namikaze Shoudao, a strange light could be seen in his eyes. Although he mostly understood what had happened, and had braced himself for something like this, to see Naruto wielding this type of strength was shocking.

" Namikaze Clan, you're forcing my hand!" roared Guru Heavencloud. Looking around, he saw that most of his Heavencloud Bazaar disciples had surrendered, and that he had essentially lost control. More members of the Namikaze Clan were pouring out through their teleportation portal. Guru Heavencloud began to laugh bitterly, even crazily. By now, he realized that he had offended someone who he could not afford to have offended. Regret was useless, so he roared and, without any further hesitation, pointed his finger up toward the Heavens.

"Dao!" he roared. It was only a single word, but when it left his mouth, everything shook violently. An indescribable energy of Heaven and Earth descended, swirling around him, creating a force that pushed Naruto away, making it impossible for him to get close.

Everyone around Guru Heavencloud was trembling under the incredible pressure that pushed down from the starry sky.

Namikaze Shoudao approached Naruto, looked up at Guru Heavencloud, and then slowly began to explain: "Watch closely. This is what it's like to step into the Dao. I forced him into this so that you could have a chance to see for yourself what it's like. When your time comes, this experience will prove to be quite helpful. Your future is tied to the future of the entire clan."

"Dao!" Guru Heavencloud roared again. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the pressure from up above grew more intense. The void vibrated, and ripples spread out in all directions. Layers of natural laws became visible, as well as numerous Essences.

Beams of light shot up from Guru Heavencloud, rising higher up, growing more numerous and scintillating….

Guru Heavencloud's energy rose, and the pressure of Heaven and Earth grew stronger. As of this moment, it was as if he were the center of attention of all the starry sky. Currently, not even Namikaze Shoudao could have tried to fight him.

Whenever someone in the great circle of the Ancient Realm stepped into the Dao, they were essentially invincible. At the same time, that person could do nothing to interrupt the process; any attempt to do so could influence their chances of success!

Failure… could not be endured!

"It's hard to say whether he'll succeed or not…." Namikaze Shoudao said with a sigh. "Stepping into the Dao is very difficult."

Naruto's eyes glittered as he looked at Guru Heavencloud. It was almost as if he were watching himself in the future, trying to step into the Dao.

"Dao!" Guru Heavencloud's final shout caused the starry sky to tremble and roil as a huge vortex formed. Within that vortex crackled countless lightning bolts, and just beyond it was what appeared to be a path.

It was impossible to tell exactly where that path led….

"That is the Dao, and also… a path!" 1 As Namikaze Shoudao's voice echoed out, Guru Heavencloud shot forward, going for broke as he charged into the vortex and stepped onto the path.

Chapter 1162: Heavencloud Steps into the Dao!

Don't forget that the character "Dao" also means "road" or "way" ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1163

Chapter 1163 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1163: Failing To Step Into the Dao!

A flash of concentration appeared in Naruto's eyes as he looked closely at everything that was happening. The Dao Stepping Path was a critical juncture when stepping from the Ancient Realm into the Dao Realm. Despite all of his experience with cultivation, Naruto had never seen anyone step into the Dao before.

Guru Heavencloud had offended someone he should never have offended, and now had no choice but to challenge this path. That was his only chance at getting out of the situation alive.

Heaven and Earth rumbled, and the starry sky shook. Most of the magenta-robed cultivators in the Heavencloud Bazaar had chosen to surrender. Those who had not were easily swept over by the Namikaze Clan. By now, the Heavencloud Bazaar had truly become the Namikaze Clan Bazaar!

Guru Heavencloud himself was the only survivor. He was now charging toward the vortex at high speed. However, as he neared, countless lightning bolts converged and shot toward him.

It was a majestic sight. Shocking peals of thunder echoed out as the lightning bolts fell. If you looked closely, you would be able to see outlines of people inside the lightning bolts.

Although it was impossible to make them out clearly, they were clearly mighty…. Naruto's pupils constricted the moment he saw them.

A boom rang out, and Guru Heavencloud shuddered, blood spraying out of his mouth. However, he was currently in a strange and bizarre state; natural laws and Essences swirled around him. He roared as he slammed through the lightning bolts and attempted to step into the vortex.

He knew that doing so was the first task he had to accomplish in order to step into the Dao. Although even greater dangers would arise after he did so, taking that first step was what would qualify him to take a second.

"If I step into the Dao successfully, then I'll use the power of the Dao Realm to flee this place. I'll go join the Ji Clan, and afterward, my enmity with the Namikaze Clan will be irreconcilable!

"If I fail, I won't be able to flee. Therefore, I will stay here and slaughter as many members of the Namikaze Clan as I can. I'll make sure they're buried with me!" Guru Heavencloud's plan was set. At the moment, he chose not to contemplate exactly why everything had turned out the way it did, nor did he consider that it was actually his own actions which had led to this series of events.

There was only one thing on his mind!

Kill Naruto!

All of his rancor was focused completely on Naruto, and whether or not he succeeded in stepping into the Dao, his main desire was that before he died, he be able to kill him.

He roared as he sailed toward the vortex. Booms rang out and lightning crashed. The speed of his charge gradually lessened.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he stood off in the distance, watching the scene thoughtfully.

Namikaze Shoudao stood next to him, eyes also focused on the vortex up in the void.

"Guru Heavencloud has been ready to step into the Dao for years now," he said coolly as he watched Guru Heavencloud approaching the vortex. "He just never dared to take that first step. Instead, he used his situation as a form of protection…. Perhaps you could say that I'm helping him out, helping him to take that first step. Of course, there are a total of nine tribulations when stepping into the Dao. This is merely the first tribulation, the Lightning Tribulation."

Guru Heavencloud was spattered in blood, and his aura was weakening. However, the feeling he gave off was that he would burst out with power on the verge of death. He roared, and shockingly, layers of mist and cloud formed around him, which alternated between transforming into rainwater and mist. Those were… his Essences!

As for what Essences they were, nobody could tell, since they were still in the process of brewing. However, if Guru Heavencloud stepped into the vortex and then walked the path to the end, then his Essences would fully and truly form.

How far one could tread on the path, and the final Realm one ended up in, was dependant on how many Essences one possessed. Of course, the further one walked, the higher the chances of failure.

A boom echoed out, and blood sprayed out of Guru Heavencloud's mouth. At the critical moment, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then pushed down on his forehead. Immediately, his cultivation base erupted, and he grew rapidly until he was several dozen meters tall. Then, he shot onward toward the vortex. More lightning fell, and as it slammed into him, he began to shrink back down in size. Soon, he was only about thirty meters away from the vortex, and was already back to his normal height.

His eyes shone with a light of madness. Roaring, he went all-out, holding back nothing to charge forward. However, in the instant that he stepped into the vortex, a blast of mist shot out from inside. It transformed into a pike which pushed toward Guru Heavencloud. It barely poked him, but he let out a bloodcurdling scream nonetheless as he was sent tumbling backward.

"NO!" As he fell back, countless lightning bolts descended, completely inundating him.

Namikaze Shoudao shook his head. "The second tribulation is coming, the Weapon Tribulation. This Heavencloud… has an unstable Dao heart. His essences are not converged, and his willpower is shaky. It's not likely that he'll succeed in the Weapon Tribulation." Guru Heavencloud screamed as the mist pike continued to pursue him. The Heavens trembled, and Guru Heavencloud began to laugh with bitterness as he fought back desperately. At the same time, more mist shot out from within the vortex.

This time, the mist formed into eight sharp weapons: saber, spear, sword, halberd, axe, hatchet, hook and trident. As soon as they appeared, they joined with the pike, transforming into nine beams of light that shot toward Guru Heavencloud.

By this point, the surrounding cultivators were all coming to the same conclusion: Guru Heavencloud… was not going to succeed!

"I refuse to accept this!" he shrieked, fighting back with all his might. He refused to back down, despite the blood spraying from his mouth. With every wound that was inflicted on him, some of the mist of natural law and Essence that surrounded him would merge into his body, restoring him. However… that restoration ate away at his power of natural law and Essence, causing them to grow weaker and dissipate.

When they fully disappeared, then that would indicate… that his attempt to step into the Dao… had failed!

"The third tribulation is coming…." Namikaze Shoudao said, looking into the vortex.

Almost in the same moment that he spoke, shocking rumbling sounds could be heard from within the vortex, and four figures appeared.

Each of these figures wore a black suit of armor. It was impossible to see their facial features, but all of them emanated indescribably murderous auras that caused the faces of all onlookers to flicker with shock.

"The Mountain and Sea War Generals!" Namikaze Shoudao murmured, his eyes burning with fervor.

As Naruto looked at the four figures, all of a sudden, the Demon Sealing Hexing magic inside of him began to stir.

"Life Death Hexing?" he thought. Almost as soon as he noticed the connection, the four figures suddenly turned toward him. Within their helmets, their eyes suddenly flashed with a strange light.

As their gazes met, Naruto's mind trembled. Suddenly, it wasn't just the Demon Sealing Hexing magic that stirred inside of him, the Paragon's blood inside of his Nirvana Fruit was also affected!

Gradually, he realized that there was some strange connection between himself and these four figures.

"It's almost like… I can control them…." he murmured, shaken.

"What did you just say?" Namikaze Shoudao asked, looking at him with wide eyes.

In the same moment that Naruto was mentally shaken, Guru Heavencloud laughed shrilly, a laughter filled with desperation and madness. By now, he had also realized that he could not succeed. Stepping into the Dao was a difficult thing. To any cultivator of the great circle of the Ancient Realm, it was a deadly test that far exceeded the previous challenges of lamp extinguishing.

The Ancient Realm was a terrifying place for any cultivator to be. After reaching that Realm, they faced one deadly crisis after another. The only way to be free of such an existence was to successfully step into the

Dao Realm.

"Naruto, all of this is your fault!" Heavencloud raged. His bitter laughter was tinged with even more madness than before, and his eyes were bright red. As of this moment, he chose… what every person who failed to step into the Dao chose to do.

Instead of hopelessly trying to continue to break through, he sucked the remainder of his natural laws and Essences into his body, which would form his life force in the Quasi-Dao Realm!

Anyone who failed to step into the Dao, and instead became a QuasiDao cultivator, would have a severely limited longevity, which usually was linked to how many natural laws and Essences remained after their failure.

The more they had, the more longevity they would possess. If they had too few… then the number of years they had left could be counted on a single hand.

Laughing bitterly, Guru Heavencloud sucked his breakthrough aura back into his body, along with the surrounding mist of natural law and Essence.

As he retracted the aura, the nine mist weapons suddenly halted in place, ceasing their attack.

Guru Heavencloud's body emitted rumbling sounds as the natural laws and Essence merged into him. Then, his power erupted, passing the great circle of the Ancient Realm and reaching… the Quasi-Dao Realm!

He was now in a Realm which was still half a step away from the Dao Realm, and yet vastly exceeded the great circle of the Ancient Realm. After all, he still had natural laws and Essences.

Although they were incomplete, they were still shocking, to the point that… even single-essence Dao Realm experts would find it troublesome to fight him. After all… Quasi-Dao experts were people who lived without hope, and descended into madness!

They knew exactly when they would die, as did everyone around them. And thus, they were insane!

Bitter laughter echoed out as Guru Heavencloud's body trembled and his aura changed. His life force faded away, and he was quickly surrounded by an aura of death!

His longevity was consumed by the natural laws and Essences. Assuming he didn't use damaging divine abilities, or engage in combat, he would live at most about one hundred years. When that time passed… he would be dead in body and spirit, without the slightest remnant of his existence left in the world.

To mortals, a hundred years was an entire lifetime. But to cultivators, a hundred years would pass very quickly.

Of course, if he ended up fighting in battle, his remaining time would decrease even more quickly.

"Limited longevity! Enmities must be avenged! Grievances must be requited!" Guru Heavencloud laughed. It was a laughter more ugly than weeping. His eyes bulged, and the aura of death surrounding him grew even stronger. Madness filled his eyes as his deranged laughter echoed out in all directions, transforming into a tempest that caused all light to dim, and the Heavens to tremble. Boundless ripples spread out.

Guru Heavencloud's energy was now greater than it ever had been in his entire life.

"Naruto!" he cried venomously, looking over at Naruto with boundless killing intent.

Chapter 1163: Failing To Step Into the Dao!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1164

Chapter 1164: Eternal Patriarch!

In the next instant, Guru Heavencloud stepped toward Naruto. Before he could get close, Namikaze Shoudao snorted and prepared to make a move. But then, Naruto reached out and blocked his path.

"Hao'er, you…." Namikaze Shoudao looked at Naruto, and noticed the strange look in his eyes as he looked up at the vortex.

The vortex was slowing down, apparently having lost interest in Heavencloud. It began to dissipate, the nine sharp weapons having already returned back inside.

However… the four black-armored figures were still standing outside, almost as if they had forgotten about the vanishing vortex. They were all looking at Naruto, as if he was of incredible interest to them.

Naruto's heart was pounding. He didn't have time to pay any heed to Guru Heavencloud. The sight of the four black-armored figures caused the Paragon's blood inside of him to seethe, and the Demon Sealing Hexing magic to churn. Shockingly, he was somehow connected to those four figures.

It was an invisible connection, but Naruto was clearly able to sense the confusion which existed in the four of them.

He took a deep breath and said, "Come…." The instant the word left his mouth, the black-armored figures began to move. In the blink of an eye, they appeared directly in front of Naruto!

Their speed vastly exceeded that of Guru Heavencloud with his towering murderous aura. Before he could even get close, the four black-armored figures were directly in front of Naruto.

This development caused Guru Heavencloud to stare in shock. He might only have one hundred years of longevity left, but he still believed that there was nothing left in the world that could shock or astonish him. However, as of this moment, his heart was pounding.

"This…."

He wasn't the only shocked one. Namikaze Shoudao gasped, and his eyes filled with an expression of disbelief. The other surrounding cultivators, including the members of the Namikaze Clan, were all gaping in astonishment.

How could they not be, considering that these four black-armored figures were… the third tribulation when stepping into the Dao!

Now, that third tribulation wasn't dissipating, but listening to Naruto's words as if they were orders. The scene that was playing out left everyone's minds reeling.

"This is a trick!" Guru Heavencloud roared, continuing to charge toward

Naruto. "There's no way that you can control the Mountain and Sea War–" However, before he could even finish speaking, he suddenly shivered as if he had just seen an evil spirit.

That was because he was currently witnessing the four terrifying armored figures suddenly… kneeling to Naruto!

They bent down on one knee and lifted their right hands high into the air. That was… the most respectful form of salute that could be given in the ancient Immortal World. Anyone who used such a form of salute was showing that they were a complete inferior offering wholehearted respect to a superior!

Massive waves of shock battered Namikaze Shoudao's mind as he gaped at the scene. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing. Actually, he knew a bit about the history of his clan, and knew of the word 'Allheaven'.

However, there were still many aspects of the matter that were unclear to him. Even his own cultivation base had been affected by the momentous bloodline changes not too long ago. A Dao seed had appeared inside of him as well, prompting an investigation by himself and Namikaze Yanxu. They had even gone to pay respects to the clone of the first generation Patriarch, and that was where they had gotten their answer.

"The clan's blood has changed; the will of the Patriarch has come. He is the source of the Dao, the Namikaze Clan's eternal Patriarch!" That was what the first generation Patriarch's clone had said. At the time, Namikaze Shoudao didn't quite understand what he meant. But as soon as he laid eyes on Naruto earlier, his heart had been shaken to the core. There was something completely shocking about Naruto, some aura that filled Namikaze Shoudao with fanaticism, and the desire to offer worship.

Naruto could control the life or death of every member of the Namikaze Clan, and could also control the Dao seeds within their blood!

Even more astonishing to Namikaze Shoudao was that Naruto was clearly not an ordinary clan member any more. He was like a shining light, and the closer Namikaze Shoudao got to him, the more he felt as if his blood were boiling. Furthermore, that desire to offer worship increased dramatically!

In that first moment of shock, he thought back to what the first generation Patriarch's clone had said.

Shortly thereafter, Naruto had wiped away the Dao seed in the Elder, and Namikaze Shoudao's doubts were completely dispelled. At that point, he was certain… that Naruto was the reason for all the transformations that had occurred in the Namikaze Clan. He was what the first generation Patriarch's clone had referred to as… the source of the Dao in the bloodline, the Namikaze Clan's eternal Patriarch!

All of that was shocking in and of itself. But even more shocking was what had happened just now with the black-armored figures. Namikaze Shoudao took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with a strange light.

Hao'er can actually make the Mountain and Sea War Generals kneel before him…. He can actually control them…. That means that from now on, whenever someone from the Namikaze Clan tries to step into the Dao, the third tribulation… will be much easier to pass!

The surrounding cultivators and Namikaze Clan members were all staring in shock at the scene playing out in front of them. It was something which they would never forget.

"Hao'er, you… you can control them?" Namikaze Shoudao asked, sounding uncertain.

"Kill him!" Naruto said suddenly, wanting to know the answer himself. Eyes flashing, he pointed directly at Guru Heavencloud, his killing intent swirling.

Naruto's action caused Guru Heavencloud's scalp to feel like it was about to explode, and he fell back. He might only have a hundred years of longevity left, and was already mad, but that didn't mean he actually wished to die.

Dying in this moment, and dying a hundred years from this moment, were two very different things. He obviously wanted to live as long as possible, so therefore, when he saw the black-armored figures rising up in response to Naruto pointing, when he sensed their towering murderous auras, when they began to head in his direction, Guru Heavencloud was finally… afraid.

All of the fear and terror of Naruto that he had been keeping under control until now finally exploded out!

"Who… who is he really? He can mobilize the entire Namikaze Clan for war, he can make Namikaze Shoudao suck up to him, and he can actually control the third tribulation Mountain and Sea War Generals!"

The last part was the most critical aspect as far as Guru Heavencloud was concerned. When he saw that Naruto could control the very Dao Tribulation that he himself had failed at, his entire world was overturned. It was as if everything he knew had crumbled away.

Even as he fell back, the four black-armored figures closed in. Heavenshaking, Earth-shattering murderous auras exploded out from them. It was merely energy, and yet colors flashed and the starry sky shook. Blood sprayed out of Guru Heavencloud's mouth, and he instantly grew five or six years older.

A strange light appeared in Namikaze Shoudao's eyes as he murmured, "According to the legends, the Mountain and Sea War Generals were cultivators who served the Paragons, and killed hosts of Outsiders on the ancient battlefields. Supposedly, they built up stupendous killing intent, to the point where they controlled the will of death! Obviously, the legends are true!"

Quasi-Dao experts were incredibly powerful, and under normal circumstances could never be taken lightly. But when fighting the Mountain and Sea War Generals… it was a completely different matter!

Their energy alone was enough to reduce Guru Heavencloud's longevity by five or six years. That alone attested to how terrifying they were, and left Guru Heavencloud in complete terror. He performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and waved his finger in front of him, causing Essence power to erupt out. Just as he was about to begin fighting, one of the black-armored figures lifted its right hand and then made a chopping motion.

That chopping motion caused the starry sky to rumble, as if it were about to be ripped apart. All of Guru Heavencloud's defenses crumbled. His body trembled, and in the blink of an eye, he aged by another twenty years!

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as the second black-armored figure

made a chopping motion as well, followed by the third figure. The fourth black-armored figure followed up with a fourth fluid chopping motion!

Guru Heavencloud was completely incapable of evading these three strikes, nor could he resist them or fight back. Rumbling sounds filled the air, and more blood sprayed out of his mouth. He immediately aged by twenty years, forty years, sixty years, eighty years!

By this point, he had only a few dozen years of longevity left. He now looked completely ancient, and was surrounded by an aura of death.

"The Mountain and Sea War Generals rebuke the Quasi-Dao Realm!" Namikaze Shoudao observed the four black-armored figures with gleaming eyes. He could almost see images from some ancient era, in which a vast number of these Mountain and Sea War Generals had fought with the Paragons on countless battlefields.

Naruto's mind also trembled as he watched the scene play out.

Suddenly, Guru Heavencloud threw his head back and laughed bitterly.

"Naruto, do you dare to fight one-on-one with me? If I die in this battle, at least I can die with no regrets!" He feared the Mountain and Sea War Generals, and how easily they could defeat him. He knew beyond the shadow of a doubt that he was going to die, but before that happened, he wanted to cut down Naruto!

Naruto looked away from the four black-armored figures toward Guru Heavencloud, and his eyes flickered with the desire to fight.

"You want to fight!? Allow me to fulfil your desire!" He began to stride forward, causing rumbling sounds to shake the starry sky. Shocking azure light rose up, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Guru Heavencloud. Immortal mountains descended, and the Supernova Magic exploded out, along with a Violet Moon. The Ninth Mountain appeared, and the Blood Demon roared. It all transformed into a maelstrom which rumbled out toward Guru Heavencloud.

He attacked relentlessly and with a completely domineering air. The wave of a hand caused the Essence of Divine Flame to rumble out, creating a burning sea of flames. Guru Heavencloud's face went pale, and he performed an incantation gesture, summoning countless divine abilities. In the blink of an eye, he and Naruto exchanged hundreds of blows.

The battle was shocking, causing numerous asteroids in the asteroid field to shatter. The void vibrated, and the starry sky rumbled. At the same time, Guru Heavencloud's longevity continued to waste away.

Thirteen years. Nine years. Six years. Three years… One year!

Ten months. Seven months. Five months. Three months…. One month! Twenty-seven days. Twenty days. Thirteen days. Six days…. One day!

Naruto's Chakra and blood surged, and his desire to fight soared. He took a step forward and punched out.

It was the Life-Extermination Fist, followed by the Bedevilment Fist, and then the God-Slaying Fist!

"DIE!" he roared, his killing intent surging.

These three fists strikes filled Guru Heavencloud with a sense of impending doom that was no weaker than what he had felt from the black-armored figures. He threw his head back and roared bitterly, attacking with all his strength. Naruto was half a step into the Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm, and Heavencloud was a gasping, seriously wounded Quasi-Dao cultivator!

They were like two meteors which slammed into each other, causing colors to flash up above, and a huge wind to blast out.

A massive tempest sprang up, obscuring everyone's vision. However, when it cleared, Naruto was hovering there in the starry sky, looking every bit like some sort of celestial warrior!

In front of him was Guru Heavencloud, blood oozing out of his mouth as he looked at Naruto, his expression conflicted. He was filled with regret as his body cracked into pieces and transformed into ash that… faded out into the starry sky!

It was at this point that the four black-armored figures clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto.

Namikaze Shoudao and the other members of the Namikaze Clan suddenly felt something inside of them, an azure light which shone out, just like Naruto's!

"Eternal Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan…." Namikaze Shoudao murmured excitedly.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1165

Chapter 1165: The Whole Clan Pays Respects!

Guru Heavencloud was destroyed in body and soul!

When he died, the four black-armored figures bowed to Naruto and then transformed into beams of prismatic light that shot back into the vortex. The vortex had long since ceased rotating, and now looked like a black hole in the void. The four figures disappeared inside, and the black hole vortex vanished.

As it did, the ripples in the starry sky faded away, and the void ceased to tremble. The pressure that came with stepping into the Dao disappeared, and everything returned to normal.

However… the Heavencloud Bazaar forever had a new name. It became a new stronghold of the Namikaze Clan.

Namikaze Shoudao took a deep breath and concealed the expression of shock which had been pasted onto his face. He looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, then waved his hand, causing the shield to be removed from around the asteroid field. The teleportation portals were no longer sealed. Immediately, the terrified cultivators in the area began to leave.

As they did, they glanced over at Naruto with fear and dread. To them, Naruto was not some Immortal Realm cultivator, but instead a powerful expert of the Senior generation. He was an almighty figure who was completely removed from them.

As can be imagined, the departure of all those cultivators almost immediately caused the news about Guru Heavencloud offending Naruto, and the resulting carnage, to begin to spread throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

It also ensured that Naruto's name once again was talked about far and wide. All clans and sects were shaken, and everyone realized that Naruto was a person who could not be considered to be in the Junior generation anymore. He was on the same level as Quasi-Dao experts, or perhaps needed to be treated as even higher than that.

The Namikaze Clan's attitude in the whole matter explained everything. Everyone knew that if someone dared to treat Naruto with hostility, the entire Namikaze Clan would respond with explosive violence.

As for the magenta-robed cultivators who used to be disciples of the Heavencloud Bazaar, they stood there trembling, having long since surrendered. They were assimilated into the Namikaze Clan, who had numerous ways of ensuring their future loyalty and devotion.

The crowds departed, and soon, the only people left behind in the asteroid field were members of the Namikaze Clan. There were a few hundred in total, all of whom were now looking toward Naruto with fanatical devotion.

This was… their Crown Prince!

He could fight with Quasi-Dao experts, and could even kill them. With a cultivation base and an identity like that, it was enough to cause the whole clan to be shaken and filled with zeal.

Most important was the Dao seed inside all of the Namikaze Clan cultivators.

That naturally caused them to be even more respectful toward Naruto, although it was on a subconscious level that most of them weren't aware of.

It was a strong subconscious desire, but after witnessing the grand display of Naruto slaughtering a Quasi-Dao cultivator, it erupted out, causing their eyes to overflow with fanatical approval of Naruto.

The handful of Elders present were completely shaken. After exchanging glances, they looked around at the former Heavencloud Bazaar. Because of the scale and history of the place, it was a potential goldmine, and whichever clan member was assigned to watch over it would receive untold benefits.

It was at this point that Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian spoke up, immediately addressing the most important issue at hand regarding the bazaar. "Hao'er," he said, "who in the clan do you think would be best suited to running this bazaar?"

His words also indicated to the other Elders that Naruto… had the ultimate authority.

Naruto looked at the place in which Guru Heavencloud had vanished, then slowly turned around, clasped hands, and bowed to Namikaze Shoudao and Grand Elder Namikaze Tongtian.

"Great-Grandpa, Grand Elder, I feel that Namikaze Xi would be best suited to manage this bazaar," he said with a smile. "After all, he has had limited chance to gain experience in the clan. This would be an excellent place for him to grow and mature." Almost as soon as he had decided to rename this place as the Namikaze Clan Bazaar, he had thought about Namikaze Xi. Considering how much the place was worth, it would be far better to give it to him than anyone else. 1

" Namikaze Xi's a wonderful kid," Namikaze Shoudao said with a kind smile. "Let's give it to him, then." To him, this place was just a mere bazaar, so he didn't even consider refusing Naruto. That wasn't even to mention Naruto's status, which caused even his heart to tremble.

However, it seemed that Naruto wasn't interested in publically revealing the matter of his status in the clan. If word spread about that, it would send the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea into an uproar. In fact, it could even influence the balance of power in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole.

In a similar vein, Namikaze Shoudao understood a bit about Allheaven Clans, but not too much. He would need to confer with Naruto about the subject, and decide on the best way to use it to lead the Namikaze Clan to prominence as quickly as possible, and become a true Allheaven Clan. When he thought about that matter, it caused Namikaze Shoudao to treat Naruto with even greater regard.

"Hao'er, let's go," he said with a laugh. "It's been a long time since you've been back to Planet East Victory. Why don't you let your GreatGrandpa here test out your cultivation base and battle prowess?"

Naruto clasped his hands respectfully, looked at Namikaze Shoudao and said, "Let's not rush back to Planet East Victory, Great-Grandpa. Junior would like to head to Planet South Heaven first, to pay respects to father and mother."

Namikaze Shoudao stared in shock for a moment, then looked at Naruto thoughtfully. Finally, he smiled and nodded.

"You truly deserve to be called the qilin of the Namikaze Clan. Not only are you matchless and unrivaled, you're also a filial son. Your idea is an excellent one. How careless of me! Of course we should go to Planet South Heaven first.

"Your father is the one who raised the qilin son of the Namikaze Clan, and even agreed to be dispatched to Planet South Heaven to stand guard. His service and contribution to the clan has involved numerous hardships. In fact, the Namikaze Clan… would be hard-pressed to be able to repay him.

"In fact, I hereby issue new orders. Namikaze Xiufeng will be the new Clan Chief! It doesn't matter that Xiufeng is not on Planet East Victory, all cultivators of the clan should show their respect to him!

"I will personally act as Dharma Protector to help Xiufeng make a cultivation base breakthrough, to step from the Ancient Realm into the Dao Realm!" Namikaze Shoudao flicked his sleeve to make the order official.

"Tongtian, send orders to the clan. Any clan member who is a stage 5

Immortal or higher will prepare to immediately leave for Planet South Heaven. All Elders will go as well, to bear witness to the bestowing of the gift of Clan Chieftainship!

"All sects and powers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea will know that Namikaze Xiufeng is the new Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan, and demands a show of respect from the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea!"

Namikaze Shoudao's proclamation caused rumbling sounds to fill the minds of all members of the Namikaze Clan. The Elders gasped in shock. For Namikaze Xiufeng to be named the Clan Chief was a huge matter. After all, even Namikaze Shoudao was only the acting Clan Chief.

A Clan Chief was the leader of an entire clan. Both in terms of position and status, it was an exalted rank. In terms of the Ninth Mountain and Sea as a whole, such a figure was a person of extreme importance.

This act was an extreme show of goodwill on the part of Namikaze Shoudao toward Naruto. It was a way of making up for past issues, and to show how important Naruto was now.

In this way, Naruto would well and truly be the legitimate Crown Prince!

And that was just the first great gift being given. The second was that Namikaze Shoudao, with the help of Namikaze Yanxu, both of whom were powerful Dao Realm experts, would assist Namikaze Xiufeng to step into the Dao Realm himself!

With their help, and assuming the clan itself did not hold back any expense, it would be possible to significantly reduce the danger he would face when attempting to step into the Dao. If at that point he was still unable to succeed, it would not be the fault of the Namikaze Clan, but rather, Namikaze Xiufeng himself.

Regarding how many clans in the Ninth Mountain and Sea could afford to offer such complete support such as this, well, that number could be counted on a single hand!

These two gifts were so incredible that they caused even Naruto to gasp in surprise. Then he turned to Namikaze Shoudao, clasped hands, and bowed deeply.

The other direct bloodline Elders were very excited, and also bowed to Namikaze Shoudao, then turned and flew toward the teleportation portal along with Namikaze Tongtian.

Before entering the teleportation portal himself, Namikaze Tongtian turned and gave Naruto a deep look. He knew he had made mistakes in the past, and hoped that his current actions would make up for that.

Namikaze Shoudao laughed and looked over at Naruto. "Hao'er," he said, "there's no need to be in a rush. Come come, let's you and I head off first. Once the rest of the clan mobilizes, we can all meet at Planet South Heaven to pay our respects to the Namikaze Clan Chief!"

Naruto immediately joined Namikaze Shoudao to enter a teleportation portal, upon which they vanished.

Naturally, Namikaze Shoudao had many things to discuss privately with Naruto, many questions that needed answering.

Despite their departure, the Namikaze Clan was just as aboil as before. After the clan members returned to Planet East Victory, word rapidly spread, and the entire clan surged into motion.

Although some people questioned the decision, no one dared to violate the orders given by Namikaze Shoudao. Furthermore, Namikaze Yanxu emerged from secluded meditation and used his status to oversee the unification of the clan. It didn't take long before the Namikaze Clan was organized, and over 1,000,000 clan members formed ranks and entered the teleportation portals that led toward Planet South Heaven.

News about the buzz of activity spread off of Planet East Victory and quickly came to be known by all the sects and clans, leading to quite a stir.

Seven days later, the glow of teleportation rose up outside of Planet South Heaven. Numerous shining lights filled the air as the members of the Namikaze Clan emerged, faces solemn. As they organized themselves in the starry sky outside of Planet South Heaven, their numbers swelled until it became virtually impossible to see the group from beginning to end.

All of them wore the ceremonial attire of the Namikaze Clan as they hovered there, facing Planet South Heaven.

Namikaze Yanxu was at their fore, joined by Pill Elder. Behind them were the Elders, then the direct bloodline clan members. Last were all the other ordinary clan members, arranged in ranks. It was a grand sight that caused the starry sky to tremble and the void to shake.

It was at this time that Naruto and Namikaze Shoudao emerged from the glow of another teleportation portal. Namikaze Shoudao's expression seemed the same as ever, but his eyes glowed with joy and excitement that were impossible to cover up. Namikaze Yanxu could see it clearly as Namikaze Shoudao approached. When Namikaze Shoudao saw him, he nodded.

One thing that Namikaze Yanxu immediately noticed was that Namikaze Shoudao was actually positioned behind Naruto. He was only about half a step back, which might not seem like much, but to Namikaze Yanxu, it was very telling.

His eyes suddenly gleamed with excitement.

Naruto hovered there, backed by what seemed like all of the most powerful experts of the Namikaze Clan. His heart surged with pride. He… had come home!

Namikaze Xi appeared too many times for me to include links. Also of the direct bloodline, he helped Naruto with his escapades in the Dao of Alchemy Division, and also had some interaction with the parrot and meat jelly ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1166

Chapter 1166: Dad, Mom, Hao'er Has Come Back!

When Naruto left, it was as a Spirit Realm cultivator, taken away by Namikaze Xi's father. Back then, he was a stranger without any reputation, someone the Namikaze Clan barely noticed. Neither did the Ninth Mountain and Sea pay him much heed.

At that time, few people cared whether or not he lived or died.

He left quietly, his parents looking on sadly. Upon leaving Planet South Heaven, he had told himself something….

"One day I'll come back, and I'll make dad and mom proud of me!"

Today, he had come back!

His cultivation base was no longer in the Spirit Realm. Instead, it was at the point where he could shake those of the terrifying Quasi-Dao level. Even powerful experts of the Senior generation would have to take him seriously, and treat him as an almighty member of their own generation.

He was no longer a stranger without any reputation. Naruto was so famous that his name came up in conversation virtually every day in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. After all, he was also Crown Prince Namikaze Hao!

Nobody could afford to disregard him, not the Ninth Mountain and Sea, not Paragon Sea Dream, not the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole!

He had come back, not alone, but rather, with a host of Namikaze Clan experts, all there to pay respects!

Naruto hovered in the starry sky, looking in the direction of Planet South Heaven, thinking about many things. Finally, he called out in a loud voice: "Dad, mom, Hao'er has come back!"

As his voice rang out, all of the cultivators in the sects and clans of Planet South Heaven trembled. They could all sense the massive pressure weighing down from the sky, and although they couldn't clearly see what was out there, they felt as if they were suffocating. It was as if countless beings were up above, emanating pressure, pushing Heaven and Earth to the point of collapse.

In the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, in a tiny city controlled by the

Namikaze Clan, was a Tower of Tang. That was where Namikaze Xiufeng and Uzumaki Li often went to look out into the starry sky and observe their children.

That was where they had watched Naruto rise to prominence on Planet East Victory, something which had filled them with happiness, anticipation… and hope.

"Did you hear that?" Uzumaki Li asked, quivering slightly. She looked at her husband, who looked as somber as ever, and yet at the same time, was radiant with joy.

"I heard," Namikaze Xiufeng said, his tone extremely calm as he stood there. "You women are too excitable. You know how worldly-wise I am, so this is nothing new. Isn't it just a big crowd? Why'd the kid have to make such a big deal over coming home? What a racket!" As he straightened out his clothes, Uzumaki Li glared at him, clearly not very happy with his attitude.

"Oh be quiet," she said. "Don't tell me you're not pleased that your son got your whole clan to come pay respects. Stop pretending you don't care, you think I don't know you?" The two of them emerged from their house and flew up into the sky.

"Women," Namikaze Xiufeng muttered coolly, ignoring his wife's words. They had just barely begun to fly up into the air when Namikaze Xiufeng suddenly blurted, "Wait, is this outfit alright?"

He looked down and straightened out his garments one more time.

"All we're doing is going to greet some Elders and Patriarchs, right?" Uzumaki Li said, tongue in cheek. "Aren't you the top Chosen of the last generation in the Namikaze Clan? Didn't you just say that you're worldlywise? Why are you suddenly so nervous?"

"Who said anything about being nervous?" Namikaze Xiufeng retorted, coughing dryly. "I've been the top fighter for years, I don't get nervous at anything. I was just thinking that I need to look good for Hao'er's sake, now that he's back. The younger I look, the better."

Uzumaki Li covered her mouth as she laughed. Her laughter made Namikaze Xiufeng even more embarrassed than before. It was actually just as his wife had said. Although he maintained a calm exterior, inside, he was bubbling with nervousness and excitement.

The Namikaze Clan was his family, and although he had been willing to be stationed on Planet South Heaven for Naruto's sake, he had never forgotten that he was part of them. Not once.

Therefore, to see virtually the entire clan here to pay respects was incredibly moving.

Naruto's parents turned into two streaks of light that shot up into the starry sky outside of Planet South Heaven, which was the border between it and the rest of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. This was the furthest they could go from the lands of South Heaven. As soon as they arrived, Namikaze Xiufeng looked at Naruto, at the two Patriarchs standing behind him, and all the other countless clan members arrayed further back.

Namikaze Xiufeng could keep his composure no longer. His face reddened as he clasped hands and made to bow. However, Naruto hurried forward and prevented him, then knelt down in front of him.

"Hao'er pays respects to dad and mom!" he said. Even as his voice echoed out loudly, all of the Namikaze Clan cultivators, including the direct bloodline clan members, all clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"We offer greetings, Clan Chief!"

As their voices echoed out in all directions, Namikaze Xiufeng stared in shock and disbelief. He looked at Naruto, and then all the familiar faces further off. Finally, his gaze came to rest on Namikaze Shoudao.

"Patriarch… this…."

"Xiufeng, you are rendering a great service by standing guard here on Planet South Heaven. Furthermore, you have made many other great contributions to the clan. I have already discussed the matter with the leadership in the clan, and from henceforth, you will be the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan!" Namikaze Shoudao gazed deeply at Namikaze Xiufeng, his expression somber as he also clasped hands and bowed.

" Namikaze Shoudao offers greetings to the Clan Chief!"

" Namikaze Yanxu offers greetings to the Clan Chief!" As soon as the two Patriarchs bowed, the direct bloodline clan members immediately lowered their heads and bowed.

"Greetings, Clan Chief!"

"Greetings, Clan Chief!"

Their voices echoed out like thunder, causing the starry sky to tremble, sending ripples out into the void. The chorus of a million voices could even be heard down on the lands of Planet South Heaven.

Namikaze Xiufeng was trembling, and Uzumaki Li gaped in shock. Naruto finally rose to his feet and walked over to his father and mother. He gazed at his mother for a moment, then gave her a big hug.

"Hao'er, this…." Uzumaki Li was shocked at everything that was happening and looked at Naruto questioningly, unable to wrap her mind around what was happening. Previously, both she and her husband had assumed the clan coming to pay respects was a mere formality, an outward display of respect shown as a gift from the clan.

However, despite guessing that there was another reason for the visit, neither of them could ever have imagined that… it was to make Namikaze Xiufeng the Clan Chief!

"Mom," Naruto said, smiling, "I'm the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan. It's only natural that dad should be the Clan Chief. I wouldn't accept anyone else but him." Although his words seemed casual, in truth, they carried a domineering air that only a select few could detect.

Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes shone brightly, and he looked at Naruto with a somber expression. His lips moved slightly as he quickly transmitted some questions to Naruto.

Naruto hid nothing. He briefly responded with a description of

Allheaven Clans and Dao seeds, after which, Namikaze Xiufeng trembled.

"So, it's called a Dao seed…." Namikaze Xiufeng murmured. He had realized earlier that his energy was noticeably different than before, something he had previously found hard to believe. It had seemed completely outlandish. But now that he knew both the cause and the effect, Namikaze Xiufeng suddenly realized that it was just as Naruto had said; other than himself… Naruto would never have approved of anyone else being the Clan Chief.

That was one area that Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu had been worried about.

"Many thanks, Patriarchs Shoudao and Yanxu. Since the clan wishes that I be the Clan Chief, well then… I will do everything in my power to live up to the duty and obligation." Namikaze Xiufeng did not refuse. Suddenly, his energy grew more awe-inspiring. His eyes shone like lightning, and as he looked around at all the members of the Namikaze Clan, his cultivation base erupted with power.

In the blink of an eye, it turned into a tempest which shook the entire starry sky, causing all hearts to tremble. At the same time, Soul Lamps appeared around him, instantly revealing his cultivation base to be at the great circle of the Ancient Realm!

He seemed not a bit less powerful than Guru Heavencloud; he was just a single step away from the Dao Realm. Furthermore, that step could be taken at any time he wished.

However, if he failed, he would end up in the Quasi-Dao Realm. The main reason he wished to avoid such an outcome was not because he feared death. No, he wanted to live as long as possible, so that he could strike fear into the hearts of any enemies of his son and daughter.

As his energy surged out in all directions, the clan members who had previously been hesitant to accept this new development could suddenly sense how powerful Namikaze Xiufeng was.

Furthermore, Namikaze Xiufeng was a sword cultivator. Sword cultivators were inherently powerful, so that, coupled with his cultivation base, made it so that at his full power Namikaze Xiufeng was clearly strong enough to fight with Quasi-Dao experts!

Even more shocking was that natural laws and Essence also swirled around him. Although it might have seemed like he didn't practice cultivation while on Planet South Heaven, the truth of the matter was that his cultivation had long since ceased to be practiced externally, and was all performed internally. The focus was no longer his fleshly body, but his heart.

Up to this day, he had never revealed the full extent of his shocking power to anyone.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he suddenly waved his finger casually. No one other than Namikaze Shoudao could detect the meaning of that seemingly random act.

As soon as Naruto's finger waved through the air, the Dao seed in

Namikaze Xiufeng suddenly exploded with power. The azure glow which already existed inside of him grew more dazzling, until it was like a beam of azure light shining up into the starry sky.

As soon as that beam of azure light appeared, Namikaze Xiufeng's energy grew even more powerful. Strange colors flashed, and all of Planet South Heaven rumbled. Shockingly… the power of an Allheaven Immortal was… awakening in Namikaze Xiufeng!

Because of that, the azure light in him grew even stronger. His cultivation base rotated and his blood surged. At the same time, an Imperial will suddenly flickered in his eyes.

When the members of the Namikaze Clan saw this, they were completely shocked. As for Namikaze Shoudao, his eyes gleamed with a strange light, and with excitement.

Apparently because of the power of the bloodline, the initial awakening of the Allheaven Immortal within Namikaze Xiufeng caused azure light to also shine up brilliantly from all the other members of the Namikaze Clan.

The starry sky shook, and the lands quaked. It was as if the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was being shaken. Even the Mountain and Sea Realm trembled. Apparently… they were all bearing witness to the rise of an Allheaven Clan!

"Greetings, Clan Chief!"

"Greetings, Clan Chief!" It was hard to say who began crying it out first, but soon the noise of the voices was even louder than before, echoing out like a storm.

Naruto, on the other hand, looked exhausted. Although the wave of his finger had seemed simple, it left him feeling drained. However, to see his father looking so powerful, and his mother so excited, made it all worth it.

Naruto smiled, a charming, happy smile.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1167

Chapter 1167: Get Back Here, Naruto!

Decorative lanterns and brightly colored banners could be seen everywhere on Planet South Heaven. The members of the Namikaze Clan flew down from the starry sky into various districts of the Great Tang of the Eastern Land, where they used various magical powers to erect huge temple halls and altars.

Over the course of an entire month, they transformed the Great Tang into a palatial temple complex befitting of the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan. They even created numerous Immortal's caves for the insurge of cultivators from off of South Heaven.

The Great Tang of the Eastern Lands was where the grand ceremony to appoint the Clan Chief would be held.

Furthermore, because Namikaze Xiufeng would stay on Planet South Heaven after his coronation, it became the Namikaze Clan's second planet. It went without saying that it was now a very important place for the Namikaze Clan.

Namikaze Shoudao immediately issued orders that all available clan members participate in the renovation of Planet South Heaven. At the same time, numerous teleportation portals were set up, which connected to the enormous main teleportation portal on Planet East Victory.

You could say that Planet South Heaven was being completely transformed. Not only was the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands mobilized, the other lands were included in the great changes as well, including the Northern Reaches, the Southern Domain and the Western Desert.

Soon, the entire planet was essentially part of the Namikaze Clan. There wasn't a single person who could disagree with the matter, because… once Namikaze Xiufeng officially became the Clan Chief, it meant that the Clan Chief was standing guard over Planet South Heaven. That in turn meant that the entire Namikaze Clan was standing guard over it as well.

Numerous incredible changes began to occur to the four great continents on Planet South Heaven, especially the Southern Domain. Because of Naruto's connection to the Southern Domain, it would eventually become second in importance only to the Eastern Lands, and the cultivators there would be given an enormous amount of special assistance in terms of cultivation and in various other ways. After all, although most sects there had connections to the larger powers out in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, in the Southern Domain, Naruto occupied the highest position!

To the cultivators of the Southern Domain, Naruto was more aweinspiring than even their own sects!

As for the Blood Demon Sect, that was the place where Naruto and Xu Qing had been married. In accord with Naruto's wishes, the areas surrounding the Blood Demon Sect had been kept exactly the way they always had.

Beams of colorful light could be seen streaking through the skies of

Planet South Heaven constantly as more and more members of the Namikaze Clan arrived. Their arrival caused the spiritual energy on Planet South Heaven not to lessen, but to grow stronger.

Regarding the Planet South Heaven division of the Ji Clan, they had long since been cowed by Namikaze Xiufeng. Now, they were forced into an even more subdued position.

As the members of the Namikaze Clan began fixing up Planet South Heaven, Naruto, Namikaze Shoudao, Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Xiufeng entered a long session of private talks, during which Naruto explained to them everything he knew about Allheaven Clans. That included the source of his own Dao, as well as the effects of the Dao seeds. He explained everything in detail and left nothing out.

Although Namikaze Shoudao had heard about these things once already, he got excited all the same. As for Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Xiufeng, both were impassioned by the things they were hearing and coming to understand.

"The Namikaze Clan is destined to rise to prominence," Namikaze Xiufeng said. "We won't just lord it over the Ninth Mountain and Sea, we will grow beyond it and become the most powerful clan in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

"For now, all these things about Hao'er must remain top secret. Only members of the Dao Realm are qualified to know the truth!" After reaching a decision on the matter, Namikaze Xiufeng made the suggestion to have Naruto stay put on Planet East Victory.

Naruto smiled wryly and tactfully refused. Were it anyone else who had made the suggestion, he would have just ignored it. However, since it was his own father, he could only politely make his case from every possible angle, after which Namikaze Xiufeng frowned, but agreed.

It took a while, but he finally managed to finish persuading his father and then slip away to find his mother. He quickly brought out all of the things he had bought at the bazaar and handed them over. Uzumaki Li was very pleased. To her, it didn't matter what Naruto bought for her, the expression of the feelings in his heart was the most important thing.

"Oh you!" she said warmly, tousling his hair. "You always throw your money away! You need to learn to be frugal! Don't you remember what I taught you when you were young about saving money? If you have a single copper coin, cut it in two before you spend it. The same principle applies to spirit stones.

"Furthermore, you're too kind and considerate. Too honest! You're a smart kid, but you need to remember what I've taught you. Never let yourself get the short end of the stick!

"The cultivation world is a dog-eat-dog place, and you have to be on guard at all times. That's what I worry about the most, you know. You take after me, too kind-hearted and too honest. Not like your sister. She's a lot more like your father, always suspicious about everything." Uzumaki Li shook her head, and her eyes filled with concern.

Naruto had a strange expression on his face, and as he listened to her talk, his face started to redden. He had to look at her closely to make sure that she wasn't being sarcastic with him.

"Mom, I… I never get the short end of the stick," he explained.

"Never get the short end of the stick?" Uzumaki Li responded lovingly. "Look at all these things you got for me. I can tell from a single glance that you must have spent a fortune. Obviously you got conned."

"I didn't get conned! I…" Naruto quickly explained about everything that happened with Guru Heavencloud. Not wanting to get his mother's hopes up only to dash them later, he left out the part about the jade command medallion. He would wait until he gathered some more clues about the matter before breaking that news to her. After he finished, Uzumaki Li frowned at him, looking even more worried than before.

"Silly boy, why did you go and do things that way?" she said with a sigh. "You shouldn't have just straight-up killed Guru Heavencloud. You little dummy, that's exactly what I'm talking about when I say you get the short end of the stick. Everyone has friends and family, including that Guru Heavencloud. Even I've heard of him before. He had lots of rich friends. All you had to do was let him go, and he would have gone to get help from his friends. Then you could have followed him to see who his friends were.

"Then you could have robbed all of them without even having to come up with an excuse why. How great would that have been? Ai. You're just like me, child. Too honest." His mother finished with a bitter chuckle.

Naruto's eyes widened, and he stared in shock.

"Oh, there's another reason you shouldn't have killed him," she continued. "Do you know how much Quasi-Dao experts are worth? Take him to the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and you could have gotten a mindboggling price for him. You're just too inexperienced. Not far-sighted enough. All you could think about was some crappy bazaar. That place isn't worth squat.

"See, when you analyze it carefully, you'll see that you really were conned. Don't you remember what I taught you when you were young? When you go out and see something valuable, if you don't pick it up, it's the same as if you lost it!

"Another thing is that the entire body of a Quasi-Dao expert is a magical treasure unto itself. Even if you killed him, you could have delivered his body over to the Fourth Mountain and Sea and earned a huge profit.

"Also, the bones of a Quasi-Dao expert can fetch a high price in the Seventh Mountain and Sea. After all, those aren't things you run into all the time. But you went and threw all that away! Ai. Honey, you're really too honest and straightforward." By the time Naruto's mother finished speaking, her voice was like droning in Naruto's ears, and he was staring at her in shock.

After a long moment passed, he suddenly slapped his thigh. Looking extremely annoyed, he said, "You're totally right! Dammit! How come I didn't think of those things!?" Stabs of pain filled his heart as he thought about the vast amount of spirit stones he had lost out on.

Uzumaki Li sighed and tousled his hair, looking just as worried as before.

"You need to think more. If you keep going on the way you are right now, I'll constantly be worried about you being out on your own." Even as she spoke, Naruto's face suddenly twitched, and then an unsightly expression could be seen. Uzumaki Li also seemed to notice whatever it was that Naruto had, and a smile broke out on her face.

"Your sister's back. Honey, this is the first time you've come back since you left. You need to be more like your sister. She comes back all the time to visit, and she's always asking if you've been by. Oh right, every time she comes to visit, she brings her little hubby with her." Uzumaki Li's eyes suddenly flickered with a crafty gleam. Just as she finished speaking, the front door of the building they were in collapsed inward with a booming crash.

"Naruto, you Heaven-damned bastard! At long last I've managed to track you down!" A young woman flew in through the rubble of the door, looking like an explosive dragon. Her cultivation base was profound; apparently she was a stage 5 Immortal. This was none other than Naruto's sister, Namikaze Yu!

Thanks to Namikaze Xiufeng's connections to the Emperor Immortal Sect, she had been given a spot there. After joining, she continued to grow and progress. Although she couldn't be considered extraordinary among the members of her generation, she ascribed to the notion that slow and steady wins the race. With every breakthrough she made, her foundation grew stronger and more stable.

The blow she had just delivered caused the entire building to shake. A look of astonishment appeared on Uzumaki Li's face, and then suddenly she flashed off into the distance.

"You two haven't seen each other for years," she called out. "Why don't you take some time to catch up? Hao'er, your sister had a fiery temper, but you're a big boy, so just grin and bear it, alright!?"

"Grin and bear it, my ass! Get back here Naruto! I promise I won't beat you to death! I can't believe you foisted that bastard Sun Hai on me to get back at me. Y-y-you…. Am I your sister, or is he your sister!?" Rage burning, Namikaze Yu roared and shot toward Naruto.

"YOU'RE my sister! He's a guy, he couldn't be my sister even if he wanted to!" Naruto shot backward immediately. He actually felt a bit guilty, especially when he saw the fawning, servile baldy Sun Hai following close behind Namikaze Yu. Naruto's smile grew even more bitter.

Back when he'd collected some interest from Sun Hai, he had loftily explained to him how to win over a girl that you had a crush on. How could Naruto have ever known at the time that the girl Sun Hai was talking about was actually his sister?

After finding out, he'd been planning to teach Sun Hai a lesson or two, but other matters had intervened. By the time he'd returned, Sun Hai had been nowhere to be found, which left Naruto with a sinking feeling.

From the way Namikaze Yu was yelling at him, Naruto instantly realized that Sun Hai had sold him out.

"Sun Hai!" he roared. He didn't dare to raise a hand to Namikaze Yu, but had no such misgivings when it came to Sun Hai. As he closed in, just when he was about to make his move on Sun Hai, Sun Hai suddenly clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Sun Hai offers greetings, Brother-in-law. I will never forget the kindness you showed to me back in the day." With that, Sun Hai pulled out a bag of holding.

"Brother-in-law, these are all the spirit stones I owe you from years ago. I've even included the interest, sir. Brother-in-law, please kindly accept my payment." Sun Hai quickly tossed the bag of holding toward the shocked Naruto. This was the first time ever in which someone had proactively paid back the money they owed him. Without even thinking about it, he caught the bag.

Sun Hai immediately retreated to stand in front of Uzumaki Li. With a plop, he dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Sun Hai offers greetings and well wishes, madam," he said, kowtowing repeatedly. "The trip here was made in haste, but I managed to bring a small gift. Please accept it, madam. I hope it brings you eternal beauty and never-ending youthfulness." With that, Sun Hai rose to his feet and handed a bag of holding to Uzumaki Li.

Uzumaki Li accepted it, looked it over, and then smiled warmly.

"You always bring me gifts when you come to visit, child. In the future, you don't need to be so courteous!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1168

Chapter 1168: Settling Karma with Old Friends

Naruto glanced at the bag of holding, and then looked over at the similar bag of holding in his mother's hands. All of a sudden, he realized that Sun Hai wasn't as annoying as he had previously thought.

However, Namikaze Yu was still cussing him out, causing Naruto to tremble in fear. He suddenly shot forward to appear directly in front of Sun Hai.

"Sun Hai, how dare you call me Brother-in-law!" he roared, his eyes flashing. "My sister is as lovely as a flower, tender and refined, unique and incomparable. If you want to fall for her, fine, but without my approval, NOBODY can marry my sister!" His hand shot out like lightning, his index and middle fingers stabbing toward Sun Hai's forehead. Considering the level of Sun Hai's cultivation base, if that blow landed, he would be dead beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Naruto attacked with such speed that even his mother was shocked. However, she quickly realized that something else was going on. She understood how her son thought, and knew that Naruto wasn't the type to randomly kill people. His finger attack surely had a deeper meaning.

Seeing Naruto lunging toward him caused Sun Hai's face to go pale and his mind to spin. He immediately fell back, but considering the difference in level between their cultivation bases, he was like a firefly trying to compare with the shining moon. It was basically impossible for him to evade Naruto. At the same time, Namikaze Yu was closing in on Naruto, looking like an explosive dragon.

"Naruto, stay your hand!"

"Don't worry, sister," Naruto replied, "I'll cut down this pervert for you. From now on, you'll finally have some peace and quiet. This is merely the duty of a younger brother."

Namikaze Yu suddenly started to get even more anxious. "Naruto, you scoundrel, I forbid you from harming him!"

Almost in the same moment that her words rang out, Naruto's fingers touched Sun Hai's forehead. Sun Hai immediately began to shake. However, it was at this point that he suddenly received a message transmitted by Naruto, along with a wink.

"Elder Brother Sun, this is your chance. Go!"

Sun Hai wasn't a stupid person, so he instantly bit down on his tongue, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. Then he let out a miserable shriek. He suddenly flew backward, intentionally sending his cultivation base into chaos to add to the effect, which caused blood to spurt out from the pores on his skin.

"Sun Hai!" Namikaze Yu cried, shooting toward Sun Hai and catching him in her arms. Her expression was one of extreme anxiety and guilt.

"I… I can't hold out much longer," Sun Hai gasped, trembling. "Before I die… I only have one wish. I–" Namikaze Yu suddenly frowned, and then a dark expression covered her face.

"Bastard!" she growled through gritted teeth. Then she raised her hand to slap Sun Hai. Sun Hai immediately dodged to the side to avoid the blow; obviously he wasn't injured at all. Namikaze Yu was now even angrier than before. She glared at Naruto for a moment and then began to chase after Sun Hai.

Seeing that Namikaze Yu's anger was no longer fixed on him, Naruto sighed in relief. Even if his cultivation base was more powerful than it was, he would never dare to raise his hand to his parents or his sister. Furthermore, he could tell from the way his mother treated Sun Hai that she and his father must approve of their relationship.

Although you couldn't see it from how she spoke to Sun Hai, Namikaze Yu clearly liked him, at least mostly. Apparently, all the pain and suffering he had gone through over the past years had finally touched her heart.

Uzumaki Li appeared next to Naruto and watched as the enraged Namikaze Yu chased Sun Hai off into the distance. Uzumaki Li's eyes shone with warmth and kindness as she said, "Your father and I both approve of them. Sun Hai might not be incredibly exceptional, but he's not bad. Most important is that he truly loves your sister. The past few years, she's constantly bullied him, but he actually seems to like it. He's got a good temperament, that kid.

"Your father and I talked about it, and unless something unexpected happens, they should become official beloved partners in a few years.

"Now that I think about it, Sun Hai is very respectful. He's mentioned over and over again how thankful he is for the support you showed that year." She looked over at Naruto and smiled.

Naruto actually felt a bit embarrassed. He had been trying to pull a fast one on Sun Hai, and had never imagined that he was actually conning himself at the time. However, now that he thought about it, if Sun Hai and Namikaze Yu did end up getting married, and it was because of him, then that could be seen as a truly beautiful thing.

"I'm not worried about your sister," Uzumaki Li said, her voice soft. "But you…."

After a moment of silence, Naruto took a deep breath and said, "Mom, I'm planning to leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea. I'm going to go find Xu Qing… and bring her back."

Uzumaki Li didn't say anything at first. However, after a moment, she nodded.

Burying her worry and anxiety, she said, "Go, as soon as your father's ceremony is over. It's your choice to make, and if you're sure that's what you want to do, then… you need to bring my daughter-in-law back here to meet us."

A sudden breeze blew through the building, causing the leaves to rustle and lifting Uzumaki Li's hair. Naruto looked over at his mother and noticed some new wrinkles on her forehead. She was by no means old, but she definitely looked different than he remembered her looking in the past.

Not even cultivators could completely escape the effects of the passing of time.

Naruto suddenly reached out and hugged his mother.

"Aw, honey," she said, smiling warmly, suddenly recalling what Naruto used to look like as a child. The two of them chatted until evening fell, whereupon Naruto finally took his leave.

"Mom, there's still some time before dad's ceremony. I'm going to visit a few places. I've been away a long time."

The evening wind was picking up, and dark clouds were gathering in the sky. As Naruto left the courtyard of the Namikaze Clan, the rumble of thunder could be heard, and great bean-sized raindrops began to pour down.

Naruto used no magic to block the rain. Soon, he was soaked through and through, and as he walked down the street, he looked around at the people scurrying about to avoid the rain. He shook his head and smiled. The rain made him think about the Five elemental Nations, Mount Daqing, and everything that had happened back in those days.

Sighing, he continued along. As he walked, he could sense the boundless

Immortal power filling the lands of Planet South Heaven. That came because of all the visiting Namikaze Clan cultivators, who radiated an intangible energy.

Among all that energy were two auras that shone as prominently bright as lanterns on a dark night. Those two auras belonged to Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu. Planet South Heaven was a unique place that Dao Realm experts could not enter, so they had restricted their cultivation bases to the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

As he sensed all of these things, Naruto's heart gradually grew tranquil. There was a lingering question that his mother had not asked him, and that he himself had not brought up. That was, if he left… when would he return?

He didn't know. He had absolutely no idea how long it would be from the time he left the Ninth Mountain and Sea until he would be able to bring Xu Qing back to Planet South Heaven to meet his parents.

"Maybe it will happen quickly. Or maybe… it will take a very, very long time." Naruto had a strange premonition that caused him to brood silently as he walked through the rain. He had lost track of time, and eventually he stopped and looked up, whereupon he noticed a distant wall. A huge gate could be seen in that wall, hanging outside of which was a lantern.

The lantern swung back and forth in the heavy wind, and the heavy, driving rain plopped onto the canvas canopy which covered the lantern, flowing together into a solid stream that then splashed onto the ground.

However, the wick inside was of unconventional design and, although the flame flickered wildly, it didn't fade. It continued to burn, illuminating the character which was written on the canopy. It said… Ji 季.

This was the location of the Ji Clan on Planet South Heaven.

This was the exact place where he had once broken down a gate to collect debts…. 1

He had never imagined that his strolling would subconsciously lead him here.

"I guess it's just destiny," he thought. "I wonder if my old friends from all those years ago are still here." He walked up to the door and looked at the iron rings, thinking about how he had ripped the rings off of the doors back then. He chuckled, then reached up and knocked. The sound of the knock echoed out into the courtyard of the Ji Clan.

He only knocked once, then stood there waiting patiently.

Almost immediately, the sound of a commotion could be heard inside the Ji Clan ancestral mansion. Before long, the door slowly swung open, and Naruto could see several hundred members of the Ji Clan lined up inside. At their head was the local Ji Clan Patriarch.

He was no longer young like he had been before. He looked much older, and as he stood there looking at Naruto, a strange look could be seen in his eyes. After a long moment, he sighed, clasped hands, and bowed.

"We offer greetings to the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan."

All of the other Ji Clan cultivators bowed in unison with him. Ji Xiaoxiao was there in the crowd, wearing the clothes of a married woman. She was no longer young and pretty like she had been before. She looked old now, and she also had a conflicted look in her eyes as she looked at Naruto. 2

It had been years since their last meeting, and yet, Naruto looked as dashing as he always had, or perhaps even more handsome than before. Every move he made caused an indescribable energy to spread out, creating a pressure that weighed down on everyone. It was as if he, standing there outside the door, were the center of the entire world.

And yet, there stood Ji Xiaoxiao, long since married. An inexpressible bitter feeling rose up in her heart, and she bowed her head.

Naruto looked around at the various members of the Ji Clan and saw only a few familiar faces. A couple of the people he remembered fighting with in years back, plus there was Ji Xiaoxiao and Ji Tianyi.

Ji Tianyi was now middle-aged, and his cultivation base was in the early Dao Seeking stage. He had since become an elder in the clan. He looked at Naruto with a complicated expression.

"Ji Xuelin?" Naruto asked.

"He failed in Spirit Severing seven years ago. He's dead." The person to answer Naruto was Ji Tianyi. 3

Naruto stood there silently for a long moment. In the end, he decided that since he had just happened across this place while strolling about, he wouldn't enter. Looking at the familiar faces one more time, he clasped hands and bowed, then turned to leave.

"Wait a moment!" Ji Xiaoxiao said through clenched teeth. As Naruto looked back, she threw a bag of holding over to him, which he caught.

"Those are all the spirit stones I owe you. The debt is clear now."

"Here's mine." Ji Tianyi also threw over a bag of holding.

Naruto scanned them, then looked back at Ji Xiaoxiao and Ji Tianyi, and nodded.

"Henceforth, the debt is clear," he said softly. The Ji Clan paid special attention to Karma. Were his cultivation base lower than theirs, they would be able to take the initiative in manipulating it. But now Naruto's cultivation base had long since reached the level that all they could do was look up at him from far below. They no longer had the initiative when it came to Karma. He did.

If Naruto wanted, he could refuse to clear the debt. As his cultivation base grew higher, the Karma would grow even stronger, and the pressure on them greater. However, with the debt clear, they were finally free.

Having settled the Karma, Naruto turned and walked off into the distance.

The rain began to fall harder.

—–

Note from Deathblade: In this and some subsequent chapters, it clearly indicates that many years have passed since Naruto left Planet South Heaven. According to the descriptions, it would have to have been decades. Although no major time skip was described that I can recall, there have been several instances in which we don't know exactly how much time passed. One example would be when Naruto wandered around alone in the Ruins of Immortality.

Naruto came to collect debts from the Ji Clan in chapter 803 ↩ Ji Xiaoxiao was the girl he met in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect.

Because of their mutual secrets, she helped him out a bit in the end.

Later, he saw her in the Milky Way Sea, but didn't reveal himself to her. When he came back to collect debts, she wasn't present ↩ Ji Tianyi was one of the people who ended up owing money to Naruto in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect. He was never named in that arc itself, but was mentioned by Naruto in chapter 803. Ji Xuelin was also mentioned in that same chapter, and you might remember that it was his brother Ji Xueming, who initially tried to stop Naruto from taking the door hoops ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1169

Chapter 1169 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1169: Returning to the Crow Divinity Tribe!

Naruto felt somewhat like a stranger on Planet South Heaven as he looked around at all the familiar sights. In his heart, this was his home, the place where he had grown up, and the place where he learned about cultivation. This was where he had laughed, developed his ideals, and thrived on his youthful energy. This was also the place where he had married Xu Qing.

The rain passed, and a rainbow appeared up above in the dawn sky. Naruto went to various places in the vast Eastern Lands. He went to the mountains where lay the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite temple. Long ago, it had been a place of extreme danger to him. Now, nothing there was even worth paying attention to.

He walked through the mountains, through that long, narrow path, and then finally reached the edge of the crater where the temple had once stood. He stood there for a long time, thinking.

He recalled everything that had happened here, how he had taken the bronze lamp, and how everyone had chased him. The events in the subsequent days and nights had been like a sort of baptism.

That was his first time he had truly become embroiled in the affairs of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

As he stood at the edge of the crater, he sighed. Much time had passed. The mountains were still the same mountains, and there was grass everywhere just like before. However, the trees and other vegetation had changed. Although they seemed the same at first, their colors had deepened from the ones that he remembered.

After a long while, he left.

He went to the Northern Reaches, and from there, to the Milky Way Sea. As he passed over the water, he looked down at the waves, and recalled everything that had happened there. He thought about Patriarch Reliance, the 10th Uchiha Clan Patriarch, and the Resurrection Lily.

After crossing the Milky Way Sea, he found himself in the Western Desert. It was a vast place, and was still mostly submerged by violet seawater. The Violet Sea was tranquil and lifeless.

He proceeded along over the Violet Sea, eventually reaching the area the Crow Divinity Tribe had once called home. He sank down into the water there and looked at the mountains and valleys in the area, all places with which he was familiar.

From there, he proceeded along under the water, telling himself that he was going to take all of the details about Planet South Heaven and place them in his heart, in order to never forget. As he sped along under the surface of the Violet Sea, he eventually reached the South Cleaving Mountains, which seemed to stretch out endlessly.

Eventually, he reached something that looked like a huge wall, or a city gate. It kept the Violet Sea out of… the Black Lands.

The Black Lands were now very different from how Naruto remembered them. They bustled, even thrived. Numerous cultivators scurried back and forth between there and the Southern Domain. Apparently, the Southern Domain was very accepting of the Black Lands cultivators.

Over the years, the former powerful tribes of the Western Desert, as well as the native Black Lands power groups, had all thrived and grown powerful.

Many Northern Reaches cultivators had settled down in the Black Lands, and had come to call the place home. Their path of cultivation had been cut off by Naruto years ago. No matter how they cultivated, they could only reach a certain height. Their fates were sealed, and they were forced to atone for the crime committed by their ancestors from the Northern Reaches, when they had invaded the Southern Domain.

The Crow Divinity Tribe was now the largest tribe in the Black Lands and also the number one power, with many other sects and clans subservient to them.

Almost as soon as Naruto entered, he realized that there were statues everywhere. Some were large, some were small, but all of the important groups in the Black Lands had them.

Those statues depicted… Naruto!

The largest of the statues was covered in spirit stones. When the sunlight fell onto it, it glittered resplendently with a multitude of colors. That statue was located on the highest mountain in the Black Lands, which belonged to the Crow Divinity Tribe.

That statue was the symbol of the Black Lands, and represented the spirit of the cultivators there.

Every so often, the members of the Crow Divinity Tribe would gather around the statue to offer worship and sacrifices. As it happened, that was exactly what they were doing when Naruto arrived.

He hovered there above the huge statue, looking down at all the Crow Divinity Tribe members gathered around the mountain. There were tens of thousands of them, all prostrating themselves in worship.

No one could sense Naruto's presence. It was as if he existed in a different world.

Ten old men in resplendent robes stood apart from the tens of thousands of tribe members, eyes burning with passion. Raising their hands high into the air, they cried out, "Crow Divinity Tribe, bow to the Sacred Ancient!"

In response to their call, tens of thousands of tribe members bowed low and joined their voices together in worship. As the sound echoed out, the tribe members looked at the statue with gazes of awe. From the look of it, if this statue were alive, and gave them orders, they would follow those orders without question.

Naruto's statue had replaced totems as the symbol of the cultivators of the Black Lands.

Naruto hovered there in midair, looking down at the scene playing out below. He heard the voices of the crowds, and was also just able to detect that their worship contained vestiges of the power of Joss Flame. It was faint, but it was there.

The ten old men once again cried out with loud voices, "Crow Divinity

Tribe, bow to Patriarch Fifth and Patriarch Third!"

Again, the crowds bowed in worship. A strange expression appeared on Naruto's face. He had noticed earlier that this particular statue belonging to the Crow Divinity Tribe had a parrot attached to its shoulder, upon whose ankle was a tiny bell.

The ceremony of offering worship continued.

Naruto sighed, and was just about to leave, when all of a sudden, he said, "Eee?"

Eyes glittering brightly, he hovered in place and looked back down below him.

What he saw was that the Joss Flame power which emanated off of everyone because of their fervent worship, was gathering around the statue. It then blasted up into the sky, where a vortex appeared.

Although the cultivators down below couldn't see that vortex, Naruto could see it clearly.

As it spun silently, a figure slowly appeared within it. It was a young man in a black robe, whose appearance… looked very similar… to Naruto's!

The main difference was that he had two black wings sticking out of his back. His expression was lofty as he descended from above to land upon the head of the statue. There, he sat down cross-legged, whereupon he began to breathe in the power of the Joss Flame.

He could not see Naruto, but Naruto could see him, and knew exactly who he was. This was the creature which had been his follower for a brief period of time, the black bat!

Although he now maintained human form, he still looked the same as before. Clearly, he was here to steal away the Joss Flame sacrifice from the Black Lands.

Naruto glared at the bat creature coldly. At the same time, he realized that the mastiff in his bag of holding had suddenly twitched, and opened its eyes. A blood-colored gleam appeared, as well as an icy-cold aura.

"You're interested in him, huh?" Naruto thought. He then recalled the so-called renegade spirit that the mastiff had absorbed back in the Windswept Realm, which had also been a bat.

The black-winged young man was sitting there in meditation, absorbing the Joss Flame power when, all of a sudden, he shivered. His eyes opened, and he looked around suspiciously. Although he didn't see anything, he still felt incredibly frightened, as if Naruto's presence caused him to be jumpy.

He suddenly let out a bellow, causing ripples to spread out in all directions. As they neared Naruto, he waved his finger, which produced no reaction from the ripples, and in fact, caused them to pass right through him.

The black-robed young man frowned. Despite using a divine ability to check the area, he hadn't been able to identify anything suspicious. He wanted to just ignore the matter, but the sense of crisis he felt only continued to grow stronger.

He had been absorbing the Joss Flame here for years, and had never felt anything like this before. Finally, he gritted his teeth and flew up into the air to leave. He would rather abandon the Joss Flame than run into any dangerous situations.

However, in the same moment that he flew up, Naruto's eyes gleamed with a bright light, and he snorted.

The sound seemed to reach out past the illusion that masked him, transforming into lightning which crackled in the sky. The world trembled, and the black-robed young man let out a shriek. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he was no longer able to keep himself hidden from the people down below. Almost immediately, everyone caught sight of him hovering there in the air.

Everyone was shocked, especially the ten old men. Then they saw his face, and their expressions flickered with disbelief.

"Who's there!?" cried the black-robed young man, coughing up some more blood. "Who's ambushing me!?" He was completely shaken, and yet, all he had heard moments ago was a clap of thunder, not a cold snort from Naruto.

If he had heard Naruto, then he would never have been able to muster the courage to speak.

"Sacred Ancient!"

"It's the exalted Sacred Ancient! Heavens, it's a manifestation of the

Sacred Ancient!"

"Greetings, exalted Sacred Ancient!" The tens of thousands of Crow Divinity Tribe cultivators down below were trembling in awe. The ten old men gasped loudly.

"I'm Naruto, the Sacred Ancient of this place!" the black-robed young man shouted. "Whoever's trying to ambush me had better show their damned face right now!" He took a deep breath, sucking in the Joss Flame, causing a bright glow to rise up from him, and making him look every bit like a majestic Immortal.

"Well that's funny," Naruto said coolly, strolling out into the open air. "If you're Naruto, then… who am I?" Everyone down below could now see him.

The cultivators of the Crow Divinity Tribe stared in shock, confusion, and disbelief. They looked at Naruto, and then back at the black-robed young man, clearly unsure of who was real and who was not.

Actually, there was no need for them to try to guess. As soon as the black-robed young man caught sight of Naruto, his face fell and his eyes went wide. He began to pant with disbelief, and he let out a shout of alarm.

"Naruto… you… when did you get back?!" The black-robed young man's scalp was tingling. He suddenly realized that the thunder from just now had not been thunder at all, but rather, Naruto. He began to tremble and back up, and then fled with all the speed he could muster.

Naruto's expression was calm as he took a step toward the fleeing young man. Then, he vanished, to reappear directly in front of him.

Down below, the tens of thousands of Crow Divinity Tribe cultivators were shaking as they realized that this second Naruto was their true Sacred Ancient.

"Greetings, Sacred Ancient!"

"The Crow Divinity Tribe offers greetings, Sacred Ancient!"

As their voices rang out, the entire Black Lands trembled.

Chapter 1169: Returning to the Crow Divinity Tribe!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1170

Chapter 1170: This Place Is My Home

As the sound echoed out, the Black Lands trembled. In another location in the Crow Divinity Tribe was an enormous altar which was permanently guarded by a massive military force. Other than their Holy Mountain, it was the most sacred place in the Crow Divinity Tribe.

Few people knew the special reason why that altar had been erected. Tribal law in the Crow Divinity Tribe dictated that the successive generations of tribe members were required to offer worship at both the Holy Mountain and that altar.

Next to the altar was a courtyard residence that seemed very ordinary, and not the least bit luxurious. However, in the hearts and minds of the Crow Divinity Tribe, that residence was just as special as the altar and the Holy Mountain.

An old man lived in that courtyard dwelling, a man who was infinitely wise, and was in fact the pillar and strength of the entire Crow Divinity Tribe. With him, the Crow Divinity Tribe occupied the utmost position of authority, and none of the other powers in the Black Lands would ever dare to offend them.

He was the former Tribe Lord of the the Crow Divinity Tribe, and although it had been some time since he had occupied that position, whenever the current Tribe Lord encountered a difficult situation, he would beg an audience with this old man.

In fact, his authority exceeded any Tribe Lord. You could say that he was actually the true power of the Crow Divinity Tribe.

When the sound of the collective voices of the Crow Divinity Tribe echoed out, shaking the Black Lands, that ancient old man was sitting in his room in the courtyard residence, meditating. Suddenly, a tremor ran through him, and he opened his eyes. His eyes were cloudy for a moment, but quickly sharpened, and he took a deep breath. He walked out of his room and into the courtyard, where he looked up towards the figure which was floating in midair above the Holy Mountain.

Simultaneously, the huge altar next to the courtyard began shaking violently, as if something inside was waking up and preparing to emerge.

Up in the air, Naruto looked coldly at the black-robed young man, whose face flickered as he tried once again to escape. Naruto waved his sleeve, causing colors to flash in the sky and a wind to kick up. A power swept over the black-robed young man, a power that he could not fight back against. The power crushed down onto him, and he let out a bloodcurdling scream. Finally, a popping sound could be heard as his body exploded, revealing a struggling black bat.

"You can't get away," Naruto said coolly, making a grasping motion with his right hand. His fingers seemed to become like five mountains that rumbled through the air toward the bat.

As the bat screeched in terror, red and black light flickered around it, apparently some sort of teleportation power. It shot off rapidly, but no matter how it tried to flee, it always found five enormous pillars closing in on it. Finally, the bat laughed miserably; it had no further means to fight back as the pillars crushed down onto it.

The pillars vanished and turned into Naruto's hand, which was now holding the bat tightly. Naruto's expression was calm as he looked down at the crowds below.

An ancient voice echoed up from the courtyard residence next to the altar, an ancient voice filled with excitement. "Naruto, your excellency, is it… is it really you, sir…?"

At the same time, a boom could be heard as the entire altar exploded, revealing a white wolf, which flew into the air. It threw its head back and howled, and when it saw Naruto, tears began to stream out of its eyes. It immediately flew toward him, letting out yips of delight.

"Big Hairy…." Naruto murmured, looking at the enormous white wolf. Then he looked down at the old man in the courtyard, who was none other than Wu Chen.

"Wu Chen…." he said. An image appeared in his mind of the young man who had followed him through the great migration in the Western Desert. Now he was an old man. As he thought about all the things that had happened back in those times, his expression softened, and he floated down toward the Crow Divinity Tribe.

"Wu Chen offers greetings, Sacred Ancient!" he said, excitedly dropping to his knees to kowtow. All of the other members of the Crow Divinity Tribe stared blankly at Naruto. To them, Naruto was no stranger. After all, for their whole lives they had offered worship to his statue.

"Offer greetings to the Sacred Ancient immediately!" Wu Chen roared. Instantly, the rest of the tribe dropped to their knees to kowtow.

The Crow Divinity Tribe was completely shaken, and soon word spread of Naruto's return, and all of the Black Lands were aboil. Numerous elders and Tribe Lords from countless tribes mobilized, traveling to the Crow Divinity Tribe to pay respects.

The Crow Divinity Tribe hosted a huge banquet that lasted for three days. When it came time for Naruto to leave, he gave a vast quantity of medicinal pills and magical items to Wu Chen. He wanted to take Big Hairy with him, but after some hesitation, decided against it.

The Crow Divinity Tribe had been worshiping Big Hairy for far too long now, and deep feelings had long since taken root. Big Hairy's wish was to stay here to guard over them. What Naruto did do was help Big Hairy to increase his cultivation base to a higher level, which gave him much more longevity.

Then Naruto left the Black Lands to go to the Southern Domain.

Of all the places on Planet South Heaven, the Southern Domain was the place that held the most unforgettable memories for Naruto. It was where he had grown up, where he had fought and killed, and the place where he and Xu Qing had become a couple. It was really where… everything had happened.

He had even fought a war for its sake!

The moment Naruto left the Black Lands and entered the Southern Domain, memories bubbled up. He saw mountains and rivers that he remembered from the past, and everything even smelled familiar.

It was the smell of home.

"The Southern Domain…." he murmured softly. Then, he traveled about just like any other cultivator. He went to the Rebirth Cave, the Ancient Temple of Doom, and to many other places where he had once been, including various sects and even the Song Clan.

He went to those places, but only looked around quickly, and did not stay.

Eventually, he went to the former location of the Five elemental Nations. The huge lake there was now surrounded by countless buildings and structures. This place had become a Holy Land, and was constantly guarded by numerous cultivators. There were even sealing spells in place to prevent people from entering.

Of course, those seals couldn't do anything to prevent Naruto from entering. He appeared on the little island in the middle of the lake, where he looked around at the grass and rippling blue lakewater. Images of Xu Qing floated up in his mind as he thought back to the time they

had begun their marriage ceremony on this very island.

Pill Demon had presided over it, and even Sakura had been in attendance. All of the sects and clans came to offer congratulations, and there were even many rogue cultivators who packed the area. It had been an incredibly noisy and exciting occasion.

Back then, the island had been decorated beautifully with lanterns and banners. The joy and happiness had been palpable….

Naruto thought about these things as he strolled around. Memories upon memories flitted up, almost as if… he had traveled through his dreams back to that jubilant day.

"Qing'er…." he murmured, his heart stabbing with pain. His vision swam for a moment, and he suddenly saw a young woman clad in bright red clothing. She stood there in front of him, looking a bit shy, but with eyes that shone like sparkling autumn rainwater. She was looking into his eyes, her gaze soft.

Naruto smiled back at her, and then continued to stroll around the island. Every place he went on the island was familiar, and reminded him of the home he and Xu Qing had originally planned to make here.

Time passed, and soon it was evening. The setting sun reflected on the lakewater, creating a scene of dazzling beauty that turned the island golden. Naruto stood on the shore, looking at the water, his expression somewhat melancholy.

All of a sudden, he heard a voice from behind him.

"Excuse me! What sect are you from? What are you doing here?" The voice sounded surprised, and also suspicious. Naruto turned to find himself looking at three cultivators approaching him.

Two were men and one was a woman, and Naruto had seen them earlier as they went about their work of maintaining and tidying the island. Considering the pious expressions on their faces, he had chosen not to disturb them, and had made his way about the island alone. "This is a Holy Land!" the young woman said, doing nothing to mask the harshness of her tone. "You're not allowed to be here without permission! If you're trespassing, you'll be severely punished. Take out your identity medallion immediately!" As she spoke, the two men fanned out to surround Naruto, their eyes glinting sharply.

Suddenly, the setting sun illuminated his face, and one of the men suddenly stared in surprise. He had the feeling that he had seen Naruto somewhere before, but wasn't sure where. The other two had similar reactions. However, it was at this point that Naruto shook his head and said, "I don't have an identity medallion."

The three cultivator's faces instantly darkened.

"What gall!" the woman said. "This is the Sacred Ancient's former residence! Every cultivator in the entire Southern Domain knows that it's forbidden to step even half a pace onto this island. You think this is just some random place? Sneaking in here is sacrilege!" Incensed, the woman performed an incantation gesture with her right hand to unleash a magical technique. Simultaneously, she crushed a jade slip to notify her fellow sect members on the shore of the lake.

"I never took this to be just some random place," Naruto replied softly. "This… is my home."

"Your home?" said one of the men, laughing coldly, his hand flashing an incantation gesture. "Is that supposed to be a joke? This is the Sacred Ancient's former residence, it's…."

Naruto wasn't interested in giving explanations. Shaking his head, eyes still flickering with memories, he sighed and then took a step forward, vanishing into thin air.

Almost in the same moment, three magical techniques shot forward, but hit nothing more than air. The three cultivators looked wide-eyed at the spot in which Naruto had vanished, then exchanged shocked glances.

"Did he look familiar to you guys?" the young woman asked.

Almost at the same time, the man standing next to her said, "Did he say this place is his home? But this is the Sacred Ancient's former residence! Who does he think he is, the Sacred Ancient himself?" As soon as the words left his mouth, his eyes went wide.

The other man's face fell, and he gasped with disbelief. Voice hoarse, he said, "Sacred Ancient! He… he looked exactly the same as the Sacred Ancient!"

Even as they stood there in shock, dozens of beams of light suddenly shot in their direction. An intimidating old man led them, and as he neared, his eyes flashed with anger.

"Who had the outrageous gall to break into the Sacred Ancient's former residence!?"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1171

Chapter 1171: I'm Naruto!

The old man immediately waved his hand, and in response, the dozens of people following him split up and began to search the island. He also sent his divine sense out, but came up with nothing. Frowning, he turned to the three cultivators who had sounded the alarm and began to question them.

When they told him that the intruder looked exactly like the Sacred Ancient, the old man's face flickered. Then they recounted how the intruder said this place was his home, he gasped.

It was at this point that a glittering jade slip flew out of his bag of holding. He grabbed it and scanned it with divine sense, whereupon a look of bewilderment appeared on his face. Gritting his teeth, he said, "We found him. He's… in the Sacred Mansion at the center of the island!"

The old man disappeared toward the center of the island in a flash, simultaneously sending orders to his subordinates. Soon, all of the other cultivators who had spread out across the island were heading toward the building in the middle.

The three cultivators followed along nervously. They were anxious, not because someone had come to the island; rather, they were anxious about who that person was!

It didn't take long before the old man arrived at island's center, where he caught sight of the disciple who had just notified him about Naruto's location. That disciple was kneeling on the ground in front of the Sacred Mansion, trembling.

The structure itself was actually little more than a log cabin, and didn't look unusual in any way. In fact, many of the cultivators who had come here in pilgrimage throughout the years had often wondered why this seemingly ordinary log cabin was referred to as the Sacred Mansion. 1

Naruto was currently standing in the doorway, facing away from everyone on the outside, examining the inside of the cabin. Two statues could be seen inside, sitting there looking at each other.

They were dressed in long red wedding gowns, and they were holding hands and smiling. The statues had been carved with incredible grace and skill, making them look extremely lifelike.

One depicted Naruto. The other depicted Xu Qing….

Naruto stood there looking at the statues in somewhat of a daze. Memories poured into his mind like floodwaters.

Outside of the Sacred Mansion, the old man looked at Naruto and could sense the terrifying, indescribable pressure that existed within him. However, that pressure was not radiating out; if it were, the old man was certain that everything in the surrounding area would be instantly transformed into ash.

He took a deep breath, but didn't dare to say anything. Instead, he stood there respectfully. At this point, it didn't matter who this trespasser was; considering the level of his cultivation base, it would be impossible to do anything to stop him. However, the old man secretly crushed a jade slip, sending a notification to the powerful experts in his sect, telling them to hurry over.

The other disciples who had been searching the island had arrived, and stood nervously outside of the Sacred Mansion, not daring to speak.

After a long moment passed, Naruto asked, "Who carved these two statues?"

The old man's heart thumped, and without even thinking about it, he replied, "It, it… was carved by all of the members of the Senior generation in the Southern Domain, people who actually knew the Sacred Ancient."

Naruto turned and looked at the old man.

"And you people? Are you disciples of the Blood Demon Sect?" he asked.

The old man nodded, and was about to say something else, when he saw Naruto's face. He felt as if lighting were crashing around in his mind, and he stood there in a daze. It wasn't just him. All of the other disciples around him were also staring in shock.

Subconsciously, they all looked away from Naruto toward the statue behind him.

The two of them looked exactly the same!

The only difference was that somehow, the person standing in front of them seemed to have an ancientness to him, and wasn't a youth like the person depicted on the statue.

Panting, the old man murmured, "Sir… are you…."

"I'm Naruto," was the calm reply.

"Sacred Ancient!"

"I can't believe… it's the Sacred Ancient. How… how could this be possible?!"

In the midst of the exclamations of shock by the old man and his subordinates, an enraged roar echoed out off in the distance. Several hundred beams of light shot through the air, the leader being a middleaged man. At first his face was twisted with rage, but as soon as he caught sight of Naruto, it filled with shock.

"Sacred Ancient!"

Everyone was in a tumult, so Naruto waited in silence for a moment before saying, "I want to spend the night here alone. I would like to thank all of you for keeping this place in order for all these years."

With that, he waved his hand, sending hundreds of bottles of medicinal pills flying out to those present.

Then he turned and walked into the log cabin, slowly closing the door behind him. Soon, lamplight could be seen in the oilpaper windows.

Outside the log cabin was deathly silence. The middle-aged man and the hundreds of other cultivators he had led here could hardly believe what was happening. Exchanging glances, they transmitted messages to each other, not daring to speak out loud. Then they all fell back a short distance and sat down cross-legged, whereupon they began to send messages via jade slip back to Mount Blood Demon. From there, word quickly spread to the rest of the Southern Domain.

As far as Naruto was concerned, this was one of the few occasions since he had left Planet South Heaven in which he had shown so much emotion. It was also one of the few nights he could spend in complete peace and calm. He sat in the log cabin, looking at the statue of Xu Qing, and he soon lost track of time.

In contrast, that night was a sleepless one for the entire Southern Domain. News spread to all the sects and clans that Naruto had been seen on the Holy Island. Soon, countless cultivators of the Senior generation, veterans who had fought alongside Naruto in the wars of the past, were completely shaken.

It had been years since Naruto had left, and although people had seen images of Naruto in his various escapades, this was different. The news from the Blood Demon Sect said that this was the real Naruto, and that his cultivation base was unfathomably high.

Most importantly, he was on the Holy Island. It didn't matter if it was really him or not, all of the powerful experts of the Southern Domain unhesitatingly made their way there. If it was the real Naruto, then they would offer worship to him. If it was not him… then whoever the blasphemer was would face the wrath of the entire Southern Domain.

It was during the great war of the Southern Domain that Naruto had truly risen to the level of being a Sacred Ancient. In fact, he was one of three Sacred Ancients, the other two being Pill Demon and Patriarch Song.

They had been the only three peak experts left alive at the end of that war. Later, Pill Demon reached Immortal Ascension and left Planet South Heaven, becoming nothing more than a figure of legend. As for Patriarch Song, he ended the war having been seriously injured, after which he went into secluded meditation and never came out.

Later, Naruto also left. However, it was because of how he had sealed the experts of the Northern Reaches into the mountain called Sin of the North that the spiritual energy of the Southern Domain was gradually restored. That mountain still stood, and it was because of it that his name had reached such heights of glory.

After the war, the Violet Fate Sect and the Song Clan became Holy Lands, and along with the Blood Demon Sect, became the most powerful forces in the Southern Domain. As for the island, because of the wedding which had begun there all those years ago, the Southern Domain cultivators made it their Holy Island, a place to commemorate Naruto and Xu Qing.

On this night, all of the sects in the Southern Domain mobilized. The war veterans from the elder generation flew toward the Holy Island, as did people who had been born since then.

Even more surprising… deep in the Song Clan, Patriarch Song, who had been in secluded meditation for years, suddenly opened his ancient eyes. When he heard the reports of what was happening, he sat there silently for a moment, then slowly rose to his feet. Filled with ancientness and exhaustion, he left the Song Clan, taking his fellow clan members with him to the Holy Island.

The emergence of Patriarch Song sent the whole Southern Domain into a huge commotion. Overnight, all cultivators were either thinking about the Holy Island, or talking about it!

Patriarch Song arrived on the island at around midnight, flanked by numerous members of the Song Clan. One of them was a middle-aged woman. She was beautiful, but old, and it was obvious that when she was young, she would have been considered one of the top beauties of the land.

It was none other than Song Jia. 2

Because of what had occurred with Naruto, Song Jia had a special position in the Song Clan. She had chosen to never officially take a beloved partner, and had remained single, focused on cultivation.

As soon as the word about Naruto began to spread, she also emerged from secluded meditation and calmly joined Patriarch Song to come to the Holy Island.

The arrival of Patriarch Song sent all the cultivators on the island into an uproar. They bowed in respectful greeting, simultaneously clearing a path for Patriarch Song to walk directly up to the log cabin.

Patriarch Song looked at the lamplight flickering in the oilskin windows, and his dim eyes gradually sparkled with bright light. Gradually, he began to emanate a powerful energy like that of an unsheathed magical sword.

The other cultivators in the areas were now staring nervously at Patriarch Song.

"Is it my old pal Naruto?!" Patriarch Song suddenly asked, his voice booming like thunder. A huge wind sprang up in the sky, and the land quaked. Massive waves rolled out across the surface of the water.

After a moment, Naruto's voice could be heard from inside the log cabin, sounding somewhat emotional. "Senior Song, please come in."

The door of the log cabin slowly opened, revealing Naruto, looking out at Patriarch Song. His eyes seemed to be filled with memories as he recalled their times fighting together against the invading Northern Reaches army.

The instant Patriarch Song caught sight of Naruto, his eyes began to shine brightly. He trembled slightly, then threw his head back and laughed. It was a laughter filled with joy, and the excitement of seeing an old friend.

He walked forward, entering the log cabin, after which the door slowly closed.

"It's really him…." Song Jia murmured, a complicated look flickering in her eyes.

The night passed slowly. More and more cultivators gathered outside the log cabin. There were cultivators from the Violet Fate Sect and the Blood Demon Sect, as well as others who had fought with him against the Northern Reaches. There were even cultivators gathering on the shores of the lake, packed tightly, their eyes filled with awe and reverence. To them, this was like a holy pilgrimage.

The fact that Patriarch Song had entered the log cabin made it clear to everyone… that this really and truly was the Sacred Ancient Naruto!

The news filled everyone with excitement and anticipation. The veteran cultivators who had fought with him recalled their old comrade-in-arms. As for those who had never met Naruto before, they merely hoped to catch a glimpse of the majestic Sacred Ancient.

No one spoke. They simply sat there quietly, waiting for the door to open.

Naruto built a log cabin in the Blood Demon Sect in chapter 705.

Later, when he moved to Blood Prince Gorge, he also lived in a log cabin, presumably a newly constructed one, or the original cabin which had been moved. He spent a lot of time with Xu Qing there, and later, it was where he stayed with her as she neared death. Since this cabin is in a different location, I think it's safe to assume at this point that the original cabin was either moved here, or this one is a replica. ↩ Song Jia appeared on several occasions in the story so I'm not going to include links. She became Naruto's official fiance after he won the contest in the Song Clan's search for a son-in-law ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1172

Chapter 1172: A Sermon On The Dao, By The Sacred Ancient!

Gradually, the light of dawn filled the air. The door opened, and Patriarch Song walked out. He looked different than before. He didn't seem like an ancient old man; he was younger, and his eyes flickered with excitement. The injuries he had sustained during the war were now healed, and he looked far more energetic than before.

He subconsciously patted his bag of holding. Inside… was an Immortality Illumination Vine, a gift given to him by Naruto which gave him the hope of reaching Immortal Ascension….

A few paces outside of the log cabin, Patriarch Song turned, clasped hands and bowed deeply. Then he looked back up for a moment before leaving. The members of the Song Clan were shocked at the appearance of their Patriarch. They quickly realized that a Heaven-shaking, Earthtoppling transformation must have occurred.

Just as the Song Clan cultivators were about to leave with their Patriarch, a beam of light suddenly shot out from the log cabin toward Song Jia.

Naruto's voice could then be heard once again. "It's nice to see you, old friend. Please accept this parting gift. Use it to nourish your spirit. It will make cultivation base breakthroughs much smoother."

Song Jia looked at the light floating in front of her. It was an emerald green magical jade which emanated Immortal qi, and was clearly not an ordinary item.

Then she looked back at the log cabin, a complicated expression on her face. Finally, she took the piece of jade and left with the other Song Clan cultivators.

The Song Clan left, but other Southern Domain cultivators continued to arrive. By noon, there was no room left. Crowds of cultivators blotted out the sky and stretched out in all directions.

Naruto was done reminiscing. Sighing, he walked out of the log cabin. As soon as he appeared, the surrounding cultivators excitedly clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Sacred Ancient!"

"Greetings, Sacred Ancient!" Their voices echoed out in all directions, reaching other cultivators who couldn't even see Naruto, who in turn bowed, and began to cry out the same thing. The sound of all the voices was like thunder booming everywhere.

One by one, the most powerful experts of the various sects stepped forward to offer excited greetings.

"The Sect Leader of the Violet Fate Sect offers greetings, Sacred Ancient!"

"The Sect Leader of the Blood Demon Sect offers greetings, Sacred Ancient!"

Naruto looked around at all the cultivators, many of whom he recognized. Smiling, he sat down cross-legged on the stone steps leading up to the log cabin.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Daoists, welcome to my home. I'm pleased you could come. I haven't been back for many years, and would like to sincerely thank all of you for your care and concern. You kept this place exactly as I remembered it.

"It is a great kindness shown to me by all cultivators of the Southern Domain. Therefore, I will speak of the Dao here, for seven days. During those seven days, all Southern Domain cultivators are welcome to stay and listen.

"I will explain how my understanding of cultivation has evolved through the various stages, and will explain how I have been enlightened." With that, he flicked his sleeve, causing the clouds to part, brilliant sunlight to flow down, and an aura of Immortality to spread out. Almost instantly, the entire area seemed like a celestial paradise.

"After careful study," he began softly, "I have come to find that the Dao of Heaven and Earth, and one's own Dao, is a willful return to one's natural state…." He had chosen to bestow some good fortune upon the cultivators of the Southern Domain, both as a means of thanking them for caring for his former residence, and also… for the mere fact that he felt this place to be his home. It was different than Planet East Victory. 1

"Therefore, cultivation is also known as 'cultivating truth.' Of the two characters which make up the latter term, the first refers to the method, the second refers to the mental state…." His voice seemed to contain a bizarre power that caused it to spread out in all directions, causing every audience member, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, to slip into a strange, trance-like state. 2

"Simply put, it is very similar to how I once described to someone the different Realms of life.

"In the past, various people have asked me what the Dao is…. My responses have varied depending on the occasion, the circumstances, and the level of my cultivation base. In fact, every single time, I gave a different answer. I'm not even sure what my answer will be the next time someone asks me.

"However, there is one thing that will never change, as far as I can tell. And that is… that I don't know what the Dao is. There are too many answers to the question. All I know… is that what I am pursuing is freedom and independence. To be free and unconstrained. That is my truth, and that is my Dao!

"In cultivating truth, what we cultivate… is the heart." Naruto's voice reverberated out as he expounded upon his understanding of the Dao, and the enlightenment he had gained regarding cultivation. The words he spoke were like seeds that became buried in the hearts of the various cultivators.

Perhaps most of them would never feel that seed for the rest of their lives. Or perhaps… some would reach a certain point in their cultivation or receive a sudden epiphany which would allow them to acquire the good fortune contained within the seed planted in them by Naruto.

You could say that what Naruto was giving them… was not just a chance at enlightenment, but also… a path to follow to Immortal Ascension. Given the right chances, it wouldn't be impossible for them to follow a similar path to Naruto's, and reach… true Immortality.

But even if they couldn't, they could gain enlightenment from that seed, and break out of the Spirit Realm to become… false Immortals!

Although it could be said that this Immortal seed which Naruto was bestowing upon the cultivators of the Southern Domain was not at all like the Dao seed in the blood of his clan, in any case, it was a benevolence on his part. He simply hoped that the cultivators from his home could become more powerful.

"If your heart is steadfast, it cannot be trampled by Heaven or Earth, nor can it be broken by any living thing. You will never bow your head in acquiescence, and you will be able to advance without hesitation, and you will never stop moving forward. This is the meaning of cultivating the heart and cultivating the truth. It is traveling along the path of cultivation itself.

"My life has been spent practicing cultivation. I started in the Chakra Condensation stage, and now here I am, having experienced numerous twists and turns. I will merge my body, my mind, and my soul into an image which will become like a spirit in your heart. Observe it. Contemplate it. It can become the truth, the path, and the heart which you cultivate!" Naruto's voice seemed profound and ancient. The surrounding cultivators, be they on the island itself or elsewhere in the area, were all shaken and many were instantly enlightened.

Time passed. As Naruto sat outside his log cabin speaking of the Dao, more and more Southern Domain cultivators arrived. People even came from the Black Lands. Over the course of the seven days, the island became the complete focus of the entire Southern Domain.

As Naruto spoke, it seemed as if every sentence and every word that he uttered originated from nature itself, and contained a great Dao. In fact, there were even some extraordinarily talented listeners who made immediate breakthroughs.

Because of that, the spiritual energy in the area grew stronger, and more Immortal Chakra built up. Cultivating in that area for one day was like cultivating for a year elsewhere.

The place now truly deserved to be called… a Holy Land!

By the third day, it wasn't just cultivators who could be seen gathered in the area around the Holy Island. Numerous wild animals appeared. Normally they would be fierce and violent, but right now they were strangely docile. They soon filled the area, and it almost seemed as if they could understand what Naruto was saying, and were being enlightened.

Cultivators and wild beasts could both gain Dao enlightenment at the same time; everything was peaceful and calm.

If you looked around, you might see a huge python gaining enlightenment, or an enormous liger prostrating itself in worship. Some of the powerful beasts were rarely seen in the open, but here they were, as if participating in some naturally-occurring rite, gaining enlightenment from Naruto's Dao-filled voice.

Birds circled in the sky overhead, and fish leapt out of the water of the lake as they attempted to hear more clearly. Even the grass and vegetation benefited from the Dao, and began to sway gently and emanate spiritual energy.

The Southern Domain was as shaken as if it had experienced a massive earthquake.

As Naruto gave his sermon on the Dao, the Namikaze Clan cultivators buzzed about in preparation for the Clan Chief coronation ceremony. Preparations were completed first in the vast Eastern Lands, where numerous altars and palaces were set up. Teleportation portals were also erected.

The ceremony was set to begin in three months, and invitations were already being sent out through the teleportation portals to the various sects and clans in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The entire Ninth Mountain and Sea was abuzz with the news about Namikaze Xiufeng becoming the Clan Chief.

It wasn't just an important matter for the Namikaze Clan. It was a big event for the Ninth Mountain and Sea as a whole. The decision of who was to be the Clan Chief could affect everyone. For example, if the Clan Chief was a person fond of fighting and warfare, then it would be possible to predict that war would soon strike the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

If the Clan Chief was weak and docile person, then other inescapable problems could arise.

However… before Namikaze Xiufeng was sent to stand guard over Planet South Heaven, he was well-known in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. He had many friends, as well as many enemies.

Virtually all of the sects and clans had interacted with him in the past, and knew him well. He was known as someone who didn't speak much. However, when he did speak, he always followed through on what he said. He was tough and unyielding, and an old hand when it came to scheming.

He had lots of tricks at his disposal. He fought decisively, and was never sloppy. Back when Naruto had been small, certain clan members who coveted his Nirvana Fruit had once looked at him almost as if they wished to eat him. Naruto had run to his father in tears to tell him about what had happened.

That night, Namikaze Xiufeng drew his sword and went on a rampage. That night he killed dozens of subversive clan members, which shocked not only the Namikaze Clan, but the Ninth Mountain and Sea as a whole.

From that point on, everyone knew that Namikaze Xiufeng… was a very protective person, protective to an indescribable degree.

With a personality like that, Namikaze Xiufeng ended up having many friends, and at the same time… many enemies.

It could well be imagined how busy and exciting it would be on the day of the ceremony, when the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea came to pay their respects. It was even likely that some of his enemies would come and challenge him to battle, on the pretense of sharing fighting tips.

That was something that was permitted whenever anyone rose to the rank of Clan Chief or Sect Leader. After all, when the ceremony was over, that person could no longer pursue personal matters, but instead, had to be focused on the clan or sect as a whole.

After that day, all grudges would be dissolved.

Of course, it was only a formality. Unless there was some sort of life-anddeath enmity, no one would choose to issue a challenge. Anyone who had become a Clan Chief or Sect Leader had to have an incredibly powerful cultivation base, one powerful enough to support everyone around him. Therefore, such customs also served to allow him to demonstrate his battle prowess and strike awe into the hearts of all onlookers.

In Chinese, he literally uses the word "hometown" to refer to the Southern Domain. That word has a slightly different meaning in Chinese than English, and doesn't necessarily refer to where you grew up, but rather, your ancestral home. For example, even though Baby Deathblade was born in China, his "hometown" would actually be San

Diego, since that is where I am from ↩ In ISSTH, Er Gen usually uses the Chinese word 修行 xiūxíng to describe cultivation, although technically speaking this term emphasizes one's actions. However, there is another word which is often used in xianxia, 修真 xiūzhēn, which essentially means the same thing and emphasizes truth. Both are "real life" words that can be used to describe real Buddhist or Daoist cultivation practices, although the latter is more associated with the xianxia fantasy world ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1173

Chapter 1173 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1173: Another Encounter With Shui Dongliu!

The seven days passed by in a flash. After Naruto concluded his sermon outside the log cabin on the Holy Island, the surrounding cultivators, beasts, birds, and even the vegetation and fish seemed to be completely absorbed in the process of being enlightened, even though he had already stopped talking.

Naruto slowly rose to his feet and looked around at all the beings surrounding him. After a moment of thought, he murmured, "Since we're connected by destiny, I might as well help all of you one more time."

He waved his right hand, causing the Immortal Chakra and spiritual energy in the area to churn. It then poured into the soil of the Holy Island, nourishing it, bolstering it for all eternity.

Now it was really and truly a Holy Land. For years to come, practicing cultivation for a single day there would be like cultivating for a year elsewhere. Even the land beyond the shores of the lake was affected. The effect wasn't as strong, but it still made the entire area incredibly suitable for cultivation.

When he finished, Naruto looked back at the log cabin, then turned and vanished into thin air. The door closed, leaving behind the two statues in their red robes, which would remain sealed there forever, smiling and looking into each other's eyes.

From that day forth, the Holy Island was open for all to visit. However… the log cabin was a place that could not be entered by anyone whose cultivation base was lower than Naruto's.

Naruto left the island and went to Blood Prince Gorge in the Blood Demon Sect, which was now a restricted area that no one was allowed to enter. If the island was a Holy Land for the Southern Domain, then Blood Prince Gorge was a Holy Land for the Blood Demon Sect.

Patriarch Blood Demon had long since passed away into meditation.

Naruto stood outside of his cave, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

He stayed in Blood Prince Gorge for seven days, although no one in the Blood Demon Sect was aware of that fact, ensuring that the seven days passed very quietly.

During that time, he removed the black bat from his bag of holding. He performed a soulsearch, but even with the current level of his cultivation base, he was still unable to uncover any useful information. All he knew was that the black bat was consumed with a powerful desire to possess him.

In addition, he was clearly able to detect the aura… of a renegade spirit. He even called the parrot out to check.

After a bit of curious investigation, the parrot told Naruto that the black bat… definitely had the soul of a renegade spirit somewhere in its bloodline. That information confirmed Naruto's suspicions that the renegade spirit bat the mastiff had possessed in the Windswept Realm might not have been complete. After a bit of thought, he gave the black bat to the mastiff, who was clearly ravenous.

The mastiff howled and began to absorb it.

Seven days later, Naruto left Blood Prince Gorge. He also… imbued the place with Immortal qi, making it a extremely suitable place for cultivation, similar to the Holy Island. He also sealed the log cabin in Blood Prince Gorge.

He wasn't sure when he might be able to return, and deep in his heart, he hoped… that when he returned with Xu Qing, everything would be the way he left it.

After leaving the Blood Demon Sect, he went to the Ancient Temple of Doom, where he waved his hand to create a statue. It was a statue… of the mastiff.

The mastiff was a blood spirit which had originated with the Blood Immortal. If that Blood Immortal were in Naruto's presence right now, she wouldn't be a match for him at all. However, Naruto felt it was still appropriate for him to help the mastiff create this statue, as a way of connecting it to its original ancestor.

After seeing the statue of itself, the mastiff looked around at the Ancient Temple of Doom with a complicated expression.

Eventually, Naruto left for the Rebirth Cave, taking the mastiff with him.

Throughout the years that Naruto had been away from the Rebirth Cave, cultivators continued to travel there to attempt rebirth. Unfortunately, none had succeeded, as was evidenced by the fact that there were more bones there than the last time he had been here. He proceeded in toward the depths of the cave until he found the same wall he had stood in front of the last time he had been here. He studied it, his eyes flickering.

Never for all eternity would he forget the door he had seen in this location last time, just as he had been about to leave. In that moment, it had almost seemed like an illusion which instantly faded away. However, Naruto was sure of what he had seen. 1

Because of the level of his cultivation base at that time, he had been unable to get an answer to the puzzle of that door. Now he was back, standing in front of that same wall, his eyes gleaming.

"I wonder if I'll be able to unearth any more clues, given the current level of my cultivation base…." He unleashed his cultivation base, causing scintillating azure light to shine out. His Allheaven Dao Immortal Realm was more refined than before, and the fusion with his third Nirvana Fruit was now more complete.

As the power of his cultivation base spread out, he waved his finger in the direction of the wall, causing the azure light to spill onto the wall, illuminating it completely.

He stared at the wall as it began to transform. It seemed to wriggle and writhe, and gradually, an archaic and ancient door appeared.

However, the door seemed unstable, as if it were shifting between being illusory and corporeal. It appeared to be exuding a sinister air, and Naruto was even able to detect a bit of wild energy that seemed to seep into him.

It was as if someone were erupting with rage, screaming words that he didn't understand. It sounded like the murmurings of all living things crying out in his ears. With a cold harrumph, he said, "Illusions and lies!"

He reached out and pushed down onto the door, causing a rumbling sound to echo out. However, the door didn't even budge.

He frowned and pushed on the door again more forcefully, but the result was the same.

All of a sudden, an archaic voice spoke from behind him. "You can't open it…."

The voice spoke completely abruptly, and despite the level of Naruto's cultivation base, he hadn't been able to detect anyone behind him at all.

He spun around and saw an old man standing there. The old man had the demeanor of a transcendent being, and wore a slight smile on his face as he looked at Naruto.

Naruto gaped in shock; he instantly recognized this old man. It was none other than the man who had once painted him… Shui Dongliu!

"Senior Shui Dongliu!"

"You cannot, and must not, open that door," Shui Dongliu said, looking at Naruto, his eyes beaming with admiration.

"What's behind it?" Naruto didn't take the time to think about why Shui Dongliu was here. Years ago, he had told Naruto that anyone who existed in his memory could not have their Karma severed by the Ji Clan. At that time he had guessed that such an ability revealed how incredibly powerful Shui Dongliu's cultivation base must be.

In fact, Naruto could tell that Shui Dongliu… was probably even more powerful than he had imagined, although he had no proof to back up that feeling other than a hunch.

"It leads to another world," Shui Dongliu said slowly. "Do you… want to have a look?" He waved his hand, causing a vortex to appear on the door. "Place your hand on the vortex, and you'll be able to see."

Naruto's eyes flickered. After a moment of thought, he extended his hand and placed it onto the vortex. In the instant that he touched it, his vision suddenly swam.

When it became clear, he was looking at a starry sky. It was vast and boundless, and there were no Mountains and Seas, nor were there any planets. There was only a boundless void, within which Naruto saw several gargantuan butterflies. The butterflies were so indescribably large that entire worlds existed on their wings!

There weren't just worlds, there were cultivators!

As the butterflies flew through the starry sky, it was possible to detect lines stretching out behind them, connecting them to an enormous land mass, which they were dragging behind them.

That land mass was shaped like a person!

The butterflies dragged the land mass through the starry sky, and as they passed through the void, the stars shattered, and the Heavens collapsed!

Naruto took a deep breath as the vision of the world faded away, and everything returned to normal. The door on the wall was still there, but the vortex was gone.

"They're going to be here soon…." Shui Dongliu said, his voice reverberating through the Rebirth Cave.

"They're coming from outside the 33 Heavens. When they arrive at Planet South Heaven, then South Heaven will be displaced. In that moment… the catastrophe will begin." Naruto turned around again, and Shui Dongliu had vanished without a trace, although the echoes of his voice could still be heard.

Naruto stood there silently for a moment, looking at the door as it slowly faded away. The wall returned to normal, and Naruto stood there, lost in thought.

Naruto knew a lot about the history of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and knew that it was facing a grave crisis and catastrophe. He was also aware that… it had something to do with the copper mirror in his bag of holding.

"It's coming, and there's no hiding…." he murmured. "However, before it comes, there's still time to get stronger." Then he turned his head in the direction of the Ancient Dao Lakes, and his eyes gleamed with anticipation.

Beneath the Dao Lakes was the Divine Flame world, a place he very much looked forward to visiting again. The last time he had been there, he had braved great danger to extract a bit of the Essence of Divine Flame. In fact, that Essence of Divine Flame had become one of his trump cards.

Now, he would go back to visit the Ancient Dao Lakes again, and the Divine Flame world underneath them. This time… he would not only take away a sliver of the Divine Flame, he planned to take away more, whatever he was capable of laying hands on….

To him, it was a location where he could vastly increase his battle prowess.

Naruto left the Rebirth Cave, filled with anticipation. He and the mastiff transformed into a beam of light that shot through the air at top speed. The clouds trembled, and colors flashed in the sky, and in the space of a few breaths of time, he had appeared in the air near the Ancient Dao Lakes.

He looked down at all the lakes, and his eyes came to rest on the largest of them. Eyes flickering with an intense, sharp gleam, he shot down from the sky like a meteor, kicking up a huge wind as he shot toward the central lake.

Closer and closer!

Chapter 1173: Another Encounter With Shui Dongliu!

He saw the door in the wall in chapter 886 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1174

Chapter 1174: Dismemberment by Five Dragons! 1

The last time Naruto had come here, cultivators had been gathering in a search for good fortune. Occasionally, Dao Lakes would erupt. If Dao projections appeared, they offered a chance at enlightenment. Or if the surrounding cultivators were lucky, magical items might shoot out, which would be true good fortune.

Just as at that time, there were cultivators present at the lakes, searching for opportunities for good fortune. It was at this point that Naruto shot down from the sky like a meteor.

"What's… what's that?"

"A shooting star?"

"No, it's a person. A cultivator! What's… what's he doing?" As people caught sight of what first appeared to be a shooting star, their eyes went wide and their jaws dropped. They had never even heard of someone using such a method to try to reach the central Dao lake.

After all, the pressure that weighed down on the region got more intense the closer one got to the center. Even Dao Seeking cultivators had to be careful. Furthermore, if you attempted to just fly down from up above, the effects would be even more severe; to the people present, it actually seemed like an impossibility.

And yet, that is exactly what they were seeing happen in front of their very eyes, causing everyone to gasp.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto shot down like a meteor toward the largest Dao lake, which was in the center of them all. He moved with incredible speed, and nothing could impede his passage. It almost seemed like there was no pressure in the area at all, although the truth of the matter was that the pressure which did exist was completely insignificant as far as he was concerned.

Naruto shot into the central lake, and the surface of the water virtually exploded up into the air. He shot down, and within the blink of an eye, was at the bottom of the lake where he spread his right hand out into a palm and pushed down onto the lake floor.

The sludge at the bottom of the lake writhed, and was then shoved away from Naruto's location, revealing a teleportation portal. Naruto stood on top of it, then stamped his right foot down, causing the portal to shine with scintillating light that even people beyond the surface of the lake could see.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto had vanished. When he reappeared, he was in the first level of the world down below, surrounded by mountains of magical items, and countless beasts who were in the process of carrying the treasures toward a huge door that hung in the middle of the air. The door itself was flanked by several huge beasts, which lay there dozing. A moment later though, they trembled as if with excitement, and opened their eyes.

When they saw Naruto, several of the beasts roared, but almost immediately, went as quiet as if someone had gripped their throats and covered their mouths. Their eyes went wide, and they didn't dare to make any more noise. They just lay there, staring at Naruto in terror and disbelief.

What they saw was azure light radiating off of Naruto, a light which next caused all of them to suddenly fly forward and prostrate themselves in front of him.

It wasn't just them. All of the beasts in sight dropped down in worship as soon as they saw Naruto. Their eyes shone with fear and shock, and they trembled in place. Naruto's aura filled with them with terror, as did the azure light.

Not even Naruto had imagined that such a thing would happen. As he glanced around thoughtfully at the Allheaven Dao Immortal light which surrounded him, the beasts joined their voices together and called out, "We offer greetings, Dao Immortal!"

Eyes glittering, Naruto nodded slightly. Without saying a word, he shot past the prostrating beasts, entering the door and appearing in the second level beyond.

That was the level with a huge altar that resembled a huge mountain. There was also a beast there at the top of the mountain who was enormous, and emanated an ancient aura. After catching sight of Naruto, its eyes went wide with disbelief. It examined him for a few seconds, then took a deep breath.

"So, it's you again. You… have become an Allheaven Dao Immortal!"

Naruto flew up to the top of the mountain and looked around. There was no sign of the Northern Reaches cultivator with whom he had challenged this trial by fire years before.

Seeing Naruto look around, the beast said, "He left."

Then it clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, exalted Dao Immortal!"

"I want to go to the next level!" Naruto replied calmly. This time, the beast said nothing to dissuade him. It immediately backed up, leaving the way open for Naruto to enter the passageway to the Divine Flame world.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes flashed with determination.

He shot forward, vanishing into the world of Divine Flame. The ancient beast remained behind, just as astonished as it had been moments before. When Naruto first came here, it could never have imagined that he would end up amazing it so much.

"The first time he came, he could barely get through the second level.

"The second time he came, he was strong enough to take a bit of Divine Flame….

"I never thought that the third time he came, he would do so as an Allheaven Dao Immortal. In fact, his aura leaves me trembling and filled with fear. If he wanted to kill me… all it would take on his part would be a simple thought." The beast took a deep breath and looked fearfully at the passageway leading to the Divine Flame world.

When Naruto appeared within the world of Divine Flame, he looked around and saw countless enormous pagodas, all of them surrounded by boundless Divine Flame.

In addition to the majestic flames which filled the world, Naruto could also see endless piles of bones. The previous times he had been in this place, his cultivation base had been too weak, and he had been in too much of a hurry, therefore, he hadn't been able to examine them closely. But with his current cultivation base, he was not only able to see the bones scattered about below the pagodas, but could also see that the 990,000 pagodas themselves were made of bones.

"My cultivation base this time is much different than last time. I'm curious to find out what exists in this world of Divine Flame. I want to see whether or not anything exists here that I didn't spot last time!" Eyes flickering, he sent his divine sense out to fill this third level, the Divine Flame world. Not only could he see the vivid image of 990,000 pagodas, but, just as before, the enormous city in the middle of them all.

The city was pitch black, but covered with white vines and vegetation. Hovering in the air above it was a flame spark that seemed capable of burning for all eternity, a spark which cast boundless firelight into the world around it.

As Naruto's divine sense slowly spread out, he suddenly heard a familiar roar.

"Dao Namikaze , you must die!

"You killed me, Dao Namikaze , and if I'm reincarnated, I'll definitely kill you!

"The Immortal World is doomed to experience tribulation! The Immortal lands will grow old, and the Immortals will perish. But I refuse to give in!

"I know the truth! No matter how long you suppress me, I won't admit defeat!

"Damned monkey! If I can get free, I'll have your hide!

"If I'm transmigrated, I will slaughter myself out of this place! If my transmigration fails, I will fall into oblivion like all other living things, with virtually no hope of reawakening even after countless cycles of reincarnation. Therefore, I will leave a Dharmic decree for this place!

"My decree contains the Essence of my Dao flame, the last vestige of me, Huoyan Zi. I hope that countless years later, that vestige will still exist!" 2

Even with his current cultivation base, hearing the words still left Naruto completely shaken. The voice seemed to come from within the spark, a spark which also seemed to contain a vertical pupil inside of it.

The last time he had been here, it had been at this point that his divine sense felt as if it were being burned into ash, and he had been forced to give up. However this time, despite being shaken, he was able to continue to send his divine sense out. It passed the spark, and then proceed further on.

Naruto's face quickly flickered with surprise. On the previous two occasions in which he had come here, his divine sense had told him that this world was a small place. Now, though, as his divine sense spread out, he was shocked to find that this world… was actually far, far larger than he had realized!

There weren't just 990,000 pagodas!

Or perhaps it was more accurate to say that the 990,000 pagodas were simply one part of the world of Divine Flame. The world itself was divided into six regions!

Naruto was currently in the central region, which was surrounded by five other regions. If you looked closely, you would see that the six different regions were all connected. Shockingly, they formed… the shape of a person!

Each region was filled with innumerable pagodas that almost seemed to weigh down like sealing marks. Most shocking of all was that each of the regions had a black city within it, above which was a burning spark!

Truth be told, that was not what astonished Naruto. What left him flabbergasted was that attached to each of the surrounding five regions was a war chariot. There were five war chariots, each one being pulled by an enormous, red-colored dragon. Those five enormous dragons appeared to be asleep, and as they lay there, they bore the semblance of five mountain ranges.

However, as soon as his divine sense passed over them, the enormous dragons… suddenly shivered, apparently having been stimulated. Simultaneously, an explosive, stifling power erupted out from all of them.

Naruto began to pant, and immediately retracted his divine sense. He waited by the exit for a bit, and after seeing that the five dragons apparently hadn't awoken, he finally heaved a sigh of relief.

Those five dragons brimmed with an air of extermination that was even more terrifying than the Dao Realm. Naruto could sense that they exceeded even Namikaze Shoudao's cultivation base.

Suddenly, an image appeared in his head, a vision of five roaring dragons, attached to war chariots. Those chariots were in the process of dismembering a gigantic, almighty figure!

Naruto took a deep breath, and his expression flickered. After standing there silently for a moment, his eyes glittered.

"Whoever Huoyan Zi was, the Essence of Divine Flame has been and will continue to be incredibly useful to me…. Therefore, it doesn't matter how strange things get in here, I'm not going to give up on my idea of acquiring the entire Essence of Divine Flame!" The grandeur of the place filled Naruto's heart with vigilance, and its bizarreness weighed down on him like pressure.

When he thought back to what he had accomplished the last time he had been here, he had to admit that ignorance was bliss. Had he known more about the situation, it would have been hard to avoid having misgivings.

This is a play on words. The real expression is dismemberment by five horses, a type of punishment in ancient times ↩ The words uttered here are exactly the same as those in chapters 728 and 887. However, in the original chapters, I misinterpreted the name "Huoyan Zi" as something else, so I didn't translate it as a name back then. This version is correct, and the past versions have been adjusted. Also, don't forget that Uzumaki

Hao "met" Dao Namikaze in chapter 1114 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1175

Chapter 1175: Channeling the Spark!

Naruto's eyes glittered as he looked off toward the huge black city covered by white vegetation. Then he looked at the spark hovering above it, and his eyes gleamed with determination.

"No matter what, I'm going to get that spark!" he murmured. That was his goal in coming here; he wouldn't be content with merely replenishing his current Divine Flame. Although there was a lot of the stuff here, the amount he had acquired last time had been limited.

It was a mere strand of Essence. Even if he replenished it, the amount he would end up with in the end would still be limited, just as before. If he wanted more, he would need more of the Essence itself. That Essence… was located deeper in than his current location. It was located where the cities were located, and especially within those flame sparks.

Naruto flashed into motion as he headed deeper in. He stopped at the nearest pagoda, where he sat down cross-legged, unleashed the power of his cultivation base, and began to absorb more of the Divine Flame into the Essence which he already had.

Soon, he was completely engulfed in fire. However, the power of his cultivation base was far beyond what it had been last time he had been here. His facial expression didn't even change in the face of the Divine Flame, which he quickly absorbed.

After enough time went by for an incense stick to burn, he rose to his feet and proceeded to the next pagoda. Time passed in this fashion, and as he continuously absorbed more and more Divine Flame, the Essence of Divine Flame inside of him grew larger and more powerful.

So far, he was merely replenishing the Divine Flame, not gaining more overall Essence. It was a process which he couldn't continue indefinitely. However, he wanted to proceed cautiously, and was using this method to get closer to the black-colored city, in order to observe the flame spark which floated above it.

It didn't take long for half a month to go by. Naruto had passed through thousands of pagodas, continuously absorbing flames until his Divine Flame was now ten times larger than it had been when he had entered the place.

He could tell that the next time he unleashed the Essence of Divine Flame, its power would vastly exceed the last time he had done so, to a terrifying degree. Eventually he reached the point where he couldn't absorb any more. Inwardly, he sighed.

He knew that he was at his limit, and if he wanted to break through to a higher level, he couldn't just absorb the Divine Flame in the surroundings. He needed to get in deeper, and absorb the Essence itself.

"Those flame sparks seem strangely dangerous…." he thought as he sat there atop one of the pagodas, gazing at the black city off in the distance. There were still tens of thousands of pagodas in between him and the city. After a bit of thought, he proceeded onward, shooting along with such speed that he left behind afterimages. His determination was such that he ignored any feelings of crisis and charged ahead.

Divine Flame swirled around him, and even the sky was a sea of flames. However, Naruto flew through the fire at top speed, kicking up a huge wind as he passed, which in turn set the flames dancing. Soon he had passed more than 5,000 pagodas. Although the temperature of the flames continued to grow hotter, he didn't slow down at all.

8,000. 10,000. 15,000. 20,000. 30,000….

Naruto sailed madly through the air, throwing the whole world of Divine Flame into chaos. Flames danced madly, and soon only 10,000 pagodas remained between him and the black city.

By now, the temperature was so high that sweat was dripping down his forehead, and he was panting slightly. Azure light sprang up around him as the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal exploded out. He pressed onward, passing the final 10,000 pagodas to appear directly outside the black city!

Being this close up allowed Naruto to clearly sense its might and majesty. When he looked at the white vegetation which covered the walls, it filled him with a strange and odd sensation.

He took a deep breath, flashing through the air to appear atop the city wall. When he looked down into the city itself, his pupils constricted.

Instead of seeing residential buildings, he saw an enormous, sprawling structure that resembled an Imperial palace.

In the very center of the Imperial palace, in the very center of the city itself, was a collapsed temple. Shockingly, a huge golden throne could be seen in the rubble of that temple, upon which was lying… a pile of human skin!

The skin was intact, and seemed to have belonged to an ancient old man. Apparently he had been skinned alive, and then that skin had been draped over the throne. It was a bizarre sight, and even more bizarre was that, hovering 3,000 meters directly above the throne, was none other than the flame spark!

Naruto's eyes went wide. More vigilant than ever, he sped forward, leaving afterimages behind. In the exact moment in which he left, a hand suddenly reached out of the flames and closed around the afterimage he had left behind, as if it had been attempting to rip his heart out of his body.

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent as he looked back at the hand of flame, which instantly began to retract back into the flames. However, Naruto stretched out his hand and made a grasping motion.

"Get out here!" he said, snorting coldly. The flames behind the hand suddenly trembled, and a figure was dragged out. It was a body composed entirely of fire, without facial features. Although it was shaped like a person, it was clearly no cultivator.

"Flame spirit!" he thought, eyes narrowing. The flame spirit screamed shrilly, causing the surrounding sea of flames to churn. Suddenly, hundreds upon hundreds of flame spirits appeared, brimming with brutality and rage.

Even the flame up above in the air flickered. The flame spirits then charged toward Naruto.

Naruto frowned as the more than one thousand vicious flame spirits closed in on him. He extended his hand with a cold harrumph, performing an incantation gesture and then waving a finger. Immediately, numerous Immortal mountains appeared, shining with azure light as they crushed down toward the flame spirits. Miserable shrieks rang out as virtually all of the flame spirits were crushed. As they were destroyed, they transformed into Divine Flame which scattered about.

Naruto didn't pause. He kept flying through the air directly toward the flame spark. As he neared it, he extended his hand and made a snatching motion. Immediately, a roar of rage could be heard from the sea of flames in the area.

"This is the Holy Land of the Five Dragons, and we are following the orders of the exalted Dao Namikaze , to suppress Huoyan Zi! Regardless of thine identity, begone immediately! Stay, and thou shalt be destroyed in body and soul!"

As the voice echoed out, the sea of flames churned, and a huge flame hand formed, which then shot toward Naruto. It looked almost like a hand which would appear in a Tribulation.

It bore down on Naruto as if to grab him and crush him out of existence. Naruto's eyes flickered with a cold light, and he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, then pointed out. Immediately, rumbling sounds could be heard, and a rift opened up in front of him. Blood Demon hands appeared, which tore the rift open further, allowing the Blood Demon to charge out toward the flame hand with a powerful roar.

A huge boom rang out as the flame hand and the Blood Demon began to fight. At the same time, Naruto's right hand flashed like lightning, making contact with the flame spark. In that instant, his mind trembled, and cold laughter rang out from the sea of flames up above.

"Ignorant fool. So-called Immortal. Throughout the years, countless imbeciles like yourself have come from the Immortal World attempting to acquire the core Daoist teachings and doctrines of Huoyan Zi.

"In the end, none of them ever succeeded. The only thing they acquired was an early death. And now, nobody will be able to save you, either."

Even as Naruto touched the flame spark, something that looked like a vertical pupil opened up within the flame.

It looked at Naruto emotionlessly.

"Do you wish to acquire more Essence?

"Do you wish to acquire eternal life?

"Do you wish to have a Daoist magic that can exterminate the Heavens?

"Dao Namikaze once said that the Immortal World was doomed to experience tribulation. He said that the Immortal lands would grow old, and that the Immortals would perish. Impossible! I refuse to give in! I refuse to admit defeat!

"I can give you my Essence, I can give you my Daoist magic, and I can give you power. However, you must carry out my deepest desire. You must exterminate Dao Namikaze !

"Slay Dao Namikaze !"

Naruto's mind trembled from the sheer madness of the voice. It contained boundless hatred and obsession, and as it filled Naruto's mind, it also seemed to influence the lands of Divine Flame around him. The fire raged higher up into the sky.

At the same time, the flame spark shrank down into his palm, fusing into his body, boring into him, becoming… a part of him!

Apparently, the flame didn't care whether or not Naruto agreed; it fused into him. If it succeeded, then on some level, Huo Yanzi could be considered to have been reincarnated. Even if that reincarnation was merely as one of Naruto's Essences, he would gladly accept that.

If the process failed… then Naruto would die. Then the flame would wait for the next Immortal to come and pass on its legacy. Eventually, someone would come who would be the successor of this Essence!

The world of the Divine Flames churned. Shockingly, innumerable flames suddenly began to surge through the air, shooting directly toward… Naruto!

If you could look down at the scene from up above, it would be more clear what was happening. The sea of flames was shrinking, with Naruto being the center. All the fire was now being sucked into him.

He was on fire, and a roaring bellow echoed out from his lips. Flames erupted out from inside of him and burned out, and he was wracked with indescribable pain. The feeling of imminent death filled him.

He knew that he had two paths stretching out in front of him now. If he succeeded, then he would be able to truly control this Essence, and would be far more powerful than before. If he failed, then he would be transformed into ash!

There was no third option!

The cold voice once again rang out from the sea of flames: "Throughout all the years, no one has ever succeeded. I'm looking forward to seeing you burned alive." Apparently, the owner of that voice had seen many cultivators like Naruto die while trying to accept the legacy of this Essence.

Naruto's eyes were bright red, and it was impossible to tell what part of that red was blood, and what was flame. His body was withering, his hair burning. Even his bag of holding seemed incapable of standing up to the force, and was starting to crumble. Naruto, sensing this, tossed it away from him. Understanding his intention, the mastiff let out an anxious howl and caught the bag.

"Trifling Essence of Divine Flame, you think you can do anything to me?!" Naruto's eyes flickered. He could sense the impending crisis, and yet to him, it was nothing compared to what he had experienced in the Windswept Realm!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1176

Chapter 1176 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1176: Great Circle: Fleshly body!

Naruto's eyes were bright red, and his clothes were burning away, revealing his powerful body. He was undergoing a baptism of Divine Flame, and was surrounded by an endless sea of fire.

The sea of flames roared toward him, pouring into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. A fierce expression appeared on his face as he rotated his cultivation base, closing off all of his orifices, even the pores on his skin.

"The Divine Flame might be powerful, but it's not invincible. I'll use this flame to refine my body, to take myself to the next level!" He waved both hands, causing his Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps to suddenly appear.

He had nine in total, but only two were currently lit. The other seven were dark.

An Ancient Realm fleshly body like Naruto's was a rare thing, and was in fact in the anti-Ancient Realm. His Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps started out dark, and were then lit aflame!

As his fleshly body became more powerful, and as he practiced cultivation, he would light those Ancient Realm fleshly body Soul Lamps, one by one!

"Refine!" he roared, causing the flames to begin to spin around him. They were incapable of entering his body, but instead, began to roast it from the outside.

He trembled, and quickly performed some double-handed incantation gestures. He wasn't using some sort of body-refinement magic, but rather… a pill concocting technique!

Naruto's Dao of alchemy was one in which he could use Heaven and Earth as his pill furnace, and his body as the medicinal pill! In that way, pill concocting techniques could be used to refine his body. However, what he was doing in this case, he was not using Heaven and Earth as the pill furnace, but instead… his own body! His body was both the pill furnace and the medical pill, as he attempted to use the power of the surrounding flames to make himself even stronger!

Shocking rumbling sounds echoed out. Naruto's eyes were closed, and his body was bright red as he continuously performed doublehanded incantation seals. His hands moved so fast they blurred, casting enchantments not on his surroundings, but on himself.

Even the guardian of the place, who still remained hidden, was shocked. However, he quickly began to laugh coldly.

"No one can succeed. With the curse of the exalted Dao Namikaze in place, there is no one in the Mountain and Sea Realm who can fuse with the flame spark of the renegade Huoyan Zi!"

Naruto's eyes suddenly snapped open, and they shone with bright red light. Staring up into the empty sky, he said, "Say that again after I absorb it!"

Although he couldn't see the person who was speaking, that guardian was as shocked as before at the energy which was rising up from Naruto.

He threw his head back and roared as his fleshly body underwent continuous refinement. As the flame sea around him raged, as the Essence battered him… his third Soul Lamp suddenly lit up!

When that happened, rumbling booms echoed out from inside him. His body became mightier than before, his fleshly body power having broken through from the previous level. He was now far stronger than before!

As his fleshly body grew stronger, he became increasingly capable of withstanding the sea of flames! However, as long as he had the flame spark within him, the surrounding fire would eternally burn him. Either he would be transformed into ashes, or… he would eventually completely absorb the sea of flames.

"Refining my body was the first step. Only by getting my body to the proper level can I successfully absorb the Divine Flame. My body is like a pill furnace; if it takes too much heat, it will explode!" He gritted his teeth, and his expression twisted. He rotated his cultivation base fully, fighting back against the sea of flames which sought to bore into him, and building up Immortal power within his flesh and blood to once again refine himself!

Booms echoed out as the sea of flames engulfed him. It was almost as if it really wished to melt him into a medicinal pill!

The mastiff howled anxiously, but couldn't get near. Naruto had already transmitted strict orders to it that it must not get too close to him.

Naruto was rapidly withering, and just when it seemed like he couldn't take it any more, his eyes snapped open yet again. He threw his head back and bellowed as a fourth Soul Lamp flickered to life.

The lighting of that Soul Lamp gave him a bit of breathing room. His body was now almost doubly as powerful as before. His eyes glittered as he performed more double-handed incantation gestures with even greater speed, producing even more sealing marks.

"Bring it on!" he cried, waving both arms, allowing the sea of flames to once again engulf him….

Soon, his fifth Soul Lamp was burning!

His energy soared to a terrifying degree, and that wasn't because of his cultivation base. Instead… it came from the terrifying Chakra and blood of his fleshly body!

The power on display caused the hidden guardian's face to fall. Suddenly, he appeared out in the open, a middle-aged man wearing golden armor. He looked like a celestial warrior, and currently, his expression was one of complete astonishment.

He could never have imagined that Naruto would actually be able to last this long. In the past, nobody had ever been able to last more than ten or so breaths of time before being killed.

"The flame spark is eternal," the guardian said coldly, looking at Naruto as if he were a dead man. "The Divine Flame is boundless. Even if you hold on for longer, all it means is that the pain that you endure will increase."

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto's eyes opened again. He looked through the sea of flames at the guardian and smiled slightly. Because of the pain he was enduring, the smile seemed especially ferocious.

"If I'm not mistaken, you can't do anything to me while I'm in the middle of absorbing the flame spark," he said. "In that case… why don't you just sit back and enjoy the show? Watch… how this flame spark is supposed to be used. Watch… how to absorb all of the flame sea in this place. I'll suck it all in. After that…. Watch as I cut you down!"

The decisiveness in Naruto's voice caused the guardian's face to flicker. What Naruto had said was correct; he couldn't interfere with the absorption process. The Divine Flame was in its most wild state, and regardless of what Naruto was doing, if he got too close, the flame would go even crazier.

After all, the flame spark contained the will of Huoyan Zi. Normally, that will was kept in a state of suppression. However, when it came time to pass the legacy on to an Immortal, it would erupt wildly.

Indeed, the guardian… didn't dare to get too close. He could only wait until Naruto died amidst accepting the legacy.

His face flickered as rumbling sounds echoed out from Naruto, who was now withering even more; his Chakra and blood having almost completely burned away. However, it was at this point that his sixth Soul Lamp lit up!

When that happened, Naruto began panting raggedly. Adding a sixth

Soul Lamp only meant that the time that he could endure the Divine Flame had been extended. However, he was still forced to use it for purposes of exterior refinement; he still didn't dare to absorb it internally. If the flame raged on both the inside and outside simultaneously in his current state, he would die beyond the shadow of a doubt.

"I need to be stronger. REFINE!" The speed of his incantation gestures increased. In order to refine his fleshly body to increased heights of power, he even went as far as to stimulate the flame spark inside of him.

That in turn caused the sea of flames around him to grow more intense. Boundless fire raged around him, causing both the mastiff and the guardian to back up.

Naruto looked like little more than a sack of bones. However, his eyes shone brightly as his seventh Soul Lamp suddenly lit up.

In the instant that the seventh Soul Lamp came to life, Naruto's fleshly body experienced an unprecedented increase in power. The sound of his heartbeat pounded like thunder. He was now several times stronger than before, so much so that if he were to now encounter the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, Dao-Heaven, a single punch is all it would take to cause him to cough up blood…

His fleshly body was now powerful to an incredible degree, and was continuing to grow even stronger. To Naruto, this world of Divine Flame was a location of incredible good fortune when it came to his fleshly body!

Of course, that came with the assumption that Naruto would be able to fully absorb the Essence of Divine Flame afterward. If he couldn't… it wouldn't matter how strong his fleshly body got, it would all be in vain!

"I can light another!" he said. He was on the verge of being completely withered up, and was panting. Although his fleshly body was at a state of incredible power, the flame of his life force was weak. The sea of flames continued to refine his fleshly body, and yet it was simultaneously consuming his life force.

The continuous increases in fleshly body power were insufficient to replenish the life force that had been exhausted. Not even the recovery power of his Eternal stratum could match the destruction wreaked by the Essence of Divine Flame. Just as Naruto's vision began to swim, he smacked his chest with his hand, stimulating his heart, which surged with power, causing the Chakra and blood flow within him to speed up. That in turn caused his fleshly body to burst with power.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

In that critical moment, his eighth fleshly body Soul Lamp lit up!

In that instant, his fleshly body power reaching a Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering level. It had achieved the peak of the Ancient Realm, and was just a step away from being equivalent to the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

"Useless," the guardian said, staring at Naruto. "What you're doing is like drinking poison when you're thirsty. The sea of flames is boundless, and moments from now, I can watch as you burn away into nothing more than specks of ash." Although the man was actually inwardly shocked, he still believed that it was impossible for anyone to overcome the curse of the exalted Dao Namikaze .

Naruto looked up through the flames at the man.

"Well then, watch carefully," he said, voice hoarse. He suddenly caused his cultivation base to cease any sort of resistance against the sea of flames. He opened his pores and orifices, allowing the sea of flames to suddenly wash through him with wild abandon!

Pain filled him, and he trembled violently, gritting his teeth. This type of pain far exceeded the type he had felt during the body refinement. Thankfully, his body was much stronger than before, otherwise, the sudden onslaught would have transformed him into ash within a few breaths of time.

The flame spark inside of him seemed to be calling the Divine Flame, causing it to seethe. Naruto was the center of it all, and it was as if the flames had suddenly found the place they had been seeking to go all along.

As they simultaneously poured into him, his cultivation base erupted with the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal. Azure light shone out, and his third Nirvana Fruit was more fully absorbed!

When that happened, he went from being sixty to seventy percent of an Allheaven Dao Immortal to even higher. The sea of flames around him roiled as it poured into his body.

Shockingly, he was now using the flame spark to further refine his third Nirvana Fruit!

First he refined his body, and then he refined his Nirvana Fruit. This was the idea that Naruto had come up with, to borrow the power of the Essence of Divine Flame to grow more and more powerful, all for the purpose of fully absorbing the Nirvana Fruit!

"That azure light… it's…." The middle-aged guardian's eyes went wide. Although he had seen the same thing earlier, he hadn't been paying very close attention. Now, the azure light glittered resplendently within the sea of flames, forcing him to pay it full heed. His face fell.

Chapter 1176: Great Circle: Fleshly body!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1177

Chapter 1177: True Dao Immortal!

"Allheaven Dao Immortal!

"Impossible!" the guardian said hoarsely. "How could there still be an

Allheaven Dao Immortal in the Mountain and Sea Realm? Impossible!" He hadn't paid any attention to Naruto's azure glow before. After all, there were many Daoist magics and defensive magical items that could cast off green or azure glows. It wouldn't be realistic to think of Allheaven Immortals every time such a light appeared.

From what he could recall, Allheaven Dao Immortals were the stuff of legend, and only almighty figures could be counted among their ranks. As a simple guard that had been conscripted into service here, Allheaven Dao Immortals were the type of existence that was far above and beyond his station.

If Naruto weren't currently engulfed in the sea of flames, shining with an azure light that outshone the Divine Flame, thus provoking a close inspection by the guardian, then he would never have recognized that it was the light of an Allheaven Dao Immortal.

A cold gleam flickered in Naruto's eyes, and rumbling sounds emanated out from his fleshly body. His cultivation base soared, and his Nirvana Fruit fused more fully into him, thanks to the Divine Flame.

Soon, he had reached seventy percent!

Trembling, he threw his head back and roared. The azure light shining off of him grew more scintillating, spreading out in all directions with incredible strength that seemed capable of suppressing the Divine Flame. In fact, the flames shooting toward Naruto even paused in place.

However, no matter how powerful that azure light became, the flame spark inside of Naruto continued to pull at the Divine Flame, exerting more force, causing it to move once again. All of the flames in the entire world trembled.

Naruto shook violently within the sea of flames. He was reaching the point where he couldn't hold on much longer. His body was beginning to crack, and the Divine Flame was making it difficult to rotate his cultivation base.

Were it not for the presence of the azure light, Naruto would already be dead.

"Allheaven Dao!" Naruto roared in this critical moment. His third Nirvana Fruit fused even more. More azure light emanated out from him, reaching a distance of thirty meters!

Within that thirty meters, nothing existed but a world of azure light!

By now, his third Nirvana Fruit was eighty percent absorbed!

Normally speaking, the extra ten percent which had just fused would have taken a month of work. But now, with the burning Divine Flame, the process was completed in a flash. This could be seen as an opportunity for Naruto. However, that opportunity was backed by the shadow of death.

With eighty percent of the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, Naruto could relax for a moment. His Eternal stratum worked rapidly to heal his life force, and yet even still, he could sense the impending threat of doom from the Divine Flame.

"You're going to die for sure!" said the guardian. "Who cares if you're an Allheaven Dao Immortal? I never imagined that after standing guard here for all these years, I would eventually be able to see an Allheaven Dao Immortal burned alive right in front of me!" The man threw his head back and laughed.

"You're getting excited a bit too early," Naruto said in a grating voice. His eyes shone with determination as he extended his right hand and pushed down hard onto his forehead.

Incredible power surged into his mind, and it was almost as if he were attacking his third Nirvana Fruit. His whole body shook, and he coughed up three mouthfuls of blood. Almost instantly, the blood was scorched into a blood mist, and Naruto's body withered even more. However, he was able to use the power his strike unleashed to further absorb the Nirvana Fruit.

Ninety percent!

Ninety percent of an Allheaven Dao Immortal!

Azure light exploded around him. No longer did it reach out to 30 meters, but rather, 300 meters, an increase of tenfold. At the same time, Naruto's life force exploded up, and was significantly restored.

He panted for a moment, then threw his head back and roared, a roar which caused tens of thousands of the surrounding 990,000 pagodas to collapse.

This development caused the guardian's face to fall. He stared at Uzumaki

Hao in complete shock, almost unable to believe the things that Naruto was doing. All of a sudden, his confidence was beginning to waver, and he had the feeling that perhaps… Naruto might succeed after all.

"Impossible," the man murmured, his eyes filling with a staunch gleam. "The exalted Dao Namikaze has a towering cultivation base. His curse cannot be broken by anyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm! He said that nobody can acquire this legacy, so therefore, nobody can!"

"If the curse of Dao Namikaze really is impossible to break," Naruto said, "well then… what are you guarding, and why does this place even need a guardian!?" He extended his right hand and pushed forward, causing the Divine Flame to seethe and then suddenly stop.

Within the 300 meters of azure light, not a bit of Divine Flame existed. It had all been expelled outside the perimeter, allowing Naruto to finally breathe a sigh of relief.

His Eternal stratum surged, restoring his body and replenishing his life force. Combined with the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, it ensured that Naruto's energy rose higher and higher. Colors flashed up above, and although there was usually no weather in this place, roiling clouds materialized out of nowhere, writhing in the sky.

An indescribable energy was now rising up from Naruto.

It was nothing more than energy, but it caused the guardian's face to fall. He began to pant as he looked at Naruto, eyes wide. He could sense the soaring rise in Naruto's cultivation base, and it filled him with intense fear.

The combination of explosive growth in fleshly body and cultivation base at the same time caused incredible pressure to radiate out.

Naruto raised his hand, and the mastiff also began to emanate an azure light. The azure light obeyed Naruto's will, blessing the mastiff, giving it the added protection of an Allheaven Dao Immortal.

The mastiff let out a long howl of joy, then transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Naruto and flew into his bag of holding. Afterward, Naruto patted his bag of holding and produced a new set of clothing, which he donned. Then he looked up at the middle-aged guardian.

"It doesn't matter if you're a bit stronger," the man roared, glaring at Naruto, "you still can't absorb the entire sea of flames. Even if the flame spark can't kill you, you still won't be able to take it away!" "You're right, I can't take it away now," Naruto said. "But… I will soon. Don't worry, I'll let you watch, and then I'll close your eyes forever!" With that Naruto closed his own eyes.

Instantly, an azure magical symbol appeared on his forehead, not the Echelon mark, but rather the symbol of an Allheaven Immortal.

It was circular, and was divided into nine complete sections and one incomplete section. However, that incomplete section was rapidly filling in.

In the space of a few breaths, the final ten percent of the azure magical symbol began to glow with blinding azure light.

The light was now several times more intense than before. It… almost looked like an azure sun.

Naruto's cultivation base rocketed up with increasing power. Heaven and Earth trembled, and the entire world shook as ripples spread out in all directions.

At the same time, the numerous pagodas in the world began to collapse one by one under the increasing pressure of Naruto's energy.

Thousands. Tens of thousands. A hundred thousand. Two hundred thousand….

As the pagodas collapsed, the whole world descended into rumbling that sounded like screeching roars that emanated from deep underground. Heaven and Earth shook violently, almost as if doomsday had arrived.

All of that was because of Naruto!

All of that was because Naruto was… an Allheaven Dao Immortal!

The azure light spread out in all directions, and as it did, the Divine Flame shot back to avoid it. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was the only person in the entire 3,000-meter area.

Even the guardian was forced to retreat, feeling more astonished than ever.

Naruto's body emanated boundless azure light, as if he were an azure-colored sun. His energy rocketed up, his cultivation base exploded, and he felt more powerful than he ever had in his entire life.

If he met a Quasi-Dao Guru Heavencloud in his current state, he was completely confident that he could crush him as easily as dried weeds.

He could even kill… Dao Realm experts, as long as they had 2 Essences or less!

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and azure lightning shot out of them, smashing through the void and slamming into the middle-aged guardian's eyes. The lightning smashed his mind, crushing him like a wet branch.

He screamed miserably, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he tumbled backward, accompanied by terrifying booms. A single glance forced him backward by seven steps, after which he exploded into bits.

As his Nascent Divinity flew out, it was clear a single thought on Uzumaki

Hao's part could cause the surrounding azure lightning to destroy him.

"Like I said, I'm going to let you watch me take away the flame spark," Naruto said coolly, hovering there as if he were the most supreme being in Heaven and Earth.

The guardian's Nascent Divinity trembled in intense fear of Naruto. He still almost couldn't believe that he… who had guarded this land for so long, who had a cultivation base in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, would actually… have his fleshly body destroyed by a single look from Naruto. Even his Nascent Divinity could be killed at any moment.

"Allheaven Dao Immortal… so this… is an Allheaven Dao Immortal!

"Back in the Paragon Immortal Realm, they weren't Paragons, and yet, even Paragons had to respect them. No wonder they were called the most terrifying slaughter cultivators…. Allheaven Dao Immortals!"

The man's Nascent Divinity was trembling as he stared at Naruto. His mind spun, and he just couldn't believe that he had actually seen a legendary Allheaven Dao Immortal. Furthermore… it was not an awakening Allheaven Dao Immortal, but a complete, fully awoken, completely powered up… Allheaven Dao Immortal!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1178

Chapter 1178: Peak!

The middle-aged guardian was mistaken. He had never seen an

Allheaven Dao Immortal, so he didn't know… that even if you said Naruto was the first Allheaven Immortal, and that later there might be a second or a third or even more, Naruto would still be the most powerful type, an Allheaven Dao Immortal!

Furthermore, he was one of the most powerful Allheaven Dao Immortals in history.

And that was because… of his fleshly body!

The strength of his fleshly body made his Allheaven Dao Immortal battle prowess even more powerful.

"There's no need to rush the absorption of the Divine Flame…." he said softly. "I can still become more powerful!" He could sense that, based on the boundless Immortal power within him, if he wanted to, he could grow to a size of well over 3,000 meters tall.

"My fleshly body… still has an unlit Soul Lamp. I wonder… how powerful I'll be after I light all of them!" A strange light appeared in Naruto's eyes as nine Soul Lamps materialized around him. Eight of them were now lit for all eternity, but the ninth was still unlit.

He looked thoughtfully at that ninth Soul Lamp for a moment, then waved his right hand. Instantly, the 3,000-meter azure light vanished. Likewise, the pressure weighing down on the sea of flames vanished, allowing it to rage with fury.

Instantly, the entire area was completely engulfed in fire that obscured all else. The guardian in Nascent Divinity form couldn't even catch a glimpse of Naruto.

He remained within the sea of flames, eyes closed, allowing the fire to enter his body. However, he prevented the flame spark from absorbing the flames, and instead allowed them to build up inside of him.

More Divine Flame poured into him, raging, sweeping about inside of him, pouring through his Chakra passageways, inundating his internal organs, filling his flesh and blood. It even seeped into his bones.

Naruto began trembling slightly, but his expression was the same as usual. Keeping the flame spark sealed, he allowed more and more Divine Flame to build up inside of him, until he was like a being of fire. His flesh, bones, Chakra passageways, and the other parts of him all contained Divine Flame.

And the amount only continued to increase. If you likened Naruto to a bottle, then at the moment, that bottle was now more than forty percent full of Divine Flame.

And he wasn't finished!

Bizarre light gleamed in his eyes as he sucked in the Divine Flame as if he were a black hole. None of it was allowed into the flame spark, but instead, built up inside of him. The sensation of burning increased as the flames did. Naruto was using this method… to temper his fleshly body!

BOOM!

Fifty percent. Sixty percent. Seventy percent!

This process of body tempering left him trembling. The difficulty was almost impossible to describe. Were it not for the fact that Naruto already had an incredibly powerful fleshly body, plus the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, then he would not have been able to take the intense heat of the flames.

However, in order to strengthen his fleshly body, and in order to take full advantage of this instance of good fortune, he sucked in more. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the boundless Divine Flames coursing through him pushed him from seventy percent to eighty!

The process continued rapidly, until he was at ninety percent!

In that moment, he shook violently and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Even though he was a creature of flesh and blood, he had absorbed the Divine Flame by ninety percent, causing Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling transformations. He was almost like a flame spirit now, except with a body of flesh and blood.

"I can keep going. Bring it on!" Naruto eyes shone with bright light as he looked at his nine Soul Lamps. A tiny flame had already appeared on the last lamp, and it was growing larger; soon the lamp would be completely lit. Eyes gleaming with determination, he gritted his teeth and sucked in more flame.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, causing everything to shake violently. Pagodas toppled, and the sky appeared to be on the verge of being ripped apart to reveal the lands up above.

After all, this location was underground!

Naruto threw his head back and roared as the Divine Flame within him finally reached… one hundred percent!

Each and every part of him was now Divine Flame. At the same time, his ninth Soul Lamp flared to life!

When that happened, rumbling sounds filled his entire body. His heart began to beat with more power than before, and even his Chakra and blood caused the outside world to dim. A terrifying power rose up from him, a power that had reached a Heaven-defying level!

You could say that from the beginning of the Mountain and Sea Realm until the modern day, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone with a fleshly body as powerful as this. If he took a single further step forward, he would have a Dao Realm fleshly body!

As for Dao Realm fleshly bodies… there was no need to even mention how rare such a thing was in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Even in the Paragon Immortal Realm, the only people who possessed bodies like that were Paragons!

Only Paragons could take their fleshly bodies into the Dao Realm!

That was because when the fleshly body achieved the Dao, then even if Heaven and Earth rotted away, that fleshly body would not. The only way it could be destroyed was in battle; neither the ravages of time nor the power of Heaven and Earth could destroy it.

That was the Dao Realm fleshly body!

And right now, Naruto was only a step away from exactly that!

His eyes snapped open, and he threw his head back and roared, causing the land overhead to crumble; dirt and rocks fell down, and although the canopy above didn't collapse, the middle-aged guardian outside of the sea of flames was even more shocked than before.

In response to Naruto's roar, the sea of flames around him churned, and hundreds of thousands of pagodas throughout the world toppled over into pieces.

Up in the second level, the ancient beast trembled as the whole level quaked. The first level up above was the same, and even the Dao lakes beyond that were vibrating. Numerous Dao lakes erupted, shooting magical items and Dao projections up into the air, to the shock and delight of the gathered cultivators.

Within the world of Divine Flame, Naruto's roars echoed out as his Allheaven Dao Immortal cultivation base exploded with power. There was no azure light though, and he now did nothing to prevent the Divine Flame from pouring into the flame spark.

At long last, the flame spark could absorb the flames it had been blocked off from before. All of the fire outside of Naruto surged toward him in waves.

He stretched his arms wide, allowing it to fully flow into the flame spark, which desired to consume all the fire in the world.

"Flame spark… you're mine!" he said, waving his sleeve and rising up into the air. The sea of flames rose up with him, and from a distance, the flames formed an image that looked like a mountain. The sight would be shocking to anyone who could lay eyes on it.

If you looked even closer, it would appear as if Naruto had become an invincible bird, with the sea of flames being his wings as he soared through the Heavens, laying waste to everything.

All of the Divine Flame in the world began to converge, shrinking down and pouring into Naruto. The flame spark inside of him was shining brightly, and soon, an Essence aura began to emanate off of him.

That essence was no longer just a sliver. It was majestic and boundless, true Essence. Flame Essence. Henceforth, this would be Naruto's first Essence.

Naruto was the only cultivator ever to be able to control Essence while in the Immortal Realm!

He threw his head back and roared, and the flame sea around him slowly shrank. It was now seventy percent of its original size, then fifty, and then forty!

It was a thoroughly shocking sight. The guardian stared at Naruto absorbing the flames, and his previous conviction was now completely shaken.

"The curse of the exalted Dao Namikaze …" he murmured. "Nobody can acquire the flame spark… how could this be happening…?" By now, the sea of flames was thirty percent of its original size!

The more Naruto absorbed, the more resplendent his internal flame spark became. By now, the sea of flames could barely harm him at all, and after he completely absorbed it, fire would never be able to hurt Naruto again.

Rumbling filled the entire world. The air shook as the sea of flames once again shrank down!

Twenty percent!

Only twenty percent of the sea of flames remained. The eternal Divine

Flame within the world region was being completely absorbed by Naruto. Although this was only a single one of the flame sparks, even someone in the Dao Realm would lust insatiably lust after it.

Ten percent!

Brilliant light shone off of Naruto, and the flame sea continued to shrink. The Essence aura on him grew more intense, and everything around him shook violently!

In the space of a few breaths, the sea of flames shrank down into a mere strand of Divine Flame, which then merged into Naruto. At that point, this part of the world of Divine Flame didn't contain even a single flame!

As of this day, the sea of flames which had existed for so long, and burned eternally… was now gone. There was no Divine Flame, and the lands below were now completely revealed, and at the same time, all of the pagodas collapsed into rubble.

100,000. 200,000. 300,000… in the blink of an eye, massive rumbling could be heard echoing out until the entire place… didn't have a single pagoda standing in it!

Feeling completely shaken, Naruto closed his eyes. The flame spark inside of him had absorbed all of the Divine Flame in the entire world. As of this moment, the will of Huoyan Zi approved of Naruto, and did not resist him at all. Instead, it merged into him.

When that happened, the Essence aura within Naruto was eternally stabilized!

He slowly opened his eyes. This was his most powerful state. Allheaven Dao Immortal. The great circle of the Ancient Realm fleshly body. A complete Essence of Divine Flame!

"Impossible!" the guardian shrieked. In the instant that he spoke, the azure lightning which surrounded him transformed into numerous azure snakes that stabbed into his Nascent Divinity. To the man's shock, his Nascent Divinity faded away into the air. Naruto had lived up to his word, and allowed the guardian to witness him accepting the legacy of the flame spark!

Naruto hovered in midair, looking around until his gaze came to fall on the lands down below. Off in the distance, there were other lands of Divine Flame, and other flame sparks!

However, in the very moment in which he looked off into the distance, there was something that filled Naruto with a sensation of crisis. He spun and looked down at the pitch-black city down below, his eyes shining like blades.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1179

Chapter 1179: The Curse of Dao Namikaze !

Without the sea of flames covering it, the black city was now much more clearly visible. White vegetation still clung to the walls, and there was still a palace in the middle.

At first, it didn't look much different than the first time he had laid eyes on it.

Naruto frowned as he examined it more closely. Then his eyes widened as he realized that something had changed. The pile of human skin which had been draped on the huge throne… was now gone!

Naruto's eyes shone with a cold light, and he sent his divine sense out in all directions, backed by the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal. Soon, his frown deepened as he realized that there weren't any clues to be found about what had happened.

The sense of crisis still existed within him, and was growing stronger. He even had the sensation that someone was watching him.

"The curse of Dao Namikaze …." He thought back to what the guardian had said before dying. Now that he thought about it, he had met Dao Namikaze . Although he hadn't seen what he looked like, when he experienced that mental journey out into the void beyond the Windswept Realm, he knew that he had encountered an entity that existed atop the 33 Heavens. That entity's name was… Dao Namikaze !

Naruto didn't have a very high opinion of this Dao Namikaze . After all, based on his understanding of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the 33 Heavens were the first barrier sealing the Mountain and Sea Realm. Dao Namikaze was the second barrier!

Naruto's eyes flickered as he slowly backed up. However, in that moment, the air around him suddenly seemed to be sealed, causing the exit to be completely wiped away.

On the second level of the underground world, the ancient beast gasped. It suddenly rose to its feet as it realized that the passageway to the third level had collapsed noiselessly.

Naruto stopped in place, frowning. The sensation of crisis within him exploded with intensity. His pupils constricted, and he looked down at the black-colored city. This time, he couldn't hold back from gasping.

What he saw was that the color of the city itself was now changing. It was no longer black, but instead, pale white. It almost had the luster of skin. Furthermore, the white vegetation on the city walls was gradually turning brown, almost as if they were blood vessels within the skin.

It wasn't just the city walls that were changing. The whole city, including the palace and all the surrounding buildings, was all changing color to pale white. Then, Naruto's eyes widened as the entire city began to move!

It was slowly twitching; the city walls, the palace, the land, everything was moving. Furthermore, an aura of life suddenly erupted out from the city.

It was as if the entire city was no longer an inanimate object, but a living thing!

As the city spasmed, the city wall emitted rumbling sounds. Odd cracks spread out, and the ground quaked. Shockingly, part of the city wall ripped out and began to rise up, transforming into a huge arm. Another part of the city wall also lurched, and then transformed into a second arm.

The other sections of the city wall rumbled as they transformed into legs. As they rose up from the ground, the palace also jerked as it became a torso, with the central part of the palace turning into an Imperial crown!

As for the enormous throne which was in the palace, it turned into a face!

RUMBLE!

The entire city transformed in front of Naruto's eyes, becoming an enormous giant with white skin, fully 30,000 meters tall, causing everything to shake violently. It actually… didn't even look like a city any more. It looked like an actual giant!

Its body was made of flesh and blood, and the blood vessels were even visible on its skin. Its eyes glowed with coldness as it stood there looking down at Naruto.

When Naruto looked up at the face, he realized that this giant was none other than the pile of human skin he had seen earlier!

The skin hadn't left, but had instead used some special technique to merge with the city and transform into a giant. Or maybe… the city was actually materialized from a giant to begin with!

Perhaps there was another explanation. Maybe the human skin and the city itself were both parts of the curse of Dao Namikaze !

Naruto wasn't sure which of these possibilities was correct. However, he was currently filled with a sense of deadly crisis. He knew that this giant… was a formidable foe!

He suddenly smiled, and his eyes glinted with the desire to do battle. He was now an Allheaven Dao Immortal, with a fleshly body in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, with the true Essence of Divine Flame.

All of that placed Naruto at the ultimate peak. He could fight with the Dao Realm, so this trifling giant only made him want to do battle, to test out his new cultivation base breakthrough. He wanted to prove… exactly how powerful he was!

A powerful voice rumbled out of the giant's mouth, crackling like thunder, filled with awe-inspiring power like Heavenly might. The ground trembled, and everything shook. "Hand over the flame spark, and you will merely be killed. Force me to take it, and I'll kill your whole clan!"

Naruto looked at the giant, smiled coldly, and then spoke equally domineering words. "Become my follower, and I won't kill you! Refuse, and I'll destroy you in body and soul!"

The giant looked coldly at Naruto, then raised his right hand and clenched it into a fist. The air seemed to be on the verge of exploding as incredible power erupted out. He punched toward Naruto, and his fist moved with incredible speed, seemingly encompassing the entire world.

Naruto snorted coldly. Instead of backing up, he also clenched his right hand, punching out with the Life-Extermination Fist.

When the two fists slammed into each other, a massive rumbling echoed out. The land between them shattered, and a huge crevice opened up. Naruto sailed over it, landing on the giant's hand and racing up toward its neck. Even as he ran, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing numerous Immortal mountains to descend. Then he punched out with the Self-Immolation Fist.

The giant's eyes flickered and it trembled. That trembling caused an explosive force to rage toward Naruto. The giant's expression was cold as it reached its left hand up and flicked it in Naruto's direction. The massive hand filled the sky; it was almost as if the giant were trying to swat a fly.

"To me, you're nothing more than an insect," the giant said coolly. The palm and fist connected, and the giant's left arm shook. Naruto's face paled, and he fell backward several paces. However, the desire to fight burned brightly in his eyes, and he threw his head back and laughed.

"Insect?" he said. Azure light sprang up around him, and the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal erupted. Azure light spread out for 3,000 meters in all directions, and he began to grow taller. In the blink of an eye, he was 3,000 meters tall.

Although he was still miniscule compared to the giant, he was completely different than he had been before. When the giant saw the azure light, his eyes flickered, and he suddenly experienced a feeling of crisis, caused by Naruto. Even as his heart trembled, Naruto took a step forward. He might be small, but he was as quick as lightning.

He transformed into an azure roc, which was also 3,000 meters long. He stretched his wings out, growing even larger, letting out a fierce cry as he shot toward the giant and slashed at it with razor-sharp claws. The giant roared, performing an incantation gesture which caused booming lightning to surround it.

Each bolt of lightning was like a Heavenly Tribulation. As it bore down, the Essence of Divine Flame shot out of the mouth of the azure roc. This Essence of Divine Flame was far different that what Naruto had wielded before. It was the true Essence of Divine Flame, and its sudden appearance caused the giant's face to flicker. He performed an incantation gesture, causing a wild wind to spring up, which transformed into a roaring Wind Dragon.

Even still, it wasn't enough to block Naruto and the Essence of Divine Flame which exploded out of the flame spark. A sea of flames surrounded Naruto, and then spread out to envelop the giant. It was quickly engulfed in flames, and let out roars of pain. Suddenly, the giant spat out a pearl.

The pearl was black, and emanated an archaic air. Almost as soon as it appeared, it shattered, and its remnants formed into a spell formation.

"Mountain Ghost Seal, Divine Flame Lightning Spirit Hex!" the giant roared. Naruto's Divine Flame surrounded the spell formation, but then stopped, unable to pierce through it.

Naruto wasn't surprised by this. It didn't attest to any lack of power on the part of the Divine Flame, but rather, just went to show that as warden of this place, the giant was obviously prepared to deal with the Essence of Divine Flame. Were this any other place in the outside world, and any other opponent, he would be dead.

The azure roc flashed as it transformed back into Naruto. He stepped forward with a cold harrumph, performing an incantation gesture which caused the Blood Demon to emerge from its rift. It grabbed the giant's neck, opened its mouth, and took a vicious bite. Naruto waved his hand, and the violet moon mark appeared on the giant's head. Then Naruto took another step, and his left hand extended with the Supernova Magic.

This time, it didn't need to absorb any light from around it. Naruto caused boundless azure light to stream out of his hand, pouring into the Supernova Magic, causing the star to rapidly grow larger and emanate ripples of destruction as it shot toward the giant.

Huge booms echoed out as the giant was shoved backward, heart trembling. However, Naruto didn't stop there. He stepped forward again, taking three steps in a row. His energy began to rise explosively. When you added in the steps from before, shockingly, he had unleashed the Seven God Steps!

As he took his seventh step, his energy skyrocketed. Boundless azure light rose up as he punched out with his right hand. The Life-

Extermination Fist, the Self-Immolation Fist, and the God-Slaying Fist, all rumbled through the air.

The three fist strikes, coupled with the Seven God Steps, backed by the peak power of Naruto's cultivation base and fleshly body, were enough that… even Dao Realm cultivators with two Essences or fewer would be slaughtered!

Intense pressure caused all light to dim. Heaven and Earth trembled, and the lands cracked. Countless ripples spread out through the air, and Naruto shone with azure light so bright that he seemed like an azure sun!

The giant's face fell, and he fought back with all the power he could muster. He roared, shoving both hands down toward the ground. Everything shook, and magical symbols appeared all over the giant. The magical symbols emanated a thoroughly archaic air that exploded out to resist the terrifying power of Naruto's Seven God Steps and three fist strikes.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1180

Chapter 1180: Most Powerful State!

The magical symbols on the giant seemed innumerable, but if you looked closely, you would realize that there were actually only nine. However, those nine symbols were constantly splitting apart into multiple overlapping copies of themselves, making it initially seem as if the symbols were without number.

Nonetheless, those nine symbols emanated an incredible aura that provoked shocking transformations in Heaven and Earth. They seemed completely ancient, and as they flickered, they caused nine protective shields to flicker into place around the giant!

The light of the magical symbol shields made the giant even more impressive than before. He pushed his hands down onto the ground, threw his head back and howled. Everything shook violently, and a massive shockwave spread out in all directions

From a distance, it looked like a raging tempest, with nine swirling magical symbols in the middle of it all. Almost instantly, the giant seemed to have entered a state of invincibility.

Naruto examined the nine magical symbols with furrowed brow. From those symbols, he could sense… the aura of Dao Namikaze ! Although he had never laid eyes on Dao Namikaze , he had met him during his mental journey outside of the Windswept Realm and beyond the 33 Heavens. He had even been attacked by him! The feeling he had experienced back then was the exact same feeling he got from these magical symbols!

"The curse of Dao Namikaze …." Naruto's eyes flickered, but he didn't fall back by even half a step. Instead, he charged forward, punching out with his three fist strikes, unleashing a terrifying power onto the protective shield tempest.

From afar, he looked like an azure sun, the only light in Heaven and Earth. His fist was also azure, and seemingly filled with enough power to annihilate the Heavens and exterminate the Earth.

Rumbling echoed out, and as the fist strikes landed, the giant's tempest shield trembled. Massive booms echoed out, and the tempest exploded. In response, the nine magical symbols glittered radiantly, but didn't collapse. Instead, they simply shrank down a bit. Despite that, the giant had been protected, and wasn't injured at all.

Neither was Dao Namikaze 's aura diminished in the least. It roiled out, transforming into a powerful pressure that crushed toward Naruto. He was shoved back, staggering backward seven paces before stopping in place. Then he looked up and let out a roar.

That roar caused his Allheaven Dao Immortal cultivation base to surge with power. It also converged the power of his fleshly body, whereupon he shot forward like a lightning bolt. The air vibrated and the wind screamed, all of which was caused by the magical symbols as they were crushed by Naruto's charge.

The giant's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he took a step forward, causing the ground to quake. At the same time, he lifted his right hand into the air.

"Exalted Dao Namikaze !" he roared. The sound of it caused the nine magical symbols to glitter radiantly as they… converged together!

That convergence caused the aura of Dao Namikaze to grow even stronger.

In the blink of an eye, the nine symbols turned into a suit of armor that covered the giant, making it look like a powerful deity.

It was ferocious armor, green and covered with bristling spikes and images of screaming, suffering faces which were in the midst of devouring each other. It was almost as if thousands of ghosts had been imprisoned inside of it.

On the chest of the armor was a face which looked… almost exactly like… a monkey!

The monkey's eyes were closed at first, but then they suddenly snapped open. As the monkey stared at Naruto, its eyes gleamed with a viciousness that caused Naruto's pupils to constrict.

With this armor on, the giant's energy rocketed up, and the power level of his cultivation base doubled.

Simultaneously, the giant roared, lifting his right hand up and the snatching out viciously. The lands quaked and shook, and numerous crevices opened up below, with the giant at the center. The lands almost looked like they would collapse.

Waves spread out across the ground, causing mountains to rise and valleys to fall, and leaving behind a massive crater. All of this happened in the short space of a few breaths worth of time.

"Return!" That simple word uttered by the giant caused the lands to begin to rise up. Countless motes of dust and ash flew out as something rose up from the ground. It looked almost like a pillar, but in fact… It was an enormous staff!

The gigantic staff was pitch black, and it was impossible to tell what exactly it was made of. It was 30,000 meters long, a size that any mortal would consider gargantuan, but which was perfectly suited to the giant.

The giant's hand closed around the pitch-black staff, and then swung it into a fighting position. Rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth, and everything trembled. The giant's energy once again shot up.

As the giant hefted the enormous staff, his voice rumbled out like thunder. "I shall abide by the decree of the exalted Dao Namikaze . Immortals are prohibited from taking the flame spark. Any who violate the decree will have their entire clan eradicated!"

Naruto, even with his current cultivation base, couldn't help but be terrified by the power which radiated off of the giant. A sense of deadly crisis filled him, and his eyes began to glow with bright light.

"I already absorbed the flame spark," he said coolly. "My life… is not something you can just take away. As for eradicating my clan… you're not qualified to do any such thing." In Naruto's judgement, the giant was now as powerful as a 3-Essences Dao Lord, or at the very least, the peak of 2-Essences.

He reached down and slapped his bag of holding, then cried out, "Parrot, meat jelly, get out here!"

Instantly, the parrot and meat jelly shot out in beams of brilliant light. As soon as they appeared and laid eyes on the giant, the meat jelly shrieked, "The aura of Dao Namikaze !"

Then it tried to fly back into the bag of holding. However, Naruto grabbed onto it.

"I'll give you three bullies," he said. "Transform into some armor!"

"Four bullies!" the meat jelly screamed hysterically. "I want four bullies! I just recently learned that four is more than three. Four bullies, and I'll go all out!" Naruto gaped in shock, then nodded.

The meat jelly's eyes turned red as it began to glow, and then spread out from Naruto's hand to cover his entire body. At the same time, Naruto looked at the parrot.

"Battle Weapon!" he roared. The parrot smiled bitterly. Muttering apprehensively, it turned into a beam of light that shot toward Naruto. Then the copper mirror flew out of Naruto's bag of holding and merged into the beam of light.

In that instant, Naruto's energy rose to an indescribable degree. A massive windstorm sprung up, within which was the meat jelly as a suit of armor, gray and archaic, emanating a sense of indestructibility.

That suit of armor truly couldn't be destroyed. As long as the meat jelly lived, the armor would hold. After all, the meat jelly… was fundamentally impossible to destroy, even in armor-form.

With this armor, Naruto's battle prowess shot even higher!

Simultaneously, the parrot and the copper mirror combined on his right arm to form the Battle Weapon!

The Battle Weapon was essentially amorphous, and responded to Naruto's will. Shockingly, it was now an enormous, razor-sharp broadsword, fully 3,000 meters long. It radiated sharpness, and even had pulses of strange light dancing about all over its surface. It sent out terrifying ripples that seemed qualified to destroy Heaven and Earth, as well as an aura that seemed capable of making all living things wish to prostrate themselves in worship.

This was the Battle Weapon!

Now that Naruto was an Allheaven Dao Immortal, his copper mirror exploded with incredible power. Although this was only the initial stage, it was still a complete and terrifying Battle Weapon!

As Naruto's cultivation base rocketed up, his appearance now looked even more domineering than the giant's.

"Mastiff!" he said, waving his right sleeve. Instantly, a blood-colored light appeared, flying out and landing on Naruto's back. It was a cape, upon which could be seen a totem. That totem… was none other than the mastiff!

As of this moment, in this state, Naruto was truly more powerful than he had ever been since he began to practice cultivation.

"Alright," he said, "let's see how many slashes you can take from my Battle Weapon!" His voice was so ice-cold that the land in the area froze over. As he stepped forward, the giant swung its enormous black staff and roared as it charged. If you looked in the giant's eyes however, you would see a very serious look, perhaps even astonishment. It could now sense something different from Naruto, an intense… mortal danger!

As they closed in on each other, the Battle Weapon sliced through the air in a radiant beam of light, heading directly toward the pitch-black staff.

When it struck, the staff trembled. It didn't begin to crack. No… it completely collapsed into pieces, having been utterly destroyed.

"Extermination Essence!" the giant roared, its expression one of intense shock and disbelief. "What magical item is that? How could it possess the legendary power of Extermination Essence?! Impossible! This is impossible!"

Even as the giant shouted out, Naruto pressed the offensive, surrounded by scintillating light.

"NO!" the giant howled miserably. It suddenly slapped both hands down onto its armor, causing the magical symbols to shoot out to defend against the Battle Weapon. When they slammed into each other, the magical symbols began to shatter!

The first, the second, the third… in the blink of an eye, seven of the nine magical symbols were completely destroyed!

Then… the eighth! And finally… the ninth!

When the ninth magical symbol was destroyed, the giant's armor collapsed into fragments.

The scintillating blade then continued on toward the giant's neck!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1181

Chapter 1181: Your Words are Meaningless!

"Exalted Dao Namikaze , save me!" the giant roared in terror, its heart pounding as it stared at the descending blade.

In the moment it called out, the ash that was the remnants of the magical symbols suddenly formed back together, turning into the same monkey face which had appeared on the chestplate of the armor earlier. Its eyes shone with a strange light as it stared at Naruto. Then it spoke in a sinister voice: "Reincarnation of Heaven and Earth. Heed me, thou shalt slay him not!"

As the voice echoed out, Naruto's Battle Weapon landed on the giant's neck. What was destroyed was not just the neck, though, but the entire giant. An indescribable force slashed into it, completely crushing and shattering it!

However, in response to the monkey's voice, the giant suddenly burned with powerful life force, a life force that seemed impossible for Heaven and Earth to destroy!

Rumbling could be heard as it began to recover from its state of destruction. From the look of it, the power of extermination unleashed by Naruto and his Battle Weapon were incapable of actually destroying the giant!

As its life force flourished, the giant first gaped in shock, then went wild with joy. Roaring, it lifted both hands into the air and charged toward Naruto. As for Naruto, he actually completely ignored the giant, and instead turned to the monkey.

Voice cool, he said, "The Mountain and Sea Realm is not your Heaven and not your Earth. You don't control reincarnation here. Therefore, your words… are meaningless!" As he spoke, his Battle Weapon exploded with intense black light that spread out in all directions. The giant suddenly trembled, and then collapsed into pieces. The fist which had been descending onto Naruto became nothing more than ash.

In the moment that the giant died, the face formed from magical symbols glared at Naruto, then began to fade away into the air. Naruto staggered backward, and the Battle Weapon vanished. The copper mirror and the parrot appeared again. The parrot looked very listless. After glaring bitterly at Naruto for a moment, it returned to his bag of holding.

Naruto's armor and cape transformed back into the meat jelly and mastiff. They both looked exhausted, and he quickly put them away. His face was pale white, and he now lacked any energy to keep fighting.

It would have been difficult for him to wield the Battle Weapon with only his own might. Therefore, he'd been forced to share the load with the meat jelly and the mastiff. That was what had enabled him to stay in that most powerful of states for a bit longer.

Thankfully, it hadn't taken too much time to defeat the giant. Even still, Naruto was completely worn out.

As the giant died, the magical seals in the area began to fade away, revealing the exit. Naruto's face flickered as he considered whether or not to go to the other lands in the area to acquire their flame sparks. But then, the ground suddenly began to quake. The other five lands that existed in the Divine Flame world then began to rise up into the air. As the lands shook, mighty roars echoed out from them. Naruto immediately sent his divine sense sweeping out, and caught sight of five churning columns of black smoke.

The black smoke rose into the air, rapidly forming together into an enormous head. That head… had the face of a monkey.

Naruto's face flickered as a sensation of deadly crisis filled him that was far, far greater than anything he had experienced earlier. As it exploded out in his mind, he instantly abandoned any thoughts of trying to go to the other lands. His body flashed as he unleashed his cultivation base, transforming into an azure roc that shot toward the exit.

He performed a quick teleportation and instantly appeared by the exit. However, before he could step through, the monkey formed from black smoke suddenly howled.

That howl immediately caused the air to shatter. It filled the six lands of the Divine Flame world, echoing out, causing everything to shake. An indescribable power of destruction filled that roar, and it caused blood to spurt out of Naruto's mouth.

Shockingly, the exit itself also began to rumble and collapse. At the same time, the monkey face opened its mouth and lunged toward Naruto.

The sensation of deadly crisis grew even greater, and Naruto coughed up another mouthful of blood, then stepped into the collapsing exit.

However, in the instant before it completely collapsed, a fierce gleam flickered in Naruto's eyes. He was not the type of person who liked to come out on the losing end, and would always seize every opportunity that came his way. Although he was in a moment of extreme danger, he lifted his right hand and then waved his finger toward the monkey face up above him!

"A Writ of Karma! You owe me money!" he roared. Then, he vanished.

In the moment that he disappeared, the exit shattered, consumed by the enormous mouth formed by the giant land masses.

In the air above the world of Divine Flame, the monkey face suddenly trembled. Karma Threads appeared, which gradually formed together, forming a connection to Naruto. This was a special type of Karma, and once formed, if Naruto wasn't repaid sufficiently, it could turn into an inner Devil.

"You damned bastard! How could you have a magical technique like this!? You Immortals are all completely shameless!" The face roared, and everything collapsed. Wild colors flashed about as the special Karma Thread Naruto had tied was forcibly severed. Of course, that severing caused a huge backlash which also affected Naruto.

Naruto appeared on the second level, coughing up a mouthful of blood. Before the first mouthful finished spurting out, he coughed up a second and then a third mouthful of pitch-black blood!

After that, he swayed dizzily, and instantly knew that someone had broken A Writ of Karma. He had predicted that such a thing might happen, and was also aware that a backlash would occur. However, that didn't cause him to even pause to think about whether or not to use the technique. That was Naruto. If he was willing to treat himself viciously, then how much more so could he treat others viciously!?

He was willing to suffer a backlash, as long as it meant that the monkey did too!

That was his way of telling people: _Don't provoke me!_

The ancient beast on the second level looked at Naruto with a strange expression. It saw the entrance to the third level collapse, and apparently wanted to ask about what had happened. However, it hesitated. Based on everything, it could guess that some monumental event had occurred. However, sometimes, not knowing what had happened was far safer than knowing.

Therefore, it maintained its silence and chose not to ask any questions.

Naruto looked at the beast and nodded. Then he shot out from the second level's exit, and left the underground world entirely.

Although this adventure had ended with Naruto being injured, he had also acquired much. His only regret was that of the six flame sparks, he had only acquired one.

"Well, there's no hurry," he thought. "One of these days, I'll come back.

And then… I'll make sure that A Writ of Karma gets fully formed!" Naruto had already come to the rough conclusion that the monkey face was likely… Dao Namikaze !

Huoyan Zi had mentioned Dao Namikaze , who was also the same person standing guard outside of the 33 Heavens!

"If I can fully solidify A Writ of Karma, then I'll hardly be able to wait until

I leave the Mountain and Sea Realm and charge through all the 33 Heavens. When I see Dao Namikaze 's true self, I wonder if he'll pay the money back first, or just attack me?" Naruto chuckled coldly as his body flickered, then reappeared in the plains that surrounded the Ancient Dao Lakes of the Southern Domain.

As soon as he materialized, Naruto took a deep breath, causing the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth to roil toward him. He absorbed the spiritual energy and then breathed out again, completing a full cycle. His Eternal stratum was hard at work, and he also produced medicinal pills, which he immediately consumed.

As his wounds rapidly healed, he sat down cross-legged and began to meditate. The area he was in was wild and rugged, filled with wild vegetation and lacking the slightest sign of human habitation.

After sitting there for about two hours, his wounds were healed by about ninety percent. The worst injuries had been sustained, not during his battle with the giant, but in those final moments, by the roar of the monkey face.

That roar had injured his soul, and had even affected the flame spark.

Thankfully, Naruto had been able to escape almost immediately, ensuring that the injuries weren't permanent. Otherwise, there would have been serious and troubling repercussions.

He was about to continue the healing process when he realized that the final ten percent would require several hours. At that point, he suddenly opened his eyes and slapped his bag of holding. A jade slip flew out, and when he pressed down onto it, Namikaze Shoudao's voice filled his mind.

"It's time for you to return and help the two of us stand as Dharma

Protectors for your father to step into the Dao!"

Naruto's face lit up. His injuries weren't that important. What was truly important was helping his father step into the Dao. Both to him and to the clan, that was a matter of utmost importance!

That was especially so after witnessing Guru Heavencloud's failure in attempting to step into the Dao. Naruto was worried for his father, but he also knew that Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu were offering an incredible gift. Plus, his father was already in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. This step… was a step that had to be taken!

Naruto rose to his feet and transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the Eastern Lands. He was almost done with the things he needed to take care of on Planet South Heaven. Once his father's ceremony was complete, it would be time to leave!

"Dao Realm cultivators aren't allowed to enter Planet South Heaven….

Well then, what will Patriarch Shoudao do to allow father to step into the Dao here?" Feeling very curious about the matter, Naruto shot out of the Southern Domain at top speed, all the way to the Eastern Lands. It only took him the time it takes half an incense stick to burn before he was back in the Namikaze Clan citadel.

As soon as he got close, Namikaze Shoudao's voice boomed out from inside. "Hao'er, we've been waiting for you! Let's go!" Even as he spoke, he flew out of the ancestral mansion along with Namikaze Yanxu. Last to come out was Naruto's father, Namikaze Xiufeng.

Namikaze Xiufeng looked over benevolently at Naruto, unable to conceal his excitement at attempting to transcend the tribulation of stepping into the Dao. Although he brimmed with anticipation, he was also very nervous.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1182

Chapter 1182: Great Tang; Allheaven!

"Dad…." Naruto said, looking back at Namikaze Xiufeng. He was actually far more worried than Namikaze Xiufeng was.

"There's no need to worry. With Patriarchs Shoudao and Yanxu helping, then if I fail, then I guess all my years of cultivation have been a foolish waste!" Namikaze Xiufeng laughed heartily, but then his expression turned serious. "I'm a cultivator, and my life… has been focused on eventually stepping into the Dao!

"From the Spirit Realm to the Immortal. From the Immortal Realm to the Ancient. From the Ancient Realm to the Dao. The further along you get, the less likely you are to succeed. However, that shouldn't be a reason to avoid the danger, nor an excuse to not take that final step!

"I have transcended the tribulations of Ancient Realm Soul Lamp extinguishing, one by one. What does this trifling Dao Stepping Tribulation count for? If I really fail, then at least I'll have a hundred years of longevity left that I can use to protect you and your sister. My only regret… will be that I will not be able to abide by my agreement to stand guard for 100,000 years!" With that, no further trace of anxiety regarding stepping into the Dao could be seen on Namikaze Xiufeng.

He could have chosen to be like Guru Heavencloud, to hold back from stepping into the Dao. He could have been cautious, and thus lived longer. Without any tribulation, there would be no risk to his life, and he could have lived in safety.

Actually, in addition to the danger of the tribulation itself, one of the main reasons that many cultivators chose to remain in the great circle of the Ancient Realm was because they couldn't suppress that desire to remain safe and alive.

"Dad, you're gonna succeed!" Naruto said staunchly. Those words were actually not uttered from the standpoint of a son, but rather… were backed by his status as the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Namikaze Xiufeng smiled. At the same time, Uzumaki Li and Namikaze Yu flew up from below, joined by Sun Hai. The entire group hovered in midair, unable to keep themselves from looking nervously at Namikaze Xiufeng.

"Alright, alright," Namikaze Xiufeng said, smiling gently at his wife and daughter. "You don't all need to come with me. Having Hao'er along should be enough."

Uzumaki Li looked at Namikaze Xiufeng and nodded.

"I'll be waiting for you to come back," she said softly.

"Yes, I'll be back for you!" he replied with a laugh. Then he turned and flew off into the distance with Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu.

Uzumaki Li watched her husband leaving and, voice quavering, said, "Naruto, take good care of your father. I'm… entrusting him to you."

"Don't worry, Mom," Naruto said resolutely. "Dad's going to be fine!" He looked over at Namikaze Yu and Sun Hai, nodded, and then followed Namikaze Xiufeng and the others.

"Dad," Namikaze Yu murmured, biting her lip, no longer able to suppress her anxiety. "Good luck stepping into the Dao. I'll be praying for you to succeed!"

Namikaze Xiufeng's laughter echoed back from off in the distance, filled with exuberance and determination.

The four Namikaze cultivators were all speeding off in the direction… of the Great Tang Forbidden Palace!

Naruto had never paid much attention to the Great Tang government itself. However, ever since the year he had caught a glimpse of Emperor Tang in his Imperial City, and realized he had a profound cultivation base that was roughly the same as Naruto's own father, he had realized that the Great Tang was indeed extremely mysterious. 1

"So, we're going to the Great Tang!" he murmured to himself as he saw the Great Tang Imperial City getting closer. There were countless mortals there, and it was a flourishing place. Dusk was falling, but the brilliant light cast by numerous colorful lanterns made a spectacular scene. Then there was the Forbidden Palace itself, which looked like an enormous sleeping beast!

As they neared, Naruto was able to make out a figure sitting on the Dragon Throne, wearing Imperial robes, watching the four of them approach. 2

As Naruto peered at the Great Tang Imperial City, Namikaze Shoudao looked over at him with a kind smile and asked, "Hao'er, do you find this odd?"

"Yeah, it seems strange. Why are we going to the Great Tang? What secrets are locked up here?"

"Hao'er, the Namikaze Clan of the past was an Allheaven Clan," Namikaze Shoudao explained slowly. "Our first generation Patriarch was the last bloodline member of that clan. The clan that he founded afterward is the Namikaze Clan that we know today, which has played such a central role in the affairs of the Ninth Mountain and Sea." Some of these things Naruto already knew, and others were things which did not need to be kept secret from him now, considering his status.

"There are a few other matters that it's time to tell you. The reason that the modern Namikaze Clan is an Allheaven Clan is because you awoke our bloodline. That is why you are our eternal Patriarch!

"The more powerful you become, the faster that awakening will proceed. After it is complete, the Allheaven power will be unleashed with increasing efficacy!

"If you are able to step into the Dao Realm, then the Namikaze Clan will truly be able to rise to prominence, and be restored to its former glory!" Anticipation gleamed in Namikaze Shoudao's eyes. Although Namikaze Yanxu was normally very taciturn, his expression was also one of excitement and anticipation, and when he looked at Naruto, it was with warmth and kindness.

"Perhaps you already know that Allheaven Clans… existed in the Immortal World, before the formation of the Mountain and Sea Realm. In the Paragon Immortal Realm, Allheaven Clans were the most glorious among all the clans. Even the Paragons had to treat them respectfully.

"Also, the Namikaze Clan was not the only Allheaven Clan. In total, there were nine!" Namikaze Shoudao explained slowly.

"Of course, the nine Allheaven Clans fell apart during the war, and countless clan members were killed. For example, almost the entire Namikaze Clan was wiped out in the war. As for the sole remaining bloodline, it was many years until the first generation Patriarch appeared here in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Nowadays, descendants of those nine clans are scattered throughout the Nine Mountains and Seas. Some, like our Namikaze Clan, could be considered to have been reestablished. Others have completely vanished into the pages of history.

"You should know that the Namikaze Clan is not the only Allheaven Clan in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. There is another such clan… right here! And that clan is… the Great Tang!" By this point, Naruto's heart was pounding.

Namikaze Xiufeng didn't seem surprised. He had conferred quite a bit with Namikaze Shoudao in recent days, and knew about all these matters pertaining to Allheaven Clans. Furthermore, because he was standing guard over Planet South Heaven, he also had a good understanding of the Great Tang.

"The Great Tang is actually the Li Clan, and not the same Li Clan as that which currently exists in the Ninth Mountain and Sea! 3

"Actually, of the nine Allheaven Clans, they were the clan that survived mostly untouched. In fact, by the time the war was coming to an end, when the Mountain and Sea Realm was formed, their whole clan was still intact. That was because they had been entrusted with a special mission. They were to use the power of an Allheaven Clan to protect the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"However, even in the early days of the Mountain and Sea Realm the war was still ongoing. In the final battle, a gap was opened, breaching the Mountain and Sea Realm. If that gap were ever to be torn completely open, the Mountain and Sea Realm… would cease to exist.

"In that critical time, the final Allheaven Clan, the Li Clan, chose to make a clan-wide blood sacrifice. Every member of the clan, men and women, old and young alike, all sacrificed themselves to make a door. That door closed the gap, ensuring that the powers of the Outside world could not enter. And thus ended a war that had lasted for tens of thousands of years!

"That gap is in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, behind Planet South Heaven!

"Therefore, from that time onward, Planet South Heaven became a very special planet in the Mountain and Sea Realm. It also came to be known as the Door of South Heaven!

"From then on, there was a new empire on Planet South Heaven, called the Great Tang. The entire Li Clan sacrificed themselves to protect the Mountain and Sea Realm, leaving behind only a single clan member to maintain their ancestral device and prevent the Outside world from entering. It was the clan's mission, and even if there was only one person left to carry it out, that mission remained. And that… is how things have continued, down to this day." All of these things were matters that had been revealed to Namikaze Shoudao after he had gone to visit the clone of the first generation Patriarch recently.

"Your father stands guard over Planet South Heaven, and the Li Clan stands guard over the Door of South Heaven!

"It is because of the special nature of Planet South Heaven that it is impossible for Dao Realm experts to enter it. Only by suppressing our cultivation bases to the great circle of the Ancient Realm can we do so. Otherwise… Planet South Heaven as a whole would view us as enemies, and would eradicate us!

"However, that doesn't mean that it is completely impossible for Dao Realm cultivators to be here. In order for a Dao Realm expert to remain here, that person must gain the approval of Planet South Heaven.

Furthermore, the only person who can make that happen, is… the Great Tang, the Li Clan!"

When Naruto heard all of this, his heart trembled. Although he already knew many secrets, quite a few of them were things he had been told, and did not understand based on experiencing them personally. As such, his understanding was incomplete. For example, he had been completely clueless regarding the identity of the Great Tang.

He could only imagine what it must have been like years ago for the Li Clan to watch one Allheaven Clan after another be exterminated while they, in order to accomplish their mission, were forced to hold back their power and not participate in the fighting. They must have felt torn, and at the same time, they were obviously tenacious.

When the gap opened up in the Mountain and Sea Realm, they didn't hesitate to perform a blood sacrifice of their entire clan to create the Door of South Heaven. They sealed the gap, accomplishing the mission of their clan. What a heroic sacrifice!

Now he understood why, when first encountering Emperor Tang all those years ago, he had felt such a desolate loneliness within his majesty. He was the only survivor of his entire bloodline. Their sacrifice was like a curse for him. There had been many successive generations of people like him, the Emperors of the Great Tang, all of whom were charged with upholding the original mission. For all eternity, they would protect the Mountain and Sea Realm by standing guard over the Door of South Heaven.

Naruto's eyes filled with respect as he followed his father, Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu. They flew into the Great Tang Imperial City and toward the Forbidden Palace. The sun was just about to set, and all of a sudden, Naruto recalled what Namikaze Shoudao had mentioned about Dao Realm cultivators being unable to enter Planet South Heaven. Then he thought about the giant he had fought, as well as the monkey face.

"Without gaining approval, the Dao Realm will be exterminated?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"Without exception," Namikaze Shoudao replied.

Naruto's heart trembled, and he began to breathe heavily. Great waves of shock rolled through him, as well as doubts. As far as he could tell, there were only three possible explanations.

One explanation was that the giant and the monkey were both approved of by the Li Clan. However, that was clearly not possible. The second explanation was that the world of the Divine Flame was somehow unique. The third explanation… was a possibility that left Naruto feeling even more shaken. Perhaps the giant and the monkey only appeared to be in the Dao Realm, but the versions of themselves within the Divine Flame world… were actually not in the Dao Realm!

For example, Naruto was currently capable of slaughtering 2Essences Dao Realm cultivators, despite not being in the Dao Realm himself. Despite that, he was not the subject of extermination by Planet South Heaven.

Although that third explanation seemed preposterous, Naruto could not help but come to the conclusion that it was most likely true.

Naruto briefly met Emperor Tang in chapter 802 ↩ The Emperors of ancient China usually sat on what was called the Dragon Throne ↩ One reason Namikaze Shoudao specifically points out that they are different clans is that this Li Clan shares the same common surname Li 李 with the Li

Clan of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It might seem confusing, but again, Li is a very common surname. For example, it's the same surname shared by Jet Li (Li Lianjie) and Bruce Lee (Li Xiaolong). However, Jet Li and Bruce Lee are not related, nor are they from a Li Clan in ISSTH. In English, it could be likened to Will Smith and Anna Nicole Smith, who both share the surname Smith, but are not from the Smith Clan in ISSTH

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1183

Chapter 1183: Facing Tribulation in a Mysterious Location!

Naruto maintained his silence as they proceeded along toward the

Great Tang. Soon, the four beams of light were just outside the Forbidden Palace. In the main hall up ahead, not a single person could be seen other than Emperor Tang on the Dragon Throne.

Everything was quiet, with pressure weighing down from all directions. The lanterns in the area were dim, casting Emperor Tang in flickering shadows that made it difficult to make him out clearly. Only his two brightly shining eyes were visible.

Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu walked forward and, despite the level of their cultivation bases, clasped hands and bowed deeply to Emperor Tang.

Namikaze Xiufeng did the same.

Naruto's eyes glittered like lightning, and his face was extremely solemn as he also bowed. He knew that although the Patriarchs and his father were bowing to Emperor Tang, what they were showing respect to… was the sacrifice of the Allheaven Li Clan for the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

A clan like that deserved respect from everyone, even other Allheaven

Clans. They showed their bravery in the early days of the Immortal World calamity, when the war had just begun, and also afterwards, when things were unstable. In the end, their clan-wide sacrifice… was an even greater display of bravery.

Everything was quiet, and no one spoke. After a long moment, a sigh could be heard from within the main hall, a long sigh filled with ancientness. As it echoed about, the entire hall lit up, and Emperor Tang rose to his feet from the Dragon Throne, then slowly walked out of the hall.

He was a middle-aged man wearing a Dragon robe, powerful and impressive as he stood there, as if all of Planet South Heaven would be wreathed in shadow because of his presence. It was as if he was the Lord of South Heaven!

Actually, as one of the successive descendants of the Allheaven Li Clan who stood watch here, he… really could be called the Lord of South Heaven.

Although his cultivation base wasn't at the absolute pinnacle, he was the only person on Planet South Heaven who could call upon the power of his bloodline, the will of his ancestors, to control the spell formation that had been formed by the collective sacrifice of the Allheaven Li Clan.

With that spell formation, he could cut down Dao Realm cultivators as easily as turning over his hand!

"Brother Xiufeng," he said slowly, "I'm aware of the purpose of your visit….

"It is an important matter, something which has never occurred before. I'm actually uncertain… as to whether or not it will work.

"Hopefully, it will. However, if it fails, then even if you do step into the Dao Realm, you will be instantly slaughtered by the spell formation. Even I will be incapable of preventing that from happening. This will make your experience of stepping into the Dao even more difficult, by several times. Are you… really sure you want to try it?" His voice echoed out, filled with boundless pressure that caused the clouds up above to roil, and the lands to tremble.

The words he had spoken were true; he could control the spell formation, but only in the sense that he could use it to attack. He could not prevent it from carrying out its primary function. If anything, he might be able to hold it back for a short time to allow Namikaze Xiufeng to flee off of Planet South Heaven after he stepped into the Dao.

However, Namikaze Xiufeng… couldn't leave Planet South Heaven. Things would be much easier for him if he ended up in the Quasi-Dao Realm. However, if he truly stepped into the Dao Realm, he would essentially be facing certain death.

When Naruto heard this, his heart trembled. He looked over at Namikaze Xiufeng, Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu, who were waiting to hear his father's response. Whatever it was, they would support him.

In truth, it didn't matter that Namikaze Xiufeng wasn't in the Dao Realm. He would still be considered the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan. However… although that wouldn't be a problem in the short term, it would make it inappropriate from the clan's standpoint once Naruto left the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and it would be inevitable that some clan members would eventually raise objections.

Therefore, Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu had both agreed that they would not hold anything back. They would do everything they could to help Namikaze Xiufeng step into the Dao…. In that case, he would be the true Clan Chief, unshakable and unmovable.

As for the particulars of how Namikaze Xiufeng went about doing that, it was his decision. No one, not even Naruto, could influence him.

Namikaze Xiufeng was silent for only a moment. He didn't need a long time to think. He gave a carefree laugh and then said, "Since I'm here, what's the point in backing out? Brother Li, thank you for going out of your way to help."

Namikaze Xiufeng's expression was calm; his eyes flashed with determination, and his heart was completely focused. He was the type of person who couldn't settle for being ordinary, and had always had lofty aspirations. The only reason he had suppressed them and agreed to stand guard over Planet South Heaven was for Naruto's sake.

Now that Naruto was finally freed from his curse, Namikaze Xiufeng's heroic ambitions once again soared!

"Dad…." Naruto murmured anxiously.

"Hao'er, father is a cultivator as well!" Namikaze Xiufeng said, looking back at him. His gaze was soft, and his words were spoken quietly. However, his simple sentence revealed the deep ambitions he harbored. It spoke to his pride, and revealed how focused he was on his cultivation.

As Namikaze Xiufeng's words echoed out into the air, Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu looked on with sparkling eyes, and nodded slightly.

"So you're set on doing this, Brother Xiufeng," said Emperor Tang. "I understand." Emperor Tang looked deeply at Namikaze Xiufeng, then turned and waved his sleeve. Colors flashed and everything shook. All of the lands of South Heaven trembled, and the entire planet seemed to shake.

The shaking was even more intense in the Forbidden Palace. A moment later, the main hall vanished, to be replaced by a huge, spinning vortex that was the color of blood!

That color came from the blood of the Allheaven Li Clan, congealed during their sacrifice. As the vortex spun, it seemed as if all of Planet South Heaven had become frozen in time as an indescribably intense pressure weighed down, covering the entire planet. Emperor Tang stood next to Namikaze Xiufeng, looking at him.

"In there is the secret realm of the Li Clan, the wellspring of our bloodline. Brother Xiufeng, Senior Shoudao, Senior Yanxu, and… Hao'er, all of you may enter. I will remain outside to stand as Dharma

Protector!"

Namikaze Xiufeng took a deep breath and looked at the blood-colored vortex, eyes shining. Then he clasped hands and bowed deeply to Emperor Tang before striding forward into the vortex. Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu shot forward in streaks of light as they followed Namikaze Xiufeng.

Last was Naruto. After bowing to Emperor Tang, he headed toward the vortex, and was just about to step in when the Emperor spoke, his voice soft.

"You have a good father. He's sacrificed a lot for you."

Naruto paused for a moment, then continued onward into the vortex, vanishing.

Inside the blood-colored vortex was a world the color of blood. Everything was blood-red. There were no plants, no mountains, no rivers. There was only flat, crimson ground stretching out in all directions.

However, up ahead of them could be seen a huge door, which flickered back and forth between illusory and corporeal. It was covered with a thick layer of blood that formed a howling face.

Every howl that came out of its mouth caused ripples to spread out and fill the entire blood-colored world. Every time the ripples faded, it was possible to see that, far up in the sky, there was a huge net-like spell formation!

That spell formation covered everything, and stretched out as far as the eye could see. Divine sense could not touch it, and the only reason it could be seen… was because of the flowing ripples.

This was the very door that had been formed by the sacrifice of the entire Li Clan, and the spell formation up above… was the extermination formation that covered all of Planet South Heaven!

Namikaze Shoudao looked around and then said, "This is the Ancestral Land of the Li Clan, and also the nucleus of Planet South Heaven!

"When stepping into the Dao in this place, there is a chance to be accepted by the spell formation, and thus avoid being slaughtered!" Suddenly, a rumbling sound could be heard coming from the door.

The suddenness of the sound caused Naruto's eyes to flicker. He looked over and saw that the blood-colored door was bulging, as if a hand were stretching out from it.

It appeared as if something was on the other side of that door, roaring, erupting with cultivation base power in an attempt to open the door!

However, blood-colored light flickered, and ten blood-red faces appeared. As they howled, the ripples grew more intense, and whatever it was that was inside the door trembled and retracted its hand.

Naruto sucked in a breath and asked, "What's on the other side of that door…?"

The person to answer the question was not from the Namikaze Clan. Instead, the voice of Emperor Tang echoed out to fill the blood-colored world.

"Behind that door is a path, a path… that is not guarded by the 33 Heavens. It is guarded by the two major powers which waged war against the Immortal World long ago.

"That door must never be opened!"

Naruto nodded and took a deep breath. Finally, he looked away from the door toward Namikaze Xiufeng.

Namikaze Xiufeng smiled slightly and sat down cross-legged. Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu waved their hands. Almost instantly, the light of a spell formation flared up, swirling around Namikaze Xiufeng. After that, Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu also sat down cross-legged across from each other, flanking Namikaze Xiufeng. Their expressions were very serious.

"Hao'er, you sit over there," Namikaze Shoudao said solemnly. "Together, we will form the Trifecta Dao Formation. All you need to do is use your Dao Immortal cultivation base power to support your father.

"The Trifecta Dao Formation is the first step in helping your father in transcending tribulation. We can't be lax in any aspect!"

Naruto's expression was one of determination as he walked over to the position indicated by Namikaze Shoudao and then sat down cross-legged. He immediately rotated his cultivation base, causing azure light to shine up. Shockingly, azure light also began to shine off of Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu.

However, their light was much dimmer than Naruto's.

Even still, Emperor Tang, who was watching the scene via divine sense, was shocked.

"The Allheaven Namikaze Clan… has been awakened…?

"An Allheaven Dao Immortal has appeared in the world, and an Allheaven Clan is once again rising to glory…." A strange light began to gleam in his eyes.

"Trifecta Dao Formation, activate!" Namikaze Shoudao roared. "Xiufeng, what are you waiting for? Begin stepping into the Dao!"

As the sound of his words echoed out, Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes began to glow with a piercing light. He raised both hands and pushed up into the air.

At the same time, his cultivation base exploded, as he used the full power of the great circle of the Ancient Realm to open the Dao Stepping Path!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1184

Chapter 1184: Dao Tribulation!

In almost the same moment that Namikaze Xiufeng's cultivation base exploded with power, the blood-colored sky overhead was ripped apart by seemingly invisible hands to reveal a starry sky.

Simultaneously, a huge vortex appeared up above, whose rotation caused the entire blood-colored world to distort as the power of the Dao Realm… descended to Planet South Heaven!

All of Planet South Heaven rumbled, and countless cultivators looked up into the sky with expressions of astonishment. What they saw was the sky distorting as a shocking vortex appeared. Its rotation caused innumerable motes of dust to float up into the air, and even the Milky Way Sea began to seethe.

Everyone from the Namikaze Clan sat cross-legged, expressions of anticipation on their faces as they looked up. They were filled with excitement, as they all knew that their Clan Chief Namikaze Xiufeng was currently transcending tribulation to step into the Dao!

Naruto's mother and sister were in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion, along with Sun Hai and many others. They were nervous, and Uzumaki Li was even clutching tightly at her garments, shivering slightly as her heart filled with numerous anxieties.

Naruto's sister was acting exactly the same.

As of this point, the eyes of virtually everyone on Planet South Heaven were fixed upon that vortex!

The rumbling grew increasingly intense as a path slowly became visible…. If one could step onto that path despite all of the tribulations, then entering the Dao Realm was a possibility!

In the blood-colored world, Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes shone with a strange light. He lowered his left hand and pushed onto his dantian region, while his right hand viciously slapped his forehead. At the same time, a rumbling sound could be heard as Namikaze Shoudao's body trembled, and his flesh visibly withered.

Simultaneously, Namikaze Xiufeng threw his head back and roared, and all of a sudden… a ghost image of himself appeared. Shockingly, this was a type of clone, an image that looked exactly like Namikaze Xiufeng, which flew up into the air toward the vortex.

Namikaze Shoudao began to explain.

"Naruto, this Trifecta Dao Formation uses the cultivation base power of three people to help your father create three clones, all of them as powerful as his true form. By using these three clones to transcend the tribulation, he will have a much easier time succeeding!"

Naruto looked up into the sky and saw the huge vortex filled with crackling lightning, numerous bolts of which were already shooting down. Namikaze Xiufeng's clone shot forward to meet the powerful lightning, lightning that was actually larger and more terrifying than the lightning that Guru Heavencloud had faced.

It was powerful enough to destroy worlds, and it transformed into a sea of lightning that smashed toward Namikaze Xiufeng.

A huge boom rang out. Everyone watched as Namikaze Xiufeng's clone threw his head back and roared, then performed an incantation gesture to summon divine abilities and magical techniques that fought back

against the lightning.

Time passed, and everyone was shocked by the astonishing events playing out in front of their eyes. After the first tribulation passed, Namikaze Xiufeng's clone was injured and tired, but continued onward toward the vortex. It was at this point that rumbling sounds echoed out as the second tribulation descended… the Weapon Tribulation!

Based on what Naruto knew from watching Guru Heavencloud stepping into the Dao, there were a total of nine tribulations, each one successively more intense. If you could beat them all back, then step into the vortex, you would be half finished with the process. Having transcended the tribulations, you would be qualified to achieve the Dao.

Guru Heavencloud had failed in the middle of the third tribulation, and currently, Namikaze Xiufeng was facing the second tribulation. Various weapons materialized, sweeping forth with astonishing power. Rumbling sounds echoed out as nine of them bore down on Namikaze Xiufeng's clone.

Naruto was looking on nervously as Namikaze Xiufeng's clone spread his hands wide, his eyes glittering with a cold light. He then waved his hands in front of him, causing colors to flash and the sky to tremble. The nine weapons suddenly stopped in place for a moment, then trembled with energy and shot forward again.

Booms echoed out constantly, and the roars of Namikaze Xiufeng's clone echoed out into the ears of all the cultivators on Planet South Heaven. When his wife and daughter heard them, they became even more anxious than before.

The direct bloodline clan members of the Namikaze Clan were also waiting in nervous anticipation, waiting for their Clan Chief to step into the Dao!

The sky flashed as the nine Tribulation Weapons surged with power and a desire to cut down anyone who attempted to transcend the tribulation. As the rumbling echoed out, Namikaze Xiufeng's clone advanced relentlessly.

"Get the hell out of my way!" Namikaze Xiufeng's clone suddenly sucked in a deep breath. As he did, his eyes shone with cold light, and boundless energy of Heaven and Earth roiled toward him and was absorbed. Wild colors flashed up above, and Namikaze Xiufeng's clone began to shine with brilliant light, making him look like a blazing sun.

Suddenly, an illusory sword materialized in his outstretched right hand. He stepped out with his right foot, bending his body like a bow and then slashing down with the sword, unleashing a blinding stream of light.

The sword Chakra pulsed with indescribable energy, causing everything else to grow dark and blurred. Namikaze Xiufeng's clone, and the sword he held, were the only things that were incomparably bright and clear.

"My Dao is the Dao of the sword, and the sword is the king of all weapons! Trifling Weapon Tribulation… do you really dare to block my way!?" The clone's echoing voice was filled with incredible pressure as the sword light shone out toward the nine weapons of the Weapon Tribulation.

When they slammed into each other, a massive boom echoed out. The sword light exploded with scintillating, intense power, causing everything to vibrate. A supreme, paramount aura even rose up from the sword!

Boom! The first weapon fell into pieces!

Then the second, the third, and the fourth….

In the blink of an eye, seven weapons were turned into ash. The remaining two, however, continued to struggle through the sword light. As they neared the clone, he didn't even dodge, but let out a cold harrumph instead.

The sound of it caused the two weapons to tremble and then collapse into fragments, which then turned into nothing more than ash. They… had already reached the point of collapse, and were pushed over the edge by the mere sound.

Namikaze Xiufeng had successfully transcended the second tribulation. His energy soared brightly, as if stepping into the Dao was a simple matter for him!

Had Guru Heavencloud not been killed, and were now able to watch what was happening, he would be flabbergasted. After all of his own years of preparation, he had only been able to pass the second tribulation. Namikaze Xiufeng was clearly far, far more powerful than he had been.

Of course, much of that had to do with the Trifecta Dao Formation, which bolstered Namikaze Xiufeng's cultivation base and gave him three clones. Because of that… things were much easier, and he could explode out with even more power.

By this point, the third tribulation was approaching. This was the tribulation that had rocked Guru Heavencloud, in which four blackarmored figures appeared.

However, as soon as they materialized, and before they could even make a move, Naruto waved his right hand, sending his divine will out to the figures. Immediately, they stopped, then clasped hands and bowed to Namikaze Xiufeng. After that, they turned and disappeared back into the vortex.

They retreated without even putting up a fight!

This sight caused Namikaze Xiufeng's clone to stare in shock. He wasn't the only one. All of the cultivators on Planet South Heaven who were watching the scene couldn't help but be astonished. Even Naruto's mother and sister stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

"Now nothing can prevent your father from transcending this tribulation," Namikaze Shoudao said.

"That's right," replied Namikaze Yanxu. "Xiufeng has prepared well. Even I couldn't match up to him, back when I stepped into the Dao."

"From the look of it, being stationed here on Planet South Heaven is actually an opportunity for Xiufeng."

As Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu continued to discuss the matter, the serious looks on their faces faded into more relaxed expressions.

From their perspectives, whether or not he would transcend the tribulation was now not even in question. Namikaze Xiufeng had already proven that he could step into the Dao even without their help. Clearly, his eventual success was without question.

What they were worried about now… was what would happen with the Planet South Heaven spell formation after he succeeded.

However, Naruto wasn't so confident. For some reason, when he looked at his father's clone up in midair, he got a very nervous feeling. It was as if something really bad was about to happen, although he wasn't sure what.

"What's wrong here?" he thought, his eyes narrowing. "Why does it feel like something is off…?" The misgivings inside his heart only continued to grow stronger.

By this point, the fourth and fifth tribulations were arriving. The fourth tribulation was the Five Elements Tribulation. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth. Five different tribulation powers appeared from within the vortex, which then materialized into five enormous dragons that roared as they shot toward Namikaze Xiufeng's clone.

This battle was much more difficult than the previous ones. Namikaze Xiufeng's clone held nothing back, wiping out one dragon directly, and then self-detonating to take out three more. Only the Water Dragon remained. At this point, Namikaze Yanxu roared, and suddenly, his body withered. At the same time, a ghost image stepped out of Namikaze Xiufeng, who was still sitting in the middle of the Trifecta Dao Formation.

This was his second clone, which flew up in a beam of sword light to slaughter the fifth and final dragon. There wasn't even a slight pause as the sixth tribulation descended.

The sixth tribulation emerged in the form of a single character, the character Dao 道. It hovered there, radiating bizarre light. Anyone who could see it would notice that the character didn't seem stable. It was constantly transforming back and forth between nine different versions. However, each one of those permutations of the character represented… the Dao!

Rumbling echoed out as intense pressure radiated out from the nine Dao characters. Namikaze Xiufeng's clone threw his head back and roared, erupting with cultivation base power. Numerous sword images appeared around him, which then transformed into a Dao mist!

The Dao mist spread out in all directions, reaching 30,000 meters, which vastly exceeded Guru Heavencloud's. It swirled around Namikaze Xiufeng's clone as an illusory sword appeared in his hand, and he shot toward the nine Dao characters.

"Tribulation… begone!" As Namikaze Xiufeng's voice echoed out, Heaven and Earth trembled. Sword light rose up, filled with azure light that slashed toward the nine Dao characters. Namikaze Xiufeng was completely confident that this sword strike… would vanquish the sixth tribulation!

That was because he… was Namikaze Xiufeng!

However, it was at this exact point that Naruto realized that his father's clone was glowing with azure light. Suddenly, his mind began to spin.

"Dad! Suppress your Dao seed!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1185

Chapter 1185: Allheaven Tribulation!

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Namikaze Xiufeng's sword connected with the nine Dao characters. A huge boom echoed out, accompanied by boundless, dazzling light. The sixth tribulation's nine Dao characters instantly collapsed, turning into nothing more than drifting ash.

At the same time, the azure light shining up from Namikaze Xiufeng grew even more blinding, as if it had been provoked by some catalyst…. As the light grew even brighter, the Dao seed inside of him began to melt.

As it did, a bit of Allheaven Immortal aura appeared, something which

Naruto was very familiar with. It wasn't the aura of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, but rather, the first stage of an ordinary Allheaven Immortal.

At last, he realized why he'd had such a bad feeling. That bad feeling came from… the Dao seed!

If the Allheaven Immortal within Namikaze Xiufeng awoke at this time, and the tribulation didn't change, then it wouldn't be a problem. However… if the terrifying nature of the tribulation changed in accord with the explosive rise of an Allheaven Immortal, then Namikaze Xiufeng's tribulation would become much more difficult!

As the azure light flickered off of Namikaze Xiufeng, and the Dao seed began to melt, the vortex up above suddenly lurched to a stop, as if it had sensed something. Then, intense rumbling sounds could be heard as the vortex suddenly increase in size, by ten times!

The sight of it caused all the onlooking cultivators on Planet South Heaven to stare in shock. Of course, few of them really understood what was happening. Only select clan Elders had any clue.

Most people had never watched other Dao Stepping Tribulations. However, the Elders who had seen one were astonished as they instantly realized that something different was happening.

Uzumaki Li could also tell that something was amiss, and her face fell.

Back in the blood-colored world, Namikaze Shoudao's eyes went wide. He looked at the vortex, which was now ten times larger than before, then looked back at Namikaze Xiufeng, and a bitter expression appeared on his face. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

Namikaze Yanxu shook his head, and an expression of helplessness appeared.

"These two things are incredible boons, but when put together, they make… a complete catastrophe."

Naruto's face was extremely unsightly, and as for Namikaze Xiufeng, he immediately understood what was happening. His clone hovered there silently in midair, looking up at the vortex. Finally, he chuckled.

"Well, this is fine too. This way, I can truly experience Dao Stepping Tribulation. Since I've decided to transcend tribulation, the only way left is forward…." He began to laugh heartily. However, even as his laughter rang out, an intense rumbling could be heard coming from within the vortex.

The vastly enlarged vortex spun, as… the seventh tribulation arrived. The seventh tribulation was that of… the copper coins!

Copper coins began to flow out of the vortex. Originally, there should only have been nine, but now, with the vortex having increased in size tenfold, there weren't nine copper coins, there were… ninety!

Each and every one of the coins looked exactly the same. On one side of each coin could be seen an image of the Eight Trigrams, and on the other side were characters that looked like magical symbols. Furthermore, each and every coin emanated power that could shake Heaven and Earth.

Intense rumbling filled the air as the coins descended!

"Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree Tribulation," Namikaze Shoudao murmured, "the manifestation of a precious treasure of the Mountains and Seas. This Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree has Heaven-rending, Earth-crushing power!" Up in midair, Namikaze Xiufeng's clone threw his head back and laughed. Sword Chakra billowed up from him as he shot toward the ninety copper coins.

"The tribulation power has increased tenfold, huh? Well, who cares!?" Namikaze Xiufeng's clone transformed into the image of a sword, rumbling through the air toward the coins.

In the instant that they were about to slam into each other, an archaic voice suddenly spoke out from within the ninety copper coins.

"Mountain Ghost…." it said. Immediately, the rightmost two characters on the backs of the copper coins suddenly began to shine with blinding light.

Gradually, ninety roars could be heard, shaking everything, as ninety images materialized from within the ninety copper coins. They were none other than… Mountain Ghosts!

Mountain Ghosts were actually Mountain Gods that hadn't been officially appointed, and thus, could not be referred to as Gods. Instead, they were called Ghosts!

Their appearances were ferocious, and they surged with energy and power. When they appeared, they immediately charged toward Namikaze Xiufeng with indescribable speed.

Rumbling filled the air as fierce fighting unfolded. Merely the first exchange caused Namikaze Xiufeng's clone to cough up blood, and his body was half destroyed. Even still, his sword hacked through all ninety of the Mountain Ghosts, transforming them into nothing more than ash.

However, the seventh tribulation wasn't over yet. Even as the ninety

Mountain Ghosts fell to pieces, the archaic voice once again echoed out.

"Mountain Ghost lightning; slay the Ghosts and subdue the spirits; slaughter Demons and ward off evil; maintain the eternal purity of the Gods…." 1

RUMMMBLE! As the voice echoed out, ninety bolts of lightning shot out from the ninety copper coins. These lightning bolts looked completely different than the Tribulation Lightning from the first tribulation. They were filled with an aura of killing, as if they were paramount in Heaven and Earth, and represented the Dao of the Heavens to slaughter everything it considered evil!

Namikaze Xiufeng's clone threw his head back and roared, causing more sword Chakra to explode up and slam into the ninety lightning bolts. The clone was shoved backward step by step as he sliced apart one bolt after another, blood spurting out of various wounds. By the time the sixty-third lightning bolt hit him, the clone couldn't hold out any longer and exploded.

In that moment, the remaining twenty-seven lightning bolts shot at high speed through the blood-colored air toward Namikaze Xiufeng's true self.

Naruto's eyes were shot with blood, and his cultivation base exploded with power. Using the Trifecta Dao Formation, he poured energy into Namikaze Xiufeng, allowing him to create a third clone. As soon as the clone materialized, he shot up toward the twenty-seven lightning bolts and slashed at them with his sword.

A huge boom echoed out as the twenty-seven lightning bolts collapsed.

Then he charged onward toward the ninety copper coins, sword Chakra raging in attack. The ninety copper coins began to fade, and yet they didn't collapse. Instead, they swirled about in the air, merging together into a single copper coin which then vanished into the vortex.

It wasn't that Namikaze Xiufeng had forced the copper coins into retreat. Instead, the fact that he had been able to endure the ordeal meant that the seventh tribulation was over. Now, the eighth tribulation appeared.

The eighth tribulation was a massive finger that stretched out from the vortex. It emanated a vast pressure, and apparently contained the amassed power of the Mountains and Seas as it launched an attack against Namikaze Xiufeng.

This was far different from an ordinary Dao Stepping Tribulation. The

Dao Stepping Tribulations experienced by Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze

Yanxu in the past had been like children's games compared to this!

"Allheaven Tribulation!" Namikaze Shoudao murmured, giving voice to the conclusion he had reached earlier.

When Naruto heard those words, his pupils constricted, and his heart filled with anxiety. He looked up at his father's clone, and the enormous finger. The finger struck the clone, and the clone exploded into a haze of blood and gore. Then his father's true form rose to his feet in the middle of the Trifecta Dao Formation. Without the slightest hint of hesitation, he flew up into the air.

"Dad!" Naruto cried, shooting to his feet. His eyes were shot with blood, and he couldn't hold back any longer. He had to directly assist his father in fighting back against the Heavenly Tribulation.

"Hao'er," Namikaze Shoudao said, moving to block his way, "you're not in the Dao Realm. This is your father's tribulation, and you can't interfere. If you do, you won't be helping him, you'll be harming him!" Then he exchanged a glance with Namikaze Yanxu, and the two of them nodded.

Decisive gleams appeared in their eyes as they raised their heads and looked up at Namikaze Xiufeng facing the descending finger. Then, both of them took deep breaths and simultaneously… let out an astonishing roar.

"DAO!" they bellowed. The sound of it caused colors to flash in the sky and a huge wind to scream. Essence power erupted, and natural laws manifested. Heaven and Earth distorted as they… called upon the Dao to rebuke the Heavens!

As they joined forces, their Essences, their Daos, and their natural laws appeared around Namikaze Xiufeng, causing his Dao mist to instantly increase by tenfold. As it reached its peak, Namikaze Xiufeng shot toward the finger and slammed into it. Blood instantly sprayed out of his mouth, as well as out of the mouths of Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu.

However, the heavy price they paid caused the finger to tremble and then collapse into pieces. Namikaze Xiufeng passed through the remnants, approaching so close to the vortex that it seemed possible for him to step into it.

However, it was at this point that the ninth tribulation appeared. There was no physical manifestation to this tribulation. Instead, it was invisible. It was… the Deva Tribulation!

The blight of Deva was an invisible tribulation; anyone who attempted to step into the Dao would have to undergo the three blights of Heaven, Earth and Man!

Heaven blighted the spirit. Earth blighted the body. Man blighted the soul!

Namikaze Xiufeng trembled. His spirit seemed to be corroding, and he staggered in place, black blood oozing out of his mouth. Then, his body began to wither to the point where he seemed on the verge of becoming a skeleton. Simultaneously, his soul seemed to be under attack, and was rapidly melting.

He roared, and the Dao mist around him seethed as he inhaled a portion of it to restore his injuries. However, it did little to help in his attempt to transcend this tribulation. The tribulation was still there, and if he continued to breathe in the Dao mist and wasted it all, then even if he was able to step into the vortex, he would be unable to truly step into the Dao.

The true purpose of the Dao mist was to be used after stepping into the vortex. Having too little at that time could have very negative consequences.

Naruto was trembling, and his heart pounded with nervousness. However, there was nothing he could do. Even though he wanted to charge out into the fight, he didn't dare to, lest he end up harming his father.

It was at this moment, however, that Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu both gritted their teeth, then joined their voices to say, "Thou shalt take my soul and be blessed!"

Then they pushed down onto their foreheads, causing a rumbling sound to echo out. Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and their bodies withered even more. However, their souls suddenly rose up from the tops of their heads.

Shockingly, they were using their own souls, minds, and bodies to help Namikaze Xiufeng! Together, they would overcome the ninth tribulation, the final tribulation!

The coin described here is actually a real coin used in Chinese culture. Check out this picture to see exactly what it looks like. All of the characters are the same, and the Eight Trigrams can be seen on the reverse side. For more information about the Eight Trigrams, you can read RWX's basic primer to the Dao ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1186

Chapter 1186 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1186: The Murderous Intentions of the Ninth Lord!

Naruto's eyes glittered as he also raised his hand and then pushed down hard onto his forehead. He was not in the Dao Realm, and thus didn't dare to make a move. However, he did have the Essence of Divine Flame, which caused a sea of flame to erupt out of the top of his head, and then fly up along with Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu to help his father deal with the Deva Tribulation.

Even as the three of them jumped to Namikaze Xiufeng's aid, all four coughed up blood. However, the weakening that Namikaze Xiufeng had been enduring slowed significantly.

Naruto's face was pale white. His mind, body and soul were all melting rapidly, and yet his eyes gleamed with determination. He was willing to pay virtually any price to help his father.

Rumbling echoed out as Naruto, Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu split the force between them. Namikaze Xiufeng panted. His body was incredibly weakened and fatigued, and yet, he was now only nine meters away from the vortex!

All he had to do was span those nine meters, and he could enter the vortex and step onto the path!

However, the final nine meters were the most terrifying part of the ninth tribulation. Even without the tenfold increase in power, that final stretch was difficult enough that it proved too much for many ordinary cultivators who were attempting to step into the Dao. With the tenfold increase, it wasn't even necessary to discuss how much more terrifying it now was.

Namikaze Xiufeng coughed up a mouthful of blood. With every step he took, he withered even more. His mind, body and soul atrophied. After moving forward for six out of the final nine meters, Namikaze Xiufeng reached his limit. It was the same for Namikaze Shoudao, Namikaze Yanxu and Naruto. If they continued any further, the injuries they were sustaining would no longer be temporary, but permanent.

However, even if they became permanent, Naruto didn't care.

"Patriarch Shoudao, Patriarch Yanxu, allow me to sustain the permanent injuries," he said. Naruto took a deep breath. He was just about to explode with more mind, soul and body power, to give the last bit of assistance possible to his father, when Namikaze Shoudao suddenly roared, the sound of which echoed throughout Planet South Heaven.

"All members of the Namikaze Clan will sacrifice their blood to help the Clan

Chief step into the Dao!"

As his words rang out, all of the members of the Namikaze Clan on Planet South Heaven trembled. Without the slightest hesitation, they slapped their chests, causing blood to spray out of their mouths. The massive quantity of blood then shot up into the air.

Uzumaki Li's blood could not be added in, but Namikaze Yu's could. Without a moment of hesitation, she spit the blood out, holding nothing back. After she had done so, her body teetered back and forth, and her face was bone white. However, her blood floated up into the air to join the rest.

Sun Hai rushed to hold her up. Although his heart twinged in pain at her sacrifice, he did nothing to stop her.

A vast amount of blood soared up toward Namikaze Xiufeng. His body trembled, and he almost seemed to be preparing to refuse the blood. He felt guilty at not being able to step into the Dao on his own, instead having to rely on the sacrifices of his fellow clan members.

Those sacrifices were not impossible to recover from, but Namikaze Xiufeng felt guilty nonetheless.

However, he gritted his teeth, and looked around at the seething Dao mist around him. Finally, he absorbed some of it, not to heal himself, but rather, to help Naruto, Namikaze Shoudao and all the other clan members.

"Xiufeng, stop it!" Namikaze Shoudao cried. "You don't need to help us heal. Namikaze Yanxu and myself can do that on our own. As for the other clan members, we have plenty of medicinal pills in the clan that can help them recover. Hao'er doesn't need any help at all. The best way you could help us is to step into the Dao!"

"Dad," Naruto yelled, "hurry up and step into the Dao!" There was something else that went unsaid, which was that the great debt that Namikaze Xiufeng owed the clan would also be borne by Naruto!

Namikaze Xiufeng's heart trembled, but he was a decisive person. Without any further hesitation, he used the power of the blood to cross the final three meters…. He was like the fish who leaped over the dragon gate! He stepped into the vortex and down onto the path that represented the Dao Realm!

In that instant, the Deva Tribulation vanished, and the vortex stopped spinning and went completely calm. The tribulations ceased, and Namikaze Xiufeng stood there alone on the path.

At the same time, ripples appeared, with Namikaze Xiufeng at their center. Ripples… that spread out through the whole Ninth Mountain and Sea.

These ripples resulted from stepping into the Dao, and were something that would occur any time a cultivator successfully transcended the tribulation and stepped into the vortex.

The result was that everyone else in the Dao Realm became aware that someone had reached this point!

Guru Heavencloud had not successfully entered the vortex, so nothing like this happened at that time. But now that Namikaze Xiufeng had succeeded, the ripples spread out instantly. All of the other Dao Realm experts in the Ninth Mountain and Sea could then sense what was happening, and sent their divine sense out to focus on Planet South Heaven.

" Namikaze Xiufeng is stepping into the Dao!"

"The future Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan will be in the Dao Realm…."

"Wait a second, that's not right. How can he step into the Dao on Planet South Heaven? If I remember correctly, in order to save his son, he agreed to never step half a pace off Planet South Heaven. He even pledged an oath upon the Mountains and Seas which, if he violates, will destroy him in body and soul!"

"I can't believe… that he's stepping into the Dao on Planet South Heaven. How is this possible!?" All of the Dao Realm experts who sensed what was happening were shocked.

"It's not over yet. He's only halfway to a complete success. His chances of failing are still as high as before!"

"If he does succeed, after stepping into the Dao, he'll have to take nine steps to get one Essence. Namikaze Xiufeng chose to step into the Dao with the sword, which is the most difficult of all Daos. Those nine steps… will be too difficult." By now, the shocked divine sense of all of the Dao Realm patriarchs was focused around Planet South Heaven.

Naruto could no longer remain seated cross-legged. He rose to his feet within the blood-colored world, and his eyes were fixed up above on his father, who stood there on the path.

His Dao Stepping Tribulation was ten times as powerful and difficult as usual. Normally, he could have stepped easily into the Dao, but with the increased difficulty, it would have been impossible without the aid of the whole Clan. Otherwise, he would have ended up just like Guru

Heavencloud, reduced to a Quasi-Dao cultivator with a limited life span.

That was something that Naruto could not accept; nor could his mother or sister.

Seeing his father standing there on the path didn't cause Naruto to breathe a sigh of relief. Instead, he was even more worried than before. He could only imagine how difficult the nine steps would be, considering how much more difficult they would be than normal.

"Nine steps for one Essence," Namikaze Shoudao said. "Your father's Essence of the Dao of the sword is focused on killing, which is essentially a type of Slaughter Essence. That's fundamentally difficult… but now, it will be even more difficult because of the Allheaven…." He sighed, looking older than ever.

"However, if he succeeds…" Namikaze Yanxu said, his eyes shining brightly with anticipation, "your father might just be a 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivator, but his battle prowess will be comparable to a 3-Essences Dao Lord!"

All of the cultivators on Planet South Heaven were looking at the vortex as Namikaze Xiufeng took his first step. As he did, rumbling sounds echoed out, filling the vortex and causing it to shake. The only people who could possibly understand what it felt like to be on that path were Dao Realm experts or perhaps Quasi-Dao Cultivators.

Naruto had no idea. All he could see was his father trembling after having taken his first step. Ripples emanated out from the vortex, even more violently than before, causing all of the starry sky in the Ninth Mountain and Sea to tremble.

At the same time, the Dao mist converged over the top of his head, forming something that was impossible to make out.

Then, Namikaze Xiufeng struggled to take a second step, and he trembled violently. When he took the third step, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he looked like a lamp running low on oil, about to burn out.

After taking the third step, the ripples surging out from the vortex grew even more intense, shaking the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea with their madness. From the level of intensity, it seemed that if all nine steps were taken, the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself would be shaken.

Furthermore, after taking those three steps, the Dao mist above Namikaze Xiufeng's head consolidated, gradually forming into a shape that resembled a sword.

However, Naruto wasn't paying attention to the sword; he was focused on his father. His face was currently ashen, exactly the same as the faces of his mother and sister.

"Stepping into the Dao involves nine steps, each of which is critically dangerous…." Namikaze Shoudao said through gritted teeth. He then lifted his right hand, and his fingers flashed with an incantation gesture. He waved his hand toward the outside world, affecting, not Namikaze Xiufeng within the vortex, but instead, all of the Namikaze Clan spell formations out on Planet South Heaven. They began to glitter and shine, and then erupted with explosive power. Shockingly, they appeared to be connecting to the teleportation portal on Planet East Victory, forming a channel.

What approached via that channel was not any cultivator… but rather…

"Dao bell, please protect the Clan Chief as he steps into the Dao!" As Namikaze Shoudao's voice echoed out, the air above the ancestral mansion on Planet East Victory shimmered as the Dao bell appeared. It began to toll, sending the sound through the teleportation portal all the way to Planet South Heaven!

It passed through the void and into the vortex, and when Namikaze Xiufeng heard its toll, he trembled and took a fourth step, then a fifth and a sixth!

It was as if his spirit had been bolstered. His energy surged, and the ripples outside of the vortex began to surge violently. All of the Mountains and Seas were trembling, and the starry skies were shaking.

All of the Dao Realm experts now became aware of what was happening.

The Dao mist above Namikaze Xiufeng's head was rapidly forming together to form the shape of a sword. It even seemed to have a sharp edge now, and most shocking of all was that it was the color of blood! That was an omen of… using the Dao of the sword to acquire the Essence of Slaughter!

Namikaze Xiufeng took a seventh step, and he shivered. His energy was now waning; the assistance from the Dao bell could only push him so far, and couldn't help him to succeed completely. Namikaze Xiufeng gritted his teeth and then roared as he pushed with everything he had to take yet another step!

Eight steps!

He was now only one step away from achieving his Dao. However, even as he lifted his foot up into the air and prepared to take that ninth step, Naruto suddenly heard a voice echoing through the void and into his mind.

"Citing the laws of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea has requested that the Allheaven Immortal who is currently stepping into the Dao… be destroyed. This matter is not a priority to the Mountain and Sea Realm, nor can a decision about the matter be made by the Mountain and Sea Realm itself.

"Therefore… the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Sea shall make the decision. Lords, please state your opinions."

Chapter 1186: The Murderous Intentions of the Ninth Lord!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1187

Chapter 1187 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1187: Father Achieves the Dao!

Before Namikaze Xiufeng could complete his ninth step, cracks spread out across his body. At the same time, something enormous was happening in the Mountain and Sea Realm that nobody on Planet South Heaven knew anything about!

That matter would determine whether or not Namikaze Xiufeng stepped into the Dao. It was a secret, an enigmatic event that very few people in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm were aware of!

The only people who did know were the ones at the utmost peak of power. In fact… they were the people who actually controlled the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Before the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm appeared, they… were essentially the collective Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm. They were… the Mountain and Sea Lords of the various Mountains and Seas!

Currently, the voice that echoed out through the Mountain and Sea Realm filled the minds of those Lords!

It was a cold voice, devoid of any emotion. It didn't matter how far apart those nine people were, separated by the Mountains and Seas, they all could hear it.

"Citing the laws of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea has requested that the Allheaven Immortal who is currently stepping into the Dao… be destroyed. This matter is not a priority to the Mountain and Sea Realm, nor can a decision about the matter be made by the Mountain and Sea Realm itself.

"Therefore… the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas shall make the decision. Lords, please state your opinions."

On the majestic peak of the Ninth Mountain was an enormous eye, within which sat a cross-legged old man. Eyes gleaming with killing intent and decisiveness, he softly said, "As the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, I say… destroy the Allheaven Immortal who is stepping into the Dao!"

At the same time, all of the other Mountain and Sea Lords in the other Mountains and Seas quietly made their decisions.

After a moment of silence, the cold, emotionless voice once again rang out into the minds of the nine.

"Of the nine Mountain and Sea Lords, five agree to destroy the Allheaven Immortal. Three disagree. One abstained from voting…. In accord with the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Allheaven Immortal will be destroyed!"

As soon as the word 'destroyed' rang out, Namikaze Xiufeng's body trembled, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He appeared to be on the verge of collapsing into pieces.

"NO!" Naruto screamed. Of everyone on Planet South Heaven, he was the only one who could hear that voice speaking. Suddenly, he charged forward, ignoring any possible danger as he shot up into the sky.

Meanwhile, back on Planet South Heaven, Uzumaki Li trembled and likewise shot into the air. Although facing the Dao Stepping vortex involved extreme danger, she didn't hesitate. Neither did Namikaze Yu, who also took to flight.

Sun Hai didn't pause either, not even to think. As soon as Namikaze Yu sprang into motion… he also flew up.

If you go, so do I!

Within the vortex, Namikaze Xiufeng's body was gradually breaking apart. He hadn't completed the nine steps, and that final step would remain forever incomplete. He was breaking apart in a way that wasn't necessarily lethal. If he wished, he could disperse the Dao mist, allowing it to be destroyed instead of his body. Then he would be left with an extremely limited lifespan.

Namikaze Shoudao's face darkened, and he sat there without saying a word. He had already done everything he could; he had called upon the Dao, drawn upon his soul and asked the whole clan to join in the sacrifice….

The Dao bell had even been summoned. However, it appeared that none of that could change Namikaze Xiufeng's fate.

"He should have been able to easily step into the Dao…. Allheaven Immortals, Allheaven Immortals…. An Allheaven Immortal regardless of success or defeat." Namikaze Shoudao suddenly seemed to grow even older.

It was the same with Namikaze Yanxu. They looked at Namikaze Xiufeng in the vortex, and then saw Naruto desperately flying forward. This time, Namikaze Shoudao did nothing to stop him.

Because… there was no need.

Within the Heavenly vortex, Namikaze Xiufeng sighed. His face was covered in cracks, and his body was beginning to fade away, causing beams of azure light to shine out from him.

The feeling of imminent death caused him to sigh. Seemingly emanating an aura of death, he turned and looked at the roaring Naruto. He also saw his wife and daughter charging toward him.

"Oh well," he murmured softly. "It seems I won't be stepping into the Dao. However, I have no regrets, except… that I won't have more time to spend with all of you…." Just when he was about to disperse the Dao mist and cease his attempt to step into the Dao, all of a sudden, a cold snort echoed out. The sound was ancient, and filled with boundless pressure. It came through the teleportation portal, from… Planet East Victory!

All of Planet East Victory was shaking, as if its will were awakening. As the planet awoke, the lands shook, and within the Namikaze Clan's Ancestral Land, in the necropolis, the first generation Patriarch sat there crosslegged, and… his eyes opened!

"As an Allheaven Clan, my Namikaze Clan fought for the Immortal World until I was the only person left!

"And now… the Namikaze Clan is on the rise again. Our blood has awakened, and the glory of an Allheaven Clan is once again on the cusp of appearing…. Why should we be subjected to this arrangement!?

"If this were an ordinary stepping into the Dao, I would not interfere, not even if he were to die. But now, things have changed because of the awakening of the blood of an Allheaven Clan. As for this tribulation… enough is enough!

"If Paragon Nine Seals had not perished, even he would respect an Allheaven Clan such as mine. And you… you are nothing more than a spirit automaton, formed out of natural laws. The Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas all maintain a portion of those natural laws, and therefore… I will not hold it against the Mountain and Sea Realm itself. But as for the rest of you, Lords of the Mountains and Seas, I will personally rectify your mistake of attempting to destroy my Namikaze Clan!"

The voice echoing out was not audible to everyone. The only people who could hear it were the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas, and considering his identity, Naruto!

Simultaneously, a beam of light shot out from Planet East Victory. It moved with explosive speed, rapidly transforming into nine beams, one of which headed toward the Ninth Mountain, and the other eight of which shot through the void toward the other eight Mountains and Seas!

The Ninth Mountain rumbled, and the enormous eye let out a roar of fury. However, blood spurted out from it and dripped down, causing the entire Ji Clan to be shaken.

As for what happened in the other Mountains and Seas, nobody knew. However… back on Planet South Heaven in the Heavenly vortex, Namikaze Xiufeng was suddenly pushed forward and… took his ninth step!

In the moment that his foot stepped down, Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes went wide. Everyone watching gaped in astonishment. At the same time, the Dao mist above his head fully materialized into a sword!

A… blood-colored sword!

The sword descended down into Namikaze Xiufeng through the top of his head, and suddenly… he erupted with the aura of the Dao Realm!

Ripples exploded out from the vortex, sweeping across the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea before fading away to reveal Namikaze Xiufeng!

He was confused about what had happened, and he wasn't the only one. Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu were shocked and panting. They almost couldn't believe what had happened, and all of the other Dao Realm experts who had been watching Planet South Heaven were equally astonished.

"He clearly failed…. How could he possibly have ended up succeeding!?"

"What exactly happened just now!?"

"Inconceivable! This is completely impossible. Throughout all the years that the Mountain and Sea Realm has existed, nobody has ever mysteriously gone from a state of obvious defeat into one of utter victory!"

However, it didn't matter what people thought or said. Namikaze Xiufeng… had successfully stepped into the Dao!

The cultivators from the Namikaze Clan weren't sure what exactly caused it to happen, but after seeing that Namikaze Xiufeng had stepped into the Dao, they were ecstatic.

"Greetings, Clan Chief!"

"Clan Chief, congratulations on successfully stepping into the Dao!"

"Congratulations, Clan Chief!" Calls of congratulation swelled up, and all of Planet South Heaven was shaken. Uzumaki Li flew up and embraced Namikaze Xiufeng, tears streaming down her face.

Namikaze Yu and Sun Hai also approached, weeping.

"Dad… you did it!" Namikaze Yu said, weeping and laughing at the same time.

"Congratulations, Dad!" Naruto said, hovering off to the side. Seeing his dad safe caused him to sigh with relief. However, hidden behind that smile was something he didn't want his parents to see, and that was the cold, murderous feelings he held because of what had just nearly occurred to Namikaze Xiufeng.

Naruto would never be able to forget the voices he had heard. He also gained a new understanding of his identity, and how it pertained to the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole. The rise of an Allheaven Clan was a threat to other Mountain and Sea Lords, and especially… to the Ji Clan. That was why the Ji Clan had taken such decisive, murderous action!

However, true threat of death actually didn't come from any one cultivator, but from the Mountain and Sea Realm itself, from the powers of natural law that had tried to cut down Namikaze Xiufeng! From Naruto's perspective, it must have occurred because the Ji Clan's Patriarch Ji Tian had paid a high price to make it happen. If any Mountain and Sea Lord could blithely do such a thing, then no one would ever dare to challenge them to battle.

But that wasn't the case. The Mountain and Sea Lords could be supplanted. Therefore, as of this moment, Naruto decided that he would make Ji Tian pay for what he had done.

"Ji Tian, one of these days, you shall die!" Naruto's smile was as cold and sharp as a blade as he gazed up into the sky. He still wasn't sure why exactly Ji Tian had chosen such a method to try to kill his father. But he had to ask himself whether or not some undying enmity existed between his father and Ji Tian.

"Is it because of me, or because Ji Tian can't get to father because of him being on Planet South Heaven?" Naruto's eyes glittered. The fact that someone had tried to kill his father took things over the line. To him, that was a violation of a huge taboo, and although he looked normal on the surface, his heart raged with fury and towering killing intent.

He had never experienced rage like he was feeling now, nor had he ever wanted to kill someone as much as he now wanted to kill Ji Tian. Therefore, he decided… that it was an enmity that absolutely must be seen to its end.

Namikaze Xiufeng looked at his wife and daughter, then at Naruto. Naruto might be able to hide his true feelings from Uzumaki Li and Namikaze Yu, but not from his father.

He looked at the rage boiling in Naruto's eyes, and his heart trembled. However, before he had much time to think about it, Naruto smiled and once again said, "Congratulations, dad."

Namikaze Xiufeng smiled and was about to respond, when suddenly his face fell. Simultaneously, Naruto's face also fell. Down below, similar reactions could be seen on the faces of Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu!

That was because… all of the clouds completely vanished from Planet South Heaven, to be replaced… by a massive, illusory net!

That was… Planet South Heaven's spell formation!

Chapter 1187: Father Achieves the Dao!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1188

Chapter 1188: South Heaven Death Formation!

As soon as the spell formation appeared, it covered all of Planet South Heaven. At the same time, Naruto, Namikaze Shoudao, and Namikaze Yanxu… and all other cultivators, felt an intense, explosive burst of killing intent.

It was like a terrifying divine sense that swept across the lands, covering Planet South Heaven. Naruto's face fell as he sensed the horrifying power, and realized that it was something he couldn't possibly fight back against. If that power wanted to exterminate something, it could be exterminated in the blink of an eye!

Namikaze Shoudao's face went pale, and Namikaze Yanxu started trembling. Uzumaki Li's face fell, as did Namikaze Yu's.

"That's the Death Formation of Planet South Heaven!"

"Dammit, obviously the spell formation doesn't approve of Xiufeng stepping into the Dao, otherwise it wouldn't have activated!"

"It's going to wipe Xiufeng out!"

RUMBLE!

Heaven and Earth shook as an incredibly powerful force sprang into being, pushing everyone away from Namikaze Xiufeng. Nobody could resist it, not even Naruto, who was inexorably pushed away until Namikaze Xiufeng stood completely alone.

It happened too quickly. Moments ago, everyone had been congratulating Namikaze Xiufeng on successfully stepping into the Dao. But now, everyone was gaping in shock at the massive transformations occurring in Heaven and Earth.

Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes flickered. As soon as the killing intent appeared, he pushed his cultivation base down from the Dao Realm to the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

However, the killing intent only continued to get stronger and stronger.

Peals of thunder echoed out from the illusory net as it shot down toward Namikaze Xiufeng, filled with a shocking murderous intent which morphed into a power of extermination. In just a brief moment, the destructive power was nearing Namikaze Xiufeng.

If Namikaze Xiufeng had failed to step into the Dao and become a Quasi-Dao cultivator, then Planet South Heaven's spell formation would not have appeared, regardless of whether it approved of him or not. After all, the spell formation only targeted the Dao Realm. Unless Emperor Tang took control of it, it wouldn't harm Quasi-Dao cultivators.

Naruto's eyes were bright red as he exploded into action. The Lightning Cauldron appeared in his right hand, and electricity danced as he attempted to switch positions with his father. However, despite the dancing electricity, the Lightning Cauldron didn't work!

Because of South Heaven's spell formation, it was useless!

Naruto wasn't willing to give up. Eyes flashing with madness, he shot forward like an arrow, intent on piercing the net to help his father.

However, as soon as Naruto touched the net, he felt a massive force pushing back against him, like a power of expulsion. He heard countless screaming voices shoving him away, preventing him from entering the area within the net.

However, the net didn't hurt him. It only prevented him from interfering with the will of the South Heaven spell formation!

Naruto's face was pale, and he began to laugh bitterly. He… could do nothing. Now, as before, he could only watch, and provide no assistance whatsoever. This was his father, his blood relative, and therefore, the feeling of helplessness which filled his heart made him want to scream in rage.

Naruto's mother and sister were shrieking as they watched Namikaze Xiufeng face this danger.

It was at this point, however, that a growling roar echoed out from the Great Tang's Imperial palace.

"With mine own Li Clan blood, I call upon the spirit of the ancestor within the spell formation. This man… is the guardian of South Heaven. He is… from the Allheaven Namikaze Clan. He must not be harmed or killed….." In accompaniment with the words, massive rumbling struck Heaven and Earth. The net seemed to pause, and at the same time, a figure materialized out of thin air next to Namikaze Xiufeng.

He wore an Imperial robe and an Emperor's crown. It was none other than Emperor Tang, who grabbed Namikaze Xiufeng and then sped with him down toward the ground. Just when they seemed to be on the verge of touching down, boundlessly bright lightning suddenly shot down toward Namikaze Xiufeng, filled with intense killing intent.

After landing on the ground, Emperor Tang's voice once again rang out with urgency, "Brother Xiufeng, the spell formation has neither been defeated, nor has it achieved victory. Had it succeeded, I would never have been able to rescue you just now. Quickly, sit down and begin to meditate. I will give you a drop of Li Clan blood. After you fully absorb it, I will cast one of my ancestor's Daoists magics so that the spell formation will approve of you. However, you need to hold out for the time it takes an incense stick to burn!

"That short time will be a grave test for you….

"If you pass it, then you will be the only Dao Realm expert on Planet South Heaven!

"If you fail… then henceforth, you and I shall not meet again in the world of men…." Emperor Tang's words were spoken quickly. Even as the words left his mouth, he waved a finger, first at Namikaze Shoudao, and then at Namikaze Yanxu. Both of them vanished, then reappeared next to Namikaze Xiufeng.

"If you two want him to survive for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, then you need to do everything you can to help him. However… remember that you must not under any circumstances use the power of the Dao Realm. If you do, not only will Namikaze Xiufeng be defeated, you will also die!" Having said that, Emperor Tang sat down cross-legged and waved his hand, causing a drop of blood to fly out and fuse into Namikaze Xiufeng's forehead, who began meditating.

Emperor Tang's eyes gleamed with concentration. He was just about to close them when a hoarse voice was transmitted into his ears.

"Emperor Tang, let me in too!" Naruto said, eyes bloodshot. Emperor Tang's gaze flashed, and he hesitated for a moment, but then he waved his finger.

Immediately, Naruto vanished and then reappeared next to Namikaze Xiufeng.

Having done these things, Emperor Tang closed his eyes and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, utilizing a secret magic of the Li Clan to help Namikaze Xiufeng gain the approval of the spell formation.

The enormous illusory web continued to rumble toward them. Although it didn't harm Planet South Heaven in the least, the killing intent within it continued to grow stronger. Strange colors flashed, and the wind blew.

Namikaze Shoudao's eyes shone with a bright gleam as he suddenly flew up into the air, followed by Namikaze Yanxu. They immediately set to work fighting the net, not using the power of the Dao Realm, but rather, cultivation bases that had been restricted to the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

Naruto also flew into the air, joining the other two. Almost immediately, blood sprayed out of the mouths of all three of them. The target of the net was Namikaze Xiufeng, but it could still hurt them, although only to a certain extent.

That was especially true of Naruto, whose face was pale, and who immediately sustained terrible internal injuries. He began to tremble, but clenched his teeth and fought on, battling against the net to gain time.

Namikaze Shoudao roared, and Namikaze Yanxu's energy surged. However, no matter what they did, the result was only that the net's arrival slowed down. They could do nothing to actually stop it.

After ten breaths of time passed, rumbling filled Naruto, and boundless azure light shone out from his blood. The power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal exploded out as he slammed against the net, causing a huge boom to echo out. Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu did the same.

The sky shook and the lands quaked. The net was again slowed by the attacks. However, it continued to close in, forcing the three of them back and narrowing the perimeter.

The time it takes an incense stick to burn isn't very long, but under these circumstances, Naruto felt as if time had slowed to a crawl. He wasn't sure exactly how much time had already passed, but he was constantly being pushed back. His clothes were already soaked in blood, and yet the net had already shrunk to the point where it only left them with a few dozen meters of room.

It was at this point that Namikaze Yanxu's face fell, and he stopped fighting. Apparently, he was having trouble keeping his Dao Realm cultivation base concealed. If it were to be revealed, he would be in critical danger.

Finally, he gritted his teeth, fought back with one last powerful volley, and then shot through the net to the other side, where he hovered in the air, his face grim but his eyes apologetic.

Without Namikaze Yanxu, the shrinking rate of the net increased. Naruto and Namikaze Shoudao were now under more pressure, especially Naruto, who had been injured to begin with, and whose cultivation base was nowhere near Namikaze Shoudao's. He might have his Eternal stratum, but he was shaking nonetheless, trembling as his body withered.

Namikaze Shoudao roared; he was now on the point of being unable to hold back his Dao Realm cultivation base. Gritting his teeth, he slapped his chest viciously, injuring himself as a way to force his cultivation base to remain suppressed.

However, that was not a long-term solution. By now, more than seventy percent of the incense stick's worth of time had passed, and Namikaze Shoudao's face was ashen, his body trembling. Despite his tactic of selfinjury, he had reached his limit, and was on the verge of losing control of his Dao Realm cultivation base. He sighed.

"Hao'er, I've done all I can. Please… don't hold it against me." He looked older than ever, and his face was bitter as he flickered away. No longer able to fight the net, he was now on the outside, struggling to keep his cultivation base under control. However, the sighs he uttered were deep and profound.

Of the three that had been holding off the net, Naruto was now the only one left. His cultivation base was the weakest, and yet, he was able to hold out for the longest. That was because he had no Dao Realm cultivation base to reveal, and didn't need to worry about holding back. His eyes were crimson, and he was coughing up blood continuously. However, he didn't back down. By now, the net had shrunk down to the point where it was only fifteen meters wide!

Behind Naruto, his father sat cross-legged. He was not willing to give in, and even as the net shrank down, a wild look appeared in Naruto's eyes. He extended his right hand and waved it, causing the meat jelly to appear.

"Protect my father!" Naruto said. The meat jelly immediately came to rest on Namikaze Xiufeng, transforming into a set of armor that completely covered him. Naruto's blood was boiling as he then lifted his hand… to reveal his fourth Nirvana Fruit!

Without the slightest hesitation, he placed it onto his forehead. The Nirvana Fruit rapidly dissolved, and sounds like thunder immediately began to reverberate from within him.

He let out a piercing cry, and his body trembled as dazzling azure light shot out. An indescribable level of cultivation base power suddenly surged out, and it almost looked like a door had appeared within him.

That was… the great Door of the Ancient Realm!

It was as if it were being summoned, causing massive clouds to gather in the sky, within which was the Great Door of the Ancient Realm!

Borrowing power from the fourth Nirvana Fruit, he raised both hands up and then slammed them down toward the ground. Rumbling sounds echoed out from within him as the blast shot down into the ground, then surged back up in a backlash toward the huge net.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1189

Chapter 1189: Father Must Not Perish!

As of this moment, everyone was looking on in shock as Naruto slammed his hands into the ground. A mist of blood spurted out of him, and his aura weakened. However, the end result… was astonishing!

The illusory net trembled, and even backed up a bit. As of now, Naruto's father only had 60 breaths of time left until the entire incense stick's worth of time was up!

Naruto knew that the enormous net was not using its full power against him, but only a tiny portion. The spell formation was only interested in killing Dao Realm cultivators who entered Planet South Heaven. That was the entire purpose of the sacrifice of the Li Clan.

To the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the spell formation actually offered a certain degree of protection. However, because Namikaze Xiufeng was violating the laws of the spell formation, he was now the subject of its deadly attack.

In the moment that the spell formation fell back, there were sixty breaths of time left. Naruto suddenly felt as if there were hope. But then, the spell formation suddenly flickered with light, and its killing intent erupted once more. Naruto could now just make out images of innumerable figures who existed within the net, all of whom seemed to be filled with determination and focus as they pushed the web forward.

It bore down with incredible speed. Even with his fourth Nirvana Fruit, Naruto was powerless to fight back against it. In fact, the fourth Nirvana Fruit was forcibly expelled from his body.

Trembling, he staggered backward. The net closed in, and suddenly… passed directly through him to envelope Namikaze Xiufeng. The meat jelly armor shuddered, but could not hold on for long. As for Namikaze Xiufeng, he was at a critical moment in absorbing the drop of blood, and couldn't move. The net was just about to pass through the meat jelly and land on Namikaze Xiufeng. Once it did so, its killing intent would reach a fever pitch and cause Namikaze Xiufeng… to immediately be killed in body and spirit, his soul completely departed.

"NO!" Tears of blood poured down Naruto's cheeks, and his expression was fierce. He let out a maddened roar, and suddenly lifted his right hand up and pointed up into the heavens. Instantly, the drop of Paragon's blood began to rumble, as he sent a call to the sun and moon of the Mountain and Sea Realm, which vibrated in response. A beam of light shot down from them which pierced through the void and instantly slammed into the huge net.

He was now using the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself to resist the net.

Massive rumbling filled the air, and the net shook and was shoved back slightly by the beams of light. It wasn't that the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm was insufficient, but rather, this was Planet South

Heaven, and the spell formation had been created by the sacrifice of the Li Clan. The power of the Mountain and Sea Realm wasn't willing to destroy it!

In fact, unless there was absolutely no other choice, Naruto didn't want to do that either. He admired the Li Clan, and respected the spell formation. But this was a critical, life-or-death moment for his father. Naruto's choice… would always be to place family above anything else!

When the light of the sun and moon slammed into the net, it trembled slightly, and moved away from Namikaze Xiufeng. As for Naruto, he paid a heavy price to unleash this attack, an even greater price than he had paid to do the same thing in the Windswept Realm. After all, on that occasion, he had used the power to kill Outsiders, but now, he was causing the Mountain and Sea Realm to harm itself.

Therefore, the price he paid was heavier. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he watched as the net shrank down again. His father was now at an extremely critical moment, and his body was trembling. As of this moment, the only thought in Naruto's head was…

His father must not perish!

In his mind, he roared, "I call upon the power of my name to order the Mountain and Sea Realm to descend!" Then he waved his finger again, and suddenly, an illusory Mountain and Sea appeared atop Namikaze Xiufeng.

No one could see that Mountain and Sea except for Emperor Tang, whose expression flickered.

As it descended, Naruto trembled. His clothes were already soaked with blood, and he was growing faint. However, in that moment his eyes suddenly shone brightly. As the Mountain and Sea descended, Namikaze Xiufeng stopped trembling, and the huge net was stopped.

Unfortunately, in that moment, the killing intent of the net grew even more intense, and the Mountain and Sea was not willing to exert itself fully to fight it. The huge net passed through it, and then closed in once again on Namikaze Xiufeng.

It was as if the South Heaven spell formation would not disappear until Namikaze Xiufeng was dead!

Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes suddenly opened, and he looked at Naruto with a look of kindness. Sighing, he said, "Hao'er, take care of your mother and your sister. You might be the younger brother, but you're the man of the family now. From now on… they'll be relying on you…."

"Dad!" Naruto cried. His hair instantly turned white, and he was so withered that he looked almost like a sack of bones. However, he was completely focused; his desire to save his father had not been reduced in the slightest, and even burned hotter than ever.

"Dad, you're not going to die! Bring on the Second Mountain!"

Rumbling could be heard as a second Mountain and Sea descended to fight back against the huge net. Seemingly mad, Naruto waved his finger again, causing the Paragon's blood to boil once more.

"Third Mountain!" Shockingly, a third Mountain and Sea appeared over Namikaze Xiufeng to fight back against the South Heaven spell formation. Rumbling echoed out as the net was once again forced back.

To fight back with the power of three Mountains and Seas was the most that Naruto could do with his Paragon's blood. He was shaking now, and his flesh was mangled. He… had reached his limit.

In terms of time, there were still twenty breaths left!

Booms echoed out as the net passed through one mountain after another. Soon there were only ten breaths of time left, and that was when the final Mountain and Sea vanished. The killing intent erupting from the net was maddeningly intense. By this point, the meat jelly wasn't effective at all, and from the look of it, Namikaze Xiufeng was just about to be wiped out.

Expression serious, he turned to Naruto and roared, "Hao'er, back down, now! This is my choice! Parents are supposed to sacrifice themselves for their children, not the other way around. I don't need you to save me. Back off!" Namikaze Xiufeng's expression was serious, and his heart twinged with pain. Currently, the bitterness he felt far exceeded Naruto's.

He had no desire to perish, or to affect Naruto in any other way. In fact, he would rather die than do so!

Naruto's expression was one of determination. Completely ignoring Namikaze Xiufeng, he sent the Essence of Divine Flame out. It was not a sea of flames, but rather… the aura of Essence. And that aura, could also become… the aura of a Dao!

Naruto unleashed that aura completely, causing it to explode out with full power. At the same time, he advanced, standing directly between his father and the net, stretching his arms out wide. Shockingly, he was using his own body and his own Dao aura to fight back against the net. He was struggling to buy those final few breaths of time for his father!

The net rumbled, enveloping Naruto and Namikaze Xiufeng together. Because Naruto was protecting his father, he absorbed nearly sixty percent of the attack, with only about forty percent entering Namikaze Xiufeng.

As it did, the killing intent exploded out, and Namikaze Xiufeng coughed up a mouthful of blood. His soul was on the verge of being exterminated. This time, the net did not pass through Naruto, but instead, because of his Dao aura, it had turned from being ethereal to corporeal.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his vision dimmed. The feeling of death had never been so close. Naruto suddenly thought of his mother, his sister, and also another woman; Xu Qing.

Regret filled him, and he wanted to say something, but was helpless. The world began to turn black.

"Hao'er!" Namikaze Xiufeng was trembling, and a madness surged within him. He shot up from his cross-legged position just as the ten breaths of time had passed. The drop of Li Clan blood was now fully absorbed.

That was what Naruto had been fighting for. Were it not for him, the moment of Namikaze Xiufeng's success would also have been his death.

Simultaneously, Emperor Tang finished preparing his Daoist magic, and unleashed it. The enormous web, which had not yet completely sliced through Naruto, flickered and then vanished from both Namikaze Xiufeng and Naruto.

As of that moment, the South Heaven spell formation officially approved of Namikaze Xiufeng!

Namikaze Xiufeng had successfully stepped into the Dao. However the price that had been paid… was enormous. For one, he was seriously injured. Furthermore, the injury was abnormal. Although it was not permanent, it would still require months of time spent in meditation to recover from fully. During that time, activity had to be limited, otherwise the injuries could end up lasting for all eternity.

However, Namikaze Xiufeng didn't care about his injuries at all. He immediately grabbed Naruto in his arms. Naruto's pale complexion and injury-covered body caused tears to begin to roll down his face.

"Congratulations, Dad…." After murmuring those two words, Naruto lapsed into a coma.

Naruto didn't know it, but after he went comatose, the entire Namikaze

Clan was mobilized to help in his recovery. Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu held nothing back. Even the first generation Patriarch's clone sent some divine will to help.

Shui Dongliu came as well, although no one was aware of it. He stood next to Naruto's bed, looking down at him with an increasingly moved expression.

"So, for people who change their own destiny… anything is possible." His eyes began to glow with a strange light. After a long moment passed, he left. His departure was not detected any more than his arrival was.

Emperor Tang also came to visit once. As he looked at Naruto, his heart trembled, although he didn't allow that to show on his face. He didn't tell anyone how he had seen Naruto summon the Mountains and Seas, nor how he now sensed… the aura of the South Heaven spell formation on him!

Naruto's injuries were very serious, whether in terms of his body, his mind, or his soul. He had been injured so badly that he almost died, and as such, his recovery time was also significant.

However, with the full help of the Namikaze Clan, his injures were not the type that couldn't be recovered from. He remained unconscious the entire time, housed safely in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion on Planet South Heaven. His sister, mother, and father were constantly by his side to care for him.

Time passed. Eventually, the time came for the grand coronation of the

Clan Chief. Under the urgings of the other clan members, as well as Uzumaki Li, Namikaze Xiufeng decided not to delay things any further, and prepared to begin the ceremony.

However, although he might be the Clan Chief, in his heart, he couldn't compare at all to his son.

Eventually, the day of the grand ceremony arrived.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1190

Chapter 1190: Grand Ceremony in the Namikaze Clan!

The Namikaze Clan was one of the Four Great Clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. In the past, they had struggled with Ji Tian for Lordship over the entire Mountain and Sea. If you added in the events of the battle of Planet East Victory in which the first generation Patriarch exploded out with power, it truly showed that the clan was as strong as ever, despite the loss of blood and wealth due to the internal strife which had struck them.

Although there would always be some suspicion that the clan was much weaker than they let on, given some time, they would surely be even more powerful than before.

Then there was Naruto's status as an Echelon cultivator. The news of that had already begun to spread. Coupled with the fact that he was strong enough to sweep over all the other Chosen, it ensured that the Namikaze Clan was clearly poised on the verge of having even greater influence.

Everyone knew that the Namikaze Clan had the first generation Patriarch, two Dao Realm experts, and the most powerful Chosen in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. When a clan like that held a ceremony to appoint its Clan Chief, it can easily be imagined how much of a commotion it caused.

Because Namikaze Xiufeng had successfully stepped into the Dao Realm, the Namikaze Clan's overall power was now one step higher. Aside from the Three Great Daoist Societies or the Ji Clan, no other sect or clan in the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea could match up to them in terms of combat strength.

As the ceremony got under way, numerous buildings were constructed on Planet South Heaven. Countless majestic palaces sprang up, and one mountain after another was razed. The Namikaze Clan's citadel was now like an enormous, sprawling beast.

There were also numerous spell formations connecting Planet South Heaven to Planet East Victory. In fact… before long, Planet South Heaven could very well become the nucleus of the Namikaze Clan.

Although there were certain limitations to the place, those limitations would also serve to protect the Namikaze Clan. By now, they controlled two planets. Obviously, their rise to power was not something that could be stopped.

Millions of Namikaze Clan cultivators came from Planet East Victory and spread out into various regions of Planet South Heaven. The Namikaze Clan's ancestral mansion was a hundred times larger than before, and it was in its central square that the grand ceremony was to take place.

On that day, starting at dawn, the teleportation portals on Planet South Heaven flashed continuously as cultivators from all of the various sects and clans throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea arrived.

There were friends of the Namikaze Clan, and also enemies. It was the same for Namikaze Xiufeng, and many who were there came for him specifically. These people could only sigh inwardly when they thought about the rumors that he had successfully stepped into the Dao. Although many people might want to challenge him to a fight, few actually dared.

Many, many people came. The Three Churches and Six Sects were present, as well as many of the large clans. There were also countless smaller sects and even rogue cultivators who flocked to Planet South Heaven, all of whom the Namikaze Clan arranged accommodations for.

The Three Great Daoist Societies came, and even the Ji Clan sent people. On the surface, there was no display of the undying enmity between the Namikaze and Ji Clans.

The Chosen of many sects and clans had friction with Naruto, and yet, all of those sects and clans sent representatives. Surprisingly, though… not a single one of the Chosen could be seen. It was almost as if they had collectively decided ahead of time not to come. As for Fatty, and Naruto's other long-time friends, none of their sects sent them to attend.

That was understandable. Naruto was now so powerful that he struck fear into the hearts of even the experts in the elder generation. If they had sent disciples of the Junior generation to the ceremony, it would have been seen as an embarrassment.

Furthermore, Naruto's A Writ of Karma was now well-known in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Everyone knew that he liked to get Chosen members of his generation to owe him money through Karma. Therefore, the less they encountered him the better.

In the end, it was mostly older cultivators who showed up.

At high noon, when the sun blazed up above… the ceremony began!

Numerous beams of light flew through the air toward the central square of the ancestral mansion, where rows and rows of tables had been set up. Tables were even hovering in the air, tens of thousands of them. As the cultivators arrived, they were shown to their seats by the Namikaze Clan members in charge of the proceedings. The Dao bell was even teleported over, and hung high up in the sky, looking very threatening.

The Namikaze Clan ensured that all the tables were filled with everything from spirit alcohol to Immortal fruit. The ceremony was to last for three days, and the expenditure for such an affair was terrifyingly enormous. However, the number of congratulatory gifts was also scalp-numbing.

Namikaze Shoudao took charge of it all, being the one with the most experience in that regard.

On the first day of the grand ceremony, everyone watched as Namikaze Xiufeng emerged, offered sacrifices to the ancestors and called upon the starry sky. Then, all sorts of rites and functions were held before that part of the ceremony concluded.

The cultivators who had come to observe the ceremony and offer congratulations were all waiting for the second day. Customarily, the three day-long coronation of a Clan Chief for a clan as powerful as the Namikaze would include the formality of severing enmities. That was what most people were looking forward to.

Naruto was still in a coma. For him, it was like a long dream. Within that dream, he visited a special world, a place where the Mountain and Sea Realm had just appeared. He saw a clan offering sacrifices to him, creating an ancestral gate, and setting up spell formations.

On the dawn of the second day, a huge banquet was set up in the main square. Namikaze Shoudao's powerful voice echoed out in all directions: "The Namikaze Clan has chosen Namikaze Xiufeng as its Clan Chief!

"Ladies and gentlemen, whatever debts or enmities he had with you will be ended this day. From now on, Namikaze Xiufeng is the Clan Chief, and anyone who dares to provoke, slander, or vilify him will face the wrath of the entire Namikaze Clan!" Namikaze Shoudao looked around slowly. He had already made plenty of preparations to ensure that nothing untoward happened.

The most important factor was that Namikaze Xiufeng was already in the Dao Realm. Everyone knew this, so it was hard to believe that people would come looking to die. After all, that is what would happen when challenging a Dao Realm Clan Chief.

"Let the formalities begin!" Namikaze Shoudao sat in place, and when he spoke, his voice echoed like thunder. Namikaze Xiufeng sat calmly next to him, looking very threatening despite not being angry. He seemed to be filled with an invisible energy that caused anyone who looked at him to tremble inwardly, and even left their cultivation base unstable.

Anyone in the Dao Realm who came had to suppress themselves down to the Ancient Realm, which meant that nobody could possibly be a match for Namikaze Xiufeng. He was the only person present that was truly in the Dao Realm.

A buzz of conversation could be heard from the audience. Namikaze Shoudao waited for a long moment, but seeing that nobody stepped forward, he closed his eyes to wait for time to pass. He didn't seem surprised at all by the lack of challengers.

However, in almost the exact moment that he closed his eyes, a burly man stepped out from the crowd. He was fully six meters tall, emanated the ripples of the Immortal Realm, and caused the ground to shake with each step.

" Namikaze Xiufeng, there exists no enmity between us. However, I shall stand for the people to challenge you to a fight. After today, there will be no more such opportunities!"

Grinning, the man stamped his foot down violently, causing a boom to echo out as his cultivation base erupted with power. A windstorm instantly surged in the entire area.

However, that windstorm was simply too small. His cultivation base was clearly only in the Immortal Realm. To challenge the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan with a cultivation base like that caused all of the surrounding cultivators, including those from the Three Churches and Six Sects, to look on with strange expressions.

Namikaze Shoudao frowned, and inwardly, began to get an uneasy feeling.

" Namikaze Xiufeng, I challenge you!" the burly man roared. He seemed confident and at ease, but if you looked closely, you would see that he was trembling. Furthermore, a flicker of terror existed deep within his eyes.

He was like an ant challenging a giant to do battle! However, there was clearly some reason for him to be making a laughingstock of himself.

Namikaze Xiufeng opened his eyes and looked coldly at the man. It was obvious that the man was up to something. Otherwise, why would a nobody like him try to stir things up at a grand ceremony like this?

A Namikaze Clan cultivator immediately stood up and angrily cried out, "Enough of this horsing around! With your cultivation base, you're obviously not settling enmities, you're just causing trouble. Men, remove him!"

Namikaze Clan cultivators instantly flew toward the burly man.

Apparently, the man had anticipated that this would happen. He immediately fell back, gritting his teeth and placing a medicinal pill into his mouth. As soon as he crushed it between his teeth, his body began to tremble violently. His cultivation base exploded with power, and his energy rose wildly. He instantly broke through from the Immortal Realm into the Ancient Realm. The price was that his body withered rapidly. The medicinal pill he had consumed was clearly toxic, and drew on his life force to forcibly increase his cultivation base.

Considering the price he was paying, he would only be able to maintain such a state for less time than it takes half an incense stick to burn. Then he would be killed in body and spirit, and nobody would be able to save him.

" Namikaze Xiufeng, there's someone who wanted me to ask you whether or not you'll honor the words you spoke on Planet West Felicity?!" With a shriek, the man coughed up a mouthful of blood and then transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Namikaze Xiufeng.

As Namikaze Shoudao looked on with furrowed brow, Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes glittered, and he nodded. Then, he waved his right finger and the incoming burly man shuddered and then exploded in midair.

As soon as he died, another cultivator flew out. This man was also merely in the Immortal Realm, but he also consumed a medicinal pill, causing his energy to rocket up as he shouted at Namikaze Xiufeng. Namikaze Xiufeng sat there thoughtfully for a moment before waving his finger again.

A third, a fourth, a fifth….

One cultivator after another appeared, until the total reached forty…. All of the cultivators who had come to observe the ceremony looked on with strange expressions. The reactions were even more obvious within the Namikaze Clan. Anybody who saw something like this happening would be able to tell that something strange was going on.

However, things weren't over. More cultivators appeared, all of whom acted in exactly the same way. They sacrificed their lives, resulting in Namikaze Xiufeng's cultivation base being slowly worn down. On any other occasion, it wouldn't matter. However, Namikaze Xiufeng still had his Dao injury, and shouldn't even have been fighting. Perhaps one or two exchanges wouldn't matter, but this was an endless cycle. The people who were continuously attacking him might not have very high cultivation bases, but the medicinal pills they were consuming temporarily gave them explosive power.

Namikaze Xiufeng could kill them as easily as crushing ants….

However… even crushing ants can be troublesome if there are too many!

Clearly, someone wanted Namikaze Xiufeng's injuries to reach the point where they wouldn't heal. They wanted to force him to fight.

Of course, he could refuse. He could ask cultivators from his clan to take care of the problem. However, whoever had organized this would obviously have thought of such a possibility, and would surely have prepared a contingency plan.

Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes flickered coldly.

This was a situation in which he could not accept the help of others. This was the Clan Chief's coronation, and his challengers were only in the Immortal Realm. If he needed help from others, the Namikaze Clan would be criticized for years to come, and would be viewed as a joke.

Namikaze Shoudao's face was very dark. Although helping Namikaze Xiufeng would cause problems, it was only in terms of face, leading him to consider intervening. Namikaze Xiufeng suddenly frowned, as if he had thought of something. He was keeping his injuries under control, but if he really did end up fighting hundreds of cultivators, then eventually he would lose control, and his injuries would flare up.

It was at this point that another cultivator flew out. Before he could even get close, he cried,

" Namikaze Xiufeng, you boor, my cultivation base might be weak, but I'm going to challenge you too. Do you dare to fight me?!" The cultivator was trembling, and apparently, had been forced to work up his nerve even to speak. However, he was clearly willing to throw all caution to the wind.

Namikaze Xiufeng eyed him coldly, and was just about to wave his finger, when all of a sudden a cold voice echoed through the air to fill the square.

"You think you qualify to challenge my dad?"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1191

Chapter 1191: Fighting for Dad!

As soon as the voice rang out across the square, all of the cultivators felt their hearts trembling. That was especially true of the Namikaze Clan cultivators, who looked up enthusiastically. Even Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu had similar reactions.

Namikaze Xiufeng rose to his feet, looking very excited as he turned to see a young man in a blue robe walking toward them.

It was none other than… Naruto!

His face was a bit pale, as if he had just recovered from a serious illness. He looked much weaker than normal, and very scholarly as he approached Namikaze Xiufeng and clasped hands in greeting.

"I can't believe you're awake!" Namikaze Xiufeng said, voice filled with love.

"What are you doing here? You should be resting!"

"I slept long enough," Naruto said, smiling. "I'm done resting. It's time for a bit of exercise." His injuries this time had been serious enough to keep him in a coma for more than a month. As soon as he woke up, he sent his divine sense out and saw what was happening, which was why he had come.

As soon as the Immortal Realm cultivator saw Naruto, his face fell and he backed up a few paces. "Naruto…. You're Naruto! I challenged your father, not you. You don't have the right to do anything!"

Hearing this, Naruto spun around, eyes flashing coldly as he looked at the cultivator.

"You know who I am and yet dare to speak to me like that?" he said coolly. "You might be looking to die, but if I feel like keeping you alive, I have plenty of ways to do so.

"You think I don't have the right to fight you? This is the Namikaze Clan, so if I say I have the right, then I have the right!" His voice echoed out, filled with a domineering air.

As he finished speaking, he stepped forward, and was suddenly directly in front of the other cultivator. The man's face fell, and he was about to try to flee when Naruto let out a cold snort. It crashed like thunder, slamming into the cultivator's mind, prompting a bloodcurdling scream. Then, the man exploded in a burst of gore.

It was a quick and efficient kill. Naruto didn't mind that blood and guts were raining down everywhere. Clearly, he did things differently than his father. His father was the Clan Chief, and had many things to consider. Naruto was not the Clan Chief, and his goal was to intimidate.

"Well, who's next?" he asked coolly, waving his arm to flick some blood off of his sleeve.

His question was met by utter silence. All eyes were fixed on him. Many people present had only seen illusory images of Naruto, making this their first time seeing him in person. Now that they could lay eyes on him personally, his visage was indelibly burned into their memories.

From the way he spoke, and how he acted, it was easy to see how domineering he was. Many eyes widened as they realized that this was a person… who dared to defy laws and principles, even of the Heavens! Namikaze Xiufeng smiled slightly, but said nothing. Off to the side, Namikaze Shoudao's eyes also flickered with a smile, then exchanged glances with Namikaze Yanxu. Both nodded inwardly.

Naruto clearly knew that there were many ways for them to resolve the current situation. However, it didn't matter how they went about it, none of those methods were truly appropriate. Considering their position in the clan and considering the circumstances, the things that were normally handled in secrecy just couldn't be done.

Naruto had shown up in domineering fashion and had instantly killed someone. Furthermore, the people who had had dealings with Naruto in the past could tell how sharp and biting his words were. After all, he hadn't met too many people who could get the upper hand on him in a debate.

Naruto waited for a moment, but nobody stepped forward. Voice calm, he said, "Nobody?"

"You're looking to die, child!" Suddenly, a gale-force wind sprang up, within which was a middle-aged man who was charging Naruto. He was not in the Immortal Realm, but rather, the Ancient Realm.

"I'm not looking to die. I'm looking for death. Your death!" Naruto's voice was ice-cold as he stood there and allowed the Ancient Realm cultivator's divine ability to slam into him. It did nothing, almost as if it was a light breeze blowing past him. The middle-aged man stared in shock. At the same time, Naruto's hand shot out as fast as lightning to latch onto the top of his head.

"Soulsearch!" Naruto sent divine sense out through his splayed fingers, causing the man to shake and let out a miserable shriek. He only lasted for a few breaths of time before collapsing into pieces.

Naruto hovered there thoughtfully for a moment, and then suddenly vanished, only to reappear among the crowd, directly in front of one of the tables, facing an old man who sat there. The man's face flickered, and he was just about to rise to his feet when Naruto launched a God-Slaying Fist. The old man, and even the table, were instantly transformed into ash.

Naruto vanished again, reappearing in a different direction, in front of a woman. She had a jade slip in her hand which she was about to crush. Naruto reached out and grabbed her arm.

"Let me help you with that!" he said, tightening his grip. The jade slip, and her entire arm with it, were instantly crushed. Then he waved his arm, causing blood to spray out of the woman's mouth. Her eyes went wide with disbelief just before she was torn to bits.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto flashed to seventeen different locations within the crowd. Each time, he appeared in front of a different cultivator, whom he immediately killed.

After a few breaths of time passed, Naruto returned to his original position in the main square. The crowd was in an uproar, and there were even some cultivators who were angrily berating him.

The commotion continued to intensify; from the look of it, Naruto's actions were going to lead to some sort of retributive calamity.

However, Naruto's expression was calm as he said, " Namikaze Clan cultivators, hear the orders of the Crown Prince. Take that man, and him, and him…." Naruto quickly pointed out over a hundred people. As he pointed at them, glowing marks appeared on their bodies.

All of them looked incredibly shocked.

"… and kill them all!" Without the slightest hesitation, members of the Namikaze Clan flew toward the people Naruto had just indicated.

In response, the more than one hundred cultivators roared and popped medicinal pills into their mouths, causing their cultivation bases to rise explosively. However, even in such a state, they weren't a match for the Namikaze Clan. Soon, bloodcurdling screams rang out and the entire group was slaughtered.

Deathly silence followed. Everyone who had been crying out in anger

was now speechless. The people from the great clans and sects had maintained their calm before, but now they were all staring at Naruto, clearly moved.

"Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Daoists, today is my father's grand ceremony," Naruto went on. "If you wish to resolve debts and grudges in the customary way, go ahead. However, if you try to do so in a way that defies custom… well then, I'll also defy custom." Although his face was a bit pale, his words were cold and biting. Quite a few people now had a much deeper understanding of him.

"What a class act you are, Naruto," a voice said. It belonged to an ancient old man who strode out, the shocking ripples of the great circle of the Ancient Realm emanating out from him. This was a man similar to Guru Heavencloud; he could step into the Dao Realm at any time!

"I have enmity with your father," the old man said, glaring venomously at Namikaze Xiufeng. "But since you want to stand in for him, I'll accommodate you!"

Namikaze Xiufeng looked back icily at the old man. He clearly recognized him, and yet hadn't sensed his presence earlier. Apparently the man had used some sort of technique or magical item to render him invisible even to those in the Dao Realm.

Even as the words left the old man's mouth, his body flashed through the air, and an illusory Eight Trigrams symbol appeared around him. It began to rotate, crackling with lightning as it shot toward Naruto. At the same time, the old man made a grasping gesture as he summoned a greatsword. He then performed a two-fingered incantation and roared, causing boundless, dazzling light to shine off of the sword. His cultivation base flared to life and his Soul Lamps appeared, which merged into the Eight Trigrams symbol, igniting it with Immortal Flame.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. As the man closed in on him, he stepped forward. Simultaneously, his energy flared, and he extended his own right hand in a plucking motion.

It was none other than the Star Plucking Magic!

Rumbling could be heard as an enormous, illusory hand appeared. It slammed into the Eight Trigrams symbol, crushing it into oblivion. The greatsword shattered, and the old man's eyes went wide with disbelief. He tried to fall back, but was too slow. The enormous hand grabbed onto him, and he let out a miserable shriek. His heart was now filled with indescribable shock and terror.

"You–" he only had time to utter a single word before he was dragged in front of Naruto.

He had no time to utter a second word. Naruto's expression was cold as he stretched his hand out and grabbed onto the top of the man's head. It didn't matter that this man was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, similar to Guru Heavencloud. Naruto would still Soulsearch him.

The man howled, and his eyes were instantly shot with veins of blood. Without any hesitation, he unleashed his cultivation base, which began to emanate a Dao Realm aura. Shockingly, he was going to attempt to evade death at this critical juncture by stepping into the Dao!

Before Naruto had absorbed the Essence of Divine Flame, he would have been powerless to do anything at this point. But now, in some respects, he could already be considered to be in the Dao Realm. Most important was that he was now a full Allheaven Dao Immortal.

Azure light flickered on his right hand as he used his own power to disperse the Dao Realm aura, making this attempt to step into the Dao… an utter failure!

Divine sense poured into the old man's mind as the Soulsearch began.

The man quivered, then screamed, "Your majesty, save me!"

Naruto's mouth curled in an almost imperceptible smile. As the old man's voice rang out, ripples flashed in the air behind him, and abruptly, a withered hand stretched out. It looked like it had just climbed up out of the grave, and reeked with an aura of death. Most shocking of all… it emanated a Dao Realm aura!

That aura was incredibly powerful, so powerful than even ordinary Dao Realm cultivators would have a hard time standing up to it.

Heaven and Earth shook, and a mighty wind screamed. All of the surrounding cultivators were completely shocked. This was Planet South Heaven, a place where Dao Realm cultivators couldn't come. And yet that hand… was clearly emanating a Dao Realm aura! There could only be one explanation.

That hand belonged… to a Quasi-Dao cultivator!

A terrifying Quasi-Dao cultivator, lingering on the brink of death, and yet powerful enough to suppress ordinary Dao Realm experts.

The suddenness of this development was such that Namikaze Xiufeng, Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu all stepped forward, eyes narrowed. However, even so there was no trace of panic in them.

"Hao'er, get back!" Namikaze Shoudao said urgently. He stretched his hand out into the air to drag Naruto back to safety.

"I was just thinking that this guy didn't seem like the mastermind,"

Naruto said coolly. "As it turns out… he was backed by this Quasi-

Dao cultivator!" He turned to face the hand and said, "South Heaven

Death Formation, activate!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1192

Chapter 1192: Enigmatic Quasi-Dao Expert!

By the time Naruto turned to face the withered hand, it was only seven inches or so from his forehead, brimming with a will of destruction, as well as a boundless ancient aura.

The sky went dim, the lands were cast into darkness, and the winds stilled. The entire world seemed to be having the light and color sucked out of it by the hand, infected by its aura of death.

The withered hand's skin had blotches and bruises on it, as though it were difficult for the blood to pump through the veins therein. A faint stench of decay emanated off of it, which filled the area.

The area around it seemed to be another world, a world in which that hand was like an Immortal Divinity. All it had to do was wave a finger, and all life could be taken away.

The hand appeared so quickly that nobody had time to react. However, this was the grand coronation of the Clan Chief. How could Namikaze Xiufeng and everyone else, even the ordinary clan members, not be prepared for unexpected circumstances?

After all… because of Planet South Heaven's spell formation, even Dao Realm experts who came here had to lower themselves to the great circle of the Ancient Realm. However, Quasi-Dao cultivators… existed in the longevity-limited area between the Ancient and Dao Realms, and therefore didn't need to reduce their cultivation bases. Planet South Heaven's spell formation would do nothing against such people.

For example, had Namikaze Xiufeng failed in his attempt to step into the Dao, even if the South Heaven Death Formation didn't approve of him, the net of destruction wouldn't appear.

Namikaze Shoudao, Namikaze Yanxu and Namikaze Xiufeng all flew out to try to pull Naruto back. However, Naruto had already made a different decision. He looked coldly at the incoming hand, and then spoke the words 'South Heaven Death Formation.' In that instant, massive rumbling echoed out through the lands.

An indescribable aura suddenly rose up from the ground, the air, the mountains, the rivers, the seas, the plants and vegetation, from Planet South Heaven itself. The aura exploded out everywhere. It felt like a wellspring of killing intent!

As the killing intent converged, it covered over Planet South Heaven, becoming… an enormous illusory net!

It was none other than… the South Heaven Death Formation!

It seemed to appear slowly, but in actuality it happened in almost the exact same moment that Naruto spoke out the four words. Apparently… he could control the formation!

It was a development that left even Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu astonished and in a state of disbelief. Namikaze Xiufeng's eyes went wide, as did the eyes of all the other members of the Namikaze Clan. As for the cultivators from the various sects and clans of the Ninth Mountain and Sea who had come to offer congratulations, their hearts trembled, and they gasped.

"That's the South Heaven Death Formation?"

"What indestructible power! That formation can wipe out anything… This

South Heaven Death Formation is amazing. But… why can Naruto summon it?"

"How could this be happening? Don't tell me that Naruto can actually control the South Heaven Death Formation?!"

Right now, all minds were reeling because of the shocking events which they were witnessing. Naruto hovered there in midair, surrounded by the swirling killing intent of the South Heaven Death Formation. However… considering that he was at the very center of it all, it almost seemed true… that he could actually control the South Heaven Death Formation!

Being able to control the Death Formation meant that he could control Planet South Heaven! And that meant… that on Planet South Heaven, he was invincible!

Some distance away in the Imperial palace of the Great Tang, Emperor Tang stood in the main hall, looking off into the distance. He was shocked, but after a moment of thought, he shook his head. Even back when Naruto had slipped into a coma, he had been able to detect that he had the approval of the South Heaven Death Formation. As far as Namikaze Xiufeng went, the formation was tentative about not killing him. But Naruto, who had been so willing to sacrifice himself for his father… gained its complete and utter approval!

It was as if Naruto's actions in saving his father had moved some ancient Li Clan ancestor within the South Heaven Death Formation…. As such, the entire spell formation approved of him to the point that it would listen to his commands.

Something else happened in that same moment. In a stretch of barren mountains in the Eastern Lands, Shui Dongliu was walking up a path cut into a cliff. He suddenly stopped in place and looked up into the sky.

"People who change their destiny…." he murmured, his eyes gleaming with anticipation. Smiling, he continued on walking.

All of the cultivators in attendance at the Namikaze Clan's coronation ceremony were completely shaken at what was happening up above.

The enormous illusory net covered Naruto, making him shine with resplendent light, as if he represented Heaven and Earth.

The withered hand was also shocked, and began to shake. Without the slightest hesitation, the hand pulled back. It even started to fade, as if it wanted to get away from Planet South Heaven as quickly as possible, and didn't dare to get any closer to Naruto.

"You're not going anywhere," Naruto said coolly. He waved his hand, instantly causing the enormous illusory net to shine radiantly. The light seemed to seal everything, and a miserable scream echoed out into the air. Not too far off in the distance, the air rippled, and a figure appeared.

It was an old man wearing a long black robe. He was surrounded by an aura of death, and as soon as he appeared, the enormous net shot toward him.

Seeing the net closing in on him, the old man threw his head back and let out a piercing howl. Rumbling could be heard as the aura of death grew more explosive. He seemed to age even more, and his legs seemed to be on the verge of transforming into ash.

He was paying a heavy price to unleash incredible power with his cultivation base, which was now so powerful that Heaven and Earth flickered with light. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but then he waved his right hand, causing a single copper coin to fly out of his sleeve.

The copper coin was bright yellow, and had a magical symbol on one side and an Eight Trigrams symbol on the other. As soon as Naruto saw it, his eyes widened. He wasn't the only one. Namikaze Xiufeng gasped, and as for Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu, they had similar reactions.

"The Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree!" Namikaze Shoudao said in disbelief.

That is exactly what it was… the Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree from the seventh tribulation of Dao Stepping. Normally it was a force that appeared during the tribulation, and yet here it was in plain sight. The Namikaze Clan recognized it, and there were people from the other sects and clans who also recognized it. Those people shot to their feet, expressions of shock on their faces. Their eyes instantly began to shine with a strange light that soon transformed into greed.

It didn't matter whether or not the item was real or a fake; it's mere appearance instantly shook everyone.

Although everyone could now see exactly what the old man looked like, nobody recognized him. Not a single one of the visiting cultivators from the various sects and clans knew who he was.

Namikaze Xiufeng frowned; the man was also a stranger to him.

That in itself was an impossibility. In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, it would be inconceivable that a cultivator could progress from the Spirit Realm all the way to the peak of the Ancient Realm in complete anonymity. Even though he had failed in transcending tribulation and ended up as a Quasi-Dao cultivator, such people were also a rarity. There simply had to be people who had previously interacted with him.

Furthermore, the people who would have had dealings with him would be people with profound cultivation bases. He simply couldn't be a nameless, unknown figure. Besides, a Quasi-Dao expert was not the type of person that you could simply ignore or not care about.

And yet, this old man seemed to be a complete stranger to everyone. For a completely unknown Quasi-Dao cultivator to exist was strange enough, but what was even stranger was that he somehow had a Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree coin. That made him not just strange, but extremely mysterious!

Even as all eyes were focused on the Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree, Namikaze Xiufeng suddenly gave a cold snort. Eyes icy, he spoke in a sinister voice, "So it turns out to be old bastard Shangguan. We fought years ago in the Ruins of Immortality, and I crippled your cultivation base. How could I ever have imagined that, not only would you have come across the good fortune to restore your cultivation base, but you would also experience Dao Stepping Tribulation. Too bad you failed, and now your longevity is at its end…. Hao'er, this guy and I had an undying enmity years ago that still remains irreconcilable. Why don't you kill him for me!?"

As soon as his voice rang out, everyone's eyes widened in shock.

However, inwardly, people began to curse. From what they could tell, Namikaze Xiufeng had seen the Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree, and assumed people would try to snatch it, so he made up a story to prevent that from happening.

Of course, nobody could give voice to such suspicions. After all, it appeared as if this old man really had come with the purpose of going after Namikaze Xiufeng.

The old man threw his head back and roared, raising both hands into the air. The copper coin that was the Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree suddenly flew through the air up toward the giant net.

The old man's cultivation base surged with full power, creating a maelstrom of death that swept everything out of his way as he shot up toward the net, as if to escape Planet South Heaven.

As long as he could get away from Planet South Heaven, then the South Heaven Death Formation wouldn't be able to kill him. After all, his longevity might be limited, but he actually had some secret magic that would enable him to live on a bit longer.

"Mountain Ghost!

"Thunder and Lightning!

"Ghost Slaying!

"Spirit Subduing!" In the moment that the copper coin slammed into the huge illusory net, the old man roared. He was now at the ultimate peak of what he could manage. The copper coin flashed with bright yellow light, and suddenly, the awe-inspiring image of a Mountain Ghost appeared, stretching its hands out toward the huge net. Lightning crackled around it as it roared and charged the net.

The instant they contacted each other, a massive rumbling filled Heaven and Earth. The power of lightning transformed into a 30,000-meter Lightning Dragon which tore a huge hole into the net.

The sight shocked even Naruto, and Emperor Tang's pupils constricted. It wasn't that the South Heaven Death Formation was weak, but rather… that the Mountain Ghost Lightning Decree was an item from legend, with inexhaustible power.

Most important was that although Naruto could control the spell formation, he wasn't as skilled at doing so as Emperor Tang, and couldn't unleash its full potential.

The old man roared, transforming into a beam of light that shot toward the tear in the net.

With a cold harrumph, Naruto lifted his right hand up toward him and made a grasping motion.

Instantly, the South Heaven Death Formation radiated scintillating light, which converged into the shape of a huge hand that crushed down toward the old man with fear-inspiring destructive power. The old man's eyes filled with despair as he roared again, burning more of his life force to unleash greater cultivation base power to fight back against the hand.

However, he was like a moth flying into a flame. In the blink of an eye, the hand grabbed ahold of him and crushed him to death. A bloodcurdling scream echoed out as he was destroyed in body and spirit. However, in the moment before he passed into death, he suddenly let out a venomous shout.

" Namikaze Clan… you people… will never become an Allheaven Clan!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1193

Chapter 1193: Don't Dare to Fight?

All Heaven and Earth shook. The old man's voice echoed about, filled with venomous hatred. Although most people didn't understand what an Allheaven Clan was, the Three Churches and Six Sects, as well as certain other groups, were completely shocked, and looked over at the Namikaze Clan.

"Allheaven… Clan?"

Even as they looked over in astonishment, the enormous illusory net vanished, and Naruto shot up into the sky. His goal was clear; the shining yellow copper coin, which was now masterless, and slowly beginning to fall out of the sky.

He moved with incredible speed, and yet there were others in the crowd who also shot upward with lightning quickness. There were nine of them, all of whom headed directly toward the copper coin!

But then, six of those people suddenly changed directions and headed toward Naruto instead of the copper coin, apparently with the intention of blocking his path.

The other three pushed even faster toward the copper coin.

Namikaze Xiufeng's face was calm. Next to him were Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze

Yanxu, neither of whom did anything. All of them had complete confidence in Naruto.

Naruto's eyes shone coldly. The old man he had just killed with the help of the South Heaven Death Formation had been targeting the Namikaze Clan, so therefore, he intended to keep the copper coin as a battle trophy.

As he flashed through the air, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Then he waved his hand, causing numerous Immortal mountains to descend, surrounded by boundless azure light. Of the group of six, three coughed up blood and immediately slowed down. The other three unleashed divine abilities and magical techniques. Instantly, the sky filled with splendid, multi-colored light, and the ripples of magic.

Dozens of enormous black lizards materialized, which roared as they charged toward Naruto. There was also a gigantic whip that slashed toward him like a dragon.

Last was a seven-colored rainbow, which emanated brilliant light that covered all Heaven and Earth.

Naruto snorted coldly and pressed forward, relying on the strength of his fleshly body to meet the divine abilities. Both hands stretched out in front of him and ripped to either side, causing the enormous black lizards to let out miserable screams as they were ripped to shreds.

Without even slowing down, Naruto waved his right hand, grabbing the illusory whip and sending flame out to engulf it. In the blink of an eye, the whip became a writhing serpent of fire.

Then, Naruto slammed into the rainbow, shattering it into countless fragments!

It all happened so quickly that Naruto didn't even slow down. He was now directly in front of the three cultivators who had just launched the divine abilities. Their faces flickered with disbelief, and before they could unleash more magic, Naruto waved his sleeve, causing a tempest to sweep over them.

Blood sprayed out of their mouths as Naruto passed them by. He didn't kill them; today was the day his father became the Clan Chief, so unless it was absolutely necessary, he wouldn't kill anyone the way he had during the challenges earlier. He didn't want to turn the occasion into a massacre.

A moment later, he was in front of the copper coin. As he reached out to grab it, the other three cultivators closed in, performing incantation gestures and sending out powerful attacks to block Naruto.

One of them summoned an enormous silver-colored bottle gourd that shot toward Naruto, emanating a powerful gravitational force as well as shocking screams that echoed in Naruto's ears and mind.

"Screw off!" he said, clenching his left hand into a fist and punching out with the power of God-Slaying. The silver gourd trembled and then exploded into pieces, scattering the vengeful ghosts that had been contained inside of it. The resulting backlash slammed into the cultivator who had launched the divine ability.

His face fell as the vengeful ghosts slammed into him. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his body withered as he tumbled backward. One of his fellows snorted coldly, ignoring the copper coin and shooting toward Naruto, eyes blazing as he burned his life force.

He was harming himself and even his cultivation base to prevent Naruto from taking the copper coin. The burning turned into the power of self-detonation, causing all faces to fill with shock as the man exploded.

It was like a sun detonating, causing blinding light to stab out in all directions. Naruto didn't retreat. Face cold, he waved his finger toward the expanding power of self-detonation.

"Demon Sealing, Fifth Hex!"

Inside Outside Hex!

Back when Naruto had acquired this Hex, his cultivation base had been too weak to fully unleash it. But now he had the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, and could use it in its strongest form.

A moment later, a huge rift appeared in front of him that looked like a gigantic mouth. It emanated an indescribably powerful gravitational force that sucked in the self-detonation power.

It happened with incredible speed. One moment, everyone could sense the power of the self-detonation, the next moment, it was gone.

Everyone stared in shock as they realized that there were now only two people near the copper coin: Naruto, and another middle-aged cultivator in a black robe.

The man was staring at Naruto, eyes wide with fear. He could never have imagined that so many people wouldn't even be able to slow Naruto down. Now there were only two of them vying for the coin.

Two hands reached out simultaneously to grab it!

The middle-aged man's eyes flickered as the aura of Karma suddenly emanated out from him. Instead of reaching out with his hand, countless Karma Threads shot out, swirling around him and then snaking toward the copper coin to entangle it.

"Ji Clan…." said Naruto, his eyes gleaming with killing intent. This middle-aged man had a cultivation base in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, but because of the bizarre nature of Ji Clan divine abilities, his power surpassed that of other people in the same Realm as him.

"That thing belongs to me!" the man cried out in a domineering voice. His Karma Threads latched onto the copper coin and jerked it toward him.

"Dog fart of a Ji Clan!" Naruto roared. Azure light exploded off of him. He didn't need to perform any incantation gestures; his magic responded to his very will. The azure light transformed into an illusory blade that instantly slashed toward the Ji Clan cultivator and his Karma Threads.

In the blink of an eye, the Karma Threads were sliced in two. Blood sprayed out of the man's mouth, and his body withered. At the same time, Naruto grabbed the copper coin.

Without even looking at it, he branded it with divine sense and then tossed it into his bag of holding. Then he spun, hovering in midair as he stared coldly at the Ji Clan cultivator.

The man's face flickered as he glared back at Naruto. Then he snorted and started to back up.

"Did I say you could leave?!" Naruto said, flashing in the man's direction and waving his right finger. The air distorted, and the sky dimmed as the area surrounding the man began to collapse.

The man's face flickered, and he bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood to unleash a secret magic, barely allowing him to escape the attack. Enraged, he cried out, "What do you think you're doing, Naruto!? You really dare to try to kill me?"

Down below, the other cultivators from the Ji Clan looked on with tranquil expressions. None of them seemed worried about what was happening at all, as if they were certain that Naruto wouldn't dare to kill a Ji Clan cultivator in front of so many witnesses.

Naruto's expression was very solemn as he said, "Today is my dad's coronation as Clan Chief, and yet some villains showed up and tried to sow chaos. Even though I've killed them already, I'm still convinced that they were acting on the orders of someone else! A conspiracy!

"If it weren't for that, how would a trifling Quasi-Dao cultivator ever dare come and do such shocking things in my house?" Even as he spoke, he began to advance toward the Ji Clan cultivator.

"I'm investigating this matter on behalf of the Namikaze Clan, which requires a thorough examination of this copper coin and its origins. And yet you… actually tried to stop me!?

"Not only that, you fought me over the item! Why might that be? Could

it be… that the Ji Clan is behind the conspiracy? Now that the Quasi-Dao cultivator is dead, you're worried that the Namikaze Clan might uncover the truth, and therefore wanted to get your hands on the evidence!

"Isn't that true?!" Naruto spoke quickly and without pause, and with increasing intensity so that by the end he was practically bellowing. His words became like an explosion of thunder, after which he closed in on the man and unleashed a punch.

The Ji Clan cultivator's face fell, and he fought back with all his power. However, blood sprayed out of his mouth as he fell back. At the same time, the Ji Clan cultivators down below rose to their feet and looked up coldly at Naruto.

"Naruto, cease this slander!" the man cried. "The Ji Clan had nothing to do with what happened. And even if we did, we wouldn't need to hide the truth!"

"Oh? Oh, I understand. It wasn't the Ji Clan; it was just you acting alone! So, you're the person behind it all!

"What gall, you traitor! You wish to provoke the Namikaze Clan and Ji Clan into a war! I'm going to kill you right here and now, as a warning to anyone who dares to try to incite strife between the Namikaze and Ji Clans!" Eyes flashing, Naruto shot forward. Faces falling, the other Ji Clan cultivators present were about to block him, but then Naruto extended his hand and unleashed the Fifth Demon Sealing Hex.

This time, it was not the Inside aspect, but the Outside aspect. A massive force exploded out, which was none other than the massively destructive self-detonation power from moments ago. Heaven and Earth distorted as the middle-aged cultivator was engulfed.

Before, the explosion's energies were directed outwards in all directions. But now, it was being focused completely on the Ji Clan cultivator by means of the Fifth Hex.

The man couldn't even fight back. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he was instantly killed in body and soul.

"Naruto!" cried the other Ji Clan cultivators, several of whom flew up into the air, but were intercepted by members of the Namikaze Clan.

"Fellow Daoists of the Ji Clan, there's no need to offer me thanks. I really had no choice but to help you. This man dared to incite violence between our two clans, and thus deserved to die!" Smiling, Naruto clasped hands and bowed to the members of the Ji Clan.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1194

Chapter 1194: Cutting Them Down!

Most of the members of the Ji Clan were old, but one appeared to be a young man of about thirty years of age. He wore ordinary clothing, nothing extravagant, and yet all the other Ji Clan cultivators seemed to be following his lead.

Without looking closely, that fact would never be obvious. In fact, he even stood towards the rear, making him seem like nothing other than an ordinary clan member.

However, while the other clan members were crying out in rage, he was doing nothing more than frowning. That in itself made him stand out to Naruto.

Naruto looked over at him with a slight smile, as if nothing were out of the ordinary. However, deep in his heart was icy coldness; the killing intent he felt towards the Ji Clan had long since become extremely intense.

If it weren't for the fact that he wasn't confident in the Namikaze Clan's ability to achieve complete victory against the Ji Clan, Naruto would have already begun to slaughter them. However, even though he was currently holding himself back, he would strike decisively whenever he had the opportunity to do so.

"Fellow Daoists of the Ji Clan, are you saying that I killed the wrong person?" he asked, sounding perplexed. "Why are you so angry? He was clearly trying to harm the relationship between our two clans!" The coldness in his heart grew more intense; if the Ji Clan attempted to argue with him, then he would simply use it as a reason to attack and kill someone else!

The Ji Clan cultivators glared back at him furiously, but in this case, there was no logical argument that could be used against the Namikaze Clan. If the circumstances were different, the Ji Clan might be able to disregard that, but on this day, during the coronation of the Namikaze Clan's Clan Chief, they had only two choices. One was to start a full-scale war with the Namikaze Clan, and the other… was simply to accept the situation.

After all, they truly had been trying to steal the copper coin!

The Ji Clan was domineering in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, a fact known by all the cultivators there. Therefore, many of their cultivators simply couldn't tolerate Naruto's words, and one of them was even about to open their mouth to fire back a rebuke. However, the frowning young man standing off to the side looked deeply at Naruto and then smiled.

"Many thanks for your reminder, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki. Earlier, I truly seem to have overlooked that that man had such ulterior motives." The young man's voice wasn't very loud, but it contained an inherent power and dignity. He swished his sleeve, and immediately, all of the Ji Clan backed down.

Everything that was happening immediately made the young man completely conspicuous among the other Ji Clan cultivators. Now, instead of seeming completely ordinary, he seemed the exact opposite.

All of the cultivators from the other sects and powers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were now staring at him and speculating about his identity.

"Could it be that he's this generation's mysterious, never-before-seen… Son of Ji? Ji Dongyang?"

Namikaze Xiufeng, Namikaze Shoudao and the others also looked thoughtfully at the young Ji Clan cultivator. Naruto hovered in midair, looking into the young man's eyes. Naruto's gaze burst with killing intent for a brief moment, after which the young man staggered backward, the blood draining from his face and his eyes widening.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, although a tremor ran through his body. After returning to Namikaze Xiufeng's side, he suddenly made a decision.

Ji Tian wants to kill my dad, so therefore… I'm going to kill this young man!

In that instant, the young man's heart trembled. From Naruto's eyes, it was possible to tell how incredibly strong he was, and the intense killing intent within the gaze had forced the young man backward.

Turning to his fellow clan members, he growled, "Let's go. We're leaving

Planet South Heaven!"

In response to his words, the other members of the Ji Clan began to unleash the power of their cultivation bases. As they clustered around the young man, one of their members, an older man, clasped hands toward Namikaze Xiufeng.

"Fellow Daoist Xiufeng, congratulations on becoming the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan. We have an urgent matter to attend to, so we'll take our leave now!" Without even waiting for a response from Namikaze Xiufeng, the man flew into the air, followed by the young cultivator and all the other members of the Ji Clan. All of them transformed into prismatic beams of light that shot up into the sky.

"Dad, Patriarch Shoudao, Patriarch Yanxu," Naruto said quietly, "I'm feeling a bit under the weather. Since nobody else will be offering any challenges, I'm going to go rest." Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu exchanged a hesitating glance. Considering their intelligence and cultivation bases, it wasn't difficult for them to guess what Naruto was planning to do.

Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu were hesitating, but Namikaze Xiufeng looked up and said, "Health comes first. Go ahead."

His eyes flickered with killing intent. He was not the type of person who was willing to let others get the best of him, and thanks to Naruto, he was now certain that his previous difficulties in stepping into the Dao had something to do with the Ji Clan.

Naruto was his son, and he knew him well enough to know that he wasn't an impulsive person. Therefore, Namikaze Xiufeng supported his decision, both as his father and as the Clan Chief.

Naruto nodded, then shot up into the air in a streak of light.

The coronation ceremony for the Clan Chief continued. After what had just happened, no one challenged Namikaze Xiufeng to fight. However, observant people noticed that up in the sky, a mass of dark clouds had appeared at some point.

Apparently, the weather was changing. Rain began to fall, and clouds roiled out to cover the whole sky. If you looked up, you would see that the entire sky had been obscured, almost as if a spell formation were sealing everything.

At the same time, the same dozen or so Ji Clan cultivators were flying through the layers of clouds. Lightning crashed and boomed around them as they flew upward.

"Young Lord, why are we rushing to leave? Even though they killed one of our Ji Clan's cultivators, they still need to try to maintain the moral high ground! There's no way they would dare to openly start attacking all of us, is there?! That Naruto must be killed sooner or later!"

A few of them began to make sneering comments. "That's right, if they dared to attack us in the open, our Patriarch's eye would certainly see it! He can see everything in the Ninth Mountain and Sea! Even if the Namikaze

Clan were more foolhardy than they already are, they still wouldn't dare to make a move on us!"

"That Naruto really does defy laws and principles, even of the Heavens," one of the older cultivators said, snorting coldly. "It's too bad there were so many other cultivators present, plus the Namikaze Clan backing him up. Otherwise, if he dared to act so audaciously, we would have just cut him down. He got lucky this time. Just wait until next time, when there aren't any members from other sects or clans around, we'll definitely exterminate him!"

"Would you shut the hell up!" the young cultivator said, looking around at the clouds. "Do you really think Naruto didn't consider all of that? You think that the other sects and powers made it so we couldn't attack him? You think Naruto got off lightly? Well from my perspective, those people actually saved us!

"Consider the matter dropped. Let's get out of Planet South Heaven.

Dammit… I can't believe Naruto can actually control the South Heaven Death Formation!" The other cultivators followed along quietly, although none of them agreed with his decision.

They were the Ji Clan, and after all these years, they had grown used to being above everyone else. No matter where they went in the Ninth

Mountain and Sea, all they had to do was reveal that they were from the Ji Clan, and everyone would instantly act very respectfully and even shake in fear. After all, the Ji Clan was the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

With a position and standing like that, they never really needed to spend much time thinking about anything in any situation. They always viewed themselves as the strongest party, like Emperors. As such, why would they need to spend time considering the common people?

The young cultivator looked at his companions and sighed inwardly with remorse. He was well aware that the members of the Ji Clan were too used to being in a superior position, and had lost their ability to sense danger.

It was at this moment that they emerged from the cloud layer, and found themselves at the very edges of the skies above Planet South Heaven, just a short distance away from the void of space. Suddenly, the young man saw something which caused his pupils to constrict.

"Naruto!"

He wasn't the only surprised one. The other Ji Clan cultivators' faces fell as they caught sight of Naruto, standing in the air above them, eyes shining coldly, lightning crackling and crashing around him.

Voice cool, he said, "Now that nobody's around to stop me… I'm going to cut down some Ji Clan cultivators!"

Lightning crashed and danced in all directions.

Naruto extended his hand and pushed it down toward South Heaven. Rumbling sounds echoed out as, all of a sudden, a huge illusory net appeared around him, which was none other than the South Heaven Death Formation.

The Death Formation net rapidly transformed into a huge hand, which radiated boundless killing intent, causing colors to flash and thunder to boom.

The young Ji Clan cultivator's face flickered, and he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture. He roared as innumerable shocking Karma Threads appeared around him, transforming into innumerable magical items that shone with dazzling light and shot toward the hand. Simultaneously, killing intent began to roil off of all the other Ji Clan cultivators, and the dozen or so of them joined together in unleashing their entire cultivation bases to defend against the hand.

When the magical techniques and divine abilities, as well as the magical items, slammed into the huge hand formed by the spell formation, they were completely powerless. They shattered into nothing, crushed like dried weeds by the spell formation hand. Rumbling echoed out as the hand then slammed into the Ji Clan cultivators.

Almost instantly, three of their number screamed and exploded into pieces, transforming into a rain of blood that fell down through the clouds.

"Naruto, how dare you kill Ji Clan cultivators! Our Patriarch is going to slaughter you!" In the following instant, another three Ji Clan cultivators were killed. Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and they exploded.

The cries they let out before dying never went beyond the clouds, nor did they echo out into space. Down below, the only thing people could hear was thunder.

"Ji Tian doesn't dare to come to Planet South Heaven!" Naruto said coolly. He waved his right hand, causing boundless lightning to crackle within the clouds. There was so much lightning that it seemed as if the entire world were composed of nothing else, except for a few miserable screams interspersed between the booming thunder.

The hand materialized by the South Heaven Death Formation was like Heavenly Tribulation from Planet South Heaven, something that could extinguish all life!

And Naruto could control the South Heaven Death Formation. That mean that on Planet South Heaven he… was exactly as powerful as Emperor Tang! Unsurpassable!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1195

Chapter 1195: Eighth Life!

"Patriarch, save me!" One of the old Ji Clan cultivators screamed as he went all-out trying to fight against the spell formation hand. However, all his magical techniques fell to pieces, and he was torn to shreds, causing blood to rain down into the clouds below.

The illusory hand burst with the power of extermination. Lightning crashed and exploded, becoming the only sound in Heaven and Earth.

A middle-aged Ji Clan cultivator, eyes bloodshot, performed an incantation gesture that caused numerous magical items to fly out of his bag of holding. However, the hand shattered them all. Blood sprayed from the man's mouth, splattering back onto his face. He screamed as he was destroyed, completely shredded into nothing.

Two more Ji Clan cultivators performed incantation gestures, summoning magical techniques and Karma Threads. In the blink of an eye, their

Karma was destroyed, and then the hand completely wiped them out.

"Patriarch, save us!" Miserable screams echoed out, filled with astonishment and dread. Unfortunately for them, the screams were completely drowned out by the lightning.

Everything happened very quickly. Although it takes some time to describe, Naruto's single explosive attack with the South Heaven Death Formation… instantly killed almost all of the dozen or so Ji Clan cultivators.

A moment later, only two were left. One was the young man, and the other was the Elder who had been in the leadership position of this group that had come to Planet South Heaven. They immediately fell back, avoiding death for the moment. However, the hand continued to rumble toward them with unbelievable speed.

"Naruto," the old man roared, "is your Namikaze Clan trying to start a war with the Ji Clan!?" He waved his hand, causing cultivation base power to erupt into a windstorm that rumbled so loudly it vied with the thunder.

Naruto's face was icy cold as he shoved his hand down. More rumbling could be heard as the spell formation's hand crushed down through the clouds toward the two remaining cultivators.

Blood sprayed out of the old man's mouth, and a look of despair covered his face as he began to collapse. In the moment before he shattered, the young man flickered into place behind him and pushed down onto his back.

"Since you're going to die… you might as well help me!" the young man murmured.

RUMBLE!

The enormous hand continued to surge through the clouds, causing them to seethe and churn. By now, the sound had reached the ears of the cultivators down below, who heard a shocking rumbling.

They could also see the clouds shaking. Massive amounts of lightning crackled about as if they had been squeezed out of the sponge-like clouds, falling from the clouds like silver dragons.

Given that even the lightning had been forcibly expelled, huge beansized drops of rain also began to pour down onto the lands beneath.

However, what no one noticed was that some of that rain was the color of blood. That was because… it wasn't rain at all, but blood, the blood of the Ji Clan! However, there was no life within that blood, and the amount was miniscule, as if the vast majority of it had been swallowed up by the clouds themselves.

What nobody down below could see was that, somewhere within the dark clouds, a blood-colored figure sat cross-legged in meditation, surrounded by a cloud of the blood that had disappeared, which it was constantly consuming.

If you looked closely, that blood-colored figure was emanating the Karmic aura of the Ji Clan, as well as a faint, murderous aura.

This was Naruto's Blood Clone!

It had been years since Naruto's cultivation base had grown so powerful that the Blood Clone was essentially useless, and had remained tucked away in his bag of holding. He had even given up on the idea of turning it into a Blood Divinity. 1

Then Ji Tian had gone and tried to kill his father, which stoked Naruto's killing intent and rage to the point where he decided to collect more generations of Ji Clan blood and continue his plan to build his Blood Divinity, which would have the power of Ancestral Awakening.

Thus, less blood fell down among the rain than would be expected, and what fell was in fact diluted to the point that no one could see it. In fact, only a single drop landed on the face of one of the cultivators down below, who looked up in shock after wiping it away.

Back up in the clouds and lightning, Naruto extended his right hand, causing the spell formation's hand to gradually disperse, leaving behind a huge handprint within the clouds.

One palm had killed the Ji Clan cultivators as if they were ants!

Although that power did not come from Naruto himself, at this moment he felt a sort of mightiness that could only come after one possessed the power to control Heaven and Earth, the kind of domineering feeling that came from being matchless in all of creation.

As the hand faded away, two people became visible within the handprint that was left behind. It was none other than the two people who hadn't been killed!

Of course, it would be most correct to say that it was one person, not two!

The old man's aura was no longer present. A huge hole was now visible in his back, and it was possible to see that no organs existed inside of his body. He was an empty husk, inside of which the young man was concealed!

Clearly, he hadn't simply hidden inside the man, but used some sort of sinister secret magic to avoid being killed by the enormous net.

Cracking sounds could be heard as the husk of the old man fell into pieces. The young man staggered back, coughing up blood. At the same time, countless Karma Threads exploded out of him, filling the area and transforming into what looked like a teleportation spell formation.

The blood spraying from his mouth fell down through the clouds to be sucked towards and voraciously consumed by the Blood Clone which was hidden there.

Of course, the young man had no idea about the Blood Clone. Even as his body began to fade, Naruto gave a cold harrumph.

"You're not going anywhere!" he said, advancing, hand clenching into a fist. He punched out, causing the air to distort. However, as he closed in on the young man, Naruto suddenly felt a sense of crisis, and it was in that moment that the young man smiled eerily.

"You… finally got close," he murmured. Instead of dodging out of the way of Naruto's fist, he actually charged directly forward to meet it. Rumbling could be heard as the young man's body was shattered, causing blood and gore to spray out in all directions. However, his laughter continued to echo out in the air.

"Naruto, our Karma has been tied. Next time we meet… what's yours will be mine. Remember our shared name. We are called… Ji Dongyang!" Wild laughter echoed out as the young man's body faded away.

Naruto hovered there, frowning. Finally, he looked down thoughtfully at his fist and sighed.

"I wanted to kill him, but apparently, that was part of his plan….

"What a clever fellow, this Ji Dongyang. All of the Ji Clan cultivators he brought with him were being used as a smokescreen.

"And the entire reason why he dared to come to Planet South Heaven was to use a Ji Clan secret magic to bind me with Karma, and in turn unleash some sort of mysterious Daoist magic.

"I was luring him into a trap, and he was doing the same to me…. He didn't want to be killed by the South Heaven Death Formation, he wanted to be killed by me personally…." Even as he hovered there thinking, the Blood Clone which had been hiding in the clouds below slowly floated up. It was now very different than before, more powerful, and emanating a powerful aura of Ji Clan Karma.

In fact, it even seemed to be poised on the verge of a breakthrough. With a little more progress, it would finally break through and take a step closer to being a Blood Divinity capable of Ancestral Awakening.

"If the Ancestral Awakening occurs, I wonder if… whatever appears will be as powerful as Ji Tian himself!?"

Eyes flickering, he ceased worrying about the matter of Ji Dongyang. All he could do now was be on guard against this new powerful adversary!

After putting his Blood Clone into his bag of holding, he shot back down through the clouds.

Meanwhile, in the Ji Clan on the Ninth Mountain, there was a restricted area that was a graveyard. Nine coffins were lined up there, all of them bronze and carved with complicated magical symbols.

Seven of those coffins had no lids, and were empty. Only the eighth and ninth coffins were closed tightly.

Suddenly, powerful rumbling like that of thunder could be heard, and the lid of the eighth coffin opened with a bang. A powerful aura immediately surged out from within.

A hand stretched up from inside the eighth coffin. At first, it was trembling, but then it grew steady and grabbed the side of the coffin. A person slowly sat up, then stood. His body was shriveled, like a corpse, so desiccated that it was difficult to make out his facial features.

A mark could be seen on his forehead, and despite the withered nature of his body, that mark was clearly visible. Unexpectedly, it was… an Echelon mark!

Shockingly, this man… was an Echelon cultivator!

He took a breath, sucking in all the energy of Heaven and Earth in the area. As he did, his body rapidly regenerated. His blood and flesh wriggled, and life flooded back into him as he rapidly transformed back into a young man!

His facial features slowly filled back in, and in the end… a face appeared which no one had ever seen before!

"I still… prefer the appearance of my seventh life," he said in a raspy voice. "He was my favorite among the Junior generation." Then the face rapidly changed, transforming into… Ji Dongyang!

"The Karma has been bound, and my eighth life body has been awakened. I've also secured the host for my ninth life. Naruto….. Once we share the same body… then you will be my ninth life!" Ji Dongyang began to laugh, a strange and sinister laughter filled with an ancient air.

He looked up, and shockingly, a huge eye appeared up above him, within which sat an old man. The two of them looked at each other.

The most eerie thing was that if there were a third person present to observe the scene, they would find that the look in the old man's eyes, and the look in Ji Dongyang's eyes… Were exactly the same!

I didn't have time to link to all the previous relevant chapters with the Blood Clone. If I recall correctly, the last time it appeared was in the battle for the Southern Domain. I did pull up a chapter where the Blood

Divinity was mentioned, chapter 265 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1196

Chapter 1196: Taking Away the Terracotta Soldier!

The rest of the coronation of the Clan Chief came to a conclusion without a hitch. All sects and powers in the Ninth Mountain and Sea would henceforth treat Namikaze Xiufeng with incredible politeness. After all, Namikaze Xiufeng now represented the entire Namikaze Clan!

Large numbers of Namikaze Clan cultivators were stationed on Planet South Heaven, and permanent teleportation portals were set up, linking it directly to Planet East Victory.

This also meant that it was no longer just Namikaze Xiufeng who stood guard over Planet South Heaven. It became the responsibility of the whole Namikaze Clan, including Namikaze Shoudao and Namikaze Yanxu, and no one shirked their duty.

Protect the Mountain and Sea Realm! That… was the oath of the Allheaven Clans!

Three days after the ceremony was over, Naruto bid farewell to his parents and left Planet South Heaven. He wasn't sure when he would be back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, so he decided that he should go see some of his old friends before leaving. Some he would visit to reminisce. Others he would visit to collect money!

His first stop would be Planet East Victory!

He made use of the teleportation portal on Planet South Heaven to travel directly there. On his way to the ancestral mansion, he stopped by the Dao of Alchemy Division to pay respects to Pill Elder and visit some old friends. Then, he and Namikaze Shoudao opened up the clan's Ancestral Land!

He stood there looking at the enormous vortex, and the familiar Ancestral Land therein. His heart trembled as he saw the terracotta soldier in the form of a mountain, and couldn't help but think of Ke Yunhai.

"Dad…." he murmured. He stepped forward into the vortex and appeared in front of the terracotta soldier. It was currently sleeping, but as soon as he appeared, its aura awakened, and it slowly opened its eyes. Rumbling echoed out as it rose to its feet, and the power of a Quasi-Dao cultivation base erupted out.

It had been waiting this entire time for Naruto to come and take it away!

The day had finally come!

"I'm going to take you away," Naruto said. "You're going to be with me… for all eternity." He slowly lifted his hand and patted the terracotta soldier as its aura caused memories of Stepdad Ke to swirl in his head.

"There's another terracotta soldier out there somewhere, and I'm going to get that one back too." He took a deep breath and then waved his hand. The terracotta soldier instantly transformed into a beam of light that flew into the piece of the Ruins of Immortality that he'd acquired from Paragon Sea Dream!

The terracotta soldier had long since become connected inseparably with the Ruins of Immortality, although not the land itself, but its energy. The entire reason it was unable to leave the Namikaze Clan Ancestral Land was because without that energy, it would die.

That was the main reason that Naruto requested a piece of the Ruins of Immortality from Paragon Sea Dream. It was all… for the terracotta soldier. As the terracotta soldier entered his own piece of the Ruins of Immortality, Naruto's heart began to beat nervously. After all, his whole plan was based on speculation. However, after seeing that the terracotta soldier showed no signs of being unable to adapt, he breathed a sigh of relief.

"From now on we'll… travel together through the Mountain and Sea Realm!" Next, his eyes began to glow as he looked in the direction of the necropolis far off in the distance and bowed. Just as he was about to leave, the ancient voice of the first generation Patriarch echoed out into his mind.

"The legacy of Lord Li was once on Planet South Heaven. Later it came to Planet East Victory. And now… it's in the Eighth Mountain and Sea." As the voice echoed out, a jade slip flew out of the necropolis to appear in front of Naruto. He reached out and took it.

"This jade slip shows the current location of the legacy of Lord Li. With this, you should be able to track it down!

"The legacy was originally intended for someone in the Dao Realm. However, considering your current cultivation base, you can still… find and acquire the legacy. It… will be of great help to you." The longer the first generation Patriarch spoke, the weaker his voice got.

Naruto sent some divine sense into the jade slip, and could immediately sense something calling to him through the starry sky. It was faint, but he was now sure that if he went looking, he would be able to find the source of that call.

What he found strange was that the location of Lord Li's legacy was not fixed within the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Instead, it seemed to be moving.

"Planet South Heaven. Planet East Victory. The Eighth Mountain…." Naruto's eyes widened as he made a sudden, wild speculation. "No way…." he murmured.

Meanwhile, in the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, a gargantuan turtle was flying along happily, humming a little tune, surrounded by hundreds of tough-looking cultivators who were apparently guards.

As they flew along with the turtle, they cried out in loud voices:

"The Patriarch is mighty, Reliance is mighty!"

"The Patriarch is invincible, Reliance is invincible!"

Their voices echoed out in powerful sound waves, spreading out in all directions. Any cultivators who encountered them were immediately shocked.

Of course, this turtle was none other than Patriarch Reliance, who was now as free as a bird, smacking his lips proudly, looking very much at ease.

"The Eighth Mountain is way better than the Ninth Mountain. No matter where I look, there's no Naruto. Without him, everything is wonderful." Patriarch Reliance sighed emotionally as he realized that making the decision to flee from the Ninth Mountain and Sea couldn't have been more right.

"That little bastard Naruto wouldn't imagine in his wildest dreams that I'll never again be fooling around with him in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Finally I can be footloose and fancy free in the Eighth Mountain and Sea." Patriarch Reliance was very proud of himself, and loved how the cultivators clustered around him and called him mighty. However, it was at this point that he suddenly shivered out of nowhere.

"Eee? What's going on? Why do I feel so jittery all of a sudden?" A strange look appeared on Patriarch Reliance's face for a moment, but he thought little more of it and continued on his merry way.

Back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Naruto put the jade slip away with a wry expression on his face. Clasping hands to the first generation Patriarch, he then left the Ancestral Land and headed toward the teleportation portal with those speculations running through his mind.

Halfway there, he suddenly turned to find a black-robed cultivator sitting cross-legged on a nearby mountain peak.

Before, this cultivator would wear white, but later, he had become the shadow of the clan, and from then on, wore clothing as black as the night, to indicate how he would eternally exist in the darkness.

It was Namikaze Wei!

This location was a place that had to be passed by to get to the teleportation portal, and he had been waiting here specifically for Naruto.

Their gazes met, and neither said anything at first. A moment passed, and then Naruto smiled.

"What is the meaning of your name, Namikaze Wei?"

A tremor ran through Namikaze Wei. Naruto's question brought back many memories. A bright glow appeared in his eyes. Voice low and filled with determination, he replied, "That I'm going to defend the Namikaze Clan!" 1

Naruto waved his finger, which caused Namikaze Wei to shake one more time. Suddenly, an intense azure light began to shine off of him.

This was the light of an Allheaven Immortal. The Dao seed inside of him was now mostly awakened, causing his cultivation base to burn with the power of an imminent breakthrough.

Naruto's face paled a bit. Smiling, he flew past Namikaze Wei toward the teleportation portal.

A complicated expression appeared on Namikaze Wei's face as he sensed his surging cultivation base and the Allheaven Immortal energy inside of himself. As Naruto made his way off, just before he disappeared, Namikaze Wei called out, "Naruto, I'll wait for you to get back, and then the two of us are going to fight!"

"Very well!" was the echoing reply. Then Naruto disappeared into the teleportation portal in a flash of light.

"Therefore," Namikaze Wei murmured. "No matter what dangerous situations you run into, make sure to get back safely!" He rose to his feet and headed back in the direction of the Medicine Immortal Sect, eyes gleaming with an unswerving determination to sacrifice anything and everything for the sake of his clan.

Naruto stepped out of a shimmering teleportation portal onto an asteroid field somewhere in the starry sky of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Slapping his bag of holding, he produced a thick stack of promissory notes.

"So, who should I go collect money from first? Ah, I guess it doesn't matter. I have so many promissory notes I guess I might as well just randomly pick one!" Having made up his mind, he pulled a random note out and looked it over.

"Taiyang Zi?" he said, smiling. "Not bad, not bad. He owes me quite a few spirit stones." Face filled with anticipation, he clutched the promissory note in his hand as he shot toward the teleportation portal leading to Mount Sun. As soon as the disciples manning the teleportation portal saw that it was Naruto, their faces flickered.

Ignoring them, Naruto stepped into the teleportation portal and was surrounded by the glowing light of teleportation.

When he reappeared, he found himself in front of a world of scorching heat. It was like a desert, and there was no starry sky up above; this was its own unique, special world.

The sky was dark, and the lands were parched. Countless mountains could be seen stretching out in all directions, all of which were spontaneously erupting volcanoes. In fact, in the moment that Naruto arrived, he saw a dozen or so of them belching out black smoke, and shooting out bright glowing arcs of light that looked almost like meteors.

This was Mount Sun. According to the legends, it was a fragment of lands shattered by the impact of the Immortal World's sun when it fell from the heavens. Because it was so large, vast amounts of sun power could be found there, which was also why there were so many powerfully destructive volcanoes!

That was also why it became a unique location to practice cultivation. Gradually, it came to be called Mount Sun, and after many years, became one of the Five Great Holy Lands of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Different teleportation portals could be used to get into and out of Mount Sun, and all of them were manned by Mount Sun disciples. Once Naruto appeared, they immediately recognized him.

"That's Naruto!" There were over a hundred disciples in the area of the teleportation portal, and all of them looked at Naruto with flickering expressions. Although they weren't sure why he was here, they immediately pushed down on jade slips to send messages to their superiors.

Naruto coughed dryly and glanced around at the Mount Sun disciples, who were acting as though some powerful enemy had just shown up at their doorstep. Feeling a bit embarrassed, he gave them a bashful smile, then cleared his voice and called out, "Taiyang Zi! You owe me money! Time to pay up!"

His voice echoed out like thunder, causing wild colors to flash in Heaven and Earth, and a massive wind to spring up. Boundless ripples emanated out and surged through the world.

Some of the volcanoes in the area quaked and then erupted, and the sky darkened as the Heavens shook. Everyone in the entire world could hear Naruto's words.

The Mount Sun disciples stared with wide-open jaws. Mount Sun was immediately thrown into a huge uproar as countless disciples were flabbergasted by Naruto's voice.

In case you forgot, the story of how Namikaze Wei got his name, and what it means, was in chapter 998 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1197

Chapter 1197: Stopping By To Demand Payment!

"Taiyang Zi! You owe me money! Time to pay up!"

"… You owe me money! Time to pay up!"

"… Time to pay up!"

The world in which Mount Sun existed seemed to be filled with countless Narutos, all of them shouting out at the same time. The mountains shook and the lands quaked. Countless cultivators were completely shocked.

Most surprising of all were the actual words he spoke….

Almost immediately, hundreds of furious cultivators flew out from one particular mountain deep within the world of Mount Sun.

"Collecting debt?"

"Who dares to cause a ruckus in Mount Sun!?"

"Such audaciousness!"

All of the disciples headed in Naruto's direction. However, before they were even halfway to his location, one cultivator after another recognized who he was, and their faces fell.

"Naruto…. Dammit, I can't believe it's him! Greedy, miserly Naruto!"

"Naruto was able to cut down Guru Heavencloud in battle, and also has a despicable Daoist magic that gets people to owe him money. It would be better to die than provoke him!"

"Ahem, well if it isn't my bro Naruto. Ah, misunderstanding, misunderstanding…." Without the slightest hesitation, the group instantly turned on their heels and left.

They recognized him and knew what kind of person he was. He was such a terrifying figure that none of them were willing to stand up for Taiyang Zi.

Actually, not even Naruto himself was aware of how famous he had become in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Virtually all of the cultivators knew him and did their best to avoid him. It was common knowledge that anyone who tangled with him… would end up completely destitute.

Naruto's cries continued to echo back and forth in the Holy Land of Mount Sun. Soon, in some of the most ancient volcanoes of Mount Sun, cultivators with the status of Elders, and even Patriarchs, opened their eyes to reveal cold, displeased gazes. These people had extremely high statuses, and had lived for many years. As such, they held no approval for a youngster like Naruto.

Meanwhile…. At the bottom of an enormous volcano deep within Mount Sun, a young man sat cross-legged in meditation. He was naked from the waist up, and every inch of his skin glowed bright red. Clearly it contained terrifying power. Bulging blue veins snaked across his skin like dragons, and it seemed like there was some sort of explosive force building up inside him.

On the young man's forehead, a mark could be seen that resembled a sun.

This was none other than… Taiyang Zi!

He was just one of the many Chosen that had emerged in the long history of the Holy Land of Mount Sun. Yet his latent talent was stunning, even more so than all the cultivators who had inherited the name Taiyang Zi before him. In terms of cultivation, he had long since broken through the traditional limitations for cultivators. He was now at the peak of the Immortal Realm, but in truth, he could easily battle the mid Ancient Realm!

Immortals like that were definitely rare in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

As Taiyang Zi sat there cross-legged doing breathing exercises, Naruto's voice echoed about like thunder, reaching the depths of the world of Mount Sun. The volcanoes all trembled, erupting with lava and belching out smoke. The sky of Mount Sun quickly turned black.

Taiyang Zi's eyes snapped open as his volcano had a similar reaction.

"Naruto!" He gritted his teeth in fury. He would never have imagined that Naruto would actually come to Mount Sun and say something like he just had.

To show up in Taiyang Zi's home and openly demand money left him with no face whatsoever. This was especially the case considering that he didn't believe that he actually owed Naruto anything. The whole situation had been forced on him. Of course, he couldn't beat Naruto in a fight, so he was forced to simply endure the situation. But now, shockingly, Naruto had actually come to Mount Sun to settle up.

Taiyang Zi threw his head back and roared. His cultivation base surged with power, and he flew out of the volcano up into the sky, roaring out in an equally thunderous voice, "Naruto, you push people too far!"

From his position just outside the teleportation portal, Naruto could hear Taiyang Zi, and his face lit up with delight. What he feared the most was going to collect debts, only to find the person not at home. Now that he knew Taiyang Zi was home, he realized that he was in luck.

Laughing heartily, he took a step forward and transformed into a bright beam of light that shot dazzlingly through the air toward Taiyang Zi.

However, even as he closed in, a cold snort echoed out from a nearby volcano, and an enormous hand appeared, which grabbed toward Naruto.

"Cease this outburst, child! Get down here!" The sound of the snort echoed about, and the enormous hand blotted out the sky as it crushed down toward Naruto. The hand even seemed to influence the natural laws in the area, causing everything to twist and distort.

Naruto's eyes flickered coldly. Instead of falling back, he slammed directly into the hand, causing massive rumbling sounds to echo out. The hand collapsed, and Naruto remained hovering in midair, completely unharmed.

"Me get down there? How about you come up here!" He extended his right hand and made a grasping motion toward the volcano down below.

The land quaked and the volcano rumbled as a bedraggled figure was wrenched up into the air. It was an old man in the great circle of the

Ancient Realm, who looked completely flustered as he glared at Naruto. More cold harrumphs could be heard from the surrounding volcanos as four more old men appeared, all of them in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. Their energy surged, creating a spectacular scene as they flew out to suppress Naruto.

"Ganging up on me?" Naruto said coolly, waving his right hand, which caused the terracotta soldier to emerge from his bag of holding. It instantly grew to a huge size, sweeping its greatsword through the air, destroying a volcano before stabbing into the ground, which then quaked violently.

When the Ancient Realm Mount Sun Elders felt how powerful the attack of the terracotta soldier was, their faces fell and they instantly backed up. Even still, blood sprayed out of their mouths, and shocked expressions appeared on their faces.

"Quasi-Dao!"

"That's the guardian of the Namikaze Clan's Ancestral Land! It joined the battle when the Ji Clan invaded Planet East Victory!"

As they backed up, the terracotta soldier looked around, and its energy soared. Rumbling filled the air, and a huge wind sprang up that filled all of Mount Sun with the Quasi-Dao aura of the terracotta soldier.

That aura caused all Mount Sun disciples' faces to fall, and their bodies to tremble. The mad aura of a Quasi-Dao cultivation base was something they simply couldn't fight against.

Any Quasi-Dao expert was to be feared. However, what was most terrifying was that even though the terracotta soldier could explode out with Quasi-Dao power… it had no longevity limitations.

Taiyang Zi gasped, and his heart began to thump. He looked at Naruto, then at the enormous terracotta soldier, and then he sighed.

Finally, he began to back up, and yet, he wasn't as fast as Naruto.

Naruto advanced, reaching out to grab ahold of Taiyang Zi.

"Taiyang Zi, you're going to pay me what you owe, today!"

"You're shameless, Naruto! I never owed you any money!" Roaring in fury, Taiyang Zi performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a divine ability to materialize and shoot toward Naruto.

"I have proof! Your promissory note is right here! How dare you deny the truth!" Enraged, Naruto punched out, sending Taiyang Zi flying back with blood spraying out of his mouth. Naruto was just about to follow up with another attack when the voice of an arrogant old man echoed out across the lands.

"Even if your father came here, he would treat me with respect and call me Senior. For you to come to Mount Sun and babble such nonsense might not be a capital offense, but you won't escape severe punishment.

"I suppose I'll just stand in for your father to administer some discipline.

If we don't correct that personality of yours, sooner or later you're going to get yourself killed." As the voice rang out, an ancient and primeval volcano off in the distance erupted, and countless flickering magical symbols spewed out. A middle-aged man flew out, standing on a stream of smoking lava and a cloud of ash.

When he emerged, the sky churned, and the air around him became a sea of flames which emanated an Essence aura.

This man was none other than one of the three Dao Realm experts of Mount Sun!

As far as he was concerned, it didn't matter why Naruto was here, he should politely offer his respects and say some pleasantries. If that had been the case, Mount Sun wouldn't necessarily refuse to hand over some spirit stones to resolve the issue with Taiyang Zi.

However, for Naruto to show up and act so tough was simply intolerable. In his mind, even if Naruto were stronger than he was, he couldn't do anything to cultivators in the Dao Realm. Even the things which had happened on Planet South Heaven recently were only because of the South Heaven Death Formation.

After he finished speaking, the middle-aged man waved his finger in Naruto's direction.

"I call upon my Dao to unleash the magic of the Heavens. Bind this child's body and burn him in the flames!" In accompaniment with the man's coolly spoken words, the sea of flames behind him surged explosively toward Naruto, transforming into an enormous mouth that sought to consume him.

"Well aren't you something, Mount Sun. I came to settle accounts, which is a right and proper thing to do. But in the end, the kids refuse to admit they owe money, and the adults refuse to discuss the matter reasonably?" Enraged, Naruto waved his hand, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to explode out in another sea of flames. This sea of flames also filled half of the sky, and shot menacingly toward the Dao Realm Patriarch.

Rumbling booms echoed out as the two seas of flame collided and then dissipated.

Naruto grunted, but then took a step forward, causing his energy to rise as he charged toward the Dao Realm Patriarch. The man's face was pale, and his eyes were wide; Naruto's power left him… completely astonished.

When the Mount Sun disciples saw what was happening, they gasped. Even Taiyang Zi's eyes were wide, and his mind was spinning. This was their first time truly witnessing how powerful Naruto's cultivation base was.

"Taiyang Zi… are you gonna pay back what you owe, or not!?" Naruto took a second step, and his energy rose, causing him to emanate what felt like the might of the Heavens throughout the world of Mount Sun.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1198

Chapter 1198: Repay Your Kindness!

"Enough with the ruckus!" The Dao Realm Patriarch's eyes glinted with coldness. Although he was shocked by Naruto's battle prowess, he still couldn't believe that he himself was no match for him. Although he wasn't of a mind to kill Naruto, he fully intended to teach him a lesson. Even as the words left his mouth, he took a step forward.

As his foot descended, he stretched his arms wide, causing a tempest to spring up. All of the volcanoes in Mount Sun trembled, and the black smoke in the sky seethed and churned as they gathered towards him. Even the lava that covered the surface of the ground began to rise up into the air and converge together.

In the blink of an eye, a huge sealing mark formed!

It was bright red, and filled with Dao Realm Essence power that was strong enough to shatter Heaven and destroy Earth. Fully 300 meters wide, it floated there in front of the Dao Realm Patriarch, who then waved his hand, sending the sealing mark directly toward Naruto.

"I'll put you in your place and then call some adults from your clan to come take you away!" he said coolly. The huge sealing mark rumbled through the air, bursting with Essence power.

"A piddling 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivator like you dares to to try and put me in my place!?" Naruto responded calmly. He truly qualified to say such a thing; if he unleashed his Battle Weapon, it would certainly be possible for him to cut this man down.

But he was here to collect debt. Although this Dao Realm Patriarch was blocking his path, after some thought, Naruto realized that he should act in good faith, and help Mount Sun consider the gains and losses that could be had.

"I might not have a sealing mark, but I have… this!" Eying the incoming sealing mark, he extended his right hand out into the air, making a snatching motion. Heaven and Earth trembled, and the air in front of him collapsed as a land mass shot out from his palm.

The piece of land started out very small, but in the next moment, it grew to the enormous size of 30,000 meters, blotting out the sky and casting everything into deep shadow.

A boundlessly archaic aura emanated out from the land mass, as if it had existed for countless years of time. That land mass had apparently existed for innumerable eons, and even seemed to contain the will of a Paragon!

It wasn't the specific will of an individual Paragon, though. It was… the supreme will of the land mass itself!

This 30,000-meter stretch of land was none other than… a piece of the

Ruins of Immortality, enormously heavy, and now being wielded by Naruto as if it were a magical item. Immediately, he sent it smashing down toward the sealing mark down below.

Apparently, there was nothing in Heaven and Earth, nothing in the Mountain and Sea Realm, no precious treasures that could remain unshaken by this land mass, and even if there were, the sealing mark was not one of them!

The Dao Realm Patriarch's face fell as he saw the chunk of the Ruins of

Immortality descending. "That's… part of the Ruins of Immortality! This is impossible! You…. you actually have part of the Ruins of Immortality!"

It was a spectacular scene in which everything trembled violently. When the land mass smashed into the sealing mark, the mark trembled. Incapable of standing up to the attack, it collapsed, and the chunk of the Ruins of Immortality continued to rip through the air and then slammed down toward the ground.

If it crashed into the ground, a large portion of the land would surely collapse. The ensuing earthquake would also cause all of the volcanoes in Mount Sun to erupt.

Everything that was happening caused the Dao Realm Patriarch to gasp. How could he ever have predicted that Naruto would have a piece of the Ruins of Immortality? This fact only added to his astonishment; his heart had long since begun to pound wildly with shock.

It was at this point that an ancient voice rang out from a distant volcano, filled with surprise. "So, you actually have a piece of the Ruins of Immortality!"

In the blink of an eye, an old man had appeared beneath the Ruins of Immortality. After reaching his hand up and pushing against the descending land mass, he was shoved down several hundred meters before coming to a stop.

He was able to resist the Ruins of Immortality with his power alone!

The old man's explosive aura contained swirling Essence power, not that of a single Essence, but rather, three!

Shockingly, this old man was… a 3-Essences Dao Lord!

After successfully collecting the power of three different Essences, one was referred to as a Dao Lord!

The old man's energy soared, and rumbling echoed out from his hand as he floated up, pushing the Ruins of Immortality back up into the air "Naruto, young friend, please put this thing away," the old man said, his eyes gleaming with somberness.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. If there was no one in Mount Sun who could catch his chunk of the Ruins of Immortality, then they didn't qualify to be one of the Five Great Holy Lands.

Even still, Naruto was convinced that if his piece of the Ruins of Immortality were larger, then even Dao Lords would be incapable of shouldering it!

He waved his hand, and the land mass flew back into his bag of holding. Naruto looked at the old man and said, "I came here today to collect some debts, not to duel with magic."

The middle-aged Dao Realm Patriarch was apparently on the verge of saying something, but the old man silenced him with a look. The middleaged man nodded, and the old man suddenly said, "Taiyang Zi!"

His voice echoed out like thunder, causing Taiyang Zi to hurry forth and kowtow.

"Greetings, Patriarch!" he said, head bowed. Inwardly, he was completely shaken to a Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling degree. Although he knew that Naruto was powerful, he could never have imagined that he was strong enough to face off against Mount Sun's Patriarchs.

In fact, it was even appropriate to say that Naruto was now capable of shaking the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea. With a cultivation base like that, now that he had come to settle accounts… there was nothing Taiyang Zi could do other than smile bitterly. He wasn't sure whether to feel honored, or to sigh.

"How much money do you owe our young friend Naruto?" the old man growled.

"I…." Taiyang Zi opened his mouth, but couldn't find any words. Deep depression filled his heart, and actually, he couldn't recall exactly how much he owed. After all, he had never admitted to actually owing Naruto anything.

When Naruto saw what was happening, he coughed dryly and patted his bag of holding. Immediately, a stack of promissory notes appeared, which he began to shuffle through.

"Oh, not much, not much," he said, kindly deciding to remind Taiyang Zi of the amount. "Let's see, the trifling sum of 1,000,000 Immortal jades, that's all."

"It wasn't that much!" Taiyang Zi blurted, trembling as he turned to look at Naruto. Even though Naruto's cultivation base was so much higher than his, this was too much for him to bear.

"There's interest on that too," Naruto said, clearing his throat seriously. "Alright, never mind, just give me the original amount, 1,000,000 Immortal jades, and we'll call things even."

Taiyang Zi wanted to cry, but no tears would come. "You–"

He was about to continue speaking when the old man waved his hand, causing a bag of holding to fly out to Naruto.

Naruto caught it and scanned it with divine sense. Inside were 1,000,000 pieces of Immortal jade, neatly arranged.

Naruto immediately looked delighted. Putting the bag of holding away as quickly as possible, he clasped hands respectfully to the old man.

"Many thanks for presiding over justice, Senior. Well then… unless you have other business to discuss, I'll take off now. I still have quite a few other places to go collect debts. Waiting for too long will give them too much opportunity to prepare, and make the accounts too difficult to settle." With that, he turned into a beam of light that shot back toward the teleportation portal, then vanished.

Everyone in Mount Sun was completely silent, and many strange expressions could be seen. When Naruto vanished, there were many hearts that still blazed with rage at the utter humiliation which had just occurred.

The middle-aged Dao Realm cultivator was one of those people, and stared coldly at Naruto the entire time until he disappeared. Finally, he turned to face the old man.

"Elder Brother, why did you let that little bastard off the hook? Once word spreads, how will Mount Sun maintain any face?"

The old man frowned. Looking back at the middle-aged man, he sighed and said, "Don't provoke him. He's… a person we can't afford to rile up."

The middle-aged man was about to say something when the old man suddenly transmitted a message into his mind.

As soon as the middle-aged cultivator heard it, his face fell, and an expression of disbelief and shock filled his face. Voice hoarse, he said, "What?! Is that true?"

"Your cultivation base isn't sufficient," the old man said softly, "but with mine, I can pick up on the clues. There's no other explanation. So… do you really want to provoke someone like that?"

The middle-aged cultivator took a deep breath, then turned and spoke out loud.

"Disciples of Mount Sun, from now on, none of you are to have any dealings with Naruto whatsoever. Do not incur debts of gratitude, nor should you sow any enmity. We… must maintain a respectful distance from Naruto!"

Taiyang Zi stared in shock. Although he wasn't sure what secret messages the two Patriarchs had passed between each other, from the look of things, Naruto was harboring some incredible secret that was powerful enough to cause the two Patriarchs from Mount Sun to fear him.

Taiyang Zi's heart was filled with many complicated emotions. He couldn't help but think about all the times he had interacted with Naruto. From the moment he had met him on Planet South Heaven down to this day, Naruto was always in the lead, and had transformed into an insurmountable mountain.

The speed of his ascent was incredible, such that Taiyang Zi could do nothing more than look up at him from down below.

In the following days, all of the sects and clans in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were thrown into a huge commotion. All of them heard of or experienced what it was like… to have Naruto come and settle accounts.

Any Chosen who had a promissory note in Naruto's hand would eventually find him at their doorstep, asking for money. All of the sects and clans were shaken by Naruto and his show of power. As a result, his debt collecting went fairly smoothly.

After all, he was not the youngster that he had been in the past. He was now so powerful that he could rock Dao Realm experts. Therefore, the trifling debt and the promissory notes prompted everyone to simply pay up.

Even Naruto would never have guessed that his actions of collecting debt would quickly become the conversation topic of all the cultivators in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Whenever he stepped out of a teleportation portal, everyone who caught sight of him instantly got excited. Word would spread… and countless cultivators would gather to personally watch him go to settle accounts.

It was because of this that Naruto happened to step out of a teleportation portal at one point, and was instantly recognized. People then began to take out jade slips to notify their sects of what was happening.

"Strange, there's no sect or clan in the vicinity of this teleportation station. This asteroid field is merely a transfer station!"

"Look, his destination is actually near the Ninth Mountain…."

People looked on in confusion as Naruto vanished. When he reappeared, shockingly, he was walking out of another teleportation portal in another asteroid field. He looked up into the starry sky above him at… a stretch of crumbled stone!

Those bits of stone had once been complete, and when they were, they had formed… a bridge!

That bridge had actually been constructed in the Ancient Demon

Immortal Sect. It was… the all-powerful Bridge of Immortal Treading!

In this case, it was Naruto who owed someone else. He owed a debt of gratitude!

"Big bro Han Shan… I've come to repay your kindness!" he said softly.

Then his body flickered as he shot up into the starry sky.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1199

Chapter 1199: The Outrage of the Bridge of Immortality!

The Bridge of Immortal Treading! 1

At one time, it was a majestic bridge that spanned the starry sky, constructed by the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect. But then… in the war waged by Ji Tian, it was destroyed….

That was the bitter, bloody war which was fought when the Ji Clan betrayed the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect. During that war, the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect was completely destroyed, and Blood Demon was seriously injured. With his life force mortally damaged, he fled to Planet South Heaven, where he was forced to divide his Nascent Divinity and become a clone.

The war also saw the body of the Frost Soil Demon Emperor destroyed, and his soul collapsed. Only a tiny aspect of his soul managed to escape, and was later reincarnated.

Mysteriously, no reports surfaced of the Withering Flame Demon

Emperor having died; no one knew what fate he met by the time the war ended….

The Namikaze Clan led the resistance against the Ji Clan, vying with them for the Lordship of the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Even after the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect was laid to waste, the fighting continued to go on for years.

Eventually, the Eighth Mountain and Sea was drawn into the conflict.

Two great Mountains and Seas fought battle after battle. In the end… Ji Tian secured victory, becoming the new Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

The Mountain and Sea War ended. The civil war was over….

Such historical facts were common knowledge among cultivators of the

Ninth Mountain and Sea. Furthermore, the ruins of the Bridge of Immortal Treading bore testimony to the brutality and carnage of the war.

Nowadays, all that remained of the bridge was this seemingly endless stretch of rubble, floating out in the starry sky. The stones clung together, and from a distance, the general shape of a bridge was still visible.

It was part of the history of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and cultivators were drawn there to struggle in search of good fortune. Some people entered the ruins, never to return. Others acquired the luck they sought, and from then on their life courses drastically changed.

Naruto had been here once as a mere Spirit Realm cultivator. This was where he had met Zhixiang, and was also where he had encountered… a benefactor.

Han Shan!

He was the reincarnation of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect's Frost Soil Demon Emperor…. Han Shan!

Han Shan's wife had been eternally imprisoned within the Bridge of Immortal Treading, and Han Shan had been willing to pay any price to come to this place, find her, and awaken her from her state of sleep. Were he unable to do so, then he was willing… to remain there forever with his wife.

He gave his sword, his alcohol flagon, and his frost soil to Naruto, connecting them with ties of destiny. He had helped Naruto succeed in his efforts, and had also created a bit of hope for himself and his wife….

At that time, Naruto had promised that when he achieved his Dao, he would come to repay the kindness!

Han Shan knew that if Naruto was the type of person to honor his promises, then he would definitely come back. If Naruto was not that type of person… then there was nothing that could be done about the matter. Such future matters were impossible to predict. Back then, Han Shan had no idea what would happen in the end.

Perhaps if Han Shan had remained conscious, he would have occasionally thought about Naruto's promise. Or maybe he would have forgotten about the ray of hope that he had given himself, which came from the opportunity he had given Naruto.

The truth of the matter was that Naruto would never forget the people who had helped him. Nor would he forget the promises he had made. Never would he forget Guyiding Tri-Rain, nor Han Shan. The promises he had made them existed eternally within his memory.

"Achieve the Dao, fulfill my promise!" he murmured, transforming into a prismatic streak of light that shot up into the starry sky.

"Although I haven't truly achieved my Dao," he said softly, "I can still take a shot at freeing big bro Han Shan and his wife…." When he entered the region of the Bridge of Immortality, the excited cultivators who had been following him were quite confused. They couldn't imagine why Naruto would come to this place.

"Could it have something to do with the Ji Clan? That bridge was destroyed by Ji Tian years ago!" As people made their speculations, Naruto passed into the bridge, shooting along without even a pause.

He was not the only person inside the Bridge of Immortal Treading.

Other cultivators were there, all of them in the Spirit Realm, come from other planets to participate in various trials by fire.

It was just the same as when he had come here years ago.

Naruto flew through the various crushed stones that made up the Bridge of Immortal Treading, revisiting places that he remembered from the past. He flew along silently, traveling ever deeper into the ruins.

He saw cultivators, some competing, some cooperating as they sought after good fortune. As he passed familiar places, he thought about his own experiences in the past. He did nothing to interfere with any of the cultivators he saw, nor did they even see him as he passed by. They continued on with their struggles and fights, completely oblivious.

He followed the same path he remembered taking last time. As he proceeded along, he soon realized that there was nobody else present in the locations he had visited formerly. He didn't stop to check if there was potential good fortune available. His only goal was…

To repay the debt of gratitude.

Soon, a land mass of broken rocks appeared up ahead, and the color of frost soil became evident. Naruto had finally reached the depths of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, the place… where he had watched as Han Shan found his wife.

The only difference was that now that he had once again returned, there were none of the soulless Bridge Slaves in sight; all he saw was boundless frost soil. But then he spotted a cliff in the center of that soil. Sitting atop that cliff were a man and a woman.

The woman was leaning up against the man's shoulder. Her eyes were closed, and a faint smile could be seen on her face. She seemed very content. The man's hand was intertwined with her beautiful hair, and he was looking down at her, also smiling.

It was a tender, beautiful sight, and anyone who looked at it would be able to see how much they cared for each other.

However, they were surrounded by seemingly endless frost soil, even the cliff, all of which looked like a deep blue block of ice!

The ice did not emanate any coldness, and yet, it seemed to be sealing them, eternally preserving the two people where they sat.

Apparently, the will of his wife's soul was also sealed there….

Naruto walked up silently and stood next to the cliff, looking at the man and the woman. Their familiar faces instantly gave rise to numerous memories.

"Big bro Han Shan…." he said, his voice hoarse. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he could tell at a glance that Han Shan had sealed himself here intentionally.

Rather than live on soullessly, he had somehow used the power of the Frost Soil Demon Emperor to seal both himself and his wife. There they would sit, waiting quietly for a future day when they might awaken.

Naruto looked at the man and the woman sitting there on the cliff, and softly said, "Unless I can dispel all outrage of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, then even if I am able to undo this seal, big bro Han Shan and his wife will have to remain here silently, year after year, unable to leave.

"The outrage of the Bridge of Immortal Treading… was born because of the Ji Clan. It would require a sacrifice of Ji Clan blood to dispel…. Unfortunately, I don't have the power to do that right now.

"I can only try to use my cultivation base to shake the Bridge of Immortal Treading. Maybe I can force it to submit…." He took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged beneath the cliff. He closed his eyes, rotated his cultivation base, and drew upon the power of an Allheaven Immortal. Explosive azure light immediately began to shine out in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, the light shone for 30,000 meters, creating an entire world of azure light. At the same time, the Bridge of Immortal Treading began to tremble. Just as Naruto had said, he would make an attempt using his own cultivation base, to try to shake the bridge and wipe out its outrage!

As his divine sense spread out to fill the area, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and then he pushed them down onto the ground. Massive rumbling could be heard, rolling out in all directions to fill the entire bridge, with Naruto at the center.

All of the stones that made up the Bridge of Immortal Treading were shaking, and soon, Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering shouting could be heard from each one.

The shouts occurred so abruptly that all of the cultivators participating in trials by fire were shocked, and their faces fell. Next, images which appeared to be souls rose up from the stones!

Those numerous souls were all parts of the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading!

They floated up from each stone, and then rapidly flew together, converging into… the actual soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading!

It floated there above the ruins of the bridge, emanating an indescribable pressure filled with outrage and unyielding hatred that descended upon Naruto.

Naruto's eyes snapped open, shining brightly as he looked up at the vengeful soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust," Naruto said. "There's no reason to be like this. Don't take your anger out on the wrong people. Please allow these two people here to leave…." His voice echoed out throughout the entire Bridge of Immortal Treading, causing all of the cultivators who heard it to stare around in wordless shock.

From what they could tell, some almighty expert had descended from the starry sky to force the bridge into capitulation!

They weren't the only shocked ones. The cultivators who had been following Naruto earlier also looked around with wide eyes, completely shaken.

They could see the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, and they could sense the boundless outrage and animosity radiating off of it. All of a sudden, they realized why Naruto had come here.

"He… he's actually going to try to use his own power to dispel the outrage of the Bridge of Immortal Treading!"

"This bridge's outrage will last for all eternity. The bridge hates the Ji Clan and is outraged at the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It is that very outrage which allows it to stay in the rough form of a bridge, despite having been destroyed!"

"This Naruto might be powerful, but how could it be so easy to dispel the outrage of the Bridge of Immortal Treading?!"

It was at this point that the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, radiating boundless, sinister light, formed into an enormous face which then glared at Naruto.

"NO!" it roared, the single word transforming into a shockwave, a windstorm that swept explosively through the bridge toward Naruto.

"Your outrage has nothing to do with me," Naruto said slowly. "I came here to take away these two people. If you agree, fine. If you disagree, I don't care. I'm going to take them." He waved his arm, causing the entire starry sky to tremble as yet another bridge suddenly appeared.

That bridge abounded with the energy of a Paragon. This was Naruto's Paragon magic, his… Paragon Bridge!

He planned to use the Paragon Bridge to subdue the Bridge of Immortal Treading!

The Bridge of Immortal Treading arc started in chapter 453. Naruto met Han Shan in chapter 460, and the final arc in which Han Shan reunited with his wife began in chapter 468 ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1200

Chapter 1200: Absorbing the Bridge of Immortal Treading!

Rumbling echoed out as the entire Bridge of Immortal Treading shook, and the enormous face roared. Towering killing intent rose up from the bridge, materializing in the form of eight huge hands that shot toward Naruto.

"DIE!" the huge face howled.

All of the cultivators participating in trials by fire on the bridge were completely shaken, and the people out in the starry sky were equally astonished. They looked on in complete disbelief as the eight arms bore down on Naruto from all directions.

The eight hands were born of outrage, and were filled with madness. Any one of them would be shocking on its own, and currently, they were just on the verge of slamming into Naruto. His eyes flashed, and he snorted coldly as he pushed his hand downward.

The gesture caused the land to quake, and Immortal mountains and Divine Flame to appear up above. The mountains slammed into the hands, causing a deafening roar to echo out. The hands fought back, causing everything to shake violently. At the same time, Naruto's Paragon Bridge began its descent.

When it slammed into the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, the soul issued a miserable howl, and the Bridge of Immortal Treading shook intensely.

Naruto's plan was to use the Paragon Bridge to suppress the Bridge of Immortal Treading!

He wished that he could sate the Bridge of Immortal Treading's outrage with the blood of the Ji Clan, but with his current cultivation base, that was impossible.

However, once he left the Ninth Mountain and Sea, there was no telling when he might return. Although there was no time limit attached to his promise to Han Shan, the way Naruto saw it, if at any point he had the ability to resolve his obligations and thus free himself, he would not put it off any longer than necessary.

As the Paragon Bridge descended, the soul of the Bridge of Immortal

Treading let out a frenzied shout. "NO!"

The gigantic face looked at the Paragon Bridge and screamed with grief and madness.

"The Paramita Bridge… the Paramita Bridge…." it cried. Naruto gaped in shock, and a tremor ran through him. As he looked closely, he suddenly realized that…

The Bridge of Immortal Treading and the Paragon Bridge… actually looked similar!

Although both were merely bridges, and would naturally have similar aspects, the feeling they gave off… made it seem like one was an imitation of the other!

Even some of the ornamentations on the bridges were similar. Naruto had never noticed before, because the Bridge of Immortal Treading was in a state of collapse. However, now that the two bridges were next to each other, it was immediately apparent.

"Paragon Bridge. Bridge of Immortal Treading…." His eyes gleamed brightly.

"The Bridge of Immortal Treading built all those years ago by the

Ancient Demon Immortal Sect was actually an imitation… of my Paragon Bridge. Or perhaps it's more accurate to say that it was an imitation of the bridge that I had committed to memory in the depths of my heart, the bridge from which I gained enlightenment regarding my Paragon magic…the Paramita Bridge!" Naruto's eyes went wide as countless implications of this coincidence ran through his head.

He suddenly shot to his feet and waved his arm, causing the pressure from the Paragon Bridge to increase in intensity, and causing azure light to begin to emanate from it.

Rumbling could be heard as the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading howled in its attempts to fight back. However, under the pressure of the Paragon Bridge, the shattered remnants that formed the Bridge of Immortal Treading… were completely shaken.

From the look of things, the stones themselves were trying to free themselves from the force that kept them confined to the Bridge of Immortal Treading, attempting to fly up and be absorbed by the Paragon Bridge! It was as if… a counterfeit had met the original, and could not prevent itself from being sucked in.

Furthermore… one of the most important aspects to the whole situation was that Naruto's Paragon Bridge was not complete!

What he had seen back in the Ruins of Immortality was a mere section. It was only by collecting all the insights he had gained during his enlightenment into creating his Paragon magic that he could barely produce a complete bridge. However, Naruto knew that he had never actually witnessed the entirety of the bridge and thus his Paragon magic, despite appearing whole, was actually incomplete!

But now… he had come across a stupendous opportunity and good fortune!

"If my Paragon Bridge can absorb this imitation that is the Bridge of Immortal Treading, and thus become complete… then it will be far more powerful than before!

"Most importantly, if I can do that, then I won't need to dispel its outrage to free big bro Han Shan!

"That will be because, if I succeed… there will no longer be any Bridge of

Immortal Treading!"

Naruto took a deep breath. What a bizarre and miraculous place the world was! If he had not come back here to pay his debt of gratitude, he would never have come across this opportunity for spectacular good fortune.

"Big bro Han Shan, you don't need to wait for me to destroy the Ji Clan to dispel the outrage of the Bridge of Immortal Treading. I can save you and your wife… today!" Eyes shining with this new enlightenment, he now felt even more confident in being able to rescue Han Shan and his wife.

Rumbling could be heard as the huge face that was the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading roared and struggled madly in its fight against the pressure of the Paragon Bridge. Naruto's eyes glittered as he moved forward and suddenly appeared atop the Paragon Bridge!

There, he took a single step forward.

In that instant, the entire Paragon Bridge trembled, and the azure light shone boundlessly. The power of the pressure increased, causing the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading to twist viciously and struggle even harder.

After all, the Paragon Bridge was incomplete, and Naruto was not yet in the Dao Realm!

Furthermore, the Bridge of Immortal Treading had existed for countless years, and although it had been suppressed, it was still explosively powerful.

Despite that power, the bridge was still fragmented, and held together only by the outrage born from its destruction. As the bridge trembled violently, suddenly, a few pieces began to rise up toward the Paragon Bridge. They were… absorbed into it, causing the pressure from the Paragon Bridge to grow stronger.

Within the azure light shone beams of whiteness, emanating out from the Paragon Bridge itself.

Apparently, those extra pieces it had just absorbed… made it more complete and real!

Naruto's face brightened. Based on what was happening, it appeared that his theory was correct!

"The day that the Paragon Bridge will be completely rebuilt… is this very day!" He waved his sleeve and took a second step forward. Rumbling echoed out, and the pressure from the Paragon Bridge increased. As the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading howled and struggled to free itself, brilliant colors flashed about.

No matter how hard it fought, though, it was unable to prevent another piece of stone from flying up, then a second, and a third….

20 pieces, 50 pieces, 100 pieces….

Gradually, more and more stones flew up to be absorbed by the Paragon Bridge. The scene which was playing out in front of all the various cultivators left them completely astonished.

That was especially true of the cultivators who were actually on the bridgestones. They felt like they were in a living nightmare, and unprecedented levels of terror rose up in them. The image of Naruto standing on top of that bridge was something they would never forget for the rest of their lives.

Even if their cultivation bases rose higher and higher until they reached the Dao Realm, and they became Patriarchs, they would never be able to forget that picture of Naruto and his bridge.

Every step he took caused proverbial lotuses to blossom, as if he were the most supreme existence in the world!

Naruto didn't want to make things difficult for those cultivators, so as the stones flew up into the air, the cultivators were picked up by a gentle force and taken to float out in the void, unharmed.

More intense rumbling could be heard as Naruto took a third step, then a fourth and a fifth!

Countless bridgestones rose up to merge into the Paragon Bridge, causing it to become even more majestic and real.

The pressure it radiated became even more intense and impossible to withstand, causing the Bridge of Immortal Treading to sink down and the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading to begin to break apart.

It had existed for many years, and could never have imagined that one day it would meet someone who would come against it with the Paragon Bridge, and could actually subdue and exert such a firm grip over it!

"NO!" the soul howled. Its energy surged, transforming into an attack which blasted the Paragon Bridge, causing a rumbling boom to echo out. The Paragon Bridge trembled, and Naruto's eyes shone with a strange light.

"Stones of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, return to the Paragon

Bridge. Henceforth, you will no longer be the Bridge of Immortal Treading. Instead… you will become part of the Paragon Bridge!

"You will only have this opportunity once," Naruto said, boosting his voice with his cultivation base, imbuing it with the will of the Paragon Bridge. "Bridge of Immortal Treading… hurry up and return. The time to act is now! "

The void trembled, and the Bridge of Immortal Treading suddenly exploded.

Its bridge-like shape no longer existed, and countless stone fragments transformed into beams of light that shot from their place in the void… directly toward the Paragon Bridge!

100\. 1,000. 10,000. 100,000…. Innumerable bridgestones flew up into the air.

The surrounding cultivators were flabbergasted, and were immediately sent into a commotion.

"He's… he's taking away the Bridge of Immortal Treading?"

"He's not taking it away, he's consuming and absorbing it!"

"This Naruto… he's… he's simply too powerful!"

All of the stones that made up the Bridge of Immortal Treading were now floating up, and the void itself was distorted, as if the starry sky were about to collapse!

As the Paragon Bridge absorbed them, it glowed with increasingly powerful light and its energy rocketed up. The pressure grew stronger, far stronger than before. The entire starry sky trembled as boundless ripples flowed out in all directions.

Even more shocking was that the Paragon Bridge was now emanating… an aura that didn't seem to be part of the Mountain and Sea Realm. It was as if its will were awakening!

In fact… the will of the Paragon Bridge was actually… the will of the Paramita Bridge!

A will of Heaven Trampling! 1

That will caused the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea to rumble. Then the Eighth Mountain and Sea was affected. After that, the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and then, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

At the peaks of the Nine Mountains, within the nine pools of water, nine holy Xuanwu turtles suddenly let out a powerful howl. It was almost exactly the same as when the Outsider from the 33 Heavens had appeared!

In chapter 1122, Slaughter, the apparently Paragon-level entity inside of Dao-Heaven's Paragon Painting, saw Naruto's Paragon Bridge and called it "Heaven Trampling Bridge" ↩

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	12. Chapter 12

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1201

Chapter 1201: Son of the Mountains and Seas!

As the nine Xuanwu turtles howled, a cold, emotionless voice suddenly echoed out into the minds of the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas.

"The Paramita Bridge has awakened. Destroy it! Eradicate its life force.

It must not become complete!"

Simultaneously, the sun and moon flickered with explosive destructive power!

Back in the former location of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, the bridgestones continued to fuse into the Paragon Bridge, causing its energy to rise up explosively.

Naruto stood atop it, completely steady despite how violently it was shaking. His eyes gleamed with a strange light as he suddenly realized something.

"There are two stages to Paragon magics. The first is the illusory stage, and the second is… the corporeal stage!

"Only by advancing the Paragon magic to the corporeal stage can it truly explode with power!

"In fact, that power depends on the physical Paragon object!

"Having Paragon magic means you can join the Echelon. By advancing the Paragon magic to the corporeal, you… transcend the Echelon!" As Naruto gained this new enlightenment, his Echelon mark appeared on his forehead, flickering brilliantly. As it glowed, it began to transform!

Apparently, he was moving beyond the Echelon, turning into a completely unique entity in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, seeing that it could do nothing to stop what was happening, let out a maddened roar. Eyes blazing, it cried, "I refuse to accept this!

"If I can absorb the Paramita Bridge, then I'll finally be free! I can escape from this sea of bitterness and be like the fish who jumped over the dragon gate!" The face that represented the soul howled as it ceased resisting and actually shot directly toward the Paragon Bridge.

This was its ultimate decision. It would try to possess the Paragon Bridge, to take its place. Such an outcome wasn't an impossibility. After all… it was born from the outrage of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, and was actually… a soul automaton!

The soul of the replica was trying to possess the object after which it had been fashioned, to take its place!

Rumbling could be heard as the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading merged into the Paragon Bridge. Naruto could do nothing to stop it, and in the blink of an eye, it was part of the Paragon Bridge. Everything was shaking violently as the Bridge of Immortal Treading completely vanished from the starry sky. Numerous cultivators in the area were pushed away from the vicinity, and the cultivators who had come to watch were staring wide-eyed.

There was now only one bridge in the starry sky, and that was… Naruto 's Paragon Bridge!

However, the Paragon Bridge was trembling as its aura rose up. The soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading was trying to possess it in an attempt to become the soul of the Paragon Bridge!

"I can allow you to become the soul of the Paragon Bridge…." Naruto said.

A roaring response could be heard from the Paragon Bridge: "I don't need you to allow me! I can do it myself!"

A powerful force battered away at the connection between Naruto and the Paragon Bridge, trying to separate it from Naruto and turn it into an independent entity.

It was attempting to do the same thing that Naruto had done to the Paragon Painting of the First Mountain's Echelon cultivator, to break it away from him permanently.

Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he was about to unleash all his power to suppress it, when suddenly, an intense sensation of imminent crisis welled up in him. Looking up, he could sense a powerful force of expulsion coming from the Mountain and Sea Realm itself. A huge power was coming, a power that would destroy the Paragon Bridge that was still in the midst of awakening and being completed.

Naruto 's face flickered; although he wanted to put away the Paragon Bridge, because of the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, he could not. Suddenly, he shot backward, moving to the location on the Paragon Bridge where Han Shan and his wife were. He quickly waved his hand to set up a shield around them, then looked out into the starry sky, his eyes shining with a strange light.

He even stopped trying to prevent the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading from interfering with his connection to the Paragon Bridge, and he looked up into the starry sky and caught sight of a beam of light.

That light… was caused because of the roaring of the nine Xuanwu turtles, and was… killing intent from the sun and moon!

An all-destructive arrow of light pierced through the starry sky, slamming into the Paragon Bridge to destroy it.

The Paragon Bridge started shaking, and because it was born from Naruto 's magic, Naruto also trembled and coughed up a mouthful of blood. However, the soul of the Bridge of Immortal Treading was even more seriously wounded.

The Bridge Soul let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the entire Paragon Bridge shook. Massive destructive power washed over it, and the Bridge Soul could feel the menacing threat of death.

"Do you surrender or not!?" Naruto suddenly said. "Surrender, and become mine. A single thought on my part can make you the soul of the Paragon Bridge!

"Refuse to surrender, and you'll be destroyed by the power of the Mountains and Seas!" Naruto was now using the power of the Mountains and Seas to threaten the soul.

"I'll die before I surrender!" the Bridge Soul howled. "If I die, the bridge will be destroyed, and you'll be wiped out too!" Suddenly, a second arrow of light appeared, even more powerful and terrifying than the previous one. It slammed into the bridge, shattering the azure light, overwhelming the white light, and causing the entire Paragon Bridge to tremble and begin to fall apart once again.

The rising energy was interrupted, and Naruto coughed up more blood. As he fought back against the power, the Bridge Soul screamed and weakened even further. It… could not withstand a third arrow!

"I'll give you one last chance." he said, eyes shining. "Yield to me, and become my Bridge Soul. I, Naruto , swear an oath that I will use the blood of the Hebi Tian to resolve your blood feud. I will help you resolve your outrage!

"If you don't take advantage of this opportunity, then I'll watch as the power of the Mountains and Seas obliterates you."

Even as the words left his mouth, a third arrow of light appeared off in the distance. It looked like a sun, and the entire starry sky of the Ninth Mountain and Sea trembled from the ripples which emanated off of it. It seemed to contain a power that could shake Heaven and Earth… that would destroy anything with a single strike!

The Bridge Soul trembled. In this critical life-or-death moment of crisis, it let out a miserable cry.

"Even if I yield to you, I'll still be killed by that power. You'll still abandon the bridge to save yourself. I die either way!"

"I won't abandon the Paragon Bridge," Naruto said with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron. "If you yield, I'll make sure you will not perish!"

The Bridge Soul shivered. Considering it was about to be destroyed, it had little choice. It immediately opened itself up. Naruto unleashed his divine sense, borrowing strength from the Paragon Bridge to leave his mark on the Bridge Soul.

That mark was now indelibly branded into the soul, never to be removed!

"Now let's see how you keep your promise!" the Bridge Soul roared. As soon as Naruto marked it, it had no need to attempt to possess the Paragon Bridge, nor any reason to interfere with Naruto 's connection to it. The Paragon Bridge approved of the Bridge Soul, allowing it to fill the bridge. Instantly, the bridge's power exploded with incredible might.

Now that it was marked… it became part of Naruto . Furthermore, there was now absolutely no way for the Paragon Bridge to leave Naruto 's control. Regardless of whether it was illusory or corporeal, that fact would never change!

You could even say that the Paragon Bridge, having absorbed the Bridge of Immortal Treading… now had the good fortune to one day become completely corporeal!

"The next step is to go to the Ruins of Immortality and absorb the entire section of the real Paragon Bridge!" Naruto thought, eyes gleaming.

At long last, he understood the path of the Paragon!

By this point, the third arrow of light had almost arrived. The Bridge Soul trembled as Naruto stepped off of the Paragon Bridge, placing himself directly in the arrow's path. Then he lifted his right hand and pushed it toward the arrow!

That movement caused a tremor to run through the Bridge Soul. How could it ever have imagined that Naruto would do something like this, stand up directly to the power of the Mountains and Seas?

"He's crazy…." whispered the Bridge Soul.

However, what happened in the next moment caused the Bridge Soul to gape in complete disbelief.

That was because the arrow slowed to a stop directly in front of Naruto !

"I call upon the authority of my status to order you… to return whence you came!" he said softly, eyes blazing with determination. Although his hand did not possess the power to resist the arrow, his voice was like an unbreakable barrier that made his hand completely and thoroughly impenetrable. The arrow stopped as if it didn't dare to pierce through it.

A cold voice spoke out into Naruto 's mind, echoing like thunder: "The Paramita Bridge may exist. However, to prevent anything untoward from occurring with this particular awakened bridge, it will be destroyed!"

"This bridge is my Paragon magic, nothing untoward will occur," Naruto said coolly.

"According to the law, the bridge may not–"

"If I say nothing untoward will occur, nothing will! Back down!" As he spoke, he caused the drop of Paragon's blood inside of him to suddenly flare up. Its aura spread out, not much, but enough to completely shock the nine Xuanwu turtles on the tops of the Nine Mountains!

The cold voice that represented the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm was also astonished!

The arrow trembled, and the cold voice fell silent. Naruto said nothing more. He simply stood there, and even let his hand drop to his side. Behind him, the Bridge Soul inside the Paragon Bridge was staring in shock.

After a moment, the cold voice once again echoed out into Naruto 's mind.

"The orders of the Son of the Mountains and Seas shall be followed!" The arrow slowly faded away, transforming into motes of glittering light that spread out into the void.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief. Everything that had just happened had been a gamble, considering he wasn't sure exactly how much control he could wield over the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Son of the Mountains and Seas…." he thought, smiling slightly. He liked the sound of that title. As he turned, the mark on his forehead completed its transformation. Shockingly… it now depicted nine mountains, which flashed briefly before vanishing.

The Bridge Soul inside the Paragon Bridge said nothing, but it now felt unprecedented respect and awe for Naruto . It did nothing at all to resist him, and when he waved his hand, the bridge slowly faded away.

Now, the only thing that remained in the starry sky was a floating block of ice. Within that ice were Han Shan and his wife. They looked just like they had before, sitting there together, leaning up against each other. Gradually, the ice began to melt. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, Han Shan shuddered, then looked up in confusion at Naruto .

As soon as Han Shan looked at him, a smile broke out on Naruto 's face. Clasping hands, he bowed deeply and said, "Big bro Han Shan, I'm happy to say that I've fulfilled your request!"

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1202

Chapter 1202: Forever and Ever!

The starry sky was now completely silent. As for the Spirit Realm cultivators who had been on the bridge participating in trials by fire and who were now scattered about in space, Naruto assisted them, and encouraged the other cultivators who had followed him to do the same. These cultivators who had borne witness to the vanishing of the Bridge of Immortal Treading and the subsequent rise of the Paragon Bridge agreed with the request and began to send the Spirit Realm cultivators back to their respective sects.

Everything was brought to a perfect conclusion, and Naruto repaid his debt of gratitude. Not only were Han Shan and his wife saved, but Naruto 's Paragon Bridge underwent shocking transformations.

Now, Naruto stood there, smiling warmly at Han Shan, thinking about everything that had happened so many years ago.

At first, Han Shan looked confused, but gradually, his eyes grew clear. His wife shivered as she woke up, and also looked around blankly. Then she saw her husband, and the blankness vanished, to be replaced with a gentle gaze.

It was as if… no matter where she was, or what hardships would come along, as long as Han Shan was there… she would be fine.

Han Shan slowly rose to his feet, looking around for a moment before his gaze came to fall on Naruto . An expression of appreciation appeared in his eyes, and he laughed. "Have any alcohol…?"

Naruto smiled and waved his hand. The alcohol flagon that Han Shan had given him years ago flew out. Han Shan grabbed it, threw his head back, and took a long swig.

Han Shan lowered the alcohol flagon and looked seriously at Naruto . "Young friend, I will remember this great kindness which you have shown us for all eternity!"

He didn't mention anything about Naruto freeing him. Giving voice to thanks wasn't important. What was important… was that he had not been mistaken to place his trust in Naruto .

What was important was that he and his wife had both been saved, and he now owed Naruto two lives. That was something that Han Shan would never forget!

Naruto shook his head. "I had no choice in the matter, big bro Han

Shan. I had to do it! Didn't I say I would?"

He looked at Han Shan and his wife, and could see how happy they were.

Han Shan said nothing more. He simply stepped forward and embraced Naruto .

"No need to draw things out, bro," he said. "Suffice to say… if you need us, my wife and I will be there for you. Together!"

He and Naruto laughed heartily. Han Shan's wife stood off to the side, watching them silently, her eyes filled with appreciation.

Soon, it was time to part, and Naruto suggested that Han Shan and his wife go settle down on Planet South Heaven, and even gave them the appropriate identity medallions to go there. Han Shan was not of a mind to refuse. Now that he had his wife back, it didn't matter where they went.

Since Planet South Heaven was Naruto 's home, Han Shan was more than willing to go there.

Naruto watched Han Shan and his wife leave. Soon, the flash of a teleportation portal could be seen, and they vanished. At that point, Naruto turned and looked one last time at the place previously occupied by the Bridge of Immortal Treading. Then he turned and headed toward another teleportation portal.

This time, he was not going to collect money from anyone. Instead, he was going to the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum!

The Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum was also one of the Five Great Holy Lands, and was where… his childhood friend Fatty lived.

Although, by this point, it would probably be less appropriate to call Li Fugui simply Fatty. He now deserved to be called… Big Fatty!

He was now so fat that it would take four people to wrap their arms around him. However, he was still quite lively, and his teeth were sharper than ever. The Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum had treated him well, and he was already an Immortal.

When it came to his beloved partners, he actually had quite a few more than before. No longer did he only have one hundred. Now, he had five hundred!

When Naruto got to the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum and announced his intentions, Fatty came rolling out like a ball. When Naruto laid eyes on him, his jaw dropped.

"Biggest bro, you… you finally came to see me!" Fatty roared, racing over to hug Naruto . Unfortunately, his belly was too big and his arms weren't long enough, making an embrace impossible….

When the huge belly bumped into Naruto , he stumbled backward, laughing awkwardly. He looked over the spheroid that was Fatty, and started to get a bit worried. However, after scanning him with divine sense and seeing the level of his cultivation base, he felt a bit better.

"You should eat less…." Naruto said with a wry smile as Fatty led him into the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum. Of course, the sect itself could by no means ignore the arrival of Naruto , and went all out to receive him. Even one of the Dao Realm Patriarchs emerged.

Naruto decided to stay there for several days, during which time he and Fatty would reminisce, talking about old times and wonderful memories.

On one occasion after they had been drinking and talking for a while, Fatty started crying. He told Naruto that he missed his father and mother, and had even gone back to Planet South Heaven on several occasions. However, the Five Elemental Nations was gone, and he had never been able to track them down.

He knew that even if he did manage to find them, his parents had probably long since passed on, and the rest of the members of his household would have gone their separate ways….

However, he still missed them, and in fact, as time passed, that feeling had grown even stronger. In fact, sometimes he felt like it didn't matter that he could live for such a long time, and had such a thriving harem. He… still wished that his parents could be around.

Seeing Fatty weeping in this way caused Naruto to sigh. However, all he could do was sit there listening and drinking.

Apparently, Fatty hadn't had a chance to vent in quite a while. After crying for a bit, he started chuckling again, and soon they were talking about the Reliance Sect.

That had been one of the happiest times of Fatty's life. Eventually they started reminiscing about the vendor booth they had set up, and Naruto couldn't help but laugh out loud. Fatty joined him, and soon their laughter was echoing out.

However, it was impossible to talk about the Reliance Sect and not bring up the subject of Hinata ….

Fatty sighed. "You know, of the four of us who Elder Sister Xu took to the Reliance Sect, Wang Youcai has turned out to be the fiercest. He really shook things up over at Moonset Lake. They call him the Devil-Eyed Killer. He's really famous….

"As for me, I'm pretty useless, although I manage to get by. But biggest bro, you… well, I don't even need to talk about that, do I? And there's Dong Hu. I'm not sure what happened to him, he seems to have vanished without a trace.

"Now that I think about it, Elder Sister Xu… had some excellent powers of foresight….

"Oh, right. Naruto , remember that cave back on Mount Daqing, and how you threw that vine down? Hahaha! I guess you got lucky, didn't you? Otherwise you would never have been taken to the Reliance Sect…."

Naruto cleared his throat. The things Fatty was talking about caused him to recall everything that had happened back then. After failing the Imperial exams another time, he had gone for a walk on Mount Daqing, sighing to himself about his life. Back then, how could he ever have imagined that heading up the mountain that day… would completely change his life!?

The world had lost a scholar that day, and gained a cultivator. And the Mountain and Sea Realm… had gained its future Lord!

When Hinata 's name came up, Naruto thought about the Red Wedding, and his mood sank. He finally told Fatty that he was going to the Fourth Mountain to get her back.

Fatty could see that Naruto 's mood was sinking, so he quickly waved his sleeve, calling to a young woman who stood off in the distance. She approached, clasped hands, and bowed to Naruto .

"Biggest bro, come come, let me introduce you to one of my beloved partners. This is my true love, Little Emerald…."

Naruto looked at the woman, smiled, and nodded. Considering that Fatty had called her his true love, Naruto took out a magical item and handed it over.

Seeing this, Fatty's eyes suddenly gleamed. Before Naruto knew what was happening….

"Biggest bro, this is the love of my life, Little Scarlet….

"Biggest bro, this is my heart and soul, Little Sweetie….

"Biggest bro, this is my…." One by one, Fatty brought out all five hundred of his beloved partners to introduce to Naruto , even managing to recall the different pet names for all of them. Naruto looked at all the women, and Fatty's crafty smile and the exultant gleam in his eyes, and could do nothing but smile wryly as he gifted one magical item after another.

When the last beloved partner had been introduced, Naruto assumed the entire affair was over. But next, Fatty called a young man over.

"Why haven't you kowtowed to your Uncle Naruto yet!?" Fatty said, eyes wide with anger. Then he turned and smiled at Naruto .

"This is my son…."

Naruto 's eyes went wide. He looked at the young man, and then back at Fatty. Chuckling wryly, he handed a magical item over as a gift. After that… Fatty introduced over three hundred sons and daughters….

And after that….

"Biggest bro, this is my grandson…."

Naruto felt numb. He had to admire how Fatty could remember the nicknames of all five hundred of his beloved partners and not make a single mistake. Neither did he forget the names of any of his sons or daughters.

Nor the more than one hundred grandchildren. Most terrifying to Naruto was that he soon found out that Fatty actually had greatgrandchildren too…. Although the great-grandchildren were all toddlers or younger, Naruto couldn't hold back from giving them gifts too.

After all, having given so many gifts already, he couldn't stop short now.

He had originally planned to stay for several days, but by the second day, he quickly took his leave. He was worried that if he stayed any longer, the loot he had built up so carefully in his bag of holding would eventually all be divided up by Fatty's family.

"Since I can't take over the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, my goal is to have my descendants do it for me!" Fatty said as he saw Naruto off. His eyes glittered with a strange light as he gave voice to his grand aspirations.

Naruto couldn't help but admire such notions. He had the feeling that Fatty would definitely be able to pull something like that off. Eyes glittering encouragingly, he patted Fatty on the shoulder.

"Work hard, bro," he said. "I think five hundred beloved partners is actually only a good starting point. You should really have at least five thousand. That way, you would have a great big clan!

"Think about it, you would have thousands of sons and daughters, and then when they had children, the final number would be astounding…." It might be somewhat irresponsible, but Naruto egged Fatty on anyway.

In response, Fatty's eyes lit up, and he started laughing heartily.

"No wonder you're the biggest bro. That's a great idea! I was thinking the same thing, I'm going to start a clan!" Seeing the wild ambition flickering in Fatty's eyes caused Naruto to cough dryly and then turn to leave.

There was no bitterness to this parting, only smiles. Naruto didn't mention anything about when he would return again, nor did Fatty ask. Both avoided the topic.

When it came time to actually part ways, Fatty's smile faded away, and he clasped Naruto by the shoulders.

" Naruto … we're brothers, forever and ever!"

"Forever!" Naruto replied with a decisive nod. They looked at each other for another moment, then started laughing again. Finally, they turned and parted; one headed back to his sect, the other off into the distance….

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1203

Chapter 1203: Old Friends

After leaving the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, Naruto flew through the starry sky, thinking about the old days in the Reliance Sect. After a while, he turned and headed toward another asteroid and another teleportation portal.

This time, his destination was the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!

He was not going there to collect money either, but to see an old friend. His Elder Brother Might Guy had joined the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto years ago!

Naruto was not unfamiliar with the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto.

Although he had never been there, since he was the joint disciple of the Three Great Daoist Societies, then technically speaking, the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto was also his sect.

As soon as he arrived, the sound of tolling bells rang out through the sect. The Dao Realm Patriarchs came out to see him, and Naruto was taken to offer respects to the Sect Leader and the Patriarchs and explain the purpose of his visit.

When he finally saw Might Guy, he looked different than before. Last time, he had seemed middle-aged, but now he looked old, with grayishwhite hair and a placid expression. His cultivation base was in the Immortal Realm.

Although he wasn't very well known among the disciples of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, the Elder Generation felt that he had unlimited potential!

Might Guy sat in meditation. Wherever he went, he took a huge boulder with him, within which could be seen the faint image of a woman.

One of the Dao Realm Patriarchs of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto stood next to Naruto , explaining. "He converges his love and transforms the love into a sword, a sword that can pierce the Heavens!

"The sword of your Elder Brother here is not merciless, and does not sever love. His memories of the past have filled his heart to the point where they have become his sword. His love… allows him to cultivate the Dao of the Heart-Sword!

"His latent talent is well suited to such a Dao. If he can step into the Ancient Realm within the next hundred years, then he will definitely be another Chosen of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!" The praise in his eyes as he looked at Might Guy was impossible to conceal.

Might Guy's eyes slowly opened as he looked first at the sword laid across his knees, then up at Naruto . A smile appeared on his face.

It was the same smile Naruto remembered from the Reliance Sect, and the Solitary Sword Sect. It was a warm, caring smile, although now it seemed much more ancient.

"Little Junior Brother," he said. As soon as those three words left his mouth, Naruto 's heart surged with emotion, as he remembered all the things that had happened in the past.

"Elder Brother…" Naruto said softly. As he walked over toward Might Guy, the Dao Realm Patriarch smiled slightly, then turned and left, leaving Naruto in Might Guy's care.

Naruto first clasped hands and bowed in greeting to the boulder. He knew that the woman in that boulder was his Eldest Brother's true love, and that she had eventually come to be Might Guy's entire life.

 _In my life, I will only love one person. I fell in love with you when you were alive. And after you died, that feeling became a memory…. If you live, I will spend my whole life with you. If you die, then I will accompany the memory of you for my whole life._

That was Might Guy.

His naivety and obsession were why the Solitary Sword Sect chose to take him from the Reliance Sect in the first place. Back then, he didn't hesitate at all to make his decision. If the sect was going to be destroyed, then he would choose… to die along with it.

He was naive and obsessed. That… was Might Guy!

Might Guy's expression was the same as ever as he watched Naruto offer formal greetings to the boulder. Since Naruto was his little Junior Brother, then Naruto was also Junior Brother to his wife as well.

Years ago, he had constantly worried about this Junior Brother of his. But then, he had watched him flourish, one step at a time, and that made him very happy. He had always hoped that Naruto would continue to improve, and that one day, he would reach the true pinnacle.

"On the path of cultivation," Might Guy said softly, "it doesn't matter if you talk about your own heart, or the Dao. The most important thing is to be steadfast."

Naruto nodded, then sat down cross-legged in front of Might Guy. It felt just like it had back in the year they had met. Now, Naruto possessed a cultivation base that stood on equal footing with the Dao Realm. However, in the presence of his Elder Brother, he was still… the same little Junior Brother he had always been.

That was how it would be for their entire lives.

He told Might Guy about his plan to leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea, to find Hinata and bring her back.

"I am aware of the purpose of your visit," Might Guy said quietly. "We are cultivators, and our lifespans are long. Heaven and Earth are large, and it's a good thing to visit new places, and travel new paths…. There is no need to worry about us here in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. We all have our own different paths.

"You have to trust Li Fugui and myself, just as we trust you. All of our dreams… will come true eventually!" He looked over at the rock, and the faint image of the woman inside.

"Elder Brother…. If it ever becomes possible for me to do so, I will definitely… help you resurrect sister-in-law Shan Ling!" Naruto said softly. It was his first time he had ever said such a thing. Although he had been able to keep his promise to Han Shan, considering the level of his cultivation base, there was no way for him to resurrect someone who had been dead for so long.

"You're thinking too hard on it," Might Guy said, chuckling. His eyes shone with a soft light. "To me, she's always here."

Naruto stared at Might Guy in shock.

"When your Dao is the heart, then if you have something in your heart, it exists. If you don't have it in your heart, it doesn't exist." Might Guy waved his right hand, and something like a Domain appeared. It wasn't very large, only about nine meters wide.

However, now that that nine-meter Domain existed, Naruto could see that the woman in the boulder was opening her eyes. Her life force seemed to be restored, and suddenly… she walked out from within the boulder and sat down next to Might Guy. She looked at Naruto , smiling as she leaned up against Might Guy's shoulder.

"This…." Naruto said, taking a deep breath. This Daoist magic first gave him the sensation that he was looking at an illusion. However, as he examined the woman closely, she actually didn't seem like an illusion at all.

Might Guy looked deeply into Naruto 's eyes and said, "She might seem artificial to you, but to me, she is very real…. Sometimes the difference between what is artificial and what is real depends on different perspectives and different hearts."

Naruto 's heart trembled as if he had just gained some sort of enlightenment. He closed his eyes and began to meditate. Three days later, he opened his eyes again. Rising to his feet, he clasped hands and bowed to Might Guy.

"Many thanks for your advice, Eldest Brother," he said. Although his cultivation base far exceeded that of Might Guy's, Might Guy's circumstances made him serendipitously proficient with the Dao of the real and the artificial. That was the reason that he cultivated the HeartSword, and was one of the reasons why the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto viewed him with such importance.

"Go. Bring Junior Sister Hinata back. I haven't seen her in a long time, and I miss her." Might Guy's eyes glowed with encouragement. Naruto took a deep breath, nodded, and took his leave.

His next destination was the Moonset Lake, one of the Five Great Holy Lands. In many ways, the place was not as beautiful as the name would have it sound. Naruto had never dealt much with the sect, but he was aware that the techniques of the Moonset Lake were similar to the Dao of the Devils!

 _When the moon hangs high in the sky, it might be nighttime, but there is still light. However, after the moon sets, when the sun has not yet risen, there is no darker time of night._

That was the meaning of the name Moonset Lake!

Wang Youcai fit in well. He was fundamentally a ruthless person; he treated others ruthlessly, and… he treated himself even more so. In order to further his cultivation and create his own technique, to see further than he had ever been able to see… he had dug out his own eyes.

The ruthlessness of that act had caught the attention of the Elders of Moonset Lake, and was what prompted them to take him in and help him grow and develop.

Although most people assumed he lived in a world of complete darkness, there was something that nobody knew. Wang Youcai could actually see things very vividly.

The divine ability he created remained eternally fixed inside his mind. From then on, he could actually see everything, even though he had no eyes.

After arriving at Moonset Lake, his ferocity and ruthlessness were even more evident. After going through some fierce battles, both with members of his sect and with others, he had earned the nickname DevilEyed Killer.

The word 'Devil' was a term of respect. The word 'eye' was a reference to the two empty eye sockets on his face. And the word 'killer'… represented how he slaughtered his enemies!

When Naruto came and said that he wished to visit Wang Youcai, the disciple assigned to receive visitors looked at him with a flickering expression. Apparently, in Moonset Lake, Wang Youcai's name was even more awe-inspiring than Naruto 's.

And that was despite the fact that Wang Youcai was still only an Immortal!

When he was taken to Wang Youcai, he found him sitting cross-legged next to a black pond. Vicious-looking faces floated in and out of the water, swirling around Wang Youcai as they consumed parts of his flesh.

"Long time no see, Naruto ," he said in a grating voice. He lifted his head up, staring at Naruto with his two vacant eye sockets.

Naruto looked at him and sighed.

After a moment of silence, Wang Youcai slowly said, "There's no reason to sigh. Everything comes with a price."

The faces around him continued to tear at his flesh, and yet he didn't even frown. Apparently, he was used to this.

"These are all the people I've killed, whose souls I extracted. I allow them to chew on me day and night. It is only in this way that I can feel their hatred, and thus, see the colorful world around me."

Naruto looked at Wang Youcai and sighed inwardly. The four young men who had been taken from Mount Daqing all those years ago included himself, Fatty, Wang Youcai, and Dong Hu…. Fatty had the most carefree life, and Wang Youcai was the most vicious. As for Dong Hu, although had been missing for many years, Naruto had the feeling that… he was somewhere out there, shaking things up violently.

Naruto meditated with Wang Youcai for an entire night. The following day, he stood and turned to go, when Wang Youcai suddenly said, " Naruto … we're friends, right…?"

Naruto looked back at him and replied, "We were friends in the past, we're friends now, and we'll be friends in the future."

Wang Youcai laughed. It was grating, but not ear-piercing. This was the same bumbling young man from back on Mount Daqing, who thought that because he was the oldest, he had to take care of his friends.

" Naruto , you must become as strong as you can, and quickly…. The moon has set, and the sun has not risen…. The dark of night has come… and it's impossible to say how long it will last.

"I have seen, and I can feel, that soon… great chaos… will strike!"

Naruto shivered. Although he knew exactly what was being referred to, he had never imagined that Wang Youcai would too. He gazed at him deeply for a long moment, then left.

Slowly, he faded away into the distance, leaving Moonset Lake behind.

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1204

Chapter 1204 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1204: As Of Now, It's Called the Paragon Bridge!

Next he went to the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Before leaving the Ninth Mountain and Sea, he wanted to see… Ke Jiusi!

However, although he could find the location of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, he was unable to enter. There was an invisible barrier in place that he could not pass without trying to break it open.

He hovered quietly outside of the ruins for a while before finally clasping hands and bowing deeply. Then he turned and left.

On a mountain peak inside the rubble of the sect, Ke Jiusi stood there looking at Naruto leave.

Suddenly Night's voice spoke out next to him: "Why didn't you let him in?"

"He has Hebi Tian's Karma on him… and I have even more than he does. If the two of us met now… it would be harmful for him." Ke Jiusi sighed, then turned his head to look out at the ruins stretching out beneath him.

"Ji Tian…." he murmured, cold killing intent gleaming in his eyes.

Naruto didn't get a chance to meet Ke Jiusi again. He left and headed toward the Ruins of Immortality. He needed to get the incomplete Paragon Bridge that he had copied to make his Paragon magic. Back then, he had been unable to take away the bridge itself.

But now, his own Paragon Bridge had already transformed. Thanks to the Bridge of Immortal Treading, it was no longer illusory, but corporeal. With his current cultivation base… he would be able to use his Paragon magic and merge it with the true broken Paragon Bridge.

A prismatic streak shot into the Ruins of Immortality as Naruto followed the same course as last time. He saw many of the same things he had seen before. He saw broken down temples and huge disembodied heads. He saw numerous corpses, shattered lands, destroyed magical items, and the ruins of palaces, all floating out in the void….

After a long time, he reached the area where he had created his Daoist magic, and then found the location where he had gained enlightenment of his Paragon magic… the shattered bridge!

It was only a section of that bridge, but even from a distance and despite the fact that it had fallen into ruins, Naruto could sense the might of a Paragon emanating off of it, the incredible power of Heaven and Earth.

This bridge had once spanned the highest Heavens, and had been the object of worship by countless life forms, all of whom deeply desired to walk upon it!

But now, it was broken. Perhaps most of the bridge had faded away into the sands of time, and only this small section was what remained.

After all the years that had passed, it remained in this one spot. No one had ever been able to take it away. Not even Hebi Tian could take it, much less other Dao Realm cultivators.

However, years ago, Naruto had forged his own Paragon magic by means of this bridge and thus had allowed it to become whole once again. It was that very Daoist magic that had earned him a spot in the Echelon.

Today, he had returned to take the bridge away!

"Are you really the Paramita Bridge?" he asked softly. "Well, I'm not completely certain what your previous name was, but I do know… that a lot of people know you." He couldn't help but think of the black-robed man who had emerged from the Paragon Painting in the Windswept Realm, and the expression on his face when he saw the Paragon Bridge.

"Perhaps in the so-called Paramita, even Paragons need to walk across you… to truly become Paragons…. 1

"But today, I'm going to take you away. From now on, you… belong to Naruto . You are my… Paragon Bridge!" Naruto 's eyes shone with a bright light as he began to walk forward toward the bridge. The pressure of a Paragon rumbled out, and Naruto began to shine with scintillating light. He waved his right hand, and suddenly his Paragon Bridge appeared.

"Merge!" he roared, performing a double handed incantation gesture and then waving his finger toward his Paragon Bridge. Instantly, the two bridges began to merge together. The roar of the Bridge Soul could be heard from the Paragon Bridge as it ensured that nothing unexpected happened during the merger.

As the process continued, the pressure radiating off of the Paragon

Bridge grew stronger. Rumbling filled the air, and everything grew dim. A wind swept through the Ruins of Immortality, as if the Paragon Bridge were truly awakening!

The pressure intensified, and the Heavens trembled. The Ruins of Immortality quaked, and soon the entire Mountain and Sea Realm was imperceptibly shaking. No power of expulsion could be felt from the Mountains and Seas, and yet it seemed like a pair of invisible eyes had turned their gaze towards it, as if recalling memories of the past.

That wasn't all… above the Mountain and Sea Realm, in the 33 Heavens, everything was shaking. Countless cultivators there were shocked, although they had no idea what exactly was happening.

In addition… outside the 33 Heavens, far out in the great expanse, was a world in which several suns were hauling a huge statue. All of the cultivators there were also astonished.

Shockingly, it was also possible to see that in the land of the statue, which was growing inexorably closer to the Mountain and Sea Realm, there was also a bridge hovering in midair. It was also a Paragon Bridge, but it was in ruins, as if it were in place only as a symbol and had lost all of its previous significance.

That bridge also began to tremble.

The voice of woman spoke out, gloomy and serious: "Someone is awakening it…."

Beneath the 33 Heavens, back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, in the Ruins of Immortality in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Naruto threw his head back and roared. He suddenly flew up to stand atop the Paragon Bridge, where he first lifted his hands up into the air and then slammed them down onto the surface of the bridge.

"Merge!"

RUMBLE!

Naruto 's Paragon Bridge began to descend as the merging quickened. The aura of a Paragon rose up into the air, inundating Naruto . Even though this was his own Paragon magic, he was still affected, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.

However, his eyes gleamed with focus. This time, he was going to take away the ruins of the Paragon Bridge no matter what! He was going to merge them with his own Paragon Bridge to make it stronger!

"MERGE!" Naruto glowed with azure light as the Bridge Soul of his Paragon Bridge went all out, risking its own life as it controlled the bridge, causing it to descend further in its merging into the original bridge.

This time there was a force of expulsion, which turned into a powerful backlash attack. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and his Paragon Bridge appeared to be on the verge of collapsing.

Apparently, the majesty of the broken bridge would not permit anyone to take control or ownership of it!

"Meat jelly! Parrot! Get out here!" Naruto roared. Naruto wiped the blood off his lips as the meat jelly and parrot flew out of his bag of holding. As soon as they appeared, their eyes went wide.

"Y-y-you… what are you doing?!" the meat jelly said, trembling. The shattered bridge filled it with a sensation of complete terror. That bridge had once been powerful enough to affect Heaven and Earth, to shake the world. Even though that power was now broken, its aura was still there!

"It's THAT bridge!" the parrot squawked excitedly. "Suppress it! Fudge! Lord Fifth will definitely help you suppress it!" It transformed into a multi-colored streak of light that shot toward the broken Paragon Bridge. Naruto 's Paragon Bridge then increased its own pressure and began to descend once more.

The meat jelly gritted its teeth and spread out as it transformed into a flying rope. Apparently, the moronic meat jelly had decided to try to tie the broken Paragon Bridge and Naruto 's Paragon Bridge together!

Rumbling filled the air as the Paragon Bridges continued to merge together. Naruto 's cultivation base was in full rotation, exploding with the full might of an Allheaven Dao Immortal. By now, the forced merger had reached the point where the broken bridge and Naruto 's Paragon Bridge were now almost completely superimposed.

However, it was at this point that the power of a backlash attack, as well as the aura of expulsion both exploded out. Performing an incantation gesture, Naruto unleashed his Demon Sealing Hexing magic.

"You're already broken!" he shouted. "You might have been supreme and almighty in the past, but now you're rubble! You're incomplete, not even half of what you used to be. With the will of my Paragon magic, and the form of the Bridge of Immortal Treading, I won't believe that I can't absorb you!" His eyes were shot with blood, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. Gritting his teeth, he produced his fourth Nirvana Fruit and pressed it into his forehead.

"Mastiff!" he roared, and the mastiff flew out to form a cape.

"Parrot!" The parrot and the copper mirror instantly formed together into the Battle Weapon. This time, it was not a long blade, but rather a glove! As the glove settled on Naruto 's hand, he took seven steps forward, building up massive energy and then unleashing a powerful punch!

It was the God-Slaying Fist, Naruto 's most powerful fist strike, capable of shaking even cultivators of the Dao Realm. His Paragon Bridge was already beyond qualified to absorb the ruins of the bridge. With the power of the fist strike pouring into it, that last final distance between the two was closed!

The two bridges were completely superimposed!

At some point a woman, dressed in white, had appeared up above. It was Paragon Sea Dream, who watched Naruto merge the two bridges, a complex expression on her face.

In the moment that the two bridges superimposed, the broken bridge trembled, and then… cracking sounds could be heard as it collapsed of its own accord! It was just like the World Tree, which destroyed itself rather than look up and see a sky controlled by the Hebi Clan. The bridge was aware that it was simply too weak to do anything to prevent itself from being absorbed.

If it were anyone else, the bridge would be able to fight back, even if it were weaker than it was right now. However… Naruto was different. He had the will of the Paragon Bridge, and the form of the Bridge of Immortal Treading. He had a Bridge Soul. Essentially… Naruto 's Paragon Bridge was… the true supreme Paragon Bridge.

Although it was not as paramount as the broken bridge had been, it was more complete!

Since that was the case, there was no way for it to prevent the merging, so the broken bridge chose to use the last bit of its aura to destroy itself! It would rather explode… than be absorbed!

Naruto 's face flickered as he looked at the broken bridge crumbling and turning into ash. Then his eyes shone with a shocking, icy gleam.

"You would rather destroy yourself than be absorbed, huh…? Well then, go ahead and blow yourself up. Your death will allow my Paragon Bridge to take your place, to be born anew!" Roaring, Naruto pushed both hands down onto the Paragon Bridge, which instantly began to shine with brilliant light. Instead of attempting to merge with the broken bridge, the Paragon Bridge would consume it!

It would consume the ancient broken bridge to give itself new life!

In the future, there would be no broken bridge. There would only be Naruto 's Paragon Bridge!

Rumbling could be heard as the Paragon Bridge voraciously consumed the flying ash that was the remnants of the broken bridge. As it did, its aura rose dramatically, shaking Heaven and Earth!

The Paragon Bridge truly did have new life. It was now no longer illusory in any sense of the word. It was… completely corporeal!

When it became real, the 33 Heavens trembled, and all the bridges there collapsed. The incomplete bridge in the world of the statue, out in the vast expanse, also trembled and collapsed. For all eternity… it would never again exist!

Back in the Ruins of Immortality, Paragon Sea Dream's soft voice echoed out,

"It used to have a name," she said. "It was called the Heaven Tra–"

"As of now," Naruto interrupted, "it's called the Paragon Bridge!" His words were not a show of disrespect. Rather, he didn't want to hear the former name. What he cared about was the current bridge, not what it had been in the past.

Turning, Naruto waved his hand, causing the Paragon Bridge to emit a rumbling drone. The Ruins of Immortality shook as the bridge faded away. Naruto clasped hands and bowed to Paragon Sea Dream, then turned and left.

Paragon Sea Dream hovered there, watching Naruto make his way off. Her eyes flickered with an absent-minded gleam.

"Back in the day, Big Brother Nine Seals… was just as imposing…." Chapter 1204: As Of Now, It's Called the Paragon Bridge!

Note from Deathblade: The following is a little anecdote from Er Gen, translasted by anonpuffs. Keep in mind that in China, virtually all cell phones are basically pre-paid, although many allow you to overdraw your account.

Note from Er Gen: Let me tell you an embarrassing story, this afternoon I made a phone call to my old lady. There was a notification that the phone card was overdrawn, so I paid 10 yuan (about U.S. $1.60 at the time) for her. Then I called a friend, and there was another notification about an overdrawn card, so I paid 10 yuan again. I ended up making 4 calls and every time the cards were overdrawn, so I got mad. I ended up paying 10 yuan every time.

Finally, I made yet another call, but outrageously enough they were overdrawn yet again. I got super mad and called customer service and let them have it. After a round of complaining, the customer service agent told me gently, 'Sir, they actually didn't owe any money on their accounts, it's your card that's overdrawn…'

The characters for Paramita can also be read "the other shore," which might be relevant since we're talking about a bridge here. Also, the

"other shore" aspect plays into the meaning of the Buddhist concept of

Paramita ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1205

Chapter 1205 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1205: Slaughter Appears Again!

Naruto had finished collecting debts from the Five Great Holy Lands, the Three Churches and Six Sects. He had visited his old friends and completed his Paragon Bridge. Now, the only debts left were among the Three Great Clans.

Of course, as far as the Li Clan was concerned, Naruto felt a bit embarrassed to go there. That left… only the Song and Wang Clans!

"Song Luodan and Wang Mu. Once I collect your debts, then I'll leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea!" He flew out of the Ruins of Immortality, eyes flickering as he headed toward an asteroid teleportation portal. Actually, deep in his heart, there was still one other place he wanted to visit, right before he left.

Planet North Reed was far larger than Planet South Heaven. It was even larger than Planet East Victory. From a distance, it looked like an enormous blue sphere. Shockingly, it was orbited by three other smaller planetoids.

Those three planetoids housed the Three Great Clans, and even Planet North Reed itself was divided amongst those clans.

All of the sects and schools here were auxiliary branches of those very clans.

Currently, Naruto was walking out of a flickering teleportation portal on one of Planet North Reed's three planetoids, the one that belonged to the Song Clan.

As soon as he appeared, he found himself facing several hundred disciples of the Song Clan. Apparently, they had been waiting for him. Almost as soon as he appeared, one of the Song Clan disciples stepped forward with a bag of holding.

"Our Clan Prince said that all of the extortion money he owes you is here!" the Song Clan cultivator said angrily. Then he threw the bag toward Naruto .

Naruto blinked in response to the way the Song Clan was handling the matter. He was aware that word had spread throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea about him going around collecting debt. It was something that clearly would not endear him to others, so the Song Clan handed over the balance of the debt immediately in order to shoo him away.

But Naruto didn't care, so long as he got his money. After scanning the bag of holding with divine sense to confirm the amount inside was correct, he turned to leave. His destination was not the teleportation portal, but rather, the starry sky, and beyond that, the Wang Clan!

Currently, the teleportation portal behind him was flashing continuously as one cultivator after another showed up to watch the scene of Naruto collecting debt. However, what was happening now was actually fairly boring. They had hoped to see Naruto collecting his debts through force, not just this lukewarm scene of him accepting the money without ado.

Meanwhile, Song Luodan sat on a mountain peak some distance away, watching the events unfold via a secret magic. When he saw that everything was ending, he let out a sigh of relief. Although he felt truly wronged in the whole matter, there was nothing he could do about it. If he could settle his debt with the miserly Naruto and make him leave, that was all the better.

However, just as Naruto was about to leave, the Song Clan cultivator who had given him the bag of holding, apparently disgusted with what was happening, sarcastically said, "Our Clan Prince said that the Heavens see everything we do. If you go around extorting people like this, you'll get your comeuppance sooner or later!"

The other Song Clan cultivators gaped in shock. Off in the distance, Song Luodan's jaw dropped, and he shot to his feet, rage building up in his face. He was willing to swear an oath that he had never said such words.

He was familiar with Naruto 's personality, and he knew that uttering words like that would turn the situation into a disaster!

"Dammit!" he thought, instantly flying off of the top of the mountain. He couldn't just sit around and watch what was happening; he had to go give Naruto an explanation. In order to raise the money he needed to pay back Naruto , he had borrowed from virtually every willing party in the sect. In fact, he had even taken out a loan from the sect itself. If all of that was destroyed because of a single sentence, he would be reduced to tears.

Just before Naruto left, right before he flew up into the air, he heard the words being spoken and then looked back at the Song Clan cultivator. He also noticed the surrounding rogue cultivators who had come to watch the show, who were all looking on excitedly. There were even some who seemed to want to thank the Song Clan cultivator for speaking up.

"Well, now, isn't this interesting?" Naruto said, smiling. The other members of the Song Clan were trembling, and when they saw him smiling, they edged backward, beads of sweat popping out on their foreheads. "Based on what I know about Song Luodan, he isn't that stupid. He would either grit his teeth and hand over the money, or grit his teeth and refuse.

"Whatever his choice , he wouldn't say something like that. It seems…

Song Luodan's position within the Song Clan has become a bit unstable. Well, that doesn't matter. Since he and I are friends, I might be able to help him out a bit." His smile grew more radiant, and even a bit bashful and embarrassed.

His smile and his words caused the faces of the surrounding Song Clan cultivators to flicker.

"That's what the Prince told me to–"

"Song Luodan, get out here!" Naruto said suddenly, his voice rumbling like thunder, echoing throughout the entire planetoid.

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Song Luodan appeared, flashing in his direction as fast as lightning. As soon as he arrived, he waved his sleeve, causing a wild wind to spring up and wrap around the clan member who had spoken moments ago. The man was immediately sent flying off into the distance, blood spraying out of his mouth, clearly seriously injured.

"Fudge," he roared. "How dare you try to frame me! Men, arrest him!" The surrounding Song Clan cultivators immediately flew out and grabbed ahold of the man.

Not even taking the time to ask the man who had given the orders for him to speak, Song Luodan spun and looked at Naruto , face grim and heart filled with bitterness. He suddenly regretted his earlier decision to try to save face by not meeting Naruto in person. If he had, then what had occurred moments ago would never have happened.

Naruto looked at Song Luodan with an enigmatic smile, waiting for him to speak.

"I never said that!" Song Luodan grated stiffly.

"I know," Naruto said with a smile. "Actually, since we're acquainted, why don't I help you out with this situation? I'll do it for a great price."

Song Luodan was about to refuse, but then, his eyes glittered. "How much do you want?"

"Double what was in the bag of holding you just gave me."

"You're ruthless! Fine. His name is Song Luoshen, Chosen of the direct bloodline of the Song Clan. He's trying to steal the position of Dao Child from me. Don't kill him! Just ruin his reputation!"

Naruto chuckled, and then suddenly called out in a voice like thunder, "Song Luoshen! You owe me money! Time to pay me back!"

His voice seemed to contain Heavenly might as it echoed out through the planetoid, causing countless mountains to tremble. A coldly-spoken response drifted in from off in the distance.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki , I don't remember owing you anything. The person who owes you money is Song Luodan."

"If I say you owe me, then you owe me!" Even as he spoke, Naruto took a step forward. His body flickered, and he reappeared off in the distance, where he launched a punch into the ground. Immediately, the land collapsed, and a figure flew out.

It was a young man, handsome, but with narrow eyes. Originally, those eyes had been glittering with venomous coldness, but now, they were bright with alarm at the sight of Naruto 's display of domineering might.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki , what are you trying to do!?" the young man roared. He urgently backed up, and at the same time, dozens of beams of light began to fly out from within the Song Clan. Those would be the powerful experts in charge of guarding the area.

By now, all of the various sects and clans had gotten the news about the way Naruto went about collecting debt. The Song Clan didn't want to be any further entangled with him; they simply wanted to get him to leave as quickly as possible.

However, these people had been ordered to stand guard in the area just in case something unexpected happened. Now that they saw Naruto making a move, they showed their faces.

" Naruto , you've been paid what you were owed, what are you trying to do!?" Roaring shouts could be heard as the dozens of beams of light closed in to protect the young man from being attacked by Naruto .

"Song Luodan already paid me," he replied coolly, "but this Song Luoshen hasn't." He waved his right hand, causing a wild wind to spring up and envelop the group. Even as their minds were shaken, Naruto strode forward toward Song Luoshen.

"I don't owe you money!" Song Luoshen cried. He was already filled with regret at trying to use Naruto to weaken Song Luodan. However, regret was now useless. As he shot backward, he crushed a jade slip, requesting assistance from the Clan Elders.

"You don't deserve to owe me money, and yet you try to incite a conflict between me and Song Luodan? What a flimsy plan! I really don't understand how someone with an intellect like yours could possibly cause Song Luodan to feel threatened." Shaking his head, Naruto waved his hand toward Song Luoshen, then made a grasping motion, which caused Song Luoshen to fly toward him, trembling.

"Patriarch, save me!" Song Luoshen screamed. Naruto suddenly clenched his left hand into a fist and then punched out into the air next to him with the God-Slaying Fist!

That punch caused the air to collapse. A muffled grunt could be heard as an emaciated, grim-faced old man appeared. He had been attempting to save Song Luoshen, but hadn't been fast enough. He could now do nothing but watch as Naruto grabbed onto Song Luoshen.

" Naruto ," he said in a dark tone, "don't push things too far. The Song

Clan doesn't want to make you an enemy, but you can't be so excessive!" This man was emanating the aura of the Dao Realm. He was obviously one of the Dao Realm Patriarchs of the Song Clan.

Even as he spoke, another Dao Realm aura began to emanate out from the planetoid. Although no one appeared, the aura locked down onto Naruto .

Further off on Planet North Reed, another even more terrifying Dao Realm Aura seemed to focus its attention on what was happening.

"The struggles over the position of Song Clan Dao Child have nothing to do with me. However, Song Luoshen clearly plotted against me, and for that, he shall pay the price." Naruto held Song Luoshen in hand and looked steadily at the emaciated old man, completely ignoring his Dao Realm Aura.

The old man glared angrily at Song Luoshen. It was only now that he realized that Song Luoshen had actually taken the initiative to scheme against Naruto , and he cursed him for his foolishness. The entire Song Clan had tacitly approved of the way Song Luodan had collected the money he needed to pay Naruto , and when those efforts had fallen short the clan itself had been willing to loan him money. It was easy to see from this that generally speaking, the Song Clan had no desire whatsoever to provoke Naruto .

But now, this idiot had gone and done exactly that. From the emaciated old man's perspective, Song Luoshen was simply incurably moronic. If it weren't for the fact that his bloodline was uniquely important to the safety of the clan, he would ignore the matter.

"We will definitely compensate you for this matter," the old man said slowly. Naruto smiled and release Song Luoshen. He was just about to speak when, all of a sudden, a tremor ran through him, and he stared blankly over the old man's shoulder.

The old man's eyes widened, and he turned around, but didn't see anything. As he frowned, he could sense Naruto 's eyes narrowing.

Naruto began to pant. Moments ago, he had seen something very bizarre behind the old man. It was a man in a black robe, with long white hair, strolling along through the void.

He had a shocking murderous aura. It was… none other than the man who had walked out of the Paragon magic in the Windswept Realm… the Paragon!

Slaughter!

Chapter 1205: Slaughter Appears Again!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1206

Chapter 1206 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1206: Daoist Magic of Time!

Naruto could see the black-robed man, but no one else could. He seemed lonely, with the supreme air of a Paragon, and yet he radiated a boundless murderous aura as he walked past the Song Clan Patriarch and headed out toward the starry sky.

Panting anxiously, Naruto completely forgot about the matter of settling accounts. He instantly flashed through the air to follow the black-robed man.

In the Windswept Realm, he had personally watched this man walked out into the void and then vanish. He would never have been able to imagine that he would actually… see him again here.

The emaciated old man frowned. He hadn't seen anything unusual at all; Naruto 's bizarre reaction caused his eyes to narrow.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki …." the old man said.

Almost at the same time, Naruto cried out, "Senior, wait for me!" He kept his eyes fixed on the black-robed man, who was strolling off into the distance at incredible speed. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the black-robed man paused and then slowly turned his head to glance casually at Naruto .

That single glance caused Naruto 's mind to tremble as if lightning were striking it. It didn't matter that he was an Allheaven Dao Immortal, as of that moment, his entire consciousness felt as if it were sinking into boundless slaughter.

He trembled violently, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. It felt as if some indescribable power were pounding through his mind, simultaneously… wiping away all his memories of the black-robed man!

The rumbling wasn't just affecting Naruto . The emaciated old man also started trembling. That was because in the instant that the blackrobed man had turned around, he was also able to see him!

That single glance caused blood to spray out of the old man's mouth, and his Essence aura to grow unstable. His expression was one of shock before it suddenly went blank. His memories of how he had been injured just now, as well as the sight of the black-robed man, were instantly wiped away.

It wasn't just him, it was also the other Dao Realm Patriarch on the planetoid. When the black-robed man turned and became visible, they had caught sight of him. However, his single glance sent their minds spinning, caused them to cough up blood, and made them feel like they were about to explode. It was as if a huge hand were forcibly wiping away everything about the man that existed in their minds.

The same thing happened to the Song Clan's most powerful Patriarch, the one on Planet North Reed itself, who had been watching Naruto the entire time. Naruto 's bizarre behavior had startled him, and when the black-robed man turned around, it caused the Dao Realm Patriarch to cough up several mouthfuls of blood. His memories were also wiped away, no matter what he did to fight back. It was like he was so weak that he couldn't stand up to a single blow.

All of these things take some time to describe, but actually happened in a brief moment. The ordinary clan members' memories were not wiped away because they had never laid eyes on the black-robed man in the first place.

However, they saw Naruto and the Patriarchs coughing up blood, which, coupled with the miserable shrieks that echoed from their mouths, made the scene completely bizarre. All of the surrounding Song Clan cultivators gasped.

Naruto was the first to regain his senses. His eyes were completely bloodshot as the invisible hand threatened to wipe away his memories of the black-robed man. Apparently, this gaze embodied a paramount Daoist magic. The black-robed man did not wish memories of him to exist in anyone's minds. To ensure that no trace of him was remembered by anyone, he would wipe their minds clean.

However, in the moment that Naruto 's memories were about to be wiped away, he roared, and azure light suddenly exploded out of him. The power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal surged out, and the drop of Paragon's blood inside of him seethed. His eyes shone with wild light, and he gritted his teeth as he produced his fourth Nirvana Fruit, then pushed it down into his forehead.

"My memories belong to me for all eternity! If I want them wiped out, that's my decision. Other people… don't have the right or the qualifications to touch my memories!"

He continued to cough up blood as the Nirvana Fruit melted down into him. It caused the azure light to become even more radiant and, combined with the Paragon's blood, made Naruto just barely capable of resisting the enormous hand, which he shoved out of his mind.

RUMBLE!

He staggered backward, coughing up another mouthful of blood, but completely clear-headed. He lifted his head up to find the black-robed man looking at him with a surprised expression.

The black-robed man stared at him for a moment, then nodded, as if he approved of Naruto 's existence. Then he turned and began to walk off into the distance.

Naruto took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and flew after him. He could sense that this man harbored no malice. That gaze from earlier could shake Heaven and Earth, but in actuality… it was apparently some sort of test.

Of those he tested, only those who managed to maintain their memories of him could qualify… to follow him off into the distance.

After a long moment, Naruto and the black-robed man were gone, and the emaciated old man from the Song Clan regained his senses, as did the other two Patriarchs.

They quickly communicated with each other via divine sense, and came to the realization that none of them had any memories regarding what had just happened. They only remembered Naruto acting strangely.

However, these were Dao Realm experts. The black-robed man might have taken action to wipe away their memories, but he didn't hide that fact. After the three of them considered what had happened, they quickly reached a conclusion.

"We saw some being that we should not have seen…."

"That terrifying entity erased whatever it was that we saw…."

After questioning some of the surrounding disciples, the three Song Clan Dao Realm Patriarchs' hearts sank, and their fear of Naruto increased.

From the various clues they had gathered, they came to the conclusion that whatever being it was that had erased their memories must also have some connection to Naruto . After all, Naruto had caught sight of the man before they had. Therefore… what was written between the lines was that Naruto knew that terrifying entity!

"Pass orders down that no members of the Song Clan are to have anything to do with Naruto …. He harbors too many terrifying secrets, secrets… that we should not know anything about!" Having made their decision, the three Song Clan Patriarchs officially sent their orders out. As for Song Luoshen, who had dared to provoke Naruto , the three Patriarchs actually didn't rebuke him at all. However, the way they ignored him left him feeling very uneasy.

Song Luodan had been watching from off in the distance. He looked thoughtfully in the direction Naruto had headed, and realized… that it was the planetoid controlled by the Wang Clan.

Out in the starry sky, the black-robed man didn't take very long strides, and yet every step was like a teleportation. Naruto drew on the full power of his cultivation base, and yet was quickly falling behind.

Seeing that he couldn't catch up, he didn't allow himself to get nervous. Instead, he keyed in on the movement of the man's legs. As he watched, he was able to detect that there was a certain cadence to the way he walked. Naruto began to imitate it, lifting his feet up and placing them down in a certain way.

Although he wasn't able to tell, the way he was imitating the man caused his own figure to pulse between being blurry and being clear. Every step he took caused the starry sky to seemingly shrink. When his foot landed, the starry sky would return to normal.

Without even realizing it, he was actually matching his steps to the black-robed man's, even catching up. Every time the man lifted his foot up, so did Naruto . Every time he stepped down, so did Naruto .

Time passed, although Naruto wasn't sure how much. On the one hand, it seemed like a moment, but on the other hand, it seemed endless. He was lost in the special cadence of walking, step after step….

Suddenly, the black-robed man stopped walking, and Naruto shivered as he awakened from his reverie. He looked around to find that he was still in the vicinity of Planet North Reed, although he had traveled from one of the smaller planetoids to another.

Although the planetoids were some distance away from each other, they weren't that far. In fact, you could even reach from one to another with divine sense. Considering the level of Naruto 's cultivation base, it would only take a few breaths of time to go from one to another.

But for some reason, he felt as if a long time had just passed, which would seem to indicate that he had traveled for a very long distance. However, the situation seemed to be the exact opposite, which left Naruto feeling as if something strange was going on.

By now, he was sure that the state he had been in just now and that special way of walking was definitely some strange Daoist magic, and an unusual one at that. However, the facts of the matter made Naruto feel as if… he had overestimated the walking technique.

He couldn't say that he was disappointed, but he did sigh inwardly. At this point he turned to look back in the direction of the Song Clan's planetoid, and suddenly, he began to shake. His eyes went wide with disbelief and shock.

His whole body shook; it was as if all of the amazing and shocking things he had experienced in his entire life put together weren't nearly as stunning as what he was seeing now….

He had seen many astonishing things in his years, but as of this moment, what he was seeing… was truly unbelievable!

His mind felt as if it were being struck by a million lightning bolts. His jaw dropped, and he stared in the direction of the Song Clan's planetoid as the flicker of teleportation could be seen and a person emerged from the teleportation portal.

He was handsome and had the air of a scholar. He even seemed to glow with azure light. He watched this scholar be handed a bag of holding by the Song Clan cultivators, and then saw the young man cry out in a thunderous voice.

"Song Luodan, get out here!" What he was seeing was almost like a vision… of himself!

He watched himself move forward and grab Song Luoshen. He saw the emaciated man make his appearance, and then saw the black-robed man appear. He saw the test administered, then saw the black-robed man strolling out into the starry sky. Then… he saw himself following, all the way… until the other black-robed man and the other Naruto superimposed with their real selves.

Naruto was shaking, and great waves of shock roared through his head.

"That walking technique wasn't too slow," he murmured. "It was too fast! So fast… that it can cause you to travel through time…. I can't believe that I actually walked backward… for one incense stick's worth of time!" The bizarreness of the Daoist magic caused his mind to rumble with sounds like thunder.

After a long moment passed, Naruto turned to look at the blackrobed man, who was now looking down toward an area down below, situated between a mountain and a river.

Naruto 's heart was gripped with shock as he also looked down at the foot of that mountain, where there was a bamboo forest. Inside the bamboo forest was a vulgar-looking old man, sitting there cross-legged.

Directly in front of the old man was a young man, who happened to be none other than Wang Mu.

Chapter 1206: Daoist Magic of Time!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1207

Chapter 1207: Grievous News!

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he looked at the black-robed man, within whose eyes had suddenly appeared… gentleness.

That gentleness was not directed toward Wang Mu, but rather, to the old man sitting in front of him. 1

That old man was a stranger to Naruto ; he had never seen him before. However, the moment he laid eyes on him, Naruto got the feeling that there was something terrifyingly powerful about him.

Time passed; the black-robed man and Naruto both hovered there, looking down.

After a while… the black-robed man suddenly took a step forward. Naruto imitated him subconsciously, and when his foot landed, the world seemed to momentarily become magnified and his vision blurred momentarily. When it became clear, both the black-robed man and Naruto were now standing in the bamboo forest next to the old man and Wang Mu.

Naruto took a deep breath, but apparently Wang Mu hadn't the slightest idea any of this was happening.

"Alright," the old man said coolly, "this session of cultivation is done.

Come back tomorrow." He waved his right hand, and Wang Mu staggered backward. He looked up with an unyielding gleam in his eyes.

"I want to defeat Wang Tengfei!"

"Then you need to work harder at cultivation," the old man replied, his voice echoing out. Wang Mu once again staggered backwards uncontrollably, then vanished.

After Wang Mu disappeared, complete silence fell over the bamboo forest. For some reason, the ambiance of the area felt somewhat eerie to Naruto . Furthermore, within the silence, a slight droning sound began to rise.

Soon, Naruto realized that flying towards them from within the bamboo forest was… a cloud of mosquitos!

They didn't seem any larger than ordinary mosquitos, but for some reason, when Naruto looked at them, his heart trembled, and a sense of grave crisis exploded up within him.

These were definitely not ordinary mosquitos, of that Naruto was certain. The kind of aura that was emanating from them was something he had never sensed on any beast before.

It was an aura filled with murderous intent, and a towering brutality. Most importantly, there was a sensation of profound ancientness. Based on the level of Naruto 's current cultivation base, he gradually reached a conclusion that caused his heart to tremble!

"These mosquitos are… more ancient than the Mountain and Sea Realm itself!" He began to pant as he stared at the mosquitos, especially one in particular that was completely gold and flying in the lead. Boundless ripples spread out from it as it flew directly toward Naruto and the black-robed man.

It then began to circulate around the black-robed man, buzzing with what seemed to be both joy and grief. From the way it flew around him, it seemed to want to get closer to him, and yet was separated from him, as if by some invisible barrier that it could not cross. 2

Naruto suddenly realized that the black-robed man seemed to have the same expression of both joy and grief.

It was at this point that a sigh could be heard coming from the skinny old man. Although he normally looked vulgar, right now, he seemed filled with complicated, melancholy emotions. He suddenly turned and looked directly at Naruto .

Naruto 's mind trembled. It was as if that gaze were a sharp sword that was currently stabbing into his mind, attempting to shred his divine sense into nothing. Azure light suddenly sprang up, and the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal exploded out. Not only did it shield his mind, it also transformed a portion of his cultivation base into a swordlike gaze which stabbed back into the eyes of the old man.

"Eee?" the old man said, eyes flickering. Moments later, everything returned to normal. The old man looked thoughtfully at Naruto for a moment before turning his complicated gaze toward the black-robed man.

Obviously, he was completely aware that both Naruto and the blackrobed man were standing there!

"You…." the old man said softly. Apparently, that was all he could say before he was at a loss for words, as the complex feelings within him grew stronger.

After a moment of silence, the black-robed man suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse, cold, and ancient. "Where is he?"

Although the three words he spoke were completely ordinary in nature, when spoken by him, they were filled with a shocking murderous aura, as if this man were fundamentally… formed from a murderous aura.

Naruto took a deep breath. Although he had no idea who this blackrobed man was, if he didn't understand what was going on between him and the old man, then he had no right to have practiced cultivation to his current level.

"They know each other!

"We're in the Wang Clan, and this old man is one of Wang Mu's teachers. He also knows Wang Tengfei. That means that it's very likely that he is also a member of the Wang Clan!

"This black-robed Paragon is very mysterious, and clearly cannot be a cultivator from the modern era. He's existed for ages, and certainly comes from before the time when the Mountain and Sea Realm existed. That much is obvious because of what happened with those ancient mosquitos.

"In that case, since they know each other, this old man…." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto 's pupils constricted. In his past dealings with the Wang Clan, he had always felt their magical techniques to be bizarre. Furthermore, there was something very mysterious and extraordinary about their bloodline.

Even as Naruto 's mind spun, the skinny old man thought for a moment and then spoke in a hoarse voice that seemed to be filled with reminiscence.

"Back then, he left, and never came back…."

The black-robed man closed his eyes for a moment. Finally, he opened them, and asked, "What about her?"

"They left together. She never came back either." The old man sighed. Within the complicated gaze he leveled at the black-robed man was hidden astonishment and disbelief. Unable to hold back, he finally asked the question that burned in his mind. "You… back then, didn't you dissipate?"

The black-robed man shook his head. Declining to say anything else, he turned to leave….

"Wang…." The old man only spoke one word before stopping, as if he wasn't sure exactly how to address the man.

However, that single word caused Naruto 's mind to tremble. He looked at the old man, then at the black-robed man. The character 'Wang 王,' had two meanings of course. One carried the meaning of a king. The other… caused Naruto to gasp.

"He's… a member of the Wang Clan! The Wang Clan Patriarch?" Naruto felt his thoughts going wild.

"If he's a Wang Clan Patriarch, then that means… the Wang Clan definitely did not originate in the Mountain and Sea Realm. They… existed in the time of the Immortal World!" His eyes went wide, and he moved to follow the black-robed man as he left.

He took a step, and his vision blurred. When it cleared, he was with the black-robed man back up in the starry sky. The black-robed man hovered there thoughtfully, before finally looking out into the void.

It was as if his gaze could pierce the 33 Heavens and see the expanse beyond, including the butterflies dragging the land mass, and the suns pulling the statue, as they rumbled in the direction of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"They're almost here…." the black-robed man murmured, his voice so icy that the void around him grew colder. That was not done intentionally, it was merely a result of his murderous aura.

He looked off into the distance and then began to walk. Each step he took seemed without end, and Naruto hurried to keep up. However, in the space of a few breaths, the man was so far away… that he knew it would be impossible to catch up to him!

Naruto knew that he couldn't catch up because the man didn't want him to. Urgently, he called out, "Senior, who are you, sir?"

"A person… who probably shouldn't be here," was the icy response. The black-robed man was now further off in the distance.

Naruto was the type of person to seize every opportunity. As the saying went, he would pluck feathers from a passing goose. Although he was awestruck by the black-robed man, he gritted his teeth and said, "Senior, look, we are bound by ties of destiny. Could you please teach me some of your Daoist magic, Senior? I mean, the reason you're here has something to do with me, right…?"

The black-robed man paused in midstep. It seemed he rarely encountered cultivators the likes of Naruto .

"Spatial Bending. If you master that, and we meet again… then I guess I can pass on to you the secret to… Call the Wind." The black-robed man's voice drifted out behind him as he vanished into the starry sky. 3

There was no way for Naruto to catch up. However, several different emotions could be seen on his face as he looked at the man leaving, and in fact, his eyes began to shine.

"So he really is a Patriarch of the Wang Clan…" The magic of Call the Wind was something Naruto had seen Wang Mu unleash. He had always felt it to be extraordinary, but had never been able to acquire it. 4

"Ah well, it is what it is. Wang Mu, you owe me money, but now I'm in no hurry to get it back. Having Karma connecting me to you is the same as having Karma with the Wang Clan!" Heart filled with decisiveness, he turned, closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them and took a step. Much the same as before, he slipped into a strange state as he began to experiment with walking in that strange, prescribed fashion.

"This magic is called Spatial Bending, huh…? It seems that this is just the first step, a way to bend space-time…." Naruto was very excited. He could already think of many ways that this Daoist magic could be used in magical combat.

In fact, if he got familiar enough with it, perhaps he could even use it to travel through time!

At this thought, a strange look appeared in Naruto 's eyes as he walked off into the distance.

Time passed as he walked in that special fashion for several days. During that time, he didn't worry about collecting any debts, nor did he stop by any asteroid teleportation portals. He was separated from the world, alone as he traversed the starry sky, getting familiar with the walking technique.

In the middle of his enlightenment, the transmission jade slip within his bag of holding vibrated many times. However, he didn't notice that, as he was fully immersed in the strange state.

He had no idea, but during those several days, someone he knew was traveling all around looking for him, engulfed in grief.

That person went to Planet South Heaven, and then to Planet East

Victory. He scoured the entirety of the Namikaze Clan, and then went to the Song Clan, to Mount Sun, and any other place where Naruto might have been found.

Unfortunately… that person did not find Naruto .

"Is this the working of fate…? Is he fated… to not be able to see her one last time?" The person searching for Naruto was Pill Demon!

His expression was one of grief, and he sighed constantly. Eventually, he gave up the search and returned to the Mount Kunlun….

Another three days passed, and eventually Naruto awoke from that strange state. His eyes shone with the glow of augury, and then gradually began to flicker with joy. During the past few days, he had grown much more familiar with that strange walking technique.

It was only after awakening that Naruto noticed that on the transmission jade slip in his bag of holding, there were several hundred messages that had unexpectedly accumulated during the past few days….

After scanning the messages with divine sense, his mind began to rumble as if with thunder, and his body shook as if it were being struck by lightning. In fact, he almost couldn't believe what was happening!

We've seen this old man in the Wang Clan on two different occasions. The first time was when Wang Mu was introduced in chapter 806. He also had a cameo in chapter 964, when Wang Tengfei awakened his bloodline ↩ In Renegade Immortal, Wang Lin had a pet mosquito. Maybe you could even say that it was the mastiff of that story ↩ Spatial Bending is the name of a magic that Wang Lin used in Renegade Immortal. It didn't do exactly the same thing as this Daoist magic, but was very similar ↩ Call the Wind is something that has come up several times. Wang Mu used it, as did the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch back on

Planet South Heaven. It's another of the techniques Wang Lin used in

Renegade Immortal ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1208

Chapter 1208 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1208: Slaying Hebi Dongyang Again!

Although the messages in the jade slip were all from different people, the words were virtually the same!

" Sakura 's soul is rapidly dispersing. Come to the Kunlun Society!" They all said the same thing!

He received messages from his mother, father and sister, from Patriarch Shoudao… even from Taiyang Zi, Song Luodan, and Sun Hai….

The greatest number of messages came from… Pill Demon!

In addition, there was one message that had come through on the first day that Naruto had slipped into his strange trance of walking. It had come from Sakura .

" Naruto …. I hope that you and Hinata can have a safe and peaceful life together…." That single message caused Naruto 's heart to feel as if it were being stabbed with blades.

Naruto was trembling; he couldn't quite tell what he was feeling at the moment. However, one thing he was sure about was that if Sakura 's soul was dispersing, it couldn't be an accident. There had to be more to the story.

He had no time to sit there thinking. Nor was he even sure what exactly he should be thinking about. Only one thought filled his mind, and that was that he did not want Sakura to perish.

"How could this have happened…?" he murmured, transforming into a colorful streak of light that shot toward the nearest asteroid teleportation portal at high speed.

As soon as he appeared there, people recognized him and their faces flickered. Many of them were well-aware of how everyone in the Ninth Mountain and Sea had been looking for him over the past few days.

Immediately, sounds of discussion could be heard:

"Did you hear about Naruto 's old flame Sakura from the Kunlun

Society…? Her soul is dispersing…."

"These past few days, everyone has been trying to find him, but sadly, nobody could. And now here he is…."

"Well, he deserves it with that vicious personality of his. A lot of people are happy to see this happening."

Naruto blasted forward like the wind, but he could still hear everyone talking, and their words stabbed at his heart like sharp swords. Suddenly, he turned his head, sweeping over them with his gaze. Rumbling sounds could be heard, and one cultivator after another coughed up blood and staggered backward, their cultivation bases collapsing as they let out miserable shrieks…. Those were the cultivators who had just spoken biting words.

On any other occasion, Naruto wouldn't even have acknowledged them. But now, in the throes of deep anxiety, the words they spoke crossed his bottom line.

Rumbling could be heard as he shot toward one particular destination. It was none other than the teleportation portal leading to the Kunlun Society.

However, just before he reached it, a dozen or so figures suddenly emerged from the crowd to block his path.

Based on the ripples emanating from their cultivation bases, it was obvious that these people were from the Hebi Clan. Furthermore, the person leading them was… Hebi Dongyang!

Who knew how long he had been here, and now, in Naruto 's most anxious moment, he was leading members of the Hebi Clan to prevent Naruto from entering the teleportation portal.

"Well well, if it isn't Brother Uzumaki ? What's gotten you so anxious?" Hebi Dongyang laughed heartily, eyes shining with a strange light. He almost seemed to be eyeing prey, as if he were trying to lure that prey in a certain direction, to control its growth and development.

"The dispersal of Sakura 's soul has really given me a good opportunity to domesticate my prey." Hebi Dongyang's smile grew more radiant, and the eyes of the Hebi Clan cultivators behind him glittered with killing intent.

"Screw off!" Naruto roared, his face grim and his voice echoing like thunder. The Hebi Clan cultivators were instantly enraged, and shot directly toward him.

"What gall! Our Clan Prince allowed you to stop and chat! How dare you say rude things!"

"Scram!" Naruto 's expression didn't change at all as he performed an incantation gesture. Everything rumbled, and the starry sky shook. The entire asteroid vibrated as an amorphous tempest shot out toward the members of the Hebi Clan.

As he flew through the air, everything around him shook violently. The tempest was like a huge mouth, bellowing in rage at the Hebi Clan cultivators. Blood sprayed out of their mouths and they were sent tumbling backward. There were even a few who directly exploded, killed in body and spirit.

Naruto had already reached the point of disregarding everything else!

"Brother Uzumaki , did I offend you or something? All I did was call out a greeting, and yet you dared to kill the people of my Hebi Clan?" Ji

Dongyang's face was grim as he took a step forward, causing explosive waves of Chakra to roll out in all directions. Shockingly, they transformed into a shield of light, which… completely blocked the way to the Kunlun Society teleportation portal.

The surrounding cultivators looked on silently, and even backed up. They looked at the shield with mixed feelings. Anyone who was watching this scene would be able to see what the Hebi Clan was overtly attempting to do.

In Naruto 's moment of deepest anxiety, when he wanted nothing more than to get to the Kunlun Society, the Hebi Clan actually blocked his path, in order to delay him even further. All of it was to make Naruto even more anxious than before.

In any other circumstance, he could shrug it off. But now, when he wasn't even certain whether Sakura was alive or dead, for the Hebi Clan to do something like this… caused even the surrounding cultivators to feel that they were being excessive.

And yet, some of them were happy to delight in the misfortunes of others, and their eyes glinted wickedly.

Seeing that his way to the teleportation portal was being blocked caused Naruto 's eyes to burst with killing intent. Without stopping, he charged forward like a meteor directly toward Hebi Dongyang.

As he closed in, Hebi Dongyang snorted inwardly, performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and then shot backward, unexpectedly passing through the protective shield. Next, Naruto slammed bodily into the shield.

A huge boom could be heard; Naruto 's fleshly body was comparable to a magical item, and his attack power was backed by the cultivation base of an Allheaven Dao Immortal. He was like a sharp arrow that instantly pierced through the shield.

As it shattered, he continued on toward the teleportation portal like a lightning bolt. He took no time to get entangled with Hebi Dongyang; his only goal was to get to the Kunlun Society as quickly as possible.

However, just when Naruto was about to step into the teleportation portal, cracking sounds could be heard as it… shattered into pieces!

Ji Dongyang smiled at Naruto as if he were looking at a trapped animal.

"Brother Uzumaki , how could you be so rash?" he said. "I wasn't actually trying to stop you, I had just set up some defenses around the teleportation portal because it was too old, and in need of repair. It was already on the verge of shattering. See how much I care about you? I didn't want any problems to occur if you stepped into it, that's why I blocked your way.

"Well, there's no need to thank me. It was really the right thing to do."

Naruto trembled, slowly turning around, his murderous aura exploding up. Hebi Dongyang continued to smile as he slowly backed up.

"Brother Uzumaki , I did all of this with the best of intentions. I'll take my leave now, but don't worry, we'll have plenty of time to get to know each other better in the future, and also… to build up plenty of Karma between us…." Smiling mysteriously, his body began to fade away.

"You want Karma? I'll give you some Karma!" Naruto took a deep breath, and his murderous aura grew stronger as he shot in a beeline toward Hebi Dongyang.

He moved as fast as lightning, using the exact same bizarre walking technique that he had just spent the past several days getting familiar with!

None of the onlookers could see anything strange about it, not even Hebi Dongyang. He continued to smile as he faded away.

Naruto rumbled through the air, making a grasping motion with his right hand. Immediately, the copper mirror began to materialize. Before it could even become fully clear, it changed shape, wrapping around Naruto 's hand, wriggling into the shape of… a long, pitch-black sword!

It was a wicked blade, like the weapon of a Devil, and it instantly slashed down toward the virtually invisible Hebi Dongyang.

However, the direction of the slash was not the position in which Hebi Dongyang was vanishing, but rather, the space in front of that!

As the blade slashed down, Naruto took another step. All of a sudden, all of the onlookers experienced something bizarre.

Suddenly, everything split apart as two different periods of time appeared in front of their eyes. They were like mirror images that twisted… and then turned into a strange vision.

Within that vision, the teleportation portal which had just collapsed… twisted and returned to a state of wholeness. Different versions of Hebi Dongyang and Naruto could now be seen, like reflections. The reflection of Hebi Dongyang had exactly the same expression as before, and was saying the same things. Everyone could see exactly what had just happened moments ago. Then, Hebi Dongyang's reflection began to move back to the location where he began vanishing, and also, toward the place where Naruto was slashing the sword down.

It was almost as if Hebi Dongyang were personally delivering himself up to Naruto 's blade. Naruto 's Battle Weapon slashed through the reflection of Hebi Dongyang, which didn't stop, but rather, continued on to the vanishing Hebi Dongyang, with whom it then merged.

At the same time, the teleportation portal collapsed, and Naruto … said the same cold words he had spoken before. Then he shot forward, formed the Battle Weapon, slashed out, and merged with his true form.

All of it happened very quickly, and made people confused as to what they were actually seeing. Everyone was shocked and dazzled.

When the true forms of Naruto and Hebi Dongyang merged with their reflections, Naruto looked the same as before. However, Hebi Dongyang, who was fading away, suddenly let out a bloodcurdling scream. His blurry figure was then separated into two parts!

"What Daoist magic is that!?" he roared in disbelief. Then the two parts of him faded away.

The only thing that remained behind was an echoing voice filled with terror and astonishment,

An injury inflicted within the flow of time, which then merged with the present!

Naruto had used the strange walking technique to come up… with a battle tactic that was perfectly suited to him!

 _I twist time, giving me the power to go back into the past and slash you with my blade. When your reflection merges with your true form, then that injury… will become a reality!_

The surrounding cultivators all gasped. If you added all these people together, the types of magical techniques they had seen collectively throughout their lifetimes were vast. And yet… none of them had ever seen anything as unbelievable as what they had just witnessed.

Chapter 1208: Slaying Hebi Dongyang Again!

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1209

Chapter 1209: Mountains Have No Worries

A slash in the past was equally fatal in the present. A Timeshift magic like that was similar to the Time magic that Naruto already used, and yet it was far, far different.

One was the root, the other was the lilypad!

As Hebi Dongyang faded away, Naruto 's body flickered as he changed course toward another teleportation portal. Because of Hebi Dongyang and how he had obstructed Naruto 's path, he now had to waste even more time finding another teleportation portal to the Kunlun Society!

Almost as soon as he materialized out of that teleportation portal, he could see the Kunlun Society.

It was a cloud-wreathed Immortal mountain, boundless and majestic, filled with singing of birds and the fragrance of flowers. It was like a celestial paradise, and at first glance, nothing about it seemed out of the ordinary. However, on one of the mountain's tallest peaks, thunder and lightning crashed. Further up above, black clouds seethed, seemingly incompatible with their surroundings.

As soon as he saw that mountain peak, Naruto also caught sight of a figure there who seemed to be offering sacrifices. Every flick of his sleeve would cause colors to flash, and rumbling booms to echo out.

He was an old man with whom Naruto was unfamiliar. However, at that man's side was someone who Naruto knew well. It was… Pill Demon!

Naruto 's heart began to thump, and he instantly took to flight in the direction of that mountain peak. His arrival instantly attracted the attention of the disciples of the Kunlun Society. Furthermore, because of how he charged in, countless disciples flew out to intercept him, and numerous streams of divine sense converged on him.

"Let him come!" an ancient voice called out just as the numerous spell formations of the Kunlun Society were about to activate. It came from none other than the old man who was currently fighting back against the powerful vortex up above. Next to him was Pill Demon, who looked over at Naruto with mixed feelings, and sighed.

Naruto flew as fast as he could. In the blink of an eye, he had spanned the distance to appear in the air above the mountain peak, directly in front of Pill Demon and the old man.

As soon as he appeared, a tremor ran through his body because of what he saw on top of the mountain. It was… a jade coffin!

Numerous Kunlun Society disciples were arrayed around the coffin, their faces filled with grief. They sat there cross-legged, as if they were trying to come up with some sort of way… to resurrect the person in the coffin!

"You're too late…" Pill Demon said in a quiet, hoarse voice. "Yesterday at dawn… her physical soul dispersed.

"I asked the Patriarch to come help re-converge the spiritual links to Sakura 's soul. Unfortunately… he was unable to re-form that which has dissipated."

Naruto was shaking, and his mind roared. What Pill Demon had just said almost didn't seem to register as he stared at the coffin, and Sakura inside. She almost seemed to be sleeping.

Even now that he was here, Naruto felt that all of this was too sudden. It was so sudden that he couldn't accept it. It seemed impossible.

"How could this have happened…." he murmured. Stabs of pain filled his heart as he approached the coffin. Immediately, the surrounding Kunlun Society disciples' eyes went wide with rage.

"Screw off! You don't qualify to come here!"

"Are you Naruto ? The man Junior Sister Chu could never forget about is you? You don't deserve to be standing here!"

"Heartless, unethical people like you are prohibited from defiling the corpse of Elder Sister Chu!"

These Kunlun Society disciples were people who had developed friendships with Sakura during her time in the Kunlun Society. Some were her Sisters, others were people who admired her. To see Naruto show up here when they were so heartbroken caused them to immediately vent their rage.

When the words hit Naruto 's ears, his heart twinged with intense pain. As he stepped forward silently, a young man burst out from the crowd to stand in front of him, eyes bloodshot. Enraged, he yelled, "Are you a man or not? You knew how Sakura felt about you. You knew, and yet you heartlessly refused her! What do you think you're doing here now? Screw the hell off!"

The young man extended his right hand, performed an incantation gesture and pointing toward Naruto . A magical technique immediately materialized and shot toward Naruto .

His action caused other disciples to immediately make moves of their own. Naruto didn't respond at all, nor did he dodge their attacks. He just kept walking forward, surrounded by booming sounds. Finally, Pill Demon shouted, "Stay your hands! Let him pass. Nobody qualifies more than him to see Yan'er!"

His voice crashed like thunder, booming out in all directions. Chu

Yuyan's fellow disciples immediately ceased attacking. Glaring at Naruto , they began to file past him as they returned to their places, filled with rage and grief. As they passed, all of them made various biting comments.

" Sakura waited for you for years, until she finally perished," one woman said icily. "What a waste!"

"I'm not sure why the link to Junior Sister Chu's soul suddenly dispersed.

But I do know that when she returned recently she was seriously injured! She never fully recovered from those injuries. Don't tell me you're unaware of why they occurred!"

" Naruto , Naruto …. It won't matter how famous you get in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, don't you ever forget for all eternity that you owe this woman far, far too much."

Their words were like razor-sharp swords against which there was no possible defense. It didn't matter how powerful his fleshly body was, he could do nothing to prevent them from piercing deep into his heart.

His insides ached, and his face was ashen as he silently walked forward. He let the people say what they wished to say as he neared the coffin and then looked down at Sakura laying inside.

She wore a long white garment, and her countenance was beautiful. Her skin was so delicate it seemed that a breeze could shatter it. If it weren't for the fact that she was completely devoid of any color of blood, Naruto might think that she actually was sleeping.

However, the aura of death on her made the difference between life and death very clear. It was like the difference between Yin and Yang, boundless and infinite.

His mind was a blank as he stared down at her. He had never imagined that a day like this would come…. Back in the Nine Seas God World, something similar had happened, but in the end, Sakura didn't die. Now, though… Naruto lifted a trembling hand and placed it on Sakura 's forehead. After sending some divine sense into her, he began to shake even harder.

"Dead…." he murmured. His heart ached as he recalled an image from the past. It was a scene in which Sakura stood next to Wang Tengfei, as if they were a celestial couple. 1

Next, he saw Sakura and himself in the volcano, after which came everything that happened in the Violet Fate Sect. Later, they saw each other again in the Southern Domain, when he and Hinata got married. Sakura had been there, a complex expression in her eyes. Although she wore a smile on her face, that smile only hid her silent weeping.

All of those were memories that he would keep in his mind forever.

Proud. That was Sakura . When she realized that Naruto hadn't picked her, she chose to leave. She thought that she could forget, but later, when she looked back at everything that had occurred, she had realized something.

 _You can choose not to fall in love with me. But I… have only two choices: fall in love with you, or fall in love with you harder._

That was why, when she saw Naruto again in the Ninth Sea, she was actually very happy and content. No matter how she seemed on the surface, in her heart, those were wonderful times. Back then, she had wished that things could go on like they had for a bit longer. She hadn't hoped for an eternity, only that time would slow down for just a little bit.

Therefore, when she saw Naruto fighting so hard in the Windswept Realm, when she heard his unyielding roar, she didn't hesitate or even think about what to do. In a moment which wasn't appropriate for her to make her breakthrough, she… risked her own cultivation base and even… risked the chance of being seriously injured.

At that time, she didn't consider what consequences there might be, she only considered… how to help Naruto .

And so she did what she did, even though Naruto hadn't spared her a second glance at the time…

"What a dummy…. Perhaps the reason he loves Hinata is because she's a dummy too…." That was what Sakura thought to herself as she sighed and stepped into the vortex after the events in the Windswept Realm.

Naruto 's face grew more and more pale as he thought about everything. Sakura 's smile seemed to occupy all of his memories about her, and all of a sudden, Naruto felt as if his heart… were cracking open.

Everything that she had done caused deep regret to well up from deep inside of him…. It was a regret so profound that it ensured he would never be able to forget this woman, not for the rest of his life.

"How could this have happened…?" he murmured, coughing up some blood.

It was at this point that a cold, enraged voice echoed out like thunder from up above.

" Naruto , she chose you, so I wished you well…. I hoped that she would be happy and blessed….

"But how could you be so callous, so heartless!?

"If you didn't love her, why did you have to encourage her? If you didn't choose her, why give her hope…? Why… did you have to steal her away from me!?

" NARUTO !" The voice was filled with endless fury, fury mixed with grief. As it descended from the sky, an enormous figure appeared up above. He had stars on his forehead, and it was none other than… the man who had awoken the bloodline of the Gods… Wang Tengfei!

He roared furiously, causing colors to flash in the sky as he shot down like a meteor, heading directly toward Naruto . As he did, he clenched his hand into a fist which he struck out at Naruto 's chest. Naruto didn't fight back as Wang Tengfei's thunderous voice slammed into his ears.

Blood sprayed from Naruto 's mouth, and his face became even whiter. It wasn't that he didn't have any feelings for Sakura . However, between her and Hinata , he cared for Hinata more.

That didn't mean that he wanted to treat Sakura coldly. Deep in his heart, he wanted her to be happy. He even wished that she could somehow forget about him, and find her own path to happiness.

It was something he had never really taken the time to think about before, about whether or not… he had been selfish. But now, looking down at Sakura 's corpse, hearing Wang Tengfei rage, Naruto 's heart tore apart. Within that pain, he finally realized that he truly had been selfish.

His voice nothing more than a murmur, he said, " _Mountains have no worries, 'til hit with snowy flurries; waters feel no woe, 'til the winds do gust and blow…._ " 2

Can you believe that it was in Chapter 35 that Sakura came to take Wang Tengfei away from the Reliance Sect? ↩ Here's an alternate translation of the poem: The mountains have not a care, yet the snows whiten their hair; water feels not the world's woe, yet its face wrinkles when winds blow ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1210

Chapter 1210 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1210: Using Karma to Track the Soul

BOOM!

Wang Tengfei's eyes were crimson as he launched a full-force attack, which slammed into Naruto , causing blood to spray out of his mouth. Despite the fact that Wang Tengfei was likewise hit with a backlash attack, he didn't seem to care. Roaring, he flew back to attack again.

"So you also know _mountains have no worries, 'til struck by snowy flurries; waters feel no woe, 'til the winds gust and blow_!" The stabbing pain Wang Tengfei felt in his heart was not any less than Naruto 's.

He had loved Sakura from the very beginning, and that had never changed. However… he had been too proud. Back in the early days, his pride had allowed him to turn a blind eye to her. He thought that if he could just defeat Naruto , if he could somehow get stronger and stronger, then it would be possible to sacrifice everything else… including Sakura !

But when he lost everything, he finally realized, to his bitterness, that he truly had nothing. From that moment on, he began to wish that Sakura could simply be happy, and live a life of laughter and smiles.

Many years went by, and he believed himself to have forgotten his love from the past. But then one day he emerged from secluded meditation to hear from his fellow clan members about what was happening with Sakura . He had then done everything in his power to come here. In the moment he arrived, he saw Naruto , then completely lost control and exploded with violence.

"If you didn't care about her then why did you have to steal her from me!? NARUTO !" Roaring, Wang Tengfei attacked again. Naruto didn't respond. He stood there trembling, his heart in pieces. Wang Tengfei's words slammed into him like bolts of lightning.

He didn't raise a hand to fight back. Wang Tengfei battered him with one fist after another. In Naruto 's mind, this was all his fault. The debt he owed was too profound, and he felt deep regret…. He regretted everything from the past, and now knew the mistakes he had made. He had never realized how deeply, how severely he had affected others.

"I'm sorry…." he murmured bitterly. Although the words were spoken quietly, when Wang Tengfei heard them, he stopped in place. His fists dropped to his sides, and he began to weep.

Naruto walked back to the coffin and looked at the beautiful Sakura laying there as if slumbering. Tears streaming down his face, he reached up and gently touched her forehead with his right hand.

The tears rolled off his face, dropping down onto Sakura 's cheek….

A moment later, he looked up at Pill Demon and the ancient old man hovering next to him in midair.

"There's something off about Sakura 's death. Tell me why, immediately!" He spoke slowly, one word at a time, and by the time he reached the final words, his voice boomed deafeningly, causing colors to flash in the sky and a sweeping wind to spring up. The entire Kunlun Society began to shake violently.

As he spoke, his cultivation base exploded with power, pushing him to the point where he could slaughter Dao Realm cultivators. Right now, he could cut down 1-Essence Dao Realm experts, could cause 2-Essences cultivators to tremble, and could even take on… 3-Essences Dao Lords!

Pill Demon gaped in astonishment and turned to look at the ancient man next to him. That old man had not mentioned anything suspicious about Sakura 's death. Pill Demon had assumed that it was because after reaching Immortal Ascension, Sakura 's foundation was unstable, which led to the dispersal of her soul.

Pill Demon wasn't the only one to stare in shock. Wang Tengfei's eyes went wide, and the surrounding Kunlun Society disciples all looked up at the old man, astonished.

This old man was one of the Patriarchs of the Kunlun Society. He looked down at Naruto and sighed. He had long since heard about how powerful Naruto was, but now that he could see it for himself, he realized that Naruto was able to see the clues on Sakura 's corpse.

"Her spiritual soul is lost….

"When she returned last time, she seemed normal, but the truth of the matter was that she had already lost her spiritual soul. The only thing that remained behind was her physical soul. She could only last for so long in such a state. Without the support of her spiritual soul, in the end… her physical soul dispersed.

"That is why she died, and is also why I was unable to reverse the situation and resurrect her…."

The old man spoke in a low voice, and uttered no lies. He went on to explain the full process of how he had attempted to treat Sakura .

Naruto was trembling. Because of the level of his cultivation base, he was well aware of the ramifications of a person losing their spiritual soul. With only the physical soul remaining, one had no foundation, and at any time, that person could lose touch with reality and begin to disperse into death.

From the moment Sakura had returned, she had begun to weaken. With every day that passed she struggled against death, but unfortunately, there was absolutely nothing she could do.

She could only wait until her physical soul dispersed, and the day of her death arrived….

She knew that she was dying, and therefore… had sent that final message to Naruto .

" Naruto …. I hope that you and Hinata can have a safe and peaceful life together…."

Naruto 's eyes were completely bloodshot, and he shook from the increasingly intense pain in his heart. Based on how high his cultivation base was, it was easy for him to inspect Sakura 's corpse and confirm that what the old man had said was no lie.

"Her spiritual soul is lost…. Well, where did it go…?" Naruto 's eyes were filled with madness; he knew that all of this was caused because Sakura had helped him in the Windswept Realm, leading to her serious injuries. However, although her soul had been in a fragile state that could split apart at any time, when she stepped into the vortex to return home it had been whole. Naruto had looked at her as she had left, and could confirm that that was the case.

The problem must have occurred… after Sakura entered the vortex leading from the area of the Windswept Realm back to the Ninth Mountain. Naruto had also made that trip, which had taken only a brief moment.

Clearly, though, that brief moment was all it took… for Sakura to lose her spiritual soul!

"The physical soul lives because of the spiritual soul. The spiritual soul nourishes the physical soul…. If I can find Sakura 's spiritual soul, then maybe… bringing her back to life wouldn't be impossible!" Uzumaki

Hao looked back down at Sakura , his eyes flickering with a glint of obsession as he decided that he would definitely track down Sakura 's spiritual soul!

His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture as he unleashed Karmic Hexing. He gently pushed down onto Sakura 's forehead, and yet, no Karma appeared. His eyes flickered with madness as he suddenly began to walk around Sakura 's coffin. He moved faster and faster, until ghost images of himself appeared.

First it was one ghost image, and then two, three, four….

He moved so quickly that a wind sprang up, and even more ghost images appeared. Soon there were ten, fifteen… and even more.

Naruto didn't hesitate at all to use the strange walking technique, which would enable him to return… to the day before!

One day earlier, Sakura 's physical soul had not completely dispersed! 1

As Naruto walked, gradually, the power of time travel began to surge out. As soon as the aura appeared, it blurred the vision of the surrounding cultivators. Even Pill Demon's eyes went blank.

It was only the Kunlun Society Patriarch whose eyes suddenly began to shine with a bright light. Inwardly, massive waves of shock battered his heart.

"The Dao… of time travel!

"I can't believe that Naruto … can actually use the Dao of time travel!"

He wasn't the only one who was shaken. The other Dao Realm Patriarchs in the Kunlun Society were all shaken. As they watched the scene with divine sense, they were thoroughly flabbergasted by Naruto .

They all watched as gradually, more and more ghost images of Naruto appeared, until finally, they merged together into a ring.

In the middle of that ring was the coffin and the area around it, which apparently… was moving through time. The grass swayed, and ripples spread out. Numerous figures appeared, coming and going, going and coming.

None of the spectators noticed how incredibly pale Naruto 's face was. This walking technique was bizarre and enigmatic to be sure, but it was incredibly difficult for Naruto to use it to return Sakura to the previous day.

However, no thoughts of giving up entered his mind. He moved faster and faster. Regardless of how much blood oozed out of his mouth, regardless of how his body withered, regardless of how his cultivation base trembled, he persisted.

As he continued onward, more ripples flowed through the area around Sakura , moving faster and faster. More time passed, and suddenly Sakura 's eyes opened.

It was in that moment that Naruto finally stopped in place. He coughed up nine mouthfuls of blood, and a patch of his hair turned white and then transformed into nothing but ash, and his entire body looked much older.

Sakura 's eyes were listless, which was how she had looked the previous day just before she died. She was not aware of the things around her, nor could she sense that Naruto had traveled back an entire day just to see her.

He didn't hesitate for a moment. Still coughing up blood, he performed an incantation gesture and unleashed a Demon Sealing Hexing magic, reaching out to push his finger down onto Sakura 's forehead.

In that moment, his mind trembled, and suddenly, faint Karma Threads appeared all around Sakura .

More than half of the threads were connected to Naruto himself, which caused the pain in his heart to intensify. However, he knew that time was of the essence. He focused all of his concentration and began to examine the other Karma Threads, hoping to use them to locate her spiritual soul!

He held nothing back, rotating his cultivation base to the full, causing azure light to shine around him. Finally, he found one particular Karma Thread that led out into the void. He sent divine sense to follow it, going further and further until he was also in the void.

It was there that Naruto caught sight of a vortex, a familiar vortex that was none other than… the vortex which Paragon Sea Dream had summoned after the collapse of the Windswept Realm, allowing everyone to return to where they had come from.

It was there that the Karma Thread began to collapse. Seeing that the thread was about to vanish, Naruto roared, causing more Time magic to explode out. Coupled with his cultivation base and the Karmic Hexing, he once again began to walk, using the Dao of time travel.

He unleashed all of his power, until finally, he saw… two visions!

In the first vision, he saw Sakura stepping into a vortex, her face pale. That was the moment in which everyone returned through Paragon Sea Dream's vortex.

By means of this particular divine ability, Naruto was able to follow Time back to its Essence to see what had happened here in the past.

What he saw was that, as Sakura traveled through the vortex, she passed by the Nine Mountains of the Mountain and Sea Realm. When she was passing by the Eighth Mountain and Sea, all of a sudden, a voice could be heard within the vortex.

"Soul, come to me!"

Chapter 1210: Using Karma to Track the Soul

Interesting point. In the original Chinese, Er Gen actually typed Hinata instead of Sakura in this paragraph. It's not the first time, either. I've always fixed the mistake, but this is a pretty intense scene where he yet again mixed up the names ↩

Vol. 7 : Chapter 1211

Chapter 1211 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1211: Immortal Ancient Builds a Bridge Leaving the Ninth Mountain!

Actually, that vortex had not truly been created by Paragon Sea Dream. It had long existed within the Mountain and Sea Realm, a teleportation path that, theoretically speaking, could be opened by anyone in the Dao Realm. The caveat was… that the price to open it was staggering.

In fact, only Paragons could arbitrarily pay such a price. Even if an ordinary Dao Realm cultivator were to overdraw on their cultivation base, they would not be able to open that ancient teleportation path.

Therefore, most of the time the path was safe. For example, when Naruto and all the others used it, nothing untoward happened. However, the path was not under the protection of one of Paragon Sea Dream's magical techniques, it was merely a teleportation path. Therefore… accidents could happen.

Also, certain accidents could occur which not even Paragon Sea Dream would be aware of.

Originally, nothing bad should have happened to Sakura . Although her soul was in a state where it could be split, as long as she returned to the Ninth Mountain and Sea and spent enough time recuperating, she would return to normal.

Unfortunately… during the process of her teleportation, someone unleashed a soul gathering magic!

Although many cultivators could use such techniques, all of them were different, leading to different results. Some could affect an area only 3,000 meters wide. Others… could actually cover an entire Realm!

Its purpose was to find departed souls and collect them together, where they could then be used by certain cultivators to craft magical items.

In the second vision, Naruto saw a huge land mass and a sect. That sect was built into a black cliff, upon which were written three huge characters.

Blacksoul Society!

Naruto saw countless souls there, converged into a massive river that flowed toward the black cliff, and an incense burner into which the souls were being absorbed.

A cultivator sat cross-legged next to the incense burner. He looked middle-aged, but had a pale face. His expression was arrogant, and from the fluctuations of his cultivation base, it was possible to tell that, shockingly… he was a 2-Essences Dao Realm expert.

As Naruto looked on, he caught sight of one particular soul among the others which was… Sakura !

The key to it all was not the Dao Realm cultivator, but rather, that incense burner; that was how Sakura 's soul had been extracted from the teleportation tunnel.

The incense burner was surrounded by thousands of other cross-legged disciples of this sect. When they waved their arms, black bottle gourds would fly out of their bags of holding, which would then belch forth innumerable souls.

Unexpectedly, most of those souls… belonged to mortals!

Miserable screams then rang out as the souls were refined by the cultivators. Slaughtering mortals was something absolutely forbidden within the Mountain and Sea Realm, something that most people would condemn!

After all, the mortal world was the foundation of everything. If cultivators were allowed to wantonly massacre the mortals which made up their foundation, then the Mountain and Sea Realm would eventually collapse.

In fact, the laws of the Mountain and Sea Realm expressly forbade such a thing. If something like that happened, Heavenly punishment would be rained down. And yet, there was no Heavenly punishment being inflicted on this Blacksoul Society!

The vision shattered into pieces, and everything was over. Killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes, transforming into a tempest as he rose to his feet.

"The Blacksoul Society of the Eighth Mountain and Sea!" he thought. "So the laws of the Mountain and Sea Realm do not send Heavenly punishment your way. Regardless of the reason, I… will become your Heavenly punishment!" His eyes glowed coldly, both from what had happened to Sakura , and also what the Blacksoul Society was doing to the souls of mortals. Such brutality was something that Naruto could not accept.

Even death could not wipe out the vileness of such crimes!

A murderous aura exploded out from him, causing all of the cultivators around him to tremble. Even the Dao Realm Patriarchs of the Kunlun Society looked on with serious expressions.

None of them had any idea why such a murderous aura had suddenly sprung up from Naruto .

He took a deep breath, causing the murderous aura to fade away, then gazed down at Sakura . As he looked at her, he could tell that the spiritual energy of Mount Kunlun had been gathered in the coffin, ensuring that Sakura 's fleshly body would not be destroyed.

The spiritual energy of the Kunlun Society was different from that of elsewhere. It was abundant in life force, and had existed in this place for a very long time. It inherently caused life force to flourish, and would significantly reduce the decay rate of the flesh itself.

The coffin itself was also a treasured item that was in harmony with the Kunlun Society, and would further slow the process of decay. However, if it left the Kunlun Society, that could harm Sakura .

Naruto was well-aware that he could not take her corpse away. It wasn't that he was fundamentally incapable of doing so, rather, it would be best for Sakura to stay here.

Eyes flashing with determination, he extended his right hand and rested it on the coffin, silently unleashing numerous magical techniques to seal it. Glittering marks appeared all over its surface, imbuing it not just with Naruto 's aura, but more importantly… the will of the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

That would ensure that Sakura 's corpse would not be defiled.

At the same time, Naruto waved his sleeve, causing a huge amount of Immortal jade to fly out and pile up around and over the coffin, forming a mountainous grave mound!

The grave mound of Immortal jade left Sakura completely protected. Coupled with the unique aura of the Kunlun Society, it would ensure that she remained preserved for quite some time.

Having done all this, Naruto waved his hand again, causing… an equally towering mountain of Immortal jade to pile up next to the first pile!

Clasping hands, he turned toward the Kunlun Society's Dao Realm Patriarch and bowed deeply. "Kunlun Society, I hope it will not be too much of an inconvenience to ensure that Sakura 's body remains preserved. Please take this mountain of Immortal jade as a token of my deep thanks!"

The ancient old man looked at the mountain of Immortal jade. Even he was moved by the sight of so much wealth. Actually, as far as the old man was concerned, Sakura was a disciple of the Kunlun Society, and it wouldn't have consumed much of the Kunlun Society's spiritual energy to keep her body preserved in the first place.

Now, with all this Immortal jade added in as compensation….

The old man looked back somberly at Naruto and nodded. Then he said, "Young friend Naruto , please set your mind at ease. You have my word that as long as I live in this world, this place will be a restricted area in the Kunlun Society. Nobody will be able to step half a pace into it without Pill Demon's express permission!"

Naruto once again bowed deeply to the ancient man. He knew well what was expected in return for this promise.

"Many thanks," he said quietly. "I… owe the Kunlun Society a great favor!" Naruto rarely owed other people. But now, for the sake of the safety of Sakura 's corpse, he was willing to do just that.

"Well then, young friend Naruto … did you find Sakura 's spiritual soul?" The old man smiled in response to Naruto 's words. In fact, to him the most important aspect of the whole exchange was to sow the seeds of a good relationship with Naruto .

"I did," Naruto replied, eyes shining coldly.

"Where is it?" the old man asked.

"The Eighth Mountain. Senior, I have some matters to attend to, so I'll take my leave. I will do everything I can to bring Sakura 's soul back as quickly as possible!" He looked over at the grave mound of Immortal jade, then turned and left.

He knew that he owed far, far too much to Sakura . So much so, in fact, that he could never pay her back….

His journeys through the Ninth Mountain and Sea were now at an end. He was not in the mood to think about where his next destination was, nor did he need to. Filled with the desire to slaughter the Blacksoul Society of the Eighth Mountain, he turned, transforming into a beam of light that shot out of the Kunlun Society.

His heart was torn to pieces, and his mood was foul as he headed directly toward the Ninth Mountain!

The Ninth Mountain was the home of the Hebi Clan, but was also… the home of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite!

His plan to leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea had originally involved flying alone through the starry sky. But now, time was too short. Hinata was currently healthy and safe in the Fourth Mountain, and could wait for him. Unfortunately… Sakura 's soul could be refined at any moment at the hands of a cultivator of the Blacksoul Society….

When he thought about that, Naruto 's heart ached even more, and the killing intent in his eyes grew more explosive….

As he shot off into the distance, he murmured, "Mountains have no worries, 'til hit with snowy flurries; waters feel no woe, 'til the winds do gust and blow…."

The peak of the Ninth Mountain was occupied by the Hebi Clan. Further down from them was the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. Apparently, the Dao Realm Patriarchs of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite had long since predicted the fact that he was coming, even down to his exact time of arrival. By the time he arrived, all of the cultivators of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite were seated cross-legged in a public square, chanting scriptures.

A huge cauldron was located in the middle of all of them, fully 300 meters tall, filled with swirling streams of smoke that formed the character 'Immortal'.

The character was faintly visible, radiating a feeling of ancientness that made it seem as if it had been transported from ancient times into the modern era.

Closest to the cauldron were five old men, all of whom were in the Dao

Realm. The centermost of that group had white hair, and was the very Patriarch who had paid such close attention to Naruto during the trial by fire so many years ago. 1

He was also the one who had calculated… that Naruto would eventually join the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. He had already prepared the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite grand spell formation, to help Naruto … open the path to the Eighth Mountain!

"I know why you've come…." he said.

"The Immortal Ancient will build a bridge connecting from here to the Eighth Mountain. Walk across that bridge… to pierce through the void, traverse the starry sky, and on the other side… will be the Eighth Mountain.

"I hope that your trip there… goes smoothly." When he finished speaking, he waved his right index finger toward the huge cauldron. Instantly, the other Dao Realm experts performed incantation gestures and pointed at the cauldron as well. The chanting of scriptures from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite disciples grew louder, echoing about in all directions, transforming into a strange power that shook the entire Ninth Mountain. It was almost as if there were some massive power within the Ninth Mountain itself that was complying with the cauldron….

To explode out!

To become a bridge!

It was a bridge that pierced through the void, a majestic vortex which connected the Eighth Mountain and the Ninth Mountain through the barrier that separated them. It was a majestic bridge, shining with boundless, scintillating light.

Naruto took a deep breath, then bowed deeply to everyone in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. He was very appreciative of what they were doing, and even felt deep affection that caused him to hold the bow for several breaths of time. Then he looked up and stepped forward onto the bridge!

He followed the bridge up into the vortex in the starry sky, which he entered, taking him… far, far away!

This was… Immortal Ancient building a bridge!

To leave the Ninth Mountain!

Chapter 1211: Immortal Ancient Builds a Bridge Leaving the Ninth Mountain!

 _End of Book 7: Immortal Ancient Builds a Bridge Leaving the Ninth Mountain!_

The Patriarch mentioned here popped up several times during the trial by fire in the Ruins of Immortality. Two key parts were in chapters 852 and 854 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1212

 _Book 8: My Mountain and Sea Realm_

Chapter 1212: Eighth Mountain and Sea

In terms of overall size, it was similar to the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It also had a sea, the major difference being that it wasn't called the Ninth Sea, but rather, the Eighth Sea….

There were also four planets which orbited the Eighth Mountain, although their names were different than the planets in the Ninth Mountain. And yet, when it came to the overall system of cultivation, and the way the place was set up, it was very similar.

After all, the Eighth Mountain and Sea and the Ninth Mountain and Sea were both parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

However, there was a barrier between each of the various Mountains and Seas, a barrier which was extremely difficult to pierce a hole through. That made it so that the cultivators from the different Mountains and Seas couldn't easily pass through. Unless… there was a war, and the power of countless cultivators could be converged to break through the barrier and enter the neighboring Mountains and Seas.

Another method would be to rely on an incredibly powerful cultivation base to rip open a tear that could be stepped through. However, to do such a thing required paying a heavy price, so unless some momentous situation had developed, few people would ever use that method. Besides, only Dao Realm cultivators could do so.

As for Patriarch Reliance, he had his own special methods. Even still, he had to pay a certain price to be able to break through from the Ninth Mountain and Sea and into the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

When the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite built their bridge, they converged power from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite that had accumulated for many years. It created a passageway that could ignore the barrier, and could allow someone to pass between the two mountains without any hindrance. However… it would only last for a brief period of time.

In the western region of the Eighth Mountain and Sea was a stretch of the pitch-black void in which a white fissure had suddenly opened up. Brilliant, blinding light shone out in all directions, making the fissure completely conspicuous in the pitch-black darkness.

Gradually, boundless Immortal Chakra began to emanate out from the fissure, the type that would cause anyone who saw it to assume that there was some sort of precious treasure located inside.

The fissure was not motionless, but rather, was shrinking; apparently, it would vanish in a relatively short period of time.

In the area around that fissure… fierce fighting was currently underway!

Booms rang out, along with bloodcurdling screams. The glow of magical techniques could be seen, sending multicolored light flashing in all directions.

Shockingly, two groups of cultivators, over a thousand in total, were currently engaged in a bloody battle. One of the groups wore yellow robes with Gold Dragons embroidered on the sleeves, whereas the other group wore white Daoist robes. Both groups attacked viciously, as if they each couldn't stand to even live under the same sky as the other.

Occasionally, someone would even self-detonate, ensuring that the battle was a bitter one, filled with the reek of blood and gore, and of mangled corpses….

All of the cultivators had bloodshot eyes. The weakest among them were stage 3 Immortals, and each one fought without holding anything back. Above the main battlefield a smaller fight was going on between four people. Three were men and one was a woman, and all of them were in the mid Ancient Realm. The ripples caused by the magical techniques they unleashed far exceeded that of the group below.

Above them was yet another fight, between only two people!

Both were old men in the late Ancient Realm, just half a step away from the great circle. They sat cross-legged across from each other, a game board placed between them, upon which they were playing Go. However, the game they were playing was one that brimmed with a feeling of battle. Every time they placed a piece down onto the board, it would cause rumbling sounds to fill the void.

"Eccentric Watercloud," said the old man in the yellow robe. "The entrance to this Arcane Pocket Realm was discovered by my Woodflame Society. It has nothing to do with your Watercloud Sect!" Eyes flickering coldly, he picked up a black game piece and put it down onto the board.

As soon as the piece touched down, rumbling filled the air, and an indescribably explosive force shook the starry sky.

"You spoke incorrectly, Daoist Woodflame. The Arcane Pocket Realms of the Eighth Mountain and Sea have always gone by right to whoever discovered them. As for this particular Arcane Pocket Realm… the Patriarch of our Watercloud Sect discovered it three hundred years ago. However, at that time, he didn't have an appropriate physical body. He was forced to make a notation of its location, and wait for the next time it opened.

"Now that it has opened, the Watercloud Sect has come to claim it. You are the ones who are forcefully interfering!" The old man in the white Daoist robe snorted coldly, picked up a white game piece, and put it down. Immediately, rumbling sounds could be heard.

"Look, you old geezer," the yellow-robed man roared angrily, "if you want to go that far, then let me tell you this, the Arcane Pocket Realm was discovered seven hundred years ago by the Woodflame Society!"

"Listen, you old coot," the white robed man said with a cold harrumph. "I just accidentally left out the word thousand! Actually, our Watercloud Sect Patriarch discovered this place one thousand three hundred years ago!"

"Like hell! The Watercloud Sect didn't even exist a thousand three hundred years ago!"

As the two men argued, their eyes glowed coldly. They continued to place game pieces, causing booms to ring out, shaking the entire starry sky. Below them, the fierce fighting grew even more intense.

However, it was at this point that the light shining out from the fissure grew more intense than before, covering the entire battlefield. The fighting cultivators subconsciously gasped as their cultivation bases leaped abnormally. Some of them even made significant progress, and signs of a breakthrough appeared in some of them. Interestingly, of those who now hovered on the verge of cultivation base breakthroughs, all of them cultivated flame magic!

Everyone was shocked by this, and their eyes began to shine with bright light.

Even the four mid Ancient Realm cultivators and the two old men playing Go all gasped, and their faces flickered with shock.

"That's… a Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm!"

"It's definitely Dao-level, otherwise, the Immortal Chakra emanating out wouldn't have Essence in it! It can lead to cultivation base breakthroughs!"

"That flame Essence indicates that whichever cultivator was put to rest in the Arcane Pocket Realm in the past was a Dao Realm expert with flame Essence!"

The two old men began to murmur and eye each other murderously.

"A Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm is a rarity in the Eighth Mountain and Sea…."

Although they had only been engaged in a battle of words before, and had held back from actually attacking, now that they realized how precious this Arcane Pocket Realm was, their cultivation base power exploded out. The game board between them shattered, sending the black and white game pieces flying out in all directions as attacks were unleashed.

The fighting intensified, and booms rang out, shaking the starry sky. Both sides were relatively evenly matched, making it difficult for either one to secure victory quickly. Furthermore… the white light emanating out from the fissure suddenly began to retract, as if it were about to vanish.

"Not good! The Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm is about to close!

Dammit! Why is it happening so fast? Could it be that all Dao-level

Arcane Pocket Realms are like this?"

"It must not be allowed to close! The Dao soul hasn't been extracted yet!" The faces of the two old men fell as they fought. Suddenly, they looked into each other's eyes.

"Let's stop fighting for the moment, and send forth the bodies we've prepared. Let the Dao soul in the Arcane Pocket Realm make its own decision about who it belongs to!"

"Agreed!" The two old men gritted their teeth. Having no other option, and seeing that the fissure was about to fade away, the best option they had was to fight for a 50/50 chance.

They flicked their sleeves, causing their cultivation bases to erupt, using their power to separate the two groups of fighting cultivators. Then, they transformed into beams of light that shot howling toward the fissure. As they neared it, both old men cried out.

"Tong'er! Shanbin!"

"Shanshan! Muyi!"

In response to their words, four people flew out from the crowds, two men and two women. The men were handsome and the women were beautiful. They nervously faced the old men, clasped hands and bowed. "Greetings, Patriarch!"

"Attempt to absorb the Dao soul into your bodies, and assimilate it. Use it to awaken the power within you. Whether or not you succeed will depend on your luck!" The four cultivators gritted their teeth, then flew toward the fissure. As they closed in, they bit down on their tongues, spitting out mouthfuls of blood that flew toward the opening.

Everyone in the area gazed fixedly at the scene which was playing out. When the four cultivators spit out their blood, a massive force exploded out from within the shrinking fissure. The opening suddenly expanded, causing brilliant light to explode out. It was so blinding that nobody could see what was inside the fissure other than light.

"It's coming out!" the two old men cried excitedly.

RUMBLE!

As the fissure expanded, the massive force exploded out, and suddenly, a hand appeared from within the light… slowly stretching out from deep inside!

It grabbed onto the edge of the fissure, after which, a person began to emerge.

As soon as the figure appeared, Immortal power erupted out, joined by Essence, striking fear into the hearts of the other cultivators, who began to edge backward. The two old men fought back against the power, but it was almost too much for them. Their expressions were those of complete delight.

"This feeling, this aura… it's the Dao soul!"

"It's coming out, it's coming out…."

The two men and two women outside of the fissure were backing up, faces pale. They could sense that whatever was coming out of the fissure was some sort of supreme existence, something that filled them with terror.

RUMBLE!

The figure emerged fully from the fissure, a young man wearing a long white robe. He had long black hair, and looked like a handsome scholar. Almost as soon as he emerged, the fissure closed up behind him and vanished.

At the same time, the blinding light that had filled the area faded away.

The two old men stared with wide eyes at this young man, and they weren't the only ones. The two men and two women stared in shock; this was definitely not what they had imagined a Dao soul would look like.

"Could it be that Dao Realm Souls really look like this?" That was what both old men were thinking in their confusion. The two of them had never seen a Dao-level Arcane Pocket Realm before, and therefore, weren't really certain as to whether or not the young man standing in front of them was what a Dao soul was supposed to look like.

"Is this the Eighth Mountain and Sea?" the young man asked. Of course, he was none other than Naruto .

The fact that so many people were there to receive him was quite a shock, especially when he saw that the group up front was comprised of two handsome men and two beautiful women.

One of those beautiful women immediately dropped to her knees before

Naruto and threw both hands up into the air. "Senior, please accept me as an offering!"

The other three quickly followed suit, kneeling down and raising their hands.

"Senior, please accept me as an offering!"

Naruto had a strange expression on his face as he looked around. When he looked over at the two old men with the highest cultivation bases, they began to tremble and back away.

"S-Senior, the offerings are all prepared," said the old man in the yellow robe. "Those four in front of you. S-sir, whichever one you like, you can have. W-we're too old, and not really suitable…."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1213

Chapter 1213: Heavengod Alliance

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto 's face as he looked at the two old men, and then back down at the men and women kneeling in front of him. Having no time for delays, he once again asked,

"Is this, or is this not, the Eighth Mountain and Sea?"

The first of the women to have dropped to her knees quickly nodded and replied, "Senior, this most definitely is the Eighth Mountain and Sea."

Hearing this, Naruto 's eyes glittered, and he waved his hand, causing a magical item suitable for the Immortal Realm to fly over to the woman.

"Take this treasure. Can you tell me how to get to the Blacksoul Society?" he asked.

The woman looked at the magical item, eyes flickering with pleasure. She quickly took it and was about to reply when suddenly, the two old men finally realized what was going on. Expressions flickering, they advanced.

"He's not the Dao soul!"

"Dammit, he's obviously got a fleshly body! He's not the Dao soul, he just got here before us and already merged with it!" The two old men simply couldn't think of any other reasonable explanation other than Naruto arriving before them and stealing the good fortune which they felt belonged to them.

The two men exchanged a glance, and then their killing intent surged. "If he just merged with the Dao soul, then he's not stable and can't awaken it! Kill him!"

They immediately shot toward Naruto .

Naruto frowned and glanced at the two old men. His gaze was like an azure bolt of lightning , like a sharp sword that stabbed deep into their brains. Their faces fell; minds reeling, they coughed up blood and staggered backward.

"Attack together! Kill him and get that Dao soul back!" Behind the two old men were the four mid Ancient Realm cultivators, who howled and attacked. All of the other nearly one thousand cultivators in the area unleashed various divine abilities and magical techniques.

Naruto snorted coldly. His action from moments before had been a simple warning to these people to not provoke him. He didn't want to cause any trouble here, he just wanted to know how to get to the Blacksoul Society. And yet they simply couldn't get the message. Therefore, he decided to stop holding back. He lifted his right foot up and took a step forward.

That single step caused power to erupt off of him. A huge shockwave spread out explosively in all directions, transforming into an attack that swept over all of the nearby cultivators.

Miserable shrieks rang out, and countless mouthfuls of blood sprayed about. The cultivators all felt as if an invisible wall had slammed into them, a backlash that left them seriously injured and spinning off in multiple directions.

As the blood sprayed out of their mouths, they trembled, looking at Naruto with astonishment and terror. They didn't dare to approach even half a step closer to him. The four mid Ancient Realm cultivators were even more seriously injured. Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and their cultivation bases were seriously damaged. Even their souls became unstable, causing their faces to grow ashen.

However, it was in this moment that something seemed to awaken inside of them, which Naruto immediately noticed. As the four of them backed up, what appeared to be the shadows of souls appeared behind them, although they were faint.

"This… this…." The two old men were equally shaken with fear. However, they didn't give up on their idea. They continued to advance toward Naruto , roaring and performing incantation gestures. Their late Ancient Realm cultivation bases exploded with power, and something seemed to awaken within them too.

As that happened, illusory images appeared behind him. They weren't Dharma Idols, but rather Soul Shadows. They weren't the souls of the old men, but rather, the souls of two unknown cultivators who were both at the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

By merging with them, the two old men were actually able to increase the power of their cultivation bases. They rapidly rose from the late Ancient Realm to the great circle of the Ancient Realm, causing their attacks to burst with increasing power, sending ripples out in all directions.

"Well, isn't this interesting," Naruto said, eyes gleaming. This was his first time in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and although the cultivators here practiced the same system of cultivation as in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, there were obviously some details which were different.

For example, this awakening… must have something to do with the Dao soul they had just mentioned.

After a moment of thought, Naruto lifted his right arm and waved his sleeve. Although the motion seemed ordinary, the faces of the two old men instantly fell.

The man in the white robe began to shake, and then vomited up a huge mouthful of blood. His body rapidly aged, and the soul behind him let out a miserable shriek as more than half of it withered away. The old man went all out to dodge away, only stopping after he had fallen back by 300 meters. It was there that he looked at Naruto with an expression of unprecedented amazement.

"Dao Realm! He's in the Dao Realm! He didn't absorb a Dao soul, he's actually… in the Dao Realm himself!"

At the same time as his voice rang out, the yellow-robed man's face flickered. He did not cough up any blood, and yet at this point he would rather have been the one coughing up. That was because he was being wrenched through the void, Soul Shadow and all, directly toward Naruto .

In the blink of an eye, the man was suspended in front of Naruto , a look of terror in his eyes. He was completely immobilized and, being so close to Naruto , he could clearly sense the vast, boundless power within him. He knew that Naruto was powerful enough to eradicate him with a simple thought.

"S-Senior…." the old man said, trembling.

Naruto 's expression was calm as he measured up the yellow-robed old man. His eyes flashed like lightning, as if he could easily see through him. A few breaths of time passed, and then Naruto 's eyes came to fall on the Soul Shadow, which was also trembling as it sensed a force like that of Heavenly might emanating off of Naruto .

"Fuse the soul into the body, and use it to form blood vessels… thus… entering a symbiosis!

"Interesting. Not a bad technique. It ensures that the powerful party can avoid death and the weak party becomes more powerful. Now that I think about it, the green lightning Han Qinglei used back in the Windswept Realm was probably a secret magic derived from this method." Nodding, Naruto looked away from the Soul Shadow. 1 "How do I get to the Blacksoul Society?" he asked slowly.

The yellow-robed old man immediately gushed, "The Heaven– er, the Blacksoul Society is in the north, which is quite far from here. That region is controlled by the Heavengod Society, which means that unless you're from the Heavengod Alliance, you can't go there. Even if you obtain a writ of passage, you're only allowed as far as the outer borders of the Heavengod Alliance.

"Senior, if you want to obtain such a writ, that's fine…. You can come to the Woodflame Society. Our sect has a teleportation portal that goes in the direction of the Heavengod Alliance…."

"Heavengod Alliance…." After a moment of thought, Naruto released the yellow-robed man and asked him to lead the way.

The old man was instantly excited, and respectfully agreed. Looking haughtily out of the corner of his eye at the white-robed man from the Watercloud Sect, he gave a cold harrumph and then led Naruto off into the distance along with this Woodflame Society cultivators.

The white-robed man remained behind, heart pounding. He was aware that Daoist Woodflame wanted to pander to a Dao Realm expert. In fact, he himself also wanted the same thing; however, when he thought about how terrifying Naruto was, he hesitated. In the end, he simply watched as the Woodflame Society cultivators escorted Naruto off into the distance.

After a long moment, a grim look appeared on his face.

"I simply can't believe that Daoist Woodflame didn't notice that this Dao Realm expert is not from the Eighth Mountain and Sea. He's obviously from one of the other Mountains and Seas, and is obviously strong enough to break through into ours.

"People like that… always have some major plot afoot, and we can't afford to get involved with something like that…." Murmuring to himself, the white-robed old man led his people off into the distance, and also gave orders that they were to speak nothing about what had happened. He even ordered that the entire sect was not to divulge even the slightest scrap of information about Naruto .

Of course, Daoist Woodflame of the Woodflame Society absolutely could tell that Naruto had an extraordinary background. However, he was willing to make a gamble. In the Eighth Mountain and Sea, the Woodflame Society was a small sect that existed in the shadows of the Heavengod Alliance and the great clans. If he could acquire the favor of a Dao Realm expert, it would be of incalculable value to them.

As long as he could benefit it some way, then it didn't matter where that Dao Realm expert came from….

Naruto was no fool either, and could tell what Daoist Woodflame was thinking. Therefore, as they proceeded along, he asked some questions about the overall state of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

"Senior, there is only one alliance in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and that is the Heavengod Alliance. It is made up of many sects and clans, and the Blacksoul Society is only one of them. The alliance as a whole is led by the Heavengod Society!

"The Patriarch of the Heavengod Society is none other than the Eighth Mountain and Sea's… Mountain and Sea Lord! He is referred to as… Heavengod!

"In addition to the Heavengod Alliance, the Eighth Mountain and Sea also has the Three Great Daoist Societies. However, they rarely dabble in the affairs of the outside world. In fact, they've hardly been seen at all in recent years.

"In addition to that are the Two Great Clans, which are the Uzumaki Clan and the Han Clan!

"The Uzumaki Clan is on the decline, but based on their former glory, they are still considered a major player….

"As for the Han Clan, they are like the sun at high noon….

"However, neither the Three Great Daoist Societies nor the Two Great Clans can compare at all to the Heavengod Alliance….

"Of the four planets in the Eighth Mountain, the Han and Uzumaki Clans jointly occupy one of them. The other three are controlled by the Heavengod Alliance…." Daoist Woodflame explained everything that he knew, and in the end, gave Naruto a jade slip that contained a detailed map of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

"I'm not sure about the other Mountains and Seas, but in the Eighth

Mountain and Sea, we have something called Arcane Pocket Realms. There are quite a few of them, and if you can find one that has never been opened before, then you can bury a corpse inside. Once the soul has escaped the body, you can provide it with a suitable body to meld with and they become undying. This kind of symbiosis can be considered a kind of awakening for those who practice cultivation."

Naruto listened to everything that Daoist Woodflame told him, but when he mentioned the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto 's eyes glazed over as he became distracted by his own thoughts. After a moment, though, they gleamed as he sent some divine sense into the jade slip he now held in his hand. Instantly, a map of the Eighth Mountain and Sea appeared in his mind.

"There are no Ruins of Immortality?" he asked suddenly.

"Ruins of Immortality?" Daoist Woodflame asked, looking confused.

"What are they?"

Naruto 's eyes flickered thoughtfully as he considered certain matters, then continued to ask questions, especially about the Arcane Pocket Realms.

A day later, Naruto reached the Woodflame Society, having a much better understanding of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. That was especially true of the Arcane Pocket Realms, which made Naruto think of the Ruins of Immortality.

"Actually, the Arcane Pocket Realms of the Eighth Mountain and Sea are really… the Ruins of Immortality. However, they are fragmented and scattered about randomly here, which is why numerous so-called Arcane Pocket Realms appear. And that is why they were used… to become graves for cultivators!

"You could even say that the Eighth Mountain and Sea is actually one huge graveyard!" Naruto 's eyes gleamed with understanding.

Han Qinglei, the Echelon cultivator from the Eighth Mountain and Sea, was the guy who fought Naruto starting around chapter 1095, using lightning and bone magic. Like most of the other Echelon cultivators, he ended up getting saved by Naruto and then helping him ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1214

Chapter 1214: My Name is Naruto !

Naruto hadn't originally planned to go the Eighth Mountain and Sea. His prime destination had been the Fourth Mountain and Sea. He had hoped to go there directly, or alternatively, to simply pass through the Eighth Mountain and Sea on his way.

If the latter was the only option, he would proceed to the Seventh Mountain, the Sixth Mountain, the Fifth Mountain and eventually… would reach the Fourth Mountain. He would pass through multiple Mountains and Seas to find Hinata … and bring her home.

But then the situation with Sakura developed, and he had been forced to change his mind. He could not proceed directly toward the Fourth Mountain. He owed Sakura far too much, and had no option other than to track down her soul and rescue her.

Therefore, he traveled not through, but to the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

Here, he had ties to both Patriarch Reliance and the Uzumaki Clan. The Uzumaki Clan was his mother's clan, his relatives.

And as for Patriarch Reliance, when Naruto found out that he was in the Eight Mountain and Sea, he had long since decided that no one would be able to prevent him from acquiring him as a mount.

Once that happened, he would be able to use Patriarch Reliance's power to effortlessly pass through the barriers between the various Mountains and Seas!

Now, he stood in the Woodflame Society's teleportation portal. They didn't qualify to occupy their own planet, but had instead built their sect on a huge asteroid. Because the Eighth Mountain's political structure was a bit different than that of the Ninth Mountain, virtually all of the small sects were set up in a similar way.

"Senior, from here, you can teleport onto one of the artificial planets arrayed in the vicinity of the Heavengod Alliance. Those planets form the gateway to the Heavengod Alliance."

Daoist Woodflame clasped hands, bowing deeply as he began to explain: "From there, you should be able to find the teleportation portal leading to the Blacksoul Society…."

Naruto glanced thoughtfully at the man, who during this entire time hadn't mentioned a word about any sort of payment for the information he was giving. Suddenly, Naruto reached out and tapped Daoist Woodflame's forehead, causing a bit of the Essence of Divine Flame to flow into his body.

Daoist Woodflame shivered slightly, and his face suddenly turned bright red, as if he were about to belch out flame. His eyes went wild with joy. Trembling, he immediately dropped to his knees.

"Senior, many thanks for your great kindness! I will never forget this for the rest of my life. Senior, if you have any demands, I will go through hell or high water to meet them!" Daoist Woodflame was as incredibly excited as he should be, considering that he cultivated flame-attribute techniques. Now that Naruto had given him some of the Essence of Divine Flame, you could say that… his path toward the Dao Realm had been opened!

A gift like that was like the gift of a new life!

"The path of cultivation is murky," Naruto said slowly, "and all I can give you is a lamp to light your way. How far you go will be up to you…. It all depends on yourself. Do your best." He swished his sleeve, causing the spirit stone formation he had set up around the teleportation portal to sparkle. As the spirit stones crumbled, the power of the spell formation caused a brilliant flash of light….

When the light faded away, Naruto was nowhere to be seen.

However, Daoist Woodflame was still there on his knees, kowtowing.

In the Eighth Mountain and Sea, the Heavengod Alliance had staked their claim to three of the planets which orbited the mountain. That area was known as the Inner Ring!

Outside of the Inner Ring, the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance used various Daoist magics to merge countless asteroids together into numerous artificial planets.

That was referred to as the Outer Ring.

The artificial planets in the Outer Ring were not like the four great planets, which possessed Planet Souls and could give birth to true Immortals. At most, they provided a place for cultivators to live and practice cultivation.

However, they still looked very impressive and shocking.

Roughly seventy percent of the starry sky in the Eighth Mountain and Sea fell under the jurisdiction of the Heavengod Alliance. This space formed a single discrete territory and was protected by an invisible shield which non-Heavengod Alliance cultivators couldn't pass through without having the requisite identity medallion and paying the entry tax.

The entry point was formed by a linear array of seven planets, which were the gateway to the Heavengod Alliance.

Naruto appeared on the third of those seven gateway planets, into an extraordinarily lively and bustling city.

There were cultivators everywhere, coming from and going to the Heavengod Alliance.

No one paid any attention at all to Naruto . However, a beam of light did spread out from the teleportation portal itself and sweep over him. The identity medallion he had requested from Daoist Woodflame immediately proved itself to be useful, glittering as it concealed his true identity.

Suddenly, Naruto heard an annoyed voice from off to the side. "Now that you've arrived, hurry up and move along. There are other people waiting."

He looked over to see a cultivator wearing a blue and white Daoist robe, a robe which bore a special insignia that only cultivators from the Heavengod Alliance were authorized to wear.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he stepped out of the teleportation portal and then began to make his way through the city. At a glance, he could estimate that there were hundreds of thousands of cultivators making their way to and fro on this gateway planet of the Heavengod Alliance.

"Seven planets. Millions of cultivators…." Naruto murmured. "With business like this, the Heavengod Alliance can make endless profit…." The deepest impression that this Eighth Mountain had left on Naruto so far was of the vast enormity and power of the Heavengod Alliance.

"If Lord Hebi hadn't rebelled, and the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect were still around today… then the Ninth Mountain and Sea would be just like this." Naruto sighed. Although he had prepared himself mentally before coming to the Eight Mountain and Sea, he had never imagined that things would be this complicated.

It wasn't that his task itself was complicated; rather, it was the situation and circumstances at hand. As for the Blacksoul Society, it didn't really matter how powerful it was by itself. Even though he had seen that 2Essences Dao Realm cultivator, it wasn't enough to make him care.

However, he did have to care about the Heavengod Alliance as a whole. If he really did just barge into the Heavengod Alliance's territory and wiped out the Blacksoul Society, it would cause a huge stir in the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea, and countless enemies would surely attempt to track him down and kill him.

"What a pity. If I had more time, I could handle things more smoothly. I could even start up a business and use its profits to set myself up a teleportation portal to make things easier.

"Unfortunately, there's not enough time…. However, there are some things in life that you have to do, no matter the danger involved…. Some people need to be saved no matter what….

"It might be dangerous, but even still, how could a piddling Eighth Mountain and Sea compare to how dangerous the Windswept Realm was?!" His eyes flashed with coldness.

"I'm the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and this is MY

Realm!" He took a deep breath and didn't hesitate for a moment longer. Striding forward, he went about making the inquiries necessary to determine the location of the Blacksoul Society's teleportation portal.

The amount of spirit stones he had to pay left his face grim, but he soon found what he was looking for, and moments later… was there at the Blacksoul Society teleportation portal!

The Blacksoul Society wasn't qualified to be in the Inner Ring, and was instead located on an artificial planet. However, Patriarch Blacksoul's fame was so far-reaching that even within the Heavengod Alliance he was highly esteemed. Therefore, even though the Blacksoul Society wasn't in the Inner Ring itself, they were still very close to it.

Furthermore, it completely occupied its own planet, of which it was the lord!

The population of their sect was not enormous, only about 300,000 cultivators. However, all of them were very loyal to the sect, and practiced magic that was related to souls. They exorcised ghosts and consumed souls; their techniques were very unique, and in general, they were a very savage and cruel bunch.

Currently, several Blacksoul Society disciples were sitting cross-legged near the planetary teleportation portal. Suddenly, the portal flickered, and the disciples looked over coldly as a white-robed figure became visible.

It was none other than Naruto .

As the disciples looked at him with glinting eyes, one of them coldly barked, "Who goes there? State your business!"

Naruto acted as if he hadn't even heard. He stood there on the teleportation portal, looking around. Soon, he caught sight of a pitchblack cliff off in the distance, upon which were written three characters.

Blacksoul Society!

It was exactly the same image he had seen in the vision via Karmic

Hexing. Furthermore… he could see a huge incense burner by that cliff!

Although there was currently no smoke emanating out from it or being sucked in, Naruto would never forget what it looked like.

"This is the place…." he said, his voice soft but icy.

"Do you have no tongue? Or maybe someone cut it out. Since you won't speak, I'll just drag your soul out of you!" Because of the brutal nature of the techniques they cultivated, most members of other sects would treat disciples like them very politely. Seeing that Naruto was ignoring them, they let out cold harrumphs and immediately moved to attack him.

Instantly, enraged shrieks could be heard as several evil spirits flew out toward Naruto as if to devour him.

Retracting his gaze from the black cliff, he said "My name is Uzumaki

Hao…."

Then he waved his hand, causing a wild wind to spring out and surge toward the Blacksoul Society cultivators.

The words Naruto uttered next were spoken so low that only he could hear them: "I'm here for my best friend's soul, and… to exterminate this sect!" 1

In that moment, the shrieking souls slammed into the wild wind, and then screamed miserably as they were ripped to shreds, completely destroyed. The cultivators behind them didn't even have a chance to be surprised. The wind swept over them and they shuddered for a moment before their flesh and blood was ripped away from their bones, which then turned into ash. Unlike the souls they had summoned, they didn't even have a chance to scream!

All but one of them… were instantly killed in spirit and body!

There was one who survived, though. A massive force wrapped around him, and he was dragged toward Naruto who, face calm, grabbed onto the top of his head and unleashed the magic of Soulsearching.

The cultivator trembled and began to froth at the mouth. The froth quickly turned red, and within the space of a few breaths of time, he was completely dead. Naruto released his grip, and the man transformed into ash.

"A total of five teleportation portals, huh…?" Naruto lifted his right foot into the air and then slammed it down. Instantly, the teleportation portal beneath him shattered into bits, as did the other four teleportation portals located in other locations on the planet.

"Seal the doors, then start killing!" Naruto said softly. As he looked up, he saw countless enraged figures flying in his direction. At the same time, innumerable streams of divine sense flew toward him. Naruto 's face was calm as he began to walk forward.

Note from Er Gen: The sect extermination has begun. Please give me your monthly vote tickets!

Note from Deathblade: Er Gen frequently solicits support, so I guess I might as well join him this time. The sect extermination has begun! Please support me on !

The word I'm translating as "best friend" here is a Chinese term used specifically to describe your closest friend of the opposite gender, a friend who you "love" but not in a romantic way. When I confirmed the definition in Chinese, it ends with this: "it is a very dangerous

(friendship) because it you don't excercise control, you can easily cross the line from friendship (into something else)." When I asked Madam Deathblade about the term, she threw up in her mouth and said she hates it when people use the term because it's "fake," and that if I ever used that to describe another girl, she would do horrible things to me ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1215

Chapter 1215: Single-handedly Rocking Blacksoul!

"What gall!"

"How dare you invade the Blacksoul Society of the Heavengod Alliance! Who are you!?" Naruto heard numerous enraged roars filling his mind that were carried by the incoming streams of divine sense.

Were he an ordinary cultivator, such a convergence of divine sense would be enough to completely eradicate his mind.

Instead, he continued to stride forward. Voice cool, he said, "Like I said, my name is Naruto , and I'm here to exterminate this sect!"

When he spoke the final three words, his voice became like Heavenly might, crashing as loud as thunder, causing the combined power of the divine sense around him to instantly shatter like dried twigs!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Countless miserable shrieks could be heard in the distant Blacksoul Society.

"Kill him!"

"A foreigner is invading! Kill him!"

"I'm going to extract his soul and refine it into a flag, then I'll fly that flag in the cold wind of an Arcane Pocket Realm… and let him scream for tens of thousands of years!"

The sky grew dim, winds screamed, and the land quaked as countless cultivators flew into the air toward Naruto . All of them unleashed divine abilities, and in the blink of an eye, the sky was filled with innumerable evil souls, who shot screaming toward Naruto .

Naruto 's expression was as calm as ever as he continued to walk forward. He waved his sleeve, and the sky rumbled as a huge fissure opened up directly in the path of the incoming cultivators. Red mist roiled out of the fissure, along with sinister laughter. A huge bloodcolored head appeared, and the fissure ripped open wider as something stepped out.

It was the Blood Demon!

The Blood Demon roared as it charged forward, transforming into a sea of blood that surged out in all directions. When it reached the cultivators, numerous bloodcurdling screams rang out. Countless evil souls were destroyed, and many of the cultivators began to shake violently. Blood then started spurting out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, and they were rapidly sucked dry.

Within the bloody mist, a blood spirit appeared. Lacking any emotion, it became a blood shadow which passed about, causing cultivators to scream as they withered away rapidly and then died.

The cultivators of the Blacksoul Society were known for their cruel techniques, and all of them were the type of people who had slaughtered so many others it was impossible to keep track of how many. They believed themselves to be the most brutal entities in existence. But what they were seeing right now left the Blacksoul Society cultivators astonished.

When it came to brutality and viciousness, they couldn't even compare at all to the Blood Demon and the blood spirit.

Naruto proceeded onward calmly, waving his hand again to cause numerous Immortal mountains to descend. The rumbling sounds were so intense that it sounded like an apocalypse had arrived to this world.

"How impudent!" A cold snort rang out, filled with matchless, aweinspiring power. The thunderous sound caused the Blood Demon to tremble, the blood spirit to gape in dread, and the Immortal mountains to crumble to pieces.

As the sound echoed about, pitch-black smoke began to pour out from the vicinity of the black cliff. The smoke converged together into the form of a face, that of a middle-aged man, whose eyes sparkled like lightning as he looked at Naruto .

The Blacksoul Society only had one Dao Realm Patriarch. However, he was no ordinary Dao Realm cultivator. When Naruto had seen him by means of Karma Threads, he had been able to determine that he was a 2-Essences Dao Realm expert. However, from the power radiating out now, Naruto could tell that this was no 2-Essences expert… this was a 3-Essences Dao Lord!

He was the one who had called Naruto impudent, words which shook everything above and below. In fact, those words apparently could control the spiritual energy of Heaven and Earth, which formed a powerful force of expulsion against Naruto !

Naruto 's pupils constricted, and his heart sank a bit.

It was at this point that ten old men flew out to surround the smoke face. When they unleashed their cultivation bases, the shocking power of the great circle of the Ancient Realm exploded out!

Some of them headed directly toward the Blood Demon and the blood spirit, whereas others shot toward Naruto , expressions vicious.

In addition to this were over a hundred other cultivators in the Ancient Realm, surrounded by Soul Lamps. It was an impressive sight, and as their power spread out, it formed a large spell formation with towering energy that seemed capable of superseding the Heavens.

More and more cultivators of the Blacksoul Society were flying up to participate in this Dao Realm-level battle!

This was how powerful a sect could be!

"3-Essences…." Naruto said coolly. "Well, so what? Since I've come all this way, I'm going to end things here and now!" He was sure of what he had seen earlier via the Karma Threads. Perhaps there was some factor he had been unaware of, or maybe the man had experienced a breakthrough in these past few days. Regardless of the reason why, Naruto was here, and even if he had to fight a 3Essences expert, he would!

He took a fourth step, and his energy rocketed up, causing everything to shake dramatically. Some parts of the land even crumbled. At the same time, a roar could be heard from inside Naruto 's bag of holding. The Blood Mastiff flew out, causing everything around it to shake as its great circle Ancient Realm cultivation base exploded with shocking power.

There was even a host of shrieking black imps that turned into black beams of light and shot into the crowd.

Shockingly, Naruto was single-handedly rocking the entire Blacksoul Society!

He didn't give voice to his goal of retrieving Sakura 's soul. That was something he could not reveal, lest he advertise his weak spot. Of course, if they agreed to hand over the soul, he wouldn't be opposed to working out a deal with them, even if it cost him a lot financially.

But… if they disagreed and became aware of why he'd come, it would be incredibly dangerous for Sakura .

Therefore, the simplest method… was to exterminate the entire sect and take Sakura 's soul by force!

Naruto radiated a murderous aura that took form in the shape of black shockwave, which shot outward in all directions. Whatever cultivators were hit by it were instantly thrown into mental confusion and insanity.

At the same time, Naruto 's Allheaven Dao Immortal cultivation base erupted with power, bolstered by his Seven God Steps. His energy soared higher and higher as he took the fifth of those steps.

As he did, dozens of Ancient Realm cultivators closed in, joined by six experts in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. They unleashed massive, destructive power that merged together into an enormous Yama Soul that looked like it had just emerged from the underworld. It was clad in black armor, and while it looked human above the waist, from the waist down it had the body of a huge snake. Roaring, it hefted a Yama Weapon and lashed out toward Naruto with deadly force.

It was in that exact moment that Naruto 's foot touched down with his fifth step, and his energy soared even higher than before. The Heavens trembled and the Earth quaked. Numerous crevices snaked out over the ground, and one mountain after another began to crumble on the planet below.

In response to his surging energy, his cultivation base caused an explosive tempest to rise up, transforming into a barrier that the Yama Soul collided with. Immediately, the Yama Soul was sent tumbling backward. Unexpectedly… it was completely incapable of doing anything to that barrier.

It wasn't even necessary to say anything about it attacking Naruto ; it couldn't even get within 300 meters of him.

The Yama Soul wasn't the only thing sent tumbling away. The Ancient Realm cultivators all coughed up blood when they were hit by the barrier, and there were even some who exploded into bits. Those who weren't killed in body and soul were heavily wounded as they were shoved backward.

The cultivators in the great circle of the Ancient Realm looked on with ashen, shocked faces.

"Who are you?!"

That was the question uttered as Naruto 's sixth step landed. His energy once again rocketed up, and his cultivation base expanded, causing the invisible barrier to push from 300 meters to 900. Even more cultivators were affected, including Immortal Realm disciples who were pushed back relentlessly. Many were killed, and the sounds of bloodcurdling screams filled the entire planet. By this point, anyone and everyone could tell that whoever this person was, he was astonishingly powerful!

"Dao Realm! He's in the Dao Realm!" Countless miserable screams could be heard, screams laced with terror. It didn't matter how brutal and fierce these people normally were, their minds were now completely occupied by one thing: fear.

Their Patriarch might be in the Dao Realm, and considered mighty even among Dao Realm experts. Yet they were still filled with fear. Any Dao Realm expert was the type of person to strike indescribable dread into all hearts.

Almost in the same moment that people began to cry out, the enormous face formed from black smoke opened its mouth, causing a black wind to seethe out.

That black wind contained Essence power. Specifically, it was the shocking Essence of wind, and even more shockingly, it was intermixed with countless vicious souls whose howls filled the air. Concealed within the all-encompassing wind, the souls shot toward Naruto .

Now that his power had increased thanks to the sixth step, Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then pushed it up into the air as if he were going to push the sky up!

"Essence of Divine Flame!"

Rumbling sounds filled the world as every cloud in the sky disintegrated.

This Essence was not the color of blood, nor was it black, and not a single soul could be seen within it. What it was filled with… was a boundless sea of flames. The flames roiled outwards and became allencompassing, causing the temperature in the entire world to rapidly reach a scaldingly terrifying level.

The sky formed a reservoir for the sea of flames, and the ground became the battlefield. Naruto was using the Divine Flame to counter the Soul Wind!

Essence power erupted out, causing the world to tremble even more violently. Since this was not a true planet, but rather an artificial one moulded together from smaller parts, the Dao Realm pressure currently weighing down on it caused it to show signs of imminent collapse. More and more cracks had spread out over its surface.

Then… Naruto took a seventh step!

That step caused his will to merge with the will of the Heavens, making him like a deity!

His energy surged up in an unprecedented fashion. He had never powered up to such heights before, and truth be told, he hadn't even unleashed his Paragon Bridge yet. This was pure cultivation base power, which was terrifying enough to shake the Dao Realm.

He now began to grow larger; in the blink of an eye, he was like a giant, fully 3,000 meters tall. The sky began to collapse as he clenched his hand into a fist that then rocketed from the battlefield directly toward the smoke-face floating above the black cliff.

This was none other than the God-Slaying Fist!

The face in the smoke looked grave; the feeling of intense crisis it got because of Naruto was something that only some of the oldest experts in the Eighth Mountain and Sea could match, something that he hadn't felt in a very, very long time.

However, he could also tell that this was one of Naruto 's most powerful attacks, which he was only able to unleash after building up a huge amount of energy. Although the face could fight back against this attack, he didn't see any need to actually do so. All he really had to do was wait for Naruto 's energy to be spent.

Eyes flickering coldly, the face suddenly backed up from Naruto 's fist strike and began to fade away. As it did, an astute gleam appeared in Naruto 's eyes.

Just as the face had almost completely faded away, his fist suddenly transformed into a palm, which made a grab for… the incense burner at the base of the black cliff!

His primary goal had never been the extermination of the sect as he had loudly proclaimed, but rather… Sakura 's soul! Everything from before had been carefully executed in such a way that, even if his opponent evaded his blow, he would still be able to grab the incense burner.

Similarly, if the man didn't evade, then Naruto was prepared with a follow-up move!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1216

Chapter 1216: Fledgling Mountains and Seas!

The smoke-face's eyes widened slightly, and then gleamed as it broke into a grin. Voice cold, it said, "So, you're here for that after all!"

As its voice echoed out, it did nothing to stop Naruto , but instead allowed his enormous hand to sail directly toward the incense burner at the base of the black cliff.

Naruto 's heart sank, and he sighed inwardly. His opponent was a 3Essences Dao Lord, so not only was his cultivation base powerful, he was surely profoundly wise and cunning. Naruto knew his plan had been slightly careless, so it was no surprise that the man noticed.

However, it also made things slightly more complicated.

"So you knew," he said, eyes flickering. "Why does that matter?!" Even if the man had picked up on the clues, that wouldn't make Naruto to give up on trying to snatch the incense burner. He gave a cold harrumph as the hand smashed through the air, causing rumbling sounds and even distorting the air until it was blurry.

Just when the hand was about to grab the incense burner, an invisible shield flickered into place. It wasn't until Naruto 's hand slammed into it that it became visible.

The shield was not like an inverted bowl, but more like a net that filled the entire Blacksoul Society. If anyone tried to grab the incense burner, then the protective net would appear!

His right hand made contact with the huge net, and massive rumbling sounds emanated out. Almost immediately, the force of Naruto 's blow was absorbed, causing the huge net to glitter radiantly.

Blinding light shone out, and intense rumbling could be heard. A mere power of absorption was not the only function of the Blacksoul Society's protective net. After absorbing the power, it could then release it in a backlash attack. It shot out from the huge net, converging on a single point, where it prepared to batter Naruto with Heaven-destroying, Earth-extinguishing power.

That point of convergence… was the exact point where Naruto was touching the net!

"You take my power, augment it, and then fire it back at me, huh…?" Naruto murmured, shaking as the power slammed into his hand. He suddenly laughed coldly.

"Well then, let's see if this protective spell formation is really qualified to stand in my way!" Eyes glittering icily, his right hand suddenly snapped open and he grabbed the net itself. Azure light exploded out in all directions, as did the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal.

The ground quaked, and majestic crashes of thunder could be heard. Naruto roared and pushed forward. As he did, the net began to struggle back, and the backlash attack power grew even stronger.

"Think you can reflect this one?!" It was at this point that something new appeared within him… Paragon power!

It was… the power of the Paragon Bridge! It didn't manifest externally, but rather, inside of him. After causing the Paragon Bridge to become corporeal, this was a new way that he could unleash its power.

As the power of the Paragon Bridge exploded out inside of him, it became like a celestial bridge which connected every part of his body, causing indescribable power to flow through all of his Chakra passageways.

As soon as that massive power touched the huge net, it permeated its entire structure, which began to vibrate. It wouldn't matter if the net was even stronger than it was now, it was powerless to fight back, and even began to shatter!

The smoke-face's expression immediately flickered.

At the same time, Naruto roared, ripping the net upwards.

"BREAK!" His voice was so loud it could shake the Heavens and rock the Earth. The surrounding disciples of the Blacksoul Society looked on with gaping mouths. They almost couldn't believe that Naruto had actually… uprooted their protective net!

The huge net was hundreds of thousands of meters wide, and as it was lifted into the air it looked almost like a cape. In addition, countless muffled booms could be heard as the entire thing crumbled. Naruto then tossed the net to the side, causing it to shatter into pieces which spiraled toward the cultivators of the Blacksoul Society.

"NO!" countless terrified screams could be heard as the cultivators of the Blacksoul Society attempted to back up across the battlefield, their faces flickering with shock. However, their attempts to evade were in vain. Naruto was too fast, and when he sent the shattering net sweeping out, the cultivators it hit were instantly shredded to pieces.

In a brief moment, the entire battlefield was filled with the reek of fresh blood. The slaughter which was unfolding was happening too quickly, too suddenly. Before anyone could even think or react, the entire area was turned into a scene from hell!

As soon as Naruto released the net, his hand shot forward toward the incense burner.

It didn't matter that his opponent had seen through his plan. And it also didn't matter that this incense burner could potentially be fake. He would still attempt to grab it; it was something he simply must do!

However, in the moment that he was about to lay his hand on it, the incense burner… suddenly flickered blurrily, and Naruto 's hand snatched at nothing but air!

"Well, in that case, I'll just have to enact Plan B," Naruto said coolly. Even as his fingers closed around nothing, they formed into a fist which then… punched out toward the black cliff!

This action caused the smoke-face's expression to fall. He had guessed at why Naruto had come here, and thus, what actions he would take, and had never considered… that he was actually determined to exterminate the Blacksoul Society.

He had assumed that he would use the threat of sect extermination as a bargaining chip to get what he wanted. How could he ever have guessed that Naruto had never intended to do any such thing!?

When a powerful expert came who threatened to exterminate the disciples of a sect, it wasn't always an unresolvable situation. However… when someone truly set about to destroy the entire sect, that signified… that there was some enmity in place that was impossible to dispel!

"How dare you!" The smoke face roared, a sound that weighed down like Heavenly might, shaking everything in the area. More black smoke converged, but just when it was about to form the shape of a body, Naruto 's fist made contact with the black cliff.

"You watch and see how I dare!" he said, his voice cold and filled with determination as his cultivation base exploded out through his fist!

That explosive power was backed by all the cultivation base power of an

Allheaven Dao Immortal, his peak fleshly body power, and his Seven God Steps. It even contained the mighty Paragon power built up by the Paragon Bridge inside of him!

All of that formed together… into the most powerful strike Naruto was capable of!

Rumbling sounds filled the air, and the black cliff shook. Cracking sounds could be heard, and then fissures spread out across the cliff. Suddenly, the black cliff, which represented the highest power in the Blacksoul Society… shattered to pieces!

As it did, countless souls suddenly flew out up into the sky. A Yellow Springs river appeared in midair, into which the souls merged as they sped in the direction of the Fourth Mountain to begin the cycle of reincarnation….

As the souls merged into the Yellow Springs river, they looked in Naruto 's direction with appreciative eyes, and would even clasp hands and bow….

As for the total number of souls, there were more than a billion!

Even Naruto was shaken by the vastness of the number. He knew that the Blacksoul Society was savage, but he had never imaged than they would actually… be this savage!

Furthermore, many of those souls actually belonged to mortals!

"NO!" howled the surrounding Blacksoul Society cultivators, trembling as though their faith had been toppled.

And yet, things weren't over yet. Naruto 's display of peak power didn't just destroy the black cliff. As it fell into pieces, the cracks continued to spread out. In the blink of an eye, they reached numerous nearby mountains and buildings, filling… the entire Blacksoul Society sect!

In fact… the entire planet was affected!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

A cacophony of sound could be heard as mountains toppled and buildings were transformed into ash. In the blink of an eye, the entire Blacksoul Society collapsed. A huge crater appeared in the ground, like an enormous mouth that swallowed up the entire sect.

Everything about it that existed was completely eradicated!

As the sect was destroyed, countless souls flew out from all areas, more and more of them until they blotted out the sky. Seemingly infinite numbers of souls poured into the river of the Yellow Springs, and as they did, all of them expressed their thanks to Naruto .

There were so many souls that it was literally impossible for Naruto to determine how many there were!

The collective gratitude of so many souls caused Naruto to tremble; it was as if an invisible Chakra flow were somehow blessing him!

As the invisible Chakra flow built up within him, the drop of Paragon's blood also began to bubble. Suddenly, that bubbling blood caused something to appear in Naruto 's mind. It was… Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, as well as a sun and a moon!

Naruto could see all of the living entities in the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, regardless of whether they were in the Dao Realm or mortals, whether they were the Mountain and Sea Lord or ordinary cultivators….

This sudden development caused Naruto to stare in shock.

The vision only lasted for a moment, but in that brief moment, Naruto had a feeling like… he could actually… change the entire Mountain and Sea Realm with a single thought.

The sensation vanished almost immediately, and the image of the Mountain and Sea Realm left his mind. Afterward, it almost seemed like a hallucination.

"I am the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm…. Perhaps exterminating the Blacksoul Society really was as I said… representing the Mountain and Sea Realm to mete out Heavenly punishment…." Even as those thoughts went through his head, countless disciples of the Blacksoul Society around him were roaring.

In the same moment, a towering will of rage suddenly exploded out from the depths of the crater into which the Blacksoul Society was sinking.

The intensity caused colors to flash in the sky and everything to shake.

Even the Yellow Springs river suddenly stopped moving, and the countless souls therein began to shiver. Suddenly, shocking black fire erupted out from within the crater. It was like a sea of flames that rapidly took the shape of a face, the same middle-aged man as before.

He looked at Naruto with a furious expression and said, "Are you looking to die, knave!?"

Even as the roar echoed out, Naruto could see a figure slowly emerging from the flames.

As he did, a shocking, explosive power emanated out from him!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1217

Chapter 1217: Patriarch Blacksoul!

Almost as soon as the man appeared, the surrounding disciples of the

Blacksoul Society were enlivened, and began to cry out in loud voices.

"Patriarch!"

"The Patriarch's Dao might is completely unrivaled!"

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

These disciples were terrified of Naruto , and found his savagery virtually impossible to describe. Were it not for the presence of their Patriarch, they would long since have fled in fear!

The sect was in ruins, and many of their compatriots were dead, but as long as the Patriarch was there, the sect still existed!

Naruto 's eyes flickered as the Blacksoul Society's only Dao Realm expert emerged from the flames. He was the 3-Essences Dao Lord… Patriarch Blacksoul!

Naruto 's mouth curled up into a cold smile. The vision he had just experienced regarding the Mountain and Sea Realm had caused many thoughts to rise up in his mind. All of a sudden, he began to back up.

That was the first time had retreated since he had arrived in the

Blacksoul Society. In the blink of an eye, he was in the middle of the surrounding Blacksoul Society disciples. In their shock, they watched Naruto wave both hands through the air, summoning numerous Immortal mountains. Then, miserable shrieks could be heard as the disciples on either side of him were crushed. It didn't matter how they fought back or resisted, their cultivation bases were far too weak compared to his, leaving them completely unqualified to resist.

It only took a moment for dozens of disciples to be reduced to a bloody mist as they were completely killed in body and spirit.

It wasn't over yet, though. Even as the Immortal mountains descended, he performed an incantation gesture and then pointed down toward the ground below. Instantly, the Immortal mountains trembled and then unexpectedly… detonated!

Thousands of Immortal mountains all exploded, transforming into innumerable fragments that spread out in all directions. The ground shook and the sky lurched. In one brief moment, nearly ten thousand cultivators were wiped out by the power of the explosion.

As they died, Naruto suddenly sensed the Chakra flow inside of him growing stronger. This was the same sensation he had experienced moments before, and although he did not see images of the Nine Mountains and Nine seas, the feeling was the same.

It was also like… when he had received the blessing of Chakra flow in the Windswept Realm!

The main difference was that back then, the Chakra flow had been given to him by the Windswept Realm, but now… he was feeling something like… the return of a Chakra flow!

It was similar to what had happened in the Windswept Realm, and yet was fundamentally different. One of those Chakra flows had been bestowed, while the other… already belonged to him!

A Chakra flow return!

Naruto took a deep breath as hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind. The fact that the Chakra flow was returning indicated one thing: when all of that Chakra flow from the Mountain and Sea Realm returned to him…. he would be the Mountain and Sea Lord!

An enraged roar could then be heard from within the sea of flames. "Are you looking to die!?"

The sea of flames shot up into the air, transforming into a shooting star of fire. It moved directly toward Naruto with shocking speed, closing in on him in an instant, intent on blocking his attack.

At the same time, the might of a 3-Essences Dao Lord rose up. It quickly became corporeal, turning into something like indestructible city walls which smashed toward Naruto .

Generally speaking, anyone under the Dao Realm would be completely crushed by such pressure. Even Naruto couldn't stop his eyes from widening. However, he was an Allheaven Dao Immortal, which was fundamentally a defiance of the Heavens, and enabled him to rock 2Essences Dao Realm experts. Currently, his eyes flickered as the flame meteor closed in him. Suddenly, he made a grasping motion, causing the Lightning Cauldron to appear. Electricity danced, and just as the flame meteor was about to engulf him, he switched places with an Ancient Realm cultivator.

Moments ago, this Ancient Realm cultivator had been fighting the black imps off in the distance, until all of a sudden, he was in a new location. His vision swam, and then the sea of flames caused him to scream as he was engulfed. "Noooo…."

Patriarch Blacksoul showed no reaction whatsoever at having killed the wrong person, but his desire to kill Naruto climbed to the pinnacle. He was a cautious person, and had originally planned to use the power of the sect as a whole to probe Naruto and see what trump cards this daring individual held, who dared to take on a whole sect.

But now that Naruto had actually already destroyed the Blacksoul

Society, Patriarch Blacksoul's hand was forced, and he personally appeared. As of now, it didn't matter what trump cards Naruto might have, he had to show his face.

However, after showing up to fight, Naruto didn't battle him, but instead began to slaughter his disciples. That caused Patriarch

Blacksoul's rage to grow even stronger. As the flame meteor shot toward Naruto , the figure within the flames stepped forward, instantly spanning the distance between himself and Naruto . Then he stretched out his hand violently to grab Naruto .

That grasping motion caused the natural laws in the area to twist. The land was transformed, as if this will were the will of Heaven, as if this Dao were the Dao of Heaven, as if this Essence could shake the Mountains and Seas!

Naruto 's eyes flickered. However, even as Patriarch Blacksoul appeared in front of him, he waved his finger.

Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!

The hex immediately bound up Patriarch Blacksoul. Although he was able to break free almost immediately, that still bought Naruto some time, and also interfered with the natural laws, making his effort to supplant the will of Heaven become unstable.

Naruto 's Lightning Cauldron flickered again, and he switched positions with someone further back who was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. Without any hesitation, he waved his hand, causing an intense sensation of danger to rise up in the man's mind. Even as the man turned to charge toward him, a swath of Divine Flame suddenly sprang up and consumed him.

A bloodcurdling scream rang out as the magnificent great circle Ancient Realm cultivator was wiped out by the Divine Flame. In the blink of an eye, the charging cultivator was transformed into ash; not even his Nascent Divinity could escape, and was completely destroyed.

"Dammit!" Patriarch Blacksoul said, glaring at Naruto . Naruto was being very troublesome; especially the way he used his Lightning Cauldron, making it almost impossible to do anything to him.

Patriarch Blacksoul suddenly snorted coldly, then performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and pointed toward the sky.

"Fire!"

Immediately, the land began to shake, and roaring filled the sky. A black sea of flames appeared, which began to sweep out in all directions.

Then, Patriarch Blacksoul pointed down, causing the land to tremble.

"Earth!"

The shattered lands below began to form together into a Soil Golem, surrounded by countless drifting motes of dust which swirled around it.

"Wind!"

Next, Patriarch Blacksoul stamped his foot down violently, causing rumbling to echo out as a black wind sprang up. It stoked the sea of flames, causing the fire to rise up, sending a blast of heat across the dust and rubble in the area, giving rise to a massive tempest!

"3 Essences; seal sky and land; melt the Heavens; become… a Dao Lord Prison!" As soon as the words left Patriarch Blacksoul's mouth, the wind, fire, and earth transformed into three sealing marks which covered the entire world!

Each essence caused Naruto to feel increasing pressure weighing down on him. By the time the third one appeared, he was locked in place in midair. Massive rumbling could be heard as the disciples in Naruto 's vicinity were forcibly pushed away from him.

A tempest caused him to spin in place as Patriarch Blacksoul strode toward him through the winds. Then Patriarch Blacksoul extended his right hand, his eyes flickered with killing intent as he made to grab Naruto .

That gesture caused the natural law of Heaven and Earth to transform.

An enormous face appeared, which was none other than Patriarch

Blacksoul's face. It felt as if the entire world were filled with Patriarch Blacksoul's aura, as if his will had replaced the natural laws. It was as if this small portion of the universe, and its Dao of Heaven, had been completely replaced by Patriarch Blacksoul!

This was the most terrifying aspect of Dao Lords. They could become the

Lords of the world in which they existed. Furthermore… they were the Lords of the Dao of Heaven there. That was why 3-Essences Dao Realm cultivators were referred to as Dao Lords!

"How will you flee now? How will you exterminate my Blacksoul Society disciples now?!"

Patriarch Blacksoul's voice echoed out, causing the disciples Naruto had just been slaughtering to roar excitedly in support of their Patriarch.

Their voices joined together like thunder, and their killing intent merged and radiated out as they waited in anticipation for their Patriarch to eradicate Naruto .

However, even as Patriarch Blacksoul neared Naruto , and the hand that superseded the Dao of Heaven appeared in front of him, Naruto 's eyes glittered, and he stretched both hands out to his sides.

Scintillating light suddenly shone out as a hand-sized clump of dirt suddenly shot out from Naruto 's bag of holding, and he responded to Patriarch Blacksoul. "I'll kill your disciples and then you'll know!"

As soon as the clump appeared, it began to grow with wild speed. Soon it was 300 meters, then 3,000 and then 30,000. It was indescribably heavy, and all of that weight instantly bore down onto Patriarch Blacksoul.

It slammed into his hand, causing a huge boom to echo out. At the same time, Naruto was hit with a backlash attack, causing blood to spray out of his mouth, and his body to tremble on the verge of collapse.

However, he forced himself to resist, and his eyes gleamed with a vicious expression. He looked at Patriarch Blacksoul, who was currently facing the 30,000-meter land mass, his face flickering. An intense sensation of deadly crisis exploded out within Patriarch Blacksoul as he realized how indescribably heavy the land mass was.

It was so heavy that it could even crush natural laws. It didn't matter that Patriarch Blacksoul had replaced the will of the world he was in, that 30,000-meter land mass was like a dull blade that could cut a hole in the entire world with its weight alone.

"Th-that's… a piece of the Ruins of Immortality!" Patriarch Blacksoul's face fell, and he immediately fell back. However, the land mass continued to descend. Completely ignoring the tempest of three Essences, it crushed down toward the surface of the planet itself.

From down below, the land mass was like an enormous shadow, rumbling downward. All of the cultivators who saw it were completely astonished and began to cry out in alarm.

"What… what is that!?"

"Let's get out of here!"

The Blacksoul Society disciples that were currently in the shadow of the descending land mass held nothing back in their attempts to flee. However, the shadow itself seemed to have some strange, magnetic power that made it impossible for them to flee.

All they could do was scream in despair and look at the enormous darkness growing larger and larger above them. And then… they were crushed.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1218

Chapter 1218: Mutual Deception!

Massive rumbling could be heard as the 30,000-meter chunk of the Ruins of Immortality crushed the Blacksoul Society disciples beneath it to death!

Simultaneously, an intense shockwave spread out from the place where it landed, filling the entire planet. A massive blast of wind surged out, engulfing Heaven and Earth.

Countless mountains were ripped up, and numerous rivers were transformed into raindrops. It was as if the entire planet had been punched!

The disciples in the periphery were smashed by the shockwave and sent tumbling out of control through the air, blood spraying from their mouths. It was an incredible spectacle!

The ground on the entire planet trembled and then sank downward; massive fissures spread out, and cracking sounds could be heard. The planet… had already been destabilized, and it was now showing signs that it would collapse. It was as if it had been pushed beyond the point where it could endure any longer, and… would begin to crumble at any moment!

The Blacksoul Society disciples on the surface were hit by a deafening roar. Blood sprayed out of their mouths; they were struck dead on impact. Those who survived were now numb with fear. Trembling, they began to scream, and soon, all of them were in full retreat.

Unfortunately for them, all of the teleportation portals had been sealed tight, but even so they chose to attempt an escape. The all-consuming shadow of death loomed within the hearts of all present.

Patriarch Blacksoul's face fell. Never in his wildest conjectures could he ever have imagined that Naruto would actually possess a part of the rarely-seen Ruins of Immortality, here in the Eighth Mountain!

Even as the planet showed signs that it was beginning to collapse and the disciples of the Blacksoul Society were scattering in terror, killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes.

"Terracotta soldier," he growled, "your presence is requested!" Instantly, the terracotta soldier appeared from within the 30,000-meter chunk of the Ruins of Immortality, which was still crushing down into the planet. It leaped into the air, transforming into a beam of light that shot out of the ruins to appear directly in front of one of the disciples of the Blacksoul Society. It waved its hand sweeping its greatsword through the air in a flash of flickering light.

Instantly, an enemy was killed!

The terracotta soldier's eyes flickered and it attacked again.

"Quasi-Dao puppet!" Patriarch Blacksoul's face flickered, and shot toward the terracotta soldier to destroy it. However, this time, Naruto didn't fall back, but instead attacked.

He stepped forward, transforming into an azure-colored roc that shot toward Patriarch Blacksoul with incredible speed.

Patriarch Blacksoul's eyes flickered with killing intent. He hated the terracotta soldier which was slaughtering his disciples, but he hated Naruto even more.

"When I kill you, that Quasi-Dao puppet will belong to me!" he said, spinning in place. The wave of a sleeve caused the power of flame Essence to erupt out, transforming his surroundings into a sea of flames. A wind sprang up, and soil materialized. The power of three Essences exploded out, transforming into visible killing intent that shot toward Naruto .

Naruto 's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly. He still had not utilized his all-powerful Paragon Bridge, nor his Battle Weapon. Instead, he performed an incantation gesture, sending the Essence of Divine Flame out, backed by the will of an Allheaven Dao Immortal.

He was relying on his own power alone to fight the three Essences of Patriarch Blacksoul. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as he fell back. Patriarch Blacksoul grinned maliciously and advanced.

As he neared, Naruto waved his right index finger, causing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex to appear. After that was the Seventh Hex, the Sixth Hex, and the Fifth Hex, all in quick succession.

Patriarch Blacksoul lurched to a stop in midair. Karma Threads appeared around him, and soul blood flew out from his forehead. A massive rift opened up in front of him, which emanated the power of the InsideOutside Hex as it tried to consume him.

All of this happened in a brief moment. Naruto threw his head back and roared, and his energy surged up as he fused with the starstone in his eye and transformed into a shooting star, surrounded by scorching Divine Flame, swirling Immortal mountains, and even the explosive power of the sun and moon.

It was even possible to see the faint image of nine mountains. Naruto was apparently using his most powerful divine abilities to attack Patriarch Blacksoul.

They closed in with rapid speed as Patriarch Blacksoul threw his head back and roared. He waved his arm, casting off all the Hexing magics, then waved his right index finger out, tapping Naruto 's shooting star form.

"That Quasi-Dao puppet and these magical techniques are your trump cards, huh?" Patriarch Blacksoul said coldly. "I can crush them in an instant!" As his finger tapped down onto the shooting star, cracks spread out, and the One Thought Stellar Transformation formed from Naruto 's starstone collapsed into pieces.

However, as that happened, Naruto appeared, his right hand already transformed into the Battle Weapon!

Shockingly, he had used the starstone to hide the transformed copper mirror. As soon as the power of the starstone fell apart, Naruto 's killing intent skyrocketed, as if he had been holding back and building it up. All of a sudden, his blade was flashing like lightning toward Patriarch Blacksoul.

The attack was completely unexpected, and was backed by the terrifying power of numerous natural laws. Suddenly, fear welled up within Patriarch Blacksoul's heart.

He fell back rapidly, causing his cultivation base to explode out with its full power. He also called upon the full power of his Essences to attempt to block the blade. A massive boom rang out, and scintillating light shone out as if the Heavens were being split open. Blood oozed out of Patriarch Blacksoul's mouth. However, a mocking gleam could be seen in his eyes.

Although the slash of the blade wounded him in a way that didn't heal… it was only a slight wound. After all, Patriarch Blacksoul was a very cautious person. Everything he had been doing so far was an attempt to get Naruto to use his trump cards. He wanted to know for sure exactly what made Naruto so confident that he would take the Blacksoul Society on alone.

Stupid people could not practice cultivation to his level. Not knowing exactly what trump cards his opponent had left him in a state of unease….

"So this is your trump card," Patriarch Blacksoul said coldly. "Not bad.

Unfortunately, although it's pretty good, you used it at the wrong time.

Or perhaps it's better to say that it doesn't really matter how you use it, I have already taken precautions against something like that! You are doomed to be defeated."

Now that he felt a bit less on edge, he smiled viciously and waved his finger through the air. Rumbling could be heard, and the air distorted as a huge incense burner suddenly appeared above his head.

"Well then, now it's my turn to attack… and extract your soul!"

In the instant that the incense burner appeared, Naruto looked at it closely. After confirming that it was what he was looking for, a grin appeared on his face, along with an emotional sigh.

"Well it took long enough," he murmured softly, "and I even had to reveal my Battle Weapon. Finally you pull it out…."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Patriarch Blacksoul gaped in shock!

—–

Note from Deathblade: When I finished translating this chapter, I was amazed because of the record time it took to finish it. I translated it in a little over half the time it normally takes me. I even proudly told Madam Deathblade about this accomplishment. That was before I read the note of apology from Er Gen which said that the chapter is only about 2/3 the size of a normal chapter. It was about 2,000 words instead of 3,000, which translated to about 1,200 words instead of 2,000.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1219

Chapter 1219: Planet Blacksoul, Crumble!

In almost the exact same moment that Patriarch Blacksoul's face fell, Naruto lifted his right hand. A strange gleam flickered in his eyes as he pointed up toward the Heavens.

"Paragon… Bridge!" he said softly. Rumbling sounds could be heard coming from inside Naruto himself, and suddenly, everyone could see something inside his body. Not even his clothing could cover up the bright arc of light that stretched from the top of his head all the way to his dantian region and formed… a bridge!

A spectacular bridge hidden inside his body, almost like a Chakra meridian. Then… the bridge materialized up in the sky….

The Paragon Bridge!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Massive rumbling could be heard as the sky collapsed, the space it had occupied now completely filled by the Paragon Bridge. It radiated aweinspiring might, and a dazzling glow. The countless magical symbols which covered its surface glittered, and the bridge was so large that anyone who saw it couldn't help but stare with wide eyes.

"What magic is this…?" The fleeing disciples of the Blacksoul Society gasped and stared, eyes wide with disbelief.

Patriarch Blacksoul was also gaping. Based on the level of his cultivation base, he knew what he was looking at and cried out in alarm.

"Paragon magic! Y-you're… in the Echelon!" At the same time that his voice echoed out, pressure exploded out from the Paragon Bridge, crushing down onto the lands, causing the entire world to tremble. Instantly, Patriarch Blacksoul was engulfed by massive force.

He trembled, and a look of astonishment appeared on his face. Not only was he terrified by the pressure that was crushing down onto him… his body was physically shaking.

A terrifying sensation rose up in his heart, and he sensed an indescribable feeling of deadly crisis. That sensation told him that if he tried to fight against this Paragon Bridge, there was a great risk that he would perish!

"Impossible! Even the Paragon magic of the Echelon isn't this powerful. This is impossible!"

At the same time that Patriarch Blacksoul was completely shaken, a glowing beam shot out from the Paragon Bridge, a dazzling light filled with Paragon power. In the blink of an eye, it enveloped the incense burner which floated above Patriarch Blacksoul's head.

The incense burner began to vibrate, and was then slowly dragged toward the Paragon Bridge.

"Get back here!" Patriarch Blacksoul growled. He might be experiencing a sensation of deadly crisis, and might have been shaken by the Paragon Bridge, but he was still a 3-Essences Dao Lord. He was the overlord of this world, a person who had fought countless battles throughout his life. Despite being surprised, but he still let out a vicious roar, causing his divine sense to spring out and prevent the incense burner from being taken.

He had realized earlier that his opponent had come for the incense burner, and he had no intention of letting him take it.

In the instant that Patriarch Blacksoul roared, Naruto extended his hand and made a grasping motion toward the incense burner. The Star

Plucking Magic was unleashed, which combined with the power of the Paragon Bridge, causing the incense burner to be dragged rapidly toward Naruto .

"That's my treasure, the legacy of the Blacksoul Society! You think you can just take it away!?" Patriarch Blacksoul bit the tip of his tongue and spit out some blood. Then he roared, causing the incense burner to stop in place. Despite the power of the Paragon magic, it suddenly began to fly back in the direction of Patriarch Blacksoul.

Naruto frowned, and his eyes flickered icily. With a cold harrumph, he stepped forward and appeared on top of the Paragon Bridge, where he stamped down violently with his right foot.

The Paragon Bridge rumbled, and the light surrounding it spread out in all directions. The pressure from the bridge then increased to the absolute maximum Naruto was capable of unleashing.

That amount of crushing force could shake Heaven and Earth!

The planet had already been in a state of imminent collapse, but now, it couldn't endure any longer. Massive rumbling could be heard… as the surface of the planet crumbled completely!

Massive chunks of land were hurled about wildly, and intense crashing sounds could be heard as cracks spread out everywhere. Mountains were leveled, and rivers evaporated. The countless fleeing Blacksoul Society disciples on the planet were experiencing an apocalypse, and none of them possessed the wherewithal to successfully escape it.

In the blink of an eye, the cultivators began to scream as the power of planetary destruction completely pulverized them. Even more were consumed by the fissures forming in the crumbling lands around them, and some actually exploded into clouds of blood and gore from the pressure emanating from the bridge.

The few cultivators who somehow managed to evade death would suddenly find themselves facing the terracotta soldier, which swung its greatsword and slaughtered any escapees.

The entire planet that housed the Blacksoul Society was experiencing a doomsday!

The destruction of the lands accelerated, and the sky collapsed. The entire planet… looked like a clenched fist that was now quickly opening up.

"Crumble!" Naruto cried, pushing his hand downward.

That gesture caused the pressure coming from the Paragon Bridge to increase by a full order of magnitude, ensuring that the entire planet was completely destroyed.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The whole planet was collapsing!

Countless fragments shot out into the starry sky as a massive force exploded out from the planet itself. It exploded, sending a huge shockwave blasting out in all directions. Without exception, all of the Blacksoul Society disciples were hit, causing blood to spray out in all directions as their bodies were shredded.

The entire planet was now reduced to countless fragments which floated out into the starry sky.

The only things that remained were wreckage, corpses, and chunks of gore….

The reek of blood hung heavy over the area, and it seemed as if it would never dissipate for all eternity.

Patriarch Blacksoul stared in shock and coughed up a mouthful of blood. His body withered a bit, and began to tremble. His mouth opened, and a strange sound could be heard, as if he had thousands of things he wanted to say, but they were all stuck in his throat.

In the moment that the planet collapsed and the blood sprayed from his mouth, the incense burner which he had been attempting to wrest control of, was wrenched away by Naruto and the Paragon Bridge.

In a bright beam of colorful light, the incense burner… flew toward Naruto , shrank down, and landed in his palm!

In that instant, Naruto shivered as he was sensed some familiar fluctuations coming from inside the light.

However, whether it was because they were inside the incense burner, or because of other reasons, those fluctuations were very faint. So faint, in fact, that they seemed to be on the verge of fading away completely. For some reason, Naruto … felt uneasy.

However, there was no time to investigate the matter now. Planetary debris was floating about in all directions, and in the middle of it all was a bridge, upon which stood Naruto . Beneath that bridge was Patriarch Blacksoul, trembling violently, eyes completely bloodshot, seemingly on the verge of going mad.

He looked around at the destroyed planet that had once housed the Blacksoul Society, and all of the dead disciples. The sect which he had personally built up was now fading away into the starry sky.

The sight caused him to tremble, and throw his head back and let out the most piercing of howls!

"Child, I won't rest until you are dead!" As the sound of his howl echoed out in all directions, his energy surged up. His hair was thrown into disarray as he went completely mad. Staring dead at Naruto , he charged in attack.

Essence power erupted around him, causing Naruto 's eyes to widen. Of course, he was well aware that his action of destroying this planet would catch the attention of the Heavengod Alliance.

In fact, he probably didn't have very much time left before the Alliance's almighty experts showed up.

Naruto sighed. He had chosen to destroy the planet because he had no other alternative. That was the only way to inflict serious damage to Patriarch Blacksoul, and thus lay hands on the incense burner.

"I've got to end this quickly!" Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent. He quickly placed a sealing mark on the incense burner and put it away, then lifted his right hand high into the air, causing the Battle Weapon to appear once more as a shocking blade!

RUMBLE!

Naruto 's energy surged up and then exploded out, causing a Heavenshaking, Earth-shattering murderous aura to transform him into something like a celestial warrior!

Next, the meat jelly flew out of his bag of holding, transforming into a suit of armor. His energy once again exploded up, creating a tempest that swept all the dust and rubble around him away.

A red beam of light flew out, which was the mastiff. As it became a cape, Naruto threw his head back and roared, and an intense, bloody glow erupted up.

Then he lifted up his left hand, within which was his fourth Nirvana Fruit, which he pushed down onto his forehead.

As it merged into him, rumbling filled his mind, and the world around him changed. The rubble of the planet, the starry sky… all turned azure!

As Naruto stood on the Paragon Bridge, he suddenly breathed in sharply, which caused the Paragon Bridge to immediately flare with boundless light. A sensation of unbridled supremacy emanated from it, which was sucked in and absorbed by Naruto , so that it seemed as if he were….

A living, breathing Paragon!

As Patriarch Blacksoul closed in, Naruto performed a tremendous downward slash toward him with the Battle Weapon!

This was his most powerful state, and his most powerful strike. He was at the pinnacle!

The starry sky seemed to lurch to a stop. Natural laws scattered. Time seemed to come to a standstill in the Eighth Mountain and Sea….

The only thing that remained within the starry sky was the long blade, radiating brilliant light as it flashed toward Patriarch Blacksoul.

Patriarch Blacksoul threw his head back and roared, waving both hands. Suddenly, he exploded, causing flesh and blood to burst about. It transformed into a blood mist, from within which surged… a seemingly endless amount of souls!

"Blacksoul Heaven Slaughter!" A droning sound could be heard as seemingly endless numbers of souls filled the starry sky, spreading out to fill nearly half of the starry sky above the Heavengod Alliance. The shocking sight caused all of the planets within the affected area to tremble. Countless Heavengod Alliance cultivators who were in meditative trances opened their eyes and looked up in shock.

In that moment, countless streams of divine sense swept through the void toward the area where Naruto and Patriarch Blacksoul were fighting!

The Heavengod Alliance was thrown into a huge commotion!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1220

Chapter 1220: When Rivals Face Off, Victory Goes To the Brave

The blood mist formed from Patriarch Blacksoul's body used his essenceblood to release the souls that he had refined over countless years of cultivation. The seemingly infinite amount of souls exploded out into the starry sky, where they transformed into an enormous mask. The mask of souls writhed, and shrill screams could be heard, as if the souls wished to consume all things to dispel their pain.

The screams they uttered could not be heard by living things; they were screams born of death, and resulted only in boundless, amorphous ripples!

The ripples spread out through the starry sky as if over the surface of water. As the rings expanded, natural laws trembled and fell into retreat. Even the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm seemed to flee from the affected area.

Gradually, a shocking image of the underworld appeared. The Yellow Springs could be seen, as well as the cycle of reincarnation, along with the images of countless evil ghosts.

More shocking than that was that behind the ghosts could be seen numerous… enormous tombs!

The tombs were all illusory, and it was almost as if the excessive number of souls in the area had caused them to descend. As the tombs appeared, they became a backdrop that served to emphasize the size of the mask.

Everything that was happening made the strangeness of the soul mask and its formidability seem more pronounced…. Furthermore, it had such a terrifying aura that Naruto 's pupils constricted.

This was the explosive power of a 3-Essences Dao Lord, someone who could shake Heaven and Earth. Naruto had been in mortal danger from the moment he had arrived in the Blacksoul Society, but now that level of danger increased dramatically.

The sensation of crisis he was experiencing told him that this battle, and especially this attack… could end with him perishing!

"But the danger is mutual…." he said, eyes glittering viciously. He always treated both himself and others with incredible viciousness. If he felt the inclination to back down for even a moment during this fight, then he would be dead for sure!

The only option was to reject the option of retreat and to keep fighting. After all… when rivals face off, victory goes to the brave!

Naruto 's eyes shone with a strange light, and he didn't back down in the least. All of the peak level of power in him converged on the Battle Weapon, which slashed through the starry sky with scintillating light as he slashed it down.

The soul mask let out an intense roar as it slammed into the most powerful of Naruto 's attacks, the slash of the Battle Weapon.

A huge boom could be heard, and a massive, explosion rumbled out for 50,000 kilometers in every direction, then 500,000 kilometers. Then 5,000,000….

By now, more than half of the Heavengod Alliance could sense the ripples!

The streams of divine sense which had converged in the area were instantly distorted by the explosive outburst, and then shattered!

The surrounding dust and rubble vibrated, and then transformed into ash, which slowly faded away. The battle between Naruto and Patriarch Blacksoul was releasing far too much power. The starry sky trembled and began to crack apart. Suddenly, an enormous black hole appeared right between Naruto and Patriarch Blacksoul!

Everything shook and trembled violently!

Endless amounts of Patriarch Blacksoul's countless screaming souls were wiped away. And yet, he used the remaining souls he had to disregard all danger and charge toward Naruto .

He slammed into Naruto , who trembled violently in response. The cape separated from his back, transforming into the mastiff, who coughed up a mouthful of blood. Naruto was now in far more danger than before.

There was even a voice inside of him yelling at him to flee, to escape, to stop fighting lest he be killed!

And yet, he gritted his teeth, ignored the voice inside, and continued to fight.

He knew that in this battle, he couldn't back down. He had to fight, and keep fighting until the very end. Whoever could walk that narrow line between life and death would be the victor!

Rumbling could be heard as more and more of the souls in Patriarch

Blacksoul's soul mask collapsed. Each soul that collapsed sent pain into Patriarch Blacksoul's mind, but he also held on. He was filled with an obsessive desire to strike down Naruto !

"DIE!" screamed the converged voices of all the souls in the soul mask.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Naruto 's meat jelly suit of armor was torn off of him. Numerous streams of light swirled out to form together behind Naruto in the form of the meat jelly, who looked incredibly listless.

Naruto coughed up some more blood; his body was now a mass of completely mangled flesh!

And yet he held on. Patriarch Blacksoul was also trembling; despite the severe loss of souls, he used what he had left to charge madly toward Naruto . From a distance, it would look like Naruto was hovering alone in the starry sky, surrounded by a boundless sea of souls!

He was holding on, as was the sea of souls!

However, it was at this moment that a tremor ran through him, and his fourth Nirvana Fruit was forced out of his forehead.

When that happened, Naruto was severely weakened. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and yet, his momentum didn't falter. Eyes bloodshot, clearly weaker than before, he lifted his foot up and took a step forward.

That step represented his determination, and also his ruthlessness!

As he took that step, Patriarch Blacksoul's consciousness began to blur, and yet, boundless ripples exploded out from the sea of souls!

Both of them were almost completely drained, and were waiting to see… who could hold on longer!

"DIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" screamed Patriarch Blacksoul's countless souls. As they howled, they burst into flames, increasing their attacking power. Some of them even landed on Naruto and began to voraciously attempt to consume him!

As Patriarch Blacksoul continued to fight, every soul of his that died was like a powerful mental blow. And yet, he held on, his obsession burning like an undying fire.

Naruto was wracked with pain as the souls gnawed at his flesh and tore out bloody chunks to reveal the bones beneath. Then the souls began to chew on the bones, even boring into his body to eat his organs!

The scene which was playing out was extremely shocking; to be eaten alive in such away was something ordinary people would never be able to endure.

But Naruto simply frowned and ignored the souls. He rotated his cultivation base, causing his Chakra and blood to surge, crushing the voracious, evil souls like a giant millstone.

Soon, his entire body was a mass of bloody gore. By now, Naruto 's power was severely lacking, and his Paragon Bridge, which was also the subject of suicidal attack by Patriarch Blacksoul's numerous souls, was forced back inside his body.

The instant the Paragon Bridge vanished, the souls let out piercing shrieks and pounced on Naruto . He was now completely engulfed by wild, ravenous souls!

The Battle Weapon began to fall apart, but just before it faded away, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood and then slashed down one more time!

"Patriarch Blacksoul, do you… have the courage to die together with me!?"

The souls which formed Patriarch Blacksoul had been rapidly fading away. From 10,000,000 to 1,000,000 to the current 100,000. A huge boom could be heard as the souls were shaken off of Naruto , either destroyed or sent spinning away.

Patriarch Blacksoul once again appeared, although he had no body left, only a screaming Nascent Divinity. He was now completely terrified of Naruto ; he had never encountered someone as vicious as this. Moments ago, Naruto had been completely engulfed by souls, which had instantly started to chomp away at his bones and organs.

That was a type of pain that very few people could endure. And yet, even in such a state, Naruto made a counter-attack. That was something even more rarely seen!

"Dammit, when did someone as vicious as this show up in the Eighth Mountain and Sea?! He's definitely not a local cultivator, he must be from another Mountain and Sea!" Patriarch Blacksoul was trembling internally, and had apparently regained his senses from the anguish caused by seeing his sect destroyed. Finally, he began to think reasonably; without any further hesitation, he ceased any thoughts of attacking Naruto and simply fled.

When rivals meet, victory goes to the brave, and in this case… Patriarch Blacksoul was the one who backed down!

That wasn't what he wanted to do, but he had no other choice. His heart was pounding in fear, and his mind was filled with terror. He might be a 3-Essences Dao Lord, but right now, he was the one who was scared!

He was completely shaken by Naruto 's viciousness, completely moved by his determination. Naruto 's madness caused Patriarch Blacksoul to feel almost as if the person whose sect had just been exterminated was not himself, but actually, Naruto !

"Crazy!" he cried. "You're just a lunatic. Dammit…. You don't deserve to have me die together with you, but I swear that I will pay back the enmity of this day upon you a hundredfold!"

Roaring defiantly, Patriarch Blacksoul's Nascent Divinity fled at top speed. It wasn't that he didn't dare to keep fighting, but rather, that he feared dying. He didn't even want to die while delivering a fatal blow to his enemy.

Seeing that Patriarch Blacksoul was fleeing, Naruto almost began to give chase. However, after he took a single step, he trembled and stopped in place. Roughly seventy percent of his entire body was nothing more than bones, and of those bones, thirty percent were broken and shattered.

His was completely covered with bite marks, and one of his eyes had even been ripped out. His internal organs were also severely damaged.

In terms of physical appearance, he looked horrifying.

Without his Eternal stratum constantly replenishing his life force, Naruto would have long since passed away….

The Battle Weapon faded away, and his body suddenly seemed to age.

He coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his mangled organs shifted. Naruto sagged, and his aura weakened.

Based on his current battle prowess, he was not a match for a 3Essences Dao Lord, not without the Paragon Bridge. And yet, even with the Paragon Bridge, and his various powerful divine abilities, he still couldn't manage to cut down a 3-Essences Dao Lord. In the end… they were evenly matched!

He wanted to give chase, but it was impossible. Even more importantly, the numerous streams of divine sense in the area indicated that almighty experts from the Heavengod Alliance were currently rushing in his direction.

He had been aware all along that his actions would arouse the wrath of the Heavengod Alliance, and as of now, it would only be moments before the area would be filled with countless cultivators, who would then lock down the entire region.

He looked at the direction in which Patriarch Blacksoul was fleeing, eyes flickering coldly. Finally, he turned and left.

Moments later, numerous beams of colorful light filled the area. In the lead position was a man in a violet robe, whose aura placed him in the Dao Realm.

"Send orders to the entire Heavengod Alliance. Lock down all exit routes within Alliance territory. All Alliance cultivators in the Ancient Realm and higher are to be mobilized to kill the foreign cultivator!" The old man swished his sleeve, using a special technique to spread a message to all regions of the Heavengod Alliance.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1221

Chapter 1221 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1221: A Scholar Taking the Imperial Examinations

Even as the old man spoke, a screen materialized in front of him, which began to replay the battle between Naruto and Patriarch Blacksoul.

At one point, the old man waved his finger, causing the moving images to pause and clearly display Naruto 's face. However, the old man didn't take time to study Naruto . Instead, he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Then he waved his right hand, causing the image to vanish, leaving behind nothing more than a strand of white qi.

Voice cool, the old man said, "Appearances can change, blood can be altered, and auras can be transformed. However, the fragrance of a soul is something that can never be changed…."

A large number of cultivators had already begun to gather around him, but none of them spoke; they simply looked at him respectfully.

The old man reached out and grabbed the white strand of qi, then clenched his hand down viciously. When he opened it, a white crystal could be seen. He waved his hand, causing the white crystal to split into two parts, which then became four, then eight. In a very brief period of time, 100,000 crystals could be seen!

All but a few hundred of the 100,000 white crystals made a droning sound as they spread out in all directions, quickly vanishing into the void as they headed toward the various sects of the Heavengod Alliance.

"If you get close to the foreigner, the crystal will react…. Patriarch Blacksoul has asked it to be made known that if anyone can slay this person, he is willing… to become their slave for a thousand years!" With that, the old man turned and headed off into the distance.

The cultivators behind him clasped hands respectfully. Afterward, they grabbed the white crystals, and their eyes shone with a strange light. Finally, they dispersed as they began to search for Naruto .

The entire Heavengod Alliance was set in motion. Soon, news began spreading about the foreign cultivator who had single-handedly exterminated the entire Blacksoul Society, even collapsing their planet. Most important was the news about Patriarch Blacksoul being seriously injured himself, which spread through the Heavengod Alliance like wildfire.

Countless hearts were completely shaken. After all, the bounty offered by the Heavengod Alliance was a thousand years of servitude by Patriarch Blacksoul, who was a 3-Essences Dao Lord. That was something that both individual cultivators and even entire Sects could not possibly be unmoved by.

It was far better than some physical treasure or access to a special technique.

Furthermore, no one needed to worry about being cheated. If Patriarch Blacksoul was the type of person who wouldn't honor the agreement, the Heavengod Alliance wouldn't have agreed to issue the bounty to begin with.

Most importantly… if the person who wiped out the Blacksoul Society had done so without being injured, then many people would have chosen to just sit back and watch what happened. However, according to the information provided by the Heavengod Alliance, he was actually severely injured, and could not unleash cultivation base power that exceeded the mid Ancient Realm!

Even Patriarch Blacksoul had attested to that.

As such, all of the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance were thrown into a state of madness….

Numerous individuals sprang into action and began to hunt through the

Heavengod Alliance's territory. Virtually all teleportation portals in the Heavengod Alliance were sealed, and those which could not be sealed were heavily guarded. Anyone who wanted to leave would be thoroughly inspected.

As time passed, the news about the extermination of the Blacksoul

Society spread outside of the Heavengod Alliance, to be heard by the Han Clan, and the Uzumaki Clan, and all the other sects in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Everyone was completely shocked.

Furthermore, everyone was speculating about who this person was that the Heavengod Alliance was hunting. After a bit of investigation was done, news spread that he was not a cultivator from the Eighth Mountain and Sea, but rather, from another of the Mountains and Seas. Also… he was an Echelon cultivator with Paragon magic!

With so much news spreading about, it wasn't long… before Naruto 's name came to be known by the powerful sects and clans.

Matters had already reached the point where no further verification was required. Naruto … was the person who had exterminated the Blacksoul Society!

There was one thing that Naruto had no way of knowing, which was that after the battle of the Windswept Realm, when all the Echelon cultivators returned to their respective Mountains and Seas… numerous powerful sects had begun keeping records and files about Naruto .

Currently, Patriarch Blacksoul was on one of the planets in the

Heavengod Alliance, having reformed a new body. Although his face was ashen, when he saw the image of Naruto being shown to him on the screen, he began to shake, and his eyes glowed with madness and killing intent.

"That's definitely him!"

Two middle-aged cultivators stood near Patriarch Blacksoul. They wore unique clothing, long white robes marked with lightning symbols. Within each of those lightning symbols was a person who was clearly in the midst of transcending tribulation!

Daoist robes like these… were only worn by members of the Heavengod Society!

The Heavengod Society formed the nucleus of the Heavengod Alliance. They occupied the peak of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and in fact, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea resided in the Heavengod Palace.

There were many rumors floating around the Eight Mountain and Sea regarding their Lord, who was Heavengod. According to the rumors, he was linked to the Uzumaki Clan in numerous ways. However, it was also possible that those were distorted rumors caused because of the general decline of the Uzumaki Clan in recent years.

Other rumors stated that the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea also had Han Clan blood in his veins. Some people even claimed that the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea… was a rogue cultivator who had reached the Dao Realm.

Currently, the two middle-aged men wearing those unique Daoist robes exchanged a glance, then put the screen away. They had been ordered to come here and show the image on the screen to Patriarch Blacksoul for verification purposes. Now that they had the answer to their question, they turned to leave.

Patriarch Blacksoul gritted his teeth and clasped hands respectfully to the two cultivators. "Many thanks, Fellow Daoists from the Heavengod Society. This man must die; he is far too vicious and sinister. He is an outrage to gods and men alike!"

His heart was filled with bitterness; because of the level of his cultivation base and his status, he should not have to be doing things like this. At the moment, though, he was like a stray dog. His soul was halfway dispersed and his cultivation base was unstable, leaving him with no other choice than to bow his head in deference.

The entire Heavengod Alliance was now searching for Naruto …. And yet, as time passed, not one scrap of information about him turned up. People were starting to get impatient because of the sealed teleportation portals; it would soon reach the point where it would become a big inconvenience to the Heavengod Alliance as a whole. Furthermore, Patriarch Blacksoul could only influence the policy-making of the Alliance up to a point.

The fact that Patriarch Blacksoul had been firm about offering himself up to be a slave for a thousand years changed matters significantly. The search would have been carried out either way, and there still would have been some form of bounty. If Naruto showed his face publicly, he still would have been killed. However, if wasn't for Patriarch

Blacksoul's offer, the alliance-wide lockdown would have long since been lifted.

Every day that those teleportation portals remained sealed caused the Heavengod Alliance to sustain significant financial losses.

Before departing, one of the two middle-aged men turned to Patriarch Blacksoul and said, "At the most, the portals will remain sealed for ten days. If he hasn't been found by then, they will be opened again. Don't worry, though; as long as he remains in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, he'll be found eventually."

Meanwhile….

In the territory of the Heavengod Alliance, on one of the four planets that orbited the Eighth Mountain, a planet called Planet Luo River, there was a capital city of an empire of mortals. Countless mortals lived there, going about their daily lives. As evening fell, a donkey could be seen on the public highway, braying and snorting complacently as it walked along.

The donkey had virtually no fur, with only a few patches to be seen here and there. It actually looked very down and out, and yet for some reason, seemed to view itself as a very high and mighty figure.

A young scholar sat on the donkey, wearing a scholar's traveling case on his back, which was filled with various reading materials. In fact, the young man was engrossed in reading as he rode along on the donkey. 1

The scholar had skin as fair as jade, and was handsome. He appeared to be a teenager, and wore a faded white garment. He and the donkey proceeded along under the evening sun.

Occasionally, some swiftly galloping horses would pass him on the public highway, leaving clouds of dust in their wake. The scholar would cover his nose with his sleeve and then wave the dust away. As for the mule, it would look very irritated, and then suddenly burst out in a fit of speed as if to catch up. However, after running for only a little bit, it would lazily slow down.

Time passed, and the rays of the evening sun were beginning to fade away. However, it was at this point that a town appeared up ahead. Apparently the scholar didn't even notice, however, and continued to take advantage of the fading light to read the bamboo scroll he held in his hands.

Occasionally, beams of colorful light would shoot through the sky up ahead. In fact, the power of divine sense was currently sweeping across the lands, and even touched the scholar. However, it passed right over him; apparently, the mortals of Planet Luo River weren't afraid of cultivators. Throughout the entire day, similar beams of light had appeared on dozens of occasions. Although the mortals had looked up in envy and admiration, they didn't seem frightened at all.

Currently, one such beam of light had just disappeared off into this distance. Finally, the scholar put down the bamboo scroll, stretched, and then noticed the town, which was getting closer and closer. He smiled, although deep within that smile could be seen a sharp coldness.

This scholar was the very person that the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance were searching for high and low. Naruto !

After his initial flight, he knew that it would be difficult to completely evade the Heavengod Alliance, so he acted on one of the backup plans that he had thought up in advance, hiding himself on the closest of the four planets, which was Planet Luo River. With the help of the meat jelly and the parrot, and the feather they had acquired years ago, he had concealed the fluctuations of his soul and aura, transforming himself into a scholar.

There was no other identity that gave him such a sense of familiarity.

"I never imagined that I would once again become a scholar traveling to take the Imperial examinations…." he murmured. The donkey was apparently not very happy, and to make that clear, it suddenly twisted its neck in a complete circle, then continued to twist it several times until its eyes started to bulge out. Naruto slapped it on the rump.

"Have you ever seen any donkeys that can twist their necks around several times over?" Naruto growled. "Come on, let's be a bit more realistic here. People are trying to track us down and kill us, you know. If they find us, it'll be bad luck for the two of you as well."

The donkey… was none other than the transformed meat jelly.

"Come on, let's head into this town…. I refuse to believe that the Heavengod Alliance will keep everything locked down forever." Eyes flashing coldly, Naruto rubbed his chest in a place where the flesh hadn't quite grown back yet.

His cultivation base had been seriously injured because of the deadly battle. However, it wasn't so bad that he was limited to the mid Ancient Realm, as the Heavengod Alliance presumed. He could still reach his peak power, but unfortunately that could not be sustained for very long.

"I'm going to take advantage of this chance to let my wounds heal a bit more," he murmured. As the sun slowly dropped over the horizon, he sighed, and his face turned a bit grimmer.

The first thing he had done after arriving on Planet Luo River was to open the incense burner. However, what he had found inside was not what he had hoped for…. Sakura 's soul.

Meanwhile….

A flying shuttle was speeding along through the starry sky of the Heavengod Alliance. Countless magical symbols covered its surface, which formed together into the character Uzumaki 孟.

This was none other than a Uzumaki Clan merchant ship!

A young man could be seen in that merchant ship. He was handsome, with a fair face, and was currently standing there with head bowed and fists clenched tightly as the middle-aged man before whom he stood rebuked him coldly.

" Uzumaki Chen, don't forget that you never should even have had this chance. It's only because of the kindness shown to me by your grandfather years ago that I managed to get you this spot. Don't forget your place! You'll just be a bodyguard here, but you need to cherish that identity. If you can just keep Young Master De happy, then your bloodline will have things much easier!

"So what if he arranged to have you spend some time with Young Lord Feng of the Han Clan? You feel wronged or something? Young Master De already agreed. You're going to do it whether you want to or not!"

Chapter 1221: A Scholar Taking the Imperial Examinations

Whenever I think about traveling scholars, the first image that pops into my mind is the main character of A Chinese Ghost Story, who wears a traveling case just like this one. Here's another picture. P.S. If you haven't seen A Chinese Ghost Story before, you should put it on your list of movies to check out. It's described as a supernatural/horror movie, but has a lot of wuxia and xianxia elements ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1222

Chapter 1222: Storm Clouds Approach

Around the same time that countless cultivators in the Heavengod Alliance were combing the starry sky for Naruto , someone was passing through the barrier between the Eighth Mountain and the Ninth Mountain.

Every step he took left him trembling, as if incredible pressure were weighing down on him. From the look of things, he had been traveling for a very long time to reach this point.

"It's not that much farther… it's too bad that with this body, passing through the barrier is quite a task…." It was a young, handsome man whose eyes glittered as if with starlight and with a sense of enigmatic profoundness.

It was none other than… Hebi Dongyang!

" Naruto … the Eighth Mountain and Sea is where you and I… will become one!" A strange smile could be seen on his face, and his expression was one of anticipation as he continued to struggle through the barrier.

Meanwhile, back outside the Heavengod Alliance, rumbling sounds could be heard coming from one particular asteroid field. The asteroids were collapsing into pieces and, shockingly, countless bones were flying out from inside them.

The rumbling continued, and the asteroids were destroyed one after another. Soon, the bones had accumulated to the point of being endless…. Within those bones could be seen a man in a long black robe, sitting there cross-legged, his long hair swirling around him. He was gaunt, and yet terrifying ripples spread out from him in all directions. The ripples caused a good portion of the bones to slowly form together until they were a huge throne of bones, upon which the black-robed man settled.

The rest of the bones converged next to the man to form nine enormous Bone Giants.

In the same moment that the nine Bone Giants formed, the black-robed man's eyes snapped open. His cultivation base erupted with power, and his Chakra and blood surged. At the same time, a mark appeared on his forehead.

This was the Echelon cultivator of the Eighth Mountain, Han Qinglei!

When he opened his eyes, the air around him distorted, and soon, numerous figures materialized out of the void. They quickly dropped to their knees and kowtowed in front of Han Qinglei.

At a glance, it was possible to see that there were dozens of such figures, all of them kowtowing. One by one, they transmitted various messages to Han Qinglei, reporting to him what had occurred in the Eighth Mountain and Sea during his secluded meditation.

Han Qinglei's face was expressionless. However, after hearing all of the reports, his pupils constricted, and he focused on one specific kneeling figure.

"Did you say Naruto ?" he asked in a voice that caused the starry sky to tremble. His gaze was like lightning, completely menacing as he stared at the cultivator who had brought the news.

The man trembled, and instead of transmitting his messages, he whispered, "According to the news from the Heavengod Alliance, and some other clues, the person who exterminated the Blacksoul Society was definitely Naruto …. This conclusion is also based on the report you provided about the Windswept Realm, Young Lord. In fact, the Heavengod Alliance has asked that you pay them a visit to confirm some information."

Han Qinglei sat there silently, eyes closed as he recalled everything that had occurred in the Windswept Realm. He thought back to his encounter with Naruto , how he had been killed, and then how Naruto had saved him during the final battle.

Although not much time had passed since then, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that the Windswept Realm adventure had been one of extreme danger. Even an Echelon cultivator like himself was shocked by it.

"So he actually came to the Eighth Mountain and Sea…." Han Qinglei smiled subconsciously. He actually felt no hatred toward Naruto , only a sense of competition.

"And the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance are trying to track him down and kill him…. Perhaps he can tolerate that, but as another Echelon cultivator, I can not!" His eyes flickered icily. People who were not in the Echelon couldn't possibly imagine the level of pride that Echelon cultivators felt in their standing. As for Han Qinglei, he could accept Naruto being defeated or even perishing, but only at the hands of another Echelon cultivator.

For non-Echelon cultivators to be hunting him down was something unacceptable.

Snorting coldly, Han Qinglei smacked his hand down onto the throne of bones. Instantly, it began to rumble, transforming into a white beam of light that shot off into the distance.

"Time to go to the Heavengod Alliance!" In response to his words, the other figures lurking in the starry sky began to power up and follow him.

Soon the entire group was on their way to the Heavengod Alliance.

Meanwhile, back in the Heavengod Alliance, because of the enormous scope of the search for Naruto , eventually, the Chosen of the various sects in the Heavengod Alliance all emerged and joined in.

This included the Dao Child of the Heavengod Society. These Chosen were very much like the Chosen of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, people who their respective sects had spent incredible resources on to develop them into powerful experts. Any one of them possessed battle prowess that far exceeded the level of their cultivation bases.

In order to ensure that they didn't somehow get killed while training, they still had Dao Protectors, even though they were already in the Ancient Realm. In fact, Dao Protectors would guard them all the way to the Dao Realm!

In a short time, figurative storm winds arose in the Heavengod Alliance, like a huge vortex that sucked in cultivators from the far corners of the Realm.

Despite the momentous state of affairs in the world around him, Naruto was living in relative tranquility. It was a peace and quiet that he hadn't experienced even in the Eastern Lands on Planet South Heaven. For now, he had seemingly truly forgotten about being a cultivator, and wasn't thinking about how he was the subject of a huge manhunt. Instead, he was fully immersed in the life of a scholar.

The town had an inn, where he sat beneath an oil lamp, reading. Occasionally, a smile would flicker across his face, and sometimes he would shake his head. He appeared to be completely immersed in the joy of reading.

Every once in awhile he would rise to his feet, grab a writing brush, and write something down off to the side. He was completely and fully a scholar, just like he had been all those years ago on Mount Daqing. "There's still half a month to go before the Imperial examinations…." Around midnight, he blew out the lamp and crawled into bed. From there, he could look out the window at the starry sky. Everything was quiet except for the faint sound of snoring that rose from various locations in the small town.

"I never passed the exams back then, but now, I'm going to give it another shot." As he reminisced about his past life, he sighed. Eventually, he pulled out an incense burner, which was covered with layers of magical seals.

Sakura 's soul was in that incense burner, but it was not complete. More than half of it had dispersed, leaving behind nothing more than a discarnate soul….

That discarnate soul was not enough to resurrect Sakura ….

Furthermore, if it entered the cycle of reincarnation as a discarnate soul, then she would no longer be herself. Instead, she would merely be one aspect of whoever she eventually reincarnated into.

Naruto could not accept something like that.

"There's always a way!" He closed his eyes, rotating his cultivation base to continue healing himself.

At dawn, he packed his bags and led his donkey out of the inn's stable. The innkeeper chatted with him the entire way, wishing him well as he mounted the donkey, opened up a bamboo scroll, and then headed in the direction of the capital city, which was about seven days away.

Naruto wasn't in a hurry. He rode his donkey along the public highway, resting at night, traveling when the sun rose. Days went by in which he enjoyed the scenery, passing by villages and farms. Although he hadn't planned this, his travels were like a cleansing that left him much more calm and tranquil.

Beams of light occasionally shot through the sky overhead. Out in the starry sky, the cultivators searching for Naruto were getting more and more anxious. Despite having searched for Naruto for an extended period of time, they hadn't been able to turn up a single trace.

Their only recourse was to send more people out to search. Planet Luo

River was scanned with divine sense occasionally, but the Heavengod Alliance was huge, and it wasn't an easy thing to search for a single person.

Gradually, the appointed time to unseal the teleportation portals approached. In fact, there was a bit of a backlash among certain factions in the Heavengod Alliance, who felt that locking down the entire Alliance to search for a single person wasn't very appropriate.

Patriarch Blacksoul wasn't willing to give in though. Gritting his teeth, he personally went to the Heavengod Society. After he left, the old man who had issued the bounty on Naruto sat there cross-legged, personally sending his divine sense out to aid in the search.

However, the Heavengod Alliance was an equally large place for him, and to search it required time and significant resources. Were it not for the hefty price paid by Patriarch Blacksoul, he would never have agreed to help.

Time passed. As a cultivator, Naruto 's journey was tranquil and enjoyable. It would have been a different story if he were mortal, considering the various dangers to be faced. At one point he encountered some bandits.

The bandits had just sacked a merchant caravan, and were in the midst of their burning, killing, raping, and plundering. As Naruto passed by, looked over at the bandits, and they in turn saw him. They immediately began to laugh heartily.

One particularly burly man declared, "Look, a pretty little scholar! He's mine!"

Then, he strode forward toward Naruto , a vicious expression plastered on his face, his eyes gleaming with lascivious intent.

Naruto frowned, wondering how the Eighth Mountain and Sea could have such debauched inhabitants. As the burly man neared, Naruto sighed, then looked up into the sky as if to check for witnesses before giving a cold harrumph.

It was a noise that no one except for the bandits could hear. To them, it sounded like thunder; blood sprayed out of their mouths, and they instantly toppled over.

They weren't dead yet, just unconscious. Naruto didn't use any magical technique, just a snort, backed entirely by the power of his fleshly body. With that, he hopped off the donkey and picked up the nearest blade. Then he went from one unconscious bandit to another and dispatched them coolly and quickly.

After that, he returned to the donkey, which had been waiting impatiently the whole time, and continued on his way. Several days later, a huge walled city appeared up ahead.

This was the Imperial capital of this empire.

The Imperial examinations that Naruto was so looking forward to would be held here in a few days.

The days passed uneventfully, and soon it was time for the exams to begin. The entire capital city was bustling as students and scholars arrived from all over the empire to take the Imperial examinations.

Naruto was one of them. He left his donkey at the inn, straightened his clothes, then cleared his throat as he joined all of the other scholars as they headed to the exam grounds. There, a court official closely examined everyone before they entered to make sure they hadn't brought along anything to help them cheat. Eventually, Naruto was escorted to a small room, just big enough for him. A desk could be seen, upon which writing utensils were arranged neatly. Before opening the exam materials, Naruto washed his hands in a wooden basin off to the side, then took a deep breath. When the starting bell rang, he sat down in the chair and opened the exam scroll. As soon as he laid eyes on the contents, a smile broke out on his face.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1223

Chapter 1223: Is This a Dream?

He didn't begin to answer the questions right away. He first closed his eyes, as if he were carefully considering how to answer. When his eyes opened, they shone brightly. He picked up the brush and immediately began to write down the first answer.

In the same moment that his brush touched the paper, a righteous, noble aura suddenly appeared within the city, causing colors to flash in Heaven and Earth. At the same time, in the Forbidden Palace elsewhere in the city, the emperor sat there holding a Go piece in his hand. Sitting across the game board from him was a Daoist priest, a smiling old man with the air of a transcendent being.

Suddenly, the Daoist priest's face flickered, and he looked in the direction of the exam grounds, an expression of shock on his face.

"One of the scholars taking the Imperial examinations provoked a righteous, noble aura! Which one?"

The Daoist priest waved his finger, causing water-like ripples to spread out over the game board, which vanished, to be replaced by an image of the exam grounds. 1

The Daoist priest's gaze shifted, causing the view to pass through the exam grounds as he searched for what he was looking for. Soon, the image focused on a single room, where Naruto was currently writing characters down in flowing calligraphy.

The Daoist priest looked at the emperor in amazement, and then back at Naruto . He smiled.

"Is that kid special or something?" the emperor asked.

"Special! Very special!" the Daoist priest replied, laughing. His eyes shone with excitement which only increased as he looked at Naruto .

"In all my travels through the years, this is the first time I've seen someone who could provoke such a righteous, noble aura. It's been decided; from now on he's a prized seedling for the Righteous Noble Sect!" The Daoist priest laughed heartily, then rose to his feet and strode in the direction of the exam grounds. 2

It was in almost the exact same moment that the old man in the

Heavengod Society happened to scan the area with divine sense.

His divine sense was in the Dao Realm already, and had also been augmented by the Heavengod Society's ancestral treasure, making it incredibly powerful, and increasing its range. In addition to that, he had spared no effort to boost it even further in his search. As it scanned Planet Luo River, the entire planet vibrated.

Naruto stopped writing for a moment, and slowly closed his eyes. He had noticed the divine sense just now. Although it hadn't stopped specifically on him, he had the feeling that he had been detected.

"What a pity. I'm not even half done with the exam…." he murmured. He looked down at the exam paper, then smiled casually. Ignoring the matter of the divine sense, he continued writing.

Back on the Eighth Mountain, in the Heavengod Society, the crosslegged old man suddenly opened his eyes. His face was a bit pale, but he waved his sleeve nonetheless. Instantly, hundreds of thousands of jade slips flew out from the Eighth Mountain, piercing through the void to head in all directions.

The jade slips appeared in in the hands of numerous cultivators, who then heard the voice of the old man speaking in their minds: "The foreign cultivator who exterminated the Blacksoul Society is currently on Planet Luo River, taking the Imperial examinations in the capital city of the Righteous Noble State!"

The jade slips were also specifically locked onto Naruto 's location, so that any cultivator who held them could easily find him.

Numerous figures began to speed in the direction of Planet Luo River, all of them worried that they would be late, and that someone else would be able to apprehend the prize before them.

Somewhere in the starry sky was a young man who appeared to be around thirty years of age, striding along with his hands clasped behind his back. The starry sky trembled as he walked along. Behind him, an enormous figure could be seen that bore the semblance of Heavengod, shining with boundless light.

As the young man walked along, a jade slip shot up to him, which he grabbed. Then his eyes glittered with viciousness. Smiling, he headed directly toward Planet Luo River.

In another location, a 3,000-meter blood mist surged through the starry sky. Inside were various powerful beasts, snarling as they struggled to free themselves from the mist. Soon though, cracking sounds could be heard as their bodies collapsed, and they were absorbed into the blood mist.

Suddenly, a jade slip flew through the sky and into the blood mist. Moments later, cruel laughter rang out.

"So they finally found him… interesting, very interesting…." The blood mist changed directions and headed toward Planet Luo River.

In a stretch of the starry sky not too far away from Planet Luo River, a woman could be seen flying along. She looked like an utter barbarian, a coiled whip resting at her side and a wild look in her eyes. Suddenly, several gigantic pythons materialized around her, which then carried her in the direction of Planet Luo River.

The woman was swarthy but extremely beautiful. As she neared Planet Luo River, she suddenly whistled. The sound wasn't very piercing, but the result was that all the snake-type creatures on Planet Luo River suddenly began to hiss loudly.

All it took was a brief moment for all of the Heavengod Alliance to be shaken into action. The first to mobilize of all were the sects on Planet Luo River itself. How could they have ever imagined that the person the entire Heavengod Alliance was searching for was on their own planet?

Planet Luo River was one of the four great planets in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. In addition to the Righteous Noble Sect, there were three other sects on the planet.

Those four sects were the overlords of Planet Luo River, and occupied very important positions within the Heavengod Alliance. Currently, all four of those sects had mobilized and were headed toward the capital city.

Bright beams of light shot through the air, and all of the snakes emerged from the forests and mountains, hissing loudly. They did nothing to harm the people, but rather, headed directly toward the capital city.

Colors flashed, the wind screamed, and the ground shook. However, Naruto remained in his little exam room, continuing to write down his answers. He truly wanted to finish the whole exam, and thus make peace with his failures in years past.

After about ten breaths of time passed, Naruto finished writing the final character. He took a deep breath and blew on the exam paper to dry the ink, then put the brush down.

"It's too bad I can't wait until the results come in. I definitely won't fail this time. It's too bad that either way, I won't be able to become a grand official to realize my dream of being super rich…." With a silent chuckle, he stood up. At that point, a wind blew outside, and suddenly something burst into the exam grounds with speed that exceeded all normal cultivators. It was… a donkey.

As soon as the donkey entered the exam grounds, everyone stared with wide eyes. The official conducting the examination gaped in disbelief as the donkey head-butted the wall of Naruto 's exam room, breaking it open and bursting inside.

Naruto laughed and jumped onto the donkey's back, which brayed as it crashed through the opposing wall. Then, everyone watching was thrown into an uproar as the donkey then flew up into the air.

"An Immortal…."

"But… why was an Immortal taking the Imperial examinations?"

"Heavens, I can't believe I just took the Imperial examinations with an Immortal!" Numerous cries of astonishment echoed up into the air.

In almost the same instant that Naruto flew up into the air on the donkey, a bright beam of light closed in, which was none other than the Daoist priest. He had a strange look on his face; he had not received one of the jade slips and therefore didn't know who Naruto was.

Apparently, he didn't care about that though, nor did he care whether or not Naruto was even a cultivator.

"Hey little bro, don't go!" the Daoist priest blurted. "Fear not, I am Xu Ran from the Righteous Noble Sect. Um… are you interested in joining up?

"If you join our sect, you can have anything you want. The Righteous Noble Sect has a thousand scrolls of Daoist magic, three thousand magical techniques, and countless disciples. We're ranked seventh in the Heavengod Alliance!

"We even occupy thirty percent of Planet Luo River. Come on and join us! After you do, you can do anything you want!"

As soon as Naruto heard the man's words, his eyes went wide. However, before he could respond, countless shocking beams of light suddenly shot down from up above.

" Naruto ! It's Naruto !"

"So it turns out he's here! Kill him and you can have Patriarch Blacksoul as a slave for a thousand years!"

"Kill him!" Numerous excited shouts could be heard as no less than a thousand cultivators began to converge on the area from all directions.

Naruto 's donkey shivered, then looked pleadingly up at him. Naruto chuckled and leaped off the donkey, which then turned into the meat jelly with a popping sound, and then flew into Naruto 's bag of holding.

"What a pity," Naruto said, shaking his head. A cold smile appeared on his face, and as soon as he did, his aura suddenly changed. No longer did he look like a scholar, but instead a demonic fiend, bursting with energy. Everything rumbled as he waved his hand, causing the sky to fill with a boundless blood-colored light. A huge rift then opened up and the Blood Demon emerged, roaring as it charged the surrounding cultivators. Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent; he would show absolutely no mercy to these cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea who were trying to kill him.

A flash could be seen as Naruto transformed into an azure roc, which blasted into the enemy cultivators like lightning. Immortal mountains descended, a violet moon flickered, and a sun began to suck in all the light in the area, then released it with explosive force. In the blink of an eye, dozens of bloodcurdling screams could be heard echoing out as enemies fell out of the sky.

Blood sprayed in all directions, falling down toward the earth in a rain of gore.

Of the surrounding cultivators, a few hundred were wearing green Daoist robes. They didn't attack immediately, but instead began muttering, which then caused an astonishing explosive aura to build up that only they could see.

Naruto 's eyes flickered; he couldn't see the aura either, but he could sense that whatever magic these people cultivated was very unique.

It appeared to be a Daoist magic as distinctive as that of the Burning

Incense Stick Society that he had encountered in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. 3

In the moment that Naruto noticed what they were doing, the Daoist priest was suddenly thrown into a rage. He strode forward and stood in front of the several hundred cultivators, then shouted, "What do you people think you're doing? Wreaking havoc on sect allies? You should be calling him Elder Uncle!" As soon as the words left the man's mouth, the cultivators lurched to a stop and stared in shock. The old man leading the group stepped forward, smiled wryly at the Daoist priest, then clasped hands and bowed.

"Elder Grandfather, this man… this man is, uh, Naruto ."

"So what if he's Naruto !?" the Daoist priest replied, glaring.

The old man hesitated for a moment, then thought about all the muddleheaded things the Daoist priest was known for doing, then quickly explained, " Naruto … he's, you know, the one who exterminated the entire Blacksoul Society?"

"Exterminated the Blacksoul Society?" the Daoist priest said, spinning around and looking at Naruto with an even stranger look than before.

"Hahaha! As expected of my apprentice. Excellent! Wonderful! I've been annoyed with those bastards from the Blacksoul Society for years now. You are obviously destined to be my apprentice. You haven't even formally paid respects to me as your master, and you've already solved one of my headaches for me!"

I found a cool picture of a model of how the Imperial examinations were set up in ancient China. Depending on the type of test, each test taker might have their own room, where they would take the test and even sleep overnight as necessary. Check out the picture here and the article here ↩ There is a lot of wordplay and room for interpretation with regard to the "righteous, noble aura," and the "Righteous Noble Sect." Without getting into too much boring detail, the "righteous, noble" characters could also be translated as "vast, overwhelming, expansive." For reasons I won't get into now, I chose to go with the "righteous, noble" interpretation. Furthermore, the first character is "hao" the same character from Naruto 's name ↩ Naruto fought Xie Yixian from the Burning Incense Stick Society starting in chapter 876. He used a type of magic that forced Naruto into an illusion ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1224

Chapter 1224: Be a Good Kid, My Little Disciple, Don't Run!

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto 's face, but before he could say anything, the Daoist priest glared at the surrounding disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect.

"What are you standing around for? Can't you see that your Elder Uncle is being bullied!? Why aren't you helping him?!" The Daoist priest stamped his foot down, causing the air to rumble. The disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect exchanged wry, helpless glances.

The old man who was the leader of the bunch appeared to be on the verge of tears. He let out a long sigh, unsure of whether or not to attack Naruto .

Even as he was going back and forth about what to do, the sound of a whistle could be heard high up in the sky. As it echoed out, all of the snakes on Planet Luo River hissed loudly.

The sound echoed about, and the clouds churned, revealing numerous Cloud Pythons swirling through the air toward Naruto .

Simultaneously, countless arrow-like snakes shot up from the ground, eyes sinister, forked tongues flicking.

It wasn't over yet, though. Up above in the sky, an even larger python began to descend. It glowed with brilliant light, and even emanated an aura similar to that of a Paragon.

All of the cultivators in the crowd were completely shaken. As for Naruto , when he looked up, his eyes went wide for a moment, and then he actually smiled.

"Finally," he murmured, "I get to see… some of the local Chosen." He was already itching to fight, so as soon as the python appeared, he instantly shot up into the sky, moving so fast a sonic boom echoed out. Relying only on the strength of his fleshly body, he slammed into the Cloud Pythons. By the time that they howled and they collapsed into countless pieces, Naruto was already bearing down on the Paragonlike python.

He quickly waved his hand, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to roar out, transforming into a sea of flames capable of burning everything. In response, the huge python opened its mouth and blasted out a huge air channel, making it impossible for the sea of flames to touch it, then opened its mouth to shoot a beam of light toward Naruto .

Naruto smiled coolly, then clenched his hand into a fist and punched out toward the python and its gaping maw.

First fist, Life-Extermination Fist!

As the fist sailed through the air, Heaven and Earth went wild with flashing colors. A massive wind sprang up, and everything shook violently. The python let out a miserable shriek as the light shattered, and its body then collapsed into pieces.

Naruto threw his head back and shouted. Although the sound of it wasn't extremely loud, as soon as it echoed out, the rest of the surrounding pythons began to tremble. Not daring to get any closer, they turned tail and fled.

"Shut the hell up!" someone said imperiously. It was the barbaric woman, riding on a five-colored beam of light that closed in on Naruto with incredible speed.

The woman was quite pretty, despite her swarthy skin. She had a very unique air to her, making her look very different from any other female cultivator Naruto had ever encountered.

"Lady Dragon-Snake!"

"It's Lady Dragon-Snake from the Dragon-Snake Fusion Sect! I can't believe she's here on Planet Luo River!"

"The Alliance's bounty on Naruto is just too enticing. It even caught the attention of the Dragon-Snake Fusion Sect…. Or maybe it caught the attention of the ever-flamboyant Lady Dragon-Snake herself…."

"If she's here, then presumably the other eight members of the Nine Claws of the Heavengod are on their way too!" As everyone discussed the matter, the old man from the Righteous Noble Sect sighed, inwardly thanking Lady Dragon-Snake for showing up and getting him out of the embarrassing situation. Now he didn't have to decide whether or not to attack Naruto .

Looking at his Master out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but smile wryly. Right now, the Daoist priest's eyes were shining brightly, and the old man knew that whenever that look appeared, the Daoist priest was about to do something very muddle-headed….

Naruto looked at the woman closing in on him, and his eyes slowly narrowed. At the same time, a smile appeared on his face when he heard what the surrounding cultivators were saying about who she was.

"Nine Claws of the Heavengod. They must be Chosen from the Heavengod Alliance…. Excellent. I've collected on most of my debts from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and now that I'm here… it's only right and proper to make a killing in the Eighth Mountain and Sea too." Laughing loudly, he suddenly shot directly toward Lady Dragon-Snake.

Her pupils constricted when she realized how powerful he was. However, she didn't attempt to dodge out of the fight. Her right hand flickered with an incantation gesture, causing five-colored light to explode out in all directions, transforming into five pythons which howled as they shot toward Naruto .

At the same time, she waved her hand, summoning a string of bells. When she swung the string, melodic chiming could be heard. When that sound entered Naruto 's ears, though, it was like the roaring of the highest Heavens, and he even felt his psyche trembling.

Naruto gave a cold snort. He had cultivated the Dao Divinity Scripture, so as soon as the psyche-shaking sound waves hit him, he sent his divine sense out, which transformed into an invisible tempest and smashed back against them. Lady Dragon-Snake's face fell, and blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth. Alarmed, she fell back.

Before she could do anything else, Naruto flashed through the air, transforming into an azure roc, which shot like lightning toward the five pythons. Of course, rocs are the nemeses of dragons and snakes, so as soon as its aura appeared the five pythons immediately shuddered. The azure roc quickly closed in and slashed its claws toward them.

Booms echoed out as the pythons, completely unable to fight back, were ripped to shreds. Naruto then closed in on the woman herself.

"Roc Transformation! You're a disciple of the Heavenly Roc Sect!" The woman's face fell, and she fell back, quickly performing an incantation gesture with her right hand. Then she spit out a mouthful of dark blood, which transformed into a blood-colored sealing mark. The sealing mark writhed, and in the blink of an eye, had transformed into a dragon!

It was a dragon formed from black blood, which made this a Black Dragon. The Black Dragon kicked up a huge wind as it roared and shot toward Naruto .

"Is a magical technique like this really worthy of a Chosen?" Naruto said, shaking his head. If this was all she could do, this woman wouldn't deserve to have a promissory note and owe Naruto money. He took a step forward, clenching his right hand into a fist and unleashing a punch.

It was his second fist strike, the Bedevilment Fist!

As the fist rumbled through the air, the Heavens seemed to teeter on the verge of collapse. The Black Dragon had just appeared, but was already twisting and distorting. It let out a miserable shriek, as if it were about to collapse into pieces.

In almost the same moment that Naruto spoke, Lady Dragon-Snake rotated her cultivation base, causing more than ten Soul Lamps to appear around her, more than half of which were extinguished. Within each of those soul lamps could be seen the image of a person meditating.

All of them wore the same face as Lady Dragon-Snake, except that from the waist down they were snakes. Suddenly, they opened their eyes and looked at the Black Dragon.

"Thirteen Dragon-Snake Augmentations!" she cried in a piercing voice. A tremor suddenly ran through the Black Dragon, and its energy redoubled!

After that, it tripled, quadrupled… in the blink of an eye, the Black Dragon's energy had increased by thirteen times. Now, it seemed absolutely, completely different from before. Furthermore, it even emanated faint traces of the Dao Realm.

Naruto was taken aback, but still shook his head.

"That still isn't going to cut it," he said. He was fed up with this fight already, so he immediately unleashed his third fist strike. God Slaying!

As soon as the God Slaying Fist was unleashed, everything began to shake. The Black Dragon, which was now thirteen times more powerful than before, let out a miserable shriek as its body was destroyed. The surrounding cultivators were shocked, and looked over at Naruto with wide, astonished eyes.

"The Heavengod Alliance was wrong. The power he can wield… is not that of the Ancient Realm!"

"H-his… his injuries have healed!"

"Before he was injured, he could wipe out the entire Blacksoul Society.

Even Patriarch Blacksoul himself received terrifying injuries!"

Even as everyone reacted with shock, Naruto strode forward toward Lady Dragon-Snake and extended his right hand. His eyes glittered with an intensely cold light; these cultivators had come here to kill him, so it didn't matter if they were men or women; unless they qualified to have a promissory note, Naruto would not go lightly on them.

He closed in on Lady Dragon-Snake, killing intent raging. Her face fell, and both hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture. Just as Naruto was about to grab her by the neck, she roared, and suddenly transformed into a ghost image.

When she reappeared off in the distance, blood was oozing out of her mouth.

"Eee?" Naruto said. In the moment that she had performed her teleportation, he had felt fluctuations of the Dao Divinity Scripture.

He flashed through the air toward her again, and Lady Dragon-Snake's face paled and filled with terror. Even as she backed up, she performed an incantation gesture and then fled via teleportation once more.

His interest piqued, Naruto suddenly waved his finger, unleashing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. The woman didn't know why, but she suddenly lurched to a stop, and her eyes went wide with despair.

Even as he closed in on her, all of a sudden, a withered hand appeared out of nowhere to claw at Naruto .

"Quasi-Dao? Scram!" Naruto instantly knew exactly what type of person this was. He waved his hand, causing the aura of the Paragon Bridge to erupt out. The instant the hand made contact with him, it shattered. An old woman staggered out into the void, looking at Naruto with an expression of terror. Coughing up blood, she shot toward Lady Dragon-Snake, grabbed her, and fled.

That old woman was Lady Dragon-Snake's Dao Protector, but even she was currently terrified. "Young Lady, we must flee. This man… isn't injured at all!"

Seeing that Lady Dragon-Snake was fleeing, Naruto smiled, although it was an icy smile. He suddenly waved his hand toward the fleeing Lady Dragon-Snake.

"Call upon Karma to form a binding writ. Starting today… you owe me money!" Immediately, Karma Threads appeared above Lady DragonSnake. Naruto then reached out and grabbed the brightest of the shining threads, and then placed a sealing mark on it!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Lady Dragon-Snake coughed up blood. Her heart was now filled with an indescribable dread, especially when she saw the glowing piece of paper floating down onto Naruto 's palm. She suddenly felt as if she had lost something important, and her fear grew.

It was at this point that a cold snort echoed through the sky, and a writhing blood mist descended toward Naruto .

"Ah, another one," he said, chuckling. Instead of standing there waiting, he suddenly transformed into a prismatic beam of light that shot up into the sky. However, from a distance it looked like he was actually trying to flee.

Just as Naruto was about to blast up into the sky and start fighting, the Daoist priest appeared in mid-air, beaming with a huge smile as he hollered, "Be a good kid, my little disciple, don't run!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1225

Chapter 1225: Master, Save Me!

Just as Naruto was about to blast up into the sky and start fighting, the Daoist priest appeared in mid-air, beaming with a huge smile as he hollered, "Don't go, my little disciple!"

Although his shout seemed casual, it actually caused the sky to shake violently, as if it were about to collapse. In fact, if you looked up, you would see innumerable rifts opening up.

The red mist which had been just about to shoot down, suddenly shrank back, as if whatever person was concealed inside were suddenly shaking, and going all out to retreat.

This sudden turn of events caused Naruto to stare in shock, and also, sadness. His original plan had been to leave Planet Luo River, and in the process, incite the Chosen in that red mist into fighting, then use A Writ of Karma to force him or her to owe Naruto money.

How could he ever have imagined that the Daoist priest would interfere? The level of this priest's cultivation base caused Naruto 's eyes to widen slightly. He obviously had a very high position in the Righteous Noble Sect, and from the way he had shouted just now, Naruto could tell that he was a 3-Essences Dao Lord, comparable to Patriarch Blacksoul, or perhaps a bit higher.

That made Naruto even more depressed than before. Back when he couldn't fight Dao Realm experts, he had virtually never encountered a single one. But now that he was capable of fighting them, they seemed to be popping up everywhere.

The reality of the situation was that it was because he was in a much different position now, and thus the people he encountered were different. In any of the various Mountains and Seas, the number of Dao Realm experts would never exceed several dozen. Most of them ended up as Patriarchs of various sects, and as such, were not the type of people ordinary cultivators ever encountered.

Take, for example, Patriarch Blacksoul. In a sect with hundreds of thousands of cultivators, there was only one Dao Realm cultivator, Patriarch Blacksoul!

And yet, because Naruto could fight Dao Realm experts, it was only natural that when he got involved in a situation, it would take the interference from them to resolve that situation.

As for this Daoist priest from the Righteous Noble Sect, he truly was a 3Essences Dao Lord, and was one of three Dao Realm experts in that sect. In fact, he wasn't even the strongest of those three, but rather the second strongest!

Having three Dao Realm experts meant that the Righteous Noble Sect was in a very strong position in the Heavengod Alliance, a trend which was very similar to the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"There's no need to flee, my little disciple. Come, come, return with me to the Righteous Noble Sect. With me around, nobody would ever dare to lay a hand on you!" The Daoist priest approached, staring at Naruto with wide eyes. Naruto subconsciously edged backward.

The Daoist priest didn't seem to mind. The more he looked at Naruto , the more excited he got because of that righteous, noble aura on him, which was apparently very special. Although the aura was fading, it was still quite apparent. In fact, it was the most clearly visible such aura that the Daoist priest had seen for many years.

"Aiii, if only I could have found you before you started practicing cultivation. I could definitely have raised you into the most powerful expert in the Righteous Noble Sect! Although, it's not too late. Come, come. Your name is Naruto , right? You know, if you join the Righteous Noble Sect, you can get a Daoist name!

"My Daoist name is the Noble Ran. Let me think for a second…." The

Daoist priest slapped his thigh. Smiling radiantly, he said, "I got it! Your

Daoist name is the Righteous Haowie!"

The disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect around him exchanged dismayed glances. All of a sudden, they were no longer looking at Naruto with hostility, but rather, with sympathy.

Naruto was turning a bit green in the face. The Righteous Haowie, the Righteous Haowie…. When he heard the name, he wasn't sure whether to laugh or cry. Were it not for the fact that he could tell that the Daoist priest harbored no ill will against him, he would long since have gone ballistic.

"This is ridiculous!" Naruto said, flicking his sleeve. Face cold, he snorted, ignoring the Daoist priest and spinning to shoot up into the sky. He wanted to leave Planet Luo River, but at the same time, was wary of the Daoist priest.

Even though Naruto could sense that the man did not want to hurt him, it was still better to be cautious. In order to make sure the man didn't try to stop him, he transformed into an azure roc, flapped his wings, and shot away, leaving behind nothing but a series of sonic booms.

The Daoist priest stood where he was and did nothing to block Uzumaki

Hao's way. Instead, he looked on with a broad smile. The Righteous Noble Sect disciples behind him had strange looks on their faces as they tried to figure out exactly what their muddle-headed Patriarch was out to do.

"Well, if you want to leave, I won't stop you. However, we are destined to be Master and apprentice, Righteous Haowie. It has been fated by the Mountains and Seas. It has been fated… that within ten breaths of time, you will return." The Daoist priest's words were very mysterious. He stood there, hands clasped behind his back, looking every bit the transcendent being. Based on physical appearance alone, he appeared to be anything but ordinary.

Naruto sped along in azure roc-form, and within the space of a few breaths of time, he could see that out in the starry sky, tens of thousands of beams of light were shooting in his direction.

Boiling killing intent raged, distorting the starry sky. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. Naruto would still choose to leave. But soon, he realized that among those beams of light were the fluctuations of at least ten Dao Realm experts.

All of them were speeding in his direction!

Even Naruto 's scalp went numb at the thought of ten Dao Realm cultivators. That was not even to mention the fact that among those ten auras, two of them… exceeded the level of Dao Lords!

There was no way he could leave now! Even if he somehow got away from Planet Luo River, he still wouldn't be able to avoid being killed eventually. Unfortunately… Patriarch Blacksoul hated Naruto so much that he was willing to treat himself completely viciously.

Perhaps individual cultivators might be able to ignore the idea of having him as a slave for a thousand years, but to a sect as a whole, that was too much of a temptation. They would do anything possible to make that happen!

"Heavengod Alliance…." Naruto said, eyes flickering coldly. With a sigh, he rolled his eyes, turned, and headed back down toward the surface of Planet Luo River.

Even as he turned back, the ten Dao Realm experts joined forces to attack. Rumbling filled the air as the power of numerous Essences materialized, transforming into a stream of brilliant light, almost like an enormous whip, which slashed through the void toward Naruto even as he retreated back down toward the lands of Planet Luo River.

At the same time, the rest of the cultivators pushed forward with explosive speed.

Back down on Planet Luo River, the cultivators from the four local sects had just seen Naruto leave. Just moments later he returned, looking very out of sorts; countless beams of light could be seen behind him in the starry sky, as well as a seven-colored light stream.

As the seven-colored light stream closed in, Naruto 's face fell, and he quickly shouted out to the Daoist priest.

"Master, save me!"

The transcendent-looking Daoist priest cleared his throat. Keeping his hands clasped behind his back, he slowly looked up and said, "Who is calling out for Master?"

He seemed to be refusing, but really… he was actually quite pleased with himself.

Naruto smiled bitterly. Behind him, the stream of light was closing in, bursting with killing intent. If it touched him, he wouldn't be killed instantly, but it would definitely reopen the wounds he had just spent all this time healing.

Gritting his teeth, he said, "I'm… I'm the Righteous Haowie, oh Master, if you don't save me right away, then I won't recognize you as my Master!"

Immediately, the Daoist priest's eyes began to shine as brightly as the sun and moon.

"Ah, fear not, my little disciple. Master is coming!"

Laughing with excitement, and looking somewhat smug, he suddenly took a step forward. When his foot landed, he was between Naruto and the seven-colored stream of light. Suddenly, he lifted his right hand in the air, angling his hand as if he were holding a brush, and then began to write characters in the middle of the air!

"How dare you bastards bully my apprentice! The Righteous Haowie is an upright person with a righteous, noble aura! Any enemy of his is an enemy of mine!

"You're at the threshold of Planet Luo River, and this is the Righteous

Noble Sect! Do me a favor and screw off!"

Colors flashed and the wind howled. As the Daoist priest waved his hand to write characters, magical symbols flickered, and at the same time, a righteous, noble aura suddenly exploded out from him. That in turn seemed to incite the aura of Planet Luo River itself, which surged out and slammed into the seven-colored stream of light.

Massive rumbling could be heard as the stream of light quivered and then collapsed into pieces. At the same time, the righteous, noble aura shot further out into the starry sky, becoming an invisible pillar of Chakra that caused the entire starry sky to tremble. The incoming cultivators were all shocked and stopped in place, not daring to get any closer.

Numerous shouts of rage could be heard after the stream of light collapsed.

"Xu Ran, you oaf, are you crazy!?"

"He's always been crazy!"

"That's Naruto ! He's not your apprentice, he's the killer who took out the whole Blacksoul Society!"

"Xu Ran, is your Righteous Noble Sect actually going to violate the orders of the Heavengod Alliance!?"

The sound of their cries echoed out, causing the lands to quake, rivers to flow backward, and all living beings to tremble.

"I might be crazy sometimes, but not today!" the Daoist priest replied, his voice booming. "You're the crazy ones! You might not be able to tell, but I can clearly see that Naruto has a righteous, noble aura. For him to have an aura like that means that anyone he killed deserved to die!

"If he exterminated the Blacksoul Society, that indicates… that the Heavens, the Eighth Mountain and Sea itself, and even the will of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, wished the Blacksoul Society to be eradicated!

"It doesn't matter who he is, Naruto or some other Hao. Today, he's my apprentice, the Righteous Haowie!" With that, he swished his sleeve, causing massive rumbling to fill Heaven and Earth as he once again summoned the power of Planet Luo River to surge out into the starry sky.

Of course, for him to do such a thing twice, to fight back against ten Dao Realm experts and countless other cultivators, left him with blood oozing out of his mouth.

Naruto was shaken. He looked silently at the Daoist priest, feeling more than a little moved. After hearing the man talking about his supposed righteous, noble aura, Naruto suddenly began to speculate that it actually had something to do with the Chakra flow of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

They were now at an impasse. The cultivators who had come to kill

Naruto remained out in the starry sky, unwilling to enter Planet Luo

River. This was one of the original planets of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, not an artificial planet created by some almighty cultivator. It had existed for as long as the Eighth Mountain and Sea had, and was one of only four planets like it. All the powerful sects on those primary planets were important parts of the Heavengod Alliance.

Furthermore… they all had secret magics that enabled them to control the power of those planets themselves!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1226

Chapter 1226: The Something-something Seal the Heavens Incantation

In the middle of this intense standoff, the Daoist priest threw his head back and proudly brushed his sleeve.

"Disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect, hear my command!" he said in a loud voice. "Escort your Elder Uncle back to the sect!"

The disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect were shaking in their boots. They looked up at the forces arrayed against them in the sky, then back at Naruto and the Daoist priest, bitter smiles on their faces. After a moment of hesitation, they sighed, clasped hands to Naruto , and then turned to leave.

The other cultivators present, as well as the force in the starry sky, looked on as Naruto and the Righteous Noble Sect made their way off. The Daoist priest looked extremely pleased with himself as he quickly caught up with Naruto and then walked along at his side, laughing heartily.

"The Righteous Haowie. Well, what do you think? Should we switch to another Daoist name?"

Naruto hesitated, looking first at the Daoist priest and then all of the disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect. Finally, he sighed.

"Uh… we don't need to switch."

"Alright, then it's settled!" The Daoist priest slapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"Senior…." Before Naruto could say anything else, the Daoist priest glared at him angrily. Naruto smiled wryly.

"Er… M-master…. Um, the Heavengod Alliance put a bounty on my head. If I go back to the Righteous Noble Sect with you, sir, I'm afraid it would be a big inconvenience…." Naruto was actually feeling some reservations. Originally, he had planned to simply manipulate the Righteous Noble Sect to make use of their power. However, the way the Daoist priest actually took him under his wing had moved Naruto , and now he was worried about dragging the whole sect into his own problems.

"Nonsense!" the Daoist Priest said, sounding completely unruffled. "The Righteous Noble Sect is the number one sect on Planet Luo River, and super famous in the Heavengod Alliance. Why should we be scared? What are we, babies? All you did was exterminate the Blacksoul Society, right? Fine, one of these days when I'm in a good mood, I'll go exterminate a sect too. There's no way the Heavengod Alliance will put a bounty on MY head!"

Naruto was struck speechless. Although what the Daoist priest said actually made sense, if Naruto truly became a disciple of the Righteous Noble Sect, then technically, he would also be a part of the Heavengod Alliance. In that case, everything that had happened would be considered an internal affair of the Heavengod Alliance.

If that happened, there would be a plethora of options to resolve the situation. However… Naruto had the feeling that things wouldn't necessarily play out as smoothly as the Daoist priest believed.

Most important was Naruto 's own status… that of a cultivator foreign to the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

Time passed. They proceeded along, led by the Daoist priest to a huge monastery that consisted of three towering mountains. Located at the peak of each mountain was a statue surrounded by clusters of pagodas and buildings. Located in the middle of the three mountains was a sprawling Daoist rite temple.

Incense smoke swirled up into the air, and the sound of tolling bells could be heard. Cranes soared in the air up above, and countless Immortal creatures could be seen lazing about, clearly at peace with the local cultivators.

This was the Righteous Noble Sect. As Naruto looked around, he could see the powerful aura of Heaven and Earth filling the sect. Visible within that aura was a sense of uprightness that caused the entire Righteous Noble Sect to feel both ancient and honorable!

That was just what he could see at first glance. When he narrowed his eyes and looked closer, he was shocked at what else he could sense… the Chakra flow of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Shockingly, the Righteous Noble Sect had some of the Chakra flow of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Although it wasn't much, it indicated that this place was beloved by the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Visible on the main gate were four characters, bold and powerful. It was impossible to tell how many countless years they had existed there, but looking at them filled a person with strange feelings, as if those characters were eternal, and would never fade away.

The four characters read… Represent Heaven; Administer the Dao!

"The Chakra flow of the Mountains and Seas…." Naruto murmured as he stepped into the monastery. "A righteous, noble aura…. Represent Heaven in administering the Dao."

Almost as soon as the disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect stepped into their sect, numerous beams of light appeared in the air up above. Those were the cultivators who had come to kill Naruto , and were now surrounding the Righteous Noble Sect.

Even the ten Dao Realm cultivators came and occupied ten different locations equidistant from the sect. The powerful fluctuations of their cultivation bases were extremely threatening and overbearing.

Rumbling could be heard as the righteous, noble aura within the

Righteous Noble Sect churned, spreading out to cover the entire sect. The sect's grand protective spell formation was activated, causing the entire sect to suddenly blur from the perspective of those on the outside. The only things most people could see clearly were the three huge statues atop the mountain peaks.

One of those statues held a sword, another held a scroll, and the last was dressed in a scholar's robe, and held his hands clasped behind his back as he looked up into the sky.

When the Dao Realm experts on the outside saw those three statues, their eyes widened, and they said, "The Three Righteous Noble Saints…."

As soon as Naruto set foot into the sect, a powerful voice instantly echoed out.

"Bring Naruto to see me, now!" When the other disciples heard the voice, they immediately bowed their heads respectfully. The Daoist priest was the only one whose eyes flashed angrily as he strode toward the most prominent of the three mountain peaks.

Naruto followed along. The two of them hurried forward to the mountain with the statue of the scholar staring into the sky. At the foot of the statue was a temple, outside of which could be seen two young boys, sitting there cross-legged. When they saw the Daoist priest, they immediately rose to their feet and clasped hands respectfully.

The Daoist priest didn't say anything, but instead stalked past them into the temple entrance. Naruto was about to follow him when he turned and said, "Master will go in alone. I want to see whether my words still count for anything in the Righteous Noble Sect!"

Naruto stopped in place. When he looked at the temple in front of him, he could tell that there was some terrifying entity inside, emanating fluctuations that caused enormous pressure to weigh down on him.

"Three Essences makes a Dao Lord. Four, five, and six Essences are Dao

Sovereigns…. The person inside that temple is a Dao Sovereign!" Naruto 's pupils constricted. He had faced a 3-Essences Dao Lord, had been forced to risk his life in combat, and still had not been able to eke out a victory. If he faced a Dao Sovereign, even one with only four Essences, he would definitely lose!

Each Essence in the Dao Realm created a huge disparity. The difference between a Dao Lord and a Dao Sovereign was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Therefore, the level of difficulty of breaking through from being a Dao Lord to become a Dao Sovereign was incredible.

Furthermore, it ensured that in the Mountain and Sea Realm, Dao Sovereigns were not common. People like that… were actually qualified to vie for the position of Mountain and Sea Lord!

Naruto took a deep breath, and waited silently. The two boys standing guard measured him up curiously. They hadn't left the mountain recently, so they actually had no idea who Naruto was or what he had done.

Time passed, and nothing could be heard from inside the temple. After a while, the two boys couldn't hold back from asking Naruto some questions. One had a look of sympathy on his face, while the other looked at him with a curious expression as he asked, "Are you Patriarch Noble Ran's new apprentice?"

When Naruto nodded in response, the two boys exchanged a glance, then looked back at Naruto . This time both of them wore sympathetic expressions. Then they began to speak in turns:

"When I was reading the ancient records… I saw that 1,700 years ago, Patriarch Noble Ran accepted an apprentice… who died two months later!"

"1,500 years ago, he accepted another apprentice who also died after two months…."

"1,300 years ago, he took a third apprentice, who also died."

"To date, Patriarch Noble Ran has had eight apprentices, none of whom lived past three months. All of them died, and furthermore all of them died… in very strange ways."

"What do you mean strange?" Naruto asked, somewhat spooked.

"One was struck by lightning. He didn't die from the first lightning bolt, it took dozens. After he died, the sky cleared up immediately…."

"There was one who ended up spontaneously exploding while cultivating…. Oh, and another caught fire and burned to death. Another one experienced misfortune for two whole months until suddenly a meteor fell out of the sky and crushed him to death. Well, the point is, they all died in different ways."

Naruto 's eyes went wide; he almost couldn't believe what he was hearing.

He was just about to ask some more questions when the seemingly quiet temple suddenly began to emanate intense ripples, as if some dispute were underway. After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, the Daoist priest burst out angrily. After taking a few steps, he turned and glared back into the temple.

"You might be a Dao Sovereign, and you might be the First Patriarch of the Righteous Noble Sect, but your worldview doesn't go past the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

"I refuse to believe that with your cultivation base, you can't see the righteous, noble aura on this apprentice of mine!"

The temple was completely quiet. No response could be heard. The Daoist priest stamped his foot and then began to stalk off angrily. As he passed Naruto , he motioned to him with his eyes, which caused Naruto to turn solemnly and follow him away.

They left the central mountain and headed toward the mountain on the left, the one with the sword-wielding statue. At the base of that statue was another temple. After entering the temple, the Daoist priest angrily looked over his shoulder at the central mountain peak.

"Master, I think I should probably leave," Naruto said slowly. He couldn't stop thinking about the words spoken by the two boys moments ago.

"Leave? Where can you leave to?" the Daoist priest said bitingly. "The Heavengod Alliance is huge, and the teleportation portals are still sealed. If you set foot outside, hundreds of thousands of cultivators are going to try to kill you, maybe even more than that. You might have been able to exterminate the Blacksoul Society, but can you exterminate the entire Heavengod Alliance? Well, can you?!"

"Not at the moment, no," Naruto replied calmly.

"Even if you could, I wouldn't let you. If you were the kind of person to do things like that, how could I have had the face to take you as my apprentice? Besides, it's only natural that I have a way to teleport you out of this piddling Heavengod Alliance!

"I've bought you two months of time, during which you'll just stay here and try to get as many people as possible to come surround the sect. Then when the time comes, I'll teleport you out, and things will be much safer." The Daoist priest sighed deeply. Of course, he didn't notice how jumpy Naruto got as soon as he mentioned the time frame of two months.

"It's too bad that something like this happened right when you became my apprentice." Suddenly, the Daoist priest seemed to go crazy. Gesticulating wildly at the people besieging the sect, he let loose a long stream of curses, after which he stamped his foot.

"Dammit. I've had eight apprentices throughout the years, and in the end, they all died. Now that I have a ninth, I won't let him die no matter what.

"Righteous Haowie, the time has come for me to instruct you in the

Righteous Noble Sect's most powerful, most mysterious, most invincible

Daoist magic. It's called _The Dao is in My Heart The Will is in My Eyes I_

 _Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas Seal the Heavens Incantation_!" The Daoist priest's eyes were completely bloodshot, and when he spoke the final words, Seal the Heavens Incantation, he spoke them very dramatically, one word at a time.

"If you can master that art," he continued solemnly, "then in the future, you'll definitely be invincible in the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

"Um… Master," Naruto said tentatively, "did your last eight disciples also study the… something-something Seal the Heavens Incantation?"

"It's not the something-something Seal the Heavens Incantation! It's The Dao is in My Heart The Will is in My Eyes I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas Seal the Heavens Incantation! As for your other poor Elder Brothers, of course they studied it. Each and every one of them. Unfortunately… before any of them could finish, they died." The Daoist priest looked sad, very sad, and not the least bit of that was an act.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1227

Chapter 1227: Daoist Priest!

"The Dao is in My Heart The Will is in My Eyes I Shall Possess the

Mountains and Seas Seal the Heavens Incantation!"

Naruto had just arrived in the Righteous Noble Sect. It was currently evening; the sun was setting off in the distance, and a cool breeze rustled through the swaying flowers and vegetation that covered the mountains. Naruto stared blankly at this Master of his, whose unreliability could only be outdone by Patriarch Reliance….

He listened silently as the Daoist priest began to explain the so-called something-something Seal the Heavens Incantation.

"This incantation is incredibly powerful. Super powerful. Invincibly powerful!

"Its creator is a one-of-a-kind super genius in the Eighth Mountain and Sea– no, in fact, no one else like him has existed since the creation of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"The first requirement of the incantation is that you possess a righteous, noble aura. Then, you must have a fearless heart. You have to place the Eighth Mountain and Sea within your heart, and then do the same for all the other Mountains and Seas, until all Nine Mountains and Seas are inside of you. After that, you can… force the Mountain and Sea Realm to recognize you as its Lord!

"If you succeed, then you will have completed the first step of the incantation. After that is the second step, Sealing the Heavens. You will have to seal each one of the 33 Heavens, which will in turn cause your cultivation base to increase by a factor of 100% with each sealing!

"After sealing the 33 Heavens, then, theoretically speaking, your cultivation base should be 33 times more powerful!" As the Daoist priest spoke, his expression was one of reminiscence, and he seemed profoundly ancient.

Naruto hesitated for a moment. Seeing how entranced the Daoist priest seemed to be, he couldn't hold back from asking, "And after that…?"

"After that? There's nothing after that," the Daoist priest replied, glaring.

"By that point, you'll be invincible. You don't need anything after that.

Besides, it's hard to imagine anything more. Impossible, really!"

After a moment of silence, Naruto asked, "Master, um… sir, you created the something-something Seal the Heavens Incantation, right?"

"Hahaha! So, so you live up to my expectations as my disciple, even if you're not quite as smart as me. Excellent deduction. Since you found me out, Master won't hide the truth any longer. You are absolutely, positively correct. Aii. Your Master has been keeping this secret for two thousand years now; at long last I can speak it out in the open.

"Righteous Haowie, listen well. The Dao is in My Heart The Will is in My

Eyes I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas Seal the Heavens

Incantation was created by me. It is the most powerful, most mysterious, and most supreme Daoist magic in the Righteous Noble Sect!" The Daoist priest swished his sleeve and raised his right hand dramatically into the air.

Naruto chuckled wryly. He suddenly realized he had a headache.

The Daoist priest glared at Naruto out of the corner of his eye, clearly displeased. "This is when you're supposed to cheer!"

Naruto stood there silently. However, the Daoist priest continued to hold the pose tenaciously. After a long, awkward moment, Naruto thought about how the man had protected him, and he sighed. Forcing himself to sound excited, he said, "Master, you're so incredible!"

The Daoist priest laughed loudly, then lowered his hand.

"Just trust your Master. The Dao is in My Heart The Will is in My Eyes I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas Seal the Heavens Incantation is incredibly powerful. Considering the level of my cultivation base, I can only use it at ten percent of its full power. But even that ten percent is very, very, very powerful! Way more powerful than me, you have my word on that!" The Daoist priest was bragging so hard that, though he was trying to seem high and mighty, spittle flew from his mouth.

With that he swished his sleeve, raised his right index finger into the air, and pointed straight up into the sky. "Come, come, it's time to practice the incantation. Just watch how I do it.

"The Dao is in My Heart!" he roared, causing the words to echo out through the sect. Naruto couldn't help but notice that all of the disciples in the Daoist rite temple at the base of the mountain quickly lowered their heads in embarrassment. He looked back at the Daoist priest, unable to prevent his eyelid from twitching uncontrollably.

The Daoist priest then bent his legs to form a circle… then raised his right hand up again, except this time to his forehead….

"Follow me!" he said, glaring at Naruto . "Come on!"

Naruto cleared his throat and thought once again about how the Daoist priest had personally taken him under his protection. Sighing, he bent his legs to form a circle and then, with difficulty, raised his hand vertically in front of his forehead.

"Say the words!" urged the Daoist priest.

Naruto gritted his teeth and finally decided to just give in. "The Dao… The Dao is in My Heart!" he roared.

The Daoist priest's eyes glittered, and he laughed. "Good, very good.

Now for the second stance."

Next, he lifted his left hand up and held it horizontally in front of the other hand, to make the character 十.

"The Will is in My Eyes!" he roared. No matter how you looked at it, the horizontal position of his left hand made it so that his eyes were completely covered up.

Having no other choice, Naruto followed suit.

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas!" the Daoist priest cried. He then he squatted down, and leaped high into the air, looking very much like a frog….

Naruto gaped with wide eyes, but finally gritted his teeth and followed along, jumping up into the air….

"Seal… the Heavens… Incantation!" Hovering there in midair, the Daoist priest stretched both hands out wide, threw his head back and roared. His voice resonated out in all directions, becoming clearly audible to even the cultivators who had surrounded the sect. Strange expressions became visible on all of their faces.

As for Naruto , he simply didn't have the courage to yell out the words 'Seal the Heavens Incantation' so loudly. Smiling bitterly, he spoke them out much more quietly, and then splayed his arms. The entire area around him then filled with… nothing. There was absolutely no change.

"Not bad!" the Daoist priest said, looking pleased. "You keep practicing this magic for the next two months. Trust me, it's incredibly powerful, invincible in Heaven and Earth. It can sweep across anything in the Mountains and Seas, and can even exterminate Paragons!" Naruto couldn't think of anything to say in response.

"Alright, that will do for now. You keep cultivating that on your own, I have some things to take care of." With that, the Daoist priest waved his sleeve and headed down the mountain, quickly vanishing.

Naruto sighed and sat down cross-legged. Frowning, he began to consider what other options were available in escaping the Heavengod Alliance's manhunt, as this place… wasn't a long-term option. The Daoist priest was muddle-headed, but the First Patriarch of the Righteous Noble Sect was not, and clearly wasn't willing to let him stay here permanently.

Obviously, the Daoist priest had forcefully demanded to have even the two months of time.

"Well, that's fine," Naruto thought. "That will be enough for me to finish healing up, and get back to my peak!" Eyes glittering coldly, he took a deep breath and then began to meditate to treat his injuries.

Before too much time passed, rumbling could be heard from off in the distance, and a pillar of light shot up into the sky. Within that light was the shadow of a person who was seemingly teleporting off to some other location. Naruto immediately opened his eyes and looked over.

He found himself looking in the direction of the Righteous Noble Sect's teleportation portal.

His eyes flickered for a moment before he once again began to work on his injuries.

More time passed. Soon, ten days had gone by…. During those ten days, Naruto occasionally went down the mountain to watch the disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect practicing cultivation, where he could sense the Chakra flow of the Mountain and Sea Realm, as well as the righteous, noble aura. Unfortunately, he could only spend about half of each day working on healing his injuries. The other times, the Daoist priest would drag him off to cultivate the something-something Seal the Heavens Incantation.

At first, Naruto was too polite to refuse. However, it quickly reached the point where he felt like he just couldn't take it anymore. Luckily, though, nothing strange happened as a result of practicing it; no misfortune, no lightning strikes, no spontaneous combustion.

Although he wanted to refuse, every time he thought about how the Daoist priest had stood up to all of the cultivators out in the starry sky on his behalf, he simply couldn't bring himself to say anything. So he went along, albeit halfheartedly.

But then one day when he went down the mountain, he happened to be passing through a valley when he overheard two disciples talking.

"Elder Grandfather Noble Ran has gone crazy again…. For the past ten days or so, he's been using the teleportation portal at least ten times per day. All he does is send some random things to random places. What the heck is he doing?!"

"It costs quite a few spirit stones to use the teleportation portal, especially for sending things to the destination and back. And he goes somewhere different every time…."

"Well, there's nothing you can do about it…." The two disciples sighed.

Shaken, Naruto hurried over to where the teleportation portal was located, where he saw the Daoist priest handing some spirit stones over to the disciple in charge. Apparently he was preparing to teleport some spirit creatures who were polymorphed into humanoid shapes.

Sensing Naruto 's presence, the Daoist priest turned. As soon as he saw Naruto , he laughed heartily.

"So, it's my little disciple! Come, let's head back and practice the Seal the Heavens Incantation some more." He stepped forward, grabbed

Naruto 's arm, and then sped back toward the mountain peak. Naruto didn't say anything on the way, and when they reached the mountain peak, he practiced the Seal the Heavens Incantation with unusual earnestness. He performed every motion meticulously, and even cried out the words as loud as possible.

After practicing for a few hours, Naruto suddenly asked, "Master, why have you been using the teleportation portal so much in the past few days?"

"Why?" the Daoist priest replied, sounding surprised. "Well for you, of course! I used to say you were almost as smart as me on a good day, kid, so how could you be so dumb?

"After the two months are over, you're going to need to teleport out of here. Since the teleportation portal are sealed, it's impossible to leave the Heavengod Alliance directly. You can still teleport to regions that are near the exits, though. However, there are far too many methods to interfere with a teleportation, someone can even interrupt it when you're halfway there.

"Therefore, just to be safe, I'm clouding the waters a bit. If I activate the teleportation portal multiple times a day for two months in a row, then the people looking for you are gradually going to lose their patience. Then eventually you can just slip through."

Naruto 's heart trembled as he looked at the Daoist priest. This was a person he had never met before in his life, and yet had moved him repeatedly just in the past few days.

The world of cultivation was a cold place in which people constantly fought and schemed against each other; it was a dog eat dog world. However, the more the world was like that, the more precious certain acts of beauty were. They were unforgettable things, things to be engraved upon the heart and never parted with.

Perhaps there were certain qualities that remained in a cultivator no matter what level they practiced cultivation to. After all, in the end, they were people and not animals.

Naruto looked at the Daoist priest for a moment, then clasped hands and bowed very deeply.

In the following days, he did not practice half-heartedly any more. He would earnestly follow along with the Daoist priest in practicing the Seal the Heavens Incantation. He was convinced that it was not really a Daoist magic, but rather, something invented by the Daoist priest, a figment of his imagination.

Eventually, Naruto learned that the Daoist priest had not always been this way. Once, a long time ago, he had left the sect only to return heavily injured, his beloved partner dead, and his children lost to the ravages of time. He came back alone, holding nothing but a piece of black leather the size of a hand, after which he lapsed into a coma.

It was from that moment on that he occasionally became muddleheaded. As to what had happened to his family, he never talked about it. The sect made some investigations, but were never able to find any clues.

However, the Daoist priest began to occasionally sit alone on the top of the statue on the mountain peak, looking off into the sky, laughing madly, raving, tears streaming down his face.

A month into his time in the sect, Naruto even saw it happen once. The moon was shining high in the sky as the Daoist priest sat atop the statue, laughing or… perhaps crying.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1228

Chapter 1228: Supreme Power!

It was like a frightening laughter that, if you listened to it long enough, sounded like weeping laced with indescribable sorrow.

Naruto stared silently at the Daoist priest sitting there on the statue, then closed his eyes. It was not a moment to disturb the man. He knew that the Daoist priest was now in his own world.

At dawn, the Daoist priest vanished, and then reappeared in front of Naruto , as muddle-headed and unreliable as ever.

When Naruto opened his eyes, he saw a lively and energetic Daoist priest standing there who didn't seem to have a care in the world. "Come, come, my little disciple, shout loudly with your Master. The Dao is in My Heart The Will is in My Eyes I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas Seal the Heavens Incantation!"

Time passed. More and more cultivators were gathering outside of the Righteous Noble Sect. They crowded the lands and filled the sky; more than 1,000,000 cultivators had been attracted to the area because of Naruto .

The Righteous Noble Sect felt a lot of pressure, and the sect's protective spell formation was active day and night. No one dared to relax for a moment, and the disciples were constantly on guard.

One by one, more Dao Realm experts arrived. Eventually there were almost twenty, causing a terrifying pressure to weigh down on the entire area.

Occasionally the mass of cultivators would cause ripples to spread out across the land, and the sky would distort under their auras. The pressure was so strong that it seemed like the Heavens themselves were bearing down. No smiles could be seen on the faces of the disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect, and on more than one occasion, Naruto could see hateful glances cast in his direction.

Although this was the Righteous Noble Sect, where they cultivated a righteous, noble aura, the pressure from the outside and the danger the sect was now in made it unavoidable that they feel rancor toward the person who had brought this down upon them.

Naruto rarely went down off the mountain anymore. He simply sat there quietly, watching the teleportation portal being activated ten times, sometimes even dozens of times, each day. It was happening with such frequency that it became mundane, and every time it activated, human-looking figures would be among the things that were teleported.

Occasionally, the teleportation portal would be used several dozen times in a row. This ensured that there was no pattern to how it was being used, and also caused the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance on the outside who wanted to try to break the teleportation process to slowly grow completely exhausted.

Soon, there were only twenty days left of the two month period. On one particular afternoon, the Daoist priest found Naruto to practice the Seal the Heavens Incantation, after which he suddenly said, "Alright, enough time has passed. We don't want anyone to be able to calculate the time exactly, so therefore, you're leaving right now!"

Naruto 's eyes flickered with a serious look as he slowly rose to his feet. He clasped hands and bowed deeply, then the two of them sped over to the location of the teleportation portal. This was not their first trip there together, they had actually been on numerous occasions. Not only would it make it difficult for anyone on the outside to detect what was going on, it would also confuse anyone within the sect who was paying attention and passing information to the outside.

When they got to the teleportation portal, it had already been activated, and someone was inside, waiting to be teleported away. The surrounding disciples in charge of the portal didn't pay much attention at all to the Daoist priest and Naruto , who they were used to seeing here.

The Daoist priest looked at Naruto and began to speak in a hoarse voice: "If the teleportation goes successfully, you'll emerge near the border of the Heavengod Alliance. The border region is too vast and can't be sealed completely, so that will be your opportunity. You'll need to employ as much speed as you can manage to cross the border and leave the Heavengod Alliance. Then… you'll be safe.

"If anyone blocks your path, or destroys the teleportation path, then remember to keep heading in the same direction that the path was taking you!

"Once you step onto the teleportation portal, everything will be up to you…."

Suddenly, he flicked his sleeve, causing the teleportation portal to perform several teleportations in a row. Rumbling filled the air, and bright light rose up. But then, it suddenly stopped. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, the Daoist priest suddenly barked, "Now!"

Naruto 's eyes flickered. He stepped into the teleportation portal without the slightest hesitation. Almost immediately, he saw that outside of the Righteous Noble Sect were countless other teleportation portals being activated at the same time, as the cultivators there tried to match their frequencies to the teleportation portal inside the sect.

Naruto 's face flickered, but it was at this point that the Daoist priest suddenly stepped into the teleportation portal and grabbed Naruto by the arm.

In the instant that the teleportation portal was activated, the Daoist priest leapt off of the portal, dragging Naruto with him as he then flickered and shot up into the sky at high speed.

Immediately, numerous angered cries could be heard from outside the Righteous Noble Sect.

"Shameless!"

"Noble Ran, don't tell me you're rebelling against the Heavengod Alliance!?"

"Dammit!"

More than half of the Dao Realm experts on the outside were already bathed in the light of teleportation. The Daoist priest had timed his move very craftily. Once the portals were activated, there was no way for the people inside them to leave, and they had to go along with the teleportation.

The remaining Dao Realm experts who had not entered teleportation portals bellowed in rage and shot into the air toward the Daoist priest.

Naruto 's eyes glittered. The Daoist priest hadn't mentioned anything at all about this before. Obviously, everything he had been doing with the teleportation portals in the past several weeks, including the feint just now, had been a trap. It was all bait to lure the experts of the Heavengod Alliance away.

The Daoist priest never had any intention of having Naruto use the Righteous Noble Sect's teleportation portal to escape. Doing that… was far too unsafe and had too many weak points.

However, his performance had been so realistic that many people were fooled and, no matter whether they were willing or not, got stuck in the teleportation portals and then vanished. In fact, there was an even deeper layer to this plan; because of all the activity with the teleportation portals, the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance had long since concentrated all of their attention on the portal. In order to intercept him, massive numbers of cultivators had even been arranged to surround every teleportation node within the entire Alliance.

Furthermore, they engaged the help of almighty experts whose task was expressly to cover Planet Luo River with their divine sense, laying in wait to sever any teleportation beams leaving the planet.

If Naruto really had tried to get away via teleportation, it would have been impossible for him to reach his destination. He would have been attacked and forcibly ejected from the teleportation beam.

Rumbling echoed out as the Daoist priest shot up into the sky with Naruto , moving at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they were outside of Planet Luo River. Naruto looked over at the Daoist priest, and was once again deeply moved. Behind them, angered roars could be heard as six beams of light closed in, six almighty Dao Realm cultivators.

Behind them were countless more cultivators, all of them racing to catch up with the Daoist priest and Naruto .

It only took a moment for the other cultivators throughout the

Heavengod Alliance, the ones sent to lock down the teleportation portals or ambush Naruto 's teleportation beam, to be notified of what had happened. They immediately abandoned their positions and raced toward Planet Luo River at top speed.

One slight change can sometimes have a huge effect on the overall situation. The Daoist priest's sudden action caused the entire setup put in place by the Heavengod Alliance to be ruined. Rumbling echoed out in all directions as the Daoist priest and Naruto entered the starry sky.

"Come with me," the Daoist priest said, eyes glittering. He waved his hand, causing a flying shuttle to appear, upon which he and Naruto alighted. Then, rumbling could be heard as the flying shuttle shot out into the starry sky at incredible speed.

As soon as he landed on the flying shuttle, Naruto shivered and looked down at it.

"This is…."

"How could Master allow anyone to harm you, my little disciple? The

Righteous Noble Sect's teleportation portals were all being watched. Even if they hadn't been, I would never have felt at ease letting you use them.

"The only type of teleportation portal I can trust would be one created by myself!

"This flying shuttle is actually a teleportation portal. Sit down crosslegged, and merge your mind into the shuttle. Go, quickly! The faster the shuttle goes, the more powerful the teleportation will be. I refuse to believe that these people could have predicted that I would have a flying shuttle teleportation portal!" With that, the Daoist priest waved his hand behind him. Rumbling echoed out as the six pursuing Dao Realm experts launched attacks.

The Daoist priest trembled, and blood oozed out of his mouth. He might be strong, but he was not strong enough to handle six Dao Realm cultivators simultaneously.

It was at this point that two streams of divine sense suddenly shot through the air toward them all. Shockingly, these were also Dao Realm experts. Now there were eight of them, three of which were Dao Lords. All of these people were on the level of Patriarchs in the various sects of the Heavengod Alliance, and when they combined forces, their Essence power caused the shuttle to tremble on the verge of collapse.

Naruto 's face flickered, and the Daoist priest suddenly threw his head back and laughed. Then, he reached down and slapped his left hand onto the surface of the flying shuttle, giving it more power. It suddenly shot forward at ten times its original speed. It was moving so fast that it seemed to be engulfed with flames; simultaneously, the teleportation portal inside began to activate. A shapeless rift opened up in front of the shuttle, and it looked as if the shuttle were about to be swallowed up by a huge mouth.

This caused the faces of all the observers to fill with shock. The Dao Realm Patriarchs howled in rage.

"You can't get away!" one of them roared. As soon as the words rang out, it seemed like the rules of nature changed to follow suit. Essence transformed into natural law, wrapping around Naruto . However, it was at this moment that the Daoist priest began to laugh loudly. Eyes shining, he shouted,

"Watch closely, my apprentice. Before you leave, your Master will demonstrate… the Seal the Heavens Incantation!" With that, he bent his legs into a circle and then pointed his right index finger up into the starry sky.

"The Dao is in My Heart!" As soon as the words left his mouth, time seemed to slow to a halt, and everything stopped moving. A righteous, noble aura filled the area, and the Eighth Mountain and Sea began to tremble.

More shocking of all was that the Daoist priest's bent legs all of a sudden looked like a tilted mountain peak!

"The Will is in My Eyes!" He moved his left hand to intersect with his right hand. His hair whipped about wildly, and a strange gleam shone from his eyes. At the same time, an indescribable aura suddenly began to radiate out from him.

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas! Seal… the Heavens… Incantation!" With that, his legs straightened as he leaped up and stretched his arms out wide!

The Eighth Mountain was shaking so violently it seemed as if it would crumble. The Eighth Sea howled, and the starry sky distorted.

Everything was in chaos. As for Naruto , he could see the Chakra flow of the Mountain and Sea Realm converging on the Daoist priest. Massive power built up in his outstretched arms and then shot out into the starry sky.

Faintly, an image of the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas of the Mountain and Sea Realm appeared, filled with supreme power!

Everyone present was completely shocked!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1229

Chapter 1229: Did I Say You Could Go?

Naruto watched as the Nine Mountains and the Nine Seas formed into the shape of a huge giant, apparently shaped together by the call of the Daoist priest's magic. As soon as it appeared there in the starry sky, it waved its finger toward the enemy cultivators.

That simple wave of a finger caused the starry sky to be swept away, layer after layer. The cultivator's faces were filled with shock and quickly fell back, even the Dao Realm experts.

Many people were aware that the Noble Ran of the Righteous Noble Sect had created the Seal the Heavens Incantation. When it was brought up in conversation, it was generally considered a big joke, and therefore, no one would ever have been able to guess that when the Daoist priest unleashed it on this day… it would explode out with a shocking, supreme power.

Blood sprayed out of the mouths of the ordinary cultivators, and the Dao Realm experts could not prevent the blood from oozing out of their mouths. The single wave of the giant's finger was apparently backed by the power of the Mountains and Seas, and it wasn't targeting the cultivators in order to harm them, it was actually… performing a sealing.

One swipe of a finger was sealing the Heavens!

If the Heavens could be sealed, there was no need to even mention the people under them!

That waving finger caused sealing marks to appear on all the cultivators. One by one, they coughed up blood, and were sent spinning through the starry sky, completely out of control.

"The Seal the Heavens Incantation…. This is impossible!"

"How could the Noble Ran's poppycock magical technique actually be… so powerful!" Everyone was astonished.

The Daoist priest was trembling, and he also coughed up a mouthful of blood, and instantly aged significantly. In order to avoid any further trouble for the Righteous Noble Sect, he ceased any further attacks. Then he turned and looked at the resplendent beam of light which was fading off into the distance.

It was almost as if he could see Naruto within the light, and could tell that he was just as shocked as all the other cultivators at what had happened.

"My little disciple," he said coolly, "this is your Master's Seal the Heavens Incantation!" Then he remained there, hovering in midair, surrounded by the other cultivators who had all just been scattered about.

A certain aura was emanating off of him in that moment, an aura that was difficult to describe. Suddenly, he no longer seemed muddle-headed and unreliable. He looked like a transcendent being, completely beyond ordinary.

Completely ignoring the other cultivators, he turned and headed back to Planet Luo River and the Righteous Noble Sect!

In another patch of the starry sky in the territory of the Heavengod Alliance, near the border, floated an asteroid . No records from any sect contained any information about a teleportation node on this particular asteroid, but all of a sudden, it began to glow brightly. Moments later, the asteroid exploded into pieces as a stone platform appeared from within.

The platform itself was covered with cracks and the markings of a teleportation spell formation. The spell formation was currently activated and running at full power and, from the looks of it, it wouldn't be too long until it broke down completely. Soon, more cracks appeared over its surface, and a flying shuttle flew out from inside of it.

As soon as it did, the stone platform lost its ability to hold itself together, and shattered. At the same time, the flying shuttle also transformed into ash.

Subsequently, Naruto appeared there in the starry sky.

Everything was quiet; not a single sound could be heard. Naruto turned and looked off into the distance, still thinking with amazement about what he had just seen.

"Seal… the Heavens… Incantation…." he murmured. How could he ever have imagined that the Daoist priest's comical magical technique would be so shockingly powerful?

For one person to seal hundreds of thousands of cultivators… well, that Daoist magic was definitely no ordinary Dao, it had ascended to the level of a strategic weapon. One could even imagine how, if there was some great war being fought, the Daoist priest could completely turn the tides by himself.

In all the years he had practiced cultivation, Naruto had never seen anything like it before, and it left his heart racing. After all, throughout the more than one month that he had been in the Righteous Noble Sect, he had practiced the technique hundreds of times at the bequest of the Daoist priest.

"There's always something new to learn…." he murmured. "The further you travel, the more you see and experience. It's only then that you realize that there are Heavens beyond what you imagined could exist, and likewise, people who exceed your imagination. Likewise, whatever Daoist magics you knew, there are always more powerful ones out there!" Staring off into the distance, he clasped hands and bowed deeply in his appreciation toward the Daoist priest.

Naruto was the type of person to remember every single individual who had helped him.

However, he also knew that now was not the time to wallow in emotions. After bowing, he quickly shot off into the distance.

"The border region of the Heavengod Alliance is dotted with artificial planets that are used as teleportation checkpoints. Other than those planets, there is nothing else but the vast border itself….

"The gateway planets will be heavily fortified, and I definitely won't be able to get past them…. Therefore, I'll just have to break through that endless border." Having made his decision, he took advantage of the fact that no one was around to shoot off into the distance.

Time passed. A day later, something like a white line appeared off in the distance. At first he couldn't quite tell what it was, but as he neared, the white line turned into a white wall. It was illusory, and spread out as far as the eye could see in either direction. Naruto looked it over, hesitating for a moment. Finally, a cold glint appeared in his eyes as he shot toward the wall.

He reached it in the blink of an eye, and then slammed into it with the full force of his Paragon Bridge. The wall shuddered, and cracking sounds could be heard as fissures spread out across the surface of the wall.

Just as he was on the verge of breaking through, his face fell and he suddenly stopped in place due to the intense sensation of deadly crisis that filled his mind. A beam of light suddenly appeared out in the void, spreading out as if to envelop Naruto and lock him in place.

"Nobody who goes berserk in the Heavengod Alliance can leave peacefully." The owner of the calm voice was an illusory face which had just appeared in the starry sky. It was none other than the old man who had originally determined Naruto 's location.

Naruto 's eyes gleamed icily, and he gave a cold harrumph as he once again battered the white wall, shattering it. He burst through, assuming he was now outside of the Heavengod Alliance, only to find that directly ahead of him was a second white line, which was… a second white wall!

Just looking at it, it was possible to tell that there was not just a second white wall, but beyond it, a third one and a fourth one…. They went on and on, packed together one after another. Unexpectedly, there were no less than 100,000 walls!

Naruto 's face instantly turned unsightly.

"The Heavengod Alliance is not a place where people can just come and go as they please. The Noble Ran might have helped you, but you still… have no way of escaping."

Even as the old man spoke, the light of numerous teleportations began to shine up in the area. A total of fifteen teleportation formations could now be seen, with the shadows of countless individuals forming inside of them.

Once they fully appeared, it seemed as if Naruto would have no other choice but to attempt to flee.

However, the old man had underestimated Naruto . In almost the same instant the teleportation light began to shine, Naruto suddenly looked over at the illusory face.

"So, it turns out you can't come here personally, nor can you actually kill me. All you can do is control the power of the Heavengod Alliance's border…." The old man's expression flickered as Naruto 's cultivation base suddenly exploded with the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, and his peak fleshly body. Rumbling sounds could be heard as, unexpectedly, he didn't flee, but instead shot toward the teleportation portals.

As soon as he closed in, he unleashed the God-Slaying Fist.

The fist landed on a teleportation portal that was just about to complete its teleportation. When Naruto struck it, it distorted, and then the cultivators inside shouted out in astonishment.

"Break," Naruto said coolly. Instantly, the teleportation collapsed, and the cultivators inside began to distort as the teleportation magic was destroyed. As for the cultivators inside, only the most powerful were free from danger, and yet, even they were now incapable of completing the teleportation.

"Child!" the face roared angrily, and yet it was powerless to do anything. Naruto pretended as if he hadn't heard anything at all. His body flickered as he unleashed another fist strike!

One punch!

One punch!

Rumbling could be heard as three teleportation portals were destroyed in quick succession. As for the other eleven, the people inside were materializing. Naruto laughed coldly, then raised both hands high into the air. As he lowered them, he cried, "Paragon Bridge!"

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The Paragon Bridge then exploded out from inside Naruto , bursting through the starry sky with crushing pressure. Instantly, four more teleportation portals were destroyed, and a moment later, five.

There were only two teleportation portals which actually managed to finish their teleportation. Before they could be destroyed, the people inside of them charged out.

There were a total of about a hundred cultivators, led by two people. One of them wore a long, blood-colored robe, and the other was the young man shadowed by the Heavengod image, who had his hands clasped behind his back. After looking around for a moment, their scalps went numb, and they actually wished that they hadn't successfully teleported here to begin with.

Of the fifteen teleportation portals they had begun with, only two had managed to teleport their passengers successfully. The two leaders' hearts began to pound. Looking over at Naruto , they began to back up.

They had come here to chase Naruto down and kill him, but now they were the ones who were running away!

Naruto looked over at the enraged illusory face and said, "Since you won't let me leave, then… I guess I'll just stick around and have my fill of slaughtering your people for a while!"

Laughing coldly, he shot toward the newly-arrived cultivators.

The hundred or so cultivators' scalps were all numb from the sight of Naruto charging them, his energy surging. The cultivators' minds reeled, and they fell into retreat. If they had a bit more of an advantage in terms of numbers, and if they had some Dao Realm support, then they would be able to surround Naruto and bombard him from all sides. But now, they were facing Naruto by themselves, and it instantly drained their courage.

After all, the person who had completely exterminated the Blacksoul

Society was the type of person who left them completely terror-struck.

"Think you can just leave?" Naruto asked, killing intent flickering in his eyes. He was already completely fed up with being chased, so he transformed into an azure-colored roc and shot toward the nearest cultivator. A talon that could shatter metal or rock slammed into the man's head, and a cracking sound rang out. Blood spurted out in all directions, but by then Naruto had already appeared in front of another cultivator, whereupon he flapped his wings and transformed into a beam of azure light.

Everywhere he went, blood-curdling screams rang out. The young man in the leadership position was terrified, and completely regretted coming to this place as his Heavengod image suddenly shattered. A popping sound could suddenly be heard from the other young leader, who instantly transformed into a red mist.

"So, it turns out it was you!" Naruto eyed the red mist. Completely ignoring the young man with the Heavengod image, he shot forward in pursuit of the red mist.

—–

Note from Deathblade: My apologies, but the next update won't be coming for another 24-36 hours. Details about why can be found here.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1230

Chapter 1230 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1230: Initial Contact with the Uzumaki Clan!

"It's not me!" cried an alarmed voice from within the red mist. This was indeed the same person who had appeared a month before. At that time, the Daoist priest had ended up taking Naruto away, and therefore, this young man had managed to avoid meeting a calamity.

Upon this second meeting, the red mist immediately attempted to flee at top speed. However, Naruto waved his finger, unleashing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. The mist immediately lurched to a stop, and Naruto advanced, waving his arm, which caused the entire patch of mist to be blasted away.

Revealed inside was a young man in a red robe. Face flickering, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then pointed at Naruto . Naruto 's blood immediately began to flow backward, and his cultivation base rotated in reverse. He stopped in place, his face bright red.

Killing intent flickered in the eyes of the young man who, instead of fleeing, turned and lifted both hands into the air. Even as he closed in on Naruto , an old man materialized from thin air nearby, his face grim and also filled with killing intent.

This man was obviously the younger man's Dao Protector.

Both attacked with thunderous speed, and yet, as they neared, Naruto merely smiled. That smile caused the old Dao Protector's heart to feel as if it had been struck by lightning.

Before he could even react, Naruto shot forward, unleashing one, two, three fists onto him!

A boom could be heard as the man's body exploded into fragments, and he was completely destroyed, without even being given a chance to scream!

It was an instant fatality!

The red-robed young man's eyes widened, and he instantly began to back up. But Naruto was already upon him, and began to unleash the same punch he had released onto the old man.

"You can't kill me! My father is the Blood Seal Sect's Sect–"

Before the young man could finish speak, Naruto 's fist landed. A boom rang out, and the young man's body trembled. Then he looked down at himself and saw a huge, gaping hole in his chest. The terrifying explosive power continued to flood out through his body, which then began to crack and fall apart. Moments later, he was completely dead, even his soul.

"Well why didn't you speak up earlier…?" Naruto said, frowning with the realization that he probably shouldn't have killed this person. If his father was somebody important, he surely could have ransomed him for a hefty price.

Unfortunately, the young man hadn't spoken up quickly enough.

"I originally only had one enemy, which was the Blacksoul Society. But with so many cultivators trying to chase me down and kill me, well… let's just see who's the last one standing!" He flicked the blood off of his hand, and turned, eyes flickering with killing intent as he vanished.

Two days later, the hunt for Naruto was still going on in the

Heavengod Alliance's territory. Suddenly, he ran into a squad of about a hundred cultivators. Unfortunately for them, they had no Dao Realm expert to lead them, and therefore, after about ten breaths of time passed, they were completely wiped out.

Another day passed. In another location, he ran into three hundred cultivators. They were similarly wiped out!

The Heavengod Alliance was furious, and countless cultivators were mobilized to try to chase down Naruto . However, any time they were able to pinpoint his location, he was simply too fast, and by the time a Dao Realm expert arrived on the scene, he would be long gone.

On the sixth day, a group comprised entirely of Heavengod Society disciples ran into him, and was completely wiped out.

That completely enraged the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance. However, on the seventh day, something happened which caused the number of cultivators who were pursuing Naruto to suddenly drop by a significant number. Even the highest ranking members of the Heavengod Alliance itself were shocked!

Naruto killed a Dao Realm cultivator!

That person might only have been a 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivator, but he was in that most mighty of Realms, the type of person who could be a true Patriarch. He suddenly appeared when Naruto was in the middle of wiping out a group of Heavengod Alliance cultivators. Naruto immediately stopped attacking his current target and shot toward the Dao Realm expert. They then engaged in a fierce battle in the starry sky. Although it first seemed as if it would be a protracted fight, Naruto killed him after only an hour!

That completely shook everyone who was chasing him, and brought them back to their senses after the intoxicating thought of the prize for catching him. In fact, many sects even issued orders to their disciples to stop going after Naruto and return to the sect.

That battle clearly revealed that Naruto 's cultivation base had been restored, and furthermore, showed that his extermination of the Blacksoul Society had not been a fluke. Nor had he used some special method to make it happen. It wasn't something that could only happen once… he truly possessed that level of power!

The slaughtering was instantly reduced. And yet, there were still people chasing him. The main difference was that Immortal Realm cultivators no longer joined in, and the weakest people were in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. The main strength came in the form of Dao Realm cultivators!

In the entire Heavengod Alliance, there were only a few dozen Dao Realm cultivators, about thirty percent of which were now participating in the search!

However, because of the deadly way Naruto was fighting back against his pursuers, the Heavengod Alliance was no longer chasing him merely because of what had happened with the Blacksoul Society. Apparently, an undispellable enmity now existed between them!

In this, Naruto could not be blamed; the responsibility fell squarely on the shoulders of the Heavengod Alliance.

Soon, the actual instances of death grew increasingly infrequent. It wasn't until three days later that several Dao Realm experts caught up with Naruto at the same time. After an intense battle was fought, Naruto was forced to flee.

Five days later, two more Dao Realm cultivators caught up with him. The battle was incredible, and both Dao Realm cultivators were heavily injured. However, so was Naruto , who was again forced to flee.

Currently, Naruto was staggering along somewhere near the border of the Heavengod Alliance. Blood oozed out of his mouth, and yet, his eyes shone with cold light. He looked like a lone wolf.

His injuries were serious, and his Eternal stratum was hard at work. It had been less than a month, and he had been in numerous intense fights, the most recent of which had all been fights with the Dao Realm.

1-Essence or 2-Essences were one thing, but if they teamed up, things got difficult. That was not even to mention what happened when a Dao Lord appeared. After all, Naruto wasn't even in the Dao Realm himself….

"There must be something on me that they can sense, but what?

They're constantly locking onto my position. Ever since I left Planet Luo River, they've been tracking me down so quickly!" Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent. Suddenly, he stopped in place and looked up ahead at something that had just appeared out in the inky blackness of the void. Brightly glowing rifts!

Rifts, in between which floated dust and rubble…

There weren't many of them, only a total of 33, and they formed together into a very peculiar shape that resembled the vicious face of a ghost, floating there in the starry sky. For some reason, Naruto got the feeling that the ghost face was looking at him.

He even caught wind of what sounded like endless screams echoing out from tombs. His face fell, and he began to back up. As he did, he couldn't help but notice that the area encompassed by the ghost face… was expanding.

It was now larger than when he had first seen it, by about thirty percent.

"An Arcane Pocket Realm?" he thought, studying the ghost face. For some reason, looking at the ghost face filled him with a sense of intangible danger. He quickly pulled out the map jade slip from the Righteous Noble Sect, and examined it carefully. Unfortunately, there was no information whatsoever about anything special in this area.

"Something's off…." he thought, frowning. After looking again at the rapidly expanding ghost face, and then back at the map jade slip, his brow furrowed deeper.

The map was very detailed, and was a rare item that only conclave disciples of the Righteous Noble Sect would have access to. There were even many asteroids marked on the map.

According to the map, Naruto 's current location should have had seven asteroids which formed together in a small bazaar.

Right now though, there were no seven asteroids to be seen, and the bazaar which had existed on them was also gone.

As Naruto studied the situation, his scalp began to grow numb.

"Did they get swallowed up…?" he thought, looking over at the 33 glowing rifts, and the dust and rubble floating there. He could well imagine that, previously, there really had been seven asteroids and the bazaar, and naturally some cultivators would have been present too.

However, these 33 glowing rifts had suddenly appeared and then swallowed up and destroyed everything in the area… this line of thinking caused Naruto 's face to fall. Furthermore, the sensation of danger he felt grew even stronger; there was even an aura of death that gradually became quite apparent.

"The Eighth Mountain and Sea is full of one grave after another. Could this also be some sort of gravesite?!"

Without any hesitation, he backed up. This place seemed far too dangerous, so he decided to simply turn and leave.

The following moment, though, before he had flown very far, he looked out into the starry sky and caught sight of a merchant ship heading in his direction.

Just when he caught sight of it, the ship suddenly stopped in place.

A complicated expression appeared on Naruto 's face as he noticed the magical symbols on the side of the ship, which formed together into the character Uzumaki 孟. "The Uzumaki Clan…."

This was his first time seeing anyone from the Uzumaki Clan in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. He had never imagined that it would be under these circumstances. Looking away, he made to leave again, when suddenly, a bright shield of light appeared around the ship, apparently a defensive spell formation. Simultaneously, several figures flew out from the ship to stare at Naruto .

One of them was a young man, handsome although somewhat pallid. He looked weak, as if from excessive drinking. He wore fine silks, and had a jade slip in his hand. As soon as he caught sight of Naruto , his face lit up, and he crushed the jade slip.

Naruto scanned the ship with divine sense and found that the highest cultivation bases among their number were two experts in the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

One of them stood next to the young Uzumaki Clan cultivator, and the other flanked another young man, who was extremely skinny but had a cold gleam in his eyes.

Naruto could kill all of these people very easily, even if they did have a defensive spell formation in place.

When he saw the young man crush the jade slip, Naruto sighed. Then he turned, transforming into a beam of bright light that began to shoot off into the distance.

But then, the young man cried out, " Naruto , don't even dream about leaving! Get out there and stop him, all of you! I already notified the Senior members of the Heavengod Alliance, and they'll be here any moment. Stall Naruto !"

In response to the young man's words, a dozen or so cultivators flew out from the ship. They all looked very nervous, and yet even more nervous than they, were the two cultivators in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. When they heard the young man's words, their faces fell.

"Shut your mouth!" one of the old men roared.

"Moron!" said the cold, skinny young man off to the side, his expression flickering with scorn.

Chapter 1230: Initial Contact with the Uzumaki Clan!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1231

Chapter 1231: Deadly Catastrophe!

Naruto frowned and looked over at the Uzumaki Clan cultivators who were charging toward him. All of them were in the Immortal Realm, and there was one who had clearly just achieved Immortal Ascension, a stage 1 Immortal.

They were trembling to a man, looking at Naruto in abject terror. In fact, once Naruto swept his gaze over them, none of them seemed willing to advance.

"What are you doing?" hollered the young man, furious. "Get out there!

Don't let him get away!" The old man standing off to the side saw Naruto looking his way. Trembling, he gritted his teeth and slapped his hand onto the back of the young man's head.

The young man instantly went limp and fainted. The old man quickly hurried forward, then clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto .

"Senior, our clan's Young Master doesn't understand how the world works. This was clearly just a case of mistaken identity. Senior, please forgive us. Well, we'll be on our way now…" Then he nervously called for all the clan members to return to the ship, after which it slowly began to back up.

Naruto could see the beads of sweat on the old man's face, and could tell how nervous he was. Clearly he now hated the young man even more than he had before.

The young man had instantly identified Naruto , and so had his Dao

Protector. However, as soon as the old man thought about how Naruto had exterminated the Heavengod Alliance's Blacksoul Society, and then killed so many of his pursuers, even Dao Realm experts, his heart trembled. "Brainless moron. I really don't understand why the clan cares about him so much. I can't believe he intentionally provoked that jinx!"

There was someone else on the ship who was looking at Naruto , his face pale. He seemed to be hesitating, as if something had just occurred to him that he wished to speak out loud, but didn't qualify to do so.

He was also a young man, wearing the clothes of a royal bodyguard. His face was crisscrossed with numerous scars that stretched down his neck and even further. Apparently, those scars ran across his entire body, and he looked to be in a weakened state.

Naruto looked over at the cultivators of the Uzumaki Clan. He would never have imagined that his initial encounter with them would have been like this. He glanced at the young unconscious youth and realized that he must be someone very special to the Uzumaki Clan. Otherwise, he wouldn't have the level of power he did.

However, the fact that he was such an idiot caused Naruto to feel a bit disappointed in the Uzumaki Clan. However, because it was his mother's clan, and his grandfather's, he had special feelings for them. Therefore, he didn't allow what had happened to leave him with a very bad impression.

He had planned all along to go visit the Uzumaki Clan while he was in the Eighth Mountain, to see what it was like and also to make contact with the members of his grandfather's bloodline.

As he watched the ship moving off into the distance, he sighed, then looked away and made to leave. But then his eyes flickered as he looked off in a different direction.

"Well since you're here, why not show yourself?" he said calmly. As soon as the words left his mouth, the void off in the distance distorted, and three people emerged.

The first was a ruddy-faced boy wearing a white robe. He held his hands clasped behind his back, and had a third eye on his forehead. His expression was icy, and the third eye blinked constantly, simultaneously radiating a mysterious light as he walked forward. Shocking ripples radiated out from him in all directions, causing the natural laws in the starry sky to be shoved away. Essence power built up, like a drawn arrow ready to be loosed.

"Dao Lord…." Naruto thought, pupils constricting.

The second person was an old woman, her face covered with bulging pustules. Every step she took caused her to tremble, as if she were so old she might die at any moment. However, she brimmed with vibrant life force that made her seem like an eternally inextinguishable flame.

When the old woman saw Naruto , piercing, screeching laughter erupted from her mouth, as if she were looking at a dead man.

The third person was none other than Patriarch Blacksoul. He looked different now; obviously he had possessed a new fleshly body. However, his soul aura, and his venomous hatred for Naruto , made him instantly identifiable.

"Listen up, child," the white-robed boy said. "I'm Xuan Daozi, from the One Profound Sect on Planet Profound Turtle!" The boy's voice was not loud, and yet it seemed to rumble out in all directions like thunder. 1

As soon as Naruto heard him mention the One Profound Sect, his eyes widened. Of the four planets in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto had heard of Planet Luo River, as well as… Planet Profound Turtle!

As for the One Profound Sect, they were the number one sect on Planet Profound Turtle. They occupied a very high position, and were ranked among the top five forces in the Heavengod Alliance!

Next to speak was the old woman, whose voice was hoarse as she smiled and said, "And I'm Hong Chen, from the Church of the Dragon God on Planet Eight Designs."

Her expression was completely vicious, and when she smiled, one of the pustules on her face popped. No liquid emerged; instead, a milky-white centipede crawled out from the broken flesh, its legs writhing in a shocking fashion.

When Naruto looked at this Hong Chen, his heart sank a bit. Planet

Eight Designs was also one of the four great planets in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. As for the Church of the Dragon God, it was even more powerful than the One Profound Sect, and was one of the unflappable top three sects in the Heavengod Alliance!

Clearly, these two sects had been recruited by Patriarch Blacksoul. If they succeeded in the venture, and thus obtained the services of Patriarch Blacksoul, then the sect's power would increase by an entire level. The One Profound Sect would then be able to compete directly with the Church of the Dragon God, and as for the Church of the Dragon God, they would then be just as glorious as the second-ranking force in the Alliance, the Godchild Society.

As soon as these three powerful experts appeared, the Uzumaki Clan ship suddenly stopped moving. By this point their young leader had regained consciousness, and had ordered the ship to be stopped. Now, he was staring at Naruto with glittering eyes, and his Dao Protector was doing nothing to hold him back.

People exist everywhere who hope to take advantage of a crisis for personal gain, and the Uzumaki Clan was no exception.

"I'm Naruto !" he said in introduction. Even if he had faced these three almighty Dao Lords of the senior generation back when he was uninjured, he still would have been killed. Therefore, there was no need to even mention what a fight now would be like, considering that he was seriously injured. In fact, even facing one of them would be quite difficult for him.

However, he still wasn't willing to lose his pride, and therefore, when Hong Chen and Xuan Daozi formally introduced themselves, naturally, he did the same. As for where he came from, it was sufficient that they were aware of the facts; there was no need for him to state it himself.

Patriarch Blacksoul glared at Naruto , eyes brimming with intense hatred. Naruto had destroyed his entire existence, and now he wished to do the same to Naruto .

" Naruto ," Patriarch Blacksoul said, his voice booming like thunder. "Echelon cultivator from the Ninth Mountain and Sea. What a high status…. But not here! Here, you're nothing!"

Something else happened that nobody noticed, not even Patriarch Blacksoul, or perhaps he didn't deign to care…. On the Uzumaki Clan's ship, the scar-faced young bodyguard trembled in response to the words. Then his eyes began to shine with a bright light as he looked out at Naruto .

However, the light in his eyes quickly faded, as if whatever matter had occurred to him moments before was really an impossibility. Nobody noticed this happen; all of the cultivators on the Uzumaki Clan ship were paying close attention to what was likely about to develop into a deadly Dao Realm battle!

Rumbling filled the air as Patriarch Blacksoul began to stride forward. He waved his right hand, causing countless souls to silently materialize. Essence power also rocked out, causing the starry sky to tremble as it all bore down on Naruto .

Anyone under the Dao Realm who faced a deadly attack like this would be destroyed in a single attack, regardless of the level of their cultivation base. But Naruto was an Allheaven Dao Immortal, and his fleshly body was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. Because of that, despite not being in the Dao Realm, he could definitely match up with Dao Realm cultivators!

Naruto 's face was calm, although he really had no other choice but to remain calm. Any sort of emotion was useless at this point. This fight was going to happen, therefore… how to fight, how to defend, how to counterattack, and all other aspects of the battle were decided by Naruto in an instant!

He suddenly flickered into motion, raising his right hand to summon numerous Immortal mountains, and even the Paragon Bridge, which descended toward Patriarch Blacksoul to block his path.

When their divine abilities met, a tremor ran through Naruto , and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. However, his eyes flickered as he suddenly borrowed to force of the blow to shoot backward, toward… the 33 glowing rifts that he had seen earlier.

After observing the area earlier, he knew that it contained vast dangers, and that they were places where there was virtually nothing but death. But he was in a similarly deadly situation right now. Furthermore, when two deadly situations like this slammed into each other, it was possible that… the explosive result would not necessarily be death… but an elusive… chance to live!

The people in the Uzumaki Clan could take advantage of a crisis for personal gain, so naturally… Naruto could too!

In the moment that Naruto fell back, Patriarch Blacksoul was rocked by the Paragon Bridge. However, even as the blood oozed out of his mouth, the white-robed Xuan Daozi suddenly laughed, blurring away and then rematerializing right next to Naruto .

"Get back here, child!" he said coolly, reaching out with his right hand to grab Naruto . Next, it was as if his hand transformed into a black hole, causing the starry sky to reverse its movement, and time to run backward.

Even the Uzumaki Clan's ship was affected, and began to emit creaking sounds as it began to tilt over on its side as it was sucked towards him.

Seeing that he was about to be grabbed, Naruto suddenly laughed coldly and began to walk. He was using… the time-walking technique taught to him by… the black-robed figure named Slaughter!

One step, two step, three steps. Naruto stepped through time, seemingly moving slowly, and yet, despite the fact that Xuan Daozi's palm was causing time to flow in reverse, Naruto was still able to walk forward!

This was using Time to fight Time!

A brief moment later, and Naruto was already off in the distance, leaving Xuan Daozi standing there gaping. In all his years of cultivation, this was the first time anyone had defeated his Essence magic in such a fashion. His eyes began to shine brightly with disbelief as he watched Naruto , and especially the way he was walking.

"What walking technique is that? It contains a Dao of Time that's even more profound… than my own!"

Xuan Daozi's name in Chinese shares the character "xuan" with the name of the sect. It can be translated a lot of ways, including "profound, black, mysterious" and can be combined with another character to become "Xuanwu Turtle." If you read Against the Gods, you've seen this character translated as "profound" on more than one occasion ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1232

Chapter 1232: Essence Stirs Only For the Daosource!

As soon as Xuan Daozi saw Naruto 's walking technique, his own Essence of time suddenly began to boil with thirst. It was a feeling that he had never, ever experienced before!

"This…." it took only a moment for the reaction of the Essence to grow stronger, and cause him to begin to tremble with excitement!

"My Essence is moving, thirsting… this… this… this matter is something which is mentioned in the histories!

"Heavens! I… I can't believe I've encountered something that exists only in legends. Where did this Naruto 's walking technique come from? It can actually stir my Essence up, and cause it to exhibit a powerful thirst!

"My Essence wishes to absorb the Dao of Time in that walking technique!

"If I can gain enlightenment of it, then my own Essence of time could potentially… progress another step and form a sliver of the Daosource! According to the legends, Essence stirs only for the Daosource!

"The Daosource… is something so mysterious that only almighty Dao Sovereigns can possibly grope for understanding of it…. Only the legendary Paragons could actually aspire to such supreme heights!" Xuan Daozi's eyes were wide, and his heart was pounding in excitement.

To Dao Realm experts, Essence was only the beginning! It was the destination of their journey, and yet, it was another starting point!

That starting point was actually where the vast majority of Dao Realm cultivators would be stuck for the rest of their lives. They searched for more enlightenment in order to possess more Essences, and thus reach the absolute pinnacle!

The first pinnacle was a 3-Essences Dao Lord, above which was the Dao Sovereign. And anyone who possessed seven Essences could rightly be termed a Paragon!

In truth, though, there was even something that not all Dao Realm cultivators understood. Only certain Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns had heard that… becoming a Paragon was not the absolute peak of cultivation. For example, Paragon Nine Seals had nine great Essences, and yet, as strong as he was, he eventually died.

Beyond the 9-Essences Paragon, there was the Daosource Realm!

Actually… no one even knew whether the Daosource Realm was real or not. After all, from ancient times until now, be it in the times of the Paragon Immortal Realm or the current Mountain and Sea Realm, the entire Immortal World… had never produced a single Daosource Realm cultivator!

There were only stories and legends which said that the key to the

Daosource Realm was that… Essence stirs merely for the Daosource!

"The Daosource! This is definitely the legendary Daosource! This is the first time since stepping into the Dao Realm that one of my Essences has moved!" Xuan Daozi looked at Naruto for a moment and then suddenly shot after him. His action was not taken on behalf of his sect, which had been recruited by Patriarch Blacksoul. Rather… he was doing this for himself!

When he thought about the fact that not even the legendary Paragons could touch the Daosource, Xuan Daozi went wild with joy.

However, there was someone else who reacted even faster. In almost the exact same moment that Naruto used the special time-traveling walking technique, Hong Chen laughed, a hoarse, grating laugh. Suddenly, she waved her finger, causing seven of the pustules on her face to pop. Seven milky-white centipedes then shot toward Naruto .

"Dragon God, your presence is requested!" Hong Chen's eyes glittered coldly, and as soon as the words left her mouth, the seven centipedes swirled around each other, as if they were forming some bizarre spell formation. A shocking aura began to radiate off of them, and at the same time, an enormous illusory figure appeared, surrounding the centipedes.

That figure was not a dragon but, rather, a huge centipede that was fully 3,000 meters long. As soon as it appeared, the starry sky shattered. The Dragon God roared and then lunged toward Naruto .

Naruto 's heart was pounding. The Dragon God was bearing down on him, and Xuan Daozi was closing in rapidly. At this critical moment, Naruto was incapable of dodging. His hands flashed in a doublehanded incantation gesture, causing the Paragon Bridge to appear. As he proceeded along using his time-walking technique, Immortal mountains descended, around which swirled a sun and a moon. The full power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal also exploded out.

The meat jelly appeared, forming a suit of armor. The copper mirror materialized into the Battle Weapon. The mastiff transformed into a cape. The fourth Nirvana Fruit appeared, which Naruto pushed into his forehead.

It all happened in the blink of an eye, causing Naruto 's energy to spike dramatically. He waved his hand viciously, causing the starry sky to tremble. Even the Uzumaki Clan's ship began to vibrate, and its protective shield shattered. Numerous disciples of the Uzumaki Clan coughed up blood.

The Dragon God let out a miserable howl as it collapsed into pieces. Xuan Daozi stopped his frenzied pursuit and waved his sleeve, causing his cultivation base to erupt with a powerful attack. Patriarch Blacksoul also roared as he went on the offensive.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as the Paragon Bridge was sent spinning away. The mountains collapsed and the sun and moon shattered. The meat jelly armor fell to pieces, the Battle weapon faded away, and the cape reverted back into the mastiff, which spewed out blood.

Naruto 's fourth Nirvana Fruit was forced out of him, and Naruto was rapidly enveloped by a mist of his own blood. He appeared to have been seriously injured, and as he continued to flee, it was even possible to see shattered bones in the mangled mass of flesh that was his chest.

"DIE!" cried Hong Chen, killing intent flickering in her eyes as she advanced directly toward Naruto . Patriarch Blacksoul unleashed his most powerful Essence magic as he attacked Naruto gleefully.

Xuan Daozi's face suddenly flickered.

"Don't kill him!" he barked, stepping forward to intervene. Rumbling filled the air as he blocked the attacks of both Hong Chen and Patriarch Blacksoul, who then glared at him angrily.

"Xuan Daozi, what are you doing?"

"Fellow Daoist Xuan Daozi, you're blocking me? What is the meaning of this!?" Hong Chen and Patriarch Blacksoul both stared at Xuan Daozi, eyes aflame with rage.

"I need him!" Xuan Daozi explained immediately. "Keep him alive, and after I'm done with him, then you can kill him. I'll even owe the both of you a big favor!" His words immediately caused the faces of Patriarch Blacksoul and Hong Chen to soften.

Naruto took advantage of their brief moment of interaction to fall back even further. His face was pale, and his cultivation base had plummeted. In fact, the extent of the injuries were far greater than the ones he sustained when he had attacked the Blacksoul Society.

He was only a single person facing three Dao Lords, and he wasn't even truly in the Dao Realm himself. He wasn't their match to begin with, and now he didn't even have time to flee into the 33 glowing rifts.

Off in the distance, everyone on the Uzumaki Clan ship had been injured. As for the Young Lord, he wiped the blood off of his mouth, and his eyes flickered with greed.

"I want his place in the Echelon!" the young man roared. "Go! All of you get out there and kill him!" Although none of the other Uzumaki Clan disciples actually did anything… strange gleams could be seen in their eyes as they stared at Naruto , as if they were a pack of wolves staring at an injured tiger.

It was only the scar-faced young man who was apparently unable to conceal the concern he felt, and looked somewhat anxious.

Currently, Naruto was in full retreat. Xuan Daozi and the other two Dao Realm Experts had come to an agreement, and looked over at him, killing intent swirling. They closed in, completely ignoring how distasteful it was for the powerful to bully the weak, or for people to gang up on others.

Naruto chuckled bitterly. He had no Daoist magics which could block their attacks. He even tried to use the Paragon's blood inside of him to summon the light of the Mountain and Sea Realm's sun and moon, to no avail.

"I guess I was a bit too reckless after all…." he murmured. "However, I don't regret anything. Although, it's a real pity that I won't be able to get Qing'er back, or save Sakura …." Naruto sighed as the three Dao Realm experts bore down on him. However, it was at this point that a tremor ran through him, and his eyes suddenly began to shine with a bright light.

"Wait, I actually do have one more Daoist magic!" He suddenly looked up and gritted his teeth. Then, he bent his legs into a circle and lifted his right arm in front of his face.

"The Dao is in My Heart!" he roared. Instantly, the starry sky went completely silent, as if all noise had been consumed. In fact, any noise that was emitted was completely wiped away!

Within that stifling silence, an incredible pressure suddenly weighed down. Xuan Daozi's face fell, Hong Chen's eyes went wide, and Patriarch Blacksoul gaped in shock. All three of them were Dao Lords, and were keenly in tune with Heaven, Earth, and the starry sky. All of a sudden, they could sense a will descending, something that caused their hearts to tremble with intense fear.

Naruto was also shaking. As he roared the words, his divine sense spread out. Although he had practiced this magical technique with the Daoist priest over and over again, nothing like this had ever happened. Suddenly, hope flared up within him, burning strong and bright.

Deep in his heart, obsession and faith melded together. As of this moment, he firmly believed that the Seal the Heavens Incantation would definitely catalyze the Mountain and Sea Realm into motion!

He couldn't sense the pressure in the area, as he was completely immersed in a bizarre state. It was as if… he had become the world. As if… he was the Eighth Mountain and Sea. As if… he was the will of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

When it came to the words 'The Dao is in My Heart,' Naruto viewed that Dao to be the entire Mountain and Sea Realm! The Mountain and Sea Realm was in his heart!

"The Will is in My Eyes!" His left arm rose up to a horizontal position, and together with his right arm, it formed the character 十, covering his eyes and making it impossible for him to see the world in front of him.

However, what it could not cover over… was his heart and his will!

The truth is that on many occasions, it is only when you close your eyes, when you completely cover your field of vision, when you can see absolutely nothing… that you can truly feel the world!

That was exactly what Naruto was experiencing right now. He could feel the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas within the starry sky, and he could also sense the sun and the moon.

He began to tremble as his perception completely filled the entire Mountain and Sea Realm without hindrance of any kind. His will was now the will of the Mountains and Seas, and his mind became the mind of the Mountains and Seas!

Even the Daoist priest could never have predicted that Naruto would be able to so easily unleash the Seal the Heavens Incantation. In fact, it was so easy… that it was almost as if it were a Heavenly magic that had been prepared specifically for him!

Believe yourself to be the Lord of the Mountains and Seas, and seal the 33 Heavens!

However, if you actually were the Lord of the Mountains and Seas, then the magic… would be unimaginably powerful!

Naruto was shaking as he shifted his legs to form the shape of a mountain. Then he stretched his hands wide, as if to embrace the entire world.

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas! Seal… the Heavens…

Incantation!" he roared. 1

In that instant, the starry sky trembled, and the world shook. The Mountain and Sea Realm's Nine Seas roared, and the Nine Mountains shook violently. The sun and moon vibrated. Everything was shining dazzlingly!

The Mountains and Seas were completely rocked!

It was only in this place, and only Naruto who could… begin the initial sealing of the Heavens!

As I mentioned before, the previous use of the word "exhaust" was incorrect. The Chinese characters involved are confusing because they can be interpreted in several different ways. In the end, the structure of this part is based on an old Chinese poem, which makes the correct interpretation clear when you understand that poem. I'll go back to change the previous instances later ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1233

Chapter 1233 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1233: Initial Opening of the 33 Hells!

As Naruto widened his arms, the starry sky in front of him distorted, and a gigantic, blurry figure suddenly appeared, which instantly charged forward.

Massive, shocking ripples emanated out that could shake Heaven and Earth!

Patriarch Blacksoul charged toward it, letting out a powerful shout and raising his arms up, unleashing the full power of his Essences. A huge boom could be heard as his body was shredded to pieces, causing Patriarch Blacksoul to once again let out a roar.

The chunks of blood and flesh which appeared quickly turned black, and in the blink of an eye, had formed into countless souls which carried Patriarch Blacksoul away at top speed. However, the giant was still on the offensive.

Miserable shrieks could be heard coming from Patriarch Blacksoul's souls. In the blink of an eye, the souls collapsed, and Patriarch Blacksoul was killed in body and spirit!

The grand and magnificent Patriarch Blacksoul first had his sect destroyed, and then was himself cut down!

None of the souls escaped, all were completely exterminated by the Seal the Heavens Incantation.

As the destruction was carried out, and Patriarch Blacksoul was wiped from existence, the last thing that echoed in his mind was a voice that only he and Naruto could hear.

"The Mountains and Seas loathe you. Punishment: execution!" However, the Seal the Heavens Incantation wasn't finished!

The giant next charged toward Hong Chen, emanating massive pressure, sending out shocking and terrifying ripples, carrying with it the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Hong Chen's face was deathly pale. She had just personally witnessed Patriarch Blacksoul's death, and considering the level of her cultivation base, she had never imagined that Naruto , being seriously injured, would unexpectedly unleash a magical technique like this.

In fact, it seemed impossible to her that a cultivator could even utilize such magic. When she looked at the enormous giant, she could sense… the will of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Impossible!" she screamed, backing up as fast as possible. "This is impossible!" However, she realized she simply had no way to escape. Roaring, she performed an incantation gesture, causing her cultivation base to surge. Essence power rumbled, and all of the pustules on her face burst, causing countless milky white centipedes to shoot out toward the giant. They screeched as they formed together into a Dragon God that was over a hundred thousand meters long. Surging with energy, it shot toward the incoming giant, and when they slammed into each other, the Dragon God screamed. In the blink of an eye, it vanished, having been completely pulverized by the giant.

Hong Chen trembled, looking on in despair as her Dragon God was completely shattered. All of her milky white centipedes were killed, transformed into nothing but ash. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, her body was lacerated into shreds, and her clothes were ripped apart. When her wrinkled skin was revealed, it was suddenly possible to see a totem tattoo!

It was none other than a Dragon God totem!

It began to shine with a brilliant light, and a Dragon God… once again appeared! This time, it was just as large as the previous one, but much less illusory! Instantly, it bared its claws and fangs then shot toward the giant.

However, even as it roared, it was completely engulfed by the giant's attack, and was killed. That in turn caused Hong Chen's totem tattoo to be wiped away. Instantly, her aura weakened, and her cultivation base dropped down from the level of a Dao Lord!

Simultaneously, a voice suddenly echoed out in both her mind and Naruto 's.

"You have cultivated the magic of the Outsiders. Since you were born in the Mountains and Seas, your life will not be taken, only the bloodline of the Outsiders which you possess will be destroyed!"

Blood sprayed out of Hong Chen's mouth, and her face turned ashen. The giant then ignored her, spinning to charge Xuan Daozi.

Xuan Daozi's eyes widened, and he backed up as fast as possible.

However, try as he might, he was unable to escape the giant's charge. Just as the giant was about to reach out and crush him, he lifted his right hand, within which appeared a command medallion!

It was ancient, primeval, as if it had existed for countless years. It was engraved on the front with nine mountains and nine seas. On the back, were ancient magical symbols which read…

Nine Seals!

As soon as the command medallion appeared, Xuan Daozi screamed,

"My ancestor once performed meritorious service, and was given this death-exemption medallion by Paragon Nine Seals himself! You can't hurt me!"

After a pause, a voice echoed out into the minds of Naruto and Xia

Daozi. "Authorized!"

Xuan Daozi was trembling, and fear lingered in his heart as the command medallion transformed into ash. The giant's attack still blasted out, but didn't harm him at all.

When the command medallion turned into ash, Xuan Daozi's heart twinged with pain. Next, the giant swiveled and charged toward the Uzumaki Clan's merchant ship, from within which could be heard screams of terror.

As soon as the giant turned on the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto suddenly got extremely anxious. Although he could unleash the Seal the Heavens Incantation… he actually couldn't control it. If he could, then he would definitely have wiped out Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen.

The truth was, this magic… had a will of its own. Once that will awoke, it wished to cleanse and purify all living things within the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Rumbling could be heard as the first attack hit the merchant ship. Although it didn't harm the ship, the cultivators aboard let out miserable shrieks, evidently receiving some sort of punishment.

Although these members of the Uzumaki Clan had eyed Naruto greedily earlier, they were still members of the Uzumaki Clan. Naruto had no wish to see them destroyed. Besides, showing a bit of greed was no justification for the death penalty. Even more importantly, they weren't even aware of his own connection to the Uzumaki Clan.

His eyes widened as the giant's attack once again threatened to overwhelm the ship, and suddenly, he forcibly reigned the Daoist magic in. He dropped his arms, causing his body to shudder, and a mouthful of blood to spray out.

His body weakened further, but he still forced the magic back in check. The Seal the Heavens Incantation seemed to be sucking away, not at his body, but at his soul.

As he pulled the magic back in, the giant turned and looked in his direction. In that moment, rumbling filled his mind, and it felt as if the giant… bore his own countenance.

He didn't take the time to analyze the matter; as soon as the giant vanished, he unhesitatingly shot backward. Wounding himself even more in the process, he employed his top speed to shoot toward the region with the 33 glowing rifts.

He was still going to enter that land of potential death. That was because… the instant the giant vanished, Hong Chen and Xuan Daozi began to chase him once more, venomous expressions on their faces.

Xuan Daozi was a bit faster than Hong Chen. In the blink of an eye, he was bearing down on Naruto . Naruto quickly transformed into an azure roc, which increased the distance between them with a rumbling burst of speed.

Xuan Daozi snorted coldly, and was about to speed up himself, when suddenly, he stopped in his tracks. The shock and terror on his face right now was no less than when he had faced the Seal the Heavens Incantation.

It wasn't just him. Hong Chen also stopped in her tracks, face flickering as she stared off into the distance and cried, "That's… the 33 Hells!"

The area encompassed by the 33 glowing rifts was even larger than before, and had almost reached the area they were in. Naruto in azure roc-form didn't pause for a moment as he shot into that very area.

"33 Hells… so the 33 Hells are opening again. This is just the initial opening. According to the records of the past, the 33 Hells can appear anywhere in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Once they do, there is an unknown, varying period of time before they become fully opened!

"It is not until they are fully opened, that they are at their most dangerous, and even Dao Sovereigns can be killed inside. Even now, during the initial opening, the place is still very dangerous….

"Dammit, the 33 Hells. They go tens of thousands of years without opening once. How could there be such a coincidence that they're opening here and now!?" Xuan Daozi stared at Naruto . Were it not for the fact that his Essence had been so intensely moved, Xuan Daozi wouldn't have hesitated to turn around and leave. After Patriarch Blacksoul perished, he could not become the slave of any sect or individual therefore trying to kill Naruto held little meaning.

However, the possibility of getting that sliver of Dao Essence had wrapped around Xuan Daozi's heart. After a moment, he clenched his jaw and then headed directly toward the 33 Hells.

"Time to gamble!

"If I succeed, I might be able to get a bit of Daosource. Even the tiniest bit would still be worth it!

"If I fail… considering the level of my cultivation base, and that this is only the initial opening of the 33 Hells, I won't necessarily perish!" Having made up his mind, he shot forward at top speed.

Hong Chen's face flickered, and uncertainty could be seen in her eyes.

The legends about the 33 Hells had always been talked about in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Supposedly, there were 33 Heavens sealing the Mountain and Sea Realm from above. However, there were also 33 Hells, although, they were not seals, but graves!

Back during the great war between the Paragon Immortal Realm and the other two terrifying forces, there were certain Outsiders who could not be completely exterminated. In fact, among those, there were some who were so strong that their bodies could not be destroyed even after

dying.

Despite having been killed, they weren't really dead. Since their souls could not be destroyed, they were instead suppressed, and that was the origin of the 33 Hells.

According to the legends, the 33 Hells were jointly created by the three Paragons of past times. Paragon Nine Seals took the lead in suppressing those Outsiders who could be killed in body but not soul!

The 33 Hells were essentially a terrifying cage!

Those 33 glowing rifts represented 33 graveyards. And they, in turn, represented… the 33 terrifying Outsiders of yesteryear who had been suppressed!

The reason the 33 Hells opened up every so often was not to give people a chance to enter and explore them but rather that the sealing power inside would grow weak. Every so often, the 33 Hells needed time to replenish their power before sinking once again into concealment.

However, in the process of being opened, it was possible for people to enter them, and even seek good fortune inside. Such good fortune might be great or small, and truth be told, few people knew as much about the good fortune of the 33 Hells as Hong Chen!

That was because the Church of the Dragon God had once been a small sect. Back then, it hadn't even been called the Church of the Dragon God. However, because one of the Patriarchs of that sect had happened to enter the 19th Hell and encounter a Dragon God, he was able to accept a legacy… that led to the formation of the Church of the Dragon God!

"The 33 Hells are opening…." she thought, gritting her teeth. "Another storm of carnage is coming to the Eighth Mountain and Sea…." Her cultivation base had dropped, and she was now no longer a Dao Lord. In fact, she had also lost the power of the Dragon God. She had truly been weakened significantly. However, considering that Xuan Daozi had charged on ahead, her eyes flickered and she also headed in the direction of the 33 Hells.

She was not going for Naruto , though, but rather, the potential good fortune inside!

Right after Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen flew toward the area of the 33 Hells, the Uzumaki Clan's ship began to move. The Young Lord on board was very excited.

"Follow them, all of you! Go! I'll wait for you here to bring back some good fortune from the 33 Hells. I don't care what good fortune it is, just bring it back here and you'll get a huge reward! Huge!

"Dammit, get out there, all of you! If anyone refuses to go, then when we get back to the clan, I'll report you to the Clan Priest! 11th Uncle, you stay out here to protect me, but everyone else, you get in there!" The young man's direct order caused the dozens of Uzumaki Clan cultivators to tremble as they flew in the direction of the 33 Hells.

One of those cultivators was… the scar-faced youth Uzumaki Chen! 1 Chapter 1233: Initial Opening of the 33 Hells!

Uzumaki Chen was introduced in chapter 1221 and was mentioned a few times since then, although not in name. He seems to have some clue about who Naruto is ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1234

Chapter 1234: Greed Eyes a Body!

Naruto moved with incredible speed, bursting into the region of the 33 Hells, with Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen hot in pursuit. Soon, all three were speeding through the area near the rifts, which was permeated with an aura of death.

Naruto 's eyes flickered coldly. He had chosen to enter this deathly region, and as such, was prepared for the deadly nature of the area. After looking around, he couldn't be sure, but it seemed that only four or five of the 33 glowing rifts could be entered. Apparently the others were as yet unopened.

However, his eyes didn't betray the slightest sign of hesitation as he shot directly toward the nearest completely opened rift.

It almost looked like a gaping mouth that sucked in life and breathed out death. As soon as Naruto neared it, he vanished.

Behind him, Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen gritted their teeth hard and then followed him in.

Further on back were the various trembling members of the Uzumaki Clan. They only had Immortal Realm cultivation bases, so any Young Lord who had a brain would never ask them to participate in a struggle between Dao Realm experts.

However, this young master of the Uzumaki Clan, who was referred to as a Young Lord, had given clear orders. Anyone who refused to comply would be severely punished once they returned to the clan.

Therefore, they could only grit their teeth and risk life and limb. There was no backing out, and therefore, it was with grieving, bloodshot eyes that they flew into the shining rift, one after another.

Not long after everyone followed Naruto into the 33 Hells, a collection of white bones suddenly rumbled in the same direction from off in the starry sky. They moved with incredible speed, and eventually came to a stop not far from the Uzumaki Clan ship, revealing the figures that had been barely visible inside before. All of them had completely expressionless faces, and radiated powerful murderous auras.

When the Young Lord on the Uzumaki Clan's ship saw the bones, his face flickered. "Han… Han Qinglei!"

The old man standing off to the side stepped forward protectively, and the ship's shield was activated. Both of them looked nervously at the bones and the black-robed young man who sat in their midst, chin resting on his hand.

This was none other than the Echelon cultivator from the Eighth Mountain, Han Qinglei!

" Uzumaki Clan…." he said, eyes flickering with killing intent as he glanced first at the Uzumaki Clan's ship and then the 33 Hells.

"Where is Naruto ?" he asked coolly, his voice echoing out in all directions.

The Uzumaki Clan's Young Lord began to tremble. He could act fiercely toward his own clan members, and behave arrogantly in front of Uzumaki

Hao, but that was only because he didn't know the difference between Heaven and Earth. When it came to Han Qinglei, though, he was instantly filled with dread.

The person to respond to Han Qinglei was the Young Lord's Dao Protector. " Naruto went into that area over there," he said. He was a cautious man who was well aware that Han Qinglei could not be underestimated. He was also aware of the deadly enmity which existed between Han Qinglei and the Uzumaki Clan.

"The initial opening of the 33 Hells…." Han Qinglei frowned as he examined the 33 glowing rifts closely. Finally, an expression of determination appeared in his eyes. Uncharacteristically ignoring the Uzumaki Clan's ship, he sent the bones flying toward the 33 Hells.

All of his followers once again turned blurry as they clustered around him to follow.

Time passed. Several hours later, more beams of light could be seen flying through the starry sky in the area, which were cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance. They had come in pursuit of Naruto , but once they realized that the 33 Hells had appeared, cries of shock could be heard, and jade slips were pulled out to inform their sects.

It didn't take long for the shocking news to spread throughout the Heavengod Alliance, and soon countless cultivators were flocking to the area. One powerful expert after another arrived. After all, the 33 Hells… were the most mysterious and enigmatic place in the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea!

In fact, they might even be the most mysterious and enigmatic place in the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole!

The opening of the 33 Hells was something that would shake the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea!

Soon, more and more cultivators had gathered in the area. However, few people actually dared to enter. Apparently, Naruto wasn't even that important anymore; what was more important was the good fortune to be had in the 33 Hells.

As soon as Naruto entered the world of that glowing rift which was

the 33 Hells, he was cut off from the outside world. He was in another world, a world where everything was gray and filled with a boundless aura of death. Rubble could be seen everywhere, as well as numerous decaying shades who shuffled about blankly, occasionally letting out howls and roars.

The powerful aura of death was concentrated enough to extinguish one's life force. As soon as Naruto entered this world, he could sense it, and his skin began to gradually wither. His life force slowly began to decay, and apparently not even his Eternal stratum was useful. His injuries worsened.

Off in the distance, an enormous stone stele could be seen rising up into the air. Despite how far away it was, Naruto could still see the faint characters written on its surface.

"Sealing Paramita…. Exalted Celestial Sea-Dao rests here, where his soul shall be suppressed for all time!"

The characters were filled with a powerfully domineering air, and the stone stele itself seemed to form the center of this entire world. It was almost as if it was the only seal holding this world in place. Underneath all of those characters, a name could be seen.

"Nine Seals!"

When Naruto saw that, his mind began to tremble, and the drop of Paragon's blood inside of him began to boil. It transformed into Chakra and blood that filled Naruto , causing his heart to begin to beat in resonance with the world itself.

 _Ba-dump, ba-dump!_

As his heart pounded, the lands around him shook, and at the same time, the shades shuffling around suddenly stopped in place and looked up at him.

It was in that exact moment that rumbling could be heard coming from behind him as Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen arrived.

" Naruto , it doesn't matter that you've fled to this place, you're dead!" Xuan Daozi shrieked, flying directly toward Naruto .

Killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes; ignoring how it increased his injuries, he gritted his teeth and transformed into an azure roc, shooting toward the stone stele and causing rumbling sounds to fill the lands.

He could just barely tell that something was beckoning to him from there.

Naruto flew at top speed, and as he got closer to the stone stele, the Paragon's blood inside of him seethed even more. That in turn caused his wounds to begin to heal, much to Naruto 's delight.

Simultaneously, the shuffling shades down below suddenly began to shriek, and fly into the air toward both Naruto and Xuan Daozi, as if to prevent them from getting close to the stone stele.

That was the moment in which the clan members from the Uzumaki Clan began to appear, one after another, their faces pale with astonishment as they looked around.

Massive rumbling could be heard as the rotting shades shot through the air. Some were cultivators and others were beasts, but all of them were adorned in a fashion that was clearly not from modern times. Obviously, they had been involved in the same ancient battle, and had been buried alive in this place along with the one who was being suppressed here.

Even as they neared Naruto , his eyes flashed as he fortuitously recalled something which had happened in the past. It was in the Ruins of Immortality in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, when he had encountered… the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer.

That was when he had learned the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex, the LifeDeath Hex!

He clearly remembered how the Sixth Generation Demon Sealer had encountered entities similar to these, and had used the Life-Death Hex to control them.

There were many similarities between what happened back then and what was happening right now. The main difference was that this was the 33 Hells, and that had been in the Ruins of Immortality.

Without any hesitation, Naruto waved his hand toward the incoming shades, eyes glittering as he unleashed the Sixth Hex.

Dozens of magical symbols appeared in the palm of his hand, which radiated scintillating light. Suddenly, identical magical symbols appeared on the foreheads of all the entities charging Naruto . The entities then trembled as the magical symbols flickered in sync with Naruto 's, then flew off of their foreheads toward him, where they converged on the palm of his hand. He then closed his hand into a fist, and suddenly… could sense the dozens of shades inside of his mind.

And he could control them!

The Life-Death Hex had never been so easy to use, but Naruto didn't have time to think about it. He immediately sent out orders, causing the dozens of shades to howl and then pass by Naruto to charge toward Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen.

Xuan Daozi was completely shocked. He had no idea what kind of magical technique Naruto had just used, but he could see that the strange shades were completely ignoring him. Xuan Daozi's heart began to thump.

Hong Chen had a similar reaction.

Naruto didn't even look back at what was happening. He continued onward, putting more distance between him and them. However, he wasn't done with his counterattack. As soon as he started moving, he would unleash the Life-Death Hexing seal on any entity he saw, and send them all back to attack Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen.

Soon, he was in the region of the stone stele, and had sent over a hundred entities back to engage in fierce fighting with Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen.

The entities had no regard for their own lives or deaths. They only followed instructions. Auras of death swirled around them as they fought with incredible fierceness. Even as the booms rang out, Naruto arrived at the base of the stone stele.

When he looked up, he realized that the stone stele looked almost like an enormous staff, plunged deep into the earth. It was impossible to say how deep down it went. In either case, instead of saying that it was a stone stele, it would be better to say… that it was an enormous gravestone!

"If it's a gravestone," Naruto murmured, "then this place really is an enormous grave!" Because of the call of the gravestone, and the boiling Paragon's blood, his cultivation base was being restored even faster.

A bright glow appeared in his eyes. His injuries had been severe, so if he could recover here, he didn't care if it was because of the gravestone or even because of some ancient corpse. He quickly shot up into the air to appear moments later at the top of the gravestone, where he sat down cross-legged.

As he sat down, the entire gravestone began to rumble, and the Paragon's blood inside of him boiled with more intensity. Furthermore, his cultivation base was being fully restored at a terrifyingly fast speed!

As he healed, he looked out coldly at all of the dozens of shades surrounding Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen, and his eyes gleamed with killing intent.

Simultaneously, as he sat there cross-legged, in the soil at the base of the gravestone, suddenly… two greedy eyes appeared, which stared up at Naruto .

"It's been a long, long time… since I've seen any living being in my world. Even when people came in from the outside and stood directly in front of me, I could never see them. But him… I can actually see him! A fresh, living body…. I, Greed, must have it!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1235

Chapter 1235: Counter-Attack!

Naruto suddenly looked at the air behind him, frowned, and then looked down at the ground. He didn't know it, but those eyes beneath the surface were actually staring directly into his, although Naruto sensed nothing out of the ordinary.

However, he couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him.

He continued to ponder the strangeness of this place as he then looked back at Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen, surrounded by wave after wave of enemies. Then he continued cultivating to recover from his wounds.

Behind him in the ground, the eyes narrowed.

"How shockingly perceptive…. A body like this is perfectly suited for me. If I can possess it, then… I can finally get out of this damned place!"

Time passed. Naruto 's injuries continued to heal, and he was actually already half recovered. Booms rang out from the direction of Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen as more and more shades besieged them. Unexpectedly, some of those shades even emanated the ripples of the Dao Realm, indicated that they had been Dao Realm experts when they were alive.

Their Essence power had gradually faded, but their instincts remained, and due to the constant onslaught of that aura of death, they were actually even more fear-inspiring than before. Even Xuan Daozi was alarmed.

As for Hong Chen, she was trembling in fear as she joined forces with him, unleashing all sorts of divine abilities that filled the air with the sounds of explosions.

It was around this time that a gray mist suddenly began to rise up from the ground, obscuring everything. The sudden appearance of that mist caused Naruto 's hair to stand on end. Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped forward and left the place where he had been sitting.

Looking back, he waved his sleeve, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to slam into the spot where he had just been sitting. However, nothing happened in response.

His eyes began to shine, and inwardly he was more vigilant than ever. Moments ago, he had clearly sensed an indescribable coldness rushing towards him.

Had he not moved away, it was likely that the coldness would have frozen him solid. However, whatever it was that had caused the coldness couldn't be detected. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all.

Naruto backed up slowly, then vanished into the mist.

Unbeknownst to Naruto , there really was a blurry shade laying in the spot where he had just been sitting. The shade seemed to be made completely of mist, but his eyes were clear and bright. They were crimson, and they were staring at Naruto .

"So, he can actually sense me getting near him…." the shade murmured. "It seems his divine sense must be particularly strong. Well, that's fine. The stronger it is, the stronger I'll be after I possess him. I've been suppressed in here for far, far too long. Dammit. I must get out of here. I'll kill my way out if I have to!" The shade distorted, then flashed into the mists and vanished.

Naruto moved along at top speed. The intense sense of crisis he felt in this world caused him to be more vigilant than ever. As he moved along, he looked around at the mists, eyes flickering.

"This place is dangerous for me and everyone else in here. The arrival of this mist…means that the time to counterattack is at hand!" He suddenly flickered into motion, heading back in the direction he remembered Xuan Daozi and Hong Chen were fighting.

Before long, the booming sounds of battle could be heard from up ahead. Xuan Daozi's bellow echoed in all directions, and the ripples of a magical technique spread out. However, the mist seemed to be covering up all the light, and Naruto couldn't see anything clearly. However, his eyes flickered with an increasingly strong desire to kill.

Eventually, he just closed his eyes. Gradually, nineteen images appeared in his mind. They were all in different directions, and were surrounded by a gray, colorless world.

Those were the entities he had taken control of with Life-Death Hexing. The ones that were still around were now visible in his mind's eye, and in fact became his eyes.

He flew silently through the mist slowly, threading his way through the various entities therein, and avoiding the most powerful shades of death. After a few dozen breaths of time, he shot forward with a new burst of speed. Then, his eyes opened, and they brimmed with killing intent. He sped forward, his right hand clenching into a fist. The power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal erupted out from inside of him, as well as that of his fleshly body, as he unleashed the God-Slaying Fist.

That fist strike suddenly appeared directly in front of Hong Chen!

She was in the midst of utilizing all sorts of magics to defend against the death shades who were attacking her. In the midst of her exhaustion, Naruto suddenly unleashed an explosive attack, causing an expression of shock to appear on her face. Before she even had time to analyze what was happening, the God-Slaying Fist was upon her.

A boom rattled out as the fist slammed into her chest, causing blood to spray from her mouth. Falling back, her eyes widened, and she shrieked, " Naruto !"

Even as she fell back under Naruto 's surprise attack, she produced magical items and prepared divine abilities to fight back. However, what came at her next through the mist was an azure roc, which slashed at her with its deadly claws.

Booms rang out, and even Xuan Daozi was shocked. He turned and was about to come over to help when over ten death shades suddenly lunged madly in the way to intercept him.

"Screw off!" Xuan Daozi roared.

Simultaneously, Hong Chen's shrill voice could be heard once again. "Save me!" She was terrified, and couldn't even see what was happening around her. She fell back, her chest mangled and bloody, and her head punctured in three spots, out of which a reddish-white fluid oozed.

Naruto wasn't in very good condition either. Blood oozed out from wounds all over him. After all, his previous injuries weren't completely healed, and trying to kill this old woman aggravated them. However, the killing intent in his eyes hadn't lessened at all, and in fact, grew even more focused.

He suddenly advanced with incredible speed, sending swirling Essence of Divine Flame toward the retreating Hong Chen.

She gritted her teeth, performing an incantation gesture to unleash explosive Essence power in all directions. But Naruto was already in a different position, having unleashed the Paragon Bridge onto her. She screamed, her body already showing signs of cracking to pieces as she continued to flee. By now, Xuan Daozi had finished cutting down the death shades which were blocking him, and was now speeding towards them.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as his left hand reached up and pushed his fourth Nirvana Fruit into his forehead. Suddenly, his speed increased dramatically. He shot toward Hong Chen, making a grasping motion which summoned the copper mirror. Sighing repeatedly, the parrot also emerged. Without a pause, it complied with Naruto and transformed into the Battle Weapon.

That caused Naruto 's energy to rocket up; hefting the Battle Weapon, he slashed it toward Hong Chen. Xuan Daozi was racing against the clock, but apparently was out of time, and could only roar in response to what was happening.

Hong Chen also roared, using all the power she could muster to defend herself. However, she had already been injured by the Seal the Heavens

Incantation, and her cultivation base had declined. Thanks to Uzumaki

Hao's previous attack, she was like an arrow at the end of its flight. Naruto could completely ignore whatever magical items or divine abilities she used to fight back. Drawing on all the power he could from his fleshly body, he sent the Battle Weapon streaking down in a flash of dazzling light….

The screams ceased as Hong Chen's head flew off her shoulders, and her body collapsed. Just when her Nascent Divinity was about to flee, the Battle Weapon smashed into it. Yet another Dao Realm cultivator had fallen by Naruto 's hand!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and his face was ashen. The magical items and divine abilities that had been used just now actually increased the severity of his injuries. Eyes bloodshot, he shot off into the distance.

" Naruto !" Xuan Daozi roared. The sound echoed out into the mists, filling the entire world. Some distance away, the members of the Uzumaki Clan were sustaining heavy casualties. Uzumaki Chen was covered with blood, and in flight.

Han Qinglei was also out in the mists, proceeding along as cautiously as ever. Some of his followers had already been killed, and he himself was filled with fear by the 33 Hells.

However, these weren't the only people present; there were others. Furthermore, this was only the initial opening of the 33 Hells, so not all the glowing rifts had opened up, only somewhere between three and five. Therefore, some of the cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance on the outside chose to brave the danger and enter, although that number wasn't significant.

About twenty to thirty percent of them chose to enter the same glowing rift as Naruto .

Those who were brave enough to enter obviously were not weak in terms of cultivation base. At the very least, they were in the late Ancient Realm. There even some Quasi-Dao experts who were attempting to find one of the legendary items that could keep Quasi-Dao cultivators from dying.

There were also more than a few Dao Realm experts who entered various glowing rifts.

Therefore, when Xuan Daozi's howl echoed out, the other cultivators within the mists could hear his voice, and their hearts began to pound.

Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, but continued onward as fast as he could. He put the Battle Weapon away, as well as the Nirvana Fruit. His eyes were now completely bloodshot, but his Chakra and blood were actually flourishing.

The shade that had been following him the entire time was watching him, and growing more and more greedy.

Naruto was flying along, eyes bloodshot, when he suddenly ran into a death shade.

"It's been a long time since I've actually used the Blood Demon Grand Magic," he murmured.

The shade up ahead was a cultivator, who turned, looked at Naruto , then howled as it pounced on him.

Naruto did not place a Life-Death Hex sealing mark onto him. Instead, he shot forward and slapped his hand out. His palm immediately turned blood-red, landing on the shade, which shuddered and then began to wither. In the blink of an eye, it was nothing more than ash.

Its gray aura flew out toward Naruto , fusing into him and actually withering him more than before. Apparently, it wasn't any help to his wounds at all.

Shaking his head, he continued onward. Before long, his eyes flickered, and he shot forward like lightning as an Ancient Realm cultivator appeared in front of him.

This was one of the cultivators who had been part of the search parties trying to kill Naruto . He had actually turned tail and fled when things had gone south, but now apparently he had returned. He was looking around vigilantly, so as soon as Naruto closed in on him, his face flickered. Before he could do anything, Naruto 's crimson hand snaked out and latched onto the top of the man's head.

Before he could scream, Naruto clamped his hand over the man's mouth. The cultivator trembled as he withered; his life force, his flesh and blood, his cultivation base and soul, were all absorbed in an instant.

Naruto 's face was now less ashen. Soon, nothing was left in his hand other than a dessicated corpse, which dropped down and turned into ash. Naruto licked his lips; eyes bright red, he continued on his way.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1236

Chapter 1236: We're Still Good Friends!

Naruto slipped through the mists like a lone wolf in the night, completely silent. The only signs of his coming were his glowing red eyes, and the fluctuations of the Blood Demon Grand Magic.

No screams could be heard, as he only targeted Ancient Realm cultivators. By means of the Blood Demon Grand Magic, Naruto slowly recovered, although the process didn't go as quickly as when he had taken advantage of the gravestone. However, what Naruto wanted was to awaken his Eternal stratum.

With his Eternal stratum at work, his recovery would go much more quickly.

He proceeded along, absorbing other cultivators he encountered. As for the blurry shade, it kept following him, looking for the perfect opportunity to make the killing blow and possess Naruto .

He couldn't see Naruto killing Hong Chen, nor could he see Xuan Daozi chasing him. However, he could sense the brutal air radiating off of Naruto , and when he unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic, the way it sent the Chakra and blood boiling caused the shade to be filled with an intense desire to possess Naruto .

"I, Greed, have been favored by destiny for my entire life," the shade murmured. "When I was young, I was nearly killed when fighting my greatest enemy, until an extraterrestrial object fell from the sky and smashed him to death!

"When I ventured out into the world, I never came back empty-handed, and everywhere I went, treasure abounded. My cultivation even proceeded smoothly and without a hitch. However, when I reached the absolute peak, I met a person, a damnable bastard who deserves to die!

"Other than him, there has never been anyone who could suppress me. Even being sealed in here is a temporary thing. I won't remain here forever.

"This person here is the greatest gift that the Heavens have ever bequeathed upon me." The greed in his eyes grew more intense, and yet, he didn't make a move. His earlier attack had failed, so after that he had chosen to simply follow and wait. Wait, and keep waiting…. 1

Naruto 's slaughter continued. By now, dozens of cultivators had died at his hand. At the moment, his hand was latched onto the top of another cultivator's head as he absorbed him, when suddenly, all of the hair on his body stood on end. Not waiting to finish absorbing the cultivator, he shot backward at top speed.

In that same instant, a hand stretched out from the mists. It was covered with black fur, and moved with incredible speed, grabbing viciously onto the half-absorbed cultivator. The cultivator screamed, and was dragged back into the mists, whereupon crunching sounds could be heard.

"Hungry… so hungry…." A growling wail could be heard, along with a sound like that of clinking iron chains. Naruto retreated rapidly, an expression of surprise on his face as he sensed the terrifying aura coming from within the mists.

After a long moment, the aura faded away, and the wailing sound drifted off into the distance.

Naruto looked around, feeling more apprehensive than ever. Finally, he turned and made his way off to find another Heavengod Alliance cultivator to absorb. Time passed. As he went about his work, he encountered that terrifying hand on three more occasions, and one time even developed into a deadly crisis.

Feeling more vigilant than ever, he absorbed yet another Ancient Realm expert, whereupon a rumbling sound filled him, and his eyes burned with a light like that of fire.

At long last, his Eternal stratum was awakened from its state of withered sleep. It slowly began to work, restoring his life force and energy. In that moment, the blood-colored light in his eyes faded away, and his body's wounds began to heal naturally.

It was also in that moment that a stream of divine sense swept toward him from up ahead. He backed up, but the divine sense was fast, and quickly enveloped him, scanned him, and then began to completely converge in the area.

"So, it turns out you're here as well," said an ancient voice. A terrifying pressure began to weigh down, causing the mists in the area to be pushed away.

Naruto 's pupils constricted; based on the intensity of the pressure, he could tell that this power exceeded that of a Dao Lord. Furthermore, he was familiar with this pressure; it was none other than the old man who had attempted to stop him from leaving the Heavengod Alliance to begin with.

Naruto knew that he was no match for this man, not even if he were completely recovered and back at his peak. Without the slightest hesitation, he transformed into an azure roc and fled.

However, the pressure was like a sharp arrow that pierced through the mists in pursuit. In fact, were it not for the mists, the old man would have been able to catch up with Naruto in the blink of an eye.

Even as Naruto fled, Xuan Daozi appeared in a different direction, eyes flickering with killing intent. He had even resorted to one of his secret magics in order to lock down Naruto 's position within the mists. The price he had paid was a significant amount of life force and longevity, leaving him looking like nothing more than a bag of bones, his aura weak even though his cultivation base hadn't been reduced.

" Naruto , this time, you're DEAD!" he roared, shooting like lighting in Naruto 's direction.

Naruto 's face flickered. He could tangle with Xuan Daozi for a while, but as for that old man, he was much stronger, to the point where Naruto was terrified of him. Gritting his teeth, he continued to flee at top speed. It was at this point, just when the powerful pressure was nearing, that a faint howl echoed out, mixed with a wailing sound.

"Hungry… so hungry…." In addition to the voice, a sound like the rattling of iron chains could be heard. Naruto 's eyes narrowed as he realized what the old man from the Heavengod Alliance had run into.

It was in that moment that the divine sense that had been locked onto him suddenly retracted.

However, Xuan Daozi's killing intent continued to bear down on him. Naruto 's eyes glittered coldly as he suddenly spun, waving his right hand to summon the Essence of Divine Flame and Immortal mountains to fight back against Xuan Daozi.

Rumbling booms could be heard, and blood oozed out of Naruto 's mouth. Just when he was about to borrow the force of the blast to retreat, Xuan Daozi retracted the power, defeating Naruto 's effort.

"I guessed you would try something like that!" Xuan Daozi said, laughing coldly. Suddenly, his Essence of time erupted out, causing his body to grow blurry, as if he were walking through the streams of time. Naruto 's face fell, and he immediately utilized his walking technique. Both parties were using the Dao of Time to fight each other, causing the mists to churn and slowly form into a vortex.

The vortex grew larger and larger, and the rumbling sounds grew more intense until it turned into a massive explosion. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and he tumbled off to the side. Blood also oozed out of Xuan Daozi's mouth, but he didn't give up. He was already injured, and yet, his eyes gleamed with excitement, and his heart was pounding; just now, his Essence had been stirred into intense anticipation.

As he saw Naruto trying to flee again, a cold flicker could be seen in his eyes, and he suddenly threw his head back and cried out, "To all Fellow Daoists in this place, I am Xuan Daozi. Help me stop Naruto ! If you encounter him, notify me immediately. To express my thanks, the One Profound Sect will bestow a Quasi-Dao treasure to anyone who helps!"

Xuan Daozi knew that Naruto was a slippery character; once he escaped, it would be difficult to find him again. Therefore, he chose to make an incredible promise to enlist the aid of everyone else out in the mist.

Bolstered by the power of Xuan Daozi's cultivation base, his words echoed out through the entire world, to be heard by all. Everyone's eyes flickered. Simply notifying Xuan Daozi of Naruto 's presence was a much easier task than trying to kill him. All they had to do was pass word. If that word enabled Xuan Daozi to take down Naruto , then they would be rewarded with a Quasi-Dao treasure.

Everyone was instantly excited.

Naruto 's face darkened, and he proceeded along as quickly as before. However, it didn't take long before a shadow up ahead suddenly flickered into the shape of an Ancient Realm cultivator. As soon as the man saw Naruto , he went wild with joy and bellowed,

" Uzumaki –"

However, he only got one word out of his mouth before Naruto flashed like lightning, clamping his hand down onto the top of the man's head and unleashing the Blood Demon Grand Magic. The cultivator trembled as his Chakra and blood, life force, cultivation base, and soul were absorbed by Naruto .

Even still, that one word caused Xuan Daozi to unhesitatingly shoot in the direction of the call, as did some of the other powerful experts.

The killing intent in Naruto 's eyes grew stronger. Just as he was about to flee, a jubilant cry rang out through the mists.

" Naruto 's right here!"

The voice was actually some distance away from where Naruto actually was, causing the people rushing in his direction to stop in their tracks. Even as Xuan Daozi frowned, another voice rang out: "He's here! Hurry, he's right here!"

Then another voice cried out urgently from another direction: "I saw

Naruto . He's over here!"

Xuan Daozi gritted his teeth, turned, and headed off in another direction.

Naruto 's jaw dropped as he realized that there were people helping him.

There was little time to consider the matter. He immediately turned to flee, but then suddenly stopped as he sensed familiar fluctuations approaching, fluctuations that their owner was doing nothing to conceal.

"Han Qinglei…." Naruto said slowly as Han Qinglei floated out from the nearby mists. When they were a dozen meters or so apart, they stopped and looked at each other.

"Many thanks!" Naruto said as everything clicked. He looked deeply at Han Qinglei, clasped hands, and bowed.

Han Qinglei looked back at Naruto with mixed emotions. Naruto was clearly in a very bad state, worse than he had been at any point in the Windswept Realm. His injuries were severe, and his body was covered with wounds. Deep exhaustion could be seen on his face; an exhaustion that medicinal pills and the mending of his wounds could not heal. It would require time to recuperate.

Even still, among Han Qinglei's mixed feelings was a sense of admiration. He had heard of all the things Naruto had accomplished recently, how he was the subject of a deadly manhunt in the Heavengod Alliance, and how he had even slaughtered Dao Realm cultivators.

Because of his accomplishments, Naruto 's name had long since spread throughout the Heavengod Alliance.

Han Qinglei looked at Naruto , his face cold as he said, "I don't need you to thank me. As long as I'm around, the only people who qualify to kill you are other Echelon cultivators!

"I didn't save you for your sake, but for my own! Therefore, take your words of thanks back. I don't need them, and in fact, to accept thanks from you would be beneath my dignity. You don't qualify to thank me. Nobody in Heaven and Earth qualifies to thank Han Qinglei. That's who I am. In the future, I will be unrivaled and unmatched!

"One of these days, you and I will fight to the death, and in that battle, I'll personally defeat you." As Han Qinglei's words echoed out, filled with arrogance and superiority, he folded his hands behind his back, and set his jaw.

Naruto sighed. He would never forget how Han Qinglei had saved him, but seeing how arrogant, proud, and haughty he was, Naruto couldn't hold back from saying, "You know, if your smugness didn't make me want to give you a good beating, we could probably be good friends…."

There's slight spoiler information in this footnote regarding Renegade Immortal. Greed is a side character from that very novel. Although he hasn't appeared in the translated portion of Renegade Immortal yet, I chatted with Rex about it and he mentioned that Greed should be showing up soon. If you follow RI, keep your eye out for this guy ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1237

Chapter 1237 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1237: Detected!

As soon as the words left Naruto 's mouth, Han Qinglei's face flickered, and he glared at Naruto . However, when he thought about all the things Naruto had done while fighting the Heavengod Alliance, he couldn't but admire him. His expression remained icy, and he snorted coldly, but at the same time, he waved his hand, sending a jade bracelet flying over, which Naruto caught.

"Put that on. Not only will you become illusory, your aura will be concealed, and I can take you out of the Heavengod Alliance."

Naruto looked at the bracelet thoughtfully for a moment, then said, "As a cultivator of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, you must be familiar with the Heavengod Alliance's search methods. I believe there to be a seal on me, or something of the sort, enabling them to track me down no matter what I do." Naruto looked at Han Qinglei as the sounds of explosions echoed out from the mists around him.

"Seal?" Han Qinglei muttered. He patted his bag of holding, producing a jade slip which he studied for a moment. Then he looked back at Naruto .

"The Grand Elder of the Heavengod Society is adept with blood magic. The blood in your body permeates your organs and your aura. All he would need is a single drop of your blood to detect your presence. If you suspect something like that to be the case, it's most likely the work of the Grand Elder. He's using a blood tracking magic!

"That makes things a bit difficult…." Han Qinglei frowned.

After thinking for a moment, Naruto laughed coolly and said, "Any technique can be broken, as long as you understand how it works."

Then he lifted his right hand and pushed it down onto his chest, causing the Essence of Divine Flame to sweep through his body, burning up his blood in the process!

That burning involved indescribable pain as every drop of his blood was scorched away. After his blood was gone, he was almost like an ordinary person hovering on the brink of death. Not even cultivators could remain in such a state for very long.

Naruto 's face was ashen; the burning away of his blood also caused his body to age significantly, as it was left without a single drop of blood.

But then he rotated his cultivation base, sending out cultivation base power into his body. Coupled with the intense power of his fleshly body, the blood-manufacturing in his body was stimulated. Although the process happened relatively quickly, it still involved incredible pain, as well as a shocking level of danger.

Even Han Qinglei was shocked by Naruto 's vicious decisiveness. He watched as the color slowly returned to Naruto 's face, and his life force aura was gradually restored. In the end, Han Qinglei took a deep breath and reminded himself that it would be best to never provoke Naruto .

Naruto had purified himself by getting rid of all of his old blood and replacing it with fresh blood. Naruto wasn't sure whether or not that would free him from the Grand Elder's magical technique, but it was the only method he could think of to achieve that result.

"Brother Han, I'll still need a bit of assistance from you," he said. With the wave of a hand, he caused a dozen or so drops of the burned blood to coalesce in his palm.

"I understand," Han Qinglei said, nodding. Waving his hand, he caused a dozen figures to materialize around him. Each person took a drop of blood, then rapidly vanished off into the distance.

Finally, Naruto put on the jade bracelet, slowly turning blurry, whereupon he floated over to Han Qinglei, where he looked like nothing more than one of his other followers.

Han Qinglei cleared his throat and looked at Naruto out of the corner of his eyes, feeling quite satisfied. However, he knew that it wouldn't be appropriate to say anything, so he merely took a step forward, whereupon his throne of bones appeared. He sat down, and then shot off into the mists.

At the same time, Naruto and the other dozen or so illusory followers followed along.

As Han Qinglei and Naruto flew off, the blurry shade within the mists was watching with crimson eyes.

"I've taken a liking to your fleshly body, do you really think I'll just let you leave?!" The shade's eyes flickered with red light as he began to mutter some ancient curse, which caused a roar to erupt out within the mists, a roar like thunder, that left everything in the area shaking.

"Hungry… so hungry…." The sound echoed out, filled with an unyielding air, and even rage. And yet… gradually, the bellowing grew further and further away and the mists dispersed with its departure, as if that terrifying creature was itself its source….

In fact, within the space of a few breaths of time, the mists were completely gone. All of a sudden, all of the nearly one hundred cultivators in the rift could see each other clearly.

The man from the Heavengod Society with the astonishing cultivation base was the most powerful person present. Panting, he turned his head and looked off into the distance. He had just been fighting that enormously gigantic, terrifying creature, and the fierce fighting had been dangerous to the extreme.

Everyone was on guard at the moment, and was looking around to size up the situation. Soon, everyone could see Han Qinglei making his way out of the place. Naruto was right there next to him, and when the mists suddenly vanished, his heart sank and he cursed to himself at the sudden discouraging turn of events. He looked over at the exit, which wasn't very far away, and began to consider making a run for it on his own; it wasn't necessarily impossible to make it.

However, if he moved, it would reveal that Han Qinglei was helping him, and besides, even if he got out, he didn't have the proper status in the Eight Mountain and Sea to be able to escape the wrath of the Heavengod Alliance.

Xuan Daozi was also there, his divine sense spreading out and yet unable to locate Naruto . His eyes narrowed, and he gave a cold harrumph as he looked over at Han Qinglei.

Han Qinglei's expression was the same as ever, and he maintained the same speed as before as he rose through the air toward the exit. Xuan Daozi's eyes glittered, and he suddenly flickered into motion, appearing directly in Han Qinglei's path a moment later.

Glaring at him, Xuan Daozi suddenly said, "Fellow Daoist Han, why are you in such a hurry to leave!?"

Han Qinglei's expression didn't change as he looked coldly back at Xuan Daozi. Suddenly, a vicious smile appeared on his face.

"Xuan Daozi, your cultivation base might be higher than mine, and I might not be able to beat you in a fight, and killing me would be a simple task. But…do you dare to try?! Do you dare to try to harm even a single hair on my head?" Han Qinglei stood up and roared, causing his energy to rise up dramatically. He was now more powerful than he had been in the Windswept Realm, and was clearly on the verge of being a threat to someone in the Quasi-Dao Realm.

After making a breakthrough, he would even be able to try his hand out at engaging a Quasi-Dao expert in all-out battle!

"Do I need to ask your permission to go places in the Eighth Mountain and Sea?" Swishing his sleeve, he sat back down on his vicious bone throne.

Xuan Daozi's face darkened. Han Qinglei had a special status in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and Xuan Daozi had no desire to get into a dispute with him. However, Naruto was simply far too important, and Xuan Daozi couldn't bear to lose him. After a moment of hesitation, he looked at the Heavengod Society Elder, who stood on the ground not too far off in the distance, clasped hands, and bowed.

"Zhou Shi, could you provide some assistance?!" Xuan Daozi's deep bow and his cordial expression made him seem very sincere. "I was on very good terms with Patriarch Blacksoul, as well as with Hong Chen. The three of us joined forces to chase down Naruto , and now calamity has befallen both of them. Only I remain, and I swear that will find Naruto and exact vengeance, killing him in revenge for Blacksoul and Hong Chen!" Xuan Daozi's words were spoken very sincerely, and with passion.

Down on the ground, the old man from the Heavengod Society muttered to himself for a moment, then nodded. He lifted his right hand and performed an incantation gesture, then opened his eyes to reveal a flickering blood-colored glow.

Naruto remained by Han Qinglei's side, expression normal, but heart filled with vigilance as he watched the Elder from the Heavengod Society.

Soon, the old man lowered his hand and said, "Interesting. He must have noticed my tracking magic, then physically disseminated to escape. He must be outside already."

As soon as the words left the old man's mouth, Naruto sighed with relief. Han Qinglei snorted coldly, then proceeded forward stoically. Actually, he had been very nervous just now as well, having had no idea that the mist would disperse, revealing that he was leaving.

Xuan Daozi sighed inside, and stepped aside, making way for Han Qinglei to near the exit.

" Naruto is devious and cunning. If he manages to escape, it's going to be difficult to find him…. Plus, it's giving him time to restore his cultivation base. If that happens, it won't be easy for me to handle him alone. However, I can't reveal this matter to anyone!" Xuan Daozi frowned, and his gaze once again came to fall upon Han Qinglei's back. He then looked at blurry images of Han Qinglei's followers.

At first, he hadn't paid the followers any attention. After all, Zhou Shi from the Heavengod Society had spoken his words in complete confidence; whatever he said was sure to be true.

However, as soon as he laid eyes on one particular follower among the group around Han Qinglei, Xuan Daozi's Essence suddenly trembled. Although it was very slight, it caused Xuan Daozi's eyes to go wide, and his heart to pound.

He had no time to consider the matter carefully, so he took a step forward and roared, "You're not going anywhere! Get back here!"

With that, he stretched out his hand, causing an enormous hand to materialize and grab toward, not Han Qinglei, but… Naruto !

Naruto frowned. It wasn't the Elder from the Heavengod Society who had discovered him, it was Xuan Daozi. That in itself was very telling, and caused Naruto to suddenly wonder why Xuan Daozi was pursuing him so relentlessly even after Patriarch Blacksoul was dead, and could not offer his services as a slave.

"That's the key to the matter," he thought with a sigh. Mind racing with ideas, he suddenly revealed himself, laughing coldly. Almost as soon as he appeared, Han Qinglei's face fell, and he spun around.

" Naruto , it's you! Dammit, I can't believe you were pretending to be one of my followers!" Roaring, Han Qinglei stepped forward and waved his arm at Naruto .

An incredible force surged out toward Naruto , hitting him before

Xuan Daozi could. A boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth. However, he borrowed the force of the blow to shoot off into the distance.

"Han Qinglei," Naruto shrieked, "mark the words of Naruto : I won't rest until you're dead!" With that he sped away as quickly as possible.

"Han Qinglei!" Xuan Daozi said, glaring at Han Qinglei. The act put up between Naruto and Han Qinglei was too obvious, and yet Han Qinglei didn't seem to care that Xuan Daozi knew.

Even as Xuan Daozi began to chase after Naruto , he cried out, "Ladies and gentlemen, Fellow Daoists, please help me capture this man. My promise from before still stands!"

The surrounding cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance looked on with flickering eyes. Many of them immediately flew out to try to block Naruto 's path. Two of them were actually in the Dao Realm, although they weren't Dao Lords, just 2-Essences cultivators!

The sudden appearance of Naruto caused the old man from the Heavengod Society to stare in shock. Then, a strange glow appeared in his eyes and he looked more closely at Naruto . Finally, he understood.

"He's definitely a vicious, decisive person," the old man muttered.

Numerous people closed in to try to block Naruto 's path. The two 2-

Essences Dao Realm cultivators couldn't be evaded easily, plus Xuan

Daozi was closing in with murderous intent. If Naruto paused for even a moment, he would fall into the snare. As he looked around, he realized that he really was in a tight spot, like a bird in a trap with its wings clipped.

It was in that moment that… strange phenomena suddenly rose up within this world of graves.

Chapter 1237: Detected!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1238

Chapter 1238 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1238: Possessed by Greed!

The entire world was shaking. The gray vault up above filled with clouds and mist, and the lands quaked as though a writhing dragon lurked underneath, on the verge of bursting out!

The gravestone which rose up in the very center of the world appeared to be tilting to the side, and thunder-like rumbling could be heard from the earth underneath it.

RUMBLE!

As the massive sound echoed out, everyone, including Naruto , felt their minds spinning.

The Ancient Realm cultivators coughed up blood, and their expressions were that of astonishment. Han Qinglei's Chakra and blood were boiling, and he hovered in midair, gasping for breath. The blurry figures around him were all forced out into the open, looks of shock on their faces.

The Dao Realm experts had it a bit better off; their minds were shaken, but no blood spurted out. However, it only took a moment for another huge boom to echo out, even more boundless and powerful than the first.

RUMBLE!

That sound caused everyone under the level of a Dao Lord to cough up blood. Naruto 's body was trembling, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. As for the Dao Lords present, their faces were ashen as waves of shock surged in their hearts.

As for the two 2-Essences Dao Realm cultivators who had been trying to block Naruto 's path, both coughed up blood, and their faces fell. Unable to deal with Naruto any longer, they looked down toward the ground and saw crevices spreading out in the soil beneath the gravestone. The two booms that had echoed out just now had come from those very crevices.

Next, a third boom could be heard. It sounded like the roar of a giant, causing the lands to shake violently, and the sky to dim. Xuan Daozi coughed up blood, and was completely astonished.

Suddenly, an ancient voice that was laced with unending venom and madness filled the entire murky world: "Nine Seals, I curse you to meet a horrific death! I curse all living things in your Immortal World to have their bloodlines severed! You can destroy my body, but you can't destroy my soul fire! My soul cannot be destroyed by anyone who has yet to fully reach Heaven Trampling, so you can't kill me!

"You only have a Heaven Trampling fleshly body, your cultivation is still a half step away. Therefore you can only suppress me!"

Everything shook, and soon, it was possible to see a bright light shining up from the crevices in the soil beneath the gravestone.

It was a blue light that filled the entire world, almost as if… what was buried in this place was not a cultivator, but rather… a sun!

Mind trembling, Naruto blinked his eyes nine times in succession, then poured the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal into his eyes. After examining the situation closely, his eyes widened.

Shockingly, beneath the soil of the grave, he saw… that there really was a sun! A blue sun!

The sun caused massive waves to run through Naruto 's divine sense, and for some reason, he recalled imagery from a scene that he had seen before. He saw nine suns, pulling a vast land mass and a huge statue through the starry sky.

One of those suns was… the same sun he was looking at now!

They looked identical!

Xuan Daozi's heart trembled, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He wanted to chase Naruto down and kill him, but at the moment, he couldn't. His body was stuck in place in midair, completely incapable of moving. As for his eyes, they brimmed with excitement as he looked at the crevices, his mind reeling.

"The Daosource Realm actually exists! Daosource! Daosource! The actual source of all Daos! According to the basic overview I read about in the ancient records once, 9-Essences Paragons are analogous to the Exalted Celestials and 9th-tier Dao Divinities of the Paramita!

"The Daosource Realm of the Immortal World does not expand one's enlightenment outward, nor does it take an alternative route. The key to stepping beyond the Dao Realm is to continually look inward, to seek the source of the Dao!

"Expanding out beyond the Dao is the Boundless Dao of the Paramita!

"As for the alternative route to stepping beyond the Dao, that is the Heaven Trampling of the Paramita!" Xuan Daozi was trembling, and his eyes filled with unparalleled desire and madness. He had come to a clear realization of the truth of these matters, and in fact the number of people in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm who knew about these things was so few that they could be counted by hand.

Although he currently couldn't move a muscle, neither could anyone else, not even Naruto .

There was only one person in this entire world who was not so intensely affected, and that was the old man from the Heavengod Society!

"An Exalted Celestial…from the Paramita!" he murmured, eyes shining brightly.

In almost the same moment that the entire world was shaken, the light shining from the crevices beneath the gravestone suddenly vanished. At the same time, an indescribable gravitational force suddenly appeared.

The intense force sucked at everything, causing the entire world to dim. Even the vault above seemed to be on verge of being pulled in. As the ground shook, the shocked old man from the Heavengod Society bit the tip of his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood and performing a double-handed incantation gesture. Shockingly, five Essences erupted out from him, which fought back against the gravitational force.

He was the only person capable of such an act; no one else present was even in control of their own body. Rumbling filled the air as numerous figures transformed into beams of light that shot toward the crevices and were then consumed.

The first to meet such a fate were those in the Immortal and Ancient Realms, followed by Han Qinglei. Next were the two Dao Realm experts, as well as Xuan Daozi. None of them could prevent themselves from being sucked in.

Naruto was trembling as he also transformed into a beam of light and was pulled inexorably inside.

However, at the same time that Naruto was being sucked towards the crevice, something else happened that no one else noticed. Not too far away was a blurry shade, whose red eyes shone with greed. He suddenly shot forward at an indescribable speed, and in the blink of an eye was upon Naruto . The exact moment that Naruto fell into the crevice, he suddenly… pounced, not even giving Naruto a chance to react.

In a flash… he fused into Naruto , becoming one with him!

In fact, the shade was so incredibly excited that it didn't notice that the moment it fused with Naruto … a strange light gleamed in Naruto 's eyes.

A tremor ran through Naruto , and then he was gone, sucked in by the powerful gravitational force. Soon, the only person left outside was the old man from the Heavengod Society, who trembled as he was slowly pulled toward the crevices.

As he neared, the gravitational force increased dramatically, and a fourth roar echoed out. This old man had five Essences, making him a 5Essences Dao Sovereign. Drawing upon that power, he threw his head back and roared, causing blood to spurt out all over his body, which then transformed into an enormous Dao 道 character that surrounded him!

That character seemed to bestow boundless power upon him, allowing him to fight back against the gravitational force. And yet, it couldn't completely match it, and the man was dragged even closer to the crevice.

The only difference was that the speed was reduced a bit. Soon, he was only about thirty meters away from the crevice. It was at that point that an angry sigh echoed out from within. The gravitational force vanished, and the crevice closed up without a trace.

In that instant, the old man coughed up a mouthful of blood; his hair was disheveled, and he looked to be in very bad shape. His body was a mass of mangled flesh; he had just barely been able to fight back, but his fleshly body was weaker than his cultivation and thus he had been severely injured.

"According to the legends, the Exalted Celestials of the Paramita were comparable to Paragons. If he was in a complete state, he could cut me down in an instant. Nothing remains of his body and only his soul exists in a state of suppression. That's the only reason I had a chance to escape!" Face filled with astonishment, he unhesitatingly shot up into the sky toward the exit. 1

Even as he left, other cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance decided to enter the place to seek good fortune.

Beneath the surface of the grave was a necropolis!

The necropolis was accessible from all sides, and was very large. The cultivators who had been sucked in were not sent to the same location, but were scattered about. Some ended up unconscious, others were still awake.

Naruto was among the unconscious ones. He looked almost dead as he lay there in a side chamber, a small room with ornately carved walls. In the middle of the room was a coffin with no lid, filled with boiling white mist, tendrils of which would occasionally spill out onto the ground and dissipate.

Everything was quiet in the side chamber. Naruto wasn't the only person lying there. There was an Ancient Realm cultivator laying off to the side, also unconscious.

Soon, a tremor ran through the Ancient Realm cultivator, whose eyes then opened. He immediately sent his divine sense out. After ensuring that there was nothing dangerous in the immediate area, he cautiously rose to his feet, then looked around, completely shaken and terrified.

He recalled having been consumed by the crevice, and when he realized that he was most likely deep in the ground beneath the gravestone, the hairs on his body stood on end. Then he looked around, his eyes eventually coming to rest on Naruto .

" Naruto …." the Ancient Realm cultivator thought, shocked. He backed up, staring dead at Naruto for a moment before finally starting to search for a way out of the side hall. After finding it, he made to leave, but then stopped for a moment and looked back at Naruto . "So he still hasn't woken up…." The cultivator gritted his teeth and suddenly waved his hand, sending a flying sword shooting toward Naruto . Shockingly, it… stabbed into his head, causing blood to flow out everywhere!

Naruto never moved a muscle. It was as if he were dead.

The cultivator could never have imagined that things would go easily. After staring in shock for a moment, his eyes went wild with joy.

"He's dead? Hm, he was already severely injured before. After getting sucked in here, his injuries must have worsened, but he still shouldn't have died…." Acting as cautiously as possible, the cultivator sent the flying sword chopping viciously toward Naruto 's throat.

A snapping sound rang out, and blood sprayed out in a fountain as Naruto 's head was severed cleanly from his body!

The cultivator gasped, and without any further hesitation, shot toward Naruto .

"Today's my lucky day! He's dead, and his bag of holding is mine!" The cultivator excitedly neared Naruto , reaching his hand out to grab Naruto 's bag of holding!

However, even as he extended his hand, a sense of impending crisis crashed within the man's mind like lightning. All his hair stood on end, and a look of shock filled his face. He went completely stiff as he realized that Naruto 's hand had just shot up and grabbed onto his arm.

Chapter 1238: Possessed by Greed! 2

This footnote contains some relatively major spoilers regarding other of

Er Gen's works. Read at your own caution. Long story short, Exalted Celestial and Dao Divinity are cultivation levels from Er Gen's other books Renegade Immortal and Beseech the Devil respectively. Based on the content of this chapter, you can probably gain a basic understanding of how they work, and also how powerful they are in those books ↩ Greed's name is actually a common Chinese word to refer to a greedy person. Literally it means "Greedy Wolf," and that wolf aspect is somewhat relevant. However, I think that Greed sounds much better than Greedy Wolf, so I'm going with that name. If you vehemently disagree, feel free to say something in the comments ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1239

Chapter 1239: Body Refining!

The trembling cultivator could feel the incredible coldness radiating through Greed-possessed Naruto 's grip. It was like being held by a block of ice, and it filled his mind with sounds like howling. He was instantly overwhelmed by a feeling of imminent death, and his face went deathly pale.

Just when the cultivator felt that he couldn't endure it any longer, Naruto 's grip suddenly loosened. The cultivator screamed and shot backward, indescribably terrified of Naruto .

Ignoring the fleeing cultivator, Greed-possessed Naruto slowly rose to his feet. As he did, his head floated up from the ground and slowly dropped back into place on his neck. Then the flesh and bone rapidly grew back together and healed up.

His injuries were also rapidly recuperating. Cracking sounds could be heard as the broken bones in his body were set straight and linked back together.

All of this took place in the space of a few breaths of time, and then he was completely healed.

By that point, the cultivator had discovered the location of the exit of the side chamber, and was going crazily all-out in his attempt to flee.

Naruto shook his head slightly and suddenly opened his eyes. As soon as they opened, a blue light spilled out, cold and merciless. His eyes seemed vastly ancient, and filled with a gleam of greed. He looked up, and then vanished.

When he reappeared, he was at the exit of the side chamber, directly in front of the fleeing cultivator. Before the man could react, Naruto 's hand snaked out and grabbed onto his neck.

A cracking sound could be heard as his neck was subsequently crushed.

Naruto took a deep breath, then murmured, "Ah, slaughter…. It's been a long, long time since I've had some good slaughtering.

"To have a body again feels… really good." It was Naruto 's voice, and yet there was something husky about it, as if it was reverberating out from countless years in the past.

"This body… is something even I haven't seen the likes of throughout the years. It has a unique bloodline too…. Excellent. Most excellent. Even more rare is its foundation…. With a body like this, I definitely have a chance to reach Heaven Trampling." Naruto 's slight smile grew even more terrifying than before.

"Furthermore, this person's injuries were significant, making the possession process go even smoother than I imagined it would. Ah, it must be the will of Heaven that I, Greed, can finally step out into the world again!" Hoarse laughter filled the side chamber.

"From this day forward, this is my body. Since that's the case… I think I'll make it even more powerful than it already is!" His eyes glittered as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then pushed down with his finger repeatedly on locations all over his body.

Every time he pushed down, a tremor would run through him, and the spot he touched would wither. However, a powerful Chakra and blood force exploded out within him, causing his fleshly body, which was already at the very peak, to suddenly push toward a breakthrough!

10 times. 20 times. 30 times!

His hands sped faster and faster, depressing numerous pressure points on his body and increasing the range of the withering. Soon, he looked like nothing more than a bag of bones, and yet his fleshly body power had reached an unbelievable degree. Furthermore, as the rumbling echoed out, he continued to grow more powerful!

Previously, his fleshly body had reached the great circle of the Ancient Realm, just half a step away from breaking out of the Ancient Realm and into the Dao Realm. However, that half a step was a vast and difficult gap to cross. Despite having considered many options, Naruto hadn't been able to come up with one that would work.

But now, after being possessed and having the pressure points on his body depressed, he was getting closer and closer to having a Dao Realm fleshly body.

"What does a Dao Realm fleshly body count for?" Greed said in a hoarse voice. "I just need some God blood, and I could break through easily. It seems that this body could have grown more powerful all along; it's just that its previous owner was inexperienced. Not so me. I won't let things go to waste." His hands suddenly stopped moving. As for his body, it looked almost like a skeleton.

And yet, the intense fleshly body power that radiated off of that skeleton was several times stronger than before. Although it wasn't in the Dao Realm, in terms of power it was equivalent to it!

Naruto took a deep breath, then flickered into motion as he began to fly through the necropolis. As he proceeded along, he continued to refine his fleshly body. Soon, another Ancient Realm cultivator appeared up ahead.

It was an old man who, upon catching sight of Naruto , stared in shock. Naruto didn't look familiar at all to him; his skeletal body was shocking, causing the old man to fall back without the slightest hesitation.

However, in the moment that he fell back, a vicious smile appeared on Naruto 's face, and he vanished. When he reappeared, he was behind the old man, lifting his hand to clamp onto the top of the man's head.

He pressed down softly, and the man shuddered. Rumbling could be heard as he suddenly transformed into ash, as well as floating wisps of white mist. That mist flew out and fused into Naruto 's body, causing a bit of flesh and blood to be restored to it.

"I can still get stronger. Now that I'm finished refining the flesh and blood, it's time to work on the bones!" Rumbling echoed out as a boundless sea of fire rose up around him and then poured into his body.

Popping sounds could be heard, and intense pain radiated through him. And yet, he didn't so much as frown.

In fact, he began to float forward, following the corridor as his bones were refined. After the process was complete, his power once again increased dramatically.

"And finally the Chakra passageways…." he said, taking a deep breath. A screaming wind erupted, surging into his Chakra passageways, opening them, sweeping through him. He trembled, but clenched his teeth hard and endured, continued to progress forward. Suddenly, he vanished, to reappear in another side chamber, behind another Ancient Realm cultivator.

The cultivator's scalp went numb, and as he turned around, his expression was one of shock. Suddenly, Naruto head-butted him, a violent collision which shattered the man into pieces.

A bang could be heard as his body transformed into ash, and a white mist appeared which Naruto absorbed, after which he proceeded along without the slightest pause.

After enough time passed for an incense stick to burn, Naruto 's eyes glittered as the refinement of his Chakra passageways was completed.

"And last, the blood!" His right index finger pressed down onto his chest, digging in deep, stabbing through his flesh and blood into his heart.

In response, his soul began to radiate an Essence power unique to his own soul. That was the source of the power which maintained his existence and extended his longevity, but now, it was being unleashed in an effort to further strengthen his fleshly body.

That was the Essence of his life force, and as soon as it poured into his heart, rumbling could be heard as all of the blood in his body began to boil. As it burned away and lessened, his body began to produce more blood to replace the old.

The cycle continued; gradually the regeneration of his blood could not match the speed with which the new blood was being burned away. Eventually, the regenerative process of the blood itself was affected, and the color of his blood turned deep-gold!

Less and less blood existed inside of him, until, in the end, only thirty percent remained. However, his energy had risen explosively, making him far stronger than an ordinary Dao Realm cultivator. He was comparable to… a Dao Lord!

And yet, his fleshly body still wasn't actually in the Dao Realm!

"Now this is a perfect fleshly body," Naruto said, a smile breaking out on his face. He slowly pulled his hand out of his chest, which healed up instantly, without even a drop of blood emerging from the wound.

"Now it's time to test it out and see if it's as strong as I think it is." Smiling oddly, he strode forward, moving with speed that vastly exceeded what he was previously capable of. He left behind only afterimages as he shot off into the distance.

He was like a ghost in the necropolis, harvesting all forms of life that he encountered.

Currently, there were three Dao Realm cultivators in the necropolis: there were the two 2-Essences cultivators who had attempted to block Naruto 's path, then there was the most powerful of the three, Xuan Daozi.

All three of them were in different locations, relying on the advantage they had because of their cultivation bases to search for Naruto .

At this point, six Ancient Realm cultivators appeared up ahead of Naruto . They had banded together, and were proceeding along carefully. Everything about this burial ground left them terrorstruck, and at the moment, they weren't thinking at all about good fortune, but rather, were merely looking for a way out.

As they proceeded along, suddenly, one of the cultivators whispered,

"What was that sound!?"

The faces of the others around him flickered as they looked around in all directions.

When they saw nothing out of the ordinary, that made them even more nervous, so they picked up speed. However, it wasn't long before all of them got a creepy sensation from the fact that the only sound to be heard in the area were footsteps.

Those footsteps originally belonged to the six of them, but now they all realized… that there was the sound of a seventh set of footsteps.

The scalps of all six cultivators went numb. Transmitting messages to each other, their cultivation bases exploded with power, and they unleashed divine abilities in all directions. The glow of their magical techniques immediately revealed a skeletal figure.

Booms rang out, filling the necropolis, to be heard by quite a few of the cultivators there. However, to the six cultivators unleashing divine abilities, it was a completely shocking matter; all of their divine abilities and magical items slammed into the skeletal figure, but the only result was that they heard faint banging sounds. The figure itself wasn't hurt at all.

"Too weak," the skeletal figure said, smiling. He sped forward, his index finger flashing as fast as lightning as he stabbed into the foreheads of all six cultivators in quick succession.

It happened in the blink of an eye. The skeletal Naruto was now directly in front of the six cultivators, who trembled as they transformed into ash. The white mist appeared, which he absorbed, restoring more of his fleshly body. Now he looked less like a skeleton, although he was still incredibly gaunt.

"Well," murmured Naruto , "I'm in no hurry to test the limits of this fleshly body. It seems this fellow is sadly short when it comes to magical items. Too bad he's a pauper; his bag of holding is virtually empty." There really wasn't much at all to be seen in Naruto 's bag of holding, only a cauldron, a spear, and a few swords.

Greed wasn't really aware of how suspicious it was that the bag of holding was so empty. Previously, it had also held a copper mirror, a parrot, a meat jelly, and an ocean of Immortal jades, promissory notes and magical items.

Now, though, all of that was nowhere to be seen.

"Ah well, it doesn't matter. This Naruto must have been engaged in an intense battle for quite a while. His expendable items have been used up, which is only natural. Presumably, these remaining items are quite nice. However, once I use my Essence power to refine them, they'll be even more powerful."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1240

Chapter 1240: An Incredible Person!

Greed-possessed Naruto lifted his hand, within which appeared a long spear, which was none other than his World Tree bone-tip spear.

"Wow, this thing is pretty incredible…. The wood is rare, and the spearhead appears to have come from a Dao Realm beast….

Unfortunately, it was forged improperly, and has a lot of imperfections. Although, what's even more important than that is… that the spear has been sealed." Naruto hefted the long spear and looked at it closely for a moment before smiling.

"Interesting. It was actually sealed by a cultivator from home. It would be very troublesome for anyone here to unseal it. They might be able to forcefully wipe out the seal, but then the spear would be destroyed.

"To me, though, undoing the seal will be easy." He waved his hand, causing a droning sound to emanate out from the spear as he flew through the necropolis, divine sense emanating out in all directions. Suddenly, he turned and headed in a different direction.

It didn't take long before he was closing in on two Ancient Realm cultivators. Almost immediately, their faces fell. Just as they were about to retreat, the long spear appeared in Naruto 's hands, stabbing through the forehead of one of the cultivators, completely destroying him in body and spirit.

The spear didn't stop; it kept on going until it stabbed through the second cultivator's heart, causing him to explode.

In the instant that the two of them died, Naruto 's left hand flashed in a strange sealing gesture, which was not a magical technique of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Then he waved his finger, causing the cultivators' souls to be forcefully extracted. Finally he clenched the souls hard in his hand, transforming them into two magical symbols, which he then placed onto the long spear.

"OPEN!" he growled. The spear in his hand shook, and then suddenly, cracks appeared all over its surface, almost as if it were shedding a layer of skin. Then, an intense aura rumbled out as the spear transformed into an Azure Dragon!

Unexpectedly, the spearhead transformed into the vicious image of a ghost with a violet body and a long horn on its head. It appeared to be an evil spirit, but was in fact a vicious beast from ancient times!

Rumbling could be heard as pressure emanated from the spear. This was an explosive change that was almost like a rebirth compared to what the spear had been like before!

"Now that's a bit more imposing," Greed said with a sinister grin. With that, he put the spear away and then proceeded onward, taking out the Lightning Cauldron as he did.

As he examined the cauldron, a strange gleam appeared in his eyes, almost as if he were recalling something from the past.

"It seems he and I really are connected by destiny. However, this cauldron has been refined via sacrifice." He suddenly shoved his hand down, causing a boom to echo out as a ball of lightning flame shot out from his palm to surround the cauldron.

Cracking sounds could be heard, and fissures spread out over the cauldron. In the blink of an eye, it shattered. However, at the same time, Naruto performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then spit out a mouthful of blood, causing the cauldron to re-form.

"Congeal!"

In a short instant, the countless fragments of the cauldron formed back together into the shape of a cauldron, which now shone with boundless magical light. Mountains, rivers, and countless living beings could be seen on its surface, and most shocking of all was that far more lightning crackled around its surface than before.

A shocking pressure also emerged from the cauldron which far exceeded that from before. Apparently, this was the cauldron's most powerful state.

A hoarse laugh could be heard as Naruto waved his hand, sending the Lightning Cauldron floating up above his head. There it turned slowly, boundless lightning forming a pool which spread out, making Naruto look even more incredible than before.

"Form Displacement Transposition. How could it be limited to flesh and blood?!" Laughing heartily, he strode forward, suddenly slamming into a nearby wall and punching through it to the other side.

"The Five Elements Lightning Cauldron makes its comeback starting now!" After shooting through the hole in the wall, he appeared in another corridor, whereupon he waved his finger down the hall.

Immediately, the Lightning Cauldron rumbled, causing masses of lightning transform into tens of thousands of Silver Dragons to rush forward in the direction he was pointing.

Down the corridor was a middle-aged man, one of the two 2-Essences Dao Realm cultivators. His face fell, and he let out a roar, unleashing the power of his cultivation base, which happened to be that of wood-type power. It caused an enormous tree to materialize, which shot toward the lightning.

Backing up, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then waved his finger at Naruto . Instantly, the corridor began to tremble as stone thorns burst out from everywhere to stab toward Naruto .

Simultaneously, two hands formed from soil rose up and made a grab for his legs.

"Earth Essence Buries All!" roared the man. As he fell back, he waved both hands, causing rumbling to fill the air as the lands collapsed. A terrifying power then erupted out, threatening to inundate Naruto .

"Five Elements Lightning Cauldron," Naruto said coolly, "convert the five elements into lightning! Earth to lightning. Wood to lightning. Kill him!" Rumbling could be heard as the enormous tree distorted and then collapsed, transforming into numerous bolts of green-colored lightning, which spun around and shot toward the middle-aged man.

At the same time, the earth-power was reversed, shattering and transforming into gray lightning bolts which rocketed toward the middleaged man at an indescribable speed.

The man's face fell, and before he could even retreat, he looked down to find that a withered hand was stabbing into his chest.

He had no idea when that hand had appeared, but it was grabbing at his heart. Although it seemed to only be gripping his heart… it felt like his soul, his life force, his everything, were being grabbed ahold of. His Nascent Divinity had no way to flee his fleshly body, as if it were sealed by that palm.

"Noooo…." the middle-aged man wailed madly. The withered hand clenched down viciously, and rumbling sounds could be heard as his heart shattered into countless pieces. The man's body trembled, then transformed into ash. Moments later, Greed-possessed Naruto appeared behind him, licking his lips.

When that man died, vast amounts of white mist floated up into the air to pour into Naruto 's body. Cracking sounds rang out from inside of him as his withered fleshly body was restored even further. No longer did he look completely terrifying, just a bit pale.

"See Naruto , I'm going along with many of your wishes! I'm helping you… to exterminate everyone in here!" If anyone who knew Naruto could see him licking his lips as he was right now, they would definitely find it to be very bizarre.

"Next, let's take a look at these swords." He waved his hand, causing a handful of swords to fly out from his bag of holding. Shockingly, these were the wooden swords that Naruto had collected from the various corpses over the years!

As soon as the Greed-possessed Naruto saw them, he shivered, and a strange light began to glow in his eyes.

"These were forged in the other great land mass… for the specific purpose of killing Immortals. They are… Immortal Murdering Swords! They are also sealed…. This Naruto might have an empty bag, but the items he does possess are treasures!" Licking his lips, Greed tossed the swords out into the air. Eyes shining strangely, he took a deep breath and then spit out a mouthful of flame Essence.

As soon as the fire touched the wooden swords, he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture. Face somber, he occasionally uttered some complex spells, and tossed in further incantation gestures. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, beads of sweat were pouring down his forehead, and his aura was weakening.

However, the swords were beginning to superimpose with each other, as if they were transforming into one single sword. When that single superimposed sword dropped down, Greed grabbed it and looked at it with a bit of disappointment.

"What a pity," he sighed. "It's not the structure I'm familiar with, so I can only attempt to force it back together based on memory. I can't fully restore them to their genuine state." Then he sucked in a deep breath, causing the superimposed wooden swords to transform into a dark beam that shot into his mouth.

"Okay, now it's time for my cultivation base." He took another deep breath, which caused peals of thunder to fill the necropolis, and a huge wind to spring up. His energy suddenly rose up rapidly, and the bloodline power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal exploded out. After a certain critical point was reached, the power of his cultivation base caused the Paragon Bridge inside of him to become visible.

"Is that…." Greed's expression flickered with disbelief, and he began to shake with wild joy.

"It's THAT bridge! How is this possible! That's…

"He actually has THAT bridge inside of him!

"Good fortune! This is indescribable good fortune for me! Probably the greatest good fortune of my entire life!" Shaking, he threw his head back and laughed maniacally.

"My fleshly body power is perfect, but my cultivation base is a bit lacking. Well, that doesn't matter, I have ways to improve this cultivation base right now!" He lifted his hand and produced Naruto 's fourth Nirvana Fruit, which he examined closely.

"What a pity that Naruto 's memories were obscured because of his incredible injuries. Thanks to his soul being damaged, I can't see very much, and have no idea what this thing is. However, I can sense that it has the ability to increase my cultivation base." After a moment of thought, he pushed the Nirvana Fruit down onto his forehead.

He trembled, throwing his head back and roaring as his cultivation base rocketed up. Moments later, though, the fourth Nirvana Fruit suddenly appeared back outside of his forehead; since it was impossible for him to absorb it fully, it fell back down.

"Get back in there!" Greed said, eyes flashing coldly. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pushed a finger down onto his forehead, once again using some of his life force Essence to create a seal, after which he tried to forcefully keep the fourth Nirvana Fruit inside.

The real Naruto would not have been able to do something like this. Not only did he not have any ability with such a sealing mark, the life force power necessary to do such a thing was something he couldn't sustain.

But now… when the matter was being controlled by the person possessing his body, his Nirvana Fruit was forced… to once again fuse into him. Forcefully causing the fruit to begin fusing with him caused his cultivation base to explode with power, but at the same time the life force absorption rate from the Nirvana Fruit soared.

"Life force essence!" Greed roared. Using the Essence power of his life force, he pushed the Fourth Nirvana Fruit into a state of fusion. Greed's life force Essence could keep him alive in this land of the dead. It was the key to him being able to avoid death after he had been imprisoned here. That was normally his most prized possession, but right now, he could sense that Naruto 's body had so many desirable traits that he would risk anything and pay any price to enhance it as much as possible!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1241

Chapter 1241: Scared Half to Death!

The flame of life force burned hot in Greed-possessed Naruto 's eyes, as if a sea of fire existed therein. However, that sea of flames was being reduced as the fourth Nirvana Fruit in his forehead sucked it away.

That Nirvana Fruit seemed like a bottomless pit!

When Naruto had absorbed the fourth Nirvana Fruit before, he had only been able to endure for a brief moment before stopping. The Nirvana Fruit had emerged from him of its own volition; had it not, he would have been sucked dry.

Furthermore, every time he used it resulted in a period of weakness afterward, a time that had to be spent in recovery. That was the obstacle preventing him from stepping into the Ancient Realm; if he could not fully absorb that fourth Nirvana Fruit, then he would never be able to do so.

However, this was something that couldn't be rushed. Each time he absorbed a Nirvana Fruit, it required a terrifying amount of life force; furthermore, that amount increased with each Nirvana Fruit. By the time he had reached the fourth, the amount required was virtually impossible to describe.

Unless he came across some sort of good fortune that could aid him, Naruto had been under the assumption that it would take a very, very long time before he could truly fuse with the fourth Nirvana Fruit.

Although he wasn't very anxious about the matter, Greed, who was in possession of his body, was.

"Dammit, what is this thing!?" Greed growled, eyes wide. He was a stubborn person; all he had to do was let the fourth Nirvana Fruit pop out, and he would be in no danger.

However, he was stubborn and proud, and almost refused to believe that he couldn't succeed in this situation.

"I refuse to believe that I, Greed, can't absorb some crappy Dao Fruit thing like this!" He gritted his teeth, and instead of undoing the seal he had created, he caused more of his life force Essence to rumble through his body into the fourth Nirvana Fruit.

ROOOOOAAAARRRRRRRRRRRR!

If the fourth Nirvana Fruit were capable of feeling emotion, it would be screaming in joy. Previously, Naruto had been incapable of satiating its desires, and thus had never been able to maintain a fusion. But now, with Greed's willing help, the fourth Nirvana Fruit… was actually being absorbed!

As soon as the process truly began, Greed's face flickered as about ten percent of his life force Essence was almost immediately absorbed. He hesitated, but then gritted his teeth.

"I refuse to believe!" He drew fully on his life force Essence, pouring it into the fourth Nirvana Fruit. He could already imagine what it would be like if he fully fused with this fruit. The body he had possessed would experience a cultivation base breakthrough, and once that happened, shocking transformations would occur.

Soon, twenty percent of Greed's life force Essence had been absorbed. He shivered, and fear began to shine in his eyes, and yet he gritted his teeth. All the way to… thirty percent, and then forty!

When forty percent of his life force Essence was absorbed, the flame of life force in his eyes grew incomparably dim, and terror filled his eyes. As of this moment, whatever obsessive stubborness he had was thrust to the very back of his mind.

Forty percent of his life force Essence still wasn't enough to fully absorb the fruit, leaving Greed so frightened that his face was pale. Without any further hesitation, he reached up to undo the seal on his forehead.

"Fudge, this fruit is too freaky! I'm done fooling around with it. Done, alright?!

"Get OUT!" Greed roared. He no longer wished to absorb the terrifying

Dao Fruit. He was scared, so he tried to force the fruit out, but… the Nirvana Fruit was already more than half absorbed. How could it possibly just stop?

Furthermore, although Greed's actions caused the fruit to pause momentarily, there was apparently some bizarre force that caused the Nirvana Fruit to resume sucking away at Greed's life force even more voraciously than before.

"NO!" Greed's eyes were wide, and suddenly, a sensation of crisis filled his heart, something that Greed couldn't accept. He could well imagine that if he continued, and the fruit completed the fusion process, then all of his life force could very well be sucked away.

He would become the first person throughout all the years… to actually be killed by the very body he had possessed….

The mere thought of that left Greed petrified. His expression was one of astonishment as yet another ten percent of his life force Essence was rapidly sucked away.

"Fudge! What the hell is this thing?!" Greed shivered as he realized that only about half of his life force Essence remained. His heart felt as if it were being sliced with a sharp blade, filling him with indescribable pain.

After all, his life force Essence was his most precious possession, and the entire foundation of why his soul could not be exterminated.

Greed's eyes were crimson, and he was shaking violently as he sped through the necropolis. The flames in his eyes were very weak, and even showed signs that they might be extinguished soon.

In his heart, he felt deep regret, regret that he had thought too much of himself, and looked down on this tiny fruit.

"But wait, there's still another way. The stronger this body is, the more it will help me. I'm gonna go for it!" Gritting his teeth, Greed flashed through the air in a gray streak. He moved with incredible speed, the lightning dancing around his head ensuring that he could break through any wall that got in his path.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared in another corridor, where two Ancient Realm cultivators were proceeding along cautiously. Before they could react, Greed turned into a blur as he pounced on one of them.

That cultivator let out a bloodcurdling scream as his body withered. In the blink of an eye, he transformed into dust, and a white mist which instantly merged into Naruto 's body and was then absorbed by the fourth Nirvana Fruit.

The other cultivator was shocked, and immediately began to flee. Performing an incantation gesture, he unleashed divine abilities and magical items. And yet, they were completely useless against the gray blur that was Greed. In the blink of an eye, he burst through them, and latched onto the cultivator.

Another miserable shriek could be heard as the cultivator's body withered away into dust. The white mist poured into Naruto , who then flickered, vanishing. When he appeared again, he was in yet another corridor, near another Ancient Realm cultivator, who was speeding along. A moment later, a gray blur overwhelmed him.

It was in this manner that Greed's slaughter was carried out. He was a gray blur that sped about devouring and killing in the necropolis. No one who encountered him could escape.

One, two, three… ten, fifteen, twenty….

In a very short time, Greed-possessed Naruto had slaughtered numerous cultivators in his attempt to fully absorb the fourth Nirvana Fruit. Even so, it could only reduce the speed with which his own life force Essence was being sucked away.

"I need more life force!" Greed growled, on the verge of becoming unhinged. He began moving faster, killing faster, until finally, his divine sense picked up another of the Dao Realm experts that had been pulled into the necropolis.

"He's next!" Greed's eyes were sunken. He had killed a Dao Realm expert already, and this would be his second. He burst through a nearby wall into a corridor, a bit behind a figure who was speeding along.

Greed's entrance caused the man to turn and look back, his eyes flashing like lightning. It was an old man, one of the two 2-Essences Dao Realm cultivators who had tried to interfere with Naruto outside of the necropolis.

" Naruto !" he said. However, he almost immediately realized that something was off. Although Naruto had seemed strong before, it had been nothing more than that: strength. Now, he seemed terrifying, superior in a way that caused the old man's heart to tremble with fear.

Without the slightest hesitation, he fell back. Simultaneously, though,

Naruto 's body was compelled by Greed to charge forward in attack.

"Dammit, how dare you run!" The maddened Greed's words were somewhat illogical, but inwardly, he was both irritated and afraid…. In his fear of having his life completely sucked away, this Dao Realm cultivator was essentially a surrogate to take his place in death.

To see that surrogate running away left Greed enraged. He increased his speed, making it impossible for the Dao Realm cultivator to flee. Seeing this, the cultivator suddenly turned while performing an incantation gesture, a fierce glow rising up in his eyes.

"Lightning!" He roared, causing numerous red lightning bolts to suddenly shoot out from his skin. They merged together into the image of a huge lightning bolt, which then exploded out, transforming into a rapidly-expanding lightning globe. This old man was a decisive person, so he quickly bit his tongue and spit out some blood.

"Water!" he roared. A red mist spread out from the blood, as if the blood and the water were being separated. What was left behind was only a drop of water, which was also Essence formed from the old man's life force.

That drop of water could contain entire worlds, and as the glow of lightning shone down on it, it began to emanate a seven-colored glow, within which numerous land masses could be seen. Instantly, that light shot toward Greed.

The flickering lightning swirled around the drop of water and then also shot toward Greed.

Earlier, if Naruto had gone up against this old man's lightning and water Essences, he would definitely have had to unleash the Paragon Bridge. But Greed-possessed Naruto simply smiled.

Then… he opened his mouth and actually consumed the drop of water!

As he swallowed, a massive rumbling filled Naruto 's body. As for the boundless lightning, he absorbed that too!

Unexpectedly, it didn't hurt him at all, which caused the old man's eyes to go wide. Shocked, he was just about to flee when Greed-controlled Naruto laughed viciously.

"Now, it's my turn… The Wolf Conquers All!" Greed said, his voice strange and sinister. He lunged forward in the direction of the old man, mouth wide. 1

As he breathed in, no force of absorption appeared, and yet the old man let out a miserable shriek. Rumbling could be heard as boundless white mist poured out of him toward Greed, who immediately sucked it in.

It was a bizarre sight; the old man screamed as his body withered up. In the blink of an eye, he turned into a desiccated corpse, which then collapsed into ash.

All of his life force had been consumed by Greed!

Quick reminder that Greed's name contains the character for wolf ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1242

Chapter 1242: Blue Sun!

Thanks to the life force of the Dao Realm cultivator, Greed-possessed Naruto trembled. Suddenly, brilliant light began to shine out from his forehead. Although the fourth Nirvana Fruit was not completely absorbed, it had apparently reached a milestone in the process!

Rumbling could be heard as the fourth Nirvana Fruit slowly began to rotate in place in addition to its absorption of life force. Next, the third Nirvana Fruit, as well as the second, and finally the first, all spun in unison, causing an ancient aura to erupt out of Naruto . That terrifying aura spread out, causing the entire necropolis to shake.

That aura did not belong to Greed, but rather, the fourth Nirvana Fruit!

As the fruits rotated, and the aura spread out, the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal also rotated at its peak. Gradually, the ripples of the Ancient Realm began to radiate out from Naruto .

Countless symbols appeared all over his skin, symbols that had apparently been hidden in his bloodline. Now they appeared all over him, causing an ancient, awe-inspiring aura to emanate out.

Greed was trembling in excitement.

"I bet, and it paid off big. This body is a huge treasure! With a body like this, I'm fully confident that I can eventually reach Heaven Trampling!" "I might not have fully absorbed this Dao Fruit thing yet, but it won't be long before I will!

"A fleshly body comparable to the Dao Realm, and a cultivation base even more powerful than before! It won't be long before this body erupts with… completely extraordinary power!" Greed took a deep breath.

Currently, he only had about thirty percent of his life force Essence left. However, to him, it was all worth it!

"That bridge, this exceptional bloodline, a powerful fleshly body, and a cultivation base with unlimited potential. This body is definitely worth it!" Greed licked his lips, then threw his head back and laughed.

"Once I get out of here, I'll find some God blood to get even more powerful, and then, everyone who humiliated me in the past will find out that… Greed is back!" Greed laughed, and as he did, a white-robed figure suddenly appeared in his mind, a figure which always filled him with resentment when he thought of him.

"Just wait until I reach Heaven Trampling!" Enlivened, Greed shot through the necropolis at top speed, sending his divine sense out to lock onto… Xuan Daozi!

In another corridor in another part of the necropolis, Xuan Daozi's eyes were wide, and his heart was uneasy. He could sense fluctuations off in the distance that left him completely unsettled. Muttering to himself, he increased his speed as he sent his divine sense out to scan a shrine hall in the center of the necropolis up ahead.

By now, nearly ninety percent of the cultivators who had entered the necropolis were dead, most of them at the hands of Greed. Some had already been wounded before entering; after being infected by the aura of death in the place, they were now at death's door.

Uzumaki Chen was one of those people. He currently lay in the dirt, his vision fading to black, his expression blank. His aura was growing weak, and his complexion was ashen as the aura of death caused his internal organs to slowly decay. Occasionally, black blood would ooze out of his mouth.

Even his flesh was beginning to decay. By now, not even a Dao Realm cultivator would be able to save him, the reason being that his soul was already dispersing. The aura of death slowly corroded his soul, and as it faded away, he slipped into death.

He was dying, but that was not his wish. There were still many things he wanted to accomplish. He was the only member of his bloodline to have ever gone out into the world in recent years, and he had grand aspirations. He wanted to lead the members of his bloodline back to prominence, to restore his bloodline to its former glory.

But now, all he had were regrets.

Suddenly, his lips quivered as he said, "Dad…. Mom…. I've been an unfilial son…."

His thoughts were somewhat muddled, and at the moment, he thought he could see the members of his bloodline, and the hard lives they lived.

He thought about many things. He thought about how excited everyone had been when they found out that he had shown the ability to cultivate. He thought about the oaths that he had sworn from the time he was young, and the first time he had left the ancestral lands. When he had set foot onto that merchant ship and received his orders from Young Lord De, he had gritted his teeth and complied, willing to pay any price for his bloodline and for his ambitions.

But now, all his humiliations, and all his grand aspirations, were nothing but memories….

"If I die," Uzumaki Chen murmured, "what will become of my little brothers and sisters…? What will all my other relatives do…?" Uzumaki Chen's vision was growing blurry; too much of his flesh was rotting away, and much of him was already being absorbed into the soil itself.

His current location wasn't very far away from where Greed-possessed Naruto was speeding along toward Xuan Daozi's position.

About ten breaths of time passed, during which time Greed got closer and closer to Xuan Daozi. At one point, when Greed passed by one particular side chamber, he suddenly stopped and looked inside. Approaching in his direction was Han Qinglei, who suddenly looked at him with an expression of delight.

" Naruto !" Han Qinglei's anxiety suddenly lessened now that he had seen Naruto . He began to hurry over, but had only taken three or four steps when he suddenly stopped in place, his pupils constricting.

" Naruto , what's wrong?" Han Qinglei could sense that something was off. There was a cold mercilessness within Naruto 's eyes, as well as an avarice that he could tell was completely different from the Naruto he remembered.

Although this Naruto and the other Naruto looked alike and their auras were the same, the different look in this one's eyes made Han Qinglei immediately begin to back up.

Greed-possessed Naruto looked Han Qinglei up and down, then smiled viciously. "I can't believe there's another excellent fleshly body here….

"Except it's not quite as good as the one I already have. However, it's not good to waste. There's plenty of excellent life force to be sucked away." Grinning, Greed shot toward Han Qinglei.

Han Qinglei's face fell. He was an intelligent person, and was able to detect enough clues to be suspicious. Then he heard Greed's words, and he understood everything.

"Possession!" he said, sucking in a breath. He immediately fled backward at top speed, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused a green cauldron to materialize. Rumbling could be heard as he continued to retreat back at top speed. Greed grinned viciously, and his right hand shot forward in a gray blur as he made to grab Han Qinglei.

Han Qinglei's expression was one of hopelessness; based on the level of his cultivation base, he was fundamentally no match at all for Greed.

However, even in the moment that Greed's hand turned into a gray blur and was about to latch onto Han Qinglei, all of a sudden, it stopped moving, as if it were fighting back against Greed's consciousness.

Greed's face fell, and he shot backward, grabbing his right hand hard with his left, a surprised and suspicious look in his eyes. Next, his eyes flickered as he examined his body. However, he could find no trace of a discarnate soul, which led him to only one conclusion.

"Dammit, there must still be tiny fragments of his soul left!

"However, the resistance was weak, and the soul fragments are acting on instinct alone. It seems Naruto and this person had some sort of friendship…."

With a cold harrumph, he caused the Chakra and blood in his body to begin to burn, and even sent some of the lightning flame from the Lightning Cauldron to surround him, burning him from the outside in, and then vice versa.

After about ten breaths of time passed, the flames dissipated, and Greed stopped burning his Chakra and blood. Feeling much better, he looked up in the direction of the fleeing Han Qinglei. He was about to give chase, when suddenly the force exerted by the fourth Nirvana Fruit grew stronger, as if it were intent on completing its fusion.

Greed hesitated for a moment, then gave up on the idea of pursuing Han Qinglei. Instead, he flew in the direction of Xuan Daozi.

Currently, the most important thing was to complete the fusion with the Dao Fruit in his forehead, and he was confident that after consuming Xuan Daozi, he would be very close to just such a conclusion.

As Xuan Daozi and Greed both sped along, they gradually neared the exact same area!

That area was none other than the huge temple in the middle of the necropolis!

The necropolis was a vast construction, all of which was built around the temple in the middle. There were dozens of side chambers, all of which were connected by tunnels. The entire structure was arranged almost like a spell formation.

Currently, Xuan Daozi had just sped through one of the more than ten entrances to the central temple, piercing through the air like lightning.

As soon as he entered, he could sense a terrifying pressure that caused him to tremble. He took a deep breath and looked around, and as soon as he saw where he was, his pupils constricted.

The central temple had nine enormous stone columns that almost looked like spikes driven into the ground. In the very middle of those nine stone columns was a raised platform, upon which could be seen… a blue-robed figure sitting there cross-legged!

It was a withered corpse that emanated a boundlessly ancient air, as if it had existed for countless years. There was absolutely no life force to be sensed on this corpse; it had been dead a long time.

However… visible on its forehead was an astonishing flame, blue in color. From a distance, it almost looked like a sun, floating within which was a face. That face had its eyes closed, and shockingly… looked very similar to the corpse's face.

Connecting the corpse to the platform were numerous iron chains. Furthermore, the giant pillars pulsed with fire that almost seemed to be refining the corpse!

On the wall behind the corpse was a fresco. Astonishingly, it depicted… a blue sun!

That blue sun was incredibly realistic, and if you looked at it long enough, it would make you feel as if you were being roasted alive.

Also within the area of the nine pillars, on the left side of the corpse, a small shield could be seen lying on the ground. It was also blue, and emanated a faint, flickering light.

On the right side of the corpse was a bell; small and a dark-colored, it didn't look very impressive. Scattered around were piles of other magical items; however, due to the passage of time, they were in various states of decomposition. Some were apparently still usable, but none of them attracted the attention of Dao Lord Xuan Daozi.

What caught his eye… was the blue sun on the corpse's forehead, as well as the shield and bell.

It was at this moment that, all of a sudden, Naruto came flying into the same area.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1243

Chapter 1243: Nine Seals' Handiwork

" Naruto !" After seeing Naruto , Xuan Daozi's eyes flickered with killing intent. He had paid a huge, bitter price for the chance to obtain Naruto 's Essence. After their initial encounter, he had pursued him into the 33 Hells. Then he had experienced the bloody battle within the mists, and finally had been sucked into this necropolis. The incredible danger of it all left Xuan Daozi filled with astonishment.

"At long last we're in a place where no one can interfere," he said in a hoarse, ghastly voice filled with killing intent. "Nor can you escape. Therefore… this is where everything will come to a conclusion between us!"

However, as soon as Greed-possessed Naruto entered the central temple, his eyes filled with mixed emotions and melancholy. It was almost as if he had forgotten about Xuan Daozi and the fourth Nirvana Fruit. Instead, he stood there, staring at the withered corpse.

"Exalted Celestial… Sea-Dao," he murmured, expression complex and filled with numerous emotions.

"The sea in the name represents two people. As for the Dao, the true meaning of the Daoist name given me was not Sea-Dao, but Sea-Dog." Greed seemed to be bitterly lost in the depths of his memories. Because of the profound ancientness of those memories, it was impossible for him to not emanate an incredibly ancient air.

That ancientness caused Xuan Daozi, who was in the middle of attacking, to suddenly stare in shock. He lurched to a stop, staring suspiciously, unable to determine what strange development had occurred, but deeply moved by the ancient aura radiating off of Naruto .

Then he heard the words spoken by Greed, and his eyes widened. He suddenly remembered that on the surface of the gravestone outside the necropolis was a name written down by none other than Paragon Nine Seals…. It read: _Paramita, Exalted Celestial Sea-Dao_.

Shockingly, Greed was suppressed in this very location…. Exalted Celestial Sea-Dao was actually one aspect of his soul. Years ago, he had split himself into two, one part of which remained in his fleshly body; as it had slowly withered away, that soul had condensed into the sun of an Exalted Celestial on his forehead.

The other part had been hidden away in dormancy in the surrounding area, avoiding true death. In all the years since then, that aspect of his soul had attempted to free itself on many occasions, to escape. However, he had never been able to see any acceptable host, not even when cultivators came to this place from the outside world. He had tried on numerous occasions, but had never succeeded in possessing anyone.

But then he had laid eyes on Naruto , which was the first time he had actually been able to see another cultivator.

Greed sighed, an ancient sigh which echoed out in all directions. The entire temple seemed to fill with wind, and caused all light to grow unstable.

The blue sun on the corpse's forehead suddenly flared to life. At the same time, the shield and the little bell on either side of the corpse began to tremble.

The already intense pressure in the area grew stronger, explosively powerful, causing Xuan Daozi to shiver. Only Greed seemed completely unaffected.

"The cruel Paragon Nine Seals…" Greed murmured, traces of fear visible within his expression. "He had a Heaven Trampling fleshly body and a cultivation base half a step away from that same Realm…. What a pity he was the only one. If the Immortal World had another Paragon of the same level, the war might not have ended the way it did….

"Cruel. I never sensed it before, but now I can see the truth. He could have exterminated us all along but instead, he created these 33 Hells, not simply to suppress us, but to use the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm to take the 33 of us, powerful peak experts, and… refine us into pills!

"You wanted to pass us onto your successor, huh…? You wanted to take 33 Dao Divinities and Exalted Celestials, refine them into pills, and leave them behind for your successor!" Greed took a deep breath. Shaken, his eyes began to shine with a bright light.

"Unfortunately, you could never have anticipated me escaping by splitting myself, nor could you predict… that I would possess this body! I have no idea where your so-called successor is, but as for this grand gift you prepared for him, I'm going to take it now!" With that Greed took a step forward.

However, as soon as that step landed, Xuan Daozi suddenly couldn't take the tension anymore and he howled, shooting toward the Greedpossessed Naruto .

"Stop spouting mumbo-jumbo, Naruto ! Today is the day you die!"

Flying at top speed, Xuan Daozi closed in and waved his hand, causing Essence and natural law to erupt out and bear down on Naruto .

In this attack, Xuan Daozi drew on all the power he could muster. Inwardly, all of the dangers of this place were weighing down on his heart, and also felt shaken by the words uttered just now by Greed.

Therefore, even as his Essence and natural law shot out, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing nine reptilian scales to fly out of his bag of holding.

As soon as the scales appeared, a brutal aura exploded out, and the scales transformed into nine Scale Dragons, each one fully 300 meters long. Thankfully, the temple was a large place, otherwise they wouldn't even have been able to move. As soon as they appeared, they roared and charged toward Naruto .

Xuan Daozi hadn't even finished that attack before he performed another incantation gesture and then waved his finger. His flesh and blood instantly withered, making him incredibly gaunt, yet simultaneously causing a mist of flesh and blood to transform into a blood sword.

The sword droned like a Blood Dragon as it shot toward Naruto .

Next, Xuan Daozi performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing one magical symbol after another to appear. All of them were golden, and made popping sounds as they transformed into goldenarmored celestial soldiers, which formed up and advanced on Naruto .

Next, a strange light gleamed in Xuan Daozi's eyes, and the killing intent within them swirled. Glaring coldly at Naruto , he began to mutter, then raised his right hand, which radiated a shocking black mist. The black mist swirled around, causing the air around him to distort.

He really was going all out in this attack, doing everything possible to kill Naruto and end the fighting that had been dragging out between them.

Greed-possessed Naruto 's eyes flickered with a mysterious light, and he smiled viciously. He stopped walking toward the nine stone columns, and instead turned and headed toward Xuan Daozi.

"You're the only Dao Realm cultivator left? Well, just to make sure I don't run low on life force, I'll seal you before you die."

As he took his first step, Xuan Daozi's power of Essence and natural law descended, enveloping him. But Greed simply opened his mouth and swallowed. The Essence and natural law shuddered; it was as if Greed's mouth had turned into a black hole, and they were sucked in and completely consumed.

Xuan Daozi's eyes went wide, but before he could even react, the nine Scale Dragons closed in. Greed took a second step, causing rumbling sounds to echo out, shaking the entire necropolis. The nine Scale Dragons screamed miserably and shattered, transforming into white mist that Greed sucked in.

He licked his lips, eyes shining as he smiled and said, "Lovely flavor."

With that, he took a third step, waving his finger. The blood sword lurched to a halt and trembled in midair. Greed tapped on it, and it shattered, transforming into a blood mist which spread out in all directions.

As for the incoming gold-armored celestial soldiers, they began to shake, and then fell into retreat. However, Greed waved his hand, shattering them and transforming them into a white mist which he then absorbed. The fourth Nirvana Fruit in his forehead was now significantly further along in its fusion process.

"You're not Naruto !" Xuan Daozi exclaimed. "Who are you?!" If he couldn't piece the clues together by now, then how could he have practiced cultivation to this level? Shock filled his face, and his scalp felt numb. How could he ever have imagined that all of his divine abilities and Daoist magics would be completely dismantled in an instant!?

The two sentences he had just uttered were completely involuntary. He had begun to guess at the truth when he saw the expression on Naruto 's face when he looked at the withered corpse, and heard the words he had spoken. The terrifying possibility was something he almost couldn't believe. But now, there was no denying it.

"Of course I'm not Naruto ," said Greed, voice cool and expression both arrogant and disdainful. "You can call me Exalted Celestial SeaDao. Although, I like my former name better. Greed!"

Xuan Daozi's eyes filled with madness. His first reaction to encountering a terrifying entity such as this was to raise his right hand, which was now so enveloped in black mist that it was impossible to see with the naked eye.

"Profound Heavens Grand Magic!" Xuan Daozi roared. He lowered his hand, and suddenly, the image of an enormous palm appeared, completely black. It seemed illusory, but was in fact corporeal, and it shot toward Naruto with incredible speed, distorting natural law and affecting even Heaven and Earth as it sped along.

A strange light appeared in Greed's eyes; he appeared to be somewhat surprised. However, when he opened his mouth and began to suck in a breath, the gigantic black hand began to shrink, transforming into a cyclone of wind that Greed then sucked in and swallowed.

The sight caused Xuan Daozi's heart to tremble, and he started to wonder if there was anything that this thing couldn't eat….

He was already starting to edge backward, but there was nowhere to flee to in the huge temple.

"What makes you think I would let you leave?" Greed asked, smiling. "I was the reason you people were sucked into this place. This… is my necropolis, and yours too." Even as Greed smiled, the surrounding walls began to rumble, and suddenly, the ten entrances all collapsed.

If it were just an ordinary physical collapse, that wouldn't be able to stop a cultivator from bursting through. But the ripples of a magical technique spread out, turning into a seal that kicked Xuan Daozi back as soon as he got close. It was now impossible for him to flee.

Xuan Daozi's face fell, and his heart began to tremble. Greed stepped forward, and suddenly appeared in front of him.

Xuan Daozi's eyes widened as Greed pointed out with his finger and

then tapped his chest.

Xuan Daozi screamed miserably as he shot backward. The spot Greed had just touched was now decaying, radiating a powerful aura of death. However, even as the decay spread, and the aura of death grew, his life force also increased dramatically.

"Essence of Life and Death!" Xuan Daozi cried in shock.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1244

Chapter 1244 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1244: Naruto Awakens!

"Smart guy," Greed said, licking his lips, eyes shining mysteriously. "Seems like I shouldn't just eat you. Maybe a bit of Soulsearching would help me to better understand the current state of the Immortal World." Greed flashed toward Xuan Daozi, closing in on him no matter how he tried to evade. Yet again, he waved his finger, tapping Xuan Daozi's chest, causing it to decay and wither rapidly.

Xuan Daozi let out a miserable cry as his life force once again flourished explosively. His face was ashen, nearly despairing. He could sense the aura of death radiating off of Greed's finger, and yet, as that aura entered him, the destruction and death which followed actually stimulated his latent powers, causing the life force in his flesh and blood to flourish.

The pain involved in such a technique was indescribable; Xuan Daozi's eyes were crimson, and he immediately unleashed another divine ability, and yet, it was powerless against Greed.

"Tell me, what has occurred between you and Naruto ? From the look of it, you don't really want to kill him, you want to get something from him…."

Greed moved with incredible speed, tapping his finger once, twice three times. Xuan Daozi's screams echoed out, incredibly shrill, as his body continued to wither. His chest, arms, head, every part of his body that Greed touched began to rot, and didn't ooze a single drop of blood.

As he rotted, his life force grew stronger, causing him to shiver. In the blink of an eye, Greed once again tapped him, this time on the back. Xuan Daozi's entire body was brimming with life force. Pain spread through his body, and he felt as if he were about to go mad; knowing that he was about to die, he roared. Unexpectedly, he was choosing to self-detonate.

However, in the moment that the power of self-detonation appeared, Greed viciously tapped down with his finger. Rumbling could be heard as the power of self-detonation was suppressed. By now, Xuan Daozi's body was almost completely decayed everywhere.

His clothes were gone, and he was radiating a rotten aura of death. He looked completely vicious as the rotting spread to his organs, and his bones, and his Chakra passageways. Everything was decomposing.

He was an illustrious Dao Lord, a powerful expert in his Realm, but even still, he cried out, "Kill me! Kill me! I beg of you, kill me!"

It wasn't that he didn't have a steadfast heart, or that his Dao was incomplete. Rather, this pain was something that a cultivator simply couldn't bear.

"Tell me," Greed said, chuckling. "Tell me what you know. It'll make you feel good. Just so you know, you aren't the first cultivator from the Immortal World to experience pain like this. Back in the war, lots of people were able to enjoy it." Greed's eyes gleamed with the thirst for blood. He was by no means a virtuous person to begin with, and when he saw the suffering Xuan Daozi was going through, it made him feel wonderful.

"The Daosource!" Xuan Daozi shrieked. "It was all for the Daosource. When I fought Naruto , I saw him use a time-walking technique. It stirred my own Essence, so I was sure that if I could absorb his timewalking technique, then it might give birth to a bit of Daosource!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Greed's pupils constricted, and his expression became unprecedentedly serious.

"Daosource… that's a supreme Realm comparable to Heaven Trampling and Boundless Dao!" Greed was shaken. Gasping, his eyes began to gleam with the light of wild joy.

"I, Greed, have experienced countless good fortune in life. Whoever tries to kill me gets crushed by objects falling from the sky. Whatever places I go to turn out to be treasure houses. Anything that I want, I can get my hands on.

"This time, not only did I get a precious treasure of a fleshly body, I even got news about the Daosource!

"Daosource, Daosource, the paramount Realm of the Immortal World. If I can get that… then I'll be that much more likely to succeed in cultivating the path of Heaven Trampling!" Greed was incredibly excited, so much so that he lost interest in torturing Xuan Daozi. No longer caring about Xuan Daozi's terrifying rotting body, his hand shot out and latched onto the top of his head.

"Soulsearch!" Greed licked his lips as he unleashed the magical technique, too anxious to wait for Xuan Daozi to speak. He wanted to find the answers himself.

Xuan Daozi's body began to shake, and he screamed miserably. All of the intense pain before had come from within his own body, but this pain came from his soul. Popping sounds rang out from inside of him, and his eyes bulged. The pain he was enduring now was indescribable.

Greed was panting as Xuan Daozi's memories flitted by. He learned that the Immortal World had fallen, and the Mountain and Sea Realm had risen. He found out that Nine Seals was dead, and how the 33 Heavens existed. He learned many, many things that were different from when he had been alive.

Eventually he reached the battle between Xuan Daozi and Naruto , and as he stabbed into Xuan Daozi's consciousness, it was as if he were re-experiencing Naruto 's walking technique.

When he saw it, Greed gaped in shock. For some reason, the technique looked very familiar to him, although he couldn't remember exactly where he had seen it. Instead of spending time considering the matter, he sank further into the sensation of how Xuan Daozi's Essence had stirred in that moment.

The feeling left Greed completely excited. He was suddenly hit with an intense premonition that this was the key to Heaven Trampling!

In his excitement, Greed wasn't even looking at Xuan Daozi, who was currently hovering on the brink of death, screaming miserably. However, it was at this point that Xuan Daozi's eyes suddenly glittered with an icy calmness that reached a terrifying level.

Although he seemed to be screaming, he had actually split and compartmentalized his mind. Apparently… everything from before had been an act, and he had kept his killing intent deeply hidden.

Suddenly, he spoke out in a completely calm voice: "I'm a Dao Lord.

Getting killed in battle is fine, but I won't die in such utter humiliation!"

As his voice echoed out, Greed suddenly felt an intense sensation of crisis rise up within him.

In that critical moment, Xuan Daozi spread his arms wide and wrapped them around Greed, a look of contempt gleaming in his eyes.

"Profound Dao of Heaven, One Profound Magic, Across Life and Death, Essence Arises, Essence Destroys!" As Xuan Daozi's archaic voice echoed out, he suddenly exploded, causing numerous chunks of rotting flesh and blood to spray out. His soul, his Nascent Divinity, his Essences, all collapsed.

However, because of that collapse, his soul, Nascent Divinity, and Essences were able to merge together and form a gigantic magical symbol.

That magical symbol bore the semblance of the character 'profound', and it shot toward Greed with incredible speed, then branded itself onto his chest.

Greed howled and shot backward, blood spraying out of his mouth, his face ashen. The 'profound' character sank into his chest and then vanished, merging into him, searching for Greed's soul.

Greed was shaking, and his face was flushed. Once again he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Roaring, he tried to suppress the character by waving his hand behind him in the direction of the nine columns. Immediately, the shield and bell next to the withered corpse flew into the air and floated gently above him, emanating bright glows as they assisted Greed.

Greed's Essence of life force also flowed into operation as he used ten percent of it to try to drive out Xuan Daozi's dying attack. The result was that the 'profound' character was cleanly wiped away.

However, Greed's life force Essence had dwindled down to less than twenty percent. Panting, he looked at Xuan Daozi's mangled blood and flesh, and then gritted his teeth.

He had to admit that he had been careless, and had even been a bit arrogant. After taking over this fleshly body, he had virtually lost all sense of vigilance, and in that state of pride, he had overlooked the killing intent that could lurk in the heart of a hopelessly cornered Dao Lord.

Now that he thought about it, the screams emanating out earlier due to the fleshly body pain had actually seemed a bit fake. Their entire purpose had been to lure Greed closer; in fact, the reason why Xuan Daozi had even uttered the word Daosource was to attract his attention, and lure him into performing a Soulsearch.

Once Greed began the Soulsearch, then Xuan Daozi would have his chance to unleash that deadly magical technique.

"He was willing to die to try to strike me with a fatal blow…."

Greed took a deep breath, and vigilance once again burned to life within his eyes. He could sense that he only had twenty percent of his life force Essence remaining. Suddenly, he spun to look at the withered corpse within the nine pillars, and especially the blue sun. Finally, he smiled.

"Not very many people strike me with a deep impression, but this Xuan Daozi was definitely one of them. However… he was a bit too childish.

That magic wasn't capable of exterminating me. In fact, if that damned Dao Fruit hadn't sucked away more than half of my life force Essence, then I wouldn't even have needed to use ten percent of it to wipe away the attack.

"Oh well, it's all over now. I'll undo the seal now and retrieve my Exalted Celestial sun and absorb the other half of my soul. Then, I will no longer be half of a soul, but a full, complete soul. I can fight my way through each of the other 32 Hells and pick them clean one by one. By the time I leave this place… I might already be in Heaven Trampling! Even if the process isn't complete, I'll be at least half a step there!" Licking his lips, Greed shot toward the nine columns. Stopping in front of one, his eyes shone with anticipation as he stretched his hand out to push down onto the column, completely confident that he would be able to undo the first seal.

"OPEN!" he said, his voice echoing out. His hand turned into a gray blur as it closed in on the column. However, before he could actually touch it, when he was only an inch away, his hand suddenly stopped in place and began to tremble.

Greed's eyes went wide with disbelief as he realized that a tiny face had suddenly appeared on his forehead. That face looked exactly like Naruto 's, in fact it was… the real Naruto !

Naruto 's cool voice suddenly echoed out within Greed's mind and thoughts.

"Thank you for helping me re-mold my body, for refining my magical items, for increasing my cultivation base, for helping me fuse with my fourth Nirvana Fruit, and for giving me such a precious life force Essence. Oh, and thank you for taking care of all my enemies."

"Impossible. This is impossible!" cried Greed. "I already consumed your soul, I cleared out every part of your body with fire. It's virtually a completely new body. There can't be any remnant of your soul left. This is impossible…." Greed was shaking. Although his words seemed to be those of disbelief, his sinister soul exploded out in an attempt to wipe and drive away any remnants of Naruto .

"Nothing's impossible about it," Naruto replied. "I was hiding in the third Nirvana Fruit, and the Paragon's blood. Come and check if you want." Almost in the same moment that Greed made his counterattack, and Naruto spoke, the fourth Nirvana Fruit suddenly erupted with an even more terrifying absorption force than it had ever shown before!

Greed's soul trembled as his life force Essence poured forth like a waterfall.

"NO!" he shrieked miserably. "Nine Seals! It's Nine Seals! Nine Seals has schemed against me!" That was because all along he had never been able to sense the tiny bit of Paragon Nine Seals' blood. Apparently, it was simply impossible for him to see.

Chapter 1244: Naruto Awakens!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1245

Chapter 1245 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1245: Signs of the Door of the Ancient Realm!

Greed's soul let out a miserable shriek as he attempted to get out of Naruto 's body. Unfortunately for him, the power exerted by the fourth Nirvana Fruit was completely shocking, causing his life force Essence to rapidly vanish.

To Greed, his life force Essence was his most prized possession; it was what kept him alive, and the foundation of his soul, and was now also what made it impossible for him to escape Naruto 's body.

Finally, he let out a vicious howl and ceased any attempts to flee. Instead, he faced Naruto 's soul and tried to consume it. He really had no other option than to risk it all in an attempt to fight for that tiny chance at life.

However, even as he lunged, Naruto snorted coldly, and a bloodcolored light shot out from within his third Nirvana Fruit.

That blood-colored light contained Paragon power. Rumbling could be heard as it swept through Naruto 's body, surging toward the trembling Greed, who screamed, "Nine Seals, Nine Seals!"

Greed was in a state of despair. By this point, how could he not understand that he had been set up by Paragon Nine Seals? Years ago, he had assumed that his act of splitting his soul had gone completely undetected. The truth was that Nine Seals had seen everything.

Greed now knew why he had been unable to see anyone else throughout all the years, not even when cultivators came into the 33 Hells to explore. He could sense them, to be sure, and even try to possess them. However, the result was inevitable failure, as if there wasn't even a host to enter.

But then Naruto came along. Greed believed himself to have possessed him, but now, he realized that it had all been a trap, a ruse to lead him into an even greater snare.

"Nine Seals!" Greed howled as his life force Essence continued to be consumed by the fourth Nirvana Fruit. With Greed's help, the fourth Nirvana Fruit had already been more than half absorbed by Naruto . Thanks to its consumption of Greed, the process was becoming ever more complete!

Eighty percent, eighty-five percent, ninety percent!

Booms echoed out that no one could hear except for Naruto and Greed. To them, they seemed loud enough to cause everything to tremble. As Greed's life force Essence faded away, his struggling grew weaker and weaker.

He was now lost in despair, thanks especially to the pressure of the Paragon's blood. Soon, he was suppressed to the point where he couldn't fight back. He could only watch as his life force Essence slipped away, consumed voraciously, and his soul fire slowly began to flicker out.

Worst of all was that Naruto 's fleshly body was far more powerful than before, like a rampart, such that the power exerted by the fourth Nirvana Fruit could grow boundlessly stronger without him needing to worry about the strain it would place on his body.

"I refuse to accept this! I refuse! I've been preparing for years! I endured the pain of splitting my soul apart, all to get free. I'm so close! So close!" Greed's miserable shrieks echoed out within Naruto 's mind. Naruto 's body was shaking, and the image of four Nirvana Fruits appeared on his forehead, flickering brightly. An incredible power erupted from them, filling his body.

As Greed himself was absorbed into the Nirvana Fruit, Naruto then acquired… Greed's memories. They weren't completely intact, and there were many blurry areas, but they still left Naruto completely shocked.

In addition to Greed's memories, he also acquired… Xuan Daozi's memories, which Greed had just Soulsearched. Those images were fresh, and were quickly snatched up by Naruto .

It was at this point that his fourth Nirvana Fruit reached a state of ninety percent absorption. As for Greed's life force Essence, there was only a strand of it left.

"I re-molded this body with my Essence. I made it stronger! It's the same with the cultivation base. I even sealed the Dao Fruit so it couldn't emerge. I was the one who refined his magical items. I spared no cost….

"I destroyed his enemies, and turned them into life force which he absorbed…. I… I… I refuse to accept this! That jinx overcame me so many years ago, and what's done is done. But now, Naruto does the same thing!?"Greed laughed bitterly as his aura dissipated. His struggles ceased, and he was completely blotted out by the Paragon's blood inside of Naruto .

At the same time, the corpse sitting cross-legged in the middle of the nine stone columns suddenly trembled slightly. It wasn't that the corpse once again had life force, but rather, the blue sun on its forehead was vibrating, causing the entire body to tremble.

As the last strand of Greed's life force Essence was absorbed by the fourth Nirvana Fruit, as the last bit of Greed's soul was wiped out by the Paragon's blood… Greed's screams were cut off; he had been completely and utterly refined!

It was at that point that the blue sun on the corpse began to shine with radiant light. Then, it suddenly dimmed. However, when that happened, a face became visible within the sun. Floating there… was none other than Greed!

His eyes had been closed, but now they snapped open, filled with madness as he glared at Naruto , revealing that wild, unyielding air. He even opened his mouth and howled noiselessly.

His eyes were filled with venomous hatred, hatred toward Naruto and hatred toward Paragon Nine Seals, all of which had reached the pinnacle.

He had given Naruto incredible good fortune, only to be consumed by him. Of course, it was only part of Greed's soul, not the entire thing. The rest existed within that blue sun.

Back when he had been suppressed by Paragon Nine Seals, he had split his soul, with one half remaining on the outside. That part had now been absorbed by Naruto , which constituted a grievous injury to Greed.

In fact, not even the wounds inflicted on him by Paragon Nine Seals years ago had been as bad.

Half of his soul meant that half of his life force Essence was now gone as well. To Greed, that was like half of his life!

Even as Greed's face howled noiselessly within the blue sun, Naruto trembled, and the glittering image of his fourth Nirvana Fruit appeared on his forehead. It was now almost completely absorbed.

However, the key was the word 'almost,' since it still lacked just a tiny, tiny bit before being completely absorbed.

It was now at ninety-nine percent. The last bit would need time, not any influx of life force. Based on what Naruto could sense, he was confident that it would take a few months at most before… he was ready to break into the Ancient Realm!

At the same time, he could sense from the rumblings of his cultivation base that he was far more powerful than he had been before. He was even confident that if he faced Dao Lord level opponents, he would no longer only be able to fight them to a deadlock, but rather, would be able to secure victory.

Even more shocking was that the Allheaven Dao Immortal blood inside of him was boiling, which affected the Namikaze Clan back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

On that day, the Dao seeds in many Namikaze Clan cultivators sparked to life. There were even some whose blood awoke to the point of being in the initial stages of an Allheaven Immortal!

On that day, the overall power of the Namikaze Clan increased by a whole level. On that day, the Namikaze Clan was shaken, and all of the clan members were in shock. On that day, Namikaze Shoudao experienced a cultivation base breakthrough!

In one short day, the Namikaze Clan grew far, far stronger. At the same time, on that day, countless members of the Namikaze Clan could sense a distant, awe-inspiring aura surging up in the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

That… was Naruto !

Naruto 's eyes burst open, and they seemed to contain the stars hidden in their depths. If you looked closely, they seemed to house vortexes that could suck in the power of all types of divine sense!

Even more shocking was that… there was lightning dancing around him that came from none other than Greed's Essence of lightning.

Naruto took a deep breath, and as a result, the entire aura of the necropolis seemed to begin to spin toward him.

Naruto 's eyes began to gleam with wild joy. He clenched his fists together and relished the sensation of power he felt from his body, which far, far exceeded that from before.

He could sense the resilience of his bones, and how much more terrifyingly strong they were. His Chakra passageways were the same, and most importantly, his blood was too. Greed had paid an extremely heavy price to purify his blood, of which even a single drop now contained massive power!

Right now, he didn't need to use his cultivation base to fight the Dao, he could use his fleshly body alone!

In fact, there would surely be some powerful experts who would wish to refine his body into a Dao Realm treasure if they could!

Naruto began to laugh heartily. In his opinion, this Greed really was a good guy.

In addition to what he had done with his fleshly body, he had increased his cultivation base, something that left Naruto smiling broadly. He rubbed his forehead, thinking about how much time he had saved with the fourth Nirvana Fruit thanks to Greed. Suddenly, he felt very appreciative. Were it not for the fact that Greed had forcefully sealed the fruit inside of him, even though he still could have taken his body back, his cultivation base progress would not have been as incredible.

"What a great fellow," Naruto said. Licking his lips, he smiled and smacked his bag of holding. Eyes shining brightly, he took a deep breath and took out the long spear which had been turned into a dragon, and the superimposed swords. When he swung the long spear, the dragon roared. The pressure it now exuded was over ten times that of its previous power, as far as Naruto could tell in his initial estimate.

As for the superimposed swords, the murderous aura they emitted was even greater than before.

He suddenly regretted not leaving some more magical items sitting out in his bag of holding. If he had known things would end up like this, he definitely would have….

Then he looked up at the Lightning Cauldron floating above his head, and his eyes gleamed.

"Rich!" he murmured. "This time I've really struck it rich…. I wish I'd known earlier that lending out my body could lead to so many benefits. From now on I'll loan it out a bit more often…." Then he looked over at the blue sun on the forehead of the corpse, and Greed's face therein. Greed looked like he was about to go mad from the sight of Naruto 's glee regarding his fleshly body, his excitement regarding the transformations to his cultivation base, and his excitement at the items in his bag of holding.

All of it was too much for Greed, who let out a miserable howl. His heart felt like it was breaking, and his regret was enormous.

"Mine! All of that should be mine….

"I spared no cost to refine that body, and I wasted tons of Essence to mold its cultivation base. And I was the only one who could unseal those magical items…. Mine! All of that should rightly be mine…."

Chapter 1245: Signs of the Door of the Ancient Realm!

Note from Deathblade: If you're interested in getting early access to chapters, please support me on . I'm close to reaching my goal, and once that happens, I'll be putting the extra time into posting early chapters on !

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1246

Chapter 1246: Cleanly and Thoroughly!

Greed wanted to weep, but had no tears to shed. He felt embarrassed, even humiliated…. And yet that humiliation soon turned to indignation as he saw Naruto 's delighted gaze shift from the Lightning Cauldron to… the shield and the little bell.

"Those are mine!" Greed roared, his eyes wide. However, the sound of his voice couldn't leave that blue sun. Even if he roared louder, the only thing anyone might be able to see was the blue glow of the sun intensifying a bit.

Naruto stared fixedly at the little shield, then took a deep breath. For some reason, he had the feeling that he… could control it.

Heart thumping, he sent out some divine will, and the shield twitched. A moment later, it appeared directly in front of him, radiating a scintillating light. Naruto gazed at the shield, contemplating how easy it had been to control it, almost as if it were connected to him. It made him realize that the result of consuming Greed's life force Essence wasn't simply a matter of completing his fourth Nirvana Fruit.

He could sense that his control over the shield didn't come from himself, but rather… the fourth Nirvana Fruit.

It was similar to how… he didn't directly control the Paragon's blood inside of him, the third Nirvana Fruit did.

However, the specifics weren't really important. Naruto 's eyes gleamed as he next looked toward the bell. It flickered, then floated over to rest in Naruto 's hand, emanating a feeling of extreme ancientness.

"Not only did you help me refine my body, you increased my cultivation base, fused my Nirvana Fruit, re-forged my magical items, and even… gave me some of your own treasures." Naruto sighed and looked over at the blue sun on the corpse's forehead, and Greed's face, which was currently screaming silently at him.

Naruto cleared his throat and then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks, Senior," he said. Then he put the shield and the bell away.

Greed glared at him, and truly wished to weep.

After putting the items away, Naruto looked back up and saw Greed staring at him with madness and killing intent. All of a sudden, memories floated up in his mind that he had just acquired.

"When he was suppressed, he split his soul into two parts, huh…?

"The 33 Hells are actually thirty-three medicinal pills left behind by Paragon Nine Seals…. Hmm, medicinal pills concocted by a powerful Dao Realm expert could rightly be called Dao pills.

"If that's the case, then did I actually just consume half of a Dao pill?" Naruto murmured, looking at Greed, and his eyes shone brightly. He licked his lips. He had no way of knowing, but when Greed saw the look on his face, he suddenly shivered.

After standing there thinking for another moment, Naruto organized his thoughts. In addition to Greed's memories, he also had Xuan Daozi's memories in his head too. From those memories, he was able to see Xuan Daozi's final moments before his death.

Although he and Xuan Daozi had been trying to kill each other, when Naruto saw how he had died, he couldn't help but sigh emotionally.

"In the Immortal World, cultivators with less than three Essences are ordinary Dao Realm cultivators. Three Essences earns you the right to be called Dao Lord, which is essentially the peak of the early Dao Realm. After that are the Dao Sovereigns, who have up to six Essences. They are essentially the mid Dao Realm.

"After that is the late Dao Realm, which is… the Paragon stage. 7Essences Paragons, 8-Essences Paragons, and 9-Essences Paragons!

"It seems that the Paragon stage is equivalent to Paramita's Exalted Celestial, which is likewise equivalent to Paramita's Dao Divinity….

"Furthermore, beyond Paragons, there is another legendary Realm, the Daosource!" Naruto 's eyes shone brightly as he realized why Xuan Daozi had been so focused on killing him.

"Essence stirs only for the Daosource…. The Daosource Realm is similar to Heaven Trampling, which is likewise similar to the Boundless Dao?" Naruto was unfamiliar with these two terms. After searching through some of Greed's memories, he understood. Exalted Celestials and Dao Divinities were cultivation base terms used by the two powers that had been involved in the war with the Immortal World.

"Daosource. Daosource…. According to the information in Greed's memories, back in the day, Paragon Nine Seals had a Daosource fleshly body, but his cultivation base was only half a step into the Daosource Realm. So, he never counted as a true Daosource cultivator.

"In that case… exactly how powerful is the Daosource Realm? If a Daosource Realm cultivator appeared in the Mountain and Sea Realm, would it be enough to resolve the war between the three powers?!

"Furthermore… might it be possible… that there is an even more powerful Realm beyond the Daosource?" Naruto was nearly overwhelmed by the mass of new information.

After a long moment, he shook his head and cleared his thoughts. After looking over at the blue sun on the corpse's forehead again, his eyes glittered. Muttering to himself, he took another long moment to still his beating heart.

"My cultivation base isn't high enough to undo that seal and consume the rest of the Dao pill…. Since that was the purpose of the creation of the 33 Hells, then there's no need to get anxious about receiving all the benefits.

"Once I get into the Dao Realm, I'll come back and get all the Dao pills in one fell swoop!" Naruto stepped back, then waved his right sleeve, collecting all the other magical items which had been laying around in the area for countless years. After looking around one more time to make sure he hadn't missed anything, he turned and prepared to leave.

Within the blue sun, Greed stared at Naruto , swearing that if he had a chance, he would definitely consume Naruto .

However, just as Naruto was about to leave, he stopped in place, then smacked himself hard in the forehead. Greed gaped in shock, wondering whether or not Naruto was going crazy.

Naruto appeared to be furious as he once again smacked himself.

"Ah, Naruto you fool, I know you're rich now, but you can never forget that money comes by saving up a bit at a time. Every time you don't earn some money, you're losing money. Plus, once you get it, you can't spend it frivolously!

"You got some amazing good fortune this time around, and earned quite a bit, but that doesn't mean you can be extravagant all of a sudden!" Taking a deep breath, he reminded himself of the lessons he had been taught, then squatted down and tapped some of the floor tiles in the temple. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"I really was being negligent. These floor tiles might not be made from Immortal jade, but they contain a Dao will within them that makes them the perfect ingredient for forging magical items. Even one of them would fetch an incredible price on the outside." Eyes gleaming, he smacked his bag of holding to produce a sword, which he edged into the corner of one of the tiles. A moment later, the sword snapped in half.

"Wow, they're pretty tough!" Licking his lips, Naruto produced the long dragon spear, stabbed it into the ground, and began to pry upward. Meanwhile, Greed looked on, astonished.

A boom rang out as the floor tile flew up into the air. Naruto grabbed it and looked it over, whereupon a radiant smile appeared on his face. Eyes shining, he slapped his bag of holding, causing the parrot and meat jelly to fly out.

"No jabbering," he said. "Let's clean this place out. Just don't touch those nine pillars." With that, he went to work prying up the next tile.

The parrot and meat jelly had just been about to launch into a debate, but were cut off by Naruto . They looked around, and suddenly their eyes began to shine brightly, and they immediately began to help Naruto pry up the floor tiles.

One piece. Two pieces. Three pieces…. Ten pieces. Thirty pieces. One hundred pieces. Naruto was going mad, buzzing around like a tornado as he used the dragon spear to pry up one floor tile after another.

Greed watched what was happening, eyes wide with shock and disbelief. Naruto was using the very spear that he had paid such a heavy price to unseal, to run around like mad and pry up floor tiles. Greed suddenly shivered.

By now, he realized that Naruto was definitely not to be trifled with.

Absolutely, positively not to be trifled with. In fact, he was even more terrifying than the jinx that had sealed Greed here to begin with.

"That jinx was a killer, but this Naruto is more than that. He'll take everything down to the bones!"

Before Greed could even finish sighing, Naruto suddenly looked up at the walls, and his eyes shone. Hurrying over, he began to dismantle the frescoes piece by piece.

Greed's eyelids twitched as he watched Naruto , and his heart was pounding. He had long since taken his own name to be an expression of his personality, but now he realized that compared to Naruto , he himself… was an upstanding individual.

It was at this point that Naruto 's eyes flashed like lightning as he started looking around again, and his gaze met Greed's. Greed once again looked away, fearful that Naruto in his madness would go after him again.

"Crazy. Crazy!" Greed murmured, gaping in shock. "This guy is absolutely crazy!" The parrot and meat jelly were also collecting all of the items in the hall, with the exception of the nine pillars.

Greed stared around at the chaos; the once magnificent temple hall now looked as if it had been chewed up by a ravenous dog. It was completely bare, with only a few places left intact. Greed was shaking at how terrifying Naruto was.

"I really did underestimate him. He doesn't just give up with the bones, he even scrapes up the dirt beneath the bones. He takes everything….

"This is the type of guy you can't trifle with, never ever, ever! Now that I think about it, HE should be named Greed!" Greed took in a deep breath as Naruto once again seemed to be on the verge of leaving. However, it was at this point that Naruto turned and suddenly looked at him.

Greed shivered in shock as Naruto once again slapped his forehead.

"How could I have forgotten that…." Naruto said, sounding very angry at how dull he had become. He suddenly hurried over to where Greed was located, and a carved stone screen had been erected, which depicted a sun. Naruto efficiently dismantled the screen and put it into his bag of holding.

As he looked around the huge temple hall one more time, he tilted his head up and noticed the roof tiles, which he quickly helped himself to. Finally, he left with the meat jelly and parrot.

Greed watched Naruto leave, and then glanced around at the mess. Then, he really did start to cry. In his estimation, his necropolis must now be the poorest of all 33.

"I really did underestimate him. Not even ravenous dogs could pick the place apart as cleanly and thoroughly as this…."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1247

Chapter 1247: Uzumaki Chen Again

Naruto left, savoring sweet the flavor of his profits from the central temple. Eyes gleaming, he next focused on the surrounding side chambers. Of course, the meat jelly and parrot hadn't originally cared much about wealth. The parrot liked fur and feathers, whereas the meat jelly was inclined toward bullies.

However, after being around Naruto for so long, he had started to rub off on them. Now, they were far more interested in money, which was quite a pleasing development as far as Naruto was concerned; having assistants made the plundering process much smoother.

The three of them were like locusts as they descended upon the next side chamber. Because they didn't have to worry about the magical seals like they did in the main hall, things were much easier, and they went right to work.

The parrot flew up toward the ceiling, the meat jelly handled miscellaneous objects, and as for Naruto , he felt that prying up the floor tiles and dismantling the wall decorations was right up his alley….

In the end it took barely a dozen breaths of time before the three of them left. The side chamber… was completely empty, even emptier than the main hall.

If Greed were here to see what was happening, his fear of Naruto would surely increase.

"Rich! I'm really rich!" Naruto thought, his eyes shining as he madly cleared out another side chamber. It didn't take long before the group of three had swept through all of the side chambers. The parrot and meat jelly were starting to feel tired, so Naruto put them back in his bulging bag of holding, which he then patted as he laughed heartily.

Then he prepared to fly off and look for the exit. Meanwhile, Han Qinglei was just down the corridor, having just cautiously entered one of the side chambers. At first, he assumed that he had taken a wrong turn and come to a different place than he expected, but just as he was turning to leave he suddenly gaped in shock at the emptiness around him and examined the area more closely.

He looked down at the ground and saw no floor tiles, nor were there any frescoes on the wall. Every single object imaginable had been cleared out. Even the glowing pearl lights up above had been taken away. Han Qinglei gasped in astonishment.

"Wh-what… what happened?! Who did this?" Han Qinglei wasn't actually very familiar with Naruto . He only knew about how Naruto had acted in the Windswept Realm, so when he saw the shocking scene around him, he didn't think to connect it to Naruto .

Taking a deep breath, he hurried on to the next side chamber, whereupon his face began to flicker with fear. After visiting several more side chambers, he realized that they had all been emptied out, and were in complete disarray.

Not too far off, on another side, Naruto suppressed his excitement at everything that had just happened, and was preparing to start searching for the exit. At the same time, he was considering how to escape from the Heavengod Alliance.

"At the most, it will take me a few months before I can break through to the Ancient Realm. For me, the Ancient Realm will be a mere stepping stone, and it should be just a quick succession of breakthroughs on my way to the Dao Realm!" Naruto 's eyes shone with anticipation. He had already spent far too much time in the Immortal Realm, and had progressed farther than virtually anyone else ever had.

He had made thorough preparations, and was confident that he would be able to extinguish however many Soul Lamps he needed to. The only thing he wasn't sure about was how many Soul Lamps that would entail.

"The Dao Realm is the key to everything!" Naruto took a deep breath and buried his anticipation deep in his heart.

"If I remember correctly, Han Qinglei is in this necropolis too." Naruto sent his divine sense out and quickly found Han Qinglei. Just when he was about to head in his direction, Naruto stopped in place. He had just noticed that in a corridor not too far off, a person was just about to become a corpse.

It was none other than Uzumaki Chen!

"Someone from the Uzumaki Clan…." Naruto scanned his face, and despite the thick aura of death which twisted it in a grotesque way, he could tell that it was the same young man he had noticed on the Uzumaki Clan's ship.

Naruto remembered that when Patriarch Blacksoul had pointed out that he came from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, it made him think about the Uzumaki Clan, and then look over at the expressions on the faces of the people on the ship.

Few of them had any reaction when the Ninth Mountain and Sea was mentioned, but this young man, Uzumaki Chen, had looked shocked. His expression had been one of mixed emotions, including anticipation and even nervousness. Naruto had noticed that, but at the moment he had been in a very deadly chase, with no time to consider the matter. However, in hindsight he was now convinced that this young man knew about the connection between the Uzumaki Clan and the Ninth Mountain and Sea's Namikaze Clan. 1

Naruto ignored Han Qinglei for the moment, and instead sped over to Uzumaki Chen. He even used the Lightning Cauldron to bypass some walls, and appeared next to Uzumaki Chen a moment later.

Almost immediately, he was struck by the powerful aura of death emanating off of Uzumaki Chen. The ground in the area had already absorbed his limbs, and was slowly assimilating the rest of him, to the point where only his head was still visible above the surface. His skin was bloated and black, covered with blue veins.

However, he wasn't dead! He still had one breath of life left!

Naruto knelt down next to him and placed his hand on Uzumaki Chen's forehead. After a moment, a look of sadness passed over his face. Uzumaki Chen's cultivation base was only in the Immortal Realm. The necropolis they were in was filled with an aura of death that even Dao Realm experts would be leery of. However, Uzumaki Chen was already completely infected, and should actually have died much sooner.

However, a bit of his own aura remained, a bit that was fueled by his unyielding drive and will. The power of that desire transformed into something like a wisp of smoke from a lit incense stick, which kept Uzumaki Chen afloat for just a bit longer.

However, despite the fact that he hovered there between life and death, his soul was still dispersing, and his body was melting away. He would not be able to enter the cycle of reincarnation, and if Naruto hadn't come when he had, then it would only have been a few more hours before that final bit of his own aura was completely gone.

"Just what kind of obsession can drive a person to refuse to give in like this…?" Naruto murmured. He sighed, wishing that he could do something to save him, but knowing that it was impossible.

Frowning sadly, he reached out and tapped Uzumaki Chen's forehead, sending in a bit of life force. It wouldn't save him, but would give him a bit of lucidity and help him to express his dying wishes.

Uzumaki Chen shivered, and his bulging eyes opened; he didn't look at all handsome like he used to. However, Naruto 's life force contained Essence power, which caused Uzumaki Chen's dispersing soul to temporarily solidify, and his previously fading eyes to grow clear.

Unfortunately, Naruto knew that the brightness in his eyes… was the flicker of lucidity that came moments before death.

"If there's anything you'd like to say, you can tell me," Naruto said softly.

Uzumaki Chen looked at Naruto blankly for a moment, then realized who he was. Eyes filling with anticipation, he said, " Uzumaki … Hao…." It was difficult for him to speak, and when he did, it was in fits and gasps. "I… have an… aunt named… Uzumaki Li, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea…." His words hit Naruto like lightning, and he began to tremble.

He looked at Uzumaki Chen with wide eyes; although he had guessed that this might be the reality of the situation, to hear Uzumaki Chen say the words out loud caused waves of shock to beat at Naruto 's mind.

Instead of saying that Naruto had deep feelings for the Uzumaki Clan itself, it would be more accurate to say… that he felt deep regard for his grandfather's bloodline. In the final analysis, the reason he wanted to go to the Uzumaki Clan in the first place was because of that bloodline!

His true relatives were the members of that bloodline, not the Uzumaki Clan in general!

Naruto began to pant from the realization that this Uzumaki Clan cultivator was actually one of his direct relatives. He once again tapped Uzumaki Chen's forehead, giving him some more Essence power. This time, knowing that Uzumaki Chen was not just an ordinary member of the Uzumaki Clan, he gave as much power as was possible.

It still wasn't enough to save him, but it was enough to cause his eyes to shine.

"You… know… my aunt…?" Uzumaki Chen asked, looking at Naruto with intense anticipation.

"She's my mother," Naruto replied softly. "My name is Naruto , but at the same time, Fang- Naruto ."

When Uzumaki Chen heard that, he shivered, and a look of excitement appeared on his face. He knew that his aunt had gone to the Ninth Mountain and Sea to get married, and that her husband was surnamed Fang….

"So it's really… you…." Uzumaki Chen still hadn't released his last breath of life. However, his eyes were growing dim, and the aura of death was overtaking him. Even with Naruto supporting him, any moment could be his last.

"Help the Uzumaki Clan… and help our bloodline… rise to prominence!

"I'm… Uzumaki Chen, and I'm… the only Immortal Realm cultivator in our bloodline… help us… rise… to prominence!" Uzumaki Chen shivered, using all of the energy he had left to say the words 'rise to prominence.' After he did, black blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his eyes darkened. However, he still wasn't dead yet; he was holding on tenaciously, looking at Naruto , waiting for him to respond.

Naruto 's mind was trembling as he looked at Uzumaki Chen, his own relative. After a moment, his eyes filled with determination, and he nodded.

When Uzumaki Chen saw that, and the determination written on Naruto 's face, he smiled. The smile lasted only a moment, but based on the look in his eyes, Naruto could sense Uzumaki Chen's unswerving obsession. The look faded away, and then his gaze stiffened. His eyes stopped moving; the flame of his life force had burned out.

His body was now completely enveloped by an aura of death.

Uzumaki Chen was dead.

Off to the side lay his bag of holding, the only thing that remained of him.

Naruto was silent for a while, then he sighed. He was aware that his grandfather's bloodline was in decline, and that one of the main reasons was himself. It was the same with the Namikaze Clan. If his two grandfathers hadn't gone missing while trying to save him, then his grandfather's bloodline definitely wouldn't be in such a poor situation.

"The only Immortal Realm cultivator in the bloodline…?" Naruto murmured, slowly standing up. He stamped his foot, dispersing the aura of death, and sending the soil scattering about to reveal Uzumaki Chen's corpse, which he carefully picked up.

"Alright, time to take you home," he said quietly. Carefully placing Uzumaki Chen into his bag of holding, he turned and began to slowly walk away. As he did, his appearance changed… into that of Uzumaki Chen!

"I'll take your place to fulfill your obsession," he said slowly. "I will lead the bloodline… into prominence in the Uzumaki Clan!"

The part about Patriarch Blacksoul calling out Naruto as coming from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and Uzumaki Chen's reaction, happened in chapter 1231 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1248

Chapter 1248: Leaving the 33 Hells!

"Rise to prominence." What those words meant, and what they represented, was different now than what they had meant during his time in the Namikaze Clan. There, rising to prominence involved he himself flying to great heights.

Naruto was a member of the Namikaze Clan, and the Crown Prince of the direct bloodline at that. His father had a profoundly high cultivation base, and Naruto also had the support of the direct bloodline Elders.

Because of that, rather than saying that he had helped the direct bloodline rise to prominence, it would be better to say that Naruto had been demonstrating his own worthiness.

The situation in the Uzumaki Clan… was different. Based on the level of his cultivation base, he could earn himself a high position within the Uzumaki Clan if he wanted to. However, unless he stayed with the Uzumaki Clan in the Eighth Mountain and Sea forever, it would do no good. Once he left, the bloodline would be left waiting for his grandfather to return, and would be back in exactly the same position they had been in before Naruto had arrived.

To rise to prominence with the Uzumaki Clan meant… that the entire bloodline needed to rise, not just a single person.

Naruto stood there, lost in deep and somber thought. Uzumaki Chen's handful of words caused him to ponder the decline of his grandfather's bloodline, and the serious crisis they were now facing. The fact that they only had one Immortal Realm cultivator said a lot.

It meant that the entire bloodline could be wiped away at virtually any time.

In fact, no one else in the clan would care at all about Uzumaki Chen's death, because it would have virtually no impact on the clan as a whole. But to his bloodline, it spelled out certain disaster.

Their only Immortal Realm cultivator was dead….

"How did things come to this?" Naruto thought. He truly didn't understand how, in less than a thousand years, a once flourishing bloodline could experience such a decline. There was really only one possibility.

"All of the powerful experts died, leaving behind only widows and orphans…." Naruto trembled where he stood, his eyes bloodshot and his heart twinging with pain. He could well imagine the current situation in the bloodline, and it filled his heart with deep guilt.

He then silently made his way off into the distance, ignoring his plan to go find Han Qinglei. As of now, there was no need to rely on him to leave this place. Naruto would use Uzumaki Chen's identity instead.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, rumbling sounds echoed out within the necropolis, and everything began to shake as a huge rift appeared. A terrifying power of expulsion also began to rise up.

According to Greed's memories, that was the way to leave this place. There was a small spell formation aperture which, when powered by Greed's life force Essence, would open the exit.

As the rumbling echoed out, Naruto took advantage of the expulsion power to shoot out through the rift. He was followed by a shocked Han Qinglei, who quickly turned back to look at the rift leading back to the necropolis. He realized that the only people to be disgorged were himself and this other person from the Uzumaki Clan.

Of all the other people, none emerged… not even Naruto .

This could only lead him to one conclusion.

"Dead? Impossible!" Han Qinglei simply couldn't believe that Naruto had died inside. Suddenly, he thought back to the last moment in which he had seen Naruto , and how odd the situation had been.

Han Qinglei suddenly had a very bad feeling. Sighing, he turned and looked at the world around him, which was once again wreathed in mists. Roars could be heard therein, as well as the sounds of cultivators unleashing magical techniques.

He looked back at the Uzumaki Clan cultivator who had been ejected from the necropolis along with him. The reason he could so easily identify him as coming from the Uzumaki Clan was that all of the members of the Uzumaki Clan who had come to this place had Immortal Realm cultivation bases, and currently, Naruto had suppressed his cultivation base down to that very level.

"Everyone else died, how come he's still alive…?" Han Qinglei thought, eyes glittering. However, just as he was about to examine Naruto closer, an enraged roar echoed out.

"Hungry… so hungry…." The sound was joined by the clank of iron chains. A moment later, a black iron chain shot out from the mists, causing mountains to crumble down below, and destroying a few cultivators who got in its way.

The mists seethed, and soon, a giant became visible, around whose enormous belly were wrapped numerous iron chains.

Several cultivators surrounded it, including Dao Realm experts, all of whom were engaged in fierce battle.

Even though the old man from the Heavengod Society had left after Naruto and the others had gotten sucked into the necropolis, obviously other cultivators had entered in search of good fortune.

"What is this thing!?" Han Qinglei gasped. Although the mists made things difficult to see, it was possible to discern that the giant was actually covered by countless whisker-like tentacles, some of which were wrapped around the iron chains and the rest of which flailed about in the air. It was a truly shocking sight.

The creature was currently being besieged by numerous cultivators, many of whom appeared to be collecting the blood that dripped down from the tentacles surrounding the giant.

Han Qinglei, who had just been distracted by all the figures in the mists, turned back only to find that the Uzumaki Clan cultivator was gone. He looked once more in the direction of the necropolis, then let out a long sigh and buried his suspicions in his heart, flying up into the air toward the exit.

Concealed in the mists, Naruto watched Han Qinglei heading off.

Keeping his head down, he followed along, waiting a bit after Han

Qinglei actually left through the exit before flying toward it himself.

It was not that he was on guard against Han Qinglei, who had actually come here to save him. The friendship he had shown was something that Naruto would remember. However, it wouldn't be very convenient to meet with him in his current identity. His speculations regarding what had happened to his grandfather's bloodline still weighed heavily on his heart.

As Naruto flew up into the air toward the exit, someone spun out of control through the air toward him from off in the distance. It was an Ancient Realm cultivator, who had been attacking the giant and was now coughing up blood and had a very ashen face. Just now, the terrifying giant had swiped at him, and just the ripples of pressure from the blow had very nearly killed him. He was sent spinning tens of thousands of meters away, ending up right in front of Naruto .

Naruto dodged to the side and then continued on his way up. The Ancient Realm cultivator was a middle-aged man, who wiped the blood off his mouth, glanced fearfully at the giant off in the distance, then looked at Naruto .

"Immortal Realm? You actually dared to enter this place as an Immortal Realm cultivator? What sect are you from?" The cultivator's eyes flashed as he flew forward to block Naruto 's path.

"Screw off!" Naruto said icily, not slowing down a bit.

"How dare you!" the man said with a cold snort. "Are you looking to die?!" As he shot toward Naruto , he reached out to grab him. Naruto frowned, eyes flickering with killing intent at the man's obvious ill designs. However, before the man could get close, massive rumbling sounds filled the air.

The surrounding mists began to seethe and churn. At the same time, the besieged giant suddenly became completely clear to Naruto 's eyes.

It was fully 3,000 meters tall and had a belly that was so fat it seemed almost like a sphere, surrounded by writhing tentacles. Were it not for the fact that it had a head and four limbs, it might look like a globe.

It held an enormous cudgel in its hand, which it waved about as it roared, "Hungry… so hungry…."

Its left hand suddenly reached out and grabbed a cultivator, then popped him into its mouth. Blood oozed out as the giant chewed the man up and then swallowed him down. All the while, the other cultivators surrounding the giant were looking on.

Naruto heard the miserable scream, and then watched as the man was swallowed down. Next, one of the giant's tentacles suddenly began to glow brightly as if there were some sort of crystalline liquid flowing inside of it. Immediately, the other surrounding cultivators, even the Dao Realm experts, began to attack that very tentacle.

Booms rang out, and the tentacle shattered, causing numerous drops of crystalline fluid to scatter about, which the cultivators then snatched up.

It was at this point that a cold voice suddenly rang out in Naruto 's ear.

"Did you see that? Now it's time for you to do me a favor. We're going to use your body to trade for some of that moon elixir!" It was none other than the middle-aged man, whose hand shot out like lighting to grab Naruto . Naruto didn't even look back at him. He simply pointed his right index finger behind him and caused him to lurch to a stop, despite not even touching him. The man's eyes went wide with disbelief as he suddenly lost all control of his body, and was rooted in place behind Naruto .

Astonishment filled his eyes, and waves of shock filled his heart.

Naruto looked back thoughtfully at the giant. Suddenly, massive rumbling filled the air as a powerful force of expulsion rose up from within the world, filling the lands.

That force of expulsion began to push the cultivators up into the air. Simultaneously, the roiling mists formed into numerous vicious faces, which roared as they shot toward the crowds of cultivators up above.

It was as if they were going to drive these people away!

Most shocking of all was that the exit up above began to shrink, as if it were closing.

Immediately, the cultivators began to shout and fly up into the air.

"Let's go, the exit's closing! Get out of here!"

"The 33 Hells are only open for a limited time. They have an initial opening, a major opening, and a final opening. Each opening last longer than the last. Let's go, we'll have more chances later. From ancient times until now, anyone who has stayed behind after the exit closes has never been heard from again!"

"It's too bad this gravesite is so barren. There was no mountain of weapons, and only one cultivator was buried here alongside the one who was suppressed…." The voices of the crowd echoed as everyone flew up toward the exit.

The giant was still roaring and attacking the crowds. The expulsion power grew more intense, and Naruto flashed toward the exit, dragging the middle-aged man along with him.

As the crowds neared the exit and were about to leave, the giant all of a sudden looked at all of them, opened its mouth, and roared a Heavenshaking, Earth-shattering roar. Its body swelled rapidly, and its tentacles extended rapidly. In the blink of an eye, you couldn't see its head or its limbs; it looked like a giant, 30,000-meter sphere.

The shocked cultivators watched as over 10,000 tentacles shot up into the air like lightning. Many of the cultivators were too slow, and were caught by them, after which rift-like mouths opened up on the tentacles and swallowed them down.

Everyone was in a pandemonium; by now, the exit was only about thirty percent of its original size. Everyone shot toward it as fast as possible, speeding out of the exit; as for the tentacles, they didn't dare to follow, and instead began to attack other people who hadn't escaped yet.

One tentacle shot toward Naruto , but as it neared, his hand made a grasping motion. Instantly, the middle-aged cultivator's face flickered with fear and despair as Naruto tossed him out to the tentacle. It immediately consumed him, after which Naruto calmly stepped through the exit. As he did, he looked back at the huge 30,000-meter spheroid giant and its writhing tentacles, as well as the ferocious visages formed by the mist.

Then, he left.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1249

Chapter 1249: I'm Uzumaki Chen!

Outside the exit, the starry sky was pitch black and stretched out in all directions. When Naruto emerged, he could see the other brightly shining rifts, out of which other cultivators were emerging.

Quite a number of cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance had entered the 33 Hells. Of the few remaining who were emerging now, some looked alarmed, whereas others looked delighted. Obviously, those were the people who had acquired something valuable inside. As for those cultivators, their fellow sect members quickly converged around them and escorted them away.

Other people didn't look very happy about that, but after considering the matter, decided not to fight over the spoils.

Naruto mixed in with the crowds as they left the area of the 33 Hells, eavesdropping on their conversations as he did.

"It's shut now, so the initial opening is over. The next time they open, more of the grave sites will be available…."

"The 33 Hells will open three times in a row, and the period between the openings isn't that long…. Soon it will be time for the second opening, and in the end… the third!"

"I can't wait for the final opening, the third. Supposedly lots of sects acquire precious treasures and Daoist magics then."

"The level of danger always increases with each opening, though. Just now, not too many people died, but in the second opening, probably half of the people who go in won't make it out. As for the third opening… only the truly lucky can survive."

Naruto 's eyes glittered, but his expression remained the same. He followed everyone as they flew along. His cultivation base wasn't very high at the moment, only in the Immortal Realm, which put him at the bottom of the pack. However, he wasn't the only Immortal Realm cultivator; there were a handful of others, ensuring that he didn't stick out too much.

He went along, maintaining a certain speed that ensured that he fell behind. The group was led by Dao Realm experts, and eventually broke out from the region of the 33 Hells.

Eventually that included Naruto . As he emerged, bright light shone into his eyes; the starry sky here glittered resplendently, which was a stark contrast to the pitch black near the 33 Hells.

Naruto looked around and saw that the area surrounding the 33 Hells was packed tight with thousands of floating battleships. There were even floating palaces which had been erected, which belonged to various sects in the Heavengod Alliance. As the cultivators flew out of the 33 Hells and went in the directions of their sects, Naruto looked around at the various ships until he found the one belonging to the Uzumaki Clan. The Young Lord and his Dao Protector were there, examining everyone exiting the 33 Hells, looking for the members of the Uzumaki Clan that had gone in.

Naruto 's eyes glittered coldly as he caused his face to grow pale, and put a look on his face that made it seem like he had just escaped with his life. Then he lurched along as if injured as he headed toward the Uzumaki Clan ship.

At first, it was quite a chaotic scene as everyone headed toward their various sects, but things quickly started to quiet down.

Naruto slowly neared the Uzumaki Clan ship, and finally, the Young Lord caught sight of him. The Young Lord immediately looked delighted, but the Dao Protector behind him frowned and looked off into the distance. Seeing that no more members of the Uzumaki Clan had emerged, he sighed.

Soon, the ship's shields were lowered, and Naruto boarded. He immediately coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered off to the side, supporting himself on a handrail before managing to stand in place.

"How come you're the only one who came back?" shouted the Dao Protector. "What happened to everyone else?" Among the other members of the Young Lord's retinue present were a few people who were his long-time servants. One was a middle-aged cultivator, a butler who had recently been berating him and now looked very surprised to see Uzumaki Chen alive.

After all, of all the clan members who had gone into the 33 Hells, Uzumaki Chen's cultivation base had been the weakest. And yet now, he was the only one to return.

On the other side of the ship was the young man from the Han Clan and his Dao Protector. The young man stood there looking at Naruto , his sinister eyes glittering with a strange light as he slowly licked his lips.

"I never thought that this guy would actually make it out alive," the young man murmured. "Seems he's pretty lucky…." As he looked Naruto up and down, his eyes gleamed.

His Dao Protector didn't say anything. He knew what that gaze meant, and he was aware that this clan's Young Lord had rekindled an interest in this Uzumaki Clan cultivator….

In response to the shouting Dao Protector, Naruto 's face paled, and he began to tremble. Sounding very bitter, he wheezed, "Dead, all dead…."

Naruto wasn't familiar with Uzumaki Chen's manner of speaking, so he didn't' say much, only a few words. He coughed up some more blood and swayed as if he were on the verge of toppling over unconscious. But then he looked over at the Uzumaki Clan's Young Lord, and his heart thumped.

"Dead?!" the Dao Protector yelled again. "How come everyone else is dead, and you came back alive? What happened in there? Tell me!"

Naruto ignored the old Dao Protector and then slapped his bag of holding to produce a silver trident, which he held aloft.

" Uzumaki Chen has accomplished his mission!" Naruto declared. "I nearly died, but I managed to bring this treasure out. This was the magical item that everyone died to get…."

The Young Lord's eyes gleamed. Striding forward, he grabbed the silver trident, tested it out a bit, and then an expression of delight filled his face. Then he looked at Uzumaki Chen, grabbed his bag of holding and rifled through it, then handed it back.

"Not bad, Uzumaki Chen. This will count as a bit of meritorious service for you." The Young Lord held the trident in hand, looking more and more pleased, until he finally laughed out loud.

"Now that I've gotten my hands on a precious treasure, I can go back to the clan and be lavished with praise by the Patriarch."

Naruto swayed back and forth, just barely managing to clasp hands, bow deeply and say, "This does not count as Uzumaki Chen's meritorious service alone; all of the clan members worked hard to get this trident. Of course, most important was that this was all part of the Young Lord's master plan. That was the only way we successfully got our hands on the treasure."

The Young Lord gaped at him for a moment, then clapped him on the shoulder and laughed loudly.

"Excellent, excellent," the Young Lord said, clearly in a good mood. "Since you've made some contributions I'll give you a reward too. You can get treated in the sick bay for three days. Men, take him away!" Men immediately came forward to lead Naruto to the sick bay.

The old Dao Protector frowned. Although he didn't suspect Naruto of anything, he was considering how difficult it was going to be to explain the situation when he got back to the sect. Although he didn't take time to think about how differently Naruto had been acting, the middleaged cultivator off to the side who had had some dealings with Uzumaki Chen seemed very surprised.

As for the young man from the Han Clan, his eyes were glued to Naruto , and began to shine even more brightly than before.

Time passed. After the three days were up, Naruto went to his cabin on the ship to practice cultivation. He posted a notice on the door that he was in healing, and nobody disturbed him; after all, few people paid attention to Uzumaki Chen.

As far as life on the ship went, Uzumaki Chen didn't have any friends. During his time in the sick bay, Naruto had already sent his divine sense out to cover the entire ship. If he wanted to, he could kill everyone on board with a single thought, even the Dao Protector.

After observing things for a while, including conversations between the ordinary clan members, the interactions of the Young Lord Uzumaki De with his Dao Protector, and the perverse fetishes of the young man from the Han Clan which caused Naruto to frown, he was gradually able to come to an understanding the type of tough life Uzumaki Chen had experienced on the ship. He had also experienced certain humiliations. Because of all that, there was no one here he could be considered very familiar with, with the exception, perhaps… of the middle-aged butler.

That was the one person who had appeared to be surprised by Naruto showing up. Naruto could tell after observing the man throughout these three days that although he appeared to be on familiar terms with Uzumaki Chen, he harbored ill intentions. Finally, one night when the man was in a meditative trance, Naruto sent some divine will in his direction and quietly sent his mind into chaos, killing him silently.

The man's death caused a bit of a commotion among the Uzumaki Clan, but the Dao Protector's investigations indicated that the man had passed away due to an incident during cultivation, leading to widespread sighing.

The matter was quickly forgotten, and the Uzumaki Clan ship continued to fly through the Heavengod Alliance. It was as they neared one of the exit planets that Naruto left the sickbay and returned to Uzumaki Chen's room, where he began to practice meditation.

Because of the death of Patriarch Blacksoul, and the other people Uzumaki

Hao had killed, the bounty on his head wasn't very enticing for the Heavengod Alliance any more. Add in the fact that the 33 Hells had opened, and it ensured that few people were even talking about Naruto any more. The only people who were searching for him were disciples from some of the sects whose Patriarchs Naruto had killed.

Therefore, it was much easier to get around the previously locked down Heavengod Alliance. Most of the exits and teleportation portals were unsealed, and other than inspections performed there, not much else was happening regarding the search.

Many people assumed that Naruto had simply died within the 33 Hells.

In fact, not even the Heavengod Society issued any orders regarding what to do about him. Because of all that, it was a simple matter for the Uzumaki Clan's ship to pass through the exit planet and reach… the area outside the Heavengod Alliance!

When that happened, Naruto opened his eyes. He could sense the change in the starry sky, and walked out of his cabin onto the deck of the ship, where he stared back at the Heavengod Alliance, sighing.

He hadn't been in the Eighth Mountain and Sea for very long, but he had already experienced many, many things.

He had exterminated the Blacksoul Society, been put on the wanted list by the Heavengod Alliance, had fulfilled his long-time wish of taking the Imperial examinations again, had encountered the Daoist priest of the Righteous Noble Sect, had learned the Seal the Heavens Incantation, had entered the 33 Hells, had killed Dao Lords, had been possessed by Greed, had acquired an entire body's worth of good fortune, and had taken the place of Uzumaki Chen on this ship.

"After I get to the Uzumaki Clan… I'm definitely going do some incredible things!" Naruto smiled, and his eyes glittered. It was at this point that the languid voice of a man suddenly spoke out behind him.

"You're going to be spending the night with me."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1250

Chapter 1250: The Way Back

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever; he didn't seem to be surprised at all by the voice he had just heard. He turned around slowly and found the young man from the Han Clan leaning up against the bulkhead.

The young man was looking at Naruto with a strange gleam in his eye, almost as if he were teasing him. It was a look of derision, and at the same time, titillation. His glittering eyes almost seemed capable of piercing through Naruto 's garments to stare at his entire body.

In fact… as he stared, he even started to pant.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever. Although he didn't have access to Uzumaki Chen's memories, his divine sense had been enveloping the ship for days now, and he knew that this young man enjoyed back door action and had even humiliated Uzumaki Chen in the past….

"I love that look in your eye!" the young man said, panting. "I'm not waiting until tonight!" He began walking toward Naruto , lifting his hand up as if to grab him.

At the same time, the young man's Dao Protector could just barely be seen behind him. Apparently, he was used to turning a blind eye to the young man's behavior. Currently, he simply closed his eyes.

Naruto smiled, and although it was an icy smile, to the young man from the Han Clan, it was the most beautiful and enchanting smile he had ever seen.

"You should be happy," the young man growled. "I usually only take people once, but you… I want you a second time!" As his hand latched onto Naruto 's shoulder, he licked his lips. He was just about to stick his hand into his robe when Naruto 's own hand shot up like lightning and grabbed the young man by the neck.

He squeezed softly, and the young man began to shake. Gaping, his face began to turn purple, and his eyes bulged, filled with an expression of disbelief and shock.

As soon as the Dao Protector saw what was happening, his face flickered. Before he could even move though, Naruto looked at him.

One look.

One gaze.

The man felt as if the Heavens were crushing down on him through that gaze. It was like the bright glow of a precious treasure, and it stabbed all the way into the man's mind, where it became crashing lightning.

The Dao Protector didn't even have the time to scream. He shook violently, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He was instantly blinded, and then blood began to ooze out of his orifices. His Chakra passageways were shattered and his bones crushed. Then, he flopped over, twitched a few times, and rapidly withered up into ash, which then faded away. It all happened in the blink of an eye.

The only thing that remained of him was some white mist, which Naruto quickly absorbed.

Naruto 's eyes flickered. He had subconsciously drawn on the power of the fourth Nirvana Fruit with that single glance, and had not expected it to be so powerful.

The young man from the Han Clan was gaping in shock and trembling. The look in his eyes as he stared at Naruto was one of complete terror and astonishment, and were it not for the fact that Naruto 's hand was clamped onto his throat, he would be screaming.

He had always thought of himself as being quite resourceful, but in this moment of hopelessness, no amount of plans or scheming could do anything about the incredible power of the person he was facing. He simply had no way out.

If by this point he didn't realize that the person in front of him wasn't Uzumaki Chen, then he didn't deserve to think of himself as being resourceful. In fact, because of the murderous aura coming off of Naruto , he was actually able to guess at who he was.

The fear in the young man's eyes betrayed his feelings, and within his eyes, a pleading look could be seen.

"There is no enmity between us, and I'm not a murderer," Naruto said coolly. "I wouldn't kill you just because you said something that offended me." However, Naruto 's words didn't make the young man feel any better, and in fact, he was even more incredibly terrified than before, and the look in his eye grew more pleading.

"You seem to be an intelligent person, so presumably you know a bit about Karma," Naruto continued. " Uzumaki Chen hated you, and I'm here to help him. Since you like back door action…." Naruto smiled. His hand turned into a gray blur which passed into the young man's body. Suddenly, the young man began to sprout fur….

The fur grew thick and luxuriant… and eventually covered his entire body. In the end, he didn't even look human any longer, but rather, more like a trembling animal. Finally, Naruto put him into his bag of holding… next to the parrot.

With that, Naruto waved his sleeve, causing all the evidence to vanish. As for the young man's background and identity in the Han Clan, Naruto knew all about it but didn't care.

He could exterminate the Heavengod Alliance's Blacksoul Society, and then cause chaos within their borders. Why would he possibly care about some Young Lord of the Han Clan?

Actually, in terms of status, the young Han Clan cultivator didn't come close to being as high as Naruto .

Waving his sleeve, Naruto walked back into the ship, where he sat down cross-legged in his cabin. Soon, the Young Lord of the Uzumaki Clan discovered that the young man from the Han Clan had gone missing. However, no one worried that he was in any sort of danger; they assumed he had simply left of his own volition.

Time passed. Eventually, Naruto came to find out that Uzumaki De was one of nine Young Lords of the Uzumaki Clan, and that he was ranked toward the bottom. Although the position itself was high, the chances of him inheriting the leadership of the clan were relatively remote.

His reason for going out traveling on his own had not been because of orders from the clan. No, it had been Uzumaki De's idea all along. In his opinion, the cultivation resources available in the clan were insufficient. Therefore, he decided to travel to the Heavengod Alliance, purchase some goods that were restricted and not easy to find outside, then take them to some of the trading outposts in the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

He planned to use the subsequent profits to support his extravagant lifestyle.

That was why he was on this merchant ship. As for his bodyguards, like Uzumaki Chen, they were all clan members who nobody else really cared about, who had been forced into service to Uzumaki De.

From Naruto 's perspective, he was nothing more than a brainless idiot born into power. Even Namikaze Xi back in the Namikaze Clan outclassed him in all aspects. Naruto almost couldn't believe that with his position as a Young Lord he was relying on these kinds of methods to try to make money.

Were Naruto in his situation, with status like that, he could think of countless ways to turn a profit without having to go on some trading journey.

At the same time, Naruto couldn't help but feel sorry for Uzumaki De in his idiocy.

Naruto had also taken advantage of his time on board to carefully Soulsearch some of the members of the Uzumaki Clan.

He learned that his grandfather's bloodline truly was extremely down and out; it was so bad that they had been driven out of the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion, and were forced to live on the borders of the clan. Even some vassals had higher statuses than them.

Virtually everyone in the bloodline was mortal. Of the few dozen cultivators they did have, most were in the Spirit Realm. Uzumaki Chen had been the only one with latent talent outstanding enough to make a cultivation base breakthrough. By offering worship to an ancestral object, he had been able to acquire the power of a false Immortal.

As for the rest of the Spirit Realm cultivators in the bloodline, they didn't get picked on too much in the clan, but that was because… despite their names being on the clan genealogies, they were on the verge of being completely disowned.

To many other members of the Uzumaki Clan, they were nothing more than servants. Actually, there was some truth to that. The several dozen Spirit Realm members of the bloodline had become very low-ranking retainers to the clan's Young Lords and Ladies.

As for why such a powerful bloodline could fall so far in less than a thousand years, that was a question that Naruto could not find an answer to in the memories that he had searched. However, there was one thing he became certain of….

His grandfather's bloodline really was nothing more than orphans and widows now. All of the Senior members of the clan were either dead, or had crippled cultivation bases, making them useless. Furthermore, when it came to males… there were very few.

If Naruto didn't take Uzumaki Chen's place, then in another hundred years, his grandfather's bloodline might be fully wiped out, and then… there would be no more bloodline.

The mere thought of that caused Naruto 's heart to twinge with pain. Even more so, it made him wonder how exactly it came to be that all the powerful experts were wiped out.

Who did such a thing!?

It would be very, very difficult for a bloodline like that to rise to prominence. Even Naruto wasn't sure exactly how to go about it. He might be able to personally intervene to support the bloodline, and could even prop this branch of the Uzumaki Clan up by using his Hexes to manipulate a large number of clan members to serve under this branch. However, he would surely meet resistance, and given the strength of the rest of the clan he would be forced to enact a purge by blood. If a blood purge occurred, and then another clan came along to fight the weakened Uzumaki Clan, then it wouldn't be impossible for the entire clan to be wiped out.

Of course, all of that was mere supposition….

Most importantly of all, Naruto knew that true war was coming, and that was no internal conflict within the Mountain and Sea Realm, but rather the 33 Heavens and the other two powers that were crushing down over them.

Because of that, he couldn't stay in the Uzumaki Clan for long. Therefore, he was now considering taking his grandfather's bloodline away to the Namikaze Clan.

All of these thoughts swirled about in his mind, but as he was mulling it over he continued to observe the situation.

The ship went from one bazaar to another, selling all the goods from the Heavengod Alliance. After each transaction, Uzumaki De excitedly squandered the profits by purchasing all sorts of things that Naruto felt to be completely useless.

Naruto watched it all coldly. His main interest at the moment was finding out whether or not the Uzumaki Clan had been weakened so much in the Eighth Mountain and Sea that people existed who would dare to lift a hand to one of their nine Young Lords, Uzumaki De.

If no one did, it would show that the Uzumaki Clan was still threatening despite their fall from power. In that case, Naruto might be willing to resort to a blood purge to restore the position of his grandfather's bloodline.

However, if someone did make a move… then it would show that the Uzumaki Clan was a wilting flower. In that case, a blood purge… would only ensure the eventual destruction of his grandfather's bloodline.

Therefore, he decided to perform a little test. In one of the bazaars, he personally walked around and flaunted some wealth. After ensuring that he had attracted some attention, he made sure everyone realized that he was with Uzumaki De.

A few days passed, and the ship finally finished its trading route, and began to head back toward the Uzumaki Clan. Naruto was in his cabin, sitting there cross-legged, when suddenly he opened his eyes. Off the distance, he saw nine black-robed men. Their faces were covered, but their eyes flickered with greed and malice.

"They're covering their faces, which means they're scared…." he thought. "However, they still dare to commit robbery. It seems that their fear doesn't run too deep!"

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	13. Chapter 13

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1251

Chapter 1251: The Wind Picks Up….

"One cultivation base in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. One mid

Ancient Realm. Two early Ancient Realm. Five at the peak of the Immortal Realm…. A group like this would be taken seriously wherever they went. They could be overlords. In fact, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, they could occupy an entire asteroid bazaar.

"They might even be able to start a sect. It wouldn't be impossible." Naruto looked them over a bit more closely.

"The most important thing to find out is whether or not they're rogue cultivators. That's the first thing. Second, are they from the Uzumaki Clan? Third… are they concealing their faces because they're worried about people using magic to see what happened here? Or do they simply not plan to kill anyone? Do they… not dare to kill anyone?!" Naruto 's expression was calm and thoughtful. He was definitely not the young scholar he had been years ago, who knew nothing of the world beyond the Imperial examinations.

The path of cultivation was a brutal one. Back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, he had the Namikaze Clan backing him up. But in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, he was on his own. Add in the fact that his grandfather's bloodline needed his care, and his help to rise to prominence, it resulted in his heart growing colder and more vicious than ever.

The parrot was perched on his shoulder, apparently savoring some wonderful memory. Occasionally it would look at Naruto out of the corner of its eye. It could sense the changes in him, faint as they were, and knew that the pressures of the world were altering him.

The meat jelly was flopped in front of him, stretching lazily. The mastiff, who was back to being tiny again, would occasionally bat the meat jelly around with its paws. Overall, the two of them were having a great time playing around.

After a long moment passed, the nine black-robed men gave each other knowing looks and then began to perform incantation gestures. Instantly, a shield spread out, cutting off the entire area from communication with the outside world. Killing intent then flickered in their eyes as they transformed into nine beams of light that shot toward the Uzumaki Clan ship. Naruto closed his eyes.

A few breaths of time passed, after which Uzumaki De's Dao Protector, who was sitting there cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes. Looking very nervous, he suddenly burst out of his cabin and looked off into the distance.

"Ambush! Protect the Young Lord!" Although he was shouting, he kept his voice constrained so that it didn't travel beyond the ship.

Immediately, all of the members of the Uzumaki Clan on board burst into activity.

A moment later, a protective shield glittered into place, covering the ship. Uzumaki De rushed out, trembling and ashen-faced, followed by more than a dozen other clan members. They all stood there nervously, not a single one of them bothering to notice whether Naruto was present or not. Everyone was looking at the nine beams of light which were streaking in their direction.

The cultivator in the lead position had a cultivation base at the great circle of the Ancient Realm, which was the same as Uzumaki De's Dao Protector. As for the cultivators following him, those with Immortal Realm cultivation bases were less impressive, but the two early Ancient Realm experts caused the Uzumaki Clan cultivators' faces to fall.

Other than Uzumaki De's Dao Protector, who was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, everyone else was in the Immortal Realm, except for two who happened to be in the early Ancient Realm. That put the number of ancient realm cultivators on their side at one less than the enemy. 1

The one they were missing… was someone to counter the mid Ancient Realm enemy!

One person could sometimes have a huge effect on a battle like this, and even determine the final outcome.

"Are they just passing by?" Uzumaki De asked in a low voice, trembling in obvious fear. "They must be. How could they possibly have the gall to attack the Uzumaki Clan?"

"Young Lord, these people are not just passing by," the old Dao

Protector said, frowning. He looked at Uzumaki De and sighed inwardly.

"That's impossible!" Uzumaki De screeched. "How dare they! How dare they show such disrespect to the Uzumaki Clan. When I get back I'm definitely going to report this to the Grand Elder, and he'll exterminate their entire clan!"

"Oh, shut up!" the old Dao Protector said, clearly annoyed. He had already attempted to make contact with the Uzumaki Clan several times, unsuccessfully. He knew that communications had been interfered with, and was inwardly feeling quite bitter. Waving his sleeve, he caused the ship to send shining lights up into the air, forming an enormous ' Uzumaki' character 孟!

"Greetings, friends," the old Dao Protector called out, sounding quite tough. "This ship belongs to the Uzumaki Clan. Please clear the way!" He knew the consequences that could result from showing weakness, so he bolstered his words with his cultivation base, causing them to echo out with the power of the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

The nine incoming figures didn't even pause. Their eyes flickered with killing intent as they closed in on the ship. As they did, they performed incantations, then waved their fingers, causing the void around them to distort as a huge battle-axe materialized.

The battle-axe radiated a bloody, murderous aura that filled the entire area. It suddenly slashed down toward the Uzumaki Clan ship, causing a boom to ring out when it slammed into the shield.

Cracking sounds could be heard from the shield as fissures spread out, cracking sounds which echoed like death knells into the ears of the members of the Uzumaki Clan.

Uzumaki De was shaking, and his face was the picture of terror. The other clan members behind them had looks of despair on their faces, and even his Dao Protector was shaken by how terrifying this combined attack was.

A huge boom rang out as the ship's shield exploded into fragments that swept over everything.

Several Uzumaki Clan cultivators screamed out in agony as the shrapnel from the shield shredded them to bits.

At the same time, the black-robed men gazed down with killing intent as their leader charged toward the old Dao Protector. In the blink of an eye, the two were engaged in deadly combat, causing booms to ring out, along with the ripples of magical combat.

The two early Ancient Realm cultivators immediately attacked their counterparts among the Uzumaki Clan, who had no choice but to fight back. Soon, all four were locked in deadly fighting, blasting out with magical techniques, causing booms to ring out.

The five enemy cultivators at the peak of the Immortal Realm immediately attacked the rest of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators. Instantly, a slaughter was underway, and miserable shrieks rang out all over the ship.

As for the final black-robed man, the one in the mid Ancient Realm, he hovered above the ship, looking coldly at the shivering, terrified Uzumaki De.

"What are you doing!?" Uzumaki De shrieked. "I'll give you anything you want! You can't kill me, I'm a Young Lord of the Uzumaki Clan. If anything bad happens here, it won't matter where you run to in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, you'll be dead!

"The Uzumaki Clan might be in decline, but we still have our prestige. If it's money you're after, you can have it!" Uzumaki De quickly produced a bag of holding, which he tossed out. The decisiveness with which he did so caused Naruto 's expression to flicker, and he suddenly started paying a bit closer attention to Uzumaki De.

"So, he's not completely useless after all," he murmured. Looking back at the black-robed men, his eyes flickered. By this point, he could tell that the nine of them… were no rogue cultivators!

Rogue cultivators couldn't attack with such fluid unity, or have this kind of combination divine ability. Furthermore, the magical techniques and items they were using all seemed similar.

"If they're not rogue cultivators, that means the Uzumaki Clan is still powerful enough to be threatening. However, if there are sects willing to try to rob the Uzumaki Clan, it shows that however threatening they are, it's beginning to be insufficient." Naruto frowned. The more he learned about the Uzumaki Clan, the more he realized how difficult of a task faced him.

It was at this point that the bloodcurdling screams ringing out on the ship began to fade away. Other than Uzumaki De, everyone else was dead.

Out in the starry sky, the Uzumaki Clan's two early Ancient Realm cultivators exchanged ashen glances, then began to flee.

Before they could get very far, though, the mid Ancient Realm cultivator in the black robes let out a cold snort, then stepped out in pursuit.

Moments later, two screams rang out into the void. Shortly thereafter, the black-robed man returned, a head held in each hand, which he then tossed down onto the ship.

The battle between the two cultivators in the great circle of the Ancient

Realm was reaching a head. Uzumaki De's Dao protector suddenly roared, "Haven't you people done enough killing!? Look, the treasure is right there, just take it! Why are you actually killing us?!"

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the black-robed man up above performed an incantation gesture, once again summoning the battle-axe.

The Dao Protector's face fell and, despite his injuries, he began to retreat. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he transformed into a beam of light as he attempted to escape. His mission was to protect Uzumaki De, but when it came down to his own survival, he would always place himself first.

However, before he could even move, someone flickered into being behind him, someone that not even Naruto had noticed until the moment before he made his entrance.

The Dao Protector, on the other hand, hadn't noticed at all. As soon as the person appeared, his finger slashed out, stabbing into the back of the Dao Protector's head. A pop could be heard, and a tremor ran through the old man. Then his head exploded, and his Nascent Divinity was shattered. Black flames engulfed his body, rapidly burning him up. Within the space of a few breaths of time, he was completely transformed into ash.

The other black-robed men immediately stopped what they were doing and clasped hands in respect.

This new figure was fully three meters tall, clad in a voluminous black robe. A white mask covered his face, a mask that was decorated with countless eyes and was terrifying in appearance.

He looked coldly at the other nine black-robed men, and then stepped forward onto the ship without saying another word.

Naruto still sat in his cabin, watching everything that was happening. Now, his face looked very serious. He got a strange feeling from these people, especially the cloaking techniques they used, which were something he had never encountered before. However, he was still confident that he could crush them in a fight.

"From the look of it, they aren't here to plunder…." he thought. Looking at the black-robed men, his eyes suddenly began to shine.

As for Uzumaki De, he was trembling visibly, backing up and panting at the same time. It was at this point that the black-robed man in the great circle of the Ancient Realm slowly lowered his cowl to reveal his face. Shockingly… his face looked exactly like the dead Dao Protector's!

One by one, the other black-robed men began to reveal their faces, which looked exactly like the various dead members of the Uzumaki Clan!

"You…." Uzumaki De's face was ashen. Even if he were more of an idiot than he already was, he would be able to tell what was going on. He continued to back up, shaken, terrified as he continued to try to make contact with the Uzumaki Clan. However, his efforts were in vain.

I'm pretty sure the number of Ancient Realm cultivators doesn't match up with the original description of the ship, although that could be explained as people joining while Naruto was in the 33 Hells, or during the subsequent trading activity ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1252

Chapter 1252: Attack!

Naruto remained seated in his cabin, watching what was happening through narrowed eyes. Frowning, he turned his attention to the man in the mask.

"Well now, how much do we want to bet that this guy has Uzumaki De's face?" he murmured.

In almost exactly the same moment, the man with the mask of eyes slowly reached up and removed his mask. Just as Naruto guessed, his face… down to the tiniest detail, looked exactly like… Uzumaki De's!

They were exactly the same!

Uzumaki De's eyes went wide, and he stopped in place, pointing a quivering finger at the black-robed man. His expression was one of intense fear, and then he began to laugh bitterly with the realization that he was going to die!

"Kill him," said the man with Uzumaki De's face, his voice cool. "Clean everything up. We're going… back to the Uzumaki Clan." Even the man's voice sounded exactly like Uzumaki De's.

As the words left his mouth, one of the other cultivators who had changed his appearance to look like one of Uzumaki De's retinue smiled and reached out to end Uzumaki De's life.

However, it was in that very moment that a sigh rang out, filling the starry sky. The man with Uzumaki De's face looked shocked, as did the other cultivators, who immediately began looking around vigilantly.

"Whoever's out there with these parlor tricks, show your face!" said the fake Uzumaki De. His divine sense spread out, and the aura of the Dao Realm suddenly exploded out. Although he only had one Essence, to Uzumaki De, that was thoroughly terrifying.

That sigh came from Naruto , of course. He had no choice but to act. If he allowed these people to kill Uzumaki De, infiltrating the Uzumaki Clan would become vastly more difficult. Obviously, they wouldn't just let him join up with them, and if he killed them all and went back to the Uzumaki Clan alone, it would be very difficult to explain. Obviously, people would suspect him of being complicit in the events.

Naruto 's main goal was to free his grandfather's bloodline, which first entailed getting into the Uzumaki Clan, then understanding the situation as a whole before finally making a decision on what to do.

"This is so annoying," Naruto thought, shaking his head. He took a step out, eyes flashing, and as he did, his face transformed. When he appeared out in the starry sky outside, no one could tell that he had just emerged from within the ship. It was as if he had materialized out of thin air, right in front of the black-robed men.

The man with Uzumaki De's face backed up, eyes widening.

"Kill him!" he ordered. The other nine black-robed men were scared, but they immediately complied, erupting with cultivation base power. Performing incantation gestures, they caused that murderous battle-axe to appear, which then slashed down toward Naruto .

Uzumaki De shrank back into a corner, watching with nervous excitement.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever. Now that every aspect of his cultivation base had been raised by Greed, he didn't even attack, he just looked at the descending weapon. Then, instead of evading, he raised his finger and flicked the axe.

He did not use any divine ability or magical technique; he relied only on the power of his fleshly body. As soon as his finger touched the battleaxe, a boom rang out. The black-robed men had vicious expressions on their faces; they were completely confident in their joint attack power. When they combined forces to use this Daoist magic, it was so powerful that it could shake the Quasi-Dao Realm. The only downside was that they could only use it a limited number of times. Even still, it had been praised by a Dao Realm expert in the past, leaving these nine men completely confident.

However, their faces were now frozen in shock, their eyes wide with disbelief and awe. Three of them even cried out in alarm.

"This…."

"Impossible!"

"He…."

To their astonishment, when Naruto 's finger made contact with the axe, Naruto wasn't shaken at all, nor did his expression change. A rumbling boom rang out, as well as numerous cracking sounds. Those sounds all came… from the battle-axe!

The combined Daoist magic of these nine individuals, a magical battleaxe that filled them with complete confidence, was covered with cracks by its mere contact with Naruto 's finger. The cracks spread out, growing more dense, covering the entire battle-axe, until it shattered….

The backlash hit the nine cultivators, causing blood to spray out of their mouths. Then they looked at Naruto with unprecedented terror and shock. Even the man with Uzumaki De's face couldn't stop his eyes from widening.

Not even a white line appeared on Naruto 's index finger, his fleshly body had become so powerful that this battle-axe had absolutely no chance of affecting him even a tiny bit.

Naruto smiled slightly, quite pleased with the power of his fleshly body. He looked up at the nine cultivators, eyes flickering with killing intent. Then he suddenly vanished, whereupon the minds of all nine men exploded with a sensation of life-or-death crisis. Without the slightest hesitation, they began to flee.

However, they were not qualified to do any such thing in front of Naruto . He appeared in front of the man in the great circle of the Ancient Realm and casually bumped into him with his body.

A boom rang out as his simple blow slammed into the man, causing blood to spray out of his mouth, whereupon his body exploded. His Nascent Divinity didn't even have a chance to escape, and was also destroyed.

That was from bumping into him!

The man with Uzumaki De's face was astonished. Scalp numb, he fell back, transforming into a flickering shadow as he tried to escape. However, Naruto simply let out a harrumph.

The sound transformed into an explosive shockwave that rocked the starry sky. A tempest whipped up, sweeping across everything. Eight of the fleeing black-robed men were shredded to pieces, including their bones, organs, and Nascent Divinities. There was no need to mention their fleshly bodies. Popping sounds could be heard as they were transformed into a bloody mist that spread out into the starry sky.

"Dao Lord!" cried the man with Uzumaki De's face. Although he had already guessed at how terrifyingly powerful Naruto was, to see the destructive result of Naruto 's single snort left him without any further doubts. No matter what Naruto actually looked like, his battle prowess… was something that only a Dao Lord could unleash.

The man's heart was trembling; he had never imagined that upon just beginning his mission, he would suddenly run into a terrifying Dao Lord. After all, in the Mountain and Sea Realm, Dao Lords were mighty figures who could affect the entire Realm with the stamp of a foot!

Dao Lords were only one step away from being Dao Sovereigns, who were qualified to vie for the position of Mountain and Sea Lord!

The black-robed man stared with wild eyes. He was already a blur as he attempted to flee; in the blink of an eye, he was gone, and the shockwave of Naruto 's sound attack passed by the position he had just occupied.

When he reappeared, he was far off in the distance. Without even looking over his shoulder, he began to flee.

"What a strange Essence," Naruto thought, intrigued. He took a step forward and vanished. When he reappeared, he was right behind the fleeing man. Naruto reached out and made a grasping motion, using the Star Plucking Magic.

Instantly, a shocking gravitational force rumbled into being, spreading out through the starry sky as Naruto 's hand turned into a black hole. The void distorted, countless motes of dust sped toward him, and fissures spread out.

The black-robed man's mind was rumbling, and his astonishment reached a peak as he flew back toward Naruto , his body completely beyond his own control. The sensation of deadly crisis in his mind caused him to hold nothing back as he unleashed all of his Essence power to break free from Naruto 's grasp. Suddenly, ghost images sprang up around him.

A boom rang out as hundreds of black-robed figures suddenly began to pour out, all of whom fled in different directions. The only thing left behind in Naruto 's hand was a piece of skin.

"Clones?" Naruto murmured, looking around at all the fleeing figures. His eyes began to shine; these were obviously clones, and the sheer number involved piqued Naruto 's interest.

He was also shocked; given his current cultivation base, not even Dao

Lords were a match for him, and yet this 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivator had eluded him twice now.

Of course, some of that was because Naruto had not utilized a powerful divine ability. By now, he was at the point where even a casual attack on his part was something that a 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivator couldn't easily avoid.

Although Naruto was surprised, the man in the black robe was already frightened to death. He had risked everything just to escape those two times, and even still, the backlash had left him seriously injured. That was especially true of his final move of splitting into hundreds of clones, which seriously damaged his Essence.

"Dammit, he's no ordinary Dao Lord! He must be at the peak of the Dao

Lord Realm. We've kept track of how many Dao Lords there are in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and he's not one of them!" Even as the man fled in terror, Naruto 's eyes gleamed with a gray glow.

He suddenly cried out, causing a huge wolf's head to appear behind him. This was one of Greed's magical techniques, although in Naruto 's hands it was more wolf-like and less greed-focused. The wolf appeared in the middle of the starry sky, radiating bloody murder, completely domineering as it opened its mouth wide and began to inhale.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The entire starry sky trembled and began to shatter, converging on Naruto at the center. It was as if… everything in the area, including the natural laws and the energy of Heaven and Earth, were now being sucked in by Naruto !

The hundreds of clones screamed as they were swept up and then began to explode. In the blink of an eye, countless showers of blood filled the starry sky.

In the end, there was only one figure that didn't explode, which then spun toward Naruto , who grabbed him by the neck, sealed him, and tossed him into his bag of holding.

A mighty Dao Realm cultivator was treated like a baby chicken!

Naruto could sense how powerful he was after being re-moulded by Greed. He was now… in a state far more powerful than a Dao Lord.

"Once I push open the Door of the Ancient Realm… I'll be even more powerful!" Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he turned to look back at the Uzumaki Clan ship off in the distance, and Uzumaki De, who was gaping at him wide-eyed. Gradually, Naruto faded away.

The entire starry sky was completely silent. Uzumaki De's face was ashen as he stared blankly out into the starry sky. Then he looked around at the corpses on the ship. Fear still lingered within him, and grief was now welling up. Despite his age, this was his first time experiencing anything like this. Because of the terror and confusion in his heart, he didn't notice at all that because of Naruto 's interference, whatever had been blocking communications had already been broken, allowing connection to the outside world once again.

Uzumaki De began to weep, but then suddenly recalled something. After looking around at the corpses, he rushed back into the ship. It had just occurred to him that apparently… there was another survivor on board.

As of this moment, anyone left alive with him on board was like a relative!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1253

Chapter 1253: This is the Uzumaki Clan!

Before charging into the ship, Uzumaki De really didn't have much of a notion as to who Uzumaki Chen was at all. The main thing he remembered was that, of all the clan members who had entered the 33 Hells, he had been the only one to come out alive.

He had also offered up an ancient magical item which had pleased Uzumaki De quite a bit. Because of that, Uzumaki Chen did stick out slightly within his memories.

But now, he was filled with an intense hope that nothing had happened to Uzumaki Chen. He didn't want to be the only living person left on the ship. When he thought about the deadly ordeal he had just been through, he was left trembling. He might be an idiot, but he wasn't so stupid that he was beyond redemption. Despite being a silkpants, he was still able to think for himself.

As a cultivator, he was merely average, but because of the prestige of his bloodline, he had become a Young Lord. However, even that hadn't been his choice; he had been given no options in the matter.

Right now, he wasn't thinking about his status at all. When people have brushes with death, status is usually the last thing they think about. He just wanted someone from his clan to be there with him, someone who could share the burden of this terrifying experience.

Uzumaki De found Naruto lying unconscious at the very bottom of the ship. He hurried forward, and when he confirmed that he was unconscious and not dead, Uzumaki De was elated. He didn't spend much time considering why Naruto was alive when everyone else was dead; he assumed it was because his cultivation base was so low, and had thus simply been swept aside by the divine sense of the black-robed men. Either they didn't care about him, or had planned to kill him later.

Regardless of the reason, Uzumaki Chen wasn't dead.

Uzumaki De excitedly pulled out some medicinal pills. Normally, he was very stingy when it came to medicinal pills, but in this case he poured them all into Naruto 's mouth.

"Don't die, Uzumaki Chen," he said, tears streaming down his face. "There's only the two of us now, you can't die…." Picking him up in his arms, he carried him back to the main deck. There, he used the power of his own cultivation base to slowly get the boat to limp along.

He tried over and over again to make contact with the clan, but despite the barrier having been removed, his messages weren't going through for some reason.

Eventually, Naruto woke up.

When he did, Uzumaki De approached excitedly, suddenly overwhelmed with feelings of familial connection. He immediately began to recount everything that had occurred, and before long, Uzumaki De started feeling as if he and Uzumaki Chen were friends.

Time passed. In Uzumaki De's mind, the two of them were relying on each other to survive. They took turns steering, cautiously sending the ship in the direction of the Uzumaki Clan, fearful of running into anyone they couldn't afford to provoke.

Uzumaki De had never experienced any dangerous situations like this before in his life. He would frequently pull out a jade slip to try to make contact, but it never worked, so he had no choice but to spend his time with Naruto , fearfully flying through space.

They continued to chat to bide the time, and it eventually got to the point where Uzumaki De didn't hold anything back. He talked with Naruto about the clan, and about everything else. He even began to give Naruto advice.

" Uzumaki Chen, your cultivation base is too weak. That won't do….

"Once we get back to the clan, I'll have them give you some techniques and medicinal pills. You need to get your cultivation base higher, at least to the peak of the Immortal Realm.

"Don't worry, in the future, you can count on me for everything.

"Hey, when do you think we'll get home…? Why can't we make contact with the clan? It hasn't worked this entire time…."

On one particular day as he piloted the ship, Uzumaki De suddenly thought of something. He looked over at Naruto , who was sitting there crosslegged, and suddenly asked, "Oh right, Uzumaki Chen, I just thought of something. The first time I saw you, your face was as smooth as a baby's. But the next time, your nose was busted and you had all those scars."

"You don't know what happened?" Naruto replied coolly. By this point, they had been drifting in space for almost a month. Because of Naruto 's vast experience in life, the two of them had reached a state in which Naruto actually occupied the superior position. Although he didn't speak much, whenever he did, Uzumaki De paid earnest attention to whatever Naruto said.

Uzumaki De was the Young Lord, but if anyone who didn't know them could watch them interact, they would assume that Naruto was actually the Young Lord.

"Huh? No, what happened?" Uzumaki De replied, sounding shocked.

Naruto looked at him and could see that he really had no idea. From this, it was apparent that it was the butler who had arranged for Uzumaki Chen to wait upon the Young Lord from the Han Clan, and not Uzumaki De. The butler had clearly been acting on his own.

Naruto shook his head and didn't say anything more. Uzumaki De scratched his head and thought for a while, but really couldn't think of anything that had happened on the ship. However, he could also sense that Naruto had perhaps been on the receiving end of some sort of abuse.

" Uzumaki Chen, uh… you know, I used to be kind of a… nasty person. Well, back then we didn't know each other. Don't worry, from now on, whatever Uzumaki De has also belongs to you!" Uzumaki De slapped his chest and looked proudly at Naruto . For some reason, Uzumaki De had come to care a lot about what Naruto thought of him.

Naruto smiled slightly. His view of things had changed a bit too in recent days. He could see that although Uzumaki De was a silkpants and occasionally acted like an idiot, he wasn't completely beyond redemption.

Two months later, Uzumaki De's continued efforts to contact the clan finally paid off. Uzumaki De was suddenly very excited, as he was finally able to report back and explain everything that had occurred.

A day later, Naruto could see five beams of light approaching from off in the distance. In the lead position was an old man with white hair. He looked threatening without being angry, and his cultivation base was in the Dao Realm. Although he only had one Essence, it was still the Dao Realm.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he stood there next to Uzumaki De.

Behind the old man were three men and a woman. The woman was middle-aged, but had maintained her appearance well and was pretty. However, her brow was furrowed as she flew along, and when she caught site of Uzumaki De and the terrible condition he was in, she began to cry. Immediately, she rushed forward and hugged him.

"Mom… I'm fine," he said, although he was also weeping. Everything that had happened recently had far exceeded his capacity to accept. Without Naruto there to help him, he wasn't sure how he would have coped.

"De'er, you poor thing…." his mother said, tousling his hair. There was something different about this version of Uzumaki De. He had lost some of that boisterous silkpants air, and gained a bit of maturity. Although his mother was happy about that, her heart still hurt.

Of the three men who had come with the old Dao Realm expert, one was in the late Ancient Realm, just a hair away from the great circle. He and Uzumaki De looked quite alike, and after looking Uzumaki De over, he embraced him.

"Dad…." Uzumaki De said, sobbing.

The other two men fanned out and began to inspect the ship, occasionally taking note of the things they observed. As for the old Dao Realm expert, he looked softly at Uzumaki De, then glanced over at Naruto , his gaze quite intimidating.

"When the master is humiliated, the servants are executed," the old man said coolly. "Considering you managed to successfully keep him alive, you'll be permitted to say some final words." One of the cultivators inspecting the ship turned toward Naruto and began to walk in his direction, face stony.

Naruto frowned and sighed inwardly. He had overlooked the matter of face. The more people who learned about what had occurred on the ship, the worse it would be for the Uzumaki Clan. He might be a member of the clan, but in this situation, the simplest way to handle the situation would be to eliminate him as a witness.

However, it was at this point that Uzumaki De struggled out of his father's embrace and leaped in front of Naruto . Looking pleadingly toward the old Dao Realm cultivator, he said, "Grandpa, this is my Brother!"

The old man looked at Naruto silently. As far as the other cultivator, he didn't stop walking, and in fact reached out to grab Naruto .

Seeing what was happening, Uzumaki De urgently cried out, "He saved my life! If you kill him, I'll kill myself!" With that, he placed his hand threateningly on top of his own head and glared decisively at his grandfather.

Naruto stared in shock, as did Uzumaki De's grandfather. The cultivator reaching out toward Naruto stopped in his tracks. As for Uzumaki De's parents, they were equally astonished.

As far as they could remember, Uzumaki De usually acted like a silkpants in public, but was always very compliant around them. Although they weren't too happy about that, there was little to be done about it. But now, Uzumaki De suddenly was losing his temper in front of their Patriarch, and even uttering threats. This actually caused his parents to be very happy.

The old man looked closely at Uzumaki De and the decisiveness in his eyes. He knew his grandson well, and was aware that he had always had a weak personality. In fact, this was the first time he had ever acted like this. After a moment passed, the old man suddenly laughed.

"Alright, it seems you've learned that you should protect your followers, even standing up to me to do it. De'er, you've grown up." The old man swished his sleeve, sending away the cultivator who had been advancing on Naruto .

Next, the old man looked at Naruto and said, "De'er has a lot of weaknesses, but he also has unique strengths. He was willing to defy me for your sake, so in the future, take good care of yourself." With a final look at Naruto , the old man turned and took control of the ship, sending it flying through the starry sky toward the Uzumaki Clan.

Rumbling could be heard as it transformed into a beam of light that shot forward at a speed far beyond what it had been traveling at before. Soon, it vanished.

Two days later, the ship pierced through the starry sky into the area controlled by the Uzumaki Clan.

From a distance, the Uzumaki Clan looked like a huge continent floating out in the middle of the sky.

There were mountains and seas visible, as well as numerous cities. It was even possible to see living creatures that had multiplied over generations and were now everywhere. It emanated brilliant light and powerful ripples, and attached to the main continent were eight smaller continents.

Each of those lands was filled with imposing buildings and structures, all of which formed an enormous spell formation.

This was the Uzumaki Clan!

In the very middle of the central continent could be seen an enormous statue.

Strangest of all was that the statue's face had been scraped clean, and had no facial features…. Even still, it radiated intense power in all directions.

As soon as Naruto felt that pressure, he was inwardly shocked.

"Feels like a Dao Sovereign…. No. Wait, that's… theChakraflow of the

Mountains and Seas!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1254

Chapter 1254 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1254: Grandma Uzumaki!

Naruto was completely shocked to be able to sense theChakraflow of the Mountain and Sea Realm here, and it suddenly caused him to recall the fact that the Mountain and Sea Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea was supposed to be from the Uzumaki Clan….

However, after arriving in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, everything he had heard and seen seemed to indicate the contrary, as if his memories were incorrect.

Naruto had been confused by that from the beginning, especially after hearing that the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea was called Heavengod. From then on, he had begun to speculate about the situation.

"Heavengod. Heavengod…. has no surname attached to it." Eyes flickering, he looked at the statue, sensing theChakraflow of the Mountain and Sea Realm. That was something that no one other than him could detect.

Based on the fact that the statue's face had been scraped off, Naruto got the feeling that there was some secret connection between Heavengod and the Uzumaki Clan in the past.

"We're home!" Uzumaki De shouted. "Finally… we're home! Uzumaki Chen, we're home!" Uzumaki De stood next to Naruto , looking excitedly at the Uzumaki Clan continent and taking in a deep breath. From the look on his face, it was as if he suddenly had a new lease on life.

"Home…." Naruto murmured. When he thought about the members of his grandfather's bloodline, his eyes flickered and turned to focus on one of the nine smaller continents attached to the larger one.

According to the Soulsearching he had performed on the Uzumaki Clan cultivators on the ship, his grandfather's bloodline was on the smallest continent among the nine.

Soon, the ship landed on the central continent, in the huge city that surrounded the statue. That was also the location of the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion.

Uzumaki De flew out, to where hundreds of Uzumaki Clan cultivators were all waiting to receive him. Once he appeared, they clasped hands, bowed, and said, "We offer respectful greetings, Ninth Young Lord!"

Of course, Uzumaki De was the Ninth Young Lord, and almost as soon as he heard that greeting, he seemed to revert to his old silkpants self. He nodded slightly as people clustered around him to escort him off into the distance. His father and mother had long since departed, and just as Uzumaki De was about to leave, he seemed to remember Uzumaki Chen, and turned. He looked at Naruto with a smile, then waved his hand, sending a jade pendant flying out.

Naruto caught it, after which Uzumaki De spoke in a loud voice: "I'll come looking for you in a few days."

Naruto hefted the jade pendant and smiled. At first, nobody in the area had paid the slightest attention to him, but after Uzumaki De gave him the jade pendant, people began to take notice of him, and their eyes glittered.

Naruto didn't care about all of that. He disembarked from the ship, and then looked around at all the buildings. The entire place was unfamiliar, and the architecture was circular in design, much more flowing and unconstrained than the Namikaze Clan's orderliness and stark, angular layout. As for the ancestral mansion, it was also constructed in a circular shape, and gave off a sophisticated, courtly air.

Numerous cultivators could be seen in the ancestral city as Naruto walked down the streets, and he quickly noticed that most of them were in the Spirit Realm. Immortal Realm cultivators were less common; for every hundred people he saw, only a handful were Immortals.

There were no shops in the area, nor were there any inns. In fact, it would probably be more appropriate to call this place the outskirts of the ancestral mansion, rather than a separate city. However, in size alone it was comparable to a city.

It was divided into certain districts, just like the Namikaze Clan was. There were the districts in the east, west, south and north, within which were huge courtyard residences where important clan members from the various bloodlines resided.

There was no Central District, nor was there a mausoleum, which might be expected. However Naruto could sense five unique auras inside the huge statue itself. Those auras were clearly auras of the Dao Realm!

However, of those five auras, two were very dim, almost on the point of being extinguished. The other three were much more vigorous, with one of them belonging to Uzumaki De's grandfather.

"Five Dao Realm cultivators…. Three have flourishing auras, two of them being 1-Essence, and one 2-Essences. Of the weak auras, there's one Dao Lord and another… who I can't ascertain. However, from what I can tell, that aura is on the verge of being extinguished." Naruto looked away from the statue, eyes flickering as he sent his divine sense spreading out even further.

It only took a moment for his divine sense to fill the entire ancestral mansion, and for all the living beings therein to appear in his mind.

He glanced back at the statue, surprised that none of the five cultivators inside had detected his divine sense, nor activated any of the Uzumaki Clan's defenses. Naruto then thoughtfully began to retract his divine sense and head in the direction of the continent where his grandfather's bloodline resided.

However, in almost the same moment that he made to leave, he suddenly stopped in place. There was a scene playing out somewhere nearby that he could see within his divine sense, which he then focused on.

An older woman could be seen in a courtyard residence, face ashen as she pleaded with a cold, arrogant middle-aged man. A younger woman lay at the man's feet, covered with bruises and wounds. Her right hand was clenched tightly around something, and her face was deathly pale as the middle-aged man kicked her viciously over and over again.

"Big bro, stop!" the older woman pleaded. " Uzumaki Ru is just worried about her bloodline relative, that's why she stole the medicinal pill. Big bro…."

"She's only a servant," the man spat, "and she actually dared to steal a medicinal pill! It doesn't matter why she did it, she deserves to die! If I don't beat her to death, then wouldn't everyone else try to imitate her?!" The middle-aged man's eyes gleamed with killing intent as he reached down and grabbed the young woman by the hair. She was pretty, but had a red birthmark on her face, which the man seemed disgusted by. "You're not bad except for that birthmark. How nauseating!"

"Big bro, Ru'er's older cousin is in the Immortal Realm. He's one of the Ninth Young Lord's bodyguards. All she took was a medicinal pill, you… you don't have to go so far." The older woman continued to plead anxiously, occasionally glancing down at the younger woman, who lay there, blood oozing out of her mouth.

The older woman had no way to know that, even as the words left her mouth, Naruto was actually only a few streets away in the ancestral mansion. A tremor ran through him, and he turned, his expression icy.

He had already heard that most of the members of his grandfather's bloodline were stationed in the houses of other clan members, where they worked as servants in exchange for cultivation resources. As of this moment, Naruto was certain that the young woman he was seeing with his divine sense was a member of his grandfather's bloodline, a younger bloodline cousin of Uzumaki Chen.

Naruto didn't hesitate for even a moment. He took a step forward and vanished, his action undetectable even by the five Patriarchs.

Back in the courtyard residence, the middle-aged man began to laugh coldly in response to the words just spoken to him.

"Her older cousin? You mean that pretty boy Uzumaki Whatshisname? Uzumaki Chen, right? You think a bodyguard deserves to get face from me?" The man knelt down and grabbed Uzumaki Ru's hand. Expression icy, he began to break her fingers one by one. She trembled from the pain, but gritted her teeth and didn't make a sound.

Soon, the medicinal pill in her hand was revealed, which was already dissolving because of the blood that had oozed onto it. The middle-aged man grabbed it and threw into a nearby pond.

Uzumaki Ru's eyes went wide. She hadn't shed a single tear before this moment, not even when her fingers were being broken. But now that she saw the medicinal pill dissolving in the pond water, tears began to flow down her face.

"Aww, what's this? Crying?" The man laughed and reached down as if to wipe away the tears. Before he could touch her face, though, a hand appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his own hand.

The man stared in shock, then let out a shriek as he saw Naruto standing there next to the young Uzumaki Ru. Without even thinking about it, he took a step backward.

" Uzumaki Chen! How dare you!" Although the man had been frightened, after realizing who it was, he seemed to regain his courage. With a shout, he unleashed his cultivation base, which was only in the Dao Seeking stage.

"Big bro…." Uzumaki Ru said, slowly looking up. When she laid eyes on Naruto , she began to weep and shake from the humiliation she had just endured.

"Get your hands off me, Uzumaki Chen," the middle-aged man said. "Dammit, what gall you have! If you dare to hurt me, I'll tell my big bro, and he'll wipe out your entire bloodline."

"Apparently you've forgotten that I'm also surnamed Uzumaki. Or is that you don't consider us to be part of the Uzumaki Clan any more?" Naruto had put some thought into the current miserable state of his grandfather's bloodline, but to see what was actually happening made him feel like a knife was slicing away at his heart.

Naruto suddenly clenched his hand down, causing cracking and popping sounds to ring out. The middle-aged man screamed as Naruto crushed his hand into a bloody pulp. Terror and pain washed through him, but even as the scream left his mouth, Naruto patted his back.

That motion caused more cracking sounds to echo out as each and every last bone in the man's body was shattered into powder. Without a skeleton to hold him up, the man collapsed into a pile of twitching flesh.

No more sounds came out of his mouth as he lay there, no longer in the shape of a human. His current state was one of pain that far exceeded that of death. The woman standing off to the side was so frightened that her jaw dropped. The suddenness of what had occurred left her in a state of disbelief.

As for Uzumaki Ru, she was also staring in shock.

"Big bro…." she murmured as Naruto helped her to her feet. He placed his hand over hers, healing her broken fingers and injured internal organs. As she regained lucidity, she began to pant as she suddenly recalled something. Grasping Naruto 's forearm, she said, "Big bro, hurry, we have to get back. It's grandmother, she's… dying…."

"Grandmother…. Grandma Uzumaki!" A tremor ran through Naruto . Without the slightest hesitation, he picked Uzumaki Ru up in his arms and flew off into the distance. 1

When he left, the older woman who remained behind in the courtyard finally screamed, which attracted the attention of other clan members. When they arrived, they saw the bone-less middle-aged man lying there, and they gasped.

"Who did this? This… is a cruelty worse than death!" Chapter 1254: Grandma Uzumaki!

As you may be aware, there are numerous very specific forms of address for relatives in Chinese. In this case, Uzumaki Ru specifically mentions her "paternal grandmother" which causes Naruto to think of his "maternal grandmother." This would indicate that Uzumaki Ru is an actual member of the Uzumaki Clan, with her father having been surnamed Uzumaki, whereas Naruto is related to them through his mother, but would not be considered an actual member of the clan. After all, his father's surname is Fang. I'm going to forgo translating the literal forms of address because they tend to get very clunky, especially when used in dialogue as a form of address. Instead, Naruto 's "maternal grandmother" will be "Grandma Uzumaki" or simply "grandmother" depending on the context. Please note, her surname is not Uzumaki; in Chinese culture women don't change their surname upon marriage.

However, you can address a female by the surname of her husband in Chinese culture, assuming you use the right form of address. If I remember correctly, Naruto 's mom Uzumaki Li was even called "Madam

Fang" at one point. Similar forms of address exist for other relatives. I

did the same thing in the past with Naruto 's grandfathers. Instead of referring to them as paternal and maternal grandfathers, I've been calling them Grandpa Namikaze and Grandpa Uzumaki. I think this way makes it much more simple to understand who is being referred to, and at the same time keeps the same familial feeling as the original Chinese. By the way, astute readers might remember a few times where an "Old Lady Uzumaki" was mentioned, a real mythological character who serves people the tea of forgetfulness in the Underworld. Naruto 's grandmother does not have any connection to that woman! ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1255

Chapter 1255: I'm Here To Defend You!

Naruto was enraged, but Uzumaki Ru's words caused his heart to tremble. It was impossible to describe what they meant to him; after all, Uzumaki Chen's grandmother was his Grandma Uzumaki as well!

His Grandpa Namikaze and Grandpa Uzumaki had gone missing, and his Grandma Namikaze had long since passed away. To suddenly find out that his Grandma Uzumaki was still alive caused his heart to begin to pound, and he wished he could be at her side instantly.

However, he hadn't lost his ability to think straight, so although he sped as fast as possible in her direction, he also concealed himself so that no one could detect his presence. He soon appeared in the air outside of the ancestral mansion, and then sped off into the distance with Uzumaki Ru.

Uzumaki Ru was in the Nascent Soul stage, so to her, her older cousin Uzumaki Chen, who was in the Immortal Realm, was the most promising and important person in the bloodline. He had an incredible cultivation base, and was in fact the hope of the entire bloodline. Although Uzumaki Ru didn't understand the vast gap between the Immortal Realm and the Ancient Realm, in her mind, the speed with which they were traveling was something that should come naturally to someone like her cousin.

In fact… to her, Uzumaki Chen was the Heaven of their bloodline!

If anyone could have observed what was happening, they would be shocked. In the space of a few breaths of time, he took Uzumaki Ru across the starry sky to appear… directly on the continent where his grandfather's bloodline resided.

He didn't need any directions from Uzumaki Ru to know where to go. He flew across the continent, sending his divine sense spreading out until he found a village on the border which almost seemed like a city of mortals. There, he identified a mansion which appeared to be filled with quite a few grieving people. In the instant that his divine sense touched the place, he noticed one room… in which he sensed an aura that had to be a blood relative.

"Grandma Uzumaki…." he thought, trembling. He had never even imagined that his grandmother would still be alive, so at the moment, his heart was pounding in the same way that Uzumaki Chen's would have were he here. With Uzumaki Ru in tow, he shot toward the village and then appeared inside the mansion.

Almost immediately, cries of astonishment could be heard in response to his arrival. As he looked around he noticed that, of the dozens of people in the residence, all were women. Not a single man was present!

"It's Chen'er! Chen'er's back!"

"Big bro…." Almost immediately, everyone began to get excited, and their eyes turned red as tears welled up.

Naruto glanced at everyone, but there was no time to examine them closely. He instantly walked toward the room where his grandmother was located. The other clan members stepped back, making a path for him as he sped forward like the wind. As soon as he entered the room, he saw an old woman lying on a wooden pallet.

Next to the old woman sat two old men, who seemed to be wheezing and in pain, as if it were difficult to even just be sitting up straight. They were very old, as if they had lived for countless years, and their auras were very weak. It even seemed a struggle for them to keep their eyes open, as if they were staying alive by sheer force of willpower.

There were also three middle-aged women in the room. They had clearly been beauties when they were young, but had been ravaged by the passing of years, and were also very weak. They also seemed to be hanging on by sheer force of willpower.

As for the woman on the pallet, she was completely covered with wrinkles, and seemed profoundly ancient. She radiated the stench of decay, and was withered to the point of being little more than skin and bones. Her aura was so weak that it seemed as if she might die at any moment.

However, despite that frail aura, the old woman had a certain strength to her. The wrinkles on her forehead seemed to bear testimony to all of the pressure she had lived with throughout the years. As soon as Naruto laid eyes on her, he trembled and walked forward.

This was his Grandma Uzumaki… and the mere sight of her caused tears to spill down his cheeks. His heart hurt as he examined her body, finding more than a dozen internal injuries. Furthermore, herChakrapassageways were completely withered.

As soon as he entered the room, the three middle-aged women turned to look at him. "Chen'er, you're back…." one of them gazes were kind, and they did their best to hide the grief in their expressions, but Naruto wasn't Uzumaki Chen, and as such, he could see it.

As for the two old men in the seats, they struggled to keep their eyes open as they looked at Naruto with kind gazes.

Naruto wasn't sure who all these people were, but after laying eyes on the old men, he could guess. He also had his speculations about who the three middle-aged women were.

He immediately dropped to his knees and kowtowed, knocking his head onto the ground. Then he got back to his feet and approached his Grandma Uzumaki, who lay there with her eyes closed. Naruto reached out and placed his hand onto her arm, then sent some of his life force surging into her. However, almost as soon as it entered her, it immediately dispersed. That caused a gleam of shock and anger to flicker deep in his eyes.

He quickly sent some divine sense into his grandmother, and was shocked to find that hidden inside her body were nine black spikes. They were buried deep within her flesh, and even stabbed into her soul.

Those nine nails were preventing Naruto 's life force from entering his grandmother's body. Even more infuriating to Naruto was that inside his grandmother, he could detect… poison!

It was a unique poison designed to corrode the cultivation base and eat away at her life force. Any other person would probably be dead already, but Naruto 's grandmother was hanging on tenaciously, presumably because her cultivation base had been so profound.

Naruto pulled his hand back, eyes flashing. Next, his right hand performed an incantation gesture, and then he rapidly pushed down on her body nine times. Each time he pushed down, he did so in the location of one of the black spikes.

When he was finished, his grandmother shivered, after which he performed another incantation gesture and then pushed his hand down onto the pressure point beneath her nose, pouring more life force into her.

When the three middle-aged women saw what was happening, their eyes began to shine brightly, and they seemed surprised. However, they didn't seem to be suspicious about what was happening. In contrast, the two old men who were sitting there in seeming discomfort suddenly trembled, and they stared at Naruto with wide, disbelieving eyes.

As Naruto 's life force slowly flowed into his grandmother, the aura of death and rot that had previously filled her suddenly dissipated a bit. Before, her soul fire had been on the brink of being extinguished, but now it burned a bit more brightly than before. Even her complexion looked a bit better.

Naruto pulled his hand back. He didn't dare to pour in too much life force. His grandmother was already on the verge of dying, so if he wasn't careful, he could easily push her over that edge.

However, he was still confident that with a bit of care, she would be able to recover fully. After he pulled his hand back, he slapped his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill, which he then placed in her mouth. Finally, he stood up and looked over at the two old men, who were clearly very shocked.

If he wasn't mistaken, these two old men would be the blood brothers of his Grandpa Uzumaki, making them his granduncles. Apparently, they and his Grandma Uzumaki were the only surviving members of the Senior generation.

As for the three middle-aged women, the fact that they were here in this room and not outside indicated to Naruto that they were the beloved partners of his uncles, the blood brothers of his mother.

It was at this point that Naruto was shocked to find that the three women, as well as his two granduncles, all had nine spikes buried inside their bodies. The main difference was that the spikes inside the women were silver and not black.

Naruto quietly produced some medicinal pills, which he respectfully handed to his two granduncles. The two old men looked at him. Although they were so weak that it seemed even a mortal could kill them, it was possible to see the power and dignity that still existed in their eyes as they looked at Naruto .

Gradually, their gazes turned kind. Opening their mouths, they consumed the medicinal pills and then closed their eyes.

Naruto clasped hands and bowed, then turned to leave. As he did, the three middle-aged women watched him with puzzled looks.

After leaving the room, Naruto 's face darkened. He looked over the dozen or so younger women outside, which included Uzumaki Ru.

"What happened here?" he asked in a gravely voice. His words almost immediately seemed to calm the surrounding bloodline clan members.

"It was the Xu Clan 1…. They pushed things too far. They kidnapped Uzumaki Han, and then sent people here to say that we had to send them grandmother's corpse to get her back."

"The Xu Clan has gone too far. They've bullied us for years, but we're surnamed Uzumaki! We're actual members of the Uzumaki Clan! They're just a vassal clan who was given land on this continent by the clan. What right do they have to bully us like this!?"

"It wasn't even the direct bloodline of the Xu Clan that did this, just one of their auxiliary branches…."

"Just what are they thinking? Twenty-seven members of our bloodline have already died at their hands over the years, and all in vain! Nobody speaks up for us at all… and this time, they actually threatened grandmother, who has protected us for all these years!"

"I'm here to help Grandma Uzumaki, and defend the clan on Uzumaki Chen's behalf," Naruto murmured to himself. "I'll continue to do the protecting around here." He sent his divine will out, and then began to walk forward, quickly vanishing. When he reappeared, he was in midair, looking down at the continent below. It only took a moment for his divine sense to locate the auxiliary branch of the Xu Clan that had just been mentioned.

It wasn't too far away, located in a good-sized city that resembled the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion, meaning that it wasn't a true city, but rather a clan stronghold.

At the main gate of the city was a sign with one large character.

Xu!

Quite a few clan members inhabited the city, and most were mortal.

There appeared to be only a dozen or so cultivators, virtually all of them in the Spirit Realm. There was only one old man who was in the Immortal Realm. Even counting him, no one in the city counted as anything more than ants to Naruto .

Fury burning in his heart, he stepped forward and was inside the Xu Clan's ancestral mansion. No one detected his presence, and as he went along, he didn't hurt the mortals, but he crippled the spirit meridians that would allow them to practice cultivation. As for the cultivators… it didn't matter what they were doing at the moment, they simply exploded into clouds of gore.

As for the old man in the Immortal Realm, his head exploded even as he sat cross-legged in meditation. All of the cultivators died.

Naruto left, taking an unconscious youth with him, a young man who was covered with wounds as if from torture. Despite the injuries, his jaw was clenched shut, as if to indicate that he hadn't begged for mercy even once.

Killing only this handful of people didn't abate Naruto 's fury in the least. Sending his divine sense out, he found another of the Xu Clan's auxiliary branches, and headed in that direction next.

One, two, three… Naruto went to a total of sixteen auxiliary branches. Not a single cultivator saw his face there; all of them exploded.

With that, Naruto eyed the Xu Clan ancestral mansion in the center of the entire content. He snorted coldly and was preparing to go exterminate the entire clan when, all of a sudden, his expression flickered, and he looked back in the direction of his grandfather's bloodline.

He could sense that his Grandma Uzumaki had awakened.

Quick note about the Xu Clan that the character Xu here is not the same character as Hinata 's surname ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1256

Chapter 1256: Make a Name!

Naruto silently turned and headed back to the clan residence. When he arrived, he handed over the unconscious youth he had just rescued, then straightened his clothes and headed toward his grandmother's room.

He didn't immediately enter, but instead clasped hands and bowed deeply, then stood there with his head lowered.

After a long moment, the door opened, and the three middle-aged women filed out, glancing at him with curious expressions as they walked past. Then, an ancient voice spoke from within the room.

"Come."

Naruto bowed once more, then entered, closing the door behind him.

When he looked up, he saw his Grandma Uzumaki sitting in a chair, her complexion much improved. She seemed weaker than a mortal, but at the same time, solemn and filled with an indescribable dignity. Her eyes were dim, but when her gaze settled on someone it seemed to be filled with a certain might.

On either side of her sat the two old men, who were also much improved. They were staring at Naruto without the slightest expressions on their faces.

The first person to speak was his grandmother. She looked at him and slowly asked, "Who are you?!"

Her voice was not backed by the power of her cultivation base, but seemed to inherently contain something that caused the natural laws in the area to fluctuate. Anyone who heard her voice would be affected by the mysterious pressure it contained.

"Greetings, Grandma Uzumaki. Greetings, granduncles, I am Naruto …." Naruto then dropped to his knees and began to kowtow.

The oldtimers were visibly moved when they realized that he had used the forms of address for maternal relatives….

"You…" Naruto 's grandmother gaped in shock. Something clicked in her mind, and an expression of disbelief could then be seen. Naruto rose to his feet, and as he did, his facial features transformed from Uzumaki Chen's into his own.

Then he produced a jade slip from his bag of holding, which he respectfully handed over to his grandmother. Next, he sent some cultivation base power into the jade slip, which then projected a screen into the air. On that screen was the face of a woman, none other than… Naruto 's mother.

Then, as the three oldtimers looked on, he bit the tip of his finger and dropped a bit of blood onto the jade slip. The jade slip absorbed it, turning blood-red in the process.

This jade slip had been given to Naruto before parting ways with his mother. She had told him that if he ever encountered any relatives from her side of the family, he could use it to prove his identity.

Naruto 's grandmother began shaking, and the two old men on either side of her looked incredibly excited. In fact, there had been few times in their entire lives in which they had been this excited.

"Li'er… you're… you're Li'er's son. Fang- Naruto …." His grandmother stared at him, breath coming in ragged pants. Suddenly, a tremor ran through her, as if something had just occurred to her. "Is your mother well…?"

Naruto immediately stepped forward and offered his arm to his grandmother to support her. "Grandma Uzumaki, my mother is in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, safe and healthy."

"As long as she's safe and healthy, that's what's important…." his grandmother murmured, tears rolling down her cheeks. She raised a trembling hand to stroke Naruto 's cheek, her eyes shining with kindness. "You're such a good kid. Why are you here? Where's Uzumaki Chen?"

Naruto sighed and then gave a simple recounting of how he had come to the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and then the circumstances in which he met Uzumaki Chen.

When his grandmother and grand-uncles heard about how he had exterminated the Blacksoul Society and then slaughtered Dao Lords and other such powerful experts, their eyes went wide.

Then they heard about Uzumaki Chen's final words, and their eyes dimmed.

"Chen'er was also such a good kid…."

After a moment of silence, Naruto looked at the oldtimers and asked, "Grandma Uzumaki, granduncles, I very much want to know what happened here? Why is our bloodline in such decline. What are those black spikes inside of you? And also… who poisoned you? Where is everyone else of the Senior generation?"

They exchanged silent glances for a moment, and then one of Naruto 's granduncles sighed and began to explain.

"After your Grandpa Uzumaki went to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, he never returned. All the news we got was that it had to do with you, and that he went missing along with your Grandpa Fang.

"Your grandfather's disappearance affected the clan a bit, but not

fatally. Back then, there were seven of us brothers including your grandfather, plus many sons and grandsons. Although none of us were in the Dao Realm, there were many in the Ancient Realm. We decided not to contend for the place of Clan Chief, assuming that doing so would prevent conflict within the clan. How could we have ever imagined that everything would change overnight?

"Although news about what happened in the clan that night never spread, that was the moment the Uzumaki Clan fell from the height of their power….

"Mysterious cultivators invaded, and were joined by traitors within the clan. A huge battle was fought, and two of our Dao Realm Patriarchs were killed. Two others were seriously injured and still haven't recovered.

"Vast numbers of Ancient Realm cultivators died, and virtually all of the Immortal Realm clan members were slaughtered….

"Our bloodline narrowly managed to escape to this place. However, when we got here, there were nine mysterious experts waiting, apparently specifically for us. All of our other brothers died, and most of your uncles were killed. The only people left were the women and children….

"Those nine mysterious experts wanted to completely wipe out our bloodline, and the slaughter they carried out on us was far more severe than towards any of the auxiliary bloodlines. It almost seemed like their attack on the Uzumaki Clan was targeting us specifically.

"In the critical moment, just when it seemed we would be exterminated, the ancestral statue began to glow, and emanated a powerful pressure. It turned into a voice which shouted at the nine mysterious experts, telling them to begone. Before they could be driven away, they didn't hesitate for even a moment to kill themselves in order to transform into nine spikes. The spikes multiplied and then stabbed into our bodies, sealing our cultivation bases.

"From that day on, the Uzumaki Clan in general was in decline, and our bloodline lost all of its cultivators. We wanted to return to the ancestral mansion, but it had already been occupied by other bloodlines, none other than the current nine bloodlines of the Uzumaki Clan.

"We were forced to settle down here and try to restore our cultivation bases. However, the only result was that we got weaker day by day. More people died, and soon, we were barely able to hold on to life, not willing to even close our eyes lest we die. The two uncles of yours who survived could only look on in misery as the older generation was bullied, humiliated, and left gasping for life."

After listening to the story, Naruto stood there silently for a moment. The explanation given was simple, and he could easily imagine how tragic the entire affair had been.

"Grandma Uzumaki, I think I can heal your injuries, but I need some time." Suddenly, he thought of something, and continued, "Those nine mysterious men, did they by any chance happen to have a combined magical technique that summoned a battle-axe?"

Almost immediately, his grandmother and grand-uncles looked at him with a start, shivering.

"They did use such a magical technique," his grandmother replied.

"However, they didn't summon one battle-axe, they summoned three!

You've seen such a thing before?"

Naruto then recounted what had happened en route back to the Uzumaki Clan, which resulted in the three oldtimers' faces flickering.

"So, they're coming back, huh…?" he grandmother said.

Seeing the expressions on their faces, Naruto couldn't hold back from asking, "Grandma Uzumaki, those mysterious black-robed men, is there any chance… you know where they come from?"

The three old-timers didn't respond at first. Finally, his grandmother sighed and said, "The Seventh Mountain and Sea!"

As soon as the words entered Naruto 's ears, a tremor ran through him. He looked at his grandmother, and the serious expression on her face, and his thoughts raced. Finally, everything turned into four words….

"Mountain and Sea War…." he said slowly.

The three oldtimers maintained their silence.

Naruto 's mind trembled. As soon as he thought about the prospect of war between the various Mountains and Seas, he said, "Grandma Uzumaki, granduncles, the Namikaze Clan in the Ninth Mountain and Sea has become very powerful. Seniors, I can take all of you to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and give you a chance to rise to prominence there."

"Nar'er," his grandmother said, "your intentions are good, but the Uzumaki

Clan is our home. We won't give up on it."

As for his two granduncles, their voices were filled with decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron as they said, "We were born here, and we'll die here!"

Naruto said nothing more. Clasping hands and bowing, he once again transformed into Uzumaki Chen. Just before leaving, he calmly said, "Grandma Uzumaki, if there really is a Mountain and Sea War, I'll do my best to protect you. But if I can't, please take my advice. Leave this place, and wait for the right opportunity to stage a comeback."

Naruto then walked out of the room and looked around at the various bloodline clan members in the mansion. Then he waved his hand, and massive rumbling echoed out as the entire bloodline ancestral mansion and the land around it were carved away from the land mass within which it sat.

Naruto cut away a vast, 30,000-meter area, after which he slapped his bag of holding, causing one piece of Immortal jade after another to fly out. Organizing them in midair, Naruto performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing the vast quantity of Immortal jade to shoot down toward the land.

Each piece that touched the ground shattered, causing boundless ImmortalChakrato spill out like rain. In the blink of an eye, the entire area was filled with a shocking amount of dense Immortal qi.

Naruto then raised his hand and made a grasping motion. Rumbling could be heard as the entire vast area was sealed, ensuring that none of the ImmortalChakracould dissipate.

This also made the entire area occupied by his bloodline become like a paradise for Immortals!

To cultivators, practicing cultivation in places like this had vast, indescribable benefits. Meditating here for a day was like spending a month in the outside world. However, Naruto still wasn't satisfied. He smacked his bag of holding again, producing even more Immortal jade. As that jade shattered, the quality of the ImmortalChakragrew even more profound.

Now, meditating here for a day was like spending two months outside!

The surrounding bloodline clan members were completely shocked. The three old-timers in the room, plus the three middle-aged women, all gasped and looked at Naruto in astonishment. Then Naruto 's grandmother and granduncles recalled what he had said about exterminating Patriarch Blacksoul and killing the other Dao Realm experts, and were completely convinced of the truth of the matter.

There were two other nearby rooms that suddenly opened, and two men walked out. Although they didn't seem very old, their skin was withered and sallow, and their eyes were dim, making them seem very ancient. They were skinny and weak, and even smelled of alcohol, as if they hadn't seen the light of day for many days. Currently, they were staring dumbfounded at the Immortal qi.

These two men were Naruto 's uncles… the only surviving secondgeneration members of the bloodline.

" Uzumaki Ru," Naruto said calmly, a cold gleam in his eyes, "go find all of the members of our bloodline who serve in other households. Tell them… to come home. If anyone tries to stop you, tell me immediately!" The appearance of cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea indicated that a Mountain and Sea War was brewing. That completely changed Naruto 's plans. He would no longer lead his grandfather's bloodline to prominence from the shadows. There simply wasn't time for that.

His new decision was to take center stage, to make a loud proclamation that no one could dare to provoke this bloodline. The time had come to make a name!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1257

Chapter 1257: Sermon on the Dao!

Uzumaki Ru nodded excitedly in response to Naruto 's words. Naruto then smacked his bag of holding, and the mastiff flew out. It threw its head back and roared, transforming into a beam of red light that carried Uzumaki Ru off into the distance.

With the mastiff to protect her, no one would be able to cause trouble for Uzumaki Ru as she went about accomplishing her task. Naruto looked around the bloodline mansion, at his excited relatives, and then took a deep breath. A brilliant gleam then appeared in his eyes; time was of the essence, and since he was going to help the bloodline rise to prominence… he would do it in spectacular fashion.

Uzumaki Ru and the mastiff flew to the central continent of the Uzumaki Clan and called back the bloodline members who had had no other choice but to follow the orders of the other nine bloodlines.

Meanwhile, the shocking deaths of all of the cultivators in the Xu Clan's various auxiliary headquarters had caused quite a stir among the Xu Clan's powerful experts in their ancestral mansion.

Everyone was in a rage, and finally, an ancient voice echoed out from within the Xu Clan ancestral mansion.

"The bedraggled bloodline thinks it can recover its former glory? Find

the culprit and execute him! If anyone gets in your way, execute them too! Don't forget that the old cripples there can't do anything to you!"

The voice crashed like lightning, causing colors to flash in the sky and the lands to quake. Instantly, dozens of beams of light shot out, followed by hundreds of other figures, all of which headed toward the location of Grandpa Uzumaki's bloodline.

The Xu Clan was so enraged with the bloodline that there was no need to speak words. They decided to attack immediately, and the murderous aura they emanated was incredibly intense.

At the same time, back in the central ancestral mansion of the Uzumaki Clan, another enraged shout could be heard coming from the courtyard where Naruto had crushed the Dao Seeking cultivator's bones, turning him into a pile of mush. Three old men could be seen there, their faces grim and their eyes burning with fury. Behind them were ten other clan members, all radiating intense killing intent.

"What gall!" said one of the three old men. "Their bloodline is weak to the point of dissipating. Who needs them? Now they're just intentionally provoking calamity. Men, come with me, we're going to crush this rebellion immediately!" With that, the old man flicked his sleeve and then flew up into the air, followed by numerous fellow clan members. All of them transformed into beams of colorful light that shot off in the direction of Grandpa Uzumaki's bloodline.

It took only a moment for vast proverbial winds to surge, giving rise to waves in the dead brackish water that was the declining Uzumaki Clan. And it was all because of Naruto .

As those things occurred, Naruto sat cross-legged on a boulder in the bloodline mansion, surrounded by other members of the bloodline. They all looked very excited, and were in the middle of practicing various breathing exercises. The vast majority were female, and as they practiced cultivation, their cultivation bases slowly improved.

The person sitting closest to Naruto was a young man, the very same one he had just saved, Uzumaki Han. He occasionally looked over at Naruto , his eyes filled with adoration and zeal.

The truth was that he wasn't the only one; virtually everyone in the mansion looked at Naruto in the same way. The zeal they felt burned in their eyes; they finally had hope. This person that they were looking at had a cultivation base vastly greater than theirs. After years and years, he was the first person… to ever successfully enter the Immortal Realm.

"In the practice of cultivation, you must pass through the four Realms. Spirit, Immortal, Ancient, Dao. Each Realm bestows you with different types of power, and are all subdivided into smaller stages.

"It might seem complicated, but you must proceed forward one step at a time. The further along the path you tread, the more and more powerful you will become!

"The Spirit Realm is divided into the stages ofChakraCondensation, Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, Dao Seeking, and Immortal Ascension!

"I can see that most of you are in the Core Formation stage. Not many of you are in the Nascent Soul stage, and it seems you have no Spirit Severing cultivators…." Naruto spoke quietly, but his voice seemed to be filled with a strange power. As it echoed about the bloodline mansion, all of his bloodline relatives listened attentively.

Some of his bloodline relatives couldn't hold back from pointing out, "Big bro Uzumaki Chen, don't forget that big sis Qiao'er is in the Spirit Severing stage. And big sis Yun is too…." "Big sis Hong is in Dao Seeking…."

Naruto nodded and continued.

"Core Formation focuses on forming an inner core. You can use that core to coalesce your own pure qi, which can be used to conceive your Nascent Soul…. When I was in the Core Formation stage, I used the five elements as my foundation, making a five elements Gold Core, which then became my five elements Nascent Soul….

"… the true meaning of Spirit Severing lies, not in the Spirit, but in the Severing….

"There are three Severings, which are also Daos. Three Severings, three Daos. Afterward, you must seek answers inwardly to take the next step, Dao Seeking!

"As far as Immortal Ascension is concerned, it is actually simple; none of you really need to worry about it. You can simply imitate your ancestors and become false Immortals!" Naruto 's voice echoed out as he expounded upon the meaning of the Spirit Realm, explaining it in detail to his bloodline clan members.

They listened as if intoxicated; many areas which they had formerly found very confusing were now explained clearly. Furthermore, Naruto 's explanation was far deeper and more profound than any explanation they had received in the past.

Naruto 's voice also contained that strange power, something that gradually caused a type of seed to appear within the bodies of his bloodline relatives. It was a Dao Seed, not the bloodline of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, but rather… Naruto 's accumulated enlightenment regarding cultivation, his experiences within the Spirit Realm. It was… a Spirit Seed!

Naruto had a foundation in the Spirit Realm that was as rare as a phoenix feather or a qilin horn in the Mountain and Sea Realm. It would be no exaggeration to say that his understanding of the Spirit Realm exceeded that of any other person. No one had accumulated so much in that Realm, and no one had prepared more thoroughly to become a true Immortal. He had shaken the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Because of that, his understanding, and his explanation, carried profound, indescribable meaning for all of his fellow clan members.

In addition to all that, the rich ImmortalChakrain the area vastly exceeded normal spiritual energy. The result was that the majority of his bloodline relatives were all sinking deeper and deeper into enlightenment.

Naruto 's grandmother and grand-uncles stared in shock at what was happening, and then excitement began to build up on their faces. Naruto 's two uncles had faces flushed with excitement, not only because of what was happening to all the members of the Junior generation, but also because the ImmortalChakrawas helping them to revert from their crippled states.

The three middle-aged women were experiencing something similar.

Apparently, all of the bloodline relatives around Naruto were… slowly transforming!

Naruto looked around at everyone in their states of enlightenment, until finally his gaze came to fall upon the young man Uzumaki Han, whom he had rescued from the Xu Clan.

From what Naruto could tell, he had better latent talent than anyone else present, and although his cultivation base was merely in the Core Formation stage, he was clearly on the verge of a breakthrough.

A smile broke out on Naruto 's face. He was now confident that within a few short years, his grandfather's bloodline should be able to achieve grandeur once again, which caused excitement to stir within his heart. It was at this point that he suddenly looked up into the sky, and a cold gleam flickered in his eyes.

He waved his right hand, causing a cloud of black pods to fly out from within his bag of holding. They immediately flew off into the distance radiating murderous auras. As they flew along, popping sounds could be heard as they transformed into black imps, whose gaping maws were filled with razor-sharp teeth.

"EEEEEEEEE…." screamed the blackpod imps as they shot off into the distance.

Currently, outside of the 30,000-meter area Naruto had already set aside, hundreds of cultivators were flying around, radiating murderous auras and killing intent. The dozen or so in the lead had cultivation bases in the Ancient Realm, although the strongest of the bunch was only in the mid Ancient Realm. However, a group like this was not something to be underestimated, and comprised about half of the entire power base of the Xu Clan.

About thirty percent of the group was in the Immortal Realm, and the rest… were in the Spirit Realm. After all, the Xu Clan was one of eight subsidiary clans within the Uzumaki Clan, which meant that it would be impossible for them to reach a terrifyingly powerful level. Even still, they had many powerful cultivators.

What they could see was a huge area filled with dense mist, and they could sense that within that mist was some invisible barrier. That barrier caused the eyes of the mid Ancient Realm cultivator from the Xu Clan to widen. He gasped, and his heart began to pound.

He had to ask himself if even he could breach that barrier, and as he looked closer, he realized that the mist inside was…

"Immortal qi… so much Immortal qi. It's… it's so dense it's manifested physically. It's like this area is another world, like an Immortal world!

"But… who could possibly do this!?" Although he was shocked, few of his fellow clan members noticed any of these clues, and their murderous aura boiled just as strongly as before.

Tempers provoked, some of the Xu Clan cultivators began to shout out in rage. "Anyone from the Uzumaki Clan in the area had better get out here right now!"

It all happened too quickly for the mid Ancient Realm cultivator to stop, and his face flickered as, all of a sudden, a grating sound rang out from the mist.

"EEEEEEEEE…." Following the sound was a huge group of black-colored imps, moving as fast as lightning. Each one of those imps was radiating pressure equivalent to the mid Ancient Realm.

"It's… run! Get out of here!" The mid Ancient Realm cultivator's scalp was numb. Although he had never encountered these blackpod imps before, he could tell how terrifying they were, and it filled his heart with an indescribable sense of deadly crisis.

He immediately fell back, to the shock of his fellow clan members. Unfortunately for them, they didn't react quickly enough, and were quickly pounced upon by the blackpod imps.

Apparently, the imps had no inclination to possess any of these people.

They simply bored into their bodies and began to chew them up. Miserable screams instantly began to ring out from the mouths of the Xu Clan cultivators.

A huge commotion was underway as more than a hundred out of the group of hundreds began to scream. Then their bodies exploded into clouds of gore and blood. As for the others present, their faces drained of blood, and they immediately began to flee.

In the blink of an eye, the blackpod imps shot out from within the gore, vicious expressions on their faces as they went on the attack again. Miserable shrieks rang out as another hundred or so cultivators were slaughtered. The blackpod imps were like Yamas from hell, out to collect lives.

Not even the Xu Clan cultivators in the Ancient Realm were capable of fleeing. No matter how they tried to fight back, they ended up screaming, and their bodies withered rapidly as the blackpod imps scraped them clean from the inside out.

The strongest of their number, the mid Ancient Realm old man, bellowed in rage as he unleashed divine abilities and magical items to defend himself. However, it did no good. Soon, one of the blackpod imps bored into him. He screamed miserably and then… exploded.

The gory scene lasted for some time. Hundreds of cultivators died, and the air was awash with the reek of blood. As for the blackpod imps, they grinned cruelly and let out fearsome howls.

Finally, they formed back together into a black cloud that vanished back into the mist.

"EEEEEEEEE…."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1258

Chapter 1258 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1258: Exterminating the Xu Clan!

"Nascent Soul, Nascent Soul. The Soul aspect is physical, and as for the Nascent part of the term, it relates to the spiritual. Therefore, because what you are currently absorbing via breathing techniques is Immortal qi, which far exceeds ordinary spiritual energy… theoretically speaking, you should be able to pass through the Nascent Soul stage much more quickly!" Naruto 's voice was quiet as he continued to expound upon his understanding of the Spirit Realm.

He had just used a vast quantity of Immortal jade to create a huge area for the exclusive purpose of allowing these several dozen people to absorb Immortal qi. In the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, few people could accomplish such a thing. In fact, the only ones who could would be the Mountain and Sea Lords.

Even large sects who could afford it would not, primarily because… it wouldn't be worth it. Sects always had numerous competing factions who were generally concerned with their own interests and thus wouldn't agree to such a huge expenditure.

Naruto might love money, and had always dreamed of being rich.

However, sentiment and honor were important things to him, and no amount of money could be more valuable to him than family.

Therefore, he didn't think twice about the pain that usually came with spending money. As long as his grandfather's bloodline could rise to prominence again, it would all be worth it.

As he continued to deliver his sermon, there were some in the audience who experienced cultivation base breakthroughs. At the same time, rumbling sounds could be heard. A strange gleam could be seen in Naruto 's eyes, and he wore a slight smile as the blackpod imps came flying back. After circling around in the air a few times, they began to drop bags of holding down toward the ground. Soon, there were so many it seemed like it was raining..

The women in the bloodline mansion stared with wide eyes as all of this happened.

Naruto 's expression was very somber as he looked back at all the women and continued to speak.

"You must all remember that we cultivators must never waste cultivation resources. If you venture out and see something, but don't pick it up, then it's the same as losing it. That's our maxim, and the most important principle we must keep in our hearts! 1

"Don't waste money, don't live luxuriously! If you have a chance to profit, then don't miss out on a single spirit stone!" The entire audience was completely focused on Naruto , eyes burning with zealous adoration. As soon as the women heard his words, they fixed them in their minds. Apparently, their personalities were even affected, and gradually… their eyes began to shine brightly.

Naruto was pleased with the look he saw in their eyes, although he didn't take the time to think of what the consequences would be of having an entire group of people molded after himself…. In any case, he truly felt that this group was becoming much more to his liking.

As for the three old timers, they were watching with wide eyes, as were Naruto 's two Uncles.

"This…." said one of Naruto 's grand-uncles.

"He's so much like little Lili…." Naruto 's grandmother said with a wry smile. After a moment of thought, she allowed things to continue on as they were. "With him here, the Uzumaki Clan… we'll definitely need to change things up a bit."

Outside in the courtyard, Naruto waved his hand, sending the bags of holding flying out to hover in front of the other clan members, until each one had several.

"Alright, you hang on to these bags of holding. I'm heading out for a bit to get you some more cultivation resources." With that, Naruto rose to his feet, took a step forward, and vanished. When he reappeared, he was out in the mists. The blackpod imps flew around him, looking very friendly. Naruto waved his sleeve to collect them up, then took another step, vanishing and reappearing high up in the sky. A cold gleam flickered in his eyes as he looked toward the center of the continent, and… the Xu Clan!

He had originally planned to exterminate the entire clan, but then his grandmother had woken up, which had caused a slight delay. However, moments ago when the blackpod imps wiped out the cultivators outside the mist, Naruto had been watching closely.

"Anyone who has a beef with my grandfather's bloodline also has a beef with me," he said coolly. Then he transformed into a beam of light which shot rumbling off toward the Xu Clan.

Deep in the heart of the Xu Clan's ancestral mansion, within a hidden chamber, a red-haired old man sat there cross-legged. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he shivered. A terrible feeling had just risen up in his heart, as if a huge disaster were heading his way.

His cultivation base was far beyond the great circle of the Ancient

Realm, and was already half a step into the Dao Realm. In fact, he could make his attempt to complete that step at any time. However, he was very similar to Guru Heavencloud, who Naruto had encountered in the asteroid field back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and didn't have the confidence to try to make the attempt.

Therefore, it would really be less accurate to say that he could break through to the Dao Realm whenever he wished, and more accurate to say that he could force his way into the Quasi-Dao Realm at any moment!

This man was Xu Yushan, leader of the Xu Clan. His cultivation base was why he was the clan leader, and also the reason why the Xu Clan had been able to become a vassal clan and occupy one of the continents in the Uzumaki Clan.

"What's going on… could it be… THAT bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan?" The red-haired old man's eyes flickered, and he frowned.

"Impossible. That bloodline has declined to the point where it's almost gone. In fact, that's why I was stationed here, to keep an eye on them and to make sure that instead of being wiped out in an instant, they slowly fade away into nothing. In a few hundred years, that mission will be accomplished."

After sitting there in thought for a moment, his face suddenly flickered. Without the slightest hesitation or forethought, the man crushed a jade slip and then vanished.

The moment he vanished was the exact same moment that a Heavenshaking, Earth-shattering boom caused everything to shake violently.

An enormous hand was descending from above, fully 30,000 meters wide, so realistic you could see the palm lines on it. It descended with such incredible speed that flames burst out all over it, racing down to scorch the earth.

As it descended, it caused numerous pagodas within the Xu Clan ancestral mansion to crumble under the pressure. Buildings collapsed, bursting into flames, and the cultivators in the Xu Clan ancestral mansion looked up in shock. It was as if doomsday had arrived for them.

"What is that?!"

"An ambush!"

"Th-that hand, who does it belong to? Heavens…." The cultivators in the Xu Clan ancestral mansion were completely shocked, and began to tremble from the explosive will of extermination which weighed down on them.

In the blink of an eye, the hand slammed down onto the ancestral mansion, crushing countless buildings and sending a huge shockwave out in all directions. The lands quaked as if they were being struck by lightning, and the entire Xu Clan was instantly transformed into ruins, replaced by the image of an enormous handprint!

Flames raged everywhere, burning everything to a pitch-black crisp….

Despite all of that, there actually weren't very many cultivators who died. Naruto wasn't a cold-blooded killer, and based on the level of his cultivation base, the divine sense laced within the palm enabled him to detect exactly who within the Xu Clan harbored evil designs toward his grandfather's bloodline.

Those hostile cultivators were all killed, causing bloodcurdling screams to ring out from within the sea of flames. As for the other cultivators, the flames merely sealed their cultivation bases, but didn't harm them physically.

The lands still shook violently, though, and the enormous handprint in the ground was shocking to the extreme.

Within the ruins that filled the palm print, the Xu Clan Patriarch blurred back into existence. As soon as he did, he coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. Face ashen, he looked around at the surviving clan members, and then at the ruins. Then he threw his head back and howled viciously.

As he looked up, he could see Naruto floating there in the air, radiating intense coldness. Considering what he had done with a single palm strike, he was clearly a terrifying individual. The Xu Clan Patriarch chuckled bitterly and asked, "Who are you?!"

At the same time, he didn't hesitate to begin a cultivation base breakthrough.

"I'm Uzumaki Chen!" Naruto replied coldly. Naruto didn't want to drag the Uzumaki Clan into his problems with the Heavengod Alliance, and therefore, he chose not to use his identity as Naruto .

The Xu Clan Patriarch laughed bitterly. He didn't believe Naruto at all, but that didn't matter. His cultivation base shot up explosively, and clouds began to form in the air as Dao Realm Heavenly Tribulation began to descend.

Naruto 's eyes flickered in the face of the descending Dao Realm Heavenly Tribulation. He then waved his right index finger, which caused the air to distort, and wave-like ripples to spread out. Gradually the ripples transformed into an enormous wolf, completely domineering, which howled as it charged the Xu Clan Patriarch.

It was on him in the blink of an eye, before the Heavenly Tribulation could arrive. The Xu Clan Patriarch fought back viciously, but couldn't stop himself from being swallowed up in a single gulp by the gigantic wolf.

The Heavenly Tribulation, having lost its target, immediately began to fade away, and the path which had appeared vanished.

Naruto waved his sleeve. Ignoring everything down below, he turned and vanished.

Time passed. Around evening, more beams of light appeared above the lands near Naruto 's grandfather's bloodline. These people looked different than the Xu Clan cultivators, and were in fact from the Uzumaki Clan.

They were from the seventh of the nine bloodlines of the Uzumaki Clan, which was a powerful group. However, only a few of their number had come; one was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, one in the late Ancient Realm, two in the mid Ancient Realm, four in the early Ancient Realm, and several dozen were Immortals.

A force like that was a powerful one indeed. Unless a Dao Realm expert showed up, they could wage an entire war on their own. Currently, the old man in the lead was flying along, enraged and bursting with killing intent.

As the group flew along, colors flashed in the sky and the winds screamed. Suddenly, the old man's furious voice could be heard ringing out.

"Xu Yushan, get out here right now!"

The booming voice echoed back and forth, making it sound almost like numerous voices were shouting. A huge wind blasted across the lands, sweeping away the clouds in the sky and shaking everything.

The old man hovered in midair arrogantly. In his view, the ideal way of handling this situation was to call out the leader of the vassal clan that was guarding this place and have him extinguish the rebellious bloodline that was on its last legs.

Chapter 1258: Exterminating the Xu Clan!

The comments about picking something up or else losing it were originally told to Naruto by his mother in chapter 1167. He's reiterated similar words a few times since then ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1259

Chapter 1259: Imposing Grandma Uzumaki!

The old man's voice rang out in all directions and yet no response could be heard, causing him to frown. He sent his divine sense out, and when it reached the Xu Clan ancestral mansion at the center of the continent, a tremor ran through him, and he gasped, an expression of intense disbelief filling his face.

"This…." He immediately shot off through the air. Behind him, the other members of the Uzumaki Clan slowly began to reveal their own shock as the Ancient Realm cultivators sent their divine sense out and realized what had happened.

Dozens of them shot through the air toward the Xu Clan, where the old man in the leadership position was hovering in midair above the ancestral mansion, looking down at the enormous palm print, and the ruins that filled it. After a moment, he closed his eyes as he focused on sensing the area. Then his eyes snapped open.

"The aura of Dao Tribulation appeared here…. But I didn't sense any tribulation earlier. That indicates… that the tribulation vanished before it even started. It also means that Xu Yushan was killed before his cultivation base broke through!

"Other than a Dao Realm expert, the only other person who could do something like that would be a Quasi-Dao cultivator!" The old man took a deep breath and scanned the ruins. Then he waved his hand, causing one of the living Xu Clan cultivators to fly up into the air. The old man didn't ask any questions. He was the type of person who didn't trust what people told him with regard to important matters like this. He only trusted his own Soulsearching. It took but a brief moment before he saw Naruto , and the enormous palm destroying the Xu Clan. Then… he heard Naruto call himself… Uzumaki Chen!

" Uzumaki… Chen!?" The old man's eyes went wide, and he began to breathe heavily. Actually, the reason he had rushed over here in such domineering fashion was because of Uzumaki Chen. Now that he understood the terrifying nature of the person he had come for, the old man began to shiver. Knowing that he had narrowly avoided certain calamity, the old man immediately turned to leave.

The other members of the Uzumaki Clan were looking around in shock.

Then they noticed the old man leaving, and they began to ask questions.

"Elder, where are we going now…?"

"Where else?" replied the flustered old man. "Home! We're going home immediately!" The old man couldn't help but look back at the palmshaped crater once more. He shivered, already petrified of Uzumaki Chen, even though he had never even seen him face-to-face.

Based on what he knew about Uzumaki Chen, he was sure that this terrifying cultivation base could not belong to him. In his judgement, Uzumaki Chen had most likely been possessed or replaced, or something of the like. In either case, he himself didn't qualify to tangle with whoever Uzumaki Chen really was.

A person with a cultivation base like that could kill him as easily as flipping over his hand. Someone such as that was a person he couldn't afford to provoke, and thus, it was without any further hesitation that he sped off as fast as possible.

The other cultivators exchanged dismayed glances, then hurried to leave. The old man's sudden flight was just now beginning to fill their hearts with fear. Feeling as if some hidden force were behind them about to attack, they started going faster and faster until they were fleeing at top speed.

The group had burst onto the scene with a towering murderous aura, and yet before they had even seen Naruto with their own eyes, they fled, crestfallen and terrified.

As they left, Naruto was sitting cross-legged in the bloodline mansion, watching them hurry off, a cold smile on his face. Their quick reaction had saved them; had they dared show any evil designs, he wouldn't have hesitated to wipe out their entire bloodline.

Regarding the matter of wiping out bloodlines, Naruto had already consulted with his grandmother and granduncles. According to them, the third, fourth, and fifth bloodlines were important, but as for the other five, they could be done away with at will.

Seeing the complicated expressions in the old-timers' eyes, Naruto had simply said, "I'll handle things, but let's wait until your cultivation bases are recovered before deciding exactly how."

Time passed. Naruto gave sermons on the Dao, but spent most of his time using his own cultivation base to assist his grandmother and the others in their recovery. The more he understood about the framework created by the nine needles, the more he realized that they couldn't be removed casually, not without risking the lives of the people who were affected.

He needed more time to fully understand them, and his grandmother and the others also needed more time to strengthen their bodies. Only then could further action be taken.

One afternoon a few days later, as Naruto was giving a sermon on the Dao, he suddenly stopped talking and looked up. A blood-colored light could be seen up in the air, which was the mastiff. On its back could be seen Uzumaki Ru, as well as about ten other young women. Some of those women looked excited, others appeared to be torn, and some

were confused.

Their return instantly caused a big commotion in the mansion. As for the young women, when they sensed the Immortal qi, they were astonished.

Uzumaki Ru immediately found Naruto , clasped hands, and bowed. She looked a bit sad, and even hesitant, as if she weren't sure of how to express herself. After a long moment, she gritted her teeth and began to speak.

"Big bro Uzumaki Chen, I wasn't able to bring everyone back. There were, um… three sisters who chose to stay with their masters. There were also two whose masters refused to free them. I… I was worried about making a mistake, so I didn't dare to ask big bro mastiff to attack…."

Apparently, Uzumaki Ru felt a lot of respect toward the mastiff, and actually viewed it as a cultivator and not an animal.

"Three of them refused to return?" Naruto asked calmly. He wasn't too surprised about this. There weren't many people left in his grandfather's bloodline, so it was only natural that there would be some people who didn't wish to remain, and would try to strike out on their own.

It was at this point that the door suddenly opened, and Grandma Uzumaki walked out without a single person supporting her. "Since they chose not to return, then they shall remain cut off for all eternity."

All of the bloodline clan members present immediately bowed their heads respectfully. Naruto quickly rose to his feet and clasped hands.

"Chen'er," Grandma Uzumaki said calmly, "go bring back the final two who were prevented from returning." After her recent days of recuperation, she was in much better spirits than before, and her eyes glittered with determination. She had long since become the pillar of the bloodline, and it had only been when her body had begun to weaken that she had begun to lose control. Now that she had recovered, she once again radiated the air of a family leader.

Furthermore, she was aware of the situation between Naruto and the Heavengod Alliance, and was also wary of getting the clan involved. Therefore, she declined to address him as Nar'er, and instead used Uzumaki Chen's name.

Naruto 's eyes glittered. Seeing his grandmother like this left him feeling quite relieved. At the very least, with her back in control of the bloodline, the task of helping it rise to prominence didn't fall on his shoulders alone.

"What if I meet opposition?" Naruto asked.

"Kill them!" Grandma Uzumaki replied immediately. Although her words were not spoken loudly, they resounded like thunder in the ears of all present. At the same time, a murderous aura began to radiate from her, something which had remained buried inside of her for too long.

"We've been away for too long," said another voice. "It's time to remind the Uzumaki Clan who exactly we are!" Naruto 's two granduncles emerged from the room. They were no longer confined to their chairs, and although they looked very weak, they were clearly in much better condition than before.

All of the surrounding bloodline clan members were now looking excitedly at Grandma Uzumaki.

"Your command shall be carried out," Naruto said, clasping hands and bowing. Then he turned, leaving the mastiff to protect the bloodline clan members, but taking Uzumaki Ru with him.

A moment later, the two of them had vanished. Grandma Uzumaki and Naruto 's two granduncles watched them leave, and their eyes burned with faith and anticipation for the future.

Even as Naruto was working hard to help his grandfather's bloodline rise to prominence, someone appeared in the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. It was a handsome young man who strolled along wearing a violet robe. He was currently looking off into the distance at… the Uzumaki Clan.

"I can sense that you're there…." the young man said, smiling. He was none other than Hebi Dongyang!

Meanwhile, a huge turtle was floating in another part of the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, snoring as he napped. On his back was a huge continent, filled with all forms of life.

Suddenly, the turtle's eyes snapped open as he awoke from slumber. His eyes shone like bright lanterns as he looked out into the darkness of the starry sky.

"Dammit, I just had a nightmare," the turtle muttered. "I dreamed about that little bastard Naruto tracking me down in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Hahaha. What a hilarious dream! It's totally impossible!

"There's no way that little punk could find me here. Dammit! Why would I have a dream like that? It's a bad sign, an ill omen. I can't believe I dreamed about being his mount!" That huge turtle was none other than Patriarch Reliance, who truly was frightened of Naruto . He let out a roar, then glanced around shiftily for a moment. Then he closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

Strangely, there appeared to be mysterious figures nearby Patriarch Reliance, figures he didn't notice, who were apparently keeping track of his current location.

Something else was happening at around this same time in the Seventh Mountain and Sea…. All of the sects there, as well as all the clans, were mobilizing. Gradually, an enormous military force was being organized, virtually without number. In the lead position of that enormous army floated a sizeable mountain peak, the very tip of which emanated powerful ripples. Just barely visible on that mountain peak was a person sitting cross-legged, looking toward the Eighth Mountain, eyes gleaming.

The figure then began to speak softly in an ancient voice: "I don't really want this war, but… there's no choice in the matter. It is my mission….

Perhaps I'm not the only one either…. It's not a betrayal; after all, there is nothing to betray. And yet… why do I feel so much pain in my heart…."

The terrifying army was filled with millions upon millions of cultivators, organized in formation so that they resembled an ancient, enormous dragon. They radiated intense murderous auras as they began to march closer and closer to the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1260

Chapter 1260: What Is The Point… Of Leaving Any Behind!?

As the army from the Seventh Mountain and Sea was picking up speed, Naruto was back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. He was also being tracked by shadowy figures who occasionally materialized and then vanished. Apparently, they were watching him and keeping track of his location.

There had not been any wars between the Mountains and Seas for many years, but it seemed one was about to break out now. There were even various entities above in the 33 Heavens who were using special techniques to observe the Mountain and Sea Realm without being detected. They were looking down at the Eighth Mountain and Sea, their eyes gleaming with anticipation….

Meanwhile, outside of the 33 Heavens, out in the boundless expanse, two forces were approaching from different directions, and they were growing inexorably closer.

Apparently, war… was nigh!

Naruto and Uzumaki Ru were speeding along through midair when all of a sudden, an intense feeling of alarm rose up inside Naruto , causing his face to flicker. Before he could react, the parrot's shrill voice could suddenly be heard in his mind.

"They're coming. Coming, I tell you! They're close, I can sense them. Dammit, they're moving a lot faster than I anticipated…. Naruto , they're almost here!" The parrot sounded anxious, even terrified.

Naruto 's eyes flickered. He knew exactly who the parrot was talking about, and it caused him to slowly lift his head up to look up into the sky. It was almost as if he could see out into the vast expanse beyond the 33 Heavens.

"Well then, I guess I need to hurry up," he said softly.

Off to the side, Uzumaki Ru gaped in shock. "Big bro Uzumaki Chen, what did you say?"

"Oh, nothing," he replied, shaking his head as he continued to lead Uzumaki Ru through the starry sky toward the Uzumaki Clan's central continent.

He passed through the protective spell formations without triggering any of them, and proceeded directly toward the ancestral mansion.

"The two sisters we're going after are big sis Qiu'er and big sis Uzumaki Fei," Uzumaki Ru said quietly. "Their latent talent is better than mine, and their cultivation bases are higher…. I managed to meet them and pass the news about what was happening, but I was prevented from taking them away. If it weren't for big bro mastiff, I might have been detained as well.

"They're both in the hands of cultivators from the first bloodline…." When she looked at Naruto , it was almost worshipfully. In her mind, once Uzumaki Chen arrived on the scene, all their problems would be solved.

Meanwhile, in the East District of the Uzumaki Clan's ancestral mansion, there was a huge temple surrounded by nine pillars. Beneath each of those pillars was a furnace.

Those burning furnaces were causing the nine pillars to slowly heat up.

Bound to the pillars were nine young women, all of whom had ashen faces and were trembling. They looked terrified and were pleading for their lives, except for two who, although they were not spectacularly beautiful, were charming and pretty. Those two had their jaws clenched; despite the increasing temperature of the pillars they were tied to, they refused to utter any pleading words.

Sitting in the middle of the pillars and furnaces was an old man, who was currently performing double-handed incantation gestures and sending sealing marks out toward the furnaces, which were causing the furnaces to burn even more fiercely.

Surrounding the entire area was an audience of young men. The audience was clearly split into two groups, one of which clustered around a young man in a green robes, and the second group around another young man in a yellow robe. Clearly, the two of them had very high statuses, and currently, their eyes were fixed upon the old man in the middle of all the columns. They were also turning deaf ears to the pleading cries of the young women.

After a moment passed, the young man in the green robe suddenly asked, "What are we betting on this time?!"

"I bet that this time, Grandmaster Song's pill refining will result in… her, her and her all becoming Young Beauty Pills!" As the young man in the yellow robe spoke, his eyes glittered as he singled out three young women among the nine. Two of those young women were those who refused to plead for their lives.

After a moment of thought, the young man in the green robe replied, "You made your choice pretty quickly. Well, in that case, I say that those three will fail to become pills!"

Then the two young men exchanged an icy glance.

It was at about this time that rumbling sounds could be heard as Grandmaster Song's eyes suddenly flared with light. He waved both hands forcefully out into the air, causing the nine furnaces to blaze with fire. The pillars instantly grew hotter, and in the blink of an eye, nine flaming threads shot out of the fires toward the nine young women.

Terrified screams of desperation rang out from the mouths of seven of the young women. As for the other two, they were trembling, and clearly terrified, but still refused to make even a single sound. However, their hearts were clearly filled with regret.

When Uzumaki Ru had told them about what was happening back in their bloodline mansion, they had instantly wanted to return, but now, it seemed that would be impossible.

Sighing inwardly, they exchanged glances, then slowly closed their eyes as the flaming threads closed in on them.

"Become pills!" Grandmaster Song threw his head back and roared, rising to his feet and throwing his hands into the air. Strange light shone out from his eyes, and yet, even as the words left his mouth, an enraged snort suddenly echoed through the air like thunder.

Cold words also rang out. "You're the one who should become a pill!"

As the icy words reverberated back and forth, cracking sounds could be heard as the ground froze over. The nine furnaces trembled, and their flames winked out. Next, the furnaces actually exploded, and cracks began to spread out across the pillars, which then shattered.

The nine young women could now move. As soon as their feet touched the ground, they began to flee, except for the two who had refused to beg for their lives, who looked up into the air, excited expressions on their faces.

The crimson threads attached to the columns almost seemed to be selfaware, and were trying to flee in fear. However, before they could get very far, a powerful force sucked them back, twisting them together into what looked like a white medicinal pill, which came to rest in the hand of a young man who had suddenly appeared in the air up above.

He waved his arm, sending the white medicinal pill flying toward Grandmaster Song's forehead. As it flew through the air, it crumbled, then fused into Grandmaster Song, who trembled and let out a miserable shriek. His body instantly burst into flames, and was burned into ash, all the way to the bone. What was left behind was a red medicinal pill.

The young man who had just arrived was none other than Naruto , followed by Uzumaki Ru. Uzumaki Ru was staring at the two steadfast young women, tears pouring down her cheeks. She quickly flew over and stood in front of them protectively.

This sudden development left all the bystanders completely shocked. As they edged backward, the two young men's faces darkened.

"What gall! How dare you kill Grandmaster Song! Men, kill these people!"

"Bring me his head!" In response to their orders, the crowd of cultivators surrounding them flew into the air toward Naruto .

"What kind of clan are you?" Naruto said quietly, his eyes blazing with icy killing intent. "Refining people into pills for pleasure? You completely lack any humanity whatsoever. What is the point… of leaving any of you behind?!"

Note from Er Gen: I wrote this chapter in the car, and ended up getting carsick. I feel horrible, but did my best and can't write any more. Please forgive me, this chapter is only 2,000 Chinese characters instead of 3,000.

Note from Deathblade: This chapter is indeed much shorter, coming in at about 1,300 English words instead of the usual 2,000+.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1261

Chapter 1261: One Option… Amputate!

Naruto 's eyes were as cold as ice, but inwardly he was sighing. For a clan to decline in power was acceptable, but for the morals of its people to degenerate was sickening. Leaving them alive… was truly pointless.

By means of illustration, you could say that his grandfather's bloodline had fallen into dire straits and was now at a point of extreme weakness, consisting of the elderly, the frail, the ill, and the crippled. The younger generation was forced into servitude, and the older generation was sick and decrepit. However, its soul was still present, and the heart was strong. They still stuck together like a family, and as such, would one day be able to rise to prominence again.

It was possible to sense that spirit within Uzumaki Ru, Uzumaki Chen, and the other two young women from just now. They all clung stubbornly to their hope for the future.

However, when it came to the rest of the so-called Uzumaki Clan, Naruto felt quite disappointed.

"Even scum like these can be called Young Lords?" Naruto shook his head. During his entire life, starting in the Ninth Mountain and Sea and then in his short time in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, he had seen all sorts of Chosen, including Young Lords and Sect Princes. However, he had never seen people like he was seeing now in the Uzumaki Clan.

"When dealing with such malignant rot, there's only one option… amputate!" Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent as the Uzumaki Clan cultivators attacked him. He waved his right finger, causing rumbling to fill the air and ripples to spread out in all directions.

The ripples filled the area in the blink of an eye, and any cultivators they touched, regardless of their cultivation base, instantly exploded into ash.

The ripples spread, shaking everything, turning everything into dust. The two incredulous Young Lords didn't even qualify to try to flee. In the briefest of moments, they were inundated by the ripples. Of course, lifesaving magic flared to life in the form of shields as they tried to defend against the ripples.

However… they were completely useless. All they did was to buy a few breaths' worth of time. Then the shields collapsed. The eyes of the two young men widened with disbelief, and then bangs could be heard as they were transformed into ash as well.

All of the cultivators behind them were also transformed into dust.

Soon the only people left were Naruto , the Uzumaki Clan girls, and the other young women. Everyone else… was gone.

Everything happened so quickly that the young women could only gape in astonishment and stand there trembling and panting. As for Uzumaki Ru, even if she were a stupid person who knew little about the Immortal Realm, she would still be able to understand that the power unleashed by Uzumaki Chen just now… was definitely not that of an Immortal!

As for the other two young women from the same bloodline, their eyes were even wider. Their cultivation bases were significantly higher than Uzumaki Ru's, so they could pick up on even more of the clues. They looked over at Naruto , trembling with awe and reverence.

Uzumaki Ru hesitated for a moment and then said, "Big bro Uzumaki Chen… you–"

Before she could finish, one of her older cousins held out a hand to stop her from speaking.

Naruto looked at the three young women and nodded, his gaze gentle. Then he looked off into the distance, and once again his expression turned icy and somber. Suddenly, a powerful aura began to roil out from him, filling the area, causing the sky to dim and the lands to quake. The surrounding buildings and structures seemed incapable of withstanding the pressure, and soon creaking sounds could be heard.

Then, the creaking turned into rumbling as one building after another began to collapse. It was at this point that, from two different locations, a group of a few dozen beams of bright light each began to shoot toward them from off in the distance. Roaring shouts echoed out, filled with fury and killing intent.

"Who are you that dares to get out of line in the Uzumaki Clan!?"

"Are you looking to die!?" The two enraged shouts echoed out like thunder, causing two powerful shockwaves to speed toward Naruto .

Naruto stood there looking coldly at the incoming cultivators. The highest cultivation base among them was merely in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, and the others were far from that.

"You people don't even bother to determine who is in the right and who is in the wrong?" he said coolly. "Leaving you alive would also be pointless." He took a step forward, vanishing. When he reappeared, he was right in front of the lead cultivator, a middle-aged man in extravagant clothing. The man's eyes were red with rage, but the instant Naruto appeared in front of him, he began to shake, and his anger instantly faded half away into shock.

He had no idea what sort of technique Naruto had used to vanish and then reappear, but that was actually of secondary importance. Most important… was the fact that he could sense a boundless power radiating off of Naruto , in fact it was far more intense than the pressure that he would feel when standing in front of a Patriarch.

The man gasped and blurted, "You–"

The killing intent in Naruto 's eyes caused the man's scalp to tingle so hard it felt like it would explode. He began to fall back, looking completely shocked by the terrifying power he sensed.

"You're too slow," Naruto said, shaking his head and simultaneously waving his sleeve. A massive tempest sprang out, transforming into a tornado that connected the sky and the land. It was so conspicuous that anyone in the Uzumaki Clan would be able to see it.

It swept toward the middle-aged man and the cultivators behind him, moving with such incredible speed that they were incapable of fleeing. They struggled and fought back, but it only took a moment for the tornado to sweep over them, after which miserable screams rang out. It was as if a gigantic hand were using a huge brush to paint the entire tornado bright red.

The entire Uzumaki Clan was completely shaken. Numerous cultivators were pulled out of their meditative trances, and after looking up, many of them immediately shot up into the air with expressions of astonishment on their faces.

"An ambush!"

"Another clan is invading!"

"An enemy clan is attacking! Dammit, why didn't the clan's grand spell formation activate!?"

Cries of alarm spread out, and the entire clan began to stir. There were also nine figures who began to fly toward the tornado from nine different directions.

They were followed by even more figures, and as their cultivation base power surged out, it transformed into a spell formation. Instead of flying directly to the tornado, they began to circle around it; soon colors flashed in the sky as the cultivators formed a massive vortex which thoroughly enveloped the area where Naruto was standing!

Uzumaki Ru was trembling in shock, as were the other two young Uzumaki Clan women. As for Naruto , he looked down at them from up in the air and smiled slightly. That smile seemed to contain the power to completely ease their hearts, and the fear the three young women felt instantly faded away.

Naruto turned. Completely ignoring the nine cultivators leading the formation, and all the others who were following them, Naruto looked off into the distance at one particular cultivator who had stopped in place and wasn't moving.

He was an old man, and when Naruto 's gaze fell upon him, he gasped and began to tremble, then started to back up.

Even as he took a step back, though, Naruto waved his hand. A second tornado sprang into being, sweeping through the crowds toward the old man, provoking numerous bloodcurdling screams. The old man had a powerful cultivation base, but it didn't matter. Nor did it matter what divine abilities and magical items he unleashed. He was still consumed by the wind.

Moments later, the second tornado was also stained blood red.

Naruto hovered in midair, looking around coldly. The two tornadoes whipped nearby, and if you looked at them long enough, it almost seemed as if two vicious wolves were lurking inside of them, peering out voraciously.

"Let's go," Naruto said calmly. He would not wipe out entire bloodlines this day. He would simply comply with Grandma Uzumaki's orders to bring the girls back. Furthermore, he could sense that although the clan's defensive spell formation hadn't been activated originally, the slaughter he had just carried out was causing rumbling sounds to rise up.

There were also ripples beginning to spread, and within them, Naruto could sense a terrifying power. That power was definitely… the Uzumaki Clan's grand defensive spell formation!

As soon as Naruto spoke, he took a step forward, and the three young women followed him anxiously. Before they could get very far, though, nine beams of light began to close in on them.

"Don't even dream about leaving!" roared one of the nine. In response, Naruto looked back at the man. This man was a Clan Elder, with a cultivation base in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, very close to the Dao Realm. However, he suddenly stopped in place, as though a powerful hand had clasped him by the throat. Face flickering with shock, he fell back, then turned ashen as he coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.

One gaze seriously injured an Elder, which caused everyone else to gasp. They could sense how terrifying Naruto was, but they could never have imagined… that he was this terrifying!

"Dao… Dao Realm!" whispered the Elder in a shaky voice.

Completely ignoring the nine cultivators, Naruto continued on his way, followed by Uzumaki Ru and the other two young women, who were incredibly excited. When they looked at Naruto , it was with complete enthusiasm and ardor. To them, Naruto was a towering mountain of their bloodline, someone who no amount of wind or rain could ever budge.

The nine cultivators didn't dare to try to stop him. The massive vortex spell formation also stopped in place, and the cultivators who were powering it parted to make a path for Naruto , looks of astonishment on their faces. As for Naruto , his expression was calm as he proceeded through.

Everything was extremely quiet. On the ground, numerous members of the Uzumaki Clan stood outside of their houses and other buildings, looking up into the sky at what was happening, completely shocked. Uzumaki De was there in a temple, looking up at Naruto with an expression of utter disbelief.

In another location in the Uzumaki Clan, there were three other young women who were now looking at Naruto , Uzumaki Ru, and the other young women of the bloodlines. These other three had complex expressions on their faces, and they almost looked as if they were being stabbed in the heart.

They were the bloodline relatives who had chosen not to return, and had instead opted to remain as servants to other clan members!

They had forsaken their bloodline, and therefore, their bloodline had cast them off.

It was at this point that, all of a sudden, an intense light exploded out from the enormous statue in the middle of the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion.

"State your name!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1262

Chapter 1262 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1262: Activating the Clan Defense Formation

As the voice echoed out, the light shining out from the statue transformed into pressure that spread out, then converged onto Naruto .

Rumbling filled the air, colors flashed, winds screamed…. As Dao Realm pressure descended from above, natural laws retreated and dissipated, until the only thing present was the Dao Realm pressure.

The members of the Uzumaki Clan looked on with wide eyes. The nine cultivators in the great circle of the Ancient Realm clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

The cultivators in the vortex did the same, excited expressions on their faces.

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

Down below, all of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators who had stepped out of the various houses and buildings, even the servants and cultivators with other surnames… all bowed deeply and joined their voices to cry out, "Greetings, Patriarch!"

Uzumaki Ru and the other girls' faces fell; they might have complete trust in Naruto , but deep down inside, any Patriarch… represented the most supreme and paramount power of the clan, and they were existences that were so far above them that even if they gazed upwards they would never be able to catch a glimpse of one.

The entire Uzumaki Clan was completely shaken. Within that enormous statue were nine hidden chambers, four of which were empty. The other five were occupied by cultivators sitting cross-legged in meditation. The person who had just spoken was the figure in the eighth chamber, who now sat there with eyes open and a serious look on his face.

He was not the Patriarch from the ninth bloodline, the one that Naruto had previously encountered face to face. This was the Patriarch of the eighth bloodline!

Considering that the cultivators who had just been killed were members of his bloodline, he had no choice but to make an appearance.

Naruto stopped in place and turned to look at the statue behind him, without even sparing a glance at the Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering pressure descending toward him. Then he began to speak, his voice cool. The words he uttered were the type that anyone would think were wildly egotistical and arrogant.

"I bet you don't even have the balls to try and fight me!" His voice was calm, but echoed out in all directions, instantly arousing the ire of the other members of the Uzumaki Clan.

"What incredible gall!"

"Are you looking to die?!"

"You overestimate yourself!" Numerous shouts of rage echoed out within the central continent. The cultivators of the Uzumaki Clan had to admit that Naruto was powerful to a terrifying degree. But in their minds, if he tried to fight one of their Patriarchs, he would be defeated with a single blow!

That was the type of faith exercised in the clan Patriarchs by all clan members, both young and old.

Even Uzumaki Ru and the other two young women were extremely nervous as they stood there next to Naruto , and the panic was visible on their faces.

In sharp contrast to all that was the object of the clan members' veneration, the Patriarch sitting there in the eighth chamber, whose expression changed drastically. At the same time that Naruto spoke, the Patriarch was able to detect fluctuations that only someone in the Dao Realm would be able to feel.

Those fluctuations filled the Patriarch with a sense of intense terror, and he knew that even if he went all out with every scrap of power he could muster, it wouldn't do any good.

The sensation he got was that he was like a tiny firefly, and Naruto was a burning torch!

"Impossible… what… what cultivation base does he have!?" The old man's eyes were wide; moments ago, he had been on the verge of stepping out in person, but now he was hesitating. In the end, he didn't dare to emerge and in fact… couldn't even think of words to say in response.

Naruto 's expression was calm as he looked coolly at the statue for a moment before turning and heading off with Uzumaki Ru and the other young women. The only reason he was backing down was because he didn't feel like making complete enemies of everyone in the Uzumaki Clan.

"This is the Uzumaki Clan after all," he thought. "Once Grandma Uzumaki's cultivation base is restored, she can decide what to do." He wouldn't exceed his authority in this matter. Even if his mother was a member of the Uzumaki Clan, he himself was a Young Lord of the Namikaze Clan.

There were certain things he could do if he wished, but he had to do them very carefully. Even if he had good intentions, if he went too far it could lead to misunderstandings, which he didn't want to happen.

That was why, after a bit of thought, Naruto decided to just back down. Behind him, the various cultivators of the Uzumaki Clan followed after him and stared at him murderously, even mockingly. However, their expressions of outrage quickly began to die down, until in the end, not a sound could be heard. These Uzumaki Clan cultivators' faces flickered with bewilderment, and there were even some faces that went deathly pale with astonishment.

That was because, unexpectedly, after Naruto spoke, their

Patriarch… didn't respond at all. It even seemed like his aura had gotten much weaker.

It was as if… Naruto had been completely correct about their Patriarch; he didn't dare to show his face and fight!

That fact caused the minds of numerous members of the Uzumaki Clan to reel in shock. As for the cultivators in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, waves of astonishment battered their minds. Earlier, they had suspected that Naruto was in the Dao Realm, but now, there didn't seem to be any need for speculation. Apparently, this young man… really was in the Dao Realm!

"He… he really is… in the Dao Realm!" Gasps could be heard from among the cultivators in the great circle of the Ancient Realm as they watched Naruto leaving.

Meanwhile, the Patriarch in the eight chamber of the statue gritted his teeth. At the same time, he could sense that the Patriarchs in the ninth and first chambers were also awake, and yet were doing nothing.

"Dammit, they want me to probe this guy's abilities, huh…?" A gleam of determination could be seen in the eyes of the eighth Patriarch. No person could reach the Dao Realm if they lacked courage; if they did, how could they possibly have passed the Dao Realm Tribulation?

"With the clan spell formation, I can give it a shot!" he said, gritting his teeth. Suddenly, his cultivation base erupted with power, sending the fluctuations of a 1-Essence Dao Realm expert shooting out from within the statue.

The other members of the Uzumaki Clan saw golden light shining out, which became a golden ocean then that transformed into an enormous hand, stretching out toward Naruto .

Colors flashed as the golden hand filled the sky, casting shadow over all the lands beneath!

Rumbling filled the air as boundless power bore down on Naruto . Even as the faces of Uzumaki Ru and the other young women went pale, Naruto turned, and his eyes flashed with icy coldness.

"So you do have some balls," he said coolly. He did nothing to avoid the incoming golden hand, and in fact, leapt up toward it.

Then he slammed into it bodily and with complete disregard. Massive rumbling could be heard as the golden hand tried to crush him; and yet, as soon as it touched him, it began to tremble, and then… collapsed into pieces!

As the hand shattered, the golden ocean disintegrated. Apparently, a Dao Realm attack couldn't stand up to a single move by Naruto .

When the hand collapsed, the old man in the eighth chamber of the statute trembled and then coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying backward, out of control. A moment later, he appeared outside the statue, where he coughed up another massive mouthful of blood. Face pale white, he stared at Naruto in complete terror and astonishment.

"Dao… Dao Lord? Dao Sovereign?" Intense fear pounded within the heart of the Patriarch of the eighth bloodline.

Equally shaken was the Patriarch of the ninth bloodline. He recognized

Naruto from their earlier meeting, and to see him fighting at this level was completely and utterly shocking.

They were shocked, but as for the rest of the members of the Uzumaki Clan, they were utterly dumbfounded. Their jaws dropped as they saw their Patriarch coughing up blood, whereas Naruto was standing there with a completely calm face. All he had done was take a step forward!

That single step caused a Dao Realm expert to fall into retreat, and to be injured. The faith of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators in their Patriarch was completely toppled.

All faces were completely gray and ashen. Within the crowd was the young man Uzumaki De, who had been watching all along, and had instantly recognized Naruto . His eyes were wide with shock as he watched everything play out.

Other than the gasps, there was no sound at all. Naruto looked over indifferently at the wounded Patriarch of the eighth bloodline. However, it was at this point that the Patriarch's eyes turned crimson. He suddenly threw his head back and howled, then slapped his forehead viciously with his right hand. A boom rang out, and the sky went dim. Suddenly, a massive pressure radiated out from the enormous statue. In the blink of an eye, it had filled the area, and although no one in the audience could see anything out of the ordinary, Naruto was able to clearly see the shield which had sprung up.

"Defensive spell formation…." he thought. However, he didn't back up. Instead, he stood in place, eyes flickering as the shield expanded out toward him and then clashed with him briefly.

That brief clash caused Naruto 's pupils to constrict slightly. He could sense a Heaven-destroying, Earth-extinguishing power in that shield, something that he couldn't resist for very long with only his fleshly body power.

"This defensive spell formation could actually be even more powerful.

It's strong enough with one person controlling it, but with more people backing it, I would actually be in significant danger." After sensing the power of the shield, Naruto decided not to fight it. Instead, he turned, flicking his sleeve as he took Uzumaki Ru and the other young women away, vanishing off into the distance.

As Naruto left, the Patriarch of the eighth bloodline watched him go, his expression unsightly. The fact that Naruto had been able to stand up to the attack of the spell formation was completely shocking.

"I can't believe… that he stood up to the ancestral spell formation and wasn't even hurt…. Just what Realm is he in? He's not a Dao Lord. Could it be… could it be that he really is a Dao Sovereign? But that's impossible!"

Back in the statue, the Patriarchs in the first and ninth chambers had very serious expressions on their faces, especially the Patriarch from the first bloodline.

"The tenth bloodline…?" he murmured quietly, face grim.

Chapter 1262: Activating the Clan Defense Formation

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1263

Chapter 1263 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1263: Removing Nine Spikes; the Seventh Sea Mobilizes!

Of course, Naruto was not a Dao Sovereign, nor was he equivalent to such a level. However, if he unleashed his full battle prowess, he could fight any Dao Realm cultivator under the level of a Dao Sovereign. That had to do with this fleshly body, his Paragon magic, and most importantly, the fact that he was an Allheaven Dao Immortal!

Because of that, despite the fact that he was merely an Immortal, he could still shake the Dao Realm.

"Soon all four Nirvana Fruits will be fully fused. When they become my Dao Fruit, they can help me push open the Door of the Ancient Realm and extinguish my Soul Lamps! The only thing I'm not sure about is exactly how many Soul Lamps I'll end up with." Naruto 's eyes gleamed with anticipation. Considering that he could already fight the Dao Realm, in his view the Ancient Realm was merely a stepping stone.

He hadn't even considered the possibility of failing, and as far as he was concerned, the Ancient Realm wasn't even very important. Of course… before Naruto , it had been a very, very long time since any Allheaven Dao Immortal had appeared. Virtually no one knew how difficult it was for someone like him to step into the Ancient Realm.

Naruto , being able to sense that his fourth Nirvana Fruit was nearing a state of complete absorption, was incredibly excited. Currently, he was whistling through the air with Uzumaki Ru and the other young women in tow as he headed back toward the continent where their bloodline waited.

Soon, they were back. When the two young women who had just been saved saw how different everything was, they became very excited. Naruto went to see his grandmother and granduncles. After he told his grandmother about what had happened when he had rescued the two young women, she asked, "Nar'er, how confident are you that you can fully heal our injuries?"

All three of the oldtimers looked at Naruto as they waited for his answer.

He thought for a moment, then looked up and replied, "I wouldn't dare to say 100% confident. Perhaps… 80%!"

In response to his words, his grandmother began to breathe heavily, and his two granduncles began to tremble. All three of them exchanged glances and then nodded.

"Nar'er, use whatever techniques you can. It doesn't matter how dangerous the process is, we're willing to risk it!"

Naruto took a deep breath, then nodded seriously. He had long since come to the realization that if his grandmother and granduncles could recover their cultivation bases, then considering their previous standing within the clan, the bloodline would no longer continue to decline.

Time passed. Naruto spent his days giving sermons about the Dao and treating his grandmother and granduncles. He also worked on the cultivation bases of his three aunts and two uncles.

As the entire group improved, their auras grew more powerful, day by day.

As for his two uncles who had previously been so down and out, their eyes burned with life and vigor. Now, they had hope!

His three aunts recovered fastest of all. Within about ten days, they already possessed the battle prowess of Immortals. His grandmother and granduncles recovered the slowest, and yet, were gradually beginning to emanate more profound pressure.

Because of the strong ImmortalChakraavailable for cultivation, all the other bloodline clan members were stabilizing their cultivation bases, and every few days, someone would make a breakthrough.

Although all such breakthroughs were within the Spirit Realm, it was still possible to see that the bloodline had excellent latent talent, and the previous hard work they had gone through in their cultivation was now leading to large numbers of cultivation base breakthroughs.

Lately, everyone in the bloodline felt full of hope, and whenever they looked at Naruto , it was with fervent ardor.

In sharp contrast was the ancestral mansion of the Uzumaki Clan.

People there were as jumpy as if enemy soldiers lurked around every corner, and the slightest breeze could cause panic. During the ten days which passed, everyone in the nine bloodlines learned of what had happened, much to their shock. The defensive spell formation was constantly on, as if war were expected to break out at any time.

Another month passed, and Naruto could tell that his fourth Nirvana Fruit had been completely absorbed. A mere thought on his part could summon the Door of the Ancient Realm.

Furthermore, his grandmother and the others had reached a critical juncture in the healing process. On one particular day, all of the bloodline clan members ceased meditating and stood guard. It didn't matter that their cultivation bases were relatively weak, they would still not allow anyone to disturb what was happening.

His grandmother and everyone else was out in the courtyard, while Naruto sat cross-legged alone indoors. Wisps of white mist rose up from his head, transforming into clouds, within which could be heard the faint sound of thunder.

After a moment, Naruto 's eyes opened, and they shone brightly. He began to speak, and soon his words were heard by his grandmother and granduncles. "Grandma Uzumaki will go last. Granduncles, you will go just before her. I'll start with everyone else."

Naruto could accept that accidents might happen with the others, but he wanted to be absolutely certain of being able to successfully treat his grandmother. He would use the others to ensure that he was comfortable with the process. That was why the final person he would treat would be his grandmother.

Grandma Uzumaki took a deep breath, eyes shining brightly as she extended her hand, pointing toward one of her two sons, who had a very excited expression on his face.

That was Naruto 's 7th Uncle, who took a deep breath as he entered the room where Naruto awaited them. He looked at Naruto sitting there cross-legged, then clasped hands and bowed deeply. Finally, he sat down cross-legged in front of him.

Naruto nodded, then reached out and placed a finger onto his 7th Uncle's forehead. Then he rotated his cultivation base, and poured the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal into him. 7th Uncle's body began to tremble, and he was clearly in pain. Gradually, nine spikes began to emerge from within him.

A moment later, a pinging sound could be heard as one of the spikes fell to the ground. In that instant, 7th Uncle's cultivation base surged with power. Next was a second spike, then a third, until eight of the spikes were removed. In that moment 7th Uncle's cultivation base was completely restored, and surged with the power of the early Ancient Realm!

Naruto 's eyes glittered as he pulled his hand back from 7th Uncle's forehead. As he did, a ninth spike flew out from 7th Uncle's forehead!

7th Uncle shivered, then threw his head back and roared. His cultivation base erupted with explosive power, moving past the mid Ancient Realm. Trembling as he took stock of his body's condition, he stood up, expression one of complete excitement as he once again clasped hands and bowed to Naruto , then turned and left.

The process went similarly with the second person in line, and the third, and the fourth….

Two uncles, three aunts. All five people had nine spikes stuck in their bodies, which Naruto extracted one by one. As of this moment, his grandmother's bloodline now had five Ancient Realm experts!

The highest cultivation base among them belonged to his 5th aunt, who was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, just on the verge of being able to break through.

Around the same time that the spikes were being removed from the five of them, in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, past the invisible barrier which separated it from the Eighth Mountain and Sea, an altar could be seen floating in the starry sky. Suddenly, rumbling booms could be heard coming from that altar.

The huge altar had an enormous magical symbol on its surface, and it only took a single glance for one to be able to tell that it was the character Uzumaki. Numerous stone spikes could be seen stabbing into the character, a total of nine of them. The spike in the middle was the largest, with the spikes growing smaller as they neared the edges of the character.

Furthermore, all of those stone spikes oozed blood, causing the entire altar to be stained bright red….

That was only one of the altars. There were other altars in the area… a total of nine! Apparently, this was a very important part of the Seventh

Mountain and Sea, as roughly 100,000 cultivators were standing watch over the area, including nine Dao Realm experts.

About the time that Naruto removed the spikes from his two uncles and three aunts, rumbling sounds filled the area, and on two of the nine altars, all of the stone spikes suddenly collapsed.

The 100,000 cultivators suddenly shivered and opened their eyes. The Dao Realm experts seemed especially affected, and their faces darkened.

"Something's happened in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, in the Uzumaki Clan."

"Someone is tampering with the Lord-Elimination spell formations!"

"It doesn't matter, as long as the master formation isn't broken, it will be nothing more than an inconvenience…." The nine Dao Realm experts' faces flickered as they looked at the fifth altar out of the nine respectively. Then they went to action, both stabilizing the altars and also sending their divine sense out in an explosive tempest.

As the nine Dao Realm experts were working on the altars, back in the Uzumaki Clan in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, one of Naruto 's granduncles walked into the room and sat down cross-legged. A serious expression flickered on Naruto 's face, and he placed not just a finger, but his entire palm onto his granduncle's forehead.

Seeing the serious look on Naruto 's face, his granduncle laughed heartily and said, "Go all out with your cultivation base, my life isn't that important!" As Naruto 's cultivation base power poured into him, he began to shake.

Naruto spent more time with him than he had with the previous five combined. As he extracted the spikes, his granduncle's cultivation base rocketed up madly, and soon was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

"Last one!" Naruto said. He pulled his hand back, and rumbling sounds could be heard. Blood sprayed out of his granduncle's mouth as the ninth spike few out of his forehead. As it did, it was possible to see a black thread attached to it, which caused Naruto 's eyes to flicker. He quickly cut the thread, causing a cracking sound to be heard. His granduncle coughed up another mouthful of blood, and yet, his face began to change. He no longer looked like he had just crawled out of a grave. Although he was still old, his face radiated a powerful life force, and his cultivation base progressed even further. He was now past the great circle, and was comparable to the Quasi-Dao Realm!

He laughed heartily as he rose to his feet, his energy surging, and brilliant light shining from his eyes. He was now as he had been before all of the tragedy. He looked down at Naruto with a gentle expression and murmured, "It's high time our bloodline rises to prominence again!"

With that, he turned and vanished, reappearing outside, where he took a long, deep breath. Rumbling could be heard as he sucked in a massive quantity of the energy of Heaven and Earth.

When that ninth spike was extracted, and the thread was severed, back in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the stone spikes on another of the nine altars shattered. Furthermore, the altar itself trembled, and cracks spread out across its surface. It looked like it would collapse at any moment.

The surrounding cultivators' faces flickered, and they performed incantation gestures. The nine Dao Realm experts frowned, once again going to work to stabilize the altars. However, before much time passed, the same thing happened to the fourth altar that had just occurred to all the others.

That was when the second of Naruto 's granduncles had his final spike extracted, and experienced an incredible increase in cultivation base.

The nine Dao Realm cultivators' faces flickered, and one of them roared. "Dammit, we can't let any more of the altars be cracked. The fifth altar is the primary formation, it mustn't be interfered with! That will influence the entire offensive. Pour your divine sense into it and stop whoever is breaking the formations!"

The other eight had serious expressions in their eyes as they performed incantation gestures and sent their divine sense rumbling out.

Chapter 1263: Removing Nine Spikes; the Seventh Sea Mobilizes!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1264

Chapter 1264: Just Where Are You…?

Something else happened when four of the altars cracked, something that occurred in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, but not in the Uzumaki Clan. Instead, it was in the Heavengod Alliance, in the very middle of the Eighth Mountain and Sea… on the Eighth Mountain!

At the very peak of that mountain was a heavenly pool, within which was a Xuanwu turtle, sitting there with its eyes closed. Next to the pond was a temple….

Heavengod Temple!

That was where the legendary and mysterious Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea resided… Heavengod!

No one other than Heavengod could set foot into that area of the mountain peak, as it was a restricted area. Currently, there was an oil lamp burning in Heavengod Temple.

That lamp burned eternally, and despite the fact that there was no wind, the flame danced, casting flickering lights about in the temple. Also visible within the temple was a huge throne, upon which sat a mysterious-looking figure.

His face was impossible to see. He wore a black robe, and his head was bowed as he sat there, completely unmoving. However, it was possible to see that this Heavengod was wearing a mask.

On that mask was an image of an intertwined turtle and snake…. 1

As one altar after another cracked in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the figure on the throne began to twitch… almost as if he were waking up.

Each time he did, the flame in the lamp also danced.

The figure on the throne…. was the most supreme and paramount figure in the Eighth Mountain and Sea… the Mountain and Sea Lord Heavengod. There were many, many legends about this person. Some said that Heavengod came from the Han Clan. Some said that he came from the Uzumaki Clan. There were some people who claimed that Heavengod had always existed, and did not originate in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Regardless of any of that, in all the years, no one had ever seen the true features which lay beneath Heavengod's mask. What people saw never changed; he always looked exactly like this.

Gradually, other rumors spread, although few people believed them because of their utter bizarreness. According to those rumors, Heavengod… had not always existed.

According to these legends… Mountain and Sea Lords did not live forever, and in fact, all of them had limited longevity. The only reason they continued to exist was because each Mountain and Sea Lord had a unique way of fooling the Heavens to continue on existing.

Supposedly, one of the methods, the one used by Heavengod of the Eighth Mountain and Sea… was the transference of their legacy. Supposedly, when Heavengod died, he would find a successor to pass on his legacy to, and thus ensure that Heavengod existed forever in a type of transmigration.

Meanwhile, back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, on one of the Uzumaki Clan's continents, Naruto rose to his feet and bowed deeply as his grandmother entered the room.

Naruto had not bowed in greeting to anyone else who had entered the room, only to her.

Grandma Uzumaki looked at him with a kind expression on her face, nodding as she sat down cross-legged in front of him. Naruto took a deep breath, and a look of concentration covered his face as he sat down somberly.

"Don't be nervous," she said quietly. "I've lived for a long, long time, and experienced many things. There are few hardships which I would shy away from anymore, so even if you fail, it doesn't matter. With your two granduncles having been restored, our bloodline is already destined to rise to prominence.

"If I die, the only thing I'll regret is that I won't have a chance to see your Grandpa Uzumaki again. I can sense that he hasn't perished, and that… he isn't very far away." Finally, she sighed.

Naruto had mixed feelings, especially considering that his grandfather had gone missing while trying to save him.

"Grandma Uzumaki, you won't have any regrets," he said softly. "I'm going to succeed in this, and one day, I'm going to find Grandpa Uzumaki too!"

His grandmother chuckled, and the kindness in her eyes grew stronger.

Naruto took a deep breath and performed a double-handed incantation gesture. He was now very familiar with how to extract the spikes, and was very confident in his actions. He raised both hands and placed them onto his grandmother's forehead, then unleashed the full power of his cultivation base!

Even when treating his two granduncles, he had only used thirty percent of the power of his cultivation base. Now, he was going all out. His grandmother began to tremble, and suddenly, nine areas on her body, including her forehead, began to shine with brilliant light.

Those nine areas were where the spikes were located. As soon as Uzumaki

Naruto saw the glowing light, his face flickered, and he suddenly heard nine voices roaring in his ears.

"Whoever dares to touch this spell formation will die!" Those nine voices joined together, and their words stabbed into Naruto 's mind as if to destroy it.

"You overestimate yourself!" he replied with a cold snort, eyes flickering with killing intent. Because he had cultivated the Dao Divinity Scripture, his divine sense was incredibly powerful. He immediately sent it out to counter the nine wills entering his mind.

He was essentially fighting the Dao Realm now, in a one-against-nine fight!

Rumbling could be heard as Naruto trembled. However, his two hands remained firmly in place. As his grandmother trembled, and the light grew more brilliant, the spikes began to be forced out.

It was at this point that, back in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the nine Dao Realm experts' faces flickered, and they went all out with every scrap of power they could muster, and yet they were completely incapable of doing anything to the person interfering with the spell formation.

"I'm familiar with all the powerful experts in the Eighth Mountain and

Sea, where did this person come from?!"

"It must be a peak Dao Lord, someone on the verge of becoming a Dao

Sovereign! Dammit!"

"Just wait and see how long he can hold out. As long as Heavengod doesn't wake up and make a move, he won't have an easy time breaking the altar spell formation!" Roaring, the nine Dao Realm cultivators unleashed their divine sense again in an attempt to stop Naruto .

Rumbling sounds emanated as they fought, separated by a vast distance, yet no one besides they themselves could hear it.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he reached down and smacked the ground. The Lightning Cauldron appeared, floating above his head, pulsing with the power of lightning. In the blink of an eye, Naruto and his grandmother vanished from the room to reappear in an empty field a vast distance away.

Naruto 's grandmother had her eyes closed, and thus didn't even notice that the teleportation had occurred. Almost as soon as they appeared, he summoned the Paragon Bridge, sending a massive power shooting out in nine different directions.

Intense rumbling sounds echoed out as nine ravines were carved deep into the earth, within which black flames burned.

"Looking to die?!" Naruto 's face was grim as his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Then he pressed down onto his grandmother's shoulder, from within which popped out a spike.

His grandmother didn't tremble, but the spike did. It also emanated a black mist which formed together into the face of an old man, who howled at Naruto . Naruto 's eyes went wide, and he quickly sucked in a breath. The face collapsed back into black mist, which Naruto then breathed in.

Then he bit down hard, and a scream could be heard. At the same time, back in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, one of the nine Dao Realm experts next to the altars suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"He consumed the divine sense I sent out!"

It was at this point that, one by one, the other old men began to cough up blood. First a second, then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth….

Next, rumbling could be heard from the fifth altar as the stone spikes there began to shatter. The altar was trembling, and cracks spread out across its surface.

"Combine all of our power!" roared one of the nine Dao Realm experts.

"Prevent the spell formation from being broken! The fifth altar is too important! It must not be broken!" Immediately, the surrounding 100,000 cultivators performed incantation gestures, and began to murmur complex curse spells. Almost immediately, they began to shiver, and their bodies withered visibly.

Within the space of a few breaths of time, all 100,000 cultivators looked like nothing more than bags of bones. It was a huge sacrifice on their part, but the result was a shocking curse power that surged toward the altar.

In the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto sat on the wide plain, hands flickering as he placed numerous sealing marks onto his grandmother. The entire time, she hadn't trembled once, and had kept her eyes closed. It was a completely different scene from when he had extracted the spikes from the others.

That was because she was Naruto 's grandmother, and he was working as hard as possible to ensure that any pain she felt was reduced as much as possible.

As the spikes were removed, they emanated black mist, which turned into faces. Naruto consumed them all, until finally, eight spikes had been forced out. His expression was very serious as he placed both hands onto his grandmother's forehead and then wrenched them backwards.

Shocking rumbling sounds could be heard, as if lightning and thunder were pounding the land. A black spot appeared on his grandmother's forehead as the ninth spike flew out. It was accompanied by numerous illusory figures, all of them screaming as they spewed forth like an eruption.

This was the curse power converged by the sacrifice of the 100,000 cultivators, plus the rage of the final Dao Realm expert directed at anyone who would try to sever this connection's power.

Naruto 's face turned grim, and he let out a cold snort. Then his right hand lifted into the air, and his eyes began to shine. Almost in the same moment that the curse power touched him, it exploded out into boundless black mist that instantly enveloped him.

However, it was also in that same moment that Naruto completely severed the ninth spike from his grandmother. The restrictive spell that had been placed upon her vanished, and the fifth altar in the Seventh Mountain and Sea shattered into countless pieces.

The other four had merely been cracked and fragmented, but now they also exploded, ensuring that of the original nine altars, only four remained intact!

At the same time, in the Heavengod Temple on the Eighth Mountain, the figure seated on the throne began to tremble violently. Almost imperceptibly, the mask flashed with light, as if the eyes behind that mask had opened a sliver. A terrifying pressure then radiated out from within those eyes!

Gradually, the figure's mouth moved, and he said something that no one could hear, something said only to himself.

He said… "Nar'er!"

Meanwhile, back on the vast plain on the continent in the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto was trembling. Then he threw his head back and roared, and cracking sounds rang out from inside of him. His cultivation base surged with power, and Greed's life force began to emanate from his fourth Nirvana Fruit.

That was the moment in which his grandmother awoke. As she did, her cultivation base rocketed up, and her eyes opened to see Naruto and the black mist covering him.

"Nar'er, you…."

Within the black mist, Naruto took a deep breath. Just as he was about to dispel the mist, he suddenly experienced a sensation of extreme danger, coming from out in the starry sky!

"Grandma Uzumaki, I'm fine. You head back now, I just need some time to get rid of this curse." Eyes narrowing, he suddenly teleported out into the starry sky along with the black mist.

His grandmother's face darkened, and she fell back a few steps. Looking up into the sky toward where Naruto had disappeared, she didn't even think about her own cultivation base, but instead, began to worry about Naruto 's safety.

If something bad happened to him, it wouldn't matter that her cultivation base had recovered, she would feel unending guilt. Suddenly, she thought about Naruto 's grandfather, and she sighed.

"Just… where are you…?"

In Chinese mythology, the Xuanwu turtle is often depicted as being intertwined with a snake. See this image. P.S. If I recall correctly Patriarch Reliance was initially described as looking like this type of turtle, which is why I never found it weird that his head/face could appear in the State of Zhao above his shell ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1265

Chapter 1265: Comeback

Naruto teleported out into the starry sky, where he hovered crosslegged, surrounded by black mist. At the same time, further out in the inky black and beyond the continents of the Uzumaki Clan, a figure hovered a great distance from Naruto , gazing at him.

It was a handsome young man in a long black robe. His hair floated around him, and in some respects he almost seemed as if he were a part of the starry sky itself. Few people would ever be able to detect his presence.

It was none other than… Hebi Dongyang from the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

As soon as Naruto left for the Eighth Mountain and Sea, he had followed, and now here he was, looking at Naruto !

Ji Dongyang seemed a bit hesitant, but his eyes glittered. He had been watching Naruto for three days now, and currently, a slight smile could be seen on his face.

"This Naruto is one cunning, crafty character. Even if the curse power from the Seventh Mountain and Sea is tough to deal with, it shouldn't have caused him this much of a problem…." Hebi Dongyang's eyes gleamed with decisiveness as he backed up and then vanished.

In the moment that he vanished, Naruto was hovering cross-legged above the Uzumaki Clan continent, surrounded by black mist. However, his eyes were flickering as he stared in the direction in which Hebi Dongyang vanished.

The curse power was not weak, but just as Hebi Dongyang had said, it wasn't anything that would cause difficulty for Naruto .

Three days ago, just when he had been about to dispel the mist, he had suddenly experienced a sensation of crisis coming from the direction of the starry sky. That sensation was too sudden, and was something he almost hadn't sensed coming. Apparently, the fully-absorbed fourth Nirvana Fruit had bestowed him even keener senses than before.

Naruto wasn't sure of the source of the danger, but he had decided to delay in dispelling the curse, all in the hopes of drawing out whoever it was that was a threat. However, that person was too cautious, and after waiting for three days, had given up.

After a moment of thought, Naruto waved his right hand, causing the black curse mist to begin to roil. A moment later, it began to converge inside of him. The three days of refinement ensured that it only took the time it takes an incense stick to burn for the black mist to vanish completely.

The only part that remained of it was a tiny black spot on the tip of Naruto 's finger. Shockingly, that was the refined combination of all of the curse power.

Naruto looked at his pitch-black fingertip and thought, "Getting rid of this curse power would be a big waste. I'm sure I can find some way to use it."

After looking out into the starry sky once more, he swished his sleeve and vanished. When he reappeared, he was back down on the Uzumaki Clan continent, where he became a beam of light that shot toward his grandmother's location.

His grandmother had been waiting nervously for days, so when Naruto returned, she breathed a sigh of relief, her eyes radiating boundless affection. Naruto was her grandson, and although he might not have a strong blood connection to the others, he was still her direct relative and descendant.

After Naruto 's return, all of his grandmother's people continued to make cultivation base breakthroughs. That was especially true of Naruto 's two uncles and three aunts, and even moreso his two granduncles. By now, their cultivation bases had returned to their previous peaks!

His granduncles were in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, and although they had not yet stepped into the Dao Realm, they could battle evenly with Quasi-Dao cultivators.

As far as his grandmother, she was also in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, but now that her cultivation base was restored, Naruto could sense some unique fluctuations on her. Apparently… that had something to do with the Uzumaki Clan itself.

As of this point, everyone was making preparations… to make a comeback in the clan!

"The time has come to settle things in the Uzumaki Clan," Grandma Uzumaki murmured. "What once was ours, will be ours once more." The gleam in her eyes had been buried for too long. As she stood there with Naruto 's two granduncles next to her, rumbling sounds began to echo out.

"It's time to leave. We're… going home!" With that, she took a step forward, joined by Naruto 's two granduncles, two uncles, and three aunts. All of them transformed into beams of light that shot toward the Uzumaki Clan's central continent.

Naruto 's expression was calm as he followed along at his grandmother's side. As for the other members of the bloodline, they were told to stay behind; even though their cultivation bases were higher than before, they weren't high enough to allow them to participate in the fight that was about to take place.

Rumbling echoed out as Naruto and the others shot toward the main continent. It only took a short time before they arrived at the ancestral mansion.

Mixed emotions could be seen on the faces of his grandmother and granduncles, and as for his uncles and aunts, reminiscence could be seen in their eyes. They had been chased away from this place years ago, and had never imagined that they would be able to return. But now… here they were.

The only reason they could do so was because of Naruto , and although you couldn't tell by the expressions on their faces when they looked at him, their hearts were filled with infinite gratitude.

The Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion was surrounded by a shimmering shield, which was the clan's grand protective spell formation. Naruto had clashed with the shield before and knew how powerful it was. Just when he was about to advance toward it, his grandmother held out her hand.

"Nar'er," she said softly, "I can handle this spell formation." With that, she waved her finger at the grand spell formation.

That swipe of a finger caused the grand spell formation, which filled even Naruto with dread, to suddenly begin to rumble. Then, a fissure spread out across its surface.

One of Naruto 's two granduncles turned to explain.

"Your grandmother's skill with spell formations is something that few people in the Eighth Mountain and Sea can match. After marrying into the Uzumaki Clan, she was entrusted with the responsibility of maintaining and adjusting the clan's defensive spell formation. Other than the Patriarchs, nobody else in the clan understands it better than her.

"This spell formation… is your grandmother's most powerful precious treasure."

Then his granduncle transformed into a beam of light that shot into the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion.

Naruto stared in shock for a brief moment, then looked over at his grandmother and smiled as he followed her along.

Their entering the ancestral mansion threw the entire clan into an uproar. The nine bloodlines were already on guard because of what had happened earlier with Naruto , and now that the spell formation was rumbling and rippling, numerous people flew out to investigate.

In the blink of an eye, hundreds of beams of light were flying directly toward them.

" Uzumaki Chen," someone roared, "just what do you– huh?" The person speaking stopped in mid-sentence. He wasn't the only shocked one; everyone was staring in astonishment at Grandma Uzumaki and the others.

"Y-you're…."

"They…."

People soon began to recognize who had just arrived, although the only ones who did were old-timers, whose faces were now filled with shock.

"Recognize me?" said one of Naruto 's granduncles, stepping forward.

"Even if you don't, that's fine. I'm Uzumaki Hong!" When his foot descended, everything rumbled violently, and the clouds above roiled. It was as if lightning were striking, and numerous booming explosions echoed out through the ancestral mansion.

Even as the ground quaked, Naruto 's other granduncle stepped forward, expression cold. His voice was soft like a hissing viper, causing chills to run up the spines of everyone who heard him speak.

"I'm Uzumaki Yan. It's been a few hundred years, but there should be a few of you who remember me."

Gasps could be heard among the hundreds of Uzumaki Clan cultivators up ahead.

"The tenth bloodline. It's the tenth bloodline…."

"It doesn't matter if you call us the tenth bloodline or the first,"

Grandma Uzumaki said coolly, "Today… we're back." She waved her hand, causing the entire defensive spell formation to rumble loudly. The sound was incredible, and it was bolstered by Grandma Uzumaki's voice until the sound itself whipped around, transforming into a tempest!

It was at this point that rumbling could also be heard from within nine separate districts of the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion. Numerous beams of light shot out like lightning, filling the sky above the Uzumaki Clan with over ten thousand beams of light.

Down on the ground were even more members of the Uzumaki Clan, who were looking up into the sky, shocked expressions on their faces as the spell formation rumbled in response to Grandma Uzumaki's voice.

Soon, all eyes converged onto Naruto 's grandmother. Then the shocked experts of the clan noticed that Naruto was standing right behind his grandmother, and they gasped.

Grandma Uzumaki stood there stoically, looking around. To her, it was easy to differentiate between the various factions that were the nine bloodlines. With a cold snort, she began to advance, and no one made a move to interfere.

Right now, nobody wanted to offend the tenth bloodline, especially considering that Naruto was with them. His fight with the Uzumaki Clan Patriarchs had struck fear deep into the hearts of all onlookers.

Before Grandma Uzumaki got very far, she suddenly looked down at the ancestral mansion, toward one particular hall that was surrounded by smaller halls and other buildings to form something like a small city.

"This is where Nar'er's mother once lived…." Grandma Uzumaki said coolly, a domineering air radiating off of her. "Whoever is in there now had better scram immediately…. We're taking the place back."

The faction affected was immediately enraged.

"That's pushing things too far!"

"This is the ancestral home of the seventh bloodline! How dare you!"

Next, a cold voice rang out from that large hall. "Liu Xiu, this is too much."

A white-haired old man emerged, whose cultivation base was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

"So you still recognize little old me," said Grandma Uzumaki, her eyes flickering with killing intent. "Wasn't it you who watched us getting chased away back then, and did nothing to help? Even worse, you were happy to kick us when we were down." Waving her right hand, she caused the Uzumaki Clan grand spell formation to converge above her head.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1266

Chapter 1266: Not Strong Enough

"Kill them!" Grandma Uzumaki said calmly. The instant her voice rang out, Naruto 's two granduncles transformed into beams of light that shot toward the old man outside the hall. Naruto 's uncles and aunts also unleashed their cultivation bases as they charged forward.

The old man's face flickered, and the other members of the seventh bloodline roared and attacked. Instantly, shocking and fierce fighting broke out.

The wave of Grandma Uzumaki's hand caused a roaring to fill the air that sounded like it came from the mouth of an enormous giant. Under her control, the Uzumaki Clan's grand protective spell formation became numerous beams of light that shot through the air toward the cultivators of the seventh bloodline.

Miserable screams rang out; although the spell formation wouldn't kill members of the Uzumaki Clan, the cultivators of the seventh bloodline who were hit by the beams of light experienced an instant drop in cultivation base.

In the end, the protective spell formation became boundless light that covered the entire seventh bloodline.

It didn't matter how many of them there were, they were incapable of fighting back. The miserable screams continue to ring out, and soon blood began to flow, filling the air with the reek of gore.

Cries of shock and disbelief began to echo about.

"She… she can actually control the protective spell formation!"

"That's the Uzumaki Clan's spell formation! She doesn't have the blood of the Uzumaki Clan in her, how can she control it!?"

"Is the spell formation actually the Uzumaki Clan's, or not?!" As the shouts of alarm filled the air, the older experts suddenly remembered something, and their faces fell.

The old man outside the hall roared in rage, and yet was no match for the granduncles. However, this was one of the nine bloodlines of the Uzumaki Clan, and they had many powerful experts, including numerous cultivators in the Immortal Realm. All of them attacked simultaneously, causing massive rumbling to fill the air.

They might have been suppressed by the spell formation, but the cultivators from Naruto 's grandmother's bloodline were few in number. Just as it seemed like they were about to be overwhelmed, Naruto prepared to step in. However, Grandma Uzumaki gave a cold harrumph and pushed her hand down toward the ground.

"Sin Blade, come hither!" she said. The main hall of the seventh bloodline suddenly began to shake, and then a huge crevice opened up, out of which a black light shone. Shockingly, within that light was a black dagger!

The sight of that dagger caused the minds of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators to reel, and their blood to suddenly surge.

"A Sin Blade… I can't believe it's really the Sin Blade…. Those things still exist? How could it be possible!?"

"Sin Blades are formed from thousands of years of clan blood, and are used to punish traitorous clan members. Only three were ever forged, and according to the legends, they were lost in the sands of time. But, that's definitely a Sin Blade!"

"She… she's not a real Uzumaki Clan cultivator, she married into the clan. But it doesn't matter how old she is, she shouldn't be able to control the spell formation and also a Sin Blade!"

The old man from the seventh bloodline stared with wide, disbelieving eyes. He obviously knew what Sin Blades were, but he could never have imagined that there was one buried beneath his bloodline's territory, and furthermore…

… could actually be controlled by this old woman!

Grandma Uzumaki eyed the black dagger, and she seemed to be thinking about the past. With a soft sigh, she made a grasping motion with her right hand, causing the dagger to fly into her grasp. Then, she pointed it at the old man.

"By the authority conferred upon me by the Uzumaki Clan torture hall," she said coolly, "I hereby excise you from the Uzumaki Clan !" As she spoke, a flickering, blood-red sealing mark appeared on her forehead. As soon as the members of the older generation saw that mark, they let out a collective gasp.

"A bloodline seal…. Now it makes sense. As the Grand Elder of the clan back then, Uzumaki Shan would have been qualified to bestow bloodline seals like that, to pass on his legacy to others."

In that same moment, Grandma Uzumaki slashed the blade toward the old man from the seventh bloodline, causing black light to flare out and then stab down toward him.

He tried to fight back, but was instantly cut down by Naruto 's granduncles.

His head flew off of his shoulders, and his body exploded. The other members of the seventh bloodline, even the Elders, were shocked, and immediately began to flee. Grandma Uzumaki ignored them. Then a tremor ran through her which no one except for Naruto noticed. He could tell that the so-called Sin Blade really was formed by a convergence of will.

That will came from the spirit of the people who had sacrificed their blood to forge the blade. Because of that, only someone with a bloodline sealing mark could control the weapon. Although nothing seemed out of the ordinary, slashing out with the blade just now had actually injured her. After all, she really wasn't a true member of the Uzumaki Clan.

As for how she was able to control the grand protective spell formation, Naruto had already picked up on some of the clues. He could sense some of his grandmother's aura within the grand spell formation, and could also sense fluctuations from the spell formation on her.

"It's not because of any Daoist magic. Actually… the grand protective spell formation is allowing her to control it." Naruto looked thoughtfully at the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion, and the tallest structure therein… the enormous statue!

That was not only where the Dao Realm Patriarchs stayed in secluded meditation, it was also the nucleus of the grand protective spell formation.

There were now no more members of the seventh bloodline in the main hall below. They had all fled.

Naruto remained in a position behind his grandmother, watching everything play out silently and not interfering. He would comply with his grandmother's wishes in everything. Truth be told, he only cared about his grandmother's bloodline; as for the rest of the Uzumaki Clan, they didn't matter much to him at all.

Grandma Uzumaki turned to Naruto , a kind smile on her face as she said, "Nar'er, this is where your mother used to live, and today, I'm bequeathing it to you." Then she turned, looking coldly in the direction of where the first bloodline lay, in the shadow of the enormous statue.

"That is where we used to live," she said, proceeding forward. The other members of the Uzumaki Clan who were in her way hesitated for a moment, then fell back to make way, the fear in their eyes clear.

Naruto 's grandmother could control the spell formation and the Sin Blade, plus had a bloodline sealing mark. All of that ensured that none of the other bloodlines were willing to attack. After all… they were confident that the tenth bloodline wasn't out to exterminate all of the other clan members.

However, as Grandma Uzumaki and the others neared the district where the first bloodline was located, a growling voice echoed out from within the enormous statue.

"Enough. We're all part of the Uzumaki Clan after all. There will be no more internecine strife within the clan. The tenth bloodline has returned, and the whole Uzumaki Clan should be celebrating that. There's no need for fighting."

In response to his words, all of the surrounding members of the Uzumaki Clan began to bow their heads. Grandma Uzumaki was the only one who simply looked up at the statue, a complex look in her eyes. After a long moment, she spoke in a raspy voice, "Is that you, Patriarch Uzumaki Yan? I'm fine with holding back from killing, but the place occupied by the first bloodline belongs to us. Tell them to clear out, and we can call an end to the matter immediately!" 1

"Impossible!" said a cold, grim voice from within the district occupied by the first bloodline. "Your cultivation base is in the piddling great circle of the Ancient Realm. If it weren't for that Junior generation expert behind you, it wouldn't matter that you can control the spell formation and the Sin Blade, you still wouldn't be qualified to cause a ruckus!"

The owner of the voice emerged, a white-haired young boy.

His face was distorted in rage, and he emanated the aura of the QuasiDao Realm. However, that aura was filled with a sensation of decay, as if his longevity within the Quasi-Dao Realm was almost completely expended.

That just made him seem more maddened, and as he emerged, killing intent surged. He flicked his sleeve and was just about to continue speaking, when Naruto interrupted.

"Pipe down!" he said, his voice cool and calm. His words transformed into a powerful, invisible force which instantly stopped the white-haired boy in his tracks. "When the adults are talking, pipsqueaks like you should keep their traps shut. If you don't, however many hundreds of years of longevity you have left, I can end them now." As Naruto 's cold voice echoed about, the white-haired boy stood there trembling, eyes bright red as he glared at Naruto .

Grandma Uzumaki stood there silently, as did Naruto 's granduncles, uncles, and aunts. They had to admit that all of this was happening because of Naruto , and if it weren't for his help, their comeback would have been impossible.

Naruto sighed. How could he not have come to realize the same thing himself? It became especially apparent to him when he realized that his grandmother had injured herself in the attack. Finally, he turned, clasped hands and bowed deeply to his grandmother.

"Grandma Uzumaki, may I please take care of the situation?"

His grandmother looked back at him for a moment, then finally smiled.

"I guess there's no need to hold you back. Alright, go ahead and take care of things."

Naruto smiled, then turned, gaze calm as he looked at the whitehaired boy. "Scram!"

"YOU!" the boy cried, eyes widening, body trembling. It didn't matter that he wasn't a match for Naruto . Considering he was in front of the entire clan, he couldn't help but yell at Naruto in such a way. After all, his life would be ending soon anyway, so how could he fear death?

Before he could say anything else, Naruto snorted coldly. Then, he flickered into motion, suddenly appeared directly in front of the young boy. There, he waved his hand, causing a massive tempest to spring up, with the boy at the center. It rapidly became a tornado, which spread out in the blink of an eye to cover the entire district occupied by the first bloodline, picking up their cultivators and spinning them around, causing bloodcurdling shrieks to ring out.

The white-haired boy was at the center of it all. Naruto burned with hatred because of the insulting words he had spoken to his grandmother moments ago, so he waved his hand, causing the boy to let out a miserable scream. His body trembled and then began to disappear into a haze of blood and gore. His already reduced longevity was now forcibly being scraped away. Within the space of a few breaths of time, he transformed into ash which then faded away.

Everything was deathly silent; all eyes came to rest on Naruto , and they were filled with fear.

That was the exact result Naruto had been aiming for. He couldn't stay in the Eighth Mountain and Sea for long, and if Grandma Uzumaki wasn't willing to go to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, then he had to ensure that they had a strong position within the Uzumaki Clan.

If their position was strong enough, then when he left, the bloodline would be safe. Anyone who dared to think about provoking them would definitely consider the ramifications first.

"Unfortunately, their position…. isn't strong enough yet," he thought. Then he looked up at the statue, eyes flashing like lightning as his gaze pierced inside to stare at the five Dao Realm experts sitting there.

Naruto 's granduncle is named 孟衍 mèng yǎn, whereas this Patriarch is 孟炎 mèng yán. As you can see, there are two different "Yan" characters, and if you look at the tone marks you can see that their pronunciation is slightly different ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1267

Chapter 1267: Together!

In almost the same moment that Naruto looked over at the statue, the three lucid Dao Realm experts inside could tell, and their faces flickered.

The Patriarch from the ninth bloodline looked at Naruto , then at the members of his own bloodline, and especially Uzumaki De, who wore a very complex expression.

The Patriarch from the eighth bloodline had fought briefly with Naruto already, so he sat there gritting his teeth, not daring to emerge. However, his heart was filled with anticipation at the prospect of the Patriarch from the first bloodline stepping into the fray.

That very Patriarch was the last among the group of three to have awakened. He had long red hair which continuously burned with fire, and he currently sat there cross-legged, a grim expression on his face. After a long moment passed, he slowly rose to his feet and stepped forward, appearing outside the statue in front of Naruto .

As soon as he appeared outside, the surrounding members of the Uzumaki Clan looked up at him. No one cheered, though; everyone stared at him and Naruto .

"You're not part of the Uzumaki Clan," the red-haired old man said, his

voice ancient and sinister.

"Whether I am or not doesn't matter," Naruto replied calmly.

"That's true, it's not important. Old Eighth, Old Ninth, if you don't do something, then our Uzumaki Clan is going to fall to a stranger this day." Flames burst out around the red-haired old man, a manifestation of Essence of flame which caused the surrounding air to distort.

Back in the statue, the Patriarch from the eighth bloodline gritted his teeth, then finally chose to emerge. The Patriarch from the ninth bloodline, the one who had actually met Naruto , also came out.

Three Patriarchs had emerged, and finally, anticipation began to shine in the eyes of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators, as well as excitement. In their minds, even if Naruto were stronger than he was now, he still couldn't stand up to the combined might of these three Patriarchs.

"Just the three of you won't be enough," Naruto said, looking them over. Then his gaze shifted to the two slumbering figures that remained in the statue. "You've been awake for a while now, what's the point in pretending that you're still asleep?" he said. "You've lost the chance to make a sneak attack, so how about I give you the opportunity to come at me five against one?

"If you win, I'll give you this treasure." With that, Naruto waved his hand, causing the Lightning Cauldron to materialize up above. It crackled with lightning, and the aura of a precious treasure, causing the three Patriarchs' eyes to widen, and their minds to spin.

Suddenly, two auras erupted out from within the statue. One of them was not quite at the level of a Dao Lord, but was very close. The other was very much at the Dao Lord level, and apparently was approaching four Essences. However, the little bit that he lacked meant that he was not quite powerful enough to earn the title of Dao Sovereign.

These two were the true Patriarchs of the Uzumaki Clan, and the two of the most powerful forces that the Uzumaki Clan had produced in many, many years.

As soon as their auras appeared, the air next to the three Patriarchs standing outside of the statue flickered, and two people appeared out of nowhere. They looked incredibly old and emanated powerful ripples, especially the nearly-4-Essences expert. He wore a long gray robe, and emanated an air of decay. He looked deeply at Naruto and said, "What if you win?"

"If I win, then the five of you must swear Dao oaths to protect my grandmother's bloodline for a thousand years." Naruto stared at the nearly-4-Essences Patriarch, who was one who he deemed most worthy of his attention. He was curious to see if the fully absorbed fourth Nirvana Fruit would enable him to fight four or more Essences.

"Why only a thousand years?"

"Because a thousand years from now," Naruto replied calmly, "as long as I haven't perished, no one in the Mountain and Sea Realm would dare to harm any of my relatives in the least." Although his words seemed wildly arrogant to most of the people who heard them, the five Dao Realm Patriarchs' expressions turned serious.

After exchanging glances, the five of them then nodded. In truth, they had no choice other than to fight. Besides, the stakes that Naruto had offered helped to ease the tension a bit. After all, the matter was an internal affair of the Uzumaki Clan, and handling it in this way would be mutually beneficial.

"Very well!" said the 4-Essences Dao Realm expert. Then, he shot high up into the starry sky, followed by the four other Patriarchs. After all, a Dao Realm battle couldn't be fought down below, lest the power of the attacks seep out and lead to widespread destruction in the Uzumaki Clan.

Naruto looked over at his grandmother, and could see the care and concern in her eyes. He smiled and nodded, then transformed into a beam of light that shot up into the starry sky.

Instantly, certain members of the Uzumaki Clan utilized various magical techniques to project an image of the starry sky down below so that the other clan members could watch the fight.

What they saw was Naruto appearing on the battlefield and then, instantly, the five Patriarchs attacking together!

Rumbling filled the starry sky as soon as Naruto arrived. The

Patriarch from the first bloodline was slightly quicker than the others. An incantation gesture caused a sea of flames to burst out, which then transformed into a huge hand that reached out toward Naruto as if to grab him.

The Patriarch from the eighth bloodline threw his head back and roared, smacking his hands together in front of him, which caused a massive windstorm to erupt. That windstorm was backed by the power of his cultivation base and his Essence of wind. It quickly transformed into a huge tornado which swept out in attack.

The Patriarch from the ninth bloodline made a somewhat strange attack. As he performed an incantation gesture, ripples spread out from his feet, filling the starry sky and causing an enormous mirror to materialize.

Those three attacks were the most normal of the group. There were still two Patriarchs left. The one who was close to being a Dao Lord began to glow with the color of blood, a glow that contained a towering will of slaughter.

Shockingly, this was a type of Essence that was very difficult to cultivate, but very powerful… slaughter Essence!

The final Patriarch was the strongest of the group. He took a deep breath, and as he did, a green glow appeared in the void. In the blink of an eye, even his body turned green, and a ring of green-colored lightning appeared around him. This was none other than Green Lightning Magic!

This was the most powerful Daoist magic in the Uzumaki Clan; green lightning filled the area for a thousand meters around the Patriarch, a completely different type of green lightning than that used by Han Qinglei in the Windswept Realm.

Naruto 's expression didn't even flicker. Currently, his fourth Nirvana Fruit was completely absorbed, and a mere thought on his part could summon the Door of the Ancient Realm. However, even if he didn't intend to do so, the powerful ripples of his cultivation base meant it was possible that the door might appear on its own.

"Well," he murmured quietly, "before I step into the Ancient Realm, let's see how powerful my battle prowess has gotten!" With that, his eyes gleamed brightly as he shot out toward the Patriarch from the first bloodline. That Patriarch performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the enormous, all-powerful hand of flames to speed faster toward Naruto .

That hand was formed completely from Essence power, and was so strong that even a Quasi-Dao cultivator who was struck by it would be completely destroyed, let alone weaker cultivators. It could even shatter massive asteroids.

It whistled through the void, seemingly capable of burning everything as it bore down on Naruto .

"I won't be unfair," Naruto said. "Since you're using flame Essence… then I'll use the same thing to beat you!" As soon as the words left his mouth, fire raged up around him, the complete manifestation of Naruto 's Essence of Divine Flame. As it appeared in full, it instantly began to rumble toward the first bloodline Patriarch's flame essence.

This was fire fighting fire, and it wasn't a matter of who could control it better. Rather, the question was… whose Essence was stronger!? Whose Essence was more terrifying!?

Naruto waved his hand, causing the flame Essence around him to transform into a giant fist made of flames, which then punched out toward the first bloodline Patriarch's flame hand.

BOOOOOOOMMM….

Everything shook as the Patriarch's flame hand exploded. Naruto 's Divine Flame fist also fell apart, but as it did, it revealed the image of a monkey, which threw its head back and roared.

That roar caused all of the fire out in the starry sky to seethe. The power of Divine Flame then swept up together, forming a huge mouth which shot toward the first bloodline Patriarch as if to consume him. However, in the moment before it did, Naruto snorted, causing the flame mouth to stop in place, let out howl of defiance, and then slowly fade away.

The Patriarch from the first bloodline coughed up a mouthful of blood and then fell back into retreat, face flickering with shock. This was the first time he had ever been defeated by a similar Essence, and were it not for the fact that Naruto wasn't in a killing mood, then he would have been killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!

"You lose," Naruto said. Then he took another step, placing him directly in front of the eighth bloodline Patriarch and his screaming windstorm, which shot menacingly toward Naruto .

"I can't use wind Essence," Naruto said, shaking his head. He allowed the windstorm to slam into him, a terrifying force that could even kill a Quasi-Dao expert. Even Dao Realm cultivators of the same level would fear that wind. However, as it swept over Naruto , although some wounds appeared… that was the extent of the matter. That caused the eighth bloodline Patriarch to gasp, and instantly flee.

"I concede!" he blurted, expression that of astonishment.

The main source of his fear was that he could see that the injuries inflicted by the powerful windstorm couldn't keep up with how quickly Naruto 's body was healing itself. Wounds that took two breaths of time to inflict were completely healed up almost instantly….

"What a terrifying fleshly body! How… how do you fight something like this!?"

Meanwhile, the members of the Uzumaki Clan were all watching the scene play out on the enormous projection screen.

They could clearly see Naruto use flame Essence to defeat the first bloodline Patriarch, and then use his astonishing fleshly body to defeat the Essence Daoist magic of the eighth bloodline Patriarch.

From the position of the audience, he almost seemed invincible!

"C-compared to last time, it seems like he's… even more powerful!"

"What… what cultivation base does he have? He's so young! How could he be… so strong!?"

This was the first time for Naruto 's grandmother to see how truly powerful he was. As she watched the images on the screen, a broad smile broke out on her face.

As of this moment, she didn't care at all who was responsible for the comeback of the bloodline in the Uzumaki Clan. Whether it was her or Naruto didn't matter. That was because… he was her grandson!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1268

Chapter 1268: The Door of the Ancient Realm is Coming!

In almost the same moment that the eighth bloodline Patriarch conceded, the ninth bloodline Patriarch, the old man who had met Naruto before, suddenly roared, raising both hands into the air and then clapping them together viciously.

"Mirror Massacre!" he yelled. Almost instantly, the starry sky beneath Naruto 's feet began to ripple as if with waves. Shockingly, the area beneath him then transformed into a gigantic mirror that reflected everything above it, including Naruto and everyone else involved in the fight.

"Eee?" said Naruto . He had fought with Dao Realm experts a few times, but this was his first time seeing Essence magic in the form of a mirror. He looked down at his reflection in the mirror, and the other version of himself did the same thing. When their eyes met, Naruto could suddenly feel a power like that of possession spreading out inside of him.

At the same time, a bloody glow was closing in on him, within which was the Essence of slaughter. It transformed into a blood-colored blade that slashed down toward Naruto . Naruto 's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, causing numerous mountains to descend, blocking the blood blade. However, the blood blade blasted through them and a moment later, slashed Naruto himself!

Naruto looked down at the wound on his arm, and the blood that oozed out from it; apparently even his restorative powers were incapable of healing the wound.

"Slaughter Essence…." he thought with some indifference. Without a moment of hesitation, he suddenly turned and raised his hand to point behind him. Instantly, the more than 1,000 green lightning bolts which had been shooting toward him stopped in place.

But then, an ancient voice echoed out.

"Detonate!"

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

More than 1,000 lightning bolts exploded, inundating Naruto . At the same time, a red blade of light shot up from within the mirror down below, slashing toward Naruto with an air of blood and slaughter.

At the same time, the over 1,000 bolts of green lighting in the mirror also exploded; apparently the mirror was a type of magic that could cause wounds to double in severity. Naruto was surrounded by explosions.

The three Patriarchs who were still in the fight were staring at Naruto with serious expressions, having been deeply moved by his display of power.

The three old men exchanged glances, and then one said, "Even if that didn't kill him, at least it should have seriously injured him…."

But then their faces fell as Naruto 's cold voice rang out from within the green lightning. "Well, isn't this interesting."

A figure flashed through the void toward the ninth bloodline Patriarch. The old man's face flickered, and he bit his tongue, spitting up a mouthful of blood.

"Second Mirror!" he cried. Another huge mirror appeared in the void, directly in Naruto 's path. When he flew into the mirror, he actually emerged from the location of the first mirror.

As he did, the other two Patriarchs unleashed simultaneous attacks. The blood blade turned into a blood sea, and the green lightning became lightning chains, which shot out toward Naruto .

"Third Mirror!"

"Fourth Mirror!" As the ninth bloodline Patriarch roared, blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. Four mirrors was his limit, and as he unleashed the magic, more attacks shot out from them.

The appearance of these mirrors caused the power of the various Daoist magics aimed at Naruto to increase dramatically. A boundless blood sea and seemingly infinite green chains rumbled through the starry sky toward Naruto .

Down in the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion, all of the clan members were watching excitedly. As for Grandma Uzumaki, her eyes were filled with concern.

Just in the moment when all the other members of the Uzumaki Clan seemed so excited, an intense rumbling sound echoed out from inside Naruto .

"Nice. What a useful Daoist magic you have there!" he said, sounding very enthusiastic. Suddenly, he began to radiate cultivation base power.

Astonishingly, he hadn't been using his cultivation base at all in the fight; he had relied only on his fleshly body strength. But now he called upon the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal. His energy rose up to towering heights, causing the blood sea to evaporate and the lightning chains to shatter.

At the same time, Naruto 's drawing upon the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal caused him to experience the sensation that the Door of the Ancient Realm was coming. Although no one else could sense it, he fully understood what was happening.

The arrival of the Door of the Ancient Realm was imminent. He didn't need to call it; it could descend on its own at any time!

Naruto 's expression was calm as he strode forward, waving his finger, a motion that caused his Allheaven Dao Immortal power to erupt out, and his four Nirvana Fruits began to rotate inside of him. That wave of a finger seemed capable of shattering the Mountain and Sea Realm. When it landed on the mirror, cracking sounds rang out, and fissures spread out all over its surface. Then it simply shattered.

When the first mirror shattered, the ninth bloodline Patriarch coughed up a mouthful of blood. Then Naruto waved his finger again, causing the second mirror to explode.

Then he waved his finger a third and a fourth time!

The third and fourth mirrors both shattered into fragments. The ninth bloodline Patriarch coughed up more blood, and his body withered. When they had first met, this man had acted completely arrogant, but now he was shivering, and his scalp was numb as he cried, "I concede!"

In almost the same moment that the two words left the man's mouth, the void in front of him crumbled, only a few meters away from his position. That area emanated a powerful will of destruction, and the ninth bloodline Patriarch knew that if he had been any slower in conceding, the collapse would have reached him.

The mere thought of that caused him to gasp.

"His gaze. That happened merely from his gaze…. His cultivation base is definitely similar to that of a Dao Sovereign. But how come I can't sense much Essence on him…?"

Even as the ninth bloodline Patriarch conceded, Naruto turned and waved his hand toward the Patriarch proficient with the Essences of blood and slaughter. Instantly, the starry sky began to shatter as a rift opened up and the Blood Demon emerged. It threw its head back and roared, which made everyone feel as if the blood in their own bodies had gone out of control. The Blood Demon then charged the Dao Realm Patriarch, emanating brutality, madness, and a thirst for blood.

The slaughter Essence Patriarch's face fell. However, instead of retreating, he suddenly shot forward to fight the Blood Demon. Naruto gave a cold snort, appearing suddenly in front of the Blood Demon, whereupon he unleashed a punch.

It was none other than the Life-Extermination Fist!

As the fist flew out, the Dao Realm Patriarch's face fell. He wanted to retreat, but had no time. The starry sky trembled, and blood sprayed out of the Patriarch's mouth. It was only then that he fell back, face filled with astonishment and terror. However, he wasn't giving up. As he retreated, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing nine coffins to fly out of his bag of holding, all of which emanated a sinister, cold air. At the same time, a funeral garland appeared in his hand, filled with blood-colored flowers!

"Using magical items and a puppet, huh?" Naruto asked, looking over at the man.

"There were never any rules that said we couldn't use magical items," the Patriarch replied, his eyes flickering coldly.

It was at this point that the strongest of the five Patriarchs, the one with four Essences, opened his mouth and spit out a green trident. Instantly, the starry sky trembled, and countless bolts of green lightning began to converge on him. Soon, he was shining a bright green color, which, in addition to the green lightning, made him look like an actual green lightning bolt. He hefted the trident and was just about to charge Naruto , when a long spear suddenly appeared in Naruto 's hand. The spear looked like a dragon, and emanated a terrifying aura that caused the void to vibrate and even shatter. This was clearly a precious treasure!

Even more shocking was that as soon as the long spear appeared, the funeral garland in the hand of the slaughter Essence Patriarch began to shake. Then, the blood-colored flower petals began to wilt and dry up!

As for the nine coffins, they emanated strange droning sounds that seemed to be some sort of language. As soon as the Patriarch heard those voices, his face fell.

Things weren't over yet, though. The trident held by the nearly-4Essences Patriarch almost seemed scared, as if an incredibly powerful enemy had suddenly appeared. The Patriarch's face flickered, and his heart began to thump.

This spear which could cow other treasures was none other than the weapon which Greed had unsealed. If it was the type of weapon that Greed would think was an incredible treasure, then obviously it wouldn't be weak.

"Since you're using magical items, then I guess I'll use one of mine," Naruto said coolly. "I happened to meet a kind-hearted person who helped unseal this spear for me. I still haven't had a chance to get used to it, so I'm not sure if I can fully control it. Are you two sure you want to keep fighting?"

He was now convinced that his battle prowess was enough to be able to fight a 4-Essences Dao Sovereign. However, as for whether or not he could fight five Essences, that was a different matter.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the remaining two Patriarchs' faces turned very unsightly. They didn't believe at all what Naruto said about a kind-hearted individual unsealing the spear, especially one powerful enough to make their own treasures wither and tremble as if facing some arch-nemesis treasure. Who would believe that a person would voluntarily refine such a treasure for someone else? The more they thought about it, the more Naruto 's line about the kind-hearted individual seemed like complete nonsense.

Besides, if kind-hearted individuals like that really existed, why had they never run into one…?

To them, Naruto was using those words as an excuse. An excuse… to be able to kill them under the guise of stumbling in battle!

"I concede!" said the Patriarch adept with slaughter Essence. Gritting his teeth, he waved his hand, causing the coffins and the funeral garland to vanish.

The nearly-4-Essences Patriarch chuckled bitterly. The green glow faded, and he put his trident away. Then he clasped hands and bowed.

"I also concede," he said, looking at Naruto with a smile. "We're all from the same clan, so there's no need to fight to the death. As for the tenth bloodline… I admit that they are the primary bloodline, and promise to support them. What do you say, young friend. Do you agree to end things here?"

Naruto didn't respond. Instead, he looked up into the starry sky, a gleam of anticipation in his eyes….

Simultaneously, the five Dao Realm Patriarchs all looked up in shock.

The Door of the Ancient Realm was coming!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1269

Chapter 1269: Shocking Tribulation!

Ripples spread out in the starry sky, sweeping about, instantly covering the entire area surrounding Naruto .

Those ripples contained layers of Dao, and as they spread out, anyone who heard them felt as if they were listening to countless living beings whispering in their ears.

The five Uzumaki Clan Patriarchs' faces flickered as they looked up into the starry sky at… the origin of all of the ripples.

As of this moment, the starry sky was completely quiet, as was the Uzumaki Clan with its central continent and nine auxiliary continents. The only thing which could be heard was the increasingly anxious panting of the audience.

The members of the nine bloodlines, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, could sense the ripples spreading out over the lands, and the indescribable pressure radiating down from the starry sky.

RUMBLE!

The lands began to tremble, breaking the silence as mountains crumbled and rivers suddenly went still.

Every face in the Uzumaki Clan flickered, and their minds filled with roaring sounds.

"That's…."

"What happened?"

"What's going on? I can sense an indescribable pressure…. It's almost like Heavenly Tribulation!"

Grandma Uzumaki's eyes went wide as she looked up; she had her speculations about what exactly was happening, but almost couldn't believe them to be true. It wasn't just her; all the other Ancient Realm cultivators in the clan were filled with shock and astonishment.

That was especially true when they realized that all of it was happening because of Naruto . Then, their astonishment reached a pinnacle.

"This is impossible!"

"The Door of the Ancient Realm!? This aura and pressure clearly indicates that the Door of the Ancient Realm is coming!"

"No way! That's not the Door of the Ancient Realm. This pressure far, far exceeds that. If this is really the Door of the Ancient Realm, then… it's thousands of times more powerful than an ordinary Door of the Ancient Realm!"

"None of those things are that important. The most important thing to remember… is that this Door of the Ancient Realm is coming for Uzumaki Chen. In that case… his cultivation base…. Could it be in the Immortal Realm!?" People felt like their minds were about to explode.

The five Patriarchs up in the starry sky began to fall back, faces flickering with various emotions. Finally, the shape of an enormous door became visible. An ancient, archaic aura began to spread out, and expressions of utter disbelief appeared on the faces of the five Patriarchs.

"The Door of the Ancient Realm. It's really… really the Door of the

Ancient Realm!"

"He… really is in the Immortal Realm. But I've never heard of any

Immortal who was strong enough to fight the power of the Dao Realm!"

"Wait, I remember… there is one type of Immortal…."

"Allheaven Dao Immortals!" The five Patriarchs' minds were spinning, and as they exchanged glances, each of them could tell how utterly shocked the others were.

As of this moment, every single person in the Uzumaki Clan was having the same reaction. After everyone sensed that it was indeed the Door of the Ancient Realm, massive waves of shock pounded their hearts, and they almost felt as if they were hallucinating.

Naruto stood alone in the starry sky, looking up into the boundless expanse, and the majestic ripples which were spreading out. Soon, the shape began to take form… the Door of the Ancient Realm!

Naruto 's Door of the Ancient Realm!

By converging Dao Fruit power and pushing open that door, he could be baptized by the Mountains and Seas, gain their approval, and thus, figuratively return to ancient times. He could… search for that ancient path in which the lamps were extinguished but the cultivator was not. Become… an Ancient Realm expert!

"My Door of the Ancient Realm!" he murmured quietly. Naruto 's eyes shone with a brilliant light, and in almost the same moment that he spoke, a sound like muffled thunder could be heard ringing out, filled with power that could shake Heaven and Earth.

Amidst the rumbling, massive amounts of ripples spread out, and the Door of the Ancient Realm began to grow larger, larger, larger…. Eventually, clouds actually appeared in the starry sky, spreading out to cover everything.

Shockingly, figures could be seen within those clouds, people who wore clothing from ancient times, and who immediately began to emanate shocking auras.

There were even faint shouts coming from within the clouds, which grew more intense and strong as they echoed out, until finally it sounded like the Heavens were roaring. The ripples grew more intense, and the clouds seethed, covering the entire Door of the Ancient Realm, making its ancient, archaic aura even more prominent.

Soon, the area around the Door of the Ancient Realm began to twist and distort, almost as if time were flowing differently in that area, an area that was almost like another world!

Pressure suddenly exploded out, a terrifying pressure that caused Naruto 's face to flicker. Without even thinking about it, he fell back a bit.

His hair began to whip about, and cracking sounds could be heard from within his body. It was as if the incredible pressure from Heaven and Earth wished to crush Naruto out of existence. Naruto 's mind began to reel.

"This isn't right!" Naruto 's pupils constricted, and he fell back again. As for the five Uzumaki Clan Patriarchs, they had long since fled far off into the distance.

They were now filled with intense fear, and their faces had drained of blood.

"Th-that's… the Door of the Ancient Realm? How come it seems even more terrifying than Dao Realm Tribulation!?"

"The ancient records don't mention anything about a Door of the Ancient Realm like this. I've never even heard of anything like it. How can a Door like this even be transcended!?"

"This is a grand tribulation of Heaven and Earth. Not even Dao Realm

Tribulation can match up to this Door of the Ancient Realm…." The five Patriarchs didn't even think it was possible for anyone to be able to pass through a tribulation like this Door of the Ancient Realm.

They weren't confident that they could deal with it in their current states, and that wasn't even taking into consideration the shocking, terrifying aura that could be felt from the clouds surrounding the door.

Naruto 's face looked extremely unsightly. As for the members of the Uzumaki Clan down below, they stared with wide eyes at the door and the clouds, which were definitely the most terrifying thing they had ever seen in their lives.

They were one of a very small group of people in the Mountain and Sea Realm… who could personally witness an Ancient Tribulation that actually… exceeded Dao Tribulation!

Naruto 's face was exceedingly grim. He had believed all along that he would simply breeze through the Ancient Realm. After all, he was already strong enough to fight the Dao Realm. In fact, in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, there were only a few people who might be able to beat him in a fight. Therefore, Naruto had considered himself to essentially be at the peak of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

But now he realized that he had been mistaken. Very, very mistaken. That mistake was not his understanding of the level of his battle prowess, but rather… the fact that an Allheaven Dao Immortal being able to defeat Dao Realm experts in battle indicated that his battle prowess was actually… a complete defiance of the Heavens!

Heaven-defying people would receive Heaven-defying punishment. Perhaps it wasn't merely a matter of ordinary defiance. Perhaps… like everything, a price had to be paid in order to acquire anything. Naruto had acquired incredible battle prowess, and the price he now had to pay for that… was an indescribably terrifying Ancient Tribulation!

He looked at the clouds, and the door just barely visible within them, and he could sense death!

"This won't just be a simple matter of opening the door and stepping into the Ancient Realm, then going through the process of extinguishing the lamps…. To me, the Ancient Realm will not be passed through casually. It will be a series of deadly crises…. As an Allheaven Dao Immortal, it's something that must happen…." Now that he finally understood, he sighed.

"I wonder if there were Allheaven Dao Immortals in the Paragon Immortal Realm… who succeeded in getting past the Ancient Realm and into the Dao Realm?" That question caused Naruto to suddenly feel completely shaken by this shocking Door of the Ancient Realm. He truly wished to know whether or not an Allheaven Dao Immortal had ever succeeded.

It was at this point that rumbling sounds could be heard from within the clouds. It almost sounded like people shouting, and it caused everything to shake. The minds of all the people up in the starry sky began to tremble.

The five Patriarchs' faces were pale white, and without any hesitation, they shot back down toward the Uzumaki Clan continent, where they activated the Uzumaki Clan's grand defensive spell formation, cutting themselves off from Naruto .

Apparently they feared the possibility of the tribulation of the Door of the Ancient Realm pulling them in….

Although they knew that tribulations only targeted individual cultivators, and not bystanders, the terrifying nature of this Ancient Tribulation left them completely petrified.

Now, Naruto was the only person left out in the starry sky, facing the boundless clouds and the enormous Door of the Ancient Realm. Compared to them, he looked like nothing more than an ant.

Despite the intense sensation of deadly crisis, Naruto looked calm as he studied the clouds. It was at this point that his grandmother's voice could be heard calling out anxiously from the continent down below.

"Nar'er, get down here into the spell formation!" As she cried out, an opening appeared within the spell formation shield.

The appearance of the opening caused the five Patriarchs to cry out in fear. "Absolutely not!"

Naruto looked back down at his grandmother. Her clear state of anxiety warmed his heart, but he shook his head.

"Grandma Uzumaki, this… is my Tribulation!" With that, he turned, unleashed the power of his cultivation base, and shot toward the clouds. "It doesn't matter whether the process is difficult or easy. I'm still going to give it a shot, no matter what!

"I've been practicing cultivation for hundreds of years now, and I'm an Allheaven Dao Immortal. I'm not sure if there were people like me in the past, but… since I've gained so much, I have to pay the price!

"This Ancient Tribulation is that price, and it's nothing more than a thorny patch on the road stretching out in front of me.

"I'll just pluck the thorns up and keep going. If there were Allheaven Dao Immortals in the past who walked in the Ancient Realm, then I'm going to do the same thing!" Naruto threw his back and laughed, then shot like lightning toward the clouds.

He was directly tackling the tribulation of the Door of the Ancient Realm!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1270

Chapter 1270: Weird!

To most cultivators, the Ancient Realm was just another level. By walking the ancient path, one could follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, they would search the techniques they possessed to find… the most original strand of Essence that was hidden within them.

By extinguishing one Soul Lamp after another, one could sink further and further into one's own self, into the depths of one's cultivation base….

In the end, in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, when Essence began to stir and life force thrived, Dao Tribulation would occur. One could tread the Dao path and enter… the Dao Realm, to become a truly almighty figure in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

During that process, each lamp that was extinguished was a deadly crisis, which made the Ancient Realm very difficult.

Naruto had originally assumed that his journey through the Ancient Realm would be the same. He would rely on his cultivation base to reduce the level of difficulty and make things much easier. But now he understood what the Ancient Realm meant to an Allheaven Dao Immortal… it was a truly deadly situation.

The difficulty level involved was many times greater than that of the ordinary Ancient Realm. Generally speaking, when it came to the deadly act of extinguishing Soul Lamps, the success rate was about fifty percent. When it came to Allheaven Dao Immortals though, it could be considered more like ten percent!

Allheaven Dao Immortals were vastly more powerful, and their tribulation was far more deadly.

Naruto took all these things which he had been thinking about and buried them in his heart as he sped forward. In the blink of an eye, he was closing in on the seething clouds.

Even as he neared, the clouds churned as a figure emerged from within them. It was a person who wore ancient clothing, and yet… completely lacked any facial features!

It was… a faceless man!

He moved with incredible speed as he closed in on Naruto , performing an incantation gesture at the same time. Rumbling could be heard from the clouds, transforming the energy of Heaven and Earth into numerous stone fragments which spun toward Naruto . The faceless man brimmed with towering killing intent, as if Naruto were an archenemy he could not live under the same sky with, as if he would not rest until one of them was dead.

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent as the faceless man bore down on him. He didn't slow down at all, but instead barrelled forward. When the stone fragments hit him, they shattered, and Naruto shot like a meteor into the faceless man.

"DIE!" he growled, grabbing the faceless man's throat and crushing it. A bang could be heard as the faceless man exploded into pieces. However, there was no flesh and blood; instead, he faded away into streams of mist that then surged back into the cloud mass.

Next, three more faceless men flew out. When their cultivation base power emanated out, astonishingly, it was in the great circle of the Ancient Realm. Their attacks caused the starry sky to tremble, and the clouds to churn. However, Naruto 's only response was a cold snort as he advanced, waving his sleeve, his cultivation base surging.

The three faceless men collapsed into pieces, completely incapable of resisting Naruto at all. However, an unsightly expression could be seen on Naruto 's face. He didn't look happy at all, and the reason was… he had just begun the tribulation, and was already facing a humanoid tribulation of the great circle of the Ancient Realm. As for what would be coming later… he could only imagine.

What caused his heart to sink even further was that there was an incredible pressure pushing at him from behind. Apparently, even if he didn't want to try to transcend the tribulation, and attempted to flee, that pressure would prevent him from doing so.

"I'm… being forced to face the tribulation…." he murmured. He rotated his cultivation base again, and rumbling sounds could be heard as he shot toward the clouds. Next, six faceless men appeared, and this time, they weren't in the great circle of the Ancient Realm, but rather, appeared to be closer to the Quasi-Dao Realm.

They moved so fast they looked like lightning bolts as they closed in on Naruto .

"Scram!" Naruto barked. The sound of his voice exploded out, causing the six lightning-like figures to explode, and causing even the clouds to churn.

These opponents didn't count for much to Naruto , and his eyes burned like fire as he continued to press on.

"You don't have to force me to try to transcend this tribulation…. I've been looking forward to it for a long time!" He took another step forward, causing the starry sky to shudder, and the roaring in the clouds to grow more intense.

At the moment, countless members of the Uzumaki Clan were down in the ancestral mansion, eyes glued to the scene which was playing out, looks of shock written on their faces.

That was especially true of the five Patriarchs, whose eyes were wide as they watched.

"Ordinary Ancient Tribulation sends lightning out of the clouds, or perhaps five elements magic. It isn't until the very end that the humanoid tribulation comes…."

"If your cultivation base is high enough, and you seize the moment, you might not even have to wait for those terrifying humanoid creatures to appear before opening the Door of the Ancient Realm…."

"But in this Ancient Tribulation, the humanoid figures appeared at the very beginning. How could you possibly transcend this…?" The five Patriarchs couldn't help but share a shocked glance with each other.

Naruto 's grandmother was trembling from extreme anxiety. Unfortunately, there was no way for her to help Naruto ; she could only look on as he tried to transcend the tribulation, her heart stinging as if from the stabs of a knife.

Behind her were Naruto 's granduncles, uncles and aunts, and all of them looked incredibly nervous.

Although not everyone in the Uzumaki Clan felt worried for Naruto like his direct relatives, they were all shocked. Naruto had now closed about twenty percent of the distance to the clouds, and as he was speeding along, more roaring could be heard as, shockingly, twelve figures shot out at top speed.

Those twelves figures… were in the Quasi-Dao Realm!

Naruto 's heart sank further.

"Twelve Quasi-Dao. Will the next group have twenty-four 1-Essence Dao Realm enemies? Then forty-eight 2-Essences? Ninety-six… Dao Lords….

One hundred and ninety-two 4-Essences? Then four hundred 5-Essences.

Eight hundred Dao Sovereigns….?" As Naruto followed this train of thought, his scalp began to go numb.

"Impossible. This tribulation comes from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm cannot be interfered with. Even I, the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, must face this tribulation and experience this life-or-death struggle. But there's no way that eight hundred Dao Sovereigns are going to come out…." Face pale, Naruto gritted his teeth and shot forward to begin fighting with the twelve Quasi-Dao enemies.

He transformed into an azure roc which sped forward. Immediately, the Quasi-Dao enemies began to fall apart, and yet they didn't dissipate, but instead, self-detonated!

Shocking booms rang out, and a fierce expression could be seen on

Naruto 's face as he shot off into the distance in an azure flash. A Quasi-Dao self-detonation creates a destructive force that would cause even Dao Lords to frown. Naruto swished his sleeve, causing the force to fade away. Although it looked like he didn't need to use much cultivation base power, Naruto was well aware that if he kept going… he wouldn't be able to get very far through the clouds.

"I can't let these clouds continue to grow. I need to get to the Door of the Ancient Realm as quickly as possible, that's my only chance!" Naruto clenched his jaw. Then, the azure roc threw its head back and roared. Naruto transformed into an azure beam that sped into the clouds, rocketing toward the Door of the Ancient Realm.

However, before he could get very far, numerous cold snorts could be heard echoing around him. Astonishingly… four faceless Dao Realm enemies appeared!

Those four faceless men were all 1-Essence cultivators, but as soon as Naruto laid eyes on them, his eyes glittered, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

"Only four, huh…?"

As the four faceless men closed in, he clenched his right hand and punched out. The starry sky shook, and a massive windstorm swept out, instantly shattering the four Dao Realm enemies.

As they fell to pieces, Naruto suddenly felt a cold chill on his spine. Without the slightest hesitation, he shot forward. However, the coldness remained at his back, almost as if… there were someone behind him, breathing down his neck.

Naruto sent his divine sense out, but didn't see anyone. But then, his face fell. Gritting his teeth, he spun around, and when he did, his scalp felt like it would explode. Standing there right behind him, almost touching his face, was… a white-robed woman.

She had long hair, pale skin, and listless eyes that stared dead at Naruto . Everything was very quiet; this woman's sudden appearance on the scene was very strange. Why couldn't he see her with divine sense?

Naruto 's pupils constricted, and just when he was about to back up, the woman suddenly reached out and grabbed him. She moved so quickly that he couldn't dodge, and in the briefest of moments, her hand closed around his arm. Then she suddenly began to pull him further into the clouds.

Naruto 's face flickered. The place where the woman held his arm felt ice cold, and pulses of some sort of aura of decay were boring into him. Apparently that aura wished to corrode his entire body away.

Most shocking of all was that, as the woman dragged him along, the clouds up ahead transformed into a huge mouth, which was apparently where the woman was dragging him.

A sensation of deadly crisis rose up inside of Naruto , and he had the intense feeling that if the cloud mouth swallowed him up, he would be completely dead in spirit and body!

"Scram!" he shouted, causing the Paragon Bridge to erupt with power.

An amorphous bridge appeared outside of him, and he wrenched himself free from the woman's grasp, and fell back.

The white-robed woman looked at the Paragon Bridge behind Naruto , and laughed. The laughter contained something completely bloodchilling about it as it echoed out.

Naruto could sense how terrifying this Ancient Tribulation was, but he couldn't flee. Gritting his teeth, he continued to speed in the direction he remembered the Door of the Ancient Realm being.

"Faster. Faster. Must go faster…." Naruto knew that his only chance to transcend the tribulation was to avoid spending a lot of time fighting in the clouds.

Just as he began to speed forward, four more figures appeared, figures that were far more powerful than the four he had fought moments ago.

2-Essences Dao Realm enemies!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1271

Chapter 1271: Foreigners Invade!

While Naruto was in the middle of transcending the tribulation, something else was happening in the starry sky not too far away from the Uzumaki Clan, although nobody could detect it, not even Naruto . Numerous black willow leaves could be seen floating there, each one fully 3,000 meters long. The veins of the pitch-black leaves were clearly visible on their surfaces, and it almost looked like there was blood flowing through them, giving the leaves a completely bizarre appearance.

There were dozens upon dozens of them, and on the surface of each were dozens upon dozens of cross-legged cultivators, altogether, about a thousand in total.

Each one of them was very calm, with coldly flickering eyes. They wore long black robes, and had extremely cold auras. Furthermore, closer examination revealed that the cultivation bases of these thousand cultivators was unexpectedly… in the Ancient Realm!

Some were in the early Ancient Realm, others in the great circle. If Naruto could see them, he would definitely find them familiar. That was because their auras were exactly the same as the people who had attacked Naruto and Uzumaki De on their way back to the Uzumaki Clan! More shocking was that on some of the willow leaves were cultivators who radiated Essence aura. There were a total of seven, all of them Dao Realm experts!

Among those seven people were men and women, young and old.

However, none of them were weak. As for the three strongest, two were Dao Lords, and one, a young boy, had a cultivation base… that could even suppress transformations in the starry sky. He… was a 5-Essences Dao Sovereign!

4-Essences Dao Realm cultivators could be called Dao Sovereigns, but that was only the threshold of that realm. 5-Essences was a true Dao Sovereign, and 6-Essences counted as the peak. In all of the Mountain and Sea Realm, 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns and above were considered the most powerful of all experts, people who were so domineering they could vie for the position of a Mountain and Sea Lord. People like that had statuses which ensured that wherever they went in the Mountain and Sea Realm, they could cause a huge sensation.

Right now, just such a person had appeared outside the Uzumaki Clan.

"So someone is transcending tribulation…" the boy said, "and a very bizarre Ancient Tribulation at that….

"There is something about his aura which I find completely unsettling…. Well, notify the sects in the area which come from the Seventh Mountain and Sea to make the first move. Have them ascertain the current situation.

"Our Mountain and Sea Lord has instructed that we be very careful. There are to be no slipups. After this mission is accomplished… not a single person from the bloodlines of the Uzumaki Clan will remain!" The boy then closed his eyes.

As his voice echoed out, orders were distributed, passed out into the starry sky to numerous asteroids and floating continents in the Eighth Mountain and Sea that didn't belong to the Heavengod Alliance. Within those sects, figures appeared who accepted the orders from the young boy.

When the orders were received, the first result was silence. But then, sighs could be heard. Next, the Patriarchs of those sects issued further orders, causing their sects to mobilize and then transform into beams of light… that flew out toward… the Uzumaki Clan!

There were dozens of such sects, each one of which dispatched no less than a thousand cultivators. Soon, tens of thousands of cultivators were flying from different directions toward the Uzumaki Clan, drawing closer and closer by the minute.

Storm clouds were gathering!

This was the first war to ever break out between the Seventh Mountain and Sea and the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and apparently… the first battleground would be the Uzumaki Clan. However it ended, it would surely cause a huge sensation in the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Furthermore, considering the army was led by a Dao Sovereign, their first target in the war wouldn't be selected lightly. It would either be picked because of its strategic value or its overall importance in the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

In any case, Naruto was in the middle of transcending tribulation, and all the cultivators of the Uzumaki Clan were completely mesmerized by it. However, anyone who was watching closely would notice that as soon as that boy issued orders… there were people in the crowd on the Uzumaki Clan continent whose eyes suddenly flickered with nearly imperceptible light.

It was as if a wind were blowing down from the heavens, sweeping across the world… filling it.

RUMBLE!

Within the clouds out in the starry sky, Naruto was performing a double-handed incantation gesture as he faced off with the four 2Essences faceless men. He unleashed the Mountain Consuming Incantation, causing numerous mountains to descend, emanating boundless pressure, crushing everything, sending the four faceless men into retreat.

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent, but instead of taking the time to kill them, he transformed into an azure roc and shot onward. He didn't have time for this humanoid tribulation.

However, in the same moment that Naruto began to move, his eyes widened as he realized that up ahead in the clouds… was a swing!

Sitting on the swing with her back to him was a young girl, swinging back and forth. Her laughter rang out like the tinkle of bells, and yet when it reached Naruto 's ears, it caused his mind to reel.

He then craned his neck to examine the situation closer, only to find that the girl had vanished. Only the swing was left behind, gently swaying back and forth.

Naruto 's eyes flickered but he didn't stop moving. Suddenly, as he was continuing forward, he sent the power of the Paragon Bridge exploding out behind him. In almost the same instant that it appeared, he suddenly heard hissing sounds coming from that same direction.

He looked back coldly and caught sight of the girl he had just seen, heading in the opposite direction, her head bowed. The hissing sounds were coming from that very girl.

Seemingly able to detect Naruto 's gaze upon her, the girl suddenly looked up. When that happened, Naruto 's eyes went wide as he realized that the girl's mouth and eyes had both been sewn shut, and that black blood was slowly oozing out from their edges….

The strange sounds coming from her suddenly caused Naruto 's body to shiver. Then, he realized that he was being dragged along with her, his body completely out of his control.

The things that were happening were completely shocking. In his practice of cultivation down to this day, he had experienced many things. However, it was only in these clouds surrounding the Door of the Ancient Realm that he felt such shock rising up from his heart.

He tried to rotate his cultivation base, but it almost felt as if it were separated from his body. Not even the Paragon Bridge could be summoned, nor could any of his other techniques or magical items.

The only things he could operate were his Nirvana Fruits. Suddenly, wild power poured out of them as he fought back against the girl, and those seemingly unending hissing sounds.

Even as she dragged him off into the distance, the power of his four Nirvana Fruits surged out, causing rumbling sounds to echo about as some sort of connection to the girl was severed. A tremor ran through Naruto , and blood sprayed out of his mouth. The girl screamed, but didn't stop moving, and soon vanished into the clouds.

Naruto took a deep breath. His face was pale, and despite the level of his cultivation base he still felt a sense of powerlessness in this situation. Both the white-robed woman and the girl filled him with an entirely creepy sensation. It was almost as if… his current self wasn't actually at a level that could deal with such things.

"So this is the Ancient Tribulation of an Allheaven Dao Immortal….

"In the Ancient Realm, one must seek the path of the ancestors, search for the Essence of one's techniques…. Well I guess that means that my version of the Ancient Realm involves searching for the source of the Allheaven Dao Immortal bloodline!

"I refuse to believe that other people see such strange things when they deal with the Door of the Ancient Realm. I have the feeling that both the white-robed woman and that girl have something to do with the secrets of the Allheaven Dao Immortal bloodline!" Naruto 's face was unsightly, but in his eyes persistence still shone as ever. His body flickered as he once again shot through the clouds in the direction of the Door of the Ancient Realm.

"The bizarre phenomena only happened in the clouds, after I encountered the faceless men. First were the 1-Essence Dao Realm enemies, and then the white-robed woman appeared. Next were the 2Essences enemies, and then the girl appeared…. In that case, the next thing I face… should be 3-Essences Dao Lords!" Naruto shot forward like lightning, drawing ever closer to the Door of the Ancient Realm. Suddenly, the clouds up ahead seethed, and four figures emerged.

Just as Naruto had guessed, these four faceless men were emanating cultivation base fluctuations of… 3-Essences Dao Lords!

If Naruto hadn't fully absorbed his fourth Nirvana Fruit, then when fighting any one of these faceless men, he would have only been able to fight to a draw, and would have been seriously injured at that. But things were different now. Naruto 's eyes glittered as he proceeded onward.

Rumbling could be heard as the Paragon Bridge appeared. The power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal exploded out, and then Naruto appeared directly in front of one of the faceless men. He reached out and touched the man's forehead with his finger, and the man exploded.

However, in the moment that the man exploded, Naruto 's face flickered and shot backward. The exploding faceless man became a mist which, instead of returning into the clouds, transformed into a mist rope that shot toward Naruto . At the same time, the other three faceless men collapsed into pieces and also transformed into ropes, which then snaked toward Naruto .

Even as Naruto dodged to the side, a cold voice suddenly rang out from the clouds up ahead. It was the voice of a man, and the words it spoke were simple.

"Cease all movement!"

Meanwhile, outside of the clouds that surrounded the Door of the Ancient Realm, even as the members of the Uzumaki Clan were riveted on the Ancient Tribulation, tens of thousands of beams of light were closing in on the Uzumaki Clan.

None of them paused for even a brief moment; the cultivators had their jaws clenched, and radiated killing intent. Soon, they were actually within the territory of the Uzumaki Clan, which suddenly caused a red light to spread out from the huge statue in the ancestral mansion.

When the Uzumaki Clan cultivators saw that red light, their faces filled with shock. The five Patriarchs' faces also flickered with astonishment.

"That red light means… foreigners are invading!"

"Foreign invaders are here!"

As the voices rang out, rumbling sounds could be heard from the nine auxiliary continents as the clan's protective spell formation automatically activated. It rapidly spread out to cover the entire clan, and fight back against the tens of thousands of attacking cultivators.

In the blink of an eye, countless cold voices could be heard echoing out.

" Uzumaki Clan, blood calls for blood. The debt you owe to the House of

Heaven and Earth… will be repaid today!"

"The Uzumaki Clan is already weak. There is no place for you in the Eighth Mountain and Sea anymore. We have risen up this day to exterminate you, to put an end to that old legend that the Uzumaki Clan will exist for all eternity!"

"The Cloudlands Sect is here to eradicate the Uzumaki Clan!"

"The Water-Dao School is here to put an end to our grudge!"

"Even the fierce lion will grow old one day. That day has arrived, and on this day… funeral bells will toll for the Uzumaki Clan!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1272

Chapter 1272: Retreat Is Not an Option!

Naruto was still in the clouds by the Door of the Ancient Realm, so he had no idea what was going on with the Uzumaki Clan. The intense pressure weighing down on him made it so that even if he sent out divine sense, it would be shattered.

Furthermore, all of his energy was focused completely on the Ancient Tribulation. This was actually the most dangerous tribulation that he had faced in his entire life!

Even he wasn't absolutely certain whether or not he could succeed. However, the tribulation had descended, and whether he wanted to or not, he still had to attempt to transcend it. If he failed, he would die. The only chance he had to live… was to transcend the tribulation.

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto faced the greatest danger of his life. Not even in the Windswept Realm had he faced a crisis like this. Currently, he was facing four 3-Essences Dao Lords, faceless men who had transformed into ropes that were now closing in on him.

Just as Naruto was in the middle of dodging, a sinister voice spoke out from the clouds. "Cease all movement!"

As soon as those three words entered Naruto 's ears, the entire world seemed to go quiet and stop moving. It was as if they contained some boundless magical power that made Naruto cease all movement; suddenly, he hovered stock still within the clouds, completely motionless.

Actually, it was only Naruto who experienced such motionlessness.

Everything else was normal, and the four ropes quickly began to wrap Naruto up. Two of them encircled his arms, hoisting him up as the other ropes bound his legs together, making it impossible for him to even struggle.

Simultaneously, another figure emerged from the clouds, an old man wearing a long gray robe. This man seemed completely ancient, as if even walking were difficult for him. However, his eyes shone with a brilliant light, and even avarice, as he stared at Naruto .

"It's been so many years…." the old man murmured as he slowly approached Naruto . "At long last, the Dao Immortal Ancient

Tribulation that we've been waiting for, has come…. You…. Are you the Dao body sacrifice offered by the later generation…? A perfect Dao body….

"I'm definitely going to succeed…. I will return. In fact, I'm already returning. Back then, we defeated those two people, but at far too great a cost. In fact, that cost was so great that we had to flee…."

As he neared, the clouds around him seemed to pass through countless years of time. They even changed colors, and behind the old man, the starry sky seemed to also pass through tens of thousands of years of time. Everything seemed to wither with age, and Naruto seemed to get older the closer the man got.

Even the ropes on his body began to decay. Then, the old man reached out with a skeletal hand, and tapped his finger toward Naruto 's forehead, his expression one of keen anticipation.

Just as his fingertip was about to touch Naruto , Naruto 's eyes glittered. A cold glow could be seen as he suddenly uttered two words. "Battle Weapon!" Instantly, a beam of light shot out from within his bag of holding. It was the copper mirror, and as it flew out, a vigorous power erupted. The copper mirror fused into Naruto 's right hand, and in the blink of an eye, it had turned into a long, wicked blade!

This was… the Battle Weapon!

The sudden appearance of the Battle Weapon caused the starry sky to fill with rumbling sounds. The clouds churned, and the old man with the outstretched hand suddenly screamed. His eyes were fixated on the Battle Weapon, his expression one of disbelief and shock. Instantly, he began to fall back.

All of a sudden, he began to shout words that Naruto couldn't possibly understand.

"It's you, it's YOU…. They said to wait for you…. I can't believe that after all these years, it's you…." Even as the old man fell back, a flash of killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes. Rumbling sounds filled his body as he cast off the decaying ropes, then shot forward like a shooting star toward the old man.

As they sped along in prismatic beams, Naruto roared and slashed out with the Battle Weapon. An explosively glowing light shot out, causing the clouds to fall back. It was a blade glow that, as it slashed out, caused the old man to tremble violently. Even as he began to fade away, he spoke in a growling voice that echoed out in all directions.

"I'll be back…. Now that I know it's you, you're DEAD!"

"Blah blah blah!" Naruto said with a cold harrumph. The blade glow slashed through the clouds, opening up a path, which Naruto followed with his eyes until he caught sight of… the Door of the Ancient Realm!

Just now, he really had been rendered immobile, and had been completely restrained by the three ropes. However, in the critical moment, his four Nirvana Fruits had exploded with power, allowing him to shake off some of the effects and then unleash his most powerful item, the Battle Weapon.

Naruto suddenly flashed into motion, becoming a beam of light that shot toward the Door of the Ancient Realm. He could sense that time was wasting away, and that the tribulation within the clouds had already reached a terrifying level. If he didn't get the Door of the Ancient Realm open, and get rid of the clouds, then he would surely die.

In the instant that Naruto charged forward, rumbling sounds could be heard, and roaring echoed out in the starry sky. Shockingly, four figures emerged from the clouds to stand in front of Naruto . They were… 4Essences faceless men!

The instant they appeared, they shot toward Naruto . Although they had no facial features, they radiated a murderous aura that instantly weighed down onto Naruto .

Even Naruto would have to be very careful when facing four 4Essences Dao Realm enemies. However, he was running out of time, and the clouds were becoming more terrifying by the second. Beads of sweat were running down his forehead, and his eyes were wide.

The level of danger he was now facing was completely unheard-of.

"Screw off!" Naruto roared, shooting forward toward one of the faceless men. Ignoring any potential chance of being injured, he slammed into him viciously. The faceless man was knocked back, but simultaneously performed an incantation gesture and waved his finger. A wild Essence power exploded out, causing Naruto to cough up a mouthful of blood. A vicious expression twisted Naruto 's face, and he was just about to take advantage of the faceless man's backpedaling to charge past him, when two other faceless men closed in. Naruto 's Battle Weapon flashed with light as he slashed it toward them!

He didn't hold back anything from his cultivation base in that attack. Explosive power burst out, and the blade glow was instantly upon the two faceless men. However, they didn't attempt to dodge. Instead, they quickly performed incantation gestures and then pressed down onto their bodies, instigating a self-detonation!

Although Naruto had predicted that possibility, in the face of a selfdetonation by a 4-Essences Dao Realm opponent, he had no option other than to evade. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and numerous wounds were opened up. However, he had no time to pay any attention to them. As he fell back, the Lightning Cauldron appeared. Even as the final faceless man closed in, Naruto transformed into an azure roc and smashed through the man. Blood oozed out of his mouth as lightning then surrounded him, creating an electric lake that shot toward the Door of the Ancient Realm.

Closer and closer!

3,000 meters. 2,400 meters. 1,800 meters…. It was at this point that, all of a sudden, four more faceless men appeared in front of him. When their cultivation base power radiated out, Naruto 's mind spun. These were… 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns!

These four were completely different from the other faceless men he had fought. These four had eyes on their faces!

Their expressions were completely merciless, and radiated boundless coldness. Each and every one of them possessed Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering energy. If any one of them could leave the clouds and emerge into the Mountain and Sea Realm, they would be powerful experts whose fame would spread throughout the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

And now, four of them had appeared simultaneously. All they did was hover there, and they already emanated towering pressure that caused everything to shake violently.

Actually, the most powerful type of Dao Sovereign had six Essences; 4Essences and 5-Essences merely led up to that most powerful state.

Naruto had already reached his limit by slaying 4-Essences Dao

Sovereigns. After Greed re-molded his fleshly body, and then fully fused with his Nirvana Fruits, his battle prowess was essentially equivalent to having five Essences.

Therefore, he wasn't confident at all in fighting a 5-Essences enemy. At most, they could fight to a draw and inflict serious mutual wounds. And yet, these 5-Essences faceless men were a bit different, and Naruto 's eyes flickered with a mad light.

"Not giving me any chance to transcend the tribulation, huh…? Well, it's not completely hopeless. After fighting all of these faceless men, it's become clear that they're not really exactly the same as Dao Realm experts in the real world. They're missing a lot, including sentience. All they have is their cultivation base… they're essentially as mindless as puppets!" Naruto 's eyes flickered with coldness, but there was little time. The terrifying, suffocating pressure grew on both sides, and howling sounds grew closer.

Even just the howls were enough to cause Naruto 's scalp to go numb at the thought of what other terrifying entities might exist within the clouds.

"And here I thought this was nothing more than an Ancient

Tribulation…." He smiled bitterly. How could he ever have imagined that an Ancient Tribulation would be this incredibly difficult….

Gritting his teeth, a light of madness filled his eyes as he shot forward. Waving his hand, he caused numerous mountains to descend, materialized a sun and a moon, and even summoned the Paragon Bridge. He went all-out with his cultivation base, rotating it at 120%. Even his fleshly body power exploded at its ultimate peak.

He called out the meat jelly, which became a suit of armor. By now, he couldn't use the Battle Weapon, so he pulled out his dragon spear, extending it in front of him as he shot forward.

As he began his charge, the four 5-Essences faceless men looked at him, killing intent flickering in their eyes. They attacked simultaneously, using the full power of their cultivation bases to stop Naruto .

From a distance, Naruto appeared to be soaked in blood and radiating madness. He was now completely committed to his course of action, as if becoming a crazed devil were his only path to survival!

Since retreat was not an option, the only thing to be done was strive forward!

RUMBLE!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as his Mountain Consuming Incantation collapsed.

The sun and moon shattered!

His Paragon Bridge fell apart, and the meat jelly screamed miserably.

Blood spurted out from numerous wounds. Naruto 's kneecaps were shattered as he exploded with cultivation base power. He threw his head back and howled under the combined attack of the four 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns.

"Get the hell out of my way!" he roared. The pressure bearing down on him from both sides had reached a horrifying level, and only one thought now existed in Naruto 's mind.

"I have to get through and open the Door of the Ancient Realm!" Blood oozed out all over his body, and half of his bones were shattered. These injuries were even more serious than the ones he had sustained in the Heavengod Alliance. Using his last bit of energy, he swung his spear viciously; it was like a long dragon that slammed into the faceless men, pushing them back and… opening up a gap.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1273

Chapter 1273 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1273: Soul Extermination!

The faceless man being shaken by the long spear might have a 5Essences cultivation base, but despite fighting back with everything he had, he was still shoved backward relentlessly.

The spearhead then morphed into a huge dragon, which emitted a shocking roar that caused the faceless man to shudder and then suddenly begin to turn to stone!

It started with his chest, then began to slowly spread out. The faceless man retreated, seemingly acting on instinct. When he got far enough away, Naruto was no longer locked in place by the full formation originally created by the four faceless men; a gap had been opened.

The moment that gap appeared, and before the other three faceless men could do anything to intervene, Naruto roared mightily, a sound that echoed out like thunder in all directions. The three other faceless men were stopped in their tracks as Naruto burst forward with all the speed he could muster.

He shot forward with lightning quickness, like a meteor, leaving afterimages behind him as he burst through the gap, following the dragon spear toward the Door of the Ancient Realm.

600 meters. 300 meters. 150 meters….

The door of the Ancient Realm was getting closer and closer, but even as it did, the clouds behind Naruto swirled and, astonishingly, four figures appeared… 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns!

The mere pressure exerted by these four faceless men caused Heaven and Earth to tremble, and the starry sky to vibrate. Naruto was hit with an invisible blow, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. More than half of the bones in his body were shattered, and he lost feeling in his legs. His eyes were shot with blood, and yet despite the pressure weighing down, he continued forward. He was now a mere 90 meters from the Door of the Ancient Realm, and yet the 6-Essences faceless men were still closing in, radiating mind-boggling pressure.

"One Thought Stellar Transformation!" Naruto roared. The starstone in his eye melted and spread out to cover his body. Layer built upon layer, and before even a breath of time could pass, Naruto had transformed into a gigantic meteor which rumbled forward at incredible speed. He then passed the 30-meter mark; even as the 6-Essences faceless men continued in pursuit, he appeared directly in front of the Door of the Ancient Realm.

The area around the Door of the Ancient Realm itself was twisted and distorted. Time there flowed differently. As Naruto closed in, a wind sprang up, and in the blink of an eye, over a thousand years seemed to have passed….

It was at this point that roaring howls could be heard coming from the surrounding clouds. They got closer and closer, as if preparing to attack. Even the mere sounds contained boundless destructive power, intense pressure that was even more astonishing and terrifying than the 6Essences faceless men.

The clouds seethed, and it was just barely possible to see two enormous arms, both struggling to emerge from the clouds. It was even possible to see the tips of the fingers on the leftmost arm.

The fingers were crimson, and the fingertips were violet. The entire arm was covered with scales, and on each of those scales were innumerable flickering magical symbols. Even just one of the fingertips on one of the hands was filled with the power to completely destroy souls. Apparently, nothing under the starry sky could possibly shake it, and it could rip anything and everything to pieces.

The clouds acted like restraints on the finger, which was currently struggling to break free, and a powerful howling sound even echoed out.

The crisis had reached a pinnacle, and if things stretched out any longer, the only thing that awaited Naruto was the end of his life, the destruction of his soul!

This Ancient Tribulation had become so difficult that he couldn't even comprehend it. Naruto couldn't imagine how any Allheaven Dao Immortal in the past had ever been able to fight back against this deadly tribulation!

However, there was no time to ponder the matter now. He would either open the Door of the Ancient Realm, and earn a chance to keep living, or… die!

"How could I possibly die here!?" Naruto roared in his meteor form. Filled with determination, courage, and even madness, he slammed into the Door of the Ancient Realm.

"OPEN UP!" he roared. His voice sounded like muffled thunder coming from within the meteor. It was a roar that coalesced the power of his soul, transforming into life force power that propelled the asteroid forward with even greater power.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

A huge boom rang out into the clouds surrounding the Door of the Ancient Realm, reaching even the starry sky beyond. It was even audible on the battlefield of the Uzumaki Clan.

The Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion was surrounded by a colorful, glittering shield, which rippled from the magical attacks being levied against it by tens of thousands of cultivators.

The spell formation had held this entire time. Occasionally, it would flicker with bright light, and colorful beams of light would shoot out to attack the invaders. Currently, the fighting had reached a deadlock.

The massive boom which had echoed out just now from the cloud-filled starry sky caused both sides to stop and look up. Everyone was completely shaken. In some ways, they were bearing witness to Naruto transcending tribulation. In fact, they were fighting directly beneath that tribulation, and couldn't help but be shocked to the core by what was happening.

Within the clouds, Naruto in meteor-form was bashing himself into the Door of the Ancient Realm with all his might. As the boom echoed out, his meteor form shattered, revealing his true form, coughing up blood and trembling violently. All the bones in his body were broken, and his internal organs were mangled. In his entire life, he had never been wounded this badly.

Even more terrifying was that as each second passed, Naruto 's hair grew grayer, and then even began to turn white. His body was incredibly weak, and was now beginning to wither away. His flesh became more and more emaciated, and he began to look extremely old.

The enormously huge door shuddered, and then oh-so-slowly… opened just a bit, revealing a thin sliver of light.

"Still not… all the way open…?" Naruto said with a bitter chuckle. He looked at the door, and the sliver of light, and his eyes shone with an unyielding gleam.

Almost in the same moment that the sliver of light appeared, the clouds in the area began to churn as if they possessed a will of their own. Apparently, the light from that huge door could dissipate the clouds, so suddenly, a powerful, apprehensive howl echoed out, filled with madness.

An entire legion of faceless men all charged Naruto . The enormous finger within the cloud fought back against the restraining power of the clouds as it shot forth in attack.

A will of soul destruction existed within the flickering light that emanated out from the fingertip, and it grew more intense and shocking by the moment

Naruto could sense that if that finger touched him, he would definitely be killed, and his spiritual soul and physical soul would both disperse.

If he didn't open the Door of the Ancient Realm, he would die.

Therefore… he ignored the killing intent coming from the forces outside the door. His eyes were filled with an intense, unyielding glow, and deep within, flickering flames ignited, filling him. As of this moment… Naruto was burning his own soul!

Burning the soul was a huge price to pay in exchange for… an explosive increase of power to batter against the door a second time.

"OPEN!" Naruto roared. The burning of his soul caused intense pain, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. However, he didn't care about any of that pain. He only had one thought on his mind…

Open that door!

"OPEN! OPEN! OPEN!" he roared, lifting both hands into the air and shoving them toward the door. Naruto was like an ant compared to the massive door, but the power he was unleashing could shake Heaven and Earth. Suddenly, an image appeared behind him, like an ancient giant, stretching its hands out to shove against the door.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The Door of the Ancient Realm opened a bit more. More light spilled out through the sliver, spreading out, causing the faceless men who were charging from behind to let out shrill shrieks.

One by one, they began to decay and fall apart, transforming into black smoke. Looks of shock appeared on their faces, and they fell back.

Naruto 's eyes were crimson, and his soul was aflame. He roared again, exploding with power. It looked like he was just about to truly open the Door of the Ancient Realm, to conclude the tribulation, to succeed… as an Allheaven Dao Immortal, and acquire the true good fortune that came with stepping into the Ancient Realm.

But then, all of a sudden….

That crimson, scaled finger with the violet fingertip broke out of the clouds, rumbling directly toward Naruto with Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering power and insane killing intent.

As it neared, the light spilling out from the door slammed into it. That light might be capable of terrifying the faceless men and forcing them into retreat. But this finger was far, far more terrifying, and when the light touched it, even though it began to melt, a howl rang out and… it just pushed on through, ignoring the light to reach out and tap Naruto !

Naruto chuckled bitterly. There was nothing he could do to fight back. Even were he at his peak, he wouldn't be confident in being able to handle the finger. That wasn't even to mention the fact that his soul was currently aflame, meaning that it was already starting to disperse.

"So I'm gonna die, huh…?" he murmured, fully able to sense the souldestroying power. However, it was at this point that he suddenly seemed to recall something important. A tremor ran through him, and his eyes began to shine brightly.

"Perhaps… there's hope after all!" Almost in the moment that the thought occurred to Naruto , the terrifying finger slammed into him.

A massive tremor ran through Naruto , and then he exploded. The burning wreckage of his soul completely shattered.

Naruto was dead!

In the moment that he died, the Door of the Ancient Realm shuddered, then slowly began to fade away. The clouds around it began to thin, and the terrifying finger retracted. Cold laughter rang out from within the clouds.

Everything was over.

Naruto had gone all-out in his Ancient Tribulation, but had only been able to open the door a crack, a sliver. In truth, if Naruto had still had some power left in reserve, and if he had been able to batter the door just one more time, perhaps… combined with the energy from the two blows he had already delivered… It would not have been impossible… for him to actually open the Door of the Ancient Realm.

Not too far away from Naruto , the boy stood on the black willow leaf. When he saw what was happening, he said, "It's over. He was strong, and yet he still died in the tribulation. This Ancient Tribulation could not be matched by even Dao Tribulation. Well in that case, the time has come to go all-out and exterminate the Uzumaki Clan."

Then, he prepared to charge into battle. However, it was at that point that his face suddenly flickered.

"This…."

Suddenly, just outside of the Door of the Ancient Realm, in the very spot where Naruto had died… something strange was happening!

Chapter 1273: Soul Extermination!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1274

Chapter 1274: Opening The Door of the Ancient Realm!

"As an Echelon cultivator… you shall be given… two… lives!"

Outside the Door of the Ancient Realm, after the enormous finger withdrew, the mangled gore and spattered blood that had been spreading out suddenly began to reform with indescribable speed.

It coalesced together into… Naruto !

His soul had just been destroyed, and yet it suddenly flared to life again. Naruto 's eyes opened, and deep inside could be seen traces of the passage of time.

That was because the place where his body had exploded was right outside the Door of the Ancient Realm, where time flowed differently. Naturally, because of that, the newly reformed and resurrected Naruto had a body which contained the essence of the passage of time!

It was not Essence, but rather something more like a seed… a seed of the Essence of Time!

From ancient times until now, the Essence of Space and the Essence of Time were similar to the Essence of Life and Death in that they were very difficult to acquire. The only chance to do so was through incredibly rare good fortune.

As of this moment, it was by means of complete and utter coincidence that Naruto now had… a seed of the Essence of Time inside of him.

The moment he opened his eyes, he knew the truth. The two Echelon lives given to him by Paragon Sea Dream did not make his soul indestructible, but rather… branded him with a sealing mark, which split his soul into three parts. Each of those three parts grew in parallel as he progressed in his cultivation. Because of that, he could actually die two times before being truly exterminated!

That applied not only to his soul, but also to his flesh and blood. It was a unique natural law, a magic of the type that Naruto couldn't even begin to comprehend. It was… the power of a Paragon!

In almost the exact instant that Naruto 's eyes opened, the Door of the Ancient Realm, which had been fading away, suddenly flickered with light and formed back together. The disappearing clouds seethed, and the retreating figures let out howls of disbelief.

Countless faceless men charged madly forth, and the huge finger once again stretched out toward Naruto , accompanied by an enraged howl.

However, Naruto had already died once; how could he possibly die a second time? Having been re-formed and resurrected, his face was icy. The feeling of death he had just experienced was something he never wished to feel again. Even as the faceless men and the enormous finger closed in on him, a cold smile twisted his lips.

He had not merely recovered his soul and his fleshly body, but also… his cultivation base!

His right hand lifted up, and then he smacked it down hard onto the Door of the Ancient Realm. That blow was backed by the explosive cultivation base of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, his powerful fleshly body, his Paragon Bridge, and the combined power of all of his divine abilities. That power converged into his palm as he delivered a third blow onto the surface of the Door of the Ancient Realm.

RUMBLE!

When his hand made contact, the door rumbled, and that sliver which had appeared suddenly trembled as the door… began to open!

As the door opened, dazzling light spilled out, as well as whispering voices that seemed to come from ancient times, voices which filled Naruto 's ears and also echoed out into the surrounding area.

The faceless men let out miserable screams as the light enveloped them, rendering them incapable of getting any closer. They stared at the Door of the Ancient Realm as it continued to open, and they continued to melt!

In that same moment, the finger, with its power of extermination and boundless howl, continued onward toward Naruto , melting and being shredded by the light as it went. However, just before it touched him, Naruto let out a cold snort, and stepped across the threshold of the door.

It was only one, single step!

However, it was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. As soon as he was inside the Door of the Ancient Realm, the finger stopped moving. It hovered there directly in front of Naruto , not an inch away from his face.

However, that inch was like the vast gap between the sky and the land, something completely and utterly impossible to pass.

"I'll make sure you pay the price for trying to exterminate me," Naruto said lightly. "I might not be a match for you right now, but one day I will be. I'll drag you out of those clouds and then make sure you die a painful death!" Despite the calmness of his voice, the cold resolve therein was impossible to miss.

"Door of the Ancient Realm, open!" he said, flicking his sleeve.

Boundless light began to radiate out from the Door of the Ancient Realm.

The beams were like sharp swords that swirled around, dispersing the clouds. The faceless men that were able to escape into the clouds would disappear along with them as they faded away, but any who were caught outside by the swords of light would be stabbed through, provoking miserable screams as if they were dying in body and spirit. It only took moments for them to transform into nothing more than ashes.

The gigantic finger trembled, and a defiant roar echoed out from the clouds. The finger retreated, vanishing within the clouds. In that same moment, Naruto 's eyes gleamed coldly as he… stepped back out of the door.

If there were people present to watch what was happening, they would be completely shocked, and find his action outrageous. Anyone else in his position would surely be walking further into the Door and completing their entrance into the Ancient Realm.

But Naruto almost seemed to disregard the widely-open door. Not even the owner of that enormous finger could ever have predicted that he would meet someone like this during the transcending of tribulation.

Naruto was the type of person who repaid every slight he received. He wouldn't go out of his way to provoke people, but when people provoked him, he wouldn't simply let them off. That was especially true considering that this person had taken one of his lives. As far as Naruto was concerned, an enmity had been created that made it impossible for the both of them to exist under the same Heavens.

As soon as he stepped out of the door, the copper mirror appeared, transforming into the Battle Weapon with shocking speed. This was Naruto 's most powerful weapon among all of his magical items. His Allheaven Dao Immortal cultivation base went into overdrive, bursting with power. Every bit of muscle and blood in his fleshly body radiated an intense and terrifying strength.

Inside of him, the Paragon Bridge connected him to Heaven and Earth, and outside, the image of the bridge itself appeared, causing the entire starry sky to dim and tremble, and fill with roiling flames. Naruto 's legs then began to move in an odd cadence as he walked through Time, heading toward the retreating finger, and then slashing out with his blade!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Naruto looked like a celestial warrior with surging energy that caused the starry sky to tremble. Because the clouds were disappearing, Naruto 's current appearance was suddenly revealed on the projection screen down below, making him visible to all the cultivators of the Uzumaki Clan. Their minds spun as they saw both Naruto , and the resplendent Door of the Ancient Realm behind him!

As for all of the invading cultivators from the other sects who were outside of the shield, they could also see, and their eyes went wide.

From their perspective, Naruto 's silhouette was wreathed with the light shining out from the door, which was almost like a cloak. His Battle Weapon was raised, visible to everyone as it viciously slashed toward the enormous finger!

A massive cascade of light sliced through the starry sky, causing everything to shake violently as an indescribably powerful force exploded out. Next, the finger… despite being in a state of retreat, was still slashed by that cascade of light!

"Sever!" Naruto roared. A massive rumbling sound could be heard as the very tip of the finger was completely severed away!

The piece cut away was only about three meters long. Compared to the rest of the enormous finger, it was insignificant. However, it was still part of the entire structure, and as it was cut off, blue blood flowed out. A miserable shriek could also be heard from within the disappearing clouds, a shriek filled with unprecedented madness and intense pain. To that entity within the clouds, who had existed for countless years, this was the first time… he had been injured!

For far too long he had existed in the clouds and unleashed deadly tribulation upon Allheaven Dao Immortals who attempted to enter the Ancient Realm. Today, he had finally been injured!

"You're DEAD!" howled an ancient voice. "I hereby curse you…. You shall die, for when the time comes to extinguish your Ancient Realm Lamps, I will return!" Then the finger and the clouds vanished completely.

Only the Door of the Ancient Realm remained in the starry sky, casting resplendent, dazzling light out in all directions. Suddenly, the fighting down below stopped as everyone looked up in shock at Naruto .

His face was pale as he put the Battle Weapon away. His actions just now had been risky, but that was just how Naruto was. Not taking advantage of a situation was the same as incurring a loss. If he didn't take the chance to strike back, then he wouldn't be Naruto .

Naruto then looked at the three-meter slice of severed finger, and his eyes glittered. All of a sudden, a variety of curse-type Daoist magics flitted through his mind. He made a snatching motion, and the slice of finger flew into his bag of holding.

With that, he turned to face the Door of the Ancient Realm, and began to stride forward. When he entered the door completely, it shook violently, and massive amounts of radiant light shone out. Ancient voices echoed out into the starry sky as Naruto sank into the brightness. His listless cultivation base was restored and then, rumbling sounds could be heard as it… began to ascend.

This was the ascension from the Immortal Realm into the Ancient Realm!

He closed his eyes as he detected a sensation of ancientness spreading out from within him, an aura that emanated the unique fluctuations of the Ancient Realm.

Everything was quiet, both in the Uzumaki Clan and among the invading sects. Even the crowds waiting on the gigantic willow leaves were watching Naruto .

They had borne witness to a terrifying Ancient Tribulation, and all of them knew deep inside that they couldn't possibly have been able to successfully transcend it. And yet, the man standing right there in front of them had!

The young boy stood there silently. He was a 5-Essences Dao Sovereign, and yet even he wasn't confident that he could succeed in such a tribulation.

"Allheaven Dao Immortal…." the boy murmured, a torn look appearing in his eyes. "Next, he will actually begin to enter the Ancient Realm. He will absorb the light of the Door of the Ancient Realm, and form… his Soul Lamps!

"I wonder how many Soul Lamps he will end up with…. Throughout all of history, the most ever converged was 29, by none other than Ksitigarbha from the Fourth Mountain and Sea! The more Soul Lamps there are, the more powerful one will eventually become, and yet, the more deadly the danger is.

"However, if cultivators feared death, then what would be the point of practicing cultivation to begin with? Considering this person's personality, he will definitely open an extreme number of Soul Lamps…." The boy's eyes flickered as he then lifted his hand and pointed toward the Uzumaki Clan.

"Pass down orders. Exterminate the entire Uzumaki Clan. Disturb this individual's thoughts. If his mind is clouded when he ignites his Soul Lamps, then he will never reach the pinnacle. That is the way to cut off his path to the future. Reduce the number of lamps, and thus make him even weaker if he steps in the Dao!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1275

Chapter 1275: Drastic Upheavals in the Uzumaki Clan!

As soon as the words left the boy's mouth, the dozens of enormous willow leaves transformed into black beams that shot toward the Uzumaki Clan. The black-robed cultivators atop the leaves had eyes that glittered with cold killing intent as they powered up their cultivation bases to the absolute peak.

The beams were like dozens of sharp arrows, screaming through the starry sky at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, they were outside the shields surrounding the Uzumaki Clan continent. Without even pausing for a moment, they slammed directly into the shield.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

As the sound reverberated out, the Uzumaki Clan's shield distorted, as if it were about to collapse. Cracking sounds could be heard as fissures spread out across its surface.

Seeing that the shield was about to collapse, the five Uzumaki Clan Patriarchs roared, performing incantation gestures that caused a red glow to spread out from the spell formation. That red light caused the teetering shield to once again grow stable, and even resume counterattacking.

Numerous beams of blood-red light shot out toward the besieging cultivators. At the same time, rather than being resigned to their fate, the Uzumaki Clan cultivators followed the commands of the five Patriarchs and borrowed the power of the spell formation to charge into the tens of thousands of enemy cultivators and began to fight them.

In the blink of an eye, the level of brutality on the battlefield increased significantly. Casualties were severe, and the reek of blood wafted out immediately. Bloodcurdling screams could be heard as… the slaughter began.

The cultivators from the random invading sects weren't difficult to deal with, as they had varied cultivation levels, and were, generally speaking, much weaker than the Uzumaki Clan. The Patriarchs of those sects were a different story though, and even more important was the fact that the black-robed cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea had intensely murderous auras, and were obviously famous individuals where they came from. When they attacked, the Uzumaki Clan resistance was crushed like dry weeds, and the Uzumaki Clan cultivators were pushed backward across the battlefield, over and over again.

Thankfully, the shield still held, ensuring that any members of the Uzumaki Clan who were injured could quickly retreat from combat. The Uzumaki Clan defenses were holding, and yet even as they held on tenaciously, all of a sudden, something happened in the nine smaller continents attached to the Uzumaki Clan's main continent. With the exception of the Xu Clan, which Naruto had exterminated, four auxiliary clans on the other continents all rose up in rebellion!

At first, the Uzumaki Clan merely experienced some inner turmoil. However, in almost that same moment, all of the cultivators in the Ancient Realm and above who came from the Uzumaki Clan's seventh, fourth and third bloodlines suddenly shivered. Then, black glows appeared in their eyes, and cold smiles twisted their lips. They turned, and instantly began to attack their fellow clan members.

"You…"

"What are you doing!?"

"You're rebelling! You traitors!"

Booms shook everything as the Uzumaki Clan… was thrown into utter chaos!

Miserable shrieks rang out continuously, along with roars of disbelief. The Uzumaki Clan was now in complete chaos. Not only were foreigners invading, internal strife had struck as well. The clan was on the verge of being overthrown.

Naruto was still up in the starry sky, standing there in the Door of the Ancient Realm, surrounded by boundless light. He was like a black hole, ravenously absorbing the light shining from the door.

Every beam of Ancient light that he absorbed caused his cultivation base to experience Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling transformations as his Immortal power was transformed into Ancient mana! 1

Ancient mana was a unique source of power for Ancient Realm cultivators, a power that filled their bodies and could explode with force that far exceeded the Immortal Realm.

"Ancient Tribulation is the first step," Naruto murmured. "After that, the light of the Door of the Ancient Realm is absorbed and transformed into Ancient mana…. That is the second step.

"The third step is to ignite the Soul Lamps. Only then can one truly be considered to be in the Ancient Realm." At this point, he glanced down calmly at the Uzumaki Clan, and saw the chaos unfolding, and the invading foreigners.

Truth be told, whether or not the Uzumaki Clan as a whole survived didn't have a lot to do with Naruto personally. What he cared about was his grandmother and the rest of her people.

In the same moment that he looked down, the boy on the black willow leaf down below looked up, and he and Naruto locked eyes. It was then that Naruto realized that they were attacking at this moment to sow chaos in his heart.

The boy did nothing to hide that, and in fact, a gleam of sinister provocation could be seen in his eyes.

Naruto shook his head. A glance at the Uzumaki Clan's spell formation confirmed that it would not easily be shaken; his grandmother and everyone else was currently safe behind its protective barrier.

Naruto looked away, ignoring the boy. Spreading his arms wide and throwing his head back, he allowed the light from the Door of the Ancient Realm to pour into him and spread even faster throughout his body.

As that happened, the Immortal power within him became Ancient mana. Simultaneously, the four Nirvana Fruits inside of him also began to transform, becoming… Dao Fruits!

"Ancient Realm cultivators have Dao Fruits, which serve as the foundation for stepping into the Dao Realm in the future. That is because Essence… blossoms from Dao Fruit!" Even as Naruto muttered to himself, rumbling sounds could be heard as roughly thirty percent of his Immortal power was converted into Ancient mana. At the same time, his first Nirvana Fruit began to emanate Dao fluctuations from his forehead.

Gradually, the shape of the Nirvana Fruit began to change and it began to glitter as if it were now filled with innumerable magical symbols, indicating that it was… a Dao Fruit!

As soon as that fruit appeared, Naruto 's cultivation base ascended to greater heights, and began to emanate intense cultivation base fluctuations.

"When all four Nirvana Fruits transform into Dao Fruits, then I can begin to ignite my Soul Lamps." Naruto suddenly waved both arms, opening his mouth as he transformed into a black hole that began sucking in all of the door's light.

As the light poured into him, the Door of the Ancient Realm began to grow dim, a sight shocking to all who were watching.

"His Ancient Tribulation was even more difficult than a Dao Tribulation," murmured the boy on the black willow leaf, "and yet tribulations also count as incredible good fortune. After transcending it, the resulting transformative powers will be incredible!

"He has a bizarre cultivation base. Just how much Immortal power does he have inside of him? Usually it only takes the space of a few breaths of time to transform all of your Immortal power into Ancient mana…."

The boy's pupils constricted. Filled with shock, he waved his hand, causing a black sea to erupt out from him. As it grew larger and larger, howling sounds emanated from it, and a gigantic scorpion emerged.

The scorpion roared as it scuttled rapidly across the surface of the black sea water toward the Uzumaki Clan and its shield. When it slammed into the shield, massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and the shield trembled. During that time, Naruto had converted thirty, forty, and then fifty percent of his Immortal power into Ancient mana.

When he reached fifty percent, his second Nirvana Fruit finally transformed into a Dao Fruit. With two Dao Fruits, Naruto 's cultivation base once again ascended rapidly.

He was experiencing transformations inside and out, incredible good fortune, which was… truly an indescribable cultivation base breakthrough!

He was stepping from the Immortal into the Ancient!

Naruto threw his head back and roared as more Immortal power was converted: sixty percent, seventy percent, eighty percent.

When he reached eighty percent, his third Nirvana Fruit transformed into a Dao Fruit. Naruto 's aura became even more ancient, and he began to emanate an archaic air; it seemed that at this moment he could sense the true nature of his bloodline and had acquired the strength of his ancestral forefathers.

Naruto 's fleshly body power was getting even stronger, and his eyes were shining brightly. He was now trembling violently, and also growing more and more gaunt. However, his Allheaven Dao Immortal aura was also growing more powerful.

"In the Ancient Realm," Naruto murmured, "one follows the path of one's ancestors, gropes for the nature of all living things. Searching, seeking… for the Essence of all life, for the qualifications to step into the Dao!

"Because I am an Allheaven Dao Immortal, in addition to searching for the Essence of all living things, I also… must search for the true meaning of my bloodline." He swished his sleeve, causing rumbling sounds to emanate out. There was no longer much light coming from the Door of the Ancient Realm. It was so dim that it appeared to be on the verge of winking out. As Naruto sucked in another breath, the light surged toward him, absorbing into his skin, pouring into his body.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

He threw his head back and roared as the final twenty percent of Immortal power inside of him was transformed into Ancient mana. At that point, his fourth Nirvana Fruit finished transforming into… a Dao Fruit!

Rumbling echoed out from inside of him as the Ancient mana flowed through him. The four Dao Fruits in his forehead began to shrink and then expand. With each cycle, the Ancient mana within him would also surge explosively, giving Naruto a sense of… just how powerful he now was!

"The Ancient Realm…." he murmured. It was at this point that rumbling sounds echoed out as the Door of the Ancient Realm actually shattered into countless fragments. However, instead of fading away, the remnants of the door transformed into a sea of flames.

Seven-colored flames, like the fire of purgatory, swirled around Naruto .

The time had come… to ignite the Soul Lamps!

It was in this same moment that the boy down below performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then waved his finger at the scorpion. The scorpion roared, its energy surging as it grew even bigger than before. In the blink of an eye, it began to emanate a terrifying aura as it increased in size until it was as big as the continent itself.

Then, it clutched the protective shield with its claws and began to stab its legs slowly down into it.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Massive rumbling could be heard as the Uzumaki Clan's protective shield shook violently. The members of the Uzumaki Clan inside, including the five Patriarchs, were all aghast and attempted to counteract the attack. Even as they tried to repair the damage, the crowds on the dozens of willow leaves, as well as the cultivators from the random sects, all joined forces to attack. Shocking rumbling echoed out as numerous dazzling magical techniques were unleashed.

Then, a massive explosion could be heard as the Uzumaki Clan's shield… exploded!

I just want to offer some behind-the-scenes information here. I really went back and forth about how to translate this term, and settled on Ancient mana. Part of the decision was based on a poll that nearly 400 members of the Heaven Sealing Sect participated in. However, I also got opinions from some others. For the record, RWX actually voted against Ancient mana, not because of the accuracy but because of the feel (correct me if I'm wrong about that assessment RWX heh heh). In the end, I actually like it and think it not only conveys the meaning of the Ancient Realm "source of magical power," but also sounds cool. And yes, Naruto will have to turn his cards 90 degrees to the side from now on to use any of his divine abilities or magical techniques ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1276

Chapter 1276: Igniting the Soul Lamps!

Cracking sounds rang out as the gigantic scorpion's claws completely shattered the shield and then slammed down into the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion, creating several deep craters!

At the same time, the vicious scorpion's enormous head lowered down until it was right in front of the crowds from the Uzumaki Clan. Then, it shuddered briefly and then sprayed a sea of black water.

At the same time, the invading cultivators surged in. The Uzumaki Clan cultivators were thrown into pandemonium. Not only was fierce fighting going on with the rebellious clan members, the invading cultivators were now joining in on the slaughter.

Miserable shrieks rang out, the land quaked, and colors flashed in the sky. Furthermore, rumbling echoed out as the black willow leaves shot downward with shocking speed.

As the leaves stabbed down into the land, the black-robed men transformed into a thousand black beams of light that instantly joined the battle.

"Kill them! Leave no one alive!"

"From this day onward, there will be no Uzumaki Clan in the Eighth

Mountain and Sea!"

The sounds of explosions filled the air, and slowly, expressions of hopelessness appeared on the faces of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators. Then, they began to fight back as if they had gone mad. It wasn't that none of them had thought of surrendering; in fact, some had attempted to do just that, but the result was… they had been slaughtered in response!

Their enemies did not want captives, they wanted to exterminate the entire clan.

Thankfully, the invading cultivators' target was clearly the central continent; as for the surrounding smaller continents, although the flames of war burned there, they were much weaker. As for the continent occupied by Grandma Uzumaki's people, because the Xu Clan no longer existed there, virtually no invading cultivators went there.

The main force was levied against the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion.

It was in this moment of chaotic fighting that Naruto 's grandmother, granduncles, and other relatives all waded into the fight. However, they didn't attract much attention.

That privilege went to the Uzumaki Clan's five enraged Patriarchs, who were fighting five black-robed Dao Realm experts from the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

That battle of ten experts shook Heaven and Earth, and was far more shocking than what was happening with the Ancient Realm cultivators.

"Getting nervous?" said the boy, who hovered in midair above the battlefield, looking up into the starry sky at Naruto , eyes flashing coldly. He hoped that attacking in this way would force his opponent's hand. For some reason, his subconscious was nagging him, telling him that if Naruto transcended his tribulation, then events would change in unpredictable ways.

Naruto 's eyes shone with coldness as he looked down at what was happening. Unfortunately, he was at a critical juncture, and could not afford to be distracted. Eyes flickering, he waved his hand, causing the Blood Mastiff to appear, roaring. As it flew out, it was joined by his blackpod imps, who shot through the air, vicious expressions on their faces. Then he waved his hand, causing a rift to open, out of which leaped the Blood Demon, joined by Naruto 's Blood Spirit. In the blink of an eye, all of them shot down into the battle. 1

At first, it seemed as if their focus was slaughtering enemies, but Naruto 's orders were actually that they defend Granda Uzumaki and the rest of the bloodline.

"Help me buy some time…." he murmured as he hovered there in the sea of flames formed by the remnants of the Door of the Ancient Realm.

"Soul Lamps, ignite!"

RUMBLE!

All of Naruto 's Ancient mana burst out, almost like an attack. It surged out of the top of his head, causing a tongue of fire to ignite in that same position and remain floating there!

As soon as the flame emerged, it flared up fiercely; soon, the image of something like a bowl appeared beneath it. In the blink of an eye, it formed… a Soul Lamp!

As soon as the lamp formed, Naruto could clearly sense a strand of his soul, joined by some of the power of his bloodline, peeling away to… merge into the lamp!

"The flame is my soul, the basin is my bloodline. This Soul Lamp is like a clone!" That was the first sensation Naruto got. In fact, he could also tell that as soon as the Soul Lamp appeared, it did much the same thing he did and… began to absorb the energy of Heaven and Earth that existed in the area.

"So that's how it is. Soul Lamps are really clones. After separating from the original body, they can continue to advance in cultivation. Furthermore, with every Soul Lamp that is extinguished, it's like that clone is absorbed back in, redoubling your power!" Naruto 's eyes gleamed with enlightenment. Taking a deep breath, he once again caused the Ancient mana within him to explode out!

A second Soul Lamp appeared, then a third, a fourth, and a fifth….

Every time his cultivation base erupted with power, he would form another Soul Lamp. Soon, he was surrounded by a total of 9 Soul Lamps. And he was still going!

As he continued with this process, the flames surrounding him were no longer enveloping him completely, enabling the crowds down below to clearly see him igniting his Soul Lamps.

"9 Soul Lamps…. He's already ignited 9 Soul Lamps. Just… how many lamps will he ignite in the end!?"

"The number of Soul Lamps you can ignite has to do with your Immortal meridians. I'm not sure how many Immortal meridians he opened when he reached Immortal Ascension, but from the look of it, he's probably going to ignite at least 20 lamps!"

People on both sides of the battle were taking the time to look up and observe what was happening. Although this was not the first time for most of the combatants below to experience someone making a breakthrough in the middle of a battle, it was their first time seeing someone transcending tribulation in the middle of a clan extermination.

"Already igniting his Soul Lamps…." thought the boy as he hovered there. A cunning gleam appeared in his eyes, and he suddenly shot through the air toward where the five Uzumaki Clan Dao Realm Patriarchs were fighting. He waved his hand, and immediately, the ninth bloodline Patriarch coughed up a mouthful of blood, and fell backward.

"Not that one…?" the boy thought, letting out a cold snort. Naruto apparently wasn't reacting to his attack on the ninth bloodline Patriarch at all.

Of that, the boy was certain, the reason being because of his unique

Daoist magic that allowed him to see the truth and falsehood within a person. That was the nature of the sixth Essence which he was currently studying; if he succeeded in his endeavor, he would become a 6Essences Dao Sovereign.

As a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign, you could say that he would be virtually invincible!

For all intents and purposes, the level of 6-Essences Dao Sovereign was the limit for cultivators. For years and years, no one had ever been able to break through from six Essences to seven, to become an early-stage Paragon.

After all, Paragons, even early-stage Paragons, were still supreme beings!

Certain that Naruto would not intervene on behalf of the ninthbloodline Patriarch, the boy was forced to change his tactics. Instantly, he disappeared in a flash toward the next Uzumaki Clan Patriarch.

In almost that same moment, Naruto hovered out in the starry sky, cultivation base bursting with power as he ignited a 10th Soul Lamp. After that was number 11, 12, and then 13….

With each lamp that appeared, more of his soul and bloodline power emanated out. Despite how it was spilling out of him, he was not growing weaker. Quite the contrary. That power from his bloodline, and his soul, were actually naturally recovering!

Furthermore, his existing Soul Lamps were rapidly gobbling up the surrounding energy of Heaven and Earth. From the look of it, if they reached the absolute pinnacle, then they would actually be as strong as Naruto himself, or maybe even stronger.

"So this is the Ancient Realm….?" Naruto was shaken inwardly from the sheer fearsomeness and power of the Ancient Realm. He had slaughtered Ancient Realm cultivators in the past as if they were ants, but now he had to admit that the Ancient Realm… was a Realm in which cultivators would most definitely experience drastic transformations!

With each Soul Lamp that one extinguished, one could reabsorb its soul and bloodline power, causing oneself to double in all aspects.

With ten Soul Lamps, you could experience tenfold growth. With twenty Soul Lamps, twentyfold growth!

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with a strange light. Although he knew that the more Soul Lamps he had, the more danger he would face… he still wanted to get more.

Each additional Soul Lamp represented another factor of power in the future, assuming he could successfully extinguish it.

"Essentially, if my current cultivation base counts as 'one', then each of my current Soul Lamps will have the potential to grow to equal that 'one'. The only thing I don't know is if, once I absorb my first Soul Lamp, will the remaining Soul Lamps stay at that same level, or will be able to break through by absorbing even more energy from Heaven and Earth and become equivalent to 'two'?

"If the latter is true, then the Ancient Realm… is definitely a major dividing line!

"Although cultivators in this Realm are all technically in the same Realm, the weaker ones are vastly weaker than the stronger ones. It all depends on the foundation; the moment you ignite those Soul Lamps, that is when your power is determined!

"Step into the Ancient Realm weak, and in the end, you will still be weak!

"Step into the Ancient Realm powerful, and in the end… that explosive, multi-factored growth will make you powerful to a terrifying degree!

"The Ancient Realm. Ah, the Ancient Realm…." Finally, Naruto threw his head back and roared, bursting with even more cultivation base power, causing more Soul Lamps to appear, all the way until he had… 18!

And he wasn't finished!

Meanwhile, the boy down below had passed from each of the five Patriarchs to the next, seriously injuring them all. When he injured the final one, Naruto seemed to suddenly get ever so slightly nervous, but the boy's Essence told him that it was merely an act on Naruto 's part.

"You might be able to disregard the Uzumaki Clan as a whole, but there are definitely people here that you care about." The boy laughed coldly, then waved his hand, causing one of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators to fly up, whereupon he grabbed him by the head and began to perform a Soulsearch.

That was the point in which Naruto ignited his 19th Soul Lamp!

"I can still ignite more!" Naruto 's eyes were crimson, and he was trembling violently. 19 Soul Lamp indicated that his cultivation base had burst out with power through the top of his head nineteen times. Not even Naruto could completely ignore such pain.

"IGNITE AGAIN!" he roared, bursting with cultivation base power. Pain filled him, then surged toward the top of his head. Rumbling sounds echoed out as yet another tongue of fire appeared and transformed into… his 20th Soul Lamp!

In that instant, the Uzumaki Clan cultivator being held by the boy let out a bloodcurdling scream. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and then he exploded. As for the boy, a strange gleam appeared in his eyes.

"It seems I was in secluded meditation for too long, and allowed my powers of deduction to grow rusty. I can't believe I wasted so much time coming to such a simple conclusion." Smiling faintly, the boy suddenly shot toward Grandma Uzumaki, eyes flickering coldly.

The Blood Spirit is Naruto 's upgraded Blood Clone ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1277

Chapter 1277: Battling a Dao Sovereign!

In almost the same moment that the boy began to close in on Grandma

Uzumaki, Naruto was up in the starry sky attempting to ignite his 21st Soul Lamp. Suddenly, his eyes flickered, and he looked down toward the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion.

"Looking to die!?" he said, his voice echoing like thunder. Suddenly, he vanished, reappearing between the boy and Grandma Uzumaki, still surrounded by the sea of flames.

It happened so quickly that the boy could never have anticipated it happening. Naruto 's speed was completely shocking, and the very instant that he appeared, he clenched his right fist and let loose a punch.

The Life-Extermination Fist!

As the fist rocketed out, the boy's eyes gleamed, and he placed both hands together to perform an incantation gesture, then blew out a gust of air. Immediately, the black sea around him swept out to meet Naruto 's fist.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The fist slammed into the materialized sea, instantly shattering it.

Seawater sprayed out in all directions, and the boy fell back, an expression of shock on his face.

Even as he retreated, Naruto 's 21st Soul Lamp appeared.

"Oh?" Naruto thought, eyes flickering coldly. "So it works that way too, huh?" Then he punched out again.

Bedevilment Fist!

A huge boom could be heard, and the ground quaked. A huge rift was torn open in front of Naruto , and cracking sounds echoed out. The boy's face fell, and an intense sensation of crisis welled up within him.

"Dammit, he still hasn't transcended the tribulation. How could he be so strong!?" The boy didn't hesitate for a moment. He made a grasping gesture, causing an enormous turtle shell to appear in the air in front of him. Eight ancient magical symbols could be seen on the surface of the shell, and yet when Naruto 's fist hit it, it exploded into pieces.

In conjunction with the explosion, the boy's face went ashen, and he fell back yet again. However, his eyes flickered strangely.

"Eight Sealing Mountains!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the eight magical symbols on the remnants of the shattered turtle shell flickered, causing a mountain to suddenly appear above Naruto 's head, which then began to descend.

Next was a second mountain, a third and a fourth, all the way until eight mountains could be seen, all of which crushed down onto Naruto . Naruto 's legs trembled, and cracks radiated out on the ground down below. However, he simply began to chuckle, causing his cultivation base power to erupt out through the top of his head.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The eight mountains then collapsed into pieces, causing the boy's eyes to widen with shock. It was also in that very moment that three more Soul Lamps appeared!

22\. 23. 24!

24 Soul Lamps swirled around Naruto , flames flickering, causing him to emanate a profoundly ancient energy that made him seem like an Emperor straight out of ancient times.

Moments ago in the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion, the members of the

Uzumaki Clan had been sustaining heavy casualties. However, then Uzumaki

Naruto had appeared, launched two fist strikes, ignited numerous Soul Lamps and caused flickering flames to illuminate his surroundings. The result was that the battlefield went completely silent. Both the invading cultivators and the Uzumaki Clan cultivators all began to back away.

When they looked at Naruto , their eyes were filled with terror, although for the members of the Uzumaki Clan, that terror also contained… a bit of hope!

"Dammit," thought the boy. "What momentum! Can I… even stop him? Just how many Immortal meridians did he actually open when stepping into the Immortal Realm!?" His eyes flickered with killing intent and suddenly, he stopped retreating and instead advanced, waving both arms out in front of him. A shocking whistling sound could be heard, and the air around him distorted as an enormous scorpion appeared. It was pitch black, and immediately let out a howling screech as it leapt toward Naruto .

As it bore down on him, Naruto 's eyes gleamed. He took a step forward, causing the Ancient mana within him to explode out in the form of another fist.

It was none other than… the God-Slaying Fist!

Heaven and Earth flashed with bright colors, and a howling wind kicked up. All of the surrounding cultivators coughed up blood and fell into retreat. Countless buildings and structures were transformed into ash, and even the distant sun and moon went dim. When the God-Slaying fist was unleashed, it led to boundless slaughter.

The boy let out an agonized shriek and simultaneously performed an incantation gesture. As for the scorpion, as soon as it made contact with Naruto , an enormous boom rattled out, and the air distorted so badly that no one could see what was happening.

When everything returned to normal, people could see the scorpion shattering into pieces. The boy was in full retreat, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. As for Naruto , he hovered in midair, energy surging, surrounded by three more Soul Lamps than the 24 he had already ignited!

He now had 27 Soul Lamps!

"Ksitigarbha of the Fourth Mountain ignited 29 Soul Lamps," the boy thought, face falling as he fell back. "This man… has already ignited 27 Soul Lamps. From the look of it, he still has more to go!

"Dammit, I slipped up. I should never have interfered or tried to force his hand. I essentially helped him to ignite his Soul Lamps!"

Naruto 's eyes shone with a bright light, and he licked his lips. During his brief exchange with the boy, he could tell that igniting Soul Lamps while fighting was actually much easier….

He wasn't sure why, and was fairly certain that other people wouldn't experience a similar thing in a state like his, but he did know that this was an opportunity that wouldn't come again. As such, he didn't take the time to try to figure out what was happening. Instead, he shot directly after the boy.

"Dammit," the boy yelled to his subordinates, "all of you get out there and kill that old woman and everyone with her!" The boy's terror regarding Naruto was growing, and he was feeling very disheartened. He just couldn't reconcile himself with the fact that he had actually helped Naruto by fighting him.

The invading cultivators from the random sects hesitated, but the blackrobed men from the Seventh Mountain and Sea didn't. They instantly flew toward Grandma Uzumaki and the others.

Grandma Uzumaki and the others were completely outnumbered, and couldn't possibly match up. At this point, killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes and he roared, "How dare you people!"

His voice was like Heaven-rending, Earth-crushing lightning. At the same time that he called out, he waved his hand, causing a massive quantity of black mist to surge out. Seething, it formed into a huge black hand which shot toward the black-robed men.

The black-robed men were initially shaken just by Naruto 's voice. Some of them began to bleed from their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths, then went stiff. Some directly exploded, down to their Nascent Divinities, and as for the others, before they could recover, the black mist palm smashed into them.

As the hand passed along, the black-robed men screamed and rapidly began to wither away.

"A curse! That's curse power!"

"That's the curse power of our Seventh Mountain and Sea! How does he know how to unleash it…? Nooooo…."

Miserable screams rang out as the black-robed men who had been converging on Grandma Uzumaki all were transformed into black liquid, which then showered down onto the ground. Everyone who saw this happen gasped, especially when people heard the words uttered by the men before they died. That left the Uzumaki Clan cultivators completely shaken.

"The Seventh Mountain and Sea…."

"They're from the Seventh Mountain and Sea! Heavens! Cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea are actually here, and there are so many of them. Could it be… that a Mountain and Sea War is starting!?"

Although the members of the Uzumaki Clan were shocked, the clan rebels and the invading cultivators didn't seem surprised at all, as if the matter wasn't even a secret. Actually… they had been aware all along that the Seventh Mountain and Sea's army would soon be coming to the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

A war between two great Mountains and Seas was beginning, and this day… was merely the first battle in that war.

Ignoring everything else, Naruto advanced toward the boy, whose face darkened as he looked back at Naruto .

"Do you really think I'm scared of you?" the boy said. "Since you're looking to die, then even if you are in the middle of igniting your Soul Lamps, I… can still kill you anyway!" Gritting his teeth, he suddenly began to emit a green glow. At the same time, green grass sprouted beneath his feet, which rapidly grew to cover the entire area. In the short span of a single breath, the area surrounding the boy… became a huge grassy plain.

Enormous trees then began to rise up, and at the same time, a powerful plant-like aura began to fill the entire area.

On each and every bit of vegetation visible, faces could be seen which were none other than… the face of the boy!

"Get ready to be killed!" the boy said. At the same time, the faces on the grass, trees, flowers and other types of vegetation all howled.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but at the same time, rain began to fall in the starry sky. The rain was black, and it rapidly formed into a huge sea. All of the drops of water in that rain and sea, shockingly, also had the boy's howling face on them.

"Time to die!"

The matter wasn't over yet. The boy waved his sleeve, and immediately, he began to grow vastly larger. His black hair spread out, superseding the starry sky, creating a field of black that was like the dark of night!

His eyes then began to grow brightly, forming a contrast with the darkness. It was… light!

Of course, it was all illusory. All of the faces and the plants, the black rainwater, the light and darkness, and the boy's enormous frame, none of it was real. Any cultivator would be able to see that it was all illusory. Furthermore, although some pressure emanated from these things, it wasn't very strong!

It was at this point that all of a sudden, the enormous boy said one single word, a word that caused everything… to change.

"Reality!"

RUMBLE!

The plants became real, the black rain became real, the darkness became real, the light became real!

This was the boy's fifth Essence. Reality!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1278

Chapter 1278: Essence of Reality!

The boy's first four Essences were extraordinary to begin with. His Essence of plants and vegetation was not common, and his Essence of rain was unexpectedly black, indicating that it contained poison. Those two Essences alone were rare.

From the nature of these Essences, it could be imagined that just with these four the boy would occupy a position at the pinnacle of 4-Essences

Dao Sovereigns. This was without even mentioning his fifth Essence, the Essence of…

Reality!

That fifth Essence was able to thoroughly transform his other four Essences, immediately conjuring forth from them a power that could shake Heaven and Earth. Currently, rumbling sounds were echoing out, and the starry sky was vibrating. A boundless cultivation base power was now erupting out from the Essence world that the boy had summoned.

"In the entire Mountain and Sea Realm," the boy said, "there are only four cultivators who are 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns!

"The most powerful is Ksitigarbha of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, who is at the peak of six Essences. Rumor has it that he's less than half a step away from becoming a 7-Essences Paragon. As for the other three people, they are the three great Doyens who were entrusted with the three classic Daoist scriptures!

"When it comes to 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns, there are a few more than the 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns. However, even in all of the Nine Mountains and Seas, there are no more than fifteen. Among those fifteen, I might not be the strongest, and am weaker than the Mountain and Sea Lords!

"However, even still, it doesn't matter that you've stepped into the Ancient Realm as an Allheaven Dao Immortal, and have a bloodline that reaches back to the Paragon Immortal Realm… you still aren't a match for me!"

The boy's eyes glittered coldly as his voice echoed out. His Essence world rumbled as it surrounded Naruto . Boundless greenery grew at an astonishing rate, sending out an intense power of plants and vegetation. Then there was the seemingly infinite black rain, each drop of which emanated astonishing pressure onto Naruto .

As for the darkness, it was even more terrifying, completely covering Naruto , turning him pitch black, as if he were being assimilated by the night.

And then there was the Essence of light, which was a power that could actually dispel darkness. It was slowly vaporizing Naruto ; whereas before it had been illusory, with the Essence of reality, it was now truly capable of harming him.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

The cultivators of the Uzumaki Clan, as well as the invaders, were so shocked by what they were witnessing that they completely forgot that they had just been fighting and killing each other.

All eyes were completely fixed on the battle between Naruto and the boy!

"5-Essences Dao Sovereign… that boy… is actually a 5-Essences Dao Sovereign!" The five Patriarchs of the Uzumaki Clan were shaking in fear and astonishment. Although all of them were in the Dao Realm, this was actually their first time ever seeing someone brandishing five Essences simultaneously.

Although they had previously fought Naruto , the battle prowess he had put on display had only led them to speculate about the true limits of his power. However, now that five Essences really were on display, it was impossible to even describe how truly shaken they were.

Nowadays in the Mountain and Sea Realm, Ksitigarbha of the Fourth

Mountain and Sea was a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign, but the other eight Mountain and Sea Lords were all at the 5-Essences level. The weakest of them all was Lord Hebi of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, who hadn't even reached the 5-Essences level!

As such, it was possible to say that 5-Essences cultivators were peak almighty experts in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Any one of those people were the type who were powerful enough to destroy vast swaths of the starry sky.

In the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the most powerful people were two 5-

Essences Dao Sovereigns, one of whom was the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and the other was none other than this boy, Xiao Yihan!

Only an almighty expert like him was capable of leading the vanguard in the invasion of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, to begin the Mountain and Sea War!

Another reason that only he qualified was that… the reconnaissance carried out by the Seventh Mountain and Sea throughout the years had long since revealed to them that in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, there was only one almighty expert who had reached the level of 5-Essences, and that was the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. After him, the next strongest were only 4-Essences experts!

The next most powerful expert after the Lord of the Eight Mountain and Sea was the Chief Dao Protector of the Heavengod Society, who was technically at the 5-Essences level. However, in Xiao Yihan's opinion, his fifth Essence was actually borrowed from the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and was not something he had personally gained enlightenment of. Therefore, Xiao Yihan wasn't worried about him at all.

"Still not dead!?" Xiao Yihan roared, eyes flickering coldly. The appearance of Naruto threw a wrench into their understanding of the power structure of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, which was not something that he could just accept casually. In order to ensure that the Mountain and Sea War went as planned, Xiao Yihan now wanted to kill Naruto more than ever.

"If I don't kill him now, and he goes on to successfully extinguish his Soul Lamps, then his battle prowess will only continue to increase. He might even exceed the level of the Mountain and Sea Lords!

"So this is an Allheaven Dao Immortal…. Back in the Paragon Immortal Realm, the ultimate terrors, the most powerful of all… were the Allheaven Dao Immortals!

"Thankfully, from ancient times until now, not a single Allheaven Dao Immortal has ever stepped into the Dao. All of them died in the process of extinguishing their Soul Lamps in the Ancient Realm. This man will be no exception. However, if I don't kill him now, he will definitely be a thorn in our side later!" Xiao Yihan looked on with coldly gleaming eyes as his Essence world crushed down like a millstone onto Naruto , bent on completely obliterating him!

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the starry sky vibrated. Naruto was also shaken; he could sense how the plants were trying to suck away at his life force in order to grow, and how the poison in the black rainwater was trying to eat away at his soul.

Most shocking of all was the power of darkness, which seemed to disregard how powerful his fleshly body and cultivation base was as it began to assimilate them. That in turn ensured that when the boy's power of light assailed him, it was like ten thousand swords stabbing at his heart, filling him with intense pain. Naruto felt as if he were being swept over by floodwaters, as if he couldn't move, as if his blood had stopped flowing. Countless wounds covered his skin, and he was even starting to fade away, as if the power of the five Essences were wiping him out of existence!

Naruto roared inwardly; the Essence world could put pressure on his body, but not his Soul Lamps!

In the critical moment of crisis, rumbling filled him as his cultivation base climbed up again and again! In the moment of deadly danger, Naruto 's 28th Soul Lamp flew out of the top of his head like a blossoming flower!

And that wasn't it! It was at this point that a 29th Soul Lamp also appeared!

Then, the 30th! Now, a total of 30 ignited Soul Lamps were swirling around Naruto , letting off brilliant light. The darkness was dispelled, the light was shoved away, the black rain was cut off, and the vegetation was severed away.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth as his body rapidly recovered. He suddenly looked up at Xiao Yihan, who was now frowning.

"You're definitely strong," Naruto said. "My profound thanks for helping me to understand… what a 5-Essences Dao Sovereign is like!" As he wiped the blood from his mouth, he realized that he was now much more certain of the true level of his battle prowess.

"I'm curious," Naruto asked. "That old man from the Heavengod Society also has a 5-Essences cultivation base. Why is the difference between the two of you so great?"

If any other person asked this question of Xiao Yihan, he would never answer. However, Naruto was so threatening that, even though his cultivation base was not at the same level, his battle prowess was. The terrifying fact that he was an Allheaven Dao Immortal caused Xiao Yihan to consider for a moment, and then say, "You mean the Chief Dharma Protector of the Heavengod Society? He's really at 4-Essences. His fifth

Essence is borrowed."

"Got it," Naruto replied, nodding.

Before transcending the tribulation, Naruto had believed that his cultivation base was sufficient to fight against a 5-Essences Dao Sovereign, but now he realized that his judgement had been based on the very Chief Dao Protector in question.

Most accurately speaking, before he transcended the tribulation, his battle prowess was comparable to the peak of the 4-Essences level, about half a step or so away from the true 5-Essences level. Therefore, during the actual process of transcending the tribulation, when he had faced the four 5-Essences faceless men, he had only been able to handle one of them. After all, they were not truly cultivators, and were actually slightly weaker than real 5-Essences cultivators. Had he been facing someone like this boy, he would not have been able to get past them.

Having transcended the tribulation and ignited his Soul Lamps, his cultivation base rose, his Immortal power was converted to Ancient mana, and his Nirvana Fruits became Dao Fruits. At that point, he was truly equipped to battle 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns.

"In all of the Mountain and Sea Realm," he thought. "there are only about fifteen 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns… including most of the Mountain and Sea Lords…. As for the Lords, most of them are at the peak of the 5-Essences level, just a hair away from 6-Essences…. Apparently, I'm still half a step behind people like that. This must be the case, because it seems that Xiao Yihan and I… are about even." Naruto frowned. The root of the problem lay with the Soul Lamps. After all, Soul Lamps really just represented the potential for future power.

"Assuming I'm close to the level of the Mountain and Sea Lords, then as

I successfully extinguish my Soul Lamps, then I will quickly bridge that gap!" Naruto 's eyes shone with a bright light as he began to stride toward Xiao Yihan.

Xiao Yihan's eyes widened. He had already begun to view Naruto as a powerful opponent, so seeing him advance in this way caused him to immediately fall back. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing his Essence world to collapse.

As that happened, the fragments of the Essence world formed into five hands. Each of those hands was made of Essence, and they grabbed toward Naruto , causing the starry sky to shake and rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as the copper mirror suddenly flickered in his right hand. It spread out, covering his hand, transforming into the Battle Weapon. At the same time, he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, causing the Paragon Bridge to rumble out to defend against the five huge hands.

A massive boom rang out, shocking everyone. The Paragon Bridge slammed into the hands, causing radiant light to explode out. At long last, the Paragon Bridge was able to erupt out with something approximating its original power.

Rumbling sounds continued to echo out as the five hands and the Paragon Bridge pushed at each other, clearly in a deadlock. Xiao Yihan's face flickered, and he suddenly looked over at Naruto and screamed.

That scream caused the void in front of Xiao Yihan to shatter, layer by layer, and then sweep toward Naruto . When the sound wave attack hit him, he trembled, and was apparently incapable of moving any further forward.

Naruto snorted coldly, unleashing explosive cultivation base power as a 31st Soul Lamp appeared over his head. Simultaneously, he lifted his right hand up and then chopped it down toward Xiao Yihan.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1279

Chapter 1279: Prime Lamp!

The chopping motion caused the starry sky to shudder as an indescribably intense beam of light slashed out. The scream-turnedsoundwave was completely outshone. The blade's glow slashed down on it, cutting it in two, after which the light cascaded toward Xiao Yihan.

A vicious expression appeared on Xiao Yihan's face, and his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture. Then he spat out a glob of white mist, which transformed into a white feather. That feather didn't attempt to block the Battle Weapon, but rather, shot directly toward Naruto .

Shockingly, Xiao Yihan was choosing to end the battle in mutual destruction!

The Battle Weapon landed on Xiao Yihan, and he instantly began to shake, and then shattered into pieces. However, what shattered was only an exterior surface. It was as if that boy had merely been an outer skin! A roar echoed out as the spot previously occupied by the boy was now occupied by a young man!

That young man appeared to be about twenty years old, and his features were similar to that of the boy. He wiped the blood off of his mouth, then looked venomously over at Naruto .

The shattered skin around him, were it formed back together, would definitely be able to form the shape of a boy!

Simultaneously, the white feather shot toward the top of Naruto 's head with indescribable speed. He was incapable of dodging or evading, any more than Xiao Yihan had been able to avoid the Battle Weapon.

The feather seemed to merely be floating down toward him, but the reality was that it felt as if the entire starry sky had converged on that one point and was crushing him!

Naruto 's body trembled, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he was shoved downward beyond his control. Xiao Yihan in young man form looked on, killing intent flickering in his eyes, then took a step forward.

However, in the moment that he took that step, Naruto 's cultivation base erupted with power over and over again! The feather on top of his head shot upward as if a fountain were propelling it, and Naruto 's 32nd Soul Lamp shot out!

A Soul Lamp that was the color of blood!

As soon as it appeared, all of the starry sky was stained red.

Furthermore, strands of blood connected the blood-colored Soul Lamp to the top of Naruto 's head. Even more shocking was that its sudden appearance apparently caused Naruto to begin withering away!

It seemed as if this was the limit to the number of Soul Lamps that Naruto could ignite. The instant the blood-colored Soul Lamp appeared, it became the Prime Lamp among all the other Soul Lamps!

Most importantly, this lamp looked completely different from all of the other Soul Lamps which had appeared. In addition, the energy of Heaven and Earth that surrounded Naruto and supported him as he ignited his Soul Lamps started boiling in an unprecedented fashion. It began to surge toward him with mad speed, some of it pouring into Naruto 's body, the other portion entering the Soul Lamp!

The Soul Lamp became like a blood-colored black hole, sucking in the energy of Heaven and Earth and the Essences which existed in the starry sky.

RUUUUMMMMMMBLE! A huge sound rose up around Naruto , and the Soul Lamp's flame burned brighter and brighter. As for the feather, it was pushed further and further away. Apparently, it couldn't stand up to the power of the blood-colored Soul Lamp, and caught on fire.

The burning feather rapidly began to fade away. In the blink of an eye, it turned into ash, which then began to dissipate. That removed any pressure from weighing down on Naruto , and his blood-colored Soul Lamp began to shine even more brightly.

Because of the whole series of strange transformations of Heaven and Earth that led up to this point, as soon as that unique Soul Lamp appeared everyone could see it very clearly, including the members of the Uzumaki Clan and the invading cultivators.

"Prime Lamp! That's a Prime Lamp!"

"When igniting Soul Lamps in the Ancient Realm, the final lamp to be ignited is the Prime Lamp!"

"Once the Prime Lamp appears, it means… the igniting of Soul Lamps is over!"

"32 Soul Lamps. Heavens! None of the ancient records mention anything like this. This is definitely something that didn't happen even in ancient times!" In the fight between Naruto and Xiao Yihan, things had been happening too quickly for people to consider the ramifications of Naruto igniting so many Soul Lamps.

Now that they thought about the blood-colored Soul Lamp for a moment and realized what it was, they began to gasp and utter exclamations of amazement. Massive rumbling echoed out, and the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea vibrated.

Naruto 's act of stepping into the Ancient Realm was causing tremors across all of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Furthermore, back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, all of the members of the Namikaze Clan could feel their blood boiling as a pulsing, gentle power erupted inside of theirChakrapassageways.

When the Patriarch grew, the bloodline clan members also grew!

Naruto himself had become the source of the Namikaze Clan bloodline!

Back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto was trembling. From the moment his blood-colored Soul Lamp appeared, he sensed that it was different from all of the other Soul Lamps. It was connected to his bloodline, and… it almost felt like he could transform into the lamp, and similarly the lamp would be able to reform his body!

As soon as it appeared, the flames of the other Soul Lamps raged even brighter, and Naruto 's injuries immediately improved. In this state of igniting Soul Lamps, he had special protection from Heaven and Earth!

However, Naruto could also sense that the energy of Heaven and Earth that had been fueling the ignition of his Soul Lamps was now fading away. Apparently, it was exactly as the crowds were speculating. This newest Soul Lamp… would be his final one!

However, Naruto wasn't quite convinced. He could sense that even after the blood-colored Soul Lamp appeared, astonishingly… there was still another Soul Lamp stirring inside of him!

"So, the blood-colored Soul Lamp is not my Prime Lamp. The true Prime Lamp is still inside, waiting to be ignited….

"If I truly want to ignite that Prime Lamp, I need more power, more pressure to force it out. Otherwise… it will remain dormant inside of me forever!" Naruto had the intense premonition that the true Prime Lamp inside of him was not something that could be underestimated.

Even the energy of Heaven and Earth around him couldn't sense it…. That would definitely be his most powerful Prime Soul Lamp!

Xiao Yihan suddenly stopped in place. Instead of getting any closer to Naruto , he stared at him and then began to laugh.

"So your Prime Lamp has appeared. That means no more Soul Lamps will be appearing. 32, huh…. Definitely powerful. However, I've been waiting this entire time just for your Prime Lamp to appear!" His eyes flickered with killing intent, and his lips twisted in a cold smile. He sent out his divine sense, and could immediately sense that the energy of Heaven and Earth was fading away. Feeling assured that Naruto could not ignite any more Soul Lamps, he took a deep breath.

Although they were out in the starry sky, as he inhaled, a massive windstorm appeared around him. Even more shocking was that a portion of the energy of Heaven and Earth that had been sustaining Naruto 's ignition of the Soul Lamps began to be sucked away, as if it couldn't resist the power being unleashed by Xiao Yihan.

Boundless power was sucked up by Xiao Yihan, it was formed together into… an arrow!

It was a colorless arrow, completely invisible to anything other than divine sense, and it contained terrifying power.

Next, all of the black willow leaves down below near the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion began to vibrate and emit loud rumbling sounds. Then they were uprooted and flew up into the air, rapidly growing smaller as they neared Xiao Yihan. Unexpectedly, they circulated around him and then transformed into… a meter-long black bow!

He reached out to grab the black bow, nocked the invisible arrow, and then pulled the bow back until it formed the rough shape of a full moon! "This is my most deadly weapon, son. Today is the day you perish!"

An intense sensation of deadly crisis rose up in Naruto 's mind. It was like a voice roaring loudly inside of him, telling him that whatever happened next, he was mostly likely going to die!

However, at the same time, Naruto could sense that the true Prime

Lamp inside of him was growing more solid. It felt as if it were thirsting… for the power being built up by Xiao Yihan!

"This 33rd Soul Lamp… is my Prime Lamp. Therefore…." Naruto 's eyes flickered with determination. There was little time for contemplation. Almost in the same moment that Xiao Yihan pulled the bowstring back, Naruto 's cultivation base rocketed up. Ancient mana filled his body, and his fleshly body power was at its peak. He summoned the meat jelly to form armor, pulled out the Battle Weapon, and called upon the blood-colored Prime Lamp. Then he summoned his Paragon Bridge and took a step forward to stand on the bridge itself, whereupon he faced Xiao Yihan and attacked!

"First arrow!" Xiao Yihan said with a cold smile. He loosed the arrow, whereupon greenChakrabegan to stream out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, which was absorbed by the arrow, transforming it from being invisible into being green!

Rumbling could be heard as the green arrow transformed into a beam of green light that shot toward Naruto , leaving behind a trail of afterimages of plants and vegetation that then bloomed and flourished.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he slapped at the incoming arrow with both hands. A boom rang out. Naruto could not halt the force of the arrow; blood spurted out from his hands, and the arrow stabbed onward, piercing into his chest!

However, because Naruto 's attack had deflected it, the place it struck was not his heart, but simply flesh. It stabbed through, accompanied by a huge boom. At the same time, the power of plants and vegetation exploded out, and green grass instantly sprouted from Naruto 's wound as he coughed up blood.

Naruto seemed injured, but the truth was that he was very excited. He had actually let himself be injured by the arrow, and had intended for it to stab into him. As it did, the true Prime Lamp inside of him began to seethe as it madly absorbed the force of the blow.

"Second arrow!" Xiao Yihan said, apparently not having noticed what

was happening. Smiling coldly, he once again pulled back on the bowstring. This time, black water streamed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, transforming into a black rain arrow, which he immediately let loose!

Next was a third arrow, and then a fourth!

One was an arrow of darkness, the next, an arrow of light. They turned into two beams which shot directly toward Naruto .

Naruto looked up at the three incoming arrows, and his eyes gleamed brightly. He could sense that his final Soul Lamp… was about to ignite!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1280

Chapter 1280 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1280: Paragon Soul Lamp!

This was a completely unheard-of Soul Lamp. The starry sky shook because of the completely astonishing… true Prime Lamp!

Fundamentally speaking, it should never have appeared. Were it not for Xiao Yihan, perhaps Naruto would have been able to ignite that 32nd blood-colored lamp, but he would never have reached 33 lamps!

Xiao Yihan had actually been attempting to prevent Naruto from igniting his Soul Lamps. How could he ever have imagined that the exact opposite had occurred… he had actually been the biggest factor in helping Naruto open his 33rd Lamp, his true Prime Lamp.

"I can tell that once this 33rd Soul Lamp appears," Naruto murmured,

"everything… will change significantly." At the same time that Xiao Yihan's second arrow rumbled toward him, Naruto raised both hands to perform an incantation gesture. Then he pushed out toward the black rain arrow. Although he slowed it down, he didn't stop it. The arrow stabbed relentlessly into him, then spread out, becoming millions of black drops of rain that filled his body.

The black rainwater almost seemed self-aware; it burrowed into his flesh and blood, bored through his body, merged into hisChakrapassageways, filled him completely with destructive power.

However, that power caused his final Soul Lamp to emanate a brilliant glow which then began to absorb the quivering black rain.

By now, Xiao Yihan could tell that something was going wrong. However, his arrows of darkness and light were already flying toward Naruto at top speed. A moment later they stabbed into him.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's chest, which virtually exploded. Bones were visible, as was his beating heart. The wound seemed very serious, and yet, a smile broke out on Naruto 's face, and he even started laughing.

Xiao Yihan's face completely fell with disbelief. He was shocked, astonished, could hardly believe that he was sensing… the aura of another Soul Lamp inside Naruto !

"Th-this… is impossible! His Prime Lamp already appeared. It's impossible for another Soul Lamp to emerge. Unless… unless the lamp from before wasn't actually his Prime Lamp!

"But that's even more impossible. That blood-colored lamp was clearly his Prime Lamp!"

Even as Xiao Yihan's face fell, the Soul Lamp aura on Naruto didn't just seep out, it erupted explosively. The four arrows which had just struck him completely vanished, having been absorbed by the new Soul Lamp.

Naruto threw his head back and roared and then, a beam of light appeared above him which was… azure!

That light caused massive transformations in Heaven and Earth; the starry sky trembled, and the energy of Heaven and Earth, which had been fading, suddenly grew strong again, surrounding Naruto , turning into a vortex of power that poured into him. This was the power he needed to ignite his 33rd Soul Lamp!

Naruto 's roar echoed out as the azure light above him grew more and more intense. Everyone watching was flabbergasted, and uncontrollable fear exploded out from deep in their souls.

That included the members of the Uzumaki Clan and the invading cultivators. No matter the level of their cultivation bases, be they in the Immortal Realm, the Ancient Realm, or even the Dao Realm, as of this moment, everyone was involuntarily struck with awe.

Even Xiao Yihan, who had started out as a boy and was now a young man, could not suppress the reverence that grew in his heart.

"That… that azure color…." he muttered, shivering. Everywhere in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, all regions were filled with rumbling sounds. At the same time, the Xuanwu turtle in the celestial pool on the Eighth Mountain lifted its head and howled.

In the Ninth Mountain, the Seventh Mountain, the Sixth Mountain… in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, the Xuanwu turtles in the celestial pools on all of the Nine Mountains trembled, threw their heads back, and howled.

The howls of the Nine Mountains' Xuanwu turtles shook the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, and everyone in it.

In fact, in the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Patriarch Reliance, who was floating along comfortably, also shivered. Suddenly, he felt as if he couldn't control his own body, as though his blood was somehow being awakened by something. He also… lifted his head up and howled!

Unexpectedly, his howling combined with the howls of the nine Xuanwu turtles, joining together, as if… there were a Tenth Mountain and a tenth turtle!

The sun and moon flickered and stopped orbiting. The Nine Mountains shook, and the Nine Seas churned. The azure light above Naruto grew more and more clear, until in the end, it was possible to see an azure flame there, within which was the figure of a cross-legged cultivator.

That cultivator wore a long azure robe, and although he resembled Naruto , if you looked more closely you would be able to see differences. Apparently, that azure-colored flame contained a bit of aura.

That was… the aura of a Paragon!

Naruto 's 33rd Soul Lamp flared to life, and shockingly… it was the will of Paragon Nine Seals' blood inside of him that transformed… into a Soul Lamp!

It was… a Paragon Soul Lamp!

"Paragon Soul Lamp!" Xiao Yihan thought, heart trembling. His eyes went wide with disbelief and shock as he suddenly recalled a legend, something that he had once read about in the ancient records and had assumed was an impossibility.

"He's… he's…." Xiao Yihan's scalp went numb as he watched Naruto . Then he looked at Naruto 's head and the azure Paragon Soul Lamp hanging over it, and realized that he could sense something on both Naruto and the Soul Lamp. It was… the aura of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

He backed up slowly, and then without the slightest hesitation whatsoever, turned tail in retreat, vanishing without a trace.

Even as he fled, Naruto suddenly looked up and said, "33rd Soul Lamp, ignite!"

He waved both hands, causing his cultivation base to erupt with power as the azure Soul Lamp floated up from the top of his head to float above in the starry sky.

Soon, the only color that could be seen in the starry sky was azure!

Because of that azure light, all of the other Soul Lamps dimmed, even the blood-colored Soul Lamp. Not only was it clear that this lamp was the sovereign over the others, it also caused Naruto to emit a stifling pressure that suppressed everyone whom it swept over, making it extremely difficult for them to rotate their cultivation bases.

It was as if the appearance of this azure Soul Lamp had caused something to awaken in Naruto … the aura of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

It came from the legacy of the League of Demon Sealers, and was… the pressure that came from the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm! Although it wasn't very powerful at the moment, the more profound Naruto 's cultivation base grew, the stronger the aura would get. In the end, even a single look from him would cause a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign's cultivation base to be thoroughly suppressed.

This was… the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

An image appeared in Naruto 's mind, an image of the Mountain and Sea Realm. He had the intense sensation that he… could stretch out his hand and take the entire Realm into his hand.

Then, he decided to do just that; he stretched out his hand, and it felt as if he were holding up something invisible. That motion caused the Eighth Mountain and Sea to tremble, as well as all of the other Mountains and Seas. Even the sun and moon shone with brilliant light, and trembled… with anticipation!

It was only a brief moment, but that was all it took to almost instantly drain Naruto 's cultivation base. He immediately pulled his hand back, and gradually, his cultivation base was restored.

33 Soul lamps circulated around him, emitting soft light. All of them were continuously absorbing the energy of Heaven and Earth, and constantly growing stronger.

"The Ancient Realm…." Naruto murmured. As of this moment, he

truly was in the Ancient Realm. The next step would be the experience of slowly extinguishing all of his Soul Lamps. After reaching the great circle, he would… break through as an Allheaven Dao Immortal into the next Realm, the Dao Realm!

Naruto could already sense that he… despite not being in the Dao Realm, was already able to gain enlightenment of Essence, even to acquire it….

Furthermore, he had a gut feeling that these Essences pointed toward… his Demon Sealing Hexing magic!

"I'm a member of the League of Demon Sealers, and my Essences will be my Demon Sealing Hexing magics!" Naruto 's eyes glittered.

"I just wonder if, after extinguishing my 33 Soul Lamps, I'll be able to acquire nine Essences. If I do, the realm that I've broken into… will it still be considered the Dao Realm…?

"Or is it possible… that… I could reach that Realm which Paragon Nine Seals only managed to step halfway into… the Daosource Realm. Then I myself could become… a source of Essence!" Naruto 's face shone with enlightenment. Although he was actually speculating, he at least had a direction to aim in.

"Since I'm an Allheaven Dao Immortal, and no one like me has ever successfully completed traversing the Ancient Realm, then I must surely travel a different path from others, and thus be able to increase my chances of passing through the Ancient Realm!

"To Allheaven Dao Immortals, the Ancient Realm is actually an entire set of Ancient Tribulations. For me that means… 33 Ancient Tribulations!" His eyes flickered as he looked at his 1st Soul Lamp, and had the feeling that with a mere thought on his part, he could easily extinguish it.

At the same time, all of his Soul Lamps seemed as though they were somehow connected.

Naruto looked away, flicking his sleeve and causing his 33 Soul Lamps to enter his body. Then he turned and looked back at the Uzumaki Clan and all the invaders and traitors.

As soon as he looked at them, they began to tremble.

It was at that point that, all of a sudden, a muffled roar echoed out in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. It came from far off, and gave rise to powerful ripples, and a tempest that swept across the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea!

All of the cultivators were shocked, and in that moment, the Heavengod Alliance was thrown into astonishment.

The sound came from the border region between the Eighth Mountain and Sea and the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Suddenly a huge rift opened in the barrier between the two Mountains and Seas. Lightning danced and the wind screamed as numerous figures shot through the rift, radiating killing intent. In an instant, it was clear that the number of cultivators was vast… and they were all entering the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

These were none other than the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

Chapter 1280: Paragon Soul Lamp!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1281

Chapter 1281: Take No Prisoners!

The Seventh Mountain and Sea was coming!

The entire army didn't arrive immediately. However, the first wave of invading cultivators immediately began to reinforce the rift between the two Mountains and Seas.

That gap was how they could enter the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and as soon as they appeared, they began to set up numerous spell formations, almost like garrisons. They also attacked the rift itself in an attempt to open it wider.

Even more impressively, a large group of Seventh Mountain and Sea cultivators joined forces to summon an enormous nine-headed dragon. It was pitch black, and when it roared into the gap, it began to grow in size, causing the rift to rip open wider and wider.

Winds screamed, echoing out through the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea, carrying with them the voice of the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

"I am the great Sima Dao, Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea! Today… I declare war on the Eighth Mountain and Sea! All ye, shall either surrender, or die!" His voice was as cold as ice as it rang out through the entirety of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Of course, the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea would not leave his home Mountain and Sea at this time. He would wait until the majority of the warrior cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea were deployed before making his appearance.

However, he would most certainly call out… and declare war!

His shocking words caused the Eighth Mountain and Sea to tremble. All cultivators and all sects heard him, and they were left in a state of shock and disbelief.

"This…. This…."

"The Seventh Mountain and Sea is invading!"

"A Mountain and Sea War. A legendary Mountain and Sea War! I can't believe it's actually going to happen right now!"

"This is too sudden. How could this be happening? The Seventh

Mountain and Sea is actually inciting a Mountain and Sea War. But we've hardly had any dealings with them at all!"

Everyone in the Eighth Mountain and Sea was shocked, especially the Heavengod Alliance. Orders were immediately dispatched calling for everyone to assemble as quickly as possible.

The auxiliary branches of the Heavengod Alliance were included in that, as was the other of the Eighth Mountain and Sea's great clans, the Han Clan. Grand protective spell formations were activated, and all stations were manned.

A great storm was coming!

These preparations began in the very instant that the Seventh Mountain and Sea began to come through the rift. At the same time, back in the

Uzumaki Clan, the invading cultivators were cowering in front of Naruto . But then they sensed what was happening, and their expressions flickered with excitement and even joy.

"Reinforcements from the Seventh Mountain and Sea are coming!" "Hahaha! The Mountain and Sea War is about to begin. We're on the side of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and they're definitely going to win the war!"

"You in the Uzumaki Clan, war will soon be upon you! Why haven't you surrendered yet?!" The shouts of the invading cultivators turned into sound waves that rolled out across the cultivators of the Uzumaki Clan, including Grandma Uzumaki and the five seriously injured Dao Realm Patriarchs. The Patriarchs' faces fell, completely draining of blood.

As for the traitorous members of the Uzumaki Clan, they threw their heads back and laughed uproariously. They sounded arrogant, and in very high spirits. They had just been quite cowed by Naruto , and now that the reinforcements from the Seventh Mountain and Sea were on the way they had gained their confidence back. In their minds, the threat of Naruto was not so deadly now.

They firmly believed that both the Uzumaki Clan and Naruto would now be struck with indecision, an indecision which… would ensure their own safety.

The invading cultivators weren't stupid. The first to fall back were the black-robed men from the Seventh Mountain and Sea. They knew that since reinforcements had come, they were already in the superior position. Since they could not wipe out the Uzumaki Clan immediately, they needed to consider their own safety first.

In their minds, since the Uzumaki Clan was hesitating, it was the perfect chance to retreat. Certainly, the Uzumaki Clan wouldn't dare to pursue them now.

That was what the other invading sects were also thinking, as were the traitorous Uzumaki Clan cultivators. Soon, everyone was falling back, preparing to leave.

Actually, their predictions were completely correct. The Uzumaki Clan cultivators, including the five Dao Realm Patriarchs, stood there silently, not daring to continue the fight or attempt to prevent their enemies from leaving. When they thought about the imminent Mountain and Sea War, and the arrival of reinforcements from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the entire Uzumaki Clan was struck with stifling pressure.

However, the invaders had miscalculated regarding one person in particular, and that was… Naruto !

"Did I say you people could leave?" he said coolly, hovering there in the starry sky. The Uzumaki Clan was worried about the Seventh Mountain and Sea, as was the Heavengod Alliance. Naruto , on the other hand, couldn't care less.

The only people he cared about in the Eighth Mountain and Sea were his Grandmother and her people. Whether or not everyone else lived or died didn't have anything to do with him. Nor could he really do anything to stop what was happening. He knew that soon, a massive and shocking war would strike the Mountain and Sea Realm. The two ancient forces outside of the 33 Heavens were coming, and that war… was unavoidable.

The words he had just spoken were like an icy wind that filled the invaders' hearts with shock. They looked back at him.

A cold voice rang out from within the crowds, "The reinforcements from the Seventh Mountain and Sea are already here. You're going to have your hands full defending your Uzumaki Clan, do you really think you can spare the effort to stop us from leaving?"

Naruto 's expression was calm as his eyes scanned the crowd.

It only took a moment to find the cultivator who had just spoken, and the power in Naruto 's gaze suddenly rocketed up. A moment later, the man exploded. Naruto then leaped forward, waving his hand to summon the howling Blood Demon, which instantly slashed into the enemy forces.

The blackpod imps screeched as they began to unleash slaughter. The Blood Spirit and the mastiff also joined in, murderous auras raging. "You had the gall to invade this place, so you won't be leaving. I don't really care about some war between the Eighth and Seventh Mountain and Sea, but I can tell you that I hate traitors.

"Whether you are a traitor to your clan or a traitor to the Mountain and Sea in which you live, it's all the same." Naruto 's voice was cold as he once again waved his hand, unleashing his Ancient mana to summon numerous mountains, which began to descend from all directions.

These mountains no longer surged with Immortal qi, but rather, had an ancient and archaic feel to them, as if they had existed for many, many years. These were ancient mountains, and as they appeared, they sent powerful ripples out into the starry sky.

Naruto looked coldly out at the Uzumaki Clan cultivators, including the five Patriarchs. When his gaze fell on those Patriarchs, they immediately began to tremble. " Uzumaki Clan," he roared, "what are you doing standing there!? ATTACK!"

They had seen Naruto 's terrifying Ancient Tribulation, had watched as Xiao Yihan fled on his heels, and had personally witnessed Naruto 's horrifying power. Gritting their teeth, they decided to comply with his orders.

Roaring, the five Patriarchs charged forward. "Cultivators of the Uzumaki

Clan. ATTACK! Slaughter all of the rebels and invaders!"

The other clan members hesitated for a moment, then joined voices in a powerful battle cry as they shot forward in attack.

The battle resumed. However, this time, the Uzumaki Clan was not in the weak position. Instead, the blood of the rebels and invaders flowed. Miserable screams rang out as endless lives were cut short.

Naruto took a step forward and vanished. When he reappeared, he was in front of a black-robed man, one of the old Dao Realm cultivators who had come along with Xiao Yihan. As soon as Naruto materialized, the old man bit his tongue, spraying out a mouthful of blood as he fell back at top speed. However, even as he did so, Naruto waved his finger.

It was simple motion, but the result was that the starry sky shook as an invisible force coalesced around the man, instantly weighing down on him with incredible pressure.

It was like the power of the Mountains and Seas themselves smashing down onto the old man, invoking a bloodcurdling scream. Even as the sound left his mouth, he was crushed to a bloody pulp.

"Mountain and Sea power," Naruto murmured. He could now more clearly sense the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm inside of him, and also knew how to control some of it.

When the other Dao Realm experts saw what he had just done, they were shocked. Just as they began to flee, Naruto turned to look at them and stepped forward, appearing in front of another Dao Realm expert. He waved his hand, causing an explosive wind to shoot out. Wherever it passed, screams rang out and powerful experts were wiped out of existence regardless of how they tried to defend themselves.

"Run! Run away!"

"A jinx! This guy is an evil jinx!"

"Dammit, the Seventh Mountain and Sea is going to wipe out the Uzumaki Clan eventually!" As the screams rang out, the beleaguered invaders and the Uzumaki Clan traitors were overwhelmed by the fear of being killed, and could think of only one thing: how to escape.

Soon, only half of the original force of tens of thousands remained behind. Everyone was scattering, fleeing as quickly as they had ever moved, even using secret magics. The Uzumaki Clan cultivators were hardpressed to catch them, and soon, the invaders had completely scattered.

"When I wage war, I don't leave survivors," Naruto said coolly. He stamped down with his right foot, causing a sea of flames to roar out. It was none other than Essence of Divine Flame, and it rapidly spread out with complete mercilessness.

It only took the blink of an eye for the Divine Flame to sweep out, surrounding the fleeing cultivators. It moved far, far faster than they could, and soon formed a ring around them.

Naruto waved his hand, and the ring of fire transformed into a flaming wall, completely trapping the enemies and locking them down. Now, all avenues of escape were sealed off.

"Take no prisoners," Naruto said, his voice cool. He waved his sleeve, causing a fierce wind to kick up. At the same time, the Uzumaki Clan cultivators' eyes turned bright red, and they charge forward in attack.

Miserable screams rang out without end, and the sounds of slaughter rose up. Naruto focused on the Dao Realm experts, and let the members of the Uzumaki Clan handle the general slaughter, which also served the purpose of getting them used to fierce fighting and warfare.

One side fought brilliantly, the other screamed in terror. This was not a large-scale battle, and considering how mismatched the forces were, it only took a few hours for the traitors and invaders to be… completely put to death!

The Uzumaki Clan had paid a heavy price, and suffered many casualties. However, the survivors had experienced the baptism of battle, and had been transformed. Although they still felt fear, the fire of slaughter burned in their eyes. Soon, quietness spread out across the battlefield, and slowly, all of the members of the Uzumaki Clan turned to look at Naruto .

It was hard to say who said it first, but soon, everyone was kowtowing toward Naruto .

They joined their voices together and called out from the bottoms of their lungs, causing everything to shake. Surrounded by the mangled corpses and skeletons of their enemies, they shouted out in the starry sky: "Greetings, Patriarch!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1282

Chapter 1282: Cleansing the Lands With the Fire of War!

Even the five wounded Patriarchs were staring at Naruto with looks of awe. His valiant and terrifying performance, and his deadly decisiveness, caused even their hearts to grow cold with fear.

Grandma Uzumaki was there in the crowd, and she was also completely shaken. This was her own grandson who had shocked her over and over again.

"I'm not your Patriarch," Naruto said coolly, looking out at all the members of the Uzumaki Clan. "Neither am I Uzumaki Chen. My name… is Naruto .

"I'm from the Namikaze Clan of the Ninth Mountain and Sea." His words caused all of the Uzumaki Clan cultivators to stare in shock. Suddenly, the five Patriarchs recalled a certain matter, and their eyes went wide.

All eyes were on Naruto as he began to walk toward his grandmother. People respectfully made way for him, and soon he was standing directly in front of her. An emotional look could be seen on her face as Naruto gazed at her softly, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Grandma Uzumaki," he said.

When the members of the Uzumaki Clan heard him address her in the manner of a maternal grandmother, they turned their shocked gazes upon her. After a moment of thought, people began to clasp hands and bow to her.

Even the five Patriarchs did so.

After this battle, Naruto 's grandmother and her people truly became the primary bloodline. Those who remained alive in the Uzumaki Clan, regardless of what bloodline they came from, voiced not a single word of dissent. In fact, they all approved, from the bottoms of their hearts.

The five Patriarchs felt the same. It made sense, considering that the Seventh Mountain and Sea had arrived, and a Mountain and Sea War was beginning. The fact that a terrifying figure like Naruto was there to take the lead made them feel as if they were being protected by a magic talisman.

With that talisman in place, the Uzumaki Clan could be safe in the war, and in fact had an incredible advantage that would help them in moments of life and death. At this point, personal position and power within the clan had ceased to be important.

Strength was everything!

Grandma Uzumaki didn't reject Naruto 's words, and as such, became the acting Clan Chieftess, taking the place of the missing Grandpa Uzumaki, and able to wield his authority. Numerous orders were transmitted. The Uzumaki Clan had survived the battle, expelled the traitors, and now had a new lease on life.

The nine auxiliary continents were reorganized and transformed into a new clan spell formation. The ancestral mansion was also completely renovated.

Naruto chose to go into secluded meditation there in the Uzumaki Clan. Although he was itching to go to the Fourth Mountain and Sea, right now the Uzumaki Clan needed him.

Before beginning his meditation, he looked out into the starry sky. It was almost as if he could see Hinata , oh so far away in the Fourth Mountain and Sea. He sat there quietly for a moment, then closed his eyes, crossed his legs, and began to perform breathing exercises.

According to the Seventh Mountain and Sea's original plan, the Uzumaki Clan should have been wiped out by now. It was a big defeat for the invaders, and when Xiao Yihan returned to the location where their main force was garrisoned, the rift between the two Mountains and Seas, he reported what had happened. After his report was given, few questions were asked about Naruto , nor did anyone try to press the matter.

Meanwhile, in the Heavengod Alliance, nearly 50,000 cultivators had already gathered together into an army. Numerous powerful experts were given command positions, and they soon left the Heavengod Alliance and headed… toward the very rift where the Seventh Mountain and Sea was encamped.

The true first battle between the Eighth and Seventh Mountains and

Seas was about to begin, and it was the focus of much attention. The Han Clan and the Uzumaki Clan both dispatched cultivators to observe first hand what would happen in the battle.

It didn't take long; the fighting started three days later, right outside of the rift.

Cultivators had been pouring out nonstop through the rift from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and by now they had a force 60-70,000 strong. When the fighting started, it was incredibly intense.

No one held back, and the sounds of battle raged constantly. The Eighth Mountain and Sea went all out, mobilizing some of their ultimate weapons and magic treasures, as did the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and the fighting went on for seven days straight. Booms filled the starry sky, and as the seven days passed, the reek of blood spread out through nearly half of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Countless people died on both sides, even some Dao Realm experts. Occasionally, people chose to self-detonate, sending the sounds of explosions out in all directions.

The bitterness of the fighting was unmatched….

After seven days, the Heavengod Alliance… suffered a major defeat!

Of the 50,000 cultivators who had marched into battle, only about 2,000 returned. The casualties suffered by the Seventh Mountain and Sea were visibly less. In fact, cultivators seemed to be constantly pouring in from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, until tens of thousands of reinforcements had arrived.

That first battle completely rocked the Eighth Mountain and Sea. The sects of the Heavengod Alliance were badly shaken. What had been fought was a true battle, and the resulting loss was a very heavy blow to the Heavengod Alliance.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea took advantage of their victory to dispatch a force of 70,000… to slaughter their way into the Heavengod Alliance.

The war… had truly begun!

Outside of the Heavengod Alliance, the Han Clan was on complete lockdown, and had cut off all communication with anyone on the outside. They focused not on attacking the enemy, but only on protecting themselves. However, the only result of that was that a month later, the Seventh Mountain and Sea attacked them.

An entire division of the Seventh Mountain and Sea's army was sent against them.

The flames of war raged in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. There was endless slaughter and bitter fighting. Especially significant was that the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea were adept at using curse power. Furthermore, they had body cultivators, all of whom seemed virtually indestructible, and whose valiant power led to wholesale slaughter.

The cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea also used enormous beasts in battle. Those beasts could unleash shocking power, and had a huge influence on the fighting.

The only force that didn't seem to be affected at all was… the Uzumaki Clan. It was as if the Seventh Mountain and Sea viewed their territory as a restricted area. Throughout the month during which the Mountain and Sea War was fought, the Uzumaki Clan was like a utopia. Unexpectedly… not a single cultivator from the Seventh Mountain and Sea entered that area.

Although they would occasionally pass by, whenever they did, their faces flickered and they would hasten past as quickly as possible.

This point was not lost on the Han Clan and the Heavengod Alliance. Although they were shocked, there was no time to investigate the matter, not in the face of the deadly offensive of the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

Naruto took it all in stride. He remained in a hidden chamber set aside for him in the Uzumaki Clan, meditating. That chamber was of course located within the huge statue in the middle of the clan, a place where Naruto could sense even more of theChakraflow of the Mountain and Sea Realm than before. It was of great assistance to his practice of cultivation.

He wasn't worried at all about the war going on outside; he was focused on cultivation, and on experiencing the difference between Immortal power and Ancient mana.

He also spent time observing his 33 Soul Lamps. With every moment that passed, they grew stronger, and Naruto 's desire to begin to extinguish them grew stronger as well.

Although the Uzumaki Clan was not participating in the war, they were gathering intelligence about what was happening on the outside. Those intelligence reports were passed on to Naruto , which he would examine to stay up to date on what was happening. After all, Naruto was well-aware that everything that had occurred so far was merely the beginning.

"I'm afraid the true war… is almost here," he murmured, thinking about how nervous and fidgety the parrot had gotten in recent days.

Things were peaceful and quiet in the Uzumaki Clan. The clan members focused on cultivation, although they would occasionally look up into the starry sky, their eyes glinting coldly.

Time passed. Another half a month went by. Soon, the war between the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas had been going on for two months. No longer were tens of thousands of cultivators involved, but rather, hundreds of thousands. And then millions.

The starry sky rumbled constantly, to the point where it even echoed out in the Uzumaki Clan. The reek of blood spread out everywhere. The energy of Heaven and Earth was thrown into chaos, something that any Immortal Realm cultivator could detect.

Eventually, almighty experts in the other Mountains and Seas could sense that a Mountain and Sea War was underway in the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

In fact, Naruto was even able to sense that theChakraflow of the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole was slowly dissipating, almost as if from sorrow.

"Is it sorrow because, despite the impending arrival of the Outsiders… there is war within?" Naruto murmured. "Yet you aren't putting a stop to it… Is it that you feel the same as me, that the greater war cannot be stopped and therefore, this Mountain and Sea War is like a crash course to acclimate us to the ways of warfare?" He looked down at a jade slip, which had just been delivered by someone from the Uzumaki Clan, a report about the war situation during the last month.

Half a month before, the teleportation planets of the Heavengod Alliance had all been destroyed, and a million cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea had begun to fight their way to the center. The cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance experienced one major battle after another. Soon the war came to a deadlock, and both sides hunkered down, as if they were building up towards one final battle, a battle the conclusion of which could be predicted by no one.

However, smaller battles continued to be fought constantly.

Five days ago, the Han Clan… had been breached. After sustaining heavy casualties, the survivors had fled, but were being pursued relentlessly by the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

Naruto looked up silently into the starry sky and thought about Han Qinglei, and then, his eyes suddenly flickered.

Off in the distance, near the border of the area controlled by the Uzumaki Clan, he saw a force of several hundred cultivators flying along at top speed. There were men and women, young and old, and all of them were injured, with looks of grief and hopelessness on their faces. Occasionally, blood would spurt out of various wounds. They were being led by two old Dao Realm cultivators, both of whom had ashen faces, and appeared to have suffered grievous injuries.

Astonishingly, Han Qinglei was right behind those two old Dao Realm cultivators, a vicious expression on his face. Although he radiated killing intent, his complexion was unusually dark, as if he had been infected by a curse. His body was also very gaunt, and apparently, still in the process of being withered up.

These people were the Han Clan cultivators who had managed to flee after their clan had been destroyed.

Behind them were three enormous beasts, each one fully 3,000 meters long. They were gigantic spiders, emerald green in color and completely vicious.

Sitting atop each of the spiders were more than a thousand cultivators, whose faces were filled with coldness and contempt as they pursued the cultivators from the Han Clan. On the central-most spider, a young man sat on an emerald green throne. One of his legs was resting on the back of a trembling young woman who knelt in front of him on all fours, and his arm was wrapped around another woman, a female cultivator.

The young man's eyes glowed with emerald light, and cruelty.

"Hear the words of the Young Lord," he said, a cold smile twisting his lips. "I want Han Qinglei alive. As for everyone else, feed them to the giant Demon beasts!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1283

Chapter 1283: Marquis Lu!

The young man in the emerald-green robe sat atop a huge spider, which could apparently understand the words he spoke. As soon as the words left his mouth, it roared, and a rapacious gleam appeared in its eyes.

The other two spiders also roared, which caused the energy of the entire group to surge.

Not too far off, the fleeing Han Clan cultivators heard the three roars, and their faces fell. There were even some faces which were filled with complete and utter hopelessness.

One of the two old Dao Realm cultivators next to Han Qinglei anxiously said, "Qinglei, are you sure about what you said? I must know! If you're wrong, then we're dead for sure. The Han Clan… will truly be exterminated!"

"The Uzumaki Clan is our only hope," Han Qinglei said through gritted teeth. "Once we get there, we'll be safe!" After the invasion of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, it didn't take long before nearly everyone in the Eighth Mountain and Sea learned that the Uzumaki Clan was not fighting in the war.

Also, the armies of the Seventh Mountain and Sea wouldn't even set foot into the area controlled by the Uzumaki Clan. Most of the sects and clans found this unthinkable, and some even came to the conclusion that the Uzumaki Clan had betrayed the Eight Mountain and Sea.

When the Han Clan was attacked and destroyed, Han Qinglei had watched in shock as virtually the entire Senior generation of the clan died in battle. Several of the most powerful Patriarchs were killed, and only the two 1-Essence Patriarchs had survived, both heavily wounded. They managed to lead the few survivors into escape. Of course, that slight bit of hope was granted to them only because the clan's most powerful Patriarch died to buy it for them.

However, there had been nowhere for them to run. In the boundless sea of stars, there was no hope to be found. The Eighth Mountain and Sea was fully immersed in the flames of war, with no safe haven to be found anywhere….

In that critical moment, Han Qinglei thought about the Uzumaki Clan!

He also thought about how he had never been able to track down Naruto in the 33 Hells, only a random young Uzumaki Clan cultivator.

However, he refused to believe that Naruto could be so easily killed. After contemplating the matter later, he grew more and more sure that the young man he had encountered… was definitely connected to Naruto .

Then, the Uzumaki Clan unexpectedly didn't fight in the war. Then, word began to leak out that a huge battle had been fought there just when the Seventh Mountain and Sea had arrived. That only further fueled Han Qinglei's speculations.

With nowhere else to go, he decided to bet that Naruto was indeed in the Uzumaki Clan. He was gambling that everything which had occurred with the Uzumaki Clan was because of Naruto .

When the surrounding Han Clan cultivators heard Han Qinglei's words, they exploded with all the speed they could manage. Rumbling sounds could be heard as they flew toward the Uzumaki Clan's territory, the three gigantic spiders hot on their tails and growing closer by the moment.

It was only when Han Qinglei and the others reached the border of the Uzumaki Clan's territory, that they realized the Uzumaki Clan was surrounded by a ring… of floating bones.

Those bones had been magically organized, as if to form a literal border. This… was the true border of the Uzumaki Clan's territory, and those bones were naturally the bones of the enemies which had invaded them.

As soon as Han Qinglei saw these bones, his mind trembled. The other Han Clan cultivators gasped. However, it was without the slightest hesitation that they all passed into Uzumaki Clan territory.

In that instant, the three gigantic spiders sped towards them from off in the distance, then screeched to a halt at the border. Suddenly, looks of hesitation appeared in their eyes as they looked at the Uzumaki Clan continents off in the distance.

Seeing that the spiders had stopped, the young man in the emeraldgreen robe frowned. Next to him was an old man who suddenly spoke in a low voice, "Young Lord, that… is the Uzumaki Clan. Our Mountain and Sea Lord issued orders that we shouldn't provoke them lightly."

The young man snorted. He looked at the bones, then looked at the rest of the Uzumaki Clan's territory, and at Han Qinglei and the others fleeing off into the distance. Then, a cold flicker appeared in his eyes.

"The Mountain and Sea Lord said not to provoke them lightly. He didn't say to never provoke them. Onward!" The old man hesitated in response to the coolly-spoken words. For a moment, he thought of intervening, but then considered how powerful the forces of the Seventh Mountain and Sea already were in this early stage of the war, and decided that breaching the borders of the Uzumaki Clan probably wasn't a very big deal.

Rumbling sounds echoed out in response to the young man's words, and the three spiders immediately advanced into Uzumaki Clan territory, where they madly pursued Han Qinglei and the others. In the blink of an eye, they were bearing down on the small group.

When the Han Clan cultivators realized that their pursuers didn't care about retaliation from the Uzumaki Clan, their faces flickered. Before they could even react, the three giant spiders opened their mouths and spit out massive quantities of spider silk, which instantly transformed into a massive net that threatened to envelop the Han Clan cultivators.

The young man in the emerald-green robe looked on with a merciless gleam in his eyes. As for the other cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, they radiated intensely murderous auras.

The two Patriarchs from the Han Clan turned with bloodshot eyes, roaring as they prepared to fight back. However, it was at this point that suddenly… a cold snort echoed out through the void. Instantly, the descending spiderweb began to tremble and emit cracking noises. Moments later, it exploded.

The three spiders let out agonized shrieks, and didn't dare to advance any further. In fact, they even started backing up. The cultivators on their backs were shocked. Not only had that cold snort shattered the spiderweb, it left their minds reeling, and some of them even found blood oozing out of their mouths.

The Young Lord's face flickered, and suddenly, three old men appeared next to him. All of those men were in the Dao Realm, and their faces were grim as they stared at a young man who was currently materializing up ahead in the void.

That young man wore a long white robe, and looked like a scholar. However, there was also a certain ancientness to him. It was, of course, Naruto .

" Naruto !" exclaimed Han Qinglei.

"Brother Han," Naruto said with a slight smile. "I trust you've been well since we last met." He clasped hands and bowed.

The other Han Clan cultivators also clasped hands and bowed to Uzumaki

Naruto, except for the two Patriarchs, who simply looked at him, then looked around the area. When they confirmed that Naruto was alone, their hearts sank, and they were just about to say something when the Young Lord in the emerald-green robe rose to his feet and spoke in a cold voice, "What outrageous gall you have! How dare you interfere with our Seventh Mountain and Sea. Naruto … I'll give you two choices. One, get the hell back to your Uzumaki Clan, and I won't exterminate your people.

"Two, I wipe you and your clan off the map this very day!" This so-called Young Lord's voice was cold and sinister, and his words were wildly arrogant. In the months that he had been in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, he had seen far too many local cultivators do nothing but tremble in fear when they faced him.

Because of that, his heart had swelled with arrogance. Although he knew that his own Mountain and Sea Lord had given orders not to provoke the Uzumaki Clan, he still looked down on them.

As soon as the words left the young man's mouth, the Han Clan cultivators' faces flickered with fear, and they thought back to the fierce fight that had ensued when their clan was attacked. This Young Lord had only been in charge of only one of many divisions in the battle to exterminate the Han Clan, however the fact that this corps contained a force of 3,000 cultivators meant that its battle strength was quite potent.

Furthermore, the Seventh Mountain and Sea clearly had the upper hand in the war, which ensured that the Young Lord was even more threatening.

The 3,000 cultivators on the backs of the spiders all rose to their feet and rotated their cultivation bases. A murderous aura exploded out, transforming into a tempest. As for the three old men surrounding the young man, they frowned, but also unleashed their cultivation bases. Those three old men were 1-Essence cultivators, not Dao Lords, but considering they represented the Seventh Mountain and Sea, almost no one in the Eighth Mountain and Sea would dare to provoke them.

"Pipe down!" Naruto said coolly, waving his right hand. That simple motion caused a massive pressure to weigh down from the starry sky. When the pressure slammed into the Young Lord, he screamed miserably. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his expression instantly changed from one of arrogance to one of astonishment.

It was as if the starry sky itself was crushing down on him. In the blink of an eye, he was on the verge of being squeezed into a shapeless mass. However, it was at this point that a gray light erupted out from him, which attempted to fight back against the pressure of the starry sky.

That gray light transformed into the image of a middle-aged man, a man in black war armor. Behind him stretched a huge starry battlefield filled with countless fighting cultivators.

"Anyone who dares to harm my dear son is seeking an early death!" roared the man. Shockingly, he erupted with the power of a 4-Essences Dao Realm expert.

Naruto 's face was completely expressionless, and he didn't even bother to look at the man. In fact, the man's voice was still echoing out when the gray light was shattered into pieces, and the Young Lord was crushed by the weight of the starry sky, transformed into nothing more than a bloody pulp.

It happened so quickly that the surrounding cultivators could do nothing but stare in shock.

"Y-you…."

"You actually dared to kill the son of Marquis Lu! You…." The thousands of cultivators on the spiders could barely speak they were so shocked. The three Dao Realm experts' faces went pale, and without the slightest hesitation, they charged toward Naruto .

They were well aware of how terrifying Marquis Lu could be, and they knew that if they didn't kill Naruto immediately, then the three of them would suffer his wrath. As they flew out, their cultivation bases flared to life.

"Kill this man, all of you!" The three old men's voices were laced with a secret magic that caused the three spiders to instantly roar, then pounce toward Naruto . The cultivators on their backs also flew out, unleashing a variety of divine abilities and magical techniques as they tried to kill Naruto .

The Han Clan cultivators gasped in shock as they watched Naruto standing up to 3,000 cultivators single-handedly.

Naruto looked calmly at the incoming cultivators, the three Dao Realm experts, and the three vicious spiders. His eyes flickering coldly, he slowly raised his right hand into the air and then…

Viciously clenched it!

A boom rang out, and the starry sky shuddered. It was as if an enormous hand thousands and thousands of meters wide was stretching out into the void… to grab the 3,000 cultivators!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1284

Chapter 1284: The Power of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

In that one astonishing moment, Han Qinglei and the other Han Clan cultivators were completely shaken. Naruto 's gesture caused an enormous illusory hand to appear in the starry sky, stretch out to cover the entire area occupied by the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and then clench down viciously.

A boom could be heard, and the void shuddered. Looks of shock appeared on the faces of all the cultivators, and many of them began to scream.

Each and every one, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases, felt an intense, indescribable pressure weighing down all over, mixed in with a power of expulsion.

It was as if the starry sky had rejected them, and wished to expel them. It was as if they were being rejected… by the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The cultivators with cultivation bases lower than the Ancient Realm simply couldn't take the pressure. Screams rang out as their bodies distorted under the pressure, until they didn't even look human. Then they exploded into clouds of gore!

Next were the early Ancient Realm cultivators, who began bleeding out of their ears, eyes, noses, and mouths. After holding on for a short time, expressions of terror and despair flickered on their faces, and they were crushed to pulp.

Bitter laughter rang out, as well as angry roars and even pleas for mercy. Those came from the mid Ancient Realm cultivators. Seeing everyone around them with lower cultivation bases than themselves being crushed to bloody paste, and smelling the reek of gore, caused their hearts to explode with intense feelings of hopelessness. Many of them unleashed divine abilities or magical items. But the divine abilities were destroyed as soon as they appeared, and the magical items shattered.

These cultivators lasted for only a few breaths of time before they were crushed into a jumbled mixture of bone and bloody flesh.

Next were the late Ancient Realm cultivators and those in the great circle. Before they could flee, they were also destroyed in body and spirit. As for the three enormous spiders, cracking sounds echoed out from them, and their legs began to twist. As their bodies were squashed into indiscernible shapes, green blood sprayed out.

And last… were the three Dao Realm experts. They watched wide-eyed as the 3,000 cultivators were reduced to bloody pulp, and boundless ripples emanated out into the starry sky. They were in a hell of gore, and they started trembling and coughing up blood; they too were being crushed under the pressure.

"NO!" One of them began to laugh bitterly as he reached the point where he couldn't hold on any longer. He produced all of the magical items he possessed, and even spit an enormous bell out of his mouth as he tried to fight back. But all of his magical items were crushed, and his body began to distort.

The other two Dao Realm cultivators laughed bitterly as they chose to self-detonate. Flight was impossible, as the starry sky had already been locked down tight. There was simply no chance for them.

Rumbling filled the air as the two Dao Realm Patriarchs' power of selfdetonation was overwhelmed by the gigantic hand, and then crushed.

All of this takes some while to describe, but actually happened within a few blinks of an eye. The area previously occupied by 3,000 cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea was transformed into a mist of blood as all of them were crushed to death!

Countless cultivators and magical items were squashed together along with the bodies of the spiders, forming a huge bloody paste, a swirl of green, white, and red fluid. The sight was spine-tinglingly shocking.

Han Qinglei's face was ashen, and the two Han Clan Patriarchs, despite having participated in many bloody battles, began to shiver and look over at Naruto with dread.

Everyone else was staring with wide eyes and open mouths. Some of the women even vomited. When they looked at Naruto , their eyes flickered with the fear that you might expect to see if they were staring at a fiendish, bloodthirsty beast. Naruto was even more terrifying than the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

"What power was that…?" Han Qinglei murmured. He looked at the horrifying bloody paste, then back at Naruto , and realized to his bitterness that at some point, Naruto had long since surpassed him. Surpassed him to the point where he could never catch up.

"The power of the Mountain and Sea Realm," Naruto said quietly.

Ever since entering the Ancient Realm and igniting his Paragon Soul Lamp, it had become much easier for him to sense the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Before, he had been forced to stimulate the Paragon's blood inside of him to summon the power of the sun and moon. Now, he didn't need to do that. A mere thought on his part could unleash the power of the Mountains and Seas.

Although he couldn't use much, he was certain that as his cultivation base grew, and more importantly, as his Demon Sealer's aura grew stronger, the day would come when a single thought on his part could determine whether the entire Mountain and Sea Realm would continue to exist.

That was because he was… the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, and also… the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Naruto smiled at Han Qinglei and said, "Brother Han, welcome to the

Uzumaki Clan. You'll be safe here. Please, follow me!"

Mixed emotions could be seen in Han Qinglei's eyes. After a moment, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto , then followed him, along with the rest of the Han Clan cultivators, back to the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion. After formally meeting Grandma Uzumaki, the survivors from the Han Clan were given some land in the ancestral mansion on the central continent, a place where they could multiply and rebuild.

In the following days, Naruto spent most of his time cultivating in the huge statue, although he would occasionally visit Han Qinglei to reminisce about old times.

The land that had been given to the Han Clan had an frosty lake in it, which was filled with Jadefrost Fish. Jadefrost Fish happened to have a lovely flavor that Naruto fell in love with as soon as he tasted it, so he often spent time at that lake, fishing with Han Qinglei.

It was a quiet respite from the brutal war which was being fought outside in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Han Qinglei often grew absentminded, and sometimes even forgot about the war outside.

"Brother Uzumaki, mm… with the level of your cultivation base, why is it that you're not helping the Eighth Mountain and Sea drive out the invaders from the Seventh Mountain and Sea?" It was a question Han Qinglei had pondered for some time, and had been refraining from asking for many days. But one day, as he sat next to the frosty lake with Naruto , fishing, he finally gave voice to it.

Naruto didn't answer at first. He jerked on his line that had been cast out into the lake, and immediately a large, jade-colored fish was yanked out of the water. He reeled it in, and it turned out to be well over a meter long. He pointed at it, whereupon a nearby Uzumaki Clan cultivator approached and wrestled with the struggling fish, pinning it to the ground and then placing it into the fish basket.

"Brother Han," he said quietly, "this war… is not going to end. Furthermore, even if the Seventh Mountain and Sea hadn't made a move, one of the other Mountains and Seas would have…." After entering the Ancient Realm, something had changed about Naruto 's voice, and it somehow seemed more ancient.

He sighed and looked up into the sky, toward the border of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the 33 Heavens. "I'll make my move, but now is not the time.

"Did you ever notice that the starry sky seems to have a lid covering it?

And that that ceiling is slowly getting closer?" Naruto 's words caused Han Qinglei to gape in surprise. He suddenly looked up into the boundless sky, and the endless stars, and began to breathe deeply.

"You mean… the 33 Heavens?!"

After a quiet moment passed, Naruto looked out at the frosty pond and calmly said, "I'm afraid that before too long, the 33 Heavens will likely descend."

Han Qinglei's face fell. He had been among the group that had gone to the Windswept Realm as Naruto had. He clearly remembered what the 33 Heavens represented, and knew that there were terrifyingly powerful experts there.

"Well… what are we going to do?" Han Qinglei asked bitterly. Before, he had taken the invasion of the Seventh Mountain and Sea to be some shocking and profound thing. But now he realized that it was merely a prelude. And yet, the Han Clan had almost been wiped away in that mere prelude, a prelude that to him already felt like the end of days. If war broke out with the 33 Heavens… then he wasn't sure what he should do. He stared out into space, completely at a loss.

Naruto looked over at Han Qinglei, and then, his expression completely earnest and serious, said, "Get stronger! It doesn't matter what war we're talking about, the invasion of the Seventh Mountain and

Sea, war with other Mountains and Seas, or even the arrival of the 33

Heavens. Even… the return of the two powers who destroyed the Paragon Immortal Realm oh so long ago. What you need to do in any and all cases… is get stronger!

"War cannot be avoided. Perhaps paradise exists somewhere, but definitely not in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"The true war will come sooner or later. And we will all be fighting in it." Naruto 's eyes slowly began to shine with a brilliant light. Finally, he tapped his finger down onto the ground, causing a ripple to spread out and eventually fill the entire continent.

It was something he had done frequently in the past months. Even when he was in secluded meditation, he had often sent his divine sense out, fusing his cultivation base with the lands, outlining an enormous spell formation.

Naruto didn't actually know much about spell formations. However, the particulars of this underground spell formation wasn't what was important, what was important was that the power that formed the framework of that formation was Naruto 's… power of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Almost finished," he murmured to himself.

Han Qinglei sat there silently, with a bitter look on his face.

"I still don't understand, though," he said finally. "You could do something in the war right now. With your cultivation base, you could stop it! If fewer people died, then the Mountain and Sea Realm would be more powerful in the future!

"Furthermore, right now there are enemies lying in wait for us on the Outside, and yet we're at war amongst ourselves. There's no point in fighting among ourselves!"

Naruto was silent for a moment, then finally said, "It's not the right time. The right time is coming. Soon."

He actually didn't explain the reason why he was not fighting in the war.

Only he knew that the reason he wasn't fighting was because… he wasn't alone here in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. He had the Uzumaki Clan to look after.

Even if he didn't care much about all the other members of the Uzumaki Clan, he cared about his grandmother. And his grandmother and her people cared about the clan in general. If Naruto went out and fought in the resistance against the Seventh Mountain and Sea, he would definitely suffer retribution at their hands. And in the end… he was only one person.

In the end, he could choose to defend against the Seventh Mountain and Sea's retaliation, or to escape , but the Uzumaki Clan could not make that choice. As long as the Uzumaki Clan existed, if Naruto stepped in… then the clan would be dragged into the conflict and be exterminated.

That was why he had not stepped in, and the Seventh Mountain and Sea surely realized that. Therefore… that was why they had chosen not to provoke him, and why he and they had been able to maintain a sort of fragile impasse.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1285

Chapter 1285 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1285: The Spell Formation Stirs!

Naruto might be the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, but as far as he was concerned, the Heavengod Alliance wasn't very important. They had even tried to track him down and kill him, so in some respects, they even counted as an enemy.

In fact, were it not for the invasion of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, after Naruto 's identity was revealed within the Uzumaki Clan, perhaps the Heavengod Alliance would have besieged them.

Whatever happened, Naruto didn't have strong feelings for this place. After all… it wasn't the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

And yet… there was someone in the Heavengod Alliance that he cared about, his Master the Noble Ran, who had passed the Seal the Heavens Incantation on to him. Furthermore, after entering the Ancient Realm, he had begun to vaguely sense certain fluctuations from the Eighth Mountain, which he knew belonged to the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Those fluctuations seemed very familiar, and in fact reminded him of… the aura on his Grandpa Uzumaki's command medallion, which was tucked away safely in his bag of holding.

He hadn't mentioned any of those things to his grandmother, because he actually did plan to eventually fight in the war, both for the Noble Ran, and for… those familiar fluctuations he felt coming from the Eighth Mountain.

Because of those things, he felt that he had no choice but to join the war effort.

However, before he jumped into the fray, he needed to make sure that there was nothing that could be used against him. That was why, for the preceding two months, he had been constantly pouring power from the Mountains and Seas into the ground, to make… a spell formation!

Of course, all of these were things that Han Qinglei would have no way of knowing.

Naruto didn't want the Uzumaki Clan to become… the next Han Clan. He didn't want his grandmother to worry about such things either, nor did he want her to feel the pain of seeing fellow clan members die. Most importantly, he didn't want to see her hurt even a tiny bit.

His Grandma Uzumaki was a relative, one of the people he cared most about in the world.

"Soon. The spell formation will be finished soon," he murmured to himself, looking out into the sky.

Another half a month passed, during which the war in the Eighth Mountain and Sea intensified. Reports came in on a daily basis from various members of the Uzumaki Clan, each of which Naruto studied in minute detail.

The Heavengod Alliance had finally begun a counteroffensive… which was still under way. Both sides were taking heavy casualties.

One of the most important bits of news was that among those killed were not just 1-Essence or 2-Essences Dao Realm experts. There were already Dao Lords among the dead.

Many of the sects in the Heavengod Alliance were no more. One planet after another was destroyed. If the Heavengod Alliance met complete defeat, then the remaining cultivators would have no choice but to fall back to the Eighth Mountain itself.

Recently, more and more voices were pleading for the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea to come out.

Unfortunately… he never appeared.

The only people who did appear were cultivators of the Heavengod Society. In fact, the Chief Dharma Protector of the Heavengod Society convened a war council to coordinate the fighting.

The number of cultivators coming through the rift from the Seventh Mountain and Sea was growing increasingly fewer. However, there was a burning life force within that rift that even Naruto could sense from his position in the Uzumaki Clan, and it was growing more and more distinct.

It was a vigorous life force, a flame that could light up the entire starry sky. And it was slowly getting closer to the Eighth Mountain and Sea. It belonged to an entity who occupied a position of supreme power, and had a terrifying cultivation base. Because of that, passing from one of the Mountains and Seas to another was a slow process for this person.

That person was none other than… Sima Dao, Mountain and Sea Lord from the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

Naruto could sense him just as much as he could sense that awakening entity on the Eighth Mountain.

Simultaneously, both that entity and Sima Dao could sense the existence of the person entrenched in the Uzumaki Clan… Naruto !

Three days later, Naruto 's eyes snapped open, and at the same time, the surrounding nine continents of the Uzumaki Clan began to emit droning sounds that sounded like earthquakes, as if some incredible power were rising up from the lands.

It was a big shock to all members of the Uzumaki Clan, and no one had any idea what was happening, not even the five Dao Realm Patriarchs, who immediately sent divine sense out.

What they discovered shocked them; the nine continents were filled with a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power, a power which was building up toward an inevitable eruption.

"Is the Seventh Mountain and Sea coming!?"

"What's going on!?" Everyone in the Uzumaki Clan was astonished, including Han Qinglei and his people.

As the alarm spread, Naruto emerged from secluded meditation and appeared within the ancestral mansion, in his grandmother's courtyard. The moment he appeared there, his grandmother walked out, looking quite apprehensive.

"Naruto'er, what's happening?" she asked. In the recent days, she had been administering affairs in the Uzumaki Clan, and had transformed them into a clenched fist; they were no longer in a state of disorganized chaos like before.

Now that Naruto had come out, the five Patriarchs hurried over, along with other powerful experts from the various bloodlines.

Han Qinglei wasn't a member of the Uzumaki Clan, but because of his relationship with Naruto , the Han Clan wasn't excluded, and they also hastened over to Naruto .

Naruto looked around at everyone, then finally turned to his grandmother, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

After Grandma Uzumaki saw the complex expression in his eyes, she understood what he was thinking, and she shivered. "Nar'er, you…." Naruto looked up at his grandmother and began to speak softly, "Grandma Uzumaki, I failed to comply with one of your previous orders, and took it upon myself to take care of a certain matter.

"The Eighth Mountain and Sea has been struck with war. It's a war that I normally wouldn't fight in. I would rather stay here to protect the Uzumaki Clan. However… because of a certain person, I must intervene.

"However, if I do fight in this war between two great Mountains and Seas, then the Uzumaki Clan will also get dragged into the matter, and could end up being wiped out by the Seventh Mountain and Sea….

"Grandma Uzumaki…."

Grandma Uzumaki looked at him silently for a moment, then sighed softly.

How could she not have come to realize what had been going through Naruto 's mind lately? She actually had no desire to see him fighting in the Mountain and Sea War either. He might be very powerful, but in her eyes, he was still only a member of the Junior generation.

It might be a selfish decision to ask him not to fight, but to Grandma Uzumaki, family was more important than politics, and the Uzumaki Clan was more important than the Eighth Mountain and Sea. However, she had overlooked his feelings in the matter, and therefore, after another long moment passed, she spoke, her voice somewhat hoarse, "I understand. You… already made your decision. If you want to go, then go. Can I help in any way?"

Somehow, Grandma Uzumaki seemed much older after those words left her mouth.

Naruto looked at her for a moment. Then, smiling slightly, he stepped forward and embraced her.

"Grandma," he said softly, "I want to send the Uzumaki Clan to the Ninth

Mountain and Sea. There is no war there yet, so all of you will be safe."

Grandma Uzumaki was quiet for a moment, then slowly nodded. At the same time, she reached out with her wrinkled hand and gently stroked Naruto 's cheek, her eyes glowing with love. "You're a good kid.

You've done so much for me already. Perhaps my previous decision was a bit selfish. But… you have to promise me that you'll stay safe…."

Naruto nodded, then looked back at the others present, and his face darkened a bit.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm going to send all of you to the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Let me remind you, though, that as long as I live, if you dare to harbor any evil thoughts regarding the people I care about… you will regret it."

Naruto 's words caused everyone to suck in a deep breath, even the five Dao Realm Patriarchs. Although they were struck deeply with fear, they were also quite moved by the fact that Naruto planned to send them to safety in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Brother Han, how about the Han Clan go to the Ninth Mountain and

Sea. What do you say?"

Han Qinglei's jaw dropped in response to Naruto 's words. All of a sudden, he understood what Naruto had said half a month before about waiting for the right time to fight in the war.

It wasn't that he planned to hold back forever. He really was… waiting for the right time. And that time… was now.

"Many thanks!" Han Qinglei said, clasping hands and bowing deeply. For the Han Clan, the chance to go to the Ninth Mountain and Sea was an amazing opportunity. After all, they were no longer in a position to fight in the war.

Of course, it was difficult enough for one person to pass between two

Mountains and Seas, let alone an entire continent and all its people like Naruto claimed he would do. Everyone was completely shocked.

"It doesn't seem possible! That's a huge amount of people, plus a continent. This…."

"Piercing through will expend an incredible amount of power. In fact, it's incalculable!"

"The Ninth Mountain and Sea…."

Everyone looked at Naruto with even more alarm than before. If Naruto really could do as he said he would, then he would be even more awe-inspiring to them than he already was.

As long as he was alive, no one would ever dare to challenge his grandmother's position or authority.

Naruto looked over the crowd for a moment, then took a deep breath and raised both hands into the air. In almost the exact same instant, the power of the Mountains and Seas exploded out from within him. It was as if a fuse had been lit, which resulted in an enormous pillar of light shining up from one of the nine smaller continents. It shot up into the starry sky, sending out boundless ripples.

Next, a second continent exploded with light, then a third and a fourth….

Pillars of light shot up from one continent after another, radiating intense power from the Mountain and Sea Realm, power that Naruto had been building up for months. Obviously, he didn't have the power on his own to send a whole continent of people to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, so he had chosen to use the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm to accomplish that task.

Even with that extra help, he had spent months in preparation, so it was possible to imagine how much of a price the Seventh Mountain and Sea must have paid to invade the Eighth.

Almost in the same instant that Naruto unleashed the power of the Mountains and Seas, as the pillars of light shot up into the starry sky, suddenly, tens of thousands of cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea appeared, radiating killing intent.

The person in the lead position was a middle-aged man… the same man whose son Naruto had killed… Marquis Lu of the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

The man's face was grim, and his murderous aura seethed. As he closed in on the Uzumaki Clan, he spotted the distant pillars of light.

"You killed my son, so I'll wipe out your whole clan! I don't care what a whit about the orders of the Mountain and Sea Lord. He might have let you off the hook because of your friendship, but… you should never have provoked me!"

Chapter 1285: The Spell Formation Stirs!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1286

Chapter 1286: Seeing the Uzumaki Clan Off!

Nine pillars of light shot up from the nine continents surrounding the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion. As they pierced into the starry sky, they sent out boundless ripples, causing everything to shake.

When Marquis Lu and the others arrived, it was as the eighth pillar of light exploded up.

"This…." Marquis Lu gaped in shock, his eyes wide. Considering the level of his cultivation base, after examining the situation, he could sense the terrifying power within those pillars of light.

Marquis Lu's eyes glittered as he glanced down at a totem tattoo on the back of his right hand. Steeling himself, he gave a cold snort and then waved his sleeve. With that, he shot forward, followed by tens of thousands of cultivators. The entire army transformed into beams of light that shot toward the Uzumaki Clan.

As they closed in, the murderous aura they emitted caused the starry sky to shake. The aura was so intense that it seemed as if it were on the verge of taking physical form and freezing everything in the area.

" Uzumaki Clan, whichever one of you killed my son, get the hell out here and face me!" Marquis Lu's voice boomed like thunder, echoing out in all directions as his energy rocketed up. His cultivation base was that of a 4-Essences Dao Sovereign, and as soon as it radiated out, the natural laws in the area shattered.

By this point, the people in the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion could hear his roar, and could sense the vast coldness. Their faces flickered.

Naruto 's expression was as calm as ever as he looked into the starry sky outside of the Uzumaki Clan continents, then turned his attention back to what he was doing. His hands remained lifted up, and a strange gleam could be seen in his eyes as he manipulated the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Nine pillars of light raged up into the starry sky. In that moment, a gigantic vortex appeared in the sky above the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion, far, far above, at the apex of the pillars of light.

The vortex was vastly enormous, and was already beginning to spin faster and faster. In the blink of an eye, boundless rumbling sounds could be heard echoing out, and a vast pressure began to weigh down.

Marquis Lu's face flickered, and he lurched to a halt, as did all the cultivators behind him. Then their eyes filled with shock as they saw the terrifying vortex appear overhead.

"What are they doing?!"

"What kind of spell formation is that?" The pressure weighing down on the group was completely shocking. It was almost as if there were some huge, invisible hand pushing them inexorably backward. Soon, the vortex was spinning so fast it looked like a black hole, sending out powerful ripples that the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea couldn't endure, forcing them backward.

Gradually, even Marquis Lu was affected by the pressure. Considering the level of his cultivation base, he was the last one to finally be pushed back, accompanied by massive rumbling sounds.

Naruto floated up into the air above the Uzumaki Clan continents, out into the starry sky where he looked back down at everyone, and especially his grandmother.

Then his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and he waved his finger.

That wave of a finger caused one of the nine continents surrounding the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion to shatter into pieces, transforming into nothing but dust. Then, the pillar of light which had been attached to that continent exploded into countless motes, which then began to rise up into the vortex.

RUMBLE!

The vortex spun faster and faster, and the power and pressure within it grew more intense, causing Marquis Lu's face to fall.

Next, the second continent exploded, then the third and fourth. They all transformed into ash, and the pillars of light attached to them turned into motes which were sucked into the vortex.

The pressure from the vortex increased again, and Marquis Lu was shoved backward, as were all of the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea behind him.

"This…." Marquis Lu's throat and tongue were dry. As he stared at the shocking vortex, he suddenly realized what it most likely was, although that seemed impossible.

RUMBLE!

The fifth continent fell to pieces, then the sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth. The pillars of light shattered, sending countless motes of light up into the air; the pressure from the vortex increased dramatically yet again.

Now, the only thing that remained of the Uzumaki Clan was the ancestral mansion and the continent upon which it stood. The members of the Uzumaki Clan felt their hearts pounding; the terrifying vortex caused their minds to reel until they went blank.

Even the five Dao Realm Patriarchs were shocked, and felt their hearts thumping.

It was at this point that Naruto 's eyes began to glow. He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then waved his finger toward the final main continent.

"Open the path between the Mountains and Seas!" Naruto 's voice echoed out, causing wild colors to flash in the sky. The ash from all of the continents mixed with the motes of light and began to swirl together into the huge black hole.

In the blink of an eye, the black hole had absorbed the power of all of the continents, and all of their combined power from the Mountain and Sea Realm. As it did, it reached what seemed to be its maximum capacity, so when Naruto issued the order, the vortex exploded with an indescribable, shocking aura.

The intensity of that aura caused the minds of all living creatures to tremble, and their souls to shiver. Off in distance, Marquis Lu was staring at the black hole, and the huge beam of light which had just appeared within it.

That light… moved with indescribable speed as it stretched out across the starry sky toward the barrier between the Eighth and Ninth Mountains and Seas, where it then ripped open a rift!

This was an even more shocking scene than the one which had played out when the Three Great Daoist Societies created the Bridge of Immortality.

It was an amazing sight as the beam of light pierced through the barrier, going directly… from the Eighth Mountain and Sea to the Ninth.

In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the entire starry sky lit up, and the cultivators there looked up and trembled. Regardless of whether it was the Namikaze Clan or the other sects and clans, everyone had the same reaction.

"What's happening!?'

"What… what is that?!"

"What's that light? It looks like… maybe some kind of valuable treasure is appearing?" A buzz of conversation filled virtually all locations within the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

However, it was at this point that in the Namikaze clan, there were some, including Namikaze Xiufeng, as well as the Grand Elder and certain others, who could tell that within that light… was a bit of Naruto 's aura!

Back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Marquis Lu saw all of this happen. Falling back again, he looked blankly at the black hole vortex, and the beam of light.

"H-he …opened t-the… the barrier… between the Mountains and Seas. His plan is to send the Uzumaki Clan's continents and clan members all the way to the Ninth Mountain and Sea." With his cultivation base and powers of discernment, Marquis Lu was completely shaken by Naruto 's tactics and abilities, and his mind was left reeling.

He was well aware of the enormous cost that was required to open the barrier between Mountains and Seas. The Seventh Mountain and Sea had prepared for an incredibly long time, and had paid an astonishing price, to tear open that rift. But here Marquis Lu was, watching Naruto do exactly that same thing all on his own. How could he not be shocked?

Naruto looked up at the black hole and the beam of light. Then he spread both hands wide and roared. Instantly, the Uzumaki Clan's entire ancestral mansion and the continent it was on rumbled up into the air. It was as if a giant were shouldering it… hoisting it directly toward the vortex.

Dust flew about, and everything quaked. Naruto was completely focused on the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion as it rose higher and higher, drawing ever closer to the vortex.

Soon, it was just on the verge of reaching the vortex, and then Uzumaki

Naruto murmured, "Grandma, please get there safe and sound."

With that, the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion sank into the vortex, which seemingly gobbled it up. In the blink of an eye, the black hole vanished into the beam of light.

The beam connecting the two Mountains and Seas then began to vanish, starting from the side in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Or perhaps it wasn't vanishing, but disappearing into the distance!

It was soon gone from the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and appeared in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. There, the starry sky rumbled, and the void distorted.

Naruto had successfully sent the Uzumaki Clan off.

The Uzumaki Clan used to reside in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, but now, nothing remained behind. The starry sky quieted, and the ripples faded away. Naruto hovered there alone, looking off in the direction of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Further away in the distance, Marquis Lu hovered there in shock. At some point, he had begun to sweat, and he suddenly realized that in trying to wipe out the Uzumaki Clan, he had been courting death.

Now he realized why his Mountain and Sea Lord had issued orders not to provoke the Uzumaki Clan. It wasn't because he and Naruto were friends. No, it was because… he truly didn't want to provoke them!

That was because, hidden in the Uzumaki Clan, there was a supreme entity, a powerful expert who was so strong… that even Marquis Lu knew he didn't dare to trifle with him.

He had… power to open the barrier between Mountains and Seas, to send an entire continent of clan members all the way to another Mountain and Sea. He was… a shocking, almighty expert.

"Retreat!" he said without any hesitation. Then he flickered into motion, followed by the other cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, whose murderous aura had transformed into expressions of astonishment.

They didn't care about the fact that they were running away with their tails between their legs.

Anybody could tell that whatever fetters had been holding this consummately powerful expert back… were now gone.

It was as if a ravenous primordial beast had suddenly been uncaged!

Rumbling could be heard as the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and

Sea retreated en masse. However, in that exact same moment, Naruto looked away from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, turning so that his gaze fell upon… the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

"You just showed up," he said calmly, "don't run away yet!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1287

Chapter 1287 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1287: Outsider!

As soon as the words left his mouth, the starry sky grew incredibly cold, as if invisible ice was spreading out rapidly in all directions. Wherever it passed, the fleeing cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea were filled with intense coldness, causing their souls to tremble.

Now that he didn't have to worry about the Uzumaki Clan, Naruto turned to look at the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and his killing intent exploded out. He actually didn't have any personal vendetta with these people, and in fact, as the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, it would probably be appropriate to let them off a bit lightly, and not kill them all.

After all, there was a greater war coming, and the stronger the Mountain and Sea Realm was in general, the better. However, despite being aware of that, Naruto didn't choose that course of action.

He was not a hero or a leader, he was just an ordinary cultivator, a former scholar who had always dreamed of being rich.

Had they not provoked him, he could have let things drop. But they had attempted to exterminate the Uzumaki Clan, which was something he couldn't tolerate. In fact, he didn't even want to tolerate it.

He snorted coldly and took a step forward. When his foot fell, an incredible pressure began to weigh down, covering the entire area in the blink of an eye.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, as if there were invisible collisions up in the starry sky. The thousands of cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea all coughed up huge mouthfuls of blood, and expressions of complete astonishment and terror covered their faces.

None of them dared to fight back. They remained in place, trembling and looking with terror at Naruto , not even daring to make the slightest of movements, let alone flee.

Marquis Lu's face fell, but then he gritted his teeth, causing violet light to radiate out from him. It quickly enveloped him, whereupon he burst into movement, apparently intending to break out from the pressure crushing down from Naruto .

"Did I say you could leave?!" Naruto said coolly. He took another step forward, vanishing, then reappearing directly in front of Marquis Lu. He waved his hand.

RUMBLE!

An incredible force exploded out from Naruto , which transformed into a tempest. When it slammed into Marquis Lu, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut. A fierce expression could be seen on his face as he managed to stop in place, then glared at Naruto , flames of madness dancing in his eyes.

"I'm one of the three Marquis of the Seventh Mountain, Lu Yunli!" he shrieked. "If you dare to harm me, the Seventh Mountain will hunt you down and kill you, no matter where you run to!"

Naruto 's only response was to take a third step forward, and then unleash the Life-Extermination Fist, shooting forward and slamming his fist into Marquis Lu's chest.

A boom echoed out as Marquis Lu's chest caved in, causing blood to spray out as he fell back. Cracking sounds could even be heard as a layer of magical cloth armor, which had previously been invisible, shattered.

That was one of his life-saving magical items, something which had enabled him to sweep unrivalled across the battlefield when fighting the

Heavengod Alliance. He had even relied on it to kill some of the Dao Realm experts of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. And yet, Naruto shattered it with a single blow.

"All of you, attack immediately! Kill him!" Marquis Lu cried urgently, face ashen. The other cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea around him hesitated, but about a thousand of them gritted their teeth and charged forward. They quickly formed into groups of nine, arranging themselves in special formation. Those spell formations then grouped into nines to create a grand spell formation!

Rumbling could be heard as dozens of spell formations appeared in the starry sky, which then shot toward Naruto . Brilliant lights flashed, and the ripples of divine abilities spread out. However, Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he made a grasping motion, which tore a rift open. The Blood Demon roared out, instantly charging toward the spell formations. Surrounded by the sounds of explosions, Naruto pierced through the spell formations and began to chase down Marquis Lu.

Madness could be seen in Marquis Lu's eyes. The fact that Naruto could simply disregard the spell formations caused that madness to grow more intense. Throwing caution to the wind, he threw his head back and roared.

"You made me do this!" he roared, extending his hand and causing the totem tattoo there to radiate violet light. It grew more and more intense, and in the blink of an eye, violetChakrasuddenly began to swirl around.

Astonishingly, it transformed into… an enormous head.

It had eight horns on its head, its skin was greenish-black, and its face resembled that of a human. As soon as it appeared, a shocking energy burst out, causing the starry sky to tremble. Furthermore… the face emanated an aura that was not of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

It was… an Outsider!

An Outsider from the 33 Heavens!

As soon as Naruto saw it, he could tell where it came from. At the same time, he could sense the Mountain and Sea Realm stirring with hatred, with the desire to destroy Outsiders, to destroy anything with that blood running through their veins.

The Outsider threw its head back and roared, causing the starry sky to shatter, and a massive tempest to spring up and spin toward Naruto . Simultaneously, the head shot away from Marquis Lu's hand and headed toward Naruto as if to consume him.

"DIE!" screamed Marquis Lu, his face twisted with madness. This was his trump card, something that sucked away at his longevity every time he used it, forcing him to be very cautious about how he utilized it. It was also the entire reason he had charged into the Uzumaki Clan's territory with complete disregard for Naruto .

In his mind, the totem tattoo essentially made him invincible to 4Essences enemies, and enabled him to fight it out with 5-Essences cultivators. In fact, during the fighting against the Heavengod Alliance, he had even fought to a draw with the Heavengod Alliance's Chief Dharma Protector.

Because of that, he was incredibly confident, and his killing intent was currently surging. Now that he had sent the enormous head against Naruto , he was sure that Naruto was as good as dead.

"This totem tattoo is a precious treasure that my Mountain and Sea Lord bestowed upon me. It draws upon the soul of a Heavenly Devil from the Outside world and gives me the power to fight against five Essences! It doesn't matter who you are, you're DEAD!

"After you're dead, the rest of the Eighth Mountain and Sea will accompany you to the Yellow Springs, and the Uzumaki Clan that escaped to the Ninth Mountain and Sea will still be exterminated. Even the Ninth Mountain and Sea will be destroyed!

"In the coming war, nobody will be safe. You're dead no matter what!" Marquis Lu threw his head back and roared madly, drawing upon his longevity to power the totem. Stabbing pain filled his mind, making him go even crazier, to the point where he began to lose his grip on consciousness.

And yet he still maintained control. Performing an incantation gesture, he made the gigantic Outsider's mouth open wide. Its eyes shone with a red light as it made to devour Naruto .

Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he snorted coldly. As the Outsider's head closed in on him, he extended his hand and pointed at it.

It was none other than the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Naruto had known that his Demon Sealing Hexing magic was especially effective on Outsiders. As soon as he finished waving his finger, he waved it again to unleash the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex. Then came the Sixth Hex and the Fifth Hex.

Four waves of a finger caused the Outsider to scream miserably. Black mist began to roil out from inside of it, as it twisted and distorted, howling, "Nine… Seals… Hexing… Magic…. DAMMIT!"

It began to corrode, sending black mist out in all directions. Marquis Lu was shaking, and began to wither as his longevity was rapidly sucked away. However, instead of fleeing, he charged Naruto , face twisted with madness.

"Well, aren't you interesting," Naruto said, eyes flickering. He then reached out and made a grasping motion, but instead of utilizing the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm he unleashed the Star Plucking Magic.

His Ancient Mana flowed, and his 33 Soul Lamps burned brightly. Combining the power of his fleshly body with that of his cultivation base caused Naruto to explode with battle prowess equivalent to five Essences, and that was without the power of the Mountains and Seas!

It was… a terrifying power that was second only to that of a Mountain and Sea Lord. Rumbling could be heard as the Outsider screamed, its face twisting as it sped uncontrollably toward Naruto .

If Naruto managed to grab it, then he would have the soul's life or death within his control. However the face suddenly screamed and began to turn blurry; apparently, it had chosen to self-detonate.

As the face exploded, it used that power to break free, blocking the hand of the Star Plucking Magic and simultaneously transforming into a stream of black mist that began to shoot back toward Marquis Lu.

Naruto swished his sleeve, causing a tempest to spring up. The power of the self-detonation instantly faded away, and Naruto took a step forward toward the black mist.

The black mist moved so fast that Marquis Lu didn't have any time to react. It streamed into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, causing him to tremble and then let out a bloodcurdling scream, as if he were being possessed.

Naruto 's eyes glittered coldly as he closed in. He was just about to perform an incantation gesture when Marquis Lu, face covered in black mist, let out an insane howl.

His energy then spiked, and his skin began to turn green and sprout scales. His head split open as eight horns grew out. Furthermore, his lips split in half so that his mouth was in the shape of a cross. In the blink of an eye, he grew to a height of thirty meters.

Vicious-looking spikes even pierced out through his clothing. Shockingly, what was standing in front of Naruto now was no longer a cultivator, but a humanoid beast!

It was… an Outsider!

The faces of the other cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea fell, and they began to back up. Clearly, even they had not known the true origin of Marquis Lu's totem tattoo.

There were only a few dozen whose faces flickered with what seemed to be panic, but which Naruto saw through to the zeal and devotion toward this version of Marquis Lu that was hidden beneath.

"You're dead! DEAD, I tell you!" The beast-form of Marquis Lu threw his head back and howled, causing his energy to rise higher and higher. Then, his eyes turned red, and he seemingly lost all control of himself, descending fully into madness as he charged Naruto .

Chapter 1287: Outsider!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1288

Chapter 1288: Seizing All Opportunities!

In almost the same instant in which Marquis Lu turned into a beast,

Naruto could sense a rage welling up from the Mountain and Sea Realm, which grew clearer by the second. It would be impossible for others to sense how intense it was, or perhaps they would even believe it to be a figment of their imagination, but in any case, it affected people subconsciously, filling them with a loathing toward Outsiders.

Of course, Naruto could plainly detect this rage, which filled him with the desire to slaughter this Outsider. At the same time, he could sense the fluctuations of the Outsider's actual body, which were coming from… the 33 Heavens beyond the starry sky.

"The rage of the Mountain and Sea Realm, huh?" Naruto looked at the roaring Outsider, whose surging cultivation base exceeded that of the 5-Essences Xiao Yihan. "It's a possession, and at the same time, not a possession…. It's the projected image of a powerful expert from outside in the 33 Heavens, which possessed Marquis Lu. However, the reason it was able to possess him so quickly was that he's actually been this thing's host body for quite some time already." Naruto 's eyes flickered as he advanced, using the power of his fleshly body to slam into the Outsider.

A boom rang out, and then they separated. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and it was the same with the Outsider. Furthermore, the Outsider's chest had caved in, and was leaking violet blood.

"A powerful fleshly body. However, this is only a portion of the power of the Outsider's real body…. Now that I think about it, whichever Outsider in the 33 Heavens is controlling this thing must be someone famous." Naruto 's eyes glittered. Performing an incantation gesture, he sent the Essence of Divine Flame exploding out, instantly enveloping the Outsider.

The Outsider roared, causing numerous huge wooden logs to appear, the surfaces of which were carved with mysterious magical symbols. The logs also erupted with Essence power as they shot to meet Naruto 's Essence of Divine Flame.

After a moment of thought, Naruto waved his hand, causing the Divine Flame to dissipate. Then he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out with his finger. Instantly, numerous mountains began to descend. Naruto didn't stop moving, though; he unleashed one magical technique after another, all of which slammed into the Outsider, as he attempted to get a better understanding of its body and cultivation base.

The Outsider roared under the bombardment of divine abilities. Then its eyes flickered and it extended its hand toward Naruto , making a grasping gesture. That gesture caused Naruto 's heart to tremble, and he suddenly vanished. A moment later, the spot that he had occupied collapsed under a sudden onslaught of flame lightning.

That wasn't the end of it though. Even as Naruto reappeared off in the distance, the Outsider's eyes flickered with killing intent, and it threw its head back and roared, splaying its hands wide above its head, almost as if it were worshipping the sky above.

It was at this point that the starry sky began to tremble, and an aura which clearly did not come from the Mountain and Sea Realm began to spread out in all directions. The aura then began to congeal and take shape into the form… of a gigantic basilisk lizard!

It was fully 30,000 meters long and had towering energy. Naruto could sense the killing intent of the Mountain and Sea Realm explode to new heights. However, for some reason, it was being suppressed, and was unable to be released. It did not provoke the same type of transformations that had occurred in the Mountains and Seas when the Outsider appeared back in the Ruins of Immortality.

"True self, obliterate!" the Outsider roared. The scales on its body shattered, causing blood to spray out. The blood then shot out into the void, and in the blink of an eye, converged onto the right eye of the shocking basilisk. That scarlet-colored eye appeared to gleam with intelligence.

The eye turned to look at Naruto , filling his mind with intense pressure that caused his face to flicker.

"Paragon… Not 9-Essences, but at least 7-Essences," he thought, shaken. A sensation of deadly crisis rose up, and his eyes flickered. He then made a grasping motion, summoning the power of the Mountains and Seas to defend himself.

It was at that point that a red beam shot out from the lizard's eye, filled with terrifying destructive power. It shot directly toward Naruto , slamming into the converged power of the Mountains and Seas.

Rumbling echoed out as terrifying ripples spread out from the red beam. The power of the Mountains and Seas faded away, and the red glow in the huge basilisk's right eye faded away.

Naruto waved his right hand, summoning the Paragon Bridge, which rumbled down to smash onto the body of the basilisk. As his battle prowess erupted, he waved his right finger through the air, causing the power of the Mountains and Seas to slash into the Outsider, sending blood spraying about everywhere.

That wave of a finger caused the starry sky to tremble. Marquis Lu, in the form of an Outsider, trembled and then let out a bloodcurdling scream. Performing an incantation gesture, he unleashed all of the power he could to fight back. However, a moment later, what seemed to be an enormous invisible finger appeared, apparently converged from the power of the Mountains and Seas, which pressed down onto him.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he fell back, his arms shattered, his chest caved in, exploding in a mass of blood and gore. As for the basilisk projection, it was crushed by the Paragon Bridge, and began to howl as it faded away.

"It would be a real pity to let you die like this," Naruto said. Even as Marquis Lu in Outsider-form began to collapse into pieces, Naruto appeared next to him and reached out to grab the top of his shattering head. It was a Soulsearch!

However, what he was Soulsearching was not just Marquis Lu's soul. Rather, he was also using it as a bridge… to connect to the soul of the almighty expert above in the 33 Heavens.

That expert might be a Paragon, but Naruto would still perform the Soulsearch anyway. He wanted to know… exactly how much of a difference there was between his divine sense and that of a Paragon!

RUMBLE!

Marquis Lu's head trembled, and his eyes were fixed on Naruto . As of that moment, Naruto could see all of his memories, and at the same time, he could sense a faint and fraying thread connecting Marquis Lu to the 33 Heavens above the starry sky. Without a moment of hesitation, he began to follow that thread.

In almost the exact same instant that he began to follow the thread, his mind trembled, and he sensed a powerful will on the other end, something that he couldn't match up to by even ten percent.

He only made brief contact with that entity via divine sense, and yet the backlash almost destroyed him. He shot backward, eyes gleaming. He wasn't thinking about how he had almost been destroyed, nor was he thinking about his injuries. Instead… he was thinking about the rare chance he had!

It was an opportunity to dramatically increase the power of his divine sense!

A roar was echoing out from that towering divine sense, as if the Soulsearching Naruto had instigated was an unprecedented provocation of the Paragon in the 33 Heavens.

Divine sense rumbled out, shooting directly toward Naruto to eradicate him.

All of these things take some time to describe, but this battle of divine sense actually happened in an instant. Naruto 's divine sense began to collapse almost immediately, and he followed the tiny remaining thread back into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

At the same time, the divine sense from the 33 Heavens' Paragon followed him!

Blood instantly sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and his face went deathly pale. He shot backward, and Marquis Lu's head exploded into a haze of blood. At the same time, that boundless divine sense power shot out from the blood toward Naruto .

Naruto 's eyes flickered as killing intent exploded out from all directions, enveloping everything. The divine sense was instantly suppressed, and simultaneously the thread connecting it to the 33 Heavens was severed due to Marquis Lu's death.

The pressure of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm had severed the divine sense from its true form. Next, Naruto , eyes glittering, suddenly opened his mouth and sucked in a huge breath.

As he did, rumbling sounds echoed out, and the divine sense was absorbed into his body. His mind felt like it was about to explode, and blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. However, at the same time, the power of the Dao Divinity Scripture rotated madly within him.

After cultivating the Dao Divinity Scripture, Naruto had long since come to realize that it was actually a supreme Daoist scripture designed to allow the person who cultivated it to consume the divine sense of others and make it their own.

However, this time, he was consuming the divine sense of a Paragon. Although it was only a bit of the entire thing, to Naruto , it counted as a significant increase. He was shaking, and blood was pouring out of his orifices. A mist of blood surrounded him, and pain wracked his body; he felt like he was about to explode.

He coughed up one mouthful of blood after another, and his body shook so violently it felt like it would collapse. His Eternal stratum operated madly, forcing him to stay alive. Over and over again, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he hovered on the brink of collapse.

He was a mangled mass of blood, and the flame of his life force was teetering on the verge of being extinguished. And yet, his eyes were shining brightly.

Then, a roar echoed out from beyond the starry sky, from the 33 Heavens, a roar of rage that could destroy Heaven and Earth.

A moment later, Naruto shuddered, and then the collapse of his body stopped. The Paragon's divine sense had been forcefully absorbed and suppressed, but only temporarily; he needed to quickly find a suitable place to go into secluded meditation and fuse with it.

His eyes were shot with blood, and his body was incredibly weak. However, his divine sense had experienced explosive growth, and was at least twice as powerful as before…and he had just begun the absorption!

With that vastly more powerful divine sense, he looked over at the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, who stood there trembling, not even daring to look at him. Most of them had heads bowed, and were kneeling in worship.

Naruto wiped the blood off of his mouth, then coldly looked up into the depths of the sky. Just now, he had experienced a brush with death; consuming the divine sense of a Paragon had been a very risky thing to do.

Even the Paragon out in the 33 Heavens had never even considered that someone would do something so wildly insane. That was because that person didn't know Naruto , and didn't know his philosophy that not acquiring something was the same as losing it.

Naruto was the type of person who, when encountering a Paragon whom he couldn't kill, would scheme to take that person's divine sense.

"Rewards come only with risk. How true, how true!" Naruto licked his lips.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1289

Chapter 1289 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1289: Extinguishing the First Lamp!

Naruto ignored the reverence being offered by the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea. He turned and vanished, killing no one. The fact that they had all been so shocked by the sudden appearance of an Outsider was very telling.

However, there had been some whose eyes had revealed looks of devotion, although they had pretended to be surprised. As for those people, a moment later their heads all exploded, and they were killed in body and spirit.

The survivors looked around in shock, then slowly dispersed. None of them went back to the battlefields in the Heavengod Alliance. To them, seeing Marquis Lu turn into an Outsider was a huge shock. Because of the seed of hatred toward Outsiders which had been planted in their hearts, they began to speculate as to the implications of what had occurred.

When Naruto reappeared, he was far off in the distance, where he yet again coughed up a mouthful of blood. The Paragon's divine sense had once again burst out within him, breaking past its suppression. The Dao Divinity Scripture then began to operate madly, consuming the divine sense. Naruto gritted his teeth as blood spurted out of his wounds, and his body hovered on the brink of collapse.

He then struggled to perform a teleportation, reappearing on an asteroid some distance away. He quickly bored his way into the heart of the asteroid, where he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.

Before slipping into deep meditation, he quickly set up layer upon layer of restrictive spells around himself. If anyone had been watching, they would have even seen the asteroid distort, and then seemingly vanish. In reality, it had merely been cloaked.

No one would be able to detect the asteroid or Naruto unless they had a cultivation base and divine sense superior to his.

Seven days passed by rather quickly. During that time, Naruto experienced numerous near-death encounters. His body almost collapsed several times, and was barely held together by his Eternal stratum, as well as the consumption of medicinal pills.

He became quite gaunt, until he was almost nothing more than skin and bones. However, his eyes shone brightly, the reason being that during the seven days, his divine sense grew vastly more powerful!

In fact, by now, it had experienced threefold growth compared to before!

Such explosive growth in divine sense enabled Naruto to be much more confident regarding the use of his cultivation base, and also helped him to understand his divine abilities and magical techniques much better. Not only was he able to control and use them better, but, more importantly, the increase in divine sense led him to the position… where extinguishing the Soul Lamps of the Ancient Realm was now a distinct possibility!

After the seven days passed, Naruto opened his eyes. His body was no longer hovering on the brink of collapse. He was weak, and yet, the flame of his life force now burned hotter than ever, and was much more stable.

"Finally, it's all been consumed," he said slowly, eyes shining with intense brightness. "My divine sense is now thirty percent that of the divine sense of a Paragon…."

A smile twisted his face as he waved his sleeve, causing 33 Soul Lamps to suddenly appear around him.

After examining them for a moment, he gritted his teeth and closed his eyes. Rotating his cultivation base, he began to heal himself; because of the increase in his divine sense, his Eternal stratum was now much more powerful, which made him recover even faster.

This time, it only took a single day to recover from his gaunt state. Now, his cultivation base and his fleshly body were completely recovered to their peak state, as was his soul and divine sense.

Finally, he opened his eyes and looked at his first Soul Lamp. That lamp was at its peak, and was the first of the lot to have ceased absorbing the energy of Heaven and Earth

Naruto studied the lamp for a while, and the decisiveness in his eyes slowly began to turn into hesitation. After a while though, the decisiveness returned, and he made his decision.

He would… extinguish his first Soul Lamp, and experience that reversal of life and death that occurred along with the extinguishing of Soul Lamps.

"I have to extinguish these Soul Lamps eventually anyway. I'm now unprecedentedly powerful in terms of my fleshly body and my divine sense. Furthermore, I can tell that power of one's divine sense and the strength of one's soul are critical factors in extinguishing Soul Lamps.

"At the same time, I can test out… if extinguishing the first Soul Lamp will have some effect on the other Soul Lamps' capacity to absorb the energy of Heaven and Earth." Naruto eyed the first Soul Lamp, then clenched his jaw and unhesitatingly waved his hand in the direction of the lamp.

The first Soul Lamp immediately began to sway back and forth, and the flame inside began to flicker, as if it could be extinguished at any moment. That effect was the result, not of Naruto 's actual waving of the hand, but rather, the fact that all his willpower was focused on extinguishing the lamp.

Only when one's will and body are aligned, can the lamps be extinguished!

"Extinguish!" he said softly. As the words left his mouth, the flame of the first Soul Lamp… winked out!

In the moment it was extinguished, Naruto trembled. The Soul Lamp was absorbed into his soul, and also connected to his blood, as if it had become part of his very life. In that moment, though, the shadow of death completely covered him.

Naruto began to shiver as the flame of his life force rapidly darkened. His vitality waned, on the verge of winking out, and his cultivation base couldn't rotate. Even the power of his divine sense was difficult to operate, and his thoughts began to fade.

An aura of death gradually began to emanate out from him, growing stronger and stronger. His soul also withered, and his fleshly body seemed to decay.

It was a strange sight; Naruto seemed to be hovering on the verge of death, his aura becoming weaker and weaker.

If anyone could observe him in that moment, that is what they would see.

The truth of the matter, though, was that although Naruto 's eyes were shut, he was looking at… a different world. The inside of the asteroid was completely gray, and in fact, everything that he could see was also gray.

He rose to his feet and was shocked to find that his body remained in the same position as before, sitting there cross-legged. What had risen up was apparently his soul, which was in the process of dispersing.

He stepped forward and looked back at his fleshly body sitting there in meditation. He could see that his body was withering, and that his blood was wasting away. He saw the thick aura of death, and realized that his soul was dispersing. All of that made Naruto feel as if he were right at death's door.

"So this is what it's like to extinguish the Soul Lamps of the Ancient Realm…." he murmured. It was back in the Namikaze Clan that he had learned about extinguishing Soul Lamps. What he had learned was that every Ancient Realm cultivator experienced something different in the moment of extinguishing. Not only every person, but every single lamp was different.

However, throughout all the years, a certain general set of rules become clear to cultivators.

"My extinguishing of Soul Lamps in the Ancient Realm will be comprised of the Seven Desolations!" he murmured, eyes shining.

"Every five lamps brings one Desolation. Few people experience the Fourth Desolation, and even rarer is the Fifth Desolation. Some people only experience the Third Desolation…. The further along you get, the more dangerous they become….

"The First Desolation is also called the Desolation of Delusion….

"Well then, this must be the Desolation of Delusion." Naruto walked back, sat down cross-legged in the same position as his fleshly body, and attempted to re-connect his soul.

However, nothing worked. It was as if his body were rejecting his soul. Naruto frowned, then stood up again. His fleshly body was even more withered than before, causing his expression to turn grim. He suddenly flickered into motion, appearing outside of the asteroid. When he looked around, he saw nothing but endless fog, swirling and churning. Everything was completely silent.

"The Desolation of Delusion," he murmured, "The Desolation of Delusion…. Where does the 'delusion' part come in…?" He turned to look back in the direction of the asteroid, and suddenly realized that the asteroid had changed. It was now a huge, crimson heart, thumping and writhing. Countless faces could be seen on its surface, all of them howling at Naruto . Furthermore, those faces… looked familiar.

They were all the people he had killed in his life.

He looked coldly at the faces, and began to back up slowly. In that instant, a huge hand appeared, covered with blood-colored scales. It shot out from within the heart, rumbling toward him as it sought to crush him, causing everything in the area to shatter.

Its power caused the surrounding fog to writhe, and as it stretched out, it was joined by a vicious voice that echoed out from inside the heart.

" Naruto … I've been waiting for a long time…. Didn't I say that when the time came to extinguish your Soul Lamps, I would come back!?" The roar echoed out in all directions, and the heart began to shrink. In the blink of an eye, it shattered, disappearing along with the hand.

However, the cold voice continued to echo out.

"I've erased the projection of your fleshly body. You'll never find the path back now. You're stuck here. Soon, your fleshly body will wither up completely, and your blood will run dry. Your divine sense will vanish, and your soul… will dissipate within this place."

Naruto 's face darkened, and he waved his sleeve. Instantly, the shattered pieces of the heart which had been flying about stopped falling down.

"The Desolation of Delusion is this entire place…." he thought. "A desolate, illusory world which appears after extinguishing the first Soul

Lamp. My soul was pulled in here, and if I can't get it back into my

fleshly body before my body withers up, then I'll definitely die. Whoever thought that the extinguishing of the first Soul Lamp would be like this?

"If I hadn't consumed that divine sense from the 33 Heavens' Paragon, then this might have been a bit of a difficult situation. But now…." Naruto laughed coldly. After all, despite being only a soul, his divine sense was still there. Suddenly, that divine sense exploded out, sweeping around him in all directions.

In the blink of an eye, his divine sense spread out to cover an area the size of what his previous divine sense could reach at its very limit. To him, however that was merely thirty percent of his total divine sense.

"Again!" he said, sending his divine sense sweeping out even further in all directions, sending out boundless ripples that caused the fog to seethe.

"Gotcha!" he said, eyes glittering. Astonishingly, he had just caught sight of an asteroid off in the fog, an asteroid which was the location of his fleshly body.

"Impossible!" someone roared madly from within the fog. It was the same voice that had spoken just now, which was also the same voice he had heard during his Ancient Tribulation.

Chapter 1289: Extinguishing the First Lamp!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1290

Chapter 1290: Returning to the Heavengod Alliance

"Nothing's impossible," Naruto said with a cold snort. His divine sense exploded out, and the fog within it seethed as though some gigantic, invisible hand were stirring it. It only took a moment for all of the fog to begin to spin around.

If it were possible to view the scene from high above, it would appear as if all of the fog in the world had transformed into a vortex, breaking the silence and causing rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he hovered there in the center of the vortex, his body seemingly ethereal and illusory. At the same time, a powerful aura emanated out from him, the power of his soul, combined with the power of his divine sense!

By this point, Naruto 's divine sense was at forty percent of the power of a Paragon.

Such power might not seem like much, but in truth, it had already reached a shocking level. After all… the power of the divine sense of a 5Essences Dao Sovereign was only ten percent of that of a Paragon. Even the various powerful Mountain and Sea Lords would at most have thirty percent. Only 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns, at their very peak, could come close to forty or fifty percent.

Right now, though, Naruto already had the divine sense of a 6Essences Dao Sovereign, and when it exploded out, wild colors flashed in Heaven and Earth, and the starry sky trembled. After all… a 6Essences Dao Sovereign was the most powerful entity in existence beneath a Paragon!

Furthermore, Paragons were incredibly rare. For the most part, 6Essences Dao Sovereigns could be considered invincible.

Naruto 's divine sense rumbled out, and his energy soared. He strode forward, and when his foot fell, he was directly back in front of the asteroid!

All it took was a single step!

In that instant, a furious roar echoed out from within the void, and the huge hand with red scales stretched out to crush Naruto .

"Just what I was waiting for," Naruto said with a cold snort. As the hand closed in on him, Naruto raised his arms, and his eyes flickered with a cold gleam of killing intent.

"Detonate!" As soon as he uttered that single word, this entire world which was suffused with his divine sense exploded out with destructive power that began to tear away at everything, starting at the borders, with Naruto 's location in the center.

From a distance, it would look as though the edges of the vortex were collapsing, layer by layer, growing closer to the middle. Even the body from which the huge hand extended, which was hidden within the void, was being enveloped by the destructive power of Naruto 's divine sense.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Massive, shocking rumbling could be heard, and the scaled hand didn't even have a chance to reach Naruto . A miserable scream rang out as it was overwhelmed by divine sense, and then shredded to pieces.

At the same time, not too far off from Naruto , within the void, an enormous figure became visible. It was just an outline, and was impossible to distinguish clearly, but it was fully 30,000 meters tall, with two horns growing out of its head. It was crimson, and was apparently a unique Greater Demon. As Naruto 's destructive divine sense overwhelmed it, it howled.

"I'm gonna kill you!" it shrieked, fighting back against the power of Naruto 's divine sense, and even taking a step forward as if to approach him.

Naruto 's expression was cold as he waved his hand at the figure.

"Scram!" All he said was a single word.

However, when that single word left his mouth, the power of his divine sense became even more explosive. Now, it didn't spread out in all directions, it was completely focused on a single point. Instead of shattering his surroundings, he used all of that power to create a tempest which swept over the enormous figure.

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and the huge creature howled miserably. It was no longer trying to approach Naruto , but instead was being shoved back relentlessly by the tempest that was Naruto 's divine sense.

"I refuse to accept this!" the creature roared furiously. However, it couldn't prevent itself from being forced backward, and in the blink of an eye, it was far, far off in the distance.

"You refuse, and so do I," Naruto said coolly. "Next time… you don't need to come looking for me, I'll come find you." With that, he strode toward the asteroid, floated inside, and then found his fleshly body sitting there cross-legged.

His body was withered to an extreme degree, and abounded with an aura of death. He was clearly on the verge of dying.

Naruto didn't hesitate for a moment. He quickly approached his body and then sat down cross-legged in the same position. His mind rumbled, and then he fused.

Back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, within that asteroid that no one could see, the cross-legged Naruto suddenly trembled. Then his eyes snapped open, and their previously listless gray color changed to a bright gleam. At the same time, his fleshly body reverted from its withered state, and the aura of death vanished from his blood and flesh. His life force gradually began to surge.

Naruto took a deep breath, then slowly closed his eyes. His first Soul Lamp was now completely extinguished; a wisp of smoke curled up, which almost seemed to possess intelligence as it swirled into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. In that instant, the extinguished Soul Lamp erupted with a shocking aura that filled Naruto .

He shivered as his fleshly body was fully restored, and his blood began to flow vigorously. At the same time, his cultivation base rose up. Everything except the physical aspect of him was rapidly increasing in power.

It was the same with his soul and his divine sense. Everything rocketed up. His divine sense increased, although not doubling as he had expected but, rather, increasing by a fraction. Even still, Naruto 's energy had now reached a completely shocking level.

His aura climbed, and he virtually thrummed with the sensation of increasing power.

Three days passed by in the blink of an eye.

Suddenly, the void distorted as the previously invisible asteroid once again became visible. Then, it collapsed, although no sound emanated out at all. The entire massive asteroid noiselessly… transformed into ash, as if it had disintegrated.

Floating within that ash was a cross-legged figure, Naruto . He was surrounded by 33 Soul Lamps… 32 lit, 1 extinguished!

Ripples spread out from him that caused the starry sky to tremble, but then quickly vanished. His eyes snapped open, and they glowed brightly; for some reason, even the starry sky seemed to brighten.

Naruto took a deep breath, causing massive amounts of the energy of Heaven and Earth to rumble into him. Then, he slowly breathed out.

"The Ancient Realm…" he said softly, "This is where cultivators can advance by leaps and bounds, a place where the rotten can be changed into the magical. What a mystical Realm!" With that, he rose to his feet, whereupon cracking sounds echoed out from inside him.

Naruto looked over the rest of the 32 lit Soul Lamps, then slowly shook his head. "Unfortunately, it's not as I had speculated before. The remaining Soul Lamps will not become more powerful as I do."

Finally, he waved his sleeve, causing the Soul Lamps to grow blurry and fade away.

"I need to finish things here in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and then get to the Fourth Mountain and Sea as quickly as possible… to bring Hinata back." He turned his head to look off in the direction of the Seventh

Mountain and Sea, except, what he was looking at was not that Seventh Mountain and Sea, but rather, several Mountains and Seas beyond… to the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

"According to the memories of Marquis Lu… war… is not just being fought here." After reviewing the information he had gleaned from the Soulsearch, he realized that the Seventh Mountain and Sea wasn't the only Mountain and Sea within the Realm which was invading a neighbor.

"The Sixth Mountain and Sea has also started a Mountain and Sea War.

"The Seventh Mountain and Sea invaded the Eighth with more than one purpose in mind. They also want use this location as a spot from which to march on to the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"As for the Sixth Mountain and Sea, they have invaded the Fifth

Mountain and Sea with exactly the same goal in mind… to lock down a position from which to attack the most powerful of all the Mountains and Seas, the Fourth!" After a moment of thought, Naruto took a step forward, heading in the direction of the Heavengod Alliance.

Without having to worry about the Uzumaki Clan, he was free to act however he wished. In his view, the best way to end the war was not to simply prevent the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea from attacking the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Instead… he needed to go to the rift between the two Mountains and Seas, to face the ever-nearing Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

His eyes flickered thoughtfully as he got closer and closer to the Heavengod Alliance. As he did, he could sense familiar fluctuations coming from the Eighth Mountain, which was located within the territory of the Heavengod Alliance.

Several hours later, Naruto was at one of the entrances to the Heavengod Alliance. The planet that had once existed there was gone; it had become nothing more than rubble filled with corpses and ruins.

This was a place the Seventh Mountain and Sea had long since attacked and breached. It had also become their command center, and the ruins stretching out bore strong semblance to the Ruins of Immortality.

Both were the crumbled remnants left behind by war.

Naruto looked around and then proceeded into the territory of the Heavengod Alliance. As he went along, he could sense the ripples that were the remnants of magical techniques, as well as the all-pervasive sensation of blood and gore.

Off in the distance, he saw a few dozen figures making their way through the ruins and rubble, searching for cultivators who were feigning death and killing them, then looting their magical items and bags of holding.

As soon as Naruto appeared, those figures saw him, and almost immediately, their eyes flickered with killing intent. They sent their divine sense out, and when it reached Naruto , they could tell that he was only in the Ancient Realm, and vicious smiles broke out on their faces.

"So it's a leftover cultivator from the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Kill him!" As soon as the words rang out, the dozens of cultivators powered up their cultivation bases, and their killing intent surged. Their eyes were red from the months of killing they had already participated in. Unfortunately for them, their cultivation bases didn't qualify to be able to detect how truly terrifying Naruto was. Thinking him to be just another cultivator who had survived the recent battle, they closed in to finish him off.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1291

Chapter 1291 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1291: Who Said It Was a Worthless Incantation?

It was almost as if Naruto didn't even notice those incoming cultivators. He proceeded along as before, but then casually waved his hand. Instantly, the dozen or so cultivators began to tremble. Their faces went slack, then they toppled over and became a part of the surrounding ruins.

Naruto didn't kill them, but rather dispersed their consciousness, putting them into a state of sleep from which they would awaken in a few months.

As he traveled through the Heavengod Alliance, he noticed many places where planets had once existed which were now nothing more than rubble. Everything was in ruins, and corpses could be seen everywhere, cultivators from both the Eighth and the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

Naruto 's face was very grim as he went along, getting deeper and deeper into the territory of the Heavengod Alliance. Up ahead, he could sense Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering ripples, and could even hear the sounds of screaming mixed in, along with massive explosions.

That was clearly… where the front lines of the battle were.

His divine sense expanded out, spreading out through virtually the entire Heavengod Alliance. In that whole area, there were only two people he cared about. One was the Noble Ran, and the other… was on the Eighth Mountain.

In fact, those two people were the entire reason why he had come here to begin with.

With his divine sense, Naruto could see that half of the former Heavengod Alliance's territory was now in complete ruin, and was controlled by the Seventh Mountain and Sea. By now, their cultivators numbered in the millions, and had been divided into four main armies which stabbed into the Heavengod Alliance from four different directions.

The cultivators of the Heavengod Alliance were also split into four main armies to defend against the various offenses. However, it was obvious that they were being forced inexorably back, and would eventually be defeated. There was little hope of achieving victory.

Not too far away from Naruto , in the starry sky of the Heavengod Alliance, in the most bloody and bitter of the four battlefields, a shattered planet was transforming into a black hole, and had begun swallowing up many of the surrounding cultivators.

A grand battle was being fought here, with more than 700,000 cultivators on each side. It was a spectacular, sprawling fight, and at any particular moment the shrill cries of the dying could be heard.

Explosions echoed out constantly, and the glow of magical techniques rose up high into the starry sky. Terrifying ripples spread out chaotically, and the entire scene was one of disorder.

Higher up was where the Dao Realm experts were fighting. Naruto could see the Chief Dharma Protector of the Heavengod Society, as well as… the boy Xiao Yihan. The two of them were locked in a Heavenshaking, Earth-shattering battle.

Clearly, the Chief Dharma Protector was no match for Xiao Yihan. However, he wore a green suit of armor that boosted his power to the point where he could at least hold his own.

There were more than a few Dao Realm experts in the battle, and wherever they fought, massive booms and explosions echoed out.

Naruto caught sight of the first Patriarch of the Righteous Noble Sect, who was in a very sorry state and seemed to be on his last legs. Naruto continued to scan the battlefield until he finally found the Noble Ran.

Shockingly, he was up against two Dao Realm experts from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, who were attacking him in unison. It was a breathtaking battle, and unfortunately, he was weakening by the moment. His body a mass of wounds and injuries, and his face was completely ashen. He looked like an oil lamp running low on fuel, sputtering on the verge of being extinguished.

As soon as Naruto caught sight of him, his eyes flickered coldly, and he took a step in that direction.

On the battlefield itself, the Noble Ran was laughing bitterly. Booms rang out, and blood spurted from his wounds as he was forced back relentlessly. His injuries were many and serious; in the past months, he had been in so many fights he had lost count.

Despite fighting so bitterly, the mad advance of the Seventh Mountain and Sea was unstoppable. The Righteous Noble Sect… was no more. Vast numbers of disciples had been killed, and the third Patriarch was dead. Only the Noble Ran and the first Patriarch remained.

"Perhaps this battle… is where I will perish," thought the Noble Ran as he performed an incantation gesture, once again fighting back against his two Dao Realm opponents. One of those opponents was a middleaged man, the other was elderly. Their cultivation bases were at the same level as his, and they attacked with complete viciousness. They clearly wanted to kill the Noble Ran more than anything else, and in response to his move, they unleashed their Essence power, creating a huge mountain of ice, within which was sealed a black eyeball.

As the mountain sped toward the Noble Ran, it melted, creating a powerful blast of freezing air. Cracking sounds could be heard as everything froze over and was covered by layer after layer of frost. Simultaneously, the black eyeball flew out, becoming a black beam of light that shot toward the Noble Ran.

He laughed bitterly as the freezing ice spread out over his body, and the black beam of light closed in. Finally, he bit his tongue and spit out a glob of blood, which transformed into a blood mist that blocked the black light.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, and a stubborn gleam appeared in the

Noble Ran's eyes. He took a deep breath and then said, "The Dao is in My Heart!"

Instantly, the ice covering him cracked and then shattered away.

The two Dao Realm experts he was facing began to laugh coldly.

"That move again? Noble Ran, we've fought back and forth numerous times, and this isn't the first time you've tried to use that Seal the Heavens Incantation, and it never works! Anybody can see that it's a completely worthless incantation!"

"The Seal the Heavens Incantation is a complete joke. I've heard people say that you got it to work once, is that right? To tell you the truth, I really look forward to seeing that happen. I want to see this 'Seal the Heavens Incantation' that you supposedly used to block tens of thousands of opponents at the same time." The two Dao Realm experts continued to laugh coldly. Instead of unleashing attacks, they merely hovered there, looking at the Noble Ran with cold cynicism.

Their words stung, but the Noble Ran's eyes gleamed with stubborness. He had succeeded, albeit only once. However, that one time in which he had succeeded had given his apprentice the chance to escape.

That one success was something he would never forget.

 _The Seal the Heavens Incantation is not worthless!_

"The Will is in My Eyes!" roared the Noble Ran, then gritted his teeth as he assumed the proper pose, to further mockery from his opponents.

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas, Seal the Heavens Incantation!" The Noble Ran threw his head back and roared, splaying both arms out wide and then waving them out. However… absolutely no magical technique appeared.

The Noble Ran's eyes faded, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He chuckled bitterly, and yet deep inside he still believed that the Seal the Heavens Incantation was not worthless.

"How many times have you tried to use that magic? Every single time you prove that it's a completely worthless incantation!"

"What a pity. We've still never even seen this so-called Seal the Heavens Incantation." The two cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea shook their heads and then began to speed toward the Noble Ran, pulsing with killing intent.

In his bitterness, the Noble Ran slowly began to speak, more to himself than to anyone else, "It's not a worthless incantation, it's the Seal the Heavens Incantation, which I created myself…. The Seal the Heavens Incantation!

"I succeeded once before…." he murmured. He had paid an unimaginable price to create the Seal the Heavens Incantation, and the memories of what had occurred were something he didn't like to recall.

It was an incredible pain that he kept hidden away deep in his heart.

RUMBLE!

As the two Dao Realm experts closed in, they joined forces to unleash a powerful magical technique. The image of a huge black centipede appeared, a vicious creature which opened its mouth as if to consume the Noble Ran.

"Take your worthless incantation with you into death!"

However, it was at this point that an icy cold voice suddenly echoed out across the battlefield, exploding into the ears of the two Dao Realm cultivators.

"You people want to see the Seal the Heavens Incantation? Well then, I'll give you that chance right now…. The Dao is in My Heart!" As soon as the words "The Dao is in My Heart" echoed out, massive rumbling filled Heaven and Earth and everything shook. At the same time, a shocking aura spread out to fill the starry sky.

The two Dao Realm experts' faces fell. The voice from just now had pierced into their minds, causing them to tremble physically. They looked up into the starry sky and saw a figure approaching.

That figure wore a long robe, and his descent caused the more than a million fiercely fighting cultivators on the battlefield to be filled with shock. As for his words, they echoed about like the crash of thunder.

This new arrival was none other than Naruto !

When the Noble Ran saw him, he began to tremble, and his eyes filled with happiness. He began to laugh, and the look in his eyes turned to that of excitement.

"My little disciple, my little disciple…."

"The Will is in My Eyes!" Naruto said, which was the second line of the incantation. His voice echoed out, booming like thunder, causing the two Dao Realm experts from the Seventh Mountain and Sea to cough up blood. Looks of shock and disbelief flashed across their faces.

They weren't the only ones. The other Dao Realm experts in the area all looked over in astonishment. Of course, what was most shocking to them was not just the power of Naruto 's voice, but the fact that all of a sudden… an indescribable pressure had begun to weigh down on them.

That boundless pressure felt like an enormous mountain crushing down onto their backs.

It was… the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The first Patriarch of the Righteous Noble Sect looked on in astonishment. The other Dao Realm experts on both sides of the battlefield felt their minds spinning. As for the Chief Dharma Protector of the Heavengod Society, when he recognized Naruto , he immediately gasped.

However, the one who was most shocked wasn't him, it was… the boy Xiao Yihan. He looked at Naruto with wide eyes for a moment before turning around and fleeing.

That was the reaction of the Dao Realm experts. As for all of the other million or more cultivators on the battlefield, the power of the Mountains and Seas caused them to tremble, and their minds to reel. Instantly, all of the fighting completely stopped. All because of a single person!

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas…." Naruto said, the third line of the incantation. The entire starry sky was filled with booming sounds like those of war drums, sounds that caused everyone present to be completely shaken. Their minds buzzed as the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm seemed to become even stronger than before.

It was as if massive power had built up and was now being released, creating a pressure that overwhelmed the minds of everyone present. It was a pressure that didn't just affect their cultivation bases; it actually caused everyone to stop breathing.

Only the Noble Ran was smiling. As for the two Dao Realm opponents he had been fighting, their faces were ashen, and their minds spun out of control.

The entire world, the entire starry sky, seemed to converge upon Uzumaki

Naruto They watched as Naruto … spoke the third line, stretched his hands out wide, then waved them toward the starry sky, simultaneously speaking the final words of the incantation.

"Seal… the Heavens… Incantation!"

Chapter 1291: Who Said It Was a Worthless Incantation?

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1292

Chapter 1292 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1292: Are you… My Grandpa Uzumaki?

Rain began to fall in the starry sky.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to call it the tears of the

Mountains and Seas…. Tears for the battle, tears for the crumbled ruins, tears for the slaughter, tears because of the mutual destruction unleashed by the cultivators of the Mountains and Seas.

The tears began to fall in the instant that Naruto said the final words of the incantation. They fell from the starry sky down onto the battlefield, splashing onto all the cultivators there.

It was a gentle rain that seemed to contain no force whatsoever. The cultivators first stared in shock, but then began to relax. The pressure from moments ago had been shocking to the extreme, but in contrast, this rain seemed completely powerless. The Dao Realm experts from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, who had been so nervous moments ago, now had strange expressions on their faces.

The two who had been fighting with the Noble Ran even chuckled.

"Seal the Heavens Incantation? This is the Seal the Heavens Incantation?"

"How droll. What an amusing magical technique." Their nervousness instantly began to fade away. After breathing sighs of relief, they then began to laugh loudly.

However, they backed up nonetheless. Although they did not fear the Seal the Heavens Incantation, the sudden addition of Naruto onto the battlefield was definitely fear-inspiring.

The Chief Dharma Protector of the Heavengod Society sighed inwardly, and the other almighty Dao Realm experts of the Eighth Mountain and Sea looked on with grim expressions. There were only three people on the battlefield who had different reactions. One was Naruto , and another was the Noble Ran.

The Noble Ran was laughing, a laughter filled with happiness and excitement.

The third person who was acting completely differently was the boy Xiao Yihan, who was fleeing at top speed, and in a flash had exited the battlefield. Of everyone present, he understood Naruto the best, and was completely terrified of him.

As for Naruto , he was completely calm as he closed his eyes. The

Noble Ran's laughter continued to echo out as he too closed his eyes.

The moment that Master and apprentice closed their eyes, the entire starry sky began to shake. The falling rain then erupted with a power that could shake Heaven and Earth. As it surged out, the gentleness from before became a burning madness.

It was as if the Mountain and Sea Realm had suddenly gone from being incredibly sad to being exceedingly furious!

It was furious that the living beings in the Mountain and Sea Realm would slaughter each other, furious that the 33 Heavens had completely sealed the Mountain and Sea Realm. It was furious at anything and everything!

RUMBLE!

A raindrop exploded, bypassing the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea to slam into the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Their faces fell as the power of that raindrop's explosion hit them like a mountain.

RUMMMMBLLLE!

One raindrop after another began to explode, filling the battlefield with intense explosions. In the blink of an eye, the whole battlefield was collapsing as the boundless power of the Mountains and Seas erupted out violently!

Bloodcurdling screams rose up from the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, as nearly a million cultivators coughed up huge mouthfuls of blood. That blood merged together into an entire sea of blood which swept out like floodwaters!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Things weren't over yet. The explosions continued as all of the rain detonated. The power of the Mountains and Seas… was thoroughly unleashed; it was like a giant, roaring across the battlefield. Each time it waved its arms, blood sprayed from mouths and cultivators were sent spinning through the air.

The Dao Realm experts from the Seventh Mountain and Sea wore expressions of shock; they could clearly sense the power of the Mountains and Seas, and could tell that it was incensed!

"What… what power is this?!"

"I can feel the rage of Heaven and Earth, this… this is shocking!"

"Heaven and Earth is furious, the Mountain and Sea Realm is rejecting us! I can even sense my Essence trembling!" Cries of alarm rose up, filled with disbelief and astonishment. The Dao Realm cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea were being suppressed by the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself. Rumbling echoed out as blood sprayed out of their mouths, and they were sent tumbling through the air.

This shocking scene played out all over the battlefield. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of all of the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and they began to fall back, albeit not voluntarily; they were being shoved backward by a massive force.

All across the battlefield, the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea looked on with gaping jaws. The Chief Dharma Protector of the

Heavengod Society was astonished, and the first Patriarch of the Righteous Noble Sect was shocked. All of the Dao Realm experts of the Eighth Mountain and Sea were aghast.

That was not even to mention the other cultivators who were not in the Dao Realm. Everyone was flabbergasted.

"This power… it's the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the will of the Mountains and Seas!"

"The Seal the Heavens Incantation… the Noble Ran's Seal the Heavens

Incantation can actually control the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!" Looks of disbelief began to appear on the faces of the Dao Realm cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

A huge gap now existed between the two sides on the battlefield.

However, no one was killed. The cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea were injured and shocked, and their cultivation bases were suppressed, but no one was killed.

Even still, what was happening was completely astonishing.

The two Dao Realm experts who had been fighting the Noble Ran were included in that. Their faces were masses of shock and fear, and when they felt the power of expulsion pushing against them, a deep sense of unease rose up in their hearts.

Both of them felt as if they were under attack by some monstrous power, and were sent flying backward accompanied by intense rumbling sounds.

Even as they tumbled back, Naruto 's eyes snapped open, and they blazed with killing intent. Voice cool, he said, "As for you two. You shall die!"

It was not a request. It was a command, uttered with extreme calm.

The instant the words left his mouth, the two Dao Realm experts screamed miserably as the power of the Mountains and Seas shredded them to bits. Blood and gore spattered out, and although their Nascent Divinities appeared and tried to flee, they were quickly destroyed by the power of the Mountains and Seas.

Those two deaths caused the cultivators on both sides of the battlefield to gasp. Now that the two sides had been forcibly separated, everything went silent. The Noble Ran opened his eyes, and a wide smile broke out on his face.

That smile was one of happiness and contentment, and when he looked at Naruto , his eyes glowed with deep gratitude.

Naruto looked around the battlefield, then slowly said, "Who said the

Seal the Heavens Incantation was a worthless incantation?"

No one responded. Not a single cultivator dared to say a word. Everyone from both the Seventh Mountain and Sea and the Eighth was completely shaken, and when they looked at Naruto , it was with deep awe and dread.

Anyone who could draw upon the power of the Mountains and Seas was someone completely terrifying. Someone like that… was similar to the Mountain and Sea Lords. They wielded power that ordinary people did not possess. Not even Dao Sovereigns were awe-inspiring enough to command the power of the Mountains and Seas, not unless they became Mountain and Sea Lords.

Were it not for the fact that the Dao Realm experts from the Seventh

Mountain and Sea were sure that the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea was slumbering and had not awoken, they would have believed Naruto to be the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

Naruto 's gaze swept across the crowds, then came to rest on the Noble Ran. Clasping hands, he bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Master."

"Wonderful. Wonderful!" the Noble Ran said excitedly, laughing, but also staggering a bit from weakness and his internal injuries. Naruto hurried forward and held out an arm to help support him. As soon as he touched him, a gentle power sprang out from within Naruto and began to course through the Noble Ran, healing his injuries.

As of that moment, all eyes were on the Noble Ran, and as for the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, their expressions were those of dread.

When the Noble Ran felt his injuries healing rapidly, he looked at Naruto and mused that he really had made the right decision in taking him as an apprentice. In fact, for Naruto 's sake, he had offended everyone in the entire Heavengod Alliance.

"Master, I can't stay," Naruto said quietly. "There's an important matter I have to attend to. Master, please take this jade slip. If… this Mountain and Sea is ever overrun by the enemy, please use it to borrow some of the power of the Seal the Heavens Incantation. Go to… the Ninth Mountain and Sea. That is my home." He handed the Noble Ran a jade slip that could be used to pierce through the barriers between Mountains and Seas, one of several that he had made at the same time that he had set up the spell formation in the Uzumaki Clan.

The Noble Ran smiled kindly and nodded, accepting the jade slip. He looked very content, as well as deeply proud. From this moment on, no one would ever dare to say that the Seal the Heavens Incantation was a worthless incantation!

To say that it was worthless was to say that the entire Mountain and Sea Realm was worthless!

Naruto once again clasped hands and bowed deeply to the Noble

Ran. Then he looked around at the surrounding cultivators and said, "Anyone who dares to harm my Master, regardless of their status or the level of their cultivation base, will have their entire sect or clan exterminated by me!"

Everyone, both those from the Seventh Mountain and Sea as well as those from the Eighth, all heard him, and their hearts trembled.

A threat from someone who was similar to a Mountain and Sea Lord was a threat that even a Dao Sovereign had to take seriously.

Naruto once again clasped hands to the Noble Ran, then made his way off the battlefield. The only reason he had come here was because of the Noble Ran. He resolved the situation, healed his Master's injuries, then said his parting words, certain that his Master would now be safe regardless of what happened in the war.

After Naruto left, neither side on the battlefield felt like fighting any more, and gradually dispersed, faces filled with awe and other mixed emotions.

This was the first time since the Mountain and Sea War began that… a battle ended in such a way.

News quickly spread among both sides, and soon, everyone in the Eighth and Seventh Mountains and Seas were aware of how terrifying the Seal the Heavens Incantation was. They learned of Naruto , and also… that there was someone else in the war who was not to be provoked… the Noble Ran.

No cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea dared to venture into the interior of the Heavengod Alliance. As for Naruto , he proceeded along through the starry sky, getting closer and closer to the Eighth Mountain.

As he neared, it became more and more clear that the shocking fluctuations coming from the top of the Eighth Mountain… were filled with a familiar aura.

A few more hours passed, and Naruto arrived at the foot of the Eighth

Mountain. Looking up toward the peak of the mountain, he murmured,

"Sir… are you my Grandpa Uzumaki…?"

Chapter 1292: Are you… My Grandpa Uzumaki?

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1293

Chapter 1293: Storm Clouds Approach

Describing Naruto 's thoughts at this moment would be a very difficult thing to do. He stood there silently at the foot of the Eighth Mountain for a long moment before taking a step forward and beginning to climb.

Considering the level of his cultivation base, there was really nothing to cause him any hesitation. However, he couldn't stop thinking about how important this was, and how much he wanted his Grandpa Uzumaki to be at the top of the mountain.

Although he had his suspicions, he still wondered why his grandfather had come to be the Mountain and Sea Lord. Although, in the end, that part wasn't really important. What was important… was that his grandfather was still alive.

Deep in the memories of his childhood, he could recall the images of both of his grandfathers, how they had cradled him in their arms, how they had smiled happily, and how they had even devolved into angry arguments over whose turn it was to hold him.

Even more unforgettable was how his Grandpa Uzumaki and Grandpa Namikaze had left together to search for a way to save him. After leaving… they never returned. Because of that, both of their bloodlines, which had once stood at the pinnacles of their respective clans, entered a state of decline.

Naruto was deeply moved, but also felt very guilty. Therefore, even if he had to pay a heavier price than he already had, he would willingly do so to protect his Grandma Uzumaki and her people, and with no regrets at that. He had led the Namikaze Clan to prominence, but as for the Uzumaki Clan, all he could do was protect them as best he could.

"It might be you, it might not," he murmured. "I'll find out when I get there…." After more time passed, he slowly began to walk up the Eighth Mountain. As he did, many memories swirled through his mind.

This was one of the great Nine Mountains, and it was actually the first time he had stepped onto one of them.

It was huge, so huge that a mortal could spend a lifetime climbing it and never reach the top. In fact, even among cultivators, there were few people who could ever reach the true peak of the mountain. However, this proved to be no obstacle for Naruto . As he walked along, time passed, although he wasn't sure how much. Soon he was halfway up the mountain, where he saw the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite.

It looked just like the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite on the Ninth Mountain, except that it was completely sealed, not by outside forces, but from the inside.

Naruto looked at it and could sense that there were cultivators inside, including several extremely powerful auras. In the same moment that he was studying them, they were doing the same of him.

A long moment passed, after which Naruto clasped hands and bowed. Then he proceeded along, slowly approaching the peak of the mountain.

Eventually he found himself standing in front of an enormous stone stele, upon which were written the words…

Heavengod Society!

As he looked at the words, he could sense the archaic feeling of many years upon the stone stele, as if it had experienced a baptism of time.

He passed the stele, whereupon he caught sight of a narrow path. A path that led… to the peak of the mountain!

It was a peaceful little path with no people on it. Not a sound could be heard anywhere. He followed the path until he saw a body of water that was like a celestial pond.

Within that water was a statue of a Xuanwu turtle. Actually, despite the fact that it looked like a statue, Naruto could tell that within that Xuanwu turtle was… a spark of life, as well as… the aura of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

In that moment, the Demon Sealing Hexing magic inside of him trembled. Naruto felt almost as if something were calling to him. All of a sudden, the Xuanwu turtle opened its eyes and looked at him.

One man. One turtle. As they looked at each other, Naruto 's mind reeled. It was as if he was looking directly at the Mountain and Sea Realm itself. A long moment passed, after which Naruto finally settled his thoughts. Then, the Xuanwu turtle slowly bowed its head, indicating… that it was offering him its allegiance. It was offering formal greetings… from the Mountain and Sea Realm to its one and only Lord.

Past the celestial pond was a palace. It was not luxurious, but rather, built into the mountain itself. The front gate was closed, and everything was quiet and peaceful.

Naruto 's gaze lingered on the Xuanwu turtle for a moment before he walked past it toward the palace. He stood quietly outside the gate for a moment, then raised his hand and pushed it open.

No sound could be heard as the gate slowly swung open to reveal a modest hall, lined with rows of statues on either side, which were clad in black armor. Further up ahead on a huge throne, a person sat crosslegged.

He wore armor, and his face was covered. A majestic, boundless power flowed inside of him, something that exerted stifling pressure even on Naruto .

The pressure was like a boundless force, an endless sea, quiet and yet profound. It was the type of power that, when it erupted out, could destroy the Heavens and extinguish the Earth. In addition to all that, Naruto was also able to sense… the fluctuations of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself.

They were fluctuations that could topple mountains and drain seas, and were apparently capable of focusing the power of the Mountains and Seas into a pressure that could destroy anything and everything.

Naruto stood outside the hall. He didn't set foot inside, but instead examined the armored figure who sat there cross-legged on the throne. Naruto 's vision could pierce through the armor to see what was inside; the face of a very, very old man.

The fluctuations Naruto felt were familiar, and so was that face. Furthermore, the command medallion in his bag of holding began to show strong signs that it was homing in on the man. All of Naruto 's suspicions were now confirmed. Trembling with excitement, he was now sure… that the person in front of him was none other than his Grandpa Uzumaki!

"Grandpa…." he said. Although he had been prepared for this outcome, it was hard to suppress his excitement. He had been hoping to find his two grandfathers for many years now, and at long last, he had found one of them.

After a long moment passed, Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes glittered brightly. He could tell that there was something off about his grandfather. Although his cultivation base seemed to be alive and bursting with power, that was only the exterior. Inside, his true cultivation base wasn't even moving.

Apparently… there was something about his grandfather which was missing, something that would normally be able to stir his cultivation base into motion. Apparently, this body's soul… was sleeping.

After another long moment passed, Naruto closed his eyes and sent some divine sense out into the hall, as well as the surrounding area.

Soon, it had covered the entirety of the Eighth Mountain. Time passed.

Finally, Naruto opened his eyes, and they shone with a strange light.

"His soul is gone…." he murmured. It was a somewhat familiar situation. Soon, his eyes widened.

"I experienced something like this in the Desolation of Delusion….

Grandpa Uzumaki's soul isn't in his body, it's somewhere outside…. However, it still exists. From the look of it, there's only one explanation…. Grandpa Uzumaki's soul has merged into the Eighth Mountain and Sea. His soul… is everywhere!

"It's as if he took a mental journey through Heaven and Earth, but then… forgot to return." No other person would be able to reach such a conclusion so quickly. However, Naruto was the type of person who could fight with Mountain and Sea Lords. Because of his familiarity with the power of the Mountains and Seas, he was quickly able to detect the various clues.

He thought back to the nails which had been stuck in his Grandma Uzumaki and the others, and everything he had experienced in the process of removing them.

"Use the bloodline as the curse, and the relatives as the spell," Naruto murmured. "Seal the soul, thus ensuring that it cannot find the path to return. The soul can only drift about in the Eighth Mountain and Sea as it gradually loses its consciousness, acting on instinct alone…." A bitter expression appeared on his face, but after a moment, his eyes began to shine. He clasped hands and bowed deeply to his grandfather, then closed the temple gate and left the Eighth Mountain!

"I've already broken the bloodline curse," he murmured, floating through the starry sky, eyes shining brightly. "I've also ended the part of the curse cast by means of his relatives. Grandpa Uzumaki now has what he needs to awaken. He just lacks… a strong catalyst!

"If he has that, his soul will instinctively… return to his body." He now had a new direction: the rift connecting the Seventh Mountain and Sea to the Eighth.

"There could be no stronger catalyst than the intense ripples which would result from a battle with another Mountain and Sea Lord.

"If I really want to end the invasion of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, then the simplest way to do so… is to kill the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

"As the saying goes, if you want to catch bandits, first catch their ringleader. If the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea dies, then the war will be over." With every sentence that Naruto uttered, the look in his eyes grew sharper.

"The Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea…." he said, his eyes gleaming with decisiveness. With that, he took another step forward, and then vanished. When he reappeared, he was outside of the Heavengod Alliance, near the border between the Eighth and Seventh Mountains and Seas. That was where… the rift was.

The Seventh Mountain and Sea had already heavily fortified the area with hundreds of thousands of cultivators and countless spell formations.

In fact, there were actually four Dao Realm experts stationed in the area. One of them was just as famous as Marquis Lu had been in the Seventh Mountain and Sea. He was also a Dao Sovereign, Patriarch Chi Yan.

Of the other three, one was a Dao Lord, and the other two were 1Essence Dao Realm experts!

With those four in place, along with hundreds of thousands of other cultivators and countless restrictive spells and other spell formations, it had become a place that no cultivator of the Eighth Mountain and Sea would be able to breach easily. Furthermore, if someone tried to break through the defenses, but didn't succeed quickly, then the rest of the main army that was currently invading the Heavengod Alliance, as well as numerous other almighty experts, would surely hasten back to flank them.

However… Naruto was not just any cultivator!

As soon as he appeared in the area, he did nothing to disguise the fluctuations of his cultivation base. He circulated his Ancient mana to explosive effect, and even sent the aura of the Paragon Bridge emanating out. The power of the Mountains and Seas swirled around him, causing a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering tempest to spring up. As the tempest spread out, the starry sky distorted, and a boundless sea of stars appeared. It was an explosive power that could topple mountains and drain seas, causing the sky to grow dim, and massive rumbling to rise up.

Instantly, the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea awoke from their meditative trances, and their expressions flickered. At the same time, a powerful roar echoed out from the region of the rift.

"Who goes there?!" The sound echoed out like thunder as a red-haired old man appeared. When his eyes opened, they looked completely bizarre; each eye had two pupils!

Behind him was a pitch-black ox, fully 3,000 meters tall. Almost instantly, its eyes blazed with the fire of the underworld as it stared at Naruto .

Strangely, the fire that burned within the eyes of that pitch-black ox seemed to also burn within the dual pupils of the red-haired old man.

The result was that anyone who looked at either the old man's eyes, or the ox's, would suddenly feel their vision swimming.

Three other old men sat off to the side, and when their eyes opened, the Essence aura of the Dao Realm erupted from them.

As Naruto approached, he looked around at the hundreds of thousands of cultivators, then looked at the red-haired old man and calmly said, "I'm not interested in slaughtering more wrongdoers. Send these other cultivators away."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1294

Chapter 1294: I'm Waiting For You!

As soon as the red-haired old man's gaze met Naruto 's, the man's mind reeled, and an intense sensation of deadly crisis exploded up inside of him, as though a voice was screaming inside of him.

The sensation of crisis caused the old man to begin to tremble. He felt almost as if he were facing the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Although he seemed calm, beneath the surface, he was terrified.

The red-haired old man's dual pupils constricted, and he immediately waved his hand dismissively.

"Withdraw!" he said.

That single word caused all of the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea to be filled with shock. They began to back up, opening up a path in front of Naruto .

The old man frowned, then barked, "I said to withdraw!"

His voice echoed out like thunder into the ears of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators, whose minds spun. Almost immediately, they began to scatter away from the region of the rift.

The other three Dao Realm experts frowned in response to the redhaired old man's words.

"Patriarch Chi, this isn't very appropriate," said the almighty Dao Lord.

"Shut your mouth!" the old man roared. "I don't need you criticizing my orders." He leveled a glare at the Dao Lord, then turned towards the rest of the cultivators and frowned again.

"Withdraw further! Get five thousand kilometers away from here. Without my authorization, none of you are to set foot into this area. Go, now!" The booming of the old man's voice echoed within the minds of the hundreds of thousands of cultivators. They had no way to sense how terrifying Naruto was, but they could not afford to disregard the orders of the red-haired old man.

Soon, the hundreds of thousands of cultivators were in full flight. Soon, that five thousand kilometer area around the rift was completely empty except for the four Dao Realm experts, the leader of whom was the redhaired old man.

The old man stared at Naruto as he slowly rose to his feet.

His condescending manner caused the Dao Lord he had just rebuked to snort coldly, and his eyes to flicker with venomous hatred. However, the Dao Lord wasn't in the mood to get into an altercation, so he said nothing. But then, he looked more closely at Naruto , and just like the red-haired old man, he could sense the terrifying fluctuations hidden within him, and his eyes went wide.

The other two 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivators' expressions also became serious. As soon as the red-haired old man rose to his feet they also stood up, gathering the power of their cultivation bases to summon various magical techniques and items as if they were facing up against a mighty opponent.

Naruto 's expression was calm as he looked over this red-haired old man. The old man had complied with Naruto 's wishes to send the hundreds of thousands of cultivators away, which left Naruto with a somewhat favorable impression of him.

He could tell that some level of benevolence existed within his heart, and that he realized having all of the other cultivators around when they were fighting would do little good.

In the end, those hundreds of thousands of cultivators would definitely end up being killed or simply fleeing. Allowing them to leave now was actually the best way to keep the forces of the Seventh Mountain and Sea at top strength.

The red-haired old man looked at Naruto , his heart full of caution, then asked, "Who are you, your Excellency?"

" Naruto ," was the calm response as he walked forward. Almost immediately, the spell formations and restrictive spells burst out loudly, filling the area with brilliant light as they were completely activated.

However, in that exact moment, booms rang out as the restrictive spells collapsed and the spell formations exploded in brilliant flashes of light.

As Naruto advanced, all of the restrictive spells and spell formations were destroyed.

It was as if the mere pressure and energy coming off of Naruto turned into a power that could counteract anything, could crush all resistance like dried weeds.

The red-haired old man's face fell, and the eyes of the Dao Lord next to him went wide. The other two 1-Essence Dao Realm experts felt their hearts beating out of control.

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in the briefest instant. As the Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering roaring booms filled the area around the rift, a blinding light spread out in all directions that seemed bright enough to light up the entire starry sky. When that light faded away, it almost seemed as if the previously glorious light of the starry sky was now gone.

The only thing left behind were ripples that spread out into the distance, filling a five thousand kilometer area…. As of this moment, all of the spell formations in the area… had been completely destroyed!

The hundreds of thousands of cultivators outside of the five thousand kilometer area could sense what had happened, and their minds filled with shock. That was especially true of the Ancient Realm experts. Despite having left the area, their divine sense enabled them to observe what was happening, and when they saw Naruto simply take a few steps, and use the pressure emanating from him to destroy all of the spell formations, their minds filled with raging waves of shock.

"What… what cultivation base is that?!"

"Dao Realm, and definitely not an ordinary Dao Realm cultivation base!" Everyone was astonished, and the four Dao Realm experts' hearts were pounding.

Accompanied by ear-splitting booms that caused everything to grow dark, Naruto suddenly appeared only 300 meters in front of the group of four.

However, he didn't stop there. He continued to advance casually, not even looking at the red-haired old man or the others. Instead, he was staring at the rift which had been torn open in the starry sky, and the beast which was still holding the rift open.

That beast did not look like it once had when it had pried the rift open; it had transformed into creeping vines which covered both sides of the rift, preventing it from closing up.

As Naruto got closer to the rift, he could sense an astonishing life force approaching, getting nearer and nearer. He could tell that it wouldn't be very long before that life force reached the rift and stepped into the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

As Naruto neared the rift, the steps he took didn't appear out of the ordinary, and yet the red-haired old man and the others could sense a terrifying rumbling.

The level of terror they felt increased with each step, and the booms grew louder. The 1-Essence Dao Realm experts' faces were ashen, and blood began to ooze out of their mouths. Their expressions were those of complete terror as they were forced to step back in retreat.

Next was the Dao Lord, who also began to fall back, and finally, the redhaired old man.

They had no choice but to do so; as Naruto got closer, it felt to them as if a massive millstone was approaching, and if they didn't fall back, they would be destroyed, crushed into nothing but paste.

RUMBLE!

Naruto slowly advanced, and the group of four fell back again. Next, the Dao Lord began to bleed from the mouth. When Naruto was about 150 meters away, the pressure was so intense, and their fear so great, that it was as if all the Heavens were bearing down on them.

Cracks began to echo out from inside the bodies of the 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivators as they began to fall apart. The Dao Lord's face was now magenta, and his blood could hardly flow through his veins.

The red-haired old man was trembling, and to him, it felt as if he were standing within the shadow of death.

They let out powerful roars, and their eyes filled with looks of madness. They knew that if they didn't do something about this pressure then they would soon lose any ability to resist it, and if Naruto took even a few more steps, they would be crushed to death.

The red-haired old man threw his head back and roared, fully rotating his cultivation base. Rumbling booms could be heard as he transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Naruto . His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and a bizarre light shone from his pupils, causing the void ahead of him to distort. The pitch-black ox also threw its head back and bellowed, lowering its head to charge Naruto with its horns.

It was a spectacular and shocking scene!

As of this moment, the red-haired old man's cultivation base was bursting with power. He waved his hand, causing Essence power to surge out. Four streams of essence could be seen: wind, rain, thunder, and lightning!

The wind was like a storm, the rain was the Essence of water, the thunder was a roar, and the lightning crackled and danced. The four streams of Essence formed into the pattern of a spell formation which could shake Heaven and Earth.

The old man was the type to either not attack, or attack with his most powerful Daos. In addition to what he had already done, all of a sudden, his hair suddenly flew out, transforming into a crimson sea which covered the entire area. It rapidly became a blood mist, which was the Essence the old man was currently exploring, his fifth Essence. Although he hadn't completed the process, it still bolstered the power of his other Essences.

Behind him, the Dao Lord trembled in madness, performing an incantation gesture to unleash a divine ability. A beam of light shot toward Naruto at incredible speed, piercing through the starry sky. Simultaneously, the image of numerous sword projections became visible around the Dao Lord.

Almost in the blink of an eye, there were more than 10,000 of them!

His murderous aura was so strong that everything shook violently. Shockingly, behind each sword projection was a vicious spirit, which propelled the swords toward Naruto , making it seem as if Naruto was not facing one opponent, but rather 10,000 sword cultivators.

Last were the two 1-Essence cultivators. Their cultivation bases were relatively limited, and because of the pressure from Naruto , they paid the steepest price of the group. Blood sprayed out of their mouths, their eyes were bloodshot, and their jaws were tightly clenched. Neither of them had more than one Essence, but even still, they combined their power to produce the image of a sun.

Naruto looked at his four opponents, and then stepped down with his right foot. When he did, he passed the thirty meter mark to appear directly in front of the group.

As he stepped down, the starry sky rumbled, and an astonishing power exploded out from him. His right hand reached out to tap one of the pitch-black ox's horns. The ox let out a miserable shriek and collapsed into pieces. At the same time, the wave of Naruto 's hand caused the red-haired old man's Essences to be obliterated. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he was sent spinning away.

Naruto turned, snorting coldly. The sound echoed out, slamming into the 10,000 sword projections, shattering them. The sword cultivator Dao Lord coughed up a mouthful of blood, and was already on the point of being killed, all by a mere snort. He instantly fell back.

As for the two 1-Essence Dao Realm cultivators, all it took was a mere look from Naruto . His gaze was like a sword that shattered their sun image, and left them coughing up blood and fleeing in retreat.

"Considering none of you have Outsider totem tattoos, I won't kill you," he said coolly. Then, he was in front of the rift. The red-haired old man and the others were completely shaken, and were now looking at Naruto with unmitigated awe.

Ignoring them, Naruto looked at the rift, eyes glittering. Then he sat down cross-legged.

"I'm waiting for you," he said calmly.

The only response was an icy cold harrumph, echoing out slowly from within the rift.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1295

Chapter 1295: The Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea Arrives!

Naruto sat down cross-legged outside the enormous rift, waiting for the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea to arrive. For Naruto , this coming battle would be a true test of his battle prowess.

The person he wished to fight was one of the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas, someone that countless cultivators viewed with awe. He was the Mountain and Sea Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and although he might not be the absolute most powerful among the Mountain and Sea Lords, he was still incredibly strong.

To Naruto , this would be a very important fight, considering that it was critical to helping his Grandpa Uzumaki awaken from slumber. It was also key to ending the Mountain and Sea War. If he could defeat the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea in battle, then the war with the Eighth Mountain and Sea would be over.

Naruto wasn't completely confident in being able to win. His current battle prowess was equivalent to the 5-Essences level, and his divine sense was even beyond that. However… he would be facing a Mountain and Sea Lord!

Although his opponent would also be at the 5-Essences level, in terms of experience and cultivation, anyone with the status of Mountain and Sea Lord was years beyond Naruto . Within his Realm… he was essentially invincible when fighting anyone other than other Mountain and Sea Lords!

Furthermore, his five Essences would surely be extraordinary, the type that could send the entire world into darkness upon their unleashing.

Even though Naruto had already extinguished his first Soul Lamp, he still wasn't completely confident that he could win. After all… the nine Mountain and Sea Lords were the most esteemed entities within the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

To become a Mountain and Sea Lord, one had to experience endless slaughter and conquer countless enemies. It was a long path of fighting and struggle to secure the position of being the Lord of one of the great Mountains and Seas.

"But I still want to meet this powerful expert… and fight him!" Naruto 's eyes burned with the desire to do battle. Taking a deep breath, he slowly brought his urge to fight under control, then closed his eyes and calmed his heart.

The time had come to focus his energy!

That focusing of energy ensured that not a single ripple of power emanated out from him.

Days began to pass. On the first day, a muffled rumbling sound began to echo out from within the rift, causing the entire starry sky to distort briefly.

Naruto didn't open his eyes, but his heart thumped a bit faster for a moment before finally calming down.

On the second day, the muffled rumbling turned into five distinct booms.

On the third day, those booming sounds rang out more than ten times. Naruto grew calmer, until even the sound of his heartbeat faded away from his consciousness. It was as if strength built upon strength, and the booming sounds were like a gentle breeze brushing against a towering mountain. 1

On the seventh day, the booming rang out ceaselessly. The starry sky outside of the rift was completely twisted and distorted, except for the portion where Naruto sat, which didn't seem to be affected.

The red-haired old man and his fellows, who were still there in the area surrounding the rift, did not leave. They remained several thousand meters away, sitting cross-legged, watching the scene play out. As the seven days went by, the anticipation in their hearts rose, and they began to breathe heavily. After witnessing Naruto 's terrifying level of power, they had the deep desire to watch this coming battle.

It didn't matter whether Naruto won or lost in the end. In the cultivation world, the law of the jungle prevailed, so any cultivator who dared to challenge a Mountain and Sea Lord to battle was a person deserving of deep respect.

Even the fact that they were enemies could not suppress the respect and awe that came from meeting someone truly powerful.

Further off in the distance were the hundreds of thousands of cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea. They had set up camp there, nervous, but also unwilling to leave.

They were all waiting. Waiting… for the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea to emerge from the rift!

Naruto 's expression was completely calm, and he almost didn't seem to be breathing. His energy was completely focused inward, without the slightest bit leaking out. It was almost as if he had become one with the starry sky; he was so calm that it was almost impossible to detect his existence.

The thunder-like booms that shook the Heavens didn't seem to affect him at all. He was so calm that he was like a still, waveless sea in a painting. He was simply waiting… waiting for the wind and storms to arrive, like a volcano preparing to erupt.

A massive pressure gradually filled the area around the rift, growing more intense. The pulsing frequency increased, and eventually it became clear that the two opponents were a counterpoint and foil to each other.

One embodied action, the other embodied calm!

Such action could shatter the highest Heavens, such calm was the stillness of a world in ruins!

Another day passed, and the sounds emanating from the rift grew even more intense. At the same time, Naruto became so still and calm that not a single trace of his aura was detectable….

It was at this point that, amidst the intense rumbling sounds, a tall and imposing figure appeared… within the rift.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a long white robe. His hair floated around him, and he looked threatening without being angry. His clothing seemed simple, and yet anyone who looked at him would be able to tell that he commanded supreme and ultimate respect.

He walked as if strolling, and yet every step he took caused countless booming sounds to echo out. It was as if his cultivation base was so powerful that, as he walked, he destroyed all obstacles in his path. His simple footfalls were the source of all the incredible booming sounds during the past days.

Almost as soon as he appeared within that enormous rift, intense pressure radiated out, sweeping across everything. The rift trembled, and opened wider. Ripples tore through the starry sky, ripping it up layer by layer. Several thousand meters away, the red-haired old man and his fellows all backed up, faces flickering as they clasped hands and bowed.

"We offer respectful greetings upon your arrival, Lord White!"

Further off in the distance, the hundreds of thousands of cultivators were getting very excited, and they too clasped their hands and bowed in the direction of the rift.

"We offer respectful greetings upon your arrival, Lord White!"

The Ninth Mountain had Lord Ji. The Eighth Mountain had Heavengod. The Seventh Mountain had Lord White, Sima Dao!

The voices of all the cultivators joined together, creating a powerful sound wave that shook Heaven and Earth. That, combined with the pressure radiating off of the white-robed man, caused the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea to shake.

Naruto , of course, was the main focus, but as the pressure crushed down onto him, his eyes remained closed and unmoving.

If you likened that boundless energy to pounding waves on a raging sea, then Naruto was a reef within that sea, remaining completely motionless regardless of how the sea howled.

If you likened the pressure coming from the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea to a wild tempest, then Naruto was a quiet, unmoving mountain in the midst of the wind!

At the same time, in the temple atop the Eighth Mountain, the masked Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea suddenly trembled, as if a catalyzing force had suddenly prodded him. It was as if his consciousness was now beginning to converge in the area, and he was attempting… to awaken.

The entire Eighth Mountain and Sea was shaken, except for Naruto . His aura, his soul, everything about him, was completely focused inwardly. He was as calm as placid waters, and was still like a motionless sea in a painting.

The Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea was still inside the rift, and the two of them had not officially met, and yet they had already used the clashing of their dispositions as their first skirmish.

A cold snort echoed out from the rift as Lord White suddenly lifted his right foot and then stepped out of the rift.

The intense pressure weighing down on the Eighth Mountain and Sea caused everything to shake. The starry sky twisted, and numerous planets trembled. Back on the Eighth Mountain, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea trembled, this time more intensely than before.

A calm voice then echoed out from within the rift to spread out through the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea, "You are the first person to ever dare to stand in my way…"

It was in that moment that his foot stepped completely out from the rift, placing Lord White half way into the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Despite only being half way through the rift, the starry sky was trembling so violently it seemed it might collapse because of the power of the Mountains and Seas that was erupting off of Lord White.

As the starry sky shook, the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea on all of the Heavengod Alliance's battlefields felt blood oozing out of the corners of their mouths. Their faces flickered, and regardless of their specific locations, they could sense the explosive pressure coming from above. It was like a mountain, crushing down, making it difficult for them to even rotate their cultivation bases.

It was exactly the opposite with the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Their faces lit up, and they could sense, not pressure, but power coming down from the starry sky above and melding into their bodies. Instantly, their battle prowess began to increase.

"Lord White has come! We offer respectful greetings upon your arrival, Lord White!"

"We offer respectful greetings, Lord White!"

"The Seventh Mountain and Sea is definitely going to win the war. Lord White is here!" The cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea were shouting in excitement, causing their voices to echo out across the battlefields in the Heavengod Alliance.

In comparison, the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea felt their energy waning rapidly. Now that they were facing cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea whose energy was rocketing up, their faces went pale, and they subconsciously began to back up. Almost instantly, the Eighth Mountain and Sea cultivators were in a position to be completely routed on numerous fronts.

"… And you will be the last," continued the Lord of the Seventh

Mountain and Sea, his voice grim as he… completely stepped out from within the rift!

"Lord White!" Several thousand meters away, the red-haired old man and the other Dao realm experts all clasped hands and bowed, their eyes shining with excitement.

"Lord White!" roared the hundreds of thousands of cultivators off in the distance.

"Lord White!" shouted all of the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

RUMBLE!

Although the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea could not actually see the arrival of the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, their hearts were trembling.

RUMBLE!

On the Eighth Mountain, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea in the palace was now shaking continuously, and it seemed as if the eyes beneath his mask might open at any moment.

RUMBLE!

Naruto 's eyes suddenly snapped open, and suddenly, what had been the placid image of a sea in a painting transformed into a violently erupting volcano. That will to fight which had lurked deep inside of him exploded out, causing colors to flash in the sky, and the starry sky to fill with rumbling sounds. Numerous layers of ripples instantly shot out to fill the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea!

Naruto 's willpower, his energy, his everything, all merged into an indescribable pressure that crushed down toward the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

"So you're the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea? I've been waiting for you for quite a long time!"

The Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea's eyes widened. The volcanic pressure which erupted from the formerly completely calm Naruto caused Lord White's energy to falter a bit, as if he had suddenly met his match. Massive rumbling rose up between the two, and the starry sky seemed to be on the verge of being torn apart.

All of a sudden, the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea who had been backing up just now felt much more relaxed, and their excitement began to build.

The last line in this paragraph is a huge nod to Jin Yong, the father of wuxia novels. It's actually a mnemonic from the Ning Yang Manual, a powerful martial arts manual in the Jin Yong universe. If you haven't read the Condor Trilogy, you should put it on your reading list. It should be considered part of the Old Testament for wuxia fans ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1296

Chapter 1296: THAT Spear!

"Is that the Mountain and Sea Lord, Heavengod?"

"That's definitely him. Only Heavengod would have the energy to sweep across the Eighth Mountain and Sea like that!" All of the cultivators from the Eighth Mountain and Sea were getting very excited.

Moments before, the feeling of being suppressed by the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea had overwhelmed them, but now that feeling was gone. However, despite all of the excitement, the Chief Dharma Protector of the Heavengod Society, as well as the other Dao Lords in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, were all completely shaken. Looks of bewilderment could be seen on their faces as they looked out into the starry sky at the source of the ripples that everyone else assumed to be coming from their Mountain and Sea Lord.

"That's not… the exalted Heavengod…." thought the Chief Dharma Protector, his heart trembling. He could sense that Heavengod was currently on the Eighth Mountain, and was still slumbering. In fact, all of the other Dao Lords of the Eighth Mountain and Sea all had similar sensations.

"If he's not the exalted Heavengod, then… who is he…?" That was the question running through the minds of the Chief Dharma Protector and the other Dao Lords. Then they all began to tremble as they… a certain person popped into their heads.

It was someone who had unleashed a shocking Daoist magic in battle recently, clearing the entire battlefield….

" Naruto !" said the Chief Dharma Protector, gasping. As soon as the name left his mouth, his heart filled with mixed emotions. As of this moment, he was certain that the person emanating an energy similar to that of a Mountain and Sea Lord was none other than Naruto .

The cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea were filled with excitement, but those from the Seventh Mountain and Sea were completely shocked. The huge disparity in their energy from moments ago was now gone, and very quickly the fighting resumed.

However, the fighting that did go on was not very intense; no one seemed to be very interested in fighting at the moment, and the fact that the battlefield had calmed down gave everyone a chance to focus their attention on that location off in the distance… where a fight was about to begin that would determine the fate of two of the great Mountains and Seas!

It was… a battle of Mountain and Sea Lords!

If Lord White was defeated, then the tide of battle would completely turn in favor of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. If the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea was actually killed, then the cultivators from that Mountain and Sea would be decimated, and the Seventh Mountain and Sea would suffer an unrecoverable loss.

However, if Lord White won, then the Eighth Mountain and Sea… would no longer exist.

Everyone was waiting… to see how this battle would play out!

RUMBLE!

Outside of the rift, Naruto 's energy skyrocketed. The Paragon Bridge inside of him surged madly, and his cultivation base surged into rotation.

His Soul Lamps flew out, his aura radiated out, and the power of his divine sense caused the starry sky to shake.

And then, he took a step forward.

That step was like the eruption of a volcano. Naruto 's energy solidified around him, forming something like an impregnable wall which then crushed out toward Lord White.

Lord White stared at Naruto with a strange light gleaming in his eyes. His expression was not the least bit contemptuous, and in fact, he felt the situation to be a grave one. He could tell that Naruto was an incredible threat to him.

Seeing that manifestation of Naruto 's energy speeding toward him, Lord White waved his hand, causing blinding white light to spill out, subsequently transforming into 1,000,000 sword projections, which proceeded to pierce out in all directions. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto 's converged energy was stabbed through countless times, and then collapsed.

In the middle of that collapse, Lord White strode forward, waving his finger toward Naruto , sending the 1,000,000 sword lights flowing toward him like a rumbling river.

From a distance, it looked like a river of stars sweeping along with the power to destroy entire worlds!

Shockingly, each beam of sword light contained terrifyingly destructive Dao Realm power that, when combined together, caused wild colors to flash in the starry sky.

Naruto 's pupils constricted, and yet, he didn't back up. Instead, he took another step forward, clenching his hand into a fist and unleashing a punch.

It was none other than the Life-Extermination Fist!

The starlight shattered, and the sword beams distorted. Naruto 's punch created an enormous vortex which rumbled as it spun, destroying the sword lights. From a distance, it seemed that the flow of that starry river had suddenly been obstructed.

However, things weren't over yet. Naruto took a third step, unleashing the Bedevilment Fist.

It was as if one willingly underwent bedevilment, a complete and eternal descent into madness. The Bedevilment Fist was backed by Naruto 's energy and determination, smashing into the remaining sword lights, causing intense rumbling to rise up as more than half of them were completely shattered.

Naruto 's eyes gleamed as he took a fourth step, and… the GodSlaying Fist made its appearance!

The will of the God-Slaying Fist could merge with Heaven and Earth and fuse into the starry sky, converging the power of one's fleshly body. A cultivators with an indestructible Allheaven cultivation base could thus destroy the Heavens, extinguish the Earth, as a God of Slaying!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

The starry sky shuddered and began to be torn apart layer by layer. The remaining sword lights shuddered, and then were shoved backward toward Lord White as if by some mad wind.

Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent; without a moment's hesitation, he took a fifth step, performing an incantation gesture with his right hand that caused the Blood Demon to appear and lunge toward Lord White with gaping maw.

Lord White's pupils constricted. Snorting coldly, he said, "Interesting.

You deserve for me to take you a bit seriously."

Next, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pushed down onto his chest. In conjunction with the pressing down, icy coldness appeared all around him, along with an aura of Essence.

However, this was not the Essence of ice, it was something else… something that could influence the power of Essence belonging to others. It was… emotionless extermination!

The key to being emotionless was to extinguish the seven emotions and six pleasures, to make oneself as cold as ice, and transform that into a will of extermination. As the finger waved through the air, Naruto shuddered as all of his blood suddenly iced up. Lord White's finger seemed to press down onto Naruto 's soul, to wipe away all of his emotions!

Family love, friendship, romantic love….

In an instant, they seemed to be peeled away, separated from him, as if they were about to vanish. Naruto threw his head back and roared, causing a boundless light to shine off of him. The Paragon Bridge suddenly exploded out into the open, becoming a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering bridge that emanated an intense, archaic air.

As soon as the bridge appeared, everything began to shake, and Lord White's Essence of emotionless extermination suddenly grew still.

In that brief moment, Naruto 's eyes glittered with coldness, and he shuddered. His starstone melted, and he transformed into a meteor, the manifestation of none other than the One Thought Stellar Transformation. Instantly, he swept out toward Lord White with incredible speed.

He was… trying to clinch the victory right now!

In the blink of an eye, he was closing with an explosive power that caused Lord White's brow to furrow. Then, Lord White extended his right hand and pushed out into the air.

The power of his peak 5-Essences cultivation base converged into a huge palm that rumbled through the air toward the meteor and then grabbed down onto it!

The clenching hand seemed like it could even crush a planet within its grasp, and cracking sounds could be heard as fissures spread out across the meteor's surface. However, before it could get any closer to Lord White, when it was still over a hundred meters away, it suddenly exploded.

In its place appeared an azure streak of light, moving with indescribable speed out from the rubble of the meteor. As it pierced through the enormous hand, it became clear that it was a huge azure roc!

In the blink of an eye, Naruto was almost directly in front of Lord White, baring claws that were sharp enough to slice metal and shatter rock. Even as he slashed out with his claws, the Mountain Consuming Incantation summoned numerous huge mountains which crushed down from above.

That still wasn't enough, though. Shockingly, a long spear suddenly appeared next to Naruto in azure roc-form. That spear was the same spear that Greed had unsealed, with the World Tree haft and the dragon tip.

That spear rumbled through the air directly toward Lord White's forehead.

All of this takes quite some time to describe, but actually took place in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. Normally speaking, considering the level of the cultivation bases involved, a fight between Naruto and Lord White could last for months or even years.

After all, this level of fighting was rarely seen in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and there was even the likelihood that the entire Eighth Mountain could be destroyed in the process.

However… assuming one party was willing to go all out, then the length of the fight could be shortened drastically. Right now, the person going all out was Naruto . The situation was one in which Lord White assumed that he wouldn't do such a thing, wouldn't risk his life so blithely, yet that was exactly what he did.

Not even Lord White could have guessed that this would happen. He frowned, and killing intent slowly filled his eyes. However, there was no time to ponder the matter. He immediately waved his right hand, causing his five fingernails to shatter and form into five crescent moons, which radiated a shocking curse power as they shot toward Naruto .

Rumbling filled the starry sky as Naruto 's Mountain Consuming Incantation collapsed. The Paragon Bridge began to shake, and his azure roc-form's claws collapsed. Even as blood and gore spattered about, Naruto appeared and grabbed onto the spear. Then, the speed of the spear increased dramatically, and the tip stabbed toward Lord White's forehead, until it was only about seven inches away!

Lord White's eyes widened as an intense sensation of deadly crisis rose up within him. He opened his mouth and roared, a shocking sound which instantly caused a huge illusory projection to appear behind him, which was also roaring at Naruto .

The power was like a tempest, causing all light to dim!

The dragon on Naruto 's long spear roared, but compared to the giant, it was weak. Lord White's roar caused the spear to begin to shatter, and within moments… it was nothing more than ash!

"Too weak," Lord White said coolly, although inwardly his heart was pounding with anxiety.

It was in that instant that the spear in Naruto 's hand trembled.

"Demon Weapon, Lonelytomb!" Naruto said.

RUMBLE!

The collapse of the spear revealed that there was actually… another spear hidden inside of it!

That spear was pitch black, and seemed to be congealed from numerous souls. It was… Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, a precious treasure that was unique to… the Demon Sealers!

As soon as the spear appeared, Naruto 's energy surged, and the spear shot onward toward Lord White's forehead.

Everything so far had been connected. First was his explosive opening attack, then his near death, the collapse of the meteor, the destruction of the mountains, the dispersal of the dragon spear. Apparently… all of that had been building up to… this spear attack!

Lord White's face completely fell!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1297

Chapter 1297: An Extraordinary Showdown!

Everything had happened in the briefest of moments!

Lord White, Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, with a peak 5Essences cultivation base, had experienced untold slaughter, but he could never have imagined that Naruto … would be so ruthless!

Naruto had attacked him over and over again, allowing himself to be wounded, his starstone to be shattered, his azure roc to be destroyed, and he himself to suffer serious internal injuries to the point where blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.

All of that was… simply for the chance to unleash this shocking spear!

Naruto hadn't hesitated at all to be wounded for that chance, and that was because he understood the gap that existed between himself and Lord White. Although that gap wasn't huge, to cultivators of this level, it was the type of thing that could mean the difference between victory and defeat, between life and death!

And what Naruto wanted was not just victory or defeat, but rather… to kill his opponent and come out alive!

It had nothing to do with enmity or hatred. The only way to end the war was to kill Lord White. With him dead, Grandpa Uzumaki would be safe. Furthermore, the explosive ripples that would be unleashed prior to his death were exactly what was needed to bring his grandfather's soul back.

Therefore he chose to use this spear. In fact, Naruto 's personality was such that he didn't even hesitate to waste the precious spear that had been unsealed by Greed!

The destruction of that spear had been the feint needed to unleash

Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, which now shot directly toward Lord White's forehead, bursting with power. Lord White had no time to react or even do anything before… the spear stabbed directly into his flesh!

A ripping sound could be heard as his flesh was torn apart, and then cracking sounds echoed out as his skull was shattered. Demon Weapon Lonelytomb stabbed directly into Lord White's forehead!

However, as that happened, no look of relief appeared on Naruto 's face. Instead, his expression flickered, and his pupils constricted.

That was because, even as Lord White's forehead was pierced, and his eyes dimmed, he suddenly spoke.

"Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation." In the same moment that the words left his mouth, an aura erupted out of him that Naruto found very familiar.

Unexpectedly, it resembled… the aura of the Eternal stratum!

As that aura erupted out, the flesh on Lord White's forehead began to wriggle. Simultaneously, that aura spread out into Demon Weapon Lonelytomb and then toward Naruto .

To Lord White, the aura was a restorative power, but to Naruto , it was like a surging wild beast. At the same time, his own Eternal stratum roared madly. Apparently, these two different auras were as incompatible as water and fire!

After all, Naruto 's Eternal stratum had been acquired by walking the road of Perfection to the very end. Then, through a series of chance occurrences, he had managed to merge it with the Eyeless Larva. However, in the most fundamental of ways, it actually had some connections to the Mountain and Sea Scripture.

Just as Naruto was about to put his spear away, Lord White grabbed it, then stared into Naruto 's eyes. A vicious gleam could be seen in his own eyes, and the Eternal aura around him grew stronger.

Shockingly, an illusory ancient scripture suddenly appeared behind him, upon which were written three characters!

Mountain and Sea Scripture!

As the ancient scripture opened, Lord White's aura began to grow stronger.

Almost in the same moment that the protection of the ancient scripture appeared, Naruto 's Eternal stratum began to surge with even more madness. Suddenly, a piercing cry like that of a silkworm began to echo out from inside of him, and behind him, a shocking illusory image appeared.

It was… the Eyeless Larva!

This was the first time since the Eyeless Larva had become a part of his Eternal stratum that it ever appeared in this way. As soon as it became visible, it turned to Lord White and howled. 1

Lord White's face flickered with shock as he suddenly realized that Naruto had also… cultivated some of the Mountain and Sea Scripture!

"An incomplete Mountain and Sea Scripture, huh?" Lord White said with a cold snort. However, he was still shocked. He could sense the explosive violence within his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation, and how it wished to attack the Eyeless Larva behind Naruto , and fight with it to the death.

Naruto 's eyes went wide as he realized that his opponent intended to take away his Demon Weapon. He was not the type of person to let something like that happen lightly, so instead, he let go of it and uttered a single word.

"Detonate!" As soon as the word left his mouth, Demon Weapon Lonelytomb exploded with a huge bang. Once again, Lord White was injured, and yet, with his Eternal aura at work, he quickly began to recover.

Lord White looked deeply at Naruto . Without saying another word, he fell back to give himself time to heal and buy some more time. Earlier, he had not underestimated Naruto , but now… he wanted to kill him more than ever. It had been a very, very long time since he had experienced the sensation of imminent death that he had moments ago.

Were it not for the profundity of his divine ability, then with the way he had been stabbed in the forehead just now, while it wouldn't have killed him, it would have resulted in a grievous injury.

After the Demon Weapon exploded, it transformed into streams of black mist that swirled back to collect together near Naruto .

"The Mountain and Sea Scripture…." Naruto said, an unsightly expression on his face. From what he understood, the Mountain and Sea Scripture was a combination of the three classic scriptures of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Apparently, Lord White had actually cultivated the Mountain and Sea Scripture, but to a far higher level than Naruto . After all, Naruto had used fragments of the actual scripture, and then relied on his own deductive powers to make alterations as he had seen fit. 2

However, Naruto had the feeling that if his Eternal stratum could merge with the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation of his opponent, then… his own Eternal stratum would increase by a whole level!

"I wonder if there is something beyond the Eternal…?" Naruto thought, his eyes shining brightly. All of a sudden, he had yet another reason to kill Lord White!

The wound on Lord White's forehead was rapidly healing up, and it seemed as if it would only be moments before it was completely restored. Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he took two steps forward, which were his sixth and seventh steps respectively.

The instant that his seventh step landed, Naruto 's energy spiked. Something like a roar echoed out to the ends of the starry sky as a terrifying foot suddenly appeared. It was like a planet descending from above, causing massive rumbling sounds to echo out as it crushed down toward Lord White!

This was none other than the ability he had learned from Su Yan, who was still in his bag of holding… the Seven God Steps!

As soon as that huge foot appeared up in the starry sky, Lord White's face fell yet again, filling with disbelief.

"The Seven God Steps? That's impossible!" Shockingly, he recognized this particular Daoist magic of Naruto 's. Instantly, Lord White bit the tip of his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood.

That blood rapidly expanded, instantly transforming into a sea of blood, which seethed out across the starry sky to slam into the incoming foot.

In the resulting massive explosion, Naruto 's energy surged, and the killing intent in his eyes intensified. Next, his left hand flashed in an incantation gesture, and the meat jelly appeared. Muttering disconsolately, it transformed into a set of armor which covered Naruto . Then, Naruto extended his right hand, and the copper mirror transformed into a beam of multicolored light as it, along with the grumbling parrot, transformed into… a pitch black Battle Weapon!

The instant the Battle Weapon appeared, Naruto 's desire to fight exploded out. The starry sky went dark, and the void trembled. Naruto 's murderous aura rose to shocking heights as he slashed his blade out toward the fleeing Lord White.

"DIE!" he roared.

The sensation of deadly crisis that exploded up within Lord White was impossible to describe. In fact, the sensation far, far exceeded the feeling he had experienced when Naruto had gone all-out to attack him with Demon Weapon Lonelytomb.

And yet, there was something different about it: Demon Weapon Lonelytomb had appeared completely unexpectedly, giving him no time to react. In this moment, although the sensation of deadly crisis was more intense, at least he had a moment to prepare.

Unfortunately… Lord White was still in the middle of utilizing his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation to restore himself. He couldn't unleash his peak level of power, causing a vicious, intense gleam to appear in his eyes.

Glaring at Naruto , he roared, "Extermination!"

In that moment, Essence fluctuations appeared, which were none other than the ripples of the Essence of extermination!

"Power Essence!" He wasn't finished yet, though! As soon as the Essence of extermination appeared, a second shocking Essence aura roiled up inside of him. The void around him distorted, and boundless ripples spread out through the starry sky from his second Essence… the Essence of power!

That was not the power of the fleshly body, but rather… power incited from within the starry sky!

"Curse!

"Land!

"Time!" Lord White knew that this was a moment of extreme crisis, and as of this moment, fully realized how difficult it was to deal with Naruto . Furthermore, he also knew that he had lost out on an opportunity to seize the initiative. He had ceded that to Naruto , who was clearly extremely domineering. Once he got going, he kept going without stop! Lord White had never encountered someone who fought like this in the past, but he could tell that once Naruto built up enough momentum, it would be difficult to stop him, and he would only continue to grow stronger.

"Five Essence Dao!" Lord White cried, spreading his hands out wide in Naruto 's direction and then pushing forward. His clothes and hair whipped about, and his cultivation base exploded out, merging with the starry sky, connecting with the Heavens, drawing upon the boundless energy of Heaven and Earth, sucking it into his body.

It was like he became a huge black hole which consumed the energy of Heaven and Earth. It poured into his body, which became like a transfer point for that energy, which he then sent out… to become five different Essences!

This was a way of using Essence that was completely new to Naruto . Instead of drawing upon the powers of the world and wielding them, it took Heaven and Earth and transformed it within oneself. The latter was definitely more domineering than the former!

"Either die, or screw the hell off!" roared Lord White. His five Essences became five natural laws, filling the entire world, sweeping through the Heavens, instantly enveloping Naruto !

A will of extermination that could erase emotions and obliterate the soul!

A magic embodying the Essence of power that could crush the body and smash the mind!

A Dao of cursing that could defile the blood and eradicate blood vessels! An Essence of land which could bury corpses and severChakrapassageways!

The quintessence of Time, the ultimate of the five Essences, which could reach through Time to slaughter the enemy!

The starry sky trembled, and within that world of Essence and natural law, blood oozed out of Naruto 's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

However his eyes were shining brightly, and his desire to fight was no less than before. Hefting the Battle Weapon, he… slashed it out in attack!

It was an extraordinary showdown!

The red-haired old man and the others had long since retreated from their position 3,000 meters away. They were now 30,000 meters away, where they sent their divine sense out to observe the fierce fighting going on between Naruto and Lord White. All four of their faces were completely pale, and their hearts were battered with waves of shock.

The Eyeless Larva was last mentioned in chapter 693 when Naruto used to it to acquire the Eternal stratum ↩ As a brief reminder, Naruto got the Sublime Spirit Scripture way back in the Reliance Sect. It set him on the path of Perfection, which eventually led to the Eternal. The Sublime Spirit Scripture was described as one of the three great classic scriptures, along with the Dao Divinity Scripture and the Heaven Severing Scripture. P.S. This line in the original Chinese actually contains a mistake which I fixed. If any of you are reading along in Chinese as well, you will probably notice this ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1298

Chapter 1298: Reproaching Seal!

The pitch black Battle Weapon sliced through the starry sky, turning into a beam of mysterious light that could sever all things, extinguish all auras. It slashed into Lord White's five unleashed Essences, starting with the Essence of extermination. Naruto shuddered as the meat jelly armor absorbed the brunt of the force. The Battle Weapon sliced like a sharp knife through bamboo as it destroyed the Essence of extermination and continued onward.

In the blink of an eye, Lord White's magic of the Essence of power closed in. It was capable of disrupting all sorts of power, be they of the fleshly body or the cultivation base. It was like Lightness-in-Heaviness, and at the same time, Heaviness-in-Lightness. The intense disparity caused Naruto to cough up a mouthful of blood. His face paled as the meat jelly armor shivered.

"Sever!" Naruto roared, his eyes completely bloodshot. Disregarding any injuries, he used all of the power of the Battle Weapon to slash down. Rumbling sounds filled the starry sky, which seemed to be on the verge of being sliced apart. The Battle Weapon sliced through the Essence of power like a hot knife through butter!

However, the Dao of the curse Essence then became a boundless fog that completely surrounded Naruto . His body began to wither, and the meat jelly armor let out a plaintive cry; cracking sounds began to emanate, as if it were on the verge of shattering.

Lord White's Essences were far beyond those of ordinary 5-Essences Dao Sovereigns. They were terrifying to a degree that Naruto had never seen before!

"You're definitely not weak," Lord White said in a sinister voice.

"However, in the end… you have too few Essences. As an Allheaven Dao Immortal, you are powerful, but you cannot truly defy the Heavens, nor can you defy me!" The curse power mist roiled, swirling around Naruto as if it wished to burrow into him through the pores on his skin.

A vicious expression could be seen on Naruto 's face as the Battle Weapon slashed out with scintillating, mysterious light. Ignoring the serious injuries that were being inflicted on him, Naruto slashed through the curse power, toward Lord White!

However, there was still plenty of Essence power in between them. Next was the Essence of land, which filled the space between them with what seemed to be planets and continents.

At this point, the meat jelly armor shattered into pieces, which then reformed into the shape of the meat jelly. It seemed extremely weak, and immediately transformed into a gray light that shot back into Naruto 's bag of holding.

He lost the meat jelly armor, but in the moment before it disappeared, it still helped him to resist the power of the Essence of land. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, but he still shot forward like lightning, like a shooting star, slamming into the Essence, slicing through with the Battle Weapon, backed by all the power of an Allheaven Dao Immortal.

The starry sky trembled, and everything dimmed. As the Battle Weapon slashed out, massive pressure exploded out, allowing Naruto to blast through the planets and continents to appear directly in front of Lord White.

However, it was in this moment that Lord White's final Essence erupted out. It was none other than Timeshift magic, which caused the world to distort and run in reverse. It was like a wind of time, which caused all of the other four Essences which Naruto had already vanquished… to suddenly appear again!

"No beginning, and no end. That is Time. Since you cannot defeat my five Essences magic, then you do not qualify to be my opponent!" As Lord White's voice undulated out, Naruto once again coughed up a mouthful of blood as his internal injuries flared. He could no longer sustain the Battle Weapon, which vanished, returning to the form of a copper mirror, which flew back into Naruto 's bag of holding.

In that moment, the five Essences magic was restored, forming something like the image of a world up in the starry sky.

This was Lord White's five Essences world, a world in which the flow of time was distorted, in which lands rumbled, in which the power of extermination threw everything into chaos, in which extermination and curses flowed through Heaven and Earth, and which pulsed with the Essence of power. It was a shocking world which seemed capable of sweeping over anything.

It immediately began to rumble through the air, crashing down toward Naruto .

A sensation of deadly crisis surged up inside of Naruto . His eyes were bloodshot, and inside, he was sighing. However, in that very instant, the will to fight burned even hotter in his eyes.

"If a sudden onslaught won't work, then… I'll change styles!" Flames danced within Naruto 's eyes. As the shocking Essence world crushed down toward him, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, which instantly caused the fluctuations of the League of Demon Sealers to spring up inside him.

"The League of Demon Sealers can seal Greater Demons of Heaven and

Earth. I wonder if perhaps… Essences can also be sealed?" Naruto 's eyes flickered with a strange light as he became more convinced that his idea would work. Without any further hesitation, he performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger toward the incoming Essence world.

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

RUMBLE!

Naruto 's cultivation base, life force, soul, divine sense, everything that was him flowed into the Demon Sealing Hexing magic which he was unleashing.

That image of a world, which seemed so impossible to fight back against, all of a sudden seemed to slow down. Although no observer would notice this, Naruto could sense what was happening. As soon as he unleashed the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, countless, innumerable strands of light appeared to entangle the Essence world, causing it to falter.

"Its working!" Naruto 's eyes glittered, and even as a look of shock appeared on Lord White's face, he performed another incantation gesture and then waved his finger again.

Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex!

Demon Sealing, Sixth Hex!

Demon Sealing, Fifth Hex!

Karma. Life-Death. Inside-Outside. Three Hexing magics all erupted out of Naruto , flowing out through his finger. Instantly, the starry sky went silent, and the Essence world experienced a Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling transformation.

It stopped in place, and was now surrounded by a boundless gray mist, which writhed and seethed as numerous magical symbols appeared on its surface. That was none other than the manifestation of the Life-Death Hexing.

Simultaneously, Karma Threads appeared on the Essence world, spreading out into the void, connecting it to who-knew-how many people. Most of those threads connected it to Lord White, and yet, as of this moment, the Karma Threads were merging together to transform into numerous sealing marks!

This was Karmic Hexing!

Finally, a massive power of expulsion descended from the starry sky onto the Essence world. Suddenly, the Essence world experienced a bizarre transformation. First it increased in size dramatically, then it shrank down, as the power of the Inside-Outside Hex exploded out.

"Impossible!" Lord White cried hoarsely.

Naruto had experienced a sudden stroke of inspiration, and now his eyes were shining brightly as his four Hexing magics descended onto the Essence world. It was at this point that the Demon Sealing Jade within his bag of holding began to speak in its archaic voice after having been silent for so long.

"Demon Sealing Hexing magic can seal the Greater Demons of Heaven and Earth. This is Righteous Bestowal!

"Demon Sealing Hexing magic can seal the magic of all living things.

This is the Reproaching Seal!"

Naruto 's mind spun as the voice echoed out within him. He then raised his right hand, and his eyes shone mysteriously as he pushed out toward the Essence world.

"Reproaching Seal!" he said.

As soon as the two words left his mouth, a Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering sound erupted out, causing the starry sky to tremble. At the same time, an enormous magical symbol appeared, which then shot down onto the Essence World, sealing it!

Sealing the Essences!

Instantly, the entire Essence world went still, almost as if it had been turned into stone. No ripples emanated from it, and its aura was gone. Lord White, who was hovering not too far off, experienced a backlash, and coughed up a huge mouthful of blood.

"This…." He didn't recognize the Demon Sealing Hexing magic, but it reminded him of something that had left him with a deep impression long ago, and that was….

"The Dao of Lord Li!" Lord White's face flickered as he realized that his connection with his Essence had been severed. Although it wasn't anything permanent, at the moment, he was completely incapable of unleashing Essence power.

Naruto was equally shaken. He looked at the sealed Essence world, and could sense the intense fluctuations of the Demon Sealing Hexing magic inside of him. Gradually, the glow in his eyes grew brighter.

Now, Lord White was looking at Naruto , not just with fear, but with the intense desire to kill him.

"Even without Essence, I can still cut you down!" he said, waving his sleeve. His right hand then shot out toward the starry sky in a clawing motion. Instantly, five rifts were torn open.

"Five Venoms of the Seventh Sea, sow chaos in the skies of the Mountains and Seas, disturb the peace of all living things!" Lord White bit the tip of his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. Instantly, it became a blood sea which shot up toward the five rifts and then poured into them. Next, thumping sounds began to emanate out.

Apparently, there were entities inside of those rifts who were breaking through a barrier, attempting to pass through the rifts. With each thump, the starry sky trembled. Suddenly, cracking sounds could be heard as two spindly antennae burst out from within one of the rifts. They were followed by… a vicious bug which scuttled out rapidly. Soon, a 30,000meter, pitch-black centipede appeared in the starry sky!

As soon as it appeared, it let out a shocking screech which caused all hearts to tremble!

Next, cracking sounds echoed out from the second rift as a crimson-red, three-horned viper popped out, tens of thousands of meters long, its forked tongue flickering, its eyes gleaming coldly. It threw its head back and howled as, all of a sudden, countless eyes appeared all over its body!

Next, cracking sounds could be heard from the third, fourth and fifth rifts, as more creatures emerged. There was an enormous scorpion, surrounded by swirling black mist, and a violet toad as big as a mountain.

Last of all was… a 30,000-meter long lizard with rugged scales that dripped with slime. It was a completely shocking sight!

"Five Venoms, kill this person!" Lord White's eyes flickered, and the five venomous creatures roared as they charged toward Naruto .

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1299

Chapter 1299 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1299: Know This: The Mountain and Sea Realm is Mine!

As the Five Venoms charged Naruto , Lord White backed up and urgently shot toward the Essence world that was frozen in place up above, in an attempt to restore his sealed Essences.

His heart was filled with vigilance; he almost felt as if he were fighting with his hands and feet tied. From the moment he had arrived in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto had interfered with him at every step. He almost felt as if he were being led down a path by his opponent, and had no choice but to follow.

It was a truly humiliating feeling. In the final analysis, the reason things had turned out this way all stemmed back to how Naruto had not held back in any way when he had attacked with that spear!

Although Lord White hadn't actually been at risk of being killed by that spear, it had lost him the initiative in the fight!

Right now, Naruto 's eyes were glittering. He had already paid an enormous price to be able to fight with Lord White, and although he hadn't killed him, he had already forced him to use some of the Mountain and Sea Scripture.

Because Naruto held the initiative, he was able to slowly gain an advantage, and had luckily managed to seal his opponent's Essence. Even though it had come at heavy price, and he had suffered serious injuries, it was all worth it!

It was all because he had managed to control the rhythm of the battle this entire time. He had never given his opponent the chance to take the initiative. Therefore… he would definitely not give him the chance to do so right now!

"You want to restore your Essences? What makes you think I'll let you!?" Naruto eyed the Five Venoms briefly, but he had no time to deal with them; his target was only Lord White.

"It seems I haven't been using my Demon Sealing magic as much as I should. I've clearly underestimated it." Eyes flickering, he suddenly slapped his bag of holding, whereupon a roar echoed out. Then, the mastiff appeared in a beam of blood-colored light, flying out in spectacular fashion.

Next came an entire host of blackpod imps.

Naruto 's eyes shone with a strange light. Now that he knew his Demon Sealing Hexing magic could seal Essences, he figured he might as well see the result… of using his current cultivation base to perform Righteous Bestowal!

"Righteous Bestowal!" Without any hesitation, he extended his right hand and then pointed out toward the mastiff. Instantly, the ripples of Demon Sealing Hexing magic began to emanate out from inside of him. The mastiff's body trembled, and then its energy exploded up. It began to grow larger, and its cultivation base power rose up rapidly.

In the blink of an eye, the mastiff actually broke through from the great circle of the Ancient Realm into the Dao Realm!

Back in the Windswept Realm, Naruto had helped the mastiff consume the bat spirit. However, in order to help save Naruto , the mastiff had interrupted its breakthrough, leaving it stuck in the great circle of the Ancient Realm.

Now, with the aid of Righteous Bestowal, its cultivation base was able to continue to rise. It threw its head back and roared, then charged toward the Five Venoms. Next, Naruto looked at the blackpod imps, and unleashed another Righteous Bestowal!

Immediately, the blackpod imps began to transform drastically, allowing Naruto to sense a bit of the power of the Mountains and Seas on them. Of course, that was a power that only Naruto could detect. No one else, not even a Mountain and Sea Lord, could do so.

Naruto was quite shocked. After examining the mastiff a bit closer, he realized that he could sense the aura of the Mountain and Sea Realm surging within it! "So this is how Righteous Bestowal works. I can actually bestow them with the right to be acknowledged by the Mountain and Sea Realm, and allow them to borrow some of its power!"

The mastiff and the blackpod imps slammed into the Five Venoms; booms immediately began to shake the starry sky as a ferocious battle erupted.

Next, Naruto charged toward Lord White!

Lord White's pupils constricted, especially aftering seeing Naruto use

Righteous Bestowal. Sighing, he realized that his plan of distracting Naruto with the Five Venoms while he himself unsealed his Essence, was a failure.

Lord White's expression suddenly turned calm. Sighing deeply, he looked at Naruto and said, "There is no enmity between us, we just have differing viewpoints…. Well, it doesn't matter. You might be strong, but as a Mountain and Sea Lord, I'm above your ability to deal with…. Since you keep trying, though, then… I'll just help you see the true power of a Mountain and Sea Lord."

His sigh caused the starry sky to tremble, and sent powerful ripples exploding out from his body. In the blink of an eye, they spread out to fill the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea.

"I am the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea…." he said softly, and suddenly, an illusory image appeared above his head. It was an image of a mountain, and of a sea!

When that image appeared, it emanated a shocking power. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and a mysterious light shone from Lord White's eyes as he raised his right hand up high, causing an intense burst of the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm to appear!

At the same time, Lord White began to emanate explosive pressure. Cracking sounds could be heard, the starry sky trembled, and the void distorted as the aura of the Mountain and Sea Realm grew ever stronger upon him.

Furthermore, the image of the mountain and the sea above him grew clearer and clearer.

As that happened, the starry sky of the Seventh Mountain and Sea seemed to drain, the void there grew dark, and life force was even sucked out of the heavenly bodies. Fissures spread out on the Seventh Mountain, as though the life were being extracted from it.

In the Seventh Sea, the sea beasts were trembling as their bodies visibly withered, and the sea itself began to dry up as its power and life force, the foundation of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, were pulled away… to Lord White!

A Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering white light began to shine off of him, a boundless glow that radiated throughout the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and instantly caught the attention of the other Mountain and Sea Lords within the Realm.

Lord White seemed immeasurably large, and the image of the mountain and sea above his head was now completely crystal clear. Looking at Naruto , he pointed his finger and said, "You're strong, but in the end… you're just an ordinary cultivator. I have transcended the identity of a cultivator, and have come to wield the power of one of the nine great Mountains and Seas. I… am the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

"In the Mountain and Sea Realm, no one can stand up to a Mountain and Sea Lord. I am the one who decides who lives and who dies.

"I call upon the power of the Mountains and Seas to crush you!"

As his voice echoed out, the aura of the Mountain and Sea Realm seethed around him, transforming into a white sun, which radiated indescribable pressure as it shot toward Naruto .

It was the type of attack that could not be sidestepped. It was backed by the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm, guided by the will of one of the great powers in the nine Mountains and Seas, the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

Lord White sighed softly. "For various personal reasons, I don't wish to waste any more of the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm than this. After all, I have existed in this Realm… for many, many years.

"Since you are dying at the hand of the Mountain and Sea Realm, you can at least die without any regrets." With that, Lord White waved his sleeve, causing the pressure of the Mountain and Sea Realm to increase dramatically.

Naruto looked at Lord White. "The Mountain and Sea Realm…?"

He laughed, and his eyes began to shine. Actually, his main strategy for this fight had two parts. The first part had been the spear gambit. After that, he had simply been waiting for his opponent… to draw upon the power of the Mountains and Seas.

"You want to use Mountain and Sea power in my presence?" Naruto waved his right hand, and suddenly, boundless amounts of Mountain and Sea power erupted out from within him. Immediately, Naruto 's aura began to rise dramatically.

Lord White gaped in shock, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"This…."

He had never, ever seen anyone other than a Mountain and Sea Lord unleash such a shocking amount of Mountain and Sea power. Furthermore, Naruto was clearly not a Mountain and Sea Lord. As such, Lord White's heart began to pound, and his face fell.

Naruto 's eyes flashed as he continued, "You say you're the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, but do you know who the entire Mountain and Sea Realm belongs to?"

Even as the words left his mouth, rumbling sounds echoed out as, shockingly… nine mountains appeared above his head!

In addition to the nine mountains, there were also nine seas!

Nine Mountains! Nine Seas!

Although they were blurry and illusory, and far from the clear image of the mountain and sea above Lord White's head, the instant they appeared they caused the entire starry sky, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, to rumble.

An intense pressure suddenly sprang out from Naruto .

Lord White's face completely fell yet again, and he began to tremble. Without even thinking about it, he immediately began to back up, his heart battered by waves of intense shock. Eyes wide with disbelief, he said, "That's… that's…. Impossible! You're… you're actually the…."

Lord White's mind was reeling. Considering his level of willpower, there were few things that could ever strike him speechless. But now, he was more shaken than he had ever been.

"This is MY Mountain and Sea Realm," Naruto said coolly, reaching out his hand and making a grasping motion toward Lord White.

That grasping motion caused massive rumbling to echo out in Heaven and Earth. The starry sky shook violently as the power of the Mountains and Seas exploded out of Naruto . Powerful pressure surged toward

Lord White, and an intense sensation of deadly crisis erupted within him. Without any hesitation, he bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. Then he threw his head back and let out a bitter howl.

"Seventh Mountain and Sea!" Instantly, the power of the Seventh

Mountain and Sea erupted out. The Seventh Sea grew dry, and the

Seventh Mountain shook. The starry sky of the Seventh Mountain and Sea was on the verge of shattering, as even more Mountain and Sea power converged and shot toward Naruto .

In the celestial pond atop the Seventh Mountain, the Xuanwu turtle let out a bitter howl, a howl filled with pain and madness. Lord White used the increased amount of Mountain and Sea power to form another white sun, which clearly surpassed the level of power of any of the previous attacks he had used against Naruto during the battle.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The starry sky fractured into pieces, and a massive boom filled the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea. Blood sprayed out of Lord White's mouth, and his body was sent spinning backward. His clothes were torn, and more blood sprayed out of his mouth before he finally came to a stop over a thousand meters away, looking completely bedraggled. When he looked up, his eyes shone with intense killing intent.

What he saw was Naruto , coughing up blood, also falling backward by hundreds and hundreds of meters. There was now nearly 3,000 meters between the two of them, and both of them saw the intensely murderous expressions in each others eyes.

RUMBLE!

Both of them flew forward in attack, unleashing a chaotic storm of divine abilities and magical techniques.

More intense booms rocked the Eighth Mountain and Sea as, in the following moments, they exchanged thousands of volleys. Each attack caused the starry sky to dim, and yet, they held nothing back.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1300

Chapter 1300 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1300: A Projection of Dao Fang!

RUMBLE!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as Lord White's divine abilities merged with each other and slammed into him. He had no choice but to fall back, his injuries worsening. By now, it was clear that his Eternal stratum's regenerative power could not match the magnitude of his injuries.

As for Lord White, he had his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation, which was truly a mighty asset. In fact, to Naruto 's consternation, it ensured that even though Lord White was in a difficult situation, he still was not at the end of the line.

Killing intent swirled in Lord White's eyes, but secretly, he was shocked and even terrified. His mind had been racing after everything he had just seen, and he had actually been able to put the pieces of the puzzle together and thus… identify who Naruto really was.

"Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm! The one and only Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm…. If I can kill him, it will certainly be a huge detriment to the Mountain and Sea Realm. That would definitely count as an incredible meritorious service! I'll receive incredible rewards!" The killing intent in his eyes grew even stronger. As soon as his attack had battered Naruto away, he suddenly raised his hand.

"Mountain and Sea Scripture!" he roared. Instantly, the ancient Mountain and Sea Scripture was projected behind him, radiating a mysterious light. Lord White suddenly clenched his hand into a fist, and then opened it.

"The Mountains have three Daos. First Dao, Man-Mountain!" Lord White performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the aura of the Mountain and Sea Scripture radiating from him to surge. When the words 'man' and 'mountain' left his mouth, his speed increased by an indescribable level, and he shot forward to appear directly in front of Naruto . Then he raised his hands up and shoved them forward.

That motion caused his body to transform into a mountain. His cultivation base surged, and a Heaven-destroying, Earth-extinguishing power slammed into Naruto .

Naruto didn't even have a chance to dodge. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. His chest caved in, and even as he shot backwards, a bloody gleam appeared in Lord White's eyes.

"Second Dao, Earth-Mountain!" With that, he vanished again, to reappear beneath Naruto . There, he transformed into an even more majestic mountain, which instantly shot upward toward Naruto !

His speed was so great that Naruto was yet again incapable of evading. The mountain slammed into him, shattering his bones and sending blood spraying out of his mouth. His life force weakened, and despite the fact that he wanted to either dodge or defend himself, he simply couldn't.

"Third Dao, Heaven-Mountain!" The instant his voice rang out, he appeared up above Naruto as a mountain even more enormous and shocking than the previous two!

Then, he crushed down onto Naruto !

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Blood sprayed from Naruto 's mouth. His cultivation base was crushed, and his fleshly body was on the verge of falling apart. Even as the Heaven-Mountain faded away, Naruto tumbled backwards like a kite with its string cut.

Lord White's eyes widened. "Still not dead!?"

The three Mountain Daos were peak Daoist magics of the Mountain and Sea Scripture. He rarely used them and, when he did, it always resulted in the death of his opponent.

But clearly, Naruto , despite being seriously injured, was not dead. This caused Lord White to frown, and his killing intent to rise.

However, things weren't much better for Lord White, and blood was currently oozing out of his mouth. The Mountains and Seas' Three Daos and Three Magics were actually extremely difficult for him to control. "The Seas have three magics…."

Naruto was alarmed as he struggled to stay on his feet, and he immediately consumed some medicinal pills. His Eternal stratum was on the verge of being depleted, and his injuries were so severe that his organs were all shattered. In fact, his bones were only being kept from collapsing into fragments by sheer force of willpower. Whether it was his fleshly body or his cultivation base, Lord White's three attacks had virtually annihilated him.

Those three mountains left him in complete astonishment. He had never seen Daoist magics so shocking, and although they seemed relatively simple, their deadly attack power was beyond belief.

"So that's the Mountain and Sea Scripture, huh…?" he thought, panting. Then, he realized that apparently Lord White was about to unleash some other, similar Daoist magic. Shaken, he took advantage of this time when his opponent was preparing his next attack to suddenly walk in a very strange fashion.

Then, a brutal gleam appeared in his eyes as he murmured, "Withering Flame!"

Instantly, his body began to wither, as if he were burning his blood, transforming it into a flame that then raged outside of his body.

It was at this point that Lord White, eyes flickering with intense killing intent, unleashed his magical technique.

"First magic, Commoner's Magic. The Commoner's lot is his body, exterminate the body to exterminate the magic!" Lord White extended his hand and pointed his finger at Naruto . Instantly, the illusory ancient book behind him began to vibrate, and then, suddenly, Lord White actually vanished. When he reappeared, he was right in front of Naruto , towards whom he reached out with his finger.

That finger contained a bizarre magic, and Naruto sensed that if it touched him, his body would be broken and exterminated!

However, just before the finger touched him, Naruto 's bizarre walking method suddenly caused the Dao of Time to be unleashed, and by the narrowest margin, he walked past Lord White, avoiding his finger attack. At the same time, a bizarre gleam appeared in Naruto 's eyes.

"Demon Magic!" As soon as the words left his mouth, he began to emanate strange fluctuations, which merged with the flames, causing a stream ofChakrato fly out that rapidly formed a vortex.

Within that vortex, it was just possible to hear the sound of a beating heart that shook Heaven and Earth.

"Second magic, the Minister's Magic. The Minister inherits the bloodline, exterminate the blood to exterminate the body!" Roaring, Lord White waved his finger again, this time moving even faster. If this finger attack landed, then he would definitely destroy Naruto 's blood.

However, in the moment before it landed, Naruto 's shocking timewalking technique once again enabled him to barely avoid the danger. Lord White's face darkened, and he turned around to unleash the third magic!

"Third magic, the Emperor's Magic. Everything under Heaven belongs to the Emperor; where his words reach, the Emperor's Magic is boundless!" As he spoke, he unleashed the third finger attack, and instantly, his finger tapped down onto Naruto 's forehead!

It was as if this moment… had been fated to occur from the beginning!

A tremor ran through Naruto , and in the instant that the finger tapped onto his forehead, he spat, "True Self Dao!"

As the words were spoken, a blurry image appeared behind him that looked exactly like him in every respect!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

A massive boom rang out as the Emperor's Magic caused the nonillusory version of Naruto to be instantly killed. First his soul was destroyed, then his blood withered away, and finally his body collapsed into a pile of mangled gore.

As for the illusory version, it rapidly backed up.

At the same time, a strange gleam appeared in Lord White's eyes. Performing an incantation gesture, he spread his arms wide.

"Star-Chain Eight Soulbanes, cut off the path of all souls being reborn!" As soon as the words left his mouth, eight beams of red light shot up into the air, transforming into eight chains of blood which completely locked down the entire area. In the blink of an eye, rumbling filled the air as the entire starry sky was locked down!

Within that area, the chains cut off everything. They exploded with the intensity of rumbling lightning and shot toward the illusory image of Naruto .

"Even if you have a rebirth magic that lets you send out a bit of your

soul at a critical moment, you have been fated to die this day. My Eight Soulbanes is specifically designed to cut off the path of unattached souls. Your soul body will now be transformed into ash!" Lord White was nearly purple from the effort it took to unleash the Mountain and Sea Three Daos and Three Magics of the Mountains and Seas were enormously powerful, and were incredibly high level techniques. In fact, rumor had it that they were collectively a Paragon magic, which meant that even Lord White was not qualified to unleash them easily. Every time he did, he had to pay an enormous price.

A boom rang out as the eight chains of blood, bursting with the power of soul-extermination, landed on the illusory version of Naruto . However, they ended up passing right through him without hurting him in the least.

This scene caused Lord White to stare in complete shock.

"That's not a soul body?"

Even as Lord White's face fell, that illusory figure suddenly turned completely clear. It was actually the real Naruto !

Both in terms of his facial features and his physical frame, he looked exactly like the person Lord White had just killed. However, this was no soul body, but rather, a genuine fleshly body, though it seemed somewhat gaunt, as if it had lost a lot ofChakraand blood!

Because it was a fleshly body, the Eight Soulbanes were completely useless against it!

That was because, in the moment before death, Naruto was well aware that he could not do any more to fight back against the Three Daos and Three Magics of the Mountain and Sea Scripture. Therefore, he chose to use another method, something that would have a similar effect as the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation. And that was none other than the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao!

He simply… created a body substitution!

In the critical moment, he used some of his ownChakraand blood, along with the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao, to create a clone, a clone which could stand in his place to die!

"Dammit!" Lord White's face fell, and he had to force himself to not cough up a mouthful of blood. The level of anger and frustration inside of him was impossible to describe. He had just paid an enormous price to unleash the Mountain and Sea Scripture's Three Daos and Three Magics. In terms of his longevity and the state of his body, both were a far cry from what they had been before.

He had been absolutely certain that Naruto was already dead, and had even unleashed his Eight Soulbanes. How could he ever have imagined that Naruto would have a body substitution magic!?

Now he was experiencing the same thing as Naruto had earlier when he had gone all out, regardless of the price, to make his killing move with the spear, only to be defeated by the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation.

"This kid has GOT to die!" Lord White growled, glaring at Naruto . Gritting his teeth, he threw his hands up toward the starry sky, and a strange light gleamed in his eyes.

"Star-Chain Eight Soulbanes, lock down the starry sky. Oh great Dao Fang, please descend to help me… destroy everything!" As soon as the words left his mouth, the locked down section of the starry sky suddenly shuddered. Next, a roar of rage echoed out from within the void as an enormous figure suddenly appeared behind Lord White.

It was an enormous monkey holding a huge staff in its hand. Its eyes were crimson, and as soon as it looked over, Naruto 's mind reeled with shock.

He had seen this figure before!

An unsightly expression appeared on his face. He had managed to escape the deadly situation moments ago, but he had now lost the initiative. He was seriously injured, so badly that every move he made caused his entire body to teeter on the verge of collapsing.

As soon as he saw the image of that monkey, he instantly knew who it was. It was… Dao Fang!

Dao Fang, who had suppressed the Essence of Divine Flame!

However, as soon as the image of Dao Namikaze appeared, the Essence of Divine Flame inside of Naruto suddenly erupted beyond his control. It flowed out from him, spreading out to fill the area, with him at the center, creating an entire world of flame.

Gradually, within that sea of flames, a shocking will converged.

"Dao Namikaze must die!" roared a voice filled with rage, enmity, and madness. At the same time, the Divine Flame began to form into a person.

It was a middle-aged man, wearing a set of flame armor, who was roaring at the image of the monkey. Chapter 1300: A Projection of Dao Fang!

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	14. Chapter 14

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1301

Chapter 1301 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1301: Victory!

Naruto didn't know this man formed from the Essence of Divine

Flame. However, there was something very familiar about him, and then Naruto recalled some of the things that had occurred in the land of Divine Flame.

The enormous eye there had been surrounded by raging fire, as if it had been the soul of the sea of flames.

Naruto 's eyes flickered, as he came to the conclusion that this man was most likely… the same man whose enormous eye existed in the world of Divine Flame.

He was the same almighty expert from ancient times who had been imprisoned on Planet South Heaven in the Ninth Mountain and Sea by… Dao Namikaze !

In the same moment that this man appeared, back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, beneath the surface of Planet South Heaven, the world of Divine Flame quaked as all of the Divine Flame there erupted out, setting the entire world aflame.

The enraged roaring there was echoed in the Eighth Mountain and Sea by the man standing in front of Naruto , forming a resonance.

"Dao Namikaze , you must die!", the man howled. It was as if the obsession which fueled this man's soul could never be eradicated. The projection of Dao Namikaze which had been summoned by Lord White began to tremble with both rage and enmity as he took a step forward. The sea of flames rumbled and churned as the man therein waved his hand, causing crashing flames to surge out like waves across the sea, directly toward… the projection of Dao Namikaze .

Naruto 's mind was reeling, and as he narrowed his eyes, they began to glow with brilliant light. Off in the distance, Lord White was completely shocked. No matter how he considered the matter, he would never have imagined that the stream of Dao Namikaze 's divine will would not instantly eradicate Naruto , but also… that Naruto would have an astonishing soul hidden on him!

Both that soul and Dao Namikaze exploded with astonishing energy that was not the energy of a Dao Sovereign, but actually exceeded that! It was… the energy of a Paragon!

RUUMMMMBLLLLLE!

A massive eruption of sound shook the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea. The eyes of Dao Namikaze 's projection glowed with a strange light as he strode forward, brandishing that gigantic staff and then smashing it down toward the middle-aged man.

The man roared, eyes flashing with enmity as he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and then raised his hands up into the air, summoning a massive flame head, which grinned as ferociously as an evil spirit. With an unyielding roar and unmatchable madness, it shot forward in an attack that contained tens of thousands of years of hatred.

When they slammed into each other, the entire starry sky shook, and a massive shock wave swept out in all directions. When it hit Naruto , blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he staggered backward. As for Lord White, he was also seriously injured, and coughed up blood as he was shoved away.

However, even as they both fell back, even as the man in the flames began to fight with Dao Namikaze , both Naruto and Lord White ground to a halt and then instantly charged toward each other.

Their battle was not over. Despite the fact that both of them were like oil lamps on the verge of flickering out, even though both of them were seriously injured… they would still fight!

RUMBLE!

As they closed in on each other, the glow of magical techniques rose up, and the ripples of divine abilities spread out. The power of the Mountains and Seas was unleashed by both sides, and they even collided physically. In an instant, they exchanged thousands of volleys.

Their injuries worsened, and both of them were coughing up mouthfuls of blood. The bloody wounds which covered their bodies were a sight to see; not even the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation that Lord White possessed could keep up.

After a moment, echoing booms rang out as the two of them fell back. They were spattered with blood, and their faces were twisted into vicious expressions. Lord White was gritting his teeth, and from the look in his eyes, he was throwing caution to the wind. He had already used virtually every technique and method he could think of, but was unable to take down Naruto . In fact, it was even possible to say that Naruto was… the most powerful opponent he had fought in his entire life!

"On this day, you will die!" he roared, hair flying about in disarray. He suddenly made a grasping motion, summoning nine pitch-black swords!

As soon as the nine black swords appeared, they began to emanate intense, acrid fumes. At the same time, countless vengeful ghosts began to swirl around them, letting out inaudible screams.

"With life comes death, with death comes life! Curse power can kill with a word, and its highest level is… Death Curse Magic!" Lord White's eyes gleamed with madness. As far as he was concerned, this Death Curse Magic was even more terrifying than the Three Daos and Three Magics of the Mountain and Sea Scripture. In fact, the Death Curse was something that even he, the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, had only unleashed once before in his entire life.

That was when he had become a Mountain and Sea Lord. In that battle royale, he had used this magic in a critical moment to secure victory. However, the price he paid… was that from that moment on, his cultivation base was eternally stuck at the 5-Essences level. Any progress beyond that would be extremely difficult.

Right now, he was using the curse magic a second time!

He didn't hesitate at all; changing his mind was something that he would never tolerate. The madness in his eyes grew more intense as he waved his hand; a droning sound then filled the air as one of the nine black swords shot toward him and stabbed him in the chest!

When the sword stabbed into him, Lord White let out an intense roar. At the same time, his divine sense erupted out explosively. Next, a second sword, a third sword, a fourth, and a fifth sword all stabbed into him one after another, one for each of his limbs. At this point, Lord White's divine sense was raging upward nonstop, to the point where even Naruto was shocked.

As of this moment, Lord White's divine sense was close to thirty percent that of a Paragon!

Things weren't over though. The sixth sword, seventh sword… and finally the eighth and ninth swords all stabbed into Lord White. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his flesh was a mangled mass of gore. Blood began to ooze out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and yet, his divine sense had reached a pinnacle; it was now at fifty percent of that of a Paragon!

The terrifying divine sense erupted out, shaking the starry sky. At the same time, Lord White's face twisted in an insane smile as he looked at Naruto and then said, "Death Curse!"

Instantly, his divine sense exploded out, materializing into an astonishing curse, a complex, pitch-black magical sealing symbol which shot toward Naruto . The curse power's foundation was divine sense, so the stronger the divine sense was, the stronger the curse would be.

And now, Lord White, in exchange for being stabbed through by the nine black swords, had increased his divine sense to the equivalent of fifty percent of a Paragon's divine sense. Because of that, to those at the 5Essences level, this Death Curse… was invincible!

Intense rumbling echoed out as it closed in on the grim-faced Naruto , whose eyes shone with a strange light. As the curse neared him, he took a deep breath and then… erupted with divine sense!

RUMBLE!

Naruto 's divine sense swept out across Heaven and Earth with mad intensity.

RUMMMMBLLLE!

He instantly went all out, fighting back with his own divine sense, which was at forty percent of the level of a Paragon.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth, and oozed out of his eyes, ears, and nose. He was shaking violently, and yet, his divine sense still managed to hold up against the Death Curse. Off in the distance, Lord White coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and his eyes filled with disbelief. He could sense how strong Naruto 's divine sense was; it was clearly powerful enough that it could resist his Death Curse!

"This is impossible!" he cried. Unable to believe what was happening, he threw his head back and roared. The Death Curse Magic was not something he could sustain for very long, and if it didn't hit its target, the resulting backlash was something he wouldn't be able to endure.

It was in this very moment that, atop the Eighth Mountain, Naruto 's grandfather, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, was shaking violently. The battle between Naruto and the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea was acting as an enormous catalyst to him!

In fact, his aura was now radiating off of the Eighth Mountain with increasing intensity.

However, Lord White was too preoccupied to notice that. As the saying goes, once you start riding a tiger, it's not easy to get off. He began to laugh maniacally, then took a deep breath and performed a doublehanded incantation gesture, after which he slapped his own forehead.

"Mass Cloning! Focus the Joss Flame power of the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, utilize it to… transform!" As Lord White's voice echoed out like thunder, a ghost image suddenly sprang up as he transformed from one person into two. Those two became four, and then eight, and then sixteen….

Naruto 's pupils constricted as Lord White rapidly created more than a hundred clones, each one of which emanated terrifying ripples and then… all began to self-detonate.

The power of those self-detonations bolstered the Death Curse Magic. Lord White's divine sense grew even more powerful, resulting in the magical sealing symbol growing rapidly larger and even more pitch black.

"DIE!" roared all of the collapsing versions of Lord White, clone and true self alike.

However, in the moment that the Death Curse Magic crushed Naruto 's divine sense and was just about to land on him, he closed his eyes.

"The Dao is in My Heart. The Will is in My Eyes…

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas… Seal the Heavens

Incantation!" In the critical moment of this decisive battle, in the last insane attack, Naruto unleashed his Seal the Heavens Incantation!

The power of the Mountains and Seas rumbled down, and the will of the Mountains and Seas merged with Naruto 's divine sense. The starry sky then erupted with power, with Naruto as the center of it all!

The starry sky collapsed and the void shattered. The Eighth Mountain and Sea shuddered, and the incoming Death Curse Magic was suddenly beaten back. Fissures spread out across the surface of the pitch black magical symbol, until finally, the combined power of the Seal the Heavens Incantation and Naruto 's divine sense caused it to shatter. Cracking sounds rang out as it exploded into countless pieces!

BOOM!

The Death Curse Magic collapsed into numerous magical symbol fragments which swept out towards Lord White, instantly piercing into him.

Lord White let out a miserable shriek as the backlash power instantly withered him. Vast quantities of his blood were evaporated, and the shadow of death instantly enveloped his mind. However, there was nothing he could do to fight back; in fact, he could hardly even struggle.

"No, I am Lord White, I am the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, I can't die here…." Even in that moment, however, his body began to collapse, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

As of this moment, Naruto knew that he had secured victory. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, his consciousness began to fade. The victory he had just won had been a very, very difficult one!

Chapter 1301: Victory!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1302

Chapter 1302: Critical Juncture….

It was a heavy price to pay, and despite how strong Naruto was, he still ended up being seriously injured. His consciousness was fading, and blood oozed out everywhere. Just when he was about to move to consume Lord White's Mountain and Sea Incantation, his mind reeled, and he turned to look at Lord White.

In that moment, Lord White was collapsing, hovering on the verge of death. However, an aura that was not of the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly emanated out from him. It only lasted for a moment, but it managed to propel Lord White toward the rift that connected the Seventh Mountain and Sea with the Eighth. In the blink of an eye, he was on the verge of entering the rift.

Things had been going hazy for Naruto , but now he forced his head to clear. Without the slightest hesitation, he then took a step toward Lord White; he absolutely could not allow him to escape!

This had been a bitter battle, and Naruto was well aware that the victory he had eked out had come by chance, and definitely had not been a certainty from the outset. If the two of them fought again, he was not convinced he would be able to win again.

As Lord White neared the rift, killing intent boiled in Naruto 's eyes.

He then stretched his right hand out toward Lord White and made a grasping motion.

It was none other than the Star Plucking Magic!

He was using the absolute last scrap of energy that he had left to unleash this magic. Rumbling could be heard as Lord White suddenly began to tremble. He was already half-covered with fissures as Naruto latched onto him and began to drag him back.

It was in that moment that the shattered and bleeding Lord White suddenly opened his eyes, within which could not be seen even a trace of madness or despair. In fact, they were icy cold to the point where… they shone with merciless clarity.

Apparently, everything he had just done had been an act. His true intent had been to wait for Naruto to get so close that he couldn't evade the next attack.

"In the end… you're still just a bit too immature," Lord White said quietly. As of this moment, the feeling he gave off, both in terms of his energy and his words, were completely different from moments ago. He was not possessed. No… this was the true him!

The Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea!

His eyes were icy cold as he extended his right hand and performed an incantation gesture. Then he grabbed out in Naruto 's direction, causing the starry sky to tremble as an indescribable, shocking power erupted out.

Despite his complete calm, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his face went ashen. Perhaps he had been keeping the true nature of his personality hidden beneath the guise of insanity, but as for his injuries… they were very real. He had been seriously injured almost to the breaking point, and this attack was powered by the last bit of power he had.

He only had enough energy to make this one final attack. However, the way he had lured Naruto in, and his intense desire to kill him, showed how profoundly sinister Lord White was, and how adept he was at scheming!

He might be on the verge of lapsing into unconsciousness, and he might have run almost completely out of energy, but he could still eke out a victory in the end!

Naruto 's face fell, and bitterness welled up in his heart as his Star Plucking Magic was destroyed by Lord White's grasping attack. Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth, and his vision swam. He had no power to fight back, and as the attack closed in and became clearer, an unyielding gleam appeared within Naruto 's eyes.

However, all of a sudden, a loud squawk echoed out from within Naruto 's bag of holding. At this critical juncture, a multi-colored beam of light suddenly flew out, which was none other than… Lord Fifth!

Lord Fifth looked extremely pleased, and even let out a domineering squawk.

"Every time there's a critical moment, Lord Fifth takes the field to turn the tables!" the parrot howled, flapping its wings. "Hahaha! Lord Fifth has a fever, and there's only one cure! I've been waiting for this day for a very, very long time." All of a sudden, the Demonic cultivators from the Ninth Sea popped out.

It was a grand scene as they settled into formation… and prepared to sing.

"Come, come, sing together with Lord Fifth!"

The parrot's shrill voice echoed out in all directions, as did the completely shocking seafood song.

"I'm a seafood dish, I'm a seafood dish…."

As the seafood song echoed out, indescribable ripples appeared, which shot in the direction of Lord White's attack. When they slammed into each other, Lord White's attack shattered, transforming into infinite motes of light which slowly dissipated. It was at this point that the seafood song began to reach a climax.

"… I was a bad kid when I was young, I'm a little seafood dish! Lalalalala! Seafood dish. Dobedobedoooo. Little seafood dish! Hey you, in the white robe, come, come, sing along with Lord Fifth!" Suddenly, the parrot flapped its wings, looking almost infatuated. Within the rift, Lord White's eyes went wide, and he stared in complete and utter shock, his mind becoming a complete blank.

As the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, he held a position of supreme respect. He had assumed there was nothing he hadn't seen in his life… but he had never seen a parrot like this, who left him feeling completely overwhelmed. Then he heard singing that was so horrible it was impossible to even describe.

Even more astonishing was that after the parrot spoke, and as the singing echoed out, Lord White almost couldn't stop himself from joining in to sing along. It was a sensation that left him feeling as though his head would explode.

Before he could do anything, the ripples caused by the singing rumbled into the rift, inundating Lord White. He suddenly shivered, and then opened his mouth and began to sing.

"I'm your little, dear little seafood dish…. AAAAGGHHHHHH!" Lord White only sang half a verse before he began to scream miserably. His eyes were wide with fear as he realized that his wounds were too serious, and he was beginning to lose consciousness. At this point, he knew that he would not be able to kill Naruto , so he gritted his teeth, causing that same aura from before to erupt out, the power that was not of the Mountain and Sea Realm. It wrapped him up and then dragged him into the rift.

Even as he vanished, he shouted out one more time in rage, "I'll be back!"

"Hey!" the parrot said, glaring. "Why are you leaving? Fudge, can't you give Lord Fifth some face?" The parrot's heart was actually thumping in complete fear, and now that Lord White was fleeing, it secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Letting out another angry squawk, it put the seafood dishes away and then puffed out its chest and looked back at Naruto .

Naruto 's aura was already recovering, but he was still incredibly weak. Looking at the parrot, he chuckled, then glanced back at the rift, eyes flickering murderously.

It had been a difficult battle, even more difficult than Naruto could have anticipated. Although it seemed like he and the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea were evenly matched, Naruto knew that he was weaker by just a bit.

"I couldn't quite kill him…." he thought, sighing. He had gone all out with every bit of power that he could, and right now, his face sank with that realization. However, his eyes continued to flicker with cold killing intent.

He knew that Lord White was also seriously injured, and that it would take him some time to recover. When he did, he would return to the Eighth Mountain and Sea, whereupon their battle would continue.

Unfortunately, Naruto was not convinced that he would be able to come out on top next time.

A sense of crisis began to well up inside him, and he suddenly looked off into the distance, eyes glittering.

"When I used the Demon Sealing Hexing magic, Lord White blurted something about the Dao of Lord Li….

"I need to get my hands on the legacy of Lord Li as soon as possible.

Only then will I be able to get a bit stronger before Lord White returns.

Only then… will I be able to cut him down!"

A while back when he had been igniting his Soul Lamps, his divine sense had spread out explosively, filling the Eighth Mountain and Sea. At that time, he had caught sight… of Patriarch Reliance!

He took a step, and was off in the distance. Although his mind was a bit foggy, he forced himself to hang on, and let none of that state show on the outside. Inwardly, his defeated Eternal stratum was slowly awakening again.

"A month," he murmured. "I need a month before I'll recover fully." He frowned as he realized that although he needed a month, Lord White would surely recover more quickly than that.

The Eighth Mountain and Sea had already begun to rejoice. Although people weren't able to actually see the battlefield, they could sense that the pressure from the Seventh Mountain and Sea had vanished from the starry sky.

As that happened, the Seventh Mountain and Sea's cultivators' faces went ashen, and their expressions were that of horror. Although they didn't want to believe it, there was only one explanation for the reason why the aura of their Mountain and Sea Lord had vanished.

Their Mountain and Sea Lord… had been defeated in battle!

It didn't take long for that realization to sweep across the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Their morale instantly dropped, and their fighting spirit plummeted.

Contrariwise, the Eighth Mountain and Sea cultivators were bursting with power and excitement. Roaring, they went on the offensive, and instantly, fierce fighting broke out. This time, the ones to be beaten back over and over were not the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, but rather, the Seventh!

Booms echoed out as the fighting once again resumed!

On the Eighth Mountain, Naruto 's grandfather, the Lord of the Eighth

Mountain and Sea, was no longer trembling, but was calm. Apparently, his eyes were on the very verge of opening….

Naruto sped away. The red-haired old man and the other nearby hundreds of thousands of cultivators had long since backed up to an even further vantage point. The shocking battle they had witnessed left them trembling, and they simply watched as Naruto left.

They could sense that he was weak, but none of them dared to try to test him out….

Not even the red-haired old man had the courage to do so. He wouldn't attack Naruto unless his injuries were even worse than they were, or perhaps he was unconscious.

As Naruto left, he breathed a sigh of relief.

After reaching a point some distance away, where no one could see him, he stopped, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. He quickly consumed some medicinal pills, then closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation base.

In the same moment that Naruto closed his eyes, an intense sensation of deadly crisis suddenly welled up in him. He turned his head to see a young man stepping out of thin air.

As soon as he recognized who the young man was, Naruto 's eyes gleamed with an intense light.

The young man looked excited, but kept his distance. When he realized he had been spotted, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Brother Uzumaki, at long last we meet again. Thank you for giving me this chance. I've been waiting a very, very long time for this. I never imagined that in such a short period of time, you would… become so strong!"

This newcomer was none other than… Ji Dongyang!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1303

Chapter 1303: Possessing and Consuming!

"Should I call you Ji Dongyang, or should I call you… the Ji Clan

Patriarch?!" As Naruto looked at Ji Dongyang, his eyes narrowed, and his heart filled with vigilance. The sensation of deadly crisis continued to grow, to an extent that it was even clearer than when he had been fighting Lord White.

After all, Naruto was now at his absolute weakest, and the fact that Ji Dongyang was making his appearance right now proved one thing: he had been waiting and watching for quite some time. It would have been impossible for him to come across an opportunity like this based on chance alone.

One thing that led Naruto to suspect Ji Dongyang's true identity was how he had been able to follow him and spy on him for such an extended period of time without being detected. Therefore, Naruto had given voice to his guess as to who this person really was.

Furthermore, Ji Dongyang had slipped up and revealed a bit of vital information, perhaps because of his excitement at finally gaining the opportunity he had been waiting for. If he knew the truth, that Naruto had guessed who he really was based on a single sentence, he would be completely flabbergasted.

Ji Dongyang gaped for a moment, then chuckled and realized it didn't matter that Naruto knew who he was.

"Nowadays I prefer to go by Ji Dongyang, but in the past I was known as… Ji Tian!"

The instant the words left Ji Dongyang's mouth, Naruto 's pupils constricted. Ji Tian was none other than the Ji Clan Patriarch, a powerful expert from the same era as the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan. In the struggle for the Lordship of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, he had come out on top.

"There's no need to try to buy time to heal. Your injuries are too serious to recover from in a short period of time. Even I would have to worry about Lord White, considering the level of his battle prowess. In fact, if I fought him, I would definitely lose.

"As for you, you've made me very, very happy….

"Deciding that you would be my ninth life was definitely the best choice I could have made…. Come now, Naruto , become one with me.

Become my ninth life. Then I will restore things to how they once were, taking the Ninth Mountain and Sea to fight back against the 33 Heavens and to resist their return.

"Sacrifice yourself, and you will help not just me, but the entire Mountain and Sea Realm! I can even promise you that I will take good care of the Namikaze Clan….

"Everything that is yours… will be mine." Ji Dongyang laughed heartily, and his eyes sparkled. However, he still didn't get close to Naruto . The battle he had just witnessed from a distance had left him completely shocked.

Naruto 's face was very grim, but he didn't respond. He merely hovered in place, looking coldly at Ji Dongyang.

Naruto didn't move, nor did Ji Dongyang do anything rash. They stared at each other for about ten breaths of time, after which Ji

Dongyang frowned, then suddenly took three steps toward Naruto .

As those three steps fell, Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he began to stride toward Ji Dongyang. That sudden movement caused Ji Dongyang's heart to tremble with surprise, and without even thinking about it, he fell back.

However, in the moment that he retreated, Naruto suddenly did the same thing, and in the blink of an eye, was far off in the distance.

Ji Dongyang's eyes flickered coldly, and he gave chase, sighing inwardly with relief. As he closed in, he extended his right hand, performed an incantation gesture, and pointed out. Instantly, a black stream of light shot toward Naruto .

Naruto also sighed inwardly. He knew that dealing with Ji Dongyang would be difficult; for him to have reached the level he had indicated that he was the type of person who tested the waters before making a move. Obviously, he was an extremely cautious person.

Furthermore, Naruto was not in a position to be wasting energy. His injuries were very serious, and he had only just begun to recover. Frowning, his eyes flickered as he waved his hand toward the black beam of light, shattering it.

A boom echoed out, and the backlash caused blood to ooze out of his mouth. Behind him, Ji Dongyang laughed softly.

"Brother Uzumaki, don't be so anxious. We still have plenty of time left. Your injuries are severe, and I'm patient. I'll just wait until you can't hold out any longer and pass out.

"Of course, you can always turn and fight if you want. I can guarantee that… before you manage to kill me, you'll lose consciousness. So you should really consider… whether or not you want to fight me." Ji Dongyang's eyes glittered as he looked at Naruto for a moment, then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing ten beams of black light to shoot toward Naruto , each one filled with Karmic power.

Naruto didn't do anything in response, other than shoot off with increased speed. In the blink of an eye, he had increased the distance between them and was shooting, not in the direction of the Heavengod Alliance, but rather… toward the rift connecting the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas!

He was now following exactly the same path Lord White had when he had fled.

Naruto moved with incredible speed, shooting past the red-haired old man and the other cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, who looked on in shock.

Ji Dongyang was hot in pursuit, face flickering in surprise. He had already made plans for what to do, regardless of whether Naruto attacked or not. If he didn't attack, he would force him into fighting. If he fought, then he would run him ragged. However, he had never predicted that Naruto would actually choose to enter the rift.

If he did that, he would be teleported to the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Doing that would put him in a situation of extreme peril, but it seemed Naruto felt the chances of survival were slightly better there.

Of course, the danger would be the same for Ji Dongyang. His chances of surviving… would be small. After all, if he went to the Seventh Mountain and Sea, his clone would be two Mountains and Seas away from his true self, adding latency to his reaction time, which could end up proving fatal.

Thus, his original plan had been to possess Naruto while in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. However, when the Seventh Mountain and Sea invaded, and Naruto had chosen not to leave, he had to delay his plan.

"Dammit!" Ji Dongyang's face flickered, and rumbling sounds echoed out as he pushed forward toward Naruto with greater speed. Even as Naruto closed in on the rift, killing intent flickered in Ji Dongyang's eyes, and he reached out and made a grasping gesture. Countless Karma Threads swirled out to form a huge hand which grabbed toward Naruto .

However, the hand was slow, and Naruto was already halfway into the rift. He seemed to be on the verge of escaping, and in this most critical of moments, Ji Dongyang had no time to think, no matter how cautious he wished to be. If he hesitated for even a moment, Naruto would vanish. Gritting his teeth, he surged with cultivation base power, and in conjunction with power from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, his energy spiked, and the majesty of a Mountain and Sea Lord erupted out.

The extra power came in the blink of an eye, and he transformed into afterimages as he shot toward Naruto , who was now eighty percent into the rift.

"Possession!" Ji Dongyang howled. His body seemed to be melting, and his soul was on the verge of flying out to possess Naruto . However, in that very instant… just as he was opening his mouth to spit out his soul, Naruto suddenly turned back, a derisive expression on his face. His mouth twisted into a cold smile, and from the look on his face, it seemed he had no plans whatsoever to flee. In fact, it appeared that everything had been a ruse to lure Ji Dongyang into a trap!

This was a tactic that he had just picked up from Lord White.

Ji Dongyang's eyes went wide.

"The Wolf Consumes All!" Naruto roared. Naruto truly did have only a tiny scrap of energy left inside of him, and the question had been how to use that scrap. And yet, this last bit of energy would be able to decide whether he won or lost against Ji Dongyang.

What he did was use that scrap of energy to stimulate Greed's life force Essence, which existed within his Dao Fruit. Instantly, the image of an enormous, Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering Heavenly Wolf appeared behind him, which threw its head back and howled!

Even as Ji Dongyang attempted to possess Naruto , the wolf attempted to consume Ji Dongyang!

One was attempting to possess, the other was attempting to consume, and it was impossible to determine who would succeed. Ji Dongyang's soul pierced into Naruto , all the way to his sea of consciousness, and simultaneously, Ji Dongyang's body transformed into life force quintessence which was consumed by the Heavenly Wolf.

Rumbling could be heard as Ji Dongyang vanished. A tremor ran through Naruto as an explosive power rose up from within him, propelling him away from the rift, whereupon he vanished.

Neither Naruto nor Ji Dongyang had any desire for any further consuming or possessing to play out in front of the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Both of them simultaneously teleported away. In the blink of an eye, they were gone, to reappear once more in a remote corner of the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Naruto looked like a corpse as he floated there, his body occasionally emitting pulses of life force. Occasionally, rumbling could be heard, and at the same time, the injuries he had sustained in his battle with Lord White healed up, the result of the restorative powers gained by Naruto from consuming the life force of Ji Dongyang.

At the same time, his internal injuries were also healing rapidly!

However, there within Naruto 's sea of consciousness, a Heavenshaking, Earth-shattering battle was unfolding between the powers of consuming and possessing! The struggle had reached a critical moment, and whoever lost would definitely die!

Furthermore… it was certain that the price paid by one of them dying, would help the other party to grow stronger.

Ji Dongyang, in his craftiness and malevolence, had waited for this very specific moment to attack Naruto , when he was extremely weak in terms of cultivation base and divine sense. Therefore, if all had gone according to plan, Ji Dongyang would have been able to possess him with relative ease.

Ji Dongyang had prepared for a very long time for this one moment of possession. He had studied Naruto extensively, and was aware of his fearsome divine sense and extraordinary cultivation base. He knew that he was the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, which, although terrifying in some ways, actually fueled his obsession. He had waited ohso-patiently to possess Naruto , and just when he thought Naruto would escape his clutches and that everything had been for naught, the moment he had waited for had arrived; Naruto fought Lord White and ended up being in an extremely weak state.

That had been a moment of extreme excitement!

However, in all of his careful planning, there was the one area… in which he had slipped up.

Despite the fact that he had gone to the extent of following Naruto into the 33 Hells, he had not been able to follow him into the necropolis therein. In that moment of extreme crisis when everyone was sucked into the necropolis, he, like the Chief Dharma Protector of the

Heavengod Society, had chosen to flee. Therefore, he had no idea about everything that had occurred with Greed.

Therefore, he had no idea about the very power which Naruto drew upon at the last moment, the life force Essence of Greed. Greed's Essence could consume everything, including Ji Dongyang's life force and his soul. Even the possession power he had unleashed was consumed!

"NO!" Several days later, something like an illusory howl of rage echoed out inside of Naruto . A tremor ran through him, and his eyes opened.

As for his mouth, it had the same smile of derision that it had before.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1304

Chapter 1304: Old Turtle Reliance!

At the same time, massive rumbling sounds echoed out from the Ninth Mountain. The whole mountain trembled as a will awakened, spreading out to fill the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea.

An enormous eye appeared above the Ninth Mountain, which seemed to burn with fires of rage. However, the flames soon died down, and within the pupil of the eye, the image of an old man became visible. He was sitting there cross-legged, a grim expression on his face. After a moment passed, though, he suddenly started laughing.

"I'm not sure whether I should thank you or hate you…." the old man murmured.

"The fact that I did not succeed comes as no surprise, and yet is also contrary to expectation…. Had I succeeded, I would have no longer been myself. That strand of my will which usurped my true self would have become unprecedentedly powerful. I could have instantly transformed from being the weakest of the Mountain and Sea Lords, to being in the position to challenge Ksitigarbha.

"However, although the failure has lost me that chance, now that the strand of will has been destroyed, I… have finally regained full control of my faculties." There was an ancientness to the man that seemed to suggest that he had been asleep for a long time, but was now awakening.

" Naruto …." he murmured, looking thoughtfully off into the distance. After a long moment passed, he closed his eyes once again.

Meanwhile, back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto opened his eyes as something like the rumble of thunder echoed out inside of him. At the moment, his injuries had recovered almost completely.

Ji Dongyang's possession had failed, and in fact, he had ended up being consumed by the life force Essence of Greed. He actually ended up becoming a wellspring of power to fuel the recovery of Naruto 's wounds. In fact, Naruto liked to think that Ji Dongyang had delivered himself up as an aid to his recovery, instead of a real attempt at possession.

It wasn't that Ji Dongyang hadn't made his move at the correct time, or that it was not a critical point for Naruto . Rather, in a divine sense battle for possession, the slightest mistake could lead to death, and Ji Dongyang had made just such a mistake.

Naruto 's eyes shone with a brilliant light as he recalled what had occurred in the divine sense battle. Finally, his eyes glittered, and he flickered into motion and vanished.

He did not spend any more time pondering the matter of Ji Dongyang. Although he had come out on top in the battle of possession, Naruto had still been in danger. He had never liked the Ji Clan to begin with, but after what had just happened, he was certain that he would meet with Ji Tian again one day, and settle things once and for all.

"Time is of the essence right now. The Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea will definitely be returning. Before he does, I need to get stronger. That's the only way to secure victory!" Naruto appeared in the starry sky, a thoughtful look on his face as he sent his divine sense rumbling out. In a short period of time, it spread out to cover the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Everything that existed in the Eighth Mountain and Sea was now visible to him in his mind. He saw cultivators fighting in battles. He saw countless corpses and ruins. He also saw a certain something far off in a remote corner of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

It was a huge land mass that almost looked like an island. There were mountains and rivers, cities and sects, mortals and cultivators all existing on that piece of land hanging in the starry sky. It seemed to be floating completely aimlessly among all of the mountains which existed there. On that huge land mass was a certain mountain that held an eternal place in Naruto 's mind. It was… Mount Daqing.

Beneath the land mass was an enormous turtle, who supported it on his back. He was currently yawning lazily as he floated along, a smile on his face. Then he began to hum a little tune which echoed out in all directions.

In the instant that Naruto 's divine sense swept over the turtle, the turtle shivered and stopped humming. His turtle eyes went wide, filling with a look of disbelief. He suddenly turned to look out into the starry sky and then… let out a miserable shriek.

"That divine sense… dammit! It's you! You little bastard! Ahhhhhhhh. The Patriarch fled all the way here and y-y-you… you actually found me!"

That turtle was none other than Patriarch Reliance.

His previously good mood suddenly turned wretched. He had just been feeling incredibly comfortable and at ease, but now he was shaking, overwhelmed with frustration, sadness, madness, and irritation.

In order to get away from Naruto , he had left Planet South Heaven and gone to Planet East Victory. Then he had fled to the Ruins of Immortality, and had finally pierced through the barrier between the Ninth Mountain and Sea to the Eighth. He had assumed that he would never see Naruto again in his life. How could he ever have imagined that he would actually… be found yet again?

"Dammit, DAMMIT!" roared the turtle, eyes bulging. "You intolerable bully! The Patriarch can't deal with this anymore!" A very uneasy feeling had risen up in his heart; Naruto 's divine sense seemed so powerful it could cause him to explode. He threw his head back and let loose a long cry, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as his speed increased tenfold, and he shot off into the distance.

He felt truly wronged, and couldn't think of any sin he had committed to earn him this fate….

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! The League of Demon Sealers is full of bastards! All bastards, I tell you!

"All those years ago, that psycho didn't think that beating me up by himself was enough, so he had to find a whole group of psychos to help beat me up. Bastards, bastards, BASTARDS!

"Fine, if you want to beat me up, I don't care. But you went so far as to seal me!? I refuse to give in! The Patriarch refuses to give in!" Even as Patriarch Reliance sped along, he roared out his grievances.

It was at that point that a bright light could be seen flickering on top of his head, where a young woman was seated. Laughing softly, she patted Patriarch Reliance's head and said, "Calm down, Patriarch. Isn't it a good thing to reunite with old friends?"

"Good thing, my ass! The League of Demon Sealers is full of bastards.

That little bastard is a bastard among bastards!" Utterly discomfited,

Patriarch Reliance took a deep breath, causing the starry sky to tremble. Boundless energy of Heaven and Earth poured toward him and was sucked in, whereupon he exploded with even greater speed, turning into a bright beam of light that shot off into the distance.

In another distant location, Naruto 's eyes glittered.

"Gotcha," he said, snorting coldly. He was so familiar with old turtle Reliance that he couldn't be any more familiar. They had even fought each other more than once in the past.

"Let's see how you try to escape this time!" Naruto took a step forward, then vanished. When he reappeared from the teleportation, he was far off in the distance and immediately saw the panic-stricken Patriarch Reliance fleeing.

"Don't even dream of running, you old turtle!" he roared in a frightening tone.

"There's no need to see me off, you little bastard!" shouted Patriarch Reliance, trembling. He even went so far as to spit out some of the quintessence of his soul to unleash even greater speed, piercing through the void.

Naruto 's expression was very serious, but a hint of laughter could be seen in his eyes. Every time he recalled what had occurred between him and this old turtle, it all seemed as if it had happened only yesterday.

His time in the Reliance Sect was something very precious to Naruto , and those years had somehow turned into his most idyllic memories.

Now that the turtle was fleeing with even greater speed, Naruto gave a cold harrumph, then extended his right hand and made a grasping motion as he unleashed the Star Plucking Magic. Instantly, the turtle's little tail was grabbed.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Patriarch Reliance's scalp felt like it was about to explode. The sensation of having his tail grabbed filled him with rage. A brutal gleam appeared in his eyes, and he turned his massive body around with stunning agility. Then, a vicious expression could be seen as he opened his mouth to gobble Naruto up.

"I'll give you some good fortune, you little bastard!"

"Mm-hmm," Naruto didn't even try to dodge to the side. He simply hovered in place. Patriarch Reliance's gaping maw lurched to a stop, and a grieving, maddened look appeared in his eyes.

" Naruto , you little bastard, we're going to fight to the death, right here, right now!" he roared. His energy spiked, and it looked like he really was going to go all-out in a battle to the death.

Naruto 's expression was very serious, but then suddenly, his jaw dropped as he realized that although Patriarch Reliance seemed to be infuriated, and just on the verge of fighting to the death, the truth of the matter was that he was actually backing up. This felt very familiar to Naruto , and he suddenly recalled that bizarre body cultivator back in the Ninth Sea, who had done the exact same thing. Patriarch Reliance and that body cultivator were actually very similar in this regard. 1

Patriarch Reliance was instantly on the run again, and had already put quite a distance between them. He was going all out… to flee! Furthermore, a complacent gleam had already appeared in his eyes.

"So, the little bastard doesn't quite measure up to the Patriarch in terms of intelligence. Haha! He thought I was going to fight him to the death, but it turns out my real plan was to run away!" Even as Patriarch Reliance was rejoicing in the midst of his escape, and was beginning to feel quite pleased with himself, a boom rang out, and the void up ahead of him shattered. A huge rift opened up, and a tempest burst out, blocking Patriarch Reliance's path.

Patriarch Reliance's beady eyes went wide, and he quickly changed directions. However, it only took a moment before the same thing happened, whereupon he changed directions again.

Naruto , of course, was right on his tail, leisurely following him around and waving his finger, causing the starry sky to distort and shatter. Patriarch Reliance's heart was beginning to pound in shock, and he suddenly howled, "How come you're so powerful, you little bastard? Psycho! The League of Demon Sealers is full of psychos!"

All of Patriarch Reliance's paths were blocked. Finally, he waved his tail, and suddenly everything around him began to tremble. Apparently, he had been building up his power, and was now about to burst out in one final attempt to free himself.

However, even as he powered up, he unexpectedly didn't flee, but instead charged Naruto . Inwardly, he was so arrogant that he actually believed himself powerful enough to personally handle Naruto .

Roaring, Patriarch Reliance closed in on Naruto . "Hmmmphhh! The Patriarch is the smartest yet again! When you think I'm going to fight to the death, I flee. Then, when you think I'm going to flee, I decide to stake my life!"

Seeing this new development caused a strange expression to appear on Naruto 's face. It was definitely true that he was having a hard time keeping up with Patriarch Reliance's train of thought. Just when he seemed to be on the verge of escaping, he would attack. Naruto smiled bitterly and then extended his hand. Rumbling sounds could be heard as a huge illusory hand appeared, which grabbed viciously toward Patriarch Reliance.

A boom echoed out as the hand grabbed onto Patriarch Reliance and began to squeeze. However, Patriarch Reliance let out a roar, causing golden light to glitter out from his body, shattering Naruto 's illusory hand.

"Hah! The Patriarch is invincible!" he roared. "Are you scared yet, Naruto , you little bastard?!" He glared at Naruto , the whiskers on his face floating about in bizarre fashion, making him look very intimidating.

Naruto fought the "bizarre body cultivator" back in chapter 1072. If you recall, he even had a turtle shell…. ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1305

Chapter 1305: Legacy Door!

Naruto sighed at the sight of the blustering Patriarch Reliance, and suddenly felt a headache coming on. "I never smacked you on the head when you were little, did I?"

Unfortunately, Naruto 's words only served to rile up Patriarch Reliance even more. His eyes turned bright red as he apparently remembered something, whereupon he roared, " Naruto you little bastard, I'm going to end things between us right now! Take THIS!"

Howling, energy surging, Patriarch Reliance began to move his relatively stumpy legs in a special pattern. His eyes began to glow brightly as, unexpectedly, his Chakra and blood began to flow in a unique way, as if he really were going to go all-out in a fight to the death.

However, what actually happened was that an enormous teleportation portal popped into existence around him. In the blink of an eye, it activated, teleporting Patriarch Reliance away.

Even as he vanished, his smug laughter echoed out, along with the following words: "The Patriarch is out! Don't bother to come looking for me ever again, I'm sick of you!"

Naruto could only imagine how pleased Patriarch Reliance must be with himself at the moment. A strange look on his face, Naruto took a step forward and then vanished.

In another stretch of the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Patriarch Reliance's massive form suddenly appeared, along with ringing laughter.

"I, the Patriarch, am intelligent, dashing, extraordinary, and completely invincible! Did that wimpy little Naruto really dare to try to compare himself to me?" Patriarch Reliance looked extremely proud, as though he were standing at the pinnacle of all intelligence, looking down at everyone else far, far below.

However, even as he was sighing emotionally, a dry cough could be heard coming from off to the side.

Patriarch Reliance gaped in astonishment.

"Hallucinating," he said. "I must be hallucinating. How come that cough sounded so much like that little bastard?" Heart thumping, Patriarch Reliance looked to the side to find Naruto right there next to him. His eyes widened.

In terms of size, Naruto was like nothing compared to Patriarch Reliance's enormity. But that didn't stop him from reaching out, grabbing one of Patriarch Reliance's whiskers, and then flinging him out through the starry sky, sending him spinning round and round.

Then, a huge boom could be heard as he landed not too far off in the distance.

Patriarch Reliance roared in rage, then shot back toward Naruto , mouth wide open to devour him. But then Naruto snorted coldly, and Patriarch Reliance let out a yelp and closed his mouth.

"Aaaahhhhhh! I'm going crazy! Dammit! Dammit! I can't fight you, can't run away from you, can't even eat you! The League of Demon Sealers is full of bastards! I'm going to kill all of you people!" Patriarch Reliance's roars transformed into sound waves that rumbled out through the starry sky. At the same time, he backed up at top speed, shaking his back slightly.

"Disciples of all generations of the Reliance Sect, get out here and kill this guy!" When Patriarch Reliance shook his back slightly, it was like an earthquake as far as the Five elemental Nations was concerned. Almost immediately, hundreds of people flew out, after which they stared at Naruto in astonishment. It was hard to say who did it first, but after a moment of gaping, they began to clasp hands and bow to him.

"Greetings, Junior Patriarch!"

"It's the Junior Patriarch? Greetings, Junior Patriarch…."

These people actually recognized who Naruto was. After all, Uzumaki

Hao had encountered this group of people back in the Milky Way Sea on Planet South Heaven. Back then, Patriarch Reliance, believing himself to be a profound schemer with incredible foresight, had publicly acknowledged Naruto 's Patriarchal status, all in an attempt to divert his suspicions. 1

When Patriarch Reliance saw all of the cultivators clasping hands and bowing to Naruto , the rage in his heart burned hotter than ever. Now, instead of trying to consume Naruto , he tried to crush him with his head.

By this point, he knew that he wouldn't be able to escape. Naruto was so fast that it left him sighing, so the only thing he could do now was ram Naruto with his body, which at this moment seemed as big as a planet whizzing through space.

"Stop fussing," Naruto said with a frown, then smacked out with his right hand.

An intense slapping sound echoed from Patriarch Reliance's head, and he was sent staggering backward. Angered to the point of madness, he roared, "Who's making a fuss? I'm perfectly calm! Y-y-you… you tyrant!

"In all my years of roaming the Mountain and Sea Realm, the worst thing that ever happened to me was running into you bastards from the League of Demon Sealers. You people are so unreasonable!" Patriarch Reliance appeared to be on the verge of tears. By now, he could sense how powerful Naruto was, and his heart was pounding as a result. However, he still didn't want to give in. Eyes burning with decisiveness, he opened his mouth and roared, causing innumerable magical symbols to flicker all over his body. Apparently, he was attempting to break through the seals on his body.

Rumbling could be heard as a massive energy burst out, something that caused even Naruto 's eyes to widen.

"Back then, the people from the League of Demon Sealers had to team up to seal him," Naruto said softly. "It seems Patriarch Reliance really is remarkable." With that, he slapped his hand out again.

A boom rang out as Patriarch Reliance was once again sent spinning. At the same time, his enraged roar echoed out.

This time the sound was multiple times louder than his previous shouts. It transformed into a roaring windstorm that swept out. Simultaneously, a huge, terrifying image was projected behind him.

"You and me are going at it to the death!" he raged. "You piss me off so much! SO MUCH!" The countless, densely-packed magical symbols flickered brightly, looking almost like a huge net covering Patriarch Reliance.

However, Patriarch Reliance's energy spiked, and the golden magical symbols began to separate from him and float out into the starry sky, as the shocking energy on Patriarch Reliance grew even stronger.

As the starry sky rumbled and shook, Naruto 's eyes shone with a strange light. This was not his first time getting into a showdown with Patriarch Reliance. However, on the previous occasions, his cultivation base had not been powerful enough, and he hadn't pushed Patriarch Reliance into such a corner. Now, the old turtle had no options left, and was really going crazy!

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then pointed at Patriarch Reliance.

"Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!"

Instantly, Patriarch Reliance ground to a halt. At the same time, the golden magical symbols floating around him blazed with light and then pressed back down onto him. Patriarch Reliance went stiff, and his eyes widened as he glared furiously at Naruto . However, there was simply nothing he could do against the Demon Sealing Hex.

"Now that's a good boy," Naruto said, stepped forward and patting Patriarch Reliance on the head. Patriarch Reliance glared at him angrily, but was incapable of even moving, and could only make slight whimpering sounds.

Naruto felt a bit bad, so he looked at Patriarch Reliance and said,

"Patriarch, I have my own problems to deal with. Just stop struggling. You know, even becoming my mount wouldn't be too embarrassing, right? Look, how about this? Just let me get Lord Li's legacy, and then if you don't feel like coming along with me after that, you can just go on your own way."

Patriarch Reliance looked up in thought, and even Naruto could tell that he was planning something. However, he ignored that and flickered into motion, appearing down on Patriarch Reliance's back. The hundreds of cultivators that had flown up all continued to bow to him respectfully from a distance, not daring to get near him.

Naruto looked around before stepping forward to appear in one of the low-lying areas in the Five elemental Nations , on the shore of a lake. Guyiding TriRain was standing there looking very charming, and as Naruto approached, she smiled.

Their gazes met, and they laughed happily.

"I haven't forgotten about my promise to you," he said. "I will help you become a sea one day."

"Oh, I've already become a sea," she replied, covering her smile with her hand.

Startled, Naruto looked out at the lake, and then looked at Mount Daqing off in the distance. Finally, he nodded thoughtfully. Then he suddenly sank down into the ground, moving downward into the depths of the Five elemental Nations . Down and down he went, sending his divine sense ahead to lock down onto a certain position at the very bottom of the Five elemental Nations , where it actually met with Patriarch Reliance's back. There… was a door!

However, as Naruto got close to it, Patriarch Reliance's body suddenly shuddered as he violently cast off the Eighth Hex. At the same time, a violent energy began to build up.

Rumbling could be heard as the golden magical symbols seemed to once again be on the verge of being cast off.

The lands trembled, a sensation Naruto could clearly experience considering how far down he was. Frowning, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. This time, the wave of his finger unleashed the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex. Patriarch Reliance once again roared, body trembling. However, Naruto 's Seventh Hex formed a resonance with the hex inside of him, and once again he was stabilized.

"Don't get so excited," Naruto consoled calmly. "I'm just here to take the legacy. After that you can go. I've known for years that you were here in the Eighth Mountain and Sea and still never came looking for you to be my mount." With that, Naruto took a step forward toward the door.

A faint light surrounded the door, and as Naruto neared it, he could sense familiar fluctuations. It even seemed as if something were calling to him!

Those fluctuations were those of the League of Demon Sealers, and the calling seemed to send his Demon Sealing Hexing magic into sudden motion. In fact, the ancient Demon Sealing Jade inside of his bag of holding was also vibrating.

"Definitely the League of Demon Sealers…. In that case, I wonder… what generation Demon Sealer Lord Li was?!" A strange light shone in Naruto 's eyes as his previous speculations were confirmed by at least seventy percent.

However, even as Naruto neared the door, and the sensation of a resonance grew even stronger, Patriarch Reliance once again began to struggle mightily, as if he had been pricked. As he roared, the golden magical symbols once again began to shake, as if… they were just about to collapse.

Even more shocking was that a powerful aura was rising up within Patriarch Reliance. Unexpectedly… it was similar to the Dao Realm, and it was rising rapidly!

1-Essence. 2-Essences. 3-Essences Dao Lord….

Amidst all the rumbling, Naruto frowned. If he couldn't get Patriarch

Reliance to calm down, it could affect his attempt to acquire the legacy.

"Patriarch, calm down. Be a good boy." Naruto stamped his right foot down, shattering the connection between Patriarch Reliance's shell and the land mass above it. As that happened… a pitch-black turtle shell was revealed, as well as numerous shocking spikes which were imbedded therein!

Furthermore… something else was visible on the turtle shell, off in the distance. It was… something that had slowly been twisted over time as Patriarch Reliance had grown up. It was… a line of writing.

As soon as Patriarch Reliance realized what was happening, he roared in fury and embarrassment: "Hey, don't look at that!"

Naruto got called Patriarch by the cultivators in the State of

Xiao/Zhao back in chapter 647 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1306

Chapter 1306 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1306: Third Generation Demon Sealer!

Patriarch Reliance was intensely angry and embarrassed. Shaking, he roared as he attempted to cast off Naruto 's Demon Sealing Hexing magic. It was possible now to see how enraged he was because of the characters written on his back….

Naruto gaped in shock as he studied the line of characters which had been warped and faded over time as Patriarch Reliance grew up. Soon… a strange expression appeared on his face.

" Naruto 's turtle…." he read. His eyes went wide, and he cleared his throat. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing. Then he thought about what had happened with his Wooden Time Sword and Stepdad Ke's terracotta soldier, and gradually he understood. 1

Everything that had happened back in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect had seemed illusory, but the truth was… by means of the divine ability of the Demon spirit Night, it was actually real. As of this moment, Naruto felt completely shaken.

"So it turns out that the turtle I saw in that pagoda in the Ancient Demon

Immortal Sect really was the young Patriarch Reliance?" Even as Naruto pondered the matter, Patriarch Reliance roared in rage.

"I figured it out a while ago, Naruto you little bastard! Long, long ago I somehow ran into you, and y-y-you… you actually had the audacity to carve words into my back!"

The expression on Naruto 's face grew more wry as he realized that, in addition to the turtle's pride, the main reason Patriarch Reliance didn't want to become his mount could very likely be… the words he himself had carved onto his back.

Perhaps if someone else had become the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer and had tried to make him a mount… then Patriarch Reliance wouldn't have refused so vehemently.

Naruto 's thoughts were in a jumble. As of this moment, he had gained a deeper understanding of the Dao of Time and grasped onto some ideas regarding it, but at the same time clear enlightenment evaded him.

Naruto cleared his throat and said, "Ahem. Listen, Patriarch, being stubborn isn't a good personality trait, you know."

Ignoring the roars of Patriarch Reliance, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger a few more times.

Instantly, Demon Sealing Hexing magic was unleashed, landing on Patriarch Reliance and causing him to shiver. The golden magical symbols surrounding him flared with bright light, completely suppressing him.

In that moment, Patriarch Reliance was immobilized, hovering in the starry sky and unable to do anything except whimper, which caused an intense feeling of unfairness to well up in his heart.

Naruto flashed into motion; in the blink of an eye, he was in front of the door, and then he stepped into it. As he did, the fluctuations of the League of Demon Sealers inside of him exploded out.

The call and resonance grew to a shocking level, and Naruto 's mind reeled. At the same time, the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, the Body Hexing Magic, was unleashed. Next was the Seventh Hex, Karmic Hexing. After that was the Sixth Hex, Life Death Hexing. Finally came the Fifth Hex, the Inside Outside Hex.

For the first time, the four Hexing magics… solidified within Naruto 's mind!

They transformed into four magical symbols which shone with brilliant light. As they floated there in Naruto 's mind, his vision began to swim. A moment later, though, it cleared, and he was inside the door!

He saw… a strange world!

It had a yellow sky that spread out in all directions. The clouds were black, and roaring sounds could be heard therein, as the occasional flickering shadows of enormous beasts about could be seen moving about.

No plants or vegetation could be seen on the ground, which was pure white and stretched as far off as the eye could see. It gave a peculiar impression that nothing here was real. Off in the distance was an enormous statue of a middle-aged man sitting cross-legged in meditation. It was so gigantic that despite being seated cross-legged, the man's body reached as high as the sky, seemingly bracing up Heaven and Earth!

Although the statue didn't seem to be very far away, when Naruto sent his divine sense out, he found that despite its current level and the level of his cultivation base, he was unable to even touch the statue. Apparently the statue was much farther away than it actually seemed.

Just looking at it, he could see that both of the statue's hands were locked in incantation gestures, and that a slowly rotating magical symbol floated above each hand. Furthermore, roiling mist could be seen at the statue's forehead, pulsing with a boundless life force that could shake Heaven and Earth.

After looking around at his surroundings, Naruto was shaken. These lands, this world, everything here was clearly vastly different than what was on the outside. Everything seemed so different that the feeling of unreality seemed even stronger than before.

After a moment of thought, he looked back at the statue with an even keener gaze than before.

"Lord Li…." he murmured softly. Almost as soon as he laid eyes on the statue, he had been able to tell… that this was the former Mountain and Sea Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Lord Li!

Although Naruto had never seen him before, his heart was telling him that this statue depicted none other than Lord Li!

His heart was filled with mixed emotions as he looked at the statue. Lord Li was a legendary figure in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, a person who represented the former glory of a bygone era.

Back when he was alive, Patriarch Namikaze and Patriarch Ji had both been subservient to him, as well as the Archdemons, plus Ke Yunhai and his contemporaries as war generals. Because of all of that, the Ninth Mountain and Sea, while not the most powerful force in the Mountain and Sea Realm, was most assuredly not viewed as being weak.

"Lord Li returned life to the Heavens…." Naruto murmured, recalling something that Ke Yunhai had told him. 2

After a while, Naruto took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed deeply to the statue of Lord Li. As the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, and having been born and raised in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, it was only proper for him to pay respects to the former Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

After offering formal greetings, Naruto looked back up and then gaped in shock.

He had no idea why, but now that he looked at the statue, it didn't look like a middle-aged man, but rather, a woman. Although she wasn't spectacularly beautiful, she seemed kind and gentle.

Naruto looked more closely, and suddenly, the statue seemed to be a man once again. It was really difficult to tell the difference.

Naruto pondered thoughtfully. According to the legends, Lord Li's true origins were shrouded in mystery. However, even more mysterious was he himself. No one actually knew whether he was a man or woman; in fact, not even people who had been his closest companions truly knew.

Even as Naruto frowned, the entire world suddenly filled with a sound like murmured whispering. It floated about, filling Heaven and Earth, brushing past Naruto 's ears.

"In the past… I gained enlightenment regarding all living things, and returned life to the Heavens….

"The Sublime Spirit Scripture. The Heaven Severing Scripture. The Dao Divinity Scripture…. What has been passed down in the world are only fragments. The three scriptures, when combined, become… the Mountain and Sea Scripture.

"The Mountain and Sea Scripture has nine volumes, and each one of the Lords of the Nine Mountains and Seas has one of those volumes….

"Then there are the three great Doyens, who have passed down their legacy for tens of thousands of years, all for the sake of the destined holder of the Scriptures….

"Heaven and Earth are everlasting, the starry sky is boundless. I come from a distant place, and am not a cultivator of the Mountain and Sea Realm…. However, because a fragment of my obsession remained unquenched, I desired to borrow these skies to live….

"My obsession then resided in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and I gained enlightenment of the Dao of Nine Seals. I encountered the Second Generation Demon Sealer, and was redeemed. I learned of the difference between what is correct and what is incorrect, and I became… the Third Generation Demon Sealer!

"As a Demon Sealer, I eventually walked the path of a Paragon. I looked into the past to observe the First Generation, Nine Seals. I came to understand his Dao, and to know him as a person. Eventually I achieved my dream regarding the Daosource…. I pursued the Dao of reality, and walked the Aeon Span which covers all living things….

"Here I leave some divine will, on the back of a sly devil, as a remembrance for the League of Demon Sealers…. The legacy that I shall pass on is not the Mountain and Sea Scripture, it is not an ordinary cultivation method, it is not Karma magic. I shall not bestow it upon some almighty expert, nor upon someone connected to me by destiny. I shall pass it on… to the League of Demon Sealers!

"This has launched a new era, and fulfilled my ultimate desire." When the undulating voice reached this point, everything began to tremble, and the magical symbols floating above the statue's hands suddenly exploded with Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering light.

Naruto trembled as the words and the magical symbols caused his Demon Sealing Hexing magic to fluctuate thousands of times more powerfully than before. The magical symbols formed from the manifestation of the four great Hexing magics in his mind suddenly made him realize what the two magical symbols held by the statue were. They were… two great Hexing magics of the League of Demon Sealers!

"One is the Hexing magic of the Second Generation Demon Sealer, the other is… the Hexing magic created by Lord Li, the Third Generation Demon Sealer!" Naruto gasped as he came to understand the full meaning of the words spoken to him so long ago by the Demon Sealing Jade.

"The First Generation is the Ancestor," he murmured, "the Second

Generation is the Inheritor, the Third Generation is the most powerful!"

A tremor ran through him as he took a step toward the statue. However, even as he did, the magical symbol in Lord Li's left hand flew out, radiating dazzling light as it then merged into the ground. 3

At the same time, Heaven and Earth distorted. The black clouds roared, and the sky screamed. The lands quaked as numerous primordial beasts appeared up above, roaring as they flew toward Naruto . Everything in Heaven and Earth seemed to radiate a hostility targeted specifically toward Naruto .

Naruto 's foot paused in mid-stride; as soon as he stopped, rumbling sounds filled the sky, and the land directly beneath his feet began to sink down. At the same time, the lands far away began to stretch up, as if Heaven and Earth were merging together to form a sphere, collapsing and closing in on itself!

And Naruto was about to be crushed inside!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The clouds collapsed, and the primordial beasts howled as they attempted to escape. And yet, many of those beasts were crushed to pieces, creating a rain of blood that fell down onto the ground. The Heavens above also began to distort as if to connect with the rising portions of the Earth. Everything was shrinking, and massive pressure weighed down. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood as he looked around, his eyes flashing.

"Is this a test? Or is this how the legacy is passed on?" He looked around, but couldn't immediately find any method of escaping this place.

While all of that was happening, while Naruto was on Patriarch Reliance's back attempting to gain the good fortune of the legacy, an incredible power was exploding out in the rift between the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas, shattering the void and causing Essence power to lash about chaotically.

All of that was happening because of Lord White!

His face was grim and twisted with pain as he sat cross-legged within the void, healing himself. Occasionally he would growl as layered scales appeared all over his body, which would then disappear moments later.

His aura was gradually growing stronger, and his injuries were healing rapidly. Every so often his eyes would open, and they would radiate with hatred and indescribable killing intent.

"Another month, and then I'll be completely healed. Next time I encounter him, he's dead!

"I know all his tricks now, so next time… he shall die!"

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Lord White closed his eyes, covering up the killing intent. However, a murderous aura continued to radiate out, filling the entire area, causing an explosive windstorm to surge around him.

Chapter 1306: Third Generation Demon Sealer!

You might remember how Naruto buried the Wooden Time Swords in chapter 592 and then one of them came back in chapter 742 as the precious treasure of the Solitary Sword Sect. And of course, the terracotta soldier waited for Naruto in the Namikaze Clan Ancestral Land for many years. The " Naruto 's turtle" line is from chapter 584 ↩ Ke Yunhai mentioned something about what Lord Li did back in chapter 597. The matter was also mentioned again in chapters 579, 587, 589 and 841 ↩ The line about the First, Second, and Third Generation Demon

Sealers comes from chapter 490 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1307

Chapter 1307: Hex Enlightenment

Within the world of the door on Patriarch Reliance's back, everything was turning upside down. Heaven and Earth were connecting, becoming an enormous sphere. Inside that sphere, Naruto felt incredible pressure weighing down on him, causing cracking sounds to echo out as if he were about to collapse.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as everything shrank down at rapid speed. Originally, he couldn't even see the ends of this Heaven and Earth, but in the next moment, the border was visible only 5,000 kilometers away.

The shrinking of Heaven and Earth would apparently be completed within the space of a few breaths of time.

Either he would successfully pass the test and acquire the legacy, or… he would die here, undeserving of the League of Demon Sealers. Although there were no spoken words to explain this, the shocking sight of the destruction of Heaven and Earth made it very clear what was happening.

Naruto 's eyes were bright red as Heaven and Earth shrank down rapidly. He had little time to think, and in fact, the edges of the sphere were now only 3,000 meters away. The speed with which they were moving was unthinkable, and the rumbling sounds completely inundated Naruto .

Pain stabbed through him, and the sensation of death reached an indescribably intense level. Just as Naruto seemed to be on the verge of being eradicated, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and they glowed with enlightenment!

" _My obsession resided in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and I gained enlightenment of the Dao of Nine Seals. I encountered the Second Generation Demon Sealer, and was redeemed. I learned of the difference between what is correct and what is incorrect, and I became… the Third Generation Demon Sealer!_ Within the words spoken earlier by Lord Li, there were two specific words that were the key!

"Correct and incorrect!"

The Hexing magic of the Second Generation Demon Sealer had something to do with what is correct and what is incorrect. If you combine the so-called correct and incorrect with what is happening right now, then you could actually replace them with two other words!

"Real and unreal!" Naruto 's eyes glowed with bright light. As the pressure weighed down on him, a thousand thoughts ran through his head, and suddenly, his eyes flickered.

Suddenly, Naruto said, "The Second Demon Sealing Hex, Real-Unreal Hexing!"

In that instant, Heaven and Earth rumbled, and the sphere they formed completely covered him. They would not tolerate resistance, and yet, Naruto did not struggle or fight back.

RUMBLE!

Heaven and Earth had become one!

Naruto 's mind reeled as he realized that he couldn't feel his body. It was as if it had been destroyed in that moment in which Heaven and Earth became one. Only his soul existed, floating there as he looked around blankly. Then he looked down and saw that his fleshly body was nowhere to be seen. The sphere formed by the combination of Heaven and Earth had turned into a tiny dot, which was now beginning to expand. It grew larger and larger, and gradually, primal chaos could be seen inside of it.

It had a Heaven, and an Earth. There were living beings and creatures, all mixed together. As it grew larger, it became endless, and then everything separated.

Part of it sank down to become land, and part of it floated up to become the sky….

Primordial beasts could be seen everywhere, flying about in the sky, crying out with piercing screeches that echoed about. Soon, trees became visible on the land, which grew tall and mighty.

Mountain ranges rose up, and rivers appeared. Somehow all of it seemed intensely real to Naruto .

"Do you understand?" asked a placid voice. A man appeared out of thin air to stand in front of Naruto .

It was none other than the man carved in the statue, Lord Li!

When he looked at Naruto , though, Naruto got the sensation that Lord Li wasn't actually looking at him. It was a very odd feeling.

"The Second Generation Demon Sealer's Hexing magic is that of the real and unreal…." Lord Li continued, "After searching for the legacy of the First Generation Demon Sealer's original Hexing magic, he gained enlightenment of the Real-Unreal Hexing.

"What is real is unreal. What is unreal is real. With a single thought, what is unreal can be taken as real, and what is real can be taken as unreal…."

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes gleamed with enlightenment. This was not his first time encountering such a thing. Back when he fought the 5-Essences Xiao Yihan, he had seen the boy unleash the Essence of reality.

After looking around one more time, he slowly closed his eyes and sat down cross-legged. He then sent his divine sense out to seek enlightenment in Heaven and Earth, to find that spark of understanding of the Real-Unreal Hexing that had flashed through his mind moments ago.

Time passed, although he wasn't sure how much. Finally, his eyes opened, and a smile could be seen on his face. Naruto extended his hand. Although it was illusory, it seemed real, and yet, at the same time, was real, and seemed illusory. Gradually, his entire arm, and then his whole body, experienced the same type of transformation. Naruto let out a long sigh.

"Real becoming unreal," he murmured. "Unreal becoming real. It's simply a type of transformation…. The Real-Unreal Hex can turn real things illusory, and vice versa. What a powerful Hex…. In fact, only Paragons could truly control it." He looked up at the projection of Lord Li which had been standing there this entire time. Rising to his feet, he clasped hands and bowed.

"Many thanks, Senior. I understand now." As soon as he said that he understood, the image of Lord Li seemed to suddenly become more lifelike, and he smiled.

"That is the Second Generation Demon Sealer's Hexing magic. As for mine… it is very different. I will show it to you. As for whether or not you will be able to understand it, well, that is up to you.

"Let me ask you a question. Do you truly understand the difference between what is real and what is unreal?" With that, the image of Lord Li looked deeply into Naruto 's eyes, then suddenly vanished.

Only his voice remained behind, floating about gently before fading away: "My obsession has ended, and I shall now pursue the path of my true self. If you and I are connected by destiny, then we might meet again. Or perhaps… that will only come after countless eons."

Naruto frowned, looking around him once more. Unfortunately, he could find no traces whatsoever of the Hexing magic to which Lord Li had referred.

"The Third Generation Demon Sealer's Hexing magic…." he thought, looking somewhat confused. Finally he closed his eyes and began to seek enlightenment of his surroundings.

Time passed. Several days later, Naruto opened his eyes, and yet still had no idea of what to do. The only thing that he could sense was that the world he was in seemed like something from ancient times.

Also, he could confirm that this place… was not illusory, but was indeed real.

He looked down and could see that he had no body, only a soul. After considering the matter for a moment, he began to fly, to examine the land, the sky, and the vegetation….

More time passed. A month. Naruto was starting to get anxious because of the passage of time, which he could clearly sense. According to his speculations, the passage of time in this world was no different than that in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"I need to figure out a way out of here. Based on how much time has passed, Lord White of the Seventh Mountain and Sea will most likely have fully recovered by now!" Naruto sent his divine sense out to search for an exit.

However, another whole month passed, and he still had no idea what was going on. More anxious than ever, he waved his right hand, summoning a divine ability. Everything began to tremble, portions of Heaven and Earth collapsed, and yet no exit could be seen.

Apparently, this place was a trap, and he was now stuck here permanently.

One month. Two months. Three months…. Naruto was starting to go mad. Booms rang out constantly as he attempted to free himself. He unleashed the Demon Sealing Hexing magics, and yet, none of that did any good.

He howled, demanding for Lord Li to appear, but Lord Li had long since left. There were primordial beasts in the world, but considering how much Naruto was raging, none of them dared to show their faces.

Despite Naruto 's deepening anxiety, time passed relentlessly.

A year. Three years. Six years….

Naruto watched time passing by, lonely and also worried about his Grandpa Uzumaki. However, there was nothing he could do except experience the stabbing pains in his heart.

"Six years have already passed…." he murmured bitterly. He could only hope that his own judgement regarding the passage of time was somehow incorrect, and that time moved differently here than in the outside world.

However… ten more years passed. Naruto could feel his soul aging, and his body trembling. Because of that, he now had the feeling that his previous speculation had indeed been correct, that time here and time in the outside world… passed at the same speed.

A hundred years went by, and Naruto had become calm. Except, that calmness was a facade. Deep in his heart, he was worried about his

Grandpa Uzumaki, the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Hinata, and especially the

33 Heavens and the other two terrifying forces approaching the Mountain and Sea Realm. The worry in his heart was impossible to dispel.

"What's going on…?" he thought bitterly. Throughout the hundred years which had passed, he had tried everything he could think of, but nothing worked.

500 years later, Naruto was truly calm.

After that much time had passed, whatever happened on the outside world was over and done with, and could not be changed.

Most of the time, he wasn't even conscious. He spread his divine sense outwards ever further, and would go for long periods without retracting it.

1,000 years passed. Then 1,500. Then 5,000….

Eventually, Naruto lost sense of the passage of time. Whether it was 50,000 years or 100,000, he didn't really know. He was no longer truly conscious. The only thing that remained behind were the tiny strands of thought that were diffused throughout the world.

He had seen the world transform, had seen animals live and die, had seen the grand passage of time. He had even seen humanoid creatures come into being. They hunted the wild beasts, gradually learning their habits, and eventually began to develop. Naruto sent his thoughts out into the world, whereupon the living beings learned how to practice cultivation.

More time passed, although it was impossible to tell how much. The cultivators of the world grew more numerous, and their cultivation level grew higher. They began to war with each other, and the resulting dead were innumerable.

More time passed. After the wars passed, life flourished again, and everyone prospered. Then there was war again, and after that, prosperity. It happened over and over again until one day a hail of fire descended from the sky above.

The world burned, transforming into ash, as if everything that had been built up was being knocked over and was now starting over from scratch. Naruto was not conscious, and yet his thoughts were everywhere, observing everything.

Life appeared again, prospered, and then devolved into war. Again, everything was destroyed by fire from Heaven. It was like a cycle.

Naruto no longer thought of things in terms of the passage of time, but in terms of cycles.

One cycle after another, over and over. Naruto saw endless life and death, endless joy and sorrow. He was like a visitor, or a passerby, until it reached the point that he didn't even know what it was that he was watching. The cycles continued until the 10,000th cycle arrived.

When the 10,000th cycle was destroyed by fire from Heaven, when everything was destroyed, the world didn't vanish. Instead, it continued to burn. Rumbling sounds could be heard as everything shook and shattered. Naruto 's thoughts, which had been scattered throughout the world for so long, suddenly began to converge back together.

As the world was destroyed, he slowly began to regain lucidity….

It was as if the cage he had been trapped in for such a long time, was collapsing.

The rumbling lasted for a long time, until Heaven shattered and Earth collapsed. When everything was gone, Naruto finally… opened his eyes!

There he was in the world of the door on Patriarch Reliance's back.

However, the sky had vanished, and the land was nothing but a void. The only thing that existed was the statue of Lord Li, smiling at Naruto , seemingly asking him a question.

 _Do you really understand?_

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1308

Chapter 1308: Searching For The Present Life!

Naruto was looking at the statue, and yet his eyes were blank, lacking even the slightest spark of focus. He had experienced 10,000 cycles of destruction by fire from Heaven, cycles which had contained innumerable years.

If you took one of those cycles and split it into 10,000 parts, then perhaps the amount of time he had lived in the Mountain and Sea Realm wouldn't even count as one of those parts. To him, it was almost as if… the Mountain and Sea Realm were illusory, and everything he had experienced in the world of cycles was the real life.

What was real? What was unreal? He knew, and yet could not distinguish clearly between the two.

Naruto was as confused as ever, his eyes were completely without focus. Everything about him was still wrapped up within that world, unable to return. Before, he had believed that he understood the RealUnreal Hexing, but apparently, that was of no assistance to him now.

If nothing interfered, Naruto might sit there cross-legged until his fleshly body withered and his soul faded away. Then, he would be completely and utterly dead.

Because… he could not find what was real within the unreal.

He would remain lost in the sands of time, unable to find his present life.

Days passed, and his body began to slowly wither. His complexion grew pale and old, and his life force began to fade. His eyes remained as blank as ever.

Seven days later, he looked like little more than skin and bones. His soul was beginning to disperse, and his life force was growing weaker by the moment. He was like an oil lamp just on the verge of going out forever.

Half a month passed…. The flame in that oil lamp was sputtering, as if it would wink out at any moment. Although it still burned, it was growing weaker. Eventually, on the twentieth day after Naruto returned, the flame of his life force went out.

And yet, in that moment in which death loomed, Naruto 's body suddenly shivered. As the flame went out, a gleam of struggle appeared in his eyes.

That struggle was very, very weak, and yet it caused the flame of his life force to spark slightly. Then, the struggling increased. A sound rang out inside of Naruto , a roaring that caused his body to sway gently. Veins of blood seeped into his eyes; he was awakening!

The struggle lasted for three more days. During that time, he never stopped trembling. The flame of his life force continued to burn, and his soul began to boil. His eyes gradually grew more and more focused.

Three more days passed. It had now been a total of twenty-seven days since Naruto returned. Gradually, sound emerged from his mouth, shaky and unclear, and yet, it was clearly his voice.

"I… am… Uzumaki… Hao!"

He began repeating the same thing over and over. Clearly, it was a strain. He was only saying four words, and yet it caused his entire body to shake violently. Soon, as he repeated the words, they grew clearer and more distinct!

"I… am… Naruto !

"I… am Naruto !"

In the end, he could finally say all of the words in succession.

"I am Naruto !"

In that moment, his mind filled with rumbling sounds. It was like Heavenly thunder that caused his entire world to tremble. At long last, a spark of focus could be seen within his eyes.

That spark indicated that his consciousness… had returned!

When that happened, the statue of Lord Li remained exactly the same as before, and yet somehow, his smile seemed to contain approval. The magical symbols above the statue's hands suddenly flew toward Naruto and then merged into his forehead.

The first to enter him was the Second Generation Demon Sealer's Hexing magic, the Real-Unreal Hexing!

As it merged into him, his entire body was filled with rumbling sounds.

"This is the real and the unreal. Find the unreal within the real, find the real within the unreal. When you can do that, then you… have acquired the Second Demon Sealing Hex!

"Within the countless years of illusory life, you managed to find that drop of reality in an ocean of the unreal. Henceforth, the Real-Unreal Hexing… will pose no confusion for you!"

Rumbling filled the magical symbol as the state of his consciousness grew stronger. Then he began to pant as the second magical symbol merged into his forehead.

"This is my Hexing magic, which I have come to call… Present-Ancient Hexing!

"Time is incalculable. Heaven and Earth are limitless. Gain enlightenment of the years which have passed since ancient times.

Observe the Heavens being destroyed. Experience catastrophe after catastrophe. Return to the ancient to seek the present….

"You have done this, and thus you qualify to acquire my Third Demon Sealing Hex!

"There is one huge regret I have in my life, and that is… I was not destined to combine the nine hexes. In the past, I was able to deduce that at some time in the future, the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer would be able to converge the fate of the entire League of Demon Sealers, to reverse victory into defeat, to gain enlightenment of all of the other eight hexes, and then create the Ninth Hex….

"That person… would be someone even I would look up to… the ultimate pinnacle!

"Nine Hexing magics, beyond compare in all the Heavens!"

The regret-filled voice echoed out in Naruto 's mind and body like thunder, although he was the only one who could hear it. His body was no longer trembling, and his eyes were open. And yet somehow, as he looked up, it almost looked like… he was opening his eyes again!

His opened eyes were now completely clear and focused. Within his mind, memories of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly exploded out. They grew more and more profound, filling him, until the boundless time of that other Heaven and Earth were gradually suppressed. Soon, his old memories were his everything!

Naruto said nothing. He simply felt the six Hexing magic symbols that floated in his mind. They were the Eighth, Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Third, and Second Hexing magics!

Now, all he lacked were the Fourth and First Hexes!

Once he gathered those two great Hexing magics, then he would be able to create… that which was fully of him, the final Ninth Hex!

After a long moment passed, Naruto looked at the statue of Lord Li, then slowly rose to his feet. Mixed emotions could be seen in his eyes, including sorrow and reminiscence.

"Lord Li, Third Generation Demon Sealer," he murmured. "How incredible…." This had been one of the most challenging experiences of his entire life. Although it might have seemed a simple thing, the level of difficulty involved was something only he could understand.

It was something more terrifying than death. Death… was merely an end. However, losing oneself, forgetting everything you cared about, everything that mattered to you, was something that could be counted as the most bitter torment for a cultivator.

Similarly, being lost in an illusory world, and being unable to find true life, could be considered a profound form of grief.

"The real and the unreal. The present and the ancient…. I understand now," Naruto said softly as he looked at the statue of Lord Li. Finally, he raised his hand and waved it out in front of him.

Instantly, the pitch-black illusory world around him shattered, transforming into innumerable fragments. At the same time, the statue of Lord Li also collapsed into bits and pieces!

A huge boom rang out as the entire world fell apart.

However, after it shattered, things didn't dissolve into a haze. Instead… a yellow sky appeared, with black clouds and white land. Off in the distance, the statue was still visible.

Strangely, a magical symbol floated above the statue's right hand, and yet its left hand… was completely empty. That magical symbol was actually the entire sky up above!

Now it was clear what was truly real!

The second world which he had experienced… had been illusory and unreal!

Rumbling could be heard as Lord Li's smile, while seemingly unchanging, seemed to suddenly contain profound surprise, and then praise.

"You understand," said a voice, echoing out softly throughout the world.

In that instant, the magical symbol floating above the right hand vanished, as did the magical symbol up above in the sky. They both transformed into beams of light which shot down toward Naruto and merged into him.

Naruto didn't dodge or evade. He allowed the two glowing magical symbols to approach, merge into him, and then cause the Second and Third Hexes within him to become absolutely complete!

All of a sudden, it occurred to Naruto to ask a question. "If I hadn't seen what was unreal about that second world, and instead left through the door after returning, what would I have seen?"

"I don't know," the voice replied softly. Although it seemed weak, the reality was that it was coming from very, very far away.

As the voice got further and further away, the boundless life force mist on the statue's forehead flew down toward Naruto , enveloping him, nourishing his body.

It only took a moment for him to recover from his withered state. His soul was more powerful, and his divine sense experienced additional growth. Now, his divine sense was not forty percent of that of a Paragon, but rather fifty percent.

In the briefest of instants, he reached his ultimate peak!

However, Naruto wasn't paying attention to those physical transformations. Instead, he was pondering the question he had just asked. After a while, he chuckled hoarsely as he realized that there was no explanation. Since that was the case, there was no point in continuing to seek an answer.

He clasped hands and bowed once more, then turned. However, he

didn't leave yet. Instead, he summoned his 33 Soul Lamps, which began to swirl around him.

Naruto looked at his second Soul Lamp. His voice cool, he said,

"Extinguishing Soul Lamps in the Ancient Realm consists of Seven Desolations…. The First Desolation is that of the illusory. For me, that shouldn't pose any problem now. I should be able to extinguish all of the first five lamps… as easily as flipping over my hand!"

"Second lamp, extinguish!" The instant the words left his mouth, his second Soul Lamp winked out, as if it had been blown out with an invisible breath of air!

Green smoke appeared, and before anything illusory could even appear, Naruto breathed it in through his nose. Rumbling filled his mind and body.

His cultivation base exploded up, his divine sense increased, and his fleshly body grew stronger. Although it wasn't a complete redoubling, he was still growing much stronger.

A windstorm sprang up around him, raging through the world, even as his eyes came to fall upon his third Soul Lamp.

"Third lamp, extinguish!"

RUMBLE!

His third lamp went out, and the First Desolation of delusion began. However, because of his new ability to find the real within the unreal, and the unreal within the real, to return from the ancient and seek the present… this Desolation collapsed with a single blow!

From ancient times until now, when Allheaven Dao Immortals extinguished Soul Lamps, they involved one shocking battle after another, and required extreme caution. There had never been a situation like Naruto 's, in which he completely crushed the Desolations. They were like rotten logs which could be smashed instantly!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1309

Chapter 1309: Cultivation Base, Erupt!

In the instant that his third Soul Lamp was extinguished, the others flickered as though a wind had passed by.

"The Seven Desolations…." Naruto said coolly, closing his eyes. He could sense the rumbling within him, the explosive rise of his cultivation base, and the increase of his divine sense by ten percent!

Right now, his divine sense was equivalent to sixty percent of that of a Paragon!

"If I extinguish the other thirty Soul Lamps, then my divine sense will be three times as powerful as a Paragon's! Even if it's only three times as powerful as a 7-Essences Paragon, that's still a terrifying level of power." Naruto 's eyes opened, and they shone brightly. He took a deep breath as the rumbling sounds continued to echo out within him. Everything about him was still growing stronger, his cultivation base, his fleshly body, and his soul.

"To me, the Ancient Realm is no longer just a waypoint. Instead… it is a time of unprecedented transformation!" He swished his sleeve, causing a wind to spring up in all directions. He sent his divine sense out into the area, and could sense that he was now sixty to seventy percent more powerful than before!

"And I can get even stronger!" he said, eyes glittering. He looked at his fourth Soul Lamp, and then inwardly instructed it to be extinguished!

As the flame vanished, green smoke rose up, which rushed into Naruto 's nose, causing further intense rumbling sounds. His cultivation base shot higher, causing a wind to spring up that filled the entire world.

His divine sense grew again, rising from its previous level of sixty percent all the way to seventy percent!

His fleshly body issued cracking sounds, and his soul felt as if it would burst out from inside of him. Scintillating light shone out from his eyes, as if they had become the source of all the light in the world.

The First Desolation of the Seven Desolations created illusory visions that were completely meaningless to Naruto . They couldn't shake him in the slightest.

This might be the Ancient Tribulation of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, but it was incapable of comparing with Naruto 's experience regarding the real and the unreal, nor could it contend with the Naruto who had searched through infinite time to find his present life!

A single look on his part could cause all illusions to shatter as if they had never even existed. They were smashed into smithereens!

When his fourth Soul Lamp was extinguished, Naruto 's energy rocketed up. At the same time, just as he was about to extinguish the fifth lamp, a furious roar echoed out from the fourth lamp. The air distorted, and a huge hand became visible. It pierced through the rift between the illusory and the real, stretching out to grab Naruto .

"DIE!" roared an enraged voice. Naruto was not unfamiliar with this voice or this hand. The owner of that voice was none other than… that entity which Naruto had encountered before, which hid in the Ancient Tribulation clouds, and had come to hate Naruto deep within its bones during the First Desolation.

It had been waiting for Naruto to return to the Desolation of Delusion, but could never have imagined that he would do so having experienced such transformations. Furthermore, there was only one more Soul Lamp left, and once it was extinguished, the First Desolation would be completely concluded. It would have no other chance to do anything to Naruto after that, so right now, it was incredibly anxious. Therefore, all it could do was attack now to prevent Naruto from extinguishing that lamp.

"I've been waiting for you for a while now," Naruto said as the huge hand bore down on him. He extended his right hand as quickly as lightning. In fact, it moved so quickly that it looked like his hand was still at his side, when in fact it had already grabbed onto the huge hand which was trying to grab him.

That hand was much, much smaller than it had been back when he was transcending his Ancient Tribulation, or when he had been inside the First Desolation. It was now only about three meters wide, and currently it had ground to a halt, completely immobilized by Naruto , unable to budge at all.

A flustered and exasperated roar echoed out, a roar that even contained disbelief. Naruto snorted coldly, then waved his right hand, causing his cultivation base to burst with power. Cracking sounds rang out, accompanied by a miserable shriek. Naruto then jerked back on the hand he was holding, causing a shadowy figure to be yanked out of the fourth Soul Lamp.

It was like a dragon formed of black mist, which twisted and jerked as it was pulled out. A cry of alarm could be heard as Naruto clenched down with his right hand. Rumbling sounds could be heard, and the mist began to shrink. It was almost as if Naruto 's hand had become a black hole. In the blink of an eye, he had sucked all of the mist into the palm of his hand.

"Do you want to live, or die?" Naruto asked coolly, looking coldly down at the mist within his palm. The foggy ball churned and seethed until a terrified face came to be visible within. It looked surprised, shocked even. However, it seemed to still be holding onto its dignity, and Naruto 's words caused it to let out an unyielding, hate-filled roar.

"You really want to die?!" Naruto began to close his hand into a fist, causing cracking sounds to ring out. The black mist appeared to be on the verge of shattering, and a miserable shriek rang out. All of a sudden, under the pressure of imminent death, the entity within the mist finally chose to submit.

"Too late," Naruto said, clenching his hand down hard. A boom rang out, and the mist collapsed as easily as a wet log. An anguished roar of despair rang out, filled with curses, as black strands floated out between the cracks of Naruto 's fingers. They looked like vipers as they shot toward Naruto himself.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever as he waved his sleeve, causing the black viper-like strands to shatter, transforming them into ash.

At the same time, the final Soul Lamp of his First Desolation, the fifth of his 33 Soul Lamps, suddenly went dark.

When that happened, Naruto inhaled the green smoke, which caused his eyes to shine with a strange light. He threw his head back and roared; rumbling could be heard as his cultivation base rose up explosively, his soul surged within him as if it wanted to burst out, and his divine sense expanded rapidly!

His divine sense now swelled past seventy percent and reached… eighty percent of the level of a Paragon!

When Naruto sent out divine sense that was eighty percent of that of a Paragon, the surrounding world began to shake on the verge of collapse.

Naruto took a deep breath, and his eyes shone brightly. His current state was far beyond his previous peak, and as of this moment, he was completely confident in being able to secure victory over Lord White!

He rose to his feet and quickly absorbed all of his Soul Lamps, then turned and stepped out of the world. He emerged from the door, and was back on Patriarch Reliance's back. The first thing he heard was Patriarch Reliance roaring angrily, and then he saw an enormous head lurching toward him. An acrid odor blasted against his face as a huge mouth opened as if to consume him.

Of course, it was Patriarch Reliance, who had long since freed himself from the Hexing magic Naruto had laid upon him. He had been waiting for Naruto to reappear, and as soon as he did, reflexively tried to consume him.

Naruto 's expression was the same as usual. He completely ignored the mouth, vanishing from Patriarch Reliance's back and reappearing out in the starry sky. Patriarch Reliance's mouth snapped down onto nothing, whereupon he swiveled his head and roared at Naruto . " Naruto , you little bastard, you're nothing but an intolerable bully!" Naruto looked back at Patriarch Reliance and smiled.

"Alright, enough is enough," he said. "Quit it with the act. You're free to go. However, if I need you, you'd better come." Naruto actually felt strong emotions regarding Patriarch Reliance. Flicking his sleeve, he turned to leave.

However, Patriarch Reliance didn't seem ready to give up. Roaring, he charged toward Naruto .

"Hey, get back here!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Patriarch Reliance regretted them. He began to shiver, and then began to curse himself inwardly for being so muddle-headed. However, considering that he had already let the words slip, he couldn't just back down. That would be far too embarrassing. Therefore, he continued to act as angry as before. But then, Naruto stopped in place, and Patriarch Reliance began to tremble.

Naruto turned back to look at Patriarch Reliance, a contemplative expression on his face. "Oh? You don't want me to leave? Could it be that you really do want to become my mount?"

Patriarch Reliance instantly began to tremble. His entire facade and demeanor was just about to crumble away, when he realized that Guyiding Tri-Rain was standing there on his back, giggling. Feeling embarrassed, he cleared his throat, and tried to sound wizened and profound as he said, "Well, no matter what you say, I'm still your Patriarch. Therefore, before leaving, you should at least kowtow to me. If you don't, well, hmph."

Patriarch Reliance had to force himself to not tremble, and in fact, it took all the courage he had just to say those words. Glaring at Naruto , he slowly began to back up.

Naruto chuckled. He could tell exactly what Patriarch Reliance was thinking at the moment, and considering how good of a mood he himself was in, he simply clasped hands and bowed.

"Keep safe and sound, Patriarch. May I take my leave now?"

"Hmmphhh! Take thy leave!" Patriarch Reliance instantly felt very pleased with himself, and suddenly had the feeling that there must be something about him that the little bastard Naruto feared. Instantly, his confidence increased.

Naruto 's smile didn't change, but suddenly his cultivation base rumbled to life, and his divine sense spread out. Patriarch Reliance was so frightened he instantly shuddered intensely, and his eyes went wide. Without even thinking about it, a fawning expression appeared on his face.

"Hahaha, hahaha, I was joking! Naruto , young friend, you… you go ahead and take off now…." By this point, Patriarch Reliance didn't care that Guyiding Tri-Rain was secretly laughing. His scalp was numb, and he just wanted Naruto to be gone as quickly as possible. He was also cursing his careless remark from earlier.

With that, he backed up, instantly transforming into a beam of colorful light that shot off into the distance, reviling himself inwardly that he couldn't use more power to put distance between himself and Naruto even faster.

Naruto watched Patriarch Reliance leaving, a soft gleam in his eye. He had to admit that Patriarch Reliance was the source of many fond memories. From Mount Daqing to the Reliance Sect, all of them were precious parts of his past.

After a long moment, Naruto turned away. At that point, a bleakly murderous air sprang up around him, and his gaze turned as sharp as a blade. Then, he began to head toward the rift between the Eighth and Seventh Mountains and Seas.

"Lord White," he said softly, "this time, you will definitely meet your end!" With that, he vanished.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1310

Chapter 1310: Let Me Help You!

Naruto currently had divine sense with eighty percent of the power of a Paragon. Because of that terrifying level of divine sense, his divine abilities and magical techniques now vastly exceeded their previous level.

When you added in the fact that he had extinguished five Soul Lamps, acquiring boundless power, it ensured that Naruto 's battle prowess, although not quite on the 6-Essences level, still surpassed Lord White's. He was now at the peak of the 5-Essences level, less than half a step away from being equivalent to the 6-Essences level!

With the exception of Ksitigarbha in the Fourth Mountain and Sea, no one in the Mountain and Sea Realm who was under the level of Paragon could now pose a dangerous threat to Naruto in battle. That incredible sensation of power filled him with self-confidence, and at the same time enabled him to feel something that existed within the Mountain and Sea Realm… the Essence of Heaven and Earth.

Naruto appeared silently out in the starry sky. He raised his hand and made a grasping motion, causing a huge vortex to appear. As it spun soundlessly, Naruto reached in, as if he were attempting to grab something.

But then his brow slowly furrowed, and after a moment passed, he

slowly pulled his hand back.

"Still can't do it, huh…? Sakura's soul dissipated into the Mountain and Sea Realm, but given the current level of my cultivation base, I still can't pull it back together….

"It seems I need to have a deeper understanding of Essence." He closed his eyes for a while to feel the transformations in the starry sky around him, then proceeded along. The vortex slowly faded away, as if it had never existed.

"Essence…." he murmured. The next time he appeared, he was near the rift. This time, because of his vastly more powerful divine sense and its effects on the void, no one could detect his return, not even the redhaired old man, let alone any of the other cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

"Even without entering the Dao Realm, I can still come to understand Essences….

"Because of the Hexing magic of the League of Demon Sealers, and the Allheaven Dao Immortal blood in my veins, my path of cultivation is different from that of others….

"Cultivation like mine is something very rare, or perhaps… even something that has never been seen before.

"My true cultivation base is in the Ancient Realm, with five extinguished Soul Lamps. However, my battle prowess… is already greater than that of the Mountain and Sea Lords.

"My Essence of Divine Flame came from elsewhere, and is not truly mine….

"My path of cultivation… is the type in which reliance on others is not an option. I must walk… in my own way.

"Essence…. Essence…." Naruto 's eyes shone with a strange light as he proceeded along toward the rift. Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped inside. Instantly, the starry sky became a hazy void.

In the moment that he entered the rift, the red-haired old man and the other three Dao Realm experts with him all shivered. Their eyes opened, and they looked over at the rift.

"Strange, I just felt some fluctuations from the rift…."

"It was almost as if… someone just entered it?"

"Impossible. Unless it was the exalted Lord White, or that… that man who… no, impossible. Even that man… would not be able to pass by us unseen."

The red-haired old man and his fellows all frowned, but quickly calmed down and forgot the matter. It wasn't that they couldn't put more thought into what they had just sensed, but rather, that they didn't want to. This Mountain and Sea War had not lasted for particularly long, but not even the previous wars described in the historical records had been as bitter, and those records went back for centuries upon centuries. Although similar wars had been fought, none could quite compare to this one. And by this point, the cultivators of both armies were exhausted.

That was especially true of the small group who had witnessed Naruto 's battle with Lord White. They felt especially haggard.

Inside the rift, Naruto proceeded along calmly. He was in no hurry. As far as he was concerned, there was no more danger for him in this war, and what occupied his thoughts most was his future.

"I wonder… what my Essences will be…?" He suddenly stopped in place, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Nine Demon Sealing Hexes…. Nine Essences. Is that really the limit of the Paragon Realm…?

"If so, and I am able to use all of my Demon Sealing Hexing magics as Essences… well then, when that happens, I, Naruto … will become the most powerful Paragon in existence!

"In fact, I will already have become a Paragon when I get seven Essences, and right now I've already mastered six Hexing magics, which means six Essences." Having reached this point in his train of thought, Naruto 's eyes shone with unprecedented brightness.

He had found his path!

This was… his unique path of cultivation!

"When I combine the Nine Hexes into one, that will also be when my nine Essences combine with each other, then in that moment… as the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, I will also… be able to break through from the Paragon Realm into the Daosource Realm!" It was as if his eyes had been opened. His face lit up with a smile, and his expression was one of anticipation.

"To me, the Dao Realm is actually not very important, considering I can step into it any time I want. I originally thought that passing through the Ancient Realm would be the easy part, but it turned out that it is actually the true basis of allowing me to continuously grow stronger.

"When I combine the Nine Hexes, and the Nine Essences fuse together…." Naruto then looked down at his bag of holding, where Sakura's discarnate soul was.

"At that time, I should be able to put Sakura's soul back together…. I owe her far too much." Naruto sighed, clearing his thoughts and looking off into the void ahead of him. He could sense that, not too far off, a figure was moving rapidly toward the exit of the rift. Based on how fast this person was moving, it would only take about a day for him to emerge into the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

"Lord White…." Naruto said coolly. "You're going a bit too slow. Allow me to help you out a bit."

He sent out his divine sense, which was eighty percent as powerful as a Paragon's. The entire void within the rift began to tremble with terrifying fluctuations as Naruto , eyes shining with bizarre light, reached his right hand out, grabbed down, and then jerked it back.

At the same time, he flew backward, seemingly towing something behind him. Since he hadn't ventured in too far to begin with, he immediately arrived at the rift's exit.

The figure that Naruto had detected speeding through the void was a man in a long white robe. His expression was both grim and proud.

That man was none other than… the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, Lord White!

His cultivation base had been completely restored, and had even made some advancement. His eyes glittered brightly, seemingly containing the sun, moon, and stars swirling around inside of them. His energy was surging, and his aura was bursting with power.

Although he didn't seem to be moving very quickly, every step he took caused him to flash along with incredible speed. His mouth was twisted with a cold smile, and killing intent gleamed in his eyes.

"This time, it won't matter whether you're there waiting at the exit or not, I'm going to strike you down!

"Actually, I hope you are waiting for me. That way killing you won't waste too much of my time. Then I can slaughter the rest of the Eighth Mountain and Sea to accompany you in death!

"As for the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, he's a sacrifice that I prepared for the 33 Heavens. Offering up a Mountain and Sea Lord will definitely ensure that the 33 Heavens will descend!

"Furthermore, I've determined the location of your home, the Ninth Mountain and Sea…. Don't worry, I'll make sure to exterminate everyone in your entire clan and bloodline!

"If you really do have the guts to sit waiting for me at the entrance, your fate will be the same as if you had fled. After all… there is nowhere for you to run, and nowhere for you to hide, in all Heaven and Earth.

"You. Shall. DIE!

"The 33 Heavens are coming!

"I feel bad for the Mountain and Sea Realm. But this… is the fate of the Paragon Immortal Realm!" Lord White's eyes glittered, and his energy surged. He was completely self-confident, especially because of the two streams of light which swirled around him. One contained a short sabre, the other, a short sword. Both were precious treasures that, despite appearing to be ordinary in nature, were so powerful that even Lord White was leery of them.

In addition to all that, the mark of a green leaf could be seen on his forehead, flickering with scintillating light. It emanated the fluctuations of the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation, ensuring that a powerful life force flowed through him constantly.

Considering what he already knew about Naruto , and his current preparations, Lord White was completely confident!

That was not even to mention the glittering mark which could be seen on the back of his hand. That mark depicted an evil spirit, grinning maliciously.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Lord White continued along at top speed.

However, even as he was brimming with self-confidence, a huge boom rang out from the void up ahead of him. Everything seemed to shatter and churn, as though some terrifying entity were moving toward him with indescribable speed.

Lord White's eyes went wide, and his face fell with shock. Shaken, he prepared to dodge to the side. After all, he had opened up this path, so generally speaking there shouldn't be any danger here. What was happening now left him deeply shaken.

"What is that?!"

Even in the moment that Lord White started in shock, and the void up ahead of him shattered, a huge hand appeared, barreling toward him with irresistible force and indescribable speed. In the blink of an eye, it was directly in front of him.

No amount of resistance or struggling on his part did any good, nor did he even qualify to try to dodge. Before he could do anything, the hand grabbed onto him.

As soon as it touched him, his eyes went wide with disbelief and shock. Based on what he could sense, that hand was formed from divine will, a terrifying divine will that caused him to cry out in alarm and babble incoherently.

"Paragon!

"It's Paragon Sea Dream!

"No, wait, this isn't Sea Dream's aura…. She couldn't be here! The 33 Heavens already sent people to pin her down!

"If it's not Sea Dream, then who is it? Who could it be!?

"There couldn't possibly be a second Paragon in the Mountain and Sea Realm!" Indescribable astonishment gripped Lord White's heart, and before he could even consider the matter further, the huge hand began to drag him forward.

RUUMMMMBLLLLLE!

The entire void shook violently. Normally speaking, it would have taken a full day for Lord White to reach the exit of the rift at the speed he had been maintaining. But right now, it only took a few breaths of time before the huge hand dragged him… all the way out into the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

RUMBLE!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1311

Chapter 1311: Crushing!

Naruto emerged from the rift before Lord White by about ten breaths of time. Although the red-haired old man, his fellows, and the other cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea off in the distance were all swept over by a wild blast of air as soon as he appeared, sending all of them tumbling backwards, they still didn't immediately detect Naruto .

"What's happening?"

"This… this…." The red-haired old man and his fellows had looks of shock on their faces as they were shoved backward. Rumbling could be heard coming from the rift itself. And then the rift… all of a sudden seemed to be on the verge of collapsing completely.

Fissures spread out in all directions, and it began to break apart, causing widespread astonishment among everyone present.

What happened next, though, virtually blew the minds of all the observing cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Each and every one watched with their own eyes as their own Mountain and Sea Lord, Lord White… flew out of that collapsing rift.

Before any of them could get excited, they gasped with disbelief. That was because it was very clear from their vantage point that Lord White… was not flying out of the rift on his own. Instead, he was struggling and shouting, and a look of fear and shock could be seen on his face.

From the look of it… he was actually being dragged out by some huge, invisible hand!

"This…." all of the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea looked on in utter shock.

Lord White was roaring in anger, but deep inside he was flabbergasted. Even as he struggled, his voice rang out for all to hear.

"Which Paragon is it? Paragon Sea Dream? It must be you!"

Even as Lord White blustered, a calm voice suddenly echoed out. "It's not Paragon Sea Dream. It's me!"

Ripples spread out from the collapsing rift, and Naruto appeared for all to see.

" Naruto !"

"I can't believe it's him! This… he…."

"He was only missing for a month. I can't believe he's even stronger than he was before!" The red-haired old man and his fellows gasped in shock, and Lord White's pupils constricted. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Impossible!" A tremor ran through Lord White. The huge hand that had just grabbed him had vanished, and he could now move again. Without even thinking about it, he backed up, looking at Naruto with complete disbelief.

"Lord White, we meet again," Naruto said with a slight smile, looking calmly at Lord White the entire time. "You were going too slow, and I didn't feel like waiting for you, so I decided to help you out a bit."

Although Naruto 's words were spoken with a smile, they caused Lord

White's scalp to feel as if it were about to explode. An intense sensation of deadly crisis exploded up within him, the most intense feeling he had ever experienced in his entire life, and it was caused by none other than Naruto !

Lord White still almost couldn't believe that the Naruto he had faced a month ago, who had caused him to feel fear, but not deadly crisis, was this same person. It was as if he had completely transformed. Lord White felt as if he were dreaming, as if the scene playing out in front of him was a hallucination.

"Impossible…." It almost seemed as if the word 'impossible' was the only word he could say, over and over again. It went to show how completely shocked he was, how this scene was so unimaginable that it almost couldn't happen even in a dream. How could Naruto have experienced such a terrifying increase in power?

He would never be able to forget the despair and shock he had felt at having that huge hand grab him. That was the divine sense of a Paragon, which completely exceeded his own. He had previously assumed that the original plan had gone awry, and that Paragon Sea Dream had appeared. But now that he realized the sense of crisis was caused by Naruto , he truly wished that all of this could be nothing more than an illusion. In fact, he would rather Paragon Sea Dream be the one who had arrived.

His confidence was now completely shattered, and all his preparations were now completely useless.

Even worse was the fact that the rift behind him was collapsing, causing him to gasp. Now Naruto 's plan was obvious; considering that he was cutting off the path of retreat, he obviously planned… to cut Lord White down once and for all!

That was why Naruto had entered the rift to begin with!

By destroying that rift, he made it impossible for the Lord of the Seventh

Mountain and Sea to retreat, trapping him in the Eighth Mountain and

Sea. Even if he wanted to flee, there was nowhere to flee to! The graveyard-like Eighth Mountain and Sea would become his final resting place!

Lord White began to shake, and the sensation of deadly crisis within him grew even more intense, until it felt like raging waves battering at his mind. Without even a moment of hesitation, Lord White transformed into a beam of white light that flashed toward the collapsing rift.

Although entering a collapsing rift like that gave him only a 50/50 chance of surviving, as far as he was concerned, that was better than staying put!

He could well predict that if he did not pick that 50/50 chance, then the only thing waiting for him was a 0/100 chance!

RUMBLE!

In the very moment in which Lord White fell back, Naruto snorted coldly and waved his hand. Heaven and Earth rumbled, and the starry sky trembled, as his divine sense spread out, crushing down onto Lord White.

Lord White let out a miserable shriek, and blood spattered everywhere. Then, the rift behind him collapsed completely, cutting off even that 50/50 chance he had to survive!

" Naruto , you push people too far!" Lord White's eyes were completely bloodshot as he spun around, threw his head back and roared. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing an ancient scripture to materialize behind him.

"The Mountains have three Daos, Man-Mountain, Earth-Mountain, Heaven-Mountain!" Lord White held nothing back as he unleashed his divine ability, revealing how incredibly terrified he was at this moment.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

Three Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering mountains appeared, which crushed toward Naruto , the Man-Mountain from the front, the EarthMountain from below, and the Heaven-Mountain from above. The power of those three mountains was enough to slay celestial beings and destroy gods!

Rumbling could be heard as the three mountains smashed toward Naruto . Before he had extinguished five Soul Lamps, facing this magic had been very difficult, and he had been forced to rely on the Withering Flame Demon Magic True Self Dao to create a surrogate which had died in his stead.

Right now, though, Naruto 's eyes were shining brightly, and his expression was very calm. The wave of a finger caused the ManMountain to shudder and then collapse into pieces. Without stopping, Naruto waved his finger down, and then up.

It was as if he could buttress all creation, as if… in all Heaven and Earth, he was the most respected of all beings!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The Earth-Mountain shattered, and the Heaven-Mountain collapsed. The starry sky shuddered as rubble blasted out in all directions. Blood sprayed out of Lord White's mouth, and an expression of terror and madness appeared on his face.

"You're no match for me anymore." Naruto said coolly, speeding toward Lord White. As he did, the pressure of the starry sky began to weigh down, as if the power of the Mountains and Seas itself was Naruto 's aura. Everything shook, and Lord White fell back, blood spraying out of his mouth.

—–

Note from Er Gen: The past four chapters have 11,000 Chinese characters!

Note from Deathblade: This is an unusually short chapter, coming in at only about 1300 words. The reason is that the past four chapters were all posted in a single day by Er Gen in a drive for monthly vote tickets.

As you can see from the above comment, those four chapters came in at a total of 11,000 Chinese characters. Usually chapters are 3,000 Chinese characters, so he came very close to completing 4 full chapters, but fell a bit short on the last one of the day.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1312

Chapter 1312 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1312: Lord White Turns Outsider!

"The Seas have three magics, the Commoner's Magic, the Minister's Magic, and the Emperor's Magic!" Lord White roared. Three natural laws descended that seemed to supercede all other natural laws, affecting all minds as they crushed down onto Naruto .

A strange light shone in Naruto 's eyes as he waved his hand, summoning the Paragon Bridge. This Paragon Bridge was different than the bridges he had summoned before; the towering will of a Paragon swirled around it as it fought back against the three Sea magics, which subsequently shattered.

Naruto 's face paled a bit, but almost immediately recovered. Then he frowned.

"It seems my biggest weakness now is this body of mine," he murmured inwardly. Although his fleshly body had experienced growth when he extinguished his Soul Lamps, that growth was not incredibly significant. His fleshly body had already almost reached its total limit, and could not really make any more progress without a complete breakthrough.

Considering how much energy he had built up in preparation for the breakthrough, once it occurred, his fleshly body would rapidly increase in power afterward.

However, before the breakthrough, all of that energy was essentially useless.

"The Dao Realm fleshly body requires… the blood of ancient Gods." He then thought back to that trial by fire in the Nine Seas God World, and the words spoken to him by the old man who had passed on the three exterminating fist techniques.

"Ancient God blood…." Then he recalled that back in the Windswept Realm, Yuwen Jian from the Seventh Mountain and Sea had told him that there were ancient Gods where he came from.

Even as these things flashed through his mind, blood was spraying out of Lord White's mouth from the backlash of his attack. His hair turned white, and his body withered. His entire aura weakened in the blink of an eye, and his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation immediately exploded into action.

However, he was bitterly aware that he had nowhere to flee to, no path of escape. The only tiny chance he had to survive was to go all out and fight to the death.

Lord White threw his head back and laughed maniacally, performing a double-handed incantation gesture and simultaneously spitting out some blood. He did not use his Death Curse Magic, which Naruto had already overcome in their last battle. Naruto 's divine sense was now as powerful as a Paragon, so using the Death Curse Magic against him would do little good.

Gritting his teeth, Lord White waved the index fingers of both hands toward Naruto . Instantly, the sabre and the sword that were swirling around him flared with red light and black smoke, which seemed to connect up into the 33 Heavens beyond the limits of the starry sky. It was like a Devilish flame that caused the Mountain and Sea Realm to rumble, and a power of expulsion to rise up.

However, even as that power of expulsion appeared, Lord White threw his head back and roared, Suddenly, a crown-like object appeared atop his head, flickering with dazzling light that instantly caused the Mountain and Sea power to settle down.

That crown was the symbol that marked him as a Mountain and Sea Lord. With it, he was able to stifle the expulsion power of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and thus allow him to temporarily borrow power directly from the 33 Heavens!

"DIE!" he howled. The sabre and the sword hummed in unison, radiating intense killing intent as they shot toward Naruto !

Lord White knew that although the sabre and sword were powerful, they were not enough to kill Naruto . Laughing bitterly, eyes aflame with madness, he decided to go all out in one final attack. This was an attack that would end with either Naruto dead, or himself!

He raised his right hand up high, and the evil spirit totem tattoo on it seemed to come to life. Its eyes blinked open, causing an intense, vile aura to fill the starry sky.

Barely audible was the sound of roaring coming from the 33 Heavens beyond the limits of the starry sky, which pierced through the barriers to settle onto the battlefield where Naruto and Lord White were fighting!

That roar did not come from Dao Namikaze , who had appeared during their last battle!

It came from some other spirit!

Naruto 's expression flickered, and a strange light appeared in his eyes. After a moment of thought, he turned somberly to face the sabre and sword, and then reached out and made a grasping gesture. Instantly, the sabre and sword began to vibrate.

The short sabre then began to shine with dazzling light, and then suddenly dissolved into a liquid which spread out to avoid Naruto 's grasp. Then it transformed into the outline of some gigantic beast.

It was a vicious lizard, covered with innumerable spines that glittered with cold light. The lizard roared as it attacked Naruto .

As for the short sword, it also dissolved, turning into a Silver Dragon, which howled as it charged forward.

Naruto snorted coldly, looking away from Lord White to the incoming lizard and Silver Dragon. In the same moment, his divine sense exploded out, turning into a crushing power that weighed down on the starry sky.

Everything distorted as a huge rift was torn open. The gigantic lizard trembled and then let out a bloodcurdling scream as it was torn to pieces.

As for the Silver Dragon, the exact same thing happened to it. It didn't even qualify to fight back, and was instantly shredded.

The sabre was destroyed and the sword was crushed!

They were precious treasures that Lord White had prepared specifically to use against Naruto . But now, Naruto had divine sense that was eighty percent as powerful as that of a Paragon's, which caused the void to distort and the starry sky to crush down.

Naruto waved his sleeve, sweeping away the fragments of the sabre and sword, dispersing them.

In that same instant, Lord White howled, a sound that could shake Heaven and Earth. Simultaneously, the roaring coming from the 33 Heavens beyond the starry sky caused everything to shake.

The vicious spirit on the back of Lord White's hand grinned ferociously. Even as Naruto turned his attention to it, it materialized into an evil ghost, which didn't attack Naruto , but rather, turned and burrowed into Lord White's body.

Lord White spasmed, then threw his head back and roared.

ROOOAARRRR!

His body began to grow, and in the blink of an eye, he was 30 meters tall, then 300 meters. His eyes were crimson, and radiated madness. Apparently, his mental faculties were crushed in that instant, and he went completely mad.

Numerous spines grew out of the pupils of his eyes, and scales rapidly spread out over his skin, giving him a completely shocking appearance. His face twisted with pain as he beat his chest with his fists. At the same time, his spine extending, causing a huge tail to appear, which was covered with viscous bodily fluid.

Two brutish horns sprouted out of his head, and his aura exploded out to a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering degree.

That aura was definitely not the aura of the Mountain and Sea Realm, but rather the aura of the Outsiders from the 33 Heavens!

This was not the first time Naruto had seen something like this happen. Back when he had fought Marquis Lu, something similar had occurred. However, the energy Lord White was giving off now was beyond compare to what he had seen before.

And yet… there was no power of expulsion from the Mountains and Seas. That crown still glittered on his head, which apparently caused a peculiar willpower to fill the area, isolating him from the Mountain and Sea Realm, so that it couldn't even sense him!

Clearly, Lord White's status had something to do with why this was happening!

"Die, Die, DIE!" Lord White roared. Apparently, Lord White had some strange connection to the 33 Heavens, a connection that Naruto could sense. Although this caused him to frown slightly, it was not some huge shock.

After his fight with Marquis Lu, it was easy for Naruto to come to the conclusion that Lord White must have a similar magic at his disposal. Of course, the price involved was incomprehensible, so much so that Lord White wouldn't use it unless it was his only chance at survival. In fact, that heavy price was also why he had chosen to flee during their last battle.

But now, the rift was gone, and Naruto 's power left him in complete despair. He knew that today… he had a 0/100 chance of surviving unless he went completely all out!

ROOOAARRRR!

Lord White turned into a black beam that shot toward Naruto with incredible speed, piercing through the starry sky. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of Naruto , stretching out his claw-like hands toward him.

RUMBLE!

His claws shredded the starry sky with destructive power. Although that explosive power did not equal the 6-Essences level, it was immeasurably close.

As the claws neared, Naruto 's eyes flickered, and his divine sense roiled out. The power of eighty percent of a Paragon's divine sense crushed down onto Lord White, instantly causing him to grind to a halt, trembling.

In that instant, Naruto 's right hand lifted up, and the copper mirror appeared, transforming instantly into the Battle Weapon. This version of the Battle Weapon was vastly sharper than before, and looked different as well. The murderous aura which surrounded it was greater, and the blade glow which flickered out shoved Lord White back thirty meters, howling.

A gaping wound appeared in his chest, but strangely, no blood flowed out from it. Roaring madly, he charged in again, whereupon Naruto snorted coldly and sent his divine sense crushing down once again.

A boom rang out as Lord White was once again halted in place by the terrifying pressure from Naruto . Try as he might to fight back, it was useless, and he was left trembling.

Naruto 's eyes flashed, and he took a step forward. The Battle Weapon slashed through the starry sky, sending out dazzling light that seemed to rend the starry sky.

Massive power slashed down onto Lord White, cutting him cleanly into two pieces. Yet again, no blood sprayed out, although he let out a bloodcurdling scream.

However, what was truly bizarre was that the two halves of his body wriggled and transformed into two versions of Lord White, which then charged madly toward Naruto from two different directions.

Naruto frowned, sending divine sense out and attacking with the Battle Weapon again. However, the only result of his slashing attack was that there were now four Lord Whites!

"Won't die and can't be killed?" Naruto 's eyes flashed coldly as he put the Battle Weapon away and then performed an incantation gesture and pointed out. Immediately, the Paragon Bridge rumbled out, emanating the power of the 6-Essences level, which completely shattered the four Lord Whites into a pulp.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

However, even as they shattered, Naruto 's frown deepened. There in front of him, the countless dust-like fragments formed back together, and this time, there weren't four Lord Whites, but rather… dozens!

"Die, Die, DIE!" All of the Lord Whites howled and charged at Naruto from all directions.

Chapter 1312: Lord White Turns Outsider!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1313

Chapter 1313 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1313: If You Dare Kill Him, The War Starts!

Naruto looked at the multiple versions of Lord White, his eyes flickering with scintillating light.

"Can't be killed and won't die. Is that because of your life force?" Naruto suddenly waved his hand, summoning the copper mirror once again. This time, however, he didn't form it into the Battle Weapon, but instead reached his left hand deep into the mirror itself!

The copper mirror was like a black hole that completely swallowed up his hand. At the same time, the mirror trembled, as if some enormous power was stirring within. Roars and howls echoed out, the mere sound of which caused the faces of the numerous versions of Lord White to flicker. Furthermore, the area which had previously been cut off from the Mountain and Sea Realm by Lord White was now showing signs of collapsing.

"Demon Weapon Lonelytomb…" Naruto said softly, eyes shining, "the time has finally come for you to truly appear in the world!" Based on the level of his current cultivation base, he was able to sense that… he could at long last completely and fully pull out the fragment of the mirror he had acquired in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, as well as that which was inside of it, Demon Weapon Lonelytomb! 1

Furthermore, this was not the incomplete Demon Weapon which he had pulled out in the last fight with Lord White. This was… the complete, authentic Demon Weapon Lonelytomb!

The world inside the copper mirror was something no one on the outside could see. Deep within the mirror was an ancient battlefield, filled with so many broken corpses that they were heaped together like mountains. In the middle of all of that was a seething black mist, inside of which was a long black spear that radiated brutal madness.

It also pulsed with an intense murderous aura, which caused rumbling sounds to echo out. It was as if the number of souls killed by this spear throughout the years literally couldn't be counted….

All of a sudden, an enormous hand reached down out of the Heavens of that world, which was none other than Naruto 's hand. It pierced through the black mist and wrapped around the Demon Weapon Lonelytomb.

An intense drone of excitement exploded out of the spear, as if it could sense the fluctuations of the League of Demon Sealers. It had been waiting for far more than 10,000 years… for a cultivator from the League to come release it into the world once more!

The hand wrapped around Demon Weapon Lonelytomb and then pulled it up into the Heavens….

Out in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto 's hand slowly emerged from the copper mirror, which was trembling and emanating dazzling light that spread out in all directions.

There was also a vast quantity of black mist which roiled out, filling the entire area with a towering murderous aura, as if countless discarnate souls were screaming and wailing in anguish.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto 's hand emerged, clutched within which was a long black spear. At long last, Demon Weapon Lonelytomb… had returned to the Mountain and Sea Realm!

It was nine meters long, completely pitch black, and surrounded by swirling black mist and the images of countless vengeful spirits. The murderous aura it emanated contained shocking pressure that made everything rumble. It was as if all the life in the starry sky was being sliced to pieces to be consumed by the newly-arrived Demon Weapon Lonelytomb!

Even more shocking was that after consuming that life force, the Demon Weapon's murderous aura grew even stronger. It needed more, it thirsted for more, causing Heaven and Earth to shake violently.

The dozens of versions of Lord White began to struggle violently, expressions flickering with astonishment and shock.

"An undying, unkillable life force…?" Naruto said, lips twisting into a cold smile. He took a step forward, and Demon Weapon Lonelytomb transformed into a black bolt of lightning that shot out.

It was only a spear, but when it stabbed into the forehead of one of the Lord Whites, it pierced directly through him, withering his body. In the blink of an eye, he shattered into pieces, his life force completely and utterly consumed by Demon Weapon Lonelytomb.

The Demon Weapon, which had previously been pitch black, all of a sudden had a blood-colored glint to it that even bordered on violet!

In the same moment, the rest of the versions of Lord White finally managed to shake off the Hexing magic, and began to scatter, fleeing in all directions.

"You can't escape," Naruto said coolly. He didn't pursue them, though. Instead, the bloody glow surrounding the Demon Weapon transformed into a beam of blood-colored light, which sped out into the starry sky. The starry sky trembled as the barrier erected by Lord White shattered. Instantly, the power of the Mountains and Seas could sense the presence of an Outsider, and as a result, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm began to shake violently.

Atop the Nine Mountains, the Xuanwu turtles in the nine celestial ponds threw their heads back and roared. The Mountains and Seas shook, and all of the Mountain and Sea Lords could suddenly sense the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Outsiders must be executed!" These words rumbled out into the minds of all of the Mountain and Sea Lords. On the Ninth Mountain, Ji Tian's eyes shone with a strange glow as he looked in the direction of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

On the Eighth Mountain, Naruto 's grandfather, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, was shaking violently. His hands were quivering, and a shocking aura was erupting up within him as his eyes slowly opened!

In the Sixth Mountain and Sea, countless cultivators were massed together into a huge army that was marching forward into a rift that connected to the Fifth Mountain and Sea. It was not just in the Eighth Mountain and Sea that a Mountain and Sea War was being fought, nor was the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea the only traitor!

There was another traitor… the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea!

War had broken out in the Fifth Mountain and Sea, and the two Lords of those respective Mountains and Seas were both bursting with power. Although they had not yet begun to fight, they were now facing off.

It was in that moment that they heard the voice of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The entire Mountain and Sea Realm was shaking, and countless faces flickered with shock. An astonishing power was building up, converging on Naruto 's location in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and then crushing down onto the fleeing Lord White.

That was Naruto 's entire goal. He wanted to sever the power that

Lord White was able to wield because of his status as the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, that allowed him to block the will of the Mountains and Seas. Once his Outsider aura spread out and was detected, killing him would be a very simple task.

In fact, Naruto didn't even need to attack at this point. The power of the Mountain and Sea Realm would kill Lord White for him!

Amidst rumbling sounds, Lord White let out a miserable scream as the will of the Mountains and Seas descended. However, even as he was about to be shredded out of existence, the starry sky shook as a massive pressure descended from the 33 Heavens up above.

At the same time, a huge golden net appeared, which covered the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. Beyond that net could be seen numerous land masses stacked up like a pagoda. Clearly visible on the first land mass, the one nearest to the Mountain and Sea Realm, were mountains and rivers, as well as a group of cultivators with stern, arrogant expressions on their faces.

This was the 1st Heaven of the 33 Heavens. Similar scenes could be seen playing out on the 2nd Heaven, the 3rd Heaven, and all of the other various land masses that were stacked higher up. Furthermore, it appeared as if the cultivators there had just begun to gather, and that it would most likely take many years for them to finish massing their forces together.

After all, each and every one of those Heavens was comparable in size to the Mountain and Sea Realm itself!

Beyond that huge golden net, was a figure clad in golden battle armor, floating above the 1st Heaven, staring down at the Mountain and Sea Realm. Suddenly, he cried out in a furious voice. "Mountain and Sea Realm, if you dare to kill someone from our 1st Heaven, then the war will begin early!"

That figure looked like a cultivator, except that his body was covering in scales, and a long tail stretched out behind him. Two vicious horns sprouted from his head, and his eyes were icy cold.

"Allow him to return, and I'll pretend none of this ever happened. The Mountain and Sea Realm will then have years to prepare. The war between us is coming, and it will end with the eradication of either the Mountains and Seas or our 33 Heaven!

"Do you want that war to start now, or years from now? All rests on a single sentence from you, the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

Massive rumbling accompanied the voice, which pierced into the

Mountain and Sea Realm and exploded out in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. However, the echoing voice could also be heard by all cultivators in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

In fact, any cultivator in the Mountain and Sea Realm who looked up would be able to see the huge net spreading out up above, and the 33 land masses beyond it!

The entire Realm was completely stunned!

Although rumors about the 33 Heavens had long since begun to spread, and many people knew about them, as of this moment, everyone was astonished to be able to hear the words spoken by the golden-armored Outsider from the 1st Heaven.

It was brazen intimidation!

He was openly threatening the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm; if it dared to slaughter Lord White, then the result would be the premature outbreak of a war of eradication!

Naruto was shaking, and brilliant light flickered within his eyes. He had never imagined that killing Lord White would provoke such a reaction from the 33 Heavens, to the extent that they were willing to wage war ahead of schedule!

Suddenly, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm froze, and ceased in its attempt to kill Lord White. At the same time, the remaining versions of Lord White all merged back together into his original form. His face was pale, and he was trembling, but the fact that he had just escaped with his life caused his eyes to shine with incredible joy, even elation!

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm was silent. The Xuanwu turtles on the Nine Mountains grew quiet. None of the Mountain and Sea Lords spoke. All cultivators, regardless of whether they were fighting on the battlefield or were in a location of peace and quiet, were completely shaken, and stared up in confusion at the starry sky above.

None of them were ready for such a war, and in fact, most of them hadn't even been aware that a war was coming.

And yet… the 33 Heavens, despite not being fully prepared, had already begun to gather forces. If they still needed years to prepare, then so did the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Naruto was also silent. This was a decision that had to do with the survival of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself. His first inclination was to let Lord White go, and avoid an early outbreak of war.

After all, he hadn't made adequate preparations to fight against the 33 Heavens right at this moment.

A cold snort rang out from the 33 Heavens, and a huge black hand pierced down through the golden net. It descended to the Eighth Mountain and Sea, grabbed Lord White and then slowly pulled him up.

The decision had been made. The Mountain and Sea Realm didn't dare to attack, didn't dare to start the war early. That was a war which would decide the fate of all lives in the Realm, and no one was confident enough to start it yet.

However… that was when something completely unexpected happened!

It was around chapter 619 that he acquired that mirror fragment in the

Ancient Demon Immortal Sect ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1314

Chapter 1314 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1314: FIGHT!

Note from Deathblade: I rarely do this, but I'm going to suggest a soundtrack for this chapter. Click here for the music, then have fun reading!

The hand which had grabbed Lord White and was pulling him up out of the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly became entangled by some invisible power which forced it to grind to a halt. An enraged roar then echoed out from the 33 Heavens to fill the ears of all cultivators down below.

"Mountain and Sea Realm, what are you doing?! Do you truly dare to start the war early!?"

All of the Mountains and Seas were completely shaken. Even the cultivators of the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas who were locked in combat, as well as those in the Sixth and Fifth Mountains and Seas, all went quiet.

Fighting ceased, and all hearts felt enormous pressure weighing down on them. And yet, the main feeling was that of confusion.

All of a sudden, an ancient and icy voice echoed out through all of the Mountains and Seas, filling the minds and hearts of all cultivators. "All ye in the Mountain and Sea Realm… I am the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, its spirit automaton…."

Each and every cultivator in the Mountain and Sea Realm could hear the voice as clear as crystal.

"Oh so many years ago, there was no Mountain and Sea Realm in the Vast Expanse. There was only the Paragon Immortal Realm, standing tall and eternal within the flow of time. It led the 3,000 Lower Realms, and all of its cultivators were Immortals….

"But then… catastrophe struck….

"The 3,000 Lower Realms… rebelled. Other foreign powers threw the Immortals into chaos, slaughtered the Imperial Lords, and exterminated the Dao bloodlines. The Paragon Immortal Realm fell….

"Paragon Nine Seals… created the Mountain and Sea Realm, forging new lands to keep the memory of the Paragon Immortal Realm alive. That is how the Mountain and Sea Realm came to be…." The voice of the Mountain and Sea Realm echoed out, filled with a strange power that suffused the entire Realm and poured into the ears of all cultivators. Even as the Mountain and Sea Realm spoke, the cultivators saw images in their minds. Visions.

Within those visions were images of the true events from the past. They were images that seemed to spring up from the very souls of the people who saw them, drawn up by the voice which filled their minds.

Within those visions, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases, be they Qi

Condensation or Dao Realm, could clearly see the Paragon Immortal Realm of yesteryear. They saw the peace and tranquility there, and then they saw the 3,000 Lower Realms rebelling. They saw the terrifying foreign powers invading the Paragon Immortal Realm. They saw… the Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering war which resulted.

They saw countless cultivators dying miserable deaths. They saw many who, in their last moment of life, would shout that they would live for the Immortal World, and that they would die for the Immortal World. Then those cultivators chose to self-detonate and end in mutual destruction with their enemies.

The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm saw the blood of their ancestors in the visions. They witnessed the glory of the Paragon Immortal Realm, and its fall. They witnessed the countless corpses and brutal carnage that stretched out into the starry sky.

Everyone began to tremble as the voice of the Mountain and Sea Realm slowly faded into the background. What filled their minds were the images that had been hidden in their blood and in their souls, images that revealed to the trembling Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, their true origins.

They understood. As of this moment, everyone understood!

No one doubted whether the images might be illusions. On an instinctive level, they knew that their visions were real. It was as if these images were memories, memories of their ancestors that were embedded in their souls and in their blood. From generation to generation, those memories were passed down, indelible and impossible to wipe away!

It was as if they could hear the shouts of their ancestors coming from within their own blood.

"Never forget! We are the people of the Paragon Immortal Realm!"

"Fix our former glory into your hearts!"

"Our children and grandchildren, all generations, must forever remember that our true enemies are the 33 Heavens, and those beyond the 33 Heavens!"

"They are our enemies now, and will be our enemies to time indefinite!"

A massive roaring sound exploded out into the minds of all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. The visions left them trembling, their eyes bloodshot, their blood and souls surging not only with the memories passed down by the ancestors but also… with their rage and madness.

What bitterness!

They saw the collapse of the Paragon Immortal Realm, they saw countless deaths, they saw the starry sky become a sea of blood, and they saw the vicious brutality of the rebels.

Death… endless death….

Eventually, the visions began to change. After seeing countless almighty experts from the Paragon Immortal Realm give up their lives for the sake of family and homeland, they saw Paragon Nine Seals create the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm. He knew that he would die in the process, but he didn't care. To stop the war, to protect his home, he created the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He took the broken remnants of his people and placed them into the Mountain and Sea Realm. There, they multiplied and became many, and eventually life once again thrived. Gradually, a new Immortal World came to be.

However, the war was not over!

Everyone was trembling, even Naruto . He already knew about all of these matters, but he had never seen the visions. However, his eyes were bloodshot, not because the rage and hatred of his ancestors, but rather… because he did not wish, and was not willing, to allow his own people to wade through the same sea of blood he was seeing in the visions.

Eventually, the voice of the Mountain and Sea Realm once again echoed out, seemingly sighing, seemingly reminiscent, and yet filled with obsession and towering hatred!

"Most of the 3,000 Lower Realms were destroyed. In the end, only 33 remained. They sealed the Mountain and Sea Realm, and they… are the 33 Heavens which hang over all our heads.

"On this day, the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea has rebelled, as has the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea. After the passage of countless years, that most ancient of wars, is starting again….

"And it will be a war of complete extermination…."

As the voice rang out into the minds of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the visions changed once again. This time, they saw the battles which had been fought recently in the Eighth and Fifth Mountains and Seas!

They saw cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm killing each other, and they saw the rebellion of the Mountain and Sea Lords!

When the cultivators from the other Mountains and Seas saw this, their eyes were shot with blood. As for the cultivators from the Eighth, Seventh, Sixth, and Fifth Mountains and Seas, their minds felt as if they were being struck by lightning. All of the cultivators on the various battlefields were struck mute.

They began to shake, and their eyes filled with grief. All of them felt like screaming from the bottoms of their hearts:

 _Wrong! We were wrong!_

There should never have been any Mountain and Sea Wars. Even if their own Mountain and Sea Lord rebelled, they would not!

They were cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and they all carried the blood of their ancestors. Their enemies were not the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm, but rather, the 33 Heavens!

One cultivator after another began to cough up blood, and many even shed bloody tears….

The cultivators from the other Mountains and Seas were filled with bitterness, and couldn't even speak. Everyone was unprecedentedly quiet. As of this moment, the visions, coupled with the somehow familiar feeling rising up in their blood, caused the hatred for the 33 Heavens which existed in their souls to become incomparably clear.

Finally, at long last, they understood everything.

"I am only a spirit automaton. The decisions about whether or not to fight, and when exactly to fight, are not mine to make. Therefore, I hereby request that all cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm tell me what you wish to do.

"Do we fight now? We are not ready, but then again, neither are our enemies. Or… do we wait? Years from now, both sides will be prepared, and then we can fight.

"All of you… tell me your wish." After the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm finished speaking, it went completely silent.

The entire Mountain and Sea Realm was quiet. Everyone stood there silently, thinking, contemplating whether or not to fight.

If they fought, they would have the advantage. If they did not fight, they could spend more time preparing.

The right to decide did not lie with the will of the Mountain and Sea

Realm, nor with the 33 Heavens. Instead, it lay with the people of the

Mountain and Sea Realm itself. The silence caused the people of the 1st Heaven up above to suddenly grow very nervous. Even the Outsider in the golden armor felt his heart pounding.

He could never possibly have imagined that forcing the Mountain and Sea Realm's hand in this way would have such a result. Based on his understanding of the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm, he had been convinced that they would choose to wait and prepare. But now… he wasn't sure.

"Dammit!" he growled, his heart racing. The 33 Heavens were in no way prepared, which was in fact, one of the main reasons why they had incited internal friction by means of the Sixth and Seventh Mountains and Seas. They wanted the Mountain and Sea Realm to be in chaos. Then, they could spend years preparing, and by the time the two mysterious forces backing them arrived to wage war, they would fight alongside them in an ultimate and final battle.

However, even as the golden-armored Outsider stood there, shaking inwardly, a voice suddenly rang out in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Fight!"

That voice crackled like thunder, ringing out from within the Fourth Mountain and Sea to fill the starry sky. It was only one word, but it then gave rise to a chorus of responses from that same Mountain and Sea!

That voice belonged to none other than… the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Ksitigarbha!

It was one word, one completely domineering word, filled with ultimate decisiveness!

An explosion of voices filled the Fourth Mountain and Sea, joining Ksitigarbha's voice. The Fourth Mountain and Sea was going wild, and the cultivators there began to roar at the top of their lungs.

"Fight!"

"Fight!"

Next, the Lord of the Fifth Mountain and Sea threw his head back and roared.

"Fight!"

After that, people began to cry out in the Third Mountain and Sea and the Second Mountain and Sea. Killing intent exploded out, shaking the starry sky.

"Fight!"

Next, an ancient voice suddenly echoed out from within the First Mountain and Sea.

"Fight!"

The entire starry sky, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, was aboil. Countless voices joined together from all parts of the Realm. As they echoed about boundlessly, they were joined by a voice from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, which belonged to none other than Ji Tian!

"Fight!"

As the Mountain and Sea Realm shook, Naruto 's grandfather, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, who sat atop the Eighth Mountain, fully opened his eyes. When he did, power exploded out that shook the starry sky, and caused the Heavens to tremble. Shining light like the stars emanated out from his eyes as he slowly rose to his feet. Then, his voice booming like thunder, he spoke a single word.

"FIGHT!"

Chapter 1314: FIGHT!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1315

Chapter 1315 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1315: Lord White Falls, The Battle Commences!

"Win or lose, we'll fight!"

"Since they're not ready either…we have to strike now!"

"It's just war, isn't it?! Even though we don't know how long it will last, it'll happen eventually anyway; we might as well get on with it!"

Numerous shouting voices rose up from all parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm. As they echoed out, Naruto remained silent, and yet, his eyes flickered with an intense desire to do battle.

"Perhaps after some preparation I could focus even more of the Mountain and Sea Realm's power," he thought. "However… by that time, the two other terrifying enemies will have arrived.

"Since that's the case, why not fight now? If we can wipe out the 33 Heavens before the other two forces arrive… perhaps victory won't be an impossibility!" Naruto 's eyes glittered. Now was not the time for silent contemplation. He looked up into the starry sky at the goldenarmored hand which was still holding Lord White. He did not cry out that he wanted to fight, but instead, sent his divine sense roaring out, bursting with power equivalent to eighty percent of that of a Paragon.

If the war was starting, then Lord White could be of significant aid to Naruto 's Eternal stratum. Therefore… he could not be allowed to escape. Naruto 's divine sense rumbled toward him….

The golden-armored Outsider from the 1st Heaven had an expression of shock on his face. The reaction of all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm caused him to subconsciously fall back, simultaneously trying to drag Lord White out of the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, it was in that same moment that Naruto 's divine sense closed in.

Naruto 's divine sense transformed into an enormous blade capable of sundering the Heavens, which then slashed viciously at the arm, moving at incredible speed.

"You're like a grain of rice fighting back against the sun and moon!" the golden-armored Outsider said with a cold snort. Dazzling golden light then began to shine off of his hand, as if he was simply going to ignore Naruto 's divine sense, and would continue to extract Lord White.

However, even as his words echoed out, Naruto 's blade of divine sense smashed into the golden light, which instantly distorted, and then began to tremble, apparently on the verge of shattering!

"That's…." the golden-armored Outsider shouted in alarmed disbelief. His eyes had gone wide and his mind was reeling.

Naruto 's divine sense blade pierced the golden light and then made contact with golden-armored Outsider's enormous arm. Cracking sounds echoed out as the golden armor shattered, revealing a long scaled arm.

The arm trembled as Naruto 's divine sense blade bit into it. The arm was apparently not even qualified to resist; in the blink of an eye, it was completely severed!

Naruto 's eyes glittered with killing intent as he stared at the severed arm and then shouted out in a thunder-like voice, "All invading Outsiders shall DIE!"

A massive roar echoed back in response from the 1st Heaven. The golden-armored Outsider's eyes went wide as the pain from his severed arm exploded out in his body. His heart began to thump as he realized that Naruto had accomplished this using only his divine sense; such a level of power left him completely terrified.

"Paragon!" shouted the golden-armored Outsider. "That's the power of a

Paragon. Y-you're… you're a Paragon!"

The other Outsider cultivators from the 1st Heaven all gasped, and their faces flickered.

Back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the severed arm's hand slowly loosened its grip on Lord White, who turned to face Naruto with complete shock and despair on his face.

"All who betray the Mountain and Sea Realm shall DIE!" Naruto hefted Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, then blasted toward Lord White as fast as lightning. In the blink of an eye, the spear stabbed into Lord White's forehead.

A miserable scream echoed out, and complete disbelief could be seen in Lord White's eyes. He stared blankly at Naruto for a moment before his head completely exploded, followed by his entire body!

The Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea was dead!

As Lord White died, the crown that he had worn began to fall. Cracking sounds could be heard as it then shattered into innumerable pieces. Simultaneously, Lord White's palace on the Seventh Mountain was transformed into ash, as if it had been crushed by an enormous hand!

The only thing that was left behind there in the starry sky was a solitary crown, which floated down to rest atop the Seventh Mountain. There it waited… for a new Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea to appear!

In the celestial pond atop the Seventh Mountain, the Xuanwu turtle's eyes glowed with a white light. Apparently, the connection that had sealed it to the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea was now gone.

Boundless power of the Mountains and Seas began to spread out from the crown, filling the Seventh Mountain and Sea. At the same time, all of the cultivators who had been born in the Seventh Mountain and Sea could feel that power, and also could tell that…

Now that the Lord had lost his position, everything under Heaven was up for grabs!

Meanwhile, back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea…. In the moment that Lord White died, his corpse transformed into vast quantities of Chakra and blood, some of which was then absorbed by Demon Weapon Lonelytomb. However, most of that power actually transformed into strands of white mist, which Naruto then absorbed through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

Furthermore, in the spot where Lord White had died, a green leaf appeared, which began to emanate resplendent light, as if a magical technique were forming. In that same moment, Naruto 's Eternal stratum began to operate at full power, pulling the leaf toward him. A moment later, he completely absorbed it.

Naruto 's entire body trembled, and he felt a boundless life force erupting out within him. Although his fleshly body didn't experience a breakthrough, the sudden buildup of energy left him shocked.

He had the intense premonition that, if he used God blood to achieve a fleshly body breakthrough, then the power of his fleshly body would exceed that of a Dao Lord, and step directly into the Dao Sovereign level!

In fact, he could also tell that his 6th Soul Lamp… was apparently on the verge of being extinguished!

Even as Naruto cut down Lord White, the shocking sounds of battle began to rise up in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Naruto could also sense the fluctuations of a towering power rising up from the Eighth Mountain. As of that moment, Naruto knew that his Grandpa Uzumaki… had finally awoken.

At long last, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm once again spoke!

"Fight!" It was a single word, but the instant that it rang out, the nine Xuanwu turtles on the nine Mountains all threw their heads back and roared. Next, both the sun and moon of the Mountain and Sea Realm blazed with intense, dazzling light!

Shocking rumbling sounds echoed out as nine beams of light shot up from the Nine Mountains, then slammed into the golden net up above. The net instantly began to shake, and then… started to collapse!

As the net collapsed, the 1st Heaven of the 33 Heavens, regardless of whether or not it wished to… began to descend!

Now, what could be seen beyond the starry sky was not a boundless expanse, but rather, an enormous land mass.

The 33 Heavens shook as countless streams of powerful divine sense exploded out. Shocking ripples also emanated out from the 1st heaven as a cold, ancient voice rang out.

"War! Since the Mountain and Sea Realm desires this war to come early, well then… we shall fight!" As the voice echoed out, countless roaring sounds rose up from within the 1st Heaven. Next, figures could be seen emerging from the 2nd Heaven, the 3rd Heaven, from all of the 33 Heavens; more people wished to join in the battle!

However, even as that happened, the sun and moon of the Mountain and

Sea Realm sent two beams of radiant light shooting up into the 33 Heavens, toward the spot where the 1st Heaven and the 2nd Heaven connected!

RUMBLE!

The two beams of light instantly pierced through that connection, apparently cutting the 1st Heaven off from the other 33 Heavens. Immediately afterwards, another huge net appeared, completely enveloping the 1st Heaven and separating it!

The other figures descended from beyond the 1st Heaven were temporarily halted in place. Enraged roars could be heard, and the 33 Heavens began to shake as the voices of countless cultivators echoed out. Back in the 1st Heaven, all of the Outsiders maintained their silence. However, it didn't take very long before they began to fly off of the land mass and charge toward the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The war… was really beginning!

The battlefield was not one location within the Mountain and Sea Realm, but rather… the entire Realm!

The Outsider cultivators from the boundless 1st Heaven scattered out in various directions. These Outsiders from the 1st Heaven were vicious in appearance, and looked nothing like ordinary cultivators. They looked more like beasts, beasts which radiated shocking murderous intent.

At the same time, all of the lands in the Mountain and Sea Realm were springing into action. Soon, the fighting had already broken out in full force.

The Seventh Mountain and Sea was almost instantly transformed into a sea of flames. Few cultivators had been left behind there, ensuring that the Outsiders from the 1st Heaven met little resistance. Instead, most of them focused on fortifying the area to serve as their base.

Clearly, the 1st Heaven had been preparing for this invasion for years! A similar scene was also playing out in the Sixth Mountain and Sea!

The fighting immediately intensified. However, there had already been wars playing out in both the Eighth and Fifth Mountains. Although the forces present in those wars had sustained casualties, each front currently contained the combined power of two Mountains and Seas. Furthermore, because of what Naruto had done in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, the fighting there had not been as intense, and thus the armies there were still relatively intact.

Now that the true war was beginning, all of the cultivators there fought back enthusiastically, and the booming sounds of battle echoed out.

As for the other Mountains and Seas, there had been no fighting going on. The only thing they lacked was time to organize themselves. However, the Outsiders from the 1st Heaven were equally unprepared, so chaotic fighting immediately broke out.

In the First Mountain and Sea, the Echelon cultivator Dao-Heaven took the lead in the fighting, and as for all the other sects and clans there, they had no other choice than to join in.

It was the same in the Second Mountain and Sea and the Third Mountain and Sea. The only exception… was the Fourth Mountain and Sea!

Chapter 1315: Lord White Falls, The Battle Commences!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1316

Chapter 1316: Outsider Paragon!

The Fourth Mountain and Sea had been preparing for a very, very long time. Perhaps it would even be appropriate to say that they were always in a state of preparation. Almost as soon as the Outsiders arrived, the starry sky of the Fourth Mountain and Sea began to rumble. Numerous buildings appeared, which seemed to be Yama King palaces from the underworld. In addition, a boiling Yellow Springs appeared, sweeping across the Heavens.

Before the Outsiders could even start fighting, miserable screams rang out as heavy casualties were inflicted. They couldn't even set foot into the Fourth Mountain and Sea!

Countless enraged cultivators charged out from the Fourth Mountain and

Sea, roaring in rage. "DIE!"

Most unusual of all, however, was not the Fourth Mountain and Sea, but rather… the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Almost in the same instant that the Outsiders arrived there, a beam of dazzling light shot out from some unknown region, sweeping out to cover that entire Mountain and Sea. It completely passed over the cultivators, but as for the Outsiders, they were instantly shredded to pieces.

The war between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the 33 Heavens had now fully erupted!

At the same time, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm spread out to cover the whole Realm, crushing down onto the Outsiders. They roared as cracking sounds emanated out. In that moment, their fleshly bodies, their cultivation bases, everything about them was suppressed. Almost instantly, their battle prowess was reduced to sixty percent!

That was one terrifying aspect of the Mountain and Sea Realm. It wasn't just a place for the Immortal World to gradually recover. After all, it had been created during a time of war, and therefore, everything about it… was designed to be used in warfare!

"Mountain and Sea Realm!" An enraged roar could be heard coming from the 1st Heaven as an emaciated figure appeared, whose every step caused the Mountain and Sea Realm shake.

The aura of a Paragon emanated out from his body, spreading out in all directions to shake everything!

Apparently, the pressure coming from the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm had little effect on this figure. When he first appeared, he was very skinny, but as he neared, he grew larger. In the blink of an eye, he was 300 meters long, then 3,000 meters, and soon… he was fully 30,000 meters tall!

He bore the appearance of some fiendish beast, covered with scales, with a long tail stretching out behind it. He even had a horn sticking out of his head, which radiated a spectacular energy.

Furthermore, black flames flickered around him, and his eyes were bright red. Everywhere he looked, the starry sky twisted and distorted. With a single glance he surveyed all the living beings beneath him, and with the exception of the one entity he actually feared in the Mountain and Sea Realm, his gaze only momentarily lingered on two others!

One of those entities was in the Fourth Mountain and Sea, while the

other was in the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

One was Ksitigarbha, and the other… was Naruto !

The reason he took Ksitigarbha so seriously was because of how his energy surged so mightily there within the Fourth Mountain and Sea. His glory bordered on that of a Paragon, and was enough to shake the highest Heavens, to spread shock throughout the Mountains and Seas!

The reason he took Naruto seriously was because of how he had just slaughtered Lord White. After all, Lord White… was an Outsider from the 1st Heaven, one of this beast's people!

"Trifling Mountain and Sea Realm!" said the enormous 30,000-meter creature. "The forces of the 1st Heaven, where my people reside, are enough to wipe you all out by themselves!

"The time has come, my generals. Imperial Lord Mandilo, Exalted Devils, the time has come… for a sacrifice of blood!

"Sacrifice the blood of the Immortals of the Mountain and Sea Realm to the Heavens, and offer up their ghosts. Take all life in this place… and transform it into ash!" His voice echoed out to fill the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

In response to his words, countless Outsiders flooded out from the 1st Heaven behind him, radiating killing intent as they spread out into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Whether it was in terms of cultivation base or ability to slaughter, this second wave of Outsiders far exceeded the first. They were clearly the elite and most powerful fighters.

Booms rang out in all directions, shaking the Mountains and Seas as even more fierce fighting erupted!

Furthermore, there were three figures which slowly emerged, three Outsiders. It was impossible to tell if they were male or female, as they were completely covered in scales. Their eyes glowed red as if with fire, and the leader among the three was fully 3,000 meters tall, and surrounded by flames, as well as shocking fluctuations, fluctuations that could be second only to that of a Paragon.

He was… an Imperial Lord!

A Quasi-Paragon!

Behind the Quasi-Paragon were two other Outsiders, also with glowing red eyes and cruel grins. Their cultivation bases also shook Heaven and Earth; they were clearly equipped with the power of six Essences!

One of them wore golden armor, except that the armor on one of its arms was completely destroyed. This was the Outsider who had attempted to take Lord White away. As soon as he appeared, his eyes locked onto Naruto in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and they flickered with killing intent.

These two were not Paragons, nor were they Imperial Lords. However, with six Essences, they stood at the pinnacle of power, and any one of them could unleash a complete catastrophe onto any battlefield.

The 1st Heaven of the 33 Heavens was the first land which sealed the Mountain and Sea Realm. For tens upon tens of thousands of years, it had served as the first barrier that prevented cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm from escaping, and therefore, it was no surprise that it housed powerful beings like this!

The hearts of tens upon tens of thousands of cultivators in the Nine Mountains and Seas were completely shaken. Everyone looked up into the starry sky to see the Paragon up above in the 1st Heaven.

His aura was terrifying to an indescribable level as it spread out through the Mountain and Sea Realm!

His energy could shake Heaven and Earth, as if a single thought on his part could eradicate any living creature he laid eyes upon.

Such powerful divine sense caused even Dao Realm experts to tremble as if… they were facing something completely without equal.

"Paragon…."

"That's… the power of a Paragon…."

"The 33 Heavens…. Just how many Paragons do they have…?"

Even the Mountain and Sea Lords were shaken. Despite the blessing of power from the Mountains and Seas, everyone was still so shocked that they almost lost their will to fight.

The 30,000-meter long Outsider Paragon suddenly extended his right hand and then shoved it out toward the Mountain and Sea Realm. Instantly, the starry sky filled with rumbling sounds, and began to peel and shatter.

Paragon power erupted out, surging toward the Fourth and Eighth Mountains!

Shockingly, he was first sending out his divine sense to try to eradicate his two greatest threats!

"Remember that thou hast been exterminated by Eegoo. That is my true name, which endures unchanging no matter how many tens of thousands of years has passed!" As the Outsider Paragon's hand descended, Heaven and Earth shook violently.

The Mountain and Sea Realm trembled, and its cultivators could sense a shocking pressure emanating down from the starry sky, a pressure which easily shoved aside the power of the Mountains and Seas, and then shot directly toward Naruto .

Contained within that pressure was a will of extermination that clearly intended to shred him into pieces, to destroy him in body and spirit.

Naruto 's pupils constricted as an intense sensation of deadly crisis welled up within him. That sensation of crisis sent his cultivation base aflame, and he knew that if he could not ward off this Paragon's attack, then he… would be killed beyond the shadow of a doubt!

Thankfully, Paragon Eegoo's power was not focused completely on attacking Naruto . Instead, it was split into two parts, one of which was focused on destroying Naruto , the other of which… was speeding down toward the Fourth Mountain and Sea, toward a spot deep within the countless Yama King palaces, toward a patch of pitch-black dirt in the underworld, where an enormous 3,000-meter tall statue sat there cross-legged.

That statue… was none other than the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Ksitigarbha!

He was the most powerful of the Mountain and Sea Lords, and also… the most powerful person in the Mountain and Sea Realm under the level of Paragon!

Innumerable souls perpetually flew around the statue. After all, the

Fourth Mountain controlled the underworld of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, and therefore, the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea was also the Mountain and Sea Realm's Lord of the Underworld!

Even as the crushing power of the Outsider Paragon closed in, the statue's seemingly eternally closed eyes suddenly snapped open. Cracking sounds could be heard, and fissures spread out all over the surface of the statue as it slowly raised its right hand, then viciously jabbed out with its finger.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as Ksitigarbha's body collapsed layer by layer. As it shattered and dissipated, the pressure from the Outsider Paragon suddenly lurched to a halt, incapable of proceeding.

The statue dissipated, and Ksitigarbha's true form was revealed. He was an ancient old man, tall and clad in a long yellow robe. As he stood there, a shocking energy pulsed out of him, and he raised his right hand to perform an incantation gesture. Instantly, the Fourth Mountain and Sea began to tremble, and the sound of chanting scriptures began to emanate out from the Yellow Springs up above in the starry sky, and the countless Yama King palaces. Simultaneously, Joss Flame power began to converge upon Ksitigarbha.

A boom echoed out as the Outsider Paragon's pressure was crushed by Ksitigarbha's finger jab. At the same time, Ksitigarbha's face paled a bit, although it quickly recovered. Then, his eyes began to shine with a strange light as he suddenly looked up, and then raised his right hand into the air.

"To be struck, but not strike back?" he said coolly. "That is not the Dao of Ksitigarbha." His voice thrummed with a strange cadence, and as the words left his mouth, he pushed his hand up into the air. Immediately, the Yama King palaces and the Yellow Springs, coupled with the boundless Joss Flame power, rumbled up, transforming into an enormous hand which shot up into the starry sky toward the Outsider Paragon, as if to grab him!

It didn't matter that he had a powerful cultivation base, or that he was a Paragon. Since he struck out at Ksitigarbha, how could Ksitigarbha not strike back? He would answer with his own attack, for the time had come to draw swords!

"Hmm?" The Outsider Paragon's eyes widened as he looked down at the Fourth Mountain. "He himself wields the power of a Dao Sovereign… but by converging tens of thousands of years of Joss Flame, he can actually unleash… the might of an Imperial Lord…."

Even as the Outsider Paragon was reeling in shock, back in the Eighth

Mountain and Sea, the Paragon's might was still bearing down on Naruto . Eyes shining brightly, Naruto raised both hands wide into the air, summoning the Paragon Bridge. His divine sense also exploded out with eighty percent of the power of a Paragon. Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering power slammed into the Paragon's pressure, fighting back against it.

When they slammed into each other, a massive boom rang out like a clap of thunder. The starry sky trembled, even darkening because of the blinding light of the Paragon Bridge. At the same time, numerous figures could be seen walking across the bridge, from whom terrifying auras could be sensed!

The Outsider Paragon was completely and utterly shocked.

He had to admit that he had underestimated the Mountain and Sea Realm. He had originally anticipated being able to eradicate both opponents at the same time, only to find that one was more shocking than the other!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1317

Chapter 1317: Killing Intent of a Paragon!

The sudden appearance of the Paragon Bridge completely shocked the Outsider Paragon; in fact, he recognized it! Back when the great catastrophe occurred, he had not been at the Paragon level, and thus did not play a large role in what happened. However, he had seen this very bridge before, when it was crushed by an attack by the all-powerful Nine Seals and his Mountain and Sea Realm.

Even thinking about that bitter war left him trembling. Although Nine Seals had long since been destroyed in body and spirit, when this Outsider Paragon thought about him, he was left shaken.

He didn't understand it back in those days, but later came to the realization that if Nine Seals had felt like abandoning the Paragon Immortal Realm, no one could have prevented him from leaving.

In fact, the two terrifying forces who fought in the war years ago would not have been capable of such a feat, not without unleashing their Ancestral Souls. However, the price to be paid for such an act was so high that even those two powers would be hard-pressed to bear the costs. 1

It was with mixed feelings that Eegoo looked at the Paragon Bridge, and the figures on it. Those figures were shocking, but what was even more astonishing to him was the power of Naruto 's divine sense.

However… even the fact that Naruto 's divine sense was eighty percent as powerful as his own didn't cause his mind to reel.

What did that, what caused him to begin trembling, what caused his eyes to suddenly widen… was that he had just sensed something within Naruto 's divine sense…. He had sensed… familiar fluctuations!

Those fluctuations left his heart pounding and his mind spinning!

"Nine Seals…. Those are the fluctuations of Nine Seals. This man… is Nine Seals' successor!" Eegoo felt as if infinite lightning bolts were slamming into his mind. He raised his hand, sending Paragon power to blast away the gigantic hand summoned by Ksitigarbha. Then, killing intent flickered within his eyes as he turned his attention to the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

There was no way that he… would permit another Paragon Nine Seals to appear!

9-Essences Paragons like that were vastly removed from his own level as a 7-Essences Paragon. Although both were called Paragons, the difference between them… was even more dramatic than the difference between 4-Essences Dao Sovereigns and 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns!

"This kid must die! If I don't kill him, then the possibility exists that he will become the second Nine Seals. He could… potentially exterminate all of the 33 Heavens!" The Outsider Paragon's mind was spinning as he extended his hand and made a vicious pinching gesture toward the Eighth Mountain and Sea. The power of his cultivation base exploded out, the full might of his Paragon power!

The Eighth Mountain and Sea trembled, and all the cultivators there, including the Outsiders, began to bleed from their eyes, ears, noses and mouths, as they felt intense pressure weighing down on them.

Apparently, this Outsider Paragon was even willing to sacrifice the lives of his own people in order to wipe out Naruto . He was attempting to crush the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and all living things therein!

However, it was at this point that a beam of white light shot out from within the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It split the starry sky like a white waterfall as it rose up, whistling through the air toward the 30,000meter-tall Outsider. When it reached his hand, it exploded, instantly sending the Outsider Paragon's hand rebounding backward!

"I've been waiting for you!" The voice belonged to that of a woman, and it was as cold as ice. It was none other than… Paragon Sea Dream!

Outsider Paragon Eegoo looked up, and his eyes swirled with killing intent. "Sea Dream! You've managed to stay alive by means of a secret magic all these years, but your Essences have been destroyed. Your cultivation base is like nothing compared to back then. If you force yourself to fight, it will only hasten your death. If you had avoided resisting us, then I would have let you be. After all, the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm has nothing to do with you. And yet, you still dare attack me?!"

Paragon Sea Dream appeared off in the distance, slowly striding forward. Her voice cold, she said, "Back when I achieved my Dao, you were nothing more than an ant.

"Later, when I was a Dao Sovereign, I encountered you, dying, whereupon you dropped to your knees and pleaded with me to prevent you from getting sucked into the cycle of reincarnation.

"After I became a Paragon, you didn't hesitate to run your clan into the ground, all so that you could acquire a Celestial Emperor Flower. Why? To fawn on me in the hopes that I would give you the magic you needed to break through to the Dao Lord level.

"And now you, a member of the Drakewyrm Tribe, dare to bare your Namikaze s in front of me?"

The Outsider Paragon's face flickered in response to Sea Dream's coolly spoken words. Every sentence that came out of her mouth seemed to dredge up bad memories in the Outsider, causing the killing intent in his eyes to intensify.

"If you want to die," Eegoo said, "then I'll fulfill your desire!" The

Outsider Paragon knew that, thanks to Sea Dream's interference, killing Naruto was now an impossibility. Furthermore, despite the words of contempt he had spoken toward Sea Dream, he still feared her.

After all, when he was still just a child, Paragon Sea Dream had been one of the Paragons of the Paragon Immortal Realm. She had an incredible standing, and could unleash shocking magical abilities so far above his own as to be utterly incomparable.

Rumbling could be heard as the Outsider Paragon attacked, and he and Paragon Sea Dream began fighting in the starry sky far up above the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Their battle caused the entire world to tremble, the Heavens to flash with colors, and the starry sky to grow dim.

In almost that same moment, the Outsider Imperial Lord's eyes flickered away from Naruto and focused onto the Fourth Mountain. Snorting coldly, he transformed into a beam of light that shot in that same direction!

His target was Ksitigarbha, who was able to wield the power of an Imperial Lord!

As he neared, Ksitigarbha looked up, and the boundless Joss Flame power transformed into a huge vortex, which shot toward the Outsider Imperial Lord, instantly enveloping him.

Shocking booms rang out as the two of them began to fight!

As for the remaining Outsider Dao Sovereigns, their eyes flickered with brutal gleams.

One of them, the one in the golden armor, slowly said, "This kid from the

Eighth Mountain and Sea is mine!"

The other one laughed, then closed his eyes, whereupon his body twisted and distorted, becoming five separate streams of green smoke that shot in five different directions through the void.

The destinations of those streams of smoke: the First, Second, Third, Eighth and Ninth Mountains!

Their targets were not ordinary cultivators, but rather… the Mountain and Sea Lords of those very mountains!

Shockingly, he was using his own power to simultaneously fight against five Mountain and Sea Lords!

Rumbling sounds echoed out from those five mountains as powerful magical techniques suddenly exploded into being.

The golden-armored Outsider Dao Sovereign was the one who had already clashed with Naruto , just moments ago. He licked his lips, and killing intent swirled in his eyes as they locked onto Naruto 's position within the Eighth Mountain and Sea. He wasn't sure why his own exalted Paragon leader specifically wanted Naruto dead, but he didn't care. Considering that his cultivation base was at the Dao Sovereign level, cutting down someone at the 5-Essences level, even if they were at the peak, would not be very difficult.

The thing he cared about the most was that Naruto had killed his Junior Tribesman Lord White, someone who had made heroic contributions to the 1st Heaven!

Because of all Lord White's services, the tribe had already arranged for his bloodline to be awakened upon his return, which would enable him to rise to the level of a true Dao Sovereign. They had even made preparations to appoint him as a tribe Elder.

But before that could happen, he had been cut down right in front of the golden-armored Outsider.

This Outsider wanted nothing more than to kill Naruto , and that desire was growing stronger. The only thing he needed to be mindful of was Naruto 's terrifying divine sense, but by this time, he had already taken precautions against it.

Grinning, he strode forward, then slashed out at the starry sky, which shattered apart as he bore down on the Eighth Mountain and Sea, bursting with killing intent.

"So, how do you want to die, kid? I'll let you decide."

Sinister laughter rang out as the Outsider Dao Sovereign picked up speed. From a distance, he looked like a golden shooting star, piercing through the starry sky in Naruto 's direction.

A strange light appeared in Naruto 's eyes; his blood was already pumping. His cultivation base erupted as he strode forward. One step. Two steps. Three steps…. In the blink of an eye, the Outsider Dao Sovereign was upon him, but by that time, he had already taken seven steps.

When the seventh step landed, his energy spiked, increasing exponentially. At the same time, his divine sense shot out, and the Paragon Bridge rumbled down. Then, Demon Weapon Lonelytomb suddenly appeared in his right hand!

The power of Naruto 's fleshly body converged on the spear, along with energy from his cultivation base and magical techniques. That rumbling power seemed to freeze the starry sky, and the killing intent became completely focused.

"Not bad…." the Outsider Dao Sovereign said, pupils constricting. Suddenly, he opened his mouth and roared, sending out monstrous sound waves. Astonishingly, the image of a giant appeared behind the Outsider Dao Sovereign. The power of six Essences also erupted out, forming a tempest. At the same time, a statue appeared in his hands.

That statue depicted a lizard, and as soon as it appeared, a strange aura erupted out which began to suppress Naruto 's divine sense!

It took only a moment for his divine sense to drop from eighty percent of the power of a Paragon, to half of that!

Then, the windstorm began to fight back against the power of Naruto 's spear.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

Massive sounds tore at the starry sky. After extinguishing five Soul Lamps, Naruto could unleash incredible power that was only a hair away from the 6-Essences level. However, when facing a true 6Essences cultivator, that simply wasn't enough!

As his divine sense was suppressed, the feeling of deadly crisis in his heart grew more intense.

The Paragon Bridge collapsed, and Demon Weapon Lonelytomb recoiled backward. Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as the backlash hit his cultivation base, scattering it. His fleshly body was slashed viciously, sending blood and gore flying about.

The Essence tempest surrounding the Outsider Dao Sovereign weakened a bit. Although he had been capable of suppressing Naruto 's attack just now, he had been forced to go all out to do so. That was especially because of the bizarre Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, which caused him to frown.

He took a step forward, flickering to appear in front of the seriously wounded Naruto . Eyes glittering with a cruel light, he didn't attempt to kill him, but instead opened his mouth wide and lunged toward Naruto 's head.

"I'll eat you and absorb your power!" Bizarre light shone in the eyes of the golden-armored Outsider. However, in the same moment that his jaws were about to latch onto Naruto , Naruto 's eyes suddenly flickered. Although his injuries had seemed severe, the combination of the Eternal stratum and the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation transformed into something like an undying, unkillable secret magic! He recovered almost instantly!

Then, he clenched his hand into a fist and began to punch the Outsider Dao Sovereign!

Life-Extermination Fist!

Bedevilment Fist!

God-Slaying Fist!

BOOOOOOOOOMMMM!

Those three fist strikes slammed into the Outsider Dao Sovereign, who had never expected that Naruto would have a secret magic that would enable him to recover so quickly. His eyes went wide, but he was too slow to avoid Naruto 's successive blows.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was sent tumbling back. Enraged, he was just about to counterattack, but unfortunately, he was not familiar with Naruto 's fighting style. Once Naruto won the initiative… he never let go!

The Ancestral Soul is something that comes up in both Beseech the Devil and Renegade Immortal, mostly toward the latter parts of both stories ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1318

Chapter 1318: Battling a Dao Sovereign!

It didn't matter who Naruto was fighting, once he seized the initiative, that opponent would definitely have to pay a heavy price.

It was the same with Lord White, and with all of the people Naruto had fought before.

People who knew a bit about him would be aware of this, and would do everything they could to avoid losing the initiative… not even once!

Even in the moment that the golden-armored Outsider Dao Sovereign's rage flared, and he prepared to counterattack, Naruto 's eyes gleamed brightly, and he waved his finger, unleashing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Although using this Hexing magic on someone with a cultivation base far higher than his own would lead to a powerful backlash, Naruto ignored the blood that oozed out of the corners of his mouth and unleashed it anyway. Immediately, the golden-armored Outsider Dao Sovereign lurched to a halt in midair, face flickering!

Then, Naruto 's energy ignited, and the copper mirror flickered out, transforming into the Battle Weapon, which Naruto slashed down viciously!

As the rumbling sounds echoed out, the Outsider Dao Sovereign felt a sensation of intense crisis explode up inside of him. He could sense that even though he was a Dao Sovereign, he was still only an inch away from death.

He had been prepared for Naruto 's divine sense, and had quickly suppressed it. However, he had never imagined that Naruto 's proficiencies would include things other than divine sense!

The current attack which was being leveled against him seemed as shocking as a lightning bolt from the Heavens.

"Dammit!" howled the golden-armored Outsider Dao Sovereign. Ignoring whatever injuries might result, ignoring the pain of the organs inside his body being crushed and his Chakra passageways shattering, he burst out with power to lunge backward by three meters!

The glittering glow of a blade then passed right by him!

Meanwhile, on top of the Eighth Mountain, another shocking battle was beginning. An illusory figure shot past the celestial pond, and as it did, it glanced down at the Xuanwu turtle, grinned coldly, and waved a hand. Instantly, the Xuanwu turtle's howls shook the entire Eighth Mountain.

The figure's pupils constricted slightly, but it shot past the celestial pond nonetheless, heading directly toward the temple beyond. As it neared, it approached the door and prepared to barge in. And yet, almost immediately, it fell back.

In that moment, the door exploded into pieces that spiralled out like countless sharp blades, transforming into an explosive rain that surged toward the illusory figure.

Then, a tall man emerged from within the shattered remnants of the temple door. He wore a breathtaking suit of armor, and as soon as he emerged, he unleashed a fist strike that could shake Heaven and Earth. The void in the area suddenly solidified, forcing that illusory figure to actually appear in person. It was none other than the Outsider Dao Sovereign who had split himself into five incarnations.

The person who had forced him to appear was, of course, none other than Naruto 's grandfather, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

"So, it turns out you really were telling the truth, Senior Outsider," murmured Grandpa Uzumaki, clearly speaking only to himself. "I awoke from slumber on the very day my grandson rose to prominence, the same day… that the starry sky shattered and the 1st Heaven descended.

"It looks like he planned this entire situation all along…. Or perhaps the Namikaze and Uzumaki Clans are just one piece of the bigger picture…" When he looked up at the Outsider, his eyes flickered with killing intent, and he began to run forward.

"What armor is that?!" the Outsider said, face falling. "Dammit… that armor… what is it with that armor?!" He once again backed up in retreat, but he wasn't as fast as Grandpa Uzumaki. The Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea shot forward and unleashed a punch!

A boom rang out as the Outsider tumbled away like a kite with its string cut, blood spraying out of his mouth. He flew back for 5,000 kilometers before finally grinding to a halt, his face flickering with shock as Grandpa Uzumaki once again appeared directly in front of him.

"Dammit, you think I'm afraid of you or something?!" the Outsider Dao

Sovereign growled through clenched teeth. Suddenly, he began to grow. In the blink of an eye, he was 300 meters tall, with a long tail that shattered the starry sky as it whipped toward the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Similar battles began to play out on the First, Second, Third, and Ninth Mountains. Compared to the battles being fought on the first three of those mountains, the one on the Ninth Mountain was especially strange.

The Outsider's clone was simply hovering above the mountain, not moving. In front of him floated a huge eye, and the two of them were staring at each other as they fought a battle of divine will!

Furthermore… it appeared as if the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Ji Tian was actually… attempting to possess the Outsider Dao Sovereign's clone!

At the same time, countless battles had broken out within the Nine Mountains and Seas. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were fighting back savagely against the Outsiders. Virtually all of the Dao Realm fighters had appeared, and massive booms filled the entire

Mountain and Sea Realm. Almost the entire Realm was a battlefield now!

The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm continued to bolster the people with power, simultaneously maintaining the barrier that separated the other 32 Heavens from the 1st Heaven. The 1st Heaven was now trapped, unable to receive any aid from the other Outsiders.

It was also continuing to maintain the pressure that pervaded the Mountain and Sea Realm, ensuring that any Outsider below a six Essences Dao Sovereign was significantly weakened!

The battle raged, causing both roars and screams to echo out into the vast expanse.

Back in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto 's Battle Weapon glittered like the sun and moon as it slashed toward the golden-armored Outsider Dao Sovereign.

Blood sprayed out of the Outsider's mouth as the armor covering his chest shattered, and a huge wound appeared. A will of extermination poured into him, provoking an enraged roar. However, fear welled up in his heart; if he hadn't paid an extreme price to avoid the attack just now, thus losing the initiative, he would definitely have been killed.

Naruto frowned, then waved his hand, causing numerous mountains to appear. A rift was torn open in the void, and the Blood Demon emerged, roaring, and the Essence of Divine Flame converged and shot toward the Outsider.

However, all of those things were distractions. The true killing blow was coming from Naruto 's left hand, from which exploded the power of the Mountains and Seas!

He was the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and at this moment a sliver of the power of the Mountains and Seas descended towards him, then transformed into a huge hand which grabbed out toward the Outsider Dao Sovereign.

Naruto then transformed into a beam of light, hefting the Battle Weapon and then unleashing another attack. All of this conformed with Naruto 's style of fighting… always attack!

As the hand formed from the power of the Mountains and Seas descended upon the Outsider Dao Sovereign, his eyes widened. Suddenly, all of the scales on his body rose up, and he let out a howl. The scales then shattered, transforming into a windstorm of 6-Essences energy which exploded toward the power of the Mountains and Seas.

Booming sounds rang out as the Mountain Consuming Incantation, the

Blood Demon, and the Essence of Divine Flame all shot forward. Naruto 's eyes flickered with killing intent as he then waved his left finger.

The Seventh Demon Sealing Hex!

Instantly, Karma Threads appeared atop the golden-armored Outsider's head. They rapidly formed together into a sealing mark, which then crushed down onto him. At this point, Naruto performed another incantation gesture, unleashing the Sixth Demon Sealing Hex.

The Sixth Hex was the Life-Death Hexing, which caused a gray magical symbol to appear on the Outsider's forehead. Then the magical symbol exploded, sending blood spraying out of his forehead. At the same time, however, a gleam of ridicule appeared in the Outsider's eyes.

That look caused Naruto 's heart to flicker with fear. Simultaneously, the Outsider Dao Sovereign spoke two words in a sinister voice!

"Self Essence!" Almost immediately, the six streams of Essence power within the tempest merged together into one. A black sea of flames then rumbled out in all directions.

The tiny bit of power from the Mountain and Sea Realm faded away within the black sea of flames. The mountains melted, and the image of the Blood Demon dissipated. Then, the black flames took shape into an enormous creature, something like a lizard, which howled as it charged toward Naruto .

It was a moment of critical danger. Roaring, Naruto viciously attacked the flame lizard with his Battle Weapon. Naruto was like a bug compared to his gigantic opponent. However, his powerful Battle Weapon instantly slashed down onto its head, slicing it open!

A shriek rang out. However, this black flame lizard was formed from the Essence of Self, and was so powerful that it was only seriously injured and not killed.

The black flame lizard roared, ignoring the intense pain it was feeling as it attempted to consume Naruto .

Naruto 's eyes flickered, and the Battle Weapon vanished. In its place appeared Demon Weapon Lonelytomb, which he violently hurled out. Demon Weapon Lonelytomb transformed into a beam of Demonic light which pierced directly into the black flame lizard.

The lizard shuddered, staring at Naruto for a moment before it suddenly exploded. However, that explosion caused a mountain of black flames to charge toward Naruto like 10,000 horses, instantly inundating him.

Even as the flames enveloped him, Naruto 's eyes flashed from the sensation of intense deadly crisis. In that moment, the Lightning Cauldron suddenly flickered into being above his head. Electricity danced, and he suddenly switched places with a 5-Essences Outsider not too far off in the distance.

That 5-Essences Outsider appeared exactly where Naruto had been, and didn't have time to react before the black sea of flames consumed it. A bloodcurdling scream lingered in the air as it was completely destroyed.

At the same time, the Outsider Dao Sovereign coughed up a mouthful of blood as Naruto 's Seventh and Sixth Hexes inflicted more damage.

"Dammit!" he roared in extreme frustration. He was clearly far more powerful than Naruto , and yet after losing the initiative, he had suffered setback after setback.

Even as he roared, he flickered into motion. The black sea of flames recoiled into itself, once again turning into a lizard, although it was much weaker than last time.

The black flame lizard threw its head back and roared, then eyed Naruto with a deadly gaze as it charged forward in attack.

Naruto sighed inwardly, knowing that he had lost the initiative.

Without the slightest hesitation, he shot backward, unwilling to tangle any further with this Outsider Dao Sovereign. Based on the current level of his cultivation base, turning an extended battle into a victory would be very difficult.

Even though his Hexing magic could suppress his opponent temporarily, now that he would be expecting it, the Hexing magic wouldn't be of much use. The best way to use the Hexing magic was in a surprise attack; furthermore, the backlash for using it against someone so powerful was something he could only endure one or two times. More than that would leave him seriously injured.

As he retreated, the Outsider Dao Sovereign threw his head back and let out an enraged roar as he gave chase. He wanted to kill Naruto more than he ever had before. Furthermore, the humiliation he felt from having nearly died just now ensured that he would not underestimate Naruto .

Quite the opposite, in fact. He was now more vigilant than before. By now, magical items were swirling around him which would prevent Naruto from using the Eighth Hex on him.

"Think you can just leave?" the Outsider Dao Sovereign roared, eyes gleaming with killing intent. As one of the two Dao Sovereigns of the 1st Heaven, he had an incredibly high position. If he couldn't kill Naruto , it would be a complete and utter embarrassment!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1319

Chapter 1319: The Reserves of the Mountains and Seas

The battle between the 1st Heaven and the Mountain and Sea Realm was now fully underway. There was no longer a massive field of stars stretching out above the heads of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Instead, it had been replaced by an enormous land mass, which was like a roof of black clouds that blanketed everything. In some areas, lightning could even be seen dancing about, and occasional peals of thunder would echo out in all directions. The land mass stretched out to cover the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, exerting intense pressure down onto it.

Paragons were fighting!

In the starry sky that separated the 1st Heaven and the Mountain and Sea Realm, the 1st Heaven's Paragon was fighting a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering battle of life and death with Paragon Sea Dream.

Paragon Sea Dream wanted to take the fight to the 1st Heaven, whereas the Outsider Paragon wanted the shockwaves of their battle to hit the Mountain and Sea Realm. The fierce fighting between them shattered the starry sky, and caused massive winds to sweep through the void.

Daos were shattered, and natural laws destroyed!

Second only to the Paragon battle was the fighting in the Fourth

Mountain and Sea, where Ksitigarbha was fighting the Outsider Imperial Lord Mandilo. The Fourth Mountain and Sea was like a sea of flames as rumbling echoed out between the Yama King palaces and the Outsider's black flames. After converging boundless Joss Flame, Ksitigarbha was on equal footing with the Outsider Imperial Lord!

Of the four most powerful cultivators from the 1st Heaven, two had already been pinned down. Of the other two, the Dao Sovereigns, one had split into five clones in an attempt to kill the great Mountain and Sea Lords. However, to do that was turning out to be easier said than done, and he had also come to find himself in a tight spot.

That left only the golden-armored Dao Sovereign, whose battle with Naruto had become one of the pivotal fights in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

At the same time, other Dao Realm experts from the 1st Heaven were fighting the Patriarchs of the various sects and clans of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Fierce fighting was unfolding everywhere, and the battlefields stretched without limit. Furthermore, Outsider Chosen had also joined the fighting, vicious grins on their faces as they fought, with seemingly no one capable of resisting them.

But then the Chosen from the various sects and clans of the Mountain and Sea Realm joined the fray to fight back.

Massive booms echoed out, and the Mountains and Seas all shook.

In the First Mountain and Sea, Dao Realm battles were being fought like everywhere else. At the same time, Outsiders and Mountain and Sea cultivators of various cultivation Realms were all engaged in bitter combat. On one battlefield was an Outsider cultivator in a black robe. His skin was covered in black scales, with one white scale visible on his forehead. He had an Ancient Realm cultivation base, and yet his battle prowess put him even higher than that.

"Paragon Immortal Realm? They can't even stand up to a single blow. If we had known this, we wouldn't have needed to rely on all 33 Heavens. Our 1st Heaven alone would have been enough to dominate them. And now, the third among the seven bloodlines of the Drakewyrm Tribe, the most powerful bloodline from Drakemount, will definitely accumulate the most kills in this battle!" No matter where this Outsider Chosen went on the battlefield, no one was capable of fighting back against him, causing his arrogant sneer to widen. However, it was at this point that a white beam of light shot toward him from off in the distance.

"You sure can talk big!" shouted a voice from within the beam of light. A cold snort echoed out as a white-robed young man became visible. It was none other than the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, DaoHeaven. As he neared, he unleashed an explosive attack, causing the Outsider Chosen's face to flicker and then turn very serious.

On the Second, Third, and Fourth Mountains… in fact, in all of the Mountain and Sea Realm, similar scenes were playing out.

In the Fourth Mountain, the shockwaves blasting out from the battle between Ksitigarbha and the Outsider Imperial Lord filled a wide area. However, there were still Outsiders pouring in to fight with the cultivators of the Fourth Mountain.

Among the army of cultivators from the Fourth Mountain and Sea was a woman who stood there calmly, surrounded by a host of guards, fellow cultivators tasked with protecting her. She was not spectacularly beautiful, but rather, was cold and cheerless. However, starlight sparkled in her eyes as she constantly sent orders out to the forces on all of the fronts of battle in the Fourth Mountain and Sea. She was singlehandedly coordinating the entire war effort, drawing upon the power of the Fourth Mountain and Sea to its very limit.

This woman who was in charge of all the strategy and tactics was none other than… Hinata!

Not only did Ksitigarbha have a profound cultivation base, he was also an amazing teacher. After taking Hinata in as his apprentice, he had instructed her well, and her cultivation base had advanced by leaps and bounds. Furthermore, she had also revealed unusual talent in strategy and tactics.

In the Seventh Mountain, most of the cultivators had followed the orders of Lord White to invade the Eighth Mountain and Sea. However, some people had chosen not to fight, and among them was the Echelon cultivator Yuwen Jian!

Currently, Yuwen Jian was roaring as he fought madly against the Outsider Chosen who had invaded the Seventh Mountain.

In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the Namikaze Clan, the Li Clan, and various other great sects and clans had all mobilized and joined the fighting. Sun Hai and Namikaze Yu, along with all the other famous Chosen, were all soaked in blood as they fought fierce battles.

As of now, the power of these Chosen was the most spectacular thing in the Mountain and Sea Realm, next to those of the Dao Realm.

Naruto 's father was the Clan Chief of the Namikaze Clan, and yet could not leave Planet South Heaven. However, the planet's spell formation was in full operation, and any Outsiders who dared encroach upon the area were destroyed.

The war was not going as badly as many people had predicted it would for the Mountain and Sea Realm. In this explosive early onslaught, things were not going smoothly for the 1st Heaven. The power with which the Mountain and Sea Realm was fighting back left the Outsiders completely shocked.

However, any optimism was temporary at best. After all… there were 33 Heavens, and this was merely the power of the 1st Heaven. Of course, the 1st Heaven was among the more powerful of the various 33 Heavens. When you added together all of the Paragons in the 33 Heavens, there were only five. Even still, that made the 33 Heavens shockingly powerful.

Most importantly, although there were only five Paragons, when it came to Dao Realm and Ancient Realm cultivators, the 33 Heavens completely outnumbered the Mountain and Sea Realm by several times, making them far more powerful.

However, the reserves available to the Mountain and Sea Realm were not limited to what could be seen at the moment. After all, the will of the Mountains and Seas, as well as Paragon Sea Dream, had been well aware all along… that the war with the 33 Heavens… was unavoidable!

How could they possibly not make advanced preparations!?

As the fighting broke out, powerful ripples began to spread out from the Three Great Daoist Societies of the Nine Mountains and Seas as they began to build up power!

In addition to all of that, among the 33 Heavens, there was a Realm which was both guarded against and also viewed with importance… the 34th Heaven… the Windswept Realm!

After slipping away from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and thus being freed from the sealing and restrictions there, the Windswept Imperial Lord, the same one who had fought Sea Dream years ago, most definitely would have had the chance… to become a Paragon!

Even as all of these other events were playing out, in the First, Third, and Fifth Mountains, there were three areas which were somewhat set apart from all of the fighting going on around them. Three ancient temples floated in the starry sky. Each one of those temples had a signboard above its main gate, upon which words could be seen, written in calligraphy as bold as dancing dragons and phoenixes.

Sublime Spirit Temple!

Dao Divinity Temple!

Heaven Severing Temple!

Within each of the three temples sat an old man and a young man!

The old men looked like statues, and the young men looked like Chosen!

Within those three temples, the three seemingly young men all began to kowtow to the old men, and then speak.

"The Mountains and Seas are in chaos. Please, begin the fighting!"

"Master, as a first generation Echelon cultivator, I have been sealed until this moment. Master, please remove the seals and allow me to fight!"

"Our Heaven Severing branch exists for the express purpose of fighting this war. Doyen, please remove the seals for me!"

The three old men did not respond. It was as if they… were awaiting further orders.

Within the Ninth Mountain and Sea, on Planet South Heaven, the Li Clan spell formation sent powerful ripples out in all directions. At the same time, on the peak of a distant mountain, an old man in a white robe stood there silently, looking up into the sky at the enormous land mass that was the 1st Heaven. A strange light flickered in his eyes.

"And thus the war begins…." he murmured. That old man was none other than Shui Dongliu.

Rumbling sounds echoed out through the Eighth Mountain and Sea as Naruto shot along like lightning. The Lightning Cauldron floated above his head, dancing with electricity as he suddenly switched positions with an Outsider.

Behind him was the enraged golden-armored Outsider Dao Sovereign, whose eyes were bright red. Normally speaking, he would be fast enough to be able to catch up with Naruto . However, Naruto was using Form Displacement Transposition. Even the powerful ripples which blasted out through the starry sky, throwing everything into chaos, did not affect him at all.

Actually… a chaotic battlefield was the perfect place for Naruto to

slip along like a ghost!

Wherever he went, there were living things that he could switch places with, leaving the pursuing golden-armored Outsider completely befuddled.

Naruto was scheming as always. He actually could have gotten further away from the golden-armored Outsider Dao Sovereign, but instead, he kept within a fairly set distance. That ensured that the chase continued, and the Outsider didn't divert his attention to other places on the battlefield.

"Can you do anything other than run away!? Well, we'll see how long you can keep it up!" The Outsider Dao Sovereign's black flame lizard suddenly roared, dispersing into a sea of flames that swept forward at incredible speed.

Within that sea of flames were innumerable magical symbols, whose flickering caused the flames to increase their speed dramatically. Naruto quickly teleported away, just barely avoiding the searing heat of the flames.

An unsightly expression appeared on his face. The battle prowess of a Dao Sovereign helped him to see how lacking he was in certain areas.

"What a pity. If I could make a breakthrough with my fleshly body, then my battle prowess would definitely be enough to fight a Dao Sovereign, even if I haven't extinguished any more Soul Lamps." Naruto teleported again, and a cold laugh rang out from within the flames. Suddenly, the Outsider Dao Sovereign appeared in the flames, his body rapidly growing until he was 3,000 meters tall, a giant looming up into the starry sky.

He stamped his foot down into the flames, and a black lightning bolt appeared in his hands. Scales once again spread out across his body, and his tail grew longer. Two horns protruded from the top of his head, and the void around him twisted as intense pressure radiated out.

"You killed my Tribal Brother, and now, I'll destroy you in body and spirit!" The golden-armored Dao Sovereign roared and took a step forward, unleashing some unknown divine ability upon Naruto .

Naruto fell back, and rumbling sounds echoed out as the two of them shot through the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

"I could lose this guy if I really wanted to. But then he would just start fighting somewhere else…." Frowning, Naruto sighed inwardly. "I might not be able to kill him, but… I could trap him, or seal him. And that wouldn't be impossible, especially in the right place, at the right time….

"We're in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, which is also the location of the Heavengod Alliance…." Naruto 's eyes flickered as he suddenly thought of the perfect place!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1320

Chapter 1320: Returning to the 33 Hells!

The 33 Hells!

The place Naruto planned to go was none other than… the 33 Hells!

After the 1st Heaven descended and the Mountain and Sea Realm exploded into war, he came to the realization that the Paragon's blood in his Dao Fruit was boiling. That also gave him the sensation that his cultivation base, his enlightenment, his everything… was on the verge of advancing by leaps and bounds!

Actually, that feeling wasn't limited to just him. All of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm felt the same thing. It was as if… the arrival of war prompted the Mountain and Sea Realm… to unleash years of reserves which had been built up for the purpose of empowering its people.

However, that also caused Naruto 's heart to sink. He well knew that the fact the Mountain and Sea Realm was doing this meant… this war would be extremely difficult.

"Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the Mountains and Seas!" Naruto 's eyes flickered with determination. He had no idea what the future would bring, nor what his life would be like later on.

Even more of an unknown was what would happen to his family and friends throughout the course of the war. Would they survive…?

He was not a person who fundamentally liked fighting and killing. He just wanted to have plenty of money and be able to live a peaceful and wonderful life with his family and beloved partner.

It was a simple dream, but to make it into a reality was no simple thing.

Naruto understood himself, and knew the truth…. He was not some wildly ambitious person. His ideals were not far-reaching, nor did he have aspirations to shake Heaven and Earth.

His Dao and his heart were both focused on freedom and independence, on avoiding being constrained or held back.

He held no unquenchable thirst to constantly acquire a stronger cultivation base. In fact, if he had anything that could count as a true obsession, it would be his simple desire to be rich.

In this life, he had simply gone with the flow and found his own type of happiness. He loved conning people, and he loved collecting promissory notes…. To him, that was happiness. But when the 1st Heaven descended, all of those beautiful ideals were swept out of sight because of the Outsiders. When Naruto saw the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm fighting and dying, his heart grew dark and quiet.

The pain he was experiencing made all of his dreams seem like childish fantasies. It was as if he had awoken, or perhaps… grown up.

"If the Mountains and Seas did not exist, then what would be the point of my own, solitary, existence…?" Determination flickered within Naruto 's eyes. It was a sudden and intense determination and hope that his cultivation base could become even more powerful.

It was not because he wanted to become rich, nor because of his simplistic ideals. Instead, it was because… of his home!

The Mountain and Sea Realm was his home….

His home had been invaded, and his people were already fighting and soaked in blood. He was the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, and the successor of Paragon Nine Seals. He… had to get stronger!

"I can't even kill an Outsider Dao Sovereign…." he thought, eyes glowing coldly. Without a moment's hesitation, he shot as fast as possible into the Heavengod Alliance.

His divine sense had been suppressed, making it impossible to send it ahead to scan his destination. However, that did nothing to prevent him from unleashing lightning-like speed.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

He became a scintillating beam of light that shot along, followed close behind by a sea of flames. The 3,000-meter tall Outsider strode along, pursuing him relentlessly. Considering his status and battle prowess, to be unable to kill Naruto was a complete humiliation.

That was especially the case considering he had personally witnessed Naruto cut down his Junior Tribal Brother. Because of that, his hatred soared to the Heavens.

They shot along, piercing through the starry sky, shattering the void. Wherever they passed, shocked Outsiders and Mountain and Sea cultivators alike got out of the way and didn't dare to approach.

Booms rang out as the 3,000-meter-tall giant unleashed magical techniques that were bizarre, completely different from the type seen in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Occasionally, he would transform into a beast which lunged at Naruto , gobbling up everything in its path, or slashing at him with razor claws that seemed to appear out of thin air.

Most shocking of all was his long tail, which he swept around in a completely domineering fashion. It shattered the starry sky, sending shockwaves out that left Naruto completely shaken.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth, but he managed to nimbly avoid the blows. Even still, he could feel his cultivation base growing unstable.

More than ever, he could sense… the slight gap that existed between himself and the Dao Sovereign level, a gap that could prove fatal…however small it might be!

"Drakewyrm Earthfire; Heavens Forget!" Seeing that the numerous attacks he had unleashed were incapable of even touching Naruto , the 3,000 meter tall Outsider's eyes flashed with red light as he roared, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that instantly caused the roaring sea of flames beneath his feet to rise up and transform into the form of an enormous Earthfire lizard, which opened its mouth and spat a column of flames out toward Naruto .

The flames moved with indescribable speed, instantly surging over Naruto . Even as blood sprayed out of his mouth, the meat jelly appeared.

It let loose a torrent of curses as it transformed into a defensive barrier that protected Naruto from the scorching flames. Although it hovered on the verge of melting, it managed to hold out until the end of the attack. Afterward, Naruto guiltily sent the meat jelly back into his bag of holding, then gritted his teeth and continued on.

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!" the Outsider raged. Unwilling to give up, he continued to chase Naruto .

With enraged shouts echoing behind him the entire time, Naruto eventually reached the territory that had once been the Heavengod Alliance. After speeding along, he soon reached the location of the entrance to the 33 Hells.

It was a pitch black region that seemed capable of consuming anything and everything, a region which emanated an aura of rot that caused the Outsider Dao Sovereign's eyes to flicker.

"This aura…." he thought, heart trembling.

Naruto didn't hesitate for a moment before charging in. Although the

33 Hells hadn't actually opened, as soon as he entered the area, Greed's life force Essence stirred into action and began to spread out.

Instantly, powerful ripples sprang up in the void, distorting everything, as if the opening were just about to begin. Naruto suddenly stopped in place, then turned around with cold eyes to look at the Outsider Dao Sovereign outside of the region of pitch black.

"You've been chasing me for long enough. If you want to fight, well then… let's fight here!" Naruto 's voice echoed out, filled with deadly antagonism. Then he wiped the blood from his mouth, and the murderous gleam in his eyes grew even more intense.

The 3,000-meter tall Outsider looked on with flickering eyes, then snorted coldly. The aura in this area was bizarre, but considering the level of his cultivation base, he didn't hesitate to step in and charge toward Naruto .

Naruto reached out with his right hand, and Demon Weapon Lonelytomb appeared. Without any hesitation, abandoning all thoughts of fleeing, he charged forth and began to fight the 3,000-meter giant.

Booms rang out as they exchanged thousands of blows in the blink of an eye. Naruto summoned numerous mountains, the Blood Demon, his mastiff, and the Paragon Bridge.

Demon Weapon Lonelytomb screamed as it stabbed through the air, and Naruto unleashed his three fist strikes, each one more dreadful than the last.

The Outsider also performed incantation gestures. Its scales lifted up, and a windstorm sprang into being. Essence power exploded out, transforming into incredible pressure. The black flames surged, forming into a black flame lizard that roared as it tried to consume Naruto .

Rumbling echoed out, and blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as he was battered backward relentlessly. As for the Outsider Dao Sovereign, his face flickered as Demon Weapon Lonelytomb stabbed a bloody gash into his chest.

Although his wounds healed rapidly, Naruto , despite being injured more severely, was actually healing even faster. Naruto 's eyes flickered with starlight as he transformed into a meteor which shot dazzlingly through the starry sky. As he closed in, the Outsider performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then waved his hands, causing the black flame lizard to butt out with its head.

A boom could be heard as the meteor shattered. However, even as that happened, Naruto in azure roc-form shot out like a bolt of lightning, piercing through the lizard and appearing directly in front of the Outsider Dao Sovereign.

The Outsider's face flickered, and just when he was about to fall back, azure-colored talons slashed out with the strength to shatter metal and stone.

"Looking to die?!" the Outsider Dao Sovereign said, eyes gleaming with ferocity. He allowed Naruto 's roc claws to dig out his right eye, ignoring the resulting pain as his own right hand shot out to grab viciously onto the roc.

A boom rang out as the azure roc was crushed. However, no blood and flesh exploded out, only countless motes of light. Meanwhile, a figure was speeding off into the distance.

"DIE!" screamed the Outsider as Naruto fled. A blood-colored light rose up from the Outsider as a boundless aura of death converged upon it. Astonishingly, this was Death Curse Magic!

A boom could be heard as a sealing symbol appeared in front of Naruto . Blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as he was forced back. He uncontrollably coughed up mouthful after mouthful of blood as his chest began to rot and his life force faded. A powerful aura of death began to consume him.

"You took my eye and killed my Junior Tribal Brother. Don't worry, after I kill you, I'll refine your blood to find everyone related to you, and kill them all!" The 3,000-meter Outsider flickered into motion, lifting his right hand up to transform the sea of flames into a huge statue which struck out toward Naruto with its palm.

That palm caused the aura of death that permeated the area to roil and emit rumbling noises, the starry sky to tremble, and the Heavens to fade.

However, it was at this point that Naruto 's mouth twisted into a derisive smile. The Outsider suddenly felt a profoundly uneasy feeling spring up in its heart, but before it could do anything, a gigantic rift suddenly appeared in the void beneath Naruto 's feet.

As soon as that rift appeared, Naruto shot inside.

The 3,000 meter giant shivered as a sensation of deadly crisis rose up in its heart. That sensation came from within the rift itself, wherein in the Outsider could sense… the fluctuations of a shocking aura.

He had the premonition that if he entered that rift, he would be facing some deadly situation. Without any hesitation, he turned to leave.

However, even as he did, Naruto reached out with his right hand, unleashing the Star Plucking Magic. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Outsider Dao Sovereign was viciously dragged backward.

The Outsider's eyes burned with rage, and he unleashed all the cultivation base power he could muster to break free. Even as he fell back, breaking away from Naruto 's Star Plucking Magic, Naruto 's derisive smile grew wider.

"Form Displacement Transposition!" he said softly.

Rumbling could be heard as he and the Outsider Dao Sovereign switched places. The Outsider was still moving backward, but now, he was moving backward into the rift. Although his face fell and he stopped almost immediately, he was still some distance away from the exit!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1321

Chapter 1321 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1321: Grandfather and Grandson Reunite!

"YOU!" The Outsider Dao Sovereign's face fell immediately. He had no idea where he was, but he could sense that the aura of death in this place was indescribably powerful.

He could also tell that within the aura of death was a type of powerful sealing. And yet, even that wasn't the most frightening thing. Most frightening of all was that he could sense dozens of auras in this place that were terrifying even to him!

Each and every one of them was equivalent to a Paragon's!

Furthermore, those auras were filled with chaos, with greed, with a hunger for anything living, as if they were lying in wait for his qi, blood, and cultivation base.

Suddenly, he realized what this place was, and his heart was battered by waves of intense shock. "The 33 Hells!"

He knew what the 33 Hells were; a place where Paragon Nine Seals had sealed other Paragons long ago. In fact, the 33 Heavens had long since carried out detailed investigations regarding the 33 Hells, and had come to the conclusion that… to the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was a place where good fortune or great catastrophe were equally possible. However, to anyone not from the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was a place of certain death!

As of this moment, he felt as if he had become food to be devoured by these 33 Hells!

"NO!" he roared in rage. He shot forward in an attempt to fly out of the opening. But how could Naruto be willing to let him do so? He had set this entire situation up to trap this Outsider, and had gone to great lengths to lure him inside. How could he possibly let him emerge?

"With the exception of the successor of Paragon Nine Seals," said Naruto , "or someone else with his approval, no one can use this place to increase their cultivation base. This Outsider Dao Sovereign… is definitely going to die in there!" His eyes glittered as Greed's life force Essence exploded out within him. The 33 Hells suddenly trembled. A dense mist poured out, and the sound of clanking iron chains could be heard, along with angry roars.

Naruto waved his right hand, summoning the Paragon Bridge. As it crushed down, Greed's life force Essence exploded out. Not only did the mist within the rift grow thicker, but the ground at the base of the stone stele therein also split and cracked, and an enormous gravitational force sprang up.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign's face flickered with astonishment, and he let out a roar of fury. He was now shaking, going all out with every bit of power he could summon to try to escape. However, an iron chain whipped through the air, wrapping around him. Then, the mists churned, as if a giant were approaching, and simultaneously the Outsider was dragged in.

The shocking gravitational force pulled on the Outsider, making it impossible for him to flee. He stared with wide eyes as the rift slowly began to close. Madness flickered in his gaze, as well as a towering, venomous hatred.

"NO!"

Even as he roared, rumbling sounds echoed out as a blood-colored light sprang up. It was a shield that emanated the aura of a Paragon. With that protection, he was able to break free from the giant's iron chains and shoot up into the sky.

However, even as he neared the rift… it closed up!

RUMBLE!

The Outsider Dao Sovereign roared, and his eyes shone with fear as he looked back down into the mists below him. Apparently, the mists themselves weren't affected by the gravitational force. As he looked, he suddenly realized that a pair of greedy-looking eyes had appeared therein.

What caused him to tremble even more than before was that he could sense that after this world had been closed off from the outside… it was as if the entire place had awoken. A voice suddenly spoke out as if from far beneath the ground, accompanied by laughter that filled with hope and yearning.

"Flesh and blood… a soul… a cultivation base….

"If I consume him, I can extend my life for another 10,000 years….

"It's been a long, long time since I tasted a Dao Sovereign…."

Massive rumbling could be heard as the trembling Outsider Dao Sovereign roared, pouring all of the power he could, even his life force, into the blood-colored Paragon shield.

His eyes were bright red as he battered the Heavens he saw above him, hoping to break open an exit and flee before he was consumed.

Outside of the 33 Hells, Naruto 's face was pale. He wiped the blood from his mouth, then flickered into motion. After leaving the 33 Hells, he looked back at the pitch black region, and his eyes flashed coldly.

"Hopefully the Outsider Dao Sovereign will be killed by this place and become nothing more than fertilizer for it. Then, when I come back later, I can absorb that power to help me to get stronger…. If he isn't killed, at least he'll be trapped for a while." When he thought about the bloodcolored shield the Outsider Dao Sovereign had used, and the intense aura it had emitted, it was clear that it was a protective item gifted by a Paragon.

"Even if he can figure out a way to escape, it won't happen any time soon. By that time, I should be prepared to cut down a Dao Sovereign in battle." Naruto 's eyes glowed brightly as he turned away from the 33 Hells. Now that his divine sense was no longer being suppressed, he sent it out to fill the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea.

What he saw were cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm fighting fiercely with the Outsiders from the 1st Heaven. Because of the previous war between the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas, the cultivators were familiar with battle, and had concentrated their attacks on two fronts.

Other than those two fronts, the other main battle was being fought… on the Eighth Mountain itself!

The Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea and one of the five incarnations of the Outsider Dao Sovereign were fighting back and forth, shaking the entire Eighth Mountain. As the ripples of magical techniques spread out, Naruto almost immediately caught sight of his Grandpa Uzumaki beating back the Dao Sovereign clone over and over.

"Grandpa…." he thought, vanishing. When he reappeared, he was on a battlefield filled with cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and Outsiders from the 1st Heaven. As soon as he appeared, his cultivation base surged, and his divine sense swept out. Fully half of the nearby Outsiders let out miserable screams as their heads exploded.

Naruto snorted coldly, then vanished again. This time, he appeared

on a battlefield with cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Again, his divine sense swept out, provoking miserable shrieks as one Outsider after another exploded.

Such a vast number of deaths instantly filled the Outsiders' hearts with shock and fear. However, Naruto didn't even pause. He vanished again, reappearing at the peak of the Eighth Mountain.

The moment he appeared, his grandfather was unleashing an attack backed by the power of the Mountains and Seas. The Outsider Dao Sovereign's clone coughed up some blood and fell back. However, Naruto appeared just behind him, eyes flickering with killing intent as he clenched his fist and punched out with the God-Slaying Fist.

Rumbling booms echoed out as the clone's face flickered. He had no time to evade, and the fist strike struck him directly on the back. Half of his body instantly shattered, and he let out a miserable shriek. He shot away from Naruto , his body healing, but his aura severely weakened.

When he turned back and saw Naruto , his face fell.

"If you're not dead, then what happened to Long Linzi?"

"Oh, so his name was Long Linzi?" Naruto replied coolly. He took a step forward, and as he did, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Naruto 's grandfather, approached. After seeing it was Naruto , he breathed a sigh of relief, and his eyes shone with love and reminiscence.

Years had passed, but he had never imagined that his young grandson would grow up to be like this.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign's face fell again, and a gleam of disbelief flickered in his eyes. He was well aware of Long Linzi's true battle prowess, and although it was somewhat weaker than his own, he was now split into five parts. On the other hand, Long Linzi had attempted to kill this very same person without splitting himself apart. Therefore, Long Linzi had been able to use all of his battle prowess.

And yet, he had been defeated!

By this point he could sense that Long Linzi's aura had vanished. This caused the clone to gasp, and without the slightest bit of hesitation, he began to flee. Too many miscalculations had been made in this attack.

He had underestimated this Mountain and Sea Lord…. In fact, his clones were suffering setbacks all over the Mountain and Sea Realm. Worst of all was this Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, who had successively defeated him again and again.

As for the cultivator who had just appeared, the actual level of his cultivation base seemed low. However, he had defended himself against the attack of a Paragon, and not even Long Linzi had been a match for him. The Outsider Dao Sovereign clone could think of only one thing to do, and that was to flee.

"Did I say you could leave?" growled Grandpa Uzumaki. He stamped down with his right foot, causing the starry sky around the Outsider Dao Sovereign to distort as a huge sealing mark appeared.

At the same time, Naruto extended his right hand, performed an incantation gesture and pointed out with his finger. It was the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex! Although Naruto had not been a match for Long Linzi, this was merely a Dao Sovereign's clone, and killing him would be as easy as flipping over his hand!

As soon as Naruto waved his finger, the clone stopped in place, a shocked look on his face. Simultaneously, Grandpa Uzumaki looked over in surprise at Naruto and said, "Eee?"

Naruto waved his finger again.

It was the Seventh Demon Sealing Hex, Karmic Hexing!

Rumbling could be heard as blood sprayed from the Outsider's mouth. His Karma was thrown into chaos, prompting a miserable scream. Next was the Sixth Hex, which caused a gray sealing mark to appear on his forehead. Then a boom rang out as the mark shattered, disintegrating his head. However, he wasn't dead yet. He quickly recovered, but was even weaker than before.

After that came the Fifth Hex, the Inside-Outside Hex. Cracks spread out all over his body, and a bloodcurdling scream rang out as the clone collapsed into pieces.

Things weren't over yet, though. Even as he collapsed, Naruto unleashed… the Second Hex!

Real-Unreal Hexing!

Even as his collapsing body began to re-form, and he fled off into the distance, all of the shattered remnants of his body were transformed from being real… into something unreal!

A wretched shriek rang out in the moment before he died. Everything about him transformed into ash; this Outsider Dao Sovereign clone was absolutely no match for Naruto !

Naruto 's battle prowess might not be on par with Ksitigarbha's, but he could still be considered a peak expert in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Well done!" Grandpa Uzumaki said, laughed heartily. The love in his eyes was clear as he looked at Naruto .

Naruto turned excitedly, clasping hands and bowing as he said,

"Hao'er offers greetings, Grandfather!"

Grandfather and grandson looked at each other, and their hearts filled with emotions and memories that would be difficult to describe without using many, many words. Eventually, Naruto asked about his Grandpa Namikaze .

After a moment of silence, Grandpa Uzumaki sighed and said, "He… is not in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"I complied with the instructions given by Senior Outsider, and successfully became the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

Unfortunately, I've been asleep ever since then. However, your Grandpa Namikaze is a born warrior, with latent talent exceeding even your father's. Senior Outsider took a liking to him, and gave him some very important responsibilities…."

After a moment of silence, Naruto looked at his grandfather and asked, "Who is this Outsider you refer to?"

Chapter 1321: Grandfather and Grandson Reunite!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1322

Chapter 1322: Arriving in the Seventh Mountain!

"He calls himself… Shui Dongliu," Grandpa Uzumaki said slowly.

As soon as Naruto heard that name, his jaw dropped, and his eyes filled with a strange gleam. He stood there quietly for a moment as numerous connections were made in his mind. All of a sudden things seemed much clearer. He nodded.

"Grandpa, I sent Grandma and the Uzumaki Clan ancestral mansion to the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Unfortunately, the 1st Heaven descended right afterwards; furthermore, the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea and I have a beef with each other…."

"The Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, Ji Tian? How dare he!" Grandpa Uzumaki's eyes flashed with coldness. "After I take care of things here in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, I'll go to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and if Ji Tian is devoted to the Mountain and Sea Realm, then I'll go easy on him. Otherwise…." Killing intent flickered in his eyes.

Naruto instantly felt a little bit better. He could sense from the cultivation base fluctuations that Grandpa Uzumaki was even stronger than Lord White, being more than half a step into the 6-Essences level.

The only reason he hadn't been able to immediately vanquish the

Outsider Dao Sovereign's clone was because he had just awoken and was still clearing his head. However, he was already reaching the point of being able to unleash the full power of his cultivation base.

Grandpa Uzumaki looked at Naruto , and although he wasn't sure exactly why Naruto didn't want to return to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, he could tell that his grandson was someone who exceeded the Mountain and Sea Lords within the Mountain and Sea Realm. "You've grown up, and you have an astonishing cultivation base," he said. "The Mountain and Sea Realm is unstable now, and all cultivators have their own missions to accomplish. You follow your heart and do whatever it is you need to do!

"Don't worry about the Namikaze Clan in the Ninth Mountain and Sea," he said. "The Eighth Mountain and Sea… is already in ruins. I'll gather the survivors and go to the Ninth Mountain and Sea. That is where we will take our stand against the Outsiders."

Naruto stood there silently for a moment before clasping hands and bowing deeply to his grandfather. He looked off in the direction of the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and from what he could sense in his blood, he knew that the Namikaze Clan cultivators were not in any great danger at the moment. Feeling somewhat at ease, he turned and transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

His destination was the Fourth Mountain and Sea. Leaving the Ninth Mountain and Sea behind, his purpose was to bring Hinata home. Now that war had broken out, he was feeling… more and more uneasy.

That unease had begun to grow as soon as the 1st Heaven had begun to descend.

Back on the Eighth Mountain, Grandpa Uzumaki stood there looking at Naruto making his way off into the distance. A loving expression could be seen on his face, and also… traces of how profoundly he hated having to part with his grandson.

"Senior Outsider once said that when the Mountain and Sea Tribulation arrives, everything will be transformed into dust…." he said softly. "However, there is something special about the Ninth Mountain. It will eventually become the only mountain left….

"He even said that he wasn't sure if any of the Mountains and Seas would survive the catastrophe. He said that all he could do was search for a certain… hope.

"Apparently the hope he was talking about… was Hao'er." Looking away from Naruto , he sent his divine sense out, and quickly caught sight of some Outsiders. Eyes flickering with icy killing intent, he sprang into motion.

Naruto sped along through the starry sky of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Soon, he reached the rift where he had fought Lord White. By now, that rift had collapsed, leaving behind only faint traces.

Naruto hovered there, eyes flickering as he took a step forward. Although he seemed to be just strolling along, he was actually walking in a circle. He moved faster and faster, until the Essence of Time began to emanate out. The void distorted, and the starry sky was affected. Soon, a blurry vortex appeared, which spun around and around as it grew.

It went from 30 meters, to 300 meters, until eventually, Naruto could be seen only as ghost images. Innumerable copies of Naruto could be seen as the vortex rumbled out to 3,000 meters.

As the power of time travel exploded out, many people from the Eighth Mountain and Sea sensed what was happening. It was at around this time that a rift suddenly appeared within that vortex!

This was none other than the rift which had connected the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas.

In almost the exact same instant that the rift appeared, the countless reflections of Naruto which were spinning around the vortex transposed, once again forming a single version. Then, he stepped into the rift and vanished.

After he disappeared, the vortex faded away, and soon… the rift quickly vanished, and the starry sky returned to normal.

Within the rift that connected the two Mountains and Seas, Naruto was a beam of bright light that moved with speed far exceeding Lord White's. In virtually the blink of an eye, he was already on the other side.

Soon, he could sense the aura of the curse power which was unique to the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Without the slightest hesitation, he burst out through the exit portal.

Almost immediately, a cold snort echoed out.

"Someone has appeared. It seems my calculations were correct. These Mountain and Sea Realm aboriginals really are trying to escape from the Eighth Mountain and Sea through here.

"Well, now that you're here, don't try to run." Almost immediately, the magic of a divine ability rumbled toward Naruto , and black flames instantly surrounded him.

As soon as he saw the flames, he could tell that this was an Outsider's magical technique, backed by the cultivation base of a Dao Lord. Although powerful experts of that realm could rock their surroundings with the mere stamp of a foot, to Naruto , they were like insects that could be killed as easily as flipping over a hand.

His eyes flickered coldly as he suddenly sucked in a deep breath, inhaling the black flames through his nose and mouth. Then he looked around, even as gasps rang out in reaction to what he had just done.

The rift entrance to the Seventh Mountain and Sea was very near the

Seventh Mountain, and the entire area was littered with corpses. Eight Outsiders were present, and shockingly, their cultivation base fluctuations were that of the Dao Realm. Clearly, they were lying in wait to slaughter anyone who appeared here. But now, after seeing Naruto simply inhale the Essence flames that the Dao Lord had unleashed, they all gasped, and their faces fell.

That was especially true of the Outsider Dao Lord, whose eyes went wide. Mind reeling, he immediately fell back, but in that same instant, Naruto appeared directly in front of him, reached out, grabbed him by the throat, and threw him to the side.

His scales shattered, and his flesh and blood turned into a gory mass. A bloodcurdling scream echoed out as he was completely shredded into pieces.

Immediately, the other Outsiders began shaking all the way down to their tails, and instantly tried to flee, using all the power they could muster.

"Dao Sovereign! He's a true Dao Sovereign!"

"I thought Ksitigarbha from the Fourth Mountain was the only true Dao

Sovereign in the Mountain and Sea Realm! But he's fighting with the

Imperial Lord! He can't be here at the same time! Who is this guy!?"

"Dammit, we just ambushed a true Dao Sovereign!" The eight Outsiders were completely taken aback. Filled with terror and shock, scales shivering and tails shaking, they tried to flee.

However, Naruto sent his divine sense out, a single thought that filled the entire area. Instantly, the Nascent Divinities of all of the 1-Essence and 2-Essences Outsider Dao Realm experts were shattered. Their minds were wiped away, leaving behind soulless corpses which toppled down out of the starry sky.

As soon as Naruto 's divine sense swept out, he saw everything in the Seventh Mountain and Sea floating in his mind, and the seemingly endless amounts of Outsiders present.

He saw numerous black cubes floating in the starry sky of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the largest of which were 30,000 meters wide, and the smallest of which were only a few hundred meters wide. The Outsiders were pouring in and out of these cubes; apparently, they were some sort of military stronghold.

Black flames surrounded the cubes, and lightning crackled on their surfaces. The starry sky around them was also distorted, as if the cubes were organized into some sort of spell formation!

The Seventh Mountain and Sea should have been occupied by cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, what was visible now were mostly Outsiders. Few native cultivators could be seen, and the majority present were dead. Most of the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea were actually in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. The ones who had remained behind were for the most part low level, making it extremely easy for the Outsiders to occupy the place.

Naruto 's face was grim, and his fury toward the Outsiders only continued to grow as he discovered that they didn't even spare the mortals; to them, it didn't matter if someone was a cultivator or not, anyone from the Mountain and Sea Realm was guilty!

Of the four great planets in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, three were already shattered and in ruins. Because of that, the curse power that normally filled the Seventh Mountain and Sea was now in complete chaos.

"Lord White, even death can not atone for your crimes!" Naruto growled, eyes bloodshot. As he examined the situation with his divine sense, he noticed that there was a force of over 10,000 Outsiders attacking the final planet, the largest planet of the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

There were still tens of thousands of cultivators left alive on that planet.

Those fighters were the last remnants of the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea….

Even in the brief moment in which his divine sense swept over the planet, Naruto could see many cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea choosing to self-detonate instead of being killed. In the last moments before they died, the words they shouted echoed within Naruto 's divine sense.

"Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the Mountains and Seas!" Booms echoed out around that group of tens of thousands of cultivators as they fought to defend the planet and all the lives on it.

Among those cultivators, Naruto caught sight of… the Seventh Mountain's Echelon cultivator, Yuwen Jian!

Yuwen Jian was completely soaked in blood, and had been severely injured. Despite that, he roared in rage as he fought against the enemy. He was a body cultivator, and the weapon he wielded was the very same valuable treasure he had taken from Naruto years before. He was currently surrounded by a host of enemies with whom he was desperately fighting. 1

Currently, a Dao Realm Outsider was laughing coldly while shooting toward Yuwen Jian in a beam of light. Even as he closed in, Naruto snorted coldly, causing his divine sense to vibrate. Instantly, the Dao Realm Outsider who was attacking Yuwen Jian let out a miserable shriek and then exploded, killed instantly!

At the same time, Naruto took a step forward, vanishing as he headed towards the fighting.

Naruto loaned a battle axe to Yuwen Jian, which he kept (without permission) when they parted ways in chapter 1151 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1323

Chapter 1323: War Requires Spirit!

Of the four planets which orbited the Seventh Mountain, three were destroyed, and had become nothing more than fields of swirling rubble and dust hanging in the starry sky

The only remaining planet was the one known as Tiger Cage. 1

Currently, Yuwen Jian and the tens of thousands of cultivators who were the broken remnants of the forces of the Seventh Mountain and Sea were there on Planet Tiger Cage, fighting a deadly battle with the Outsiders.

The fighting was bloody and bitter, and occasionally the booms of selfdetonation rang out. Sky and land were both as red as blood, and the vicious and maddened Outsiders were fueling divine abilities with their own life force, causing black seas of flame to scorch everything in their paths.

Massive fissures were spreading out across the surface of the planet, and the cities and life forms there were all trembling. To them, it was as if the end of days had come.

Even the sky seemed to be on the verge of collapsing, and as the cultivators and the Outsiders fought, the only thing they seemed to have in common was that they were all engaged in a life-or-death struggle!

Yuwen Jian was actually not the strongest cultivator among the tens of thousands of survivors. However, because of his status as an Echelon cultivator, his words carried much weight, and he was currently leading a large group of cultivators into battle.

He was soaked in gore, to the point where it almost seemed like he was clothed in blood itself. His skin was crisscrossed with wounds, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. He looked completely and utterly fearsome.

However, beneath that fearsomeness lurked sadness and despair.

"Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the Mountains and Seas!" Yuwen Jian threw his head back and laughed, and in response, the cultivators at his back let out mighty roars. Murderous auras sprang up; they might be fighting a losing battle, but they would still kill as many Outsiders as they could.

There was no path of escape…. In the Seventh Mountain and Sea, all the areas which formerly pledged allegiance to Lord White had already fallen into enemy hands. The cultivators had watched as three of their planets were destroyed, and countless lives were sacrificed. The Seventh Mountain and Sea was relentlessly taken over by the Outsiders, and the local cultivators could do nothing but fume in rage.

Now, the only reason they had left to live was to fight. Even if they only had one breath left to breathe, they would use it to kill one more Outsider!

A boom rang out, and Yuwen Jian coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was facing a coldly sneering Dao Realm Outsider, who bore down on him as fast as lightning. The Outsider's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and black flames spread out to form a huge mouth which shot out to consume Yuwen Jian.

Yuwen Jian laughed bitterly. When he had faced Dao Realm Outsiders before, there had always been Dao Realm experts of the Seventh Mountain and Sea to lock them down. But now, all of those Dao Realm experts were either dead or seriously injured. Yuwen Jian was staring extermination in the face! His eyes flickered with madness as he glared at the Dao Realm Outsider and prepared to self-detonate.

The other cultivators under his command also stared with bloodshot eyes and prepared to follow him in self-detonation. The self-detonation of a single cultivator wouldn't do anything to a Dao Realm expert, but if ten of them detonated, or a hundred, or a thousand, it would be a different story!

The massive accumulation of force in such an explosion was power that would shock even a Dao Realm expert.

The Outsider's eyes widened, and he frowned. Just when he was about to take defensive measures, a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering divine sense suddenly exploded out.

It was a divine sense bursting with killing intent, hatred, and madness, and as it erupted out across the battlefield, the Dao Realm Outsider's eyes went wide, and he shouted in alarm.

"Dao–" All he could utter was a single word before his head exploded and his body shattered. In almost the same instant, numerous other Outsiders on the battlefield screamed miserably, expressions those of terror as they subsequently exploded.

From far up above in the starry sky, the battlefield almost looked like a field of blooming flowers of blood….

The surviving Outsiders were shocked and terrified. They immediately tried to escape the planet, leaving the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea standing there in shock. However, their hatred could not be diminished, and they immediately attacked the fleeing Outsiders.

Yuwen Jian was trembling, but had no time to think, and immediately joined in the slaughter.

It was at this point that a new figure appeared on the battlefield. It was

Naruto , who had just teleported in. Immediately, he extended his right hand and made a vicious clawing motion.

The power of the Mountains and Seas erupted out. Although it wasn't a vast amount of the power, not even enough to fight Dao Sovereign experts, any of the Outsiders under that Realm would be crushed as easily as dried twigs!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as an enormous illusory hand appeared in the starry sky. Boundless ripples emanated from the majestic hand as it clawed down toward the Outsiders.

The starry sky trembled, and numerous rifts were slashed open. In the blink of an eye, the area in the starry sky occupied by the Outsiders was completely crushed!

RUMBLE!

Miserable screams and roars of rage alike were suddenly cut off. A moment later, the huge hand vanished, and all that remained was drifting ash.

The battlefield went silent, and the cultivators from the Seventh Mountain and Sea looked around, stunned. Yuwen Jian turned his head, and through the crowds he spotted Naruto .

" Naruto …." he said, a smile breaking out on his face. Unfortunately, it was a smile that was bitter and even hollow.

Even though more than 10,000 Outsiders had just been killed, no cries of joy rang out, and no excitement could be seen. The cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea simply stood there quietly.

When they turned to face Naruto , there almost didn't seem to be any life in their eyes, as if their souls were already dead.

They well knew that the number of Outsiders currently in the Seventh Mountain and Sea was completely incalculable. Despite having won a victory in this battle, the next battle… would likely result in the complete extermination of the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

They silently clasped hands and bowed to Naruto , then began to disperse to carry their fallen comrades away, and to expunge the area of the sordid blood of the Outsiders.

Everything was as still as death….

As Naruto looked around at the listless cultivators, he felt as if his heart were being stabbed.

Yuwen Jian grimaced from the pain of his injuries as he approached Naruto . Then he looked around at all his comrades, and bitterly commented, "They're like this because we have no hope. Naruto , do you really think that we can… win this war?"

He seemed confused, and from the way he asked the question, it almost seemed as if he were inwardly searching for some way to pull himself together and rise to the situation. Even if whatever he found was a false hope….

Naruto had seen war before, but he had never experienced anything like he had just now. His heart hurt, but he was infinitely moved. He looked around at the tens of thousands of cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, and he saw how exhausted they were. He saw how despair had taken hold in the depths of their hearts, and he saw how much they hated the Outsiders.

He suddenly felt the urge to speak. Although he wasn't sure what he should say, it was as if there were a voice deep inside of him desperate to cry out, to rally the people around him.

"Fellow Daoists of the Mountains and Seas! I am Naruto , Echelon cultivator from the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

"I don't know for sure whether or not we'll win this war. But what I do know is that as we speak, Paragon Sea Dream is fighting the Outsider Paragon, right up there!" As he spoke, his voice began to grow impassioned, and he pointed up toward the heights of the starry sky.

"I also know that the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Ksitigarbha,

is fighting the Outsider Imperial Lord!

"All of the other Mountain and Sea Lords are fighting with incarnations of an Outsider Dao Sovereign. Furthermore, just moments ago, I managed to trap their other Dao Sovereign in the 33 Hells. If he doesn't die there, then at the least, he'll be unable to emerge for some time!

"Another thing I know is that as of this moment, I, Naruto , am the only cultivator who can fight at the Dao Sovereign level that is currently not fighting!

"I don't know whether or not we can secure victory in this war. But… the Mountain and Sea Realm will not be overthrown easily!

"We are the descendants of the Paragon Immortal Realm, and we have lasted all the way down to this day. We are the Mountain and Sea Realm, and the war has only just begun. How could we possibly lose hope now?!"

Even as Naruto looked out at the cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, his heart bursting with powerful exhortations, a fierce fight was raging above Planet South Heaven in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. The Li Clan spell formation covered the entire planet, ensuring that any Outsiders who approached were destroyed before they could set foot on Planet South Heaven.

The sky rained with the blood of the Outsiders. Of course, that blood was filthy to the point that it could harm cultivators, and even devastate the earth. Therefore, it was not allowed to touch down onto the ground, but was dissipated into a mist before the very eyes of the cultivators of Planet South Heaven.

Standing atop a distant mountain was Shui Dongliu, who was staring up into the sky, a perpetual look of sorrow in his eyes.

At some point, an ancient ship had come to appear off to the side, floating there in the air. It was a ship that no one could see, almost as if… it didn't exist.

An old man sat cross-legged at the prow of the boat with his back to the world, as if he had forsaken all Heaven and Earth.

If Naruto were here, he would instantly recognize this ship and this old man. He had boarded this same ship back when the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch had stolen his Dao foundation, leaving him on the brink of death.

The ship had taken him on a dream-like voyage through the Mountain and Sea Realm, a voyage which had opened Naruto 's eyes to the wider world. 2

Whether it had been intentional or not, the old man on the ship had healed Naruto 's injuries, and given him a bit of life force that had enabled him to keep living for a time.

Right now, that very same ship was floating in midair in front of Shui Dongliu.

Shui Dongliu stood there at the peak of the mountain, and the old man on the boat sat there with his back turned to the world. Although their eyes had not made contact, it clearly seemed as if they were looking at each other.

Suddenly, an ancient voice could be heard as the old man on the ship spoke. "Is all this necessary…? Your hope has always been doomed to fail."

This was apparently the first time this man had ever truly spoken, and his voice seemed to echo out from the depths of time itself. As he spoke, the ship upon which he sat seemed even more illusory than before.

Shui Dongliu didn't respond. Instead, he continued to stare off into the distance.

After a long moment passed, the old man on the ship sighed. Then he and the ship slowly faded away.

In almost the same moment that the ship and the old man vanished, Shui Dongliu suddenly turned his head. Someone was approaching him silently from behind, a young man in a black robe. His expression was calm, and his features extraordinary, but he had an astonishing murderous aura roiling off of him. He was none other… that the person who had taught Naruto the time-walking technique…. Slaughter! 3

He looked coldly at Shui Dongliu, and killing intent flashed through his eyes.

"I pondered the matter for some time…. I should have dispersed, so why was I brought back? It wasn't until seeing you that I understood.

"One time. I'll help you… only one time!" With that, Slaughter looked deeply at Shui Dongliu, then vanished into thin air.

Shui Dongliu stood there thoughtfully. The entire time, he hadn't spoken a single word. Soon, the sun set, night fell, and the moon shone, casting a long shadow behind him.

"Deliver the people, lose the world," he murmured softly. "Lose the people, deliver the world…. The choice has long since been made." A strange, anticipatory light slowly began to gleam in his eyes.

"The Mountain and Sea Realm is at war, and now the spirit of the people must rise!"

I'm sure some of you will remember Planet Tiger Cage. It has been mentioned three times in the story, in chapters 301, 322, and 979 ↩ Naruto 's time on the ship with the old man occurred starting in around chapter 683. I didn't realize it early on in ISSTH, but it seems likely that this old man on the boat is a character from Er Gen's other novel Beseech the Devil, a guy whose name is something along the lines of Old Man Extermination. Please note, I said "likely" because it's only my speculation, I didn't even check on the Chinese internet. ↩ Previous times Slaughter appeared include chapters 1122, 1142, and 1205 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1324

Chapter 1324: The Agreement of Planet Tiger Cage!

Back in the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the previously listless eyes of the cultivators began to flicker with light as passion stirred in their hearts.

They suddenly recalled the image of Naruto slaying the Outsiders with one blow; couple that sight with what he had told them just now, and a certain title began to ring out in their minds and hearts.

 _Dao Sovereign!_

What Naruto had done, and what he had said, made it clear to these cultivators exactly how strong he was in battle. Battle prowess like that would be vitally important in the Mountain and Sea Realm's war.

There were too many things that these cultivators didn't understand, and the terrifying power of the 33 Heavens was something they didn't even want to think about. They were in such despair that they would cling desperately to even the slightest scrap of hope.

As of this moment, hope was now kindling in their eyes. To them, a cultivator like Naruto represented the absolute pinnacle of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and if he said that he hadn't lost hope or faith, then they believed him!

"It is we of the Mountain and Sea Realm who called for this war," Naruto continued. "Therefore, this… is not a war being waged upon us by the 33 Heavens. No, this is us… waging war on the 33 Heavens!

"We will break open those 33 Heavens so that the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm can look up and see the true starry sky above our heads!" As Naruto spoke, the light in the eyes of the surrounding cultivators grew brighter.

However, words alone were not enough. As Naruto looked out at the crowds around him, a wild notion suddenly sprang up inside him.

He knew that what he was seeing right now was not an isolated incident. Whichever Mountain and Sea one went to right now, one would surely find similar thoughts of despair running through the hearts and minds of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Perhaps the degree of despair would be different in different places, and perhaps some people could suppress the despair and turn it into killing intent. But some would surely tremble in fear and lose their will to fight. If that happened, then the war… truly would be a hopeless one.

As he realized how difficult this war would be, he suddenly gained understanding of a simple truth. War… needed heroes, and at the same time, did not!

The reason it needed heroes was because they could rouse the spirits of their comrades!

Simultaneously, the reason heroes were not needed was because… a single person can never determine victory in a war. Even with someone as powerful as Paragon Nine Seals… the people were delivered, but the world was lost.

War required unity. A people needed unity!

It was only by means of unity that the cultivators of the Mountains and Seas could rise up. Only with a burning spirit… could they fight back against all odds, and have the fortitude to fight to the death with the 33 Heavens.

"There's something I need to do…." he murmured softly. Usually, he didn't think of himself as the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm. That was something that would happen in the future, not at this moment.

"Perhaps that's the wrong attitude," he thought. "If there is no future… then there will be no Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm…." Naruto 's eyes flickered as he looked up into the starry sky toward the 1st Heaven. The crazy idea that had just occurred to him just now was growing stronger. Taking a deep breath, he decided to let the notion percolate for a while.

With that, he turned and headed out across Planet Tiger Cage with Yuwen Jian.

Behind him, the spirits of the cultivators seemed to have lifted. As they watched Naruto leaving, sparks of fire appeared in their hearts and began to burn steadily.

One could well imagine what would happen as those sparks burned hotter and brighter. The hearts of those cultivators would ignite, and eventually, the same thing would happen throughout the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. In the end, either they would be burnt by those flames, or the enemy would!

Cracks and crevices covered the surface of Planet Tiger Cage…. All of the lands were covered with rifts that were only growing larger and wider with time. As of this moment, the planet seemed to be teetering on the verge of collapse.

Apparently, the carnage of the war in the Mountain and Sea Realm was focused initially on the Sixth and Seventh Mountains and Seas. As Naruto looked around at Planet Tiger Cage, his eyes flickered with the desire to kill.

Furthermore, his rage toward Lord White still lingered, despite the fact that he had already cut him down.

"Now that I think about it, there is still one more traitor among the Mountain and Sea Lords," he thought. Heart filling with icy coldness, he looked off into the distance for a moment, then turned to Yuwen Jian.

"Brother Yuwen, back in the Windswept Realm, you mentioned that the Seventh Mountain and Sea has… God blood?" Although Naruto was planning to merely pass through, there were still some important things here for him.

God blood was something critical for making breakthroughs with the fleshly body. After his recent breakthroughs, his current fleshly body level had actually become an encumbrance. If he could make a breakthrough, then based on the foundation he had built up, he would experience an incredible rise, and immediately reach the level of a Dao Sovereign.

At that time, considering the level of his cultivation base and his terrifying divine sense, he would truly be equipped… with the power of a Dao Sovereign!

After acquiring the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation from Lord White, he had made major progress with his Eternal stratum. Even still, he could tell that his fleshly body needed to become more powerful before he could be confident in facing the Flesh and Blood Desolation, which was the Second of the Seven Desolations of Ancient Realm Soul Lamp extinguishing.

The crazy idea which had come to him required that he have battle prowess truly equivalent to the Dao Sovereign level. Only then could he be confident enough to make that idea a reality.

"Of course we do!" replied Yuwen Jian. "In the Vale of the Godgrave. However, it's already been occupied by the Outsiders….

"Brother Uzumaki, if you want to go, then I can take you there!" Yuwen

Jian's eyes gleamed brightly. 1

"Not yet," Naruto replied softly. "I have a bit of unresolved Karma on this planet. Brother Yuwen, please wait while I take care of something." With that, he took a step forward and then vanished.

Yuwen Jian hovered there silently for a moment, his eyes burning with a will to fight.

"We're both in the Echelon," he thought, "but Naruto has already reached the point where everyone looks up to him. And yet I… still haven't passed through the Ancient Realm. It's hard to say how long this war will last. I must step into the Dao Realm!" Yuwen Jian's eyes shone with a flicker of determination.

As Naruto flew along above the lands of Planet Tiger Cage, he felt an aura spreading out from inside of him. It came from deep in the recesses of his cultivation base, where there existed a white diamond-shaped object!

"Planet Tiger Cage. Choumen Tai…." Naruto murmured. He had never forgotten about that Immortal's corpse which had fallen out of the sky back when he was on Planet South Heaven. That Immortal was none other than Choumen Tai, and they had come to an agreement that Naruto would return his legacy to Planet Tiger Cage. 2

At that time, the gift given to him by Choumen Tai had been like a precious treasure. Now, it was relatively insignificant. However, Choumen Tai had mentioned that by returning his legacy to his home on Planet Tiger Cage, Naruto could acquire some good fortune.

Of course, Naruto didn't care too much about that. After all, there was little good fortune that he could acquire now that would be of much help to him. Based on Choumen Tai's cultivation base level back, there was nothing he could bestow upon Naruto now that would be of any use.

Naruto had come, not because of any potential good fortune, but rather, to keep a promise.

As he proceeded along, he cast his senses inward to observe the fluctuations of the diamond inside of him. Soon, a mountain appeared up ahead….

It was cracked and crumbling, but hadn't fallen apart completely, and when Naruto scanned it with divine sense he found an Immortal's cave which had long since been abandoned. Layers of dust covered everything in the Immortal's cave, but deep within its recesses was a spell formation. At the very center of the spell formation was a small column of inky jade the size of a hand. On top of that column was a diamond-shaped slot.

As soon as Naruto got close, his own chest began to radiate light as the diamond-shaped legacy bestowed upon him years ago by Choumen Tai suddenly flew out.

It moved with incredible speed as it flew through the cracks in the side of the mountain, entering the Immortal's cave, lowering itself down toward the spell formation and settling into the diamond-shaped slot.

Naruto didn't follow the white diamond. Instead, he hovered outside the mountain, watching. Moments later, his jaw dropped.

"This…." His eyes flickered as he took a step forward and then suddenly appeared inside of the mountain. Having scanned the mountain with divine sense, he was certain there was nothing unusual lying in wait. Considering the level of his divine sense, there would be few things in existence which could conceal anything from him. Earlier, his divine sense had revealed that the spell formation was emanating fluctuations that seemed to indicate it was searching for an appropriate apprentice upon whom to bestow a legacy.

But now, after the diamond sank down into the slot, the spell formation immediately altered. Instead of preparing to deliver a legacy, it was… summoning something!?

Naruto hovered outside of the spell formation, face darkening. As he studied the spell formation, he could sense the power of summoning, something that was completely ignoring the 33 Heavens above and was instead stretching out to some unknown location.

This was Naruto 's first time seeing a spell formation like this, and was definitely his first time seeing anything which could pierce through the seal of the 33 Heavens.

Because that diamond-shaped legacy had fed him power for so many years, it also contained a bit of his own aura. Furthermore, that bit of aura appeared to be transforming the summoning power in some way that even Naruto didn't understand.

"This is no legacy…. Choumen Tai, who exactly are you?!" Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he let out a cold harrumph. Although what was happening was unexpected, considering the level of his current cultivation base, he could simply destroy the spell formation if he wanted to. That might be a violation of his previous oath, but the current Mountain and Sea Realm could ill afford an unknown and unexpected hazard.

He had come here because of his promise, to repay Choumen Tai for the good fortune he had bestowed. But now, his face was grim. He would rather incur Karma and sully his oath, than permit this spell formation to cause any harm to the Mountain and Sea Realm!

He reached his hand out, causing a massive burst of power to build up. Just as it was about to blast down onto the spell formation, a voice suddenly spoke out in Naruto 's mind.

It was a voice filled with a pleading tone. It was… Choumen Tai.

"Please allow me to have some hope…. Please, I have no desire to hurt you or do anything to harm the interests of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Please… allow me my hope….

"The person I want to resurrect, he…. is my master….

"Years ago, he sent me away into the cycle of reincarnation. I experienced many, many things. Eventually I awoke and remembered my home, and who I was back then. I remembered that he… had extinguished his own soul fire.

"I want to resurrect my master. That is my sole purpose in life. Please, allow me to have my hope…. If you do… I can help you in this Mountain and Sea War!" 3

Nothing Choumen Tai said moved Naruto at all. He sent his cultivation base power out, and the spell formation began to emit cracking sounds as the summoning was interrupted. However, it was at that point that Choumen Tai said one last thing, which caused Naruto to suddenly stop.

"I, Choumen Tai, pledge on my own life, that if you preserve this spell formation, I will devote my life to the Mountain and Sea War!" Naruto 's eyes narrowed. "How can you help?" he asked.

When Choumen Tai responded, his voice seethed with manic determination. "I can help you… to seal a 7-Essences Paragon, and make that person your puppet!"

Yuwen Jian actually mentioned this place back in chapter 1151 ↩ Naruto met Choumen Tai in chapter 301 ↩ The fact that Choumen Tai wanted to resurrect someone was mentioned by Shui Dongliu in chapter 692. And now I would like to share some details from beyond ISSTH, which I don't think counts as spoiler information, but does involve elements from his other books. By this point in the original release of ISSTH, many fans had come to the conclusion that Choumen Tai is actually a character from Beseech the Devil. Diamond-shaped marks play a significant role in the cultivation in that novel, which was one piece of evidence that points to such a conclusion. If he was a character from Beseech the Devil, then it would be likely that his master was also a character from that book. Many people guessed that his master was none other than Su Ming, the main character of Beseech the Devil. Again, this was merely speculation, based on information up to and including this chapter. ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1325

Chapter 1325: Naruto 's Heart….

Naruto was quite shaken. Even after leaving Planet South Heaven and traversing the Mountain and Sea Realm, he had never forgotten the kindness Choumen Tai had shown in blessing him with good fortune, nor the agreement they reached regarding Planet Tiger Cage.

He had always planned to return Choumen Tai's legacy to Planet Tiger Cage. However, he could never have imagined that the so-called legacy was actually a sham. It had all been a ruse.

Naruto hovered there silently. He could accept being swindled, but he couldn't accept the existence of a spell formation like this, not if there was even a chance that it could harm the Mountain and Sea Realm. He was responsible for the Mountains and Seas, and had already borne witness to the tragedy of war. Furthermore, that warfare had already changed him.

He had grown up.

Therefore, his first reaction upon seeing this spell formation was not to be concerned about the Karma he would sow if he broke his oath and destroyed it.

However… at the same time, Choumen Tai's words had moved him. In fact, his mind was spinning, and his eyes glowed with bright light.

"I, Choumen Tai, swear an oath upon my soul that if anything I have said is untrue, then… no matter if I live or die, I will never again see my master!" The madness in Choumen Tai's voice was growing, and the sincerity of his determination made his pleas seem even more intense.

In fact, as he spoke, Naruto could sense the vague fluctuations of a powerful oath, and could also detect Karma building up within the mountain peak and the spell formation.

All of that indicated that the words spoken by Choumen Tai were true.

Naruto said nothing at first. He was not a cold and ruthless person, and Choumen Tai had bestowed good fortune upon him in the past. If he could choose, he would rather not destroy the man's hope. Furthermore, he had sworn an oath upon his soul.

"How is it that you can do such a thing?" Naruto asked.

"It doesn't matter how I can do it," replied Choumen Tai. "Just point out a 7-Essences Paragon, and I'll take care of the rest!" From the sound of his voice, Choumen Tai seemed to be throwing caution to the wind. A Heaven-defying technique like that would surely come at a heavy price, a price too difficult to even comprehend.

"Whenever or wherever you are, as long as I still live, all you have to do is catalyze this sealing mark… and you can perform the sealing!" A mysteriously-glowing magical symbol floated out from within the mountain to hover in front of Naruto .

The symbol flickered and danced, and constant fluctuations rippled about inside of it. It was actually impossible to see clearly, and numerous transformations existed within it. Naruto eyed the magical symbol for a moment, and then his eyes flickered with determination. He waved his sleeve, gathering up the magical symbol and then looking at the mountain for a long moment before turning to leave.

Naruto could now tell that the reason why Planet Tiger Cage still remained intact within the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the reason why it had not been destroyed, was not because of Yuwen Jian and the other cultivators with him. More importantly… it was because of the spell formation inside this mountain, and the remaining power of Choumen Tai, which protected the entire planet.

Because of that power of protection, even though the surface of the planet was riddled with cracks and crevices, it still remained in one piece, as the spell formation protected both the mountain and the planet.

Naruto took a step, and was already far off in the distance. "Just what sort of entity could inspire one of its servants to be so devoted, to become completely obsessed with resurrecting it…?"

Even as he left, a blurry figure appeared within the middle of the spell formation. It was Choumen Tai, and he seemed to be fading away. He was staring into the spell formation itself, trembling, eyes filled with anticipation and reminiscence.

"For the sake of others, you closed your eyes for all eternity…." he murmured. "After I returned, I could never find you…." Choumen Tai's voice seemed to be filled with grief as he slowly sat down in the spell formation.

"Please return… my master…."

As Naruto made his way off into the distance, he found that the meat jelly had emerged from his bag of holding at some point. It was perched on his shoulder, looking back at the mountain. Then the parrot flew out, landed on his other shoulder, and also looked back.

It was a rare occasion when these two living treasures weren't making a ruckus.

The meat jelly sighed and said, "Perhaps to that entity, Choumen Tai eventually ceased to be simply a servant. Naruto , do you think that one day, if you meet your end, I'll be like Choumen Tai, and do everything I can to try to resurrect you? Ai. That is a question very worthy of consideration…. Fifth Bro, what do you think?"

Naruto stopped in place. The meat jelly's words just now were definitely the type to make one feel touched, but to hear them coming out of the meat jelly's mouth was quite strange.

"Lord Fifth was actually pondering a different question…. If Lord Fifth ever meets his end, Naruto … would you feel sad? Would you try to resurrect me?" The parrot looked over at Naruto , its expression very serious.

"Yes!" Naruto replied softly. The parrot and meat jelly had followed him for so long that in his heart, he no longer viewed them as simple servants.

"Well, Lord Fifth won't die and can't be killed, so you'll never have that chance. Hahaha!" The parrot laughed heartily, but as it laughed, a trace of sorrow and grief could be seen in its eyes. However, it quickly passed, and the parrot quickly reverted to its usual simple-minded state.

Naruto didn't say anything further. A knot had taken root in his heart… an uncomfortable notion that he didn't dare to contemplate or ponder. The reason being that he wasn't sure which side to pick.

He had an inkling of the Karmic cause of the war of the Mountain and Sea Realm, that it was actually being fought because of… the copper mirror!

If he simply handed the copper mirror over… could the war be ended?

It was a question Naruto didn't dare to consider. His family lived in the Mountain and Sea Realm, as did his friends, his Masters, and all other living things…. But on the other hand, the copper mirror had been with him from his earliest days in the Reliance Sect. It had accompanied him and allowed him to grow from being a mere scholar to his current pinnacle.

As for the parrot, although Naruto pretended to not care very much about it, the truth was that after all these years, he had become very attached to it, and could never bear to part with it.

"Do I forsake the parrot," he thought, "or forsake the Mountain and Sea

Realm…? Perhaps the only choice I can make… is to forsake myself."

Naruto sighed inwardly. This was the question he didn't wish to ponder, because he knew that one day, he would be forced to make that decision. Who knew what cruel realities he would need to face when the time came to choose?

"I have to get stronger!" he thought, his eyes glowing brightly. He took a deep breath as he forced himself to stop thinking about that painful question. Then, he transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

The meat jelly sat silently on his shoulder, and although the parrot seemed completely oblivious to anything, it was uncharacteristically quiet as it transformed into a multi-colored streak that flew into the copper mirror in Naruto 's bag of holding.

Naruto continued along quietly, sighing the entire time as he contemplated the enigma that was fate. As of this moment, he was consumed with worry for his family and a deep yearning to reunite with Hinata.

Eventually, he made his way back to Yuwen Jian, who was sitting there cross-legged waiting for him. Instead of wasting time with words, Naruto simply looked at him and uttered a single sentence.

"Take me… to the place you mentioned, the Vale of the Godgrave!"

Yuwen Jian's eyes shone with a bright light. Taking a deep breath, he nodded and rose to his feet. Naruto flicked his sleeve, and the two of them transformed into bright beams of light that shot off into the starry sky at top speed.

Normally speaking, Yuwen Jian would never be able to keep up with Naruto , so Naruto lent him some energy, and they proceeded along to the location Yuwen Jian indicated.

"I need to get stronger, that way I can slaughter my own path out of the enigma of fate!" There was something murderously bleak about Naruto now. His previous air of youth and naivete had been wiped away, and the only thing that remained was the grief and pain that came from seeing tragedy play out in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The Seventh Mountain and Sea was now almost completely in the hands of the Outsiders, who continued to pour in, filling the starry sky with their pitch black cubes. Increasing pressure radiated out in all directions.

Soon, Naruto and Yuwen Jian appeared in the southeastern part of the Seventh Mountain and Sea, in a location that was very quiet. Off in the distance was an area full of hundreds of black cubes. They floated about in the starry sky, lightning dancing across their surfaces. It was just possible to see the images of Outsiders passing into and out of the cubes.

They almost seemed to be forming a spell formation….

"The Vale of the Godgrave is up ahead," said Yuwen Jian. "It's a spatial rift within which rest the ruins of an ancient battlefield. Countless strands of divine will exist inside, which can kill you before you even notice them….

"The Vale of the Godgrave is one of the most dangerous places in the entire Seventh Mountain and Sea. The last time I went in, I only managed to travel a short distance. By chance, though, I managed to get a drop of impure God blood. Even that was enough to instigate an incredible breakthrough in my fleshly body!"

Yuwen Jian was under the protection of Naruto 's divine sense. As they hovered there in the starry sky, no one other than perhaps a peak 6-Essences Dao Sovereign or a 7-Essences Paragon would be able to detect their presence. "After the 1st Heaven descended, this was the very first place to be occupied by the Outsiders!

"I suspect that quite a few of the Outsiders have already gone inside.

Presumably they are also interested in getting God blood…."

Naruto looked calmly off into the distance. He could sense the fluctuations of powerful experts coming from many of the black cubes. Furthermore, the spell formation formed by the cubes contained shocking power in and of itself.

The area surrounding the Vale of the Godgrave was completely filled with Outsiders. Although there were no 6-Essences experts there, there were definitely 5-Essence experts. Naruto had already identified four with his divine sense.

And that didn't count any Outsiders who had entered the Vale of the Godgrave, which was beyond the scope of what Naruto could survey with divine sense.

Naruto turned to look at Yuwen Jian and said, "Brother Yuwen, this place is clearly very dangerous. I think you should wait for me here…."

Yuwen Jian hesitated for a moment before determination gleamed in his eyes and he shook his head.

"The 33 Heavens aren't even sparing the mortals in this war. Clearly, they plan to wipe us all out…. They want to exterminate the bloodlines of all living beings in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"As the saying goes, if the nest is overturned, none of the eggs survive!" Yuwen Jian clenched his hands into fists. "I need to get stronger! I need to have a cultivation base breakthrough! I have a body refinement magic which can use God blood to sacrifice some life force in exchange for a hundred years of a Dao Realm fleshly body!

"I, Yuwen Jian, am an Echelon cultivator. Even if I can only live for a hundred years after stepping into the Dao, I have to live up to my place in the Echelon!" Yuwen Jian's eyes shone brightly, and his pupils seemed to flicker with flames.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1326

Chapter 1326: Entering the Vale of the Godgrave!

"Brother Uzumaki, I'd like to request… that you let me go with you into the Vale of the Godgrave!

"Don't let me be a burden; you can even ignore me. I only request… that you get me inside. Once there, we can part ways, and I'll go off on my own to search for my good fortune!

"This is my choice, so whether I live or die has nothing to do with you, Brother Uzumaki. I won't infect your Karma. I, Yuwen Jian… just want a chance to search for my path of good fortune!

"If I live, fine. If I die, fine…. I was born in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and I grew up in it. I'll give my blood, my cultivation, everything about me… to repay that debt!" Yuwen Jian's bitter smile was tinged with madness. The things he had seen and experienced recently in the Seventh Mountain and Sea were hundreds of times more tragic than what Naruto had seen so far.

He had witnessed three planets destroyed, and had watched as innumerable lives were ended. He saw one sect after another exterminated, wiped out by the Outsiders.

He had even seen people being eaten alive.

Out of all his family, his clan, and his sect… he was the only survivor.

Therefore, he now lived for revenge!

Naruto looked silently at Yuwen Jian for a moment, then turned to leave.

"Just keep up," he said. Then he transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance. Clearly, he was choosing, not to sneak in, but to fight his way through in broad daylight.

After all, this was the Mountain and Sea Realm, not the Outsiders' 1st Heaven!

RUMBLE!

The instant Naruto charged forth and began to fight, Yuwen Jian rapidly began to grow larger in size. Apparently there was a bit of God blood inside of him, pumping through his veins, leading to a shocking growth in fleshly body power. Astonishingly, it took only an instant for Yuwen Jian to turn into a huge giant that took a step forward, following Naruto into the fray.

Two men, two Echelon cultivators, two beams of light, shot forth like unsheathed swords. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the two of them stabbed into the Outsiders' spell formation.

Naruto 's cultivation base was so powerful that only Dao Sovereigns could hope to stand up to him. In the moment that he began to fight, vast numbers of Outsiders began to pour out from the black cubes and charge toward him in attack.

At the same time, shocking fluctuations began to emanate from the cubes as streams of divine sense sped forth to attack him.

Further off in the distance were three Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering 5-Essences auras that instantly veered toward Naruto to block his path.

Naruto gave a cold harrumph. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he looked at the hosts of the incoming Outsiders, with their vicious expressions and murderous auras. Waving his sleeve, he summoned the Paragon Bridge, which crushed down onto them.

Instantly, bloodcurdling screams rang out, and the starry sky around Naruto shattered. This one single attack crushed everything in its path.

No less than a thousand Outsiders were instantly smashed, their fleshly bodies shattered, their Nascent Divinities destroyed.

All of the other Outsiders who witnessed this gasped, and their faces fell. Instantly, they began to back up in shock.

"Dao… Dao Sovereign!"

"Dammit! In the Mountain and Sea Realm, Dao Sovereigns are supposed to be as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. How could there be one here!?"

"Why haven't the two exalted Dao Sovereigns from our 1st Heaven come to stop this person!?"

The shocked Outsiders were so terrified that they didn't dare to get any closer. In fact, they backed up to let him pass. As for Yuwen Jian, even though he had an incredibly high opinion of Naruto , and had even seen what he did earlier to the Outsiders attacking Planet Tiger Cage, witnessing this left him shocked.

Looking at Naruto 's back as he led the way, Yuwen Jian realized that although he wasn't necessarily physically imposing… there was something spectacular about him.

It was as if… the war for the Mountain and Sea Realm… might not necessarily end with them being wiped out!

However, even as the Outsider cultivators backed up, the streams of divine will emanating from the hundreds of black cubes came together into a shocking convergence that blasted toward Naruto .

This amalgamation of divine will was so powerful that even Dao Sovereigns who encountered it would likely shy away in fear. It transformed into an enormous face which filled the starry sky and lunged toward Naruto as if to consume him.

"So what if you're a Dao Sovereign, screw off!" The voice which shouted out was not the voice of a single Outsider, but rather the conjoined voices of hundreds of them!

The sound of it echoed out, rocking the starry sky, causing the void to tremble, and crushing down with a will of complete defiance.

"Scram!" screamed the conjoined voices of the Outsiders. As for all of the other Outsiders who were observing from off to the side, their eyes began to glow brightly as they waited for Naruto 's momentum to be broken, and for him to be forced backward.

Naruto 's expression was calm, but his eyes flickered coldly. It was at this point that his own divine sense exploded out toward the face converged from divine will.

His divine sense transformed into a huge fist which punched out viciously!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The fist slammed into the face, shattering it into pieces, and causing a boom to ring out that shook Heaven and Earth.

Cracking sounds rang out as fissures snaked out through the starry sky. They were like dragons shooting out in all directions, and when they hit the Outsiders, screams rose up. There was no chance for the Outsiders to flee, and many of them were instantly ripped apart.

At the same time, miserable shrieks echoed out from the hundreds of black cubes. Rumbling sounds could be heard as each and every one of the black cubes shattered, and the Outsider cultivators inside were eradicated.

From a distance, the scene which was playing out was completely and utterly shocking!

More gasps could be heard as the surviving Outsiders fell back even further, so terrified of Naruto that they were shaking. Before they had come to the Mountain and Sea Realm, they had viewed themselves as above everyone, and looked down derisively at the Mountain and Sea Realm. They couldn't wait for the chance to start slaughtering the Immortals for fun.

But after seeing Naruto 's terrifying performance, memories from their ancestors were slowly being unlocked inside of them, memories that had been sealed within their bones, hidden within their souls.

Memories of how their ancestors had been conquered by the Paragon Immortal Realm.

Naruto 's face was cold as he looked around. Due to the sheer number of Outsiders present, it would be difficult to kill them all, even with the current level of his cultivation base. However, as he glanced about, all of the Outsiders upon whom his gaze fell backed up, trembling.

He snorted coldly, advancing again, and no one dared to get in his way this time. They all fell back to make way for him. However, as he passed by, they would form ranks once again behind him. It was almost like Naruto was surrounded by a huge circle of empty space.

Despite the fact that he was clearly surrounded, the ones who were terrified were the Outsiders, not him.

Yuwen Jian followed directly behind Naruto . The scene which he was watching unfold in front of his eyes had his blood pumping.

Glancing around coldly as he proceeded along, Naruto eventually caught sight of a dilapidated altar up ahead. It looked ancient, as if it had survived through countless years of time, leaving it corroded and falling apart.

It wasn't complete; only about seventy percent of its original structure remained. And yet, the starry sky around it rippled and distorted, emanating fluctuations that contained incredible pressure.

Gradually, it became obvious that this altar… was an entrance, leading to some other dimension beyond.

It was clear that previously, the altar had not been out in the open like this. Various restrictive spells and other obstacles had obviously been in place. However, after the Outsiders arrived, they had cleared the area, leaving the altar hovering out in the open in the starry sky.

In front of the altar were three Outsider cultivators with grim faces. They hovered there, staring at Naruto , emanating fluctuations of the 5Essences level.

Although they were a far cry from a Mountain and Sea Lord, they were close to the level of the boy Xiao Yihan.

They looked on with flickering eyes as Naruto approached. The one in the middle had a horn jutting out of his head, and if you looked closely you could see that it wasn't black, but violet.

He took a step forward, and then it became clear that he did not have the same murderous aura that the other Outsiders did. He clasped hands and bowed to Naruto , saying, "I am Long Daozi, of the Dao Tribe of the 1st Heaven. Greetings, Dao Sovereign Uzumaki."

Naruto looked back coldly. The fact that this person knew who he was came as no surprise. In the initial moments of the invasion, he had clashed with the Outsider Paragon Eegoo of the 1st Heaven. Although most people in the Mountain and Sea Realm had not been able to see what happened, the Outsider experts certainly were watching, and had seen the events unfold.

The violet-horned Outsider's eyes shone with a strange light as he slowly began to speak. "Dao Sovereign Uzumaki, based on your cultivation base and powers of perception, you are certainly aware that the Mountain and Sea Realm… cannot possibly win this war. Even if the 1st Heaven isn't a match for the Mountain and Sea Realm, there is a 2nd Heaven, and a

3rd Heaven, and in the end, 33 Heavens. There is no hope for the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Although we 33 Heavens wish to destroy all life in the Mountain and

Sea Realm, we also respect the powerful experts here. Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, if you would agree to follow the orders of the 1st Heaven, to join us in our campaign, then I can guarantee the safety of you and your clan, and can promise that you won't be harmed.

"A wise man submits to the circumstances. Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, surely you understand the truth of that old saying.

"Not only can your clan be saved, but anyone else you wish can join us as well. The 1st Heaven won't kill them. All you need to do is become a Dao slave of the 1st Heaven.

"Compared to freedom… what meaning is there in death?"

In response to his words, Yuwen Jian remained silent. Although he trusted Naruto , the offer made by this Outsider was something that would stir even his heart, albeit only a bit.

After all, he had no clan left. He had nothing. However, back when his clan and sect had still existed, if he had been given this choice, he couldn't be sure what he would have chosen. That line of thinking caused a spark of fear to rise up within him.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1327

Chapter 1327: Nothing More Than a Demonic Beast!

"Trying to seduce me… into being a turncoat?" Naruto asked coolly. His expression was calm, but a flicker of derision could be seen in his eyes. "You don't qualify to try something like that."

Only an Outsider who was out of the loop would talk to Naruto in such a way. If this person had been Paragon Eegoo, who was aware of who exactly Naruto was, he would never have uttered such words.

Back in the days of the Paragon Immortal Realm, even when the entire world had crumbled into pieces, its people, despite being broken and dying in the Mountain and Sea Realm, refused to bow their heads in compliance to the 33 Heavens. If that was the case back then, how much more so would it be the case now, when the Mountain and Sea Realm had grown strong, and was carrying on the legacy of the Paragon Immortal Realm!?

To bow one's head in compliance would be a betrayal of one's people, one's home, and one's everything…. To become a Dao slave, where life and death were not under one's own control, where one had no freedom… what would be the point of being alive?!

When Yuwen Jian heard Naruto 's response, he suddenly felt very calm.

As for the violet-horned Outsider, he gazed deeply at Naruto for a moment, then laughed softly, as if he wasn't very surprised. Then he and the other two Outsiders stepped back to make way.

"If that is your wish, Dao Sovereign Uzumaki, and considering that we can't stop you, then we will permit you to enter the Vale of the Godgrave. Please, go ahead." The violet-horned Outsider smiled and gestured for Naruto to walk past.

Yuwen Jian breathed a sigh of relief. The pressure he felt from these three 5-Essences Outsiders made him realize how insignificant he was. Although he felt relieved, he gritted his teeth petulantly and told himself that even if it was more risky, he had to get into the Vale of the Godgrave.

However, just when Yuwen Jian was about to proceed forward, he realized that Naruto hadn't moved an inch.

A strange expression had appeared on Naruto 's as he looked at the three Outsiders, and he began to laugh.

"Did you three practice your cultivation wrong and turn into retards? Or were your brains always defective?" He suddenly took a step forward, and when his foot landed, his energy surged wildly, as if a giant had stomped down onto the starry sky. It was like the crashing of an ocean of waves!

"This is the Mountain and Sea Realm, not the 1st Heaven! Everything here belongs to the Mountains and Seas, not you people. Just because you're standing around here, doesn't mean I need your permission to come and go, does it?"

The three Outsiders' hearts began to quiver. It felt as if mountains were crushing down onto them, as if the Heavens were suppressing their hearts. Their faces fell and they quickly backed up.

"You think that when I show up, you can just 'step back and make way' for me?

"The Mountain and Sea Realm and the 1st Heaven are at war. As for you three… what makes you so confident that I won't just kill you?" Naruto threw his head back and laughed. Then he took three steps forward, each one of which caused him to erupt with extraordinary power. The sheer towering majesty was almost impossible for onlookers to take in, and the pressure he emanated crushed down with infinite force. A tempest sprang up, sweeping in all directions, and crushing might bore down onto the three Outsiders.

The mere upsurge of energy caused everything to shake violently, and the three Outsiders' minds were reeling as blood sprayed out of their mouths. The scales on their bodies even began to explode as they fell back a great distance.

" Naruto , how dare you!"

"If you only stuck to killing some of our lesser tribe members, then whatever… they aren't in the Dao Realm, so they don't count as successors in the 1st Heaven. But if you kill us Dao Realm experts, your clan will definitely be placed on the 33 Heavens' list of clans to be exterminated!"

"You're going to get your whole clan exterminated, Naruto ! Do you really dare to attack us?!"

"Pipe down!" Naruto said coolly, his energy crushing down with a booming sound. The three 5-Essences Outsiders trembled, and one experienced a complete explosion of all the scales on his body, after which his entire tail shattered. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and when Naruto took a fifth step, he screamed and exploded.

A majestic 5-Essences Outsider was crushed like a twig by Naruto 's divine sense and cultivation base power!

Only two remained! The violet-horned Outsider was holding out better than the other, who coughed up a mouthful of blood as his flesh was shredded.

Even as he let out a despairing howl, Naruto took a sixth step.

RUMBLE!

The Outsider's body twisted, as though some enormous hand were squeezing down on it. It was crushed into a pulp, completely dead. With six steps, Naruto had killed two powerful enemies, to shocking effect.

The violet-horned Outsider's face was pale, and he let out a howl as he suddenly began to grow. His appearance completely changed; astonishingly, what now appeared in front of Naruto was a 3,000meter long black lizard!

His long black horn glowed with violet light, and he looked boundlessly fierce. This was the true form of the Outsiders from the 1st Heaven!

They looked less like cultivators and more like… animals!

At the most, they were like Demonic beasts!

The 3,000-meter long lizard roared mightily as flames burst out from his body. However, instead of charging Naruto , he fled in the opposite direction at high speed.

"I guess I gave you too much credit," Naruto said, eyeing the lizard coldly. "You're just an animal, and yet I tried to explain things to you as if you were a cultivator." With that, he took a seventh step.

The instant that seventh step descended, Naruto 's energy reached an indescribable level. The power of the Mountains and Seas rumbled out, filling the entire area. It was as if the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm had been driven away by Naruto and his power!

The only thing present was Mountain and Sea power, with none of the Realm's will. It was as if that power… was under the complete control of Naruto 's will!

His will was… superseding the Heavens and replacing the Dao!

"Superseding the Heavens and replacing the Dao? This… this is impossible!" The violet-horned lizard was filled with terror and shock. What he was seeing was so impossible that he couldn't think, and his heart filled up with complete despair.

All of a sudden, he experienced a vision. Images rose up, the memories of his ancestors which were concealed in his blood. He saw his ancestors in one of the Lower Realms beneath the Paragon Immortal Realm. He saw them… acting as mounts for Immortals.

In the end, that was the last thing he ever saw, as Naruto 's surging energy superseded the Heavens and replaced the Dao. It became an explosive will of destruction that, in the blink of an eye, completely crushed the gigantic lizard's soul out of existence!

BOOM!

He was completely and utterly eradicated!

The other surrounding Outsiders gaped in shock at what they had just witnessed, and trembled as they stared at Naruto in complete and utter terror and disbelief.

"Scram!" Naruto said, glaring at them. He was well aware that, considering the vast number of Outsiders present, it wouldn't be an easy task to simply wipe them out, not even with the aid of the power of the Mountains and Seas.

Right now, these Outsiders were completely shaken, so the best thing to do wasn't to kill them, it was to plant a seed inside of them.

That seed was a seed of terror, a seed that would eventually topple their hearts!

His voice was like a cudgel that swept out and slammed into the hearts and minds of the Outsiders. It was like a bolt of lightning that destroyed their courage and wiped away their will to fight. Fear of Naruto overwhelmed them, and screams could be heard as they scattered, fleeing in uncoordinated chaos.

—–

Note from Deathblade: This chapter is a bit short because it was the fourth update of the day by Er Gen, and on Mid-Autumn Festival at that!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1328

Chapter 1328: Vale of the Godgrave!

Yuwen Jian watched blankly as all of this happened. He gazed at the spot where the three Outsiders had just died. He looked at the other Outsiders, who were fleeing madly in all directions. Finally, he looked back at Naruto .

Naruto 's expression was grim as he eyed the retreating Outsiders, and then took a step toward the altar.

Yuwen Jian hesitated for a moment before saying, "You know, it might waste a bit of time, but we could still kill at least thirty percent of these fleeing Outsiders."

Naruto turned and replied, "Killing people isn't as effective as killing hearts! The key to war is not just victory in battle. It lies within the spirit….

"They've lost their courage, because I crushed their hearts. Without spirit, these Outsiders will become the first stepping stone in raising the morale of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm."

Yuwen Jian revered Naruto , but still had an opinion to express. "Only one victory, or an impressive display by one powerful person… is probably not enough to make that happen."

"You're right. And that's why I need to get into the Vale of the Godgrave as soon as possible, to get that God blood." Naruto stepped onto the altar and looked up into the starry sky, and the giant land mass that was the 1st Heaven.

In that moment, a flickering flame of madness could be seen in his eyes.

"Let me ask you a question," Naruto murmured softly. "Imagine what would happen if the Outsiders from the 1st Heaven looked up and saw their entire world shattering into pieces and then falling down out of the sky. After that, do you think that their spirits, their hearts, and their courage… could remain intact?" His words were spoken in a quiet tone, but the meaning behind them was astonishing enough to rock Heaven and Earth!

Yuwen Jian gasped. "You…." He felt almost as if he had been struck by lightning, and could hardly speak.

Naruto closed his eyes. "The key to winning a war… is destroying your enemy's spirit! To these Outsiders, the 1st Heaven is their home, and their spirit…." With that, he vanished into the altar.

Yuwen Jian was trembling, not from fear, but from excitement and anticipation. Naruto 's words echoed in his mind, and he could truly imagine what it would be like if he was in the middle of fighting the Outsiders, then suddenly looked up to see the 1st Heaven crumbling into pieces and falling out of the sky. To him, it would be something completely exhilarating and galvanizing.

In sharp contrast, the Outsiders would find it… an utter catastrophe!

The Vale of the Godgrave!

It really was a shattered portion of an ancient battlefield. That was the only thing which existed there. Not even the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm could be detected. It was as if the only thing that existed in this place was an all-pervasive will to fight.

In almost the exact same instant that Naruto entered the dimension, he heard the sounds of countless voices echoing in his ears like thunder.

"FIGHT!"

It was a voice belonging, not to any individual entity, but rather, the dimension itself, and the powerful will to fight that had existed in this place for countless years.

It was like an undying soul throwing its head back and howling, consumed with the desire to slaughter its way through the Heavens, the starry sky, and all lands.

If Naruto 's divine will were not as strong as it was, being at eighty percent of a Paragon's, that will to fight would have incited him to instantly attack something. But now, it was simply a slight stimulation that hardly affected him.

However, as soon as Yuwen Jian appeared, he began to shake, and his face drained of blood. Naruto waved his hand, and Yuwen Jian recovered. After looking around, he turned to face Naruto .

"Brother Uzumaki, I can do this myself!" With that, he clasped hands, and then sped off in another direction, eyes gleaming with determination and decisiveness. Naruto watched Yuwen Jian leave the area of protection he had offered, and could see both the difficulty with which he did so, and also the mad desire within his soul that drove him to such lengths. Naruto sighed.

Yuwen Jian had his own path to follow. Naruto understood that, and thus would not intervene. He turned his head and looked off into the distance.

The soil here was black, and littered with countless corpses.

Some had already petrified into stone, while others were still in a state of decay. In fact, the further one proceeded into the depths of the valley, the more slowly things seemed to be rotting and decaying. The Vale of the Godgrave was ring-shaped, with the outer areas being safer, and the danger increasing the closer one got to the center.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but thunder boomed in the air up above, and countless lightning bolts crashed down, almost like a rain of lightning. And yet, what boomed loudest in his ears was not thunder, but rather, that echoing call to fight in battle!

This place was like a Heaven-shaking and Earth-shattering sea of lightning, within which could be seen shadowy figures fighting each other. Normally, the rain of lightning which was pounding down would destroy everything beneath it, but in this case, the battle was so aweinspiring that the effects of the lightning were negligible, whereas the intensity of the combat wreaked havoc upon all Heaven and Earth.

In one location, Naruto spotted an enormous giant made of lightning, which crackled with boundless electricity as it strode to and fro fighting invisible enemies.

Further off, he saw war chariots flying about. As the lightning fell, it pierced through the chariots, and yet they passed through the sheets of lightning as if they weren't even there.

There were cultivators too, locked in magical combat, the sound of which transformed into a call to battle that caused everything to tremble.

On the ground could be seen enormous, 3,000-meter long beasts, as well as cultivators wearing crude, ancient robes. There were also mighty mountains and rivers which seemed to be in a constant state of flux, rising, falling, and changing course with every passing moment.

Most disturbing of all were the illusory cities that popped in and out of existence, a sight that filled the heart with shock.

However, what was more surprising than all of that was what existed in the very center of the valley. After sending his divine sense out to cover everything, Naruto was able to see that there in the center… were two mountains!

Except, they weren't actually mountains, but giants! Each giant was fully 300,000 meters tall, with rough skin that was covered in complex magical symbols. Most notable were the stars which could be seen on their foreheads.

Those stars were gray, as if they had lost all life force. Even still, the corpses of these two giants had not rotted away, but instead, had transformed into mountains.

Apparently, some sort of magical technique had been used on them, shrinking them down to only a portion of their true size.

As soon as Naruto saw the two giants, and the rest of the dimension, he immediately thought back to the Ruins of Immortality in the Ninth Mountain, to that enormous tree he had seen… and the land mass beneath it… which was the corpse of a giant! 1

The feeling Naruto got from the aura of that corpse was very similar to the feeling he got from these two giants. The only difference was the disparity in size.

"Are these… Gods?" Naruto flickered into motion, entering into the world of lightning. He walked along casually, expression calm. With every step he took, endless amounts of lightning crashed down, and yet none of it even touched him.

The illusory war chariots sped toward him with a towering desire to fight, but Naruto didn't dodge. He let them come, and they passed right through him.

As he walked along, he saw shocking beasts roaring, giants swinging their fists, and countless other creatures and beings.

He saw corpses beneath his feet. At first most of the corpses were petrified stone, but more and more rotting corpses appeared, until everything was a mass of putrefying flesh.

Soon, he was passing through from the outer region of the Vale of the

Godgrave into the central area. None of the illusory entities here had

any effect on him.

Neither did the explosive pressure, which felt like nothing more than a cool breeze to him.

Occasionally he would stop in place to observe the illusory fighting going on around him. Often, his eyes would then flicker as if he had gained new enlightenment. After a few days passed, Naruto was in the central region of the Vale of the Godgrave, where he caught sight of a corpse.

Although it was buried in the ground beneath his feet, the entire area was being struck by so much lightning that some of the skin had become visible. It was a giant, at least 30,000 meters tall.

Naruto knelt down and smacked the ground with the palm of his hand. A boom echoed out, causing the soil in the area to disintegrate and reveal the enormous corpse.

He placed his right hand on top of the giant's head, and in the blink of an eye, the giant's face turned crimson. A moment later, it then turned pale as a drop of blood flew out of its forehead and into Naruto 's hand.

He looked thoughtfully at the golden drop of blood.

Finally, he shook his head and said, "Too many impurities. Not pure blood." With that, he put the golden drop of blood away and proceeded along. Eventually he reached the very center of the Vale of the Godgrave. This area could be considered a restricted area for cultivators, a place where very few people could ever enter.

Seven days passed, during which time Naruto traveled to many places within the Vale of the Godgrave, searching high and low until he had collected fully a hundred drops of impure blood.

He had even inspected the two gigantic corpses, from which he extracted some high quality God blood. However, all of that was not enough to experience the breakthrough he was aiming for.

On the other hand, Yuwen Jian had found his good fortune, and his fleshly body was currently experiencing Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling transformations.

Naruto searched even longer, but couldn't find any more God blood. His face darkened, and he felt disappointed, but at the same time, suspicious.

"I refuse to believe that the Outsiders would have the Vale of the Godgrave so heavily locked down, and yet not send any of their forces inside. There must be Outsiders in here, with the ones on the outside acting as Dharma Protectors.

"Well then, where are they?" Naruto flickered into motion, flying up into the air until he reached a high point where he could look down on all the lands below.

What he saw caused him to tremble, and a strange light to shine in his eyes. What he saw was that the lands that comprised the Vale of the Godgrave were actually about the same size as the giant upon whose back had grown the enormous tree in the Ruins of Immortality in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

In fact, the Vale of the Godgrave was actually a bit larger than that….

However, what was most shocking to Naruto was that the shape of the land itself… resembled a face!

The highest mountain was the nose of that face, and the deepest valley was formed by the mouth!

Furthermore, in the forehead position, eight stars were visible, very faint, but still flickering with light! Each one of those stars was emanating fluctuations that caused Naruto to tremble. 2 "That's it!" he said, eyes shining brightly.

Naruto saw the corpse in the Ruins of Immortality back in chapter

865 and 866 ↩ This footnote contains some spoilers regarding Renegade Immortal. Yes, these are the same ancient Gods referred to in RI. In that novel, the cultivation system is based on stars, and an 8-star God would be somewhat analogous to the Dao Lord or Dao Sovereign level in ISSTH

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1329

Chapter 1329: Breakthrough!

From such an incredibly high position, Naruto could now look down and see the Outsiders. There were three 5-Essences experts among them, surrounded by hosts of other Outsiders. Furthermore, they were not milling about chaotically, but rather, had gathered in three specific areas.

By chance, those three areas happened to be locations on the head of the God, where the stars existed!

Naruto spotted Yuwen Jian in another part of the Vale of the Godgrave, trudging along toward a lightning-filled area, where something like a corpse could be seen.

That corpse was profoundly ancient, and if one looked closely enough, one would see that it was actually… the finger of a God!

Perhaps that was the location of Yuwen Jian's good fortune.

Naruto looked away from all of that for a moment. Everything he had seen in this dimension left him profoundly shaken.

This world, this Vale of the Godgrave, was actually a head! The head of a God!

Despite only being the head, Naruto could tell that it was even larger than the corpse he had encountered back in the Ruins of Immortality in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. That in and of itself left Naruto deeply shaken.

"This… is one of the Outsider… Gods?" His eyes shone with a strange light as he looked down at the enormous land mass which was formed by the head. All of a sudden, he saw images in his mind, a vision of these so-called Gods, seemingly as tall as the Heavens, whose enormous bodies were virtually impossible to fight back against!

In their hands, planets could be crushed to pieces, and the mere brush of their fingers could wipe cultivators out of existence!

Such unequalled power was completely shocking to Naruto , causing the thought of doing battle with beings like this in the future to become even more agonizing than before. At the same time, he refused to be cowed so easily, and felt his heart surging.

"Who cares about these Gods?!

"They can still perish, which means that winning the war against them is still possible. They aren't invincible!" Naruto 's eyes flickered brightly, and his energy rose up, creating a vortex around him which swept out through Heaven and Earth.

"If I can absorb the power of the God's blood right here and now, then I can achieve a fleshly body breakthrough. I can rise from the peak of the Ancient Realm into the Dao Realm!" Back when he had completely extinguished all five Soul Lamps, the Chakra and blood which he had built up became stuck in a fleshly body bottleneck, making a breakthrough impossible.

However, once he did achieve a breakthrough, that power would explode out and push him explosively into the Dao Realm.

Naruto had been waiting for a long time for this day to arrive. He took a deep breath, and without any further hesitation, made a beeline for the enormous God's forehead, toward the first star thereupon.

In that location, a huge lake could be seen!

Naruto flew like a meteor, causing rumbling sounds to echo out, distorting Heaven and Earth as he passed along. Wind screamed and thunder crashed. Nothing, be it illusory or corporeal, could do anything to hinder his progress.

He pierced through every obstacle, and a brief moment later, he was in the air above the vast lake. Not pausing for a moment, he shot down into the lake itself.

Almost as soon as he entered the water, a massive rumbling sound could be heard. The surrounding land shook violently, and the mountains vibrated as all the lake water shot up into the air, forming something like a column that rose high up into the air and then dispersed into a mist.

Now a crater could be seen down below, deep and filled with faint, flickering light. However, that light was profoundly ancient, and contained an indescribable power of Chakra and blood.

A strange gleam shone in Naruto 's eyes as he shot down toward the center of the crater and then sat down crosslegged. Then he stretched his hands out to either side and slapped them down onto the ground.

RUMBLE!

The ground quaked violently, and the sludge at the bottom of the lake vibrated for a moment before transforming into ash. Numerous crevices appeared in the land, most noticeably beneath Naruto . In the center of that crevice could be seen the light of… an enormous… star!

That star actually spread out to cover the entire area of the lake, and emanated an incredibly ancient aura which began to speed toward Naruto . His hair whipped around him, and his clothing flapped wildly. At the same time, a bright light appeared in his eyes as he experienced the sensation of his fleshly body power rising rapidly.

"So it really has been here all along!" Naruto lifted his hand up and then chopped it down into the ground. The power of his cultivation base exploded out as he shot, spear-like, down toward the star.

As the ground trembled, Naruto frowned and then snorted coldly. The parrot flew out, transforming into the Battle Weapon, which he stabbed down. As he did, the Battle Weapon extended, piercing further down into the earth.

The ground was shaking with unprecedented intensity, as if a soundless roar were echoing out through Heaven and Earth. After Naruto pulled the Battle Weapon back up and emerged out of the soil, a drop of golden blood rose up through the gap to float in front of him.

As the blood drop rose up, the land sank and withered, as if it had lost some of its life force. As for the star, it seemed to grow dim.

Naruto looked at the golden drop of blood and took a deep breath. Then, without any hesitation, he reached out, grabbed it… and shoved it into his forehead.

RUMBLE!

As soon as the golden blood touched Naruto , it coursed into him, filling him with sounds like rumbling thunder. His expression twisted, and he began to tremble as his body experienced Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering transformations.

His heart rate increased dramatically, and his blood pumped rapidly through his system. Even his bones emitted cracking sounds. It was as if he were being reborn, as if his flesh and blood were twisting around each other to pump out more power.

Amidst echoing rumbles, Naruto threw his head back and let out an astonishing howl. At the same time, his body grew, and his Chakra and blood surged. The land around him trembled, and far off in the distance, both Yuwen Jian and the Outsiders could sense a shocking aura which stirred their souls, coming from the direction of Naruto .

"This… is the feeling I was going for…." Naruto 's eyes were bright red, and a vicious expression could be seen twisting his face. However, a gleam of excitement was visible in his eyes as he felt the level of this fleshly body increasing, and sensed the indications of an imminent breakthrough.

His bones were transforming, becoming stronger and more resilient!

His flesh and blood were experiencing constant advancement, and a terrifying level of power was surging through him. It was a mad power that could destroy vast swaths of land; every beat of his heart sounded like the crash of thunder.

"Still need some more…." By this point, he had grown to nearly thirty meters tall, making him look like a mountain. Every inch of his flesh exuded a terrifying power.

There were even magical symbols which bulged out all over his skin, radiating an ancient air as his body's energy rocketed up.

A strange light gleamed in his eyes as he suddenly used the tiniest scrap of cultivation base power, not to teleport, but to leap up into the air. The ground beneath his feet shattered and collapsed in on itself as Naruto shot like lightning toward the location of the second star.

It only took a moment for him to bear down on what was a convergence of masses of Outsiders, who were arranged in formation around a violethorned 5-Essences Outsider.

The second star was actually located in a vast plain. The Outsiders had obviously been here for some time, and had excavated a huge pit, at the bottom of which the violet-horned Outsider sat cross-legged, absorbing the thin strands of blood-colored Chakra that were seeping up from the dirt.

As he absorbed the blood-colored qi, he slowly became more powerful, and an aura similar to Naruto 's was even beginning to build up within him.

It was at this point that rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth, and a blur shot through the air at an indescribable speed, heading directly toward the pit in the middle of the plain.

It was none other than Naruto !

When he landed, the ground shattered, and countless shocked Outsiders were hit by a powerful shockwave.

Rumbling sounds rose up, along with miserable shrieks, as the shock wave swept over the Outsiders, instantly reducing over a thousand of them into ash.

Further out, the Outsiders who were able to avoid the brunt of the blast coughed up blood, having sustained serious injuries. Some were even sucked down into the collapsing ground.

Naruto 's expression was tranquil. Intense pressure radiated off of his thirty-meter frame as he completely ignored the dying Outsiders around him. A red glow could be seen in his eyes as he turned his head to look at the violet-horned Outsider sitting off to the side.

Even as he turned his head, the Outsider's eyes opened, and without a moment of hesitation, he ceased absorbing the blood-colored Chakra and shot backward in retreat.

"Think you can just leave?" Naruto said with a cold laugh. In the moment that the violet-horned Outsider fell back, Naruto suddenly shot forward at incredible speed. In the blink of an eye, he was in front of the Outsider, who suddenly found Naruto 's hand gripping his neck.

Even as the Outsider bellowed in rage, the power of Naruto 's cultivation base and fleshly body exploded out through his hand. The Outsider tried to fight back, but his resistance was like a rotting weed against Naruto 's blow. Naruto disregarded it completely, and clenched down with his hand.

The Outsider didn't even have a chance to speak.

A boom could be heard, and the violet-horned Outsider's eyes bulged. Then, his entire body exploded, and all of the blood-colored Chakra which he had absorbed spread out, then bored into Naruto .

Naruto lifted his right foot up into the air and then stamped it down. A boom echoed out as the land shattered, and a drop of golden blood flew up. He quickly grabbed it and pushed it into his forehead.

This was his second drop of God blood, and it was not ordinary God blood, but rather, soul blood!

As it was absorbed into Naruto , he threw his head back and roared. His entire body, including his bones, his flesh and blood, and his internal organs, vibrated violently. At this moment, his Ancient Realm fleshly body… broke through!

Intense reverberations echoed out that could shake Heaven and Earth. Naruto 's fleshly body power skyrocketed to such an extent that traces of numerous natural laws became visible around him.

They were spreading out from his body, and they directly affected the world around him.

"So, this is a Dao Realm fleshly body?" he said, eyes glittering. He took a deep breath as his body grew once more, this time to 300 meters!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1330

Chapter 1330: Dao Lord Fleshly Body!

"I can still get stronger!" Naruto suppressed the energy of Chakra and blood building up inside of him, not permitting it to fuse with his fleshly body. Instead, he looked off into the distance, his eyes gleaming with a bright light.

As he shook his body out to limber it up, cracking sounds echoed out. A terrifying fleshly body power emanated out from him, and Naruto could sense that he was already several times stronger than before.

Ignoring the surviving Outsiders in the area, he once again leapt up into the air. The ground beneath him shattered, swallowing up the Outsiders like a giant mouth. Miserable screams echoed out, but then vanished almost immediately. In the blink of an eye, Naruto sped through the air toward the location of the third star.

This place was a tall mountain, and as soon as Naruto landed there, it shattered and collapsed. A huge crater opened up below, and a drop of golden blood flew up. Naruto grabbed it and, without pausing for a moment, absorbed it and then shot toward the fourth star!

He appeared a moment later in the fourth area, where a swamp stretched out in all directions. As soon as he appeared, he slapped his hand down toward the swamp.

The swamp was instantly destroyed, and the God blood concealed deep down below was extracted, shooting into Naruto 's forehead.

Naruto threw his head back and roared, and rumbling sounds could be heard as he grew even taller, instantly reaching 600 meters. His fleshly body now radiated incredible power; he could tell that he was now at the level of a Dao Lord!

"Dao Lord fleshly body!" Naruto licked his lips. The good fortune he was acquiring here was incredible; it was power that could rend the Heavens and crush the Earth! It was as if he were being completely reborn! To him, the Vale of the Godgrave was a place to completely reach a higher level!

He took a deep breath, which caused wind and thunder to scream, and everything to darken. With that, he stamped his foot down, and as the land was destroyed, he suddenly appeared at the location of the fifth star.

There were also Outsiders here, and they seemed prepared to face a powerful enemy. Their cultivation bases exploded with power, sending the entire area into chaos, exerting incredible pressure with a wide array of magical techniques and divine abilities. Numerous shocking shields surrounded a wizened 5-Essences Outsider, who was sitting there crosslegged, absorbing vast quantities of Chakra and blood. As he did so, his gaunt frame radiated an increasingly terrifying power.

Even as Naruto closed in, rumbling sounds could be heard as the Outsider's fleshly body suddenly broke through to the Dao Realm!

Only the best of the best among the Outsiders had been sent into this place to acquire the good fortune of God blood, to increase their fleshly bodies to incredible levels.

The Outsider experienced the fleshly body breakthrough at almost the same moment that Naruto arrived. When Naruto landed, the ground shattered, blasting away in layers as a boundlessly domineering air spread out. All of the Outsiders' divine abilities and magical techniques were shattered as a massive windstorm kicked up. Miserable screams rang out as the vast majority of the Outsiders, unable to stand up to the power, were killed.

Naruto turned and reached a claw-like hand out toward the wizened Outsider. However, in that same moment, the Outsider opened his eyes, which shone with brilliant light. He shot backwards, simultaneously unleashing a fist strike to meet Naruto 's palm.

A boom rang out. Naruto 's expression was the same as ever, but the Outsider coughed up a mouthful of blood, and a shocked expression appeared on his face. He immediately began to retreat at top speed.

Naruto 's eyes flickered coldly as he looked at the fleeing Outsider. Having sensed the level of his opponent's fleshly body, he chuckled coldly, then unleashed his own fist strike!

The Life-Extermination Fist!

This version of the Life-Extermination Fist was completely different than the one he had been able to unleash before. Instantly, all of the life force in the surrounding 30,000-meter area was sucked away.

A 30,000-meter area became a field of death!

The Outsider let out a wretched shriek, and attempted to fight back. However, his life force was inexorably sucked away. Soon, the entire area had absolutely no life force in it, almost as if the natural laws in the area had been changed, as if… life was incompatible with this area!

All of the pressure of this field of death weighed down onto the Outsider; rumbling sounds could be heard as he let out a bloodcurdling scream, and then exploded!

As he exploded, his Chakra and blood dissipated. However, the bits of God blood within him shot toward Naruto , boring into him as if he were the lodestone of all God blood.

Rumbling echoed out from inside of him as he grew even taller, and the power of his fleshly body increased until it was very close to the 4Essences level. Then he flickered, shooting like lightning toward the location of the sixth star.

As Naruto sped along, this part of the Vale of the Godgrave began to collapse, as if he were taking away whatever power it was that supported the head, as if the existence of this part of the dimension was now completely meaningless.

Rumbling could be heard as the collapse spread. By that time, Naruto was at the location of the sixth star.

Here could be seen another huge lake, except that instead of water, it was filled with lightning!

As Naruto neared, the power of that lightning exploded out, converging together and surging toward him as if to overwhelm him.

"Eee…?" Naruto said. Eyes flashing, he looked at the lake of lighting, and did nothing to avoid it. Instead, he plunged into the middle of it all. Rumbling could be heard as the lightning slammed into him. He shook his arms and legs, and the lightning collapsed.

However, it seemed endless, slamming into him relentlessly, over and over again. Naruto snorted coldly, then clenched his right hand into a fist and unleashed a fist strike onto the ground directly beneath the lake of lightning.

It was not the Life-Extermination fist, it was the Bedevilment Fist!

The Bedevilment Fist had been unleashed onto the land!

The ground trembled, and crevices spread out. Naruto 's eyes flickered with a red glow, and his cultivation base rotated madly. Combined with the power of his fleshly body, it put his energy… at something past what Lord White had been. In fact, it was no weaker than Ksitigarbha. This was the power of… a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign!

Rumbling rose up, and the ground collapsed. A gigantic crater appeared that was far larger than any of the previous craters, and the lake of lighting was completely swallowed up!

Since the troublesome lake of lightning was attempting to block his progress just like the land was, Naruto decided to wipe them both away simultaneously!

The lake of lightning faded away, and Naruto lifted his right hand, causing a golden drop of blood to rise up from the lands below, which he grabbed.

Almost as soon as he touched the golden blood, a roar of rage suddenly seemed to echo out from down below.

Naruto 's eyes flickered. Even as the roar echoed out, he pushed the golden blood into his forehead. A tremor ran through him, and the signs of an imminent breakthrough once again erupted out.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto grew to a size of, not 600 meters, but 1,200 meters. He threw his head back and roared, causing all light to dim. Ignoring the roar of rage directed against him, he shot toward the area with the seventh star.

That location was covered by a dense forest, much of which had already been felled by the more than 10,000 Outsiders in the area. Moments ago, all of them had been in the midst of kowtowing in the direction of a huge crater, in the middle of which was an aged Outsider with dull scales. He sat there cross-legged, constantly absorbing the bloodcolored Chakra from the ground.

As of this point, his relentless absorption seemed to have drained the area of at least ninety percent of the Chakra there.

In the same moment that Naruto destroyed the lake of lightning, this Outsider Patriarch's eyes snapped open, and they radiated with ancient and boundless cruelty. Suddenly, he said, "Sacrifice!"

As the words left his mouth, the surrounding Outsiders unhesitatingly… unleashed their cultivation bases in order to self-detonate!

The self-detonation of over 10,000 Outsiders created a towering force, which then transformed into a blinding light that obliterated everything in a 5,000 meter radius. At the same time, much of that power was absorbed by the Outsider Patriarch by means of some unknown technique.

Naruto arrived in almost the exact moment that all the Outsiders selfdetonated. The blast itself would have seriously injured him were it not for the fact that his fleshly body had just experienced a breakthrough into the 5-Essences level.

Even as Naruto closed in, a figure shot up from within the blast of the self-detonations, slamming a fist into Naruto 's chest.

Naruto lurched to a stop, a strange glow in his eyes. However, he didn't retreat, but instead advanced, slamming forward in an attack. A muffled grunt rang out from the mouth of the shadowy figure who had just attacked him, and Naruto laughed coldly as he went in for another attack.

Massive crashing booms rang out as the two of them exchanged hundreds of blows. Soon, the shadows which cloaked the figure began to slip away, revealing the Outsider Patriarch.

By this point, however, he didn't seem as old as he had before. He had more life force, and his fleshly body power, which was at the Dao Lord level, when combined with this 5-Essences cultivation base, made him similar to a Dao Sovereign!

"No wonder you chose the Seventh Mountain and Sea…. Lord White turned traitor, plus you planned to use this place… to produce three experts on the level of a Dao Sovereign." Naruto 's eyes flickered with the realization that, if he hadn't come here for the same purpose as these Outsiders, and arrived just in the nick of time, then they would have succeeded in their efforts, which would have been a catastrophe for the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The Outsider Patriarch's eyes flickered with killing intent, and yet inwardly, he was afraid, and backed up. He knew that he was not a match for Naruto , and therefore, since he couldn't get any more God blood from this area, he decided that he might as well just leave.

Even as he began to back away, killing intent flared within Naruto 's eyes, and he flickered into motion towards the old Outsider.

The Outsider Patriarch laughed derisively as he raised his right hand up into the air and made a ripping motion, causing a huge rift to be torn open in the sky. "If I feel like leaving, nobody but a Paragon can stop me!"

Instantly, he shot toward that exit rift at top speed.

At the exact same time, a power of emptiness suddenly erupted out from him. It was none other than Essence power!

"Essence of emptiness!" the old Outsider said slowly. "Heaven and Earth are not real. Nothing under a Paragon can stop my teleportation magic." With that, he began to fade away into the rift.

A moment later, Naruto 's attack reached him, and it passed directly through him.

"Well, isn't this interesting," Naruto said, eyes flickering. He attacked again, but this time he performed an incantation gesture and then pointed up toward the Heavens.

"Demon Sealing Hexing magic, hex this dimension! Eighth Hex!

"Seventh Hex!

"Sixth Hex!

"Fifth Hex!

"Third Hex!

"Second Hex!

"Let's see how you get away now!" The entire dimension was shaking in response to the wave of Naruto 's finger. It was at this point that the Outsider Patriarch's face completely fell.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1331

Chapter 1331: God Curse!

The Eighth Hex ceased all movement in the dimension. Everything went still and quiet. As for the Seventh Hex, it sealed the dimension's cycle of Karma, freezing it within all memories.

The Sixth Hex locked down life and death, replacing reincarnation, making the entire dimension like a tree without roots.

The Fifth Hex threw everything into chaos. Inside became out, the universe twisted, Heaven and Earth went dark, and all light faded!

The Third Hex caused the river of time in the dimension to slow to a halt. Time had no boundaries, no limits, no end, and yet the flow of time was stopped.

The Second Hex caused the emptiness to become reality!

Amidst massive rumbling sounds, the Outsider's face fell, and his body was forced out of its illusory state. The entire dimension went quiet as Heaven and Earth were sealed.

As he appeared in the flesh, the Outsider was shocked to find that he couldn't move. He was only able to hover there, motionless, his heart overwhelmed with fear as he looked at Naruto .

"What magical technique is this…? This isn't full Essence, but it contains the power of Essence. Furthermore… if this becomes true Essence, then this person… he'll… he'll….

"He has the foundation of a Paragon! His fleshly body is already at the

5-Essences level, and with a cultivation base foundation like this… he….

"If this kid isn't stopped, he's definitely going to become a Paragon!"

Even as the Outsider reeled in astonishment, Naruto advanced with lightning-like speed. As he did, he extended his index finger, which stabbed into the Outsider's forehead. Despair and rage boiled up in the Outsider's eyes, and then, his life force was exterminated.

In the moment that the flame of his life force was snuffed out, the Outsider's true form became visible in front of Naruto : a 3,000-meterlong lizard.

The lizard radiated an aura of death, but that couldn't cover over his incredible ancientness. It was impossible to tell how many countless years this Outsider had lived, and yet, even as his lizard body trembled, a drop of golden blood appeared on his forehead.

Within that golden blood were flecks of black, which were vile impurities from the Outsider himself. Naruto waved his hand, causing the golden blood to begin to burn. After the impurities were expunged, the golden blood flew toward Naruto and fused into his forehead.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto grew taller. Although the growth wasn't very dramatic, the power his fleshly body radiated was more terrifying than ever. Everything around him distorted, as if the natural laws were being expelled. At the same time… a burst of 5Essences fleshly body power erupted from within him.

"Almost at the 6-Essences level!" Madness gleamed in Naruto 's eyes. 6-Essences was the peak of the Dao Sovereign level. For a long time, Naruto 's fleshly body had been one Realm higher than his cultivation base. However, it had eventually become stuck between the

Ancient Realm and the Dao Realm. Without God blood, that was a difficult gap to bridge.

But now, if he were to be able to reach a Dao Sovereign fleshly body in one fell swoop, Naruto 's battle prowess would be virtually incomprehensible. He would be in a position to actually tangle with Paragons!

As of this moment, he truly was the most powerful expert in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Naruto took a deep breath as he released the dimension from the grips of the Hexing magic. To seal an entire world in this way was not something he could sustain for more than a few breaths of time. Even still, it was something completely Heaven-defying.

Naruto could now clearly sense that his cultivation base and battle prowess were far beyond what they had been when the war had started. He was now incredibly powerful!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto shot toward the region of the final star.

This area was different from all of the other areas.

It was not a mountain peak, not a plain, not a lake, but rather… an enormous statue!

A boundless mist covered the statue, which depicted a middle-aged man, standing atop a star. He was dignified and imposing, with a river of stars in his right hand, and a barbaric and domineering aura.

As Naruto closed in, the statue's aura suddenly erupted into chaos, causing the mist to churn. At the same time, the statue's eyes suddenly turned golden.

The statue's eyes radiated explosive light, and its voice was matchlessly cold and sinister as it said, "Those not of the God Clan may not possess God blood! Anyone who steals God blood will be cursed for all time by the Gods, and will be exterminated!"

A majestic divine will erupted from the statue, a wave of hatred that swept out in all directions, enveloping everything, including Naruto .

Naruto 's face fell as the divine will swept over him, distorting everything in the world. It was as if the power of time travel were being unleashed, as if everything were becoming illusory. In the blink of an eye, everything became clear again, and the world from before was gone.

There was no statue, no Vale of the Godgrave, no… Mountain and Sea Realm!

Stretching out in front of him was an endless starry sky, within which floated an enormous, shocking land mass, so large that it seemed comparable to the starry sky itself.

Thousands of other smaller land masses floated beneath that main enormous land mass, upon which a war was raging. The flames of combat burned, and the sounds of fierce fighting rang out. Divine abilities thundered, giving rise to massive waves of sound.

"This…." Naruto 's mind was reeling as he looked at the huge continent. Although this was his first time seeing it in this specific way, there was a voice calling out from within his blood telling him that this was… the Paragon Immortal Realm!

Rumbling could be heard, and Naruto spotted a giant. It was huge, almost as big as the entire land mass, and behind it were more giants, all striding forward.

The giants were so terrifying that the single sweep of a fist could slay a thousand cultivators, and the wave of a finger could destroy the Heavens and extinguish the Earth.

The land masses that were the Lower Realms shattered one after another, but at the same time, the Paragon Immortal Realm was trembling violently. Fissures of destruction spread out, and yet the Paragon Immortal Realm continued to fight back violently.

God blood rained out of the heavens as the giant Gods were felled. Naruto 's mind was reeling as he saw one of the Gods, who had eight stars on its head, suddenly turn to look at him.

For some reason, this God's facial features seemed familiar. Naruto 's pupils constricted, and his mind rumbled as he realized… that it was the exact same God whose head made up the Vale of the Godgrave.

"God Curse…." murmured the 8-star God, killing intent flickering in his eyes. He suddenly veered out of the ranks of his fellows, bursting through the surrounding cultivators to head in Naruto 's direction. Naruto was some distance away, but because of the enormity of the God, it was almost impossible to see him clearly with one glance. For someone that huge, it only took one step to reach Naruto !

He strode across the entire starry sky to appear right in front of Naruto . A screaming sound could be heard, like a wild wind that caused heavenly bodies to tremble…. And that was merely the God raising its hand. Its index finger extended, causing powerful ripples to spread out in all directions as it pierced through the starry sky.

Rumbling sounds echoed out from the boundless destructive power emanating out from that enormous finger. It completely filled Naruto 's field of vision, cutting off the starry sky, cutting off the entire world.

An intense sensation of deadly crisis exploded up within Naruto , a sensation which seemed completely realistic. It didn't matter than Naruto had his Real-Unreal Hexing; to him, this felt absolutely real, and not false!

"But… that's impossible!" he thought. "What magical technique is this? This can't be real! This is an ancient war, and even if I was sent here somehow, it would be as an observer. My real body couldn't be here!" Naruto 's face flickered, but there was no time to consider the situation at length. As the finger closed in on him, he shot backward, unleashing the full power of his cultivation base and fleshly body.

Unfortunately, all of that was useless!

In the critical moment, Naruto then performed an incantation gesture and unleashed Demon Sealing Hexing magic!

He didn't utilize all of the Hexes, but rather… the most powerful… Third Hex!

Present-Ancient Hexing!

The Dao of Time was unleashed, causing Naruto 's body to blur. He suddenly seemed to fade into the river of time, and the incoming finger passed through him.

A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth. He felt himself weakening to the point where he was about to collapse into pieces. However, the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation helped him recover, and he fell back at top speed, eyes glittering.

"It's real, and also not real… illusory, and yet not illusory. It's a dreamscape! If you die in a dream, you can die in real life!" Having received inspiration in the nick of time, he suddenly extended his hand. Without any hesitation, he performed an incantation gesture to unleash Karmic Hexing, then touched his own forehead.

Instantly, his Karma Threads appeared. Among the hosts of threads, he found one that looked different than the rest, the one that had appeared after absorbing the God blood, the Karma Thread connecting him to this God!

The God might be dead, but because of the connection of this Karma, he was still able to unleash his Daoist magic.

Naruto grabbed ahold of the Karma Thread, and was just about to rip it apart, when the God suddenly looked at him. He had no time to attack, so instead, he opened his mouth and roared in Naruto 's direction!

The roar of a God!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The roar shattered everything between the God and Naruto . An incredible power of extermination roared toward him, inundating him. In that same moment, Naruto snapped the Karma Thread.

RUMBLE!

Everything went dark. Time passed. Eventually, things grew clear again, and Naruto was no longer in that ancient starry sky. He was back in the Vale of the Godgrave.

The golden light in the eyes of the statue had faded away, and yet, an unyielding roar could be heard echoing about as the statue collapsed.

Naruto 's face darkened, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He was rapidly recovering, but even simply thinking about the danger he had just been in left him trembling.

"Not willing to let me steal the God blood huh…?" Naruto looked at the shattered statue, and could sense that the God blood which had been there before was now gone. That very blood was what had been used to fuel the divine ability which had transported him back to ancient times.

Naruto began to chuckle coldly, then waved his sleeve. Killing intent sprang up in his eyes.

"Well, even without the eighth drop of God blood, I can still… acquire a

Dao Sovereign fleshly body!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1332

Chapter 1332: Extinguishing the Sixth Lamp!

Naruto 's voice echoed out into the crumbling remains of the dimension. Because the region that held the eighth star had collapsed, the entire world was falling to pieces.

The land sank in, and an enraged roar filled the air. Lightning continued to crash constantly, as if the end of days had arrived.

As for Naruto , he floated there slowly in the air, neither touching the land nor rising high up into the sky. His hair floated around him, and his clothes rippled. At the same time, a bizarre light shone within his eyes.

"It's time to converge… the Chakra and blood that I built up when extinguishing my Soul Lamps!" He swished his sleeve, then tapped his right index finger onto his chest.

That motion seemed to open up a stoppered hole of Chakra and blood inside of him. Rumbling echoed out, along with a furious sea of Chakra and blood power that exploded out ferociously.

His physical frame, which was now hundreds of meters tall, looked even more majestic than before. At the same time, his fleshly body power rose rapidly. Although it didn't experience the same increase it had when absorbing God blood, it was still incredibly powerful.

His heart began to beat faster and faster. His bones became stronger and more resilient. His flesh and blood buzzed with power, and increasingly intense rumbling sounds filled him.

As of this moment, the level of his fleshly body increased yet again, passing into the mid 5-Essences level.

Naruto 's eyes flickered as he lifted up his right hand again, this time pressing down onto his forehead. Rumbling could be heard as the second wave of Chakra and blood hidden within him burst out, filling him completely and causing his fleshly body power to rocket up.

"Still not enough!" He performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then pressed down onto his dantian. Chakra and blood power erupted out, surging through him. He grew larger and larger; by now, he was nearly 1,800 meters tall, and was terrifying to behold.

By now, his fleshly body was in the late 5-Essences level.

"I still have two batches of reserve power to unleash," he said, eyes shining brightly. He had Chakra and blood built up from five extinguished Soul Lamps, and so far, had unleashed three of those batches. Now, it was without any hesitation that he performed an incantation gesture and pushed down on the top of his head.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and Naruto 's vision swam. At the same time, an incredible power of Chakra and blood exploded from the top of his head. As it filled his body, he threw his head back and howled. He grew taller, reaching 2,100 meters in height. He was trembling, his flesh and blood felt as if it would split apart, and his heart seemed to be on the verge of exploding.

Heaven and Earth twisted, and the air around him trembled as a violent aura expanded out.

As of this moment, Naruto 's fleshly body strength was equivalent to the peak of the 5-Essences level. He was only a step away… from being at the 6-Essences Dao Sovereign level!

Once that happened, and he combined his fleshly body power with that of his cultivation base, his explosive battle prowess would put him at the peak of the Dao Sovereign level. Although he couldn't be considered half a step into the Paragon level, he would be very close to that!

"Last one!" he roared. Performing a double-handed incantation gesture, he simultaneously pushed down onto his chest and dantian. All of his power was unleashed, and it surged through him like an ocean.

He was now 2,400 meters tall. At the same time, his skin ripped and tore, causing blood to shower down. Pain blasted through him, and were it not for his incredible willpower, he would definitely be unable to endure.

He let out an intense howl as he reached 2,700 meters in height. The sensation of power that completely filled him left Naruto convinced that if he faced Lord White right now… he could defeat him with a single punch!

One punch could shake the starry sky. One punch could shatter heavenly bodies. One punch… could kill Mountain and Sea Lords!

Heaven and Earth were filled with rumbling sounds, and the dimension shook violently. Naruto could now sense… a Dao!

It was the Dao of power, a Dao of Heaven and Earth, something that he could just barely touch….

However, he was still in the 5-Essences level. He was able to sense that his fleshly body was still not in the 6-Essences level. Were it in the 6Essences level, he wouldn't just be touching that Dao, he would be holding it in the palm of his hand!

Only with power like that could he stand in the presence of a 7-Essences Paragon and be qualified to remain alive. In fact, he might even be able to strike fear into the heart of such a Paragon!

"I can't believe a 6-Essences fleshly body is so difficult to attain…. However, the words already left my mouth. I'm definitely going to acquire a peak Dao Sovereign fleshly body!"

RUMBLE!

As the Chakra and blood power coursed through him, Naruto 's body experienced continuous growth. By this point, he was fully… 2,997 meters tall!

It was a gap of only three meters, but that gap was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. That small gap of three meters would be as difficult to cross as the preceding 2,997 meters! 1

"Ancient Lamps, come forth!" Naruto eyes shone with a gleam of madness as he waved his sleeve, causing the air around him to vibrate as 33 Soul Lamps suddenly appeared.

5 were extinguished, 28 were burning. The light cast upon Naruto made him look like an Immortal Divinity. He swished his sleeve, eyes coming to rest on the 6th of the Soul Lamps.

"I've already passed the First of the Seven Desolations. Next is the Second Desolation, that of the fleshly body. I should be at the point of being able to extinguish this 6th lamp!" Eyes gleaming with determination, and not hesitating for even a moment, he waved his hand toward the 6th Soul Lamp.

"Extinguish!"

His divine will erupted, and rumbling sounds could be heard as the 6th Soul Lamp went out. Instantly, vast quantities of green smoke appeared, which Naruto instantly absorbed.

In the moment that the smoke entered his body, he began to shake. He suddenly felt as if his body were corroding. However, the intense withering sensation caused Naruto to smile.

There was pain, but he had experienced worse pain than this in the past.

Usually, the Seven Desolations were something that would be passed with extreme caution in secluded meditation, with a Dharma Protector on the outside. However, as he experienced the twinge of pain, Naruto became quite confident in being able to breeze through the first tribulation within the Second Desolation.

His fleshly body was so incredibly powerful that the Fleshly Body Desolation couldn't shake it at all. His body continued to corrode, and his marrow vanished. It was as if there were a black hole inside of him sucking away at him, causing him to constantly wither.

However, the withering didn't bother him at all.

By this point, the dimension around him was crumbling completely. The lands were shattered, Heaven and Earth destroyed. The Vale of the Godgrave was falling apart. Naruto took a deep breath; the withering of his flesh could do absolutely nothing to harm the power of his cultivation base and fleshly body. He reached his right hand out and made a grasping motion, grabbing onto Yuwen Jian. Then, he flickered into motion, crossing through the air to suddenly appear outside the Vale of the Godgrave, in the starry sky of the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

Almost as soon as he appeared outside, the power of tribulation rumbled down, which was none other than the fleshly body Dao Tribulation that came when one's fleshly body stepped into the Dao!

However, there was something strange about the tribulation. Because of the war between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the 1st Heaven, or perhaps because of the mere presence of the 1st Heaven, the Dao Realm Tribulation didn't come!

Naruto frowned, pondered the situation for a moment, but then put the matter aside. Because of his current fleshly body, transcending tribulation wouldn't be difficult for him anyway, not even with the Second Desolation inside of him.

Behind him, the altar that was the entrance to the Vale of the Godgrave cracked and then fell apart. The dimension which contained the Vale transformed into nothing more than ash.

Yuwen Jian was unconscious, but he pulsed with the aura of God blood.

Even more noteworthy was that his index finger was now different than it had been before, and contained terrifying fluctuations.

"So that is the good fortune he sought," Naruto thought. Looking away, he flicked his sleeve, vanishing along with Yuwen Jian. When he reappeared, he was back on Planet Tiger Cage. After delivering Yuwen Jian to the cultivators there, he left. With a final glance at the planet, he flashed out into the starry sky.

He could clearly sense the terrifying fleshly body power inside of him, which vastly exceeded what he could unleash before. As he traveled along through the starry sky, he clenched his hands into fists, and everything around him trembled as powerful ripples spread out.

"The Desolation will continue for a bit longer… then it will end." Based on Naruto 's current trajectory, it was obvious that his destination was the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

He had a burning desire to see Hinata. After he did, he would then attempt to accomplish something that would rock the Mountain and Sea Realm, as well as all of the 33 Heavens!

If he succeeded, the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Realm would rise, and his name would spread throughout the 33 Heavens. Then, everyone would know that in the Mountain and Sea Realm, there was a cultivator named… Naruto !

He looked up into the starry sky, then proceeded along, a beam of brilliant light that shot off into the distance. Soon, he was closing in on the barrier that separated the Seventh and Sixth Mountains and Seas. To Naruto , that barrier wasn't even worth mentioning. He pierced through, almost immediately finding an exit, which he blasted through to enter the Sixth Mountain and Sea.

This was his first time in the Sixth Mountain and Sea, and although he was not familiar with the place, there was definitely an aura here that was very familiar. That was… the aura of Outsiders!

Similar to the Seventh Mountain and Sea, the Sixth Mountain and Sea had been almost fully occupied by the Outsiders.

As he entered this Mountain and Sea, Naruto 's body withered up even more, and he looked even more gaunt. However, his battle prowess was no less than before, and in fact, was increasing. The end of the Desolation was approaching!

When that happened, his fleshly body power would erupt, and he would fully enter the Dao Sovereign fleshly body level!

By now, he wasn't even paying attention to the Desolation. He sent his divine sense out into the starry sky, and could almost immediately detect countless black cubes. There was still fighting going on here, most especially in one particular region, where a truly bizarre conflict was underway.

There could be seen a middle-aged man in a long violet robe. A shield of red light swirled around him, and his eyes were closed. His face was pale, as if he had been seriously injured, and he sat there cross-legged and completely motionless.

Outside of the shield which protected him was an Outsider, who was currently attempting to break down the shield. Assisting the Outsider was an old man. The old man's expression was tranquil, but when he looked at the other man inside the shield, his eyes flickered with avarice.

Naruto recognized this Outsider. It was one of the incarnations of that Outsider Dao Sovereign!

And this version was clearly a clone!

As for the old man assisting him, he was emanating a remnant of the power of the Mountains and Seas, ensuring that Naruto could instantly identify him.

This man was a traitor, just like Lord White had been. He was… the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea!

2997 meters is 999 zhang. The final gap is only 1 zhang ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1333

Chapter 1333: Was I So Wrong?

The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea looked at the violet-robed man behind the shield and coolly said, "Lord Wu, you must surely know you can't succeed. Why keep trying?" 1

Off to the side, the Outsider Dao Sovereign's clone smiled, and a flicker of derision appeared in his eyes.

The violet-robed man inside the shield, Lord Wu, didn't respond. His eyes were tightly shut, and his face was pale white. Based on the cultivation base power swirling within him, he was obviously trying to achieve a breakthrough.

Earlier, he had been fighting with the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and

Sea, and the two of them were evenly matched. But then the Outsider Dao Sovereign's clone suddenly appeared and, when he joined forces with the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea, they were just too powerful. Lord Wu had been forced to put his own status as Lord of the Fifth Mountain and Sea on the line; he had shattered his Mountain and Sea crown to create the shield which was currently keeping him safe. Then he took advantage of the brief respite from the fighting to attempt to force a breakthrough.

He knew that the only way to be able to continue fighting would be to break through from the 5-Essences level to 6-Essences. If he couldn't… then the Mountain and Sea shield he created would eventually fail, and he would be at their mercy.

Now that he was inside the shield, he had few options. In fact, he was trapped, and the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea and the Outsider Dao Sovereign clone had far too many methods of slowly refining him.

In fact, that was exactly what they were doing right now. Black flames emanated off of the clone, surrounding the shield. The raging inferno caused cracking sounds to ring out; Lord Wu was slowly being refined into a medicinal pill.

The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea laughed. "You might have destroyed your Mountain and Sea crown, but you're still a Mountain and Sea Lord. After refining you into a Mountain and Sea pill, I'll consume you and once again be able to wield the power of the Mountains and Seas!"

As soon as the 1st Heaven descended, he had been stripped of his status as a Mountain and Sea Lord. However, if he could consume Lord Wu, then he would once again be able to unleash Mountain and Sea power!

When Lord Wu continued to ignore him, the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea gave a cold snort. "Stubborn fool!"

Lord Wu's eyes snapped open, and he glowered at the old man. "I might be a stubborn fool, but that's better than being like you… a traitor to the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

During the course of their battle, it had become clear that the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea was not an Outsider, but rather, was a cultivator of the Mountains and Seas!

When the Lord White of the Seventh Mountain and Sea defected, that was a completely different matter. He was an Outsider in disguise, who had plotted and schemed his way into his position. The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea, however, was a complete and utter traitor!

"Traitor?" The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea stood there quietly for a moment, then threw his head back and laughed. It was a sinister laugh, filled with madness and obsession. "That's right, I am a traitor. So what?!

"Considering my latent talent and good fortune, if I hadn't been born in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and hadn't been held back by my status and bloodline, then I could have long since stepped into the 6-Essences level. In fact, I might even be a Paragon!

"I've practiced cultivation for 33,000 years. I'm a Mountain and Sea Lord at the peak of the 5-Essences level. Yet what does that get me?

"The Mountain and Sea Realm is sealed by the 33 Heavens, cursed. Held back! The highest cultivation base is the peak of the 5-Essences level. Was turning traitor for the purposes of increasing my cultivation base really so wrong?

"Cultivators practice cultivation for themselves. Who cares about one's family and one's people? Everything can be cast aside in the pursuit of a great Dao. To further my cultivation, I cast off all past Karmic ties!

"Besides, the Mountain and Sea Realm… can't possibly win this war. A wise man submits to the circumstances. Can you really find fault with my choice?" As the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea spoke, his voice grew louder and louder until he was shouting. It was almost as if he wasn't speaking to the violet-robed Lord Wu, but rather, himself.

The Outsider clone stood off to the side, laughing, and the scorn in his eyes grew deeper. Apparently, that scorn was directed, not just at Lord Wu, but also at the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea.

The Lord Wu looked at the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea, the pain in his heart visible on his face. "With our home gone and our people gone," he said, "what is the point of existing?"

He had known the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea for ten thousand years, and had considered him a close friend. And yet, this was how things were ending.

"You say we're sealed, and that's true," he continued, "but that doesn't mean we're without options. Look at Ksitigarbha! He's the perfect example!"

"Ksitigarbha? He controls reincarnation. The Fourth Mountain is unique. That's the only way he can sidestep the sealing of the 33 Heavens, by means of the power of reincarnation. Considering he has his own Dao, he can even step into the Daosource!

"In all of the Mountain and Sea Realm, who can do that besides him?

Nobody! Not a single person can step into the true Dao Sovereign level!

"Well, there are those old-timers, but their Chakra and blood is on the decline, and they can only explode with power by harming their longevity. What good is that?!

"As for me, I will leave the Mountain and Sea Realm. I will become a cultivator of the 33 Heavens. I might lose my position and my freedom, but… at least I will have a great Dao!

"It won't take long. In a few thousand years, when the Mountain and Sea

Realm is gone, I will still be here. At the very least, I'll be a true Dao Sovereign, but if luck is with me, I might be a Paragon! I will definitely have an important place in the 33 Heavens!" The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea began to laugh loudly.

Lord Wu could only look on bitterly. No matter how rapidly his cultivation base rotated, the gap separating him from the 6-Essences level was too great.

Actually, this was not the first time he had faced such a situation. It was over 10,000 years ago that he had first reached the point of being able to break through. However, despite trying on multiple occasions to do so, he had always failed.

Even now, when everything was at stake, when he was stuck in a corner, he was still unable to force his cultivation base past that point. The sealing of the 33 Heavens was always there, radiating invisible pressure, which of course was why they were so arrogant.

The Outsider clone laughed heartily, a laughter filled with cruelty and scorn. He loved being able to watch two Mountain and Sea Lords in such a mutually destructive scenario. One had turned traitor, the other was trying to break through. He just loved it!

In the past, Immortals had always seemed so aloof and remote. But now, he could cause them to live or die on a whim. It was a wonderful feeling, and he couldn't get enough of it.

Laughing, the Outsider Dao Sovereign's clone turned to the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea and said, "All cultivators who capitulate to the 33 Heavens will be qualified to make cultivation base breakthroughs. Fellow Daoist Cang, perhaps it won't be too long before you're on equal footing with me. 2

"Finish refining this man and then consume the resulting Mountain and Sea pill. Help us to wipe out the rest of the Mountain and Sea Lords. That will earn you quite a bit of merit."

The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea, Lord Cang, took a deep breath. Then, it was with excitement and other mixed emotions that he clasped hands and bowed to the Outsider.

More cracking sounds could be heard as rips and tears spread out across Lord Wu's shield. He then began to laugh bitterly as he realized that he had failed once again.

"Like I said, there is no way you can succeed," Lord Cang said coldly. "What a stubborn fool. Other than Ksitigarbha, nobody in the Mountain and Sea Realm can become a true Dao Sovereign!" With that, he swished his sleeve, apparently ready to begin consuming Lord Wu.

However, even as the words he had just spoken continued to echo out, a cold voice suddenly spread through the starry sky.

"You think that Ksitigarbha is the only one who can become a true Dao Sovereign?"

The voice came as a complete surprise to Lord Cang, and even the Outsider clone, neither of whom had sensed anyone approaching. The Outsider Dao Sovereign's jaw dropped, and he turned his head.

Lord Cang's eyes went wide. Cultivation base rumbling, he spun around.

Even Lord Wu suddenly looked up.

The gazes of all three immediately locked onto a figure who was approaching through the starry sky.

It was a handsome young man in a long green robe, with flowing hair. He almost didn't look like a cultivator, but rather, a scholar. In fact, if he were wearing a scholar's traveling case, people would most likely think he was on his way to the Imperial examinations.

It was none other than Naruto !

As he approached, no ripples spread out into the starry sky. And yet, naturals laws were wiped clean as he passed, and an indescribable pressure radiated off of him.

He almost seemed like an enormous ocean, backed by huge waves which could crush down on anything.

The first one to recognize him was the Outsider Dao Sovereign, whose face flickered as he said, " Naruto !"

In the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, the only person he feared, other than Paragon Sea Dream and Ksitigarbha… was this very person. Naruto !

Back on the Eighth Mountain, one of his other clones had been killed by the combined efforts of Naruto and the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

As for Lord Cang, this was his first time ever laying eyes onto Naruto .

After sensing the fluctuations of Naruto 's cultivation base, his eyes narrowed. "Peak of 5-Essences?"

Although Naruto was not a Mountain and Sea Lord, he still had the power of the Mountains and Seas on him. And despite his lack of Essences, Lord Cang's senses were telling him that Naruto was at the peak of 5-Essences.

In the moment that Naruto appeared, the Outsider's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he could sense the towering murderous aura emanating off of him.

It was a murderous aura that no one else would be able to detect, a murderous aura that came into being because of… Outsiders!

The only way someone could emanate such a murderous aura was… to kill countless numbers of Outsiders!

"Are you looking to die!?" the clone said. Leaping into action, he performed an incantation gesture, sending a black sea of flames out, filled with Essence power. It became a huge black flame python, which lunged toward Naruto , maw gaping wide.

"If you were here in your true form, I might be worried," Naruto said coolly. "But you're just a clone. You think you can stand in my way?" With that, he waved his arm.

It was a casual gesture, but when his cultivation base rotated and his fleshly body power was unleashed, shockwaves spread out into the starry sky. The huge flame python seemed to slam into an invisible obstacle; it let out a miserable shriek and then completely exploded.

The clone's face fell, and his heart began to thump. However, he didn't back down. Instead, he flickered into motion, the scales on his body rising up and transforming into a windstorm. Lightning crackled and danced, thunder boomed, wind screamed, and rain went wild. A sea of flames roared up, and the power of emptiness raged, causing his body to turn illusory and merge with the powerful, killing attack.

The power of wind, rain, thunder, and lightning transformed into four vicious dragons. At the same time, the black flames turned into a face which shook the starry sky as it bore down on Naruto .

Lord Wu's surname is a character which, although a real Chinese surname, also means "wizard." Incidentally, this is the only time that he is actually referred to by name in these next few chapters. The rest of the time he is referred to as "the violet-robed man" or "Lord of the Fifth Mountain and Sea." Er Gen does this pretty often with minor characters.

In order to make the narrative flow a bit more smoothly, I'm going to use Lord Wu in most places, instead of the other two ways of referring to him. ↩ Lord Cang's surname is a real Chinese surname which can also mean "blue-green" or "cold." This is also the only time he is referred to by name, but to make things smoother I'm going to do the same thing with him as with Lord Wu. (see above footnote) ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1334

Chapter 1334: Dao Sovereign!

Lord Cang could sense the pressure radiating off of Naruto . This was also the first time he had ever seen this Outsider Dao Sovereign clone act in such a way. Therefore, he immediately joined him in the attack.

His heart was thumping; he knew that he couldn't afford to underestimate Naruto , who left him in complete fear and trepidation.

Without the slightest hesitation, he performed an incantation gesture, causing Essence power to erupt out. All five of his Essences were unleashed, the most powerful being the last, the Essence of light!

What was drawn upon was not the brightness of light, but rather, the speed of light! As the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea, what he had always excelled in was speed!

He closed in rapidly, waving his hand, causing his Essences to transform into divine abilities. Colors flashed in the sky, the stars trembled, and an enormous Essence hand appeared, which grabbed at Naruto .

Both he and the Outsider were holding nothing back in their attack upon

Naruto . They even used magical items. As for the Outsider Dao Sovereign, each and every one of his scales was just such a magical item, filled with shocking power that, when combined, could destroy heavenly bodies.

The former Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea had magical items in the form of two pearls, both of which were crimson. They swirled around him, transforming into two red meteors that shot forth, emanating incredible pressure.

Rumbling echoed out as these two powerful experts simultaneously tried to kill Naruto . Meanwhile, Lord Wu sat anxiously behind his shield.

However, Naruto 's expression never changed from its usual calmness. He eyed the two approaching enemies, then smiled. All of a sudden, he found himself thinking about how he had entered that ancient illusory world within the Vale of the Godgrave, and had seen that enormous God, who had roared at him in fury.

"The roar of a God…." he murmured softly. As the Outsider and the old man closed in, his eyes suddenly shone with a strange gleam, and he opened his mouth. All of a sudden, the power of his fleshly body exploded out, unimpeded by either the Second Desolation or the power raging from the extinguishing of his Soul Lamp.

ROOOAARRRR!

A mighty roar erupted from Naruto 's mouth. However, no sound could be heard. Apparently… his voice was too loud for there to be sound, so loud that no natural law could affect or resist it. The starry sky shattered, and the Heavens seemed to be on the verge of vanishing. In fact… this sound completely exceeded the level that could be heard by either cultivators or Outsiders.

A shockwave ripped out, shredding the void as Naruto let out a roar that originated in ancient times, but echoed out in the present.

In the blink of an eye, innumerable ripples appeared, distorting the void in front of him, transforming into a tempest that sent everything shaking as it slammed into the Outsider Dao Sovereign and the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The Outsider clone coughed up a mouthful of blood. He felt as if he were about to be ripped apart, and he screamed. However, that scream was completely drowned out by the powerful roar, forcing him to revert to his lizard form, which was thousands of meters long. That was the only way he could make a stand, and yet, he was still shoved backward relentlessly.

As for Lord Cang, he was even less equipped to deal with the roar. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his flesh and blood were instantly mangled, to the extent that his legs were shredded to pieces. Even the bones were transformed into nothing but ash.

It was only thanks to the incredible speed with which he retreated that he was able to escape as he did. Had he been any slower, he would have lost more than only his legs.

Violet-robed Lord Wu sat behind the shield, mind spinning, eyes wide. He could do nothing but stare at the valiant and terrifying Naruto , at the utterly bedraggled Lord Cang, and at the wretched Outsider Dao Sovereign clone.

It was also in this moment that the clone's magical items, the scales, all cracked and shattered into ash, completely destroyed.

The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea's two pearls were also shattered, and transformed into a red powder that instantly faded away.

"6-Essences… Dao Sovereign!" The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea felt his mind spinning. All thoughts of his injuries faded away, and he didn't even notice his magical items being destroyed. His mind was battered by enormous waves of shock as he stared at Naruto .

He simply couldn't imagine how any cultivator could unleash such shocking and terrifying power unless they were a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign.

As he shook, he couldn't help but recall the words he had just spoken about 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns. And yet, here he was facing just such a person!

"This is impossible. Impossible! The Mountain and Sea Realm is sealed. Ksitigarbha used the power of reincarnation to bypass the seal, but other than him, nobody can break through it…."

The Outsider clone was also trembling as he looked at Naruto , his eyes flickering with terror. He was even considering whether or not he would have the confidence to take down Naruto with his true form.

Such power was virtually unimaginable. Compared to what he remembered of Naruto back in their encounter in the Eighth Mountain… he was now at least ten times more powerful.

"How could this be possible!?"

Even as these three powerful figures were reeling in shock, Naruto 's face suddenly went pale, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood, not because he was injured, but rather, because the Second Desolation tribulation had reached a critical point, and was about to conclude. Once it concluded, his fleshly body… would truly enter the 6-Essences Dao Sovereign level!

It seemed that his attack just now had drawn on his fleshly body's power, thus giving the Second Desolation an exploitable opening. However, Naruto didn't care. His fleshly body was so powerful that he could still control the tribulation even when attacking. Not even the power of extermination from his sixth Soul Lamp's Desolation could cause much of a problem.

"Sorry, I'm not a Dao Sovereign yet," Naruto said coolly.

In that moment, the Outsider Dao Sovereign's eyes flickered. "He's injured! Attacking like that actually injured him. If we keep going, we can worsen the injuries! He will die today!"

The former Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea had been in a state of despair, and had lost the will to fight. However, after seeing Naruto cough up some blood, his eyes flickered, and hope once again burned inside of him. Without any hesitation, he shot forth in attack.

Lord Wu of the Fifth Mountain and Sea suddenly let out a powerful roar as he attempted to break out of the shield to assist Naruto .

However, it was in that moment that Naruto smiled coldly. Instead of backing up, he took a step forward, clenching his right hand and unleashing a fist strike upon the Outsider clone.

Rumbling could be heard as the Life-Extermination Fist sucked up the life force of everything in the area, then slammed into the Outsider, who then tumbled backward, his body on the verge of collapsing.

Naruto licked his lips in anticipation. Because of how he had just unleashed his fleshly body power, the Desolation inside of him once again surged. However, a mere thought on his part suppressed it down to almost nothing.

"It's almost over," he said. Laughing, he turned, flexing his hand as he suddenly appeared in the path of Lord Cang.

The old man's expression flickered, and his eyes went wide. He had no time to unleash a divine ability, nor any time to fall back. Biting his tongue, he spit out some blood, which transformed into a blood mist. Inside that mist could be seen countless vengeful spirits which screamed as they charged Naruto .

However, Naruto 's fist passed right through them, almost as if it existed in a different time and space. Filled with a will of Bedevilment, the fist appeared directly in front of Lord Cang.

With one fist, Heaven and Earth were shattered!

The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea's entire body exploded, leaving behind only his head, which let out a miserable howl as it fled in the opposite direction.

"I'll let you live for the moment," Naruto said softly. "I want you to see for yourself that in the Mountain and Sea Realm… it's not impossible to become a Dao Sovereign!" With that, he looked up into the sky, then raised both hands aloft, as if he wished to embrace the stars.

Then he took a deep breath, causing a wind to kick up, and the entire Mountain and Sea Realm to tremble!

It was in that moment that the very last scrap of the Second Desolation faded away. Naruto had completely extinguished his 6th Soul Lamp, pushing his flesh and blood into that last, final step.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

Naruto began to grow larger. 30 meters. 300 meters. 600 meters!

900 meters. 1,200 meters. 1,500 meters….

Massive rumbling sounds could be heard. The majesty of what was happening caused Lord Cang to be rendered completely speechless, and the mind of the Outsider Dao Sovereign to reel in shock.

The entire Mountain and Sea Realm was shaking, as if it were bearing witness to something that hadn't happened for countless years. The appearance… of a second true Dao Sovereign!

It might only be a fleshly body Dao Sovereign, but that was a Dao Sovereign nonetheless!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

Naruto rapidly increased in height. 1,800 meters. 2,100 meters. 2,400 meters. 2,700 meters!

It kept going and going. As he grew larger, his aura rocketed up, filling the Sixth Mountain and Sea and even stretching out into the adjacent Mountains and Seas.

As of this moment, the Nine Mountains were shaking!

As of this moment, the sun, moon, and other heavenly bodies were shining radiantly!

As of this moment Naruto was rising from 2,700 meters all the way to 2,790 meters! Then 2,910 meters! Then 2,997 meters… only three more meters!

3,000 meters!

3,000 meters. The true Dao Sovereign level!

It was in that moment that the nine Xuanwu turtles all began to howl. The will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, which had spread out to fill the entire starry sky, began to stir. Everyone who was fighting in the war, regardless of which side they were on, could sense that something consummately powerful was in the Sixth Mountain and Sea!

"From now on, I, Naruto , am a true Dao Sovereign!" Although Naruto spoke softly, his voice cracked like thunder. He stood there, 3,000 meters tall, skin covered with magical symbols, radiating infinite power!

He clenched his fists, almost as if… he were grabbing onto the starry sky, grabbing onto… destiny!

Grabbing onto Heaven and Earth!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1335

Chapter 1335 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1335: Hinata, I'm here!

The Nine Mountains and Seas were shaking. The nine Xuanwu turtles in their celestial ponds were howling, and the will of the Mountains and Seas, which had formerly been spread out in all parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm, was now converging upon Naruto !

At the apex of the starry sky were two figures locked in combat. One of them wore white robes, and was none other than Paragon Sea Dream. Her face was ashen, but as she performed her incantation gestures, shocking, explosive power was unleashed upon her opponent, the Outsider, 7-Essences Paragon Eegoo.

Even after all the time that had passed, they were still fighting!

However, as soon as Naruto 's entered the true fleshly body Dao Sovereign level, Sea Dream's eyes began to shine with a strange light. As for Paragon Eegoo, his face completely fell.

"This is impossible! Ksitigarbha was able to break through because of his mastery over reincarnation. But Naruto , he…. Dammit! He's Nine

Seals' successor! The future Lord of the Mountains and Seas!"

"Oh, you didn't know?" Sea Dream said coolly, preventing the Outsider Paragon from breaking free of combat.

At the same time, back in the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Hinata was there, coordinating a deadly counteroffensive against the Outsiders. All of a sudden, her heart trembled, and she looked in the direction of the Sixth Mountain and Sea. After a moment, a warm smile broke out on her face.

There was another battlefield in the Fourth Mountain and Sea, where a spectacular, astonishing fight was underway between Ksitigarbha and the 1st Heaven's Imperial Lord!

That Imperial Lord's cultivation base was clearly the most powerful of anyone except for the Paragons, being at the peak of the 6-Essences level. He was half a step into the Paragon level, and yet Ksitigarbha was also completely extraordinary. The wave of his hand could cause numerous underworld palaces to descend. His incantation gestures unleashed the mighty power of reincarnation. The Yellow Springs which flowed beneath his feet made it seem as if he could control all life or death.

He was able to fight the Imperial Lord on equal footing, although that was mostly because of his control of external forces, and because he had the home field advantage. Even still, it was obvious why for countless years Ksitigarbha had been known as the most powerful person in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

As of this moment, Ksitigarbha could also sense Naruto 's explosive Dao Sovereign energy coming from the Sixth Mountain and Sea. Even as the Outsider Imperial Lord's face flickered, Ksitigarbha's eyes gleamed, and he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

It had been years since he had noticed how extraordinary Naruto was, and at that time he had chosen to sow good will with him. He had taken Hinata as his last and final apprentice, and she had not let him down. In the end, she had proven to be a rare genius when it came to strategy and tactics, and had been appointed as the commanding general of the entire Fourth Mountain and Sea. And then Naruto had gone and become a true Dao Sovereign.

Ksitigarbha's boisterous laughter made the Imperial Lord's mood sink even further.

Meanwhile, back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, on Planet South Heaven, Shui Dongliu was still standing on that mountaintop. Suddenly, he turned his head in the direction of the Sixth Mountain and Sea, and a smile broke out on his face.

"At long last the day has arrived. Dao Sovereign fleshly body…. Perhaps there is hope in this Mountain and Sea Realm war after all…." Sighing, he flicked his sleeve. "Mountain and Sea Realm, begin analysis and replication!

"What a pity nothing like this happened back in the first war. If it had, perhaps the Paragon Immortal Realm would not have been defeated so tragically…."

Back in the Sixth Mountain and Sea, the 3,000-meter-tall Naruto threw his head back and roared. Mountain and Sea power descended, filled with will of the Mountains and Seas, which swirled around Naruto and then bored into him.

It was probing him, analyzing him, a sensation which Naruto found very strange, and yet did not interfere with. Instead, he simply looked down at Lord Cang of the Sixth Mountain and Sea and the Outsider Dao Sovereign clone.

The clone's face was ashen, and his scalp was tingling. Without the slightest hesitation, he began to fade away in escape. He knew that he was no match for Naruto now. Naruto 's terrifying power left him in complete despair.

"Dao Sovereign fleshly body. Dammit! That's even more difficult to attain than a Dao Sovereign cultivation base. How… how did he do this?

Wait. There's God blood aura. He absorbed God blood!" The clone was almost gone. Trembling, he realized that even if he were here in his true form, he still wouldn't be a match for Naruto .

After all, Naruto 's full power wasn't just reliant on a powerful fleshly body. His cultivation base, his magical techniques and divine abilities, all of them were terrifying.

However, just when the clone thought he was about to escape, Uzumaki

Hao's eyes flickered, and he raised his right hand in a grasping motion. A rumbling sound could be heard as the void around the clone shattered and caved in, as if a giant, invisible hand were crushing him!

" Naruto , the 33 Heavens will exterminate your entire clan! We'll wipe out everyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm!" A miserable shriek rang out, filled with unending hatred, as the Outsider Dao Sovereign clone was completely obliterated.

Naruto ignored his cries, turning instead to look at Lord Cang.

"Dao Sovereign…." the man said bitterly. He had a hard time even uttering the words, considering what he himself had said just moments ago, that it would be impossible for another Dao Sovereign to appear in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

And yet, right now he was standing directly in front of none other than a Dao Sovereign.

He suddenly felt completely at a loss. For the sake of his own cultivation base, he had betrayed his home and his people. And now, that all seemed… like a mistake.

In his bitterness, Lord Cang closed his eyes and asked himself if everything he had done had been worth it. No answer came.

In almost the same moment that he closed his eyes, Naruto extended his right hand and waved his finger toward the head that was all which remained of Lord Cang. A boom echoed out as that head was crushed out of existence. The Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea was completely and utterly dead.

Off to the side, Lord Wu emerged from within the shield. It was with mixed emotions that he watched Lord Cang die. Finally, he sighed.

"What a waste…." he said, shaking his head. Then he looked at Naruto , clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"I am the Lord of the Fifth Mountain and Sea. Greetings… exalted Dao Sovereign!"

Just when Naruto was about to respond, he said, "Eee?"

He suddenly realized that the will of the Mountains and Seas had ceased to suppress the invading Outsiders, and instead was completely focusing on him.

It was as if the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm was inside of him… replicating his fleshly body!

It wasn't a complete and perfect copy, but rather, about eighty percent pure. When it was finished, it dispersed, then once again spread out to cover the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. Suddenly, each and every cultivator of the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly… began to experience fleshly body transformations!

In that brief instant, all of the cultivators' fleshly bodies experienced a complete redoubling of power!

It didn't matter the level of their cultivation base or fleshly body. This advancement had nothing to do with their own power. It was a blessing from the Mountain and Sea Realm, like a massive field of influence, within which all the cultivators' fleshly bodies were completely changed!

The characteristics of Naruto 's fleshly body were now being passed on to all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

As of that moment, the countless cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm on the numerous battlefields suddenly gaped in shock. They could sense the sudden change, and were instantly enlivened.

Even Lord Wu, who was standing directly in front of Naruto , suddenly trembled as the blessing strengthened him too.

"Is that the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm?!" Naruto thought. A tremor ran through him, and as for Lord Wu, he stood there gaping for a moment before excitement rose up in his heart.

Naruto was equally excited. He knew that this transformation was the key, not just to fighting this first battle with the 33 Heavens, but also the final war with the two foreign powers.

"Am I the only one who can do this? Is it because I'm the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm? Or because I'm the successor of Paragon Nine Seals? Or… is it because of my Allheaven Dao Immortal blood?" Naruto 's eyes glittered. There was no immediate explanation. Looking down at Lord Wu, he clasped hands, then slowly shrank in size back to that of an ordinary person.

They did not spend time in idle chatter. Lord Wu immediately headed to the nearest front of battle. As a Mountain and Sea Lord, he had his own important responsibilities. Naruto also had his own matters to attend to, and transformed into a beam of colorful light that shot off into the distance.

He sped along toward the Fifth Mountain and Sea, unobstructed. He could pass through the barriers between Mountains and Seas even when he was in the midst of the Desolation tribulation. There was no need to even mention what he could do now that he had a Dao Sovereign fleshly body. Within the Mountain and Sea Realm, his fleshly body was definitely at the absolute peak!

A single step took him through the barrier, and he appeared in the Fifth Mountain and Sea, where bitter fighting was underway. However, because of the blessing bestowed by the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, which came from Naruto 's Dao Sovereign fleshly body, the gap between the Outsider cultivators and the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm was ever shrinking.

Naruto could tell that with his current fleshly body power, he could crush and ignore natural law. He could alter the starry sky and even bend space and time.

"So this is what a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign is like, huh…." he murmured. "One Essence beyond this is the Paragon level." It was as if his own body were a starry sky, with his organs being the heavenly bodies. It was like an endless cycle.

It was as if, even if Heaven and Earth were to be destroyed, he would not be!

It was as if, even if Heaven and Earth were to wither away, he would not!

Stepping into 6-Essences made one's longevity equal to the Heavens!

Stepping into the true Dao Sovereign level made you incomparable!

Naruto didn't tarry in the Fifth Mountain and Sea. He sped along, and was soon nearing the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

As the barrier approached, his mood rose and fell constantly. At long last… he was approaching the Fourth Mountain and Sea. At long last… he would be able to see Hinata again.

Back when everything started, when he left the Ninth Mountain and Sea, how could he ever have imagined that the road would stretch to this extent? War had begun, the 1st Heaven had descended, and the Mountain and Sea Realm had been thrown into chaos.

At the same time, he could never have imagined that with fleshly body power like this, he would be able to traverse the Nine Mountains and Seas as easily as if he were walking across the courtyard of his residence.

"Hinata, I'm here…." he murmured. A single step, and he was across the barrier. He was in… the Fourth Mountain and Sea!

Chapter 1335: Hinata, I'm here!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1336

Chapter 1336: Reuniting As Planned

The Fourth Mountain and Sea controlled the cycle of reincarnation in the Mountains and Seas. Everyone who died in the Mountain and Sea Realm would enter the Yellow Springs, which became the river of reincarnation that led to the Fourth Mountain and Sea. There, the newly arrived spirits would be guided into the cycle of reincarnation, where they would eventually find a new home.

There were many myths and legends regarding the Fourth Mountain and Sea. It was a mysterious place, one that most people could never fully comprehend. The only thing most people knew was that the Mountain and Sea Realm's peak expert resided there.

His name was Ksitigarbha!

He was the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea. He controlled the underworld, and he controlled reincarnation. Even among Mountain and Sea Lords, he held a preeminent position. And that was because essentially… he controlled the lives of everyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The Fourth Mountain and Sea was an important node which allowed the Realm to form a complete cycle.

This was Naruto 's first time coming to the Fourth Mountain and Sea, and as soon as he entered, he could sense a very faint, and yet very pure, aura of death.

Or perhaps it would be better to say that it was not an aura of death, but an aura of Yin.

At first glance, nothing seemed out of the ordinary. The starry sky and the vast expanse seemed the same, and yet if you looked closely, you would see that the whole world appeared to be gray.

Naruto looked around silently, then sent his divine sense spreading out to cover the entire Fourth Mountain and Sea. However, there was one region in particular in which two powerful beings were fighting bitterly.

That was the location where Ksitigarbha was fighting the Outsider Imperial Lord. Naruto 's divine sense immediately provoked a reaction from both of them. As for the Outsider Imperial Lord, he reacted with rage, and he clearly wished to break free from the fight to try to slaughter Naruto .

However, Ksitigarbha prevented that. Furthermore, he spoke in a completely calm tone that brimmed with self-confidence.

"So, you're Naruto !" the Outsider said.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki," came the voice of Ksitigarbha, "I can handle this Outsider!"

Naruto smiled. When war descended, flowers would bloom on all parts of the tree, not just on one branch.

Furthermore, one person alone could not change the entire war. No, that required a group effort.

Naruto clasped hands and bowed toward Ksitigarbha, then focused his divine sense on where the cultivators of the Fourth Mountain and Sea were battling the Outsiders.

Millions of Outsiders could be seen, as well as millions of cultivators from the Fourth Mountain and Sea. What was being fought was a spectacular and unprecedented battle.

Naruto saw Hinata there, surrounded by rings of guards. She hadn't been injured in the slightest, and in fact, was constantly sending orders out to all parts of the battlefield. Because of that, the cultivators of the Fourth Mountain and Sea occupied the clear advantage on this front.

Although he was a vast distance away from Hinata, when Naruto looked at her, she could sense it. She turned her head and looked off into the distance, and somehow, her gaze met his.

In that moment, Naruto 's heart trembled. As he looked at Hinata, numerous memories rose up within him. There was the time on Mount Daqing, when they had met for the first time. Then the time in the

Reliance Sect when he had given her the Cosmetic Cultivation Pill. In the Black Sieve Sect's ancient Blessed Land, he had found her, trembling and helpless.

Outside of the Black Lands, where Choumen Tai had descended from the sky, the two of them had killed the Ji Clan Quasi-Array cultivator, and when they parted, tears had welled up in her eyes.

Naruto would never forget any of those things.

In the Rebirth Cave, when he was dying, Hinata took care of him, even sacrificing her own life force for him, all to give him a chance at another life. Even if her own soul dispersed, she was willing to pay that price for him. She even allowed herself to be imprisoned in the Black Sieve Sect.

During their Red Wedding, Naruto held her in his arms, watching her fade away. He cradled her as she passed into death, and the entire time, she only cared about her dream of marrying him.

Naruto trembled as the memories flitted through his mind like wind and lightning, causing his whole world to shake.

He had come to keep his promise. He had come! 1

He had promised to find her, even if he had to travel to the furthest reaches of the Mountain and Sea Realm. No matter what dangers he faced, he would find her and would once again stand at her side.

She promised to wait for him. If a life or a lifetime was not enough, then she would wait for him through all lives and lifetimes.

Other than his parents and sister, there was no one in his life for whom he would do so much. There was no woman whom he would worry so much about, nor anyone that could occupy such an eternal place within his heart.

Although he didn't realize it at the time, back on Mount Daqing, when he saw her, the desire had already been planted within his heart… to be with her forever, through all lives and lifetimes.

Elder Sister Xu….

She was not spectacularly beautiful, but in Naruto 's eyes, in his world, she was the most beautiful thing in Heaven and Earth. She didn't have a complicated heart, and the source of that was not any lack of intelligence, but rather, the fact that she liked things to be simple. And so did he. When he was most tired, most exhausted, simplicity was a quiet harbor within which to rest his soul.

Her smile, her voice, her eyes, everything about her, were firmly rooted in his heart, and made him smile.

"I know in my heart that the person I fell in love with is not just a fond memory, but you," he murmured. "The real you. I know… that I love you." With that, he took a step forward.

Unbeknownst to him, someone had appeared behind him at some point, a shadowy figure clad in a long black robe. That figure was now watching him make his way off into the distance.

It was none other than Slaughter.

When Slaughter saw how Naruto looked at Hinata, a flicker of reminiscence appeared in his eyes, as if he were considering some matter from the past. As if he was being reminded… of himself.

As Naruto walked forward, the world vanished. Heaven and Earth faded away. Natural law dispersed. Only one person remained. His wife, Hinata.

He had come from afar, passing through each of the great Mountains and Seas. He had proceeded along through the starry sky, step by step, and was now walking onto the battlefield. There were Outsiders who were in his path, but it wasn't because they were trying to stop him; rather, he happened upon them as he proceeded toward the heart of the fighting.

A destructive power surrounded him that caused any Outsiders who approached within 30,000 meters of him to scream and explode.

Naruto paid them no heed. He proceeded along, surrounded by shouts of astonishment. As the Outsiders fell back from him, a strange scene developed on the battlefield.

With every step he took, he was surrounded by empty space, as the Outsiders fled from his presence.

The cultivators of the Fourth Mountain and Sea looked on with vigilance. Even though Naruto 's arrival caused the death of the Outsiders around him, they were still cautious.

There were only two people who had different reactions. One was the Echelon cultivator of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Lin Cong. The other was, of course, Hinata.

Lin Cong stood in the crowd, wearing a gray robe. As he thought back to everything that had occurred in the Windswept Realm, he sighed. A wry smile could be seen on his face, and mixed emotions filled his eyes as he sighed. 2

"So, he finally came."

Hinata was smiling radiantly. She stood there in the army of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, in the command pavilion, watching as Naruto approached. She remembered everything that had occurred, just as he did. Those memories could not be wiped away from her because of her reincarnation.

She had always believed that one day, her beloved companion, her husband, would come from the distant Ninth Mountain and Sea to find her. It didn't matter how long it took or how far away he was. It wouldn't even matter if a war was being fought. Nothing would be able to stop him.

He would definitely come.

And now, he had.

Hinata bit her lip and took a step forward, much to the shock of the surrounding cultivators from the Fourth Mountain and Sea. Some of them wanted to stop her, but as Naruto neared, they suddenly lost the ability to control their cultivation bases.

The battlefield went quiet, and soon only Naruto and Hinata were there, looking at each other, slowly drawing closer.

Time seemed to slow down. The Outsiders and the cultivators of the

Fourth Mountain and Sea both watched as Naruto approached. Hinata stepped out of the command pavilion, and the two of them… were soon standing together.

"I've come," he said, reaching out to grasp her hand. This was his wife, and his lifelong love.

"Yes," she replied, her face flushing a bit. It took a bit of courage on her part, but she resisted the urge to look down shyly. Instead, she allowed her joy to radiate out, and she looked into Naruto 's eyes and smiled. This was indeed the happiest moment she had experienced since being reincarnated.

When Naruto saw Hinata smile, he couldn't stop himself from smiling. His hands tightened around hers, and hers around his. It was as if neither of them wished to ever let go.

However, they both knew that the time they could spend with each other was short. No matter what they wished inside, they would have to let go. Hinata had her duties, and Naruto had his mission.

This was not the time and place. If only things could go back to how they were before, before the deadly war broke out in the Mountains and Seas….

Naruto sighed.

Hinata looked around at all of the cultivators from the Fourth Mountain and Sea, and the Outsiders, and slowly loosened her grip. "I can't go with you right now….

"Wait for me…. If the day ever comes when this war ends, then we… can go home together." Hinata suddenly stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him, resting her head on his chest to hear his heartbeat.

After a long moment passed, she looked up at him and said, "I'll wait for you, and you wait for me. We'll both be on the lookout for each other."

Hinata bit her lip, then pulled away from Naruto 's embrace and returned to the command pavilion.

As Naruto looked at Hinata, he realized that there was something different about her from before. Much like himself… she had grown up, she had become mature.

Naruto 's heart was calm. Hinata had her duties, and he… had his mission. After looking at her deeply one last time, he waved his hand, sending a bit of divine will swirling out to surround her. He took a deep breath, and then looked up into the sky at the vast land mass up above that was the 1st Heaven.

Gradually, the warmth in his eyes faded away, to be replaced by icy coldness!

The air around him grew icy, and his aura, sharp and dangerous.

"There's something I have to go do," he murmured. "Something… that will lift the spirits of everyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm!" Rumbling sounds could be heard as he suddenly shot up into the air, leaving the battlefield. He became a streak of light like a shooting star, passing out of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, up into the vast expanse above. He was now heading toward the 1st Heaven, which had superseded the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He was going to destroy the 1st Heaven!

Few people noticed how he was flying up into the sky. However, it was certain… that a massive, storm would soon shake Heaven and Earth!

A storm was coming, a storm which would be caused by none other than… Naruto !

Here is a quick breakdown of all the Hinata references. Mount Daqing: chapter 1. First Cosmetic Cultivation Pill: chapter 12. Black Sieve Sect Blessed Land: chapters 151, 152. Killing Ji Clan cultivator: chapter 306. Hinata sacrifices her life force for Naruto : chapter 689. Naruto learns Hinata is being held by the Black Sieve sect: chapter 694. Red Wedding: chapter 772 ↩ Naruto fought and killed Lin Cong in chapter 1105. Of course, they reconciled later, and when they parted ways in chapter 1151, Naruto gave him a Cosmetic Cultivation Pill to deliver to Hinata ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1337

Chapter 1337: Destination: First Heaven!

Naruto was a blur that shot from the Fourth Mountain and Sea up into the starry sky, toward the land mass that was the 1st Heaven. Not a single regret could be found in his heart. He was completely determined, maddened, enlivened with the idea of enacting the rise of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

He was attempting to do something that could shake Heaven and Earth!

He was attempting to destroy the 1st Heaven, the home of the invaders. He was attempting to set the blood of the Mountain and Sea Realm aboil. All of the cultivators locked in battle would be able to look up and see… the destruction of the 1st Heaven!

Some people might think that an act like that would have little meaning, and couldn't compare to Naruto slaughtering Outsiders on the field of battle using his cultivation base. However, the truth of the matter was that this plan… was utterly and profoundly meaningful.

Currently, the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm were in the midst of despair. After having been suppressed for tens upon tens of thousands of years, they had then been invaded. They had long since lost the dignity they had once had during the days of the Paragon Immortal Realm. In that age, its cultivators had been valiant, but when complete and utter catastrophe struck, it was as if their Dao hearts had been shattered. After the initial catastrophe, they were then completely sealed by the 33 Heavens, stifling any recovery that their Dao hearts might have experienced.

After two such mighty blows, their valiance waned, and they didn't dare to take the fight to their enemy….

For a people to rise up, their spirits needed to be kindled. And it was the same when the time came for a homeland to ascend.

Naruto knew that he was only one person. Even if he became a Paragon, the course of such a monumental war was something he couldn't change on his own. He needed to stir the minds and hearts of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. He needed to awaken within them… the valiance that had once existed in the Paragon Immortal Realm!

Back in those days, there had been a saying. "Any who assault the

Immortal World will be put to death!"

When Naruto destroyed the 1st Heaven, similar words would once again be heard in the Mountain and Sea Realm. "Any who assault the Mountains and Seas will be put to death!"

The Mountain and Sea Realm was on the brink of annihilation. Looming directly behind them was a bottomless chasm. There was nowhere to retreat meant that the only thing to do now was rise to prominence!

Naruto 's eyes shone with a bright light. His mind, his thoughts, his cultivation base, everything about him was completely focused. He was like a shooting star, like a flaming torch, like a brilliantly shining lamp!

He was a lamp that did not seek to illuminate the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm, but rather… sought to kindle the spirits of the cultivators therein!

Kindle a fire that would exist forever and never be extinguished!

He rose higher and higher, flew faster and faster. He was a beam of light, scintillating brilliantly, the center of all attention! The first people to notice him were the cultivators of the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

They stared blankly at Naruto as he rose up, and at first, no one was really sure what he was doing. However, as he picked up speed, the people down below realized that he was heading… not toward the starry sky itself, but toward the spot where the starry sky ended, toward that which weighed down upon the hearts and minds of all Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators.

The 1st Heaven!

"What… what is he doing…?"

"He's heading toward the 1st Heaven!"

"This… this…." Gasps could be heard from within the huge army of the Fourth Mountain and Sea. Every moment, more and more cultivators' faces flickered with astonishment and shock.

Hinata stood atop the altar, trembling, her head tilted up to look at Naruto climbing up into the sky, charging toward the Heavens. A strange flicker could be seen in her eyes, which slowly turned into a bright glow. Although she was worried, she suddenly felt an incredible sense of pride.

This was the love of her life. Her man!

The forces of the Fourth Mountain and Sea were soon in a complete uproar.

"He's heading for the 1st Heaven!"

"He's going up to… destroy the 1st Heaven!"

"But… can he do it?"

Equally shaken were the Outsiders, who stared blankly at Naruto , almost unable to believe what they were seeing.

Also in the Fourth Mountain and Sea were Ksitigarbha and the Outsider Imperial Lord, who were fighting fiercely, causing rumbling booms to echo out. Ksitigarbha's eyes suddenly began to shine brightly as he realized what Naruto had in mind.

The Outsider Imperial Lord gaped, and his face flickered.

At the same time, Paragon Sea Dream was fighting with the Outsider

Paragon Eegoo. They also noticed what Naruto was doing; Paragon Sea Dream's face broke out into a wide smile, and Paragon Eegoo's face fell.

At this point, Naruto reached such an incredible speed that he was like an arrow, backed by Mountain and Sea power to shoot rapidly toward the 1st Heaven.

However, only the cultivators of the Fourth Mountain and Sea could see him. He was currently too far away from the other Mountains and Seas for anyone there to spot him. However, as he flew along, his eyes glinted, and he suddenly waved his right hand. Suddenly, a ball of light flew out. This was none other than his own Supernova Magic, which immediately began to suck in all the light around it, and thus grow even brighter. 1

He wanted all of the cultivators in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm to witness what he was doing.

One little sun was not enough, so he waved his hand, and dozens of little suns appeared. There were more than a hundred of them swirling around, shining with increasingly scintillating light.

"Still not enough!" Naruto growled. As he continued to shoot toward the 1st Heaven, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then waved his hands out in front of him, causing more little suns to appear.

100, 300, 500, and soon, Naruto was surrounded by 1,000 little suns!

1,000 little suns, absorbing Heaven and Earth, sucking in all the light of the starry sky. They rapidly grew larger and more dazzling, until Naruto himself actually looked like a sun!

Majestic light shone out, to the point where the cultivators of the Third and Fifth Mountains and Seas could look up into the sky and see a new sun!

The cultivators in the Third Mountain and Sea were in the midst of fighting the Outsiders, and yet everyone looked up in shock.

"What's that…?"

"A sun? That's not possible. But it really does look like an actual sun or moon…."

At the same time, cultivators in the Fifth Mountain and Sea looked up and gasped in disbelief.

"Wait, no…. there's a person inside!"

"Impossible!"

The Outsiders were equally taken aback.

Up in the starry sky, down beneath the 1st Heaven, Naruto was surrounded by 1,000 spheres of light. His expression was one of unswerving determination as he came to the conclusion that 1,000 little suns wasn't enough. He needed more. He threw his head back and roared, pushing onward with greater speed and yet simultaneously waving his hand, causing another 1,000 little suns to appear!

2,000 little suns were shining radiantly. They were now densely packed together, each one of them emanating blinding light. However, from a distance away, the light of those 2,000 small suns merged together… to make them look like the glow of one enormous sun!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the 2,000 little suns swirled around

Naruto . He flew higher and higher, away from the Mountain and Sea Realm, growing ever closer to the 1st Heaven. Soon, the cultivators in the Second and Sixth Mountains and Seas could see the brightly shining sun up above.

Although it currently looked like little more than a dot of light, within the pitch blackness, it was extremely conspicuous!

In the Second Mountain and Sea, the cultivators and Outsiders were fighting a particularly bloody battle, and the reek of gore had permeated the entire Mountain and Sea. The vast army of cultivators had suffered setback after setback, and the roars of the Outsiders filled the entire starry sky above them.

However, even as despair wrought at the hearts of the cultivators, in the moment when they had no hope, and were bitterly convinced that they were going to lose the battle, all of a sudden, a bright dot of light appeared up above. That light became the only thing the cultivators of the Second Mountain and Sea looked at.

"That's…"

"That dot of light. Heavens! Considering how far away we are, that dot of light must actually be enormous!"

"What's going on…?" The cultivators of the Second Mountain and Sea were completely abuzz!

Although they couldn't actually see Naruto , somehow they could all sense that within that light was someone emanating an incredible willpower, and utter determination!

The Sixth Mountain and Sea was equally in an uproar.

"That light is heading in the direction of… the 1st Heaven!"

"Considering how far it is away, the fact that we can see it moving up means that its true speed… must be mind-boggling!"

Although the Lord of the Sixth Mountain and Sea had been killed, the violet-robed Lord Wu of the Fifth Mountain and Sea was now fighting in the battle, and at long last, the cultivators were able to launch successful counter-attacks against the Outsiders.

Lord Wu was the first one to look up into the starry sky. His jaw dropped, and he instantly began to tremble.

"It's him…. He's going… to destroy the 1st Heaven?" His eyes began to shine, and suddenly a surge of indescribable excitement rose up within him.

Soon the other cultivators of the Sixth Mountain and Sea caught sight of the light up above, and they were completely shaken. Although not everyone could immediately discern where that dot of light was heading, people quickly began to deduce the truth.

"He's heading toward the 1st Heaven?"

Even as the cultivators in the Second, Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Mountains and Seas were staring fixedly at the dot of light, it suddenly grew twice as bright as before!

Along with the eruption of brightness, the light also grew in size. That was because the number of little suns surrounding Naruto had increased from 2,000 to 4,000!

"There's a person inside that light!" By now, virtually all of the experts in the great Mountains and Seas were able to discern what was happening. Their hoarse exclamations were heard by those around them, and soon everyone's minds were spinning.

It was at this point that the cultivators in even further Mountains and Seas could see that high up above the Nine Mountains and Seas, there in the starry sky… was a sun!

Although it wasn't the true sun, by now, everyone could see it….

A sun above the Mountain and Sea Realm!

In the Seventh Mountain and Sea, Yuwen Jian suddenly opened his eyes. He had been sitting there in meditation, but when he heard the exclamations ringing out, he looked up into the sky and then suddenly felt as if he were being struck by lightning.

He couldn't quite see who it was inside that light, but… his intuition told him exactly who it was! "It's Naruto . It's definitely him! He's going to lift the spirits of an entire people by destroying the 1st Heaven!"

Shaking, he shot to his feet, panting excitedly, eyes burning with anticipation.

Naruto created the Supernova Magic in chapter 942. He used it in battle a few subsequent times, notably when fighting Guru Heavencloud in chapter 1159 and when fighting the giant in the Divine Flame world in chapter 1179 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1338

Chapter 1338 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1338: Dao Tribulation Comes!

The dot of light couldn't illuminate every inch of the starry sky, and yet… as of this moment, it was visible to all cultivators from the First to the Seventh Mountains and Seas!

In the Seventh Mountain and Sea, Planet Tiger Cage was in an uproar. It was the same in the First Mountain and Sea. There, Echelon cultivator Dao-Heaven stood in the midst of his army, looking up at the brilliant dot of light, and was completely shaken, as was everyone around him.

From the First Mountain and Sea all the way to the Seventh, the cultivators were looking up at the brilliant dot of light as, all of a sudden, it erupted with even further brilliance!

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as the dot swelled in size by double!

It was in that moment that the number of little suns surrounding Naruto increased from 4,000 to 8,000!

8,000 little suns, radiating intense light. Although that light couldn't match the light of a real sun, it was the most dazzling heavenly body visible!

The cultivators were in an uproar, and the Outsiders were shaking inwardly as intense feelings of foreboding rose up inside of them.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign who had split apart into numerous incarnations was shaking, and his eyes shone with astonishment as he stared at the light. The Outsider Imperial Lord who was fighting Ksitigarbha also felt his heart pounding.

It was the same with the Outsider Paragon Eegoo.

In sharp contrast, Ksitigarbha, Sea Dream, and the various Mountain and Sea Lords seemed to be suddenly inspired, and burst out with all the power they could muster to prevent any of their Outsider opponents from breaking free of the battle.

Roars echoed out, and booms filled the air. When the number of little suns around Naruto increased to 8,000, the cultivators in the Eighth Mountain and Sea could finally see the sun up above!

Cultivators and Outsiders alike felt as if the battle going on in the Eighth Mountain and Sea was like a giant millstone crushing down onto them. But then, the cultivators noticed that bright light, and their jaws dropped.

"What's that?"

"How could there suddenly be a spot of light? Hold on… it's rising up into the sky at incredible speed!"

"Could it be some sort of magical item? It looks like it's heading toward… the 1st Heaven?"

As the crowds burst out into a commotion, Naruto 's grandfather, the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, suddenly shivered. He looked up, and when he saw that light, his eyes suddenly flickered in surprise.

"Hao'er's aura…. That's Hao'er…." He threw his head back and laughed uproariously at the sudden feeling of joy which swept through him. As he continued to watch the dot of light rising up, his eyes began to gleam with anticipation.

Suddenly, the number of little suns around Naruto once again increased dramatically. No longer were there 8,000. Instead, there were 10,000. The light of 10,000 little suns merged together as they rocketed toward the land mass up above. At long last… the light became clearly visible in the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Pill Demon saw it, and the members of the Namikaze Clan saw it. Naruto 's parents saw it, and his Grandma Uzumaki and her people saw it. Fatty, Might Guy, Fan Dong'er, Sun Hai, Namikaze Yu, and everyone else he knew… all cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea could see it.

The flames of war burned just as hot in the Ninth Mountain and Sea as everywhere else, and the fighting was just as bloody and bitter. However, as soon as that light became visible, the people who were familiar with Naruto … could sense that it contained his aura!

"That's… that's Naruto !"

"Heavens! How… how is this possible? Wait, how come looking at that light suddenly makes me think of Naruto ?!"

"Could it be that it's really Naruto !?"

The crowds were exploding into a huge commotion. On Planet South Heaven, Shui Dongliu stood atop that mountain peak, still looking up into the sky. Suddenly, he began to laugh, a laughter filled with happiness and anticipation.

"It seems I picked well…. He who shall counter the tribulation… Naruto ." A warm expression could be seen on Shui Dongliu's face as he continued to laugh, and stand there, waiting.

As of this moment, all of the cultivators in all of the Nine Mountains and Seas were watching.

At the same time, Naruto was drawing ever nearer to the land mass that was the 1st Heaven. He was now approaching the highest point in this region of space, and his speed caused rumbling to echo out as he closed in.

His eyes burned with determination as he got closer and closer!

However, even as he neared the 1st Heaven, the figures of a vast number of Outsiders suddenly appeared, flying out from it to meet him. In addition to that, numerous shields sprang up to protect the land mass.

This land was the home of the Outsiders, so it went without saying that they would have protections in place for it. More and more Outsiders kept approaching, bent on stopping Naruto .

Naruto 's lips twisted into a cold smile. Just when he was about to attack, he suddenly frowned. Simultaneously, the Outsiders who had just flown out suddenly fell back into retreat. That was because, all of a sudden, the explosive power of Dao Tribulation had appeared!

This was Naruto 's Dao Tribulation, his fleshly body Dao Tribulation!

The tribulation had appeared before but hadn't fully descended. Instead, it had been hidden away, which as far as Naruto could tell was because the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm had helped him to get rid of it.

But now, here it was again. That could only mean… that this was tribulation, not from the Mountain and Sea Realm, but instead, from the 1st Heaven!

"It is its own world, with its own life forms," Naruto murmured.

"Naturally, the 1st Heaven has a will just like the Mountain and Sea

Realm. Tribulation is caused by a disturbance in Karma. It saw the Tribulation Karma which was sown upon me, and therefore, took it upon itself to ensure that there was a reaping?" He understood, and yet wasn't afraid. Instead, he began to laugh.

In his life, he had transcended Heavenly Tribulation on numerous occasions. Each one of those occasions had been of incredible difficulty, and yet now, he was completely confident that he could crush this instance of Heavenly Tribulation as easily as a dried out log!

Rumbling could be heard as Tribulation Clouds built up, massing together in front of Naruto . The rumbling of Tribulation Lightning could be heard as countless lightning bolts suddenly shot toward Naruto .

Virtually all of those lightning bolts appeared to be humanoid in shape, and filled with power that could destroy the Heavens and extinguish the Earth. As they closed in, they transformed into a sea of lightning that spread out wide in all directions, completely enveloping Naruto and his 10,000 suns. Down in the Nine Mountains and Seas, all of the cultivators could see what was happening.

"Not good! The 1st Heavens is a complete world, with its own Tribulation power!"

"If that dot of light is Naruto , then he's going to be defeated…."

"Dammit, could it be that the 1st Heaven is really impossible to fight!?" Cultivators were crying out in alarm all throughout the Nine Mountains and Seas. They were nervous, anxious, worried, and all of those feelings arose because of Naruto .

Of course, there were some people in the crowd who looked on coldly.

After all, all sorts of people existed within the Mountain and Sea Realm. Naturally, there were some who believed that once disaster struck, everyone would die!

There were even some sects and clans who actually weren't going all out in the fighting, but were instead hiding their true strength, looking for an opportunity to escape from the Mountain and Sea Realm. In fact, there were even some people who were secretly planning… to surrender to the 33 Heavens.

However, those people were in the minority. The vast majority of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were unyielding. They had their dignity, and would never give in! Those cultivators were the ones who were nervously looking up into the starry sky.

The Outsider Imperial Lord who was fighting Ksitigarbha suddenly began to chuckle with scorn.

"Tribulation Karma has been sown, and yet he dares to try to trifle with our 1st Heaven? He's definitely courting death!"

Similar words were uttered by Paragon Eegoo to Paragon Sea Dream. The Outsider Dao Sovereign clones who were battling the Mountain and Sea Lords were the same. All of them were sighing in relief.

Some people were anxious, some people were derisive. However, it was in that very moment that Naruto , facing the boundless Tribulation Lightning, suddenly raised his hand. Eyes gleaming, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out.

"Hex!"

Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Rumbling could be heard as the power of his fleshly body exploded out. His cultivation base surged, and the Eighth Hex was unleashed, backed by the power of the Mountains and Seas. Instantly, everything began to shake violently. As Naruto waved his hand downward, all of the Tribulation Lightning in the starry sky suddenly stopped moving.

Seventh Demon Sealing Hex!

Naruto waved his finger again, this time unleashing Karmic Hexing, severing the Tribulation Lightning's Karma, and then swishing his sleeve.

Fifth Demon Sealing Hex!

Inside-Outside Hex!

Go back from whence you came!

Naruto waved his sleeve, and instantly, all of the Tribulation

Lightning swiveled, changing directions to shoot toward the very Tribulation Clouds they had emerged from, moving at a speed which defied imagination!

Massive booms rang out as the countless Tribulation Clouds collapsed into pieces. It was a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering sight as the Tribulation Lightning bolts smashed into the clouds, completely and utterly pulverizing them!

This sight provoked a collective gasp from cultivators and Outsiders alike. Eyes went wide and jaws dropped in disbelief.

"What?!" exclaimed the Outsider Dao Sovereign incredulously.

All of the Outsiders were completely and utterly shaken by Naruto . That bright spot of light was now nothing less than a complete nightmare for them!

It was at this point that enraged howls could be heard from the land mass that was the 1st Heaven. More Tribulation Clouds roiled out, converging together into one gigantic cloud mass that seemed bent on completely eradicating Naruto !

Massive pressure emanated out from the Tribulation Clouds, which surrounded Naruto and caused the starry sky to shake. As the enraged howling continued, it was possible to see an enormous claw taking shape inside of the Tribulation Cloud.

That claw was pitch black and covered with scales, like the claw of a lizard!

After all… this Tribulation was not from the Mountain and Sea Realm, but rather from the world of the 1st Heaven.

The claw was covered with boundless Tribulation Lightning, the intensity of which vastly exceeded that from before. The claw shot toward Naruto , and as it did, more and more Tribulation Clouds converged in the area, causing the Tribulation to become even more majestic and boundless than before.

Naruto 's expression was the same as ever, and his eyes shone with a bright light. Without pausing for a moment, he shot toward the Tribulation Cloud and the lightning-covered claw. As he neared, he suddenly spoke in a voice which sounded like booming thunder.

"Did I say you could converge here? Disperse!"

Massive rumbling could be heard as the Second Demon Sealing Hex appeared. Real-Unreal Hexing erupted out toward the Tribulation Cloud, transforming what was real into what was unreal, and transforming the unreal to the real! All Naruto had to do was think!

As of this moment, he changed the Tribulation, which was real, into something unreal. The converged Tribulation was instantly dispersed!

Chapter 1338: Dao Tribulation Comes!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1339

Chapter 1339 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1339: 10,000 Star Detonation!

As of this moment, all eyes were completely fixed upon Naruto !

Even as the words left his mouth, he flicked his sleeve, unleashing the Second Demon Sealing Hex. Rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth, and the starry sky trembled. Simultaneously, the land mass that was the 1st Heaven was also shaking, as were the previously awe-inspiring Tribulation Clouds!

The gigantic lizard claw, and its boundless Tribulation Lightning, suddenly became illusory, and began to fade away. Moments later, the seemingly infinite Tribulation Clouds also… began to fade away.

After becoming illusory, all Naruto had to do was speak a single word, and his will caused everything to transform from being real to not! To the shock of cultivators and Outsiders alike, as of this moment, Naruto 's fleshly body Dao Tribulation… was over! It had been concluded using a method none of them had ever seen or heard of before.

"Impossible!" The Outsider Imperial Lord fighting Ksitigarbha suddenly let out a miserable howl. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing. As far as he was concerned, it was a complete impossibility, and yet, here it was occurring right in front of him!

He suddenly burst into motion in an attempt to go stop Naruto , but in response, Ksitigarbha laughed coldly, causing underworld palaces to descend and the Yellow Springs to sweep out. The river of reincarnation surged, making it completely impossible for the Outsider Imperial Lord to do anything.

Elsewhere in the starry sky, a similar situation was occurring with Paragon Sea Dream. She went all-out with her cultivation base, even incurring serious injuries to herself, to prevent the maddened Outsider Paragon Eegoo from breaking free. Eegoo bellowed in rage, eyes burning with killing intent as he sent divine sense roiling out to crush Naruto , and yet he couldn't get past Sea Dream.

"Sea Dream, I don't want to kill you! Don't walk into your own death!"

"Don't make me laugh!" Sea Dream responded, yet again obstructing his path.

The Nine Mountains and Seas, which moments ago had been completely silent, suddenly burst out into a huge commotion. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were crying out and cheering, their voices merging together into a sound wave that surged out in all directions. As for the Outsiders, they were completely shocked, and yet, their will to fight was not reduced, and they continued to do battle.

And yet… everyone, including the Outsiders, was still watching Naruto as he closed in on the 1st Heaven.

He shot onward at top speed, surrounded by 10,000 little suns which radiated intense light.

Closer and closer!

Countless Outsiders flew out from the 1st Heaven and charged toward Naruto . Numerous scintillating shields were set in place.

However, as the Outsiders approached, Naruto 's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture; then he stretched his hands wide and clapped them together violently, sending a burst of cultivation base power out directly into the Outsiders, and directly toward the 1st Heaven!

"Suns, detonate!" he roared. Instantly, the 10,000 suns surged into action, flying directly toward the Outsiders and the shields protecting the land mass that was the 1st Heaven!

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

10,000 suns all detonated!

Each and every one of those little suns had been bolstered by Naruto 's cultivation base power, and as such, their combined power was completely and utterly shocking. A massive explosion rippled out that shook lands and rocked mountains, that destroyed Heaven and Earth, that directly ripped apart the starry sky!

A terrifying shockwave then began to spread out in all directions.

That shockwave was so huge that it was visible even in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and it filled all hearts with shock.

The vast numbers of Outsiders who had flown out to stop Naruto , regardless of their cultivation bases, were swept over by the shockwave caused by the detonation of 10,000 suns. Bloodcurdling screams rang out as their bodies were transformed into ash. Even the Nascent Divinities which attempted to flee were completely eradicated.

Rumbling could be heard as the shockwave then slammed into the shields protecting the 1st Heaven. In the blink of an eye, the shields began to shatter bit by bit. They immediately began to repair themselves, but were clearly weakened. However, in the end the shields were too strong; even the detonation of 10,000 suns could not completely destroy them. And yet, a tiny opening had appeared.

That was all Naruto needed. He waved his arm, and the Battle

Weapon appeared, transforming into a black beam that stabbed directly into that weak spot, preventing the shields from recovering.

All of this happened so quickly that no one could react. Naruto moved as fast as lightning, sweeping the Battle Weapon out so that a huge rift was torn open in the shield, and the land mass that was the 1st Heaven. Then, he stepped through that rift… to the surface of the 1st Heaven!

By this point, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had been whipped up into a frenzy. As for the Outsiders, their faces were ashen and filled with dread.

The Imperial Lord roared, the Paragon howled, and the Dao Sovereign's incarnations were trying unsuccessfully to merge back together.

In the instant that Naruto set foot into the 1st Heaven, he bolstered his voice with his cultivation base and cried out, "Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!"

In response, all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm joined their voices together in response. It almost seemed planned, but it wasn't.

The first to respond was the Fourth Mountain and Sea. The cultivators who clustered around Hinata were already chomping at the bit. The 1st Heaven hadn't been destroyed yet, but Naruto 's sudden explosive success had kindled the spirits and souls of all of the cultivators there.

Once the 1st Heaven was actually destroyed, that spark which had been lit would explode into an inferno.

"Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!" The shouts of one cultivator after another in the Fourth Mountain and Sea rang out, like the bellowing of war horns calling everyone to a final battle. As they did, they charged forth, smashing into the surrounding Outsiders.

Soon, such cries filled the air throughout the Fourth Mountain and Sea. The eyes of all cultivators were shining brightly, and everyone felt as if they were bursting with incredible power.

Soon, all of the voices in the Fourth Mountain and Sea joined together into one mighty call.

"Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!"

Naruto was using one simple phrase to bring all of the Nine Mountains and Seas into one united Mountain and Sea Realm!

As the voices echoed out in the Fourth Mountain and Sea, similar cries rose up in the Third and Fifth Mountains and Seas. Massive waves of sound were crashing out, and were joined by the Second, First, Sixth, and Seventh Mountains and Seas!

All voices cried out, filled with passion and inspiration.

"Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!" That one phrase embodied the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Realm. There would be no retreat. Enough was enough! They had been suppressed to the limit, and now was the time… to give voice to their rage!

They did not agree to be exterminated. They did not agree to die. They did not agree for the Mountains and Seas to vanish. This was the voice of a people who did not agree to back down.

This was the voice… that marked the awakening of a people!

"Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!" Finally, the voices could be heard in the Eighth Mountain and Sea and then… the Ninth Mountain and Sea. All of the Nine Mountains and Seas, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, was filled with one unified voice!

The ordinary Outsiders trembled. The Dao Sovereign was shocked. The Imperial Lord was shaken. The Paragon was flabbergasted!

As of this moment, the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm were using their battle cry to tell the Outsiders: We are not to be underestimated! You might have suppressed us for tens upon tens of thousands of years, but we are still… the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Chapter 1339: 10,000 Star Detonation!

—–

Note from Deathblade: This chapter is a bit shorter than normal, coming in at around 1400 English words instead of the usual 2000 or so. Er Gen made no comment about that in his chapter release, although he did do four updates on that day, this being the second.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1340

Chapter 1340: To Exterminate this World!

At the very end of the starry sky, within the 1st Heaven, Naruto looked around… at a world that was very different from what he had imagined. He saw mountains and rainbows, plains and oceans.

The spiritual energy here was abundant, ten times more so than in the Mountain and Sea Realm. In fact, there wasn't just spiritual energy, there was abundant Immortal qi, making the entire place seem like a celestial paradise.

Luxuriant vegetation covered the surface of the land, and a blue sky stretched out in all directions. Cities and other edifices were everywhere, although they floated about in the air instead of being constructed on the ground. Immortal mountains could be seen, as well as waterfalls of stars that seemed to connect Heaven and Earth.

The edifices were all exquisitely constructed, and gargantuan. They were ancient, filled with a boundless sense of time and history. Statues could be seen, and precious materials were available everywhere.

"So, this is the 1st Heaven…." Naruto thought, feeling a bit shocked. Suddenly, a cold light flickered in his eyes, and his cultivation base erupted. Fleshly body power surged out, and he began to grow taller; in the blink of an eye, he was 3,000 meters tall!

He had a Dao Sovereign fleshly body which could shake Heaven and

Earth, and taking a mere step could shake lands and rock mountains. When his cultivation base power spread out, the Paragon Bridge appeared, radiating a pressure of extermination that caused the sky to flash with brilliant colors.

There were hordes of Outsiders here guarding the 1st Heaven, and yet none had very high cultivation bases. It was with complete shock that they all looked toward Naruto .

An ancient voice suddenly spoke from off in the distance. "Who are you?! What are you doing?!"

Clouds and mist roiled together to form into a huge face that stared at Naruto .

"I'm Naruto ," he replied softly, "from the Mountain and Sea Realm. I've come today to exterminate this world!" With that, he clenched his hand into a fist and punched down toward the ground.

That single fist strike caused the entire world to shudder and crack as the power of extermination spread out.

It was none other than the Life-Extermination Fist!

The power of that blow caused the lands of the 1st Heaven to shake. The shaking wasn't violent at first. It was like the shaking caused when a mayfly alights onto a leaf. However, at the same time, all of the plants and vegetation nearby on the surface of the land instantly withered and died!

It was as if the life force had been sucked out of them! A gray shockwave spread out from Naruto 's fist, and everywhere it passed, things withered!

The Outsiders' faces fell when this happened, and the ancient face was filled with shock. However, before it could say anything, Naruto swished his sleeve, and a boom could be heard as the mist-face collapsed.

Naruto 's eyes were now shining with a cold glint. To him, no cultivators lived here, only animals. From what he could tell, virtually all of the Outsiders in this world, including the ones with the power to take humanoid shape, were all just lizards!

Although the buildings and the environment looked like the Immortal World, Naruto knew that it wasn't. This place… was more like an animal den.

"Animals like you want to exterminate the Mountain and Sea Realm?" Naruto shook his head, then unleashed another punch toward the land beneath his feet, then pulled his hand back and punched again. The second punch was the Bedevilment Fist, and the third was the GodSlaying Fist. As the lands trembled, the Paragon Bridge crushed down, causing cities and edifices which floated in the air to shake violently and list to the side. Then, Naruto 's divine sense spread out, filling the entire world. His will superceded the will of the world itself, crushing down, unleashing unmitigated destructive power.

He was a windstorm, causing mountains to crumble wherever he passed. The lands disintegrated, and the rivers flowed backward. Oceans roared, and vast crevices opened up, causing cracking sounds to fill the air as they spread out. It was as if countless dragons were burrowing out through the soil, shaking the entire world.

Naruto took a step forward, appearing in front of one of the floating cities. He looked at it for a moment, and then his eyes flickered with determination. This was not the time for mercy and kindness. He suddenly recalled the destroyed planets within the Mountain and Sea Realm, and how the viciously grinning Outsiders hadn't even spared the mortals.

"How animalistic, but then again, you really are just animals!" His right hand clenched into a fist, and he punched out. Rumbling sounds echoed out, along with bloodcurdling screams, as the enormous city was completely destroyed.

Naruto 's divine sense had long since confirmed that within the 1st Heaven, all of the Outsiders were lizards. Furthermore, as a species, none of them lacked cultivation bases in the way that mortal humans did. No, all of these lizards, from birth, had the power of a cultivation base.

Because of that, there was no question as to whether or not to wipe them out.

He took a step forward, and as he did, he exterminated everything he saw. The land turned gray as the life force was sucked away, and the feeling of death spread out everywhere.

Gradually, Naruto could detect a howling sound coming from deep within the land, something that originated, not from any Outsider, but from the will of the world itself!

It could sense his determination to kill everything, which was why it had sent the Tribulation Lightning against him. Now that he was here in person, it was doing everything it could to try to expel him.

The power of expulsion grew stronger, and yet, Naruto didn't care at all.

With his Dao Sovereign fleshly body, divine sense that was eighty percent as powerful as a Paragon's, and the cultivation base of an Allheaven Dao Immortal, although he couldn't completely disregard such expulsion power, he could definitely fight back against it!

Rumbling could be heard as cities collapsed and statues were destroyed. Countless Outsiders let out miserable shrieks as their scales exploded and they were annihilated. Naruto was like a god of death, wreaking destruction and slaughter wherever he went.

Suddenly, a roar echoed out, which came from none other than what had previously manifested as the face of an old man. It was an enormous, ancient lizard, which shot toward him from off in the distance. The power of a 5-Essences cultivation base rippled out, and yet before he could even get close, Naruto gave a cold harrumph, and the lizard lurched to a stop in midair, blood spraying out of his mouth. Naruto hadn't even waited for it to get close before unleashing a fist strike!

A boom rang out as the ancient lizard was completely and utterly destroyed!

Cries of misery could be heard ringing out from all corners of the world. There was a constant stream of pleas for mercy, as well as curses.

Naruto looked at the sky and the land, then waved his hand, sending out Divine Flame. "You suppressed us, you sealed us, and you invaded us. If you want to assign blame… blame Heaven and Earth for being cruel, or blame life for being unfair."

Wherever the Divine Flame passed, destructive power burned everything away.

The Blood Demon roared, and wherever it went the screams of lizards would echo out.

Mountains and rivers were demolished, the skies shattered, and numerous buildings and cities fell out of the air. More and more cracks and crevices snaked out across the lands, which shook and began to collapse.

From the position of the 1st Heaven itself, what was happening wasn't very clear. However, down in the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was obvious!

Any cultivator of the Mountains and Seas could look up at the 1st Heaven, which had supplanted the starry sky, and could hear the booms echoing out, and see the dust and ash spreading out. In fact, there were even chunks of rock and rubble which were beginning to fall down.

With every boom, the lands shook. There were even entire sections which began to crumble, deforming the landscape. The cracks spread out, and there were even some vast slabs as big as asteroids which began to fall down.

"The 1st Heaven is about to collapse!"

"It's really… really going to be destroyed!"

"It's Naruto . It's him!"

"He attacked the 1st Heaven with the purpose of completely destroying it!"

"Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!" The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were going wild, and their eyes gleamed with determination. Their wild shouts, their killing intent, and their will to fight caused the Heavens to grow dim.

The Outsiders were trembling in shock as they saw their home shattering into pieces. All of a sudden, their will to fight was replaced with utter dread and terror.

One side was empowered, the other side was demoralized. The balance of battle was instantly overturned!

The sounds of fierce fighting rang out as the cultivators of the Nine Mountains and Seas began to fight back with a vengeance!

The Imperial Lord howled, the Paragon raged, the Dao Sovereign was in a frenzy. And yet, there was nothing they could do to stop what was happening!

The Heavens were collapsing!

The Earth was shattering!

The spirits of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were rising. The inextinguishable spark of faith that burned within their hearts had been kindled by Naruto , and now, it was beginning to burn brightly!

In the Eighth Mountain and Sea, Patriarch Reliance was floating above a battlefield filled with mountains of Outsider corpses. He was looking up into the starry sky, at the crumbling land mass that was the 1st Heaven.

After a moment of silence, he began to laugh loudly.

"That's my disciple! The Ninth Generation Demon Sealer! Naruto ! Incredible!

"I ran from you for years, unwilling to be restricted, unwilling to become someone's mount. But now, you little bastard, what you've done, and what you've said have convinced me…

"Henceforth, I am willing to be Naruto 's mount!

"I, the Patriarch… am completely willing, and will never have any regrets!" Patriarch Reliance threw his head back and howled, then shot up into the starry sky. Now that he had made his decision to be Uzumaki

Hao's mount, he would fulfil the ancient agreement. He would be the Dao Protector of the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer without the slightest hesitation. Therefore, he flew up into the air to go meet Naruto .

Guyiding Tri-Rain was there on Patriarch Reliance's head, giggling with happiness. She had been waiting for this day for a very, very long time….

At the same time, a middle-aged man could be seen standing atop Mount Daqing, there on Patriarch Reliance's back, also looking up into the starry sky. He was suppressing the fierceness of his own gaze, but if he weren't, it would be completely shocking.

He did not emanate the fluctuations of the Dao Realm, nor the Ancient Realm. He was not an Immortal, nor some type of spirit. In fact, he appeared to be mortal, without any cultivation base fluctuations at all.

And yet, he seemed incredibly dangerous.

Astonishingly, that middle-aged man was none other than Dong Hu!

"I, Dong Hu, have been taking care of this treasure for my entire life. It was not destined to be mine, which means that I have been preparing it for someone else. I realized that many years go, but by then, I had already become the spirit of the treasure…. But what does that really matter?"

Back in the very beginning, there were four boys who had been taken by Hinata to the Reliance Sect: Naruto , Wang Youcai, Fatty, and Dong Hu!

After all of them were separated, Hinata entered the cycle of reincarnation, Wang Youcai lost his eyes to gain ultimate enlightenment, Fatty gained numerous wives and concubines, and Naruto made a meteoric rise.

As of this moment, Dong Hu was standing on Mount Daqing, there on Patriarch Reliance's back as he charged up into the starry sky!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1341

Chapter 1341: The Dao Sovereign Escapes!

Naruto was battering the land mass that was the 1st Heaven. Massive cracks and fissures were spreading out, and it was hard to tell how much longer the 1st Heaven would be able to hold together. Meanwhile, down in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, rumbling sounds echoed out from the region of the 33 Hells.

Then, the starry sky seemed to shatter as a huge rift opened up. A bedraggled figure trudged out, a figure who radiated both madness and venomous hatred.

He immediately coughed up a massive mouthful of blood, after which flames of insanity ignited within his eyes. Then he threw his head back and let out a piercing howl.

" Naruto , I hereby swear to wipe out your entire clan!"

It was none other than the golden-armored Outsider Long Linzi who Naruto had lured into the 33 Hells, one of the Outsiders' two Dao Sovereigns!

Currently, not a scrap of golden armor could be seen on him. He was in very sore straits, and was clearly fatigued. However, his energy level was no less than before, and in fact, he was slightly stronger. It was impossible to tell what torments he had endured within the 33 Hells, nor how he had managed to escape. However, the price he had paid was clearly unimaginable.

Were that not the case, he wouldn't be so consumed with resentment.

As soon as he appeared, his divine sense spread out, whereupon a tremor ran through him. He heard the shouts and cries coming from the cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea, as well as his fellow Outsiders, and looked up into the sky. Then, he saw his home, the land mass that was the 1st Heaven, beginning to crumble.

What filled him with more fury than ever was that he could clearly sense the aura of Naruto , whom he hated with a passion and couldn't wait to tear apart with his teeth.

" Naruto !" he growled, throwing his head back letting out a mindbogglingly powerful roar that filled the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea. All cultivators and Outsiders felt their minds trembling as Long Linzi transformed into a beam of bright light that shot up into the air.

Paragon Eegoo was still in the middle of battling Paragon Sea Dream. He hadn't been very anxious earlier, but was now considering paying any price, no matter how severe, to break away from the fight. However, as soon as he sensed Long Linzi's aura, his eyes began to shine with a strange light. The Imperial Lord who was fighting Ksitigarbha had the same reaction. The Dao Sovereign incarnations breathed sighs of relief. Then all 3 of these Outsiders let loose powerful streams of divine will, which sent ripples out into the void.

"Kill Naruto ! Stop him!"

"Regardless of the price, he must be cut down!"

The shocking level of their divine will spread throughout the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, causing all cultivators to sense it. Those cultivators' faces instantly flickered, and anxiety sprang up in their hearts. Naruto had become the symbol of their spirit, the spark that fueled the flames in their eyes.

If the 1st Heaven truly fell, then that spark would grow into an inferno which could inundate Heaven and Earth. But… if the 1st Heaven didn't fall, and if Naruto died, then those flames would not do a lick of damage to anyone except themselves.

Countless numbers of cultivators watched anxiously as everything shook. As for Long Linzi, he knew exactly what his mission was. The safety of his homeland, and his enmity toward Naruto , became one, filling him with an explosive madness that caused him to disregard even his own safety.

" Naruto !" Long Linzi let out a mighty roar as he shot with incredible speed toward the 1st Heaven. As he neared, the land mass up above continued to break apart. There were even some places along the borders that were falling. Scattered fragments of stone were falling down through the starry sky, which were then set aflame by the friction of entering the region of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Soon, the starry sky was like a sea of flames.

Everyone watching was filled with complete and utter shock. Long Linzi even began to burn his own life force, causing flames to burst out around him as he shot toward the 1st Heaven.

In the same moment that he was about to set foot into the 1st Heaven, Naruto was hovering there in midair, looking at the mass of flames around him. Miserable shrieks rang out in his ears as the lands cracked and crumbled. Cities fell in ruin, and numerous buildings collapsed. Mountains became plains, and plains became rifts and valleys.

He could sense the power of expulsion coming from the world, as well as the bitterness of the world's will as it howled in grief. Inwardly, Naruto sighed, then suddenly looked off into the distance.

A moment later, his eyes came to rest on Long Linzi, who had just burst into the 1st Heaven like a lightning bolt. This was his home, where he had grown up and practiced cultivation. He had many wonderful memories of this place, and everywhere he looked he could see places where he had spent time.

But now, looking around caused him to tremble, and his vision to turn red as if with blood. He wanted to say something, to shout out, but no sound would come. He began to pant, and the feeling of fury and madness within him was completely overwhelming.

"Y-you… you maniac! I can't believe you're willing to destroy my people, my tribe, all the cities… the entire world! We might be at war, but how could you go so far!?" Long Linzi's maddened eyes were completely bloodshot, and were even shedding tears of blood. His heart felt as if it were being stabbed. In all directions, he only saw destroyed cities, and countless numbers of his people dead or dying.

He smelled the blood of his fellow tribesmen, and could see piles of corpses and ruins….

" Naruto !" he roared. Filled with hatred and madness, he transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Naruto , causing everything to shake.

"So you do understand that there are limits to the wars of cultivators.

Mortals should be left alone." Naruto looked scornfully at Long Linzi.

Voice cool, he said, "I'm not sure about all of the other cultivators in the Mountains and Seas," he continued, "But I live by the motto… an eye for an eye, blood for blood!

"Today, the extermination of the 1st Heaven is only the beginning!" Naruto 's voice was as cold as ice as it echoed out. At the same time, he clenched his right hand into a fist and then punched out toward Long Linzi.

He was 5,000 kilometers away, but he still unleashed the LifeExtermination Fist!

A will of extermination exploded out, sucking in all of the life force in the area, the life of the 1st Heaven. That fist strike shook lands, rocked mountains, and caused colors to flash in the air as it rumbled forth.

Long Linzi's eyes widened. Although he was completely enraged, he was still in command of his senses. As soon as Naruto attacked, his heart began to thump. Even though the power of the fist strike came purely from Naruto 's fleshly body, it still filled him with a sensation of intense danger.

Without any hesitation, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then pointed toward Naruto . Instantly, Essence power exploded out, becoming a six-colored vortex that slammed into Naruto 's fist strike.

RUMBLE!

Heaven and Earth were trembling, as was Long Linzi as he staggered backward, blood spraying out of his mouth. Naruto also fell back, and although every step he took was upon the air itself, the ground below quaked in response, and after a few steps, it exploded.

The ground collapsed for 3,000 meters in all directions as a huge hole appeared in the earth. Rocks and rubble fell down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm as a crater was opened up that pierced through the entire 1st Heaven.

In fact, if you looked down into that breach, you would be able to see the Mountain and Sea Realm down below.

That was how Naruto fought: borrowing the force of an attack against him to unleash his own bombardment.

Long Linzi roared, and his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing six Essences to erupt out. They instantly transformed into six ferocious lizards, which radiated fearsome wills of extermination as they charged Naruto .

Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he laughed coldly. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he waved it out, summoning the Paragon Bridge. When the Paragon Bridge descended onto the six

Essence lizards, a massive rumbling boom echoed out as everything was destroyed.

Long Linzi looked at the shattered lands that were his home, and screamed. Then, laughing bitterly, he began to burn his life force to explosively increase the power of his cultivation base. In the blink of an eye, he pierced through the air to appear in front of Naruto . His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and flames leapt out to form a gigantic mouth which lunged toward Naruto .

Naruto had no time to dodge. He simply watched as the black mouth of flames bit down onto him.

Black flames raged as everything was ripped open: the sky, the land, and the air. But then, rumbling sounds could be heard as the black flames collapsed, and Naruto walked out, holding the Battle Weapon.

He didn't pause for even a moment before charging Long Linzi. The

Battle Weapon was incredibly powerful, but was also quite draining. Although Naruto was careful with how he drew upon his cultivation base, when the time came to attack, he never hesitated. And now, the Battle Weapon was slashing down toward Long Linzi.

In that instant, however, a tremor ran through Long Linzi, and he suddenly threw his head back and howled. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as his body unexpectedly split apart like a cicada shedding its carapace. Shockingly, only one of those bodies was hit by the Battle Weapon!

The other body fell back in full retreat, black light flickering around him. Although his aura had diminished, he was completely uninjured.

"How many times can you attack like that?!" Long Linzi roared, a windstorm kicking up around him.

Naruto frowned, performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, and then pointed toward Long Linzi. It was the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, and yet, as soon as the Hexing magic was unleashed, Long Linzi threw his head back and roared.

"Mother of lizards, will of the 1st Heaven, safeguard me!" as Long Linzi roared, a shocking will arose from within the crumbling 1st Heaven. It instantly descended upon Long Linzi, fighting back against the Hexing magic, completely negating it in shocking fashion!

Naruto 's eyes narrowed, but he didn't hesitate. He put the Battle Weapon away and then clenched his fist to unleash the Bedevilment

Fist.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1342

Chapter 1342: Earth Shatters!

Long Linzi was sent tumbling backward with a boom. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, but a vicious expression could be seen on his face as he began to perform an incantation gesture. However, even as he did so, Naruto snorted coldly and transformed into an azure roc.

As the roc closed in, talons ripped through the air toward Long Linzi.

Even as those talons closed in, rumbling sounds echoed out from Long Linzi as he abandoned his humanoid shape and transformed into a black lizard. Roaring, he swept his tail through the air, shattering it as it bashed into the roc.

The azure roc shattered, and blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth. However, he didn't slow down. Instead, his right hand clenched into a fist and he punched Long Linzi directly in the chest!

This was none other than the God-Slaying Fist!

It converged his will with the will of Heaven, turning into a fist strike that could exterminate everything!

Massive booms rang out as the fist absorbed half of the life force of the entire 1st Heaven, unleashing both a spirit of Bedevilment and a will of God-Slaying. Long Linzi screamed miserably as he was sent tumbling backward. His flesh and blood were mangled, his scales shattered. He slammed into the ground, which quaked as a huge crater opened up!

As that crater crumbled open, Naruto once again began to grow in size until he was 3,000 meters tall. Then he took a step forward, leaping into the crater and slamming another fist toward Long Linzi.

However, as the fist was unleashed, Naruto frowned. Long Linzi body was somewhat blurry, and he even let out a cold snort.

"Not real?" Naruto murmured, his expression calm. However, his right hand didn't slow down, but instead sped up as it rocketed toward the illusory figure. The full power of his fleshly body and his cultivation base backed the fist strike as it passed through the illusion and slammed into the earth behind it.

The resulting boom shook the entire land mass. Several massive craters formed that penetrated all the way through to the other side of the land mass, sending massive amounts of rubble tumbling down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

As for Naruto himself, he followed the collapse of the crater down, evading the vicious tail strike which swept out from Long Linzi.

As the tail screamed past his head, Long Linzi roared viciously, then changed tactics, reaching out with his hands to grab Naruto .

"You don't need to come after me," Naruto said coolly. The Lightning Cauldron suddenly appeared above his head. Lighting danced, and he turned in the direction of Long Linzi, instantly switching places with him via Form Displacement Transposition.

The moment they switched locations, Naruto unleashed his divine sense, which was eighty percent as powerful as a Paragon's.

A boom could be heard as it crushed onto Long Linzi, shoving him downward. Divine sense that powerful should have been enough to seriously injure him, and yet an enormous statue suddenly appeared behind him, which surrounded Long Linzi and also resisted the divine sense.

As it fought back, it pushed aggressively toward Naruto . Just when Naruto was about to counterattack, a sacrificial power suddenly rose up from within the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

That sacrificial power caused Long Linzi to grow rapidly, and also increased the level of his cultivation base. He then threw his head back and howled as he shot toward Naruto at top speed.

Naruto frowned. He could tell that the Outsider Imperial Lord who was fighting with Ksitigarbha in the Fourth Mountain and Sea could not extricate himself from the fight. Instead, he had unleashed this secret magic, taking some of his own cultivation base and imparting it upon Long Linzi.

Rumbling echoed out as flames erupted around the incoming Long Linzi. Then he performed an incantation gesture, and the huge statue's eyes opened. It glared at Naruto with a look like death itself, completely locking down the area surrounding him.

"Die!" howled Long Linzi, barreling forward to slam his head into Naruto .

Naruto 's right hand shot up, and the meat jelly appeared. Knowing exactly what Naruto wanted, it simply sighed and transformed into a wide rubbery membrane.

A mighty thwacking sound echoed out as Long Linzi slammed into the meat jelly and was then propelled backward, the force of his blow dispersed. Trembling, Long Linzi let out a roar, and yet, it couldn't drown out the cry of pain that rang out from the meat jelly's mouth.

"OWWW! That hurt like hell! Lord Third gives up! I give up!" The meat jelly rapidly shrank back down, transforming into a beam of light that shot back into Naruto 's bag of holding.

As for Long Linzi, the backlash sent stabs of pain throughout his body, setting his Chakra and blood aboil, and temporarily freezing up his cultivation base.

Naruto 's eyes flickered. Even as Long Linzi fell back, he extended his right hand and waved his finger to unleash the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex.

Long Linzi lurched to a stop; they were no longer in the 1st Heaven now, but rather, underneath it. Therefore, Long Linzi could no longer benefit from the blessing of the will of the 1st Heaven, and thus, the Demon Sealing Hex immediately succeeded.

Almost as soon as Long Linzi lurched to a stop, the Battle Weapon appeared in Naruto 's hand, which he slashed out.

"Let's see how you escape this time!" he said. Killing intent flickered in Naruto 's eyes.

This slashing blade was moving too fast for Long Linzi to be able to defend against. No escape magic could be used, and he was also locked in place by Naruto 's Hexing magic.

However, it was at this point that, in another part of the starry sky, the Outsider Paragon who was fighting Sea Dream suddenly let out a powerful roar, causing a blood-colored light to shine from its body.

Instantly, a similar blood-colored light began to shine from Long Linzi. Apparently, some sort of strange connection had sprung up between the two of them!

"Blood Symbiosis?" Sea Dream said coldly. "Eegoo, you really dare to unleash this magic while fighting me?" She immediately attacked the Paragon. However, because of the blood-colored light, Naruto 's attack was already doomed to fail. Long Linzi vanished, reappearing off in the distance a moment later. Meanwhile, Naruto 's Battle Weapon slashed a massive rift into the void.

Off in the distance, Long Linzi glared at Naruto , his lips twisting into a smile. However, instead of heading toward Naruto again, he turned and shot toward the Mountain and Sea Realm. Naruto simply watched him go, eyes cold.

" Naruto , since you dare to exterminate the 1st Heaven, I'll just start exterminating cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm! Let's see… whether or not you choose to save them!" Long Linzi was already coughing up blood, and in a completely bedraggled state. Roaring, he shot toward the Mountain and Sea Realm, hoping to force Naruto to stop attacking the 1st Heaven!

 _You want to wipe out the 1st Heaven? I'll slaughter your Mountain and Sea cultivators! Let's see which of us is the most ruthless, and who gives in first!_

The maddened Long Linzi rapidly picked up speed.

"Do you care more about this dying land mass than the living cultivators of the Mountains and Seas? What's your choice, Naruto ?"

Naruto 's pupils constricted. The effective power of his cultivation base was already past the 5-Essences level, and was fully in the 6Essences level. However, Long Linzi was at the same level. Although there was some difference between them, that difference wasn't vast. Furthermore, Naruto 's most powerful asset, his divine sense, was something his opponent was already equipped to defend himself against.

Most relevant was that he had received blessings from an Imperial Lord and a Paragon. Because of all those terrifying enhancements, he had numerous ways to avoid death. Were that not the case, he would already be dead, cut down by Naruto 's Battle Weapon.

An unsightly expression appeared on Naruto 's face. Suddenly, he transmitted a message. "Choumen Tai, can you turn this Outsider Paragon Eegoo into a puppet?"

Choumen Tai's ancient voice immediately echoed back in response. "To guarantee success, it must be done when the Paragon is personally attacking you. I only have one chance to pull it off, and in this situation the likelihood of success is less than thirty percent."

In all of Naruto 's calculations, he had never anticipated that Long Linzi would escape from the battle at such a critical moment. Now that he thought about it, it most likely had something to do with the Outsider Paragon.

Only that Paragon would be able to save Long Linzi and then use him to pin Naruto down.

Naruto had no choice. Rationally speaking, he should just continue to attack the 1st Heaven. However, his heart wouldn't let him do that.

Sighing softly, he was about to make his choice when his eyes suddenly widened. Looking down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm, he saw a bright beam of light shooting with incredible speed… directly toward Long Linzi!

"Patriarch Reliance…." Naruto thought, completely shaken.

It was none other than Patriarch Reliance, howling as he flew along at top speed.

"Hey, you wimpy little lizard, Patriarch Reliance is here to put you in your place!" Patriarch Reliance roared, suddenly growing even more gargantuan in size as he barreled toward the Long Linzi.

At the same time, a tremor ran through Patriarch Reliance, and rumbling sounds could be heard as innumerable magical symbols appeared all over him. When Patriarch Reliance wasn't attacking Naruto , those magical symbols could actually bolster the power of his cultivation base. Furthermore, the fluctuations of sealing marks being released suddenly emanated out.

Patriarch Reliance's biggest secret was something that no one except for

Naruto knew about. He had been alive since the days of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect. When he and Naruto had clashed in the past, the cultivation base power he had unleashed was already in the Dao Realm. There was even a brief moment once where he had emitted the fluctuations of a Dao Lord.

Patriarch Reliance was one tough cookie, and the fact that he was now on a collision course with him filled Long Linzi with fear. Now, thanks to the interference of Patriarch Reliance, he was unable to engage in any form of slaughter in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Naruto laughed loudly. Now, it was without any hesitation that he shot back toward the land mass that was the 1st Heaven. To the grief of the will of the 1st Heaven, rumbling could be heard as more cities fell, and more statues were destroyed. Mountains and rivers vanished, and the entire land mass began to show signs that it was going to fall completely!

Chunks of rubble began to drop down as fissures spread out across the entire land mass. Rumbling sounds could be heard as huge sections of land began to tumble down.

All of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm watched as the land mass that was the 1st Heaven began to shatter into pieces!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1343

Chapter 1343 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1343: Heaven Collapses!

Spirits were stirred!

As of this moment, all cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm felt their spirits rising in unprecedented fashion!

"Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!" In all of the Nine Mountains and Seas, the cultivators were whipped into an excited frenzy. They immediately launched vicious counterattacks against the Outsiders. At the same time, their hearts were filled with anticipation. Anticipation… at the thought of the Heaven which loomed over them falling to pieces.

They were waiting. Each and every one of the Mountain and Sea cultivators was waiting!

They were waiting… for Heaven to collapse!

Afterward, that Heaven would never again block the gazes of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm as they looked up into the sky. Layer by layer, the sealing of the 33 Heavens would be destroyed, and the Mountain and Sea cultivators… would be able to look up into the true starry sky, and see the true Vast Expanse!

It would be just like in the days of the Paragon Immortal Realm, when they were valiant and indomitable in spirit!

The Outsiders were in a daze, trembling as they looked up at the shattering land mass that was the 1st Heaven. For the first time, they truly felt fear, fear and dread regarding the Paragon Immortal Realm which had existed deep in their blood, and was now gradually seeping out.

Countless Outsiders were shaking in fear, and although they were still fighting, still struggling against the Mountain and Sea cultivators, that was only because they still held hope that… the land mass above would not collapse!

The Imperial Lord roared, and the Paragon raged. Wild colors flashed in

Heaven and Earth, and massive rumbling sounds could be heard. The 1st Heaven was shaking violently, and more pieces were beginning to crumble away!

The will of the world that existed in the 1st Heaven let out a scream of boundless grief, as if it were dying….

Shockingly, corpses were now falling down through the cracks that spread throughout the 1st Heaven. There were also the crumbled ruins of buildings, and even large swaths of entire cities.

The whole world was completely shaken!

"NO!" Despondent howls rang out from several different locations among the Mountains and Seas, where the incarnations of the Outsider Dao Sovereign were.

Those various incarnations had been fighting the Mountain and Sea Lords, but now they were trembling and losing the will to fight. Their eyes were bright red, and in their madness, tears of blood were seeping down.

That was because they had just caught sight of a city falling down out of the sky. Only about half of it was left intact, and that city was actually the personal fiefdom of the Outsider Dao Sovereign in the 1st Heaven. It also… was the home of many of his relatives!

But now, the city was collapsing, and thus, one could imagine the fates of all of those relatives.

" Naruto !" howled the incarnations of the Outsider Dao Sovereign, which then went all out, paying any price, even burning their life forces to try to break out from being pinned down by the Mountain and Sea Lords.

Of course, the Mountain and Sea Lords weren't in the same position as the Outsider Dao Sovereign, and weren't willing to burn their life forces. In the brief moment of hesitation in which they tried to decide what to do, the Dao Sovereign's incarnations burst free.

Beams of burning light shot through the air to converge together into a unified figure, which was the complete Dao Sovereign!

Although his incarnations had been severely injured, and two had been cut down by Naruto , burning his life force quickly returned him to his peak. Throwing his head back and howling, he shot toward the 1st Heaven, brimming with hatred and madness.

As of this moment, all Outsiders could see what was happening, and were shaking in anticipation of their Dao Sovereign preventing their home from being destroyed!

Tears of blood streaked down the Outsider Dao Sovereign's face as he shot through the air toward the 1st Heaven. However, in almost the exact same instant that he took to flight, massive, jaw-dropping rumbling sounds echoed out from the 1st Heaven, shaking the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. The noise was so loud that cultivators and Outsiders alike felt as if their eardrums would burst at any moment. All of them stopped fighting and looked up toward the 1st Heaven.

What they saw was a massive crack splitting the entire land mass, as a chunk that comprised nearly ten percent of the entire structure… suddenly begin to split off, accompanied by grating sounds as loud as thunder.

A massive chunk of the overall land mass, a piece large as the starry sky of any of the Mountains and Seas, slowly… began to sag down!

As that chunk slowly tilted to the side, all buildings and structures atop the land mass crumbled. However, it was also possible to see areas where the chunk was still connected to the main land mass.

It was in that moment that Naruto appeared. He raised his right hand and unleashed a fist strike. To the shock of everyone, that blast… cut all connections with the main land mass.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

A full ten percent of the entire land mass began to fall down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm. It was incredibly enormous, so big that it seemed capable of crushing anything beneath it. However, it was then that the will of the Mountains and Seas swept out, shredding the lifeless chunk into countless clouds of rubble, which exploded out into the starry sky like blooming flowers and then slowly floated downward.

The Mountain and Sea Realm went completely silent. The Outsiders stared with wide eyes.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign was trembling, and then let out a miserable howl filled with despair, hatred, and even… regret!

Whether he regretted splitting himself into multiple incarnations, or regretted marching out to battle, and the war itself… only he could know.

Then, rumbling sounds echoed out as a second chunk of the land mass began to split off. Then a third, a fourth, and a fifth….

Seas of flame raged in the starry sky, illuminating the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. By now, the land mass was completely riddled with massive cracks. One chunk after another began to break off and fall down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

A long moment passed, and then the loudest boom of them all echoed out, a boom which rocked the whole Mountain and Sea Realm, and the entire 1st Heaven.

BOOOM!

It was like a sudden clap of thunder that roared out into the starry sky, and even caused the Mountain and Sea Realm to vibrate…. Then, gasps began to rise up into the air.

The 1st Heaven… was completely collapsing!

All cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm could see that it was completely and utterly broken into countless pieces.

Rubble fell down, as if the 1st Heaven were a mirror which had been shattered. Not a single piece of land was qualified to remain floating up above in the starry sky….

All of the shattered, crushed and broken remnants fell down out of the sky.

Heaven collapsed!

That collapse was only a collapse of the 1st Heaven, but as of this moment, it was a huge blow to all Outsiders within the Mountain and Sea Realm. They were trembling violently, and none of them could even speak. Their eyes were filled with blankness and despair….

Their home was gone….

Their home, which had flourished for tens upon tens of thousands of years, was now gone….

Their fellow tribe members were gone….

In the past, countless relatives had lived quiet lives up in the 1st

Heaven, but now they were gone. The 1st Heaven was destroyed, shattered into pieces. Cities, rubble, and corpses fell down like rain. Everything… was no more.

Despair washed through the Outsiders, and they no longer had any will to fight. They were trembling, and terrified….

In sharp contrast, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were enlivened, and completely ready to do battle!

Chapter 1343: Heaven Collapses!

Note from Deathblade: This is another short chapter. Er Gen said that he felt this was the proper place to end it, and it was also one of his fourupdates-in-a-day times when he was campaigning for monthly vote tickets.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1344

Chapter 1344 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1344: Another Encounter With World Essence!

Naruto had truly done something that shook Heaven and Earth…. A mighty act!

He could not illuminate every inch of the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm, but he could cause light to shine within the eyes of all cultivators there, to gleam within their hearts and their divine will!

That light was the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the rise to prominence of an entire people!

He destroyed the 1st Heaven to crush the hearts of the Outsiders, and to give hope to the Mountain and Sea cultivators, to stir their hearts!

 _We can do it!_

We can still secure victory!

Rumbling echoed down from above, and at the same time, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm roared. Their impassioned cries swept out like tempests; not even the sounds of the 1st Heaven's destruction could drown them out!

"The 1st Heaven… is collapsing!"

"The 1st Heaven… is no more!"

"He did it! Naruto … actually did it!" People were shouting and crying, and their tears glistened under the flickering light of the flames overhead; the light their eyes shone with was that of hope, of inspiration, and of determination.

Within the Seventh Mountain and Sea, on Planet Tiger Cage, the cultivators were all trembling with excitement. Their hearts had been dead, but now that the 1st Heaven was collapsing, it was as if they had been resurrected.

In the Nine Mountains and Seas, the cultivators on all of the battlefields had been repressed for far too long. Now that the 1st Heaven had collapsed, they erupted out, exploded, and their rising spirits filled the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

" Naruto , Naruto !" It was hard to say who said it first, but soon everyone was chanting his name. All of the voices in the Mountain and Sea Realm joined together into a thunderous cry.

The sound of their conjoined voices rose up through the starry sky, until even Naruto could hear them.

" Naruto , Naruto !"

" Naruto , Naruto !"

The Mountain and Sea Realm was astir in a way it had never been before. The cultivators were bursting with excitement, and as for the Outsiders, they were trembling in despair and utter terror.

Although they didn't completely understand, they could sense that the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were different than they had been before. They were more valiant, more unyielding, and more terrifying!

It was as if a unified people was finally rising up!

It was as if the Mountain and Sea Realm had been a sleeping giant that anyone could humiliate freely. But now, that giant… had opened its eyes. It was… awake!

That awakening caused Heaven and Earth to flash with colors!

That awakening caused the starry sky to be completely shaken!

The crumbling 1st Heaven up above was like a sacrificial offering which was now awakening the Mountain and Sea Realm!

In the Ninth Mountain and Sea, everyone in the Namikaze Clan was cheering. Namikaze Xiufeng couldn't be more excited as he watched Naruto , his heart bursting with intense pride. He wanted to shout out to all cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, " Naruto is MY son!"

All of the Chosen who Naruto had dealt with in the past, be it Fan Dong'er or Ji Yin, couldn't help but be swept up in the excitement. Although they had some mixed emotions, they weren't thinking about the things that had happened in the past. In their eyes, they saw… a blazing sun, lifting the spirits of the people…. Naruto !

In fact, there were even some cultivators who looked over at those Chosen and suddenly realized that owing Naruto money might actually be something that one could be proud of….

If Naruto asked, there would be hosts of people who would elatedly write promissory notes for him….

To be connected to him by Karma could be considered good fortune!

Hinata was smiling, Namikaze Yu was smiling, and Uzumaki Li was smiling. A smile could even be seen on the face of Li Ling'er. As of this moment, all cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm felt something different inside of them that hadn't been there before.

On Planet South Heaven, Shui Dongliu watched the Mountain and Sea Realm rise up, watched hope appear, and he threw his head back and laughed.

"With this spirit, then… even if the Mountains and Seas are defeated, then as long as a single cultivator remains alive, then the spark will burn, and the bloodline of the Mountains and Seas will be passed down for all eternity!" Shui Dongliu laughed heartily, a laughter of pure happiness. He knew that as of this day, victory and defeat… were not important.

Up in the starry sky, Naruto hovered there, looking down at the entirety of the Mountain and Sea Realm. At the same time, the cultivators down below were looking up through the shattered remnants of the 1st Heaven at Naruto .

Naruto felt as if he should say something, so he thought for a moment, then spoke. "I am a Mountain and Sea cultivator!"

He bolstered his words with his cultivation base and divine sense, causing them to echo out, starting with the Fourth Mountain and Sea, then spreading to the Third, Second, First as well as the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, Eighth and Ninth.

Gradually, everyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm was shouting the exact same thing!

"I am a Mountain and Sea cultivator!"

"I am a Mountain and Sea cultivator!"

"I am a Mountain and Sea cultivator!" The sound rolled out as each and every cultivator shouted from the bottoms of their heart, shouted words that contained their lives, their wills, and their pride!

Even more shocking was what happened next. There on Planet South Heaven, Shui Dongliu threw his head back and lifted both hands up into the air. In response, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm began to boil and rumble explosively. Massive amounts of the energy of Heaven and Earth, which had been stored up for years, now spread out through the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, boring into the bodies of all cultivators.

One by one, people began to roar as they experienced cultivation base breakthroughs!

They had been suppressed for far too long, but now, the seal of the 33 Heavens was weakening. Now that the Mountain and Sea Realm had been stimulated, the cultivators began to soar!

Henceforth… the 33 Heavens… were now 32 Heavens, and their seal had lost one of its layers!

As the rumbling sounds echoed out into the ears of the Outsiders, they shook, and began to edge backward. They no longer had any will or faith to fight whatsoever.

Even the Outsider Dao Sovereign Long Linzi who was fighting Patriarch Reliance was shaking.

"Perhaps… we were mistaken. A Mountain and Sea Realm like this, the continuation of the Paragon Immortal Realm itself, is something… that we cannot subjugate… that we cannot destroy…."

The Outsider Imperial Lord fighting with Ksitigarbha also began to shake. His cultivation base put him on the cusp of being a Paragon, and therefore, he could see even more of what was happening. He could see the Mountain and Sea Realm awakening, and he could see its aura slowly rising up from deep within.

Outsider Paragon Eegoo, who was fighting Paragon Sea Dream, felt intense bitterness in his heart. As a Paragon, he could see the entirety of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and understood everything that was happening. He could also sense that terrifying aura rising up, the pride which had been passed down all the way from the Paragon Immortal Realm.

The Immortals from the era of the Paragon Immortal Realm had been valiant, proud without being arrogant. They had been powerful, but not cruel, and had thus subjugated numerous Lower Realms, sweeping across all Heaven and Earth, dominating the starry skies!

It had been a very, very long time since Paragon Eegoo saw an aura like this, and yet… here it was on this day. Yet again, he felt that aura taking root.

"This kid might not love fighting," he thought, "and he might not understand troop movements and formations. Nor does he excel in the art of war, or of military campaigns. However he… has mastered the quintessence of war!

"Ordinary people think that war is about subjugation. Some more intelligent people realize that it is about death and destruction. However… the truly wise know… that war is about destroying the spirit of your enemy….

"Any given world, and any given people, have a spirit that leads to the most terrifying kind of willpower. Back in the days of the Paragon Immortal Realm, that spirit was suppressed, and that willpower altered, forced to hole up here. It was sealed up, not just by the 33 Heavens, but by the people themselves.

"But now, everything has changed…. That kid, must die!" The Outsider Paragon's eyes flickered with cold light.

It was at about this time that bitter laughter could be heard not too far away from Naruto . It was the Outsider Dao Sovereign, who had now converged his incarnations back together, who had burned his life force to try to prevent the 1st Heaven from collapsing. However, he had acted too late. Now, his mind was completely shaking. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he shot murderously toward Naruto , raving in madness.

"You destroyed my home, and you destroyed my people!" he shrieked as he closed in at top speed. "You wiped out everything that was ours, Naruto !"

"You wiped yourselves out," Naruto said calmly. He was just about to launch an attack, when all of a sudden, he turned to look at the collapsing 1st Heaven.

He could sense… the aura of Essence!

"World Essence!" he thought. Eyes glittering, heart surging with elation, he thought back to the World Essence of the Windswept Realm. The enormous land mass that was the 1st Heaven also had Essence, although it vastly exceeded the Essence from the Windswept Realm. After all, this had been one of the few surviving, unbroken remnants of the 3,000 Lower Realms.

Therefore, it was only natural… that this place had World Essence! 1

World Essence was a supreme Dao, a complete Dao based on an entire World. As such, different worlds had different types of World Essence!

Years before, Naruto had experienced numerous deadly situations, all to acquire the World Essence of the Windswept Realm. After acquiring it, he had been able to unlock his Allheaven Dao Immortal bloodline, and had even been able to plant the Allheaven Dao seed within the blood of the entire Namikaze Clan!

That World Essence had affected Naruto in a profound way. In fact, later on, the only reason why he eventually rose to the heights he had, to be able to slaughter Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns, was because of his Allheaven bloodline. And that… was because of the Windswept Realm's World Essence, the Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao!

As of this moment, Naruto was completely shaken. He could sense the Allheaven Dao Immortal blood inside him boiling, as if it were consumed by incredible thirst. He suddenly had the intense premonition that if he could get that World Essence, then he might have a chance to further awaken his Allheaven Dao Immortal blood!

He could even sense that the World Essence of the 1st Heaven was something very different than the Windswept Realm's Traitorous Sutra of the Rebel Dao. If he could gain enlightenment of it, the results would be extraordinary!

It could help cultivators gain enlightenment of great Dao relics of

Heaven and Earth.

The 33 Heavens had tolerated the Windswept Realm only because of its World Essence which they coveted.

Right now, as the land mass that was the 1st Heaven collapsed, it was possible to tell that this World Essence was far more powerful than the Windswept Realm's. Furthermore… it was now seeping out through the shattered cracks that riddled the 1st Heaven.

Naruto didn't hesitate for a moment. He flickered into motion, avoiding the Outsider Dao Sovereign to suddenly appear in the location of the World Essence.

When that happened, an intense Essence aura rumbled out toward Naruto . His mind suddenly grew a hundred times clearer, and he became a hundred times more agile. The feeling of a great Dao, of a powerful Essence, was even more explosive than before.

Most importantly, his powers of deduction were now vastly beyond what they had been.

Even his bloodline experienced strange transformations, signs of absorption and change!

Chapter 1344: Another Encounter With World Essence!

World Essence was a fairly important part of the Windswept Realm arc, and was mentioned many times. The most relevant chapters were

1147–1149 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1345

Chapter 1345 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1345: Hexing Magic Essence!

As soon as Naruto sensed the World Essence, he began to absorb it. The World Essence around him began to move, and then became visible for all to see.

Countless motes of light, emanating soft glows, floated out from the 1st Heaven and spread out to fill the entire area. From a distance, it was possible to see one hundred thousand of them, forming together into the shape of a lizard.

As for Naruto , he was located where that lizard's heart would be, where the World Essence was most dense!

At this point, the Outsider Dao Sovereign gasped, then cried out, "World Essence!"

The Outsider Paragon fighting Sea Dream saw the lizard-shaped World Essence, and his eyes filled with grief.

Not all worlds could give birth to World Essence. However, if one did, if that resulting World Essence was given enough time, it could actually become… a real living being!

All of the cultivators and Outsiders could see what was happening, although not everyone understood it.

Of course, thanks to the events which had occurred in the Windswept Realm, the Echelon cultivators from the various Mountains and Seas knew exactly what they were looking at, and their jaws dropped. It only took an instant for them to realize that this was World Essence.

Naruto 's heart was pounding. Based on the level of his current cultivation base, being able to sense this World Essence filled him with an intense desire to acquire it. Furthermore, he knew that World Essence was extremely precious, especially to him.

He was currently in the very middle of all of the World Essence, and every breath he took caused vast amounts of it to flow into him. His thinking grew quicker, his powers of deduction stronger, and even his willpower seemed to increase. It was if he were becoming more at one with Heaven and Earth.

It was at this same point that the Outsider Dao Sovereign, eyes red, life force burning, suddenly had a strange feeling. He wasn't sure if it was an illusion or not, but after seeing Naruto begin to absorb the World Essence, he almost thought he could hear the World Essence screaming.

This was the Essence of his home, the homeland of his heart, the mother of lizards!

" Naruto !" he roared. He flickered into motion, shooting into the World

Essence in an attempt to stop Naruto . However, as he closed in, Naruto 's eyes flickered, and he dodged to the side, clearly not interested in tangling with the Outsider Dao Sovereign. Instead, he went all-out to continue to absorb the World Essence.

When he couldn't dodge to the side, he used the Lightning Cauldron and Form Displacement Transposition to put distance between the two of them as he continued to absorb the World Essence. As for the Outsider Dao Sovereign, considering that Naruto wasn't of a mind to do combat, there was little he could do.

After all, although it might seem as if they were on the same level in terms of battle prowess, the truth of the matter was that Naruto was now just a bit stronger than the Outsider Dao Sovereign!

Were it not for the fact that the World Essence seemed unstable, as if it might fade away at any moment, then Naruto would definitely have already attacked and killed him, and then continued the absorption process later.

Unfortunately, there was no time for that. His body flashed as he dodged a black sea of flames, after which he took in a deep breath, causing massive amounts of World Essence to rumble toward him.

As the World Essence shrank down, miserable screams echoed out that could be heard nowhere else except in the minds of the Outsiders.

It was as if the World Essence was begging its people, begging all lizard cultivators, to help it!

Throughout the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Outsiders were trembling, and expressions of grief could be seen on their faces. However, there was nothing they could do….

Naruto continued to absorb the World Essence, and his eyes began to glow with increasing brightness. He almost looked like a sun, radiating a dazzling, boundless light of understanding.

He could clearly sense his thoughts racing faster than ever before; he could detect things that he had never been able to detect before, and could also feel the indescribable enlightenment of a Dao.

It was as if the great Daos of Heaven and Earth were all there in front of him, and all he had to do was pick one and attempt to understand its fundamental nature. Then… it would be able to grow into an Essence which belonged solely to him.

This was not like the Divine Flame, which was an external entity, and not his own!

What he was able to do now actually came from his experiences back in the Windswept Realm. There, he had laid the foundation by coming to enlightenment regarding 3,000 great Daos. That became the sowing of Karma, and today he was able to reap it!

"Understanding Essence…." he thought, his eyes flashing.

"I don't need to gain enlightenment of any outside Essence. 3,000 great Daos. 3,000 Essences. Nobody can have all 3,000…. I only need enlightenment of nine Daos!

"Those nine Daos aren't anything I need to jealously attempt to acquire from others, but rather, things which exist inside of me…. There are definitely no Essences more suitable to me than the Nine Demon Sealing Hexes!

"I came up with this idea before, to use the Demon Sealing Hexing magics as my Dao Realm Essences. If each one of the Hexes can be an Essence, then… when I get all nine Hexes, I will have nine Essences. And that is when I, Naruto … will step into the pinnacle of the Paragon level!" Naruto 's eyes were shining brightly, and his heart was pounding. As of this moment, he didn't hesitate at all. He went all out with every scrap of power he could muster to gain complete enlightenment of… the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex!

Body-Spirit Hexing!

In the instant that Naruto made his decision to seek enlightenment of the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, rumbling sounds filled his mind as all of his mental faculties focused completely on that Hex!

His mind filled with a roaring like the crash of endless thunder as he analyzed the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, focused on it, broke it apart and dug into it!

He contemplated why the Hex could cease the movement of the cultivation base, and he pondered how it could even control Essence. He analyzed why the Hex was even capable of locking down Nascent Divinities!

He even analyzed how the Eighth Generation Demon Sealer… created this particular Hexing magic!

Without the World Essence, it would have taken Naruto a very, very long time to do something like this, and would have required constant research and contemplation. But now, the World Essence almost seemed to make time move differently; it was as if 10,000 years passed by for Naruto with a single thought, benefiting him with all of the understanding he would come to in such a time!

As he continued to analyze and ponder, screams echoed endlessly within the minds of the Outsiders, and they knew that the motes of light that were the World Essence were being uncontrollably absorbed by Naruto .

In the blink of an eye, 30,000 motes of light had been sucked into him.

His powers of deduction became more profound, and he could analyze things faster. His eyes gleamed so brightly that anyone who could actually see him would be shocked.

It was at this point that an aura of enlightenment began to rise up from him, to merge with Heaven and Earth, as if he were becoming one with the world!

This type of enlightenment was something that all cultivators dreamed of. It was… Dao enlightenment!

"NO!" screamed the Outsider Dao Sovereign, eyes flashing with madness. Suddenly, his body collapsed, spreading out into the starry sky to form a crimson sea of blood, upon which raged black flames.

The red and the black mixed with each other, turning into violet. This was apparently some sort of spirit dissolving grand magic; the Outsider Dao Sovereign was willing to abandon his fleshly body and his Dao foundation, to burn all of the power of his Nascent Divinity, to turn into a sea of flames that swept magnificently toward Naruto .

Naruto did nothing to dodge or evade. His eyes shone with a strange light as the sea of blood surged toward him. Then, he waved his finger.

That wave of a finger didn't unleash the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, and yet a powerful ripple spread out, causing the sea of blood to lurch to a stop. However, it took only a moment to recover. Rumbling sounds echoed out as violet waves roared, sending blistering heat out toward Naruto , along with the power of extermination.

"DIE!" screamed the Outsider Dao Sovereign from within the sea of blood, causing a massive pressure to erupt out, spreading out in all directions and then crushing down onto Naruto .

This insane attack by the Outsider Dao Sovereign converged all of his willpower, and burned his cultivation base away in exchange for an attack that caused even Naruto to feel a twinge of fear.

A boom could be heard, and blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto 's mouth. His entire body was on fire as he staggered backward. And yet, he seemed to be completely ignoring that fact; a blankness could now be seen in his eyes, a blankness that came from deep and profound contemplation.

It was almost as if he didn't see the danger which was right in front of him.

"DIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" The sea of blood transformed into a huge face, which was none other than that of the Outsider Dao Sovereign. He glared at Naruto with intense hatred, howling as the sea of blood suddenly began to swirl, emanating an even more terrifying aura than before as it shot toward Naruto .

Naruto sat within the sea of flames, frowning, his eyes filled with the gleam of augury.

"No, it's not just a simple Hexing magic," he muttered. "The Essence… is hidden within the Hexing magic…?" Suddenly, Naruto 's eyes glittered.

"I need more World Essence!" Completely ignoring the sea of blood bearing down on him, he suddenly took a step forward.

As his foot descended, the entire world seemed to superimpose upon itself. Then it split apart, as if he had walked into a different dimension, as if he were no longer within the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He was now outside of the sea of blood, which crashed onto his former position with a loud rumbling sound. At the same time, more of the World Essence surged toward Naruto .

10,000. 20,000…. In the blink of an eye, he had absorbed more than half of the World Essence!

His mind was now roaring, and his powers of deduction exploded, as he mentally broke apart the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, until finally… he saw the Essence of the Hexing magic!

"Space…." A tremor ran through him.

Chapter 1345: Hexing Magic Essence!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1346

Chapter 1346: Essence of space!

Naruto saw countless dimensions of space, all of them different sizes. Some were blurry, others were clear. They transformed into countless threads, threads that Naruto was very familiar with; every time he unleashed the Eighth Hex, these threads would appear, bind whoever was the target of the magic, and seal their cultivation base as well as their Nascent Divinity.

Originally, Naruto had assumed that the threads were natural laws of Heaven and Earth. But now that he could see them clearly, he understood that they… were definitely not natural or magical laws!

They were dimensional spaces!

Numerous dimensional spaces superimposed over each other and then exerted pressure onto a cultivator to seal their cultivation base and Nascent Divinity!

"Yes! This is how to truly lock someone down! Shackle the cultivation base with numerous dimensional spaces! In fact, it might be less appropriate to call it locking them down, and more appropriate to call it… a sealing!" Naruto 's mind was reeling, and his eyes shone with a strange light as the surrounding World Essence continued to pour into him.

The entire starry sky shook, and the Outsider who had transformed into a sea of flames seethed as he once again bore down on Naruto . However, instead of slamming into Naruto , he passed right through him.

It was as if Naruto was now hovering, not in the Mountain and Sea Realm, but in some other dimensional space. The only thing which remained behind was a shadow, an image which everyone could see but not touch!

As of this moment, Ksitigarbha's heart was pounding. The Outsider Imperial Lord he was fighting felt his mind trembling, and he gasped as he looked toward Naruto with complete astonishment.

It wasn't just them. Paragon Sea Dream and the Outsider Paragon Eegoo were also shocked.

The Mountain and Sea Lords, as well as the other Dao Realm experts of the Mountain and Sea Realm, all felt as if their minds were filled with crashing lightning as they realized… that they could sense the aura of Essence on Naruto .

Naruto 's expression was calm, but the glow of augury in his eyes radiated dazzlingly, and the World Essence around him roared as he absorbed it with complete abandon.

60,000. 70,000. 80,000!

Mere moments later, Naruto had absorbed more than 80,000 motes of light. Furthermore, he had entered a state in which something new was now floating in his mind…

Essence formed from space!

Why did the world have space, and what exactly was it?!

With the help of the World Essence, Naruto was able to analyze the subject, and to seek enlightenment of it. As of this moment, he had reached an unprecedentedly high peak. Rumbling could be heard as boundless light shone out from him to spread through the entire starry sky.

As of this moment, all cultivators and all Outsiders were completely shaken.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign was doing everything he could think of, but was incapable of even touching Naruto . All he could do was watch as Naruto hovered there in the starry sky, and then closed his eyes.

He was now truly gaining Dao enlightenment!

"What is space…?" Naruto murmured. The sound of his voice echoed out, causing the starry sky to shake. Although his eyes were closed, in his mind, he could see numerous dimensional spaces, spreading out in all directions, stretching out over such a vast area that they seemed limitless.

"Length… is space….

"Height… is space….

"Breadth… is also space….

"Size, can also be an expression of space…." Among the countless dimensional spaces, he saw that they could be described in terms of length, height, breadth, and overall size. And yet all of that seemed to be only a portion of what space was. Those were all… descriptions of space.

However, Naruto still didn't understand everything clearly. There was something he was missing, something he hadn't grasped. His brow furrowed as he subconsciously continued to absorb more World Essence power.

He needed to increase his powers of augury and understanding… to gain enlightenment of the true meaning of the Essence of space!

As of this moment, he had completely forgotten about the sea of flames, about the Mountain and Sea Realm, about the war. He was completely and utterly immersed in Dao enlightenment.

The rest of the world was completely shaken. Both the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Outsiders had been in an uproar, but now they were silent. Even the Imperial Lord and the Paragon said nothing.

At long last, the Outsider Dao Sovereign who had been trying every method possible to kill Naruto finally had no choice… but to stop unleashing his magic.

It was pointless….

As Naruto sought Dao enlightenment, the area around him distorted, occasionally expanding, occasionally contracting. Sometimes it would bulge upward and downward, and sometimes it would sweep out to the left or right.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign was trembling in his form of the flame sea. He couldn't affect Naruto at all, and in fact, was prevented from even getting close to him. The closer he got, the more unstable the void became, until destructive rifts even began to open up. In the end, he simply fled.

Currently nothing in existence could get close to that area, with the exception of Naruto , who was now gaining enlightenment of the Essence of space.

Naruto 's body was also in a distorted state of transformation. Rumbling could be heard as he expanded, then shrunk. In one instant he was as tiny as a mustard seed, in another, as huge as the Heavens!

The Outsider Paragon looked at Naruto with mixed emotions, and then bitterly muttered, "The Essence of space…. From ancient times until now, numerous almighty experts have sought enlightenment of it. However, those who succeeded are as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns…."

Sea Dream's eyes shone with a strange light as she watched Naruto , and a smile slowly broke out on her face.

Everyone simply watched as Naruto hovered there with his eyes closed, the same as ever, seeking enlightenment. As of now, his state exceeded that of the Eighth Generation Demon Sealer when he actually created the Eighth Hex. At that time, he had only needed to understand the initial aspects regarding length, height, breadth, and size. With that, he had been able to create the Eighth Hex.

On the other hand, what Naruto was contemplating was beyond that. He was contemplating the very Essence of space!

That was an Essence filled with endless possibilities, and Naruto wanted to know all of them!

Normally, that would be virtually impossible, but with the aid of the World Essence, it was quite the opposite. Currently, rumbling sounds echoed out as Naruto continued to absorb more World Essence like mad.

By this point, Naruto had absorbed roughly ninety percent, 90,000 motes of light!

He only continued to absorb them faster and faster. At this point, his augury and contemplation of enlightenment had reached the pinnacle. The final 10,000 motes of World Essence light were sucked into him, whereupon his mind felt as if it had been split open by a massive boom that was so loud it was impossible to describe.

Amidst the rumbling, his eyes snapped open, and although an abstruse gleam could be seen therein, there was nothing else that was vastly different. And yet, at the same time, the contrast between the blackness of his pupils and whites of his eyes was more distinct than ever!

His eyes now sparkled in a way that seemed to indicate that they were filled with a great Dao of Heaven and Earth.

"So, that's the Essence of space…." he said, smiling slightly. He could feel the Essence of space fading away within him, and could also sense his enhanced powers of augury and deduction dissipating. He sighed.

In almost the same instant that Naruto 's eyes opened, the instability in the surrounding void faded away. Furthermore, his body returned to the Mountain and Sea Realm. When the maddened Outsider Dao Sovereign saw that, his sea of flames form seethed, and he shot toward Naruto .

"Space… is nothing more than countless threads, formed together into a pattern. The patterns formed by those threads… are space!" Naruto shook his head, then waved his hand, causing a circle to appear beneath his feet.

"I am currently within space," he said, looking down. Then he smiled as his enlightenment deepened. As for the sea of flames that was the Outsider Dao Sovereign, it appeared to be on the verge of consuming Naruto , but to the Dao Sovereign's utter shock, he realized that the flames were stuck to the outside of the thread that formed the circle!

"Th-this… this…." The Outsider Dao Sovereign's heart was battered by waves of shock, as were the hearts the other Outsider Dao Sovereign and the Paragon.

"Space! He actually gained enlightenment of the Essence of space!"

Naruto 's expression was calm as he looked at the circle formed by the thread, within which he stood. Then he smiled. "As for these threads… doesn't the Essence I have gained enlightenment of consist of more than just the threads themselves?

"Within these threads are length, height, breadth, and size. They are limitless, and that is space…. They are flat, but actually…." He waved his right hand, causing a thread to stretch out from the circle, and then pass over him. In the blink of an eye, the circle of threads was no longer flat, but had transformed into… a sphere!

"With an additional thread, it is no longer a circle, but a sphere, like a world…. It's too bad my enlightenment is insufficient, and I can't sustain it for very long." Even as Naruto murmured to himself, the sphere collapsed, and he sighed lightly.

"In my eyes, the world is just a canvas." Naruto looked up at the shocked Outsider, who was still a sea of flames. Then Naruto waved his right hand, causing the flames to suddenly lock into place. Then they began to transform; no longer were they surrounding Naruto , but instead, they were now spreading out to form a static image of flames within the starry sky, like a painting!

Then he waved his hand, and four threads appeared, surrounding the flames, almost as if they were a picture frame.

"This, is space," he said, his eyes flickering with a cold light.

Rumbling could be heard as the sea of flames trembled. Inside, the Outsider Dao Sovereign was howling bitterly. The fire seemed to be on the verge of slipping out of the shackles, of bursting out from within the threads that held it. And yet, it could not. Finally, the flames converged together, transforming into a lizard of fire. It began to butt its head against the threads, and yet that did nothing. It… could not free itself. It was completely sealed within what Naruto had created… the picture frame.

The starry sky was like a canvas, and anyone who could control the Essence of space could use their hands like a brush. With a few strokes, threads could be formed together into an outline. What was within that outline… was space.

If that canvas was folded, the subsequent cracks that were created were dimensional rifts. Furthermore, if the canvas could be formed into a sphere, then that space would be… a world.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1347

Chapter 1347: A Cold Glow in the Eyes!

Naruto chuckled and suddenly raised his hand into the air, slowly clenching his fist in the direction of the painting within which hung the Outsider Dao Sovereign. It was as if he were crumpling a piece of paper into a ball; the canvas he had just created instantly transformed into ash.

The Outsider Dao Sovereign within let out a miserable cry, and was then completely destroyed.

The task left Naruto 's face slightly pale, and inwardly, he sighed. Because of the World Essence of the 1st Heaven, he had gained enlightenment of the Dao of the Eighth Hex's Essence, which was even stronger than Naruto had imagined it would be. Although it was very draining, it only served to make him more convinced that his idea of using the Hexing Magics as the basis of his Essences was the correct course.

"Unfortunately, considering my current cultivation base, I can only use this magic once per month." That limit to the usefulness of the magical technique was the only thing that Naruto was disappointed in. It was based completely on the level of his cultivation base and the Essence power he could wield.

After all, his true cultivation base was actually in the Ancient Realm, with six extinguished Soul Lamps.

"With the Essence of Space, I can seal the 6-Essences level. That's my limit. If I were fighting an Imperial Lord, losing would be a possibility. And as for a Paragon…." Naruto shook his head. He was well aware that everything was dependent on the rise of his cultivation base, and his control of more Essence power.

In fact, his enlightenment of the Essence of Space could be likened to a vastly deep pit, at the bottom of which was a tiny lake. Eventually, though, that deep pit would become… a boundless sea of stars!

Furthermore, enlightenment of the Essence of the Eighth Hex was just the first benefit Naruto had gained from the World Essence. There was also a second!

And that was… transformations to his blood!

Naruto could clearly sense that, after absorbing the World Essence of the 1st Heaven, his Allheaven Dao Immortal bloodline had experienced a strange change. Although that change wasn't large, it was a fundamental one that could shake the Heavens and topple the Earth.

He wasn't sure exactly what that change entailed, but he could sense that his Allheaven bloodline… was vastly different.

He now knew that there was some completely extraordinary and astounding secret locked within the Allheaven bloodline, something that could perhaps raise him to unprecedented heights.

After that change occurred, his Allheaven Dao Immortal blood would experience another awakening, and he had the intense premonition… that he would reach an unbelievable level.

Perhaps that level was a Realm that had never been seen before!

As for what that Realm was, Naruto didn't know, but he did know that if he wanted to elicit such an awakening in his Allheaven blood, then he needed to absorb more World Essences.

After the World Essence of the 1st Heaven had been completely absorbed, a slight sliver of awakening could be detected.

In almost the exact same instant that Naruto finished absorbing the World Essence, and his Allheaven Dao Immortal bloodline showed signs of another awakening, something happened back on Planet South Heaven. Shui Dongliu's eyes suddenly flickered, and a tremor ran through him.

"Ever since that kid changed his fate, I've been unable to see his future," he murmured. "However, I have the feeling that he… has the chance to become… something above and beyond everything else… To reach the supreme Realm! 1

"Perhaps, something even higher than that…. Perhaps he can become that which was legendary even in the Paragon Immortal Realm, that which people put faith in from the beginning of creation until now… the Immortal!

"In the Vast Expanse that is the starry sky, there is the God and the Devil, but no Immortal…." Shui Dongliu was trembling, and a look of keen anticipation and focus could be seen in his eyes as he peered out into the starry sky toward Naruto .

"The Immortal…. From the moment that word came to be, no person, no entity, has ever become the true Immortal…. The Immortal stands alongside the God, is on equal footing with the Devil…. Eternal in the starry sky!

"The uninformed think that the two great powers are coming because of a precious treasure. One of them seeks the return of the God, the other wishes to resurrect the Devil….

"However, the truth is that their purpose is not limited to those things. They wish to stop… the birth of the Immortal!

"By seizing the power unleashed by the birth of the Immortal, and combining it with that of their precious treasures, they can at long last accomplish their true ambitions!"

Out in the starry sky, floating in the vicinity of Naruto , was something no one could see. It was a ship, upon which an old man sat cross-legged, staring silently at Naruto . Mixed emotions could be seen in his eyes, as well as the gleam of enlightenment.

Not too far off in a different direction was Slaughter, dressed in a black robe, hovering there like an unsheathed sword. Although he was surrounded by a profoundly murderous aura, no one could sense him as he remained in place, studying Naruto thoughtfully.

At the same time that Naruto gained a bit of enlightenment regarding the transformations to his bloodline, and a spark of anticipation rose up in his heart, something happened down in the Mountain and Sea Realm, where everyone was still reeling in shock from the sight of Naruto destroying the 1st Heaven and absorbing its World Essence.

An astonishing, deafening roar rose up from the direction of the Fourth Mountain and Sea, and at the same time, a power like that of a Paragon suddenly erupted out. Simultaneously, Ksitigarbha bellowed, and yet was incapable of preventing a certain figure from bursting out from the Fourth Mountain and Sea.

It was none other than the Outsider Imperial Lord!

He was at the peak of the 6-Essences level, half a step into being a Paragon!

Originally, Ksitigarbha had been able to pin him down, but clearly he was now benefiting from the aid of the Outsider Paragon, who couldn't break free from Sea Dream, and had apparently decided to help the Imperial Lord to break free. Now that Imperial Lord was bursting with his peak level of power, taking advantage of the fluctuations caused by the appearance of Naruto 's Essence to break free from Ksitigarbha and charge forth in attack.

He was a sea of flames that shot through the void like a meteor, bursting with intense cultivation base power as he closed in on Naruto .

Naruto 's eyes glittered, and he momentarily glanced off in a different direction, which was none other than the location where Paragon Sea Dream was fighting the Outsider Paragon. Unfortunately, he was currently unable to transmit any information to Sea Dream, so he looked back at the Imperial Lord and then, instead of retreating, advanced.

The Outsider Imperial Lord looked completely awe-inspiring, and his eyes were bursting with mad killing intent. Based on the fluctuations of his cultivation base, he was completely going all-out with his Essence power. The sea of flames transformed into a vortex, and after that, materialized five successive vortexes, each one larger than the one before it.

Six vortexes could be seen, all of them emanating Essence power that shook the starry sky and caused all onlookers to gasp.

This terrifying power exceeded that of a Dao Sovereign; it was the most shocking level of power that existed beneath a Paragon's.

The power within any one of those vortexes was more than half of that of a Dao Sovereign, and in fact, two vortexes together could easily crush that level. When you added six of them together, the Essence power they emanated would enable the Imperial Lord who wielded it to crush any Dao Sovereign!

This was the power of an Imperial Lord!

Even Ksitigarbha, who could rely on the river of reincarnation and the sea of the Yellow Springs, who had countless Yama palaces from the Fourth Mountain, and who could draw upon the Joss Flame power of innumerable dead souls, would not be able to fight back against the Outsider Imperial Lord in this state.

In this situation, the reality was that the Outsider Imperial Lord now had enough power to wipe out Ksitigarbha. As he charged forth at top speed, he didn't rely on any magical technique or other tricks. Instead, he drew upon terrifying Essence power as he prepared to completely crush Naruto .

Extending both hands, he then clapped them together viciously. Rumbling sounds could then be heard as the first of the vortexes passed through him and shot toward Naruto .

As Naruto closed in, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, summoning numerous mountains. He transformed into a huge azure roc, and then shot like lightning toward that incoming vortex.

A massive boom echoed out as the vortex collapsed, and Naruto 's mountains shattered. At the same time, his azure roc form continued to speed toward the Outsider Imperial Lord. At the same time, the second vortex screamed forth to appear directly in front of Naruto .

The resulting boom sent colors flashing through the sky and caused the stars to shudder. Naruto 's azure roc form collapsed, and he appeared in his normal form, clenching his right hand into a fist and unleashing a fist strike!

The vortex trembled, and then cracking sounds rang out as it collapsed into pieces. Naruto 's face was ashen, and he backed up a bit. It was at that point that the third and fourth vortexes closed in. The destructive power of extermination erupted out as the full power of an Imperial Lord was unleashed.

Naruto 's face flickered. His fleshly body power was now thrumming at its peak, and his cultivation base exploded out. The Paragon Bridge appeared, and Divine Flame blasted out as he unleashed three successive fist strikes!

Life-Extermination Fist!

Bedevilment Fist!

God-Slaying Fist!

Three fist strikes were joined by the crushing Paragon Bridge and the rumbling Divine Flame. The third vortex collapsed, and at the same time, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. Then he fell back, relying on the strength of his fleshly body to bear the brunt of the terrifying fourth vortex and its Essence power.

A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth as he tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut. The direction in which he fell seemed to be in accord with the Outsider Imperial Lord's plan. Unexpectedly, it was the direction leading toward where the Outsider Paragon was fighting Paragon Sea Dream.

Naruto 's face fell, and he was apparently on the verge of trying to change directions when the Outsider Imperial Lord snorted coldly. Killing intent raging, he sent the fifth vortex flying forward in shocking fashion.

Naruto 's eyes glittered as his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation worked like mad to heal his injuries. At the same time, he raised his right hand and unleashed Demon Sealing Hexing magic. Rumbling could be heard as streams of Hexing magic shot out, bolstered by the power of the Mountains and Seas as they bore down on the fifth vortex.

Seventh Hex, Sixth Hex, Fifth Hex, Third Hex, Second Hex!

His Eighth Hex had become Essence, but the other five Hexing magics turned into sealing marks which absorbed the power of the Mountains and Seas, causing them to grow in size to 3,000 meters as they neared the fifth vortex.

As they slammed into the vortex, they were wiped out one by one, and Naruto coughed up successive mouthfuls of blood. He fell back again, the backlash power wreaking havoc upon his body. However, the fifth vortex also collapsed.

At the same time, deep within his eyes was something that no observer would be able to detect, a cold, grim anticipation.

Shui Dongliu initially talked about Naruto "changing his fate" in the events in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite temple in chapter 819 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1348

Chapter 1348 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1348: Enslaving a Paragon!

When the fifth vortex collapsed, its attack power blasted out in all directions. Within the blood that sprayed out of Naruto 's mouth were chunks of internal organs, and he was yet again sent tumbling backward toward the Paragon battlefield. By now, he was only about 30,000 meters away!

"Today, I'll kill you as a sacrifice to the 1st Heaven!" roared the Outsider Imperial Lord. His eyes were bright red as he strode forward, sending the sixth and final vortex rumbling forward!

From the fact that Naruto could withstand the attack of the fifth vortex, it was possible to see how powerful he was. He was already far beyond the level of a 6-Essences Dao Sovereign. However, when facing an Imperial Lord who was halfway into the Paragon level, he didn't quite seem to be able to match up.

The sixth vortex was the most majestic of them all, and it was currently causing the starry sky to twist and distort. All laws of nature and magic were ripped to shreds as the vortex shot toward Naruto . As it bore down on him, his eyes were bright red. He lifted his hand, summoning the Battle Weapon. The meat jelly appeared, forming a suit of armor, and the mastiff became a cape. Naruto threw his head back and roared, rapidly growing to a height of 3,000 meters. At the same time, the Battle Weapon grew longer, and its appearance more fearsome.

Naruto didn't fall back. He knew that there was no avoiding this attack. Therefore, he hefted the Battle Weapon and then slashed it out toward the sixth vortex!

"Cleave!" he bellowed. The Battle Weapon shone with brilliant light, becoming a dazzling beam that slashed down into the sixth vortex. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as the entire vortex was completely cleaved in two!

However, Naruto paid a steep and bitter price as a result. The Battle Weapon vanished, the armor shattered, and the meat jelly let out a miserable scream. The Blood Mastiff howled in anguish, and the parrot was left shivering in pain. As for Naruto , his body shook violently as most of his bones were shattered. At the same time, nearly half of his flesh exploded into a cloud of gore and blood.

His consciousness went dim, and he almost looked like a skeleton. In addition to all that, he was sent spinning backward toward where the Paragons were fighting, until he was less than 3,000 meters away!

The Outsider Imperial Lord stilled his cultivation base and then looked up with a vicious smile.

"Now, you're dead for sure!" The words spoken did not come out of the mouth of the Imperial Lord, but rather, came from behind Naruto . The speaker was none other than… Outsider Paragon Eegoo!

His booming voice was laced with rage as he suddenly broke away from Sea Dream and shot toward Naruto . Sea Dream could only keep him locked down to a certain extent, and 3,000 meters was within that area!

Naruto was now within that 3,000 meter distance. However, it was at this point that a slight smile suddenly appeared on his face, as if… he had been waiting for just this moment!

Ksitigarbha's face drained of blood, and Sea Dream frowned, as if she found the situation very strange. However, there was no way to change what was happening, and definitely no way to stop it. The Outsider Paragon and Imperial Lord were joining forces to try to kill Naruto !

Obviously, not even the Imperial Lord was confident in being able to slay Naruto on his own. Therefore, he chose the most simple and direct way to deal with the situation, which was… force Naruto close enough to the Paragons, force him into that 3,000-meter range in which the Paragon would have a chance to make a move!

Naruto appeared to have completely lost the initiative in the fight, having been forced back step by step until he was in a position of extreme danger. In fact, the Outsider Imperial Lord, fearful of Naruto 's Lightning Cauldron, had even prepared a special technique just to counteract it.

Therefore, he couldn't help but wonder why it was that Naruto still hadn't attempted Form Displacement Transposition.

And then the Imperial Lord saw the slight smile on Naruto 's face, and suddenly felt his heart thump. His face flickered as a sense of deep foreboding suddenly welled up from the depths of his heart.

However, he couldn't think of where the problem lay. Why would Naruto be smiling in the middle of such a deadly, critical situation?

"Is it his Essence of Space? Impossible! Not even Essence could be used to defend against the attack of a Paragon!

"Then what could it be…? What is making this kid smile!? He even seems like he's been waiting. Just now, it seemed like I was forcing him to get closer to the Paragon battlefield, but now, it seems almost like… he was heading there on purpose!

"Something's wrong. Something's definitely wrong!" The Outsider

Imperial Lord's face flickered, but no matter how he considered the problem, no answer revealed itself.

Although the Outsider Paragon couldn't see Naruto 's smile, as a Paragon, he had lived for countless years. How could he not have noticed the indications that Naruto had done this on purpose? However, even he wasn't sure exactly why Naruto was confident enough to do that.

"Well it doesn't matter what trick you're trying to pull, nobody can get this close to a Paragon… and survive!" Paragon Eegoo snorted coldly. He was completely confident, a confidence born from the mere fact that he was a Paragon.

He strode forward, clenching his right hand into a fist and then slamming it down toward Naruto !

Paragon power exploded out; this fist strike was strong enough to destroy, not just Naruto , but the void itself. It was as if it would destroy the starry sky and completely obliterate the entire area in which Naruto existed!

The power of a Paragon could suppress Essence, could dominate anything and everything. Paragon Eegoo was completely confident that, with the exception of an 8-Essences Paragon, no one could possibly have a hope of saving Naruto .

In fact, even if there were an 8-Essences Paragon, that person would have to be in the immediate vicinity to have the time to do anything.

He was sure that on this very day, Naruto … would die!

It took only the blink of an eye for the power of the Paragon's fist to cause blood to spurt out all over Naruto 's body. The starry sky around him shattered as an indescribably shocking power rumbled toward him.

The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were crying out in alarm. In contrast, the Outsiders were overjoyed. They hated Naruto for destroying their homeland, and yet they feared him. Therefore, to see what was happening now left them elated.

The Mountain and Sea Lords were all stunned, and had various expressions on their faces. Grandpa Uzumaki was trembling, and it seemed as if tears of blood were about to pour down his cheeks. In the Fourth Mountain and Sea, Hinata's face was ashen, as if everything had lost meaning to her.

Ksitigarbha stood there, taciturn, and back in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, all of the Chosen were gaping in shock. They simply couldn't imagine a situation in which Naruto actually died!

Namikaze Xiufeng threw his head back and howled. All of the members of the Namikaze Clan were crying out in grief and rage. And yet, none of them could do anything.

Sea Dream was the only one who reacted differently. The same frown could be seen on her face, but she made no move to interfere. In fact, when she looked at Naruto , a thoughtful expression appeared.

The power of a Paragon was crushing down toward Naruto , and the void around him was shattering. An unprecedented sensation of deadly crisis rose up within him, and even as the Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering power bore down on him, he turned to face the enormous form of Outsider Paragon Eegoo.

He almost seemed to be studying his opponent.

The Outsider Imperial Lord's heart was now filled with anxiety, as though there were a voice inside of him screaming that something was very wrong!

However, having thought everything through, he sent his divine sense out, and couldn't detect anything suspicious in the area.

It was in that very moment, when Naruto seemed to be on the verge of completely collapsing, that he laughed. Despite his shattering body, he laughed in a way that seemed to defy Heaven and Earth.

Within his laughter was a power that few people would be able to comprehend, but as soon as Paragon Eegoo heard it, his face filled with disbelief. In fact, the astonishment and terror visible in his expression… exceeded what had appeared there when the 1st Heaven had collapsed!

"You…." he said hoarsely. He suddenly raised his right hand in front of him and fell back at top speed.

This scene caused all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm to gape in shock. The Outsiders were stunned. Ksitigarbha's eyes went wide, and Paragon Sea Dream was panting, as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

Clearly, what she found unbelievable wasn't the fact that the Outsider Paragon was fleeing, but rather, something else!

In almost the same moment that the Outsider Paragon began to flee in alarm and frustration, Naruto 's hoarse voice floated out.

"You can't escape, Paragon Eegoo."

When the Outsider Imperial Lord heard those words, his mind reeled, he stared in complete incredulity, and even began to shake.

The idea of a Paragon fleeing like this was simply unimaginable. Paragon Eegoo even seemed terrified, an expression that the Imperial Lord had never seen on the face of a Paragon.

"This… this…." he thought, trembling. Without even thinking about it, he began to edge backward. All of a sudden, he realized that Naruto was wrapped up in far too many secrets; terrifying, incomprehensible secrets.

Even as Naruto spoke, Paragon Eegoo let out a miserable shriek. This was the first time he had ever lost his composure in this way, and the first time he had ever been completely terrified. In fact, this was the first time since becoming a Paragon that he had truly feared for his own soul. "Who are you!? You're not a cultivator from the Mountain and Sea Realm! Who are you!?

"I, Eegoo, a Paragon, refuse to surrender!

"You… just who are you exactly!?" Paragon Eegoo's shrill voice echoed out, backed by the cultivation base of a Paragon, to fill the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. The starry sky trembled, and the Mountains and Seas shook. Countless cultivators and Outsiders all coughed up blood.

No one could see clearly what was happening except for Paragon Eegoo, Sea Dream, and Naruto . What was visible to them was a shadowy, misty form in front of Naruto . It was impossible to see what exactly was inside that mist, but it radiated a sensation of indescribable terror.

Then, gray threads began to spread out from the mist toward Paragon Eegoo, moving at incredible speed as they began to wrap him up!

Then they started boring into him, transforming into magical symbols that flickered on his skin, although they were invisible to virtually everyone.

No voice emanated out from the mist in reaction to the screams of Paragon Eegoo, only more gray threads. It was almost as if they were locking down his Karma, making it impossible for him to escape. At the same time, an increasing number of flickering magical symbols appeared on him!

"Come to me," Naruto said with a faint smile, his voice somehow completely awe-inspiring. "Henceforth, I am your master, for all eternity…." His body was rapidly healing thanks to the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation, and a strange light could be seen in his eyes.

As the words left his mouth, Paragon Eegoo shivered, and then slowly plodded back toward Naruto .

To everyone watching, it was a completely bizarre sight!

The Outsider Imperial Lord's mind was spinning, and his face was as pale as death. Without the slightest hesitation, he began to retreat. He was filled with complete and utter terror of Naruto , and wanted nothing more than to get as far away from him as possible!

Chapter 1348: Enslaving a Paragon!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1349

Chapter 1349: The Unyielding Soul of a Paragon

Paragon Sea Dream's eyes flickered as she looked at the misty figure in front of Naruto . Waves of shock battered her heart; not even she would ever have imagined that Naruto would be able to call upon assistance such as this!

He could actually turn a Paragon into a puppet!

Enslave… a Paragon!

Although Eegoo was only in the 7-Essences level, that was a level that was considered powerful even in the days of the Paragon Immortal Realm. In those days, there had been one 9-Essences paragon, one 8Essences Paragon, and one 7-Essences Paragon which was Sea Dream herself.

The current 33 Heavens had five Paragons, and although Sea Dream couldn't be sure of the exact cultivation base of each and every one, she did know that they had no 9-Essences Paragons. If they did, then the war would have broken out much earlier. In fact, the 33 Heavens had been holding back for that specific reason.

As such, a 7-Essences Paragon would clearly be an immense asset on the battlefield. If Naruto could turn one into his slave, then it meant the war with the 33 Heavens… wasn't a hopeless struggle!

"A full 7-Essences Paragon is comparable to the combined power of five of the Heavens!" Sea Dream was panting. Despite the level of her willpower, and how incredibly long she had lived, even she was shaken, and a gleam of anticipation appeared in her eyes.

Ksitigarbha had the same reaction, and his eyes were shining with a strange light. The sudden reversal in events left him both shocked and yet intensely excited.

As for the other Mountain and Sea Lords, their hearts all surged with excitement, with the exception of Ji Tian, who sat there reticently.

Then, there was Shui Dongliu. Startled, he slowly lowered his right hand. Were it not for this sudden change, he would have been forced to intervene. By now, it was clear that Naruto was absolutely critical to the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"That is good fortune which belongs solely to him…." Shui Dongliu murmured, a wide smile visible on his face.

At the same time, cultivators in other parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm were able to deduce what was happening, and they began to go wild with joy and disbelief.

"Enslave… a Paragon!?"

"Heavens, Naruto actually… actually figured out a way to enslave a Paragon!" As the cries rang out, even the Mountain and Sea cultivators who weren't able to see exactly what was happening were shaken, and could hardly believe what they were hearing.

As for the Outsiders, their blood connections made it much easier for them to discern what was happening up in the starry sky. The terrified cries of their Paragon caused expressions of despair to appear on their faces. Although they might otherwise have gained desperate strength from their grief and rage over the loss of their homeland, at this moment they had lost all hope and were doomed!

They could sense the Imperial Lord fleeing, and could hear the screams of the Paragon. When you added in the fact that their home had been destroyed, the shadow of defeat instantly enveloped their hearts.

They… had been defeated.

Thoroughly and utterly defeated. They were defeated, and had nowhere to retreat to. The invasion of the 1st Heaven had turned into a complete disaster!

Before invading, they had scorned and disdained the Mountain and Sea

Realm. But now they had to admit that, even if the Mountain and Sea Realm were weaker than it was now, the 1st Heaven would never have been able to overcome it.

This was where the Paragon Immortal Realm lived on, the same Paragon Immortal Realm which had once been the Higher Realm, far above them!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Outsiders trembled and began to fall back in retreat. However, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had the exact opposite reaction. Exuberant shouts rang out as their blood began to boil.

The 1st Heaven had collapsed, and the spirits of the Mountain and Sea cultivators had risen up!

Seeing a Paragon on the verge of being enslaved gave them hope! At long last, the slumbering Mountain and Sea Realm was opening its eyes. It was awakening!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Up in the starry sky, Naruto 's eyes shone with a strange light as he looked at Paragon Eegoo slowly approaching him. At the same time, his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation was rapidly healing him.

It was then that an unyielding roar erupted out of Paragon Eegoo's mouth. He had finally managed to suppress the terror inside of him, and his unyielding heart was now bursting with power.

"I am a Paragon!" he howled. A tremor ran through him as he tried to fight back against the gray threads which had him bound up. Then, he ground to a halt and stared at the misty figure in front of Naruto .

Although he had stopped moving toward Naruto , he was trembling, and then blood began to spurt out all over his body. However, he remained in place, unmoving.

He turned to look at Naruto , and a blazing pride erupted out from inside of him. "I've practiced cultivation for tens upon tens of thousands of years. I have a longevity the same as that of Heaven and Earth. I am a Paragon, subjugator of countless worlds, worshipped by innumerable living beings. How… could I possibly let you enslave me!?"

He was shivering, and blood oozed out all over him, and yet he remained in place, relying on his life force and his very dignity to resist the illusory figure in front of Naruto that was attempting to enslave him.

His right hand trembled as he lifted it up and waved his finger viciously toward Naruto , and yet that simple movement caused his face to go deathly pale as he discovered that the gray threads were interfering with his cultivation base, making it impossible for him to unleash its power.

That grayness, and that figure in front of Naruto , caused his heart to be filled with terror.

Suddenly, he chuckled bitterly, and then threw his head back and let out a bitter howl.

"I am Eegoo. I watched the destruction of the Paragon Immortal Realm. I helped the 33 Heavens rise to prominence. I witnessed the sealing of the Mountain and Sea Realm. I fought in this bloody battle to wipe out all life in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"I've lived for tens upon tens of thousands of years! I have practiced cultivation to the level of a Paragon!

"I am a Paragon. Paragon Eegoo!" The deafening sound of Paragon Eegoo's bitter laughter pierced out to fill the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, and even higher up into the 32 Heavens above.

Ripples filled the starry sky, which was caused by the attempts of the other 32 Heavens to break through the barrier and enter the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Heaven can't make me bow, Earth can't make me drop to my knees, and the starry sky can't make me lower my head. My will is the Dao of the Heaven, and my body is limitless in the Vast Expanse!" Paragon Eegoo roared as his body rapidly grew in size. In the blink of an eye, he was 3,000 meters high, then 15,000 meters, then 30,000 meters!

As a 30,000-meter giant, he looked like a deity. Naruto 's pupils constricted as he sensed the unyielding will of this Outsider Paragon, a willpower that apparently could not be wiped away by either Heaven or Earth. Suddenly, the gray threads of Choumen Tai's magical technique began to unravel.

To enslave a Paragon might sound easy, but the truth was that all Paragons were blazing suns within Heaven and Earth. They represented the convergence of luck and destiny… and thus could not easily be made slaves!

Their willpower, their thoughts, and their hearts, surpassed the Heavens!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as more and more of the gray threads began to snap. Deep in his heart, Naruto couldn't help but admire this Paragon's willpower, his fighting spirit, and his unyielding heart.

With all of that, he truly deserved the title of Paragon!

It was at this point that the blurry figure in front of Naruto let out a cold snort. Suddenly, ten times as many gray threads as before exploded out, then a hundred times more than that. They began to wrap around the 30,000-meter-tall Paragon in an even more complicated fashion than before. It took only a moment before the Paragon was not only back under control, but also beginning to kneel toward Naruto .

"I refuse!" Paragon Eegoo shrieked. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and he was shaking violently. And yet, he remained standing, as if not even the vast Heavens and Earth could force his legs to bend.

Cracking sounds rang out, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. And yet, he still didn't bend a knee. A vast quantity of scales appeared all over him, each one of them radiating intense ancientness. He seemed to be on the verge of transforming into an ancient and archaic lizard!

However, the gray threads continued to bore into him, causing magical symbols to appear, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Naruto was visibly moved, but remained silent, mixed emotions playing out in his eyes.

"If the Mountain and Sea Realm and the 33 Heavens weren't at war… then this Paragon would truly be deserving of worship by all life." Naruto sighed, and then addressed Paragon Eegoo directly.

"If you will support the Mountain and Sea Realm, then I will spare the lives all of your people from the 1st Heaven!"

Paragon Eegoo shivered, and despite the pain coursing through him, the look in his eyes was as unyielding as ever. He even began to laugh.

"The Mountain and Sea Realm will definitely be exterminated. As long as only one of my people remains alive in the end, then years from now, we will make a comeback!

"I am Eegoo! I am a Paragon now, and I will be a Paragon in death!

"You want me to submit? You want me to be your slave? The only slave you will have is my body, not my soul!" As he laughed uproariously, the signs of an imminent self-detonation appeared.

There was no madness in his eyes, only endless pride. He would rather die than bow his head and lose his dignity!

Rumbling could be heard as destructive fluctuations began to emanate out from him. However, because he could not unleash the power of his cultivation base, the destructive blast would not sweep out into the Mountain and Sea Realm to wreak mass destruction. He would only be able to harm himself. But that way, even if he died, his body would be useless to Naruto .

Even as Naruto frowned, Choumen Tai's voice suddenly echoed in his mind. "Paragons can't be forced to submit unless you erase their souls."

"Then erase his soul!" Naruto said decisively, staring at Paragon Eegoo.

In the moment that he opened his mouth, the gray threads which bound Paragon Eegoo suddenly turned black, and began to emanate a strange light. It turned into a destructive power that poured into Paragon Eegoo, a power of soul annihilation. In the very moment in which he was about to self-detonate, massive rumbling sounds echoed out as some unknown method was used…

To erase his soul!

Muffled rumbling could be heard as the threads faded away. The blurry figure in front of Naruto now seemed weak beyond compare. Finally, a faint voice spoke. "I've fulfilled my promise…. I shall sleep now, until the moment when my master is resurrected…. I hope that you can keep your end of the agreement…."

Gradually, the weak voice faded away into nothing.

The blurry, misty figure also vanished. In the same moment, Paragon

Eegoo's body shivered, and his eyes went completely and utterly blank.

The ripples of self-detonation faded away, and he lowered his head as he knelt in front of Naruto .

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1350

Chapter 1350: Full Scale Counterattack!

What was kneeling was the body of a Paragon, not the soul.

However, that act of kneeling caused all of the Outsiders in the Mountain and Sea Realm to go deathly quiet. Their minds went completely blank, as blank as death.

With the exception of the professional soldiers or the especially warlike individuals, most of the Outsiders, regardless of which tribe they came from, were fighting for their homes, their people, and especially for more cultivation resources.

Therefore, the collapse of the 1st Heaven caused the minds and hearts of all the Outsiders to tremble. They were left blank and terrified, and filled with regret. Their home… was gone.

Their fellow tribe members were dead….

There was no point to the war anymore. Given enough time, their thirst for revenge would eventually spur them to hold nothing back in fighting. However, before that could happen, their Paragon had been enslaved, a huge blow that crushed their will and reduced their morale to the freezing point.

Off in the distance, the fleeing Imperial Lord suddenly stopped and forced himself to look back. What he saw was the towering 30,000-meter tall Paragon kneeling in front of Naruto , and his mind reeled.

"Defeated…." he muttered in a hoarse, despairing voice. The events leading up to the destruction of the 1st Heaven had caused him to fly into a rage, and even put his life on the line in a mad attempt to intervene. Although most of the other Outsiders had been at a complete loss, he had been quick to regain control of his thoughts and jump on the offensive.

But then he watched their Paragon be enslaved, and he was filled with bitterness. He even regretted his decision to flee, and felt guilty. With all the complicated thoughts assailing him, all the Outsider Imperial Lord could do was chuckle bitterly.

A strange expression could be seen on Sea Dream's face as she looked at the enslaved Paragon. Although she was excited, she couldn't help but sigh. She was also a Paragon, someone who stood at the pinnacle of Heaven and Earth, so she knew how difficult a task it must have been for that mysterious figure to force Eegoo to yield.

In sharp contrast to the Outsiders were the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. After a brief moment of silence, they exploded out with an exuberance that could shake Heaven and Earth. It started in the Fourth Mountain and Sea and quickly spread all the way to the First and Ninth Mountains and Seas. Soon, the voices of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm were crying out in a powerful voice.

"Victory belongs to the Mountains and Seas!"

"Victory belongs to the Mountains and Seas!"

"Victory belongs to the Mountains and Seas!"

It was impossible to say who said it first, but soon those words rang out throughout the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. Everything began to shake as orders were delivered to begin fighting back against the Outsiders.

In all of the Nine Mountains and Seas, the cultivators counterattacked!

Few of the remaining Outsiders possessed a will to fight. Their eyes were blank, and they trembled in fear. The 1st Heaven was destroyed. Their home was gone. Their tribe members were dead. Their Paragon had been enslaved. Everything that had happened filled them with complete despair.

When the Mountain and Sea Realm began to fight back, and the excited battle cries rose up, Naruto looked at the kneeling 30,000-meter-tall Paragon, and his eyes filled with a complicated expression. He sighed.

Then, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

That bow was a bow toward the unyielding soul of the Paragon. For a moment, he felt pity that Eegoo's soul had been erased, but then the complex look in his eyes was replaced with coldness. When experts were enemies, they could respect each other, but they could never back down!

Sometimes, the only option was death!

One party died, or the other died. In war, pity could not be tolerated, nor could compassion, and especially not weakness. Besides, this battle… was only the beginning.

"In any case, I don't need your soul. I just need your Paragon body.

Although that makes your battle prowess slightly lower, you're still a

Paragon!" Naruto flickered into motion, flying up to land atop the 30,000-meter Paragon's head. Now that he had control of this body, a mere thought on his part could make the Paragon puppet do anything he wished.

In the same moment that Naruto landed on the head of the Paragon puppet, the puppet slowly rose to its feet, energy surging out in all directions.

As of this moment, Naruto was completely shocking in every aspect.

Not only did his cultivation base place him at the highest level in the

Mountain and Sea Realm in terms of battle prowess, now that he had a Paragon puppet, he was at the absolute pinnacle.

However, none of that could compare to what Naruto himself now symbolized. After destroying the 1st Heaven, and enslaving a Paragon, he… was now the symbol of the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

His eyes glittered as he turned to look at Sea Dream, toward whom he immediately clasped hands and bowed. Looking at her caused him to feel quite regretful and apologetic. Voice soft, he said, "Senior Sea Dream, back then… I was ignorant and naïve. I was only thinking about myself, not the Mountains and Seas. Senior, I hope that you aren't too deeply offended by what I said."

With that, he clasped hands and bowed again. Just as he had said, years ago he hadn't cared much at all about the Mountain and Sea Realm, which led to his altercation with Sea Dream after the events in the Windswept Realm.

Now that he thought back to that time, he realized that he had indeed spoken a bit too harshly. 1

Sea Dream smiled slightly, which was something she rarely did. It made her look like a beautiful, blooming peony flower. Warmth and kindness filled her gaze as she looked back at Naruto . To her, he was merely a member of the younger generation, a child really.

"You just go take care of whatever it is you need to," she said.

Naruto nodded, and without any further hesitation, sat down crosslegged and closed his eyes. Then, he sent out some divine will, causing the Paragon puppet's eyes to shine, almost as if they were Naruto 's.

After sending his divine will into the Paragon puppet, it was like his own body, completely under his control. At the same time, it emanated the terrifying aura of a Paragon.

Of course, Naruto himself had divine sense that was eighty percent as powerful as a Paragon's, which ensured that he could easily unleash eighty percent of the power of Paragon Eegoo. With a single step, the Paragon puppet stepped across the starry sky to appear in front of the Outsider Imperial Lord.

"Acknowledge alliegance, or perish!" Naruto said through the mouth of the Paragon puppet. The voice crashed out, echoing throughout the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The Imperial Lord laughed bitterly as he looked at the Paragon puppet version of Eegoo standing in front of him, a Paragon who had once been one of his own people. His eyes gleamed with madness, and even a desire for death. If Paragon Eegoo would rather die than yield, then as an Imperial Lord, he would not make the same mistake he had before in backing down.

"You destroyed my home! You killed my people! And now you think I'm going to acknowledge alliegance to you? Even if I perish, I'll turn into a vengeful ghost that will curse your Mountain and Sea Realm for generations to come!" The Imperial Lord threw his head back and laughed, unleashing the explosive power of his cultivation base and causing six vortexes to appear behind him.

A strange expression appeared on Naruto 's face as he stared at the Imperial Lord for a moment, then said, "You words seem very righteous, very unyielding, and very hateful…."

The thunderous boom of Naruto 's voice caused the Outsider Imperial Lord's energy to suddenly falter.

Without waiting to engage in any more rhetoric, Naruto sent the

Paragon puppet's hand out, and immediately, the starry sky around the Imperial Lord was shattered. The Imperial Lord's body began to vibrate, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He fell back, waving his hand to send countless magical items flying out. The six vortexes behind him shot through him toward Naruto , who sent the Paragon puppet's fist flying out in a fist strike.

"It seems you've forgotten that the invaders in this war came, not from the Mountain and Sea Realm, but from the 33 Heavens!" As Naruto 's voice echoed out, the fist crushed the void and shattered the starry sky. All of the magical items were reduced to powder, and the six Essence vortexes were destroyed. Then the blow landed on the Outsider Imperial Lord, whose legs exploded. Having escaped death, he once again fell back in retreat.

"This war wasn't the idea of the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was yours!" How could Naruto possibly let this Outsider off the hook? His words crashed out like thunder, causing the Imperial Lord's mind to tremble, as he realized that Naruto 's words, despite being difficult to accept… were true.

This war really had been instigated by the 33 Heavens, and they really were the invaders.

"Yeah, well so what?!" howled the Imperial Lord. "We haven't even destroyed the Mountain and Sea Realm yet, but then you went and wiped out our people!? You're the ones who exterminated our home first!" No longer concerned about whether what he said made sense, he transformed into his true form, a gigantic lizard thousands of meters long and covered with raging black flames. Then, he charged toward Naruto and the Paragon puppet. "The Mountain and Sea Realm is definitely going to be wiped out!"

"As for whether the Mountain and Sea Realm will be wiped out," Naruto replied coolly. "I can't say for sure. But what I do know is that you… are going to die, right now!" With that, the Paragon puppet's hand performed an incantation gesture, then waved out, causing the full power of a Paragon to explode out, sealing the entire area like a cage and then crushing down with incredible pressure.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Imperial Lord began to shake. Blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, and the black flames which covered his body were extinguished. His scales exploded, and he screamed bitterly. Then, the pressure caused his entire body to explode as he was completely killed!

After killing the Outsider Imperial Lord, Naruto felt weak; personally controlling the Paragon puppet was quite draining. As he sat there on the Paragon puppet's head, his eyes suddenly snapped open, and he looked down at the Mountain and Sea Realm. A bit of divine will sent the Paragon puppet down into the Mountains and Seas. Wherever it appeared, the Outsiders who saw it were filled with despair. Some felt insanity, some felt bitterness. They were now fighting a hopeless fight and apparently… there was nothing they could do about it.

They were the invaders, but now they were feeling what it was like be the invaded. That… was the double-edged sword which is war.

"This first battle with the 33 Heavens can now be concluded!"

The most powerful Outsider remaining from the 1st Heaven was Long Linzi, who was fighting with Patriarch Reliance. As of this moment, he trembled and began to flee. Snorting coldly, Patriarch Reliance immediately gave chase.

The Outsiders from the 1st Heaven were in complete chaos.

Naruto spoke some harsh words to Sea Dream in chapters 1151 and

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	15. Chapter 15

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1351

Chapter 1351 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1351: The 1st Heaven Acknowledges Allegiance!

The Mountain and Sea Realm counterattacked with full force. The flames of war climbed high into the sky, in a way that was different from before. This time, it was not the Mountain and Sea cultivators who suffered defeat after defeat, it was the Outsiders.

In the First Mountain and Sea, Echelon cultivator Dao-Heaven led the army of cultivators into battle. On every front, the Outsiders were routed and crushed. Many of them didn't even dare to fight back. Anyone could see that at this moment, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm wore expressions of utter self-confidence, and that their fighting spirit was indomitable.

Sometimes in battle, practicers of cultivation were known to selfdetonate, to literally explode in a final burst of grandeur for their people. However, such acts were born of grief and desperation, and led to nothing but death.

Using tactics like that could cause the enemy to respect or even fear you, but could not make that enemy feel powerless.

In sharp contrast… when an entire people was bursting with confidence and spirit combined, they became truly fear-inspiring. As of this moment, that was exactly how the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were!

Upon awakening, they were filled with a madness, with a majesty that caused the Outsiders' minds to tremble. It wasn't that the Outsiders never thought to go all out in a mad scramble to fight back, or that they didn't consider resorting to self-detonation. Those things… were useless.

They tried. As the Mountain and Sea cultivators fought back, Outsiders self-detonated, or went all out in various attempts drag their opponents with them into mutual destruction.

And yet… none of that did any good!

In the Second Mountain and Sea, fierce fighting raged. As for the Third Mountain and Sea, it was completely filled with the stench of blood. The cultivators there had experienced something like a baptism in blood. Their eyes shone brightly, glowing with confidence, with hope, with ferocity, and with madness.

The hatred they felt surpassed the hatred within the hearts of the Outsiders, as did their confidence. When it came to their hope, even their hope was something the Outsiders could never match.

Rumbling could be heard as the battle for the Fourth Mountain and Sea neared its conclusion even more quickly. Under Xu Qing's leadership, and with the return of Ksitigarbha to the battlefield, the grand army there swept across the enemy with virtually no resistance.

However, Ksitigarbha himself did not join in the fighting unless necessary. It was the same with Naruto, who despite having a Paragon puppet and peak 6-Essences battle prowess, also held back.

Sea Dream and the other Mountain and Sea Lords were the same. Unless facing powerful Outsider experts, they merely observed the battle.

They allowed the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm to do most of the fighting, to help them understand that now, the true war was only just beginning. Only by bathing in the blood of the enemy could the cultivators truly be qualified to grow into seasoned veterans.

It was the same in the Eighth and Ninth Mountains and Seas.

The Outsiders had nowhere to run to. Upon their initial invasion, they had established nine main camps in the Nine Mountains and Seas. Originally, they had been in the superior position in the fight, which made those camps like nine sharp blades stabbing down into the Mountain and Sea Realm, threatening to slice it into pieces.

However, such troop placement was why they were now hovering on the brink of being exterminated completely. They were scattered, surrounded, with only the Sixth and Seventh Mountains and Seas being united and relatively free of Mountain and Sea cultivators. Those two locations had been their primary base of operations, and now, they were their last point of refuge.

Within the span of seven days, the First, Second, Third and Fourth Mountains and Seas all clinched victories, completely cutting off and surrounding the Outsiders, killing nearly eighty percent of them.

Blood spread out through the starry sky, and fierce fighting raged everywhere. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm fought with upright fearlessness. Xu Qing shone with her own type of glory, and in the end, the Fourth Mountain and Sea was where the greatest slaughter of Outsiders was carried out. Next, they turned to help the cultivators in the Third Mountain and Sea.

After that, they all joined forces in grandiose fashion. Under Xu Qing's leadership, they marched toward the Fifth Mountain and Sea, their target being… the Outsider encampment that stretched through the Sixth and Seventh Mountains and Seas.

As for the Eighth and Ninth Mountains and Seas, after wiping out the Outsiders on the field of battle, they joined forces and invaded the Seventh Mountain and Sea.

The fighting dragged on for several months. However, during those months, everything changed in a monumental and even spectacular way.

Eventually, the day came in which the final battle began in the Sixth and

Seventh Mountains and Seas. Naruto fought in that battle with his Paragon puppet, leading to both grief and despair among the final resisting Outsiders.

The strongest among their number was Long Linzi. The bitter agony which engulfed him was too difficult to put into words.

The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were like floodwaters smashing into the Outsiders. With Paragon Sea Dream, the Paragon puppet, Ksitigarbha, and Naruto himself leading the armies of cultivators into battle, the Outsiders in the Seventh and Sixth Mountains and Seas were powerless to fight back.

"Acknowledge allegiance, or perish!" said Naruto. As his voice echoed out across the battlefield, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm ceased attacking, and instead began to echo his words.

Their voices were grand and filled with unswerving determination. This was the spirit of a people on the rise. It was almost as if they were back in the Paragon Immortal Realm, in the position to look down on all creation.

"Acknowledge allegiance, or perish!"

"Acknowledge allegiance, or perish!" The sound of their voices filled the Mountain and Sea Realm, echoing about with intense pressure that caused the Outsiders to tremble even more than before.

Naruto did not want to completely exterminate the Outsiders. That would be a waste. If they chose to acknowledge allegiance, then not only would the overall power of the Mountain and Sea Realm not be reduced any further, but it would actually grow.

That in turn was the true hope to be able to fight this war to the end.

In response to Naruto's words, Paragon Sea Dream nodded slightly. Apparently, if Naruto hadn't spoken the words himself, she would have. As for Ksitigarbha and the other Mountain and Sea Lords, although each one had slightly different ideas about how to go about things, Naruto was a paramount figure in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and they would listen to him.

In fact, the incredible fleshly body power of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators was thanks to Naruto, so of course they wouldn't go against his wishes.

The Outsiders didn't need much time to think. The most powerful of their number, the golden-armored Dao Sovereign Long Linzi, laughed bitterly and dispersed his cultivation base power. Then, bowing his head, he said, "I acknowledge allegiance!"

They really had no choice but to acknowledge allegiance. It was either that… or die as a people.

When Long Linzi's words echoed out across the battlefield and throughout the Seventh and Sixth Mountains and Seas, the Outsiders heard them, and they sighed. They, too, dispersed their cultivation base power and bowed their heads.

There were a few who refused, and they were quickly subdued and summarily executed. Their flowing blood bore witness to a grand victory on the part of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

It was a victory in which the 1st Heaven collapsed, a Paragon was enslaved, an Imperial Lord was killed, and of two Dao Sovereigns, one was killed and the other surrendered. Nearly seventy percent of the invading force was killed….

However, the Mountain and Sea Realm had also paid a grievous price. Nearly forty percent of the Mountain and Sea cultivators had been killed, most of them in the initial battles.

If Naruto hadn't destroyed the 1st Heaven and awakened the spirits of the cultivators, then enslaved their Paragon before giving the Outsiders any time to regroup, then even more of the Mountain and Sea cultivators would be dead.

The first phase of the war was over….

Although there were cheers of victory, massive pressure still weighed down on the shield created by the will of the Mountains and Seas. That shield separated them from the 32 Heavens, and right now there seemed to be some enormous figure pushing down onto it.

Everyone knew that the 32 Heavens would be coming for them soon. The will of the Mountains and Seas could only hold them off for so long, and when they came, it would be with force that far exceeded that of the 1st Heaven.

This time… a far larger army would be coming against them!

Could the Mountain and Sea Realm prevail…?

That was the question all the cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm were pondering. However, when they saw the enormous Paragon

Puppet, and Naruto on its head, their eyes shone with brilliant light.

An ancient voice suddenly rang out into the minds and hearts of all of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators. It was none other than the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself.

"Three months…. At the most, we have three months…. At that time, the 32 Heavens will break through the barrier and descend upon us! This time, it will not just be a single Heaven…."

Next, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm asked a question which reverberated out in all directions. "Should we activate Mountain and Sea Siege Mode?!"

A look of surprise appeared on Naruto's face, and Ksitigarbha suddenly looked up. However, Paragon Sea Dream turned to look at the

Ninth Mountain and Sea, and after a long moment spoke, her voice cool. "Activate Siege Mode!

"Mountain and Sea Lords, hear my orders. Immediately evacuate all life forms from the planets in your Mountain and Sea. Take them to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, which will now serve as our command headquarters!

"Mountain and Sea cultivators, return to your respective Mountains and

Seas and await further orders. We will work together in concert with the Mountain and Sea Siege Mode… to once again battle the 32 Heavens!

"Mountain and Sea Siege Mode takes one month to activate; it was prepared by Paragon Nine Seals for the express purpose of being used in this war!

"In Siege Mode, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm will be transformed from a horizontal layout to a vertical one. All of the Mountains and Seas will be lined up on top of each other!

"The First Mountain and Sea will be our first line of defense. The Second Mountain and Sea, our second. After eight lines of defenses is the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"Fellow Daoists from all Mountains and Seas, we have three months…. This war will determine the fate of our Realm. As for me, I have only one thing left to say… Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!" After Paragon Sea Dream's words faded away, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were silent for a moment before their voices erupted out in unison.

"Mountain and Sea Cultivators, fight to the death!" The sound of their voices shook the entire Realm.

Naruto took a deep breath, and within his eyes flickered the desire to do battle. He looked up at the starry sky, and the void which existed beyond the barrier. That was where the 32 Heavens were, and from that barrier emanated numerous ripples.

"The war really has begun…."

Chapter 1351: The 1st Heaven Acknowledges Allegiance!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1352

Chapter 1352(Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1352: Crown Prince of the Mountains and Seas!

The entire Mountain and Sea Realm was transforming. Although one might initially assume that such a huge transformation would happen slowly, it was actually visible to the naked eye! As such, one could well imagine how rapidly the transformation took place!

The change was happening at a speed which all cultivators could perceive, and yet did not cause any sense of unease or disorientation. Originally, the Mountain and Sea Realm was laid out in a horizontal line, from the First Mountain and Sea all the way to the Ninth. It was like a giant laying there, with the sun and moon orbiting the entire Realm.

But now, that giant… was slowly standing up!

The First Mountain was rising high up into the starry sky, as was the First

Sea. Even as intense rumbling sounds echoed out, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm adhered to Paragon Sea Dream's orders. Under the leadership of the various Mountain and Sea Lords, the occupants of the mortal worlds were all transported to the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

The Mountain and Sea Realm buzzed with activity, and was changing by the moment.

There was no time for Xu Qing to reunite with Naruto. She had put on an extraordinary display of her command of strategy and tactics, and as such, was whisked away by Paragon Sea Dream. She, along with Li Ling'er, were appointed by Sea Dream as the Two Great Holy Daughters of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Naruto sent the Paragon puppet high up into the starry sky, and tasked it with standing guard against any early incursions by the 32 Heavens. At the same time, it sent divine will out through the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, constantly exerting a slight pressure to cow any potential double-crossers.

After all, despite the awakening of the spirit of the people, when it came to ultimate survival, there were some cultivators, and even some entire sects and clans, who weren't completely loyal. They didn't understand what it meant for all the eggs to be lost when the nest was overturned. They wanted to preserve their strength either to join everyone else in a comeback or, if things looked bad, to surrender and attempt to somehow impress the 32 Heavens.

Of course, with the Paragon puppet there, such double-crossers didn't dare to take any action.

Everyone in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm was at work, busily preparing for war. Time was of the essence, and unless something unexpected happened, they had at most three months….

Unexpectedly, Naruto experienced a rare situation in which he was left with nothing pertinent to do, so he strolled amidst the starry sky, watching the Mountain and Sea Realm transform. The First Mountain and Sea led the rise as the Mountain and Sea Realm slowly transformed from a horizontal layout to a vertical one. At the moment, that left it tilted at an angle.

"It starting to look… a bit unfamiliar," Naruto thought reticently.

Finally, he sighed. He had known for a long time that war was coming.

However, to him and all the other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, that war had arrived too suddenly.

It had started with the sudden outbreak of violence between the Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas. Then came the conflict between the Fifth and Sixth Mountains and Seas. After that was the decision to start the fighting the 33 Heavens ahead of schedule. That decision had been the right one, and yet it didn't change the suddenness of it all.

Naruto felt somewhat blank inside, even uncertain about the future. However, he couldn't give voice to such doubts. He couldn't allow anyone to see anything except staunch confidence and faith.

Sadly, the truth of the matter was that… he wasn't confident.

Wherever he went, the cultivators who saw him clasped hands and bowed, looks of deep reverence in their eyes no matter which Mountain and Sea they came from.

Naruto now symbolized the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators. To many people, he also symbolized hope.

Naruto put aside the pressure he felt, allowing a faint, self-assured smile to appear on his face. He would nod at people and then proceed along. He passed through the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Mountains and Seas. Finally… he ended up in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

This was his first time back since he had left, oh so long ago. Looking out at the Ninth Mountain and Sea, his heart finally grew calm. However, there were still many things left for him to accomplish.

"Sakura 's soul…." he thought, pain stabbing at his heart. As he walked through the starry sky, there was really no other place that he wanted to go to other than home.

Planet South Heaven.

There were vast numbers of cultivators garrisoned on Planet South Heaven now. Because of their connection to Naruto, the Namikaze Clan was well known not just in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, but throughout the Mountain and Sea Realm. Everyone was aware that Naruto was the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan.

Naruto's return caused a big stir. The entire Namikaze Clan emerged to receive him, and a ceremony was held that surpassed the kind which would be held for even a Clan Chief. Only Patriarchs received such treatment.

Of course, it wasn't just the Namikaze Clan that went out to receive Naruto. All of the sects and clans on Planet South Heaven made appearances. Even the Emperor of the Great Tang could be seen.

As soon as Naruto appeared outside of Planet South Heaven, he saw tens of millions of cultivators lined up to welcome him. The looks on their faces were those of excitement, enthusiasm, and worship.

In almost the same instant that he appeared, tens of millions of cultivators clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"We offer respectful greetings upon the return of the Crown Prince!"

"Respectful greetings upon your return, Crown Prince!"

"Crown Prince, the divine abilities you unleashed in the battle with the

1st Heaven are without parallel!"

Ever since Naruto destroyed the 1st Heaven and enslaved the Outsider Paragon, the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators had come to view him… as a Crown Prince, not just of the Namikaze Clan, but of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

As their voices boomed out, Naruto looked over the group, and eventually his gaze came to fall on a separate group of people who stood behind everyone else, within the actual borders of the planet.

There, he saw his father, his mother, his sister, and the familiar faces of the Chosen he had interacted with in the past.

Naruto saw his father smiling, a smile of excitement and pride. He saw the kindness in his mother's face, as well as pride that only a mother could feel.

Naruto looked back at the cultivators congregated outside of Planet South Heaven, then clasped his hands and bowed deeply to them.

"What I did in the battle with the 1st Heaven is what any other Mountain and Sea cultivator would have done. I alone cannot determine the outcome of this war. If we want to win, we of the Mountains and Seas must fight together!"

Due to how powerful of a warrior he was in battle, Naruto didn't need to add any extra power to his voice. The words alone radiated passion and ardor.

It was when the fighting broke out with the 1st Heaven that Naruto came to understand that he no longer had the luxury of thinking about only himself. He had a responsibility to bear, and that responsibility had already begun to weigh down on him.

As his words echoed out, the tens of millions of cultivators outside of Planet South Heaven once again clasped hands and bowed. Naruto proceeded forward, and they parted to create a path for him.

Everyone watched as he strode forward and then entered Planet South

Heaven. As Naruto looked at his father and mother, and the various Patriarchs, he suddenly felt as if the powerful spirit that had driven him in battle had somehow transformed into a deep exhaustion which threatened to overwhelm him.

Home. The place where it was truly possible to relax….

Naruto stepped up to his father and mother, then dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

"Dad, mom… I'm back."

Countless cultivators looked on as Uzumaki Li stepped forward and lifted Naruto to his feet. She looked at him for a moment, a flicker pain in her eyes, and then pulled him into a warm embrace.

It was at that point that a huge cheer rose up from Planet South Heaven. In the hearts of the Mountain and Sea cultivators, Naruto was a supreme being. However, in the Ninth Mountain and Sea, and especially among the cultivators on Planet South Heaven, he was something beyond that. He was… THEIR Naruto!

Naruto was back!

Planet South Heaven was shaken, as was the entire Ninth Mountain and

Sea. In the following half month, countless cultivators came to visit Planet South Heaven in the hopes of meeting Naruto. As for Naruto, he did his best to meet with as many as he could.

Although he was exhausted and only wished to rest, he couldn't disappoint the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

When Uzumaki Li realized what a strain it was putting on him, she erupted like a thunderclap, and refused to let any visitors through the front gate. Namikaze Xiufeng then began to stand in for Naruto to receive the guests, after which the crowds waned.

At long last, Naruto had some personal time. He was able to spend some time with his mother and sister, to truly enjoy the happiness of being with family.

He did not meditate, nor did he practice cultivation. He didn't even leave the Namikaze Clan to visit all the places he was familiar with on Planet South Heaven. He stayed in the ancestral mansion, slowly allowing his heart to grow calm.

He was only now coming to realize that the way the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm viewed him had changed. Fan Dong'er and all the other Chosen he knew treated him… differently.

Occasionally, even his father would look at him with a reverence in his eyes that had never been there before. It left Naruto feeling somewhat bitter, and even sad.

And then there was his sister. When they were both young, she had promised that she would always protect him. And yet, she had also changed. She loved him more than ever, but when she looked at him, he could see the awe in her eyes. 1

There almost wasn't a need to even mention Sun Hai. He had long since come to revere Naruto, but now, he looked at him, not just with reverence, but with fanatical zealotry.

His mother was the only one who didn't seem to have changed. To her, it didn't matter what Realm Naruto was in; even if he was a Paragon, he would always be her son.

As he spent time with his family, he would sometimes look off into the distance, where he knew Xu Qing was. Occasionally, he would ponder the matter of Sakura 's soul….

As for everyone else he knew, it wasn't that he didn't want to see them.

Rather, in this moment of incredible crisis for the Mountain and Sea Realm, he simply didn't have the mental energy to think about too many things at one time.

Naruto got the feeling that he was changing. He was becoming quieter, and even spirit stones somehow didn't seem as important to him as they had in the past. Now, his thoughts were occupied more and more by the Mountain and Sea Realm….

"If I could have my way," he thought, "I would live in an era in which there was no war…." Sighing, he felt more tired than ever.

Another half month passed. The Mountain and Sea Realm Siege Mode was completely activated. The First Mountain and Sea was at the apex, with the First Sea being in the highest position, followed by the First Mountain. After that was the Second Sea and the Second Mountain….

The entire Mountain and Sea Realm had risen up like a giant that propped up Heaven and Earth!

The sun and moon no longer orbited around the Realm, but were motionless in guard positions on either side. Although that left certain parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm in perpetual day, and other parts in perpetual night, in this critical moment, that wasn't something that people worried about.

At the same time, the vast numbers of mortals who lived in the Mountain and Sea Realm had been transported to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, which was now… the most important place in the entire Realm!

In the instant that the Mountain and Sea Realm Siege Mode was completely activated, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm spoke out into the minds of all cultivators, seemingly emotionless.

"My interference with the 32 Heavens cannot be maintained for much longer. In a month and a half… they… will come."

Namikaze Yu was first described as promising to protect Naruto in chapter

800, and those words were repeated in the following chapter ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1353

Chapter 1353: I Demand An Explanation!

The voice echoed out into the minds of all of the cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and regardless of what they were doing, they stopped in place. The entire Realm went silent.

Soon, eyes began to shine with the desire to fight. The bewilderment and fear that had existed in those eyes were now replaced by a brilliant glow that reflected their spirits.

Although they maintained their silence, they went back to whatever important tasks they had been working on with renewed haste.

In accord with the requirements of Paragon Sea Dream and the

Mountain and Sea Lords, the First Mountain became the first line of defense. Furthermore, innumerable spell formations and restrictive spells were set up, until the entire place was like a gigantic restrictive spell formation.

As for the denizens of the First Sea, they were also part of the war, and their survival was also on the line, so they held nothing back in their preparations.

Each successive Mountain and Sea was an additional line of defense, after eight of which was the nucleus, the headquarters of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

As the Mountain and Sea Realm prepared for war, Naruto sat crosslegged in the Namikaze Clan ancestral mansion. Another half month passed before he chose to leave.

There was someone he wished to see on Planet South Heaven… as well as someone on the Ninth Mountain!

The first person was… Shui Dongliu!

He had recently learned from his Grandpa Uzumaki that Shui Dongliu was the Outsider he had known of for some time. After thinking about everything that had happened throughout the years, and putting many pieces of the puzzle together, Naruto was increasingly certain that there was more to Shui Dongliu than met the eye.

In fact, he even had the feeling that there was some monumental secret connected to Shui Dongliu, a secret that perhaps… had something to do with the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Shui Dongliu used a single sentence to get my grandfather to become the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Just… who exactly is he?

"According to what Grandma Uzumaki said, my Grandpa Namikaze isn't in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Could it be… that he's in…." Naruto looked up. His gaze seemed to pass through all eight lines of defense, out into the starry sky, to the 32 Heavens.

During his more than one month on Planet South Heaven, Naruto had frequently sent divine sense out to cover Planet South Heaven in search of Shui Dongliu. He was certain that Shui Dongliu was there, somewhere.

However, he hadn't been able to turn up even the slightest clue about his actual location. In the end, he sighed. Trusting in his own senses, but having no other recourse, he bid farewell to his parents and everyone else. Upon leaving, he hovered just outside of Planet South Heaven and looked back down.

"Don't want to see me, huh?" Naruto said coolly.

In that same moment, back down on a high mountain peak on Planet

South Heaven, Shui Dongliu was looking up into the sky at Naruto.

Apparently, he could see Naruto, but Naruto couldn't see him.

Naruto hovered there for some time before his eyes glittered. He quickly blinked his left eye nine times in a row, causing his view of the world to change and magnify. Soon, he could see all of the lands below in complete detail.

Suddenly, he vanished. Shockingly, when he appeared… he was standing on the mountain peak directly in front of Shui Dongliu.

Shui Dongliu didn't move a muscle, although a look of surprise could be seen in his eyes as he looked at Naruto.

Except… Naruto could see nothing in front of him at all. He got a very strange feeling from this mountain, as if it were somehow connected by Karma to Shui Dongliu.

After standing there silently for a moment, Naruto suddenly smiled in a relaxed fashion. Finally giving up on the idea of tracking down Shui Dongliu, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to the air in front of him.

"Senior, since you don't wish to meet with me right now, then I'll take my leave. I will never forget the kindness you have shown me. I'm not sure what your plan is, Senior, but… the Mountain and Sea Realm is weak now, so please… don't play with fire and get burned!" The words he spoke were icy, and a bitter coldness emanated from him. Even the Paragon puppet up in the starry sky radiated a coldness that seemed to lock down onto that mountaintop.

With that, Naruto looked up and made his way out into the void, paying the mountain no more heed. There, he transformed into a beam of light that left Planet South Heaven.

As he made his way off, Shui Dongliu continued to stand there, and a flicker of praise could be seen in his eyes. After a moment passed, he smiled.

"So, kid," he murmured, his smile deepening, "you've finally grown up… grown some teeth too, I see. You know what it means to protect your home. Excellent. Excellent….

"As for the Mountain and Sea Realm, let's just say… I care about it more than you do. More… than anyone."

Outside of Planet South Heaven, Naruto proceeded along through the starry sky. Throughout the Ninth Mountain and Sea, cultivators were crafting planets and land masses in numerous locations, filling the starry sky.

Gathered upon those planets and land masses were all of the mortals of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and all of the bloodlines of all the cultivators….

There was only one Mountain and Sea Lord here, though, and that wasHebiTian. Paragon Sea Dream had personally come to visit him and appoint him as guardian of the place.

Naruto looked out at this vastly changed Ninth Mountain and Sea, and eventually, his gaze came to rest upon a certain mountain…. The Ninth Mountain!

Naruto wanted to meet a certain person and put an end to the Karma which tied them together. That person was none other thanHebiTian!

Ji Tian had interfered when Namikaze Xiufeng stepped into the Dao, and had attempted to possess Naruto in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Because of things such as these, the Karma between them was varied and strong.

Naruto proceeded through the starry sky toward the Ninth Mountain, then began to walk up the steps leading to the peak. Soon he was there, at the highest part of the Mountain.

He saw a celestial pond, within which was a sleeping Xuanwu turtle.

Sitting cross-legged next to the pond was an old man in a violet robe.

His eyes were unclouded and bright, and boundless Karma was visible upon his person.

In the instant in which Naruto saw him, he knew that this was the man he had come to see…HebiTian!

He was a former subordinate of Lord Li, a powerful expert from the same era as the first generation Patriarch of the Namikaze Clan. He was also the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Ji Tian was not alone. A young man and a young woman stood behind him. Naruto was unfamiliar with the man, having never seen him before, but could see that he had an extraordinary cultivation base in the mid Ancient Realm. When he looked at Naruto, the awe in his eyes was evident, and although he was apparently trying to hold back from revealing it, Naruto could see it clearly.

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on the young woman, he recognized her. It wasHebiYin, and as soon as she saw him, a complex look could be seen in her eyes, and her expression darkened. 1

Ji Tian's expression was the same as ever when he looked up at Naruto. It was almost as if he considered him to be an old friend. He smiled, and in a casual tone said, "You've come."

Naruto looked atHebiTian, expression calm as he approached and stood before him. Then he looked down at the Xuanwu turtle in the pond water, and his eyes suddenly glittered.

"So you can see it?"HebiTian said, smiling. "I knew there would be no way of hiding the truth. The only question is, will I be able to calm your anger, Crown Prince of the Mountains and Seas?"

Naruto stood there silently, eyes flashing. What he saw was that there were innumerable powerful Karma threads bindingHebiTian to the Xuanwu turtle, creating a connection between the two of them that vastly exceeded the connection between an ordinary Mountain and Sea Lord and Xuanwu turtle. In fact, the life forces ofHebiTian and the Xuanwu turtle seemed to be bound together.

Furthermore, it was not a situation in whichHebiTian was in the dominant position, with the Xuanwu turtle being bound to him. Instead, the Xuanwu turtle was dominant!

If the Xuanwu turtle died,HebiTian would perish. However, ifHebiTian died, it wouldn't have any negative effect on the Xuanwu turtle at all. In fact, ifHebiTian died, the Xuanwu turtle would be able to absorb the power of his cultivation base, and thus have an explosive increase in battle prowess.

The way Naruto saw it was that this was an oath sworn byHebiTian that he would live or die with the Ninth Mountain and Sea!

Naruto examined the situation for a very long moment before turning to lookHebiTian in the eye. "Why have you done this?"

Ji Tian looked back at Naruto and began to speak slowly, sounding as proud as the Lord of the Ninth Mountain and Sea should. "That is the wrong question to ask, Crown Prince. Let us make things clear. I have a grudge with your Namikaze Clan. Furthermore, although there are many sects and clans in the Ninth Mountain and Sea who venerate me, most of them fear me, but don't respect me.

"However, after becoming the Mountain and Sea Lord, I have committed no depraved acts of inhumanity! Perhaps I haven't lead the Ninth Mountain and Sea into riches and glory, but I haven't led it into decline either!

"As a matter of fact, many Chosen have appeared here, one after another. I never had a single one of those Chosen killed, no matter what sect or clan they come from, nor have I engaged in any wholesale slaughter!

"It's true that theHebiClan has grown large and powerful thanks to the Immortality Bestowal Dais I created, which allowed many people to become false Immortals by means of my name. However, in the end, I have done nothing to harm the Ninth Mountain and Sea. If anything, I gave more people the hope, and the chance, to reach Immortal Ascension.

"As for the Namikaze Clan, the only reason I ever targeted them was because of the old enmities that exist between our two clans.

"Despite that, from the very beginning until now, when you still haven't stepped into the Dao, I never made a move to attack you… with the exception of that one time in the Eighth Mountain and Sea."

Naruto thought for a moment, then responded in a cool voice, "Nice soliloquy, but it's not enough. I demand a complete explanation."

Ji Yin couldn't hold back from jumping in. "Naruto, y-you're pushing things too far. What the Patriarch did to you and your father wasn't his true wish. He actually–"

"That's enough,"HebiTian said, waving his hand to interruptHebiYin. He looked at Naruto, and he seemed to have come to a decision.

"I can give you that complete explanation, Crown Prince." With that, he rose to his feet and waved his hand, causing a rift to appear in front of him, which he immediately entered.

Naruto glanced over atHebiYin. Based on what she had just said, he already had an idea of what was going on. He strode forward into the rift, then appeared in a small dimension.

The surroundings weren't very large. It was a sepulcher.

"Crown Prince, the explanation I owe you lies in here,"HebiTian said, his voice hoarse.

Naruto looked around, and was instantly moved. Within the sepulcher were eight coffins, none of which contained bones, only piles of skin.

There was also a strong Karmic power that caused Naruto's eyes to glitter. It only took a moment of extrapolation on his part to determine the general function of this place, although he couldn't determine the specific grand magic at play.

"Clone possession," he said. "Crafting the perfect body…. Eight possessions were like eight lives, and from the look of it,HebiDongyang was your eighth life. He wanted to possess me in order to become the ninth life!

"Therefore, what you want to tell me is that the divine magic you unleashed actually took control of you. The 'you' that I encountered before wasn't really you. Furthermore, after cutting downHebiDongyang, the magic was broken, and you recovered control?" Eyes glittering, he looked over atHebiTian!

Ji Yin was one of the many Chosen who Naruto beat and stuffed into his bag of holding in the events of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite temple arc. He foughtHebiYin in chapter 829. Later someone disguised as her appeared when theHebiClan attempted to overthrow the Namikaze Clan ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1354

Chapter 1354: The 32 Heavens are Coming!

Ji Tian stood there for a while without responding. Then he sighed, looking around the sepulcher with mixed emotions.

"Ke Yunhai was the hero of an entire generation…. His reincarnation magic worked for Ke Jiusi. But even though I obtained the same magical technique, I couldn't get it to work right."

Naruto's mind reeled as he realized why this magical technique seemed so familiar. It was obviously… the same legendary transmigration technique Ke Yunhai had mentioned! 1

"Crown Prince, does this explanation of mine meet with your satisfaction?"HebiTian asked slowly.

Naruto waved his hand, causing the dimension they were in to shrink down until it was nothing more than a dot of light in the palm of his hand. Then, he andHebiTian reappeared back out on the Ninth Mountain.

Ji Tian had made things very simple. He knew that he had offended Naruto and the Namikaze Clan far too deeply. That was in fact why he had connected his life force to the Ninth Mountain's Xuanwu turtle. Such an act clearly demonstrated how determined he was to fight for the Mountains and Seas. Then, he had actually handed over to Naruto the very pocket dimension which was inextricably bound to his own life.

All of that showed that he was placing his life in Naruto's hands. If Naruto wanted to, he could easily use the pocket dimension to torture him endlessly, even kill him.

After providing all of these things to Naruto,HebiTian stood quietly off to the side, waiting for Naruto to make his decision.

Naruto thought for a moment, then gaveHebiTian a profound look. If there were no war in the Mountains and Seas, then he would definitely killHebiTian on the spot. But now….

A profound gleam flickered in his eyes as he turned, taking the pocket dimension with him as he left the Ninth Mountain.

After Naruto left,HebiTian seemed to age, and much of his energy drained away. After standing there bitterly for a moment, he sighed.

He knew that he had just sidestepped a huge catastrophe. Before Naruto had destroyed the 1st Heaven, he had felt confident in being able to personally prevent him from taking action. But after what happened with the 1st Heaven, and after he enslaved the Paragon,HebiTian was filled with an unprecedented level of fear.

At that point, he realized that all the preparations he had made would be useless in dealing with Naruto. The only way to have a shot at living… was to place his life in Naruto's hands.

Even then, he only had a sliver of a chance!

After resolving matters withHebiTian, Naruto proceeded along through the starry sky, observing the Mountain and Sea Realm preparing for war. His heart grew calm, and his will to fight grew stronger. He was like a sword being sharpened, a sword that, when it was unsheathed, could sever the Heavens.

The preparations continued, and one by one, various projects were completed. The eight lines of defense were set up, and the Nine Seas were filled with astonishing restrictive spells.

The Mountain and Sea cultivators were also organized into armies. Roughly thirty percent were sent to the First Mountain and Sea, with the rest being sent to the other Mountains and Seas, where they would wait to relieve troops on the battlefield or act as reinforcements.

Ancient treasures from various sects and clans were distributed, and large numbers of cultivators were stationed on the sun and moon, which were in and of themselves precious treasures no weaker than Paragons!

During the battle with the 1st Heaven, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm had been solely focused on maintaining the barrier against the other Heavens. Therefore, the sun and the moon had not been used. Now that the barrier was breaking, and the 32 Heavens were coming, the sun and moon… were ready to explode into battle!

Ksitigarbha was stationed on the moon. Considering the level of his cultivation base, as well as the fact that he commanded the river of reincarnation, the sea of the Yellow Springs, as well as numerous Yama King palaces, the moon was the best place for him to unleash his peak power. Most of the power of the moon was focused, not on attacking, but defending!

The brightest glow of all came from the sun! The person who had been appointed to that station was… Naruto!

As per Paragon Sea Dream's orders, Naruto was to take control of the sun, and would wield the Mountain and Sea Realm's most deadly weapon!

As for the paragon puppet, Naruto sent it to the peak of the First Mountain, where it had a perfect view of the First Sea, and would be able to observe all of the battlefields which would make up the first line of defense.

Conveniently, Naruto's incredible divine sense made it possible for him multitask, and thus personally control the incredible power of the Paragon puppet. To him, it was a perfectly suitable thing to do, although to anyone else it would be impossible.

Everyone took everything very seriously, and soon, a powerful will to fight pervaded the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. With the Siege Mode activated, the Realm was like a razor-sharp sword.

The most important aspect of the Siege Mode was that everything surrounding the entire Mountain and Sea Realm was locked down by its will. The only way in or out was through the First Sea and the First Mountain!

If the 32 Heavens wanted to exterminate all life in the Mountain and Sea Realm, then there was really only one way to do it. They could not resort to trickery like the 1st Heaven had, and try to divide the Mountain and Sea Realm.

All cultivators in the Mountains and Seas, regardless of whether they wanted to or not, were ready for war. Some of them were thinking of themselves, but most were thinking of their clans and their sects!

Perhaps few people were worried about the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole, but everyone had a clan or sect, as well as a family, and all of those existed within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

It was now only about three days until the 32 Heavens were expected to break through the barrier. Everything was still and quiet, although the will to fight and the killing intent in the Realm grew stronger and more pervasive.

Naruto made his way through the starry sky until eventually he… reached the sun. There were 100,000 cultivators posted there, arranged in both military and spell formations.

The minimum cultivation level among those cultivators was the Immortal Realm, with about thirty percent being Ancient Realm experts. They did not come from one particular Mountain and Sea, but had been picked from all of them. These people all cultivated fire-type techniques, and with them present, the power of the sun would be even further increased.

As soon as Naruto arrived, the 100,000 cultivators clasped hands and bowed deeply, fanatical gleams shining in their eyes.

"Greetings, Crown Prince of the Mountains and Seas!

"We shall live and die with the Mountains and Seas! We are willing to give our lives and souls for the Crown Prince!" The voices of 100,000 cultivators joined together into a powerful roar that echoed out, and within their eyes burned passion, and an intense desire to do battle.

Naruto looked at them, looked at the sun, and then clasped hands and bowed deeply. He made no speech, but instead stepped forward into the nucleus spell formation at the center of the sun, where he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.

Now that Naruto had arrived, all of the 100,000 cultivators sat down cross-legged.

Naruto had previously believed this sun to be huge, definitely larger than a planet, and most likely as large as one of the Mountains of the Realm. But now he realized that actually… it wasn't very big.

The reason it seemed so spectacular was because of the dazzling, majestic light which constantly shone off of it, and the intense heat which made it impossible for ordinary cultivators to even get near it.

In fact, these 100,000 cultivators were wearing a special type of armor provided by Paragon Sea Dream which allowed them to stay on the surface of the sun. As for Naruto, considering the current level of his fleshly body, he needed nothing of the sort.

Numerous powerful spell formations could be seen which had apparently existed since time immemorial. As the 100,000 cultivators sat down cross-legged onto those spell formations, they merged into them, becoming part of the formations.

Naruto, of course, sat down cross-legged at the spell formation in the very center.

When he sent his divine sense out to cover the entire sun, he could sense a power there that could shake Heaven and Earth.

It was not his first time sensing that power. Back in the Windswept Realm, he had used his drop of Paragon's blood to summon the light of this very sun, and the energy he had sensed at that time was the same as the energy he sensed now!

With his divine sense unleashed, he could utilize the spell formation, and with a mere thought, could merge into that power, and even… control it without the slightest interference!

Naruto could also sense that deep within the recesses of the sun was… the true precious treasure that this spell formation could unleash.

"According to the legends," he murmured, "Paragon Nine Seals created the Mountain and Sea Realm, and then used his two Battle Weapons to make the sun and moon…. As for the sun, it focuses on battle, and the moon focuses on defense." With that, he looked over in the direction of the moon, which was on the opposite side of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

That was where Ksitigarbha was stationed, who Naruto had still not met in person. He was the most peerless expert in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and he was tasked with using the moon to coordinate the defenses in battle.

Naruto took a deep breath and looked away. Then he sent his divine sense throughout the sun, linking himself with the 100,000 cultivators.

With that, he closed his eyes and began to wait.

Time passed. One day. Two days…. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were itching to fight, and their killing intent shook Heaven and Earth. Everyone was now completely focused on the starry sky up above.

By now, boundless ripples were spreading out through the starry sky, as well as crashing booms, all from the barrier created by the will of the Mountains and Seas. Something terrifying was bashing at that barrier, causing the starry sky to burn, and sending crevices snaking out!

As the crevices grew wider, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm calmed their spirits. No one spoke. They stood there silently. Waiting. Waiting for the 32 Heavens to attack!

It was in that moment that Paragon Sea Dream's voice suddenly echoed out in Naruto's mind.

"Naruto…."

Naruto opened his eyes.

"The sun is extremely important, and is in fact the key to the war. The sun… must not be lost! The Tailuo Redthunder Formation was one of the most powerful spell formations back in the days of the Paragon Immortal Realm.

"Paragon Nine Seals himself set up the formation, and having built up energy for tens upon tens of thousands of years, it can unleash supreme power. However, that power is limited. It can attack only nineteen times at one hundred percent strength. Eventually, the formation may break, and at that time, there is something you must remember. When it comes to the power of the sun, the spell formation is the first layer, the structure of the sun is the second layer, and the precious treasure in the nucleus is the third layer!

"Hold on for as long as you can…. This war is going to go on for a long time…."

Paragon Sea Dream's voice echoed away into nothing. Naruto sat there silently. He didn't respond to her words, but his eyes shone with a sharp, brilliant light. As for his divine sense, he sent some of it out toward the peak of the First Mountain where… the Paragon puppet sat cross-legged.

In the instant his divine sense poured into it, the Paragon puppet's eyes opened, and they glittered brightly as it slowly looked up.

That was the moment in which a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering explosion rang out through the Mountain and Sea Realm. Up above in the starry sky, visible to all, was a huge black scorpion claw, slashing down through the barrier up above!

The barrier was ripped open, and rumbling sounds like thunder filled the starry sky of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

The rift which had been opened in the barrier was thousands of meters wide, and on the other side was an army of Outsiders so large it was impossible to number. Countless eyes stared toward the Mountains and Seas, filled with greed and ruthlessness.

The 32 Heavens… were coming!

You may remember the Daoist magic from the Ancient Demon Immortal

Sect that allowed Ke Jiusi to continue to live down until the events of ISSTH. It was mentioned several times throughout that arc, the most relevant reference being in chapter 597 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1355

Chapter 1355 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1355: Paragon Xuan Namikaze !

The rumbling was so intense that the heavenly bodies shook. The scorpion pincer retracted, then appeared once again in another area off to the side. More booms could be heard as a second huge rift was ripped open.

Naruto watched silently, as did all of the other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Their cold eyes were fixed on the starry sky up above as they awaited orders from Paragon Sea Dream.

The gigantic scorpion pincer appeared again and again, and soon ten rifts had been slashed open into the barrier in the starry sky. The strangest thing was that the ten rifts did not connect at all.

With every slash of the pincer, it seemed to grow weaker, until the final slash was delivered, whereupon a blast of energy surged out from the pincer.

Everything trembled, and a huge shockwave surged out, although it seemed as if the source of that blast was actually beyond the barrier itself!

After all, the scorpion pincer itself was more than 30,000 meters long, so it could only be imagined how gigantic the scorpion itself was!

The aura emanating from the scorpion pincer spread out in all directions, and the pressure of a Paragon superseded that of Heaven and Earth, dispersing everything in its path as it descended toward the Mountain and Sea Realm, a will unto itself!

"Heathens of the Paragon Immortal Realm, henceforth all of ye… shall cease to exist!

"All Immortals shall perish!

"All Immortal bloodlines will be cut off!

"All memories will be expunged!"

Massive rumbling echoed out in concert with the voice, causing the Mountains to shake and the Seas to seethe. The minds of all the cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm shook.

That was the will of a Paragon, and not that of a 7-Essences Paragon…. No, this was… an 8-Essences Paragon!

The Mountains and Seas were trembling. The lands shook and mountains were rocked as Heaven and Earth crumbled. The enormous scorpion pincer gradually retracted, as if the Outsider Paragon were temporarily incapable of actually descending into the Mountains and Seas, but first needed to widen the passageway before its true form could come.

As the pincer pulled back through the huge 3,000-meter rift it had just opened, a sea of countless Outsiders began to swarm through. Their eyes blazed with greed and a thirst for blood, and their laughter rang out in all directions.

At the same time, countless Outsiders began to fly out from the other rifts.

"The flesh and blood of Immortals…. I haven't savored that flavor for a long, long time…."

"Immortals, huh? So this is the Immortal World we've been suppressing for so many millennia? They actually managed to wipe out the 1st Heaven?"

"Hahaha! Attack!"

Screams that could twist the mind and heart echoed out as huge waves of Outsiders poured out. For the most part, they looked completely different than ordinary cultivators. Some had scaly skin, others had bone spurs protruding out all over their bodies. Some of them even looked like enormous crocodiles.

There were Outsiders that had human bodies but the heads of lions, and others with even more bizarre appearances. At a single glance, it was possible to tell that these beings were from outside the Mountain and Sea Realm.

When Naruto saw them pouring through the rifts, he frowned, and wondered why the Paragon Immortal Realm had ever ruled over Lower Realms filled with Outsiders such as these.

It was at this point that Paragon Sea Dream's icy voice suddenly rang out in the minds of all Mountain and Sea cultivators.

"Fight!"

It was one word, but it was a word that called for a battle to the death. The resolve of the cultivators exploded like a whirlwind, and their hearts burned as if with fire.

Rumbling could be heard as the cultivators on the first line of defense attacked, unleashing their most powerful divine abilities. The starry sky trembled as the might of millions of cultivators exploded out. Instantly, the starry sky was not black, but instead filled with a riot of dazzling colors.

Countless divine abilities and magical techniques emanated scintillating colors, and were backed by the will and resolve of all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. It was like an ocean of magic that surged with fatal power toward the Outsiders. And this… was just the first showdown!

The fighting exploded in an instant. The Outsiders also unleashed their most profound divine abilities, some of them moving so fast they were mere blurs. Others laughed maniacally as they grew to incredible sizes, using their natural armor-like flesh to fight back. Some even transformed into multiple clones.

However, there were quite a few who were immediately cut down by the raging ocean of magic that blasted into them. This time, the Mountain and Sea Realm had entered its Siege Mode, and the spirits of its cultivators burned with passion. They were completely and utterly prepared for battle.

The ocean of magic swept over the Outsiders, and even as it was destroyed, another salvo surged out from the First Mountain and Sea.

As Naruto sat cross-legged in the sun, he refrained from attacking. This precious treasure of the Mountain and Sea Realm could not be squandered casually. It was impossible to say exactly how long the war would last, and Naruto wanted to ensure that each attack he unleashed… would inflict maximum damage on the invading 32 Heavens.

His Paragon puppet was also waiting to attack. Currently, the only fighters on the field of battle were the cultivators from the First Mountain and Sea.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the initial advance of the Outsiders was shoved back, making it impossible for them to descend into the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, despite being sent spinning back by the ocean of magic, the number of Outsiders was vast, and more and more of them poured out of the ten rifts. Furthermore, additional rifts were now opening up.

As the forces of the Outsiders swelled in number, they were slowly able to push back against the ocean of magic unleashed by the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Naruto frowned in thought. Then, the sun's spell formation began to flicker with light as he prepared to launch an attack. However, it was at this point that a cold snort echoed out from within the rift, and a new figure appeared.

It was a lion-headed Outsider, and as soon as he appeared, he exploded with the aura of an Imperial Lord. As he advanced, his aura transformed into an enormous circular shield of light!

The shield of light grew larger and larger as he moved in front of all the others, until it was over 9,000 meters in diameter. This was what the Outsider Imperial Lord used to defend against the ocean of magic.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and without hesitation, he took action. The boundless light of the sun became the most dazzling light on the battlefield. A beam of light shot out, and if you looked closely, within that beam of light was a glowing arrow!

The arrow pierced through the void to appear directly in front of the lionheaded Imperial Lord. His light shield instantly shattered, and the Imperial Lord's face fell. Pupils constricting, he shot backward. However, the arrow's speed hadn't been reduced in the slightest.

Just as the arrow was about to slam into him, the lion-headed Imperial Lord threw his head back and roared. At the same time, his body rapidly expanded and changed shape into that of a golden lion. He then butted his head into the light shooting toward him from the sun.

Intense, blistering light radiated out from the Outsider Imperial Lord, and he let out a miserable shriek. Just when he was on the verge of being wiped out of existence, he suddenly spit a marionette out of his mouth. It was hard to tell whether the marionette was laughing or crying, and apparently, it was taking the place of the Outsider Imperial Lord's soul as it cracked into pieces.

After the marionette was destroyed, the Outsider Imperial Lord's body grew blurry and then vanished. When he reappeared near the border of the one of the rifts, he was trembling, and was clearly much weaker than before. Enraged, he turned to look in the direction of Naruto and the sun.

Naruto's expression was calm as he snorted coldly. At the same time, the Outsider Imperial Lord suddenly looked back in the direction of his destroyed marionette to find that the light arrow had reformed. It then shot forth at incredible speed, and before he could react, it stabbed into his forehead.

A boom rang out, and a look of disbelief flashed across his face in the moment before he exploded. In the lasts moments before he died, the only thing that filled his mind was disbelief that he was dying after having just stepped foot onto the battlefield. Then, he was completely wiped out of existence!

Countless cultivators within the Mountain and Sea Realm saw this happen, and they were instantly enlivened.

Upon the death of the lion-headed Imperial Lord, another astonishing stream of aura pierced out from within one of the rifts. It was a second Imperial Lord who moved so fast it was difficult to see him. Only when he stopped moving was it possible to see that his appearance was not humanoid. Instead, he was a huge ant, thousands of meters tall.

He was pitch black and emanated a boundless black glow that fought back against the ocean of magic. Even as he looked over warily at Naruto, a third Imperial Lord appeared!

Shockingly, this third Imperial Lord… was not an Outsider, but a cultivator. He emanated profound ancientness, and wore a long white robe. He was an old man who had apparently lived for countless years, and emanated boundless cultivation base ripples. As soon as he appeared, he looked down at the Mountain and Sea Realm with a complex expression. Seemingly reminiscent, he finally snorted coldly, waving his right hand to cause a crimson flame phoenix to appear, fully 3,000 meters long. Instantly, it shot toward the ocean of magic.

Two Imperial Lords were now attacking simultaneously, causing the ocean of magic to begin to vibrate. After a long moment, just when it seemed as if it couldn't sustain itself for any longer, the invading Outsiders built up enough troops to unleash a magical ocean of their own.

Naruto quickly prepared the sun's spell formation for a second attack. In the blink of an eye, another light arrow shot out, toward… the white-robed Imperial Lord who was… clearly a cultivator who had originally come from in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

However, it was at this point that the starry sky trembled. Everything shook as a huge hand stretched out from one of the rifts. It was completely golden, and covered with boundless fur that floated about elegantly. That hand stretched out with incredible speed to simply grab the second light arrow Naruto had just shot from the sun!

The hand clenched down viciously, and the light arrow shattered.

Naruto's eyes flickered. He hadn't used the full power of the sun in his previous two attacks, only about sixty to seventy percent. Even still, the only type of person who could crush those arrows would be a Paragon!

Chapter 1355: Paragon Xuan Namikaze !

Note from Deathblade: Interestingly the Paragon isn't actually named in the chapter, only the chapter title.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1356

Chapter 1356: Plot To Fragment the Heavens!

Massive rumbling could be heard as the light arrow collapsed into pieces. The Paragon's enormous hand stopped in place, then opened slowly, causing a drop of blood to drop down. That blood drop sizzled, and then exploded into a boundless sea covered with innumerable magical symbols. It descended like a millstone toward the ocean of magic unleashed by the huge army of Mountain and Sea cultivators.

Naruto's pupils constricted in response.

"He definitely deserves to be a Paragon. He clearly has copious experience in battle, and is adept at changing tactics in the middle of fighting. He actually took the drop of blood that resulted from being struck by the light arrow and turned it into a powerful attack…."

There was no time for Naruto to stop what was happening. Frowning, he watched as the Paragon's sea of blood shoved down onto the ocean of magic, instantly causing its light to fade wherever they connected.

Simultaneously, the two Imperial Lords also attacked. Rumbling sounds could be heard as, for the first time, the Mountain and Sea Realm's ocean of magic was suppressed, and began to fade away.

It was also at this point that the rifts in the starry sky were relentlessly ripped open wider and wider. Vast quantities of Outsiders appeared.

There were no less than a million at this point, and their expressions were all fierce and vicious as they charged toward the First Mountain and Sea.

The rifts only continued to open wider, and it was possible to see that even more Outsiders were waiting beyond. They kept pouring through the openings without stop.

Furthermore, behind all of those Outsiders was… a land mass!

It was… the 2nd Heaven. This 2nd Heaven was clearly larger than the 1st Heaven, and beyond it, Naruto could see the 3rd Heaven, the 4th Heaven, and the 5th Heaven….

Each of the 33 Heavens was larger than the one before it, with the smallest being the 1st Heaven, and the largest Heaven being… the 33rd Heaven.

Rumbling could be heard as the 2nd Heaven… battered the barrier, causing the rifts to grow larger, and allowing more and more Outsiders to enter the Mountain and Sea Realm.

From the look of it, the barrier wouldn't stay intact for very much longer.

Naruto looked back toward the rifts, and his eyes flickered as he caught sight of the Paragon who had just shattered his arrow. He was enormous, and golden-colored, with the head of a lion, the type of figure to be the subject of all attention.

Golden light shimmered off of him, and Naruto could even sense that this lion-headed Paragon possessed terrifying, world-destructive power.

Sensing Naruto's gaze, the lion-headed Paragon looked over, and his lightning-like eyes pierced through the void to land on the sun, and Naruto. Voice cool, he said, "I am Xuan Namikaze ."

Naruto snorted coldly as he sent his divine sense out to defend himself.

Xuan Namikaze 's eyes glittered. Ignoring Naruto, he turned to face the Paragon puppet which waited on the First Mountain. His expression was mixed as he extended his hand and pointed toward the First Mountain and Sea.

"Let the war of extermination begin!" In response to his words, countless Outsiders roared and charged toward the First Mountain and Sea, unleashing numerous magical techniques and divine abilities.

The army that comprised the first line of defense for the Mountain and Sea Realm was separated from the Outsiders by the First Sea, but they still fought back directly with various magics. However, the number of Outsiders was vast, and more were pouring in by the moment. Their charge was relentless and awe-inspiring, and their advance drew them ever closer to the First Sea.

The seawater boiled and screamed, and began to vaporize into a mist, as if it were being eternally wiped away.

Unexpectedly, Paragon Xuan Namikaze stayed in place, an enigmatic smile on his face as he studied the Mountain and Sea Realm. Then he shot up into the starry sky and stretched out both hands, as if he were going to grab hold of the expanse and rip it apart.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the barrier in the starry sky was ripped open even wider.

Apparently, a tipping point had been reached. Massive rumbling could be heard as the barrier became completely inundated with cracks and tears, and then shattered into pieces like a mirror.

As it did, everything that was up above was then revealed. All of the… 32 Heavens!

Now that the barrier was down, the Mountain and Sea Realm and the 32

Heavens were connected. Both sides… could look directly at each other.

However, it was in that moment that all of the Outsiders from the 32 Heavens suddenly grew blurry and then faded away. Shockingly, they returned back to the land masses from whence they had come! This strange development caused Naruto's heart to begin to thump. Something strange was happening, and although he wasn't sure what it was, it seemed like something big was about to occur.

Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's expression flickered with scorn as he looked coldly at the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"I have to admire your little plot. But… I couldn't care less about it!" In almost the exact same instant that Xuan Namikaze 's words echoed out, Naruto's heart trembled from the intense foreboding that was growing stronger by the moment. Suddenly, all of the shattered remnants of the barrier began to emit a droning sound as they spun around to form a huge tempest. Then, they began to rise up toward the 32 Heavens.

At the same time, Paragon Sea Dream's voice echoed out into the minds of the Mountain and Sea cultivators.

"Attack!"

Rumbling sounds echoed out, starting from the Ninth Mountain and Sea and then moving to the Eighth, the Seventh, and all the way to the First Mountain and Sea, as the Mountain and Sea cultivators unleashed explosive divine abilities and magical techniques. They rocketed up, then shot out from the First Mountain and Sea in an ocean of magic which exceeded the ferocity of the previous oceans by ten times. It shot out toward the tempest, merging into it and thus experiencing an exponential growth in size and power.

That indescribably powerful force was heading directly toward… the 32 Heavens.

This was the Mountain and Sea Realm plot that Xuan Namikaze had referred to, something that had been enacted by Paragon Sea Dream, but originally planned out by Paragon Nine Seals.

It really was a plot. Although it wasn't possible to tell from the perspective of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself, from the direction of the 33 Heavens, it was easier to distinguish. The barrier which had been erected by the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, once shattered, would clearly be able to unleash a shocking attack.

That shocking attack, that intense tempest, would combine all of the magical techniques of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators to create a power similar to that of a Paragon, which would then be used to strike at the 2nd Heaven!

The massive tempest swept out to cover the 2nd Heaven, smashing its mountains and buildings, then moving on to batter the 3rd Heaven, the 4th Heaven, and then the 5th Heaven.

As of this moment, Naruto had already unleashed two powerful attacks, leaving him with less than sixteen left. However, he didn't hesitate to add the power of one more light arrow into the huge tempest, making it even more glorious than before.

Naruto could also sense that there were likely more tricks hidden within the shattered barrier, so despite the sense of foreboding he had, he still chose to join in.

The windstorm screamed, backed by the madness of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, by the explosive power of the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm, as if they wanted to bash all of the 32 Heavens to pieces!

However, even as the windstorm blasted into the 6th Heaven, and before it could charge on toward the 7th Heaven, blinding light shone out to cover the land mass that was the 7th Heaven. It then covered the 8th Heaven above it, and the 9th and onward all the way to the 33rd Heaven. Then, all of those Heavens began to fade into blurriness.

At the same time, a barrier appeared, cutting the connection between the 6th Heaven and the 7th Heaven.

Simultaneously, a gigantic scorpion appeared in the vast expanse above the 7th Heaven. It was blurry, but its eyes glittered with oppressive coldness as it stared down at the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"The tactics of Nine Seals, carried out by Sea Dream. Our 33 Heavens have no choice but to face the power of your plot. As it turns out… that power of extermination is as terrifying as ever.

"However… tens upon tens of thousands of years have passed. We are different than we used to be. In the past, you might have been able to blast through all 33 Heavens, to open up a path for the Mountain and Sea Realm to flee. But now… you shall be stopped at the 6th Heaven.

"That Mountain and Sea Siege Mode might seem like it is intended to converge power for defense, but there is no question that its shape is that of an arrow. In all likelihood, Paragon Nine Seals planned this out all those tens of thousands of years ago. His plan for the final battle was actually… to open a corridor to make your getaway.

"I wonder how many cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm actually knew about this little plan? Based on what I know of your personality, Sea Dream, my guess is… that you didn't tell anyone!" The scorpion's laughter rang out through the Mountain and Sea Realm as it slowly disappeared.

His words were filled with sinister malevolence, and when they entered the ears of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, their hearts trembled with shock. Not even Naruto had been aware that Sea Dream would do something like this.

Although he could disregard the allegation of the scorpion-shaped Paragon if he wanted to, after some thought, he realized that what he had said didn't seem like a complete fabrication.

If Naruto was affected in such a way, then it could only be imagined how the rest of the Mountain and Sea Cultivators felt. They couldn't help… but suddenly lose a bit of confidence regarding the war. After all… even their Paragon wanted to escape, not fight to the death….

The sensation of hope they had felt after Naruto destroyed the 1st Heaven and enslaved a Paragon… suddenly faded a bit thanks to the words of the scorpion-shaped Paragon.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and his heart sank. He knew that cultivators who could reach the level of Paragon were by no means weak, and would also be profound schemers.

As the scorpion-shaped Paragon disappeared, and the 7th through 33rd Heavens faded into a state of invisibility, the land masses of the 6th, 5th, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd Heavens all began to descend.

Although they were broken and in ruins, the Outsiders on them clearly had ways to defend from the attack just now. All of them boiled forth, tens of millions of them, backed by their land masses as they charged in attack.

There were also numerous black cubes which spread out from the five land masses, no less than a million of them.

At this point, Paragon Sea Dream's cold voice echoed out into the starry skies. "What a pack of lies! You think a measly Scorpion Tribe Priest like yourself can understand the ways and means of Paragon Nine Seals…? Cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the 7th Heaven and all the other Heavens have unleashed their Heaven Concealing sorcery. For the next year, they will be incapable of emerging from their current state. Nor will they be able to fight us. They will only be able to watch!

"They have abandoned the 2nd through 6th Heavens. Their armies are alone! Outsider cultivators of the Lower Realms, did you know that? Did you know that you have been forsaken?"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1357

Chapter 1357 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1357: Throw Myself Out as Bait!

It didn't matter whether or not Paragon Sea Dream really had planned to flee with the Mountain and Sea Realm, or whether or not she felt the war to be hopeless. As of this moment, her echoing words not only solidified the hearts of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, it was also a rhetorical counterpunch that caused the Outsiders who remained behind in the 2nd through 6th Heavens to turn very grim-faced.

Naruto breathed a sigh of relief, then looked toward the Ninth Mountain with a complex expression. Deep in his heart, he was convinced that Paragon Sea Dream really had intended to lead the Mountain and Sea Realm into flight.

However, now was not the time to ponder the matter. He settled his thoughts and then focused completely on the spell formation, causing brilliant sunlight to shine out into the starry sky.

Meanwhile, as if giving their reply to Sea Dream's words, the millions of black cubes floating in the starry sky suddenly erupted with boundless lightning, which then lashed downward and bombarded the Mountain and Sea Realm's first line of defense. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but in addition, the surging energy of a Paragon also erupted out from the 6th Heaven.

A hoarse voice could be heard, filled with seemingly infinite pride, "Still as slippery with words as ever, Fellow Daoist Sea Dream. How amusing."

The 33 Heavens originally had five powerful Paragons. Of those, one had been enslaved by Naruto. That left four, and now… two were present to fight!

The words spoken by this Paragon instantly filled the Outsiders with confidence. After all, if the 32 Heavens sent two Paragons to support them, then how could it be as Sea Dream said, that they had been abandoned?

Their fighting spirit soared. Roaring, millions upon millions of Outsiders charged toward the First Sea, whose waters boiled and bubbled as countless restrictive spells exploded out. The First Mountain and Sea was the first line of defense, and the cultivators there had no time to think or ponder. They could only begin to fight!

Millions of cultivators charged forth in attack. Countless scintillating beams of light shot through the First Sea, joining the power of the restrictive spells and spell formations to unleash carnage upon the Outsiders.

The First Sea seethed as innumerable Outsiders poured into the battle. In the blink of an eye, miserable shrieks and cries filled the air, and countless grievous injuries and even deaths occurred. The First Sea almost instantly turned crimson, making the entire sea look like… a sea of blood.

As for the Paragon who had just spoken out from the 6th Heaven, he did not appear in body. Clearly, his only goal had been to put pressure on the Mountain and Sea Realm, and to calm the Outsiders. Even more so, he wanted to buy time.

Time was needed for the 7th through 33rd Heavens to emerge from the special state created by the magic they had used to evade the destructive tempest.

As for the Outsider Imperial Lords, their number had increased from four to six, and they were making a grand display in battle.

Out in the starry sky, Xuan Namikaze 's eyes glittered as he looked over at the six Imperial Lords, then pointed in the direction of the sun.

"All of you–" However, before he could finish speaking, his expression flickered. "Not good…."

In that same instant, a glowing shield exploded out from the moon. Ksitigarbha was using all the power he could unleash to utilize the moon's spell formation power. The moon was devoted to defense, and now it created a shield that covered the Mountain and Sea Realm, including the First Sea.

That shield locked down the Mountain and Sea Realm, and at the same time… cut off all of the Outsiders who were within the First Sea from the others!

It was as if the Outsiders' huge army had suddenly been cut apart!

One portion was isolated in the First Sea, with the majority of the army being stuck outside. At the same time, Naruto sent divine will into the Paragon puppet that was waiting atop the First Mountain. Suddenly, it looked up, its eyes flashing.

The puppet's face was expressionless, but when Xuan Namikaze saw it, his face fell. The puppet rose to its feet, the pressure of a Paragon exploding out from the First Mountain to fill the First Sea. Then, it took a step forward.

"Eegoo, what are you doing!?" Xuan Namikaze roared from the other side of the shield. He took a step toward the shield, clenched his hand into a fist, and struck out. The entire shield shook as though it might break at any moment. However, Ksitigarbha's eyes gleamed viciously, and blood oozed out of the corners of the mouths of the 100,000 cultivators under his command. As a result, the shield stabilized, and showed no further signs of being breached.

Xuan Namikaze roared with fury as he battered the shield again, but it did no good. He stared viciously at Naruto's Paragon puppet as it took a step forward, then unleashed a fist strike toward the First Sea.

That fist strike contained Paragon power that could shake the Heavens. The entire First Sea sank down, and the Mountain and Sea cultivators were pushed back by an enormous force. In contrast, the Outsiders' faces flickered with shock and despair.

"NO!"

"Th-that's… that's Paragon Eegoo. How… how could this be possible!?'

"Paragon Eegoo has turned traitor!"

Massive rumbling echoed out as the fist strike descended. The Outsiders began to cough up blood, and cracking sounds mixed with miserable shrieks could be heard as their bodies began to fall to pieces.

After the fist strike landed, a powerful shockwave surged out in all directions like a massive tempest. As it passed over the Outsiders in the First Sea, their bodies were flayed into masses of blood and gore. Their flesh became ash, and their bones were shattered into fragments, leaving nothing behind!

Their magical items, their bags of holding, everything about them was completely destroyed, until nothing was left behind but wisps of smoke.

However, the blood that filled the First Sea remained behind. Not a bit of it faded away, and in fact, it grew thicker, until the First Sea emanated a stench that struck fear into the hearts of the Outsiders on the other side of the shield.

One single punch exterminated all of the enemy forces in the First Sea.

The power of a Paragon, once unleashed… could exterminate Heaven and Earth.

The Paragon puppet slowly looked up, and its eyes were clearly not that of Eegoo, but Naruto. The icy madness therein, freezing killing intent which stabbed out of the Mountain and Sea Realm's shield toward Xuan Namikaze .

Xuan Namikaze shivered, and his face darkened, but the killing intent in his own eyes burned brighter than ever as he then turned to look in the direction of the sun, and Naruto.

"As long as this kid remains alive," he thought, "this war will be ten times as hard to win!" After a moment, he looked away. Without speaking another word, he turned his attention back to the shield. He was confident that he would be able to break it open, but he also knew that even if he did, his army wouldn't be willing to casually step into the First Sea.

And yet, if he didn't break the stalemate, then despite being able to buy some time, the morale of the troops would be significantly damaged. Furthermore, that would also give time for the Mountain and Sea Realm to make further preparations.

Xuan Namikaze 's eyes glittered. "We can't let them dictate the tide of battle.

To break this stalemate, I need… to throw out some bait! An Imperial Lord wouldn't be enough. Only by offering myself up as bait can I force the Mountain and Sea Realm into making a move, whatever it is!"

After a moment of silence, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly began to cheer, and their excitement grew. At the same time, the shield began to fade away.

As it did, the Outsiders stared at the bloody First Sea, and just as Xuan Namikaze had predicted, none of them dared to enter it. Although they clearly outnumbered the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, they were the scared ones.

None of them dared to enter, but Xuan Namikaze did. He shot through the vanishing shield at high speed, and in that same moment, Ksitigarbha suddenly rose to his feet from where he sat inside the moon.

"He actually dares to enter?!" he thought, eyes shining with a strange light. However, he hesitated. That hesitation came as he considered whether or not to activate the shield again, trapping the Outsider Paragon inside, and then using the power of the Mountains and Seas to kill him!

Accomplishing that… could potentially end the battle much earlier!

It wasn't just Ksitigarbha who was hesitating. Sea Dream was frowning, and as for the rest of the Outsider army, they were stunned. However, some of the Outsiders were already beginning to roar, and charge forth to fight.

The six Imperial Lords were also shaken. The only person who seemed unfazed was the other Paragon in the 6th Heaven.

Naruto began to breathe heavily; the decisiveness being shown by Xuan Namikaze caused an icy coldness to glitter in his eyes.

"Offering himself up as bait?"

There was no time for lengthy consideration. Xuan Namikaze shot into the First Sea and appeared directly in front of the Paragon puppet. As he closed in, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing the surrounding sea of blood to solidify, almost as if it were being frozen by indescribable coldness.

"Seal!" Sea Dream barked in response, countering his move. Her eyes flickered with a fierce gleam. There was really no choice in the matter. If Xuan Namikaze was brave enough to offer himself up as bait, and the Mountain and Sea Realm was too cowardly to bite, then how could they possibly continue to fight the war?

Sea Dream normally planned things out carefully, but this situation was different.

Even as Sea Dream's voice continued to echo out, and before she could act on her decision, the light of the sun around Naruto blazed brightly. He had made his choice too, which was… to take the bait!

Ksitigarbha took a deep breath as his cultivation base surged with power. The river of reincarnation appeared, along with the sea of the Yellow Springs, and the numerous underworld palaces. The 100,000 cultivators on the moon all erupted with cultivation base power, pouring it into the spell formation, which Ksitigarbha then manipulated, causing the shield to spring up, covering the Mountain and Sea Realm, completely trapping Paragon Xuan Namikaze !

In the same moment that the shield appeared, the sun blazed with intense light as an attack was unleashed. An arrow of light shot through the starry sky, and at the same time, Paragon Sea Dream suddenly shot to her feet in the Ninth Mountain, then took a step forward to appear on the battlefield.

Rumbling could be heard as Naruto's Paragon puppet began to fight with Xuan Namikaze . Even as the spectacular battle began to play out, the sunlight arrow was closing in.

Unexpectedly, Xuan Namikaze didn't attempt to evade the arrow. In fact, he didn't even pay any heed to Paragon Sea Dream.

"Do you people really think I threw myself out as bait to get revenge for the millions of my fellow clan members who have died already? Or perhaps because of this Eegoo puppet?

"Oh, no. No… I came here," he suddenly looked toward the sun and smiled coldly, "for YOU." Laughing, he reached up and grabbed the light arrow, crushing it with his hand. A massive boom rang out, and blood oozed out of his mouth as he seemed to be on the verge of exploding. However, a strange light then began to flicker within his eyes.

"Dao of Time, return to the origin, trace this light back, and converge my true form!" Even as he spoke, Xuan Namikaze vanished!

When he reappeared, he was on the sun, a black pearl in his hand, which he then slammed downward!

Chapter 1357: Throw Myself Out as Bait!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1358

Chapter 1358: Battling Paragon Xuan Namikaze !

It was as if he had searched for the origin of the arrow, followed the light arrow back, used some incomprehensible divine ability to travel back in time by several breaths. Furthermore… Paragon Xuan Namikaze himself had traveled back in time!

The injuries that had just been inflicted on him by the light arrow suddenly faded away as he appeared on the surface of the sun!

Massive rumbling sounds could be heard, and the whole sun began to vibrate. The sudden turn of events caused Naruto's eyes to narrow.

"The Essence of Time!" Naruto had fought many people in his life, and although he might not have as much experience as Xuan Namikaze , he came close. Therefore, it was without the slightest hesitation that he reacted. In fact, his physical reaction was even faster than his mental reaction, as his cultivation base exploded with power, taking the power of the spell formation formed by the 100,000 cultivators and sending a vicious attack out.

That attack contained the full power of the sun, becoming a beam of light that shot, not directly toward Xuan Namikaze , but toward the black pearl.

That pearl gave Naruto a very bad feeling.

The golden light which emanated off of Paragon Xuan Namikaze had faded some. Clearly, using the Heaven-defying Timeshift magic was not something he could easily do. In fact, most likely, he wouldn't be able to unleash the same magic again any time soon; in that respect, it was similar to Naruto's Essence of Space.

In any case, Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's sudden appearance on the sun not only caused Naruto's eyes to widen, Paragon Sea Dream was clearly shocked.

Paragon Sea Dream instantly drew upon her full power to teleport over to the region of the sun. Naruto also used divine will to call his Paragon puppet over to help extricate himself from the danger!

Amidst rumbling sounds, brilliant light shot toward the pearl that Paragon Xuan Namikaze was slamming toward the surface of the sun with such speed that it seemed that it would surely be able to intercept the pearl before its impact.

Xuan Namikaze snorted coldly, then suddenly let go of the black pearl, allowing the light of the sun to slam into it. A huge boom then echoed out as the pearl was completely shattered.

As that happened, black mist spread out, which Naruto could instantly tell was filled with some sort of incredible sealing power. Thankfully, it had been destroyed before being fully unleashed; had it been used, even a Paragon would have been hard pressed to undo the sealing effect.

Clearly, the pearl had been a precious treasure that only a Paragon could create!

As soon as the black pearl shattered, Paragon Xuan Namikaze suddenly flickered into motion. In the blink of an eye, he was off in the distance. However, he was still on the surface of the sun, and shockingly, another black pearl could be seen in his hand. A vicious grin could be seen on his face as he completely ignored the incoming Sea Dream and Paragon puppet.

"When I attack, I plan things meticulously," he said coolly. "Things rarely go awry when I make a move!" With that he viciously threw the black pearl down toward the surface of the sun.

"Why does he insist on slamming that thing into the sun…?" thought Naruto, frowning. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head, and at the same time, the Lightning Cauldron appeared. Electricity danced as Naruto teleported out of the spell formation. Xuan Namikaze 's jaw dropped as, in the blink of an eye, Form Displacement Transposition caused him to switch places with Naruto.

Naruto waved his hand, and just as the black pearl was about to slam into the surface of the sun, he scooped it up.

As soon as he touched it, he understood.

"He doesn't want to seal this moment in time, and he doesn't want to use the pearl to kill me, he wants… to seal the sun!" With that, he looked up, and his pupils constricted as he realized that Paragon Xuan Namikaze … had produced a third black pearl.

This time, Xuan Namikaze didn't speak. In almost the same instant that Naruto laid eyes on him, he didn't throw the pearl down, but simply crushed it.

As the pearl was crushed, thick black mist exploded out, instantly swirling out to cover the entire sun, creating something like a unique Domain.

It was at this point that Naruto's Paragon puppet closed in and unleashed a fist strike upon the black mist. However, the power of that strike disappeared as quickly as a stone ox thrown into the ocean. Furthermore, there was no reaction whatsoever from the mist.

As for Paragon Sea Dream, as soon as she was close enough, she waved her finger, sending Paragon power exploding out. However, it did nothing to the mist except cause it to shudder and loosen slightly.

"Those are Gloompearls!" An extremely unsightly expression appeared on Sea Dream's face. Gloompearls were not something from the 33 Heavens. Back when the Paragon Immortal Realm faced complete catastrophe, one of the two major enemy forces created them with the express purpose of ensnaring powerful experts of the Immortal World. Once their power was unleashed, it couldn't easily be dispelled.

At the very least, it could trap everything inside of it for a quarter of an hour.

During that quarter hour, whatever was inside the mist was completely cut off from the rest of the world!

Even as Sea Dream's face flickered, Paragon Xuan Namikaze was within the mist, eyes flickering with icy killing intent. Although he initially appeared to be going after the Paragon puppet, in the blink of an eye, he changed his target to Naruto. But then, just when everyone thought he was actually trying to kill Naruto, he unleashed a Gloompearl to lock down the sun!

He had even prepared three pearls, all to ensure that the power of the sun could not be unleashed. That would remove one of the major obstacles to the invading army.

However just when people thought they knew what Xuan Namikaze was trying to do, he suddenly changed tactics again. Instead of trying to keep the sun sealed, he targeted Naruto. The truth was that few people would be able to guess… exactly what his goals were.

Right now, the sun was cut off because of the mist. Sea Dream and the Paragon puppet were on the outside, trying to batter their way in, trying to undo the seal. Meanwhile, Naruto was inside, facing incredible danger.

"I have a quarter of an hour to kill you, and that's all I need!" Xuan Namikaze laughed loudly, erupting with the cultivation base power of a Paragon as he took a step forward toward Naruto.

Naruto's face darkened. Xuan Namikaze was turning into a real headache; not only was his cultivation base incredibly powerful, his ability to scheme ran deep and profound. He was proving much more difficult to deal with than Eegoo.

Even as Xuan Namikaze bore down on him, Naruto backed up, sending out divine will to gather the power of the spell formation. Rumbling sounds could be heard as brilliant light exploded out, transforming into a light arrow that shot toward Xuan Namikaze .

Xuan Namikaze roared and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing an enormous golden lion to appear behind him. The lion rapidly grew in size, covering Xuan Namikaze and taking the hit of the arrow instead of him.

A boom rang out as the light arrow pierced into the image of the lion, which distorted, and then, before it could even roar, shattered into pieces. The light arrow, despite dimming somewhat, continued to stab toward Xuan Namikaze , who then reached out and grabbed it. As he crushed his hand down, the light arrow collapsed, and Xuan Namikaze backed up a few steps, his face pale and yet covered with an expression of scorn.

"The treasures passed down by Nine Seals are truly powerful.

Unfortunately, you can only unleash a limited bit of its power. Perhaps if you struck me over and over again in quick succession, you would have a chance to kill me. However, you can only unleash the power with the help of that spell formation, and those 100,000 cultivators which maintain it. What a joke!

"Besides, for the next ten breaths of time at the minimum, you will not be able to unleash the power of this sun!" Even as he spoke, Xuan Namikaze launched himself toward Naruto, golden light flickering around him as he clenched his fist and punched out.

"Your fleshly body has the signs of fleshly body cultivation. Let's see how well you cultivated it!"

The fist strike was powerful enough to shatter mountains and crush the earth. The sun trembled, and boundless golden light radiated out as a gigantic lion appeared within the fist strike, roaring as it charged toward Naruto.

Paragon power dispelled the natural laws in the area, causing the 100,000 cultivators to cough up mouthfuls of blood. There were even some who exploded into showers of blood and gore.

Naruto's cultivation base suddenly teetered unstably, and he staggered backward. At the same time, Paragon Sea Dream's voice echoed urgently from beyond the mist, sounding almost as if it were coming from a different time and space.

"Naruto, just hold on for a quarter of an hour! That's the longest it will take us to break this seal."

The danger was intense, leaving Naruto's heart pounding. He might be as powerful as the peak of 6-Essences, capable of fighting with Imperial Lords. However, the difference between that and a Paragon, was too vast. He was currently trapped, with nowhere to flee, and no choice but to fight to the death.

In this critical juncture, Naruto dismissed all notions of coming up with a clever idea. Instead, his mind thrummed with the desire… to fight!

"A quarter hour…." he thought, eyes flickering with killing intent. Then, he sent his divine sense rocketing toward Xuan Namikaze in a vicious attack. Instead of falling back, he fought back against the pressure, taking a step forward and unleashing his own fist strike!

Life-Extermination!

Everything shook violently, and a tempest sprang out in all direction as Naruto's fist strike slammed into Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's. A huge boom could be heard, and blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. However, his expression was extremely vicious as he took another step forward and unleashed a second fist strike.

Bedevilment Fist!

No survival without Bedevilment! Naruto laughed uproariously. Massive energy was unleashed by the fist strike, causing a deafening boom to ring out. Even Paragon Xuan Namikaze was taken aback. Naruto coughed up more blood, and cracking sounds could be heard coming from within him.

He might have a Dao Sovereign fleshly body, but Xuan Namikaze was a

Paragon, with an even stronger fleshly body, one that vastly exceeded

Naruto's

"You really want to die?!" Xuan Namikaze laughed coldly. Rotating his cultivation base, he caused intense pressure to spread out. The golden lion roared, completely suppressing Naruto's Bedevilment Fist, and then appearing directly in front of Naruto himself.

It was at this point that Naruto's eyes shone with a brilliant light as he… unleashed a third fist strike!

It was none other than… the God-Slaying Fist!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1359

Chapter 1359: Oh So Devious!

 _Merge my will with that of the Heavens. My fist arouses the sun, becoming a fist of light!_

As of that moment, Naruto's will converged in the form of the GodSlaying Fist. Advancing courageously and with complete determination, he unleashed the powerful blow.

When it slammed into Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's fist, massive booms rang out. A tremor ran through Naruto, and his right arm distorted. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he was sent tumbling backward as though he had been struck by a powerful blast.

However, at the same time, Xuan Namikaze 's eyes flickered with astonishment. Although he appeared to have been unfazed, the five fingers of his right hand were tingling in pain, and he couldn't even stretch them out. An injury like this wasn't something that would cause him to cough up blood. And yet, his finger bones were crushed, and the other bones in his arm were fractured. However, the intense pain only caused the killing intent in Xuan Namikaze 's eyes to deepen. Once again, he closed in on Naruto.

"Wish you could get away?" Xuan Namikaze chuckled. However, even as he closed in, Naruto suddenly stopped in place and looked up, his eyes gleaming with ferocity as his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation operated at full speed.

"The thought never crossed my mind," he replied icily. Azure light shone out as he transformed into an azure roc, which then shot toward Xuan Namikaze at high speed. A piercing cry rang out, and at the same time, numerous mountains descended, along with the Paragon Bridge, which erupted with intense power.

Rumbling could be heard as Paragon Xuan Namikaze laughed coldly, choosing not to evade, but instead to step forward and make a grasping motion. Immediately, golden light sprang into being in front of him, within which flickered innumerable magical symbols. A spell formation was formed, which radiated the power of the stars, causing the five elements to be thrown into chaos, and strange lights to flicker.

The spell formation immediately shot toward Naruto, causing his mountains to shatter and destroying his azure roc form. Azure light scattered, and Naruto's human form emerged, looking completely bedraggled. His chest was a mass of blood and gore, and even organs were visible.

Without the incredible effort of the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation, which constantly healed him, Naruto would already be dead. Even with it, he was clearly in an extremely precarious situation.

"Now this is a Paragon…." he thought, eyes flickering with an unyielding gleam. His fight with Eegoo hadn't been nearly as intense as this. Right now, he was trapped, and had no other choice but to face the terrifying might of a Paragon.

And this was just a 7-Essences Paragon!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the golden spell formation bore down on Naruto. He threw his head back and roared, causing brilliant light to shine off of the Paragon Bridge as it fought back.

The pressure from the Paragon Bridge caused the golden spell formation to tremble, and finally break into pieces. The Paragon Bridge shuddered, but continued to crush downward toward Xuan Namikaze .

Xuan Namikaze 's eyes widened. He suddenly looked more closely at the Paragon Bridge, and his expression flickered. Backing up, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then placed his finger onto his forehead. Instantly, golden light erupted from the top of his head, transforming into a golden lion. An expression of avarice appeared on Xuan Namikaze 's face, and he began to laugh.

"I can't believe it's THAT bridge…. I'll take it!" The golden lion was a sliver of Xuan Namikaze 's psyche, and as it flew out, it began to swirl around the Paragon Bridge, attempting to use the power of a Paragon to sever the connection between it and Naruto.

Naruto had no time to try to stabilize the connection. It was a critical moment of deadly crisis, but Naruto was confident that as long as he himself didn't die, the bridge couldn't be taken away from him. Even as Xuan Namikaze was backing up, Naruto suddenly teleported back into the spell formation in the middle of the sun. There, he performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing scintillating light to swirl out from the sun.

Shockingly, he had already been fighting with Paragon Xuan Namikaze for more than ten breaths of time, which meant that the sunlight arrow could once again be unleashed. Rumbling sounds could be heard as intense light shot toward Paragon Xuan Namikaze . Because of how close he was, that light landed on him almost instantly.

It stabbed into his forehead, causing Xuan Namikaze to shudder and then cough up a mouthful of blood. His energy waned slightly, and although he wasn't dead, a grievous wound could be seen on his forehead, which immediately began to heal up.

It only took a moment of analysis on Naruto's part to come to the conclusion that Xuan Namikaze hadn't come out unharmed. He was clearly using some sort of secret magic to suppress the harmfulness of the wound. In the future, he might suffer an incredible backlash because of that, but at the moment, his battle prowess was not decreased at all because of the wound.

"Dammit!" thought Naruto, his face darkening. At the same time, Xuan Namikaze gave a sinister laugh and charged toward Naruto. As he closed in, he waved his hand, causing a golden sea to spread out in all directions, then bash toward Naruto within the spell formation.

"Don't even mention that quarter hour. You won't even last long enough to fire another of those light arrows."

Paragon Sea Dream was outside of the mist, her face pale as she realized that Xuan Namikaze was completely intent on killing Naruto. Even she didn't believe that Naruto could last an entire quarter of an hour against him….

It was actually just as Xuan Namikaze had said. Naruto couldn't hold out for that long, even if he… sacrificed the 100,000 cultivators to buy time.

"Xuan Namikaze !" Sea Dream roared, battering anxiously at the mist. At the same time, the divine sense which Naruto had sent to drive the Eegoo puppet was slowly fading. The puppet was already becoming sluggish, and it wouldn't be long before the divine sense completely faded away. Then the puppet… would lose most of its battle prowess, and be left only with its basic instincts.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, the Outsider army on the other side of the shield was getting stirred up, and was now trying to break through. At the same time, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were completely shocked by what was happening with the sun.

Even more relevant was that, in the 6th Heaven outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm, a cold laugh rang out, which belonged to none other than the second Paragon.

If he didn't understand how to take advantage of the opportunity

Paragon Xuan Namikaze had created, then he didn't deserve to be a Paragon himself. As he stepped out from the 6th Heaven into the starry sky, no one could see what he looked like, as he was covered by a rippling field of darkness. He looked coldly out at the Mountain and Sea Realm, and the shield, then at the battlefield that was the sun.

His lips twisted into a cold smile, and a merciless cruelty radiated out from him. He did not speak, but instead raised his right hand and performed an incantation gesture. Instantly, the rippling darkness around him twisted and distorted, then began to expand outward. Clearly, he was using all his power.

The aura of a Paragon erupted out from him as… the land mass that was the 2nd Heaven began to vibrate.

It suddenly began to move, as though some giant, invisible hand had grabbed it, and was sending it… hurtling toward the barrier protecting the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The sight of an entire land mass smashing toward the Mountain and Sea Realm's shield was something that provoked shock on the part of both the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators and the Outsiders.

Most nervous of all were the Outsiders from the 2nd Heaven itself. However, they didn't dare to give voice to such feelings, and could only watch as the land mass, which had already been smashed by the tempest earlier, suddenly began to crush toward the Mountain and Sea Realm's shield.

It seemed to be moving slowly, but the truth was that the power it contained was enough to shake Heaven and Earth!

As of this moment, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were now witnessing… what a Paragon truly was!

A Paragon was a person who could influence the tide of an entire battle. They could use an entire massive land mass like a weapon to unleash unimaginably destructive power. In fact, were it not for certain limitations, a Paragon might even use the starry sky itself in that way.

The land mass that was the 2nd Heaven was the smallest among the five land masses present, but it was still difficult to put into words exactly how large it was. Even the mere pressure exuding from it was enough to shatter the starry sky. Instantly, the Mountain and Sea Realm's shield began to show signs of buckling.

Ksitigarbha's face was ashen, but he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. At the same time, he produced a medicinal pill bottle. After a moment of hesitation, he popped the contents into his mouth, and then his cultivation base exploded with power. Blue veins popped out on his face, and a vicious-looking green horn suddenly protruded from the top of his head.

His skin began to change color, turning green, and he grew to a size of 300 meters tall. His Daoist robe was shredded to pieces as his energy rocketed up. As of this moment, his energy was no longer that of a cultivator, but was instead that of… a Demon!

He lifted his right hand and then slapped it down onto the ground, using his life force, using everything he had, to fight against the incoming 2nd Heaven land mass.

The 100,000 cultivators on the moon all smiled bitterly as they also delivered up their life forces, their cultivation bases, their souls, pouring them into the spell formation to assist Ksitigarbha, to assist the Mountain and Sea Realm, to fight back against the enemy!

As of this moment, the sun and the moon were both in situations of deadly crisis. Moments ago, the Mountain and Sea Realm had held the upper hand, but now, it was the opposite. All of that was thanks to… Xuan Namikaze !

Of the 33 Heavens' five Paragons, Xuan Namikaze 's cultivation base was not the highest. However, in this critical moment in the war, the 33 Heavens had sent him, and were clearly intensely confident that under his leadership, the five Heavens' worth of Outsiders could shake the Mountain and Sea Realm. At the very least… they could easily cause the fighting to last for a year.

Back on the sun, Xuan Namikaze was laughing. He took a step forward toward Naruto, who was still in the spell formation, and said, "There's no harm in revealing my true plan now. My true goal is not Eegoo, or the sun, and not even you. Instead… it is something I haven't spared a glance at this entire time… your moon!"

The surrounding cultivators were coughing up blood, and yet none of them abandoned their posts. Just like the cultivators on the moon, they unleashed their cultivation bases and their life forces. Even if they died, they would buy time for Naruto.

They would bear the brunt of Xuan Namikaze 's Paragon power to help Naruto.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1360

Chapter 1360 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1360: Six Hexes Combine!

100,000 individuals were all thinking the same thing. Their life forces connected to the spell formation, and their souls thrummed with unyielding ardor. Their cultivation base power made them as one, as they fought together to protect Naruto.

Xuan Namikaze laughed coldly, then stomped his foot down. Instantly, everything began to shake violently, and an intense rumbling sound could be heard as the 100,000 cultivators coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

Naruto was in the middle of the spell formation, mind reeling. He couldn't simply sit there and ignore what was happening. He knew that he wasn't a match for a Paragon, and also knew that all he had to do was close his eyes and wait for enough time to pass. If enough time was bought it might be possible… to hold out for that full quarter hour until the mist dispersed.

At that time, he might be able to make it out alive!

However… Naruto did not choose to wait. Performing an incantation gesture, he ceased to draw upon the power of the sun. If he continued to do so in his current state, it would deplete the life forces of the 100,000 cultivators even faster than before, which was something he wouldn't do.

He strode forward, leaving the spell formation and heading toward Xuan Namikaze , who laughed loudly, eyes shining with scorn. He had actually been worried that Naruto would hole up, which would have been a waste of his time.

As soon as Naruto took action, Xuan Namikaze suddenly vanished, and then re-appeared right in front of him. Then, he raised his right hand, sending power slamming into Naruto that he couldn't possibly defend against. Naruto instantly staggered backward, blood spraying out of his mouth.

"Crown Prince!"

"Crown Prince!" The cries of the 100,000 cultivators rang out in anguish.

As Naruto hovered there, his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation worked constantly to prevent his body from collapsing. However, under the pressure of a Paragon, he couldn't hold out for very long, and besides, his wounds had already reached a critical level.

Once again, Xuan Namikaze closed in, raising his right hand high, killing intent flickering in his eyes as he grabbed at Naruto's head.

"Just die, would you!?"

Even as Xuan Namikaze reached out to grab him, Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waved his finger.

Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!

However, in the same moment that the Hexing magic was unleashed, and Xuan Namikaze stopped in place, the magic was shattered. The backlash slammed into Naruto, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. Even though it seemed as if he were staggering backward, suddenly, Time rippled in front of Naruto. Everything changed, causing a look of shock to appear on Xuan Namikaze 's face. His eyes widened as Naruto suddenly vanished, then reappeared behind him.

Xuan Namikaze turned and lunged toward him, but ended up passing right through Naruto, as if he were nothing more than a shadow.

"Time!" Xuan Namikaze 's eyes once again widened.

This was not some trivial change in time, but rather, contained the power of time travel. Apparently, Naruto had appeared several breaths of time before, right behind Xuan Namikaze !

This was none other than the strange time-walking technique that Naruto had learned from the black-robed Slaughter. When he reappeared, he was still directly behind Xuan Namikaze , and suddenly, his right hand transformed. Shockingly… the Battle Weapon appeared, which he raised high above his head as he took a step forward, seemingly walking from the past back into the present!

A shocking blade then slashed down!

Xuan Namikaze had no time to dodge. The blade slashed from the past into the present, making it impossible to evade. For the first time, a sensation of crisis filled Xuan Namikaze 's mind. Although it wasn't a situation of deadly crisis, it was still something very rare for him to experience.

Rumbling could be heard echoing out in all directions as a bright flash of light descended onto Paragon Xuan Namikaze . Although he couldn't completely dodge, he managed to move slightly, ensuring that the blow didn't land on his forehead, but rather on his left shoulder!

A boom echoed out, and blood splashed as Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's left arm was completely severed. Xuan Namikaze fell back at top speed, face ashen, eyes flickering with killing intent toward Naruto. In the next instant, his severed arm exploded, transforming into a sea of golden blood which then swept out toward Naruto.

Naruto trembled; he had already sustained serious injuries, and now he was coughing up more blood. His consciousness was starting to fade, and he was laughing bitterly. And yet, an unyielding gleam flared up in his eyes, and he sprang into motion, ignoring the damage he sustained in the process.

In the instant in which he burst into motion, Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and stabbed out viciously with his finger, causing a long golden blade to appear. The blade slashed out with ferocious speed, and before Naruto could even react, the meat jelly flew out and blocked the blade.

A miserable shriek rang out as the meat jelly was sent flying back, clearly weakened. However, it didn't return to the bag of holding, but instead started to drag Naruto back into the spell formation.

"You're not going anywhere!" Paragon Xuan Namikaze said, his voice sinister and cold. All he had left was his right arm, which he stretched out toward Naruto. As he extended his fingers, Essence power erupted out.

Five Essences rumbled out, swirling together. Moments later, a sixth Essence appeared, and then a seventh. With the addition of the Essence of Time, the enormous hand that had been created was filled with completely unpredictable power. Once this hand was unleashed… it was certain to strike its target!

Naruto's face was deathly pale. In this critical moment, he shoved the meat jelly away, then suddenly reached his right hand out toward the incoming hand, toward Xuan Namikaze , then pointed his finger!

Demon Sealing, Eighth Hex!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the huge hand ground to a halt.

However, it only lasted for a moment before it lurched into motion again. As a result, blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth because of the intense backlash. That was one of the reasons he had hesitated to use the Hexing magic before. If he tried to use it to tie up a Paragon, not only would he fail, he would also end up hurting himself.

When he had fought Eegoo, Choumen Tai had been in the process of enslaving him, which meant that the Hexing magic was possible to use. But now he was fighting a full Paragon, and it wasn't that his Hexing magic had a problem, but rather…

"My cultivation base is too low!" Naruto laughed bitterly and gritted his teeth. As the hand closed in on him, he unleashed his Essence of Divine Flame, then performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and waved his finger multiple times.

"Demon Sealing, Seventh Hex!

"Sixth Hex!

"Fifth Hex!

"Third Hex!

"Second Hex!"

If he was going to risk his life, then he might as well go all out. His eyes gleamed with madness as he unleashed all of his Hexing magic. Everything shook violently, and Xuan Namikaze frowned as the Chakra around him was thrown into chaos, and a profoundly disturbing sensation rose up.

Naruto was trembling, and his body was collapsing into a bloody mass because of the backlash from the Demon Sealing Hexing magic. What he really wanted to do was use the Seal the Heavens Incantation, but that relied on the power of the Mountains and Seas and, considering that he was now isolated and cut off, it had thus failed when he tried it.

Instead, he had to risk death to… combine his Demon Sealing Hexing magics into one attack!

Combining nine Hexes was the ultimate transformation a Demon Sealer could perform. But right now, Naruto only had mastery of six Hexes. He was missing the First Hex and the Fourth, and had yet to create his own Ninth Hex.

However, there was nothing else he could do at the moment. More than half of the quarter hour had passed, but that meant that half of that amount of time still remained. He simply couldn't hold on any longer. Naruto threw his head back and howled, pushing with all the power he had. His flesh and blood exploded, his bones shattered, all in his effort to fuse his Hexing magics together.

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and everyone on the sun was filled with shock. Xuan Namikaze gasped in astonishment at the sudden drastic transformations!

As of this moment, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm was trembling.

The hosts of cultivators out in the starry sky were shocked, and the Outsiders were shaking. Even the Paragon from the 6th Heaven was astounded.

Sea Dream, and everyone else present, felt themselves trembling.

In sharp contrast was Shui Dongliu, who stood on Planet South Heaven, looking anxiously in Naruto's direction. His eyes were filled with concern, and even… turmoil!

Massive energy was rising up from the sun. Naruto shook violently as, all of a sudden, a sphere of light appeared in front of him. The light was in chaos, as six powers swirled around therein. It almost seemed as if that sphere of light were thinking, as if it wanted to give birth to some new entity.

The intense pressure caused Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's face to flicker, and for the first time, he felt a sensation of deadly crisis. Without the slightest hesitation, he began to speed backward.

Even as he fell back, Naruto unleashed all the power he could muster, drawing upon even his life force, to push the turbid sphere of light forward. He was trembling, his flesh was being shredded to pieces, revealing his bones, which then shattered.

Rumbling could be heard as the sphere was pushed fully away from him.

However, he was now completely drained of power. Even as he collapsed, the meat jelly scooped him up and carried him back inside the spell formation.

At the same time, the sphere of light shot toward Xuan Namikaze . As it closed in, Xuan Namikaze screamed. A sensation of deadly crisis overwhelmed him, and he suddenly began to grow in size. In the blink of an eye, he was 30,000 meters tall. Then, he instantly shrank back down, turning into a shocking golden lion.

His eyes flickered with the gleam of augury, as he drew upon his life force to unleash a magical technique that he hoped would help him identify the weakness in the magic he faced.

 _Death!_

Death!

Death….

Xuan Namikaze 's face was a mass of shock and terror. In a very short time, he performed more than ten thousand augury calculations, but no matter how he analyzed it, the end result was always the same. _Death!_

"This is impossible! Just what type of divine ability is this!?" Xuan Namikaze was trembling as he fell back further. Unfortunately for him, the surrounding mist, which he had put in place to trap Naruto, now left him trapped!

"Incomplete! It's an incomplete magic! That means I have a chance. He must have injured his soul to use it. Clearly this is a Dao in the midst of percolating, which he is drawing upon early!

"Until he completes the Daoist magic later, it won't matter if he survives this day, he won't be able to use it again until then!" Xuan Namikaze 's eyes flickered.

"I still have a chance, and that is… in the shadows of Time!"

Roaring, his body flickered into motion as he unleashed his Dao of Time with all the power he could. His body turned blurry, and in the blink of an eye, his Undying Soul appeared.

"I have lived for tens upon tens of thousands of years. Perhaps I have no hope of getting eight Essences, but even still, I have the ability to leave behind a soul at the end of every sixty-year-cycle. This is the ultimate magic of Time. Unless you destroy each and every one of those souls of mine, then you can never destroy my true soul!" Xuan Namikaze 's eyes were bright red. This was a magic he would only use if he had no other choice, if his life were truly in great danger!

This was a life-saving magic that he could use… only once in his life!

As of this moment, he was pushed to his very limit. If he didn't use the magic now, then he would die beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Chapter 1360: Six Hexes Combine!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1361

Chapter 1361: Risking It All In Battle!

Xuan Namikaze quickly became blurry, as if the Time around him were distorting. Gradually, it was as if tens upon tens of thousands of years flitted by, countless eons, and countless… images of Xuan Namikaze !

This was a consummate life-saving magic that Xuan Namikaze had acquired after becoming a Paragon and mastering the Essence of Time. It represented all of the sixty-year cycles through the tens upon tens of thousands of years of his existence.

A magical technique like this could only be described as terrifying, and with it, he could even escape unharmed from 8-Essences Paragons!

Only by destroying all of the souls which he had left in the stream of time, could he be fully destroyed. As long as one of those souls remained, he would be able to immediately and fully recover.

Unfortunately for him, a consummate magic such as this was something that he could only use once in his entire life.

If he abused it, the backlash caused by the great Dao of Time would transform him into an aspect of Time itself. His consciousness would fade away, and he would become an Essence slave!

By this point, sixty percent of the quarter hour had passed. It was already impressive enough that Naruto had been able to fight against the battle prowess of the 7-Essences level for so long. Even more impressive was that Naruto had forced Xuan Namikaze to unleash a consummate magic like this. Even if Naruto lost in the end… he had fought in epic fashion!

Paragon Xuan Namikaze threw his head back and roared, completely unleashing the full power of his consummate magic. He could not evade the chaotic, soul-locking sphere of light, so he faced it directly, stretching his arms out in front of him and viciously jabbing forward with his fingers.

Massive booms rang out as everything in the space around Xuan Namikaze twisted and distorted in the direction of the sphere, then slammed into it, instantly crushing it.

"I'm betting on the fact that this magic is incomplete. I'm betting… that such an incomplete magic is insufficient to destroy all of my souls throughout Time." Xuan Namikaze threw his head back and roared as his Essence of Time made contact with the turbid light sphere, resulting in a blinding explosion!

Strangely, light did not shine pass the 300-meter border of the sphere. However, the area inside of it became like another sun, filled with scintillating, dazzling light.

Within that 300-meter area, Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's expression twisted ferociously. The turbid sphere of light vanished, and became six streams of smoke that bored into the Essence of Time. Within those tens upon tens of thousands of years of Time, the six streams of smoke began to eradicate Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's souls.

No sound could be heard, and yet within the twisting Time that surrounded Paragon Xuan Namikaze , numerous flashes of extermination could be seen as more than ten percent of his souls were wiped out!

The loss of ten percent of his souls caused an unsightly expression to appear on Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's face. However, that number quickly increased to twenty percent, than thirty, forty, and even fifty….

When the destruction passed fifty percent, Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's eyes shone with intense terror, astonishment, and even disbelief. He refused to believe that he would perish this day, and refused to believe that he had miscalculated. Furthermore, he refused to believe that his most powerful life-saving magic, which could only be used once in a lifetime, was incapable of standing up to an incomplete Daoist magic!

"Impossible!" he roared. Instantly, his blood surged in his body, causing the Chakra and blood of the souls within the rippling Time to erupt with intense soul power.

At the same time, the six strands of smoke were beginning to run out of power after having exterminated fifty percent of Xuan Namikaze 's souls. However, they still managed to spread out, increasing the destruction to sixty percent. Only then did they begin to show signs that they would fade away.

Soon, seventy percent of the souls had been eradicated, and the six streams of smoke were now fading away. They pushed hard, but in the end, couldn't quite exterminate eighty percent of Xuan Namikaze 's souls before… completely vanishing.

When that happened, Naruto coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, then sagged in exhaustion. His face was completely drained of blood, and the backlash from what had just occurred shattered his internal organs and left his entire body vibrating. His cultivation base was teetering, and his consciousness was fading.

He had lost…. He didn't even have the energy to chuckle bitterly. He knew that he had been completely and utterly defeated.

He had never failed in such bitter fashion before. Even his desperate fight with Lord White of the Seventh Mountain and Sea had ended in victory. However, on this day, despite having done everything in his power, he was left without the slightest hope of victory. Naruto's heart swelled with bitterness and pain.

The Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation was still working, but without sufficient time, he wouldn't recover enough to even lift his hand and unleash a divine ability.

Besides, as of this moment… time was like a sharp blade hanging over Naruto's neck. Only about seventy percent of the quarter hour had passed, and to hang on for any longer would be extremely difficult.

Because the battlefield on the outside was obscured by the covering of mist, and because Naruto could not allow distractions during his battle with Paragon Xuan Namikaze , he could only get a general sense that the situation on the outside… was equally discouraging.

Xuan Namikaze was some distance away from the sun's spell formation itself, trembling. The 300 meters of light around him was quickly fading away, along with Naruto's Daoist magic that was the combined six Hexes. Soon, Paragon Xuan Namikaze himself was revealed.

He was in extremely bad condition, his hair disheveled, his body soaked with sweat. A complicated expression could be seen on his face, as if he had just experienced a near-death catastrophe. Then, he turned to look toward the spell formation, and Naruto sitting there, completely drained of energy.

"In the 33 Heavens, the only people who could force me into a situation like this would be the two 8-Essences Paragons. But now, another person like that exists… you." Xuan Namikaze gave Naruto a profound look, then clasped hands and bowed.

"This bow is a bow of respect to you. I have no choice but to kill you, but at the same time, you have my admiration.

"Different mindsets have led to this war, and have thus our battle here. I understand you had no choice in the matter. However, despite being a Paragon, I'm only at the 7-Essences level, so I had little choice myself.

"Naruto… I will remember your name. And now the time has come… for you to leave this world forever." Xuan Namikaze took a deep breath. Of all his souls that existed within the stream of time, nearly eighty percent had been destroyed. However, as long as even a single one remained, he could not be truly killed.

The main thing he regretted was it was a magical technique… that he could never again unleash. If Naruto somehow managed to unleash that incomplete Daoist magic a second time, then… he would die beyond the shadow of a doubt.

Naruto sat there silently, sighing inwardly. It was a critical moment of life or death, and yet, he felt no fear. Instead, he thought about his life after his parents went missing, about being a scholar in Yunjie County, about the Imperial examinations, and about the events on Mount Daqing which had led to him entering the world of cultivation and the Dao.

His life flashed before his eyes, images of his family, his wife, his friends….

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Xuan Namikaze took a step forward to enter the spell formation itself. Just when he was about to reach out and exterminate Naruto, an enraged roar echoed out, from none other than the 100,000 cultivators that Xuan Namikaze had completely disregarded this entire time.

ROOOAARRRR!

No words were spoken, no explanations were given. There was only… a furious cry that echoed out from the depths of their souls.

100,000 cultivators' eyes were all completely bloodshot as they unleashed the power of their cultivation bases, and even their life force, to fight back against Paragon Xuan Namikaze . They would not allow him to enter the spell formation, and they would not allow him to harm Naruto!

Xuan Namikaze 's eyes flickered, and he snorted coldly, stomping his foot down viciously. The entire sun shuddered as a massive wave of power shot out toward the spell formation and Naruto!

Naruto had not received numerous injuries, but the injuries he did receive had been extremely grievous. Therefore, it was the 100,000 cultivators who absorbed the powerful attack.

Blood sprayed out of their mouths, and there were some whose bodies withered to the point of collapse.

This sudden development wrenched Naruto out of his reverie regarding past memories. To see 100,000 people refusing to yield, determined to give up their own lives rather than allow him to be killed, caused his entire body to tremble.

Xuan Namikaze was also moved. Inwardly, he sighed, unsure of what to say at this point. However… he continued to press the attack as viciously as ever. His killing intent rocketed up as he took eight steps forward, forcing his way through the spell formation toward Naruto. With each step he took, the spell formation trembled violently.

The 100,000 cultivators coughed up more blood, and some even withered away into death, allowing the spell formation to draw upon them until they were killed, all for the purpose of… protecting Naruto!

Perhaps it would be most accurate to say that what they were protecting was, not just Naruto, but their home!

For some groups of people, the destruction of their homeland will lead, not to a thirst for revenge, but to hopelessness and confusion.

However… there are some people whose spirits cannot be exterminated. For a people like that, when the critical moment arrives in which the survival of their homeland is on the line, then the only choice will be sacrifice! Those were the type of people whose vengeance would live for all eternity even after their homeland was destroyed.

Sacrifice oneself to defend one's home!

Wars are never truly fought over resources. Or perhaps it is most accurate to say that when wars are fought over resources, then regardless of how many casualties are suffered, they are relatively tame…. The true brutality of war comes when the goal is to crush the spirit and will of an entire people!

Only by wiping out the spirit and the will of a people… can that people be truly exterminated!

When exterminating a people, what is exterminated is not just life, but the heart and soul of the entire people!

In the opening stages of the war between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the 33 Heavens, Naruto had ignited a fire. He had burned the land mass that was the 1st Heaven to illuminate the eyes of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. He had awakened… the spirit and the soul of the people.

When that happened, the war changed. Perhaps the 33 Heavens could exterminate the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm, but… they could not exterminate the souls of its cultivators!

As of this moment, every step Paragon Xuan Namikaze took resulted in one cultivator after another making the ultimate sacrifice. Blood flowed, and bodies withered. They used their deaths… to buy time!

"You… don't need to do this…." Naruto said through bleary eyes, his body trembling. He looked around at the group of cultivators around him. They were people he had never even seen before the war started. They were strangers. They had their own families, sects, loved ones, even children. But now… it was without hesitation that they gave up their own lives to slow Xuan Namikaze 's steps.

Bodies withered, and souls faded away. They were like candles in the wind, sputtering on the verge of being snuffed out. Finally, a desperate howl echoed out from Naruto's mouth.

A blood-colored flicker appeared in his eyes, and a flame suddenly burned within him as he looked up at Xuan Namikaze . As of this moment, Naruto… had played all of his cards! There was only one thing left to do.

He waved his hand, drawing fully upon the power of his life force to summon all of his 33 Soul Lamps.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1362

Chapter 1362 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1362: Extinguishing Four Soul Lamps!

Of his 33 Soul Lamps, six were already extinguished. The other 27 still burned. Of the Seven Desolations, he had completely passed the First, and had experienced one tribulation in the Second Desolation, leaving four more lamps before that Desolation was passed.

In the past, whenever he extinguished Soul Lamps, he had only done so after being completely confident of the outcome. But now… it was a critical moment. Tens of thousands of cultivators were dying to protect him. Therefore, despite lacking complete confidence, he felt that he had no other choice.

As one cultivator after another withered up and died, Naruto gritted his teeth, and his eyes gleamed with determination. The flame which burned inside him only continued to grow hotter as it prepared to burn, not himself, but others.

Without any further hesitation, he lifted his right hand and pointed at his 7th Soul Lamp.

"Extinguish!" he said, pushing out with all of the power he could muster, unleashing the last scrap of his divine will to crush down onto the 7th Soul lamp. It was like a wind had gusted past the lamp. The flame flickered, and then… was snuffed out.

A curl of smoke floated up, which instantly bored into Naruto through his mouth and nose. As it spread out through his body, he began to shake, and blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. His cultivation base began to rumble, and his fleshly body filled, first with numbness, then stabs of pain.

It was almost as if his body was a combination of both Yin and Yang, with one half being icy cold, and the other scorching hot!

His cultivation base was now growing. Before, it had been almost completely spent, but now it was recovering. As it did, his body withered rapidly under the simultaneous freezing and scorching of Yin and Yang.

In the blink of an eye, he was nothing more than a pile of flesh and bones. Furthermore, the sensation of deadly crisis within him soared to incredible heights. It almost felt like… his body was about to be transformed into nothing more than ash.

Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's eyes glowed brightly as he looked at Naruto's Soul Lamps. Although his expression remained neutral, inside, he was being battered by massive waves of shock.

"His cultivation base…." Despite being shocked, he began to walk faster. The will of a Paragon spread out, and more of the 100,000 cultivators withered, many of them transforming into ash.

Of the 100,000 people, only half remained alive!

However, not a single one of that remaining group chose to give up. It wasn't that they lacked a fear of death, but rather, they understood that Naruto… was more important than all of them added together!

For the Mountain and Sea Realm, for their families, for their friends… they were willing to die to prevent Naruto from perishing!

"You people are looking to die!" Paragon Xuan Namikaze roared, pushing forward, unleashing his cultivation base, sending a divine ability roaring out. There were now 50,000 cultivators left, and even as blood spurted out of their various wounds, Naruto chuckled bitterly. He wasn't sure whether or not he would die, but he did know that the power of one extinguished Soul Lamp was not enough to recover his cultivation base. His eyes gleamed with cold light, and he clenched his jaw viciously.

"Extinguishing a single Soul Lamp doesn't count as risking it!" His divine will exploded out to extinguish his 8th Soul Lamp!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the flame flickered, then suddenly winked out. Smoke poured into Naruto's body, and he lifted his head up and let out a piercing howl. Then he slowly rose to his feet, his energy rapidly returning to its previous heights. Simultaneously, the intense sensation of imminent danger exploded up within him.

His body had already been extremely withered, but now it got even worse, to the point where nothing seemed to remain behind other than skin and bones. And yet, his eyes shone with indescribable intensity.

He leaped up into the air, his energy soaring, surrounded by rumbling sounds. He flew out from the center of the spell formation toward Xuan Namikaze , whose face instantly fell. At the same time, Xuan Namikaze clenched his hand into a fist and unleashed a punch.

Naruto's expression was vicious, and his overall appearance completely ferocious. The Second Desolation would not be immediately fatal, which gave Naruto time to take three steps forward and use his God-Slaying Fist to meet Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's punch.

A massive boom echoed out as the two fists slammed into each other. A tremor ran through Xuan Namikaze ; he might be a Paragon, but his short battle with Naruto had left him completely and utterly shaken. His Chakra and blood were set aboil, and his eyes burned with killing intent. Just when he was about to unleash another attack, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood. Then, a wild gleam appeared in his eyes, and he waved his hand toward his 9th Soul lamp. Unexpectedly… he was planning to extinguish that Soul Lamp too!

"Are you crazy!?" Xuan Namikaze blurted in shock. He had never seen anyone successively extinguish one Soul Lamp after another. Doing that was courting almost certain death! Eyes glittering coldly, he asked, "Are you that set on killing me before you die?"

Just when he was about to launch another attack, he realized that after extinguishing his 9th Soul Lamp, Naruto was actually… extinguishing the 10th!

When both of those Soul Lamps were extinguished, their smoke poured into Naruto's nose and mouth, filling his body and causing his cultivation base to rise explosively. At the same time, his battle prowess reached a completely shocking level.

He had just extinguished four Soul Lamps in one effort, which filled him with four times the power he had commanded when initially igniting his Ancient Realm Soul Lamps. Right now, his cultivation base and battle prowess exceeded that of an Imperial Lord!

He was now only slightly behind a Paragon in terms of power. In terms of his divine sense, it also experienced explosive growth. Now, it wasn't eighty percent as powerful as a Paragon's, it was… equal to a Paragon's, or even slightly more powerful!

With divine sense power like that, coupled with his cultivation base and battle prowess, it was possible to say that Naruto… was now completely qualified to fight to the death with a Paragon. At the same time, his Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation surged into action, constantly restoring him, ensuring that his battle prowess was truly at its peak!

Unfortunately, the aura of death which surrounded him was incredibly strong, and was soon reaching its peak as well. In addition, the Second Desolation was so intense that his already emaciated frame was… beginning to completely rot.

Blisters appeared all over him, which let out an aura of rot after they popped. There were even some places where his flesh had turned into a bloody mush, revealing… blackened bones!

Those bones had long since been tainted by some sort of curse power. However, Naruto ignored all of that, striding forward at increasing speed until he was right in front of Paragon Xuan Namikaze . There, he lifted his right hand and performed an incantation gesture. The Mountain Consuming Incantation exploded out, causing Xuan Namikaze 's face to flicker. He could see how terrifying Naruto was at this moment, and thus, he didn't hesitate at all to snort coldly and fall back into retreat.

He didn't want to have anything to do with Naruto at the moment; as far as he could tell, Naruto was doomed to die, and therefore, there was no reason to continue fighting him and join him in death.

Besides, in his current state, Naruto was completely fear-inspiring, even to Xuan Namikaze .

"Trying to run away?!" Naruto said, lips twisting into a smile. As of this moment, he didn't care if he was dying. The only thing he was concerned with right now… was making sure Xuan Namikaze died with him!

He was convinced that Xuan Namikaze had no more soul-saving magics left.

There was no way for him to evade death. Besides, Naruto had the Echelon mark left by Paragon Sea Dream, which meant that he was more than qualified to battle with this 7-Essences Paragon!

Although eking out a victory wouldn't be easy, neither would it be easy for the Paragon to slay him!

Rumbling echoed out as Naruto picked up speed, transforming into a black roc. And yet, this roc was also little more than skin and bones. It was as if it had just climbed up out of the grave, completely ferocious in appearance, with a strong aura of death surrounding it as it slashed its claws toward Xuan Namikaze .

Xuan Namikaze 's face flickered as he sent out all of the Essence power he could muster. Naruto in roc-form slammed into him, and the roc shattered, revealing Naruto himself, who staggered backward, coughing up blood. Virtually all of his flesh and blood were destroyed, with nearly half of him being nothing more than bones. And yet, Paragon Xuan Namikaze was also coughing up blood. In the face of this maddened Naruto, he didn't hesitate at all to yet again fall back into retreat.

Regardless of anything, there was no way he would give Naruto a chance to drag him along into death.

It was at this exact moment that the quarter hour ended. Suddenly, the surrounding mist began to roil, and then, in the blink of an eye, vanished.

"Heaven is helping me!" laughed Xuan Namikaze , his eyes glittering. With that, he flew off of the sun, content with having made a huge accomplishment within the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Naruto is going to die, and the Mountain and Sea Realm's shield will soon shatter!"

Almost as soon as the mist vanished, Naruto could see that beyond the First Sea, and beyond the shield, the 2nd Heaven was bearing down.

The shield was twisting, sinking in, covered with countless, madly flickering magical symbols. Paragon Sea Dream was not in the vicinity; she could not abandon the shield only because of Naruto. Now, she was below the shield, using all her power to bolster it.

Naruto's Paragon puppet had lost its connection to his divine will when he was in his fierce fight with Xuan Namikaze . Now, it had nothing left but its instincts as it hovered there beyond the region where the mist had been.

It was at this point that the land mass that was the 2nd Heaven smashed into the Mountain and Sea Realm's shield. A huge, ear-splitting boom echoed out through the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, causing all the cultivators' minds to reel, and their ears to fill with piercing pain.

It was the same with the Outsiders beyond the shield that protected the First Sea.

When Naruto saw all of this, some of the madness in his eyes faded away. He watched as the huge land mass bashed into the shield, which then shattered into countless fragments.

When that happened, blood sprayed out of Paragon Sea Dream's mouth, and she suddenly seemed to age. On the moon, blood sprayed out of the mouths of 100,000 cultivators as their bodies were shredded and transformed into nothing more than ash.

Ksitigarbha's Demon form collapsed, and he returned to his previous cultivator appearance. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he sagged in exhaustion; apparently, his Dao foundation was now unstable.

The already cracked land mass that was the 2nd Heaven now entered the Mountain and Sea Realm, transforming into countless meteors that hailed down. At the same time, the millions upon millions of Outsiders waiting outside the First Sea let out excited roars as they charged in.

The tide of battle… had completely shifted!

Chapter 1362: Extinguishing Four Soul Lamps!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1363

Chapter 1363 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1363: Sealing a Paragon!

In the First Sea, the Mountain and Sea cultivators were already engaging in fierce fighting with the Outsiders. Unending rubble from the shattered 2nd Heaven rained down, some of it piercing down to land on the Mountain and Sea below it, and even the planets there.

Incredible casualties resulted!

The war was no longer balanced…. The situation was now anything but that, and it was all because of… Xuan Namikaze !

The reason why the Mountain and Sea Realm was now in such an unfavorable position was because of… Xuan Namikaze !

As of this moment, a cold smile could be seen on Xuan Namikaze 's mouth as he sped along, intent on leaving the Mountain and Sea Realm. His plan had worked. Naruto was destined to die, and the Mountain and Sea shield was broken. Of course, he had been seriously injured in the process, and he now needed to leave the Mountain and Sea Realm to recover. Control of the war effort would now be handed over to the other Paragon.

However, even in the moment in which he hoped to flee, a rotting, skeletal figure appeared, which was Naruto. Laughing a grating, maniacal laugh, he smiled and said, "Paragon Xuan Namikaze , you threw yourself out as bait, so why are you in such a hurry to leave? You might be a Paragon, but you can't just waltz in and out of the Mountain and Sea Realm whenever you feel like it." Even as he spoke, Naruto reached out and crushed some unknown object with his right hand. Simultaneously, the Lightning Cauldron appeared above his head, and electricity danced. Rumbling echoed out as Paragon Xuan Namikaze , regardless of whether he was willing or not, suddenly switched locations with Naruto. It was Form Displacement Transposition!

As soon as he reappeared, he frowned and let out a cold harrumph. However, only a moment later, his face fell as he realized that a thick mist was spreading out around him.

"Gloompearl! You can use Gloompearls too!? Right, your aura of death!" Xuan Namikaze 's face fell as he remembered that, when fighting with Naruto earlier, Naruto had taken one of the Gloompearls. Xuan Namikaze had forgotten that point, but now it was obvious what was happening. Normally, Gloompearls could only be used by means of a special technique. The only way someone unfamiliar with that technique could activate a Gloompearl was if they had an intense aura of Death surrounding them.

And of course, that was exactly the state Naruto was in, enabling him to use the Gloompearl!

Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's heart began to pound, and his expression was very grim.

The mist seethed, completely locking him in place where he was. He would now need a full quarter hour before he could move.

"Well, you won't be able to cause a big stir within a quarter hour. Let me guess, Naruto. You plan to give your last bit of life to Sea Dream. Or perhaps use the Eegoo puppet to try to kill our other Paragon. Right? "You won't succeed in a mere quarter hour." Even as his sinister voice echoed out from within the mist, the 6th Heaven's Paragon suddenly stepped down into the starry sky. After glancing in the direction of Naruto and Xuan Namikaze , he sent his cultivation base power out to block Sea Dream and the Paragon puppet.

He actually wasn't worried about Xuan Namikaze ; he was concerned about Sea Dream and the Eegoo puppet. As far as Naruto went, he had confidence in Xuan Namikaze 's methods, and was sure that Naruto… would soon die.

Sea Dream was shaken as she looked over at Naruto and his intense aura of death. At the same time, Naruto's divine will once again connected with the Paragon puppet, and its eyes began to glow. However, Naruto's divine will was rife with an aura of death, causing the puppet to also be surrounded with the same aura.

In response to Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's words, Naruto merely smiled, and didn't say a word. Considering his current state, that smile looked completely ferocious. Naruto knew that right now, it would be impossible to kill Xuan Namikaze , and therefore, all he wanted to do was lock him down temporarily.

In this critical moment of danger for the Mountains and Seas, the balance of the war needed to be restored. Naruto's eyes shone with a strange light. With that, he extended his right hand toward the area that contained the mist, and then waved his hand slightly.

As he did, a thread appeared, a horizontal thread, down below the mist. Then, Naruto made a second stroke with his hand, then a third, and a fourth….

The four threads connected to form a circle that completely surrounded the mist. Inside that mist, Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's face flickered as he sensed the fluctuations of Essence.

"That's… the… the Essence of space!"

Even in the moment in which surprise filled Xuan Namikaze , the eyes of the other Paragon went wide. That Paragon didn't move in to help, but instead, raised a hand high up toward the 3rd Heaven, and pointed.

It was in the same moment that the aura of Essence exploded out from the circle in front of Naruto. It was the power of Spatial Sealing!

Naruto couldn't use his Essence of space for a long period of time, but because he had extinguished four Soul Lamps, causing an explosive growth in his cultivation base, he was able to unleash power formidable enough to seal a Paragon!

Of course, Naruto was not powerful enough to completely banish him. This was only a sealing, and a temporary one at that, but it would definitely last many times more than a quarter hour.

"Seal!" he said, his voice grating. As it echoed out, the circle flashed with light, and began to solidify. Paragon Xuan Namikaze let out a maddened roar. Even as the seal was completed, he apparently burned his life force to send the circle flying out with an incredible burst of speed. It shot toward the darkness-cloaked Paragon, who quickly reached a hand out and grabbed it.

Naruto sighed. Paragons were hard to kill, which was something he now had deep understanding of thanks to experience. However, the circle had solidified, and the seal created by the Essence of space was completed. That seal would not be easily unraveled without first spending many months working at it.

Even when the seal was opened, Paragon Xuan Namikaze had burned his life force, and before that, had been seriously injured. Even if he was still at the Paragon level at that time, his battle prowess would be reduced by at least half!

Most important was not Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's cultivation base, but rather, his tactics. What he had done caused Naruto to burn with the desire to kill him. At least trapping him for several months would prevent further unexpected situations from arising in battle.

All of the cultivators and Outsiders who were fighting near the First

Mountain saw what happened, and were shaken. When the Mountain and Sea Realm's shield was broken, the balance of battle was disturbed, but now that Naruto had sealed Paragon Xuan Namikaze , everything changed, and the fighting was evening up.

As for the Paragon puppet, now that it was under the control of Naruto's divine sense, its eyes flickered, and it shot toward the First Sea, clearly intent on using its Paragon power to slaughter more Outsiders.

His mission was… to tip the balance of battle in favor of the Mountain and Sea Realm. If the remaining Outsider Paragon wanted to save the Outsiders in the First Sea, he would have to face the combined might of Naruto, the Eegoo puppet, and Sea Dream.

If he did that, he would definitely end up dead or seriously injured.

Considering the situation, the darkness-cloaked Outsider Paragon sighed. He was not like Xuan Namikaze , with his crafty battle plans. Having no other options, he had to rely on his own methods, and the truth was that the moment Xuan Namikaze had been sealed, he had already made his decision.

With the wave of a finger, the land mass that was the 3rd Heaven began to rumble as if it were about to move toward the Mountain and Sea Realm. Apparently, he was going to use the same technique as before, sending the entire 3rd Heaven in a crushing attack onto the Mountain and Sea Realm.

From the look of things, he didn't even care about the Outsiders who were currently still in the 3rd Heaven. His mood had gone foul, and he chose to use his own style to fight this war. At the same time, his voice echoed out into the starry sky.

"The power of a Paragon will once again be unleashed on the battlefield. I will pay any price, including the destruction of the 3rd, 4th, 5th, and even the 6th Heaven, to strike at the Mountain and Sea Realm."

As his voice echoed out, the Paragon puppet stopped in place, and a strange light began to gleam in Sea Dream's eyes as she looked up. As for Naruto, he was losing consciousness, and a will of death was taking grip upon his body. He knew that he couldn't hold on much longer, and yet he gritted his teeth and looked up at the Paragon puppet from the 6th Heaven.

"Mountain and Sea Paragons," the Outsider Paragon said, his voice ringing with determination, "hold back from fighting, and I will hold back from unleashing the land mass attack!"

As his words rang out, Paragon Sea Dream's face flickered. For a long, tense moment, she hesitated, apparently unwilling to yield, and yet, in the end, she flicked her sleeve and gave Naruto a meaningful look. Under the direction of Naruto's divine will, the Paragon puppet fell back.

The Outsider Paragon from the 6th Mountain breathed an inward sigh of relief. The truth was that he didn't want to destroy the 3rd through 6th Heavens. He wasn't adept at leading wars, and therefore, he simply wanted to buy time until the 7th Heaven and the others arrived.

He wasn't aware of it, but if Xuan Namikaze were present, he would be incensed at such tactics. Xuan Namikaze didn't care about life or death, and would definitely have gone to the length of destroying the land masses in order to prevent Naruto from recovering. He would not have given the Mountain and Sea Realm the slightest bit of breathing room, or the slightest chance to gain an advantage.

By slamming those five land masses into the Mountain and Sea Realm, it would likely destroy all of the Mountains and Seas, and would force the Mountain and Sea Realm to draw upon whatever deep reserve powers they were holding back. In that case, they wouldn't need to wait for the 7th Heaven and the others to arrive in order to clinch a victory!

For decisive people, hesitation and delay were not options. That could lead to a drop in the Outsiders' morale.

Most important of all… was that the decision of this second Paragon actually bought time for the Mountain and Sea Realm. Using the 2nd Heaven to attack had been an unexpected twist, but now, the Mountain and Sea Realm would definitely prepare for such a thing to happen again. As such, further threats of using all the other land masses themselves would be somewhat hollow, and following through on such threats, less effective!

That, of course, was why Paragon Sea Dream had pretended to be so torn after hearing the Outsider Paragon's words, and also the reason she gave the meaningful look to Naruto. After all, this decision was a good thing for the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The war continued. Bitter fighting went on in the First Sea, but the Paragons didn't participate. Naruto couldn't hold on any longer. After coughing up another mouthful of blood, he lapsed into a coma.

As he fell down out of the sky, Paragon Sea Dream shot forward to catch him. The aura of death which surrounded became much thicker, and his body was rotting away. His organs, his bones, and his flesh… were all turning into ash.

Grief covered Sea Dream's face, and she was just about to begin to treat his injuries, when an ancient voice echoed out from behind her, a voice which caused her to tremble.

"Let me handle this."

Chapter 1363: Sealing a Paragon!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1364

Chapter 1364: Demon and Immortal!

Note from Deathblade: I originally read this chapter live, here's the recording of the broadcast if you're interested:

. 3

The war of the Mountain and Sea Realm continued. The sun had lost Naruto, so Paragon Sea Dream arranged for the Lord of the Eighth

Mountain and Sea, Naruto's grandfather, to temporarily take control. The 100,000 cultivators were reinforced, and under Grandpa Uzumaki's control, the sun once again became a powerful weapon and threat.

The army of Outsiders did not enter the First Sea en masse to fight. They were split into five divisions, each one of which was directed by an Imperial Lord. In addition to that, various Dao Realm experts were also placed within those forces. Currently, the group fighting with the Mountain and Sea cultivators in the First Sea consisted of the first division of several million Outsiders.

The First Sea was almost completely dried up, and so stained with blood that the redness would never be expunged. The reek of gore filled the air, and the brutality of battle caused the starry sky to grow dark.

Even the dazzling glow caused by the unleashing of divine abilities and magical techniques was darkened by the sea of blood. Only hoarse shouts and shrill screams could be heard echoing out constantly across the battlefield.

The only reason that the first line of defense hadn't been broken was because the darkness-cloaked Outsider Paragon was a cautious person, and his deepest instinct and inclination was to keep buying time.

Were it not for that, he might have resorted to using the land masses to strike the Mountain and Sea Realm. In fact, if Paragon Xuan Namikaze hadn't been sealed, the battle being fought would have been a hundred times more brutal.

Actually, it was because of the cautious decisions being made by the other Paragon, that Sea Dream chose to utilize one particular stratagem ahead of schedule, long before the second division of Outsiders launched an offensive….

The Mountain and Sea cultivators who made up the first line of defense, despite having reinforcements to relieve them, were gradually growing exhausted.

Furthermore, the First Sea was on the verge of being completely dried up. The Mountain and Sea cultivators were pushed back relentlessly, and soon, the second division of Outsiders began to advance into battle.

Even as that second division set foot into the First Sea, Paragon Sea Dream's eyes glittered. Without any hesitation, she performed an incantation gesture, sending an order out to Xu Qing. In turn, Xu Qing suppressed her concern for Naruto, and excitedly passed the order along to the army.

Soon, magical symbols began to glitter throughout the sea of blood that was the First Sea. Waves kicked up, and then the First Sea… unexpectedly… self-detonated!

Although not much sea water was left in it, it was still a sea. Most importantly, the First Sea had its will, which was really a part of the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole. In fact, the self-detonation of the First Sea was, most accurately speaking, a detonation of the will of the First Sea.

Rumbling could be heard as the water in the First Sea began to bubble and seethe. Then, destructive power exploded out from every drop of water, from every wave, from every part of the entire sea!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The resulting explosion caused the entire Mountain and Sea Realm to shake, even the planets. After a moment of shock, the Paragon from the 6th Heaven took a step forward, and then looked grimly in the direction of the First Sea.

A terrifying shockwave was spreading out, starting from the very middle of the First Sea. There, a black hole appeared, which immediately sent out a terrifying gravitational force. It was like the power of Heaven and Earth itself were sucking in the sea of blood, as well as numerous Outsiders.

The Outsiders were thrown into complete chaos. Their first and second divisions were crying out in alarm as they began to spiral toward the black hole. As for the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, even as the gravitational force appeared, something exceedingly powerful grabbed ahold of them and pulled them out of the First Sea.

The black hole almost appeared to be breathing. It sucked in a huge breath, and then… the true power of self-detonation appeared. Massive rumbling could be heard as a huge blast swept out across Heaven and Earth.

Everywhere it passed, Outsiders screamed as first their flesh and blood were flayed, then their bones were crushed, and finally, their Nascent Divinities were transformed into ash.

The intense power of self-detonation exploded out, and in the blink of an eye, it covered the entire area of the First Sea, completely enveloping the forces of the first and second divisions of Outsiders.

Few were able to flee. Not even ordinary Dao Realm experts or Dao

Lords were qualified to do such a thing. Only those few who were in the 4-Essences level managed to avoid being enveloped by the insanity of the explosion.

Heaven and Earth trembled, and the starry sky shook. Outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the rest of the army was shaken, and stared in terror and shock. Even the six Imperial Lords gasped.

The force of the self-detonation lasted for three full days, during which time the Mountain and Sea cultivators stood on one side of the sea, silent, and the Outsiders stood on the other side, shocked.

After three days, the reverberations of the explosion died down. The

First Sea… would never be seen again for all eternity. The Mountain and Sea Realm had lost one of its seas, although along with it went all the Outsiders inside of it.

The rest of the Outsiders stood there silently, as did the Mountain and Sea cultivators. The First Sea… was gone. For the first time in the war, the Mountain and Sea cultivators felt what it was like to lose one of their Mountains or Seas.

The sensation… left them in a bit of a daze.

Soon, though, the fighting continued. The third division of Outsiders was ordered into action by their Paragon. This time, two Imperial Lords joined in the fighting, as well as numerous Dao Realm experts, all of whom began to advance upon the First Mountain.

Only half of the Mountain and Sea Realm's first line of defense remained. The entire First Mountain turned into a battleground, and soon the fierce fighting caused the entire mountain to be stained red with blood.

Even as the rumbling of battle echoed out, Naruto remained in a coma, completely unaware of what was happening around him. He was like a drifting soul in a strange world.

That world had no sky, no land, no trees or plants, no mountains or rivers. There was only… a faint mist, within which could be seen… two enormous statues.

The facial features of the statues were obscured, but one thing that Naruto could sense was that the statue on the left pulsed with a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering Demonic qi!

As the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, Naruto could sense how powerful that Demonic Chakra was. Furthermore, it clearly contained some of the aura of the Mountains and Seas. There was something strange about it, something multifarious. Even moreso, it possessed a frenzied desire to kill which, contrary to expectation, was not deranged and mad, but cold and calculating.

The aura which surrounded the statue made it extremely bizarre, and even though Naruto couldn't see its face, he was certain that its expression was both ferocious and benevolent. It was the type of face that seemed to be crying, and yet laughing at the same time. It was as if the statue actually had a thousand faces, making it impossible to tell what emotion truly lay within.

It was… a Demon. Because of its multifariousness, it became Demonic, and this statue seemed as if it were the world's sole and perfect exemplar of a Demon.

As for the statue on the right, when Naruto looked at it, he could sense an Immortal Chakra so concentrated that it caused everything in the area to tremble. It was as if this were the perfect expression of all Immortals, as if this were the only Immortal that existed in the world!

Naruto looked silently at the two statues, and then glanced around at the world which surrounded him. He felt bewildered, unsure of where he was, and confused regarding exactly what these two statues depicted.

Even as Naruto began to question what was happening, an ancient voice spoke to him, a voice which seemed to echo out from primeval times, to fill the world in which he stood.

"This place… exists inside your heart of hearts."

His mind trembled, and he looked up, but could not see the owner of the voice. It was as if the voice was everywhere and nowhere.

"Look at these two statues. One is the Demon, the other is the Immortal…. In the Paragon Immortal Realm, a birth was foreordained… the Vast Expanse's one and only… Immortal….

"That is why the Allheaven bloodline emerged….

"However, there were certain people who did not wish for the Immortal to be born. They wanted to supplant that position. That is because, although the Immortal and the God complement one another… the Immortal is above the God, and can also suppress the Devil!

"The God and the Devil cared not, but their descendants cared. Thus, the Heavens were reversed, Karma was altered, and time was rifled with. They were willing to pay any price… and they succeeded! Yet, they also failed. Furthermore, they were unaware that… because of the changes wrought by the mix of success and failure, they unwittingly caused something to happen which should not have. The Immortal… became the Demon….

"That is because the world in which the Immortal was to be born, was a world that existed before the Allheaven bloodline had appeared. That world… was a world which suppressed the 3,000 Greater Demons. It was… the Paragon Demon Realm!

"The Demon is multifarious and bizarre. Changeable…. It is not righteous and noble like the Immortal. It cannot suppress the Devil, nor can it shake the God…. However, what it can do… is topple the Vast Expanse!

"And now, the time has come for you to ask yourself, if you had the choice, would you become… the mighty and powerful Immortal? Or would you become… the Demon which can topple the Vast Expanse?!"

As the ancient voice echoed out, it was possible to tell that there was no power of compulsion within it. It simply wished to hear an answer to the question.

Naruto maintained his silence. He looked over at the left-hand statue which represented the Demon. Before, the face had not been visible, but now, it suddenly was.

What Naruto found himself looking at… was his own face!

He had towering Demonic qi, and eyes that glowed with a redness that would never be extinguished. There was no haughty conceit, no extreme domineering air. There was no righteous nobility, and there was no dignity. However, there was a multifariousness, a changeability, a bizarreness. Furthermore, within those red eyes there was the sensation… of a hatred as fathomless as a sea of blood, something that wished to destroy the entire world.

And yet, deep within the eyes, concealed beneath the thousand multifarious, changeable faces were bitter memories and complex emotions… which could not be discovered, nor felt by others…. 1

When Naruto looked at the statue of the Demon that had his own face, his heart trembled. He could sense the grief within this Demon, as well as an unyielding heart. There was also madness and hatred.

Naruto quietly turned to look at the statue of the Immortal….

This statue also bore his face, a face tranquil, calm, and otherworldly. Its gaze seemed warm, but in truth, it was incredibly cold. It was as if, in its eyes, everything in Heaven and Earth could be expressed in terms of natural law, as if this Immortal were above everything and everyone, the only Immortal in the world.

All memories, everything about the past, were like impurities from former lives. Everything that happened while treading the path of Immortality would be left behind, severed, not allowed to be a hindrance or restraint of any kind.

This Immortal was neither ruthless nor sentimental. He was neither selfish nor selfless. There was only a certain separation from the past, as if, when looking back and recalling old memories, he was unaffected, and would merely sigh lightly.

Once again, the ancient voice echoed out. "There is no need to speak your answer out loud. As long as it exists in your heart, that is enough…."

This was not the first time the word multifarious was used in connection with Demons. Check out chapters 407 and 408 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1365

Chapter 1365 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1365: The Daoist Societies Make a Move!

No one except for Naruto knew whether he had picked the Demon or the Immortal.

Upon awakening, he found that several months had passed. He was currently back on the sun, and his Paragon puppet was sitting crosslegged next to him, acting as Dharma Protector.

The surrounding 100,000 cultivators were operating the spell formation alone, and off in the distance, the flames of war flickered brightly on the First Mountain. The Outsiders had fought their way nearly to the peak of the mountain, and the overall state of the battle was one of incredible ferocity.

Virtually all of the Mountain and Sea Lords were out in the starry sky, fighting. Paragon Sea Dream was also there, and her eyes flashed like lightning as she observed the battle. The First Mountain… was on the verge of being overrun.

There were no longer six Outsider Imperial Lords. Two had been killed, cut down by Grandpa Uzumaki by means of the sun. However, he hadn't used two arrows to accomplish that, but four!

The sun currently had only seven light arrows left to unleash!

Of the four remaining Imperial Lords, two were currently participating in the battle. However, they weren't unleashing widespread destruction upon the Mountain and Sea cultivators. Instead, they acted like sharp blades, cutting open paths for the other Outsiders to pour into the First Mountain.

They were skirting Sea Dream's bottom line, but weren't crossing it. They were well aware of that, and knew that as long as they didn't cross that bottom line, then the Paragons wouldn't join in on the fighting.

Unfortunately, without the help of a Paragon, the Mountain and Sea Lords were no match for the two Imperial Lords, not without teaming up, and even then they would have a hard time keeping them under control.

Out in the starry sky, the final division of Outsiders was arrayed in ranks, waiting to join the battle, eyes flickering with killing intent as they stared at the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The fighting had proceeded in this fashion for more than seven months.

In another five months, the 7th Heaven and the other Heavens would emerge from their current state, and could join the fighting.

When Naruto opened his eyes, everything was blurry at first. However, the sound of the battle being fought helped him to focus his thoughts, and soon, his eyes glittered with bright light as he rose to his feet.

Of the surrounding 100,000 cultivators, roughly half had fought with him in the earlier battle against Paragon Xuan Namikaze . When Naruto stood up, those cultivators looked over with eyes that burned passionately.

"The Crown Prince has awakened!"

"The Crown Prince is awake!"

The 100,000 cultivators' loud cries echoed out in all directions, and soon, the entire sun was glowing even more brightly than before. There were even many cultivators fighting on the First Mountain who could tell that a new pair of eyes had turned in their direction.

As Naruto rose to his feet, countless images flashed through his mind of the events leading up to him losing consciousness. He also remembered an ancient voice speaking out in the moment before his vision had gone completely black.

That voice seemed to contain all of the ancientness of the entire world.

"Who was he…?" he thought. Looking down at himself, he saw that the aura of death was gone, and that his wounds were healed. He was even a bit stronger than before. Based on his cultivation base, his battle prowess was now such that he exceeded an Imperial Lord. He could definitely fight Paragons now.

The sensation of being in control of so much power caused Naruto to gasp. When he thought back to the insane battle with Xuan Namikaze , he couldn't dispel the lingering fear within his heart. His choice to extinguish four Soul Lamps had been a deranged decision that could have only been made in the face of certain death.

He sent his divine sense sweeping out across the battlefield, and then, the sun blazed with light as an arrow shot out toward the First Mountain. Before any of the fighters on either side could react, that arrow stabbed into the head of one of the Imperial Lords!

The sun's light arrows could injure even Paragons, let alone Imperial

Lords. This was not the first Imperial Lord to be killed by such an arrow.

The sudden fatality shook the battlefield, and was a message to all of the Outsiders that… Naruto was back.

The Outsider Paragon from the 6th Heaven was sitting cross legged out in the starry sky. During the past months, he had been working hard at unraveling Naruto's Essence of space, and was on the verge of freeing Xuan Namikaze . Suddenly, his eyes opened, and when he looked at the Mountain and Sea Realm, he caught sight of Naruto.

He instantly frowned. During the course of working to breaking through the Essence of space, he had confirmed that Naruto wasn't dead, but he had never imagined that he would make his comeback so soon. Only a few months ago, he had been hovering on the brink of death, and yet now, he was fully recovered, and even stronger than before.

The instant Naruto woke up, the sun blazed dazzlingly, and an Outsider Imperial Lord was killed. The army of Outsiders was shaken, but their killing intent was as strong as ever. Furthermore, the First Mountain was already completely soaked in blood.

Naruto didn't unleash the power of the sun again. Even as he stood there, Sea Dream looked over at him with flashing eyes, and then suddenly, her voice spoke in his mind.

"Send the Paragon puppet to attack!"

Naruto's eyes glittered. He knew exactly what Sea Dream wanted to happen, so without any hesitation, he sent out his divine will, causing the Paragon puppet's eyes to open. It instantly rose to its feet, eyes blazing as it took a step forward and then shot toward the First Mountain!

The Mountain and Sea Realm was breaking the agreement that had been put in place… they were attacking with a Paragon!

Almost in the same moment that the Paragon puppet began to move forward, the Outsider Paragon's face flickered, and he gnashed his teeth. He still needed more time to safely unravel the Essence of space, and after all of the months that had passed, he still hadn't managed to take the First Mountain. He knew that he was not a strategist, and that if Xuan Namikaze were here, the situation would be different.

Now that Naruto was making a move in violation of the agreement, the Outsider Paragon, gritted his teeth and then unleashed so much cultivation base power that he injured himself. His spirit turned listless as he coughed up his own life-essence blood onto the Essence of space seal. By using a secret magic, and simultaneously drawing upon his longevity, he hoped to speed up the process of unraveling the seal.

Rumbling could be heard as his life-essence blood splashed onto Naruto's Essence of space, which then shuddered and began to emit cracking sounds! Then, it simply collapsed!

Xuan Namikaze shot out like lightning, and without even the slightest bit of hesitation, pointed his finger up at the 3rd Heaven and unleashed all the power he could muster.

The 3rd Heaven began to tremble, then slowly tilted over and began to descend toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

As of this moment, the balance which had been maintained over the past several months was completely disrupted. The reason Naruto was so important was not because of his control over the power of the sun, but rather… that he could completely disrupt the balance that existed between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Outsiders.

In fact, Paragon Sea Dream had been waiting for months for Naruto to return just for this express purpose.

Once the Paragon puppet shot toward the First Mountain, incredible pressure instantly exploded out from it. At the same time, the 3rd Heaven began to pick up speed as it headed toward the Mountain and Sea Realm. As for Paragon Xuan Namikaze , his hair was disheveled and his face ashen; overall, he looked to be in very bad shape.

A pained look could be seen in his eyes. During the months in which he had been trapped, the Outsiders had lost their control over the flow of battle, and Xuan Namikaze knew that a critical moment had arrived.

"Mythdragon, help me! We've lost the initiative, and if we don't get it back… then this battle… is lost!" In response to his words, the Paragon wreathed in darkness resolutely performed an incantation gesture and point up toward the land mass that was the 3rd Heaven.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the 3rd Heaven trembled, picking up even more speed as it headed toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

At the same time, Xuan Namikaze didn't hesitate at all to send the 4th Heaven into motion. Two land masses of enormous, indescribable size, both emitted ear-piercing rumbling sounds as they smashed down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

By that point, the Paragon puppet had already set foot onto the First Mountain. First he clenched his hand into a fist and then punched out toward the army of Outsiders. Heaven and Earth shook, and screams rang out from the Outsiders. Simultaneously, the two land masses were bearing down on the defenseless Mountain and Sea Realm.

The 3rd Heaven had already reached the former location of the destroyed First Sea, and yet for some reason Paragon Sea Dream's expression hadn't changed at all. It was at this point that a cold snort suddenly echoed out from within the Mountain and Sea Realm.

A blue, illusory sea suddenly appeared over the First Mountain, above which hovered an enormous violet gate. Written on that violet gate were four words.

Nine Seas God World!

Swirling beneath the gate were 100,000 Sea Dragons, which lifted the gate high up into the air. The sight was completely shocking, and caused the eyes of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators to grow wide. Cries of shock instantly began to ring out.

"It's the Nine Seas God World!"

"The Three Great Daoist Societies' Nine Seas God World is here!"

"The Three Great Daoist Societies are making a move!"

There were no sects or clans in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm who could compare to the Three Great Daoist Societies. Some groups could rival their power in an individual Mountain and Sea, but the Three Great Daoist Societies existed in all of the Nine Mountains and Seas. When they combined their forces, then they truly deserved to be called… the most powerful sects in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Perhaps their cultivators weren't the most powerful, but they had been building up resources for countless years, storing up precious treasures which were now about to be unleashed. In fact, as soon as the Nine Seas God World gate appeared, it opened, and eighteen coffins appeared!

Magical symbols glittered on the surfaces of the coffins, and as they flew out, they transformed into eighteen beams of light that sped toward the 3rd Heaven!

As they flew along, the coffins began to crack and crumble, revealing eighteen corpses. As the corpses appeared, their eyes opened, and they erupted with boundless cultivation base power and divine sense!

"Demonic cultivators of the Lower Realms, how dare ye!"

"My life was dedicated to defending against the Lower Realms' Demonic cultivators. How dare ye provoke the Immortal World!"

"Back down!"

As the enraged corpses shouted out, the power that erupted from them was… the power of Imperial Lords!

Shockingly, these were… eighteen Imperial Lords from the Immortal World of yesteryear!

Naruto was completely shaken, but was quickly able to determine that these corpses, despite having the power of Imperial Lords… were only the remnants of Imperial Lords who, in the moments before dying, allowed their discarnate souls to be turned into puppets, all for the purpose of unleashing one final attack. Once they made that attack… their souls would disperse for all eternity.

"The Mountain and Sea Realm's resources and tactics are being revealed one by one," he thought. As he looked out at the Mountain and Sea Realm, he realized that at this point in the battle… all the cards were being played. Chapter 1365: The Daoist Societies Make a Move!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1366

Chapter 1366: Advancing the Decisive Battle!

Out in the starry sky, the two Outsider Paragons, Xuan Namikaze and Mythdragon, looked shocked. Mythdragon was hesitating, but Xuan Namikaze merely sighed, and a cold gleam appeared in his eyes as he pointed a finger up toward the land mass that was the 5th Heaven.

"Fellow Daoist Mythdragon, please lend me a hand once more."

Mythdragon sighed within his cloak of darkness. "Fine, I'm useless when it comes to strategy. Just tell me what to do." With that he rotated his cultivation base, whereupon a faint roar like that of a dragon echoed out. At the same time, numerous faint, shadowy forms appeared and began to swirl around him as he helped Xuan Namikaze set the 5th Heaven in motion.

The huge land mass that was the 5th Heaven emitted enormous rumbling sounds, and then began to crush down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Meanwhile, the power of the eighteen Imperial Lord corpses was erupting out. Their discarnate souls were burning away, allowing incredible power of Heaven and Earth to be directed toward the 3rd Heaven.

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and brilliant colors flashed. Cracks began to spread out across the 3rd Heaven, and soon it began to crumble and collapse.

The eighteen corpses transformed into eighteen beams of blade-like light that shot toward the 4th Heaven. Shockingly, as they closed in on the land mass that was the 4th Heaven, they chose… to self-detonate!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The eighteen corpses used the last bit of life force they had to explode. The starry sky vibrated, and the 4th Heaven, unable to avoid the blast, was hit head on. In the blink of an eye… the entire land mass… crumbled! Unable to maintain a solid form, it shattered and then… transformed into smoke and ash!

Even as the crumbling fragments of the 3rd Heaven continued to fall down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm, several beams of sword light suddenly appeared from down below. Suddenly… nine swords shot out from within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Converged upon those nine swords was the wills of the cultivators of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto of their respective Mountain and Sea. Precious treasures from the Paragon Immortal Realm, they slashed out toward the fragments of the 3rd Heaven, completely destroying them!

The brilliant sword light which filled the Mountain and Sea Realm caused everything else to grow dark.

Naruto still stood there on the sun, watching as all of this happened, his heart pounding with excitement. At the same time, the land mass that was the 5th Heaven was still under the control of Xuan Namikaze and Mythdragon as it smashed down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"We need to force the Mountain and Sea Realm to pull out everything they have. The 7th Heaven and above can't join the battle, but they can see what's happening…." Xuan Namikaze 's eyes glittered as he drew upon all of his cultivation base to send the 5th Heaven in after the 3rd and 4th Heaven.

The 5th Heaven was far larger than all the previous Heavens, and as soon as it began to descend, the starry sky was crushed. Massive rifts snaked out everywhere, and yet at the same time, an old man suddenly flew out from the First Mountain.

That old man had the demeanor of a transcendent being, but if you looked closely, you would see that he was actually transparent. He was illusory, and not real. Even as he appeared, the sound of scriptures being chanted could be heard echoing out from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite temples in the Nine Mountains of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The chanting filled the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, and a strange power rose up, almost like a summoning. Apparently, it was that illusory old man who was being summoned.

Naruto instantly recognized him. It was the same old man who had given sermons on the Dao back when he himself had been in that abandoned temple of the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, the same man who could write the character Immortal 仙 into the air with his finger.

Now, that old man floated out into the void as if he had been transported from ancient times into the present. Mixed emotions could be seen on his face, and he sighed as he extended his hand, pushing it toward the incoming 5th Heaven.

That simple motion caused the entire 5th Heaven land mass to shudder to a stop. Then… to Naruto's complete disbelief, the entire land mass began to dissolve, transforming into nothing more than ash.

It happened too quickly for anyone to even react. A simple gesture by that old man caused the land mass that was the 5th Heaven to… completely vanish.

Then, the figure of the old man began to fade away. At the same time, countless cultivators in the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite temples in the Mountain and Sea Realm coughed up blood, the price that they had to pay for the summoning.

"Imperial Lord corpses. Deadly Dao Realm treasures. Paragon projections…. The Mountain and Sea Realm's resources run incredibly deep!" Xuan Namikaze stared at the disappearing old man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite, then took a deep breath, whereupon his eyes flickered with a gleam of madness.

"We won't be able to drag this fight out until the 7th Heaven and the others arrive. Fellow Daoist Mythdragon, as of this moment, we have only one choice… put everything on the line, lest the both of us perish this day!" Xuan Namikaze rose to his feet, then looked in the direction of the 6th Heaven, and stamped his foot down viciously.

Instantly, the 6th Heaven began to tilt onto its side. Paragon Mythdragon stood there silently, sighing. He knew that the battle had been lost, and that it was because of him. Therefore, without any hesitation, he also stamped his foot down, his eyes flickering with killing intent.

The land mass that was the 6th Heaven emitted rumbling sounds as it slowly began to move toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"The combined power unleashed by five of our land masses is not enough to break through even their first line of defense," said Xuang Namikaze . Based on the resources the Mountain and Sea Realm has at hand… we aren't well enough prepared to win.

"However, I refuse to only use part of what we have at our disposal. Fellow Daoist Mythdragon, we must hold nothing back. Let us see… if we can break through this line of defense! Let us see if the Mountain and Sea Realm has any tricks left to defend themselves….

"The more resources they draw on now, the easier it will be for the 7th Heaven and the others to prepare to counter them in the months to come. That will lead to the Mountain and Sea Realm being defeated in even more expeditious fashion." Xuan Namikaze 's eyes glittered coldly as he and Mythdragon sent the 6th Heaven barreling toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

At the same time, the final division of millions of Outsiders followed the directions imparted by Xuan Namikaze 's divine will, surrounding the 6th Heaven, joining it to crash into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The decisive battle… was being fought ahead of schedule!

It only took a moment for the Mountain and Sea Realm to brace itself. Even as the 6th Heaven began to descend, the 100,000 Sea Dragons beneath the Nine Seas God World gate roared and flew up to meet it.

However, as they closed in, killing intent flickered within the eyes of Paragon Mythdragon of the 6th Heaven. He waved his right hand viciously through the air, and the howl of a dragon could be heard coming from the darkness which surrounded him. Suddenly, an evil, pitch-black dragon roared out, fully 30,000 meters long. Its appearance instantly caused Heaven and Earth to shake violently, and elicited a howl of rage from the 100,000 Sea Dragons.

The explosive roaring sounds caused everything to shake, and at the same time, Paragon Mythdragon erupted with Paragon power. After all, despite not being adept at strategy, he was very adept… at slaughter!

As soon as he waved his hand, the roaring of the evil black dragon caused the Sea Dragons to begin to tremble. In the blink of an eye, their flesh was flayed off of their bodies, and they were transformed into bones, which then collapsed into ash.

The black, evil dragon then shot toward the gate of the Nine Seas God World.

However, it was at this point that the gate suddenly slammed open, and an enormous, 30,000-meter Sea Dragon flew out. This Sea Dragon had no flesh, and was made completely of bone!

As soon as it flew out, the shattered bits of flesh and blood from the other Sea Dragons, as well as the ash from their bones, instantly flew over to cover the bones of the gigantic Sea Dragon. Now that it had a body of flesh and blood, it charged toward the evil dragon, roaring.

At this point, Paragon Sea Dream flew out to join the Paragon puppet, which was still under Naruto's control. Naruto also sped out of the sun and headed toward the battlefield.

The nine swords from the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto then ripped through the void toward the 6th Heaven land mass.

Further in the depths of the Mountain and Sea Realm, the sound of chanting scriptures once again rose up from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite. This time, a middle-aged man appeared out of thin air. His eyes were blank, and he held a long spear in his hand. He instantly stepped forward and began to slaughter the Outsiders.

At the same time, Paragon Mythdragon took a step forward, transforming into three incarnations, one of which headed toward Paragon Sea Dream, and the other toward the Paragon puppet.

The last incarnation became a black beam of light that sped toward the nine swords. The black light around him shattered, transforming into a hail of shrapnel that spiraled toward the nine swords, then reformed into a sealing field which trapped them.

Without the black light cloaking him, Paragon Mythdragon was now revealed for all to see. He was huge, with three heads, two of which had their eyes closed. The eyes of the middle head glowed with bright red light as he stared toward the middle-aged man whom the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite had summoned.

Soon, the glow of magical techniques rose up into the sky.

As all of that was happening, Xuan Namikaze began to pick up speed as he headed toward Naruto.

With all the main powerhouses of the Mountain and Sea Realm locked down, there was no way to stop the 6th Heaven. A massive boom echoed out as it slammed into the First Mountain. The mountain trembled, and cracking sounds emanated out as crevices were ripped open. Then, the land mass continued to smash down into the First Mountain until… it was completely obliterated!

By this point, most of the land mass that was the 6th Heaven was destroyed. Endless amounts of rubble then began to rain destructively toward the rest of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Instantly, the spell formations of the Second Sea were activated, causing the Second Sea to collapse as it blocked the falling rubble.

Mountains were being crushed and Seas were being obliterated!

Even as the Second Sea collapsed to block the rubble raining down, Ksitigarbha was sitting cross-legged on the moon. When his eyes opened, they glowed with icy coldness, and he immediately activated the defensive shield, despite the injuries inflicted upon himself by doing so.

A glittering shield appeared above the Second Mountain, upon which smashed the remnants of the falling rubble, which then turned into ash.

No further destruction was carried out; the danger posed by the 6th Heaven was neutralized!

"That's it…?" Xuan Namikaze said, sighing. Behind him, the final division of Outsiders was charging into the Mountain and Sea cultivators. Instantly, fierce fighting broke out. At the same time, complete silence filled everything behind the Second Mountain. No more special methods or techniques were unleashed. "Still don't feel the need to use more of their reserves? Well, in that case…."

Xuan Namikaze performed an incantation gesture with his right hand and pointed in Naruto's direction. However, just when Naruto was about to make a move, Xuan Namikaze pulled back, laughing.

"I don't care what methods the 7th Heaven or all the other Heavens have at their disposal, they're not going to be here any time soon. Therefore… since the Mountains and Seas won't reveal any of its other resources, then… this kid, and that sun and moon, must be destroyed!

"Activate the Immortal-Imprisoning Formation!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1367

Chapter 1367: No Choice But to Descend!

As soon as the words left Xuan Namikaze 's mouth, glittering light appeared on the previously-obscured 7th Heaven, and then the 8th and the 9th, all the way to the 33rd Heaven.

There were still several more months left before they could unbind themselves from their current state. However, they could hear the words uttered by Xuan Namikaze , and could also see everything clearly.

In fact, they had been closely observing the battle as it played out over the past few months, and had already begun preparing special ways to deal with the Mountain and Sea Realm based on what they had seen. Also, they had long since come to the realization of how important the sun and moon were!

From what they could tell, the most important between the two was not the sun, but the moon!

Of course, with Naruto in position on the sun, considering his battle prowess and the fact that he controlled a Paragon puppet, he was now fully qualified to tie down two Paragons in battle.

A Mountain and Sea cultivator like that was someone the 33 Heavens couldn't afford to disregard, and they had long since placed him on their list of priority targets to kill.

After hearing Xuan Namikaze 's declaration, the powerful Outsider experts from the 7th to the 33rd Heaven, including the two 8-Essences Paragons, were all completely focused on how things were playing out. Whether it was because of the effort to kill Naruto and Ksitigarbha, for the overall strategy of drawing out the battle, or even more importantly, for the safety of Xuan Namikaze and Mythdragon, what was happening now was of utmost importance.

That was also why Xuan Namikaze had taken immediate, seemingly maddened action after being unsealed. Attacking with all the land masses ensured that he had nowhere to retreat to. Thus… the forces which remained from the 33 Heavens would not hesitate to do everything they could to come to his aid.

Only then could this battle not be called a complete failure for him.

"As long as I can destroy the sun or the moon, then… this battle won't have been a total failure." The starry sky then began to tremble as a beam of light emerged from the main force of the 33 Heavens, which then shot down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

It moved with incredible speed, and yet, even as it neared, another beam of light rose up from the Ninth Mountain. Those two beams of light shot toward each other, and then collided outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

As rumbling booms echoed out, an enraged roar echoed out from the 33 Heavens. That light which shot down was blasted into countless shards of light which were now incapable of forming the Immortal-Imprisoning Formation Xuan Namikaze had spoken of!

At the same time, large numbers of cultivators poured out from the Second Mountain to charge into the Outsiders, and began to fight bitterly.

Paragon Mythdragon simultaneously began to fight the Paragon puppet, Paragon Sea Dream and the Nine Seas God World Sea Dragon. He was also keeping the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto at bay, and was even pinning down the middle-aged man from the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite.

Of course, he paid a heavy price to do all of that as, almost instantly, blood sprayed out of his mouth. And yet he didn't back down; grinning viciously, he slapped his hand onto his head.

A boom rang out as black light erupted out from him, causing his battle prowess, and that of all his incarnations, to leap to new heights.

"Dragondemon Tyrant Physique!?" said Paragon Sea Dream, her eyes flashing. "That's an innate divine ability of the Mythdragon Clan, which allows a battle soul to possess the body, making it impervious to divine abilities and magical techniques! However, once the Tyrant Physique ends, all the wounds he seemingly avoided will suddenly flare up!

"That means he's seeking to die in battle! His delays led to their defeat, so he's going to put his life on the line…."

Off in the distance, Paragon Xuan Namikaze saw what was happening, and after a moment of silence, threw his head back and laughed. Eyes flickering with determination, he shot toward Naruto. As for Naruto, his eyes glittered, and instead of backing up, he advanced, and soon the two of them were battling back and forth with booming divine abilities.

Naruto was in a slightly inferior position. His cultivation base qualified him to fight with Paragons, but not necessarily to win. However, delaying Xuan Namikaze was nothing difficult.

As long as Mythdragon was forced to retreat or even killed by the various methods employed by everyone he was fighting, then Xuan Namikaze would destined to fall in this battle.

"Of you two Paragons, one will definitely die here," Naruto said coolly, his eyes flickering with killing intent. This was not his first time fighting Xuan Namikaze , and in their last battle, he had been pushed to the very limit. But now, he had fully recovered, and was even stronger in terms of battle prowess.

Booms rang out from within the army of Outsiders, as well as screams. The Mountain and Sea cultivators were unleashing carnage, and their numbers were swelling as more cultivators joined in the battle.

The Outsiders' 2nd to the 6th Heavens had actually done a great deal more damage to the Mountain and Sea Realm's structure than the 1st Heaven had. However, in terms of the casualties they were wreaking upon the Mountain and Sea cultivators, it didn't match up at all.

Meanwhile, the forces in the 7th to the 33rd Heavens up above could sense what danger Xuan Namikaze and Mythdragon were in. Roars of rage echoed out as they attempted to extricate themselves from their current state. However, that state was like a double-edged sword; although it had enabled them to escape catastrophe from the sudden attack of the Mountain and Sea Realm, it also left them completely and utterly sealed.

In the final analysis, they had never anticipated that the combined power of five land masses… couldn't even break through the second line of defense in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Furthermore, they were losing so badly in the battle below that they were virtually being massacred.

Booms rang out as the 7th through 33rd Heavens all bashed against the invisible sealing barrier. On the battlefield, the Mountain and Sea Realm clearly had the advantage, and the Outsiders were dying in droves. They were shoved back again and again, and seemed incapable of fighting back against the Mountain and Sea cultivators.

In front of the Second Mountain, the Second Sea had collapsed, and in its place was a sea of blood.

As for Paragon Mythdragon, after utilizing his body technique, he was going all out. However, his heart was filled with bitterness because of the failure of the Immortal-Imprisoning Formation. Had it succeeded, he would not be in such a bad situation.

He currently had all of the top experts of the Mountains and Seas locked down, but the price was that he himself was stuck in an unimaginably deadly situation.

"Xuan Namikaze , hurry up!" Mythdragon roared. Xuan Namikaze was already going all out with his cultivation base. Paragon power erupted out, and yet he was unable to break free from the fight. Not only had he been weakened, Naruto had already fought a deadly battle with him before. Naruto was used to his fighting tactics, and therefore, breaking free from the fight was not something that Xuan Namikaze could do quickly.

No matter what he tried to do, he simply couldn't get away.

Naruto transformed into an azure roc, which whistled through the starry sky, slashing its deadly talons out in attack. He used the One Thought Stellar Transformation, as well as his Supernova Magic.

He even unleashed his Demon Sealing Hexing magic, and the backlash wasn't as bad as it had been in the past.

At the moment, the two Outsider Paragons could not flee, and there was no one there to save them. The 7th through 33rd Heavens were getting very anxious. If things kept going as they were, then they needed to be prepared… for one of their Paragons to perish.

The 33 Heavens originally had five Paragons. Eegoo was essentially dead. If they lost another, they might still be able to secure a victory, but the price would be one they were hard-pressed to pay.

Currently, Shui Dongliu was on Planet South Heaven, outside the Ninth Mountain, looking up coldly into the starry sky. He appeared to be hesitating, as if he had a very hard decision to make.

After a long moment, he murmured, "If you take a step back, you realize that there is no one… who cannot be sacrificed. Even me…. Since that's the case…." He took a deep breath and then slowly lowered his hand. "Since that's the case, I will allow you people to open a breach ahead of schedule. That way… you'll be able to send someone in. However, the price you will pay is that the overall time before the rest of you can emerge from the sealed state will be extended…. Most importantly… those two experts who were possessed by the two powerful forces, they who now have the power of 8-Essences Paragons… will be unable to descend before the seal is completely removed.

"This will make things very dangerous for Ksitigarbha, Sea Dream, and the Three Great Daoist Societies. It will be even more dangerous… for Naruto…." After a long, thoughtful moment, Shui Dongliu sighed.

"In the end, the 33 Heavens don't count for much. It is those two possessed Paragons… who are the powerful enemies we can't handle right now!"

Outside of the Second Mountain, intense fighting was going on. Mythdragon was suffering successive defeats, and didn't seem like he could hang on much longer. He had already used the body technique multiple times, and was now on the verge of collapsing.

Xuan Namikaze could do nothing to push Naruto away and break free, and was getting more and more anxious.

However, it was at this point that a huge boom echoed out in the starry sky. It was hard to say what price had been paid by the 7th to 33rd Heavens, but suddenly, everything from the 16th Heaven and below started to flicker, as if the sealing power were becoming unstable. Then, bright lights flashed as the 7th through 16th Heavens… suddenly materialized in the starry sky!

Apparently, the 17th Heaven and above had taken on the sealing power which had been restraining the 7th through 16th Heavens, allowing those Heavens to break free!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the 7th Heaven descended, followed by the 8th, the 9th… all the way to the 16th Heaven. In total, ten Heavens rumbled down out of the starry sky toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

At the same time, ten beams of light shot out from those land masses, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as they closed in on the Mountain and Sea Realm. One of those beams of light shot toward Mythdragon, instantly ending his battle with the Mountain and Sea experts and dragging him away. The second beam of light burst onto the scene of Naruto and Xuan Namikaze 's battle, creating a huge wave of Chakra that separated the two of them.

Naruto was violently shoved backward toward the Mountain and Sea Realm's sun. Even as blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, the fourth beam of light shot with incredible speed toward the sun. There was nothing Naruto could do except watch as the beam of light slammed into the sun, instantly transforming 100,000 cultivators into ash….

As for the sun, it began to tremble, and then fissures spread out across its surface in completely shocking fashion!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1368

Chapter 1368: Reversals!

Naruto's eyes went wide at the shocking scene, and he let let out a miserable howl. "NOOO…!"

At the same time, the fifth beam of light shot toward the moon. Of course, the moon was designed for defense, so although it was shaken, and the 100,000 cultivators there coughed up blood and withered dangerously, they didn't die.

Cracking sounds emanated out as crevices opened up all over the moon; it appeared to be on the verge of imminent collapse.

Next, the remaining five beams of light spread out to cover the entire Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole. They weren't being used as an attack, but rather… as a seal!

Powerful rumbling echoed out. Heaven and Earth trembled. The starry sky went dim. Sea Dream and the others felt their faces fall as the five beams of light covered the whole Mountain and Sea Realm… cutting it off completely from the sun and the moon!

As of this moment, the sun and the moon were now outside of the

Mountain and Sea Realm. The development occurred so quickly that all Naruto could do was laugh bitterly at the realization… that this was simply how war worked!

Life was the weakest of all things in a war, and could be snuffed out in a single attack…. Of the 100,000 cultivators who had been stationed on the sun, half had paid a heavy price to help him buy time in his earlier battle with Xuan Namikaze . They and Naruto… were comrades-in-arms.

Naruto's eyes were bright red, and yet, he had no time to ponder the matter at the moment. Even as the five beams of light formed together into the huge seal, Naruto sent divine will out to his Paragon puppet. Instantly, it performed a teleportation, bursting out from within the seal to appear at his side!

At the same time, tens of millions of Outsiders poured out from the 7th to 16th Heavens, along with countless vicious-looking war chariots.

The 7th through 16th Heavens were like an inverted pagoda whose converged force caused intense pressure to weigh down through the starry sky.

It was almost as if a gigantic, invisible hand were crushing down onto the Mountain and Sea Realm, causing all of the Mountains, Seas, and planets to tremble.

The five beams of light which had shot out from the ten land masses were like a huge cage, trapping everything from the Second Mountain to the Ninth Mountain, completely separating them.

They were now isolated, impossible to aid, a sudden change that caused the faces of the Mountain and Sea cultivators to fall. Mixed emotions could be seen on Sea Dream's face as she tried in vain to break past the barrier.

For the time being, the Three Great Daoist Societies' efforts were for naught. Although the Mountain and Sea Realm would be temporarily shielded from any attacks, Naruto and Ksitigarbha were now completely isolated in a dangerous situation.

The sun and the moon had been of incredible aid throughout the war, and the 33 Heavens could sense how threatening they were. Now, they had descended with the intent of destroying that very sun and moon at any price.

Naruto fell back into the sun's spell formation. He was completely alone; not even corpses had been left behind. The only thing that existed was a pervasive aura of death, and the souls of the dead, which refused to disperse. Naruto sat there silently, and his eyes began to glow with intense killing intent.

As the Paragon puppet appeared next to him on the sun, he looked off into the distance at the waves of tens of millions of Outsiders swarming out from the ten land masses. Even as they began to fill the starry sky, Xuan Namikaze and Mythdragon were retreating into the Outsider army.

Xuan Namikaze was in slightly better condition, whereas Mythdragon was a mass of blood and wounds. He was clearly severely wounded, and could barely stand. Even as he consumed medicinal pills, several Imperial Lords helped him to return to the land masses to recover.

He was so grievously injured that he could barely maintain consciousness. After finally reaching the 16th land mass, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and then closed his eyes in meditation, surrounded by Outsider guards.

It wasn't that he didn't notice Naruto's murderous gaze coming all the way from the sun. Instead, he didn't deign to care. Although Uzumaki

Hao was powerful enough to arouse his caution, in the current situation, Naruto had to consider his own survival, and thus Paragon Mythdragon didn't pay him any heed.

Paragon Xuan Namikaze threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Inwardly, he was elated at what had occurred. Ten land masses had appeared, and tens of millions of Outsider reinforcements had arrived, including ten Imperial Lords. Although there were no Paragons, as far as Xuan Namikaze was concerned… the current reinforcements were enough.

"It's enough for me to destroy the sun and moon, and then at least half of the rest of the Mountain and Sea Realm. It's also plenty to be able to last until the 17th Heaven and the others arrive."

Eyes flickering with killing intent, Xuan Namikaze reached his hand out toward the moon and pointed.

"Imperial Lords, destroy that moon, and all the cultivators on it!" Even as the words left his mouth, the newly arrived Imperial Lords shot toward the moon with bursting energy and murderous auras. They were joined by a force of millions of Outsiders, all of whom charged toward the moon!

On the moon itself, Ksitigarbha's face returned to its normal placid state.

He even began to chuckle, although it was a hoarse, pained chuckle. However, the burning fire in his eyes had not lessened.

He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, and as for the 100,000 cultivators who surrounded him, despite their withered state, in which they hovered on the edge of death like candles flickering in the wind, none of them said a word. They looked down in the direction of the Mountain and Sea Realm, clearly reluctant to part from it into death, and yet at the same time, sending it their well wishes….

Then, the 100,000 cultivators closed their eyes, appearing to give the last bits of their life force as a sacrifice to the Mountain and Sea Realm. As they fueled the defensive powers of the moon, rumbling sounds echoed out, and numerous beams of light appeared to completely surround the moon. As they did, the divine abilities of the Outsider

Imperial Lords, as well as the magical techniques of the millions of other Outsiders, bore down and seemed to be on the verge of completely engulfing the moon.

Blood oozed out of the eyes, ears, noses, and mouths of the 100,000 cultivators, and their bones began to shatter. Ksitigarbha continued to chuckle bitterly, and yet, a look of increasing madness was seeping into his eyes.

On the other side of the field of battle, Xuan Namikaze was eying the sun with killing intent. He had already fought Naruto twice. The first time had been an incredibly bitter fight. The second fight had gone on for longer, and yet wasn't as bitter. However, because of Naruto, he had been unable to rescue Mythdragon, who had ended up being trapped in an incredibly dangerous situation.

"Our third battle. This time, either you die, or I die!" Flicking his sleeve,

Xuan Namikaze sent out divine will instructions to the surrounding millions of Outsiders, whereupon all of them charged toward the sun, radiating intensely murderous auras.

Paragon Xuan Namikaze followed behind them, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused some strange magical technique to begin to build up.

Naruto sat there silently. He had not possessed the initiative during this battle, which did not conform to his personality. His eyes flickered, and he sent divine will out to the Paragon puppet, which instantly stood up, killing intent flickering in its eyes. It took a step forward, shot toward Xuan Namikaze , but then unexpectedly passed by him and headed toward the main group of the Outsider army behind him.

And then it kept going, in the direction of… the 16th Heaven. Its goal, Naruto's goal, was the heavily wounded Paragon Mythdragon.

You want to kill me? How about… I kill your Paragon!

As Naruto sat there cross-legged within the spell formation, he looked at Xuan Namikaze , eyes ice cold as he said, "Are you going to save him, or not?"

At the same time, rumbling sounds could be heard from within the

Mountain and Sea Realm, as an intense power rose up from within the Ninth Mountain, which shot up toward the seal covering the Mountain and Sea Realm. When it slammed into the seal, the seal twisted and distorted, sending brilliant light shining out.

At the same time, Paragon Sea Dream and the Three Great Daoist

Societies all attacked. And yet, something else happened at the same time. Within the Mountain and Sea Realm were three temples out in the starry sky, temples that no one could see. Within each of those temples were an old man and a young man.

Right now, those old men were opening their eyes, almost as if they had been summoned, as if orders had been delivered to them.

"Take my magical item and assist the masses to break that seal open!" The exact same words came out of the mouths of all three old men, and as they echoed out into the temples, the young men looked up, their eyes flickering with the desire to do battle.

They had been waiting for this war for a very long time.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the young man in the first temple looked up, and a suit of blue armor spread out over his body, covering even his face. A long blue spear materialized in front of him, which he grasped. As he did, an intense energy surged up from him.

It quickly reached the 6-Essences level, and then a bit higher than that, although that energy didn't seem to come from the young man himself, but rather, from the suit of armor and the spear.

He took a step forward, suddenly appearing outside of the temple, where he became a blue streak of light that shot up toward the seal.

At the same time, in the other two temples, other streaks of light appeared. One was crimson, and inside of it was a figure in blood-red armor, with a blood-colored sword and a colossal murderous aura.

In another direction was a bright yellow beam of light, within which was a figure wearing bright yellow armor. In that figure's hand… was a bamboo scroll. Shocking divine sense swirled around him as he flew up with incredible speed.

Booms rang out as these three figures smashed into the shield.

Astonishingly, these three figures were emitting three different auras. That of… the Sublime Spirit Scripture, the Dao Divinity Scripture, and… the Heaven Severing Scripture!

The three classic scriptures of the Mountain and Sea Realm were all in play!

The seal shook violently, and cracking sounds rang out, as if it might collapse at any moment.

Within the Mountain and Sea Realm was another figure who was violently head-butting the seal. It was none other than Patriarch Reliance. Back when the Mountain and Sea Realm had entered its Siege Mode, he had disappeared somewhere. Now, he suddenly reappeared, and as he battered the seal, he muttered, "That little bastard most likely isn't dead. If he really was, then I would be free, but… I still feel like having him alive is a bit better." Sighing, he bashed into the seal again.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1369

Chapter 1369 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1369: Sun, Detonate!

At the same time, all of the cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm unleashed their divine abilities to batter against the seal, which began to weaken and crack. However, the 33 Heavens had paid an incredible price to put this seal in place; it was clearly something extraordinary in nature. Despite cracking, it did not fall.

Outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm, booming sounds echoed out from the moon as the Imperial Lords and the other Outsiders attacked it relentlessly. The moon quivered on the verge of being destroyed, causing Xuan Namikaze to begin to laugh coldly, and completely ignore the Paragon puppet, which was slaughtering its way toward the 16th Heaven. Instead, he stood in place, both hands flashing in incantation gestures as a bizarre aura built up around him. Soon, countless illusory figures became visible in his vicinity.

As that happened, the divine abilities of millions of Outsiders descended onto the sun like a sea of magic, engulfing it. The sun did not have the defensive powers that the moon did, so as soon as the sea of magic hit it, it began to crack and split. The entire sun seemed to be on the very brink of collapsing.

There in the midst of the sea of magic was Naruto, who began to laugh in the face of the terrifying attack. His eyes burned with fire because he knew that this attack… was something the sun could not withstand; it would be broken!

It was all thanks to the terrifying beam of light which had struck it. That grievous blow ensured that the sun was now incapable of surviving for much longer….

"Since that's the case, instead of simply letting you destroy this sun… I should use it to kill more of you Outsiders!" Naruto threw both hands up and then slammed them down onto the surface of the sun.

The blow was backed by the rotation of his cultivation base and the power of his fleshly body, and the impact caused the sun to tremble, then suddenly explode into pieces!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Shrapnel that was the remnants of the sun exploded out in all directions, creating a powerful attack that slammed into the sea of magic. When those two forces collided, a terrifying shockwave blasted out into the starry sky. It was like the roar of a giant as dazzling light shot out everywhere. The whole scene resembled a destructive apocalypse!

As the light and heat of the sun's self-detonation spread out, the sea of magic was enveloped. The millions of Outsiders were powerful, but the destructive power of the sun was something they simply couldn't fight against.

After all, this sun had illuminated the Mountain and Sea Realm for tens upon tens of thousands of years. Considering it had heated the Realm for so long, it was impossible to even imagine how hot it was. Most important was that the sun had actually been created from a treasure belonging to Paragon Nine Seals. As such, its detonation was shocking beyond imagination!

The massive sound of the explosion filled the Heavens, and the dazzling light it created lit up everything. Everyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and all of the Outsiders beyond the area of the explosion, stared at what was happening in complete shock.

The scene playing out in front of them could rightly be described as the most insane thing any of them had witnessed.

The sun was exploding!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The detonation was not something that just ended immediately. It was an ongoing process in which intense light and heat continuously blasted out in all directions. The sea of magic was completely engulfed, and the surrounding Outsiders had no time to flee. They were swept over, their flesh and blood torn from their bodies as they were incinerated into ash!

Because of the blinding light, some people simply closed their eyes. Others braved the piercing rays of light to watch. Countless miserable screams began to rise up as rank after rank of Outsiders were wiped away as if by an enormous hand of light.

It was at this point that Paragon Xuan Namikaze finished his double-handed incantation. He looked up, and a callous smile could be seen on his face. He was the type of person who understood war, and although he would not dare to say that no one in existence could match up to him, he was certain that among the five great Paragons, he was the most skilled strategist.

"In war, there is only victory and defeat," he said coolly. "There is no such thing as right or wrong. To gain victory… I am willing to sacrifice anything. If it comes down to it, I will even sacrifice myself. Since the spirit of the Mountain and Sea Realm has risen up, then fate has been sealed…. Either you people will die, or us!" Suddenly, he waved his finger in the direction of the masses of dead Outsiders.

Along with the wave of his finger came his voice, filled with a strange tone as it echoed out into the starry sky.

"Your souls are the spell, your blood is the sacrament. The world is Vast, the stars are the Expanse. Converge the will of severing into… a blade!"

As his voice echoed out, countless screaming, vengeful souls rose up, which were the dead Outsiders. Their blood, which should have been completely wiped away by the light and heat, now began to swirl up, merge together, and shine with a bizarre light!

As for the blood which had already faded away, the odor of gore which it left behind rapidly transformed into an illusory sea of blood.

Then the screaming Outsider souls then sank down into the sea of blood, as if they were refusing to die.

The bitter, venomous cries of the souls echoed out into all creation, as if they wanted to overturn the starry sky itself. The converged screams of millions of Outsiders became… the most intense of hatreds!

"Form your hatred into a blade, and use that blade to sever… all mental connections!" Xuan Namikaze 's voice boomed like thunder, and his expression was completely vicious as he raised his hand up into the air. As he did, the churning sea of blood formed together into the shape… of a blade!

A huge blade!

A blade formed from endless hatred!

Paragon Xuan Namikaze lifted the blade high up and then slashed it down toward Naruto!

"Fellow Daoist Eegoo, today I shall help you… be severed free!"

Even as Naruto looked up, he realized that the blade of hatred only seemed to be slashing toward him. Its real target was the space just in front of Naruto.

There in front of Naruto was something that no one could see, and in fact he hadn't noticed up to this point…. A thread!

It was a thread that Xuan Namikaze could only see after employing a bizarre magical technique. It was… the thread connecting Naruto to his Paragon puppet!

By means of that thread, and by means of divine will, Naruto could control the Paragon puppet. More importantly, that thread did not actually belong to Naruto himself, nor had he created it. It came from… Choumen Tai!

The blade was descending to sever… that thread!

If it succeeded… Naruto's divine will connection to his Paragon puppet would be severed!

The blood and souls of millions of Outsiders had transformed into a blade, which had been Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's plan all along. Although his actions had seemed to change arbitrarily, the truth was that everything had been done to try to gain the greatest possible advantage for the Outsiders.

His choice in this moment was not to try to cut down Naruto, but rather, to sever that thread. In addition to gaining an advantage for the Outsiders, it would also resolve the problem of the Paragon puppet trying to kill Paragon Mythdragon!

A boom rang out, and Naruto's pupils constricted as he sensed the connection between him and the Paragon puppet being cut!

Having control of the Paragon puppet suddenly taken away felt like having a limb severed. It was as if the sensation of control was still there, except that the limb was gone.

At the same time, the Paragon puppet, which had been charging toward the 16th Heaven, suddenly shuddered. Its eyes grew blank as it slowed down and stopped moving.

"A soul blade created from the souls of millions can sever all divine will. Naruto, without Eegoo… you are doomed to die!" Xuan Namikaze began to laugh uproariously. He had always believed himself to be shockingly adept at scheming, and this proved that he was right. His ability with scheming and strategy was truly causing incredible problems for the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Without him, the battle would have been much simpler, and the losses sustained by the Mountain and Sea Realm would have been much more manageable. But now, the sun had exploded, and the moon was in grave danger.

And yet, after Naruto's eyes went wide for a moment, a strange expression appeared on his face. Paragon Xuan Namikaze loved to scheme, and loved to come up with ideas and plans that no one could see through. Naruto already knew that. It was at this point that… Naruto blinked, and then cleared his throat.

The thread had been created by Choumen Tai, and although Naruto wasn't completely sure of exactly how terrifyingly powerful Choumen Tai was, the mere fact that he could turn a Paragon into a puppet… showed that he was completely beyond the ordinary, and definitely had other terrifying abilities at his disposal.

The agreement with Choumen Tai had been that Naruto would have a Paragon puppet, but now… the connection had been severed by someone else, and he had lost the puppet. Most important of all, Choumen Tai needed Naruto's willing aid to be the seed of hope which would lead to the return of his Master. That was why, not only had Choumen Tai refrained from doing anything to harm Naruto's interests, he had also given him the puppet – not just to comply with their agreement, but also as a way to protect him.

After all, Naruto's life or death had a lot to do with whether or not Choumen Tai would succeed or fail in awakening his Master. And of course, Naruto was aware of all of that.

As such, it was easy to imagine that the person who would be most incensed that the thread had been severed… wouldn't be Naruto, but rather Choumen Tai. He might be slumbering, but he would definitely awaken because of something like that!

It was at this point that Naruto said: "Choumen Tai… the thread was severed!"

Xuan Namikaze 's laughter continued to ring out as he began to advance toward Naruto. However, it was then that his face fell, and his heart suddenly trembled. He suddenly had a very bad premonition, a strange feeling in his heart that something disastrous was about to happen.

At the same time, a voice suddenly rang out from the mouth of the motionless Paragon puppet.

"You really dare to sever the thread I created?" The Paragon puppet suddenly turned, and its eyes were glowing bright red. It appeared to be completely and utterly enraged. As of this moment, this was not the Paragon puppet, this was… something which had been buried deep inside of the Paragon puppet…. A fragment of Choumen Tai's soul!

His voice was filled with a murderous aura, and echoed with madness. Few people could actually hear the voice, but Paragon Xuan Namikaze could, and his eyes widened. Then his heart began to thump as he slowly turned to look at the Paragon puppet.

Then… his face fell!

Chapter 1369: Sun, Detonate!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1370

Chapter 1370 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1370: Bow In Hand!

In almost the same moment that the Paragon puppet's eyes fell on Xuan Namikaze , an indescribably shocking divine sense exploded out from it.

The divine sense was not flexible, but rigid. It was also boundlessly ancient. However, it was so majestic that Xuan Namikaze couldn't help but gasp in disbelief.

Naruto's eyes flickered in response to this change in the Paragon puppet. At the same time, the power of the exploding sun was weakening after destroying millions of nearby Outsiders.

Because Naruto was in the middle of the spell formation, he wasn't hurt very much at all. Instead, his eyes glittered with killing intent as he looked in the direction of the 16th Heaven, and then back at Xuan Namikaze , whose face had completely fallen.

It had been a long time since Naruto had conned anyone, although in truth, this was not a case of him conning Xuan Namikaze , but more a case of Xuan Namikaze setting himself up for failure.

Naruto had always had his speculations regarding Choumen Tai's true level of power, and Xuan Namikaze 's actions now were only giving him a deeper understanding.

"The Mountain and Sea Realm… has so many mysterious entities…. Choumen Tai, that old man on the boat, and also Slaughter, who walked out of Dao-Heaven's scroll painting. Then there's Shui Dongliu…." Naruto's eyes flickered. He had the intense premonition that, as the war reached its climax, as the 33 Heavens and the Mountain and Sea Realm headed closer and closer to the final battle, all of the secrets would be revealed, like a scroll being unfurled.

"In all of this… who exactly are the enemies, and who are the friends…. And who was it that saved me before? Was it Shui Dongliu? What exactly are his plans here in the Mountain and Sea Realm?" Naruto sighed inwardly. After awakening from his coma, there had been no time to ask Paragon Sea Dream about such matters. However, he had long since developed the feeling that the truth about the Mountain and Sea Realm was covered by a mist-like gauze, which made it impossible to see everything clearly. However, it seemed to him that there was someone behind the scenes influencing everything that was happening in the war.

He himself was only a pawn in this war. Perhaps everyone was, including the Outsiders. They were pawns, with no idea who the chessmaster was…. It was brutal, but that was war.

It had been a long time since that bashful smile appeared on Naruto's face when he was conning someone. The war had broken out suddenly, forcing him to mature, to grow up. He didn't want to think about what it would be like to watch his family or friends dying in battle in front of him, or what that would turn him into.

He didn't dare to contemplate such pain!

Therefore, the only thing he could do was make sure that any likelihood of such an outcome… was thoroughly wiped away!

"This time, one of these two Paragons will definitely perish!" As the murderous aura spread out from Naruto, his eyes suddenly went wide, and he looked down at the spell formation beneath his feet.

The sun was gone, but… there was still something else that remained behind.

It was in that exact same moment that the Paragon puppet's eyes locked onto Paragon Xuan Namikaze , and its enraged voice echoed out into the starry sky. "Was it you who severed my thread?"

Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's heart began to pound as he sensed something locking down on him, something locking onto, not just his body, but his mind and his soul.

The voice which had just spoken was filled with killing intent and murderous intentions. There was a brutality to it, something that made the starry sky around it turn icy. At the same time that the voice rang out, the Paragon puppet vanished, then reappeared directly in front of Xuan Namikaze .

Xuan Namikaze didn't hesitate at all to fall back at top speed, his heart filled with an intense sensation of imminent crisis. However, no matter how fast he tried to flee, he couldn't match the soul fragment of Choumen Tai which had been sleeping inside the Paragon puppet.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Paragon puppet extended its right hand and made a grasping motion. In reality, it was manipulating the flow of time, reaching backward a few moments into the past.

"Get back here!" said the icy voice which echoed out of the Paragon puppet's mouth. Then, the puppet's hand wrenched backward.

Off in the distance, Paragon Xuan Namikaze had been fleeing, but then his face flickered as he sensed an enormous hand in front of him, grabbing at his soul, pulling him toward the Paragon puppet.

"You're not Eegoo, and you're not Naruto! Who… who are you?!" Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's face flickered as he bit down on the tip of his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of life essence blood and simultaneously performing a double-handed incantation gesture. That mouthful of blood became an entire sea which spread out in all directions and transformed into a blood-colored magical symbol.

"Break!" It was a critical moment in which there was no time for contemplation. Xuan Namikaze attacked without any consideration for the negative ramifications to himself. Everything around him twisted, and the blood-colored magical symbol exploded, sending out a huge shockwave that he used to shake free of the Paragon puppet's timetraveling hand. Then he shot back at top speed, mind reeling and heart pounding from the realization of how powerful the Paragon puppet was.

In fact, he was now coming to the conclusion that severing Naruto's connection to this puppet might have been… a big mistake.

"Dammit, this is no puppet! There's a soul supporting it from the inside!

This is a discarnate soul possession!" Having come to this conclusion, Xuan Namikaze 's face looked more unsightly than ever, and the sensation of crisis within him grew even more intense.

However, no matter how he tried to flee, the sensation only got worse. He didn't feel like he was breaking free from anything. On the contrary, he felt more locked down than ever, incapable of extricating himself.

Then, the Paragon puppet's eyes flickered, and its hand clenched into a fist before punching out.

BOOM!

The fist strike causing rumbling sounds to fill the void as an explosive force suddenly appeared right in front of Paragon Xuan Namikaze . Despite how powerful he was, blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he fell back, a look of shock on his face. Then he looked at the Paragon puppet, and suddenly seemed to have realized something, and his face fell.

"Y-you're… you're not a cultivator from the Paragon Immortal Realm. Yyou're… from the Barbarian Devil Realm!"

"Barbarian…." A gleam of reminiscence could be seen in the eyes of the

Paragon puppet before it then took another step forward and launched another blow at Paragon Xuan Namikaze . Booms rang out as Xuan Namikaze fell back, blood spraying out of his mouth. 1

Meanwhile, back in Naruto's position, the detonation of the sun revealed something completely shocking. There, numerous strands of light formed the outline of a spell formation design.

Within the heart of that spell formation was… a bow!

It was an azure bow, floating in the nucleus of the spell formation, emitting boundless light. This was… Paragon Nine Seals' precious treasure!

Furthermore, Naruto was currently located above that spell formation… directly facing that bow!

The sun might have exploded, but the sun was only the outer shell.

Naruto paid no heed to the battle ensuing between Xuan Namikaze and the Paragon puppet. Instead, he looked down at the bow, his eyes glittering. Then he reached out, as if to grab it!

As soon as he reached out to touch the bow, it shuddered, as if in response. At the same time, the Paragon's blood inside of his Nirvana Fruit began to boil in an unprecedented fashion. Then the bow then began to slowly rise up toward Naruto.

Simultaneously, within the sealed Mountains and Seas, all of the Mountains began to shake, and the Xuanwu turtles in the celestial ponds began to howl as if because of some intense provocation. At the same time, the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm also seemed to erupt explosively.

Patriarch Reliance's eyes went wide, as if he too could sense what was happening, and unexpectedly, he threw his head back and roared. At the same time, wave-like ripples filled the area around Guyiding Tri-Rain, and as for Mount Daqing, although it seemed to be just an ordinary mountain, all of a sudden… a completely extraordinary aura began to stir within it.

Also on Patriarch Reliance's back was Dong Hu. A pearl floated in front of him, which radiated dazzling light. Dong Hu looked at it thoughtfully, and then looked up into the vast sky.

"My life has been devoted to preparing this treasure for someone I don't know. Is it possible… that the fated master of this object is him…?"

As these things occurred, the cultivators who wielded the magical devices of the three Doyens redoubled their efforts, joining the Mountain and Sea cultivators to relentlessly attack the quivering seal which covered the Realm.

It was also in this moment that rumbling sounds could be heard as the bow emerged from the spell formation… and came to rest in Naruto's hand.

The bow was azure, the string was black, and there were no arrows!

However, there was a boundless ancientness which erupted from within it.

It was as if in the moment he grabbed ahold of the bow, all of the Chakra and blood inside of Naruto erupted. The starry sky vibrated, and wild colors flashed. Naruto's hair flew about, and his energy rocketed up.

However… his body instantly began to wither as his Chakra and blood were rapidly absorbed by the bow.

Naruto's eyes grew bright, and he took a deep breath. Then he looked up toward the 16th Heaven, his eyes flickering with killing intent.

"Xuan Namikaze is pinned down by the Paragon puppet. If I join in, then it might be possible to kill him. However, it would be better to take down Paragon Mythdragon when he's injured. There won't be another chance to do that….

"Yes, I'll kill Mythdragon!" He made his decision in a split second, then took a step forward and transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the rest of the land masses up above.

As he flew up, the majestic spell formation which surrounded him followed. His feet remained on the spell formation, and his hand grasped the azure bow. He was like the sun itself, rising with majestic splendor toward the land masses in the starry sky.

The ordinary Outsiders, and their Imperial Lords, were all shaken, and quickly flew forward to try to stop Naruto. Paragon Xuan Namikaze 's eyes went wide, and although he instantly grew very anxious, there was nothing he could do but watch Naruto fly up.

As of this moment, the Outsiders were all astonished!

As of this moment, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were all staring at Naruto as he rose up into the sky like a sun!

Naruto's father, Xu Qing, his fellow clan members, his friends, and all of the other cultivators who were watching, no matter how far away they were, could see the sun-like figure transforming into something like an arrow of light that shot toward the land masses up above!

"I am not indispensable to this war," Naruto murmured. "If I weren't here, there would be someone else who could take my place, and follow a similar path as mine….

"I can be a game piece. I can lack my own will. I can be a sacrifice. I just hope… that my family lives, that my wife lives, and that my friends live…."

With that, he drew the bowstring back!

Chapter 1370: Bow In Hand!

This "Barbarian" is a term that comes up a lot in Beseech the Devil, and is a bloodline/clan/people/something-like-that in that novel.

Unfortunately, some translators have transliterated it oddly as "Man," which I think is incredibly confusing ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1371

Chapter 1371: Paragon in Terror!

He was going to kill a Paragon!

Kill Outsider Paragon Mythdragon!

As he pulled back on the bowstring, Chakra and blood surged through his body, as though the azure bow were sucking away at his life force. It began to shine with dazzling light, light that was none other than the convergence of his life force, and everything that was him.

It was also the light of his very soul!

Draw the bow, converge the light, form an arrow!

A dazzling spell formation appeared beneath his feet, and he took a step forward, his eyes flashing like lightning. When he released his grip on the bowstring, the string instantly began to vibrate with a shocking noise that left all the Outsiders' minds reeling.

It was a noise that could rip apart the Heavens, a noise that resonated in the minds of all cultivators and Outsiders, a noise which represented death and killing!

Anyone with an unstable mind would find their thoughts in complete disorder, and would feel terror rising up within them. Such people would even find their cultivation bases thrown into chaos, wrested completely beyond their control.

That sound could destabilize Dao hearts!

As Naruto released his grip, the bowstring began to propel the arrow formed from the light of his life force. It instantly seemed to suck in all the light in the area, turning the starry sky black, and making the dazzling arrow the center of all attention.

"Kill him!" Naruto growled as the light arrow began to speed forth. At first, it wasn't necessarily very impressive. However, in the blink of an eye, it grew from 30 meters long to 300, then 3,000, and then 30,000!

It took only a split second for the 30,000-meter-long light arrow to begin rumbling toward the millions of Outsiders who were trying to block the way to the other land masses, a group which included Imperial Lords.

Heaven and Earth went dim, a massive wind kicked up, and the Outsiders' minds were completely shaken.

"This…."

"That bow…."

"This cultivator…." Massive waves of shock battered at the hearts of the Outsiders. Naruto was like an Immortal Divinity; the glowing spell formation beneath his feet illuminated him, and the azure bow was so striking that the Outsiders couldn't help but stare at it.

The Outsider Imperial Lords who were trying to block Naruto were shaken, and then roared as they transformed into their true Outsider beast shapes, unleashing their cultivation base power as they sallied forth to try to destroy the light arrow.

However, a moment later, the light of the arrow engulfed them, and booms rang out, mixed with bloodcurdling screams. The Imperial Lords were completely incapable of blocking the arrow, and after it passed by… they were all dead!

Gasps could be heard as the light arrow then blasted into the Outsider army itself. Wherever it passed, scorching light gave rise to miserable shrieks. Countless Outsiders were directly incinerated as the huge arrow cut a gaping path through the army!

Over a million Outsiders. A host of Imperial Lords. None of them were capable of doing a single thing to stop the arrow from piercing through the army. Rumbling sounds could be heard as it shot toward the 16th Heaven, and then hit it!

The entire 16th Heaven began to shake, and vast crevices snaked out. It only took a moment for the entire land mass to be on the verge of collapsing.

Naruto himself transformed into a beam of light that followed the arrow. He shot through the path that had been carved out through the army, and as he closed in on the 16th Heaven, he once again began to pull back on the bowstring.

"Mythdragon!" he roared, voice bursting with killing intent, a shockingly murderous aura radiating out from him. After firing that first arrow, he was somewhat emaciated, and yet that murderous aura of his was as stupendous as ever!

As he pulled back on the bowstring with his right hand, his Chakra and blood boiled, as once again a vast amount of it was sucked away. Naruto now looked extremely gaunt, and yet the second arrow formed completely, whereupon he loosed the string. The arrow of light shot out, bursting with energy that could shake Heaven and Earth, filled with a viciousness that could exterminate anything and everything.

The arrow split open the starry sky as it shot toward the 16th Heaven, locking down onto an area in the very center of the land mass!

There, Mythdragon was completely absorbed in recovering from his injuries. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and within them could be seen shock and apprehension. Gritting his teeth, he suddenly turned blurry, and a second image of him appeared. One of those images then stepped forward: his clone.

The clone emerged from Mythdragon's Immortal's cave, outside of which several dozen Dao Realm Outsiders stood guard. All of them were pulsing with energy as they looked up into the sky at the incoming light arrow, behind which flew Naruto.

By this point, though, there were few people who could do anything to save Mythdragon; on the same token, there was no one who could help Naruto. Apparently this land mass was fated to be the location of their final showdown!

Outside of the land mass itself were millions of Outsiders, most of whom wouldn't be able to reach the 16th Heaven in time. However, all of them could unleash various divine abilities, creating an ocean of magic that rumbled toward the 16th Heaven.

However, in terms of the time frame involved, such an attack wouldn't do much good unless Naruto took an unusually long time to kill Mythdragon.

Meanwhile, countless Mountain and Sea cultivators were in the Mountain and Sea Realm, beneath the seal, watching as Naruto singlehandedly fought his way through the Outsider land masses, all for the purpose of… killing a Paragon!

Everyone, whether they knew Naruto personally or not, was shaken.

In fact… all of the Outsiders from the 17th Heaven all the way to the 33rd Heaven, who were watching but unable to descend into battle at this exact moment, were equally shocked.

By now, Naruto was the most majestic and glorious Mountain and Sea cultivator in the war! In addition to him, there was Ksitigarbha. Their use of the sun and moon respectively had made them thorns in the sides of the Outsider army.

"If I can buy enough time," thought Mythdragon, "then this Naruto… will have to face the deadly threat of the ocean of magic unleashed by the others!" Mythdragon's clone threw his head back and howled, then flew out to meet the light arrow. The numerous Outsider experts who were serving as Dharma Protectors all howled as they reverted to their true forms, then gathered in formation around Mythdragon's clone to defend against the light arrow!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The light arrow plowed into the Outsider Dharma Protectors, causing booms to echo out, along with miserable cries. They unleashed various divine abilities, but nothing did any good. Regardless of the levels of their cultivation base or fleshly body, they were instantly transformed into ash!

Then that ash faded like wisps of smoke within the light of the arrow!

Only Mythdragon's clone remained. He quickly performed a doublehanded incantation, transforming into a huge black dragon. Roaring, he head-butted the light arrow, which faltered. Mythdragon's clone howled as he erupted with the aura of a Paragon. He might just be a clone, but he was still a Paragon, and his unleashing of power caused the arrow to begin to fade away.

It was at this point that a cold snort echoed out. Naruto, instead of falling back, once again began to pull back the bowstring, unhesitatingly unleashing a third arrow, and then a fourth!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The third arrow shot forth in spectacular fashion, causing the clone's eyes to widen in despair. Gritting his teeth, he then opted to selfdetonate.

The burgeoning self-detonation of a Paragon clone instantly caused the land mass of the 16th Heaven to begin to crumble, sending fragments blasting out in all directions. The second arrow was destroyed in the selfdetonation, but most of the third arrow remained, and as it closed in on the source of the clone's self-detonation, even more explosive selfdetonation power erupted out.

Massive booms echoed out as the entire land mass was completely destroyed. Within the rubble, Mythdragon's true self flew out from his secluded meditation chamber, blood oozing out of the corners of his mouth. He looked elderly and weak; he had just reached a critical juncture in healing his serious injuries, and had then been interrupted, sacrificing more than half of his blood and essence to make a clone. All of that left him unprecedentedly weak.

In fact, this was the weakest he had ever been since becoming a

Paragon, and also the most dangerous situation he had ever faced.

"Naruto, I'm going to exterminate your entire clan!" Mythdragon roared, his eyes crimson. Bleeding from numerous wounds, he fell back into retreat. And yet, Naruto's fourth arrow was hot on his heels.

From the look of it… that arrow would not stop until he was dead!

"Go ahead and try that," Naruto responded to Mythdragon's retreating figure.

Even as the words left his mouth, the fourth light arrow suddenly exploded, blasting onto Paragon Mythdragon with full force.

Shockwaves spread out into the starry sky, and Paragon Mythdragon let out a bloodcurdling scream. However, he wasn't dead yet. Although he was coughing up blood, he still managed to scramble away in flight, simultaneously transforming into a 30,000-meter long Black Dragon. And yet, that Black Dragon was a mass of mangled gore, with a severely weakened aura that was on the verge of dropping out of the Paragon stage.

"Save me, Xuan Namikaze !" Mythdragon shrieked as he fled. Fear had blossomed in his heart; this was the most desperate situation he had ever been in since becoming a Paragon, and also the most terrifying.

The feeling of imminent death was even greater than when he had simultaneously fought Sea Dream and the Daoist Societies!

"Nobody can save you," Naruto said softly. "This Mountain and Sea

War has reached the point… where the blood of a Paragon is needed to cleanse the Heavens." Although his body had been weakened to the point where he was little more than skin and bones, his eyes shone with even more brilliant killing intent than before.

He looked at the bow in his hand, then suddenly laughed. Eyes cold and grim, aura bursting with murder and madness, he began to pull back the bowstring back. But then, he slowly loosened his grip.

"It would be quite a pity for him to die like this…." A crimson glow rose up in his eyes, and he suddenly took a deep breath. Boundless bloodcolored light exploded out from him as the Blood Demon gradually formed behind him. Unlike previous occasions, the Blood Demon superimposed with Naruto, merging into him.

Blood-colored light exploded up from Naruto, and he threw his head back and roared. His eyes were bright red, filled with a bloodthirsty, icy light. He took a step forward, and then transformed into a huge sea of blood that shot toward the Paragon!

He planned… to use the Blood Demon Grand Magic… to consume Mythdragon!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1372

Chapter 1372 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1372: Mythdragon Perishes!

Mythdragon was a mass of blood and gore. He had just managed to avoid being killed by the fourth arrow, but the injuries he had sustained from that arrow were still critically severe. If he were at the peak level of his power, then he had ways to significantly minimize the damage. But now… he could do no such thing.

Miserable, bitter laughter rang out from Mythdragon as he fled at top speed. The sensation of deadly crisis in his heart had not lessened, and in fact, he had the feeling that he might not be able to make it out of this situation alive. However, even as bitterness and anguish rose up in his heart, he saw Naruto suddenly lower his bow.

But then, Naruto began to glow with a blood-colored light, and emanate a sensation of madness, even a thirst for blood.

The sight caused Mythdragon's heart to tremble. Naruto closed in, and the ocean of magic followed close behind, but was incapable of catching up to him.

Naruto was surrounded by a massive glow of blood. Having fused with the Blood Demon, and unleashing the Blood Demon Grand Magic in this way, he now didn't look like an Immortal Divinity, he looked like a Demon Immortal!

All of this takes quite some time to describe, but actually happened in the briefest of moments. Naruto was now bearing down on

Mythdragon, who clenched his teeth viciously. He knew that he could not escape what was about to happen, and quickly turned to face Naruto's charge.

The two slammed into each other, and the sea of blood that was Naruto swept over Paragon Mythdragon as the Blood Demon Grand Magic was fully unleashed.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the ocean of magic closed in.

Mythdragon screamed, breaking free from the sea of blood, which then transformed into a blood-colored roc. With a piercing cry, the roc began to chase Mythdragon.

Numerous blood-colored mountains appeared, as well as the Paragon

Bridge, which also emitted a blood-colored glow. Blood sprayed out of Mythdragon's mouth, his cultivation base power having long since dropped from the level of a Paragon to that of an Imperial Lord.

At this point, there was little he could do to fight back against Naruto. He could only laugh bitterly as Naruto in roc form grabbed onto him and unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic again.

In the blink of an eye, boundless Chakra and blood power was sucked out of Mythdragon's body, to be madly absorbed by Naruto. Mythdragon struggled, but there was no stopping what was happening. Beneath their feet, the 16th Heaven was collapsing rapidly, and at the same time, the ocean of magic was barreling toward them.

Off in the distance, Xuan Namikaze watched silently, sadness flickering in his eyes. He knew that Mythdragon… would not be able to escape. Although Xuan Namikaze was adept at strategy and warfare, there was nothing he could do to help Mythdragon in this situation.

Even Xuan Namikaze himself felt a sensation of deadly crisis. He was having a difficult time dealing with the attacks of the Paragon puppet, and was in full retreat, coughing up blood the entire time.

At the same time, the seal over the Mountain and Sea Realm was beginning to show signs of crumbling beneath the combined bombardment of the Three Great Daoist Societies, the three young men who wielded the Doyen treasures, the ordinary Mountain and Sea cultivators, Paragon Sea Dream, and Patriarch Reliance.

Once that seal was broken, the Mountain and Sea cultivators would burst out upon an Outsider army which now lacked Paragons. Having no Paragons meant certain defeat!

The greatest danger was now to the moon. It was surrounded by Outsiders, none of whom were backing down in the slightest. There were also Imperial Lords there who were dead set on destroying it. It didn't matter if their Paragon was dead, or even the rest of the army, they would accomplish their mission.

They would ensure that the moon… ceased to exist.

All aspects of the war seemed to have reached a critical mass, ripe to explode!

The first such explosion would not be Naruto, nor the Paragon puppet. Despite the fact that Ksitigarbha was fighting it out to the bitter end, the moon couldn't evade or dodge, and was surrounded by Outsider cultivators. Their combined attacks finally caused the moon to collapse, sending countless fragments and rubble out in all directions.

BOOM!

The moon… was no more….

As it collapsed, Ksitigarbha coughed up a mouthful of blood. Even as his bitter laughter rang out… a second boom rang out.

It was the second explosion to ring out in this critical moment. This time, though, the sound emanated from the seal over the Mountain and Sea Realm. The beams of light which had descended from the 17th Heavens and above, were collapsing due to the combined power of all the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators!

Cracks spread out in all directions, eventually joining together until the seal shattered like a giant mirror. Heaven and Earth went dark, and the starry sky shook, as countless Mountain and Sea cultivators burst out, brimming with madness and killing intent.

The Three Great Daoist Societies, Paragon Sea Dream, numerous Dao Realm experts, the three young men wielding the Doyen treasures, all burst out from within the Mountain and Sea Realm.

However, it was in that moment that a third explosion rang out, from the location where Naruto and Mythdragon had been fighting. Mixed within the booming explosion was an unyielding roar.

That roar came out of the mouth of Mythdragon, who was completely enveloped by the sea of blood. His fleshly body was withering rapidly as his Chakra and blood, cultivation base, and soul were all being rapidly absorbed!

It wasn't that he hadn't attempted to self-detonate. Naruto's timewalking technique, coupled with the serious injuries that had been inflicted, dropped Mythdragon's power below that of a Paragon, and he simply couldn't!

He could only watch, wide-eyed, as Naruto's Blood Demon Grand

Magic sucked away his Chakra and blood, his cultivation base, and his soul!

"I won't… give in!" Mythdragon's woeful laughter echoed out until it ended with a muffled grunt. The enormous black dragon closed its eyes as it sank down forever into the sea of blood.

As of this moment, a Paragon had perished!

More accurately speaking, this was the second Paragon to die in the war between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the 33 Heavens. The first could be considered to be Eegoo, who had been transformed into a puppet.

The surrounding Outsiders were in shock as they watched Mythdragon die. Then, terror began to rise up within their hearts and minds.

"Paragon…. Our Paragon… perished?"

"Th-this… is impossible…." The Outsiders were completely flabbergasted. The forces who were in the 17th through 33rd Heavens were dumbstruck, including the powerful experts among them, who felt their hearts palpitating.

The sea of blood seethed as Mythdragon vanished, after which the blood began to congeal, growing smaller and smaller until it was the shape of a person with Naruto's face.

His face was pale, he was emaciated, and he bubbled with swirling curse power. However, he completely ignored that as he looked up at the seal that had constrained the Mountain and Sea Realm, which was now crumbling, and the massive swarms of cultivators charging out into battle. Then he looked over and saw the moon collapsing.

Finally, he turned to look at Xuan Namikaze , who was bearing the brunt of a fist strike from the Paragon puppet. Blood sprayed out of Xuan Namikaze 's mouth, and bitter laughter rang out. Suddenly, even as the Paragon puppet closed in on him, Xuan Namikaze suddenly… began to initiate selfdetonation!

Xuan Namikaze was choosing to blow himself up!

He was well aware that, just like Mythdragon, he was destined to perish. He also knew that if he died fighting, he might be able to kill some enemies in the process. But that wasn't how he wanted to end things.

Taking a few enemies out wasn't satisfactory to him; he wanted his death to bury the whole Mountain and Sea Realm!

Madness gleamed in his eyes. Because of his mastery of the Essence of Time, it was essentially impossible for anyone to prevent him from selfdetonating. The Paragon puppet's eyes flickered, and it suddenly backed up. The soul light that originated with Choumen Tai vanished, and the puppet was once again completely connected to Naruto.

Naruto looked on with a grim expression on his face.

Xuan Namikaze 's mad laughter filled the starry sky, echoing out in all directions.

He didn't want to admit it, but he knew that he had been defeated. Completely and utterly defeated. In fact, his defeat could not be any more thorough. The nail in the coffin was that Naruto was now reconnected to the Paragon puppet!

The discarnate soul which had appeared had locked Xuan Namikaze down, and he had finally come to understand how brutally decisive Naruto was. He could only laugh bitterly. Before the battle had begun, neither he nor any of the other Outsiders in the 33 Heavens could possibly have imagined… that the war would be this difficult.

In their minds, this war would be one in which the 33 Heavens exterminated the Mountain and Sea Realm. They wouldn't even need the help of those two other powerful forces. They could do it all by themselves.

But now… the fighting had reached the point that Xuan Namikaze was struck with a sudden feeling….

"Is it possible that the 33 Heavens… will actually lose in the end?" Xuan Namikaze could sense that Mythdragon's spiritual soul and physical soul had both dispersed. Looking over at Naruto congealing out of the sea of blood, he said, "Naruto… you've beaten me in this battle!

"I made two mistakes. The first is that I should have risked everything to strike you down that first time. I should have struck hard and ensured that you were completely and utterly dead! I knew that you were important, but I mistakenly took you too lightly….

"My second mistake was underestimating the Mountain and Sea Realm. We should not have split up our forces….

"Hear me, my brothers in the 17th through 33rd Heavens. You must remember everything that you have seen happen here. When you descend, do not split up your forces. Attack in unison. Go all out to destroy the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Spare nothing. Do not vacillate because of thoughts of living or dying. If you do… victory cannot be certain. As for the two 8-Essences Paragons, I hope that my death in this battle… will be avenged by the two of you. Take Naruto's head and place it as a trophy upon my grave!

"To all of my people who are here fighting the Mountain and Sea Realm right now, there is no retreat in this battle. If you retreat… you will die. There is no home to return to. Your homes… will all be destroyed!

"If you want a chance to live, then you must fight to the bitter end! In that case, even if you die, it won't be long before the rest of our people come to avenge us!

"In war, there is no right or wrong. There is only victory and defeat!

"I am Paragon Xuan Namikaze , and I hereby sacrifice myself to help the 33 Heavens destroy the Mountain and Sea Realm!" Xuan Namikaze threw his head back and laughed, then swished his sleeve. Blinding light began to radiate off of him, as well as powerful ripples. Then, the explosive beginning of the self-detonation began to erupt.

At the same time, the other Heavens which were under his control began to move, transforming into what looked like sharp blades that… began to stab down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Vicious, suicidal grimaces of madness appeared on the faces of the millions of remaining Outsiders. As the land masses descended from above, they charged murderously toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Use these land masses to crush the Mountain and Sea Realm. That was my plan all along, and will make my name infamous for all eternity.

Therefore… I shall build that infamy to an even higher level right now!" Xuan Namikaze threw his head back and laughed with deranged madness.

Chapter 1372: Mythdragon Perishes!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1373

Chapter 1373: Mountains Crumble, Seas are Destroyed!

Using the land masses as battering rams against the Mountain and Sea Realm truly was an act of madness. It was a strategy that Xuang Namikaze had begun to unfold with the 2nd Heaven, and had then entrusted to Mythdragon to fully carry out. However, the price to pay was a steep one: the wrath of the entirety of the 33 Heavens.

Only if the plan resulted in a grand victory could it have potentially been accepted. But now… Xuan Namikaze would never see any such victory; he was moments away from perishing.

"After I die… the true deluge will come!" Xuan Namikaze 's laughter rang out, filled with madness. Since he had already sacrificed the 2nd Heaven and the other land masses in a deadly attack, he didn't object to sending everything else to crush the Mountain and Sea Realm at his hour of death.

This was the only way left that he could deal an unprecedentedly critical blow to the Mountain and Sea Realm, and thus, buy a chance for the 17th Heavens and beyond to gain victory.

"This… is all that I can do," he said. He waved his sleeve, sending the land masses down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm, surrounded by millions upon millions of Outsiders.

Then, Xuan Namikaze closed his eyes, whereupon a Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering power of detonation was unleashed!

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Xuan Namikaze exploded. This was not a partial Paragon self-detonation like what had occurred with Mythdragon's clone. This was a full and complete Paragon self-detonation. His cultivation base had not dropped, and although he had sustained injuries, he still had the full cultivation base of a Paragon.

He was even able to add his own Essence into the explosion. The starry sky was set aflame, the Heavens shook, and the entire Mountain and Sea Realm vibrated.

The power of the self-detonation did not just blast about wildly. Instead, Xuan Namikaze managed to direct the power of the blast into a propelling force which sent the Heavenly land masses down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm with indescribable speed.

Although the Mountain and Sea Realm had prepared to be battered by Heavenly land masses, this barrage was unlike anything that had happened before. This time, the land masses were being propelled by the force of Xuan Namikaze 's self-detonation, making them like deadly blades that stabbed down with incredible force.

The war was now erupting with unprecedented intensity!

Booms echoed out continuously. The starry sky trembled, and the lands quaked. Upon the land mass closest to the Mountain and Sea Realm, the seas evaporated and the mountains crumbled. The entire mass of land crumbled and then burst into pieces.

The Three Great Daoist Societies attacked in unison, drawing upon their most profound Daoist scriptures, unleashing their most shocking Daoist magics. The Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite spared no cost to summon numerous Dao projections to fight against the incoming land masses.

The Sublime Flow Sword Grotto formed a majestic sword formation of 1,080,000 flying swords, which whistled up to meet the land masses.

The Nine Seas God World had sustained the most casualties of all, and yet called upon equally terrifying resources. Countless Sea Dragons flew out, along with innumerable cultivators. Numerous God World gates appeared which, upon opening, unleashed one giant after another.

The giants then linked arms, forming a huge wall that braced for the impact of the land masses of the various Heavens.

The disciples of the three Doyens also put everything on the line, joining forces to unleash a shocking attack with their magical items!

Paragon Sea Dream's face was pale white, and blood was oozing out of her mouth. Ignoring any negative effect it would have on her already serious wounds, she flew out toward the land masses and began to attack them.

The Paragon puppet was now under Naruto's control, and it also launched forth.

Then there were Naruto and Ksitigarbha. As of this moment, they were doing everything they could to block the incoming land masses.

The land masses of the various Heavens were being blasted apart. And yet, the fragments and rubble continued to shoot down at incredible speed, piercing into the Mountain and Sea Realm. Wherever they passed, mass destruction was wreaked. Cultivators were smashed to death like ants beneath mighty hands of destruction. Miserable screams rang out constantly.

Vast hosts of cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm joined forces, unleashing a sea of magical techniques that rose to meet the land masses. And yet… there was nothing they could do to stop the onslaught.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

A massive remnant of one of the land masses, despite being broken and in ruins, was still mighty enough to evaporate the Third Sea, and even slam into the Third Mountain.

The Mountain began to crumble!

The Sea was destroyed!

Light arrows shot out from Naruto's location, slamming into the various Heavenly land masses, bashing them to pieces. However, there was only so much he could do. Even with the added efforts of the Three Great Daoist Societies, Paragon Sea Dream, and everyone else, only about seventy percent of the land masses could be destroyed, which wasn't enough to save that Mountain and Sea.

Soon, the Third Mountain was in a state of complete collapse. The Mountain and Sea Realm was in chaos. Countless cultivators couldn't hold back from screaming in agony as they watched the Third Mountain crumble into rubble. Tears streamed down cheeks, especially among the cultivators who were originally from the Third Mountain and Sea.

Their home… was gone….

The Xuanwu turtle atop the Third Mountain died an agonizing death. The Third Mountain vanished, and the sound of its destruction rang in the ears of the Mountain and Sea cultivators. More and more of them began to weep.

Next was the destruction of the Fourth Sea!

It transformed into nothing more than a mist. Then came the Fourth Mountain…. The Fourth Mountain and Sea represented reincarnation, and the underworld. But now, it was shattering into nothing.

Henceforth, there would be no sun or moon in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Nor would there be any reincarnation….

More people began to weep, and yet, those tears led to even more unswerving determination.

The apocalyptic rubble of the various land masses incinerated the Fifth Sea before it finally came to a stop. Xuan Namikaze had resorted to selfdetonation, ending his own life, and yet unleashing an unprecedented level of damage and destruction onto the Mountains and Seas.

The number of cultivators who died was impossible to count….

Furthermore, the Mountain and Sea Realm had gone all out with its power to block the attack; had it not, then the destruction would not have stopped at the base of the Fifth Mountain!

The Mountain and Sea Realm would have sustained even more severe casualties.

Now that the bombardment of the Heavenly land masses had ended, the army of Outsiders poured in. The war had reached a fever pitch with such rapidity that people had almost no time to consider how to react.

Cultivators and Outsiders alike were unable to process it all.

And yet, the fighting did not stop. The millions upon millions of Outsiders were met by countless Mountain and Sea cultivators, whose tears flowed as they fought back against the onslaught.

Paragons attacked. Dao Realm experts attacked. Imperial Lords held back no divine abilities. As soon as the two sides met, blood flowed. Everything was stained with red, and the starry sky glowed with crimson light.

The flames of war raged in front of the Fifth Mountain. Blood flowed like seawater, and the din of slaughter rang out constantly. By this point, the Paragon-level fighters were limited in what they could do. After all, the Outsiders were many… but there were also Mountain and Sea cultivators on the battlefield, and it could be difficult to distinguish between the two.

Furthermore, the Outsiders attacked with complete insanity, ensuring that the fighting was close and fierce. The battlefield soon turned into a vast sea of blood.

Naruto was there on the battlefield, and wherever he went, death followed. His eyes were crimson as he glared at the surrounding Outsiders, and by this point, he had no need to unleash magical techniques to carry out slaughter. He transformed into a sea of blood that washed over them and absorbed their life force.

Sea Dream was there, as was the Paragon puppet. Both of them were using similar tactics as Naruto to unleash the power of Paragons to dispatch the Outsider Imperial Lords, which were now all dead. The Mountain and Sea cultivators fought with madness, and the Outsiders with complete viciousness. The slaughter being carried out was shocking.

When those on the front lines grew exhausted, there were others behind them to who were happy to continue the fight. The battle stretched on outside of the Fifth Mountain, and it was hard to say when it would end.

The number of Outsiders was dropping at a horrific rate. With the Three Great Daoist Societies, the Doyen disciples, and the combined power of all the other Mountain and Sea cultivators, they ensured that, despite facing millions upon millions of Outsiders, their superior position made them like a grindstone that crushed all of the Outsiders who charged the Fifth Mountain.

The entire time, the 17th through 33rd Heavens looked on reticently. They did not interfere in any way, but simply watched, observing the tactics and methods of the Mountain and Sea Realm, committing them to memory and using augury in order to prepare ways to deal with and neutralize them.

Eventually, the fighting ended. A vast sea of blood now existed outside the Fifth Mountain. The bedraggled remnants of the Outsider army began to fall back, and the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators let them go, too exhausted to pursue.

Naruto's vision was fading, and his cultivation base was drying up. He bit the tip of his tongue to regain some clarity, then looked down to find his clothing so soaked with blood that it was sticking to his body. It felt disgusting.

He looked up into the starry sky for a moment before sitting down crosslegged and closing his eyes to focus on healing. When he did that, the sound of the weeping of the Mountain and Sea cultivators drifted into his ears.

They wept for their homes. They wept for their friends and family who had fallen in battle. They wept because of the grief which filled their hearts.

Bitterness washed over Naruto as he realized that the war wasn't over. And yet, despite all odds, the Mountain and Sea Realm… had eked out another victory!

They had survived against the 1st Heaven's onslaught, resisted the 2nd through 6th Heavens, and blocked the 7th through 16th Heavens. The price they had paid was immense. Four entire Mountains and Seas had been destroyed, and countless cultivators had died. The sun and moon had been lost. And yet… they had still come out victorious!

Despite all that, little joy could be found in the hearts of the fighters.

Everyone was exhausted. Xu Qing, many members of the Namikaze Clan, and other faces familiar to Naruto had all participated in the battle. Now that the fighting had stopped for the moment, everyone was lost in their own thoughts and feelings.

When they looked up into the starry sky, it was with mixed emotions. Everyone knew that the war wasn't even half over. Soon, they would face… the 17th through 33rd Heavens.

That would be… the final battle!

The final battle for the Mountain and Sea Realm! The enemy would be prepared to counter the techniques they had used in the fighting thus far. Furthermore… even more powerful Paragons would be coming.

At that time….

One side would be wiped out, or the other would!

By means of Xu Qing, Paragon Sea Dream sent orders out into the various Mountains and Seas regarding how to rest and reorganize. The sea of blood outside the Fifth Mountain was filled with restrictive spells, as was the Fifth Mountain. The Mountain and Sea Realm sprang into action. Most cultivators buried their tears and focused on carrying out the tasks assigned to the various sects and clans by Paragon Sea Dream.

The Namikaze Clan was completely mobilized, as were all of the Mountain and Sea Lords.

It was at this point that Naruto received a request from Paragon Sea Dream….

"The 33 Hells… should be opened. Naruto… I will pick 33 Chosen from the Mountain and Sea Realm to go with you into the 33 Hells and acquire the legacies therein!

"You must become stronger! Furthermore, the 33 Chosen I select must search within the 33 Hells for their own personal… Dao!

"It is there that Paragon Nine Seals… left incredible good fortune behind for the later generation of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"You and the Chosen will have ten months. After ten months pass, the

17th through 33rd Heavens will descend, and the final battle for the

Mountain and Sea Realm will begin…."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1374

Chapter 1374: Returning to the 33 Hells!

"Of course… the 33 Hells contain falsehoods and danger…." After a moment of silence, Sea Dream went on to elucidate to Naruto the various dangers to which she referred.

Naruto's eyes glittered, and after hearing her description, he nodded his head.

Time passed.

For the time being, the warfare ceased. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, hearts filled with grief and reticence, carried out the orders of Paragon Sea Dream, making preparations in various areas… to meet the onslaught that was coming in ten months!

Everyone was preparing for that final battle, causing profound pressure to weigh upon the hearts of everyone in the Mountain and Sea Realm. It was as if… they would either die in silence, or explode with savagery!

Some people contemplated whether or not the Mountain and Sea Realm would even exist by the time the war ended. However, such lines of thinking were like a bottomless pit that left one feeling frozen, without even the strength to continue breathing.

Because of the destruction of the sun and moon, the Mountain and Sea Realm was left with only the blackness of empty space.

Within that darkness, the mortals sat trembling in fear, and even the cultivators felt pressure weighing down on them.

After carrying out the tasks assigned by Paragon Sea Dream, many of the cultivators chose to return to their family and friends. Such time spent with loved ones was something to be cherished at a time like this.

There were some male and female cultivators who had been close friends for years, and yet had developed more deep feelings that they never had the courage to reveal. Now, hearts were bared, and declarations of love were made.

There were some people with longstanding grudges and enmities who chose to finally let such hard feelings go….

It was as if people were preparing for their own deaths, and cherishing the time they had left.

Some people pondered why this war was happening. Half of the 33 Heavens had been destroyed, and half of the Mountain and Sea Realm was lost. The number of Outsiders and Mountain and Sea cultivators who had died was vast.

Why… were they fighting…?

What was the purpose of this war? What was the purpose of the dying? What was the meaning of it all?

However, such questions weren't really important. What was important was that the war would continue, and the fragile balance between life and death… would reveal the true difference between darkness and light.

The Mountain and Sea Realm rested and recovered. As various parties made final preparations for war, Naruto met with the 33 Chosen whom he would lead into the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

The majority of those 33 Chosen were strangers to him. The rest, he was familiar with, for example,HebiYin. None of the Chosen from the Three Great Daoist Societies were participants.

To Naruto's delight, Might Guy and Wang Youcai were among those present. Although Fatty wasn't there, to have these two long-time comrades present helped Naruto to recall some of his former wonderful memories, despite the pressure that weighed down on his heart.

The rest of the cultivators from the other Mountains and Seas were people who Naruto didn't recognize. However, they knew exactly who he was, and as soon as they laid eyes on him, their eyes burned with zeal.

None of these Chosen had cultivation bases in the Dao Realm. All were in somewhere in the Ancient Realm, some being in the early stage of that realm, some at the very peak.

As soon as they met, all of the Chosen clasped hands and bowed.

"Greetings, Crown Prince!"

"Greetings, Crown Prince of the Mountains and Seas!"

Might Guy wore a smile as he looked at Naruto, and it seemed as if he were thinking back to events in the Reliance Sect.

Wang Youcai had long since lost the use of his eyes. However, his murderous aura made him almost look completely forbidding and unapproachable. Despite his lack of eyes, he seemed to be looking at Naruto. After a moment passed, he clasped hands and bowed.

Li Ling'er's emotions were the most mixed of all. Recently, more than one person had asked about the marriage engagement between her and Naruto. The way she had fled that marriage years ago now seemed very childish. Later, she had watched as Naruto rose to prominence, and seen his dazzling display of might in the war of the Mountains and Seas.

She sometimes wondered what would have happened if she hadn't fled that marriage….

Even though Naruto had also chosen to flee, in terms of the law and of morality, she was technically Naruto's beloved partner.

Ji Yin had even more mixed feelings. Originally, she had viewed Naruto as being inferior to her. Eventually, she took him to be an equal. But that was a long time ago. Eventually, he had risen to the same level of her own clan Patriarch, someone to whom she had no choice but to bow her head.

She had once believed that such a level was the absolute limit. But then war had broken out, and she came to realize that Naruto… had long since exceeded the level of a Patriarch.

He was the type of person toward whom anyone and everyone would bow their heads.

Naruto looked around at the Chosen, and then slowly began to speak.

"I have been to the 33 Hells before," he said. "It is a location that

Paragon Nine Seals prepared for the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. There, he left incredible good fortune in the form of thirty-three powerful experts, sealed therein since of the war of the Paragon Immortal Realm.

"Those experts' fleshly bodies were destroyed, but their souls remained behind. They are like wellsprings of power, and if you can absorb them, your cultivation base will advance by leaps and bounds!

"However, the process is not as simple and easy as it sounds. There is great danger.

"If you fail in your effort, you will perish…. Furthermore, even if you succeed, and your cultivation base experiences incredible growth, the price you will pay… is that in the future, you will find it very difficult to make any further advancement with your cultivation base!

"You will essentially be terminating any future possibilities. However, in exchange… your cultivation base will be no less powerful than that of a Dao Sovereign. In addition, if you are willing to sacrifice some of your longevity, to part with some of your own life force Essence, then… you can acquire a cultivation base power that exceeds that of a Dao Sovereign. However… that will only last for a single sixty-year-cycle, after which you will die forever."

Upon hearing this, the thirty-three Chosen gaped in shock. This explanation was somewhat different from their previous understanding. However, after seeing the serious look on Naruto's face, they could sense… that he was telling the truth.

The thirty-three Chosen remained silent, but none of them backed out.

Naruto looked out at the group, then said, "Upon entering, I will escort all of you. We will go together to acquire the good fortune that exists within the 33 Hells. Another matter to consider is that within the 33 Hells are thirty-three Outsider beasts, which will be released when the 33 Hells dissipate." Much of the explanation that Naruto was giving was information that had been given to him by Paragon Sea Dream.

"There is still time to back out now. However, if none of you wish to do so… then let us proceed into the 33 Hells!"

Naruto could see the determination and decisiveness within those thirty-three pairs of eyes. They didn't need to speak a single word for him to understand what was going on in their minds.

If the Mountain and Sea Realm ceased to exist, then there was no need to talk about any type of future whatsoever. Taking this good fortune was a gamble, as well as a huge self-sacrifice, and yet it gave the Mountain and Sea Realm a chance to survive.

Without another word, Naruto flicked his sleeve, transforming into a beam of light that carried the entire group toward the 33 Hells of the Eighth Mountain and Sea. As they neared that region of complete darkness, Naruto relied upon the power of his current cultivation base to forcibly open the entrance.

Upon entering, the thirty-three Chosen found themselves within a boundless mist, beneath which broken and shattered lands were just barely visible, a place where intense magical battles had been fought.

Gradually, a huge figure became visible within the mists, which seethed as a mighty roar echoed out. Suddenly, a long iron chain flew out in the direction of Naruto and the others.

At the same time, a voice rang out which shook the minds of all present:

"Hungry… hungry… so hungry…."

For everyone behind Naruto, this was their first time coming to this place, and the incredibly shocking figure left their minds on the verge of lapsing into unconsciousness.

Naruto snorted coldly, waving his finger in the direction of the iron chain.

"Screw the hell off," he said.

The snort echoed like thunder, leaving the crowd behind him shaken. His words seemed to carry the weight of natural law, and as the iron chain closed in, it began to tremble, and then simply exploded.

Naruto's voice was like an arrow that pierced the mists, transforming into countless invisible magical symbols that shot toward the enormous figure. Then he waved his finger back and forth, causing the entire world to rumble around them, and the mist to churn. Gradually, all of the mists began to move off to either side.

Soon it was revealed… exactly what had been lurking there in wait!

It was a giant, covered in iron chains, roaring. Based on the look in its eyes, it was sentient, and it trembled beneath the force of Naruto's gaze.

"This is the first Outsider beast within the 33 Hells," Naruto said coolly. Then, he proceeded forward, followed by all the Chosen.

They passed by the giant, who roared the entire time, and yet whose eyes were filled with dread. Clearly, what it feared was not the thirtythree chosen, but rather, Naruto.

It feared Naruto, and the intensely murderous aura upon him!

It was an aura that no one else could detect without a sufficient cultivation base. However, those who could sense it would be able to tell… that he had cut down Paragons!

Naruto led the group toward the central stone stele of the first area, and when they reached the edge of the rift leading inside, the giant behind him suddenly spoke in a somewhat garbled voice, "You… have killed… Paragons?"

"Yup. I killed one, enslaved another, and forced a third to self-detonate. You are far from being a Paragon, so don't worry, I won't kill you." With that, Naruto stepped into the rift. The crowd behind him exchanged speechless glances, and then hurried to follow.

Li Ling'er wore a strange expression, and Might Guy chuckled hoarsely. Wang Youcai's lips quivered. Although none of them said anything, Naruto's words seemed exceedingly audacious to them….

As for the chain-wrapped giant, he gasped in fear, shock filling his face. His simple brain was not one that was inclined to mind games. He could sense the aura on Naruto, and could understand his words, and was left shivering. Finally, he bowed his head.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1375

Chapter 1375: I've Been Waiting!

As he entered the rift, Naruto explained, "The souls which have been sealed in the 33 Hells are all devious rogues. As for the Outsider beasts, they have varying degrees of intelligence, but we'll just overawe them with words and threaten them with my cultivation base, they'll back down.

"This will make it much easier for us to deal with them."

Most of the group responded with thoughtful expressions, except for those few who knew Naruto. Strange looks could be seen on their faces, and they coughed dryly, but refrained from saying anything.

"Simply put, you have to terrify them!" After emphasizing that point, he led the group into the necropolis. Based on what he remembered from the last time he was here, he quickly led them toward the main temple. As he proceeded along, he could see out of the corner of his eye that everything was as he had left it: bare and almost completely cleaned out. He took that in stride, of course.

However, everyone else looked around with wide eyes. Every single necropolis chamber they passed, they saw broken down walls devoid of frescos, and floors which had been completely cleared of tiles. Many areas were so lacking in decoration that they almost seemed to have been gnawed clean by dogs….

Gasps could be heard coming from the mouths of the Chosen.

"Not good! Someone's actually been in here before!"

"W-what brutality! Whoever came here before cleaned everything out!

Everything's gone…."

"I can't believe that they didn't even spare the floor tiles…."

"Dammit, don't tell me it was the Outsiders!"

The Chosen were all shaken by what they were seeing, even Li Ling'er and the others who knew Naruto. Only Might Guy hesitated for a moment, then glanced over at Naruto.

Naruto was in the lead position, and when he heard the things everyone was saying, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed. Instead of launching into an explanation, he merely increased his pace, leading the gasping, astonished group all the way to the central necropolis temple, where Greed was sealed.

When they arrived, the Chosen burst into a commotion at the sight. This was the largest necropolis chamber of all, and also the one which had been most thoroughly looted. With the exception of the very centralmost area, everything had been completely and utterly cleared out.

"This is preposterous!"

"There's not even a spot of mold left behind! Dammit, this was definitely the Outsiders!" The Chosen were all completely incensed. However, it was at this point that a face suddenly appeared within the ball of soul fire in the central area. That face appeared to be completely enraged.

"Dammit, it's you again…. What are you planning to do this time!?

"You scammed away a bunch of my life force Essence and looted all of the funerary objects in my necropolis. You even dug up the floor tiles and stole the frescoes! Dammit, you bastard, you left nothing behind.

What do you want now!?

"Naruto!" A begrieved howl echoed out through the entire necropolis. The group behind Naruto gasped and shifted their gazes to look at him. It was almost as if they were truly seeing him for the first time, and strange expressions appeared.

They had been incensed at whoever it was who had gone so far as to even scrape up the floor tiles of all the areas they had passed. How could they ever have come to the conclusion that the culprit was actually… Naruto?

"This…. This…."

"Ahem… the exalted Crown Prince truly is formidable…."

Everyone began to chuckle wryly, and when they glanced at Naruto, odd looks could be seen in their eyes. Gradually, the image of Naruto which they had built up in their minds was being subverted.

Suddenly feeling a bit down, Naruto frowned and gave a cold harrumph as he strode over toward the ball of soul fire. In response, a scream echoed out from within the fire.

"Stay away, dammit! Get back, you shameless bastard. You're even more shameless than the jinx from way back when!"

Naruto looked back at the Chosen and explained: "I already absorbed some of this soul fire a few years ago. What's left is just a fragment. It won't help you people now." With that, he extended his right hand. Ignoring the screams from the face, he made a grasping motion, causing the soul fire to be dragged over into his hand. That in itself caused the sealing columns which surrounded it to collapse.

Then Naruto clenched his hand tightly into a fist, causing the soul fire to disappear into his palm. After absorbing it, he stepped into the previously sealed area. Clearing his throat, he hesitated for a moment. After a moment of thought, he ignored the people behind him, produced a flying sword, and proceeded to pry up all of the floor tiles, even as everyone watched.

The Chosen stared with slack jaws at the incredible proficiency with which Naruto quickly cleared out the entire area, even going so far as to collect up the collapsed columns. Then, after brushing off his sleeves, he suddenly stamped his foot down onto the ground, causing a rift to appear.

"Alright, let's go to the 2nd Hell." As Naruto stepped into the rift, the Chosen exchanged dazed glances. Naruto's behavior just now had completely toppled any previous notions they had about what he was like. After a short moment of hesitation, they followed him into the rift.

In the 2nd Hell, they once again bore witness to Naruto's domineering personality….

"Can you sense my murderous aura? Well let me tell you. I killed a Paragon, enslaved another, and then forced a third one to selfdetonate!" In the 2nd Hell was an Outsider beast formed completely from flames. Currently, it was trembling in the face of Naruto's aggressiveness. Considering the pressure and aura that radiated off of him, the beast was completely terrified.

Then, the Chosen watched as Naruto scraped the 2nd Hell's necropolis completely clean…. It was as if a gale wind had passed, leaving behind not even a single blade of grass….

Habits like that, and such personality traits, could not simply be changed….

Naruto then realized that doing everything on his own was taking too long, so he quickly called the other Chosen over for assistance. "Come come, we don't have much time," he said. "Give me a hand here. Help me clear this place out."

Might Guy laughed loudly and quickly stepped forward to help. Li Ling'er covered her mouth, andHebiYin's face darkened. Wang Youcai's lips continued to twitch. As for the other Chosen, they exchanged embarrassed glances, and yet couldn't bring themselves to refuse, and quickly began to help.

This was something the likes of which they had never done before. All they could do was sigh inwardly, and tell themselves that maybe the reason Naruto was so powerful was because he did things like this.

After scraping everything clean, they eventually reached the central necropolis temple of the 2nd Hell. The soul fire there was much more powerful than Greed's, and as soon as the group entered the hall, an incredible pressure exploded out. However, Naruto merely snorted coldly. Unleashing his cultivation base, he stepped forward and suppressed it.

With Naruto's current cultivation base, bolstered by the blessing of the power of the Mountains and Seas, coupled with the restrictive spells within the necropolis, it was a simple thing for him to suppress the souls here. Roars echoed out from the soul fire, and yet there was nothing it could do to fight back.

It was here that one of the thirty-three Chosen was left behind to absorb the good fortune that was the soul fire of a powerful expert from the past. If this Chosen failed, he would die, but if he succeeded, his cultivation base would advance by leaps and bounds. If he went so far as to sacrifice some of this longevity, then he would leap past the Dao Sovereign level to become an Imperial Lord for a full sixty-year-cycle!

After leaving one of the Chosen behind, Naruto led the group into the 3rd Hell. Then the 4th Hell and the 5th Hell…. As they went along, he cowed the Outsider beasts with his tale of killing and enslaving Paragons, of forcing them to self-detonate.

At first, the Chosen stared in shock, but eventually, they got used it, and finally grew indifferent. Furthermore, the nervousness they had felt upon entering the 33 Hells gradually faded away.

After watching Naruto suppress one soul fire after another, and leaving behind various Chosen to absorb them, they gradually grew very much at ease.

In the end, Naruto didn't even need to say anything. As soon as his murderous aura spread out, the other Chosen would jump in to help proclaim his words.

"He killed a Paragon, enslaved another, and forced a third to selfdetonate! Scared? Well screw the hell off!"

Eventually, Naruto didn't even need to organize the efforts to clear out the necropolises. The strange feeling the Chosen had at first was long gone, and now they were very familiar with the process. In the end, they even exceeded his expectations, finding certain areas that he hadn't noticed, and clearing them away. Naruto couldn't help but sigh in praise.

Eventually the weight of their burden, and the wariness they had felt when they had first entered this place, was completely gone. Now, their journey into the 33 Hells seemed more like a vacation….

7th Hell. 8th Hell. 9th Hell….

The number of Chosen who were following Naruto grew fewer and fewer. At each soul fire, he left behind a Chosen, who would laugh and say goodbye to Naruto and the group. However, behind their laughter was staunch determination and decisiveness.

"Crown Prince, I'll be fine here. I hope you clear even more things out than we have so far! Fellow Daoists, I wish you luck in acquiring your good fortune…." It was in such fashion that farewells were made at every soul fire location.

Time passed. 15th Hell. 16th Hell. 17th Hell…. Eventually, they passed through the 31st Hell. Then the 32nd. And finally the 33rd!

It took roughly a month for Naruto to pass through all 33 Hells. By that time, there were no Chosen in his company. In a few of the soul fire locations, the soul fire was far too formidable for a single Chosen to absorb, and he had left behind more than one.

Therefore, by the time he reached the 33rd Hell, he was alone. The 33rd

Hell was in the deepest region of the void, and upon entering, Naruto saw a young man sitting cross-legged atop a mountain peak.

He wore a green robe, and gave off an icy feeling. Apparently, whoever this was, it wasn't his true form, but rather, a clone!

An alcohol flagon rested in front of him, from which he would occasionally sip. Down below, at the base of the mountain, there was a wide valley, which was completely empty.

As Naruto approached, he looked around with flickering eyes, until his gaze eventually came to rest upon the young man. For some reason, this place felt different than the other 32 Hells. There was no necropolis, no Outsider beast, no soul fire. There weren't even any seals or restrictive spells. It was as if Paragon Nine Seals hadn't left any restraining measures here at all.

The green-robed man on the mountain seemed very strange to Naruto. He was obviously a clone, and yet his cultivation base was unreadable. In one moment he seemed to seethe with unending rage, and in the next, he seemed calm and peaceful.

The young man looked up at Naruto, and his eyes flickered with ancientness. "So you've finally come… I've been waiting a long, long time for you…."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1376

Chapter 1376: The State of Clear Water….

Naruto's eyes glittered as he stared at the green-robed young man. Saying nothing, he walked forward and then appeared on the mountain peak.

"I've been waiting for you for a long time," the young man murmured. "In fact, it's been so long I've lost track of exactly how much time has passed…. I just vaguely remember that I fought a man once. We had a wager going, and if I lost, I promised to do a favor for him.

"I promised to wait here for someone… to give that person my Hexing magic."

Naruto's eyes began to shine as he said, "Your excellency is…?"

"I've forgotten. This isn't my true form, it's only a clone. I forgot what my name was. I only remember… that place." The young man shook his head and pointed down toward the valley at the base of the mountain.

Naruto looked down in the same direction, but didn't see anything other than the valley itself.

"Can't see it? Well… that's nothing unusual. My Hexing magic has many names. Back then, that man I fought told me that he had a similar Hexing magic, although it wasn't as close to its fundamental Essence as mine.

"He speculated that, years later, someone from among his successors might be able to use his First Hex to unravel the other Hexing magic he had. However, because of the bizarre nature of that particular Hexing magic of his, it seemed unlikely that it could be passed down from generation to generation.

"Therefore, he hoped that I would be able to wait here for the right person, and pass on my Hexing magic to him."

The young man smiled, looked Naruto calmly in the eyes, and said, "After all the years that have passed, you are the first person to ever come to me. Apparently, you are the person I've been waiting for.

"Come."

Naruto studied the young man for a moment, then smiled. He felt no fear, nor any reason to defy him. He approached, and as he did, the young man's eyes glowed with praise. After Naruto came to stand directly in front of him, the young man said, "Now, take another look."

Naruto turned to look back at the valley at the foot of the mountain. In that very instant, light and color exploded in his eyes.

The once empty valley now had a walled city inside of it. Apparently, it was an entire country, complete with a Forbidden Palace, nobility, and commoners!

The city itself was populated by over a hundred thousand people.

Most shocking of all to Naruto was that among all those people, regardless of whether they were young or old, man or woman… from the Emperor down to the common people, everyone had exactly the same aura!

That aura also matched the green-robed young man's. Perhaps ordinary cultivators wouldn't notice these phenomena without deep study. However, Naruto noticed it, and in that same moment, the ancient Demon Sealing Jade within his bag of holding began to vibrate.

Soon, Naruto realized that all of those more than 100,000 people… were clones!

They were all clones of the young man in the green robe!

Naruto took a deep breath as he studied the city down below. The Emperor was studying various reports, the concubines were bickering in the harem, the ministers were enjoying life, the common people were spending time with their families, and the streets were abuzz with activity.

Street peddlers called out, people ate and drank, people argued and fought, people laughed and joked. The voices merged together into a cacophony that made the entire city seem incredibly realistic. In fact, it was almost impossible to believe that the entire place… was actually populated by an entire world of clones.

Furthermore, the name of the city was written above the city gate.

It was three characters long.

State of Clear Water!

"This Hexing magic isn't something that was passed down to me by my Master. I gained enlightenment of it myself. Not even my Junior Brother could use it. Ah, well, it doesn't matter. I'll pass it on to you to resolve this bit of Karma. 1

"Whether or not you can master it will depend on your luck." The young man shook his head and smiled. Paying no more attention to Naruto, he turned and floated up into the sky.

"I've already forgotten how many years have passed. Finally, I can live up to the agreement. And now… the time has come for me to leave. I'm only a stream of divine will, really nothing compared to my true form. I've been gone a long time, and I miss some of those old faces from the past.

"Well, I'm off then." The young man waved his sleeve, and as he floated higher into the air, he gradually began to glow blurry. Soon he turned into countless motes of green light which spread out and then vanished.

Naruto looked back down at the valley, and realized that everything was becoming blurry. He immediately sat down cross-legged and focused his mind. He watched as the figures down below began to fade away. The city began to dissipate, and even the words "State of Clear Water" vanished. Soon, the only thing left behind was the valley.

"Hexing magic. Demon Sealing Hexing magic….

"With the exception of the Hexing magic I need to create, I've collected all of the others except for the First and the Fourth. Clearly, this isn't the First, which means that it must be… the Fourth Hex!"

Naruto's mind trembled. Based on his current cultivation base, he actually didn't need much Chakra and blood, or energy of Heaven and Earth to step into the bottleneck that would come before a breakthrough. Right now, he actually had two paths available to him. One path was to completely pass through the Ancient Realm.

The other path was to collect all the Hexing magics and then turn them into Essences.

One of those paths involved cultivating the bloodline of the Allheaven

Dao Immortal. The other was that of the Hexing magic of the League of Demon Sealers. They were both valid paths, although the first one would take more time, and would require more cultivation base, Chakra and blood. Yet what all that yielded was merely an increase in the chances of successfully extinguishing his Soul Lamps.

As far as the second path went, it required enlightenment and good fortune.

Naruto sat there silently, looking down at the valley. Finally, he closed his eyes, and everything which he had seen earlier appeared in his mind. As he began to analyze it, he slowly slipped into a trance.

Most people would have a difficult time understanding a Demon Sealing Hexing magic by just looking at it once. But Naruto was different. He was the Ninth Generation Demon Sealer, and already had command of six different Hexing magics. Furthermore, he had already successfully turned the Eighth Hex into the beginnings of Essence.

To him, as long as he had the basic elements of a Demon Sealing Hexing magic, and the right direction, then he would be able to come to an understanding of it.

Time passed. While Naruto analyzed the Fourth Hex, the thirty-three Chosen within the 33 Hells all reached critical points within their processes of absorbing and understanding the soul fires and the good fortune they contained.

The 33 Hells were very quiet. Simultaneously, time slowly passed by outside in the Mountain and Sea Realm. The war preparations were mostly complete, and the cultivators cherished the last bit of time they had before the rest of the 33 Heavens descended, spending time with their dearest and most loved friends and family.

Up above in the starry sky, the 17th through 33rd Heavens were gradually becoming visible, and it even seemed possible to see the apex of the starry sky.

Beyond the 33 Heavens, in the void of the Vast Expanse, were two land masses that vastly exceeded the 33 Heavens in size, which were approaching with indescribable speed.

Their goal was obviously the Mountain and Sea Realm!

By this point, they were very close….

In fact, it was possible that they might arrive… just as the war was finishing.

More time passed. Four months went by, four months of waiting beneath a sky that had no sun or moon. Four months of waiting… for the truly abysmal pitch black that was coming.

All thirty-four individuals within the 33 Hells were at critically dangerous moments of their transformations. The previous silence was broken by the occasional scream or howl.

The process of acquiring the good fortune there was a painful one for the thirty-three Chosen. After all, during the process of trying to absorb the soul fire, they also had to ward off possession attempts.

Furthermore, because of the restrictive spells in place, if they were possessed, they would be instantly killed.

The exact process was different for everyone, but regardless of how it went, it involved pain. By now, each and every one of the Chosen was bedraggled, with disheveled hair that made them look almost like ghosts. However, they clenched their teeth and continued on with bloodshot eyes.

"I can't fail…."

"I have to succeed!"

"If I have to sacrifice my longevity, and end up with only a sixty-yearcycle of life, then I'll do it to protect my clan…."

"I refuse to die in this place! If I'm going to die, I want to die fighting the Outsiders!"

Explosions could be heard, as well as screams, causing the 33 Hells to be filled with tumult.

In the very depths of the place, in the 33rd Hell, Naruto sat crosslegged on a mountain peak, looking down into the valley. Gradually, he came to see a valley that was no longer empty. Instead, the vague outline of a city was taking shape….

However, that city was not the State of Clear Water, but Yunjie County instead. There was a mountain there, beneath which was a flowing river.

People could be seen within the city, vague images without faces.

However, as Naruto's enlightenment deepened, the figures' appearances gradually became more and more clear.

There were men and women, old people and young. They looked different, and yet every single one… had Naruto's aura. In fact, if he wished to, he could instantly become any of those figures.

They were his clones!

The Fourth Hex, was… a Mass Cloning Hexing magic! Its name was… the Self Hex!

Massive amounts of clones, massive amounts of one's own self!

By unleashing it to the limit, any one of those clones could become the seed for a new life. With those clones, reincarnation could never be destroyed. As long as one of them existed, one's consciousness could be awoken.

Naruto lost track of time. Lost track of everything. He immersed himself in the Hexing magic. Eventually, more and more people appeared in the city, and he began to give all of them unique consciousnesses.

Only by possessing a unique consciousness could they truly think.

Furthermore, all of the clones possessed an invisible thread that connected them to Naruto. He was like the center, with countless nodes spread out to form a web. Everything within that web was an extension of him.

Gradually, the people in the city began to live their own lives, to the point where a newcomer who looked at the scene would have a hard time telling that it wasn't real. However, Naruto still wasn't satisfied. As he continued to analyze and gain enlightenment, as the Demon

Sealing Hexing magic became more clear, more and more versions of Yunjie County appeared. Gradually, those cities all formed together to become a vast country….

By the time the tenth month arrived, there was no longer a country surrounding him, but rather, three countries…. Within each of those countries lived countless people, all of whom… were Naruto.

It was at this point that among the thirty-three Chosen, some died, and some… emerged!

Important Note: Er Gen accidentally went directly from 1376 to 1378.

There is no chapter 1377

Renegade Immortal info incoming: It seems highly likely that this is a reference to the country of the same name which appears in Renegade Immortal, as early as chapter 105. Furthermore, a person with the same name was a supporting character who viewed MC Wang Lin as his "Junior Brother," which makes it likely that the Junior Brother mentioned in this passage is Wang Lin. That character hasn't appeared in the translation yet, but will eventually. If you transliterate "Clear Water" it becomes Qing Shui, which would be that character's name ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1378

Chapter 1378 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1378: 8-Essences Arrive!

The first to emerge was none other than Wang Youcai!

In the beginning, he was not among the most powerful of the group of

Chosen; quite to the contrary, his cultivation base had been the lowest. He was even the worst in terms of latent talent. However, his willpower and determination was something that left even Naruto impressed. The entire Ninth Mountain and Sea had witnessed his vicious tactics, and were left rattled.

In order to join a powerful sect, and in order to pursue the Dao, he had dug his own eyes out, all in order to fix within his mind that final image, that final Dao projection he had seen before losing his sight.

He acted the same within his sect. However viciously he treated others, he treated himself even more so. When others in the 33 Hells had cried out in anguish because of the pain, his reaction had been to laugh.

He laughed viciously the entire time he absorbed the good fortune of the soul fire, and did not hesitate to sacrifice some of his longevity and life force Essence in exchange for an incredible advancement in cultivation base!

He completely passed beyond the Ancient Realm and stepped into the Dao Realm. He became a Dao Lord, a Dao Sovereign and finally, an Imperial Lord!

In the end, the will which existed in the soul fire was also moved by Wang Youcai's ruthlessness and relentlessness. Eventually, it too began to laugh, and almost willingly allowed its life force to merge into Wang Youcai.

After breaking through and then emerging, he transformed; his hair was white as if with age, but when he sent his cultivation base power surging out, everything went dark, and the entire world of the 33 Hells shook.

More people came out after Wang Youcai, but few had made such incredible progress. It wasn't until Li Ling'er emerged, with hair as white as Wang Youcai's, that another aura similar to an Imperial Lord's radiated out.

Li Ling'er's appearance had changed. She was no longer young; instead, she looked like an old woman. She had forsaken her youth and beauty in exchange for a shocking cultivation base. In sixty years, she would die, but that was her choice!

In contrast to what Naruto would have predicted, Might Guy did not choose to sacrifice his life force. Nor did he even reach the level of a true Dao Sovereign, but rather, the 5-Essences level. He came out slowly, a seemingly emotional expression on his face, almost as if he were hesitating about something.

Ji Yin, on the other hand, chose to make the same decision as Li Ling'er!

As the Chosen flew out, energy surging, the entire 33 Hells trembled. Of the entire group, twenty-four emerged, with the other nine… being forever interred within the 33 Hells. They had failed in their attempt to acquire good fortune, and were dead for all eternity.

As for the twenty-four Chosen who did acquire good fortune, eight of them had chosen to sacrifice some of their longevity. That group acquired cultivation base power equivalent to an Imperial Lord. Of the rest, more than half were now as strong as true Dao Sovereigns, with a few being at the 5-Essences level or so.

Regardless of the final outcome for each individual, their fates had completely changed now that they had successfully emerged. As they came out, the hells crumbled behind them, layer by layer. Then, they collectively chose to wait for Naruto.

During the ten months that had passed, all of these people who had obtained good fortune had been unable to sense the progress of those around them. Now, when they sent their cultivation base power out, they could tell that Naruto… was still in the deepest 33rd Hell.

As the various Hells collapsed, Outsider beasts emerged, but didn't dare to even get near the group which was waiting there.

Several more days passed, but Naruto still hadn't come out. As they waited there silently, they could tell that Naruto's aura was gradually fading away, which caused them to frown and look to the cultivator among them with the most powerful cultivation base, Wang Youcai.

After a long moment passed, Wang Youcai turned and headed toward the exit of the 33 Hells, simultaneously speaking to everyone behind him. "Let's go. The fighting outside will begin soon. Waiting here is pointless. The good fortune Naruto seeks will surely be greater than ours; naturally, he needs more time than us.

"I only have a single sixty-year-cycle of life, and I don't want to waste any of it. I want to fight!" Despite the fact that his eyes were nothing but dark pits, they somehow seemed to glitter with a strange light. Even as his words continued to echo about, he vanished through the exit.

The other Chosen looked around silently, then clasped hands and bowed to the collapsing Hells. Finally, they turned and flew out. Li Ling'er sighed inwardly and followed them. As for Might Guy , he seemed to be in somewhat of a daze. Looking down at the Hells, it seemed as if he were peering into their deepest depths, but if one looked closely, one would see that he was actually gazing at the place where he had acquired his good fortune, the 19th Hell.

"How… should I choose what to do…?" he thought bitterly. Looking away, he concealed the confusion inside of him and flew away.

Meanwhile, out in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the final battle with the 33 Heavens was beginning!

The starry sky was shaking, and various areas were being ripped open. Soon, the land mass that was the 17th Heaven became visible in complete detail!

Above it was the 18th Heaven, the 19th Heaven… all the way to the 33rd Heaven. They were all visible now.

Massive pressure weighed down, along with shocking energy. Rumbling filled the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm as the 17th Heaven… began to descend, as did all of the other Heavens, all the way to the 33rd!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The starry sky was torn to pieces as a massive tempest sprang out in all directions. Two figures emerged from the Heavens, a man and a woman. In terms of appearance, they didn't seem to be Outsiders at all, but rather, ordinary cultivators.

However, their eyes shone with an indescribable coldness, as if all other living things were nothing more than ants to them.

Indescribable pressure radiated out along with them, and as they descended, the Mountains trembled and the Seas churned. Countless cultivators coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

It was Paragon pressure, and not that of the 7-Essences level, but… the 8-Essences level!

These were the two strongest Paragons in the entire 33 Heavens. These were… 8-Essences Paragons!

Behind them was a huge army of Outsiders from the 17th through 33rd Heavens. From the mere look of it, this army seemed unending, filled with tens of millions of Outsiders, all of them exceedingly powerful.

There were even some enormous magical items that flew out from the armies. There were statues, tens of thousands of meters high, there were enormous trees and freezing coffins. Even more shocking was that toward the back of the army was an enormous red sun!

In addition to all that, there were other legendary types of Outsiders. Most astonishing… were the giants, tens of thousands of meters tall. From the look of it, those giants could grow even taller than they were now. They had stars on their foreheads, and radiated intense, ancient auras.

There were other vicious-looking entities who had leathery wings, and were extremely conspicuous among the other forces.

Further off in the distance were tens of thousands of Black Dragons, and beyond that, a sea of flames.

This time, the 33 Heavens were holding nothing back. All of their power was being unleashed in their attempt to destroy the Mountain and Sea Realm. They wanted to strike fear into the hearts of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, and considering the vast size of their army, and the presence of their Paragons, it really didn't seem as if the Mountain and Sea Realm had any chance of coming out on top.

Suddenly, a cold, ancient voice rang out into the starry sky. The

Outsiders heard it, as did the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Kill them all… leave no one alive."

It was one of the two 8-Essences Paragons, the woman. In response to her words, the huge army of Outsiders let out a roar that could shake Heaven and Earth. Then, they poured toward the Mountain and Sea Realm like floodwaters.

As for the female Paragon, she turned into a beam of light, her energy sweeping about as she closed in on the shield which had been formed over the past ten months to protect the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The single swipe of a finger caused cracking sounds to emanate out from the shield, which then shattered. Countless fragments of the shield exploded out in every direction, whereupon the Paragon took a step forward… to appear on the Fifth Mountain! There, she stamped her foot, causing rumbling sounds to echo out. Then, in the blink of an eye… the mountain collapsed.

The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm stared in shock at this sudden development.

However, it was in the same moment that cries rang out from different areas within the Mountain and Sea Realm. Suddenly, three temples appeared in the vicinity of the female Paragon. Within those temples were three old men. They were none other than… the Doyens!

The three great Doyens of the Mountain and Sea Realm were no longer hiding in the shadows. They appeared all at once to suppress the female Paragon. At the same time, Naruto's Paragon puppet was joined by Paragon Sea Dream to also attack the same Paragon.

Further off in the distance, the Three Great Daoist Societies gathered their disciples and magical devices, drawing fully upon all of their resources to meet the army of Outsiders.

Beyond that position, Xu Qing sat in a command pavilion, constantly sending out orders into the army of Mountain and Sea cultivators, coordinating the deadly battle with the Outsiders.

The members of the Namikaze Clan, as well as other sects and clans, all appeared on the battlefield to fight. There were even people from the Wang Clan.

The chaotic final battle was now underway. However, up in the starry sky, there was another 8-Essences Paragon, the man. His expression remained calm as he turned his gaze to the depths of the Mountain and Sea Realm, to Planet South Heaven in the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

"So, it's you," he said softly. He took a step forward, vanishing. Unexpectedly, when he reappeared, he was in the heart of the Mountain and Sea Realm, directly outside of Planet South Heaven.

In almost the moment he appeared, Planet South Heaven's spell formation erupted with killing intent. The 8-Essences Paragon completely ignored it, though, stepping forward to appear on a certain mountain peak on Planet South Heaven.

That mountain peak was where Shui Dongliu stood. He spun around to face the 8-Essences Paragon, and when their eyes met, no words were spoken. They both vanished, and in the wake of their departure, a massive boom echoed out, which completely leveled the mountain and the lands beneath their feet, leaving behind only a huge crater!

That crater led to the core of Planet South Heaven, where a flaming sea of magma existed.

It was in this exact moment that, back in the collapsing 33 Hells, Naruto's eyes suddenly opened. He looked around to see all of the cities and the people in them, and suddenly, everything stopped moving. Gradually, the scene around him transformed into shimmering motes of light which floated toward Naruto and them merged into him. His eyes then began to glow with shining light.

Chapter 1378: 8-Essences Arrive!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1379

Chapter 1379: Incredible Power

"The Fourth Hex… Self Hexing!" Naruto watched the world vanishing in front of him, and all of the various clones of himself fading away. Finally, he rose to his feet.

His cultivation base had not experienced any transformations, but now, he no longer had six Hexing magics, but seven!

"I'm now only two Hexing Magics away from the full nine. One of them is the original First Hex, and the other is my own Ninth Hex, the final one!" As Naruto thought back to all the different times he had acquired Hexing magics throughout his life, he sighed.

Turning, he waved his hand, causing his Soul Lamps to appear. He had a total of 33, with 10 of them being extinguished and 23 still burning.

"There are Seven Desolations, and I have already passed the first two. Now, after having consumed the power of Paragon Mythdragon, I can start the Third Desolation!" Naruto's eyes shone with a bright light as he focused on his 11th Soul Lamp.

"The Third Desolation, the Desolation of the heart…." After a moment of thought, Naruto extended his right hand and pointed at the Soul Lamp. A wind blasted out, and the flame was extinguished, transforming into green smoke that poured into Naruto's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

As he closed his eyes and sat down quietly, there were no changes to his fleshly body or to his soul. However, his heart… felt as if an enormous hand had begun to squeeze down on it.

Thump-thump!

Naruto's face paled as pain stabbed into his heart. In addition to the pain afflicting the actual organ, his figurative heart also filled with pain. It was like endless grief and loss that turned into complete emptiness.

Sweat began to pour down his forehead, and he began to tremble. There were no hallucinations, but the pain made him feel as if the entire world was dead, and he was the only thing left in Heaven and Earth.

"No…." he murmured. Suddenly, he threw his head back and bellowed, a sound filled with intense pain. It was as if he could not bear such loneliness, and wished to tear apart the Heavens and everything else.

The 33 Hells were still in a state of collapse, but when his powerful cry echoed out, a blast of energy erupted out above him, smashing into the lands above him, creating a huge vortex.

Countless ruins and pieces of rubble swirled into that vortex, with Naruto at the very center of it. There were also dozens of Outsider beasts, all of them trembling as they looked at Naruto. Apparently, the pressure and emotion radiating off of him were affecting them.

"The Seven Desolations… sounds impressive, but they are truly only seven tribulations, seven torments." Naruto opened his eyes and then slowly reached up to rub his chest over the location of his heart.

"The Third Desolation, the Desolation of the heart…." Sighing, he stood. His cultivation base had increased by a bit. Before, he had already exceeded the level of an Imperial Lord, and yet was still a step away from the Paragon level. With this current increase, he couldn't quite complete that step, but he was immeasurably close.

As he looked around, his energy surged, encompassing all of the collapsing 33 Hells, and all of the Outsider beasts, and causing incredible pressure to weigh down.

"Acknowledge allegiance, or die!" he said, not by means of his voice, but by means of divine will. All of the surrounding Outsider beasts could immediately detect his words.

They had already been terrified by the murderous aura Naruto emitted, having killed a Paragon. In response to his words, they maintained silence, and eventually bowed their heads.

In that instant, Naruto transformed into a beam of light that shot toward the exit, followed by the roaring group of Outsider beasts from the 33 Hells.

"The ten months have passed," he murmured. "The fighting must have already resumed outside…." He increased his speed, and moments later, shot out of the exit.

By the time that Naruto burst out from within the 33 Hells, fierce fighting had erupted within the Mountain and Sea Realm. Tens of millions of Outsiders were attacking viciously. Because of the numerous Dao Realm experts present, as well as the giants, the Mountain and Sea Realm was being pushed back in successive losses.

It was in that exact same moment that Wang Youcai and the others returned from the 33 Hells. Without the slightest hesitation, they waded into the fighting, finding the powerful experts among the Outsiders to do battle with.

The addition of these more that twenty Chosen, in concert with the Mountain and Sea Lords, ensured that the disparity between the two forces' elite-level cultivators was not as great. Now, the Mountain and Sea Realm's retreat slowed.

An 8-Essences Paragon destroyed the Fifth Mountain with the stomp of a foot, and yet that very same Paragon was now being pinned down by Sea Dream, the Paragon puppet, the three great Doyens, and others. However, they were not her match. The female Paragon snorted coldly and then performed an incantation gesture, causing an enormous vortex to sweep out in all directions.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Blood sprayed out of Sea Dream's mouth, and the same thing happened to the three great Doyens. The Paragon puppet's chest caved in. Everyone was forced to retreat, being completely incapable of standing in the way of the 8-Essences female Paragon.

"What a bunch of insects!" she said. A single step took her past the entire group into the Sixth Sea, where she reached out and pushed her hand down viciously.

Instantly, a ball of green flame appeared in her hand, which rumbled down into the water. It only took a moment for the entire Sixth Sea to begin to boil and dry up!

Countless denizens of the Sixth Sea screamed in agony as they succumbed to the heat and died.

The Sixth Sea was destroyed!

The entire battle now seemed somewhat one-sided. Although the Mountain and Sea Realm had evened the odds in terms of the elite-level cultivators, the 33 Heavens were fighting with everything they had at their disposal. The giants' skin was incredibly tough, and every stride they took forward was something the Mountain and Sea cultivators were powerless to stop. If they tried, they were crushed into pulp.

The army of tens of millions of Outsiders pushed the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators back with deadly force. Miserable screams rang out as the Mountain and Sea cultivators were powerless to do anything except retreat. Gradually, a distinct sensation of despair began to grow within the hearts of the forces of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Faced with this level of power, it was as if their previous preparations had all been for naught.

"This war has gone on for long enough," said the 8-Essences Paragon, her voice cool. "Today… it ends." She took another step forward, toward the Sixth Mountain. Her goal was clear; she wanted to destroy each Mountain and Sea in the Realm as quickly as possible.

When that happened, only the cultivators would remain, and they could be easily dealt with.

Sea Dream and the others watched with bloodshot eyes, and although they tried to interfere, they couldn't even get close. However, just when the 8-Essences Paragon seemed on the verge of setting foot onto the Sixth Mountain, the 17th Heaven suddenly shuddered, as though some enormous force were separating it from the other Heavens and sending it toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

However, if you looked closely, you would see that it wasn't heading toward the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, but rather… the Outsider army.

This sudden twist caused the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators to stare in shock. The Outsiders were equally astonished. Even the female Paragon stopped in her tracks, spinning around to look at the land mass that was the 17th Heaven.

"I should have known that there would be sleeper agents in the 33 Heavens!" she said, her face darkening. She took another step, this time heading toward the 17th Heaven. Then, she reached out and made a violent grasping motion, causing an enormous boom to ring out as the entire 17th Heaven was shattered. The whole land mass instantly collapsed into ash.

Even still, the 8-Essences Paragon was unable to determine who it was that had done such a thing. Frowning, she scanned the battlefield, but could turn up no clues.

"It wasn't Windswept, he's under strict surveillance. If it wasn't him,

then who was it?

"Well it doesn't matter. With power like ours, we can crush anything that gets in our path." Snorting coldly, the female Paragon waved her right hand toward the sun that existed within the army of Outsiders. Instantly, that huge sun radiated boundless light, shrinking down as it shot in her direction. It then swirled around her, quickly transforming into a set of armor.

With that armor, the 8-Essences Paragon's battle prowess rose even higher. She quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then waved her hand out at her army, causing the Outsiders to be stimulated by some unseen force. One by one, they threw their heads back and howled. Their eyes began to glow red as their battle prowess increased, and they then resumed fighting with increased ferocity.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators suffered instant setbacks. The casualties were severe as they were relentlessly shoved backward across the battlefield.

The female Paragon then turned and headed back toward the Mountain and Sea Realm. Once again, she appeared above the Sixth Mountain, which she struck with a palm. The Sixth Mountain began to vibrate, and moments later, its Xuanwu turtle shattered. As its agonized scream rang out, the entire Sixth Mountain… was destroyed!

The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were shaking and in complete despair, and some began to rave. The first to do so were powerful experts from the Three Great Daoist Societies, who unleashed all of the divine abilities they could; some even self-detonated.

However, in the moment that the Sixth Mountain collapsed, three dazzling beams of light shot out from within the rubble of the mountain. Instantly, they locked down onto the position of the female Paragon, where they transformed into a triangular sealing mark, completely trapping her!

"That's all you've got?!" she laughed coldly, seemingly taking it all in stride. In her original attempt to destroy the Sixth Mountain, the sudden development had occurred with the 17th Heaven, leaving her no choice but to destroy it. At that time, she had guessed that the Mountain and Sea Realm was now resorting to calling upon sleeper agents within the 33 Heavens to try to delay her. In that case, they would most certainly have other tricks planned.

Therefore, the sudden appearance of this sealing mark from within the crumbling Sixth Mountain was nothing surprising. However, even in the moment in which she prepared to cast off the sealing mark, the three Doyens, who had only just made their appearance in the battle, suddenly blurred and disappeared from their current locations. Shockingly, when they reappeared, they were positioned at the corners of that triangle!

"I am the Sublime Spirit Doyen!"

"I am the Dao Divinity Doyen!"

"I am the Heaven Severing Doyen!"

"Our mission has been to wait until your arrival, and use our lives, use our Daos, to seal you tight!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1380

Chapter 1380: Three Scriptures Seal the Almighty!

"We didn't take action before, and even when you first made your appearance we only focused on defense!"

"Today, we three will repay our debt to the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

"Three Scriptures Seal the Almighty!" These three Doyens were extremely mysterious figures. For countless years, they had never made a single appearance. The scriptures they cultivated had been disseminated in the world, but had not actually been created by these individuals. The Doyens were merely the guardians of the scriptures.

The three old men sat down cross-legged and closed their eyes, whereupon the magical symbols of the scriptures began to swirl around them and form a sealing mark!

They planned to use the power of their scriptures to seal this female Paragon!

"We shall sacrifice our longevity to power the three classic scriptures and seal you. It will not be an eternal seal, but it will last long enough to alter the state of this battle!"

The 8-Essences Paragon frowned and waved her right index finger.

However, she was incapable of breaking open the sealing mark.

Meanwhile, Paragon Sea Dream and the Paragon puppet burst back onto the battlefield, using their Paragon power to completely change the state of the battle.

"You really think you can change the tide of battle like this?" the 8Essences Paragon said with a laugh. Even as her laughter rang out, a seemingly unremarkable Outsider inside the army suddenly began to tremble, then looked up and screamed. Then, his body began to swell, and unexpectedly, he began to absorb numerous surrounding Outsiders. Within the space of a few breaths of time, he had transformed into a huge ball of flesh fully 3,000 meters across, which hovered there in the starry sky.

That ball of flesh actually had facial features, and if you looked closely, it resembled a head. When the eyes opened, they glowed with coldness. At the same time, laughter rang out.

"Interesting. It seems that I need to make an appearance after all." The ball of flesh then rapidly shrank down into the shape of a person.

It was a middle-aged man wearing a long red robe. He was very oddlooking, with an extremely large head that seemed disproportionate to his body. A twisted smile could be seen on his face, and a murderous aura sprang out as he took a step forward toward Sea Dream and the Paragon puppet.

As he appeared in front of them, Paragon Sea Dream's face fell, as did the faces of all the other powerful experts. Even the three great Doyens' eyes widened.

"This aura…. You're not cultivators of the 33 Heavens. You're from… those other two powers!"

At this point, more than ten other Outsiders within the huge army began to roar, grow in size, and absorb nearby Outsiders. Soon, more than ten powerful experts had appeared on the battlefield.

Although their cultivation base fluctuations didn't put them at the

Paragon level, based on their battle prowess, they were equivalent to Imperial Lords. As soon as they appeared, they began to laugh as they charged toward the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators.

Their auras were very strange. Clearly, they weren't Mountain and Sea cultivators, nor were they cultivators from the 33 Heavens. There was even a force of expulsion pushing against them, although it was incapable of actually driving them out!

That was because they had not come as their true selves, but instead, had used their souls to perform a sort of possession, and thus force their way in.

Shockingly, one of these new arrivals possessed one of the giants, who suddenly grew far larger than before. Throwing his head back and howling, he charged forth into battle; as he did, the stars on his forehead began to spin, causing an intense murderous aura to flare up.

In the briefest of moments, the Mountain and Sea Realm once again began to suffer heavy losses.

The Seventh Sea was no more, and the Seventh Mountain… was being besieged by millions upon millions of Outsiders. It didn't take long before that same mountain began to collapse into pieces. Once again, the battle was completely out of balance.

As of this moment, there were only two Seas and two Mountains left in the entire Realm!

It was a moment of grave crisis, and seemingly impending destruction. Millions upon millions of Outsiders were now under the leadership of numerous powerful experts, who led them into the Eighth Sea. However, it was at that point that a light arrow suddenly shot out from the Eighth Mountain, which almost instantly appeared in front of the giant with the stars on his forehead.

Roaring, the giant clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out at the arrow.

A huge boom echoed out as the light arrow shattered. However, the

giant let out a muffled groan as he staggered backward. Simultaneously, his right arm exploded, and much of his body was severely damaged. Blood sprayed out of his mouth even as a second light arrow closed in. However, that arrow didn't slam into the giant, but rather, the Eighth Sea itself!

The Eighth Sea had long since been laced with restrictive spells, which were now activated by that light arrow, causing the entire Sea to begin to roar. Countless rings of light appeared on the surface of the water, which rose up and then exploded in shocking fashion.

Instantly, miserable shrieks began to ring out as countless Outsiders were shredded to pieces by the explosive restrictive spells.

Of course, those deaths didn't count much when compared to the size of the Outsider army as a whole, and couldn't even be called a serious blow. The effect on their morale was significant though.

"Who are you?!" bellowed the armless, seriously injured giant, throwing his head back and roaring. All of the other powerful experts who had recently appeared also turned to stare at the Eighth Mountain.

There, a bright light appeared, which shot out from the Eighth Mountain at top speed toward the battlefield.

It was none other than Naruto!

Shockingly, he was followed by scores of Outsider beasts. It was impossible to determine how, but he had somehow incited them to follow his orders. Roaring, they shot toward the battlefield with vicious expressions on their faces.

The tide of battle was constantly shifting in numerous unexpected ways. Of the two 8-Essences Paragons, one had begun to fight Shui Dongliu, after which the two of them had vanished. As for the other, she was temporarily sealed in place by the three Doyens.

Paragon Sea Dream and the Paragon puppet were currently fighting a desperate battle with the large-headed cultivator.

Naruto's appearance on the scene changed things once again. He stopped the advance of the Outsider army, and yet simultaneously, was now facing the charge of the more than ten recently arrived powerful experts, some of whom were giants.

As Naruto began to fight them, the army itself once again began to march into the Eighth Sea. Before long, the sea itself was vanquished, and the army proceed onward toward the Eighth Mountain.

It was at this point that a light sigh suddenly rang out, and someone flew out from the Ninth Mountain and Sea to appear in front of the Outsider army. Shockingly, behind this person could be seen an illusory world, almost as if he had come from within that world itself.

"I've come to help, little brother," said an ancient voice, filled with warmth and kindness. This person was a young man, whose expression was that of extreme loneliness. It was as if he should never have appeared in this day and age, and yet, here he was.

It was none other than… Ke Jiusi!

He had come from the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, which had long since faded away into history, to appear on this battlefield. As soon as he appeared, another sigh could be heard from the illusory world behind him. That sigh came from… true spirit Night!

As the sigh echoed out, Night apparently opened his eyes within that illusory world. In that very instant, fully a million Outsiders suddenly vanished. When they reappeared, they were in an era of time that no one could see. They were back in the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect, during its most flourishing and golden era. Instantly, fighting broke out!

Ke Jiusi was not the only person to appear at this critical moment in the battle. A Daoist couple suddenly flew out from the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Behind the woman were countless cultivators who had blank expressions on their faces, and yet seemed filled with madness and insanity. As for the man, every step he took caused freezing ice to spread out through the starry sky. It was as if he was walking upon frost soil!

These two were none other than… Frost Soil Demon Emperor Han Shan and his wife!

"Naruto, young friend, I've come." Han Shan's appearance on the scene caused ice to spread throughout all Heaven and Earth.

Although his cultivation base was not very high, his debut filled the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm with a new desire to fight, with new braveness. After Han Shan, LordHebiappeared, as did Grandpa Uzumaki.

Then came the experts of the Namikaze Clan.

All of the various sects from the Ninth Mountain and Sea joined in. Naruto even saw Fatty. Although he was obviously frightened, he instantly flew into battle with the Outsiders. And then there was Naruto's Master… Pill Demon, who also began to fight in this final battle with the Outsiders.

There were many familiar faces who all came to the Eighth Mountain to fight….

The Eighth Mountain was the battlefield, and it was filled with Outsiders and Mountain and Sea cultivators. Bitter and deadly fighting caused rumbling explosions to echo out constantly. Faced against such an endless sea of Outsiders, everyone put everything on the line to fight.

Naruto was shaken, but there was no time to ponder his apprehensions. He was incapable of going to personally help the people that he knew, and was instead forced to fight these powerful experts who were clearly not from the 33 Heavens. Their divine abilities and techniques were things that he had never seen before.

That was especially true of the giants, whose formidable fleshly body power was absolutely terrifying.

Booms rang out, and people were dying left and right. Naruto's eyes were bloodshot as he called upon the full level of his cultivation base to levy one deadly attack after another. He used the Mountain Consuming Incantation to summon numerous mountains, and he transformed into an azure roc, with infinitely sharp talons.

The Blood Demon appeared, roaring, and the Paragon Bridge descended to crush all. Naruto was almost like a phantom who flickered back and forth to fight more than ten enemies at once.

A boom rang out as one of the giants coughed up blood. A look of disbelief could be seen on his face as his chest caved in under one of Naruto's fist strikes. His heart was shattered, and blood sprayed out everywhere, completely soaking Naruto.

"God blood? Not very pure, but good nonetheless." Sensing the extraordinary nature of the God blood, Naruto flickered into motion, once again leaping into the fighting. Spitting some blood out of his mouth, he faced off against the dozen or so enemies and then began to laugh heartily. Waving his hand, he summoned the copper mirror, which transformed into the Battle Weapon. Then the meat jelly flew out and became a suit of armor.

"Alright, bring it on!" Naruto roared, laughing madly, a ferocious expression on his face. His friends and family were all fighting bitterly, how could he not stand by their side!?

Off in the distance, the Three Great Daoist Societies were fighting with all the power they could muster. The boom of self-detonation occasionally rang out, as the Mountain and Sea Realm fought with utter madness. By now, they had fought the Outsider army to a standstill, and were no longer suffering successive defeats.

The Outsiders were finally facing the true madness of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Suddenly, a voice rang out from the collapsed ruins of the Sixth Mountain. "This is all useless. This time, you people will be completely wiped out!"

It was none other than the female Paragon. By now, the three Doyens who surrounded her were withering away into skin and bones. However, they still held on. It was at this point that their disciples flew toward them, sitting down behind them cross-legged to support them with their own longevity!

"How long can you keep me pinned down?" the Paragon asked. "Your three classic scriptures are extraordinary. Paramount Daoist scriptures from the Paragon Immortal Realm. Unfortunately, your cultivation bases are not at the Paragon level. Therefore, how could you possibly keep me sealed for any length of time? In fact, are you even capable of holding on right now? The moment that I'm free, is the moment that the Mountain and Sea Realm… will face complete and utter destruction!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1381

Chapter 1381: Fierce Killing!

The 8-Essences Paragon remained within the triangular sealing mark. As she looked out at the Mountain and Sea Realm, she spoke, her voice cool, "The Mountain and Sea Realm is doomed…. All bloodlines will be wiped out. Nothing will remain. The fact that you have been able to keep fighting till this point shows that the 33 Heavens truly underestimated you people.

"However… with absolute power like ours, you will fade away into the passage of time. The glory of the Immortal World should have become nothing more than ash. The fact that you are still gasping for life will merely ensure that, through all history, Immortals will be scorned and derided."

As her words echoed out, they could be heard by all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"I'm curious. Did you people actually think that there was still hope for you? After the 33 Heavens are the other two great worlds, the Devil Realm and the Immortal God Continent. Those two great powers are immeasurably close….

"What makes you think your trifling Mountains and Seas could possibly fight them? Your bloodlines will be expunged. Your minds will be erased.

None of you… will survive."

As the 8-Essences Paragon looked out at the Mountain and Sea Realm, nothing she saw there was worthy of her gaze, not even Naruto. Instead, she focused on a location that only she could see, between the Eighth and Ninth Mountains. There, the other 8-Essences Paragon was fighting someone who even she could not completely fathom. He was also the only person who could strike fear into her heart.

As for the other mysterious experts who existed, either they didn't wish to make a move against her, or for various other reasons were content to simply observe what was happening.

"Shui Dongliu…. You are simply a body possessed by a discarnate soul. In that case… what exactly are you trying to accomplish? This war was obviously fated to play out this way." The 8-Essences female Paragon frowned. The fact that she couldn't unravel this mystery caused doubt to bubble up in her heart.

The war of the Mountains and Seas continued. The Eighth Mountain shuddered as the Outsider army fought bitterly with the Mountain and Sea cultivators. Heaven shook and the Earth quaked. The starry sky was shattered, and even the Eighth Mountain itself was beginning to crack and crumble.

Paragon Sea Dream and the Paragon puppet were still fighting the largeheaded expert, who fought in a very bizarre fashion. He was adept at using fleshly body techniques, and was able to single-handedly take on both of them, and even prevent them from slipping away to fight elsewhere.

In other areas, vicious Outsiders fought bitterly with the Mountain and Sea cultivators.

Naruto was also in great danger, surrounded by more than ten enemies, including giants. Roars filled the air, and the glow of magical techniques rose up. Naruto's hair was completely disheveled, and he was going all out with everything he had at his disposal. The LifeExtermination, Bedevilment, and God-Slaying fists shook the starry sky.

Finally, he overwhelmed one of his opponents, who coughed up blood as he was completely annihilated.

Naruto was gasping for breath as he turned and split the starry sky with the Battle Weapon. A brilliant cascade of light flashed out toward two enemies, who were completely shocked as their heads flew off of their bodies.

Naruto's hands were shaking; the price he had paid to be able to kill three individuals in quick succession was that he was blasted by the divine abilities from the rest of the group. Even worse, he was hit by a fist strike from the giant.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, but thanks to the meat jelly, he wasn't grievously injured. Even as he began to recover, thanks to the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation, his eyes glimmered with brutality, and he extended his left hand, unleashing the Star Plucking Magic to grab one of the enemy cultivators. Even as he was about to crush the man's throat, the other surrounding enemies unleashed numerous divine abilities.

In the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint, Naruto laughed viciously and refused to retreat. Ceasing his attempt to drag the cultivator toward him, he lunged forward and head-butted the man in the forehead.

A boom rang out, accompanied by a bloodcurdling scream, whereupon the man's head exploded. Naruto was completely soaked in blood and gore, making him look thoroughly vicious as he threw his head back and howled. The surrounding enemies exchanged glances, then suddenly flew up into the air and unexpectedly began to merge together!

Their bodies were apparently formed by strange powers, and had been pieced together from other bodies. Now, they began to merge together.

Even the giants joined in, and in the blink of an eye, all of them transformed into a single new entity!

It was a colossal giant, fully 3,000 meters tall, which immediately began to emanate a crushing pressure. Most shocking of all was that the giant had eight faces on different parts of its body.

Those eight faces belonged to the eight people who had formed the body, six of whom were cultivators and two of whom were giants of the God tribe.

Howling, the giant began to charge toward Naruto, right hand spinning through the air with explosive speed to almost instantly appear in front of him. Naruto's eyes widened, and he immediately summoned the Paragon Bridge to defend himself.

A huge boom echoed out, and blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. Even as Naruto staggered backward several paces, the giant also fell back, trembling, all eight faces letting out roars.

Naruto wiped the blood from his lips, and his eyes flickered with killing intent.

"Paragon level power?"

The giant ground to a halt and glared at Naruto for a moment before bursting forward again. As it closed in on Naruto, he suddenly opened his mouth wide and unleashed a mighty roar upon Naruto.

The roar of a God!

A shockwave burst out into the starry sky, tearing rifts open. At the same time, the sound waves coming from the giant's mouth turned corporeal as they blasted toward Naruto.

When they hit him, blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. The meat jelly armor began to crack and crumble, although it held on and continued to protect Naruto.

Naruto's right hand quivered as he was shoved back. The sound was so intensely powerful that, were it not for the meat jelly, his organs would already have been crushed into a paste.

The giant then strode forward, unleashing a palm strike. Naruto, being unable to dodge, met it directly. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he was flung back. More cracks spread out across the meat jelly armor, and yet it continued to hold fast. Naruto felt bad about that, but in this critical moment of life or death, he had to stay focused on the giant.

"I've seen a divine ability like that before…." he thought, his eyes flickering with killing intent.

The roar didn't last for very long. However, as soon as it faded away, the giant roared again, and the explosive sound wave once again closed in on Naruto.

Even as the second sound wave closed in, the starstone in Naruto's eye flickered, spreading out to cover his entire body. As the roar bore down, he transformed into an asteroid, which braced up against the sound and then began to move toward the giant.

Under the power of the sound wave, the asteroid began to transform into ash, shrinking down rapidly. By the time it was only about thirty meters away from the giant, the asteroid form collapsed, and Naruto appeared. However, he quickly transformed into an azure roc, which shot onward at incredible speed.

In the blink of an eye, the azure roc was flayed into chunks of gore and blood, but it managed to continue on. Despite the giant falling into retreat, Naruto was now less than ten meters away from it!

That distance… was enough!

Even as the azure roc collapsed, the giant's pupils constricted with fear. It was at this point that Naruto's human form stepped out from the remains of the roc. A murderous aura erupted out as he hefted the Battle Weapon and slashed it down viciously toward the retreating giant!

Within the scintillating blade light, the image of a parrot could be seen.

The parrot seemed determined, bereaved, even maddened. It was the first time Naruto had ever seen it in such a state. The sound of the screaming blade caused the giant's eyes to widen with disbelief, and then the blade slashed into it.

RUMBLE!

The giant staggered back, simultaneously collapsing into countless pieces. Numerous miserable shrieks could be heard as the five of the eight bodies which had formed the giant transformed into ash and powder. Simultaneously, roars of disbelief could be heard echoing out from one of the land masses speeding toward the Mountain and Sea Realm out in the Vast Expanse.

Meanwhile, the three people who had not been killed were now staring at Naruto's blade in terror. Without any hesitation, they began to flee.

Naruto's face was pale white as he instantly gave chase. His speed was incredible, and he caught up with one of them almost immediately, unhesitatingly grabbing the man and unleashing the Blood Demon Grand Magic. Instantly, he began to absorb his Chakra and blood, as well as his soul, which in turn increased the effectiveness of the Green Emperor's Eternal Incantation.

The cultivator screamed, and almost instantly withered up. In the blink of an eye, he became a dessicated corpse. At the same time, Naruto visibly recovered, then turned to pursue the other two cultivators.

Each one cried the same thing. "Save me!"

They fled at top speed, shocked expressions on their faces. These were not cultivators from the 33 Heavens. They had possessed bodies to come here, and were not the type of people who could be killed easily. If they died, they would be resurrected back in their homeland. After all, what had come here were not their full souls.

And yet, they had just watched this stranger kill five of their compatriots.

Most terrifying of all was that not only did their soul fragments perish here, but his bizarre blade caused their true forms to perish as well!

Even more terrifying was that this person could absorb their qi, their blood, and their souls. That left them completely shaken and in fear.

"He can really kill us!"

"How could this be possible!?"

In their terror, they fled at top speed. Naruto was just about to give chase when suddenly his expression flickered, and he looked up in the direction of the shattered Sixth Mountain.

There, the three Doyens who were keeping the 8-Essences Paragon sealed were now in a state of extreme withering. That was especially true of the Heaven Severing Doyen, who had apparently already run out of life force.

"You can't keep me sealed here," the female Paragon said coolly. Then, she slowly reached out toward the sealing mark itself.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1382

Chapter 1382: Three Scripture Spikes!

The parrot had once mentioned that as far as it knew, cultivating the three classic scriptures of the Mountain and Sea Realm could lead to becoming a Doyen. Naruto had always wondered exactly how powerful Doyens were, as he had never met such legendary figures.

It had seemed… that they were figures who existed above the Mountain and Sea Lords.

However, that was merely what the legends said. In this battle, the appearance of the 8-Essences female Paragon enabled Naruto to finally see the three great Doyens, and now he could sense… the auras of Imperial Lords upon them!

Doyens were comparable to Imperial Lords!

In fact, Naruto couldn't help but notice that there was something strange within the fluctuations emanating from the three Doyens. However, by the time he had shown up on the battlefield, the three Doyens were already in the midst of sealing the female Paragon. Plus, he himself was involved in a deadly struggle, and the intensity of the fighting made it impossible for him to study them closely. However, deep in his heart, that suspicion remained.

He distinctly remembered the Parrot saying that within the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Sublime Spirit Scripture had its Sublime Spirit Doyen, and the Dao Divinity Scripture had its Dao Divinity Doyen.

However, the Heaven Severing Scripture… had never given rise to a

Heaven Severing Doyen! 1

And yet, it was very obvious that, as of this moment, there was indeed a Heaven Severing Doyen, although he seemed to be the weakest of the three, and apparently, had already withered away into death. In fact, it seemed that his death was causing the seal to weaken, and prompt the 8-Essences Paragon to probe for a way to break it.

Although Naruto hadn't put too much thought into such matters back then, at least now he was able to bear witness to… the power of the Doyens!

The 8-Essences Paragon's words were still echoing out when she reached out to touch the sealing mark. Instantly, the triangular seal began to collapse. As it did, the entire area around her was thrown into chaos, which was to be expected. Because of the power contained in the seal, as it shattered, the innumerable threads which held the Paragon in place began to shudder.

They couldn't hold on for long, and as the seal crumbled, those threads began to vanish one by one. The area that was maintained by the Heaven Severing Doyen was the first to become devoid of such threads.

Next were the areas controlled by the other two Doyens, who were now in a state of extreme withering. In fact, the three young disciples behind each of the three Doyens were now virtual corpses as well.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

As the seal fell apart, the 8-Essences Paragon was preparing to step out into the open. Once she did, she would unleash her 8-Essences cultivation base, and considering that there was no one to stand in her way, the battle would quickly be over. The Mountain and Sea Realm would not even be able to last long enough to see the arrival of the Immortal God Realm and the Devil Realm. The Realm would be crushed, and all of its people eliminated.

However, it was at this point that the Sublime Spirit Doyen suddenly opened his eyes, and they shone with a bizarre light. The disciple behind him also opened his eyes, and his expression was one of complete calm, as though this was a moment which he had prepared for his entire life.

"Wei'er," the Doyen said, "you took me as your Master when you were seven years old. I feel that over the years, I… never treated you as well as I should have."

"Master, I have no regrets," the corpse-like young man replied. "If there really is another life after this one, sir, then I hope I can still call you my Master!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he suddenly collapsed into pieces, sacrificing all of his life force, even his soul, to become boundless scripture power, which then fused into his Master, the Sublime Spirit Doyen.

In that instant, the Sublime Spirit Doyen's flesh and blood once again grew strong, and his eyes began to blaze. He quickly returned to the peak state of his power. However, just as quickly, he began to wither again, as all of that Chakra and blood, all of his soul power and cultivation base, everything that was him, began to converge on his forehead.

A popping sound then rang out as his forehead burst open, and a bloodcolored spike flew out!

Countless scriptural symbols swirled around that spike, which was none other than the Sublime Spirit Scripture. That spike was made from bone, and was the combination of everything that the master and apprentice has sacrificed. All of that formed together into… the Sublime Spirit Spike!

As soon as that spike appeared, the Sublime Spirit Doyen closed his eyes in death. As he died, his expression was calm, although touches of sadness and guilt could also be seen….

Although the Mountain and Sea Realm found no fault with him, nor did his apprentice, he felt regret for how he had treated that apprentice. "If there is an afterlife…."

RUMBLE!

The Sublime Spirit Spike formed by the Sublime Spirit Doyen and his apprentice then shot toward the 8-Essences Paragon with indescribable speed.

The female Paragon's face flickered for the first time. Because of the chaos of the crumbling sealing mark which surrounding her, she was inhibited, and the terrifying spike had her completely cornered!

She simply couldn't escape!

Apparently, sealing her was only one aspect of the trap which had been laid for her. The truly explosive part of the plan was to be carried out when the seal was broken. That plan was… self-sacrifice!

A massive boom echoed out as the spike drove its way into the 8Essences Paragon's chest, in the region of her heart. The vicious stabbing of the spike elicited a miserable shriek, which was the exact moment in which the Dao Divinity Doyen opened his eyes.

As the Dao Divinity Doyen sighed, his apprentice behind him gave a carefree laugh. "Master, there is no need for you to feel regret. I am a caretaker of the scripture, and have known all along how things would end. I have long since prepared myself. Master, you gave me my life, and the only regret I have is that I won't be able to care for you any longer.

"Master, let me take the first step…."

The apprentice exploded, transforming into countless scriptural symbols which shot toward his Master, the Dao Divinity Doyen.

The Dao Divinity Doyen's body instantly recovered. Sighing quietly, he nodded his head, and then without any hesitation, allowed his own body to wither as his Chakra and blood, his life force, his soul, his everything, converged on his forehead.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as a spike suddenly flew out.

It was… the Dao Divinity Spike!

The spike contained boundless divine sense as it shot forth, causing Heaven and Earth to shake violently. The sky faded and a wind screamed as it shot toward the 8-Essences Paragon. She had first been pinned down by the effects of the sealing mark shattering, and had been unable to avoid the Sublime Spirit Spike. Now that the Sublime Spirit Spike was stabbed into her, how could she possibly avoid… the Dao Divinity Spike!?

A bang rang out as the spike stabbed into the Paragon's forehead, directly into her brain!

A bloodcurdling scream rang out from her mouth, and a tremor ran through her. Her hair was in complete disarray as she fell back. She managed to break free of the sealing mark, and then rotated her cultivation base like mad to try to push the two spikes out of her, two spikes which filled her with a sense of extreme danger.

However, it was at this point that the completely withered Heaven Severing Doyen suddenly opened his eyes.

He was not dead!

As he opened his eyes, there was something very different within them, as though he was no longer the Heaven Severing Doyen, but rather, someone else!

He looked over at the fleeing 8-Essences Paragon, and sighed. As he sighed, the withered youth behind him transformed into countless scriptural symbols which then poured into the Heaven Severing Doyen.

The young man died without saying a single word. However, his eyes were filled with decisiveness and determination, and not the slightest bit of hesitation could be seen in his actions.

As the Heaven Severing Doyen absorbed those symbols, a sound like a sharp inhalation of breath could be heard. At the same time, the old man's aura suddenly grew even stranger than before.

In fact, it seemed as if his cultivation base were rising, causing that strangeness in his aura to become more intense.

"I… am not actually the Heaven Severing Doyen!" he said softly, as if he were giving voice to his memories. An expression of sadness appeared on his face as he slowly turned his head to look first at the Ninth Mountain and Sea, then at the forces of the Namikaze Clan within the army, and finally… at Naruto.

That glance was one which contained a reluctance to part; as well as profound sighing and sadness. And when he looked at Naruto, it contained love, as if he were looking at his own progenity.

"Hao'er, you've grown up…." he murmured.

Naruto wasn't sure why, but when he saw the eyes of the Heaven Severing Doyen, he felt his heart trembling. He began to shake, and even pant, as… a familiar sensation rose up sharply within him.

"That's…." He felt like lightning was striking at his mind. This person should have looked like a stranger, but as of this moment, as those eyes seemed to pierce into his memories, he remembered images from when he was a child. He remembered an old man holding him gently, and that man's eyes suddenly seemed exactly like these eyes.

"Grandpa Namikaze …!" he cried out.

As of this instant, everyone in the Namikaze Clan was reacting to the Heaven Severing Doyen looking at them. Their faces flickered, filling with disbelief and shock as they looked back at him.

Suddenly, the Heaven Severing Doyen's face began to change. Now, it looked very similar to Namikaze Xiufeng's, and also similar to Naruto's.

His face… seemed threatening without being angry!

He was none other than… Naruto's Grandpa Namikaze . Namikaze Xiufeng's father! The previous Grand Elder of the Namikaze Clan, a man who excelled in both terms of latent talent and powers of understanding. His name was… Namikaze Hehai! 2

Years ago, he and Naruto's Grandpa Uzumaki had gone looking for an Outsider to help save Naruto. That Outsider had returned, but they never did. It wasn't until Naruto went to the Eighth Mountain and Sea that he found out that his Grandpa Uzumaki was the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

At that time, he had always wondered… where his Grandpa Namikaze was. His Grandpa Uzumaki had even told him that he wasn't in the Realm.

Naruto had previously speculated that perhaps his Grandpa Namikaze … had been hiding somewhere in the 33 Heavens.

But as of this moment, after seeing the face of the Heaven Severing Doyen, his mind reeled as he realized… that this absolutely was the same man who existed in his memories. His Grandpa Namikaze !

"But why did Grandpa Uzumaki say that he wasn't in the Realm?" That was the question that immediately popped into his mind.

It was in this moment that Heaven Severing Doyen, Namikaze Hehai, looked away. Filled with ferocious determination, he looked at the retreating 8Essences Paragon, and then his forehead exploded.

"Heaven Severing…. Spike!"

The parrot talked about the Doyens of the three scriptures in chapter

338 ↩ Namikaze Hehai was actually first mentioned in chapter 899 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1383

Chapter 1383 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1383: The Staff of Dao Namikaze !

The three Doyens' true purpose had been to deal with an 8-Essences Paragon from the 33 Heavens. They struck out, sealing that Paragon, and yet that was only one part of their purpose. The true killing blow came in the form of the three spikes!

By using the scriptural power within themselves, as well as the assistance of the custodians of the scriptures, their apprentices, they transformed into three scripture spikes. When those spikes stabbed into someone, that person's cultivation base would be sealed. Even an 8Essences expert who was struck by them would find their cultivation base severely dropped, if not for all eternity, then at least for a significantly long period of time!

That person would drop from the 8-Essences level to the 7-Essences level, and perhaps even cease to be a Paragon.

Moments ago….

The danger felt by the 8-Essences Paragon caused her to tremble. She had considered every angle to the situation, but had never imagined that the Mountain and Sea Realm would be equipped in such a way. Nor could she ever have imagined that these Doyens, who were comparable to Imperial Lords, would just sit and watch countless Mountain and Sea cultivators die, and would do nothing as the First through Seventh Mountains were destroyed.

Such patience was terrifying, and left the 8-Essences Paragon completely shaken.

And that was because she had no idea how many other tricks the Mountain and Sea Realm was patiently waiting to reveal!

It was even possible to say that the longer the Mountain and Sea Realm kept fighting, the worse things were going for the 33 Heavens, and the more likely that they might eventually lose.

As the 8-Essences Paragon fell back, she looked at the Heaven Severing Doyen, and what drew her attention most was his aura. Previously, she had taken him to be dead, and could never have imagined that it had all been a trick!

"This is all a trap! A trap prepared for countless years to target an 8Essences Paragon!

"This man is the Heaven Severing Doyen, and at the same time, is not.

The one who died before truly was a person who had cultivated the Heaven Severing Scripture to the point where he was on the very cusp of reaching the Doyen level.

"But this man here… is a discarnate soul who was placed into the body of the Heaven Severing Doyen by means of some grand magic. He is like a second life; should the Heaven Severing Doyen actually die, then the discarnate soul would possess the body, and thus still be able to wield… the Heaven Severing Scripture!"

The 8-Essences Paragon's face fell as she realized all these things. However, it was at this point that the voice of Heaven Severing Doyen Namikaze Hehai's voice echoed out through the Heavens.

"Heaven Severing Spike!"

His forehead exploded open in a mass of crimson blood as a spike burst out, filled with scriptural power that could end the Heavens and crush the Earth. It flew out with incredible speed, and at the same time, Namikaze Hehai's body withered rapidly, until his aura was completely gone.

In the moment before his eyes shut… he looked over at his grandson, his most cherished descendant, the blood of his blood who made him more proud than anyone else.

He had no desire to part ways, and his gaze was filled with both sadness and well wishes….

Finally, he closed his eyes.

Rumbling echoed out as the spike shot toward the 8-Essences Paragon with incredible speed. As for Naruto, he was trembling. That was his own grandfather, who had gone missing for years all because of him.

"Grandpa…." he murmured, tears welling up and spilling down his cheeks. Up to this point in the war, countless Mountain and Sea cultivators had felt the pain of watching friends and family die. Now, it was Naruto's turn.

"No…."

Wails rose up from within the Namikaze Clan. Eyes turned red as tears poured down their faces. According to the ancient saying, 'lead the people like your family.' The Namikaze Clan members couldn't help but think of that saying as they watched what was happening.

Rumbling could be heard as the crimson Heaven Severing Spike bore down upon the 8-Essences Paragon. She already had two spikes stabbed into her, throwing her cultivation base into chaos. Therefore, she was incapable of evading the final spike as it stabbed into her dantian, causing a miserable scream to echo out from her mouth. However, at the same time, a look of determination flashed in her eyes.

She had no time to ponder the matter in full. She was not a cultivator of the 33 Heavens; she and the other 8-Essences Paragon had both come by means of possession. However, she was not a discarnate soul, she was a full and complete soul.

She had stayed behind after the defeat of the Paragon Immortal Realm, in order to stand guard within the 33 Heavens. Her mission was to be prepared to make an early attack should the item sought by the two powers suddenly appear. If that happened, she was to wipe out the Mountain and Sea Realm and then wait to receive the two other powers.

But now, those two powers were still on their way, and her cultivation base was suddenly suppressed. The battle was dragging on, and the resources at the disposal of the Mountain and Sea Realm left her terrified.

Having no other choice, she screamed two words at the top of her lungs.

"Dao Namikaze !"

Even as the Heaven Severing Spike stabbed into her, she called the words out, almost as if she were uttering a curse. If you looked at her mouth, it would seem like numerous sounds were emerging, but what echoed in the ears of all that could hear were only two characters!

Dao Namikaze !

In the moment that those two characters echoed out, backed by her curse-like delivery, at the very apex of the starry sky from whence the 33 Heavens had descended, a sinister voice suddenly rang out to fill the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, causing it and all of the Heavens to shake.

"I require a sacrifice from you."

The Heaven Severing Spike stabbed all the way into the 8-Essences Paragon's dantian in the same moment that the voice echoed out. A tremor ran through her, and her cultivation base began to drop. Instantly, one of her Essences was sealed, putting her at the 7-Essences level. Even then, she continued to weaken, until she was only a hair away from dropping completely out of the Paragon level!

Her face was pale as she spit out a mouthful of her blood, causing some of her soul's longevity to fly out, lowering it by sixty percent.

The sacrificed portion of her soul's longevity transformed into numerous threads which shot up into the starry sky toward its very apex. Then, the 8-Essences Paragon began to laugh.

"Mountain and Sea Realm, you are doomed to be destroyed!"

Suddenly, at the highest point in the starry sky, a deep golden light flooded out. If you looked closely, you would see that it was a staff!

A gargantuan, shocking staff, which whistled down through the void toward the Eighth Mountain and Sea!

It was as if some unimaginably large giant were wielding that staff, causing the entire starry sky to tremble and shake. Massive rumbling sounds filled the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea as they shook violently and began to crumble. Finally, they exploded.

One strike of a staff destroyed an entire Mountain and Sea!

"Eee?" said a sinister voice, which sounded somewhat surprised. "How come the Mountains and Seas seem so much weaker?" When the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm heard the voice, they were completely shaken, and looked up into the starry sky to see an enormous figure approaching the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He held a staff over his shoulder, and as his features became clear, he was revealed to be… a humanoid monkey!

His raging, murderous aura caused the starry sky to be thrown into chaos. A vortex of stars seemed to form around him, causing shocking energy to radiate out.

A single strike from his staff shattered the entire Eighth Mountain and Sea, and left the Mountain and Sea cultivators completely shaken. There were even some who began to cry out in despair.

Naruto's mind was spinning as he stared at the monkey, who was none other than… Dao Namikaze !

He stood guard outside of the 33 Heavens, maintaining the last barrier imprisoning the Mountain and Sea Realm. After the summons and sacrifice of the 8-Essences Paragon, he was able to descend in person.

Heaven and Earth trembled, and the starry sky shook. It now seemed as if the Mountains and Seas could be completely wiped out at any moment. However, it was at this point that a voice suddenly rang out from within the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

It came from a spot in the void of the starry sky where, all of a sudden, two people appeared. One was Shui Dongliu, and the other was the second 8-Essences Paragon from the 33 Heavens.

It was the middle-aged man who didn't seem to be an Outsider at all. As soon as he appeared, blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his face was deathly pale as he fell into retreat, staring at Shui Dongliu the entire time. His expression was one of agitation, fear, and even disbelief.

"Nine Seals! It's you! I can't believe you're still alive!"

Even as the man fell back, a thunderous voice spread out in all directions, which belonged to none other than Shui Dongliu. "Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, return to the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Prepare for the final battle!"

His voice seemed to carry a strange power, and as soon as the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators heard it, they instantly trusted it. Without hesitation, they began to fall back, even Paragon Sea Dream and the other powerful experts.

As the Mountain and Sea Realm's forces began to retreat to the Ninth Mountain and Sea, the 8-Essences female Paragon seemed inclined to stop them, but was unable. As for the 8-Essences male Paragon, his eyes flashed, but fear lingered in his heart, and he did nothing to interfere.

However… the newly arrived Dao Namikaze 's lips twisted into a cold smile.

The staff which he carried slung over his shoulders suddenly flashed out toward the cultivators who were retreating into the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

The staff was a deep gold color, and moved with incredible quickness. As it bore down on the Ninth Mountain, it grew longer and longer, until it was on the very brink of smashing down onto its target.

It was at this point that a cold snort echoed out, and Shui Dongliu took a step forward to appear atop the Ninth Mountain. He extended his hand and waved his sleeve, causing rumbling sounds to fill the air. The Ninth Mountain trembled as a boundless power flowed out from Shui Dongliu's sleeve, slamming into the staff.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

It was as if the staff had been blocked by some powerful force. It was incapable of moving any further down, and was in fact sent rebounding back. Dao Namikaze 's pupils constricted as the staff vibrated in his right hand. Shui Dongliu had used only his own strength to block that staff, and although his face was a bit flushed, he seemed none the worse for the wear. The truth was that his Chakra and blood were churning, and his soul was unstable, and yet, his eyes were calm as he sighed inwardly.

"I'm… finally getting old…." he thought.

After his attack was repelled, Dao Namikaze did not make another move. He glanced coldly at the Mountain and Sea cultivators in their retreat, then looked back at the Ninth Mountain, which was now the final stronghold for the forces of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

As of this moment, all that remained… were the Ninth Sea and the Ninth Mountain.

Chapter 1383: The Staff of Dao Namikaze !

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1384

Chapter 1384: Driving a Wedge!

The Mountain and Sea Realm was quiet. All of the surviving cultivators were gathered in the Ninth Mountain. There were only a few million, but those few million had survived a brutal war, and were the elite among the elite. Every one of them, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases, lived now after having braved endless carnage.

These were no longer amateurs when it came to battle. They had gained spirit and hope, and yet all of that… seemed to be wavering now.

How could they win…?

How could they even fight…?

Outside of the Ninth Mountain and Sea was an army of Outsiders tens of millions strong, who had the Mountain and Sea Realm completely surrounded. Further off in the distance were the 18th through 33rd Heavens, like enormous beasts that struck fear into the hearts of those who beheld them.

Most salient of all was the fact that leading this army of Outsiders were not just two 8-Essences Paragons. With the addition of the monkey Dao Namikaze , they now had three!

Three 8-Essences Paragons…. For all intents and purposes, the moment such a force had been revealed, the Mountain and Sea Realm was already defeated.

The world was lost, and the people were on the verge of being broken. The silent pressure weighing down on the Ninth Mountain and Sea made it seem like a dormant volcano…. No one spoke. Millions of cultivators looked silently at the scene surrounding them; virtually all of them were recovering from the wounds that riddled their bodies.

Did hope… even exist anymore…?

That unanswerable question continued to fester in the minds and hearts of everyone.

The war had turned truly bitter when the First Mountain and Sea was destroyed, and after that, one Mountain and Sea after another crumbled, until now, all that was left was the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Naruto looked out at that very Mountain and Sea, and his heart hurt as he realized that what he was looking at… really was his home.

But as the war raged on, death… became unavoidable. Family and friends alike were about to become nothing more than dust.

At some point, Xu Qing emerged from the crowd to stand at Naruto's side. When he saw her, he reached out and clasped her hand. It felt cold.

As she gazed calmly into Naruto's eyes, it seemed as if the mere act of holding his hand was the most important thing in the world.

The members of the Namikaze Clan also made their way to stand by Naruto's side. His family came. His friends came. In this moment when all that remained of the Mountain and Sea Realm was the Ninth Mountain and Sea, for many people, Naruto was the standard-bearer of them all.

Further off in the distance, Patriarch Reliance sighed, carrying the Five Elemental Nations with him as he also drew close. Also there in the Ninth Mountain and Sea were the Li Clan and the Wang Clan, cold and desolate, just like all of the other various sects and clans present.

Naruto could sense his sister's aura on Planet South Heaven; she was with his parents.

As the Mountain and Sea Realm stood there in its silence, Paragon Sea Dream's voice suddenly echoed out.

Looking up at Shui Dongliu, and doing nothing to prevent anyone from hearing her, she said, "You're… really Nine Seals…."

When the Mountain and Sea cultivators heard her words, they also looked up into the sky. Even though not everyone could see what was up above, the bleakness in their hearts suddenly faded, and gradually, hope began to burn again.

They had all heard of Paragon Nine Seals, and throughout the events of the war, they had become more convinced than ever that he was a magnificent, glorious individual. To hear his name now suddenly filled them with deep anticipation.

Naruto looked up at Shui Dongliu, waiting like everyone else to hear his answer.

Shui Dongliu didn't say anything at first. But then, after a moment had passed, he nodded his head and said, "Yes, I am Nine Seals!"

The instant he spoke those words, all of the cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea were stirred into excitement. It was as if they had been resurrected from the dead, as if they once again had hope.

Nine Seals was a legend in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Paragon who had actually created the entire Realm. In fact, he could rightly be called the ultimate Patriarch of every cultivator of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Although everyone was excited, there were some people who reacted differently, including Naruto, Ksitigarbha, Sea Dream, the Mountain and Sea Lords, and select other individuals who were especially wise and perceptive.

"He's actually not Nine Seals," Naruto thought, sighing inwardly. He didn't speak the words aloud, but because of the Paragon's blood inside of him, he knew that Shui Dongliu… was definitely not Paragon Nine Seals.

There was something odd about how Sea Dream had worded her statement, as if her purpose in asking it was to get him to agree with her, and thus stir the passions of the Mountain and Sea cultivators.

If he went along with Sea Dream's words, it would prove that he really wasn't Nine Seals. If he denied her words to be truth… then the possibility still existed that he might actually be Nine Seals.

Naruto understood that, as did some of the others, although no one pointed it out aloud.

Numerous sea denizens who floated on the surface of the Ninth Sea first looked out at the scene beyond the Mountain and Sea Realm, then turned to look silently toward the Ninth Mountain. The entire Ninth Sea was currently blanketed by its will.

Even as Shui Dongliu's words stirred the hearts of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, the voice of the 8-Essences male cultivator rang out from within the ranks of the Outsider army.

"Immortals of the Mountains and Seas, you… have lost this war. There is no need to continue the fighting. I can represent the 33 Heavens to offer you a chance at survival.

"Surrender. Abandon all resistance. Willingly allow us to seal your cultivation bases and become our slaves. This war… is over.

"If you surrender, some of you may be executed, but the majority will survive. Some sects and clans may be allowed to continue to exist. You might have no freedom, but perhaps… that in itself is a sort of luxury. In any case, you have no other options.

"Fight, or surrender? I will give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn to think. For those of you who wish to surrender, you do not need to state that desire out loud. Doing that might get you killed on the spot…. After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the 33 Heavens will begin the final charge. Fellow Daoist Xuan Yin, Fellow Daoist Dao Namikaze , and myself, will also join in to attack the Mountain and Sea Realm full force!

"During the fighting, any who wish to surrender can simply switch sides and fight the Mountain and Sea Realm. We will accept that as your form of surrender!" Eyes glittering, the 8-Essences Paragon waved his hand, causing a stick of burning incense to appear.

What savagely malicious tactics!

By offering such hope to the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, he also sowed discord among them. When it came time to fight, the cultivators would have to worry, not just about the Outsiders attacking openly, but about their fellow comrades-in-arms. No one could say for sure… what choice people might make in a moment of mortal peril.

Naruto's pupils constricted as he realized that, even among the Namikaze

Clan, there were people who appeared to be hesitating in contemplation. Although such expressions quickly vanished, it was impossible to tell whether their temptation had been dispelled, or merely concealed.

The Mountain and Sea Realm was deathly quiet. The cultivators couldn't help but ponder the words of the 8-Essences Paragon. It was a critical juncture, and with the threat of death looming overhead, the idea of becoming a slave, despite being repugnant, was a way to stay alive.

Sea Dream said nothing. Shui Dongliu didn't say a word. The Ninth Sea was completely silent.

The incense stick burned, and time passed. The silence became pressure weighing down on everyone. If Shui Dongliu hadn't just stated that he was Nine Seals, then the Mountain and Sea Realm would likely have already dissolved into chaos.

When faced with life or death, one's choices can easily become irrational….

However, even Shui Dongliu claiming the identity of Nine Seals did not have a huge impact. After all, the overall situation… seemed to be a completely hopeless one.

It was at this point that Shui Dongliu spoke, his voice both ancient and exhausted.

"Life and death are important things to everyone. Ensuring that one's traditions and values can be passed on to future generations is something important to all sects and clans…. To me, being able to pass on the Joss Flame power and the bloodlines of the Mountain and Sea Realm… is also very important.

"Therefore, considering we have fought this war down to this point, any individual, any clan or sect, who wishes to surrender to the 33 Heavens may do so without my interference. I won't kill you. It is your decision to make.

"Make your decision now, and I won't question it. Everyone has their own fate, and I dare not interfere with that. However… once this moment passes, and the fighting begins, anyone who turns traitor on the battlefield can rest assured that even if I die, I will be sure to take those traitors with me into death, along with the Mountain and Sea Realm! Therefore, those of you who wish to surrender will leave the Mountain and Sea Realm post haste!" Shui Dongliu's voice contained no viciousness, but instead, an unswerving decisiveness that everyone could detect.

Silence filled the Mountain and Sea Realm. The army of Outsiders looked contemptuously at the cultivators, as though the current turn of events were splendid entertainment.

Then, just when the incense stick was about to finish burning, a sigh rang out from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, from within… one of the great clans… the Wang Clan!

"I speak for the Wang Clan…. We choose to surrender!

"The earliest ancestor of the Wang Clan was not from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and only ended up here by accident…. Therefore, this war of the Mountains and Seas is something we shall not participate in." The words spoken by the Wang Clan Patriarch caused most of the Wang Clan cultivators to sigh in relief.

However, a few of their number were clearly furious. One of them was Wang Mu, who tried to charge out from the ranks of the Wang Clan.

Before he could, an ancient-looking hand reached out and grabbed him.

"NO!" Wang Mu's eyes were completely bloodshot as he screamed in defiance. However, the old man behind him sighed, then rendered him unconscious with a palm strike.

In that same moment, a beam of light shot up from within the Wang

Clan, as a tall, elegant young man appeared. It was none other than… Wang Tengfei. Although he had his grievances with Naruto, in this moment, when the survival of the Realm was on the line, his choice was to stand with the Mountains and Seas.

However, the Wang Clan would not permit it, and he was prevented from leaving.

At the same time that the Wang Clan chose to surrender, the skinny old man in the Wang Clan's bamboo forest sighed.

"How embarrassing…." he muttered. Shaking his head, he closed his eyes. He would not fight in the battle, but he wanted to see if the Mountain and Sea Realm… might be able to make a comeback.

After a moment of silence, a bitter voice spoke out from the ranks of another of the great clans, the Li Clan. "I speak for the Li Clan…. We surrender…."

When that voice echoed out, Li Ling'er, who was currently standing next to Paragon Sea Dream, began to tremble.

Tears flowed down her as she cried, "Patriarch, w-what… what are you doing?! We are cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm! I… I can't believe… I'm even related to you!"

Note from Deathblade: Fellow Daoists, at this late stage in the novel, the theme of "you can't trust what characters say" has been pretty well established. Don't we all remember the Uzumaki Li / Resurrection Lily incident? Don't be so quick to just believe what you hear the characters say. I continue to see comments which quote or reference character dialogue as though it were a definitive explanation of cultivation ranks, plot points, history, etc. Just as in real life, the characters in Er Gen's novels can be wrong, can lie, can make mistakes, etc.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1385

Chapter 1385: Life or Death for the People of the Mountains and Seas!

However, no one responded to Li Ling'er. Instead, more declarations of surrender began to ring out in the starry sky.

"I speak for the Heavenly Dao Sect…."

"I speak for the Sen Clan…."

In the moments before the incense stick finished burning, one voice after another spoke out within the Ninth Mountain and Sea. With the exception of the sects from the Ninth Mountain itself, and some of the staunchest sects from the other Mountains and Seas, everyone seemed to be choosing to surrender….

Every voice that spoke caused Naruto to sink further into silence, until… suddenly a calm voice rang out, ancient and womanly. As soon as Naruto heard that voice, he looked up.

"I am the will of the Ninth Sea, and I… choose to leave the Mountain and

Sea Realm. I choose… to surrender."

In total, seven sects and eleven clans chose to surrender, as well as hundreds of thousands of individual cultivators. The final number of cultivators exceeded a million.

The moment that those clans and sects chose to surrender, their only option was to follow the command of Shui Dongliu and leave the Mountain and Sea Realm. Staying behind was not a possibility.

They were betrayers, and the Mountain and Sea Realm would not tolerate their presence in the final battle.

Gradually, they began to make their way out of the Ninth Mountain, taking their resources and their experts with them.

They did not delay or move slowly; they left as quickly as was possible.

The vast number of people involved left the power of the Mountain and Sea Realm reduced by nearly thirty percent. The sight of so many cultivators taking flight caused those who remained behind to tremble inwardly; they had assumed that only a small number of people who would actually surrender.

Who could have imagined that so many would give in…? After all, even one person surrendering would be a serious blow to the morale of the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole, especially considering that the final battle was about to be fought.

Even the Outsiders had never expected so many people to surrender. When they saw what was happening, contemptuous looks appeared on their faces, and some of them even began to laugh. A wide smile could be seen on the face of the 8-Essences male Paragon. The main reason he had attempted to drive a wedge into the forces of the Mountain and Sea Realm was because of his fear of Shui Dongliu.

Although the Outsider army seemed to have the upper hand, deep in his heart he wasn't completely confident, so he wanted to reduce their power somehow.

And then the will of the Ninth Sea spoke out, causing the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators' minds to reel. The Ninth Sea was a part of the Mountain and Sea Realm, so for it to surrender….

The meaning behind such an act was profound, and many people didn't dare to even contemplate it. That was because… the Ninth Sea declaring surrender indicated that the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole had been so weakened by the destruction of the other Mountains and Seas that it was unable to maintain control over the Ninth Sea.

If you likened the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm to the commander in chief, then the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas were like generals. Now, sixteen of those generals were dead, and the commander in chief was so weak that of his remaining two generals, one of them chose to turn traitor.

Apparently, not even Shui Dongliu had considered this would happen. An intense light began to shine in his eyes as his gaze came to rest upon the Ninth Sea, and then, he sighed.

Naruto trembled as he stared at the Ninth Sea, at the waves lapping across its surface, and the heads of the various sea denizens sticking up out of the water. As the Ninth Sea slowly began to move off, Naruto suddenly shouted in a voice like thunder, "Is this because of me?!"

It was a question that perhaps should not have been asked, and yet, he couldn't hold back from doing so.

After a long moment of silence, the will of the Ninth Sea spoke back.

"You've grown to the point that I regret being so stubborn back then. But… even if you didn't exist, I would still make this choice. I am the the first and only Sea in the entire Realm to achieve self-awareness. If the Mountain and Sea Realm itself were not faced with such difficulties, then I could bow my head to its authority. But now… the Realm is about to disappear, and I don't want to be buried along with it." With that, the Ninth Sea flowed away from the Ninth Mountain like a retreating tide, until… the two of them were completely separated.

As traitors left, the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators who had chosen not to surrender felt as though their hearts were being stabbed by knives. By this point, their morale had reached rock bottom.

And then, the incense stick stopped burning….

However, the final battle didn't begin immediately. The sects and clans who had surrendered, as well as the random cultivators, flew out in various directions, keeping their distance from each other.

As they dispersed, the 8-Essences male Paragon hesitated for a moment before making the call for the final battle.

The surrender of the Ninth Sea was something he took very seriously. It was with icy eyes that he examined the remaining cultivators of the Mountain and Sea, and saw how dejected they looked.

It was in that exact same moment that someone in the Mountain and Sea Realm shouted out in rage that the traitors should be chased down and killed. Some people even began to demand of Sea Dream, Shui Dongliu, and Naruto, that they be allowed to do so.

Sea Dream and Naruto maintained bitter silence, but Shui Dongliu waved his sleeve.

"If they want to go, let them go. From now on, they have nothing to do with the Mountain and Sea Realm!" Although his voice seemed calm, the 8-Essences male Paragon could detect the pain and disappointment therein.

Then, he began to laugh.

Time passed as all of the cultivators who had chosen to surrender left the Mountain and Sea Realm, and neared the Outsider army. Finally, the 8-Essences Paragon waved his hand.

"Let the final battle begin!"

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

Instantly, the Outsider army which surrounded the Ninth Mountain roared, and then charged toward it, bursting with killing intent and ferocity.

Soon, the front lines of the Outsider army crossed paths with the surrendering Mountain and Sea cultivators, who were trembling. Mixed feelings could be seen on their faces; after all, the Mountain and Sea Realm had once been their home….

However, even as the Outsider army swept past the surrendering Mountain and Sea cultivators, a lone rogue cultivator threw his head back and laughed.

"My name is Zhao Tianliang! Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the

Mountains and Seas!"

Without the slightest hesitation, he self-detonated. However, the sound of the explosion was insignificant compared to the army at large, and his final shout before death was similarly miniscule.

But…. After that, more self-detonations occurred. Within the army of Outsiders that surrounded the Ninth Mountain, 1,000 self-detonations erupted. Then 10,000. Then 100,000!

With each self-detonation, a voice cried out, defiant, begrieved, and maddened.

"My name is Sun Youhai! Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the

Mountains and Seas!"

"My name is Chang Yi! Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the

Mountains and Seas!"

Rumbling echoed out that could shake Heaven and Earth. Selfdetonations occurred that could strike fear into the hearts of celestial beings. Tens of thousands of explosions transformed into a mighty, destructive power. At one point, an entire sect chose to unleash all of their madness by means of self-detonation!

"My name is Zhou Sheng! Fellow Daoists of the Mountains and Seas, if any of you manage to stay alive, commemorate this sacrifice that I make this day!"

"My name is Liu Wenyu. If anyone survives this war, please… avenge my death!"

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as the entire sect self-detonated. The madness of the Mountain and Sea cultivators left the Outsiders completely shaken. As for the cultivators who stood on the Ninth Mountain, their hearts were trembling.

It wasn't just sects who made such a choice. Next, an entire clan suddenly scattered in all directions and then self-detonated, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases. As they exploded, they called out their names, and although they were loathe to part with the Mountains and Seas, their rage toward the Outsiders caused the power of their sacrifice to shake the starry sky!

"On this day, our Heavenly Dao Sect destroys our Dao. Mountain and

Sea cultivators, remember what we have done this day!"

"Our Sen Clan started this war a million strong, and now, only nine thousand remain. Our clan has been almost completely wiped out. Now, all nine thousand of us self detonate. Our bloodline will be wiped away, and yet we hesitate not. Mountain and Sea cultivators… avenge our deaths!"

"The Li Clan… are the descendants of Lord Li. Perhaps we are not cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and perhaps we shouldn't even be here. But… this is our home! Today… we willingly destroy our Dao! Young Ling'er, you had no need to curse me, your Patriarch!"

Massive booms echoed out. This shocking turn of events threw the entire Outsider army into utter chaos. Even the 8-Essences male Paragon's face fell; he could never have imagined that this would happen. At the same time, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were trembling, and their morale erupted from the depths of despair.

The desperate and bitter voices which echoed out caused the blood of all the cultivators of the Mountains and Seas to boil. Their eyes were crimson as they began to roar with madness.

The words of her Patriarch echoed in Li Ling'er's ears, and she shook as she watched her own Li Clan dying.

As of this moment, even more self-detonations were occurring!

"Our Wintergate Sect shall destroy our Dao. Let Heaven and Earth bear witness, let the starry sky testify, that the blood of our sect shall curse the 33 Heavens to die a horrible death!"

"How could the Clearsky Society possibly betray the Mountains and

Seas!? DIIIEEEEE!"

"I, Dao Yunlai, am a cultivator of the Mountains and Seas. Remember my name, you villainous Outsiders!"

Booms rang out as the self-detonations went on without end. From a distance, the glow of explosions lit up the starry sky of the Ninth Mountain, like countless blooming flowers. The only difference was that those flowers… were flowers of blood!

Naruto was trembling. As of this moment, he could sense that this was all part of Shui Dongliu's plan. It had been obvious to him from the moment Shui Dongliu had mentioned allowing everyone to leave. Even still, he couldn't help but be moved.

All of a sudden, he remembered something he had heard long ago, and now, the true meaning occurred to him.

After the Heavens were changed, the World Tree refused to surrender, and instead destroyed itself in the starry sky! 1

It was a Dao. It was the culmination of all types of natural and magical laws. Perhaps… it was the true Dao, the final evolution, which transformed… into something that was both illusory, and yet truly existed… the Dao!

Suddenly, Shui Dongliu called out, "Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, if we don't fight now, then when will we!?"

The World Tree destroying itself was mentioned several times

throughout the story. When I went back to check some of the earlier chapters, I realized that my translation was a bit off in some of those parts. I've since cleaned up those passages. The most relevant and early references to the World Tree are in chapters 109 and 158. Later chapters essentially say the same thing as those early chapters ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1386

Chapter 1386: Fighting Will Cleaves Heaven and Earth!

Shui Dongliu's words seemed to cleave Heaven and Earth, to open up a massive door. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, with all their pent up madness caused by everything that was happening, now burst out in a murderous charge!

The final battle had begun!

The battle, and in fact the war, had already been lost by the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, despite losing… they still had their dignity. Even if they died, they would make the enemy feel pain, a pain that would last for a lifetime, and make it impossible to forget the dignity and spirit of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and… how terrifying it was!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

The self-detonations continued. However, not all of the defectors were secretly loyal. Some of them really were betraying the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, because of the chaos unleashed by the double-dealing, even the traitors were fell upon by the Outsiders.

The Ninth Sea, who truly had turned traitor, was not affected.

Neither was the Wang Clan. Just when it seemed they were about to be overwhelmed, a beam of sword light descended, separating them from the army. That was the handiwork of the 8-Essences male Paragon. Even as he grimly and furiously watched events play out, he took time to protect the Wang Clan.

As for all of the true traitors, after being attacked by the surrounding Outsider army, none of them chose to self-detonate, and yet… they didn't prolong their lives much longer than those who did.

The scene outside of the Ninth Mountain was one of utter chaos. Even as the voices continued to ring out, followed by the booms of selfdetonation, the rest of the Mountain and Sea cultivators charged out into battle. Their eyes were completely bloodshot, and they had long since reached a state which was impossible to describe in terms of morale.

According to an old saying, an army burning with indignation is bound to win. However, the Mountain and Sea cultivators were not simply burning with indignation. They were burning with madness and insanity. To them, the whole world was blood, and anything that was not that same bloody color would be savaged by them until they were.

These cultivators had no fear of death, and given the chance, they would self-detonate in the moment before dying. They did so with no hesitation or shying back, and their shouts struck fear into the hearts of the Outsiders.

"I killed one of these fools, but that's not enough!"

"Hahaha! I killed five Outsiders, that's good enough for me, I can die happy!"

"Father, we'll be reunited soon!"

"I used to be afraid of dying, but now I realize… that there is nothing to fear in death! Bring it on, you damned Outsiders. Bring it on!"

"DIE!"

Roars echoed out, and explosions rocked Heaven and Earth. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had gone mad. There were millions of them going up against tens of millions of Outsiders, and yet… it was the Outsiders who were being pushed back!

All of the Outsiders' scorn, mockery and cruelty vanished, to be replaced by shock, confusion, and astonishment.

They were completely shaken by the madness of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators, and in fact couldn't understand this level of dedication. The mercilessness and bloodthirsty way that the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators fought left them flabbergasted.

It was almost as if the tide of battle had completely shifted in the opposite direction.

Every single cultivator of the Mountain and Sea Realm joined in the fight.

Only the mortals did not. Among that fighting force was… Ke Jiusi, Naruto's Master Pill Demon, Sun Hai, Taiyang Zi, the Echelon cultivators, and other familiar faces.

There was Might Guy , Wang Youcai, Fatty, Li Ling'er,HebiYin… the

Patriarchs of the Namikaze Clan, and also… Namikaze Wei. And even more.

By this point in the war, there was no need for troop formations or complicated strategies. Xu Qing gritted her teeth, left Naruto's side and began to slaughter her way into the army of Outsiders. War was not the time to ruminate over matters like love and romance.

Naruto was also there. The three Outsider Paragons, as well as all of their Imperial Lords, were battling their way onto the Ninth Mountain. Shui Dongliu was fighting, as was the Paragon puppet, Ksitigarbha, the Mountain and Sea Lords, and Paragon Sea Dream, who was burning her own life force!

In addition to all that were the various Chosen who had acquired good fortune in the 33 Hells. They were the ones holding off the Imperial Lords, while Shui Dongliu single-handedly took on Dao Namikaze . That particular battle caused the entire Ninth Mountain to shake and eventually start to show signs of crumbling.

Sea Dream, the Paragon Puppet, and Ksitigarbha were running on fumes as they pinned down the 8-Essences male Paragon. As for Naruto, he brimmed with infinite killing intent as he fought the person who had brought about the death of his Grandpa Namikaze … the female Paragon with the weakened cultivation base.

FIGHT!

Heaven and Earth wept, and the starry sky wept tears of blood. On the various planets, the mortals more or less understood that some shocking event was occurring beyond the sky. After all, it had been some time since they had glimpsed either the sun or the moon.

From up above, countless dots of light could be seen, which were lanterns the mortals were using to light the endless night as they prostrated themselves to the Heavens, and offered up prayers.

From the beggars to the Emperors, everyone was doing the exact same thing….

This was a war of complete genocide. If the Mountains and Seas were defeated, it wouldn't just be the cultivators who died. The mortal world would also cease to exist….

Not even the Outsider Paragons could ever have predicted that the final battle would be so brutal, and yet, that was exactly how things were playing out.

The cultivator with the unusually large head sped across the Ninth Mountain, causing headaches for the powerful experts of the Mountains and Seas wherever he went. Although his cultivation base seemed comparable to the people he was tangling with, he rarely spent time in open fighting.

The overall situation was only getting worse for the Mountain and Sea Realm. On all fronts, it was essentially the same. Although Naruto was able to force the female Paragon back across the battlefield, he couldn't kill her. Furthermore, the interference from the large-headed cultivator was only causing his murderous aura to burn hotter.

Everyone was struggling to hold the line, however, it wouldn't be long before a breach was opened, and the Outsiders burst in like a flood!

The armies clashed, and the millions upon millions of Outsiders were relentlessly pushed back. However, there were simply too many of them. The berserk fighting state of the Mountain and Sea cultivators could only last for so long. As the self-detonations continued, and as the cultivators grew wearier, casualties mounted on both sides.

Over and over again, cries rang out across the battlefield of: "Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the Mountains and Seas!" It was the battle cry of the Mountains and Seas, and apparently, as long as those words could be heard echoing out, the Mountains and Seas would not fall. The moment the words ceased to be heard, it would mean the Mountain and Sea cultivators were all dead.

On one part of the battlefield that Naruto couldn't see, was Taiyang Zi. Soaked in blood and screaming savagely, he was not just fighting, he was unleashing complete savagery. However, in his madness, he was losing strength. His magical techniques were exhausted, his divine abilities spent, his magical items used up. And yet, he lunged forward and savagely buried his teeth into the neck of an Outsider. That Outsider had a higher cultivation base than him, but in its shock, it could do nothing more than let out a bloodcurdling scream.

Taiyang Zi ripped at the Outsider's throat with his teeth, ignoring the violent blows of other enemies blasting into him as he did so. Mad ruthlessness gleamed in his eyes, which were completely devoid of any regret.

In the end, when he began to lose consciousness because of the unceasing attacks of the surrounding Outsiders, he suddenly smiled.

"Live for the Mountains and Seas, die for the Mountains and Seas! I am Taiyang Zi!" A boom rang out as he self-detonated. Although the power of the explosion wasn't enormous, he didn't hesitate for a moment in his decision!

The Outsider whose throat he had been slashing at was ripped to shreds by the explosion. The other surrounding Outsiders managed to avoid death, but were seriously injured. Moments later, an enraged wave of Mountain and Sea cultivators surged in to take advantage of the situation.

The Outsiders' fear was visible in their eyes. From their perspective, these Mountain and Sea cultivators were not Immortals; they were a race even more savage than that.

On another part of the battlefield, where the Three Great Daoist Societies were making their stand, Fan Dong'er was there, her hair in disarray as she fought. She no longer looked anything at all like a Divine Daughter; she seemed out of her mind as she fought with complete and utter ruthlessness.

She had been a proud person, the Divine Daughter of the Nine Seas God World. But then came the defection of the Ninth Sea, which was a huge blow to the God World from the Ninth Sea. Fan Dong'er couldn't wrap her mind around it. The Ninth Sea was her home….

The Ninth Sea hadn't just taken away the sea beasts which resided in it; many of the Nine Seas God World disciples had left with it, even some of the Patriarchs. Their departure had caused the glory and splendor of the Nine Seas God World to fade into nothing.

Fan Dong'er didn't leave with them. She stayed with some of the other Senior members of the sect, and the rest of the disciples, to slaughter their way into the Outsider army. She was exhausted, and was soaked in both her own blood and the blood of the enemy.

Her once beautiful face had been slashed by a magical blade, opening up a grisly wound that made her look even more ferocious. Normally speaking, she wouldn't have been able to last this long in the fight. However, a corpse floated behind her, whose hair flew out to defend her constantly.

Fan Dong'er laughed bitterly as she continued to fight. And yet, her exhaustion only increased. She cut down one more Outsider, and that Outsider's dying counterattack shattered most of her heart's blood vessels.

"Am I going to die now…?" she thought, coughing up a mouthful of blood. As she began to lose consciousness, she looked toward the Ninth Mountain and just barely managed to catch sight of Naruto.

"Goodbye…." she said. Sighing, she was just about to self-detonate when the white-robed corpse behind her suddenly looked down at her with a benevolent expression. Sighing, the corpse's hair suddenly flew out, wrapping Fan Dong'er up in a cocoon which sank down into the starry sky.

If there was a bottom to the starry sky down below, then that is where they went…. No one else on the chaotic battlefield took note of their departure.

Further off in the distance was a middle-aged cultivator, who threw his head back and laughed maniacally. He was covered in so many wounds it seemed impossible that he could still be alive. Numerous flying swords were stabbed into him from all angles, and he was completely soaked in blood. Despite all that, he looked as ferocious as ever as he slaughtered his way into the Outsider army, laughing the entire time.

"I am Song Luodan, you bastards! Dao Child of the Song Clan! I defeated Naruto once before. Why don't you Outsider scumbags do me a favor and just DIIEEEE!"

Song Luodan was now in the Ancient Realm, but he fought with such brutality and power that the surrounding Outsiders were completely terrified, and tried to avoid him at all costs. As he slaughtered his way through the battlefield, Outsider corpses began to pile up around him. Eventually, his energy weakened and his aura disappeared. He came to a stop, surrounded by a multitude of corpses. He looked almost like he was simply resting there silently for a moment, silent.

However, after a bit of time passed, the shocked Outsiders began to edge closer.

At that point, one of the Outsider Elders sighed with mixed emotions and murmured, "He's finally dead…."

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1387

Chapter 1387 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1387: Planet South Heaven In Peril!

The Mountain and Sea cultivators fought on, along with Sea Dream and the Paragon puppet. Sea Dream hadn't accomplished much in the fighting so far. Her cultivation base had long since been in a state of atrophy, and it was only with the support of the Paragon puppet that she managed to continue fighting without suffering defeat.

As for Shui Dongliu, his attacks caused the starry sky to tremble as fantastic lights flashed about, accompanied by roaring booms.

Naruto's eyes abounded with killing intent as he fought the 8Essences female Paragon. Because of the Three Scripture Spikes, her cultivation base had dropped to the level of an Imperial Lord, and even seemed to be slipping toward that of a Dao Sovereign.

Naruto attacked without mercy. His Paragon Bridge descended, the crushing power of which left the female Paragon coughing up blood. She tried to flee, but then he unleashed his Demon Sealing Hexing magic!

The Essence of space began to form as he tried to seal her, but it was in that exact moment that the large-headed cultivator suddenly appeared and unleashed a bizarre magical technique. Booms rang out, and the blood drained from Naruto's face as his Essence of space was suddenly interrupted.

The shocked female Paragon coughed up blood; moments before, she had felt the shadow of death looming over her.

That didn't cause Naruto to pause, though. Even as he fell back, he unleashed the Fourth Hex, the Self Hex, causing a multitude of clones to appear, all of which charged toward the female Paragon in shocking fashion.

The Paragon's scalp went numb as she retreated in the face of countless Naruto clones all unleashing the God-Slaying Fist!

The convergence of so many God-Slaying Fists caused the starry sky to tremble, and filled the entire area with a towering murderous aura.

"NO!" she screamed. Unwilling to be defeated, she bit the tip of her tongue and spit out some blood, unleashing a secret magic that instantly caused her to grow blurry. At the same time, she produced a vast quantity of different magical items, holding nothing back as she then used even more secret magics to avoid the deadly fist strikes.

It was in that exact same moment that the large-headed cultivator popped up yet again. Simultaneously Naruto suddenly performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and jabbed it toward the man.

"I've been waiting for you to show up!" he said.

Hexing magic was unleashed, and yet, a strange gleam appeared in the eyes of the large-headed cultivator. Even as the power of Naruto's Hexing magic closed in, he suddenly split into two.

One version ended up trapped by the fetters of the Hex, whereas the other took a step to appear by the side of the female Paragon. Then, his body began to wriggle and shrink, except for his right hand, which grew larger as it apparently converged all of the power of his flesh and blood. Even as his body became completely out of proportion, a vicious expression could be seen on his face as he threw his own fist out to meet the God-Slaying Fist.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, but the same thing happened to the large-headed cultivator, who simultaneously dragged the female Paragon away. Despite having been rescued, she was also coughing up blood, and the seriousness of the injuries caused her to stare hatefully at Naruto.

"You really remind me of my old Master," said the large-headed cultivator, staring at Naruto with a serious expression as he wiped the blood from his mouth. 1

The female Paragon was currently not a match for Naruto, but because of the interference of the large-headed cultivator, Naruto was incapable of killing her.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes as he leapt back into the fight with the two of them.

As they fought, the dazzling shine of magical techniques spread out in all directions.

The fighting going on elsewhere was just as bitter. That was especially the case with Sea Dream, whose face was completely ashen as she tenaciously refused to stop fighting. The current battle involved the absolute peak fighters among both the 33 Heavens and the Mountain and Sea Realm. The starry sky twisted and distorted. Few words were exchanged; everyone knew that in this battle, one side would be wiped out, or the other would!

Originally, fighting like this should have been glorious and dazzling within the starry sky. However, the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were fighting with their last blaze of glory, causing the starry sky to darken and fade!

In this moment, the true glory belonged Song Luodan, and the other cultivators like him!

Then there were the cultivators who chose to self-detonate. They called out their names before becoming like bright stars shining out, casting light out once more into the starry sky.

However, that light didn't last long. More and more cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm fell in battle, and soon the Outsiders were able to bypass them and start advancing upon the Ninth Mountain itself. In turn, Mountain and Sea cultivators fell back to try to stop them.

The battleground was gradually shifting from being outside of the Ninth Mountain to within its very borders.

The Outsiders had finally made it to the last of the Mountains. The starry sky was shattered, and the Ninth Mountain was quaking. Its Xuanwu turtle was howling miserably, a howl filled with grief and unyielding madness!

Naruto's heart was trembling, and intense grief filled the hearts of Sea Dream and the other powerful experts. Ksitigarbha was laughing bitterly. Everyone knew that utter defeat was inevitable.

However, deep within their hearts, there was still a glimmer of hope. Although that hope was vague, it hadn't disappeared completely, and clung to life like a candle flickering in the wind.

Even as the army itself fought closer to the Ninth Mountain, Naruto and the other experts blocked the Paragons of the 33 Heavens. Of course, that also meant that they themselves could do nothing more in the fighting.

Both sides were tying each other up.

All of them could do little more than watch as the Outsider army slowly and inexorably made its way toward the Ninth Mountain.

Soon, the four great planets were under attack!

The first to be destroyed was Planet West Felicity. The entire planet was bombarded by countless Outsider divine abilities and magical techniques, until it finally collapsed into nothing more than rubble. Heaven and Earth shook violently as countless lives were snuffed out.

Next was Planet North Reed. After the Outsiders poured into the planet, it became nothing more than crumbled ruins in the starry sky.

The sight was like a sharp knife stabbing into the hearts of all the surviving Mountain and Sea cultivators. Some began to laugh bitterly. They had already given up on the idea of surviving. Ignoring all feelings of exhaustion, they turned and went back to slaughtering the Outsiders.

However, the Outsider army was vast, and the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were dying left and right. Although their madness struck fear and shock into the hearts of the Outsiders, in the end, the Mountain and Sea Realm's forces were too small.

Eventually, a third boom rang out within the space around the Ninth Mountain. Naruto watched with his own eyes as… Planet East Victory was transformed into ash….

"Impossible!" Naruto's heart was trembling, and his eyes were bright red. He was still in the middle of fighting the large-headed cultivator and the 8-Essences female Paragon, and could hardly believe that what he was seeing was actually happening.

There in front of his very eyes, Planet East Victory exploded.

"The Seventh Mountain and Sea was destroyed, meaning that Planet Tiger Cage is gone. That's impossible! And Planet East Victory was fused with the first generation Patriarch! How could he possibly be destroyed?

"This is impossible…." Naruto's heart trembled as he then watched the Outsider army fighting its way toward Planet South Heaven. At that point, he began to grow more anxious than ever.

Although his heart was connected to Planet East Victory, his true home was Planet South Heaven!

"There's still hope!" Looking around at the shattered Ninth Mountain, he saw the hopelessly outnumbered Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators fighting against all odds. He watched the planets falling, and his heart was stabbed with pain.

"There must be hope….

"The Windswept Imperial Lord hasn't appeared yet, nor has the successor of Immortal Ancient. Where is the Windswept Realm…?

"If they haven't shown up yet, then there's still hope…."

The flames of war burned ever closer to Planet South Heaven!

Planet South Heaven was Naruto's home, and was occupied by the

Namikaze Clan. Now that Planet East Victory was gone, everyone from the

Namikaze Clan was charging madly back in the direction of Planet South Heaven.

As countless divine abilities were unleashed by the horde of Outsiders, Planet South Heaven's spell formation appeared to defend the planet.

At the same time as the spell formation activated, numerous figures appeared outside of Planet South Heaven. One of them was Emperor Tang himself, backed by an army of puppets clad in black armor.

There was also Namikaze Xiufeng, Uzumaki Li, Namikaze Yu, as well as all the other members of the Namikaze Clan who stood guard on Planet South Heaven.

Their eyes gleamed with determination; they had pledged their lives to Planet South Heaven, and would die with it!

"I swore an oath to stand guard over Planet South Heaven… for 100,000 years!" Even as Namikaze Xiufeng's voice echoed out, grim and determined, the army of Outsiders surged forth in attack.

At the same time, all of the members of the Namikaze Clan, as well as numerous other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm who were connected to Planet South Heaven in a multitude of ways, raced over to fight both on Planet South Heaven itself, and in the skies beyond it. Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot. Roaring, he turned to break free from the fight with the female Paragon and the large-headed cultivator, heading toward Planet South Heaven with all the speed he could muster, to join his friends and family.

His parents and sister were there, and all his fellow clan members. Fatty, Might Guy , Wang Youcai, and Sun Hai were all racing in the same direction, as was Xu Qing.

In addition, there were Pill Demon and Ke Jiusi!

Planet South Heaven was Naruto's weak spot. To him, it was the most important and meaningful place in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

Even Patriarch Reliance roared in fury as he fought his way toward Planet South Heaven, a place which was inextricably tied into his memories.

Massive rumbling sounds echoed out. Planet South Heaven did not collapse like Planet East Victory had, thanks to the bloodline spell formation of the Allheaven Li Clan. The spell formation fought back against the endless hordes of Outsiders, and yet, it was starting to fade.

Emperor Tang laughed bitterly as he waved his hands, sending the innumerable black-armored puppets out to attack. They were joined by numerous vengeful ghosts which flew out from the spell formation.

Among those ghosts were men and women, elderly and young. These were the Li Clan cultivators who had sacrificed their own lives oh so many years ago. In life, they had been tasked with defending the Mountain and Sea Realm, and they would do the same thing in death.

Planet South Heaven was shaking as the entire place turned into a shocking battlefield.

Naruto wanted to return to Planet South Heaven, but there was someone who disagreed!

"Think you can just come and go as you please?" said the female Paragon, eyes flickering with killing intent. Naruto had fought her relentlessly up to this point, putting her in numerous deadly crises. Although she now knew that he was an extremely powerful opponent, she still wanted to see him dead.

Recalling what Paragon Xuan Namikaze had said before he died, the female Paragon's desire to kill Naruto grew even more intense. As soon as she realized that he wanted to leave, her desire to stop him exploded out.

"You aren't going anywhere! I'm going to force you to watch as everything you care about… is completely destroyed!" Even as the female Paragon began to chase Naruto, the large-headed cultivator hesitated. Although he had followed along with the plan to come to fight in this battle, he hadn't spoken much so far, which indicated the true feelings in his heart.

He sighed, but after a moment passed, chose to cooperate. Using his incredible speed, he shot after Naruto to block his path.

It was in that moment that rumbling sounds echoed out from Planet South Heaven. Naruto caught sight of his father and mother surrounded by Outsiders, coughing up blood. He saw Fatty and Wang Youcai, and all of his other friends, arriving on the scene. He saw Xu Qing laughing bitterly. He saw Patriarch Reliance roaring in fury, and he saw the alchemic flame within his Master Pill Demon flickering as it charged up to self-detonate.

Naruto was fearful, terrified, and his heart was being torn to pieces. A vicious expression appeared on his face as he let out a roar that caused Heaven and Earth to dim: "Screw off!"

Chapter 1387: Planet South Heaven In Peril!

All evidence points to the fact that this large-headed cultivator is a character from Renegade Immortal, who was also referred to as 'largeheaded' in that novel, and was a follower of Wang Lin. He hasn't appeared in the translated chapters as of this release, so if you follow that novel, you can be on the lookout for him in the future! ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1388

Chapter 1388: We Mountain and Sea Cultivators!

The large-headed cultivator and the female Paragon were now facing the wrath of Naruto; simultaneously, they unleashed Essence power that transformed into a sea of light that blocked his path.

Rumbling sounds rose up as Naruto shot forward and slammed head first into the sea of light, allowing it to envelop him as he fought his way forward.

The female Paragon was shocked, and the large-headed cultivator was visibly moved. They had just joined forces to unleash a shocking attack, but instead of evading, Naruto was trying to force his way through it.

Booms could be heard as an asteroid formed around Naruto, which shattered after only a few breaths of time. Then he became an azure roc, which shattered just as quickly. Finally, the meat jelly appeared, gritting its teeth as it transformed into a suit of armor. It was only at that point that Naruto burst out from within the sea of light!

"Want to pass? Never!" A venomous gleam appeared in the female Paragon's eyes, hatred for how Naruto had threatened her life during the recent fighting. She knew that he was powerful in terms of battle prowess, and that if he got past her, he would have a big influence on the fighting over Planet South Heaven. Therefore, she steeled herself in an attempt to block Naruto's path.

Neither Paragon Sea Dream, the Paragon puppet, nor Shui Dongliu were capable of forming clones, and thus were completely tied down fighting Dao Namikaze and the other 8-Essences Paragon. Ksitigarbha and the other Mountain and Sea Lords and powerful experts, as well as Wang Youcai and the other Chosen who had recently become Dao Sovereigns and Imperial Lords, were also caught up fighting their counterparts among the Outsiders.

Planet South Heaven was in critical danger!

The starry sky trembled as the Ninth Mountain teetered on the verge of collapse. This was absolutely the most critical moment of danger so far!

On Planet South Heaven itself, everything was shaking and rumbling. The seas and rivers ran red with blood. Emperor Tang's black-armored puppets were fighting fiercely, as were the ghosts of the Li Clan. Because of them, the power unleashed by the spell formation was even more shocking than before. At the moment, all Outsiders who attempted to break through the battle lines to enter Planet South Heaven were cut down.

Unfortunately, despite how the Outsiders were cut down, and despite the vast power of the spell formation itself, it was impossible for it to deal with the sheer numbers involved.

The Outsider army was too vast, and as they charged to their deaths in the spell formation, it began to grow dim.

Naruto's parents were completely spattered in blood. His sister was fighting with every ounce of strength she could muster, and Sun Hai stood by, protecting her. There were even a few times in which he sustained serious injuries to keep her safe.

Naruto saw all of this happening. He even saw his Master Pill Demon fighting ferociously, his alchemic flame burning bright. Although his cultivation base wasn't incredibly high, the medicinal pills he summoned allowed him to bolster the other Mountain and Sea cultivators with his own alchemic flame!

Fatty wept bitterly as he fought. Of his once flourishing group of beloved partners, more than half were dead. Fatty was enraged to the point of madness, eyes bloodshot as he took vicious bites out of the enemy forces.

Might Guy was taciturn, and trembling. Although he was fighting and killing the Outsiders, his mind seemed to be in another place. It was as if some important and weighty matter had filled him with conflicting thoughts, as if he couldn't see through things clearly, and was struggling with a decision.

Then there was Ke Jiusi, who was able to lock down significant swaths of the Outsider army. In fact, because of Night's divine ability, some of the Outsiders' most powerful experts were sucked away into ancient times to fight!

To see everyone he knew in such bitter situations caused Naruto to tremble. His eyes burned with flames as he burst out of the sea of light, ready to fight. The large-headed cultivator instantly appeared in front of him and punched out with all of the power of his flesh and blood.

A boom rang out, completely shaking Naruto. However, the counterstrike from Naruto was just as devastating. Both parties fell back, blood spraying out of their mouths.

At the same time, the female Paragon uttered a magical curse, causing the sea of light to twist and seethe, then explode out with power that inundated Naruto.

"Want to get past here… I don't think so!" The female Paragon chuckled coldly, backing up as she performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the sea of light to expand. Moments later, Naruto roars could be heard from within.

"You… just don't know when to back down," the large-headed cultivator said slowly.

However, even as the words left his mouth, a new sound echoed out

with the roaring in the sea of light. Suddenly, booming sounds like that of a huge drum could be heard!

Boom!

BOOM!

BOOM!

It was almost as if a giant were walking about within that sea of light. After the sound echoed out seven times, the sound of the roaring reached a level that was difficult to put into words. Then, a colorful beam of light shot out from inside the sea of light.

It was none other than Naruto!

He was covered in blood, but as he shot out, the starry sky trembled, and an indescribably murderous aura exploded out, seeming to freeze everything. The large-headed cultivator gritted his teeth, sending his cultivation base into full rotation as he slammed toward Naruto.

Even as the boom of their collision rang out, the female Paragon suddenly bit the tip of her tongue and spat out some blood. Her hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and she suddenly seemed to age as she unleashed a strange Daoist magic that caused the glob of blood to transform into a sea, a second barrier after the sea of light!

After slamming into the large-headed cultivator, Naruto ignored any subsequent injuries to fly around the man, only to find a sea of blood now standing in his way.

A boom rang out, and the sea churned. The female Paragon let out a miserable cry, and her hair was thrown into disarray. She was shaking, and her skin was covered in rips and tears. However, the sea of blood held, and would not allow Naruto to pass!

"You shall not pass!" the woman screamed. Naruto was stuck inside of the sea of blood, his face pale, his body trembling. It was at that point that, without the slightest hesitation, he produced the Sun Bow and drew upon his life force to unleash two arrows!

The first arrow pierced through the sea of blood, destroying more than half of it. The second arrow shot toward the female Paragon herself, causing her eyes to widen as she fell back. This in turn caused the largeheaded cultivator, who had initially been focused on blocking Naruto's progress, to change his plan and move to save the female Paragon.

All of this happened in the time it takes a spark to fly off of a piece of flint. After shooting the two arrows, Naruto's body was significantly withered, but his eyes gleamed with determination. Ignoring everything else, he unleashed the top speed he could muster to shoot toward Planet South Heaven!

Unfortunately, he was a bit too late!

Outside of Planet South Heaven, Namikaze Wei was laughing. His eyes gleamed with ferocity, madness, and slaughter. He had lost his right arm, his left arm, and both his legs. However, he still had his torso!

"I am Namikaze Wei. The Wei in my name means to defend. Defend the Namikaze Clan!"

As he fought on madly, other members of the Namikaze Clan chose to selfdetonate, sending explosive power out to bury the Outsiders!

The Grand Elder fell in battle!

Namikaze Yanxu was there, hair in disarray, drenched in blood. Letting out a piercing cry, he self-detonated!

One Chosen after another fell in battle. There were many faces familiar to Naruto, and some which were strangers. However, as their voices rang out in the moments before their deaths, they became like swords that stabbed Naruto in the heart!

His parents were injured, Namikaze Yu was injured, Xu Qing was injured.

Wounds crisscrossed Might Guy and Sun Hai. Booms filled Planet South Heaven as the last of the black-armored puppets was destroyed!

Emperor Tang laughed bitterly as countless Outsiders blasted away at the Li Clan spell formation. Clearly, it was on the verge of complete collapse.

"The Li Clan is one of the Allheaven Clans," he said. "Back then… we sacrificed our lives to create this spell formation. Today… we will make another sacrifice. Why wouldn't we die for the Mountain and Sea Realm!?

"We Mountain and Sea cultivators live and die for the Mountains and Seas!" Emperor Tang's laughter grew louder and louder as he charged into the fighting, joined by the countless Li Clan ghosts from the spell formation.

One living cultivator led the ghosts of his clan into a deadly offensive, slaughtering their way into the army of Outsiders, killing one after another after another!

In the end, Emperor Tang's laughter rang out as he decisively shouted out in a voice that echoed through all Heaven and Earth!

"We Mountain and Sea cultivators live and die for the Mountains and Seas!"

BOOOOMMMMMM!

When he chose to self-detonate, the last living member of the Li Clan exploded, after which all of the ghosts… also began to explode. In truth, the ghosts themselves could not self-detonate. What was exploding… was Planet South Heaven's spell formation!

The Li Clan ghosts, the structure of the entire South Heaven Death Formation, were all exploding!

The spell formation shook all of the lands, sending out a shockwave that blasted away all wind and clouds!

The spell formation itself became resplendent light, and a screaming tempest that raged out in all directions. The Outsiders in the army were astonished, and those looks of shock were the last expressions to appear on their faces for all eternity!

The blast rattled out, transforming one Outsider after another into nothing more than ash. The huge boom caused all fighters in the war to turn their heads to look.

Outsiders and Mountain and Sea cultivators alike couldn't help but look over.

What they saw was the shockwave of the spell formation spreading out in a ring, wiping out more than forty percent of the Outsider army around Planet South Heaven!

The Li Clan was an Allheaven Clan, a remnant of the true forces who had fought in the original war of the Paragon Immortal Realm. They swore to defend the Mountain and Sea Realm, and on this day, they lived up to their oath of tens upon tens of thousands of years!

Each and every member of the clan died. Not a single successor to the bloodline remained!

A wave of grief swept up into the hearts and minds of all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"We Mountain and Sea cultivators live and die for the Mountains and Seas!" Those words echoed out into their minds, affixing themselves there for all time.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1389

Chapter 1389: Stand Behind Me!

Outside of Planet South Heaven, there were still millions of Outsiders who were trembling after having just survived a horrific catastrophe. It was something they would never be able to forget.

However… now that the spell formation was gone, Planet South Heaven… had lost its defenses. Gradually, the Outsiders' eyes began to glow red. It was hard to say who began the charge, but soon, the entire army was raging toward Planet South Heaven!

It was also in this moment that, at the very apex of the starry sky, in the location where the 33 Heavens came from, things had been very silent since the descent of Dao Namikaze . But now, the starry sky there began to distort, as though a force of killing intent was pushing its way in!

At some undetectable location in the starry sky bordering the Mountain and Sea Realm in the Vast Expanse, a huge land mass was rumbling along, crushing anything that got in its way.

Dragging that land mass along were nine huge suns, radiating dazzling light!

They were coming!

Back on Planet South Heaven, the remnants of the spell formation were dissipating. As the millions of Outsiders barreled forth in attack, cracks and crevices began to appear on the surface of the planet.

Planet South Heaven was on the brink of collapsing!

All of the cultivators on the planet were coughing up blood, and up in the sky, countless Outsiders appeared and began to fight viciously. From the look of things, all creation on South Heaven… existed in the shadows of the Outsiders.

Planet South Heaven was now in a moment of indescribable crisis. Naruto's father Namikaze Xiufeng coughed up a mouthful of blood as a hail of flying swords stabbed into him. When Naruto saw that happen, the entire world seemed to grind to a halt.

Even as he burst out from within the sea of blood, these were the images which filled his eyes.

"NO!" Eyes bloodshot, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, blasting a path through the Outsider army. Countless Outsiders screamed miserably as they were transformed into ash.

Naruto shot with indescribable speed through the path he had created, arriving at Planet South Heaven just in time to catch his father as he began to fall down after having been stabbed through by numerous flying swords.

At the same time, he unleashed a vicious blow onto the lands down below.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The ground quaked, and yet, was not destroyed. Instead, the power rebounded, shooting up into the sky, causing a massive force to slam into the Outsiders. Miserable cries could be heard from the Outsiders in the area as massive pressure slammed into them, causing them to explode.

Instantly, all Heaven and Earth was filled with a rain of Outsider blood!

The Outsiders who were still off in the distance gasped. Looking at Naruto in astonishment, they began to back up, not daring to get close at all.

Naruto's hair was whipping around his head. He was like a volcano erupting with a murderous aura so intense it darkened everything.

Namikaze Xiufeng was critically injured, but it wasn't a fatal blow. Seeing Naruto appear so suddenly, he smiled, a smile filled with warmth, pride, and delight.

The arrival of Naruto caused excitement to ripple through the members of the Namikaze Clan, and all the other cultivators on Planet South Heaven began to cry out passionately.

"Naruto!"

"Crown Prince!"

"The Crown Prince is back!' Countless cries echoed out. Tears streamed down Uzumaki Li's face as she helped Namikaze Xiufeng out of Naruto's arms. There was no time for Naruto to reminisce. Seeing the bloodshot eyes of Xu Qing, Fatty, Might Guy , Sun Hai, and his sister Namikaze Yu, and the wounds which covered them, Naruto's fury rose to new heights.

Without speaking another word, he turned and unleashed his magical techniques and divine abilities. The Paragon Bridge rumbled out, and the Mountain Consuming Incantation caused countless mountains to appear. The nearby Outsiders were incapable of evading; considering the disparity between their cultivation bases and Naruto's, vast casualties were inflicted.

Naruto seemed completely maddened as he charged out to unleash more slaughter. However, it was at this point that the large-headed cultivator and the female Paragon came speeding over from off in the distance. Venomous hatred flickered in the Paragon's eyes as she performing an incantation gesture, then hit herself on the top of the head. Instantly, a violet pearl shot out from her mouth, which transformed into a violet sea.

The large-headed cultivator frowned, and then his body distorted as an intense level of power erupted off of him, which merged into the violet sea as it shot toward Naruto.

A vicious expression twisted Naruto's face as he lifted the Sun Bow and fired three arrows!

Shooting three arrows caused him to cough up blood and lose vast quantities of life force. Three arrows was his limit. Three shocking arrows. The first was like a dragon that shot toward the large-headed cultivator, and when it slammed into him, blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was sent tumbling backward. Simultaneously, the second arrow closed in on him.

The third arrow stabbed through the violet sea toward the female Paragon, causing her eyes to widen. However, the large-headed cultivator was unable to extricate himself from his own danger to rescue her, so she had no choice but to grit her teeth and let the arrow stab through her. Instantly, she exploded.

However, it didn't result in her death. After exploding, she reformed, whereupon her face was ashen, and the hatred in her eyes toward Naruto was even greater than before.

"I'm going to skin you alive!" she screamed. The life-saving magic she had just used came at a price, and that price was that she would never again be able to attain an 8-Essences cultivation base!

Because of the three spikes that had been stabbed into her, she had already been placed in a situation where it would have been difficult to return to the 8-Essences level. However, the life-saving magic she had just used fractured her Dao foundation, ensuring that it would never be possible!

Simultaneously, blood sprayed out of the mouth of the large-headed cultivator, whose body was half destroyed after dealing with the second arrow. However, he quickly began to form back together, and at the same time, a powerful gravitational force appeared, which shredded tens of thousands of nearby Outsiders to pieces. In the blink of an eye, he absorbed them, and was back at his peak level of power.

"You've already reached your limit with those arrows," he said. "I didn't really want to kill you today, but we're on different sides. Please forgive me." After a moment, the large-headed cultivator sighed and then began to stride toward Naruto.

The female Paragon's hair was completely disheveled, and she was filled with unending venom. Once again, she slapped her forehead, spitting out a mouthful of blood that was mixed with chunks of internal organs. The blood rapidly transformed into a corrupt and defiled sea of blood which was far stronger than any of the other seas of blood she had produced.

Shockingly, she even managed to pack some of her sealed and weakened Essence into the sea of blood, making it burst with a power that rivaled the 8-Essences level.

That was something she normally wouldn't ever do, not even if the 33 Heavens were about to lose the entire war. After all, she cared mostly about herself, and as long as there were some way to escape the situation, she would take it. But now, her Dao foundation has been crushed, dooming her to never again reach the 8-Essences level. Her hatred had reached the level of insanity, and she therefore didn't hesitate to spit out her sealed Essence, all in exchange for the chance to unleash… an 8-Essences divine ability!

"Corrupt your heart! Defile your Dao foundation! I call upon my life force magic to decimate your blood and send your soul into eternal destruction!" Gritting her teeth, she glared at Naruto and the surrounding members of the Namikaze Clan.

"And not just you, but your whole clan! Do you really think I wasn't aware that the damned Heaven Severing Doyen was connected to you people by soul and blood?!" That was one of the main reasons for her hatred for both Naruto and the Namikaze Clan.

Even as the words left her mouth, the corrupt, defiled sea of blood shot toward Naruto so quickly that he had no chance to avoid or dodge it!

Naruto instantly unleashed all of the power of his cultivation base, and yet it did nothing to the sea of blood. The Paragon Bridge, and even his Hexing magic were all powerless to prevent it from boring into the pores in his body.

The intense pain caused him to let out a bloodcurdling scream. His eyes bulged, and blue veins popped out all over his face. However, this divine ability had been unleashed by the female Paragon at the cost of a huge sacrifice, and was something he couldn't match up to.

The corrupt and defiled blood vanished into him, filling every part of his body. Instantly, it began to cancel out his own blood, to attack his heart, to defile and corrupt his internal organs.

He had already been weak and injured, but now he was shaking even more violently, and his consciousness was fading. He almost seemed incapable of standing upright, and did so only by sheer willpower. Inside, he was screaming and struggling against the effects.

"Kill them all!" the female Paragon said. Then she coughed up a mouthful of blood and sat down cross-legged, using her divine sense to manipulate the corrupt and defiled blood inside of Naruto. She planned to wipe him away for good!

Clearly, she wished to vent her hatred for the Heaven Severing Doyen upon the entire Namikaze Clan. That hatred, coupled with the fact that Naruto had injured her so severely, ensured that she was devoted to the idea of destroying his Dao foundation.

Roaring battle cries rang out as the Outsider army once again charged forth in attack.

The large-headed cultivator sighed quietly, and chose not to do

anything. He stood off the side, watching everything play out. Deep within his eyes, he seemed somewhat confused, as if he were pondering whether or not this war should ever have been fought.

Outside of Planet South Heaven, near the Ninth Mountain, Mountain and Sea cultivators were self-detonating, dying, and being shoved back across the battlefield as countless Outsiders continued to fill the Ninth Mountain.

The Ninth Mountain was teetering, filled with countless invisible cracks and fissures which left it on the verge of being completely destroyed.

The Mountain and Sea Realm was left with a single, crumbling mountain, and a broken planet.

Naruto was trembling in the sky above Planet South Heaven as the female Paragon personally attempted to erode his Dao. As his blood was burned away, he continued to inch toward unconsciousness. Even his cultivation base was falling.

Laughing bitterly, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of black blood filled with countless vile chunks of flesh.

Gritting his teeth, he looked around at his compatriots, then rotated what was left of his cultivation base and said to them, "Stand behind me!"

With that, he strode forward to fight against the Outsiders!

Note from Er Gen: I know there are some Fellow Daoists who aren't very happy with this war. It's also been exhausting to write it. However, the events of the war were finalized in my original outline for the story. Thankfully, we will be reaching the conclusion of the war soon, and I won't be writing anything like this again in the story.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1390

Chapter 1390 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1390: Farewell, My Hao'er

Naruto was already having trouble standing. The Outsiders were on the verge of killing his family, his friends, and all the other cultivators on South Heaven. He clenched his jaw and drew upon all the energy in his body to unleash a deadly attack, all to defend the people he cared about.

Everyone began to cry out.

"Hao'er!"

"Naruto!"

"Crown Prince!"

Xu Qing wept, and walked up to Naruto to help support him.

However, Naruto pushed her to the side and reached out to grab an Outsider who had been sneaking up to attack her from behind. He grabbed the Outsider by the throat, and then cracking sounds echoed out as its neck was crushed.

"Get behind me!" he said, panting. Then his hands flashed in a doublehanded incantation gesture as he once again unleashed destruction upon the Outsider army.

And yet, there only seemed to be more and more Outsiders, and Naruto was getting weaker and weaker.

Off in the distance, the Paragon puppet's eyes flickered, and energy erupted off of it as it tried to head in Naruto's direction, only to be blocked by the other 8-Essences Paragon. Paragon Sea Dream was also locked down, and couldn't get close to Planet South Heaven.

Shui Dongliu sighed, and a conflicted expression appeared on his face for a moment before fading away.

"Everything is for the Mountain and Sea Realm," he murmured in a voice that only he could hear. He sighed inwardly. "The seal on Planet South Heaven cannot be unraveled by a Mountain and Sea cultivator, only the Outsiders. Plus, the right propelling souls are still required…. It's almost time. Almost time…." Even as he waved a hand to unleash another attack upon Dao Namikaze , he looked up at the very end of the starry sky up above.

A miserable cry rang out on Planet South Heaven. Naruto was trembling, and his cultivation base was dropping rapidly. The 8-Essences female Paragon had paid an incredible price to unleash a divine ability that he could scarcely defend against. The power of that divine ability was relentlessly attempting to corrupt his blood and defile his body.

Everything began to go blurry, and countless voices were crying out in his ears. There were angry roars, boastful taunts, miserable shrieks, and bitter weeping.

"Die…." he said softly. He once again burst out toward the surrounding Outsiders, leaving behind a trail of blood and death. Outsider corpses were piling up everywhere.

His left arm was broken, but he had his right!

He gritted his teeth as his cultivation base continued to drop. Waving his right hand, he summoned numerous mountains. With each step he took, gale-force winds swept about, and the attacking Outsiders were destroyed.

He was protecting the people he cared for and loved. He didn't want to see his friends and family hurt. His mind was empty, devoid of any thoughts except… that determination.

Countless Outsiders roared as they attacked, and even though he was slipping closer toward unconsciousness, his desire to kill was no less. His right arm was broken, but he merely gritted his teeth in response. His legs were crushed, but he ignored the pain. Defiant, shocking roars echoed out in all directions.

The Namikaze Clan cultivators, Fatty, Naruto's parents, and all the other Mountain and Sea cultivators unleashed attacks in all directions. Thanks to the protection being offered by Naruto, some of them were wounded, but none were in danger of losing their lives.

However, the price paid by Naruto was that his cultivation base continued to drop dangerously.

The large-headed cultivator hovered there silently. Next to him was the female Paragon, brow furrowed in concentration as she directed her divine ability. Naruto was burning his life force. Exhaustion engulfed him like floodwaters. His vision was now not just growing blurry, it was also darkening.

He wasn't sure how many Outsiders he had killed, but it seemed like no matter how many he cut down, more appeared in their place. He was weak beyond belief. He attempted to summon his Soul Lamps, to extinguish them as a way to recover. However, because of the corruption of his blood, his Soul Lamps were defiled, and he could not summon them!

He began to headbutt the Outsiders, causing black blood to spray out of his mouth. His cultivation base continued to fall.

Behind him, all those he was protecting were injured, maddened, and begrieved. Tears streamed down their faces as they looked at Naruto there in front of them, as solid as a mountain.

An endless field of Outsider corpses stretched out in front of him, beyond which was the seemingly infinite army. They looked at Naruto with fear and shock. He was no longer equivalent to a Paragon; his cultivation base had dropped, and he was teetering on the verge of collapse. However, the intense murderous aura which radiated out of him could shake Heaven and Earth.

As he stood there surrounded by death, energy surging, the Outsiders were so frightened that they didn't dare to advance any further.

Conflicted expressions could be seen as they looked at Naruto. Cultivators like him were rare in the 33 Heavens, but after invading the Mountain and Sea Realm, they had seen one after another.

And now, they were facing Naruto.

For the moment, the battlefield went silent, and although Naruto's eyes were somewhat blank, he managed to quietly say, "Qing'er, bind my wounds."

Xu Qing approached, tears streaming down her ashen face. She ripped a strip of cloth off of her garment, and as all of the nearby Outsiders and Namikaze Clan cultivators watched, she wrapped it tightly around his broken right arm.

Seeing her tears, he murmured, "Don't cry. Tighter now, otherwise it might slip."

Xu Qing bit her lip and quietly bound the other arm, making sure the bandages were tight.

Even as the Outsiders stood there, terrified and unwilling to advance, the female Paragon's eyes opened and she cried out shrilly, "Kill them all!"

Her voice, and her status, ensured that the Outsiders only hesitated for a moment before erupting with powerful roars. Then, the army surged like floodwaters toward Naruto.

Planet South Heaven trembled, and crevices opened up all over its surface. Apparently, it was on the very brink of collapsing.

As Naruto stood there, fighting to clear his vision, the mastiff flew out from his bag of holding, roaring as it charged into the Outsiders.

The Blood Demon ripped open a rift and emerged, and Naruto's

Blood Spirit appeared, both of whom attacked the Outsiders viciously. Naruto's legs were shattered, making it impossible to walk, but he stood there like a mountain, allowing the virtual sea of Outsiders to bash into him. And yet, he didn't fall!

His right hand shot out to lock around the neck of one Outsider, while his left fist slammed into the chest of another. Outsiders were launching divine abilities at him from all directions, but even as they slammed into him, he head-butted another Outsider.

This disturbing scene left the Outsiders completely shocked. The mastiff was fighting like mad, a streak of red light flying about. Soon, there were simply too many Outsiders, so the mastiff grabbed Naruto with its teeth, sustaining severe injuries as it dragged him back toward the Namikaze Clan cultivators.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto's mouth. His cultivation base had already dropped below the Immortal Realm. His fellow clan members, his family, and his friends were all weeping from the tragedy of what was happening.

"I…." Naruto struggled to rise to his feet, when all of a sudden a hand clasped softly onto his shoulder.

It was Namikaze Xiufeng. He had sustained serious injuries, and yet his hand still radiated intense pressure as he looked down at Naruto.

"Hao'er, allow father to step in. If you survive this, make sure to take care of yourself in the future…."

With that, Namikaze Xiufeng took a deep breath and, without giving Uzumaki

Hao a chance to say or do anything, strode forward toward the Outsiders. He was Naruto's father, and he wouldn't sit idly by while his own son fought for him. He was Namikaze Xiufeng!

He had been the greatest Chosen of the Namikaze Clan! He was the Clan Chief! But what he was most proud of was that he… was Naruto's father!

"Today is the day that the Mountain and Sea Realm dies, and the Namikaze Clan dies. You want to wipe us out to end a blood feud. Well, if even a drop of Namikaze Clan blood survives, then no matter how many years pass, we will get revenge!" As Namikaze Xiufeng strode out, vast numbers of Namikaze Clan cultivators joined him to attack the Outsiders!

Earlier, Naruto had been protecting them. But now, they would protect Naruto!

Rumbling echoed out as the slaughter began. By this point, the cultivators of the Namikaze Clan had reached a state of madness that exceeded that of any of the other Mountain and Sea cultivators in the fight so far. The boom of self-detonations began to ring out.

Blood oozed out of the corners of Naruto's mouth, and his vision faded even more. He heard the countless miserable shrieks echoing in his ears. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. He saw fellow clan members self-detonating. He saw… his father there in the middle of the Outsider army, slaughtering the enemy. However, he was already wounded, and suddenly, an Outsider landed a heavy blow on his chest.

He fell back, killing the Outsider, but unable to avoid a flying sword which stabbed into his heart!

The sword stabbed through him, causing a spray of blood to erupt out of him like a fountain….

Naruto was shaking, and his eyes were wide. As he watched everything happen, he wanted to make everything stop, but was unable to change anything.

As the sword stabbed through Namikaze Xiufeng, he let out an indomitable roar, and then… he looked back at his wife.

He looked at his daughter, and he looked at his son. In the past, he had intentionally looked at his son with awe and reverence, something that a father normally wouldn't do. But he was willing to do just that. He was willing to set the example for others. He knew that Naruto was actually soft-hearted, and that he needed to learn about the bitterness of war. He needed to grow up in a way that could only be done in the most bitter of battles.

He had come to the realization long ago that he… wouldn't be able to stand by Naruto's side forever. Eventually, the day would come when he wouldn't be there, and when that happened… he hoped that his son could be strong.

His love for Naruto was just like Ke Yunhai's love for Ke Jiusi. It was profound, and filled with hope.

Today, he stepped out to fight knowing that he would die. He knew that considering the level of Naruto's cultivation base, he shouldn't be in such danger right now. Namikaze Xiufeng knew that it was only because of himself, and the other clan members. He didn't want to be a hindrance to Naruto, and because of that, because of the incredible danger Naruto was facing, Namikaze Xiufeng chose to ensure that no such hindrance existed.

"Your path still stretches far out into the future…."

As father and son gazed into each other's eyes, Naruto's heart felt like it was tearing apart. He felt confusion gnawing at him, and fear.

"Dad…." he mouthed, unable to give voice to the word.

Namikaze Xiufeng smiled, then closed his eyes.

 _Farewell, my Hao'er…._

When he opened his eyes, they shone with a bright light as he chose to… self-detonate!

His injuries were severe, so he knew that even if he didn't self-detonate, he would die in the fighting. Instead, he would tell everyone: _I am Namikaze Xiufeng! Live and die for the Mountains and Seas!_

The boom that echoed out was not an unusual sound on the battlefield. But to Naruto, it was as if all Heaven and Earth were shaking!

It was a sound that reaved the Heavens and sundered the Earth. Naruto's entire world was completely shattered.

Chapter 1390: Farewell, My Hao'er

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1391

Chapter 1391: I Don't Need Any Of It

"No…." Naruto was trembling as tears of anguish rolled down his cheeks. His world was crumbling. This was the second time he had experienced the pain of a father passing away. The first time had been with Ke Yunhai, and now, it was with his true father, Namikaze Xiufeng.

Memories from his childhood rose up in his mind; how his father had slaughtered Namikaze Clan cultivators to protect him, and how he had agreed to be stranded on Planet South Heaven for 100,000 years for him.

He remembered reuniting with his parents, and the look in his father's eyes as he passed on his sword technique, simultaneously cowing all of South Heaven.

He remembered his father's quiet encouragement when he had finally left Planet South Heaven.

He remembered how tall and strong his father seemed, like a mountain in his heart….

He remembered how, after becoming the Crown Prince of the Namikaze Clan, he had taken the whole clan to pay respects, and the tears of pride which had glistened in his father's eyes.

He remembered how, after his cultivation base had reached towering heights, and the war had broken out, his father had looked at him with such awe and reverence. Back then, he didn't understand that, and had even felt hurt, and alone. But he had buried those feelings, and focused on being strong. Now, in that single look that his father gave him, Naruto realized that it had all been done intentionally by his father.

He realized that his father chose to die because, at this critical and deadly crossroads in the war, he didn't want to become… a hindrance to his son.

He hoped that his own death would give Naruto a chance to survive.

His love for his son was clear, and profoundly deep.

Everything he did was for his son, for Naruto….

A father is often stern, and doesn't express his love for his children. But when the critical moment arrives… he will sacrifice himself, even if all that gives them is a bit more time to flee for their lives.

Naruto was trembling, and his hands were clenched tightly into fists. His heart was broken, and as his tears spilled down his face, they began to turn red. A strange sound began to echo in his throat, and it was hard to tell whether it was weeping or laughter, despair or rage.

Off in the distance, Namikaze Wei's head flew off of his shoulders as he was decapitated…. In the moment before he was killed, his glaring eyes seemed to shout I am Namikaze Wei, I will defend… the Namikaze Clan.

Countless members of the Namikaze Clan wept with madness as they fought. One after another self-detonated, using that power to batter at the Outsiders.

Namikaze Yu was attacking like mad, just as everyone else was. Sun Hai was by her side. She was the true love of his life, and he would protect her even if he died doing so. Shielding her with his body, they slaughtered their way into the Outsiders.

Naruto's mother was standing there in a daze, her hand extended as if she were trying to grab hold of something. However, there was nothing there…. She watched as her husband transformed into a blazing inferno, then into ash, taking numerous Outsiders with him into death. Trembling, she smiled.

It was a poignant smile, a soft smile, and at the same time, her eyes filled with both understanding and determination.

"When we got married, you said… that we would live together and die together….

"During Naruto's Seventh Year Tribulation, you said that together we would defy fate.

"That night, you went, sword in hand, to cut down the vile clan members who persecuted Hao'er. You thought that I wasn't watching, but I was. You returned, soaked in blood, and wept softly as you looked over Hao'er as he slept.

"In the Tower of Tang, you stopped me from going to save him, but I knew that at the same time, your heart was breaking. You were struggling just like I was, and I knew because when you held my hand, your hand was shaking even harder than mine.

"When Hao'er brought the clan to pay respects, you put on a casual front, but I know that you were more excited and proud than you had ever been.

"When Yu'er brought Sun Hai to meet us, I know that you had already run a thorough investigation on him. You wholeheartedly approved of your son-in-law, because you realized how sincere his feelings were for Yu'er.

"To ensure that everyone revered and respected Hao'er, you had to pretend that you were awestruck. I know that you did that… for Hao'er….

"You aren't the type of person who is good at expressing himself, but I know that you love Hao'er and Yu'er just as much as I do….

"We were married on Planet East Victory, and sent to stand guard on Planet South Heaven. We spent many years together, but today, you've gone…. And I'll go with you, because I remember that oath we made on the day we were married.

"We live together… and we die together!"

Even as the booms echoed out on the battlefield, Uzumaki Li turned to look at Naruto and Namikaze Yu, and she smiled. She was loathe to part with them, but she understood the meaning of Namikaze Xiufeng's death. And so, she began to walk out onto the battlefield.

"Hao'er, Yu'er, flee from this place. It doesn't matter how, get away… Flee, and live."

Naruto trembled as he watched his mother walk out into the Outsider army. As they swept over her, a sudden explosion ripped through their ranks.

Blue veins popped out on Naruto's face and neck. His eyes were bloodshot, and he was shaking so hard that wisps of smoke began to rise up from his head.

"Dad…. Mom…." Tears flowed down his face. He wanted to cry, and at the same time, to laugh. He wanted to howl in anguish, and roar in rage. However, all the sounds were stuck in his throat.

In that moment, Naruto's world seemed to stop moving. His blood ceased flowing. Everything went still.

The only sound that could be heard was the beating of his heart, which pounded like thunder. It filled his mind, as if it wished to burst out from within him, to sweep through the starry sky and put an end to everything!

Suddenly, the cold voice of the female Paragon echoed out. "This planet will be destroyed. That man who just died was your father? And that woman who died with him was your mother? How amusing."

Her words were like a key that unlocked the cage within which Naruto had been festering. He suddenly began to laugh, a laughter filled with misery, dementia, and defiance!

"Gone…? Are they really gone…?

"You people, should die. You… shall die. You… MUST DIE!" As Naruto laughed, tears of blood streamed down his face. He was shaking harder than ever now, and at the same time, a terrifying aura erupted out of him.

When the female Paragon heard his laughter, she shivered uncontrollably, and her heart seized. For some reason, she even felt a bit frightened.

When the large-headed cultivator heard Naruto's laughter, his pupils constricted.

Naruto slowly looked up, his eyes shining with grief as he looked out across the battlefield. "You want to corrupt my Dao? You want to defile my blood? You want to befoul my soul….?

"I was fighting back before. I didn't want that defilement. But now I think, maybe that was a mistake….

"Who cares about a bit of befoulment!?" Eyes shining with coldness and insanity, he embraced the grief, and suddenly, the look in his eyes transformed into something bizarrely shocking.

"Who cares about some defilement? I don't need my Dao. I don't need my blood. I don't need my soul. I only need… to kill you people!" Even as the words left his mouth, it was without the slightest hesitation that he stopped fighting back against the corruption and defilement within his blood. In the blink of an eye, he began to shake as the power of the curse transformed his blood, stained his soul, washed over his bones, and besmirched his Dao foundation.

All of a sudden, the aura which erupted from within him was no longer that of the Immortal Realm or the Ancient Realm. Instead, it was some type of fusion, an indescribable, unspeakable aura.

It was a multifarious aura. Moments ago, it had been completely ordinary, but now it was almost diabolical. Before, it was pure and clean, but now it was corrupt and defiled!

Black veins spread out across his face, and then his entire body. His hair grew incredibly long, and shrill laughter rang out as he stood there shaking.

As the laughter filled the air, he shattered his Dao foundation, and his Immortal meridians!

The surrounding Outsiders were completely and utterly shocked. They could sense something terrifying within Naruto, something that was neither Immortal, God, nor Devil. It was like a mutation!

A shocking aura which had mutated out from an Immortal!

"You… you…." the female Paragon said with a gasp. She seemed astonished, even incredulous. She was sure that her corruption magic shouldn't do anything like this. After unleashing it, the victim should have turned into a pool of defiled blood, but now… although Naruto clearly was being corrupted… he wasn't dying, but instead was undergoing some strange transmogrification.

"How could this be!?" she thought. Her scalp was tingling from the bizarre, indescribable sensation she was now getting from Naruto.

It was almost as if Heaven and Earth were being affected, as if the starry sky were being influenced. All Immortals, all Gods, all cultivators, everything in existence could sense the incredible pressure coming from Naruto.

"What… what is that?!"

The large-headed cultivator's eyes went wide, and he began to pant as he started at Naruto, his mind reeling.

Rumbling could be heard as Naruto slowly looked up. His eyes were now bright red, not from being bloodshot, but because, in his pain and anguish, they had actually turned crimson.

They were like gemstones, but if you looked at them long enough, they seemed like seas of blood.

He had bright red eyes, skin covered with black veins, and long pitchblack hair. As he stood there, all creation seemed to be trembling, and ripples were surging out through the starry sky. At the same time, a sensation of utter terror began to rise up in the hearts of the Outsiders.

It was as if… some sinister and mysterious pressure had suddenly begun to radiate out from Naruto.

"The only person who knows what choice I made back then," he murmured, "is me." With that, he waved his hand, and his Soul Lamps suddenly appeared.

They were different than before; these Soul Lamps burned with a mysterious, blue-violet flame!

The blue-violet fire made no noise as it burned, and yet the entire starry sky shook.

Both on Planet South Heaven and outside of it, Outsiders and cultivators alike, everyone, even the Paragons, even Shui Dongliu, felt a terrifying sensation!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1392

Chapter 1392: Happy Now?

There was a Devil.

And there was a God, who was half of an Immortal.

Furthermore, there ought to have been a true Immortal!

The Paragon Immortal Realm was to be the birthplace of that Immortal.

Apparently it had been foreordained that at some point in history, the Immortal would open his eyes, and stride forth to reach the ultimate peak of existence.

The Immortal was above the God, and could suppress the Devil!

That was the legend which was spoken of. However, the truth was… what was being produced by the Paragon Immortal Realm right now, was not the Immortal.

It was…

The Demon!

The Mountains and Seas were the birthplace, and all the resources of

Heaven and Earth were called upon to instigate this change with the Immortal. He had watched his family self-detonate, and the starry sky shook. Amidst laughter and tears, the Immortal became… the Demon! "The Demon…" murmured Shui Dongliu, looking in the direction of

Planet South Heaven. "Now the Aeon Span has its Demonic qi…." 1

The chaotic aura radiating off of Naruto could most rightly be described as… Demonic qi! Because the Immortal had transformed, it was… Demonic qi!

As of this moment, Demonic Chakra raged beyond control!

"Now… are you happy?" Naruto said, laughing a laughter that seemed like weeping. It was filled with something bizarre and subversive, and a towering rage that shook everything in the Heavens. Fear gripped the hearts of the Outsiders, and as for the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, their hearts welled up with grief and sorrow.

"Now… are you at ease?!" Naruto waved his sleeve, and everything in Heaven and Earth trembled as his energy rocketed up.

As Naruto began to stride forward, his bizarre laughter contained an indescribable multifariousness, a madness, a coldness, the epitome of all contradiction.

Even as he took his first step forward, several of his Soul Lamps winked out, and the Third Desolation began, the Desolation of the Soul.

Normally speaking, the Desolation of the Soul was a tribulation that would be extremely difficult for Ancient Realm cultivators. However, Naruto's soul had already been defiled, so to him, this Desolation counted for little. Both life and death were simply different types of transformations.

The Desolation of the Soul was gone in an instant!

Of his 33 Soul lamps, only 18 were still lit!

Originally, the smoke that came up from the Soul Lamps upon being extinguished should have been green. But now, it was black. As the smoke shot toward Naruto, he absorbed it, and his hair grew even longer than before. More black veins snaked out across his skin. His eyes were bright, and he looked even more bizarrely Demonic than before!

As he stepped forth, he spoke, voice soft: "If you people are happy now, at ease, then that means it's time for me to be happy and at ease. It's time for all of you to die."

As the female Paragon hovered there, her pupils constricted with astonishment. She began to back up, and at the same time, hit her hand down onto the top of her head.

Instantly, a swath of mist appeared above her, which transformed into a bell. The bell tolled, causing vibrations to spread out in all directions. Next, the female Paragon lifted her hand up to strike the top of her head again, but before her hand could fall, Naruto's laughter filled her ears. It was like the sound of crying, filled with incredible bizarreness.

"Hitting yourself? Let me help."

Even as the words left his mouth, Naruto shot toward the female Paragon. The large-headed cultivator's heart began to pound; gritting his teeth, he shot toward Naruto to intercept him, unleashing a fist strike.

However, Naruto's body distorted, and unexpectedly… he passed right through the large-headed cultivator, as if he didn't even exist. Completely ignoring him, he bore down on the female Paragon.

"NO!" she screamed, her eyes widening. Naruto's right hand then lifted up as he prepared to do exactly as he had said, and hit her head.

When he struck her, a boom echoed out, and the female Paragon's head actually exploded. Blood, brain matter, and rotten filth exploded out in all directions. And yet, Naruto didn't stop hitting!

"I noticed that you hit yourself a few times. Allow me to help hit you a few more times." He continued to strike her again, and again, and again.

Her body was collapsing, and she was dead, but he kept smashing his palm down over and over again, crying and laughing at the same time.

Booms filled the air, and everyone watched as the female Paragon's body was beaten into a bloody pulp by Naruto! Gasps rang out.

Her screaming soul flew out from her destroyed body, but before she could escape, Naruto's hand shot out to grab her. She had already managed to put some distance between the two of them, but it was almost as if Naruto controlled all of Heaven and Earth, and his hand instantly closed around her.

"Do you really dare to kill me!?" she screamed, clearly terrified. Naruto looked at her with a bizarrely Demonic smile that seemed to contain infinite weeping.

"No, I don't," he said softly. Then, as all of the Outsiders watched, as the large-headed cultivator and the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm looked on, Naruto took the female Paragon's soul and popped it into his mouth. Simultaneously crying and laughing… he began to chew!

He chomped down viciously over and over again as he ate her soul!

Her bloodcurdling screams echoed out clear for everyone to hear, and they were left trembling.

The members of the Namikaze Clan stood there quietly. Fatty and Naruto's other friends, as well as his sister, watched with sadness in their eyes. This Naruto seemed like a complete stranger to them, and yet they knew why he had changed in such a way.

The only person who didn't have such a look in her eyes was Xu Qing. Her expression was one of staunch determination; she was not shaken at all.

Naruto looked around, chuckling and whimpering, his expression enough to strike astonishment into the hearts of all onlookers. Then he turned his gaze toward Xu Qing and said, "Want some? It's yummy!"

Xu Qing didn't hesitate for a moment before nodding.

 _If you are the Immortal, I will ascend with you. If you become the Devil, I will become bedeviled with you. If you become the Demon, I will transmigrate with you!_

Naruto looked at Xu Qing and laughed. It was hard to tell what he was thinking as he did, but tears could be seen in his eyes. However, those tears didn't spill. Not a drop fell down.

The surrounding Outsiders were trembling, and without even thinking about it, they began to back up. The large-headed cultivator's heart was pounding, and just as he was preparing to flee, Naruto suddenly turned to look at him.

"And what about you?

"Why were you helping her? I can tell that you have a powerful Karma Thread attached to you. It's too bad it's so faint. It's also too bad that you chose to come looking for death!" As he spoke those last words, Naruto's face twisted viciously. A moment ago, his expression had been a mixture of laughing and crying, but now it was distorted in rage. He looked purely fiendish as a black fog suddenly erupted out from inside of him.

Then, he shot toward the large-headed cultivator.

The large-headed cultivator's scalp tingled as he fell back as fast as he could. However, he couldn't match Naruto in terms of speed. In the blink of an eye, Naruto had overtaken him, and they were both surrounded by black fog.

Screams echoed out, along with Naruto's bizarre weeping laughter. Occasional booms could be heard, which caused all hearts to tremble.

It was impossible to tell what was happening inside of the black fog. Not even Shui Dongliu could see through it.

The rest of the battlefield was dead silent.

All eyes were fixed upon the black fog. Soon, a figure barrelled out. It was the large-headed cultivator. His eyes had been ripped out of their sockets, and one still dangled there, swinging back and forth. His ears had been torn off, and he was covered with wounds. Most shocking of all was that a gaping bite mark could be seen on his neck, which spurted with blood.

His face was twisted with fear, and he screamed as he fled. Apparently, whatever had happened inside that fog left him completely and utterly shaken.

Everyone looked on at what was happening, completely flabbergasted. Finally, Naruto emerged from the fog. He appeared to be injured, and blood was seeping down his chin. However, his laughter and weeping continue to echo out. He spit out a mouthful of blood, and his eyes seemed to glow even redder than before.

Chuckling and whimpering, he said, "I can't actually beat you now, but if you get close enough, I… will eat you!"

When the fleeing large-headed cultivator heard his words, he shivered, clearly scared out of his mind.

"And then we get to you people," Naruto said, turning his head toward the Outsiders surrounding Planet South Heaven. They were all trembling, and it was hard to say who did it first, but they all began to flee. All of the Outsiders near Planet South Heaven took to flight, surging away from the planet like a receding tide.

Naruto's weeping laughter filled the air as he shot toward the retreating army. Instantly, screams began to rise up as countless Outsiders met their end. Those who were far away, he killed. Those who were near, he ate.

Blood spread out everywhere, and the gruesome sight of the battlefield filled the Outsiders with such extreme terror that they fled en masse.

One single person drove an army of millions of Outsiders away from Planet South Heaven!

Naruto's clothes were drenched in blood, and the most piercing sound on the entire battlefield was his weeping laughter. His aura was bizarre and multifarious, and it left Paragon Sea Dream and everyone else completely rattled.

As for the rest of the army of Outsiders around the Ninth Mountain, the ones who hadn't attacked Planet South Heaven, they were looking at Naruto with astonishment and terror.

"A lunatic. He's completely insane!"

"His dad and mom died, his clan members were killed, and it drove him crazy!"

"What is he? The Demon? Is he the legendary entity that supposedly could be born out of the perversion of the Paragon Immortal Realm… the Demon?"

"Dammit, this is the Demon that the Immortal God Realm and the Devil Realm were hoping would appear when they changed things!? They're going to be sorry!" As the Outsiders trembled, the 8-Essences male Paragon looked at Naruto, and an incredible coldness rose up within him!

Even Dao Namikaze was panting as he stared at Naruto. He had to admit that, as of this moment, Naruto's energy was completely astonishing.

"One person can't win a war," Naruto said, "but… you people have pushed things too far!" Laughing and crying, his hair whipping about him, looking more bizarre than ever, he bared his teeth and looked at Dao Namikaze and the 8-Essences Paragon. "I can't beat you people now, but what I can do… is eat you!"

With that, he took a step forward, looking more bizarrely Demonic than ever!

—–

Note from Deathblade: How cool would it be to have one of the best voice actors in the world, Mark Hamill, do the voice of Naruto in an audio version of this chapter? I know the likelihood is virtually 0, but why don't we give it a shot? If you use twitter, why don't you reply to my request to Mr. Hamill to do just that. Maybe we can attract his attention. If not, then we can all just imagine how cool it would be to have the voice of the Joker and numerous other roles as Naruto the Demon!

The "Aeon" here has actually been mentioned many times in the story, but was translated differently. It comes from the Demon Sealing mantra, which is very obscure and vague in Chinese, and involved a lot of guessing to translate. Back when I first worked on the mantra, this chapter hadn't even been released in Chinese, and of course, back then I had no access to Er Gen. In any case, now that the term has shown up in this context, a lot of puzzle pieces can probably be put together, and I've finally gone back to all the old chapters to change some things and make sure everything syncs right. The word Aeon itself could also be translated as "kalpa," a term fans of IET might be familiar with. To quote from wikipedia, a kalpa (Aeon) is "generally speaking… the period of time between the creation and recreation of a world or universe." Of further note is the fact that within that mantra was a character that was hard to interpret at the time I originally translated it, but becomes clear in the context of later events. The newest version reflects that change, and is pretty relevant. Unfortunately, the full meaning of the Aeon and the Aeon Span will not be explained until later, at that time I will include another footnote with further reminders. If you want to go back to previous chapters to see how I've changed things, and then guess what it all means, here is your hit list: The first time the mantra was seen in action was chapter 95. A variation came up in chapter 407. Finally, the "Aeon Span" was actually mentioned already once in the story in chapter 1306, which I've since updated to reflect this more correct version of the translation. All other times the Demon Sealing mantra came up, it was a direct quote of the original version, or the original and alternate versions. However, if you want to check those references for context, they are chapters 89, 101, 406, 407, 495–497, 882. Please note that sometimes when I go back to make these changes to the old chapters I tend to miss a passage here or there, or even create new typos, etc. If you notice something like that, I would very much appreciate it if you would report it in the thread for mistakes and typos. I do check the comments here in the chapter, but sometimes comments skip my notice, and I would hate for a mistake to go noticed but unfixed

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1393

Chapter 1393: Guilty Because of the Namikaze Clan!

"Who told you to provoke me? Does this make you happy? Are you at ease now?" Naruto's strange voice echoed out across the battlefield, causing all Outsiders to tremble. Even the most powerful experts were shocked.

"Parlor tricks!" snorted the 8-essences Paragon, suddenly advancing toward Naruto. Paragon Sea Dream was about to try to intercept him when, to her shock, the Paragon puppet held out its hand to block her path.

Sea Dream gaped as she looked at the Paragon puppet to confirm that its eyes really were those of Naruto.

At the same time, the large-headed cultivator was shaking as he fled, trailing black fog. However, he was far enough from the battlefield, and people were so focused on Naruto, that nobody was paying any attention to him anymore.

As the 8-Essences Paragon closed in on Naruto, the power of all his

Essences erupted out. However, in almost the exact same instant, Naruto clenched his fist, and suddenly, his aura changed. No longer was he laughing and crying. Instead, he seemed completely and utterly domineering.

That domineering air placed him as the most important entity in existence. As he unleashed his fist strike, it was as if the Vast Expanse itself would bow to his energy!

As they closed in on each other, Naruto's energy erupted as he unleashed one God-Slaying Fist after another, after another! He threw his head back and roared, taking seven steps and unleashing a punch with each step.

It was none other than the Seven God Steps, which caused his energy to rocket up, until he took his seventh step and unleashed his seventh punch, whereupon his domineering air spiked. It was as if he had superseded the starry sky, become the center of all attention, as if he were so utterly mad that he would kill his opponent even if he died in the process.

This was in such sharp contrast to the previous laughing and crying that the 8-Essences Paragon could never have predicted that something like this would happen. In the blink of an eye, the two met and began to fight.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as his aura changed once again. It was no longer domineering; it was now murderous! Apparently, he was completely oblivious to his injuries, like a wild animal who didn't even care if his body collapsed. He pounced toward the 8-Essences Paragon with shocking speed, mouth gaping as he attempted to take a bite out of the man's head!

The Paragon was astounded and fell back immediately, but Naruto's mouth still landed on his arm, and a huge chunk of flesh was ripped off. Naruto then turned to look at him, his eyes red, his hair flying about, and he looked like nothing more than a rabid beast!

"You…." the Paragon said, heart thumping. Naruto began to chortle as he leapt forth in attack yet again, ignoring any injuries, and ignoring any possibility of dying. He seemed completely and utterly insane, his eyes shining with brutal ferocity, totally oblivious to life and death, completely willing to end in mutual destruction. The Paragon was deeply alarmed.

"Insane!" he cried, backing up. "You're completely insane!" However,

Naruto's aura then changed again. A pure, righteous and noble Immortal Chakra erupted from within him. However, he still looked just as ferocious as before, like a fierce beast, and… when an Immortal is enraged, the Heavens collapse, and Earth is shattered!

Naruto stood there in grand fashion, Immortal Chakra flowing around him, Essence power swirling as he performed an incantation gesture and unleashed numerous magical techniques. Mountains descended, the Paragon Bridge crushed down, and a windstorm screamed, transforming into lightning. Magical techniques flew out at high speed, making him almost like a sea of magic as he charged toward the Paragon.

The Lightning Cauldron even appeared, and after performing a teleportation, an azure roc slashed at the Paragon from behind in a vicious attack.

The man's face fell, and just when he was about to counterattack, Naruto suddenly loosened his fist, allowing the man to strike him. His right arm exploded into a cloud of gore, and half of his body was destroyed, and yet, he accomplished his goal of getting close to the Paragon.

Chuckling and whimpering, he ferociously… bit down onto the Paragon's throat and ripped the flesh out!

The man screamed miserably, flinging Naruto away from him and shooting backward, simultaneously clasping his hand down over the wound on his throat. He wanted to speak, to say something, but the sound wouldn't come out. As of this moment, his expression was one of complete stupefaction and terror.

It was rare for him to find an enemy on the battlefield who he truly feared, but as of this moment, he was terrified of Naruto.

That was even more so the case when Naruto licked his lips and began to close in on him again. The man's scalp was tingling so hard it felt like it might explode, and he suddenly recalled what Naruto had said only moments ago.

 _I can't beat you people now, but what I can do… is eat you!_

"What is he, dammit!?" he thought. "The Immortal God Realm and the Devil Realm induced a change in the Immortal, but what exactly appeared in its place?! He's even more terrifying than the Immortal!"

He stared at Naruto, raging inwardly, and was just about to fall back when suddenly, his face flickered. He looked down at some of his wounds and noticed that they were black, and that the blackness was spreading.

"A curse!" he exclaimed, face flickering.

"No, not a curse. That's just my hatred." Naruto chuckled, whimpered, and then charged forward. The Paragon's face turned grim, and he let out an enraged shout as his body began to wither. At the same time, his Nascent Divinity emerged, leaving his body behind and fleeing, unwilling to have any further contact with Naruto.

"Insane!" he cried. "You're completely insane!"

Laughing at the sight of the fleeing Paragon, Naruto turned to look at

Dao Namikaze and said, "Don't get near me."

Dao Namikaze shivered and began to back up, his scalp numb. If Naruto's cultivation base were significantly weaker than theirs, it wouldn't be so frightening, but he was clearly just a hair below them!

All of the bizarre multifariousness, and the pressure weighing down from his aura, made it difficult for them to unleash their full potential. Most importantly, they simply weren't as vicious as Naruto!

He was so insane that he didn't even care if he died, as long as he could bite down on some flesh and blood. Dao Namikaze couldn't shake the scene of the terrifying look on the face of the female Paragon's soul as it was devoured.

He suddenly had the feeling that the Immortal God Realm and the Devil Realm… had made a mistake!

Perhaps the true Immortal possessed power that placed it above the God, a power that could suppress the Devil, but it was still possible to defeat that Immortal in battle. In contrast, this Demon, despite having just been born, despite not being strong enough yet to throw the Vast Expanse into chaos, had already shown… how potentially terrifying he was!

That was even more so when… Naruto's arm began to regrow in front of all eyes, and rapidly reappeared like new.

That left Dao Namikaze completely shaken.

As of this moment, the Paragons were fleeing the battlefield, the largeheaded cultivator was fleeing, and the army was also fleeing. All of that… was because of the sudden transformation, the sudden birth of… the Demon!

Naruto technically wasn't very powerful at the moment, but for all intents and purposes, he might as well be!

His laughter drifted out, becoming crying, and he trembled. In the madness of that laughter, he seemed to be laughing at himself, and crying for his relatives.

Everyone who heard it sank into silence, Outsiders, Mountain and Sea cultivators, and Shui Dongliu alike.

"Uzumaki… Naruto…." Namikaze Yu said, trembling in Sun Hai's arms. She looked at her little brother, at Naruto, and her heart twinged with pain. Their parents were gone, and Naruto was now her only blood relative.

Fatty wept as he looked at Naruto. He wanted to say something, but wasn't sure what. All he knew was that looking at Naruto like this filled him with pain.

Then there was Might Guy , and Naruto's Master Pill Demon, and further off in the distance, Ke Jiusi, who had a torn look in his eyes.

Everyone who was still alive on Planet South Heaven was watching Naruto. They saw his Demonic qi, they saw how terrifying he was, and they saw that laughing, crying expression.

"Shui Dongliu, maybe you're really Nine Seals, and maybe you aren't. Whoever you are, your machinations swept up me, my Grandpa Uzumaki, my Grandpa Namikaze , and my parents. The Mountain and Sea Realm is in ruins, and Planet South Heaven is virtually destroyed. I have become the Demon. Presumably, the time has come to carry out your final plan." Naruto looked up into the starry sky, his voice resonating oddly as he gazed at the Heavens.

The starry sky trembled as Shui Dongliu appeared. In another direction, Dao Namikaze and the 8-Essences Paragon were consumed by terror, and began to flee, allowing Paragon Sea Dream and Naruto's Paragon puppet to approach Shui Dongliu.

The Paragon puppet's eyes were bright red; Naruto's transformation had affected its aura as well. It stood there, eyes filled with a bizarre, Demonic gleam as it looked at Shui Dongliu.

Shui Dongliu remained silent for a long moment, a torn expression on his face. Finally, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto.

"I've made many plans, and many preparations, and many are dead and gone because of them. I implore you… to let all of that go. As for me… my conscience is clear when it comes to the Mountain and Sea Realm. I only feel guilty about… the Namikaze Clan.

"Your Namikaze Clan is an Allheaven Clan, with an extraordinary bloodline.

After arriving in the Mountain and Sea Realm, your first generation

Patriarch acquired Heaven-defying good fortune which changed the

Allheaven bloodline. Because of the multiple lives offered by the Nirvana Fruit, the Namikaze Clan bloodline became the most suitable for my designs!

"Furthermore, you are the epitome and culmination of the Namikaze Clan bloodline. Therefore–"

"Therefore," Naruto cut in, "my so-called Seventh Year Tribulation was actually orchestrated by you!" He swished his sleeve, and the odd way his voice seemed to contain both laughter and crying was enough to cause anyone who heard it to feel unsettled.

After a moment, Shui Dongliu nodded. "Your Seventh Year Tribulation was caused by me. I was the one who arranged for your Grandpa Uzumaki to become a Mountain and Sea Lord. And it was I who extracted your Grandpa Namikaze 's soul and placed it into the Heaven Severing Scripture.

"I also arranged everything that happened with your parents. I was the one who sent them to stand guard over Planet South Heaven. That was because their souls were the most likely to become the propelling souls!

"Even the enmity between theHebiClan and your Namikaze Clan was set up by me…. Your cultivation of the Hexing magics of the League of Demon Sealers was my doing. My purpose in all of this was for you to become… the new will of the Mountains and Seas, or perhaps, the Immortal! However, along the way, you changed your own fate.

"Throughout my life, I never let the Mountains and Seas down. I did let the Namikaze Clan down…. However, your Grandpa Namikaze isn't really dead, and in some ways, your parents aren't dead either!

"Soon, if my plan succeeds, I will destroy myself in front of you. I will dig out my heart, and offer my life as a sacrifice to the blood of the Namikaze Clan.

"If my plan fails… then I will still wipe out my own soul fire to help you get what you want!"

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1394

Chapter 1394 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1394: Slaughter Slashes the Immortal Gods!

"All of my plans were centered around the Namikaze Clan's… Nirvanic Rebirth!" Even as the words left his mouth, Shui Dongliu suddenly looked up toward the apex of the starry sky, and a mad fire seemed to be burning in his eyes!

It was in that exact same moment that the highest point of the starry sky suddenly distorted and twisted, and the starry sky even seemed to melt. Then, it spread apart to reveal… a portion of the Vast Expanse beyond.

There was also an enormous land mass speeding forward, a continent!

The land mass was gargantuan, and was filled with innumerable mountains and seas. Up in front were nine huge suns, dragging it along. Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions as it approached the Mountain and Sea Realm at incredible speed!

It was none other than… the Immortal God Continent!

This was one of the two major powers which had destroyed the Paragon Immortal Realm, the Immortal God Realm!

Each of those nine suns emanated the aura of a Paragon. Thunderous rumbling echoed out, the starry sky melted, and the Ninth Mountain shook. Even just the mere pressure which was weighing down was enough to threaten to destroy the Ninth Mountain.

The Mountain and Sea cultivators' minds were spinning as they stared in shock at what was happening. As for Naruto, he looked up and stared at the source of the chaos in the starry sky… the enormous, shocking land mass.

An enormous statue was visible on that land mass, depicting a man with a calm expression and ordinary features. However, the pressure that radiated off of him was impossible to describe.

Almost in the same instant that Naruto saw the statue, his eyes narrowed. This statue looked familiar to him. It looked… exactly like the statue of the black-robed Slaughter from Echelon cultivator DaoHeaven's Paragon magic! The only difference was that apparently, the two of them had different personalities!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the nine suns all appeared within the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Behind them, innumerable cultivators could be seen on the land mass, patiently waiting in battle formation, apparently completely prepared to wage war.

Scintillating energy filled the air, as though this land were the king of all Heaven and Earth, to whom myriad worlds would prostrate, with boundless Immortal Chakra and towering Godly power. It could shake the Vast Expanse, change time, and alter space. It could even look down upon the great Daos of Heaven and Earth. From the look of it, not even the Vast Expanse could cause this world to feel fear!

It was as if it… were the pinnacle force in the starry sky.

Compared to it, the 33 Heavens were like nothing!

Suddenly, an icy cold voice echoed out from the huge land mass, to fill the whole Mountain and Sea Realm. "Paragon Immortal Realm, hand over the precious treasure, destroy your Immortal meridians, and become a Lower Realm. You have no hope of winning this war!"

A moment later, the voice of a woman could be heard, somewhat suspicious, but also, seemingly pleased! "Hmm, what is that aura…? Demon…."

Chuckling and whimpering, Naruto swished his sleeve, and as he looked up at the boundless land mass up above, his eyes glowed with a more intense redness than before. He licked his lips, and an air of madness began to emanate out.

"Are you people happy now too?" he murmured. "Are you at ease?"

The descent of the huge land mass caused the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators to awaken from their shock from what had just occurred with Naruto. The astonishing land mass caused them to feel pressure like Heavenly Might. Despair instantly rose up in the hearts and minds of the cultivators, and simultaneously, the army of Outsiders began to tremble, quickly edged backward, and then dropped to their knees to kowtow.

The 8-Essences Paragon had a very serious look on his face, and inwardly, he was sighing with relief. He really had no desire to tangle further with Naruto in combat. Naruto was like a nightmare, and thus, he couldn't be happier to clasp hands and bow deeply to the incoming land mass.

Only Dao Namikaze reacted differently. His eyes flickered with a strange light, and he didn't so much as bend his waist as he stood there. In fact, a slight glimmer of displeasure appeared in his eyes.

It was at this point that Shui Dongliu began to laugh loudly, and his eyes glittered as he watched the Immortal God Continent descending, and more specifically, one corner of it that was already completely within the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Even as his laughter echoed out, he suddenly spoke.

"You owe me! One attack! Sever the corner of that land mass!" Even as Shui Dongliu's voice echoed about like thunder, a black-robed figure appeared at the apex of the starry sky, right near the corner of the land mass that was jutting into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He was blurry, making it impossible to see his face clearly. However, as soon as he appeared, an enormous murderous aura roiled out, shaking Heaven and Earth. Even the huge land mass began to vibrate.

The black-robed man calmly lifted his hand into the air, then chopped it down toward the huge land mass.

It was impossible to determine exactly the quantity or nature of the divine abilities and magical techniques he used, or if he had used any at all. In fact, it seemed like just a simple chopping motion, yet it caused the entire land mass to shake violently. Countless cultivators immediately began to cry out in alarm, and numerous shocking defensive mechanisms were unleashed, defenses that even a Paragon would be hard-pressed to obliterate. In fact, those defenses were what had made this land mass virtually invincible on its journeys through the Vast Expanse.

But now, they seemed to do no good. They could do nothing to defend against this blow, and in fact, an enormous crevice opened up on the corner of the land mass that was inside the Mountain and Sea Realm's starry sky.

The crevice grew wider, turning into a vast gulch. Mountains toppled, seas were parted, and plains were shattered!

In the blink of an eye, that huge corner of the land mass, which was larger by far than any of the 33 Heavens, began to completely tear away from the land mass as a whole, as if it was being pried off!

The land mass… was being split apart!

The entire world was completely shaken!

The Outsiders' jaws dropped, and the 8-Essences Paragon stared, eyes wide with disbelief. Even Dao Namikaze was so shocked that his fur stood on end.

Only Naruto reacted differently. The flames of madness in his eyes burned bright, and he began to cackle uproariously.

That chopping motion severed an entire section of the huge land mass, which was something that caused the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm and the forces of the 33 Heavens to gasp in incredulity.

The cultivators of the Immortal God Realm were dumbstruck, and the entire land mass was completely shaken. For something like this to happen went completely beyond the expectations of the cultivators there, and they didn't even have time to react to it.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the severed corner of the land mass lost its ability to sustain flight, and began to fall down toward the Mountain and Sea Realm. The countless cultivators on that corner instantly flew out, and at the same time, the black-robed man turned to leave.

The entire time, he hadn't spoken a single word, neither had anyone seen his face. The Immortal God Continent had only just appeared, and was already severely damaged, leaving them in a complete rage.

"Think you can just leave?!" someone roared as more than ten figures charged toward him. Shockingly, nine of those figures were the ones within the suns, and the entire group all erupted with Paragon power.

As they closed in, the black-robed man frowned and stopped in place. Then he turned his head, allowing the Paragon level experts to see his face. It was none other than Slaughter.

In that moment, the numerous Paragons felt their minds spinning, as though countless lightning bolts were striking them. They all lurched to a stop, gasping, expressions of complete disbelief covering their faces as they began to cry out.

"Patriarch!"

"What… what..? The Patriarch!?"

"It's the Patriarch!" Even as their shocked voices rang out over the Immortal God Continent, more figures emerged and sped toward the area. There were men and women, old-timers and youngsters, but all of them were extremely powerful.

Slaughter didn't do anything more than look at them before striding off and vanishing.

"Success or failure will be determined by this one opportunity!" Shui Dongliu said, swishing his sleeve and looking in the direction of the rest of the land masses belonging to the 33 Heavens. "Windswept! When do you plan to make your move if not now!?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the 8-Essences Paragon's face flickered, as did those of the other Outsider experts in the army. They had been aware that Windswept could be a traitor, and had even prepared for such an outcome. However, Shui Dongliu's words seemed to be filled with complete and utter confidence.

In the blink of an eye, that huge corner of the land mass, which was larger by far than any of the 33 Heavens, began to completely tear away from the land mass as a whole, as if it was being pried off!

What mattered was that the 33rd Heaven, the 32nd Heaven, the 31st Heaven… in fact, all of the remaining Heavenly land masses, began to rumble and shoot toward… the severed corner of the enormous land mass which was falling down through the starry sky.

This scene caused the Mountain and Sea cultivators' hearts to tremble.

A collective gasp could be heard from the Outsider army. The 8Essences Paragon was enraged, and even the monkey Dao Namikaze was astonished.

The experts from the Immortal God Continent had exactly the same reaction, and quickly tried to unleash their power to interfere. However, Slaughter's strike had not just severed the corner, it had also contained some sort of sealing power which was just enough to temporarily prevent the experts from the Immortal God Continent from invading.

It was in that exact same moment that the Heavenly land masses began to slam into the severed corner of the Immortal God Continent. Intense rumbling sounds echoed out that could shake Heaven and Earth as the severed portion of the land mass was crushed into rubble. Simultaneously, the Heavenly land masses were also destroyed, transforming into nothing more than ash.

The collision caused all of the Immortal Chakra which had been part of that corner of the land mass to be released into the Mountain and Sea Realm, Immortal Chakra that was so powerful it was difficult to put into words.

The land masses of the 33 Heavens which were destroyed also unleashed an aura which merged with that Immortal qi, filling the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

As soon as those auras merged, a huge blast resulted, which ripped open part of the starry sky, and beyond it, the Vast Expanse.

This was what really mattered!

What really mattered… was this unprecedented blow struck by the land masses!

Amidst rumbling sounds, an enormous hole was opened up. Instantly, the starry sky trembled, and the Outsiders were thrown into shock. The 8-Essences Paragon was astonished, and the experts on the Immortal God Continent let out incredulous shouts.

"They're opening the seal! They're going to make a run for it!"

From the look of it, that hole opened up into a tunnel!

Chapter 1394: Slaughter Slashes the Immortal Gods!

—–

Note from Deathblade: Although it's been touched on in the story already, I feel it's necessary to point out that Slaughter, despite being a clone of Wang Lin, is NOT Wang Lin. The details of Slaughter's story, and why he is so different from Wang Lin, will be revealed as the translation of Renegade Immortal continues to unfold. As far as ISSTH is concerned, it's enough to know that he looks like Wang Ling but is definitely not him in personality, thinking, or anything like that.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1395

Chapter 1395 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1395: The Mountains and Seas Erupt!

The seal was the most critical factor in Shui Dongliu's plan. In addition to the 33 Heavens and Dao Namikaze , there was something else suppressing the Mountain and Sea Realm… a seal left behind by the two powerful forces which had fought the Paragon Immortal Realm!

That was the key, and that seal's name was… the Aeon Span! It actually didn't exist within the Mountain and Sea Realm itself, but outside of the 33 Heavens. Also… only the arrival of the Immortal God Continent, and the pressure which came with it, could make the invisible Aeon Span appear in the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

This was the very moment that Shui Dongliu had been waiting for!

Tearing open that seal required a blow from a powerful land mass, like what had just happened. In addition, the auras of both the 33 Heavens and the Immortal God Realm needed to be fused with… Demonic qi!

Those three types of energy, when merged together, could weaken the Aeon Span. Missing even one of them was unacceptable. But with all of them together, along with the force produced by continents colliding… a hole could be opened.

That was the purpose of Windswept's traitorous act, and that was the purpose of Slaughter severing a corner of the land mass.

All of that was necessary to break open the seal. It required meticulous planning, and the perfect amount of elements involved. It required calculating exactly how many of the Heavenly land masses were required, as well as the exact size of the corner of the Immortal God Continent that needed to be severed.

Shui Dongliu had prepared for countless years for this very moment. He had sent many people to attack the 33 Heavens, to die fighting Dao Namikaze , all to measure the exact extent of the Aeon Span!

In the end, all the scattered information that had been gathered were pieced together to form a precise answer to the question. And that was merely the first phase of Shui Dongliu's plan!

Suddenly, his words rang out to the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"What I cared about regarding this war was neither how each battle in the war progressed nor whether we would ultimately be victorious," he murmured. "Rather… I cared about how to preserve the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"From the very beginning, I needed to accomplish three tasks. The first task… was to draw out the war until the Immortal God Continent arrived. Yes, I was sure that they would be the first to arrive!

"The second task was to preserve the true resources of the Mountains and Seas until their arrival. Even at the cost of innumerable lives, it was important to save the final salvo for the critical moment!

"Because of that, many, many cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were sacrificed. All for the future. There was no one above sacrifice. All of you, and even me. All of that sacrifice was necessary to fuel the third phase of my plan.

"You can't blame me for keeping so many cards up my sleeves. I hid everything, and deceived everyone.

"The third task I needed to accomplish in this war… was the part of the plan that involved Planet South Heaven and the Namikaze Clan.

"There is a seal in place on Planet South Heaven that Mountain and Sea cultivators cannot affect. It was necessary for me to use the Outsiders to destroy it. Don't forget, Planet South Heaven is also known as the Door of South Heaven…. The power to propel the wings could not come from Namikaze Xiufeng and his wife alone. Every flap of the wings drains massive amount of soul power. Those souls… are the souls of the ninety-nine percent of the Mountain and Sea cultivators who have died in the fighting. In the end, they had to die, and they had to die before the Immortal God Continent arrived. If they died too late, there wouldn't be enough time to absorb them and propel the wings." Shui Dongliu's voice seemed to be filled with grief, a grief which was reflected in the glow of his eyes.

"I'm sorry…I've been keeping so much hidden from you. The price to be paid was the lives of ninety-nine percent of the Mountain and Sea Realm. If we succeed, then the Mountain and Sea Realm can escape from this war, and fly to freedom!

"If we fail… then my Dao will be destroyed, and I will fight to the death!" Shui Dongliu flicked his sleeve. As the hole opened up in the starry sky, the surrounding Outsider army was shocked, and the powerful experts from the Immortal God Continent instantly went on guard. Then, Shui Dongliu raised his hands high above his head.

"Mountain and Sea Realm, awaken!" The instant the words left his mouth, a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power erupted out from Shui Dongliu. Energy surged out as the second phase of his plan… was unfurled!

As his energy erupted out, and his voice echoed through the starry sky, the pressure weighing down from the Immortal God Continent actually caused… the crumbled Ninth Mountain to suddenly… emit massive rumbling sounds and… reappear whole within the starry sky!

The Ninth Mountain stood just as it had before! Within the celestial pond, the Xuanwu turtle howled, but this time, it was capable of more than just making noise. This time, it flew up out of the pond, energy erupting out from its body.

At the same time, the Eighth Mountain, Seventh Mountain, Sixth Mountain, Fifth Mountain… all of the mountains which had been destroyed in the war, reappeared for all to see, erect within the starry sky, radiating intense energy.

When the First Mountain appeared, all Nine Mountains could be seen. It was as if they hadn't even sustained a scratch of damage; apparently, what had been destroyed were mere projections. This was Shui Dongliu's plan; to completely fool the Outsiders, as well as the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

The Mountain and Sea Realm had not been destroyed!

Next, the First Sea appeared, then the Second Sea, the Third Sea and so on, until eight Seas could be seen, pulsing with boundless power that caused the starry sky to tremble. The Outsiders were flabbergasted, and couldn't believe what they were seeing.

There was one Sea missing, the Ninth Sea. It really had turned traitor, and was now sitting there uneasily among the Outsider army!

Within the same army, the 8-Essences Paragon's face turned grim to the extreme.

Off to the side, the monkey Dao Namikaze 's eyes were glowing brightly with shock and fear. "Now it makes sense! When I destroyed that Mountain with my staff, I couldn't help but wonder why the Mountains were so weak. No wonder! And here I thought the Mountain and Sea Realm was weak. How could I ever have imagined… that I was so far from the truth!?"

Dao Namikaze clenched his right hand into a fist. The feeling of being completely and utterly made a fool of filled his eyes with murderous rage.

Naruto's laughter suddenly ceased, and no sounds of crying could be heard. He was suddenly very quiet, as though his aura had returned to its normal state. However, his eyes were just as red as ever, indicating that henceforth, he was not an Immortal, but… a Demon!

He looked at the newly re-formed Mountain and Sea Realm, which seemed even more intensely real than the Mountain and Sea Realm which he knew. There was a boundlessness to it, something that seemed to conform perfectly with the boundless domineering nature of Paragon Nine Seals, who had created it.

Although this development was surprising, after thinking about it for a moment, Naruto realized that it was all within the purview of predictability.

However, things weren't over yet!

The resources of the Mountain and Sea Realm weren't limited to this.

The destroyed sun and moon suddenly reappeared, and all of a sudden, Naruto realized that the bow he had… was not the true precious treasure. It was only a projection!

When the sun reappeared, the bow projection turned into a beam of light that shot back to the sun itself. Furthermore, the precious treasure that Ksitigarbha had acquired from the moon did the same thing as it returned to the moon!

The sun and the moon began to shine with brilliant light, filling the starry sky with boundless radiance!

The surviving cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm stared with overt shock. It was as if the pressure weighing down on the Realm had finally reached the point where it couldn't be sustained any more, causing the whole world to erupt. Rumbling could be heard as the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite appeared. It was as if Time were changing; an enormous coffin rose up, glittering with Immortal light. It slowly began to open, and a withered hand reached up from within and grasped the side of the coffin. Then, an old man pulled himself to his feet.

Instantly, the aura of an 8-Essences Paragon erupted out, causing a gasp to rise up from the Outsider army. The Outsiders' 8-Essences Paragon stared with wide eyes, and Dao Namikaze 's pupils constricted.

"Daoist Immortal Ancient!" said an ancient voice from the Immortal God Continent. The old man standing up from within the coffin was none other than Daoist Immortal Ancient, who was second only to Nine Seals in the Paragon Immortal Realm! His cultivation base was at the 8Essences level, but he actually stood on the very cusp of 9-Essences!

As that happened, one of the other Three Great Daoist Societies, the Nine Seas God World, summoned numerous God Doors. As they opened, countless figures appeared, clad in brown armor, radiating ancient, murderous auras. Apparently, they had been asleep for a very long time, but had now awakened, and were slowly appearing.

Dozens of them could be seen, and each one erupted with the pressure of an Imperial Lord. It was an ancient, primeval aura that not even Wang Youcai and the other newly raised Imperial Lords could match up to.

Next was the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. Massive rumbling could be heard as one billion swords materialized, which shot forth to swirl around the Mountain and Sea Realm. Each one of those one billion swords contained an ancient soul, which were none other than the souls of the cultivators who had died when the catastrophe struck the Paragon Immortal Realm.

They had been sleeping up until this moment, but now they were awake!

Things weren't over yet. The Mountain and Sea Realm continued to rumble as three temples appeared, which shone with boundless light, and the power of scriptures. These were the temples of the three great Doyens, and also… the origin of the three classic scriptures!

It was also in this very moment that a completely shocking will swept through the starry sky. It was none other than… the will of the

Mountains and Seas. It had been slowly weakened from the beginning of the war, until it finally dispersed. But as of this moment, it had formed back together to shocking effect. It was far more powerful than it had been before; this was the true and authentic will of the Mountains and Seas!

The pressure weighing down caused all of the Outsiders in the Mountain and Sea Realm to reel from astonishment, blood spraying out of their mouths. Regardless of the levels of their cultivation base, they fell back in shock.

That was even more true of the 8-Essences Paragon and Dao Namikaze , both of whom looked completely crestfallen.

"This… this…." the 8-Essences paragon muttered. And yet, the Mountain and Sea Realm's resources were still abundant, and continued to erupt out!

A roaring sound echoed out from the First Sea as the sea water churned. Shockingly, a huge giant rose up from the depths of the sea floor. It was enormous, and its body was covered with countless glowing white designs. Heaven and Earth cowered beneath it, and most notable of all was that its face had three eyes!

It extended its hand and made a grasping motion, and in response, a beam of light shot out from the First Mountain, within which was a gigantic battle-axe. The giant grabbed the battle-axe and then let out a powerful roar.

Cries of shocked alarm rang out from the Immortal God Continent. "A

Three-eyed God!"

The Three-eyed God tribe was from one of the few Lower Realms who had chosen not to rebel. Their battle prowess was strong, and in fact, they had fought fiercely with the God tribes of the Immortal God Continent.

The resources of the Mountains and Seas exploded out…. Rumbling sounds echoed out as Heaven and Earth dimmed, the starry sky trembled, and everything shook violently!

Chapter 1395: The Mountains and Seas Erupt!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1396

Chapter 1396 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1396: Devil Realm World-Butterfly!

Next, beams of light shot out from the Second Mountain, and as the Second Sea churned, a war chariot appeared, completely vicious in appearance and emanating a boundless glow, as well as ghastly coldness. Apparently, this war chariot could pierce the souls of Paragons.

In the blink of an eye, the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Mountains, and their respective Seas, all unleashed powerful resources. Some of them came from the Mountains, some from the planets themselves.

Astonishingly, a completely domineering river of reincarnation flowed out from the Fourth Mountain!

Soaring energy and countless roars echoed out from within the Mountain and Sea Realm, causing widespread shock among the Outsiders. From the Nine Mountains, the nine Xuanwu turtles roared forth, energy surging, eyes brimming with killing intent that caused the starry sky to tremble.

It was also in this moment that, outside of the Ninth Mountain, Planet South Heaven began to rumble.

Shui Dongliu's eyes shone with a bright light. "And now, the third phase of the plan shall begin. The butterfly beneath Planet South Heaven… shall be released!"

He quickly performed a double-handed incantation gesture, then threw his head back and howled.

The sound echoed out, causing Planet South Heaven to tremble. It had already been on the verge of collapse, but now it completely fell apart. Massive rumbling sounds could be heard as it collapsed into clouds of rubble that spread out in all directions, revealing 100,000 motes of black light inside. Instantly, they shot out, howling with ferocity and a thirst for blood.

It was as if a cage had been opened, unleashing a massive beast. Those motes of light were actually 100,000 monstrous Devils! During the catastrophe that had befallen the Paragon Immortal Realm, they had been taken captive in battle. Then, their minds were replaced and filled with an understanding of only one thing… killing!

100,000 terrifying howls echoed out, and 100,000 pairs of crimson eyes burned. Originally, they had no formation or order, but then the will of the Mountains and Seas took control, sending one group toward the army of Outsiders, and the other toward the apex of the starry sky, and the Immortal God Continent.

Things weren't over yet, though. After the 100,000 Devils were released from within the rubble of Planet South Heaven, something else appeared within the darkness. It was… a butterfly!

When the butterfly flew out, it didn't seem very large. However, in the blink of an eye, it began to grow like mad, until it was huge. Soon, it was as big as a planet, and even then, it didn't seem like it had reached its limit.

The instant the butterfly appeared, the army of Outsiders erupted into pandemonium. A look of incredulity appeared on the face of the 8Essences Paragon, and Dao Namikaze gasped as though his mind were being struck by lighting. The Immortal God Continent was also shaken, and when the powerful experts there saw the butterfly, their pupils constricted!

"Devil Butterfly!"

"A Devil Realm World-Butterfly!"

"When the Devil Realm came, one of their World-Butterflies was supposedly destroyed. Who could ever have guessed that it didn't actually die, but instead, was imprisoned here? Its mind was erased, and it became part of the Immortal World!"

"They… they actually want to use this World-Butterfly to… break free from the battlefield!"

"But that's impossible! In the grand scheme of things, Devil Realm World-Butterflies are vitally important. There were only nine of them, and even if the Immortal World subjugated one, it would be extremely difficult to control!"

"Wait, look closely, that butterfly… is actually dead!"

Countless voices erupted out in discussion. By this point, people were able to deduce Shui Dongliu's true plan. He planned to use this WorldButterfly as the new version of the Mountain and Sea Realm, to pass through that tunnel to leave the battlefield!

If he succeeded, then the Mountain and Sea Realm would have neither won the war nor lost it. However, it would gain a chance to survive, to develop, and to thrive once more!

As soon as the butterfly appeared, it became clear that, just as people were saying, it was actually… dead. Its eyes were blank, and there didn't appear to be even the slightest sign of life force upon it. It truly was dead!

But then, the butterfly's wings began to slowly fill with life force, and then were propelled first down, and then up.

Naruto had long since waved his sleeve and extracted everyone from the crumbling and ruined Planet South Heaven. He now hovered in the starry sky, looking down at the ruins, a laughing-crying expression on his face as he looked at the 100,000 Devils charging into battle, and the huge butterfly.

When his gaze came to rest on the butterfly itself, his heart suddenly seized. He stopped laughing, stopped crying, and even the redness of his eyes flickered. There was a familiarity to the aura on the butterfly, something that he would never be able to forget for his entire life.

"That's…." A tremor ran through him. Off to the side, Namikaze Yu's eyes went wide as she stared at the butterfly, shivering.

"Dad… and mom!" As Naruto stared at the butterfly, he could clearly sense the aura of his father, Namikaze Xiufeng, upon the left wing of the butterfly. Furthermore, the right wing contained the life force of his mother, Uzumaki Li!

Just as Shui Dongliu had said, his parents weren't actually dead. In a certain way, they had been given new lives as the wings of this butterfly. Every flap of the wings of that butterfly was like an embrace shared between them.

Gradually, Naruto caught sight of the image of his father and mother holding each other. Then they turned to look at him, their expressions warm and kind. They were even smiling, and it was a smile that caused tears to well up in Naruto's eyes.

By this point, he was absolutely sure beyond the shadow of a doubt that he really was sensing the auras of his father and mother!

It was also at this point that Shui Dongliu's voice echoed out again.

"Mountain and Sea cultivators, come immediately to the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Henceforth, the bloodline members of the Namikaze Clan are the guardians of the Mountains and Seas!" The moment Shui Dongliu's voice rang out, the wings of the butterfly separated, whereupon a boundless gravitational force erupted out, grabbing ahold of all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The instant that force wrapped around them, they were pulled from all directions toward the butterfly. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the wings, and when they reappeared, they were in a new world.

This was the new Immortal World!

All of the people who were standing near Naruto, including Xu Qing, Pill Demon, Fatty, Namikaze Yu, Sun Hai, and even Patriarch Reliance, were instantly absorbed into the butterfly, to appear within that new world.

As for Naruto, he neared, but did not step onto the butterfly itself. He remained off to the side to stand guard, to defend this world that contained his loved ones, his friends, and the Namikaze Clan.

The butterfly began to pick up speed as it shot… toward the hole in the starry sky!

Shui Dongliu, Sea Dream, Ksitigarbha, the Paragon puppet, and all of the other backup reserves of the Mountains and Seas flew in formation around the butterfly, guarding it… as it made its break toward the tunnel.

It was in that exact same moment that a roar rose up from the Outsider army as they prepared to block the way. The 8-Essences Paragon took a step forward, and a vicious expression appeared on Dao Namikaze 's face as he hefted his staff and began his charge.

However, before they could even get close, Naruto suddenly turned his head to look at them, and then licked his lips, causing both the 8Essences Paragon and Dao Namikaze to stop in their tracks.

At the apex of the starry sky, what was left of the Immortal God Continent once again continued its descent. The suns screamed forth, along with the figures inside of them, as they shot toward the butterfly. There were other powerful experts from the Immortal God Continent who also charged forth, so many that it was impossible to count.

They could not permit the Mountain and Sea Realm to make a comeback. They could not allow the Mountain and Sea Realm to escape!

But then, Shui Dongliu flicked his sleeve, and an obsessive gleam of determination appeared in his eyes.

"Life and death will be determined in this moment!" he roared. The wills of the Eight Seas erupted forth, bolstered by the Xuanwu turtles to create a force so shocking that everything trembled. In concert with the power of the Nine Mountains, and the will of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself, a huge spell formation began to form!

The Mountain and Sea Grand Aegis!

As soon as the dazzling light rose up, the backup forces of the Mountain and Sea Realm began to virtually froth at the mouth as they prepared to fight the intercepting enemies, to defend the butterfly as it sped toward the tunnel.

When the two sides clashed, massive booms rang out, and intense fighting began. The powerful experts from the Immortal God Continent had power to destroy the Heavens and extinguish the Earth, which they unleashed to full effect upon the backup reserve of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

But then, from within the rubble of Planet South Heaven, hoarse laughter rang out in all directions, and a boundless sea of flames suddenly lit up the darkness as it shot out into the starry sky.

Within that sea of flames was a face, a face that Naruto didn't recognize. However, he did recognize its eyes…. It was none other than… the Essence of Divine Flame which had been suppressed beneath the surface of Planet South Heaven!

"Dao Namikaze , you shall die!" the face howled. Now that it was free, the Divine Flame caused everything around it to shake as it sped murderously toward Dao Namikaze .

The Mountain and Sea Grand Aegis formed from a massive convergence of various wills, becoming a complex pattern that attempted to slaughter any of the Immortal God Continent cultivators or other Outsiders who attempted to break through.

The Mountains and Seas followed the butterfly, and within the boundaries of the spell formation, Naruto and the other powerful experts of the Mountains and Seas provided defense. In the middle of it all was the butterfly.

The combined power of the Mountain and Sea Realm was focused on defending the butterfly and getting to the tunnel.

However, the real danger to them as they made their charge did not come from the Outsider army. After all, Shui Dongliu's brutal plan had made it seem all along like the Outsider army had the upper hand. However, the truth was that while the Mountain and Sea cultivators were losing their lives, the true power and reserves of the Mountains and Seas had never been unleashed.

It was harsh, but according to Shui Dongliu's plan, everyone was expendable. Because of that, the Outsider army couldn't so much as get close to the Mountain and Sea Grand Aegis without being destroyed.

The real danger, the real reason why Shui Dongliu had been willing to sacrifice everyone in order to keep the true reserves safe… was the Immortal God Continent.

Rumbling echoed out as four of their suns unleashed boundless pressure which crushed down. Within those suns were four figures, each one of which burst with the matchless power of an 8-Essences Paragon.

Behind them were countless cultivators of the Immortal God Continent, who were unleashing divine abilities that no one in the Mountain and Sea Realm had ever seen before. In addition, they possessed matchless dignity and seething killing intent.

In the blink of an eye, they reached the spell formation and began attacking it. Immediately, massive rumbling could be heard from the Grand Aegis as it rotated to full power. The will of the Mountains and Seas rose up, ensuring that even if the spell formation took damage, it was quickly repaired. The butterfly continued to get closer and closer to the tunnel.

Chapter 1396: Devil Realm World-Butterfly!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1397

Chapter 1397 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1397: I Shall Bestow You With Ultimate Good Fortune!

The Grand Aegis was so incredible that not even an 8-Essences Paragon would be able to break through it in a short period of time. Not the 8Essences Paragon from the 33 Heavens, nor the other five 8-Essences Outsider Paragons, could do anything except be blocked outside.

As the battle commenced, a cold snort suddenly echoed out from the Immortal God Continent as a beautiful woman appeared. She seemed cold and detached, and wore a long violet robe. As she strode out, a young man could be seen following along beside her. Mixed emotions could be seen on his face as he looked silently at the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The woman immediately extended her right hand and shoved her palm out toward the Mountain and Sea Grand Aegis.

That gesture caused her face to redden slightly, but the massive force that erupted out shook the starry sky, and sent the minds of all cultivators reeling. Even the 8-Essences paragons were in awe of her aura.

Hers was the aura of… nine Essences!

9-Essences Paragon!

A huge boom rang out as her attack slammed into the Grand Aegis, which instantly began to crumble. Normally speaking, the spell formation should not have been damaged so easily, but unfortunately… it was missing the power of one Sea.

That was something that Shui Dongliu hadn't figured into his plans, and never had enough time to compensate for. His original plan had called for the Grand Aegis to hold out until they reached the tunnel, or at least… until they got closer than they were now.

The most he could do now was make them pay a heavy price to break through the spell formation!

Even in the moment that it crumbled apart, a backlash force erupted out from it.

Shui Dongliu threw his head back and howled, "Mountain and Sea Seal!"

Instantly, the shattered remnants of the spell formation shot toward the female Paragon and began to form a seal around her.

Even as she frowned in response, another cold snort rang out that seemed filled with complete ancientness. Accompanying it was an ancient figure who emerged from within the Immortal God Continent.

It was an old man, wearing a white robe, with long white hair and eyebrows that made him seem extremely dignified. He held a string of prayer beads in his right hand, and as he strode out, his eyes shone like the Heavens.

Simultaneously, as the Mountain and Sea Grand Aegis shattered, the five 8-Essences Paragons instantly burst in, followed by countless other powerful experts.

"You people aren't going anywhere!"

Even as the hosts charged in to attack, the old man known as Daoist

Immortal Ancient opened his eyes. His body seemed devoid of life force, and rife with an aura of death. However, his cloudy eyes suddenly began to glow brightly, and he took a step forward, completely ignoring the other 8-Essences Paragons to head directly toward the old man in the white robe and white eyebrows.

The two of them immediately began to exchange blows that rocked Heaven and Earth.

At the same time, the Three-eyed God roared and charged forth to block the path of an 8-Essences Paragon, standing firm to prevent him from even getting close to the butterfly!

A bizarrely Demonic glint appeared in Naruto's eyes as he took a step forward. No laughter or crying could be heard, but his eyes burned with crimson light, and he erupted with a shocking aura as he began to fight ruthlessly. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as he licked his lips, the desire to slaughter and consume the enemy growing stronger within him.

As of this moment, the Mountain and Sea Realm truly had reached the most critical of junctures!

Booms rang out across the battlefield. One billion flying swords turned into a rain of destruction. Tens of thousands of former Imperial Lords, the river of reincarnation, and 100,000 Devils fought like mad to defend the butterfly from the Immortal God Continent.

Naruto's eyes flashed with crimson light as he fought his way toward the nearest 8-Essences Paragon. As he closed in, his aura transformed until he was like a wild beast, oblivious to matters of life and death. That 8-Essences paragon was one of the suns of the Immortal God Continent, with an incredibly high position. However, he had never encountered a cultivator like Naruto before, and within a split second, Naruto had torn a huge chunk of flesh off of him. His rage erupted, and just when he was about to strike back, he found himself facing a shocking God-Slaying Fist!

Paragon Sea Dream started laughing, and a cold gleam appeared in her eyes. Without any hesitation, she began to burn what remained of her dwindling longevity in exchange for more cultivation base power, which she immediately unleashed in combat.

Fighting broke out everywhere, and off in the distance, even more cultivators were approaching from the direction of the Immortal God Continent.

Shui Dongliu roared, and his sleeves whipped about as he went up against the other 8-Essences Paragons. Protecting the butterfly as it continued to speed toward the tunnel was the most important thing.

Even as the butterfly's head began to enter the tunnel, the sealed female Paragon began to break free. Her bonds crumbled, and she took a step forward, entering the Mountain and Sea Realm and reaching out with her right hand to grab at the butterfly.

"Get back here!"

Rumbling echoed out as a massive force surged toward the butterfly, which began to tremble. At the same time, the corpse of Daoist Immortal Ancient, who was fighting the white-robed old man, looked back at the butterfly, then unhesitatingly closed his eyes and selfdetonated.

He moved with such decisiveness that the white-robed old man's eyes widened in shock. He tried to back up, but the power of the selfdetonation swept over him like floodwaters, and began to spread out through the entire starry sky.

Wherever it passed, Outsiders and cultivators from the Immortal God Continent let out bloodcurdling screams as they were wiped out of existence. Then, the power began to wash over the Mountain and Sea Realm, although it did not harm any of the forces of the Mountains and Seas. Instead, it was targeted directly at the 9-Essences female Paragon!

Her face fell; even someone as powerful as herself had no choice but to evade. She immediately dispelled the force with which she was dragging the butterfly and fell back.

In that same instant, the power of self-detonation transformed into a propelling force which then shoved the butterfly toward the tunnel.

"Immortal Ancient!" cried Shui Dongliu, grief filling his eyes. He knew that the Immortal Ancient which had appeared was already dead, and couldn't last in the fight for very long. The fact that he might choose to self-detonate at a critical juncture was something that Shui Dongliu had long since taken into consideration. In fact, he himself might do just that; in all the plans he made, the only true mistake came… from not predicting that the Ninth Sea would turn traitor.

In the past, he had taken into consideration the potential betrayal of cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, he never thought that the Ninth Sea would actually make such a decision. It wasn't that he didn't know about the friction between Naruto and the Ninth Sea; he had taken that to be a small matter. After all, at the time it was just a difference in their points of view; now it seemed obvious now that there was a more important reason for the Ninth Sea's betrayal.

"It wants to become an independent will…." Shui Dongliu thought bitterly. The Ninth Sea's betrayal became the flaw in the Mountain and Sea Grand Aegis, ensuring that it could only last for a short time before being destroyed.

The price to be paid to make up for that weakness, was a life. And unfortunately, the life of Daoist Immortal Ancient was not enough….

It was in this critical moment that beams of light filled the starry sky as the 8-Essences Paragons once again closed in. In addition, there were two 9-Essences Paragons from the Immortal God Continent.

But the Three-eyed God threw his head back and laughed uproariously. Eyes gleaming with determination, he leaped forward unhesitatingly and chose to self-detonate. The blast surged out, propelling the butterfly further into the tunnel, until it was halfway inside.

Next, the war chariot exploded, then the ancient Imperial Lords. As of this moment, they all chose to self-detonate. The one billion flying swords, and the other forces which made up the backup reserves of the Mountains and Seas, all did the same thing.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The resulting explosion caused blinding light to spread out over the battlefield. At the same time, the nine Xuanwu turtles, as well as the Eight Seas, all added power to the butterfly's movement.

The incoming Paragons were swept over by the force of the selfdetonation blasts, and at the same time, the butterfly was pushed all the way into the tunnel.

It seemed as if they were on the verge of escaping, as if within the space of a few breaths of time the Mountain and Sea Realm would be gone, as if the Immortal God Continent had absolutely no time with which to react.

However… it was within those few breaths of time that everything would be decided!

Hordes of cultivators charged forth from the Immortal God Continent. The tunnel was vibrating, as though the butterfly's escape was now impossible to prevent.

In Shui Dongliu's plan, the next few breaths of time were supposed to be covered by the protection of the Grand Aegis. However, the betrayal of the Ninth Sea turned that plan into nothing more than a dream.

"Even the slightest mistake must be compensated with a massive price," Shui Dongliu said softly. "So many lives have already been sacrificed. Now, it's my turn." With that, he took a step forward, and suddenly, he seemed completely different than before.

In a mere instant, he was no longer an old man, but instead, young and strapping. He took a deep breath, then extended his hand toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Shrink!" he said. That single word caused the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, all of the Nine Mountains and the Eight Seas, to shrink down into the form of a magical item which came to rest on Shui Dongliu's palm. Then, he tossed it away behind him, whereupon all the surrounding cultivators, including Naruto, Ksitigarbha, Paragon Sea Dream, and others, were all shoved toward the tunnel, along with the shrunken Mountains and Seas.

Struggling wasn't even an option. Naruto and the others were flung into the tunnel. As for the shrunken Mountain and Sea Realm, it headed toward Naruto, transforming into a shining seed which merged into his forehead.

Naruto's mind began to rumble as he looked out at Shui Dongliu, who hovered there in the starry sky, just outside the tunnel. Shui Dongliu was alone, preparing to block all oncomers, to buy the time for the butterfly which had been lost by the Ninth Sea!

Shui Dongliu's voice echoed with seemingly infinite power as he said, "Naruto, I owe the bloodline of the Namikaze Clan. Today, I will repay what I owe you!

"I'm giving you the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Take it, and also take… my Beginning-Ending Hexing magic. This is… the League of Demon Sealers' First Generation Hex. Take my cultivation base, and take my Dao!

"This is the final phase of my plan. Use my cultivation base and my Dao for the sake of the Paragon Immortal Realm, to become… something that surpasses Nine Seals… surpasses Paragons… surpasses Immortals and Devils, and is above all else… the ultimate powerful expert!" Chapter 1397: I Shall Bestow You With Ultimate Good Fortune!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1398

Chapter 1398: The Starry Sky of the Vast Expanse

The tunnel shook as the butterfly flew along, surrounded by Naruto and the other powerful experts. Countless vortexes appeared; explosive power was gathered which dramatically increased the speed of the butterfly. However, despite that sudden outburst of speed, when they looked back, they could still see Shui Dongliu standing outside of the tunnel like a mountain.

Naruto's red pupils flickered with mixed emotions as he watched Shui Dongliu suddenly growing much larger. He was no longer old, but rather, a man in his prime.

His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a shocking aura to rise up around him. There was also brilliant light, all of which was… the power of a 9-Essences cultivation base, which roared to life inside of him.

However, he seemed incapable of actually making a move. His cultivation base rocketed up, but all he could do was stand there, as if to use himself… to block the entrance to the tunnel. If anyone on the other side wanted to enter, they would have to destroy him first.

It was in that exact same moment when he began to grow larger, and his cultivation base grew more powerful, that in some mysterious fashion, he formed a connection to the Mountain and Sea Realm seed within Naruto's body!

It was like a spiritual consecration, like the transmission of a Dao, causing Naruto to shake, and his mind to rumble. Boundless understanding of the Dao of Heaven, complete mastery regarding cultivation bases, and deep comprehension regarding various magical techniques, all passed into Naruto from Shui Dongliu.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but a boundless cultivation base power, as well as life force Essence, all poured into Naruto. Trembling, he let out a howl as shocking and monumental changes occurred inside of him.

Outside of the tunnel, the frustrated howls of the people from the Immortal God Continent could be heard.

"It's Immortal Dao Transference!"

"He's using himself as the seed, then self-immolating to help someone else ascend…."

"That's a magical technique left behind from the Paragon Immortal Realm. But originally, it was completely malevolent. You could consume another person to help ascension. But this guy… he's using that magic in the opposite way!"

Amidst the buzz of conversation, the 9-Essences female Paragon frowned for a moment, then snorted and took a step forward. The old man with the white eyebrows and robe sighed, and continued to advance. As for the other 8-Essences Paragons, they also approached.

It took only a moment for rumbling sounds to fill all ears as they closed in with deadly force on Shui Dongliu. Shui Dongliu chuckled, and his eyes shone brightly as he looked at the virtually all-powerful cultivators of the Immortal God Realm.

"We Mountain and Sea cultivators… live and die for the Mountains and Seas!" His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, summoning a divine ability. Drawing upon himself, he burned his own body and unleashed his cultivation base, partly to block his opponents, and partly to give to Naruto.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he sustained countless injuries. However, he didn't shrink back in the slightest. He stood there outside of the tunnel, laughing just as before.

"I am not Nine Seals, although my body contains a stream of Nine Seals' discarnate soul…. I'm not sure whether he used me to gain another life, or if I used him to return to the world…. The question of who I actually am is something I've pondered for countless millennia. Perhaps I've known the answer all along. I was originally a Mourning-Death soul…. In the end, though, it doesn't matter. It's all the same…. 1

"I called back the clone of the fallen God, and allowed the enemy to stay within the Mountains and Seas. I discussed the Dao with Extermination, and asked about the Heaven of all living things. 2

"I spared no effort. I did everything I could…. Perhaps some people will hate me, and perhaps some will denounce me. But when it comes to the Mountain and Sea Realm… I will never, ever have any regrets. I have lived my life for the Mountain and Sea Realm, and now I will die for it. My wish is fulfilled, and I have absolutely no regrets!

"We Mountain and Sea cultivators live and die for the Mountains and Seas!" As Shui Dongliu laughed, a look of madness gleamed in his eyes for the first time ever. Just before he was about to be completely destroyed by the enemy, he made the same choice that so many other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had made when they were on the verge of dying.

Self-detonation!

By means of self-detonation, he would injure those who were giving chase. By means of self-detonation, he would pass on his legacy with burning speed to Naruto, to deliver to him… superlative good fortune!

Shui Dongliu was self-detonating!

As soon as that happened, the vortexes in the tunnel spun faster than ever, in creasing the butterfly's speed dramatically. It took only a moment for it to shoot far off in the distance. It was also in that moment that Naruto's mind filled with the crash of infinite thunderclaps. He shook visibly as countless Daos filled his thoughts, provoking frenzied growth within him.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his vision swam for a moment before he passed out. Paragon Sea Dream quickly caught him. Then she, along with everyone else atop the butterfly, looked back with mixed emotions at the blinding, scintillating lights flashing near the entrance of the tunnel.

However, it didn't take long before a huge boom echoed out from that very area. A moment later, vast numbers of Immortal God cultivators poured in. At the same time, their huge continent also reached the tunnel itself. Moments later, the tunnel itself began to crumble into pieces.

In that very instant, the butterfly was rapidly sucked out to the end of the tunnel.

Time seemed to slow until it was impossible to tell how much had passed. When things returned to normal, they were in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, shooting out from a vortex which had just appeared.

When the Mountain and Sea cultivators looked out, they saw an endless starry sky. The Vast Expanse. There were no planets or Heavenly bodies, only layers of pulsing mist.

Behind them was where the Mountain and Sea Realm had formerly been located. Looking back, they could see a blurry vortex, within which were countless dots of light.

This was the first time most of these cultivators had seen the outside world, and it looked very unfamiliar.

Naruto was still unconscious, but a shocking power seemed to be brewing within him, stirring and rumbling.

The butterfly quickly shot out into the Vast Expanse. However, it didn't take long before rumbling sounds echoed out from the very location it had just emerged from. The vortex which had been ripped open suddenly grew larger, then exploded as a gigantic land mass emerged.

Then, that vortex, which was connected to the former location of the Mountain and Sea Realm shattered, vanished for all eternity.

What had just emerged was none other than the Immortal God Continent, which immediately cast countless enraged and murderous auras out in all directions.

"The boundless starry sky of the Vast Expanse! They won't be able to escape!"

"When the Immortal God Continent chases someone, they can't escape!"

"Naruto! The name of the successor is Naruto!"

After a moment, they determined the direction Naruto and the others had taken, and went all out in pursuit.

Even as the Immortal God Continent gave chase, a lone ship appeared within the Vast Expanse. It hovered there, an old man on the prow, who suddenly opened his eyes and looked off into the distance.

After a moment passed, he shook his head and sighed.

"If they knew the truth about it all, would they do this?" he murmured. Perhaps the only person who knew which "they" he referred to… was him.

Another moment passed, and then the ship began to fade away. The old man continued his never-ending journey. Apparently, his stop in the Mountain and Sea Realm had just been a brief respite from a lifelong journey. Now, he made his way off into the distance once again. "Perhaps we will never meet again. And yet, that Demon… seemed quite interesting." He sighed, and his eyes glittered thoughtfully.

Even as the ship disappeared, an emaciated cultivator appeared off in another direction. Hovering at his side was an enormous mosquito. Both of them looked off into the distance.

The cultivator had a wretched appearance, but at the moment, he was frowning in apparent hesitation.

"Is this war really necessary? Lunatics. They're all lunatics…. It was all to prevent the Immortal from appearing, all to transform him into the Demon…." If Wang Mu were here, he would instantly recognize this gaunt old man. He was none other than his Master, who had taught him the ways of cultivation in the bamboo forest of the Wang Clan.

After a moment passed, the gaunt cultivator sighed.

"The jinx has been gone for many, many years, gone to parts unknown.

And yet, the same type of thing is happening again. Ah well, forget it. I'm not getting involved." The emaciated cultivator shook his head, then began to make his way off into the distance. Perhaps from his perspective, what the Immortal God Continent was doing was a bit excessive, maybe even vile. Yet in the end… it wasn't anything fatally wrong.

Even Slaughter appeared, looking off into the distance. Apparently, even he felt that what was happening was relatively meaningless….

It was possible that, at this point in time, there was no one who could foresee… what type of explosive tempest would arise because of the events playing out.

The Immortal had become the Demon, and the Demon… could change the entire Vast Expanse!

The pursuit was underway. The final events of the war which had just played out caused mixed feelings to rise up in the hearts of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm regarding Shui Dongliu.

Shui Dongliu had given the Mountain and Sea Realm hope. When they were mired in the depths of hopelessness, he had provided a slight chance for survival. That tiny chance had grown larger and larger, until survival now was a distinct possibility.

Although it seemed possible that the butterfly might still meet destruction, the truth was that the instant it had emerged from that vortex into the Vast Expanse, the Mountain and Sea Realm… had already escaped the fate of certain destruction.

As of this moment, the Mountain and Sea Realm was in control of its own fate!

There were no fetters and no seals. There were no 33 Heavens, and no Dao Namikaze . There was no Aeon Seal. There were no two powers crushing down on them from above.

It could even be said that the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had finally acquired true freedom. Tens upon tens of thousands of years had passed since the Paragon Immortal Realm, and during that time, they had never possessed… freedom.

They were being chased, but as far as the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were concerned, they still had their freedom.

The downside was that the cost of that freedom had been immeasurable. As for the handful of cultivators who actually remained behind, when they thought about that seemingly impossible chance which Shui Dongliu had procured, they were filled with mixed feelings, including both hatred and respect.

Ninety-nine percent of the cultivators had died. In exchange for that, every flap of the wings of the butterfly caused more of the dead souls of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators to fade away.

In fact, it might be better to say that the wings were not being propelled by Namikaze Xiufeng and Uzumaki Li, but rather, by the lives of the Mountain and Sea cultivators.

The Mourning-Death Clan and the Mourning-Death souls are from the novel Beseech the Devil. I don't really know much about them, I just know that they existed in that novel and were relevant in the later parts of the story. ↩ You might remember a while back I said that the man on the boat seemed like he might be Old Man Extermination from Beseech the Devil. This seems to confirm that ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1399

Chapter 1399: The Butterfly Flies!

Shui Dongliu self-detonated to block the path of the enemy, all to buy just a bit of time for the butterfly, to help Naruto successfully lead the Realm to survival. When it came to his choices and actions, no one could judge whether they were completely right or wrong, or whether in the grand scheme of things he had done good or evil.

The only thing that remained behind were complicated thoughts and emotions.

Everyone stood there silently as the butterfly sped out into the Vast Expanse.

Naruto was still unconscious, as he had been ever since the final moments in the tunnel. He could not stay in the world which existed inside the butterfly. When the others tried to take him inside, the butterfly began to tremble as if it were about to disperse. Therefore, they were forced to leave him outside, atop the body of the butterfly itself.

Sea Dream, Ksitigarbha, and everyone else remained in his vicinity as Dharma Protectors. There were two other figures near him, a Daoist couple. It was none other than Namikaze Xiufeng and Uzumaki Li.

They didn't look the least bit incorporeal. They were as solid as if they were real, and they sat next to Naruto, looking softly at their Hao'er. In their eyes, Naruto would always be their little baby.

"Hao'er, we didn't leave. Wake up and you can see us…."

"Hao'er…."

The others around Naruto looked at his parents with expressions of deep respect. Even Paragon Sea Dream had clasped hands and bowed deeply to them when they had appeared.

Everyone knew that the butterfly itself belonged to the Namikaze Clan, and that the two souls propelling the wings were none other than this husband and wife.

They had not died, but had been reborn into a new, eternal form of life.

The butterfly was still flapping its wings, carrying its group of homeless wanderers off into the Vast Expanse.

Behind them was the Immortal God Continent, giving chase at top speed, drawing ever closer. In a different direction out in the Vast Expanse was another land mass, deathly silent, being pulled along by several huge butterflies. That land mass was currently changing its course to head toward Naruto's location.

Naruto was dreaming. Within that dream, there was endless lightning and thunder. He heard laughter and weeping that seemed to rip everything asunder. As the lightning crashed around him, black veins could be seen snaking across his body. Something else was visible, a distinct symbol.

A Hexing magic!

A Hexing magic of the League of Demon Sealers!

Naruto had already mastered the Second through Eighth Hexes. Now, he was surrounded by lightning that apparently came from Shui Dongliu's First Hex, which was in the process of fusing into him, enabling him to gain enlightenment of the First Demon Sealing Hex, the Beginning-Ending Hex!

All living things are affected by the cause and effect of Karma, by life and death. All things have a beginning and an end!

In addition to the Hexing magic, Naruto was surrounded by a vast sea. That sea was like a cultivation base, filling his world with enormous crashing waves that he was actually able to absorb.

His cultivation base was rising unceasingly, and his mind was seething with countless Daoist magics which were capable of rocking all creation, of altering the Heavens.

It was hard to say how much time passed before the lightning within that world faded. When it finally happened, Naruto closed his eyes and sank down into the depths of the cultivation base sea. Within those depths were nine tiny mountains, between which were eight seas that remained unfused with the cultivation base sea.

Naruto settled cross-legged amidst the nine mountains and eight seas, eyes closed in meditation. He appeared to be seeking enlightenment; his face was occasionally twisted with struggle, occasionally blank with confusion, occasionally beaming with joy. There were constant changes, and at the same time, the sea around him was gradually shrinking down.

The surrounding nine mountains and eight seas seemed to be connecting to Naruto in some mysterious fashion, and were even shaking in concert with his heartbeat.

Eight complex symbols gradually appeared on his forehead. The last of those symbols was only half complete, and still in the process of growing. These were Naruto's Hexing magics. When that last symbol was complete, it would indicate that Naruto could wield all eight generations of Hexing magic!

The rest of the symbols all had varying levels of Essence aura emanating off of them, as if they might burst forth with Essence aura at any time.

Surrounding Naruto were 33 Soul Lamps, of which 18 were burning and 15 were extinguished. Of the 18 burning Soul Lamps, one was the Prime Lamp; were it to be destroyed, it would result in Naruto's death!

All of a sudden, one of the 18 Soul Lamps suddenly went out.

As more time passed, more of the lamps were extinguished. Each time that happened, black smoke would rise up and pour into Naruto's body.

His cultivation base, his aura, and his fleshly body all experienced incredible growth!

The good fortune from Shui Dongliu was doing just as he had intended: it was transforming Naruto into a consummate peak expert!

Although the process was somewhat slow, and might last a long time, it was a process that would not stop!

At the same time, the Immortal God Continent was closing in on the butterfly. There, Paragon Sea Dream looked at Naruto for a long moment, and then finally made a decision.

She rose to her feet, looked out at the Vast Expanse with an expression of sadness, and then softly murmured, "Everyone from that generation… has gone. Now, it's my turn, the most useless of them all.

"I can sense the Devil Realm up ahead, and the Immortal God Realm chasing us.

"I am the most good-for-nothing of the Paragons. My cultivation base isn't sufficient, and my skill in strategy is lacking. I've been able to do very, very little…." She stood there for a moment silently.

"I watched the Mountain and Sea Realm be destroyed, and I watched her appear. I watched as the butterfly soared out into the starry sky, and now I watch as the enemy pursues us. What else can I do…?

"I've lived a long time in this life of mine, and yet still, I'm useless. The only thing I ever had was my plan with the Echelon. Well, now is the time to accomplish my purpose with that plan!

"The hope of the Mountain and Sea Realm lies, not with me, but with him." She turned her head to look at the unconscious Naruto. Then, her eyes flickered with determination, and she reached her hand out and pointed at one of the butterfly wings.

The gesture instantly caused two people to vanish from within the world of the butterfly wing. They were the only two remaining Echelon cultivators other than Naruto, and a moment later, they reappeared in front of Sea Dream.

One of them was the Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain, DaoHeaven! The other was the Seventh Mountain's Echelon cultivator, Yuwen Jian!

They had not yet recovered from the injuries they had sustained in the war, but as soon as they appeared and realized where they were, they looked over at Naruto, and then clasped hands and bowed to Paragon Sea Dream.

She looked at them silently for a moment, then softly said, "Are you two ready?"

Dao-Heaven and Yuwen Jian had looks of staunch determination on their faces as they nodded deeply. They had already lost everything. Their homes. Their clans. As for friends, they only had a few left. All that truly remained in their hearts was a throbbing hatred.

"Well then," Sea Dream continued, "it's time to execute the Echelon mission…. I worked on this plan for many, many years, the only strategy I ever came up with. In a moment, I will unleash a reincarnation magic, which will be fed by your life forces. I will send one of you to the Immortal God Continent, and the other to the Devil Realm!

"There, you will be like seeds planted to overthrow the enemy. Your futures will be bleak, and you might even die in the process. There is an even greater likelihood that my plan has no hope of succeeding at all, and that you will be able to do nothing to topple either of those two great powers."

Sea Dream closed her eyes and murmured to herself, "However… it's still worth trying." With that, her eyes sparkled; she slowly extended her right hand and tapped Yuwen Jian's forehead. His body began to tremble, and the Echelon mark on his forehead radiated scintillating light that cascaded around him. It gradually covered his entire body until Yuwen Jian… transformed into ash!

Then he disappeared!

The strand of his soul which was left was propelled by means of Paragon Sea Dream's life force Essence out into the Vast Expanse. There, it would look for a path to reincarnation, a way… to find its way through the void to the Devil Realm.

"Let my memories guide you. Let my life force be your path. Take power from my cultivation base to enter the cycle of reincarnation. I… was part of the great catastrophe that struck the Paragon Immortal Realm. Back then, I managed to leave a mark in the Devil Realm…. Go, Echelon cultivator!"

Rumbling sounds echoed out as Yuwen Jian's soul vanished into the Vast

Expanse, following a strange path to enter the reincarnation cycle of the Devil Realm. The magical technique being used was something beyond description. However, this was truly Paragon Sea Dream's sole plan. Even the scheme with Windswept had been arranged by Shui Dongliu, and had not been carried out by herself.

Dao-Heaven's eyes flickered with bright light. Then, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.

In almost that same moment, the Echelon mark on his forehead began to shine, surrounding his body with light. Then, he vanished from the butterfly.

After accomplishing these things, Paragon Sea Dream coughed up a mouthful of blood and seemed to wither. She had already been burning her life force back in the fight for the Mountain and Sea Realm, and had accomplished her plan only by means of sacrificing some of her Essence. Now, she was like an oil lamp on the verge of sputtering out.

"Finally, it's my turn." Smiling, she waved her sleeve and took a step forward to appear out in the Vast Expanse, off of the surface of the butterfly. There, she stretched both arms out wide, causing rumbling sounds to echo out from inside of her. At the same time, an invisible fire began to burn away at her.

There wasn't the slightest bit of hesitation in her actions. She knew that her soul would disperse, that she would not enter the cycle of reincarnation, and that her Dao foundation would be destroyed. Even still, she took every scrap of power that she had, every bit of life force, and burned it hard and fast.

In that moment, she once again looked like she had when she was young. Her body trembled as shocking fluctuations emanated out, transforming into a destructive vortex around her.

She was not choosing to self-detonate. Instead, she was burning all her remaining cultivation base to become divine sense power that spread out in all directions!

She was using her death to find a direction for the Mountain and Sea Realm and the butterfly to travel in, a direction where safety would exist for later generations!

She was a Paragon, always and forever!

Perhaps she didn't have the ultimate cultivation base, and perhaps she wasn't the most capable. But the sun and the moon and all the Heavens could bear witness that her heart belonged to the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Rumbling could be heard as her divine sense spread out, backed by the burning of her cultivation base and life force. It spread out into the boundless expanse, seeking, searching everywhere for the slightest chance of survival for the Mountain and Sea Realm.

She could sense the ever-nearing Immortal God Continent, and the approach of the Devil Realm. As her divine sense continued to spread out unceasingly, her body withered rapidly. In the end, she began to fall apart. Her legs transformed into motes of light that began to dissipate.

And yet, she didn't give up. All to find hope for the Mountain and Sea Realm….

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1400

Chapter 1400: Green Coffin Vortex!

Sea Dream's divine sense spread out further and further. Everything from her waist down had transformed into motes of light. It was then that, shockingly, she noticed… a vortex, spinning somewhere far, far away.

It was a vortex larger and grander than the space once occupied by the Paragon Immortal Realm, and within it could be sensed an intense, terrifying pressure that was no less powerful than that exerted by the Immortal God Continent.

There was indescribable danger inside, and within the cracks and crevices that riddled the swirling vortex, it was just possible to discern that in the centermost region… was a coffin!

The coffin was green, and inside of it was the corpse of a woman who almost appeared to be sleeping.

Next to the coffin was a stone stele, upon which was a line of script that Paragon Sea Dream could just barely read.

"The entire starry sky owes me a debt, and likewise… I owe you a debt. You could awaken from slumber if you wished, but you do not. Well then… I will use this starry sky, transformed into the Vast Expanse, to accompany you in death."

That vortex was a place that had nothing whatsoever to do with the

Mountain and Sea Realm, the Immortal God Continent, or the Devil Realm. It was another world, a world that had seen the passing of countless ages. Apparently, it had even existed back in the days when there was no Immortal God Continent or Devil Realm!

Apparently, the reason why the Vast Expanse existed to begin with… was because of that world!

Sea Dream had never seen this woman before, but as soon as she laid eyes on her, her mind reeled. Somehow, she was filled with the sensation… that this was the place where the Mountain and Sea Realm could find its chance at survival!

The vortex itself was bizarre in appearance; it consisted only of the colors black and white, and also contained some sort of timeshifting magic, which made it so that Paragon Sea Dream couldn't examine it for very long. A moment later, her divine sense was on the verge of running out, so she retracted it. By now, everything below her neck had transformed into light.

"That's the place. That… is where the Mountain and Sea Realm has a chance to survive!" She seemed excited as she pulled back her divine sense, and yet, it was in that same moment that the Vast Expanse churned as the Immortal God Continent appeared not too far away in the distance.

However, Paragon Sea Dream continued to smile as her head transformed into motes of light. Those motes of light then propelled the butterfly ahead with incredible speed, and with it all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Rumbling could be heard as the butterfly shot away from the Immortal God Continent, which continued to pursue relentlessly, despite the distance between them.

The motes of light were all that remained of Paragon Sea Dream, and they were about to fade away. She quickly pushed the butterfly toward the vortex she had discovered with her divine sense, and passed on the information about it to Namikaze Xiufeng and Uzumaki Li.

"Go there…. That is where… hope exists!"

The butterfly changed its course, speeding rapidly in the direction indicated by Paragon Sea Dream.

At this point, the motes of light that were Sea Dream began to fade away. She watched as the butterfly disappeared off in the distance; smiling, she offered it all of her well wishes.

She was Sea Dream, who had stood guard over the Mountain and Sea Realm ever since the final battle of the Paragon Immortal Realm. Now, she was dying.

Shui Dongliu gave the last bit of his life force to buy hope for the

Mountain and Sea Realm, and now Sea Dream did the same thing. She gave her life to point the Realm in the right direction.

"Big bro Nine Seals, I'm coming to join you….

"I'm the most useless of everyone. I was useless back then, and now… I'm just as useless…. I didn't even kill an Imperial Lord, let alone a Paragon. Completely useless.

"To all you children of the Mountain and Sea Realm, I truly hope… that you can live quiet and safe lives." Smiling, Paragon Sea Dream faded away into the Vast Expanse… for all eternity.

Of all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm on the butterfly, the only one to witness her passing was Ksitigarbha. When she was gone, a look of deep sadness appeared in his eyes.

As for Naruto, he was currently in that other world in his mind. Because of the sea of his cultivation base, he was growing more powerful. Of the Soul Lamps which surrounded him, a total of 20 were extinguished!

Of the Hex marks on his forehead, the one which represented the First Hex was more than half complete!

Essence was growing rapidly within the eight marks. The Demonic Chakra and Immortal Chakra within him, as well as all other types of energy, were rapidly fusing together, transforming into… a completely bizarre aura.

His heart was now beginning to pound. Thump thump. Thump thump. Thump thump….

With every beat of his heart, it felt as if lightning were crashing in his brain. Gradually, the effect spread outside of his body, causing bursts of lightning to appear in the Vast Expanse beyond the butterfly.

Time passed, although it was hard to say exactly how much. The butterfly shot through the Vast Expanse in the direction Paragon Sea Dream had indicated, drawing ever closer to the vortex she had discovered….

One day, the murkiness of the Vast Expanse lessened. Ahead of the butterfly, a huge vortex had become visible. It was so large that, although it was a vast distance away, it looked very close.

This was none other than… the location Paragon Sea Dream had seen with her divine sense!

In the same moment that the vortex became visible, the Vast Expanse filled with rumbling sounds as the Immortal God Continent… appeared once again!

The starry sky of the Vast Expanse was so vastly large that no one could truly say how large it was. Or perhaps it would be more correct to say that people who did know the answer to that question were incredibly rare.

To most cultivators and even other life forms, the starry sky that was the Vast Expanse… was essentially unending. After all, most beings wouldn't be able to travel to the ends of the Vast Expanse, not even the Immortal God Continent.

In the end… it was too large.

Nor could anyone clearly explain how many vortexes or floating land masses existed. However, everyone knew that wherever vortexes existed in the Vast Expanse, civilizations could be found!

Even if they were extinct, evidence would remain of their existence, remnants that could give a glimpse into their former glory.

As for the land masses that floated about, they were always places of great danger, locations of either powerful experts, or the shades of the dead.

However, the Vast Expanse was so large that the space between such land masses was incredible. It was even possible to travel for tens upon tens of thousands of years and never run into a single one. As for the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm, they had traveled far and wide within the Vast Expanse. Although they had never traveled far enough to grasp the overall shape of the Vast Expanse, whenever they encountered other forces, they always came out on top!

In fact, they knew much more about this newly appeared vortex than most others would.

Almost as soon as the Immortal God Continent appeared, the voice of a woman echoed out from the land mass, passing through the Vast Expanse into the ears of the people standing on the back of the butterfly.

"There are three restricted areas within the Vast Expanse, mysterious locations within which lurk profound secrets relating to the creation of the Vast Expanse itself. The place you are traveling toward is one of those three. It is called… the Green Coffin Vortex!"

Ksitigarbha's expression was one of vigilance. Standing next to him was the Paragon puppet, which had been reduced to a very simple state of consciousness due to Naruto being in a coma. Wang Youcai was also present, as wereHebiYin and others, such as the Mountain and Sea Lords and Ke Jiusi.

These people were the most powerful experts in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

They were guarding Naruto, and as such, their faces were grim as they stared out at the Immortal God Continent.

The woman's voice echoed out once more: "Choosing to go to a place like that is essentially choosing… to die!"

Even as she spoke, certain cultivators from the Immortal God Continent were flying out into the Vast Expanse.

Some of those cultivators were like suns, and emanated shocking fluctuations. In the rear position was the same cold woman who had appeared back in the Mountain and Sea Realm, whose cultivation base fluctuations were those of the 9-Essences level.

She was the one who had just spoken.

"According to the legends," she continued, "the black and white vortex which spins there outside the Green Coffin Vortex contains a Dao of Time. It is a great Dao that did not just appear randomly. It was forcibly acquired and left there to feed the woman inside the coffin.

"As for who exactly that woman is, nobody knows. Years ago, my husband came here and observed this place for a long time, and in the end, said only one thing.

"He said that the person in that coffin is the origin of the starry sky that became the Vast Expanse!" Eventually, the 9-Essences woman's eyes came to rest on Naruto, who was unconscious on the back of the butterfly.

"We have reached the point where the hostilities should cease. There is no need for you to proceed any further. Our entire purpose for starting this war was, first, to prevent the rise of the Immortal, and second, to acquire a mirror."

The woman looked at the butterfly, her expression cold as she said, "The funny thing is that both of those reasons were originally unconnected. But now, they are inexorably intertwined. Just hand that man over, and allow yourselves to be sealed. Then… you can be on your way.

"In the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, 9-Essences Paragons… are the most powerful of beings. If you want to stay alive in the Vast Expanse, then no matter where you go, you will need a 9-Essences Paragon."

Her words cause incredible pressure to weigh down on the Vast

Expanse, and left the butterfly trembling and incapable of moving.

"Do you people disagree?" A moment later, the woman waved her right hand, causing an incredible force to surge down. Just when she was about to take a step forward, her heart suddenly thumped as she realized that Naruto had just twitched.

"Is he waking up?" she thought, smiling, her eyes glittering coldly. "How amusing. I'm also curious to see… the true strength of this Immortal who became the Demon."

She pointed out at the butterfly.

"Don't leave a single one alive!"

As the words left her mouth, the surrounding cultivators of the Immortal God Continent charged in attack. The four suns radiated boundless light as they shot toward the Butterfly, closing in almost instantly.

Sadness appeared on Ksitigarbha's face, and everyone else had bloodshot eyes. As the cultivators of the Immortal God Continent closed in, a beam of light shot out from the butterfly, a divine ability which transformed into a shield.

However, it could only protect them for a moment before it began to crumble and collapse. At that point, Ksitigarbha launched himself forward to attack, along with Wang Youcai, the Paragon puppet, and everyone else.

Sappy note from Deathblade: Maybe it was my mood when I was translating the past couple chapters, or something else, but for some reason I was unusually upset by Sea Dream's death. I couldn't help but feel how tragic it was that someone so powerful, someone who had lived so long, seen so many things, could have such negative feelings, even when sacrificing herself to save the day. I kind of wished I could reach out to her in her final moment and say, "No, you're not useless!" She might not have killed anyone in the fighting, or concocted some super complex plan. But she worked hard, she endured, and in the end, she actually saved the day. At a certain point in life, all of us find ourselves in the situation where we feel inadequate or lacking, but we should never let that get the best of us. Poor Sea Dream. R.I.P.

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	16. Chapter 16

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1401

Chapter 1401: Wake Up, Wake Up!

"You won't withstand a single blow!" The four Paragons in the suns were the quickest. One of them was a crimson-haired middle-aged man with a cold smile. As he strode forward, he waved his hand, resulting in Ksitigarbha and the others coughing up mouthfuls of blood as they spun backward beyond control. A few of them even directly exploded.

It took only a moment for it to be apparent that there was nothing the Mountain and Sea cultivators could do to block the advance. It was simply impossible to compare the Mountain and Sea Realm and the butterfly to the Immortal God Continent.

The crimson-haired man strode forward and stepped onto the butterfly itself, causing a tremor to run through it. He instantly headed toward the unconscious Naruto, and a flicker of scorn could be seen in his eyes as he reached his hand out to grab the top of his head.

At the same time, the other suns and other cultivators of the Immortal God Continent were closing in. In only a moment, they would burst into the world which contained the survivors of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and put them all to death.

In the moment in which the crimson-haired man was about to grab Naruto, the butterfly's wings shivered, and Naruto's parents suddenly appeared to block his way.

"You think a bit too much of yourselves," the man said, smiling. His energy surged, transforming into a powerful attack which headed directly toward Naruto's parents, to wipe them out of existence.

The destructive power in his hand was enough to eradicate anything and everything, and it was now only moments away from slamming into Naruto.

It was absolutely a moment of incredible danger.

The crisis Naruto faced was being shared by his parents, by Ksitigarbha and the others, and by everyone living inside the world of the butterfly!

Meanwhile….

In the world inside Naruto's mind, lightning and thunder crashed. At the same time, countless copies of Naruto were joining their voices together to shout out in a powerful roar.

"Wake up! Wake up! Wake up!"

As the voices echoed out endlessly, more and more versions of Naruto appeared, filling the entire world, roaring at him in an attempt to awaken him.

It eventually pierced into the remaining cultivation base sea, entering the ears of Naruto's true self, causing him to tremble. Then his eyes opened!

Meanwhile, back out in the real world, where Naruto lay on the butterfly's back, his eyes… also opened!

As his bright red pupils appeared, an explosive aura surged out, causing the Vast Expanse to shake, and the starry sky to tremble.

Shockingly, as everything quaked around him, lightning bolts appeared, transforming the area into a lake of lightning. It almost looked as if the Vast Expanse itself were furious.

An intense pressure began to weigh down that was difficult to put into words. It filled the entire area, crushing down onto the cultivators from the Immortal God Continent who were attempting to break into the butterfly world. All of them coughed up blood, and then uncontrollably dropped to their knees and began to kowtow.

Even the 8-Essences paragons were shocked to find that they were trembling.

The entire world was completely shaken!

The starry sky was vibrating, and the Vast Expanse was howling!

The Immortal God cultivators who were trying to cut down Ksitigarbha and the others felt their cultivation bases weakening, and then some of them began to explode!

And that was what happened when Naruto merely opened his eyes and unleashed his energy!

The intensity of the power caused the face of the cold-eyed 9-Essences Paragon to drop.

As for the crimson-haired man in front of Naruto, his scalp was completely numb, and he was shaking in his boots. His cultivation base was unstable, and the attack he had just unleashed on Naruto's parents was completely destroyed.

An indescribably majestic air radiated off of Naruto, causing everything around him to vibrate.

The crimson-haired man, who was an 8-Essences Paragon sun from the

Immortal God Continent, couldn't stop himself from looking at Naruto. As soon as their eyes met, the man's face fell, and his mind began to spin. It felt like red daggers were stabbing through his eyes into his brain. Any resistance on his part was crushed like twigs as the pain stabbed into him, sending his sea of consciousness boiling, causing his cultivation base to grow unstable, and filling him with a sensation of imminent death.

"This…." Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his entire body shook violently as he subconsciously took a step back in fear of the complete and utter bizarreness of Naruto.

In the moment he fell back, Naruto took a step forward, and before the man could dodge, viciously head-butted him in the forehead.

Naruto's eyes were bright red as he slammed into the man, instantly turning the top of his head into a mash of blood and gore. He screamed and struggled, but then Naruto smiled and once again butted his head forward.

"Didn't you just say that we wouldn't withstand a single blow?" He grabbed the man's robe and slammed his head into him again.

"Didn't you just say that we overestimate ourselves?" Naruto grinned, and blood soaked his head as he bashed it into the man over and over again. Finally, the 8-Essences Paragon's head exploded, and his body was destroyed. His Nascent Divinity flew out, looking at Naruto in shock.

Naruto let the man's Nascent Divinity fly away, and turned to look at the other forces who had already landed on the butterfly, then waved his hand furiously.

"Screw off!" he growled.

Rumbling sounds erupted out as the lightning surrounding him sent the midst of the Vast Expanse seething. Incredible pressure radiated out from Naruto, and shocking power filled his voice. Instantly, the cultivators from the Immortal God Continent who were on the butterfly coughed up blood, and then began to explode one after another. In the end, not a single one could remain on the butterfly's back.

The Immortal God Continent was buzzing as countless cultivators flew out, eyes filled with disbelief as they stared at Naruto. In addition to the original 9-Essences female Paragon, there was also the white-robed, white-eyebrowed old man who had fought Daoist Immortal Ancient, and who was now looking at Naruto with a very serious expression.

"He's 9-Essences…." Those were the words coming out of the mouths of the bedraggled cultivators who had survived their brush with Naruto's power.

"That's… that 9-Essences power. How is that even possible!?"

"How could he be 9-Essences? Shui Dongliu used Immortal Dao Transference to consecrate him. But… even if he passed on everything to this guy, it's not likely that he would be able to… to have 9-Essences power!"

"Most importantly, you can tell that he's actually not finished with the process! If… if he ever completely absorbs that legacy, just think of how strong he'll be!"

The cultivators of the Immortal God Continent felt as if they had been struck in the head. Their minds were spinning as they looked at Naruto with complete disbelief.

9-Essences! Only 9-Essences could possess energy like this, and only 9Essences could destroy the fleshly body of an 8-Essences Paragon as easily as flipping over a hand!

Only 9-Essences could allow a faction to stand firm and unthreatened within the Vast Expanse!

Shui Dongliu killed himself as the price to give Naruto unmatchable good fortune. That was not only to pay back the debt he owed to the Namikaze Clan, it was also… to ensure that someone remained behind after he died to protect the Mountain and Sea Realm!

And that was the exact role which he had chosen Naruto to play: the guardian of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

His eyes glowed red as he slowly turned and looked at the hosts of cultivators from the Immortal God Continent. His sudden appearance on the scene left Ksitigarbha and the other forces on the butterfly stirred and excited. Naruto's parents appeared, along with Hinata and others from within the world of the butterfly. All of them were paying close attention to Naruto.

Naruto stood in front of the group, tall, his hair floating around him, looking as powerful as a mountain. Behind him on the butterfly were his parents, Namikaze Yu, Hinata, and other friends and family, the few surviving cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Facing Naruto was the vast and boundless Immortal God Continent, as well as a seemingly neverending force of cultivators. There were multiple 8-Essences Paragons, countless Imperial Lords, as well as two paramount figures who were the pillars of their army… the two 9Essences Paragons!

Naruto looked at them, his seething Demonic Chakra causing the mists of the Vast Expanse around him to recede, the starlight to gleam. Seemingly endless amounts of Demonic Chakra flowed out of him, and at the same time, his cultivation base continued to rise.

Before accepting Shui Dongliu's legacy, he had been capable of fighting with Paragons. Then he became the Demon, and his battle prowess had increased dramatically, to the point where he could battle 8-Essences Paragons. But now, thanks to the preeminent good fortune given him, his Hexing magics were complete. Although he was missing the Ninth Hex, in some ways, his collection could be considered finished.

Then there was the cultivation base and Essence power from Shui Dongliu, which helped him to advance by leaps and bounds!

Finally, there were his extinguished Soul Lamps, which pushed him even higher. As of this moment, he had… battle prowess that was no weaker than the 9-Essences level!

With all of that… Naruto still hadn't reached his peak. He still had room for progress with his cultivation base; he still had more than 10 Soul Lamps which had not been extinguished. He had yet to create his

Ninth Hex, and although all of the other Hexing magics had Essence to some degree or another, he still needed more enlightenment.

One could only imagine how powerful he would be when he reached the true pinnacle. It would be something incomparable even to his current power. After all, he was… the Demon!

He had transformed from being an Immortal, to being… the Demon!

There is a God who is the acme of all Gods. There is a Devil who is the ultimate expression of Devils. There is also an Immortal, who is like an Emperor among Immortals. And there is also… the Demon!

The pinnacle of all Demons!

As of this moment, the Vast Expanse was completely silent. Demonic Chakra rolled out of Naruto as he stood there, looking coldly at the crowds from the Immortal God Continent. A smile twisted the corner of his mouth, a brutal smile which caused icy cold to fill the hearts of anyone who looked at it.

No one spoke. Even the 9-Essences female Paragon looked at him with cold, flickering eyes. Then she took a step forward, and Naruto smiled.

He reached up and pushed down onto his forehead, causing a group of Mountains and Seas to fly out. Nine Mountains. Eight Seas!

It was… the Mountain and Sea Realm!

As of this moment, he held the Mountain and Sea Realm in his hands!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1402

Chapter 1402: I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas!

Naruto had the Mountain and Sea Realm in his hands. He flung it out, simultaneously sending his mind and will into it. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Mountain and Sea Realm Grand Aegis appeared, surrounding, not Naruto, but the butterfly!

It enveloped the butterfly, protecting it along with all of Naruto's relatives and friends. Then Naruto took a step forward and transformed into a beam of light that shot directly toward the icy 9Essences Paragon.

As they closed in on each other, performing incantation gestures the whole time, the domineering aura radiating off of Naruto grew even more intense, and he looked more ferocious than ever. Moments later, the intense sounds of battle filled the void of the Vast Expanse.

A boom rang out, and then they separated. A split second later, they were once again locked in fierce combat. Naruto waved his hand to summon numerous mountains. He transformed into an azure roc, which radiated a bizarre energy that made it seem like a true Demon as it screamed in for an attack.

Shockwaves blasted out in all directions. Grinning, Naruto performed an incantation gesture and unleashed Hexing magic. The Eighth Hex erupted out, and the wave of his finger caused the icy woman to stop in place for a moment. In that instant, Naruto's Seventh Hex appeared.

Next was the Sixth Hex, the Fifth Hex, and the Fourth Hex. A world of black and white appeared, which encompassed countless ages of reincarnation. A great Dao of Time appeared that could transform the Vast Expanse. The icy woman's face flickered, and the white-robed, white-eyebrowed old man took a threatening step forward.

At the same time, the old man's voice rang out in all directions: "Destroy the World-Butterfly!"

The surrounding Immortal God cultivators hesitated for a moment before resuming their charge. Under the leadership of the 8-Essences Paragons, they began to batter the shield.

Booms echoed out as Naruto single-handedly fought against two 9Essences Paragons. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and as he fell back, the Lightning Cauldron appeared above his head. Electricity danced as he switched positions with one of the Immortal God cultivators. When he reappeared, he was right next to an Immortal God Imperial Lord. His hand instantly shot out, and the Imperial Lord let out a scream as Naruto's fingers stabbed into his eyes. Naruto unleashed curse power to imprison his soul, then dug his eyes out of his head, grabbed his body, and lifted it over his head.

Next, he physically threw him toward an 8-Essences Paragon who was charging toward him from off to the side. A boom rang out, and the 8Essences Paragon was shaken, but only a moment later, he was closing in on Naruto.

"Screw off!" he roared, unleashing divine abilities and Essence power. However, in the same moment, Naruto vanished yet again, appearing unexpectedly next to another 8-Essences Paragon. His aura was different this time, brutally violent, and as he pounced on the Paragon, black fog roiled out, covering the two of them.

A bloodcurdling scream rang out, and even as the icy Paragon hastened over, the fog faded away. Naruto was nowhere to be seen, but the 8Essences Paragon's remains were left behind, mangled and ripped apart as if by a wild animal.

Naruto appeared off in the distance, holding the man's Nascent Divinity in his hand. Eyes flickering with crimson light, he popped it into his mouth and began to chew slowly. Then he reached out with his right hand, and the Vast Expanse trembled as the Battle Weapon suddenly appeared.

It was not pitch black this time, but rather, bright red. In fact, if you looked closely, you would see that Naruto's hair was no longer black, but violet!

Furthermore… the roots of his hair were actually red!

Despite the vast force arrayed against him, Naruto had killed several people in quick succession, which left the icy female Paragon very grimfaced. To the majestic Immortal God Continent, killing a 9-Essences Paragon wasn't anything incredibly difficult, and yet Naruto was so bizarre and multifarious that it was impossible to lock him down.

It was at this point that a beam of light brimming with insane destructive power shot out from the Immortal God Continent, piercing through the Vast Expanse, cleaving apart the starry sky, destroying natural laws as it bore down on Naruto. The fluctuations from the beam of light were otherworldly, causing Naruto's eyes to widen. It was impossible to tell what had emitted the light, but it didn't seem to have come from a cultivator. The bizarre sensation it gave off was palpable.

Without any hesitation, Naruto performed a Form Displacement Transposition and vanished. The position he had just occupied in the starry sky suddenly shattered and transformed into a black hole. All of the cultivators who were nearby were instantly transformed into ash.

Naruto's eyes flickered toward a certain mountain peak on the

Immortal God Continent, upon which was a vicious-looking war chariot. What made him frown even more was that somewhere there on the

Immortal God Continent, he could sense… two more 9-Essences auras!

It was at this point that another beam of light rocketed out, and this time it was heading, not for Naruto, but for the Mountain and Sea Realm Grand Aegis!

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Grand Aegis collapsed. And yet, in that same moment, Naruto performed a double-handed incantation gesture.

"Mountain and Sea Seal!" he said, causing the collapsed fragments of the Grand Aegis to sweep together and envelope the nearby Immortal God cultivators, where it turned into a shocking sealing mark!

It even enveloped the cold woman and the white-haired old man.

In the moment the seal formed, Naruto flashed into motion, returning to the butterfly.

"Let's go!" he said. The butterfly's wings flapped, and as they sped along, Naruto looked back coldly at the Immortal God Continent, and the group stuck in the sealing mark. Flicking his sleeve, he sent the Mountains and Seas out in front of him in formation.

"When someone hits you," he growled, "you hit back!"

A mysterious, incisive light appeared in his blood-colored pupils as he said, "The Dao is in My Heart…."

A light shone out like an icy blade!

He raised his hands into the air and splayed them wide. A strange resonance could be heard in his voice, which caused the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas to suddenly increase dramatically in size!

The Mountains grew larger, and the Seas churned. In the blink of an eye, the Nine Mountains in front of him were completely and utterly shocking, the ultimate depictions of any type of mountain!

Each and every one of those mountains was a world unto itself, and radiated a sharp and incisive will.

Years and years ago, Paragon Nine Seals used this same precious treasure to destroy the Heaven Trampling Bridge, to fend off the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm, and prevent those two powers from harming the survivors from the Paragon Immortal Realm.

Now, in Naruto's hands, the Mountain and Sea Realm erupted… with the true power which it held within!

Nine majestic Mountains were like nine swords that could shake Heaven and Earth! As the power of those mountains radiated out, the faces of the crowds from the Immortal God Continent fell.

The cold woman trapped in the Mountain and Sea Seal looked on with constricting pupils, and the white-robed old man was clearly shocked. Immediately, they began to confer.

"I can't believe that Shui Dongliu's legacy contains the secret to controlling the Mountain and Sea Realm! Impossible!"

"Back when Nine Seals died, he managed to send out a discarnate soul. He used his death to completely rock us, shaking our foundation to the point where we couldn't destroy the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, even at that time, we were able to join forces to destroy the magic he used to control the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

"There isn't anyone who can truly control the Mountain and Sea Realm, that terrifying conglomeration of the fury of the Immortals! Not even Nine Seals' discarnate soul within Shui Dongliu was able to do anything other than exercise basic control!"

Even as these two Paragons were reeling in shock, Naruto waved his hands, and his eyes flickered with intense focus, with a deep longing for the Mountain and Sea Realm, and with a deep hatred for the enemy!

"The Will is in My Eyes!" His cultivation base erupted with power as the second sentence left his mouth. Simultaneously, the Eight Seas began to churn and seethe, and in the blink of an eye, they had become seas of stars which shook the Vast Expanse. They merged with the Nine Mountains to erupt with… indescribable pressure!

The instant that pressure appeared, the hosts from the Immortal God Continent coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and even the land mass itself began to quiver. Mountains fell into ruin, and the courses of rivers altered!

One city after another on the land mass collapsed into rubble!

It was like the end of days!

This was the true power of the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Naruto had not acquired this magical control method from the legacy of Shui Dongliu. That legacy had given him ordinary magical techniques from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and nothing that could help him exceed Shui Dongliu.

But what he did have was… the Seal the Heavens Incantation!

When he had unleashed that incantation within the Mountains and Seas, it led to incredible power. However, at that time, the Mountain and Sea Realm had still been under the general control of Shui Dongliu, which made it difficult for Naruto to use it. In fact, back then, it was almost useless. It was only later that he came to understand that the true Seal the Heavens Incantation could only be used properly after he had become the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm and returned the Mountains and Seas to the form of a magical item!

Like now!

This was the Seal the Heavens Incantation!

It had been created by his Master in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, a divine ability or Dao that was the laughing stock of the masses. And yet, that magical technique was no simple divine ability, it was actually… a control method for the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

The correct way to use it was not against a cultivator, but on the Mountain and Sea Realm itself, to unleash its truly deadly aspects as a precious treasure!

No one knew what experiences the Noble Ran had gone through to create this particular divine ability. After its creation, he had spent the rest of his life extolling its virtues. In the end, he passed it on to Naruto, who eventually proved that… the Seal the Heavens Incantation was not a worthless incantation!

After the true war of the Mountain and Sea Realm broke out, Naruto never ran into the Noble Ran again. In fact, now that he thought back, it seemed as if… the Noble Ran hadn't even been present during the fighting.

However, now was not the time to contemplate that matter. Naruto waved his arms, and the Mountains and Seas erupted with shocking pressure. He took a deep breath as he suddenly understood what it meant to say… the Dao is in My Heart!

That Dao referred, not to Essence, not to natural laws, nor to magical laws. It was shapeless, and existed in the heart, and it didn't matter if you were Demon or Immortal. It was all the same!

The Dao is one's heart, and however deep your heart was, that was how profound your Dao would be!

Furthermore, he now understood that 'the Will is in My Eyes' referred to the outer manifestation of the Dao. Whatever he looked at… had a Dao, or was a Dao!

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas…." He flicked his sleeve, and the Nine Mountains rumbled as they tilted on their side to point toward the Immortal God Continent!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1403

Chapter 1403: The Supreme Seal the Heavens Incantation!

The Eight Seas erupted with power. Although they were clearly seas, the shocking power seemed like flames of madness that spread out in all directions. The mist of the Vast Expanse shied away as a huge whirlwind sprang up.

In the moment that the whirlwind appeared, a terrifying aura began to spread out, causing all living beings who sensed it to tremble inwardly.

At the same time, two figures emerged from the Immortal God Continent. They were two old men, both of whom radiated the demeanors of celestial beings!

The entire Immortal God Continent was astir now. Countless cultivators were meditating to build up energy, and the entire land mass was like a giant awakening from slumber. Countless shield layers sprang up.

In almost an instant, incredible defenses were in place!

At the same time, the eyes of the enormous statue in the middle of the land mass suddenly began to shine brightly.

It was at this point that Naruto stretched his hands out and spoke out the final words of his incantation.

"… Seal the Heavens Incantation!"

He roared the words at the top of his lungs, and at the same time, his cultivation base erupted. His Demonic Chakra flowed out to merge with the Mountains and Seas, causing a shocking development to occur. As the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas hovered there in the Vast Expanse, an enormous figure took shape, a figure whose face was Naruto's!

However, that figure also sported a wicked horn protruding from the top of his head, making him completely shocking to behold!

He seemed to be both laughing and not laughing, crying and not crying. Anyone who saw him would feel coldness rising up from deep within the heart. Even the mist of the Vast Expanse shot away in all directions, not willing to come into contact with him.

Explosive rage and bizarre evil filled the aura that emanated off of the illusory figure, to an extent which vastly exceeded Naruto's own aura. Naruto then viciously shoved out with both hands, sending the astonishing Nine Mountains toward the Immortal God Continent

The Eight Seas rumbled as they spun in the form of a vortex. As that vortex grew in size, it was possible to see the images of countless souls within the Seas, vicious and thirsty for blood.

As for the enormous figure which existed above all of them, he seemed to be wielding the Mountains and Seas themselves in a powerful attack!

The sight was completely shocking, and if someone could paint the image, it would be something people assumed was a myth from primordial times. It was almost as if that figure were treating the Mountains as a mount, and the Seas as his Demon Weapon, to slaughter the starry sky.

The Immortal God Continent trembled, and the sealed cultivators had looks of astonishment written on their faces as they let out shouts of shock. In the blink of an eye, one of the Mountains, the Fifth Mountain, actually stabbed into the sealed area, leaving behind a trail of blood as it shot toward the Immortal God Continent.

Next were the Fourth and Sixth Mountains. Then the Third and Seventh Mountains!

Amidst the rumbling, the Nine Mountains looked like nine spikes that pierced through everything. The Immortal God Continent's four 9Essences Paragons managed to stop one Mountain each, but that left three Mountains which smashed into the structure of the Immortal God Continent!

The Vast Expanse shook as a massive roaring sound ripped out. The defensive shields twisted and distorted as all power was called upon to aid the defense. Countless people were shrieking, and miserable screams rang out everywhere.

The land mass trembled as if judgement day had arrived. The cultivators there were now experiencing… the same madness that had been unleashed countless years ago by Nine Seals when he wielded the Mountain and Sea Realm!

As the Nine Mountains blasted forward, the Eight Seas, in the form of a Demon Weapon, hurtled toward the land mass.

When the last Mountain pierced the defensive shields, the Immortal God Continent's defenses were broken. The lands quaked, and rifts spread out everywhere across the land mass. But then, the eyes of the statue in the middle of the entire land mass flickered.

A terrifying pressure erupted out, unleashing a shockwave that instantly filled the entire area. When it passed over the Nine Mountains, they shattered. The Eight Seas were destroyed. And yet, they didn't vanish, but instead transformed into countless bits of rubble which rained down onto the Immortal God Continent.

The cultivators on the Immortal God Continent began to cry out with furious roars.

Naruto watched all of this happening from his position on the butterfly, and could see the flickering light in the eyes of the statue. "These Gods… are half Immortal, huh?" he murmured. His heart was filled with vigilance as the butterfly flew away urgently. His connection to the Mountain and Sea Realm remained. He was the one and only owner of the precious treasure, and that could not be wrested away from him.

As such, the Mountains and Seas did not truly vanish. Although they had just been destroyed, moments later, they reappeared in front of him, the same Nine Mountains and Eight Seas as before.

As Naruto stood there on the butterfly, flying off into the distance, an angered roar echoed out from the Immortal God Continent, which was from none other than the icy female Paragon. Her murderous aura skyrocketed as she instantly gave chase.

"I've experienced the pain of watching flames of war engulf my home,"

Naruto said. "Unfortunately for you, all of that… is just beginning."

He smiled slightly, then extended his hand and pointed toward the Mountains and Seas. Instantly, the Mountains and Seas shrank down and converged upon each other to form the Mountain and Sea Bow!

He held the bow in his left hand and drew the string back with his right. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as the energy of the bow surged, and the power of the Mountains and Seas transformed into an arrow!

When he loosed the string, that arrow shot forth like a thunderbolt!

But then, without even pausing for a moment, Naruto drew the bow again and shot a second arrow, and then a third!

Three arrows can kill Gods!

Four arrows can cut down Immortals!

Five arrows… are Heaven-defying!

Five arrows. Five beams of light. They transformed into a sea of brightness which distorted the Vast Expanse as they rumbled along.

They contained a will of extermination, and Naruto's killing intent, with boundless Demonic qi. Instantly, they appeared in front of the cold female Paragon, and were moving with such speed that it was difficult to put into words, so fast that she was incapable of evading.

Based on Naruto's current battle prowess, wielding the Mountain and Sea Bow in this way allowed him to unleash power that even this cold woman feared.

At the same time, it was a difficult thing for Naruto to use the bow for a sustained period of time.

Rumbling could be heard as the woman waved her sleeve. Since she couldn't move in any direction, she decided that she might as well give up any ideas of dodging. Performing an incantation gesture, she caused a towering iciness to spread out from her, freezing the starry sky and the Vast Expanse. Layers of ice built up around her, from within which she glared at Naruto standing there on the butterfly.

When their gazes met, the layers of ice expanded outward, instantly coming into contact with the five light arrows.

Unexpectedly, the ice didn't shatter, but actually spread out to envelop the five arrows. At the same time, the layers of ice expanded outward to form the image of a woman's hand, which stretched out toward the butterfly as if to grab it.

From a distance, the sight was completely shocking. The ice hand almost seemed capable of plucking away stars or moons. The Vast Expanse shook violently as the hand suddenly appeared right behind the butterfly.

Naruto stood on the butterfly, coldly observing this enormous hand of ice. Then, a smile appeared on his face, as if he didn't care about it at all.

As the ice hand closed in, what appeared to be the beginnings of layers of ice started to form around the butterfly. By this point, the ice hand was only about 300 meters away from Naruto.

However, the five light arrows which had been locked down earlier could only be suppressed for so long. Suddenly, they exploded, sending dazzling light out and ripping numerous rifts open within the ice hand. That in turn made it impossible for the hand to reach Naruto, and it finally shattered.

As that happened, the dazzling light caused by the explosion of the five arrows sent powerful ripples out in all directions, obscuring the area between Naruto and the woman, making it impossible for them to see each other.

The ripples eventually faded away, but by that time the butterfly was gone. As for the icy Paragon, her face was grim as she looked off into the distance, the killing intent in her eyes growing more and more intense.

At the same time, the white-robed, white-eyebrowed old man, as well as two other ancient and profound looking individuals stood there together, looking silently off into the distance.

"Perhaps our plan was mistaken…. If the Patriarch knew about what we were doing in this war, he might not approve."

"It's useless to jabber like that. If we get our hands on that mirror, we can call him back. Besides… 'the Immortal is above the God, and can suppress the Devil.' That saying… has been floating around for a long time. The fact that the Immortal could become the Demon is something that anyone could have predicted might happen."

"The Demon…." The female Paragon sighed, then gave a cold harrumph. "It doesn't matter. Now that things have reached this point, we can't just give up. He might have battle prowess equivalent to the 9-Essences level, but he won't be the first such person we've killed throughout the years. After him!"

She waved her sleeve, and after a bit of time passed, the Immortal God Continent began to once again rumble through the Vast Expanse in the direction Naruto had fled in.

This time, it moved even faster than before, as if they were unleashing some incredible power that had remained untapped before. That power pushed the land mass forward with speed that defied imagination.

The Immortal God Continent had been building up resources for countless years, giving them a profound level of power that was enough to shake anyone in the Vast Expanse. What they had revealed so far was only a tiny portion of that. Their true resources came in the form of… people who had existed since that ancient generation, and had even been famous back then.

For example, there was a tiny country that existed somewhere in the recesses of the Immortal God Continent. It was a city-state that was not very large, with a population that couldn't be considered huge. However, its monarch was a kind man, and that country was called… the State of Clear Water!

In another area, in the capital city of a vast empire, a huge, muscular man sat in the Imperial palace, gulping down alcohol and watching a dance performance. Although he was laughing heartily, there was a certain melancholy within him. 1

The Immortal God Continent sped through the boundless Vast Expanse. Far up ahead of them, also within the Vast Expanse, was a writhing black mist. Within that mist were several enormous butterflies, which were speeding along, dragging a land mass behind them. Visible upon that land mass was a gigantic coffin, which was surrounded by countless kowtowing individuals who were chanting scriptures.

As the sound of the scriptures floated out, endless roaring could also be heard. It transformed into a maddening power, as well as a savage, barbaric feeling that spread out in all directions. That land mass was also speeding along as fast as it could.

After talking with Rex, the translator of Renegade Immortal, we came to the conclusion that this character is likely Situ Nan, who appears in name as early as chapter 47 ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1404

Chapter 1404 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1404: Immortal, God, Demon, Devil, Ghost!

As the butterfly flew along, Naruto stood there on its back, blood oozing out of his mouth. Although he had seemed impressively mighty in the fight just now, the truth was that his cultivation base was unstable, a result of being interrupted during the process of absorbing the good fortune from Shui Dongliu.

He was still incapable of entering the world within the butterfly. He wasn't sure exactly why, but whenever he tried to enter the wings, the butterfly would begin to tremble on the verge of collapse.

As the wings of the butterfly, Naruto's parents looked into the matter, as did Ksitigarbha and others. They came to the conclusion that Naruto's aura was currently incompatible with the butterfly because of not having completely absorbed Shui Dongliu's good fortune. After the process was complete, and his various auras were in balance, there should be a way to enter.

That matter in and of itself wasn't of great concern, and didn't affect Naruto's ability to defend the butterfly. Therefore, he sat crosslegged on its back, looking out at the Vast Expanse, an expression of reminiscence occasionally appearing on his face.

He thought back to the Mountain and Sea Realm, to Shui Dongliu, and to all the faces he remembered from there. The pain in his heart was hard to suppress. It was true that his parents hadn't perished, and some of his relatives had survived. There was even hope for the long-term survival of the Mountain and Sea Realm. But when he recalled the past, he almost wished that the present could be nothing more than a mere dream.

It caused him to sigh deep in his heart.

He didn't understand why things had turned out this way, but that didn't matter. His only option was to do everything he could to protect the butterfly as it continued to head toward the location Paragon Sea Dream had discovered at the cost of her life.

"That is where the hope of survival exists…." Looking off into the distance, he could just barely make out an enormous black and white vortex, within which swirled a Dao of Time.

Inside the world of the butterfly, the surviving remnants of the Mountain and Sea Realm quietly went about creating a new home for themselves. Of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, only a few hundred thousand cultivators remained.

Those cultivators had fought a bitter war, had watched their society crumble, and had gone through countless heartaches. And yet, they were as focused as ever. Their spirits had not been extinguished, and if things went on, that spirit would be passed down to countless future generations.

At times, Hinata emerged to accompany Naruto. Wang Youcai, Fatty, and others also came out. Chen Fan didn't appear. Naruto clearly remembered him being among the group transported into the world of the butterfly, but later, he was nowhere to be found.

After pondering the matter, he recalled how he had caught a glimpse of Chen Fan leaving the 33 Hells, and the confusion which had been visible in his eyes. Apparently, Chen Fan had encountered something within the 33 Hells that was… a good fortune unique to him.

In the past, Naruto might have attempted to investigate the matter. But now, the people of the Mountain and Sea Realm were physically and mentally exhausted, and Naruto himself didn't have the energy to think about it too much.

Patriarch Reliance was there in the world of the butterfly, as were Pill Demon and Ke Jiusi.

Time passed. While the people went about constructing their new home, Naruto sat cross-legged on the back of the butterfly. He didn't slip into a meditative trance, nor did he practice cultivation. Instead, he kept his divine sense focused on his surroundings, and remained constantly on guard.

The danger was still far from over.

He could sense that two powerful energies had locked onto the butterfly. One of them was further up ahead, mysterious and unfathomable; that was no doubt the Devil Realm, which still had yet to lay eyes on. Behind them was the pulsing killing intent of the Immortal God Continent.

As the two land masses drew closer, it was as if a huge net had been stretched out, which was now closing in over the butterfly.

However, the two land masses couldn't precisely pinpoint the location of the butterfly. Naruto's Demonic Chakra distorted everything, making that impossible. Were it not for that, he was certain that they would teleport over within moments.

Naruto sat there quietly as the butterfly got closer and closer to the vortex which held hope for the Mountain and Sea Realm. As the journey continued, Naruto was able to peer out into the Vast Expanse for the first time ever, and he saw many strange and bizarre things.

At one point, he saw what appeared to be a swarm of broken statues, whose faces were impossible to make out, flying along.

It was only at first glance that they looked like statues. Upon closer examination… it became clear that they were some sort of strange life form.

Thankfully, they didn't appear to be malicious, and didn't even spare a glance for Naruto and the butterfly as they flew off into the distance.

Another time, Naruto's eyes snapped open when he sensed something completely shocking. Looking up, he saw that, not too far off in the Vast Expanse, a wriggling mist had appeared. Bursts of intense coldness pulsed off of it as it began to follow the butterfly.

Moments later, gray eyes appeared within the mist. When they realized that Naruto's crimson eyes were staring back at them, and sensed the malice within his gaze, the mist fell back and then faded away.

Naruto frowned. The mist gave him a very strange sensation, as though there were countless life forms within it. He also had the feeling that if it weren't for the 9-Essences pressure within him, the mist would have continued to follow the butterfly… waiting for a chance to pounce on it in attack.

Those were only some of the bizarre entities which Naruto saw in the Vast Expanse as they traveled along. He also saw a pack of wolves…. They were real wolves, just like wolves from the mortal world, except that they lurked within the Vast Expanse. To them, the Vast Expanse was a forest that made up their habitat.

He saw the corpse of a giant, which had long since begun to rot, and was being slowly eaten by a horde of countless disembodied heads.

Among those heads were men and women, young and old, all of whom were slowly gnawing away at the corpse.

This giant was different from the Three-eyed God, or the God Tribe of the Immortal God Continent. It had two heads, and a long tail.

More than half of it had been consumed, but by looking at its bones, it was possible to tell that in life, it had been… comparable to an 8Essences expert.

When Naruto neared, the heads stopped chewing and slowly looked over at the butterfly with cold, detached eyes. However, as soon as they caught sight of Naruto, strange expressions could be seen, and they quickly turned back to eating.

Some things were quite fear-inspiring, but there were other things which Naruto simply didn't understand. At one point, he saw a stone palace floating out in the Vast Expanse. Upon passing it, eyes popped open upon on the stones which made up the palace. They looked curiously at Naruto, and at the same time, the sound of countless shouting voices could be heard.

"Dammit, you're squishing me! That hurts! Ow!"

"Shut up! I've always been on top of you! It's not like I want it that way. There's somebody on top of me who's squishing me too!"

"Aaahhhhh! I've been turned into a stone! This is so weird…."

Apparently, the arguing voices came from the stones themselves, which continued to squabble as the palace floated off into the distance.

Eventually, the butterfly got so close to the vortex that it was possible to say that it had actually arrived at its final destination! It was then that a person suddenly appeared!

This was the first time a human had appeared within the Vast Expanse. It was an old man in a woven rush raincoat, who sat cross-legged on a boulder, floating there in the Vast Expanse. That boulder had eyes, and it was currently shouting out in a rage.

"You damned old codger! Get off me! You're not allowed to sit on me. Aaaghhhh! This is a disgrace! This is a humiliation. I-I-I, I don't even have a husband yet! That's it. We're fighting to the death, you and I!" As the boulder screamed, the old man snorted coldly and continued to dangle his fishing pole out into the Vast Expanse.

As the butterfly passed by, Naruto assumed that this entity would be like all the others, that it would merely look over and then ignore him. However, it was in that moment that the butterfly trembled, and changed course… to head toward the hook dangling from the old man's fishing line!

Naruto's eyes flickered, and he shot to his feet. Even as he sent his divine sense out, he heard his parents' voices echoing in his mind.

"Hao'er, we've lost control of the butterfly…."

The redness of Naruto's eyes increased in intensity, and his Demonic Chakra roiled as he stared at the old man.

The old man looked up at Naruto and smiled. It was a strange smile, and even as it touched his face, his forehead split open, and a black horn jutted out. His body continued to split, and soon his whole body was covered with cracks. Then, his body exploded, revealing… a green figure with a solitary horn!

He pulsed with a chaotic aura, and as he looked at Naruto, he began to laugh uproariously.

"When the Vast Expanse is thrown into chaos, Heaven and Earth will once again be at hand!

"When the universe collapses, the great Dao will reappear!

"Who will be above the God and the Devil… to Seal the Heavens!?

"So this is what it was all leading up to…. So that's how it was…" The green-colored entity laughed, then abruptly pointed out at the butterfly.

"Ah well, since this moment is upon us, I might as well help you, and sow a bit of good will." Laughing, he waved his finger, and the butterfly trembled. Unexpectedly, ripples spread out from its wings into the starry sky, and a timeshift magic appeared. The trembling of the butterfly seemed to push the starry sky to the point where it might shatter, as if it had been building up with power that was about to explode, and if it did, would unleash shocking speed that could break free of all obstructions.

A timeshift magic appeared around the green-colored entity, and it seemed to Naruto that from the moment he had looked at him, time had been flowing differently around him.

Apparently, he did not come from this time period, and had in fact used the strange fluctuations of time in the area to come to this point.

As the figure grew more and more blurry, Naruto suddenly asked,

"Who are you?!"

"You don't know me, and maybe you never will."

Laughter continued to ring out as the green-colored entity vanished without a trace…. The only thing that remained behind was his voice, which seemed to contain a tone of relief as it echoed out into the Vast Expanse.

"Who created the white pearl!?

"Who created the black pearl!? 1

"Who carved out the Four Great Realms…. Who turned the starry sky into the Vast Expanse…? 2

"And who… created that mirror…? Who gave up the Immortal to become the Ghost!?

"He was the beginning. You are the end. So, that's how it is… Immortal.

God. Devil. Demon. Ghost. I get it now…"

Chapter 1404: Immortal, God, Demon, Devil, Ghost!

About the white pearl and black pearl. To be perfectly honest I ran out of time to thoroughly investigate this, so what I'm about to say should be taken with a grain of salt. Long story short is that I saw some stuff online about these pearls being references to pearls which appear in Renegade Immortal and Beseech the Devil respectively. I did a bit of digging but couldn't come up with anything conclusive about the subject. This is not the type of thing I can escalate to Er Gen, so for now, take this info as it is. If I get more conclusive info I'll share it later ↩ Spoiler information to follow: The Four Great Realms were mentioned in previous novels. Apparently, one of them is the place where Wang Lin existed, and another is where Su Ming existed ↩

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1405

Chapter 1405 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1405: Wiping the Paragon Bridge from the Dao!

As the sound of his voice faded away, Naruto's heart trembled. At the same time, the butterfly exploded out from within the timeshift magic!

It was as if enormous energy had built up, the eruption of which destroyed the whole area in exchange for a blessing of Time, resulting in an incredible burst of speed.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the butterfly shot forward with indescribable speed, speeding across the starry sky to appear… directly above the vortex that Paragon Sea Dream had determined contained hope for the Realm!

The butterfly was right there over the very center of the vortex, at the source of all its power!

The power of the vortex caused Naruto's Demonic Chakra to scatter, instantly revealing the butterfly to the tracking magics of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm.

Because of that sudden surge of energy, the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm both began to vibrate, and ghost images popped up around them as teleportation power was unleashed. Then, they vanished.

Naruto's mind trembled as the timeshift magic raged around the butterfly, pushing it inexorably downward toward the wild tempest that was the vortex. When you compared the butterfly to the vortex itself, it was completely miniscule.

The sight caused Naruto's pupils to constrict. As he stood there on the butterfly's back, he couldn't stop thinking about the words spoken just now by the green-colored entity. However, there was little time to contemplate the matter deeply. Lightning crackled endlessly within the mad tempest of the vortex that drew ever nearer.

Down below, at the center of the vortex, was what appeared to be a black hole filled with infinite rifts, within each of which was another world.

At the most inward depths of the black hole… was a green-colored coffin. When added to the black and white color that made up the vortex, that green made the entire thing three colors!

Although it seemed as though the coffin wasn't very far off, the truth was that after entering the vortex, it was still an incredible, even immeasurable distance away.

"The enemy forces will be here at any moment!" Naruto thought, eyes flickering. He poured his cultivation base into the butterfly, and as its wings flapped, it headed into the vortex.

It was in that very moment that, not too far off in the distance, the void rippled, and then a huge rift silently opened up. What came out was not the Immortal God Continent, but instead, a roiling black fog. As the fog spread out, a land mass that was just as large as the Immortal God Continent appeared, emanating a tremendous pressure.

Leading the land mass were several brightly colored butterflies. As for the continent itself, a huge coffin could be seen there, surrounded by countless cultivators prostrated in worship. Slowly, those cultivators began to look up, to peer out of the land mass… toward Naruto and the butterfly!

"The Devil Realm Continent!" Naruto said, his heart sinking. Before another moment could pass, the void in the other direction ripped open, and the Immortal God Continent appeared.

Boundless killing intent locked down onto Naruto, as well as the butterfly.

An incredible crisis was developing, for Naruto, for the butterfly, and for the living beings of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Countless cultivators began to pour off of the Immortal God Continent, and leading them all were the same people who Naruto had tangled with before… the four 9-Essences Paragons. "This time, you won't get away!"

As that happened, a cold snort echoed out from the Devil Realm Continent as a rugged-looking man appeared, leading a vast, endless group of Devil Realm Continent cultivators.

There were also three beams of light that shot out, emanating energy that could shake Heaven and Earth. Naruto even caught sight of a giant rising up on the land mass, whose aura contained a matchless, domineering air.

Naruto sank further into silence as he saw the seemingly infinite hordes of cultivators. The sight of that coupled with the two vast land masses was a huge weight crushing down onto his heart.

Naruto looked up at the vast army of cultivators, and then spoke out in a loud voice: "Why…? What do you people want? You want to stop the Immortal from appearing？ Well, there is no Immortal any more. You want that certain object? Well I have it right here! I'll stay behind. Let the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators go!"

The one to answer Naruto was the cold female Paragon. "Who said there's no Immortal? As long as the bloodlines of the Mountain and Sea cultivators remain unsealed, the foundation for the Immortal will always exist!

"As for that object… of course we know that you have it!"

Based on her biting words, it seemed she wasn't interested in any sort of discussion with Naruto. Waving her hand, she shot forward at top speed, followed by the three other old men. Even as they closed in, the muscular man from the Devil Realm Continent looked on with flashing eyes. It only took him a moment to put the pieces together regarding what had already occurred, and then he also began to advance on Naruto.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as numerous powerful experts and countless other cultivators charged toward Naruto. They were like a tidal wave, backed with destructive power that could destroy anything and everything.

Naruto's face fell and he gritted his teeth. Then, he reached out and shoved the butterfly, imbuing it with power to give it a bit more speed. As it shot toward the black hole in the center of the vortex, Naruto unhesitatingly stepped off of its back, hovering there alone to face the incoming forces of both of the two great powers.

Back on the butterfly, Hinata wept, and Ksitigarbha stood there with hands clenched into fists. Fatty cried out in anger, and everyone else was trembling. These were people who had watched Shui Dongliu die, had watched Paragon Sea Dream die, and now, they were watching Naruto do the same thing that Shui Dongliu had. He was standing there alone to protect them.

"Stay alive…." Naruto said. "I'm not going to die. And one day, I'll come back for all of you…. My family, my beloved, my clan, my friends, my Mountain and Sea Realm!" Roaring, Naruto lifted his right hand up and then hit the top of his head. Instantly, the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm appeared.

Rumbling echoed out as the Mountain and Sea Realm Grand Aegis appeared, covering the entire area. Naruto's hair whipped about him as his energy rocketed up. Demonic Chakra swirled around him as he singlehandedly began to fight against the enemy.

It was all to buy time for the butterfly, the butterfly which bore the weight of all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm into the black hole that Paragon Sea Dream had indicated… was where hope lay.

"DIE!" Naruto threw his head back and roared. His eyes were bright red, and directly behind him could be seen the enormous image of a Demon, also roaring. In the blink of an eye, Naruto slammed into the cold woman from the Immortal God Continent.

A boom could be heard as blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. And yet, he lunged out in a headbutt. The cold woman's face fell, and she fell back, yet in that very same moment, Naruto's right hand made a grasping motion, and the Battle Weapon appeared. Within was the parrot, silent, and taciturn. Although the parrot hadn't spoken out loud for a long time, there it was in the Battle Weapon, looking almost berserk.

The meat jelly appeared and transformed into a suit of armor. At the same time, the mastiff roared, becoming a bright red cape. The armor was white, and the Battle Weapon radiated madness. The image of the Demon had bright red eyes, and as Naruto hovered there with hair whipping around him, a murderous air swirled around him.

As he clashed with the hosts from the Immortal God Continent, the Battle Weapon wreaked havoc with every swipe and slash. Then, the rugged, muscular man from the Devil Realm Continent began to walk forward. One step. Two steps. Three steps….

He took a total of seven steps, and with each step, his energy rose higher and higher. He was like some sort of battle deity, roaring as he closed in on Naruto with a fist strike.

"Seven God Steps!" he roared.

Naruto spun, clenching his left hand into a fist to unleash the GodSlaying Fist.

A massive blast surged out in all directions when they met. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and as for the muscular man, he also retreated, blood oozing out of his mouth. He was just about about to close in for another attack when he realized that Naruto had spun around and was attacking the Immortal God Continent forces.

The man frowned, then gave a cold snort. Next, the forces of the Devil Realm Continent surged forward, joining in with the Immortal God Continent's forces to attack Naruto.

Chaotic battle instantly erupted. Naruto left swaths of death wherever he passed. He moved with incredible speed, his aura changing constantly. One moment it would be domineering, the next, brutal. He grabbed an Immortal God cultivator and viciously absorbed him. Now that he had become a Demon, the Blood Demon Grand Magic was even more explosively powerful and efficient.

The Lightning Cauldron appeared, and he quickly teleported to another location, where a large group of cultivators was pursuing the butterfly. A vicious expression could be seen on Naruto's face as he waved his sleeve, causing the cultivators to cough up mouthfuls of blood. Some were even instantly killed and transformed into ash.

Naruto was already soaked in blood, but he was laughing, a laughter filled with madness and a desire for slaughter.

From the moment the butterfly had begun its true flight into the vortex until now, only a few dozen breaths of time had passed. However, during that time, Naruto had single-handedly locked down the entire enemy force, ensuring that the butterfly could draw ever closer to the black hole.

"Are you looking to die!?" roared the cold woman from the Immortal God Continent. Her murderous aura swirled, and as she closed in on Naruto, she was joined by her three fellow 9-Essences compatriots.

Naruto's eyes flickered with red light. Without any hesitation, he waved his right hand, causing numerous mountains to descend. Essence magic was also unleashed as he fought back.

At the same time, the three old men advanced, clearly not aiming for Naruto, but rather, the butterfly.

However, even as they attempted to pass by Naruto, he laughed loudly, and then waved his right arm with violent force.

The void trembled, and everything shook. The Paragon Bridge appeared, provoking immediate reactions from the cold woman and her three companions. Mixed emotions could be seen on their faces, but they didn't pause for even a moment. Naruto began to laugh loudly.

"Now, I will wipe out my Paragon Bridge from my Dao for all eternity…. Detonate!" Naruto's laughter echoed out as the Paragon Bridge trembled. Cracks spread out across its surface, unleashing blinding light. Then, the bridge exploded!

Chapter 1405: Wiping the Paragon Bridge from the Dao!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1406

Chapter 1406: For Hope!

This time, the bridge truly did explode, caused by Naruto forcibly wiping it away from his Dao. The shocking power blasted out, causing the three old men's faces to fall. They immediately had to abandon any ideas of continuing on, and instead, fell back.

Not including the muscular man, the forces of the Devil Realm Continent had three cultivators with 9-Essences cultivation bases. One was a woman, and two were men. One of those men, and the woman, were middle-aged, with the other being an old man who wore a voluminous robe and held a bone cane in one hand. All three of the 9-Essences Paragons shot toward the butterfly with all the speed they could muster.

"Nobody's getting past me!" Naruto roared. He reached out with his right hand, and a bow appeared. Ignoring any potential injuries that the cold woman could inflict, Naruto fell back. Not taking the time to even wipe the blood from his lips, he unleashed ten arrows in quick succession!

Ten shocking beams of light shot out toward the group of one woman and two men.

Massive booms rang out. Those ten arrows were backed by Naruto's life force, and when they exploded, the powerful blast forced the group of three to fall back in retreat just like the three old men from the Immortal God Continent had.

At the same time, a beam of light shot out from the Immortal God Continent, speeding toward Naruto in blinding fashion. The attack had been timed just as he had just unleashed ten arrows, which gave him literally no time to prepare or dodge.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the light enveloped Naruto within it.

Blood spurted out of wounds all over his body, and he was flung backward like a kite with its string cut. His aura was weakened, and yet, as the light faded, he teleported into the crowd of enemies. His hair was disheveled, and his chest was a mangled mass, but as he staggered to a stop he began to laugh, a shrill laughter that almost seemed like wailing.

He faced a seemingly endless group of cultivators, including at least eight 9-Essences experts. All of them were incredibly powerful, and although none were at the peak of the 9-Essences level, merely being in the 9-Essences level at all qualified one to ride roughshod over virtually anything in the Vast Expanse.

Almost as soon as Naruto teleported away from his original location, the eight 9-Essences cultivators instantly headed in his direction. Behind them were the two great land masses. Once again, a beam of bright light shot out from the Immortal God Continent, and at the same time, a roar echoed out from the Devil Realm Continent as an ancient Underworld Dragon appeared.

Naruto was shaking, but laughing just like before. He extended his right hand again, and the Sun Bow began to radiate boundless, dazzling light, as if it were a sun!

"No other options now. Fine… Detonate!" Naruto's laughter rang out as the bow, the precious treasure forged by Nine Seals himself, radiated intense light, then suddenly went still for a moment before… exploding!

The bow transformed into a seemingly unending wave of shrapnel that exploded out in all directions. Naruto controlled the direction of the blast with his cultivation base, sending it tearing into the sea of his opponents.

Insane, unending power spread out in all directions. Even the eight 9Essences experts could do nothing, and were halted in their tracks.

As that happened, Naruto transformed into an azure roc, which charged forward. He only lasted for a moment before the roc was destroyed, and he was revealed, coughing up blood. However, in that moment he had managed to severely injure one of the old men from the Immortal God Continent.

The starstone glittered in Naruto's eye, transforming him into an asteroid which almost immediately crumbled to pieces. However, the result was that he managed to latch his teeth onto the head of the cold female Paragon.

She let out a miserable shriek and shoved Naruto away from her, but he managed to leave her scalp bloody and mangled. Having been disfigured in such a way caused her fury to surge.

Naruto was coughing up blood, and his internal organs were ravaged, yet he spun and once again began to unleash carnage. Everywhere he went, countless enemies died. The Lightning Cauldron above his head flickered, and Form Displacement Transposition helped him to block the advance of the enemy forces.

Apparently, it was just as he said, that he wouldn't allow anyone to get past him!

By this point, the butterfly was on the verge of entering the vortex.

Rumbling could be heard as the beam of light from the Immortal God Continent closed in, passed by Naruto to strike out toward the butterfly. At the same time, the Underworld Dragon from the Devil Realm Continent roared, radiating a boundless, sinister aura of death. It was like a wind of from the underworld that covered over Naruto and began to rot away at his entire body.

Naruto once again flickered, vanishing. When he reappeared, he was in front of the beam of light, which he blocked physically with his own body.

A boom rang out, and blood spurted out of his wounds. The injury which had just been inflicted threatened to render him unconscious. And yet, his vision filled with red, and he began to laugh maniacally.

"You destroyed my Mountain and Sea Realm, you destroyed my home, you destroyed my clan, and you destroyed countless lives….

"One day, I will get my revenge for all of that. I will inflict the same pain that I feel back onto all of you, bit by excruciating bit!"

As his bitingly venomous words rang out, the eight 9-Essences experts all had various reactions. Some sighed, some grew silent, and some appeared even more murderous than before. Others had various other mixed emotions. However, none of them ceased to attack. They simply couldn't allow Naruto to stay alive, nor could they allow the butterfly to escape.

This war had been going on for many years. The first casualties had occurred tens upon tens of thousands of years ago, and therefore, it made little sense to suddenly just let the enemy get away!

As the eight enemies closed in, followed by a sweeping flood of ordinary cultivators, Naruto shakily rose his hands and then spread them wide.

"Eighth Hex, Body-Spirit Hexing!

"Seventh Hex, Karmic Hexing!

"Sixth Hex, Life-Death Hexing!

"Fifth Hex….

"Fourth Hex…. Third Hex…. Second Hex…. First Hex!" Eight shining symbols appeared on Naruto's forehead, which then began to swirl together into one image.

"Eight Hexes… combined!" Naruto roared as numerous Hexing magics appeared around him, fused together, and then transformed into an enormous vortex. The vortex rotated, rapidly growing larger as it rumbled toward his eight opponents.

Their faces fell as they unleashed various divine abilities; the void around them shattered, and the starry sky trembled as an aura of complete extermination exploded out.

Naruto staggered backward, coughing up blood, and yet, it was the same with his eight opponents. All of them were injured in various ways. Behind Naruto, the butterfly had already begun to enter the black hole. Instead of passing into any of the rifts, it headed directly toward the deepest region, and the green coffin.

It was at this point that a sigh rang out from the Devil Realm Continent, an ancient sigh of someone who had existed for countless, unending years.

"I had no desire to fight…. There are too many people opposed to this war, so… I've maintained my silence. But now, it doesn't matter who is right and who is wrong. Since things have escalated to this point… I might as well do something." As the words echoed out, a huge hand shot out from the Devil Realm Continent, a hand seemingly capable of pulling down the entire starry sky. Its target was the butterfly, which was now entering the black hole.

It gently grabbed onto the butterfly, making it impossible for it to continue onward. Even as it struggled, it slowly began to be pulled back out from the black hole.

An aura which exceeded all of the other 9-Essences cultivators erupted out. It was a 9-Essences aura to be sure, but the others could not compare to it in the slightest. If you divided up the 9-Essences level into early, mid, and late stages, then this old man was clearly in the late 9Essences stage!

Seeing the butterfly in such danger cause a bitter smile to appear on Naruto's face. But then his eyes shone with determination, and he waved both hands out, summoning the Mountain and Sea Realm with its Nine Mountains and Eight Seas.

"The Dao is in My Heart!

"The Will is in My Eyes!

"I Shall Possess the Mountains and Seas… Seal the Heavens

Incantation!" Roaring, he waved his hands, and the Nine Mountains shot forward. Eight Seas exploded into motion. Massive power surged out, some of it toward the eight opponents he had been fighting, and some of it toward the huge hand from the Devil Realm Continent that was grasping the butterfly.

A sigh rang out from the Devil Realm Continent, and the hand transformed into a palm which struck out at the Nine Mountains and Eight Seas. As it closed in, the hand grew immeasurably larger, until it was just as large as the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. When it landed, the Mountains and Seas rumbled, then were summarily destroyed!

A huge shockwave blasted out that even the eight 9-Essences experts feared. And yet, without the slightest pause, they continued to fly toward Naruto, who was coughing up mouthfuls of blood.

The Mountain and Sea Realm had been destroyed by a single palm strike. That was not because the Mountain and Sea Realm itself was not powerful, but rather, because Naruto's cultivation base was insufficient to unleash its full power.

"My Mountain and Sea Realm…." Naruto said. "If I, Naruto, can live long enough, then the day will come when I will reforge the Mountains and Seas. If I can't make enough Mountains, then I'll take mountains from the Immortal God and Devil Realms. If I can't make enough Seas, then I'll use your blood as a substitute!

"So… Mountain and Sea Realm, DETONATE!" Blood sprayed out of

Naruto's mouth as his bitter words echoed out. At the same time, tears welled up in his eyes. The Mountain and Sea Realm was a precious treasure to be sure, but it was also his home.

He was destroying his home to bury his enemies, all to make sure that his loved ones could stay alive….

BOOM!

A sound echoed out that was difficult to put into words. It was as if the entire world were roaring in fury as it fell into death. The Mountains of the Mountain and Sea Realm were destroyed!

The Seas of the Mountain and Sea Realm shattered!

This was a true collapse in every sense of the term, a true explosion!

The starry sky in the vortex fell apart, and the vortex itself even seemed to stop rotating momentarily.

The destruction of the Mountains and Seas unleashed a deadly power that swept out through the Vast Expanse. The old man who had just spoken out from the Devil Realm Continent shouted in fury and shock, but then, the voice was simply overwhelmed into nothing.

Countless cultivators from the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm were instantly transformed into ash. Even the eight 9-Essences experts coughed up blood and unleashed life-saving divine abilities to protect themselves.

As for the butterfly, as the Mountain and Sea Realm exploded, it flapped its wings and shot through the black hole, carrying the Mountain and Sea cultivators toward the source of hope, the green coffin!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1407

Chapter 1407: How Could I Possibly Close My Eyes!?

The area around the vortex in the Vast Expanse was in complete chaos.

Numerous auras from the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent spread out in all directions. The forces which had revealed themselves earlier from those two land masses had seemed strong, but were actually only a portion of the full strength of either force.

As of this moment, the explosion of the Mountain and Sea Realm had unleashed a shockwave that apparently exceeded that of the ordinary 9Essences level, forcing the two powers to unleash their true strength.

Numerous streams of divine sense spread out, none of which were weaker than that of the old man who had just launched the massive palm strike from the Devil Realm Continent!

Apparently, the resources at the disposal of these two powers were so profound that they defied imagination. Such shocking power was what made them so terrifying, and was also why Nine Seals, who was more than half a step past the 9-Essences level, had died all those years ago.

Although everything was in chaos, and the forces arrayed against Naruto were all affected by the blast, there were two people who, not being at the center of the blast, and possessing powerful enough cultivation bases, were able to force their way forward to attack Naruto.

One was the rugged, muscular man from the Devil Realm Continent, and the other was the cold woman from whose head Naruto had ripped out a chunk of flesh. Those two were a bit more powerful than the other eight, and thus, were now able to bear down aggressively on Naruto.

However, even as they closed in with killing intent, Naruto suddenly slapped his bag of holding, pulled a woman out by the throat and held her up into the air.

"If you get any closer, I'll kill this woman!"

As soon as the muscular man saw the young woman, his eyes widened, and he stopped in place without even thinking about it. His eyes were filled with shock and even disbelief.

"You…"

That young woman was same one that Naruto had captured years ago… Su Yan. As soon as he saw the muscular man using the Seven God Steps, Naruto had deduced that Su Yan was somehow connected to the Devil Realm Continent.

The cold woman from the Immortal God Continent didn't stop at all, though. If Naruto couldn't stop her, it could well be imagined the dangerous threat she would instantly pose to the Mountain and Sea cultivators in the butterfly.

The butterfly was vanishing into the black hole, passing by rift after rift. As it did, the cold woman's murderous aura flared, and she began to summon a huge hand of ice to grab the butterfly.

Naruto had nothing to block her with, and was in fact having trouble even staying in an upright position. His vision swam, and his life force was fading rapidly. Without the last scrap of Demonic Chakra within him, he would already have been destroyed.

In this moment of great danger, Naruto chuckled and shot backward. A wild light of madness flickered in his eyes as, without any prelude or warning, all of his Soul Lamps suddenly appeared.

20 extinguished, 13 lit!

As of this moment, what he was planning to do, though, was not to extinguish lamps… but to detonate them.

"Detonate!" he cried hoarsely, voice still filled with ferocity despite his current state of weakness.

Fighting up to this point had left Naruto drained and lacking in energy. He had used virtually every trick he had at his disposal, and although the fighting hadn't lasted for very long, that short period had been one of incredible and shocking bitterness.

He had destroyed the Paragon Bridge and the Sun Bow. All of his various divine abilities had been defeated. He had combined his Hexing magics, unleashed the Seal the Heavens Incantation, and by now, all of those magics had faded away. He had even detonated the Mountain and Sea Realm. Those actions had blocked his opponents again and again, allowing the butterfly to proceed into the black hole toward the green coffin.

In fact, the butterfly had almost passed the point of no return.

Therefore, how could Naruto possibly let all his hard work be for nothing? He wasn't even sure what name this cold woman went by, but he did know that… he would die before he let her get past him!

As his voice echoed out, all of his extinguished Soul Lamps exploded into a hail of rubble!

Detonating Soul Lamps was similar to detonating one's cultivation base. The massive force turned into an attack that swept toward the cold woman to block her path. Her face fell and, gritting her teeth, she unleashed the coldness within her to form layer upon layer of blue ice. As soon as they appeared, she instantly sent them shooting forward toward the destructive power sent out by the 20 exploding Soul Lamps.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The entire area had already been thrown into chaos because of the detonation of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Now, the power of the exploding Soul Lamps, when it slammed into the ice attack of the cold woman, caused a massive boom to echo out in all directions.

The ice shattered, and blood sprayed out of the woman's mouth. However, she was strong enough to slough off the power of Naruto's exploding Soul Lamps, and once again advanced aggressively.

"I'm not done," Naruto said. "You're not getting past me!" His vision was swimming, but his mouth was twisted by a strange laughing-crying smile, and his eyes burned with a soul fire that seemed to reflect the mysterious, blue-violet flames of his other 13 Soul Lamps.

"Detonate!"

As soon as he opened his mouth, his burning Soul Lamps began to explode. The first lamp, second, third, fourth… all the way to the sixth Soul Lamp successively exploded. These unextinguished Soul Lamps unleashed even more shocking power than the others, even more chaos, even more madness. Furthermore, their destruction was profoundly damaging to Naruto.

And yet, he didn't care. By this point, the only thing he cared about was the Mountain and Sea Realm butterfly.

BOOOOMMMMMM!

The cold woman's face fell, and then blood sprayed out of her mouth. Her hands flashed with numerous incantation gestures; divine abilities and magical techniques swept about in all directions to counter the detonation of Naruto's Soul Lamps. The seventh Soul Lamp, the eight, and then the ninth exploded!

As the explosions went on, black blood oozed out of Naruto's mouth, and also from his ears, nose, and mouth. By this point, his internal organs were shattered, and his life force was destroyed. He only had a sliver of Demonic Chakra left, and yet, he forced his eyes to remain open! "Until the Mountain and Sea Realm and the butterfly are safe, how could I possibly close my eyes!?" Naruto spit out some blood and then started laughing.

Booms rang out as the tenth, eleventh, and twelfth Soul Lamps exploded. The cold woman roared in rage as her path was continuously blocked, and yet she could do little more than watch as the butterfly disappeared into the black hole. Soon, it would pass the point of no return, a point where no one could reach in and take it out.

"The foundation of the Immortal must be cut off!" the woman screamed. Blood surged through her veins, and her face turned scarlet as she drew upon all her power to suppress the power of Naruto's exploding Soul Lamps, and take another step forward.

Naruto was still laughing. As of this moment, he only had one Soul Lamp left!

That was… his Prime Lamp, the most important of all the Soul Lamps. The Prime Lamp was a Soul Lamp which could not be treated lightly; if a cultivator took a wrong step with it, the result could be a deadly catastrophe.

In fact, it was even said that as long as the Prime Lamp remained, it wouldn't matter if all of the other lamps were destroyed. After all, the Prime Lamp was both the root and the seed, of everything!

Naruto's laughter rang out, and the cold woman's laughter rang out as she pushed forward. Then, a vicious flicker appeared in Naruto's eyes as… he chose to destroy his Prime Lamp!

He detonated his Prime Lamp!

The resulting explosion dwarfed the explosions of the other Soul Lamps. A massive force ripped at the void, creating a Heaven-destroying, Earthextinguishing power that completely engulfed the cold woman.

An agonized scream rang out as her body was shredded into oblivion.

Her soul flew out, and also seemed to be on the verge of being destroyed when a beam of light shot out from the Immortal God Continent and swirled around it protectively. Now that she was safe, the woman's soul glared back at Naruto.

She found herself looking into eyes as murderous as ever despite the fact that they were sinking into death.

Blood flowed out of Naruto's mouth. His Soul Lamps had all been destroyed, indicating that his cultivation base and his life force had been eradicated. And yet, he was still smiling, the reason being that the butterfly had already passed the point of no return in the black hole.

He wasn't sure if what he was seeing was real or not, but he felt as if he were watching as the butterfly alighted atop the green coffin, with all of his friends and family with it…. Then, a force of time spread out to cover it, and brilliant colors flashed.

Naruto's smile finally turned soft and warm. He was tired, so tired that he didn't even have the energy to keep his eyes open. Gradually, they began to shut.

The rumbling around him, the shouts of rage, gradually faded away into the distance….

But then he heard a shrill cry, desperate and angry, echoing in his ears, and within the Vast Expanse around him. It was at that point that he realized… that it was the parrot. A tremor ran through Naruto; there was a grief within that cry that caused him to shake, and even as his vision swam, he saw the parrot actually come into view.

As far as he could remember, he had never seen the parrot act this way, act so grieved….

All of its feathers were standing on end, and its expression was one of sadness. Tears of blood flowed out of its eyes, and its cry of pain echoed out clearly within the starry sky.

It seemed to be in a state of despair, in a madness wrought from sorrow.

It was hard to say when the parrot had flown out, but there it was, along with the copper mirror, right in the middle of the starry sky. Almost immediately, the powerful experts from the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent noticed.

When they saw the copper mirror and the parrot, their eyes began to gleam with strange light.

At the same time, the meat jelly appeared. Weeping, it transformed into armor which surrounded Naruto. Without hesitation, it began to send its life force into him.

"Don't die, Naruto! Don't you die! I still have a lot of things to tell you, lots of things to say! You can't die, it's wrong! It's immoral! It's incorrect…."

The mastiff was seriously injured, but it also appeared, using its body to prop up Naruto. Although its life force was also fading, its eyes were completely focused. Even if it died, it wouldn't permit its master to be hurt any more.

The mastiff felt that way. The meat jelly felt that way. And the parrot felt that way!

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1408

Chapter 1408: The Parrot's Choice!

As of this moment, the war was truly over. The Mountain and Sea Realm belonged to Naruto, but was destroyed.

The hope of the Realm was with the butterfly, which had now reached the green coffin within the black hole of the vortex. Upon its fluttering wings, countless faces could be seen, looking disconsolately toward the Vast Expanse outside of the black hole, almost as if they hoped to see Naruto off in the distance, even though they couldn't.

For the moment, the Vast Expanse was very quiet.

Naruto's vision was blurred, and he was on the brink of completely losing consciousness. By now, the voices and sounds in his ear seemed distorted and stretched out, as if they were reaching him from long ago or far away.

If the parrot hadn't just called out in its shrill voice, he would already have closed his eyes completely. Instead, he forced them open. He could sense the madness of the mastiff, the sorrow of the meat jelly, and the pain of the parrot.

A weak smile appeared on Naruto's face, although it was a smile of regret and apology.

"Don't mind me… you… are all free now."

The instant he spoke those words, the mastiff trembled, threw its head back, and roared. Then it latched its teeth onto his garment, as if it knew that releasing Naruto would mean parting from him for all time.

The meat jelly was in a similar frenzy. It was pouring all of its life force, all of its being, into Naruto. Although its body was rapidly turning a dull gray, it refused to give up in its attempt to keep Naruto alive.

Laughing bitterly, the parrot looked around at the Vast Expanse, and then its eyes gradually filled with determination.

Naruto was now surrounded by countless cultivators from the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent. The destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm had affected these two forces in a profound way. The land masses were riddled with cracks, and were it not for the deeply profound resources they had at their disposal, they would have likely collapsed.

As the 9-Essences experts approached, the parrot flew out, eyes gleaming with decisiveness!

It was not fleeing or hiding like it usually did. As it flew out, dazzling, multi-colored light began to shine out from it!

The copper mirror appeared behind it, ancient and primitive in appearance. It radiated a feeling of profound mystery, as though it contained innumerable secrets, secrets which could drive people mad, and make the mirror the focus of all creation.

At the same time, the parrot let out a shrill cry as it glared at the surrounding cultivators. Then, it glanced out at the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent.

The parrot's cry caused the surrounding cultivators' faces to flicker, especially the 9-Essences experts. Their faces fell completely as they sensed that because of the parrot's shrill cry, the copper mirror was… cracking!

After watching the Mountain and Sea Realm be destroyed, and seeing the choices that Naruto had made, the parrot was filled with mixed emotions. In fact, it almost couldn't even face Naruto now, because as far as it was concerned, the reason all of these calamities had occurred was itself.

"If it weren't for me, the Mountain and Sea Realm wouldn't have been destroyed….

"If it weren't for me, Haowie wouldn't be dying….

"If it weren't for me, none of this would have happened….

"The meat jelly was right. I'm the reason for all of this. I'm immoral. I'm wrong. I… shouldn't even exist." The parrot laughed bitterly, and the mirror crumbled. The surrounding cultivators were flabbergasted, and the 9-Essences experts immediately began to rush toward the parrot.

They weren't the only ones. Ancient auras which existed on the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent immediately shot out to fill the area around the copper mirror in an attempt to prevent it from exploding.

And yet, their cultivation levels seemed insufficient to prevent that from happening. No matter what any of them did to attempt to stop the process, the self-detonation which had been initiated by the parrot and the copper mirror could not be halted.

As the parrot drew everyone's attention, the meat jelly, who was still covering Naruto and delivering its life force to him, was staring at the parrot and trembling. But then, it suddenly seemed to hear words being spoken to it, a message from the parrot.

 _What are you doing? Get out of here!_ The message was not transmitted by divine sense, nor was it spoken audibly. It was a feeling, a sensation that came from the connection formed between the meat jelly and parrot after all their years together.

The meat jelly smiled bitterly, but didn't hesitate for even a moment. It understood that the parrot, which it had pestered and argued with throughout so many lives, had chosen to die. It was dying, sacrificing itself, to buy time so that the meat jelly… could protect Naruto… and take him away.

"Haowie, you've treated me so well…" the meat jelly said, smiling. Many chaotic memories flashed through the meat jelly's mind, and there were even images that didn't seem to be its own memories. Usually, it chose to suppress such memories, to ignore them. It preferred to mindlessly argue with the parrot, to chatter endlessly at Naruto, to haughtily act like it was ancient and wise.

But right now, after seeing the decision being made by the parrot, the meat jelly smiled, and unleashed a warm and gentle light. As the light spread out, it transformed into a shocking power of teleportation.

Astonishingly, it was drawing upon its full life force to summon an incredibly powerful teleportation magic. It was a teleportation that would whisk Naruto away safely, but the price to be paid was the meat jelly's life itself.

It was the type of teleportation that the meat jelly would normally never even think to utilize. But right now, with Naruto hovering on the verge of death, and the parrot having made its choice, the meat jelly had made its choice, completely willingly.

A tremor ran through Naruto. He was now wavering back and forth between unconsciousness and lucidity. He could see the anguish of the parrot, and could sense what the meat jelly was doing. He couldn't stop the shaking which wracked him. He wanted to stop them, but couldn't open his mouth. His injuries were too severe, and he could do absolutely nothing to prevent any of it from happening.

Tears welled up in his eyes, and his crimson pupils were seas of anguish.

"My friends…." he muttered, and yet only he could hear those words.

A boom could be heard as the meat jelly's teleportation light exploded out. The cultivators of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent could both sense what was happening, and sent one stream of will to stop the parrot and copper mirror, and another to prevent the meat jelly from completing the teleportation.

The mastiff howled and leaped forward to intervene, but was completely incapable of fighting the incoming stream of will. Blood sprayed out of its mouth, and it was sent tumbling back. And yet, it tenaciously stuck by Naruto's side to protect him. As for the stream of will, its target was the meat jelly.

It was at this point that the parrot's self-detonation process paused momentarily, and it cried out in a shrill that shook Heaven and Earth: "Let him go!

"Let him go!

"Let him leave this place! Lord Fifth is willing… perform the mind erasure!

"I know you people want the copper mirror. Lord Fifth also knows that none of you can separate me from it. So today, I'm willing to be erased!" Even in this moment, the parrot still didn't forget to call itself Lord Fifth.

"If you people don't want Lord Fifth to destroy the mirror, let him go, otherwise… I'll blow it up, and none of you will ever lay a hand on it!" The parrot's shrill squawk caused the hearts of all the surrounding cultivators to tremble.

The parrot almost seemed worried that they wouldn't believe him. In that moment, it began to crumble into pieces. Its spirit and its mind fell apart. Just as it said, it was willing to allow its mind and thoughts to be erased, willing to no longer be a sentient entity. Instead, its mind would become… a spirit automaton!

When that happened, the stream of will which was attempting to grab the meat jelly and Naruto suddenly stopped in place.

That was when the unleashing of the meat jelly's teleportation power reached its climax. The meat jelly itself turned completely gray as it lost all of its life force. It, together with Naruto, began to grow blurry. Then, rumbling sounds echoed out as the process of teleportation began.

It was then that, all of a sudden, the rugged, muscular man from the

Devil Realm shot toward Naruto, his eyes flashing. His target was not Naruto, though, but his bag of holding. Earlier, Naruto had pulled Su Yan out to threaten him, and she was still inside.

That muscular man's hatred toward Naruto for his treatment of Su Yan had turned into profound killing intent. At this moment, he neared the teleportation perimeter, then reached his hand out.

"Stop them!" a voice cried out. The approaching stream of will began to emanate ripples, but at the same time, the parrot's entire body burst into flame.

Even as the muscular man reached his hand out, the power of teleportation erupted out. Rumbling could be heard, and in almost the exact same instant, Naruto and the meat jelly vanished.

The muscular man's hand latched down onto nothing but thin air. He stamped his foot angrily, and looked up, his eyes completely bloodshot.

At the same time, the parrot chuckled. Its mind was fading, and the last thing it saw was Naruto vanish. Its eyes glimmered with the reluctance to part ways, with well wishes, and with an emotional sigh.

"We'll probably never meet again…." it murmured. Then it closed its eyes.

A moment later, it opened its eyes again, and within the dazzling, multicolored light that surrounded it, what people saw was no longer a garish parrot, but rather… the copper mirror spirit automaton, emanating a supreme Dao and the aura of a Paragon!

Its eyes were cold, so cold that they seemed capable of freezing the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, of burying all memories and thoughts.

A shocking pressure radiated out in all directions, causing all hearts to tremble. Even the 9-Essences experts were shaken, and the rugged, muscular man felt fear rise up in his heart when the mighty gaze of the parrot fell on him.

It was as if that gaze could read all thoughts and see through all hearts.

That gaze was above all else, like the most supreme of beings. It was like the ruler of the Vast Expanse, that could look down upon all life, which would then prostrate in worship.

Behind it was the copper mirror, which radiated a boundless, supreme aura. Ripples spread out into the Vast Expanse, which then transformed into a vortex. All of the cultivators present couldn't help but feel a sense of complete and utter awe.

A profoundly cold and ancient voice then spoke from the parrot's mouth: "I come from the Vast Expanse Society. I have traveled through tens upon tens of thousands of worlds….

"Tell me… your wish."

—–

Note from Deathblade: There was a passage some of you might remember from chapter 1325 in which Naruto mused about the parrot/copper mirror being able to end the war. It's a bit too long to quote here, but it might be worth going back to review.

Vol. 8 : Chapter 1409

Chapter 1409: My Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Bear in mind, I can only grant one wish," the parrot said coolly. "After that wish, I will sleep. Then I will travel the starry sky, and only after visiting tens upon tens of thousands of worlds will I awaken once more…. Only at that time can a second wish be granted!" The copper mirror glittered with scintillating light as the parrot's words echoed out into the Vast Expanse.

As of this moment, the pressure radiating from the parrot caused the Immortal God Continent to tremble, and the Devil Realm Continent to shake. All of the surrounding cultivators were panting, and their hearts were thumping nervously. The 9-Essences experts forcibly reigned in their cultivation bases, and as for the most powerful experts of the two land masses who had either remained silent this whole time, or sent out streams of will, they too were shaken mentally.

They could sense that both the parrot and the copper mirror… had a slight trace of the will of the Vast Expanse upon them. That was a will that they couldn't even attempt to cause to tremble. Only… a Transcendent cultivator could comprehend it!

As for Transcending, that was something that, throughout countless years, only a few people had ever done in the Vast Expanse, in the starry sky, in the Four Great Realms, or in the countless other Realms.

Those who failed to Transcend could only gaze up for all eternity upon those who had.

The words uttered just now by the parrot caused everyone on the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent to suddenly look at each other with hostile expressions.

There was only one wish!

The parrot had not lied; the most powerful hidden experts among the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent were people who could not be easily fooled. After a moment of silence, the wills from the two land masses met and began to confer.

As for what conclusion was reached, most people had no way of knowing. All they knew was that three days later, the copper mirror transformed into motes of crystalline light which faded away into the Vast Expanse.

Of course, some of the 9-Essences Paragons were unwilling to allow the butterfly and the remnants of the Mountain and Sea Realm to remain inside the vortex. They tried to enter, but could make no headway and were forced to back out.

The Devil Realm Continent even resorted to imitating the Mountain and Sea Realm by using their World-Butterflies to enter the vortex. However, for some unknown reason, all such attempts failed. Most important was that the black hole which led to the green coffin was filled with a boundless and chaotic flow of time. Upon entering it, time flowed differently than in the outside world. The rugged, muscular man even stepped inside, but when he realized that tens of thousands of years could pass by in a single moment, he was forced to retreat.

The most ancient beings from both land masses sent their divine sense inside to investigate, and then eventually notified their people that this place… was not accessible to anyone who had not Transcended.

The question of how the World-Butterfly had managed to enter was something no one could answer. The only explanation that made sense… was that someone had granted it entrance.

Eventually, the two great land masses gave up on their efforts. They formed 33 land masses, which became the new 33 Heavens. Those 33 Heavens were then used to form a seal just like the one which had been placed over the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Groups of cultivators from the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent stayed behind to stand guard, as well as some of the Outsiders who had survived the recent war.

Outside of the 33 Heavens, Dao Namikaze sat cross-legged, sighing deeply, mixed emotions visible on his face. Laying his staff down in front of him, he closed his ancient eyes and continued to stand guard. In the future, any cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm who attempted to fly out from the 33 Heavens would be killed by him.

Beyond Dao Namikaze , the Aeon Span was reestablished and linked to the Vast Expanse. Now, there was… a new Mountain and Sea Realm.

Apparently, there was a beginning and an ending in everything, like a never-ending a cycle.

No one could enter that Mountain and Sea Realm, and its cultivators could not leave. Soon, the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent departed, returning to the places from whence they had originally come. Whether it was the Immortal God Realm who got the wish, or the Devil Realm, at the moment no one knew.

Neither of the two great powers cared very much about where exactly Naruto had ended up being teleported to. As far as they were concerned, he was already dead, and was most likely nothing more than a corpse floating somewhere in the Vast Expanse.

Even still, both powers dispatched groups of cultivators out in various directions to search for that corpse!

Time passed as it always did in the Vast Expanse….

Apparently, everything that had happened was relatively negligible when it came to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse as a whole. A Realm had been destroyed. A world had changed locations.

The Vast Expanse was still the Vast Expanse. The vortex still emanated green light, and countless species of living beings went about their daily lives as was dictated by natural law, hunting, gathering, living. The Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent were as domineering as ever.

From the look of things, the disappearance of one person really wouldn't change the course of all existence.

Ten years passed. A hundred. A thousand…. Time flowed like water, and the result was that many people forgot what had occurred in the past. In the 33 Heavens outside of the Green Coffin Vortex, successive generations of cultivators never learned about that ancient person named Naruto.

They forgot about the world which had been destroyed, and they forgot about the various events which had taken place. All they remembered was that they were to stand guard, and that there was a butterfly inside of the vortex. Many people took to calling that butterfly… the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

There were some who would sigh as they recalled the events that had occurred a thousand years before. One of them was Dao Namikaze . He would wake up occasionally, and when he did, he would either look down at the butterfly in the Green Coffin Vortex or look up at the Vast Expanse. Sometimes… he would recall how the parrot had erased its own mind, how the meat jelly had willingly died, and how the blood-colored mastiff had stood guard relentlessly. He would even think about… that certain person who had exploded with madness, all for the sake of a single Realm.

Within the Green Coffin Vortex was a green coffin, upon which was a peaceful and calm butterfly. Two land masses existed inside that butterfly, as well as a statue of man who was the subject of constant worship.

"Our Realm is called… the Mountain and Sea Realm!" It was not uncommon for words like this to be heard in those two land masses, when people explained the name of the Realm in which they lived.

"Many years ago, the Mountain and Sea Realm was known as the

Paragon Immortal Realm, which ruled over 3,000 Lower Realms….

"The first catastrophe which struck was tens upon tens of thousands of years in the past….

"Back then, the 3,000 Lower Realms rebelled, and helped two powerful outside forces to invade. Paragon Nine Seals rose to prominence then, as did Paragon Sea Dream, and Paragon Immortal Ancient. There were other powerful experts who joined the resistance, to protect our homeland.

"During that war, the Paragon Immortal Realm was destroyed. Paragon Nine Seals drove the invaders away, and created a precious treasure, the Mountain and Sea Realm, which became the home of later generations.

"That was the first war which was fought….

"The second war occurred a thousand years ago. The two powerful forces which had destroyed the Paragon Immortal Realm returned. Of the original force of 3,000 rebel Realms, only thirty-three remained, which were the 33 Heavens. They were the ones who started the second war.

"During that war, Paragon Shui Dongliu's terrifying strategy was revealed, which bought the Realm a chance at survival!

"During that war, Paragon Sea Dream sacrificed her life to find the direction we needed to travel in!

"Most importantly… during the fighting, our greatest Paragon, Paragon Naruto, rose to the highest heights. He acquired Shui Dongliu's legacy, the most consummate of legacies. He became the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and he led us as we fought our way to freedom!

"His clan, the Namikaze Clan, is the most powerful and supreme clan among us today!

"Paragon Naruto's father and mother became the wings of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, and flew us to where we are now….

"During that war, Paragon Naruto single-handedly fought both of our powerful enemies. He stood up to all of their cultivators, buying us time so that we could have a chance survive….

"During that war, he destroyed his Soul Lamps and wiped out his Daoist magic. He even detonated the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm. During that war, he fought with a parrot, a suit of armor, and a Blood Mastiff.

"At the end of the war, he left to parts unknown. But the Mountain and Sea Realm still exists!

"Our Mountain and Sea Realm will exist forever, and its legacy will never end, not for all eternity. In the past, we were the Paragon Immortal Realm, and then, we were the Mountain and Sea Realm. As of now… we are… Naruto's Realm!

"He is not the Immortal. He is the Demon. The Demon of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Our Demon Sovereign!

"One day, our Demon Sovereign will return in all his madness, just as he promised. He will take us… to destroy the new 33 Heavens. He will take us… to wipe out the homelands of those two enemies of ours. He will take us… to get revenge, even if that means toppling the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse!

"Revenge. Revenge! REVENGE!"

Throughout the years, that was how the children of cultivators in the world of the butterfly educated their children. As they told the story, they would clench their jaws, and tears would stream down their faces as they recounted the bloody and violent tales of the past!

Fatty rose to prominence during that period of a thousand years, as did many more of Naruto's past acquaintances. Somehow, even Wang Youcai was still alive. The razor-sharp thirst for vengeance bubbled within them. However, they buried their killing intent and focused on building up new resources, and on waiting… for the moment when they could get their revenge!

They were waiting for Naruto to return, their Demon Sovereign!

They… refused to believe that Naruto was dead!

There was a certain woman who most certainly did not believe him to be dead. She resided in the Namikaze Clan, and had an extremely prominent position there. She was Hinata, the wife of the Demon Sovereign!

With her and the Namikaze Clan there, the spirits of the Mountain and Sea cultivators in this world would burn eternally.

That spirit was the legacy of an entire people, and was something that burned unquenchably within them.

Every night, on the highest mountain peak within the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, when the moon which had been created would superimpose with the mountain, Hinata could be seen standing there.

She would look up into the sky, as if she were waiting…. Always waiting….

"After I was reincarnated, you waited for me for hundreds of years…. Now, I will wait for you until the end of time and space….

"Naruto, wherever you are, you haven't perished, have you…? I can sense you. You… are out there somewhere!" she murmured.

A year passed. Then another. And another….

End of Book 8: My Mountain and Sea Realm

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1410

 _Book 9: The Demon Sovereign Returns; the Peak of the Vast Expanse!_

Chapter 1410: Bronze Replaces the Heavens

The Vast Expanse.

Endless. Immeasurable. Perhaps it had an ending point, but up til now, no one had ever reached it, except perhaps someone who had Transcended.

It was too large, and contained too many worlds and Realms. There were too many peoples within it, too many dangers. There were vortexes which contained inexplicable, indescribable forms of life, or legends which had long since been reduced to nothing more than ruins.

In addition to that, there was dust, which was actually the most common sight in the Vast Expanse. Within that dust could be found corpses, rubble, even magical items. In fact, anything could be found within the dust, if you searched for it.

At this moment, in some indeterminable location within the Vast Expanse, a corpse could be seen floating there. It was impossible to say how long it had been there. It was completely withered up, although it had not rotted. It wore a suit of armor which was cracked and broken, and completely gray in color.

Next to the corpse was a withered-up dog, which despite appearing to

be dead, apparently refused to leave its master's side.

Neither the corpse nor the armor showed any signs of life, as if they had been dead for a very, very long time.

A hole had been punctured in the corpse's bag of holding, and almost everything which had once been inside had long since scattered out into the Vast Expanse. Years ago, a woman had escaped from within, only to find that she had no idea where she was.

As for exactly how the bag of holding came to be broken open, she didn't know. She only remembered that after it was opened, she was suddenly free on the outside. Then she caught sight of the person she hated more than anyone else, wearing a suit of armor that flickered dully.

A moment later, a wind swept through that part of the Vast Expanse, carrying everything away. Even the woman was swept far off into the distance.

As for the corpse, it also floated along within the wind. If you looked closely, you would be able to see a bronze lamp on the corpse's forehead. When the corpse's bag of holding had broken open some time ago, the bronze lamp didn't drift away like most everything else inside, but instead had slowly floated over to the corpse's forehead.

In the past, that bronze lamp had changed the fate of the person who was now this corpse!

Even Shui Dongliu had been unable to fathom or comprehend the details.

Back when the corpse was alive, and had Soul Lamps, this bronze lamp had never made an appearance, nor did it even shine. But now that the corpse lacked any Soul Lamps at all, the bronze lamp finally appeared.

Long ago, the person whose corpse this was had actually speculated that this lamp, which had changed his fate, which he had taken from an

Immortal Ancient Daoist Rite temple, was possibly… a Soul Lamp belonging to some unknown individual.

He wasn't sure who, nor did he have the means to speculate. 1

Back when the bronze lamp emerged from the bag of holding, it floated out and began to fuse into the corpse's forehead, which was something that even the corpse would never have been able to predict would happen.

Time went by. Every year, the bronze lamp would sink a bit further into the corpse's forehead. Ten years passed. Then a hundred. Then a thousand. By that time, the bronze lamp wasn't visible at all, as it had completely sunk into the corpse's forehead.

Perhaps it was because of that bronze lamp that, over the course of the thousand years which passed, not a single entity of any sort approached the corpse, but instead preferred to avoid it.

Not only did the lamp preserve the corpse, it ensured that it had the chance to one day open its eyes again….

At some point throughout the years, a miniscule scrap of aura had appeared on the corpse. It seemed like the aura of an Immortal, yet also resembled a Devil. It was strange, multifarious, and bizarre. Anyone who had fought in the war of the Mountain and Sea Realm would quickly identify it as… Demonic qi!

It was the aura of that legendary entity from the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Demon Sovereign!

This corpse was none other than Naruto!

After being teleported away by the meat jelly, he had lapsed into unconsciousness. However, in the final moment before that had happened, images from throughout his life passed through his mind. In the end, he saw the parrot wiping away its mind. He saw the meat jelly sacrificing its life to teleport him to safety. Those images broke his heart, and left him reeling mentally. And yet, there was nothing he could do to stop them. He could only watch.

Tears of blood streamed down his face. After being teleported away, and just before passing out, he had smiled, an anguished smile, a smile that contained insanity and an unwillingness to die.

He would go to any lengths to recover, although he wasn't sure how to. He thought about the Nirvana Fruit from his bloodline, and he also thought about the bronze lamp in his bag of holding.

Using his last scrap of energy, he managed to pull out the bronze lamp.

Then he used a unique secret magic that he had acquired from Shui Dongliu's legacy, a technique which made it possible to possess another person's Soul Lamp. It was an unsettling magic which even Shui Dongliu might not have remembered, and wouldn't have trusted to work. Actually, it didn't come from Nine Seals, but from the other part of the soul that made up Shui Dongliu.

In the moment that Naruto unleashed the magic, he lost consciousness. After that, everything was a blank.

Over the course of the thousand years, his body had withered continuously. His life force had long since faded away, and everything about him had dispersed. The only thing that remained was the bronze Soul Lamp, which continued to fuse with him. One day, when the bronze lamp was fused fully into his forehead, a Heaven-shaking, Earth-toppling change occurred within him.

Rumbling sounds filled him as the bronze lamp gradually took over the position of his lost Prime Lamp. As the Prime Lamp, it then began to remould his Chakra passageways, and reconstruct his cultivation base!

With each day that passed, his atrophied flesh would pulse with a bit more Chakra and blood. His internal organs had once been completely desiccated, but now they were recovering. A few days later, his heart thumped for the first time in a thousand years. Around him in the Vast Expanse, the starry sky vibrated, causing countless life forms hidden in the area to flee in terror.

The sound of the heartbeat continued to echo out as blood flowed through his body. Gradually, that ruined blood began to recover!

Soon, his body wasn't withered anymore, and he even seemed to be breathing.

His blood flowed, and the bronze lamp slowly began to burn, sending boundless green smoke throughout his body. It eventually reached his cultivation base, which caused life force to ignite within him.

A powerful aura suddenly spread out which caused the Vast Expanse in the area to shake. Naruto had built up so much power that his eyelids fluttered, as if he would soon… open his eyes.

As he grew stronger and stronger, the aura within him became more terrifying. A vortex rose up around him, a vortex that might not match up to the chaos unleashed upon the Vast Expanse by the copper mirror and parrot all those years ago, and yet, was still shocking.

However, after a few breaths of time, the aura faded into weakness. Naruto's body gradually grew still, and the strength faded from his eyes. He became peaceful and unmoving.

Apparently, that burst of power wasn't enough to awaken him. He needed more strength to open his eyes, more life force; at the moment, he simply didn't have enough.

Therefore, he needed to wait a bit longer….

Gradually, his body withered up again, and his heart stopped beating. His blood dried up, and his aura faded. He now looked no different from the corpse he had been earlier. However, there was a spark of life within him that hadn't been there before, flickering and burning ever so slowly.

Time passed. Ten years later, Naruto was still floating out in the Vast Expanse. One day, a flying shuttle suddenly appeared.

A pile of miscellaneous items could be seen piled up in the back of the shuttle, and a closer look made it obvious that most of them had been collected from within the dust that filled the Vast Expanse. There were even a few dessicated corpses among the random objects.

A pretty young woman sat cross-legged in the flying shuttle, although she was dressed up in a way that made her seem older than she was. Apparently, she didn't want people to guess her true age.

Her cultivation base was not weak, though; only powerful people would ever dare to fly around alone in the Vast Expanse. Based on the fluctuations which rippled out from her, she was in the Dao Realm.

Behind her sat a young man, who seemed much weaker than her, and was acting very subserviently. He would occasionally look out at the Vast Expanse, his expression both curious and nervous. Eventually, his expression became one of distracted curiosity; when the young woman soon noticed, she immediately began to reprimand him.

"Don't forget this time!" she said sternly. "When we get there, you have to act tough! Put on a good show, and don't make any mistakes with your story!

"Remember, you are the heir of the Yun Clan. You are a legitimate descendant of what was once the most glorious clan in this part of the Vast Expanse! The great Vast Expanse School is looking for a son-in-law for their Holy Daughter, and she'll definitely pick you!

"They are a powerful force that can even tangle with the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. Supposedly, they know the secret of how to access the teleportation portal that leads out of the Vast Expanse!" The young woman's eyes gleamed with anticipation.

The young man glanced downward. Voice somewhat feeble, he said, "Bbut, the Yun Clan is just a small clan. They were famous years and years ago, not now. Plus… I'm not really a legitimate descendant."

"Shut up!" the young woman barked, glaring at the young man, who quickly bowed his head deferentially. "So what! The first generation Patriarch of the Yun Clan had a marriage agreement in place with the

Vast Expanse School. It doesn't matter what year or what generation,

the heir of the Yun Clan can become the beloved partner of one of the Holy Daughters of the great Vast Expanse School. The Yun Clan fell into decline years ago, and only exists in the mortal world now, so there's no way they can fulfill their end of the marriage agreement. But who cares? I managed to buy a copy of the agreement, and I also have our clan's precious treasure that lets me wield 2-Essences power. We'll definitely succeed!

"Besides, we won't be dealing with the upper ranks of the Vast Expanse School. Whoever we meet with, they'll have to maintain face, so as long as the marriage agreement stands, I can just wait until a lot of people are around, then pull it out for everyone to see. The Vast Expanse School might be strong, but they also have to be reasonable. Even if they don't abide by the agreement, they'll still be sure to compensate us in some way!" Even as the young woman spoke, she continued to scan their surroundings. Suddenly, she turned her head to look off into the distance, where she saw a corpse floating within the dust, not too far from the flight path of the flying shuttle.

"Eee? That ancient corpse is fully intact, plus it has a dog with it." With that, she reached out and made a grasping motion, pulling Naruto over to her. After looking him over, her eyes glittered.

"Not bad. Not bad at all. With all these corpses and other random things to help pay for expenses, this trip won't have been a waste after all." Smiling, she quickly threw Naruto and the mastiff into the back of the flying shuttle to join the other random objects and corpses she had collected from the dust of the Vast Expanse. Proceeding onward, she continued to rebuke the young man.

The bronze lamp first appeared in chapter 809. It was the act of taking the lamp in chapter 818 that, according to Shui Dongliu, allowed Naruto "change his fate." He later used it as a vessel for Divine Flame, and in chapter 960 came to the conclusion that it was a Soul Lamp of mysterious origin ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1411

Chapter 1411 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1411: The Vast Expanse Bell Heralds the Arrival of a Paragon!

The young woman was so focused on rebuking the young man that she didn't notice what happened when she threw Naruto into the back of her flying shuttle. His eyelids twitched, although he didn't quite yet have the strength to open his eyes.

Furthermore, the young woman didn't notice that after Naruto landed in the back of the flying shuttle, various tiny vortexes opened up around him. Then, the mist which surrounded them formed into strands which began to seep into the flying shuttle!

The strands of mist circulated inside of the shuttle and then began to enter into Naruto. More and more of the mist vanished into him, like a river pouring into a dry channel.

Apparently, Naruto's injuries were so severe that he lacked the power to even absorb the mist of the Vast Expanse on his own. However, there was something about the flying shuttle that helped him to gradually begin building up the power he lacked to open his eyes.

Time passed, and for some reason the flying shuttle seemed to be going faster and faster. Eventually, the young woman, despite being so involved in berating the young man, finally noticed the increase in speed. At first, her jaw dropped, but then she began to laugh heartily.

"See, little brother? It's no wonder the great Vast Expanse School has such a reputation. The starry sky in their territory is obviously blessed with some sort of Essence that has increased our speed. I bet that Essence can even identify hostile forces. The more hostile you are toward them, the slower you'll move. The less hostile, the faster!" Having reached this conclusion, the young woman laughed again. Behind her, the young man stared in shock. In his estimation, that wasn't what was happening at all, and yet, he didn't dare to open his mouth. Instead, he nodded and pretended to be in awe of the young woman.

He knew that his sister wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, but he also knew that deep down, she was a good person. Not only did she enjoy it when people looked at her fawningly, more importantly, when she was happy, she spent less time rebuking him.

Burying his reservations, the young man began to think about everything that had happened on their journey. They had encountered other flying shuttles along the way, and although his sister had never paid any attention to any of them, he had. Eventually, his attention was drawn to the collection of corpses and other objects in the back of the flying shuttle.

He looked at the corpse of Naruto, and suddenly realized that their flying shuttled had begun to move faster at almost the exactly same time that his sister picked up that very corpse.

However, considering the level of his cultivation base, he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary about it. No matter how he studied it, it didn't look like anything other than a corpse. A few days later, the young man stopped worrying about it so much, although he would still cast occasional cautious glances back at Naruto.

Naruto was already awake.

However, what had awoken was not his body, but his soul. After being pulled onto the flying shuttle, and absorbing some of the power of the Vast Expanse, he reached a state in which he felt almost as if he were observing everything around him in a dream state.

His soul hurt. He thought back to the Mountain and Sea Realm, to his father and mother, to his sister, to Hinata, and to so many other familiar faces.

He thought back to the butterfly, and how it had eventually landed on that green coffin.

He thought back to the parrot, and then the meat jelly, which was now devoid of any traces of life. All of that was in the past now. The only companion he still had to accompany him was the mastiff.

The mastiff wasn't dead. It had been asleep the entire time, hibernating. Even in its sleep, it still stood watch over him. It had paid a heavy price, and was even now only capable of sleeping.

"This enmity… must be avenged!

"Mountain and Sea Realm… I will return to you!

"Mom and dad, sister, Qing'er… wait for me…." Naruto's soul stared out of the flying shuttle into the distance. He had no idea where the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was, not even in which direction it lay. He could only trust his feelings to guess where it might be.

The pain he felt was something which would not subside, and had already changed him. He was colder now, and more silent.

He could tell that the only reason he was alive right now was because the mastiff had protected him, and the meat jelly had sacrificed everything for him. Most importantly, though, was what he had done just before losing consciousness. He had… taken out the bronze lamp!

The mysteries surrounding that lamp were unfathomable. It had replaced all of his Soul Lamps; instead of having thirty-three, he had only one. However, after the lamp's aura had melded with his Demonic qi, and the resulting pressure was even more terrifying than all of his other 33 Soul Lamps added together. "This bronze lamp… just who exactly did it belong to?"

During the process of studying the changes and transformations inside of him, Naruto eventually noticed the brother and sister duo on the flying shuttle. The older sister was thick-headed, and the younger brother was weak but shrewd. Naruto looked them over, then ignored them. The young man occasionally glanced back at him, but Naruto chose to remain still and silent.

However, were it not for this brother and sister, and the help of their flying shuttle, a random coincidence that allowed him to absorb the mist of the Vast Expanse, then it would have taken far, far longer for his soul to awaken.

That was something Naruto wouldn't forget.

His injuries were so numerous that even after a thousand years of absorbing the bronze lamp, more time was required to restore his cultivation base.

For now, he could only bury his thoughts of spilling a sea of blood to gain vengeance. But he knew… that the day would come when he would get his revenge!

Months went by in which he maintained silence. Normally, the trip taken by the flying shuttle would have gone on longer, but now, it was rapidly coming to an end. Up ahead could be seen… an astonishingly large heavenly body!

It was not a land mass like the Immortal God Continent or the Devil Realm Continent. It was a planet!

This planet could definitely be listed among the astonishing heavenly bodies like the Immortal God Continent. However, if the lands on the planet were unwrapped and laid out flat, they would definitely dwarf that very land mass.

It was simply gargantuan, so large that it could only be taken in fully from a distance. In fact, it was so big that it almost seemed to be propping up the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

If you compared the Mountain and Sea Realm to this planet, it would be like comparing an ant to an elephant!

Surrounding the planet was a dark yellow ring. Shockingly, if you studied that ring closely, you would find it was made up of countless asteroids, large and small. Simply looking at the planet was terrifying, and would leave one completely shaken.

Innumerable beams of light could be seen flying into and out from the planet, making it look even more dazzling.

"See that? That's Planet Vast Expanse! Heavens! How could there be a planet so big? Compared to the land mass that we come from, it's simply enormous. You could fit our home inside of it ten thousand times over! A hundred thousand. Maybe a million…." The young woman's tone was quite grandiose when she began speaking, but in the end, she trailed off into silence as she stared at the huge planet in front of her.

The young man next to her was also staring with wide eyes.

Neither of them noticed that behind them, Naruto had just stirred.

Although he still couldn't open his eyes, his soul was also staring at Planet Vast Expanse, and within the eyes of his soul, a strange fire had begun to burn.

The young woman took a deep breath, and her eyes began to shine. "No wonder they say that it can vie for a place among the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm…. Wow, the Planet Vast Expanse!

"This is the home of the legendary… Vast Expanse School, which was created at the same time as the Vast Expanse itself, and has the only teleportation portal leading out!

"Little brother, I've decided. You definitely have to marry that Holy Daughter!" The young woman's eyes shone with determination, and she flicked her sleeve, sending the flying shuttle closer and closer to Planet Vast Expanse.

However, as the flying shuttle got closer, a bright shield suddenly sprang up, sweeping out to cover the whole planet, and the starry sky which surrounded it. Every cultivator that it passed, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, was instantly locked in place in the starry sky, incapable of moving even an inch. Shocked expressions appeared as everyone wondered what was happening.

It was at this point that the sound of an ancient bell began to toll from somewhere on Planet Vast Expanse. The austere, sonorous sound swept out into the starry sky, pushing away the mist of the Vast Expanse and causing intense pressure to weigh down.

Dong!

Dong!

Dong!

As the sound of the bell rang out, cultivators of the Vast Expanse School on Planet Vast Expanse were all completely shaken. The tolling continued, it soon wasn't just the ordinary cultivators who were surprised. The powerful experts who made up the inner strength of the Vast Expanse School also looked up.

When the bell tolled for the fourth time, numerous faces flickered in shock. By the sixth toll of the bell, there were 8-Essences Paragons who began to fly out toward the starry sky surrounding the planet.

However, even as they were flying out, the seventh tolling of the bell could be heard. Somewhere on Planet Vast Expanse, in a sprawling temple, an old man suddenly opened his eyes, and the aura of a 9Essences Paragon erupted out from him. He instantly stepped out into the starry sky, followed by more powerful experts from Planet Vast Expanse. There were countless beams of light that flew out with incredible speed.

More than a million cultivators had been locked down in the starry sky outside of Planet Vast Expanse, and all of them were shocked and unable to move. And yet, the tolling continued.

Of the group of people frozen in place, most didn't understand what the tolling of the bell indicated, and therefore, took things mostly in stride. However, the people who did know the meaning of the bell couldn't stop their eyes from widening in shock and terror.

"That bell… it's the Vast Expanse Bell!"

"When a Paragon who isn't a member of the Vast Expanse School arrives… the Vast Expanse Bell will toll!"

"Three tolls means a 7-Essences Paragon. Six tolls indicate 8-Essences.

More than that means… a 9-Essences Paragon!"

"The bell tolled seven times! That means… that a 9-Essences Paragon is here!" The people outside of Planet Vast Expanse who understood the significance of the tolling bell were completely shocked. They began to look around, and soon, all eyes came to fall on the flying shuttle, which was the only object in the starry sky that hadn't been locked in place!

Upon that very flying shuttle, the young man's eyes were wide, and he was looking around in astonishment at all of the cultivators locked in place. His sister also looked around in shock, but then, began to laugh.

"Little brother, it's time to act tough. It seems the marriage agreement with the Yun Clan is still in effect. I haven't even brought out the jade slip yet, and the Vast Expanse School has already noticed and started ringing the bells to welcome us." Although the young woman's eyes were open wide with delight, the young man's legs were trembling.

"Sister, I don't think that's what's…." Before the young man could finish speaking, they caught sight of the numerous beams of light shooting out from Planet Vast Expanse, and could sense the terrifying levels of their cultivation bases. The young woman only got more excited.

"Little brother, look, they're coming to receive us!" she said excitedly, taking a deep breath as the crowd of people drew nearer.

The young man behind her was flummoxed. He was weak, but very intelligent, and could tell that something strange was going on!

Chapter 1411: The Vast Expanse Bell Heralds the Arrival of a Paragon!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1412

Chapter 1412: Reeling Them In!

Moments ago, when the shield sprang up around Planet Vast Expanse, the thick-headed young woman quickly gathered up all of the items and corpses, including Naruto, and put them into her bag of holding. She did it so quickly her younger brother had no time to intervene.

In her simplistic way of thinking, everything she had collected was worth keeping. And yet, she feared that people might look down on them for collecting so many miscellaneous items, which could eventually cause problems when it came to the marriage agreement.

Seeing the numerous incoming beams of light, the young woman got very excited. She quickly straightened her garments and put on a very haughty expression. Then she looked back at her nervous younger brother. Glaring, she said, "Look tough! Remember, you're the heir of the Yun Clan!"

There was no time to say anything else, as the beams of light flew at top speed and came to a stop in front of their flying shuttle.

In the lead was a man wearing a violet-gold robe. His hair was long and white, and he bore the semblance of a celestial being, with eyes that sparkled as if with lightning. He looked the brother and sister duo over, only glancing briefly at the young man before focusing his attention on the young woman. Then his eyes widened slightly.

Behind him were tens of thousands of other cultivators, all of them wearing very serious expressions, almost as if they had come to meet a powerful enemy.

The pressure weighing down from all of these powerful experts was incredible. Although they kept their power in check, the starry sky was still trembling, and everyone nearby could feel the weight of the pressure. The young man on the flying shuttle was shaking and could barely stand up straight. His blood was boiling, and he almost felt as if it were about to explode.

From the look of it, if these people let much more of their aura out, this young man's body, and those of many of the other cultivators in the area, would be shredded to pieces, killing them instantly.

His older sister had it a bit better off, but was still gritting her teeth and trembling in body and mind. However, she didn't seem to have lost any of her enthusiasm. Apparently… she couldn't see the fierce gleams in the eyes of these powerful experts from the Vast Expanse School.

Clasping hands and bowing deeply, she said, "I am Yun Shan of the Yun

Clan. This is our clan's current heir, Yun Feng. Senior members of the Vast Expanse School, greetings!" Then, she quickly pulled out her Yun Clan identity medallion and held it high above her head.

Behind her, Yun Feng nervously clasped hands and bowed his head, cursing inwardly.

In response to Yun Shan's words, the eyes of the experts from the Vast Expanse School glittered. The old man in the leadership position frowned. He looked closer at this girl who called herself Yun Shan, gaze lingering on her bag of holding as he completely ignored the identity medallion.

After a long moment, he said, "Yun Clan…."

The entire time, his eyes were focused on her bag of holding, as if his gaze could actually pierce inside and see Naruto. After a moment, his eyes glittered, and he suddenly shook his head and laughed.

"Unlock Vast Expanse. Extend the Starpath. Summon the million disciples. Unveil the Vast Expanse Skyway. Welcome the honored guests!" Apparently, when this man spoke, his words were followed like law. The other powerful experts of the Vast Expanse School bowed their heads as rumbling sounds suddenly emanated out from Planet Vast Expanse. Shockingly, two giants appeared, who bore glittering starlight on their shoulders as they strode forth. In turn, that light began to form into a pathway.

At the same time, numerous beams of light appeared behind the giants. Astonishingly, a million cultivators appeared, all of whom wore the uniforms of Vast Expanse disciples. They fanned out to stand on either side of the path of stars, and as they did… a Skyway formed, lined by a million disciples.

All of the rogue cultivators out in the starry sky stared with wide eyes. There were some among them who weren't aware of the significance of the bell tolling seven times. But everyone knew what it meant when Planet Vast Expanse was unlocked in such a way, with starlight-bearing giants emerging, and a million disciples forming a road.

"That's the Vast Expanse School's most prestigious welcoming ceremony!"

"It's been years since the Vast Expanse School did this. What powerful sect or clan did this brother and sister team come from?!"

"A million disciples forming a road…. The Vast Expanse School would only hold this ceremony for someone incredibly extraordinary!" Everyone was completely shaken.

"Please, after you!" said the man in the violet-gold robe, flicking his sleeve and stepping aside. He smiled lightly as he spoke, but his eyes were glued on Yun Shan's bag of holding. The other experts from the Vast Expanse School looked on with thoughtful expressions for a moment before they also stepped aside, leaving the entire path of starry light stretching out unhindered in front of the flying shuttle.

Yun Shan's eyes were wide as saucers as she stared at the scene. It was something she couldn't have imagined happening, not even in her dreams. And yet, it was playing out right here in front of her. Despite her usual thick-headed personality, even she couldn't help but feel a bit suspicious.

"Was the Yun Clan really that incredible in the past?" she said to her brother. "I can't believe a down-and-out clan like them… would actually cause the Vast Expanse School to hold a ceremony like this.

"Hmm. I guess the Yun Clan must have a lot of big secrets that I never found out about. Later on, I'll have to spend a few spirit stones to run a more thorough investigation into them." Of course, her train of thought led her to a strange conclusion, like it usually did. Looking very excited, she immediately stepped onto the path.

She walked along as arrogantly as ever, occasionally chattering to her younger brother.

"Come on, follow me. Keep your head up. Don't forget, we're from the Yun Clan, and you're the heir!

"See how seriously they take us, little brother? The Vast Expanse School! Hahaha!" Although Yun Shan was nervous, her eyes sparkled brightly, and as she walked along, the disciples of the Vast Expanse School bowed respectfully. As for all of the rogue cultivators who had been locked in place earlier, they could do nothing but watch jealously as she entered Planet Vast Expanse.

Her brother walked along behind her, more nervous than ever. Something very strange seemed to be going on, especially when he realized that the Vast Expanse School hadn't even checked their Yun Clan identification medallions. The reason for that most likely had nothing at all to do with the conclusion his sister had reached.

However, there was nothing to be done about the situation now. The old man in the violet-gold robe followed not too far back, and behind him were the tens of thousands of other powerful experts of the Vast Expanse School.

Yun Feng's scalp tingled as he walked nervously behind his sister, following closely by the forces from Planet Vast Expanse. "This… this isn't a welcoming party," he thought, "this… is a security escort!"

As they proceeded through the starry sky, they eventually reached… Planet Vast Expanse itself!

Planet Vast Expanse was gargantuan, so big that you couldn't see from one end to the other. The location in which they arrived featured a boundless land filled with mountains, more than a million of them, with some peaks towering high above the mysterious fog and clouds which filled the area.

There were towering palaces which rose up from the peaks of the mountains, giving the entire place the feeling of a majestic, preeminent sect. Chain bridges connected the million mountain peaks, making it easy to see the borders of what was apparently the preeminent Vast Expanse School!

As soon as Yun Shan and Yun Feng entered the planet, they saw the million mountains, and their minds began to spin. Off to the side, the old man in the violet-gold robe smiled and began to explain.

"There are many cultivator clans on Planet Vast Expanse, but when it comes to sects… there is only the Vast Expanse School! In fact, all of those other clans exist only because of the Vast Expanse School.

"The Vast Expanse School is the very foundation of Planet Vast Expanse, and we have eight temple complexes, with the complex you are looking at now being the eighth.

"As for the lands of our sect, everything under the sky belongs to us!

"However, the true sect is inside of Planet Vast Expanse. Actually, the planet is hollow, and furthermore… is even larger on the inside than it is on the outside. That is the true core of the Vast Expanse School."

The brother and sister duo couldn't help but gasp as the old man's voice echoed out. They saw the boundless mountains, they saw the numerous pagodas and palaces, they saw the countless cultivators flying to and fro. At first, they had assumed that what they were looking at was the entirety of the Vast Expanse School, but now they realized that it was only… a small portion.

This was only one among eight outer temple complexes.

"If the outer temple complexes are like this," thought Yun Feng, "then I can only imagine how astonishing the inner core is beneath the surface of the ground…." He was left panting, and for the first time, a gleam of desire appeared in his eyes.

Even as the young man was shaken, his sister suddenly began to laugh.

"Not bad. Not bad at all," she said. "The Vast Expanse School truly deserves its reputation as the ultimate Daoist society. The Yun Clan definitely falls short, although only by a bit." Although her face was a bit ashen, she tried to look unimpressed. The sound of her brother's rapidly increasing heart rate was turning into a quite a headache, though.

The old man in the violet-gold robe laughed lightly. Then he spoke a single sentence, a sentence that contained such power that the air in the area suddenly locked everything in place, motionless.

"The ceremony has been completed, the sect has been assembled, and the formalities have been spoken. Fellow Daoist, the time has come for you to show your face!"

The old man's eyes glowed as they came to stare fixedly at Yun Shan's bag of holding.

At the same time, rumbling could be heard, and a powerful wind kicked up as numerous spell formations formed. The million disciples swirled through the air, lining up to form an even larger grand spell formation.

The tens of thousands of powerful experts flanking the man in the violetgold robe all unleashed explosive energy which cased the sky to dim and everything to shake.

Down below, countless auras erupted out from the million mountains, making the entire place seem like the underworld!

The eruption of energy caused blood to spray out of Yun Feng's mouth as he teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. His sister stared in shock, and also coughed up blood, her face turning pale white and filling with confusion and shock.

She looked around at all the surrounding cultivators radiating powerful energy and realized that she had never seen so many powerful experts gathered together in one place.

"Seniors, you…." she said, forcing the words out of her mouth.

Of course, the old man in the violet-gold robe was being careful not to push things too far. After all, he could kill this brother and sister team with a single thought. After a moment, he frowned. Considering the level of his cultivation base and his age, he was adept at judging character, and at detecting when people were putting on an act. From the look of things, this brother and sister duo had no idea what was actually going on.

The old man's heart thumped; reaching out with his right hand, he made a grasping gesture, causing Yun Shan's bag of holding to fly out toward him. Instead of grabbing it, though, he simply waved his sleeve.

A bang rang out as the bag of holding burst open, causing countless random objects to spill out everywhere, including corpses….

The old man's eyes flickered. Ignoring the miscellaneous objects, his mind trembled as his eyes came to focus on one corpse in particular!

As soon as he saw it, his eyes began to shine with unprecedented brightness!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1413

Chapter 1413 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1413: So, Are You Going To Sell This Corpse?

In the moment that all the corpses spilled out, shocking ripples began to spread in all directions from that one corpse in particular. As a result, the faces of the one million Vast Expanse School disciples turned deathly white, and blood sprayed out of their mouths. Shocked, they began to back up.

At the same time, their cultivation bases were thrown into complete chaos, something they had absolutely no control over.

The faces of the tens of thousands of powerful experts flickered, and their minds spun, as if they were suddenly facing a powerful foe. It was as if, all of a sudden, they were surrounded by mountains of corpses and seas of blood, from within which countless howls emanated out to completely inundate them.

It was a thoroughly shocking development which caused everything to vibrate and shake.

The indescribable energy coming from the corpse swept over everyone, becoming an intense pressure that caused even the one million mighty mountains down below to tremble. The lands quaked as dust and dirt first floated up into the air, and then were slammed back down again. The chain bridges which connected the mountain peaks were swaying back and forth, and countless disciples felt as if their minds were being struck by lightning.

The energy which had previously been emanating out from the million mountains was, as of this moment, being crushed down as if by a huge hand, completely disintegrated.

Everyone in the area gasped in shock. Only the brother and sister team didn't feel any pressure. However, they could see what was happening, and the thick-headed sister turned to look at that one particular corpse, the blood draining from her face in the process as she recalled how she had picked it up along the way.

"What… what kind of corpse did I pick up…?" she murmured inwardly. She saw the million disciples coughing up blood, she saw the lands trembling, she saw the mountain peaks shaking, she saw the astonishment of the tens of thousands of powerful experts, and she saw the blinding light shining from the eyes of the old man in the violet-gold robe.

One thing she didn't notice was that the mastiff which she had picked up along with the corpse was nowhere to be seen.

As all of this happened, countless gasps and cries of shock and alarm could be heard.

"That's… that's…."

"A Paragon corpse! That's the corpse of a Paragon! Heavens! A 9-

Essences Paragon corpse!"

"No wonder the Vast Expanse Bell tolled. There aren't many 9-Essences Paragons to begin with in the Vast Expanse, and yet somehow, these two people from the Yun Clan… happen to have the corpse of one in their bag of holding!"

"That corpse is a precious treasure!" In the midst of all the commotion, the old man in the violet-gold robe suddenly flicked his sleeve, causing numerous sealing marks to appear and float down onto Naruto's corpse. As they settled onto him, everything in the area slowly returned to normal. However, everyone in the area was still in an uproar.

The old man eyed Naruto's corpse, then looked over at the young woman who called herself Yun Shan.

"From whence cometh this corpse?" he asked.

"F-found… I found it…." she stammered.

Her words caused everyone to stare wide-eyed with shock, as if what she were saying was unimaginably outrageous. Soon, strange expressions appeared on the faces of the cultivators in the area. As for the old man, he felt as if a lightning bolt had just struck his mind. After staring in shock for a moment, he smiled wryly.

Although he had appeared to remain calm earlier, his heart had actually been surging with tsunamis of astonishment. There weren't a large number of 9-Essences Paragons in the Vast Expanse. Each and every one was a consummately powerful expert, people… who ordinary folk would be lucky to simply catch a glimpse of. And that was when they were alive. After they died… it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to see such a corpse.

9-Essences experts had a longevity that was virtually unending. They would never just pass away into meditation. Either they would try to Transcend into the Daosource Realm, or they would fail in their attempt, and be destroyed in body and spirit. In the latter case, they wouldn't leave a corpse behind.

Another possibility was that they might be killed in battle. However when 9-Essences Paragons fought, it would be unlikely that the defeated party would be behind as an intact body. Most of the time, the final result was a smashed and mangled corpse. Because of all of that, the intact corpse of a 9-Essences Paragon was something exceedingly rare.

The old man in the violet-gold robe spent a moment in thought. He recognized the sequence of cause and effect here. Obviously, this brother and sister team had found this corpse in their journeys. After arriving at Planet Vast Expanse, it attracted the attention of the spell formation, and caused the bell to ring. His previous assumption that someone was hiding in the young woman's bag of holding was simply a mistake.

Everything made sense now. Except for one thing. A dead person shouldn't have attracted the attention of the spell formation and caused the Vast Expanse Bell to ring.

"He still has a bit of life force left in him," he thought. "He must have been in a bitter fight, then somehow managed to flee at a critical moment. He was so severely injured that his soul nearly dispersed. He's likely in a state of recovery which will last for thousands of years." A flicker of greed appeared in the old man's eyes. Smiling, he reached out his hand to take the corpse; as for the brother and sister duo, he couldn't care less about them.

But then, he frowned as he noticed something on the corpse.

"Hmm, Karma Threads…." he thought. "Well that makes things a bit troublesome. His soul is mostly dispersed, but he still has some connections to this brother and sister, some bit of gratitude linking them together."

As the old man considered what to do, everyone else in the crowd looked on with strange gleams in their eyes. No one seemed to be paying attention to the brother and sister.

Yun Shan was trembling. As of this point, she was terrified, and filled with regret. She wished she had never picked up that corpse, and wished that she had never brought her little brother here to try to con their way into a wedding.

However, even as she trembled in fear, her younger brother sighed and clasped her hand. Normally, his grip was weak, but right now, it was firm.

She looked over in shock at her brother, who forced himself to ignore his fear as he nodded back at her.

A moment later, the old man in the violet-gold robe looked at them with glittering eyes. Smiling, he said, "So, are you going to sell this corpse? I want to buy it."

Yun Shan gaped in shock at the man's request. She was just about to reply when her brother took a step forward. Standing in front of her, he clasped hands and bowed to the old man.

"Senior, I am Yun Feng. I've come to the Vast Expanse School today to ask for the hand of the Vast Expanse Holy Daughter in marriage. This corpse isn't for sale. It's a betrothal gift!" Yun Shan was in complete and utter shock. The words spoken by her younger brother just now, and the way he carried himself, seemed completely out of character.

The old man looked at Yun Feng, eyes flickering with amusement at his words.

"Well, you've got guts. Fine. Join the Vast Expanse School, and I'll send you directly to the Inner Sect.

"As for the marriage, I'll give you a chance at that. If you can reach the Dao Realm within two thousand years, then I'll arrange for you to marry the Vast Expanse Holy Daughter of the current generation at that time!"

Yun Feng hesitated, but his sister was clearly elated. Their entire purpose in coming to the Vast Expanse School was to profit in some way. If her younger brother could become a Vast Expanse School disciple, then that would be the hugest profit imaginable. She was just about to step in and accept, when her brother said, "What about my sister…?"

"Her cultivation base isn't bad," the old man replied immediately, "but her foundation is already solidified, making it impossible for her to cultivate the magic of the Vast Expanse School. However, Inner Sect disciples can recruit attendants. Just have your sister be one of your attendants." As the old man finished speaking, he studied Naruto's corpse, and saw that the Karma Threads connecting it to the brother and sister team had unraveled, indicating that the debt connecting them had been resolved. The old man swished his sleeve, collecting up Naruto's corpse and carrying him off into the distance.

The rest of the cultivators also departed, the images of what they had just seen still playing out in their minds. Soon, a few disciples approached Yun Shan and Yun Feng to begin the formalities of accepting them into the Vast Expanse School. As they walked along, the young man looked around, somewhat in a daze. On the other hand, his sister couldn't look any more happy; as far as she was concerned, they had struck a goldmine.

She glanced over at her younger brother, and her eyes gleamed with praise and anticipation. In her eyes, her brother had just grown up quite a bit, as was evidenced by the clever and decisive way he had just spoken up.

It was only Yun Feng himself who knew the truth. Moments ago, a voice had spoken in his ear and told him exactly what to say.

"That voice which told me what to do… could it have been… that corpse?!" A blank look could be seen in his eyes as he nervously followed the Vast Expanse School disciples off into the distance.

Meanwhile, on one of the million mountains that made up the eighth temple complex, the old man in the violet-gold robe strode along, unable to conceal the delight in his eyes. Soon, he was in a location deep within the million mountains, in front of a teleportation portal. Without the slightest hesitation, he stepped into the portal.

It rumbled and then shone with brilliant light, after which the man disappeared. When he reappeared, he was beneath the surface of Planet Vast Expanse, in the core of the Vast Expanse School.

The inside of Planet Vast Expanse had its own starry sky, complete with

a sun and moon, as well as planets. Each one of those planets emanated the aura of a powerful expert, all of whom were apparently in secluded meditation.

Also located in the inner core of the planet was a sea of flames, buried within which was… half of a planet!

That half-planet was mostly broken and shattered, and emanated a sensation of time and rot. Numerous pagodas and temples adorned its surface, and it emanated an ancient air.

The old man in the violet-gold robe immediately sped in the direction of the sea of flames, and the half-planet therein. As he neared, his voice echoed out, "Fellow Daoists, please have a look at what I've brought for you!"

Laughing, he waved his hand, sending Naruto's corpse floating out to hover above the buildings down below.

As soon as it appeared, the sealing marks which had been placed on him vanished, allowing shocking fluctuations to surge out and cover the entire half-planet. Countless people down below were astonished, and six streams of 9-Essences aura suddenly swirled out to surround Naruto, accompanied by six people.

"The corpse of a Paragon! Old Fifth, where did you get your hands on this?!"

"It's not completely dead, there's still the remnant of a discarnate soul…."

"A Paragon corpse like this is something incredibly rare. Unfortunately, although the corpse is intact, its innards are withered into almost nothing!"

"It doesn't matter if its withered! With the resources at the disposal of our Vast Expanse School, we can restore this corpse to peak power in no time! With this corpse, we can carry out the plan to receive the Ninth

Paragon earlier than expected!"

The old man in the violet-gold robe laughed excitedly. It was at this point that a stream of divine sense that was terrifying even to these seven people suddenly exploded out from the half-planet. As it filled the area, the old man and the other six Paragons clasped hands and bowed, serious expressions on their faces.

"Greetings, Sect Leader!"

Chapter 1413: So, Are You Going To Sell This Corpse?

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1414

Chapter 1414: Refining a Paragon Corpse!

That terrifying divine sense was similar to the one from the archaic old man from the Devil Realm Continent. It was in the 9-Essences level, but was at its very peak!

That peak level qualified one to attempt a breakthrough to the

Daosource Realm. Of course, powerful souls like that were very rare. For countless years, very few people had ever been able to reach the peak of 9-Essences. In fact, even in an enormous sect like the Vast Expanse School had only ever produced four.

However, those four had all reached a position only one step away from the Daosource!

Unfortunately, from ancient times until the current day, people who could take that final step were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns. In all of the Vast Expanse, there had only ever been two or three… who had completed that step!

All of the others died.

Those who chose not to take that final step, and remained at the peak of 9-Essences, had virtually limitless longevity. Although it wasn't correct to say that they would exist for as long as all Heaven and Earth, they were close to such a level. They had shockingly profound levels of knowledge, and the longer they practiced cultivation, the more powerful they became. However, the Vast Expanse Tribulation came for them once every ten thousand years, and each time it came, it was more terrifying than the last time, until it managed to destroy them.

Because this was so, when it came to comparing those at the peak of 9Essences, unless someone had a rare, unique Essence, then strength would be determined by who had practiced cultivation in that level for the longest time.

The powerful divine sense enveloped Naruto, boring inside of him, inspecting every inch of his being. The other seven Paragons remained off to the side, somber expressions on their faces.

After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, it slowly retracted, and then an ancient voice echoed out.

"This person received the legacy of a Daoist magic in a previous life, which artificially propelled him to the 9-Essences level. However, the result was significant damage that would be difficult to notice upon cursory examination. Even though he is still alive, it would be so difficult for him to make further progress that to do so would require something akin to defying Heaven.

"This person experienced profound sorrow and grief in life, and apparently went through a huge catastrophe. Most likely, he witnessed the destruction of his homeworld. Everyone else died, with him being the sole survivor. Even his narrow escape left him with only a discarnate soul.

"The level of rancor within him is profound, and his previous obsessions still linger. His mind was strong, and his fleshly body even stronger. He even commands some sort of Essence magic that exceeds my comprehension. Very interesting.

"All of those things are secondary, though. Most interesting of all is his aura. It is neither Immortal nor Devil, and it differs from the Vast Expanse. It contains fluctuations the likes of which… I have never seen before.

"Considering everything I have revealed, it is likely that the seven of you have already guessed who he is!" As the ancient voice echoed about, the seven Paragons, including the old man in the violet-gold robe, had thoughtful looks on their faces.

A moment later, one of their number, a middle-aged cultivator, suddenly spoke, his eyes glittering as he said, "One thousand years ago. The Mountain and Sea Realm. Naruto!"

In response to his words, the eyes of the other Paragons flickered. The old man in the violet-gold robe looked over at Naruto's corpse. Then they began to discuss the matter.

"It's most likely him. A thousand years ago, the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent attacked the Mountain and Sea Realm, which was the evolved version of the Paragon Immortal Realm. It is said that the only thing which survived was a World-Butterfly, which entered the Green Coffin Vortex. A Dao was passed on to Naruto, pushing him into the 9-Essences level. But then he was seriously wounded, and even as he hovered on the brink of death, he was teleported away."

"So, it's him. Even to this day, the Immortal God Continent and the Devil

Realm have people searching the Vast Expanse for him. If we…."

"It doesn't matter. We just want his body, we're not trying to help him awaken!"

The powerful divine sense once again spread out, and the ancient voice spoke, as cold as ice. "Leave him here. Just now, I felt some sort of reaction from the ancestral relic. Keeping it under control makes it difficult for me to divide my attention. Once it has stabilized, I'll come back to wipe the discarnate soul out of the corpse. Then, we can refine the body using the resources of the Vast Expanse School. After all of its injuries have been healed, and the body is stabilized, then… the fleshly body vessel will be prepared, and we can summon the Ninth Paragon. "As for the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent, they will never be able to find the corpse in here. Besides, even if they knew about it, would they really be willing to start a war with our Vast Expanse School?" The ancient voice was filled with a domineering air, and even as it began to fade away, the other seven Paragons exchanged glances and then began to laugh. Then, they clasped hands and bowed before returning to their various locations of secluded meditation.

Since the Sect Leader himself said he would handle Naruto's corpse, they weren't worried at all about anything unexpected happening.

After they all left, Naruto's corpse remained there hanging there in midair, still and unmoving.

His soul was hidden within the wick of the bronze lamp that rested inside of him. The little bit he had allowed to emanate to the outside just now had been to attract the attention of the Paragons of the Vast Expanse School. He was making a gamble now, gambling that he wouldn't be discovered, that he could use this place to remain concealed from the forces which sought him, and simultaneously, restore his cultivation base.

He also needed to continue to practice cultivation, and seize an opportunity to step into the Daosource Realm as early as possible.

All of those goals were things he hoped to accomplish in the Vast Expanse School.

He would make use of the resources of the Vast Expanse School to heal his injuries, and perhaps even incite the Vast Expanse School into a war with the Immortal God Realm and the Devil Realm. Even if he couldn't pull off a war, he would still need a place with abundant resources to practice cultivation in the way he desired.

Actually, upon awakening, he had little concept of what the Vast Expanse School was. However, when he was on the flying shuttle, he had found that the closer he got, the more his bronze lamp would tremble and even emanate fluctuations that were complementary to Planet Vast Expanse. At that point, Naruto had made his decision.

The bronze lamp was mysterious and unfathomable. He wasn't sure exactly where it came from, but he could tell that it definitely had something to do with Planet Vast Expanse.

With his soul hidden in the wick of the lamp, the old man in the violetgold robe had been unable to detect his presence. However, the powerful divine sense of the Vast Expanse School's Sect Leader left Naruto shaken with the threat it posed.

That divine sense was able to inspect every aspect of his body, and had even passed over the location of the bronze lamp several times. However, the lamp itself was something that even the terrifying Sect Leader couldn't detect, which dispelled the lingering feelings of fear Naruto had because of the man.

A few days later, that same terrifying divine sense exploded out and enveloped Naruto. This time, it studied him for an entire hour, examining him in every aspect. It also completely wiped away the soul fragment that Naruto had left outside of the bronze lamp.

In effect, he was murdering Naruto; were it not for the bronze lamp, then any chance he had of fully awakening would have been forever erased.

After the hour passed, the divine sense slowly retracted. Naruto's corpse was then gripped by a powerful force which pulled it down toward a wide platform, atop which was an enormous cauldron!

It was a medicine cauldron, fully 3,000 meters tall, like a looming mountain. An everburning, seven-colored flame roared beneath it, and inside was a sea of medicine. The powerful force which gripped Naruto instantly threw him into the middle of the cauldron.

As that happened, the old man in the violet-gold robes flew over, along with the other six Paragons. They hovered to a stop above the cauldron, then waved their sleeves as they tossed numerous precious medicinal plants inside. In response, the medicinal brew inside began to bubble and boil.

"It has begun," said the ancient voice. "The soul is completely wiped away, leaving the body an empty husk. Heal the wounds and restore the body to a state of perfection, and then we can use it." The seven Paragons had very serious expressions on their faces as they sent out the power of their cultivation base, causing the pores all over Naruto's skin to open and begin to absorb the medicinal ingredient extracts.

Rumbling sounds echoed out. Inside the bronze lamp, Naruto's soul couldn't feel the burning sensation that existed outside of his body, but he could sense his wounds rapidly healing.

His spirits instantly lifted, and yet he maintained full vigilance.

Time passed. Nineteen days later, so much of the medicinal brew within the huge cauldron had drained away that the cauldron was almost empty. Naruto was like a black hole; despite the vast quantity of pure medicinal plants he had absorbed, his injuries were only healed by about thirty percent.

"Simply extraordinary! Not even all those medicinal plants could heal him?"

"It doesn't matter. The resources of the Vast Expanse School are profound. Virtually limitless! However much he needs to absorb, that's how much we'll provide. It just goes to show the incredible potential in this corpse!" The Paragons laughed heartily. Not concerned at all about this development, they went to find more medicinal plants to throw into the cauldron.

Rumbling could be heard as the medicinal brew rose higher within the cauldron once again. Naruto was completely submerged. His fleshly body was growing stronger, and the dangerous instabilities caused by being prematurely awoken from the process of absorbing Shui Dongliu's legacy were slowly being neutralized.

As he remained hidden within the bronze lamp, Naruto licked his lips. Although he wasn't aware of it, a bashful expression had appeared on his face, and he seemed a bit embarrassed.

Another month passed….

"Still not recovered? Ah, it's fine. Keep providing him materials to absorb!"

"I grew this Heavenrose Grass for 30,000 years. I'll give it to him. All for the benefit of the Ninth Paragon!"

"Years ago I fought a desperate battle to gain this Cloud Dragon bone….

Ah, whatever. The arrival of the Ninth Paragon is critical for our Vast

Expanse School!"

The seven Paragons didn't seem very happy, but they gritted their teeth and began to produce all sorts of various precious materials from their collections, which they threw into the cauldron to continue the refinement process.

Naruto's body was now almost completely recovered. The dangerous instabilities had been mostly neutralized. However, the bronze lamp which no one could see was like a ravenous black hole when it came to absorbing resources!

In fact, it had absorbed more than half of the various precious materials so far. That caused its flame to grow brighter and brighter, and gradually, Naruto could sense that the bronze lamp itself was awakening!

More and more materials were absorbed, until finally, the entire cauldron was rumbling, and the energy of Heaven and Earth in the area was also sucked in.

"The process is almost complete. The energy of Heaven and Earth is being absorbed. Things will be over soon."

"We paid a high price, but the result is an incredibly powerful Paragon corpse. It will all be worth it when the Ninth Paragon arrives."

The seven Paragons were laughing heartily, and looked very much at ease. In recent days, they had been constantly pouring cultivation base power into the cauldron. To finally see an end in sight to all the wastage caused them to sigh in relief.

Time passed. One month. Two months. Three months….

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1415

Chapter 1415 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1415: Vast Expanse Dao Body!

The starry sky which stretched out over the half planet trembled as boundless energy of Heaven and Earth surged into the enormous cauldron. All seven Patriarchs, including the one in the violet-gold robe, had extremely unsightly expressions on their faces. There was no need to even mention the wastage to their cultivation bases which had occurred over the past three months. Virtually all of the medicinal plants they possessed had already been thrown into the cauldron, and yet Naruto's corpse… still hadn't fully recovered.

"A pit! That's not a corpse inside that cauldron, it's a bottomless pit!" Their hearts ached, and yet the Sect Leader, wherever he was in the depths of the land, hadn't spoken a single word about the matter, so it would be bad form for them to stop. Enduring the pain, they continued.

Naruto, on the other hand, was more excited than ever. He was like a fish back in water, his injuries fully recovered, the instabilities negated.

And yet, he just couldn't bear to let so much energy of Heaven and Earth go to waste, not to mention all of the legendary medicinal plants, all of which were things that had been extinct in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He was in a constant state of being remoulded; his fleshly body was growing stronger, and his cultivation base was rising.

The bronze lamp was burning brighter than ever as it absorbed the energy of Heaven and Earth, and the valuable, precious materials. As it grew stronger, it in turn helped Naruto to grow, causing incredible transformations within him as he grew more powerful.

As the process continued, Naruto's body became more and more suitable… to act as the vessel for the bronze lamp!

Before, his body had been most suited to the 33 Soul Lamps, but now, it was transforming in a way that would allow it to wield the power of that one bronze lamp!

That rebuilding process required that his Chakra passageways be broken down and then reconstructed. Light from the bronze lamp forged new Chakra passageways, which spread out to fill him. New blood vessels stretched out, and the pumping of his heart grew stronger. Every part of him was affected, until his body began to shine like a precious gem!

There was even a certain ancient feeling that appeared, as though Naruto's body had become a valuable, precious stone from ancient times. There was a chaotic, primeval Dao that seemed to fill him, to permeate every aspect of his flesh and blood, and to swirl around him.

His body seemed more ancient, its aura more primeval, and at the same time, he looked younger!

Even as Naruto was being transformed by the bronze lamp, something was happening in the lands below, where the half-planet existed. There could be seen a crimson sea.

It was not blood, but consisted of the condensed power of elemental fire. Within that crimson sea of fire was a huge turtle shell, upon which an old man sat cross-legged.

The turtle shell was like a sealing mark, which was apparently suppressing something that existed underneath the crimson sea of flames. The flames churned, and occasional beams of light would seep up from down below, as though whatever was being sealed underneath was attempting to break free.

The old man's face was pale white as he expended all possible effort to maintain the suppression of the seal. Because of the intensity of his work, he was unable to sense what was happening in the outside world.

He had no idea what had happened recently. The ancestral relic beneath the sea of flames had become active to a degree that far exceeded its activity in the past. In the past, it would occasionally become very animated every once in awhile, but such events would only last for a few days.

In contrast, this time it had remained active for several months!

Up above, Naruto continued the absorption process. The ancient air about him grew more prominent, and caused the starry sky above him to rumble with such intensity that the fluctuations spread out into the rest of Planet Vast Expanse!

The Heavens trembled, and clouds roiled. From a distance, it even looked as if a layer of distorted vortexes had appeared atop Planet Vast Expanse!

The brother-sister duo of Yun Shan and Yun Feng couldn't see these things, but if they could, Yun Feng would likely be reminded of what he had seen back on the flying shuttle!

The only difference was that the flying shuttle was small, whereas Planet Vast Expanse was… huge!

Over the course of the passing months, visiting cultivators on Planet Vast Expanse couldn't help but sense that something strange was happening. That was especially true of the last half month, during which the distorted vortexes appeared outside of the planet. Any who neared them would find their bodies being withered away rapidly. That terrifying fact ensured that few people dared to get close to them.

Even the mist of the Vast Expanse in the area seemed to have been affected, and began to flow ceaselessly. Eventually, the effect stretched out even farther. If it were possible to look down at the Vast Expanse from an extremely high vantage point, then Planet Vast Expanse would look every bit like a black hole.

That black hole was surrounded by a slowly spinning vortex which affected the entire area around it, and grew larger and larger as time went by!

Out in the Vast Expanse were countless bizarre entities who were now trembling. When they cast their gazes in the direction of Planet Vast Expanse, they could sense that something terrifying was slowly awakening there!

Time passed. Two months later, the seven 9-Essences Paragons were on the verge of losing their tempers. They had fully unleashed their cultivation bases, and had produced virtually all of the precious materials they possessed. They were now empty and drained, and yet Naruto's body in the cauldron was still withered, although it seemed to have improved slightly.

"Dammit, what is this thing? How can this corpse absorb such quantities of resources!"

"All of those resources were extremely precious and valuable. How is this even possible!?"

"By this point, there's no point in complaining. We need a big burst of energy to restore the corpse. Otherwise, everything else will have been a huge waste!" The seven Paragons gritted their teeth helplessly. As the saying goes, if you ride a tiger, it's hard to get off. They produced jade slips and sent various messages. Soon, numerous beams of light appeared from the main areas of the sect as cultivators brought more precious materials to feed into the huge cauldron.

"This is Dragonleaf Shoot…. We only have 350 grams of it in the entire sect!"

"Why did you even bring this Pinegod Cone here? It's… it's… alright, fine!" The seven Paragons felt their hearts twinge with pain; it had only taken a short six months or so for the precious materials they had spent countless years gathering for the sect, to disappear into the cauldron.

The cauldron thrummed, and inside, Naruto's body was actually reverting from its withered state. However, he was continuously suppressing those effects. In some ways, he was feeling a lot of pressure himself.

His fleshly body was getting stronger, and his cultivation base was rising. Gradually, everything began to stabilize. Within the precious materials were some things that could be categorized as Essences of all living things. When those items merged into Naruto's forehead, the Hex marks there gradually filled with more Essence power.

His body was being completely remoulded, completely transformed!

Surprised, Naruto let out a sigh. "I can't keep this up much longer…. Those guys are crazy! They're throwing so much stuff in that even the bronze lamp can't absorb it quickly enough."

More time passed, a half month. Outside of the cauldron, the seven

Paragons' hearts raged with flames of fury. The resources of the Vast Expanse School were drawn upon once more. By this point, the energy of Heaven and Earth in the starry sky was showing signs of being dried up. The seven Paragons couldn't take it any longer.

"Dammit! I give up! I'm gonna drag that corpse out and cut it open to find out what's going on!"

"This is no cultivator, and definitely not Naruto! I checked into Naruto earlier, and he's a cultivator. What we have here is some allconsuming beast!"

"I quit!" The seven Paragons couldn't hold back their rage any longer, and shot toward the huge cauldron. Before they could get close, though, the cauldron itself began to emanate thunderous rumbling sounds. The energy of Heaven and Earth ceased moving toward it, and the medicinal brew suddenly went completely still.

Then, Naruto slowly rose up from within the shaking cauldron, to hover there in midair. He emanated shocking pressure that filled the entire planet, and spread out even further, causing the starry sky above Planet Vast Expanse to flash with strange colors.

It was at this point that the distortions which surrounded Planet Vast Expanse spread far and wide. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the mist in the boundless vortex was affected in numerous regions.

Countless living beings cried out and began to shake as looks of terror spread out on their faces. There were even certain ancient entities which not even the Vast Expanse School would dare to provoke, who were awoken from sleep, with looks of astonishment on their faces.

"Vast Expanse… Dao Body…."

Rumbling sounds filled the entire Vast Expanse, as it was filled by a gargantuan, indescribable vortex. Several shocking auras rose up from the Immortal God Continent, which looked off into the distance with somberness and shock.

The same thing happened on the Devil Realm Continent, in which several streams of divine sense looked off into the distance in disbelief.

Within the Green Coffin Vortex, the butterfly's wings fluttered as a bit of the mist of the Vast Expanse entered into the world of the butterfly, and could be sensed by many.

On the peak of the tallest mountain, tears streamed down Hinata's cheeks, and she smiled.

"I just sensed it…. You're out there…."

As the shocking events played out in the Vast Expanse, back above the half planet inside Planet Vast Expanse, Naruto floated there, the center of all attention among the surrounding disciples of the Vast Expanse School.

A fragrant aroma even spread out from him, and his body truly looked as if it had been moulded from precious gems. His facial features were the same, but in terms of his overall appearance, it was vastly different.

Anyone who looked at him would be shaken, as if they had just laid eyes on the most perfect treasure in existence!

As for the seven 9-Essences Paragons, they stepped forward, their eyes glowing with strange light as they examined Naruto.

Chapter 1415: Vast Expanse Dao Body!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1416

Chapter 1416: Welcoming Light!

Naruto's current physical appearance was difficult to put into words. It was matchlessly scintillating, and as he hung there above the enormous cauldron, dazzling, jewel-like light spread out that seemed capable of outshining all other gems or treasures.

Shocking fluctuations spread out in all directions from him, which caused even more vortexes to appear outside in the Vast Expanse.

As of this moment, the old man in the violet-gold robe, as well as the other six Paragons, were gasping. They couldn't help but stare at what had sucked away the better part of a year, as well as countless precious materials from the sect and even their own cultivation base power. What had been moulded… was a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering fleshly body.

It was at this point that, deep in the lands down below, the old man on top of the turtle shell finally opened his eyes. The sea of flames had finally calmed down; whatever it was that had agitated the ancestral relic inside of the sea of flames had finally vanished.

The old man looked exhausted, but when he sent his divine sense out and saw Naruto, his jaw dropped, and his eyes began to shine.

"Vast Expanse… Dao Body!" he murmured in disbelief.

He wasn't the only shocked one. The other seven Paragons were equally astonished as they sensed Naruto's treasure-like body, and as they studied the fluctuations emanating off of him, they quickly realized what it all signified.

"Vast Expanse Dao Body!"

Gasps rang out, along with expressions revealing mixed emotions. There were even some within whose eyes appeared glints of greed.

Considering that 9-Essences Paragons were feeling greedy, it was easy to see how rare a Vast Expanse Dao Body was!

Of course, this Dao Body was actually not referring to a specific type of fleshly body, but was more a general classification!

Any fleshly body with the right qualifications and potential, after reaching a certain point, would incite changes in the Vast Expanse that the Vast Expanse itself had to suppress. At that time, it could be called a Vast Expanse Dao Body.

The seven Paragons' eyes were glittering, and all the lands around them were trembling. The old man on the turtle shell sent his divine sense out to form a clone, which, as soon as it appeared, caused the other seven Paragons to bury their feelings.

The divine sense clone wore a long white robe, and looked exactly like the old man back on the turtle shell. As he stood there studying Naruto, he raised his right hand and touched the corpse's forehead. At that point, boundless divine sense exploded out into Naruto.

This time, he spent even more time examining him than last time. An hour later, he lowered his hand. He had just used all of the divine sense power he could muster to thoroughly inspect Naruto inside and out, to confirm that there was no trace of a soul inside. Feeling a bit more relaxed, he turned to look at the other seven Paragons.

"You people don't want to Transcend?!" he asked, a stern gleam in his eyes. His voice wasn't loud, but it contained a shocking pressure that spread out in all directions, causing the other Paragons to sink further into silence.

"Even I can't help but covet this Vast Expanse Dao Body. I might not be able to possess it, but I could turn it into a puppet that would be an extremely helpful asset, to say the least.

"But would that be worth forsaking Transcendence?!

"Our Vast Expanse School is an offshoot of the Vast Expanse Society.

And what is our purpose in this starry sky? !? Have you forgotten?! 1

"Within the necropolis of the first generation Patriarch of the Vast Expanse is the method for Transcendence. That is the mission of the Vast Expanse School!

"After all of these years and years of searching, we've finally found hope. Now all we need is for the main sect on the outside to send Paragon Heaven-Eye down to us. Supposedly, he only recently stepped into the 9-Essences level, but he has a Dao eye. This Vast Expanse Dao Body was prepared expressly for him, and will play a vital function in the overall plan!

"If we can find the secret of Transcendence inside the Patriarch's necropolis, then all of us will have the same hope to Transcend. The Vast Expanse Society on the outside, the main sect, is not easy to get into, but if we Transcend, then we will be able to leave the Vast Expanse at any time. When that happens, we will definitely have extremely high positions within the Vast Expanse Society!

"When you compare Transcendence to a piddling Vast Expanse Dao Body, I don't even need to explain which is more important!" He swished his sleeve, causing Naruto's body to fly out to the central region of the half planet, where… nine primitive-looking altars rose high into the sky.

Naruto's corpse came to rest on the ninth of those altars, where it lay unmoving.

"Make preparations! Contact the Vast Expanse Society on the outside. In three days, we will prepare to receive the Ninth Paragon!" With that, the old man's clone body vanished. Everything was very quiet, and the old man in the violet-gold robe took a deep breath.

"The Sect Leader is right. After all these years of preparations, and all of the waiting, when hope for Transcendence is finally right in front of us… a Vast Expanse Dao Body is not even worth thinking about!" Sighing, he clasped hands to the others and then walked away.

The others remained silent for a moment, but soon wry smiles appeared on their faces. Shaking their heads, they suppressed the greed they felt for the Vast Expanse Dao Body, and returned one by one to their secluded meditation, where they had three days to restore their cultivation bases back to their peak.

Those three days passed by in a flash. The starry sky outside of Planet Vast Expanse had returned to normal, the majestic vortexes had faded away, and the visiting cultivators returned to their normal affairs. However, the strange signs and portents which had occurred were firmly fixed into the minds of all. For those people, no amount of investigation or inquiry revealed any clues about what had happened.

After the third day, eight beams of light shot through the air of the halfplanet toward the nine altars. In the lead was the Vast Expanse School's Sect Leader. Usually, his time was occupied suppressing what was underneath the sea of flames, and he rarely came out. But now, he was here with his true self, which sat down cross-legged on the first altar.

The other seven Patriarchs, including the old man in the violet-gold robe, landed on the various platforms, then performed double-handed incantation gestures as they rotated their cultivation bases.

Simultaneously, innumerable Vast Expanse School disciples appeared in their location on the half-planet. As they sat down cross-legged, they appeared to be organized into an enormous spell formation.

Furthermore, countless asteroids outside of the planet itself were also meticulously organized, causing flickering light to radiate out, and the starlight to fill with dense energy of Heaven and Earth.

Even more Vast Expanse School disciples were visible elsewhere on Planet Vast Expanse, sitting in meditation at the behest of the sect itself. Gradually, the auras of all of the disciples merged together into a whole.

On this day, all cultivators on Planet Vast Expanse who were not members of the Vast Expanse School were prohibited from flying in the air. Any violators would be executed immediately without question.

On this day, Planet Vast Expanse was locked down. No one was allowed to enter!

On this day, all of Planet Vast Expanse thrummed with energy, and rumbling sounds emanated out from it into the starry sky.

Furthermore, a beam of light shot out from the inner part of Planet Vast Expanse, from the turtle shell atop the sea of flames in the half-planet!

According to rumors, the Vast Expanse School had a teleportation portal which connected to outside of the Vast Expanse. In some ways that was true, and in some ways that was false. What was true was that there really was a spell formation. The false part was that… only a Transcendent cultivator could use that teleportation portal to leave!

However, to do that, a Transcendent cultivator wouldn't actually need the aid of such a spell formation.

The true purpose of the teleportation portal was to receive people from the outside, to lock down a position for such people, to transport souls!

This connection between the inside and the outside of the Vast Expanse enabled powerful experts from the outside to send a soul body inside. It was too difficult for a fleshly body to survive the process. It would be destroyed in order to keep the soul body whole and safe as it entered the Vast Expanse.

The cost to operate the teleportation portal was astronomical.

Furthermore, both the Vast Expanse School on the inside and the Vast Expanse Society on the outside had to pay a huge price.

Because of the huge cost, it took eras and eras of preparation. In fact, throughout all the years of the Vast Expanse School's existence, it had only been used a few times.

Amidst rumbling sounds, brilliant light rocketed off of the turtle shell in the sea of flames. It pierced through the lands to appear outside of the half-planet, amongst the nine altars. The altars absorbed the light, and then eight of the people atop the altars unleashed their cultivation bases, adding to the teleportation power.

Naruto lay on the ninth altar. From within the bronze lamp, his soul looked out coldly at what was happening. He knew that this would be the final test. If he could pass it safely, then from now on, he would be the Ninth Paragon of the Vast Expanse School.

Not only would he have a new identity, he would gain the protection of the Vast Expanse School. That was critical as far as he was concerned.

"I'll exterminate this incoming soul, and when I open my eyes, I will be Naruto, and also… the Vast Expanse School's Ninth Paragon." He examined the bronze lamp that he was hiding in, and smiled. This mysterious and powerful lamp was the main reason why he was so confident in this gamble.

"I have no deep enmity toward you people. If you want to assign blame, then you should blame… yourselves for trying to possess my body!" His eyes flickered as he sank further into the bronze lamp and waited… for his enemy to arrive.

The ninth altar flickered with bright light that converged into a pillar which shot up off of the half-planet and into the inner starry sky. At the same time, the half-planet began to move in rotation, and the asteroids which filled the starry sky began to emanate dazzling light.

Countless voices could be heard chanting scriptures, which emanated off of the half-planet; at the same time, the pillar of light appeared above the lands of Planet Vast Expanse.

The sound of the chanting scriptures bolstered the light; the lands of

Planet Vast Expanse were shaking, and the mountains were trembling. The sea of flames became still as the light shot out into the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, rising higher and higher until no one could see it.

At that point, everyone on Planet Vast Expanse began to tremble. Countless life forms bowed their heads, and looks of intense focus appeared in the eyes of the disciples of the Vast Expanse School. As for all the other cultivators, they were completely shaken.

Everyone was now waiting!

Naruto's soul remained in the bronze lamp, eyes shining with a mysterious, incisive light!

"The critical moment has arrived. If I succeed, I can settle down in the Vast Expanse School, and will have a greater hope of getting my revenge. If I fail….

"I won't fail! Even though the Sect Leader of the Vast Expanse School most likely still has suspicions about my soul, I… won't fail!" Within Naruto's eyes, a red, Demonic glow could be seen!

The Vast Expanse Society was actually mentioned in chapter 1408 by the parrot ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1417

Chapter 1417: Who Cares If You Know!?

In the same moment that the pillar of light rose up off of the planet and out into the Vast Expanse, there were three areas on Planet Vast Expanse itself where heart-pounding fluctuations were emanating out.

The first location was a garden that looked like a celestial paradise. In one particular valley was a lake, next to which a young man sat crosslegged, wearing a long golden robe. He looked up, and as he did, his previously ordinary pupils suddenly distorted into oval shapes.

"Yet again someone descends. Is it really so easy for these kids of the younger generation to find the Patriarch's necropolis?!

"If the method for Transcendence were so simple, then after all these countless years, wouldn't there be more than just four or five people who have succeeded?"

The second location was far, far away from the first. It was an ice cave, filled with fluttering snow. A woman stood there silently, looking up into the Heavens, and the pillar of light. Her eyes seemed to contain reminiscence, as well as other mixed emotions. After a moment, it all transformed into a light sigh.

"I have no desire to search for the Patriarch's necropolis, nor to

Transcend. I only wish… to return home."

Gradually, the woman disappeared behind the masses of snowflakes.

Coincidentally, the third location was almost the opposite of the second. It was a scorching desert, where a violet sandstorm raged. If one looked closely, it would be possible to make out the vague image of a person walking through that sandstorm.

When the pillar of light rose up, that person looked up, and then began to cackle shrilly.

"Ah, another. I wonder who it is this time?"

The lands of Planet Vast Expanse quaked as the pillar of light sent wild ripples out into the sky. It was hard to say whether or not it was because of Naruto's Vast Expanse Dao Body, but many beings within the Vast Expanse were now paying close attention to what was happening.

It was at this point that a figure suddenly appeared within the pillar of light. It was a discarnate soul whose fleshly body was crumbling around it. Apparently, the soul was struggling to make its way down.

Apparently there were invisible barriers blocking its way, and as the soul descended, it began to disperse. However, in the very center of the soul was a violet eye, which emanated an air of madness, and continued to follow the pillar of light toward Planet Vast Expanse!

During the process, more of the soul dispersed, but at the same time, it increased its speed. Gradually, thunderous booms began to echo out from within the pillar of light.

Soon the soul was quite close to Planet Vast Expanse. However, at that point it seemed to run into some incredibly powerful obstacle, and the soul began to fully disperse. An unyielding roar echoed out, and then, eight figures appeared in the area surrounding the soul.

Closer inspection would reveal that those eight figures were none other than the Sect Leader and the other seven 9-Essences Paragons. They unleashed massive power to break the barrier down, causing the violet eye to gleam with excitement as they then escorted it down toward Planet Vast Expanse.

They moved with incredible speed, destroying any and all barriers which appeared. By the time the group actually reached Planet Vast Expanse, the soul had dispersed, leaving behind nothing but the eye.

The eye radiated madness, but also pain. It was covered with countless cracks and crevices, and was hovering on the verge of collapse. Apparently, the other eight Paragons could do nothing about that other than increase their speed and usher the eye toward the fleshly body they had prepared for it.

At the same time, the cultivators on Planet Vast Expanse saw what was happening, and their minds were filled with utter shock.

The sounds of scriptures being chanted by the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School seemed to contain a strange power which filled the area, which fused into the pillar of light and helped the eye to resist the collapse.

Rumbling echoed out as the violet eye reached Planet Vast Expanse, passed down through the lands into the inner planet, and then appeared in the air above the ninth altar, where Naruto lay stretched out.

By this point, the eye was almost completely covered with cracks, and seemed as if it might collapse at any moment. However, it was in that very moment that it slammed into Naruto's forehead and began to bore into him.

When the eye finally merged into Naruto, the Paragons on the other eight altars all reacted in the same way.

"Success!" they cried, opening their eyes and laughing coldly.

The only one who didn't respond in that way was the Sect Leader, who snorted coldly as his eyes opened.

"Fellow Daoists," he said coolly, "activate the Soulseal Formation. Help the Ninth Paragon suppress the discarnate soul in that body!" He waved his hand and then pointed toward Naruto laying there on the ninth altar.

The other seven Paragons didn't seem surprised at all by the Sect Leader's command, almost as if they had been prepared for this. Chuckling coldly, they simultaneously unleashed cultivation base power, sending ripples out in all directions. With the Sect Leader taking the lead, they combined their power to form a sealing mark which descended onto Naruto.

Inside the bronze lamp, Naruto's soul had been preparing to attack the violet eye as soon as it entered. But then his face fell, and he looked around to find a barrier trapping his soul and preventing it from emerging.

It was at this point that the Sect Leader began to speak.

"Fellow Daoist, I don't care who you are, but it's safe to assume you're Naruto from the Mountain and Sea Realm. Although I can't tell where your discarnate soul is hiding, nor do I have any proof of its actual existence…

"I still believe that your arrival was far too coincidental!

"You just so happened to come in the exact moment when we needed a corpse?

"Perhaps it really was a coincidence. Perhaps it was even a coincidence that you consumed a vast amount of precious materials belonging to the Vast Expanse School. However, it strikes me that there's too little of your soul left, and it put up too little of a struggle. This, of course, might just be a coincidence due to the severe injuries you sustained, which caused you to be so weak.

"It's possible that you heard my discussions with my fellow sect members here, and that was why you never revealed any traces of your presence. Of course, there is another possibility, and that is that your soul truly has dispersed in all aspects.

"However, the presence of so many coincidences all at the same time is too suspicious. Perhaps I'm being a bit paranoid, but I believe that there is a high likelihood that your soul has not, in fact, dispersed!

"You have been waiting for this very moment to wipe out the Vast Expanse School's Ninth Paragon, and take his place!

"Therefore, we came prepared. That ninth altar you are on also serves as a suppressor of souls, and is effective on any soul that does not cultivate the magic of the Vast Expanse School!

"Regardless of whether or not you are still there inside your body, and regardless of whether or not I'm paranoid, now that the seal has been activated, I can rest at ease." As the old Sect Leader's voice echoed out, the combined effort of the eight Paragons caused the power of the Soulseal Formation to crush down. That in turn allowed the violet eye to take root inside of Naruto, to spread tendril-like soul strands throughout his body.

At the same time, a violet mark could be seen on his forehead. It began to open up, taking control of everything, revealing… a violet eye!

Almost as soon as it appeared, a fierce gleam could be seen in the eye. Then, it closed, and even more soul strands went into Naruto, filling his Chakra passageways, his heart, his mind, his everything.

Inside the bronze lamp, Naruto's soul frowned. He watched coldly as all of this happened, and could feel the effects of the soul sealing carried out by the Sect Leader and the others.

"So, they were ready for me," he thought, eyes flickering. However, he didn't seem very surprised. After all, people who practiced cultivation all the way to the 9-Essences level were sure to be extraordinary in terms of wisdom and foresight.

"Well, in that case… I'll just have to go with my backup plan. If it turns out I can't erase this other soul, then I'll… consume it!"

Naruto's eyes glittered as the bronze lamp suddenly flared with light and then… a crack opened up on its surface. In the instant that the crack appeared, the soul strands of the Ninth Paragon tried to force their way in. Meanwhile, the faces of the Sect Leader and the other Paragons flickered.

Although they had had their suspicions, they hadn't dared to make a determination as to whether or not Naruto was truly still in his body. After all, the most rigorous inspections hadn't turned up the slightest evidence of that.

But now that the bronze lamp had opened up a bit, and the soul strands of the Ninth Paragon shot toward it, the eight Paragons could sense what was happening.

"So, he really is still around!" Cold, grim expressions appeared on their faces, and they sent their divine sense pouring toward Naruto's body to help the Ninth Paragon suppress Naruto's soul.

However, before their streams of divine sense could enter Naruto's body, the bronze lamp flashed, and a power of expulsion erupted out, blocking the eight streams of divine sense outside of the body!

Their faces fell. As for Naruto, he now had a bit of extra time. His soul unhesitatingly shot out toward the soul strands belonging to the Ninth Paragon. Instantly, the two intertwined, and began to try to consume each other.

At the same time, Naruto's Demonic Chakra erupted out, and his soul transformed. The multifariousness of the Demon caused his own soul to be indistinguishably mixed with the soul strands. That in turn caused his ability to consume them to increase dramatically!

The soul strands could sense the incredible danger, and tried to fight back. However, it was impossible to tell which were which!

The Sect Leader and the other eight Paragons had grim faces as they looked on. They could sense that the souls of Naruto and the Ninth

Paragon were intermixed, but there was nothing they could do to intervene.

"How could this be happening!?"

"Dammit!" Gleams of rage appeared in their eyes. The Sect Leader looked extremely grim, and yet, couldn't help but sigh with a bit of admiration.

"No wonder this Naruto was able to tangle with the Immortal God

Continent and the Devil Realm…. He used his own body as bait for our Vast Expanse School. He set up a sinister scheme, and even anticipated that he would be discovered by us. I was simply too self-confident.

"This is a battle between souls, and one will end up consuming the other. We cannot interfere. Victory will be decided by which among their souls is the strongest."

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1418

Chapter 1418: Ninth Paragon!

The Sect Leader of the Vast Expanse School, along with the seven other Paragons, were all sitting cross-legged on the altars, looking very grimfaced.

Although they couldn't directly help the Ninth Paragon, the Soulseal

Formation was still in place, exerting pressure onto Naruto's soul.

Because the formation only targeted cultivators who did not cultivate the magic of the Vast Expanse School, it was the most effective tool at their disposal. Unfortunately for them, when they tried to send their divine sense into Naruto, a powerful force rebuffed them. That only served to make Naruto seem more mystifying to them.

Of course, it was all because of the bronze lamp. Furthermore, it forced them to rely only on the general sensation they felt to understand what was happening. They couldn't directly observe. When you added in Naruto's multifarious Demonic qi, it meant that what they sensed was often wrong.

Plus there was the fact that they couldn't even tell exactly where Naruto's soul was hiding, which made it difficult for them to judge exactly how effective the Soulseal Formation was.

It was just as the Sect Leader had said: everything would come down to who was stronger: Naruto, or the Ninth Paragon.

One of them had shocking natural talent, and had relied on his own cultivation base to become a 9-Essences Paragon in the Vast Expanse Society. He even possessed a Dao eye, which could cause shocking transformations in Heaven and Earth. The other had been propelled to the 9-Essences level via legacy, and yet regardless of whether it was in terms of his status or his background, he had reached the pinnacle of his home Realm. He had experienced countless dangers, had watched his world be destroyed, and had battled with both the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent.

As for which one of these two souls was stronger… the Sect Leader and the other Paragons had no way to say for sure.

They could only wait.

Days passed one by one. Soon, half a month had gone by.

From the outside, there didn't seem to be anything special about Naruto. However, inside, a vicious battle was being fought with the soul of the Ninth Paragon. The bronze lamp ensured that the effects of the Soulseal Formation were blocked, allowing Naruto to fight with complete viciousness, a viciousness that the Ninth Paragon couldn't even come close to matching.

Even more important was that Naruto's soul was backed by his Demonic qi. Its maddening, multifarious nature was completely terrifying, and was a constant pressure on the Ninth Paragon.

"Dammit. Dammit!" the Ninth Patriarch howled, although the sound was confined within the body. How could he ever have imagined that something like this would happen immediately upon his arrival?

All of his grand aspirations, his wild ambitions, his complex machinations, and even his dream of Transcendence, were now being utterly shaken. In fact, he was even able to sense that his consciousness was starting to fade.

Gradually, he had to admit that when it came to this battle of mutual consumption… he was not a match for Naruto!

He wallowed in his bitterness as time passed. Naruto's soul now controlled more than half of his body. In contrast, the Ninth Paragon was only growing weaker and weaker. Eventually, it reached the point where he was on the verge of being completely consumed.

"Give me a chance to live!" he wailed. "There is no enmity between us!" Shaken, he refused to accept the idea of dying in this way.

In almost the same moment that his words echoed out, Naruto's soul paused for a moment, then swallowed what remained of the Ninth

Paragon's soul, leaving behind only a tiny strand, like a flickering spark.

"You're right, there is no enmity between us," Naruto said coolly. "I won't kill you. I'll leave you with this tiny soul seed. One day in the future, I'll give you your freedom!" Even as his voice echoed out, memories and Daoist magics belonging to the Ninth Paragon exploded out within his soul.

The power of his soul increased with maddening rapidity. In the blink of an eye, it broke past its previous limit. After all, consuming the soul of a 9-Essences Paragon counted as incredible good fortune. Although it didn't quite match up to what had happened with Shui Dongliu, it came close!

It was possible to imagine that, once Naruto regained complete control over himself, with his Vast Expanse Dao Body and increased soul power, then his battle prowess would exceed that of an ordinary 9Essences Paragon. He wouldn't quite be at the peak, but he would definitely be in the mid 9-Essences level!

Meanwhile, the eight Paragons were still there on the altars, staring at Naruto with looks of vigilance and hesitation on their faces.

After half a month of observation, they could tell that there was no longer any chaos within Naruto. Clearly, one of the souls had consumed the other!

Furthermore, the soul which had emerged as the winner was now much more powerful!

"Which one of them was victorious?" said the old man in the violet-gold robe, his voice soft. The others were unwilling to offer any speculation.

"The Soulseal Formation isn't doing anything now. The Ninth Paragon must have succeeded…."

"If he did, then the Soulseal Formation would automatically cease to have any effect. However, if Naruto succeeded, and absorbed the Ninth Paragon's soul, then he would also become equipped with the characteristics of Vast Expanse techniques, and the result could possibly be the same."

Even as everyone hesitated, the Sect Leader's eyes glittered. "We'll know the answer soon enough!"

Killing intent swirled in his eyes, and deep inside, he sighed. As soon as he had laid eyes on Naruto, he had come up with the idea of using his corpse instead of the other 8-Essences Paragon corpse they had prepared. After all, a 9-Essences corpse would ensure that the Ninth Paragon's Dao eye would retain the majority of its power.

Then the Vast Expanse Dao Body had appeared, and he was even more convinced to go through with his plan. Even though there was something suspicious about the corpse, he was confident that they could handle the situation.

Actually, if it hadn't been for the bronze lamp, the entire sequence of events would have been within his complete control.

Killing intent swirled amongst the other Paragons. If it turned out that the Ninth Paragon's soul had been consumed in front of their very eyes, the sheer magnitude of such an affront would cause their desire to kill Naruto to grow even more intense.

The same thought was running through all of their minds. "I truly hope that the Ninth Paragon was victorious!"

As the eight Paragons looked on silently, Naruto continued on with the process of fully assimilating the soul. He saw the Ninth Paragon's life, his techniques, his Dao eye, and his memories. However, he saw nothing regarding the world beyond the Vast Expanse. It was almost as if all information regarding the outside had been sealed, and though Naruto could sense its existence, he had no way of unlocking and viewing it.

However, he was made aware of the Vast Expanse School's plans regarding the necropolis. Not a bit of that information was withheld.

Time passed. The consumption and absorption process took an entire month. Afterward, when Naruto had fully assimilated the Ninth Paragon's soul, he unleashed his own soul to completely fill his body.

As that happened, he was flooded with the sensation of being able to control his own body again. His heartbeat was no longer slow and monotonous, but thrummed with life and energy, and his Chakra and blood flowed more and more quickly. Furthermore, his aura ceased emanating out, but was contained inside of him.

However, this indicated that Naruto's battle prowess was completely different from before, and the pressure experienced by the other eight Paragons was now even more intense.

The Sect Leader and the other Paragons all kept their eyes fixed fully on Naruto. They knew that the answer to their question would soon be revealed.

One breath of time passed. Then another, and another….

Naruto's finger twitched, and his eyelids trembled. After ten breaths of time passed, he had gathered enough strength that… his eyes opened!

When that happened, the surrounding eight Paragons all unleashed their power. A shapeless tempest sprang up, transforming into a power of extermination that could be sent crushing down onto Naruto at a moment's notice.

However, Naruto's expression didn't even flicker. He opened his eyes and looked up at the starry sky, blankly at first, but then with more and more lucidity.

His mind filled with countless memories of the Mountain and Sea Realm, ending with the destruction of the Realm itself. He remembered the Mountain and Sea Butterfly fluttering toward the green coffin. He remembered the parrot wiping its mind.

Naruto saw all of that, and then buried it deep within him. What could be seen on his face now made him look very different from before. There was no smile, and no warmth. There was only… icy coldness.

His entire person was like a block of ice!

He seemed completely ambivalent toward the storm of killing intent around him as he slowly rose to a sitting position, looking around coldly at the other Paragons.

The Paragons had been paying very close attention to everything about Naruto. They noticed the blankness in his eyes, and then saw them turn lucid. They could tell that he was reminiscing about the past, and they could see how cold he had become.

However, none of those things told them much. If the awakened soul was Naruto, it would make sense for him to look blank, then lucid, then recall memories, then turn icy cold.

However, if it was the Ninth Paragon, it would have been the same. He would have looked blankly around at the new world, then grown lucid as he realized where he was. No doubt, he would recall memories of his time outside the Vast Expanse, as well as the fight between himself and Naruto. In the end, he would look around at these Paragons who had dragged him into an almost fatal ambush, and of course his expression would be icy!

"Who are you?!" asked the Sect Leader. In addition to the killing intent, other mixed emotions could be seen in his eyes. Even now that Naruto was awake… he wasn't sure who he was.

Naruto turned, eyes icy as he stared at the Sect Leader. "Who do you think I am?"

Their gazes met, and the Sect Leader's eyes began to glow as his divine sense surged into a mighty, crushing force.

"You're Naruto!" In response to his words, the other Paragons' faces flickered, and their killing intent surged, becoming corporeal as it bore down destructively on Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he faced the combined killing intent of eight Paragons. Suddenly, a flash of light could be seen on his forehead, a violet streak that opened up to reveal an eye!

It was none other than the Ninth Paragon's Dao eye!

When the Dao eye opened, everything in the entire world went still. A consummate pressure radiated out, allowing him to stand up to the combined killing intent of all of his opponents.

In response, their faces flickered. Simultaneously, Naruto rose to his feet, and as he did, wild colors flashed in the sky and a huge wind kicked up.

It was as if a primordial and ancient will were awakening!

"I'm the Ninth Paragon!" he said, his voice booming like thunder.

The Sect Leader's eyes flickered as he examined the Dao eye. Inwardly, he sighed and buried his suspicions deep within his heart. Suddenly, he laughed.

"Ah, you truly are the Ninth Paragon of our Vast Expanse School!" The other Paragons looked on silently. Mixed emotions could be seen in their eyes as they looked at the Dao eye, but after a moment, they also began to laugh.

"Welcome, Ninth Paragon. Welcome to the Vast Expanse!"

 _Who you really are doesn't matter. As long as you have that Dao eye, and can wield its power… then you are the Ninth Paragon!_

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1419

Chapter 1419: Putting Down Roots!

Whether or not he was really the Ninth Paragon didn't matter. The Sect

Leader of the Vast Expanse School, as well as the other 9-Essences Paragons, had never actually met the Ninth Paragon, so naturally, there were no feelings of friendship between them.

The only reason they needed him was to help with their plan.

Furthermore, the most important thing was the Dao eye, which would be of incredible usefulness to them.

That was why they had hoped that the incoming Ninth Paragon would be even stronger in terms of cultivation base.

Now, regardless of whether or not the person they were looking at was Naruto or the Ninth Paragon, he had the Dao eye. With that, nothing else really mattered.

If he was the Ninth Paragon, then things were well and good. If he wasn't, then he would have to act like him!

The Sect Leader knew that, and thus he sighed. The other 9-Essences Paragons also knew, and so reacted with mixed feelings.

Naruto was aware of that fact as well. That was why he hadn't been surprised at all by the killing intent he saw when he opened his eyes.

And that was also why he had opened the Dao eye on his forehead.

When that Dao eye appeared, all danger faded away!

 _Believe me? Fine! Don't want to believe me…? You have no choice!_

As he stood there on the ninth altar, looking at the Sect Leader and the other Paragons, he smiled. It was a warm smile, devoid of the coldness from earlier. Then he clasped hands and bowed to the others.

"Many thanks to you, Fellow Daoists. I will do my best to help with the Vast Expanse School's plan." His smile and his words spoke to his current attitude.

In response, the Sect Leader's eyes flickered, and he laughed again. "Come, come, you've just arrived, and therefore don't know much about our Vast Expanse School. Allow me to introduce everyone."

With that, the Sect Leader jovially introduced the other seven Paragons.

One of them was the old man in the violet-gold robe who had purchased Naruto's corpse. His name was Shangguan Hong, and as he smiled and clasped hands to Naruto, a profound gleam could be seen in his eyes. 1

Naruto smiled broadly in return, and seemed to have missed the look in the man's eyes. After all the formal greetings were done, the Sect Leader arranged for Naruto to be escorted to the temple on the halfplanet which had been arranged ahead of time for the Ninth Paragon.

After Naruto left, the smiles on the faces of the Sect Leader and the other 9-Essences Paragons turned grim. They remained standing on the altars, silently watching Naruto disappear into the distance.

After a long moment passed, Shangguan Hong cleared his throat and said, "Well… that's it?"

Complex expressions could be seen on the faces of the others.

"There's no evidence. No way to prove whether or not he really is the

Ninth Paragon…."

"Not necessarily. But what would be the point in it? Whether he is or isn't doesn't matter. If he's not, and prefers to maintain a cover, it doesn't hurt us. If we expose him as a fraud, though, it could harm our own interests."

"Hmph. I can't believe we wasted all those resources to end up like this. Maybe we should contact the Vast Expanse Society and have someone else sent down…."

"We spent far too many years accumulating all of those resources. It's not possible to rebuild the collection any time soon. Besides, if the Vast Expanse Society learned of this matter, who knows how they might deal with us."

After a bit of discussion, everyone quieted down and looked over at the Sect Leader.

He closed his eyes for a few moments, and when they opened, they were shining brightly.

"As long as he helps us carry out the plan, then it doesn't matter who he is, he counts as the Ninth Paragon. Going forward, keep this matter between us." Having finished speaking, he turned and headed back to the turtle shell above the sea of flames to continue his watch.

After he left, he left single sentence floating behind him. "Notify the sect, spread word, and prepare for the ceremony to officially welcome the Ninth Paragon."

The other seven Paragons exchanged faint smiles. Strange gleams were buried deep in their eyes. Even after meeting Naruto and measuring him up, none of them felt any hatred toward him, or desire to kill him. In fact, they even admired him a bit.

"The ultimate figure of an entire Realm, someone who has tangled with both the Immortal God Realm and the Devil Realm. If he was able to make a comeback after dying… then he can't be underestimated, nor should he be provoked."

"How crafty and vicious. And also decisive. If he had made the slightest mistake, a huge battle would have erupted."

"And yet he managed to hit the nail on the head with that Dao eye. In the end, he basically put himself in an unassailable position."

"You all might think he is Naruto, but in my opinion, the Ninth Paragon would have done just the same." Some of the Paragons sighed, and others smiled. After exchanging a few more words, they dispersed.

Everything slowly went back to normal in the starry sky of the halfplanet.

A Vast Expanse School disciple respectfully led Naruto to the palace which had been set aside for the Ninth Paragon.

The palace encompassed an area of 300,000 meters, taking up almost an entire plain on the north side of the half-planet. It even had special secluded meditation facilities just for the Ninth patriarch. At first glance, it looked like a vast city.

It was spectacular to behold, complete with mountains, rivers, numerous lakes, and countless buildings. It was like a celestial garden, and at the very center was a towering pagoda, beneath which was an austere temple.

The pagoda was so high it seemed to touch the clouds. From a distance, it was possible to see that there were nine cities like this on the halfplanet, which of course corresponded to the nine Paragons of the Vast Expanse School.

Just outside of the city was a placard with calligraphy as flamboyant as dancing dragons and swirling phoenixes.

Ninth Paragon.

This was where Naruto was to live. The city was inhabited by 100,000 disciples who served as his guard force. Among their number were three Imperial Lords, seven Dao Sovereigns, dozens of Dao Lords, and over a hundred ordinary Dao Realm experts. The rest were either in the Ancient or Immortal realms.

That group in and of itself was enough to leave Naruto completely shaken, and gave him a hint as to the resources at the disposal of the Vast Expanse School.

In addition to the 100,000 guards were other members of their clans, as well as other ordinary disciples. All in all, the population of the city as a whole was well over a million.

At the moment, Naruto was seated cross-legged within the temple. Ten individuals stood there respectfully in front of him. These were none other than the three Imperial Lords and seven 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns.

There was something interesting about the Imperial Lords. Naruto wasn't sure how many Imperial Lords the Vast Expanse School had in total, nor how the considerations were made in their assignments. In any case, the Imperial Lords assigned as his guard were all women.

The three of them were all spectacularly beautiful. As cultivators who had reached the Dao Realm, that was no surprise. With the exception of people with odd perversions, all cultivators grew to be exceedingly good-looking by the time they had reached this level, regardless of how ugly they might have been previously. As for these three, they all seemed to be natural beauties, far beyond the ordinary.

If it were only the Imperial Lords who were women, it might not have been something unusual. However, all seven of the 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns were also women. Naruto couldn't help but be a bit surprised at that. It wasn't until he searched through the memories of the Ninth Paragon that he found the answer.

Back in the Vast Expanse Society, outside of the Vast Expanse, the Ninth Paragon had been fond of cultivating magic that required male and female cultivators. The more female vessels he had to drain, and the higher their cultivation bases, the more exciting he found the process.

Obviously, the Paragons from the Vast Expanse School were aware of that, and had made special arrangements. However, as of now, all of those special arrangements were somewhat meaningless.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he sat there in the temple, twirling a jade slip through his fingers. Within that jade slip were 100,000 souls, which ensured that Naruto had no need to use his cultivation base to keep all of his guards under control. With a single thought, he could kill all 100,000 of them.

"This Vast Expanse School is quite interesting," he murmured to himself. He looked up at the ten women in front of him, and most especially the three Imperial Lords.

Of those three, one seemed cold and icy to an extraordinary degree. Based on what Naruto knew about cultivation, he guessed that her personality had been affected by the techniques she cultivated, which were surely based on ice and coldness.

Another of the women had a warm smile on her face, and looked at Naruto with awe and respect. Earlier, she had been the one to explain to Naruto all of his powers within the sect, and also how the sect was organized into its various factions.

The third of the Imperial Lords had a stony face and seemed very somber. However, deep within her eyes was a revulsion for Naruto. Clearly, she was not happy at all at being assigned this position by the sect.

As for the seven 6-Essences Dao Sovereigns, most of them looked nervous. To them, he was the Ninth Paragon, someone far, far above them, and someone whose words were to be taken as commands.

"Alright, keep going," Naruto said coolly, smiling at the warm Imperial Lord.

She nodded and continued her explanation. "In addition to the 100,000 guards and 1,000,000 ordinary disciples, your excellency has a considerable section of land to the far north, set aside for raising starbeasts.

"Also upon our holy planet are 10,000,000 spirit fields under your control, tended by over 100,000,000 spirit peasants. In addition to that is a vein of Earthflame, which is one of the three ultimate alchemic resources on Planet Vast Expanse. The medicinal pills and magical items it produces account for thirty percent of the total yield for the Vast Expanse School." The Imperial Lord smiled at Naruto. When she spoke, her voice was like the the call of songbirds.

"You also possess a continent on the surface of Planet Vast Expanse, your majesty, which is known as the Vast Expanse Ninth Sect. That is where your Dao palace is located, and is also one of the temple complexes of the Vast Expanse School. There are hundreds of millions of disciples there, not to mention countless mortals.

"You are the ultimate authority within the Ninth Sect, and not even the other Paragons can interfere with your orders there. Even the exalted Sect Leader must request your permission before calling upon the resources there.

"In addition, of the 3,000,000 cities on the surface of Planet Vast Expanse, you exercise control over 300,000. You also control 131 businesses, including famous establishments like the Grand Banquet Pavilion, Celestial Benevolence Hall, and the 10,000 Treasures Mansion.

In total, the branches of all the business you own number in the millions.

"Then there are your holdings off of Planet Vast Expanse. They include 97 cultivator clans and 64 land masses. Those are only the things which can be numbered. You have countless other interests which are too vast to calculate."

"Among your direct subordinates are five 8-Essences Paragons and ten 7-Essences Paragons, stationed in various locations. As of now… they are all en route back here to pay their respects to you."

After hearing the woman's explanations, Naruto felt a bit out of sorts. He could never in his wildest imaginations have guessed that the Vast Expanse School's Ninth Paragon… would be given so much wealth.

Shangguan Hong's name in Chinese is 上官宏 shàngguān hóng. Shangguan is an uncommon two-character Chinese surname. Hong means "grand" or "magnificent" ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1420

Chapter 1420: A Direction for Transcendence!

"And that is just ten percent of what is officially part of the Vast Expanse School as a whole." The warm way she looked at Naruto never changed from beginning to end, not even when he ended up looking a bit dazed from her explanation.

As for the other Imperial Lords, the one was still cold-faced. As for the other, her disgusted gaze now seemed to contain a trace of scorn, although she apparently thought she was hiding it well.

Naruto's eyes glittered faintly. As of this point, he had a relatively overall idea of how powerful the Vast Expanse School was. At the very least, it was vastly larger and more powerful than the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Considering that the three peak powers in the Vast Expanse are the

Immortal God Continent, the Devil Realm Continent, and this Vast Expanse School," he thought, "it leads me to believe that in my battle with the former two, they weren't using all of their strength. Or perhaps there were some factions within them that chose to remain neutral."

Naruto closed his eyes in thought for a moment, and when he opened them, he looked calmly at the ten women in front of him, then waved his hand dismissively. Finally, he closed his eyes again.

They all bowed their heads and left. After departing the temple, they all went their separate ways to their various residences.

Everything in Ninth Paragon City was quiet, as though pressure was weighing down on everyone. The 100,000 cultivators who were stationed in the city were all very nervous.

There was a sun and moon in the inner planet, and soon night fell. The sky was black, with a field of glittering stars. Silence reigned. In the temple, Naruto finally opened his eyes.

After a moment of silence, he slowly rose to his feet and walked forward. Then he vanished. When he reappeared, he was far above the palace, on the towering pagoda which looked out over Ninth Paragon City.

A wind blew, sending his hair flying about, and his robes rustling. There he stood, looking down at the scene below for some time before lifting his head to gaze off into the distance.

He felt like a stranger here, and everything seemed unfamiliar. The terrain was unfamiliar, the people were unfamiliar, and even the starry sky up above was unfamiliar.

Naruto felt very lonely. He had always thought of himself as being strong, but when he thought back to everything that had occurred with the Mountain and Sea Realm, all he saw was a sea of blood, and countless familiar faces, screaming as they died. Gradually, he began to tremble.

He had once believed that his Dao was that of freedom and independence, that it was like a journey upon which all difficulties and setbacks were merely sights to be seen along the way. After looking at those sights, he could move on; his road stretched out into the beyond.

But now, with the Mountain and Sea Realm destroyed, with so many people dead, with the parrot and meat jelly having sacrificed everything so that he could have a chance at another life, it was impossible to view all of those past events as mere sights to see while on a journey.

If they really were just scenery, he would rather stay to enjoy them, and not continue on the journey.

He stood there, heart aching as he thought about the meat jelly in armor form, which he had long since removed and put back into his bag of holding.

Quite some time passed before he managed to get his emotions under control.

"Wait for me…. I will definitely return!

"When I do, I'll take all of you away. We'll leave the Green Coffin Vortex, and establish the Mountain and Sea Realm in the starry sky once again!

"And I will definitely do everything I can to bring back those of you who have been lost!" A fierce glint appeared in his eyes, which he eventually buried, returning to a state of calm.

Even the redness of his eyes faded. Even close examination would not reveal the bizarre crimson glow in his pupils.

"My Soul Lamps were destroyed," he murmured, "and now this bronze lamp has become my Prime Lamp." The wave of a hand caused the bronze lamp to appear, radiating its aura of primordial ancientness.

"Because of all the precious materials provided by the Vast Expanse School, it was able to remould my fleshly body into a form suitable for it." He looked thoughtfully at the bronze lamp.

"The lamp is burning, and I can sense that if I extinguish it, my cultivation base, and everything else about me… will experience explosive growth!

"From what I can tell, once that explosion occurs, based on the foundation I've built with my cultivation base, it will increase by double, triple, or maybe even… tenfold!" These were the conclusions he had reached after further study of the bronze lamp.

After another moment of silence, eight magical symbols appeared on his forehead. His cultivation base rumbled with power as a shocking energy erupted out. He reached his right hand out and placed it onto the lamp in an attempt to extinguish the flame.

The flame flickered, but no matter how much cultivation base power he threw at it, would not be extinguished.

"Still not quite there yet…. I need the Essences of all eight Hexing magics to be complete." After looking thoughtfully at the dancing flame within the bronze lamp, he gradually retracted his cultivation base power.

"Of the Essences of the eight Hexes, I've only gained full enlightenment of the Dao of the Eighth. The other seven Hexes are incomplete. However, the overall process won't be difficult. Once I finish absorbing Shui Dongliu's legacy, and spend some time in secluded meditation, I can definitely complete all of the Hexes.

"But what is most important, and what will give me the power to extinguish this lamp, is the missing… Ninth Hex!

"Of the Nine Hexes of the League of Demon Sealers, I have already acquired the first eight. As for the Ninth Hex, I'll need to create that one." Naruto looked out into the night, his eyes glittering.

"From what I can tell, my future path is clear. I must complete the

Essences of the eight Hexes. I must gain enlightenment of the Ninth Hex. I must then combine all the Hexes and use that power to extinguish the bronze lamp. Then I will use the power of the bronze lamp to break through the Paragon level and step into… the Daosource! Transcend!" Brilliant light shone within Naruto's eyes, making him look like a blazing sun.

"If I Transcend, toppling the Immortal God and Devil Realms will be as easy as flipping over my hand!

"If I Transcend, resurrecting my dead friends from the Mountains and Seas will be no challenge!

"If I Transcend, I can reunite with the parrot and the meat jelly. Time can be reversed, and the Mountain and Sea Realm can be reverted from a state of destruction… to its former glory!

"Transcendence. Entering the Daosource. At that point I… will become Essence. I will be a supreme and paramount Dao of Heaven and Earth!" Naruto was panting, and his mind spun.

"Daosource. Daosource. From ancient times until now, only a few people have ever Transcended into the Daosource Realm!"

"The Immortal God Continent is powerful because countless years ago, one of their people Transcended. It's the same with the Devil Realm. "I, Naruto… can also do the same!

"The bronze lamp is my hope for Transcendence. It is like the key to open a great door! Acquiring the Essences of the full group of eight Hexing magics will not be difficult. The true difficulty lies in the Ninth Hex!

"I must gain enlightenment to create that Ninth Hex…." Naruto's eyes shone brightly; he had already come to a vague conclusion regarding that Ninth Hex. "The Seal the Heavens Incantation will be my Ninth Hex!"

He looked off into the distance as the darkness of night began to give way to the bright glow of day, illuminating his entire person.

The arrival of the Ninth Paragon was a huge matter for the Vast Expanse School. All of the millions upon millions of disciples in the sect were very excited. Of course, news about the matter rapidly spread throughout Planet Vast Expanse as well as the starry sky. In the following months, many of the powers in the region of the Vast Expanse School learned of the matter.

Endless streams of people came to offer congratulations, ensuring that the whole sect was abuzz with activity. Far more cultivators came and went than usual.

As the Ninth Paragon, Naruto actually remained undisturbed. He tasked the three female Imperial Lords with handling all matters. Even when other Paragons who were under his command came, he remained in secluded meditation.

That only served to make his subordinates more nervous. After all, Uzumaki

Narutowas one of the nine most important people in the entire Vast Expanse School, and also had a terrifying cultivation base. At the same time, all of the outstanding individuals who made up the forces under his command were anxiously trying to determine what he liked and didn't like.

That was the only way for them to ensure that matters went smoothly in the days to come.

The grand ceremony was held several months later. It was a huge affair that involved all of Planet Vast Expanse, and included all the cultivator clans affiliated with the Vast Expanse School, as well as the other land masses in the area.

The ceremony itself lasted for a month, but Naruto only made one appearance in which people actually had the chance to lay eyes on him. Even though he only showed his face once, the coldness and pressure that radiated off of him was enough to give everyone a feeling of being stifled.

That was especially true of the Paragons under Naruto's command.

They waited for quite some time in Ninth Paragon City before Naruto received them individually. After their audience, each and every one had unsightly expressions on their faces, eyes filled with both hesitation but also a sliver of anticipation.

What Naruto had issued to them was his first order after becoming the Ninth Paragon!

"Use all available resources to expand our influence, beginning immediately. Within a thousand years, I want my forces to increase by several times at the minimum!"

The orders were quickly passed down. Whether or not people understood them or even approved, within the domain of the Ninth Paragon, his words were commands!

Whether or not people wanted to comply… they had to!

The forces of the Ninth Paragon immediately went wild with activity. They began to expand, to invade, to raid, and to multiply.

Naruto didn't care how they went about it. He only cared about the Mountain and Sea Realm, and his revenge. He didn't want to rest all his hopes on his Transcendence. Therefore, he would prepare… for the possibility that he wouldn't Transcend; if that happened, he still needed to possess the wherewithal to get his revenge.

He needed more people. He needed more power. He needed to prepare to make his future declaration of war.

—–

Note from Deathblade: Shortly before this chapter was originally released, Er Gen dropped down to doing only about two chapter updates per day, sometimes even one. For a long time before that he was doing three or four. He addressed the issue in a note at the end of this chapter:

Note from Er Gen: Recently I've been planning some of the upcoming scenes. Book 9 is very important; there are a lot of mysteries to reveal, and situations to resolve. I need more time working with my general outline, so much so that I've been working on it almost every day, either getting rid of things or adding things.

Because of that, my writing has slowed down and the updates have been coming later than usual. I hope you can understand, brothers and sisters.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1421

Chapter 1421: Provocation!

When Shangguan Hong and the others learned of what Naruto was doing, they did nothing to stop him. The Sect Leader contemplated the matter briefly, then chose to ignore it.

As long as Naruto's actions didn't affect them or their plans, then he could do as he pleased. As long as he didn't do something to endanger the entire Vast Expanse School… then they didn't care what he did.

Furthermore, Naruto was careful in his actions. He only used his own forces, and he only expanded into areas that the Vast Expanse School didn't already control.

As his forces began operations, he chose to go into secluded meditation in Ninth Paragon City, and would only receive sporadic updates regarding affairs on the outside.

Time passed. In the blink of an eye, ten years had gone by.

During that time, Naruto left Ninth Paragon City on only one occasion. The rest of the time, he remained in secluded meditation while his forces focused on expanding via war and other methods.

Soon, the Ninth Paragon's fame grew in the Vast Expanse as a whole. Eventually, open recruitment began, and vast amounts of new disciples swelled the ranks.

During the ten years that passed, the Paragons under Naruto's command were like sharp blades that cut down anyone in their path. As for the 100,000 cultivators who made up his main force, any time they fought in battle, they would overwhelm the opposing force.

Although there were no Paragons among the 100,000 cultivators, they were all elite experts, and could also form together into a huge spell formation.

As for the three female Imperial Lords and seven Dao Sovereigns, the ten years passed for them in relative comfort. Originally, they had been under the impression that being selected as guards for the Ninth Paragon meant that they were fated to become vessels to be drained in his cultivation practice. The truth was that throughout the ten years, the number of times they actually saw Naruto could be counted on a single hand.

A few other important events occurred during that time.

On one occasion, something like a sandstorm sprang up around Naruto's location of secluded meditation. A figure appeared within that sandstorm, who spoke in an ancient, raspy voice.

"You're not the Ninth Paragon."

Even as the words echoed out, a burst of peak 9-Essences power could be detected. Naruto opened his eyes, his expression calm as he faced the power of the peak 9-Essences level. At that point, the Dao eye on his forehead opened up, and the Essence power of his eight Hexing magics arose. It was with three eyes that he looked out into the sandstorm.

Massive rumbling echoed out into the rest of the half-planet, after which the owner of the raspy voice laughed.

"But I happen to like your personality and hostility. Even more so, your focus and determination." As his words echoed out, the sandstorm faded away, and the figure left the inner planet. When he reappeared, he was back in the desert on the surface of Planet Vast Expanse. His face was a bit pale, but his eyes glittered brightly.

"Mid 9-Essences," the old man murmured. "And yet he can face me directly, and even leave me shaken…. His control over the Dao eye is at a level of perfection!"

A voice suddenly spoke out in front of him. "Many thanks."

That voice belonged to none other than the Sect Leader of the Vast Expanse School!

On that one occasion in which Naruto left Planet Vast Expanse, he went to visit a battlefield upon which his forces fought. They were fighting a fierce group whose most powerful expert was a fierce beast at the peak of the 8-Essences level, a vicious Black Dragon. Because of it, this division of the Ninth Paragon cultivator army had been fought to an impasse.

Among Naruto's subordinates there was an 8-Essences Paragon, who had been so seriously injured that he had been left with no option other than to send word back to Planet Vast Expanse asking for assistance.

When Naruto appeared, he extended his right hand and waved a finger, causing the starry sky to be crushed, and the Vast Expanse to fill with rumbling sounds. All life forms in the area trembled, including his own cultivators and the enemy horde. One by one, they dropped to their knees, as though massive weights had landed onto their shoulders. Any who refused to kneel were crushed to death in body and spirit.

As for the Black Dragon, it let out a powerful shriek as its flesh and blood was flayed into a mass of blood and flesh. Terror appeared in its eyes as it prostrated itself in submission.

Naruto turned and left. The cultivators under his command watched him leave, and their eyes began to glow with unprecedented fanaticism. That was especially true of the 8-Essences Paragon, who let out a gasp.

He had seen 9-Essences experts fight before, but the terrifying display put on by Naruto just then made him realize that the Ninth Paragon was no ordinary 9-Essences cultivator!

On the final day of the ten year period, Naruto sat cross-legged in secluded meditation in Ninth Paragon City. Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, and a glow like starlight could be seen. Anyone who was able to look into his eyes in that moment would feel lost, as though they were sinking eternally into the boundless starry sky.

Floating outside the door of his secluded meditation facility was a white jade slip that emanated a soft light. It was that very jade slip which had awoken Naruto from his secluded meditation.

"Has the day finally come?" he murmured. He reached out with his right hand and made a grasping gesture. Outside of the building, the white jade slip vanished.

In the moment that it reappeared in his palm, his mind filled with the archaic voice of the Sect Leader's peak 9-Essences voice.

"Old Ninth… the time has come. We must head to the necropolis!"

Naruto's fingers closed around the jade slip. His expression was the same as ever, but a glint of light passed through his eyes. Ever since the sandstorm rose up around his secluded meditation facilities and the figure appeared with its raspy voice, Naruto knew that the plan the Vast Expanse School had been working on for so many years had finally reached a critical moment.

As for Patriarch Vast Expanse's necropolis, Naruto very much anticipated exploring it. He was curious about this supposed method left behind by the Patriarch… to Transcend from the 9-Essences level.

By now, he had been the Ninth Paragon for ten years. Perhaps the Sect Leader had intentionally waited ten years so as to be able to observe him. Although Naruto wasn't sure of the conclusion the Sect Leader had come to after such observation, it appeared as if Naruto had gained approval.

"Let's go see what this Patriarch Vast Expanse's necropolis is like. He founded the Vast Expanse School, and was himself a Transcendent cultivator, one of only a few within this starry sky.

"Based on the ancient records of the Vast Expanse School, it seems… that Patriarch Vast Expanse was… the first person to ever Transcend, even before the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent existed!" A profound gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes as he thought back to many years ago, when the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was speeding through the Vast Expanse, and he had encountered that old fisherman.

"He was the beginning, and I am the end. Was the beginning he referred to… Patriarch Vast Expanse? 1

"And was that entity within the Green Coffin Vortex also connected to Patriarch Vast Expanse somehow?

"During the past ten years, I have studied the histories available within the Vast Expanse School, and apparently, Patriarch Vast Expanse existed countless, countless years ago. It seems… that he could very well be from the same era as that old fisherman.

"Regardless of all that, there's still the mysterious origin of this bronze lamp. It wasn't until after I entered the Vast Expanse School that it began to change. That indicates there's some sort of relationship between them.

"Patriarch Vast Expanse…." After some more thought, Naruto unhesitatingly stepped forward and then vanished. When he reappeared, he was in midair above Ninth Paragon City.

This was only his second time emerging, and even as he began to head toward the location of the main temple, he looked down at the city below and said, "Summon Su Yi and Xin Yue from Ninth Paragon City. Immediately."

As his voice echoed out, the people below trembled and kowtowed respectfully. The three female Imperial Lords hurried out and offered respectful greetings.

These three women all had different personalities, and that hadn't changed in the ten short years which had passed. The cold woman was still cold, the scornful woman still failed to hide her scorn, and the warm woman was still just as warm. No different emotions could be seen on their faces.

As for Su Yi and Xin Yue, they were the two 8-Essences paragons under Naruto's command, the two most powerful cultivators among his forces, and he planned to take them with him on this trip to the necropolis.

Ignoring the three Imperial Lords, Naruto proceeded forward, and soon arrived in the location with nine altars. Four people had arrived ahead of him.

One was Shangguan Hong with his violet-gold robe. Upon catching sight of Naruto, he smiled slightly and nodded. The other three opened their eyes, and when they saw Naruto, they smiled. From the expressions on their faces, nothing seemed out of the ordinary at all.

Beneath those four altars could be seen various 8-Essences Paragon subordinates, sitting there cross-legged. When they saw Naruto, they immediately rose to their feet and offered greetings.

Naruto smiled, clasped hands, and then sat down cross-legged on the ninth altar to wait.

Before long, the other 9-Essences Paragons arrived, along with the powerful experts who were their subordinates. After all the formal greetings were extended, everyone sat down. Then, rumbling sounds could be heard as a powerful divine sense spread out, and a rift opened above the first altar.

An old man strolled out from within the rift; he was tall, and had long, flowing white hair. His appearance instantly caused incredible pressure to weigh down.

This was none other than the Sect Leader of the Vast Expanse School, who was at the peak of 9-Essences!

What had walked out just now was no divine sense clone, but rather, his true self.

Shangguan Hong and everyone else, including Naruto, quickly rose to their feet and clasped hands. "Greetings, Sect Leader!"

The 8-Essences Paragons were the most hasty of all to offer greetings. The Sect Leader nodded slightly and clasped his hands to return the greeting. Then he waved his sleeve and slowly began to speak. "The hour has arrived, ladies and gentlemen…. There is no need for me to emphasize the importance of what we are about to do. We have scouted the perimeter of the Patriarch's necropolis on numerous occasions, and know of the path that leads to the inner regions.

"Our goal is to reach the absolute center of the necropolis. Hopefully, we will be able to reach that goal. If we don't, then we will at least do our best to explore and map more regions inside!"

The eyes of all present began to shine brightly.

The Sect Leader took a deep breath and then waved his sleeve, looking very serious. Instantly, the nine altars began to vibrate as a teleportation process was initiated.

It was at this point that two beams of light shot toward the altars; it was none other than Naruto's subordinates, the two 8-Essences Paragons. However, the teleportation process had already begun, making it impossible for them to approach. Anxious expressions could be seen on their faces as they looked toward Naruto on the ninth altar.

Before Naruto could say a word, the Sixth Paragon on the sixth altar spoke up. He was a middle-aged man with a long, hooked nose. Voice cool, he said, "Whose people are you? You're late. Leave."

Naruto encountered the fisherman in chapter 1404 ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1422

Chapter 1422: Leave My Mark!

As soon as the Sixth Paragon spoke, coldness spread out in all directions. It wasn't frost, but rather was something that cut off the area from the outside. Beyond that barrier, Naruto's two subordinates, the 8-Essences Paragons, were shocked. Moments ago, they had been speeding forward, but now they were being pushed back.

It was as if some powerful repelling force had grabbed them, and even as they attempted to push forward, was pulling them backward. The result was that they felt like they were being ripped into pieces.

Their souls and their bodies seemed to be on the verge of separating, and the void around them looked as if it were about to be torn apart. Rumbling sounds filled the air, and blood sprayed out of their mouths. Xin Yue's eyes glittered coldly, and as for Su Yi, her expression was one of anger, and she let out a roar as she attempted to force her way forward.

These two were proud women, and to be disgraced in front of the Ninth Paragon was unacceptable. If Naruto himself did this to them, maybe they could accept it, but from anyone other than the Ninth Paragon, it was treatment they could never put up with.

"You think a bit too much of yourselves," the Sixth Paragon said with a cold snort, raising his right hand. However, in that very moment, an aura filled with infinitely colder killing intent exploded out from Naruto on the ninth altar.

"Those are my people," he said as he began to stride forward. Each step caused thunderous booms to ring out. At the same time, intense power erupted out from his head, transforming into a vortex that spread out rapidly. Colors flashed and the wind screamed, and in that same moment, he appeared in front of the Sixth Paragon and unleashed a fist strike.

He didn't need any divine abilities to deal with this Sixth Paragon. He used his most direct method, punching. Everything shook as Naruto's fist rocketed out, seemingly a black hole that caused the starry sky inside of the half-planet to tremble, and the lands around them to quake. It was as if this fist strike were backed by the power of this starry sky itself.

The Sixth Paragon's eyes widened, and he extended his right hand to meet the fist strike.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

As the fist strike landed, Naruto touched down onto the sixth altar, where he stood completely unmoving. The Sixth Paragon looked like he was standing in the middle of a violent windstorm; his hair and clothing whipped about, and he was trembling visibly. All of his skin which was visible seemed to sink into itself.

As the boom continued to echo out, the Sixth Paragon coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward uncontrollably. When he came to a stop about thirty meters back, he forced himself to hold in the next mouthful of blood that he had been about to cough up, and then looked up, a vicious expression on his face. Roaring in anger, he spread his arms wide, and a massive eruption of Essence power occurred. An enormous, amorphous blade formed which seemed capable of slashing through anything and everything.

"Old Ninth," he yelled, "are you looking to die?" The other Paragons

were simply watching the events unfold, strange gleams flickering in their eyes. Naruto's fist strike just now had been shocking to behold, and yet none of them had done anything to interfere. As for the Sect Leader, he frowned and then looked over at the Sixth Paragon with an expression of displeasure.

Almost as soon as the Sixth Paragon spoke again, Naruto waved his right hand, causing a powerful force to explode out. A windstorm formed, which smashed a hole into the tunnel being created by the teleportation power. That in turn allowed his subordinates to enter.

His two subordinates looked very shaken, although Su Yi took everything in a bit easier. This was actually her second time seeing Naruto fight, as she had been observing when he dealt with the Black Dragon earlier.

As for Xin Yue, this was her first time seeing Naruto in action, and it caused waves of shock to pound at her heart. His shocking fist strike seemed capable of destroying an entire world, and left her panting.

As for the hole he had opened to let them in, it seemed to have been made in an almost casual fashion. Both of the women could only gasp in response. Without any hesitation, they flew into the area with the altars to appear standing next to Naruto.

"Greetings, Paragon, we arrived late," they said, clasped hands and bowing.

"I decide whether you're late or not…." he said coolly. Then he strode forward to once again stand directly in front of the Sixth Paragon. "It has absolutely nothing to do with you, Sixth Paragon. Do you think I need you punishing my subordinates? Do I look like I need your help? Who the hell do you think you are?! I think I need to leave my mark on you to help you remember what happened here today."

As Naruto spoke, the Sixth Paragon's eyes flickered with killing intent. He waved his arms, sending Essence power exploding out, which transformed into a huge pitch-black head.

Seeing that the two of them were about to start fighting, Shangguan Hong stepped forward. With him were three other Paragons, who stood between Naruto and the Sixth Paragon.

"Old Ninth, just forget about what happened."

"Old Sixth, you're in the wrong here."

"Just forget about all of this. We're supposed to be on our way to the necropolis. Just cool down for now. If you really have so much energy to spare you can put it into getting into the necropolis."

A flicker of hatred passed through the Sixth Paragon's eyes, and despite the interference of the other Paragons, he pointed out with both fingers, causing the pitch-black head to roar as it closed in on Naruto.

Shangguan Hong and the others looked on with flickering expressions, but before they could do anything, Naruto suddenly stepped forward. In the blink of an eye, an azure roc appeared, which then slammed into the pitch-black head.

A boom rang out as the pitch black head of Essence collapsed. Naruto in azure roc-form then became a beam of azure light that shot directly toward the Sixth Paragon.

The Sixth Paragon's face fell, and he was just about to fall back when a fist shot out from the light and slammed into his chest.

The Sixth Paragon was knocked completely off of the altar, blood spraying out of his mouth the entire time. Before he could even react, green light flickered, and Naruto was on him again, unleashing another fist strike.

Then a third, a fourth, and a fifth!

Booms rang out as the Sixth Paragon was shoved backward over and over again. His chest was caving in, and he screamed miserably. His three 8-Essences Paragon subordinates hesitated, but realized that they had little choice other than to fly out to try to stop Naruto.

But then Su Yi and Xin Yue stepped forward to stop them.

"Scram!" Before the two groups could meet up, Naruto snorted coldly from within the azure light. He then appeared in bodily form and waved his sleeve, causing Divine Flame to blaze out toward the Sixth Paragon's three subordinates. Their faces fell, but they were incapable of evading, and were sent tumbling back 3,000 meters, blood spraying out of their mouths.

As for the Sixth Paragon, he was completely shaken. How could he ever have imagined that Naruto would be so incredibly powerful?

He was being attacked so viciously he could do nothing but retreat, and didn't even have a chance to fight back. He didn't get the feeling he wasn't a match for Naruto, but rather that he had lost the initiative and had no chance to actually fight back.

By now, regret was building up in his heart, and he wished hadn't made an attempt to test Naruto.

"Dammit!" he roared as Naruto closed in again. Booming sounds rang out as he sent out divine abilities, only for them to be instantly destroyed. Next came some magical items. They didn't last any longer than the divine abilities.

The other Paragons watched what was happening with strange, thoughtful gleams in their eyes. As of this point, they were starting to gain an understanding of just how powerful Naruto was.

And that was exactly what Naruto wanted; to establish himself!

Coldness flickered in his eyes as he raised his right hand again. Shockingly, the power of space could be detected, slowly building up in power; it was none other that the Eighth Hex's Essence of space, of which he had gained enlightenment.

When the Sect Leader saw what was happening, his pupils constricted; he took a step forward and waved his sleeve.

"Enough! How far do you plan to take this fight?!"

The Sect Leader was at the peak of the 9-Essences level, so the wave of his arm caused an incredible force to build up between Naruto and the Sixth Paragon, shoving them apart.

The Sixth Paragon actually breathed a sigh of relief at being given a way out of the situation. He looked over at Naruto with killing intent flickering in his eyes.

Unfortunately for him, he was still underestimating Naruto!

"Like I said, I need to leave my mark on you." Even as his cold voice rang out, the Dao eye on his forehead opened up, and a boundless will erupted out. The entire starry sky shook, and all minds began to reel.

In that instant, the power of the Dao eye caused the divine ability just unleashed by the Sect Leader to be frozen in place in front of Naruto. Naruto then shot forward at a speed far surpassing anything from before.

In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of the Sixth Paragon. The Sixth Paragon's mind was spinning, and wanted to fall back, but felt as if he were stuck in mud; he was simply too slow. His pupils constricted as astonishment filled his eyes.

The Sect Leader's face fell, and he bellowed, "Old Ninth, stay your hand!"

He took a step forward to appear next to Naruto, whereupon he flicked his sleeve. That motion blocked Naruto's hands and feet, and was just about to pull him away, when Naruto grinned. His aura changed, and a brutal air erupted out of him. Although his hands and feet had been immobilized, his head had not!

He stretched his head out and bit down viciously onto the Sixth Paragon's neck, ripping out a huge chunk of bloody flesh.

Blood sprayed out of the Sixth Paragon's neck, and he screamed. He clamped his hand down onto his neck and shot backward. By now, there was no killing intent in his eyes toward Naruto, only intense astonishment.

Of all the people he had fought in his life, this was the most brutal person he had ever encountered. He actually bit a chunk of flesh out of him! As far as he was concerned, this Ninth Paragon was completely mad.

Naruto calmly swallowed the chunk of flesh and then said, "That's my mark."

Then he wiped his mouth and walked back to the ninth altar. As he did, the surrounding cultivators watched him, their minds reeling. Even Su Yi and Xin Yue were left gasping.

They would never be able to forget the brutal display put on by Naruto this day.

"This guy… should never be provoked!"

"Crazy! He's completely insane…." The Paragons were left gasping, looks of intense vigilance on their faces.

The Sect Leader's face was extremely unsightly, and his mind was being battered by waves of shock. He stared at Naruto, and then looked over angrily at the Sixth Paragon. Finally, he headed back to the first altar, his face very grim.

The Sixth Paragon silently returned to his altar, his face pale, terror gleaming in his eyes as he looked over at Naruto.

He wasn't afraid of cultivators with a higher cultivation base, but rather those who were completely insane. And Naruto was the most insane person he had ever encountered among 9-Essences cultivators.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he stood there, hands clasped behind his back as if nothing had happened. Behind him, Su Yi and Xin Yue looked at him with awe in their eyes.

A moment later, the teleportation power was unleashed, and rumbling could be heard as a pillar of light rose into the air, and they all vanished.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1423

Chapter 1423 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1423: Necropolis Ghost City!

In the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, there were certain extremely mysterious locations. One, for example, was the Green Coffin Vortex. In such locations, the magical laws of the Vast Expanse were different, making it difficult for cultivators to enter them, even 9-Essences experts.

Although Naruto hadn't known it originally, he came to be aware that such places were said to be created by Transcendent cultivators.

Only someone who had Transcended could create a location that could cause problems for 9-Essences Paragons. Furthermore, such locations were few and far between in the Vast Expanse; there were only a few in existence.

Supposedly, some of those locations were related to the Vast Expanse Society. Others were connected to the Immortal God Continent. The rest had to do with the Devil Realm. Apparently… all the forces which had produced a Transcendent cultivator were connected to such places.

Some such places were well known, while others were kept secret by various powerful factions, and held their respective organizations' greatest secrets. They were secrets that wouldn't necessarily endanger those groups if they came to be known, but were kept hidden anyway. Patriarch Vast Expanse's necropolis was just such a place.

The exact location of the necropolis was unknown, and the only way to enter it was via the nine altars on the half-planet of the Vast Expanse School.

In the past, people had speculated that the necropolis was not even located within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. Some said that it was a location in some other world… where there was no Heavenly Dao.

Supposedly, the reason there was no Heavenly Dao was because magical techniques were thrown into chaos in such places. Sometimes, certain magics couldn't even be used. For example, some locations were places incompatible with the aura of the Vast Expanse, which some people cultivated.

When Naruto and the others appeared, he looked around and saw a starry sky stretching out.

It was a real and true starry sky, with none of the mist that was pervasive in the Vast Expanse.

There were nine land masses floating out in front of them. Upon closer examination, it was possible to see that they were connected by bridges, although the bridges were not stable; they were constantly swaying and swinging back and forth.

Surrounding the nine land masses was a seemingly infinite field of drifting asteroids. Occasionally, they would emit strange fluctuations which provoked sensations of intense danger.

There were no paths visible.

"Now that we're here, we don't have much time," said the Sect Leader. "Only one month. Follow me, and be careful not to lose your way. Don't interact with anything you see, whether it's a painting or a person or anything else. If you do… even those of you with nine Essences will perish." With a final look at everyone, he flickered into motion as he flew out into the starry sky.

Everyone else followed along as if they had done so before. Naruto was the only one who seemed more cautious than ever as he followed along.

His two subordinate Paragons followed him, looking around vigilantly.

The group was soon speeding along through the asteroids. The Sect Leader seemed to have mastered some method of travel that ensured they didn't encounter any restrictive spells. Nor did any of the floating asteroids enter their path of travel. However, the result was that the Sect Leader's face was a bit pale. His eyes shone with the glow of augury; clearly, leading the group in this way was not an easy task.

Time passed. Four hours later, Naruto noticed one of the 8-Essences Paragons up ahead suddenly stop in place and turn to the side with an expression of shock and disbelief.

This man could shake the Vast Expanse with a single stomp of a foot, and would count as the pinnacle of existence in virtually any world or Realm. And yet, before anyone could warn or remind him of the dangers of the place, his body deflated like a popped balloon. In the blink of an eye, he withered up into a pile of dessicated flesh.

His bones, flesh, and everything about him melted, and then vanished without a trace. Not even his soul had a chance to flee. He died without even making a cry of alarm….

The only thing left behind was his skin, which slowly floated away into the starry sky.

Naruto was completely shaken, and everyone else felt their scalps tingling in shock. No one spoke. As they watched the pile of skin float away, laughter could suddenly be heard, at which point they noticed that, unexpectedly, the pile of skin was smiling.

"If you want to stay alive, don't randomly look around," the Sect Leader said. "Keep your eyes on the person in front of you. We will follow this path for three days, and if all goes well, we will pass through this perimeter region into the first land of the Patriarch's necropolis." With that, he proceeded onward without another word.

Naruto said nothing, but his eyes flickered. Then, he proceeded along, keeping his eyes on the cultivator in front of him.

Time passed. A day later, and after a bit of calculation, Naruto came to the conclusion that they had already traveled seventy percent of the distance, and that they would soon be nearing the first land mass.

For the most part, the journey was frightening but not dangerous. However, another 8-Essences Paragon died. He wasn't transformed into a pile of flesh. Instead, he began to suddenly rot.

At first, he didn't notice. Then the person behind him cried out in alarm. The 8-Essences Paragon spun around, and when he looked down at his body, his eyes fell out of their sockets. Everyone watched as he dissolved into a mass of blood that dropped down into the depths below.

Naruto's vigilance grew. The surrounding asteroids would occasionally pulse with a faint light, and yet everything was absolutely silent. As silent as death.

The Sect Leader moved slower and slower, until finally it reached the point where he needed to make long calculations before each movement. After a bit of observation, Naruto came to the conclusion that the Sect Leader's methods of augury and calculation had to do with the movement patterns of the asteroids.

Even as he contemplated the matter, a cry of alarm could be heard behind him from Su Yi. Naruto spun and saw the beautiful Xin Yue, head turned to the side, expression blank as she apparently spoke to some unseen person. Her expression flickered, and then she nodded, and a rapturous look of joy appeared on her face.

Even as she nodded, her body began to wither up. Naruto frowned, reached out, and tapped her forehead.

A tremor ran through her, and the withering slowed but didn't cease.

Su Yi's expression flickered with anxiety, and she was about to unleash some sort of magic to provide aid, when suddenly her expression also turned blank. She turned to the side in disbelief, then reached out into the void as if to grab something. Then she also started to wither up.

Naruto's frown deepened, and he quickly opened his Dao eye. His aura spread out, turning into a vortex that swept out in all directions.

At the same time, the Sect Leader and the other Paragons turned to look at what was happening. The Sect Leader's face fell, and after a moment of hesitation, he gritted his teeth and made his way toward Naruto. The other Paragons' faces flickered with hesitation, but seeing that the Sect Leader was approaching, they did the same.

However, before anyone could get close, Naruto suddenly raised his hand and said, "Stay back. I should be able to handle this."

His expression was somber, and even as he spoke, a murderous aura began to rise up from him, which rapidly turned into a raging tempest.

The Sect Leader and the other Paragons were people who were no strangers to slaughter. However, after seeing Naruto's murderous aura, their pupils constricted. That was especially true of the Sixth Paragon, who gasped.

It was a murderous aura so intense that ordinary people couldn't compare to it. Not even this group of Paragons contained someone who came close.

"How many people has he killed…?"

"I've never met someone who has slaughtered so many!"

"Is this Ninth Paragon some sort of jinx, or what…?" Both the 9-Essences

Paragons and their 8-Essences subordinates were all completely shaken. "So," thought the Sect Leader, "he really is… Naruto!" It was as if that murderous aura which surrounded Naruto contained innumerable screaming souls.

Moments ago….

Naruto's face was very serious as he looked around with his third eye, and saw a completely different world!

Within the void of the starry sky was an enormous city. The asteroids around them were actually buildings in that city, and the entire place looked incredibly ancient, as if it couldn't even exist in modern times.

What left Naruto even more shaken was that, unexpectedly… they were surrounded by countless figures. There were men and women, old and young, and all of them were cultivators. They were everywhere, and although most of them were simply walking to and fro, some would occasionally turn to look curiously at Naruto and the others.

The figures were blurry, their faces pale, their bodies devoid of life force. In fact, what filled the entire area was a boundless aura of death.

Several women were standing next to Xin Yue, smiling as they tugged at her garments. It was as if they were trying to get her to become one of them. The same thing was happening to Su Yi.

Shockingly, there were even some figures next to Naruto who were reaching out to grab him!

He took a deep breath as he realized that this place… was actually a Ghost City!

Considering the level of his cultivation base, he was able to tell that all of these figures were ghosts, and there were so many of them that it would be impossible to count their number.

A brief moment after Naruto's third eye opened and he looked around, all of the ghosts in the entire city stopped what they were doing and turned to look at him. Countless gazes came to be fixed on Naruto, whereupon strange glows rose up in their eyes. Only a brief moment passed before they began to scream noiselessly, and then rush madly toward Naruto.

To be surrounded by so many ghosts left even Naruto feeling like he had fallen victim to a curse; his life force was fading, and an aura of death was threatening to engulf him.

That was the moment in which his murderous aura suddenly erupted out fully, creating a vortex which swept out in all directions.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1424

Chapter 1424 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1424: The Ghost Masses Offer Worship!

"Vast Expanse… Dao Body…." No one could hear the murmuring voice except for Naruto. Even as the voice brushed against him, his murderous aura exploded out into a vortex which swept the ghosts away from Su Yi and Xin Yue.

However, there were simply too many of the ghosts, so many that Naruto's scalp was numb. As they closed in on him, he reached out, grabbed Su Yi and Xin Yue, and shot toward the Sect Leader.

Even as he sped into motion, he looked around and saw that more figures were appearing in the countless buildings which made up the city, figures which were even more powerful than those he had already seen. There was one path that had no ghosts on it at all, and further off in the distance, far far away, Naruto spotted an enormous altar which rose high up into the sky!

The altar was so enormous that it was clearly visible despite being a huge distance away. Looking at it more closely, it appeared to be hovering in the void above the first land mass.

The number of ghosts on the first land mass was so large it was impossible to count. Further off, the other eight land masses were difficult to make out clearly.

Gradually, Naruto realized that on the ninth land mass, the land mass furthest away from him, there was a huge throne, upon which sat a person!

That person's gaze pierced through the boundless starry sky to fall upon him. Apparently… this was the person who had spoken the words 'Vast Expanse Dao Body' moments ago. Now, it began to speak again.

"The catastrophe comes. Peak of the Vast Expanse. You are the end….

"Allheaven fears the Immortal…. 1

"You… have finally come…." As the voice echoed out, the ghosts seemed to go even crazier. At the same time, the bronze lamp within him began to flicker.

It all happened in the briefest of instants. As Naruto retreated from the ghosts, he could sense madness within them, and yet, they didn't seem malevolent. Somehow, they seemed anxious. Now was not the time to ponder the matter. As his murderous aura shoved the ghosts away, he closed his third eye. In that moment, everything vanished, although he could still sense an incredible coldness building up in the area.

"Let's go!" said the Sect Leader. Everyone began to move, although things were so chaotic, it was impossible to tell exactly which direction they were going. As they sped along, the cold aura behind them continued to grow.

However, because Naruto had closed his third eye, the ghosts apparently couldn't detect their presence. After an hour, they emerged from the coldness, their expressions grim. As for Su Yi and Xin Yue, they looked guilty as they followed along silently behind Naruto.

Other Paragons immediately gave voice to their fury.

"Dammit, what were you doing? Do you know how much danger we were in just now!?"

"How reckless! You nearly scared us to death!" Although they couldn't actually see the ghosts, they understood that they had all just experienced a brush with death. Had the cold aura overwhelmed them, they would never have escaped, and would have remained within it forever.

Naruto didn't offer any explanation, but he did clasp hands and bow to everyone.

Considering his cold disposition up to this point, the fact that Naruto made such a gesture caused the faces of most of the other Paragons to soften. However, their expressions were still somewhat grim; the group was now on an unknown and incorrect path.

All of them knew the potential consequences of taking an incorrect path.

Naruto's apologetic clasping of hands was enough to silence most of the other Paragons. However, the Sixth Paragon let out a cold harrumph. "All brawn and no brains! You should have let those two subordinates of yours just die! Saving them got us lost. They deserved to die!"

Normally speaking, he would never have spoken in such a way after the battle he had just experienced with Naruto. But now that Naruto had earned the ire of the entire group, it was like throwing fuel onto the fire.

"That's right, Old Ninth," chimed in the Eight Paragon, his voice cold. "Simply clasping hands in apology isn't enough. This is a big matter! You got us all lost, and you know what a dangerous position that puts us in!"

The words uttered by these two caused the other Paragons to frown.

The Sect Leader looked over at Naruto with furrowed brow.

Naruto looked back at him and said, "Many thanks for your assistance back there, Sect Leader."

Actually, the Sect Leader hadn't provided him with much assistance at all, but Naruto could tell his attitude in the matter. The fact that he had turned back at all spoke volumes. Furthermore, the other Paragons, with the exception of the Sixth, had all been moving to help him. He wouldn't forget that, and it served to increase his good will toward the Vast Expanse School in general.

"What did you see just now?" the Sect Leader asked.

"A Ghost City," Naruto replied. "This entire place is a city, with the asteroids being buildings. We were surrounded by endless hordes of ghosts. This place… is a Ghost City that is invisible to the eyes of the living."

Having heard this, the Sect Leader suddenly reached out and made a grasping motion. A rift opened up, and a profoundly ancient jade slip appeared, which he handed over to Naruto.

"Take a look. Is that the city you saw?!"

Naruto took the jade slip and scanned it. An image appeared in his mind, the vague image of a city that he instantly recognized as the Ghost City he had seen!

"None other."

When the Sect Leader heard that, a strange expression could be seen on his face. Looking somewhat excited, he asked, "Did you happen to notice a path…?"

Naruto thought back to everything he had seen, and recalled that one particular path which was devoid of ghosts. He nodded.

The Sect Leader looked around quietly for a moment at the asteroids, mixed emotions on his face. Finally, he spoke to the group as a whole, his voice little more than a murmur.

"The legends say that long, long ago, this place was a city, a city so huge that the nine land masses were only the central part of the city itself.

"Back then, it was known as the City of Saints.

"One day, the city disappeared overnight. Virtually everyone died…. Countless lives, countless cultivators, countless beings, all dead…. Their deaths were very bizarre and mysterious, and happened in complete silence.

"Only Patriarch Vast Expanse and a few other people survived. They left together, after which the Vast Expanse Society came to exist outside of the Vast Expanse.

"Years later, Patriarch Vast Expanse returned, and chose to turn this place into his necropolis.

"According to most legends, he eventually perished here. Of course, other rumors state that he didn't die, but rather, stayed behind alive to accompany the bones of his companions from the past. Supposedly, countless years passed, after which he departed, leaving behind the method for Transcendence.

"In all the legends, the starry sky looked different back then. Supposedly, when the grieving Patriarch Vast Expanse buried his companions, he transformed the starry sky into the Vast Expanse, for the purpose of accompanying his friends in death.

"The city you saw was the former City of Saints…. Old Ninth, please lead us along the path you saw. That is the way to get to the necropolis." He sighed after recounting the story to the group. Most of the people present had heard the stories before, but this was Naruto's first time. After a moment of silence, he thought of the world of the Ghost City, and of the figure he had seen on the ninth land mass.

Finally, he nodded and turned to look off into the distance. Then, he led the way, with everyone following as he headed off into the void.

At first, he had to choose his way carefully and with much thought. But about two hours later, he began to pick up speed. No more strange incidents or deaths occurred, making it seem certain that no ghosts were on the path they traveled.

The Sixth and Eighth Paragons didn't look very happy, but as for all of the other Paragons, their eyes glowed with excitement. Soon, they were getting very close to the first land mass.

However, it was at this point that, all of a sudden, a cold aura suddenly appeared. Everyone could sense it, and before anyone could even react, it increased in intensity by a hundredfold, then a thousandfold, then tenthousandfold and even more.

As boundless, icy coldness surrounded them, several aura streams appeared that struck fear into the heart of even Naruto, and caused the Sect Leader's face to fall.

Naruto stopped in place, as did everyone behind him.

"Nice job, Naruto!" yelled the Sixth Paragon. Not bothering with matters of face, he directly spoke Naruto's name.

The Eighth Paragon frowned and glared at Naruto, eyes flickering with killing intent. "Dammit, you're not leading the way, you're sending us to our deaths!"

The other Paragons' faces were grim and icy, and they began to rotate their cultivation bases.

"Enough!" the Sect Leader roared. Inwardly, he was sighing; the mission was a failure. Furthermore, even retreating would likely result in injury and loss, especially to the 8-Essences Paragons, who would survive only if they were lucky.

The coldness which had risen up caused everyone's hearts to thump. The Sect Leader sighed bitterly.

"The plan is cancelled. Let's fight our way out. We'll recover and rebuild resources to come back another time." With that, he prepared to leave.

The Sixth and Eighth Paragons glared spitefully at Naruto, and Shangguan Hong and the other Paragons sighed.

But then, Naruto's eyes gleamed, and he suddenly said, "Hold on a moment!"

The Sixth Paragon spun in place, glared at Naruto, and smiled coldly. "What are you going to do? Don't tell me you want to stop us from leaving. What, you want us to stick around here to be killed? Naruto, your heart is twisted and evil. Do you really think we weren't aware that you consumed the Ninth Paragon?"

"Shut your mouth," the Sect Leader barked. "Old Ninth, forget about the matter. I should have explained things in more detail ahead of time. We can come back again another time." Although the Sect Leader was irritated at this turn of events, he still tried to keep things civil.

Naruto ignored the Sixth Paragon. "No, listen, I have the feeling… that these ghost harbor no ill will toward me."

Even as he spoke, his third eyes opened.

At the same time, the Sixth Paragon howled, "I can't believe you still dare to open your Dao– wait, what…?"

Before he could even get through half of his sentence, the rest of his words stuck in his throat. His eyes went wide as he looked around.

He could sense that, as of this moment, the coldness… was actually emanating a sensation of… subservience! The powerful entities therein that filled him with such fear, were actually… acknowledging allegiance!

He wasn't the only one who realized this. All of the Paragons could pick up on the clues. Expressions of disbelief appeared on their faces. As for Naruto, when he looked around at the world, he saw innumerable ghosts, all of them dropping to their knees to kowtow!

And they were kowtowing to him!

It was like watching a wave run across the surface of the sea as countless ghosts dropped down onto their knees….

What a shocking turn of events!

Their previous madness had contained no killing intent, and their rush toward Naruto had not been because they wished him harm. Instead, they could sense on him… the aura of their grand leader.

Chapter 1424: The Ghost Masses Offer Worship!

This is the same Allheaven as in Allheaven Immortal, Allheaven Dao Immortal, Allheaven Clan, etc. It's been a long time since the term was introduced, so I'm going to repeat the explanation of what it means. "Allheaven" 罗天 could be transliterated as "Luotian," and is a concept from real Daoist mythology. Among all the various heavens that exist, it is the absolute highest heaven. Luo 罗 is a character which can be translated a lot of ways, but in this situation basically means "net." The idea is that this heaven stretches out to cover over all the other heavens like a net. However, instead of calling it Net Heaven (sounds like a bad internet cafe or perhaps a fishing shop), I will use "Allheaven." Incidentally, I've also translated the character luo 罗 as "sieve" in the past, most notably in the name of the Black Sieve Sect" ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1425

Chapter 1425: Allheaven Fears the Immortal!

"Uh…." Although the Sixth Paragon couldn't actually see what was happening, considering the level of his cultivation base, he had a keen ability to detect and sense auras. As of this moment, all of the cultivators near Naruto could sense that the freezing aura… was acknowledging allegiance!

The Sixth Paragon's eyes went wide. Despite his strength and willpower, he was still shaken, and gasped. The Eighth Paragon had the same reaction, and stared around in complete disbelief at what was happening.

The other Paragons all had similar reactions. Strange glows could be seen in their eyes as they looked over at Naruto. What was happening now left them more shaken than when Naruto had fought with the Sixth Paragon.

The Sect Leader sucked in a deep breath, glanced at the surroundings, and then looked back at Naruto. Suddenly, he had the feeling that all of the decisions he had made about Naruto, both earlier and just now, had been correct!

"Not even the real Ninth Paragon would have been able to do this," he thought. "This is something that exceeds the powers of the Dao eye!" As of this moment, the Sect Leader had absolutely no question at all about Naruto's true identity. At the same time, he completely approved of him.

The Sixth Paragon began to speak without even thinking about it: "If you could have done this before, then why did you wait until just now? You–" The other Paragons nearby him began to edge away and put as much space between them and him as possible.

Before he could even finish speaking, Naruto snorted coldly and said: "Shut the hell up!"

He glared at the Sixth Paragon, and although the words he had spoken were not filled with much force, they were infinitely cold. The Sixth Paragon's mind spun, and he was about to say something else, when his face fell. Off to the side, the Eighth Paragon took a deep breath.

Rumbling sounds accompanied Naruto's voice. When an emperor is furious, the officials will likewise be enraged. In much the same way, the surrounding ghosts seemed to lift their heads and emit enraged howls as they turned to stare at the Sixth Paragon!

Although the Sixth Paragon couldn't see that, the intense feeling he was experiencing caused him to bite back his own words. Without even thinking about it, he stepped back a few paces, his face pale. An intense sensation of deadly crisis was currently raging inside of him.

He had the clear and distinct sensation that Naruto could control his very life and death with a single thought.

"How could this be happening!? He… he can force the ghosts to acknowledge allegiance, and can also control them!? This… this is impossible!"

Even as the Sixth Paragon was shaking and panting, the Sect Leader took a step forward and looked at Naruto.

"Old Ninth, some light punishment is in order. After all, we're all on the same side. There's no need to allow internal strife to ferment."

After a moment of silence, Naruto looked coldly at the Sixth Paragon. "In the future, keep your mouth shut when I'm talking. If you don't, I'm perfectly fine with having someone replace you as Sixth Paragon!"

The Sixth Paragon's face drained of blood, and although a look of venomous hatred appeared in his eyes, he said nothing in response. However, the killing intent within him grew even more intense than before.

"And then there's you!" Naruto said, turning to look at the Eighth Paragon.

The Eighth Paragon took a deep breath. Forcing a smile onto his face, he clasped hands and bowed, declining to offer any words in accompaniment.

Seeing such a reaction caused Naruto to frown. The meaning behind the words he had just spoken had been clear, and the fact that the previously aggressive Sixth Paragon suddenly acted in this way was very telling.

"To be chided by me like that," he thought, "and refrain from saying anything in response indicates there is someone backing them who exceeds their power level. But who…?" Naruto thought back to everything that had happened so far, and also recalled that the Vast Expanse School had a total of four experts at the peak of the 9-Essences Level. The Sect Leader was one, but there were three others in addition to him.

One of them was the man with the raspy voice who had spoken to him when he was in secluded meditation. As for the other two, Naruto had never met them.

His eyes flickered, and then his expression returned to normal. He looked around at the ghosts and waved his hands, experimentally sending out a stream of will. Instantly, the ghosts up ahead parted ways to reveal a path!

Naruto could tell that this path… was the same path he had seen earlier, which had been devoid of ghosts!

Without any further delay, he led the group onward. The Sect Leader went along right behind him, and the other Paragons followed along. They proceeded for about half a day, during which time they made more progress than the Sect Leader could have made in two days, and those would have been two days fraught with danger.

Eventually, they reached the end of the path. A huge, shocking land mass spread out in front of them, deathly quiet and filled with ruins.

There were no living beings. Everything was as silent as a graveyard.

The ghosts had also been following Naruto, but having reached this location, they stopped and looked off into the distance. Apparently, none of them were willing to enter the land mass.

Naruto turned back and looked at them. Although his Dao eye was now shut, he could still sense their presence. For some reason, he had the strange sensation that the bronze lamp, which was part of him now, was experiencing a feeling of sorrow.

"They must have been kowtowing to the previous owner of the bronze lamp…. Now that I think about it, perhaps this bronze lamp once belonged to… Patriarch Vast Expanse." After a moment, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply to the ghosts.

The other Paragons watched what was happening, and various thoughts ran through their minds.

Between the end of the path and the land mass itself was a bridge, swaying there in the starry sky. One end was attached to the land mass, and the other connected to an enormous asteroid, which was fixed unmoving within the starry sky.

There was a cold wind blowing that smelled of rot and decay. It was impossible to tell where it came from or where it was going; it was as if it existed eternally, and was the reason the bridge was swaying back and forth. It was very strange.

Naruto stood there in front of the bridge for a moment, and then turned to the Sect Leader. Further behind were Su Yi and Xin Yue, who were completely on guard. Even they could sense that the bridge contained a strange and bizarre aura, which left them unsettled.

"So we've made it back to the bridge again…." the Sect Leader said. "We saw this same bridge twice before. This is the third time….

"The last two times, we took a different path, a more dangerous path, to get here." The Sect Leader looked at the bridge with both excitement and determination.

"The previous two times we tried to cross it, we were blocked in the middle. The last time, we only made it about seventy percent of the way across. Many of our subordinates died, as did most of the clones we had created.

"Old Ninth, the entire reason we requested your presence was because of your Dao eye…. Please, use it to take a look at the bridge, and you'll understand."

Naruto's eyes flashed with decisiveness as his third eye opened up on his forehead.

In that instant, the world changed. The bridge was still a bridge, but on the other side, the land mass bustled with cultivators.

There were countless buildings, and innumerable cultivators….

Now, the figure which Naruto had seen on the distant ninth land mass was much more clearly visible. It was a man sitting on a huge throne. He was looking directly at Naruto, and his voice was even clearer than before.

" Allheaven… fears the Immortal….

"… Does not want the Immortal to appear… wants the Demon to arrive….

"The variations of the Demon are like the variations of Heaven….

"The appearance of the Demon requires grief…. If you die, everything will be over…."

Naruto was shaken mentally by this voice which only he could hear, and when he heard the word 'Demon' uttered, his mind reeled.

After a moment, his eyes glittered, and he looked away from the vague figure, allowing his gaze to come to rest on the bridge. Shockingly… he saw unending gore, masses upon masses of it formed into the shape of a bridge that dripped with blood. It was a shocking sight.

He saw countless arms stretching out, which occasionally performed incantation gestures, filling the bridge with the fluctuations of restrictive spells, some powerful, some weak.

Surrounding the bridge was a blood-colored mist. Occasionally, eyes would appear briefly within the mist, and they stared greedily at Naruto and the rest of the party.

Most shocking of all was that beneath the bridge was no void, but rather an abyss. Down within that abyss was a three-headed giant, currently climbing up from the depths below. It occasionally bellowed in rage, the sound of which transformed into a tempest that caused the bridge to sway back and forth.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto caught sight of the threeheaded giant, its three heads looked up, and six pairs of eyes came to rest on Naruto. Their gazes locked, and Naruto felt his mind reeling as an intimidating will swept through him.

His eyes glittered with cold light, and he snorted, stamping his foot down and sending his divine sense crushing down. The entire bridge swayed, and the three-headed giant let out an enraged roar that only Naruto could hear, before looking away.

"This bridge is made from flesh and blood. It's surrounded by a mist, and below is a three-headed giant, eyeing us the way a tiger eyes its prey." As the words left Naruto's mouth, very serious expressions could be seen on the faces of the group behind him.

The Sect Leader nodded and said, "This bridge is the only way onto the first land mass. Once you begin to tread it, it is possible to step off of the bridge onto either side. But if you do so, and remain off the bridge for too long, you will most certainly die.

"There are restrictive spells on the bridge, and a false step could potentially lead to eternal destruction. A single misstep might be harmless, but as more and more false steps are accumulated, increasing levels of spell power will build up which will explode out at certain spell nodes. If that happens, we will never make it to the land mass.

"That is why we need your Dao eye, Old Ninth, to see through everything hidden in the void. Help point out the way to avoid the powerful restrictive spells. In those places where we must pass through the spells, please help us select the weakest ones." With that, the Sect Leader clasped hands and bowed deeply to Naruto.

"This is what we request of you, Fellow Daoist. If we succeed, then I will guarantee you a place in the lineup to gain Transcendence enlightenment."

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1426

Chapter 1426: Bombardment of Killing Intent!

Naruto could sense the Sect Leader's sincerity. As his words echoed out, the ripples of a Dao oath could be seen, indicating that he was swearing upon his own Dao that his statements were true.

With the exception of the Sixth and Eighth Paragons, the other Paragons had no enmity with him. Although none of them were friends either, they still clasped hands and bowed.

Naruto studied the bridge for a time, then nodded. By this point, his interest in the necropolis was no less than that of the Sect Leader's.

"Many thanks!" the Sect Leader said in response. He took a deep breath and waved his hand, whereupon one of his 8-Essences subordinates stepped forward. After clasping hands to the group, he walked up to the edge of the bridge, and then looked over at Naruto.

After a bit of study, Naruto identified a place on the bridge that had weak fluctuations. "Nine meters in is a weak restrictive spell that can't be avoided."

Further observation revealed numerous similar locations on the bridge. However, there were other areas with fluctuations so powerful he was left shaken.

The bridge was not an inanimate object; it was alive, and the

fluctuations of the restrictive spells grew more intense the further one went along the bridge. Apparently the fluctuations were like flowing water that could provoke transformations amongst each other.

The source of all of the restrictive spells… were the arms that stretched out from the flesh and blood that made up the bridge, which were constantly performing incantation gestures and unleashing magical sealing marks!

The 8-Essences cultivator stepped forward and alighted onto the ninemeter position that Naruto had pointed to. A faint shattering sound echoed out, and the cultivator shivered. However, after a moment, he regained his composure.

At the same time, Naruto could sense that the footfalls of the 8Essences cultivator caused the red eyes within the mist to lurch toward him. However, before they could get close, they were sent spinning away with unyielding howls.

"Ahead, twenty-seven meters!" Naruto said. The 8-Essences cultivator immediately advanced to the second location indicated by Naruto. At the same time, Naruto moved forward, becoming the second person to actually step onto the bridge. That was the best way for him to be able to see the situation most clearly.

In the instant he stepped onto the bridge, his third eye revealed that all of the countless arms suddenly paused, then resumed their incantation gestures with increased speed.

Other than that, there was no change. Naruto looked around, then began to speak.

"Up ahead, twenty-one meters. Then another thirty-three meters. Then twelve meters. Twenty-four meters. Ninety meters. Fifty-one meters…."

Behind him came another 8-Essences Paragon, and then more of the group. By the time that first 8-Essences cultivator reached the final location indicated by Naruto, there were already several people on the bridge.

In addition to Naruto, there were even two 9-Essences Paragons among the group.

Clearly, these people didn't place a lot of trust in Naruto, and thus chose to stagger the 8-Essences and 9-Essences Paragons. Doing so ensured that, even if Naruto did have some evil designs, he would only be able to take action once or twice before people caught on.

As far as the subordinates were concerned, the hope of Transcendence made it worth the risk!

To 7-Essences Paragons, Transcendence was something far removed from their current level. But for 8-Essences experts, it was far more meaningful. Although they couldn't actually Transcend, gaining enlightenment of the method would help them advance by leaps and bounds, and maybe even break through to the 9-Essences level.

Time passed. Naruto's third eye was gradually growing bloodshot, and the mental strain was increasing. The restrictive spells on the bridge were constantly changing, which in turn required constant adjustments on Naruto's part. At first, things went quickly, but the process eventually went slower and slower. By this point, the first cultivator to have stepped onto the bridge was about thirty percent across.

On several occasions, the surrounding mist would surge toward the cultivators, but before it could get close, was rebuffed. The roars from within the mist grew more intense, and Naruto's third eye more bloodshot. The 8-Essences Paragon up ahead of him was proceeding with an ashen face. Suddenly, he stepped a bit out of line, whereupon he coughed up a mouthful of blood and began to wither up. The mist around him cackled with joy, and surged toward him. In the blink of an eye, he was on the verge of being consumed.

In that moment, Naruto reached out with his right hand and made a grasping motion, grabbing the 8-Essences cultivator and sending him back in the line. Another of the subordinate Paragons gritted his teeth and flew forward to take the vanguard position.

The 8-Essences Paragon who Naruto had just saved cast an appreciative glance in Naruto's direction. Naruto nodded and proceeded to make more observations. Then, the group continued on their way across the bridge.

Thirty percent. Forty percent. Fifty percent. Sixty percent…. Several days later, they were seventy percent across the bridge. The Vast Expanse School had never gotten past this point in their previous efforts.

By this point, one 8-Essences Paragon after another had been sent to the vanguard position. Eventually, it reached the point where that position was occupied by the clones of the Sect Leader and the other most powerful experts.

Those clones were even more powerful than the 8-Essences Paragons, enabling them to stay in the vanguard position for longer periods of time. Soon they crossed the eighty percent mark, and a few days after that, had reached the ninety percent mark!

The first land mass was no longer a distant sight; it now stretched out in front of them in all its grandeur.

Excitement could be seen on the Sect Leader's face, and it was the same with everyone else. They yearned to cross the entire bridge… and enter the necropolis of Patriarch Vast Expanse, there on the first land mass.

More time passed. The howling within the mist grew more intense, and it often surged toward the cultivators. But because they had Naruto leading the way, and were both bypassing the most powerful of the restrictive spells and suppressing the weak ones, the mist never had an opportunity to touch them.

After passing the ninety-nine percent point, the person in the lead position was less than 30,000 meters from the end of the bridge. To a mortal, it would be a vast distance, but to cultivators like this, it was a distance that could be spanned in a single step, if not for the restrictive spells in the way.

"We're almost there!"

"The necropolis of the first land mass is right up ahead!"

"We've been waiting years for this day, and now it's upon us!" Everyone was very excited. As for Naruto, his third eye was in significant pain. Using it for such an extended period of time was apparently a serious drain on his cultivation base, and he had even been taking opportunities to rest along the way.

Now that there were only about 30,000 meters left, Naruto began to close his third eye for some rest and recovery, when all of a sudden, an intense sensation of imminent danger exploded up within him. The source of that danger was a shadowy figure within the depths of the abyss below.

It was none other than the three-headed giant!

Throughout the entire trip, Naruto had not been able to catch a single glimpse of the giant he had seen at the outset. He had looked for it, but found no trace. But now, here it was again.

No one else could see it, but they could sense an unprecedentedly cold air rising up. Naruto's third eye snapped back open, and the exhaustion which had been visible therein was now gone.

Naruto was profoundly observant and insightful, and had long since come to the conclusion that the three-headed giant was simply waiting for the right moment to make a move. During the journey so far, the occasions on which Naruto rested because of exhaustion had actually all been an act. During the entire time, he had kept himself at peak battle readiness.

The three-headed giant roared, and the cold wind grew even more icy than before, transforming into a wild tempest that knocked Naruto off the bridge.

He ground to a halt out in the void, then snorted coldly, performing an incantation gesture with his right hand and then waving his finger toward the three-headed giant. A powerful force slammed into the giant, sending it flying back down into the abyss.

Naruto didn't pursue it. Instead, he turned back toward the bridge. However, it was in that moment that something very unexpected happened!

The Sixth and Eighth Paragons suddenly joined forces to unleash an Essence divine ability that rocketed directly toward Naruto.

This sudden turn of events caused the Sect Leader's face to fall. He was about to step forward and intervene when a shadowy figure appeared next to him and reached a hand out to block his path. It was none other than the man in the sandstorm who had visited Naruto when he was in secluded meditation.

"Sha Jiudong, what are you doing?!" Even as a grim expression overtook the Sect Leader's face, the other Paragons' faces flickered. Naruto had offered incredible assistance to them on their journey, and that was especially so for the 8-Essences Paragons. Naruto had saved all of their lives, and as such, the current development left them enraged. However, there was little time for them to put thought into the matter. 1

Just when they were about to take action, a figure materialized behind the Sixth and Eighth Paragons, a young man in a golden robe, who radiated golden light.

He was another of the four peak 9-Essences experts from Planet Vast Expanse!

Killing intent swirled in his eyes as he glared at Naruto and extended his right hand. Golden light surged around him, and rumbling sounds could be heard as an invisible power erupted out. That was the power of the peak 9-Essences level, and when it combined with the divine ability unleashed by the Sixth and Eighth Paragons, it created a force that could crush anything in its path.

Even as killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes, the roar of the threeheaded giant once again echoed out from below as it shot upward, reaching out to grab Naruto.

Descending from above was the combined attack of three Paragons. Below was a seemingly invincible three-headed giant. Surrounding him was the mist, which thanks to his third eye, he could now see was surging toward him.

By this point, the entities in the mist hated Naruto with a vengeance. If he weren't around, they would have been able to consume any number of cultivators from the bridge, and would have eaten to their hearts' content. But now, they hadn't succeeded even once. Roaring, they shot through the starry sky toward Naruto.

Naruto's face darkened. Although he had been prepared, the plot against him was excellently laid. Even still, he didn't panic. The truth was that from the moment the Sixth Paragon had begun to provoke him, he had guessed that there was some other powerful figure backing him.

Snorting coldly, eyes swirling with killing intent, he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and unleashed Demon Sealing Hexing magic. He was confident that doing so could reverse the setback. Although he might not be able to fight his opponents directly, he could at least get back onto the bridge and into a position where he could be aided by the Sect Leader and the others.

However, it was at this very moment that intense fluctuations began to emanate out from the bronze lamp. At the same time, Naruto could sense something calling to him from deep within the abyss, something that wanted to him to come down!

"Allheaven fears the Immortal…. Come… come… come…."

Sha Jiudong's name in Chinese is shā jiǔ dōng 沙九东. Sha is a surname which also means "sand." Jiu means "nine," and dong means "east." ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1427

Chapter 1427 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1427: All Ye Shall Call Me Allheaven!

Naruto's mind was reeling. The fluctuations emanating from the bronze lamp grew stronger, and it reached the point where he knew that if he missed this opportunity, it could have grave ramifications in the future.

Even more shocking to Naruto was that in his moment of hesitation, it almost felt as if the bronze lamp were going to burst out of him and fly down into the abyss of its own accord.

He didn't hesitate for even a moment longer. Casting a cold glance at the intense golden light shooting toward him from the golden-robed young man and the Sixth and Eighth Paragons, and looking around at the greedy, brutal figures within the mist, he suddenly shot downward. The light and the mist passed over the spot he had just occupied, and at the same time, he slammed into the giant.

A huge boom rang out, and the three-headed giant screamed miserably. Blood oozed out of Naruto's mouth as he shot downward into the abyss, ignoring the bridge completely.

Of course, to all of the other cultivators on the bridge, it didn't look like Naruto was intentionally heading down into the dark void below. Instead, it seemed as if the golden-robed young man and the other Paragons were forcing him to do so.

"Sha Jiudong! Jin Yunshan!" roared the Sect Leader, enraged. His cultivation base surged as if he were preparing to fight with the other two. 1

However, Sha Jiudong and Jin Yunshan didn't seem willing to engage in fighting. They immediately fell back, whereupon the three of them began to confer via a method only they could participate in. Eventually, the Sect Leader's face flickered with disbelief and other mixed emotions.

"Impossible," he murmured.

As for what happened after that, Naruto didn't care enough to pay attention. As he whistled through the void down into the depths of the abyss, he recalled what the Sect Leader had said about the ramifications of being off of the bridge for an extended length of time. Death would be the result, and as of now, Naruto was already seeing evidence of why that was the case.

Astonishingly, the mists around him were growing thicker and thicker, and they were growing ever closer to him. Lurking within those mists was an aura that left his heart pounding.

However, as the mists neared, the bronze lamp within Naruto suddenly let out a soft glow. It passed outside of Naruto's body, surrounding him, and when the mists touched it, countless screaming voices could be heard, as if their owners were being melted away by the light.

Naruto settled himself. Following the tug of the bronze lamp, he continued downward. Behind him, the three-headed giant roared, apparently not frightened of the lamp at all as it pursued him relentlessly.

The further down he went, the more intense the fluctuations of the bronze lamp became. Before long, Naruto caught sight of land down below.

Most accurately speaking, it was a strip of land jutting out from the larger first land mass. Visible there was a statue which had apparently been standing, tucked away, for countless years.

It was tens of thousands of meters tall, and at first glance it almost looked like a mountain.

It depicted a young man clad in a long robe, who was gazing upward. A vicious expression twisted his face, and a brutal air radiated out from him. It almost seems as if he were roaring in rage, and there were even blue veins visible, bulging out all over his face. Upon further examination, Naruto realized that he actually resembled the figure he had seen via his third eye, the person sitting on the throne on the ninth land mass.

However, this statue had a stubborn, unyielding expression, as well as an intense focus in his eyes that seemed to be boundless resentment.

Faint tendrils of mist seeped out from him, which was in fact the source of the shocking mist which filled the abyss.

Visible on the statue's forehead was a rift, into which someone had stabbed a sword.

Whatever force was causing the bronze lamp to be stirred into action was coming from within that rift.

Next to the statue was a cliff, although closer examination revealed that it was no simple cliff. It was actually an enormous… gravestone.

Written on the gravestone was a single line of text.

"My first clone, felled by Allheaven."

Beneath the line of text was the name of the person who had written it.

Unexpectedly, it was… Patriarch Vast Expanse.

Naruto felt shaken as he looked at the statue. Although the statue seemed to have been carved out of rock, when he looked closer, it actually seemed to have been formed from flesh and blood.

Before he could study the statue any further, the three-headed giant appeared. Roaring, it launched itself at Naruto, its eyes glowing with turbid red light.

Naruto frowned and rotated his cultivation base. A vortex appeared around him, which rapidly transformed into a wild tempest. He stepped forward, punching out with the God-Slaying Fist.

A boom rang out. Based on the current level of Naruto's battle prowess, that fist strike would cause an ordinary 9-Essences expert to cough up blood. However, all it did to the three-headed giant was send it staggering backward by a few hundred meters. Roaring, it attacked again.

"That's some thick skin," Naruto thought, frowning. Killing intent swirled in his eyes as he unleashed another attack. One punch, two punches, three punches. In the blink of an eye, he unleashed dozens of fist strikes. Intense booms rang out, until finally, the three-headed giant coughed up some blood. However, the brutal gleam in its eyes was even more evident than before.

"Looking to die?" Naruto growled, waving his sleeve. Numerous mountains appeared out of nowhere, each one of which exuded shocking power as it crushed down onto the three-headed giant. Even as blood spurted out of various wounds, the giant's three heads let out piercing cries which became an indescribably powerful sound wave that battered against Naruto.

A tremor ran through him, and his face paled. And yet, he took a step forward, then another. He took a total of seven steps, each of which caused his energy to rise. Then, when the entire abyss seemed to be shaking violently, his finger slashed out like lightning.

That finger swipe slammed into one of the giant's heads, causing it to instantly explode. The giant let out a bloodcurdling scream, and the other two heads suddenly seemed to be struggling. For a moment, the giant's eyes became clear, but then a moment later, a turbid red glow took over. The giant stopped moving, looked at Naruto, then launched another attack.

A boom rang out as massive power blasted toward Naruto. He fell back several paces, simultaneously performing an incantation gesture with his right hand. Then he waved his finger, unleashing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex.

Instantly, the Essence of space descended. The now two-headed giant trembled, and then began to struggle against the effects, but that was when Naruto closed in and waved his finger again.

A huge boom rang out as another of the giant's heads exploded. There was only one head left, but now, the turbid glow in its eyes was gone. Instead, they glowed brightly, without a trace of red, and its pupils were now visible.

"Allheaven…" the giant suddenly said. "Allheaven…" Then it howled, and a pained expression twisted its face. It grabbed its remaining head with its hand as if it were slipping into insanity.

"If you think you can control me, well stop dreaming!" the giant screamed. "I'm the subordinate of Vast Expanse, the God Titan!"

As the giant roared, an air of brutality and infinite madness radiated out, accompanied by a feeling of profound ancientness.

A moment later, his clear eyes once again stirred with a turbid glow. He looked down at Naruto almost as if for the first time, and an expression of disbelief appeared in his eyes.

"Master… is that… is that you…?" he said. Trembling, he began to charge once again in attack. "Kill me! I'm your God Titan, and I'd rather die than be controlled by Allheaven. Kill me, Master!"

Roaring, the giant headed directly toward Naruto, apparently making no defensive preparations whatsoever.

Naruto was taken aback. As the giant closed in, its attack built in intensity until a windstorm raged around it. By now, the turbid redness had completely retaken its eyes.

Naruto didn't hesitate at all. His finger shot out again, tapping the giant's forehead a third time.

A boom rang out, and a massive wound pierced through the giant's head. As it spread out, filling his body, he trembled. And yet, the turbid glow was now gone, and his eyes were completely clear.

He looked at Naruto, his expression one of pain and reminiscence.

"So you're not my Master…?" he murmured. "Well, thank you anyway….

"Allheaven. Allheaven." Laughing loudly, he closed his eyes, and his body collapsed.

Everything went silent. Naruto hovered there quietly for a moment, frowning. The giant's actions had been odd to say the least, and had become even more odd once the turbid glow left its eyes.

"Who is Allheaven? Allheaven fears the Immortal?" Something seemed off. After looking at the rift in the statue's forehead again, he approached it to examine it further.

"Killed… by a single sword strike," he murmured. The statue itself was enormous, so naturally, the rift was as well. It appeared to be at least thirty meters tall.

"The fact that the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse was interred here by the Patriarch himself… The city and the land masses that became the Ghost City…. The Sect Leader's description of the legends…. And then this three-headed giant's words. What mystery is at work here?

"Obviously, it has something to do with the bronze lamp inside of me." Numerous speculations ran through Naruto's mind. After some more thought, his eyes began to glow, and he flickered into motion. Following the stirrings of the bronze lamp, he entered the rift, and thus, the interior of the statue.

There was no flesh and blood, only a stone tunnel. At first, the tunnel sloped downward, but soon it changed direction and headed upward. As Naruto sped along, he felt the fluctuations in the bronze lamp growing ever stronger, and the call from earlier, ever closer.

Several hours later, he came to a stop. Up ahead, the tunnel led into a stone cavern, on either side of which could be seen frescoes carved into the wall. The frescoes themselves were what immediately caught Naruto's attention.

They depicted scenes from countless ages past. Innumerable living beings were depicted, and even wild beasts. All of them were prostrating themselves in worship toward the sky, toward a figure who was approaching, bathed in light.

That figure looked down on all creation…. His upraised right hand held within it a stretch of starry sky, within which could be seen countless heavenly bodies….

As he stared at the frescoes, Naruto's mind and soul, everything about him, seemed drawn to the images. He almost seemed to sink into the world depicted in the frescoes.

It was as if he had become one of those prostrating figures. He could sense how ancient the world around him was, and could detect the boundless nature of Heaven and Earth. Within his ears rang the voice of that figure which looked down upon all creation.

"All ye living beings shall call me… Allheaven.

"Because of mine existence, there is the universe, and thus the starry sky, and thus the heavenly bodies, and thus all of ye people…." Chapter 1427: All Ye Shall Call Me Allheaven!

Jin Yunshan's name in Chinese is 金云山 jīn yún shān. Jin is a common surname which also means "Gold." Yun means "cloud" and shan means

"mountain" ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1428

Chapter 1428: The Passing of Ages in Frescoes

Time passed, and soon Naruto began to tremble. His eyes grew clear, and he backed up a few steps, panting, waves of shock pounding his heart as he looked at the visions from the frescoes.

"Allheaven…." he murmured. Countless questions bubbled up in his heart, but after some thought, his eyes glittered as he left the stone chamber and proceeded along down the tunnel.

Even as he shot through the tunnel, on the bridge connecting to the first land mass up above, several figures were speeding along. With Naruto present, that final 30,000-meter stretch would not have taken long for the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School to pass, and would have been quite safe.

But with Naruto gone, the group finally experienced the true danger of passing through that region. After only traveling 15,000 meters, they had already experienced several casualties.

Even the 9-Essences Paragons had experienced losses; all of their clones had been destroyed, and their true selves were in bad condition. In the final 15,000-meter journey, everyone drew fully on their most powerful abilities and trump cards to stay alive.

With all of that, they eventually managed to reach the very end, although by that time, three more people had perished.

Even that was only because the Sect Leader and the other two peak 9Essences cultivators had gone all out. Otherwise, there would have been even more casualties. In the end, all three peak 9-Essences cultivators ended up ashen-faced from the effort expended.

Although no words were exchanged, fury built up in the hearts of many. The stark difference between Naruto's presence, and the lack thereof, caused many in the group, including the Sect Leader, to feel increasing rage toward the two other peak 9-Essences experts, as well as the Sixth and Eighth Paragons.

When they finally stepped off of the bridge and onto the land mass, grim expressions could be seen everywhere.

After a moment of silence, the Sect Leader glanced around, then looked icily at the other peak 9-Essences experts, and the Sixth and Eighth Paragons. "We walk different paths. I won't be traveling with the four of you."

The others snorted coldly, then followed after him.

"Very well, that's fine," said Jin Yunshan, smiling. "Our mutual goal is the Transcendence Dais, which means they will also head there eventually. However, there must be other good fortune to be had in this place besides the Transcendence Dais.

"Since that's the case, we can split up here and meet back up again at the Transcendence Dais." With that, he waved his sleeve, sending a jade slip flying out to both the Sixth and Eighth Paragons. Then, he turned and left.

Sha Jiudong shook his head and headed off in a different direction.

The Sixth and Eighth Paragons exchanged a glance, then left with their subordinates.

Meanwhile, back in the tunnel deep below the surface of the land mass, Naruto was speeding along. A few days later, he arrived at a second stone chamber.

As soon as he entered, he looked around and found that this place also had frescoes on the walls.

The frescoes depicted numerous starry skies, each of which was filled with one Realm after another…. There were countless heavenly bodies, countless worlds, countless forms of life.

The living beings were born and died in a ceaseless cycle of reincarnation. It was almost as if time were passing in some unique way within these frescoes. There were no written words to explain what was happening, but Naruto could tell that what was being depicted was the passage of endless time.

The figure known as Allheaven gradually began to glow with light. The light grew more and more intense, until eventually, his entire person was a shining beacon. Then, unexpectedly… he began to fade away.

The first things to disappear were his legs, then his body, and then his head. Soon, the only part of him remaining behind to prop up the boundless starry sky was his right hand. Everything else was gone.

Eventually, his palm and thumb vanished, leaving behind only four fingers encircling the starry sky. Gradually, all the light was absorbed into those fingers, ensuring that they… didn't fade away, but rather, began to thrum with life force. Four unique auras began to stream out of them, indescribable auras that actually seemed more powerful than the figure itself when it was whole!

When Naruto saw what was happening, waves of shock battered at his heart.

"How could this be happening….?" he murmured.

"This… this…." Despite Naruto's level of willpower, he was panting. Of those four fingers, the second had an aura that he realized was familiar…. It was a God-like aura. After a moment of confirmation, he was certain that this aura was the same as that of the statue on the Immortal God Continent.

Furthermore, the third finger of the statue radiated the same sensation as the wild and barbaric Devil Realm Continent. A Devil-like aura!

And then there was the first finger. Its aura was like an Immortal's, and yet was not. It was rife with death, with the same aura as that in the necropolis of Patriarch Vast Expanse! It contained the same fluctuations as those in the Ghost City!

And the final finger… had a Demonic aura, which was exactly the same as Naruto's!

"Ghost, God, Devil, Demon!" he thought, his mind reeling as he returned from the vision he had experienced when looking at the world in the frescoes. He began to pant as he looked at the images once again, and yet couldn't enter that special vision he had just been in.

His face was pale white as he stood there for a long period of time, regaining his composure. Finally, he looked up, and his eyes were shining.

"That figure was Allheaven. Perhaps he is not a living being, but… some unique entity. Because of him, the starry sky exists, the heavenly bodies exist, all life exists…. Allheaven, Allheaven….

"Clearly, he died, and was not a being that could last for all eternity. In the end, everything about him became four fingers, which are distinguished by the Ghost, God, Devil and Demon. But what about the Immortal…?

"Where is the Immortal…?" After a long moment of silence, Naruto flickered into motion, flashing down the tunnel, burning with the desire to lay eyes on the third set of frescoes.

A few days later, he was still speeding through the ancient tunnel. It almost felt as if he were passing through years of time until finally, there up ahead… was the third stone chamber.

His pupils constricted, and his heart began to beat faster and faster. Almost as soon as he burst into the third stone chamber, he looked around for the frescoes.

As expected, there was a third set of frescoes!

When he laid eyes on them, his mind spun, and he sank into the world depicted therein.

This time, the world within the frescoes depicted a place Naruto had seen before. It was a city, in the very middle of which were nine land masses…. This fresco depicted… the necropolis of Patriarch Vast Expanse.

However, this was before it had become a Ghost City, back when it was still a thriving place of the living. There were countless buildings and structures, as well as innumerable cultivators. It was a bustling and flourishing place, clearly in its golden age.

He saw a young man who looked very much like the statue of Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone that he had seen. Perhaps this young man… was Patriarch Vast Expanse himself!

He was sitting cross-legged in the air as countless lightning bolts struck down. Apparently, he was in the middle of facing Tribulation. Down below in the city, countless cultivators were looking on, faces filled with anticipation.

Powerful fluctuations emanated off of the young man, and when Naruto sensed them, he was visibly shaken. Those fluctuations exceeded the 9-Essences level, and were half a step into Transcendence. Even more shocking was that this young man's aura… contained Immortal qi!

Absolutely pure Immortal qi!

He was attempting to Transcend, to pass this tribulation as the Immortal!

Naruto was panting as he looked at the city and the young man. It was then that he realized that the starry sky of the Vast Expanse that was depicted in this fresco had no mist in it. Instead, it was filled with countless bolts of Tribulation Lightning, seemingly endless amounts that crashed down toward the young man.

As of this moment, Heaven and Earth, the starry sky, and the entire fresco seemed to flash with blinding lightning. Apparently it was completely unwilling to let this person Transcend as the Immortal!

As the destructive Tribulation Lightning descended toward the young man to wipe him out, he rose to his feet and extended his hand as if to blot out the Heavens.

In that moment, a beam of light fell from above, ripping the starry sky apart. A finger descended, a finger that Naruto recognized as… one of the four fingers he had seen in the second set of frescoes!

That finger overtook the starry sky, and its descent caused everyone in the city, regardless of the level of their cultivation bases… to begin to tremble violently. Then, they were destroyed in body and soul, completely eradicated! The only ones who survived were the young man and a handful of other people!

One finger exterminated all of the life in that huge city.

One finger took a thriving world and transformed it into a place of death and corpses.

One finger caused a Realm that was bursting with life force to, in the blink of an eye, be filled with nothing but an aura of death!

The next thing that Naruto saw was that young man hovering there amidst the boundless aura of death, letting out a cry filled with the most profound anguish.

Then, the fresco changed. Unexpectedly, the corpses… all began to come to life again. However, their faces were twisted with bizarre smiles, as if they weren't themselves any more. Then, they began to fly up into the air toward the young man, as if to kill him.

The young man's bitter laughter began to transform into wretched wailing.

The vision ended there. It took Naruto a long moment to recover. When he did, he took a deep breath, and proceeded along. He wanted to see the fourth set of frescoes. He had the intense premonition that whatever was depicted on them would be… something profoundly shocking and mysterious.

Whatever secret was locked therein might even have something to do with him!

He thought back to the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm, to the Demonic Chakra which had appeared on him, and how it had been said that the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent didn't want the Immortal to appear in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Similar. Very similar. The only difference is that Patriarch Vast Expanse tried to Transcend as the Immortal, whereas in the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Immortal had only just appeared….

"Was it really the Immortal God and Devil Realm Continents who wanted to destroy the Mountains and Seas, or was it… someone else!?

"Why is there no text description, and why is it only possible to view the images in the fresco once…?

"What is being guarded against?

"Allheaven destroyed that whole world…." As Naruto flew along toward the fourth stone chamber, his mind spun with countless ideas and thoughts. At the same time, his face grew more and more grim.

By now, he was getting the feeling that the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm… might not have been such a simple affair. Apparently… there was some profound secret at play!

And Naruto was uncovering a bit of that secret from these wall frescoes!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1429

Chapter 1429: A Deep Look at the Vast Expanse!

Naruto's face was grim as he shot through the tunnel at top speed. If there were someone capable of seeing everything beneath the surface of that first land mass, they would see that within the long tunnel, there were four stone chambers.

Naruto was currently heading upward through the tunnel toward the surface of the lands, and at the same time, he was rapidly approaching the fourth stone chamber, which was also the final chamber.

His eyes were bloodshot, and he moved at incredible speed. Countless thoughts and ideas ran through his head, and they grew increasingly disorderly. He was getting even more anxious.

Some days later, the fourth stone chamber appeared up ahead of him. He slowed down, coming to a stop just outside the chamber. He stood there quietly for a long moment, taking the time to calm his mind and heart. Then, he stepped into the chamber, eyes glittering.

He absolutely had to see what the frescoes in this fourth chamber depicted.

As soon as he stepped into the chamber and looked at the frescoes, his vision swam. When things became clear, he was looking at pitch blackness.

Everything was completely and utterly black, without even a glimmer of light. It didn't feel like an infinite blackness that stretched out endlessly. Rather, it was like an obstacle, blocking the way ahead, almost like… the end of the starry sky.

Within that darkness, he saw four pillars that seemed to prop up the world. Emanating out from the pillars to spread out in all directions were shocking fluctuations.

When he saw the pillars, he suddenly realized something, and began to pant. He spun, and was shocked to find that behind him was… an enormous maelstrom.

The maelstrom was so gargantuan that at first glance it looked like a huge sphere. However, closer examination revealed that the maelstrom was actually made up of endless clouds and mist.

As he looked at the spherical maelstrom, he even noticed some places which looked familiar.

"I'm outside… the Vast Expanse…." he murmured.

Suddenly, a desire rose up within him. He focused on one particular area of the maelstrom, and his vision zoomed in, passing through layers upon layers of mist before coming to rest on an area within the Vast Expanse that was rife with an aura of death.

A vortex could be seen there, spinning slowly. As Naruto looked at it, he saw… an area that was tattered and torn, filled with corpses, ruin, wreckage, and ash.

"The Mountain and Sea Realm…." he thought, heart stabbing with pain. It was the former location of the Mountain and Sea Realm. But everything that had happened there was nothing more than the past.

After a long moment passed, Naruto looked away. Following the tuggings of his heart, his gaze passed in another direction, to a location where a powerful sealing magic was located. A monkey sat cross-legged outside of it, completely oblivious to Naruto's gaze.

Beneath the monkey were… numerous land masses, thirty-three in total. They were the 33 Heavens, like thirty-three walls, beneath which was a vortex. Inside the vortex was a green coffin, upon which rested a butterfly, whose wings floated gently up and down.

The instant he laid eyes on the butterfly, his heart thumped. He could just barely make out his father and mother there, nestled in each other's arms. His vision zoomed in again, and next he saw a world.

There were many familiar faces in that world. His sister, Sun Hai, and Fatty….

On one particular mountain, he saw a thin woman who was Hinata.

He wanted to see more, but inwardly, exhaustion was taking root. His vision swam, and then zoomed back out, as if he were being expelled from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

In the last moments before his vision completely faded away, he suddenly looked over at the Vast Expanse School. There, outside of Planet Vast Expanse, was an area where the starry sky was damaged and in ruins. There was no Vast Expanse mist there, only a rift. After looking into that rift, he saw nine land masses that formed into a necropolis!

He was unable to see himself in the stone chamber in the first land mass, but he was able to see a scattered group of people. There was the Sect Leader, the golden-robed young man, the sand-wreathed figure, the Sixth and Eighth Paragons, and all the others….

He could see that in the very center of the first land mass, where the Sect Leader was currently located, was an altar which emanated a unique aura that resembled Transcendence!

Naruto was left reeling as his consciousness and sight returned to their original location.

He took a deep breath as he looked at the spherical maelstrom again.

Then, mind spinning, he turned once more to look at the four

astonishing pillars.

He knew exactly what those four pillars were. He had seen them in the vision from the second set of frescoes. They were the four fingers left behind by Allheaven after his death!

In the vision from the third set of frescoes, he had seen one of those fingers destroy a thriving world and kill all of the lives within it.

"So I am outside the Vast Expanse, and this spherical maelstrom is the Vast Expanse, within which I exist." Panting, Naruto suddenly thought about something he knew which apparently conflicted with what he was seeing.

"The Vast Expanse School is a branch of the Vast Expanse Society, which exists on the outside. The Ninth Paragon even came from there. But if I am outside the Vast Expanse right now, then where is the Vast Expanse Society…?

"Perhaps I'm in a different time…? But then why would I be able to see the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, and everything else in the Vast Expanse?" Naruto frowned. He wanted to get closer to the four pillars, to study them, but when he tried to move, everything turned blurry. After things got clear again, he wasn't near the four pillars, but back in the fourth stone chamber.

In that moment, the bronze lamp inside of him quieted down. The sense of being called faded away, as if what had been reaching out to the bronze lamp was none other than this fourth set of frescoes.

Now that he had laid eyes on it, the bronze lamp became calm once again.

"If you really are Patriarch Vast Expanse, then the message you wished to pass on to me by leaving these frescoes… has been received." After a moment, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply.

Now that he had experienced the visions within the frescoes, he was filled with a deep skepticism regarding the Immortal Gods, the Devil Realm, the Vast Expanse, and the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

There was also a name he would not be forgetting. Allheaven!

And there was that saying, 'Allheaven fears the Immortal!'

Naruto took a deep breath and rose to his feet. After closing his eyes, he calmed himself, then took the skepticism, the doubts and the misgivings, and tucked them away deep inside his heart. When he opened his eyes, they seemed just like they had been before he had experienced the visions. With that, he left the chamber.

Proceeding along, he soon reached the end of the tunnel, where a staircase led up to ground level. As he emerged, he looked around to find ruins stretching out around him in all directions.

He was on the outer edge of the first land mass, an area filled with broken buildings and ruined structures. Everything was quiet, except for a whispering breeze which occasionally picked up the dust and carried it off into the distance.

Before experiencing the visions, Naruto's third eye had enabled him to see the Ghost City as it was in the present. But now, after having seen it when it was flourishing and alive, looking around at what remained of it caused him to sigh. Subconsciously, he looked up into the sky.

"That finger descended from above. One finger… wiped out all life here." As Naruto stood there quietly, he realized how insignificant he was, and at the same time, was as focused and determined as ever.

After another moment passed, Naruto turned, transforming into a beam of light that shot at high speed across the surface of the land mass. This location was no longer unfamiliar to him; after seeing this world in his vision, he had come to know it well, as well as where the others were located within it. In fact, after looking at the ruins and the mountains around him, he quickly determined his exact location.

"The Sect Leader and the others are at the altar in the center of the land mass. Apparently… that is their target destination.

"The aura of Transcendence…." As he flew along, his eyes glittered coldly, and he turned to look toward the east. "I remember that the Sixth Paragon was in that area. He shouldn't be very far off."

Snorting coldly, he changed directions to head toward the location of the Sixth Paragon.

Naruto was not the type of person who enjoyed living for hatred and revenge. However, the Sixth Paragon had provoked him three times, and the last time had been with killing intent.

Therefore, Naruto would kill him, along with the Eighth Paragon and… the golden-robed young man!

It was a decision he made without the slightest hesitation or misgiving. After experiencing the visions he just had, he seemed calm on the inside, but was actually deeply anxious. That anxiety in turn unleashed a deep skepticism within him, something that stemmed from his guilt over the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

That skepticism and that anxiety filled him with the desire to kill!

At the moment, the Sixth Paragon was one of the targets on his list.

Naruto shot through the air like lightning, doing nothing to mask his aura. His cultivation base surged with power, becoming a raging tempest that formed into a face. It was a ferocious semblance of his own by about seventy percent. However, this face had a horn protruding from its forehead, and appeared to be as cold as ice. It was brutal, and shockingly Demonic.

Off in the distance, the Sixth Paragon was traveling through the ruins with his sole surviving subordinate, an 8-Essences Paragon. He was heading toward the central altar, but was simultaneously searching for other good fortune. Suddenly, his face fell, and he looked up to see the shocking face that resembled Naruto's speeding toward him, bursting with a murderous aura.

"Dammit, you're actually not dead!" His face fell as he sensed the killing intent coming from Naruto. His scalp tingled as he thought of the madness with which Naruto fought. Gasping, and without the slightest hesitation, he pulled out a jade slip to contact the golden-robed young man and the Eighth Paragon. Then he turned, leaving behind afterimages as he went all-out in an attempt to escape.

Even as the Sixth Paragon fled, Naruto's voice echoed out like thunder behind him, "You brought this upon yourself, old man!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1430

Chapter 1430: Crushing the Sixth Paragon!

As the rumbling sounds echoed out, the Sixth Paragon's face fell. Even as he teleported backward in retreat, the space he had just occupied was crushed and destroyed.

The ground quaked and crumbled as a huge crater opened up. As Naruto shot forward like lightning, the vicious Demon face which surrounded him picked up speed. In the blink of an eye, it was bearing down on the Sixth Paragon, radiating Demonic Chakra which caused everything to shake, and bright colors to flash in the area.

The Sixth Paragon's pupils constricted, and he waved his hand out in a grasping motion. A long banner appeared in his hand, upon which were depicted the images of numerous roaring, wild beasts. Among the countless types of creatures, there were even dragons!

"All-Consuming Beast Swarm!" he screamed, waving the banner through the air. Instantly, the countless creatures inside the banner surged out, roaring. It was a sea of beasts which swept out toward the fierce Demon face.

In the blink of an eye, the two forces slammed into each other, resulting in a massive explosion which shattered the surrounding ruins and crushed the air. It was almost like two enormous mountains had collided, causing the ground to quake and a huge cloud of dust to rise up!

BOOM!

Naruto was shaking visibly, but at the same time, the Sixth Paragon coughed up a huge mouthful of blood, and his banner was shredded to pieces.

It was a critical moment in the fight. The Sixth Paragon took advantage of it to speed off, coughing up blood the entire time. Then, popping sounds could be heard as numerous ghost images appeared. Tens of thousands of shadows resembling the Sixth Paragon all began to scatter in different directions, making it almost impossible to determine which was his true self.

The Sixth Paragon had tangled with Naruto in the past, and had long since come to fear him. Therefore, he had no intention of fighting a protracted battle, and immediately attempted to flee.

Naruto let out a cold harrumph, and opened his third eye. The world changed into that of the Ghost City, wherein countless figures could be seen. At the same time, Naruto was instantly able to determine which among the tens of thousands of shadows was the Sixth Paragon's true self.

"You can't get away," he said coldly. As his voice echoed out, he flickered into motion, reappearing directly in front of one of the shadows. Then, he unleashed a fist strike.

It was the God-Slaying Fist!

A boom rang out as the shadow shattered, and the Sixth Paragon emerged from within, face ashen. He immediately fell back at top speed, a vicious expression gleaming in his eyes. However, before he could escape, Naruto waved his finger, unleashing the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex.

Because of Naruto's current battle prowess, the Eighth Hex was now strong enough to affect even 9-Essences Paragons. The Sixth Paragon's face fell as he suddenly lurched to a halt. Although he recovered almost immediately, a brief moment of immobility like that could be an eternity in a fight like this.

A boom rang out as Naruto launched another punch toward the Sixth Paragon. However, in that instant, the Sixth Paragon's skin turned bright red, and a glow like that of blood emanated out, transforming into a shield which blocked the punch.

Naruto's fist slammed into the blood-colored shield, causing the shield to distort, and the Sixth Paragon to stagger backward.

However, even as he did, Naruto launched another fist strike, then another. Booms echoed out as the blood-colored shield struggled to hold. When the third successive fist strike hit it, the shield shattered, and the fist landed onto the Sixth Paragon's chest.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and a sensation of numbness swept over him like flood waters. Even his cultivation base teetered unstably, and his soul trembled.

"Dammit, Jin Yunshan is obviously aware that I need help, but isn't responding. Old Eighth is the only one on the way. He's not too far away, but still needs time to get here!

"This Uzumaki character is not only a lunatic, he also excels at seizing the initiative in battle. I can't even use a full eighty percent of my power because he never gives me a chance to do anything!" As Naruto closed in again, the Sixth Paragon let out an enraged roar. By this point, he knew that it wasn't very likely he would be able to extricate himself from the fighting. Clearly, Naruto was completely focused on exterminating him.

In that case, it would be better to die fighting than to run away. In fact, his only hope lay in drawing out the fighting long enough for the Eighth Patriarch to arrive. Then the two of them could either fight or flee together. Either way, they could change the situation.

"Naruto, you push things too far!" he howled. His body was still

bright red as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Instantly, billowing clouds appeared behind him as he unleashed all of his Essence power. It transformed into a huge black head which lunged toward Naruto as if to swallow him whole.

Naruto's expression was icy cold as he flickered into motion, a streak of azure light that transformed into an azure roc. The roc slammed into the black head, piercing through it and destroying it. The Sixth Paragon let out a miserable shriek as blood spurted from various wounds. Even as he prepared to fall back, the azure roc teleported, appearing directly in front of him and then shooting forward to blast through his body.

It was an intense, deadly situation. The Sixth Paragon let out a roar of rage, hands flashing in a double-handed incantation gesture that caused all of the light around him to vanish. Everything turned black as he called upon his ninth Essence, that of the darkness of night.

The darkness of night was capable of crushing all light, of superimposing the color black onto everything and anything. All existence could be wiped out. This Essence magic was the Sixth Paragon's trump card, and having been forced into the corner he was in, he unleashed it without any warning.

However, even as the Essence exploded out, causing Heaven and Earth to turn dark, Naruto's eyes flickered. He could sense the boundless killing intent that surrounded him. His body felt as if something else were controlling it, as if a boundless coldness was surrounding him and trying to bore inside of him to wipe away his soul.

Naruto suddenly laughed and said, "Someone once tried to corrupt my body, to defile my soul. I let her, so that she could be happy and at ease. And now you're trying use a similar Essence magic against me….

"This Essence of the darkness of night can cover over Heaven and Earth.

However, the Demonic Chakra within me can cover over the Vast Expanse…." With that, Naruto ceased struggling, and allowed the darkness of night to enter his body. However, the process went too slowly for his taste, so he opened his mouth and intentionally sucked it in.

Almost immediately, the darkness of night began to tremble. In the blink of an eye, Naruto had turned into a black hole. Everything trembled as boundless darkness… poured into his mouth!

The sight was completely shocking, leaving the Sixth Paragon feeling as if he had been struck by lightning. His eyes shone with disbelief and shock as he watched Naruto sucking the darkness of night into his mouth. Naruto's hair whipped about as he began to emanate an aura that the Sixth Paragon had never encountered before in his entire life.

It was an evil aura, a multifarious aura. It was like an Immortal, and yet also like a God, and at the same time, like a Devil. It changed back and forth rapidly, causing Heaven and Earth to tremble. As of this moment, Naruto was like the Dao of a world, and when he flicked his sleeve, everything began to collapse.

Even more shocking to the Sixth Paragon was that he suddenly realized that his ninth Essence… was vanishing from inside of him.

"C-consuming… consuming Essence? Y-y-you…" The Sixth Paragon was scared out of his mind. Eyes gleaming with rage, he howled as he fell back. As of this moment, he abandoned all thoughts of tangling with Naruto. Instead, he tried to escape with all the speed he could muster, leaving a series of afterimages behind him as he fled.

Naruto's mouth twisted into a grim smile. Even as the Sixth Paragon began to flee, Naruto took three steps forward, each one of which caused everything to shake violently.

After three steps, his energy had risen to a level that seemed to supercede the entire world. Suddenly, a sensation of indescribable deadly crisis filled the Sixth Paragon.

"He's going to kill me!" he thought. He slapped his hand down onto his head. A droning sound filled his mind as he unleashed an unknown secret magic. Green smoke rose up from his red skin, increasing his speed dramatically. In the briefest of instants, he was 500 kilometers away.

Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes as he took four more steps.

With each step, Heaven and Earth trembled. The fourth step took him 500 kilometers forward. Then he took the fifth and sixth steps, which were as equally grand and dramatic.

The Sixth Paragon's face was ashen, and the sensation of deadly crisis grew more intense. He had completely lost any fighting spirit, and could sense the trump card that was his ninth Essence fading away, which caused his scalp to tingle. Then he sensed Naruto's energy rising, and his mind began to reel as he realized that it almost felt as if he were fighting a peak 9-Essences cultivator like the Sect Leader or Jin Yunshan.

"Dammit!" he shrieked. "That's… that's the Seven God Steps of the Devil Realm!" He knew that the most powerful explosion of energy from the Seven God Steps came from the seventh step. That raised one's mind, life force, cultivation base and everything else to a higher level. In the blink of an eye, it would lead to an explosive, exponential increase in battle prowess.

As Naruto took that seventh step, the Sixth Paragon's vision turned red. However, in that moment of deadly crisis, a beam of light appeared off in the distance, shooting toward them at high speed.

The Eighth Paragon had arrived!

"Old Ninth, what are you doing? How dare you attempt to harm fellow sect members. Stand down immediately!" The Eighth Paragon's voice echoed like thunder, and rumbling sounds caused even the clouds to vibrate as he shot forward.

The Sixth Paragon's eyes went wild with joy, and he immediately sped in the direction of the Eighth Paragon. It was in that moment that Naruto completed his seventh step!

Heaven and Earth shook. The sky took the shape of Naruto's face, and the lands turned black. A profoundly murderous aura filled the area, converging upon Naruto's right hand in the form of the Eighth Hex Essence!

It was… Spatial Hexing!

Shockingly, he was preparing to completely and thoroughly seal the Sixth Paragon, to seal the space around him, to seal his cultivation base, and to seal… his life!

As soon as the sealing mark appeared, the incoming Eighth Paragon's face fell.

"Naruto, are you looking to die?!" By this point, he didn't even call Naruto by the title of Ninth Paragon, but rather, by his true name!

The Sixth Paragon's mind was spinning, and he was completely overwhelmed by the sensation of crisis. It was as if Naruto had superseded the entire world, and as his right hand descended, the Sixth Paragon screamed.

"You'll never seal me, Naruto!" Apparently throwing caution to the wind, he chose to do the only thing he was capable of doing at this juncture… detonating one of his Essences!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1431

Chapter 1431 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1431: One Flees, Terrified!

The Heavens roiled as boundless clouds and mist converged, forming an enormous hand that blotted out the sky. It was as if this hand had replaced the Heavens, radiating an enormous, destructive sealing power!

Apparently, when this hand descended, it could seal one's cultivation base, life force, soul… everything!

The Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering sight caused the Sixth Paragon's mind to reel. An unprecedented feeling of danger rose up in his heart; he was very well aware that unless he came up with some powerful countermeasure, he would definitely die!

Within the starry skies of the Vast Expanse, 9-Essences Paragons were essentially invincible, with the exception of when they were within places like this necropolis, or perhaps when facing the old eccentrics who were peak 9-Essences Paragons. And yet, as of this moment, the shadow of death loomed large within the heart of the Sixth Paragon.

He let out a miserable howl. At this critical point in the fighting, it was without hesitation that he chose his only remaining option, to… detonate one of his Essences!

The cost would be enormous. For the next ten thousand years, he would no longer wield the power of 9-Essences, but 8-Essences.

He was detonating an Essence in exchange for a chance to survive. If he could just avoid this deadly sealing mark, then he could join forces with the Eighth Paragon. At the very least, his cultivation base drop would result in being able to live!

"Naruto!" the Sixth Paragon howled, his voice tinged with venomous rage. Even as his voice echoed out, he spread his hands wide, causing a black and white windstorm to kick up. As it spun, it turned gray, and terrifying pulses of Essence aura appeared. They were so powerful that they could cause any 8-Essences Paragon to tremble; that was how far the Sixth Paragon was willing to go in his madness to defend against Naruto.

It was a shocking sight to see the windstorm whipping through the air toward the enormous Heavenly hand.

When they slammed into each other, it was like the land below smashing into the sky above. Above the Heavenly hand was Naruto, clothes whipping about, murderous aura radiating out, and expression icy. Down below was the Earthly windstorm, beneath which was the maddened Sixth Paragon, his hair and clothing in disarray.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

All of this takes some time to describe, but actually happened in the space of a few breaths. In the blink of an eye, the enormous hand and the wild windstorm… slammed into each other.

The resulting explosion seemed loud enough to destroy Heaven and

Earth. It was as if everything in existence were being ripped to shreds!

The Sixth Paragon screamed miserably as he detonated that single Essence. Although it was only one, to him, detonating that one Essence was like detonating all nine. Rumbling sounds rose up as the windstorm roared like a dragon, attempting to consume the hand.

No matter how madly that windstorm screamed, though, the Heavenly hand which contained Naruto's sealing mark continued to shove downward. The windstorm shattered, and the power of the Sixth Paragon's exploding Essence transformed into a shockwave that blasted out in all directions. A huge crater opened up down below, and although the hand was not completely destroyed, four of the fingers were wiped away in the explosion.

The final finger proceeded onward unhindered. However, it had lost its power of sealing. The Sixth Paragon coughed up blood, and he suddenly seemed to age by a thousand years, leaving his face pale. He felt unprecedentedly weak, but a vicious expression appeared on his face, and his eyes radiated hatred as he backed up, laughing.

"You can't kill me, Naruto! I won't forget the enmity which you have sown this day!" The hatred for Naruto which had been building up in the Sixth Paragon had reached a pinnacle. However, even as he spoke, he borrowed force from the explosion, and drew upon all the power he could muster, to shoot toward the Eighth Paragon.

Likewise, the Eighth Paragon was speeding toward him. Once the two of them joined forces, then even Naruto with his current level of battle prowess would not be able to fight them.

Naruto knew that, the Sixth Paragon knew it, and so did the Eighth Paragon.

Seeing that the deadly battle was about to conclude, even the Eighth Paragon sighed with relief. In his estimation, unless Naruto was a complete fool, he would realize that he couldn't continue fighting. If he did, he would be putting himself in a very bad position. After all, the shockwaves which would spread out because of a fight against two Paragons would eventually be detected by the other Paragons, and when that happened, the fight definitely couldn't continue.

Because of that, there was no possible way for the Eighth Paragon to be able to imagine what happened next. What he saw could not possibly have been more of a shock to him.

What he had taken to be a complete and utter impossibility, was suddenly completely possible!

Naruto hovered there in the sky, looking coldly down at the retreating Sixth Paragon, as well as the Eighth Paragon, both of whom were racing toward each other at top speed.

"If I say that I'm going to kill you, then kill you I shall," he said, voice cool and calm. His words were very similar to the ones he had spoken some time earlier to the Sixth Paragon about leaving his mark on him.

As his voice echoed out, the Sixth Paragon's heart began to pound strangely within him.

It was at that point that Naruto lifted his right foot and then took a step forward. When his foot landed, the Essence of time erupted around him. He began to walk forward in a bizarre fashion, and as he did, the Essence of time around him began to grow stronger. In the blink of an eye, the world around him was affected, as was time!

As he took his final step, he vanished. Simultaneously, time began to move backward in the area. Not even the willpower of the Sixth Paragon could do anything to resist the effect. A moment ago, he had been speeding toward the Eighth Paragon, but now it was the opposite. He still had the same look of joy on his face, and his heart was still thumping as he suddenly began… to move backward!

From the perspective of the Eighth Paragon, it looked like he was retreating. In the blink of an eye, the Sixth Paragon was pulled far away from the Eighth Paragon.

Next, the explosion caused by the collision of the Essence detonation and the Heavenly hand was suddenly sucked back in. It was as if everything within the stream of time were being affected!

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly appeared in front of the Sixth Paragon. It was as if Naruto could simply walk through time to any point of his choosing. The sight caused the Eighth Paragon to suddenly stop in place, scalp tingling in shock, crashes like thunder echoing in his mind.

"Time… the Essence of time! No, the Essence of time doesn't have an aura like that. That's… that's…." The Eighth Paragon sucked in a deep breath. His mind spun as he watched Naruto appear in front of the Sixth Paragon, then reach out and touch the man's forehead. Then his hand moved, tracing a box in the air around the Sixth Paragon.

A boom rang out as the Sixth Paragon trembled; from start to finish, he was completely incapable of resisting what was happening. It was almost as if he didn't even see Naruto right there in front of him.

He didn't fight back at all as a field of light emanating from Naruto's hand covered him. His body was sealed, his cultivation base was sealed, and his soul was sealed. Everything about him was sealed!

Rumbling could be heard as the Sixth Paragon transformed into… a painting, which floated down onto Naruto's palm!

Naruto took hold of the painting. His cheeks were a bit flushed, but his eyes were icy cold as he turned and looked at the Eighth Paragon.

The Eighth Paragon's mind was spinning, and he began to tremble. A look of utter incredulity covered his face, and terror exploded up inside of him.

"That's… that's a bit of Daosource aura, in the form of the Daosource of time!" The Eighth Paragon shook as icy coldness spread up his spine and filled his body. Then he screamed and fled.

Actually, this man was well aware of how powerful Naruto was. Even before entering the necropolis, his fight with the Sixth Paragon had utterly proven how terrifying he was. As such, the Eighth Paragon had no desire to offend him. However, because of the orders of the goldenrobed young man, Jin Yunshan, he had had no choice but to attack and try to kill Naruto on the bridge.

He, as well as everyone else, had assumed Naruto to be dead. After all, nobody could fall into that abyss and survive. How could he ever have imagined that Naruto would still be alive!?

After receiving the message from the Sixth Paragon requesting help, he had come over as quickly as possible. Upon arriving, he had witnessed a battle that was completely and utterly shocking. Then he saw Naruto take the impossible and make it completely possible. And he also saw something that he was sure exceeded Essence, an amalgamation of space and time that exhibited a trace of the properties of Daosource which created… a terrifying sealing mark!

"Planning to run?" Naruto asked coolly. As soon as the words left his mouth, the Eighth Paragon's right hand shot up, and he struck the top of his head. Rumbling sounds could be heard as his body withered up; massive amounts of life force exploded out, and he even sacrificed some of his longevity in exchange for a blinding burst of speed. In the blink of an eye, he was a huge distance away.

He was afraid, terrified even. All Naruto had to do was say one thing, and the Eighth Paragon went all out to flee. After all, he had witnessed the fate of the Sixth Paragon.

Naruto stared in shock. The Sixth Paragon's method of fleeing couldn't even compare to the Eighth Paragon's. The Eighth Paragon was gone without a trace, and obviously, it wouldn't be possible to catch up in a short period of time.

Naruto frowned. Obviously… he terrified the Eighth Paragon so much he had simply fled.

"Well, there's no rush. I'll settle accounts slow and steady. He can run, but I know where everyone is heading anyway." After a moment, Naruto snorted coldly and then took a step forward, heading to the location he had seen when outside of the Vast Expanse: the central region where the golden-robed young man and everyone else was waiting.

Chapter 1431: One Flees, Terrified!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1432

Chapter 1432: Transcendence Dais!

After experiencing the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm, Naruto had become more hateful and vindictive. His heart festered with rancor, and the thirst for revenge burned in his blood. Much of that was because he had been defiled, transformed from Immortal into Demon, and had become somewhat extreme and even paranoid.

The current Naruto was a completely different person than the young scholar who had stood atop Mount Daqing in the Five Elemental Nations .

His bashfulness was nowhere to be seen now; there was only viciousness. He smiled less frequently, and was filled with icy coldness. His was a world that had long since been overtaken by a murderous aura.

That was not his wish, nor his fundamental nature. But fate had taken hold, and the things he had experienced were like a merciless blade that slashed away at him, completely transforming him.

Sealing the Sixth Paragon was only the beginning. He planned to put an end to all of those who had shown hostility to him. As such, he would not let the Eighth Paragon off the hook. Even though the man had only attacked him once, to Naruto, once was enough. He would not give him a second opportunity to do so.

Another person on Naruto's list of people to kill was the golden-robed young man, Jin Yunshan. Although Naruto wasn't completely certain that he qualified to attack someone of such a level right now, that didn't matter.

He wasn't of a mind to investigate why things had happened the way they did. To him, only one thing was important: _If you don't mess with me, I won't mess with you. But if you do mess with me, then I will wipe you out of existence!_

Naruto's face was grim as he sped through the air in a beam of bright light. He moved so fast that the only sound heard was something like the crack of thunder; he was actually not visible within the beam, which resembled an arrow as it shot forward.

He split the sky, moving faster and faster, the sound of his passage echoing back and forth. Invisible shockwaves spread out, causing the land to shake and the air to distort.

It was a grand and amazing sight!

As he chased down the Eighth Paragon, he was able to determine that the man was most definitely heading in the same direction Naruto wished to head… toward the center of this first land mass of the necropolis!

As time went on, Naruto moved faster and faster, and the evidence of his passage was detectable far and wide.

The Eighth Paragon was up ahead, shaking in his boots. He was completely terrified, and was using all the power at his disposal to flee at top speed. He continued to unleash secret magics, causing his body to wither up, but propelling himself forward at maddening speed.

"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT…!" he cursed inwardly. He couldn't be more regretful of what had happened, how he had provoked Naruto. He could never have imagined that Naruto would actually possess a bit of the aura of the Daosource. Although it was only a sliver, to someone in the 9-Essences level, that was a profoundly threatening force.

"He's going to kill me!" That was the thought which continued to run through the man's head. Naruto wanted to kill him so much that there was no other option for him other than to flee. He didn't even dare to turn around and try to launch a preemptive counterstrike. He had to rely on the burning of his life force to gain greater speed. His only hope was to reach the location of the Sect Leader and Jin Yunshan, the place where everyone was to meet back up. If Naruto tried to kill him in a location such as that, it would be extremely difficult considering how many people would be there to interfere.

Rumbling could be heard as the Eighth Paragon bit his tongue, spit out some blood, and accelerated once more.

Behind him was Naruto, his expression icy, pursuing him relentlessly.

It wasn't that the Eighth Paragon had forgotten to try to send distress signals via jade slip. He had. However, he quickly realized that sending such messages was like throwing a stone statue of a bull into the sea. Not a single reply ever came back.

His heart was filled with bitterness, and also dread.

A moment later, lightning crashed down around him. Howling, he passed through the lightning, coming out on the other side coughing up blood. Without even looking back, he pushed onward.

Naruto appeared moments later. He collected the lightning up, a cold smile on his face as he continued to chase down his prey.

Time passed slowly. Hunter and quarry slowly drew closer and closer to the central region.

In the middle of the first land mass was an ancient altar, fully 30,000 meters in height. The four corners were decorated with fierce dragon carvings, and it almost looked like a pagoda, stretching high up into the sky.

It was pitch black in color, and emanated a sensation of an ancient era. It was almost as if it had existed within the stream of time for countless years. Ripples pulsed out from the altar, merging into Heaven and Earth, making it seem as if it were part of the entire land mass upon which it stood, and yet somehow in sync with the necropolis itself.

The people from the Vast Expanse School were located in various locations surrounding the black altar, looking at it excitedly. There on the altar itself, three people sat cross-legged. One of those people was the young man in the golden robe, Jin Yunshan!

Another was gaunt and sallow, surrounded by a layer of swirling sand which made it difficult to see him clearly. It was none other than Sha Jiudong!

The last person was the Sect Leader himself.

The three of them sat at the highest point on the altar, various expressions flashing across their faces. Occasionally they appeared to be wild with joy, while at other times they looked confused. Sometimes they would even tremble. Gradually, all of them were beginning to form tiny bits of… Daosource aura!

The other cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were discussing the goings-on.

"According to the ancient records, the necropolis has nine land masses, each one of which has a Transcendence Dais. Any cultivator who seeks enlightenment on that altar can begin to grasp the path to Transcendence!"

"Those records were absolutely correct!"

"The Sect Leader, along with Fellow Daoists Sha and Jin, were the first to step onto the altar. They've already been seeking enlightenment for far longer than five days!"

"During that time, the Daosource aura on them has gradually grown stronger. This place… definitely contains the method for Transcending!" "In the ancient records, it says that the altars in each of the nine land masses of the necropolis can add ten percent to one's chances of Transcending. If you add the altars from all the different land masses together… then doesn't that mean that if you gained enlightenment in all nine, then… you would have a ninety percent chance of Transcending successfully, and entering the Daosource Realm!?" Everyone from the Vast Expanse School stood outside the altar, eyes glittering with fervor.

This was the entire reason they had come to this place: Transcendence.

To be more accurate, the method for Transcendence was by means of the nine altars within the necropolis!

It was at this point, when the Sect Leader and the other two peak 9Essences experts were in the process of seeking enlightenment, and their Daosource aura was growing clearer and stronger, that a beam of light appeared off in the distance, closing in on the area with maddening speed. At the same time, a desperate voice echoed out.

"Help me! Fellow Daoists, please help me!" The voice sounded desperate and weak. Upon closer examination, the Eighth Paragon could clearly be seen, hair in disarray, body gaunt and withered. His eyes were bloodshot, and his aura unstable as he screamed for help.

—–

Important note: This chapter marks the beginning of a special "seven chapters in one day" marathon that Er Gen did. All of the chapters are shorter than usual, which was how he accomplished that. Expect the next few chapters to be short.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1433

Chapter 1433: Killing With Witnesses!

His voice completely shattered the mood in the area. The people from the Vast Expanse School all turned their heads, and when they saw that it was the Eighth Paragon heading in their direction, their faces flickered.

What caused such a reaction was not just the desperate state the Eighth Paragon was in, but something else, something shocking that wasn't immediately noticeable.

They had been studying the altar so intently that they didn't notice what else was happening in the area. Apparently… their divine sense had been sealed, and their five senses interfered with, although that in itself was difficult to detect.

It wasn't a divine ability from Naruto, but rather, some strange effect that came from standing near the altar!

It was because they were near the altar that they hadn't received any of the messages from the Eighth Paragon!

"It's Old Eighth!"

"He was in the same area as Old Sixth. What did he run into that left him in such bad condition!?" Everyone was shaken. The terrifying nature of the necropolis left a lingering fear within their hearts. And yet, it was in this moment that they caught sight of another beam of light off in the distance!

There within that beam of light was Naruto, looking like a fiendish killer!

"It's the Ninth Paragon!"

"He's not actually dead!" Everyone was shocked, but there was little time for them to ponder why he hadn't perished after falling into the abyss. Here he was, chasing down the beleaguered Eighth Paragon, clearly intent on killing him.

The Eighth Paragon let out a miserable shriek as the air around him distorted, and a boom rang out, causing blood to spray out of his mouth. Afterward, he shot toward the group with even greater speed.

"Help me! He killed Old Sixth. I saw him do it! He killed Old Sixth!" His voice rang out, filled with unprecedented levels of anxiety and nervousness. A few of the other Paragons had already stepped forward and were preparing to stop Naruto. There was no way they would just look on while the Eighth Paragon was killed. They had done the same thing with Naruto, and it had nothing to do with favor or disfavor.

When they heard the Eighth Paragon's claim that the Sixth Paragon had already been killed by Naruto, their faces flickered, and they all flew forward to intervene!

"Old Ninth, stay your hand immediately!"

"We're all Paragons of the Vast Expanse School. We're here to search for the good fortune of Transcendence. There's no reason to be fighting and killing each other!"

Even as they flew forth to block Naruto, Naruto's eyes glittered, and he looked over at Jin Yunshan among the group of three on the altar. Naruto could sense the profoundly ancient nature of the altar, and could also detect the traces of Daosource aura on them.

That in itself caused his mind to spin. Seeing this location from outside

of the Vast Expanse, and actually being here to feel it, were two completely different matters. Now he realized that the reason the Sect Leader and the others had come to the necropolis, the so-called method of Transcendence they were looking for, was this altar!

"Ah, so these altars are the way to Transcend!" he thought. In the entire Vast Expanse, only a few people had ever reached that ultimate pinnacle, Transcendence.

For there to be a location such as this, which aided in the seeking of enlightenment of Transcendence, caused Naruto to come to the conclusion that the other land masses must also have similar altars. Nine land masses meant nine altars.

If that was the case, then… how did the altars come to be created?!

Many questions popped up in Naruto's mind, causing his eyes to flicker. However, there was no time to ponder the matter. He quickly reached out with his right hand and pointed at the fleeing Eighth Paragon.

That gesture caused Demon Sealing Hexing magic to appear. Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Eighth Paragon trembled, during which time Naruto flickered into motion. Azure light rose up from him, which suddenly turned black. He transformed into a black roc, shooting lightning-like through the air to appear right behind the Eighth Paragon.

At that point, it didn't matter that the other Paragons were trying to intervene. None of them could move as fast as Naruto just had. Without any hesitation, he slashed out at the fleeing, weakened Eighth Paragon.

A boom rang out, and the Eighth Paragon let out a bloodcurdling scream. Blood spurted out of various wounds, but he continued to shoot toward the altar.

Naruto was in hot pursuit, but the other Paragons seemed to be on the verge of arriving and blocking his path. Naruto's eyes flickered coldly, and his cultivation base surged. Essence power erupted out, transforming into a vortex, a windstorm that swept out in all directions. At the same time, Naruto's cold voice could be heard, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have no enmity with you. But this Eighth Paragon tried to do me harm. It's a personal matter, so please don't meddle. I demand that this man die!"

His voice echoed out from within the windstorm with complete and utter determination.

The other Paragons, including Shangguan Hong, frowned, and subconsciously stopped in place. In that moment, Naruto shot forward with a burst of speed, yet again closing the gap between himself and the Eighth Paragon.

The Eighth Paragon stared in shock. Trembling, he looked to his last source of hope, the golden-robed young man on top of the altar.

"Fellow Daoist Jin, save me!"

Roc-form Naruto snorted coldly. As he closed in, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, and unleashed numerous Hexing magics. Blood sprayed out of the Eighth Paragon's mouth as the Hexing magics landed on him. Gritting his teeth, he pushed onward toward the altar. Just when he was about to set foot onto the altar itself, Naruto's right hand flashed with another incantation gesture, and he waved his finger. That was when the Hexing magic began to literally explode!

Eight Hexes were combined together, although it happened inside of the Eighth Paragon's body, and was not visible! Furthermore, this was not something Naruto had done only in this moment; he had been preparing the Hexing magic and sending it into the Eighth Paragon during the entire chase.

He wanted to kill the Eighth Paragon, and he wanted to do it right in front of the golden-robed Jin Yunshan, as a warning to all of the other people in the Vast Expanse School. It was a warning which said… Don't provoke me!

Now, the moment had come to accomplish that goal. The Eighth Paragon screamed as numerous flows of Chakra battered about within him. His body began to swell, and the shadow of death exploded out within him.

His expression was one of terror and astonishment as he wailed, "Fellow Daoist Jin!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Jin Yunshan's eyes opened. They glittered like freezing blades as he turned to stare at Naruto.

"Do you dare?!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1434

Chapter 1434: Battling Jin Yunshan!

"I've heard that a lot in my life, you know," Naruto said coolly. "When the critical moment arrives, people love to say 'do you dare?'

Apparently, they think it actually stops people from doing something.

"I always answer in the same way…."

His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and then he waved his finger toward the Eighth Paragon. It was as if a fuse had been lit. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Eighth Paragon's body swelled even larger, and then exploded with a huge bang.

Blood and gore splashed everywhere, becoming a rain that fell down onto the altar. It didn't touch the Sect Leader, but landed all over Sha Jiudong and Jin Yunshan!

Jin Yunshan's face couldn't be grimmer as he stared at Naruto, killing intent swirling in his eyes.

"Why don't you say it again." Naruto hovered in midair, looking coldly at Jin Yunshan. Truth be told, the only reason the Eighth Paragon fell so easily was because the long chase gave Naruto plenty of time to prepare. The end result was that he cut him down quickly and efficiently. Naruto said he would kill him, then followed up immediately!

It was all because he had buried his Hexing magics inside the man one by one, resulting in that final shocking scene.

Silence reigned. Shangguan Hong and the other Paragons looked on silently, mixed emotions visible in their eyes as they looked at Naruto. Just now, Naruto had used his actions, not just his words, to explain to everyone what exactly it meant to be domineering!

Jin Yunshan suddenly laughed in a very sinister fashion. As the sound echoed out, he slowly stood, eyes growing even icier as he stared at Naruto.

"You killed the Sixth and Eighth Paragons, so now you want to kill me?" Colors flashed in the sky and a huge wind kicked up. Everything twisted and distorted as an enormous, 5,000-kilometer windstorm appeared.

Everyone from the Vast Expanse School had serious expressions on their faces as they slowly backed up, not daring to get close to the enraged Jin Yunshan.

They were all aware that although Jin Yunshan looked like a young man, he had actually practiced cultivation for ages upon ages, and was in fact on almost equal footing with the Sect Leader.

He had an unstable personality inclined to fits of rage, and was incredibly vicious. The louder he laughed, the more infuriated he was. "That's exactly what I want," Naruto said coolly.

When Jin Yunshan heard Naruto's response, it was as if he had just heard the most hilarious joke in the entire world. He threw his head back and laughed uproariously. At the same time, lightning crackled in the sky and thunder boomed. Jin Yunshan suddenly stepped forward, turning into a blur of afterimages. The space between him and Naruto seemed to collapse, and countless rifts opened up.

Jin Yunshan moved so quickly that apparently the air couldn't withstand the speed and was destroyed. In the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of Naruto.

"You're just a stray dog with no home to go back to, and you dare to challenge me to a fight?!" Jin Yunshan reached out and stabbed his finger toward Naruto's chest.

His finger immediately erupted with the intense power of a peak 9Essences cultivation base. Jin Yunshan did not underestimate opponents in battle; he unleashed all of the power he had at his disposal.

Although he seemed to be in a fury, he was actually in complete control of his emotions. He realized that Naruto had killed the Eighth Paragon in an attempt to rile him mentally. To cultivators of this level, something like that could prove to be fatal!

In fact, the words he had spoken to Naruto just now had likewise been intended to sow chaos.

Naruto remained completely calm in response to the unleashing of the finger attack. He extended his right hand and waved his sleeve, causing Essence of Divine Flame to erupt out, combined with Hexing magic as well as the power of his fleshly body. The Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power that resulted was a blow struck by an entire world. A huge boom echoed out, and Naruto staggered backward several paces. Even as he looked up, Jin Yunshan's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he closed in for another attack.

"The peak of 9-Essences… is pretty impressive." Naruto's eyes gleamed with the desire to fight. He burst into motion, and in the blink of an eye, was fighting all out with Jin Yunshan.

Massive booms rang out. Naruto was like a monster. Sometimes he was completely domineering, and pressed the attack viciously. But in his multifariousness, he would then dance away like a wisp of smoke. A moment later, a brutal aura would rise up, like some monstrous beast.

Jin Yunshan attacked with the power of the peak of 9-Essences. Although he didn't use any majestic divine abilities, his cultivation base and fleshly body, in fact, everything about him, was in the great circle of his level; all of it merged together, allowing him to deliver attacks that could shake Heaven and Earth.

In the blink of an eye, the two of them had exchanged so many volleys that it was impossible to keep track of how many. Blood was oozing out of Naruto's mouth as he fell back. As for Jin Yunshan, his face was a bit ashen as he glared at Naruto, the killing intent in his eyes growing more intense. Apparently, he wasn't too surprised at Naruto's level of battle prowess. To him, it was only natural that Naruto would be beyond the ordinary 9-Essences level, considering that he had already killed the Sixth and Eighth Paragons.

"You overestimate yourself!" he said with a cold snort. Killing intent flickered as he waved his right hand. In response, boundless golden light shone as numerous razor-sharp golden thorns shot out.

Upon closer examination, they weren't thorns, but were actual beams of golden light. In the blink of an eye, Jin Yunshan summoned a golden sun around him, which grew larger and more majestic by the moment. Everything began to shake violently; it was as if this sun had supplanted the sun of this entire world!

"Dao of a Golden Sun; Magic of an Exalted Celestial!" Jin Yunshan spread his arms wide, causing massive amounts of the energy of Heaven and Earth, as well as the aura of the Vast Expanse, to surge toward him. His energy rocketed up, and grave expressions could be seen on the faces of the group from the Vast Expanse as they once again backed away, unwilling to get caught up in the power on display.

Even as they backed up, Jin Yunshan's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and he shoved them out violently. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the golden sun began to twist and distort, transforming into… a seemingly endless cloud of golden flying swords!

It seemed impossible to count the number of swords, and everyone present felt their scalps tingling in shock at the sight. The 9-Essences Paragons reacted a bit less dramatically, but the 8-Essences Paragons gasped.

From the look of it, there were hundreds of millions of them!

Hundreds of millions of golden flying swords shot out, swirling through the air to form the image of what looked like a sun.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1435

Chapter 1435: Heaven Ripping!

A cold smile could be seen on Jin Yunshan's face as he spread his arms wide, sending the hundreds of millions of flying swords up into the air. Then, he lowered his hands and pointed his finger at Naruto.

The flying swords began to vibrate loudly, the sound of which merged together into a shocking sound wave that sent everything shaking as the swords… shot directly toward Naruto.

It almost looked as if the entire sky was nothing but flying swords. Unending swords and sword light poured down onto Naruto as if to slice him to bits!

A sense of crisis loomed within Naruto, but that was no surprise. In fact, it caused the desire for battle to grow more intense within his eyes. He wanted to fight, to fight someone extremely powerful, to fight many powerful people! That was how he would transform himself.

Almost in the same moment that the hundreds of millions of flying swords bore down on him, azure light sprang up around Naruto, which then turned black. He vanished, and when he reappeared, he was an enormous black roc!

The roc rapidly grew larger. 300 meters. 3,000 meters. 30,000 meters.

In the blink of an eye, Naruto was a huge black roc over 30,000 meters long. Then, a piercing cry could be heard as all of the feathers shot off of his body and swirled out into the air. Although there weren't hundreds of millions of them, there were at least a million!

A million feathers spun in the air, becoming a tempest that spread out to meet the hundreds of millions of flying swords.

When they clashed, the resulting boom cracked the sky and shattered the land. The roc feathers were like rowboats on a stormy sea, battered relentlessly by the flying swords.

However, even as the tempest of feathers was whittled away, Naruto let out a powerful roar, sending some of his life force aura into the feathers.

"Mourning-Death, Divine Augmentation!" This was a divine ability he had gained from Shui Dongliu when absorbing his good fortune. 1

It was not the type of divine ability that would unleash a deadly attack. Instead, it allowed him to split his divine sense into a million portions, each of which entered one of the feathers.

In the blink of an eye, each one of the million feathers trembled and then suddenly expanded. Roc heads sprouted out, and then… they transformed into huge rocs!

Each and every feather transformed, filling the sky with a million huge rocs. The previous tempest increased in size by a thousand-fold, completely blotting out the sky!

The hundreds of millions of flying swords rumbled as they slammed into the rocs. The Heavens shook as the swords and the rocs began to fight a majestic battle!

It was difficult to put into words how shocking this display of divine abilities was!

The flying swords had the advantage of numbers by far, but the incredible power of the rocs ensured that it took hundreds of flying swords to take down just one!

Massive rumbling booms filled the sky, as though a war were being fought. Even as the destruction was carried out, Naruto suddenly appeared, blood oozing out of various wounds, but a vicious expression covering his face. He suddenly lifted his hand up, and a painting appeared!

It was none other than the painting he had created when he sealed the Sixth Paragon. Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto ripped that painting in half!

What appeared as a result was not the Sixth Paragon, but rather, his life force, his cultivation base, his Essences, and his soul. Everything that was the Sixth Paragon flew out and was absorbed by the numerous rocs, unexpectedly… massive booms rang out, and the world quaked. The group from the Vast Expanse School all gasped; this was the loudest noise which had echoed out since the fighting had begun. The rocs collapsed, and the hundreds of millions of flying swords all shattered!

At the same time, a massive shockwave blasted out, sweeping across all creation.

The shockwave shoved Naruto backward, coughing up blood, his face pale. However, his eyes were brighter than ever as he stared at Jin Yunshan, who had an unsightly expression on his face as blood seeped out of the corners of his mouth!

Jin Yunshan was completely and utterly shaken. Although he had known all along that Naruto's battle prowess was incredible, he had never imagined that he would be this strong, or that he would be able to put up such a good fight.

After all, Jin Yunshan was not just in the peak of the 9-Essences level, he was at the great circle, which meant that his cultivation base and battle prowess were such that he could crush all other 9-Essences cultivators! Not only was he shaken, everyone from the Vast Expanse School was flabbergasted.

"Is this going to be the induction of a new sage…? There are only four peak 9-Essences experts on Planet Vast Expanse, and yet the Ninth Paragon is actually fighting back against Jin Yunshan!"

"Even I wouldn't have been able to stand up to that Exalted Celestial Magic, the hundreds of millions of swords…." Even as everyone was reeling in astonishment, Jin Yunshan threw his head back and laughed.

The laughter was icy and vicious, and filled with intense killing intent, which became a sinister, murderous aura.

"Throughout all these years, you are the first person who is not in the peak of the 9-Essences level to force me to use my second divine ability. Naruto… you can die with a smile on your face." Golden light began to shine from Jin Yunshan's eyes. He threw his hands into the air, causing a terrifying, indescribable power to radiate out of him.

The crushing power contained a horrifying aura, and if you looked closely, you would see that he was sending all of his cultivation base power into his hands!

His hand were gradually turning golden, as if they weren't the hands of a cultivator, but were actually made from pure gold!

"This divine ability is something I picked up years ago from the Immortal God Continent. It's called… Heaven Ripping!" With that, he extended his hands toward Naruto and made a ripping gesture! 2

Rumbling echoed out, and the Heavens shook. Naruto's pupils constricted. As Jin Yunshan's hand pulled apart, Naruto felt as if he were suddenly locked in place, fused with the air.

And then, intense pain exploded out within him. Rumbling filled the air as a huge rift were tearing open, starting from above Naruto and stretching down. Apparently, a power capable of ripping open the starry sky was now trying to rip open Naruto!

As a brief reminder, half of Shui Dongliu was a Mourning-Death soul, a type of being that comes from Beseech the Devil ↩ Heaven Ripping is an ability Wang Lin used in Renegade Immortal. There was even an entire chapter with the exact same title as this chapter ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1436

Chapter 1436 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1436: Fourth Fist Strike: Devil-Butchering!

At this critical moment in the fight, Naruto suddenly unleashed a fist strike!

It was none other than the Life-Extermination Fist!

One fist strike could not shake the air which held him tight, so Naruto unleashed the second fist strike, the Bedevilment Fist, and then the third, the God-Slaying Fist. Three punches were unleashed in quick succession, making one unified attack. As the power exploded out, he broke free from being locked in place and took a step forward.

In almost that exact moment, the air around him was ripped apart.

At the same time, an explosive power shot toward Naruto from behind. It was still… the power of Heaven Ripping!

Apparently that power wouldn't stop until Naruto was ripped to pieces!

Naruto evaded, but the Heaven Ripping power continued to close in on him. The air collapsed and shattered, and it almost seemed like Naruto would be incapable of escaping.

Down below, Shangguan Hong and everyone else gasped, sober expressions on their faces. It wasn't that they had never seen peak 9Essences experts in action before. However, every time they did, they couldn't help but realize how weak they themselves were.

Seeing that Naruto had escaped once again, Jin Yunshan called out in a voice that brimmed with murderous intentions, "Still not dead?!"

His hands emanated boundless golden light as he once again made a ripping gesture.

Rumbling sounds surrounded Naruto, and a sensation of deadly crisis filled him. However, he felt no fear. In fact, that sensation of danger provoked something from within the legacy of Shui Dongliu.

"The Three God-Slaying Fists aren't enough. I need… a fourth fist strike, and maybe even a fifth!" Countless thoughts buzzed in Naruto's mind, and at the same time, the flickering glow of augury could be seen in his eyes.

"The first fist is Life-Extermination. The second fist is Self-Immolation. The third fist is God-Slaying. Well then, the fourth fist… should be DevilButchering!

"Devils are like the dark night. The Devil-Butchering Fist is like a dispelling of the darkness!" Naruto's breath came in ragged pants as he thought back to the divine ability the Sixth Paragon had unleashed. That combined with previous enlightenment from past years, as well as a magical technique from within Shui Dongliu's legacy. Gradually, the outline of an idea formed in his mind.

There was no time for lengthy contemplation. As the Heaven Ripping power built up around him, Naruto's right hand clenched tightly into a fist!

"Fourth fist strike, Devil-Butchering!" Naruto roared as he punched out. As the fourth fist strike was unleashed, his fist sent out black ripples which filled the area. Unexpectedly, it turned the entire area around him as black as night!

Then, within that pitch blackness, his fist began to shine with light!

It wasn't white light, but rather, red. It was as if nighttime had skin, and it was being ripped off to reveal the flesh and blood beneath. This was the fourth fist strike that Naruto had just now gained enlightenment of, the Devil-Butchering Fist!

It was not using dawn's light to dispel the darkness of night, rather it was skinning nighttime alive! This was true butchery!

Booming sounds rang out as the light spread outward. Everywhere it passed, the darkness of night was flayed in shocking fashion. It collapsed, and even Jin Yunshan's Heaven Ripping magic was completely destroyed. Naruto's fourth fist strike bore down on Jin Yunshan, and the golden light which had fed his power was also flayed!

Booms rang out as Jin Yunshan let out a miserable shriek. His hands were trembling, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he subconsciously backed up. When he looked up at Naruto, his eyes shone with disbelief.

"What divine ability is that!?" Astonishment gripped his heart. His Heaven Ripping ability was one of his trump cards, something that people normally could never break. In fact, this was the first time anything like this had ever happened!

In the past, some people had powered their way through it, but this was someone breaking it on a fundamental level.

Even as Jin Yunshan fell back, Naruto emerged from the pitch black area, looking more than ever like he wanted to fight. His eyes glowed with red light as he strode forward, sending booms ringing out into the air.

"You've had your chance with your divine abilities. Now it's my turn."

With that, he pointed his finger directly at Jin Yunshan, unleashing the

Hexing magic of the League of Demon Sealers. It was none other than the Eighth Hex!

Instantly, space was locked down tight, causing Jin Yunshan's face to fall, and a sensation of imminent crisis to well up inside of him.

Jin Yunshan didn't hesitate for a moment. His eyes glowed brightly as he bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood. As the blood flew through the air, it transformed into a blood-colored sealing mark, which flew up and landed on his forehead.

Rumbling could be heard as an aura appeared which could shake Heaven and Earth. As it exploded out from Jin Yunshan, it became countless bolts of lightning, each and every one of which were the color of gold!

These were golden lightning bolts from a Gold Tribulation!

At the same time, fluctuations began to emanate out from the ancientlooking blood-colored symbol. They were fluctuations which seemed to contain the passage of countless years of time, as though this symbol had existed before time even began. The fluctuations were so powerful that even the Vast Expanse outside of the necropolis began to tremble. At the same time, clouds began to descend.

Outside of the necropolis, clouds were building up; roiling, seething clouds that were simultaneously shrinking downward toward the necropolis.

In the blink of an eye, those clouds burst through whatever invisible barriers kept the necropolis hidden. Then, they appeared behind Jin Yunshan, where they began to converge into even more golden lightning bolts.

"My ninth Essence is Vast Expanse Tribulation Lightning! I spent years gaining enlightenment of Tribulation Lightning, and even consumed the mist of the Vast Expanse to complete it. If I Transcend into the Daosource Realm, I can become the incarnation of the Vast Expanse's

Tribulation Lightning. Then, all beings within the Vast Expanse will fear my Tribulation Lightning!" Jin Yunshan threw his arms out wide as more and more Tribulation Lightning built up around him. At the same time, the aura of his ninth Essence roiled about!

Naruto's pupils constricted. He could sense how powerful this ninth Essence was, and could even tell that the lightning bolts had some vague will of their own!

He wasn't sure why, but an image popped up in his mind, something he had seen on the frescoes in the tunnel. He thought of… Allheaven destroying a world with his finger!

At this moment, Naruto realized that the aura of the lightning, although not completely identical to the aura of Allheaven's finger, was very similar!

"Tribulation Lightning strikes! Nine Essences fatality!" Jin Yunshan threw his head back and roared, throwing both hands up to point at Naruto. Instantly, the lightning formed from the Vast Expanse, his ninth Essence, roared forth. Countless lightning bolts converged, transforming into an enormous golden finger that could shake Heaven and Earth. Mists swirled around it as it shot toward Naruto.

Everything shook, and the sky went dark!

Chapter 1436: Fourth Fist Strike: Devil-Butchering!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1437

Chapter 1437: Sealing the World-Slaughtering Finger!

Lighting was a relatively simplistic Essence. Many Dao Realm experts would gain enlightenment of it as their first Essence. One of the reasons for this was that it was relatively easy to understand. Because of that, Essence of lightning was not uncommon in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. Even in the Mountain and Sea Realm, or other worlds, Dao Realm experts with the Essence of lightning were nothing rare.

However, people who transformed the Essence of lightning the way Jin Yunshan had done for his ninth Essence… were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns.

From this, it could be seen how grand Jin Yunshan's aspirations were!

As he said, his ninth Essence was not merely the ordinary Essence of lightning. No, his was Tribulation Lightning of the Vast Expanse. If he did manage to Transcend into the Daosource Realm, and become a Dao, then if his suppositions were correct, he could represent the Vast Expanse as the lord of Tribulation Lightning!

At that time, his level of power would be unimaginable. Although it was currently just speculation on his part, he was confident that he could do exactly that!

At that moment in the fight, he could sense how strangely powerful Naruto's Demon Sealing Hexing magics were. Therefore, Jin Yunshan didn't hesitate for even a moment to call upon his ninth Essence!

Endless Tribulation Lightning merged together into the shape of a huge finger that seemed capable of destroying everything. Some of the Vast Expanse could even be sensed upon the finger itself, as if anything who opposed this finger also opposed the Vast Expanse!

Rumbling could be heard as the finger smashed down toward Naruto. From a distance, it looked as if it were destroying the starry sky and shredding the Heavens. Even as the vicious lightning bore down on Naruto, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, unleashing Hexing magic.

"Seventh Hex!" The Seventh Hex exploded out, combining with the power of the Eighth Hex which had just been utilized to lock down onto the finger. Gradually, two threads could be seen, wrapping around the finger!

Based on the current level of his cultivation base, Naruto could now combine the eight hexes, which was his most powerful divine ability. Everything shook violently, and the entire land mass beneath them quaked as the finger rumbled inexorably toward Naruto, radiating power that could destroy worlds.

Naruto was shaking, and blood sprayed out of various wounds, as if some invisible pressure were crushing down onto him. He flickered into motion, and every step back caused the ground beneath his feet to crack and shatter.

"DIE!" roared Jin Yunshan; the pressure increased, and the lightning finger continued to descend toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes were crimson. He couldn't stop thinking about the vision from the fresco, but there was no time to contemplate the matter in detail. It was a critical juncture, and all he could do was perform a double-handed incantation gesture to unleash another Hexing magic. "Sixth Hex!

"Fifth Hex!"

The finger was now 30,000 meters away from him. As of this moment, the Sixth and Fifth Hexes landed on it with a boom. The two Hexing magics created two more threads which swept out to connect to the Seventh and Eighth Hexes, further binding the finger!

The finger drew ever closer to Naruto, whose eyes widened as worldlevel destructive power exploded out. It was as if the Vast Expanse didn't even exist any more, and the only thing in the world was this enormous Tribulation Lightning finger!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. He was completely locked down, the ground beneath his feet was being destroyed, and yet he didn't flinch. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as he launched more Hexing magics. The Fourth Hex appeared, and then the Third, creating two more threads which wrapped around the huge finger. As of this moment, six threads were wrapped around it, criss-crossing over each other to form something that looked like a net!

A boom echoed out as Naruto was shoved down again. A huge crater opened up beneath him as the finger neared to a distance of only 6,000 meters!

The finger was so large it could supercede the starry sky, and yet it was targeting Naruto and Naruto alone. It didn't affect anyone else present at all.

Rumbling could be heard as the finger then closed in to a distance of 3,000 meters. It was at that point that the Second Hex appeared, adding another thread to the net entangling the finger, making the net look ever more dense.

The bones in Naruto's body were beginning to emit cracking sounds, but he continued to stare at the finger with ice-cold eyes that radiated killing intent. His Demonic Chakra was normally kept hidden inside of him, but now it exploded out, and his pupils turned bright red. Furthermore… an aura erupted out of him that was like an Immortal, but not. Similar to a Devil's but also dissimilar. Comparable to a God, but different.

It was Demonic qi!

As the Demonic Chakra spread out, the will of the Vast Expanse which existed on the finger suddenly seemed to seethe, and at the same time, the first land mass that they were on shuddered and began to transform.

Naruto could sense the transformation, but didn't have the time to study it. His expression was vicious as he looked up at the finger and then began to laugh, a laughter which contained madness, murder, and impetuousness.

There was something in Naruto's aura that caused Jin Yunshan's heart to start pounding for some unknown reason. He wasn't the only one. Everyone who was watching the fight suddenly felt particularly uneasy.

It was in this moment that, all of a sudden, the Sect Leader opened his eyes and shouted, "Jin Yunshan, enough!"

"Nobody can stop me from killing this man!" Jin Yunshan roared in response. "Daoist Vast Expanse, I refuse to believe that you haven't sensed the killing intent directed at him from the necropolis itself!

"Killing him is conforming to the will of Patriarch Vast Expanse!" He performed another incantation gesture, unleashing more power. Disregarding the fact that he was overdrawing his own power, he pushed the finger past the 3,000 meter mark until it was only 150 meters away from Naruto.

Blood poured down Naruto's body from the wounds which had been inflicted. He trembled as he stood there, red with madness. By this point, the finger seemed on the verge of touching him.

"First Hex!" he growled, waving his finger. At long last, the First Hex transformed into a thread which landed on the finger.

As of this moment, eight Hexing magics had transformed into threads, which in turn made an enormous net!

This was the moment Naruto had been waiting for. He spread his arms wide, and his eyes gleamed with the desire to do battle. From the moment the battle had begun until now, he had not shown an ounce of fear. His desire to kill Jin Yunshan had not been reduced by one iota.

"Eight Hexes, combine!" His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and then he waved them out. Instantly, the eight intercrossed threads that formed the net suddenly began to shrink. As they did, they cut everything in their path. It didn't matter who stood in their way, Tribulation Lightning, Vast Expanse mist, flesh and blood, souls. Everything would be cut!

Rumbling could be heard as the eight Hexes exploded into action. Naruto's Demonic Chakra also erupted out, pouring into the Hexing magics, transforming the eight threads into objects sharp enough to cut anything in existence. In the briefest of moments… they sliced through the finger, which was only thirty meters away from Naruto's head. The finger… was instantly chopped into pieces! The lightning transformed into endless sparks which scattered about in all directions!

"Impossible!" Blood oozed out of the corners of Jin Yunshan's mouth, and his expression was one of disbelief and astonishment.

"You don't qualify to kill me!" Naruto said, flicking his sleeve. As the lightning dissipated, all the fetters holding him back vanished. Instantly, he flew forward in shocking fashion.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1438

Chapter 1438: Void Divinity Conversion!

As of this moment, it wasn't just Jin Yunshan who was in a state of shock. The Sect Leader, who was still there on the altar, was astonished at the sight of Naruto's eight Hexes combined.

He was well aware of how terrifying Jin Yunshan's ninth Essence was. In fact, if he were in Naruto's place, he would have been forced to rely on his own ninth Essence to negate it.

And yet Naruto unexpectedly… didn't even use a ninth Essence at all. Instead, he had used what appeared to be eight restrictive spells. The shocked Sect Leader couldn't help but wonder what other secrets Naruto must be harboring.

"Those eight restrictive spells must be his first eight Essences. And yet, he only needed those eight Essences to deal with Jin Yunshan's ninth Essence…. This Naruto is inhuman!" The Sect Leader took a deep breath. Never could he possibly have imagined what the truth was. It wasn't that Naruto didn't want to use a ninth Essence: he hadn't even gained enlightenment of a ninth Essence.

Jin Yunshan was just as shocked at Naruto's eight Hexes as the Sect Leader. Despite not having unleashed a ninth Essence, he left them completely and utterly flabbergasted.

"He's still hiding his true strength!" The other cultivators of the Vast Expanse School couldn't help but gasp. The fight which was playing out in front of their eyes left them even more intensely aware of how powerful Naruto was. In fact, he was so terrifying that… he could probably alter the face of Planet Vast Expanse, giving it not four supreme powers, but five.

"I refuse to believe that you can fight me and not have to use your ninth Essence!" Jin Yunshan's face was twisted in an unsightly expression. By now, he held no scorn whatsoever for Naruto's battle prowess. Although Naruto was a bit weaker than him overall, the difference between them was negligible!

He knew that if Naruto had unleashed a ninth Essence, he would already be in a very difficult situation. However, even being put in a tight spot like that was preferable to what was happening now, which was that he had already gone all out with everything he had, and yet Naruto was still able to hold back some of his power.

The thought of that caused Jin Yunshan's murderous aura to grow even more intense. He flickered into motion, transforming into a beam of golden light that shot toward Naruto, who also shot forward. In the blink of an eye, the two of them slammed into each other with a boom and started fighting.

Naruto transformed into a huge roc that flickered with black and azure light. Jin Yunshan waved his hand, causing a sun to spread out, which shot countless golden beams of light out in attack.

In the space of a few breaths, the two of them exchanged hundreds of volleys. Naruto performed an incantation gesture and pointed out, causing numerous mountains to crush down onto Jin Yunshan.

Jin Yunshan let out a cold harrumph and waved his hand. The sun detonated, sending out destructive power that shredded the mountains to pieces. In response, Naruto performed an incantation gesture, sending boundless Essence of Divine Flame out in a powerful attack, destroying the air between the two of them.

The battle was so intense that the entire world was affected, even the starry sky. Naruto and Jin Yunshan fought back and forth in midair, and the explosions caused everything to shake and distort.

A closer look would reveal that Naruto was bleeding out of his mouth, and yet, Jin Yunshan's face was pale white. He was a bit stronger than Naruto, but not strong enough to overwhelm and kill him.

"Dammit!" A boom echoed out, and Jin Yunshan shot backward, glaring at Naruto. Then, he started laughing, a cold laughter filled with incisive killing intent. "Naruto, I demand to see exactly what your ninth Essence is!"

Eyes glowing brightly, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture and then pushed both of his hands down.

"Next, I will unveil the most powerful magic I have. It even exceeds the Dao of my ninth Essence! Let's see if you can handle it, Naruto!" He raised his right hand and pointed his finger up into the sky.

In the moment that he raised his finger up, a stream of Essence shot out, transforming into a beam of light. It shot up and… merged into the sky!

Next, he pointed down, and a second Essence shot out from him and merged into the ground.

As the two Essences merged with the sky and the land, Jin Yunshan himself seemed as if he were doing the same thing. Although he still hovered there in midair, visible to the naked eye, if one scanned the area with divine sense, they would not be able to detect his existence.

Naruto stopped in place, his eyes widening. The sense of crisis raging through him now far exceeded that when Jin Yunshan had unleashed his ninth Essence.

Back on the altar, the Sect Leader's pupils constricted. "The Void Divinity!"

Next to him, Sha Jiudong looked on silently, eyes glowing from deep within.

The other cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were all visibly shocked. "It really is the Void Divinity…. That's Jin Yunshan's most powerful trump card. He hasn't used it for ten thousand years."

It was at this point that Jin Yunshan waved his sleeve, sending a third Essence out, not into Heaven or Earth, but into the wind!

The wind in the world became a part of Jin Yunshan, and as it swept about, it became a tempest that connected the sky to the land.

"Void Divinity!" cried Shangguan Hong. "It's Jin Yunshan's Dao of the Void Divinity!" Everyone else suddenly began to recall Jin Yunshan's legendary trump card, and their expressions flickered as they backed up even further.

According to the stories which were told about the Void Divinity, it was a magical technique that was powerful to a terrifying degree.

The sensation of deadly crisis in Naruto's heart was only growing more intense by the moment. His intuition was telling him that if he didn't interrupt the magic in this very instant, then its power would continue to grow explosively.

His two eyes glittered as his third eye opened. In that instant, his view of the world changed.

When he saw what was surrounding Jin Yunshan, his expression turned grim. He could see Jin Yunshan's body dispersing, merging into Heaven and Earth, becoming a part of the world. Naruto could tell that if he got close to him, he himself would also be sucked in by the power of Heaven and Earth, and be dispersed.

Even as Naruto studied Jin Yunshan with his third eye, Jin Yunshan's expression twisted viciously, and he let out a powerful roar. Suddenly, his fourth Essence expanded out, merging into one of the five elements that existed within this world. Fire!

Instantly, the temperature around him began to increase, as the fire elements in the world began to be taken over by Jin Yunshan.

Things weren't over yet. His fifth Essence began to merge with another of the five elements, metal. A killing will filled the entire world, and at the same time, a sixth Essence spread out. All of the withered and dried up wood and vegetation within the world suddenly quivered, and then began to fill with life. Each and every plant and bit of grass was becoming a part of Jin Yunshan.

Even more outrageous was that his seventh Essence merged into all of the water in the world. Rivers raged, and the blood within the veins of everyone present began to tremble.

Seven Essences. Metal, wood, water, fire, earth. And then there was the wind. It was as if everything in the entire world belonged to Jin Yunshan. Next was his eighth Essence. As he waved his hands, it exploded it and merged into… the light!

Light was boundless, everywhere and all present. As of this moment, it seemed as if Jin Yunshan didn't even exist. Then, his ninth Essence of lightning began to spread out, and his fleshly body began to turn transparent.

Nine Essences, all merged into the world around him. As of this moment, Jin Yunshan, his body, his cultivation base, his blood, his soul, everything about him had become part of the world around him. He was one with sky and the land!

He was the sky. He was the land. He was the wind. He was the five elements. He was lightning. He was… the world!

RUUMMMMBLLLLLE!

"Naruto!" Jin Yunshan howled. Although the words came out of his mouth, they seemed to resonate everywhere. All locations, all rivers, every part of the world was filled with his desire to kill. Flame creatures, plants, mountains, lightning; it exploded out from everything!

It was almost like the roar, not just of Jin Yunshan, but of the entire world.

Naruto inhaled sharply, and as for everyone else present, they were shaking.

"Naruto, this is my… Void Divinity Conversion!" Jin Yunshan lifted his right foot up and then stamped it down. As he did, Heaven shook and Earth trembled. The world shook, and a shocking force exploded out. Jin Yunshan was the lord of the entire world, its spirit. The world was his body, and with a thought, he could set everything into motion!

The stamp of his foot was like the world stamping its foot, causing everything to shake violently.

The world shuddered, and the lands quaked. Jin Yunshan's right hand clenched into a fist, and then he punched out!

From Naruto's perspective, that punch was like all of the power in the entire world converging into one spot. It contained lightning, the five elements, the sky, the land, everything! And it was all striking toward Naruto.

As the fist slammed into him, Heaven and Earth shattered. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he flew backward.

"Still not ready to unleash… your ninth Essence?!" Jin Yunshan's killing intent had reached the pinnacle. He took another step forward, and the world shook as he slapped his right hand toward Naruto!

The world trembled as all of the power it contained formed together. A tempest sprung up, blasting against Naruto before he could even stabilize himself. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he fell back, cracking sounds emanating out of his body, his flesh mangled and torn. "You still don't qualify to see my ninth Essence!" he growled. As he looked up, his eyes glittered, and his third eye shone brightly. Intense light spilled out, like a torch on a moonless night. That light transformed into… a calling!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1439

Chapter 1439: The Call of the Emperor

The call came, not from Naruto himself, but from the bronze lamp inside of him. At the same time, he opened his third eye, causing brilliant light to shine out, filling the world!

Something else happened that was extremely telling. As the light and the call spread out, Heaven and Earth began to shake, and Jin Yunshan could do nothing to stop it!

Jin Yunshan's face instantly fell!

Naruto hovered in midair like a divine spirit, majestic light shining out from this third eye. Using that third eye to look at the world around him, he saw so many ghosts that they seemed infinite in number. Back when they were alive, they had lived in a thriving world that ended when it was destroyed by Allheaven's finger.

As such, it could be said that the true masters of the necropolis were these ghosts!

When Naruto opened his third eye, sending out divine will in the form of brilliant light, it coupled with the call from the bronze lamp to spread out silently through the entire land mass. In that moment, all of the ghosts which had previously prostrated themselves in worship to Naruto suddenly shivered and looked up, confused expressions in their eyes.

"Who is it… that calls to us…?"

"That's the aura of the Emperor. The fluctuations of the Emperor…."

"The Emperor… is calling to us!"

Their voices could not be heard by the living, nor could the ghosts themselves even be seen. However, the living beings present could sense the fluctuations emanating out because of the ghosts.

Only the ghosts themselves could hear their voices, which grew louder and louder until they were like a gigantic sound wave.

Even the ghosts which were not on the land mass were shivering, and gleams of excitement could be seen in their eyes!

Their howls filled every nook and cranny of the enormous continent, along with an icy aura. The ghosts took to flight, sending out coldness that could freeze anything and everything. They were beginning to go mad because of the call they felt from their Emperor.

"The Emperor…. That's the aura of the Emperor. He's calling to us!'

The seemingly infinite numbers of ghosts outside of the land mass caused cracking sounds to ring out as ice spread out to cover the ruins in the area. Innumerable hordes of ghosts surged forth like a shocking wave to sweep across the bridge that connected to the first land mass.

Countless howling voices rose up. "Anything which blocks our path to pay greetings to the Emperor shall be destroyed!"

A terrifying, piercing cry rang out from the mists that surrounded the bridge. Before the mists could disperse, the icy coldness and hosts of ghosts crushed them.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the bridge trembled. The arms of blood and gore that made up the bridge were frozen, and within the space of a few breaths of time, the bridge itself was nothing more than ice as the ghosts outside rushed onto the land mass.

Even as that happened, more and more ghosts began to appear within the ruins on the surface of the land mass itself. At first, they looked confused, but when they felt the call coming from Naruto, their hearts stirred with excitement. Soon, all of the ghosts within all of the ruins and districts looked up and began to cry out.

"It's the Emperor!"

"The aura of the Emperor…. The Emperor isn't dead after all, he's come back!"

"The Emperor… is calling to us!"

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

All of the ghosts both on the land mass and outside of it were surging toward the central region, where Naruto was.

Within the ruins of a certain temple, a shocking aura suddenly appeared, along with a vague, blurry figure. He looked different than the other ghosts, more ancient. As he looked off into the distance, a powerful energy surged off of him.

"The Emperor… is back!" he murmured. He made a grasping gesture with his right hand, causing a Soul Pike to appear in his hand. Then, he transformed into a blast of cold air that shot off into the distance.

In another area was a river, which began to churn as a vicious face rose up from within it. When its eyes opened, they looked around blankly for a moment before filling with excitement.

"The Emperor…. It's the Emperor…." Trembling, he flew out of the water. This ghost was fully 30,000 meters long, causing everything to shake as he flew at top speed in the direction of Naruto's calling.

In a location even further off was a towering mountain, atop which stood a man in a flowing white robe. He was a ghost, and yet he still possessed his own will and mind. Shivering, he turned his head and looked off into the distance with an expression of disbelief. Then he started laughing in mad excitement.

"He's not the Emperor, but he represents the Emperor…." He flew into motion, icy coldness spreading out from him as he headed off into the distance.

Scenes like this played out in numerous locations all over the first continent. As the ghosts took to flight, rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth, and the entire world shook!

Within the first land mass of the necropolis, icy coldness spread out. In fact, if one could look down from a high vantage point, it would look like the entire land mass was turning into ice!

The ruins iced over. The mountains froze. The rivers turned solid. Countless plants and even the wind itself began to freeze up.

As the world trembled, the people standing outside of the altar felt icy coldness, and astonishment rising up within them.

"What's happening!?"

"Something's wrong. Things got freezing almost instantly!"

In their shock, they looked around and saw snow swirling about in the air. However, this snow wasn't white, it was black! Of course, what Naruto was seeing wasn't snow, but rather, countless ghosts!

Before, he had never truly called upon the ghosts within the necropolis, not of his own accord. He hovered there in midair, arms spread wide as boundless iciness spread out. Cracking sounds filled the air as countless ghosts swirled around him.

None of the living beings could see the ghosts, but they could sense what was happening. They could detect the countless shocking auras building up around Naruto, and could tell that there were invisible figures surrounding him.

However… Jin Yunshan was different. Because of the Void Divinity state he was in, he was fused with the world itself. He was the world, and the world was him. Therefore, he could see all of the countless ghosts flying around him and Naruto.

Then, he watched in shock as the ghosts began to prostrate toward Naruto, eyes burning with passion and excitement.

"Greetings, Emperor!"

"Greetings, Emperor!"

"Greetings, Emperor!"

Countless voices rose up in a cacophony that shook the starry sky, a massive sound wave that boomed like thunder.

"Impossible!" Jin Yunshan was astonished to the ultimate degree, and was shaking violently. What was happening was completely and utterly shocking.

He almost couldn't even believe what he was seeing.

More and more ghosts appeared, filling the area for tens of thousands of kilometers in all directions, all of them prostrating with zealous fanaticism!

There were even some entities which were shocking to Jin Yunshan on an individual level, which likewise prostrated to Naruto. Jin Yunshan was so shaken that his forehead began to drip with sweat.

Naruto was being worshipped by an innumerable group of ghosts, as if he were their Emperor. His eyes were cold as he looked around, and the cultivators who met his gaze were completely shaken mentally. It was as if they were being struck by lightning, or frozen into ice.

Shaking in astonishment, the Sect Leader rose to his feet, and off to the side, Sha Jiudong gasped in shock.

They were both in the peak of 9-Essences, and although they were not in the midst of the Void Divinity Conversion and could not see the ghosts, their divine sense could clearly detect the countless ghosts which Naruto had called from both within and without the land mass.

The entire area was completely and utterly filled with ghostly spirits!

And then there was the freezing temperature, which caused both of them to inhale sharply. If they had such a reaction, it was hardly necessary to detail how Shangguan Hong and the other 9-Essences cultivators reacted, or the 8-Essences Paragons. All of them felt their minds spinning in astonishment!

The battle between Naruto and Jin Yunshan had reached a complete and utter peak.

Jin Yunshan's scalp tingled with numbness; he simply couldn't find a way to believe that even his Void Divinity Conversion had not forced Naruto to use his ninth Essence, but instead… prompted him to summon an army of infinite ghosts!

"Who are you?!" he shrieked. As his voice echoed out, Naruto extended his right hand. He could clearly sense that as of this moment, although he wasn't truly the Emperor of this land, he was the commander of these legions of ghosts.

The world didn't belong to him, but that didn't matter. He could simply conquer it!

He lowered his hand, and the swish of his sleeve sent his will out to the countless ghosts. The ghosts then looked up at Jin Yunshan, screamed, and charged toward him.

Jin Yunshan's mind trembled, and the sensation of deadly crisis which filled him grew even more intense. He had no time to think of what to do. He could only grit his teeth and unleash all of the power of the Void Divinity Conversion, sending the power of the world to fight back against the ghosts!

However, there was one thing he hadn't considered. Although he had already used the Void Divinity Conversion to become the world itself, that world, both before the great catastrophe which had struck it, and after… had always belonged to this group!

In the past, they had been cultivators, but now they were vengeful ghosts!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1440

Chapter 1440: The Five Potentates!

The shocking scene which was playing out in front of the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School was something that they would never be able to forget for the rest of their lives. It signified that a fifth Potentate had appeared on Planet Vast Expanse!

Before this moment, the planet had four peak 9-Essences cultivators, like four Potentates who no one could possibly shake. Each one of them were at the pinnacle of existence.

That group of four consisted of Sha Jiudong, Jin Yunshan, the Sect Leader, and Immortal Bai Wuchen. They were the most powerful experts on Planet Vast Expanse, and were all on the cusp of reaching Transcendence.

All other 9-Essences cultivators had no choice but to bow their heads in deference to them.

But after this battle between Naruto and Jin Yunshan, in which Naruto transformed into a black roc, in which he unleashed the combined eight Hexes, everyone was completely shaken.

Most shocking was what was playing out right at this moment.

The world itself attacked, and countless ghosts screamed. Up to now, Jin

Yunshan had mostly maintained the upper hand, but at the moment, blood was spurting out of his wounds as he was battered by an unending stream of ghosts. He was tottering on the verge of collapse, and the Essences which he had dispersed into the world were now experiencing an intense force of expulsion!

The wind was expelling them, the five elements were expelling them, and it was the same with the land, the sky, and the lightning. The entire world burst with a force of expulsion.

Rumbling could be heard as blood sprayed out of Jin Yunshan's mouth. He tumbled backward, countless ghosts battering at him in complete madness. The air around him twisted and distorted, and Jin Yunshan's face was completely ashen as he cried out miserably. There was literally nothing he could do to change what was happening.

The sensation of deadly crisis within him had reached a fever pitch. There was nothing he could do to fight back, and in fact, he couldn't even struggle. He might have become the world, but these ghosts were the collective master of that world!

And the Emperor of those ghosts was Naruto. Naruto's will represented the will of all the ghosts.

Massive booms rang out.

As the surroundings were physically shaken, Jin Yunshan was mentally shaken. The Essence he had inserted into the wind was being ejected, and before he could do anything to solidify it, a boom echoed out in his mind, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as that Essence was gone.

In the blink of an eye, his control over the world was no longer harmonious, and the wind did not belong to him.

"Who are you?" Jin Yunshan cried, looking at Naruto with complete disbelief. "Just who exactly are you?!"

As he fell back, the ghosts continued to attack him with complete insanity.

It wasn't that he hadn't been aware of what happened in the void outside the land mass, when the masses of ghosts rushed forth to offer worship to Naruto. The main difference was that the sheer numbers involved couldn't be compared to each other any more than the light of a firefly could compare to that of the full moon.

He simply couldn't fathom how Naruto was possibly capable of such a thing. Even more terrifying was that the number of ghosts only continued to increase, which caused Jin Yunshan's scalp to tingle in fear.

It was then that the land began to quake, and Jin Yunshan felt the Essence he had inserted into it being shaken in violent fashion.

Then, the fusion between himself and the land was violently ripped apart. Jin Yunshan felt as if his mind were being torn, and he yet again coughed up a mouthful of blood.

Unfortunately for him, there was absolutely nothing he could do to stop any of the things that were happening. He could only look on as his third Essence, which he had sent into the plants, was forcibly ejected.

Then, his murderous fourth Essence, which had merged into the world's fire, experienced the same thing. After that was the water in the world.

After those Essences were rejected, the tearing sensation that he felt grew more intense, until he felt completely disharmonious with the entire world!

The ghosts were screaming as they swirled around. Among the army were some especially terrifying figures who swept the ghosts forth in attack, giving Jin Yunshan no choice but to continue to fall back.

Then, his eighth Essence, which he had merged into the sky, was slashed at as if by an invisible blade, cleaving it away. Then was his ninth Essence, which was in the lightning. Jin Yunshan coughed up a massive mouthful of blood, and his body sagged listlessly. He was no longer mostly transparent, but instead, had been completely rejected by the world.

He almost looked as if he had been crushed by a gigantic foot.

His most powerful trump card, the Void Divinity Conversion, was crushed like a wet twig by the simple wave of a hand by Naruto. He didn't even have the power to fight back.

"If you weren't in this place, you couldn't do any of this!" Jin Yunshan shrieked. After having been rejected by the world, Jin Yunshan fell back again, and yet the ghosts didn't stop attacking him.

Naruto's eyes flickered with the desire to kill, and he extended his right hand and then pointed toward Jin Yunshan. That caused the ghosts to go mad with even more killing intent than before, and rumble toward Jin Yunshan in attack.

"NO!" he screamed. An extraordinary sensation of deadly crisis raged within him. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing countless shield layers to spring up around him. The shields shattered one by one, and he was shoved backward, an unyielding and yet despairing look on his pale face.

Actually, he had spoken correctly just now. Naruto would have had a very difficult time dealing with his magical technique were he not in this specific location. Furthermore, he would have been forced to pay a steep price to do so, not simply wave his hand casually as he had just done.

Rumbling echoed out as the shields surrounding Jin Yunshan collapsed. It was at this point that the Sect Leader suddenly flew into motion to appear next to Jin Yunshan. He waved his sleeve, unleashing his peak 9Essences cultivation base power to protect him against the murderous ghosts.

At the same time, Sha Jiudong leaped forward, appearing on the other side of Jin Yunshan. His expression was somber as he similarly waved his hand, unleashing cultivation base power that caused a massive sandstorm to rise up to defend Jin Yunshan.

But even the combined power of all three of these powerful experts was not enough to rattle the endless army of ghosts. They began to fall back under the battering of the ghosts, their Chakra and blood boiling, their cultivation bases trembling.

"What are the rest of you doing?" barked the Sect Leader, his voice urgent. "Are you just waiting to see Fellow Daoist Jin get killed!? Old Ninth, stay your hand!"

Shanguan Hong didn't say anything, but bitterness filled his heart. He and the others present gritted their teeth and flew out to appear around Jin Yunshan. They poured their own power into the defense effort, unleashing their cultivation bases, creating an intense tempest of force to block the ghosts.

That combined force managed to halt the ghosts momentarily. However, these ghosts represented the life force of the entire land mass, and also contained some entities which were extremely powerful. As they continued to attack the tempest of power, it began to flicker like a flame on the verge of being snuffed out.

Naruto hovered there in the air, a bit unsettled at how things were proceeding as he watched everything that was happening. The ghosts of the necropolis were inherently powerful, which Naruto assumed had something to do with the cause of their deaths.

"Old Ninth, we need Fellow Daoist Jin!" the Sect Leader said, looking up at Naruto. "His magical techniques and divine abilities will help us in the land masses beyond this one. If he perishes here, it will be far, far more difficult to reach the ninth land mass."

Jin Yunshan maintained his silence. His face was ashen as he looked at Naruto, mixed emotions clearly visible. Although he didn't want to back down, he knew that if he didn't, it was highly likely that he would perish.

Finally, he sighed. He was a decisive person, and although he could tell that Naruto seemed unwilling to rest until he was dead, he ignored that, clasped his hands, and bowed to Naruto. He spoke no words, simply relying on his actions to explain his attitude.

Naruto frowned. While it was true that he wanted Jin Yunshan dead, and to do that would be a difficult thing once they left the necropolis, the truth was if he actually killed him right here and now, it would earn the ire of everyone else from the Vast Expanse School. That was not an outcome he would willingly choose.

Even as he considered the matter, the Sect Leader gritted his teeth and once again spoke out.

"Old Ninth, I can understand that you have some misgivings. Therefore, I hereby swear a Daoist oath that if Jin Yunshan provokes you again, I will stand by your side to crush him!"

"As do I," Sha Jiudong said. As of this moment, he had no choice other than to adjust his appraisal of Naruto. This battle had proved that he truly qualified to stand on equal footing with the other four Potentates. Jin Yunshan smiled bitterly and nodded his head.

Seeing all that, Naruto still wanted to kill him, but after considering the matter, he quashed the idea.

"Since that's the case, we'll let the matter drop," Naruto said coolly. "However, I can't let things go as simply as that. I almost got killed just now. Fellow Daoist Jin, I demand penance."

Jin Yunshan sighed inwardly. He knew that Naruto had the upper hand now, and that there was nothing he could do to fight back against him. Gritting his teeth, he made a grasping motion, causing a bracelet to appear out of thin air.

"Take this, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki. This should make up for what happened here." He waved his hand, sending the bracelet flying out of the tempest to hover in front of Naruto. Naruto scanned it with divine sense, and found that it contained a holding pocket filled with countless Immortal jades, as well as numerous other precious materials. After looking it over, he nodded and put it away.

With that, he waved his sleeve, causing the ghosts to retreat, bowing to him the entire time.

Naruto hovered there like the Emperor of the entire world. The group from the Vast Expanse School would never forget what had just occurred.

This battle had propelled Naruto from being the Ninth Paragon into being one of five Potentates of Planet Vast Expanse.

His position was now just as high as the Sect Leader's. In fact, his battle with Jin Yunshan ensured that none of the powerful experts of the Vast Expanse School would ever dare to offend him, at least not within the necropolis.

Naruto was powerful outside the necropolis, but once inside, he had shown that he was… the monarch!

The army of ghosts made him invincible to anyone who had not Transcended.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1441

Chapter 1441: Transcendence Dais!

After a quiet moment, Naruto put the bracelet away, and slowly, his killing intent faded. Everyone breathed sighs of relief. Jin Yunshan's expression was very unsightly, but contained no hatred. He silently made his way a bit off into the distance, where he sat down cross-legged to meditate.

Sha Jiudong and the Sect Leader shared a hesitant look, then headed over to Jin Yunshan's side, where they also sat down. It appeared as if they were there to offer protection, but even Jin Yunshan knew that they were also there to keep him in check if necessary.

They would protect him if Naruto's killing intent suddenly ignited again, but they would likewise make sure that Jin Yunshan didn't do anything to the detriment of Naruto.

The fight just now proved that Naruto had the right to be one of the Potentates, and neither Sha Jiudong nor the Sect Leader had any desire for anymore negative repercussions. The best thing was that the matter be dropped.

The ghosts didn't disperse. After Naruto closed his third eye, they remained floating in the area, seemingly ready to spring into action the moment Naruto called them again.

"Fellow Daoist Ninth Paragon," said the Sect Leader, "this matter stemmed from Fellow Daoist Jin's hot-headedness. That's true of both the incident on the bridge, and what happened here.

"However, he wasn't completely in the wrong. There's been a bit of a misunderstanding here. Even I was able to sense that there is a certain lingering will within the world of the necropolis. I personally do not think that it is the will of Patriarch Vast Expanse, but Fellow Daoist Jin was convinced that it was.

"Fellow Daoist Ninth, I think it's safe to assume that you sense it too. It's a killing intent that is directed at you….

"That is one of the reasons why Fellow Daoist Jin attacked you. He was under the belief that the will of Patriarch Vast Expanse wanted you dead. He believed that by killing you, he could please the Patriarch, and perhaps be benefited in the seeking of enlightenment." It was in this manner that the Sect Leader explained why exactly Jin Yunshan had attacked Naruto.

Naruto's expression flickered upon hearing the explanation. After a moment of thought, he sent some divine sense into the land. Then, he nodded thoughtfully, although he declined to comment.

The Sect Leader didn't seem to want to discuss the matter further. Changing topics, he pointed at the altar.

"Fellow Daoist Ninth Paragon," he said with a smile, "this altar is the location of Transcendence here in the necropolis. There are nine lands here, each one of which has an altar just like this one.

"Supposedly, the altars are connected to Patriarch Vast Expanse, and were actually created by him countless years in the past. As for the specific details of the matter, even after combing through the ancient records, I wasn't able to find many clues.

"However, Transcendence is definitely possible here. Before you arrived just now, Fellow Daoists Jin, Sha and myself managed to acquire a bit of enlightenment. However, we're still quite a ways away from a breakthrough." As he spoke, he approached Naruto, seeming very much at ease. It was a sharp contrast from only a few moments before.

Although he had treated Naruto well in the past, he now viewed him as more of an equal, and his tone of voice was far more sincere than before.

"Time is very limited right now. Fellow Daoist Ninth paragon, why don't you try to gain some enlightenment from the altar? It's impossible to say how lucky you will get, but you should try. As for the other Fellow Daoists, if you don't mind, I hope… that you can allow them to step onto the altar as well, to try to reach enlightenment. After all… we don't have much time." With that, the Sect Leader clasped hands and bowed. Naruto thought for a moment, then nodded.

"That will be fine," he said with a slight smile. Waving his sleeve, he flew over to the altar. He immediately noticed how that there were certain strange properties to the altar, something he hadn't taken note of before. Without any hesitation, he sat down cross-legged in the very middle.

Even as he did, the other cultivators from the Vast Expanse School took deep breaths and followed. They looked beyond excited at their chance. Before, they had only been able to wait outside of the altar as they stood as Dharma Protectors for the three Potentates. At that time, they hadn't been permitted to even get close, but now, they had their chance to step onto it. Although Naruto was there on the altar, none of them had offended him, so as long as they acted respectfully, they would not incite any of his killing intent.

One by one they flew over. After clasping hands and bowing to Naruto, they all chose locations to sit down cross-legged and meditate. In addition to Shangguan Hong and the other 9-Essences Paragons, there were the subordinates, the 8-Essences Paragons. All of them came, even Naruto's two 8-Essences subordinates.

His two subordinates had a bit of a different standing now. As the subordinates of the Ninth Paragon, they felt the least pressure of anyone. They sat down cross-legged on either side of Naruto, to stand as Dharma Protectors as he sought enlightenment.

The Sect Leader's expression was very solemn as he sat down crosslegged between Jin Yunshan and the altar. Although it seemed like a random position, both Naruto and Jin Yunshan could read between the lines.

He was demanding stability, and no fighting!

Jin Yunshan sighed inwardly. Actually, he had long since quelled any notions of trying to fight Naruto. The ghosts still existed, and he knew that if he made a move, he would most likely be killed in body and spirit.

"I wonder how many days this Naruto will be able to continue to seek enlightenment on the altar," he thought. "This place is not as simple as it appears on the surface. The longer you sustain the effort of seeking enlightenment, the more you will gain. However, everyone has their limit. He might hold the higher ground in terms of fighting, but the altar requires personal enlightenment and good fortune. It has a lot to do with cultivation base level as well. I bet Naruto… will last no more than five days!" He snorted coldly. He himself had lasted for seven days on the altar before reaching his limit. Even if Naruto hadn't appeared when he did, he would still have awoken from his seeking of enlightenment.

The Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong had lasted for similar lengths of time, seven days. At the moment, Jin Yunshan wasn't the only one who was pondering how long Naruto might last. Sha Jiudong was thinking about the same thing.

Even the Sect Leader was contemplating the matter. Although his expression was placid, his eyes gleamed with thought as he looked over at Naruto.

The altar was completely silent as dozens of people sat down crosslegged and closed their eyes to seek enlightenment.

As soon as Naruto's eyes closed, rumbling sounds filled his mind as he was connected to the altar.

He instantly sensed his thought processes speeding up, whereas his Chakra and blood began to slow. Even his cultivation base became extremely calm. However, his divine sense and his mental faculties all began to spin at ten times their normal speed.

Apparently, meditating on this altar focused one's power in a way that made it easier to grope for understanding regarding Transcendence.

It was as if he were gazing at the starry sky, at the heavenly bodies, at the transformations of the world, at the flow of time, at the beginning and end of all living things. He was looking at everything.

It was his first time experiencing visions such as these, but it was not his first time experiencing such a mental journey. Actually, this experience was very much like what he had gone through when looking at the frescoes in the tunnel!

The Hexing magics inside of him, which were in the midst of turning into Essences, experienced a sudden acceleration in the process. After a long moment passed, Naruto reigned his thought processes in. Inwardly, he was shaken.

"This altar serves to bless the power of one's enlightenment. It can be used to propel one from eight Essences to nine, and can also aid in moving from 9-Essences into Transcendence…. At the moment, the most important thing for me is not Transcendence, but rather, the creation of my Ninth Hex, and subsequently, my ninth Essence!

"I will use this altar to… gain enlightenment of my Ninth Hex!" Rumbling filled his mind as he focused his thoughts, cast aside any distractions, and focused completely on seeking enlightenment of the Ninth Hex!

This was not his first time contemplating that particular Hex. Quite the contrary, he had long since begun to make preparations for it!

"My Ninth Hex… will be… molded upon the Seal the Heavens

Incantation. It will form… the Seal the Heavens Hex!" Naruto felt as if thunder were crashing inside of his mind. As his thoughts focused, the aura of Transcendence rose up within him. Gradually, a wind sprang up, which began to swirl around him.

His mind was completely occupied with seeking enlightenment regarding the Seal the Heavens Hex. He would take the Seal the Heavens Incantation and elevate it from being a magical technique or divine ability, into being a Hexing magic. Once that was branded into his soul, it would become… the Ninth Demon Sealing Hex!

Normally speaking, if he wanted to successfully accomplish such a task, it would take a very long time. However, with this altar, he could increase that speed exponentially.

Time passed. After the first day went by, different fluctuations were emanating off of different cultivators. The 8-Essences Paragons were radiating auras of the 9-Essences level, and the 9-Essences Paragons were emanating a feeling of Transcendence.

Various expressions were flashing across their faces. Some people seemed enraptured, some confused, some regretful, some grim.

On the second day, some of the 8-Essences Paragons began to tremble and sweat profusely. Pained expressions could be seen on their faces, but they held on bitterly.

On the third day, all of the 8-Essences Paragons were clearly on the verge of giving up. Only the 9-Essences Paragons were still completely focused on enlightenment.

On the evening of the third day, one of the 8-Essences Paragons opened his eyes, and blood oozed out of his mouth as he flew off the altar. He looked back at everyone else on the altar, his expression conflicted as he sighed inwardly. However, after a moment, his eyes gleamed. Having endured for three days, his gains were significant.

Soon more 8-Essences Paragons opened their eyes and then flew off of the altar, blood oozing out of their mouths. After enduring until they couldn't do so anymore, they had no choice but to remove themselves from the area of the altar.

By midnight on that third day, all of the 8-Essences Paragons had awoken from their trances and left the altar.

Left behind were only seven people: Naruto, and the other 9Essences Paragons of the Vast Expanse School.

Jin Yunshan's face was calm, but inwardly he was laughing coldly. "He'll hold out for two more days at the most. As for everyone else, they'll awaken tomorrow."

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1442

Chapter 1442: He Won't Last Five Days!

Jin Yunshan was definitely not the only person paying close attention to what was happening on the altar. The Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong were similarly focused.

The surrounding 8-Essences Paragons were also paying close attention, with occasional looks of envy flickering across their faces, as well as anticipation.

"The Ninth Paragon is definitely going to hold on for the longest. I just wonder how many days that will be…."

Time proceeded to flow onward. By the time the fourth day arrived, three of the group of seven were trembling, clearly on the verge of opening their eyes. Whether or not they were willing, the aura of awakening grew more and more intense upon them.

"The Seventh, Fifth, and Fourth Paragons have cultivation bases slightly weaker than the others. I'm afraid they won't last for longer than four days." Whispered conversations were taking place among the surrounding audience.

Naruto's expression was calm, but in his mind, the enlightenment regarding the Seal the Heavens Hex had placed him into a very perilous situation. Thanks to the increased power of enlightenment, he now fully comprehended the Seal the Heavens Incantation. If anyone were able to see inside of him, they would see a shocking sealing mark gradually forming.

Surrounding that sealing mark were eight other magical symbols that looked very similar to it. Those were the other Demon Sealing Hexes. From the look of it, the Ninth Hex was now about seventy percent complete.

There were threads that snaked out from that ninth sealing mark, which spread out to fill Naruto's body. As they did, they made contact with… strands of Immortal Chakra within him that had been severed during the process of being defiled and becoming the Demon.

Every thread that spread out from the sealing mark completed one of those threads of Immortal qi. The more Immortal Chakra that filled him, the stronger the sensation of Transcendence grew.

Apparently, the appearance of the Ninth Hex could help Naruto to proceed along the path of Immortality which had previously vanished!

The mark of the Ninth Hex gradually caused more and more Immortal Chakra to converge, causing him to radiate the air of an Immortal!

Time passed by, hour by hour. Soon, half of the fourth day was gone, and the three trembling 9-Essences Paragons slowly opened their eyes. After exchanging mutual glances, they sighed and removed themselves from the altar.

They had made various gains, but were the first among the 9-Essences Paragons to have to leave the altar. Although that lost them a bit of face, there was nothing they could do about it. Outside of the altar, they sat down cross-legged and continued to observe the other four who had remained behind.

Of those four, three were trembling, with Naruto being the only person who looked the same as before.

As the fourth day ended, and the fifth day approached, another of the 9Essences Paragons opened his eyes. At first, a blank look could be seen, but soon he sighed and left the altar.

In almost that exact moment… the fifth day arrived.

As of this moment there were only three people left on the altar, including Naruto!

Among the nine Paragons, the Second and Third Paragons were second in power only to the Sect Leader. The fifth day had arrived, and they might be trembling, but having reached this point in their search for enlightenment, their auras of Transcendence were strong.

"The fifth day has arrived! There are only three left. I wonder which one will last the longest!"

"The Sect Leader lasted for seven days, as did Fellow Daoists Jin and

Sha. Seven days is the limit."

"I'd be willing to bet that the Second and Third Paragons both awaken today. As for the Ninth Paragon… he might last for six days. In fact, seven days isn't necessarily an impossibility!" Even as everyone discussed the matter, Naruto suddenly trembled visibly.

Although the movement was slight, everyone was paying close attention, and instantly noticed.

"What? Could it be that the Ninth Paragon is going to awaken now?! Bbut… it's only been five days!"

"His fight with Fellow Daoist Jin proved that he qualifies to be one of the Potentates. How could he awaken after only five days?" Everyone seemed shocked, but Jin Yunshan's lips were turned up in a cold smile. He was certain of his judgement in the matter. After reviewing his battle with Naruto over the course of the past few days, he was more convinced than ever that there was something very strange about Naruto's cultivation base.

That strange aspect was that he didn't seem to truly have nine Essences. If he did, Jin Yunshan was confident that he would have been able to force him to use it.

"Perhaps he simply used some special technique to unleash the battle prowess of the 9-Essences level," he thought, "but in reality, his cultivation base is only at the 8-Essences level! If that's true, then he doesn't qualify to be one of the Potentates!" Jin Yunshan's eyes flickered, and his cold smile grew wider.

Sha Jiudong and the Sect Leader also had strange expressions on their faces as they studied Naruto. They were quite shocked that he was already showing signs of awakening even though it was only the fifth day.

Time passed. Soon, half of the fifth day had gone by. The Third Paragon coughed up a mouthful of blood, and then opened his eyes. After a moment passed, he shook his head, and yet his expression was one of excitement as he rose to his feet and left the altar.

Not long after that, the Second Paragon sagged listlessly. His body was extremely withered, and the aura of awakening upon him was strong, and yet unexpectedly… he calmly continued.

That caused a buzz of conversation among the onlookers, especially when they realized that Naruto was trembling even more than the Second Paragon was, and the aura of awakening upon him seemed to surpass the air of Transcendence. Strange looks appeared on their faces.

"What's going on? The Ninth Paragon can't even hold on for five days?"

"Could it be… could it be because he sustained internal injuries?"

"There's another possibility. What if the reason he never used his ninth

Essence is because… he doesn't actually have a ninth Essence?!" Everyone present was a Paragon, adept at analysis and skilled in scheming. It wasn't long before everyone was contemplating the matter in such a way.

If Naruto really did awaken on the fifth day, then his newly-acquired qualification to be one of the Potentates would become a matter of skepticism. Although no one would say anything out loud, once he got back to the sect, he would be faced with many difficulties.

It was at this point that Naruto began to tremble even harder than before, and the aura of awakening grew stronger and clearer. Even his mind was battered with waves of shock.

"Why is this happening?!" he roared inwardly. "This is impossible!"

His divine sense was completely converged onto the sealing mark of the Ninth Hex. That mark had come to be ninety-nine percent complete on the previous day, and the threads spreading out from it had filled his body. The Ninth Hex was almost complete, and his cultivation base was poised on the brink of rising.

However, even in that moment of keen anticipation, the sealing mark of the Ninth Hex unexpectedly… began to break apart!

Closer examination confirmed that it was true. The sealing mark really was breaking apart, without any warning or indication as to why. Over the course of a few hours, more than half of it collapsed, causing rumbling sounds to fill Naruto.

That was the reason why he was shaking; at the same time, a powerful force was apparently attempting to wrench him out of his state of enlightenment.

Naruto's reserves of power ran deep. He had Shui Dongliu's legacy, and even more importantly, the bronze lamp. As that powerful force attempted to force him out of enlightenment and into awakening, the bronze lamp began to emit a soft glow, which negated that power. However, he continued to tremble, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth.

Everyone watched as this happened. Naruto shook violently, and in the end, blood began to drip down off of his chin.

It was in that moment that the Second Paragon suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood and shivered. As the blood oozed down, he sat there for a moment, then struggled to his feet. However, instead of looking as though he had been defeated, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously. As he stepped off of the altar, astonishingly, he emanated… the aura of the peak of 9-Essences!

That aura instantly attracted the shocked attention of everyone in the area.

The Sect Leader, Sha Jiudong, and Jin Yunshan all looked over. The Second Paragon truly had acquired good fortune from the altar. Although he hadn't reached Transcendence, his cultivation base had advanced by half a step, placing him at the peak of the 9-Essences level.

Instantly, expressions of congratulations began to ring out. The Sect Leader smiled and clasped hands meaningfully.

The excited Second Paragon took a deep breath, then suddenly looked back over at Naruto, and within his eyes flickered the desire to do battle. If Naruto could become one of the five Potentates, then he was confident that he could do the same.

That was especially true considering the fact that despite Naruto being the only person left on the altar, he was shaking visibly. That was the source of the Second Paragon's confidence, and was also why everyone else was paying such close attention to what was happening. Jin Yunshan suddenly chuckled.

"He won't be able to last longer than five days," he said. "We're only a few hours from being finished here." As his voice echoed out, Sha Jiudong frowned, and a look of doubt appeared in the Sect Leader's eyes.

Everyone looked on silently, unwilling to speak. All eyes were focused on Naruto. Time passed.

Naruto's mind was in chaos. He glared at the motes of light which were the shattered bits of his Ninth Hex, as they slowly floated out into his body. After some thought, he began to calm his thoughts.

"There were no faults in either my plan or how I carried it out. Transforming the Seal the Heavens Incantation into my Ninth Hex was the right decision.

"Furthermore, during the process of enlightenment, my understanding of the Seal the Heavens Incantation went far past the previous level. I even managed to converge the Hex smoothly. So why did I fail in the end?

"I need to try again, and determine the reason. What caused the conversion of my Ninth Hex to fail!?" Having made his determination, he didn't hesitate to start gathering together motes of light that were the Ninth Hex, simultaneously drawing upon the power of the altar to speed up the enlightenment process.

As the motes of light gathered, the sealing mark of the Ninth Hex gradually began to re-form. This time, Naruto went about the process with more caution. Every breath of time that passed, he was completely focused, and made sure to avoid any mistakes. After reaching various levels of enlightenment, he used the resulting knowledge in the creation of the Ninth Hex.

Time passed. Two hours. Four hours…. Rumbling could be heard inside of him, and once again he began to tremble. It was then that… the fifth day ended!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1443

Chapter 1443: Difficulty Completing the Ninth Hex!

When the fifth day passed, Jin Yunshan did not look happy at all. In fact, it was almost as if he had just been slapped by an invisible hand.

A few hours before, he had boldly asserted that Naruto wouldn't last for five days. But here Naruto was, still sitting there, and calmly at that, with no more trembling.

The scene left him very grim-faced. As for everyone else present, strange expressions could be seen on their faces.

Regardless, the suspicions people had regarding Naruto were now deeply rooted within them; even if he lasted for six days, they would still have their misgivings.

Unless… he could pull off a miracle, something so astonishing that it would drive away any lingering suspicions. If Naruto did so, then his status and grandeur would reach an unimaginable level.

"Six days is his limit!" Jin Yunshan growled. His words were met with silence as everyone focused on watching Naruto.

Two hours passed. Four hours. Six hours…. Ten hours. Twelve hours. As the fourteenth hour passed, the grimness in Jin Yunshan's face deepened. Everyone else had strange expressions as they watched Naruto. What was happening with his ninth Essence left many of them rattled.

Soon, sixteen hours had passed. Then eighteen. Finally… twenty-four hours went by. A collective gasp could be heard.

"Seven days!"

"Something strange is going on with the Ninth Paragon. He was clearly on the verge of waking up, but then he lasted for an entire additional day!"

"True, but seven days is probably his limit."

As people discussed the matter, Jin Yunshan's face was as pale as ash.

He couldn't feel more gloomy. He had openly said five days was Naruto's limit, only to have him last six days. Then he said six days was the limit, and he lasted for seven.

He also noticed people glancing furtively at him, causing rage to explode up in his heart.

"Seven days! That's definitely his limit!" he growled through gritted teeth.

Everyone seemed to agree with him. Although no one said so out loud, the consensus was that Naruto would last for seven days.

Even the Sect Leader seemed to hold the same opinion. As for Sha Jiudong, he closed his eyes and stopped watching. Instead, he inwardly pondered whether or not Naruto… really had a ninth Essence.

Everyone continued to wait. Ten hours passed. Then sixteen hours. It didn't take long for twenty hours to go by. By this point, Jin Yunshan couldn't remain seated. He rose to his feet, an expression of disbelief painted on his face.

He wasn't the only one. Sha Jiudong opened his eyes again, and the Sect Leader was staring. All three of the peak 9-Essences cultivators looked on with minds reeling.

If they had such a reaction, there was little need to wonder how the others were responding. Looks of astonishment could be seen on all faces.

"The seventh day is about to pass. Don't tell me… he's actually going to last for eight days!?"

"That's impossible! The Sect Leader only lasted for seven days, as did

Fellow Daoists Jin and Sha!"

People were still discussing the matter when the twenty-fourth hour passed by, and… the eighth day arrived!

As of this moment, Jin Yunshan, the Sect Leader, Sha Jiudong, and everyone else were completely flabbergasted. Eight days was longer than anyone present had maintained their position on the altar.

If Naruto had maintained a calm disposition the entire time, it might not have been as shocking. But he had almost woken up in the middle of the process, only to continue onward resolutely. Everyone who was watching felt as if their minds were under attack by shock.

Jin Yunshan felt like he had just been slapped in the face again. His eyes went wide as the eighth day began to go by.

Six hours. Twelve hours. Eighteen hours…. Soon another twenty-four hours had passed. Naruto had endured for nine days!

"Impossible!" Jin Yunshan exclaimed. The Sect Leader's eyes were as wide as saucers, and Jin Yunshan was panting. In the audience, jaws dropped in shock.

Meanwhile, inside of Naruto, the sealing mark of the Ninth Hex was once again ninety-nine percent complete. Vast amounts of Immortal Chakra were streaming out into various parts of his body, connecting them to the sealing mark. As a result, the feeling of an Immortal was growing stronger inside of him!

It was possible to imagine what would happen if he finally succeeded.

When the Ninth Hex was completed, it could completely reverse Naruto's path, and change the Demon… back into the Immortal!

Naruto was so focused on the matter that he could even detect that as the Hex reached a state of completion, his cultivation base was changing. It was transforming back into what it had been in the Mountain and Sea Realm, what he had cultivated all along… the path of Immortality!

Forming the sealing mark was drawing fully upon Naruto's concentration and powers of enlightenment, and he was sure that he hadn't made any mistakes.

The aura of a ninth Essence also appeared, merging with the other eight Hexes, which made Naruto even more certain in his judgement.

Without any hesitation, he proceeded to make his attempt at completing that final bit. Rumbling could be heard as the sealing mark of the Ninth Hex… unexpectedly collapsed again!

A tremor ran through Naruto, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. The same power which had exploded out before once again appeared, except with even more intensity than before.

The bronze lamp flickered, and blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. It took supreme effort, but he managed to force himself to remain in the state of seeking enlightenment. His mind felt as if it were being pounded by thunder, and inwardly, he was raging.

"Something or someone doesn't want me to complete my Ninth Hex!" During this second attempt at finishing the Ninth Hex, he had been paying very close attention, and was now certain that, in the very moment of completion, certain fluctuations had appeared within him that would be very hard to detect unless you were looking for them.

Those fluctuations had interfered with the appearance of the fully formed Ninth Hex, and led to his second failure.

Although Naruto's eyes were closed, they were completely bloodshot.

He gritted his teeth, and once again drew upon the power of enlightenment offered by the altar. He fully rotated his cultivation base, and the light of the bronze lamp poured energy out into all parts of his body. It was as if he had become one with the altar itself.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the enlightenment power of the altar exploded out, filling Naruto. The aura of Transcendence grew stronger, like a tempest that raged around the altar.

His repeated attempts resulted from an unwillingness to fail again.

However, to everyone else, what was happening was utterly shocking.

The crowd outside the altar watched the aura of Transcendence grow on Naruto, and could sense an intense level of pressure radiating out from him.

Everyone began to edge away, even the Sect Leader. The aura of Transcendence, and the powerful tempest, were things that could shake Heaven and Earth.

Wild colors flashed in the air, and to everyone watching, it almost seemed as if Naruto were in the process of Transcending.

It was a feeling that left their scalps tingling with shock.

"Impossible!" Jin Yunshan murmured, his eyes wide.

Shock filled his person as he and everyone else waited another day. The ninth day concluded, and the tenth day began. Then… the eleventh day, and the twelfth.

"T-twelve… twelve days?"

"How inhuman can this Ninth Paragon be? How could anyone last for twelve days?!"

"Just what level is his cultivation base? The peak 9-Essences experts only lasted for seven days, but he actually… has lasted for twelve days!? And from the look of it, he's going to keep going!" Everyone was abuzz, thoroughly shaken by Naruto.

Of course, however shaken they were, that feeling was not going to be reduced. It was only going to grow more intense!

Thirteen days. Fourteen days. Fifteen days….

When the sixteenth day arrived, Naruto had surpassed all expectations and pulled off that miracle!

He had done something that no one else could even come close to doing, something… truly miraculous!

Whatever suspicions people had harbored regarding Naruto were completely and utterly dispelled. Even the Second Paragon, who had recently stepped into the peak of the 9-Essences level, was so shaken that any desire he had to challenge Naruto to a fight were completely gone.

Jin Yunshan refused to believe that, after enduring for sixteen days, and having begun to emit such a strong aura of Transcendence, Naruto didn't have a ninth Essence.

"Dammit, he was actually holding back even more than I thought in our fight! He did it all on purpose! He was using me to establish his place, and he let me go so that he would have an excuse to kill me if I ever made another move on him!" Having reached this conclusion, Jin Yunshan began to tremble inwardly. Finally, he forced himself to regain his composure. However, he was filled with bitterness, and couldn't help but muse about how sinister Naruto was.

The Sect Leader's face was unprecedentedly serious. He was completely shaken, even more so than when Naruto had been fighting Jin Yunshan. In fact, he was thinking exactly the same thing that Jin Yunshan was.

They weren't the only ones. Sha Jiudong had also reached this same conclusion, and his fear of Naruto had reached an even higher level than before.

Naruto had no way of knowing how frightened everyone was because of his actions. He only knew that his third attempt at forming the Ninth Hex had resulted in yet another failure.

However, this failure was met with complete calm. This time, he had not been focused on actually forming the Ninth Hex, but rather, on determining… who it was who was trying to stop him!

In the moment that the Ninth Hex collapsed, he was sitting there crosslegged on the altar, and a tremor ran through him. His eyes suddenly opened, and they were completely bloodshot as he looked up into the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. His expression was one of fury and madness as he said, "So, it turns out it was you all along!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1444

Chapter 1444: Swear an Oath!

Sixteen days.

The fact that Naruto had remained on the Transcendence Dais for sixteen days left the audience completely and utterly shaken.

Jin Yunshan. Sha Jiudong. The Sect Leader. All of them were completely jarred.

Then Naruto opened his eyes, radiating the aura of Transcendence, and everyone felt their hearts trembling. Those blood-colored eyes contained an unspeakable ferocity, giving them the sensation that they were looking some wild beast from ancient times.

Naruto had not Transcended, and in fact, his Ninth Hex had collapsed three times in a row. However, when the third collapse occurred and Naruto opened his eyes, his consciousness left the Transcendence Dais. At the same time, a powerful air of Transcendence filled the area, becoming a raging vortex that spun wildly around him.

The vortex rose higher and higher until it seemed to connect to the Heavens. It was a completely shocking sight.

As the boundless winds screamed, the Sect Leader's face flickered, and he fell back. Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong didn't hesitate to do the same, as did everyone else in the crowd. Even as everyone retreated to a position 30,000 meters away from the altar, they could feel the wild aura raging up from that location.

Rumbling echoed out in all directions as the cyclone of wind shot so high it seemed to slash into the starry sky of the Vast Expanse itself.

In the middle of the cyclone was Naruto, who was looking up into the Heavens, eyes wide. It was as if he could see through the Vast Expanse and beyond, as if he were staring at an entity that no one else could see.

"It was you…." he said, his eyes crimson. He had been puzzled by the first collapse of the Ninth Hex. He had been shaken by the second. But the third… had corroborated his suspicions, and provided the answer which he sought.

He had confirmed that there really was something surreptitiously interfering with his cultivation. It was like some omnipotent force which was preventing the Ninth Hex from appearing.

Perhaps the more accurate description would be to say that it was not impeding the Ninth Hex, but rather, preventing Naruto… from transforming from the Demon back into the Immortal.

And the reason for that was…

"Allheaven fears the Immortal," he murmured in a grim voice. Now he understood everything. If he hadn't passed through that tunnel, and seen all of the visions regarding Allheaven, if he hadn't seen Allheaven destroy a world with a single finger, he would never have been able to piece together the true reason why his Ninth Hex was being interfered with.

Because he had, he was now able to determine definitively that the aura of the force preventing the completion of the Ninth Hex… and the aura he had felt when Allheaven destroyed that world in the fresco… were exactly the same.

They were exactly the same type of power.

In fact… because of the three failures of the Ninth Hex, Naruto had discovered something terrifying. Unexpectedly, the power of this socalled Allheaven apparently had the same origin… as the Demon.

Instead of saying that Allheaven had interfered, leading to the collapse of the Ninth Hex, it would be more accurate to say that the deed was done by both Allheaven and the Demonic power inside of him.

"Allheaven…." he murmured. He had many questions regarding Allheaven, many misgivings. And no answers. In fact, deep in his heart were many speculations which had arisen because of what he had seen in the fresco visions. Speculations regarding the Mountain and Sea Realm, the Immortal God Continent, the Devil Realm Continent, and Planet Vast Expanse.

Unfortunately, there were no answers to the many questions he had. Nor were there even any clues or evidence to analyze. There was even a bit of disbelief within Naruto's heart. After all, he was no newcomer to the practice of cultivation. He was well aware that many times, the things you saw with your own eyes weren't even real.

But as of now, he was certain about the existence of Allheaven.

Within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, there was definitely some entity with the name… Allheaven.

Furthermore, there was some connection between this entity called Allheaven, and himself. At the very least… Naruto was certain that there had been something pushing him along in the transformation from Immortal into Demon.

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent as he shot to his feet. In that instant, the sky filled with intense rumbling, and the cyclone began to crumble, as though some incredibly powerful destructive force were descending.

The aura of Transcendence shattered, and the altar began to shake violently. The intense pressure descending made it seem like the power of the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse was crushing down.

Everyone from the Vast Expanse School coughed up blood, even the Sect Leader, Sha Jiudong, and Jin Yunshan. Shocked expressions could be seen on their faces as they fell back even further than 30,000 meters.

The entire first land mass seemed to be filled with an intense but soundless screaming, causing everything to shake violently.

Naruto stood there on the altar facing the intense pressure, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. The pressure was trying to get him to submit. It pushed down on him, causing his legs to tremble, as if it were trying to get him… to kneel to the Heavens.

But there was more to it than that. From Naruto's perspective, it was as if this pressure were trying to get him to swear an oath that he would never again attempt to transform from the Demon into the Immortal.

His face was extremely grim as the pressure increased. He was shaking visibly, and his bones creaked on the verge of breaking.

But then he suddenly threw his head back and laughed and laughed uproariously. His eyes glowed bright red as his Demonic Chakra surged.

"Threatening me?" he chuckled. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and at the same time, his third eye opened. Instantly, the surrounding ghosts became completely visible.

Beneath the Heavenly pressure, the countless ghosts were trembling. And yet, expressions of insane viciousness could be seen on their faces, unyielding glares of hatred.

Even Naruto could sense that the aura of the pressure weighing down now was exactly the same as when Allheaven had destroyed this world. How could this host of people who had been killed by Allheaven not also detect that very same thing?

"I, Naruto, have practiced cultivation free from guilt my entire life. I pursued the Dao of the Mountains and Seas. Even you, Allheaven, do not qualify to levy threats against me!" Mad laughter rang out as Naruto waved both of his arms out in front of him.

When the surrounding ghosts sensed Naruto's will and determination, they threw their heads back and let out bitter howls. None of the other cultivators present could see the ghosts, but they could sense the sudden influx of intense coldness they caused.

There were so many ghosts it was impossible to tell how many there were, and they were all howling together in one unified voice which rose up into the Heavens. They didn't know why they had become ghosts after having been killed by this pressure. Nor did they understand why they were more powerful in death than in life. But they did know that, even though they had been unable to fight against this power when they were alive, now that they were dead… they would most definitely fight it!

It was impossible to say which ghost did it first, but soon, all of them were flying toward the cultivation base tempest which swirled around Naruto. In the blink of an eye, countless ghosts were flying through the air toward him, causing the tempest to become bigger and stronger.

Vast, uncountable numbers of ghosts surged forth, causing the tempest to rapidly expand. 300 meters. 3,000 meters. 30,000 meters. 300,000 meters. 3,000,000 meters. 30,000,000 meters….

It spread out seemingly without end, with the altar at its center. Eventually, it covered the entirety of the first land mass, creating an indescribable cyclone.

The enormous cyclone swept across the lands, causing mountains to tremble and rivers to seethe.

The cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were there within the raging winds, trembling, looking around in astonishment at what was happening. They were even able to make out faint screams echoing about.

"Revenge. Revenge!"

"We were killed by Allheaven's finger, so in death, we shall exterminate Allheaven!"

"The vengeance of the Vast Expanse Continent is like a flame that not even the Heavens can extinguish." Countless voices rang out, a cacophony like the voices of an entire world, causing a huge sound wave to surge within the windstorm. Then, Naruto raised his hands and pointed up toward the Heavens. In response, the windstorm, along with the countless howling ghosts, began to rise up into the air.

They were like a magnificent army charging toward the Heavens, a sight no one would ever be able to forget.

The combined forces of an entire land mass, of all the ghosts that existed there, charged up as if to vanquish the Vast Expanse. Then, as everyone watched, the sky up above was torn apart by the cyclone.

The starry sky beyond was revealed, and the Vast Expanse, and yet the windstorm kept rising up. Suddenly, within the shattered dome of the Heavens, a figure appeared. He was blurry, and impossible to distinguish clearly. Formed from mist, he stood there, looking at the endless army of ghosts, then stretched out a hand in a pushing motion.

Something like an invisible barrier apparently existed in front of that figure, and deafening rumbling sounds echoed out as it began to move downward.

When the ghosts ran into the invisible barrier, they collapsed into pieces, completely incapable of doing anything against it.

The vast disparity of power was like a huge ravine which there was no hope of crossing.

"Transcendence!" said the astonished Sect Leader. "That's… the power of Transcendence." Everyone else was equally astonished.

Naruto might have emitted some of the aura of Transcendence, but that had been somewhat of a fluke. This figure, and the outstretching of its hand… caused… the true power of Transcendence to appear.

Naruto stood there on the altar, watching everything play out.

Inwardly, he was shaken. He could also sense the power of

Transcendence, and could tell that the windstorm he had created, and the countless ghosts within it, could do nothing to stop or even shake this invisible barrier.

In the blink of an eye, the barrier destroyed half of the cyclone, and continued to grind downward relentlessly. It was now getting closer and closer to Naruto.

To explain by means of illustration, the power of Transcendence compared to the power of a cultivator who had not Transcended, was like… a drop of water compared to fog.

No matter how much fog there was, it could do nothing to prevent that drop of water from passing through it.

In this case, the windstorm and the ghosts were the fog, and that invisible barrier was the drop of water. Not only did it pass through the fog, it crushed everything, and could not be resisted in the slightest.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1445

Chapter 1445: One Word!

The blurry figure behind the invisible barrier apparently had long hair and was wearing a long robe. However, no facial features were visible except for his eyes.

Those eyes were cold and merciless, as if there were no life in them at all, as if they were empty, as if this figure were nothing more than… a weapon!

A weapon!

That was the distinct feeling Naruto got after catching sight of the figure behind the invisible barrier.

At the same time, the barrier continued to crush down. The cyclone continued to collapse, and the countless ghosts continued to dissipate. The lands shook, and crevices opened up. Mountains and rivers rumbled, and everything, even the altar, began to crumble and show signs of complete collapse!

The group from the Vast Expanse School had long since reached a state of utter astonishment. All of them rotated their cultivation bases in an attempt to resist what was happening, but it did little good.

In that moment of extreme crisis, the bronze lamp inside of Naruto blazed brightly, as though it were building up power which would explode out at any moment.

However, before that could happen, all of a sudden… faint fluctuations began to emanate out from the distant ninth land mass, where that huge figure was seated on the enormous throne.

They were faint, but even as they appeared, Naruto could hear a voice coming from the ninth land mass. It was difficult to hear at first, but it only took a moment for the volume to swell. Eventually, it was possible to make out a word. Apparently it was saying…

 _BE!_

It was only one word, apparently the word "be," and it almost sounded like a musical note.

That one word came out from the ninth land mass, and as it passed along, it caused the eighth land mass to shake, and the light there to grow dim. Even as the eighth land mass was thrown into turmoil, the sound passed into the seventh land mass, then swept across the sixth. The sky trembled, and roaring sounds filled the lands. Everything shook in astonishing fashion. And the sound was getting closer and closer to Naruto….

By the time it reached the fifth land mass, the sound had apparently changed. What Naruto now heard sounded more like the word "gone!"

 _GONE!_

In fact, now it almost didn't sound like two words had been spoken. Whistling screams accompanied the arrival of the sounds, and everything trembled. It passed through the fifth land mass, roared across the fourth, then shook the third and the second….

By the time it reached the first land mass, the explosive sounds had united. The word was not "be", nor was it "gone." It was one single word.

"BEGONE!"

"BEGONE!"

"BEGONE!"

The sound echoed about endlessly. It was like an explosion that violently shook the Heavens!

Apparently, it had always been one word, but had been spoken at such a distance away, and traveled so quickly, that it had become split apart along the way. But now that it was here in the first land mass, it erupted with incredible power. That was a power which could destroy the Heavens and extinguish the Earth!

Incredible rumbling echoed out across the first land mass. Mountains and rivers were rocked, and a wind of madness swept about. Wild colors flashed about in Heaven and Earth!

It was a single word that was so domineering it caused everything to shake wildly!

One word crushed the Heavenly might. One word shocked all creation. One word caused the invisible barrier to begin to tremble, and then to be riddled with cracks. A moment later, it shattered completely!

That same word shook the Heavens, causing the blurry figure up above to distort and twist, as though it were being battered by a massive tempest. Then, it faded away.

This virtually indescribably shocking scene occurred because of only a single word!

A single word uttered by that figure on the enormous throne, one word, completely changed everything. The crushing might of Allheaven was dispersed, and the Heavens were shattered!

It was as if that word had become an enormous hand which swept across Heaven and Earth, crushing everything that was not of the necropolis. Even the will of Allheaven was incapable of staying, and had been driven out.

This sight left Naruto completely reeling. He turned to look over at the ninth land mass, mind rumbling with shock.

However, that voice… was something only he could hear. The Sect Leader and the others couldn't detect it at all. Of course, they were still shaken, although not by the voice itself; they mistakenly believed that everything that was happening was being caused by Naruto.

Naruto looked at the ninth land mass, and was suddenly struck with the deep desire to go there and see for himself this figure was who had just uttered that word. Who was he?

The indistinct figure had clearly emanated the power of Transcendence, and whose single uttered word seemed filled with virtually infinite power…. A person like that… must be a Transcendent cultivator!

"Was it Patriarch Vast Expanse…?" Naruto thought, taking a deep breath. That was the only guess he had at the moment.

After a long moment passed, Naruto swished his sleeve and reigned in his cultivation base power.

The sky was quiet, and the lands went still. A moment ago, a shocking tempest had been raging, but now everything was back to normal, almost as if nothing had happened at all.

Naruto closed his eyes, and his heart was anything but calm. Far too many shocking events had occurred, and he deeply desired to know who it was that had uttered the word "begone" just now. He wanted to know why Allheaven feared the Immortal, and he wanted to know what the arrival of the Demon meant. What did the Demon have to do with Allheaven, and why… did they have similar origins!?

Even more than all that, he wanted to know why the Mountain and Sea Realm had been fated to be destroyed. Behind the scenes, there was some entity manipulating things, and that entity was none other than… Allheaven.

In any case, the name of Allheaven was now deeply burned into Naruto's mind. To him, it was a clue.

He stood there silently for a moment before opening his eyes. When he did, he saw the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School panting. Because of everything that had occurred, there was no way they could possibly maintain their calm. First was the sixteen days he had spent seeking enlightenment, then there was the aura of Transcendence shaking the Heavens. Then came the Heavenly might which had crushed down onto them. All of that left them in complete and utter fear of Naruto.

It took a moment for Naruto to compose himself, but when he did, he turned once again to gaze at the ninth land mass. Then, his third eye slowly closed. When his view returned to normal, he stepped off of the altar.

In that moment, the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School looked at him with mixed emotions.

After a moment of silence, the Sect Leader cleared his throat, and was just about to say something when, all of a sudden, the entire land mass lurched. Ripples spread out in the Heavens, and majestic light began to shine down.

That light contained boundless, indescribable heat which immediately caused the freezing coldness on the first land mass to begin to fade away.

However, that was of secondary importance. Most noticeable to Naruto, and to all of the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School, was that grass had sprouted from the ground beneath their feet. In the blink of an eye, everything around them was as green as jade!

Off in the distance, the ruins suddenly blurred as time seemed to flow backward, and they began to return to their original state!

A city gradually appeared, and there were some areas off in the distance where mountains and rivers could be seen….

It wasn't just in their immediate vicinity; the entire first land mass was experiencing a dramatic transformation.

This bizarre turn of events caused the Sect Leader's face to fall.

"Time is up! We cannot stay here any longer. If we do… we will all die! Naruto, even if you can command the ghosts here, you will still perish!

"Go. All of you, go now!" The Sect Leader transformed into a beam of light that streaked at top speed off into the distance.

The other Paragons seemed to be aware of what was happening. Faces flickering, all of them took to flight, including Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong.

Seeing such a reaction from them caused Naruto's eyes to flicker. At the same time, he could sense that the flame in the bronze lamp was dying down, and his strange connection to the ghosts was vanishing.

Without the slightest hesitation, he flew into the air, joining the group as they sped toward the bridge leading off of the land mass.

As they sped along, the Sect Leader explained matters to Naruto. "When the necropolis is opened, there is a time limit in place. If you can't reach the first land mass within ten days, then something bizarre will happen in the region outside. Once, we almost exceeded that time period and… the ruins outside of the land mass returned to their ancient state. There were even living people. But then something strange happened. They all died….

"At that time, some of our people died there too….

"The time limit once you reach the first land mass is one month. If you don't get to the second land mass by that time, then you must leave the necropolis!

"Considering the bizarre things that happen outside of the land mass when the time limit is reached, I can only imagine what happens within the land masses.

"To say that this necropolis is one of the most dangerous places in the entire Vast Expanse is no exaggeration. It's a restricted area even for people in the 9-Essences level.

"Right now, we have no choice but to leave. We can return in one year at the soonest, and then… hopefully we can reach the second land mass. If we can, then we should be able to stay inside a bit longer."

Even as Naruto listened to the Sect Leader's explanation, he could feel his connection to the ghosts fading away. Soon, it was gone altogether, and the bronze lamp had gone almost completely dark.

His face flickered as he turned to look behind him.

When that happened, his mind spun. He saw that all of the ruins had reverted to their previous state of glory. He saw cities that existed like mirages on the surface of the land. He saw statues suddenly appear, and he saw mountains rise up which had not been there before.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1446

Chapter 1446 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1446: The Aura of the Copper Mirror!

Most astonishing of all was that he could see… countless people!

Shockingly, there were numerous cultivators, including men and women, old people and young. Apparently, this was just an ordinary day to these people, as they went about the affairs of their daily lives.

The sound of tolling bells could be heard, and the buzz of conversation. People gave sermons on the Dao in the mountaintop sects.

There… were no mortals in this place. The entire land mass was occupied by cultivators; everyone here practiced cultivation, no matter their position.

There was something warm and genial about these people. There was nothing vicious or evil about them, and everyone seemed to be smiling and laughing. Although there might be some level of fighting and scheming, some grudges or conflicts, the overall sensation was that this place was a sublime, flourishing civilization.

There was Immortal qi, strong and abundant, and Naruto was even able to see one area which had been set aside to grow… the most precious of materials.

Countless Immortal creatures flew about in the sky, and the sounds of happiness filled the air. At one point, an Immortal crane flew by Naruto, and unexpectedly… it turned its head to look at him curiously.

That single glance left his mind reeling.

"This isn't an illusion. What I'm seeing… isn't a hallucination, but… real? I'm actually traveling back into ancient times with this land mass?" Even as Naruto was reeling in shock, the other cultivators were looking around, equally astonished.

Everything around them looked beautiful and wonderful, and yet Naruto could sense that within the beauty, there was immense, deadly danger!

Although he wasn't sure what exactly was so dangerous, there was no time to ponder the matter. He took a deep breath and pushed forward even faster, flying past the 8-Essences Paragons.

Everyone was going all out with their cultivation bases, trying to build up as much speed as possible. They proceeded along for an undetermined period of time, and soon, the buildings around them were completely restored. The mountains and rivers, and in fact the entire aura of the land, was that of ancient times. All of the people were completely solid and visible to the eye. It was at this point that Naruto and the rest of the group spotted the border of the land mass up ahead, as well as the bridge.

Before, that bridge had been made of flesh and blood, but now, it was permeated with Immortal qi, making it an Immortal bridge. There were people on it, chatting and laughing, and when they noticed Naruto and the rest of the group, they stopped in place and looked over.

One of them was a young man. When he spoke, his voice was clear and filled with dignity. "Excuse me, Fellow Daoists, may I ask what has you in such a panic?"

His words caused Naruto's face to turn grim. Jin Yunshan's pupils constricted, and Sha Jiudong and the Sect Leader looked on with flickering expressions. Everyone else in the group gasped.

Although they were aware that the lands they were in appeared to have returned to ancient times, and had even seen people looking at them as they sped along, they had still harbored hope that maybe it was all just a fluke….

But now, with people actually talking to them, they realized that they really were back in ancient times.

"Ancient times…. Ancient times…." As Naruto looked around at everything, something suddenly occurred to him. He remembered a vision he had experienced recently, and suddenly began to pant. Then he looked up into the sky, and his face fell.

"Get out of here immediately!" he said loudly. "Do it however you can, otherwise… we'll face deadly catastrophe!" Even as the words left his mouth, he waved his hand, sucking his two 8-Essences Paragon subordinates into his bag of holding.

His two subordinates had never seen him act this way, and as such, didn't refuse. After they allowed Naruto to place them in his bag of holding, he bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood to unleash an escape magic he had acquired from Shui Dongliu's legacy. His speed increased dramatically, instantly placing him upon the bridge itself. A huge wind blasted out as he sped along.

Everyone else in the group was taken aback. Naruto's words caused their hearts to begin to thump. There was no need for them to ponder whether he might be deceiving them. The things which were happening around them were simply too strange. They immediately unleashed divine abilities, holding nothing back in their charge toward the bridge.

The young man on the bridge frowned, then snorted coldly. He extended both hands, and was just about to prepare to block the way, when suddenly a sound like thunder echoed out in the vast blue sky up above.

The sound of the thunder instantly caused all of the cultivators' minds to reel, and their bodies to involuntarily shiver. It was the same even with Naruto. His face fell as all of his doubts were swept away. He was now absolutely certain that this was the day… that he had seen in the vision, when Allheaven's finger destroyed the world!

Only moments ago, he had sensed fluctuations coming from the ninth land mass, which indicated that someone was facing a Tribulation!

Suddenly, colors flashed in the sky, and the sound of thunder exploded out. Heaven and Earth shook violently, and all living beings in the world looked up. The young man on the bridge ignored Naruto and the others as he stared up into the sky, shocked.

Naruto flashed past the young man like lightning, and even as he reached the end of the bridge, an icy coldness began to descend.

Without thinking about it, he looked back and saw… all of the land masses quaking. Mountains shook and rivers seethed as a gigantic finger began to descend from up above!

The finger was so big that it filled the entire sky, and as the living beings of the world looked up, their faces were filled with complete astonishment and disbelief.

To Naruto, even just looking at the finger caused so much pressure to crush down on him that his head felt stabs of pain, and blood sprayed out of his mouth.

"This level of power far exceeds what I felt when I faced Allheaven earlier. Based on what I saw in the visions, this time period was when Allheaven… was at a peak level of power!"

He coughed up another mouthful of blood and pushed forward with even greater speed. At the same time that he shot off the bridge, the Sect Leader, along with Jin Yunshan, the Second Paragon, Sha Jiudong, and everyone else, stepped onto it.

No one spoke; there was no time. They unleashed all the speed they could muster to race across the bridge and toward the exit of the necropolis.

Jin Yunshan almost immediately transformed into a golden sun, and a series of after images could be seen stretching out behind him as his speed increased dramatically. As for Sha Jiudong, his body shrank down, transforming into a stream of sand that merged with the wind and sped along at top speed.

The Sect Leader took a deep breath, then took a step forward. Although that steep seemed to carry him only a few meters ahead, he actually traveled 30,000 meters! It was as if he were transforming an entire swath of land into a tiny stretch of space.

Everyone else used different, varied methods to speed through the world toward the exit. It was at this point that, behind them, the Heavenly finger which filled the sky began to descend onto the first land mass.

That finger was like a world unto itself, moving with such incredible speed that it gave birth to Heavenly fire. A sea of flames spread out starting from the fingertip, and as that happened, a howl rose up from far off in the distance.

"Allheaven!" the voice shouted, filled with rage and pain. Even as it echoed out, the finger… made contact with the land!

The surface of the land shattered. Countless sects were crushed, and countless mountains were reduced to rubble. Cities and statues fell, rivers and vegetation were destroyed….

All of the people living on the land were killed in that same moment, unable to struggle or even fight back. Their bodies… were instantly transformed into ash.

One cultivator after another was incinerated, and in the blink of an eye, the entire first land mass… became a place of death. The Immortal creatures, the precious materials, everything vanished.

The group of people on the bridge, including that young man, were shredded to pieces. Their flesh and blood splashed about, turning the bridge red, filling it with gore….

It was as if an invisible shockwave were blasting out, destroying everything that it touched….

The shockwave continued out past the borders of the land mass, spreading out into the cities which floated on the outside. They were all transformed into ruins, and everyone who lived there was killed.

Naruto and the other cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were all fleeing for their lives!

One of the 8-Essences Paragons was a bit too slow, and was overtaken by the shockwave. He began to tremble, and was then transformed into ash. When the rest of the group saw this, their minds reeled. Looking back at the incoming shockwave, they pushed more power out of their cultivation bases, even detonating magical items to gain more speed.

Naruto's face was very grim as he sped along, the fastest of the entire group. As the exit neared, he suddenly heard another shrill cry echoing out from one of the distant land masses.

"Allheaven!" The voice said exactly the same thing it had before, but the tone was different this time. It contained sadness, insanity, and boundless enmity. In that instant, the world was plunged into sinister coldness.

Those words filled the entire world with never-ending hatred!

Naruto didn't look back. He continued onward, a blur as he stepped into the exit. Even as he was about to leave the necropolis, he suddenly… sensed some very familiar fluctuations. A tremor ran through him, and he stopped in place, slowly turning his head to look behind him.

When that happened, he saw a glittering beam of light shooting out from the ninth land mass toward the enormous finger. Within that beam of light… was a copper mirror!

Within the mirror was a cold, detached figure, a colorful parrot whose eyes blazed like lightning. It was a majestic sight as the parrot slammed head first into Allheaven's finger!

"The copper mirror…" Naruto thought, his mind reeling. Under no circumstances could he ever have imagined… that he would see the copper mirror in this place!

Chapter 1446: The Aura of the Copper Mirror!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1447

Chapter 1447: Yeah, I Am!

Naruto stood there, one foot in the exit, a gentle force tugging at him, as if to pull him out. However, there was absolutely no way he would let his other foot step into the exit.

Trembling, he looked back at what was happening in the distant sky. The copper mirror… was something that had changed his life. Inside that mirror was the parrot, who had become his friend, his comrade!

That made him think of the meat jelly. The parrot and the meat jelly were always at each other's throats, but… they had long since become like his family.

How could he ever forget the meat jelly's talkativeness, or the parrot's boasting? How could he forget how they had called themselves Lord Fifth and Lord Third? How could he forget the seafood song?

All of those things were there in his mind, to remain there for all time. In the end, in that critical life-or-death moment, the parrot had been willing to erase its mind for Naruto, and the meat jelly had sacrificed its undying life force.

In the end, one of his friend's consciousnesses was wiped out, and it was taken by those two powerful forces. The other turned into a lifeless husk which was now tucked away deep in Naruto's bag of holding.

"The parrot…." Naruto murmured. In that moment, Jin Yunshan whistled past him into the exit, and then vanished. After him was Sha Jiudong, and then the Sect Leader. All of them were rushing as fast as possible to escape.

As they left, they glanced over at Naruto and wondered what he was hesitating about. However, there was no time to ponder the matter, and they quickly left.

Naruto stood there, seemingly oblivious to the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School. As they flew past him, his eyes were glued on the copper mirror.

He saw the copper mirror slam into the finger, which trembled in response. Shockingly, the finger tilted back, and cracks began to spread out over its surface. The finger even began to tremble.

A grunt of surprise could be heard, and then the cracked finger flicked the copper mirror.

The copper mirror… shattered.

Nine shards… scattered about in all directions. Eight shards flew out into the starry sky, toward parts unknown. As for the main body of the mirror, it was not shattered, but grew dark and dull as it also flew out into the depths of the starry sky.

However… one of the shards of the mirror… landed on the third land mass….

Naruto saw it very clearly, and when he did, he began to shake. He was suddenly filled with the impulse to go to that third land mass and find that mirror shard!

He had the feeling that if he could find that shard, then perhaps… he could once again sense the copper mirror. Maybe he could sense the parrot!

When the mirror shattered, the figure on the ninth land mass shot toward the finger, radiating grief and madness….

As for what happened to him, Naruto didn't see. He was completely focused on the third land mass. Most of the cultivators from the Vast Expanse had already escaped. However, there were two 8-Essences Paragons still rushing toward the exit. They were only about thirty meters away when they suddenly trembled and transformed into dust.

In that exact same moment, the bronze lamp inside of Naruto went as dim as if it had been extinguished. Naruto could sense that it was a moment of incredible danger, and that death was rushing toward him.

He knew that he was treading a razor-thin line between life and death, and yet he still chose to open his third eye. Using the third eye, he noted the exact location on the third land mass where the mirror shard had landed, and committed it to memory.

By that time, death was almost right in front of him, like an invisible mouth preparing to consume him. In that moment, Naruto threw his head back and bellowed, stepped fully into the exit, and vanished.

A moment later, the ripples of death inundated the area where he had been standing.

Back on Planet Vast Expanse, in the teleportation portal formation on the half-planet….

Naruto materialized, coughing up a mouthful of blood. His face was pale, and yet his eyes were blazing as if with raging flames.

Everyone else looked completely bedraggled. Of the dozens of people who had gone into the necropolis, only twenty came out alive. The rest… had perished inside.

Naruto looked over at the Sect Leader and asked, "When can we go back in!?"

"At minimum, one year. However, there's no guarantee we can go back that soon. Various preparations must be made, and I also need to personally go ask Immortal Bai Wuchen to come with us! With her and the Second Paragon, we will have six peak 9-Essences cultivators. With you included, I'm very confident that we can open the passageway to the second land mass." The danger they had just faced did nothing to lessen the Sect Leader's resolve, and in fact, he was even more convinced than ever that they should go back.

With the Transcendence Daises, they all had a hope of Transcending!

Naruto stood there silently, then looked down at the teleportation portal upon which he stood. His heart was anything but calm; he had profited to an extreme level in this trip to the necropolis, most importantly, by getting a clue regarding the copper mirror. He was more determined than ever that he had to get back in!

"If I can find that mirror shard, then perhaps I could restore my connection to the copper mirror…." Naruto's eyes gleamed with obsession. After a moment passed, he swished his sleeve, sending his two 8-Essences subordinates flying out, looking completely shaken. Although they had been inside Naruto's bag of holding, he had not sealed their ability to sense what was happening in the outside world.

When Naruto had stopped at the exit, the two 8-Essences Paragons had felt the extreme, deadly danger of the situation.

Naruto's face was grim as he stepped off of the teleportation portal. He was feeling a bit frustrated, the type that came when keen anticipation filled you, but there was no option other than to wait for what you wanted.

As he left the spell formation, Jin Yunshan was there up ahead of him. After returning to the Vast Expanse School itself, he had breathed a sigh of relief. Back in the necropolis, Naruto held the advantage. With countless ghosts at his beck and call, it created a deadly threat that gave Jin Yunshan no choice other than to bow his head. But now that they were back in the sect, although he wouldn't intentionally provoke Naruto, he could at least give him a dirty look.

It wasn't that he fundamentally had the desire to irritate Naruto, especially not with the oaths sworn by the Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong. However, after suppressing his feelings for so long in the necropolis, now that he was back in the Vast Expanse School, it was only natural that he would want to let off at least a little bit of steam.

Naruto's performance on the Transcendence Dais had been miraculous, and his battle against the Heavenly might astonishing. But Jin Yunshan was convinced that Naruto had done all that with the help of the ghosts. Following that line of reasoning, it meant that Naruto had never unleashed his ninth Essence, and Jin Yunshan… simply couldn't believe that he didn't actually have one. In his estimation, Naruto was keeping it hidden away as a trump card.

Therefore, he had no intention of actually fighting Naruto, but had no qualms about giving him a spiteful stare. And thus he did.

Naruto's eyes narrowed in response.

"Get out of my way," he said.

Jin Yunshan frowned. They were in a very open area, and although he really was standing in front of Naruto, it would be very simple for Naruto to simply walk around him.

"Trying to start something?" Jin Yunshan replied in a grim voice, his eyes turning even icier than before.

It was a single sentence, and a single cold look. How could Jin Yunshan have ever imagined that in response, Naruto's eyes would turn cold, and he would say, "Yeah, I am!"

Even as the words left Naruto's mouth, he lunged forward and unleashed a powerful fist strike.

That fist strike combined the powers of the Life-Extermination, SelfImmolation, God-Slaying, and Devil-Butchering fists. Lands shook and mountains were rocked. Colors flashed in the sky. It was a dazzling spectacle.

Jin Yunshan's face fell. He had sustained serious injuries in the necropolis, and was currently only capable of fighting with seventy percent of his full power. When he realized that Naruto was suddenly attacking him, he quickly performed an incantation gesture to counterattack. A crashing boom echoed out between the two of them.

Jin Yunshan fell back, trembling, feeling more insulted than ever. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and his eyes gleamed with madness.

The truth of the matter was… he really had no intention of fighting with Naruto. In his mind, standing there as he had been was nothing excessive. All he had done was cast a dirty stare in Naruto's direction. He hadn't done anything deliberately provocative, only acted a bit cold.

Unfortunately for him, he had no idea what kind of a lunatic he had provoked….

He had no idea, and in fact, no one did. The Sect Leader was smiling wryly, and Sha Jiudong groaned inwardly. The Second Paragon's eyes went wide; although he was aware of how overbearing Naruto could be, he had never imagined that he would see something like this happening. Clearly… Naruto was in a bad mood, and needed to vent on someone. And that someone turned out to be Jin Yunshan….

Booming sounds rang out. Jin Yunshan felt insulted and enraged. Even as he performed an incantation gesture to unleash a divine ability, Naruto transformed into a huge roc. Rumbling sounds could be heard as countless feathers swirled into the air, and at the same time, his Hexing magics combined!

One boom after another rang out. Jin Yunshan was already injured, and had been cowed by Naruto in the necropolis. He had no desire whatsoever to fight, and as such, was beaten back no matter what he did.

The Sect Leader shook his head wryly. Finally, he and Sha Jiudong jumped in and separated Naruto and Jin Yunshan, who glared angrily at each other as they were pulled back.

"You psycho!" said Jin Yunshan, almost yelling. He felt more insulted and maligned than ever. "You think you can just go around hitting people because you're in a bad mood? Wasn't our grudge resolved already? I gave you that bracelet of holding!"

When Naruto recalled the matter of the bracelet of holding, his expression softened, and he cleared his throat. He wanted to say something, but couldn't think of anything appropriate. In the end… it was true. Because of being in a bad mood, he had been looking for trouble.

With a cold snort, he turned and flew off toward Ninth Paragon City, where he immediately went into secluded meditation.

"Psycho! Madman!" Jin Yunshan glared at the departing Naruto, and vowed to himself that he would get revenge somehow. But then he thought about how Naruto had lasted for sixteen days on the Transcendence Dais, and about how vastly separated they were in terms of power. Naruto hadn't even used his ninth Essence! Most importantly, he was essentially invincible when in the necropolis, and there were surely many more trips to the necropolis coming in the future. Finally, he gave up on the idea of getting revenge.

"Dammit. I definitely have to make sure not to stand in that psycho's way in the future!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1448

Chapter 1448: A Year….

It would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone in the Vast Expanse School who knew about what exactly had happened in the necropolis. The group which went inside sustained serious casualties: numerous 8-Essences Paragons were killed, and the Sixth and Eighth Paragons also died.

To the Vast Expanse School, that was a huge loss. However, to the individuals who survived, the benefits were immense!

8-Essences Paragons, 9-Essences Paragons, and even the handful of peak 9-Essences Paragons all spent time on the Transcendence Dais, and gained different levels of enlightenment regarding their future path. Although the paths ahead of them were not clear, their time in the necropolis ensured that the mistiness which covered them was lifted to some degree. Each and every individual believed that if they were given the opportunity to seek further enlightenment, then… the impossibility of reaching Transcendence… might change into a distinct possibility.

Although the benefits to the 8-Essences Paragons were not as great as those received by the 9-Essences experts, they were still significant. There were even some who were already gaining an understanding of their ninth Essence, and who would surely advance by leaps and bounds.

It was possible to say that, although the Vast Expanse School had experienced significant losses, the benefits to those who had survived were worth it. All of them went into secluded meditation as soon as they returned.

Naruto sat in his secluded meditation temple, his expression calm. He thought back to everything which had occurred in the necropolis, and his face gradually filled with a cold, unyielding expression.

He refused to give in to the idea that he could not form the Ninth Hex.

"Allheaven fears the Immortal, and his power is of the same origin as my Demonic power. This matter… is bizarre, to say the least." After a moment of silence, his eyes glittered, and he smiled coldly.

"I can't use this body of mine to form the Ninth Hex. If I try, I will fail….

The Ninth Hex would transform me, causing the foundation of the

Immortal to appear again, and allow me to tread that path once more.

"The thing is, I don't care whether or not I'm the Immortal. I just care about getting stronger. Immortal? Fine. Demon? Great. I don't care, as long as I can get that ninth Essence, as long as I can extinguish the bronze lamp, as long as I can Transcend!" His eyes shone with a thoughtful gleam. If he couldn't personally form the Ninth Hex, then he had to find some way to get someone else to help do it for him!

"Who would have thought that turning the Seal the Heavens Incantation into the Ninth Hex would cause Immortal transformation…. I suppose I could pick something else for the Ninth Hex. Maybe that would work…." He frowned.

"But that would be such a waste." He sighed, and then suddenly, his eyes glittered as a strange idea popped up into his mind.

"Hmm…." His eyes flickered even more brightly, until he suddenly rose to his feet and began to pace back and forth in the temple. After a moment, he stopped in place.

"If this body is not suitable to form the Ninth Hex, then… what if I create a clone without any Demonic power? He would have almost no connection to me at all. Perhaps that clone could form the Ninth Hex!

"If a Demon cannot form the Ninth Hex, then maybe an Immortal… can successfully make the Seal the Heavens Hex!

"If the clone succeeds, and my true self merges with the clone, then… I will still get the Ninth Hex in the end!" Naruto's eyes began to shine brightly.

"Although it might be a bit difficult, at least I have a direction!

"The Seal the Heavens Hex incites Immortal meridians. In that case, if my clone has a pure Immortal body, then its chances for success would increase exponentially." The more he thought about it, the more feasible it seemed.

"This clone's mission… will be to finish the Ninth Hex!" His eyes gleamed with determination as he thought back to all of the various cloning magics he possessed. One of them was the True Self Dao, and he also had a magical technique from Shui Dongliu's legacy.

However, none of those cloning methods could do the job perfectly. He needed a clone with no Demonic power, that could gain enlightenment of the Ninth Hex, and that he could then re-absorb.

"It won't work unless… that clone is truly me. Even if my true self dies, the clone can live on. That type of clone would be truly independent, and yet would still be something that could merge back with me!" With that, he reached up and pressed down onto his forehead.

Rumbling filled his mind as suddenly… three Nirvana Fruits appeared!

As the Nirvana Fruits hovered in front of him, emitting dazzling light, Naruto smiled.

"Seventh Year Tribulation…. If Shui Dongliu could come up with that elaborate plan for the Mountains and Seas all because of the strange factors within the Namikaze Clan bloodline, then naturally, I can do something similar!

"My clone will be different than any other type of clone. And that is because… he will be… my fourth life!" At this point, he closed his eyes, causing their shining brightness to disappear.

Back on Planet East Victory, his Seventh Year Tribulation had caused him to wither up, and in the process, produce a Nirvana Fruit. That had occurred twice. In the seventh year of his second life, he had withered up again, and in the process of beginning his third life, produced a second Nirvana Fruit.

In that third life, his parents had accompanied him to Planet South Heaven, where he began his whirlwind of a life, a life that had led up to this very day.

Now, he wanted to forcibly begin… his fourth life. However, he wouldn't do it with his true self, but rather, a clone. His third life and his fourth life would both exist simultaneously!

It was a situation in which the roots would be the same, but the branches would be different. Fusing would also be no problem, because the bodies would be fundamentally exactly the same! At the same time, his fourth life would be a complete separation from his third life, ensuring that no Demonic power existed on the clone.

"I can use that clone to seek enlightenment of the Ninth Hex!" He took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged. Then, he pushed down on his forehead again. Rumbling sounds began to echo out as he used his Nirvana Fruits to form the body of his fourth life.

The divine ability involved required time. As Naruto sat there, eyes closed, life force streamed out of the Nirvana Fruits and converged upon his forehead, where it gradually began to grow stronger.

It was only a bit of life force, like a brewing seed.

Time passed. A year went by, during which time the Sect Leader sent word to Naruto that the preparations to go into the necropolis again required an additional, undetermined length of time.

Although Naruto was anxious to get back into the necropolis, the brewing clone also needed time.

Another year passed.

Naruto's clone was in a constant state of growth, and was rapidly reaching the point when it could begin to live his fourth life.

There in front of Naruto, a blurry figure could be seen. It was impossible to make out the facial features clearly, but its aura was completely different from Naruto's. However, Naruto could sense that there was some connection between the two of them, a connection that would be extremely difficult to sever.

"Three years of refining. This clone will live my fourth life. The root is the same, but the branches are different. He doesn't have an iota of Demonic power…. Before he turns seven, I will send him into the mortal world to experience life. Seven years later, his memories will awaken. When that happens, I will be him, and he will be me. However no one else will be able to detect the connection between us, our shared root. At that time, my clone can begin to cultivate the Ninth Hex!

"I can't rush things. The Ninth Hex is critical for me being able to Transcend!" Naruto looked at the blurry figure in front of him, then waved his hand. The figure transformed into a beam of light which flew out at top speed. Flying along with it was a red beam of light which, upon closer examination, could be seen to contain a tiny mastiff.

The light flew out of the half planet's starry sky and onto Planet Vast Expanse itself. Somewhere in the land mass that belonged to Naruto, it vanished.

He didn't deign to do anything to hide the matter. After all, the only people who could detect it would be the handful of people in the peak of the 9-Essences level. None of them who were watching would pay much attention to such a thing.

To them, Naruto was a lunatic. And lunatics… were people to be avoided. That was especially true of this particular lunatic, who was invincible within the necropolis, and could not be provoked.

Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong both felt that way. As for the mysterious Immortal Bai Wuchen, she kept herself separate from worldly affairs, and had no interest in matters like that.

Deep beneath the surface of the half-planet, the Sect Leader sat on the turtle shell above the sea of flames. A profound gleam appeared in his eyes, the glow of augury. After a moment passed, he slowly lowered his head.

"What divine ability was that? How come I can't see it clearly? This Ninth Paragon is wrapped up in too many secrets.

"Well, those things are all trivial anyway." The Sect Leader smiled, then closed his eyes. Naruto was now more important than ever, considering how things had gone in the necropolis. His battle prowess placed him among the Potentates, and the Sect Leader didn't want to incur his displeasure by being overly curious.

In the year that passed, things were quiet in the Vast Expanse School. Although Naruto's subordinates continued to expand his power and influence on the outside, on Planet Vast Expanse itself, everything was peaceful, and no major incidents occurred.

All of the most powerful experts were in secluded meditation.

Something else happened during that year. In the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, a young man appeared. He wore a green robe and had long white hair, and was accompanied by a gentle-looking woman. They entered the Vast Expanse from the outside, and came to a stop at a location near the Immortal God Continent. As soon as they entered, the Vast Expanse began to seethe, and threatening rumbling sounds began to echo out. Some unknown force within the Vast Expanse immediately began to try to expel the white-haired young man. Apparently, if the man were to attempt to stay here, then the entire Vast Expanse would spare no effort to eject him with all its might. 1

He looked at the Immortal God Continent, and mixed emotions played out on his face. After a while, he sighed. The woman standing next to him seemed unable to endure the sight, and closed her eyes.

"I severed that finger all those years ago, and starting then, it became very difficult to enter this Vast Expanse. There are so many memories tied up with that land mass. It's a good thing… it's all in the past now. Those people aren't who they used to be anyway. What use is it for them to call to me…?" The young man sighed.

"Severing that finger evoked such hatred against me… bone-deep hatred!

"As for the Fellow Daoist still wrapped up with that same hatred… once he Transcends, he'll understand everything." The white-haired young man turned. Along with the woman, he left the Vast Expanse, after which the expelling force which had risen up slowly faded away.

Another thing happened in that year. Outside of Planet Vast Expanse was a cultivator clan which was said to have existed since ancient times. The person who had led them in their recent comeback was a female Chosen, and during that year, she joined the Vast Expanse School. After being accepted into the Sect Leader's division, the Sect Leader himself appeared, which was rare. Looking at her surname, he asked her what her given name was.

The woman smiled and replied. "Bei. Disciple Han Bei at your service."

The final event which occurred during that year occurred on the border of the ninth land mass of Planet Vast Expanse. There, a small forested mountain could be seen, beneath which flowed a river. A middle-aged scholar was sitting next to that river, reading a book. Suddenly, he looked up and saw a sleeping baby floating along above the surface of the river.

The baby had a wooden tablet lying on his chest, with a name written on it. Namikaze Mu. Within the baby's hand was a fruit that seemed to be made of gold or jade, and yet wasn't. An aura like that of reincarnation could be detected, as well as the Dao of Nirvana. Next to the baby was a little dog, which was happily licking the baby's cheek.

The water parted for the baby, and fish leaped up excitedly. The sunlight didn't dare to strike the baby too harshly, and the countless beasts which peeked out from within the trees of the forest wouldn't harm a hair on his head.

Yes, the clues so far seem to point to this guy being Wang Lin ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1449

Chapter 1449: Haowie

On the border of the ninth continent of Planet Vast Expanse was a river which snaked back and forth to parts unknown, dotted on either side by little villages.

One of them was called Peach Blossom Village.

A few hundred people lived in the village, and generally speaking, they all got along well with each other. Supposedly, they descended from a group that migrated to this location from one of the great clans many years in the past. Exactly what happened along the way was unknown, but years later, Peach Blossom Village came to be.

Most of the people who live there made a living by hunting or fishing. In the morning, smoke would curl up from kitchen chimneys, and at night, the stars twinkled in the sky. It was a peaceful and auspicious place….

Occasionally, though, a commotion would break out, and one might even hear shouts of rage….

" Namikaze Mu! Haowie! When I get my hands on you I'm gonna spank that little butt of yours!" 1

"I don't care what you say, I've had enough. Stop right there, Namikaze Mu! If you try to run, I'll just have to go have a word or two with that drunkard father of yours!"

"That's my rooster! Y-y-you… you can't take my rooster!"

On one particular morning, as smoke rose from the chimneys, cries like this echoed out in the village. The voices belonged to the elderly, the village grownups, and even children.

Meanwhile, a six-year-old boy was hiding in the bushes in a far corner of the village, looking very pleased with himself. He was handsome, with eyes that glittered like stars and skin as smooth as jade. He wore rough, hemp garments, and even had some mud smudged on his face, but that couldn't conceal the clever, intelligent gleam in his eyes.

His hand was clasped around the throat of a chicken. At first glance, the chicken appeared to be struggling, but closer examination revealed that it was trembling. It trembled, not because of the boy, but because of the hunting dog that was stretched out on the ground off to the side.

The dog lay there lazily, and yet it emanated an invisible pressure. Whenever the chicken started to struggle, the dog would growl, and the chicken would instantly sag listlessly in fright.

Some time passed, and the village eventually quieted down. The boy licked his lips, then slowly began to tip-toe his way back through the village, chicken in hand. The hunting dog followed along, also licking its lips.

"This isn't for you," the boy whispered, "so don't even think about it. This is my tuition!" He threaded his way through the village until he found himself in front of a somewhat dilapidated house, whereupon he gave the gate an urgent kick.

"Master!" he whispered. "Open up. Hurry!"

The gate opened, revealing a slovenly old man. He reached out, dragged the boy inside, then looked around to see if anyone had noticed before closing the gate.

As soon as he was inside the courtyard, the boy spoke in a loud voice,

"Master, you old fogey, I brought this rooster as my tuition. I want to study Immortal magic!"

The old man wasn't very tall, and had a hunched back. He turned and looked at the boy with narrowed eyes, then looked at the chicken, and began to salivate.

"Excellent. Excellent," he said, sounding very serious. "Ah, you know how to bring gifts to your Master, kid, you really have potential. Alright, fine. After I deal with this evil creature, I'll teach you some Immortal magic!

"You just wait here for a bit while I convert the wicked, shameless beast!" With that, he grabbed the chicken and took a few steps toward the house.

"Master, how are you going to convert it?" asked the boy, eyes wide with curiosity.

"No peeking," the old man said sternly. "Master is going to be using some magic, so you'll probably smell something strange. There's not much spiritual energy in this remote place, plus I'm injured, so I'm counting on you to act as Dharma Protector.

"Haowie, I'm placing my life in your hands. You must do a good job as

Dharma Protector."

The young boy nodded excitedly in response.

The old man entered the house, and a few moments later, a miserable squawk could be heard. Then came the sound of feathers being plucked, and the hiss of boiling water. Before long, a fragrant aroma drifted out.

The boy was very curious, and after a bit of time, couldn't help but ask, "Master, since this evil creature is a monster, why is it so weak? I caught it almost without even trying."

"That's because Master used some magic earlier to drain its power." By this point, it sounded like someone was eating a meal inside the house.

"Master, I've helped you catch a lot of monsters throughout the years. In fact, the village is almost completely cleared out of the things. That's why my dad spanks me all the time. When are we going to leave the village to kill some monsters and fiends?"

"Oh, there's no hurry. Yesterday, I noticed a mutt in the yard of Old Zhu's house on the west side of the village. You should bring that dog over to me for inspection. It's also an evil creature!" The sounds of ravenous devouring could now be heard in the courtyard.

The boy looked quietly up into the sky.

"Master, my dad's temper is really bad. A few days ago when he was spanking me, he said I was the reason he failed in the Imperial examinations.

"Oh, another thing. He said I got picked up out of the river, right?

"I've been having a lot of dreams lately. I dream about weird people and strange things. I even see people flying around. Something about all of it seems really familiar. It's almost like someone is calling out to me, as if… there are two me's." The boy seemed to have difficulty expressing what exactly he wanted to say, and the more he talked, the more confused he seemed.

At some point, the slovenly old man had emerged from his house, and was now standing in front of the boy, looking at him.

"Don't let your imagination run too wild," he said, yawning. "Two you's? You're talking about a clone, and only very powerful people can have clones. Yes… powerful people like your Master. Tell me, based on your feeling, where is this other version of you?"

"There…." said the boy, rising to his feet and pointing off in a certain direction, a blank look on his face. "There. Very, very far away. I dreamed about a huge temple, and lots of mountains."

"Hahaha! Master knows exactly what place you're talking about. That's the Ninth Sect! The Vast Expanse School's Ninth Sect. Now that I think about it, the Ninth Sect has been recruiting disciples in this area recently. If you serve Master well, I might be able to recommend you." The old man chuckled. Seeing the blank look on the boy's face, he reached out and tousled his hair.

"Alright, fine. You've always loved to let your imagination run wild. Poor kid. Okay, I'm going to teach you some amazing Immortal magic today. It's a natural Heavenly Dao, something Heaven-shaking and Earthshattering, something that ghosts and gods alike revere. We're talking about the essence of life here, the origin of all magics, the Dao of all Daos!" The boy's previous confusion was gone, and now he seemed excited.

"Let's go!" said the old man, looking up at the evening sky. He led the way out of the courtyard and then down a little path behind the house. The boy followed along, as did the lazy dog.

They walked along for awhile until it was dark, whereupon they reached the back courtyard of a certain house. The old man looked this way and that, then leaped over the wall and into the courtyard with the boy. Then, he whispered, "You're definitely not allowed to see what will happen in a moment. Just listen. There's going to be a sermon on the Dao, understand? Master is going to be doing some cultivating. You just stand there and watch me as I, er, I mean, you stand watch as Dharma Protector."

The boy's heart began to pound, and he nodded eagerly. Looking pleased, the old man walked over and entered the house. Moments later, the boy heard the voice of a woman.

"What took you so long, you old bastard?"

"I'm here now, heh heh. Alright, let's hurry things up. I'm going to perform some magic for you…."

Soon, some very strange noises could be heard coming from inside the house. The boy's eyes went wide. He didn't quite understand what was happening, but he suddenly remembered that Widow Li often had male visitors coming and going, bringing her various gifts.

"So, it turns out Widow Li is a cultivator!" he murmured. He was so engrossed in listening to what was happening that he didn't notice something behind him. At some point, a blurry figure had appeared. Of course, even if the boy hadn't been so engrossed, he probably still wouldn't have noticed.

It was a young man wearing a green robe. He looked like a scholar, except his expression was cold. He appeared on the scene without making the slightest sound, although his arrival caused the starlight to distort somewhat. The hunting dog shivered, and a warm look appeared in its eyes.

"Seventh Year Tribulation…. Tonight, my clone's Seventh Year Tribulation will come…. After the tribulation, his memories will eventually return. Then, he will be me, and I will be him." That young man was none other than Naruto, and this boy was the clone he had sent into the mortal world to live his fourth life. He was also the clone who would seek enlightenment of the Ninth Hex.

"It should be coming any time now," Naruto said softly. In almost the exact same instant that the words left his mouth, a tremor ran through the boy, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. He let out a sudden cry as his body began to wither.

The sudden cry startled the old man, and also rang out through the quiet night to be heard by other villagers. The old man rushed out of the house, and when he saw the boy, a look of sincere concern appeared on his face. The truth was that he really did care for the child, and because of that, he quickly ran over and pushed his hand down onto his forehead. Nothing happened. The old man's face fell. He knew that some vile ailments were best treated by medicinal plant concoctions prepared by doctors, so he scooped the boy up in his arms and raced through the village toward the doctor's house.

It was a sleepless night for most of the villagers in Peach Blossom Village. At some point, dark, churning clouds had filled the sky, though no rain fell. Thunder boomed, and gradually a mist built up. Strangely, the mist was violet-colored, and roiled as if countless terrifying entities existed inside of it whose roars echoed out into the night.

The little boy who had somehow come to be known as Haowie lay trembling in the courtyard of the doctor's house. Many villagers were present, including the slovenly old man. There was also a middle-aged scholar who, despite wearing his scholar's robe, had a stubbly beard, and held a flagon of alcohol in his hand. His eyes were blank and unfocused.

This was the boy's father. Years ago, he hadn't been like this. However, after failing the Imperial examinations, he had abandoned himself to despair. He was as drunk as usual, and had been physically dragged over to the doctor's house by one of the other villagers.

"I can't save him," the doctor said, sighing.

When the middle-aged scholar heard that, he looked over at the boy he had picked up out of the river, who was now withered and gaunt. The scholar shivered, then raised his alcohol flagon and took a long swig.

"He's better off dead…." he murmured, sounding pained.

The other villagers in the courtyard sighed sadly. Although the boy was often a bit naughty, to see him die of illness like this was very distressing.

Naruto currently hovered up above, looking down silently at the events playing out. Just when he was about to reach out his hand, though, something happened.

"Who said he's better off dead! Haowie's not going to die!" The old man strode forward, eyes bloodshot as he once again took the boy into his arms.

"He's not going to die, you hear me?!" he yelled. "He's just sick, right? You people can't save him, and his dad doesn't care, but I'm his Master and I care!" With that, the old man carried the boy away.

Everyone was shocked, and instantly devolved into a hubbub of voices. Suddenly, people saw the old man erratically flying up into the air, which caused the entire village to break out into an even bigger commotion.

Naruto hovered there, watching thoughtfully. Gradually, he faded away. He could sense that his clone was gradually awakening, and that soon, there would truly be two versions of himself.

In Chinese, the nickname I translate as "Haowie" is based on the "Hao" character in his name. The nickname itself rhymes with a Chinese word that means "mouse." In this chapter, the actual word for "mouse" is used as the nickname, although it would sound exactly the same as

Naruto's nickname, so I decided to keep "Haowie" ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1450

Chapter 1450: Joining the Sect!

"Maybe mortals can't save him," said the old man through gritted teeth as he floated up into the air, "but cultivators can!" His cultivation base wasn't very high, and he had been seriously injured years ago. His longevity was nearing its end, and therefore flight was only possible for him by burning some of his life force quintessence. Even that wasn't something he could do for extended periods of time.

He had once thought that he would simply grow old and die in Peach Blossom Village. He had never imagined that he would encounter this young boy who he now held in his arms. In fact, it wasn't really the scholar who had raised the boy, it was this old man who had guided him through his young life.

"It's just some illness, right?!" the old man growled. Soon, he had flown to the peak of a nearby mountain. There, he very gingerly pulled a jade slip out of his garment, an old jade slip that was worn and almost broken. After pulling it out, he looked down at it with a bit of hesitation. This was the most precious item he possessed, and even he wasn't sure where it came from. However, he was certain that the divine ability it contained was unique and profound.

Sadly, his latent talent was only average, and he had never been able to cultivate it successfully. However, he distinctly remembered how, back in the days when he had come to acquire it, numerous cultivators had been fighting over it, all of whom had seemed very powerful to him.

Gritting his teeth, he cast aside all hesitation, and pushed his finger down onto the surface of the jade slip. Instantly, he seemed to age even more, and yet, a seal opened on the jade slip. A majestic beam of light shot up into the sky that was visible even from a vast distance away.

Obviously, the old man had unsealed the jade slip in order to attract the attention of nearby cultivators, and was planning to offer the slip itself as payment for them to save the young boy.

The old man didn't bother to ponder whether or not this course of action could potentially be dangerous. In his mind, any danger was worth braving when compared to the hope it offered. After all, he clearly remembered seeing some disciples from the Vast Expanse School flying about recently, and after a bit of calculation, was certain it was recruitment season on the Vast Expanse School's ninth continent.

In the past, the Vast Expanse School had very strict requirements for new disciples, but in recent years the Ninth Sect had been expanding. Cultivators from the Ninth Sect had been combing the continent looking for children with exceptional latent talent, and taking them back to the sect to begin practicing cultivation.

The light hadn't been shining from the jade slip for very long before a few beams of light could be seen shooting through the air toward it. Three people became visible, all of them middle-aged men. They had extraordinary cultivation bases, and after they landed and saw the jade slip, their expressions flickered.

The slovenly old man immediately clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"May I ask if you are Fellow Daoists from the Vast Expanse School? I am Sun Dalei, a humble rogue cultivator. Today, I would like to offer this treasure in exchange for help from you Fellow Daoists. Please save this young boy's life."

The three cultivators looked at the boy, and then the leader of the small group made a grasping motion, causing the jade slip to fly over into his hand. After examining it for a moment, a smile broke out on his face.

"So, this jade slip contains a legacy." Laughing heartily, he waved his sleeve, sending a stream of spiritual energy into the boy. Then, without another look, he turned and prepared to leave, as did his two companions, who looked just as delighted as him.

The slovenly old man was getting very nervous. The boy was still in a withered state, and didn't really look much better than before. The old man suddenly blurted, "Fellow Daoists, this boy… has uncharacteristically rare latent talent. He has an enlightened soul, spirit bones, and spirit-attuned blood vessels!"

The three cultivators stopped in their tracks. The man with the jade slip frowned. Their mission was to find disciples with exceptional latent talent, and the bizarre transformations of Heaven and Earth which had struck the nearby village was why they had come to this location in the first place. That was also why they had shown up so quickly in response to the light from the jade slip.

After hearing the old man's words, the cultivator who had taken the jade slip walked over to the boy's side and placed his hand onto his forehead. After a thorough examination, the man began to tremble.

"Junior Brothers, you take a look too!" With that, the two other cultivators came over to inspect the boy. After they did, they seemed equally moved.

"That's Superlative latent talent!"

"He really does have spirit bones, an enlightened soul, and naturallyoccurring spirit-refined blood!"

"Of all the fledglings we've found recently, he's the best by far!"

The three cultivators' eyes burned with fervor. Because of the recent expansion of the Ninth Sect, more disciples were being recruited than ever. As for these three cultivators, if they found children in the mortal world who had exceptional latent talent, and then brought them back to the sect, they would receive handsome rewards in the form of cultivation resources.

The three immediately looked over at the slovenly old man and began to ask questions.

"What's this kid's name?" said one of them.

" Namikaze Mu!" replied the old man.

"Are you a relative of his? He's sick, and we need to take him back to the sect to be treated. Afterward we wish for him to become a disciple of the Vast Expanse School."

The old man immediately nodded in assent. As far as he was concerned, Haowie's only chance at survival was to go to the Vast Expanse School, which was one of the sects that he believed to be trustworthy.

The three cultivators didn't say anything more. They picked the boy up, then transformed into beams of light that shot off into the distance. Soon, they reached a wide plain, in the middle of which was a teleportation portal. As was the norm, the teleportation portal was protected by a shield that would prevent anyone except cultivators of the Vast Expanse School from entering it.

The three stepped onto the teleportation portal, and moments later, glittering light rose up as they and the boy were teleported away.

Off in the distance, the slovenly old man could just barely see the light of teleportation, and he sighed. Although he didn't wish to part with the boy, an expression of anticipation could still be seen in his eyes.

He had known almost from the beginning that the boy named Namikaze Mu had incredible latent talent, talent that could shake Heaven and Earth. His original plan had been to wait for a few more years, then take the boy out into the world. He would call upon some of his old acquaintances in the cultivation world to get the boy a spot in a sect, and thus start him on his path of cultivation.

Even though the events of the day were somewhat coincidental, as far as the old man was concerned, Namikaze Mu being able to join the Vast Expanse School was a stroke of luck.

Eventually, the old man sighed and headed back to the village. As the moon shone down from above, the old man looked even older than before, and a bit more lonely.

The truth was that even if the old man hadn't brought the boy to the top of that mountain, the three cultivators from the Vast Expanse School would still have come. The transformations to Heaven and Earth that had occurred in the village had attracted them, and either way, they would have seen how special the boy was and taken him to their sect.

All of that had long since been arranged by Naruto.

It was the most convenient way to arrange for his clone to seek enlightenment of the Ninth Hex.

Meanwhile, a teleportation portal began to shine somewhere in the Ninth Sect. The three middle-aged cultivators appeared, carrying Naruto's clone. After stepping off of the teleportation portal, they headed toward the main temple of the sect.

Before long, rumbling sounds echoed out in the sect as several beams of light shot toward the temple. That attracted the attention of a lot of nearby disciples, who looked over in curiosity to see what was happening.

Inside the temple, several old men had just sat down cross-legged around Naruto's clone. All of them were pouring cultivation base power into his body, which was gradually recovering from its withered state.

"He really does have Superlative latent talent. In all my years, I've never seen anyone who actually has real, Superlative latent talent!"

"He even has spirit bones, an enlightened soul, and spirit-attuned blood vessels! He's not a child, he's a precious bodily treasure! I've never seen or even heard of anything like it!"

"If this kid practices cultivation, he'll definitely make rapid progress!'

The entire group was abuzz with conversation. Any other type of latent talent would not have provoked such a reaction. But he had Superlative latent talent, along with spirit bones, an enlightened soul, and spiritattuned blood vessels. This clone of Naruto's was like a rare gem!

Soon, Naruto's clone was no longer withered, which the old men believed to be due to their treatment. However, he looked even thinner and weaker than he had before, and was apparently now in a very deep sleep.

"Take him to one of the side chambers and have someone look after him. When he wakes up, arrange for him to formally join the sect." The old men were all exhausted from their efforts. After making the necessary arrangements, they looked at Naruto's clone, excitement glittering in their eyes. Finally, they returned to their own residences to start the breathing exercises necessary to restore their cultivation bases.

A few days later, Naruto's clone opened his eyes. At first he looked confused, but then his vision focused, and his eyes began to radiate bright, cold light.

It was very strange to see a look like that in the eyes of a young boy. Soon, the coldness faded away, and his eyes returned to normal.

"I'm awake," he murmured. He felt as if he had just woken up from a dream. He could even sense his true self, deep beneath the surface of the main planet, on that half-planet, sitting there cross-legged in the Ninth Paragon's secluded meditation facilities.

As of this moment, Naruto's true self finally breathed a sigh of relief.

At long last he could focus fully on seeking enlightenment of his eight Essences.

"This clone will live my fourth life. His only mission is to successfully form the Ninth Hex!

"As for his cultivation…. Well, I created the clone's body after carefully observing my own body, which was re-moulded by the bronze lamp. In all of Planet Vast Expanse, and in fact, in all of the Vast Expanse itself, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than it would be to find someone whose latent talent exceeds this clone's!

"Since that's the case, he can elevate his cultivation base much more quickly than normal. Rise to prominence in the Ninth Sect. Reach the pinnacle, step by step. It shouldn't be difficult.

"With no Demonic power, his body is pure in every sense of the word." A satisfied gleam appeared in Naruto's eyes.

Several days later, Naruto became a disciple of the Vast Expanse

School. His latent talent shook the entire Ninth Sect, and when the Dao Realm Patriarch heard of the matter and investigated it personally, he dispatched people to Peach Blossom Village to make further inquiries and make sure nothing was amiss. Naruto was then sent to one of the Ninth Sect's numerous subdivisions, where he became an Inner Sect disciple.

This year was tenth in which Naruto's true self was the Ninth Paragon.

This year, a disciple by the name of Han Bei became one of the sect's Holy Daughter-designates.

This year, Naruto's clone Namikaze Mu became the Inner Sect disciple one of the subdivisions of the Ninth Sect!

Neither the slovenly old man, nor the three cultivators who had brought the clone back to the sect, nor the old men who had treated his condition, nor anyone in all of Planet Vast Expanse, could ever have imagined what a dazzling flower this Namikaze Mu would bloom into. Only Naruto's true self knew.

He might shrivel away into nothing… or perhaps, he would blossom a bloody scarlet color….

—–

Note from Deathblade: In this and subsequent chapters, Er Gen often refers to the clone as simply Naruto. In some situations I've changed it to either " Namikaze Mu" or "Naruto's clone" to avoid confusion, but for the most part I'm keeping things as is. It really serves to emphasize that they are essentially the same person in two different bodies.

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	17. Chapter 17

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1451

Chapter 1451 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1451: Han Bei's Secret!

The techniques of the Vast Expanse School were many and varied, and could be said to be all-encompassing. However, in terms of fundamentals, they were different than the magical techniques of the

Mountain and Sea Realm. Instead of being driven by the energy of

Heaven and Earth, they were driven by the energy of the Vast Expanse.

Cultivation in the Vast Expanse involved breathing techniques to absorb its energy, and resulted in forming a unique great Dao.

After he became an Inner Sect disciple, Naruto's seven-year-old clone resided in a special residence set aside for him by the sect. He rarely left his home, and as such, didn't know much about the outside world.

But that changed after a year passed. After only one year of practicing cultivation, Tribulation Lightning descended on Naruto's residence. It destroyed the house and shattered the courtyard, and caused widespread shock among the surrounding disciples of the Ninth Sect.

Even some of the old-timers were astonished by the 9 successive bolts of lightning which fell from the sky. Afterward, a young boy emerged from the wreckage of the courtyard residence.

Shockingly, he was accompanied by… the aura of Foundation Establishment!

Foundation Establishment in and of itself wasn't anything spectacular. However, the Tribulation Lightning was a bit of a surprise, and then some of the disciples realized that it was Naruto who had appeared from within it.

"If I remember correctly… he joined the sect last year, as a mortal…."

"How is that even possible? One year? One year!? He… he reached Foundation Establishment that quickly?"

"What's his name again? Oh right, Namikaze Mu. His name is Namikaze Mu!"

Naruto's clone Namikaze Mu experienced nine bolts of Tribulation Lightning, and reached Foundation Establishment. The news caused a small-scale stir, but the sect as a whole was huge, and Naruto was merely an Inner Sect disciple in one of many subdivisions.

Normally speaking, it was a matter that would quickly become forgotten. Naruto might have extraordinary latent talent, and might have reached Foundation Establishment in only a year, but Foundation Establishment didn't count for much in the Ninth Sect as a whole. The number of Foundation Establishment cultivators in the sect was impossible to even count.

Even within that subdivision, they were as numerous as the hairs on an ox.

But… something happened a year later, in the same residence. Tribulation Lightning struck again, but this time, in greater number. 99 bolts of lightning fell onto the residence. Rumbling echoed out, and the residence and courtyard were destroyed. When Naruto emerged, he no longer emitted the aura of Foundation Establishment, but rather… Core Formation!

The entire subdivision was thrown into a commotion that far exceeded that of the previous year. Countless people were completely shocked, even the Elders. The Subdivision Head personally came to investigate, and was astonished.

There were still plenty of people who were more powerful than him, but what was most shocking was the speed of his progress. To many people, such a thing was almost impossible to believe.

"Foundation Establishment in one year? Then Core Formation in another year? Don't tell me… he's going to reach Nascent Soul in a year too?"

"What type of latent talent does he have?"

By now, more and more people were talking about this Namikaze Mu. In fact, word was spreading outside his subdivision and into other subdivisions.

Then… the third year passed. 999 bolts of Tribulation Lightning descended, and Naruto reached Nascent Soul!

In the fifth year, he reached Spirit Severing, and 9,999 lightning bolts fell. All subdivisions of the Ninth Sect were completely shaken. The rainstorm-like hail of Tribulation Lightning shook the whole Ninth Sect, and Namikaze Mu's name was the subject of countless conversations.

In the seventh year, his moment of reaching Dao Seeking was a grand occasion for vast numbers of cultivators in the Ninth Sect. Numerous cultivators watched as a tempest of Tribulation Lightning bolts descended, only one lightning bolt short of 100,000. It was a power of Tribulation that very few Dao Seeking cultivators could fight back against. It was as if Heaven and Earth, as if the Vast Expanse, were trying to completely wipe Naruto's clone out of existence!

However, as the lightning fell onto the clone, his eyes shone brightly. It was as if… he was directly opposing the Vast Expanse!

The lightning fell for ten days, after which Naruto's clone was in Dao Seeking!

Time flew. The tenth year arrived.

Ten years ago, Naruto's clone had been nothing more than a weak child. But now, ten years later, he was a handsome and extraordinary young man. He stood tall and straight atop one of the mountains in the Ninth Sect, looking up into the sky, which rumbled as Tribulation Lightning began to build up.

It was… Immortal Tribulation!

In ten short years, Naruto's clone had created a legend on Planet Vast Expanse, even a myth!

In ten years, he went from being a mortal, to reaching Foundation Establishment, Core Formation, Nascent Soul, Spirit Severing, Dao Seeking, and Immortal Ascension!

That was a process that some people never completed within their whole lifetime, and yet Naruto's clone did it in ten years. The entire Ninth Sect was shaken, as was the Vast Expanse School as a whole. Even Paragons got wind of it.

The Immortal Tribulation was even more stunning than the tribulations from before it. 1,000,000 lightning bolts descended onto the ninth continent, causing all the lands to shake. People flew up into the air from all the other sects that were part of the Vast Expanse School, all to watch the Immortal Tribulation.

The Ninth Sect was very excited, and even sent someone out to act as Dharma Protector for their number one Chosen.

That person was a Dao Sovereign, a woman of extraordinary beauty. She sat on the Ninth Sect's Dao mountain, looking up into the sky with a look of surprise.

"This is a mere Immortal Tribulation, and yet the Vast Expanse sends Tribulation Lightning like this? It's almost as if there's a Heavenly Dao or a magical law of nature intent on preventing lightning that exceeds his cultivation base from descending. Were it not for that, the Vast Expanse would wipe him out in body and mind." The Dao Sovereign found it very strange, especially when she realized that she could sense… fluctuations of fear.

"Fear?" she thought, shaking her head and wondering if she was mistaken. "The Vast Expanse is boundless and majestic. Even if it really does have a will of its own, how could it fear a trifling Immortal Realm cultivator?" 1

The Immortal Tribulation lasted for three whole months before it faded away. During that entire time, Naruto's clone proudly closed his eyes and allowed himself to be bathed by the Tribulation Lightning.

He didn't fight back or resist it. He allowed the lightning to strike him. It was like a baptism in which he didn't move an inch. That, of course, led to widespread shock.

When the last bit of the Immortal Tribulation was about to fade away, Naruto's eyes suddenly opened, and he reached out, pointing his finger up at the Heavens.

He did not speak, but the gesture of pointing his finger caused colors to flash, and a gale-force wind to scream. The entire sky seemed to tremble, and countless Tribulation Lightning bolts shattered, transforming into motes of light that drifted out. At this point, the Immortal Tribulation ended, and Naruto's clone began to emanate Immortal qi.

But then, the sky shook, and a red bolt of lightning suddenly formed, shooting down toward Namikaze Mu. It was backed by a shocking will, and unexpectedly radiated the might of the Dao Realm.

Even as the red bolt of lightning descended, a red cloud appeared up above, and red rain began to fall. It was a sight shocking to all, that caused even the female Dao Sovereign's face to fall.

"The blood of the Heavens! That means… the Dao of the Vast Expanse Society is violating its own magical laws, paying the highest price to eliminate this young man by sending Tribulation Lightning against him that exceeds the Immortal Realm!" The Dao Sovereign was just about to do something when, all of a sudden, the red bolt of lightning lurched to a halt about 300 meters away from Namikaze Mu's head. There it remained in midair, completely unmoving.

An incredible pressure suddenly filled the entire continent. At some point, a person had appeared in the air. It was a young man wearing a black robe, with long violet hair. As he floated there, he radiated a supremely domineering aura, as if he were the most important entity in existence!

Boundless coldness roiled off of him, and a red, Demonic glow could be seen in his eyes. On his forehead was a long violet mark that was apparently a closed third eye!

"Ninth Paragon!" blurted the female Dao Sovereign. Trembling, she dropped to her knees to kowtow. In that same moment, countless cultivators in the vast area that made up the Ninth Sect, regardless of the levels of their cultivation base, dropped trembling to the ground.

"We offer respectful greetings, Ninth Paragon!"

"We offer respectful greetings, Ninth Paragon!"

The sounds echoed out, causing everything to shake. To the cultivators in the Ninth Sect, the Ninth Paragon was their lord, their spirit, and their leader, the most ultimate of monarchs. This was none other than Naruto's true self!

As soon as he realized that there was something out of the ordinary with this bolt of Tribulation Lightning, he came as his true self. As soon as he appeared, he reached out and grabbed the bolt of red lightning, then crushed it in his hand.

A boom rang out as the lightning bolt shattered. The cloud layers up above roiled, and a faint roar of rage could be heard.

Naruto's true self looked up into the sky, eyes glowing red.

"Scram!" he said, flicking his sleeve. Then, a massive blast of energy exploded out as he flew up toward the clouds.

At the same time, his clone stood on the mountain, looking up into the sky, his eyes glowing without the slightest hint of red. They only contained pure, Immortal light.

The Heavens trembled, and the clouds ceased to seethe. In fact, they collapsed, and their redness faded away. The sky went dark, and outside of Planet Vast Expanse, boundless ripples spread out into the Vast Expanse for a long moment before everything finally went still.

Having accomplished these things, he prepared to vanish. But then, he looked out into the void and saw something far off in the distance that made him stop.

His glance caused the void to vibrate, as if someone were out there, reeling in shock. Suddenly, Han Bei stumbled out into the open, mixed emotions on her face, including shock as she looked at Naruto's true self, and his clone.

A tremor ran through her, and without the slightest hesitation, she began to back up. However, even as she did, Naruto reached out and made a grasping motion.

The entire world seemed to freeze in place as a tremendous power rumbled out. Even as that power was about to sweep over Han Bei, fluctuations suddenly began to emanate out from her that Naruto recognized!

It was… the aura of Allheaven! The aura of a Demon!

Chapter 1451: Han Bei's Secret!

Since I'm sure some people are wondering, there are plenty of different words for fear, fright, being scared, terrified, etc. in Chinese. Here, the word is indeed the same word for "fear" as in "Allheaven fears the Immortal," which is a word that isn't used very often in the story ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1452

Chapter 1452: Leverage!

The aura was obscure. In the moment that it exploded out, it transformed into a teleportation power which whisked Han Bei away, right out from Naruto's grasp.

When she reappeared, she was back in the First Sect of the Vast Expanse School, in her secluded meditation facilities. Blood immediately began to ooze out of her mouth, but it was without the slightest hesitation that she produced an ancient Feng Shui compass from her bag of holding, which she then placed onto the ground in front of her.

Ripples immediately began to spread out, filling the area and protecting her within their range.

Han Bei was shivering, her breath coming in rapid pants, her face covered with a look of disbelief.

Her mind had been thrown into chaos thanks to Naruto's sudden appearance. Earlier, she had felt the tug of memory after hearing the name Namikaze Mu, which was why she had gone to take a look. How could she ever have imagined what would result?

"Naruto, Namikaze Mu…." She took a deep breath, performing a doublehanded incantation gesture to strengthen the power of the Feng Shui compass.

The way Han Bei had suddenly escaped was strange to say the least, and in fact, other than Naruto, no one on Planet Vast Expanse even noticed her.

Naruto's true self looked at the spot where she had disappeared, eyes glittering.

"Han Bei…. I can't believe she's here!" He couldn't help but think back to when he had seen her on the enormous God corpse. Then he recalled all her unusual behavior back on Planet South Heaven. Of course, a thorough analysis couldn't leave out the fact that his earliest dealings with her stretched back to the Black Sieve Sect's Blessed Land!

That was where he had found the meat jelly, and also where the Lightning Cauldron came from. Furthermore, sealed inside that land had also been… the soul of Han Bei's ancestor! 1

Naruto's eyes shone with bright light. If he had seen Han Bei in this situation before going to the necropolis, his analysis of the situation would still have occupied him, but the conclusions he would have arrived at would be far different than the truth that presented itself now. After his visit to the necropolis, though, he had learned much about many things. Because of that, he knew that Han Bei's method of escape contained a bit of the aura of Allheaven, as well as some Demonic power. That left him completely convinced…

That Han Bei had something to do with Allheaven!

Cold light flickered in Naruto's eyes as he suddenly flickered into motion and vanished.

Naruto's clone was still on top of the mountain, looking up into the sky in the direction of where Han Bei had appeared. His eyes were narrowed, but after a moment they returned to normal.

Meanwhile, Han Bei was still ashen-faced after being teleported back from the Ninth Sect. Her heart was filled with an uneasy premonition, as if a great disaster were heading her way. Deep within her, a sensation of imminent crisis was building up.

People on Planet Vast Expanse believed her to be from what was known as an ancient cultivator clan. After joining the sect, the cultivation base power she revealed was that of the peak of the Immortal Realm.

However, after seeing Naruto and his clone, she felt something threatening looming behind her like a razor-sharp needle.

"What are you doing on Planet Vast Expanse? I can't believe… that you're the Ninth Paragon? How is that even possible!?" Han Bei's face was completely ashen. Her secluded meditation facilities were surrounded by countless restrictive spells, and yet that didn't leave her feeling safe at all. During the clone's Tribulation, Naruto's true self had looked at her, and although his gaze was calm, it was filled with a brilliance that struck her heart with dread.

And in fact, to feel dread was the correct response. After all, it wasn't very long after she returned to her secluded meditation facilities that rumbling sounds filled the air outside.

The sounds were intense, but apparently, they were being restricted to a small area, making it impossible for anyone outside to hear. However, the area where Han Bei was located was shaking so hard that mountains were rocking back and forth, and buildings were collapsing. However, the Feng Shui compass shone with brilliant light, blocking that force. If not, she would have been immediately engulfed in the destructive power that was buckling the surrounding area.

Han Bei then looked up to see Naruto's true self standing there outside her secluded meditation facilities, prevented from entering by the Feng Shui compass shield.

He wore a black robe, and his expression was cold and icy. His hair floated in the wind, and a violet third eye could be seen on his forehead.

Although it was closed, it still radiated majestic power.

"It's always nice to reunite with old friends," he said coolly. "Why are you so afraid of me, Han Bei?"

Han Bei shivered as she looked at Naruto, her expression filled with mixed emotions. She couldn't stop from shaking; she knew that her sudden appearance would be a big shock to Naruto, mainly because of the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Everyone else was back on the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, so why… was she here, having assumed the identity of a Holy Daughter-designate of the Vast Expanse School?

Han Bei took a deep breath and put a calm expression on her face. She was an adept schemer, but this turn of events had been too sudden, which caused her to panic. However, now her mind had settled down and she rose to her feet, eyes flickering. She gave Naruto a curtseying bow, clasped hands and said, "Han Bei offers greetings, Ninth Paragon."

Then she looked up calmly into Naruto's eyes. "However, this is Junior's first time meeting the exalted Paragon. When you say 'old friends,' what exactly is it that you mean?"

Naruto looked back at her, seemingly unfazed by her behavior. In fact, it corresponded exactly to the old Han Bei that he remembered. He suddenly smiled, although it was an icy cold smile.

Then his gaze came to rest on the ancient Feng Shui compass, upon which he could sense… the aura of Allheaven. 2

"I would never have been able to guess that you actually have something to do with Allheaven," he said. He shook his head and flicked his sleeve. "Well, it doesn't matter. Since you don't want to admit it, then I presume you must have some leverage to rely on, right? I'm curious to see what it is. By the way… as long as you're on Planet Vast Expanse, it doesn't matter what identity you assume, finding you would be as easy as flipping over my hand." With that, he paid her no more heed, vanishing back to Ninth Paragon City.

His purpose in coming had been to confirm his suspicions. After laying eyes on the Feng Shui compass, he was now absolutely certain and didn't need any further confirmation.

After Naruto left, Han Bei virtually collapsed, gasping for breath. After a long moment, she gritted her teeth.

"Thankfully I prepared that life-saving backup plan all those years ago. It seems that now… is the time to enact that plan." With that, she reached up and gently tapped her forehead. Her forehead then split apart, revealing a swath of pitch blackness, within which floated… a soul!

It was not Han Bei's soul, but closer inspection revealed that it was indeed a woman. Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping, but if Naruto were here, he would recognize her in an instant. Unexpectedly, it was the soul of… Sakura!

Years ago, when Sakura withered away into death, her soul dispersed. Naruto fought his way into the Eighth Mountain and Sea to search for her, but the only thing he ever found was a tiny sliver of her soul.

Back then, the clues had seemed to indicate that the rest of Sakura's soul had vanished into the starry sky. He thought that the problem was that he couldn't find it, but the truth was that Han Bei had secretly interfered and captured the soul. From then on, it became a life-saving measure for future use.

In order to ensure that Sakura's soul didn't fade away into complete death, Han Bei had merged some of her own life soul into it, creating a sort of symbiotic state of existence between them.

After many years of feeding Sakura's soul in such a way, it had become thoroughly intertwined with Han Bei's. Only someone with the power of Transcendence could ever separate them. That meant that if Han Bei died, Sakura's soul would well and truly disperse.

Han Bei sat there silently, mixed emotions on her face. She thought back to everything which had occurred between her and Naruto, and sighed softly. Finally, she gritted her teeth.

"We have different standpoints, and different missions. You want to see what my leverage is, well I'll show you." She waved her hand, sending Sakura's soul flying out, where it vanished into Heaven and Earth.

In the moment that the soul flew out, Naruto's true self locked onto it with divine sense. After realizing who it was, a tremor ran through him, and he felt as if countless lightning bolts were striking his mind.

His eyes suddenly snapped shut, and a powerful force like a windstorm raged up from him. It swept out to cover all of Ninth Paragon City, then the entire half-planet, then all of its starry sky, and then the lands up above on Planet Vast Expanse. Soon, all of Planet Vast Expanse was shaking violently.

The other Paragons were shocked. The Sect Leader opened his eyes and looked out in astonishment. Of course, Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong and the others were equally stunned by Naruto's unleashing of energy.

"What is that psycho doing?!" Jin Yunshan though, shivering. He quickly unleashed his cultivation base defensively, worried that Naruto was in a bad mood and might be looking to start a fight.

Han Bei was also trembling inwardly, and yet, continued to smile as calmly as ever.

"As long as you care, that's enough," she murmured to herself.

The tempest lasted for only a moment before it vanished. Back in Ninth Paragon City, Naruto rose to his feet, eyes filled with reminiscence, grief, and other mixed emotions as he looked at the soul using his divine sense.

"Sakura…." he murmured hoarsely. He followed her with his divine sense as she flew into the ninth continent, into the mortal world. She eventually entered the womb of a woman… as she began the cycle of reincarnation, to become a person once again.

After a long moment, Naruto retracted his divine sense. How could he not have noticed that Sakura's soul was intermixed with some of Han Bei's life soul? Although Sakura was independent, they existed symbiotically.

"Well that… is some good leverage." He finally closed his eyes, almost as if he had forgotten about Han Bei.

Time passed. The Immortal Tribulation of Naruto's clone rocked all of the Vast Expanse School. Even the other Paragons of similar rank to Naruto had taken note.

From that day on, the name Namikaze Mu became well-known in the Vast Expanse School. In ten years, he went from mortal to Immortal. He shook the Ninth Sect, rocked the Vast Expanse School, and word about him even spread throughout Planet Vast Expanse.

Everyone learned that an incredible Chosen had appeared in the Ninth Sect!

At the same time, many disciples of the Vast Expanse School began to pay close attention to Naruto's clone. That was especially true of the blazing suns among the Chosen, who came to view him as a formidable opponent.

However, some of the Chosen disdained him, being of the belief that in terms of cultivation base, they were far beyond him.

"Who cares if you reach Immortal Ascension in ten years? Don't tell me he's going to reach the Ancient Realm in ten years too?" Talk like that became the norm.

"He's a trifling Immortal Realm member of the Junior generation, that's all. He might have nice latent talent, but so what?! All nine sects of the Vast Expanse School have a Vast Expanse Shrine, and only by getting your name listed there are you truly a Chosen!"

"After the Vast Expanse Shrine is the Transcendence Path. Only those who walk the Transcendence Path are the true blazing suns. Other than the Ninth Paragon, which Paragon is there who hasn't left their footprint there!?"

"The path of cultivation is a long one. Rising up too quickly is a bad thing. This kid isn't that smart, is he? He'll definitely pay some painful consequences later."

Here are some links to the major events mentioned regarding Han Bei, as well as a few others. Naruto actually met Han Bei in the Black Sieve Sect chapter 143. In the Blessed Land, she led an expedition into the cauldron which started in chapter 155. It was in that arc that Naruto met and later "acquired" the meat jelly. Han Bei released and merged with her ancestor in chapter 163. She had a very odd conversation with Naruto in chapter 247. In chapter 734, it's mentioned that she went missing after returning from the Ancient

Demon Immortal Sect. Naruto went back to get the Lightning Cauldron in chapter 751. And finally, Naruto saw her on the corpse at the bottom of the Ninth Sea in chapter 1082. Those are just a few key chapters, she appeared in other many parts of the story such as the Song Clan search for a son-in-law and the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect arc ↩ Something that jumps out is that the words 'Feng Shui compass' and 'Allheaven' share a character, which is the character "Luo," the one that basically means 'net'. So Allheaven is literally the "luo heaven" and a Feng Shui compass is a "luo disc." The Black Sieve Sect, of which Han Bei was originally a member, would be the "black luo sect." That doesn't necessarily mean there is a connection between them all ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1453

Chapter 1453: Enjoy Yourself, Prince!

Few people knew exactly how many Immortal meridians Naruto's clone opened after his Immortal Tribulation. He didn't go on to make a big show of things, but instead, went back into secluded meditation to practice cultivation.

However, his heart was very unsettled because of the matter of Sakura.

"Han Bei planned things out years and years in advance. She fused her own life soul with Sakura, creating a symbiosis…. Excellent leverage." After a long moment, he sighed.

It took three days for him to settle his mind and heart. Afterward, he left for a time, and when he returned, he had the mastiff with him. Then, both of them went into meditative trances, continuing their cultivation in seclusion.

Time passed. Another ten years went by in the blink of an eye. During that time, Naruto's clone didn't leave the Ninth Sect. He stayed confined in meditation.

Because he stayed out of the public eye, no one knew the level of his cultivation base, or his progress. After the ten years passed, no Tribulation Lightning descended, so people stopped worrying about whether or not he was Chosen, and in fact many people even forgot about him. Those who did remember him did so with scorn.

He had no friends, nor any dealings with anyone. He remained in his subdivision of the Ninth Sect, focused completely on cultivation. To remain completely separated from the sect was an uncommon thing. Only people with a special status could do something like that. After all, Namikaze Mu was nothing more than an Inner Sect disciple.

However… the Ninth Sect belonged to Naruto. All it took was a single word from his true self to that one particular Dao Sovereign, indicating that Namikaze Mu was important and wasn't to be disturbed, and the matter was handled.

Because of that, no one bothered his clone during those ten years. The only company he had was the mastiff.

Actually, Naruto's true self spent those ten years in much the same way. He focused completely on gaining full enlightenment of all his Hexing Essences. With such a deep focus only on cultivation, his twenty years of work left him significantly more powerful than when he had entered the necropolis.

Preparations for the second trip into the necropolis were still being made by the Sect Leader. Apparently, he wanted to be completely and utterly prepared. Obviously, he was completely intent on reaching the second land mass in this trip.

During the ten years, news spread that Han Bei had broken through from the Immortal Realm. Now that she was in the Ancient Realm, she was no longer a Holy Daughter-designate. Somehow, she manipulated her way into becoming one of the Vast Expanse School's nine Holy Daughters.

The Sect Leader, despite being wrapped up in preparations for the necropolis, found time to provide some assistance and advice to Han Bei, who was very important to him.

As for exactly what went on, Naruto didn't pay close attention.

Another year passed, whereupon Naruto's clone emerged from secluded meditation and left the Ninth Sect. No one interfered with him; most people only had a vague impression of who he was.

Both he and the mastiff transformed into beams of light that shot off into the distance. A few days later, they appeared in a small town in the mortal world.

It wasn't very large, but it was a bustling place. The streets were packed with people who scurried about doing all sorts of things. Naruto walked slowly through the town, wearing a green robe and looking every bit the scholar. Eventually, he came to a stop in front of the house of an average family.

A warm look could be seen in his eyes as he looked at a group of youngsters playing outside the main gate. One of them was an elevenyear-old girl, who wore a shy smile on her face as she played with her companions.

His gaze seemed to stretch back hundreds of years into the past, recalling numerous events which had occurred once upon a time. It was currently autumn, and a crisp wind sent fallen leaves tumbling down the street. The setting sun was deep red color, filling the world with its warmth, and casting Naruto's shadow long and far across the ground….

The girl suddenly sensed that she was being watched, and she looked up at Naruto. She seemed a bit scared, and quickly averted her eyes. A moment passed, and he was still looking at her, making her even more frightened. She whispered something to her friends, then ran back into her house.

Naruto laughed spontaneously, then took a deep breath, his eyes gleaming with reminiscence.

"In your last life, I owed you…." he said softly. "In this life, I'll pay that debt." Straightening his clothes, he walked up to the house and knocked on the gate. After a long moment, the gate opened, and he entered.

There was no need for complicated formalities. On Planet Vast Expanse, even mortals were aware of the existence of Immortal beings, and treated them with the utmost respect and veneration.

Naruto mentioned that he wished to take this girl, whose name was Yan'er, as an apprentice. He demonstrated some magical techniques to the girl's parents, who didn't hesitate for even a moment to give their assent. They looked very excited.

A few days later, Naruto left, followed by a sad-looking girl, and the mastiff.

After a while, she couldn't hold back from asking, "Master… you… you really aren't a fraud?"

In response to her question, Naruto bopped her on the top of her head with his palm. It hurt a little, but before she could say anything, her body was suddenly lifted up into the air. Wind blasted into her face, and when she looked down, she saw vast lands stretching out in all directions. Everything grew smaller and smaller, and her eyes grew wider and wider.

After some time passed, she saw a boundless stretch of mountains, covered by countless buildings and structures. It was none other than… the Ninth Sect.

Suddenly, Naruto's soft voice could be heard in her ears, "From now on, you are the apprentice of Namikaze Mu. The one and only apprentice."

From that day on, a girl lived in Namikaze Mu's secluded meditation facilities in his subdivision of the Ninth Sect. With her there, things were no longer so peaceful and quiet.

She was naturally gifted when it came to cultivation, but most of that seemed focused on alchemy. Naruto also spent time teaching her other cultivation methods, as well as some of his own alchemy techniques.

The girl's personality was very different from Naruto's. She enjoyed exploring the Ninth Sect, and liked making friends. Soon, just about everyone in the subdivision knew that the Namikaze Mu, who had put on such a spectacular display about ten years ago, had taken on an apprentice.

Seven years passed. By now, it had been eighteen years since Namikaze Mu's Immortal Tribulation, and it was also the year that his apprentice Yan'er turned eighteen.

She was a slender and elegant teenager. As she matured, she became more and more beautiful, and soon began to distinguish herself among the other female disciples of the sect. Because of her natural gift for cultivation, especially when it came to alchemy, she was already in late Foundation Establishment, just half a step away from Core Formation.

Her Dao of alchemy was boundless and profound, enough to shake even some of the Elders of the subdivision.

Because of all of that, quite a few male disciples began to pursue the young Yan'er. Of course, her personality was a bit more like a boy's; she was definitely not the graceful and subdued type. The only time she would pout and act like a girl was in front of Naruto.

"Master, can I go, please? I've… I've been waiting for this day forever!

"Master, look, don't worry. Nothing's going to happen. Lots of my Elder Brothers and Sisters from the sect are going to be there. We'll all be going together."

Yan'er was currently standing in front of Naruto making a request. She started out begging, but in the end, when he simply sat there in meditation, ignoring her, she started to get a bit irritated. "Aiya! You old fogey! Are you gonna let me go or not!?"

"How impudent!" Naruto said, opening his eyes to glare at her. Yan'er had become somewhat of a headache in recent years. In the beginning, she had treated him with awe and reverence. But that attitude had slowly faded away until it was now gone.

Yan'er was clearly not afraid of her Master's glare. Smiling broadly, she hurried over and started to massage his shoulders. Eyes wide, she quietly began to plead again, in a very sweet and fawning voice.

"Master, everybody's saying that it's not just people from our subdivision who will be going to the bazaar. The whole sect will be there.

In fact, people from the other continents will be coming too. The Vast Expanse School's First Sect, Second Sect, I mean, basically all of the nine sects are going to be there.

"It's going to be so exciting! Elder Brother Bi Yun is also going…. I heard that his name is in the top 100 of the Vast Expanse Shrine…." When Yan'er mentioned Elder Brother Bi Yun, her eyes suddenly grew very bright.

Naruto frowned, then sighed, aware that the reason his apprentice wanted to go to the bazaar was not merely the simple task of buying medicinal plants. Like most female disciples, she viewed the Chosen members of the sect with awe. Bi Yun, who was one of the blazing suns of the Ninth Sect, was a good example.

Unable to deal with her coaxing and prodding, he finally nodded and said, "Fine, fine, go ahead."

Yan'er was immediately delighted, and even leaned forward and hugged him. Seeing her so delighted, Naruto's gaze softened a bit, and he thought about Sakura.

In his last life, he had owed Sakura a debt of emotion. Unfortunately, in this life, his heart was already dead, and all he could give her was the relationship of a Master and apprentice.

Yan'er left. The next day at dawn, she was in very high spirits as she met up with some of the other disciples of the subdivision, after which they all left together toward the grand bazaar which was held every few years on the ninth continent.

Naruto stayed in secluded meditation. His cultivation base was at a critical juncture, and he could make a breakthrough into the Ancient Realm at almost any time. Although he had remained in the Immortal Realm for quite some time, causing many people to forget about him, the reason was because of something that no one but him was aware of. When he had opened his Immortal meridians, he actually exceeded the number previously reached by his true self, placing him at a terrifying level that nobody had ever reached before, not even in ancient times.

That was why his progress in the Immortal Realm had been so slow.

"Because of my successive breakthroughs, the Ninth Hex is getting closer to completion. However, why is it that what I used to believe was perfect in the past, now seems somewhat incomplete…?" Frowning, he proceeded with his cultivation.

Even as he was focusing on cultivation, Yan'er and her Elder Brothers and Sisters had left the Ninth Sect and run into a group of disciples from the Eighth Sect.

There were a dozen or so of them, all in the Immortal Realm. One of them was a handsome young man wearing very extravagant clothing. His friends clustered around him, and yet, within his eyes could be seen a licentious gleam. He seemed like nothing more than a carefree young man, but the truth was that he had a unique position within the Eighth Sect. That was especially evident considering that he was being shadowed by a middle-aged cultivator who was obviously his Dao Protector. The man made it seem as if his cultivation base were in the Immortal Realm, but he was actually a powerful Dao Realm expert.

Almost as soon as the two groups met, the young man took note of

Yan'er, and his eyes shone with both excitement and nefariousness.

"What a wonderful looking cultivation vessel…." he said, grinning. His Dao Protector also smiled. He was well aware of the proclivities of this young Prince of his clan. Furthermore, the young man had a very high and important standing within the Eighth Sect, and even within the Vast Expanse School as a whole, there were few people who could compare. However, the Dao Protector was also careful; whenever the Prince took a liking to a girl, he would always check her background. If he discovered any girl who had connections in the sect, he would advise the young man to abandon any pursuit. However, when it came to ordinary disciples, there were plenty of ways to make sure that no problems resulted. 1

The Dao Protector pulled out a jade slip, examined it for a moment, then relaxed.

"Her background is known, and she has no connections," he said. "She joined the sect a few years ago as the apprentice of someone named Namikaze Mu. Namikaze Mu went from being mortal to Immortal in only ten years, and made somewhat of a stir at that time. However, even he doesn't have any connections. He's a small-time figure, nothing more than an Inner Sect disciple from a subdivision of the Ninth Sect.

"Enjoy yourself, Prince!"

The term "cultivation vessel" came up before with the original Ninth Paragon. It's a term from real Daoist sexual cultivation practices, which you can read about here. Check out section 2.5 for more information on how women are referred to as "vessels" or "crucibles" ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1454

Chapter 1454: You Screwed Us Over….

In response to the Dao Protector's words, a radiant smile broke out on the young man's face. As the grandson of Patriarch Chi Feng of the Eighth Sect, he had free reign to do anything he wished in his sect.

After the Eighth Sect's 9-Essences Paragon perished, Patriarch Chi Feng had returned from the excursion to the necropolis and worked hard at cultivation until he was on the verge of a breakthrough. He was the most powerful expert in the Eighth Sect, and if he broke through to the 9Essences level, he would become the official leader of the Eighth Sect, and would also become one of the nine great Paragons of the Vast Expanse School.

People like that were truly at the pinnacle of the Vast Expanse School, and that was one of the reasons why this young man could have his pick of almost any female cultivator he wanted to use as a cultivation vessel.

Of course, he was very careful. If a girl had connections or a powerful background, then he would give up any notions of even so much as touching her. Because of that, Patriarch Chi Feng, despite being aware of the situation, felt that the young man was still relatively dependable, and wouldn't do something that made him a liability.

Smiling in response to the Dao Protector's words, the young man said,

"Well, there's no hurry. A cultivation vessel like that is a rare thing in the Eighth Sect nowadays. Who would have thought that I would get something so wonderful here? Excellent, excellent.

"Unfortunately, we're still in the Ninth Sect, and the Patriarch reminded me before that I can't act presumptuously here….

"Ah well, it doesn't matter. I'll just figure out a way to get this cultivation vessel back to the Eighth Sect." The licentious gleam once again flickered in his eyes.

Over the following few days, Yan'er and her companions traveled with the group from the Eighth Sect. They came to realize what a high position the young man held, and treated him with the utmost respect. Eventually, they reached the location of the bazaar, and arranged for their accommodations. On the night of the first day, Yan'er was filled with excitement and anticipation for the following days. Just as she was about to slip into a trance to do some meditation, a vortex suddenly sprang up around her. It happened without any sound or warning, and before Yan'er was even aware of what had happened, it was on the verge of swallowing her up.

In that moment, a howl rose up in the air outside of the bazaar. It was none other than the mastiff, who Naruto had arranged to secretly guard Yan'er on her trip.

The mastiff's eyes flickered with killing intent as it transformed into a beam of red light that flew into the air at high speed.

At the same time, in a valley about 500 kilometers outside of the bazaar, Patriarch Chi Feng's grandson was standing there looking at a vortex spinning in front of him. His Dao Protector, the middle-aged cultivator in the Dao Realm, stepped out holding an unconscious girl, who was none other than Yan'er.

When the young man saw Yan'er, he smiled and reached out to grab her, the carnal gleam in his eyes growing stronger.

The Dao Protector's expression softened. This sort of thing was a simple matter for him, and something he had done on numerous occasions. He cleared his throat, and was just about to say something, when a sudden howl ripped through the valley.

The abruptness of the sound caused the Dao Protector's face to fall. Even as he turned, a red streak of light shot toward him.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the entire valley began to collapse. The Dao Protector coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was sent tumbling off into the distance, seriously injured. An expression of astonishment filled his face at the sight of the large crimson dog which had just appeared.

"Th-that's… a Dao Realm beast!

"Dammit, how could there be a Dao Realm beast here!?" The young man was so terrified he was shaking. Grabbing Yan'er, he shot backward. By this point, she had regained consciousness, and it took only a moment for her confusion to fade, whereupon she began to scream.

"Shut up!" the young man bellowed. Even as the words left his mouth, the mastiff's eyes blazed with killing intent, and it began to speed in his direction.

"It's… it's after the girl!" The Dao Protector was shaken. How could he ever have imagined that grabbing a young girl in the Foundation Establishment stage would attract the attention of a Dao Realm beast?

"Prince, get out of here. Something's off here! Something's not right!" The Dao Protector had no time to think about the matter. However, he could tell that there was something very strange about what was happening. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, the young man pulled out a jade pendant that had been hanging around his neck, and crushed it.

Instantly, a powerful teleportation force erupted out. However, it didn't seem fast enough to get him away from the dog. The young man's eyes suddenly flared with a vicious gleam. He might seem like a carefree young man, but he wasn't stupid. His hand clamped around Yan'er's neck, and he glared at the mastiff.

"If you take one more step, I'll kill her!" he screamed. The mastiff stopped in place, and in that moment, the power of teleportation exploded out. The young man and Yan'er vanished in the blink of an eye. In that same instant, the mastiff howled and unleashed an attack, causing a huge crater to appear in the spot where the young man had just been standing.

The Dao Protector's scalp was tingling, but it was without any hesitation that he sped backward. His mind was in complete chaos; this Dao Realm beast had obviously been tamed, and anyone who could tame a Dao Realm beast would clearly have an incredible cultivation base.

Seeing Yan'er disappear caused the mastiff to throw its head back and let out an astonishing roar. It erupted with energy as its body grew larger, and it transformed into a beam of blood-colored light which sped toward the middle-aged Dao Protector. Before the man could even react, the mastiff chewed him up and swallowed him down.

Only a bloodcurdling scream lingered behind. Even in the last moment before his death, he couldn't fathom how a little Foundation Establishment cultivator could have caused such a disaster.

Of course, he had no way to know that the catastrophe resulting from what he and the young man had done, was only the beginning. As for the person he thought was a nobody in the sect, a trifling Inner Sect disciple named Namikaze Mu, even in death, he would never be able to guess his true identity.

As Yan'er faded away, the mastiff howled.

Deep within Planet Vast Expanse, on the half-planet, was Ninth Paragon City.

There, Naruto's true self suddenly opened his eyes, and they shone with unprecedented coldness. Dragons usually have one weak scale on their bodies. People likewise have weak spots. For Naruto, it was the Mountain and Sea Realm, his family, and his friends. Originally, he had no such weakness now that he was living on Planet Vast Expanse.

But when Sakura appeared, Naruto knew… that she was his weak spot!

Anyone who touched her was prodding the most sensitive part of Naruto!

Touching that weak spot would provoke wrath that could shake Heaven and Earth, and even the Vast Expanse!

The clouds in the sky above Planet Vast Expanse were churning. Lightning crackled, and strange colors flashed in the sky. The wind screamed, and countless individuals on the surface of the planet looked up in shock.

At the same time, all of Ninth Paragon City, all of the half-planet, all of the inner starry sky, and all of Planet Vast Expanse itself filled with rumbling sounds.

This was the second time that such a thing had happened, the first being when Naruto had initially caught sight of Sakura's soul. Now… for the second time, a towering murderous aura erupted out, causing everyone on Planet Vast Expanse, even the Paragons, to be shaken inwardly.

Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong, and the Sect Leader were all in shock as they saw Naruto's true self step out into the open.

"That murderous aura," said Jin Yunshan with a gasp. "He's… he's going to kill someone!" After sensing Naruto's aura, his eyes filled with vigilance.

Sha Jiudong had the same reaction, and as for the Sect Leader, he immediately left his meditation facilities. Other Paragons, both 8Essences and 9-Essences, were all shaken.

Patriarch Chi Feng in the Eighth Sect was equally shaken. When he detected Naruto's aura, he thought about how he had mercilessly cut down the Eighth Paragon years ago in the necropolis.

"I wonder what unlucky fellow managed to provoke that jinx…." he murmured. Then he paid the matter no more heed, and closed his eyes in meditation.

Meanwhile, on the eighth continent, in the Eighth Sect, teleportation light twinkled. Patriarch Chi Feng's grandson, the young man, emerged with Yan'er. His face was pale, and he looked as if he had been roughed up, but his eyes glittered with viciousness.

"Dammit. Dammit!" he roared. "Who is it that dares to provoke me, the Prince!?

"That was some trifling Dao Realm beast, nothing more. I'm gonna kill it. I'm gonna… I'm gonna eat it!

"I don't care who owns it. Anybody that provokes me will have their whole clan wiped out!" He looked down at Yan'er, whose face was ashen and filled with terror.

"W-what… what are you going to do to me?" she stammered. "My Master won't let you get away with this. He–"

"Shut up! Who's your master? Namikaze Mu? A measly Inner Sect disciple? He's a nobody that doesn't even qualify to shine my shoes!" With that, the young man lifted his hand up and slapped Yan'er right across the face. Her cheek instantly swelled up, and blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth. She began to tremble, and a look of complete terror could be seen on her face.

Her entire life had been one free from care or worry, so what was happening now made her realize how fragile life really was. She felt helpless, as though she were about to be completely consumed by terror.

"Master… Master…." She began to weep in fear. She wanted to see her family, her Master, but instead, everything around her was strange. She wasn't sure what was going to happen to her, and it left her shaking in fear.

The young man's expression was cruel as he threw his head back and roared, "Men, come!

"Someone's trying to kill me! Patriarch, save me!" As the boy's words echoed out, the Eighth Sect was thrown into an uproar. Countless figures emerged, and when they saw Yan'er, they frowned, but didn't say anything.

"Someone's trying to kill me!" he bellowed.

The young man's shouting provoked a response, not from Chi Feng, but from a Dao Sovereign who flew out from within the Eighth Sect. "Who's trying to kill you? I thought you just went to the ninth continent?"

As soon as he appeared, everyone clasped hands respectfully.

"Dad, I was on the ninth continent when I took a liking to this cultivation vessel. Then a Dao Realm beast… tried to kill me! It really tried to kill me!" Considering his quavering voice, and the way his clothes were ripped and torn, it was obvious that he had been fleeing for his life, and had used the teleportation device given him by the Patriarch.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1455

Chapter 1455: The Ninth Paragon Arrives!

The Dao Sovereign frowned, looking over at the bruises on the young man's neck, which were clearly caused by the anxious way he had ripped the jade pendant off his neck.

He was the son of Patriarch Chi Feng, and had a cultivation base at the 6-Essences Dao Sovereign level. In the Vast Expanse School, he was at the peak of power when it came to people under the Paragon level. Normally speaking, he was the kind of person who would kill with decisiveness. Couple that with the fact that his father was likely to become the next Eighth Paragon, and it ensured that his status was constantly on the rise, and his cultivation experienced constant progress.

People in the Eighth Sect had even begun to refer to the father and son team as collective Paragon. Although the young grandson had never earned much respect, he was of the same bloodline. Therefore, if his Dao Sovereign father wished to punish him, or even kill him, no one would say anything. However, if someone struck his son with a blow, it was the same thing as striking him, or even Patriarch Chi Feng.

That was especially the case considering that Patriarch Chi Feng had reached a critical juncture in his cultivation. To the Dao Sovereign, the fact that someone had done something like this to his son was a likely indication that a competing force was trying to make a move, although with what goal, he wasn't sure.

However, he didn't need to be sure.

"It doesn't matter who did this, whoever dared to provoke my bloodline will be exterminated!" The Dao Sovereign snorted coldly and waved his sleeve. His murderous aura surged, rippling out into the area, causing the hearts of the nearby cultivators of the Eighth Sect to grow cold with fear. They were all well-aware that the bloodline of Patriarch Chi Feng were now preparing to go on a killing spree.

"What a pity. A Dao Realm beast, huh…? This girl must have some connections in her sect. But unfortunately for her, in the Vast Expanse School, power and influence are what really matter.

"It would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone on Planet Vast Expanse who could compare to Patriarch Chi Feng…." Those were the thoughts running through the heads of most of the people present, and there were some who even began to radiate their own killing intent, indicating that they wished to join the Dao Sovereign in whatever action he was about to take.

The Dao Sovereign seemed pleased with this. Glaring over at the young man, he said, "What are you standing around for? Take me to see whoever it was that had the gall to send a beast like that to harm a disciple of my Vast Expanse School!"

As for Yan'er, he didn't even bother to look at her. He was aware of his son's vices, and although they caused him a bit of a headache sometimes, he had the same attitude as Patriarch Chi Feng. In his view, the young man was always careful, and to cultivators, being careful was the same as being dependable.

Considering the girl had a Dao Realm beast protecting her, she clearly had some connections in the sect. But to Chi Feng, such connections weren't even worth paying attention to.

All the other cultivators in the crowd felt the same as the Dao Sovereign, that it really would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who could strike fear into the hearts of the members of this bloodline.

The Dao Sovereign simply couldn't believe that in his son's journey outside of the sect, he could possibly have provoked one of those existences that they did not dare to provoke.

Even as he spoke, the Dao Sovereign's energy rose up, causing everything else in the area to shake.

The young man's eyes went wide with delight. In his entire life, he had never been more scared than he had been earlier that day. He had been so close to dying that he had almost collapsed mentally.

Laughing heartily, he looked over at the terrified Yan'er, eyes flickering with a depraved gleam.

"Hey gorgeous, you know that dog of yours? I'm going to boil him right in front of you and then eat him. Don't worry, I'll give you a few bites to try."

Shaking, Yan'er bit her lip. By this point, her heart was completely overwhelmed with terror and fear. She felt alone, helpless and hopeless, and she suddenly missed her Master more than ever.

"Master…" she whimpered, shivering. "Master…"

"Did you just say something about your Master? Hahaha! I don't care what your Master has to do with your pet. He dared to provoke me, he WILL die. And before he dies, I'll make him act like a dog!" Viciousness gleamed in the young man's eyes as his laughter rang out into the air. He was just about to lead the group off when suddenly a cold snort ripped through the killing intent of the surrounding group of cultivators. It was like a clap of thunder that caused everything to tremble on the verge of exploding.

Lands quaked, and floor tiles were transformed into ash. A tempest sprang up that instantly spread out to cover the entire Eighth Sect.

The Eighth Sect was huge, but even if it were larger than it was, the tempest would still fill it. At the same time, it was as if an enormous, invisible foot had stamped down onto the ground. A huge shockwave spread out, filling the Eighth Sect, causing all mountains, buildings, and lands to shake violently.

In addition to the physical effects on the surroundings, all cultivators in the Eighth Sect, regardless of the level of their cultivation base or what they were doing at the moment… began to tremble. It was as if mountains were crushing down onto them, causing blood to spray out of their mouths. To their astonishment, they suddenly realized that… they couldn't move a muscle.

A roar of rage filled the world with indescribable pressure, crushing down onto the entire Eighth Sect!

All cultivators were completely and utterly shocked. Their hearts filled with terror, and their minds spun. Then, off in the distance, a person approached… it was a young man in a black robe, with violet hair, who seemed to carry with him all the darkness and coldness in the world.

Behind him, the Heavens trembled as if they were about to shatter. His gaze caused the air to distort, as if it were making a path for him, and beneath him, the lands shook as if they were kowtowing in worship!

One person suppressed Heaven and shook the Earth. Everything twisted and distorted. This young man became the center of all attention… a figure who would stand for all eternity!

Even as he appeared, a cold voice echoed out that seemed to carry infinite rage and killing intent. It echoed like a thousand thunders, shaking everything. "Who dared to harm one of the disciples of my Ninth Sect?"

His voice caused countless mountains to crumble, and numerous buildings to fall. The cultivators of the Eighth Sect once again coughed up mouthfuls of blood.

When an ordinary man is enraged, blood can be spattered everywhere. When a Paragon is enraged, Heaven and Earth weep!

These people from the Eighth Sect had poked Naruto in his sensitive weak spot, enraging him. And when Naruto was enraged, instead of saying that Heaven and Earth were weeping, it would be better to say that the Vast Expanse was being buried!

As soon as the voice rang out, colors flashed and the wind screamed. Mountains collapsed and buildings toppled. The cultivation bases of all cultivators in the Eighth Sect became unstable, and blood oozed out of their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths.

"Ninth…. Ninth P-P… Ninth Paragon!" The young man's father, the Dao Sovereign, couldn't stop his eyes from bulging in disbelief. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and although he couldn't actually move, he was trembling, all the way down to his very soul.

All of that was because of… a single sentence!

It was as if Naruto represented the might of Heaven, and his word was Heavenly Dao and magical law alike!

The sky above the eighth continent went dark, and the cultivators of the

Eighth Sect, including their Paragons, were all trembling. Patriarch Chi Feng was also shaking, and when he looked out from his secluded meditation chamber, an expression of disbelief washed over his face as he realized he was looking at that most terrifying of figures, the person who struck fear into his heart more than anything after the trip to the necropolis.

"The Ninth Paragon…. What… what is he doing here? Dammit, who provoked a terrifying jinx like that!?" Patriarch Chi Feng's eyes were already bloodshot.

Everyone was trembling, except for Yan'er. She looked up, and through the tears streaming down her face, she could see someone approaching.

Although she couldn't make out his features clearly, he seemed familiar, and she couldn't hold back from saying, "Master…."

As soon as the words left her mouth, all the cultivators in the area, including the young man and the Dao Sovereign, gasped as if they had been struck by lightning.

That was especially true of the young man. He sagged in place as though his bones had turned to mush. His mind reeled as the word she had just uttered echoed out.

"The vessel I took a liking to is… the apprentice of the Ninth Paragon?" The young man suddenly wanted to laugh. It was almost like he was hearing the funniest joke he had ever heard in his entire life. And yet, at the bottom of his heart, he was trembling with insanity.

As his mind reeled, his entire world was destroyed; the light left it, leaving nothing but darkness.

He wasn't the only one to have such a reaction. His father, the Dao

Sovereign, was normally a high and mighty figure. Within the Eighth Sect, innumerable people treated him with fear and dignity. But now, in front of Naruto, he was trembling like a stray dog. He was gasping for breath, staring in shock, his eyes bloodshot as he turned to look at his son. If he could kill anyone at this moment, he would most definitely… tear this unfilial son to shreds!

"You damned son of a bitch!" he bellowed. "Y-y-you… you screwed us all over!"

Everyone in the crowd was shaking, especially the ones who had expressed their desire to join Chi Feng's bloodline in wiping out the enemy. Looks of shock and disbelief appeared on their faces, and suddenly they felt a bit bad for Chi Feng's bloodline.

Apparently… they had the audacious gall and courage to dare to provoke one of the nine great Paragons of the Vast Expanse School.

Everything was deathly silent, as people stood there in fear.

Naruto's true self walked into the Eighth Sect, past the crowds of people, until he was standing in front of Yan'er. As soon as his gaze came to rest on her, his eyes turned soft and warm.

"I'm not your Master," he said slowly. "But… any cultivator in the Ninth

Sect could be considered my apprentice."

Everyone present breathed a sigh of relief, especially the Dao Sovereign. As long as they weren't really Master and apprentice, then everything should be fine….

Yan'er looked at Naruto, and although he didn't look exactly like her Master, for some reason he seemed very familiar. The warmth in his words, and everything else, filled her with the intense sensation that she really was standing in front of her Master.

That feeling of familiarity caused tears to stream down her cheeks. She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around his chest, wailing. It was as if her tears could release all of the humiliation, fear, and terror that she had just experienced.

The Eighth Sect was completely silent. Everyone stood there trembling, looking at that most powerful of entities gently holding a young girl in his arms. When Naruto looked up again, his eyes were so ice cold that they seemed capable of extinguishing the light of the sun and moon.

As Yan'er wept in his arms, everyone looked on, shaking. Then, within the silence that filled the Eighth Sect, Naruto looked down at Yan'er's cheek.

There… was a distinct hand print!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1456

Chapter 1456: Who Else?

It was the swollen mark left behind by a vicious slap to the face. When Naruto saw it there on Yan'er's face, he said nothing. However, the coldness radiating off of his body grew with explosive intensity, filling the entire area. It was as if Heaven and Earth were furious, as if the entire world were trembling with rage.

Cracking sounds echoed out as the ground shattered. The mountains which had previously collapsed were seemingly erased out of existence, transformed into nothing more than ash as an intense, indescribable pressure weighed down.

Blood sprayed out of the young man's mouth as he was sent tumbling backward. The Dao Sovereign also coughed up blood, and his legs trembled so hard that it seemed as if his kneecaps would shatter. The crushing pressure forced him to kneel down onto the ground, as did all of the other cultivators in the area.

They were incapable of standing up to the pressure, to the rage of Heaven and Earth, to the icy coldness radiating out of Naruto.

The pressure was such that they felt they couldn't hold on for very much longer. Even Patriarch Chi Feng, an 8-Essences Paragon on the verge of breaking through to 9-Essences, had the same reaction.

It was as if… an enormous hand had descended from up above… a hand to return the slap which had been inflicted onto Yan'er. Apparently, Naruto didn't have to make an actual move at all: that pressure alone was enough to wipe the Eighth Sect completely off of Planet Vast Expanse.

"Exalted… exalted Ninth Paragon…." the Dao Sovereign stammered. He had no choice but to speak. If he didn't, he would be wiped out of existence by that incredible pressure.

Even as the words left his mouth, colors flashed in the sky as numerous beams of light flew through the air at incredible speed. A moment later the Sect Leader appeared, along with the other 9-Essences Paragons.

Even Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong appeared, to hover there in midair, looking down. None of them spoke.

Even the Sect Leader was unsure of whether Naruto intended to actually destroy the entire Eighth Sect.

Some of them looked over at Yan'er, eyes glittering thoughtfully.

Naruto didn't seem to care at all that the group of 9-Essences Paragons had arrived. He had long since thought the matter through clearly. As of now, he was harboring no secrets. If people knew about Yan'er, fine. If they didn't, it was also fine. In his current state of mind, he truly didn't care what people thought.

"Who hit you?" he asked, looking over at Yan'er. Before she could even respond, his gaze fell upon the young man. "Was it him?"

As the words left the mouth, power from seemingly nowhere crushed down onto the young man. He screamed and struggled to back up, blood spurting out of wounds all over his body.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" he cried in a pleading voice. "I… I didn't know, I… I…" He was trembling from fear, true fear that had reached the pinnacle. He was even more scared than Yan'er had been only moments ago.

Even in his wildest dreams, he would never have imagined that a simple outing in which he took a liking to a cultivation vessel, would result in something like this. It was something he had done many times in the past, but this time… unexpectedly… he had provoked a disaster.

As of this moment, hatred for his Dao Protector burned all the way down to his bones. He wished he could rip the man to shreds. After all, it was impossible to forget how the Dao Protector had told him… to enjoy himself with the girl.

Without the Dao Protector's assurances, the young man would never have touched a girl with such incredibly high connections.

Furthermore, deep in his heart, he almost found it too fantastic to believe, this Yan'er had such a background, and yet… Why the hell didn't you say anything? If you had said something, I would've at least confirmed it, even if I didn't believe you. The worst thing is, you're backed by someone so powerful he can kill us all with a single word, and yet… you didn't say anything!

The young man felt as if he had been deceived, wronged. However, before he could say another word, Yan'er glared at him and said in a loud voice: "Yeah, it was him!"

Her words were like a death sentence. The young man's vision turned dark as Naruto waved his finger, sending killing intent speeding toward his forehead.

A pop could be heard as the boy's head exploded into a cloud of blood and gore, killing him instantly.

Naruto slaughtered him as easily as if he had popped the neck of a baby chicken. However, his rage was not sated.

"And him!" Yan'er cried, pointing at the Dao Sovereign. "He… he just said that he was going to go cause trouble for my Master!" Shock filled the Dao Sovereign's face, and a sensation of deadly crisis exploded within him. His hatred for his own son was no less than the son's hatred for his Dao Protector.

"Dammit! DAMMIT!" A tremor ran through him, and he was just about to say something in his defense when Naruto's eyes flickered coldly. He waved his right finger, and the Dao Sovereign's head exploded, killing him just as his son had been killed.

Before dying, the Dao Sovereign's venomous hatred rose to intense heights. Strangely, he didn't hate Naruto so much as he hated his unfilial son. He could never have imagined that all the honor and glory he had built up in his lifetime would be wiped away by someone his own son had provoked.

Everyone in the area was trembling.

"And those people too!" Yan'er said through gritted teeth, pointing out at the crowd. "All of them wanted to go cause trouble for my Master too!" Although it was impossible to tell exactly who she was pointing at, as her finger swept out over the crowd, they felt as if the gaze of the underworld were boring into their hearts.

"Him?" Naruto asked, pointing out an old man from Chi Feng's bloodline, who had been coldly preparing to go to the ninth continent. The man trembled, and before he could even speak a word, his head exploded.

"And him?"

"Him too?"

"What about him?"

Naruto's voice was cool. Every time he spoke, Yan'er would nod, and heads would explode. None of them even had a chance to cry out.

Soon, the ground was awash with blood. Naruto had killed dozens of people with brutal efficiency, all of whom had been preparing to join Chi Feng's bloodline to go to the ninth continent.

As for the ones who had been hesitating earlier, Naruto didn't ask about any of them.

There were some people who had been preparing to join Chi Feng's bloodline who stood there ashen-faced as they waited for Yan'er to call them out. However, because of some bit of confusion on her part, she shook her head when it came to them. Tears streamed out of the eyes of those cultivators as they realized that they had just narrowly escaped death. Their gratitude toward Yan'er simply couldn't be expressed in words.

The entire Eighth Sect was as silent as death. Everyone was on their knees, trembling, as Naruto gave vent to his rage like a spirit of death.

It was at this point that the Sect Leader cleared his throat.

"Ninth Paragon, calm down… the punishment has been carried out. You're not really going to wipe out the entire Eighth Sect are you?"

Naruto looked over at the Sect Leader and asked, "I couldn't possibly wipe out the entire sect. However, don't think things are over yet."

With that, he looked into the depths of the Eighth Sect, and spoke out in a voice that crashed like thunder.

"Chi Feng, get the hell out here!" He flicked his sleeve, causing rumbling sounds to fill Heaven and Earth. Patriarch Chi Feng emerged from the depths of the sect, his heart filled with hatred toward his son and grandson. His face was taut with bitterness, and as pale as death. Inwardly, he was roaring in rage, although not toward Naruto, but rather, toward his son and grandson.

To him, not even death could expunge the deeds committed by those two, which had sucked him into a catastrophe….

Without the slightest hesitation, he flew through the air to appear directly in front of Naruto.

Instantly, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Chi Feng… offers greetings… greetings to the exalted Ninth Paragon." His heart trembled as he completely ignored the corpses of his son and grandson. If he could, he would have killed them himself.

Other people might not know what it was like to face an enraged Uzumaki

Hao, but how could he not know? He had personally witnessed Naruto cut down the Eighth Paragon in the necropolis, and had also watched his battle with Jin Yunshan. He was well aware that Naruto was invincible when inside the necropolis, and was a figure of incomparable terror.

Chi Feng gritted his teeth. He knew full well that because of what had occurred today, he had to offer compensation, otherwise he would be killed. To the masses, he was a preeminent 8-Essences Paragon, someone who would soon reach the 9-Essences level and become the ruler of the Eighth Sect.

However, he knew that even if he became the new Eighth Paragon, he would still have to bow his head to the Ninth Paragon. He couldn't simply wait for Naruto to demand compensation for what had happened. He had to admit fault and take responsibility. Therefore, he quickly lifted his hand up and smashed his palm onto his forehead.

A boom rang out, and he shivered as a rift tore open on his forehead, from within which blood sprayed like a fountain. His body then exploded.

His soul flew out, trembling and clasping hands toward Naruto.

"Ninth Paragon, please calm your wrath…." he said, prostrating himself.

The surrounding cultivators gasped in response to what they were seeing. Everyone in the Eighth Sect was paying rapt attention, and now their hearts trembled with fear and awe as they looked over at Naruto.

Naruto eyed Chi Feng's soul, and calmed down somewhat. If Chi Feng hadn't been so straightforward, if he had waited for Naruto to speak, then he might not have ended up dead, but he would have been forever cut off from the 9-Essences level.

Now, his fleshly body was destroyed, which would be a big setback, but wouldn't prevent him from obtaining his ninth Essence.

Naruto looked deeply at Patriarch Chi Feng, then turned away, taking Yan'er with him as he left the eighth continent.

Along with his departure, the intense pressure weighing down on the Eighth Sect faded away. Everyone breathed sighs of relief. This day was one the cultivators of the Eighth Sect would never be able to forget.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1457

Chapter 1457: Vast Expanse Shrine!

Naruto did not exterminate the Eighth Sect. He did not take the grief for the Mountain and Sea Realm that lurked in his heart and vent it upon the world. He was not young anymore. He had practiced cultivation and experienced the transformations of time. He had long since lost track of how many years it had actually been.

The debt which he owed to Sakura still had to be paid. And yet, because his heart had been taken away along with the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, in his mind, the only thing that he could give as payment was the relationship between a Master and an apprentice.

For Sakura, he could hold back from investigating Han Bei.

For Sakura, he could allow his clone, who was at a critical juncture of gaining enlightenment of the Ninth Hex, to take up the responsibility of caring for her.

Because of Sakura, his lonely existence in the Vast Expanse School… now contained something warm and familiar, something that he would not allow others to interfere with. It was a simple desire… to protect her.

Sakura had lost her memories of her previous life, but not necessarily forever. Her memories were still in Naruto's possession; he just wasn't sure whether or not he should return them to her.

However, he was still willing to allow her to be his weak spot. That weak spot had been prodded, and thus was birthed his rage toward the Eighth Sect. He had not held back, but neither had he gone on a mindless massacre. He had killed the culprits and the accomplices, as well as those who intended to be accomplices.

By his actions, he issued a warning to all cultivators on Planet Vast Expanse, including Han Bei. No one… was to trifle with Yan'er. If they did, then Naruto would appear, and his rage would shock Heaven and Earth.

Along with that rage… rivers of blood would flow.

Because of what had occurred, some people now realized there was a connection between him and Namikaze Mu. However, Naruto didn't care.

In all of the Vast Expanse School, only a few people would possibly be able to guess what that connection was. Furthermore, Naruto now had some new ideas regarding the path to be tread by his clone.

Currently, Naruto's true self was taking Sakura back to the ninth continent and the Ninth Sect. There, in a certain mountain range, were his clone's secluded meditation facilities. His clone slowly opened his eyes, and they shone with an icy light, as though a detached coldness were brewing inside of him.

"I've been in seclusion for too long," thought Naruto. "Apparently, people think that anyone can provoke me. I'm still Naruto, but there are still things… that only my true self can accomplish. It's a bit embarrassing." This was Naruto's clone, but it was still Naruto. He rose to his feet, not to leave the Ninth Sect, but rather, to head to a certain mountain peak within the sect.

At the top of that mountain was a high tower that was called… the Vast Expanse Shrine!

In the Ninth Sect, all disciples could challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine, with the results determining their standing in the rankings. It was a place that the entire Ninth Sect always paid close attention to.

All of the sects in the Vast Expanse School had a tower like this. There were nine of them, and anyone who could take first place in the rankings on one of them, would rock all of Planet Vast Expanse, and would become a Vast Expanse Chosen!

It was a completely different matter than the stir caused by Namikaze Mu's Immortal Tribulation.

In fact, it wasn't even necessary to take first place. Anyone who entered the top 100 would be considered one of the true Chosen of the nine sects. If Naruto's clone could get into the top 100 in the Vast Expanse Shrine, then he would rise from being an Inner Sect disciple in his subdivision, to being an Inner Sect disciple of the Ninth Sect's main division.

If he could enter the top 30, then he would become… a Conclave disciple!

Then there were the top 3 spots, which came with the title of Legacy disciple of the entire Ninth Sect!

Naruto was already walking on the path leading to the mountain, his expression calm. The other disciples he passed would look over at him in surprise. At first, most people didn't recognize him, but after a moment they would recall events from the past, and scorn would then appear in their eyes.

"Isn't that Junior Brother Namikaze Mu, who went from mortal to Immortal in ten years?" someone asked. "What's he doing here?"

"He's a real weirdo," replied a friend of his. "He pretty much never comes out in public. His apprentice Yan'er is a real beauty though." It was in that moment that Naruto suddenly turned back to look at the man.

The gaze was nothing out of the ordinary, but for some reason, it caused the man to tremble, and his mind to become a complete blank. Without even thinking about it, he backed up a few paces. By the time he regained his composure, Naruto was far off in the distance.

The man hesitated, and was thinking of making another comment, but his gut told him that now was the time to keep quiet. Taking a deep breath, he said nothing further.

The Vast Expanse Shrine of the Ninth Sect was located on the highest point of the highest mountain in the sect, in the very middle of the sect. Naruto's expression was calm as he continued to pass more and more fellow disciples.

Most of the people were unfamiliar with him, but after he passed them, they would recall his previous actions in the sect.

The majority made joking comments as he passed them by and continued on. As he proceeded, he encountered more and more disciples.

"Isn't that Namikaze Mu? This is the first time I've seen him here. Could it be that he's about to have a cultivation base breakthrough?"

"Is he heading toward the Vast Expanse Shrine? How amusing. Does he really think so much of himself that he thinks he qualifies to challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine?"

Naruto could hear the things people were saying, but his expression was the same as ever as he proceeded onward.

Soon, he reached the foot of the mountain. When he looked up, he saw a stone stele about thirty meters tall, upon which were lines of script, which were names.

These names were the top 3,000 cultivators from the Ninth Sect who had participated in the trial by fire of the Vast Expanse Shrine.

Although everyone on the list were extraordinary individuals, only those in the top 1,000 could be considered blazing suns. The top 100 were officially Chosen.

Naruto scanned the list, then looked back toward the peak of the mountain.

The mountaintop pierced through the clouds, and had a staircase winding up it into the sky.

Naruto didn't know much about the Vast Expanse Shrine, only what he had heard from Yan'er.

He knew that the trial by fire of the Vast Expanse Shrine didn't just refer to the tower at the top of the mountain. It also included the staircase which started at the foot of the mountain.

The people who were able to make it all the way to the tower itself would make it into the top 100. Furthermore, one's progress didn't have much to do with one's cultivation base, but rather, one's relative battle prowess and potential.

"I've been hiding away for too long," he thought. "When people heard that Yan'er's Master was Namikaze Mu, it didn't mean much, and my true self had to handle the situation." He shook his head.

"Well then, it's time to make a scene. Yan'er deserves a master who has taken 1st place on the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine. That will make the little girl happy.

"If it's not enough, then I'll just have to take 1st place on all nine Vast Expanse Shrines. If that's not enough, then I might just have to try out the Transcendence Path." Naruto smiled, and his eyes glittered brightly. Within the Vast Expanse School, there were more than enough locations to earn rankings of some sort or another. However, there were only two locations which people throughout the sects, and even the Paragons, took very seriously.

One was the location to test potential and latent talent, which was… the Vast Expanse Shrine. The other was the Vast Expanse School's one and only… Transcendence Path!

It bore the name Transcendence, but the truth was… although Transcendence was a possibility, what was more likely was that those who walked it would benefit from the Baptism. According to the legends, if you could reach a certain point on the Transcendence Path, you would receive a Baptism, and thus, good fortune!

As for how far the Transcendence Path stretched, no one knew.

However, it was well known that the person who had walked the furthest along it was not the Sect Leader, but rather, a woman by the name of Bai Wuchen.

She was also commonly known as Immortal Bai Wuchen!

However, not even she had reached the end of the path. Perhaps the difficulty level of that path was why the Sect Leader and the others placed their hope in the necropolis.

Naruto gathered his thoughts, then calmly took a step forward onto the first step of the staircase.

1 step. 2 steps. 3 steps….

No one paid him much attention. In fact, few people would pay attention to anyone in the starting stages of the Vast Expanse Shrine. Naruto walked along, climbing up the stairs, facing increasing levels of pressure. To some people, taking even half a step would be difficult. But to Naruto, it was like strolling along a level path. He didn't seem pressured at all, and maintained the same speed the entire time as he continued upward.

10 steps. 30 steps. 50 steps. 80 steps. 100 steps….

Naruto wasn't the only person climbing the steps. Ahead of him were a few hundred people who had been in the process of climbing during recent days. It was a difficult process, and many of them would occasionally rest before struggling onward. To these disciples, this mountain was their hope of making a name for themselves.

Some people would even sit cross-legged to cultivate. However, when someone reached their limit, they would be teleported away. That was generally the only way people would leave.

There were quite a few people on the mountain who suddenly saw Namikaze Mu pass by. When they realized how casually he was walking along, and how he didn't seem to have any difficulty whatsoever in climbing the stairs, their jaws dropped.

They saw him proceeded along rapidly, leaving all the other disciples behind, and soon, a bit of an uproar ensued.

"Hey… who's that?!"

"How can he be walking so fast?! This is 300 stairs in, and the pressure is intense. He… he isn't even pausing at all!"

"How is that even possible…? Could it be… could it be that he's one of the blazing suns!?" The cultivators on the mountain looked on with reeling minds, and soon the sounds of their exclamations echoed out.

That sound grew louder as Naruto passed one Ninth Sect cultivator after another. There were some who, upon seeing him pass them so casually, mistakenly believed that the pressure from the trial by fire had suddenly disappeared. They then subconsciously stepped out, only to be slammed down into the ground or even ejected from the mountain.

"Who is that? He… he's already reached the 700th stair!"

"Heavens! He's almost past 800 stairs! Whenever someone reaches the 1000th stair, a bell tolls, shaking the whole sect!" More and more conversations broke out on the mountain. Meanwhile, Naruto's true self had arrived with Yan'er.

"You… you really aren't my Master?" she asked as they landed outside

Namikaze Mu's residence. When she looked at the majestic and supreme Ninth Paragon, she didn't feel any fear or reverence at all. In fact, she somehow felt familiar with him, which left her very confused.

Almost as soon as the words left her mouth, an ancient-sounding bell tolled out from the Vast Expanse Shrine, filling the Ninth Sect.

Dong….

The sound was clear, ancient, and sonorous, and it instantly attracted the attention of the disciples of the Ninth Sect. The sound of discussions rose up, and Naruto's true self smiled and tousled Yan'er's hair.

"Your Master is challenging the Vast Expanse Shrine. Why don't you go cheer him on?" With that, Naruto's true self turned and vanished.

Yan'er was left gaping in shock. Then, she seemed to recall something in particular, and turned to look toward the Mount Vast Expanse.

"Huh? The old fogey is challenging the Vast Expanse Shrine? Um… isn't that something for young people to do to make a name for themselves? Elite disciples like Elder Brother Bi Yun?" Eyes flickering with disbelief, and heart pounding, she took to flight toward the mountain and the Vast Expanse Shrine.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1458

Chapter 1458: The Long and Broad View

The ancient sound of the bell echoed out through the Ninth Sect. It was like a gust of wind from ancient times, filling the sect, causing the eyes of countless disciples to go wide as they looked in the direction of the mountain peak where the Vast Expanse Shrine was located.

"Someone challenging the Vast Expanse Shrine actually… passed 1,000 stairs!"

"That's not very common. In the past several years, only a few people have done it."

"I wonder who it is? The 1,000 stair bell can lead to a Baptism which gives good fortune. But it will only toll the first time someone reaches that many steps. Therefore, the bell can't be tolling for a current Chosen, only someone new!"

The buzz of conversation rose up everywhere, and yet, it wasn't filled with the sound of shock. After all… it was only a mere 1,000 stairs. Most people were simply curious as to who was making a name for the first time in the sect.

The curiosity soon faded, and everything went quiet. In fact, no one even flew over to the Vast Expanse Shrine to check out the situation other than the few hundred people who were already nearby. And in the Ninth Sect, which had tens of millions of members, a few hundred people… was like nothing.

However, all of the disciples who were below the 1,000 stair mark were completely shocked. All of them had watched as Naruto walked past them onto the steps they had been unable to reach. And then the bell tolled, and they all gasped.

They had no time to wonder who he was, but all of them had the intense premonition that this person… was completely exceptional!

"He's going too fast!"

"I remember watching Elder Brother Bi Yun and some of the others, and they were agile too, but… but they were all people who made it to the top 1,000. Some of them even reached the top 100!"

"This guy… might be able to make it into the top 10,000 in the rankings!" While everyone was shaking in astonishment, Naruto calmly continued on one step at a time. As he moved, he maintained the same pace, moving neither faster nor slower.

1,200 steps. 1,500 steps. He continued to pass other disciples, all of whom stared in shock as he casually walked by.

His relaxed appearance and way of walking caused more gasps to rise up.

1,800 steps…. Soon, he was approaching the 1,999th step!

On that step was a middle-aged cultivator, who stood there, eyes bloodshot, panting. His body trembled as he lifted his foot into the air, using all the strength he could muster, the full power of his cultivation base, to take that next step onto the 2,000th stair.

"You can do it, Xu Liu!" he growled to himself. "All you have to do is step down. Then the bell will toll, and you'll receive the Baptism. Your cultivation base will make some progress, and you'll finally be able to make a name for yourself in the sect!" However, there was a power that seemed to rise up from the ground, making it impossible for him to lower his foot.

At this moment of incredible difficulty, he suddenly realized that there was a young man behind him. He was handsome, and seemed to have no trouble at all as he walked up. He even looked over with a smile.

The middle-aged man stared in shock. Feeling somewhat muddled, he had no chance to even react before Naruto walked past him, stepping onto the 2,000th step and then beyond.

"Impossible!" the man thought, his mind reeling, his face filling with astonishment and shock. He looked at Naruto, and then at his own foot. To him, that step was one of incredible difficulty, and yet this young man had just walked on past it as if it were level ground. The man almost couldn't believe what he had just seen.

Rumbling filled his mind, and his thoughts were thrown into chaos. A massive force pushed against him, making it impossible to make that final step. He staggered backward, looking up at Naruto's retreating back.

It was then that the bell tolled out yet again, this time, twice.

Dong, dong….

The sound echoed out from the Vast Expanse Shrine to fill the entire Ninth Sect, causing widespread astonishment.

The main reason for that was because the time between the first tolling of the bell and the second had been too short, less time than it takes an incense stick to burn!

"What's going on today? How funny. First someone reached the 1,000th step, and then right after that, someone reached 2,000 steps."

"Interesting, interesting. I wonder if someone will reach 3,000 steps next?" Countless people in the Ninth Sect were surprised, but then began to laugh and joke about it. It wasn't that people didn't think about the possibility of a single person causing the bell to toll twice. But when they realized that only enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, they dismissed any such notions.

It seemed to be a complete impossibility. Unless… someone was walking up the steps who qualified to be in the top 1,000 of the Vast Expanse Shrine.

Even Yan'er was shocked as she flew through the air toward the Vast Expanse Shrine. Suddenly, keen anticipation rose up in her heart.

"Could it be… could it be that Master has something to do with the tolling of the bell?" Earlier, she would probably have taken that to be impossible. But now she couldn't shake the feeling that the Ninth Paragon and her Master were very similar. It wasn't that their facial features were exactly the same, but there was something about them, something about their auras, that was almost the same.

Yan'er's heart began to pound. She took out a medicinal pill and consumed it, causing her cultivation base to surge and giving her an added burst of speed.

The two bell tolls caused more disciples to gather. Before, there had been a few hundred, but now there were over a thousand, all of whom were looking up with interest at the Vast Expanse Shrine.

"It's too bad we can't see who it is that passed 1,000 steps, or whoever it was that passed 2,000 steps…. Maybe it's Elder Brother Xu Liu. I remember that, years ago, he got stuck at the 1,999th step!"

"The Vast Expanse Shrine has a total of 100,000 steps. In the first 10,000, a bell will toll for every thousand steps. After that, the bell tolls every 10,000 steps. Then, once you reach 80,000 steps, you'll be listed in the top 3,000, and your name will appear on the Vast Expanse Stele."

"I'm actually hoping to hear that third tolling of the bell." Everyone was talking and laughing, but no one really expected that a third bell toll would occur. But then….

The Vast Expanse Shrine shook, and the mountain shook as a third tolling of the bell… filled the air!

Dong, dong, dong!

A series of three tolls echoed out, along with an ancient aura that buffeted the faces of the onlookers. The surrounding disciples cried out in astonishment, and their eyes went wide. Gasps could be heard as everyone looked up at the Vast Expanse Shrine.

It wasn't just that small group. More disciples in the Ninth Sect turned in their astonishment to look in the direction of the Vast Expanse Shrine.

"A third tolling of the bell!"

"Not even enough time passed for an incense stick to burn!"

"Who could this tolling be for…? How shocking! Three people caused the bell to toll today, one for 1,000 steps, one for 2,000 and one for 3,000…."

In sharp contrast, all of the disciples on the mountain below the 3,000 step mark were certain of what was happening. Their minds reeled, for they knew that it wasn't three people who had caused the bell tolls, it was… a single individual!

In less time than it takes three incense sticks to burn, he passed everyone. He was the one… to cause three tolls of the bell!

"How is this even possible? One incense stick's worth of time, one thousand steps…."

"Something big is happening today!" None of these people felt much like climbing the stairs any more. They were panting as they looked up the staircase, almost as if they could see Naruto… causally climbing up one step after another.

To Naruto, it really was a casual thing. At this point, he had already climbed 3,500 stairs, and so far, hadn't felt any pressure at all. Furthermore, the three tolls of the bell left him tingling with traces of Baptism.

Unfortunately, it was always an incomplete feeling, as if the tolling of the bell hadn't reached the point where it could thoroughly Baptise him.

"Interesting," he thought. "It seems you need multiple tolls of the bell. The best would be to make sure they keep tolling constantly." He moved forward again, but instead of stepping up by a single step, he started taking them three at a time!

His speed tripled, and soon he reached the 3,700th step . Then 3,800. 3,900. 4,000!

He whizzed past all of the cultivators who were between the 3,000th and 4,000th steps. They could hardly believe what they were seeing as a blurred figure raced past them, kicking up a wind.

"Who… who is that?"

Everyone was left with minds spinning as the fourth tolling of the bell rang out!

The sound shook the entire Ninth Sect. More and more cultivators were converging near the mountain. By now, there were several thousand, and the sound of their conversations rose up into the air.

However… before much conversation could take place, a fifth tolling of the bell rang out!

Naruto had increased his speed again! Instead of walking up the stairs three at a time, he was taking them ten at a time! Because of that increased speed, the sixth tolling of the bell rang out, and moments later, the seventh! They were tolling together!

Before the sound of the seventh tolling of the bell faded away, the eighth tolling began…. What a shocking turn of events! Next was the ninth tolling, which shook the whole sect. Then the tenth…. Everyone was staring with wide eyes and slack jaws.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1459

Chapter 1459: You're Namikaze Mu!

Dong, dong, dong, dong…. Dong, dong, dong, dong…. Dong, dong, dong, dong…. The sonorous tolling bell represented something holy, something that would attract widespread envy, and yet at the moment the sound was ringing out as though a mortal were simply pounding on a drum… and doing it as many times as he felt like.

To hear the bell tolling in this fashion was something that had never occurred in the history of the Ninth Sect. Throughout all the years, never had it sounded out so many times in such a short period of time….

"What… what… what is happening? What's going on?! How many people are there causing the bell to toll so many times?"

"But… but how come it seems like it's actually being caused by one person? Otherwise, it would be far too coincidental…. But if it's a single person, that would simply be a violation of common sense. It would make more sense for it to be a coincidence than for it to be caused by one person."

The Ninth Sect was completely and utterly stirred up by what was happening. Virtually all of its cultivators were in flight toward the mountain, whether they were in the Immortal Realm or even the Ancient Realm.

People crowded around, millions of them, even tens of millions. They came from all directions to gather around the Vast Expanse Shrine. Some of them didn't fly over, but sent divine sense out to lock down onto the mountain.

Up in midair, Yan'er looked on with wide eyes. She heard the bell tolling, and saw countless cultivators flying up into the air, and was a bit taken aback. She almost couldn't believe that this was being caused by her Master.

Even more shocked than everyone else were the cultivators beneath 10,000 steps in the trial by fire. They were completely and utterly astonished as they stared up the mountain peak, the sound of the bell ringing in their ears. Their minds were total blanks, and the very same types of questions were buzzing in all of their heads.

"Who is this guy?!"

"He seemed familiar, but I can't seem to place exactly who he is!"

Most people were completely shocked, but there were certain individuals within the Ninth Sect who didn't have much of a reaction at all. Of course, the Elders and the Dao Realm experts weren't surprised, but there was an additional group who were similarly ambivalent. They were the blazing suns of the Ninth Sect, the weakest of whom had placed in the top 10,000 names on the Vast Expanse Shrine.

They didn't care much at all about the commotion. Unless they felt a threat from Namikaze Mu, to them, it was all just a big ruckus.

"Whether it's a single person, or a group, it doesn't matter until they pass 50,000 steps. Before then, it's mostly meaningless."

"Anyone who passes 50,000 steps can be listed in the top 10,000.

Likewise, 80,000 steps puts you in the top 3,000."

"Mount Vast Expanse itself doesn't count for much. It's only when you reach the Vast Expanse Shrine itself that you truly count as Chosen, and can be listed in the top 100!" All of those people had incredible natural talent, and back when they challenged the Vast Expanse Shrine, had caused huge commotions. As such, they took the matter in stride, and in fact, didn't even care.

However, there were a few of them who were slightly curious, so they flew over and began to climb up the mountain. There were actually a few thousand people who did so, their goal being, not to challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine, but to see who exactly it was that was causing the tolling of the bell. Was it a group, or was it… an individual!?

If a group was involved, then it wouldn't matter much. However, if it was an individual, that would be a different story….

Many of the people who had stepped onto the path just now had previously reached a location somewhere beneath 50,000 steps. In their minds, catching up with either a group or an individual would be a simple task.

Naruto was now standing on the 10,000th step, his eyes closed. As the bell tolled out, he experienced a Baptism. To most people, that was a process that would take quite some time, but for him, it only took about ten breaths of time.

After all, he was already equipped with incredible latent talent, so the Baptism was almost like a decoration on something that was already perfect. Although it did benefit him, it wasn't fundamentally shocking.

"Not bad," Naruto thought. "It seems I underestimated this Vast Expanse Shrine." His eyes flickered with anticipation regarding the upcoming bell tolls.

"Well, I should probably move a bit faster then." Smiling, he flickered into motion, this time, each stride took him… 100 steps!

Ten paces, 1,000 steps. Soon, he reached 11,000 steps. 13,000 steps. 15,000 steps. 18,000 steps. And then… 20,000 steps!

To Naruto, 10,000 steps was only 100 paces. However, to the cultivators who were actually participating in that part of the trial by fire, it was like a blast of wind had just swept past them….

When Naruto stepped onto the 20,000th step, two bell tolls could be heard. However, they were different than before, deeper, more ancient, more shocking!

As soon as the sound echoed out, people outside the mountain were astounded.

Of the people charging up the mountain to try to catch up and glimpse the person causing the bell to toll, the fastest was still 10,000 steps away from Naruto. All of those people were shaken, and their eyes were wide with disbelief.

"20,000… 20,000 steps!"

"That was faster than it takes an incense stick to burn! That was… a few dozen breaths of time. How could the bell already be tolling for the 20,000th step!?"

Numerous such cries rose up from the crowd outside the mountain, creating a sound wave that surged out in all directions.

As for Naruto, he was shaking a bit because of the Baptism from the bell toll. His eyes were shining as he sensed that his cultivation base was on the verge of a breakthrough.

He smiled, striding forward once again. 23,000 steps. 27,000 steps. Eventually… 30,000 steps!

The bell tolled, leading to widespread astonishment and shock.

"What… what is going on today? There are so many people making breakthroughs! Hahaha. Ha ha…. How strange…."

The discussion and outcry soon died down, until silence prevailed among the countless cultivators watching the mountain.

They would have to be much more stupid than they were to not understand by this point that it was not a group doing this, but rather… a single individual!

And yet, no one dared to ponder the matter. If the bell really was tolling for a single person, then… that would be a mind-blowing turn of events.

From the beginning until this moment, only enough time had passed for a few incense sticks to burn. If it was a single person, he had used that much time to go from the first step all the way to… step number 30,000! If anyone spoke the words aloud, it would be almost impossible to believe. In the history of the Ninth Sect, it was something that had never happened.

"Maybe it's a mistake. Maybe… something's wrong with the mountain?" "Perhaps it's just a big coincidence, and not a single person…."

The onlookers didn't have to wait for long before the fourth tolling could be heard. Everyone was astonished, and the tolling of the bell caused them to literally shake. Strange gleams could be seen in their eyes, and their minds spun. Yan'er finally arrived at the mountain, her eyes wide and her heart racing.

The tolling for the 40,000th stair echoed out in all directions. The people who had begun to climb the steps in the hope of catching up were now completely dumbfounded, and gave up. By now, their question had been answered.

However, there was one person among that group who didn't give up! Gritting his teeth, he pressed forward.

His speed was actually a bit greater than Naruto's. By the time Naruto reached 45,000 steps, he was at step number 40,000. He was huffing and puffing, for although his limit was somewhere between 45,000 and 48,000 stairs, to speed up 40,000 steps in one shot was not an easy task by any stretch of the imagination.

As of this point, he could just barely make out the image of… a single person about 5,000 steps beyond him. That was absolute confirmation that it wasn't a group who was causing this scene!

When he saw that it was indeed a single person, he gasped, and his mind reeled. Although he, like many of the others racing up the mountain, had asked some of the fellow disciples along the way, and had already been told the truth, he was still left shaken.

To verify the matter with his own eyes left his heart battered with waves of shock. Even as he proceeded onward to try to get a closer look, Naruto passed step number 47,000. Then, ten more paces brought him to 48,000 steps. Another ten paces, and he was at 49,000.

"This… this…." gasped the cultivator behind him, completely shocked. Considering how fast Naruto was going, and how relaxed he seemed, this man had the strong premonition that… the Ninth Sect would soon have a heretofore-unheard of Chosen!

"Who are you?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Naruto stopped in place and looked back, a quizzical expression on his face. Although he didn't say anything, the cultivator got a clear view of his face.

When that happened, a tremor ran through the man. Although other people didn't have a very strong impression of Namikaze Mu, this particular man had been watching when he passed his Tribulation, and as such, he definitely recognized him.

" Namikaze Mu… you're Namikaze Mu!" The shock was so great that his heart trembled and his cultivation base grew unstable. He couldn't keep moving, and rumbling sounds echoed out as he was teleported off of the mountain.

As soon as he appeared outside, he shouted out as loud as he could, in a voice that all of the countless cultivators outside of the mountain could hear.

"I saw him. It's one person, not a group. It's… Namikaze Mu! He's the one who only took ten years to go from mortal to Immortal…. Namikaze Mu! He just went from the first step all the way to step number 50,000, in almost no time at all!"

The man's voice rang out for everyone to hear.

Everyone was nearly struck dumb with shock, even Yan'er. Everyone was now thinking of the name Namikaze Mu.

Countless gasps could be heard, and after a moment, a huge commotion broke out. It was then that… the fifth tolling of the bell could be heard!

Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong, Dong….

Ancient, sonorous, without compare. The bell was shocking to the extreme, and as it echoed out into the sect, and into the hearts of all, it merged with the name they were thinking about, transforming into something beyond incredible!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1460

Chapter 1460: A Smile From the Peak!

By the time the echoing toll of the bell faded away, everyone outside of the mountain was profoundly and deeply shaken by the name Namikaze Mu.

" Namikaze Mu, who went from mortal to Immortal in ten years! The one whose Immortal Tribulation was so shocking that even the Ninth Paragon appeared? That… Namikaze Mu?"

"I can't believe it's him. After he went from mortal to Immortal in only ten years, he vanished without a trace. He hasn't been seen at all in the sect. It's actually him!"

"Back then, people took him to be an incredible Chosen. Now, after twenty years, he appears again! Could it be that he had a cultivation base breakthrough and is in the Ancient Realm now!?"

Everyone was in an uproar as they suddenly recalled Namikaze Mu. All the shocking things he had done back then overlapped with what was happening now, leaving everyone completely shocked.

Even back then, there had been many people who had looked down on him. But now, such derision was pale and feeble, and couldn't stand up at all to the tolling of the bell for the 50,000th step.

In all of the Ninth Sect, there were only about 10,000 who could reach

50,000 steps. That didn't necessarily indicate that their cultivation bases were extremely high; the Vast Expanse Shrine tested a person's potential and overall power. Cultivation base wasn't really important.

In response to the tolling of the bell, Yan'er began to pant, and stare over at the Vast Expanse Shrine, mind a blank. Almost immediately, the cultivators in the area recognized her as Namikaze Mu's apprentice.

One by one they began to look over, and although their expressions seemed the same as they had been moments before, deep within their eyes could be seen flickers of envy and awe. Awe of Yan'er's Master!

Anybody could see that, considering his momentum, Namikaze Mu wouldn't be stopping at 50,000 steps. As for how far he would go in the end… no one could say at the moment.

Even as the bell tolled for the 50,000th step, many cultivators who occupied the top 10,000 spots in the Ninth Sect emerged from secluded meditation and headed toward the mountain.

Before reaching the 50,000th stair, Namikaze Mu was on a lower level than them. But now, they could sense a threat, and thus, a stream of people began to arrive.

"Look, it's Elder Brother Chen Zhan! He's in the top 10,000!"

"Elder Brother Liu Yun is here!"

"It's Elder Sister Sun Luo…." Everyone in the area was buzzing with conversation regarding the numerous extraordinary and illustrious figures from the Ninth Sect who were showing up.

As they appeared, the surrounding cultivators would back away to give them space, making them very easy to spot within the crowd.

At the same time, Naruto stood on the stairs on the mountain, well aware of the commotion that must be underway outside. Smiling, and not caring a bit, he immersed himself in the Baptism from the tolling of the bell. Inside of him, his cultivation base was now only a hair away from a breakthrough.

However, that was of only secondary importance. Of even greater significance was that the sealing mark of the Ninth Hex, which he had been working on from his first day in the sect, was becoming clearer and clearer.

After ten breaths of time passed, he opened his eyes and proceeded along. This time, he moved even faster than before, as if the pressure from the mountain wasn't affecting him at all.

55,000 steps. 58,000 steps. Then, he passed 60,000, and without even a pause, he flew like the wind until he reached 62,000 steps. He whistled along, getting higher and higher. By the time the bell began to toll for the 60,000th stair, he was at the 63,000th stair. As he began to vibrate inwardly, he chuckled and increased his speed. Soon he was on the 67,000th stair, and then a huge leap took him directly to… the 70,000th stair.

It was only when he landed on that stair that the bell from the 60,000th stair ended, followed immediately by the bell for the 70,000th stair, creating a combined thirteen tolls of the bell. The entire Ninth Sect was shaken, and even the blazing suns of the sect who were in the audience wore expressions of utter astonishment.

It must be stated that when the tolling bells from the later 10,000 stairs combined, it was completely different from the combined tolling of bells in the first 10,000 set of stairs. The difference was like the difference between Heaven and Earth!

As the bell tolls combined, everyone was shaken, and not just the people in the vicinity of the mountain itself. All of the Chosen who had a spot in the top 3,000 on the Vast Expanse Shrine were astonished. Everyone began to rush over to the mountain, even Dao Realm cultivators. The only exceptions were the people in the top 100.

More people streamed over to the vicinity of the Vast Expanse Shrine, where a hubbub of conversation rose up into the sky.

"I can't believe this Namikaze Mu is so inhuman! He actually connected the tolling of the bells!"

"How did he even do it? There are 10,000 steps between the 60,000 and

70,000 mark. That level of speed is unbelievable."

Even as the sound of shocked conversations rose up, the stone stele at the bottom of the mountain glittered with bright light. Everyone looked over with mixed expressions as the very last name, the name in the 3,000th spot, was wiped away, vanishing forever… to be replaced by another name!

The 3,000th place was now occupied by Namikaze Mu!

Although the name was small, and in very last place, the fact that it was even there led to a huge commotion.

Yan'er was trembling, her eyes shining with delight. When she saw her Master's name on the stone stele, she began to dance with joy. As far as she could remember, this was the happiest moment in her life, and the most exciting, exceeding even the moment in which she had been saved by the Ninth Paragon.

By now, she had almost forgotten about Elder Brother Bi Yun.

Yan'er's eyes shone with anticipation, and her mood soared. "Who cares about the top 3,000? My Master can definitely get into the top 100!"

At the same time, more and more people were arriving in the area. They looked at the stone stele, then up at the Vast Expanse Shrine. These were all Chosen whose names were listed on the stone stele, and their appearance on the scene caused the other cultivators in the vicinity of the mountain to become even more excited than before.

"Gu Tianyi. Shao Minghao. Guo Tenglong. Han Ruonan…."

"I can't believe they're all here…."

Even as everyone made shocked exclamations, a handsome young man in a green robe appeared. His expression was cold, and his appearance perfect in every aspect.

The young female disciples in the area were instantly thrown into excitement.

"Elder Brother Bi Yun!"

This young man was extremely famous in the Ninth Sect. He had climbed all of the steps on the mountain, and had even entered the Vast Expanse Shrine itself…. Bi Yun.

Even Yan'er suddenly started to feel conflicted.

Naruto didn't care about what was happening outside the mountain. His expression was calm as he proceeded onward. Furthermore, his speed didn't reduce at all. He went even faster than before!

The pressure was increasing compared to below, but to Naruto, it was negligible. Now, instead of taking the steps 100 at a time, it was 500!

One pace, three paces, ten paces… twenty paces!

The next spot he appeared was at the 80,000th step. The bell tolled again, and yet Naruto didn't stop moving. Now, a single pace carried him 1,000 steps. Ten paces later, he was on the 90,000th step.

From there, he could look down at the entirety of the Ninth Sect and its swirling clouds. The pressure here was intense, to the point where Naruto was finally feeling some of its effects.

There was even a bit of sweat visible on his forehead.

"Now this is more like it," he said, smiling. "Otherwise it would have been too simple. Meaningless really." His eyes shone with a bright gleam. As the bell tolled, he took a deep breath, and once again increased his speed. One pace took him 2,000 steps!

He was flying upward!

Rumbling could be heard with each step. 92,000 steps. Another pace, and he was at 94,000. The Baptism from the tolling bell continued, and the fluctuations of his cultivation base grew more intense. A third pace put him at 96,000 steps.

Another step, and he was at 98,000….

Naruto was now only 2,000 steps from the top of the mountain. He could see the enormous tower that was the Vast Expanse Shrine, and he could see the sky stretching out above it. Below, the other mountains in the sect almost looked small. At the same time, the sealing mark of the Seal the Heavens Hex was becoming more complete.

"After these final 2,000 steps, will I qualify to enter the Vast Expanse Shrine?" His expression was calm as he lifted his foot up. When he put it down, he had crossed the final 2,000 steps, and was at the peak of the mountain!

100,000 steps!

Naruto's trip from the 1st step to the 100,000th was an unprecedented miracle in the Ninth Sect. Furthermore, the total amount of time he used didn't even exceed five incense sticks' worth of time!

It was at this point that Namikaze Mu's name rose rapidly up the stone stele. It went from 3,000th place to 2,500. Then 2,000. Then 1,000. Then 500, 400, 300, 200….

In the end, it appeared in… 100th place!

The speed with which it rose ensured that Namikaze Mu was now a legend!

The bell tolled, shaking Heaven and Earth. The Baptism effect on him was intense, filling his body. Also, for the first time, the group outside the mountain could actually see Naruto standing there outside the Vast Expanse Shrine.

He wore a long robe, which fluttered in the mountain breeze along with his hair. He seemed to have his eyes closed, and he looked every bit like an Immortal!

There was no hubbub of conversation, no cries of shock. There were only gasps as countless eyes… came to focus on that figure atop the mountain.

Naruto was now someone who would exist eternally within the memories of the people from the Ninth Sect.

Finally, the Baptism was over, and he opened his eyes. He looked down at the crowd which had gathered, and apparently he saw Yan'er. Even as she stood there in her excitement, Naruto's gaze softened. Smiling warmly, he waved at her.

His gaze, his smile, and his wave, were things that everyone in the crowd could see. Almost instantly, all eyes shifted from Naruto to Yan'er.

Her face flushed a bit. This was the first time she had ever been stared at by so many people, and it caused her heart to begin to thump. At the same time, an unfamiliar emotion rose up inside of her, almost like something which had existed in a previous life that was now awakening.

A strange look could be seen in her eyes as she looked at Naruto, an indescribable brightness. At the same time, her heart began to pound even faster.

After a long moment, she cleared her throat. Face red, she muttered to herself, "Er, the old fogey sure doesn't act like an old man at all. He really knows how to please the girls."

The sun shone radiantly, and when it combined with Naruto's gaze, it became…

A warmth which could pierce through to previous lives.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1461

Chapter 1461: Vast Expanse Shrine! 1

By now, virtually all of the disciples in the Ninth Sect were looking at the man standing at the very top of the mountain, in front of the Vast Expanse Shrine.

He looked like a celestial spirit standing there, robe fluttering in the wind, a warm smile on his face. It was a simple, warm smile, nothing more, and when he looked away from Yan'er, his gaze came to rest… on the Vast Expanse Shrine.

Although it was called a shrine, it was actually a huge tower with a total of ten levels.

In all of the Ninth Sect, only the disciples who reached this point on the mountain could qualify to be listed in the top 100 of the Vast Expanse Shrine.

Each one of those hundred cultivators were thoroughly famous within their sects. In fact, they were also well known among people in the other sects as well.

After all… in the Vast Expanse School, there were a total of nine Vast Expanse Shrines. In some ways, it could be said that those who made it into the top 100 on one of those nine shrines were actually within the top 1,000 of the entire Vast Expanse School.

In a sect with such a vast number of disciples, to be within the top 1,000… made one truly Chosen!

Therefore, when Namikaze Mu's name appeared among the top 100, the entire Ninth Sect was shaken. Countless individuals were paying close attention, and many had eyes shining with envy and passion. Chosen, as long as they didn't perish at some point, were destined to become pillars of the Vast Expanse School. Not only were they incredibly important to the sect, they were the type of figure others didn't dare to provoke.

As for Naruto, he had done something visibly different from the average Chosen. He had established a legend, having reached the top 100 in such a short time. Countless individuals within the sect were very curious about how far he would actually go in the end.

The area around the mountain was completely silent. No one cried out. All eyes were fixed on Naruto as he flicked his sleeve, turned, and strode toward the main door of the tower that was the Vast Expanse Shrine. When he reached it, he stretched out his hand and pushed.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the door opened. Without the slightest hesitation, Naruto stepped into the first level of the Vast Expanse Shrine.

The Vast Expanse Shrine. It was a huge tower with ten levels, each one of which represented ten names. The amount of time spent within each of those levels would determine one's ranking on the list.

In almost the same moment that he stepped into the first level, brilliant light glittered, and he looked out to see a world stretching out in front of him. The sky was crimson, and the land was actually a sea of flames.

An intense pressure crushed down onto him, something so powerful that it seemed capable of crushing anything and everything. However, Naruto didn't seem to be affected very much at all. Although his divine sense and his soul felt incredible pressure, and he trembled, when he looked up at the crimson sky, his eyes shone with a bright light.

"It seems the first level of the Vast Expanse Shrine tests a person's willpower and tenacity. There is no pressure on the body, only the soul." Even as he stood there thoughtfully, the pressure suddenly exploded in intensity. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out, as the mounting pressure tried to force Naruto to submit.

He smiled. In terms of cultivation base, this clone of his couldn't be considered spectacular, but in terms of willpower… in all of Planet Vast Expanse, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who could match Naruto's tenacious willpower.

His willpower had been forged within the Mountain and Sea Realm, and then had grown to new heights because of its destruction. He had experienced a complete transformation when defending the Mountains and Seas against the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. After all of his countless years of cultivation and other experiences, he had made shocking progress.

If he hadn't developed an incredible willpower throughout his life, he would long since have been destroyed. Now, standing here in the first level of this tower, even if the pressure were increased by a hundredfold, it wouldn't be anything more than a gentle breeze to him.

At the most, it might stir his hair, or cause his mind to shiver a bit.

Amidst the rumbling, the pressure intensified, and something like an enraged roar echoed out in all directions.

"Kneel!" the voice roared. Power slammed onto Naruto, but his only reaction was to smile derisively. Disdain flickered in his eyes, and Immortal Chakra erupted out of him as he took a step forward and waved his sleeve.

"You'll be kneeling to me!" he growled. His willpower exploded out, the combination of everything from his third and fourth lives creating a Heaven-defying pressure that erupted out, causing the first level to shake.

Wild colors flashed, the wind screamed, and rumbling echoed out in all directions. In the short time it took Naruto to wave his sleeve, everything trembled so violently that the pressure was incapable of fighting back against his willpower and divine sense, and began to retreat.

Naruto took another step forward, and then another. Without pausing, he walked forward, his mental faculties growing stronger. Simultaneously, the pressure in the area grew weaker. By the time he took a ninth step, the situation was completely reversed, and instead of the pressure crushing down onto Naruto, he was crushing it!

This was the first time anything like this had ever occurred in the first level of the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine. In the past, people had to endure for a set period of time to be able to pass into the next level.

But today… something entirely different was happening!

It was a dazzling scene as Naruto's willpower and tenacity filled the entire level, crushing the pressure and forcing it to submit to him.

In the end, he was like the lord of the entire level. His footfall could flatten Heaven and Earth, and finally, the pressure completely vanished!

The illusory world around him collapsed, and the entrance to the second level appeared in front of him.

Meanwhile, on the stone stele outside the mountain, the name Namikaze Mu rose up to 90th place, passing Bi Yun, much to the astonishment of people in the audience.

"Too… too fast!" Bi Yun blurted in disbelief. He wasn't the only person to react in such a way. Many other disciples in the top 100 had expressions of astonishment on their faces.

They knew how terrifying the first level was, which only served to increase their shock.

The disciples who had challenged the Vast Expanse Shrine in the past were already starting to speculate about what was happening. "There's only one way he could do it so fast!" someone said. "He's–"

Before the sentence could be completed, radiant light began to emanate from the first level.

"First Heaven! The First Heaven is appearing!"

"I know that light! According to the stories, anyone who can create a legend in the Vast Expanse Shrine will cause the First Heaven to appear!" The dazzling light which spread out seemed to replace the Heavens themselves, causing cries of shock to rise up from the cultivators outside of the mountain.

Even in ancient times, there was a legend related to the Vast Expanse Shrine. In any particular level, if a person could do something completely unheard-of, and reach the absolute pinnacle of a given level, then a radiant light would appear which represented… the light of Heaven!

Depending on the level involved, there were the First through the Tenth Heavens!

From ancient times until the present, it was uncommon for the First Heaven to appear. As for people who reached the Second Heaven, they were very rare, and when it came to the Third Heaven, there had only been nine people throughout the history of the Ninth Sect who had succeeded.

As for the Fourth Heaven… only two people had ever succeeded, and the Fifth Heaven… remained unseen throughout the entire long history of the Ninth Sect!

Now that the First Heaven had appeared, everyone in the Ninth Sect was boiling with excitement.

There were Dao Realm experts who appeared to bear witness; elders of the Ninth Sect, and Dao Lords showed their faces.

There were even Dao Sovereigns who flew over to the Vast Expanse Shrine.

Naruto stood there for a moment on the first level of the Vast Expanse Shrine, then stepped forward into the second level.

In that instant, he entered yet another new world, within which existed nothing more than a huge spell formation.

"Light up the spell formation," a voice said. "Anyone who finishes within the time it takes an incense stick to burn will rise to the third level."

Naruto sat down cross-legged, a thoughtful expression on his face. Almost as soon as he did, his cultivation base began to rotate rapidly, and his divine sense exploded out. His arteries and veins began to shine with crystalline light.

This level tested latent talent; lighting up the spell formation quickly required incredible latent talent. As for Naruto's latent talent… that came from how his true self had re-moulded his body with the bronze lamp. It wasn't even necessary to talk about how good or bad his latent talent was. This was the Vast Expanse School, and as far as Naruto could tell, his bronze lamp originally belonged to Patriarch Vast Expanse.

In other words, after being re-moulded by the bronze lamp, the latent talent of the clone he had subsequently created would be little different than that of Patriarch Vast Expanse himself.

Using Patriarch Vast Expanse's latent talent to complete a trial by fire in the Vast Expanse School was essentially… like cheating!

Almost in the same moment that Naruto sat down, the spell formation lit up with bright light, and began to rumble.

From the time the Vast Expanse Shrine had been created until this time, nothing like this had ever happened. The spell formation was shining with incredible brightness!

Rumbling echoed out as the crowd outside saw brilliant dazzling light shining out from the second level. It was none other than… the Second Heaven!

It combined with the light from the First Heaven, creating a completely shocking spectacle.

"The Second Heaven! I can't believe… the Second Heaven has actually appeared!"

"No, no way! It happened too fast. How could he possibly have lit up the entire spell formation on the second level so quickly!?"

"What… what kind of latent talent does he have? How is this happening? Even if he has Superlative latent talent, he shouldn't be able to go that fast. It's like… he's cheating or something!" The group gathered near the mountain peak, all of whom were in the top 100, were in a complete uproar. As their voices rang out, more and more disciples were thrown into a commotion.

The Dao Realm experts and the sect Elders, even the Dao Sovereign, were all completely and utterly shocked.

Yes, this is the exact same chapter title as 1457 ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1462

Chapter 1462: Establishing a Legend!

Naruto really was cheating. On the first level, he had relied on his willpower and mental faculties. Considering the experiences of his true self, there was virtually nothing that could surpass him in terms of that.

On the second level, he had also cheated. The test was of latent talent, or essentially, whether or not one was fundamentally suited to cultivate the techniques of the Vast Expanse School. As a matter of fact, what the Vast Expanse School considered to be Superlative latent talent, might not be considered so by other sects in the outside world.

That truth was the case everywhere. In different sects and schools, in different Realms and worlds, so-called latent talent was really just a measure of how suitable a person was to cultivate certain techniques.

Within the Vast Expanse School, the latent talent of Patriarch Vast Expanse… would naturally be the absolute, optimal latent talent!

Heaven and Earth rumbled as boundless light from two Heavens radiated out, to the uproar of the crowd. Naruto rose to his feet, coughing dryly, and yet feeling not the slightest bit of shame as he headed to the third level.

He hadn't been in the third level for very long when the entire place began to shine with dazzling light, which transformed into the Third Heaven. Before the tumult could die down in the crowd, the Fourth Heaven rumbled out.

Next was the Fifth Heaven, the Sixth and the Seventh. Naruto was truly forging a legend. Outside the mountain, the crowd was boiling with excitement, including ordinary Dao Realm experts, Dao Lords, and even Dao Sovereigns.

"This is unheard-of! This Namikaze Mu… is breaking all the records!"

"This is the first time a cultivator from our Ninth Sect has ever summoned the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Heavens!"

"What do you guys think, is it possible that he'll… do something that's never been done in the entire Vast Expanse School, and summon… the Tenth Heaven?!"

Keen anticipation filled the hearts of the audience. After all, no one in the Ninth Sect had ever even summoned the Fifth Heaven in the Vast Expanse Shrine.

However, even though the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine was only one of several within the Vast Expanse School as a whole, there were others who had summoned the Fifth Heaven, and even the Sixth and Seventh Heavens. As for the Eighth Heaven, the number who had succeeded was miniscule, but they did exist.

And then there was the Ninth Heaven. Years ago, there had indeed been one person who had summoned it.

But as for that Tenth Heaven, it was completely unheard-of. In the entire history of the Vast Expanse School, it had never been seen!

The sound of the uproar echoed out, to the point that even the 7Essences Paragon who kept watch over the Vast Expanse Shrine was visibly moved, and flew out in midair to observe.

A blank look could be seen in Yan'er's eyes. Her Master was shaking the entire world, something she almost couldn't believe, almost didn't dare to believe.

As the seven Heavens cast brilliant light into the sky, Naruto was slowly proceeding along into the eighth level. The third through seventh levels mostly tested aspects relating to latent talent in cultivation. Some of those tests looked at the blood itself, others looked at the blood vessels and arteries. Whatever the case, Naruto only had to step into the level to instantly do something which had never been done!

Any other result would have been impossible… him appearing in the trial by fire was almost the same as Patriarch Vast Expanse showing up. How could he not do the impossible, and complete the level perfectly?

On the stone stele, Namikaze Mu's name continued to rise until it was in the top 30!

All of the Chosen whom he had passed up were able to tell how easily he had swept past them. Their records were crushed as easily as dried weeds, as if they weren't even on the same level as him.

As for all of the disciples who still ranked above him, they were normally people who acted superior and mighty. But now, they were sitting there nervously. Even the people in the top 10 had ill premonitions bubbling within them.

After reaching the eighth level, Naruto slowed down a bit. It was now taking a bit of effort to make progress. By this point, the Vast Expanse Shrine was testing one's overall level of power. As for Naruto's clone, his weakest aspect was his cultivation base, which still hadn't left the Immortal Realm.

Virtually everyone in the top 10,000 were in the Ancient Realm; Naruto was definitely the only cultivator in the top 30 who wasn't.

Furthermore, all those other people were at the peak Ancient realm, and some were even on the verge of breaking through to the Dao Realm!

However, the Vast Expanse Shrine had no Dao Realm experts in the rankings. It was a test only for disciples under the Dao Realm. Generally speaking, the test for people like that was the Transcendence Path.

Only a few people challenged that trial by fire who weren't in that Realm.

Within the eighth level, Naruto looked up into a starry sky, within which could be seen countless red-eyed shadows charging toward him violently.

Close examination revealed that the shadows all had threads attached to them; apparently, they were all puppets under the control of someone else.

The requirement of this test not to simply slaughter the enemy, but rather to seek out whoever was controlling the puppets, and kill that person.

Without doing that, the cultivator would be overwhelmed by the huge amount of foes, and would then be forced to wipe them out by means of slaughter. Of course, with a sufficient cultivation base, that was always an option.

In fact, this test actually placed a high priority on cultivation base. All of the shadows were at the peak of the Immortal Realm, and after looking them over, Naruto quickly identified which one was in control, but could also tell that his cultivation base wasn't sufficient to ensure a kill.

Time seemed to slow down, and Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light. He knew that he had most likely reached his limit, and yet wasn't willing to just give up.

"Well, since that's the case, I might as well tackle my Ancient Tribulation right here. I'll go from the Immortal Realm into the Ancient, and see if I can take 1st place!" Without the slightest hesitation, he backed up. His eyes closed briefly, then opened again, and it was as if the world were exploding.

Rumbling sounds echoed out from him as his Immortal meridians began to explode. His cultivation base rose up, and the air of the Ancient Realm began to rise up within him.

As he started to transform, and his cultivation base aura began to rise; everything was shaking violently. At the same time, he shot forward like lightning to appear in front of one of the shadows, whereupon he shoved his palm out violently.

A boom could be heard as the shadow shattered. In that instant, all of the other shadows faded, as though the trial of this level were about to vanish.

But then, Naruto made a slight exclamation of surprise. According to his divine sense, there was actually another person within the shadows, controlling them…. As it turned out, there wasn't one person controlling them, but rather, two.

"A test hidden within the test, huh?" Without the slightest hesitation, he flickered into motion, appearing in front of another of the shadows. His palm launched out, and the shadow shattered. The other shadows were already mostly transparent, and now they seemed to be on the verge of vanishing. However, it was at that point that Naruto suddenly waved his finger out in front of him.

A blast of wind shot out, slamming into one of the fading shadows some distance away, completely exterminating it!

In that instant, Naruto frowned as he realized that the number of individuals controlling the shadows had once again increased. It turned out there were now more than eight!

At the same time, the surrounding figures, including the controllers, were all rapidly vanishing. There didn't seem to be enough time to kill them all. Naruto's eyes flickered, and without the slightest hesitation he suddenly took in a deep breath, then performed a double-handed incantation gesture and pointed out.

It was none other than Demon Sealing Hexing magic! He was unleashing the Fourth Hex… the Self Hex!

Almost instantly, bizarre fluctuations began to spread out from Naruto. A ghost image rose up, and a second version of himself walked forward. Then a third, and a fourth, and a fifth…

In the blink of an eye, ten million incarnations of Naruto appeared. There were men and women, old and young, and they all looked somewhat different, and yet they were all Naruto!

This was the Self Hex, and as soon as it was unleashed, the countless versions of Naruto launched themselves toward the eight puppet controllers, cutting them down. Almost immediately, twelve new controllers appeared.

Slaughter ensued. In a short period of time, Naruto killed so many puppet controllers that he lost count. Eventually, the world faded away completely, and the eighth level was over.

Naruto's Self Hex faded away, and his incarnations vanished. He stood there in the middle of the eighth level, his cultivation base continuing to rise as his Immortal meridians began to transform into Immortal Soul Lamps.

The Immortal Soul Lamps didn't appear outside of him, but rather inside his body.

He took a deep breath, eyes flickering as he murmured, "That eighth level was incredible."

He now understood that the eighth level's test was a complex one. It tested one's cultivation base and divine sense, as well as one's judgement and observation. Not only did one have to identify the numerous controllers amidst the vast crowd, but then one actually had to kill them.

That was the way to pass the level, but in order to reach the absolute peak of perfection, one needed speed and instinct.

That was something Naruto couldn't actually do on his own, and had been forced to rely on the Self Hex to accomplish.

"I underestimated the Vast Expanse Shrine," he said, looking up toward the ninth level with anticipation.

It was at this point that brilliant light began to shine out from the eighth level. On the outside, all of the cultivators could now see… the Eighth Heaven!

The Ninth Sect was in a complete uproar, and was unprecedentedly shaken. From Paragons to ordinary disciples, tens of millions of people were all shouting out in excitement.

As for the Chosen in the top 20, they couldn't help but chuckle bitterly. After seeing the Eighth Heaven, they understood the grand splendor it represented. They already knew that they were all destined to fall by one spot in the rankings.

Step by step, Naruto was on the verge of creating… a shocking legend within the Vast Expanse School!

And that legend hinged on… the Ninth Heaven!

If Naruto pulled it off, and the Ninth Heaven appeared, then all of the nine sects in the Vast Expanse School would ring their bells to fill Planet Vast Expanse with the sound of their tolling.

That was… the most supreme of honors!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1463

Chapter 1463 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1463: Seal the Heavens Hex!

At the same time that the crowds in the Ninth Sect were in an excited uproar, clouds began to gather in the sky up above. Soon, everything was covered over by the thick, black clouds.

Because of the brilliant light being cast out by the eight Heavens, it was initially difficult to spot them. However, the most powerful experts among the cultivators could sense an intense pressure building up in Heaven and Earth.

Soon, that sensation grew more obvious, and people began to look up. That was when their expressions began to flicker.

"That's… Lightning Tribulation!"

"What kind of Tribulation is that? It's so huge…."

"It makes me think of the Immortal Tribulation Elder Brother Namikaze Mu went through back then. I wonder if this Tribulation Lightning… is here for him?" Shocked cries could be heard as the black cloud layers rapidly grew thicker and larger. In the blink of an eye, they had covered the entire Ninth Sect, and were growing larger by the moment.

Yan'er hadn't been there to watch her Master's Immortal Tribulation, but she was shaken nonetheless. Not only could she overhear the conversations of the people around her, she could also sense that the clouds contained a terrifying aura of some sort.

The Dao Realm experts, the Dao Lords, Dao Sovereigns, and even the 7Essences Paragon, all looked on with very serious expressions. If the current situation had begun to play out before the appearance of the Eighth Heaven, they wouldn't have paid it much heed. Namikaze Mu's life or death would have been up to fate.

But now, with the Eighth Heaven there shining brightly, Namikaze Mu's status and importance far exceeded what they had before. He was no longer just an Inner Sect disciple of one of the subdivisions. He had the potential to become the Legacy disciple of the entire Ninth Sect. He was on the verge of establishing an unheard-of legend within the Vast Expanse School, and was also about to send the Ninth Sect rocketing to fame.

The Dao Realm experts, the Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns, and even the reclusive 7-Essences Paragon, would not be willing to allow Tribulation Lightning to interfere with a disciple like that.

The 7-Essences Paragon snorted and shot forward, followed by the Dao Sovereigns. The Dao Lords and other Dao Realm experts also flew out. This rather large group of powerful experts all unleashed their cultivation base power; shockingly, they were attempting to help Naruto disperse the Tribulation Lightning.

Black clouds seethed, and lightning bolts began to fall. Even as they shot toward the Vast Expanse Shrine, the 7-Essences Paragon waved his sleeve to disperse them.

The Tribulation seemed enraged, and in the blink of an eye, hundreds of bolts of lightning began to descend. Then thousands. They were like a lake of lightning spreading out in all directions.

Meanwhile, back in the Vast Expanse Shrine, Naruto was speeding along into the ninth level. As soon as he entered, he looked around to find himself surrounded by countless stone steles of varying sizes. All of them were inscribed with lines of text and magical symbols.

On the first stone stele he examined closely, he found a complete magical technique. Upon further inspection of the level, he found that the stone steles here were covered with numerous types of magic, over a million in total. Furthermore, there in front of Naruto was one particular stone stele which was completely blank.

There was no need to spend time in thought. Naruto instantly understood what this ninth level tested. It tested… creativity!

The requirement was to create a divine ability or magical technique, and inscribe it onto the blank stone stele. Based on the power of that magic, one would be assigned a rank in the ninth level.

As Naruto's divine sense spread out, the Immortal Soul Lamps began to ignite inside of him. Both in terms of the number of lamps, and the process with which they appeared, they were completely different than the Soul Lamps his true self had possessed.

As that occurred, his cultivation base rose. Taking a deep breath, Naruto sent his divine sense into the surrounding stone steles, examining them and seeking enlightenment. After a moment, his heart trembled.

"Creating a divine ability wouldn't be difficult at all for me. However, nothing I created would be very useful. It would be better to use this place to perfect… the Seal the Heavens Hex!" His eyes glittered as he sat down cross-legged. After closing his eyes, he once again sent his divine sense out into the surrounding stone steles to seek enlightenment of the various techniques therein, and using bits of what he learned to add to the Seal the Heavens Hex.

As that happened, the Seal the Heavens Hex trembled and grew clearer, and at the same time, became more complicated and resplendent. As he continued to seek enlightenment and perform augury calculations, the Seal the Heavens Hex reached greater heights of perfection.

Gradually, an intense aura began to emanate out from him, a powerful aura that could shake Heaven and Earth. It was aggressive, so much so that it seemed capable of sealing the Heavens!

Incomparably domineering!

Despite being wrapped up in seeking enlightenment, he was somewhat able to detect the lightning outside of the Vast Expanse Shrine. Shockingly, there were now tens of thousands of bolts of Tribulation Lighting exploding out to rock Heaven and Earth, and yet, they were summarily blasted away by the 7-Essences Paragon and the others.

Something like a bellow of rage could be heard from within the black clouds as more than a hundred million lightning bolts shot down. It was like an explosion of lightning that caused the faces of the onlookers to flicker with shock.

Within the Vast Expanse Shrine, Naruto shuddered slightly. As his enlightenment progressed, the Seal the Heavens Hex grew more complete. It was now more complex than before, and at the same time, more perfect.

It was at this point that Naruto suddenly realized that although his original attempt at the Ninth Hex had been interfered with by Allheaven, the truth was that what he had thought to be the perfect version of the Hex at that time was actually not so perfect.

Now, with the constant additions and adjustments he was making, a perfect version of the Seal the Heavens Hex was taking shape that was completely different from the previous one.

It was impossible to say how much time passed, but soon, rumbling sounds filled Naruto as the sealing mark of the Seal the Heavens Hex finally reached a state of perfection. However, it was only an outline, not complete. Just when Naruto assumed that this would be enough, he suddenly saw lines spreading out within the outline. Unexpectedly… something else was forming inside of him… a second version of the Seal the Heavens Hex!

This sudden development left Naruto shaken. He once again sought enlightenment, focusing fully on the Seal the Heavens Hex. By drawing upon the more than one million perfect techniques around him, he was quickly able to identify the full shape of the sealing mark of the second Seal the Heavens Hex.

Although the shape seemed the same as before, there were certain tiny details that were different. Apparently… one sealing mark was not enough to complete the perfect version. Two were required! But then he realized that two was actually not enough, as… a third appeared!

Next was a fourth, a fifth, a sixth…. Naruto's mind was reeling, and excitement flooded him as he watched the Seal the Heavens Hex continuously transforming and rising to a higher level!

When the seventh version appeared, Naruto assumed it would be enough. But then came the eighth, and finally the ninth. Naruto's mind was spinning, and he was panting as he looked at the nine outlines of sealing marks.

Those nine sealing marks were the Seal the Heavens Hex!

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he took a deep breath. He looked at the blank stone stele, eyes glittering, then raised his hand and placed the first sealing mark down upon it.

The stone stele trembled, and radiant light erupted out. From the feeling it gave off, it seemed like the absolute pinnacle.

Naruto stared in shock. He had only placed one of the nine sealing marks onto the stone stele, and yet the ninth level… had seemingly reached the pinnacle.

Naruto suddenly sensed a Paragon aura, and gasped.

"Paragon magic…." he murmured. "These sealing marks are a Paragon magic!"

After a moment of thought, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture. Without a moment of hesitation, he used divine will to send the second sealing mark onto the stone stele, which caused it to tremble violently.

Within that trembling, Naruto could clearly see that the two sealing marks were fusing together, and that the will of a Paragon was growing more intense. A boom echoed out as an incredibly powerful aura erupted out from the stone stele.

It felt like divine ability that was even more like a Paragon magic than before!

As the divine ability appeared, there was a huge crash as the million surrounding stone steles began to crack. Then, to Naruto's wide-eyed shock, all of them exploded!

It was as if they had destroyed themselves.

Apparently… in the face of such a matchless divine ability, all of the other divine abilities and magical techniques initiated self-destruction rather than remain in its presence!

Furthermore… that was only the fusion of two of the sealing marks. Looking excitedly at the stone stele, Naruto sent more divine will into the palm of his hand, then reached out and placed the third sealing mark onto the stone stele.

In that instant, it fused with the others, whereupon a terrifying aura exploded out that would strike fear into the heart of anyone who felt it.

That aura contained a sensation of deadly crisis, an indescribably terrifying power that the stone stele simply couldn't handle. A boom could be heard as the only remaining stone stele… cracked, and then exploded!

It couldn't withstand the power of a mere three fused sealing marks!

One sealing mark made a Paragon magic!

Two sealing marks destroyed millions of stone steles!

Three sealing marks were so majestic that the testing stone steles of the ninth level couldn't handle it and exploded!

Naruto shot to his feet, trembling, his eyes flickering with excitement. Then he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"I can't fully unleash it now, and can only make imprints with divine will, even still… when I combine those nine sealing marks into one, then the Ninth Hex will appear, and I will be able to fully utilize it!" He finally had his direction, and knew what to do. He had to fill in the outlines of all nine sealing marks.

As of this moment, his foray into the Vast Expanse Shrine had resulted in unprecedented gains.

At the same time that he rose to his feet, the ninth level of the Vast Expanse Shrine erupted with dazzling light that was instantly visible on the outside. Everyone could see that above the Eighth Heaven was… the Ninth Heaven!

Nine Heavens astonished and shocked everything in the world!

A bell began to toll which was profoundly more ancient and sonorous than anything from before. At the same time, in the Eighth Sect on the eighth continent, another shocking toll could be heard!

The cultivators there were still reeling from the events involving Naruto shortly before, and when they heard the sound of the bells, their jaws dropped.

Simultaneously, in the Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second… and First Sects, in all of the nine sects of the Vast Expanse School, the sound of ancient tolling bells could be heard. Nine bells rang out, filling the Vast Expanse School, and also Planet Vast Expanse!

The hearts of countless cultivators were shaken, and numerous powerful experts were astonished. Everyone was wondering what exactly was happening.

Soon, that shocking bell toll swept out to fill even the most remote corners of the Vast Expanse School….

Chapter 1463: Seal the Heavens Hex!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1464

Chapter 1464: Tolling in Nine Sects!

As of this moment, all nine of the Vast Expanse School sects on Planet

Vast Expanse were echoing with the tolling of bells. All cultivators in the Vast Expanse School were completely shaken, and in fact, even cultivators who weren't disciples, but happened to be visiting Planet Vast Expanse, could hear the ancient and sonorous toll.

"What's happening!?"

"Wait a second… bells are tolling in the Vast Expanse School, and they sound very serious. There's something extraordinary happening…."

As Planet Vast Expanse was shaken, there were still only a few people who had realized that the tolling of the bells was actually coming from all nine of the great sects that made up the Vast Expanse School.

But then, an ice-cold and completely emotionless voice spoke out to fill the First Sect, the Second Sect… and in fact, all of the sects, all the way to the Ninth Sect. The entire Vast Expanse School was filled with the same voice!

"Ninth Sect. Namikaze Mu. Ninth Heaven!"

Only six words were spoken!

However, those six words were like an enormous, invisible hand pushing down onto the Vast Expanse School from above. All of the nine sects seemed as quiet as death.

After a few breaths of time passed, just when it seemed the crowds couldn't be more suppressed by the pressure, a huge commotion rose up, a clamor, a hubbub that filled the entire Vast Expanse School.

" Namikaze Mu! Namikaze Mu from the Ninth Sect! I can't believe he summoned the Ninth Heaven. How.. how is that even possible!?"

"Maybe there was a mistake. Nobody can really summon the Ninth

Heaven. What an absurd notion!"

"How could there be a mistake? Bells are ringing in all nine sects! Fang

Mu… I remember him! He was the guy who went from mortal to Immortal in ten years!" The sound of conversations formed a roar that caused the entire planet to tremble.

The Ninth Heaven…. that was something miraculous that, in the entire history of the Vast Expanse School, had only been seen once before!

Countless people were shaken. It was in this way that the name Namikaze Mu instantly came to be heard by all of the disciples of the Vast Expanse School. Then, the profound shock they felt increased as they suddenly realized… that the tolling of the bells could actually be heard everywhere on Planet Vast Expanse!

"The bells are ringing in all nine sects, filling all of Planet Vast Expanse!" This fact led to widespread gasping and shock. Perhaps better ways existed to make one's name known to all, but… for now, Naruto's method was completely unprecedented.

In one brief instant, the name ' Namikaze Mu' came to be fixed in all minds.

Regardless of the level of cultivation base involved, Dao Realm experts, Dao Lords, Dao Sovereigns, and even Paragons, everyone on Planet Vast Expanse had eyes wide with shock.

It would be impossible not to be moved, all because of… the Ninth Heaven!

Throughout the history of the sect, there had only ever been one person who had summoned the Ninth Heaven, but now… there were two.

At the moment, numerous streams of divine sense were pouring out from within the First Sect. On the Holy Mountain there was an Immortal's cave, to door of which opened to reveal a handsome young man clad in a long robe. He had a unique air about him, and as he silently walked out, he looked in the direction of the Ninth Sect, his eyes glowing brightly.

He was a Chosen, and within the First Sect, he held a rank that put him on equal footing with their Holy Daughter… He was the First Sect's Holy Son. He also held the 1st place spot on the First Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine. In all of the sects, people who were in the top 10 were extremely prominent individuals.

It was the same in the Second Sect; a powerful roar could be heard as a pillar of water erupted from a deep, icy pool. It propelled a burly, barechested man up into the air, whose expression was both grave and defiant.

" Namikaze Mu…." he said, looking in the direction of the Ninth Sect.

In the Third, Fourth, Fifth… all the way to the Eighth Sect, none of the Chosen were very pleased about what was happening. That was especially true of the various Chosen who were in the top 10; all of them now had the name ' Namikaze Mu' fixed firmly in their minds. Not only were they unwilling to accept him, they also wanted to fight him.

They were Chosen, like prize jewels of the sect. They had access to cultivation resources that others would find difficult to even imagine. Although they might not have started out as proud and arrogant people, after reaching this point, they could pass up their contemporaries as easily as flipping over a hand. Soon, they were so far ahead that when they looked back, they couldn't see anyone following in their path. They were the people who others looked up to.

They were as lonely as eagles, soaring in the Heavens. Beneath them were mere common birds who flitted around beneath the very clouds they soared above.

It was a lonely existence in which the only people worthy of their gazes were the other eagle-like Chosen who were their peers.

If you likened such people to eagles, then, as of this moment, it was as if a roc had appeared. The pressure weighing down on them now was something they couldn't accept, and filled them with the desire to fight.

A gale force wind was blowing through the Vast Expanse School, throwing the sects into an uproar, and causing surges of energy to appear as various Chosen powered up.

Even Han Bei appeared. As she hovered there in the air, listening to the tolling of the bells, she could sense the uproar in the First Sect, and could see other cultivators flying out in shock. Everyone, it seemed, was subconsciously turning to look in one direction.

The ninth continent, and the Ninth Sect.

At the moment, Han Bei was perhaps the calmest person on all of Planet Vast Expanse. It was as if she weren't surprised at all to hear the name ' Namikaze Mu'.

"He's basically a 9-Essences Paragon, bullying some kids. How amusing." She snorted coldly, and yet, was still suspicious of what exactly Naruto was doing with his clone. She had the feeling that there was some important plan being carried out.

While the other eight sects were thrown into an uproar, the Ninth Sect was equally filled with astonishment. As that cold and shocking voice echoed out, expressions of zealous veneration appeared on their faces, as well as delight and excitement.

"Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu!" It was hard to say who called it out first, but soon, the cry became a huge roar that exploded out into the air. "Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu!"

"Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu!"

The title of Eldest Brother was usually used to indicate seniority within a group. But in this case, it represented the approval and acclaim of all disciples within the Ninth Sect.

The only one who wasn't saying it was Yan'er. Her eyes went wide as she suddenly realized she had a seemingly innumerable amount of Sect Uncles now….

The Vast Expanse Shrine of the Ninth Sect radiated the scintillating light of the Ninth Heaven. The black clouds up in the sky churned, and something like a Heavenly howl of anger echoed from within them. More lightning built up, and yet the 7-Essences Paragon simply laughed and led the rest of the powerful experts to help Naruto counter the Tribulation Lightning.

" Namikaze Mu," he said loudly, "don't disappoint me. Go all out and see… if you can summon the Tenth Heaven for the Ninth Sect!"

In response to his words, a collective gasp could be heard from the cultivators in the Ninth Sect. Then, brilliant gleams began to shine in the eyes of one and all.

The Ninth Heaven was not completely unheard-of, nor was it something that was impossible to surpass. In sharp contrast was… the Tenth Heaven. If someone could summon the Tenth Heaven, then the only thing that could happen in the future would be that others might catch up. However, no one… would be able to surpass that person's achievement.

It was a glory which would last for tens upon tens of thousands of years, and would always remain within the Ninth Sect!

"The Tenth Heaven…. Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu, summon the Tenth

Heaven!"

"Eldest Brother, get that Tenth Heaven!"

As the crowds called out, Yan'er also shouted, "Master, summon the

Tenth Heaven…."

The Chosen from Ninth Sect, even the one who held the 1st place spot on the stone stele but was already prepared to lose it, were moved. Burying their emotions, they sighed, and soon gleams of light appeared in their eyes.

If you are a roc, then please don't bully us eagles. Go bully the other birds of prey…. That is what the current 1st place holder was thinking, and similar thoughts were running through the minds of the other Chosen.

Back on the ninth level of the Vast Expanse Shrine, the thought of bullying the so-called eagles hadn't even crossed Naruto's mind. He was very interested in this Vast Expanse Shrine. Waving his sleeve, he cleared the rubble from the ninth level, causing the entrance to the tenth level to appear.

Without the slightest hesitation, he proceeded forward to the tenth level… the highest level of the Vast Expanse Shrine.

Almost as soon as he set foot there, a strange expression appeared on his face. He was suddenly struck with the feeling that… he really was bullying children.

The test of the tenth level consisted of nothing more than a wall, which pulsed with shocking magical ripples.

Visible there was a list of ten names, which were the Chosen who had taken 1st through 10th place in this Vast Expanse Shrine.

After each name was a number. Behind the 1st place name was a number a bit higher than 70,000. Subsequent numbers got smaller and smaller, until the 10th place, which had a number at around 40,000.

From what Naruto could tell, the ninth and tenth levels of the Vast Expanse Shrine were complimentary. On the ninth level, the disciple would create a divine ability, and on the tenth level, the specific strength of said magic would be assessed. The result would be a number; the higher the number, the more powerful the divine ability, and the higher the ranking.

However… the stone stele in the ninth level had already exploded…. Granted, that stone stele wasn't designed to measure the strength of the divine ability, but it was intended to help the disciple refine the divine ability, and make it more complete. Unfortunately, that stone stele… was gone.

When the Vast Expanse School had created the Vast Expanse Shrine, no one could have imagined that someone would create a divine ability that would actually cause the stone stele on the ninth level to explode. Compared to a divine ability like that, this tenth level would be about as powerful as a pile of chicken ribs.

"Well, I'll give it a shot," thought Naruto. "Since this is a special stone stele for testing the power of divine abilities, maybe it won't explode like the last one." After a moment of hesitation, his eyes began to shine, and he reached out. The nine sealing marks of the Seal the Heavens Hex began to shine brightly inside of him as he pointed his finger at the wall.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1465

Chapter 1465: Completely Brazen!

The first sealing mark of the Ninth Hex emerged. Although it was only an outline, and illusory, it was complete.

You could even say that the sealing mark was comprised mostly of Naruto's divine will, which was currently the only way he could unleash it.

The flickering sealing mark instantly appeared on the surface of the wall.

Almost immediately, the wall began to vibrate, and a rumbling sound emanated out.

The name Namikaze Mu appeared, and it immediately took the 1st place spot, shoving all the other names downward. Next to it was a number slightly higher than 30,000,000….

It was a number hundreds of times larger than the original 1st place spot holder, a number which could shake Heaven and Earth!

Naruto didn't really care about the name or the number. However, he could sense that the wall was apparently capable of accepting more than one of the sealing marks. He quickly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pushed it down onto the wall. The second sealing mark flew out, and once again the wall shook. Intense rumbling sounds echoed out, and it took even longer this time for things to quiet down.

When that happened, the number next to Namikaze Mu's name… went in the briefest of instants from more than 30,000,000… to the shocking number of 300,000,000!

The terrifying level of that number so vastly exceeded that of the previous number that to speak it out loud would cause even a Paragon to gasp in shock.

According to the rules of the Vast Expanse Shrine, 100,000 indicated that the divine ability was powerful enough to use on Dao Realm experts. 1,000,000 was the threshold for Dao Lords, and 10,000,000 for Dao Sovereigns. 100,000,000 was for 7-Essences Paragons.

1,000,000,000 was for 8-Essences, and as for 9-Essences… the number was 10,000,000,000 and higher.

This wall had revealed the divine ability's final level of power, which had nothing to do with one's cultivation base. Therefore, it was possible to tell that the combined two sealing marks of Naruto's Hexing magic was powerful enough to shake 7-Essences Paragons.

The terrifying level of that power was something that left even Naruto shaken, and caused a gleam of focus to appear in his eyes. As of this point, he was certain that his current Seal the Heavens Hex was definitely incredibly powerful.

Eyes glittering, he once again placed his hand onto the wall. Using his divine will, he placed the third, fourth, and fifth sealing marks down.

When the third sealing mark fused into the wall, the wall stayed whole, and the number next to Namikaze Mu's name rocketed up, reaching 1,000,000,000, then 2,000,000,000 and finally 3,000,000,000. That meant that three of the sealing marks together could shake an 8Essences Paragon.

When the fourth sealing mark fused with the others, the wall shook so hard that cracks began to spread out over its surface, which almost immediately tried to close up. The number next to Namikaze Mu's name changed again, reaching an astonishing level. It went from 3,000,000,000 all the way to 10,000,000,000, then 20,000,000,000. It didn't stop at 30,000,000,000, but actually kept going all the way to 60,000,000,000!

That incredible number resulting from the fusion of four of the sealing marks, 60,000,000,000 indicated that the divine ability could kill half of all 9-Essences Paragons!

And that… was only the combination of four sealing marks!

Next… the fifth sealing mark appeared, and more cracks spread out across the surface of the wall. A boom rang out as the wall reached its limit and exploded!

Just before it completely fell apart, Naruto was able to see that the number next to the name Namikaze Mu had broken past 100,000,000,000, and was continuing to climb. However, he wasn't able to glimpse the final result, as the wall collapsed.

His jaw dropped, and he couldn't help but inhale sharply. He lifted his hand and looked at it, and then a bright glow appeared in his eyes.

"Five Seal the Heavens Hex marks combined is enough to kill… a 9-

Essences Paragon, even someone at the peak!" Naruto took a deep breath, his eyes shining brightly as his heart filled with the anticipation of seeing the final version of the Ninth Hex.

It was in this same moment that the wall collapsed, in which massive rumbling sounds echoed out, accompanied by brilliant light. The tenth level of the tower that was the Vast Expanse Shrine began to emit the dazzling light of… the Tenth Heaven!

Throughout the entire history of the Vast Expanse School, only one person had ever summoned the Ninth Heaven. Now, Naruto was the first to summon the Tenth! It was… completely unprecedented!

On this day, the first tolling of bells throughout the entire Vast Expanse School was because of the Ninth Heaven. The sound of those bells had just faded away, and no one had recovered from what would be a conversation topic in the cultivation world for many years to come.

And yet, it was at that point… that bells began to toll again. From the First, Second, Third… all the way to the Ninth Sect.

"What? Why are there bells tolling again?"

"Is that just an echo? I… I think I'm hearing things."

"What's… what's happening now!?" As the bells rang, the disciples in the First through Eighth Sects looked around in shock as, yet again, a cold, emotionless voice spoke out.

"Ninth Sect. Namikaze Mu. Tenth Heaven!"

Everyone was flabbergasted, including the supposed eagle-like Chosen, the powerful experts in the Dao Realm, and the Dao Lords and Dao Sovereigns.

For a moment, complete silence filled the Vast Expanse School, but then a massive commotion broke out in which virtually everyone was shouting out in disbelief and shock.

"Impossible! This is completely impossible!"

"The Tenth Heaven! How could it be? That's the Tenth Heaven…. The Ninth Heaven just appeared! How could Namikaze Mu possibly have summoned the Tenth Heaven?! This… this is the making of a legend, the forging of a myth!"

"Cheater! He definitely cheated! Dammit, there's something wrong here!" Numerous cries filled the entire Vast Expanse School, causing everything to tremble.

Most people either couldn't believe it, or didn't want to. The faces of the Chosen were ashen. The blow which they had just received was difficult to put into words.

Even the Paragons were shaken. The faces of the 7-Essences and 8Essences Paragons flickered, and at the same time, the meditating 9Essences Paragons opened their eyes.

It was impossible for even figures such as them to ignore what was happening. The Ninth Heaven was a major event, but the Tenth Heaven… was a pinnacle that no one had ever reached before.

When a disciple like that appeared in a sect, even 9-Essences Paragons had to pay attention.

The Sect Leader was the first to send his divine will out. It only took a moment for his suspicions to be aroused, and after various speculations, a wry expression appeared on his face, and he looked away.

Golden-robed Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong both looked similarly suspicious; their uncertainty gave them a bit of pause.

They were the only ones who picked up on the clues. All of the other 9Essences Paragons were extremely interested about this Chosen named Namikaze Mu.

However, they then recalled that the Ninth Sect was run by the inhuman Ninth Paragon, and they looked away, no longer the least bit interested in Namikaze Mu.

Or perhaps it would be more accurate to say that they didn't dare to be interested.

The Vast Expanse School was even more excited than it had been before. The name Namikaze Mu was now a legend. Within the Ninth Sect, people were calling out loudly, even Yan'er.

Even as the excited cries echoed out, Naruto appeared at the top of the Vast Expanse Shrine. The tenth level was over, and he had become the first person in the Vast Expanse School to ever summon the Tenth Heaven. Now, he even appeared to be standing atop that very Tenth Heaven.

He looked like an Immortal being, his garments rippling, his hair floating around him. Then he looked up into the sky, and the roiling, churning black clouds.

At that point, the Ten Heavens began to fade from the Vast Expanse Shrine. It started with the First Heaven, which became a beam of light that shot up and entered Naruto.

Naruto's mind trembled, and as the beam of light entered him, he could sense it converging on the first of the nine sealing marks.

"Is this good fortune from the Vast Expanse Shrine?" he wondered to himself. "An additional bonus after the conclusion…?" At the same time, the Second, Third, and Fourth Heavens… also vanished, becoming beams of light that shot toward Naruto.

As they fused into him, he got more excited; the first sealing mark was rapidly becoming more solid. Then the Ninth and Tenth Heavens faded and shot into him, filling him with rumbling sounds.

In the end, he took a deep breath, and his eyes shone with delight. The first of the nine sealing marks was now thirty percent complete!

Before he could spend much more time observing it, lightning bolts began to appear in the black clouds up above.

100\. 1,000. 10,000!

Boundless Tribulation Lightning began to fall toward Naruto, filled with death and destruction. The 7-Essences Paragon and the others ceased to offer assistance. After all, since the lightning was clearly there just for Naruto, then he would need to face it alone.

As they fell back, Naruto's eyes gleamed with brilliant light. As the disciples of the Ninth Sect all watched, rumbling sounds echoed out, and Naruto flew up into the air above the Vast Expanse Shrine, taking the initiative… to attack the Tribulation Lightning!

He flew up into the sky, fearless, laughing coldly, a gleam of disdain visible in his eyes. He clearly wanted to fight.

When the countless disciples down below saw that, they began to cheer loudly. It was an image that would be forever imprinted on their souls.

To the Chosen, Naruto was being extremely domineering, acting in a completely and utterly brazen fashion.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1466

Chapter 1466: Who Else?

Shocking rumbling sounds could be heard as Naruto slammed into over 10,000 Tribulation Lightning bolts. He flicked his sleeve, unleashing the explosive power of his cultivation base. It wasn't the power of the Immortal Realm, but the Ancient Realm. Dots of light could be seen all over his body, which made him shine brightly.

Massive booms could be heard as the 10,000 lightning bolts were destroyed. Naruto's garments and hair fluttered, and as he looked at the black clouds, he took a step upward.

In response to that step, the clouds rumbled, and tens of thousands of lightning bolts fell, transforming into a lake of lighting that enveloped him. He snorted coldly, performing a double-handed incantation gesture and then waving both hands out.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

All of the lightning was destroyed. Then the black clouds churned, as a roar of rage echoed out from inside. 100,000 lightning bolts began to fall, seemingly endlessly, as if the Heavens were infuriated. After the 100,000 lightning bolts were destroyed, another 100,000 came. Then another.

It seemed as if the lightning would never end, as if the Tribulation wouldn't stop until Naruto was dead.

Naruto's eyes flickered as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing boundless mist to build up around him, which was a divine ability he had picked up from the Vast Expanse School. He extended his right hand, and the mist rapidly transformed into streams of smoke which shot out to meet the incoming Tribulation Lightning. Booms could be heard as they all exploded.

The sound was shocking. It was as if in all creation, the only thing that existed were the Heavens and Naruto!

One man was personally fighting the Heavens!

Everyone present was completely shaken, and the Dao Realm experts were clearly moved.

Another 100,000 lightning bolts collapsed, and behind them came yet another 100,000. It was then that Naruto's laughter began to echo out. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture as he stepped forward again, energy surging in spectacular fashion.

"I'm seeking enlightenment of what it means to seal the Heavens, in order to complete the Ninth Hex. If I can't seal some Tribulation

Lightning, then how could I possibly strive to seal the Heavens!" Laughing, he took another step forward, raised his hands up and pushed them toward the Heavens.

The aura of the Ancient Realm erupted out, and countless shining lights appeared. Heaven shook and the Earth quaked as he fought against one round of 100,000 lighting bolts after another.

Booms rang out constantly as the lightning collapsed. At the same time, Naruto remained in place in mid-air, clearly visible to everyone down below. The crowds were shaken by this sight of someone actually fighting the Heavens.

Naruto flicked his sleeve, glaring at the clouds as he said, "Bring it on! Let's see how many lightning bolts you can send against Namikaze Mu this time!"

Only someone with profound character… could say something like that!

Countless gasps of shock could be heard from the crowd down below. It was an intense image that was burned into their minds: Namikaze Mu standing there, facing off against the endlessly seething black clouds and crackling lightning.

Anyone who saw such a scene couldn't help but gasp in astonishment.

The Chosen had already forgotten about how they didn't want to accept Namikaze Mu. Their eyes were shining brightly because of his brazen attitude, his domineering nature, and the heroic and shocking way he fought against the Heavens.

" Namikaze Mu!"

" Namikaze Mu!"

" Namikaze Mu!" It was impossible to say who began to shout it first. But soon, all of the Chosen, and all of the other male cultivators in the Ninth Sect, could sense Naruto's heroic nature. It was a madness that could fight against the Heavens, and it left them shaken, eyes bloodshot, roaring at the tops of their lungs.

Their voices became a sound wave that shook Heaven and Earth, causing everything to tremble, as though energy itself were erupting from their mouths.

The Dao Realm experts were all moved. They looked at the disciples, and then looked at Naruto, their expressions filled with excitement.

Morale and spirit are extremely important in a sect, and as of this moment… a seed of valor seemed to have been planted in the hearts of all the disciples.

And it was all because of Naruto. He had successfully captured the hearts of all of the disciples of the Ninth Sect. Not only were they crying out to him as Eldest Brother, but their hearts were also brimming with ardor and reverence for him.

At the same time, the surrounding female disciples were looking at Namikaze Mu with unprecedented glows in their eyes. To see him fighting the Heavens had imprinted his image onto their hearts for all eternity.

It was the same kind of look that the female disciples had given Wang Tengfei back in the days of the Reliance Sect, or the looks that the female alchemists had given to Chosen in the Violet Fate Sect. It was the exact same look given to Naruto in the various sects in which he had become a legend, a Dao Child among Chosen!

The female disciples gazed at Naruto with adoration and envy; they were attracted to him in a way that far exceeded the passions of the male cultivators.

It took only a moment for all of the disciples of the Ninth Sect to be whipped into an unheard-of frenzy, all thanks to the sight of Naruto fighting the Heavens, viciously battling the lightning, and everything else.

Yan'er stood there in the crowd, and was suddenly not very happy. She felt a sensation of crisis, something extremely, profoundly intense…. She was excited just like everyone else, but her young heart was also filled with a secret joy because of Naruto; somehow, he had become everything to her. Then she realized how everyone was looking at him, and she suddenly felt as if they were having aspirations regarding something that belonged to her.

"Hmph," she thought, gritting her teeth. "There's only one of that old man. What do you people think you're doing? Trying to steal him? He's my Master. MINE!"

The emotions of the Ninth Sect's disciples bubbled over, as if they had been lit with flame. Meanwhile, the clouds churned, and more lightning formed, this time, not 100,000 bolts, but instead, more than 1,000,000. 1,000,000 lightning bolts began to fall, a shocking spectacle difficult to put into words. As they fell, they resembled, not a lake of lightning, but rather, an enormous hand!

It was a huge hand composed of lightning, emanating crashing booms as it descended toward Naruto. A sensation of imminent crisis rose up within him, and his eyes began to shine brightly. He threw his head back and roared, throwing both hands up into the air, causing numerous dots of light to appear.

10\. 30. 50. 80… 108! 1

The 108 major Chakra meridians on his body were all shining brilliantly. Shockingly, within each of those 108 Chakra meridians, it was possible to see an image.

Closer examination revealed that those figures were, astonishingly… Immortal Soul Lamps!

108 meridians, 108 lamps!

It was a complete and shocking sight to everyone. This was the first time for Naruto's clone to reveal how many Soul Lamps he had, and the result was almost beyond belief.

In the blink of an eye, all 108 Soul Lamps were blazing with light, casting Naruto in complete brilliance. As the enormous palm fell, he harbored no thoughts of putting up a defense, or of evading. Instead… he attacked!

He was fighting the Heavens with an incisive will!

Naruto took the initiative to fly out, a blur of light that shot toward the enormous lightning hand. Everything shook violently, and all eyes were fixed upon the scene, filled with both nervousness and anticipation. To them, it was as if nothing else existed other than Naruto.

Time seemed to slow. Everyone watched as Naruto made contact with the hand. Then, time seemed to return to its normal speed, and even increased explosively.

Heaven and Earth trembled, and rumbling sounds echoed out. The hand, filled with endless destructive power, intent on wiping Naruto out of existence, collapsed into countless fragments. The light shining out of Naruto dimmed somewhat, but he laughed nonetheless.

"Bring it on!" he yelled, as brazen as ever, his hair whipping about.

Rumbling sounds emanated out from within the black clouds. The clouds suddenly shrank, converging in upon themselves, sending a terrifying pressure out to cover everything. The disciples of the Ninth Sect had just begun to feel relieved moments ago, but suddenly got nervous again.

Crackling sounds rang out as the shrunken clouds suddenly exploded with an insane rain of lightning. 100,000 bolts. 1,000,000. 2,000,000. 3,000,000. 5,000,000. 8,000,000!

8,000,000 lighting bolts converged, seemingly covering the entire world. They descended like a downpour, and from a distance, they almost looked like… a huge finger!

Although it was simply an outline, the resemblance was striking!

Naruto's pupils constricted as the finger closed in on him. Just when his true self was preparing to converge some divine sense to send out in assistance, all of a sudden, a voice could be heard. It came from the group of Chosen down below; they had witnessed Naruto fighting the

Heavens, and they could see how mismatched and unfair the battle was.

"Eldest Brother Fang, you're fighting the Heavens alone! I hope you don't mind if I, Sun Mou… join you in fighting the Tribulation Lighting!?" Even as the words rang out, a figure flew out from the crowd.

Almost simultaneously, more people began to call out.

"Eldest Brother Fang, count me, Liu Mu, in as well!"

"And me, Chen Ao!"

"How could I, Zhang Yunqi, possibly stay out of something like this!?" "And me!"

"Eldest Brother, I, Cai Wei, will also join you!"

"Tribulation Lighting? Zheng Yuan will join you to fight it, Eldest Brother Fang!"

Countless individuals flew up, and innumerable voices cried out. There were men and women, all of whom flew up into the air.

1,000 disciples. 5,000. 30,000. 200,000. 1,000,000. 3,000,000… Soon, 10,000,000 disciples were up in the air, flying together!

The Dao Realm experts were shocked, and the Paragons gasped. In the blink of an eye, the 8,000,000 lightning bolts suddenly… lurched to a halt!

The number 108 is important in some Eastern religions. More info here.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1467

Chapter 1467 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1467: Seven Sealing Marks Eradicate Tribulation!

It wouldn't be correct to say that all of the disciples in the Ninth Sect flew up to assist. But 10,000,000 was a huge number, all of whom flew up, causing Heaven and Earth to shake.

Their eyes burned with reverence and awe. Many of them were even ranked on the Vast Expanse Shrine. However, because of the Tenth Heaven, Naruto had thoroughly won them over, and his heroism in single-handedly fighting the Heavens had set their blood boiling.

As their voices rang out and they flew into the air, the world trembled. Naruto's clone looked at them, heart pounding, and a bit in a daze because of their cries.

His true self, who remained concealed nearby, was also taken aback, and felt his heart beginning to pound.

Their cries gave him a strange feeling. The truth was that before, he had never felt much of an attachment to Planet Vast Expanse. But now, thanks to the cries of the cultivators of the Ninth Sect, Naruto couldn't help but feel moved.

That feeling was like a seed planted in his heart, which almost immediately began to slowly grow. Meanwhile, the black clouds in the sky rumbled, and the enormous outline of the finger formed by the 8,000,000 lightning bolts seemed to seethe with rage as it descended once again.

This time, Naruto wasn't facing the Tribulation Lightning alone. 10,000,000 disciples of the Ninth Sect joined him, unleashing various divine abilities in a Heaven-defying display. Everything went dim, and the sky seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. The clouds layers roiled, and from a distance, it was possible to see that the truly shocking sight was not the 8,000,000 bolts of Tribulation Lightning, but rather, the 10,000,000 disciples!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

It was an indescribably powerful offensive, a destructive attack that was difficult to put into words. Anyone who tried to illustrate it in a painting would find it very difficult. It was… completely astonishing!

It was Man versus the Heavens. The Heavens roared, and Man howled. Massive rumblings echoed out as the enormous lightning finger began to fall apart. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of the 10,000,000 disciples, transforming into a sea of blood. However, instead of falling to the ground, it shot up toward the lightning.

The intense booming sounds continued to echo out. So far, this battle with the Tribulation Lightning had lasted for over one hundred breaths of time. When the 8,000,000-lightning-bolt finger collapsed, the 10,000,000 disciples once again coughed up blood. All of them were injured, and staggered backward. However, their eyes shone with a spirit that had never before been seen therein.

Their auras were even more fierce and lively, their eyes flashing with clarity as if their understanding of the world were different now than it just had been.

It was a scene that was earth-topplingly shocking to the Dao Realm experts, Dao Lords, Dao Sovereigns and the 7-Essences Paragon. There were other 7-Essences Paragons who were rushing over, and when they personally laid eyes on what was happening, they gasped. How could they not tell that the energy of the entire Ninth Sect was now completely different than before!?

There was a vitality, a focus, an incisive power. There was the gall to fight the Heavens! Who said that only a single person could fight the Heavens!?

The Tribulation Lightning wasn't finished. Even as the 10,000,000 disciples fell back, the black clouds in the sky seethed once more. They shrunk again, but this time, to an exaggerated degree. In the blink of an eye, they were vastly smaller than before, only about 3,000 meters across.

However, as they shrunk, the pressure they exuded emanated out like numerous crushing mountains that could destroy all.

The disciples gritted their teeth and prepared to charge in attack once more. Before they could, Naruto leaped up ahead of them.

Surprisingly, he completely ignored the lightning, and turned back to the countless cultivators. Taking a deep breath, his eyes flickered as he clasped hands and bowed deeply to them.

"I, Namikaze Mu, offer many thanks to you, Fellow Daoists. You've done enough by helping once. After all, this is my Tribulation…. Many thanks!" Without offering any other words, he clasped hands and bowed.

Even as the words left his mouth, the Heavens rumbled, and the 3,000 meter stretch of black clouds shrank down again. Soon, it was only 300 meters wide. Then 30. Then 3. In the end, it transformed into an inkblack needle!

It was pitch black, and filled with the power of all the darkness of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. Almost immediately, it began to whistle through the air at incredible speed, and from the feeling it let off, it seemed more apparent than ever that it wouldn't rest until Naruto was dead.

It moved so quickly that by the time Naruto turned his head, the Tribulation Lightning needle was right in front of his forehead.

His eyes flickered; it felt as if all of the Tribulation Lightning were contained in that black needle. It contained soul-destroying power, as well as a divine will of its own.

It was a divine will that contained myriads upon myriads of transformations; if it entered the body, those transformations would explode out, filling his sea of consciousness with infinite bolts of lightning. It would become a divine ability of Heavenly might that would destroy the body inside and out.

Although the lightning might be powerless to affect Naruto from the outside, now that the Tribulation Lightning had chosen to use divine will to pierce Naruto's sea of consciousness, it was dangerously destructive.

Naruto's eyes flickered. Had he not experienced everything in the Vast Expanse Shrine, his only option would have been to rely on the strength of his true self to destroy the Tribulation Lightning.

But now, he had the outline of the nine sealing marks of the Seal the Heavens Hex inside of him. He couldn't unleash them outside his body, and was forced to let them brew inside of him via divine will. Right now, the Tribulation Lightning needle was about to stab into him and enter his sea of consciousness, to unleash its transformations of divine will.

However, to Naruto, with his terrifying Seal the Heavens Hex in nine parts, this Tribulation Lighting… was seeking its own destruction!

A cold smile appeared on his mouth, and he didn't even attempt to evade. He allowed the black needle to stab into his forehead, merging into him. It became countless streams of blackness that instantly poured through his body, converging onto his soul and his sea of consciousness. Then, it became a fog of black lightning that prepared to destroy him from the inside.

However, it was then that Naruto drew upon his divine will. Instantly, the first sealing mark of the Seal the Heavens Hex appeared, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as it faced off with the black lightning mist.

When they met, the black mist lurched to a halt, then exploded out with even more force than before. However, then the second sealing mark appeared, and the third. After that was the fourth.

They combined with the first sealing mark, utterly shaking the black mist. It began to dissipate, whereupon a roar of rage and disbelief echoed out. Naruto snorted coldly, and the fifth sealing mark appeared. It combined with the others to create a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power that completely crushed the mist, dissipating it violently.

However, things weren't over. Neither the ninth nor the tenth levels of the Vast Expanse Shrine had been sufficient to solidify even one of the sealing marks. However, this Tribulation Lightning was the perfect subject to experiment with.

It had voluntarily entered his body, so it had opened the door, and there was no way Naruto would let it off the hook. His divine will rumbled as he unleashed the sixth sealing mark, combining it with the others. An indescribable rage coursed through his body, wreaking complete havoc on the Tribulation Lightning, and causing the black mist to rapidly shrink down.

In the end, it transformed back into a needle, which then attempted to flee.

"You're not going anywhere!" Naruto said with a cold harrumph. The seventh sealing mark appeared, merging with the others almost instantly.

When that happened, a world-shaking power rumbled out through him, along with an indescribable sealing power. In the blink of an eye, Naruto's entire body became like a cage. The needle trembled, trying like mad to break free, but was blocked at every turn.

Next, the sealing power created by the fusion of that seventh sealing mark created something like a huge net, forcing the black needle into its confines. Soon, the net had covered the needle.

The needle shivered as though it wanted to struggle, and yet had no power to endure. The combined power of the seven sealing marks continued to weigh down onto it until it cracked, collapsed, and transformed into ash.

Naruto shivered and then opened his eyes. A flicker of lightning could be seen therein. Then he raised his right hand up, and countless bolts of lightning shot out from his palm toward the Heavens. The Heavens trembled, and sunlight spilled down; the aura of Tribulation had vanished.

This instance of Ancient Realm Tribulation had been overcome!

It was now evening, and Naruto hovered in midair bathed by the warm sunlight, making it look as if he had donned a set of saffroncolored armor. It was an image which would be eternally unforgettable to all of the disciples in the crowd.

"Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu!"

"Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu!"

"Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu!" As the voices rang out, countless hands clasped in respect. The resulting sound wave echoed out in all directions, and was joined in by everyone, with the exception of the Dao Realm cultivators.

All eyes were filled with zealous ardor.

Yan'er was there in the crowd, her young heart shaken. She had never seen her Master like this, and for some reason, she found this version of him, bathed as he was in the evening sun, to be especially good-looking.

Naruto hovered there looking at the adoring masses, and he caught sight of Yan'er. After a moment passed, he looked back up into the Heavens, and a bright light flickered in his eyes.

This clone of his was now matured. What he needed to do now was get the clone into the Dao Realm, where he could use his explosive cultivation base power to complete all of the sealing marks of the Seal the Heavens Hex.

Seven days after Naruto's clone gained fame and renown, shaking the entire Vast Expanse School, his true self received an excited divine will message from the Sect Leader.

"Ninth Paragon, everything is prepared. This time, it might be possible to… stay long-term in the necropolis!"

Chapter 1467: Seven Sealing Marks Eradicate Tribulation!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1468

Chapter 1468 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1468: I'm Here for the Copper Mirror!

As soon as Naruto's true self heard the words, he looked up, and his eyes gleamed with determination. Then, he rose to his feet.

His anticipation regarding this trip into the necropolis could not have been greater. This time, his goal was not the Transcendence Dais, but rather, that location he had glimpsed upon leaving last time, where the shard of the copper mirror had landed.

"The third land mass…." he said. Taking a deep breath, he flicked his sleeve, vanishing from within the Ninth Paragon City.

When he reappeared, he was up in the starry sky of the half planet, heading toward the spell formation that led to the necropolis.

Even as he arrived, the air distorted as other figures appeared. The other 9-Essences Paragons could be seen, as well as the golden-robed Jin Yunshan, and Sha Jiudong.

Although there had been no previous agreement regarding the matter, no one brought subordinates this time. They had been brought along last time to fill out the vanguard position as they made their way to the continent. But now that everyone was sure of the way to go, and had been preparing for dozens of years, they were all confident in their ability to make their way alone.

The group hadn't laid eyes on each other for dozens of years. After returning to the sect all those years ago, each one had gone into secluded meditation. Now, they looked around, measuring each other up, assessing each other's cultivation bases, checking to see how much progress they had made.

Everyone treated Naruto very respectfully. This being their second time inside, his importance to the group, and his invincibility inside the necropolis, ensured that none of the other 9-Essences Paragons were willing to provoke him.

As for Jin Yunshan, he would never be able to forget the events which had occurred. Along with Sha Jiudong, he avoided standing in front of Naruto at all times.

Seeing that everyone was assembled, Shangguan Hong asked, "Sect Leader, earlier you said that we could stay 'long term' within the necropolis. What did you mean by that?"

Others quickly added follow-up questions.

"Yes, please clear this matter up, Sect Leader!"

"What does 'long term' mean? Could it be that you have a way to deal with the doomsday events which unfold inside?"

Even Sha Jiudong and Jin Yunshan were waiting to hear the Sect Leader's response.

Naruto was just as interested. After all, the Transcendence might be helpful to the others, but to him, it was of little use, at least not at the moment.

He still needed his clone to finish forming the Ninth Hex, and then merge back into him. At that time, he would be able to take advantage of the aura of the Transcendence Dais, combine the Nine Hexes, and gather the power to extinguish the bronze lamp.

Before then, he didn't care much at all about the necropolis. He only cared about… the copper mirror shard.

"Calm down, everyone," the Sect Leader said, laughing. "There is still one more Fellow Daoist who hasn't come yet. Once she arrives, I'll explain everything." The Sect Leader's eyes shone with brilliant light. After dozens of years of preparation, he was now fully confident of being able to stay long term within the necropolis.

"Who else is coming?" Jin Yunshan asked, eyes glittering. Knowing expressions could be seen on the faces of the others. Apparently, everyone had an idea who the Sect Leader was talking about.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he looked off into the distance and saw a white beam of light shooting toward them. It wasn't bright, being composed of a mist. However, that mist soon dissipated, revealing the image of a woman.

She wore a long white robe, and was gracefully beautiful. She looked almost like a female Immortal, except that her eyes seemed filled with mist, making it impossible to see her pupils. It almost was as if her eyes had been intentionally obscured with mist to prevent people from seeing them.

"Greetings, Fellow Daoist Bai." As soon as the crowd caught sight of her, they clasped hands and bowed in greeting. Even Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong treated her with the utmost respect.

This woman was none other than one of Planet Vast Expanse's four peak 9-Essences experts, the mysterious woman whom Naruto had never laid eyes on before this day. She hadn't participated in the last foray into the necropolis, but here she was today…. Bai Wuchen.

Because she was like an Immortal floating in the wind, on Planet Vast Expanse she was called Immortal Bai Wuchen.

As soon as Naruto laid eyes on her, she turned to look at him, and their gazes met. Despite feeling as if he were separated from her by some sort of mist, he smiled, although he didn't say anything.

She nodded at him, then looked away.

"Fellow Daoist Bai," said the Sect Leader, "with you joining us on our trip into the necropolis, I'm much more confident in our being able to succeed." He laughed heartily, then looked over the group and began to explain why the preparations had taken so many years, and how he planned to evade the catastrophe that lay in wait in the necropolis.

"Over the years, I analyzed everything that happened within the necropolis, and also studied the ancient records. One thing I can be certain of is that the entire catastrophe doesn't last for very long. Only about ten days.

"What we need to do is figure out how to survive inside of the necropolis for those ten days.

"After all, once inside of the necropolis, even though it is an illusory world, if you die inside, you will die in reality. Therefore, the key is to be in a state of reality, and yet unreality, in a state of illusion, and yet not illusion.

"In that aspect, Fellow Daoist Bai can help us. If we need even more assistance, I've also made other preparations." No one spoke or asked any questions during his speech.

When he finished, he didn't wait for anyone to ask any questions. He waved his right hand, causing a turtle shell to appear, about the size of a palm. It glittered with scintillating light, like a precious treasure, and even emanated pulses of pressure. When the Sect Leader took hold of it, it almost looked as if his hand weren't part of the world any more. His flesh was visible, and yet undetectable via divine sense.

"It took me dozens of years to prepare this particular item," he said.

Almost as soon as the turtle shell appeared, the expressions of the others flickered.

"That item…."

"Sect Leader, are you sure about this? You can't treat that thing lightly!"

"This object is the Vast Expanse School's sect-protecting precious treasure," the Sect Leader said, his voice a bit hoarse. "Usually, it is used to suppress a certain Chakra flow, but over the past dozens of years, I used significant amounts of my own heart-blood to suppress the Chakra flow to the ultimate degree. I can guarantee that for half of a sixty-yearcycle, the sect-protecting precious treasure will not be needed there.

"With this object, and Fellow Daoist Bai's magical technique, I'm eighty percent certain that we can endure through the catastrophe. Furthermore, as Fellow Daoist Bai reminded me, she has conducted thorough research regarding the necropolis, no less than I have. She happened to find a clue in the ancient records which indicates that there is a region on the third land mass where the destructive effects of the catastrophe are significantly reduced.

"I also remember seeing some information along those lines. If I remember correctly, there is some power there which resists the worlddestructive force. It is in that location that we will use Fellow Daoist Bai's magical technique, along with the Vast Expanse School's precious treasure, increasing our chances to well over ninety percent!" As everyone mulled over the Sect Leader's words, Naruto's eyes flickered with an undetectable gleam.

Next was a bit of discussion about various details. After confirming that things were all in order, and also coming up with a backup plan for how to escape if things went awry, the teleportation portal was activated.

As Naruto waited inside the portal, he thought about what the Sect

Leader had said. Somehow, he had the feeling that the location the Sect Leader referred to was highly likely to be connected to the copper mirror shard.

As he contemplated the matter, the brilliant light of the spell formation began to rise up. It was at that point that he happened to look over at Jin Yunshan, to find the man was looking back at him.

Jin Yunshan immediately shivered, as an uneasy feeling rose up inside of him. When he thought back to the past conflicts between himself and Naruto, and the fact that they were heading back into the necropolis, he gritted his teeth and, before the spell formation could completely activate, began to walk in Naruto's direction.

Everyone looked on in shock, and the Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong felt their hearts beginning to thump. Naruto's eyes flickered coldly.

Suddenly, Jin Yunshan made a grasping motion, causing a bracelet of holding to appear. Face expressionless, he tossed it over to Naruto.

Naruto grabbed it and looked inside, whereupon a strange expression appeared on his face. The bracelet of holding was packed with spirit stones and medicinal pills, as well as various extraordinary magical items.

Because of everything that had occurred with the Mountain and Sea Realm, and all the other things he had experienced, his personality had changed significantly. However, there were certain things about him that existed deep in his bones, things that could never be thoroughly wiped away. After looking into the bracelet of holding, his eyes glittered brightly, and he smiled.

Seeing the smile on Naruto's face, Jin Yunshan breathed a sigh of relief. He completely ignored the strange looks that had appeared in the eyes of the onlookers because of his paying a protection fee….

He could never forget how, when they had returned from the necropolis last time, Naruto had looked at him with disfavor, and then they had exchanged blows. When that happened, he had shouted out about how he had paid compensation already, and the result was a somewhat bashful expression had flickered across Naruto's face.

"You can try to hide it," he thought, "but my Flame Eye can see your greedy nature. Hmph! I've already given you a bracelet of holding, so if you look at me the wrong way again, then I'll remind you about that fact to make sure things don't go too far. And if you really get out of hand… well, I've prepared five more bracelets of holding. Don't think I won't be able to handle you this time!" Snorting coldly inside, Jin Yunshan stuck his jaw out, looking as proud and lofty as ever.

Naruto cleared his throat, feeling a bit embarrassed by the strange looks being cast in his direction. It had been a long time since people had looked at him that way.

The Sect Leader exchanged an astonished glance with Sha Jiudong, although neither spoke. As for Immortal Bai Wuchen, she had a strange expression on her face as she glanced first at Jin Yunshan and then at Naruto.

The other 9-Essences experts refrained from reacting, unsure of what they should even say.

After a long moment passed, the spell formation light shot up into the clouds, and the group vanished. When they reappeared, they were on the very border of the necropolis's outer region.

From a distance, the necropolis looked just like it had last time. There were endless ruins and nine land masses. It was a desolate and ancient place, filled with silence.

The instant Naruto appeared, he could sense the coldness in the area, and how the bronze lamp flickered in response. Yet again, he sensed how he could command the ghosts.

"In this place, I am the Emperor…. And I'm here for the copper mirror." He closed his eyes, and somehow, he could almost hear the countless ghosts in the necropolis crying out in greeting.

Chapter 1468: I'm Here for the Copper Mirror!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1469

Chapter 1469: Conflicts

As soon as the entire group appeared in the necropolis, everyone turned to look at Naruto, with the exception of Immortal Bai Wuchen.

The Sect Leader clasped hands and bowed to him.

Naruto nodded, his eyes flickering. His purpose in coming to the necropolis this time was clear. He wanted to get to the third land mass and find the copper mirror shard. As for what everyone else did, he didn't really care. In fact, he planned to leave everyone behind as soon as possible.

The ideal outcome would be to handle all matters within one month. That way he wouldn't have to try to weather out the apocalypse with the rest of the group. Suddenly his third eye opened, and he looked out as the ruins around him completely changed.

Without any hesitation, he shot forward. Everyone else began to follow, clearly able to sense the increased coldness in the area. That meant that they were surrounded by countless ghosts, and yet, Naruto's own calm demeanor allowed them to remain completely calm.

Immortal Bai Wuchen had a slightly different reaction; a strange gleam appeared in her eyes as she took everything in. In the end, she looked thoughtfully at Naruto.

Time passed. Previously, it had taken them two days to get through the perimeter region of the necropolis, but this time, it only took two hours to reach the bridge leading to the first land mass.

Being familiar with the bridge as well, they were able to make it across much more quickly. After only about another two hours, they were on the first land mass.

People were starting to get excited to be on the land mass again. As for Naruto, he didn't even stop. He proceeded along quickly, heading toward where the first land mass connected to the second.

The Sect Leader could see how anxious he was, but after a moment of hesitation, he said, "Fellow Daoist Ninth Paragon, please wait a moment. There's no hurry to get to the second land mass. Let's give Fellow Daoist Bai some time on the altar to seek enlightenment. There will be plenty of time afterward."

Naruto frowned, then nodded and changed directions, heading directly toward the center of the land mass. After half a day of speeding along, Bai Wuchen stepped onto the Transcendence Dais. Naruto looked off in the direction of the third land mass, the gleam in his eyes growing more intense.

After seven days passed, Immortal Bai Wuchen was still in the midst of seeking enlightenment. That caught Naruto's attention, and yet all he did was glance at her. Eight days passed. On the ninth day, Bai Wuchen trembled, and then slowly rose to her feet, a strange look gleaming in her eyes. She glanced over at Naruto briefly before looking away.

By the time Bai Wuchen had finished her enlightenment, even the Sect Leader was starting to get a bit anxious. They traveled on for another half day until they were on the border of the first land mass, where it connected to the second.

In this location, there was no bridge, but instead, a staircase floating in the starry sky.

Beneath the staircase was nothing but a swath of pitch black darkness, from within which echoing roars could be heard.

The Sect Leader looked cautiously at the staircase. "These stairs are even more dangerous than the bridge. We need to–" Even as the words left his mouth, though, Naruto opened his third eye.

They had already wasted enough time because of Bai Wuchen, leaving less time for Naruto to accomplish his goals, and he had no desire to try to stay in this place to weather the catastrophe. As his third eye opened, he threw his arms up into the air, and then sent divine will out in all directions.

In almost immediate response, countless ghosts on the first land mass let out shocking howls that the living couldn't detect. They flew up into the air and then began to rush toward Naruto from all directions. Even the ghosts outside of the first land mass joined in.

Soon, the coldness around them intensified, and cracking sounds could be heard as the ground began to ice over. Endless numbers of ghosts began to swirl around Naruto, forming a vortex. Everyone was shocked, especially Jin Yunshan, who shivered and pulled out a bracelet of holding.

Immortal Bai Wuchen's eyes flickered with a strange light as she looked over at Naruto.

"Follow me, Fellow Daoists!" Naruto said, pointing forward. His divine will caused the surrounding ghosts to howl as they surrounded Naruto and the others and then shot toward the staircase.

Anyone who could actually see the ghosts would have seen what appeared to be a massive sea, howling and roaring as it carried the group up the stairs. Because of those innumerable ghosts, even the most dangerous entities couldn't even get close. It was a truly domineering way to cross the land mass.

It only took a short period of time to fly all the way up the staircase and then land onto the surface of the second land mass.

As soon as they landed, and before the Sect Leader and the others could even get excited, Naruto flew up into the air and looked out at the second land mass with his third eye. Then he began to issue a calling with his divine will.

The bronze lamp inside of him flickered brightly, and within the endless ruins on the second land mass, countless ghosts shivered and began to look up. The sensation of the calling coming from Naruto caused them to tremble.

"The Emperor is calling to us…."

"The Emperor summons us…."

"That's the aura of the Emperor…." No one could hear the murmured calls, but rumbling echoed out as the ghosts roared and flew into the air toward Naruto.

Naruto didn't slow down at all. Allowing himself to be swept up by all of the ghosts from the perimeter, the first land mass, and the second land mass, he began to speed away. As he did, his voice echoed out within the ears of the other members of the party.

"Fellow Daoists, I won't be participating in the efforts with the Transcendence Dais. I have a personal matter to attend to on the third land mass. After you're finished with your enlightenment, I can return to escort you there." With that, he began to pick up speed. However, it was in that exact moment that Immortal Bai Wuchen's body flickered, and she suddenly vanished. When she reappeared, she was in front of him, her hand held up, causing a field of mist to spring up, blocking his way.

"Fellow Daoist Ninth Paragon," she asked, "the third land mass is extremely important. No matter what personal matter you have to attend to, it would be best to avoid entering it alone. Why don't you wait for us to finish our enlightenment, and we can all go together?"

Naruto stopped in place and looked at her coldly, his brow furrowing.

He had never had any dealings with Immortal Bai Wuchen, and had no grudges with her. And yet here she was, suddenly acting hostile.

He then thought back to how Jin Yunshan had taken action against him in the past, and his eyes flickered thoughtfully.

Feeling a bit irritated, he said, "I don't care what sensation or perception you've experienced. Please don't forget what kind of person I am. If you don't provoke me, I won't provoke you. "

Before anyone else could even respond, Jin Yunshan chuckled coldly in his mind. He truly wanted to ask Naruto who had provoked whom last time they came back from the necropolis, and if Naruto was currently in a bad mood.

From what Jin Yunshan could tell, Immortal Bai Wuchen must have felt the same thing he had felt last time, something like the will of Patriarch Vast Expanse, which made her decide to try to kill Naruto.

The Sect Leader frowned, and was just about to offer an explanation. However, Naruto was not feeling very tolerant at the moment, and took a step forward. Immortal Bai Wuchen smiled coldly, performing an incantation gesture with her right hand, causing her cultivation base to erupt into a windstorm that blocked Naruto's path.

"Screw off!" growled Naruto, flicking his sleeve. The surrounding ghosts emitted piercing howls as they charged forward, blasting at Bai Wuchen like a tempest. Booms rang out, and Bai Wuchen's face went pale. She had no choice but to fall back.

As she did, Naruto passed by, and began to speed off into the distance.

"Sect Leader. Fellow Daoists," said Immortal Bai Wuchen. "The third land mass is very important to us being able to endure the catastrophe. Clearly he has his reasons for going there alone. If I don't go to personally investigate, my heart can't rest at ease." Ignoring the rest of the group, she flew in pursuit of Naruto.

Her eyes glittered with strange light; as it turned out, Jin Yunshan had guessed wrong. She hadn't blocked Naruto's path after sensing the will of Patriarch Vast Expanse. The truth was that her real reason for coming into the necropolis was that she was after a certain object located in the third land mass.

It was something very important to her, and in fact, because of that item, something else in her bag of holding was beginning to emit pulsing fluctuations.

No one knew it, but even if the Sect Leader hadn't asked for her help, she still would have come into the necropolis. Based on information she had gleaned from others regarding the previous trip, the gains made by the group were significantly greater than in previous attempts.

That meant that she had a much greater likelihood of acquiring that item she wanted. That was also why she had encouraged the group to try to weather the apocalypse on the third land mass. It was only after arriving in the necropolis itself that she suddenly got a strange feeling regarding Naruto.

She somehow had the sensation that his goal was similar to hers, or even the same.

Thus, she took action right away, and even began to chase after him. The Sect Leader's eyes glittered, as if he had suddenly realized something. Immortal Bai Wuchen was acting completely differently than her usual cool self. Perhaps it had something to do with the Transcendence Dais, although that didn't seem likely.

After a moment of thought, he flew into the air after her. Next, Jin Yunshan and Sha Jiudong exchanged a glance. They also could sense that something fishy was going on. Instead of worrying about the Transcendence Dais, they flew into the air as well.

As for the other 9-Essences Paragons, including the Second Paragon, they got the feeling that there was something very odd about the third land mass. However, considering that the most powerful peak 9Essences experts were going there right now, it was likely that they themselves wouldn't be able to benefit from anything there. Almost in unison, they began to head toward the second Transcendence Dais in the middle of the second land mass.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1470

Chapter 1470 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1470: Copper Mirror Shard!

Naruto sped along over the surface of the second land mass, moving so quickly that any observer would only be able to see a blur that left everything rumbling in its wake.

Only he could see the sea of ghosts that surrounded him, endless numbers of them. They radiated obsession, madness, and at the same time, reverence. He was like a king, leading his armies across the lands.

More and more ghosts flew in to join that army, until both land and sky were completely covered by them. The cold was so intense that everything above and below was freezing over.

It was a majestic sight. He passed through the central part of the second land mass completely unobstructed, heading toward the border, and the third land mass.

His speed increased, and the freezing lands beneath him were like a shadow.

Behind him, Immortal Bai Wuchen was trembling inwardly. Naruto was like the blazing sun at noon, and was someone she actually had no desire to provoke. However, it was clear that he was working toward the same goal she was, and therefore, she had no choice but to attempt to stop him. She couldn't permit anyone to interfere with her opportunity to return home.

Her eyes glittered with killing intent as she pushed herself faster and faster. Behind her was the Sect Leader, then Sha Jiudong and Jin Yunshan in his golden robe. The three of them flew single file through the air, muttering to themselves as they gazed at Bai Wuchen and Naruto up ahead.

Rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth like the crackle of thunder. The ghosts spun around him as he swept over the land, and when he reached the border, he didn't pause for even a moment. Countless piercing howls rose up as he charged out into the void toward the third land mass.

Not too long after Naruto and the sea of ghosts passed into the third land mass, Bai Wuchen appeared, gnashing her teeth. She didn't pause either, summoning a mist that turned her blurry as she also flew out toward the third land mass.

She was followed by the Sect Leader and the other two peak 9-Essences paragons. They hesitated for a moment, but then unleashed various divine abilities to follow. By this point, it would be impossible for them not to have come to the conclusion that the goal of both Naruto and Bai Wuchen lay in the third land mass.

As for what exactly that goal was, and why it caused the two of them to be so focused, the Sect Leader and the others didn't know. It might be a bit more possible to rationalize Bai Wuchen's actions, but as for Naruto, he wasn't even the Ninth Paragon to begin with, and had only been to this place once before. However, in that first time he visited, he had clearly discovered something new.

Time passed. Naruto was in the lead, increasing his speed the entire time, surrounded by a sea of ghosts. Soon, he was speeding across the surface of the third land mass itself. He knew Bai Wuchen was behind him, but all he did was snort coldly and completely ignore her as he flew at top speed toward his target destination.

As soon as Naruto begin speeding in that particular direction, Bai Wuchen's pupils constricted. By now, she was certain that Naruto was indeed heading to the exact same position as her target.

"Dammit!" she thought, her eyes flickering with killing intent. Gritting her teeth, she even drew on her longevity for more speed and power. She bit down on her tongue and spit up a mouthful of blood, transforming herself into a mist. That mist rapidly became a blood mist, which shot forward with increased speed, and an intense, murderous aura.

Almost immediately, the distance between her and Naruto was narrowed down dramatically. Then, she performed a teleportation, and appeared directly ahead of Naruto. There, her eyes turned red as she shoved her hand out toward him.

"Get back!" she said, her voice ice cold. At the same time, she unleashed the power of her cultivation base, causing Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power to converge on her palm. The result was that the mist in front of her took the shape of a gigantic hand that crushed toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes were glacially cold. By now, he could tell that Bai Wuchen had ascertained his own goal in this place.

"Does that mean that she came to the necropolis with the same objective in mind?" Even as he reached this point in his train of thought, he snorted coldly and led the ghosts in a charge toward the mist hand. They howled, causing everything to shake as they slammed into the hand.

From a distance, it wasn't possible to see the ghosts, but it was possible to see the hand lurching to a halt, unable to get near Naruto. Then, it collapsed, and Immortal Bai Wuchen's face fell. She quickly retreated, transforming into a mist that vanished from in front of the deadly attack of the sea of ghosts.

Naruto turned his head to look at a seemingly empty spot in the air off in the distance, his eyes glittering with killing intent as he said, "Get in my way one more time, and I'll kill you no matter the price I have to pay."

With that, he turned and flew away.

It wasn't that he didn't want to kill Bai Wuchen. Unfortunately, her techniques were far stranger than the golden-robed Jin Yunshan's. There was something very dangerous about her, as far as Naruto could sense.

Therefore, unless it was absolutely necessary, he didn't want to force her hand.

After Naruto left, the mist reappeared in the spot where he had been looking, quickly transforming into the form of a woman. It was none other than Immortal Bai Wuchen, her face pale, her expression unyielding. Unfortunately, she was running out of options.

She could sense how Naruto seemed to be invincibly powerful, and in fact didn't even need to attack: he could have the ghosts do it for him.

"I've spent years in preparation. I've waited and waited. My chance is finally here. That second mirror shard belongs to me, and anyone who tries to fight me over it will die!" Eyes gleaming with madness, she began to pant. Then, she turned as the Sect Leader and the others approached.

When she saw them, her eyes glittered, and her lips could be seen moving as she transmitted separate messages to all of them.

"You're serious!?"

"What did you just say?!"

"That thing is real?!"

The Sect Leader and the others all blurted responses at almost the same time. The first response came from the Sect Leader, who immediately began to breathe deeply, his eyes shining as he stared at Immortal Bai Wuchen.

The second response was from Sha Jiudong. A tremor ran through him, and he almost seemed to change into a different person as he stared at Immortal Bai Wuchen. Although he concealed what he was feeling, his eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed to be profoundly shocked.

The third response naturally came from Jin Yunshan, who began to pant, his expression one of complete disbelief.

"You three will know shortly whether or not I'm telling the truth." With that, she waved her hand, causing three jade slips to fly out, each one of which contained different sets of information. The Sect Leader and the others all caught them.

As soon as the jade slip landed in the Sect Leader's hand, he studied it, and then his face darkened. After a moment, he took a deep breath, and something like a struggle could be seen in his eyes. Then the jade slip faded away, and his expression became very grim.

As for Sha Jiudong, when he finished looking at the jade slip, he didn't say a word. However, his eyes seemed more bloodshot than before, and even radiated a rapturous glow.

Then there was Jin Yunshan, who gripped the jade slip so hard that veins popped out on his hand.

"Fellow Daoists," Bai Wuchen said, "would the three of you please assist me? As for all those ghosts he's called, I have a way to neutralize them for two hours." Bai Wuchen looked expectantly at the three other Paragons, certain that they would be moved by her offer. She had planned long and hard to get the mirror shard, and had spared no cost in her efforts. Originally, she had prepared those jade slips to prevent them from fighting with her over the mirror shard.

But Naruto had changed everything, and she was now forced to do things a bit ahead of schedule.

After finishing speaking, she clasped hands and bowed. Without waiting for a response from the other three, she turned to leave. In her heart, she was completely and utterly convinced that they would agree to help her deal with Naruto.

After she left, Sha Jiudong was the first to take to flight, his eyes bloodshot, his killing intent rising rapidly.

The next was Jin Yunshan, veins still pulsing on his hand, but face expressionless.

Finally was the Sect Leader. He took a deep breath, and the brightness in his eyes faded a bit. His expression turned cold, and he murmured, "Please forgive me, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki…."

With that, his energy began to rise, and he flew in pursuit of the others.

The group of three went with Bai Wuchen in pursuit of Naruto, who had already caught sight of the location which was his destination, not too far off in the distance.

It was a desert, the sands of which were being whipped into a frenzy by a gusting wind. As he neared, Naruto took a deep breath, then waved both of his hands out in front of him, simultaneously unleashing divine will.

As the countless ghosts began to spread out to lock the area down, the excitement and anticipation in Naruto's face grew.

He waved his hand toward the desert, and a boom echoed out. As everything shook, the sand began to churn, slowly gathering together to form a mountain.

As the mountain took shape, the desert itself shrank. The sand mountain reached higher and higher into the sky, touching clouds. Soon, the desert was no more.

Revealed in front of Naruto was a stretch of ruins which had been buried underneath the desert. And in the middle of those ruins was a lake!

A closer inspection revealed that it was actually not a lake, but rather… a jagged shard of a mirror. However, it was so huge that at first glance it actually looked like a lake.

Naruto's heart began to pound at the sight of the mirror shard. He thought of the parrot, of the copper mirror, and of many other things. Taking a deep breath, he reached out and made a grasping motion.

Chapter 1470: Copper Mirror Shard!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1471

Chapter 1471: Righteous Jin Yunshan!

In almost the exact same instant that Naruto was reaching out to grab the mirror shard, rumbling sounds could be heard outside of the desert as Bai Wuchen, Sha Jiudong, the Sect Leader, and Jin Yunshan, four Potentates of Planet Vast Expanse, all attacked together!

Their combined attack caused intense, rumbling pressure. This was not the power of one attack, but numerous attacks combined. A mad tempest sprang up that, although it couldn't be said to be Transcendent, it was very close!

A slashing force like that wasn't capable of shaking the entire sea of ghosts, but it was so sharp that it could slice right through it.

The combined attack of the four powerful experts was like a blade slicing through bamboo, pushing ever closer toward the desert area.

Naruto ignored the rumbling sounds, and slowly closed his hand. The mirror shard flew toward him, shrinking down at the same time, until it was the size of a finger.

It looked ordinary, like nothing special at all. However, it was possible to detect that this object far exceeded even the most precious of treasures: it held faint traces of the aura of Transcendence.

As soon as Naruto touched it, he could sense what were apparently faint pulses of sealing power on the mirror shard, causing him to smile thoughtfully.

This mirror shard had numerous uses, and whoever acquired it would have to research it deeply to ascertain them. Except for Naruto. To him, uses which could be determined by means of research were all incorrect as far as he was concerned!

Only Naruto could use the mirror shard for its intended purpose. After all, the shard had once been part of the copper mirror, and that copper mirror… recognized Naruto as its owner!

Even though he had lost the mirror, and the parrot had erased its mind, that couldn't change one important fact…. Naruto was the master of the copper mirror during this era!

Neither Heaven nor Earth could change that.

Naruto looked at the mirror shard, gathered his divine sense, and then performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, pushing down onto the shard.

As he did, he forced a drop of blood out of the tip of his finger. When it merged into the mirror shard, his mind trembled, and he felt as if his consciousness were inside of the shard itself. Everything around him was rumbling. However, it was in this moment that he suddenly realized that there were certain fluctuations which he could sense, somewhere outside of the necropolis.

They were very faint, but they were there. Naruto instantly recognized that they were… the fluctuations of the copper mirror, and the aura of the parrot!

He shivered, and began to breathe deeply. He tried to issue a calling, but the mirror shard wasn't powerful enough. A few tests all failed.

"Only one shard isn't enough. If I can collect all the shards, though, I will definitely be able to summon the mirror!" His eyes shone with a bright light. Taking a deep breath, he ceased his attempts to call out to the copper mirror, and instead looked around quietly.

Gradually, his eyes began to shine brightly as he realized that within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, there were eight locations which all had auras that tugged at him!

One of them was the copper mirror itself, which was the furthest away from him. It was so far that its specific location was difficult to determine. As for the other seven locations, he could sense exactly where they were, even the ones which were far away.

"I found one of the mirror shards in the Mountain and Sea Realm," he murmured. "At that time, my cultivation base wasn't strong enough to detect the location of the other shards." Using his divine sense, he was able to stare directly at… the closest of the mirror shards. 1

It was so close, he was almost right on top of it.

"No wonder she knew about the mirror shard," he thought. "So that's how it is. She actually has one of the other shards!" His eyes glittered brightly as he realized that the nearest of the other seven mirror shards was right here on the third land mass, within the sea of ghosts, in the hands of… Bai Wuchen!

Almost in the same moment that he sent his divine sense into the mirror shard, rumbling sounds filled the air as four people appeared, shooting toward him like lightning.

They attacked with full power, blasting through the sea of ghosts and appearing near the desert and Naruto. As Naruto turned around to face them, they saw the mirror shard in his hand.

In the moment that Bai Wuchen realized what had occurred, her pupils constricted, and she shot toward him, energy surging.

"Please don't take offense, Ninth paragon…." the Sect Leader said with a sigh. Clasping hands, he began to stride forward.

Sha Jiudong didn't say anything, and as for Jin Yunshan, those veins

were still bulging out, and his face was expressionless.

The Sect Leader was behind Bai Wuchen. Next to him was Sha Jiudong, and furthest in the back was Jin Yunshan. They were like four powerful arrows shooting toward Naruto.

Naruto wasn't too surprised to see all of them attacking. If he were Bai Wuchen, and was able to sense the mirror shard in the necropolis, then he would have made plenty of preparations, including a way to force the other peak 9-Essences Paragons to help.

"I'm not sure what you want these mirror shards for," he said coolly, "but I have to thank you for saving me the trouble of finding yours." His expression was the same as ever as he faced the four incoming Paragons. He waved his hand, causing the sea of ghosts to scream as they merged into a tempest that spread out to meet his four attackers.

Earlier, the group of four had attacked and dispersed only one part of the sea of ghosts which had been blockading the area. Now they were facing an attack from the combined power of all the ghosts, which was a force that was completely different than before.

As the sea of ghosts surged toward them, icy coldness froze up everything in the area. But then, a bright glimmer appeared in Bai Wuchen's eyes. She grabbed out into the air and, all of a sudden, her own mirror shard appeared in her hand!

It was a bit bigger than the shard Naruto had acquired. As soon as it appeared, Bai Wuchen spit out some life force Essence aura onto it, then raised it above her head.

The mirror shard flickered brightly, shining with light that could shake Heaven and Earth. Everywhere it passed, the ghosts shivered, then suddenly stopped in place, blank expressions on their faces.

In the blink of an eye, the light had swept about in all directions, causing all of the ghosts to stop moving.

Blood sprayed out of Bai Wuchen's mouth. Obviously, using the mirror shard in that way came at a heavy price. However, a moment later, she was charging toward Naruto again.

The Sect Leader began to stride forward silently, as did Sha Jiudong and Jin Yunshan. The entire group of four passed the motionless ghosts to head directly toward Naruto.

It almost looked like a scene in which Naruto was the guardian of the third land mass, and these four were invaders who had entered the place after untold hardship, and were now attempting to kill Naruto to win their prize.

"That's not how to use the copper mirror shard," Naruto said, his expression the same as ever. He looked up, clenching his right hand into a fist which he then punched out at Immortal Bai Wuchen.

He immediately resorted to the Devil-Butchering Fist, which contained the embodiment of the God-Slaying, Self-Immolation, and LifeExtermination fists within it. One massive fist strike shook Heaven and Earth, leaving everything trembling.

A huge boom rang out, and Immortal Bai Wuchen trembled. Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth as she was shoved backward. However, Naruto was also forced back, his face flushed. As for Sha Jiudong, he transformed into a windstorm which then hurtled violently toward Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly, raising both hands up into the air. At the same time, he transformed into an azure roc which shot forward to meet Sha Jiudong. Massive booms echoed out as Sha Jiudong emerged from the sand, staggering backward several paces. Naruto also fell back, blood oozing out of his mouth. Then he looked up at the Sect Leader, who had mixed emotions on his face as he stabbed his finger toward Naruto's forehead.

That finger attack was like the might of Heaven, causing incredible pressure to weigh down. However, in that same moment, Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, unleashing the Essence of the Eight Hex, space. Instantly, it was as if a separate world had been erected.

The Sect Leader's finger clearly landed onto Naruto, and yet Naruto didn't move a muscle. In contrast, the Sect Leader flew backward, face flickering as he waved his sleeve. As he dodged the Essence of space, he prepared to make another attack, when all of a sudden Jin Yunshan let out a piercing cry and shot violently toward Naruto.

Everyone assumed that he was just about to attack Naruto. But then, he suddenly spun in place. As he neared Naruto, he reached out toward the Sect Leader and then jerked his hands apart.

It was none other than his Heaven Ripping magic!

A boom rang out, and the Sect Leader frowned. His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing powerful ripples to spread out in defense. The sudden change in the tide of battle was so startling that the Sect Leader had no choice but to suddenly back up. Sha Jiudong was also prevented from attacking, and Immortal Bai Wuchen was taken completely off guard.

"Jin Yunshan, are you crazy!?" she roared in rage. What she had offered Jin Yunshan earlier was so incredible that she had been certain he would be incapable of resisting.

"Nine Essences Redistillation Fruits might be rare in the Vast Expanse," Jiu Yunhan said, "and if you had actually pulled one out and handed it over, I might have been impressed. But you only offered a lead on how to get one. Your information might be completely accurate, and maybe I really could find that Nine Essences Redistillation Fruit eventually, but… I'm not that kind of person! I've always been righteous, and I already made an agreement with Fellow Daoist Uzumaki to cease hostilities. I take my promises seriously, so how could I possibly go back on my word!?" Jin Yunshan stuck his chin out, looking incredibly proud.

The truth was, he was cursing inside.

"You fool, Bai Wuchen," he thought as he stood there next to Naruto. "Unless you're absolutely certain of being able to kill Naruto, then, well fudge, considering his crazy personality, do you think he would ever let me get that Nine Essences Redistillation Fruit? In the cultivation world, promises are the least trustworthy of all things. I don't know why the other two agreed with you. The Sect Leader has the Vast Expanse School, and Sha Jiudong is stubborn. But I, Jin Yunshan, am not easily fooled!"

Naruto collected the other mirror shard in chapter 619 ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1472

Chapter 1472 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1472: That's Not How To Use That Mirror Shard!

Immortal Bai Wuchen's countless machinations hadn't taken into consideration the indescribable level of fear Jin Yunshan felt because of Naruto.

Deep within his heart, he didn't possess even the shred of a desire to provoke Naruto the lunatic.

It was as he had just said. If Bai Wuchen had actually offered him a Nine Essences Redistillation Fruit, he would have helped her immediately. However, a mere piece of information, no matter how certain it was, could not make him do anything to offend Naruto.

He had hesitated for a moment, a bit earlier. However, Naruto's complete and utter calm despite the sea of ghosts being taken out of action left Jin Yunshan in a dilemma. Gritting his teeth, he had trusted his intuition regarding Naruto, and switched sides.

Nobody, not even Immortal Bai Wuchen, would have been able to guess that Naruto had frightened Jin Yunshan so deeply that he would do something like this. Naruto couldn't help but look over at him in surprise.

Jin Yunshan looked askance at Naruto and said, "What are you looking at? Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, don't tell me you think I'm the backstabbing type? We had our agreement to cease hostilities, and my word is my bond. Nor will I flip out and lose my temper. When I say I'll do something, then I'll do it."

He seemed quite proud, and he couldn't conceal the bit of derision that had seeped into his tone.

Immortal Bai Wuchen's face darkened, and Sha Jiudong sighed. The Sect Leader smiled wryly as he looked at Jin Yunshan.

Jin Yunshan cleared his throat as he continued to look over at Naruto.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, if you need direct assistance from me, we can discuss the matter. For the time being, I won't get in the way of the other Fellow Daoists." Jin Yunshan laughed heartily, then flew off to the side, acting as though he wouldn't get involved no matter what happened.

He had chosen to switch sides, but there were different ways to switch sides. As long as he didn't help Naruto fight, then Bai Wuchen and the Sect Leader, and even Sha Jiudong, wouldn't be able to say anything.

Because of the current situation, he was now vastly more important to

Naruto than before, and might even be able to determine whether

Naruto survived the catastrophe which had struck him. Of course,

Naruto would have to pay a price for that. On the other hand, if Bai Wuchen wanted to avoid a complete failure in her plan, she would also need to pay a price.

According to Jin Yunshan's calculations, things might even develop in such a way that he wouldn't help either side at all, but would still end up profiting from both sides. The best part of it all was that he would avoid doing anything whatsoever that Naruto might be offended by.

Having reached these conclusions, Jin Yunshan smiled proudly.

Immortal Bai Wuchen snorted coldly, ignoring Jin Yunshan and turning to the Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong.

"Fellow Daoists, as for the promises I made, I can swear a Dao oath that they are true!" As soon as the words left her mouth, the Sect Leader nodded, and Sha Jiudong's eyes glittered with red light.

The three of them then once again went on the offensive. They shot toward Naruto, Bai Wuchen in the lead, with the other two coming from the opposite sides, completely locking him down.

Naruto's expression was calm as he looked at his three attackers. Even as they bore down on him, he pushed his hand out, and numerous mountains began to descend. Even as the mountains blocked his three opponents, Naruto's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture. The Eighth Hex appeared. Then the Seventh, and the Sixth. They flew out in rapid succession. As Bai Wuchen and the other two dealt with the mountains, Naruto unleashed all of the Hexes down to the First.

"Eight Hexes, combine!" he said, eyes flashing. He performed an incantation gesture, and then waved both hands out in front of him. Instantly, the eight Hexing magics combined, transforming into numerous threads which became a huge net. That net then shot toward the group of three.

The Sect Leader frowned, performing a double-handed incantation gesture that caused the sky to grow dark. At the same time, a shocking mountain peak appeared, descending from the Heavens to hover above the Sect Leader's head.

"Cauldron Mountain Conjury!" he said in his ancient voice. Waving his hands, he caused the mountain to begin to grow rapidly, until it seemed to supercede Heaven and Earth. At the same time, it shot directly toward Naruto.

Meanwhile, Sha Jiudong began to spin in place, transforming into a raging sandstorm, inside of which could be seen a two-horned head. The head's eyes were crimson, and it let out a piercing shriek as it shot toward Naruto.

Immortal Bai Wuchen's eyes flickered. Hands flashing with an incantation gesture, her Essence power erupted out, causing all color in the world to be masked as fog billowed out.

Boundless, endless fog turned the entire world into a place of fog that sought to bore into every pore in Naruto's body.

Three peak 9-Essences cultivators were all attacking simultaneously, a majestic sight that caused Heaven and Earth to shake violently. Naruto was powerful, but not even he was a match for three peak 9Essences experts. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he staggered backward. Killing intent gleamed in Immortal Bai Wuchen's eyes as she suddenly reached out and performed an incantation gesture, causing a mirror shard to appear.

The shard flickered dazzlingly, and a piercing beam of light suddenly shot out from it, stabbing through anything and everything as it headed toward Naruto.

Rumbling echoed out, and simultaneously, Naruto teleported, retreating a significant distance, where he stared at them coldly. At the same time, Jin Yunshan powered up his cultivation base, as if to remind Naruto of his presence. As long as both sides were relatively evenly matched, it was to his advantage to remain just as he was.

Naruto looked at him with an enigmatic smile, then turned away. From the beginning of the fight down to this moment, he hadn't shown the slightest sign of being ruffled, as if the battle was something he didn't even care about.

"I have to say that this is Naruto's first time fighting three peak 9Essences cultivators at one time," he said coolly, referring to himself by name for the first time. "What a precious opportunity." He shook his head. "But now, it's time to end this farce."

He looked over at the Sect Leader, no killing intent in his gaze whatsoever; he could tell that the man was holding back. As for Sha

Jiudong, however, he seemed to be attacking with as much madness at Immortal Bai Wuchen, and yet there were clues within his magical techniques regarding his true attitude.

Not even he wanted to push things to the extreme in this situation.

Immortal Bai Wuchen laughed coldly. "How arrogant! Let me tell you, if you don't hand over that mirror shard, you will die beyond the shadow of a doubt!"

Her right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and the mirror shard glittered again.

"That's not how to use that mirror shard," Naruto said coolly. It was his second time saying such a thing. The first time, Immortal Bai Wuchen hadn't paid attention, but to hear him say it a second time left her heart pounding.

She wasn't the only one. Both the Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong were starting to wonder why Naruto was so calm when facing all three of them in battle.

Even Jin Yunshan's heart was starting to pound.

He waved his sleeve, and his own mirror shard appeared there in his hand. It floated up, radiating scintillating light, as if it were the most precious treasure in the entire world. "Let me show you the correct way to use a shard from the copper mirror."

Chapter 1472: That's Not How To Use That Mirror Shard!

—–

Note from Deathblade: This chapter was a bit shorter than usual, coming in at around 1,400 words instead of the usual 2,000 or so.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1473

Chapter 1473: Because It's Mine!

Naruto looked at his own mirror shard, his gaze somewhat tender as he recalled the copper mirror itself. He sent some divine will into the shard, and then, utilizing the same method he had used to control the copper mirror, caused a bright light to shine out of it that vastly exceeded the light from before.

It was like a tiny sun there in his hand, and it completely eclipsed the light from the mirror shard held by Immortal Bai Wuchen, becoming the most radiant thing in the entire world.

All other light became darkness in comparison, colorless and black. Everyone who could see the mirror shard was completely shocked by what was happening.

Bai Wuchen's eyes widened. After working with her mirror shard for so many years, she had come to understand some of its properties, and was profoundly aware that the brighter it shone, the more power and pressure it would unleash.

Her heart began to pound, although on the outside, she attempted to maintain a calm front. However, before she could do so for very long, she saw that, unexpectedly, the mirror shard that Naruto held in his hand… was beginning to melt!

"What…?" Immortal Bai Wuchen's mind began to spin. What was happening exceeded even her powers of imagination. She could never have guessed that the mirror shard would actually melt. She continued to watch in amazement as the melted mirror shard fused into Naruto's right hand, spreading out to cover it, forming… a gauntlet!

It was pitch black, and appeared to part of a set of armor. There was something threatening about it, and it virtually burst with an aura of manic violence.

It was an aura that could shake Heaven and Earth, and at the same time, it seemed elated, as if it had been suppressed for countless years. Now that it could be out in the open, it was like a buried treasure which had finally been revealed to the light of day, to shine in all its glory.

Bai Wuchen stared in shock, as Naruto's previous words continued to echo in her mind.

"Have I been using it wrong?" she thought, her mind reeling. There was no time for her to contemplate how to react. Even as she prepared to steel herself and take action, her own mirror shard suddenly began to tremble, almost as if it were about to slip out of her control.

"This… this is impossible…." she said, her face ashen. She had studied the mirror shard for countless years to figure out how to use it in the way she did, and had always assumed she was using it correctly. But now, after seeing Naruto turn his mirror shard into a gauntlet, her mind was in chaos. "How… how did you…?"

Before she could finish speaking, Naruto calmly waved his hand.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the mirror shard hovering around Immortal Bai Wuchen, the mirror shard which she had possessed for countless years, suddenly began to shake. Then, it transformed into a beam of light as it severed its own connection to her and shot over to Naruto's side.

"NO!" she screamed. It was like an invisible fist slamming into her. Her face went pale white, and she coughed up a mouthful of blood. She simply couldn't accept what was happening. This was her precious treasure, her chance to return home, the object of all her hopes, something she had studied for years and years. In fact, in the past she had even been able to use the mirror shard to detect the presence of other mirror shards that were close by. But now… she found that everything she had come to understand about the shard had been mistaken.

The feeling she was experiencing was like that of raising a child to adulthood, only to find out later that the child was not even related by blood. Then that child ran off with its true family….

Bai Wuchen had even been able to sense the joy within the mirror shard, as if it were reuniting with a relative after years of wandering alone.

"Why is this happening?!" Bai Wuchen asked, glaring at Naruto with bloodshot eyes. Her hair was disheveled and she seemed to be slipping into a state of madness. Then she could only watch as her own mirror shard melted, merged into Naruto's arm, and became a vambrace that covered his entire arm!

It was pitch black and radiated mysterious light, along with a shocking aura. Upon seeing the armor for the first time, Bai Wuchen, along with everyone else, was completely shaken.

The vambrace was covered with complicated, abstruse designs and cloud-like patterns. Based on the shocking aura of the armor, it almost seemed as if Naruto's arm had somehow become connected to the world in some mysterious way.

As all of this happened, the ghosts which had been immobilized began to awaken. As they lifted their heads and looked at Naruto, they saw the armor he was wearing, and began to drop to their knees to kowtow.

The world went silent. All eyes were fixed on Naruto, or more accurately, on the armor which covered his arm and hand.

The Sect Leader took in a deep breath as he sensed the danger they were now in. Sha Jiudong's pupils constricted, and the madness in his eyes was fading into a bright glow.

Only Immortal Bai Wuchen seemed incapable of accepting the sudden turn of events. Moments ago, she had held the upper hand in the battle, and had her mirror shard to rely on. But then, everything changed.

It was at this point that Naruto answered Bai Wuchen's question.

"Because it's mine," he murmured. He looked down at the armor, and his gaze softened. The flicker of reminiscence could be seen in his eyes. When his words echoed out, Bai Wuchen heard them, and a tremor ran through her.

"That's impossible!" she shrieked, breaking the calm silence that had filled the area. She couldn't accept what was happening, and as such, she lurched into motion, unleashing her cultivation base. The power of nine Essences exploded out, creating a mist that spread out to cover the entire world, then rumbled down toward Naruto.

She refused to yield, not even at this point, not even when her mirror shard had been taken by Naruto. She would still risk everything!

"Sect Leader. Fellow Daoist Sha. Please help me one last time!" Her tone was shrill, even pleading. The Sect Leader sighed, then stepped forward, transforming into a beam of light that shot through the Essence mist created by Bai Wuchen.

Then there was Sha Jiudong. He gritted his teeth, then began to spin in place, becoming a tempest that also merged into the mist. The shocking combination of all three of these powerful experts became a destructive attack that bore down on Naruto, causing everything in the area to quake violently.

Naruto looked up, eyes flickering. His desire to fight suddenly skyrocketed, and he blurred into motion, appearing directly in front of the group of three.

Then, he clenched his hand into a fist, whereupon cloud-like ripples began to spread out. The fist seemed slow, but apparently, Bai Wuchen and the others simply couldn't dodge it. It was as if… the instant he punched out, the blow had already landed onto the Essence mist!

The mist rumbled as though a stormwind had blasted through it. It began to seethe, and booms could be heard. The mist was swept away, evaporated, revealing Bai Wuchen, who coughed up a mouthful of blood. At the same time, Naruto took another step forward, unleashing another fist strike at the Sect Leader.

He didn't actually strike the Sect Leader himself, but unleashed the power of the fist right in front of him. A boom could be heard, and a massive blast of wind surged out, causing the Sect Leader's face to flicker. At first he thought he might be able to use some divine abilities to fight back, but then he simply sighed with the realization that there was little to be done now. Instead, he took advantage of the force of the blow to fly backward, leaving the way open for Naruto.

Naruto strode forward again, turning to look at Sha Jiudong in the sandstorm. Sha Jiudong chose to do the same as the Sect Leader, and quietly backed up, sighing with the realization that he simply couldn't fight back.

After the Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong retreated, Naruto appeared in front of Immortal Bai Wuchen herself, and once again threw out a punch.

Massive rumbling filled the air as the blow slammed into her torso. Cloud-like fluctuations emanated off of the armor, and Bai Wuchen coughed up a mouthful of blood, then tumbled backward like a kite with its string cut, cracking sounds filling the air the entire time. She was unable to stop at first, and coughed up more blood as she continued to fall back. Then, she finally came to a stop 3,000 meters away, where she looked up, face pale. Finally, she coughed up a third mouthful of blood.

Her aura was in chaos, as though something inside of her was reversing her flow of Chakra and blood. She held nothing back in an attempt to control the force, but that only resulted in more blood oozing out of the corners of her mouth.

The Sect Leader's eyes went wide, but he said nothing. Sha Jiudong subconsciously edged backward a bit, his eyes filled with shock.

As for Jin Yunshan, he sucked in a deep breath, and couldn't help but think to himself that he really had made the right decision earlier.

"Like I said earlier, this farce is over," Naruto said coolly. He waved his sleeve, and the howling ghosts in the area began to swirl around him. They transformed into an invisible vortex which spread out in all directions. 50 kilometers. 500 kilometers. 5,000 kilometers. 50,000 kilometers. 500,000 kilometers…. It eventually stretched out so far in every direction that it seemed endless.

Naruto was in the very center, like a divine being within the world.

The pressure radiating off of him exploded out, supplanting the pressure of Heaven, covering the entire world. The sea of ghosts also emitted pressure, which combined with Naruto's, causing the ground to quake, as though the entire world, as if all Heaven and Earth, were prostrating in worship to Naruto.

Jin Yunshan's face fell, and he backed up, rotating his cultivation base. The Sect Leader sighed, clasped hands, and bowed to Naruto. Then he made a grasping motion, causing a bag of holding to appear, which he placed down onto the ground and then backed up. After retreating a certain distance, he rotated his cultivation base to protect himself from the intense pressure.

Sha Jiudong also sighed, then produced a bag of holding, placed it onto the ground, and backed up.

Their stance in the matter was clear. Not only had they held back earlier during the fight, they now also offered compensation. In their estimation, Naruto would not push the matter to the bitter end.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1474

Chapter 1474: A Long, Long Path….

They were correct. Naruto had his way of doing things, and after glancing at the Sect Leader and Sha Jiudong, he nodded slightly, waved his sleeve, and collected the two bags of holding. Then he looked over at Bai Wuchen.

Her lips were still smeared with blood, and her face was ashen. She stood there trembling, a bitter expression on her face as she looked, not at Naruto, but off into the distance. Her mood couldn't be lower.

She had been completely and utterly defeated. All of her plans, all of her preparations, were like nothing when it came to Naruto's spectacular power.

Although she didn't want to admit it, she knew deep in her heart that what Naruto had said was no lie. The mirror shard really did belong to him. If it didn't, then the shard, which she had studied so deeply for so many years, would never have undergone the fantastic transformations it just had.

She also understood even more deeply that her defeat had resulted in her losing not only the mirror shard, but her path home.

"I can't go back now…" she murmured bitterly. "Not unless I

Transcend…. But Transcendence is so difficult. I won't even be able to succeed with all nine of the altars here in the necropolis. Even using Patriarch Vast Expanse's Dao altar might not work." The entire reason she had been able to coerce the Sect Leader into helping her was by offering him a clue about Patriarch Vast Expanse's Dao altar.

She knew that because of the techniques she cultivated, Transcendence would be especially difficult for her, far more difficult than it was for the average person. Most importantly, she had been waiting far longer than anyone else. She was one of the first people to descend to Planet Vast Expanse from the Vast Expanse Society.

She had been inside the starry sky of the Vast Expanse for far too long. She wanted to go back, to return home, to leave this place. The power of the mirror shard, and the Transcendent will it contained, led her to the conclusion that it could cut open the Vast Expanse. Furthermore, the more mirror shards she could collect, the more likely it was that, even without a Transcendent cultivation base, she could still leave the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

"I just want to go home…." she murmured bitterly. "I just want to leave here, to go back to my home outside the Vast Expanse…." The Sect Leader stood there quietly, and Sha Jiudong sighed inwardly. Mixed emotions could be seen on Jin Yunshan's face.

"Outside the Vast Expanse?" Naruto asked suddenly, looking over at her.

"What is outside of the Vast Expanse? A world like the starry sky inside?" It was a question Naruto had pondered ever since his experience under the surface of the first land mass of the necropolis. In the visions he had experienced, he had gone outside of the Vast Expanse, and had seen nothing but desolate emptiness. It was empty, devoid of life. There was nothing there except the five enormous pillars. 1

There definitely hadn't been any Vast Expanse Society!

Back then, Naruto had begun to wonder if the supposed origin of the Vast Expanse School, the so-called Vast Expanse Society, might be… nothing more than a sham. In that case, perhaps the world outside of the Vast Expanse, the place where Transcendent cultivators could go to… was also a sham.

"Outside the Vast Expanse is my home," Bai Wuchen said quietly. "It's a flourishing place that the Vast Expanse can't even compare to. Outside, there is no mist, only a dazzling starry sky, and one planet after another after another, filled with life.

"Immortal spirit aura is thick and abundant there. What we have here can't even compare. Here, we are like poor beggars!" Although her words were simple, as she spoke, her eyes shone brightly. In Naruto's mind, he could almost imagine the celestial utopia she described, and although it was completely different from what he had seen outside the Vast Expanse, his eyes glittered nonetheless. As he looked around, he realized that the Sect Leader, Sha Jiudong, and even Jin Yunshan all seemed to be lost in their memories, just like Bai Wuchen was.

Naruto's scalp began to tingle. Inside of him was the remnant of the true Ninth Paragon's soul, which he had long since Soulsearched. At that time, he hadn't found any memories regarding what was outside the Vast Expanse. It was as if those memories were sealed, and could not be accessed.

"What exactly is outside the Vast Expanse?" he thought. "Is it like Bai Wuchen described, or is it like what I saw?" His eyes flickered as he once again looked over at Immortal Bai Wuchen. Despite the fact that she had tried to kill him, she still cut a very lamentable figure.

She wanted to return to her home, just like Naruto wanted to return to his….

He sighed and looked away, transforming into a beam of light that shot off into the distance, accompanied by the ghosts.

Naruto had accomplished his goal in coming to the necropolis; he had acquired the copper mirror shard. In fact, he had actually acquired two

of them. There was now no reason for him to stay behind. He would leave the necropolis and return to Planet Vast Expanse. Then he would follow the tug of the mirror shards he possessed to find the other six!

"Once I find them, I can call out to the copper mirror, and summon it back from wherever it is!" The glow in his eyes shone brighter and brighter as he passed from the third land mass into the second, and then finally reached the first. He crossed the bridge of flesh and blood, went through the perimeter region, and finally, stepped into the teleportation portal that was the exit. There, he stopped and looked back.

As he gazed out at the distant ninth land mass, he could just barely make out that enormous throne, and the blurry figure sitting upon it, who seemed to be looking at him.

With that, he turned and stepped into the teleportation portal.

After Naruto left, the Sect Leader and the others stood there silently for a moment, completely shaken. Having been defeated, Bai Wuchen's only hope of returning to her home now rested with Transcendence.

After revealing the information she had promised to the Sect Leader and

Sha Jiudong, they proceeded to seek enlightenment on the

Transcendence Daises of the second and third land masses. When the time came, they would seek to survive the apocalypse on the third land mass using the turtle shell.

The paths being tread were different, and thus the choices were also different. To Naruto, the Transcendence Daises in the necropolis were useless at the moment. Only after he successfully formed the Ninth Hex could he return, then try to make it to the ninth altar. Then, he could dispel the mists, and use the power of the altar to combine the nine Hexes.

As for the Sect Leader and the others, their cultivation bases were already at the pinnacle, which left them with only a single direction to follow: Transcendence. It might be difficult, but as long as the slightest possibility of success remained, they would not give up.

Back on the half-planet, Naruto stepped out of the teleportation portal, his hair floating around him. A thoughtful expression could be seen on his face as his third eye closed, reverting into nothing more than a violet mark on his forehead.

Then, he flickered into motion, returning to his secluded meditation facilities in Ninth Paragon City. There, he extended his right hand, causing the two mirror shards to float up in front of him.

Next, he sent some divine sense into the shards, and was immediately able to sense seven different locations in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. One of them was the copper mirror, the position of which he couldn't lock down definitively. However, the other six locations were quite the opposite; he could determine exactly where they were.

He tried summoning the copper mirror. While it was true that two mirror shards were more powerful than one, they still weren't powerful enough to succeed in that. He would definitely need more shards.

"My clone is already on the right track," he thought. "The moment he enters the Dao Realm, he'll be able to fully form the first of the nine sealing marks." His clone's experience in the Vast Expanse Shrine had actually changed Naruto's plans. However, he still wasn't completely certain about the matter, and needed to wait until the first sealing mark was complete before making a final decision.

"Since that's the case, there's no reason for me to stay here in the Vast Expanse School." Eyes flickering with bright light, he decided to leave. He would journey into the starry sky and follow the pull of the copper mirror shards, to collect the remaining six.

"A long, long path…." he thought. He could sense that the six mirror shards were scattered in a variety of locations throughout the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, and that it wouldn't be easy to gather them together. It wasn't something that could be accomplished in a short amount of time either.

After a moment of thought, a profound look could be seen in his eyes. He sent out some divine will, which was immediately detected by his subordinates, the 7-Essences and 8-Essences Paragons.

Naruto wasn't sure how long he would be gone, and there were many responsibilities to be handled while he was gone, including matters regarding the expansion of the Ninth Sect, as well as things pertaining to his clone. After making the relevant explanations and arrangements, he left.

A beam of light shot up, leaving the lands below, leaving Planet Vast

Expanse, and entering the starry sky. There, he looked out at the Vast Expanse, his eyes flickering. Based on the tug he felt, he headed in the direction of the nearest mirror shard.

Before, it would have been very, very difficult for Naruto to attempt to track down all of the mirror shards. However, his cultivation base was now strong enough to fight with the peak of 9-Essences, and he also had two mirror shards that could transform into armor. With all that, he was confident that… other than a Transcendent cultivator, it would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find someone who could cause problems for him in a fight.

As his true self was leaving, his clone was sitting cross-legged in the Ninth Sect. After taking 1st place in the Vast Expanse Shrine, he had been named the Legacy disciple of the Ninth Sect, and was given a mountain peak which was superior in all terms, including the view and the amount of spiritual energy.

The entire mountain belonged to Naruto, and was protected by numerous restrictive spell formations. No one could possibly enter without his permission. Other than Naruto and Yan'er, the only people on the mountain were various servant cultivators who had been assigned to work for him.

Naruto's performance in the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine, and the matter with the Tenth Heaven, had already become somewhat of a legend. Furthermore, all of the disciples of the Ninth Sect had come to view him with complete awe and reverence.

Even all of the Chosen felt that way.

In the few days which followed the event, a constant stream of visitors came to pay respects. At first he met them individually, but soon there were simply too many, and he finally announced that he would be going into secluded meditation to restore his cultivation base. After that, he entrusted outside affairs to Yan'er.

Yan'er had no option other than to accept the arrangement. In the following days, all her time was taken up with receiving visitors from the sect. At first she was excited about the matter. After all, Namikaze Mu's rise to prominence meant that she instantly had a completely different status in the sect. Now she understood what it was like to be extremely popular.

She also was able to accept countless gifts, so many that they couldn't fit into a single bag of holding.

However, her mood gradually soured as she realized that the majority of people coming to visit her Master were female cultivators. Furthermore, it seemed like each one was prettier than the last, and all of them were making discreet inquiries about her Master.

It really only hit me at the last minute that this conflicts with the original description in chapter 1429, which also has ramifications on the information in 1428. Although it's theoretically possible to rationalize the discrepancy, I suspect it's a mistake on Er Gen's part. I don't have time to confirm that at the moment, so I'm going to put this on the list of things to analyze properly and/or fix at a later date ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1475

Chapter 1475: Marriage Alliance!

"A bunch of fawning sycophants!" she thought. "Hmph! I can't believe so many girls like my Master, that old fogey. As his disciple, I definitely have to keep things under control!" Yan'er took her mission very seriously. She was often less than polite to the female disciples. She would accept their gifts, but when it came to their veiled inquiries about her Master, she didn't even respond.

The more charming and pretty the girls were, the more hostile Yan'er got. Oftentimes, after such a female cultivator left, she would look miserably down at her own body, and even stare at her face in the mirror. Then she would stamp her foot and stalk over to Naruto's secluded meditation facilities to yell at him from outside.

It was on one particular day that she stood there, fists on her waist, cursing Naruto. "Master, why don't you act like the old man you are!? Look at you! Don't you have anything better to do than challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine? Do you know how many manly visitors you've had recently, all throwing themselves at you? Well, do you?!"

Naruto opened his eyes, looked out at the infuriated Yan'er, and smiled, somewhat curious about what she had just said.

"Manly?"

"Yeah. Manly women. Stout and sturdy, each and every one of them, all pimply-faced too. Women are supposed to have lovely voices right? But not them. If you want, I can bring them all over to see you here." With that, she glared at the door of the meditation chamber. If Naruto dared to agree to such an offer, she would probably bite his head off like a vicious tiger.

A strange expression could be seen on Naruto's face. Clearing his throat, he yelled, "Get back to cultivating. I've taught you a lot of divine abilities and Daoist magics. There's the Dao of Reincarnation, the Heavengod Magic, and the Mountain Consuming Incantation. You never got them down right, so stop wasting time and get to work, alright?" Then he closed his eyes and went back to meditating.

Yan'er snorted dramatically. Seeing that her Master was just going to continue on with cultivation, she stamped her feet and glared at the door one more time, then turned and walked away.

"Bad Master! Stinky Master! Crotchety old fogey! Shameless fossil!

Hmph! Mountain Consuming Incantation? Heavengod Magic? Dao of Reincarnation? I mastered all of those a long time ago. He's just coming up with excuses!" As she muttered to herself, she walked past the mastiff, who was sleeping just outside of the courtyard. When the mastiff heard her muttering, it opened its eyes, listened for a moment, then quickly closed its eyes and pretended to continue sleeping.

Time passed. Eventually, the number of disciples coming to visit began to decline. Just when Yan'er was about to breathe a sigh of relief, though, people from cultivator clans outside of the Vast Expanse School started to show up. There were quite a few of them, many of whom offered gifts in the form of beautiful servant girls. Yan'er was about to go mad, even more so than before.

Most intolerable was that, unexpectedly, there were some people who came to propose marriage alliances….

On one particular day, the 7-Essences Paragon who had helped Naruto during his tribulation brought a group of people to Naruto's mountain peak. Among that group was another 7-Essences Paragon. As the two Paragons chatted, they were followed closely by a young woman.

She carried herself gracefully, and was spectacularly beautiful. Although she had a somewhat arrogant look to her, she didn't seem too pleased to be here. However, she followed along as the two Paragons led her up the mountain.

"Yan'er, hurry and call your Master out," said the Ninth Sect Paragon, smiling. To him, Naruto was a very important person, and since Yan'er was his disciple, it was only natural that he speak respectfully to her.

Yan'er wasn't too pleased with the situation. She looked at the two Paragons, then the young woman, and her heart began to pound. Of all the women she had seen recently, this girl was definitely the most beautiful.

Furthermore, her cultivation base was extraordinary, being in the early Ancient Realm.

For some reason, Yan'er started getting nervous. She nodded and ran over to Naruto's secluded meditation facilities, only to find that he had already emerged. If anyone else had come to visit, he would have refused to see them, but this particular Paragon had been of significant help during his tribulation, and he definitely couldn't refuse him.

Taking Yan'er with him, he headed to the audience hall, where the Ninth Sect Paragon laughed heartily upon catching sight of him.

" Namikaze Mu, please offer formal greetings to Paragon Streamcloud from the Third Sect."

The Paragon from the Third Sect looked closely at Naruto, obviously measuring him up. Then he smiled. Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he clasped hands and bowed.

After all the introductions were made, everyone sat down and began to chat. The beautiful young woman occasionally looked over at Naruto, her expression one of contempt, although she did a fairly good job of covering it up.

Yan'er sat next to Naruto, her dislike for the young woman growing by the moment. Then she heard the visiting Paragon explain that this girl was one of the Vast Expanse School's Holy Daughter-designates, and that he wanted her and Naruto to become Daoist partners. Yan'er couldn't control herself. Her mind spinning, she subconsciously blurted, "No way! My Master doesn't need a Daoist partner!"

As soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly shivered, and her face drained of blood. She looked over at Naruto and immediately dropped to her knees to kowtow, heart filled with regret. She had no idea why she had suddenly blurted what she had, and was suddenly very nervous that she might have angered her Master.

"Master, my… my mistake…."

The Ninth Sect Paragon frowned, but before he could say anything, Paragon Streamcloud snorted, and his eyes turned cold. As for the Holy Daughter-designate, the scorn in her eyes deepened.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever. The arrival of these two Paragons hadn't ruffled him at all, and as for the matter of Daoist partnership, it was nothing surprising. His clone was incredibly famous in the Vast Expanse School, and was considered a Chosen among Chosen, the future pillar of the sect.

It was to be expected that people would propose marriage alliances and Daoist partnerships.

However, after hearing Yan'er's reaction, he couldn't hold back from smiling. He looked over at her, his expression warm, then flicked his sleeve to indicate that she should cease kowtowing.

"What mistake?" he said softly. "I never said you made any mistake." When she saw the kindness in his gaze, her heart shivered, and strange, warm emotions suddenly flooded through her.

With that, Naruto turned to the two Paragons, clasped hands and said, "Seniors, I'm indebted to you for the kindness you've shown. Truly, I'm very touched. However, I, Namikaze Mu, truly have no need of a Daoist partner."

"This…." The Ninth Sect Paragon frowned and looked over at Naruto.

However, he could tell that his mind had been made up, and the Paragon had no desire to try to force the sect's most important Chosen to do anything. Then he looked over at Yan'er, and recalled the warmth in Naruto's gaze, and suddenly everything clicked. A strange expression appeared on his face.

Paragon Streamcloud's expression was very grim. He, Paragon Streamcloud, had already shown plenty of respect to this Namikaze Mu, and besides that, the young woman he had brought from his clan was a peerless beauty. Despite all that, Namikaze Mu unexpectedly refused the offer.

Pressure instantly began to weigh down in the room. Naruto's expression was the same as ever, but Yan'er looked frightened.

With a cold snort, Paragon Streamcloud turned and clasped hands to the Ninth Sect Paragon. Then he flicked his sleeve and turned to leave. As for the young woman, she ceased any attempt to conceal the scorn on her face. As she turned to leave, her expression was one of disdain.

Just as she was about to walk out the door, she looked back and muttered, "Illicit Master and apprentice romance. How utterly disgusting."

—–

Note from Deathblade: This is another relatively short chapter, coming in at about 1,400 words instead of the usual 2,000.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1476

Chapter 1476: Of Course!

The words "illicit Master and apprentice romance" immediately caused Yan'er to shiver. Her face was completely ashen as she staggered backward a few steps.

The second half of what the young woman had said, "utterly disgusting", was like a hammer blow to the pit of Yan'er's stomach. Her mind was reeling; it was as if her most secret and hidden feelings had suddenly been dramatically revealed to everyone, as though things which had confused even her were now being proclaimed loudly for everyone to hear. It made Yan'er feel as if Heaven and Earth were suddenly spinning in reverse. She even coughed up a mouthful of blood.

"You…." she said, her vision swimming as she visibly shook. She simply didn't know what to say.

In the instant that the words left the young woman's mouth, a grim expression overtook Naruto's face. He rose to his feet, and suddenly, incredible pressure exploded out, engulfing the young woman.

At the same time, Naruto took a step forward. When his foot landed, lands shook and mountains were rocked. The Holy Daughter-designate's face fell; she had assumed Naruto was a soft and warm person, but in the blink of an eye, he had become like a vicious wild beast. His gaze, his energy, the pressure radiating off of him, made her feel as if she

were about to be torn to pieces. Instantly, she began to tremble inwardly, and her scalp felt as if it would explode.

Paragon Streamcloud also frowned, and extended his hand as if to block Naruto's way. However, in that exact moment, Naruto looked over at him and said, "Do you truly dare to block my way?!"

One gaze and one sentence from the mouth of an Ancient Realm cultivator was being used to threaten a 7-Essences Paragon. Anyone who saw this happening would find it inconceivable. It was an act of utter conceit, of complete audacity. It was like a praying mantis trying to stop a war chariot!

However, in that instant in which Naruto looked at him, Paragon Streamcloud felt something strange and mysterious rumbling inside his mind. It was something threatening, although it wasn't coming from Naruto's cultivation base. He felt a sensation of deadly crisis that caused all the hair on his body to stand on end, as though Naruto's gaze contained some mysterious, unfathomable power. It was the kind of power that one felt when one's superior was staring you in the eye.

It was very natural, completely lacking pretense and affectation, as though the person staring at him truly was the most powerful of experts. Even Streamcloud, a 7-Essences Paragon, felt like a weakling!

Even as his mind was sent reeling by a single glance Naruto's words entered his ears. They should be words that could be considered the biggest joke in the world. And yet, although Streamcloud got the feeling that this person was completely mad… he also felt thoroughly shaken.

"How is this even possible!?" he thought. His mind was in chaos, and he felt so ashamed he was about to fly into a rage. Anyone with his position would feel the same way in such circumstances. However, even as his eyes flickered with coldness and he prepared to do something to Naruto, the Ninth Sect's 7-Essences Paragon snorted coldly and stepped forward to block his path.

A boom rang out, and the two of them backed away from each other.

The Ninth Sect's Paragon then spoke in a coldly sinister voice that echoed out in all directions.

"Fellow Daoist Streamcloud. What exactly did this disciple of your Third Sect mean just now? We're in the Ninth Sect at the moment, so you had better be prepared to give us a good explanation!" The Ninth Sect's Paragon was infuriated. The fact that no marriage alliance had been formed didn't really matter. This disciple couldn't possibly have said what she had said by accident; it was clearly an intentional insult. Whether or not what she said was true, Namikaze Mu had an illustrious name and position, yet she had openly condemned him, and had used vile and biting words to do so.

The Ninth Sect Paragon's heart burned with rage, and he bitterly regretted taking the initiative to invite Paragon Streamcloud for a visit.

Meanwhile, Naruto looked away from Paragon Streamcloud and strode up to the Holy Daughter-designate, who was edging backward. The pressure weighing down on her only continued to grow more intense. With a muffled squeak, she began performing an incantation gesture to try defend herself. As for Naruto, his face was extremely grim as he reached his hand back and slapped the girl across the face.

A smacking sound rang out, and the girl screamed. A huge welt rose up on her cheek, and she even flew off the ground from the force of the blow.

Before she could land, Naruto's fury at her insult caused him to unleash another slap. Another smacking sound rang out from the other side of the girl's face. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, and she screamed again. By now her face was in a sorry state, and completely spattered in blood.

"Get the hell out of here, NOW!" he roared, eyes flickering with killing intent. Despite how vile the young woman's words were, with his true self out of the sect, Naruto knew that if he killed her, it would start a war between the Third and Ninth Sects.

However, it wouldn't do to just let things drop, so even as the words left his mouth, he crushed the young woman's Dao heart, planting a seed of fear inside of her.

Paragon Streamcloud tried to stop it from happening, but the Ninth Sect Paragon prevented him. Their clash caused a huge boom to echo out, after which the Ninth Sect Paragon's face turned very grim, and he echoed Naruto's words.

"Get the hell out of here, NOW!"

The Ninth Sect's power had been rising ever since Naruto became the Ninth Paragon, and its forces were tougher. A cold gleam could be seen in the eyes of the Ninth Sect Paragon, and he followed up with, "If I hear any word of this spreading, or hear about you defaming the name of the Ninth Sect's qilin son, then our two sects will definitely be having a war."

Paragon Streamcloud could merely chuckle coldly. There was little else to say, considering that everything that had just occurred resulted from an insult on the part of his own clan member.

Glaring spitefully at the young woman, he grabbed her and then shot off in a beam of prismatic light.

After they were gone, things were peaceful and quiet again. The 7Essences Paragon hesitated for a moment, smiling wryly at Naruto.

Then he looked over at Yan'er, who stood there head bowed, speechless.

After a moment of thought, he looked back at Naruto and said, " Namikaze Mu, you have an apprentice with a lot of latent potential there. You know, in all my years of cultivation, I've never had my own personal disciple. What do you say if I take the girl as my apprentice?"

His words caused Yan'er to shiver.

Naruto shook his head, his gaze resolute. "Many thanks for your good intentions, Paragon."

The Paragon looked at Naruto and sighed inwardly. Without another word, he turned and left.

The mountain peak was very quiet now, except for the whispering of the wind. Naruto walked over to Yan'er and bopped her head. Expression warm, he said, "Why are you so upset? She ran her mouth and so I slapped her a couple times. It's over now. My murderous aura crushed her Dao heart, and she won't ever dare to make irresponsible remarks ever again. If you still feel like venting, then focus on your cultivation, and you'll be able to go take care of her yourself one day."

Yan'er bowed her head. Placing her hands on her cheeks, she looked up at him through fluttering eyelashes, embarrassed and unsure of what exactly to say.

"Master, I…." She knew that she should say something, she just couldn't find the words.

Naruto smiled and bopped her on the head again. "Alright, alright. Why don't you go prepare some spirit fruit, Master is getting a bit hungry."

Then he headed back toward his secluded meditation facilities.

Yan'er stood there for a moment, a blank expression on her face. Finally, she stamped her foot. Rubbing the sore spot where he had bopped her head, she hurried off to prepare some spirit fruit.

Before long, dusk had fallen. Gradually, the light faded from the sky, and the moon rose. Moonlight flowed across the landscape like water, and although everything looked like it usually did, there was a lonely beauty to it that usually wasn't seen.

Yan'er had just arrived at Naruto's secluded meditation facilities. When she placed the spirit fruit in front of him, he opened his eyes and smiled at her. Seeing the confused blankness in her expression, he couldn't help but sigh.

"Yan'er," he said softly. She seemed to be in such a daze that she didn't even hear him.

"Yan'er!" he repeated, even louder this time.

"Huh?" she replied, looking up at him.

He sighed again. After a moment of silence, he stood and walked to the doorway, where he looked up at the night sky, and the moon.

"Yan'er," he said softly, "do you remember when you were young, and I brought you here to the sect?"

"I remember…." she said, recalling the scene. She remembered that back then, she had suspected her Master of being a fraud, a belief that had persisted for some time even after arriving in the sect. Now that she thought back to the matter, she couldn't help but smile. As the moonlight fell upon her young face, she seemed even more beautiful than ever.

Naruto looked at her, and then said, "Master is going to tell you a story."

His gaze was soft, and seemed to contain many memories, memories from a time long before young Yan'er had even been alive. That was because he was about to tell her a story that came from far, far back in the stream of time.

"Once upon a time, there was a place called the Mountain and Sea

Realm, where there was a heavenly body known as Planet South

Heaven…."

"On Planet South Heaven there was a place called Mount Daqing…."

"…. That young man joined the Reliance Sect, and met a Chosen there named Wang Tengfei."

"…. And that was the first time he ever saw her. At that time, she was

Wang Tengfei's fiancee."

"…. That roc was so huge that when it flew, it filled the sky. It created a huge windstorm that swept her up along with him. They ended up inside a forbidden volcano together…."

"In the Violet Fate Sect, they became fellow disciples…."

"On the day he got married, she stood next to his wife looking at him, thinking that he didn't notice her…."

"Later, she left with her Master Pill Demon, and went to the Kunlun Society…."

"In the Windswept Realm, she damaged her own soul to help him. She paid the ultimate price, and yet had no regrets…."

"He came to the Kunlun Society and saw her corpse. Then he used a timeshift magic to find her soul. On that day, his heart broke…."

"He searched for her in the Eighth Mountain and Sea, but was unable to find her…. However, he knew that he owed her the debt of a lifetime…." Naruto told Yan'er the entire story. It took a long, long time. He spoke through the entire night, and it wasn't until the sun began to rise that he finally finished.

At the beginning, Yan'er listened a bit absent-mindedly, but the longer the story went on, the more pain she felt inside, although she wasn't sure why. It was as if there was something slowly awakening in her heart.

When Naruto finished the story, she simply sat there with a blank expression on her face. A long time passed….

Then she looked up and quietly asked, "Master, what was the name of the girl in the story?"

Naruto looked off into the sunrise and replied, "Her name was… Sakura."

"Is there more to the story?" Yan'er asked.

Naruto sat there quietly for a moment, then nodded. "Do you want to hear it?"

Yan'er shivered, and didn't say anything for a while. However, the confusion gradually faded from her eyes. Soon she looked like she always did, simple and carefree. She finally turned back to him and shook her head. "I don't want to hear it now. But one day… if I do want to hear the rest of the story, will you tell it to me, Master?"

"Of course!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1477

Chapter 1477: Provoking the Ninth Sect

In the starry sky some distance away from Planet Vast Expanse, were three spinning vortexes. They maintained their position there, fixed for all eternity, radiating pulses of mysterious light.

The pulses of light were primarily dim and gray, as if they represented an aura of death. However, occasionally one could see radiant flashes of brightness meandering between the three vortexes.

Naruto's true self hovered outside of the three vortexes, hair floating about him. He was miniscule in size compared to them, and yet his energy was mighty enough that he could stand as their equal. In fact, the vortexes even vibrated with hostility.

According to what Naruto could sense, this was one of the locations that housed a copper mirror shard. He opened his third eye, and instantly the fog that made up the vortexes was lifted, revealing the true nature of what was beneath.

He saw that inside the three vortexes were three worlds. There were no cultivators, only dangerous, deadly terrain and numerous beasts the likes of which he had never seen before. There were also a few extremely brutal auras which were comparable to the 9-Essences level. The most shocking and powerful fluctuations came from the second portal. Some sort of ancient entity inside, the master of the place, who was at the peak of 9-Essences.

Closer examination revealed the source of those fluctuations: it was an enormous, planet-sized… basilisk lizard!

All of the lands of that world apparently existed on the surface of that basilisk, and according to what Naruto could sense, the copper mirror shard was inside its body!

His eyes glittered as he transformed into a beam of light that shot directly toward the giant basilisk in the second vortex.

Moments later, shocking booms echoed out into the starry sky.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Vast Expanse, Naruto's clone was once again deep in secluded meditation. Yan'er was back to her old self, with no confusion or blankness because of what had occurred. She was as lively and energetic as ever, and continued to reject all of the female disciples who came to meet her Master.

However, when she was alone at night, she would look up at the moon and think about the story her master had told her about Sakura. The story stirred her heart, and gradually, was causing a resonance to form with her past life.

Time passed. Naruto's clone received fewer and fewer visitors, finally giving Yan'er some time to practice cultivation. However, the fact that Naruto was the first person to summon the Tenth Heaven in the Vast Expanse Shrine incited challenges from the Chosen of the other sects.

Their method of issuing their challenge was simple. Instead of going to the Vast Expanse Shrines in their own sects, they came to the Ninth Sect.

In the Vast Expanse School, there was no rule preventing disciples from doing that. In fact, such things had occurred before in the past. However, it wasn't common, and usually only happened under special circumstances.

After all, challenging the Vast Expanse Shrine in a rival sect was like knocking on someone's door and then kicking them in the shin. It was essentially a blatant provocation.

However, the fact that Naruto had summoned the Tenth Heaven instigated a huge stir. The Chosen who qualified to be in the top 10 in all the other sects were only able to maintain their silence for a short time before exploding into action. Then, they marched into the ninth land mass… to challenge the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine.

From the very first day, the sound of bells began to ring out. Virtually every day following that, the same thing occurred; the bell toll of the Vast Expanse Shrine filled the air.

The Chosen from the other eight sects took turns. It started with the Third Sect, who sent eight people over. Each one of those eight fought their way into the top 100, and two of them made it into the top 10. The highest spot attained was only 4th place, but that was still in the top 10.

Next came the people from the Fourth Sect. Then the Second Sect, and the Fifth.

The result of having the Chosen from all those other sects challenge the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine was that of the top 30 spots, only six were held by disciples of the Ninth Sect!

But then the Sixth Sect came, after which the Seventh and Eighth Sects arrived. Then, those six spots became five.

The situation was still somewhat tolerable, but then the First Sect came, hell-bent on coming out on top. After their efforts, only four spots within the top 30 belonged to the Ninth Sect. In addition to that, numerous Heavens were summoned.

Although no one summoned the Tenth Heaven, only the Sixth, it was still a shocking development.

Of course, no one was able to take the 1st place spot from Naruto, but directly beneath him in the top 30 were numerous powerful experts from other sects. To the disciples of the Ninth Sect, it was a great humiliation, almost as if their sect were being trampled beneath the feet of others.

It all led to quite an uproar. There were many arguments, and soon anger boiled over to the point that small-scale conflicts erupted. However, the overall situation couldn't be changed. Chosen from the other eight sects didn't seem to care at all about their own Vast Expanse Shrines, and were instead obsessed with challenging the one in the Ninth Sect.

Gradually, months went by. Roughly nine hundred of the top 1,000 spots in the Ninth Sect came to be occupied by disciples from other sects. The Ninth Sect was left with only about one hundred spots.

The sect itself was powerless to do anything to stop the situation, short of physically preventing the other Chosen from coming. However, if they did that, it would seem like they were nervous, even fearful of the challenges being issued by the other sects' Chosen.

Considering how powerful the Ninth Sect was at the moment, they would never deign do that. The Chosen of the Ninth Sect wouldn't agree to something like that; they had their pride, after all.

Because of the challenges from the other Chosen, and the fact that their spots on the Vast Expanse Shrine were continuing to shrink, the Ninth Sect slipped into a state of frenzy.

Virtually all of the Chosen, and even the ordinary disciples, went all-out in their practice of cultivation. They took more outside missions and participated in more trials by fire. Only by increasing the levels of their cultivation base could they earn higher spots. As they grew stronger, it was without hesitation that they went on to re-challenge their own Vast Expanse Shrine.

It was as if all of the Chosen in the entire Vast Expanse School had picked the Vast Expanse Shrine in the Ninth Sect to be their joint trial by fire. Only by having their names on that list could they be truly illustrious.

The trend didn't stop. A year later, the battleground among Chosen expanded to include the top 2,000 spots.

After another year, it was the top 3,000 spots.

The disciples of the Ninth Sect were fuming, and conflicts broke out constantly. During the three years which had passed, people often came to pay respects to Naruto and ask that he do something.

But Naruto was in secluded meditation and wouldn't take visitors. The disciples of the Ninth Sect could understand that, but it didn't stop the Chosen from the other sects from virtually going crazy. That was especially true of those who held spots in the Ninth Sect's top 3,000. As for the few hundred from the Ninth Sect who remained in that group, their madness also increased.

Rumors even started to spread that Namikaze Mu had only been trying to get famous. People claimed that what had happened three years before was a mere fluke, and that now he didn't dare to show his face.

At first, such rumors were only whispered here and there. But after two years passed, and the other sects occupied ninety percent of the top 10,000 spots on the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine, the rumors raged like wildfire.

It got to the point that the entire Vast Expanse School was talking about the matter.

"What happened with Namikaze Mu that year was a quirk, that's all. He's been in secluded meditation for five years and has never come out. Obviously, our challenge has him scared and hiding!"

"Even if it wasn't a fluke, I heard that after he summoned the Tenth Heaven, he experienced a Tribulation. He probably got seriously injured…."

"I got my hands on some verified information that Namikaze Mu was injured so badly his cultivation base won't make any progress within a hundred years! In fact, it's even regressing!"

More and more rumors spread. The disciples of the Ninth Sect were so protective of Namikaze Mu's name that it even led to blows on some occasions. However, the Ninth Sect was only one of nine sects, so no matter what they did, it was impossible to sway the opinions of the Chosen of the entire Vast Expanse School.

Eventually, most people came to believe the rumors. At the same time, it became completely commonplace for the cultivators of the other sects to come to the Vast Expanse Shrine in the Ninth Sect to earn their name.

Another five years passed. Naruto had been in secluded meditation for ten years. The conflicts over the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine had reached a boiling point. Of the top 30,000 names, only 4,000 belonged to the Ninth Sect.

Their own Vast Expanse Shrine had been occupied by others, leaving the disciples of the Ninth Sect feeling completely humiliated and in a state of madness. Shockingly, it reached the point where the top 10… contained only two Chosen from the Ninth Sect!

Other than Naruto in 1st place and another Chosen in 5th place, the rest of the spots were taken by Chosen from other sects!

The humiliation and the conflicts worsened.

And yet, the Paragons of the Ninth Sect and all the other sects didn't stop any of it from happening. As long as the conflicts didn't get too out of hand, then it was viewed as a way for the overall power of the Vast Expanse School to increase. That was especially true of the disciples of the Ninth Sect, who had produced far more Chosen in the past ten years because of that pressure.

Increasing numbers of disciples came to Naruto's mountain to try to persuade him to do something. At one point, more than 10,000 disciples all went at the same time.

Yan'er was very annoyed by everything that was happening. Her cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds in the past ten years, and although she wasn't even close to catching up to Naruto, she was in the Dao Seeking stage, very close to her Immortal Tribulation.

One day when meditating, she was forced to open her eyes because of the cacophonous clamor outside the mountain.

"Eldest Brother, please come down from your mountain!"

"Eldest Brother, the Ninth Sect only has a few thousand spots in the Vast

Expanse Shrine's top 30,000. Please come down!"

"Eldest Brother, rumors are flying everywhere. People are accusing you of things. Eldest Brother…. Come down from the mountain! Our frustration has been building for ten years, and we need your help to vent it!"

Yan'er frowned. During the past ten years, she had watched in frustration as the other sects continuously challenged and provoked the Ninth Sect. She had asked her Master about the matter, but he didn't seem to care much. Furthermore, in recent years he had come to approach a critical juncture in his cultivation, and told Yan'er not to bother him about the matter any more.

"So annoying!" she thought. "What's wrong with these people, don't they have their own Vast Expanse Shrine to challenge? What's the point in showing off in the Ninth Sect?" With a cold harrumph, she walked out of her room to go console all of the fellow disciples who had come to pay respects to her Master.

As soon as she walked out, though, she frowned. Among the people who had come to visit, there were many unfamiliar faces. There were even

Chosen from other sects, who by this point had begun to treat the Ninth Sect as if it were their own home, and were staring at her with cold smiles.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1478

Chapter 1478: The Third Mirror Shard

The disciples of the Ninth Sect had originally wanted to join forces and kill the people from the other sects, but Ninth Sect's leadership, including its Paragon, had prevented that from happening.

In the final analysis, the Ninth Sect was part of the group of nine sects that made up the Vast Expanse School, not an independent entity. It was true that the Ninth Sect's expansion and growth in the outside was a terrifying thing to the other sects, and the sheer number of cultivators who made up their forces there was fear-inspiring.

But in the end, the Ninth Sect… had not split off from the Vast Expanse School to be independent.

Also, the Ninth Sect was actually benefiting from the matter with the Vast Expanse Shrine. Not only did the Ninth Sect have more disciples in the rankings than any other individual sect, but the way the disciples fought even harder because of the humiliation also led to spectacular results.

Most importantly, the disciples of the Ninth Sect had become completely united. The fighting and scheming which had once gone on between them was now mostly a thing of the past, and they were completely unified against the outside forces.

It wasn't that the other sects didn't realize this. They were also benefiting from the current situation, and were content to let things play out.

Of course, the main reason… was that the Vast Expanse School's 9Essences Paragons still hadn't returned after ten years. Except for Naruto, who was out searching for the copper mirror shards, the rest were still inside the necropolis.

Because of all of these varied reasons, as long as the cultivators from the other sects didn't violate any of the Ninth Sect's rules, they were allowed to set up camp in the Ninth Sect.

Of course, that stipulation didn't apply to everyone, only to the people who held a spot on the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine. It was essentially an unwritten rule, and it ensured that if the Ninth Sect's disciples wanted to drive away the intruders, they simply had to occupy all the spots on their own sect's Vast Expanse Shrine.

Currently, Yan'er had just emerged from the mountain where Naruto was secluded in meditation. When she saw the numerous cultivators from other sects looking at her coldly, her expression was calm. Then she looked at her fellow disciples of the Ninth Sect, smiled, and proceeded to placate them, reminding them that her master was at a critical juncture in his secluded meditation.

The disciples who had come to beg Naruto to emerge were just as zealously devoted to him as they had been ten years ago. Regardless of the rumors flying about, they felt exactly the same way. That, coupled with Yan'er's placating words, ensured that they quickly calmed down. However, it was at this point that a cultivator from one of the other sects walked out from the crowd, a cold smile on his face.

"Well, you certainly have a way with words, girl. You have a measly Dao Seeking cultivation base, and yet you managed to placate all these people. Well let me tell you, to the rest of us, all you're doing is intimidating people in the name of your master, like the fox who exploited the tiger's might to cow the jungle.

"Since your master doesn't dare to leave his mountain, do you dare to challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine?

"Or how about this, what if we hurt you? Then will your master dare to stick his head out of the turtle shell he's hiding in?" The cultivators from the other sects started laughing sarcastically. The disciples of the Ninth Sect bristled with rage, and it seemed like a fight might break out at any moment.

Ten years ago, Yan'er might have gotten mad, but she was different now. She had grown up, and therefore, her response to the provocation was to laugh. At the same time, her gaze turned icy cold. These cultivators from the others sects weren't in the Immortal Realm, but rather, the Ancient Realm, and yet when she spoke to them, she seemed completely indifferent to that.

"When I was younger," she said calmly, "there were many things about life I didn't understand. Once, I took a trip to a local bazaar, and was kidnapped by a cultivator from the Eighth Sect, who wanted to use me as a cultivation vessel." When Yan'er began to speak, the cultivators from the other sects were wondering what her point was, and they frowned slightly, but continued to stare at her coldly.

"In the Eighth Sect, the cultivator who had kidnapped me slapped me across the face, which hurt quite a bit. My master then requested that the Ninth Paragon interfere. He ended up slaughtering quite a few members of Patriarch Chi Feng's clan, as well as other powerful experts who had stood by mocking me. Back then, I didn't really understand everything that was happening, but later on I realized that among the people killed were cultivators of the Ancient Realm and the Dao Realm. There were even Dao Lords. Oh. There was a Dao Sovereign too." She smiled slightly. At this point, complete silence prevailed.

"Because of what happened, my Master felt a bit useless, like he couldn't even protect his own apprentice. That was why he chose to challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine, to make a name for himself, and to ensure that no one would ever dare to bully me, his apprentice.

"The result was that he took first place in the Vast Expanse Shrine, and summoned the Tenth Heaven." Although she was smiling as she spoke, her words caused the eyes of the surrounding cultivators to go wide. Before this moment, none of them had known that the reason Namikaze Mu challenged the Vast Expanse Shrine was because his apprentice had been bullied.

The disciples from the other sect looked on with flickering expressions. Although they had been willing to open their mouths earlier, the truth was that they really were scared of Naruto.

"Oh right. There was one time when a Paragon from some other sect, I forget which one, brought a girl from his clan here to visit. She said something to offend me, and regardless of the fact that a Paragon was present, my Master slapped her twice across the face, and even crushed her Dao heart.

"So if you really want my master to come out and destroy you, then go ahead. I'm standing right here. I won't even dodge your blow." She smiled a beautiful smile, but when the cultivators from the other sects saw it, their hearts began to pound.

She stood there a moment amidst the silence, then spoke once again in a powerful voice, "If you don't have the guts to do that, then please screw the hell off!"

With that, she turned and headed back to the mountain.

After Yan'er left, the disciples of the Ninth Sect laughed mockingly at the other cultivators, then slowly dispersed. The cultivators from the other sects had extremely unsightly expressions on their faces as they also left.

Many people bore witness to the event, even Naruto, who was watching from within his secluded meditation facilities. After the matter concluded, he closed his eyes and paid the matter no further heed, continuing on with the same thing he had been doing for the past ten years: extinguish his Immortal Soul Lamps, one by one.

By this point, he had extinguished about ninety percent of them. There were now only ten that remained lit. However, without the right circumstances, it wasn't a simple task to accomplish.

As for his true self, acquiring the third mirror shard hadn't gone very smoothly. Not only did the giant basilisk lizard have battle prowess comparable to Naruto's true self, it was also exceedingly crafty. Eventually, it had swallowed Naruto, whereupon the battle between them was fought via their souls.

After ten years, the soul battle was still raging.

Back on Planet Vast Expanse, Naruto's clone murmured, "Soon enough. My true self should be able to suppress that basilisk within a few more months, and acquire the third mirror shard."

With that, he immersed himself in the task of extinguishing his Soul Lamps.

A few months later, out in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, rumbling sounds could be heard in the second of the group of three vortexes. A massive howl of pain then echoed out, along with an explosive burst of energy. Within the vortex, the huge lizard's body was twisting and turning as sounds like that of thunder echoed out from inside of it.

Before long, the basilisk roared, spitting out a burst of Chakra that became a windstorm. The vortex distorted, and a figure appeared.

It was none other than Naruto's true self. Black armor covered his arm, and within his hand, a mirror shard was melting. It fused into the armor, which began to expand, growing even stronger than before.

The basilisk glared at Naruto, then roared again as it fell back in retreat. Even after ten years, it had failed to crush Naruto. In the end, had been injured and defeated, and robbed of its mirror shard.

As the basilisk watched Naruto's energy rise, a glint of fear could be seen in its eyes.

"You got the treasure, why haven't you left yet!?" the basilisk asked, its voice ancient, and its divine will so powerful that everything in the area shook.

Naruto's true self glanced over at the basilisk, an arrogant gleam in his eyes. The basilisk was strong, stronger even than the Sect Leader and Bai Wuchen. Of all the peak 9-Essences experts Naruto's true self had ever faced, this lizard was by far the strongest.

Were that not the case, it wouldn't have taken him ten years to get the mirror shard.

After the mirror shard fused fully into the armor, Naruto faced the basilisk, his eyes glittering.

"If you wish," he said, "you can leave this place and be my servant for a thousand years."

The basilisk stared in shock, then began to laugh, killing intent swirling in its eyes. "Say that after you Transcend, and maybe I might just agree."

Although it feared Naruto, he did not possess battle prowess equivalent to a Transcendent cultivator, so the idea of being his servant for a thousand years was laughable.

Naruto didn't seem offended. He gave the basilisk a profound look, and smiled slightly.

"Fine, it's settled. I'll come back for you later." With that, he turned and shot off into the distance. The lizard looked at him with disdain, turning a deaf ear to his words. After Naruto left, it closed its eyes and went back to sleep.

Naruto's true self sped through the starry sky, using the three mirror shards to detect the fluctuations of the fourth, which he immediately headed toward.

Meanwhile, back on the ninth continent of Planet Vast Expanse, in the Ninth Sect, on the mountain which belonged to Naruto's clone, Yan'er was preparing to face her Immortal Tribulation.

Her Tribulation was different from Naruto's. It was not monumentally shocking, but was more like the Tribulations faced by everyone else. Naruto didn't help her; he simply stood off to the side watching.

Lightning crashed constantly as Yan'er completely transformed from mortal to Immortal. As it happened, she became even more beautiful, and her aura became more otherworldly. Naruto was shocked as he realized that her appearance now reminded him even more of Sakura.

The Immortal Tribulation lasted for three days. In the end, the

Tribulation Lightning faded away, and Yan'er emanated Immortal qi. Her Immortal meridians were fully opened, and as she hovered in midair, she looked like a celestial goddess. Finally, she turned to Naruto and smiled.

"Master, I've achieved Immortal Ascension. Aren't you going to give me a gift?"

Naruto smiled and shook his head in amusement. Although he looked young physically, the air he exuded made him seem profoundly ancient. His gaze was soft as he pulled out the gift he had prepared, and yet Yan'er shook her head in refusal. A crafty glint in her eyes, she said, "I don't want any magical items or medicinal pills or techniques. I just want to see my Master… see you… once again on top of a mountain, smiling at me."

Naruto was taken aback as he realized that he wasn't sure if he was looking at Yan'er or… Sakura.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1479

Chapter 1479 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1479: Stepping On All the Sects' Shrines!

Naruto stood there silently.

When he saw Sakura's soul, he had decided to pay the debt he owed her by means of a Master and apprentice relationship. But now he wasn't sure if that was the right decision.

He couldn't pretend to hold any feelings in his heart other than his thirst for revenge for the Mountain and Sea Realm. He desired the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, and desired to unearth the secrets which were buried within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

The only thing he wanted for Sakura was to protect her, and to give her… the best of everything.

He had no desire to see her hurt, and only wanted her to be happy.

Therefore, he stood there silently, which in turn caused Yan'er to start to get nervous. She gnawed on her lip, wondering if she had said or done something wrong. Unsure of what to do, she also just stood there, looking at Naruto, the seemingly young old man….

Naruto was a bit in a daze. Time passed. Soon it was dawn. A few days ago, some disciples had challenged the Vast Expanse Shrine, and although no one made it into the top 10, the Ninth Sect Chosen who occupied the 13th and 17th places were supplanted. That in turn caused conflicts to break out between the Ninth Sect disciples and the disciples from the other sects. As a result, an even larger group of disciples from the Ninth Sect came to Naruto's mountain, to ask him to do something.

"Eldest Brother, please come down from your mountain!"

"Eldest Brother, come down from the mountain…."

"Eldest Brother… please come down!" More and more such calls filled the air. There were tens of thousands of disciples gathered around Naruto's mountain, all hoping to catch a glimpse of him, that dazzling figure from ten years ago. They had come here in good faith, filled with ardor and hope.

In recent days, increasing numbers of slanderous and salacious rumors about Namikaze Mu had been spread, until everyone in the Vast Expanse

School was talking about them. Despite that, the disciples of the Ninth Sect did not waver in their devotion to him. They felt insulted and enraged, and they only hoped that their Eldest Brother… would make a vicious counter-attack.

As their voices grew louder, Yan'er bowed her head, looking more upset than before. But then Naruto's absentmindedness faded away, and he looked softly at her. He reached out and, just as he had when she was a child, he bopped her head.

"Alright," he said, smiling.

Her eyes widened as she looked up at him. Then she saw his smile, and it was like looking at the bright, blue sky. Her eyes began to shine, and she began to jump up and down in excitement.

"Master, Master!" she exclaimed excitedly. "I know exactly what you should do. Why don't you go back to the Vast Expanse Shrine and summon the Tenth Heaven again?" She was hoping that such an act would be a powerful blow against the cultivators from the other sects.

"What would be the point in that?" Naruto asked, shaking his head. Then he swished his sleeve and began to walk down the mountain.

Yan'er followed on his heels. "What do you mean? What are you going to do, Master?"

In the years that had passed, Yan'er had grown much more mature. In public, she was a responsible adult who could take charge. But in front of Naruto, she was like a little girl.

Naruto didn't answer her question. After stepping off the mountain, the crowd of tens of thousands of disciples outside saw him, and instantly exploded in excitement. At once, a huge cheer echoed out.

As for the cultivators from the other sects, they had originally assumed that this day would be like all the others, in which Namikaze Mu remained hidden away. But then they saw who had just emerged, and their hearts trembled.

Naruto's fame was such that, despite the passage of ten years, he was just as impressive as before. The disciples from the other sects felt their minds spinning, and they began to pant. Without any hesitation, they produced jade slips which they used to inform the other top Chosen from their various sects of what was happening.

Within moments, the news of Naruto coming down from the mountain spread like a blast of wind through the Ninth Sect. Countless disciples from the Ninth Sect, after ten years of stifling pressure, were thrown into excitement. After ten long years, many of them had begun to grumble inwardly at Naruto, but now that vanished, and they all dropped what they were doing and flew out to see him.

"Eldest Brother came down off the mountain?"

"Eldest Brother left the mountain!"

"Hahaha! The day has finally arrived! Eldest Brother came down from the mountain, and now he's going to crush everyone!"

More and more people began rushing toward the area from all directions. The crowd quickly grew from tens of thousands to a hundred thousand. Then a million. Then several million….

Beams of light shot toward Naruto's mountain in seemingly endless fashion.

The Chosen from the other sects that weren't in the area were also notified via jade slip, and began to pant, their eyes shining brightly. For ten years they had been provoking the Ninth Sect. For ten years they had been trying… to force Naruto to do something. That was the only chance they had to potentially destroy the legend that he had created.

" Namikaze Mu! He's finally come off the mountain!" In the location in the Ninth Sect which had been occupied by the First Sect, a gray-haired young man could be seen. He took a deep breath, and his eyes began to shine brightly. More and more people emerged, clustering around him as he flew up into the sky.

In the location where the Second Sect had set up camp, a woman could be seen. She rose to her feet, looking like she wanted to fight. Blood boiling, she shot up into the air. "After ten years of waiting, you'd better not disappoint me, Namikaze Mu!"

Chosen from all of the outside sects were in an uproar. All of them wanted to go out and challenge Naruto to a fight immediately.

"Ten years ago you created a legend. Now that ten years have passed,

I'm going to destroy that legend!"

"I worked myself to the bone for ten years, and now I'm completely prepared. I'm definitely going to surpass Namikaze Mu!"

"Everyone says that Namikaze Mu is injured. This time is definitely my opportunity to shine!"

The entire Ninth Sect was boiling. Countless cultivators were gathering around Naruto's mountain as he stood there, looking out at the crowds with a light smile. Finally, he clasped hands and bowed deeply to everyone.

Before he could say anything, everyone shouted out, "Eldest Brother!"

The sound of their voices was like a shockwave that caused the Heavens to shake.

Yan'er stood next to Naruto, glowing with excitement.

Naruto looked around at the crowds, and the Chosen from the other sects, who stood a bit further away. Smiling, he said, "Yan'er, you just asked me what I'm going to do…? I'm going to take you sightseeing!"

When Yan'er heard that, she looked surprised. But before she could respond, Naruto waved his sleeve and flew up into the air. Instantly, his voice rang out for all to hear.

"Fellow Daoists," he said, eyes glittering, "please come with me to the Eighth Sect. The Seventh Sect. The Sixth Sect…. In fact, we will go all the way to the First Sect. I'm curious to see what their Vast Expanse Shrines look like." This was his gift to Yan'er, and also a breakthrough he had to make after taking his Soul Lamps to the pinnacle.

In response to his words, the disciples of the Ninth Sect went quiet, but then, they let out a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering roar.

Everyone was screaming and hollering in excitement. Even the Ninth Sect's 7-Essences Paragon chuckled as he looked on from his position on his mountain.

"Well, if that's your plan, then allow me to help out a bit," he murmured. "These kids have been bottled up for far too long as it is." Shaking his head, the Paragon smiled and waved his hand. Instantly, massive rumbling could be heard as a gigantic spell formation appeared.

Teleportation power began to emanate out, and Naruto flashed into motion, shooting toward the portal. Yan'er followed close behind, bolstered by the power of Naruto's cultivation base.

At the same time, the excited disciples of the Ninth Sect took to flight toward the portal. The disciples from the other sects stared in shock for a moment, their faces a bit ashen after the words Naruto had just uttered. However, they also took to flight toward the spell formation.

Rumbling echoed out as the teleportation power activated. Everything shook, and the group vanished. When they reappeared, they were on the eighth continent, above the Eighth Sect.

The sudden arrival of so many people shook the whole Eighth Sect. Eighth Sect disciples looked up in surprise as Naruto addressed the Eighth Sect.

"I am Namikaze Mu of the Ninth Sect. I've come today to challenge the Eighth

Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine!"

Even as his voice continued to echo back and forth, and before any of the disciples of the Eighth Sect had a chance to react, Naruto and Yan'er flew toward the Vast Expanse Shrine. The Eighth Sect had no means or method to stop them. After all, Chosen from all the other sects had challenged the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine on countless occasions over the last ten years.

Yan'er followed Naruto excitedly through the crowds of countless Eighth Sect disciples as he headed directly toward their Vast Expanse Shrine. Soon, they were standing at the foot of the mountain.

Naruto looked over at Yan'er and said, "Yan'er, would you like to come with me?"

Yan'er's jaw dropped, and her heart began to pound so hard she felt like she was hyperventilating. She simply stood there, in a daze. She had merely said she wanted to see her Master standing on top of a mountain. She had never even guessed that he would bring her here. But then she remembered how he had just said he would take her sightseeing.

"I… I…" she stammered.

"Don't want to go?" he asked.

"I do!" she cried, worried that he might not take her after all.

He laughed heartily, then turned and began to walk toward the Vast Expanse Shrine. Yan'er followed. With his protection, even a place as dangerous as a dragon's pool or a tiger's den would be safe for her!

As Naruto led Yan'er up to the Eighth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine, over a hundred million disciples from the Ninth Sect began to cheer. As for the disciples of the Eighth Sect, they didn't look very happy. Soon, the sound of a tolling bell could be heard. It rang once. Twice. Three times. Four times… it didn't stop!

As the bell tolled, Naruto took Yan'er up the mountain. 10,000 steps. 30,000 steps. 70,000 steps. 90,000 steps…. All the way to 100,000 steps!

The Vast Expanse Shrine rumbled as the First Heaven was summoned. Then the Second Heaven. And the Third Heaven…. It was like the same scene that had played out ten years ago, something so incredible it was difficult to put into words. Everyone was thoroughly shocked as, in the time it takes a single incense stick to burn… all ten Heavens were summoned!

Bells tolled in all the sects. The world was shaken. Naruto stood with Yan'er atop the Tenth Heaven, and the mountain breeze stirred their hair as they looked out at the clouds. As for the Baptism of the tolling bells, the benefit to Yan'er was beyond description.

However, she didn't care about any such good fortune. Her face was flushed as she stood next to her Master, looking out at Heaven and Earth. The feeling left her intoxicated.

"Yan'er," he said softly, "look at the clouds, the mountains, the sky, and the land. Remember this image. However grand your vision is, that is how grand your future can be. It is also how grand… your heart can be.

"We cultivators cultivate, not the body, but the heart!"

Chapter 1479: Stepping On All the Sects' Shrines!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1480

Chapter 1480: Challenging all the Sects!

As Naruto and Yan'er stood atop the Tenth Heaven, they were one with the wind. Naruto's softly spoken words entered Yan'er's ears and melted down into her heart, where they would remain forever.

It was very likely that no matter how many years passed, Yan'er would think back to this moment, remember standing next to her Master, and think about the words he had spoken to her.

Cultivators cultivate, not the body, but the heart.

As she looked out, she saw the sky stretching out over the lands. She saw how Heaven and Earth were connected, and she saw the endlessness stars. All of that came to be imprinted onto her heart.

Other than the words spoken by Naruto there above the Tenth Heaven, the only sound was that of the gently murmuring wind. It was as if the whole world had slowed down, and the two of them were the only ones in existence, Master and apprentice….

It was a moment that seemed to last for ages….

Eventually, the exultant cries of the disciples of the Ninth Sect rose up from below. The world was trembling, and the disciples of the Eighth Sect… looked as ashen as if they were dead.

As for the Chosen who had come from the other sects, they could hear their own hearts pounding in their chests.

"He… he said that he's going to visit all of the Vast Expanse Shrines in all of the sects?" They exchanged glances, their faces as pale as death.

"Dammit, who said Namikaze Mu was injured? He… he's not injured at all!

He's basically taking his disciple sightseeing!"

The Eighth Sect could do nothing more than stew in their bitterness. The cheering of the Ninth Sect grew more intense, until finally, everyone began chanting, "Eldest Brother! Eldest Brother!"

Then, the spell formation appeared again, and the power of teleportation shook everything. Naruto's face fairly glowed as he chuckled and said, "Alright, let's go to the Seventh Sect!"

Yan'er took a deep breath and nodded meekly. Naruto swished his sleeve, and the two of them led countless cultivators toward the enormous teleportation portal.

The disciples of the Ninth Sect rose up into the sky, clamoring in excitement. The hosts from the Eighth Sect remained in place, bitterness and other mixed emotions on their faces as they watched the Ninth Sect vanish.

Despite the fact that the Ninth Sect was now gone, they had left behind a legend. A myth! The disciples of the Eighth Sect were stifled. Their Chosen were left gasping for breath. On their own Vast Expanse Shrine, the name ' Namikaze Mu' could be seen as clear as day. They could well imagine that, in future days to come, people would try to take back 1st place, but would fail.

That name would remain there in the Eighth Sect for all eternity….

That was the gift Naruto was giving to Yan'er, and also his response to the ten years of challenges issued by the other sects…. If you come challenge the Ninth Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine, well then… I will go to your sect and take 1st place on yours!

I will strike back with extreme prejudice, cleanly and efficiently!

Rumbling could be heard above the seventh continent, within the Seventh Sect. The teleportation portal appeared, and countless disciples from the Ninth Sect descended. Naruto's voice once again rang out.

"I am Namikaze Mu from the Ninth Sect, here to challenge your Vast Expanse Shrine!" His voice joined the ringing of the bells, which still hadn't faded away. Then, he led the exuberant Yan'er onto the Seventh Sect's Vast Expanse Shrine.

The disciples and Chosen of the Seventh Sect were shaken as more bells began to ring. From the 1st step to the 100,000th, from the First Heaven to the Tenth, everything happened just as before. Heaven shook and the Earth quaked. The disciples of the Seventh Sect looked on with pale faces. At the same time, Yan'er gained indescribable good fortune. She was thoroughly Baptised, and her cultivation base even increased dramatically.

Once again, she was able to look out upon Heaven and Earth, and as she did, cracking sounds emanated out from within her, which came from her explosive cultivation base growth. Because of the Baptism and the other good fortune, she was advancing by leaps and bounds.

What was happening this day was certain to be indelibly recorded within the annals of the Vast Expanse School. It even surpassed the miracle of Naruto summoning the Tenth Heaven in the Ninth Sect.

On this day, Naruto accomplished something the likes of which had never occurred within the history of the Vast Expanse School. He… reached the pinnacle of every single Vast Expanse Shrine in all of the sects. He took first place, and summoned the Tenth Heaven!

And he didn't do it alone either; he took his apprentice with him.

On that day, countless individuals came to learn of Yan'er, and innumerable disciples came to envy her with utmost jealousy.

And yet, all they could do was that, envy her. Naruto took her from the Seventh Sect to the Sixth. After summoning the Tenth Heaven there, he went to the Fifth Sect. The Fourth Sect. The Third Sect. The Second Sect….

He didn't tarry or delay. He summoned the Tenth Heaven in one shrine after another. Because of the good fortune she received, Yan'er's cultivation base became more boundless, more profound, and in fact even exceeded that of a Chosen.

In the Vast Expanse Shrine of the First Sect, the Tenth Heaven appeared once again. Heaven and Earth trembled, and the world shook. Countless disciples felt as if thunder were crashing in their minds. They could do little more than pant at the unforgettable, history-making events which were unfolding.

"Nine sects… and all of the Tenth Heavens…."

" Namikaze Mu. Namikaze Mu! He fully deserves to be… the number one Chosen of the Vast Expanse School!"

"It's too bad his cultivation base isn't in the Dao Realm. If it were, I'd love to see how far he could get on the Transcendence Path. After all, the Vast Expanse Shrine is for those below the Dao Realm. Only the Dao Realm… can walk the Transcendence Path!"

"The benefits his apprentice Yan'er received from the Baptism of the tolling bells is impossible to even imagine!"

The entire Vast Expanse School was shaken and in an uproar. The disciples of the Ninth Sect couldn't stop cheering. From the moment they flew to the Eight Sect… all the way to the First Sect, they continued to shout out at the tops of their lungs.

"Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu!" The sound echoed out without stop.

On this day, Naruto caused an unimaginable stir. Not only were countless ordinary disciples in the Vast Expanse School shocked, even the Dao Realm experts, the Dao Lords, and the Dao Sovereigns were all amazed by the miracle which he had pulled off.

When the Tenth Heaven appeared in the First Sect, Paragons from all of the nine sects came. They were all in the 7-Essences level, and yet they were all equally shaken. Although Naruto was vastly below them, they had to admit that, in terms of latent talent and future potential, this Namikaze Mu… had long since surpassed them. If things went smoothly for him, then he would one day stand among them as peers, or even exceed them.

"A future Paragon!" murmured the 7-Essences Paragon from the First Sect. His words instantly gained the approval of all of the other 7Essences Paragons from the other sects.

Even Streamcloud from the Third Sect had to concede this point.

He truly was a future Paragon!

—–

Note from Deathblade: This is a short chapter, barely hitting 1,400 words instead of the usually 2,000 or so.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1481

Chapter 1481: The Peak of the World

And that he was. His true self was already the most powerful of Paragons. As for his clone, Naruto was sure that if he desired to walk the Path of the Paragon, he would definitely reach the 9-Essences level.

It might take some time, but he would succeed in the end.

However, that was not what he chose to do. Having a 9-Essences Paragon clone wouldn't help him to Transcend, and therefore, his original plan had never changed.

He would Transcend with his true self, and then, with everything he had gained in recent years, with the Ninth Sect and all its power, with the ghosts of the necropolis… he would unleash deadly violence upon the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent. And most especially… the 33 Heavens!

He would return to his home, to the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, to his family and friends. He would return to the Mountains and Seas… to get revenge!

That was his focus, his obsession, something which could never be erased from his mind. He would reforge the Mountain and Sea Realm, he would resurrect the meat jelly, and he would call back the copper mirror.

Even if that was a defiance of the Vast Expanse, he would do it.

Naruto stood there atop the Tenth Heaven in the First Sect. Smiling, he breathed in deeply.

Down below, the countless disciples of the First Sect looked up with mixed emotions. Their faces were devoid of blood as they stared bitterly at Naruto.

The Chosen of the First Sect looked on blankly. They were truly eagles, but as of this moment, they had no other choice but to admit that the generation into which they had been born contained a towering mountain.

That mountain… was something that stretched so high above them they would never be able to fly over it.

Silence prevailed. Also in the First Sect was a woman, the current Holy

Daughter of the generation. She was Han Bei, and as she looked up at Naruto and Yan'er atop the Tenth Heaven, she felt profoundly uneasy.

Although Naruto hadn't caused any trouble for her throughout the years, she still feared him. The more he cared about Sakura, the safer she felt, and yet the more she felt safe, the more that sense of safety scared her.

It was a paradox that only seemed to increase in intensity, and was influencing her mission here in the Vast Expanse School.

On more than one occasion, she had considered investigating why Naruto had created this clone. However, she didn't dare to even get close to him, and could only manipulate things from afar. Even then, she didn't dare to push things too far, and thus was left only with speculations.

Over the years, she had come up with numerous theories, but could not confirm any of them. Sometimes, she even felt as though all of her theories were completely incorrect.

After a moment of looking at Naruto and Yan'er, she sighed and looked away.

The wind blew atop the Tenth Heaven. As people looked on, Yan'er's gaze fell upon her master, and her eyes shone radiantly. It was as if this Master of hers had become the most important person in her entire life.

"Master!" she said loudly.

"Yes?" Naruto said, smiling.

"Master!"

"Uh, yes?" Naruto gaped, looking over at her.

"Master!" she cried again.

Pretending to look very serious, Naruto reached out and bopped her head. She rubbed her head, looking very resentful. However, he merely smiled at her, well aware that she was completely ecstatic at the moment.

Then he looked back out at Heaven and Earth, and his eyes gleamed with anticipation.

"The Vast Expanse Shrine offers no further good fortune for me. If I want to extinguish my last ten Soul Lamps, then… the only option I have is to walk the Transcendence Path!"

In the Vast Expanse School, the two most famous trials by fire were the Vast Expanse Shrines and the Transcendence Path. Only cultivators in the Dao Realm would tread the Transcendence Path. Of course, just walking that path didn't guarantee Transcendence. However, there was still that hope.

That path was the traditional and proper way to try to Transcend, but to date, not even the Sect Leader or others of his level had been able to reach its end.

It was a very difficult path to travel, and it seemed endless. However, the Dao Realm experts of the Vast Expanse School were entranced with it, mostly because of the multitudinous good fortune therein, good fortune that could cause one's cultivation base to advance by leaps and bounds.

Naruto took a deep breath. He had a strong premonition that… his clone would be able to complete the first sealing mark of the Ninth Hex on the Transcendence Path.

He had further speculations regarding how to complete the full Ninth Hex, and was sure that those speculations would also be verified on the Transcendence Path.

However, now was not the time. He had the feeling… that once he headed down that path, it would be a very, very long time before he came back. In fact, it was even possible that he never would.

Besides, there were still a few matters to handle within the Vast Expanse School.

He looked over at Yan'er, and could see that because of the good fortune of the Vast Expanse Shrine, her cultivation base was thoroughly stabilized, and had even made significant progress. She was now in the mid Immortal Realm. Although she had just made that breakthrough thanks to the Baptism of the tolling bells, Naruto could see that in the coming years, her cultivation base would continue to advance rapidly.

Her latent talent had been completely optimized by the Baptism, and her Chakra passageways, as well as any cultivation bottlenecks, had been cleared.

In the Vast Expanse School, good fortune like that was something only Yan'er could acquire.

You could even say that on her path of cultivation, she had already opened the way to a great Dao.

"Come on," Naruto said with a smile, "Let's go back to the Ninth Sect." They, along with the cheering disciples of the Ninth Sect, stepped back into the teleportation portal. As the First Sect disciples looked on with bitter expressions, they vanished.

The rumbling of the spell formation shook all sects from the First to the

Eighth as they returned to the Ninth Sect. The cheering shouts of the Ninth Sect's disciples shook the Vast Expanse School. A legend had been established which no one would ever be able to top.

When the group appeared back in the Ninth Sect, those who had remained behind also started cheering loudly.

"They're back! Everyone's back!"

"Eldest Brother Namikaze Mu has returned!"

"Eldest Brother, Eldest Brother…."

The Ninth Sect seethed with excitement. The disciples who had been too slow to join the others in stepping through the teleportation portal earlier now began to crowd around and cheer for their Eldest Brother.

On that day, a grand celebration began in the Ninth Sect.

The news of what had happened filled the other sects. For a long time to come, the disciples of the Ninth Sect would be filled with unmatched joy.

As for the disciples from the other sects who had set up camp in the Ninth Sect, they made a swift departure. None of them dared to remain behind. As for the ten years of provocation and challenges, they were now officially a thing of the past.

Only a few people were aware that what Naruto had done was because of a few words uttered by Yan'er. Most of the disciples thought that he had done it as a way to tell the Chosen of the other sects that if they wanted to challenge him, they could remain in their own sects to do so. There was no need for them to come to the Ninth Sect.

In order to make things easier for them, he simply put his name on their Vast Expanse Shrines….

Because of Naruto, the spirits of the entire Ninth Sect were instantly lifted.

Their leader was the overbearing, domineering Ninth Paragon, who was also their protector. Among their number was the ultimate Chosen, the disciple who had completely dominated the Vast Expanse School, Namikaze Mu!

Because of all of that, the Ninth Sect was completely different from the other sects.

The celebrations lasted for more than a month. Eventually things settled down, but deep down, the disciples of the Ninth Sect were still extremely excited. The glory and honor they felt, as well as the sense of belonging, would never be erased.

During that month, Naruto had no choice other than to receive the various visitors who came to offer their respects. However, after the month passed, the number of visitors didn't decrease. In fact, they increased. Finally, he was forced to close the mountain.

From then on, he never left the mountain, and politely refused to see all visitors. However, instead of going into secluded meditation, he spent time teaching cultivation techniques to Yan'er.

Time passed. Before long, three years had gone by.

During that time, Naruto paid little heed to his own cultivation base. He helped Yan'er to refine her Immortal meridians, benefiting her with all of his experience regarding cultivation. He helped her gain more Dao enlightenment, holding nothing back. He spared no effort in passing on to her everything he knew.

Because of such conscientious teaching on his part, Yan'er's cultivation base rose with shocking speed, and was far more stable than anyone else in her generation.

During those years, a certain feeling slowly rose up within Yan'er. Eventually, she began to laugh less, and when she looked at Naruto, it was with concern, as if she couldn't bear the thought of parting with him.

After all her years of being dependent on him, she had come to be very sensitive to his personality. Based on everything that had happened during the past three years, she came to feel strongly that….

"Master is going to leave…." That scared her. No matter how many times she asked about it, Naruto would always just smile and decline to comment. However, whenever his gaze fell upon her, it was warmer than before, and it almost seemed like he was recalling past times.

Another ten years passed….

Yan'er's cultivation base continued to climb higher and higher. However, her heart only continued to grow more anxious. One day she saw a jade slip belonging to her Master that apparently contained information about the sect's Transcendence Path. At that point, her heart began to pound.

She knew that the Transcendence Path was something only Dao Realm cultivators were qualified to tread. Supposedly, it contained incredible good fortune, and yet few people actually dared to walk upon it.

After all, it also contained profound danger. It was not the Vast Expanse Shrine, which was located in the sect itself. It was in the outside world, located within a rift in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

After entering, one would be completely cut off, and would not return for dozens or even hundreds of years. It was a path that a cultivator could only step onto twice in a lifetime.

Years ago, Yan'er would have pressed her Master about the matter, and wouldn't have given up until she figured out a way to prevent him from going to such a dangerous place. But she had grown up, and understood that it was a decision for him to make. She knew that within her Master's heart was an obsession that even she couldn't comprehend.

And so she said nothing.

During the thirteen years which passed, Naruto extinguished a few more Soul Lamps. Now, he had only seven which continued to burn.

Another year passed, and Yan'er was now at the peak of the Immortal Realm. The speed of her progress was far beyond normal, causing widespread shock among the disciples of the Ninth Sect. But when they considered who her Master was, they realized that it wasn't such an unreasonable thing.

After all, the good fortune of eight Vast Expanse Shrines was beyond incredible.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1482

Chapter 1482: Looking Back at This Life!

That year, Yan'er faced her Ancient Tribulation.

That day was one of utmost importance to Naruto as well. He personally set up the relevant spell formations, and arranged for the energy of Heaven and Earth in the Ninth Sect to act as Dharma Protector. Several days later, when the Ancient Tribulation finally concluded, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He watched Yan'er pass her Ancient Tribulation, watched her ignite her Soul Lamps, and then watched her close her eyes in meditation to begin breathing exercises. The whole time, his gaze was soft and kind. To mortals, she wouldn't be considered young, but to cultivators in the Ancient Realm, she was like a girl. The passage of time left no scars upon her. She only continued to grow more beautiful, and at the same time, mature. To other members of the sect, she was truly a Chosen, someone who knew how to conduct herself properly and with decorum, someone everyone enjoyed being around.

It was only around Naruto that she would pout and act like a coquettish little girl.

Naruto could tell that Sakura's aura was growing stronger and stronger on her. Sometimes, he couldn't even tell the difference between the two.

That was especially true as he watched her doing breathing exercises after passing her Ancient Tribulation. Many memories flitted through his mind.

In her last life, Sakura had never passed through the Immortal Realm. But in this life, with Naruto's help, she was reaching the highest pinnacles.

Furthermore, regardless of whether her name was Sakura or Yan'er, she had earned a place in his heart for all eternity.

"It's about time for me to let go, too…." he murmured.

A few days later, Yan'er opened her eyes and glanced over at Naruto. From the look in his eyes, she seemed to understand what was about to happen. She loathed the idea of parting with him, but it had been years since she came to understand the choice he would eventually make. Today, there was something deep within his eyes that explained everything.

"Master…." she said, her voice quavering.

"You're in the Ancient Realm now," he said softly. "You understand how to go about extinguishing your Soul Lamps, right?

"If there are any areas you don't understand, now is the time to ask me.

"Before the Ancient Realm, cultivators can receive assistance from others. In fact, such assistance can make things much easier. However, starting with the Ancient Realm, you'll have to rely completely upon yourself.

"Never forget what I told you before. We cultivators cultivate, not the body, but the heart."

Tears welled up in Yan'er's eyes, and then began to stream down her cheeks. She was trembling. "Master…."

"I've prepared nine jade slips for you. Each one of them contains some of the power of my divine sense…. If you encounter a dangerous situation, you can be protected." By this point, Naruto's clone was extremely close to the Dao Realm, and he could even draw upon some of the power of his true self.

As such, the nine jade slips held some of his true self's divine sense power, and would be able to keep Yan'er safe wherever she went on Planet Vast Expanse.

"I've also prepared seven volumes of Dao treatises, which contain all of the magical techniques and divine abilities I've learned in my life.

"There are also 100,000 medicinal pills which I concocted especially for you. That should ensure your path of cultivation is a smooth one.

"As for magical items, I never did build up a huge collection, but what I did gain, I'm leaving to you.

"There are also Immortal jades and spirit stones. In the past, I used to be extremely attracted to them, but now that I think back, it just makes me sigh. I'm leaving everything to you."

"Master, I don't want any of that, I just want…." She trailed off, tears flowing down her face. She was afraid, terrified even. Although it had been ten years since she realized what her Master planned to do, she still wasn't ready for it to actually happen.

"Because of the fame I have built up," Naruto continued, "no one will dare to bully you while you're in the Ninth Sect. Everyone here will take care of you. I've also paid a visit to the Paragon to ask him to watch out for you.

"I might not be here, but I've made various other preparations to keep you safe, for example the mastiff, who will continue to accompany you."

Anxiety erupted within Yan'er. "No, I don't want that. I don't care, Master, I–"

"Yan'er!" he growled.

A tremor ran through her. In her entire life, she couldn't remember a single time when her Master had been strict with her. This was the first time. Even more tears flowed down her face.

"You've grown up," he said softly. Then he reached out and bopped her head.

She subconsciously bowed her head, weeping.

He shook his head. "Come on," he said. "I want to take you somewhere." As he turned to leave, she rose to her feet, wiped the tears off her cheeks, and followed. For the first time in thirteen years, Master and apprentice left the Ninth Sect.

They traveled to the border region of the ninth continent, where they found a river, next to which was a village. They arrived around evening, when smoke was rising lazily from the chimneys of the houses. Naruto caught sight of the house where he had lived as a child in this life. It had long since changed ownership; the scholar who had found him in the river had passed away many years ago.

However, the old man who had cared for him was still alive. He had ended up marrying the village widow, and both of them were now completely ancient, with numerous children and grandchildren.

When Naruto saw the old man, he thought back to many warm memories from this life, and a slight smile touched his face.

Yan'er stood quietly at his side. She said nothing, but she could sense the tender feelings in her Master's heart.

They left around dawn. Naruto didn't actually meet with the old man in person. However, he left behind numerous age-prolonging, longevityenhancing medicinal pills, as well as jade slips which would protect the man and his bloodline for generations to come.

It wasn't long after Naruto left that the old man yawned and walked out of his room. When he looked down, he saw all the items that Naruto had left, and his jaw dropped. After some contemplation, he shivered and looked up into the Heavens. Finally, he smiled.

"Haowie, you came back…?" He chuckled as he recalled the young boy from so many years ago.

A few days later, Naruto stood at the very top of the Vast Expanse Shrine, where he clasped hands to the Heavens.

"I am Namikaze Mu, from the Ninth Sect of the Vast Expanse School. I desire to walk the Transcendence Path. Paragon, please open the portal!"

As his voice echoed out, the Paragon first gaped in confusion, then began to reel in shock. A buzz filled the Ninth Sect as countless disciples flew toward the mountain peak upon which rose the Vast Expanse Shrine. There, they saw Naruto standing at the peak, and Yan'er standing at the bottom of the mountain, looking up at him.

"He's… going to walk the Transcendence Path…."

"Indeed. The Transcendence Path is exactly the type of place for a Chosen like him!" The other Chosen in the Ninth Sect sighed, mixed emotions playing out on their faces.

People had long since speculated that he might do something just like this. The truth was that Ancient Realm cultivators weren't prohibited from walking the Transcendence Path. However, it was usually done only by unique Chosen with special qualifications.

As for Naruto, if he didn't qualify to be Chosen, then no one in the Vast Expanse School did.

Naturally, he was qualified to walk the Transcendence Path.

Yan'er stood there silently, looking up at her Master atop the mountain. Her eyes gleamed with determination, and she took a deep breath, telling herself that she had to be strong. Yet, she couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks.

Naruto's voice was still echoing out when the voice of the 7-Essences Paragon responded from within the Ninth Sect.

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely!" Naruto replied, his voice filled with a decisiveness that could sever nails and chop iron.

Moments later, an intense rumbling sound filled Heaven and Earth, as if someone were working a type of grand magic. It sounded like the sky itself were being ripped open. Everything shook as an enormous rift appeared up above.

The rift shone with a seven-colored glow, dazzling and radiant. The light then transformed into a staircase, which descended from above and came to a stop directly in front of Naruto. He looked up at the staircase, and could see that within the rift in the sky was another world.

It was at this point that an ancient voice echoed out: "The sect rules of the Vast Expanse School state that any disciple who enters the Transcendence Path must leave behind a Soul Lamp. If the lamp shines, the cultivator lives. If the lamp is extinguished… the cultivator has died." The countless disciples in the area looked on silently.

Naruto waved his sleeve, causing a stream of soul fire to fly out from his forehead. The soul fire swirled through the air, transforming into the shape of a Soul Lamp.

This particular Soul Lamp was different from his collection of Ancient Realm Soul Lamps. It was formed from his own soul fire, and would indicate to the outside world whether or not he was still alive. Based on the state of that flame, people outside would know the state he was in as he walked the Transcendence Path.

What people did to the flame on the outside, however, wouldn't affect

Naruto. He waved his hand, sending the soul fire lamp over to Yan'er.

"Place that in my secluded meditation facilities," he said, smiling. With that, he took a deep breath, stepping forward onto the staircase and speeding upward toward the rift.

As he rose higher into the sky, the Ninth Sect's 7-Essences Paragon spoke into his ear. " Namikaze Mu, there are many things in life which can't be forced. If you reach a point where you can't go onward, you must turn back…."

Just when Naruto was about to step into the rift and enter that most ancient Transcendence Path, Yan'er suddenly called out in a loud voice.

"Master, do you… do you remember back when you told me the story of Sakura? You promised that if I wanted to hear the rest of the story, that you would tell it to me."

Naruto stopped and looked back down at the mountains below, and at Yan'er, standing there in the crowd. "I remember," he said, smiling softly. "Do you want to hear it now?"

She trembled, tears pouring down her face. "No, not now," she replied.

"Master, can you tell me the rest of the story when you get back…?"

The idea of parting with her Master hurt so much that it felt like her heart was being crushed.

"Of course," he replied, nodding. With that he turned, took a deep breath… and stepped into the rift, onto… the Transcendence Path.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1483

Chapter 1483: On the Transcendence Path!

From the moment of the creation of the Vast Expanse School until now, the Transcendence Path had always been of vital importance. It could even be considered a trial by fire that gave birth to the reserve power of the entire sect.

In truth, it wasn't really a trial by fire, not the type that disciples in sects usually participated in. Despite being part of the Vast Expanse School, the things that happened on the Transcendence Path were beyond the control of even Paragons.

Everything depended on the individual involved. Everything depended on chance and luck.

From ancient times until now, countless disciples of the Vast Expanse School had walked the path, and yet none had reached the end. Everyone who returned had done so from somewhere partway along the path.

Those who didn't return died along the way.

Actually, the Transcendence Path wasn't really a literal path.

It was a very unique location, so much so that even people who had been there and experienced what lay inside had difficulty explaining it to others. It was almost as if there were some magical law at play which prevented people from explaining everything that had happened inside.

The first thing Naruto saw after entering the rift, after stepping onto the Transcendence Path, was a lamp.

It was… a bronze lamp.

It actually looked almost completely identical to the bronze lamp inside of his true self.

Except, this bronze lamp was enormous, so large that it was impossible to describe, larger even than Planet Vast Expanse. The starry sky in this location was the type that made one's mind reel to even look at it.

The Transcendence Path… was this bronze lamp.

The burning flame of the lamp was made up of three parts, the outer flame, the inner flame, and the heart of the flame…. Apparently, they formed three different dimensions within the world, and the light they cast illuminated everything therein.

The world was vastly enormous, as was the bronze lamp. In addition to the dimension in the flame, the body of the bronze lamp itself also contained its own dimension.

Naruto's first thought upon looking at the shocking lamp was that it was actually the same lamp which existed within his true self.

Then he couldn't help but think of the Devil Realm's World-Butterflies, or the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm, which became the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas.

All of those things could contain worlds of living things. This bronze lamp that he was looking at… was that same type of precious treasure.

"So, the Transcendence Path… is actually broken up into two parts. One part is in the body of the lamp, the other, in the flame.

"As for the flame… it is further broken up into three parts. The outer flame, the inner flame, and the heart of the flame…." Naruto's eyes glittered with determination. With that, he transformed into a flash of light that shot toward the bronze lamp.

The bronze lamp got bigger and bigger as he approached. Time passed. Not even Naruto could have predicted that after flying for seven months, going all out with every scrap of power he could muster, he still wouldn't have reached the lamp itself.

By this point, he couldn't even see the lamp's flame any more, only a world of bronze.

His expression was very serious as he continued to fly onward. Three months later, the lamp started to look different. He could see lands covered with buildings. He saw countless mountain ranges, and even rivers and seas.

Eventually, his vision swam until he couldn't see. Then, when things were clear again… he was within the world of the bronze lamp.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and an indescribable force pushed down onto him. It felt like countless mountains were trying to crush him, as if an enormous hand were pushing down onto his head. The pressure shoved him down out of the air, sending him speeding toward the ground.

A moment later, he slammed into the earth.

A boom echoed out, and afterward, he lay prone on the ground, blue veins bulging out on his neck and face. He let out a roar, and his body shook violently. After enough time passed for three incense sticks to burn, he was finally able to struggle into a crouching position.

That effort alone left his garments soaked with sweat. He was trembling physically, and his bones felt like they were on the verge of breaking. His eyes were thoroughly bloodshot.

The intensity of the pressure exceeded anything Naruto could have imagined, and was the most terrifying weight he had ever borne. Beneath this pressure, every rotation of his cultivation base made it seem like his Chakra passageways would burst.

Despite all of that, his eyes gleamed with focus, and even a tinge of madness. Gritting his teeth, he ever so slowly rose to his feet. It took two incense sticks' worth of time, but in the end, he was standing there, roaring at the top of his lungs.

In that very same instant, one of his remaining seven Soul Lamps was extinguished.

The extinguishing of that Soul Lamp unleashed new life force which flooded into him, strengthening him and allowing him to stand tall and straight.

His eyes grew redder, but excitement filled his heart.

"So, this is the Transcendence Path huh…. I never would have guessed that one of the Soul Lamps I found so difficult to extinguish could be put out as soon as I entered." He looked around and found himself surrounded by a desolate wasteland. Other than him, no living being could be seen.

However, he knew that he couldn't possibly be the only person in here. There were other cultivators from the Vast Expanse School who had entered the place in the past, and were still inside after countless years.

Taking a deep breath, he took a step forward and began to walk. He felt like a mortal, plodding along. The path to be tread was a long one, that was something he had come to understand even more clearly as he drew closer to the bronze lamp.

Considering his current state, walking the entire length of the bronze lamp, and then reaching the second portion of the Transcendence Path, seemed almost impossible.

And yet, he didn't give up. Panting, jaw clenched, he walked alone through the wasteland….

That year, some important events occurred within the Vast Expanse School.

Namikaze Mu, who had established an unheard-of legend within the Vast

Expanse School, who had summoned the Tenth Heaven of all of the Vast Expanse Shrines of the nine sects, stepped onto the Transcendence Path with an Ancient Realm cultivation base.

His departure caused the Chosen of the other sects in the Vast Expanse School to breathe sighs of relief. Living in the same era as Namikaze Mu made them feel as pressured, as if Heaven were weighing down on them.

Now they could relax, at least temporarily. No one could say for sure whether Namikaze Mu would rise to new heights on the Transcendence Path, or whether he would fade away and never be heard of again. Time would tell.

Another thing that happened that year was that the Sect Leader and the rest of the group who had entered the necropolis finally returned. They had remained within the necropolis for dozens of years, and yet, were not able to reach the ninth land mass. They reached the seventh, but were unable to open the path to the eighth.

When they returned, some of the original party members were not with them. Those who did return were all in bad shape, and Bai Wuchen hovered on the brink of death.

However, all of the group who had returned alive had made significant progress with their cultivation bases. The faint aura of Transcendence was upon them, which caused a huge stir in the Vast Expanse School.

Also during that year, Patriarch Chi Feng made a cultivation base breakthrough, acquiring his ninth Essence and becoming the Eighth Paragon.

Outside of the Vast Expanse School, somewhere out in the boundless starry sky, Naruto's true self was in the location of the fourth copper mirror shard, flying along at top speed. His face was pale, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. A vast swarm of termites was chasing after him, voraciously devouring everything in their path.

At the moment, he had black armor that covered his arm and chest, giving him incredible battle prowess. By now, killing peak 9-Essences cultivators would be no difficult task for him. And yet, these termites had him bedraggled and fleeing.

The main reason was because there were so many of them they were impossible to even count. Furthermore… each and every one of them emanated brutal auras, the weakest of which was in the Immortal Realm, and the strongest… 9-Essences!

Their numbers were beyond description….

Thankfully, he had prepared well before coming into this area. After speeding along for a short time, he reached a point where he had set up a spell formation earlier. The light of teleportation flickered, and then he vanished. A moment later, the swarm of termites engulfed the teleportation portal.

Apparently, even the flickering teleportation portal was something that the termites considered to be food. Crunching sounds emanated out, and in the blink of an eye, the spell formation had been completely consumed.

However, being unable to consume Naruto's true self, the termites howled in rage. Anyone who could hear the sound of it would be truly shaken.

After a while, though, they begrudgingly gave up and returned to their home, a land riddled with countless passageways burrowed here and there.

In another location in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, dazzling light flickered, and Naruto's true self staggered out. He coughed up a mouthful of blood, then closed his eyes and rotated his cultivation base. Rumbling booms like thunder could be heard inside of him as numerous pustules appeared on his skin. They began to wriggle, and then tiny termites burst out from within. Each and every one screamed and then exploded.

After expelling and destroying several hundred termites, Naruto's body was soaked with blood. However, when he opened his eyes, they shone brightly, and his body quickly recovered.

"I wonder how many countless ages that swarm of termites has existed. How unimaginable…." With that, he looked down at the armor which covered him, as it faded away and transformed into four mirror shards.

He had found the fourth mirror shard in the termites' nest, and had extracted it from within the body of the termite queen herself.

"With four shards, I have half…. Now, to get the fifth shard.

"My clone is on the Transcendence Path…. Who would have imagined that path to be so difficult…? If my speculations are correct, completing the Ninth Hex is not something that can be done in a single life.

"I have to collect the rest of these mirror shards. Getting just these two took me a few dozen years, but I suspect that acquiring the final four… will take hundreds." He looked around in exhaustion for a moment before sitting down cross-legged to do breathing exercises. After a while, he rose and sped off in the direction of the fifth shard.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1484

Chapter 1484 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1484: Extinguishing Soul Lamps on the Path!

Three years passed.

People in the Vast Expanse School still talked about Namikaze Mu. As for the mountain he had lived on, only Yan'er occupied it now. It was not open to visitors, and her life was once again peaceful and quiet.

Without Naruto there, there was no more playful pouting on her part. Sometimes, she just sat there in a daze, daydreaming about the past.

But there was no avoiding the truth…. Her Master was gone.

Other than practicing cultivation, there was only one thing that she absolutely had to do every day, and that was to visit her Master's secluded meditation facilities, where she had enshrined his soul fire.

As long as that soul fire burned, her Master was alive.

One day, she came to visit as she always did. She kowtowed to the soul fire, and then began to speak in a murmuring voice.

"Master, you've been gone for three years. That's not too long….

"Oh, last night when I was practicing cultivation, I finally understood that one magical technique.

"Another thing you don't know about, Master. I heard that yesterday, those jerks from the other sects started making trouble again. Supposedly, they're going to start challenging the Vast Expanse Shrine once more.

"Master, there's another thing…." Every time Yan'er came, she would speak to herself in his fashion, as if her Master were standing there in front of her. This time, even as she spoke, a tremor suddenly ran through her, and her voice faltered. Her expression flickered, and the blood drained from her face as she stared in shock at the soul fire.

For three years, the soul fire hadn't changed at all. But just now, it had faded a bit, as though it might wink out at any moment. The sight caused Yan'er to shake, and her mind to spin. She knew that this was the flame of her Master's life force, and that if it went out, it meant that he was dead.

Obviously, he must be experiencing some deadly situation on the Transcendence Path.

Her heart filled with bitterness and anxiety, and yet there was nothing she could do to help her Master. She could do nothing to change anything, really.

"Master, I'm so useless…." Tears began to roll down her cheeks as she trembled, still staring at the soul fire.

The truth was that Naruto really was facing a deadly test on the Transcendence Path. The pressure he was facing had just increased dramatically.

He had continued to walk for three years, and gradually, had become used to the pressure. He had even reached the point where he could jog for a bit. But today, he crossed into a new region in which the pressure suddenly increased by, not double, but tenfold!

It happened suddenly and without any warning whatsoever. Naruto had literally no time to even react before being slammed down onto the ground.

Many of his bones were fractured as he struggled against the pressure, and his flesh was smashed. Cracking sounds could be heard as his skeleton hovered on the brink of being shattered.

A sensation of imminent life-or-death crisis swept through him. On top of it all, his cultivation base was suppressed. He began to tremble, and his eyes were completely shot with blood as he let out a howl. However, at the moment, there was nothing he could do.

Any other person would have been destroyed instantly, but Naruto's true self had created this clone following the pattern laid out by the bronze lamp, making it perfect in every aspect.

It was pure, lacking any impurities or defilements, and possessed the ultimate Immortal aura. In fact, it was even possible to say that this clone was an Immortal body unto itself.

When you added in the terrifying divine will of Naruto's true self, it meant that the clone was just barely able to survive under this sudden tenfold increase in pressure.

Time passed. After fifteen or sixteen hours, Naruto's vision was fading. However, beneath the intense, deadly pressure, he was able to extinguish one of his six remaining lit Soul Lamps.

Instantly, life force poured into him, healing his bones and mending his flesh. His cultivation base flourished, and his fading life force once again began to thrive.

Having endured through the deadly crisis, Naruto struggled into a sitting position. His face was pale, and he was panting as he looked behind him at the path he had walked. As of this moment, he fully understood how the Transcendence Path worked. The pressure was not something that remained constant, instead, it would increase explosively.

Obviously, the farther one traveled along the path, the more terrifying the pressure got. Furthermore, there was no warning; it would happen in an instant. Life and death were separated by a single step.

As Naruto's life force was restored, Yan'er was there in his secluded meditation facilities in the Ninth Sect of the Vast Expanse School, staring at his soul fire. When the flame began to burn brightly once again, she wiped her tears away, and made a decision.

"Master, I'm going to get strong as quickly as possible. Then… I'll walk the Transcendence Path with you." Having made her decision, she took a deep breath and left the secluded meditation facilities.

From that day on, she didn't remain holed up on the mountain. She left, and began to challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine. Although the tolling bells offered no benefit to her, the other good fortune within the Vast Expanse Shrine was still helpful.

That was her choice: first challenge the Vast Expanse Shrine, then walk the Transcendence Path.

Another three years passed. Naruto had now been on the

Transcendence Path for six years. So far, he still hadn't caught sight of anyone else. It was as if he were the only living being in all Heaven and Earth. As he proceeded onward under the incredible pressure, he gradually got used to it. Eventually, he reached the point where he could jog, just like he had before. However, he had the feeling that… an explosive increase in pressure was coming.

As the feeling grew stronger, he pressed onward with increased caution. A few months later, he finally saw someone up ahead. It was a person wearing similar clothes to himself, who proceeded forward with great difficulty, his hair completely disheveled. However, he emanated the aura of the Dao Realm.

This was the first fellow disciple he had seen so far on the

Transcendence Path. However, before Naruto could even call out a greeting, the man up ahead took a step forward, then shuddered and immediately fell to the ground. Then, even as Naruto watched, he transformed into a blood mist. It only took a moment for that blood mist to be crushed down into the ground, and completely dispersed.

Moments later, there was no trace of blood left, nor any other indication that the man had existed. It was almost as if what Naruto had seen before was just an illusion.

Naruto stopped in place to think, his heart pounding. If he hadn't witnessed the man's death, things might have been a bit easier. Ever since three years before, when the explosive increase in pressure had happened without any warning, he had always thought it might be better to know beforehand so he could prepare himself.

But now he wasn't so sure.

Now that he knew where the border existed, he would be able to prepare ahead of time. And yet, that also opened the door for doubt and fear. Moments ago, he had seen a Dao Realm expert crushed into a blood mist, and that left him more than a little reluctant.

After a long moment passed, his eyes flickered brightly, and he took a deep breath. Rotating his cultivation base, he began to walk forward, filled with determination.

Eventually, he reached the border; if he took another step he would be in exactly the same spot where the Dao Realm expert had been destroyed. He lifted his foot up, and without any trembling or hesitation, he stepped forward.

Rumbling echoed out as incredible pressure exploded down onto him, pressure that was twenty times as powerful as the pressure he had faced upon entering the Transcendence Path.

A boom could be heard as Naruto's body began to explode. Blood spattered everywhere, and the cracking of bones echoed out. The pain was so intense that anyone would scream in response, and yet Naruto gritted his teeth and held his breath. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as he rotated his cultivation base and sent out divine sense. Simultaneously, all of his Soul Lamps exploded with power.

Just when he felt like he couldn't hold on any longer, when his body would fully collapse, one of his final five Soul Lamps winked out.

The extinguishing of the Soul Lamp flooded him with life force, like rainfall onto a parched desert. He immediately began to recover, although it still took effort just to stand in place. He closed his eyes for a long time before finally continuing to plod along like a mortal.

"Four lamps left…." he murmured hoarsely, gritting his teeth as he walked along. Extinguishing one Soul Lamp in three years was a bit slow, but was a speed Naruto could accept. After all, on the outside, it would have taken hundreds of years to extinguish his remaining Soul Lamps.

However, the deadly pressure in this place could stimulate the potential of one's life force; either you succeeded, or you died.

Three years later, Naruto had been on the Transcendence Path for nine years, and was facing pressure beyond imagination. He had originally assumed that the pressure in the next region beyond the twentyfold increase would be that of a thirtyfold increase. It was only upon stepping into that area that he found, not a thirtyfold increase, but fiftyfold increase!

The explosive level of the pressure completely destroyed half of his body. Blood sprayed in all directions, and it was only by the extinguishing of his fourth Soul Lamp that he managed to survive. After some further rest and recovery, he proceeded on.

"Three more lamps!" he thought. His hair was a mess, and his face was ashen, but he clenched his jaw and proceeded along. It was in his twelfth year on the Transcendence Path that he finally caught sight of someone up ahead.

Not just one person, but four!

They were seated cross-legged several hundred meters up ahead, doing breathing exercises. Their cultivation bases made them all 3-Essences Dao Lords, very close to the 4-Essences level.

As Naruto neared, their eyes opened, and they couldn't hold back from being shocked.

"Ancient Realm?"

"The third tribulation can't be passed by anyone below the Dao Lord level. How did he get here!?"

"From ancient times until now, Ancient Realm cultivators haven't been prohibited from traveling this path. However, most of them stop before the third tribulation."

"Could this be a new Chosen from the sect?" These four Dao Lords had been away from the sect for an entire sixty-year-cycle, and were thus unaware of the legendary Namikaze Mu. Their eyes began to shine brightly as Naruto walked up to them.

As he neared, one of them called out in a hoarse voice, "What sect are you from, disciple?"

Chapter 1484: Extinguishing Soul Lamps on the Path!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1485

Chapter 1485: Malicious Intentions!

"The Ninth Sect," Naruto said, looking over at the four Dao Lords.

None of them said even a single word in response. After hearing that

Naruto was also from the Vast Expanse School, their interest waned. Sometimes plotting, scheming and even open fighting went on between the various factions of the Vast Expanse School. However, most people weren't willing to bring those conflicts with them into a trial by fire. One could very well end up hurting oneself in so doing.

The four Dao Lords ignored Naruto, and he ignored them. He continued walking until he was at the same point along the line as them. There he stopped, and looked at the area up ahead.

Obviously, these four men were sitting in this spot for a reason, and Naruto was well aware of exactly why.

"So, not even Dao Lords dare to step past this point?" he thought.

Moments ago, the Dao Lords had mentioned a third tribulation. Obviously, the different areas he had entered every three years were the tribulations these people were referring to.

"The first tribulation was tenfold, the second tribulation was twentyfold, and the third tribulation was fiftyfold. Could it be that this fourth tribulation is a hundredfold?" Even as Naruto stood there pondering the situation, the Dao Lord who had asked him about his identity earlier opened his eyes.

"The fourth tribulation increases the pressure by a hundredfold," he said. "You need to be careful, kid. I don't know how you got here, but… if you step in there without having a 4-Essences cultivation base, you'll almost certainly be killed."

Naruto turned and clasped hands in thanks to to the Dao Lord. Then he turned back, took a deep breath, and to the shock of the four Dao Lords, took a step forward!

"Are you looking to die?!" That was what all four of the shocked Dao Lords were thinking as Naruto started to walk. Rumbling sounds simultaneously echoed out.

Almost instantly, his legs were shredded to pieces. Half of his body was destroyed! His arms burst into a mist of blood, and in the blink of an eye, the rest of his body was shredded to pieces by the hundredfold pressure!

Only his head remained within the blood mist, as well as… 108 Soul

Lamps. Three of those lamps were lit, and the rest were extinguished.

Naruto only had his head left, but he roared nonetheless, and blue veins popped out on his skin. Then, his Soul Lamps began to vibrate, and then one of the remaining three suddenly went dark!

After the lamp was extinguished, the blood mist which had exploded out began to form back together into a body. Although it was covered with wounds, Naruto managed to take a breath, then cough up a mouthful of blood as he fell to the ground.

The hundredfold pressure continued to crush down onto him as he struggled up into a cross-legged position. Then he closed his eyes, rotating his cultivation base and circulating the life force which had come from extinguishing the Soul Lamp as he fought back against the pressure.

"Impossible!" The four Dao Lords on the other side all stood up, faces covered with expressions of disbelief. All of them were panting, and their eyes were as wide as saucers.

"He's… he's actually holding up!"

"Only 4-Essences cultivators can enter the fourth tribulation. Not even we can step in there!"

"I remember three years ago when Dao Lord Flamefire from the Seventh Sect walked in, and was killed instantly…." Their minds were reeling as they stared at Naruto.

A moment later, one of them suddenly whispered, "Just now, was I just seeing things, or did he have 108 Soul Lamps?"

The other three gasped. Moments ago, they had been so preoccupied with the fact that Naruto actually took a step forward that they hadn't paid much attention to his Soul Lamps. Now that they thought back, they couldn't help but exchange astonished glances.

"When did someone inhuman like this appear in the sect?"

"I noticed that he only had two lit Soul Lamps. If… if he actually extinguishes those final two, then how powerful will he be?" With each moment that went by, the men were more and more shaken.

A few days later, the group of four looked on with mixed emotions as Naruto opened his eyes. He took a deep breath, and then oh-soslowly rose to his feet. It was difficult to do, but after he finished the movement, he gritted his teeth and began to walk forward, completely ignoring the four Dao Lords.

As he proceeded along, he got farther and farther away, until he disappeared from view. The Dao Lords could do nothing but sit there in silence, completely shaken by the fact that Naruto was walking through the tribulation that they themselves could not even enter.

"Only two Soul Lamps left," Naruto thought. "The final two…." His vision was swimming, and his breath came in ragged pants as he proceeded along with great difficulty.

"After those two Soul Lamps, I can step into the Dao Realm!

"In that moment, I will be able to form my Essence, and use its power to begin completing the Ninth Hex!

"That is when I will see if my speculations are correct!" After forming the outline of the first sealing mark of the Ninth Hex all those years ago on the Vast Expanse Shrine, he had begun to speculate about a certain matter.

He had the feeling that this clone of his would actually only be able to complete one sealing mark in his single lifetime. Most likely, he wouldn't be able to complete even two, let alone nine.

The Seal the Heavens Hex was simply far too powerful and majestic. It was a Hexing magic that, realistically speaking, shouldn't even be able to exist in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

He took a deep breath as he trudged forward. Another three years passed in the blink of an eye. However, he still hadn't reached the fifth tribulation, the reason being that he was moving much more slowly than before, and also had to rest frequently.

It wasn't until five years later that Naruto reached the point where he could start jogging. Only then did he eventually catch sight of the border of the fifth tribulation.

There, he saw cultivators.

There were two of them, seated cross-legged at almost the same position along the path. Astonishingly, both were 4-Essences cultivators, and one of them, a middle-aged man in a black robe, was at the peak of 4-Essences, just around the corner from 5-Essences.

The two men took note of Naruto's arrival, and one of them even looked at him with a hostile glare.

"Someone's finally here," said the middle-aged man. "Ancient Realm…. Wow, an Ancient Realm cultivator who can pass through the fourth tribulation. Perfect for our plan…." Obviously, any Ancient Realm cultivator who could make it here would obviously be a very important person in the sect, and most likely a future Paragon.

Because of that, he hesitated for a moment.

In that moment of hesitation, Naruto had already jogged up and was approaching the border itself.

The middle-aged man and the other 4-Essences Dao Realm experts exchanged a glance, and when they saw the decisiveness in each other's eyes, they gritted their teeth and cast all doubts aside.

They looked over coldly at Naruto, who was now only about one step away from entering the fifth tribulation.

The middle-aged man with the hostile expression didn't seem very anxious, nor did he seem to notice that Naruto apparently had the courage to immediately step into the next region. Only people with incredible power would be able to forego resting and measuring up the next area.

"Kid, why don't we make a deal…." the middle-aged man said, his voice cold.

"Don't worry," said the other Dao Realm expert. "The two of us don't wish you any harm. In fact, we want to offer you something incredibly helpful."

Neither of them were paying much attention to where Naruto was standing. Both of them were of the opinion that virtually no one would ever do anything except rest here before taking another step.

However, even as the words left their mouths, Naruto completely ignored them, and stepped forward, his eyes glittering.

"Wait!"

"Are you trying to kill yourself?!" The two Dao Realm experts were completely shocked, and rose to their feet anxiously. As for Naruto, a violent tremor ran through him.

The pressure that was crushing down on him had rocketed directly to… one hundred and fifty times the original pressure!

His body instantly collapsed, and not even his head remained intact. He transformed into a mist of blood, provoking grim expressions from the two Dao Realm experts. They had been waiting a long time for someone to come along and fall into their scheme; how could they ever have guessed that the person to show up would be a complete idiot?

"What a moron that kid is! He deserved to die a worse death than he did for stepping in there like that!"

"Who cares if he dies or not? He's screwed things up for us now. Dammit!" However, their curses were suddenly cut short, and their jaws dropped in shock.

The blood mist that was Naruto was acting differently than similar situations they had seen in the past. Instead of dispersing, it began to form back together. It only took a moment for it to once again turn into the vague shape of a person.

When they looked closer, they were shocked to find that… 108 Soul Lamps could be seen within that figure. Two of those Soul Lamps were lit, with the rest being extinguished.

"This…."

It was at this point that one of those two Soul Lamps suddenly winked out. As a result, the life force remaining in the blood mist caused it to begin to form together, even as the intense pressure weighed down!

Apparently, some incredible power was forcing the blood mist back into the shape of a body!

However, the intense pressure seemed to be interfering, as if the power of one extinguished Soul Lamp wasn't enough to complete the task. But then… the final Soul Lamp flickered, and then, to the disbelief of the two Dao Realm experts, suddenly…

Turned dark!

In that moment, everything went completely silent. Then, a Heavenshaking, Earth-shattering blast of energy shot out from the blood mist, sending the two Dao Realm experts staggering backward in shock!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1486

Chapter 1486 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1486: The Clone Passes Away In Meditation

The peak 4-Essences cultivators outside of the fifth tribulation couldn't help but be astonished by the intense energy buffeting them.

Everything shook violently, as though some invisible force were battering the lands.

At the same time, the blood mist continued to converge into a body.

The face wasn't distinguishable, only the fact that it was a body. Furthermore, there were 108 Soul Lamps within that body, each of which resembled a divine being sitting there cross-legged in meditation.

The shape they formed burst with the aura of an Immortal, as if a true and authentic Immortal were now coming into the world!

The pressure in the area instantly attacked the Immortal aura, forcibly blasting it away, causing cracking sounds to emanate out, and tiny rifts to snake out in the air, as though… the air were about to be destroyed.

The two peak 4-Essences cultivators edged away. They could scarcely believe what was happening as the aura destabilized their minds and crushed down on their cultivation bases. They almost couldn't even breathe.

Next, another astonishing, terrifying aura surged out from within Naruto.

This time, it wasn't from the 108 Soul Lamps. Instead, there were nine sealing marks, which shone as radiantly as the sun as they swirled around, emanating a pressure that could shake Heaven and Earth.

The pressure caused blood to spray out of the mouths of the 4-Essences Dao Realm experts. They were sent tumbling backward as if by a powerful attack, and even as they screamed, their fleshly bodies were shredded to pieces.

Their bedraggled souls emerged, shrieking. They retreated by several thousand meters, shaking with unprecedented terror.

"What… what are those sealing marks?!"

"One look, one single look was enough to destroy our bodies!" They wanted to flee, but the intense pressure crushing down on them made it impossible for them to retreat. From the look of things, they were about to be completely destroyed.

It was at this point that the nine sealing marks within Naruto began to emanate streams of light that connected to the 108 Soul Lamps. The radiant light seemed to burst with an Immortal aura, making them Immortal Threads that connected through all of the Soul Lamps, forming a circle, forming… an Immortal Root!

A spirit like an Immortal, and a foundation that reached as deep as the root of a tree. This was an Immortal Root!

"He's definitely not in the Ancient Realm. That aura… it's terrifying! It's like a Paragon!"

"That's… that's an Immortal Root?" The 4-Essences Dao Realm experts were shaking violently, and their souls seemed to be fading away.

The Immortal Root was something legendary within the Vast Expanse School. Supposedly, all cultivators had Immortal Threads inside of their bodies, and when their cultivation base reached the pinnacle, or if their bloodline was powerful enough, those Immortal Threads would form together into an Immortal Root.

Only by possessing an Immortal Root could someone truly be considered… an Immortal!

When Naruto extinguished the last of his Soul Lamps and entered the Dao Realm, an Immortal Root appeared.

Because of that Immortal Root, something very strange happened.

His 108th Soul Lamp became the Immortal Root, which in turn created something like a huge tree. It had nine branches, which were connected to the nine sealing marks inside of him. They were like Immortal fruits growing on that tree!

Among those nine branches, the first began to shine with dazzling, multicolored light, and pulsed with colorful bursts of something that looked like lightning.

As for the other eight branches, they were dark, as though they lacked any life force whatsoever.

As the first branch of the Immortal Root pulsed with light, the first sealing mark began to shine, until it was blindingly bright!

As of this moment, the first sealing mark was complete!

A tremor ran through Naruto, a Heaven-sealing aura pulsed out from within him, causing everything to shake, and a huge wind to kick up. At the same time, the aura of the Dao Realm exploded out.

Then, his eyes opened.

Stepping into the Dao via Nirvana Fruit!

Naruto's clone was actually formed from a Nirvana Fruit, not for the purpose of living a new life, but to utilize that bloodline power to be able to step into the Dao Realm more quickly than normal!

His eyes shone with light so radiant that a single glance from him seemed capable of completely absorbing the souls of the two 4Essences Dao Realm experts!

Normally speaking, Dao Realm Tribulation should have descended. However, there was something special about the Transcendence Path that made it impossible for the Tribulation to find him. It couldn't even sense the Dao Realm Aura on him, let alone come to him.

Naruto sat there silently. The sudden transformations which had occurred because of the extinguishing of his final Soul Lamp were surprising, and yet, actually served to confirm his previous speculation.

"In this life… I can't complete the Ninth Hex. I can only complete one of the necessary sealing marks." Naruto looked into the colorful light cast by the first branch of the Immortal Root, and saw multicolored sparks flickering about. He poured his consciousness into them, and as he did, his life flashed before his eyes.

He saw himself floating down the river, and then saw the scholar carrying him away. He saw the old man playing with him, and then saw his Seventh Year Tribulation. After that, he awoke and joined the Ninth Sect.

He rose from mortal to Immortal, took Yan'er as his apprentice, and then stepped onto the Transcendence Path…. Those were the things he saw.

They were the complete memories of a lifetime, from beginning to end.

"So… that's how it is," he murmured.

"The path I've picked is correct. The Ninth Hex is far too shocking, and shouldn't even exist. Therefore, in my clone's single life, I can only form one part out of nine.

"Well, that's fine. As long as I'm on the right track, everything will be worth it!"

He sensed the 108 Soul Lamps which formed the Immortal Root, something that his true self had never experienced in all of his cultivation. That Immortal Root was feeding and nourishing the sealing marks of the Ninth Hex. After a moment, his eyes shone with understanding.

"The Immortal Root is the focus of the complete Ninth Hex. With that Immortal Root, the nine sealing marks can be completed.

"As for this body, it has walked to the end of its path. If I want to form the second sealing mark, I'll have to do it another way….

"Even if my clone ended up becoming a Paragon, I would end up being stuck with only this first branch. What I need now… is that second branch.

"Each branch requires simply the memories of a lifetime. In that case, it seems this clone of mine truly must become independent. To my true self, this clone is my fourth life. But now that this Immortal Root has appeared, this clone… has experienced a first life!

"Nine branches. Nine lives…. When the memories of all those lives are combined, and come back from reincarnation, that is when the Ninth Hex, the Seal the Heavens Hex, can be completed!" The more he reached enlightenment regarding the matter, the more he realized that the Immortal Root and the nine branches truly confirmed his speculations from before.

"Reincarnation…. I need to live nine different lives, and save the memories of those lives, regardless of what they are.

"The best thing to do… is seal the memories away. In the end, after the ninth life concludes, I'll reawaken." After a bit of hesitation, he sat there quietly, and finally, sighed.

In some ways, he didn't wish to part with his current life. He turned his head, and although he wasn't really sure of what direction he was facing, he had the feeling… that he was looking at Planet Vast Expanse.

That was where the Ninth Sect was, and that was where his apprentice Yan'er was.

What he worried about most in this particular life was Yan'er.

"Seal my memories, sever my thoughts, enter reincarnation…." He sighed, waving his sleeve. The blood mist was gone, and he stood just inside the fifth tribulation, eyes shining with increasing determination.

"Enough hesitation," he thought. He pushed his hand out in front of him, causing the air to shatter and a vortex to appear. Apparently, this rumbling vortex was the doorway into reincarnation.

As it opened, Naruto stretched his hand out toward the souls of the two 4-Essences Dao Realm experts who had been plotting against him. Before they could plead for mercy, he crushed them.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as their souls transformed into motes of light, something like fuel for the vortex. The aura of reincarnation grew stronger.

"Yan'er," he said softly, "our relationship of Master and apprentice in this life… is now over." He closed his eyes, seemingly recalling past memories. After a long moment passed, he opened them again, and they were bright and clear. Then, he sat down cross-legged, as he… chose to pass away in meditation!

His body gradually began to shine, but at the same time it withered up. In the end, when he was nothing more than a shriveled corpse, his forehead opened up and a soul appeared, shining with Immortal light.

Within that soul was an Immortal Root, and nine sealing marks. That was everything which Naruto's clone had cultivated in his life. The eyes of the soul were bright, like that of an innocent infant. That was because all of the memories of the life he had just lived were severed and sealed away deep inside.

The soul of Naruto's clone stepped into the reincarnation vortex, and vanished. He was leaving… to begin the clone's second life.

Everything grew silent. Naruto's body remained there, seated crosslegged, motionless….

Meanwhile, back in the Ninth Sect of the Vast Expanse School, Yan'er was in the middle of meditating when suddenly, she shivered. Her eyes opened. It felt as if a cord connecting her to something had just been broken.

Trembling, she rushed over to her Master's secluded meditation facilities. When she pushed the door open and looked over to where her Master's soul fire was, she felt like she had been struck by lightning. She stood there quietly, tears running down her face that seemed as if they would never stop.

After a very long moment passed, she coughed up a mouthful of blood. From the look in her eyes, it was as if her entire world… had collapsed.

"Master…."

Naruto's soul fire, which had rested there for so long… had been extinguished.

Chapter 1486: The Clone Passes Away In Meditation

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1487

Chapter 1487: Reincarnation!

Time passed. It was the beginning of spring, and on Planet Vast Expanse's eighth continent, the lands were just beginning to recover from winter. In one particular town, a spring thunderstorm brought a bit of snow with the rain, and a child was born, a boy.

Ten years sped by in a flash, and child was now a young man. Because he was intelligent, and came from a good family, he ended up walking the path of a scholar. He took the Imperial examinations, and a few years later left home to work for the current dynasty of the mortal empire which ruled the eighth continent.

He rose through the ranks quickly, eventually earning a spot in the Imperial court. He soon became infatuated with palace intrigue, something at which he excelled. Eventually he earned a status as high as the sun at noon; the emperor even appointed him as the designated foster-father for his children.

His name was Namikaze Hao.

Nobody in the capital city of that mortal world was unaware of the name.

Of course, cultivators would never pay attention to a single mortal. However, in the current dynasty, he was the ultimate power.

Namikaze Hao, the most powerful person in the empire next to the emperor himself, was somewhat of an eccentric. He never married, and never sired any offspring. At the age of eighty, he was no longer part of the court, but the people loyal to him, and thus his power, held sway over the entire government.

A word from him was just as powerful as an Imperial edict.

One winter, the snow started to fall, and screams rose up in the capital city. Soldiers were fighting in the streets, filling the city with icy bleakness that seemed colder than the winter itself.

In one corner of the city was a beautiful plum garden, currently blanketed in snow. There, an old man sat in a wheelchair, being pushed through the garden by a servant.

The old man wore a thick, warm coat, and his face was covered with wrinkles. He had an aura of death to him, and his eyes were nothing more than narrow slits. At the moment, he looked just like any other old person might look.

"Lai Fu, come here…." the old man said softly. Instantly, the middleaged servant hurried around in front of the old man and bowed, a respectful expression on his face, eyes shining with reverence.

The old man's voice was hoarse as he continued, "I remember mother saying that I was born during the last snowfall in winter.

"Now that I'm old, I keep thinking back to old times….

"I've been dreaming a lot lately, dreaming of a different world. I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to actually seeing that world. How interesting." The old man looked around at the plum garden, then looked up into the sky at the falling snowflakes.

His servant did nothing but listen respectfully.

"Tell the third son that I demand his head on a platter. I've never liked him.

"It's time to end this war of succession. The eighth son is a good kid, pick him." From the calm way the old man spoke, it sounded as if he were speaking about some trivial matters, not a rebellious war of succession which affected the entire empire!

But that was just how this old man was. His eyes opened wide, and although they were somewhat clouded, there was a power shining therein that was beyond the ordinary.

Now, he was no longer just an old man. He was a supreme being who had the power to determine life or death in the empire!

This was Namikaze Hao, who was also… the second life of Naruto's clone!

The servant voiced his consent, and a few days later, a head was delivered to the old man. The rebellion over succession was ended by a single word. Suddenly, the winter didn't seem as cold as it had been.

A few months later, the last snowstorm of winter hit. The old man sat there watching the snow fall, and slowly closed his eyes. When he breathed his last breath, his forehead opened up and a soul flew out. It had nine sealing marks, and an Immortal Root. Two of the branches of that Immortal Root shone with brilliant light, and the second sealing mark gradually lit up.

The second life for Naruto's clone had ended. The entire country went into mourning.

His funeral hall was packed inside and out. All of the officials were present, and common people from near and far came as well. A proclamation was made that, throughout the entire empire, people were only permitted to wear black or white.

The old man had no idea any of that was happening.

His memories were buried and sealed. When he awoke, he was on the seventh continent, born into a family of hunters. It was winter.

When he came into the world, a hearty and excited voice rang out: "The son of Tiger Shi will definitely be the best hunter in the land!"

His third life had begun.

Meanwhile, Naruto's true self was far, far away from Planet Vast Expanse, speeding through the starry sky. Vicious-looking black armor covered over half his body, even his left arm!

"I found the sixth mirror shard!" he thought. He looked exhausted, and a bit pale in the face. He had already been away from Planet Vast Expanse for more than a hundred years. During that time, he had faced many dangers, and had already visited hundreds of worlds that were inhabited by living beings.

He was shocked by how difficult it was to acquire the copper mirror shards. Each one was a precious treasure which was guarded carefully by whoever had come to possess it.

Because of the vast stretches of time involved, the mirror shards had passed through many hands, and had all ended up among peak 9Essences beings. Of course, all such beings were the type who had existed in that stage for countless years.

Furthermore, the majority of those beings were not cultivators, but rather, other strange entities that existed within the Vast Expanse.

Naruto had tracked down the fifth mirror shard in a world that had been formed into the shape of a mirror. In that world, he found what turned out to be an undying enemy. They fought back and forth for decades upon decades, and Naruto killed that enemy so many times it was impossible to count. Eventually, he found the weakness of the world, and only by threatening to destroy it could he convince the enemy to hand over the mirror shard.

The sixth mirror shard was even more difficult. The difficulty there lay not in a powerful opponent, but rather… the fact that the mirror shard lay in a sludge, a sludge so large that every particle which made it up was a separate dimension.

As for where exactly the mirror shard was in all that, the only way Naruto could find out… was to search through the dimensions one by one.

That search took him nearly a hundred years.

In addition to the actual mirror shards, there were other benefits to his adventures. Naruto's experiences left him with a much deeper understanding of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. As the decades passed, his cultivation base climbed higher and higher, especially after the battles with the powerful enemies he was facing. Furthermore, he was gaining enlightenment of all of his eight Essences.

He wasn't even sure exactly where his battle prowess was at this point.

However, he did know that with his current cultivation base, he wouldn't even need to use the copper mirror shards to fight the Sect Leader and the others. He would be able to fight them on his own power, even if the Sect Leader, Sha Jiudong, and Bai Wuchen joined forces.

In the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, the only people who could fight Naruto would be those eccentric 9-Essences experts who had lived for countless years, and who were just under the level of Transcendence.

Every time he defeated a powerful expert, he would extend an offer to join him. He was always refused, and would never press the matter, but would simply leave, a slight smile on his face.

However, he always took note of the locations occupied by those experts. Once he finished forming his Ninth Hex, he would return, whether he had Transcended or not. Then, whether they wanted to or not, he would enlist them to help take back his home!

As Naruto sped along, he could sense that his clone was entering his third life. Because the clone's memories were all sealed, it made his connection to Naruto grow weaker. However, the basic resonance was still there. Although he couldn't control his clone's body after it had been reincarnated, he could see what was happening. He had the feeling that if he attempted to forcibly interfere, a disharmony would occur, which would cause even more problems in finishing the Ninth Hex.

"The second life is over, and the second sealing mark is finished. It seems it will take quite a few years… for my clone to complete the work with the Ninth Hex.

"When he finishes, I'll be able to… return to the Mountain and Sea Realm!" His expression was one of intense anticipation. He took a deep breath and began to speed in the direction of the seventh copper mirror shard.

It was around that same time that, back on Planet Vast Expanse, the Sect Leader and the others were once again organizing an expedition into the necropolis.

Furthermore, another Chosen had appeared within the Vast Expanse School, someone whose fame rivaled even Namikaze Mu.

It was… Yan'er!

Bells rang as one Heaven after another was summoned. When she summoned the Ninth Heaven, the entire Vast Expanse School was shaken. And she didn't stop at one Vast Expanse Shrine. She followed the same path as her master, challenging the Vast Expanse Shrines of all of the nine sects, leaving her name there in the rankings.

She took second place in all of them, and rocked Planet Vast Expanse with the Ninth Heaven.

Countless people were shocked, and couldn't help but draw comparisons between her and Namikaze Mu. The commotion her actions caused shook the Vast Expanse School without cease.

Currently, she stood there upon the Ninth Heaven in the Ninth Sect, looking up into the Heavens. Within her eyes could be seen reminiscence, contemplation, and determination.

Just as she had sworn nearly a hundred years before, she would walk the Transcendence Path!

After seeing that her Master's soul fire had been extinguished, she had sworn an oath which became the focus of her entire life.

Throughout the years, a few people had come back from the

Transcendence Path with stories about how Namikaze Mu had passed away into meditation. Supposedly, his corpse still rested on the path.

Strangely, though, it was impossible to actually touch the corpse.

Such stories were told by more than one person, so they had to be true.

However, Yan'er couldn't believe that her master would simply perish on the Transcendence Path. So she would follow the same road as him. She would go see for herself what exactly had occurred.

A few days later, Yan'er, the second most astonishing Chosen to appear in the Vast Expanse School, extinguished the last of her Soul Lamps, and stepped into the Dao Realm. She experienced a shocking Dao Realm Tribulation that was witnessed by many. When it was all over, she went to the Ninth Sect's Paragon, just like her Master had, and said the same words.

"I wish to tread the Transcendence Path. Paragon, please open the portal!" As her words echoed out through the air of the Ninth Sect, countless disciples looked on wordlessly. Mixed emotions could be seen on their faces. During the past hundred years or so after Namikaze Mu had passed away, she had gone from being battered and broken, to being powerful.

She was no longer the little girl she had once been. To these people, she had long since become… their Eldest Sister.

In response to her request, an ancient voice echoed out: "Why are you doing this too….?"

She clasped hands and bowed, voice ringing with determination as she said, "It doesn't matter, Paragon, I've made up my mind!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1488

Chapter 1488: Little Tiger Shi

After a long moment, the Ninth Sect's Paragon responded with a sigh.

"Back then, I should never have let Namikaze Mu open the portal to the Transcendence Path. This time… I shall not permit such a thing to happen again!"

The death of Namikaze Mu had been a devastating blow to the Ninth Sect. In contrast, the Chosen from the other eight sects had breathed sighs of relief.

They no longer felt as if a huge weight were hanging over their heads. But then… not a hundred years later, Yan'er accomplished the same feat as her Master, and placed that weight right back where it had been.

When Yan'er heard the response of the Ninth Sect's Paragon, she closed her eyes, then prostrated herself on the ground. There she remained, unmoving. Apparently, if she was refused entrance, she would remain in place right there.

She was completely focused. This was her mission in life, and she was not making a request. What she was doing far exceeded a request….

She wanted to seek her Master, to confirm whether or not he had truly perished. That was her obsession, and it would never, ever be wiped away.

One month. Six months. A year. Three years….

Spring. Summer. Autumn. Countless days and nights passed, and Yan'er remained prostrated there the entire time. No matter who came to try to convince her to give up, she remained rooted in place. She was focused, and she was determined. People were shaken, and couldn't help but think of that other even more stunning figure from the past.

This Master and apprentice were truly alike in many ways.

Five years later, rumbling filled the sky as a huge rift opened, and a staircase descended from up above.

"Thank you, Paragon," she said. Her face was a bit wan, but she took a deep breath and prepared to begin walking up the stairs. But then, a gentle force poured into her body, wiping away her exhaustion and filling her with more energy than before.

"Make it back… alive," said the Ninth Sect's Paragon, his voice soft.

After the five years which had passed, even he understood the level of Yan'er's focus, and was left sighing. He wasn't capable of hindering Namikaze Mu's only apprentice.

Rather than just watch her prostrate herself in such a manner and wait for her life force to wither away, he had instead…given in, and let her go.

As the Paragon's sigh echoed out, Yan'er clasped hands and bowed, then looked up at the rift, her eyes shining with determination, and reminiscence.

"Master, Yan'er is going to come find you," she said. With that, she burst into motion, flying up the stairs and disappearing into the rift.

The year that Yan'er left, the rest of the Chosen in the Vast Expanse School didn't feel as if a weight had been lifted, but instead, that it had sunk down further.

Master and apprentice had both stepped onto the Transcendence Path, whereas the Chosen… were still fighting over the Vast Expanse Shrine. It struck them as being similar to the difference between mud and the clouds.

Yan'er slowly made her way along the Transcendence Path. She wanted to go quickly, but was not able to. As for Naruto, he had been able to pass through the first tribulation in three years. But Yan'er couldn't match that speed. She needed much more time, and yet, her determination never lessened. In fact, it increased.

"Master, I'm definitely going to find your remains," she murmured. The intense pressure weighing down on her made progress difficult, yet she trudged on. She was followed by the mastiff, who quietly walked next to her the entire time.

Time passed in a blur. Fifteen years went by.

The boy who had been born more a dozen or so years earlier in the mountainous forests of the seventh continent was now a young man. He had become one of the most outstanding hunters in the village, and although he wasn't very tall, he was exceptionally agile. At the moment, he was dashing through the trees, a hunting bow in his hand. After enough time passed for half an incense stick to burn, he suddenly stopped in place, then nocked an arrow to his bow with lightning speed.

A thrum could be heard, and the arrow sped through the air to plunge into the head of a black bear, roughly thirty meters away. It pierced in by about four inches, enraging the bear but not killing it. The bear roared and began to charge through the trees toward the young man.

The young man calmly fell back, loosing more arrows into the bear.

Blood flowed, causing the animal's fury to mount as it raced forward. Then, the young man suddenly stopped in place and looked coolly at the beast.

Seeing that the young man had stopped moving, the bear picked up speed. Just when it was almost upon him, the ground suddenly caved in, and a huge hole appeared. The bear fell in, to be impaled upon the countless wooden spikes which had been driven into the ground at the bottom of the pit.

A howl echoed out as the bear died.

The young man took a deep breath, his eyes shining with excitement. He carefully dropped down into the pit, extracted the bear, and then headed back to the village, the carcass slung over his shoulders.

By the time the boy arrived home with the bear, he was soaked with sweat. Sitting in the courtyard was a muscular, middle-aged man with a broad smile on his face. His right leg was bound tightly; a few days before, he had broken it on a hunting expedition. Thankfully, he was in good health, and had visited the doctor immediately after the accident occurred. In the future, he would have some problems with the leg, but nothing too significant.

"Great! The Shi Clan's little tiger cub can hunt bears now!"

The young man hurried over, smiling. About then, the door opened, and a middle-aged woman appeared. She looked dotingly upon the young man, tousling his hair for a moment before glaring at her husband.

The man shrank back sheepishly from the woman, then, trying to sound manly, chuckled and said, "Heh heh. He's no baby any more. I think when I was his age I could hunt bears too. It's only natural that the son of Tiger Hu could do the same."

The young man smiled. The warmth and love in the house was palpable.

This young man was the third life of Naruto's clone. Little Tiger Hu. 1

The warmth and love in the household persisted for two more years. But then one winter, his father went missing on a hunt, and the warmth faded away.

That night, it was as if the boy's world collapsed. His mother refused to believe that his father, the best hunter in the area, someone who knew the local terrain like the back of his hand, would simply go missing. Therefore, she went out to search for him. Again and again, night after night.

She never found him. A year later, his mother went blind from grief. Two years later… she passed away.

Before dying, she clasped Little Tiger Hu's hand in her own, and her vacant eyes seemed to stare off into the distance as she whispered, "Litte Tiger, your father couldn't have just gone missing…."

Little Tiger Hu wept that day, just as he had wept the day his father went missing. From then on, he refused to live in the village, and also refused to marry. He lived out in the mountains, where he searched relentlessly for his father.

Time passed. One year. Another. And another.

He combed all of the local mountains, high and low. For twenty years he searched. One spring day, in a far corner of the mountains, he found a rusty knife. The instant he saw it, his eyes turned red, for he knew that it was his father's knife.

It was the first clue he had ever found. He diligently began to search the area, and about 300 meters away from the knife, he unearthed a skeleton.

After examining the skeleton, he noticed a place on the right thigh where it had been broken once, whereupon he dropped to his knees and kowtowed. This was his father who had gone missing all those years ago.

His mother never believed that his father would have gone missing, and neither had Little Tiger Hu. He had always believed that his father was too great a hunter. Even if he encountered some dangerous beast, he would have been able to come up with a way to escape with his life. Besides, the most dangerous animals in the mountains were bears.

After examining his father's remains, he confirmed that there was no evidence that he had been attacked by a wild animal. Instead, what he found was a wound on his father's spine, the mark of an arrow. Twenty years ago, he had been shot in the back.

Little Tiger Hu was an expert when it came to bows and arrows, so to him, the evidence was clear.

He looked at his father's skeleton and smiled, a smile both bitter and vicious. Then, he carried his father's skeleton back to the village and buried it next to his mother. He erected a burial mound over the two of them, which he knelt in front of and murmured, "Dad, I'll get revenge for you, no matter what price I have to pay…."

A long time passed before he finally rose to his feet, and when he did, he seemed even colder than before. With that, he turned and left.

More time passed. Ten years later, Little Tiger Hu was an old man. He had spent the last decade using every method and means at his disposal to investigate the truth about his father. In the end, he confirmed that the killer was from a clan in another hunting village in the mountains.

The murderer who had killed his father was still alive.

Little Tiger Hu didn't bother to investigate the details of why the murder had occurred. All he knew was that when you killed someone, you had to pay the price with your own life.

One snowy night, when everything was freezing and cold, he entered the house of the killer. When he emerged, he reeked of blood, and was carrying a severed head. He had killed the old man, and when his children fought back, he killed them too. He had slaughtered the whole family.

He ended up being fatally injured, but still managed to stagger back to his own village, severed head in hand. He threw the head down in front of his parents' grave, and then sagged to the ground. He began to drink alcohol, and talk softly to his parents in words that no one could hear.

The snow fell harder. The seriousness of his injuries grew worse by the minute. He was like an oil lamp on the verge of sputtering out. As his consciousness faded, he suddenly seemed to catch sight of his parents.

After a while, he closed his eyes and lay down on the burial mound, as if he were reuniting with his parents, and once again feeling the warmth and love that he had as a child.

The snow covered his corpse, but it couldn't cover up the soul which flew out of his forehead. As the soul rose up into the sky, it looked back at the burial mound and sighed. Within the soul, it was possible to see that the third sealing mark was shining with radiant light.

The soul clasped hands and bowed to the corpse, then turned and reentered the cycle of reincarnation.

His third life was over, and the fourth life… was beginning.

It was in that moment that Yan'er entered the second tribulation in the Transcendence Path. The tenfold pressure caused her to grit her teeth, but she continued on. Her cultivation base was now at the peak of the 1Essence level.

Remember Dong Hu, one of the four boys taken to the Reliance Sect by

Xu Qing in chapter 1? His nickname was Little Tiger ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1489

Chapter 1489: Chen Lei

The clone's fourth life also began in winter, on the sixth continent, in a sprawling mansion.

In addition to the cultivators on Planet Vast Expanse, there was also a warrior class. In some ways, warriors also existed on a higher level than mortals, although to cultivators they were little more than ants.

In his fourth life, Naruto's clone was born as the Young Lord of the mansion. The mansion was located in the capital city of the mortal world of the sixth continent. For some years, it had been inhabited by a clan which had been founded by one of the most powerful warriors in the land. In fact, in the mortal world, he was known as an Arch-Warrior.

The Arch-Warrior's surname was Chen. The day Naruto was born, a thunderstorm raged outside, and so he came to be known as Chen Lei. 1

On the day the clone's fourth life began, Naruto's true self was speeding through the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, away from the location where the seventh copper mirror shard had been located. Behind him echoed an enraged roar.

A dust storm exploded out, filling the starry sky, transforming into an enormous head. Its face appeared to be enraged, and yet, was too frightened of Naruto to go chasing after him. Its roaring caused the starry sky to tremble.

"The day I unseal myself, I'll come looking for you!" raged the face. "I'll wipe out your entire bloodline. I'll eradicate everyone connected to your Karma!"

Naruto's true self smiled and responded in a cold voice: "You won't have to come looking for me. I'll come back for you before that seal is unraveled."

The difficulty in acquiring this mirror shard had exceeded that of all the previous ones. Despite his current level of power, he had experienced many dangerous situations before managing to get his hands on it and make an escape.

He flew along, an excited expression on his face. He now had only one more mirror shard to collect before he could call out to the copper mirror. By this point, he was already able to get a general feeling for where the copper mirror was, although it was impossible to narrow down enough of a direction to search for it directly.

"Once I get that last mirror shard, I'll be able to call out to the copper mirror!" His eyes shone with anticipation as he shot in the direction of the eighth mirror shard.

Even considering the speed he was capable of, it took him ten years to reach his destination. As he neared the location of the eighth shard, he frowned.

There was no vortex here. Instead, he saw a flower!

It was astonishingly large, about as big as half of Planet Vast Expanse.

It's roots seemed to meld into the void itself, and as for the flower, it was not in a state of bloom. It was still little more than a bud. However, the aura it emanated caused even Naruto to shiver in fear.

He could clearly sense that the eighth copper mirror shard was located within that flower bud. However, no matter what divine abilities he unleashed, he couldn't even scratch the surface of the flower bud.

From what he could sense, the flower was currently in a state of growth, and after some time passed, it would bloom naturally, without any interference or assistance from him.

"I just have to wait until it blooms…?" he thought, frowning. After a moment passed, he tried out a few more divine abilities, but in the end, sighed in defeat.

"I guess it doesn't matter. My clone is still in his fourth life. He needs a bit more time. I guess… I'll just wait here and watch the flower grow." His eyes flickered as he made some augury calculations. "At the fastest, it will probably take a hundred years, and at the slowest, a few hundred. However, once it blooms… I'll be able to enter. Then, the eighth mirror shard will be mine." With that, he flickered into motion, appearing on one of the flower's leaves, where he sat down cross-legged, closed his eyes, and began to meditate quietly.

Time passed. Some years later on the sixth continent of Planet Vast Expanse, his clone's fourth life, Chen Lei, was no longer an infant. He was now ten years old, and yet was already an important person in the clan mansion.

He had a high status, and was shockingly talented. He had advanced by leaps and bounds in his cultivation of the way of warriors, and already had developed inner qi. He had even come to be called the Junior ArchWarrior!

Despite his talents, he wasn't very interested in training, and spent most of his time playing. His parents weren't happy about that, nor was his grandfather, the Arch-Warrior who had started this whole clan. However, they could do little more than sigh.

In the final analysis, it could be said that Chen Lei grew up quite pampered. In fact, when he finally reached the marrying age, he suddenly became obsessed with traveling. He took his servants all over the country, and by the time he lost interest in that, he was already thirty years old. His parents thought that he had finally reached the point of being ready to settle down, and were about to arrange a marriage….

But then Chen Lei suddenly fell in love with a girl. She was a very important person, being the daughter of the emperor. She was on an outing once when Chen Lei ran into her, and he was instantly smitten. After that, he poured all of his energy into pursuing her.

He lavished her with gifts to gain favor, and did virtually anything she asked him to do. It got to the point that the entire clan was dragged into the matter, and soon everyone began to suffer because of it. Chen Lei's grandfather was gradually weakening in his old age, and his parents, despite being powerful warriors, were not Arch-Warriors. Because of Chen Lei's pursuit of this beautiful girl, the entire clan entered a state of clear decline.

At one point in his pursuit of the princess, she manipulated him into killing an important court official, which instigated a huge catastrophe. In order to save Chen Lei's life, the clan had to part with all of its remaining wealth. In addition, his grandfather ended up serving the emperor and performing all sorts of dangerous tasks, which pushed him closer and closer to the grave.

His grandfather had originally assumed that this would be a wakeup call for Chen Lei. How could he ever have imagined that, despite waking up to reality, Chen Lei would then become entranced with Immortal cultivation? The clan was destitute, and Chen Lei was almost forty years old, and yet he still decided to head out to search for the path to Immortality.

He walked that path for an entire decade, and yet made little progress.

Ten years later, he was half a century old. His hair was graying, and he was growing weaker physically. It was with listless eyes that he finally returned home, only to find an empty and abandoned mansion, as well as numerous gravestones.

Everyone was dead. The second year after he left, his grandfather had passed away. In the eighth year, his parents had been killed by a powerful enemy. All the other members of the clan were slaughtered, and it was only because of the kindness of the surviving servants that anyone had been buried at all.

When Chen Lei saw all of this, his mind went blank. It rained that day, and he ended up standing in the downpour, shivering. Grief filled him, and he began to weep, his tears mixing in with the rainwater as they fell to the ground.

"Dad…. Mom…. Grandpa…." Now he truly awakened. He thought back to his life, and he suddenly wanted to laugh. He recalled the grand aspirations of his youth, how he had developed inner Chakra at such a young age, and how he had thought his entire life would be simple and easy. He had always thought that as long as he wanted to succeed in something hard enough, he would.

He had loved the finer things in life. He had traveled the world. He had fallen in love with a beautiful princess, and thrown away vast sums of wealth to try to win her heart. In the end, she used him to kill someone, someone he should never have killed. Thus had disaster been wrought.

He dragged his clan into ruin, and then ran off to practice cultivation. Now that he had returned, Chen Lei felt completely useless, a sinner who had killed his entire family and clan.

In his bitterness, he laughed until he coughed up blood, and then collapsed onto the ground, where he lay, pelted by the falling rain.

The next day, the rain stopped. Chen Lei woke up, and looked even older than before. Although he was only fifty, it was as if he had already had one foot in his coffin.

From that day on, a new gravekeeper lived in the mansion, who would often contemplate his life, and his past madness.

Time passed. Ten years later, his back was hunched with age. He could tell that his life was nearing its end. That winter, it was extremely cold. One bright morning, snow began to fall, and he suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves. Off in the distance, a military procession could be seen.

Soldiers rode horses in tight formation around a palanquin. As the procession neared, someone in the palanquin apparently said something to the soldiers, and they all stopped moving. A pretty young woman emerged, dressed in expensive clothing. Next to her was an old lady, who she supported with her arm as they walked toward the mansion.

"Grandmother, why did we stop here?" the young woman asked, sounding a bit puzzled.

"When I saw this place, I thought of an old friend," replied the old woman. She was an old-timer, but had aged well, and wore expensive clothing just like the young woman. Few wrinkles could be seen on her face, which radiated a healthy glow.

The grandmother and granddaughter stopped outside of the barren mansion. The granddaughter was polite, and didn't ask any further questions. As for the old woman, mixed emotions could be seen on her face, as though she was thinking about things that had happened once upon a time. There was even a bit of remorse in her eyes.

After a long moment passed, the old woman sighed, and was about to turn and leave, when her granddaughter suddenly said, "Grandmother, someone's there."

The young woman pointed as the front door of the mansion opened, and Chen Lei appeared, stooped over like an old man.

Almost immediately, soldiers rushed forward protectively. The old woman studied Chen Lei's face, and a touch of uncertainty appeared in her expression.

"You are…?" she asked.

Chen Lei bowed his head and replied in a raspy voice, "One of the servants here. I watch over the graves."

"Have you lived here for a long time?" the old woman asked.

"Ten years," he replied softly.

The old woman didn't respond at first. When she did, she asked, "The Young Lord from this place… did he… ever come back?"

Chen Lei opened his mouth as if to respond, then closed it and simply shook his head.

The old woman stood there in silence for another long moment. Then she called for the soldiers to leave two pieces of silver to help pay for the maintenance of the graves. With that, she returned to the palanquin, and the procession began to move on. As it did, the old woman pulled open the palanquin curtain and looked back at Chen Lei. This time, she could clearly see his profile, and suddenly, a tremor ran through her.

Oh so slowly, her eyes went blank, and she closed the curtain.

The procession disappeared off into the distance.

Chen Lei ignored the two pieces of silver and looked up at the falling snow. How could he not have recognized that old woman? She was the very princess he had fallen in love with all those years ago.

Murmuring to himself in a voice that only he could hear, he walked back into the mansion.

The snow began to fall harder.

Chen Lei straightened up his clothing and walked into the rear courtyard, where the clan graveyard was located. He had long since dug a grave there for himself, which he slowly climbed down into. At the bottom was a coffin, which he entered. After closing the lid, he took a final breath, and then closed his eyes.

"What a waste of a life," he thought. He never opened his eyes again.

Chen is a common surname, the same surname as Naruto's Elder

Brother Might Guy. Lei means thunder or lightning ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1490

Chapter 1490: Little Mute

In his first life he was a Chosen. In his second life, he reached the pinnacle of the mortal world. His third life ended soaked in blood. His fourth life was, for the most part, a waste.

After dying in the fourth life, his soul flew out, and the fourth of the nine sealing marks glittered radiantly.

The soul entered the cycle of reincarnation, and the fifth life began.

As that happened, Naruto's true self was sitting cross-legged on the leaf of the huge flower, waiting for the flower to bloom.

On the Transcendence Path, Yan'er was struggling forward with gritted teeth. She had passed the third tribulation, and was proceeding toward the fourth. She repeated to herself over and over again that she had to keep going. Based on what she had heard from others who had come back from the Transcendence Path throughout the years, she knew… that her Master was in the fifth tribulation.

And she was getting closer and closer to that very location.

"Master, Yan'er is going to find you." The intense focus in her eyes grew stronger. Taking a deep breath, she walked on.

The fifth life began amidst winter snowfall, in a town on the fifth continent. The birth of the child brought no happiness to that family, and was in fact met with silence.

A moment or two later, the young father bitterly walked out of the house… and placed the baby down onto the street.

"It's not that dad and mom don't want you," he murmured, "it's just that you…."

The reason the baby was abandoned was because he was crippled. He was born with only a stump of a tongue, ensuring… that he would never be able to speak. Furthermore, he had a birthmark on his face, making him frighteningly ugly.

The baby's crying grew more and more hoarse as it echoed out into the freezing cold. Eventually, a middle-aged man appeared, wearing a raincoat and a wide, conical hat. When he heard the crying, he walked up to the baby.

Looking down, he sighed, then picked the baby up into his arms and carried him home. The man lived in a small, cold house, within which swirled a permanent aura of death.

Gradually, a frozen corpse became visible, which apparently the man… had performed an autopsy on.

This man was the town coroner.

"Abandoned, can't talk, and ugly as a stray dog. I'll call you Little Mute." The man looked at the baby and smiled. After taking off his hat, it was revealed that he had a long scar running down his entire face, giving him a very vicious appearance. His smile was somewhat frightening, but his eyes were kind.

Little Mute was raised on the gruel provided him by his father the coroner. He grew slowly; apparently the iciness of winter had seeped into his bones, and he was always weak and fearful of the cold. He never seemed to develop fully, and it always as if a strong enough gust of wind came along, he might be carried away with it.

Because his father was a coroner, he had frequent contact with dead bodies. Any time someone in the area was killed, the corpse would be sent to the coroner for examination. Gradually, Little Mute learned the same skills as his father.

"Remember this type of wound, Little Mute. Usually it indicates that the spleen was punctured….."

"See, this one was obviously poisoned."

"Cut the chest open here, Little Mute, and check for tiny white insects. If you see any, make sure not to touch them."

"Look at this fellow, Little Mute. His head and torso have both been slashed open. What kind of power would do that? Not even warriors could inflict such precise wounds. These injuries were caused by an

Immortal. I wonder what he possibly could have done to offend an Immortal."

At first, Little Mute was afraid. However, thanks to the constant instruction given him, he eventually became quite familiar with examining corpses. By the time he was a teenager, he didn't feel any fear at all, and would sometimes even go behind the coroner's back to do his own autopsies.

The coroner grew older and weaker. Soon, he wasn't taking care of Little Mute, instead, Little Mute was taking care of him.

More years passed, and eventually the coroner had trouble seeing, and could no longer perform the duties of his trade. At his recommendation, Little Mute became the new town coroner.

Little Mute was an adult, but was still physically weak, as though he had never fully grown up. The birthmark on his face grew larger, making him unbearably ugly, and he was as mute as ever. Couple that with the fact that he had frequent contact with corpses, and he developed a somewhat sinister air which ensured that no girl would ever want to marry him.

Little Mute didn't really care about that though. He would be like his father, and live single for all his days.

He went about his coroner's work diligently. It was almost as if he were naturally gifted in those arts. Ten years went by in which he came to be known as the best coroner in the area, and was often called out to other towns for consultations.

The old coroner continued to decline. He had no wife to accompany him, only Little Mute. He would often jabber garrulously, whereupon Little Mute would listen quietly and smile.

Although he couldn't speak, he was able to make some signs with his hands, allowing him to communicate to some degree.

Years passed, and Little Mute became so well-known as a coroner that he came to be frequently summoned to the capital city. The old coroner eventually died. He passed away peacefully, and in no pain. Little Mute wept.

After burying the old man and paying respects, Little Mute left the town and moved to the capital city.

Year after year passed. Before long, Little Mute was fifty years of age, and was famous throughout the empire. A mere look at any corpse, and he could determine all the details about the cause of death. He could even perform such wonders with skeletons that had been dead for many years.

His understanding of corpses eventually reached an indescribable level, and he came to be known as the empire's Grandmaster Coroner.

However, coroners were still coroners, and would always be considered lowly. Despite reaching the pinnacle of his field, it was a position that commanded true respect only from others in that same field.

And yet, Little Mute wasn't resentful or dissatisfied. He knew that he was nothing more than a mute, incapable of speech. In his later years, he returned to his hometown and began to write a book.

He compiled all his knowledge about corpses, all of his experiences and judgements, into one prolific work. One year, winter came, and as he was looking out of the window at the snow, he thought about a story the old coroner had often told.

He had described finding Little Mute in the street one year as a baby, in the middle of winter.

Little Mute sat there quietly, thinking, and his eyes gradually turned blank. He didn't have much life left in him, and was still as afraid of the cold as he had always been. He suddenly felt as if his life had no warmth in it at all, as if he were like a corpse.

He knew that he wouldn't be able to last for much longer. One night, he walked out of his house and, facing the gusts of snowy wind that blew against his face, returned to the spot where the coroner said he had found him.

Looking down at the ground, he sighed softly, then laid down and looked up into the sky. He let the cold embrace him. He allowed the snow to fall onto his face. It didn't melt.

Gradually, a smile appeared on his face, a smile that would never fade….

He went as he had come. In his entire life, he never spoke a single word….

His fifth life ended. It was a bit dull when compared to his fourth life. He had none of the glory he had experienced in his first life, none of the vast power of his second. There was no bloodshed like his third life. If anything, his fifth life had been one of mediocrity.

The only thing he had possessed was peace and quiet, as well as mastery of his field of work.

His soul rose up and seemed to merge into the wind and snow. At the same time, the fifth sealing mark began to shine brightly.

Yet again he was reincarnated, and his sixth life began.

About that same time, Yan'er was trembling as she walked along the Transcendence Path. The mastiff had been with her for the hundreds of years she had been walking along, and by this point, she was reaching the end of the fourth tribulation.

Her cultivation base had risen continuously along her journey, and her enlightenment had grown. She was now at the level of a Dao Lord. The fourth tribulation had been very difficult.

One step after another, she proceeded along, drawing ever closer to the fifth tribulation.

Eventually she reached the border, and her eyes began to shine brightly. At long last, she was able to lay eyes on her Master….

There he was, a corpse sitting in meditation, as he had sat for hundreds of years….

He was covered in dust, but his facial features were clearly distinguishable. Everything about him caused Yan'er's heart to tremble. She quietly dropped to her knees and kowtowed.

"Master," she said hoarsely, her cheeks wet with tears. Despite the hundreds of years which had passed, her memories of her Master were as clear as ever.

She would never forget. Could never forget.

This was her focus. Her obsession. It was why she had climbed the Vast Expanse Shrine and walked the Transcendence Path. The reason for everything was her master. She wanted to see for herself whether or not he had truly perished.

As of this moment, she could look at his corpse, but could not approach it. If she took even a step into the fifth tribulation, she would be destroyed in all aspects. She could only stand there, one step away from him, weeping. After a long moment though, her eyes began to shine

with a strange light.

"Wait a second…." A tremor ran through her as she looked at Naruto's forehead. After a moment passed, she gritted her teeth and extended her right hand toward his face.

To do that, she had to reach into the fifth tribulation. Pressure exploded onto her arm, which instantly began to transform into a blood mist. However, in the very moment before that happened, she managed to touch his forehead.

Rumbling could be heard as Yan'er coughed up a mouthful of blood. She staggered back, her right arm half destroyed. And yet, she didn't care about that. In that brief moment, she had discovered a secret which no other person would have noticed.

"Master's forehead opened up. This is the Dao of Reincarnation. That magic… was something he passed on to me. His soul… didn't naturally disperse. Other people might think that, but not me. I'm his apprentice, and from what I can sense, Master… isn't dead!

"But if he didn't die, then why did his soul fire go out…? Unless…." Yan'er was not the young girl she had been so long ago. She was intelligent to begin with, and because of her understanding of Naruto, she had already guessed the truth. However, she didn't want to accept it.

After a long moment, her eyes began to glow, and she began to breathe heavily. The focus in her eyes grew more intense.

"Master… even if you are in the cycle of reincarnation, then I will journey among the masses to find you…." With that, she rose to her feet. By means of medicinal pills, she regrew her right arm, then took a deep breath and gave Naruto's corpse a final, long look. Then, she and the mastiff turned and headed back toward the entrance of the

Transcendence Path. Her destination: the nine continents of Planet Vast Expanse, where she would search for her Master.

She understood how the Dao of Reincarnation worked, and from the clues present, she was sure that her master was currently somewhere on Planet Vast Expanse.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1491

Chapter 1491: Xu Liuyun 1

During the last snowfall of winter on the fourth continent, the curtain opened on the sixth life of Naruto's clone.

He was born into the prosperous Xu Clan, which owned lots of land and property in the region, and controlled numerous profitable businesses. Most of their income came from agricultural interests.

They lived in one of the large cities in the empire of the mortal world, which was situated next to a trade canal. They were fabulously wealthy.

A child born into a clan like that was destined to live a life free from adversity, and to always have everything he needed and wanted.

Thankfully, in this life, Naruto's clone was not a silkpants like he was in his fourth life. He grew up into an intelligent young man who was quite prominent even as a youth. Soon, he began to assist his father in managing the family companies.

As time passed, and he grew older, he came to be in charge of all of the family's business interests. He ran things well, but at the same time, began to develop a certain ferocity. It was a fierceness manifested, not toward his fellow clan members, but toward his business opponents.

He excelled at hostile takeovers, and soon all of the other businesses in the entire city had been swallowed up by his clan. Of course, an accomplishment like that couldn't be made without a bit of killing. Soon, the hands of the clone's sixth life came to be stained with blood.

Such methods were contrary to how his father preferred to do things, and in fact, went against the entire clan. However, he didn't take such matters very seriously. He did things how he wanted to, and by the age of thirty, the Xu Clan had come to be the richest in the area!

Eventually, he came to realize that he should support the scholars and intellectuals among his clan, so he founded a college. As time passed, his support of the scholar class allowed him to influence the imperial court.

Soon, his plotting extended his network to encompass even the warrior class in the empire.

He married, but felt no attachment to his wife. It had been done as a form of business alliance, with the hope of sending the clan's influence soaring to an even higher level.

And that was exactly what it did. By the time he was forty, the clan businesses were the most successful in all the lands. Over time, he expanded into many types of trade, and yet in the end, their foundation was always agriculture.

Under his leadership, the clan moved to the Imperial City, where they became the official Imperial merchants.

As the Imperial merchants, it was impossible for anyone to compete with them in terms of profits. Of course, in addition to the material benefits, there were other advantages to their new status.

By the age of forty-five, Xu Liuyun had reached the absolute pinnacle of his life. Numerous clan members had become officials within the current dynasty, and many of the scholars he had supported were now members of the government.

His entire clan had soared to incredible heights. Most people would likely be content to just enjoy the fruits of such labor. At first, he felt a bit confused about what to do next, but then, he realized that a storm was brewing.

That storm came in the form of a famine that had just taken grip on the land.

That winter, Xu Liuyun stood in a courtyard in the clan estates, looking at the snow falling out of the sky. Behind him were a few dozen members of the clan, standing there silently. Some of them were members of the Imperial court, some controlled powerful businesses within the Imperial City, and others were direct bloodline descendants of the clan who had been sent out to control other interests in other parts of the empire. There were even some powerful warriors present.

These were the people who controlled the power in the clan, and although it couldn't be said that their reach stretched throughout the entire empire, they weren't very far off from that.

Any one of them could be considered extremely prominent. And yet, as they looked at the man standing in front of them, their hearts were filled with reverence and awe. He was a man who, in the space of a few dozen years, had created an incredible storm of events.

Although he wasn't well-acclaimed in the Imperial court, and was even looked down upon by the emperor, the prime minister, and many others, the important members of the clan all knew… the terrifying power he wielded when it came to wealth and profit.

After a long moment passed, the sixth life of Naruto's clone, the man known to all as Xu Liuyun, finally spoke.

"This is an opportunity," he said. "Perhaps the Xu Clan can take the next step, and actually come to control the entire empire. Of course, there is also the possibility… that we will be wiped out." After another long moment, his eyes glittered with ferocity.

"Execute the operation!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, all of the Xu Clan's power, both within and without the Imperial City, was focused on one task. And that was… barricading off all of their farmlands from the public, in the middle of the famine!

It was a concept that, from the very beginning, seemed soaked in blood. Barricading farmlands in the middle of a famine carried the implication of driving up the price of grain goods to exorbitant levels, to the point where many people would be forced to sell their own properties to pay for food.

It would likely lead to many deaths because of starvation. Families and clans would be destroyed. However, among the ranks of the noble clans, the Xu Clan would have an incredible opportunity.

In order to carry out the plan, the Xu Clan used all of the wealth it had accumulated over the past decades. They plotted, created alliances, and killed enemies. In the end, several months after the famine ended… they controlled so much land that their power within the empire was almost without rival.

They had their own private army, and vast swaths of land, bought and paid for with blood.

By paying out numerous gifts, they managed to appease the noble class. The complicated scheming required caused more than a few gray hairs to appear on Xu Liuyun's head, and yet his mind never ceased to plan and plot.

The peace that followed lasted for fifteen years, during which time Xu Liuyun didn't make much of a stir. That made people less suspicious of him, and gave him a chance to quietly expand the interests of the clan.

One year, when he was sixty, he once again stood in a courtyard watching the snow fall. Behind him, hundreds of clan members stood quietly. Anyone who knew the identities and statuses of these people would be shocked; they were people who could shake the entire empire. "This is an opportunity…." Xu Liuyun said, his voice hoarse. These were the same words he had spoken fifteen years ago. After a long moment, he nodded.

The nod of his head sparked a war of succession. Ten years passed by in a flash. The successor he had backed in the war became the emperor, and married a daughter of the Xu Clan. The young emperor even viewed Xu Liuyun as his foster father.

Virtually the entire Imperial court was loyal to him, even the prime minister. His word carried more weight with the army than an Imperial edict.

By this point, he had just as much power as he had had in his second life. Although it wasn't as obvious as it had been during that life, since he now operated in secret, his cold, calculating eyes could look down on the entire empire.

During this life, he had been heartless and unethical. He had no children, and yet, at the age of seventy, there was not a single person who dared speak to him without subconsciously bowing their heads.

Five more years passed, and his body began to decline. Eventually, he lapsed into a coma. Chaos was fermenting in the clan, and there were certain members who were itching to fight for control.

A year later, during the winter, he awoke from the coma. An old servant supported him with his arm as he stood in a courtyard, watching the snow fall. This was the third time in his life that he had been faced with an important decision.

"After I die, the clan will be thrown into unrest. After it passes… there may not be a Xu Clan in the empire any more." He knew that the reason for all of that was because he had no male heir.

"The only option is… to take control of the empire. Use the power of the empire to quell the clan turmoil. That way, any chaos will exist, not just in the Xu Clan, but in the empire as a whole. The result will still be favorable for in the end, though. As for the Xu Clan, it won't matter who gains control, at least the clan will continue on."

Xu Liuyun, the sixth life of Naruto's clone, stood there silently. This time, he spent much more time deliberating than he had on the previous two occasions. A long, long time passed. Finally, he sighed, thinking about all of the blood that had been spilt to carry out his first plan, and acquire all of that land.

In the end, he chose not to attempt to overthrow the empire. Looking older than he ever had, he gazed at the falling snow, the final snowfall of winter, and closed his eyes. Gradually, his aura faded away.

The day after he died, the Xu Clan was thrown into chaos, and that chaos caused the entire empire to be shaken. Soon, the emperor intervened. Over the course of the following months, virtually the entire clan was slaughtered.

Eventually the emperor, who was now a middle-aged man, received a message that the final remaining members of the Xu Clan had returned to the city they had come from, by the canal. They were back in their original ancestral mansion. The glory they had built up over the past hundred years was like a flower in a mirror, or the moon reflected on the waters of a lake.

This was Naruto's sixth life…. His arrival rocketed the Xu Clan up to the pinnacle of grandeur, and upon his departure, he took that grandeur with him. It was as if time had flowed in reverse, returning the Xu Clan to its original state.

When his sixth life ended, the sixth sealing mark was complete. Naruto's clone entered reincarnation and began his seventh life.

During those hundred years, Yan'er traveled among the continents, visiting the mortal worlds, searching for the aura of her Master.

She was completely and utterly convinced that she would be able to find his reincarnation.

If she couldn't find him in one life, she would look for him the life after that, and the one after that… until she found him.

Naruto's true self was still sitting cross-legged on the flower out in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, meditating as he waited for the flower to bloom.

The flower bud appeared to be just on the verge of opening up.

As for the Sect Leader and the other top experts of the Vast Expanse School, they were once again back in the necropolis, intent on opening the way to the ninth land mass. Although they weren't completely confident, they had to try. If they failed, they would try again, and again after that. They were focused and filled with anticipation as they began their journey.

At the same time, the Ninth Sect continued to expand, growing larger and larger. By this point, their forces were vast, and included numerous powerful experts. They subdued one Realm and world after another.

That was when Naruto's seventh life began on the third continent.

This surname Xu is the same as Xu Qing's surname. Liu means "to leave behind" and yun means "cloud" ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1492

Chapter 1492: Mutt

The third continent on Planet Vast Expanse was unique among the other continents because it never had winter. All the seasons there were like spring. And yet, on this particular year, it snowed.

That snow didn't fall on the entirety of the continent, but specifically on one of the deserts there. Along with the snowfall, a child was born into the world.

This was the seventh life of Naruto's clone, and he was born into a very poor family who owned nothing more than a camel and a mutt dog. His father was a desert guide.

On the day the child was born, the dog froze to death, and therefore the father insisted on giving his son the name… Mutt.

Mutt was not born lucky. When he was three years old, his father was bitten by a viper while guiding a caravan through the desert. Although he made it back home, he died shortly thereafter.

His mother didn't seem to care much about her husband's death. After she buried him, she cared for Mutt for another five years. When he was eight years old, she ran off with a passing merchant.

On her way out the door, she told Mutt that his father had once been a bandit. Acting as a guide, he had led her family into the desert, where killed all of them except for her. Then forced her to marry him.

For her entire life after that, she had always looked forward to his death.

Mutt watched quietly as his mother made her way off into the distance. He lived alone after that. One day, an old man appeared who offered to take him to a place where there was food to eat. Mutt didn't hesitate; he immediately left with the old man.

He had been under the assumption that they would leave the desert, but contrary to his expectations, the old man simply took him to another location in the same desert. There, he was thrown into a hell on earth.

He was one of a whole group of children of the same age, all of whom received extensive daily training. They were being molded into… assassins!

In the years that followed, Mutt saw many people die. Some were killed by others, some he killed himself. Some died during the training process.

If you wanted to live, you had to be ruthless. If you wanted to live, you had to kill.

Mutt wanted to live, so he was ruthless, and he killed. He trusted no one, and as such, had no friends. The only thing which existed between him and those around him was hostility, and the ferocity of the fighting.

Every year, a new group of children would be brought in. Every year, a vast quantity of corpses would be buried.

Mutt grew numb to it all. At a certain point, the other children came to fear him. Even some of the adults looked at him in the same way.

"Maybe I'm ugly," he thought one day, running his fingers across his face. He was only sixteen, but his face was already crisscrossed with scars, making him look very sinister. In his second year in this place, one of the older men had tried to force him into performing a revolting act, and when he refused, the man slashed up his face.

Two years later, Mutt cut that man's head off.

Mutt rubbed the side of his head, where his ear should be. He had lost his ear during a round of training in which only one person could come out alive in the end. His opponent had torn off his ear, but he had ripped his opponent's throat open.

Mutt's expression was cold as he looked at his throat in the mirror, which also had a vicious-looking scar on it.

In fact, his entire body was covered with scars, but he didn't care.

When he was seventeen, the old man who had brought him to this place took him away, along with two other boys and a girl. All three of them were people like Mutt, who had slaughtered countless opponents throughout the course of their training.

The four of them were taken to another training ground, where there were other youngsters their same age. The same monotonous existence ensued. Three years later, when Mutt was twenty, he participated in his final trial by fire. He beheaded a hundred opponents, causing everyone to look at him with fear. Even the old man who had taken him all those years ago had the same look in his eye.

Mutt didn't care. He just stood there quietly.

The following months were the happiest he had ever experienced. He was sent to learn etiquette, and was also treated by a doctor, who used strange medicinal plants to remove the scars from his body.

Although his ear couldn't be replaced, the miraculous medicines changed his appearance so much that he now looked like a handsome young man.

From then on, he was sent near and far throughout the continent on assassination missions. At the direction of the old man, he killed countless targets, including men and women, young and old.

He cut down people of all types, and never asked questions about them. He killed quickly and efficiently. However, he had a particular aversion to seeing victims who had a right ear. Every mission that he accomplished, he would slice off the right ear of the target.

Time passed. Ten years later, he had lost track of how many people he had killed. However, word had begun to spread; he now had a new name in addition to 'Mutt'. He was called Ear-Slicer. 1

It was a macabre name.

He had always assumed his life would go on in the same way forever. But two years later, after he finished yet another mission, he was walking through a town and saw an old woman, a beggar. Her eyes had been dug out, her tongue cut off, her legs broken.

As Mutt stood in front of her, he smelled a noxious odor. He looked down and could see that her legs were putrefying, and had been broken so many times that the bones would never heal properly.

For many years, not a single emotion could be seen on his face, but now, his expression flickered. He looked at the woman somewhat blankly, and shivered.

This was the first time that, not only did he not return to the headquarters after the mission, he also killed someone other than his target.

He slaughtered many people in that town. Anyone who had threatened or harmed that old beggar woman ended up having their throats slit by Mutt, and their ears cut off.

There was one rich household in the town who was said to have once been a family of traveling merchants, and were thus particularly at fault. He exterminated the entire family. In the end, he took the old woman away with him.

The event caused a huge stir in the entire country. Numerous constables and inspectors closed in on the area, and the assassin's guild also sent people to try to silence him in death.

The following years were spent on the run, in exhaustion. He killed many people, and found himself in many dangerous situations.

Eventually, the old woman died. She wasn't killed; she simply succumbed to her previous injuries.

In all the years she was with Mutt leading up to her death, she never knew the identity of the person caring for her. After she died, he wrote a few words on her gravestone.

 _My mother._

– Mutt

He stood quietly in front of her grave for a long time. As he did, people began to appear nearby. They were familiar faces, each one being an assassin from the guild.

None of them spoke. After a long moment, their killing intent exploded out, and they began to converge on Mutt. He looked up, and began to fight like a wild dog.

One enemy after another fell. In the end, he was the only one left standing. To him, these opponents were simply too weak. Shaking his head, he cut off their ears and then left. He ended up traveling to a place where he assumed nobody would go looking for him, the desert.

He was tired of killing people, and wanted to live alone in peace. Eventually, he took up the same line of work as his father, and began to guide people through the desert.

Years passed, an entire decade. One day he awoke to find his house surrounded. When he walked out the door, he found himself facing a group of assassins led by the same old man from years ago. He stood there looking at Mutt, legs trembling from the ravages of age.

After a long moment, the old man spoke out in a soft voice. "Kill him."

A spectacular slaughter ensued. Corpses fell left and right, and wounds opened up all over Mutt's body. He didn't care, though. After killing all of his opponents, he sighed and walked up to the old man. The old man looked on in bitter silence at the man who he himself had brought into the guild as a boy, seemingly waiting for him to say something.

Instead, a blade flashed.

Mutt frowned as he looked around at all the bodies. He left, going to the first training facility in the desert, then the second, and finally to the guild headquarters.

He had no idea how many people he killed. It was like back in the old days when you either killed or were killed.

After slaughtering everyone in the assassin's guild, he felt very tired. He returned to the desert, where he once again began to work as a guide. A year passed. Then another, and another. Eventually he lost track of time. One day he realized that he was an old man, and his body was very weak. There he was, was looking out at the desert, absentmindedly feeling the right side of his head where his ear should be. Snowflakes began to flutter down from the sky, and at the same time, a beam of light appeared off in the distance. Within that beam of light was a woman.

The snow fell, and Mutt's eye slowly closed.

Thus ended his seventh life. As his soul flew out to once again enter reincarnation, the woman flew toward his body at breakneck speed.

She was beautiful, and when she finally reached Mutt's corpse, she could sense the power of reincarnation. Tears began to stream down her face.

"Master…." It was Yan'er. She had searched for years and years before coming to this place and sensing familiar fluctuations. However, she had been just a bit too late.

She knew that her Master was already in the cycle of reincarnation.

After a long moment of silence, she buried Mutt's corpse. Then she turned, her eyes flickering with determination as she began to follow the already fading aura of reincarnation.

She was convinced that… she was getting closer and closer to finding her Master.

That year, Naruto's clone completed the seventh sealing mark. Then, his eighth life began, on the second continent. With every reincarnation, the branches of the Immortal Root would shine even more dazzlingly than before. However, his memories came to be sealed even deeper. It was really as if he were experiencing a brand new life each time.

Two interesting things. First is that in Chinese "Ear-Slicer" sounds very similar to "Mutt." You might even say they rhyme. Second, Er Gen's name literally means "ear"… ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1493

Chapter 1493: Wait Until I Grow Up….

Naruto's clone began his eighth life on the second continent.

Apparently, he really did have some special connection to snow. Each of his lives began in the snow, and this life was no exception. In the final snowfall of winter on the second continent, a baby was born into a mountain stronghold. His crying upon birth was loud and clear.

His father was a mountain bandit, the second in charge of the stronghold. As for the leader of the bandits… it was his mother.

The first time that seven-year-old Li Hao ever yelled at his parents, he cried: "I want to be a bandit too!"

In response, his mother spanked him for three days straight.

He had an older brother who was also an excellent bandit, and was quite renowned within the stronghold. His brother eventually won the approval of his parents, and was named the Young Lord of the stronghold.

As Li Hao grew up, his parents continuously presented him with servant girls to keep him company. Gradually, he came to understand what his mission in life was. He needed to provide grandchildren to his parents, to ensure that the offspring of the Li Clan would forever exist in Heaven and Earth.

It was a glorious mission, but also came with a lot of pressure. And yet… that was how his parents raised him. Every time he accomplished one of his missions, he could see how envious his older brother was.

His mission, and the looks given him by his brother, left Li Hao feeling very pleased. The harder he worked at it, the more his goal in life changed from that which he had stated at seven years of age.

"I don't want to be a bandit. I'm going to make sure that the offspring of the Li Clan fill the entire empire! In a hundred years, the Li Clan is going to be one of the biggest parts of empire!

"In a hundred years, everyone in the Empire is going to feel like they're related!"

His declaration stunned his parents and left his older brother shaken. In fact, everyone in the entire stronghold was completely astonished.

Li Hao quite enjoyed the expressions on their faces, and came to view his mission as extremely important. From that day on, he began to work whole-heartedly. He began to do a lot of research, and closely studied certain popular, illustrated reading materials….

His own physical training, combined with the efforts of the servant girls, ensured that his skills only continued to become more refined. By the time he was twenty years old, he had already sired 59 children.

At that point, he stood at the peak of the mountain, looking up into the Heavens, tears of pride streaming down his face.

He felt like he was a roc, a roc who was being held back by being cooped up in the mountain stronghold. In order to accomplish the mission he had originally set out to accomplish, he chose to leave the stronghold and travel the lands.

His parents thought it was a crazy idea, and his brother… actually looked at him with fear. However, he didn't care about any of that. In his mind, his family just didn't understand his mission in life.

"You people just don't get it. One person… can change the world. Of course, the condition is that he has to be a man. A strapping, energetic man. And that man is none other than me… Li Hao!"

That night, he left the stronghold. Wrapped up in his ideals, he climbed down the mountain, and made his way out into the world. Experiencing the wide world really opened his eyes, and he felt as if his mission were more important than ever. In fact, he felt that every day that passed was a wasted opportunity.

He started in a village near the foot of the mountain. Thankfully, he was handsome, and had a very charming pair of eyes, allowing him to successfully accomplish his mission in the village.

How could he ever have imagined, though, that fully accomplishing his mission would be so difficult? Twenty years passed. He was now forty, and had encountered numerous difficulties. People had even tried to kill him. It was with great difficulty that he managed to sire 107 children.

Feeling just as energetic as ever, he decided to leave the village and go to… the next village.

"It's fine," he told himself. "Villages are small, but my dreams are big." In the second village, he used every method at his disposal, spending all of the wealth he had accumulated in the past twenty years to get him through yet another twenty years. By that time, he had sired his 178th child in the second village.

He was moved to tears by that fact, and yet, despite being sixty years old, gritted his teeth and took all of his grown children, and even the grandchildren, in a campaign to even more distant lands.

The first destination… was the third village in this mountain range, almost ten kilometers away.

Li Hao was feeling more pleased with himself this time. He had been indoctrinating his children and grandchildren with his ideals. After all, he had long since come to the conclusion that he wouldn't be able to accomplish his mission on his own. However, with their help, he would surely be able to reach the glorious heights which he sought.

He and his sons and grandsons only spent three years in the third village before they occupied its entirety. It was then that Li Hao could laugh heartily and, instead of traveling out himself, send his sons and grandsons out into the rest of the country.

One after another, his sons and grandsons carried out his ideals, and his mission, out from the village into other locations. Ten years passed. Every year, another one of his descendents would grow up, and would be sent out.

After another ten years passed, Li Hao was more than eighty years old, and his descendants could be found in every business and vocation throughout the empire. As for exactly how many descendants he had, not even he knew. However, in his mind, tens of thousands was good enough.

He was happy with his life, and yet he continued to live for another fifteen years. When he was one hundred years old, the clan that Li Hao had founded had reached a shocking size. There were hundreds of thousands of members, and if they all joined together at the same time, they could count as a small country.

At the moment, they were spread throughout all of the lands, but that made it all the more terrifying.

Although he was a bit lonely in his old age, when the snow began to fall one winter, and his life came to an end, he was content and proud.

"I lived an extraordinary life, and I changed the future of an empire, of the world even. I alone… changed everything." Li Hao laughed three times, and then closed his eyes and passed away.

Naruto's true self was aware of all of this, and would most definitely have gone back to Planet Vast Expanse to stop it from happening, were he not stuck next to the flower.

He could never have imagined that after seven relatively normal lives, his clone's eighth life would have been spent doing something so absurd. Thankfully, the bodies left behind by his clones after reincarnation had no connection to Naruto himself.

Bodies did not reincarnate, only souls.

After the conclusion of the absurd eighth life, the memories were sealed, and the clone began his ninth life on the first continent. Naruto's true self was a bit worried about what would happen in this final life.

After a bit of contemplation, he decided not to interfere. He could sense that the clone's final life was just beginning to unfold. However, it was in that moment that his expression suddenly flickered, and he shot to his feet in surprise.

He had just sensed that the ninth life was completely different from the second through eighth lives. Those lives had been experienced by the soul passing through reincarnation. The bodies had not been Naruto's, only the souls.

However, as the ninth life began, Naruto could sense that this ninth life was exactly the same as the clone's first life. Unexpectedly… this life was somehow made from Naruto's own blood. Instead of saying that this was his clone's ninth life, it would be more appropriate to say that it was his actual clone!

The soul was his, and the blood was his. This was something completely different from before. Apparently, after his clone' body passed away into meditation on the Transcendence Path and his soul went through years upon years of reincarnation, his original body was somehow reconstituted in this ninth life. This was the similar to how the infant Namikaze Mu that had floated down the river, formed from Naruto himself, was actually the same person as Naruto.

Naruto was both shocked and nervous because of this development.

However, that mere fact alone was not what left him most shaken. The biggest twist was that this clone's ninth life felt different from anything that had happened before. He could barely sense its existence, as though the connection between the two of them was extremely faint. Naruto's true self couldn't see exactly what events were playing out in the clone's ninth life.

"The ninth life is the most important, the most critical. That must be the explanation for this strange development…." Having reached this understanding, he didn't feel much better. He was just about to head back toward the Vast Expanse School, when suddenly, the enormous flower began to bloom!

As it did, the aura of the final copper mirror shard began to spread out. Naruto's true self took a deep breath.

"I won't interfere with the clone. I'll let things play out as normal. Perhaps interfering would lead to negative consequences. Plus, if I don't get this copper mirror shard right now, then who knows how much longer I'll have to wait." With that, his eyes flickered with augury calculations. Without any further hesitation, he flickered into motion, heading into the enormous flower.

So far, he hadn't interfered at all in his clone's lives, and therefore, he would do the same for the final life; he would remain completely handsoff!

Meanwhile, in the first continent, in the capital city….

The capital city was large, and had a sizeable population, but was located in a relatively remote region. Snow fell and the wind blew as a husband and wife emerged from a temple after having prayed to be blessed with a child.

They had been married for many years, but had never conceived any children. Over the years, they had come to the temple on a few occasions to piously pray for offspring. They were starting to reach their later years, and were getting anxious about the matter. They had even consulted doctors about the situation, but no solution had been provided.

After leaving the temple, they headed back home, stewing in their anxiety. However, as they were walking along, they were surprised to hear the sound of a baby crying. Looking over, they saw an infant lying on the ground at the foot of a wall.

They quickly picked the baby up and looked around, but saw no one. Their hearts went out to the child, but after looking at him more closely, they realized the truth. Someone had abandoned the child in embarrassment because he had been born blind.

After a bit of thought, they decided to take the baby home with them. To them, this child was like a gift from the Heavens.

The boy would never see the light of day; he would live in a world of darkness. And yet, they chose to become his parents. They gave him the name Little Treasure, and began to raise him in an environment of warmth and love.

Little Treasure didn't realize that he was different from everyone else. He thought… that the world was simply black.

He thought that everyone was like him. He didn't even understand… what eyes were.

The Heavens had taken away his vision, had prevented him from seeing the world. However, he had been blessed with nimble hands, and a quiet, clever personality.

His parents loved him dearly from the very beginning. They held him when he walked, even until he was four or five years old.

His life was happy, and in fact, he thought that he must be the happiest person in the world.

When he felt the warmth of the sun on his face, he would ask, "Dad, mom! What's so warm?"

"That's sunlight from the sun."

"The sun?"

"It's a huge ball of fire up in the sky…."

"Can I touch it? How did you find out about it?"

"…. Little Treasure, you… the Heavens have their eyes closed, so you can't see. Just wait… wait until you grow up, then you'll be able to see."

When he heard the birds singing, he would ask, "What's that sound?"

"A bird."

"Mom, what do birds look like?"

"They have wings, so they can fly in the sky…."

"Oh, okay. Once I grow up, I'll be able to see them, right? When you were kids, you couldn't see anything either, right mom, right dad? I get it."

To hear such words from his little mouth caused stabs of pain to fill his parents' hearts. They would hug him, and would cry silently.

The child was unaware of their pain. He was as happy as ever, blessed even. Furthermore, he held a keen anticipation for being able to eventually grow up.

One day he heard some neighbor kids making fun of him for being blind, although he didn't know what the word meant.

That night, when his mom was rocking him to sleep, he asked, "Mom, what does it mean to be blind?"

Suddenly, he felt his mother shiver, and could sense that she had begun crying. He reached up and gently wiped the tears away.

"Don't cry, mom…" he said softly. "I won't ask that question ever again." And for the rest of his life, he never did.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1494

Chapter 1494: Little Treasure

Starting the next day, he was much quieter. When he felt something warm on his face, he wouldn't ask what the sun was. When he heard something singing, he wouldn't ask what birds were.

Eventually, he heard enough from other people to understand what it meant to be blind. He learned that the sky wasn't black, it was blue. The world wasn't black either. It was filled with many colors.

He also realized that he was different from the other children. They had all been able to see the world from the moment they were born, whereas he….

He thought about what his parents had told him, that he would be able to see the world after he grew up. That was a lie. And yet, he didn't want to believe that it was a lie, and continued to tell himself that after he grew up, he would be able to see.

The reason he couldn't see… was that he hadn't grown up yet.

He began to grow more reclusive. He didn't want to go out and play with the other children, mostly because they always bullied him. They made fun of him for not being able to see, joked about him being blind. But inside, he wanted to have friends, so he did his best to simply smile, and not cry. When he did play with the other children, and got shoved to the ground, tearing his clothes and scraping his skin until it bled, he just smiled.

People made jokes about him being blind, and those jokes only continued to become more and more cruel. He felt so bad that he wanted to weep, but he held it in. He didn't want to harm the friendships he had. He needed those friends.

One day, he got very excited when the other children, whom he could hear but not see, suddenly came looking for him. They said they wanted him to play a special game with them.

"It's called blind man's bluff. Little Treasure, you're blind, so you have to chase us, okay!?"

"Whoever you grab, that person will become blind. Oh right, we're going to go to a special place to play. Just wait until we say go, then you can start chasing us."

"Um… I don't want to play," Little Treasure said, trembling inwardly. He knew that being blind was a terrible thing, and didn't want to make other people become blind.

"Shut up! If you don't play with us right now, then we'll never play with you ever again!" Refusing to discuss the matter any further, the children dragged him out to play. He wasn't sure where exactly they were taking him, but eventually he heard birds singing. Eventually they shoved him into a kneeling position.

"Remember, don't start chasing us until we say go." They started laughing, the sound of which eventually began to fade off into the distance.

He knelt there on the ground, not moving, worried that he would break the rules and start moving too soon. If that happened, maybe they wouldn't want to play with him again. So he waited… for a very, very long time.

Soon the singing of the birds faded away, and he started to get cold and scared.

"Can we start now?" he cried out. But no one answered.

"Can we start now?" He shivered. It was getting colder, and yet no one responded to his cries.

"Can we start now…?" He slowly rose to his feet, trembling. He thought he could hear the sound of people nearby, but no one answered his question.

He was scared. The world was pitch black, and the warmth that he normally felt because of his parents was gone. Now, the world was not only black, it was freezing cold.

"Can we start now…? I… I don't want to play any more…." He was so frightened that tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"Where are you guys? I don't want to play anymore…. I want to go home.

"Dad? Mom? Where are you…?" Weeping, he began to walk forward, flailing his arms in front of him, but grabbing ahold of nothing but air. After a few steps, he fell.

"Mother… where are you…? I'm scared…." He struggled back to his feet, weeping in fear. The feeling of being completely alone was stifling. His garments were torn. His head was bleeding. And he was only seven years old. Stretching his hands out in front of him, he began to walk forward slowly.

What he couldn't see that he was currently in a forest, and that up ahead of him was a lone wolf. It was slowly approaching him, staring at him with cold, merciless eyes.

Just when the wolf was about to pounce on him, it suddenly shivered, then sagged in place. A moment later, it had transformed into nothing more than ash. A young woman appeared, wearing a long green garment.

She stared at the child, somewhat in a daze, watching as he groped his way along. She saw the tears on his face, and could hear him crying out in that heartbreaking voice. The young woman bit her lip, and began to cry.

"Master…." she murmured. This was Yan'er. She had been searching for her Master for hundreds of years, and on this day, she had managed to track the faint traces of the Dao of Reincarnation to this very place. At long last… she had found the reincarnation of her Master.

The weeping boy's foot caught on something, and he began to fall forward, but Yan'er gently caught him in her arms.

Little Treasure shivered and reached out to feel who it was that had caught him. She felt warm, almost like his mother. There was something very familiar about her. She even smelled familiar.

"You…." he whispered.

After a moment, Yan'er knelt down in front of him, smiled, and asked,

"Your name is Little Treasure, right?"

"Yes," he replied, nodding. The woman's voice was gentle, and suddenly, he wasn't afraid any more.

It was at that point that voices could be heard off in the distance. Apparently, a large group of people were walking along and calling out sporadically.

"Little Treasure, where are you…?"

"Little Treasure… it's me, mom. Where are you…?"

"Little Treasure…." It was his mother and father, along with other people. They sounded anxious, even fearful, as they called out to him.

"Dad…. Mom…." Little Treasure trembled.

Yan'er hesitated for a moment, then chose not to take the boy away.

Instead, she reached out and tousled his hair.

"Your mom and dad found you," she said softly. "I'll… see you later."

She took a step back to leave, but Little Treasure suddenly felt as if he were about to lose something important.

"Big Sis…" he blurted, "May I… may I touch your face?"

Yan'er's eyes glowed with a kind warmth as she looked at the boy. This was her Master, who meant everything to her.

She knelt back down in front of the boy. His hands were smudged with dirt, but she didn't care. He reached out and ran his fingers slowly and carefully across her face, and after a long moment, he smiled. Yan'er looked at him one more time. Then, smiling, she turned and left.

Moments later, Little Treasure called out to his parents, who rushed over, weeping, and scooped him up into their arms. After leaving the forest, he never asked about what had happened. However, in the following days, he refused to play with the other children. He preferred to be alone, where he would think back to the woman he had met in the forest.

Sometimes, he felt as if she hadn't actually left, but was next to him, watching over him. Although she never revealed herself to him, he always had that feeling.

Time passed. Ten years went by, and Little Treasure had grown up. However, he still lived in a world of darkness, devoid of any light. It was as if the Heavens had forgotten all about him.

His parents had grown old, although he couldn't see that. And yet, he could tell that their voices had become different. Because of his nimble hands, he began to learn the same carpentry skills as his parents.

Since he rarely had anything important to do, he took up sculpture as a hobby. Although he couldn't see, he could imagine, and as such, he carved sculptures that were incredibly vivid and full of life. They were like the dreams of a child.

He carved birds, and houses, and the people closest to him.

He didn't care that people called him blind. He didn't care that he couldn't see the world. In his heart, he had come to find his place in Heaven and Earth. His wooden sculptures. They were everything to him.

Although the sculptures didn't always resemble reality, they were what he saw in his heart. Furthermore, if he was able to feel something with his hands, then he would be able to reproduce it perfectly in sculpture form.

"Mother once said that the Heavens had closed their eyes. I want to sculpt Heavens with eyes wide open. Something that only I can feel." Little Treasure chuckled and shook his head.

Gradually, word of his sculptures spread in the city, and he was able to start a little business of his own. His parents, who continued to spoil him, were content.

Their son might have no eyesight, but he was an outstanding person. Eventually, it reached the point that he began to care for them in their old age. It was a touching thing, and they felt very content. Their hearts were filled with the love of a lifetime.

However, they still worried about Little Treasure. Although he had the skill to support himself in life, they still felt that he should marry.

Unfortunately, being blind, few families would be willing to marry their daughter to Little Treasure.

Three years passed. Eventually, someone acted as a matchmaker, and found a young woman from a small household somewhere in the city who agreed to marry Little Treasure. She was very pretty, and the fact that she had agreed to the marriage left Little Treasure's parents delighted. They gave their life savings as a betrothal gift, and escorted her back to their home.

That day was one of the happiest days in this old couple's life. They held the wedding ceremony, and hosted the wedding banquet. Red lanterns were hung. After the relatives and neighbors departed, Little Treasure's parents led him to the wedding chamber.

He was nervous. He had never even met this girl before. Everything had been arranged by his parents. However, he was a filial son, and would support his parents' decisions, even though marriage was something he didn't particularly care about.

Furthermore, he was curious as to why this young woman would agree to the marriage when he was blind.

When he entered the room, there she was sitting on the bed, wearing red wedding garments and a red veil. Although he couldn't see her, he could sense her presence.

Feeling his way across the wall, he approached the bed, reached out, and touched his wife.

She shivered, but didn't say anything.

He stood there quietly for a moment before gently lifting up her veil.

"May I touch your face?"

The young woman seemed very nervous; she was gripping her garments tightly with both hands, and was breathing heavily. Her anxiety was no act; deep in her heart, she wasn't sure if she was doing the right thing. But this was what she had always wanted, regardless of whether it was in terms of past lives or the present….

She took a deep breath and then said, "Yes."

Little Treasure reached out and gently ran his fingers down her face, feeling her eyes, her nose, and her lips. Suddenly, a tremor ran through him.

—–

Before we forget about all the previous reincarnations of Naruto's clone, let's have a fun poll to see which one we liked the most!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1495

Chapter 1495: World of Ice and Fire!

"It's you…?" Little Treasure said, his heart trembling. It was a face he could never forget. In the darkest, loneliest moment of his entire life, it was the source of the only warmth he had felt.

Eventually, Little Treasure's hands dropped away from her face. He smiled a warm, happy smile.

Years passed.

The ninth life of Naruto's clone went on quietly on the first continent. Meanwhile, Naruto's true self was in the enormous flower out in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, in the middle of his search for the final copper mirror shard!

He was currently sitting cross-legged in a world frozen over with ice. "Once I get this final mirror shard, my collection will be complete, and I'll be able to… call out to the copper mirror and summon it back to me!"

Everywhere he looked he saw nothing but ice. There were plants, but they had apparently been frozen. They were beautiful, like ice sculptures.

"What a strange place…." he thought, his eyes flickering. He had been searching this area for the copper mirror shard ever since entering the flower. However, the coldness here was so intense that it would frighten even 9-Essences experts. It pressed against him at all moments, threatening to transform him into an ice sculpture, just like everything else.

After resting for a bit, he proceeded along through the world of ice. No matter how he searched, he couldn't find the copper mirror shard, and yet, he could sense that it was somewhere inside of this enormous flower.

As he proceeded along, he suddenly heard a powerful roar coming from somewhere off in the distance. The ice around him shuddered, and cracks appeared on its surface.

He frowned, turned to look behind him. Off in the distance, was what appeared to be an enormous mountain, fully 300,000 meters tall, its peak piercing the clouds above. The mountain was currently shaking, and was the source of the roaring he had just heard.

A closer look would reveal the truth: he wasn't looking at a mountain, but an enormous giant. The giant was currently trying to rise from a cross-legged position, but powerful Essence-sealing symbols surrounded it, preventing it from doing so.

Naruto snorted coldly. This 300,000-meter-tall giant was the first life form he had encountered after entering this place twenty years ago. As soon as it saw him, it had transformed from a mountain into a giant. Eyes flickering with killing intent, it had begun to fight him.

Communication with the thing had proved impossible. Naruto had tried to show it good will, but it had completely ignored him, and its killing intent had even increased. Angered, Naruto had begun to fight it.

The 300,000-meter-tall giant was no match for him, but also seemed to be incapable of dying. Throughout the twenty years, Naruto had fought and defeated it several times, and yet had never been able to obliterate it completely.

In the end, he didn't feel like fighting it anymore, and had sealed it in place so that he could search for the copper mirror in peace. Now, the giant was trying to break free from the seals.

Naruto looked away, ignoring the giant as he continued his search.

Years passed in which he continued to fly along. Eventually, he realized that it seemed to be getting less terrifyingly cold. At a certain point, he didn't even feel cold.

"Could it be that I'm entering another area?" he thought, picking up speed. A few months later, he hovered in the air looking off into the distance. Unexpectedly, he saw numerous cities within the icy landscape.

They were scattered about seemingly randomly, and there were many of them. Tens of thousands. Furthermore, these cities were filled with countless living beings.

They were huge. Compared to these cities, the cities that existed in the Mountain and Sea Realm and Planet Vast Expanse were like toys.

Naruto hovered there in thought. During the many years he had spent searching for the copper mirror shards, he had been to many, many worlds. He had seen all sorts of living creatures that were not cultivators. There were some that looked like wild beasts, and some that even had bodies made of mist.

At first he had been shocked at the sight of such beings. But after some time passed, it became nothing out of the ordinary. He was now fully aware that there were countless bizarre forms of life within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

Naruto looked at the cities up ahead. Even though they were quite a distance away, he was still able to clearly see the living beings within them.

They looked similar to cultivators, except they were enormous. Most were about thirty meters tall, like mountains trudging along. Even the babies among them were at least three meters tall.

Some of the oldest appeared to be over 300 meters tall sometimes as tall as 3,000. With his divine sense, Naruto was able to locate the most powerful among these entities. It was a giant at the early 9Essences level, and it was at least 30,000 meters tall.

He wasn't located within one of the cities, but was sitting cross-legged in the form of a mountain.

However, based on the fluctuations of the giant's aura, it was possible to tell that it was bursting with life force. Surrounding the giant were other powerful experts in the form of mountains. None of the others were 30,000 meters tall, but there were a few hundred who were 15,000 meters tall.

These giants were the native species of this world, and Naruto could tell that they were of the same species as the 300,000-meter-tall ice mountain giant he had seen before.

Further off in the distance, Naruto was shocked to find that the realm of ice ended. Beyond, he could see green plains.

There were also countless cities visible upon the plains. All of them were connected together to form something like a wall, within which were living beings that resembled cultivators. They were all of a normal height, and yet had wings growing out of their backs.

The wings changed depending on the levels of their cultivation bases. The more powerful they got, the redder they became.

"What an interesting world. One part is freezing, another is warm…. Wait, no. This is the middle of the world, where it's warm, making it suitable for inhabitation by these giants and those avian people.

"If that's the case, then further off in the distance… it must be burning hot." Naruto sped into motion, heading toward the green plains. His cultivation base was so far above the living beings he passed by that none of them even detected his presence.

He continued to fly along for years. Down below, the lands began to change from green to red. Burning lava flowed, casting a crimson tinge to the sky. Things started getting so hot that most living beings who attempted to enter the area would be transformed into ash.

It reached the point where even 9-Essences cultivators would be completely destroyed. Naruto was beginning to feel uncomfortable. Eventually, he saw something off in the distance that looked like a mountain. He also felt an aura no weaker than the one he had felt from the ice giant. That aura was now rushing toward Naruto as if it had just sensed him.

Everything rumbled violently as the mountain transformed into a volcano that erupted with blazing fire. As it did, a crimson Flamephoenix burst out from within. It looked at Naruto, its eyes flickering with killing intent and vigilance. Then, it shot toward Naruto, surrounded by a sea of flames.

As it neared, the Flamephoenix shrank down into the form of a woman. She was beautiful, with two crimson wings, and she stood upon a sea of elemental fire that shot through the air.

"You're not welcome here, foreigner," she said in a furious voice. "Get the hell out!" As her voice echoed out, the air around Naruto shattered, and the sea of flames roared toward him.

His eyes flickered, although he wasn't surprised to find such a powerful entity here. The ice plains had the Icemountain Giant, and the land of flames had a Flamephoenix. The world was balanced.

"To be able to practice cultivation up to a level comparable to the peak of the 9-Essences, and even a bit beyond that, means these things are intelligent. Furthermore, they couldn't possibly be prone to changeable emotions.

"In that case, the Flamephoenix and the Icemountain Giant immediately acting hostile must indicate… that they know about the copper mirror shard!" His eyes glittered as he fell back, waving his right hand to summon numerous mountains, which smashed into the sea of flames.

Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the world shook. The woman-form Flamephoenix's face flickered. Killing intent swirled in her eyes, and she transformed back into a Flamephoenix, then charged toward Naruto in attack.

"I have a shape-changing magic too!" Naruto said. Snorting coldly, he changed into an azure roc, the color of which then continued to deepen until it was almost violet. A Demonic Chakra rose up, causing everything to tremble. The violet-colored roc shot toward the Flamephoenix, and the two collided in midair.

Heaven shook, the Earth trembled, and cracks spread out in all directions. Portions of the ground collapsed, and lava blasted up into the air. When two peak 9-Essences entities fought, it could have a huge influence on the surrounding world, and if it went on for too long, could destroy everything in the area.

The Flamephoenix let out a piercing cry, then fell back, changing back into the form of a woman. She coughed up a mouthful of blood, then glared up at Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he also transformed back into human shape, and then looked coolly at the Flamephoenix.

"With a cultivation base like that, your Excellency," the Flamephoenix said, "you can't possibly be some nameless nobody from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. What is your purpose here!?" Despite clearly fearing Naruto, she didn't appear ready to give in at all.

"You're a lot more reasonable than that lump of ice," Naruto replied coolly. "I have no ill intentions here."

The Flamephoenix's eyes flickered. "Lump of ice? You saw Patriarch

Icemountain?"

"Patriarch Icemountain? You mean that 300,000-meter-tall giant? Yes, I ran into him, and left him sealed where I found him."

The Flamephoenix's eyes narrowed as she tried to determine whether or not Naruto was telling the truth. She took a deep breath, looking at Naruto with even more fear than before.

After a moment, she asked, "Well then, why exactly have you come here, your Excellency?"

"For this!" Naruto said, waving his sleeve. A copper mirror shard appeared in front of him, emitting dazzling light amidst the light of the surrounding flames.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1496

Chapter 1496: Decision by Battle

Naruto did nothing to conceal his purpose in coming. In fact, there was no need for him to do so. Considering the level of his cultivation base, acting wishy-washy could affect his mental state.

To powerful experts like Naruto, hiding one's cultivation base and then suddenly exploding out unexpectedly was boring and meaningless. They wouldn't do things like that unless absolutely necessary. In the long run, it could destabilize one's Dao heart. Relying on such paltry tactics could be an obstacle to striving for a great Dao.

After possessing a certain level of power, the best thing was to call upon such power openly.

No matter what plots or plans were afoot, the best thing was to be open and aboveboard, to crush everything in one's path.

The Flamephoenix found it hard to deal with Naruto's straightforward demeanor. She took a few steps back, panting, then said, "I've never seen anything like that thing. But since you're already here, Fellow Daoist, I can help you look for some clues. However, I have to warn you, the Ice-Fire Realm is very large. You need to prepare yourself to waste a lot of time."

Naruto looked at the Flamephoenix, then chuckled and shook his head. Looking very sincere, he said, "This object is very important to me. If it's truly impossible to find, then I'll leave. However, if I'm prevented from leaving the Ice-Fire Realm before it's sealed up again, then… I'll have no choice but to destroy it. This is a very important matter. I hope you can understand, Fellow Daoist."

Upon seeing the copper mirror shard moments ago, the Flamephoenix didn't have much of a reaction at all. Her face didn't even flicker. However, Naruto had experienced far too many things in life for her to be able to hide her shock from him.

Everything became especially obvious when she hinted about taking a long time.

He knew that this world wouldn't stay open forever. He had waited outside for hundreds of years before it had opened, and based on his calculations, he was quite sure that it would close again in about one sixty-year-cycle. If he didn't leave at that time, he would have to wait a very, very long time for another chance. It would only be when the flower bloomed again that he would be able to leave.

There would be too many opportunities for mishaps during that time, and Naruto wasn't willing to risk that.

Thus, the words he had spoken moment ago were no threat. They were merely a clear explanation of his intentions.

"Your lands can be destroyed, as can the ice plains," he continued in a calm voice. "If that happens, then the temperature created by the two will vanish, and all the living beings that exist here will be destroyed.

"As for you and that Patriarch Icemountain, I might not be able to kill you two, but if I can seal one of you, then I can seal the other.

"If I can't find what I'm looking for, I'm confident that, in my fury, I will seal you in a way that will ensure you can't free yourselves for a very, very long time. So long that… when the flower blooms again, I'll return and seal you again.

"A thousand years? Ten thousand years? I'll keep you sealed away indefinitely. One day, my cultivation base will be powerful enough to kill you, and then I'll do just that. However, before you die, I'll Soulsearch you, and get all the answers I'm looking for. In the end, I'll get what I want.

"Of course, that will take a very, very long time. Many people will die. Too many. I really don't want to do that, and so I'm hoping… that you won't force my hand, Fellow Daoist." With that, he clasped hands and bowed. Then he looked up, smiled, and said, "As for which decision you choose to make, it's all up to you."

Each sentence he spoke caused the Flamephoenix's heart to pound. By the time he finished, her heart surged with waves of rage. And yet, she had no choice but to suppress them, as she knew that everything Naruto had just said was true.

He really would do just as he had said, and it was highly likely that things would happen just as he had described. Although things might not play out exactly as he intended, he would likely make up for any discrepancies in his plan, and ensure that the outcome was the same.

Everything came down to the cultivation base. Neither she nor Patriarch Icemountain, despite being beyond the peak of the 9-Essences level, were a match for this young man.

What was even more telling was that, despite the calmness of his gaze when he looked at her, she could tell that there was explosive violence hidden therein. His pupils were bright red, and when she looked into them, it was almost as if she could hear countless howling voices. There was a fury inside of him that left her mentally shaken. Even her cultivation base was thrown into chaos, and the sea of flames around her faltered.

Time ticked by, but Naruto didn't seem anxious. He simply waited for her reply, a smile on his face the entire time.

After the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the Flamephoenix

sagged in place a bit, and let out a bitter sigh.

Then she looked up at Naruto and said, "The Ice-Fire Realm didn't always look like this. According to the legends, a long time ago, a precious treasure fell out of the starry sky and split open the lands.

"It was a mirror shard, one side of which emitted intense light and heat. That side created the world of fire. The other side of the shard emanated intense coldness, which was what created the lands of ice.

"The living beings here were also changed. They gradually transformed, until years later, the Icemountain Tribe appeared, as well as the Flamephoenix Tribe.

"If you take the shard away, then you will have no need to attack the Ice-Fire Realm to destroy it. It will happen automatically. All life will perish.

"You are not the first person to come here looking for the mirror shard. Throughout the years, it has not been uncommon for foreign entities to enter when the flower blooms, with the intent of snatching the shard."

Naruto frowned. He had already speculated that things would be this way. He had guessed as much as soon as he saw all of the ice sculptures, and also from the fact that the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix had attacked him instantly.

After a moment of thought, he said, "Well, give me the mirror shard, and I'll separate your worlds and seal them to keep them safe. Then, I'll come back within a thousand years to strengthen the seals."

"You…." The Flamephoenix simply didn't believe that he was telling the truth.

"You'll just have to trust me," Naruto said, his eyes glittering coldly. He had long since run out of patience. He would make a promise, but if she refused to believe him, then there was nothing else he could do. The mirror shard was too important.

The Flamephoenix began to breathe deeply, and various expressions flashed across her face. Her eyes flickered with killing intent, and yet, she couldn't take the risk of refusing Naruto's offer, which would then lead to him destroying the world. On the other hand, agreeing with him also came with the risk of the world being destroyed anyway.

Deep in her heart, she still didn't want to give in to him.

After a long moment, she looked over coldly and said, "I can't make a decision like this on my own," she said. "Patriarch Icemountain must also agree."

Naruto chuckled. He waved his sleeve, and blast of wind shot out in all directions as he began to fly in the direction of the ice plains. The Flamephoenix gritted her teeth and flew along behind him.

This time, Naruto went much faster than last time. It only took a few months to cross the entire Ice-Fire Realm. The Flamephoenix was shocked, and her heart was pounding. Normally speaking, she wouldn't have been able to keep up, but she happened to have some magical items that gave her just enough speed to follow.

A few months later, deep within the ice plains, Naruto and the Flamephoenix heard a roar of fury. Patriarch Icemountain, the 300,000meter mountain, was shaking as he struggled against the seals.

The Flamephoenix looked at him, then took a deep breath as the fear inside her heart mounted. Naruto smiled as he looked back and forth from the Icemountain Giant to the Flamephoenix.

"If the two of you don't agree," he said, "then it's going to take me a lot longer to get the shard…. Furthermore, after searching everywhere in vain, I'm getting the sensation that the mirror shard is underground…." He looked down at the lands below. The strange thing was that he had actually tried to blast the ground open earlier, and yet, despite the level of his cultivation base, he had been unable to do so.

After some thought, a flicker of determination appeared in his eyes, and he waved his finger toward Patriarch Icemountain.

Instantly, the seals unraveled, and a roar of rage echoed out as he rose to his feet. Without even a moment's pause, he launched himself toward Naruto, punching out with his fist.

The Flamephoenix seemed shocked, but then she gritted her teeth and similarly attacked Naruto.

Naruto smiled. His expression didn't change the all, but he did speak, his voice icy: "Looking to die?!"

As the words left his mouth, his cultivation base erupted with power that had been building up for several hundred years. Eight Essences were unleashed, along with the shocking power of his fleshly body. Combined with his Demonic qi, and the power in his blood, he could unleash incredible force.

It left the Icemountain Giant trembling, and the Flamephoenix shaking. As Naruto hovered there, an enormous head appeared behind him, radiating infinite darkness.

It had a vicious horn jutting out of its forehead, long black hair, and glowing red eyes that seemed to contain oceans of blood. The Demonic Chakra caused the world to distort, shaking everything violently.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But then Naruto extended his right hand, and seven copper mirror shards appeared. They then melted, transforming into black threads that spread out to cover his right hand, and then his torso, left arm, and legs. His entire body, with the exception of his head, was now covered with black armor!

As soon as the armor appeared, a savage and explosive aura erupted out, causing his power to rise.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The incredible power surging out made it seem as if Naruto could unleash the power of the starry sky itself, as if he were the ultimate monarch, the most powerful being in the Vast Expanse.

Gradually, bits of Transcendent power began to radiate out from him. He looked down at the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix, and then beckoned at them.

"Didn't you want to fight? Let's fight!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1497

Chapter 1497: Borrowing Power for the Search!

The Icemountain Giant's pupils constricted; as of this moment, he could sense how powerful Naruto's aura was, and knew that he was absolutely no match. However, he was still sure that Naruto wouldn't be able to kill him. He took a step forward, and struck out with his fist.

The Flamephoenix erupted with power, transforming back into her avian form. A sea of flames erupted around her as she shot toward Naruto. In the blink of an eye, intense booms echoed out as the three of them began to fight.

The ground quaked. The world shook. Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, and the pitch-black head behind him howled and shot toward the giant and the phoenix.

The Icemountain Giant's body vibrated, cracks spreading out across his surface before he completely exploded. However, in almost the same instant, he formed back together, and seemed no less willing to fight.

The Flamephoenix also fell back, her eyes shining brightly as countless flaming magical symbols appeared around her.

"Too weak," Naruto said coolly as he hovered there in midair. "Time to use your trump cards. If I win, you must tell me the location of the mirror shard. If you win, then I'll leave immediately."

"Very well," said the Icemountain Giant. "The outcome of this battle will determine everything."

The Icemountain Giant didn't seem surprised at all about what was happening. Naruto wasn't sure exactly how he and the Flamephoenix were communicating, but that didn't matter. The giant roared, beating at his chest with his fists. As a result, countless chunks of ice fell off of him, which then formed together into an enormous greataxe.

The Flamephoenix flickered as more flaming magical symbols appeared, and her body grew in size until it was 30,000 meters long. Intense, terrifying heat radiated out from her, causing the surrounding icy landscape to melt. And yet, only a moment later, it froze back up again.

Naruto's eyes flickered, and his mouth twisted into a cold smile as he stepped forward and unleashed a fist strike. It was none other than the Devil-Butchering Fist!

That fist strike contained the Life-Extermination Fist, the Self-Immolation

Fist, and the God-Slaying Fist. All of those fist strikes became the DevilButchering Fist. The sky dimmed, as if this fist were replacing everything above and below as it rocketed toward the Flamephoenix.

The giant howled, hefting the greataxe and then slashing it down toward Naruto's fist. The giant simultaneously performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, causing intense coldness to spring out, creating an all-freezing windstorm that swept over Naruto.

The Flamephoenix let out a long cry, and the flames around her emitted Essence aura as they transformed into a crimson claw.

It was a bird-like claw, bright red, that shot directly toward Naruto.

In the blink of an eye, the giant and the Flamephoenix met Naruto's Devil-Butchering Fist. When they slammed into each other, the sky shattered, and the lands were destroyed. The entire world shook violently, and Naruto fell backward seven or eight paces. As he looked on, the giant's axe transformed into ash, and the giant himself shattered. A moment later, though, he formed back together, although he seemed a bit smaller than before.

As for the Flamephoenix, blood sprayed out of her mouth, and she was trembling visibly. Her injuries were serious, but only a moment later, the flames around her roared back to life.

The fear in their eyes as they looked at Naruto was clear. And yet, there was also an uncompromising gleam. Clearly, they would not agree to Naruto's demand, and just hand over their precious treasure. Not unless there was absolutely no other choice.

However, it was at this point that Naruto suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was right in front of the giant, whereupon he waved his finger.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the giant fell back, icy coldness exploding off of him. Even as he prepared to fight back, Hexing magic Essence suddenly erupted out onto from Naruto's finger, after which he unleashed another punch.

The giant roared as cracking sounds emanated out. In the blink of an eye, he recovered, but he was still sent tumbling backward by 3,000 meters. Naruto instantly followed up, and at the same time, the Flamephoenix closed in.

Before the Flamephoenix could even get close, Naruto began to spin, his left foot sweeping through the air to create a powerful cyclone that slammed into the giant.

The giant howled, trembling as he fell back yet again. His body collapsed, but instantly recovered. At the same time, coldness exploded out of him as if to consume Naruto. Naruto snorted coldly, opening his fist up into a palm, wherein appeared a sealing mark.

He shoved his hand out in front of him, unleashing the Inside Outside Hex. A force of expulsion appeared, shoving the coldness away.

Simultaneously, Naruto unleashed another fist strike.

The blow landed directly onto the giant's chest. Cracks spread out, and the giant exploded into fragments of ice. Naruto subsequently waved his sleeve, causing a wind to spring up and scatter the fragments.

Those fragments seemed capable of piercing through any barrier, and they quickly began to form back together. However, Naruto's eyes flashed with red light, and he performed an incantation gesture, then waved his finger, unleashing the Eighth Hex's Essence of space. His target was the Flamephoenix, who was closing in behind him.

The power of space erupted out, and the Flamephoenix's eyes widened. She let out a piercing shriek, and flames erupted off of her as she summoned a huge flame giant to take her place within the sealing power.

However, even as the Flamephoenix used a substitute to escape the Spatial Sealing, Naruto arrived and unleashed a fist strike. Flames burst out, but she quickly recovered, but Naruto then continued to unleash one fist strike after another.

He struck a total of thirteen blows. Each time, the Flamephoenix would collapse into flames, but then reform. After every blow, her face was a bit paler, and she was trembling even harder. When the final blow landed, she was sent flying backward 3,000 meters, blood spraying out of her mouth.

Just as Naruto was about to give chase, a furious roar echoed out.

"Foreigner, you've forced our hand. It's time for you to die!" It was the reformed giant, who spread his arms wide and howled, "Ice-Plains Flower!"

As he howled, intense coldness rose up from the ice plains around him. The coldness rushed toward the giant, and at the same time, the layers of ice in the area vanished, to reappear atop his body. It only took a moment for all of the cold and ice to form together into a huge flower on his right hand!

It was a flower made of ice, resplendent and beautiful, and as it grew larger, a terrifying aura emanated out from it. The entire world shuddered, and suddenly seemed to grow completely devoid of sound.

Next, the Flamephoenix, which Naruto had shoved 3,000 meters away, wiped the blood from her mouth and glared at him with a powerful murderous aura raging out. Eyes flickering with killing intent, the sea of flames around her roared even more powerfully than before, transforming into a pillar of fire that shot up into the sky.

The sky turned bright red, like a sea of fire, and at the same time, the Flamephoenix cried, "Crimson-Flame Flower!"

Almost immediately, the crimson sea of flames began to form together into a gigantic flower. The seemingly everlasting flame stretched from the sky to the land, filling half the world with matchlessly intense heat.

At the same time, the ice flower emanated intense coldness which froze everything it touched.

Naruto watched all of this happening with an expectant gleam in his eyes.

At the same time, the giant and the phoenix said, "Combined attack!"

The giant's body shattered, swirling up to merge into the ice flower, which radiated even more resplendent light than before.

The Flamephoenix likewise merged into the flame flower, ensuring that both of the flowers were the peak existences in this entire world.

The two flowers then shot toward Naruto.

Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"I've been waiting for this trump card of yours!" As soon as the words left his mouth, his energy skyrocketed. His hair rose up, and his black armor flashed as he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. The Essence of the Eighth Hex appeared, then the Seventh, and the Sixth… all the way to the Essence of the First Hex. Then, they began to merge together.

"Eight Hexes, combine!" He threw his arms out in either direction, as the eight Hexing magic Essences transformed into threads, which then became a huge net.

The net spread out in all directions, and in the moment that it made contact with the ice and flame flowers, the world shattered. Heaven and Earth distorted as a huge shockwave blasted out in all directions. Within the blast, Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his body was shredded into a mass of bloody flesh.

And yet, his eyes shone brightly. This was the moment he had been waiting for!

"Copper Mirror Armor, Shake the Heavens!" The armor on his body suddenly flew off him, transforming back into seven shards. Then, they merged together, forming the almost-complete shape of a mirror!

This was the second true function of the copper mirror!

Almost as soon as that mirror appeared, the terrifying blast created by the ice and flame flowers, and the eight combined Hexes, was deflected by the mirror, changing it from an outward blast… into… a focused attack aimed at the ground!

Within the ice and flame flowers, the faces of the giant and the phoenix both fell. However, there was no time for them to do anything in response. Naruto's cultivation base power exploded out like a sharp blade, joining the blast as it slammed into the ground.

In the blink of an eye, the terrifying peak power of all three of these powerful experts slammed into the layers of ice below.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The lands quaked in response. Naruto couldn't single-handedly break open the ground, but the combined power of all three of them caused the plains around them to collapse. An enormous crater opened up, to reveal… a sprawling necropolis!

Underneath this world of ice and fire, there was a necropolis that stretched out in all directions.

In the moment that the necropolis appeared, the aura of the eighth mirror shard erupted with unprecedented intensity. Naruto laughed heartily as he flew down toward the necropolis.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1498

Chapter 1498: The Return Call!

Naruto moved as fast as lightning, shooting into the necropolis and following the tug toward the copper mirror shard.

The Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix were so shocked by the use of the mirror shards that they had no time to react. The ground was destroyed, and before they even had time to think about what that meant, they were flying down to try to stop Naruto.

"Don't let him get the precious treasure!" These were the two most powerful entities in this world, but they were still incredibly nervous as they unleashed all the speed they could muster to fly into the necropolis.

Unfortunately for them, they were just a bit slower than Naruto. He was like a cascading beam of light that shot through the passageways down below. Despite the numerous twists and turns, the copper mirror shard was like a burning signal fire in his mind.

He didn't pause for even a moment. In every location where a passage split off in two directions, he knew exactly which way to go, almost as if he had been here before.

Behind him, both the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix shrank down in size as they followed in pursuit. Their hearts were filled with anxiety; the giant couldn't stop roaring in anger, and yet it did no good.

Time passed. The pursuit went on for months, and yet the giant and the phoenix were unable to catch up to Naruto. As for Naruto, he sped along through the passageways of the necropolis until eventually… he caught sight of the final copper mirror shard!

It was in a deep pit, half of which was liquid ice, the other half being lava. In the very middle of the two was the mirror shard, which had split the area like yin and yang.

The area was filled with a pulsing aura of both fire and ice, which was apparently what had created this strange place to begin with.

Naruto looked down, eyes gleaming with anticipation. Without any hesitation, he stretched his right hand out toward the pit and made a grasping motion.

Instantly, the entire pit shuddered, as though it were on the verge of exploding. The mirror shard itself began to shake, then gradually loosened from its position as if it were about to fly over to him.

It was at this point that a powerful roar echoed out from inside the liquid ice, as a sinuous dragon burst out. It was snake-like, and composed completely of frigid ice. Energy surging, it shot directly toward Naruto.

Simultaneously, a dragon of flames burst out from the lava, roaring as it charged toward Naruto.

Naruto snorted coldly. Keeping his right hand in the same position as before, he performed an incantation gesture with his left hand and then waved it downwards. Demon Sealing Hexing magic erupted out in a powerful attack, enveloping the dragons of ice and fire, shoving them away.

They spun back and were about to attack again when Naruto's left hand flashed in a sealing gesture. Instantly, two streams of mist shot out, transforming into humanoid shapes, like clones. They immediately shot toward the dragons of ice and fire, grabbing them and shoving them backward physically. The two dragons were immediately pinned against the nearby rock walls.

At the same time, the two clones transformed into sealing marks which locked the dragons down. Now, no matter how they roared, they couldn't move at all.

Next, the copper mirror shard shook even harder, and then began to rise up into the air. It was at this point that the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix began to feel the world trembling around them. Their faces fell, and they pushed forward with increased speed. Within the space of a few breaths of time, they shot out of the tunnel.

"Stay your hand!" they roared. However, they were just a bit too late. As the copper mirror shard flew up into the air, the lava and the liquid ice exploded up. Naruto then reached out and grabbed the mirror shard.

His eyes shone with brilliant light, and he was even panting a bit. He had been searching for this shard for hundreds of years. At long last, his collection was complete.

The mirror shard itself seemed to be crying out with joy. In the blink of an eye, it melted, transforming into black threads that merged into Naruto's armor. The armor now seemed more complete than ever, and the aura it emitted was shocking to the extreme.

Heaven and Earth trembled. The entire world shook. Without the copper mirror shard, the lava and ice within the pit began to mix together, and all the lands trembled. The ice mountains began to melt, and the flames began to die out. Destructive power spread out in all directions.

The Icemountain Giant trembled and let out a piercing cry. The Flamephoenix looked over, and seeing that he was about to attack, she gritted her teeth… and blocked the way to Naruto!

Rumbling filled the air as the Icemountain Giant roared in rage.

"Flamephoenix, what are you doing!?"

"He already has the precious treasure," she replied. "Do you really think we can get it back, even if we fight together?!" The Icemountain Giant roared, and the two of them began to argue. Then they ceased communicating verbally and began to confer via divine will.

Naruto stood nearby, watching. He didn't interfere, but instead, focused on examining the summoning power of the copper mirror shards. As of this moment, he felt more strongly than ever that he could summon the copper mirror itself!

Not too much time passed before the Icemountain Giant let out another powerful roar. His expression was unyielding, and yet simultaneously, defeated. Finally, he had given in. The Flamephoenix turned to face Naruto. Taking a deep breath, she transformed into human form, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Fellow Daoist, we were being rash earlier," she said. "If it's not too much trouble, we would like to request that we keep the previous agreement."

Naruto looked at her coldly. As of this point, he could completely ignore this place and whatever happened to it. However, his action of taking the copper mirror shard had initiated the destruction of the entire world.

After a moment of thought, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing his cultivation base power to erupt out and fill the area. Then, he unleashed Demon Sealing Hexing magic. Starting with the First Hex and going all the way to the Eighth, he drew upon his most powerful divine ability, the Eight Hexes combined.

However, this time he had eight mirror shards in the form of armor, making the divine ability even more powerful. Colors flashed, and the wind screamed. The faces of both the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix flickered.

"Seal!" Naruto said, shoving his hands down toward the pit. That motion caused incredible sealing power to fall down onto the liquid ice and the lava.

Instantly, the two liquids ceased mixing together and gradually became still.

Cracking sounds emanated out, and at the same time, sweat dripped down Naruto's forehead. His cultivation base power erupted again, and the power of the sealing mark of the combined Eight Hexes expanded, completely covering the liquid ice and the lava. Now, instead of destroying each other, they were locked in place. Although they weren't completely separated like they had been before, they were no longer merging!

At the same time, the melting of the ice plains came to a halt. Although they were warmer than they had been before, they were still ice plains.

On the other side of the world in the lands of flame, fire once again flickered. Although it wasn't as prevalent as it had been before, and the temperature had been reduced, the fire still existed. As for the two tribes which inhabited the world, although they were thrown into a bit of chaos, there was no deadly danger anymore.

"When I say I'll do something, I do it," Naruto said. "Right now, my cultivation base isn't powerful enough to completely resolve the problem. However, with this seal in place, this world will be safe for the next ten thousand years.

"Once my cultivation base is strong enough, I'll come back and remove the world from danger for all time." He looked down once more at the deep pit, and then over at the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix.

The Icemountain Giant glared, but the Flamephoenix smiled bitterly and then clasped hands and bowed.

Naruto likewise clasped hands and bowed deeply toward the two of them.

"This object is very important to me. Please… accept my apology for any offense I've caused. In the future, I'll definitely repay you." Although Naruto knew that neither of them believed him, he was being very sincere.

With that, he turned and left toward the exit of the necropolis.

Behind him, the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix looked at each other with dour expressions. However, there was nothing they could do at this point. Sighing, they also left.

Now that he had the copper mirror shard, Naruto could fly even faster. After twenty days, he reached the exit passageway, and then flew out into the Heavens. Taking a deep breath, he looked back down at the lands below for a moment, the shot out at top speed into the void. A few months later, he emerged from the huge flower.

Now that he was back in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, his eyes flickered, and his heart thumped with excitement. For the moment, he chose not to summon the copper mirror, but instead shot off into the distance.

He tried a few times to make a connection with his clone's ninth life, but for some reason, could only vaguely sense him. He had absolutely no way to know what exactly his clone was doing or experiencing. It was almost as if he were covered by a dense fog. However, he could sense a familiar and terrifying aura brewing inside the clone.

"Something is really strange about this ninth reincarnation. Could it be because he's forming the final sealing mark of the Ninth Hex?" That was the conclusion he came to. The Seal the Heavens Hex, the Ninth Hex, was incredibly powerful, and didn't even seem congruous with the world. Perhaps its incredible nature was why this unexpected turn of events had occurred.

After a few more months, he had reached a barren and remote location within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. There could be seen a land mass completely devoid of life, and filled with sprawling ruins.

Naruto had passed by this place a few hundred years before, and could sense that there was something strange about this place.

Apparently, the energy of the Vast Expanse was weak here. As such, this was the location he had chosen to call out to the copper mirror.

He began to set up numerous spell formations in the area, most of them being restrictive spells. He had no idea what unexpected events might occur after he summoned the copper mirror, but based on all of his experiences, he was certain that something would happen, and that he needed to be ready!

He spent ten years making all of the preparations. In the end, the area looked like it had before, but the truth was that it was now as dangerous as a dragon's pool or a tiger's den. Finally, he sighed contentedly. Taking a deep breath, he sat down cross-legged in front of a dusty boulder. Eyes shining, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, and the eight mirror shards flew out and began to circulate in the air around him. Apparently, they were forming a miraculous spell formation.

Eyes focused and filled with intense anticipation, he said, "Copper mirror, parrot… the time has come to reunite!

"I call upon the power of these eight mirror shards to summon you, copper mirror! Whatever distant location you are in, return to me!" Waving his sleeve, he thought back to everything that had happened in the past, then once again performed a double-handed incantation gesture. He sent his divine will out, making contact with the eight mirror shards. That activated the miraculous spell formation. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and the eight shards formed together… into the face of a mirror, with one missing piece!

The mirror seemed to be absorbing Naruto's divine sense power. Then… it exploded as a brilliant column of light that illuminated everything in the area and caused the starry sky to tremble.

"Copper mirror… return to me!

"Parrot… return to me!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1499

Chapter 1499: Familiar Fluctuations!

His voice seemed to thrum with bizarre power as it echoed out in all directions.

It was a power that came from Naruto's memories, from his longing. It filled the column of light as it shot off into the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

"Copper mirror… return to me….

"Parrot… return to me….

"Lord Fifth… return to me!"

As the column of light formed by the eight mirror shards shot up from the desolate land mass, the Vast Expanse trembled, and the starry sky trembled.

In that same moment, countless powerful experts suddenly seemed to sense something. Their expressions flickered, and they looked in the direction of the beam of light.

In the locations where Naruto had discovered the other mirror shards, the powerful experts he had encountered gazed off into the distance, expressions flickering.

The giant lizard. The vicious head. The Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix. All of them could sense the auras of the precious treasures which had once been theirs.

At the same time, there were other entities within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse who were stirred into action.

Ripples spread out from the column of light, sweeping out through the Vast Expanse. At the same time, there was apparently a will which began to wake up, that then spoke out in an indistinct voice.

"Destroy that spell formation. Stop him…." Although the voice was difficult to make out, it could be heard by countless entities, and in response, their hearts trembled. Suddenly, a power of will seemed to fill them, taking control of their bodies. Almost immediately, they began to fly in Naruto's direction at top speed.

There was a fog, within which shrieking voices could be heard. Countless mysterious specters could be seen therein, which surged out into the starry sky, radiating murderous intentions.

On a crimson land mass, brutish roars echoed out as numerous 30,000meter-long crimson dragons flew out into the Vast Expanse.

An enormous head floated amidst the dust that filled the starry sky. It had been dead for countless ages, but now its eyelids suddenly opened. There were no eyes, only empty holes, and yet suddenly glints of red could be seen inside. Moments later, a cloud of red dots flew out from within the eyes, forming something like a beam of light. Each one of those dots was a bright red bug, the lot of which flew off into the distance.

In another area, a huge coffin floated out in the void. It was broken down and dilapidated, with no corpse inside. Suddenly, a face materialized and floated above the coffin.

"That's… the will of the Vast Expanse…." murmured a voice. The coffin vanished, and when it reappeared, it was far off in the distance, heading toward Naruto.

Ripples filled the starry sky of the Vast Expanse as countless entities appeared. Some were beasts, some were other types of life, but all of them were heading toward Naruto.

There were deathly, corpse-like spirits, minotaurs, creatures with tentacles for arms, stone golems, and extremely beautiful creatures that were only a third of the size of a normal human.

Virtually every type of existence possible could be seen….

The Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent were shaken, and countless cultivators flew out, eyes red as they charged into the Vast Expanse.

As of this moment, the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse was trembling.

Back on Planet Vast Expanse, in the First Sect, Han Bei was sitting there cross-legged in meditation. Suddenly, her eyes opened, and they shone with a strange light. She flickered into motion, vanishing, then reappearing back out in the starry sky.

In addition to all of those things, there was something else that noticed the fluctuations. In a remote spot near the very edge of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, there was a withered old tree, embedded into the trunk of which was a copper mirror.

The copper mirror suddenly began to vibrate and shine with bright light. Then, the image of a parrot became visible.

It seemed confused as it looked off into the distance, as if it were thinking about the past. After a long moment, a blank look filled its eyes.

"Someone… is summoning me….

"This aura is very familiar, but I can't remember who it is….

"However, being called Lord Fifth… I like it. Seems familiar, very familiar…." After a long moment, the parrot faded away. Then, the copper mirror flew off of the tree, transforming into a current of light that shot toward the direction of the calling.

Meanwhile, Naruto still sat cross-legged on the land mass out in the starry sky. His divine sense was spread out in all directions, allowing him to feel how shaken the Vast Expanse was. Although he wasn't able to see it clearly, he could sense the location of the copper mirror, and could feel… that it was currently rushing toward him at top speed.

"It's coming. It's definitely coming…." A tremor ran through him, and his eyes shone with excitement. He had been waiting for hundreds of years for this chance to reunite with the copper mirror.

"What a pity the meat jelly perished…." he thought, his heart filled with grief. However, he took a deep breath, confident that the day would come in which he would be able to resurrect the meat jelly.

"According to how fast it's moving, it will need about seven days to get here!" Naruto's eyes glittered. Even as he sensed the copper mirror, he could also feel an incredible ill will rising up against him within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

It was intense, something that could seemingly affect the very essence of life. Naruto could tell that as the ill will spread out, countless powerful experts began to head in his direction.

Furthermore, in addition to the ill will, there was something adding a blessing to his enemies, increasing their speed dramatically, almost to the point of a teleportation, enabling them to move far, far faster than the copper mirror.

"It seems all the work I put into setting up these defenses wasn't a waste after all…." Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent as he thought back over the ten years he had spent setting up all of the spell formations. It had been difficult to suppress his anxiousness to summon the parrot, but now he realized that it was definitely worth it.

It was at this point that the first species of enemy appeared in the starry sky up above. The mysterious specters closed in at high speed, invisible to the naked eye, but detectable via divine sense. They seemed matchlessly vicious and evil, and as soon as they appeared, they charged toward Naruto, causing rumbling sounds to echo out.

He looked up them, eyes flashing with coldness. Before the specters could even get close to the land mass, they slammed into something like an invisible net. Flashes of light appeared, and the specters let out miserable shrieks.

Via divine sense, Naruto was able to see their bodies being sliced to shreds by the huge net, completely destroying them. And yet, before they could even fade away, more specters appeared off in the distance.

There were clouds of them, seemingly endless numbers that swarmed around the land mass. Were it necessary to count them, there would be more than a billion, creating an awe-inspiring scene as they charged in attack.

Booms rang out, and the land mass shook, but Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the first of the nine shield layers he had built to shine with brilliant light, destroying the murderous specters.

The specters didn't seem to fear death at all. They blasted bodily into the shield, causing it to shudder and teeter on the verge of being destroyed. Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he snorted coldly. Then, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and he slapped them onto the ground.

"Detonate!"

Instantly, the first shield layer surged with blinding light, then exploded, sending a destructive blast out in all directions. It swept over the specters like a deadly tide, causing bloodcurdling screams to be heard as the specters were wiped out of existence.

There were some among them who were incredibly powerful, and yet, even they were incapable of evading destruction. By the time the blast dissipated, more than ninety-nine percent of the specters had been eradicated, leaving behind only those who were at the Paragon level.

Of those, there were seven, with two being at the 9-Essences level.

They were tattered and torn, their expressions those of confusion, and yet they continued to attack. Naruto snorted, right hand flashing with an incantation gesture that caused wisps of smoke to curl outside of the second shield layer. The smoke rapidly took the shape of a hand, which grabbed out toward the specters.

Booms could be heard as three of them were summarily crushed. The remaining specters fled, and just when the hand was about to pursue them, a mighty roar echoed out from the distance.

A beam of red light appeared, moving so fast it seemed like a teleportation. In the blink of an eye, it appeared directly in front of the huge hand; it was a gigantic, crimson dragon, bursting with the power of peak 9-Essences. As it slammed into the hand, the hand shattered, and then the dragon braced itself and charged onward in attack.

Even as it moved forward, more crimson dragons appeared off in the distance. One after another they could be seen, including three which were at the peak 9-Essences level. The rest were weaker, but the crimson dragons were powerful entities to begin with, and there were over a million of them. They filled the starry sky, instantly converging upon the second shield.

The lands shook violently as the previously invisible second shield began to distort under the powerful attack. A moment later, it was destroyed.

The resulting fragments blasted out like a shockwave. In response, Naruto sat there on the land mass below, eyes flickering with killing intent. These shields had been erected using a technique he had acquired within Shui Dongliu's legacy, and were very similar to the Mountain and Sea Grand Aegis.

Based on the current level of Naruto's cultivation base, it was far, far mightier than the shield which had protected the Mountain and Sea Realm. And yet, the crimson dragons were capable of shattering the second layer.

However, the price they paid to do so was heavy!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1500

Chapter 1500: Holding the Line!

All of the crimson dragons beneath the Paragon level were shredded to pieces. Even as the reek of blood spread out in all directions, Naruto's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and three enormous hands appeared outside of the third shield. Each one radiated the power of the peak 9-Essences level, and they shot directly after three crimson dragons.

Then the starry sky trembled as, unexpectedly, countless red dots appeared on the three enormous hands. A close look revealed that each one of those red dots was a bug of some sort. In the blink of an eye, they had completely covered the hands, accompanied by an odd droning sound. More and more bugs appeared, until everything seemed to be a huge swath of red.

Then, off in the distance, a sinister aura of death appeared. It rapidly spread out in all directions, and within it could be seen an endless collection of corpses. Each one of those corpses seem to have been possessed, and they formed a huge army that charged toward the land mass.

The red bugs and the army of the dead all unleashed a massive onslaught onto the third shield layer.

Shocking rumbling echoed out in all directions.

Naruto said nothing. Looking off into the distance, he spread both hands out and pushed them down onto the ground. Then he closed his eyes and ignored everything happening outside the shields. His entire mind poured into the copper mirror shards to intensify their call.

Time passed. Two days later, the copper mirror was still a beam of bright light shooting toward Naruto's location.

As for the land mass, it was shaking violently. The third shield layer had already collapsed, and now the fourth was teetering on the verge of destruction. Half of the red bugs were dead, and most of the army of the dead was gone.

However, a host of stone golems had appeared, and because of their roaring attacks, the fourth shield was almost destroyed. The stone golems attacked with utter madness.

In addition to them were minotaurs and strange, tentacle-armed entities. The tentacled entities did not have powerful fleshly bodies, but their magical techniques were incredibly shocking. Because of all of that, the fourth shield layer was finally destroyed. Even as the explosion rippled out, the stone golems' eyes gleamed with madness, and they suddenly self-detonated.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The self-detonation of the stone golems caused the shockwave of the fourth shield layer's destruction to blast into the fifth shield layer. Cracks spread out as the swarms of bizarre creatures continued to attack, and the fifth shield layer disintegrated.

Next came a rain of a billion or more arrows, which whizzed toward the sixth shield layer, bursting with shocking levels of power. In the blink of an eye, the sixth shield layer was destroyed.

That caused the seventh shield layer to appear, at which point Naruto opened his eyes. He looked out, his expression grim. Then he took a deep breath and performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a blurry face to appear on the surface of the seventh shield.

It looked almost like a specter as it flew up to meet the rain of arrows. Next came a host of tiny humanoid creatures no taller than an average person's knee.

More time passed. On the third day, the seventh shield layer was destroyed by the tiny creatures. In the three days that the armies of bizarre creatures had been attacking the shield layers, they had sustained severe casualties, losing even Paragon-level entities.

Creatures of all kinds and types could be seen. Of the numerous types of beings Naruto had encountered throughout his hundreds of years of traveling, only a small portion were represented here. These creatures had received the summons which had echoed out from the will of the Vast Expanse, and thus, it was with bloodshot eyes that they battered against the seventh shield layer.

On the fourth day, the seventh shield layer collapsed. On the fifth day, the eighth shield layer was destroyed.

On the sixth day, the ninth shield layer was shaking. Naruto opened his eyes again and looked out at the seemingly infinite armies of bizarre creatures. Their vast numbers were truly a shocking sight to behold.

They had numerous 9-Essences experts. Although they didn't represent even a fraction of the power that existed out in the starry sky, they were possessed by a madness that ensured they would not rest until Naruto was destroyed.

"One more day…." Naruto murmured. "The ninth shield layer will last for that much longer." Naruto could sense that the copper mirror was still some distance away. It would definitely appear within one day.

However, it was this point that Naruto opened his eyes, and his face fell. Off in the distance in the starry sky, an enormous planet had suddenly teleported into the area behind the land mass he was currently on. The planet immediately vibrated as it began to pick up speed.

Rumbling could be heard as the planet crushed numerous creatures in the army in its attack on the ninth shield layer.

Even the armies of bizarre creatures could hardly endure the earsplitting rumbling which echoed out as the area where the ninth shield layer was hit immediately shattered. Then, the enormous planet began to move as, shockingly, it transformed into a giant. It stood there tall and mighty outside of the shield, grinning down at Naruto.

In the same moment that it grinned, a streak of light shot through the hole it had torn into the shield and headed directly toward Naruto.

Naruto's face was very grim as he sat there cross-legged. He suddenly extended his right hand, then clenched it down violently. A boom rang out as he grabbed a tiny creature no taller than his own knee.

It was a woman, spectacularly beautiful, who exuded an enticing charm.

However, her face was pale, and her expression one of disbelief. Apparently, she couldn't believe that the cloaking magic she cultivated could be seen through by Naruto.

Before she could beg for mercy, Naruto squeezed his hand down, and a popping sound rang out as her body exploded.

Things weren't over yet, though. Naruto rose to his feet, and his left hand unleashed a vicious fist strike. A crimson dragon suddenly appeared directly in the path of his fist. A look of confusion could be seen in its eyes as it seemingly allowed the fist strike to hit it, completely destroying its entire massive frame.

At the same time, Naruto tilted his head to the side to avoid a deadly attack from one of the specters. As the specter sailed past him, he suddenly opened his mouth and latched onto the specter.

Even as it let out a miserable shriek, Naruto inhaled deeply. The specter subsequently shrank down as it was sucked into Naruto to become part of his cultivation base.

All of this takes some time to describe, but happened in the briefest of moments after the planetary giant punched a hole into the shield and smiled.

Naruto's expression was as calm as ever as he strode forward thirty meters. As he did, the eight copper mirror shards, which remained in the spot he had been standing earlier, emitted a bright shield.

It consisted of a riot of colors which flowed across its surface, and was… the most powerful of Naruto's preparations, the tenth shield layer.

This shield protected, not the land mass, but the spell formation which was issuing the summoning call to the copper mirror.

Naruto stood outside of the shield, looking around, his eyes flickering with killing intent, a murderous aura swirling around him.

He said nothing, and yet his actions made his message clear…. No one would be getting past him to destroy that spell formation!

The entire battlefield went completely silent. However, that silence only lasted for a few breaths' worth of time. Then, howls and roars broke the silence as countless figures poured through the hole which had already been punched in the shield. As for the planetary giant, it began to batter the ninth shield in other locations.

Naruto took a first step forward, and the lands shook. Because the energy of the Vast Expanse was weak on his land mass, the shaking of the land itself influenced everything around it, slowing down the approach of the enemy.

Because of that, a few entities shot out in front of everyone else. They were none other than the Paragon-level experts. Although only one was at the 9-Essences level, with the rest being at the 8-Essences level, they were still powerful Paragons. As soon as they appeared in the open, Naruto shot forward, unleashing the Devil-Butchering Fist.

Life-Extermination. Self-Immolation. God-Slaying. Devil-Butchering….

They merged together into one fist, one punch, which shocked everything and shook the starry sky. Incredible power was unleashed on the handful of Paragons, and in their shock, blasted into them even as they were still preparing to defend themselves. They were crushed as easily as dry twigs.

Booms rang out as they exploded, destroyed in body and mind. By a fluke, only the 9-Essences expert survived, blood spurting out of various wounds. But then Naruto took a second step forward, appearing up in midair, where he punched out a second time. However, he didn't strike the Paragon, but someone else.

The air in front of him rippled as an old man appeared, a man with pitchblack skin and two horns sticking out of his head, who emanated the power of the peak 9-Essences level.

His expression was grave as he faced Naruto's single punch. Roaring, he unleashed a divine ability, summoning a black ox, beneath whose feet swirled flaming wind.

Naruto's single attacked destroyed many of the bizarre creatures who were pouring in through the hole in the shield. Even the old man himself coughed up a mouthful of blood and tumbled backward, face filled with fear.

By this point, only half of the sixth day had passed. Naruto took a third step, although it was not to attack the old man with the pitch-black skin. He appeared outside of the ninth shield layer… in front of the planet-sized giant.

"You're strong, huh?" he said coldly. Even as the words left his mouth, the giant shivered, and his heart began to pound. He began to move backward.

Before he could get away, Naruto transformed into a black roc which shot forward like lightning, stabbing into the giant's forehead and then bursting out from the other side of his head!


	18. Chapter 18

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1501

Chapter 1501: Set Foot In Here, and Die!

The planetary giant let out a bloodcurdling shriek that was so loud it caused numerous nearby creatures to explode.

Blood sprayed out in all directions. The planetary giant's eyes went dim, and then its head exploded. By the time its body started to topple down, Naruto in black roc-form was back on the land mass.

However, in that very moment, his face flickered with surprise as a sense of imminent danger rose up inside of him. In the blink of an eye, he transformed from a huge roc back into an ordinary-sized human. At the same time, a black beam of light shot through the spot once occupied by his head. Even though it didn't touch him, it left his cultivation base trembling.

Had he not reacted when he did, the attack would have blasted into the head of his roc form. Although Naruto wouldn't have been killed, he would have been seriously injured.

He spun around and saw a coffin some distance away. Floating in the air above the coffin was the face of an old man, who was staring at Naruto.

The instant their gazes met, Naruto suddenly got the feeling that this old man was at the same level as himself. Considering Naruto's current power, he was at a level past the peak of 9-Essences, and virtually anyone he met was someone he could fight with ease.

However, when he looked at the face above the coffin, he was filled with a sensation of danger and crisis.

His eyes flickered as he suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was standing only a few meters in front of the tenth shield. If he was a match for the old man out in the starry sky, then back in this location, with the power of the lands around him at his disposal, he could definitely crush him.

After all… on the land mass itself, the energy of the Vast Expanse was weak.

The old man above the coffin didn't enter the land mass, though. He remained outside, looking coldly at Naruto. Then he looked at the thirty-meter wide shield, and his eyes flickered with a strange light.

Naruto stood there, a cold expression on his face. Then he lifted his foot and stomped down, causing a huge boom to echo out, and shockwaves to ripple out. As the blast echoed out, countless bizarre creatures in the area, creatures who didn't fear dying at all, were instantly killed.

Gradually, everything went quiet again. Outside of the broken ninth shield, there were still endless numbers of bizarre creatures. However, none of them dared to try to fight their way onto the land mass. Anyone who tried to get to the land mass, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, was killed in body and mind. Those who managed to escape were as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns.

The silence didn't make Naruto nervous at all. He was trying to buy time, and could tell that the copper mirror was getting closer and closer. At the most, it would take half a day for it to appear in front of him.

However, it was at this point that, beyond the vast army of bizarre creatures, fluctuations filled the starry sky as more than ten thousand figures appeared. Astonishingly, those figures were cultivators!

Furthermore, as soon as they appeared, they radiated the aura of the Immortal God Continent. The other bizarre creatures in the area didn't seem surprised at all, but as for Naruto, his eyes instantly erupted with an intense, uncontrollable killing intent.

This aura, the aura of the Immortal God Continent, was something he would never be able to forget. That aura belonged to an enemy who had caused the Mountain and Sea Realm to be destroyed, the meat jelly to die, the parrot's mind had to be erased, and had pushed Naruto to the brink of death.

Instantly, the redness in Naruto's eyes caused the entire area to seem somber and desolate.

However, as the saying goes, troubles come in pairs. In almost the same moment that the forces of the Immortal God Continent appeared, another group of ten thousand figures appeared from another direction.

They were difficult to make out at first, but they were also cultivators. They didn't emanate the aura of the Immortal God Continent, but rather were surrounded by the mist of the Devil Realm. In addition to that, they were led by a muscular man, who was none other than… one of the 9Essences experts Naruto had fought in the past.

The instant he saw Naruto, his expression became one of shock, and his killing intent intensified.

Naruto, on the other hand, smiled, a smile filled with icy coldness. He had already been focused on slaughter, but now, his desire to kill rose to greater heights than before.

In almost the same moment that he smiled, the forces of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent flew into the gap which had been opened in the ninth shield, and headed down toward the land mass.

Their deadly charge changed the situation on the battlefield. The other creatures in the army had been silent before, but now they began to roar and howl. They also joined in the charge, ensuring that masses of enemies were flooding through the hole in the shield.

It only took a moment for the land mass Naruto was standing on to begin to tremble from the force unleashed by the countless charging figures.

The army was vast, and scattered among their numbers were many powerful experts. Even the old coffin man had finally passed through the shield.

Booms echoed out. Naruto's hair whipped about as he took seven steps forward. When the seventh step landed, the ground quaked as an enormous foot crushed countless enemies into a bloody pulp.

Simultaneously, Naruto moved directly in front of the muscular man from the Devil Realm Continent.

The man's mind reeled; he had never imagined that the person he would be fighting today would be Naruto, nor could he ever have guessed that after mere handful of centuries that had passed, Naruto would have become so powerful.

However, there was no time to ponder the matter. Naruto's right hand pierced through his defenses as easily as a sharp blade through bamboo, and then latched onto the man's neck.

"It is with you that my revenge begins." As his hoarse voice echoed out, power erupted from his hand, and the 9-Essences expert exploded into pieces, destroyed in body and mind.

Even as Naruto killed the man, eight figures appeared around him. Shockingly, these people were the most powerful experts among their various races and tribes, and they were joining forces in one massive attack.

Eight enemies. Naruto threw his head back and bellowed, causing numerous mountains to descend. However, he didn't send them to attack his enemies, but rather, caused them to cover over himself. In the blink of an eye, 100,000, then 1,000,000, and then 10,000,000 mountains were superimposed over him, creating a powerful shield defense. A moment later, the combined attack of the eight powerful experts slammed into the mountains.

The seemingly endless group of mountains exploded. At the same time, Naruto fell back, slamming into one of the powerful experts behind him. His speed was such that his enemy was blasted into a haze of blood and flesh, his fleshly body destroyed. His soul flew out, which was incapable of doing anything to stop Naruto from escaping the encirclement.

In that moment, the old coffin man's eyes glittered, and he emerged from the coffin itself, looking like a specter. He took a step, appearing directly in front of Naruto. He extended his hand, and the full power of his cultivation base surged as he attempted to tap Naruto's forehead.

"Just what I was waiting for," Naruto said, smiling. Even as the man's finger closed in, Naruto's eyes flickered coldly. The old man's face fell, but before he could react, Naruto waved his hand, creating four lines around the old man.

"Spatial Sealing!"

The four lines instantly transformed into a canvas. The power of the Spatial Sealing erupted out, and the old man was powerless to stop it from sealing him inside of the canvas!

When he appeared in the painting, he immediately unleashed the power of his cultivation base, causing the canvas to burst into flames. Considering the incredibly high level of his cultivation base, the sealing was only powerful enough to hold him for a moment.

However, a moment was all Naruto needed.

He grinned viciously, unleashing the power of his cultivation base, waving his hand as he summoned the Eighth Hex. Then came the Seventh, and the Sixth… all the way to the First. They transformed into long threads, combining into a net which he flung toward the old man.

"Eight Hexes, combined!" As the words left his mouth, the net swept out to cover over everything in the area.

The net passed through countless enemy creatures as though they weren't even there. No one could stop it.

The Paragon from the Immortal God Continent blinked in shock as the net passed through him. The minotaurs, the specters, the stone golems, the cultivators from the Immortal God Continent, all of the various living beings from the other locations… were swept over by the net.

Not even the red bugs could evade it. They were small in size, but the net was dense. When it had spread out to its limit, Naruto made a grasping motion, and the net began to retract, returning through all the same beings it had passed on its way out.

The net rapidly shrunk down into Naruto's palm, until it was nothing more than a dazzling light.

Then, every being surrounding him on the land mass began to tremble.

Blood began to spray out everywhere… as they were sliced into ribbons. Some of them became gore that splattered around on the ground, others were turned into ash….

The armies outside of the land mass gasped, and then everything went deathly silent. Despite the fact that the will of the starry sky was urging them to attack, their instincts and their terror caused them to look at the land mass with minds spinning.

Naruto remained calm, but his eyes shone with bright red light. He looked up at the old man sealed in the painting, which was still burning. The old man howled as he prepared to burst out from inside.

Naruto stared at him coldly, then waved his hand. Once again, the scintillating net appeared, which he threw out to cover the old man.

This time, the sealing power was far greater than before, and the old man was powerless to escape its effects. All he could do was let out an unyielding roar.

Naruto turned his attention to the hosts outside in the starry sky. Surrounding him were countless corpses, so many that it was impossible to count.

He said nothing. However, the image of him standing there, and the thought of what he had just done in the battle, became a powerful warning to everyone who remained alive.

Anyone who sets foot in here… dies!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1502

Chapter 1502: Who Am I?

Time passed. Naruto wasn't standing in the exact center of the land mass, but he was certainly the center of all attention.

Outside, beyond the battered remnants of the ninth shield layer, was an army of bizarre creatures that filled the starry sky from end to end. They all hovered there silently, looking down, but unwilling to set foot onto the land mass.

The massive gap in the shield still existed; it hadn't closed up. However, despite the many hours which had passed, not a single individual had entered through it.

The strange nature of the land mass ensured that the energy of the Vast Expanse was scant, and also made it so that the will of the Vast Expanse was weaker. Because of that, the creatures that made up the army weren't as easy to influence as before.

Although they still radiated a murderous aura, they were still mostly under the control of their primary instincts. As such, they were kept silent and unmoving by the realization that they would surely die if they entered the land mass.

If things kept going like this, Naruto would essentially have won the battle. By now, he could sense that the mirror was very close and would appear in front of him very soon.

"It's almost here…. The copper mirror!

"Parrot… return to me!" Naruto took a deep breath. Within the thirty meter shielded area behind him, the eight copper mirror shards radiated brilliant light. The pillar of light which rose up from them was like a torch on a dark light, almost blinding as it continued to summon the copper mirror.

Enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, and Naruto began to pant as he looked off into the distance. As for all the creatures in the army, they could sense a pressure building from off in the distance, something which left them feeling very uneasy, even jittery.

They could almost make out a beam of light shooting, not through the starry sky, but through some other swath of darkness.

However, it was in this very moment that all of a sudden, ripples exploded out directly in front of Naruto. The air in front of him had been still and unmoving before, but now, a finger appeared!

Its appearance was ordinary in all aspects, but as soon as it appeared, it caused the entire world, and even the entire starry sky, to begin to shake. It superseded all light, and in the darkness of the starry sky, only it seemed to shine brightly!

It seemed to be moving in slow motion as it reached out towards Naruto's chest.

Unexpectedly, he was completely unable to dodge it.

A boom rang out; Heaven shook and Earth trembled. Cracking sounds could be heard from the land mass as fissures snaked out in all directions. Even the ninth shield layer shattered.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he tumbled backward, slamming into the surface of the tenth shield layer. The shield distorted, and almost instantly shattered into pieces. Naruto continued to tumble backward nearly twenty-five meters before grinding to a halt. Coughing up another mouthful of blood, he slowly looked up at the rippling area up ahead of him.

Now, it wasn't just a finger that was visible. A gaunt figure appeared out of thin air, and as soon as his foot touched the surface of the land mass, everything began to vibrate. At the same time, a supreme and paramount aura exploded out from him.

It was as if he were the representative of the entire starry sky, as if a single word from him could be considered natural law in the entire Vast Expanse. Apparently, a glance from him could determine the life or death of any of the beings which existed in the starry sky.

"I am the Emissary of Allheaven," he said coolly. The echo of his voice caused the entire land mass to crumble into nothing. The only exception was the thirty-meter area upon which Naruto stood. All other locations collapsed into dust from the single word uttered by this Emissary of Allheaven.

The surrounding swarms of creatures felt an indescribable reverence rising up from their souls. They bowed their heads and dropped to their knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, Emissary…."

The gaunt man seemed middle-aged, but had an ashen face and deeply profound eyes. He stood there, clad in a black robe, looking coldly at Naruto.

"Why haven't you knelt yet?" he asked.

It was one sentence with only five words, but as soon as it left his mouth, a pressure burst out that defied description. It slammed into Naruto, causing intense rumbling sounds to echo out. Naruto's cultivation base was at the peak of the 9-Essences level, but it almost seemed impossible to bear the pressure. His knees shook as the pressure became like two hands pushing down onto his shoulders, as if he were being forced to kneel.

But then, Naruto smiled. It was a vicious smile, complete with glowing red eyes. Shocking power erupted out, staining the surrounding starry sky with redness.

The redness might not be able to compare with the blackness of the starry sky as a whole, but in this particular area, it was like a tempest that couldn't be resisted.

"I, Naruto, have never kowtowed to the Heavens, nor bowed to the

Earth. What makes you think… that I would kneel to scum like you?!" The redness in his eyes intensified, and his aura began to flicker with multifarious variations. Demonic Chakra erupted, and not only did he not kneel, he began to walk forward, one step at a time.

His energy began to rise up, and the redness raged like flames. Instantly, intense pressure began to crush down onto the Emissary of Allheaven.

The man's face flickered.

"You really want to die?!" he said, snorting coldly. He lifted his right hand, and killing intent exploded out as he shoved his palm toward Naruto. Intense pressure erupted that exceeded the 9-Essences level. If Naruto hadn't been on guard already, he would have been killed in body and mind.

And yet, he didn't stop moving for even a moment. In fact, he sped up. At the same time, his energy continued to build up, Demonic Chakra surged, and the red glow expanded.

Then, he clenched his right fist and unleashed the Devil-Butchering Fist. As the fist bore down on the Emissary of Allheaven, the red glow in the area rumbled, making it seem like there were infinite fists about to slam into the man.

Then, Naruto transformed into black roc-form, only to change again into an azure-colored roc, which instantly changed color yet again to crimson. Then, he shot like lightning toward the Emissary of Allheaven, slashing at him with razor-sharp claws.

Next were countless mountains which caused Heaven to shake and the Earth to tremble as they descended. However, Naruto didn't stop at that. He unleashed the Blood Demon Grand Magic, and followed up with Demonic Chakra formed into the shape of a gigantic head, which viciously snapped its mouth at the Emissary.

Booms rang out, filling the starry sky. In just a few short moments, Naruto unleashed his most deadly attacks, and then ended them all with the combined Eight Hexes.

The Emissary fell back repeatedly, face growing increasingly pale. Finally, killing intent flickered in his eyes as he took to flight, not to attack Naruto, but to try to destroy the spell formation. However, Naruto quickly intercepted him.

Instead of falling back again, the Emissary of Allheaven unleashed another attack. When it slammed into Naruto, he coughed up a mouthful of blood and tumbled backward several hundred meters. The Emissary then stepped forward, appearing directly in front of the eight copper mirror shards. Then, he lifted up his right hand and shoved it violently forward.

And yet, Naruto simply smiled. Eyes shining with madness, he waved his finger toward the Emissary.

As he did, a beam of light shot toward the land mass through the starry sky, moving at indescribable speed. It slashed through the hosts of creatures, destroying many of their number who could not evade, transforming them into nothing more than ash.

In the blink of an eye, an entire section of creatures was destroyed. The Emissary's face fell as the beam of light closed in on him, then stabbed through his chest on its way to the spell formation.

Finally, the light faded away to reveal what had been inside… an ancient and primitive copper mirror!

As soon as the mirror appeared, the eight shards melted together, then flowed into the body of the mirror itself, to form… a complete mirror!

A primordial aura erupted out from the mirror, shaking the starry sky and sending boundless ripples out in all directions. The Emissary's face fell, and he backed up. As for Naruto, he looked excitedly at the mirror.

"Return to me!" he said. The mirror vibrated, and a blurry figure appeared within the mirror, a parrot. It looked out coldly at Naruto, seemingly confused. It was as if it were looking at a stranger, and at the same time, that stranger seemed familiar.

After a moment, though, that feeling of familiarity faded. The parrot looked away from Naruto, and then turned and shot out into the starry sky, taking the mirror with it.

Naruto's face paled, and he coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seeing the parrot flying away filled his heart with pain, especially when he knew exactly why it had seemed so confused.

"Well, it is what it is. At least you're complete. Even though you're leaving, severing your destiny with me, I just hope… that you can find a master better than me…."

The Emissary of Allheaven began to laugh uproariously. Although a huge hole had been pierced into his chest, no blood flowed out. He turned to look at Naruto, laughing the entire time.

"That mirror doesn't belong to you any more. It erased its own mind. You spent almost a thousand years getting ready to summon it to you, and it was all a complete waste!" Somehow, this Emissary of Allheaven knew about everything Naruto had been doing.

"Now, since you feel like leaving the Vast Expanse, I'll help you. I will help you follow the destiny which has long since been prepared for you!"

Laughing, the Emissary of Allheaven flickered into motion, performing an incantation gesture with both hands as he shot toward Naruto. Then he waved his finger, and the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse seemed to sink down, as if he were drawing upon some of its power, then merging it into his finger to attack Naruto.

Naruto defended with all of his might. Booms rang out, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. He seemed to be on the verge of being destroyed, forced into successive retreats. But then, the eyes of the parrot in the distant copper mirror suddenly flickered. It still seemed confused, and yet, a tremor ran through it. For some unknown reason, it suddenly had the feeling that if it left right now, it would regret that decision for the rest of its life.

"Who am I…? Who am I…?" The parrot shivered, and then the confusion faded from its eyes. Instead, it seemed to be struggling with itself, as though there were memories inside of it trying to awaken!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1503

Chapter 1503: Transcendent Armor!

"Who is he…?

"Why does he seem so familiar? I obviously don't know him….

"Why does it hurt so much to see him injured so? Why do I have this feeling that he's a very important part of my life?!

"Why…? Why…? And who am I…? I'm the spirit automaton of the copper mirror. No, wait. I'm a parrot…. Then who's Lord Fifth? Who is this Lord Fifth…?

"Aaaaahhhhhh…." The copper mirror began to tremble violently. Inside, the parrot howled, its eyes bloodshot as memories apparently bubbled up inside of it.

It couldn't see the memories clearly, but for some reason, it knew that it couldn't abandon the person who had summoned it. It could tell that he was very important, and that he… viewed the parrot as important too!

The feeling rising up within the spirit automaton gradually left it convinced that this person was the owner of the copper mirror!

"I can't go!

"How could I go?!" The parrot howled again, its eyes bright red and its mind in complete chaos. And yet, it didn't hesitate for another moment.

It turned, transforming into a flowing beam of light that shot through the Heavens at incredible speed, leaving the starry sky flaming in its wake.

This was also the starry sky of Allheaven, and yet it couldn't slow the copper mirror down. Everything shook violently, and a roar of rage echoed out.

Naruto was currently wiping the blood off his lips. His eyes glowed brightly as he performed an incantation gesture, causing his cultivation base to surge as he prepared to fight. The Emissary of Allheaven was laughing coldly, and his eyes radiated an awe-inspiring light. Just when he was about to unleash another attack, his face fell.

He turned to look over his shoulder, and saw the copper mirror and parrot returning, slicing through the starry sky at top speed!

The man's pupils constricted, and his mind began to reel.

Naruto also saw what was happening, and his eyes gleamed with excitement. Then he threw his head back and laughed long and hard.

"Copper mirror, return to me!" he cried, his voice echoing out in all directions. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the parrot closed in. It flew toward him at top speed, and then slammed into his chest, and began to merge into him.

A tremor ran through Naruto as a familiar sensation spread out. At the same time, his laughter grew even brighter and clearer. The glow in his eyes grew warm. And that warmth was not directed at the Emissary of Allheaven, but at the copper mirror, and the parrot!

The Emissary almost couldn't believe what was happening, and his heart began to pound in his chest.

As for the spot where the copper mirror had slammed into Naruto's chest, no injury could be seen there at all, and it only took a moment for the copper mirror to vanish completely. Then, black strands began to spread out to cover Naruto's entire body.

At the same time, a towering pressure exploded out from him.

Naruto's heart was pounding. He could sense the existence of the parrot now, and although it viewed him as a stranger, there was still some of the old sensation that came from their past connection.

He took a deep breath, and his eyes shone brightly as he laughed, floating up into the air and taking control of the copper mirror.

As his hands spread out wide, the black strands continued to cover him, spreading out from his chest toward every other part of him.

In the blink of an eye, black armor covered his chest, upon which could be seen primeval designs. It seemed to contain an aura of the most ancient type. At the same time, Naruto's energy began to rise up to explosive levels.

The Emissary of Allheaven had been just about to advance toward him, but the tempest which sprang up instantly slowed him down. The armor continued to cover Naruto, spreading out to both of his arms. As the black strands merged together, wicked spikes spread out to cover his shoulders with pauldrons that resembled parrot heads.

His energy exploded out in shocking fashion, causing all of the bizarre creatures in the huge army to tremble inwardly.

By this point, the armor had completely covered his arms, forming overlapping layers of sharp black scales. Now that the armor had covered his torso, it began to rapidly flow down across his legs.

A moment later, a huge vortex sprang up beneath his feet, every rotation of which threw the starry sky around it into chaos.

The pressure pulsing off of Naruto grew more intense, making him the complete focus of everything in the starry sky.

The Emissary of Allheaven was completely ashen-faced as he fell back into retreat. He was muttering, and if one listened closely, they might be able to make out the words he spoke.

"Transcendent Battle Armor!"

Many of the creatures in the army were coughing up blood, unable to stand up to the intense pressure, a pressure which surpassed the 9Essences level, and was close to… Transcendence!

Booms echoed out, each one far louder than thunder, so loud that even

Heavenly might seemed as if it would be crushed by Naruto's energy.

The final extension of the armor covered Naruto's head. A black mask covered his face, and a black cape rippled out behind him. It was a grand sight, with colors flashing and the wind blowing. An intense, ancient aura radiated out from Naruto. Then, something appeared in Naruto's hand… which he remembered very distinctly. It was… the Battle Weapon!

The black Battle Weapon pulsed with a cold glow that seemed capable of reaving the starry sky and shaking the Vast Expanse itself.

The instant the Battle Weapon appeared, a gleam of reminiscence appeared in Naruto's eyes. Looking down at it, he murmured,

"So old friend, we finally… meet again."

In the instant that his armor was complete, the aura Naruto radiated caused everything to shake. Ripples spread out, with him at the center, a tempest which shattered the starry sky.

The wind blasted into countless creatures in the surrounding area. All they could do was scream as they were transformed into ash. The look on the face of the Emissary of Allheaven was one of unprecedented seriousness as he continued to back up.

In the blink of an eye, the entire area was wrapped up in the tempest. The Vast Expanse trembled, and countless creatures in the army gasped. Deep in their souls, they began to tremble in fear.

It was hard to say who did it first, but one by one, they began to flee in terrified madness. They knew that if they didn't escape from the intense pressure which was building up, they would be destroyed in body and mind.

Even the 9-Essences Paragons had the same reaction.

Within the entire world of this stretch of the starry sky, Naruto was the ultimate existence. At the same time, an illusory image suddenly appeared behind him. It was enormous, gigantic, something that seemed capable of shaking the stars. It was a huge parrot!

The parrot's feathers weren't multicolored; they were black. It had a terrifying aura, which made even the Emissary of Allheaven gasp in fear of Naruto. Without even thinking about it, he began to back up even faster.

"Still not quite at the full level of Transcendence…." Naruto thought as he sensed the energy exploding out of him. It was the most incredible level of power he had ever experienced in his entire life up to this point.

"Even though it's not Transcendence, it still makes me… the most powerful person under the Transcendent level!" He looked up, and the red glow of his eyes shone out through the black mask, making him look terrifying to the extreme.

"Well, it makes sense, since my Ninth Hex still isn't complete…." he murmured. Then he took a step forward toward the fleeing Emissary of Allheaven. Before he could get very far at all, Naruto was right in front of him, whereupon he shoved out with his left hand.

"Get the hell back to wherever you came from!" he roared. The Emissary of Allheaven felt himself vibrating, and then he exploded. A roar of anger echoed out, and madness filled his eyes as the energy of the Vast Expanse quickly formed his body back together.

Naruto's expression was icy cold as he hefted the Battle Weapon in his right hand, and then slashed it through the void. The starry sky… was split apart! The energy of the Vast Expanse which existed in the starry sky of Allheaven was riven down to its very source!

The starry sky trembled, and cracking sounds echoed out. Shockingly, a rift spread out, forming a huge circle, like a sealing mark. The energy of the Vast Expanse was not capable of entering within that area, resulting in the Emissary of Allheaven being cut off from his power source.

"To kill you would be as easy as flipping over my hand," Naruto said coolly. He began to walk forward, and each step caused massive rumbling to echo out. After he had taken three steps, the Emissary of Allheaven roared, drawing upon the energy of the Vast Expanse inside of his body to materialize a trident with vicious, spiralled prongs.

Naruto's expression was calm as he then shoved out with his left hand. The trident lurched to a standstill, then began to tremble. Naruto's hand gradually formed into a fist, and the trident began to twist and distort. Then, a bang rang out as Naruto clenched his fist tight; the trident exploded.

Black mist began to roil out from the Emissary; clearly he was deeply weakened. For the first time, a look of fear could be seen on his face.

"So, you can feel fear, huh?" Naruto said calmly. He took a fourth step forward, appearing yet again in front of the Emissary.

The Emissary let out a miserable shriek, and tried again to flee. And yet, no matter what he did or how he fled, Naruto would appear in front of him.

"The reason I sealed this place down is because… I'm very curious about what exactly you are." Naruto's let hand shot out as he grabbed the Emissary of Allheaven by the neck.

"Oh will of Allheaven," squeaked the Emissary, "oh Lord of Allheaven, save me…." In that very moment, though, Naruto suddenly began… a Soulsearch!

He began to Soulsearch the Emissary of Allheaven, who represented the starry sky of Allheaven!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1504

Chapter 1504: Song Daozi!

As the Soulsearching began, Naruto's mind filled with rumbling sounds. Shockingly, there were no memories to be seen! There was only a voice!

"Henceforth, you are the Emissary of Allheaven…." There was only that eternal voice echoing out within his mind. It was impossible to say when those words had been spoken, but they left Naruto's consciousness reeling as strongly as if he had been struck by a huge blow.

Even more astonishing was that the voice seemed to contain piercing power that reached out into Naruto. In the blink of an eye, the voice was echoing out in his own mind.

It was like a sealing mark, burning deep into his body, resulting in… Naruto being made the new Emissary of Allheaven.

His body trembled, and beneath his mask, his eyes shone with radiant crimson light. Demonic Chakra erupted out within him, surging to suppress the voice which echoed in his mind.

The scene out in the starry sky was of Naruto grasping the Emissary of Allheaven by the throat. It didn't appear as if anything strange at all was happening. However, the truth was that Naruto was facing incredible danger that threatened even his soul.

It wasn't that he hadn't been aware that performing a Soulsearch might be dangerous; as far as he was concerned, he had had no choice. This person claimed to be the Emissary of Allheaven, and even had some of the will of the starry sky upon him. Because of all of that, and because of the things Naruto had learned in the necropolis of the Vast Expanse School, he was able to form some speculations.

The starry sky of Allheaven, the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, had a will, and that will was none other than Allheaven's!

As the saying went, _Allheaven fears the Immortal_. Furthermore, Allheaven wanted the Demon to appear. All of that caused Naruto to be filled with a sensation of imminent crisis, and also caused him to reach certain conclusions about why the Mountain and Sea Realm had been struck with such calamity.

Although he had no definite answers, he had a lot of clues. And therefore, this Emissary of Allheaven could be considered one of his greatest acquisitions. If he could squeeze some answers out of this man's mind, it would help him to understand the truth much more clearly. That would also give him a much greater chance at achieving victory in the future.

"You want me to become the Emissary of Allheaven? You… don't qualify!" Naruto let out a powerful roar, and his armor began to vibrate. The power of the copper mirror exploded out, combining with Naruto's Demonic Chakra to form a tempest which blasted out in all directions. It drove the sealing mark away, completely destroying it, wiping it out of existence.

It didn't matter how powerful that sealing mark had been in the past. After coming out from within the body of the Emissary, it was significantly weakened. Add in the fact that Naruto was at his peak state, and once he fought back, he was able to destroy the sealing mark and dispel the voice.

As the voice faded away, the Emissary of Allheaven trembled, and his eyes began to shine. All of the hair on his head turned white, and his skin began to wither up. In the briefest of instants, he aged into an ancient form.

At the same time, his mind was cleared of the sealing mark, and countless memories flooded back in. Because he was still in the midst of a Soulsearch, Naruto could see all of those memories.

He saw a world that was not the Mountain and Sea Realm, not the Immortal God Realm, and not the Devil Realm. It was not the world he had seen in the necropolis. It was a strange land, and yet it was obviously located within the starry sky of Allheaven.

It was a flourishing world, and although it hadn't reached a level of ultimate power, there were still many powerful experts. Most importantly, the world had legends of the Immortal. Apparently, it was a place like the Mountain and Sea Realm or Planet Vast Expanse, a place where the cultivators had Immortal Threads which, if they had the right destiny, could form an Immortal Root.

In other words, it was a world in which the Immortal could appear!

In this case, the word Immortal didn't refer to the Immortal Realm, but rather, what Allheaven feared… THE Immortal!

Naruto saw the Emissary of Allheaven in that world, except he was a young man. Naruto watched him practice cultivation and grow into a man. He started out as a rogue cultivator, who eventually exceeded all of his contemporaries. He unified the world in which he lived, reaching the absolute peak, 9-Essences.

At that time, this Emissary of Allheaven was not like he was now. He was focused on his goals, and was the center of all attention. Then, one day, Outsiders appeared from beyond. A huge war ensued, and the world was destroyed. All living beings died.

The man who would become the Emissary of Allheaven threw his head back and let out a bitter howl. Even as he was being surrounded by his enemies, he suddenly erupted with… Demonic qi!

He was forced to transform from the Immortal into the Demon, after which he used Demonic Chakra to slaughter his enemies. He fled up into the Heavens, and came to be focused on one thing and one thing only: revenge!

Revenge. Revenge! Revenge!

That one thought was so intense that even in the midst of a Soulsearch, it left Naruto panting, shaken. All of a sudden, he was struck by… how the life of this Emissary of Allheaven was so similar to his own!

As he continued the Soulsearch, the Emissary trembled. His eyes no longer appeared to be filled with confusion. It was as if he were awakening after countless years of sleep.

He looked at Naruto, his eyes bright and clear. Not only did he do nothing to resist the Soulsearch, he took the initiative to cooperate with it. He opened up his memories, allowing Naruto to see everything.

As he did, his eyes flickered with reminiscence. Within the depths of his memories was an unyielding heart. There was regret. And there was a towering desire for revenge. But even more than all of that… there was bitter laughter.

It was a noiseless laughter that accompanied his white hairs as they fell out of his head and floated down. His body was withering up and turning into ash. It was as if his body had been fixed at a certain point in time, and then time forgot him. But now, all of the power of those years was being inflicted relentlessly upon him.

Naruto was shaken as he watched the memories of the Emissary of Allheaven. After escaping into the Heavens with only his desire for revenge, the future Emissary experienced many dangers, and also acquired much good fortune. His cultivation base became powerful, far more powerful than before. In fact, he even… stepped halfway into Transcendence.

It was a terrifying level of power that even far surpassed Naruto's current level as the most powerful person under Transcendence. What was referred to as being half a step into Transcendence came from the fact that there were three separate areas which could Transcend. Those areas were the soul, the Essence, and the body. Anyone who

Transcended in even one of those areas would be referred to as being half a step into Transcendence.

The future Emissary of Allheaven had Transcended in body, reaching the same level as Nine Seals from the Mountain and Sea Realm.

After reaching that level, he came to understand that the reason his home had been obliterated was because of the Allheaven starry sky, and the will named Allheaven!

The reason his home had been obliterated was because Allheaven didn't wish for the Immortal to appear. Instead, he wanted the Demon to come.

The man who would become the Emissary paid a huge price to discover a weakness in the starry sky of Allheaven. Astonishingly, he managed to fight his way outside, to reach outside the Vast Expanse.

That was where the memories suddenly screeched to a halt. Whatever it was that he had encountered outside the Vast Expanse, it was impossible to determine. The memories were gone. The only thing that was clear was that a certain number of years later, he reappeared, except not as himself. By then, he had become… the Emissary of Allheaven.

Naruto was shaking as he loosened his grip. His face flickered, and he backed up, breathing heavily. Mixed emotions could be seen on his face as he looked at the Emissary of Allheaven.

The man's body was almost completely dissipated. He no longer seemed evil, but instead, weak and bitter. He had lived his life for revenge, but in the end, not only did he fail, he also ended up becoming the Emissary for the person he wished to exact vengeance upon.

Naruto stood there silently.

The Emissary looked down at his vanishing body, and then back up at Naruto.

"I can sense that you… are just like me," he said, his voice hoarse and ancient.

"Back then, I was defeated… but I hope that you can succeed!" He sighed and looked out into the starry sky, into the Vast Expanse. Then, a vicious gleam appeared.

"I wasn't always the Emissary of Allheaven. I am Song Daozi from the Seven Soils Realm!

"Allheaven, you are doomed to demise!" Song Daozi threw his head back and laughed uproariously. It was a laughter that seemed to contain weeping. His body was slowly transforming into ash. As it did, his eyes flickered with memories, as if in this moment, he was about to finally reunite with his clan members, his family, and his friends.

However, before he vanished completely, his eyes suddenly gleamed with bright light, as if his soul had suddenly seized. He looked over at Naruto, an expression of disbelief on his face. He even looked anxious, as if there were something important he needed to tell Naruto, but didn't have the time. Even as he faded away completely into dust, he managed to speak a few sentences to Naruto.

"I remember now! The weak spot in the Vast Expanse that I found all those years ago… is right here!

"I remember now! I didn't find this place by accident, someone pointed it out to me….

"Wait, why can't I remember what that person looked like? I remember she was a woman….

"Her. She was the one who told me about this place….

"Fellow Daoist, the will of Allheaven is everywhere in this starry sky.

Why did you pick this place?"

With that, the man was no more.

Naruto stared in shock at the space where the man had vanished. After seeing the look in his eyes, and hearing his final words, Naruto's heart filled with intense coldness.

The reason he had chosen this place to summon the copper mirror was not because someone had told him about it. During the process of searching for the copper mirror shards, he had stumbled across it himself, and could tell that the energy of the Vast Expanse was weak here. There was almost a sensation of expulsion and division.

After hearing what the man had just said, Naruto's heart began to thump. He immediately backed up, rotating his cultivation base and performing an incantation gesture with his left hand. Then he waved his finger at the location where the land mass had once stood.

After his finger fell, images rose up from the past, images that no one but Naruto would be able to see.

He saw the battle between himself and the Emissary, he saw himself surrounded by the bizarre creatures. But then all of that faded away. And Naruto was there preparing the defenses on the land mass.

More time flowed backward. Twenty years. A hundred. Several hundred….

The land mass was floating along in the starry sky, completely unchanging. Naruto frowned as he saw himself passing by the location and noticing it for the first time.

More months passed. Then, something extraordinary happened, a full ten years before Naruto had discovered the location!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1505

Chapter 1505 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1505: You Are The Son of Allheaven

This chapter was originally released in the form of a live reading by Deathblade and Etvolare, available below. Many thanks to CoreInflux for recording it, and also to Guanzhong for helping me prepare it to include in this chapter!

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Naruto could see as clear as day that ten years before he passed through this area, this land mass didn't even exist within the starry sky! It was completely empty!

What he saw left Naruto reeling. Then he watched as that spot in the starry sky suddenly began to ripple and distort. A moment later, the land mass… just appeared.

It was almost as if a huge hand had dragged it out nowhere.

His eyes flickered as Song Daozi's words echoed in his mind. Without the slightest hesitation, he began to back up. However, it was at this point that a light sigh echoed out.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, we meet again."

At the same time, the sealing mark Naruto had created around himself cracked and shattered into fragments. A will entered the area, crushing everything in its path.

Then he saw a woman strolling toward him. She wore violet garments, including a skirt decorated with countless glowing stars and planets. She was beautiful, and her eyes seemed to flicker like the Vast Expanse itself.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he said, "Han Bei!"

This woman was none other than Han Bei. However, this version of her seemed completely different than the person he had encountered recently on Planet Vast Expanse.

That version of Han Bei was enigmatic in certain ways, but was about as weak as an egg compared to him. Unfortunately, her soul was fused with Sakura's, ensuring that if she died, Sakura would also die, otherwise Naruto would have long since done something about her.

But this Han Bei standing in front of him seemed, not like a cultivator, but like the entire Vast Expanse. Although it was Han Bei standing there, it was as if she were radiating the will of the entire starry sky of Allheaven, as if she were its avatar.

The Emissary of Allheaven, Song Daozi, had given him a similar feeling, although the will of Allheaven upon him had been a far cry from this. As of this moment, Han Bei seemed like the embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

It made Naruto feel as if, within the starry sky of Allheaven, all living beings would have no choice but to bow their heads to her. Everything would tremble in her presence, from land masses, to planets, to the countless vortexes which existed. Innumerable worlds and Realms, countless living beings, would all have the same reaction. They would all acknowledge allegiance to this embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

Everything trembled as the Chakra flow of the entire starry sky transformed into something like a funnel, with Han Bei resting at its very center.

The sight of it caused Naruto's pupils to constrict. Furthermore, he got the feeling that Han Bei hadn't only just appeared. She had most likely been there from the moment he began Soulsearching Song Daozi.

Naruto's eyes shone with bright light as he looked at her. She returned his gaze, a slight smile on her face, a smile that seemed to be at harmony with the Vast Expanse, a smile that contained profound secrets.

"Enough with the mind games," Naruto said, waving his hand and sending cultivation base power surging. The power of the copper mirror burst out and became shocking Battle Armor. Almost simultaneously, Naruto's energy surged as he slashed out with the Battle Weapon.

The force of the attack ripped open the starry sky, causing rumbling sounds to echo out as the blow descended upon Han Bei. However, Han Bei did nothing to avoid the blow, and in fact continued to smile.

"The fact that you realized something strange is going on here doesn't matter. I wasn't counting on being able to keep things secret for much longer anyway." She chuckled, allowing the Battle Weapon to slash into her. However, it was almost as if she didn't even exist; the power of the Battle Weapon passed right through her, sending boundless ripples out into the starry sky behind her.

"That won't do you any good," she said, shaking her head. "This isn't my true form, just a projection. Furthermore, what has sent me here isn't the power of my cultivation base, but rather, the almighty will of the starry sky of Allheaven."

Naruto's eyes widened, and he backed up, unleashing all the power he could muster to put distance between him and her.

Han Bei shook her head again. Smiling, she said, "You can't escape. This is a special place which has been prepared by the almighty will of Allheaven… to harvest you."

With that, she extended her right hand and pointed at Naruto.

His mind was instantly sent reeling. Unexpectedly, the starry sky around him began to spin, and no matter how he tried to flee, he ended up going to the same place!

Smiling, Han Bei said, "The reason you found this land mass to begin with was because the will of Allheaven wished it to be so. Therefore, he teleported it to a place he knew you would pass by.

"And that's because this is one of the few weak spots in the starry sky of Allheaven. The land mass might be gone now, but the weak spot is still here, a part of the starry sky itself.

"It is only by means of this weak spot that you, someone who has yet to Transcend, can step outside of the Vast Expanse.

"Naruto, didn't you want to see what it's really like out there? All you have to do is go out from this spot, and you'll know." She slowly reached out and then waved her hand. The space behind her then began to distort. Then, it was as if every part of the starry sky of Allheaven, as if the will of Allheaven which existed in countless places and locations… opened an eye!

Directly behind Han Bei, the starry sky converged into a single vertical line, which then slowly opened in shocking fashion to reveal an eye, pupil and all!

It was the eye of the starry sky, an eye formed from the will of Allheaven!

As the eye opened, rumbling sounds echoed out, and everything began to tremble. Then an indescribable power exploded out from Han Bei.

That power caused everything in the area to collapse, revealing an enormous black hole.

Apparently, that black hole had been ripped open by someone countless years ago. Now that it had revealed itself, the gravitational force it could exert was astonishing.

Naruto trembled as that force grabbed onto him. He almost couldn't control his own body as he was dragged inexorably down toward the black hole. At the same time, a powerful force of expulsion rose up from the starry sky of Allheaven, which shoved him toward the black hole. He trembled as he began falling faster and faster.

He gritted his teeth and unleashed all the power of his cultivation base.

He slashed back and forth with the Battle Weapon to try to slow down. But it did no good. He glared up at Han Bei, his eyes flickering with killing intent.

As of this point, he understood that what he was looking at was not really Han Bei, it was… the will of the starry sky of Allheaven.

"It was you!" he said, his words bursting with murder and insane hatred. "The will of Allheaven! You manipulated the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent into destroying the Mountain and Sea Realm. All to control me and my life!" His eyes were completely bloodshot, and even the red color of his pupils grew more intense!

A tremor ran through Han Bei. Apparently, it was difficult for her to remain under the sustained control of the will of Allheaven, and yet she forced herself to endure. Looking at Naruto, she smiled.

"Let me ask you," she said, "how do you think the will of Allheaven is connected to you?"

Naruto's mind spun. He had come to realize long ago that the word 'Allheaven' had also existed in the Mountain and Sea Realm. After all, the term 'Allheaven Clan,' contained those same characters.

He had long since come to speculate that the two were connected, but to hear the words coming out of Han Bei's mouth right now caused his eyes to widen.

"I am the Daughter of Allheaven, and you… you are the Son of Allheaven.

"Resistance is futile. In fact, you don't even qualify to resist. The will of Allheaven has bolstered my consciousness, a state that I will not be able to endure again for the next hundred years. But that doesn't matter.

"I look forward… to your return. When you appear again, you will have accepted your status as the Son of Allheaven. You will have forgotten your past. Forgotten everything. Your world will no longer be that of the Mountain and Sea Realm. There will only be… Allheaven.

"And you will become the new… Emissary of Allheaven. Perhaps you will even become… the most powerful Emissary to ever exist.

"Perhaps you will become like me, a Dao Protector to the grand will of Allheaven!" Han Bei's smile was as flirtatious as ever, but her body was clearly weakening.

Rumbling sounds filled the starry sky as Naruto continued to try to use the Battle Weapon to slow himself down. However, with the power of expulsion pushing him, and the gravitational force pulling at him relentlessly, he began to spin, trembling, into the depths of the black hole.

In the blink of an eye, he was swallowed up!

The black hole transformed into a spinning vortex, which gradually began to fade away. Eventually, the starry sky returned to normal. At the same time, the power of expulsion from the Vast Expanse disappeared as if it had never existed.

Light began to shine out from Han Bei, gradually turning her into glittering motes of fading splendor.

She looked at the spot where Naruto had been sucked away, and continued to smile just like before. Her eyes even gleamed with anticipation.

"Naruto…. Son of Allheaven," she said softly. "You grew too quickly, so quickly that even the almighty will of Allheaven was on guard. Therefore, even though the seed was not mature, it was still time for the harvest." With that, she completely transformed into light that vanished into the darkness.

Soon, the starry sky was completely quiet and dark.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Vast Expanse, in the First Sect, Han Bei's true form was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Suddenly, her eyes snapped open, and blood sprayed out of her mouth. She aged visibly, and her face turned completely ashen.

"For the next hundred years," she murmured. "I must not call the will of Allheaven upon me." With that, she looked up into the starry sky. "I truly look forward to your return. Then you and I can create a new seed here on Planet Vast Expanse."

Chapter 1505: You Are The Son of Allheaven

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1506

Chapter 1506: Cut Off Outside the Vast Expanse!

In the same moment that Naruto was sucked into the black hole, his clone's ninth life, the eternally blind Little Treasure, was in the middle of sculpting. Suddenly, his hand shook, and he accidentally sliced his finger with the blade. Blood began to flow.

He slowly raised his head, and a look of confusion could be seen on his face. A strange sensation flowed through him, as though a thread which had always been attached to him had suddenly been cut off.

When that happened, Little Treasure felt as if he had lost something. As he sat there silently, a gasp could be heard from off to the side. His wife rushed over and immediately staunched the flow of blood.

"What happened?" she asked. After a long moment, Little Treasure shook his head.

"Nothing," he murmured. "I just suddenly got the sensation that I'm not complete." Because he couldn't see, there was no way for him to notice that his wife's face was as ashen as his own, and she looked just as confused.

At the same time, the 9-Essences Paragons on Planet Vast Expanse, including Jin Yunshan, the Sect Leader, Immortal Bai Wuchen, and all the others, suddenly shivered. It was as if something had just flowed across them, simultaneously causing their memories of Naruto to suddenly grow a bit unclear.

"What just happened!?"

"Something's wrong. My memories of the Ninth Paragon seem like they might disappear at any moment…."

The Sect Leader, Jin Yunshan, and all the others were all in their secluded meditation facilities, feeling completely shaken. Similar things occurred within the Ninth Sect itself.

Far away in some other location in the starry sky of Allheaven, beneath the new 33 Heavens, many people in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly had similar reactions.

That was especially true of Hinata. As she sat there cross-legged, she suddenly opened her eyes and coughed up some blood. She trembled as a wave of fear rose up inside of her, completely filling her.

As of that moment, she could clearly tell that her ability to sense Naruto had been severed.

Her face drained of blood, and her eyes filled with grief. Smiling bitterly, she reached out to prop herself up on the nearby wall. After a long moment, her eyes filled with a resolute gleam.

"It doesn't matter what happened, or how much time goes by," she murmured, "I have faith… that you won't perish." She repeated those words over and over, both with her mouth and in her heart.

During that moment, everywhere in the starry sky of Allheaven, any person who knew or had even seen Naruto, all felt a deep internal transformation. Suddenly, their relationships with Naruto seemed to change, to lessen.

As soon as he left, all traces of him within the starry sky of Allheaven were cut. If he didn't return within a relatively short time, then they would completely fade away. In the years to come, the people who had known him would return to the dust, and eventually, no one would remember him.

Outside the Vast Expanse, Naruto opened his eyes.

His armor was gone, having once again changed into the shape of a copper mirror, which he held in his hand. When he looked out, he saw starlight, shining down from a boundless starry sky.

There was no mist, and there was no Vast Expanse. There was only the radiant starry sky, filled with one flourishing world after another.

Naruto gaped in shock. It felt as if some unknown fetter had been removed from his cultivation base, allowing it to surge mightily. He could also sense that this starry sky was filled with immeasurable Immortal power.

In fact, when he looked around, the first thing he thought was that everything here was pure to the ultimate degree. It was completely different from the Vast Expanse.

There was no dust, no aura of death. There was only flourishing life force; everything pulsed with a feeling that made joy rise up in one's heart.

"Why… do I feel different here than in the Vast Expanse?" Even as he hesitated in confusion, he saw a few beams of light shooting toward him through the starry sky. They were led by a middle-aged man, next to whom flew a beautiful woman who looked very anxious.

Once they could actually see Naruto, the woman shot into the lead position, her face filling with joy. She was the first to reach Naruto.

"Elder Brother, we finally found you!" She seemed so happy that tears spilled down her cheeks as she threw herself into his arms. Naruto was confused, certain that he didn't even know who this person was. But then pain suddenly stabbed into his mind.

"Elder Brother, it's a good thing you and Elder Brother Chen Fan both had sealing marks placed on you by the sect back then, otherwise we might never have been able to find you.

"Oh right, Elder Brother, what exactly happened in the Arcane Pocket Realm?

"The Hundred Sects all sent Chosen into the legendary Arcane Pocket Realm of the long-since destroyed Vast Expanse. But then, a few days ago, something happened, and many of the Chosen suddenly died, and the others were forcibly teleported out." More people arrived by Naruto's side, and all of them seemed very concerned about him. They all started talking at the same time, causing Naruto's confusion to increase, and his head to hurt more.

A moment later, a memory rose up which told him that he was Naruto, a Chosen disciple of the Blue Sea Sect, one of the Hundred Sects that existed in this starry sky. Some time ago, he had joined a group of other various Chosen to enter an Arcane Pocket Realm.

Supposedly, it was a Realm that had been destroyed ages ago, a place known as the Vast Expanse Realm.

There were certain restrictions that limited entry, therefore the Hundred Sects had amassed a large group of Chosen to all enter at the same time.

However, something unexpected had occurred within the Vast Expanse Realm, and the majority of the Chosen had been killed. Of the group from the Blue Sea Sect, only he and his Elder Brother Chen Fan had escaped.

Apparently, it was because of Elder Brother Chen Fan that this group had been sent to rescue him.

At first, all of the memories he was recalling seemed unfamiliar, but as soon as he heard the name Chen Fan, everything suddenly seemed to make sense.

"Where's Elder Brother Chen Fan?" he asked.

The person to answer the question was the middle-aged man, who looked at Naruto kindly as he said, "Your Elder Brother Chen Fan was already taken back to the sect. Hao'er, do you remember everything that happened in the Arcane Pocket Realm?"

Naruto looked over at the man and somehow recalled that this was his Master. In response to the man's words, Naruto thought back to everything which had occurred inside, and once again, stabs of pain wracked his mind. Blue veins even popped out on his face.

"Never mind," the man said. He sighed. "Just try not to think about it. Your Elder Brother Chen Fan experienced the same thing. In fact, so did all of the Chosen who made it out alive." With that, he flicked his sleeve, leading Naruto and everyone else off into the distance.

As they proceeded along, the woman continued to support Naruto. She seemed very concerned about him, so much so that she didn't mind if everyone saw them being so physically close to each other. At first, Naruto felt that it was somewhat inappropriate, but then his memories told him that this woman was his beloved Daoist partner, and also the daughter of his Master. They had been married for a long time, and even had a son.

"No. Something doesn't seem right…." Naruto's head hurt more than ever, and his eyes flickered with confusion. After some time passed, the group reached the sect itself.

The Blue Sea Sect was located on a planet that Naruto found to be both familiar and unfamiliar.

As soon as he arrived, numerous fellow sect members saw him, and expressions of delight appeared on their faces. They began to rush over, and soon a crowd had formed that escorted him back to his home. There, he saw a young boy about seven or eight years old, who called him "daddy" and rushed over to hug him.

All of it seemed very unfamiliar, but then there was that name Chen Fan, which somehow made everything seem correct.

"No, this is definitely wrong. Something's not right…." His head throbbed, and off to the side, his Daoist partner and his son looked at him with anxious expressions.

He forced a smile onto his face, and after uttering some reassuring words, he sat down cross-legged. Frowning, he thought back to everything he remembered from his life. His father was an Elder in the sect, and he himself had been born with extraordinary latent talent. After officially joining the sect, he instantly became a Chosen. He progressed rapidly, and by this point his cultivation base was already at the peak Ancient realm, just a step away from the full circle.

His wife was the daughter of his Master, and the two of them were childhood sweethearts. When they got married a few years ago, it lead to widespread envy among their peers.

"No, that's not right…." he thought, shaking his head. He subconsciously performed an incantation gesture and pushed down on his stomach.

"Eighth Hex!"

Nothing happened. He looked down in surprise, unsure of exactly why he had said the words "Eighth Hex." Next, he looked through his bag of holding. Everything inside seemed unfamiliar, except for….

A copper mirror.

"What's this?" he thought, surprised. Then he remembered that after awakening earlier, he had been clutching this very mirror.

"Could it be something I picked up in the Arcane Pocket Realm?" He took out the copper mirror and studied it for a moment. The familiar feeling once again appeared, although it was somewhat different than before.

This world seemed unfamiliar, and everyone in it seemed like strangers, and yet there was also something familiar to it as well. His memories seemed strange, but this copper mirror was different. Within all of the unfamiliarity, it seemed very familiar, as if it were something very important to him.

"Just what exactly is going on…?" he blurted. For some reason, he was starting to get agitated, so much so that his wife took his son out of the room and left him alone.

After some time passed, his eyes were bloodshot. He reached up and struck his forehead with a glancing blow. In that exact moment, a knock could be heard on the door, and a worried voice spoke out.

"Little Junior Brother, I'm coming in." The door opened, and a young man walked in who somehow radiated an ancient feeling. He looked at Naruto, mixed emotions on his face, as if he were thinking about the past.

Naruto looked up, and recognized the young man, as though he existed, not just in his surface memories, but somewhere deep inside his mind.

"Elder Brother Chen Fan…."

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1507

Chapter 1507: Can't Tell Clearly

The person who had come to visit him was none other than Chen Fan!

The confusion in Naruto's eyes grew. There wasn't the least bit of unfamiliarity to this Chen Fan. Quite the opposite. Naruto was sure that he knew him. Not only did he exist in Naruto's memories, he also had a place deep within his intuition.

As Chen Fan walked in and sat down cross-legged in front of him, Naruto felt stabbing pain in his head. Within his mind, Chen Fan was like a drop of water falling into a pot of boiling oil.

The resulting explosion caused random, scattered memories to flit through Naruto's mind. They were like a cyclone that roared through his thoughts, none of them connected, and yet all of them featuring Chen Fan.

They were like memories from another life, and they left Naruto trembling, his eyes bloodshot. Demonic Chakra roared, and finally, he clenched his hands into fists and roared, unleashing the power of his cultivation base. That power was definitely not the power of the Ancient Realm, it was the peak of the 9-Essences level.

Although the room was being destroyed around them, Chen Fan wasn't affected at all. He leaned forward, grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, and shouted, "Little Junior Brother!"

Naruto began to pant, staring at Chen Fan, chaos raging within him. Not only was he bewildered by what was going on, he felt as if there were a voice inside of him yelling something at him, something he couldn't quite make out.

As Naruto's cultivation base erupted out, the entire sect was shaken, and countless individuals flew over anxiously.

"Little Junior Brother, wake up!" Chen Fan roared.

"None of that is real! Everything you experienced in the Vast Expanse Realm was an illusion!

"You are back in the real world now. The Vast Expanse Realm is just an Arcane Pocket Realm, the ruins of a place which died ages and ages ago!"

Chen Fan's shouting grew louder, and it eventually pierced its way into Naruto's mind. Naruto was panting even harder than before, and his eyes were crimson. More and more memories were flying about in his mind.

In one moment, he was experiencing familiar sensations in an unfamiliar world. The next moment, he was experiencing unfamiliar sensations in a familiar world. It made it impossible for him tell clearly what was real.

"Not real?" he asked hoarsely. He didn't recognize his own voice, as if it weren't even him speaking. It sounded hoarse and grating, like metal rubbing against rock.

"Not real!" Chen Fan replied. "It was all a fantasy we experienced in the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm. You're not the only one to go through this. I had the same feelings. In fact, everyone who escaped from the Arcane Pocket Realm had the same experience."

He clasped Naruto by the shoulders and anxiously continued: "A big group from the Hundred Sects went into the Arcane Pocket Realm together. Who would have ever guessed that as soon as we entered, we were sucked into a fantasy? Of course, there were upsides. For example, both you and I were able to find our own path of cultivation within the confusing fantasy."

The bewilderment in Naruto's eyes grew more intense. He believed Chen Fan, but deep inside, there was something shouting at him, and he couldn't shake the feeling that something was off.

"I remember a woman," Naruto blurted subconsciously. "She–"

"Was her name Hinata?" Chen Fan interrupted. Naruto's jaw dropped. As soon as the name Hinata entered his mind, a tremor ran through him. The expression of struggle on his face grew more intense; it felt as if he were stuck in a nightmare.

"Think carefully," Chen Fan said, "and you'll realize that the Hinata you are thinking about is exactly the same as Hinata from the Dao of Water Sect, right? Junior Brother, you were in a relationship with Hinata from the Dao of Water Sect, but in the end, she chose the path of Immortality, not you." As Chen Fan spoke, memories rose up within Naruto's mind. He suddenly remembered that Hinata had been a fellow disciple of the Blue Sea Sect. However, because of various circumstances, she ended up defecting to another sect, and severing any connections she had to him.

"No," Naruto murmured. "There's also Fatty and Wang Youcai. What about my dad and mom, and my sister? What about Sun Hai and my Master, Pill Demon…?" However, as more memories appeared in his mind, he had to admit that he saw images of everyone he had just mentioned.

Virtually all of them were cultivators from the Hundred Sects, the same ones who had gone into the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

"Was it really all just an illusion…?" Naruto murmured bitterly.

Chen Fan nodded, mixed emotions flickering within his eyes.

"Little Junior Brother," he said softly, gripping Naruto's shoulders,

"you were stuck within the Arcane Pocket Realm of the Vast Expanse Realm for far longer than me. That's why you're so much more confused, and also why it will take you longer to fully awaken.

"I had the same suspicions as you when I first awoke. I had many confusing impulses, and felt as if I didn't want to awaken. I even tried to get back into the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

"Other people might not understand what you're feeling right now, but your Elder Brother does!" Chen Fan seemed very earnest as he looked at Naruto, and his expression was one of deep care.

Naruto maintained his silence, and yet his eyes seemed more confused than ever. He didn't want to believe what he was being told, and yet everything around him seemed so real. He could see the images of the people around him within his memories. That was especially true of his wife, who had always cared about him even when he was infatuated with Hinata.

And then there was his son, his own flesh and blood. Via divine sense, he could tell that the blood pumping through the boy's veins was the same as his own.

Most real of all was Chen Fan.

"But," he muttered, "the Mountain and S–" Before he could finish, Chen Fan interrupted him.

"Enough!" he said, his grip on Naruto's shoulders tightening, tears welling up in his eyes. "Little Junior Brother, you need to wake up. All of that was an illusion. I know that you were just about to bring up the Mountain and Sea Realm. That's because the first place we all ended up in after going into the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm was the ruins of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Both of us got sucked into the same place. I remember the Mountain and Sea Realm too, as well as the Reliance Sect. Back then, I was your Elder Brother, right?!"

Naruto took a deep breath and looked up at Chen Fan.

"It was an illusion, all of it," Chen Fan said. "The Mountain and Sea Realm wasn't destroyed in our time, that happened long, long ago. Many years in the past, the Vast Expanse Realm really did exist, and inside of it, there was also a Mountain and Sea Realm. But the people who lived there were not you and me!

"It was all a dream, a dream of Mountains and Seas. We were taken back into ancient times, and that had a big impact on all of us." Every word spoken by Chen Fan was like a bolt of lightning striking Naruto's mind. "Stop thinking about it. It was all an illusion. What you see around you is reality."

"This is all real?" Naruto murmured. Bitterly, he closed his eyes. His head hurt, and every time he tried to think about the Vast Expanse, it felt like he was being stabbed to the bone.

"This is all real!" Chen Fan replied earnestly. If anyone else had tried to convince him, Naruto wouldn't have believed them. But this was Chen Fan, and both in the clear memories, and the vague ones, he remembered that his Eldest Brother always took care of him.

Naruto smiled bitterly, and then took a long breath. "Elder Brother, I understand. I sank into a dream of the Vast Expanse Realm, and it was so realistic that now I'm having trouble telling the difference between what is real and what is not."

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, and he seemed older than before, exhausted.

"Just give me some peace and quiet, and I'll be fine," he said quietly.

Chen Fan looked at him, patted his shoulder, then rose to his feet.

"Get some rest, and always remember that this place… is real. You are not Naruto from the Mountain and Sea Realm. You are the Scion disciple of the Blue Sea Sect, from outside the Vast Expanse. Naruto, you are a Chosen from the Hundred Sects of the Vast Expanse Cosmos."

Naruto nodded bitterly. However, there was something that no one could possibly know, which was that the copper mirror inside of his bag holding was sending a hot current of energy into Naruto. It swirled around inside of him as he closed his eyes, slowly calming him. The surrounding members of his sect finally breathed sighs of relief, although they still continued to look at him with caring concern.

Chen Fan looked deeply at Naruto, then turned and left, looking completely exhausted. After he was gone, Naruto's wife and son returned, looking very anxious and worried. The boy lingered off to the side, looking a bit scared, as though his father was a stranger.

"It's fine," Naruto said, opening his eyes. "Don't worry." He forced a smile onto his face.

A few days passed. During that time, numerous fellow disciples came to offer greetings. Most of them seemed to care for him, but there were also some who secretly wished that he had died in the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

Within Naruto's memories, he didn't recall seeing those people act in such a way, but now, all it took was a look, and he could sense their true feelings.

His Master came, as did other Senior members of the sect. All of them asked a few questions here and there, and left him with some encouraging words.

Chen Fan came to visit several times. Each time he would sit crosslegged in front of Naruto and chat, helping him to remember things from the Blue Sea Sect and the Vast Expanse Cosmos.

Whenever they talked about the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm, they would sigh.

Naruto gradually came to accept his identity, although confusion continued to lurk deep within him.

A month later, when everyone believed Naruto to have fully recovered, he was sitting there cross-legged on one rainy night, looking at his wife, when he suddenly stood and walked out into the rain. Deep in his eyes, confusion blossomed.

Within the rain was a stiff wind which lifted his hair up as it whistled through the trees of the courtyard.

"Is this place actually… real?" he thought.

"How come I just can't forget everything that happened in the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm? There are so many faces I can't forget, and I can't stop thinking about the Mountain and Sea Realm…." He reached his hand out, and as the freezing rain fell onto his palm, it felt like he was being stabbed to the bone.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1508

Chapter 1508: Vast Expanse Society

After feeling the raindrops hit his hand for a while, his eyes shone with determination. "I need to go back to the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm and see for myself. If I don't, my heart will never be able to rest at ease!"

He didn't speak the words aloud to anyone. Instead, he spun, transforming into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.

Back in their house, his wife had just opened her eyes, and they shone with bitterness. She sighed. In recent days, she'd gotten the feeling that her husband was somewhat aloof, to the point where… he almost didn't seem at all like her husband.

Meanwhile, on a certain mountain in the Blue Sea Sect, Chen Fan was also standing out in the rain. He seemed to be thinking about the past, and within his eyes flickered guilt and other emotions. Eventually, he caught sight of Naruto flying up into the air. He almost stepped forward to interfere, but then held back.

"It doesn't matter," he muttered to himself. "Go search for the truth, and maybe you'll find it." As he closed his eyes, a woman approached, who gently wrapped her arms around him from behind.

Chen Fan's eyes turned warm. Slipping around to face her, he reached up and caressed her cheek.

She smiled kindly, then looked off into the distance, seemingly worried.

"Your little Junior Brother…."

"It's fine," Chen Fan said softly. "Let him look for his answers. Perhaps he'll find what he's looking for."

"What about you? Did you find the answers? From what I can tell, it's going to take Naruto a lot longer to get back to normal than you did." According to the woman's memories, Chen Fan had recovered rather quickly, which was confusing to her. In sharp contrast, Naruto had already been back for a month, and yet was still lost in confusion.

Chen Fan shook his head and pulled the woman up against his chest. "He was inside for longer than me. Most importantly, I had you. As soon as I laid eyes on you… I had my answer."

He held her tightly, almost as if he feared that he would lose her forever if he let go.

The rain continued to fall even harder than before. Naruto was a bright beam of light that shot up into the Heavens. Soon, he reached the border of the sky itself, beyond the clouds. There was no rain here. He kept flying, shooting out from within the sky of the planet, where he felt himself being restrained by a protective spell formation.

He pulled a jade slip out of his bag of holding, and after the spell formation scanned it, it gradually released him. Without pausing for a moment, Naruto proceeded onward. Soon, he was out within the starry sky itself.

Surrounding him was nothing but glittering starlight. There was none of the mist that filled the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm. Everything was bright and clear, and the energy of Heaven and Earth was abundant.

His eyes flickered as he checked his cultivation base. At the moment, he only had one Soul Lamp which remained lit. His cultivation base was at the peak of the Ancient Realm.

After some thought, he became certain that the current level of his cultivation base was definitely different from what it had been in his vague memories. And yet, there were some things about it that seemed the same. However, there was no way to truly contemplate it. Over the past days, he had come to realize that if he tried to recollect certain things, it would cause splitting pain in his head and send his cultivation base into chaos.

He sighed, and his eyes flickered with determination and focus. Following the information which existed in his clear memories, he headed in the direction of the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

"I have to find some answers!" he thought, flying along at top speed. A few months later, after passing through multiple teleportation portals, he was about halfway to his destination.

The days of flying were draining his cultivation base, and yet he didn't consume any medicinal pills, nor did he perform any breathing exercises to absorb the energy of Heaven and Earth.

At a certain point, after enough of his cultivation base was drained, a warm current suddenly began to flow through him, originating in his chest. That current restored his cultivation base almost instantly.

Naruto was instantly enlivened, and rubbed his bag of holding, a strange look gleaming in his eyes.

During the months of travel, he produced the copper mirror on more than one occasion to study it. Although he never discovered anything in particular about it, he could sense the pulses of warmth coming out of it and flowing into his body. Although that energy seemed to vanish inside of him, he felt no sense of danger from it, and in fact, it made him feel happy.

For some reason, he eventually took the copper mirror out and hung it around his neck where it could touch his skin, and allowed the current to flow out from it into his body. It was almost as if it were trying to awaken something. Because of that sensation, Naruto would occasionally slip into somewhat of a daze. His eyesight would swim, and after a moment, everything would turn back to normal, and yet he continued to have the sensation that he was being yelled at, although he couldn't hear it clearly.

Most importantly, because of that flow, he didn't have any need to absorb energy from the starry sky. It always ensured that his cultivation base remained in top condition.

The result was that, from the moment he awakened in this starry sky, to the moment he returned to the Blue Sea Sect, to his current situation of flying through the starry sky, he had never consumed any medicinal pills or absorbed any of the local energy of Heaven and Earth.

Although he wasn't sure exactly why, he had the feeling that doing things that way was the best for him.

He patted the copper mirror hanging over his chest, and felt even more sure than ever that he needed to get back to the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm. That was where he would get his answers. He continued ever onward.

The Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm was actually quite a long ways away from the Blue Sea Sect, seemingly at the border of the entire Vast Expanse Cosmos. As he journeyed onward, he ran into quite a few cultivators, as well as numerous heavenly bodies.

At the moment, he was nearing the Dao of Water Sect.

He was hoping to take advantage of their teleportation portal to get closer to the Vast Expanse Society. The Vast Expanse Society was where he would be able to make his last teleportation, getting him very close to the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

"The Vast Expanse Society," he murmured. "That name sounds so familiar…." His clear memories were telling him that the Vast Expanse Society was one of the Hundred Sects of the Vast Expanse Cosmos, and in fact, was one of the top three most powerful sects in the entire organization.

It was a mysterious sect, which was constantly locked down by swirling mists that prevented its disciples from leaving the sect. However, when other sects wished to use their teleportation portal, all that was required was enough Immortal jade, and they would have access.

There were stories about the Vast Expanse Society in Naruto's memories. Supposedly, they had earned the disfavor of the exalted Allheaven, who, in his wrath, had sealed their sect with mist, almost like a curse.

"The exalted Allheaven…." Naruto suddenly stopped in place and began to search through his memories for information about the exalted Allheaven.

Allheaven was the guardian of the Vast Expanse Cosmos, a supreme entity who had supposedly created the entire place to begin with.

All sects offered wholehearted worship to statues of Allheaven, and according to the legends, the very energy of Heaven and Earth that cultivators used in their cultivation, was actually power from the exalted Allheaven.

Everything in existence, all living beings, were the people of Allheaven.

From generation to generation, for countless years, it had always been that way….

Within the Hundred Sects of the Vast Expanse Cosmos, being Chosen was not the ultimate glory. Only by acquiring the title 'Son of Allheaven' could one truly be considered doted upon by the world. A person with that title was a Chosen among Chosen!

"There is only one Son of Allheaven during a given period of time," Uzumaki

Hao thought. "Sometimes one every 10,000 years, sometimes one every 1,000 years. To date, there have been ninety-eight Sons of Allheaven, cultivators who have been blessed by the exalted Allheaven himself. It is only by cultivating the Dao of Allheaven that one can be doted upon by the world, to be worshiped by all cultivators, to be respected by all sects!" Naruto was panting. For some reason, after the memories became clear, he realized that he felt intensely opposed to the title 'Son of Allheaven'.

Shaking his head, he cleared his thoughts and proceeded along his way. Ten days later, he saw a planet up ahead of him in the starry sky.

It was blue, and it was just possible to determine that it was covered with water. It looked beautiful, and seemed to be teeming with life force.

"The Dao of Water Sect…." Naruto murmured. As he neared, he couldn't stop his heart from pounding as he remembered that a woman name Hinata lived here.

In his vague memories, he remembered being married to someone in the Mountain and Sea Realm who was just like her. At the moment, it was hard to get a grip on his thoughts, and also hard to tell whether or not he wished this place to be real or not.

If it was real, and he saw Hinata, then Hinata would be real. But if it wasn't real, then his heart would be filled with regret and bitterness.

It was with such complicated thoughts and feelings that Naruto drew ever closer to the Dao of Water Sect.

Their teleportation portal was not accessible to just anyone. Only members of the Hundred Sects were allowed access.

A stream of divine sense blocked Naruto's path, but when he pulled out his Blue Sea Sect identification medallion, a disciple flew out and looked him over. Before he could say anything, the disciple asked, "You want to use the teleportation portal to go to the Vast Expanse Society, and then the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm. Am I right?"

Naruto's eyes glittered, and he nodded. The disciple from the Dao of Water Sect sighed.

"I really don't know what the deal is with that Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm. You're not the first person to pass through here, you know. Lots of people have been trying to get to the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm." The disciple led Naruto down onto the planet itself, to a location where a spell formation had been set up above the surface of the water.

Naruto paid the tax, and as he waited for the spell formation to activate, he hesitated for a moment, then clasped hands to the disciple from the Dao of Water Sect.

"Fellow Daoist," he said, "may I ask… is Hinata in the sect?"

"Elder Sister Xu?" The disciple looked over at him. Realizing that there was something familiar about him, he studied him for a moment, then recognized him and laughed.

"Ah, I thought you looked familiar. So it's Fellow Daoist Uzumaki from the Blue Sea Sect." Apparently he knew all about the things which had occurred between Naruto and Hinata.

"If you want to see Elder Sister Xu, then you'll have to wait a bit. She usually comes to the teleportation portal around this time of day on her way to the East Sea to harvest Heavenwater Pearls for her cultivation."

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1509

Chapter 1509: Following the Crowd

Naruto clasped hands in thanks. After a moment, he decided not to step into the spell formation. Instead, he stood off to the side, waiting.

After about an hour passed, the disciples in charge of operating the spell formation were about to completely lose patience, when a beam of light appeared in the sky off in the distance.

"It's Elder Sister Xu!" Looks of awe and veneration appeared in the eyes of the nearby disciples, and they all clasped hands in greeting.

Naruto looked up at the woman in the beam of light. She wore white garments, and although she wasn't spectacularly beautiful, was pretty and emanated an indescribable air. She seemed a bit cold, but wasn't the completely unapproachable type.

Naruto looked at her, trembling. Suddenly, she slowed to a stop and looked down at him. Their gazes met.

Time seemed to stop. Hinata hovered there quietly, and instead of proceeding along on her way, she floated down toward the teleportation portal. The disciples from the Dao of Water Sect clasped hands respectfully as she landed in front of Naruto.

She looked coldly at Naruto, and from her expression, it seemed as if she had no connection to him whatsoever other than being a former acquaintance.

"Have you recovered?" Naruto asked suddenly.

"I was confused for a few days," she replied coolly, "but I can already tell the difference between reality and illusion."

After a moment, Naruto smiled and said, "Congratulations."

With that, he turned and stepped onto the spell formation.

It was at that point that Hinata spoke again. "Have you been well recently?"

He turned and looked back at her. "By recently, do you mean in the

Arcane Pocket Realm, or… in the Vast Expanse Cosmos?"

"You were inside the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm for a long time. Everything there was nothing more than a dream. Naruto, stop living in the illusion. It's time to wake up.

"The reason I came down to speak to you is that I have some news. The will of the exalted Allheaven will soon select the ninety-ninth generation Son of Allheaven. It will happen this year, and if you become the Son of Allheaven, then perhaps things can continue between us as they were meant to. However, considering the way you're acting now, I have the feeling that won't happen." She shook her head, gave him one last look, and then was gone.

Naruto stood in the spell formation as it activated, watching her leave. He could sense her coldness, and suddenly began to laugh. His laughter grew louder and louder as the spell formation rumbled, and then he vanished.

When he reappeared in the starry sky, he was still laughing. He laughed and laughed until the laughter turned into coughing. A glint of madness could be seen in his yes.

"Have I recovered? Chen Fan recovered. Hinata recovered. Everything that happened in the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm is just a dream? I don't believe it! Why do I have this pain in my heart? She's not Hinata!

"She's not…

"She's not…

"She's not!" Naruto threw his head back and laughed uproariously, his eyes glowing red. At the same time, the void around him distorted as countless invisible threads formed. They began to creep toward Naruto, as if to take advantage of his current state to bore into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

But then, all of a sudden, the copper mirror hanging on his chest sent a flowing current through him that was far hotter than before. It filled him, causing him to shudder and then calm down. The threads which had surrounded him then shrank back and vanished.

Naruto's mood gradually stabilized, and his eyes shone with a bright light. Something definitely felt wrong. His mood had changed too suddenly after encountering Hinata, and now that he thought back, he realized that he had seemed out of control, as if something were attempting to influence him.

He looked around, eyes narrowed, then flashed into motion, heading toward the Vast Expanse Society.

A few days later, he was in front of a huge planet, a planet that vastly exceeded the planets of the Dao of Water Sect and the Blue Sea Sect in size.

It was covered with swirling mists, making it impossible to see its surface. However, there was a satellite planet next to the main planet, which was where the teleportation portal was located.

Naruto looked at the planet that was the Vast Expanse Society, and the stabbing pain in his mind caused him to shake his head. He headed to the satellite planet, then entered the teleportation portal, and was gone.

A few days later, he finally arrived… at his final destination, the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm!

It was an enormous vortex which spun endlessly, sending intense rumbling sounds echoing out in all directions. Countless asteroids floated about in the area, upon which numerous cultivators could be seen, all of whom were closely studying the vortex.

Naruto looked at the vortex, and his mind spun. He flew onward, toward the vortex, and quite a few people noticed him and looked over.

He ignored them, keeping his eyes fixed on the vortex itself. Panting, he flew directly toward it, not pausing for even a moment.

Soon, he could hear people calling out, but he didn't pay them any heed. Then, even as he neared, he suddenly bounced off of an invisible barrier, a sealing power which prevented people from casually entering the vortex.

A boom echoed out as Naruto was rebuffed. He coughed up a mouthful of blood as he was sent flying back. When he looked up at the barrier, the vague memories inside of him sent so much pain stabbing into his mind that his face paled.

It was at this point that Naruto heard someone speak his name.

"Naruto?"

The owner of the voice seemed uncertain. Naruto turned and saw a fat fellow, expression quizzical. When their eyes met, he smiled wryly.

"It really is you. I'm Li Fugui! Oh, right, maybe you don't recognize me. We were good friends in the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm." The fat man sighed and looked sympathetically at Naruto.

"The fact that you've come here shows that you still haven't recovered. It was only recently that I myself was finally able to think clearly. I hope you can recover soon. Don't try to get back inside, by the way. We've all tried, and it's useless. The exalted Allheaven has sealed it up tight." Naruto looked at the man standing in front of him. Within his vague memories was another Fatty who looked almost exactly the same as this one.

"You've recovered too…." Naruto said, smiling bitterly.

"Yeah. Not just me. Remember Sakura, Sun Hai, and Wang Youcai? They've all recovered." Even as he spoke, he turned and waved his hand. A few beams of light appeared off in the distance, as familiar figures from his vague memories flew over.

There were Wang Youcai, Sun Hai, and… Sakura.

Sighing, the three of them looked at Naruto, as if they were also recalling everything which had occurred within the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm. That was especially true of Sakura, whose expression was hard to read as she looked at Naruto. It almost seemed as if she couldn't believe what had happened inside, as if it were impossible that she would become infatuated with Naruto.

"You know what?" Fatty said. "We're all Chosen from the Hundred Sects, and I think that since we all became friends in a dream, we might as well do the same thing in the real world!" He laughed.

"All of you recovered already?" Naruto asked.

Sun Hai nodded his head, as did everyone else. The sympathy in their eyes was clear.

"We've all recovered," Sun Hai said. "Everyone did…. You know, you should go spend some time with some of the others. After all, we all were connected by destiny within the dream. Oh right, in the illusion, Namikaze Yu was your sister." Sun Hai sighed.

Naruto's mind was reeling. He looked around at all of the asteroids, at the dozens of people there, and every one of the faces was familiar. In fact, one of them belonged to his older sister Namikaze Yu.

He saw his parents, his Master Pill Demon, Taiyang Zi, Li Ling'er, Fan Dong'er, and Zhixiang….

Head pounding, he followed Fatty around to go meet everyone, all of these people who existed in his memories. When they laid eyes on him, they sighed, and spoke emotionally of the things which had happened in the dream world.

A few days later, Naruto had gone to talk to everyone. Finally, he sat down on an asteroid and stared blankly at the sealed vortex. Everyone here had already recovered. Naruto was the only one who was still confused.

He suddenly felt very alone. The perplexity he was experiencing led him to question himself. If one person tried to convince him that what he had experienced was an illusory dream, he would never question himself.

But it wasn't a single person. It was two, three, ten, a hundred. Countless people were all telling him the same thing, and as such, he couldn't help but question himself.

"Don't tell me… it really was all a dream…?" he murmured.

"Of course it was," Fatty said. He sat down next to Naruto on the asteroid. Taking a deep breath, he handed a flagon of alcohol over to Naruto. He held a flagon of his own, from which he took a long swig.

The vortex continued to spin. Although they were located somewhere far out in the starry sky, it didn't feel any different than if they were sitting on a planet.

Naruto held the alcohol flagon in his hand. Instead of drinking, he sat there quietly for a while, and then began to chuckle bitterly.

"Ah well, I guess it doesn't matter…." He said, shaking his head. At the moment, the copper mirror hanging at his chest was sending out so much heat it was burning his skin. And yet, he didn't seem to notice. He raised the flagon up to take a drink. Because the flagon covered his eyes, he had no way to notice that everyone in the area, Fatty, Sun Hai, Wang Youcai, Sakura, Li Ling'er, Fatty, and even his parents and Pill Demon… were all looking at him, watching, waiting for him to take a drink!

And that was when something completely unexpected happened!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1510

Chapter 1510: Strange Occurrences!

Just when Naruto was about to place the flagon on his lips and take a drink, a beam of light appeared off in the distance, approaching with shocking speed. Its target was apparently not Naruto, but the vortex that made up the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

As soon as Naruto saw that beam of light, he shot to his feet. It was a middle-aged man with disheveled hair. Despite his appearance, he radiated an air of imposing dignity. He moved with incredible speed, almost instantly slamming into the barrier that protected the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

A boom rang out, and everything shook. The man coughed up some blood. Eyes bloodshot, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"You've sealed the Vast Expanse so no one can enter? Blocked the way? Fine!

"I've been dead for ages, but I've always done things my own way. You think you can project my soul here and force me to deceive my foster son? I'm afraid… that won't be happening!" The man continued to laugh, then suddenly turned to look at Naruto.

When Naruto saw who it was, his mind began to spin with shock.

"Dad…." he cried involuntarily.

This middle-aged man was not his birth father Namikaze Xiufeng, but rather, his foster father, Paragon of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect in the Ninth Mountain and Sea… Ke Yunhai!

They had met within true spirit Night's memory of ancient times, a place Naruto originally thought was all an illusion, but turned out to have affected the real world.

Back then, Ke Yunhai knew that Naruto wasn't his son Jiusi, and yet loved him anyway! That was the first time in his life he had ever felt fatherly love.

The memories exploded within Naruto's mind, becoming clearer by the moment. He trembled as his vision suddenly swam.

Ke Yunhai looked over at him and smiled warmly. Laughing, he said, "Hao'er, you need to see things clearly. Everything here is a sham. If I die, I can prove this place is definitely a trick. If I don't die, then it would equally prove that this is a trick to deceive you. Because I… already died long ago!" Ke Yunhai spun in place, and as Naruto looked on, trembling, he slammed his head into the barrier. He moved with incredible speed, drawing fully upon his own life energy. A huge boom echoed out. As he hit the barrier, the barrier struck back with shocking power to stop him.

In that moment, he called out, "Hao'er, my foster son. Remember that the Heavenly Dao has a flaw. There is nothing perfect in the world, and nothing can be without blemish. All of this is in your heart!

"Everyone here said that I couldn't see things clearly. That was true. But

I would still prefer to die to give you a chance to see the truth!"

Power slammed into Ke Yunhai, and he was instantly shredded into a mass of blood and gore that splashed out in all directions.

He used his death to reveal the truth!

He used his death to give Naruto a chance to pierce through the veil of lies!

He used his death to prove that he was right!

Naruto threw down the alcohol flagon. Power raged within him as he looked at the spot where Ke Yunhai had died in a haze of blood. The words he had spoken caused Naruto to tremble. His eyes turned red, and his aura erupted.

"Dad…." he said, trembling, tears streaming down his face. Moments ago, he had been ready to give in. That attitude instantly vanished. His doubts regarding the world he was in instantly grew stronger. He began to pant and shake, and as he stared at the blood mist, and thought about Ke Yunhai, more tears flowed.

His mind felt like it was about to explode from the countless strands of thought which were lurking hidden therein. It was as if those thoughts were about to flood out to fill every part of his being. Suddenly, light began to shine out from within him, and yet at the same time, a pressure appeared in the local starry sky.

That pressure arrived without any warning, and completely enveloped Naruto. It suppressed him, as well as the countless thoughts that seemed to be on the verge of forming.

The power of awakening and the power of the pressure were using his body as a battleground. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he staggered in place as his thoughts were crushed.

He looked down, his face pale, at his chest, which now was wracked with stabbing pain. The copper mirror was sending a flowing current into him, filling his body, causing him to pant. He looked up, eyes bright red.

Numerous sighs could be heard, as everyone, including Fatty, looked on with complicated expressions.

"I never would have thought that Ke Yunhai would have the hardest time waking up, and not Naruto…."

"Yeah, that's right. That's what happens when you don't recover, when you can't tell the difference between reality and fantasy…."

At this point, just about everyone began talking to Naruto.

"Naruto, did you see that? He went crazy. You can't let yourself stay confused. Everything in the Vast Expanse was an illusion, a dream."

"If you don't pull yourself together, you'll end up like that! Your mind will shatter!"

"Naruto, wake up!"

"Naruto, why can't you see things clearly? That guy, whoever he was, was stuck in the dream for too long, and thus couldn't face up to reality. I know you, and I can tell that you were close to him somehow, but you can't let that affect you!"

"Naruto, all the relationships and friendships from the dream weren't real! You have to wake up to reality!"

Naruto's mind felt as if it were spinning; the battle between the awakening memories and the suppressing pressure reached a boiling point, and finally, he looked up and shouted, "Shut up!"

His words echoed out like thunder. Suddenly, the aura of the 9-Essences level exploded out, filling the area. Naruto clutched his head in his hands, then roared.

"Shut up!

"Shut up!

"SHUT UP!"

He threw his head back and howled, creating a sonic attack that mixed with the power of the 9-Essences level. Rumbling filled the area as the sound wave swept out, transforming countless asteroids into nothing but ash. Numerous figures, never having imagined that Naruto would unleash an explosive attack like this, were battered by the sound wave, shaking violently until they exploded.

Fatty, Sakura, Li Ling'er, Fan Dong'er, Namikaze Yu, Sun Hai…. One figure after another from Naruto's memories were eradicated.

The instant they died, the air distorted, as if a roar of rage was rippling through the area, as if the source of that roar had been completely unaware that Naruto would do something like this.

Everything in the area vanished. Naruto coughed up some more blood. Hair disheveled, he looked around at the void, and the ash that was the remnants of the dead. Then he began to chuckle hoarsely, a laughter that rapidly turned more and more bitter.

He looked over at the barrier which sealed off the vortex, and began to fly toward it.

"My death will prove whether or not this is a trick!" His head throbbed as his bitter laughter echoed out. In the blink of an eye, he had reached the barrier. Boom!

Instantly, a Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power blasted back against him, send him flying. His bones were crushed, and his flesh was shredded.

And yet, he didn't die….

He struggled to right himself, and once again shot toward the barrier. It was at this point that an enraged roar echoed out. It was his Master and Chen Fan, as well as numerous others from the Blue Sea Sect. His wife was also there.

Chen Fan grabbed Naruto, and his wife threw her arms around him, tears streaming down her face.

"Naruto, have you gone crazy!?" Chen Fan roared. The others from the Blue Sea Sect came forward to restrain Naruto.

He looked at them, as well as at his wife and his Master. Finally he turned to Chen Fan. He wasn't sure what to say. He opened his mouth to speak, but then simply coughed up some blood and lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he was back in the Blue Sea Sect. His wife was standing protectively next to him, her eyes sunken with worry and anxiety.

Naruto lay there quietly. His eyes seemed empty. People came to visit, but those empty eyes never changed. He didn't speak, and in fact, spent most of the day by the window looking out at Heaven and Earth. No one had any idea what he was thinking.

He was the only one that was aware that the flow from the copper mirror was growing stronger. At first, it had pulsed out only once a month or so. But now, it pulsed out many times. Furthermore, his view of the world constantly rippled, as if what he was looking at was about to be peeled away to reveal something beneath.

The warm flow made its way through his body, but did nothing to heal any of his injuries, not that he cared about them to begin with. He simply stared out the window.

The consequences for slaughtering Fatty and the others were already playing out. The other sects were furious, and had joined forces to try to force the Blue Sea Sect to hand over Naruto.

The Blue Sea Sect had refused to give in, and thus, a war began.

The fighting escalated rapidly. Soon, the rumbling of battle could be heard on the Blue Sea Sect's planet. Countless disciples died. Some of the allied sects had already managed to fight their way into the Blue Sea Sect itself.

The sound of explosions filled the world, but Naruto didn't care. Nor did he care about the looks cast upon him by his wife, or the other fellow disciples. They were looks of concern, anxiety, reproach, and even hatred.

Naruto didn't respond to such looks.

Gradually, voices rang out within the sect itself, calling for Naruto to be handed over. However, his Master, Chen Fan, and other fellow disciples vowed to die before doing such a thing. Naruto watched this happen silently. Inside, he could feel ripples of emotion when he saw what was happening, but he violently suppressed them.

He wanted to see exactly how far things would go.

Eventually, a month later, the allied sects broke through the main gate of the Blue Sea Sect. Slaughter ensued. Naruto watched his wife sustain serious injuries protecting him. He watched a flying sword stab into his son's forehead. As the boy died, he cried out weakly for his father. Naruto ignored that, although he trembled with grief.

"Enough, enough…." he said, laughing bitterly.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1511

Chapter 1511: I'm Naruto!

The Blue Sea Sect wasn't exterminated. Even as Naruto stood there silently, grief filling his eyes, his heart trembling, a will spread out that caused all the bitterly fighting cultivators to suddenly drop to their knees.

It was the will of Allheaven, which became a radiant, seven-colored light that filled the starry sky.

It wasn't just in the location of the Blue Sea Sect; it actually spread out to cover all of the Hundred Sects in the Vast Expanse Cosmos….

"Oh ye people of mine…." It was an ancient voice that filled the minds of all cultivators in the Vast Expanse Cosmos, and told them that from this moment on, slaughter was not permitted.

The dispute was over. And that was because… the identity of the ninetyninth generation Son of Allheaven was soon to be announced.

The majestic will told all people and all sects that in a mere half-year, the trial by fire to win the title of Son of Allheaven would begin, a grand battle royale. In the end, only one person… would be named the ninetyninth generation Son of Allheaven.

That person would receive the blessing of Allheaven, and would represent Allheaven to step into the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm and accomplish a very special mission….

The voice faded away, and the light became countless motes that rained down onto the Hundred Sects of the Vast Expanse Cosmos. Any location with cultivators experienced that rain of light.

They were Allheaven seeds, and any cultivator who wished to participate in the trial by fire to become the Son of Allheaven needed to absorb one of them in order to qualify.

The disciples from the allied sects withdrew. None of them dared to countermand the orders of Allheaven. Not a single one hesitated for even a moment.

Thus, the war ended.

Silence replaced the bitterness in the Blue Sea Sect. It was almost as if everyone forgot about the bloody, bitter battle which had just been raging. All of the remaining disciples and Elders of the sect gathered together. With the exception of the very old, everyone was given an Allheaven seed.

One of them was delivered to Naruto by Chen Fan.

"Still confused I see," Chen Fan said bitterly. "You don't care how many people died in your sect, do you? Even your own son…. I thought you said none of this was real, and that only what you experienced in the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm was real." Various emotions could be heard in his voice.

"Well, absorb this seed. Once you become the Son of Allheaven, you can go back into the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm. Then you can see for yourself what is real and what is not!" Chen Fan placed the Allheaven seed in front of Naruto, then stood there, waiting for Naruto to absorb it. Everyone else looked on with varied expressions. Some had hatred in their eyes, some seemed torn. All seemed to rue the war which had been sparked by Naruto.

Naruto looked at the Allheaven seed, and shivered. His wife was off in the distance, holding their dead son. She was giggling madly, seemingly in a daze.

Naruto stood there silently. He picked up the seed and examined it. It wriggled. Just as Chen Fan had said, by absorbing this seed, Naruto could become the Son of Allheaven. He could go back into the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

And yet, the current flowing into him from the copper mirror continued to grow hotter. It seemed to have reached a critical juncture, as if it were about to fuse with him. The indistinct voice he could hear was growing clearer by the moment.

His vision swam, and he suddenly saw a different version of himself. He saw himself sitting there cross-legged in the Blue Sea Sect. He saw himself absorb the seed and participate in the fight to become the Son of Allheaven. He took first place, and was named the Son of Allheaven.

That different version of himself offered formal greetings to Allheaven. The will of Allheaven filled his body, causing the seed to grow. It soon filled him through and through, after which he entered the Vast Expanse Arcane Pocket Realm.

As soon as he entered, he saw a beautiful woman. As soon as she caught sight of him, she smiled.

"Like I said, once you returned, you would be the Son of Allheaven."

A tremor ran through Naruto. The dream suddenly ended, shattering to pieces. He opened his eyes, and everything became clear. The seed was still laying there on his palm. Even as he looked at it, it began to melt, as if it were about to bore into his flesh.

The heat from the copper mirror grew hotter than it ever had. It filled Naruto's body, whereupon a bronze lamp appeared. Apparently, it had always been there, somehow concealed from Naruto's perception. Now that it was visible, it began to shine brightly, sending out light that prevented anything from entering him.

As the light filled him, the confusion in his eyes faded away. His mind filled with crackling sounds. He thought about Ke Yunhai, and he thought about how Fatty and all the others had died. He thought about how his son had been killed, along with so many other fellow sect members.

But then, those memories became somewhat indistinct. At the same time, it was as if a veil had been ripped from his mind. Memories of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, and the Mountain and Sea Realm, flooded into his mind. The voice which had been calling out to him so indistinctly was now as clear as crystal.

That voice was his own, and it was speaking four simple words!

"I am Naruto," he murmured. He looked at Chen Fan, and his eyes clear, lacking any confusion whatsoever. Sighing, he rose to his feet. "Elder Brother Chen Fan, I am no longer confused."

He looked over at his wife, his gaze warm.

Chen Fan seemed more torn than ever, as though he were sighing inwardly. Naruto's wife shivered in response to his words. Tears streaming down her face, she rushed over and embraced him.

"There there, everything's fine…." Naruto said softly. More tears flowed as she held him tightly, as if she feared that loosening her grip would cause him to leave forever.

Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, but he seemed completely calm as he looked down at his wife.

No one knew that after his eyes opened just now, his view of the world became completely different.

The sky was no longer clear, but rather, was full of mist. The mountains were not lush and green; they were barren and empty. The beautifully decorated architecture of the sect was now nothing more than crumbled ruins.

His wife was actually a dessicated corpse, as was virtually everyone else in the sect. What had once been flourishing spiritual energy was really the sinister aura of death and an aroma of decay.

His son, the eight-year-old boy, was actually not a boy. He was a dwarf, and also a dessicated corpse. His eye sockets didn't contain eyes, only writhing black maggots.

In all of Heaven and Earth, there was only one other person besides Naruto who was different. Chen Fan.

Naruto looked around at everything, then closed his eyes.

His wife was smiling, seemingly elated that her husband had finally recovered. She was just about to say something when…

Naruto reached up and stroked her hair, his gaze warmer than ever. However, if you looked very closely, you would see a tiny flicker of pity in his eyes.

"Little Junior Brother," Chen Fan said, looking more torn than ever, "you need to absorb that Allheaven seed as soon as possible. I'll–"

"Elder Brother Chen Fan," Naruto interrupted calmly, "even after some contemplation, I can't think of any time that I ever let you down. Not once. I've always respected you, and no matter what happened, you have always been my Eldest Brother." Naruto held his wife and looked over at Chen Fan.

Chen Fan's heart thumped, and he was just about to say something else, when Naruto's voice spoke out, seemingly filled with magical power.

"I cannot forget! I cannot forget those things which you say are illusions. I cannot forget that which exists in my mind. If those real things are actually illusions, a mere dream… then I would rather sink into that dream than ever wake up." He felt his wife suddenly go stiff. His eyes filled with pity as he suddenly pushed his hand down hard onto her back.

Under the shocked glances of all present, that simple movement severed his wife's aura and exterminated her soul. Naruto slowly rose to his feet.

"It's better to release you," he said softly. "That way no one can control your corpse or soul after death."

The surrounding crowds were as shocked as if they had been struck by lightning. After a moment of silence, enraged howls rose up, and their bloodshot eyes filled with shock and fear.

The sect Elders took to flight. The Sect Leader and even the Dao Realm experts were flabbergasted.

"Naruto!" Chen Fan roared in disbelief.

At the same time, an anguished cry rose up from Naruto's Master, who was also his father-in-law. He flew over, trembling, staring first at his daughter's corpse, and then at Naruto. Coughing up a mouthful of blood, he began to laugh, and then lunged at Naruto.

Naruto's eyes were calm. The world had completely transformed. As of this moment, he was not being attacked by a middle-aged man, but rather, a corpse, a corpse with a huge, empty hole in its chest….

Naruto sighed and closed his eyes. Just when the man was almost upon him, Naruto opened his eyes again. Although they were still bloodshot, the pupils were now crimson. He clenched his right hand into a fist and punched out, shredding his Master into a haze of blood and gore.

That was the battle prowess of the peak 9-Essences level, which exploded out from Naruto.

"Elder Brother Uzumaki is bedeviled!"

"Kill him!" Roars of fury and rage echoed out from the mouths of the Elders. As they charged toward Naruto, his eyes flickered with pity, and he moved forward. He became a blur, and every person he encountered, regardless of the level of their cultivation base, was destroyed in body and mind by the single flick of a finger.

Soon, all Heaven and Earth was sinking into darkness. Miserable shrieks rose up. Wherever Naruto went, death followed. Blood flowed across the ground, and bodies could be seen everywhere.

However, what Naruto saw was a bit different. The blood which flowed was not red, but rather black and filthy. Furthermore, the corpses which lay in his wake had been corpses long before he struck them down.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1512

Chapter 1512: It All Falls Apart!

Everything was quiet in the sect. Only Naruto and Chen Fan remained standing.

"Naruto, y-you…" Chen Fan was trembling in disbelief at everything which had just occurred. His eyes were filled with grief, rage, and conflict.

Naruto looked around at the corpses and sighed. Then he looked at the Allheaven seed which was trying to force its way into his palm, and crushed it!

Chen Fan looked at Naruto, his expression torn. "You exterminated your own sect! Killed your own wife and Master! All because of a world that's an illusion? Was all this worth it, Naruto?"

Naruto looked up at him. "Chen Fan, I've always respected you as my Elder Brother…. Enough with the act. You have your path that you must follow. I'm not sure why you did this, although I'm sure you have your reasons. I can't blame you. I have my own path too."

Chen Fan stood there silently, bitterly. Finally, he smiled, a bitter, conflicted smile that gradually grew more resolute. "He promised me that as long as you lost yourself in here, my Ling'er would truly be resurrected. To him, something like that is as easy as flipping over a hand.

"Naruto, I, Chen Fan, have done anything and everything to truly resurrect my Ling'er. After all the years which have passed, this was my only hope…. Therefore, you have the right to blame me. You can even hate me. Naruto… I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…."

Now Naruto also looked torn. Various memories flitted through his mind as he looked at Chen Fan. He knew that the Ling'er Chen Fan referred to was none other than Shan Ling from the Solitary Sword Sect.

Naruto shook his head, ignoring Chen Fan as he contemplated the danger he had just been in. If it weren't for the copper mirror, for the enlightenment provided by the death of his foster father Ke Yunhai, and his own unimaginable willpower… he would surely have lost himself in here and become exactly what Han Bei had described. He would have returned to her side as the Son of Allheaven.

It was time to leave. He took a step forward and made a ripping gesture with his hand. Rumbling echoed out as a rift was torn open into the air in front of him, which he prepared to step through.

"Naruto, you can't leave!" cried Chen Fan, tears streaming down his face. "You have to stay!" His eyes filled with determination, with obsessed focus. He lifted his hands up, and the world shook. Apparently, a will was descending, a will which then flowed into Chen Fan himself.

Chen Fan's energy skyrocketed, and his cultivation base power soared. Blue veins bulged out on his face, and he shook visibly. His eyes turned crimson, and seemed to suddenly lack conscious thought. Only obsession remained.

Suddenly, he turned into a blur that shot toward Naruto. He lifted his right hand, whereupon Heaven and Earth seemed to back him, and the starry sky seemed to exist within his hands. Apparently, the will of Allheaven had taken over Chen Fan's body, and was using him as its shell to act within the world.

Rumbling echoed out, and Naruto fell back. Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth, and his eyes shone with grief. The person in front of him was his Elder Brother, someone he had known all the way back in the Reliance Sect. Back on Planet South Heaven, he had almost been like a blood brother to him.

But now, they had no option other than to fight.

There could be no holding back or surrendering. Chen Fan could not retreat. He had gambled everything, all in the hopes of resurrecting his wife.

Neither could Naruto retreat. If he was defeated, he would be lost in this place, and would lose everything. This place was both real and false. The objects were real; what was false was that they existed, not in the present, but the past.

Naruto smiled bitterly. He slapped his chest with his palm, and the copper mirror flew out, transforming into innumerable black threads which spread out to cover his entire body in a suit of armor. The Battle Weapon appeared in his hand, and he transformed into a beam of light that shot toward Chen Fan.

Incredible rumbling echoed out. Heaven and Earth were shattered, and mountains were transformed into rubble. The sect became nothing more than ash as the two of them rose up into the starry sky as they battled.

Chen Fan was fighting with the power of the will of Allheaven, and the divine ability he unleashed was bizarre. Unexpectedly, it was… a memory magic!

It was a deceptively unthreatening magic that targeted specific memories in Naruto's mind, causing all of the versions of Chen Fan which existed there to simultaneously attack him.

It wasn't just the current Naruto that was being targeted, it was all of the different versions of him throughout history, including Planet South Heaven and the Reliance Sect.

When put into words, it is a difficult thing to describe, but the end result was that even as Chen Fan and Naruto fought in reality, countless stabs of pain filled Naruto's mind.

He felt his memories diverging from reality, as if all of his memories of Chen Fan were rising up and exploding. This magical technique was no mere divine ability, it was a Dao which went far beyond any sort of natural or magical law.

It was something the likes of which Naruto had never before experienced.

However, he knew that the only way to vanquish Chen Fan was to defeat him in all of the past memories that existed in his mind.

As they fought in reality, Naruto thought back to the time when the

33 Heavens were about to descend upon the Mountain and Sea Realm. Even as he prepared to defend the Mountains and Seas, Chen Fan suddenly attacked him.

At the same time, back on Planet South Heaven, Naruto was visiting Chen Fan in his sect. They were drinking in front of the rock that was Shan Ling, when suddenly, Chen Fan's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he slashed his sword out at Naruto.

Simultaneously, he was back in the lands of South Heaven, shortly after leaving the Reliance Sect. He had just arrived in the heart of the Southern Domain when he was reunited with Chen Fan. Chen Fan was delighted to see him, but then, his face twisted viciously, and he attacked.

They were back in the Reliance Sect, when all of the other great sects came to try to seize the Sublime Spirit Scripture. As the other disciples were taken away, Naruto stood alone on the mountaintop, watching bitterly as a middle-aged man from the Solitary Sword Sect asked Chen Fan if he wanted to be taken as a disciple of his sect.

Chen Fan was just about to respond when his eyes flickered. Without

any warning, he suddenly turned and attacked Naruto.

There was another moment in which Naruto and Chen Fan were sitting together in the Reliance Sect. Chen Fan was introducing the sect to Naruto, when suddenly, his eyes flashed with coldness, and he attacked.

Back on the very day Naruto had joined the sect, he and Fatty were there together being escorted into the servants district, when suddenly a blur appeared, shooting down from one of the mountain tops. That blur shot directly toward Naruto, intent on killing him.

All of these things happened at the same time. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as he watched himself be killed by Chen Fan over and over again, and simultaneously, watched himself kill Chen Fan over and over again. The memories piled up onto one another, and at the same time, their real fight intensified.

The memories of them fighting transformed into seeds, seeds which, by means of some unique fashion, were implanted into his mind.

"Naruto," Chen Fan cried, "become the Son of Allheaven. Become the Emissary of Allheaven. Get rid of your pain! All of this has been foreordained!" Then he roared: "Allheaven Transformation!"

A boom could be heard as his muscles and blood evaporated. He was left as nothing more than skin and bones, and the resulting bloody mist was filled with the will of Allheaven as it surged out to cover Naruto.

At the same time, the seeds inside of Naruto exploded, likewise turning into a mist which disseminated the will of Allheaven. The mist spread out, as if to infect Naruto inside and out with the will of Allheaven, to force him to become both the Son and Emissary of Allheaven.

Just when Naruto was about to fight back, he realized that the power of his own bloodline was doing nothing to defend him. In fact, it was even possible to say that his blood was perfectly suited to be able to act as a host for the will of Allheaven.

It was even the same with the Demonic Chakra inside of him!

It was as if everything about him had been prepared specifically for the will of Allheaven. If the will of Allheaven had entered the body of any other person, the process would not have occurred so efficiently.

It was as if this were the perfect possession, as if Naruto truly had been prepared specifically for the will of Allheaven.

In and out, whether it was the bloodline or the Demonic qi, whether it was within his memories or without, the will of Allheaven exploded, and Naruto seemed powerless to do anything about it. But then, the will of Allheaven suddenly lurched to a halt.

That will could occupy his soul, his blood, and even his Demonic qi. However, as it spread out through him, attempting to take control, it encountered fierce resistance.

That resistance came from the bronze lamp!

Furthermore, his body had been remoulded by the bronze lamp itself, and was therefore not perfectly suitable for the will of Allheaven. Because of that, at this most critical of moments, the will of Allheaven suddenly stopped moving.

In that moment, the flame of the bronze lamp ignited, causing a majestic glow to spread out and to fight the will of Allheaven. The two seemed as incompatible as fire and water.

As that happened, the seemingly boundless will of Allheaven that existed in Heaven and Earth tried to force its way into Naruto to eradicate the flame of the bronze lamp.

It was a critical juncture. Naruto coughed up a mouthful of blood, and his eyes shone with red light. In the same moment that the bronze lamp and the will of Allheaven began to contend with each other, he extended his right hand and then made a sharp chopping motion at himself! "Hexing magic: Karmic Hexing!"

Astonishingly, he was using Demon Sealing Hexing magic to find Chen Fan's Karma. Countless Karma Threads appeared on his head, among which was a pitch-black strand that connected him to Chen Fan.

"Sever!" He roared, slashing down onto the thread with the Battle Weapon!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1513

Chapter 1513: Five Pillars!

Without the bronze lamp, Naruto's Karmic Hexing would have been incapable of affecting his memories of Chen Fan, which were the extension of the will of Allheaven. But now that the bronze lamp had tied up the will of Allheaven, Naruto made his move, thus putting an end to the final bit of dangerous power being levied against him.

Moments ago, they had been on equal footing, but now that changed as the Battle Weapon completely destroyed Chen Fan's Karma Thread.

Now, no Karma existed at all between Naruto and Chen Fan. All of the images of Chen Fan within his memories were forcibly wiped away.

The seeds that had been formed by the will of Allheaven let out roars of rage as the brilliant light from the bronze lamp swept over them, driving them out.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and he suddenly seemed much older. Even the slightest mistake moments ago would have resulted in him being wiped out of existence.

He thought back to the Emissary of Allheaven, Song Daozi, who had stepped outside the Vast Expanse with a cultivation base half a step into Transcendence, and had returned as the Emissary of Allheaven.

He could well imagine Song Daozi facing a similar situation as he had.

And yet, even being half a step into Transcendence, he had been unable to avoid the fate which awaited him. Naruto knew that without the bronze lamp, he would likely have walked the same path as Song Daozi.

As the will of Allheaven was forcibly severed from Naruto, Heaven and Earth began to shake violently, tearing rifts open throughout the starry sky.

Amidst the rumbling, the rifts opened up longer and wider, spreading out in all directions. As for Chen Fan, he was there in front of Naruto, his body withered up. He looked at Naruto, and smiled. It was a smile of grief, pain, and release.

"Naruto, your Elder Brother let you down!" Chen Fan let out a roar, then smashed his hand viciously down onto his own forehead.

Naruto's face fell, and he moved forward to intervene, but Chen Fan was too fast. A boom rang out, and Chen Fan exploded. He was killed in body and mind.

For the sake of Shan Ling, he had turned a blind eye to the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm. He had chosen to turn on his little Junior Brother, to cooperate with the will of Allheaven to try to erase his mind. In the end, he had even gone so far as to allow the memories in Naruto's mind to be infected by the seeds of the will of Allheaven.

Despite all that he had done, Chen Fan had never been cruel and merciless. Hesitation had always lurked in his heart as guilt.

In the end, when it was obvious how things would end, he didn't even have the face to look at Naruto. In his bitterness, he chose simply to end his own life. Perhaps his death could be some form of compensation.

Naruto quietly looked at the spot where Chen Fan had died, heart aching with bitterness. Even though Chen Fan had chosen to attack him, Naruto didn't feel any hatred for him. Nowadays, he had fewer friends than ever, and he cherished all of them.

Chen Fan's death caused the destruction of the surrounding world to speed up. Soon, ear-splitting rumbling sounds could be heard as everything fell to pieces.

When that happened it was like a veil being lifted away, revealing… what was truly outside the Vast Expanse.

Everything was barren. There was no mist like in the Vast Expanse, nor were there any signs of life. Everything was in ruins, and filled with an aura of death.

Wreckage and corpses were strewn about. There was also dust that floated there eternally.

Long ago, this truly had been the Vast Expanse Cosmos, with the Hundred Sects and countless cultivators. That was all true….

But now, their glory had faded into nothing.

It was an enormous place, but even still, it was possible to make out something very far off in the distance. There were five pillars which seemed impossibly high, stretching up into the starry sky.

This was not Naruto's first time seeing the five pillars. Back in the underground tunnel in the necropolis, he had seen them via divine sense. This time, though, he was able to see them with his own two eyes. 1

However, there was something different about them this time…. Back in the fresco, all five pillars had stood strong and tall. But now, three of them had been destroyed!

Only two of them were whole as they stretched up into the starry sky.

Naruto looked at them quietly for a moment, and then his eyes glittered. Because of his bloodline, his Demonic qi, and also because of everything that had happened in the Mountain and Sea Realm, he had already guessed much of the truth.

"A plot which was hatched long, long ago.

"The Allheaven bloodlines. Apparently they were created for the express purpose of benefiting Allheaven!

"And the Demon… comes from the Immortal. I'm not the first Demon. There were many before me. All of them transformed in the moment when they were about to become the Immortal. And the Demon… is what Allheaven wants to appear.

"Perhaps I'm thinking of things in a bit of a one-sided fashion. Perhaps in all of the years in which this starry sky has existed, the true Demon has never actually appeared. Perhaps in the critical moment, Allheaven stopped them all." Naruto couldn't help but think of Song Daozi.

He looked thoughtfully at the enormous pillars, then began to fly in their direction at top speed.

Time passed. He wasn't sure how long he had flown, but he kept getting closer and closer. Eventually, he reached the location of one of the destroyed pillars. As he hovered there, he sensed an aura which could shake Heaven and Earth. It was not the aura of the Immortal or the Demon, but rather, the Devil!

As soon as he sensed the Devil aura, he thought of the Devil Realm Continent. Then, he slowly reached his hand out toward the indescribably large column, and gently pushed down onto its surface.

This part is in spoiler tags because it contains general descriptions of the endings of Renegade Immortal and Beseech the Devil. The descriptions are not very detailed, but I know some readers hate spoilers. Please note that because this is part of the story, it actually DOES NOT COUNT as spoiler content for purposes of discussion in the comments on the chapter. If you usually participate in the comments, but want to avoid spoilers about this section, I suggest avoiding the comments section for this chapter.

The instant his hand made contact, he saw the image of a person who radiated a powerful, deathly aura. He had thrown his head back and was howling.

That person was born inside of a sinister, deathly vortex. His body and his soul were separated, and then countless years later, he emerged from the vortex, giving rise to a storm that shook the world. In the end, he stepped onto nine World-Butterflies, spread his hand, and caused the starry sky to shake. A strange and bizarre aura spread out from him to fill the starry sky, leaving Naruto's mind reeling.

That energy was enough to cause Heaven and Earth to dim, heavenly bodies to fall, and the starry sky to bow its head.

Naruto watched as the person transformed into a land mass, sacrificing himself for everyone he knew.

Next, innumerable years passed. Eventually, the man who had transformed into a land mass emerged once again. He left that land mass and traveled outside the Vast Expanse. His expression was one of pain as he saw the starry sky there transform into a huge hand which grabbed toward him.

Light flashed as the young man destroyed one of the hand's fingers. Then, he left the area outside the Vast Expanse, disappearing far off into the distance.

As for the destroyed finger, that was the ruined column which Naruto was now in front of.

"Transcendent cultivator. He was definitely a Transcendent cultivator…." Naruto pulled back his hand, and his eyes shone with a strange light. Based on his judgement, he was sure that the young man he had seen inside the column… was a Transcendent cultivator from the Devil Realm Continent.

He wasn't sure of the young man's name, but based on the aura he had sensed, Naruto now had a much better understanding of Transcendence in general.

He flickered into motion, flying toward the next destroyed column. Time passed. Eventually, he reached the second column, whereupon he took a deep breath, reached out, and placed his hand onto its surface.

The moment he touched it, his mind filled with rumbling sounds. He saw a young man born in a mountain village. He caused massive chaos on the planet upon which he was born. He killed his way into forging a shocking legend, and slaughtered his way to becoming a Paragon in his Realm!

Later, he walked a difficult path. In order to resurrect his wife, he left carnage in his wake as he fought to the pinnacle. He shook the entire starry sky when he Transcended.

Almost as soon as Naruto laid eyes on the young man, he was shaken. He couldn't help but think of Slaughter, and of the time-walking technique Slaughter had taught him.

The young man in the column, and Slaughter, both looked exactly like the statue on the Immortal God Continent….

His expression was cold as he looked up into the starry sky. The wave of his hand, caused the heavenly bodies to shift, and the starry sky to be torn open. He stepped outside of the Vast Expanse, and also destroyed one of the fingers, before disappearing into the distance.

[collapse]

Naruto was left panting. When he pulled his hand away, he looked at the destroyed column with a complicated expression. After a long moment, he turned and headed toward the next column.

This column was not destroyed. It was one of the two that stretched high up into the starry sky!

When he reached out to touch it, he saw nothing inside except for emptiness. There was no Transcendent cultivator, but there was shocking Immortal qi, which was apparently brewing inside of the column. Just visible within the Immortal Chakra were countless images, all of which seemed to depict people.

"Those people were all cultivating the magic of Immortality, and were on the path to becoming the Immortal!

"There has never been a Transcendent Immortal…." Naruto murmured. After examining it further, he realized that the column was weak, almost to the point of collapse. If the true Immortal ever appeared, it was likely that the column would immediately be destroyed.

Naruto pulled his hand away. After some more thought, he began to fly toward the fourth column, which was the final destroyed column.

Time went by. After passing through all of the dust and ruins to arrive at the fourth column, he took a deep breath, reached out, and touched it. Rumbling filled his mind, and he caught sight of a young man. He wore a robe decorated in flowers, and seemed different than the two other young men Naruto had just seen. A sarcastic smile could be seen on his face, and his eyes glittered with intelligence. His features were delicate and even pretty, and he almost looked as if he were recovering from an illness.

Naruto watched the young man silently. He didn't know who he was, but as he looked on, the young man created the copper mirror. He also held a bronze lamp in his hand. Furthermore, the robe he was wearing was the same robe Naruto had seen being worn by the person who had faced the Immortal Tribulation and been killed by the finger from the Heavens. Naruto instantly realized who this was.

Patriarch Vast Expanse!

Eventually, Naruto watched as Patriarch Vast Expanse also went outside the Vast Expanse. He destroyed another of the fingers, and then disappeared into the void.

Eventually, Naruto pulled his hand back. After a moment of thought, he proceeded toward the last of the pillars, one of the two which were still erect.

As he flew closer and closer, a powerful Demonic Chakra from the column began to form a resonance with him.

I think I may have mentioned before that this is a contradiction some earlier chapters. I think Er Gen changed his mind later about the columns, but have yet to confirm that with him. When I do I'll adjust past chapters as necessary ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1514

Chapter 1514: 1

The instant that resonance formed with the Demonic qi, Naruto's eyes began to shine with a deep, profound light. He had already surmised that of the five pillars, there was one for the Ghost, God, Immortal, Devil, and finally…

The Demon!

He increased his speed, and eventually arrived at the final staggeringly large pillar which stretched up into the starry sky. After a moment of thought, he reached out and touched the pillar. Then he frowned.

Eventually, he pulled his hand away, and his eyes flashed.

"The other pillars don't seem to have much to do with me. But this pillar… represents the Demon. There is a resonance with me, and yet, when I touch it, no strange transformations occur…." He wasn't quite sure what that meant, but he could tell that the resonance was growing stronger. Gradually, a sensation of deadly crisis began to build up within him.

Eyes flickering, he spun. Instead of spending any more time in contact with the final pillar, he decided to leave.

He was soon 30 meters away, then 300. The pillar still stood in place, and the farther away he went, the weaker the resonance became.

He didn't seem to be reacting much to that, but inwardly, he was focused on examining himself. When he reached the 3,000-meter mark, he hesitated a bit. It wasn't that he wasn't curious about the column. Rather, he had to forcibly resist the urge to rush back and touch it.

He definitely needed to come to a deeper understanding of what dangers lurked in this area.

After the 3,000-meter mark, his eyes flickered, and he pushed himself faster. When he was several thousand meters away, he increased his speed yet again.

Even when he was 30,000 meters away, nothing had happened. Finally, he stopped in thought for a moment, then gritted his teeth and headed back toward the pillar. Moments later, he arrived, then reached out to touch it.

Rumbling filled his mind, and as his Demonic Chakra blended with the aura of the pillar, the resonance exploded in intensity, and he suddenly realized that there was an illusory world within the pillar.

It was like the mist of the Vast Expanse, boundless and majestic. At first, there didn't seem to be anything other than mist, but soon, Naruto realized that within the very center of the world was a bright red thread.

It was a thread that looked like a blood vessel, except it was huge. Soon, he realized that the thread twisted and turned around on itself, forming a shape. The shape of a person!

There were four limbs visible, as well as a head. Apparently, that thread really was a blood vessel, and it really was forming into the shape of a person.

There was no flesh or blood, and no bones. Just a system of blood vessels.

Shockingly, there appeared to be fruits growing from the blood vessels!

In total, there were ninety-eight of them.

Some were large and some were small, and they were located throughout the shape which the blood vessels formed. All of them were withered, as though their life and quintessence had been absorbed, and they were what had enabled the shape of the person to take form.

Upon closer examination, it was clear that the various fruits had faces on them, all of whom had their eyes closed, and were completely motionless.

As Naruto examined all of this, his heart began to pound. Eventually, his eyes fell upon the ninety-eighth fruit, and the ninety-eighth face. Shockingly, that face… was the same face which had attempted to interfere with Naruto summoning the copper mirror, the Emissary of Allheaven.

It was Song Daozi!

"These faces…." Naruto gasped as an idea suddenly struck him, a vast, monumental idea that left his mind completely spinning.

"These faces are all of the people who were turned from Immortal to Demon… From ancient times until now, there have been many people like Song Daozi, all of whom were turned into… the Demon! No, that's not right. The true Demon hasn't appeared yet, otherwise, this pillar would look very different!

"These people all… became food for this person-shaped outline, in the moment that they were about to transform into the true Demon!" Naruto's mind reeled at the sight of all the faces on the fruit, and the human-shaped network of blood vessels. Suddenly, he was struck with the realization that the shape… wasn't complete. It lacked a final fruit.

That empty location was where the heart should be. With a fruit there, the outline of this person would be complete and perfect.

Almost as soon as his eyes fell upon the empty location of the heart, all of the ninety-eight faces' eyes suddenly opened, and they looked at Naruto.

His mind was left reeling, his scalp tingling. The ninety-eight faces staring at him caused him to recall how there had been ninety-eight Sons of Allheaven.

Even as he began to pull back his divine sense, the ninety-eight faces all smiled.

They were sinister smiles, mysterious to the extreme, and the instant they appeared, the faces spoke.

"You're the missing piece… don't go… don't go…"

The bizarre voices filled the world, and Naruto's mind spun. His Demonic Chakra suddenly seemed to be on the verge of erupting.

Almost simultaneously, the faces began to transform one by one into beams of light which shot toward him.

There was no time for Naruto to do anything other than sever his divine sense. Outside of the pillar, he quickly pulled his hand away and backed up.

In almost that same instant, the pillar began to shake, and ninety-eight faces suddenly shot out from it into the starry sky outside the Vast Expanse. Without pausing for a moment, they began to speed in Naruto's direction.

As they neared, Naruto's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and he unleashed a divine ability. Numerous mountains descended to block the path of the faces. And yet the bizarre faces simply passed directly through the mountains as they closed in on Naruto.

Naruto's face fell, and he punched out with his right hand. The DevilButchering Fist created a massive tempest, and yet the faces completely disregarded it, and were soon almost right in front of him. Apparently, no matter what techniques he unleashed upon them, it could do nothing to stop them.

His eyes flashed with killing intent, and he let out a cold harrumph. Suddenly, the copper mirror armor appeared, and he slashed out with the Battle Weapon. It split open the void, creating a vast rift which separated him from the faces.

This time, it seemed much harder for the faces to keep going, and over ten of them were actually split in half from the effort. And yet, they didn't dissipate, but kept speeding toward him.

Naruto was continuously falling back, his face grim. No matter what ideas he came up with to deal with the situation, none of them worked.

He sent out his Demonic qi, only to watch as the faces devoured it. Apparently, it was like fuel for them.

Naruto's face flickered as he pressed on, followed by the swarm of faces. They quickly caught up to him, and began to surround him, blocking his path. Then, they smiled oddly and lunged toward him with gaping jaws.

They bit into his flesh, apparently intent on chewing into his body and consuming him.

"Screw off!" Naruto said, eyes flashing coldly. His cultivation base erupted, and the Battle Weapon flashed as he swung it. A blast of wind swept out in all directions, and yet it didn't seem to affect the faces at all.

Blue veins popped out on Naruto's face, and he gritted his teeth violently. It was at this point that the bronze lamp sent blazing light out in all directions, and the faces began to tremble. Screaming, they fell back.

Naruto finally took a deep breath, and used the opportunity to flee.

However, almost as soon as he broke free from the faces, they pounced on him again. The light of the bronze lamp still caused them to scream, and yet they didn't give up. They endured the pain and tried again to chew into Naruto's flesh.

The intense light from the bronze lamp caused them to tremble on the verge of melting, and yet Naruto's aura was something they desired, something that was like food for them… Demonic qi.

Naruto's own Demonic Chakra was absorbed by the faces, nourishing them, giving them strength to fight the light of the bronze lamp.

Pain wracked Naruto, inside and out, and his eyes were completely bloodshot. Having been sent outside the Vast Expanse by Han Bei, he managed to unveil many secrets, and dispel many doubts. And yet, he had been placed in incredible, deadly danger.

Whether it was the illusion of which Chen Fan had been a part of, or the personal arrival of the will of Allheaven, or these faces, they were all situations in which the slightest mistake would lead to eternal doom!

He could well imagine what had occurred to the ninety-eight cultivators like Song Daozi whom these faces represented. They were people who had reached a point very similar to this, and none of them had been able to escape. All had perished in the end, becoming components of the person-shaped outline that he had just seen.

As for Naruto, he had dispelled the illusion and cast out the will of Allheaven. And yet, he was not quite strong enough to deal with the faces, no matter how much he wanted to.

His eyes were crimson, and he simply couldn't give in to the idea of being defeated. His clone was almost finished with his work, meaning that the Ninth Hex was close to completion. He was unprecedentedly close to Transcendence.

Just when everything was almost complete, this sudden turn of events occurred. Suddenly, deep hatred for Han Bei rose up within his heart.

Rumbling could be heard as the faces continued to chew into his body, to devour his life force, his Demonic qi, his soul, his everything.

It took only a moment for him to become extremely withered. It was as if his fate were unavoidable. And yet, he refused to believe that. He lifted his right hand and prepared to call upon his final trump card, a divine ability that he wouldn't use unless there were absolutely, positively no other options left. The price to be paid to use it would be unimaginably high.

But then, suddenly, a piercing cry rang out from within his armor. All of a sudden, the parrot flew out!

How quickly the tide had turned!

This chapter is untitled in the original Chinese ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1515

Chapter 1515: Call Me Lord Fifth, Bitches!

The parrot's eyes were bright red as it hovered there by Naruto. Back when they were first reunited, its memories had been in chaos. However, despite being unable to see things clearly, it knew that Naruto was very important, and had thus chosen to return to him.

It saw everything that happened after that, the result being that the shattered memories in its head seemed to increase constantly. It was as if there were a tiny node inside of its mind, a node which contained the image of Naruto. After Naruto appeared in the flesh, that node burst open, allowing the parrot's erased mind to appear once again.

Eventually, in this moment of deep crisis, its erased memories were fully fused together, and erupted with great power.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Memories exploded out into the parrot's mind. It saw itself meeting Naruto for the first time, saw itself facing danger with him in numerous adventures. Everything began to awaken.

Back when its mind had been erased, it had managed to bury that node deep inside of itself, and it was that which eventually gave it the chance to recover!

The parrot was crafty, and although things had ended tragically back then, and it had been filled with grief, it had still managed to devise a backup plan.

"Lord Fifth!" the parrot roared. "Call me Lord Fifth, bitches!" It remembered. It remembered everything. It looked over at Naruto being devoured by the faces, and suddenly let out a powerful squawk. Naruto's armor shattered, creating countless black sparks that, under the parrot's control, swirled around him, moving faster and faster until they formed a vortex.

The power of the vortex created numerous streams of gravitational force. However, that force didn't affect the world in general, just the faces latched onto Naruto. Gradually, they were dragged away from Naruto, whose expression brightened. At the same time, the glow of the bronze lamp grew even more intense.

The faces let out bloodcurdling screams at they were ripped off of him. Then they were sucked into the vortex, where they shattered into pieces. That didn't kill them, though, it just created countless other, tinier faces. More and more of them appeared. There weren't just dozens now, but hundreds, then thousands, then tens of thousands.

Naruto was panting, and his body was dangerously withered. However, now that the faces were no longer consuming him, his battle prowess and cultivation base began to recover quickly. At the same time, he unleashed his own power, causing the vortex to spin even more quickly.

Soon it was a raging tempest, whereupon the parrot let out another squawk, sending it shooting off into the distance.

"Fudge!" it shrieked. "How dare you try to fight Lord Fifth! You might not have any fur or feathers, but Lord Fifth is going to go all out to put you down!" Naruto looked over at the parrot, his eyes shining with excitement. The fact that the parrot had recovered its memories was a momentous thing. Now, parrot and man both unleashed incredible speed to get as far away from the vortex as possible.

However, the tens of thousands of broken and shattered faces immediately gave chase. Apparently sensing that they wouldn't be able to catch up, the faces then merged together into one huge swath of skin!

The skin had no bones, no muscle, and no blood. It was simply a patch of human-shaped skin that whistled through the starry sky toward Naruto.

Naruto and the parrot fled, and the skin chased them from behind. The parrot let out a mighty squawk, as if it were going to hold nothing back.

"What do we do, Naruto? Dammit! Lord Fifth's memories were just restored, only to be pulled into this situation? Whadda we do? Whadda we do?

"We're outside of the Vast Expanse now. If we delay, the will of

Allheaven will fully awaken, and then we'll be dead for sure. Only a bit of his will is awake now…. We have to get back into the Vast Expanse! The will of Allheaven won't be able to directly affect us in there.

"Naruto, can you create a distraction? Give me the time it takes an incense stick to burn, and I can sacrifice some of the Essence power of the copper mirror to set up a teleportation portal. That will be able to get us back into the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!" Despite the incredible speed with which the parrot and Naruto were moving, the patch of skin was moving even faster, and was closing in rapidly.

Naruto's eyes glittered. They were in a deadly trap, a trap set up to target him, and as such, his eyes flickered with killing intent.

"The time it takes an incense stick to burn? I think I can do that…." After a moment of thought, he gritted his teeth. If the parrot hadn't recovered its memories and taken the initiative to help, he would already have resorted to that one certain magic.

It was his trump card, a magical technique that was not yet complete, and might even spawn some unexpected side-effects. As for whether such transformations would be beneficial or detrimental, it was impossible to tell.

At the moment, though, there were no other options. Naruto's eyes glittered coldly as he suddenly spun in place and waved his hand.

"Start setting up the spell formation!" he growled. He and the parrot had worked together for so long that there was no need for deliberation. Instantly, black threads shot out from the parrot and began to spin in place behind Naruto in the form of a teleportation portal.

Naruto took a deep breath. His eyes shone with a brilliant light as he extended his finger out into the starry sky and murmured, "Ninth Hex!"

What he was about to unleash was none other than… the Ninth Hex! His clone had already completed eight of the sealing marks that would make the final version. Because the final mark wasn't complete, if Naruto unleashed the Ninth Hex, it could have some unknown effect on his clone. He wasn't sure what exactly would happen, but now was not the time to contemplate misgivings.

He performed an incantation gesture with his left hand, and then shoved his hand out.

"First sealing mark!" Rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth, and everything shook. The starry sky vibrated as an indescribable power began to converge in front of Naruto.

As soon as the sealing mark appeared, the patch of skin suddenly lurched to a halt, and a strange gleam appeared deep in its eyes.

Next, Naruto performed another incantation gesture, causing the second sealing mark to appear. It merged with the first sealing mark, causing the energy to rocket even higher, reaching a level ten times higher than before. Then came the third sealing mark, and the fourth. One by one, they all appeared and merged together, and the terrifying energy reached an unbelievable level, causing everything in the starry sky to shake violently.

Next were the fifth, sixth, and seventh sealing marks…. A level of power appeared that the Vast Expanse Shrine had been unable to withstand, a power that would cause even peak 9-Essences cultivators to tremble. With seven sealing marks, it already seemed possible to seal the Heavens.

The patch of skin seemed shocked. For the first time… it began to back up instead of chase. However, it was in that very moment that the light in Naruto's eyes shone, and he threw his arms up. The seven sealing marks formed a dazzling magical symbol that began to speed forward, emanating a will that could seal the Heavens.

The light that shone out from it was majestic to the extreme, a light that seemed capable of sealing anything and everything, that could cause everything bright to grow dark, that could cause all living beings to bow their heads. Rumbling echoed out as the sea of light swept through the starry sky toward the patch of skin.

"What is that…?" Countless howls began to echo out from within the skin. However, no matter how it tried to evade, there was no avoiding the light, which slammed into the skin.

Behind Naruto, the parrot gaped in shock at what was happening.

Naruto shivered, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. Using the incomplete Ninth Hex in this way could be done only by paying a great cost.

Roaring sounds spread out in all directions, and at the same time, bloodcurdling screams echoed out from the skin as it was shredded to pieces by the light. Numerous bedraggled faces appeared, which immediately began to fly back toward the column they had come from.

Naruto's face was pale, and he was swaying back and forth. The parrot immediately gushed, "Alright, alright, I'm almost ready. We can teleport out in just a moment."

Naruto looked up, and in the iciest of voices said, "How could I flee?"

He took a step forward, and his cultivation base surged with power.

"How could I run?"

With that, he transformed into a beam of light which shot at incredible speed toward the pillar that the faces were fleeing to.

"Ever since that bitch Han Bei sent me here, this place has tried to kill me over and over again. First was the illusion with Elder Brother Chen Fan, then the will of Allheaven trying to possess me. Then these five pillars showed up, and the Demonic Chakra faces tried to eat me….

"After all that, how could I flee? How could I run?" Roaring, he shoved his arms out in front of him, causing boundless light to surge up.

"I've been forced into unleashing my incomplete Ninth Hex. Well then… I'm definitely not going to waste the opportunity!

"In the past, there was the underworld Ghost, the white-haired cultivator of the Immortal Gods, and the Transcendent expert from the Devil Realm. They destroyed three columns, and although I might not be ready to do the same thing, I might as well do a dry run!" Rumbling echoed out as Naruto shoved the light of the combined sealing marks directly toward the column of Demonic qi.

As he flew along, the starry sky shattered, and the faces screamed. The light picked up speed, and as it neared the column, killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes. Then, he performing an incantation gesture and roared, "Eight sealing marks!"

With that, the eighth sealing mark appeared, glittering brightly. As it merged into the brightness, and fused with the other seven sealing marks, the light began to shine a bright violet color!

The violet light caused the starry sky to go quiet. Everything began to vibrate in complete helplessness. The faces faded away, screaming, as the light slashed into the pillar representing the Demon.

The sky shattered, and everything was thrown into chaos as the Demon pillar shuddered.

Meanwhile, back in the starry sky of Allheaven, on Planet Vast Expanse, on the first continent, in one of the cities of the mortal world, the ninth reincarnation of Naruto's clone, Little Treasure, suddenly coughed up a huge mouthful of blood. Then he teetered in place for a moment before collapsing onto the ground.

The entire household was thrown into chaos.

He began to shiver and spasm as numerous sealing marks began to shine brightly on his forehead.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1516

Chapter 1516: The Return!

The fight continued outside the Vast Expanse.

The light formed from the eight sealing marks of Naruto's Ninth Hex was so powerful that it surpassed the 9-Essences level. Naruto wasn't sure how far away it was from the Transcendent level, but he was sure that not a single 9-Essences cultivator would be able to survive an encounter with it!

Ear-splitting rumbling sounds spread out in all directions. The faces weren't even able to get back into the column before they were incinerated.

Before dying, they let out miserable screams, which faded away almost before they even began. Just before dissipating, their expressions seemed to be those of release and gratitude.

Soon, everything was quiet and still. It happened faster than either Naruto or the parrot could ever have imagined.

The parrot looked over at the Demon pillar, which was still trembling, and Naruto, who was radiating an air of madness.

The parrot couldn't help but take a deep breath as it gaped at Uzumaki

Hao. After all the years that they had been separated, it turned out that

Naruto was still… the type to seek revenge over the smallest grievance!

"What… what is he planning to do?" the parrot thought, eyes wide with disbelief. "How vicious! That… that pillar can only be destroyed by a Transcendent cultivator. He wants to try to destroy the Demon pillar now?"

The parrot looked around at the destruction and chaos in the starry sky, then back at the pillar. A moment later, after the light faded away, a cracking sound rang out.

At the same time, it was possible to see that a crevice had appeared on the pillar. Although the pillar wasn't crushed, the crevice which had opened up could obviously not be mended.

The parrot shivered and then yelled, "Naruto, that's enough. Really, enough is enough. The spell formation is ready. We need to get out of here as soon as possible!" The parrot then turned toward the completed spell formation, which began to rumble to life.

Naruto immediately began to back up. Although the battle had been bitter, he had won a stunning victory.

"I can't destroy this pillar now," he thought, eyes glittering coldly, "but one of these days, I'll come back here and wipe it out of existence!"

In almost the same moment that the crack had appeared, the personshaped outline inside of the pillar had begun to shrink. The fruits on it exploded, and soon, a piercing shriek rang out. The shriek passed out of the column into the world beyond, echoing out in all directions.

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as he heard the sound of the cry. Without the slightest hesitation, he increased his speed.

Simultaneously, the pillar that represented the Immortal began to shrink and wither. That in turn caused the pillar of Demonic Chakra to begin to recover.

And yet, the crevice which had appeared remained. Shockingly, it was at this point that the will of the Vast Expanse rose up, causing the starry sky to shake. Then, a huge eye abruptly appeared up ahead.

It was enormous, and completely bloodshot. It was a mass of chaos, and seemed to contain the seething mist of the Vast Expanse. This eye was apparently the will of Allheaven, the final gambit to be played in this day's events. As soon as it appeared, everything went completely still and quiet.

The opening of the eye caused Naruto to be filled with a sense of intense crisis. He could tell that the natural laws in the area were being destroyed, and as the eye gazed upon him, he felt a terrifying aura that caused his scalp to go numb. Immediately, the bronze lamp began to shine brighter than ever, transforming Naruto into a figure of light.

Almost in the same moment that the eye opened, Naruto reached the spell formation put together by the parrot.

The parrot howled as the spell formation began to activate. However, even as the light was still beginning to shine, the seemingly eternal eye caused the starry sky around it to twist and distort as a huge mouth appeared. Then, the mouth lunged toward Naruto and the parrot as if to consume them.

The parrot's eyes were bright red, and it howled again. Cracking sounds could be heard, which came from the cracks spreading out over the copper mirror. By damaging the mirror, it was possible to negate the effects of the changed natural law caused by the will of Allheaven. A moment later, rumbling sounds echoed out as the parrot and Naruto vanished.

That was when the mouth arrived. It took a huge bite, causing the starry sky to shake, and leaving a gigantic, smoking crater in the spot where the teleportation portal had been.

The eye glared off into the distance, and a piercing shriek was just barely audible from the direction of the Demonic Chakra pillar.

As that happened, the brilliant light of teleportation appeared in a dusty corner of the starry sky of Allheaven. A moment later, Naruto and the parrot appeared.

Naruto immediately coughed up some blood, and the parrot listed weakly. The light of teleportation faded away, and the copper mirror appeared, covered with cracks. Although it wasn't destroyed, it was clearly in worse condition than before the trip outside the Vast Expanse.

"Dammit!" the parrot said, looking very irritated. "Lord Fifth just woke up and was immediately thrown into grave danger? I quit. I quit, you hear? Naruto, you'd better give Lord Fifth a good explanation for all of this!"

Naruto's responded with a question: "Was that eye… Allheaven? Is

Allheaven the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse?"

Fear could be seen in the parrot's eyes as it began to speak. "Legends say that the world Essence of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse has a will, a will who is called Allheaven. The main body of the will exists outside the Vast Expanse. And yet, that will can also fill the Vast Expanse itself. In the beginning, that will blessed all living things, and supposedly, even taught all living beings how to practice cultivation. But as time went on, it began to weaken, and then go mad.

"However, I have a vague memory deep inside that seems to indicate… that this Allheaven actually has a different origin. What exactly that is, nobody knows…. Even I'm not sure. Dammit, how could I not know?" The parrot shook its head in confusion.

A thoughtful look could be seen in Naruto's eye as he stared at the parrot and asked another question. "Were you created by Patriarch Vast Expanse?"

"Patriarch Vast Expanse…." the parrot murmured, its eyes gleaming with reminiscence. After awakening, its memories had slowly been revealed. After a long moment, it nodded, but then suddenly seemed to hesitate. Apparently… Patriarch Vast Expanse had created the copper mirror, but not the parrot. Apparently… the parrot came from a time before Patriarch Vast Expanse was even alive!

The parrot didn't want to think about the past, and as such, began to yell at Naruto. "Forget about it. Naruto, you owe me an explanation. Dammit, Lord Fifth's memories were just restored, and then I got scared nearly to death!"

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent as he looked off in the direction of Planet Vast Expanse. "I'm going to go get an explanation, for you and me both!"

It was just as he said; the next thing he was planning to do was to go get an explanation.

From what he could tell, the will of Allheaven could only affect him directly if he was outside of the Vast Expanse. Apparently, it couldn't do anything within the Vast Expanse itself, which meant that Naruto was temporarily safe.

The parrot's explanation had confirmed his suspicions. Naruto turned, killing intent flickering in his eyes as he made his way off into the distance.

The parrot immediately began to follow.

"Hey," it asked, "where'd the meat jelly get off to, that old fart?" Its words were met by silence on Naruto's part. The parrot suddenly shivered. "What… what happened?"

Sadness filled Naruto's face as he opened his bag of holding and carefully pulled out the shattered remnants of the meat jelly armor. The parrot stared in shock for a long, long time before letting out a cry of anguish.

The moment of silence which followed seemed to last an eternity. Eventually, the parrot turned to Naruto, and its eyes were completely bloodshot.

"Naruto, I'm going to ask one thing, and you're going to answer me.

When… do we go slaughter them?!"

"Soon," Naruto murmured in reply, his eyes equally as red. "We'll slaughter the 33 Heavens, we'll slaughter the Immortal God Continent, and we'll slaughter the Devil Realm Continent. Then… we'll go outside the Vast Expanse and slaughter the will of Allheaven!

"Soon…." with that, he transformed into a beam of light that shot like lightning through the starry sky.

As he flew along, he rotated his cultivation base, but his withered body wasn't recovering very quickly. He looked incredibly gaunt, and thus, incredibly fierce. His eyes flickered with red light, making him look almost like he had just climbed up out of the grave.

Shocking rumbles echoed out in Heaven and Earth as he flew toward Planet Vast Expanse with deadly intent. It only took a few months of travel. After all, he hadn't been very far from Planet Vast Expanse to begin with. Soon, he was looking at the planet from some distance away.

As he neared, the planet's protective shield sprang up as if to block him. Naruto didn't even look at it. He passed directly through it, whereupon a somber, dignified voice echoed out.

"Respectful greetings, Ninth Paragon! Welcome back!"

Even as the voice rang out, Naruto entered the atmosphere of Planet Vast Expanse. As soon as he did, the other Paragons could sense his presence, and the intensely murderous aura caused them all to look up.

Jin Yunshan, the Sect Leader, and all the others had returned from the necropolis. They still hadn't successfully made it to the ninth land mass. After their successive failures, they had been sitting cross-legged in meditation, but now, looks of shock could be seen on their faces.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1517

Chapter 1517: Hunting Down Han Bei!

Jin Yunshan was shaking more than anyone. Once he realized who that killing intent belonged to, he subconsciously reached down and rubbed his bracelet of holding, whereupon he felt a bit better.

"It's the Ninth Paragon…"

"This aura. How… how could he have become so strong?!"

"He's been missing for hundreds of years, I can't believe he's finally back!"

Faces flickered as Naruto hovered there in the air above Planet Vast Expanse for a moment before speeding toward the first continent.

In the Holy Daughter Palace on the first continent, Vast Expanse Holy Daughter Han Bei was seated cross-legged in meditation. Her face was pale, and she looked exhausted. Suddenly, she sensed the aura emanating from above, and a smile broke out on her face.

But that smile quickly froze, and she shot to her feet, a look of disbelief and shock on her face.

"I can't believe he woke up! This is impossible!" Trembling, Han Bei began to back up. Suddenly, the glow of teleportation sprang up around her, and she vanished. A moment later, an indescribable pressure descended and slammed into the Holy Daughter Palace.

The entire palace was instantly incinerated, wiped away. In its place was a huge crater, above which Naruto hovered, eyes flashing with killing intent as he looked off into the distance.

"You can't escape!" he said through gritted teeth. "You will die this day.

I won't rest until that happens."

Outside of the Vast Expanse, he had brushed far too closely with death, causing his hatred for Han Bei to seep into his very bones. He had vowed to slay her, and as far as Sakura was concerned, he was prepared for how to deal with that situation.

His eyes flashed like lightning, and then a massive boom echoed out as the air was ripped apart. Naruto's vicious, murderous aura spread out to cover the entire planet, joined by his divine sense. All living beings on the planet, including mortals and cultivators, even the 9-Essences experts, were left trembling. It was as if some great disaster had suddenly come to loom over their heads.

"What happened!?" Jin Yunshan gasped. He could sense the raging, murderous aura coming off of Naruto, and it was obvious that it was exponentially more powerful than the last time the two of them had tangled.

Jin Yunshan, just like the Sect Leader and the others, had made progress in recent years thanks to the multiple forays into the necropolis. The entire group had experienced increases in their cultivation bases. By this point, Jin Yunshan believed himself to be at the utter peak of the 9Essences level. And yet, now that he sensed Naruto's energy, his face fell, and he had to admit that as of this moment, Naruto's aura was completely and utterly terrifying.

"Why is he trying to kill a disciple from the First Sect?" Although Han Bei was a Holy Daughter of the Vast Expanse School, in comparison to a 9Essences expert, she was nothing more than a disciple. "That's not any ordinary disciple. Whoever it was managed to escape before he landed his blow on the First Sect!"

Jin Yunshan's eyes flickered as he emerged out in the open. He wasn't going to interfere with Naruto; he merely wanted to see exactly what was happening.

It wasn't just him. Sha Jiudong emerged from a sandstorm that raged in Planet Vast Expanse's huge desert, looking extremely frightened. He took a deep breath, and his eyes flashed because of the uneasy feeling he was experiencing. He could tell that something bad was about to happen, and immediately sped off to observe.

Immortal Bai Wuchen hesitated for a moment. At the moment, she didn't dare to show herself to Naruto, not in his current state, so she simply sat there quietly, pretending that she hadn't noticed his aura.

She was the only one who didn't show herself. The Sect Leader and the other 9-Essences Paragons were all flying through the air of Planet Vast Expanse to see what was happening.

Their hearts were pounding from the sheer awe-inspiring nature of Naruto's aura, which left them completely shaken.

That was especially true of the Sect Leader, whose cultivation base was so high that he had assumed he must be at the absolute pinnacle. He was even sure that he would prevail against the combined forces of Jin Yunshan and the other 9-Essences Paragons.

But as of this moment, Naruto's aura left him terrified. The intense level of pressure was almost impossible to accept.

"How… did he become so powerful!?" the Sect Leader thought. "It's understandable that our cultivation bases rose, thanks to the altars in the necropolis. But he simply vanished for a few hundred years, and now that he's back, he's suddenly unimaginably stronger!"

The Sect Leader's eyes flickered, and he pushed forward with greater speed. After all, disciple Han Bei of the First Sect was actually his apprentice.

He had accepted her as his only apprentice, and now Naruto was trying to chase her down and kill her…. Clearly, there were secrets at play.

As everyone was speeding toward the first continent, Naruto suddenly appeared in a different location, a place where the aura of teleportation was strong. This was none other than the location Han Bei had teleported to.

It was a small-scale sect that was not directly subordinate to the Vast Expanse School. As soon as Naruto appeared, everything was thrown into a commotion. The sect itself was built upon nine different mountains, all of which began to shine with bright light. Clearly it was a spell formation. In addition to that, a moment later, nine blasts of sword Chakra to suddenly shoot out toward Naruto.

The lands in the area shook as the nine mountains themselves then rose up into the air. There were also hosts of cultivators, whose eyes shone red, and who didn't even seem in control of their own minds as they charged madly toward Naruto.

Han Bei had been on Planet Vast Expanse for many years, and had always been on guard against Naruto. Although she had grown a bit lax recently, her preparations were all still in place.

This was one of the locations she had set aside especially to deal with Naruto.

"Kill him!" roared the tens of thousands of cultivators. In combination with the spell formation, the nine mountains, and the nine beams of sword qi, they shot aggressively toward Naruto.

Naruto's eyes flashed, and his killing intent surged stronger than ever. Since these people were trying to stop him, that meant they were allied with Han Bei, and thus, were his enemies!

"Die!" he said impatiently, shoving his hand out violently. Everything went dim, and a gale force wind blew as a huge hand materialized.

The hand slammed into the nine streams of sword qi, which were powerful enough to cause problems for an ordinary 9-Essences cultivator for at least a short time. But when they slammed into the magical hand sent out by Naruto, they shattered instantly. They weren't even powerful enough to stand up to a single blow.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the sword Chakra was destroyed. Next, the hand slammed into the mountains. The mountains shook as cracks spread out across them. Then, they exploded into countless fragments. The entire matter happened almost in the blink of an eye.

The hand didn't seem to have been slowed down in the slightest. It smashed into the cultivators and the spell formation, causing a deafening boom to spread out.

A huge handprint was smashed into the ground, surrounded by cracks which snaked out in every direction. The spell formation was completely destroyed, and the cultivators who had been charging in attack were reduced to a bloody pulp.

Everything went quiet. If Naruto had been an ordinary 9-Essences cultivator, this little trap might not have resulted in his death, but would have at least delayed him a bit. And what Han Bei needed right now was time.

However, to the current Naruto, destroying this place was as easy as taking a breath.

His eyes flickered as he waved his hand through the air to locate Han Bei's aura. After some examination, he snorted coldly, then sent his divine sense out in all directions. However, he could find no trace of Han Bei.

"Parrot!" he said anxiously.

The parrot flew out from his bag of holding, radiating dazzling light, its eyes shining brightly. Naruto sent his divine sense out again, and this time, the parrot let out a squawk as it bolstered his divine sense.

Everything began to tremble violently. RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

A huge wind whipped up, with Naruto in the middle of it all. As his divine sense surged out exponentially, it filled Planet Vast Expanse, until finally, he caught sight of Han Bei in another small-scale sect.

As soon as he locked down onto her position, he stepped forward, ripping the air apart and stepping through the rift. It took only a moment for him to appear in the exact location he had just identified.

The instant he appeared, Han Bei was stepping onto a teleportation portal in the sect. She suddenly looked around to find Naruto speeding through the air toward her.

Her face went pale, and she suddenly slapped down at the spell formation with her hand. A boom echoed out as the spell formation began to activate. At the same time, she declined to wait for Naruto to destroy the preparations she had made in the sect. She destroyed the entire sect herself, then borrowed that power to fuel the teleportation formation. Radiant light glittered, surrounding her. She began to fade away, as if she would be teleported away at any moment.

But how could Naruto let that happen? He extended his right hand and pointed his finger directly at Han Bei.

"Eighth Hex!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1518

Chapter 1518: Nearing the Ninth Reincarnation!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Essence of space of the Eighth Hex descended and locked everything in place. Space was sealed, the air was sealed, everything was sealed!

Even the beam of light lurched to a halt. Naruto strode forward, completely ignoring the light and the destructive power that filled it, as he stepped inside.

The light washed over him, distorting a moment before being blasted away. Naruto stepped onto the spell formation, reached out, and grabbed the half-transparent Han Bei.

Almost as soon as his hand latched onto her, she laughed bitterly.

"If you kill me, Sakura dies!" she shrieked. Even as her words echoed out, and before she could speak another sentence, Naruto's face turned icy cold. Without the slightest hesitation, he snapped her neck.

Han Bei couldn't believe what was happening as a boom rang out and she exploded into a haze of blood and gore. She had been destroyed in body and mind.

"This isn't your true self," Naruto said coolly," only a tool to be discarded, or perhaps a clone to be used as a seed for rebirth. "Now that I've killed this body, I'm curious to see what other means you will use to try to evade my wrath." He closed his eyes as he followed the aura of Han Bei's flesh and blood to try to track her down yet again.

Han Bei was crafty to the extreme, and had prepared many life-saving backup plans. Strangely, even Naruto was having trouble detecting the signs of where exactly she had teleported away to.

He had followed various clues to this place, and found her clone. Han Bei was certainly clever. Clearly, her true self and her clone had fled in different directions. If Naruto ended up following her clone, then that would suit her plans nicely. If he followed her true self, then the clone could make its escape and be the seed for rebirth if he ended up killing her true self.

"Gotcha," he said, eyes flickering as he looked off into the distance. There, his divine sense had spotted a figure who hadn't been there moments ago.

It was the fleeing figure of… Han Bei's true self!

Her hair was in disarray, and her face was ashen. She seemed shocked, in disbelief, as if she could never have imagined that Naruto would have the mental fortitude to survive and track her down from outside the Vast Expanse.

It really seemed impossible to her. No one could survive the experience of going outside the Vast Expanse, especially not… Immortals who had transformed into Demons!

"He wasn't assimilated and wasn't consumed. He's still himself. He didn't become the Emissary of Allheaven! How did he do it? Dammit!" A tremor ran through Han Bei as she thought about Naruto's raging, murderous aura. She could well imagine that Naruto's heart was completely fixed on the notion of slaughtering her.

Furthermore, she had no desire to test out whether Naruto had slipped into a state where he didn't care about Sakura's soul. If he had, Han Bei knew that he could kill her as easily as flipping over his hand.

"There's no way he doesn't care about her!" she thought, gritting her teeth. As she flew along, suddenly, one of the cities of the mortal world appeared in front of her!

When Naruto realized what direction she was flying in, his pupils constricted. Beyond the mountains on the horizon was the city where his clone's ninth reincarnation was living. There, on the sprawling plains, was the enormous capital city of the mortal empire.

Naruto had very little connection to this ninth reincarnation. He could sense him, but that was all. And yet, that sensation allowed him to pinpoint exactly where the clone was located.

That didn't help him to check the clone's current situation though. Not even divine sense revealed anything more than a blurry haze. However, he could sense a familiar aura brewing within his clone's ninth reincarnation.

It was the complete aura of the Ninth Hex, an aura which could change all lives in unpredictable ways. It was an aura that could cover over all life, that twisted the air, making divine sense impossible to penetrate the area.

"How does Han Bei know where my clone's ninth reincarnation is? Could it be just random chance?" His eyes glittered brightly.

Of course, he had no idea that Yan'er had become a part of his clone's ninth life. It was only because Han Bei was connected to Sakura's soul that she was going in that direction. She had no idea of knowing that his clone's reincarnation was obscuring the divine sense in Sakura's area. However, she was able to determine the general location.

And therefore, she was speeding there to try to track Sakura down!

Even as Han Bei sped along, Naruto let out a cold harrumph, and blurred into motion as he gave chase.

Rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth. Han Bei was moving so quickly that she was soon in the air above the capital city where the clone's reincarnation lived.

"This must be the place!" she thought, face gleaming with delight. This was her final life-saving backup plan. She knew that even if she fled to the farthest corners of the Vast Expanse, Naruto would still be able to track her down. Furthermore, because of the injuries she had sustained, it was impossible for her to safely summon the will of Allheaven upon her. Therefore, her final chance at survival lay with Sakura.

She hoped that, in the case that Naruto had lost himself in his hatred, suddenly seeing Sakura in the flesh would awaken him.

Unfortunately, even though she knew Sakura's general location, she couldn't pinpoint exactly where she was. She only knew that she was in this city, which was somehow covered with a blanket of obscurity.

However, she had no way of knowing that the closer she got to her target, the stronger Naruto's killing intent grew. After all, how could he possibly allow anything bad to happen to his clone?

Even as Han Bei arrived outside the mortal city, sounds like muffled thunder filled the air. Suddenly, the air seemed to rip apart, and Naruto emerged to hover in front of Han Bei.

His eyes were icy cold, and his killing intent swirled madly. Han Bei suddenly shivered and began to pant.

Apparently, Naruto's appearance provoked a reaction from the clouds up above. More thunder crackled, breaking the clouds open and causing rain to begin to fall. Moments later, the lands were soaked in rain.

Countless mortal citizens in the city scurried about to get out of the rain; it was currently evening, and as the sky darkened, the rain began to fall even harder.

In a narrow alley in one particular corner of the city was a carpenter's shop. Little Treasure sat there, carving a piece of wood, relying on his memory to sculpt the shape he remembered. Outside, thunder rumbled, and the sound of rainfall could be heard. Normally speaking, those sounds would stir his imagination, and make him think about what it might look like outside.

But today, he felt uneasy, as though something important were about to happen.

Soon, he heard footfalls behind him. It was his wife, who sat down next to him and leaned on his shoulder. A smile broke out on his face, and suddenly, the uneasy feeling in his heart gave way to calmness.

His wife looked at him warmly and also smiled. Her belly appeared to be slightly swollen; a tiny little life was there inside, slowly growing….

Because of the blanket of obscurity, Naruto's true self was unaware of what had occurred in his clone's ninth life. At the same time, the person who had accompanied that reincarnation through life had no way to detect the familiar aura which existed beyond that obscurity.

"If you kill me, Sakura's DEAD!" Han Bei said shrilly. She was nervous, and very afraid.

Thunder crashed, and the rain fell. Naruto didn't use his cultivation base to prevent the rain from touching him. He hovered there in the air, eyes swirling with killing intent, and as the rain landed on him, it turned into ice which fell down toward the ground.

Naruto looked over at Han Bei, then said, "The first time we met was when we went into the Black Sieve Sect's ancient Blessed Land."

His eyes flickered with memories. In the past, he would never intentionally take the time to indulge in nostalgia. But as the years went by, he grew more lonely, and then experienced the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Eventually, he reached the point where he would reminisce.

If it were possible, he would prefer that all of the people who had once been his friends not perish. That was especially true… of those he killed himself.

He felt that way about Chen Fan, and also felt that way about Han Bei.

Han Bei looked back at him quickly, eyes flickering with mixed emotions as she thought back to the past.

Then, Naruto's eyes shone with bright light. What he had said just now had been seventy percent sincere and thirty percent duplicitous. He truly had been sighing, but the intention had been to cause Han Bei to think about the past!

In the blink of an eye, Naruto's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Karmic Hexing appeared, and the wave of a finger caused Han Bei to begin to tremble. All of her Karma Threads appeared above her head, from which Naruto extracted a single thread.

It was none other than the Karma Thread which connected her to Sakura!

At the same time, Naruto's hand slashed through the air. The pieces of ice which had fallen off of him moments ago suddenly flew through the air, transforming into countless sharp blades that flashed through the air toward Han Bei. More precisely, they shot toward the Karma Thread which connected her to Sakura.

Han Bei's eyes widened, and she gasped. She immediately fell back, hands flashing in a double-handed incantation gesture. Then she shoved her hands out, unleashing the power of her cultivation base. However, she was not even close to being a match for Naruto. In the blink of an eye, the chunks of ice were directly in front of her and on the verge of slashing through her body.

In that moment, she shrieked. Her black pupils rapidly extended outward until they had overtaken the whites of her eyes. A boundless will then began to emanate out from her.

It was the will of Allheaven, and as it exploded out, blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth. She began to shake violently, and the sounds of breaking bones echoed out from inside of her.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1519

Chapter 1519: Han Bei Perishes!

In order to send Naruto outside the Vast Expanse, Han Bei had paid the heaviest of prices. She had harmed herself on a fundamental level in order to summon the will of Allheaven. As such, when she did so again, she could barely prevent herself from collapsing into pieces.

However, even as her body began to fall apart, she was able to wield astonishing power. Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth as her internal organs were destroyed. And yet, she raised her right hand toward the incoming ice fragments and pushed out.

Rumbling could be heard as the ice lurched to a halt. Then, each and every one exploded, forming a mist. That mist then congealed into the form of an arrow. Han Bei's eyes glinted with a cruel light as she prepared to send the arrow flying back at Naruto. But then her face fell as she realized that Naruto had vanished.

Before she could even spin around, Naruto had appeared behind her. She had no time to unleash any divine abilities or set up any defenses. Naruto's eyes flickered as he waved his right hand, summoning the copper mirror. It had a huge crack running down the middle, but it was still the same precious treasure it had always been.

The parrot materialized, letting out a fierce squawk. At the same time, the surface of the mirror floated out, and of the nine pieces which comprised it, one shot out and stabbed into the middle of Han Bei's back.

Even still, Han Bei's energy continued to rise, and the boundless will continued to pour into her. She performed an incantation gesture with her right hand, then pointed behind her, causing the air around Naruto to shatter. A blast of energy then separated them, whereupon Naruto vanished again. When he reappeared, he was in a different location, where he waved his hand, sending a second mirror shard stabbing into Han Bei's forehead.

Blood oozed out of the corners of her mouth as she performed another incantation gesture. The lands below began to quake, and crevices snaked out. However, that was when the third mirror shard stabbed into her, and then the fourth.

Han Bei's pupils constricted. She could already sense that the connection between her own soul and Sakura's was being destroyed. Backing up, she performed yet another incantation gesture. Blood sprayed out of her mouth, transforming into a blood-colored palm print that shot toward Naruto.

She was now in full retreat, drawing upon all the speed she could muster to flee. She was filled with the intense premonition that these copper mirror shards had the capacity to completely end her life!

However, even as she tried to escape, Naruto's eyes flickered with scorn. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, causing numerous mountains to appear, which fell down and completely blocked off her path of retreat. From a distance, it almost appeared as if those mountains were descending from the Heavens!

Han Bei let out a miserable shriek and then slammed into the mountains. The mountains shattered, and just when she appeared to be on the verge of making her escape, Naruto appeared next to her. He waved his right hand, and the fifth, sixth, and seventh mirror shards stabbed into Han Bei.

Han Bei's face was pale, and within her, the power of the will of Allheaven had exploded out in full force. She even went so far as to use the same magical technique that Chen Fan had used, causing numerous battles to fill Naruto's memories.

However, Naruto was prepared for that. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and massive power erupted out within him. It was Karmic Hexing, which instantly severed her Karma.

Then, the eighth mirror shard stabbed into her chest.

She chuckled bitterly. By this point, her connection to Sakura's soul was almost completely gone. Glaring at Naruto, she gritted her teeth and, unexpectedly, chose to detonate her own soul!

"Maybe I'll vanish forever," she said, her eyes burning with madness, "but at least I can leave your heart in agony!" A boom echoed out as the power of the detonation began to explode out.

"Too late," Naruto said coolly. He waved his hand, and the ninth mirror shard whistled through the air at an impossible speed. Han Bei couldn't have blocked it even if she had tried. It stabbed directly into her dantian region.

"Soul Severing!" Naruto said quietly. The parrot squawked, shooting toward Han Bei at top speed. Simultaneously, the mirror shards exploded.

Naruto had set out completely intent on killing Han Bei. Even though her soul was linked with Sakura's, after acquiring the copper mirror, he knew that he could separate the two of them. The main danger would be if Han Bei chose to self-detonate, which was something he couldn't prevent.

Therefore, he didn't immediately attack Han Bei with full force. Instead, he had intentionally talked about past times, all to provoke the flow of memories within Han Bei's eyes. In that moment when she recalled the past, he unleashed Karmic Hexing as a tactic to sever her soul!

Severing Karma wouldn't be enough to undo her fusion with Sakura's soul. Everything he had done before had been a feint. His true goal was to use the copper mirror and the parrot to completely separate their souls!

The parrot's squawk echoed out at the same time that the nine mirror shards began to explode. The parrot then pierced through Han Bei's body, which was a simple thing considering it wasn't using its corporeal form.

As it passed through her, it latched its beak down onto a strand of soul, which was none other than the piece of Sakura's soul which was nestled inside of Han Bei's soul. The blurry soul fragment began to stretch out as it was pulled inexorably away from Han Bei's soul.

It was in that moment that the full power of the detonation of the mirror shards surged out. Nine separate explosions ripped through Han Bei, slashing at the point where the two souls connected. Han Bei let out a bloodcurdling scream as her soul was severed from Sakura's.

A massive boom echoed out as the parrot soared through the air, circling back around to Naruto with Sakura's soul fragment. As for the mirror shards, they reformed and floated back to the copper mirror, where they once again became an intact mirror face.

As of this moment, Naruto's desire to kill Han Bei had not lessened at all. He shot forward to appear directly in front of her, whereupon he unleashed a fist strike.

A boom rang out as Han Bei's body exploded into a cloud of gore. Her soul flew out into the air, where she stared at Naruto, smiling bitterly.

"Naruto, you've really surprised me…. You truly deserve to be the

Son of Allheaven. The blood of the Allheaven Clans runs strong in you…. However, your fate is sealed! The fate of all the starry sky of Allheaven is sealed! It can't be changed. Nobody can alter it!" She began to laugh bitterly. Her soul was so damaged because of calling upon the will of Allheaven that Naruto didn't need to do anything to it now. She was like an oil lamp on the verge of sputtering out. Her soul trembled as cracks began to spread out across its surface.

Soon, she was completely fragmented, and was apparently on the very brink of falling apart.

"Tell me, what are the Allheaven Clans?" Naruto suddenly asked.

"You know. You already know. What need have you of further proof…? Well, I guess it doesn't matter now. Allheaven Clans are forged from the bloodline of the will of Allheaven. They were scattered among the starry sky with the sole purpose… of helping the will of Allheaven to climb back to the pinnacle!

"In this life, I am the Daughter of Allheaven, and you are the Son of Allheaven. Things between us aren't over yet!" Her laughter grew louder and louder until her soul couldn't sustain itself any longer. A boom like thunder echoed out as she exploded into ash!

Naruto hovered there quietly. After returning from outside of the Vast Expanse, he had already come to many conclusions about certain matters. Sighing, he looked up into the Heavens, his eyes glittering.

Eventually, Jin Yunshan, the Sect Leader, and the others appeared. They hovered there quietly, hearts battered by waves of shock. The bizarre performance put on by Han Bei, the unexpected appearance of the will of Allheaven, and Naruto's incredible power left them all panting.

Eventually, they clasped hands and bowed to Naruto, then began to depart in beams of colorful light.

The last to leave was the Sect Leader. He looked at Naruto with mixed emotions, then glanced thoughtfully at the spot where Han Bei had vanished. Finally, he clasped hands and left.

After they were gone, Naruto looked down at Sakura's soul strand. The parrot was perched on his shoulder.

After a long moment, Naruto murmured, "Han Bei was right. I've known the truth for some time now.

"There is a will outside the Vast Expanse called Allheaven…. In the past, Allheaven created the world, created life, and created cultivation. He is like the lord of all things.

"But he grew weak, and eventually reached the point of death. His body began to vanish, and in the end, all that remained were five fingers.

"Those fingers represent the Immortal, the Ghost, the God, the Devil, and the Demon…

"Every time one of them appears, it pushes Allheaven closer to death. Those fingers represent his life, an entity which exists above the Heavenly Dao, and is the will of all things.

"As for why Allheaven fears the Immortal, perhaps there are many answers, but regardless… if the Immortal appears, it will take the power of his life, and become strong to an unimaginable degree. In fact, if the Immortal appears, Allheaven will die instantly!

"When the Immortal is about to appear, worlds are destroyed!

"When Patriarch Vast Expanse was about to become the Immortal, the will of Allheaven intervened, and destroyed the Vast Expanse land masses. From then on, Patriarch Vast Expanse was not the Immortal, but instead, the Ghost. Back when I was fleeing with the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, I encountered that old man, and he told me all of this. Way back then. 1

"In Patriarch Vast Expanse's grief, he transformed the land masses into his necropolis, then went outside the Vast Expanse to destroy Allheaven's finger. That was all he could do, as he was not strong enough to kill Allheaven himself."

Naruto met the old man outside the vortex in chapter 1404 ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1520

Chapter 1520: Sculpt the Heavens!

"After that came the Devil and the God. They also destroyed one of the Allheaven's fingers each. I wonder if the three of them were working together to completely destroy Allheaven, but just weren't able to pull it off.

"In any case, they were waiting. Waiting… for the Demon to appear. I wonder where they got the idea that the Demon could put an end to Allheaven.

"Allheaven was waiting too, though, fearful of each person who approached the status of the Immortal, waiting for Demonic Chakra to appear inside of them. Then, just before they completed the process and became the true Demon… he absorbed those quasi-Demons, consumed them, used the multifariousness of the Demon, and their Nirvanic rebirth, to give himself new life!

"Perhaps the Allheaven Clans really were created by the blood of Allheaven, and yet, they were also clans which could give birth to the

Demon!

"My fate is like that of a Demon, and I am the true Demon." Naruto sighed. Perhaps his understanding wasn't complete, but after everything he had experienced, he was sure that it was seventy to eighty percent true.

"That is the origin of Song Daozi and the other ninety-seven faces. They were from different worlds of the past, and they all became quasiDemons.

"And I am the ninety-ninth. I was prepared by Allheaven to be the last of the group." He shook his head and hovered there silently for a long moment. The rain ceased to fall, and the moon was now visible, hanging in the sky. As it cast its light down onto the lands below, the reflection cast within the puddles was the picture of beauty.

Naruto eventually made his way through the night into the city of mortals down below. Following the tuggings of his senses, he walked through the streets until he found himself at a certain street corner, leading into a small alley.

Deep within the alley was a small shop.

The door was closed, but based on the sign, and the woodpile outside, it was obvious that it was the shop of a carpenter.

This was the home of his clone's ninth reincarnation. Naruto stood there for a long time. The obscuring mist which seemed to cover the area was strong here, as was the sensation that something was brewing that could shake the Heavens.

After a long moment passed, Naruto sent his divine sense out in an attempt to see what was in the shop. However, that was as effective as throwing a stone ox into the ocean. He could see nothing.

A moment later, he vanished. When he reappeared, he was inside the carpenter's shop, looking around at the neatly arranged carpentry tools. There were also rows up on rows of little wooden sculptures, which left Naruto a bit taken aback.

There were birds, dogs, cats, all of them remarkably lifelike. They were so lifelike, in fact, that it seemed as if they might start walking around at any moment. They even seemed to glow with a faint light that no mortal would be able to detect.

It was the light of life… and it was very strong. It was like a life force that wasn't present in the wood itself, but which had been imparted unto it by means of the act of sculpting.

Naruto simply couldn't imagine what hands would be capable of sculpting such lifelike statues.

It was at this point that his eyes came to rest on one particular little sculpture, which depicted a woman. A tremor ran through him, and his eyes went wide. He almost couldn't believe what he was seeing; it felt as if lightning bolts were crashing in his mind.

From the look in his eyes, it was as if he were looking at something so outlandishly preposterous that it defied imagination.

"That's…. How is this possible? Why would my clone's ninth reincarnation have sculpted her…?" His heart began to thump as he realized that certain shocking and irreversible developments must have occurred during this ninth life.

It was in that very moment that he heard footsteps behind him. A middle-aged man emerged from the room in the back of the shop. He was blind, and yet was able to walk as confidently as if he still possessed his eyes. He seemed very familiar with the little shop, as if had been carved into his mind. He walked over to the middle of the shop and took a sculpting knife off of the shelf, then sat down and began to work on an unfinished sculpture.

The sculpture wasn't even half complete, and although no one else would be able to see what it was, Naruto could tell at a glance that it was the ninth sealing mark of the Ninth Hex.

Little Treasure couldn't see Naruto, and didn't know that he was there with him. If a picture could be painted of the scene, it would depict Naruto standing there in front of his clone's ninth reincarnation, looking down at him slowly carving away at the block of wood.

A very strange feeling filled Naruto's heart as he watched his ninth reincarnation. This reincarnation was different from the others. From the second life to the eighth, Naruto had been able to observe what was happening, and even felt a sense of familiarity with the various reincarnations.

He could sense that this was definitely his clone; his soul and his blood had both come from Naruto. But this ninth reincarnation felt very unfamiliar.

Time passed in which Naruto simply watched the clone working with the sculpture. He had never seen the ninth sealing mark take shape in such a way, in such a clear and corporeal fashion.

It had always appeared as an outline in his mind and heart, but this time, in the hands of Little Treasure, it was taking physical shape in the world, one knife stroke at a time.

"So this is my final, ninth life…?" Naruto murmured. He stood there for a long time… until a woman walked out of the room. She couldn't see Naruto any more than Little Treasure could, but as soon as Naruto saw her, he understood why Han Bei had been coming to this location.

"Yan'er…." he murmured to himself with a sigh. After seeing Yan'er depicted in the wooden sculpture, he had begun to suspect the truth. But to see her here in the flesh caused complicated emotions to rise up within him. Now he understood that in this ninth life, an unexpected twist had occurred. His clone… had ended up marrying Sakura.

Her belly was swollen with child, and her expression was warm as she placed a thick coat onto her husband's shoulders. Then she sat next to him, watching him sculpt. From the way she watched him, it seemed she would never tire of sitting there like that, not for her entire life.

Eventually she looked down at the sculpture, and when she couldn't tell exactly what it was, she quietly asked, "Is it almost finished?"

"Not yet," Little Treasure replied, rubbing the wood gently. "It's about a third done."

She looked at it a bit closer, and then asked, "What exactly is it? I can't tell."

Little Treasure smiled and replied, "These are… the Heavens, as I see them."

"The Heavens?" The woman looked a bit surprised.

"Yeah. These are the Heavens, with their eyes closed. Like me, unable to see." Little Treasure sighed. Yan'er sat there quietly.

Suddenly, Little Treasure looked up, and although he couldn't see Naruto, it was almost as if he were looking at him. "Yan'er, sometimes I have the feeling that this is my purpose in life.

"It was foreordained that I be blind, to live in a world of darkness.

"But I want the Heavens to open their eyes. It's too bad that I can't reach up and touch them."

Naruto looked at Little Treasure and Yan'er for a long moment. Finally, he sighed and turned to leave. Before walking out of the shop, he looked back at Yan'er, and the little bump on her belly.

He could sense the life inside, and although it was true that the child inside was the offspring of his clone's ninth reincarnation, it was also true that it was his own flesh and blood.

This ninth reincarnation was unlike any of the other lives, and this child was also different.

Naruto stood at the threshold of the door, his expression one of many mixed emotions.

He did nothing to interfere with the lives of Yan'er and Little Treasure. There was no need.

He had chosen to let both of them go, and therefore, he would not break them apart now.

Because of the matter of the Ninth Hex, this ninth reincarnation apparently had keen intuition, to the point where Naruto was left shocked. Not only was he actually carving out the ninth seal of the Ninth Hex, he had uttered words which were thought-provoking even to Naruto.

"How can you seal the Heavens without being able to see them?" he murmured, shaking his head.

"No. There's more to it than that. People think that he can't see the

Heavens, but the truth is that in his world of blindness, he can see them.

"He is sculpting those Heavens, one knife stroke at a time. The ninth seal represents those Heavens!

"When that sculpture of his is complete, my clone's ninth reincarnation will close his eyes and pass away. The purpose of his life has been to sculpt that ninth sealing mark." Naruto walked quietly off into the distance.

He didn't leave the city of mortals. He bought a house some distance away from Little Treasure and Yan'er's, where he waited for his clone's ninth reincarnation to finish his work.

Eight months passed in the blink of an eye, and Little Treasure became father to a baby girl. She wasn't blind. She could see the world in all its multitudinous colors. Her bright, cheerful laughter often filled the house.

Her mother picked her name, a single character which meant 'Perfection.'

From the time she was born, her parents called her Perfect.

It was a bit of a strange-sounding name, but Little Treasure liked it, and so did Yan'er.

Little Treasure was extremely excited from the moment she was born. He often held his tiny daughter in his arms and laughed with joy. Later, he carved his daughter's likeness into wood, which he placed on the headboard of her bed.

A few years later, Little Treasure's daughter was eight years old, and the ninth sealing mark was about half finished. On that day, a white hair appeared on Little Treasure's head. Soon after, young Perfect snuck up behind him, then pounced on him, laughing with joy. Chuckling, Little Treasure scooped her up into his arms, and suddenly, Perfect spotted the white hair on her father's head.

"Daddy, you have a white hair! Don't move, I'll pluck it out for you." She reached out with her little hand, found the white hair, and plucked it out.

Little Treasure stroked his daughter's cheek and gave her a loving smile.

He was happy, blessed even. The years continued to pass.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1521

Chapter 1521: The Heavens Inflict Punishment!

A year later, in the dead of night, Little Treasure was in the middle of sculpting the statue that was the ninth sealing mark. Suddenly, the sculpture glimmered with a faint light; it was now half complete.

It was in that very moment that thunder rumbled in the sky outside. It filled the first continent, as if some powerful will were expressing its anger by roaring in rage. The Heavens seemed to transform into an eye which scoured the lands below it, as if it were searching for something. In the end, the eye vanished.

Even as the clouds above seethed, Naruto's true self was sitting in his home not too far away from Little Treasure. He slowly looked up into the sky, his eyes cold.

In that moment, Little Treasure couldn't shake the feeling that someone up above in the sky was looking down at him. He looked up, but of course, couldn't see anything.

That night, as the clouds churned, rain began to fall.

It fell, not just on that particular city, but… upon the entire first continent.

Rain was a natural occurence, so people didn't pay much attention to it.

The mortals didn't even care, much less the cultivators. But the rain continued to fall for a total of seven days!

Because of the unending downpour, some low-lying areas began to fill up with water. A disaster was unfolding. Soon, the mortal empire began to get nervous, and started taking measures to control the flood of water.

The rain didn't stop after seven days though. There was a brief respite with a bit of sunny sky, but then thunder boomed, and the rain began to fall again. It seemed to pour down without end. Rain fell for a second week, then a third, then a fourth….

Then a second month, a third, and a fourth….

Normally, a bit of rainfall was nothing anyone would worry about. But when the rain continued to fall for month after month, soaking the lands, completely inundating them, it was a completely different matter.

By now, it was a true disaster, to the point where the cultivators in the first continent attempted to intervene and stop the rain. However, not even the Paragons were capable of doing so.

The best they could do was create canals that led the rainwater to the oceans.

However, that was not a long-term solution. Furthermore, many of the cultivators who attempted to intervene would subsequently make critical errors when practicing cultivation, and then die.

It was almost as if they had offended the will of the Heavens, and were being punished with death.

The mortal world was completely saturated with water. The city Little Treasure lived in was no exception. Certain portions of the city wall were so soaked that they had collapsed, as had many buildings throughout the city. The citizens could do little more than brave the downpours to try to bolster their residences against the rain.

It reached the point where virtually no one was able to prevent the

water from flowing into their homes. As the water rose, sickness and disease spread.

Little Treasure's house was one of the few in which it was relatively dry. He had no idea why that was the case, nor did his daughter.

Only his wife knew. She had taken certain measures to protect her family.

"When is this rain going to stop…?" Little Treasure said with a sigh.

Because of what had been happening, business had ground to a halt. Thankfully, they had some food saved up, but if the rain kept on the way it was, that food wouldn't last for very long.

Little Treasure sat there quietly, sculpting away. With every stroke of his knife, another sliver of wood would fall, just like the rain outside.

More and more cultivators were mobilized. They began to set up spell formations and hew out canals. However, all that did was alleviate a bit of the pressure, not solve the problem.

It was in this fashion that three years passed.

During that time… the rain never stopped. People began to move to other locations on the continent as one village after another was swallowed up by water. Plains vanished, and eventually, even the city Little Treasure lived in sank beneath the waters.

Little Treasure and his family left with the other refugees, heading to higher ground. Along the way, Little Treasure's parents fell ill.

They were old, and had grown frail, and nearly lost their lives to the illness. However, just when it seemed hopeless, they made a sudden recovery. Little Treasure was delighted, although he couldn't see how ashen his wife's face was in that moment.

The rain fell harder. People died on a daily basis. Among all of the refugees who were traveling to higher ground, only Little Treasure and his family kept their spirits up. Furthermore, Little Treasure never stopped sculpting. Every day he would spend time working on his statue.

The exodus took a full year. Eventually, they reached a tall mountain, which gradually came to be packed with more and more refugees. Suddenly, the rain stopped. Everyone began to cry out in joy, only to feel a frigid wind blow across their faces, a wind which seemed to drain them of all warmth. In that instant, their spirits turned as cold as ice.

The rain had stopped. But the snow had just begun.

The temperature on the first continent dropped rapidly.

Snow began to fall, and Little Treasure shivered. He felt the snow landing on his face, and he could hear everyone around him crying out in alarm.

It was a depressing sound, a sound filled with death and despair….

Before, everything had been wet, but now, everything was freezing cold. This sudden change in the weather took the disaster to a new, unprecedented level.

Snow filled the lands, and the temperature plummeted. The ground froze over, and vile coldness reached its claws everywhere. Not even the canals could escape, and were frozen solid.

More cultivators attempted to interfere with the Heavens, but any who did would eventually drop dead with no warning. There was even an 8Essences Paragon who, in the midst of attempting to stop the disaster, was suddenly blasted by a wind so cold it froze his soul, and he died instantly. After that, no one dared to do anything.

Because of the rain, and then the snow, the First Sect was uprooted and forced to move. According to their understanding, the Heavens had sent this disaster to destroy the first continent.

There was nothing that could be done. There was no resisting it. Even the Sect Leader could do nothing but shake his head bitterly.

Furthermore, he had the feeling that the disaster was far from over.

The First Sect evacuated.

On that night, Little Treasure's wife Yan'er was looking up at the falling snow. She knew that the First Sect was leaving, and finally decided that it was time to take Little Treasure and their daughter away from the first continent. However, just when she was about to unleash some magic, the energy of Heaven and Earth that existed in the first continent vanished.

Just like that, all of the spiritual energy, all of the energy of the Vast Expanse, was suddenly gone, as if it had been cut off. Not a single trace was left behind.

Something shocking resulted because of the disappearance of the energy of Heaven and Earth. In that instant, all of the cultivators on the first continent gaped in shock. It was as if a huge pressure had suddenly descended onto them. All of their years of cultivation, all of their cultivation base power, was gone. No matter how they fought or struggled to keep it… as of this moment, all of them fell back down into the mortal realm. They… were now mortals!

It was as if a huge blanket had been tossed over the lands of the first continent, making it impossible for anyone to leave, and also ensuring that no one dared to enter.

Any cultivator who cross the border into the first continent would instantly become a mortal.

The entire Vast Expanse School was stirred into action. All of the 9Essences Paragons gathered at the borders of the first continent, which they stared at in shock. All of them were trembling deep in their hearts.

"The wrath of the Heavens!" the Sect Leader murmured inwardly. He looked up into the Heavens, into the starry sky of Allheaven, and based on the level of his cultivation base, he could tell that, for some reason, the entire starry sky seemed enraged at the first continent.

At the same time, numerous cultivators who were proficient in prophesying and performing auguries began to call upon their skill to investigate. One after another, they were hit with backlashes that left them coughing up blood. And yet, they all came to the same conclusion.

"Punishment from the Heavens!"

"The Heavens are enraged!"

"Something happened which infuriated the Vast Expanse, right here on the first continent!"

"There is a power building up on the first continent, a power that the starry sky of the Vast Expanse views as an enemy!"

"We have to separate ourselves from that power. We have to seal this place off. Otherwise, the power might spread out from the first land mass and affect all of the starry sky!"

Such predictions and explanations only grew more numerous. Eventually, the first continent was completely sealed off.

All of the cultivators there who had lost their cultivation bases could do nothing but shiver as they looked in despair at the falling snow. Yan'er was among them. She smiled bitterly, and yet knew that there was nothing she could do to change the situation.

Little Treasure wasn't aware of how his wife had changed. However, he could feel death approaching. He knew the world had changed. It was unfamiliar now, and filled with rage and murder.

More people died. Violent chaos filled the lands. In the midst of a disaster like this, the worst side of people was what showed. That was how people survived.

The entire continent began to degenerate. As the snow fell and the temperature dropped, more people turned into corpses. The survivors could do nothing more than search for places to try to survive the cold.

Some survivors formed groups, which huddled together in caves in the mountains as they fought to live.

Food grew scarce, making it even more difficult to keep going. In order to get even a bit of food, many young women did things they would never have done before. People fought and killed others, and stories of cannibalism began to circulate.

Pretty women often had it the worst, so Little Treasure's wife, having lost her cultivation base, used a knife to disfigure her own face.

On that night, Little Treasure wrapped his arms around his wife and daughter, and they all wept together.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1522

Chapter 1522: Oh How Cruel

In that moment, Naruto was floating in the air far up above. He was the only person on the first continent who didn't seem to have been affected by the sudden disappearance of the energy of Heaven and Earth.

He looked down at the ninth incarnation of his clone, a complex expression twisting his face. He looked down at Yan'er with her disfigured face, and Perfect. He looked at the family down below, and after a long moment passed, he sighed.

At the moment, he still felt that the best thing to do was refrain from interfering.

A few months passed. Little Treasure, despite being blind, was very skilled in carpentry, which was a valuable skill in the frigid world in which they lived. Because of that, he was one of the few people among the refugees who was permitted to live inside the cave on the mountain where they resided.

There was little to eat, so Little Treasure slowly began to lose weight. It was the same with his wife. She was no longer beautiful like she had been, and her hair was plastered onto her like a wilted flower.

The truth was that in these deadly and critical times, Yan'er had the option of living a much better life, if she wanted. Despite having lost her cultivation base, her body still retained its regenerative powers, and as such, despite having disfigured herself, she soon recovered, and was beautiful just like before. A beautiful person like that could easily find ways to have a nice life, despite the disastrous state of the world.

Instead, she chose to disfigure herself again, and continued to do so each time she recovered. She would rather stay with Little Treasure and her daughter. They were her family.

It was just like the year when she had first laid eyes on Little Treasure, and realized that he was the reincarnation of the Master she had been searching for. Just as she had then, she murmured, "I'm here to protect you…."

Time passed, and things only got worse. It was so cold that people who stayed outside of the caves for too long would often freeze to death. Eventually, Little Treasure stopped doing any woodworking at all. He focused only on sculpting the ninth sealing mark. That was his focus, his obsession, his purpose in life. He never stopped.

He had already had a relatively low position among the refugees in the cave. Eventually, the most vicious people among the refugees decided that a carpenter wasn't very useful, and Little Treasure's situation got worse.

Despite her scarred face, Yan'er had a very attractive body, which made things even more difficult considering that they were surrounded by bored and tormented individuals who were losing touch with their humanity.

Worst of all, their daughter was now sixteen years old.

One night, Perfect went missing.

On that day, Little Treasure trembled. He felt as if his world had collapsed. His wife was also left trembling. The two of them left the cave to search for their daughter.

"Perfect…."

"Perfect, where are you…?" They called out miserably as they searched. Little Treasure couldn't help but think back to the time he had been alone in the woods, and had wept in fear and anxiety. He was scared now too, but he forced his thoughts under control and reminded himself that he was searching for his daughter.

Eventually, he and Yan'er split up. He kept his hands on a wall, which he followed along, simultaneously calling out for his daughter. Eventually, he could tell that the sun was rising, and yet he hadn't found a single clue.

No one helped them search. The others in the caves simply looked at them coldly.

"Perfect… My Perfect…." A bitter smile twisted Little Treasure's lips as he continued to search for his daughter. Yet even his wife couldn't find her, let alone him, a blind man. He couldn't see the world, and as of this moment, felt more useless than ever. Completely useless….

Then he heard a miserable cry, a cry filled with despair. It was a cry that seemed to come from the lips of someone who wished to end their own life. It wasn't Perfect's voice, but rather, his wife's.

A tremor ran through Little Treasure. Although his eyes were sightless, they were still bloodshot. He immediately began to walk toward the sound, which wasn't too far away from where he stood.

He began to run. He fell. He hit his head on rocks. He was soon bleeding all over. But he continued to run. When he reached the voice, he heard a sinister laugh.

"Damned slut. You're pretty ugly, but I've taken a liking to you, hear me? It's your lucky day! Give me what I want and I'll give your family a kilo of meat. What do you say?"

Up ahead, Yan'er was holding a dagger up to her own throat. She had been backed up against a cliff face by three burly men. If she had her cultivation base, she could kill them with a mere glance. But now, she was nothing more than a frail mortal woman.

Tears welled up in her eyes as the men inched closer. She bit her lip, and was just on the verge of killing herself, when she saw Little Treasure lurching her way, covered in blood.

She wasn't the only one who noticed. The three burly men turned and started laughing.

"The blind man's here! Great! You two grab him. Alright, listen up, bitch. Be a good girl for daddy, otherwise I'll boil your husband in front of your own eyes and then eat him!"

Yan'er looked over at Little Treasure, and the dagger she held trembled. As two of the men walked forward to grab Little Treasure, the other one grinned viciously and closed in on Yan'er.

It was at this point that Little Treasure suddenly smiled. It was a very vicious-looking smile, considering that his face was spattered in blood. He suddenly rose to his feet, seemingly bursting with strength. It was as if all the potential strength of his life force had erupted. His teeth ripped into the neck of one of the men, who had been completely unprepared to be so viciously attacked by a weak blind person. He screamed, clamping his hands down onto the wound. Off to the side, the second man gasped.

Little Treasure's ear twitched, and then he pounced onto the screaming man, madly ripping one chunk of flesh after another out of him. The burly man who had been advancing on Yan'er let out a bellow of rage, and was about to leap into the fray, when Yan'er lunged and began to stab her dagger into his back over and over again.

The remaining man instantly fled, his face filled with terror.

The maddened Little Treasure had ripped so many bloody chunks out of the man's skin that he was now dead. Little Treasure stumbled forward until he found his wife, whom he wrapped up in his arms. Together, they wept.

They never found their daughter. When they returned to the cave, the other refugees looked at them with fear. In a world which seemed to have reached the end of days, people only feared ferocity and repulsiveness.

The more repulsive, the more terrified they would be.

Later, people told them that during the previous night, a group of young men had kidnapped Perfect and taken her away.

Originally, it had been assumed that Perfect would never be seen again, whereas the young men would. However, after day broke, even the young men didn't return.

As for what exactly had occurred, people had their suspicions, but no one knew for sure.

Of course, nobody in the caves knew that at the bottom of the mountain, in another set of caves, a group of four corpses was already growing cold.

They were four young men, whose faces were plastered with expressions of terror and disbelief.

At first, Naruto had decided not to interfere with the life of his clone's ninth reincarnation, not even when it came to his relationship with Yan'er. But as time went on, and the ninth reincarnation's life changed, Naruto started to waver.

Then, Perfect was kidnapped by the four young men, and Naruto simply couldn't stand idly by. After all, the daughter of the ninth reincarnation was also his own flesh and blood.

He took Perfect away to the ninth continent. Naruto was the Ninth Paragon, leader of the Ninth Sect, and with that status, all he had to do was tell the other Paragons of the Ninth Sect that she was his daughter.

That ensured that Perfect would have a respectable status for the rest of her life.

As for the ninth reincarnation, the purpose of his life was to complete the Ninth Hex. And Yan'er was an adult who could make her own decisions. She had her own Karma.

But Perfect was innocent, and didn't deserve to be subject to such bitterness on the first continent.

Naruto looked warmly at Perfect, then turned and left the Ninth Sect. He returned to the first continent, and the caves. There, the day was growing brighter.

From that moment on, things changed for Little Treasure and Yan'er. They had shown their vicious side, especially Little Treasure, who despite being blind, had ripped a man to death with his teeth. When people saw the corpses of the men they had killed, they gasped.

The small group which had previously bullied Little Treasure was left completely shaken and afraid.

In the days to follow, Little Treasure and Yan'er eventually learned of the four corpses in the other cave. Other people confirmed that those were the four young men who had kidnapped Perfect.

They had been dead for some time, and yet there was no trace of Perfect. It was as if she had simply vanished.

Although it was a bitter end to the matter, at least Little Treasure had hope. For some reason, he was convinced that Perfect wasn't dead, and was in fact more blessed than she had ever been.

Because Little Treasure was blind, he couldn't see the look on his wife's face as they stood above the corpses of the four young men. At first she looked confused, and then, somewhat dazed. She wasn't sure who had rescued Perfect, but was convinced that whoever it was had been a very powerful person. Despite the fact that the current state of Heaven and Earth made it impossible to unleash one's cultivation base, that person must somehow have been able to leave the first continent.

In that case, it meant that Perfect was most likely safe.

However, the entire matter was still a heavy blow to Little Treasure. He was struck with a deadly illness which rapidly deteriorated his body.

When the end of days struck the world, falling ill was like a sentence of death. Yan'er worked herself to the bone to take care of him. A year later, he actually recovered, but by that time, Yan'er was like skin and bones.

The truth was that without his wife, Little Treasure would definitely have died.

He had never been inclined to words, but after his illness, he spoke even less. Most of the time, he focused on sculpting. He had been working on the sculpture for decades now, to the point where it was as smooth as glass and as dark as night.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1523

Chapter 1523: My Destiny!

He continued to sculpt. One knife stroke at a time. The statue was gradually taking shape. Another decade passed. It was now ninety percent complete, and the world outside was colder than ever.

The wind blew, and food grew even more scarce. Even the caves got colder and colder. It was not uncommon for people to fall asleep and never wake up.

Things got worse until the caves were little warmer than the outside. Things began to freeze over, and soon, there was so much ice that the people left had only one choice. Stay and die, or leave the caves and try to find some other place to live.

The first group of people who left never returned. Then a second group left, and a third….

One morning, Little Treasure woke up to a very strange feeling. He reached out to touch his wife and realized that she was very stiff. He began to massage her, eventually holding her in his arms, until she finally awoke. He knew why she was like this: at night, she would lay next to him in such a way that the wind didn't blow on him.

After a moment of silence, Little Treasure said, "Let's leave this place!"

A few days later, the fourth group of people marched out into the wind and snow. The world was completely white as they searched for another location to hunker down in. Three days later, an avalanche suddenly struck, burying the entire group.

Naruto hovered in midair up above, looking down. By this point, he had suppressed the impulse to intervene on too many occasions to count. But now, he really felt as if he had no choice. He was just about to do something when his jaw dropped.

Down in the snow, one area began to shake, and then a woman crawled out. It was Yan'er. She was a cultivator, so despite having lost the use of her cultivation base, her body was a lot tougher than a mortal's.

Despite her weakened state, she was able to drag a person with her out of the snow, which was the unconscious Little Treasure. Within the world of ice and snow, everything was quiet. Yan'er wrapped her arms around Little Treasure to warm him up, then slung him over her shoulder.

Looking around blankly for a moment, she then began to trudge onward.

Naruto felt deeply and profoundly shaken. Yan'er was very weak by this point, but she used what energy she had to press on with determination.

She walked for three days, during which time Little Treasure lapsed in and out of consciousness. His skin was very hot, although not from fever, but rather, because he was on the verge of freezing to death.

Tears leaked out of Yan'er's eyes. She called out to him, and held him close to keep him warm. Little Treasure's aura was growing weaker and weaker.

By this point, Naruto could even see his soul was on the verge of emerging. That told him that his clone's ninth reincarnation was reaching the end of his life. Eyes glittering, he extended his finger toward the clone.

But then he suddenly stopped, and his hand quivered. There was something pushing back against him, making it impossible for him to interfere.

Furthermore, Naruto could sense that the eight complete sealing marks had suddenly cracked. Apparently, if he did anything more to interfere, they would be destroyed, and the ninth sealing mark would also completely vanish.

Naruto sank into his silence. Although this was his first time attempting to take control of the ninth sealing mark, he had long since anticipated that something like this might happen.

"Is it all a failure…?" he thought, gazing blankly at Little Treasure's soul as it struggled to emerge and fly away.

However, it was at this point that Yan'er did something that completely shocked Naruto. She looked at Little Treasure's ashen face, and at his chest, which was barely rising and falling. A tender expression appeared in her eyes.

"Master, I love you," she murmured. "I loved you in my last life, and it's the same in this one…." She lifted her wrist up to her mouth and bit down hard. Then she lowered it down to Little Treasure's mouth, allowing the blood to flow into him.

Her own blood was the warmest part of her.

The wound closed up a moment later, so she ripped open another gash. The pain meant nothing to her. As long as the hot, nourishing blood could help Little Treasure to recover, she was willing to do it. Little Treasure's destiny hadn't been fulfilled, nor was he dead. So she picked him up and struggled back to the caves where they had lived for so many years. After they arrived, she collapsed into unconsciousness.

A few days later, Little Treasure woke up. He couldn't see his wife, but he knew that she had saved his life yet again.

In his bitterness, Little Treasure began to weep. Eventually, Yan'er wrapped her arms around him, and the two of them sat there in the coldness of the cave, feeling each other's' warmth.

After some time passed, Little Treasure suddenly reached up and began to pat his clothing. When he didn't find what he was looking for, he began to tremble.

The wooden statue was gone.

It was more than ninety percent complete, and had been with him for years upon years. But now, it was buried somewhere in the snow.

A moment passed. Little Treasure felt as if he lad lost his soul. He sighed bitterly.

When his wife realized what had happened, she didn't say anything. However, later that night, after Little Treasure had fallen asleep, she rose to her feet, straightened her clothes, and then walked to the mouth of the cave. After turning to look back at Little Treasure for a moment, she gritted her teeth and walked out into the snow.

She knew what her husband's destiny was.

She followed the same path they had taken when they left. Because of the blood loss, she was now very weak, like a flame that could be snuffed out at any moment by the freezing wind.

After walking for a few days she reached the place where the avalanche had struck. Then she began to dig. She dug and dug until her hands were stiff.

She dug up one corpse after another, corpses belonging to the group they had been traveling with. Her vision was swimming by the time she found the little wooden statue.

She smiled, put the statue into her garment, and then, fighting the urge to pass out, turned and walked back. A day later, she was getting hot, but was in much better spirits.

She began to walk faster, and continued to get hotter. Two days later, she reached the cave, and smiled. She wasn't even sure how she had returned. She entered, and as soon as she saw Little Treasure, she stumbled and fell into his arms.

"Little Treasure," she said softly, "I managed… to get your statue back…..

"I should stay to protect you, but I don't think I can…. "Master, I… I love you."

Little Treasure trembled as Yan'er's aura faded away.

A few days earlier, Little Treasure had awoken to find his wife gone. He wasn't sure where she had left to, and considering he was blind, it wasn't really possible to track her down.

He could only sit there in the cave, shivering, paying close attention to the sounds he heard. However, all he heard was the whistling of the wind, and not his wife's footsteps.

He waited a whole day. Then another, and another. Soon he began to lose hope. Eventually, he began to chuckle bitterly, and recall that time in the forest when he was a child.

"Why did I have to be born blind!?" He had always deceived himself into believing that it didn't matter that he couldn't see the world. But as of this moment, he hated the fact that he was blind.

"Everyone's gone. Dad and mom are gone. Perfect is gone. And now you're gone…. I'm the only one left…." Tears flowed down his face. His hair had long since turned gray. There he sat, an old man in a cave, crying alone.

He wasn't sure how much time passed. First it was hours, then days. Eventually, he heard footsteps in the wind, very familiar footsteps. He began to tremble as he rose to his feet, and suddenly, she fell into his arms.

She was cold. Freezing cold.

"Little Treasure," she said softly, "I managed… to get your statue back…..

"I should stay to protect you, but I don't think I can….

"Master, I… I love you."

Those three sentences truck Little Treasure like lightning. Trembling, he held her body, unsure of what to say. His throat seemed stuck shut, unable of emitting sound. His heart felt as if it had just been stabbed through.

He suddenly coughed up some blood, which splattered onto his wife's body like crimson flower petals.

He thought back to the young woman he had met in the forest as a boy. He thought about the night they were married. He thought about how he had lifted her veil and touched her face.

He thought about the day Perfect was born, and how everyone had been so happy. He thought about how, when it started to rain, his wife stuck with him the entire time, even when he was sculpting. He thought about how sad he had been when his parents died, and how she had comforted him.

He thought about how she had cared for him when he was sick, and how she blocked the wind with her own body. Finally, he thought about how she had nourished him with her own blood after the avalanche. That taste still seemed to linger in his mouth.

He held her in his arms for a long, long time. Eventually, her aura was gone, and yet Little Treasure didn't want to believe it. More tears flowed.

"It's fine, it's fine," he murmured. "I'm here. You rest for a bit. You're so cold, let me try to warm you up." Little Treasure carried his wife's corpse deep into the cave, where he tried to warm her with his own body.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1524

Chapter 1524: Nine Reincarnations Together!

Unfortunately, no matter how he tried to warm her, he couldn't prevent her from becoming colder and colder. His anxiety grew, and his mind began to race. Eventually, he bit at his wrist and tried to pour his blood into her mouth. He smiled.

"It's fine. Everything's going to be fine," he murmured. Eventually, he passed out.

He was now alone in the cave. Everyone else had left. The only ones who stayed behind were the corpses.

After some time passed, he woke up again. He reached out to touch his wife, and she was as cold as ice. Little Treasure went mad. He ripped open his other wrist with his teeth to pour more blood into her mouth, but her mouth had frozen shut.

"Drink it," he murmured. "Drink my blood and you'll be fine! It's warm… Don't get any colder, please…." Tears streamed down his face as he babbled on. Eventually, he wrapped his arms around her corpse and wept.

The sound of his wailing echoed out in the cave until the wind rose up and drowned it out.

He was soon overwhelmed with a feeling of complete and utter loneliness. But then, strangely, he wasn't afraid any more.

He stroked his wife's face, feeling how cold it was, and softly said, "You know, back when we got married, I knew something that my dad and mom never knew. You're not a mortal. You're an Immortal."

His eyes had no pupils, and yet, they seemed to radiate warmth.

"How could I not know that the person who saved me in the forest was you?" He continued to stroke her face, wiping away the frost that was forming. From his expression, it was clear that he was thinking about the past.

"Back then," he murmured, "I knew that you had to be one of those legendary Immortals, and yet, I couldn't figure out why you would choose me….

"Sometimes when you were looking at me, though, I could sense that the person you saw wasn't me….

"The person you truly loved wasn't me, was it? It was your Master.

"I'm blind, unable to see the world that the rest of you live in. But the world that exists in my heart, is a world that none of you can see. And there is something about that world that no one could possibly know…." Little Treasure smiled as he talked to his wife.

"I'll tell you, okay? I've never told anyone before, not even my parents….

"I've seen people before, in my world. They lived on different continents, and they lived different lives than mine. One was very happy, one was a businessman, one was a hunter. One of them wielded incredible power. Another was a coroner, and there was even an assassin….

"There was another person, an Immortal, and he had an apprentice named Yan'er. She looked a lot like you." He smiled faintly.

"Do you know why I've been working on this little sculpture? It's because all of those other people. All of them have been insisting that I have to finish sculpting it. I have to finish making this wooden statue. I have to force the Heavens open their eyes, or to close their eyes.

"Having the power to force them to close their eyes isn't enough. What those other people want… is the power of absolute control over the eyes of the Heavens. To FORCE them to open their eyes. If I want the Heavens to close their eyes, they will have no choice but to comply!" Little Treasure chuckled. Stroking his wife's freezing face one more, he turned his head and said, "Am I right?"

Although Little Treasure was blind, when he spoke those words, he was looking directly at a person. A person who was standing right behind him.

It was none other than Naruto.

Naruto looked down at Little Treasure, his eyes shining with bright, piercing light.

As of this moment, his heart was pounding.

The development he had most feared… had occurred.

Something had occurred which made it so that Naruto was incapable of controlling the ninth reincarnation of his clone. Perhaps there was something unique about the ninth reincarnation's body, or perhaps it was a result of using the incomplete eight sealing marks of the Ninth Hex when he was outside the Vast Expanse.

For whatever reason, Naruto had been very reluctant to interfere. Eventually, when he finally gave in and tried to do something, he met with resistance. And now, he found that something completely unexpected had occurred.

The ninth reincarnation was him, but obviously, had developed an independent mind. He was different from the previous reincarnations. He could not be controlled.

Although Little Treasure couldn't see the world around him, he somehow seemed to be looking directly at Naruto as he said, "I could sense a thread connecting me to all eight of those people who appeared in my world. And that thread connected to someone else, too.

"That person is you.

"My guess is that I am your clone. Yan'er's Master was also your clone. Am I right?"

After a moment of silence, Naruto said, "Yes. Both you and the other reincarnations you saw were created for a single purpose. To complete my Ninth Hex."

Little Treasure nodded thoughtfully. "So that's how it is. And what about her? Was she really your apprentice?"

Naruto looked down at Yan'er. Without her, this ninth reincarnation would have long since died. "She was the apprentice of my clone. In her previous life, I came to owe her a huge debt."

By this point, Little Treasure looked very, very old. "What about my daughter? Well, I guess she's your daughter too, right?"

"She's safe," Naruto replied softly. "In the Ninth Sect on the ninth continent."

"I guess we've reached the end of it all. I… have no last words to say, I suppose." Little Treasure sat there quietly. After enough time had passed for an incense stick to burn, he reached down and pulled the wooden statue out from his wife's garment. He rubbed the wood, and sighed.

"I really hate the idea of other people controlling my destiny. Even when that person is my true self. I still hate it.

"You know, I could sever the thread that connects the two of us at any time." Little Treasure picked up his sculpting knife, and in that moment, he somehow seemed to possess the power to sever Karma.

If he did, then it wouldn't matter if the Ninth Hex were completed, Naruto would not be able to even touch it.

Naruto stood there silently.

Little Treasure looked over at his wife, grief playing across his face. After a long moment, his knife moved. He didn't sever the thread, but instead, began to sculpt the wood.

He cut with incredible speed, as if he were pouring all the power of his life into his work. Gradually, the eighth reincarnation appeared behind him, then the seventh, the sixth, the fifth… all the way to the first.

Nine reincarnations were all contained in one body. Together, they controlled the knife, causing the final sealing mark of the Ninth Hex to gradually take shape. Outside, thunder boomed. It seemed enraged, and its roars filled the world. Wind screamed, and snow battered the lands.

It was in that moment that Little Treasure's knife stopped moving. The wooden statue was ninety-nine percent complete. It only required one more knife stroke.

"It's difficult to perfect something I've never touched…." he murmured. Instantly, his soul, as well as the images of the other eight reincarnations, suddenly flew out of the cave. As the will of Allheaven roared up above, they shot high into the sky, touching the Heavens, feeling the will of Allheaven.

For the first time ever, the will of Allheaven trembled. For the first time, it felt fear. For the first time… it retreated.

That was Little Treasure's aura, in the form of the eight incarnations. It was also a Heaven-Sealing aura!

That aura was the result of the nine perfected sealing marks. After combining, they formed the true… Seal the Heavens Hex!

As soon as it appeared, it spread out to fill Heaven and Earth. In the starry sky of Allheaven, the will of Allheaven which existed everywhere was now shaking, and the fear it felt continued to mount. Thunder boomed, and the clouds churned. It appeared as if the will of Allheaven were truly being forced to flee!

It was pushed out of the first continent, pushed out of the lands. The Seal the Heavens Hex might have seemed weak initially, but it actually existed on a completely different level than the other Hexes. In fact… it existed on a higher level than the will of Allheaven. It was a power that caused even that will to be completely shocked!

This was Naruto's Ninth Hex, the Seal the Heavens Hex!

"I felt it," Little Treasure said, smiling. He opened his eyes. All of the other reincarnations also smiled. Then, they merged together, transforming into a beam of light that shot back down to the lands below, back into the cave, to Little Treasure's body. Then he lifted his knife to make the final cut on the wooden statue.

Boom!

The knife cut the wood, and the statue was complete!

The nine sealing marks of the Ninth Hex, the Seal the Heavens Hex, were, as of this moment… complete. The entire starry sky of Allheaven began to shake and tremble. A tempest sprang up with Planet Vast Expanse at the center. It spread out, wider and wider, covering everything.

In that moment, the barrier which had surrounded the first continent began to fragment and crack. A moment later, it exploded, sending a huge shockwave out in all directions!

All of the snow on the first continent melted instantly, transforming into a mist that rose up into the air. The mist was then caught by the wind, and vanished!

The lands were restored. The plains appeared again. Mountains stood tall. Cities reappeared. Even the First Sect could be seen again.

At the same time, an indescribable power filled the lands, causing grass to sprout on the plains. The withered trees in the forests suddenly began to grow again, and all of the mountains became lush with vegetation.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1525

Chapter 1525 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1525: Goodbye, Yan'er

Everything in the past which had died, regardless of whether they had frozen to death or drowned, regardless of whether they were cultivators or mortals, regardless of whether they were animals or plants, were all resurrected!

Even if the corpses had vanished, they returned to life from nothing!

The shattered buildings and collapsed mountains were restored in the blink of an eye. All of the lands… were like they were before!

According to the ancient saying, when one man achieves the Dao, all those beneath him will also ascend. That was exactly what was happening with the Seal the Heavens Hex. From within death, life appeared!

Rumbling sounds filled the first continent as everything was restored. As that happened, Planet Vast Expanse was shaken, as were all of the lands that filled the starry sky of Allheaven. All worlds, all realms, all the dust, everything was vibrating.

All cultivators, all species, all forms of life, everything that existed trembled in shock and astonishment.

Jin Yunshan gasped, and Sha Jiudong was left shivering. Bai Wuchen's eyes went wide with amazement.

The Sect Leader's jaw dropped, and all of the other 9-Essences cultivators were battered by waves of shock. Each of them felt compelled to drop to their knees and kowtow to the first continent. It was almost as if something were being born there… that surpassed the Vast Expanse itself!

In the first location where Naruto had acquired a copper mirror shard, the enormous basilisk lizard with the peak 9-Essences battle prowess was currently sleeping. Suddenly, it trembled and looked up, astonishment shining in its eyes.

In the Ice-Fire Realm, the Icemountain Giant and the Flamephoenix could feel the fluctuations rolling out through the starry sky of Allheaven, and were suddenly struck with fear.

On the flourishing Immortal God Continent was a certain sect that held the most prominent position among all of the other sects. It was a powerful sect, and within that sect was a disciple by the name of DaoHeaven, a new Chosen within the sect.

He was currently sitting there cross-legged in meditation. For years, he his heart had been filled with various questions and speculations. And yet, he had never been able to prove whether or not they were right. In fact, the ideas in his head seemed almost too fantastic to believe.

However, as of this moment, the entire Immortal God Continent suddenly trembled. Every entity in those lands stopped what they were doing and looked up. Mortals, cultivators, and even the animals, all suddenly seemed to lack the energy to even move. The entire world went completely still and quiet.

Except for Dao-Heaven. He could move. A tremor ran through him as he suddenly sensed a familiar aura. A smile broke out on his face, and tears began to stream down his cheeks. Finally, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

Dao-Heaven, of course, was the former Echelon cultivator of the First Mountain and Sea!

A similar scene played out on the Devil Realm Continent. It was the same in the 33 Heavens above the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Outside the 33 Heavens, sitting there on guard, was the monkey Dao Fang, whose heart suddenly trembled.

In all of the starry sky of Allheaven, things were shaking, and rumbling like thunder could be heard.

At the same time, the will of Allheaven seemed to cause everything to shake with its rage. It roared in fury, as well as… terror!

It was terrified, because it could sense that a new aura had appeared within the starry sky. It was a new power, a Dao… that superseded the Heavenly Dao!

That Dao could be called… the Seal the Heavens Dao!

The Seal the Heavens Dao was boundlessly domineering. It refused to allow anyone to offend it. It refused to allow any other will to change it.

It… could make the Heavens open their eyes, and could make the Heavens close their eyes. If I want the Heavens' eyes closed, they won't dare to refuse!

What I want, the Heavens shall NOT lack! What I don't want, had BETTER not exist in the Heavens!

Back on Planet Vast Expanse, on the first continent, everyone was resurrected. However… Yan'er remained frozen.

After making the final knife cut, Little Treasure flicked his sleeve, and the statue and knife flew over toward Naruto.

As of this moment, his eyes were different. Before, they had no pupils, but now they did. He looked around at the world, and saw light. Of course, he didn't care about the world. He slowly looked down at his wife, and smiled. This was the first time he had ever seen her appearance.

She was ugly, her face covered with scars and wounds. But to Little Treasure, she was the most beautiful thing in existence.

He knelt down and wrapped his arms around her, smiling contentedly. Eventually, he closed his eyes, and his aura vanished.

His soul flew out. It, along with the souls of all the other reincarnations, became a beam of light that shot toward the statue in Naruto's hand. The light entered the statue, which then glowed brightly. It was now truly complete.

That wooden statue was Naruto's Ninth Hex. Once he absorbed it, he could… combine the Nine Hexes!

And yet, he felt no joy. It was hard to pinpoint exactly what emotions he felt as he looked down at Little Treasure's corpse, which was gradually transforming into motes of light that floated through the air and merged into Naruto. After all, he had been part of Naruto to begin with.

Naruto knew that Little Treasure could have refused to cooperate. Naruto was the true self, and he was the clone, a part that had essentially been cut out from Naruto.

He didn't like being controlled, didn't like others being in charge of his destiny. And yet, in the end, he chose to complete the Ninth Hex, and to help Naruto.

Of course, Naruto knew that he did it, not for him, but… for Yan'er.

This ninth reincarnation of his clone loved Yan'er much more than Naruto's true self did.

Naruto stood there in the cave for a long, long time. Eventually, the motes of light that were Little Treasure merged fully into Naruto. All traces of the clone's existence had been wiped out, except for the sculpting knife and the wooden statue.

Naruto sighed. Yan'er's body was also transforming into motes of light that gradually began to fade away. Her soul hovered there, complete and whole, just in front of Naruto.

She was looking at her fading corpse, and the empty spot next to it, where another person had been laying moments ago. Some time passed, after which she turned and looked at Naruto.

"Should I call you the Ninth Paragon?" she asked softly. "Or Master. Or… Little Treasure."

Naruto extended his right hand, within which were two soul strands. One was the strand which had been fused with Han Bei. The other contained memories of a previous life.

The two soul strands merged together into one, becoming a beautiful stream of light that flowed over to Yan'er.

"That is a part of your soul," Naruto said quietly. "If you absorb it, your soul will be complete, and you'll remember everything from the past. You will remember… who exactly I am."

Yan'er looked quietly at the beautiful light, a calm smile slowly growing on her face. "What happened to Perfect?"

"She's in the Ninth Sect."

Yan'er nodded and looked off into the distance. Some more time passed before she spoke again.

"This ninth reincarnation was enough for me. What need is there of past memories? Now that I think about it, I'm sure that there are many regrets within those memories.

"All I know is that you are my Master, and that I lived a good life." She closed her eyes for a moment, and when she opened them again, they were bright and clear. She waved her finger at the soul light, the light which contained the memories of her past life. The light faded away.

With that, she clasped hands and bowed to Naruto.

"This life is over. Master, I won't interfere in your world any more. Thank you for caring for me throughout the years." She looked at Naruto one last time, then turned away. In front of her, a reincarnation vortex appeared. Just as she was about to step in, she stopped in place.

"You promised to tell me the rest of the story of Sakura. But, I already know what happens." She smiled and took a deep breath. She had long since come to the conclusion that she herself was the second half of Sakura's story. Apparently, she had finally chosen to free herself from all burdens. What she had just said was no lie; she was content. Looking free and at ease, she waved at Naruto and then stepped into reincarnation.

To her, spending an eternity with the one she loved wasn't necessary. She was happy with one lifetime.

Naruto stood quietly in the cave, eyes somewhat blank. The Ninth Hex was complete, but he didn't feel happy at all. In fact, melancholy gripped at his heart.

After some time passed, he shook his head and buried his feelings deep inside. He walked out of the cave and felt the soft breeze on his face. It lifted his hair and rustled his garments, almost as if it were taking away the bad memories with it.

A look of determination appeared on his face, and his eyes began to shine. His cultivation over the past thousand years, and all of the things he had experienced, had forged him into something even harder than before.

His face looked young, but if you looked closely, there was something about him that could only be seen on someone who had existed for many years, and seen many things. There were even some faint wrinkles visible around the corners of his eyes. He did nothing to conceal the changes.

"It's time to go back…." He thought, looking up at the blue sky and the white clouds. Off in the distance was a red beam of light flying toward him. It was the mastiff, who landed in front of him and looked up quietly.

He stroked the mastiff's fur, and the light in his eyes grew more incisive than ever.

"After I absorb the Ninth Hex and ensure that it's complete, I can combine the Nine Hexes and extinguish the bronze lamp. Then I will Transcend. And after that… we can go home!" Although he didn't speak very loudly, it was as if his voice merged with Heaven and Earth and spread out through the starry sky.

Back in the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, a faint voice could suddenly be heard.

"I'm coming back!"

Chapter 1525: Goodbye, Yan'er

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1526

Chapter 1526: A Place to Transcend!

As his voice echoed out, countless people were left shaken. Hinata was sitting cross-legged in meditation. Her eyes slowly opened, and tears of joy rolled down her face.

Everyone had been waiting for hundreds of years, and at long last… the Demon Sovereign was going to return!

In the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, Fatty, who was now the lord of an important sect, was in the middle of reprimanding some people, when suddenly a tremor ran through him. He then began to laugh until tears streamed down his face, to the bafflement of everyone else.

Somewhere deep within the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was an area of extreme coldness. There, a middle-aged cultivator was sitting cross-legged, surrounded by freezing air. He looked very sinister, and his eyes were closed, although that was because he was blind.

Suddenly, a tremor ran through him, and his eyelids opened to reveal black pits. As he opened his eyes, a tempest sprang up around him, and a smile broke out on his face.

In another location in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly world was Li

Ling'er, who continued to carry out Paragon Sea Dream's final wishes.

After accepting Sea Dream's legacy, she had founded the Sea Dream

Association, which had grown large over the past several hundred years.

As she sat cross-legged in the sect's secluded meditation facilities, she suddenly shivered, and her eyes opened. She looked up into the sky and smiled. Despite the fact that her hair was white with age, her smile was just as beautiful as always.

In another area was a house on top of a mountain, where Naruto's sister lived with Sun Hai. They had long since married, and had a son and a daughter. Their children were grown, and had borne grandchildren, making them their own little clan.

"Little brother is coming back," Namikaze Yu said, her eyes shining with reminiscence.

Everywhere in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, people were shaken, including one woman by the name of Zhixiang, who was smiling with anticipation.

There was another young man who happened to be seated cross-legged on the back of a huge whale, which was flying through the air. The young man was leaning up against a coffin, and he held an alcohol flagon in his hand, from which he sipped. A smile broke out on his face.

"He's coming back, Night," said the young man. He was Ke Jiusi, and the whale was true spirit Night.

There was a sect in the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly called the Kunlun Society. Back when the Mountain and Sea Realm was destroyed, the Kunlun Society had been preserved. They even managed to save many of their most important objects from within the sect, which they took with them into the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

One of those objects… was a coffin, made from Immortal jade and filled with Naruto's divine sense!

The highest mountain in the Kunlun Society didn't have a sharp, jagged peak. Instead, it had a hollow depression at the top. Within that basin were countless spell formations, as well as piles of Immortal jade. In the middle of it, was that very coffin.

Inside the coffin was a very beautiful woman. Her eyes were closed, as if she were sleeping. It was none other than Sakura's true self. Because of the power of Naruto's divine sense, and the protective measures set up by the Kunlun Society, she had been preserved down to this day.

Even as everyone in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly who was familiar with Naruto sensed that he was coming, a white-haired old man was standing next to that coffin, looking at the woman inside. He was Pill Demon, Naruto's Master, and also Master to Sakura.

Pill Demon gazed at Sakura for a while, then sighed. He was just about to turn and leave, when a tremor ran through him. He looked back at Sakura, and for some reason, was convinced… that he had seen her eyelashes flutter.

Pill Demon gasped. "This…."

He looked closer, and although Sakura clearly wasn't awake, he could definitely see… faint signs of life!

As everyone was shaken in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, back on the first continent of Planet Vast Expanse, Naruto strode forth, his eyes gleaming with profound light.

The mastiff tagged along at his side, and moments later, the parrot flew out. As soon as it saw the mastiff, it whooped in delight.

"Woooo! Your fur is so luxuriant! It's making me horny! Dammit, why do I feel like crying…?"

Naruto didn't say anything in response. He returned to the ninth continent, and then the half-planet under the surface of the ground. Once he was back in Ninth Paragon City, he entered his secluded meditation facilities.

Unfortunately, he simply couldn't shake the melancholy that had come to grip him after everything with Sakura. Some time passed, after which he subconsciously lifted his right hand and performed an incantation gesture, sending divine sense spreading out. After confirming that Perfect was doing well, he began to search for the signs of Sakura in reincarnation.

"She… didn't reincarnate?" he thought, looking off into the distance. He wasn't a completely heartless person, and although his heart was fully occupied with his desire for revenge, there were some emotions he couldn't simply ignore. In his mind, the only person he actually owed anything to in this life… was Sakura.

For some reason, he thought back to the coffin which existed in the vortex, which the Mountain and Sea Butterfly rested upon. That coffin had a line of text written on it.

"The entire starry sky owes me a debt, and likewise… I owe you a debt.

You could awaken from slumber if you wished, but you do not …" 1

Those words, and that concept, formed a resonance with Naruto. He sat there quietly in his bitterness for a long time. Eventually, he waved his hand, and the statue of the Ninth Hex appeared. After examining it for a bit, determination appeared in his eyes, and he sent his divine sense out in an attempt to absorb it.

However, in the instant he did that, the will of Allheaven which had just been expelled descended upon him in full madness.

His eyes flickered, and a vicious smile appeared on his face as he continued to absorb the Ninth Hex, and simultaneously resist the will of Allheaven.

A few days later, his eyes were bright red as he reached out and pushed his hand down onto the ground. A wind blasted out, and although nothing in the area was damaged or destroyed, it fought back against the will of Allheaven even more strongly. Eventually, Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot.

By now, he realized that if he wanted to absorb the Ninth Hex in peace, he simply couldn't do it here. He might be able to force it to happen, but it was also possible that along the way, he could ruin everything.

Absorbing the Ninth Hex was too important to him, and he couldn't allow room for mistakes. After some thought, his eyes gleamed brightly.

"I need a place where the will of Allheaven cannot go. Only in a place like that will I be able to smoothly absorb the Ninth Hex…. The only place I know of like that is the necropolis!

"It seems a little trip to the necropolis is in order. If the will of Allheaven wants to get in there, it will have to fight against the necropolis and everything in it. And that includes…." Naruto thought about the first time he had visited the necropolis. He had heard a voice speak out from the ninth land mass, which cowed the will of Allheaven with a single word.

As he sat there, he examined the bronze lamp inside of him. Yet again, he could sense the feeling of worship directed at him from the ghosts. The determination in his eyes grew stronger.

"To the necropolis!" he said, rising to his feet. He put the wooden statue away and flickered into motion, heading toward the half-planet's teleportation portal.

Once he was there, he reached out and activated the portal, causing the power of teleportation to begin to build up.

Before the spell formation could fully activate, several beams of light shot through the air toward it. It was Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong, Bai Wuchen, the Sect Leader, and the other 9-Essences Paragons. Not a single one was missing.

These people were all as crafty as foxes, and had long since begun paying close attention to Naruto. As soon as they detected him activating the teleportation portal, it became obvious that he was planning to go into the necropolis, and thus they appeared.

They looked at Naruto with mixed emotions, looking shaken. The Sect Leader took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, would you please permit the rest of us to come along with you? We've tried on multiple occasions to enter the ninth land mass, but have never succeeded. If you can open it, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, we hope you'll give us a chance to go in too."

He wasn't lying. During the past several hundred years, they had never been able to get past the eighth land mass. They had tried every method they could think of, and had met with failure every time. They had finally reached the conclusion that the barrier separating them from the ninth land mass was something they would never be able to pass.

Although they weren't sure why Naruto wanted to go into the necropolis, he was obviously completely determined to do so. After all the years they had practiced cultivation, and after everything they had experienced within the necropolis, they had developed certain speculations regarding how Naruto was connected to the terrifying aura they had sensed that one time on the first land mass.

The opportunity they had now was not something they would abandon lightly. Not only did the Sect Leader clasp hands and bow, all of the other 9-Essences Paragons, including Sha Jiudong and Bai Wuchen, all did the same.

Bai Wuchen was filled with bitterness because of it, but the prospect of Transcendence prompted her to acquiesce.

Only Jin Yunshan stood there, unabashed and arrogant. He waved his hand, causing a total of thirty bracelets of holding to appear, which represented virtually all of the wealth he had accumulated in recent years. Heart filled with pain, he gritted his teeth and waved his sleeve, sending the bracelets of holding flying toward Naruto.

"That's my entrance fee!" he said coolly, sticking his chin out. He was completely confident in this action, and was even a bit derisive of how, even after all these years, nobody else understood Naruto like he did.

As long some money was thrown his way, he could accept anything.

Naruto's face twitched as he watched the thirty bracelets of holding flying through the air toward him. He was inclined to reject such an insulting offer, but then he waved his arm, sucking the bracelets of holding into his sleeve and clearing his throat. He had to admit that, despite how much he had grown, and how cold he had become, insults like this were something he was happy to accept.

When the other Paragons saw what was happening, they were instantly enlivened. Without any hesitation, they began to produce various precious holding items, which they handed over. Most people offered ten or so, a few offered several dozen.

Naruto looked them over and even scanned them with divine sense. Despite his current level of battle prowess, he was still profoundly shocked by what he saw.

Both in terms of spirit stones and other precious materials, the contents were virtually impossible to count. Naruto couldn't prevent his heart from leaping.

"I'm already at the peak of 9-Essences," he murmured to himself. "The most powerful under Transcendence. How could these people… be so insulting!?" After looking over the hundreds of precious holding items, he took a deep breath and smiled. Waving his sleeve, he collected them up, then coughed dryly.

"Fellow Daoists," he said somberly, "considering how well you've cared for me in my time in the Vast Expanse School, I am duty-bound to take you into the necropolis with me!

"However, this incursion will involve great danger. If you still want to go in, though, and I'm able to open the way to the ninth land mass, then I'll do everything I can to take you with me."

Everyone else smiled and nodded. They weren't worried at all about any dangers. After all the times they had been in the necropolis, they were used to that.

After a final look around, Naruto continued to power up the spell formation with the aid of everyone else present. The speed of activation immediately increased.

After a few breaths of time, the spell formation rumbled, and teleportation light shot up into the air. Even as that happened, everything on Planet Vast Expanse shook. The lands quaked and the seas churned as a powerful will descended.

The line of text on the coffin was revealed in chapter 1400 ↩

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1527

Chapter 1527: Vast Expanse Leads the Defense!

The entire planet was shaking. All natural and magical laws, all space and time, all Daos, were utterly and thoroughly suppressed.

The descending will became the only thing that existed in Planet Vast Expanse. An endless mist spread out, such that if you looked at the planet from a distance, it looked like it was composed of nothing but mist. The entire planet was covered by it.

The will pervaded everything, like a Heavenly Dao. In the blink of an eye, it appeared above the half-planet, where it attacked the teleportation portal, blocking the teleportation power.

Everyone present was shocked, and couldn't help but feel that an incredible disaster was imminent.

Everyone began to cry out.

"What's happening?!"

"Who's attacking the spell formation?!"

"Is an army invading the Vast Expanse School? Impossible!"

Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent. Obviously, the will of

Allheaven had arrived to try to prevent him from entering the necropolis.

It was in that exact same moment that something like a voice echoed out within the minds of Naruto and the other 9-Essences Paragons.

"Any and all teleportations are prohibited!"

The voice was cold, emotionless, and stern. Other than Naruto and the Sect Leader, the entire group was left trembling. Sha Jiudong, Jin Yunshan, and Bai Wuchen all coughed up blood. Everyone else seemed to be on the verge of exploding. Their bodies were being shredded to pieces, gravely injured by a single sentence.

Blood oozed out of the corners of the Sect Leader's mouth, and Naruto's eyes were shot with blood, although that was the extent of his injuries.

"Fellow Daoists, if we don't fight back, the danger will only escalate!" Naruto grinned viciously, waving his hand. The copper mirror appeared, instantly transforming into countless black threads. His suit of armor formed, and the Battle Weapon appeared in his hand, which he used to slash up at the sky.

A boom echoed out as Allheaven's descending will trembled. At the same time, an immense pressure began to weigh down. The teleportation portal itself even began to crumble apart.

Everyone, regardless of whether they were inclined to or not, had no choice but to unleash the full power of their cultivation bases. An explosion of energy occurred as all of them began to fight back against the will of Allheaven.

Boundless Essence power erupted out. Although they were being crushed by the pressure, these people were all 9-Essences cultivators, with some being at the peak of 9-Essences. Furthermore, all of them had benefited from eight chances to meditate on a Transcendence Dais. All of them had traces of Transcendence aura, which made it possible for them to resist the will which was arrayed against them.

Rumbling echoed out, and the spell formation trembled. The light twisted, and the lands shattered. The half-planet was shaking, and more cracks were spreading out across the surface of the teleportation portal.

If it broke, then it would make it very difficult for the Vast Expanse School forces to enter the necropolis. The entrance would be sealed tight.

It was at this point that the descending will manifested in the blurry shape of a hand. The hand filled the sky as it bore down on the spell formation.

Everyone, even Jin Yunshan, looked up at it in despair. It was something they simply couldn't fight against, the will of the entire starry sky of Allheaven!

The hand blotted out everything else, but as Naruto looked up at it, his eyes glittered. He considered taking out the wooden statue. He didn't want to, and in fact, the last time he had been in secluded meditation trying to absorb the Ninth Hex, and the will of Allheaven interfered, he had only relied on his own power to fight back.

As far as Naruto could tell, using the Ninth Hex before it was complete would result in irreversible losses, and would make it less effective in the future!

But now, it seemed he had no choice but to unleash it. However, in the very moment when he was about to do so, the Sect Leader threw his head back and let out an enraged roar.

"This is the Vast Expanse School, a branch of the Vast Expanse Society! This is the legacy of Patriarch Vast Expanse, and no will has the right to interfere with us!" His hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and he pointed up into the sky. Immediately, the ground off in the distance began to quake, and an ancient aura erupted out.

The instant it appeared, the hand up above trembled to a stop.

Then, a voice could be heard, murmuring and indistinct. And yet, Naruto was able to make out the word being spoken.

"Ghost…."

The hand suddenly surged back into motion, moving with even greater speed than before. At the same time, a crevice opened up in the ground, from within which brilliant red light spilled out. Then, a pillar of lava exploded up, at the top of which was, unexpectedly, a turtle shell!

The turtle shell radiated an ancient power which caused everything to shake violently. It was almost as if something profoundly old were underneath it, trying to escape. The turtle shell began to spin, giving rise to a tempest which spread out in all directions. As soon as the hand touched it, the tempest collapsed, and blood oozed out of the corners of the Sect Leader's mouth. His eyes were bright red; he was aware of the critical danger they were in, so he gritted his teeth and then roared, "Vast Expanse Precious Treasure, come forth!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the spinning turtle shell stopped in place, and something stretched out from within it…. A skeletal hand! It was completely gold, and appeared to be the hand of a cultivator!

An intense and pure Immortal Chakra emanated off of it, something which exceeded the imaginations of everyone. None of them had ever seen anything so pure and powerful, except for Naruto, who had made contact with a similar Immortal Chakra when he visited the column of the Immortal outside the Vast Expanse.

As soon as the skeletal hand appeared, the bronze lamp inside of Naruto began to flicker wildly.

Naruto immediately thought back to the first time he had visited Planet Vast Expanse, and what he had felt from the bronze lamp. Most others would not be able to discern whose hand that was, unless they were familiar with certain legends or stories. But Naruto was sure, based on his feelings, that this skeletal hand… actually belonged to… Patriarch Vast Expanse!

He had been transformed from the Immortal into the Ghost, and was the first person in the starry sky of Allheaven to Transcend. He was also the first person to destroy one of Allheaven's fingers.

Clearly, although he had transformed into the Ghost, one of his hands ended up becoming that of the Immortal. He left it behind as a legacy, which became the guardian treasure of the Vast Expanse School.

As soon as the skeletal hand appeared, the descending will of Allheaven began to tremble, and let out an enraged roar. The skeletal hand flew up, growing larger and larger until it was enormous, and actually looked like a hand. Then, it slammed into the descending hand which was the will of Allheaven.

It was like two giants crossing time and space to slam into each other directly above the teleportation portal!

Rumbling sounds echoed out through Planet Vast Expanse, causing crevices to open up throughout the lands. The hand of the will of Allheaven instantly shattered into pieces, and another furious roar echoed out into the world.

Everything trembled, and the half-planet seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. But then, golden light spread out from the skeletal hand, covering everything, protecting everything, ensuring that the will of Allheaven could do nothing against it!

In the moment that the hand formed by the will of Allheaven collapsed, the teleportation portal surged into action. Rumbling echoed out, and a brilliant light shot up into the air. Naruto and everyone else vanished.

As they did, cracking sounds emanated out from the teleportation portal. However, because of the golden light covering everything, it did not shatter. Much of it crumbled, but the main form stayed intact.

The will of Allheaven fell silent, and then slowly faded away. At the same time, the golden light gradually receded. The golden hand shrank back down, turning skeletal once again. Then it settled back down underneath the turtle shell, which sank back down into the ground with the lava.

The crevice in the ground slowly closed back up, and everything went back to normal….

When Naruto and the others reappeared, they were inside the necropolis.

Blood was oozing out of Naruto's mouth, and the others were in worse shape. Expressions of lingering fear could be seen on their faces. As they thought back to the danger they had been in, their hearts quivered.

If that descending hand had managed to land, not only would the teleportation portal have been destroyed, but the entire group would have been killed in body and mind.

Everyone began to look over at Naruto. All of them could tell that the sudden developments which had occurred had something to do with him.

That was especially true of the Sect Leader, who looked at Naruto with a deep and profound gaze.

After a moment of silence, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply to the others.

"What I have promised," he said, "I will absolutely live up to." In response, the Sect Leader's expression softened a bit. Another moment passed, and the others nodded.

"Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki," the Sect Leader said.

Naruto didn't say anything more. He took a step forward and looked out at the ruins that filled the necropolis. Casting his senses out, he confirmed that this place was almost completely devoid of the will of Allheaven. Although there were faint traces, they were incredibly weak.

Furthermore, the deeper one got into the nine land masses that made up the necropolis, the more faint those traces became. In fact, the ninth land mass seemed to have no trace of the will of Allheaven at all.

"This is definitely the place for me to Transcend," he thought. He opened his third eye, and the world changed. Far off on the ninth land mass, he could see the huge throne, and the figure sitting upon it. That figure's eyes opened, and looked directly at Naruto.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1528

Chapter 1528: The Necropolis Again

"Over the past several hundred years, we've come here on numerous occasions," said the Sect Leader, his brow furrowed. "We know exactly how to avoid the catastrophe which strikes this place, and have the perfect place to weather the storm.

"However, we were never able to get past the eighth land mass. We always end up stuck at the threshold of the ninth." After all of their visits, they had never been able to come up with a method to get into the ninth land mass.

Bai Wuchen stood a bit off to the side. "The entryway to the ninth land mass is a door," she said. "Only by opening that door can you enter."

Naruto nodded in response, then began to move forward. By this point, the countless ghosts which inhabited the outer region of the necropolis began to swarm excitedly toward Naruto as he flew along.

This was not the first time that the Sect Leader and the others had seen Naruto's power within the necropolis, but they were still shaken. That was especially true of Immortal Bai Wuchen, who couldn't help but think back to the time she had been defeated by Naruto all those hundreds of years ago.

Sighing inwardly, the group unleashed all of their power to follow Naruto as he flew along.

Whenever they had come here on their own, they had to act with extreme prudence and caution, even in the outer area.

But with Naruto leading them… it was exactly the opposite. With him, the monarch of the ghosts, nothing in the place could harm them at all.

Everywhere they passed, rumbling could be sensed as the surrounding ghosts clustered around Naruto, their eyes radiating ardor and worship.

It almost seemed as if Naruto could simply tell them to destroy themselves, and they wouldn't hesitate to comply.

He looked around at the ghosts, his eyes shining with a strange light. Back when he first came here and experienced the strangeness of the ghosts, an idea had begun to form. At that time, though, even though he could control the ghosts, he felt that it was a bit unrealistic.

But now, with the Ninth Hex on the verge of being completed, he starting thinking about that same old idea. This time, he didn't think that it was unrealistic. In fact…

He was sure that he could do it!

He would take all of the ghosts in the necropolis with him as his subordinates. With them and the Ninth Sect, he would have a huge army that he could use to go back and destroy the 33 Heavens!

Of course, he wasn't underestimating the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent either. Even if he Transcended, he still would never underestimate his enemies. He had some speculations about the true nature of those two enemies, but even still, he wanted to be completely prepared to face them.

He was also aware that if he successfully absorbed the Ninth Hex and Transcended, then once he left the necropolis, the will of Allheaven would go mad to an unprecedented degree.

His eyes flashed coldly as he proceeded along. The ghosts which surrounded them joined him as he headed toward the first land mass. When they reached the bridge, Naruto didn't hesitate at all. He flew across it without the slightest pause, surrounded by a sea of ghosts.

Behind him, the Sect Leader and the others saw how different things were from their previous trips over the past several hundred years, and they smiled wryly. In all of their past trips after the first one with Naruto, they had always been forced to tackle that bridge with extreme caution.

But now, Naruto simply barged across it. They couldn't help but be a bit envious.

"It's like this place is his home…" Jin Yunshan murmured as he followed along.

Even as Naruto was flying across the bridge, and just when he was about to step onto the first land mass, a roar echoed out from down below the bridge. It appeared as if some dark and sinister being from down below was about to leap out and block their path.

Upon closer examination, they saw that it was a huge tiger, fully 300 meters long, and so black in color that it seemed to merge with the void around it. Last time Naruto had been here, and had fallen down into the abyss beneath the bridge, he hadn't seen anything like this tiger.

He looked down, and their gazes met. Then, the tiger shivered. Apparently, it wasn't frightened of the ghosts, but Naruto's gaze caused its heart to tremble. It shrank back, tail between its legs, and then vanished.

Naruto looked away and proceeded onward to step onto the first land mass. In the past, that tiger had been a big headache for the Sect Leader and the others, so to see it flee like that caused them to smile wryly yet again.

It was powerful, with incredible battle prowess, and the way it could merge with the void around it made all of its divine abilities and magical techniques even more effective. It was also particularly brutal in its attacks. When angered, it could unleash a storm of vengeful spirits that were incredibly fierce. Over the past hundreds of years, the Sect Leader and the others had been forced to expend a lot of effort to get past it across the bridge.

But now….

"This place really is like his home…." thought the Sect Leader, sighing inwardly. However, he was also filled with hope that this time, they really might be able to make it to the ninth land mass.

In fact, he had the feeling that if Naruto couldn't get to the ninth land mass, then no one could.

After stepping back onto the first land mass, Naruto took a deep breath. This was his third time in the place, the first being on the initial foray into the necropolis, and the second being when he came for the copper mirror shard.

"This is my third time, and perhaps my last. When I leave, I will have Transcended!" A strange light appeared in Naruto's eyes as he flickered into motion. He shot forward at top speed, throwing his head back and letting loose a long cry. As he sped across the first land mass, the ghosts there all trembled and began to fly over.

"It's the Emperor…."

"The aura of the Emperor… for the third time!"

"The Emperor is summoning us…."

Countless ghosts appeared in all directions. The sky trembled, and the lands shook as they swirled around Naruto.

The Sect Leader and the others had seen similar things happen before, and were prepared, but still couldn't help but be shaken and also slightly envious.

As more and more ghosts gathered around him, he picked up speed. Anyone who could see the ghosts would have seen a vast, seemingly endless sea around him.

Compared to that vast sea, the cultivators were tiny and insignificant. As for Naruto, he actually didn't need to fly on his own power, he simply stood there as the scintillating sea carried him along.

Everything trembled as the sea of ghosts completely disregarded the passageway between the first land mass and the second. It couldn't be stopped at all, and a moment later, Naruto was on the second land mass.

The ghosts there were equally shaken, and began to swarm toward him, joining the enormous sea.

The sky darkened, and everything in the world shook violently. Naruto waved his sleeve, and the ghosts shot toward the third land mass with indescribable speed.

The Sect Leader and the others gasped. Although they couldn't see the ghosts, they could sense the incredible coldness, and were already all starting to wonder the same thing.

"If things keep going on like this… then how many ghosts will he have accumulated by the time we reach the eighth land mass?" The entire group exchanged shocked glances.

Rumbling sounds could be heard in all Heaven and Earth as the boundless sea of ghosts swept Naruto on toward the fourth land mass.

The entrance to the fourth land mass was a huge abyss filled with countless vicious eyes that seemed intent on devouring all life forms that entered.

In addition to the eyes were hulking figures in crude clothing whose bodies were covered in rotting flesh. They looked like giants who had been stitched together with the skins of numerous corpses.

As Naruto neared with the sea of ghosts, the giants roared and flew out. The eyes began to shine with red light as they too shot out of the abyss to block the path.

But then they saw Naruto and the sea of ghosts. The giants gaped in shock, and the vicious expressions on their faces disappeared, to be replaced by fear. Screaming, they retreated into the abyss at top speed.

As for the eyes, they seemed even more shaken and terrified, and immediately fell back.

In the blink of an eye, the sea of ghosts was sailing over the abyss onto the fourth land mass.

Naruto didn't even look at the abyss. As for the Sect Leader and the others, they smiled wryly as they thought about how much effort it had taken them to get past this obstacle in the past. The same figures which had been so terrifying in the past had fled in fear this time.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1529

Chapter 1529: Flying Over the Land Masses!

The fourth land mass was covered in ruins, and looked even more wild and abandoned than the first three land masses. In fact, Naruto even spotted corpses!

They were withered after all the years which had passed, and none of them were whole. They were so broken apart that it was impossible to tell which were male or female, or to determine the level of their cultivation base when they were alive. But they were a shocking sight nonetheless. As Naruto flew through the air over all of them, he couldn't help but recall the scene in which the finger of Allheaven destroyed this world.

"The previous three land masses contain nothing but ruins," explained the Sect Leader, mixed emotions flickering in his eyes. "There are no corpses there. The corpses show up starting in the fourth land mass. What you see here counts for almost nothing. The further in we go, the more corpses we will see. By the time we reach the eighth land mass, we will see them… everywhere, some of them even completely intact." Considering their previous visits to this place, plus further information gleaned from the ancient records, the Sect Leader had a much deeper understanding of the necropolis now.

"You'll even see some magical items, some of which are excellently preserved. However, you mustn't allow yourself to get greedy, Fellow Daoist Uzumaki. You can't touch any of the things you see…"

At this point, Jin Yunshan broke in: "The first time we saw such treasures, there was one individual who greedily attempted to lay hands on them. That gave rise to a powerful backlash, and a terrifying force of expulsion from the entire necropolis itself. The offending person was transformed into a pool of blood in front of our very eyes." Although the fear in his eyes was clear, it was also obvious that he felt it was a pity that they couldn't take any of the treasures away with them.

Naruto nodded. He sent his divine sense out, and could feel all of the countless ghosts in the fourth land mass. This was his first time here, and almost as soon as his divine sense began to spread out, the corpses littering the ground began to tremble, and then ghosts flew out from inside of them, as well as from within the various ruins that dotted the landscape. Soon, the entire fourth land mass was teeming with activity.

The scene playing out in front of them caused the Sect Leader and the others too look on with wide eyes. Although this wasn't anything unexpected, the intense coldness they were experiencing increased by several fold.

Rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth as countless ghosts sensed Naruto's presence on the fourth land mass, and woke up, eyes shining with madness.

"The aura of the Emperor…."

"It's the Emperor…."

All of the ghosts on the fourth land mass took to the air and sped toward Naruto. As the intense, shocking coldness spread out, Naruto's eyes shone, and he flicked his sleeve. Without pausing for a moment, he flew into motion.

As he proceeded along, more ghosts from the fourth land mass streamed toward him. As soon as they caught sight of him from a distance, they would bow in worship. The sea of ghosts around him continued to grow larger and larger as he swept across the land mass. Eventually, he reached a cliff face that led to the fifth land mass.

A huge statue was visible there, fully 30,000 meters tall. It was a stunning sight, like an enormous mountain that blocked the way into the fifth land mass.

"There is no fighting against this mountain," the Sect Leader said. "We spent a lot of time trying to figure out how to get into the fifth land mass. Eventually, we found that you have to wait approximately half a year.

"Around that time, the mountain will gradually shrink until it's only 300 meters tall. Then, at its smallest state, it can be passed with relative safety.

"If you try to barge past the mountain now, it will become enraged. Even considering the level of our cultivation bases, it can still pose a danger to us. After all, this statue was built back when these lands were alive and thriving, making it boundlessly powerful…. Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, I suggest we just wait here for a bit." Even though the Sect Leader had seen this mountain before, every time he looked at its majestic height, he was left shaken.

"Half a year?" Naruto said. "I can't wait that long," Before the Sect Leader could say anything else, Naruto's eyes flashed, and he pointed at the huge mountain.

"Move this mountain for me!" he said coolly, bolstering his words with divine sense. The ghosts in the vast sea around him immediately began to howl and surge with energy. The aura which began to spread out left the Sect Leader and the others with tingling scalps.

Vast quantities of ghosts surged forward toward the enormous mountain. Rumbling echoed out as it began to shake, and even rock back and forth.

The Sect Leader and the others gasped as they noticed that as the mountain shook back and forth, it unexpectedly… began to rise slowly into the air.

The lands quaked as the mountain was ripped away from them.

Naruto could see the ghosts themselves, surrounding the mountain. Howling, they unleashed shocking power to do exactly as Naruto had asked, to move the mountain!

Rumbling sounds filled the air as the enormous mountain continued to rise. Soon, to the shock of the Sect Leader and the others, it had been lifted up thirty meters above the surface of the ground!

At the same time, a howl echoed out from the peak of the mountain. Countless rocks and rubble tumbled down as the mountain opened its enormous eyes. A nose appeared, and then a mouth. Shockingly, the entire face became visible.

It was an ancient face whose eyes radiated fury.

"Who… disturbs my slumb– huh?" The voice contained incredible pressure and dignity, and even the power of natural law, as if it could alter Heaven and Earth. Before it could finish speaking, though, it suddenly fell silent.

The face stared at the countless ghosts, and the boundless hostility they radiated, which was like an explosive will that shouted a single sentence!

"Shut up!"

Lands, mountains, sky, everything was trembling.

"Dammit, where did all these ghosts come from!?" the face blurted. Then its mouth snapped shut.

It looked at Naruto, its expression flickering with fear. After a moment, it closed its eyes and sank back down into the surface of the mountain, doing nothing to prevent the ghosts from moving the mountain.

The Sect Leader's eyes were wide. The other 9-Essences Paragons who stood around him exchanged shocked glances. When they had come here by themselves, everything along the way required extreme caution and hard work. However, Naruto could disregard everything in his path. At the most… he simply had to speak a few words to resolve any situation he faced.

Jin Yunshan's face twitched, and then he looked contemptuously over at the mountain. He couldn't forget what had occurred the first time they had reached this point and tried to force their way past the mountain. To their shock, it had contained power like Heavenly might.

Jin Yunshan's contempt grew as… the mountain, apparently fearful for its safety, shrank down, making it easier for the ghosts to move it. Jin Yunshan was left completely speechless.

Sha Jiudong took a deep breath, and Bai Wuchen completely abandoned any sort of unyielding attitude from years past.

Soon, the mountain was completely moved out of the way and then placed down off to the side. The ghosts swept about, completely clearing the path to the fifth land mass.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he flew forward. A moment later, he was on the fifth land mass. After taking a deep breath, he continued onward.

From the time they had entered the necropolis until this moment, not even ten days had passed.

They sped along through the fifth land mass for a few more days. This place was even bleaker than the other land masses. Naruto eyed the corpses down below as he flew along toward the end of the fifth land mass, where a huge wave of water existed, completely separating the two land masses.

This time, the Sect Leader didn't say anything. Considering that Naruto had his ghosts, he decided that the best thing for him to do was simply followed Naruto's lead.

He was right. Naruto waved his sleeve, and the sea of ghosts shot forward. Now that the ghosts from the fifth land mass had joined in, the sea was even more majestic than before. It slammed into the huge wave, which was powerless to resist. It shattered, and Naruto led the ghosts flying over into the next land mass.

Within ten days, they had passed from the sixth land mass into the seventh, and after that, the eighth!

Naruto's sea of ghosts continued to grow larger. By the time they reached the eighth land mass, it was like a massive vortex swirling around him. It was so powerful that the Sect Leader and the others could only look on with wide eyes.

There were so many ghosts swirling around in the vortex, that they formed together… into something that looked like an enormous, illusory ghost head, which everyone could see!

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. However, even more shocking was that the countless corpses on the eighth land mass rose to their feet, and their previously empty eyes seemed to burn with flame.

All of them sped onward toward the border of the eighth land mass.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1530

Chapter 1530 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1530: The Ninth Land Mass!

The barrier between the eighth and ninth land masses was an enormous door, surrounded by a wall that seemed to stretch off into infinity.

The Sect Leader and the others had never made it past this point. They had tried skirting the door by going to the left or right, but not even by traveling to the very border of the eighth land mass were they able to find a point where they could get through.

The only way to proceed was to do so through this door. That was the only way to get to the ninth land mass.

No matter what ideas they came up with to push open the door, no matter how much power they drew upon, it did no good.

The Sect Leader was now looking up at it, explaining everything he knew about it to Naruto, including all of the ways they had failed to open it.

Naruto stood there, surrounded by a boundless sea of ghosts, who maintained complete silence, waiting there with bowed heads as he thought about the situation. A single word from him, and they would spring into action and become the fiercest of spirits, completely oblivious to their own safety.

Seeing Naruto lost in thought, Jin Yunshan and the others didn't dare to disturb him. They had learned hundreds of years ago that in the necropolis, Naruto was both the monarch and the Emperor.

After a moment, Naruto burst into action. In the blink of an eye, he was directly in front of the door. In terms of size, he was like nothing compared to it, and yet, the power radiating out of him caused everything shake, and sent the entire surroundings into chaos.

He took a deep breath as he reached out and pushed on the door.

Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power erupted out. It quickly reached the peak of the 9-Essences level, which exceeded the power of the Second Paragon and the others like him.

However, it didn't stop there. It continued to rise with explosive force, surpassing Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong, and Bai Wuchen, and causing their eyes to widen.

Although they were completely aware of how terrifying Naruto was, it was only now that they could sense the true astonishing level of his cultivation base.

Things weren't over yet. Increasingly boundless cultivation base power exploded out. As Naruto's power continued to climb, he eventually exceeded even the level of the Sect Leader. It reached the point where he was above any and all 9-Essences cultivators. And yet, the door didn't so much as budge.

Naruto frowned at the lack of reaction. Throwing all of the power he could manage at it was as good as throwing a stone ox into the ocean. Eyes flashing, he waved his right hand, and the copper mirror appeared. Black threads spread out, covering his entire body in the form of a suit of armor.

With the black armor, his energy rose even higher, and a tempest sprang up around him. The Sect Leader and the other 9-Essences experts all gasped and began to back away.

They didn't come to a stop until they were several hundred meters away, where they looked at Naruto with fear and shock.

Naruto was so terrifyingly powerful that they weren't sure they could fight him even if they all joined forces.

With the suit of armor, his cultivation base was at its very pinnacle. He reached out and once again shoved against the door. As far as the Sect Leader could remember, they had never seen the door move at all during the past several hundred years. However, as of this moment, it shuddered.

Although it only lasted for a moment, it left the Sect Leader's mind spinning, and he began to pant in anticipation. It wasn't that he lacked willpower. Rather, after stepping into the 9-Essences level, all of his dreams had become wrapped up with the hope that lay in this necropolis.

Blue veins bulged on Naruto's face as he unleashed incredible power through his hand. The result was that the door vibrated slightly, and yet, didn't move.

A vicious expression appeared in Naruto's eyes as he raised his left hand to also push against the door.

Energy blasted out in all directions, and a booming sound like that of a bell echoed out through the eighth land mass, then to the seventh, the sixth… and all the way to the first land mass.

The door vibrated again, and a cloud of dust rose up, but the door still didn't open. Naruto frowned.

He was at the peak level of power, and yet even then, couldn't open the door. That seemed to indicate that only someone who had Transcended could open it.

"But someone who had Transcended wouldn't need the altar on the ninth land mass. Therefore, the method to open the door can't relate to Transcendence. There must be some other way." After some thought, Naruto sent his divine sense out to fill the eighth land mass. It took some time, but he managed to lock down on some of the scant will of Allheaven that existed in the area.

Although it was only a scrap, it was enough that it could cause problems if he tried to absorb the Ninth Hex.

"Starting from the first land mass, the will of Allheaven grows weaker and weaker. Here on the eighth, there's only a tiny bit. Therefore, the ninth… is likely to have none of the will of Allheaven at all!

"That is the only place suitable to absorb the Ninth Hex, all the while avoiding interference from Allheaven, and potentially Transcend!" Naruto's eyes shone with determination, and he took a deep breath. Then, he backed up a few paces and reached out to the ghosts with his will!

"Break open this door!"

The instant Naruto's will transmitted those orders, the masses of ghosts raised their heads. Eyes glowing, they surged into motion, howling and roaring as they battered against the huge door!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Waves of ghosts smashed into it, causing it to shake. Some of the ghosts who were especially gigantic and fierce slammed head-first into the door.

Rumbling echoed out, causing all Heaven and Earth to shake violently in the necropolis as the ghosts battered the door.

It was a shocking scene. Endless streams of ghosts unleashed incredible power, causing the door to rumble and vibrate even more intensely than when Naruto had pushed against it.

The combined power of the ghosts of all eight of the land masses was something that even Naruto with his battle prowess would be fearful of. Now, it was causing the door to tremble, making it seem like opening it wasn't an impossibility after all.

The Sect Leader and the others were completely shaken. Beyond this door was the hope they sought. It had blocked their way for hundreds of years, but now seemed like the most likely moment in which it could be opened!

Jin Yunshan was the first to take action. Roaring, he unleashed his cultivation base and his Essence power, reaching out with both hands to push against the door.

The Sect Leader followed a moment later, unleashing divine abilities and Essence power to create a huge hand that shoved against the door.

Next was Sha Jiudong, who transformed into a sandstorm that swept out with incredible power. Then was Immortal Bai Wuchen, who summoned powerful mists. All of the other 9-Essences Paragons unleashed their cultivation base power. They kept nothing hidden, utilizing everything at their disposal to slam against the door.

Under their combined assault, the door leading to the ninth land mass, which had blocked their path for so long, began to rumble loudly, and shake visibly. It seemed as if the door might open at any moment.

Naruto's eyes were bright red as he transformed into a huge roc which, in the blink of an eye, shot forward to slam into the door.

Mountains shook and the lands quaked. The door trembled, as if it might open by a sliver.

However, that tiny sliver was like the difference between Heaven and Earth. Despite the combined assault of the entire group of cultivators, plus the endless army of ghosts, the door still didn't open. The Sect Leader and the others were beginning to despair.

"We can't open the door in this way…?"

"How do we do it? Could it really be true that only a Transcendent cultivator can open it?!"

"Impossible. Why would a Transcendent cultivator ever try to get to the ninth altar!?" In their despair, everyone was pushing as hard as they could, even coughing up blood.

The ghosts emitted soundless screams. Everyone was pushing out with all the power they could muster. Naruto began to pant. Finally, he sent out his will via divine sense, filling the entire eighth land mass.

It was like a bolt of lightning that landed upon the various corpses on the land mass, within whose eyes burned white, burning light. They began to run, faster and faster, until soon they became visible off in the distance.

More and more corpses appeared, running toward the door itself, which they then began to push against. They seemed endless, and as they pushed against the door, at long last, it opened up by a sliver.

That completely enlivened the Sect Leader and the others. Naruto's eyes gleamed with anticipation, and he pushed forward even harder. Finally, the door opened!

Naruto in azure roc-form shot forward through the opening, followed closely by the Sect Leader and the others. It was with complete and utter excitement that they flew through the air at top speed.

Finally, they were able to enter… the ninth land mass!

This was the final land mass in the necropolis, and also the location of that huge throne.

Chapter 1530: The Ninth Land Mass!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1531

Chapter 1531: Charge!

Naruto floated above the ninth land mass, backed by the Sect Leader and the others, as well as the vast sea of ghosts.

"The ninth land mass!" The Sect Leader threw his head back and laughed uproariously. The excitement on his face was clear. He and the others had been waiting a long time for this day. This was where lay their hope to Transcend.

The Sect Leader wasn't the only one with such feelings. Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong, Bai Wuchen, and all of the other 9-Essences Paragons were equally excited.

The Sect Leader took a deep breath, then turned to Naruto, clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, this is a kindness I will never, ever forget. If you the day comes in which you need my assistance in some matter, simply say the word!"

After the Sect Leader, Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong and Bai Wuchen all clasped hands and bowed as well.

"I will never forget this kindness for the rest of my life!"

"Thank you, Ninth Paragon!"

Their attitudes were sincere. All of the ill feelings from the past had long since dissipated, and their thankfulness toward Naruto was deep and genuine.

Compared to the chance to stride toward Transcendence, past grudges were completely insignificant. All cultivators sought to reach Transcendence in the end. These three all stood at the peak of 9Essences, and therefore, the hope to Transcend was the greatest yearning that existed within their hearts.

They had no way to know if they would succeed or not, but as long as there was even a bit of hope, they would try.

Naruto could see their excitement and sincerity. Their hearts lacked any desire to fight, and contained no schemes or plots. Now that they had reached the ninth land mass, the hope of Transcendence left them excited and profoundly thankful.

Smiling, he clasped hands and bowed deeply in return.

"We have all come here for Transcendence," he said. "Whether or not we succeed will depend on the will of Heaven, on our own good fortune, and on our own preparations. I sincerely hope that all of you succeed in Transcending, Fellow Daoists, and I hope that you all may walk a great Dao!"

Jin Yunshan took a deep breath, flicked his sleeve, and then spoke in a voice that echoed like thunder. "Forget the will of Heaven and good fortune! Our success will be determined by our own preparations! Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, if I Transcend, then I will personally help you take care of your grudge with the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent! In fact, even if I don't Transcend, I'll still help!"

The Sect Leader laughed heartily, then echoed Jin Yunshan's words.

"Count me in too!"

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki," said Sha Jiudong, "considering we've been friends for hundreds of years, then… I will help too!"

"The moment we stepped onto this land mass, our conflicts from the past vanished like smoke," said Bai Wuchen, her voice soft. "Fellow Daoist Uzumaki, I would like to help you, sir. Thank you for giving me a chance to return home."

All of the other 9-Essences Paragons laughed and made similar statements and promises.

Naruto was moved. After a moment of silence, he once again clasped hands and bowed deeply to them.

"Fellow Daoist Uzumaki," said the Sect Leader, "let us all head to the Transcendence Dais together!" Laughing, he flew up into the air, followed by the rest of the Paragons.

However, Naruto shook his head.

"Why don't you go on ahead of me, Fellow Daoists. Before visiting the Transcendence Dais, I need to go pay my respects to a certain individual." Naruto did nothing to conceal his true aim, and after he spoke, the others looked back thoughtfully for a moment. Although Naruto had never fully explained how he could control the sea of ghosts, they had long since come to certain conclusions of their own. Therefore, they all understood completely.

They did nothing to convince him otherwise. After saying their goodbyes, the group shot off toward the center of the ninth land mass… and the ninth Transcendence Dais.

Naruto watched them leave, then took a deep breath. His path to Transcendence was different than theirs. Although Allheaven would surely attempt to stop them also, the lengths he would go to regarding Naruto's Transcendence would be like the difference between a puddle and an ocean.

Therefore, Naruto needed to be very careful. Although he couldn't sense any of the will of Allheaven on this ninth land mass, he wanted to be prepared for all possibilities. As such, he decided that the best thing would be to go pay respects to the person who had, with a single word, prevented the will of Allheaven from interfering with him on the first land mass.

"Patriarch Vast Expanse…." he murmured. With that, he burst into motion, heading toward the far end of the ninth land mass, where the huge throne was located.

With every day that passed, the throne grew clearer and larger, and within Naruto's heart, the waves of excitement which battered him also grew larger. At a certain point, the sea of ghosts hadn't dared to proceed any further, and were now waiting some distance behind him, prostrated toward the person on the throne.

Clearly, that person far exceeded Naruto, as… the true Emperor of this place.

The bronze lamp inside of Naruto was shining with unprecedented brightness, making him look almost as if he were made from light.

As he got closer to the throne, it became clear that it had been crafted from enormous slabs of green marble. It almost looked like a mountain, rising from the very end of the ninth land mass. As for the figure seated upon it, he looked like a giant statue.

Although he wasn't a flesh-and-blood person, he was incredibly lifelike.

Even from a distance, it was possible to see the expression on his face. It was one of grief and loss.

Deep within his eyes was a gleam of reminiscence. It was as if he were looking out at all the lands of the necropolis, and thinking the only thing he had left: his memories of the past.

He seemed lonely, a feeling which somehow seeped into Naruto as he neared.

He stopped about 3,000 meters in front of the statue, where he looked up at it, studying it for a while before finally clasping hands and bowing deeply.

The copper mirror flew out of its own volition, and the parrot appeared within it. It was uncharacteristically quiet as it looked at the statue. It appeared to be thinking about past times as it flew over and circled around the statue a few times. The grief in its eyes was clear.

Naruto looked on. The bronze lamp inside of him was shining more brightly than ever, making Naruto look like a dazzling sun. Suddenly, the statue's gaze seemed to shift. Instead of looking off into the distance, it was as if he were now looking at Naruto, the grief in his eyes replaced by kindness.

Perhaps that was just Naruto's imagination. Regardless, he once again bowed, then began to speak in a soft voice.

"Junior offers greetings, Patriarch Vast Expanse!

"I will never forget the kindness shown by your bronze lamp, which saved my life.

"Thank you also for the copper mirror, which has accompanied me for all my days.

"I've come here to attempt to break through to Transcendence.

Patriarch, I would like to request that you act as Dharma Protector…."

After a long moment, he looked back up at the statue. After gazing deeply at it for a moment, his eyes filled with determination. As of that moment, there wasn't the slightest bit of hesitation within his heart. He would not go to the Transcendence Dais.

That altar might be useful to the Sect Leader and the others, but Naruto had long since picked a different way to go about things. He didn't need the Transcendence Dais, he needed this ninth land mass, a place where Allheaven couldn't interfere, or at least, would have a very difficult time doing so.

Naruto took a deep breath and sat down cross-legged. Unexpectedly, he had chosen this very spot, in front of the statue and the throne, to attempt to reach that most paramount of Realms, Transcendence!

Transcendence was also known as the Daosource. It was something that countless powerful experts yearned for in their dreams. However, the number of people who had succeeded was minute. From ancient times until present, only three people had ever truly succeeded within the starry sky of Allheaven.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he sat there quietly, his legs crossed. After a moment, he extended his right hand, and a wooden sculpture appeared, which was none other than the Ninth Hex!

He held the statue out in front of him and opened his Dao eye, sending out powerful divine sense. The divine sense wrapped around the statue, which floated up into the air in front of Naruto and then began to dissolve!

Naruto poured all of himself into the wooden statue, cutting off all connections to the outside world. He sealed off his senses as he focused utterly and thoroughly on the statue.

Gradually, a shocking aura began to rise up. The ninth land mass began to tremble, and at the same time, the starry sky of Allheaven outside of the necropolis filled with ripples as an enraged roar echoed out.

The ripples then began to converge in the void just outside the necropolis. If anyone were standing outside to observe, they would be able to see the outline of a huge person standing there.

All of the lands were shaking as a will stretched out that could shake the world.

In that same moment, the Sect Leader and the others were seated cross-legged on the ninth land mass' altar, attempting to break through and Transcend.

In all their past forays into the necropolis, they had come to the realization that seeking enlightenment alone was far inferior to acting together.

Therefore, the best thing to do now was join forces to seek enlightenment. Their minds were linked, making them more powerful, and increasing their gains as they sought enlightenment. The result was far superior to acting alone.

In the same moment that Naruto began to work on the Ninth Hex, the Sect Leader and the others converged their power and divine sense, causing an invisible column of Chakra to rise up into the air.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1532

Chapter 1532 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1532: All Ye Living Beings Art My Sons

It was actually a blessing for them to be able to make their attempt at Transcendence along with Naruto. Normally, the first difficult step would be to deal with the will of Allheaven. However, that will was now completely ignoring the Sect Leader and the others, and was targeting… Naruto, and Naruto alone!

It could not simply allow Naruto to Transcend!

Rumbling echoed out as the will of the starry sky of Allheaven converged outside of the necropolis, and then prepared to enter it!

The will of Allheaven would easily be able to enter any other location. But the necropolis was not like any other location; it was a very difficult place to enter. It could expel other Transcendent cultivators, and could unleash that same force upon the will of Allheaven.

There was a boundless hatred within the necropolis, and the will of Allheaven was the source and object of that hatred.

Under any other circumstances, the will of Allheaven would never choose to try to enter the necropolis. However, as of this moment, it was holding nothing back in its effort to do so. The entire necropolis was shaking, and cracking sounds emanated out in all directions.

And yet, most of the will of Allheaven was still prevented from entering. Despite its relentless bombardment, only a small portion actually manifested inside.

That power instantly became a flood that surged across the first eight land masses, transforming into an enormous hand that bore down on the ninth.

However, the huge door that Naruto had recently moved was now back in place, and it prevented the hand from entering the ninth land mass. The hand slammed into the door, and a deafening boom rang out. The door was shaken, but refused to open, leaving the will of Allheaven trapped outside.

Naruto was completely focused on melting the wooden statue. By now, about half of it was gone, having transformed into tiny drops of black fluid, each of which contained sealing marks.

Eventually, when the entire statue was dissolved, and the black drops of fluid were absorbed into Naruto, he would be able to combine them into a sealing mark within his soul. And that would be… the Ninth Hex!

Currently, he was still working on the first step of that process.

By now, rumbling sounds had filled the necropolis as the will of Allheaven repeatedly failed to batter its way inside. Finally, a roar of rage echoed out through the starry sky of Allheaven, causing asteroids in numerous locations to begin to tremble and shake. Then, they were instantly teleported away.

Billions upon billions of asteroids then began to crash into each other, merge together and then shrink down. Within the space of a few breaths of time, all of the asteroids which dotted the starry sky of Allheaven vanished from their original positions and began to merge together. Under the control of the will of Allheaven, they began to form nine enormous spikes!

Each of the nine spikes was fully 3,000,000 meters long, and completely astonishing in appearance as they hovered within the void outside the necropolis. Then the will of Allheaven split apart and fused into the nine spikes.

A moment later, intense energy erupted off of the spikes, and rumbling sounds could be heard as they shot toward the necropolis.

The necropolis shuddered, incapable of resisting. Cracking sounds echoed out as the first spike pierced through the necropolis' defenses, destroying the sky as it shot toward the first land mass, a blur of light.

As it descended, the expulsion power targeting the will of Allheaven grew even stronger. The spike fought back fiercely, causing flames to burst out all over it. Soon, it began to crumble and shrink down, until it was only 300,000 meters long, and no longer sharp. In the end, it was simply a gigantic asteroid hurtling down toward the first land mass.

When it made contact with the ground, everything shook, and massive crevices spread out.

Next came the second spike, the third, and the fourth, which pierced through the defenses to descend toward the second, third, and fourth land masses respectively.

They also burst into flames, shrinking down rapidly as they sailed past the first land mass. Of course, the deeper they got into the necropolis, the stronger the resistance they faced.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the three asteroids closed in on their targets. The asteroid that landed on the second land mass was only 150,000 meters wide. The one that landed on the third land mass was only 60,000 meters wide. And as for the fourth, it was only 30,000 meters wide.

What a significant loss in power!

However, things weren't over. The fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth spikes tore through the sky, destroying the necropolis' defenses as they hurdled toward the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, and ninth land masses.

The sky of the necropolis was completely obliterated, and yet the will of Allheaven still had incredible difficulty entering the necropolis. The lands quaked as the spikes burned, getting smaller and smaller the further they got into the necropolis.

The asteroid that landed on the fifth land mass was less than 30,000 meters wide. The sixth asteroid was 15,000 meters wide. By the time the eighth asteroid hit, it was only 3,000 meters wide.

And then there was the ninth spike. By the time it reached the ninth land mass, the flames had reduced it to nothing more than ash, and it couldn't enter.

Moments ago….

The sculpture in front of Naruto was about seventy percent dissolved, and he was surrounded by scintillating drops of black fluid.

Only a short bit of time remained before it would be completely dissolved.

Naruto was trembling. He couldn't sense what was happening on the outside, but could well guess that the will of Allheaven was going to any and all lengths to try to stop him. Therefore, he focused all of his divine sense on dissolving the statue.

"Faster. Must go faster!" Blue veins popped out on his face as he fought to take advantage of every second of time available to him.

It was at this point that he heard a massive boom coming from the first land mass. As the first asteroid smashed into the ground, a figure appeared from within the rubble.

He was humanoid, but had no facial features. He was almost just an outline. He looked up at the ninth land mass, then took a single step forward, causing him to blur into motion.

Only moments later, the second and third asteroids exploded, and even as the ash drifted out, figures appeared from within them as well.

The same thing happened on the fifth through eighth land masses.

All of the figures which appeared began to walk toward the ninth land mass, although the one which had come from within the first 300,000 meter asteroid was the fastest.

His first step took him onto the second land mass, where he merged together with the figure which had stepped out of the second asteroid. As soon as that happened, he changed, becoming less blurry and indistinguishable. Then, he took a second step.

The second step placed him on the third land mass, where he merged with the third figure. Now his facial features could be seen, and he looked like a young man.

He didn't stop there; each step he took brought him to another of the land masses. On the fourth, fifth, and all the way to the eighth land mass, he absorbed the other figures, until he was standing there on the eighth land mass, looking up at the enormous door. By that point, everything about him was clearly visible.

He was a young man with long black hair, dressed in a long blue robe. He was exceedingly handsome, with an expression that was calm, yet simultaneously cold and indifferent.

Unexpectedly, a closer look revealed… that he looked exactly like the statue of the man seated on the throne on the ninth land mass!

"All ye living beings in the Vast Expanse art my children. This place is the necropolis of the Ghost, thence, I take his appearance." This young man who could take the form of anything which existed in the starry sky of Allheaven extended his right hand and pushed onto the door, whereupon it swung open.

Then he took another step, and was on the ninth land mass. Almost instantly, a shocking force of expulsion hit him, pushing him back slightly.

His expression was the same as ever as he began to walk forward, despite the power of expulsion. Although it was a monumental effort, none of that showed on his face.

Another step, and he appeared by the Transcendence Dais. He looked over at the Sect Leader and the others, and then waved his right hand.

A boom echoed out, and the Transcendence Dais shook. The Sect Leader and the others all coughed up mouthfuls of blood, and their efforts at Transcendence were broken. There were even some of the weaker 9Essences Paragons who let out blood curdling screams as they exploded, killed in body and soul.

Everyone else was astonished. Even as they looked over at the young man, he took another step, taking him to the position of the enormous statue. There, the boundless sea of ghosts all turned and looked at him, their expressions blank. However, that blankness only lasted for a moment before it was replaced by madness and hatred.

It didn't matter that the will of Allheaven had taken the form of Patriarch Vast Expanse. That couldn't change the aura which emanated off of him, and these ghosts hated that aura with a vengeance that would last for all eternity!

They surged into motion with a howl of fury. The enmity which came from their deaths, and which had transformed them into angry ghosts, would never dissipate. Now, they leapt into action, charging toward the young man that was the embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

"Oh ye my children," the young man said coolly, "dead are ye, and yet ye persist in wickedness. Thence, I strip ye of your bodies of reincarnation, and strip ye of your power of movement." His face was completely and utterly expressionless, and he didn't even seem to look at the ghosts. He took another step forward, completely focused on the person sitting there cross-legged, dissolving the wooden statue.

Chapter 1532: All Ye Living Beings Art My Sons

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1533

Chapter 1533: Dissolving the Hex!

This was not the first time that the will of the starry sky had made a move on Naruto. However, this was its first time taking such a form in his presence.

However, Naruto currently couldn't see that. All of his senses were sealed, as he focused completely on the task at hand. He had to dissolve the wooden statue as soon as possible.

By this point, the statue was almost eighty percent dissolved. Soon, that number would reach ninety percent.

"Only ten percent to go. Must go faster!" Naruto's divine sense was exploding out to a level that made it almost impossible to sustain as he tried to dissolve the statue even faster.

It was in that exact same moment that the embodiment of the will of Allheaven pierced through the boundless sea of ghosts. Strangely, when the ghosts tried to approach the will of Allheaven, they suddenly came to a halt, as if they had lost the ability to move.

In the blink of an eye, all of the ghosts began to tremble, and then cease all movement. Their eyes went wide, as though it wasn't just their bodies, but also their spirits, and their simplistic ghostly minds, were suddenly stripped of the power of movement!

The embodiment of the will of Allheaven took another step, putting him directly in front of Naruto. He looked down, and his expression flickered, as though he were befuddled, or confused.

"Why are you unwilling to merge with me?" he asked coolly. Then he reached out to tap on Naruto's forehead.

However, it was in that moment that a piercing cry suddenly rang out. The parrot appeared, flashing through the air to pierce directly through the chest of the embodiment of Allheaven.

The embodiment paused for a moment, and then prepared to continue moving his finger toward Naruto. But then a voice rang out, speaking a single word that caused everything to tremble violently.

"BEGONE!"

The words came out of the mouth of the huge statue. They filled the world, creating a powerful tempest which shook the entire necropolis.

The embodiment of the will of Allheaven began to tremble, then staggered backward as if he couldn't control his own body. When he was about thirty meters away from Naruto, his flesh exploded, sending blood and gore splattering out in all directions. The skin and muscle of his body was more almost completely destroyed, revealing the bones underneath. Only half of his head remained intact.

As the voice which had just spoken faded away, the embodiment of the will of Allheaven slowly looked up. His wounds rapidly healed, and in the blink of an eye, he was back to normal.

In that same moment, there was a world out in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, in which all of the life forms suddenly withered up. Their blood and life force vanished, and the entire world instantly became as still as death.

It was that very power of blood and life force which allowed the embodiment of the will of Allheaven to recover. As he looked up at the statue, his expression flickered again. He seemed confused, even dazed. "So, it's you, my eldest son," he said coolly.

An incisive gleam appeared within the eyes of the figure on the throne. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as the statue slowly rose to its feet amidst a cascade of falling rocks and rubble. The falling stones and rubble soon formed a small mountain, from within which emerged a young man.

He looked exactly like the embodiment of the will of Allheaven, without a single difference.

However, his body clearly wasn't made of flesh and blood. This wasn't the true Patriarch Vast Expanse, but rather a clone, which he had left behind inside the necropolis to reminisce and guard the place.

When he emerged, the sky shook and the lands quaked, and the entire ninth land mass seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Patriarch Vast

Expanse's clone took a step forward, placing him directly in front of

Naruto, separating him from the embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

He didn't speak, nor did his expression change in any way. He waved his right sleeve out in front of him, and an aura exploded out that seemed like both Immortal and Ghost, and yet was neither. A black mist sprang up, which was filled with countless vicious ghosts. It immediately engulfed the embodiment of Allheaven.

The embodiment waved his right finger, which caused the natural and magical laws of the world to form together. A boundless, indescribable will then erupted out.

At this point, the embodiment of Allheaven said, "In front of me, all powers within the Vast Expanse shall be either stripped away or absorbed." The vicious ghosts within the black mist began to tremble, then faded away, as if they were being erased from existence.

However, in the moment before they were about to be completely wiped away, the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse let out a cold harrumph. Instantly, the black mist sank down on itself, and the vicious ghosts converged together to form… a single vicious ghost, astonishing in appearance!

It had black mist for skin, and looked like the most vicious of spirits. Most shocking of all was how it stooped over at the waist, making it seem almost hunchbacked in appearance. Shockingly, the reason for that was because it carried a world on its shoulders.

Countless buildings could be seen, which resembled Yama King palaces. As for the ghost's arms and legs, they were wrapped and bound by countless black chains. The ghost roared, and power of natural law erupted from the world on its back.

That power was something that not even the embodiment of Allheaven could strip away. That was the power of Patriarch Vast Expanse, the power of… the Ghost!

That power caused an explosive force of expulsion to blast into the embodiment of Allheaven.

The will of Allheaven sighed as his body was shredded into a haze of blood. However, he didn't seem to care. He raised his right hand and point out with his finger, causing intense, gray light to shoot out in all directions. At the same time, the air behind him ripped open, revealing a single finger.

It was a finger which could supercede a world, which could exceed the Heavens. As soon as it appeared, the finger reached out to slam into the vicious ghost.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Beneath the power of the finger, the ghost trembled, and then began to fall to pieces. The buildings on its back vanished into smoke, crushed like dried weeds. However, at the same time, the chains which covered its limbs wrapped around the finger, binding it tighter and tighter until it exploded.

Apparently, they were evenly matched!

As the sound of the explosion echoed out, the embodiment and the clone staggered backward away from each other.

Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone slowly looked up and, in a voice both hoarse and ancient, said, "You're not taking this kid away!"

A powerful pressure spread out from him, which instantly began to crush down onto the will of Allheaven.

It didn't matter that the embodiment represented the entire starry sky of Allheaven, the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse didn't show any fear of it whatsoever.

The embodiment of Allheaven looked expressionlessly at Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone, then said, "Oh my eldest son…. You have already departed, what need is there to remain so obsessed?"

With that, he extended his right hand and the pointed out with his finger.

"Power," he said. Instantly, explosive power radiated out from him, transforming into an enormous magical symbol, which was in itself covered with even more magical symbols. This symbol represented the natural law of the Dao of power within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!

This was something that not even 9-Essences cultivators could do.

It was a magical symbol formed from magical symbols, and as soon as it appeared, it bore down on Naruto and Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone.

At this point, all magical laws within the starry sky of Allheaven that had to do with power suddenly faded. They were weakened to form the huge magical symbol which was currently slashing down in attack. Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone looked on with glittering eyes. He suddenly performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, causing his entire hand to fade. No blood or flesh was visible, neither any bone, only a spectral arm.

It was not black, but multi-colored, and it emanated a Dao, a personal Dao that came when one became an Essence.

It was… the Ghost Dao of Patriarch Vast Expanse!

When his hand made contact with the magical symbol, Heaven shook and the Earth trembled. The lands cracked and split as a shockwave blasted out, shaking the entire necropolis.

By this point, the sculpture in front of Naruto was ninety percent dissolved. The final ten percent continued to melt rapidly. Soon ninetyfour percent was dissolved. Then ninety-seven, ninety-eight… until finally, one hundred percent!

It was completely dissolved, and the statue no longer present. It now existed as one hundred drops of black liquid, no more, no less. In that very moment, Naruto's senses, which had been sealed completely shut, suddenly opened.

His eyes glowed brightly despite the terrifying fluctuations emanating off of the will of Allheaven. No matter how much that will wanted to kill him, Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone made it impossible. It was now filled with an intense rage and fury that could only come from being in Naruto's presence….

Naruto took a deep breath, and as he did, the one hundred drops of black liquid transformed into beams of light that shot into his forehead.

Sounds like rumbling thunder filled his mind, as though a hundred black bolts of lighting were striking his head.

When the last one merged into his forehead, and the final thunderclap rang out, a power that could end the Heavens and crush the Earth rose up in his sea of consciousness.

He began to tremble violently, and a mouthful of frothy blood exploded out of his mouth. The hundred drops of black liquid swirled together within his sea of consciousness, and as they did, the aura of the Ninth Hex began to emanate out!

Although it wasn't complete yet, the moment it exploded out, the embodiment of the will of Allheaven shivered. An expression of fiery rage appeared on his face, and his eyes erupted with killing intent.

"Screw off!" he roared, launching himself toward Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1534

Chapter 1534: Fuse With Me!

Rumbling echoed out, and simultaneously, Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone laughed. He didn't back down even for a moment; black mist swirled as he once again shot forward to block the path of the embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

Behind him, Naruto was trembling as the aura of the Ninth Hex exploded out from within him. Even as he shook, the necropolis also trembled, causing boundless ripples to spread out into the starry sky of Allheaven outside.

At the same time, within Naruto's sea of consciousness, the one hundred drops of black liquid were rapidly forming a shape!

Ten percent, twenty percent, thirty percent, forty percent….

In the blink of an eye, it reached a state of seventy percent completion. As it did, the complete outline of the Ninth Hex began to appear.

Eighty percent, ninety percent. Before the will of Allheaven could do anything to stop him, Naruto closed his eyes yet again. At the same time, a rumbling sound began to fill him, a sound so shocking it could shake Heaven and Earth.

Thunder and lightning boomed in the outside world as well, and although that occurred within the starry sky of Allheaven… it was not caused by the Vast Expanse. Instead, it was caused by the Ninth Hex; it was Heaven-Sealing lightning!

Within Naruto's sea of consciousness, the black liquid… had formed into something that caused the starry sky of Allheaven to tremble… the Ninth Hex!

The Seal the Heavens Hex!

In the instant that it appeared, the world of the necropolis shook violently, sending shockwaves out in the starry sky outside. Everything which existed, all living beings, felt themselves trembling, filled with indescribable astonishment.

Apparently… something new had come to exist within the Heavens above… a naturally occurring enemy of Heaven!

Apparently there was a new will which existed in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!

Apparently, within the countless worlds of reality, there was a new natural law!

It was the Seal the Heavens Hex… a Dao which existed above all other laws!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE!

As the intense rumbling sound echoed out, Naruto took a deep breath. Then his eyes snapped open. He had completed the first step on his path to Transcendence. He had fully absorbed the Ninth Hex, which had been formed by the accumulation of the nine incarnations of his clone. They were now an inseparable part of him, completely and utterly part of Naruto.

However, that was only the first step. Naruto was acutely aware that time was of the essence, and that he needed to take the second step as soon as possible.

That second step was…

"Nine Hexes, combine!" Naruto said. As soon as the words left his mouth, all surrounding natural and magical laws shattered, as if they simply couldn't stand up to the domineering existence of the Nine Hexes.

In the moment that Naruto prepared to combine the Nine Hexes, the embodiment of the will of Allheaven looked on with widening eyes. A bright light began to shine within those eyes, and at the same time, the void outside of the Vast Expanse began to twist and distort, as a huge eye appeared.

The eye slowly began to open, and when it reached the halfway point, a shockingly powerful will began to surge out from it, its target being Naruto. It wanted to prevent him from Transcending.

However, it was at this point that, without any warning, a person appeared in front of the eye. It was a young man with white hair and a cold expression. Furthermore, it was possible to tell that this was a clone, not this person's true self.

The clone looked like Slaughter, as well as the young man who had appeared outside of the Immortal God Continent, the Transcendent cultivator.

He reached out and placed his hand onto the huge eye, preventing it from opening any further.

A tremor ran through the eye, and a roar of rage could be heard. Then, within the boundless void outside the Vast Expanse, a second figure appeared. He was also a young man, and he radiated a sinister aura of death. He had long, violet hair, and his eyes seemed to shine with starlight. His expression was calm as he hovered there, staring at the boundless eye.

As the eye struggled to open, an enraged voice roared, "You people failed back then. You do not qualify to try to eradicate me. You might have become more powerful since then, but you… do not qualify to stand in my way!"

Everything in the area began to tremble and shatter.

However, the two young men didn't seem ruffled at all.

"The Fellow Daoist who can wipe you out is currently Transcending. We might have lost our qualifications, but we can still stop you from interfering."

The eye remained half open, mysterious light glittering within.

Meanwhile, back in the necropolis, the embodiment of the will of Allheaven gritted his teeth. Eyes gleaming with ferocity, he ceased his attempts to call upon power from outside the Vast Expanse, and instead focused on drawing upon the power within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!

Within the depths of the starry sky were numerous vortexes which housed various worlds and realms. Within thousands of those locations, bloodcurdling screams echoed out as the living beings there withered up. Their flesh and blood, along with their life force, was all sucked away.

It wasn't just the life forms within those locations. The worlds themselves were all transformed into ash, their World Essences sucked away.

Thousands of worlds were gone in the blink of an eye, completely wiped out of existence. There were even entire regions near the border of the starry sky of Allheaven which withered away as if they had just died.

Most shocking of all was that the energy of Heaven and Earth within the starry sky was suddenly reduced by thirty percent. If it were reduced by any more than that, the entire Vast Expanse would collapse. It was a limit which apparently couldn't be passed.

All of that power was absorbed by the embodiment of the will of Allheaven. It took a single thought to accomplish, and then an indescribable power converged outside of the necropolis, and began to tear it open!

The sky of the necropolis was completely destroyed, revealing the starry sky of the Vast Expanse beyond. The will of Allheaven descended in full, completely destroying the first land mass. Next was the second, third, fourth, and in fact, all of the land masses except for the ninth.

Everything was transformed into rubble by the will of Allheaven.

The descending will of Allheaven was like a flood of water. In the blink of an eye, it converged onto its embodiment. Instantly, that embodiment's features twisted and changed. Six more arms sprouted out of its body, giving it a total of eight. Furthermore, three heads emerged!

It had a total of four heads and eight arms!

A roar of rage transformed into a powerful sound wave that blasted into the ninth land mass, causing it to tremble violently. Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone looked on with widening eyes.

"I am… Allheaven!" said the four-headed, eight-armed figure, its voice echoing like thunder. At the same time, its body began to grow blurry, revealing something completely unexpected inside: countless stars, planets, vortexes and worlds.

It was as if the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse had become its body. It was using the full power of the starry sky to try to wipe out the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse.

It would destroy that clone, then wipe out Naruto to prevent him from Transcending, and bring everything back under its control!

Patriarch Vast Expanse had only left a clone behind here. However, because of the bronze lamp inside of Naruto, that clone chose to help him.

With that bronze lamp, Naruto became the legacy successor of Patriarch Vast Expanse. That legacy was a legacy, not of the cultivation base or the bloodline, but rather, of thought!

It was… a continuity of thought, a desire to destroy the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. Because they both harbored that intent, the clone chose to help Naruto.

However… it was only a clone. The real Patriarch Vast Expanse was a figure from countless years in the past. It was impossible to say where he was now. As for his clone, he could hold out for a while against the will of Allheaven, but considering how madly that will was fighting, sparing no cost to win… it meant that the clone was reaching its limit.

And yet, it continued to stand against the attack. It was falling apart into destruction, but it knew that if it were completely destroyed, then Naruto, who was still in the midst of his effort to combine the Nine Hexes, would be facing grave danger.

In this critical moment, the clone's eyes suddenly flickered. His right hand shot out toward Naruto and made a grasping motion. What it was beckoning to though, was not Naruto, but the parrot!

The parrot blurred into motion, transforming into the Battle Weapon, which the clone grabbed and slashed out into the air!

Heaven shook and the Earth trembled. A huge rift opened up, which erupted with the explosive power of time travel. That power became a windstorm which swept out to cover the ninth land mass, as well as the rest of the crumbling necropolis.

Time was being reversed!

Instantly, 10,000 years passed. Then 100,000 years. 1,000,000 years. Endless years blurred by in a tempest, and when everything became clear again, the world was completely different.

The sky was now bright blue, and the eight destroyed land masses were restored. Countless cultivators could be seen flying here and there. It was a bustling, flourishing place.

A gentle breeze blew as the lands of the necropolis returned to ancient times!

The Sect Leader and the others gasped in response. However, it wasn't a huge shock, considering that they had seen similar things occur in the past. Every time the necropolis experienced the apocalyptic catastrophe, it returned to ancient times, when the will of Allheaven destroyed the world.

However, this time it was the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse who had reversed time, taking all of the memories of the apocalypse which existed in the necropolis and unleashing them early.

With that, the clone took a deep breath, and then stabbed the Battle Weapon down into the ground. Rumbling echoed out as the clone's divine sense filled all the lands with a single thought.

And that thought was… destroy the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1535

Chapter 1535 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1535: I Am Naruto, Here I Transcend!

In the blink of an eye, countless cultivators and other living entities on the land masses settled down cross-legged and combined their divine sense into a massive wave. That wave then surged out like a tempest to batter against the embodiment of the will of Allheaven, with his eight arms and four heads.

You use the life force of the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse? Well I'll use magic to reach into the past and use the power of my people to fight back!

This was a magical technique that would exceed the comprehension of most cultivators. However, considering the realm Patriarch Vast Expanse was in, time and space could be molded into divine abilities and great Daos.

The four-headed, eight-armed embodiment of the will of Allheaven stared with bright red eyes. Then he waved his arms, unleashing waves of crackling lightning to fight the windstorm.

Rumbling filled the air, and at the same time, thumping sounds emanated out from Naruto as his energy erupted, the result of the process of combining his Hexing magic!

"First Hex!" He waved his sleeve, and the Beginning-Ending Hex appeared. That was the beginning of the series of Hexing magics, and also the ending piece in the puzzle that Naruto had assembled. He didn't create it himself, of course, but rather, obtained it by means of the legacy of Shui Dongliu, who himself was created by a fragment of the will of Paragon Nine Seals.

After absorbing it, it became Naruto's First Hex!

His eyes glittered as the Hex appeared, and at the same time, a point of light began to shine on his forehead. As soon as it did, the redness in the eyes of Allheaven's embodiment grew even more intense.

Then, Naruto's eyes flashed as he performed an incantation gesture.

He was unleashing the…

"Second Hex!

Real-Unreal Hexing. Finding the real in the unreal, taking the unreal and making it real. A second point of light appeared on Naruto's forehead. At first glance it seemed like an illusion, but closer examination revealed that it was corporeal. It even seemed capable of absorbing minds!

That was the Second Hex!

Naruto took a deep breath. Thanks to the magic of Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone, Naruto was actually standing within an ancient era, although things didn't look very much different than they had before.

The sky was blue, and the ground was covered with green limestone. The air was thick with spiritual energy.

From a distance, rainbows could be seen stretching across the sky. As for Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone, he was converging the divine sense of all of the cultivators of his lands and slamming it against the embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

"Third Hex!" Naruto's hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, and rumbling sounds filled Heaven and Earth.

The Third Hex was Present-Ancient Hexing, and as soon is it appeared, it instantly harmonized with the current state of the world. A resonance formed, which made sense considering that Naruto was surrounded by ancient times, where he himself was from the present. Present and ancient existed simultaneously, causing the power of time to spread out along with the appearance of the Present-Ancient Hex. At the same time, a third point of light appeared on Naruto's forehead.

Three points of light glittered radiantly, and Naruto's energy continued to rise. Without pausing for a moment, he waved both of his hands out in front of him.

"Fourth Hex!"

The Fourth Hex was among the most powerful of the first eight Hexes. It was called the Self Hex, and could create seemingly infinite clones, enough to fill an entire world. As soon as it appeared, Naruto was immediately surrounded by countless different versions of himself.

One of those figures caused Naruto's mind to reel the instant he caught sight of him. It was Little Treasure….

Unfortunately, now was not the time to ponder the matter. Naruto immediately glanced away and prepared to perform an incantation gesture to unleash the Fifth Hex. However, it was in that very moment that a massive force surged against him. He shook visibly, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was shoved backward.

At the same time, Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone exploded. Just as he was about to reform, the four-headed, eight-armed embodiment of the will of Allheaven waved a sleeve, which instantly slowed down the process. The embodiment of Allheaven was riddled with so many wounds that he looked like a mass of flesh and blood, and yet he instantly charged toward Naruto.

Almost as soon as he moved, the divine sense of the countless living beings on the land mass forged a barrier, yet again making it impossible for the embodiment to reach Naruto.

"Screw off!" he roared, waving his numerous arms, unleashing massive force against the barrier, which subsequently began to collapse, layer by layer.

Naruto's eyes were crimson as he backed up, yet again performing an incantation gesture.

"Fifth Hex!"

The Fifth Hex was the Inside-Outside Hex. As soon as it appeared, a force of expulsion erupted out, creating a black hole in front of Naruto. That black hole spun rapidly, shrinking down until it became the fifth point light on Naruto's forehead.

By that point, the embodiment of Allheaven had almost completely broken through the barrier. The countless streams of divine sense were in the midst of collapse.

Naruto continued to back up.

"Sixth Hex!"

Life-Death Hexing!

"Seventh Hex!" Karmic Hexing!

"Eighth Hex!"

Body-Mind Hexing!

When those three Hexing magics emerged from Naruto's hands, brightly colored light flashed in Heaven and Earth, and massive winds screamed. Everything shook violently. It was also in that exact same moment that the embodiment of Allheaven blasted away all of the divine sense of the living beings in the world. Then, he shot forward to appear directly in front of Naruto.

As he reached his hand out to wipe Naruto out of existence, the pressure radiating off of him caused Naruto's mind to reel. However, even as the pressure crushed down on him, Naruto's eyes glittered brightly, and he unleashed his Ninth Hex!

"Ninth Hex!"

Seal the Heavens Hex!

A mighty power descended, something boundlessly domineering. It was a power that said, If I want your eyes opened, they shall NOT be closed. If I want them closed, they had BETTER not be open!

What I want, the Heavens shall NOT lack! What I don't want, had BETTER not exist in the Heavens!

"BEGONE!" Naruto roared. A power that did not come from the starry sky of Allheaven erupted from the Ninth Hex, something like a mad wind that blasted into the embodiment of the will of Allheaven.

The world shook as that power became an attack force. Naruto was shoved backward, as was the embodiment of Allheaven, whose expression was that of terror. However, his eyes were also filled with intense killing intent. He forced himself to grind to a halt, holding nothing back as he fought against the power. His body trembled violently, and suddenly, two of his heads exploded, as well as several of his arms. And yet, he gritted his teeth and took a step forward.

However, it was at this point that the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse, whom Allheaven's will had destroyed moments ago, formed back together. He instantly teleported directly in front of the embodiment of Allheaven, whereupon flames erupted from him, along with a terrifying aura.

He waved his right hand, yet again blocking the path of the severely damaged embodiment.

Allheaven's embodiment roared, then transformed into countless motes of light. As they spread out, they flew up into the sky to transform into a gigantic finger!

The boundless, majestic finger stretched down from the starry sky, rumbling down toward Naruto and the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse.

As it descended, countless black flowers appeared on its surface. As they bloomed, vicious creatures flew out, all of them with three heads and six arms. Their energy surged as they charged in attack.

By this point, Naruto's Ninth Hex was fully deployed. A ninth point of light appeared on his forehead, whereupon all of the other lights merged together with it to create something that looked like a sun.

Nine Hexes, combined!

Naruto threw his head back and roared. Rumbling sounds echoed out, along with the aura of Transcendence. The starry sky shook, and the universe trembled. After the nine Hexes combined, they all transformed into Essences, causing Naruto's cultivation base to truly… reach the 9-Essences level!

After that, his cultivation base power skyrocketed, growing intensely powerful, breaking through all barriers. Wind screamed around him as the finger formed from the will of Allheaven began to shake.

But, things weren't over yet. Naruto's eyes were bright red as he looked up and roared, "Converge nine Essences, cultivation base breakthrough!"

BOOOOOOOOOMMM! His nine Essences converged together. Nine became one… and the door of Heaven and Earth opened; the limitations of the Vast Expanse were destroyed. A clap of thunder rang out, which could be heard by all lives and in all worlds throughout the starry sky of Allheaven.

Within that thunderclap was Naruto's voice, which echoed out

through all of the Vast Expanse.

"I am Naruto. Here I Transcend!"

Chapter 1535: I Am Naruto, Here I Transcend!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1536

Chapter 1536 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1536: Extinguishing the Bronze Lamp!

Countless people and other life forms heard the words. They echoed out in the Immortal God Continent, the Devil Realm Continent, countless other worlds and Realms, and even in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Everyone heard.

Within the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, many people who knew Naruto were left flabbergasted by the words.

Boom!

As soon as the words left his mouth, the entire world within which he stood went completely silent. With his Essences completely combined, an aura which did not belong to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse raged up. It grew more and more powerful, and as it did, countless illusory chains appeared all around Naruto. One by one, those chains exploded!

As those chains were destroyed, his aura grew more shocking and incredible. This cultivation base breakthrough put him at a level in which he could… directly fight back against the will of Allheaven!

Within his Chakra passageways, any power which had anything to do with the natural laws of the Vast Expanse… vanished. They were replaced by a Demonic Chakra that could shake Heaven and Earth, that could stain the world red. Naruto's hair turned crimson, and suddenly, an endless ocean of blood appeared around him.

He had the feeling that this world, this starry sky, could be changed by him with a single thought. He could manipulate it or even destroy it if he wished. At the same time, he felt a force of expulsion appear, something that apparently wanted to drive him away.

The enormous finger up above began to shake, and the three-headed six-armed figures looked at Naruto with fear, as if they didn't dare to get close to him.

Naruto looked around, and everything seemed different.

He saw the natural and magical laws of the world. He saw threads running here and there. He saw things that he had never been able to see before. He saw that the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse was actually a Soul Shadow. He saw that the finger up above was actually composed of countless magical symbols, sealing marks.

"So, this is what it feels like to Transcend," he thought. "It's too bad… I don't count as having fully Transcended. Cultivation base, body, and soul. Only by breaking through in all three areas can one truly be considered Transcendent.

"For example, Paragon Nine Seals only achieved fleshly body Transcendence.

"As for me, my cultivation base has Transcended, but not my body or my soul….

"Well, I might as well use my Transcendent cultivation base to extinguish the bronze lamp. With that good fortune, I can then push toward Transcendence with my fleshly body!

"With my cultivation base and my fleshly body both in Transcendence, the resonance they create will enable my soul… to transform, and also step into Transcendence!

"At that time, I will truly be in… the Daosource Realm!

"That is because I will be the source of the Dao, an Essence. What I wish to be natural law, will exist. Whatever magical laws I don't approve of, will not exist." With that, he waved his sleeve, and… the bronze lamp appeared!

As of this moment, no one could stop Naruto on his path to Transcendence!

Not the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, nor the will of Allheaven!

Within the ancient sky of the necropolis, the enormous finger formed from the embodiment of the will of Allheaven trembled. A brutal aura erupted from within it, raging in all directions, causing everything in Heaven and Earth to blur. Only the finger remained clear.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the pressure emanating off of Naruto because of his breakthrough, was shattered. Naruto might have reached this point, but the will of Allheaven could not accept that he might successfully continue to Transcend.

The power of expulsion from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse suddenly exploded out. It affected the entire ancient world, causing all of the cultivators who had appeared to tremble.

Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone looked on with glittering eyes. He was just about to take action, but after looking over at Naruto, he smiled slightly and then looked off into the distance, seemingly oblivious to what was happening.

The enormous finger continued to descend, and the lands shook. A huge crevice opened up, spreading out rapidly. Apparently the entire land mass was about to collapse.

The finger superseded the sky, drawing ever closer. Soon, what Naruto was looking up at wasn't a finger, it was a series of mountains and plains!

Those were… the fingerprint, within which was the power of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, a power completely focused on slaying Naruto before he could fully Transcend.

However, even as the finger descended, Naruto swished his wide sleeve, and the bronze lamp floated up front of him, burning brightly, its appearance ancient, even primitive. Naruto took a deep breath. Eyes shining with anticipation and focus, he focused the power of his Transcendent cultivation base, and then…

Blew a breath out of his mouth!

That breath was like a storm, a tempest that linked Heaven and Earth, a cyclone that rose up and slammed into the finger formed by Allheaven.

A huge boom echoed out. The sky shattered and the land crumbled. However, the cyclone was incapable of fighting the destructive finger of Allheaven, and vanished.

However, by the time that happened, Naruto's breath, which was backed by the power of his Transcendent cultivation base, had already blown across the bronze lamp. As it did, the flame flickered wildly, then bent over to the side… and was extinguished!

That was Naruto's final Soul Lamp!

That was the bronze lamp which he had acquired in a stroke of incredible good fortune, which had saved his life!

That was Patriarch Vast Expanse's bronze lamp!

As of this moment, it was extinguished!

Instantly, green smoke appeared, which rapidly entered Naruto's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth.

When the last bit of green smoke left the bronze lamp, it turned into drifting ash. It was as if, after completing its mission, it dissipated into Heaven and Earth.

It was in that exact same moment that the finger of the will of Allheaven, the finger which was bursting with the power to destroy worlds, reached a position 3,000 meters away from Naruto.

Naruto looked up at the fingerprints, which resembled vast mountains and plains. His clothes were whipping back and forth in the wind, and his hair was completely disheveled.

The finger accelerated.

"DIE!" screamed a voice from nowhere. It seemed to command ultimate authority, to contain within it the natural laws of the Vast Expanse, the power of the starry sky as a whole. All of that was rumbling toward Naruto.

It only took a moment for it to be directly in front of Naruto. It was as if the Heavens themselves were descending upon him. But Naruto simply reached out and pushed against the finger with his hand.

The moment his hand made contact, rumbling sounds filled him, and blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth. Crevices snaked out from beneath his feet as everything crumbled. The entire land mass shattered into rubble which dropped down. Now there was nothing beneath Naruto but an empty starry sky.

However, Naruto himself didn't move an inch. He hovered there, bracing himself against the finger of Allheaven. Although blood was oozing out of the corners of his mouth, his eyes shone with a terrifying glow.

His pupils were bright red, which was the foundation of the Demon, and could not be changed. Perhaps instead of calling it Demonic, it would be more appropriate to call it chaotic. It was the ultimate form of chaos, a chaos from within which could be born a completely contradictory natural law.

This was Naruto's version of the Demon. However, that was not his Essence. His Essence was more than that. In what had once been the whites of his eyes, a new color appeared. Violet!

He had violet eyes and red pupils, and the aura he emanated was completely impossible to describe with words. It was as if he were the ultimate form of chaos, as if he were completely at odds with the entire world, with Heaven and Earth.

Even as his right hand pushed against the finger, he smiled.

"By this point, nobody can destroy me. Nobody can control my fate. Nobody… is qualified to manipulate my path.

"Even the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse… does not qualify!

"You are dismissed!" He shoved his hand forward, and thunderous rumbling emanated out. Beneath his skin could be seen numerous wriggling, snake-like objects. However, they weren't snakes, they were the strands of green smoke he had absorbed from the bronze lamp.

Numerous strands of smoke flowed like mad through his body. They contained boundless life force which strengthened him, causing him to grow more powerful by the moment.

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

Veins bulged out on Naruto's neck and face as he took a step forward, pushing onto the finger, which had no choice but to fall back.

It didn't want to, but the power of Naruto's fleshly body could shake Heaven and Earth, and was forcing it backward.

The light of time flickered dully, and the world seemed to be on the verge of collapsing completely. An enraged roar echoed out as the finger pushed out with more power than before, still intent on wiping out Naruto.

Naruto's eyes shone with bright red light. His Chakra passageways had reached their limit, and began to explode. Countless motes of scintillating light filled his body, and at the same time, his flesh and blood began to transform. His bones, his body, his Chakra passageways, and even his blood apparently ceased to exist.

However, from the outside, he looked the same as ever. That was because, by this point, his body was neither mortal nor cultivator. A thunderous, Heaven-rending Earth-crushing boom rang out. It was as if the starry sky was bearing witness to Naruto as he took another step forward, threw his head back, and let loose a long cry.

Chapter 1536: Extinguishing the Bronze Lamp!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1537

Chapter 1537 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1537: Daosource Complete!

The sound of the noise split the starry sky, echoing out in all directions. The finger began to tremble as Naruto emanated dazzling red light, his hair whipping about around him.

That red light was the same color as his soul and his eyes!

As soon as it appeared, a tremor ran through him, and his fleshly body power broke through to a higher level, to a level that could shake Heaven and Earth. And that was… Transcendence!

The moment he entered Transcendence, it was as if a gate had been opened in Heaven and Earth, a gate that erupted with the power of time. At the same time, Naruto's body created a new starry sky.

It was a starry sky that existed inside of him, which transformed into a spinning vortex. He took a deep breath. Now that his fleshly body had Transcended, it meant that, in some ways, even if Heaven and Earth rotted away, he would not.

"Screw the hell off!" Naruto roared. His energy skyrocketed, and rumbling sounds echoed out as he violently waved his hand. The enormous finger was shoved backward, and even began to show signs that it would soon fall apart.

As of this moment, not even the clone of Patriarch Vast Expanse could measure up to Naruto. After all, he was just a clone, and this was Naruto's true self.

He was a being like the Ghost, the God, or the Devil. Although he was only about seventy percent Transcendent, and was still lacking a Transcendent Soul, the energy he could unleash put him in a position to fight back against the finger formed by the will of Allheaven, and in fact, to have the upper hand!

The finger of Allheaven was pushed back, and Naruto hovered there in the void, surrounded by boundless crimson light. When he looked up, his eyes shone with piercing light.

"Next to Transcend will be my soul." He flicked his sleeve, and his cultivation base erupted with terrifying Transcendent power. No one could face such power and not be struck to the heart with fear. It stood above all sorts of natural and magical laws. It was the Daosource.

Everything around Naruto twisted and distorted; all Heaven and Earth acknowledged allegiance to him.

As his cultivation base rocketed up, he took a deep breath, which caused the air around him to shatter, as though he were sucking away the life force of his surroundings, causing everything to wither.

At the same time, his Transcendent fleshly body radiated fear-inspiring power that combined with his cultivation base power to form a shocking resonance.

Because of that resonance, his soul began to transform. His aura grew completely petrifying as it spread out in all directions. In the end, his soul completely transformed, leaving Naruto fully Transcended. In that moment, his aura, and the terrifying ripples spreading out from him, suddenly vanished. He no longer seemed ostentatiously awe-inspiring.

As he hovered there, he actually looked like a mortal.

And yet, because of his current state, the ancientness around him faded away, and the world returned to its previous state. The nine land masses of the necropolis reappeared, and the starry sky formed up above.

Thunder boomed. Down on the ninth land mass, the Sect Leader and the others were trembling, their eyes radiating intense reverence. When they laid eyes on Naruto, they gasped, then dropped to their knees.

"Greetings, Transcendor!"

"Greetings, Transcendor!" Jin Yunshan's eyes were as wide as saucers, and Sha Jiudong's mind was reeling. Bai Wuchen appeared to be in a daze. All three were trembling. The pressure from Naruto completely enveloped them, and the feeling exceeded even that of Heavenly might. It was as if a single glance from him could kill them where they stood.

"Greetings, Transcendor!" All three immediately kowtowed.

"Greetings, Transcendor!" The other 9-Essences Paragons took deep breaths and also kowtowed, their eyes filled with reverence, fanaticism, and awe.

These were 9-Essences cultivators who hadn't kowtowed to anyone for countless years. But now, they didn't hesitate to bend over until their foreheads were touching the ground. They didn't hesitate at all to offer him the most formal of respectful greetings.

Within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, Transcendent cultivators were something out of legends. They were individuals who could singlehandedly destroy worlds with impunity. They were Essences unto themselves, who not even the will of the Vast Expanse could interfere with.

Transcendence, and the Daosource Realm, were completely independent of natural and magical law. Such cultivators were their own form of natural law, and gave birth to their own Essence.

They were completely and utterly independent!

The Sect Leader and the other 9-Essences cultivators weren't the only ones to kowtow. The countless ghosts who were still waiting off in the distance all looked at Naruto with complete reverence, then dropped to their knees and kowtowed.

"Greetings, Transcendor!"

Within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, countless entities, countless life forms, countless worlds, were all shaking. All living things looked in the direction of the necropolis, and bowed their heads.

It was an impulse from within their souls. Although they didn't know who it was who had Transcended, they could feel it, as though new Heavens had suddenly appeared up above.

From ancient times until now, throughout the countless years which had passed, there had only been three true Transcendent cultivators. The Ghost. The Devil. The God. But now, there was a fourth!

He possessed unending command over magic.

He was of the Boundless Dao.

He was of Heaven Trampling.

He was… Naruto!

Suddenly, the finger which had been formed by the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, the finger that had just collapsed, formed back together. Simultaneously, thousands upon thousands of worlds withered up. All living things within them instantly died, their life forces sucked away to fuel the new finger.

Rumbling could be heard as the finger began to descend toward Naruto in shocking fashion.

Naruto looked up, his expression calm. Then he lifted his right hand and pointed out with his index finger.

As he did, the red, rippling light which surrounded him rose up into the air, swirling around and around in circles as it transformed into the image of a finger, a finger that could match up in every way to the finger formed by the will of Allheaven. Without any pause, the crimson finger began to fly up into the air.

When the two huge fingers collided, it seemed as if the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse were about to be destroyed. A shockwave blasted out in all directions which that could not be described with words.

The finger formed by the will of Allheaven shook violently and then exploded, becoming countless motes of crystalline light. As for the finger formed by Naruto's personal Essence, it also exploded into a blast of red light.

As soon as the finger formed by Allheaven's will collapsed, the seemingly infinite motes of light that appeared suddenly transformed into lightning bolts. Rumbling could be heard as the endless bolts of lightning shot down toward Naruto.

This was Tribulation Lightning, sent by the starry sky of the Vast Expanse as Transcendence Tribulation.

Any one of those bolts of lightning could wipe a peak 9-Essences expert out of existence. As they descended en masse toward Naruto, he let out a light sigh.

Then he waved his right hand, causing all of the light which had formed his finger moments ago to coalesce into the shape of a gigantic head.

It had a solitary horn jutting out of it, and flickering red eyes. As it faced the incoming lightning, it grinned viciously, then opened its mouth and began to breathe in.

Instantly, the lightning bolts began to twist, and were subsequently sucked into the mouth of the huge head. The head looked up at the starry sky, then began to shrink down, flying toward Naruto's palm, where it eventually became a spinning vortex.

The spinning vortex was only the size of a hand, but there seemed to be no end to it on the inside, as though it contained countless heavenly bodies, as if it had its own starry sky.

Everything went completely silent. Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone looked thoughtfully at the vortex in Naruto's palm. At the same time, a figure appeared within the starry sky of the necropolis.

It was merely an outline, and inside of it could be seen ninety-eight fruits. It was exactly the same entity Naruto had laid eyes on in the Demon pillar outside the Vast Expanse.

It was none other than the true body which was being rebuilt by the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

It was hard to say exactly when he had appeared up there, but there he floated up, looking down at Naruto. He seemed especially focused on the starry sky vortex Naruto held in his hand.

Naruto looked up at the figure.

After a long moment, the outline spoke, its voice cool. "Half a step into Ancestor…."

With one final look at Naruto, he faded away.

"Half a step into Ancestor…." Naruto smiled. It was only after his cultivation base, fleshly body, and soul had all entered Transcendence that he realized the truth. When it came to Transcendence, the Daosource Realm wasn't the only Realm.

There was another Realm, which was the Ancestor….

That was the peak of Transcendence. As for Naruto, when he Transcended, he went all the way to the great circle. In fact, he went beyond that, taking him half a step into the Ancestor Realm.

The hallmark of the Ancestor Realm was that a starry sky, a world, would appear within one's own body.

The nine land masses were completely silent. Naruto looked over at Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone, then clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks, Patriarch!"

He said nothing more. However, the assistance provided to him by Patriarch Vast Expanse was something he would never forget. He bowed with complete sincerity and gratitude.

Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone looked at Naruto, face expressionless.

"The three people who came before you have long since left," he said coolly. "Perhaps they have returned, but it would only be to observe a bit before leaving again. Compared to the Universe in which they exist, this place is insignificant.

"I'm just a clone, and my days are numbered. At the most, I will last another 10,000 years before passing away into meditation. Then I will vanish. However, it is a true blessing to have been able to witness a fourth Fellow Daoist Transcend here in my old home." Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone smiled, then stepped back toward the huge throne. The rocks flew back up into the air, covering him, transforming yet again into a huge statue. Soon, everything looked like before, with the statue staring out over his homeland.

Chapter 1537: Daosource Complete!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1538

Chapter 1538: A Universe!

The first through eighth land masses, which had been pulverized into nothing more than dust, were now reformed just as they had been. Everything in the necropolis was just as it had been before.

Naruto once again clasped hands and bowed deeply. By now, he had abandoned his idea of taking the ghosts away to fight for him. It wasn't that he was incapable of doing such a thing; rather, it was not the right thing to do.

This was their home. They had been born here, and they had died here. It was a place they shouldn't be separated from.

Naruto took a deep breath, then turned and waved his sleeve, sweeping up the Sect Leader and the others. He took a step forward, and without the need for any teleportation portal, was instantly outside of the necropolis.

As soon as he appeared in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, he could sense a terrifying power of expulsion pushing against him, and could even hear what sounded like the voice of the will of Allheaven.

"Leave. Leave. Leave… LEAVE this place!"

Naruto looked up at the starry sky. The feeling of being expelled was intense. All of the natural and magical laws within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, all of the Essences, were now trying to expel him.

He, a Transcendent being, was something that the starry sky of the Vast Expanse could not accept. Wherever he stood, he replaced all Essences, all natural laws and all magical laws.

That, of course, created a conflict.

Naruto's expression was normal as he looked away from the starry sky toward the Sect Leader and the others. All of them were panting, and as soon as he looked at them, they quickly bowed.

"Congratulations, exalted Transcendor…."

As he hovered there in the starry sky, Naruto realized that all existence, even the starry sky, were contained within his thoughts.

Before, the Vast Expanse had seemed endless and infinite, but now, he could send his divine sense out to its borders.

Of course, the borders were so distant that even someone at the peak of 9-Essences couldn't reach them within a lifetime. As such, it wasn't necessarily incorrect to call the starry sky of the Vast Expanse neverending.

Before, there was something about the Vast Expanse that Naruto had been incapable of noticing. But now, he could clearly see that the starry sky… contained countless rifts.

Some were large and some were small, but they filled the starry sky, and also emanated an aura of decay, which was the source of the mist that filled the Vast Expanse.

That decay was a sign of imminent death, of age, of weakness. This starry sky was on the verge of dying.

It was like an old man lying on his deathbed. However, the starry sky didn't wish to pass away into death, which was why all of this was happening. As of this point, Naruto understood everything.

If he wanted to, he could rip open the starry sky and step outside of the Vast Expanse. He could enter the void outside, where the five columns existed.

Were it his wish, he could rip his way out of the Vast Expanse… to enter the true Universe.

In fact, he had already been outside in the past. He suddenly sent his divine sense raging out in all directions. He suppressed the power of expulsion, driving it away, then sent his divine sense out through the rifts filling the starry sky, rifts that only Transcendent cultivators could see. That allowed him to see what was outside of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

He saw a quiet void, filled with dust and desolation.

Back before he had Transcended, this sight didn't leave much of an impression on him, other than the feeling that it had once been a beautiful and flourishing place.

Now, that feeling was stronger than ever. In fact, he even noticed signs that living beings had once existed out here. Based on the desolation which surrounded the Vast Expanse on the outside, he was sure that ages ago, before the will of Allheaven had grown old, there had been countless heavenly bodies and worlds out here.

There had been many forms of life which multiplied and grew. However, as the will of Allheaven grew old, the starry sky began to wither, beginning with the area outside the Vast Expanse.

The planets here were broken and crumbled. Everything was dead, and the only thing that remained behind amidst the rubble… were the five columns.

After pondering the pervasive aura of death for a moment, he sent his divine sense even further out. Soon, it filled the entire area that was immediately outside of the Vast Expanse. It was then that he noticed a barrier, filled with rifts. Non-Transcendent cultivators could spend a lifetime and never pass through that barrier, but for Transcendent cultivators, it would be as simple as breathing.

A moment later, Naruto's divine sense saw a new starry sky. Instantly, his heart began to pound.

What he was looking at… was something which could truly be called infinite… the Universe!

Based on his divine sense, he couldn't see its borders at all. There was resplendent, dazzling light, and a seemingly endless sea of stars, filled with countless vortexes and other heavenly bodies.

Some of them were dim, some were bright. Some were withering in death, some seemed to have only recently been born.

Naruto turned to look back at the Vast Expanse Realm, and his eyes gleamed with enlightenment.

"So, this is what Patriarch Vast Expanse's clone referred to… the Universe. The Vast Expanse Realm is just one whirlpool of stars within this boundless Universe." He shook his head at the realization that the Vast Expanse Realm was simply a small part of the Universe. You could even say that it was like a seed. Inside the seed was the Vast Expanse, and outside of it… was the Universe as a whole.

Out in the Universe, everything was quiet. He could see countless other whirlpools of stars, and it was very possible to imagine that they were full of their own various worlds.

"The others who Transcended before me all went out into the Universe," he murmured. Each whirlpool of stars was a world, and only by Transcending could one be qualified to leave that world.

It was impossible to say how many living things there were in the

Universe, but one could imagine that there were definitely other Transcendent beings there. Most likely, many more existed than the few who had emerged from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. However, when compared to the Universe as a whole, such people… would still be incredibly rare, as rare as phoenix feathers or qilin horns.

As he looked out at the Universe, Naruto felt the impulse to go out, to explore it. There was surely a much longer path for him to walk out there.

Perhaps, years later, he might even encounter the Ghost, the God, and the Devil….

In the end, he retracted his divine sense and quelched that impulse. There was still far too much unfinished business within the Vast Expanse Realm.

After returning to his body, his eyes shone with profound light. He almost looked like the young scholar he had been thousands of years ago on Mount Daqing.

Now that he had Transcended, there were no traces of age at all on his face. However, the ancient look within his eyes was even more prominent.

He heard the Sect Leader and the others greeting him formally. Apparently, time moved differently for him now. From the moment he had sent his divine sense out into the Universe, until the moment it returned, only enough time had passed to speak a single sentence.

The words, "Congratulations, exalted Transcendor," were still echoing out as Naruto looked off in the direction of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

"Call me the Demon Sovereign," Naruto said coolly.

The Sect Leader and the others shivered. Bowing their heads, they said,

"Greetings, Demon Sovereign!"

Even as everyone offered greetings, Jin Yunshan took a deep breath. He had failed to Transcend, but Naruto had succeeded. As such, he was quick to realize that any hope he had in Transcending lay with Naruto.

Furthermore he could sense how vastly different he was from Naruto in terms of power. It was as if a single word from Naruto could alter natural law. It was as if a single thought from him could become Essence. It was as if a single action on his part could shake the entire starry sky.

In his view, Naruto was now on equal footing with the legendary Patriarch Vast Expanse. Because of the vast disparity between them, he also had the feeling that he could not be able to step into Transcendence any time soon.

"Exalted Demon Sovereign," he said. "I am willing to be a slave for you as your vanguard. I will lead the Vast Expanse School to slaughter the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent!"

The Sect Leader's heart trembled, and he immediately voiced similar words. The others all did the same.

Trembling, Immortal Bai Wuchen stepped forward and bowed deeply. "Your humble servant is willing to do anything for you, oh exalted one. I only hope that in the end… you will return me to my home outside the Vast Expanse."

Even as she bowed, she looked at Naruto with anticipation, focus, and hope.

Naruto looked back at her for a moment before replying, "You really wish to go back outside the Vast Expanse?"

"Exalted one," she replied, "I beg for your aid in doing so. I was born outside the Vast Expanse, in the Vast Expanse Society. My family, my friends, my roots… are all outside the Vast Expanse." From the way she looked at Naruto, she seemed to be pleading with him.

Naruto sighed softly. By this point, he realized that all of Bai

Wuchen's memories were illusions. In fact, all of the people on Planet Vast Expanse who had supposedly descended from above had had their memories altered by the will of Allheaven. All of those people had been put in place by that will.

That included Han Bei. As for exactly why that was, Naruto wasn't sure. However, he was absolutely certain that it had something to do with Planet Vast Expanse.

"Once everything is concluded," he said coolly, "if you still wish to go back outside the Vast Expanse, I will help you." With that, he made a grasping motion, and a soul strand appeared in his hand.

It was a middle-aged man who had a third eye on his forehead. After he appeared, he trembled, then immediately kowtowed to Naruto. Apparently, he didn't dare to speak even a word.

That soul was… the true Ninth Paragon of the Vast Expanse School.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1539

Chapter 1539 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1539: The Meat Jelly Shall Be Resurrected

Back in their original encounter, Naruto had promised to eventually release him from being sealed. Now, he was making good on that promise. With the wave of a finger, he created something from nothing, providing a new fleshly body for the Ninth Paragon's soul.

The others were shaken by what they saw, and their desire to reach Transcendence themselves became even stronger.

"Many thanks, exalted one!" cried the Ninth Paragon, his heart filled with both excitement and bitterness. Long ago, he had smugly assumed that he would rise to glory after descending. How could he ever have imagined that his soul would have been sealed by Naruto, who would then assume his identity to rise to power?

In the two thousand years which had passed, Naruto had

Transcended, while he himself remained in the 9-Essences level.

However, he felt no resentment. Instead, he dropped to his knees and kowtowed over and over again.

Naruto looked around at the group of Paragons and said, "Any of you who wish to join me can meet me half a month from now outside of Planet Vast Expanse."

With that, he swished his sleeve, took a step forward, and vanished.

Everyone rose to their feet and exchanged glances. All of them were visibly moved by what had just occurred. A moment later, they transformed into beams of light which shot off in the direction of Planet Vast Expanse.

Naruto made his way alone out into the starry sky. Following his memories, he returned to the location near the Mountain and Sea Butterfly where he had been teleported away by the meat jelly.

Based on the parrot's memories, he then began to search for the location where he had fully fused with the bronze lamp. What he wanted to find… was the place where the meat jelly's aura had finally dissipated.

That location was where he was most confident that he could reverse what had occurred in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, and… resurrect the meat jelly!

He would essentially grab the meat jelly's soul from within the will of Allheaven and drag it out.

Several hours later, Naruto reached his destination, where he looked around for a moment in both grief and anticipation.

He could tell that this was the location where the meat jelly, still in armor form, had died in the midst of defending him.

Naruto made a grasping gesture with his right hand, and a fossilized suit of armor appeared. The parrot flew out, its expression the same as Naruto's, that of grief and anticipation.

Naruto carefully laid the armor out in front of him in the exact spot where the meat jelly had died. Eyes glittering, he performed a doublehanded incantation gesture and then placed both hands down onto the armor.

The starry sky filled with rumbling sounds as ripples spread out in all directions.

Naruto's eyes shone with a strange light, and his expression was very serious as he unleashed Hexing magics, one type after another. Eventually, the Ninth Hex appeared, whereupon he lifted his right foot up and then stamped it down.

"By the power of my name, I hereby alter natural law, reverse time, and overturn the starry sky. Meat jelly, I call upon your soul to return from the stream of time!" His voice seemed to be filled with strange, magical power. Instantly, the surrounding laws of magic and nature began to twist and distort. It was as if the area in front of Naruto was being wrenched out of the control of the will of Allheaven, and conforming to Naruto's Dao.

The natural and magical laws in the area all transformed into spiralling threads, which merged together to form a mighty river. It was a river formed, not from water, but from the fragments of time which existed in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. Within that flowing river were numerous vicious beasts, one of which was a crocodilian creature fully 30,000 meters long. As it rose up from within the river, it looked like a hulking island.

"Who has the gall to unleash Hexing magic to disturb the flow of time!?" it roared in a voice like thunder. "Anyone who commits the sin of altering with time shall be imprisoned for all eternity!" It looked like a paramount celestial being, radiating pressure in all directions. However, when it saw Naruto, its eyes went wide, and it shivered in terror.

This creature was the embodiment of countless souls fused together, and could control the river of time. It had never seen Naruto before, but was aware that there were four people within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse who had Transcended, and could fight with the will of Allheaven.

As soon as it laid eyes on Naruto, it realized who he was, and instantly changed its tone of voice.

"Ex-exalted… exalted one… your humble servant didn't see you just now, um… what are your orders, exalted one? I will go through hell or high water to fulfil your every request."

Naruto looked calmly at the crocodilian creature, then waved his finger at the river of time. Instantly, the entire river slowed down and stopped.

That affected the flow of time everywhere within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. All beings and entities, regardless of their nature, were suddenly rendered immobile.

The crocodilian creature shivered. A divine ability like this which could suspend the flow of time was something that surpassed any and all natural laws. Even this creature was incapable of moving, and could do nothing more than watch as Naruto reached his hand out into the river of time.

It seemed almost like a casual gesture. Instantly, countless motes of time appeared in front of him within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. They were events which had occurred in a previous life, numerous images that would cause even the mind of a 9-Essences Paragon to reel. Only a Transcendent cultivator would be able to do something like this, to reverse fate and alter reality.

Naruto didn't pause for a moment. He quickly found the meat jelly's soul within the river of time, two thousand years in the past. He could see himself, and the meat jelly in armor form. He saw the meat jelly die.

He watched as the meat jelly's soul flew away. Just when it was about to vanish into the void, he reached out and gently laid ahold of the soul.

The entire process only took a few breaths' worth of time. A moment later, he held a soul strand in his hand.

When the parrot saw the meat jelly's soul, its eyes lit up with hope.

A warm look could be seen in Naruto's eyes as he placed the meat jelly's soul onto the fossilized suit of armor. Instantly, a howl echoed out through the starry sky as the will of Allheaven tried to interfere.

To the will of Allheaven, Naruto's actions were a brazen provocation. He was interfering with something that belonged solely to that will.

Souls of entities which had died were supposed to return to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, but Naruto was completely defying that arrangement.

As the howl echoed out, the formerly still starry sky of the Vast Expanse suddenly returned to normal. The river of time flowed once more, and the crocodilian creature shivered and sank back down into its depths, not daring to even show its face.

It was well aware that it could not participate in a battle between Naruto and the starry sky itself.

Chapter 1539: The Meat Jelly Shall Be Resurrected

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1540

Chapter 1540: The Return of Lord Third!

The howl echoed out near and far, in all times and places, seemingly intent on burying Naruto. As for Naruto, he simply snorted coldly.

Immediately, ripples spread out, distorting everything as they spread out, seemingly taking the surrounding area and cutting it away from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

Ignoring the howl coming from the will of the starry sky, Naruto pushed the meat jelly's soul down into the armor with his right hand.

In the blink of an eye, the fossilized armor suddenly turned sleek and glossy. Then, it began to twitch and wriggle, as if life were being breathed into it.

Immediately, the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse began to descend, but before it could reach him, Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, unleashing the Ninth Hex with the wave of a finger.

"How dare you try to threaten me with this paltry show of force. Don't come at me again until you're ready to pull out all the stops. Screw off!" Although he spoke calmly, every word echoed like thunder, causing rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions.

Instantly, the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse was crushed, destroyed as easily as a dried twig.

Paying the will of the starry sky no further heed, Naruto looked back at the meat jelly. More and more life force was building up inside of it, until it finally resumed its original form!

It opened its eyes, looking around in confusion before noticing Naruto and the parrot. It smiled.

"Hahaha!" squawked the parrot. "Third Bro, you're finally back!" It was so excited it couldn't stand still. It immediately flew over to the meat jelly and said, "Come, come. Do you remember Lord Fifth?"

The meat jelly blinked, and without even thinking about it muttered, "Who are you calling Third Bro? You can't say that. It's immoral. It's wrong. Lord Third is going to convert you… Lord Third… Lord Third…."

It's eyes widened, and it glanced back and forth between the parrot and Naruto. Then it looked around the area in general. "Hey, what happened? I feel like I just woke up from a dream. In the dream, I died, and Haowie was also about to die…. Wait a second…."

The parrot began laughing uproariously in its high-pitched voice, and Naruto joined in. Naruto looked at the meat jelly, his gaze warm. He felt that this was one of the truly happy moments in his life.

"I will ensure that all which was lost is restored…." he thought. Taking a deep breath, he waved his sleeve, and a blast of wind rose up. The excited parrot and the confused meat jelly vanished.

After they all left, the natural and magical laws in the area returned to normal. The will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse converged into the vague form of a person, who hovered there alone, looking in the direction Naruto had just vanished in, its eyes flickering with the intense desire to kill.

One day later… in another corner of the starry sky of the Vast

Expanse…. Three land masses existed inside of an enormous vortex.

They were filled with an aura of death, and contained no cultivators, only countless lizards of varying sizes.

Those lizards had fully occupied the three land masses, and were now the rulers of this place.

The central land mass was actually an enormous basilisk lizard, which spent most of its time in slumber. The world which existed on its back was a Holy Land occupied by its descendants.

All of a sudden, a figure appeared within the vortex. It was a young man in a long white robe, who looked like a mortal scholar.

He was none other than the Transcended Naruto!

On his shoulder was the parrot, who had a little silver bell attached to its foot. A face could be seen on that bell, and it didn't look confused at all. In fact, it was arguing with the parrot.

In the day that had passed, the parrot had explained everything to the meat jelly, including how Naruto had resurrected it. The meat jelly was simple-minded to begin with, so it quickly recovered from its confusion and began to talk incessantly.

"Shut up, you three-counting old fart!" the parrot squawked. "Do Lord

Fifth a favor and just shut up!"

The meat jelly glared angrily at the parrot. "Lord Third was dead for countless three-year-periods. Countless three-year-periods, you hear me? You can't even count them. That's not countless two-year-periods, and not countless one-year-periods either. It's definitely not countless zero-year-periods…." If it could, it would have continued on in this line of reasoning, but after thinking for a bit, it realized that its ability to count really was quite limited.

"Anyway, I haven't been able to talk for countless three-year-periods. That simply won't do. I have to make up for all of the things I would have said during those countless three-year-periods! There are also countless bullies that I didn't convert during those countless three-year-periods. That's wrong! That's immoral. I'm a sinner…. I have to make up for all of it!" The meat jelly was not happy at all, and if it had arms and legs at the moment, it would be waving and stamping them wildly.

The parrot and meat jelly argued back and forth, and Naruto smiled the entire time. He didn't feel annoyed at all. It had been two thousand years since he had experienced this sensation, and it felt like he was with family.

He hovered there in the void, looking around. This was the same place where he had found the first copper mirror shard, which he took from within the body of the gigantic lizard. Before leaving, he had mentioned that he would return to take the lizard away as his subordinate.

Back then, the old lizard had mocked his words inwardly, and yet, here Naruto was.

Smiling, Naruto said, "Hey lizard, an old friend has come for a visit, why haven't you come out yet?" His voice filled the three worlds in the vortex, causing all of the lizards to suddenly go stiff. At the same time, an enraged roar echoed out from the central land mass.

The entire land mass began to move as the huge basilisk lizard lifted its head. As it glared in fury at Naruto, an intense pressure erupted out from within it.

"Dammit, you little punk, how dare you show your face in front of… wait… what?" The huge lizard's first reaction upon seeing Naruto was to roar with rage. However, before it could finish speaking, its eyes went wide with disbelief. Then it gasped.

Naruto hadn't unleashed any pressure at all, but as soon as the old lizard caught wind of his aura, it could tell that something was off.

Staring at him, it began to tremble. Although it had never encountered a Transcendent cultivator before, it could instantly tell what Naruto was. It could sense that a single glance from Naruto could completely eradicate it.

"…. Transcendor?" The old lizard's mind felt as if it were being toppled over.

"What did you call me just now?" Naruto asked coolly.

The old lizard shivered, and its eyes darted back and forth for a moment before it looked back at Naruto with a gaze of awe and reverence.

"A true genius, someone you might only see once in a hundred years! Heaven has laid its eyes upon me with grace, otherwise little old me would never get to lay eyes on a Chosen like this!" An expression of gratitude appeared on the lizard's face, and even as its words were echoing about, it bowed its head in respect.

"Many thanks, exalted one, many thanks. The fact that I've been able to lay eyes on you makes my entire life worth it, oh exalted one. What's more, I've actually been able to see you twice! Oh exalted one, back then, I could sense that you were beyond ordinary. Exalted one, your gaze is like the gaze of an eagle or a wolf. Back then, your bearing was that of a noble hero, striding forth like the dragon or tiger. You seemed like an intrepid and honorable warrior, gripping your sword as you patrolled vigilantly!"

Naruto looked at the lizard through the slitted eyes of a smile. Discerning someone's true feelings by seeing their reaction to your brown-nosing was a childish ploy that Naruto had come to master long ago. Although he was a bit surprised that the old lizard would speak in such a manner, he took it in stride.

However, the parrot and meat jelly looked over with looks of complete disdain.

"Uncouth!" the parrot said with a snort.

"Shameless!" the meat jelly said with a cold harrumph, its eyes shining with contempt.

The old lizard was at the peak of 9-Essences, and thus had no choice but to speak words to Naruto that it actually found revolting. However, it still had the same temper it always had, so the reactions from the parrot and meat jelly left it feeling even more humiliated than before. It instantly glared over at the parrot and meat jelly, eyes shining with a ferocious light.

"Well, what have we here?" squawked the parrot, flapping its wings excitedly as it looked at the lizard. "Not going to back down?

"Come, come, Third Bro, we need to have some words with this old bastard. Let's see, how many mistakes did it make when it was speaking just now!?"

A popping sound could be heard as the bell transformed into the usual meat jelly shape. It looked over at the old lizard, and began to speak in a very wise and knowing tone: "I'm not going to give a lecture here, but listen, you need to do things earnestly. Even when you're brown-nosing, you have to do it earnestly. Only by doing things earnestly can you do things well. You need to brown-nose as if you were practicing cultivation. That's the way to do things perfectly. Ai. All this reminds of something that happened countless three-year-periods ago. It was a fine spring day when…." The meat jelly continued speaking emotionally. However, before it could say much more, the parrot smacked it with a wing.

"Hurry up and get to the point!"

Off to the side, Naruto looked on with amusement. He suddenly felt very warm inside. Seeing the parrot and meat jelly talking like this reminded him of memories from more than two thousand years in the past.

After being smacked by the parrot, the meat jelly wasn't very happy at all. The old lizard looked on with wide eyes, unable to keep himself from wondering if this meat jelly and this parrot were complete idiots. However, even as the thought occurred to him, the meat jelly cleared its throat.

"Fine, fine. Listen up, old lizard. Again, I'm not going to be giving any lectures. However, I couldn't help but notice that you mentioned something about only being able to see someone once in a hundred years, right? Nonsense! Rubbish! You call that brown-nosing? A hundred years? My little Haowie is a Chosen you couldn't see once in 100,000 years. No wait. From the beginning of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, to now, there's never been anyone like him!" The meat jelly's eyes glowed with ardor. As soon as the words left its mouth, everything went quiet, and the old lizard gaped in shock.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1541

Chapter 1541: Lost in the Act!

The meat jelly cleared its throat and then, seemingly without the slightest bit of shame, continued on in a loud voice. "And then there was the second thing you said. Heaven laid its eyes upon you? Do you even know how to talk? What is that supposed to mean? Heaven has eyes? What you should have said is this: 'Oh Heavens, dig out my eyes, because after seeing a Chosen like this, I don't need them!'" The parrot was off to the side, muttering in irritation.

Naruto blinked, and couldn't hold back from coughing dryly.

As for the old lizard, its eyes were as wide as saucers as it stared at the meat jelly. It couldn't suppress the feeling that it had truly run into a master of speech….

"Remember, when you're brown-nosing, you have to determine exactly what type of person you're talking to. Some people like a bit of exaggeration mixed in with the truth. Others like complete and utter exaggeration. Therefore, before you begin brown-nosing, you need to analyze the personality of the person in question. At a single glance, you can tell that Haowie is a clever rogue. With people like that, you can't rely on ordinary methods. You have to exaggerate, go overboard. The thicker you lay it on, the better. The highest realm of brown-nosing is not the level where you make yourself sick. No, the highest level… is where you actually believe what you are saying is true. That is a level that is not to be trifled with!" As the meat jelly continued to lecture in a very knowledgeable fashion, its expression was very somber. It seemed genuinely irritated at the shortcomings of the old lizard.

The lizard began to sweat nervously.

"And then there's the last thing you said. It was far too long-winded. Alright, how about this? You just watch me. I'll show you what the highest level looks like." A popping sound could be heard as the meat jelly suddenly transformed into a little lizard. Its tongue flicked out of its mouth for a moment, and its eyes began to burn with passion. It was even trembling, and smoke began to rise up from its skin.

Its burning gaze seemed capable of melting mountains of ice. It was as if it were looking at the most perfect of all creations. It suddenly plopped down to prostrate itself to Naruto, then cried out in the most moving of voices, "Oh exalted one, I absolutely, positively must become your subordinate, sir, and bathe in the radiance of your light. If you dare to refuse me, sir, then I… will kill myself in front of your very eyes. If you try to stop me, I will kill myself this minute!" The meat jelly seemed to be lost in the act. It stuck its tongue out as if in preparation to bite it off if Naruto didn't agree.

In fact, it even began to emanate the fluctuations of self-detonation. The parrot stared in shock for a moment, then smacked the meat jelly viciously to remind it that it was acting….

"Damned bird!" the meat jelly roared. "Get the hell out of my way. I'm the most respected lizard in the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse! However, as of this day, I have come to understand that my mission in life has been to wait for your appearance, oh master!

"Sir, if you dare to say the word 'no,' then I will kill myself immediately!" The fluctuations of self-detonation continued to grow more and more intense. Soon the entire area seemed to be on the verge of being destroyed. Cracking sounds emanated out, and rifts opened up which emanated crimson, destructive light.

Naruto's eyes were wide, and the parrot seemed completely exasperated. Seeing that the meat jelly really did seem to be on the verge of self-detonating, he quickly said, "Yes, I accept. I accept!"

Finally, the meat jelly nodded in satisfaction. The signs of self-detonation faded away, and a popping sound rang out as the meat jelly returned to its usual form. It had been so engrossed in the act that it was completely exhausted. Furthermore, forcibly stopping the imminent self-detonation had resulted in some injuries. However, the meat jelly didn't seem to care. Looking proudly over at the old lizard, it said, "Now do you see how wrong you were?!"

The lizard remained in place, trembling and panting as it stared at the meat jelly. Suddenly, it was as if it had experienced an epiphany. Countless lightning bolts blasted around in its mind, removing the mists that had blocked enlightenment.

It had never encountered anything like the meat jelly before. Moments ago, it had been more than obvious the meat jelly really had initiated a self-detonation. If Naruto hadn't acted when he did… the meat jelly might have actually blown itself up.

The old lizard took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed to the meat jelly, its expression one of deep respect. It was feeling very torn, and was actually considering asking the meat jelly to teach it more when Naruto cleared his throat.

"Alright, enough with the ruckus," he said. "Listen, old lizard, you can follow me for a thousand years if you want. And if not, I won't force you." With that, he flicked his sleeve and made his way off into the distance.

The parrot and meat jelly immediately followed after him. After a moment passed, the meat jelly looked back ruefully at the lizard.

The lizard hesitated for a moment, then clenched its jaw and flew after them.

It was still feeling somewhat unsettled, and thus didn't notice that the meat jelly and parrot were apparently transmitting messages to each other.

"Well, what did you think of that?" the meat jelly transmitted proudly. "From now on, Lord Third has some hired muscle. That old lizard's cultivation base is at the 9-Essences level. Whenever we go out in the future, we can loot anybody we want without a single hitch."

The parrot rolled its eyes. "You three-counting imbecile! How stupid can you be? Haowie's Transcended already. With that kind of backing, who needs hired muscle?! Don't you know the story of the fox who borrowed the tiger's might? Well don't you?!"

Inwardly, the parrot sighed, thinking about how lonely it was being Transcendent in terms of wisdom.

The meat jelly gaped mutely as it was struck by the truth of the situation. All of a sudden, it realized that losing itself in the act like it had really had been a waste. It had almost gotten itself killed….

A few days later, Naruto led his little group to a desolate land mass within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. It seemed completely devoid of any life, and yet, when Naruto sent his divine sense out, the pressure caused the land mass to tremble, and countless termites flew out.

From the very depths of the land emerged a huge termite, larger than any of the others. When it saw Naruto, and sensed the terrifying fluctuations emanating off of him, it trembled and bowed its head. This termite was much more straightforward than the old lizard, and immediately chose to acknowledge allegiance.

Taking the peak 9-Essences termite with him, Naruto traveled to another area, where there was a huge vortex. As he neared it, his eyes shone with bright light. Instantly, the vortex ceased spinning, and even began to show signs of collapse.

A cry of terror echoed out from within the vortex as a huge head flew out. Before, a vicious expression had covered the head's face, but now, it was staring at Naruto in astonishment.

It remembered Naruto from hundreds of years ago, when he had taken away its precious treasure. It had chased after him and tried to kill him, and now, here he was, returned with an aura infinitely more terrifying than before.

"Y-you…."

"Quit stammering!" the parrot barked. "Hurry up and decide, are you gonna acknowledge allegiance or not?!" The parrot looked quite sanctimonious and lofty, almost as if it were the one emanating the aura of Transcendence, and not Naruto….

The enormous face smiled wryly and thought back to what it had said last time about what would happen when it met Naruto again. It could do nothing but look down.

"I acknowledge allegiance…."

Naruto nodded. "I've come searching for you and others like you, not to force you to acknowledge allegiance, but to put an end to the Karma from years ago. If you wish to follow me, you can do so for a thousand years."

What he said was true. He didn't need their fighting power. However, after reaching Transcendence, he got the feeling that he needed to unravel the Karma he had in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. If he didn't, it could be used against him as a weapon.

The last place he went was the world that existed inside of the enormous flower.

The flower was no longer in a state of bloom. It looked withered, and sagged in its position within the starry sky. When Naruto appeared next to it, he was so miniscule as to be invisible.

As soon as he appeared, though, the flower suddenly trembled. Clearly, the flower had a life force of its own, and it could sense that Naruto was a Transcendent cultivator.

He hovered there in front of the flower, thinking back to how helpless he had been last time he came, when he had been forced to simply wait for the flower to open. But now… his expression was calm as he said, "Bloom."

As soon as that single word left his mouth, the flower trembled even more violently than before, and without the slightest hesitation, bloomed.

Naruto entered the world inside the flower. Back then, he had promised to completely seal the fire and ice within the world, to prevent the world from being destroyed.

As he flew across the lands, he looked down to find that things looked somewhat different than before. The ice mountains were melting, and much of the flames were extinguished. As for the area in the middle where the two tribes had lived, it was now losing its vitality.

From the look of things, it wouldn't be long before this entire world was unsuitable for life. Once the flower closed back up, no one but a Transcendent cultivator could enter, which meant that everyone living inside the world would die.

Naruto didn't attract the attention of Patriarch Icemountain and the Flamephoenix. Unless he wished it, no one in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse would notice him.

Looking down at the lands below, he waved his finger, a seemingly casual gesture that actually altered the natural and magical laws. It changed destiny.

The lands began to rumble as an invisible ripple spread out in either direction. Wherever it passed, ice mountains were frozen solid, sending coldness out in all directions that would never fade away. Everything was returned to its previous state.

On the other side, flames leapt to life, sending scorching heat out in all directions.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1542

Chapter 1542: Demon Sovereign!

Having done that, Naruto looked at the lands below one more time, then made his way off. When the flower closed again, one of the ice mountains suddenly trembled and transformed into a giant. As the giant stared around in shock, a beam of light appeared off in the distance, which was none other than the Flamephoenix.

Both of them were completely astonished, and had no idea what had just occurred. Shortly before, they had been in despair, thinking that their home was doomed to be destroyed. But then, everything had been reversed. The mountains froze up again, and the flames raged hot and bright. There was even abundant spiritual energy present which hadn't been there before.

"What happened…?" asked the Flamephoenix. "Patriarch Icemountain, do you know?" However, a glance at Patriarch Icemountain's expression made it obvious that he had no idea either.

After a moment of silence, Patriarch Icemountain said, "How strange.

Everything suddenly changed…."

Silence prevailed for the time it takes an incense stick to burn. Then, the Flamephoenix hesitantly looked up into the sky.

"Do you think it might have been… him? Returned?"

"Impossible!" Patriarch Icemountain replied immediately, shaking his head. But then, he hesitated. With the flower closed, no one should have been able to enter the world to interfere with the lands of ice and fire. Even if they could enter, changing the situation was impossible.

Eventually, the Flamephoenix looked thoughtfully up at the sky one more time, and then turned and left.

The Icemountain Giant looked out at the lands and sighed. "Don't tell me it was really him…."

A few more days passed, and soon the day arrived which Naruto had mentioned to the Paragons from the Vast Expanse School. On that day, Planet Vast Expanse buzzed with activity. There was such a commotion that even the starry sky outside of the planet was affected.

Soon, figures appeared, flying up from Planet Vast Expanse. All of them were cultivators with extraordinary cultivation bases. Powerful ripples spread out into the starry sky as an 8-Essences Paragon flew out, leading a vast host of other cultivators off of the planet. It was none other than… the Ninth Sect!

They were gathering in preparation for Naruto's return!

Every Paragon, and all cultivators in the Dao Realm, Ancient Realm, and Immortal Realm appeared. There were countless numbers of them, stretching out in all directions.

They didn't fly out of their own power. Instead, they were organized in ranks on enormous, ancient trees which had been carved into semblances of ferocious beasts.

Further off in the distance were more figures. They weren't cultivators; they were other strange creatures and life forms.

These were various peoples from worlds that the Ninth Sect had subjugated over the years. Altogether, the forces of the Ninth Sect formed a huge army numbering over 10,000,000,000. They virtually blotted out the sky; there almost didn't seem to be an end to the army.

The pressure they radiated caused the mist in the starry sky to seethe and churn, almost as if it couldn't approach the cultivators. A vortex sprang up around the host, swirling around and making their aura even more shocking.

Soon, another host of cultivators flew out from Planet Vast Expanse. They were the powerful experts from the Eighth Sect. Although they couldn't match up to the Ninth Sect in terms of numbers, their power and glory shook the starry sky.

Next were the Seventh, Sixth, and Fifth Sects… all the way to the First Sect. Planet Vast Expanse was shaken in a way that it had never been throughout all history.

A few of the well-informed rogue cultivators knew a bit about what was going on, although they weren't sure of the details. However, most rogue cultivators had no idea what was happening, and gasped in shock and fear.

"Heavens! The nine great sects of the Vast Expanse School are all mobilizing off-planet! What's happening?"

"There must be a war! The Vast Expanse School is going to fight one of the other great powers!"

"How could that be possible? There are always small wars being fought here and there in the starry sky, but the Vast Expanse School is huge. Besides, how could they go to war when their 9-Essences experts are all focused on trying to Transcend…?" It wasn't just the rogue cultivators who were shocked. All of the other worlds located in the Vast Expanse School's sphere of influence were equally astonished.

Of course, some people were able to make speculations based on tidbits of information which had leaked out in recent days.

"Did you hear? The entire Vast Expanse School is mobilizing. I heard they're all going to support their Ninth Paragon!"

"The Ninth Paragon comes from a world that the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent destroyed. He wants revenge, and the Vast Expanse School is going to help him get it!"

"They're going to war with the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent? How… how could this Ninth Paragon convince them to do such a thing?!"

Even as everyone reeled in shock, the 9-Essences Paragons appeared from the various sects. They flew out to the front of the huge army, where they settled down cross-legged to wait.

The Sect Leader was among their number, his expression grave and murderous as he sat there in front of the First Sect.

Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong, and Immortal Bai Wuchen were there as well, their energy shaking the starry sky around them.

Apparently, the entire Vast Expanse School had come out. It was a shocking event which rocked the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse. As word spread near and far, gasps of shock could be heard everywhere.

Countless worlds chose to seal themselves shut. Innumerable vortexes went dark. No one wanted to participate in what was sure to be a brutal and savage conflict.

Time passed, and everyone waited in silence. Suddenly, a powerful roar filled the starry sky as an enormous basilisk lizard appeared. It was as large as an entire land mass, and before it even got close, an intense pressure weighed down, causing everyone to tremble. The Sect Leader's eyes snapped open, and he slowly rose to his feet.

Jin Yunshan and the others looked on with shining eyes and trembling hearts as they realized that standing on the head of the huge lizard… was Naruto.

The basilisk lizard filled them with intense dread, and as for the person standing on its head, it once again filled their hearts with the awesome sensation of Transcendence.

As the lizard approached, roaring sounds echoed out from behind it as an enormous termite appeared. Although it was smaller than the lizard, the aura it emanated was terrifying to the extreme.

After the termite was an enormous head, floating along with a vicious expression. It looked like the head of an old man, threatening without being angry, which emanated the fear-inspiring ripples of the peak of 9Essences.

"Patriarch Godlizard!"

"The Holy Termite!"

"And the Primordial Patriarch!"

The Sect Leader and the others were completely shaken. They had heard of these three entities, and knew that they had reached the peak of 9-Essences long, long ago.

It was at this point that the 8-Essences Paragon from the Ninth Sect took a deep breath, then clasped hands and bowed deeply toward Naruto.

"Greetings, Demon Sovereign!"

The 10,000,000,000 Ninth Sect disciples behind him trembled inwardly. Immediately, they clasped hands and bowed, their voices forming a powerful sound wave that swept out in all directions.

"Greetings, Demon Sovereign!"

As the starry sky shook, the Sect Leader, Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong and Immortal Bai Wuchen, as well as all the other 9-Essences Paragons, all clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Greetings, Demon Sovereign!" Then, all of the other disciples from all the other sects clasped hands and bowed low, their voices shaking Heaven and Earth.

The intensity of the sound echoing out caused a pulsing force of expulsion to rise up, which was the will of the starry sky reacting to what was happening.

Naruto looked out at the scene quietly. A moment passed, and soon silence reigned. Naruto suddenly flicked his sleeve, causing his cultivation base power to erupt out. Instantly, it surpassed the 9Essences level, and radiated the fluctuations of the Daosource.

In the Daosource Realm, one became Essence, and replaced natural and magical laws. The pressure emanating from a single person could cause the minds of all living things to reel, and fill their hearts with shock.

Things weren't over yet though. After unleashing his cultivation base, Naruto sent his divine sense out like a hurricane that swept over the entire starry sky.

"Transcendence! That's… the aura of Transcendence!"

"I can't believe the Ninth Paragon… actually Transcended!"

"The legends say that there have only ever been three people who

Transcended in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. Patriarch Vast Expanse was one of them. But now, there's actually a fourth!" Up to this point, only the 9-Essences cultivators had been aware of Naruto's that Naruto was making no effort to conceal the level of his cultivation base, however, the 7 and 8-Essences Paragons were all completely shocked.

The Dao Sovereigns, Dao Lords, and other Dao Realm experts were all staring with wide eyes.

The Ancient Realm cultivators' eyes shone with fervor, and they began to cry out at the tops of their lungs. Even the disciples who weren't from the Ninth Sect were all in a fervor.

Of course, the Ninth Sect was Naruto's sect, and they were completely shaken. The sounds of their cries shook Heaven and Earth, and the cultivators from the worlds which had been subjugated over the past centuries were completely won over.

"Demon Sovereign!"

"Demon Sovereign!"

"Demon Sovereign!"

Countless cries and roars erupted, starting from the Ninth Sect and going all the way to the First Sect. Everyone, every being, every life form dropped to their knees to kowtow!

Even the 9-Essences Paragons did the same thing. The passions of the crowd surged. The termite and the huge head looked at him with expressions of deference and allegiance, and the old lizard trembled.

To everyone and everything present, Naruto was the ultimate figure of respect.

All Heaven and Earth existed for him!

He stood there, energy surging out into the starry sky, and after a long moment passed, he spoke, and his words were like magical law that rocked the Heavens.

"Many thanks, ladies and gentlemen. Now, I would like to ask for your assistance. Please join me… as I return to my home, the world sealed by the 33 Heavens, the Mountain and Sea Butterfly!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1543

Chapter 1543: Target: 33 Heavens!

Naruto's voice echoed out into the ears of all of the cultivators, causing their eyes to burn red with passion and reverence.

"Heed the commands of the Demon Sovereign!"

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE! The starry sky was split open, and the mist of the Vast Expanse was sent surging away. The countless life forms that existed within the mist began to tremble, and didn't dare to reveal even a scrap of their auras.

Naruto waved his sleeve, and the massive army began to sweep through the starry sky in the direction of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

The mist was dispelled. Countless worlds were sealed, and countless vortexes remained dim. Even the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse didn't dare to approach. A vast array of cultivators marched through the starry sky like a river, splitting apart the Vast Expanse and causing rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions.

The First Sect was in the vanguard position, and was flanked by the Second and Third Sects. They were like sharp blades piercing everything in their path as they whistled through the starry sky.

In the middle of the procession was the Ninth Sect. Countless cultivators surrounded the huge old lizard, upon whose head Naruto sat crosslegged.

The termite and the huge head were off to either side, radiating the energy of the 9-Essences level, causing the starry sky to grow dim.

Flanking the Ninth Sect were the Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Sects, which were like wings that spread out in all directions.

The rear guard was comprised of the Seventh and Eighth Sects, like a mighty tail radiating a murderous aura.

The mighty army seemed prepared to cut down any Gods it encountered, to slay any Immortals. It rocketed away from Planet Vast Expanse, unleashing its top speed as it headed toward the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

As they went along, countless worlds made way. Innumerable vortexes remained in concealment. Any such place which dared to stand in the path of this army would be crushed in the blink of an eye, as easily as dry twigs.

Naruto never reigned in his aura. From beginning to end, it raged out, announcing in grand and domineering fashion to all vortexes, to all lives, to all entities, that he was returning.

The Demon Sovereign was back!

At the same time, as the army swept along, more and more entities sensed what was happening. Trembling with disbelief, they started spreading the news even faster through the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

"A Transcendent cultivator has appeared!"

"A fourth Transcendor has appeared in the starry sky of the Vast

Expanse!"

"Earlier, it suddenly felt as if another Heaven had been added above us.

The truth is… that a fourth Transcendor appeared!"

The starry sky was completely shaken. Not even dust dared to get in Naruto's path. Countless beings off in the distance couldn't hold back from dropping to their knees to kowtow.

Every cultivator in the army was itching to fight, causing the deadly aura of the army to rise higher by the moment.

As the army advanced, it got closer and closer to the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

Naruto sat atop the old lizard's head, looking off into the distance at the butterfly, and it was impossible for him to remain calm. He had Transcended, and had thus surpassed all other cultivators. He had reached a legendary Realm, and was now the type of person that others worshipped. But despite that, he still couldn't remain calm.

"I'm coming home," he thought.

"Dad. Mom. Your son is coming back to see you…. Your son is coming home….

"Qing'er, I'm returning for you….

"How have you been, my family, my friends…? Do you remember me? I am Naruto… and I'm back!

"Oh Mountain and Sea Realm, you were destroyed in the past, and I promised to build you once again. Now, I've come back to make good on that promise!

"And as for you, 33 Heavens… all grievances will be laid to rest!

"Immortal God Continent, Devil Realm Continent. I now understand much more about you, and ninety percent of my speculations have been confirmed. However… I will still destroy you!

"If I don't, then what is the point of having Transcended? You will be eradicated. Who could possibly just forget… an enmity which has festered for two thousand years?!

"As for the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, it will also be overturned!" His eyes shone with crimson light, Demonic light, and the Demonic Chakra which radiated off of him exceeded anything ordinary!

Numerous images flashed through Naruto's mind. He saw the

Mountain and Sea Realm being destroyed in the fighting. He saw the Immortal God Continent giving chase. He saw the deaths of Shui Dongliu and Sea Dream. After the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was safe, he saw the Devil Realm Continent arrive, joining forces with the Immortal God continent to destroy the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The meat jelly died, and the parrot experienced an agonizing fate, all to help him flee. After he awoke near Planet Vast Expanse, he had set a goal!

"One day, I will return!"

RUMBLE!

The starry sky shook as the army advanced. The mists retreated. Eventually, something appeared in front of them. It was a grand and shocking spell formation. It was… the Aeon Span!

Within the Aeon Span were the thirty-three land masses, the 33 Heavens which suppressed the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Just outside of the 33 land masses was a monkey, sitting there cross-legged in meditation. Suddenly, his eyes opened, and he shivered in terror and shock. All of the fur on his body instantly stood on end.

Beneath it all was a green bronze coffin!

The coffin glowed with soft light, and inside was a spectacularly beautiful woman who appeared to be sleeping. A butterfly could be seen atop the coffin, which seemed to nearing the end of its life.

Pressure crushed down from above, but the light from the coffin made it impossible for that pressure to touch the butterfly. It was almost as if the entire starry sky hated the butterfly; were it not for the light from that coffin, the butterfly would have long since been destroyed.

Years ago, Paragon Sea Dream had given up her life to find a safe haven. The fact that the butterfly had survived until now proved that her sacrifice really had bought safety for the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"I'm back!" Naruto whispered, standing on the head of the old lizard, looking at the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

His words were spoken so softly that only he could hear them. As he looked at the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, his eyes shone with reminiscence.

Now that he had Transcended, his slightest word or action could shake the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse. In fact, he didn't even need to speak. A single thought could change natural law.

He had even reached the point where all someone had to do was think of his name, and Naruto would know. That level of divine ability and skill was one of the terrifying natures of Transcendent cultivators.

It was nothing special to the so-called Boundless Dao and Heaven Trampling.

In the moment that he murmured those words, his voice could be heard in the minds of all his old friends in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

His parents were there. They suddenly looked up as they sensed Naruto's aura, and expressions of excitement appeared on their faces. Although it was clearly their son's aura, it contained something that could shake Heaven and Earth. And it was getting closer!

"It's Hao'er!"

"Hao'er is back! He didn't die! The qilin son of the Namikaze Clan is back!

He's definitely going to cleave open the 33 Heavens and paint the Vast Expanse red with their blood!" Naruto's father, Namikaze Xiufeng, threw his head back and laughed. It had been a long time since he had been so happy and excited. He wrapped his arms around Uzumaki Li, whose eyes were wet with tears.

She looked up into starry sky above, and she knew that her son was the most outstanding individual in existence. She knew that he would keep his promises no matter how much time passed or how many incredible developments occurred.

Years ago he had said that he would return, so… he would definitely return!

Many people throughout the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly felt similar sensations. Hinata was sitting cross-legged in the main gate of her residence on the mountaintop. She suddenly walked outside, her green garments fluttering in the wind. Her long hair flowed past her beautiful face, which was already starting to show a bit of age.

However, the faint wrinkles couldn't cover up her expression of determination and excitement.

She had been meditating moments ago, but when she heard Naruto's voice, it was almost as if he were standing right next to her. _I'm back…._

She was sure that she hadn't misheard. After rushing out, she stood there at the top of the mountain, looking up anxiously into the sky. She gripped her garment tightly with both hands, tears streaming down her face. Those tears contained joy, and her longing for Naruto, feelings which had been growing for two thousand years.

"Naruto…." she said, smiling. Her smile was as beautiful as a blooming flower, causing everything around her to somehow fade. She knew… that Naruto was back. Her husband was out there in the starry sky above.

He was back, just as he had promised!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1544

Chapter 1544: Excited and Trembling!

Within the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, Wang Youcai was practicing cultivation in a desert. He had spent the last two thousand years tormenting himself. Tormenting his fleshly body, his divine sense, his mind. By means of this brutal method of training, he had constantly increased his battle prowess.

He had come to be an object of veneration for countless people in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Normally speaking, he should never have been able to live so long, In fact, there were many powerful experts in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly whose longevity should have been cut off long ago.

However, the bronze coffin that the butterfly rested on emanated intense Time power to prevent the 33 Heavens from encroaching. That power nourished and protected those who inhabited the world of the Mountains and Seas, even those who should have died in the past.

Wang Youcai's eyes were black pits that he hadn't opened for countless years. Currently, he was trudging along through the desert, when suddenly, he stopped and looked up. Then he started laughing uproariously. Boundless cultivation base power erupted out of him, causing a tempest to spring up.

"That aura. That voice… Naruto! It's Naruto!" Wang Youcai once again laughed heartily.

In another part of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly world was a flourishing sect. Fatty was there. He was now a middle-aged man, so fat that he looked like a mountain. However, he emanated the powerful fluctuations of the Dao Realm. Although he couldn't measure up to Wang Youcai, he was still one of the most famous experts in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly world. Considering everything he had experienced in the past, the words he spoke in the sect were like orders from the Heavens.

He was currently crunching a spirit stone to bits in his mouth, which was his special method of cultivation, something different from others. Even as he absorbed the spirit stone, he suddenly shivered as a sensation overcame him which had experienced in the past. This time, however, it was vastly more intense. He suddenly turned into a blur of motion as he flew up into the sky.

He looked up, trembling, then let out a powerful, excited roar. After being stifled for so many years, he was at long last able to explode with madness.

All of the disciples in the sect were completely shocked. The sect Elders flew up into the air, to look in astonishment at Fatty, their Patriarch.

"Hahaha! Naruto, dammit! You're finally back!

"I heard you! I heard you, Naruto!" Fatty roared with joy, tears streaming down his face.

"More than two thousand years. We've been waiting for you for more than two thousand years. At long last… you're back!"

People down below looked up at their Patriarch, who was laughing and crying, and weren't sure what was happening. Most of them had been born in the recent centuries, and thus couldn't hear or sense what Naruto's old friends could.

A moment later, a few hundred old-timers flew up from within the sect.

They were trembling, unsure if what they had sensed moments ago had been an illusion or not. But seeing Fatty react in such a way caused excitement to rise up in their hearts.

"Was that really… Naruto?!"

"It really was! Hahaha! He's coming back!?"

"It was Naruto. It was him! The Demon Sovereign!" All of the oldtimers began to shout in excitement. As for everyone else, their confusion gradually gave way to shock.

"Naruto? The exalted Demon Sovereign? According to the stories, he was the number one most powerful expert in the Mountain and Sea Realm who saved us all two thousand years ago!"

"The exalted Demon Sovereign is back? Is… is it for real?!" One disciple after another began to tremble and cry out.

In another location was a husband and wife, who were none other than Naruto's sister Namikaze Yu, and Sun Hai. They flew out from their residence to hover in midair, looking excitedly up into the sky.

Namikaze Yu's tears of joy blurred her vision as she said, "Little brother…."

Sun Hai looked very excited, and started laughing out loud. Their reaction caused three beams of light to fly up and join them. There were two men and a woman, all of them young. These three were none other than Namikaze Yu and Sun Hai's children.

These three younger ones rarely saw their parents acting so emotionally, and couldn't help but ask what was happening.

"Dad, mom, what's going on?"

"What happened?"

"It's your uncle," Namikaze Yu cried. "He's back!" Her eyes were shining more brightly right now than they had for centuries.

"Our uncle? Naruto?"

"The exalted Demon Sovereign!?"

Naruto's nephews and niece almost couldn't believe what was happening. They had been born into an era in which Naruto was a legend. In fact, to everyone born in the past several centuries, Naruto wasn't even a cultivator. He was a story, a myth.

Somewhere else in the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, the aura of a 7-Essences Paragon suddenly exploded out, leading to widespread shock. Suddenly, an old man appeared up in midair.

It was none other than… Grandpa Uzumaki!

He had already elevated his cultivation base to the level of a 7-Essences Paragon, becoming one of the four grand guardians of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

He looked up into the sky, then threw his head back and laughed uproariously, tears of joy streaming down his face.

In another area was yet another 7-Essences aura. Rumbling sounds echoed out from a puppet which stood tall over a certain city. That puppet was none other than the Paragon from the 1st Heaven, who Naruto had sealed early in the Mountain and Sea War.

At the same time, far to the east, was an unearthly region in which countless dead souls flew to and fro. This was the Mountain and Sea Butterfly's underworld, where reincarnation was governed. Shockingly, the aura of an 8-Essences Paragon emanated out from here. It was none other than… Ksitigarbha!

In the past, he had been the most powerful of the Mountain and Sea Lords!

In the far west was a boundless sea. Suddenly, a massive wave exploded up, atop which stood a young man. Gradually, an enormous whale became visible beneath him. The whale seemed to be a creature of constant transformations, with its appearance randomly changing. It was none other than true spirit Night!

That young man was the one and only… Ke Jiusi! Shockingly, he was emanating the fluctuations of the 8-Essences level!

During the past two thousand years, many shocking developments had occurred within the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. However, the most astonishing of all was that, in addition to the puppet, there were three additional Paragons.

Grandpa Uzumaki and Ksitigarbha had been powerful to begin with, especially Ksitigarbha, who had been like an Imperial Lord. Therefore, it was no surprise that they had become Paragons. As for Ke Jiusi, before the fall of the Mountain and Sea Realm, few people had known who he was. Who would ever have thought that in the centuries that followed, he would rise to the 8-Essences level?

As of this moment, all four of the Paragons were looking up into the sky, as if they could see Naruto approaching from beyond the 33 Heavens.

In another location in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly world's sea, a huge island could be seen. A glittering shield covered it, but it was still possible to see an entire country on that island, almost a world of its own.

Shockingly, a huge turtle lay beneath that island. It was… Patriarch Reliance! Yawning, he squinted and looked up into the Heavens.

"Why is that aura so familiar?" he muttered to himself. "Dammit. Think hard, Patriarch. Whose aura is that? How come it makes me… want to cry?" A young woman could be seen standing on his head. She was currently weeping with joy.

That young woman was none other than Guyiding Tri-Rain!

Behind her was a man who, despite seeming to be of middle age, had a full head of white hair. His aura was in a state of deterioration, and yet, a pearl circulated around him in the air.

He was… Dong Hu!

"I've been feeding this pearl with my body for so many years," he murmured, "waiting for its owner. Considering everything, I can't help but wonder if it belongs to Naruto." His eyes shone with brilliant light.

Countless people were shocked and astonished. The world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was shaken in a way it never had been before. It was as if, all of a sudden, new life had been poured into it.

All of Naruto's old friends were whipped into excitement, including Li Ling'er, who was carrying on Sea Dream's legacy, and Zhixiang. There were other cultivators too, all of whom were extremely excited.

"He's coming back…."

"Naruto is back!"

"The Demon Sovereign is back!" Everyone was excited and shouting. The moment they had all been waiting for… was finally here!

At the same time, powerful ripples emanated out from the huge army.

Their speed increased, sending the mist of the Vast Expanse into chaos.

The Outsiders who lived in the 33 Heavens didn't seem to notice. They didn't know what was coming, and apparently, didn't even care.

The Aeon Span, as well as other defensive spell formations put in place by the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent, had rebuffed countless greedy beings who had attempted to break in during the past two thousand years.

All had been blocked, and many had been directly killed.

What made the 33 Heavens even more complacent was that inside the Aeon Span, there was… Dao Fang. He was their guardian, and thanks to the help of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent, his cultivation base was even higher than it had been in the past.

And yet, the person they had all put their faith in, Dao Fang, was currently trembling.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1545

Chapter 1545: Dao Fang, Do You Remember Me?!

Dao Fang's fur stood on end as a sensation of unprecedented crisis raged through him. It was the most intense sensation of danger that he had experienced since the two times the Mountain and Sea Realm had been destroyed.

He almost felt as if he couldn't breathe, and his cultivation base was trembling. He saw the army approaching, the terrifyingly endless number of cultivators. Furthermore, he could sense that there were numerous terrifying individuals within the larger army as a whole.

He couldn't see Naruto, only the huge old lizard. It was as if he didn't even qualify to see the figure who stood atop the lizard's head. Instead, all he could see in the place that Naruto was standing was a swirling vortex, a vortex that could seemingly distort the entire starry sky.

Dao Namikaze didn't hesitate for even a moment. There was no time for him to even cry out. He quickly performed an incantation gesture then pointed out, causing the Aeon Span to begin to rumble. Powerful ripples exploded out as the Aeon Span manipulated the mist of the Vast Expanse into creating a huge barrier that prevented the approaching army from even seeing inside of it. Dao Namikaze then performed another incantation gesture, causing two additional auras to emanate out from the spell formation.

Of those two auras, one represented the Immortal God Continent, and the other represented the Devil Realm Continent. They merged into the mist around them, spreading out in all directions, serving as a sign, and a warning.

They were a sign of the power of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent, and also a warning to all that this place was not to be provoked.

Having accomplished these things, Dao Namikaze breathed a sigh of relief. He was still a bit nervous, but kept reminding himself of all the other terrifying entities he had encountered in his long life who were scared off by these two auras.

He could only hope that this situation would be the same.

"They're probably just passing by," he told himself. "Yes… definitely just passing by.

"That's most certainly it. The 33 Heavens couldn't have done anything to provoke such a huge army of cultivators. And none of the survivors of the Mountain and Sea Realm have been able to break free from the seal. There's no way they could have somehow made contact with such a terrifyingly powerful group.

"That must be the case…. Besides, who in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse would ever dare to provoke the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent? Such people are like phoenix feathers or qilin horns, and would never care about a place like this." As he comforted himself in this way, he slowly began to calm down, convinced that his analysis of the situation was correct.

And yet, he couldn't shake the jittery fear which gripped him because of the mysterious figure in the vortex on top of the lizard, that figure who he couldn't actually see. He had the feeling that whoever was in that vortex was the most terrifying entity in the entire huge army.

He was so nervous as he sat there waiting that he didn't even notice

that he had begun to tremble visibly. With the help of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm, his cultivation base was now in the 9Essences level. And yet, he was shaking all the same.

Fear swept over him like flood waters, leaving him feeling as if he were being suffocated.

He could only wait and hope that the army would simply pass by.

Outside of the Aeon Span, the mist shield. As the seal over the 33 Heavens tightened, Naruto's view was once again obscured.

The army slowed to halt. Countless cultivators hovered there, eyes gleaming with the desire to unleash slaughter, as well as utter confidence in Naruto. One by one, they turned, gazing at him with zealous ardor. Everything was quiet. Not a single person spoke. All of them were simply waiting for Naruto to issue orders.

The disciples of the Ninth Sect did so, as did the cultivators from all the other sects. Even the 9-Essences Paragons were no exception. The Sect Leader, Jin Yunshan, the huge termite and the gigantic head, the old lizard, and all of Naruto's other subordinates were completely silent.

Naruto stood there on the lizard, looking out at the mists, his eyes flickering with killing intent so powerful it seemed capable of taking corporeal form. Then, the mist shield seethed as the two auras erupted out from the Aeon Span.

Both of them were at the peak of 9-Essences. They weren't people; they were simply streams of divine will left behind to threaten anyone who came into the area.

"This area is under the protection of the brave warriors of the Immortal

God Continent. Anyone from other parts of the starry sky of the Vast

Expanse should leave immediately!"

At the same time, another voice also rang out, sinister and murderous and also rife with an aura of death.

"Whoever encroaches upon the territory of the Devil Realm will have their entire clan wiped out. Not a single individual will be left alive!"

Any other person would have been struck with fear. In fact, without Naruto, even the Vast Expanse School would have shrunk back. Facing either the Immortal God Continent or the Devil Realm would lead to a catastrophe that the Vast Expanse School would never accept.

But now, everything was different. Even as the messages from the two streams of divine will echoed out, none of the cultivators in the army moved a muscle. In fact, their murderous auras only grew stronger.

As everyone watched, Naruto slowly rose to his feet, and then waved his finger at the mist shield.

He didn't speak a word. The simple movement of his finger didn't even unleash a magical technique. And yet, the mist shield began to vibrate, and the two streams of peak 9-Essences divine will were instantly destroyed.

At the same time, countless Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering roars echoed out from within the army. Their killing intent rocketed up, and in the blink of an eye, vast quantities of cultivators shot out toward the mist shield.

The Sect Leader and the others, numerous peak 9-Essences cultivators, all unleashed divine abilities at the same time. The mist instantly began to collapse.

Beneath the mist shield, inside the Aeon Span, Dao Namikaze was getting even more nervous. He could see the mist outside being attacked in unprecedented fashion, and could also sense the two sealing marks left by the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm suddenly cracking and then transforming into ash.

They were destroyed in an instant, as if they were insignificant. Even more shocking was that as they were transformed into ash, two black threads shot through the mist shield, looking for the source of the sealing marks, as if to obliterate whoever had controlled them.

Dao Namikaze was completely stunned. Gasping, he shot to his feet. At the same time, the mist shield outside of the Aeon Span was being ripped away as if by enormous hands. Massive booms echoed out, and the starry sky shook. It only took a few moments… for the mist to be completely ripped open!

It was torn apart from either side, revealing the Aeon Span, the 33 Heavens, and even Dao Fang, who by now was trembling in fear.

Rumbling sounds filled the starry sky as the army advanced. As divine abilities shot out and slammed into the Aeon Span, the intense sound of explosions echoed out, startling numerous Outsiders down in the 33 Heavens, none of whom could imagine what was happening.

The Aeon Span was a shield that could not be easily broken through. Even Shui Dongliu had plotted and calculated for years and years before figuring out a way to do so. Besides, the shield had been bolstered and strengthened for a thousand years. The Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm had paid significant prices to ensure that it was stable.

But now, it only took a moment for cracks to spread out over its surface. Countless figures appeared outside, all of them unleashing relentless attacks that pushed the Aeon Span to its breaking point.

Among those figures were a golden-robed young man, an old man with white hair, a man surrounded by a windstorm, and a woman whose spectacular beauty was visible despite the mist which surrounded her.

"9-Essences… the great circle of 9-Essences!" Dao Namikaze was flabbergasted. All four of those people were at the great circle of 9Essences, and any one of them could shake heavenly bodies with the tap of a foot. And these four were apparently only the vanguard!

They were joined by more than ten other cultivators, all of whom were attacking, not just with the power of 9-Essences, but rather, the peak!

"Peak… 9-Essences!" Dao Fang's mind was spinning. He had never seen so many 9-Essences cultivators together, and couldn't imagine how it would be possible for them to all be acting in concert. Furthermore, these people were mere soldiers; none of them were the general who commanded the army!

More terrifying than them was the old lizard a bit further off, who looked like a world unto itself. Next to the lizard was a terrifying head, and in the other direction was a huge termite whose eyes radiated merciless light.

Those three left Dao Namikaze feeling as if all the light had faded from the world. Despair filled his heart as he confirmed that those three were past the great circle of 9-Essences, and were borderline Transcendent.

"There's a misunderstanding here!" he shrieked. "Fellow Daoists, we are the 33 Heavens! We don't get involved with the enmities of the outside world. We've never offended anyone, and in fact, we've never even left our spell formation. Please, tell me what's going on!

"We are a subordinate world of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. Fellow Daoist, please, tell me why this is happening!" More figures were flying out from the 33 Heavens, and all of them were trembling in fear.

Dao Fang's cries were filled with confusion and fury. He couldn't help but feel that it was unfair for this to be happening, considering they hadn't offended anyone this powerful.

It was at this point that a cool voice suddenly echoed out through the starry sky.

"Dao Fang. Dao Namikaze who destroyed the Eighth Mountain with a single staff strike…. Do you remember me?"

—–

Note from Deathblade: When RWX and I went to meet with Er Gen recently, Er Gen mentioned that Dao Namikaze started out as the monkey friend of Su Ming, the MC of the book Beseech the Devil. If/when that book gets a good translation team keep an eye out for Dao Fang!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1546

Chapter 1546 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1546: Destroying the Aeon Span!

There was nothing awe-inspiring about what he said. In fact, his words seemed laced with sorrow. And yet, within the sorrow, Dao Namikaze could also hear hatred, a hatred that would not dissipate even if the 33 Heavens were destroyed. It was the type of hatred that could spawn killing intent so powerful that it would not be sated even if the starry sky were overthrown, or the Vast Expanse destroyed and filled with the reek of blood!

As soon as he heard those words, his jaw dropped, and he subconsciously looked up toward the huge lizard outside of the Aeon Span, and the mysterious figure in the vortex on its head.

Slowly, that figure began to grow clearer and clearer. Dao Namikaze began to pant, and his eyes went wide with disbelief. Soon… he could clearly see the figure's face in every detail.

Dao Namikaze began to tremble, and his mind felt as if it were being filled with countless lightning bolts and thunderclaps. He simply couldn't believe what he was seeing. It was so preposterous that he couldn't help but rub his eyes to clear them.

"Hahaha, how could it be him?" he muttered to himself, shivering. "I must be seeing things…. Ha ha…." After rubbing his eyes he looked over again, and his face drained of blood. All he could do was gape in shock, his mind devoid of thought, a complete blank.

He couldn't prevent himself from shaking visibly, and his eyes were instantly shot with blood. He felt like his blood was about to pump in reverse; his tongue stuck in his mouth, and his mouth opened and closed as if he were speaking, and yet, no words came out.

"What? Don't recognize me?" Naruto asked coolly. He began to walk forward, and the old lizard immediately lowered its head to accommodate him. As he strode out, all of the surrounding cultivators dropped to their knees, expressions of ardor on their faces. Even the parts of the army which were attacking the Aeon Span stopped and dropped to their knees.

Countless voices joined together to form a sound that could shake

Heaven and Earth. "Greetings, Demon Sovereign!"

The mere sound of it caused the Aeon Span to shake.

Naruto walked forward, his expression the same as ever. Soon he was standing right in front of the Aeon Span. There he hovered, looking at the incredulous Dao Namikaze on the other side.

"M-Uzumaki… M-Naruto…." Dao Namikaze stammered, seemingly having difficulty even speaking. From the look in his eyes, it was as if he were being faced with the most spectacularly unbelievable thing in all existence. He could scarcely believe his own eyes, or his own mind. Even just looking at Naruto left him feeling like his body was about to collapse, and he began to edge backward.

"Impossible!" he shrieked, shaking even harder than before. "It's not possible that you're Naruto. Naruto is dead. Dead, I tell you! Who are you? Why are you disguised as Naruto? There's no way you're actually Naruto!"

"Did you personally witness my death?" Naruto asked. He was in no hurry, and everything in the area was under the control of his divine sense. It was possible to say that no force or power who came here could threaten or harm the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

Not the Immortal God Continent. Not the Devil Realm. And of course, the 33 Heavens qualified even less.

Naruto's hatred had been festering for more than two thousand years. If one started counting from the moment of the 33 Heavens' betrayal, when they began to suppress the Mountain and Sea Realm, then the hatred of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm stretched back even farther than that.

Because of such hatred, Naruto wouldn't simply destroy the 33 Heavens in one fell swoop. That would not drive away the hatred. He would torment them; he would unleash the hatred upon them. Only in such a way could he, as well as the other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, give vent to the resentment which had been suffocating them for years!

"I… I…." Dao Namikaze was nearly struck mute by Naruto's words. It was true. He hadn't personally witnessed Naruto die. Although it didn't seem possible that Naruto could have made a comeback, within Dao Fang's terror, he had to admit that the person in front of him… was definitely Naruto!

"How can he be so powerful?" Dao Namikaze said bitterly. "And how could he be back…?"

As his voice echoed out beneath the Aeon Span, the other cultivators of the 33 Heavens heard it, including the powerful experts who had just flown up. Among their number were Paragons who had interacted with Naruto in the past, and when they heard Dao Fang's words, their faces turned ashen, and their minds reeled.

Having seen the army outside of the Aeon Span, they were already terrified and filled with anxiety. Facing such a huge army left them completely at wits' end, and they could only be as careful as possible. Even if they had to beg and plead for mercy, they would.

For the 33 Heavens to be faced with an army like this was like a tiny kingdom facing an empire. There was simply no way to compare!

It was like a baby fighting a strong young man.

After seeing Naruto with their own eyes, and hearing Dao Fang's words, the powerful experts from the 33 Heavens began to shake in disbelief.

"M-Uzumaki… Naruto!"

"He's that Paragon from the Mountain and Sea Realm!"

The experts from the 33 Heavens were in a pandemonium, especially the ones who had personally witnessed Naruto in action before. It was as if a huge disaster were bearing down on them from above. However, there were still some who didn't understand the height of the Heavens and the breadth of the Earth, and were still confident enough to make brazen statements.

"Impossible! It's impossible! He's dead. And even if he didn't die back then, the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent have been searching for him ever since. There's no way he could still be alive! And even if he were alive, how could he possibly have command of such a powerful force!?"

"How could he ever have convinced such a huge army to fight for him? This is ludicrous!"

"Well he won't be able to get past the Aeon Span. It was bolstered by the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. It will take him a while to get through, and by that time, the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm will have arrived. This Naruto has walked right into a trap. He's dead!"

Naruto hovered outside of the Aeon Span, looking at the Outsiders, eyes flickering with killing intent and hatred, which he did nothing at all to hide.

"The Aeon Span…." he said. A vicious smile broke out on his face, and he began to laugh, a laughter filled with hatred. The Aeon Span had sealed the Mountain and Sea Realm for countless years. Shui Dongliu had spent his entire life planning how to break through it and buy a chance at freedom for the Mountain and Sea Realm.

In fact, it was because of that shield, which had suppressed the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm for so many years, that the League of Demon Sealers' mantra also mentioned… the Aeon Span.

"They all had to face the Aeon Span…." His laughter grew louder, until it echoed out through the entire starry sky.

"I, Naruto, hereby decree that in this starry sky, there will henceforth be no Aeon Span!" His voice echoed out like thunder, provoking an instant reaction. The starry sky of the Vast Expanse was altered. It didn't matter whether or not the will of the starry sky agreed. Naruto changed it, ensuring that the Aeon Span was something that could not exist for all eternity.

He hated the Aeon Span!

Without the slightest hesitation, he extended his hand and tapped the Aeon Span!

As soon as his finger touched the shield it began to distort, and massive rumbling sounds echoed out. Apparently, natural and magical laws were being unleashed by Naruto. Instantly, it was as if the Aeon Span were incongruous with the entire starry sky, as if Naruto's will had become the will of Heaven. Natural law was changed!

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

Cracks spread out from the spot where Naruto's finger had touched the shield. Instantly, they spread out to cover the entire Aeon Span.

In the space of a few breaths, Dao Namikaze and the other powerful experts of the 33 Heavens watched in shocked disbelief as the shield that was the Aeon Span… shattered!

It completely collapsed into countless pieces, destroyed as easily as a dried twig!

As the innumerable fragments of the destroyed shield swept out in all directions, it seemed like the starry sky wished to expel them. Intense pressure crushed down on them, transforming them into powder. The shield which was the entire hope of the 33 Heavens, which had protected them from countless intruders over the years, and had simultaneously suppressed the Mountain and Sea Realm, preventing any cultivators from leaving… was instantly turned into ash.

It was blasted into smithereens!

"I, Naruto, hereby decree that all who practice cultivation… may no longer self-detonate or kill themselves!" Eyes flickering coldly, he waved his finger, instituting a new natural law which settled down onto the 33 Heavens.

Because of that, the countless living beings within the 33 Heavens trembled, and their minds spun.

It was almost as if the will of Allheaven wasn't willing to interfere with Naruto's revenge.

Naruto's hatred of the 33 Heavens, and the words he had just spoken, revealed the signs of what was to come. And that was… a complete and utter extermination, with no survivors!

Chapter 1546: Destroying the Aeon Span!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1547

Chapter 1547: Exterminating Dao Fang!

"Exterminate them," Naruto said. His voice was soft, but his eyes burned with a murderous aura. "Don't leave a single one alive. And don't go too quickly. Make it slow. There are thirty-three of these Heavens, we have plenty of time.

"Do not rush to destroy them in both body and soul. You can only kill them once that way. First kill their bodies, then give their souls to me."

The calm brutality of his voice struck icy cold deep into the hearts of all the inhabitants of the 33 Heavens.

In Karma, there is always a cause and an effect. From the moment the 33 Heavens had chosen to rebel, they were doomed to experience a day like this… in which they paid back their debt to the Mountain and Sea Realm with full interest.

That day… had come!

Almost as soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, the endless army of cultivators surged into the 33 Heavens. They burst with somber, murderous auras. Considering their numbers and their power, they could quickly wipe out all of the 33 Heavens, killing everyone in body and soul. But that wasn't the outcome Naruto wanted.

He didn't just want them dead, he wanted revenge. And that revenge was for the 33 Heavens to wallow long and hard in their terror before becoming nothing.

Thus, his order to the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School was to take their time in the slaughter. Kill slowly. The entire area was sealed, making it impossible for anyone else to enter. Furthermore, natural law now prohibited anyone from killing themselves or self-detonating. As such, no one could escape the punishment that had been decided upon by a Transcendent cultivator.

Naruto wasn't worried about the 33 Heavens, in their madness, harming the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. He… could prevent that from happening.

The powerful experts of the 33 Heavens who had flown out moments ago screamed and fled. They simply didn't qualify to try to fight back against the huge army of cultivators charging toward them. Trembling, they fled deeper into the 33 Heavens. Instantly, defenses of all sorts sprang up.

However, such defenses couldn't stand up to a single bombardment from the huge army of Vast Expanse School cultivators. They were destroyed instantly. The first to be targeted for destruction was the 33rd Heaven.

At the same time, Naruto stepped into the ruined Aeon Span, his expression the same as ever as he came to stand in front of Dao Fang. Dao Fang's face was ashen, and all his hair was standing on end. As soon as he saw Naruto, he began to back up.

"You were pretty cocky back when you destroyed the Eighth Mountain with a single staff strike," Naruto said quietly. "Where is that cockiness now?" He took a step forward, placing him directly in front of Dao Fang. His right hand shot out, and he flicked Dao Namikaze in the chest.

A huge boom could be heard, along with a miserable shriek from Dao

Fang. Blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was sent flying backward. To

Dao Fang, that flick of Naruto's finger was like being struck by the entire starry sky.

That single finger flick crushed his chest into mangled blood and gore, and shattered much of the rest of his body. Of course, Naruto had been doing his utmost to control the force of his blow. After all, a single flick of his finger could wipe out enormous heavenly bodies, much less Dao Fang.

There was no way Naruto would allow Dao Namikaze to die so easily. Not only had this monkey destroyed the Eighth Mountain back in the war, but he had also killed countless Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators. Throughout the years, the numbers who had died by his staff as he stood watch over the 33 Heavens was impossible to calculate. There were even many among those who had died who should have had a chance to challenge the Aeon Span.

"Impossible. Impossible. What's your cultivation base level? This is impossible!" Dao Namikaze coughed up some more blood. His eyes shone with madness as he glared at Naruto. Finally, he threw his head back and let out a bitter howl.

He was afraid. Terrified. Never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined that Naruto would not only return, but would have a massive army at his beck and call. If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal, but most shocking of all was that Naruto's cultivation base had reached an unexpectedly shocking level.

Dao Namikaze had never met anyone who could use a single sentence to prohibit the existence of the Aeon Span, and then use a single finger to destroy it.

The truth was he had seen all of the countless powerful experts in the army who looked at Naruto with zeal and awe, but he simply couldn't accept the thought of that single word….

"Transcendence…."

Naruto took another step forward, bringing him back in front of Dao Fang. He reached out and tapped Dao Fang's right arm. Cracking sounds rang out as the arm shattered, and then collapsed into a haze of gore.

Dao Namikaze was shaking violently. He wanted to flee, but couldn't. The pressure weighing down on him made that impossible. All he could do was glare at Naruto.

"Didn't control my power well enough," Naruto said, shaking his head. He reached out and pinched Dao Fang's left hand, crushing his five fingers one by one. Shaking, Dao Namikaze let out a bloodcurdling scream.

After his hand was crushed into a pulp, Dao Namikaze could only watch in horror as Naruto continued to pinch his fingers up the length of his arm, crushing it bit by bit. Then came his legs. Then his torso.

All of Dao Fang's bones were crushed, even his spine. Naruto smiled, a grotesque smile that made it look like he was crying. He allowed Dao Namikaze to scream until his voice began to go hoarse. And yet, Naruto wasn't finished yet.

The cultivators from the Vast Expanse School who could see what was happening gasped. There was no need to mention the reaction from the screaming cultivators of the 33 Heavens.

Naruto looked over at the army from the Vast Expanse School. "Understand now?" he said. "Do it like this. Don't let them die quickly." After a moment of silence, the army shouted their response.

"The orders of the Demon Sovereign shall be heeded!"

It didn't take long before bloodcurdling screams rang up from within the 33 Heavens. All of the Outsiders from the 1st to the 33rd Heavens were trembling in terror.

"Kill me!" Dao Namikaze screamed. "Kill me, Naruto!" Naruto shook his head. Reaching out, he pushed his hand down onto Dao Fang's chest. Massive power erupted into Dao Fang, causing all of the blood in his body to spray out through his fur.

His entire body was completely drenched in blood!

Dao Namikaze couldn't hold back his screams. He was shaking violently, his entire body twisted and distorted, filling him with pain and terror that was almost impossible to endure.

"I'm far from finished," Naruto said quietly. He reached out and waved his hand, causing all of Dao Fang's blood to form together in the palm of his hand in the form of a single drop.

"You dying isn't enough. Not after you've killed so many cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Let me explain how Naruto does things. A blood debt… must be paid with blood. If you kill one of my people, I'll kill ALL your people!" With that, he sent his divine will into the drop of blood.

"Let's see where exactly the people of your bloodline are…." He smiled, and when Dao Namikaze saw that, it was the most terrifying thing he had even seen. Unfortunately, even he could detect the grief and bitterness within that smile, feelings which had been festering for centuries.

A look of madness appeared in Dao Fang's eyes, and he began to struggle.

"Considering how hard you're struggling, it seems there must be people you care about. People you wish to protect." Naruto's eyes glowed with red light, and Demonic Chakra swirled around him. As his divine sense entered Dao Fang's blood, he found all of the beings throughout the starry sky of the Vast Expanse who had blood compatible with Dao Fang's.

"Not many," he said softly. "A total of 375 bloodlines. Some here in the 33 Heavens, others on the outside…." With that, he clenched his fist down onto the drop of blood, destroying it. As he did, all entities of the same blood as Dao Fang, regardless of whether they were in the 33 Heavens or elsewhere in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse… all dropped dead!

Dao Namikaze howled like a wild animal. It was at that point that Naruto's hand came to rest on his head.

"It's not over yet," he said. "In addition to your bloodlines, there are also your successor disciples. Also, the person who taught you cultivation. And your other disciples…. I will take every good memory that you have, and destroy it. Just like you did to the Mountain and Sea Realm."

Dao Namikaze was shaking, and a pleading look appeared in his eyes. He had never imagined that the day would come in which vengeance was inflicted upon him in this way. He fully understood that he wasn't the only one that Naruto wished to torment in this way. Considering the orders he had given the army, to capture the souls of the inhabitants of the 33 Heavens, it was clear that he planned… to treat the entire 33 Heavens this way.

"Thinking of begging for mercy…? Do you remember how many innocent people begged for mercy back when you destroyed the Mountain and Sea Realm? Unfortunately, when you crushed the Eighth Mountain, I don't think you even noticed them." Naruto's hand pushed down onto Dao Fang's head, and suddenly, his memories appeared inside Naruto's mind. Then, Karma Threads appeared, which Naruto began to viciously sever, one by one.

Dao Namikaze could hear someone scream with each severed Karma Thread. In the end, he was left shaking, his eyes blank as Naruto extracted his soul.

"Your fleshly body is destroyed," Naruto murmured, "but your soul will not rest in peace." Naruto waved his hand, and a sea of flames appeared up above. He threw Dao Fang's soul into the fire, where it would burn and be tormented for all eternity. As long as Naruto lived, that torment would never end.

—–

As I predicted, LittleShanks is dropping his translation of "Return of the Thief" to pick up something completely different. Check it out here. Very shocking turn of events.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1548

Chapter 1548: Vicious!

Naruto let out a long sigh as he strolled toward the 33rd Heaven. By the time he arrived, all of the Outsiders there were dead. Their fleshly bodies were destroyed all the way down to their bones. Their memories and bloodlines were destroyed, and their souls extracted.

The captured souls were then delivered to Naruto by the Vast Expanse School army.

He hovered in the air above the land mass itself, pouring the souls into the sea of flames, where they would suffer eternal torment.

"That went too quickly," Naruto said in a soft voice. "From here on out, spend a full day wiping out each land mass." In response to his words, the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School shivered. At this point, they fully understood the insane depth of Naruto's hatred for the 33 Heavens.

With that, Naruto lifted his right foot and stamped it down onto the 33rd Heaven. Rumbling sounds echoed out as cracks spread out to fill the entire land mass. Then, it began to crumble. Buildings toppled. Everything was destroyed, transformed into nothing but dust. It all happened in mere moments.

The 32nd Heaven was revealed, along with the countless terrified Outsiders upon it. They began to cry out miserably as Naruto waved his hand, sending the army of cultivators on the offensive.

As they began their charge, Naruto looked down at one particular

Outsider. "I remember you," he said. "Back then, you were an Imperial

Lord, and you still are now. What a pity you've made no progress."

The Outsider trembled and began to back up. But then, he was dragged through the air toward Naruto, screaming in terror and despair.

Naruto grabbed him by the neck and methodically crushed his bones. His screams filled the entire 32nd Heaven as Naruto used a full day to destroy his fleshly body and then extract his soul. By that point, the 32nd Heaven was completely silent.

All of the Outsiders died screaming, bubbling with resentment that rose into the air in the form of a powerful aura, which then unleashed a stifling pressure.

Naruto looked at their souls for a moment before gathering them up and casting them into the eternal torment of the sea of flames.

"An aura of resentment? Screw off!" Naruto let out a cold harrumph, the sound of which echoed like thunder through the starry sky. The aura of resentment instantly shattered and vanished into nothing.

"Resentment is useless. After all, the resentment of the Mountain and

Sea Realm back then exceeded this resentment exponentially."

Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he waved his hand toward the lands below. Rumbling could be heard as the 32nd Heaven shattered, transforming into nothing but ash. The remains of the sinners were wiped away, and the 31st Heaven was revealed.

It was at this point that a voice filled with madness, grief, and fury echoed out from the 31st Heaven.

"Naruto, If you dare to advance another step, we'll destroy the Mountain and Sea Butterfly!" At the same time, countless figures shot out from the 1st Heaven toward the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

When Naruto saw that, he laughed. That laughter grew louder and louder, filling the starry sky. The Outsiders from the 1st Heaven who were attempting to invade the Mountain and Sea Butterfly all trembled and lurched to a halt. They had lost their ability to move, and even lost control of their cultivation bases. Looks of confusion appeared on their faces as they hovered there, motionless. At the same time, a powerful pressure began to build up around them.

Within that pressure, they could sense the flow of Time power. It wasn't Naruto, but rather, a force flowing out from the nearby coffin.

Apparently, only those who had its permission could enter that area!

Bloodcurdling screams rang from beneath the 1st Heaven, echoing all the way up to the 31st Heaven. All Outsiders who heard it were left trembling and in despair.

However, none of them could self-detonate or commit suicide. They were forced to wait for their enemies to come kill them, to torment them, to extract their souls and send them into the sea of flames.

"Even if you don't count the era of Paragon Nine Seals, just the hatred that I alone have experienced has lasted for two thousand years," Naruto said. "To end it quickly would be wrong.

"Therefore, all Outsiders of the 33 Heavens will continue to pay the price for their destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm." Naruto did not feel that this punishment was excessive, or that he was being cruel. It was simply repayment for the countless dead of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Back when the 33 Heavens invaded the Mountain and Sea Realm, they didn't just kill the cultivators. They also massacred the mortals. They yearned for the complete and utter destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

To Naruto, the resulting hatred meant that no amount of torment was excessive.

The army of cultivators began to spread out through the 31st Heaven to unleash destruction. A day later, they descended onto the 30th Heaven. In the following days, they slaughtered their way down to the 15th Heaven. By that time, the surviving Outsiders' minds were overwhelmed with terror.

They pled. They wept. They begged. But Naruto had no pity for them.

He couldn't stop thinking about the brutality of the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and all the despair he had seen on the faces of the people he knew before they died. Back then, he had hated the fact that his cultivation base was insufficient. He had hated the brutal injustice of Heaven and Earth.

Now, he hovered in the air above the 15th Heaven, voice laced with grief as he murmured, "Listen…. Do you hear that?!

"Souls of the Mountain and Sea Realm who fell to the Outsiders… do you hear that?!

"They are pleading, begging, weeping. What do you think? Should we forgive them?"

After a moment, he said, "I hear your response. No. We will not forgive them. Debts of blood must be repaid with blood. They yearned to destroy the people of the Mountains and Seas, so I will wipe them out completely!" He looked sad, and yet was smiling. Chuckling, he lifted his hand up, halting the advance of the army of the Vast Expanse School.

"From here on," he said coolly, "you don't need to do anything." With that, he looked down toward the 15th Heaven and roared, "Hear me, ye who rebelled against the Mountains and Seas. There are three 9Essences Paragons among your number. The three of you, get the hell out here immediately!" His voice echoed out like thunder through all of the remaining Heavens down below.

When he destroyed the Aeon Span, he could sense that the 33 Heavens were much stronger than they had been in the past. Back in the original war, they didn't have any 9-Essences Paragons. But now they had three, or four if you counted Dao Fang.

As his voice echoed out, the fifteen land masses trembled. The three Paragons he had referred to began to shake. They hadn't dared to try to fight Naruto or his army from the Vast Expanse School, and had instead fled, hoping to hold out long enough to be saved by the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm.

As soon as they showed their faces, they were grabbed by Naruto's divine will and dragged out of the land masses.

One of them was an Outsider who looked like a middle-aged man. How could Naruto have forgotten this man? Back when the 33 Heavens invaded the Mountain and Sea Realm, he had been an 8-Essences Paragon. The other two were cultivators who had been subsequently groomed by the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent. Obviously those two forces had paid a heavy price to help these Outsiders rise to the 9-Essences level.

In the past, the 33 Heavens had never had any 9-Essences cultivators. At the most, they had people who were on the verge of breaking through.

Back in those days, the power of 9-Essences cultivators like this would have been like the might of the Heavens to Naruto. But now, he could see that even though they were at the 9-Essences level, their ninth Essences had actually been forced upon them.

A single glance revealed that they had not used their own Dao to acquire that final Essence. In fact, even their eighth Essence was like that. All three of them combined would have been unable to defeat a true expert of the 9-Essences level.

The three of them were trembling, their faces filled with despair as they looked at Naruto and the huge army behind him.

One of them gritted his teeth and said, "The Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm are coming. You're dead, Naruto. Dead!" Naruto didn't respond. He waved his finger, and the 9-Essences cultivator in the middle of the group of three burst into flames, and began to scream miserably. The other two howled, unleashing all the power of their Essences as they tried to flee.

Naruto waved his right hand, causing a pitch black wind to spring up, which instantly enveloped one of the fleeing Paragons. His flesh and blood was flayed, and he screamed as he was dragged back to the other 9-Essences cultivators, whereupon he also burst into flames.

These magnificent 9-Essences cultivators were like ants to Naruto. Were it not for the fact that he wished to torment them, he could have killed them with a mere glance, or by merely brushing them with divine will.

"And that just leaves you," Naruto said. "Long time no see." The final 9-Essences expert was the middle-aged man who had once been the most powerful expert of the 33 Heavens. Now, he was trembling, and even tried to say something in his defense. Before he could, Naruto strode forward, grabbed the man's head, and then began to bash it against the surface of the land mass.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1549

Chapter 1549: The Lands of the Sinners Shall Not Remain!

Naruto didn't accompany his actions with words. He simply pounded the man's head into the ground over and over. The man screamed as his true form was gradually revealed. He had the body of a Flood Dragon, but with no tail. He almost looked like a serpent of some sort. Booms echoed out as Naruto used his head to batter a huge hole into the 15th land mass.

The Outsider's bones were smashed, his blood drained, his life force completely cut off. At that point, Naruto finally stopped. Extracting the Outsider's soul, he rose to his feet.

By now, the faces of the other Outsiders on the 15th land mass were completely ashen, and their minds were reeling. They were completely consumed by terror and hopelessness.

To them, Naruto was absolutely the most terrifying entity in all of the starry sky.

9-Essences Paragons were looked up to by all of the Outsiders in the 33

Heavens. And yet they had just watched one of the supreme 9-Essences Paragons, someone who wielded the might of the Heavens, tossed screaming into a sea of flames by Naruto. His body was burned into nothing, and his soul sank into the flames, where it would remain for all eternity.

The other Outsider in the black wind experienced incredible pain as his flesh was flayed off of his body as if by millions of blades.

The third one he grabbed by the neck and proceeded to use him to bash another hole, both in the land mass, and in the hearts of the other Outsiders.

That was especially the case because… up above, the 16th through 33rd Heavens were not visible. The only thing that could be seen was a boundless sea of flames, within which were the souls of countless dead Outsiders, screaming in torment.

As the sound drifted down into the hearts of the Outsiders below, it became a wellspring of terror, causing the Outsiders to tremble in anxiety.

The worst off were the ones who had participated in the war with the

Mountain and Sea Realm, whose fear was especially intense and deep. Many of them had seen Naruto before, and remembered everything which had happened back in the war, how countless cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had been killed. Naruto had been defiled, transformed from the Immortal into the Demon. Back then, he had thrown his head back and cackled in madness. That image now superimposed with the cold, merciless person in front of them, whose eyes burned with murder.

Pleading, begging voices could be heard from the 15th Heaven, and especially from the land masses further down.

They were completely and utterly filled with fear. To Naruto, this was revenge. To them, it was a massacre, an extermination. There was simply no way for them to fight back against the terrifying Naruto and the army he had at his back.

Many of the despairing Outsiders now realized that Naruto's cultivation base was so powerful that he could simply wave his hand and destroy all of the 33 Heavens, and wipe the Outsiders away in body and soul.

But he didn't. He was using a much more brutal method, holding back his hand, going slowly but surely as he crushed them into powder.

It was a method that went beyond horrifying.

Naruto stood there silently. From the 1st Heaven all the way to the 15th, despairing voices could be heard crying out. It was something that was familiar to him. Very familiar. Back when the Mountain and Sea Realm had been destroyed, it had been just like this.

The aura of despair was the same, just like it had been for the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Next," he murmured, eyes flickering with killing intent, "I think I should force these Outsiders to fight to their deaths.

"The way you treated the Mountain and Sea Realm back then is how I will treat you today.

"That's fair, isn't it…?" When he thought back to all the people he had seen die, it almost was as if he were surrounded by countless ghosts, the ghosts of those valiant heroes of the Mountain and Sea Realm who had fallen in death.

Naruto laughed loudly as he stepped onto the fifteenth land mass. Just when the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School were about to follow him, he raised his hand to halt their progress.

As of this point, Naruto didn't plan to let anyone else participate. His divine sense spread out to cover all of the Outsiders of the 15th Heaven, and at the same time, a second version of himself stepped off to the side. Then another, and another, as numerous clones were created.

First there were 100,000. Then 1,000,000. Then 10,000,000. Then tens of millions…. They didn't seem to end. Every Outsider on the land mass was suddenly facing a version of Naruto.

Within a few breaths of time, Naruto's clones filled the 15th Heaven.

Then each clone reached out and grabbed an Outsider by the neck, regardless of that Outsider's cultivation base level, regardless of how they struggled, regardless of how they evaded.

The Outsiders begged for mercy and howled in despair and madness. To anyone who could hear it, it would sound like hell. But to Naruto, it was the sound of revenge.

"I hate the 33 Heavens. I hate these lands, and I hate everyone who lives in them!" Naruto closed his eyes as his clones suddenly clenched their hands down.

Silence ensued. The clones didn't crush the necks of the Outsiders. They held them high up in the air, and poured cultivation base power into them, to wreak havoc inside their bodies.

The Outsiders trembled, but because their throats were being squeezed shut, they couldn't scream. Their bodies twisted as they tried to struggle, but they fundamentally didn't even qualify to struggle.

Up above, gasps could be heard from within the army from the Vast Expanse School. From Naruto's methods, they could sense that his hatred for the 33 Heavens had reached an indescribable level, a level which left them completely flabbergasted.

There was no way for them to truly understand. They had not participated in the brutal and shocking war in the Mountain and Sea Realm. They had not watched the Mountains crumble, and the starry sky shatter.

They had not watched the people of the numerous mortal worlds wiped out by the Outsiders. Men. Women. Old. Young. All of them had been slaughtered mercilessly.

Naruto couldn't forget what he had seen back then, and couldn't forget what had happened to the mortals during that war of genocide. The mortals were part of the Mountain and Sea Realm too, and he could remember all of their corpses. Even the pregnant women, and the babies. Endless numbers of them.

Even more revolting was how he had seen people being eaten alive by the Outsiders.

"Even if I did worse to these brutes, it would still be showing mercy."

Naruto never opened his eyes. His clones began to crush the

Outsiders, until flowers of blood bloomed throughout the 15th Heaven.

All of the Outsiders were killed. Their bodies were destroyed, and their souls were swept up by Naruto before they could dissipate.

The souls were then cast into the sea of flames, where their screams echoed out into Heaven and Earth.

Countless souls filled that sea of flames, all of them burning and in agony. What they were experiencing now was something the likes of which they had never experienced in their entire lives.

"The lands of the sinners shall not remain," Naruto said, opening his eyes. In that moment, all of his clones on the fifteen land mass vanished.

Finally, he stamped his foot down.

A boom echoed out as the entire land mass collapsed, transforming into ash and rubble which rained down onto the 14th Heaven.

Down below, buildings were destroyed, and craters opened up. The lands of the 14th Heaven shook, and screams echoed up from the Outsiders. They seemed to be completely despairing, descending into madness as they flew up, ready to fight, glaring at Naruto with killing intent.

The Outsiders from the 14th Heaven were in such a state of despair, their minds in such chaos from the intense pressure, that they automatically spoke out their true feelings.

"I only killed a few of the scumbags from the Mountain and Sea Realm that year. If there's a next life after this one, I'll definitely kill even more!"

"Hahaha! When I fought in the war against the Mountain and Sea Realm, I crushed dozens of cultivators, and even slaughtered an entire mortal kingdom. I also managed to consume a lot of their hearts. Now that I think about it, the flavor was wonderful!"

"The female cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm make excellent cultivation vessels, and they taste delicious too! I brought quite a few home with me after the war to be slaves. It's too bad they were so weak, and ended up dying from it all."

When Naruto heard their words, his eyes turned cold, and his murderous aura raged.

He didn't speak. Instead, he simply waved his finger at the incoming figures.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1550

Chapter 1550: Death Cannot Wipe Out Your Crimes!

The wave of Naruto's finger caused a tremor to run through the Outsiders of the 14th Heaven. A ripple spread out from his hand, almost instantly reaching the fastest among the group of Outsiders.

In that instant, they began to tremble, and then suddenly, their flesh and blood was shredded off of them. A moment later, the ripple had passed by, and they were skeletons.

The pain of having their flesh and blood flayed off of them caused the Outsiders to scream, but as their flesh and blood vanished, their ability to emit sound went with it. Soon, all they could do was experience the pain within their souls.

Naruto calmly stepped forward, and the ripple continued to spread, flaying alive all of the Outsiders it passed, transforming them into skeletons.

Cracking sounds began to emanate out as the skeletons, which were not yet dead, began to tremble. As they fell down, they transformed into chunks of bone and ash. However, their skulls remained, within which their souls were still trapped, letting out indescribably miserable screams.

The hosts from the Vast Expanse School were left completely shocked.

Naruto was like an underworld deity, whose passage caused flesh and blood to vanish, and left behind only skeletons.

By the time he passed through the entire 14th Heaven, not a single Outsider remained who had a flesh and blood body. They were all skeletons, who toppled down to the ground. Inside their skulls, their souls writhed, screaming in voices that only divine sense could hear.

Their pain was impossible to describe, both the pain of being flayed alive and also the twisting of their souls. Their bodies were telling them that they were dead, and yet the pain was telling them that they weren't.

Naruto looked out over the land mass, and some of the hatred within his eyes faded. And yet it was still intensely powerful. He waved his hand, causing all of the skulls to fly up and converge together in the air. It was a sea of skulls, each one containing a soul. Screams echoed out, pleading for mercy. They were begging Naruto, not to free them, but simply to kill them.

"Dying isn't that easy," Naruto said softly, waving his finger out in front of him. Cracking sounds emanated out as fissures spread out across the surfaces of the skulls. Instantly, the pain inflicted upon them was increased by tenfold.

As they screamed, more cracking sounds echoed out, and more fissures appeared.

A moment later, the pain was so intense that the souls were slamming against the bone, trying to escape. They tried to kill themselves, but were unable. The only thing they accomplished was adding further cracks to the skulls, leading to even more shocking pain.

Naruto took his time. Several hours later, the skulls were transforming into ash. The pain experienced by the souls exceeded that of hell, or of death. Their screams caused Heaven and Earth to grow dark. The Outsiders down below trembled. Some were so shaken that they collapsed mentally, and yet, because dying was not permitted, they remained alive.

However, the fate of the souls was not complete. After their torment, they didn't fade away. Naruto waved his sleeve, sending them into the sea of flames up above, to endure eternal torment.

Having accomplished these things, the hatred within Naruto's eyes had faded a bit. He reached down and pushed onto the surface of the land mass, and the 14th Heaven shattered. Rubble rained down onto the 13th Heaven, which shook violently. The screams of the Outsiders echoed out as mountains were destroyed and rivers choked up.

Naruto hovered in midair, looking down coldly at the terrified Outsiders below. Some of them flew up into the air, and just as he was about to wave his finger, a bellow echoed out from the 13th Heaven, a bellow filled with both rage and supplication.

"Naruto!" An Outsider flew out who looked like an old man, an 8Essences Paragon. He looked up at Naruto, clasped hands and bowed.

"Naruto, it is right and proper for you to come to the 33 Heavens to seek revenge. Considering what we did, it is fitting that you to wish to exterminate us. But… why must you torment everyone? Just kill us!

"Not everyone here participated in the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm. There are innocents here, people who never fought in any war. I beg of you, torment us, but spare them!" Trembling, the man dropped to his knees and kowtowed.

The other Outsiders fell silent. Some, in their bitterness, dropped to their knees. The sight of such supplication caused the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School to sigh.

Naruto looked quietly at the old man. He closed his eyes for a moment, and when they opened, his expression flickered, and he looked down at the land below.

As he did, his eyes were suddenly shot with blood. To the terror of the

Outsiders, he took a step forward, appearing a moment later within a vast plain.

After the Outsider Paragon realized where Naruto was standing, he shivered, and suddenly looked very nervous.

As he stood there, Naruto waved his hand, and the lands around him began to quake and crumble. A huge crater opened up, revealing a huge basin. Apparently, the reason it was now a vast plain was because countless skeletons had been buried there….

Those skeletons even contained the remains of children. Bite marks could be seen on the bones, bearing witness to the unimaginable torment they had undergone prior to death.

These bones weren't Outsiders. They were… people of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Back when the Mountain and Sea Realm had been destroyed, not everyone made it onto the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Many had been captured by the Outsiders of the 33 Heavens.

Cultivators and mortals alike had become playthings to the Outsiders, and even food….

The 13th Heaven actually served as a hub for such activity. These particular Outsiders indulged in unique proclivities. Because of that, and because of the fact that they eventually gave rise to a Paragon, it ensured that most of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators ended up here, where they became nothing more than commodities to be traded between Outsiders.

Among the skeletons were some which had died as shortly as half of a sixty-year-cycle ago. Furthermore, according to Naruto's divine sense, there were no longer any living cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm within the 33 Heavens. Clearly, they had been slowly exterminated over the course of the past two thousand years, and buried here in a mass grave.

It was a massive pit of corpses.

There had been nothing like this among the land masses of the other Heavens which had been recently destroyed. Naruto looked at the deep pit, and then the killing intent in his eyes grew even more intense. All of a sudden, he felt as if his previous methods had been too merciful.

He turned, then extended his hand and pointed out at the land mass. No ripple spread out. Instead, he altered the natural laws, simultaneously sending divine sense into the minds of the Outsiders of the 13th Heaven.

"I will give you one chance. Those of you who never killed any cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm may experience a quick death. In addition, your soul will not be cast into the sea of flames.

"Your fate will be determined by your own memories!" As the words left his mouth, Heaven and Earth trembled. The Outsiders of the 13th Heaven began to shake, and their eyes went blank as numerous images rose up in their minds, their own memories.

They recalled everything which had occurred when the Mountain and

Sea Realm was destroyed, and after. Suddenly, all of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators who they had killed in the past suddenly seemed to live again, and began to charge toward them with hatred and murderous intent.

The Outsiders wanted to fight back, but were stunned to find that they couldn't move. The cultivators they had killed in the past now pounced on them in their own memories.

Miserable shrieks began to ring out from the mouths of the Outsiders of the 13th Heaven.

All living beings in the 33 Heavens were Outsiders. However, their manner of giving birth was different than cultivators. The shortest pregnancy term among them was half of a sixty-year-cycle, and the longest was a hundred years.

As such, the Outsiders born after the Mountain and Sea Realm war, although they might not have actually participated in the fighting, and had been referred to as innocents, had still participated in the sadistic murder of many Mountain and Sea cultivators.

Naruto looked coldly at the Outsiders as black smoke began to rise up off of their heads, the density of which indicated how many Mountain and Sea cultivators they had killed over the years. As he looked out over the land mass, he could not find a single Outsider who had no black smoke rising up!

"Death cannot wipe out your crimes!" With that, he waved his hand.

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	19. Chapter 19

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1551

Chapter 1551 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1551: I'll Wait For You On the 10th Heaven!

The 13th Heaven was completely shaken. Countless Outsiders had black smoke emanating from their heads, which then swirled around them and bored into their eyes, ears, noses, and mouths. Their eyes went wide, shining with pain. Soon, they began to topple over to the ground as they were killed by the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators in their own memories!

This was the same magical technique that Naruto had dealt with when fighting the will of Allheaven in the form of Might Guy. That, of course, was before he had reached Transcendence. He had never faced anything like that before, and it affected him deeply. After Transcending, his own cultivation base allowed him to understand how the technique worked.

Transcendent cultivators… were omnipotent!

All they had to do was think of something, and it could be done!

It was a Realm occupied by the Immortal, the God, the Devil, the Ghost, and the Demon!

Naruto waved his hand, and the 13th Heaven collapsed. The souls of the dead Outsiders were extracted and thrown into the sea of flames to burn.

As the 13th Heaven fell apart, flaming rubble smashed into the 12th Heaven below. Mountains collapsed, buildings were destroyed, cities were ravaged.

The Outsiders of the 12th Heaven laughed bitterly. They wanted to fight back, but were unable to. They wanted to self-detonate, but couldn't. The only thing they could do was wait to die.

Furthermore, the sea of flames up above contained innumerable burning souls, which led the remaining Outsiders to clearly understand that death… was not the end for them. True death was not such an easy thing.

Naruto looked coldly at the 12th Heaven for a moment before sending his divine sense out.

"I hereby seal your minds, and reduce you to nothing but instinct. Slaughter your fellows!" Instantly, all of the Outsiders on the 12th Heaven began to tremble. Most of these particular Outsiders had two heads with red eyes, and grossly fat bodies that almost didn't resemble humans. As of this moment, their minds were suddenly taken over. Erased.

The energy of Heaven and Earth was Naruto's Daosource energy, and it was all-powerful. If I want you to have something, you WILL have it. If I don't want you to have something, you WILL NOT have it!

Rumbling could be heard as the two-headed Outsiders let out ferocious roars. Their minds were gone, leaving behind only animalistic instinct. Naruto's echoing voice had left them bereft of their nature, and without a second thought, they turned and began to viciously attack their fellow people.

Of course, Naruto didn't completely remove their minds. They were still there, just unable to do anything other than watch. There was no way for them to interfere with their own instincts.

Naruto hovered in midair, watching the slaughter. A moment later, he suddenly realized that this revenge did not make him happy. He only felt deep grief.

Within that grief, he couldn't help but ask himself if he was any different from the Outsiders back when they were exacting their revenge. After some thought, he realized something.

The slaughtering didn't make him happy. Although he was smiling, that smile contained profound sadness. He was being ruthless to be sure, but that ruthlessness came because of bitterness that came from thousands of years in the past.

When one lives in a world of hatred, then either they die, or their enemies die!

Back when the Outsiders had been massacring the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, they had been excited, elated even.

Naruto looked down at the land mass below. As the Outsiders ripped each other to shreds like animals, their bloodcurdling screams gradually began to fade away. Soon, everything was quiet.

By this point, the bloody battle royale resulted in only a handful of Outsiders remaining alive. Naruto waved his hand, causing countless souls to fly up into the sea of flames. Then, the 12th Heaven's land mass was destroyed, causing rubble to rain down onto the 11th Heaven.

There, the Outsiders were trembling. They began to shout, eyes filled with hatred, fear, and entreaties.

Naruto looked at them calmly for a moment, the red glow in his eyes growing more intense. Then he reached out with his right hand and made a pushing gesture.

Instantly, the entire land mass began to quake and distort. Mountains twisted, the ground shifted, rivers evaporated. The entire 11th Heaven began to change shape, as if it were being kneaded by giant hands. Soon, it no longer looked like a land mass. Instead, it resembled a giant clay pill furnace!

The land mass became the pill furnace, and the Outsiders became the medicinal ingredients. When the Outsiders from the 10th Heaven saw what was happening, they were overwhelmed by despair.

Naruto looked at gargantuan pill furnace, then snapped his fingers. Rumbling sounds echoed out as it began to heat up, rapidly turning crimson from the intense heat. This was a pill-concocting magic in which the entire continent was used to refine all the Outsiders into… a gigantic medicinal pill of gore!

The huge pill furnace trembled, and screaming began to echo out. However, the sounds soon faded away. In the end, nothing could be heard at all. Eventually, the pill furnace exploded, and countless souls emerged, which shot into the sea of flames up above. At the same time, a medicinal pill appeared, fist-sized and the color of blood.

Naruto looked at the pill, his expression placid. Only by looking closely would it be possible to see the exhaustion and grief in his eyes. After a moment, he flicked his sleeve, sending the medicinal pill flying toward the old lizard.

"Take it," he said.

The lizard gaped in shock. Then it eyed the pill for a moment before chomping it down. The lizard shivered, and then visibly grew younger.

Naruto looked down at the 10th Heaven for a moment, and the despairing Outsiders there, before finally closing his eyes and taking a deep breath. He had come to a realization just now.

"Getting revenge alone is a bit selfish. I've been suffocating for thousands of years, but so have all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"Pressure like that can only be released by the blood of the Outsiders." His eyes shone brightly as he waved his hand in the direction of the remaining Heavens.

"I hereby decree that all Outsiders from the other Heavens will drop an entire cultivation realm!" His words instantly changed the natural laws of the 1st through 10th Heavens. in that instant, all Outsiders trembled as their cultivation bases were thrown into chaos, and they dropped by an entire realm!

7-Essences became Dao Sovereigns. 6-Essences dropped to 5-Essences. 1-Essence Dao Realm experts reverted to the Ancient Realm. Not a single Outsider escaped.

This was not a sealing. This was a true and utter loss, something unrecoverable.

"I hereby strip away all Outsiders' divine sense!

"I hereby strip away all Outsiders' power of flight!

"I hereby strip away all Outsiders' regenerative powers!" Each sentence echoed like Heaven-rending Earth-crushing thunder. Natural laws were born and changed, and as soon as the words left his mouth, they became reality.

Instantly, all remaining Outsiders' cultivation bases dropped, their divine sense was rendered useless, and they couldn't fly.

This was not something that could be accomplished by means of divine abilities and magical techniques. It was like a Godly miracle, an Immortal magic, or a Demonic Dao!

By now, all the Outsiders had experienced the terrifying and unimaginable nature of Naruto's cultivation realm. The most powerful experts who remained alive in the various Heavens trembled as they spoke Naruto's level aloud.

"… Transcendence!" The powerful experts' despair had reached the pinnacle as they realized that even the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent would be like ants in comparison to a Transcendent cultivator.

Because the Mountain and Sea Realm had produced a Transcendent cultivator, it was destined… to shake the starry sky.

At the same time, Naruto's gaze pierced down through the Heavenly land masses into the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Kindness could be seen in his eyes as he waved his finger.

Instantly, the Mountain and Sea Butterfly shivered, and its wings flapped. It was as if the gate to the world had been opened, as countless Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators instantly flew out.

"I hereby bless all Mountain and Sea cultivators' divine sense power!

"I hereby bless all Mountain and Sea cultivators' power to fly through the starry sky!

"I hereby bless all Mountain and Sea cultivators' magical techniques!

"I hereby bless all Mountain and Sea cultivators' fleshly body power!

"I hereby bless all Mountain and Sea cultivators' regenerative powers!

"I hereby… give all you my blessing!" As Naruto's voice echoed out, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm flying out from the butterfly felt their cultivation bases rumbling. All of them began to radiate blinding light.

Many of them were stunned. Although they couldn't see Naruto through all of the land masses, they could hear his soft voice in their minds.

"Mountain and Sea cultivators, I am Naruto…. The hatred of the

Mountain and Sea Realm has been simmering for thousands of years. Sacrifice the blood of the Outsiders to rise up from within the sea of hatred. Soar high into the starry sky. The time has come to remould the Mountain and Sea Realm. I will be waiting for you on the 10th Heaven." Naruto's gaze then came to rest on the wings of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. There, he could see his father and mother, as well as a young woman who was there to accompany them.

She wore a long white garment, and was beautiful. She looked just like Naruto remembered her: simple, pure, and resolute. However, she somehow seemed… more fragile than before.

Chapter 1551: I'll Wait For You On the 10th Heaven!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1552

Chapter 1552 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1552: The Traitorous Ninth Sea!

A tremor ran through Xu Qing as she slowly looked up at the 1st Heaven, which stretched out overhead like the sky. She could feel Naruto looking at her from somewhere high up above.

She smiled, a smile of anticipation, and of happiness. Numerous thoughts and memories filled her mind, and her eyes glowed with a warmth that could melt all the ice in Heaven and Earth.

Rumbling could be heard as countless figures flew up from within the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. They were led by Grandpa Uzumaki, Ksitigarbha, the Paragon puppet, and… Ke Jiusi!

Those four were the most powerful cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and it was without hesitation that they led the charge toward the 1st Heaven.

Their cultivation bases had leapt up to a higher level. They could regenerate from wounds faster, their divine sense and Daoist magics were more powerful. Their current battle prowess could shake Heaven and Earth.

The Paragon puppet had experienced an even more shocking transformation. During the centuries that Naruto had been away, it hadn't moved at all. However, as its battle prowess increased, it changed. It was as though some severed connection had finally been mended.

Heaven shook and the Earth trembled as the four Paragons led everyone into battle. Fatty, Uchiha Youcai, Namikaze Yu, Li Ling'er, and Zhixiang all appeared, as did many other familiar faces. Behind them were even more Mountain and Sea cultivators. The old-timers had experienced the destruction of the Mountains and Seas, and the younger ones had been raised hearing the legends of Naruto.

Now, they attacked with explosive force.

Naruto had endured thousands of years of pressure, as had the other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Naruto needed to vent, to get his revenge, and they did too.

Thus, he had left the 1st through 10th Heavens for just that purpose.

The root of all of their hatred would now be cut away. Nothing would remain to drag them down.

Countless Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators fought their way into the

1st Heaven, and soon, miserable shrieks began to ring out. The Outsiders fought back, struggled, and yet their cultivation bases had been restricted. Their divine sense was gone, and the power of their divine abilities and magical techniques had been weakened. It only took moments before they were being routed.

Despite their struggling, the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators' revenge was carried out with ease. In fact, the Outsiders couldn't even injure them.

If Naruto could exact vengeance with such madness, there was no need to even mention how madly the other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm would fight.

Tears streamed down their faces as they shouted, unleashing the power of their cultivation bases. Any Outsider they found, they destroyed as easily as dried twigs. That was especially true of the old-timers who had fought in the war of the past. Their tears flowed especially hard.

"Master, can you see, sir? It is for you that I get revenge!" These words were spoken by a man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles. He seemed old, but he was in fact middle-aged. He fought with madness, weeping, cutting down one Outsider after another until he was soaked with blood. And yet he didn't seem to tire at all.

"Shanshan, you threw yourself in front of me to save me from the blow of an Outsider. When you died, my heart broke. The only reason I kept living was for vengeance. I had to get revenge, and I had to kill the Outsiders one and all. All Outsiders must die!" A middle-aged cultivator stood on the battlefield, his eyes bloodshot, crying and laughing simultaneously as he slaughtered the surrounding Outsiders.

"Dad, mom, big brother, I'll never forget the hatred which blossomed in my heart back then. Now, I can finally avenge you!" It was an old man who lunged forward and latched his teeth onto the throat of a terrified Outsider. When he ripped the Outsider's throat out, blood sprayed out like a fountain. Then the man's laughter rang out over the battlefield.

The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm fought with madness, especially the ones who had gone through the war all those years ago.

"I'm the only survivor from my sect. Today I will slaughter a hundred thousand Outsiders as a sacrifice to the heroes who died!"

"Kill them all!"

"The only thing that kept me going was the thought of revenge!"

They fought with complete viciousness, and soon, all of the Outsiders in the 1st Heaven were wiped out. After that, they charged toward the 2nd Heaven.

As for the other cultivators who had been born throughout the past centuries, their hatred wasn't as profound. However, from birth, they had listened to tales of the past recounted by their seniors, and they had been raised with the 33 Heavens weighing down on them from above.

They had seen depictions of the Mountain and Sea Realm of the past, and had heard the stories about the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas.

Of course, they were only stories, mere descriptions, and the Mountain and Sea Realm itself was somewhat of a vague concept. Therefore, they didn't possess a profound and consuming hatred.

But then they saw the old veterans of the Mountain and Sea War, people who were normally calm and reserved, suddenly rave with madness. The hearts of the younger ones were profoundly shaken by that.

They suddenly understood how truly intense that hatred was which had been described to them in the stories. Those old-timers… could not allow their enemies to remain alive.

The younger ones were profoundly shaken, and soon, the feelings seeped into their own veins. Scattered memories began to rise up within them, memories that all inhabitants of the Mountain and Sea Realm held in eternally within their blood.

Because of those newly awakened memories, and because of the madness surrounding them, the younger ones who had been born over the past centuries began to fight with a madness that rivaled that of the older generation.

Fatty wept as he fought. He was a massive ball of flesh, and yet he was surprisingly agile as he lunged forward and wiped out any Outsiders who got in his way.

"You killed my 300 Daoist partners! Damn you, you beasts! You killed my 300 beloved partners!

"And my children! And my grandchildren! Damn you. I won't rest until you're dead!"

Shockingly, Fatty was surrounded by a group of over ten thousand cultivators who all called him Patriarch. Those who fought at his side included men and women, old and young. Among them were the new Daoist partners he had taken in over the past centuries, as well as his new children and grandchildren.

He had single-handedly created a vast clan, the likes of which could only be rivaled by the clan founded by the eighth reincarnation of Naruto's clone.

The 2nd Heaven soon shattered. The army of cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm marched with bloodshot eyes to the 3rd Heaven, and then the 4th.

The starry sky dripped with blood. Uchiha Youcai's eyes were closed, but he held a sword in his hand. When he unleashed his cultivation base, countless Outsiders were ripped to shreds. He left their heads intact, though, collecting them and stringing them up until they flowed like a river behind him.

That river of heads was like a cape, giving him a profoundly fiendish appearance. Any Outsiders who saw him were struck with dread.

Among the army of cultivators was the Namikaze Clan, who fought just as viciously as everyone else.

Soon the Mountain and Sea cultivators arrived at the 6th Heaven. Their revenge was reaching a climax. Their eyes were bright red as they exploded out from underneath the pressure of centuries.

Li Ling'er wept as she fought, her teeth clenched as she thought about Paragon Sea Dream. It didn't matter that she was a woman, she unleashed intense slaughter nonetheless. She wasn't beautiful like she had been when she was young; she was now an ancient old woman. And yet, she was willing to pay any price to continue the legacy of Paragon Sea Dream.

The 6th Heaven fell, and the battle moved on to the 7th Heaven.

Zhixiang looked like a specter as she fought the Outsiders. Years ago, she had called herself Demoness. Now, she was the Sect Leader of the

Demon Immortal Sect, which was one of the three great sects in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. And that was because… Ke Jiusi had become a Paragon, and returned to join the Demon Immortal Sect.

As their revenge was carried out, and the slaughter continued, most eye-catching of all was not the fighting between the four Paragons of the Mountains and Seas and the Paragons from the various Heavens. Instead… it was a huge turtle!

Countless cultivators flew off of the back of that turtle to fight viciously with the Outsiders. The turtle head-butted the 7th Heaven, crushing it. Then he threw his head back and roared, charging toward the 8th Heaven.

"Fudge! The Patriarch's successor disciple is back! Isn't the Patriarch awesome!? Hey don't run, Outsiders! Dammit. I have some good fortune for you!"

However, even as the huge turtle began to move in the direction of the 8th Heaven, countless ripples surged out as that huge land mass transformed into… a sea!

As soon as the sea appeared, Naruto's gaze fell upon it.

"The traitor of the Mountains and Seas, the Ninth Sea."

Chapter 1552: The Traitorous Ninth Sea!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1553

Chapter 1553: The Return of the Demon Sovereign!

Naruto stared at the Ninth Sea.

It had been hiding on the 8th Heaven, which was no surprise to him.

Back in the Mountain and Sea War, the Ninth Sea had turned traitor, casting Shui Dongliu's plan into peril. It became much more difficult for the Mountain and Sea Butterfly to escape, and also ensured that fewer Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were able to make it to the butterfly to begin with.

The Ninth Sea's sudden betrayal at a critical moment had a huge effect on the Mountain and Sea Realm.

From that moment on, all Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators came to have a deep hatred for that sea.

The cultivators born in subsequent centuries heard the story of the Ninth Sea's traitorous act, but up to now, it had been just that: nothing more than a story….

Now, though, the entire 8th Heaven had transformed from being a land mass into a majestic sea.

Gradually, a face came to be visible within it, the face of a woman, surrounded by innumerable sea beasts.

"Ninth Sea!" growled Ksitigarbha as he delivered the death blow to one of the Outsider Paragons. His eyes flickered with killing intent, and his voice boomed like thunder. A moment later, he was flying directly toward the Ninth Sea.

Grandpa Uzumaki looked up, eyes flickering with memories of the past. He also began to fly toward the Ninth Sea at top speed.

Patriarch Reliance had originally been planning to head-butt the land mass of the 8th Heaven. But now that he saw it transform into sea water, his eyes went wide, and he positioned himself as if to advance. However, instead of advancing, he began to retreat. Strangely, the words coming out of his mouth seemed to indicate anything but retreat.

"Kill! Kill! Dammit! Trifling seawater! The Patriarch isn't scared of you. DIIEEE…." However, he continued to retreat until he was far off in the distance.

Soon, rumbling could be heard from within the Ninth Sea as countless sea beasts flew out toward the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators. Fatty, Uchiha Youcai, Li Ling'er, and all the others were joined by the rest of the Mountain and Sea cultivators as they transformed into beams of light which shot into battle.

Booming sounds rang out that could shake Heaven and Earth. The sea beasts of the Ninth Sea began to scream miserably as they were cut down by the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators. Soon, the Ninth Sea was stained red with blood.

The sea began to shrink, opening up a path to the 9th Heaven, which some of the Mountain and Sea cultivators took. Patriarch Reliance's eyes rolled up in thought for a moment, and then he headed toward the 9th Heaven as well.

Immediately, a path was torn open through the battlefield in this region.

It only took a moment for fighting to break out on the 9th Heaven. Soon the 9th Heaven was destroyed, and finally… the army advanced to the 10th Heaven!

They didn't immediately attack, though. Instead they looked for Naruto, who had spoken into their minds that he would meet them on the 10th Heaven.

To the veterans of the Mountain and Sea War, Naruto's name was something engraved deeply in their hearts. To all the other cultivators born in the subsequent centuries, he was both a stranger, and yet oddly familiar.

He was a stranger because they had never met him in person. He was familiar because there were countless statues of him in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Furthermore, stories about his deeds were told so often that virtually everyone had memorized them.

Naruto had long since been deified within the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly!

To the Mountain and Sea cultivators, he was their god, the will of Heaven, the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Almost immediately, the cultivators who arrived on the 10th Heaven could see Naruto hovering in midair, and he looked exactly like all of the statues which depicted him!

In fact, he seemed even more grand and majestic than the statues.

However, the mere sight of him was of secondary importance. Even more shocking was that all the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm suddenly felt their blood surging through their veins. Their cultivation bases rocketed up, almost as if the person they were looking at was the source of their bloodline!

It was an indescribable feeling, and resulted in all of the cultivators who had stepped onto the 10th Heaven clasping hands and bowing.

"Patriarch Demon Sovereign!"

"Greetings, exalted Demon Sovereign!"

"Greetings, Patriarch!"

"Demon Sovereign!"

"Patriarch!" The sound of the excited Mountain and Sea cultivators shouting out caused everything to tremble.

The surrounding Outsiders took advantage of the moment to attack, and yet before they could reach the area occupied by the Mountain and Sea cultivators, they were transformed into ash. Apparently, only the people of the Mountains and Seas were permitted to be there. Anyone else who tried to enter would be destroyed in body and soul!

Everyone was crying out to the Patriarch, to the Demon Sovereign. As additional cultivators arrived, they looked up, and were profoundly shaken by the sight of Naruto. Their eyes burned with passion, with ardor, with veneration.

As for the cultivators who had been raised on stories of the venerated Naruto, when they saw him, they didn't just bow in respect, but in worship!

The ground quaked as more and more cultivators arrived on the 10th Heaven. Even more struck with emotion were all of the old-timers who had fought in the Mountain and Sea War.

"It's Naruto!"

"Naruto's back!"

"He's back, Naruto the Demon Sovereign!" Their voices were filled with happiness, and they wept tears of joy. Years ago, Naruto had fought to protect the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, blocking the path of the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. It was something that those cultivators would never be able to forget.

As Naruto hovered there looking down at the crowds, he heard their cries, and tears welled up in his eyes.

It felt like he was reuniting with his family, people he had missed profoundly for centuries.

"I am Naruto, and… I'm back!" His voice was soft, and yet echoed like thunder, smashing through the entire 10th Heaven. With that, he began to descend.

That movement caused all of the Outsiders to tremble in fear, and let out miserable shrieks. They felt as if countless invisible mountains were crushing down onto them.

That was pressure from Naruto, his aura, and as he descended, the Outsiders on the land mass… all exploded.

"Demon Sovereign!"

"Demon Sovereign!"

"Demon Sovereign!" Countless Mountain and Sea cultivators flew to his side, all of them shouting in passion and veneration.

"Let's go home!" Naruto said. The cheering grew louder as the cultivators clustered around him and headed downward. Behind them, the 10th Heaven transformed into nothing more than ash!

As of this moment, there were no land masses above the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. There was only… a trembling, shrinking sea.

The cheering of the Mountain and Sea cultivators grew louder, causing powerful ripples to spread out in all directions. The group who had been besieging the Ninth Sea all looked over at Naruto, trembling.

Fatty was shaking visibly, and as soon as he saw Naruto, he let out a loud cry and flew toward him, laughing. A moment later, he was directly in front of Naruto, who he wrapped up into a huge bear hug.

"Naruto, Naruto, Naruto… you're finally back. I've missed you so much, you don't even know! Two thousand years. Can you imagine? Lots of people thought you were dead, but not me. I knew that you wouldn't die. Naruto, Naruto, Naruto…." Fatty was so excited he was crying and laughing. The two of them had been friends for so many centuries that Naruto had become an inseparable part of him.

Naruto slapped Fatty's shoulders, equally as excited.

Fatty's Daoist partners and offspring all stared wide-eyed. The sight of their Patriarch acting in such a way was completely shocking. All of them quickly dropped to their knees to kowtow to Naruto.

Another figure appeared, shooting along at high speed. It was… Namikaze Yu, Naruto's older sister!

She looked like a grown-up woman now, and tears poured down her face as she landed in front of Naruto and then hugged him.

"Sister, I'm back…." Naruto said softly. He looked over at Uchiha Youcai off in the distance. For centuries, Uchiha Youcai's face had been covered with a grim expression, but now there was an excited grin.

Naruto saw Ksitigarbha, who looked over at him and started laughing. Then there was his Grandpa Uzumaki, who gazed at him kindly, tears streaming down his cheeks.

Li Ling'er was there, an old woman now. Zhixiang was in the crowd as well, a complex expression on her face as she seemed to be thinking about past times. She was mostly happy, though, and excited.

There was Sun Hai, Naruto's brother-in-law. His first reaction upon seeing Naruto was to be excited, but then he looked a bit afraid. At the same time, he felt proud. After all, he was Naruto's brother-inlaw….

Among all the other familiar faces was Ke Jiusi, who looked over at Naruto and smiled warmly. It didn't matter how powerful Naruto had become, to Ke Jiusi, he was still his younger brother.

Eventually, Naruto looked down through the starry sky to the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. He saw his father and mother, and he saw his wife Xu Qing, who was standing next to them. At that point, his heart filled with a warmth it had lacked for many years.

"I'm back!"

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1554

Chapter 1554: Transcendence Treasure!

Tears streamed down Xu Qing's face, and she smiled. Naruto's father and mother stood next to her, looking extremely excited and proud.

This was their son. Their Naruto!

As all of the Mountain and Sea cultivators burst with excitement, the Ninth Sea was off in the distance, battling with the Paragon puppet.

The Ninth Sea had been pushed to the limit in the fighting, and had shrunk down so much that it was no longer boundless and majestic like before.

Now, it appeared to be trying to take advantage of the commotion caused by the appearance of Naruto. The woman's face appeared within it as it began to back up as if to flee. At that point, Naruto looked over.

"Did I say you could leave?" he asked coolly.

His gaze struck the Ninth Sea like a physical blow. It began vibrating, and the woman's face filled with fear. His voice was like the magical law of Heaven and Earth, which instantly locked down the path of escape.

At the same time, all of the Mountain and Sea cultivators turned to look at the Ninth Sea, their gazes bursting with killing intent. That was especially true of the veterans of the Mountain and Sea War, who hated the Ninth Sea deep in their bones.

Upon facing the gazes of so many cultivators, the womanly face of the Ninth Sea let out an enraged roar.

"You forced me to do what I did. You are the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and you swore an oath to erase my mind. What other choice did I have but to betray the Mountain and Sea Realm!?

"It was you! All of this is because of you! You wanted to exterminate my people, you wanted to wipe me out. I had to fight back, I had to resist. My betrayal is all your fault!"

At first, Naruto didn't say anything in response to the Ninth Sea's howling. But then he sighed.

"That scheme of yours lurked in your duplicitous heart for ages. Why try to pin the blame on me? Even without that oath of mine, you would have picked a good time to turn traitor." Considering the level of his cultivation base, and his experience, he had long since come to a clear understanding of the Ninth Sea's actions.

The Ninth Sea hesitated for a moment, then bitterly cried, "I wasn't in the wrong. I just wanted to be able to think for myself. I didn't want to be a part of the Mountain and Sea Realm forever!" Suddenly, the seawater churned, and the face of the woman shot away as if to flee.

However, it was obvious that she wouldn't be able to escape. In fact, her decision wasn't really an attempt to flee, but rather, a way to seek death. By this point, there was nothing she could do to change everything which had occurred.

"After you die," Naruto said, "everything will be a thing of the past. Ashes to ashes, dust to dust….

"You don't need the Mountain and Sea Realm, and the future Mountain and Sea Realm doesn't need you…." Naruto extended his right hand and made a vicious grasping motion toward the Ninth Sea. It was as if an enormous, invisible hand had grabbed the woman's face, preventing her from fleeing no matter how much she struggled, and no matter how much the water churned. Then, he jerked his hand, sending the Ninth Sea flying into the flames above.

The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators watched as the face that represented the Ninth Sea plunged into the sea of flames and began to burn. Screams echoed out as the face shrank down and down. Soon, the only thing left behind was the Ninth Sea's soul!

There it burned within the fire, unable to die.

Naruto waved his finger, causing all of the souls of the Outsiders who had been killed in the 1st through 10th Heavens to fly out into the open.

They cried out for mercy, and terror filled their faces, but all Naruto did was wave his sleeve, sending the boundless collection of souls flying up in a beam of light into the sea of flames.

As the souls entered the fire, they began to burn among the countless other Outsider souls.

The sight of it caused the Mountain and Sea cultivators to tremble, not from fear, but from the fact that their revenge had finally been carried out.

"See that, Master? Master, I avenged your death!"

"Dad, mom, your son has gained vengeance!"

"Di Kongzi, the day you died, I promised that if I made it out alive, I would get revenge for you. Finally, it's happened!"

"I hope the Patriarchs and the sect can all rest in peace…." Countless wailing voices could be heard from the cultivators who had fought in the Mountain and Sea War. Every one of them had a story of their own, friends or family who had been killed. Finally, their revenge had been exacted, and they wept, wrapped up in their thoughts of the past. The sound of the crying echoed out into the void.

Fatty sobbed, as if he were able to see all of his Daoist partners and children from the past standing around him. Uchiha Youcai had a bitter expression on his face as he thought back to his life in the sects he had been a part of.

Ksitigarbha laughed bitterly, and also cried. Li Ling'er murmured Sea Dream's name.

Zhixiang trembled. Considering the level of her cultivation base back during the war, it was somewhat of a miracle that she even survived. Many stories could be told based on the events of her life.

Every one of the old-timers wept.

Naruto's eyes shone with grief as he thought back to the past, and the unforgettably bitter events which had propelled him from being almost like a silkpants cultivator to maturity.

After a long, long moment passed, something happened. It was hard to say who did it first, but the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators began to wipe away their tears and then drop to their knees.

"Many thanks, Demon Sovereign!"

One by one, they began to kowtow, until all of the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were crying out to him.

"Many thanks, Demon Sovereign!"

"Many thanks, Demon Sovereign!"

Naruto took a deep breath and looked around at everyone. The truth was that he could have easily wiped out the 33 Heavens by himself. But he didn't. He gave them an opportunity for revenge.

It was not his revenge alone. It belonged to all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Of course, Naruto knew that this was only part of their revenge. The

Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent still had to be dealt with. By now, he was almost completely sure that his speculations about them were true. He was also certain that the will of Allheaven would drive the two land masses to come to attack him.

"I made two promises in the past…." Naruto said softly, looking around at the crowds. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm all looked up at him, their eyes burning with passion.

"One of them was that I would come back.

"The other… was that I would return to where the Mountain and Sea Realm had been destroyed, and rebuild it!" As the words left his mouth, the Mountain and Sea cultivators began to tremble inwardly. That was especially true of the older ones. As for the ones born in more recent times, they were also filled with anticipation. After all, they had heard countless stories of the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

It was their ancestral home too.

Naruto extended his hand and made a grasping motion. The void trembled, and rumbling sounds echoed out as a huge vortex appeared, with Naruto's hand at the center. In the blink of an eye, it spread out to fill the entire area in the starry sky.

"Oh destroyed Mountains and Seas, by the power of my name, I, Naruto, call for you… to return!" As his voice echoed out, natural law changed, and magical law was altered. Shockingly, countless bits of dust and rubble in the area began to rise up.

A mountain boulder that had been hanging in the starry sky for centuries began to vibrate, and then shine with dazzling light!

Drops of water floating about began to move, almost as if they possessed thought, and were waking up. Brilliant light began to shine out.

The effect began to spread out all through the boundless starry sky.

Boulders, shattered rock, drops of water, endless dust. Regardless of where the were or what shape they were in, they all began to fly toward Naruto!

These were the destroyed remnants of the Mountain and Sea Realm, fragments which were now flying through the void, flying through the starry sky, flying through time itself.

Massive booms rang out as the countless fields of rubble transformed into dazzling beams of light which began to take shape within the vortex.

"First Mountain and Sea!" Naruto said, eyes shining with a strange light. He raised both hands into the air, and all reality seemed to shake. All living beings which existed in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse could hear the words he spoke.

"I call upon the power of my name to take the First Hex, the BeginningEnding Hex, and embody it in the First Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Beginning-Ending Mountain and Sea, responsible for transformations of seasons within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my BeginningEnding Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essences of beginnings and endings. This hex will now be called the First Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, the power of Transcendence propelled the First Hex into the First Mountain and Sea, becoming its foundation.

The Hexing magic became the bones, and the Mountain and Sea became the flesh!

Almost immediately, the shape of the First Sea and the First Mountain became visible!

The cultivators who were originally from the First Mountain and Sea were so excited they were crying. When they saw the sea and the mountain taking shape, they began to tremble. They were looking at their home.

Rumbling could be heard as the First Mountain took final shape, complete with all of its planets!

Naruto was not just calling back the old Mountain and Sea Realm, he was refining it, making it into… a new Mountain and Sea Realm!

It was… a Transcendence Treasure!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1555

Chapter 1555: Summoning the Mountains and Seas!

The Mountain and Sea Realm with its Nine Mountains and Nine Seas was originally a precious treasure forged by Paragon Nine Seals when his world was being destroyed, for the purpose of fighting back against the two major powers and the rebel forces.

It was as powerful as a cultivator half a step into Transcendence, which was how it came to be a safe haven for later generations, and even prevented the other major powers from entering.

As time went on, the Mountain and Sea Realm continued to protect the cultivators who lived within it, until the great war occurred over two thousand years in the past. During that time, the Ninth Sea turned traitor, and numerous other events led to the Mountain and Sea Realm being destroyed.

Afterwards, the destroyed remnants were scattered hither and thither.

But now, Naruto had created a vortex that sent the entire starry sky rumbling, and caused all of the scattered remnants to turn into dazzling beams of light that converged together, causing the Mountain and Sea Realm to once again form in front of the eyes of all present.

Furthermore, Naruto wasn't just putting the pieces back together, he was using the power of Transcendence, and his Demon Sealing Hexing magic, to completely remodel the entire realm.

This really and truly was… using Hexing magic as the bones, and the Mountains and Seas as the flesh!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the First Mountain and Sea appeared. Then, Naruto's voice echoed out and shook the starry sky. Natural laws were altered, and magical laws were torn apart. The cultivators clustered around Naruto continued to kowtow excitedly.

That was especially true of those who had fought in the Mountain and Sea War. The cultivators who originally came from the First Mountain and Sea were nearly hysterical, and couldn't hold back from weeping. As the First Mountain and Sea and its planets were formed, they could finally see the home that they remembered from so long ago.

It was a new Mountain and Sea Realm, and from now on, the First Mountain and Sea would embody Naruto's First Hex, the BeginningEnding Hex!

Cultivators there would have innate superiority when it came to that Beginning-Ending Hex. As that superiority developed and expanded, one could easily imagine the final result!

Furthermore, the newly remoulded First Mountain and Sea also came to be responsible for the seasonal transformations in the Mountain and Sea

Realm. The way that spring, summer, fall, and winter occurred on the

First Mountain and Sea would affect the entire Mountain and Sea Realm!

Furthermore, whoever became the Lord of the First Mountain and Sea would have ultimate control over all beginnings and endings!

People only continued to be more and more shaken as more and more rubble gathered in the area. Rumbling sounds then echoed out as Naruto's voice once again replaced the will of the starry sky, speaking out new natural laws for the Mountains and Seas!

"Second Mountain and Sea! I call upon the power of my name to take the power of the Second Hex, the Real-Unreal Hex, and embody it in the Second Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Real-Unreal

Mountain and Sea! You are responsible for all clarity in the Mountain and Sea Realm, ensuring that all Mountain and Sea cultivators can distinguish between what is real and what is unreal, can think clearly, and remove inner devils!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Real-Unreal Hex and gain enlightenment of the Essences of reality and unreality. This hex will now be called the Second Hex of the Mountains and Seas!" Naruto's words echoed like Heavenly thunder, and at the same time, countless complex ancient magical symbols appeared, which converged behind the First Mountain and Sea. Soon, the shape of the Second Sea and the Second Mountain took shape.

At the same time, more and more of the fragments of the Mountains and Seas began to form around the magical symbols. Soon, the Second Sea and the Second Mountain fully formed!

The Heavens shook and the starry sky trembled as the Second Mountain and Sea appeared!

Planets also formed around the Second Mountain!

The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were cheering in excitement at the shocking sight. As for the cultivators who had originally come from the Second Mountain and Sea, they were weeping with joy.

In the future, those who practiced cultivation in the Second Mountain and Sea would have superior command of the Daos of reality and unreality. They would be able to dispel delusions with ease, and would exceed others in understanding of magical illusions.

The Second Mountain and Sea was responsible for clarity, ensuring that the Mountain and Sea Realm remained free of inner devils. It would protect the cultivators of the realm, and ensure that their practice of cultivation went smoothly. The benefit to the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole would be no less than that provided by the First Mountain and Sea.

Whoever was Lord of the Second Mountain and Sea would have control over the inner devils of all cultivators in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Without the Second Mountain and Sea, it would be very difficult to dispel such inner devils!

It was as if a new age were dawning. One could easily imagine how a Transcendence Treasure like this could be used, not necessarily just for fighting, but for causing its entire people to rise to new heights of glory.

This was a Mountain and Sea Realm forged specifically for its people, forged to create a new world of cultivation!

It was a level of grandeur that Paragon Nine Seals had only partly attained. Naruto was using the power of Transcendence to create a new Heaven and Earth.

"Third Mountain and Sea!" he roared. Brilliant light shone off of him, making him look like a divine being. He waved his finger at the vortex, eyes shining with a strange light, making him look so glorious that even the stars would bow to him.

"I call upon the power of my name to take the Third Hex, the PresentAncient Hex, and embody it in the Third Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Present-Ancient Mountain and Sea, responsible for Time magic within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Present-Ancient Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essences of present and ancient.

This hex will now be called the Third Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

As Naruto's words echoed out, rumbling filled the starry sky. Numerous magical symbols appeared, which formed together into the underlying structure of the Third Mountain and Sea. Then the surrounding rubble was sucked in, converging together until the Third Mountain and Sea was visible for all the cultivators to see.

The Third Sea's water churned, sending massive waves back and forth!

The Third Mountain rose high into the starry sky, towering and extraordinary!

The Third Hex was the Present-Ancient Hex. Before Naruto created the Ninth Hex, it had been considered the most domineering of the Hexes, having been created by the Third Generation Demon Sealer, the most powerful of the Demon Sealers. It could control the flow of time, and now it formed the bones of the newly remoulded Third Mountain and Sea. Simply put, in terms of battle prowess, this Mountain and Sea would be extraordinary compared to the others.

The power of Time flowed about to and fro. Similar to the First and

Second Mountains and Seas, the cultivators of the Third Mountain and Sea would have special advantages in their practice of cultivation. They would have incredible, unheard-of control over the Essence of time.

Furthermore, the nature of time in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm would be under the control of the Third Mountain and Sea.

The Mountain and Sea cultivators were prostrating in worship, and even the army of cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were shaking. The Sect Leader and the others, even the old lizard and the other eccentric beings, were all mentally shaken. Although they knew that Transcendent cultivators were all-powerful, to see the evidence in front of their own eyes was mind-blowing.

The deep envy they felt after seeing the First through Third Mountains and Seas helped them to understand the significance of a precious treasure being designed uniquely for its own people. By this point, even they wanted to live in the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"If you lived there, it would be much easier to reach the Dao Realm, and maybe even the peak of 9-Essences. In fact… it might even be possible to Transcend!"

"It's a Transcendence Treasure. Anyone who Transcends will build… a

Transcendence Treasure suitable for their people!"

The cultivators from the Vast Expanse School felt their minds spinning.

As for Naruto, he looked at the three sets of Mountains and Seas that he had just formed, then took a deep breath and performed an incantation gesture with his right hand. He waved his finger, and the power of Transcendence erupted out, causing all the Heavens to shake. "Fourth Mountain and Sea!

"I call upon the power of my name to take the Fourth Hex, the Self Hex, and embody it in the Fourth Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Self Mountain and Sea, responsible for the underworld and reincarnation within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Self Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essence of self. This hex will now be called the Fourth Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

The starry sky shook under the terrifying might of Naruto's Fourth Hex, the Self Hex. The Self Hex could spawn millions upon millions of the self, making it the perfect complement to reincarnation. When you added in the fact that the Fourth Mountain and Sea had always been the underworld of the Mountain and Sea Realm, where reincarnation resided, it ensured that this version of the underworld was even more shocking than before. It was truly the final destination for all cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Whoever was the Lord of the Fourth Mountain and Sea would control all the dead spirits in the Mountain and Sea Realm!

Each and every one of these four Mountains and Seas were crucial. It was at this point that Naruto, without the slightest hesitation, spoke out once more.

"Fifth Mountain and Sea!" he said, his voice echoing like thunder. He waved his sleeve, and the outline of the Fifth Mountain and Sea instantly took shape, causing rumbling sounds to echo out in all directions.

"I call upon the power of my name to take the Fifth Hex, the InsideOutside Hex, and embody it in the Fifth Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Inside-Outside Mountain and Sea, responsible for the five elements within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Inside-Outside Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essences of inside and outside. This hex will now be called the Fifth Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

Instantly, the Hexing magic formed the bones, represented by the countless magical symbols which were converging together. As the outline took shape, the rubble from the destroyed Mountains and Seas converged, and the Fifth Mountain and Sea took shape in front of everyone to hover there in the starry sky.

The Fifth Mountain and Sea relied on the five elements as the foundation of its magic. The five elements were crucial aspects to the practice of cultivation, and from this moment on, all cultivators from the Fifth Mountain and Sea would have extraordinary command of the Dao of the five elements. Whoever was the Lord of the Fifth Mountain and Sea would control the fundamental aspects of the five elements throughout the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

"When the five elements appear, Heaven and Earth are opened!" Naruto's eyes shone with bright light as he reached out and made some final adjustments to the Fifth Mountain and Sea.

The Fifth Mountain and Sea was the axis of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and the five elements there were absolutely critical. No mistakes could be tolerated.

In order to be the Lord of any of the Mountains and Seas, not only did one need the approval of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself, one also needed to gain complete enlightenment of the Demon Sealing Hexing magic left behind by Naruto!

The Demon Sealing Hexing magic was hidden within the various Mountains and Seas, like their bones!

Only by gaining enlightenment of that Demon Sealing Hexing magic could one eventually qualify to be a Mountain and Sea Lord. Only by that method could one become a successor of the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm!

It was now possible to say that the Mountain and Sea Realm had Hexing magic as its bones, the Mountains and Seas as its flesh, and… the League of Demon Sealers as its soul!

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1556

Chapter 1556: The Most Powerful Mountain and Sea!

The League was the soul, the Hexing magics were the bones, and the Mountains and Seas were the flesh!

The doctrines of the League of Demon Sealers held sway, which were the same as the doctrines espoused by Naruto. By following such precepts, he had become the Crown Prince of the Mountain and Sea Realm. The year he became part of the League of Demon Sealers, he was acknowledged as the future Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The first version of the Mountain and Sea Realm was forged by Nine

Seals, who also left behind the League of Demon Sealers as his legacy. Now Naruto was using that legacy to remould the Mountain and Sea Realm into something new.

Anyone who became a Mountain and Sea Lord had to become a successor of the League of Demon Sealers. Furthermore, anyone who wanted to be the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm itself had to master all of the Nine Hexes.

As for Transcendence… that would depend on one's personal fortune.

Naruto looked at the Fifth Mountain and Sea for a long moment, and then his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. The power of Transcendence erupted out to shake the starry sky as he waved his finger, a profound light shining in his eyes.

"Sixth Mountain and Sea!

"I call upon the power of my name to take the Sixth Hex, the Life-Death Hex, and embody it in the Sixth Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Life-Death Mountain and Sea, responsible for the Tribulations and punishments within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Life-Death Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essences of life and death. This hex will now be called the Sixth Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

Naruto's voice was natural law embodied. Magical symbols erupted in a tempest which radiated the power of life and death. They formed together into the outline of the Sixth Mountain and Sea, then began to rapidly absorb the surrounding rubble until the Sixth Mountain and Sea became visible.

As it descended to join the other five Mountains and Seas, a black and white aura appeared upon it. At first, there was a sharp contrast between the black and the white, but as it swirled and mixed, it became gray. Then, just as quickly, the black and the white separated again.

It was as if the difference between the realms of death and life were incredibly clear in the Sixth Mountain and Sea. This type of life and death was similar in some ways to the Fourth Mountain and Sea, and yet, was also very different.

That was because this type of life and death had to do with Tribulations and punishments, which could be unleashed upon the entire Mountain and Sea Realm. Anyone who practiced cultivation had to experience Heavenly Tribulation. Furthermore, those who committed grave mistakes would undergo Heavenly punishment. That punishment was like a blade raised aloft, transformed into a natural law. Everything had to be subject to natural law to be complete, and thus, instead of saying that the Sixth Mountain and Sea was the embodiment of punishment, it would be more accurate to say that it was natural law!

Whoever was the Lord of this Mountain and Sea could control the power of punishment, and enforce compliance with natural law.

As the Mountain settled into place, rumbling sounds echoed out. The Mountain and Sea Realm was already completely different than it had been before, as if it were more flexible and powerful, a state which was only beginning.

Without pausing for a moment, Naruto spoke yet again, his voice echoing out like thunder to be heard by all of the Mountain and Sea

Realm cultivators, as well as the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School.

"Seventh Mountain and Sea!"

"I call upon the power of my name to take the Seventh Hex, the Karmic Hex, and embody it in the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Karmic Mountain and Sea, responsible for Karma within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Karmic Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essence of Karma. This hex will now be called the Seventh Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

Instantly, magical symbols appeared, and the fragments of the Mountains and Seas came together. The Seventh Mountain and Sea appeared, along with an astonishing power of Karma. The power which exploded out instantly eclipsed the power from the other six Mountains and Seas, and yet just as quickly, faded away. Everything went calm. It was as if the explosion of Karma had transformed into a net which came to settle over the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

The Seventh Hex, the Karmic Hex, had been of incredible use to Naruto throughout his practice of cultivation. It was also the most enigmatic. Karma existed everywhere in Heaven and Earth. It was like a circle with the starting point being the cause of the Karma, and the apex being the effect. Those two points, of course, always connected.

All worlds required Karma, although it was usually an invisible and mysterious thing. Now that Naruto had Transcended, he had the power to make Karma the bones of the Seventh Mountain and Sea. Cultivators of the Seventh Mountain and Sea would now be innately adept regarding the Dao of Karma.

Whoever became the Lord of the Seventh Mountain and Sea would understand Naruto's Seventh Hex, and would be able to unleash Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering power.

Each of these majestic seven Mountains and Seas were different, yet they were all incredibly powerful and awe-inspiring. The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators continued to offer worship, and many among the army of the Vast Expanse School were left gasping.

Even the countless souls of the Outsiders submerged within the sea of flames were shaken.

What was happening now was something miraculous, something unbelievable, the likes of which no one had ever witnessed before.

That was the nature of Transcendence.

What I want, the Heavens shall NOT lack! What I don't want, had BETTER not exist in the Heavens!

Naruto waved his sleeve, and his eyes shone with brilliant light. After one last look at the Seventh Mountain and Sea, he thought about the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and everything he had done back when he had been there.

"Eighth Mountain and Sea!" he said. Instantly, that particular area in the starry sky began to distort.

Grandpa Uzumaki was the most excited of all; he was now watching something occur that he had never imagined could actually happen. Not only was he able to see the Mountain and Sea Realm once again, he was also able to once again lay eyes on… the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

His reaction was the same as Ksitigarbha's when he saw the Fourth Mountain and Sea. He threw his head back and laughed uproariously, tears of joy streaming down his face.

"I call upon the power of my name to take the Eighth Hex, the BodyMind Hex, and embody it in the Eighth Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Body-Mind Mountain and Sea, responsible for space within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Body-Mind Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essences of body and mind. It will be called the Eighth Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

And then the Eighth Mountain and Sea appeared in full!

Boundless light rose up, along with countless ghost images. Instantly, the space around the Eighth Mountain and Sea suddenly went completely still.

That was Naruto's Eighth Hex, the first Demon Sealing Hexing magic he had learned. It had accompanied him throughout his life, and been used in battle on numerous occasions, always giving Naruto a shocking advantage and allowing him to turn the tide of the fight.

In terms of usefulness, it was no weaker than Karmic Hexing.

Naruto had a powerful attachment to the Eighth Hex, as did he to the Eighth Mountain and Sea. That was the place his mother's clan had called home, and where his Grandpa Uzumaki had been a Mountain and Sea Lord.

It only felt right that the Eighth Hex become the bones of this new version of the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

With the Body-Mind Hex, cultivators from the Eighth Mountain and Sea would have incredible control over the Essence of space. Later on, they would be able to manipulate space in a way that could hardly be matched in the entire Mountain and Sea Realm.

In addition to that, their control of such power gave them the responsibility of defending the Mountain and Sea Realm. That was the Dao of space, something vast and limitless.

Whoever was the Lord of the Eighth Mountain and Sea would have a very high position. Not only would that person be on equal footing with all of the other Mountain and Sea Lords, their control over the power of space would, in some ways, allow them to disregard everything else.

The cultivators of the Eighth Mountain and Sea were bursting at the seams with excitement, and followed Grandpa Uzumaki in shouting out at the tops of their lungs.

By now, the Mountain and Sea Realm was more than ninety percent complete. Eight Mountains and Seas rose high up, radiating dazzling light. They were all different, as were the cultivators from the respective Mountains and Seas, and when it came to measuring them up against each other, it would be very difficult to determine who was the most powerful.

That was because they were all powerful, and were all critical parts of the Mountain and Sea Realm as a whole.

The First Mountain and Sea controlled beginnings and endings, and was the source of everything. The Second Mountain and Sea controlled what was real and unreal, and could clear inner devils from the hearts of cultivators. The Third Mountain and Sea had the power of the ancient and the present, and could manipulate time. There was almost no need to mention the Fourth Mountain and Sea, which housed the underworld and reincarnation. Most critical was the Fifth Mountain and Sea, the axis of the realm, a place of utmost importance regarding the five elements, the foundation of all cultivation.

The Sixth Mountain and Sea controlled life and death, the punishments and tribulations of the entire realm. Then there was the Seventh Mountain and Sea, where the Dao of Karma set all natural law.

These were the eight Mountains and Seas. And yet… a dragon without a head is no dragon. And the Mountain and Sea Realm was the same.

The Mountain and Sea Realm required… a Mountain and Sea more powerful than all of the others. It needed a symbol, a head, something with ultimate power that could cow any other Mountain or Sea which wavered from the true path.

If any other Mountain or Sea considered betraying the realm, there had to be a force which could unleash power to bring everything back into balance.

That was a power that wouldn't be placed within the hands of a single person, but rather, would be placed… within the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Back when the Mountains and Seas had fallen in battle, the last stand had been taken in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. It had been the final line of defense. That was also where the Mountain and Sea Butterfly had come from, which now contained Naruto's parents as the incarnations of the wings.

Some of the most important and critical events of the war centuries ago had played out there!

If that alone didn't make the Ninth Mountain and Sea deserving of being the most powerful, there were two other reasons which were even more significant.

It was the location where Naruto had been born, and it was also the place he considered his ancestral home!

The starry sky shook, and lightning crashed. Everything twisted as colors flashed everywhere. Naruto's eyes shone with radiant light as he took a deep breath, and shifted his gaze to the empty spot behind the Eighth Mountain and Sea.

"Ninth Mountain and Sea… my home…." he said softly.

Vol. 9 : Chapter 1557

Chapter 1557 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1557: I Bestow Upon You the Title of Ninth Sea!

Naruto looked at the empty spot next to the Eighth Mountain and Sea, and then spoke in a voice which was soft, yet thrummed with the power of Transcendence. Waving his finger, he said, "I call upon the power of my name to take the Ninth Hex, the Seal the Heavens Hex, and embody it in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Henceforth… you are the Heaven-Sealing Mountain and Sea, the most powerful of the Mountains and Seas, responsible for sealing the Heavens within the Mountain and Sea Realm!

"Cultivators in this Mountain and Sea may cultivate my Seal the Heavens Hex, and gain enlightenment of the Essence of Heaven-sealing. It will be called the Ninth Hex of the Mountains and Seas!"

In conjunction with his words, countless magical symbols appeared, far more than had appeared for any of the previous Mountains and Seas. Even the combination of all of the magical symbols from the previous eight Mountains and Seas added together couldn't match up.

Those magical symbols created a raging tempest which shook the starry sky, and radiated the aura of Heaven-sealing.

That aura stood completely apart from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, as if it were above anything and everything. The instant it appeared, the other eight Mountains and Seas began to tremble in subservience.

And things had just begun! The Ninth Mountain and Sea hadn't even appeared in full, and yet all of the other Mountains and Seas were shaking. It was easy to imagine how powerful the Ninth Mountain and Sea would be when it finally appeared; it would truly be the strongest!

The Ninth Mountain and Sea would be able to dominate the other

Mountains and Seas. With such power, and with such an Essence, the Ninth Mountain and Sea would definitely be the peak of all the Mountains and Seas!

The outline of the Ninth Mountain was now visible, and the magical symbols had already begun to shape the planets. It was now possible to see Planet East Victory, Planet North Reed, Planet West Felicity, and of course… Planet South Heaven!

The surrounding cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were far more shaken than they had been before. That was especially true of Naruto's old friends, whose eyes shone with unprecedented brightness.

Fatty was shaking, tears pouring down his face as he looked at the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Sun Hai, Namikaze Yu, Uchiha Youcai, Li Ling'er….

Everyone who viewed the Ninth Mountain and Sea as their home were now profoundly excited.

Xu Qing had the same reaction as she looked at Planet South Heaven and thought back to all the old memories….

Everyone watched as the rubble and fragments of the Mountains and

Seas began to fill in the vast array of magical symbols. Even as the Ninth Mountain and Sea began to take shape in front of everyone's eyes, something unexpected occurred….

Every time one of the previous Mountains and Seas had formed, lightning would crackle, as though the will of the Vast Expanse were trying to interfere. However, it was never very intense. This time, though, as soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, the entire starry sky filled with so many lightning bolts that they were impossible to count. Rumbling booms echoed out in all directions as lighting appeared out of nowhere, seemingly pouring out from the stream of time itself.

Almost immediately, the area filled with lightning bolts whose target seemed to be the outline of the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

The lightning bolts' aim was to prevent the Ninth Mountain and Sea from fully appearing, to prevent the Seal the Heavens Hex from becoming the bones of that Mountain and Sea.

Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light as he took a step forward. Instantly, incredible power erupted out. A huge shockwave spread out from the Ninth Mountain and Sea, spreading out in all directions and completely destroying any lightning that it touched.

"I'm in the middle of forging the Mountain and Sea Realm," he growled. "Any interference can screw the hell off!" With that, he waved his sleeve and looked up into the starry sky, almost as if he were staring directly at the will of the Vast Expanse.

As their eyes met, the starry sky trembled. Naruto's aura surged, and without another moment of hesitation, the will of the Vast Expanse fought back.

The entire starry sky shook, and the living beings in numerous worlds, land masses, and vortexes could all hear something roaring in their ears. It sounded like two giants standing next to each other, screaming at each other with divine sense.

Cracking sounds rang out as Naruto slammed into the will of the Vast Expanse. Instantly, rifts were torn open in all directions, vaporizing anything that got in their path.

After some time passed, the roar of rage from the will of the Vast Expanse faded away. However, Naruto still had a very grim expression on his face. He knew that his true battle with the will of the Vast Expanse was rapidly approaching.

Now that the will of the Vast Expanse had faded away and wasn't attempting to interfere, the Ninth Mountain and Sea finished forming within the starry sky.

Everything trembled, and all of the other eight Mountains and Seas bowed their figurative heads!

And that was because the Seal the Heavens Mountain and Sea was without compare!

And yet, the Ninth Mountain and Sea wasn't complete. The Ninth Mountain was fully formed, but as for the Ninth Sea, countless magical symbols formed the shape, and yet the flesh to form the seawater itself was lacking.

The League was the soul, the Hexing magic became the bones, and the Mountains and Seas formed the flesh. However, for the flesh to form, the previous elements that made up the Mountain and Sea had to be present. The Ninth Sea had turned traitor, ensuring that when the Mountain and Sea Realm was actually destroyed, there had been nine Mountains, but only eight Seas.

Naruto looked at the spot which should be filled with water, and the magical symbols that formed the shape, then smiled and turned in the direction of Patriarch Reliance.

Patriarch Reliance cleared his throat, but quickly realized Naruto wasn't looking at him, and pulled his head into his shell. He had long since come to view Naruto with complete awe.

Naruto was looking at Patriarch Reliance's back, and a young, whiterobed woman who stood there. Apparently, no matter how many years passed, she would always look young. Right now, she was standing there looking at Naruto, a slight smile on her face. A look of anticipation could be seen in her eyes, but she also seemed nervous, as if she knew exactly why Naruto was looking at her.

"All those years ago, I made you a promise that I would help you become a sea," he said softly. "Guyiding Tri-Rain, are you willing to become… the Ninth Sea of the Mountain and Sea Realm?"

The white-robed young woman shivered. This was her lifelong dream, to become a sea. Thousands of years ago, at the lake below Mount Daqing, Naruto had promised to help her make that dream come true.

"Yes!" she replied. Taking a deep breath, she clasped her hands and bowed to Naruto.

Naruto smiled and waved his right hand.

"I call upon the power of my name to bless Guyiding Tri-Rain with

Righteous Bestowal. Henceforth, you are the Ninth Sea!"

Even as excitement and anticipation surged up within her, she flew off of Patriarch Reliance's back, transforming into a lake with a surface like a mirror. It was an incredibly beautiful sight. In the blink of an eye, she merged into the countless magical symbols that made up the outline of the Ninth Sea.

After the fusion, a powerful aura radiated out. It was Guyiding Tri-Rain's aura, and yet, it was becoming more and more powerful. Rumbling sounds echoed out, and her energy continued to rise to unimaginable heights. Finally… the Ninth Sea had appeared!

It was far more majestic than the other eight Seas. This new Ninth Sea possessed crushing power that caused Heaven and Earth to shake violently.

That was because the Ninth Sea was like the Ninth Mountain, with Demon Sealing Hexing magic as the bones. The Seal the Heavens Hex was the ultimate Demon Sealing Hexing magic, so much so that even the combination of the other eight Hexes couldn't match up to it.

The Ninth Hex itself was composed of nine sealing marks, ensuring that the Ninth Mountain and Sea well deserved to be known as the most powerful of the Mountains and Seas.

The cultivators of the Ninth Mountain and Sea would have a special understanding of the Seal the Heavens Hex. However, the Ninth Hex was fundamentally difficult to gain enlightenment of, and therefore, any person who became the Mountain and Sea Lord there had to understand a minimum of three of the sealing marks which made it up.

Now that the Ninth Mountain and Sea had appeared, the entire Mountain and Sea Realm radiated a towering pressure. Rumbling sounds echoed out, shaking the starry sky. At the same time, the aura of Transcendence emanated out.

That aura caused any cultivator who sensed it to tremble, even 9Essences experts.

Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he waved his sleeve. A sphere of light appeared, which was none other than the magical technique he had gained enlightenment of when staring at the sun that year on Planet East Victory. That sphere began to gobble up all of the light in the area, and in the blink of an eye, was shining with blinding light. 1

Boundless light stabbed into the eyes of everyone present, a light filled with the power of Naruto's Transcendence. It was a sun, which contained terrifying power equivalent to the peak of 9-Essences.

"By means of Righteous Bestowal, I name you… the Sun of the

Mountains and Seas!" Backed by the power of Transcendence, the magic of Righteous Bestowal transformed the sphere of light into a powerful sun which floated out to become part of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Even as it illuminated the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, Naruto's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture. Then he waved his hand, and a violet moon appeared. It was also a magical technique from Naruto's collection, which he had picked up in the Namikaze Clan ancestral land on Planet East Victory. 2

The power of Transcendence was unleashed, pouring into the moon, giving it might equivalent to the sun!

"By means of Righteous Bestowal, I name you… the Moon of the Mountains and Seas!" As the words left his mouth, the moon began to glow with soft, radiant light. It flew toward the Mountain and Sea Realm and began to circle around it just like the sun.

Now, the Mountain and Sea Realm was complete.

The starry sky shook, and all areas of the Vast Expanse trembled. Countless worlds quaked, and countless magical items suddenly went dark. All of that was because the number one magical treasure in all of the Vast Expanse had finally appeared.

The Mountain and Sea Realm!

Chapter 1557: I Bestow Upon You the Title of Ninth Sea!

 _End of Book 9: The Demon Sovereign Returns; the Peak of the Vast Expanse!_

Naruto created the "Supernova Magic" in chapter 942 ↩ He got the

"Nethermoon Magic" in chapter 954 ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1558

 _Book 10: I Watch Blue Seas Become Lush Fields_ 1

Chapter 1558: Peace and Calm

Naruto extended his right hand, and the majestic Mountain and Sea Realm began to shrink down until it was the size of his palm, where it sat, radiating brightness and glory.

"Demon Sovereign!" It was hard to say who it was who first cried out and began to kowtow, but soon the entire army of cultivators from the Vast Expanse School dropped to their knees, completely shaken by personally having witnessed Naruto create such a precious treasure.

"Demon Sovereign!"

"Demon Sovereign!"

They weren't the only ones. The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm all began to cry out in excitement, until the words 'Demon Sovereign' echoed out without cease.

As all of the countless cultivators offered fanatical worship, Naruto turned toward the Mountain and Sea Butterfly and looked warmly at his parents and Xu Qing. Then he took a step forward in their direction.

Closer and closer he came, until he was upon the Mountain and Sea

Butterfly. The first thing he did was kowtow to his father and mother. "Dad, mom, I'm back!" he said, tears welling up in his eyes. Fang

Xiufeng stood there trembling, and Uzumaki Li rushed forward to lift Naruto to his feet. Naruto was about to say something when his father grabbed him by the shoulders and shoved him in front of Xu Qing. Uzumaki Li immediately glared at her husband.

"The boy's had it a lot rougher than us…." Namikaze Xiufeng said softly.

Xu Qing smiled, a warm, caring smile that contained… profound emotion.

They looked at each other for a long moment before Naruto stepped forward and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Trembling, she returned his embrace, tears of joy seeping down her cheeks.

"I'm back…." he said softly, holding tightly to that which was the greatest blessing in his life. For thousands of years, his heart had been unstable, but now it settled down. It was something that Sakura could not do for him. Other than his father and mother, the only person in his life who could make him feel this way was Xu Qing. He felt… at peace.

The other cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had followed Naruto back into the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Up above, there were no more 33 Heavens. There was only the sea of flames, burning constantly, filled with the screaming souls of the Outsiders.

As for the army from the Vast Expanse School, they set up camp outside, where they would stand guard. Without orders from Naruto, they would not leave, nor would they follow him into the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

The entire starry sky was now peaceful and quiet.

It was the calmest moment Naruto had experienced for centuries, and also the most joyous. He was finally able to just spend time with his parents, and with Xu Qing. They returned to the Holy Mountain of the Mountain and Sea butterfly, where Xu Qing recounted everything which had occurred while he was gone. Time passed, and Naruto was happy.

He didn't force the Mountain and Sea cultivators and the Vast Expanse School to go after the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. He knew that those two powerful forces would be coming for him.

Therefore, he decided that he might as well just wait for them to arrive.

He remained on the Holy Mountain, turning away all visitors, choosing simply to enjoy the sunrises and the sunsets. His parents were very content to see him this way.

As for all of the various cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, they spent their time preparing to move. After all, Naruto had created a new home for all of them.

It wasn't just the cultivators who would be moving. There were mortals too, as well as other life forms and legacies which needed to be prepared to enter the new Mountain and Sea Realm.

After a few days passed, Naruto took Xu Qing traveling in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Their first stop was to see his Grandpa Uzumaki, and the rest of the Uzumaki Clan.

Because of Grandpa Uzumaki, the Uzumaki Clan was famous and illustrious within the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. They, along with the Namikaze Clan, occupied the highest of positions.

The clan members who Naruto had personally instructed and guided when he was in the Eighth Mountain and Sea were now the pillars of the clan.

When the clan came to find out that Naruto and Xu Qing were coming, it caused a huge stir. A grand celebration was prepared, and the entire clan appeared to formally receive Naruto.

Almost as soon as he could be seen on the horizon, all members of the clan bowed and joined their voices together in a thunderous call.

"We offer respectful greetings, Demon Sovereign and Demon Queen!" As their voices echoed out, Grandpa Uzumaki stood there in the crowd, a glowing smile on his face. Naruto hurried forward along with Xu Qing. Completely disregarding his status as the Demon Sovereign, he unhesitatingly dropped to his knees to kowtow.

"Grandfather…." he said softly. Xu Qing also dropped to her knees to kowtow, her heart thumping. The reason for that was not because of the fact that everyone else was bowing to them, but because they were calling her the Demon Queen, and also because this was her first time joining Naruto to kowtow to any of his relatives other than his parents. 2

She was like a new bride, nervously paying respects to her in-laws for the first time.

Grandpa Uzumaki laughed heartily and quickly helped them to their feet. After looking over at Xu Qing, he clapped Naruto on the shoulder.

"You take care of this girl," he said quietly. "She's been waiting for you for thousands of years!" Naruto nodded and slipped his hand around Xu Qing's. She blushed.

Naruto and Xu Qing stayed in the Uzumaki Clan for several days, after which they said their goodbyes. At that time, Grandpa Uzumaki seemed like he wanted to say something, but ended up holding his tongue. Naruto saw this and sighed.

"Grandfather," he said. "The revenge is not complete. The Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm will be here soon. Then, vengeance will be had in one fell swoop."

Next, Naruto took Xu Qing to Ksitigarbha's sect, a sinister, underworldly location. As soon as Naruto arrived, all of the cultivators there were thrown into a commotion.

Of course, Ksitigarbha was Xu Qing's Master, so in some ways, this sect was like her traditional bridal home. When she saw her husband strolling along with her Master, her heart overflowed with a feeling of happiness.

"How soon will they be here?" Ksitigarbha asked grimly, clearly referring to the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. "Exalted Demon Sovereign, these foes must not be underestimated."

"Soon," Naruto replied calmly. He looked up into the sky. "However, I have some speculations regarding those two continents. The only way to confirm whether or not I'm right will be to see them with my own eyes."

Ksitigarbha nodded, and then looked back at Xu Qing, his gaze warm. Turning once again to Naruto, he chuckled. Although he didn't say anything, it was clear from his expression that he wished them happiness.

They didn't stay for long with Ksitigarbha. They soon left to find Ke Jiusi in the Demon Immortal sect, where they were received with the same fanfare as the other places they had visited. Zhixiang was there, and when she looked at Naruto and Xu Qing, it was with sighing and mixed emotions.

This was not the first time she regretted the past. She regretted the fact that when she met Naruto for the first time all those years ago, she had done nothing about the spark of romance which had flickered. Back then, she had been completely devoted to her plans regarding the Demon Immortal Sect, and had never allowed anything to develop between herself and Naruto.

Instead, she had chosen to part from him, and sever any connection they had.

Years later, she always experienced complicated feelings whenever she saw Naruto. That had been especially true when she witnessed him fighting to protect the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, something that left her heart trembling with deep feeling.

—–

Note from Er Gen: This is the final book. In order to spend more time interacting with you readers, each chapter will be only 2,000 Chinese characters.

I'm not in a very good mood today. The mother of one of my sworn brothers passed away earlier today, and I need to go to the funeral parlor. Life is a weak thing, please pay attention to your health.

I hope that all of you can exercise more, drink less, smoke less, and stay healthy.

Note from Deathblade: All of the chapters from here until the end of the story will be a bit shorter, with the exception of the final chapter. Up to now the average length has been 3,000 Chinese characters, about 2,000 English words. Now they will be 2,000 Chinese characters and about 1,600 English words. My personal opinion is that this enabled Er Gen to focus more on writing what he wanted to write, and not piling as much filler into the chapters. They are a bit shorter, but generally better as far as I'm concerned.

The title of Book 10 is based on a common Chinese idiom which refers to seeing drastic changes over the passage of time ↩ In Chinese culture, formally paying respects to new family members of the elder generation after getting married is an important custom ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1559

Chapter 1559: Reunions

Now that Naruto had returned in the most spectacular of fashions as the Demon Sovereign, there was nothing Zhixiang could do but sigh and bury her bitterness deep within her heart.

"You should have grabbed him when you had the chance," she murmured to herself. "Instead you lost him… lost him for all eternity." With that, she bowed her head and offered greetings to Naruto and Xu Qing.

Naruto apparently didn't notice the look in her eye. Considering they were old friends, he prevented her from offering extended formal greetings. Of course, he couldn't help but sigh when he noticed how much older she looked. Xu Qing, on the other hand, could sense what Zhixiang was thinking. After looking at her deeply for a moment, Xu Qing smiled.

Zhixiang was an old friend, but there was someone else in the Demon Immortal Sect who was even more important to Naruto. He absolutely had to go pay his respects to his older brother Ke Jiusi.

Naruto went alone up the mountain to Ke Jiusi's secluded meditation chamber, while Xu Qing and Zhixiang waited together at the foot of the mountain. As Ke Jiusi emerged to talk with Naruto, Zhixiang suddenly said, "Congratulations…."

Xu Qing looked over at her, blinked, and then smiled.

Up at the top of the mountain, Ke Jiusi tossed an alcohol flagon over to Naruto, then chuckled. Naruto looked at Ke Jiusi, smiled, then closed his eyes and took a long swig of alcohol.

After a moment passed, he opened his eyes and quietly said, "I saw foster father outside the Vast Expanse."

Ke Jiusi stood there for a moment before patting his hand onto the boulder he was sitting on, an invitation for Naruto to sit down next to him. Naruto sat.

"Tell me about it," Ke Jiusi said.

Naruto slowly recounted the story of the time he had spent in the world outside the Vast Expanse, which had existed in another time. Ke Jiusi listened quietly, occasionally drinking from his flagon. By the time Naruto finished, a touch of the effects of the alcohol could be seen in

Ke Jiusi's eyes, although for the most part, there was only reminiscence.

"Back then, I was a silkpants," he said. "Of course, you know that…. Father was always disappointed in me, and yet he still did everything he could to prepare a way for me to remain in the world, undying. That was just how he was. He treated me and you the same, because in his heart, both of us were his sons." Ke Jiusi closed his eyes to cover up the tears which were welling up. He missed his father, and he missed the past.

Naruto took a long drink and then looked off into the distance. He almost felt as if he could see his foster father. He had attempted to resurrect him before, but even with the supposed omnipotence of Transcendence, it was still a very difficult thing to resurrect the soul of someone who had died so many years ago.

Naruto and Ke Jiusi drank together on the mountain top for seven days. When it finally came time for Naruto and Xu Qing to leave, Ke Jiusi stood there watching them leave. Then he took another long drink.

The final Paragon in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was the Paragon Puppet, who had once been Paragon Eegoo of the 33 Heavens. Naruto could see the puppet from some distance away; it was sitting crosslegged in its appointed area, completely motionless. Its mission had been to defend the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, a mission that he had left to it upon his own departure years ago.

Naruto walked up to the Paragon, stood there, and then quietly said,

"When did you come back?"

The Paragon puppet shivered, then slowly looked down. After a long moment passed, it spoke, although its voice was hoarse as if from disuse.

"500 years ago…."

It was a puppet, and its mind had been erased. 500 years ago, though, it began to remember things. From that day on, although it was still a puppet, it had been aware of who it was. However, it was unable to part from the Mountain and Sea Realm. It saw how much the Mountain and Sea cultivators respected it, a respect that was genuine even though it was only a puppet.

It had even watched many cultivators be born into the world of the butterfly, and grow up. It was filled with strange emotions, and in the end, chose not to return to the 33 Heavens. It also chose not to betray the Mountain and Sea cultivators, and even tried to forget about the memories which had been awakened.

"You're free now," Naruto said. He patted Eegoo, releasing the bonds which restrained him. Then he and Xu Qing turned to leave.

Paragon Eegoo shivered. After a moment passed, he rose to his feet, a blank look in his eyes. However, that blankness quickly disappeared, and his gaze turned hard. Then, he sat back down cross-legged, to continue standing guard.

Off in the distance, Xu Qing hesitated for a moment and then asked,

"He…?"

"He has paid for his sins and atoned for his errors. I underestimated Eegoo back then. He's a wise person." Naruto squeezed Xu Qing's hand, and then smiled.

The world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was abuzz with activity as everyone prepared to move. As the preparations were carried out, Naruto and Xu Qing appeared in one location after another to visit people they knew.

Xu Qing was very happy. As long as Naruto was there with her, the world was a bright place. She didn't demand much of him. After all, her personality was simple and uncomplicated.

The two of them visited friends and enjoyed traveling. It was as if they would never tire of speaking to each other, as if there would always be more places for them to visit.

When Xu Qing looked at Naruto, it was with warmth and deep passion that would last for one lifetime and all lifetimes.

"I can't stand this," Fatty said, sighing. "Can't stand it, I tell you!" After Naruto and Xu Qing arrived at his clan, he looked over at Naruto with a look of pity.

"Naruto, look at you. You have such a high cultivation base, and yet you only have one wife? That's wrong! That's unreasonable. Look at me!

I have a few thousand wives again, and also lots of children…." Suddenly, everything seemed to grow very cold. Fatty shivered and looked over to find Xu Qing staring at him with narrowed eyes. Realizing that she was the source of the coldness, he cleared his throat a few times.

Naruto smiled and looked around at all of Fatty's progeny. Soon they were talking about past times, whereupon Uchiha Youcai arrived. He had a jar of alcohol slung over his shoulder, which he set down in front of Naruto, Xu Qing, and Fatty.

"Dong Hu's on the way," he said. "He should be here any moment." "You two worked things out?" Naruto asked. The conflict between Uchiha Youcai and Dong Hu had been severe, but it was a matter between the two of them, and Naruto didn't want to press for too many details.

Uchiha Youcai didn't respond at first. After a moment, he sighed and said, "It's all in the past…."

He looked very old in that moment. Suddenly, a bright beam of light appeared up above, within which was a middle-aged man. It was none other than Dong Hu.

A complicated expression could be seen on his face as he walked over quietly and sat down next to Fatty. When he looked over at Naruto, he was smiling emotionally.

Feeling the tension rising, Fatty suddenly looked around and said,

"Remember Mount Daqing?"

In response, Uchiha Youcai tilted his head up, and Dong Hu's eyes flickered with memories. Naruto thought back to everything that had happened in the past. Xu Qing did the same, and she smiled.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1560

Chapter 1560: Recalling Past Times

They all exchanged glances, and then started laughing.

"Now that I think about it," Fatty continued, starting to laugh, "it's pretty funny. All four of us were there on Mount Daqing that year. Me, Little Tiger, and Uchiha Youcai. We all got kidnapped by Elder Sister Xu…." By this point he was laughing so hard that tears were streaming down his face. Finally, he collected himself and went on. "Elder Sister Xu, you were too cruel back then. You just grabbed us and took us all away. You know, my dad had arranged for me to get married, but before I could even consummate it, you took me away. I never got to see what she looked like!" Fatty lifted the alcohol flagon to his lips and took a drink.

Cheeks a bit flushed, Xu Qing glared at him like an Elder Sister should and said, "Did you forget about how you peed your pants when I grabbed you?"

Fatty's eyes went wide, then he smiled wryly and raised his hands in surrender.

Naruto burst out laughing, and Xu Qing looked a bit embarrassed. Looking back at what had occurred that year on Mount Daqing, everything seemed to be connected somehow. Here they were, the same group, thousands of years later, all sitting together drinking.

Xu Qing felt a bit dazed by it all. Who could ever have imagined that her casual trip out of the sect on a mission to grab four youngsters would have resulted in all four of them becoming such illustrious figures.

Of course, there was the final person among those four…. She would never forget the image of that little scholar bent over the edge of the cliff, his rear end sticking up into the air as he lowered a vine rope down to the others, simultaneously making fun of them for talking about Immortals.

If someone had told her back then that she would end up marrying that little scholar, she would never have believed them.

A strange look could be seen on Dong Hu's face, and he was just about to say something when Xu Qing glared at him.

"Dong Hu, as I recall, you came with me willingly. All I had to do was offer you a piece of candy." A geyser of alcohol sprayed out of Fatty's mouth. As for Dong Hu, he looked a bit embarrassed. All he could do was smile wryly and capitulate as Fatty had.

By now, even grim-faced Uchiha Youcai's expression had softened. Raising his alcohol flagon, he turned to Naruto and said, "Naruto, do you know why I've always considered you to be my brother all these years?

"It's because when I was finally able to go home to visit my father, he said that you went to see him once. You told him that I was out practicing cultivation…. The old man wasn't so worried after that, assured that I wasn't dead." 1 Uchiha Youcai took a drink, and then turned to Xu Qing. Although he was blind, the eyes within his heart caused his feelings to be plainly written on his face. "Elder Sister Xu, there's no need for you to tell the story. Allow me. Back then, I saw you flying through the air and yelled out that I wanted to become your apprentice. That was how you ended up taking me away!"

With that, Uchiha Youcai cleared his throat.

After hearing his three friends' stories, Naruto laughed until his sides hurt. It was actually his first time hearing such tales. In the past, of course, none of them would have revealed the truth so freely.

Then he thought back to how they had been calling for help from within the cave on the cliff, and how he had dropped that vine down to help them. He smiled.

"You should all be grateful I was willing to try to rescue you…." he said.

Fatty chuckled. "You know what? You were actually the smartest of us all. You went to rescue us and then got yourself thrown in as well…. I remember Elder Sister Xu saying something back then, heh heh. What was it? Something about latent talent, and that you had found your own good fortune." Fatty even imitated Xu Qing's tone of voice from back then, and everyone immediately started laughing again.

"The craziest of all was how, after you joined the Reliance Sect, you somehow finagled your way into getting into the Inner Sect. You didn't shy from using even the most devious methods, and even pulled a fast one on Uchiha Tengfei. Then there was how you sold medicinal pills in the fighting arena. And the general store you started! However, most underhanded of all was that you… you actually managed to snag Elder Sister Xu!" Fatty's brazen expose caused Xu Qing to glare at him once again. But a moment later she started laughing again. She laughed so hard that soon she was leaning up against Naruto. It was the hardest she had laughed in centuries.

Naruto glared at his friends and gave a sarcastic chuckle. They continued to tell stories, and Xu Qing's face reddened. And yet, the smile never left her face, and she seemed very content.

Time passed. They laughed and drank, recalling old times, and soon Xu

Qing was getting a bit tipsy. Finally, under the cajoling of Fatty, Uchiha Youcai, and Dong Hu, Xu Qing looked over at Naruto with fluttering eyelashes.

Naruto cleared his throat, and then gave into the pressure. Wrapping his arms around her, he gave her a passionate kiss.

Dong Hu laughed uproariously, and the normally taciturn Uchiha Youcai couldn't hold back from chuckling. Slapping his thigh, Fatty raucously said, "Too bad Elder Brother Might Guy isn't here…."

Naruto froze for a moment, but didn't say anything. He chose not to explain what had really occurred with Might Guy. The Might Guy that existed in the hearts and memories of his friends was by far the better version.

They laughed and chatted through the night, and it was as if the pressure which had weighed down on them all throughout the centuries slowly vanished. Around the third watch, late in the night, Fatty lit up a bonfire. Then, to the shock of Fatty's wives and offspring, the entire group began to dance and sing.

It had been a very, very long time since Naruto had indulged himself. He told stories about promissory notes, about Planet South Heaven, and about all the things which had occurred when he was young.

By the time day broke, all of them were completely drunk.

Fatty wrapped his arms around Naruto's leg and wept as he talked about all of his dead wives. He talked about how much he had missed Naruto, and about his parents, who had long since passed away. And in the end, he congratulated Naruto once again on being able to reunite with Elder Sister Xu.

Dong Hu and Uchiha Youcai sat across from each other solemnly and took turns exchanging blows. One punch after another was landed until both wept and embraced each other.

"Big Bro Youcai," Dong Hu wept, "I… I made a mistake back then…."

Xu Qing held Naruto's arm tightly, worried that if she released it, he would vanish. Her face was flush and her eyes a bit glazed as she stared at him, her beautiful treasure.

She suddenly giggled. "I love you, Naruto…."

He patted her back gently until she closed her eyes and fell asleep in his arms. Then he looked at his friends and smiled.

It was impossible for cultivators to get drunk unless they wished to. But at certain times it was necessary to relax. It didn't matter how powerful they were in terms of magic, they were still just people….

A few days passed, and Dong Hu left, as did Uchiha Youcai. Fatty saw them off, and then Naruto and Xu Qing also took their leave. As they traveled through the lands, they were like a celestial couple, perfectly matched. Their next destination was Li Ling'er.

Li Ling'er, the successor of Paragon Sea Dream, offered formal greetings to Naruto. There was no strange expression on her face, only a warm smile. However, as she watched him leave, she couldn't help but think… about their past marriage agreement.

"I truly wish you… lifetimes of happiness, and eternal blessing." Naruto and Xu Qing slowly disappeared off into the distance.

Naruto visited Uchiha Youcai's father in chapter 45 ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1561

Chapter 1561: Mountain Among Mountains!

Naruto and Xu Qing traveled throughout the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly to visit many old friends and acquaintances. They wept, and they sighed. In most cases, it was impossible to maintain the friendships of the past. After all, Naruto's status was now completely different from before, and led to a feeling of distance.

Eventually, they came to visit Namikaze Yu and Sun Hai. When Naruto saw the proud look on Sun Hai's face, he cleared his throat and said, "Hello, Li'l Hai."

Those words immediately caused Sun Hai's pompous, proud posture to wilt, and a fawning smile to cover his face.

One couldn't blame Sun Hai for that. Naruto's ferocity and fame from years past had influenced Sun Hai in a profound way. That was clear from the fact that he had no hair on his head. After all… when the two of them first met, Naruto had dragged him around by the hair. No matter how many years had passed, Sun Hai couldn't recall that scene without shivering in fear.

Sun Hai very much wanted to look proud and complacent in front of his brother-in-law, and yet he couldn't shake his fear.

Before he could recover his composure, Namikaze Yu glared at him and then hit him with a glancing blow that sent him tumbling out of the house. Sun Hai had long since gotten used to being beaten in such a manner, and in fact, their children were also used to the arrangement.

A bruise quickly rose up on Sun Hai's cheek, and yet, he was laughing loudly. It was as if the proud person from moments ago wasn't really him. This was the real him. He began to chat and joke with Naruto, and yet Naruto simply couldn't hold back from once again saying, "Li'l Hai…."

Sun Hai shivered, and yet, the one to receive the beating this time wasn't him, but Naruto. Namikaze Yu directly unleashed a fist strike, and of course, Naruto didn't dare to evade it. Suppressing his cultivation base, he allowed the blows to land.

When Naruto and Xu Qing left, Sun Hai saw them off, his face covered with numerous purple bruises. Naruto looked exactly the same. When facing the explosive wrath of his sister, he could only sigh. Xu Qing, on the other hand, received much different treatment. Namikaze Yu held her by the hand and went into great detail explaining the benefits of being violent, which left Naruto trembling in fear.

Finally, he clapped Sun Hai on the shoulder.

"I really sympathize with you, brother-in-law…." he sighed.

Sun Hai smiled wryly, but seemed very happy.

"You don't understand," he said. "I love it. The stronger my woman is, the better. The more explosive, the better!" Sun Hai sighed and looked over at his wife, eyes burning with passion.

A strange look could be seen on Naruto's face as he grabbed Xu Qing, said his goodbyes, and then flew up into the air. When he saw the thoughtful look in Xu Qing's eyes, he started to get nervous. After noticing his expression, she rolled her eyes, covered her mouth, and laughed.

Happy times always pass quickly. A month later, Naruto and Xu Qing had visited most of their old friends. On the way back, they happened to be flying over one particular sea when Naruto suddenly stopped.

"There's an old friend here I want to see," Naruto said, chuckling. Xu Qing wasn't sure what he was talking about. Looking out over the sea, he said, "Patriarch, I've come to say hello."

There was no immediate response. The surface of the sea remained as calm as ever. Naruto waited for a moment, then let out a cold harrumph.

The sound entered the water, which then began to seethe as a huge turtle appeared, carrying an entire country on its back. Patriarch Reliance's voice echoed out, sounding very annoyed.

"Naruto, you little bastard, what do you think you're doing? Come to bully your Patriarch with that cultivation base of yours? Damnation! This is the student bullying the master! Y-y-you, you just think about how well the Patriarch treated you back then. Very well, right? I even handed over a lot of my treasures to you!" Patriarch Reliance glared at Naruto, blinking, which was the sign that he was about to attempt to pull a fast one.

Naruto looked at Patriarch Reliance for a moment, and was just about to say something when, for no apparent reason, the land mass atop

Patriarch Reliance suddenly moved, revealing a few words on his shell.

It was a partial line of text which read, "… Hao's turtle."

A strange expression appeared on Naruto's face. He couldn't help but muse that Patriarch Reliance definitely had his moments of brilliance. At the moment, he was clearly very pleased with himself, and yet his face was still a mask of fury.

Naruto started chuckling.

Clasping hands and bowing deeply, he said, "Disciple Naruto has come to pay respects, Patriarch."

The gesture caused Patriarch Reliance to suddenly soften up a bit. Eyes shining with bright light, he reveled in the wonderful experience, and even shivered a bit. Inwardly, he said, "Heavens, Heavens! He's Transcended, and yet he's paying respects to me, the Patriarch. Hahaha! The Patriarch is once again the smartest. Hmph! The little bastard might have a Transcendent cultivation base, but in terms of intellect, he's vastly below me."

Inwardly, he was feeling wonderful, but outwardly he simply snorted coldly. Continuing to put on an expression of wizened experience, he said, "What matter has brought you here to offer respects to the Patriarch?"

"Patriarch, the new Mountain and Sea Realm has no Xuanwu turtles,"

Naruto said with a smile. "Junior would like to request that the Patriarch take the lead in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. Please assume the mantle of the realm's only Xuanwu turtle, eternally responsible for the Chakra flow of the Mountains and Seas. No other turtle can do such a thing. Only the Patriarch is capable of this task."

Patriarch Reliance's jaw dropped. After a moment of thought, he asked, "You want me to be the Chakra flow turtle of the Mountain and Sea Realm? To put me permanently in command for all eternity? Me, the Patriarch, the only turtle? I… can cultivate the Chakra flow magic of the Mountain and Sea Realm, and gain enlightenment of the Demon Sealing Hexing magics of the Nine Mountains and Seas?"

Patriarch Reliance's heart surged with excitement. What was happening was like a dream come true, something which would be so beneficial to him it was virtually impossible to describe.

If he became the sole Xuanwu turtle of the entire Mountain and Sea Realm, he would benefit from the convergence of the Chakra flow of the entire realm, and would have an incredibly prominent position.

"Yes. Patriarch, you are the only one up to the task. The Mountain and

Sea Realm has the League of Demon Sealers as its soul, the Hexing magic as its bones, and the Mountains and Seas as its flesh. Patriarch, you and I are the only members of the League of Demon Sealers within the Mountain and Sea Realm. I'm afraid no one else would do." Naruto looked at Patriarch Reliance, smiling. His words had been spoken quite calmly, and he had even thrown in some flattering words.

He didn't have to do things in this way, but since Patriarch Reliance was his old friend, he didn't mind resorting to such methods to bring him some happiness.

"But I'm not part of the League of Demon Sealers, am I?!" Patriarch Reliance blurted. However, he immediately regretted those words, and quickly changed his tone of voice. "Er, fine, fine!" he roared. "To give you some face, I agree."

Naruto smiled. Voice soft, he said, "Patriarch, you are my Dao Protector, so naturally, you're part of the League of Demon Sealers. I thank you for everything."

With that, he extended his right hand, and the Mountain and Sea Realm appeared. He quickly performed an incantation gesture and pointed out at Patriarch Reliance.

"I call upon the power of my name to perform Righteous Bestowal on

Patriarch Reliance. He shall become the sole Xuanwu turtle of the

Mountain and Sea Realm, and take up residence on the Ninth Mountain!

"The Mountain and Sea Realm has Nine Mountains and Nine Seas. This

Xuanwu turtle bears Mount Daqing upon his back, my Dao Corroboration

Mountain. Let that mountain become the Mountain among Mountains!"

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1562

Chapter 1562 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1562: She Does Not Wish to Awaken

"Spirit automaton of the Mountains and Seas! You dissipated in the past, and the time has come for you to form anew. Merge with a strand of my divine sense and be born again!" As soon as Naruto's words echoed out, a tremor ran through Patriarch Reliance. The seals which had been placed on him in the past vanished, and a surge of power erupted up. Gradually, a shocking Chakra flow appeared on him.

That Chakra flow connected to the Mountain and Sea Realm, forming a resonance. At the same time, the excited Patriarch Reliance shrank, transforming into a beam of light that shot into the Mountain and Sea Realm. As of this moment, he became the sole Xuanwu turtle of the Mountain and Sea Realm, protector of its Chakra flow.

The Five Elemental Nations held something unique and special, the Mountain among Mountains. It was now a seed of the Mountains and Seas; should the realm ever meet destruction again, as long as that Mountain among Mountains existed, the Mountain and Sea Realm would be able to continue on.

Having accomplished these things, Naruto put the Mountain and Sea Realm away. Along with Xu Qing, he continued along through the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. He looked for Choumen Tai, but was unable to find him. After sending some divine sense out, he confirmed that Choumen Tai was not within the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. However… he would soon be appearing in Naruto's presence.

"Qing'er, there's somewhere else I need to go…." Naruto said softly, his voice melancholy and tinged with reminiscence. Xu Qing looked at him thoughtfully.

A few days passed. In another location in the world of the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was a mountain range, outside of which Naruto hovered. He looked at the mountains with a disconsolate expression for a moment before entering.

This particular mountain range was famous within the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. It was the location of the ancient Kunlun Society, and was now an autonomous state within the Mountain and Sea Butterfly world.

Naruto's arrival was not detected by anyone in the Kunlun Society. It was almost as if he existed in a different space that allowed him and Xu Qing to pass by all the cultivators without their knowledge. Soon, they were deep within the Kunlun Society mountains, standing at the foot of a towering mountain.

This mountain did not have a sharp peak, but rather, a basin filled with swirling mist, and the ripples of powerful spell formations. An old man sat cross-legged at the top of the mountain, completely unmoving.

A powerful medicinal aroma emanated out from him to fill the area.

It was none other than… Pill Demon!

He was Naruto's Master, as well as Sakura's.

As Naruto stood there silently at the bottom of the mountain, his heart was filled with bitterness. He began to walk slowly up to the top, followed closely by Xu Qing. When they reached the top, they saw Pill Demon sitting there in front of a coffin, surrounded by spell formations which had been in place for many, many years.

Inside of the coffin was a beautiful woman, laying there peacefully, as if she were sleeping.

The instant Naruto laid eyes on the coffin, his sadness deepened, and various memories flitted through his mind. After a long moment passed, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply to Pill Demon.

"Master," he said softly.

Pill Demon shivered. Turning, he saw that it was Naruto standing there behind him, and a profound gleam appeared in his eyes as he rose to his feet. After a moment passed, he sighed and walked over to Naruto, then clasped his shoulder. Looking over at Xu Qing, he nodded, then turned and left.

Naruto stood there quietly, looking at the coffin, thinking about how Yan'er had crushed Sakura's soul right in front of him.

Xu Qing walked forward to stand next to Naruto. As she looked down into the coffin, her gaze softened. "Naruto," she said quietly, "do you want to tell me what that happened while we were apart?"

Naruto stood there quietly for a long moment. Then he began to recount the story of what had happened on Planet Vast Expanse. He talked about Han Bei, and about taking in an apprentice named Yan'er.

He talked about the Ninth Hex, and about the nine incarnations. He talked about Little Treasure. He took his time explaining everything….

"After Little Treasure closed his eyes and vanished, Yan'er destroyed the memories of her previous life. I thought she had entered the cycle of reincarnation, but when I went to look for her, she wasn't there. That was when I realized that she never did enter reincarnation. She actually returned to her original body.

"It was almost like she had been living in a dream, and in the end… she wasn't willing to awaken." By the end, his words were spoken in a hoarse murmur as he looked down at Sakura's body inside the coffin.

Xu Qing listened patiently. She could almost visualize everything that had happened with Naruto, Little Treasure, and Yan'er. Naruto simply wasn't capable of understanding the deeper meaning of everything involved, but as for Xu Qing, it gave her a profound understanding of Sakura.

"She does not wish to awaken because she would rather be alone in a world of her own making," she said softly. "She wants to forget you, Naruto, because she loves you. She is lost."

She looked over at him, a smile on her face, a simple smile of determination and focus. "If she still remembers you when she wakes up, then… why don't we all practice cultivation together?"

Naruto reached out and clasped her hand tightly. He didn't say anything. Xu Qing looked down at Sakura laying there in the coffin, and felt both compassion and gratefulness.

Naruto didn't say anything more about the matter. Eventually, he and Xu Qing left.

About half a month later, everyone in the Mountain and Sea Butterfly was ready to depart. Naruto produced the Mountain and Sea Realm, which rapidly grew larger, sending powerful ripples out in all directions.

Gradually, nine huge vortexes appeared outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm, one for each of the Nine Mountains and Seas.

The people of the Mountain and Sea Realm were given their choice as to which vortex to enter.

Boundless light shone into the air as the excited cultivators vanished one by one. When they reappeared, they were inside of the Mountain and Sea Realm, back in their home.

Soon, everyone was inside, including Fatty and all of Naruto's other friends, as well as Ksitigarbha and the Paragons. Once everyone was safely inside, Naruto waved his finger, causing the Mountain and Sea Butterfly to shrink down until it transformed into two people. They were none other than his parents, who smiled at him before entering the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Xu Qing was the last person to remain outside.

"I'll be waiting for you," she said. She was well aware that Naruto still had revenge to seek. Giving him a profound look, she turned and entered the ninth vortex.

As Naruto hovered there alone, the Mountain and Sea Realm shrank down into the palm of his hand. After looking at it warmly for a moment, he put it away, then looked down… at the green bronze coffin.

After a moment, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

"Many thanks!" he said.

The coffin emanated a pulse of gentle power, seemingly in response. Then, everything went quiet again. Slowly, a vortex once again rose up around the coffin, covering it over until it was no longer visible. Naruto looked away, turning his attention to the sea of flames up above, and the rest of the starry sky.

Chapter 1562: She Does Not Wish to Awaken

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1563

Chapter 1563: The Wind Stirs

Nearest to Naruto at the moment was the Immortal God Continent, which was covered by an endless mist as it shot through the starry sky at incredible speed.

Normally, it was a trip that should have taken hundreds of years, but in this case, only a few short months had passed. Rumbling sounds echoed out as it got closer and closer.

Naruto looked away from the starry sky. Down below, the green coffin was no longer visible. He took a step forward, placing him directly in front of the sea of flames. He extended his right hand, and the fire shrank down until it was the size of his palm, after which he put it away.

The huge army from the Vast Expanse School all looked over at Naruto, their cultivation base power surging. However, none of them said a single word. As Naruto approached them, their energy rose higher and higher.

They knew that the true war had yet to begin. All of them were fully aware that Naruto's true enemies were the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent. The 33 Heavens had been little more than a stepping stone.

Naruto took his place atop the old lizard, where he sat down crosslegged and then spoke in a voice that echoed like thunder.

"Three days. In three days' time, the Immortal God Continent will arrive." Immediately, the surrounding cultivators' eyes flickered with the desire to kill.

"They shall die!" roared the Vast Expanse School troops, their cultivation bases surging, their expressions gleaming with madness. There were even some who licked their lips.

To these cultivators, it didn't really matter that they never got a chance to slaughter all 33 Heavens. They were here to fight for Naruto, to fight for a Transcendent cultivator. As such, the truly worthy opponents were the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent.

They knew that the Immortal God Continent was considered a top power within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, but that only made them more excited.

They knew that their opponents… were not invincible, now that Naruto had Transcended!

Naruto was even more clear on that point. In fact, he was aware that if he wished to, it would be a simple matter for him to single-handedly wipe out the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent. However, he didn't do that, the reason being… that his ultimate opponent was the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

That will would most certainly take advantage of the situation to try to fight him. Therefore, he needed to stay at his peak state, and could not allow any distractions to influence him.

If he focused too much on trying to destroy the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm personally, then it could leave an opening for the will of the starry sky to make a move. In fact, that will was hoping for just such a thing to occur. As long as Naruto could be distracted in some way, it would be worth it.

Naruto's eyes glittered as his aura slowly grew still and calm. He looked out coldly into the stars, waiting for the final battle to begin.

Three days flew by. Suddenly, the stars off in the distance began to ripple and distort. Thunderous rumbling sounds echoed out, and a bizarre pressure filled the area. An enormous, majestic continent suddenly appeared.

The pressure instantly grew more intense as the vague shape of a hand suddenly appeared and then shot toward the Vast Expanse School army.

The Sect Leader snorted coldly. The golden-robed Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong, and Bai Wuchen all unleashed the power of their cultivation bases, sending a massive force flying out to defend against the hand. Everything shook wildly.

The Immortal God Continent ripped through the starry sky. It was an enormous land mass, so huge that by the time only half of it was visible, it seemed to stretch out infinitely in all directions. Numerous peak 9Essences auras erupted out, along with ordinary 9-Essences, 8-Essences, and 7-Essences auras.

Countless figures flew out from the Immortal God Continent in beams of brilliant light.

Behind them were hosts of cultivators, all of whom radiated bleak, ferocious auras. In the blink of an eye, their numbers swelled past the 1,000,000 mark, and rapidly reached 10,000,000.

Behind that group, even more cultivators flew out; it almost seemed like they would keep coming without end, for all eternity.

The army from the Vast Expanse School didn't speak, nor did they hesitate for even a moment. They… instantly began to power up their cultivation bases to fight!

Intense killing intent rose up from them, and yet they didn't immediately begin to fly. Instead, they looked over at Naruto.

Naruto pointed out at the Immortal God Continent, and then his eyes glittered as he said, "Exterminate all of the cultivators from this land mass!"

It was as if an explosive wave had been unleashed as the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School surged into action. Their howls shook the starry sky as they began to fly forward in attack.

In the blink of an eye, the two groups of cultivators clashed. The sound of fierce, shocking fighting rang out. The Sect Leader and other peak 9Essences cultivators were like a sharp sword that slashed deeply into the enemy forces.

Behind them were the other 9, 8, and 7-Essences experts, the Dao Sovereigns, and countless others. It only took a moment for the fighting to reach a fever pitch.

"DIE!"

"DIE!"

"DIE!"

The roars of the fighting cultivators caused the Heavens to suddenly go dim. The stars shook, and even suns and moons seemed to cower in fear.

The war… had truly begun!

The Sect Leader took the lead in the charge. Following him, the army of the Vast Expanse School cut through the enemy like a hot knife through butter. Every advancement they made caused the front line of the Immortal God Continent forces crumbled a little bit more.

Soon, the reek of blood filled the sky, and countless casualties had been inflicted.

Naruto stood atop the old lizard, looking coldly at the Immortal God Continent. His vision pierced through the entire continent until it came to rest on a huge statue. That statue depicted the Immortal God Continent's Transcendor, who had lived many years in the past. When Naruto's gaze came to rest on the statue, he could sense a boundless dignity and might. However, it was in that moment that the mists around the statue swirled, and the statue distorted slightly. Suddenly it looked slightly different than before.

"Something's different," Naruto murmured.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1564

Chapter 1564: Immortal God Opening Salvo!

"Or perhaps it's always been different, and my cultivation base was just never high enough that I would notice." He looked thoughtfully around at the fighting, and all of a sudden, noticed one particular woman.

It was the same woman who had tried to kill him in years past, whom he had bitten, tearing a chunk of flesh off of her face. Right now, she was fighting with one of the Vast Expanse School's 9-Essences Paragons.

In the two thousand years which had passed, the woman was still in the early 9-Essences level. Her cultivation base had made virtually no progress. When Naruto realized that, his eyes narrowed. He had his speculations about what was going on with the Immortal God Continent, and although he was very confident that he was right, he had been unable to prove anything.

The woman cried out shrilly as she waved her hand in an attack, causing everything around her to fill with rumbling sounds. The 9-Essences Paragon she was fighting was no less focused, and their battle caused booms like that of thunder to echo out.

Back when Naruto had fought this woman years ago, he had paid a very heavy price. And yet now, she was like an ant. After looking at her for only a moment, he was already disinterested.

His single glance caused her to tremble. Regardless of whether she wanted to or not, she had to admit… that the familiar figure standing on the enormous lizard, just outside the battlefield, was causing an unprecedented level of pressure to crush down onto her.

Years ago, she had looked down on him with contempt, but now he had turned into something that could cause the entire starry sky to shake violently, and could destroy her as easily as flipping over his hand.

Naruto's casual glance caused her to start shaking. Apparently, his gaze contained a bizarre power that could disregard natural law and shake Essences. Blood sprayed out of the woman's mouth, and she fell back.

"How could he have gotten so powerful!?

"This is impossible! The last time I saw him, he was nothing more than a stray dog, but now…. I can't believe that I'm unable to stand up to a single glance from him. Plus, he's surrounded by countless other terrifying beings!" The woman fell back again, filled with bitterness. Booms rang out as the fighting continued.

It was almost as if nothing amazing existed in the world unless Naruto looked at it. Or as if his gaze was the source of all splendor.

It was at this point that a powerful shockwave suddenly blasted out from the Immortal God Continent. The shockwave shook the starry sky as an old man flew out, wearing a gray robe. He had three greatswords strapped to his back, and radiated dazzling energy has he strode through the starry sky. The emanations of his cultivation base were such that ordinary 9-Essences cultivators would be crushed by him. He was… a peak 9-Essences expert.

Although Naruto had never seen this old man before, he knew who he was. Back when the Mountain and Sea Realm was destroyed, Naruto had attempted to attack the Immortal God Continent itself. This old man had sighed, which was his form of attack, something that dissolved the attack power of the exploded Mountain and Sea Realm, and which had left Naruto seriously injured.

This time, the old man was clearly not acting as casually as he had been back then. He showed an unprecedented level of graveness as he made his appearance and then flicked his sleeve. Instantly, gray smoke roiled up into the sky. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as lighting exploded out through the entire area.

"Naruto!" The old man's cultivation base power instantly transformed into a powerful force of expulsion that shoved all Vast Expanse School cultivators away from him. Blood sprayed out of their mouths as they were sent tumbling away. 7 and 8-Essences Paragons gasped in response to the pressure radiating off of the old man, and even 9Essences Paragons were shocked.

Considering the level of this old man's peak 9-Essences cultivation base, he could be considered to be at the most powerful level beneath Transcendence, comparable to the other eccentric experts Naruto had in his service.

The only people who qualified to fight him were the Sect Leader, Jin Yunshan, Sha Jiudong and Immortal Bai Wuchen, and yet even they could not quite match up.

The gray-robed old man let out a howl that shook the stars, and caused blood to ooze out of the eyes, ears, noses, and mouths of countless cultivators. The old man turned into a streak of gray light that shot from his original position toward Naruto.

The Sect Leader snorted coldly, and instantly prepared to intercept him. In the Sect Leader's mind, the old man was seeking death, so he might as well accommodate him.

However, Naruto's expression didn't change at all as the old man shot toward him. Next to him, the termite's eyes glittered with cold light as it transformed into a bolt of white lightning. At the same time, swarms of smaller termites erupted out from inside of it, becoming a cloud of vicious little beasts that charged voraciously toward the old man. Simultaneously, the giant queen termite began to emanate powerful ripples which distorted the starry sky and turned into a huge vortex around the old man.

The old man's eyes went wide. This termite was not something he could afford to underestimate. He quickly sent cultivation base power out to fight against the swarm of termites, leaving him incapable of trying to fight with Naruto. He was locked in place five kilometers away from Naruto, surrounded by booms and ripples that caused Heaven and Earth to darken.

Further off on the battlefield, the Sect Leader and the others were now on the offensive. The Immortal God Continent was suffering one defeat after another, and their casualties vastly outnumbered that of the Vast Expanse School.

It was virtually impossible for the experts of the Immortal God Continent to avoid deadly attacks, and one after another perished.

Naruto's expression remained the same the entire time. He refused to believe that this was the extent of the power of the Immortal God Continent. Considering the resources they had at their disposal, he was of the opinion that the fighting had just begun.

He wasn't in a rush. There were many ways to get revenge. Just like the 33 Heavens, he would completely and utterly destroy these enemies. Furthermore, those cultivators from the Vast Expanse School who died in battle could easily be brought back by the power of his Transcendent cultivation base.

The sound of fierce fighting echoed out with increasing intensity. The Immortal God Continent army was pushed back over and over again. At this point, a blast of energy surged out from the Immortal God Continent. It was a middle-aged man, face expressionless, a horsetail whisk in his hand. The whisk had 3,000 strands, each of which contained a great Dao. As soon as he appeared, he unleashed destruction upon the ranks of the Vast Expanse School, whose army suddenly lurched to a halt.

Voice cool, the man said, "I will exterminate the entire clan of any who dare to offend the Immortal God Continent!" He waved his sleeve, causing an explosive wind to sweep out in all directions. Jin Yunshan let out a piercing cry, and at the same time, Sha Jiudong transformed into a sandstorm. One was like the light, and the other the darkness. Instantly, they shot forward to intercept the man with the horsetail whisk.

—–

Regarding connections to Renegade Immortal in this chapter: As far as I could tell, the only concrete connection to anything in Renegade Immortal is the horsetail whisk with 3,000 white strands, which was an object that showed up during a Tribulation at some point in RI. Nothing else in this chapter seemed to be a connection. In future chapters, I will point out connections that I am aware of. If I don't include an explanation about a cameo appearance of a character, item, or technique from another book, then it most likely is not a reference.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1565

Chapter 1565: Less Real Than it Seems

The middle-aged man frowned. Having no other alternative, he waved his hand, causing the 3,000 strands to transform into 3,000 beams of light. Those beams of light then turned into 3,000 white-armored wooden puppets with shockingly powerful cultivation bases. They immediately charged into the army of Vast Expanse School cultivators, slowing their advance.

At the same time, the Immortal God Continent emitted rumbling sounds, and shook visibly as numerous huge objects appeared. Shockingly, it was a group of pitch black war chariots!

Each one of them was fully 30,000-meters long, and they blotted out the sky as they rumbled forth. The chariots were being pulled by countless vicious spirits, who howled as they advanced, spreading pitch-black light everywhere they went, a light that contained power which could destroy the Heavens and extinguish the Earth.

There seemed to be no end to the chariots, which if anyone took the time to count, would number in the hundreds of thousands. Furthermore, black beams light spread out in all directions, like hundreds of thousands of black arrows that stabbed toward the army from the Vast Expanse School.

The incredible scene was almost impossible to describe. Black light and black arrows shot out in spectacular fashion, like the shadow of death bearing down on the army of the Vast Expanse School!

The rain of deadly arrows sped through the starry sky, causing everything to rumble. It took only a moment for them to pierce through the void and appear directly in front of the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School.

Their murderous auras were like ice, leaving the cultivators in the army feeling like they were about to be frozen. There were even some with low cultivation bases who were so shocked they couldn't move.

It was as if they were all about to die!

In that moment of crisis, the Sect Leader threw his head back and roared, stretching his hands out in both directions. Instantly, a huge wind kicked up, rising high up above him as suddenly, a turtle shell appeared in his hands!

It was the precious treasure of the Vast Expanse School!

Shockingly, he had brought the precious treasure with him, and now he was unleashing it in battle. As the wind screamed, the turtle shell expanded rapidly, covering all of the Vast Expanse School cultivators.

The pitch-black murderous will slammed into the turtle shell, and was completely blocked. A massive boom echoed out, shaking everything, causing minds to reel, and laws both natural and magical to be destroyed.

The turtle shell vibrated, but held strong. Countless magical symbols appeared on its surface, and it radiated an ancient and profound aura, an aura full of mystery.

Although everything seemed to happen relatively quickly, to the people involved, it was as if time were moving very slowly. Eventually, the turtle shell vanished, and the Sect Leader was left with an ashen face. Some of the other 9-Essences experts who had lent him power also coughed up blood. Killing intent flickered within the Sect Leader's eyes.

"We can't give them time to unleash another wave of those war chariots!" he cried. Instantly, Bai Wuchen and the other 9-Essences experts flew out and began to fight their way toward the Immortal God Continent itself.

Naruto hadn't moved the entire time. However, the incident with the war chariots gave him a much better understanding of the resources at the disposal of the Immortal God Continent.

Even as the Sect Leader and the others began their charge, three beams of light shot out from the land mass. In the lead position was an old woman with silver hair. A vicious gleam could be seen in her eyes, and her cultivation base exploded with power as she began to fight the Sect Leader and the others.

At the same time, the black light of the war chariots once again began to converge. As that happened, Naruto could visibly detect that the Immortal God Continent itself had withered a bit.

Turning to the huge head hovering nearby, Naruto coolly said, "Your turn!"

Instantly, the head vanished. When it reappeared, it was right above the Immortal God Continent, where it immediately let out boundless pressure. The natural laws of the Immortal God Continent responded with a force of expulsion that rose up from all corners of the land mass.

"Trifling land mass, you're not worthy to try to banish me!" A vicious expression appeared on the head's face as it suddenly let out a powerful roar. The resulting sound wave rolled over the entire world, causing the lands to shake. Mountain peaks were blasted into ash, and huge crevices opened up on the plains.

The war chariots began to vibrate, and then cracks spread out over their surfaces.

"How dare thee!" roared a voice that echoed out across the entire

Immortal God Continent. A stream of sword Chakra rocketed up toward the head.

The head smiled viciously and, before the sword Chakra could reach it, opened its mouth and blew out a blast of gray fire that set the entire land mass ablaze.

The fire engulfed the war chariots, which then began to collapse into charred rubble.

This fire was no ordinary fire. It was fire unleashed by a powerful expert at the great circle of the peak of 9-Essences. It was soul fire, fueled by his very life force….

It was in this moment that the statue of the ancestor in the middle of the continent, the statue which depicted the ancient Transcendor, suddenly began to glow. A field of light began to spread out, covering the entire Immortal God Continent, both extinguishing the flames spit out by the head and also increasing the power of expulsion exponentially.

The gigantic head was sent spinning away, forced completely out of the Immortal God Continent.

Shockingly, the head looked afraid. Even in the moment in which it was expelled, and before it could react, the sword Chakra shot out and stabbed toward its forehead.

Cracking sounds emanated out as the head's forehead began to split open. At the same time, a man appeared down below, radiating a murderous aura as he flew along atop a bronze sword.

The sword moved at incredible speed, bearing down on the huge head in spectacular fashion. Just when it seemed to be on the verge of stabbing through the head, the head's bloodshot eyes flickered with profound light. The area around it then distorted, sending ripples out in all directions. The Essence of Time appeared, and the sword Chakra was crushed as if by an enormous grinding stone, instantly transformed into countless sparks which spilled out in all directions.

The man on the flying sword looked over with coldly glittering eyes.

Performing an incantation gesture, he immediately began to battle with the enormous head.

Massive booms filled the area around the Immortal God Continent. The entire world seemed to be hovering on the brink of collapse.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1566

Chapter 1566: The Resources!

In addition to the fighting between the 9-Essences experts, there were other battles between the 7 and 8-Essences Paragons. The shocking nature of the fighting caused the entire starry sky to shake violently.

There were also Imperial Lords, Dao Sovereigns, and Dao Lords. The sheer numbers involved ensured that the fighting on the battlefield was intense to the extreme. Of course, the bulk of the fighting was taking place between the Ancient Realm and Immortal Realm cultivators, of whom there were vast numbers. The vast sea of battling cultivators constantly crushed those on the front lines into a bloody pulp!

Blood rained down as the death toll rose rapidly!

The cultivators of the Immortal God Continent had no reason to hold back from fighting, and the thought of retreat didn't even exist in their minds. It was almost as if there were something inside of them urging them to forget everything else and focus only on fighting.

As for the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School, they were fighting for a Transcendent cultivator. Dying in battle would be the ultimate of honors, and besides, even if they did die, they had faith that their Transcendent leader would be able to bring them back from the dead.

And that was in fact the case.

Naruto stood there looking out at the Immortal God Continent and all its cultivators, and his eyes glowed with coldness.

He hated the 33 Heavens.

But he hated the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent even more!

This was a battle for vengeance!

As he stared coldly at the battle, his brow slowly furrowed. In the past, the cultivators from the Immortal God Continent had seemed particularly sharp and quick-witted. But now, they somehow seemed slower, although physically they were the same as before.

"My speculations are most likely correct," Naruto thought. As far as he was concerned, he was now almost completely convinced that he was right about the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm. Beneath him, the old lizard looked around with killing intent flickering in its eyes. However, without Naruto's express orders, it wouldn't take action. Instead, it just watched the carnage unfolding. Soon, the fighting had reached an incredible climax. Screams echoed out constantly, until finally, Naruto's eyes flickered. Even as he looked over at the Immortal God Continent, booming sounds rang out as over a hundred volcanoes began to erupt simultaneously.

Pillars of flame rose up into the sky, causing everything else to grow dark. At the same time, numerous seven-colored puppets appeared within the fire. 1

The puppets began to form together into phalanx formations, over a hundred of them. They emanated spectacular energy, and an ancient air that seemed to stretch back through countless years of time.

The appearance of the seven-colored puppets instantly lifted the spirits of the Immortal God Continent cultivators. It was as if they were now gazing upon the key to victory.

This was one of the Immortal God Continent's reserve powers, sevencolored puppets concealed within the volcanoes for countless years, puppets that seemed to have their own unique natural law. That natural law could influence space, and was filled with power that could alter Heaven and Earth and lead to assured victory.

Soon, the more than one hundred phalanxes of seven-colored puppets were slaughtering their way into the forces of the Vast Expanse School.

Naruto stood calmly atop the head of the old lizard. After looking at the seven-colored puppets for a while, his gaze shifted to the statue of the Immortal God Continent's Transcendor.

Things had not yet reached the point where he needed to intervene. The Vast Expanse School was a powerful force, and even though they were away from the sect on a campaign, unable to bring many of their most powerful reserve weapons, they were still not a force to be underestimated.

Almost as soon as the seven-colored puppets took action, the Vast Expanse School's 9-Essences Paragons joined their voices together to shout, "Vast Expanse Blood Formation!"

Instantly, the forehead of each and every one of the countless Vast Expanse cultivators opened up, and a drop of blood flew out. The drops then merged together into a vast sea of blood, from within which emerged numerous blood-colored giants. The giants threw their heads back and let out enraged roars as they jumped forward to fight the seven-colored puppets.

The intense fighting caused the entire starry sky to shake!

The Vast Expanse Blood Formation slammed into the seven-colored puppets, sending a shockwave blasting out in all directions. Almost immediately, the seven-colored puppets were shoved backward, and the light shining off of them dimmed.

Although the Immortal God Continent was strong, the Vast Expanse

School was a powerful force which had given birth to a Transcendent cultivator. A battle between the two was not the type in which victory could be easily determined.

As Naruto watched the seven-colored puppets being forced back across the battlefield, his eyes flickered with a strange light. He looked more closely at the Immortal God Continent, and the cultivators from there, and a thoughtful look appeared in his eyes. But then, rumbling sounds suddenly filled the air.

The entire Immortal God Continent appeared to be shaking. Mountain peaks began to sway back and forth, and then cracking sounds rang out as they rose up into the air. Various sects covered those mountain peaks, of which there were fully 1,000,000. The sight of them all rising up into the air was completely shocking.

Next, it was as if a seal had been undone. The peakless mountains had apparently been opened up, as countless shocking roars echoed out from inside of them. Shockingly, dragons appeared from the 1,000,000 mountains, immediately flying high up into the air.

The enormous dragons emanated pressure that could strike fear deep into anyone's soul, and their roars caused wild colors to flash in the air. Wind screamed up into a tempest as the dragons charged toward the army from the Vast Expanse School.

"Very impressive, Immortal God Continent," Naruto murmured, eyes glittering brightly. He waved his hand, and the old lizard let out a howl and charged toward the fighting at top speed. Almost immediately, it appeared above the Immortal God Continent, where it suddenly changed form, transforming into something like a river of stars that stretched out overhead in dazzling fashion.

A huge roar became a sound wave filled with killing intent, and the enormous dragons began to tremble. As they fought back, the old lizard was blocked, and yet at the same time, the dragons were also held in check.

Shockingly, the old lizard was single-handedly preventing all of the huge dragons from doing a single thing.

Heaven and Earth shook wildly, and the starry sky filled with rumbling sounds. The fighting had reached an incredible level of intensity. The Immortal God Continent cultivators were being pushed back by the Vast Expanse School, until they were almost on the continent itself.

Because the old lizard was keeping the huge dragons in check, the Immortal God Continent was now in a moment of grave crisis.

"The Immortal God Continent must have more resources at their disposal than this," Naruto murmured. His expression was the same as ever as he hovered there in the starry sky.

This appears to be a reference to a character in Renegade Immortal called the Seven-Colored Daoist ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1567

Chapter 1567: Not Willing!

Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, Naruto's pupils constricted as he sensed a very unique aura rising up from within the Immortal God Continent.

It was like a will, or perhaps a stream of divine sense, something allpowerful and supremely domineering.

A red glow rose up from deep within the Immortal God Continent, a color like that of blood. It was something domineering, aggressive, and filled with madness. It was a light… which could exterminate all life!

Almost as soon as the red light appeared, the vast hosts of cultivators from the Immortal God Continent looked extremely excited.

"Ji Realm Ancestral Light!" 1

"We're not defeated yet! How could we lose!?" Roaring, they began to fight back against the Vast Expanse School with full power. At the same time, Naruto heard the words they were shouting.

"Ji Realm Ancestral Light!" Naruto looked at the red light as it spilled out rapidly toward the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School.

Naruto could sense the terrifying nature of that power, and was sure that it was something that the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School could not defend against. If it managed to spread out over the army, more than half of the force would be killed.

Naruto suddenly laughed and took a step forward, looking completely unruffled. Shockingly, when he reappeared, he was directly in front of the red light. Then he extended his right hand and pushed it straight out in front of him.

The red light which had exploded out from the deepest parts of the Immortal God Continent immediately reacted to Naruto. It began to shine even more dazzlingly than before, spreading out rapidly, then converging together in a beam that shot straight toward Naruto.

The speed at which it moved defied imagination. In the blink of an eye, it became something like red lightning which flashed through the air toward Naruto's outstretched hand.

Everything around Naruto was shaking violently. The starry sky was collapsing as countless red sparks of electricity raged around him. His hair whipped about his head, and his clothes flapped violently as the red light surrounded him.

By now, all of the cultivators present, both those from the Vast Expanse School and the Immortal God Continent, were all looking over in shock.

Time seemed to slow down as the red light around Naruto slowly began to fade away. He looked up, and then snapped his fingers.

Instantly, a sound like a thunderclap filled the world.

The red lightning bolt shattered, becoming nothing more than motes of red light that floated out to vanish into the starry sky.

"The Hebi Realm Ancestral Light," he murmured softly. "Not bad. Enough to exterminate all things which have not Transcended." With that, he swished his sleeve as calmly as before, hovering there in the starry sky, looking down at the entire Immortal God Continent.

His gaze was something filled with seemingly endless dignity. At that point, all living things on the land mass suddenly trembled and then simultaneously shouted,

"Anyone who assaults the Immortal God Continent shall

DIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" As their roar spread out, the Immortal God Continent began to crack and crumble. Mountains were rent apart, and rivers were destroyed. It was as though two huge hands were ripping the lands apart, from within which a huge figure appeared.

It was a giant!

These were resources which had apparently been buried beneath the ground. The giant's eyes opened, and nine glittering stars appeared on his forehead. He raised his right hand, slamming it down onto the lands to launch himself up into the Heavens.

"God Tribe!" he roared. As he flew up into the air, he began to rapidly expand, reaching a size that might even rival a planet, the sight of which caused all onlookers to be shaken with fear.

If that were all there were to it, it might not be a big deal. But then, more rifts opened up on the Immortal God Continent, and dozens of figures were revealed beneath.

Numerous giants all opened their eyes and roared as they flew up. The starry sky was shaken by the intense, ancient energy that radiated out.

One by one, the true resources of the Immortal God Continent were being revealed. However, as everything was playing out, it only served to confirm Naruto's speculations regarding what was truly going on.

"All of this probably isn't real," he thought, looking at the charging God Tribe giants. With that, he lifted his right hand and pushed it out casually in front of him.

The air in front of him distorted as the power of time emanated out soundlessly in all directions. Natural laws were twisted, and magical laws were bent. Everyone watched in shock as the incredibly powerful God Tribe giants trembled, and then began to physically wither. By the time they reached the expressionless Naruto, they were so weak that they crumbled into ash.

The final 9-Star giant threw his head back and let out a roar of fear and rage. It was as if his mission was to defend the Immortal God Continent, to pay any price, even die in battle for it!

The giant roared, clenching his hand into a fist which he punched out toward Naruto. Despite the fact that his body was crumbling, he still managed to unleash the powerful fist strike.

Power seemed to flow from ancient times, transforming into a tempest that rumbling out in shocking fashion, exceeding the 9-Essences level and reaching that of Transcendence.

It was the power of a Transcendent fleshly body, something which could ignore natural and magical laws. Even the old lizard was shocked by the sight of it, and was left trembling. By now, everyone understood the shocking nature of the reserves at the disposal of the Immortal God Continent.

The last of the God Tribe giants poured all of his life force into the ultimate fist strike to try to take out Naruto, and yet, before it could touch him, the giant crumbled into ash.

Naruto had not Transcended merely in body, but also in cultivation base and soul. He was his own Essence, and was already half a step into the Ancestor Realm.

"Ashes to ashes, dust to dust…." Naruto said softly. "I have to say that I respect you. And yet… attacking like this was probably not what you wished to do. Allow me to sever your puppet strings for you." With that, he took a step forward toward the Immortal God Continent.

By now, he had seen through to the true nature of the place, and the only way to erase the final uncertainties was to go inspect the place personally.

The Hebi Realm is something which comes from very early in Renegade Immortal. It has nothing to do with the Hebi Clan in this story, the Chinese characters are different ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1568

Chapter 1568 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1568: Puppets!

However, just when Naruto was about to actually step onto the Immortal God Continent, a powerful force of expulsion exploded out to stop him.

That power was emanating out of each and every cultivator from the Immortal God Continent, from each blade of grass and each tree limb, from every mountain and river. It was the will of the entire Immortal God Continent itself.

Naruto was not welcome or permitted.

His eyes flickered with bright light, and he was just about to force his way through, when suddenly, an extremely uneasy feeling gripped his heart, and he stopped in place. He looked up, and it was at this point that he noticed that the mountains and lands of the continent were all trembling as the land mass itself began to turn pitch black.

As the blackness spread, sounds like muttering voices echoed out from all of the various mountains peaks. It was like the chanting of scriptures, or the whispering of all living things.

At the same time, within the darkness off in the distance, Naruto could see a point of light. Closer examination revealed that it was actually a sun!

There were nine of them, rising up into the air. The power they emanated seemed capable of ripping apart the black of night, and as that power spread, Naruto could feel it starting to tear away at him. 1

Considering that Naruto had already Transcended, he felt only a slight sense of danger, and yet that was still enough to cause his pupils to constrict.

"This is some sort of divine ability…." he thought, eyes narrowing. As the nine suns rose up into the air, and their light spread in all directions, he could feel the ripping power battering at his body.

"This isn't something that an ordinary person could create. This magical technique must have been created by the Immortal God Continent's Transcendent cultivator!" Naruto's eyes suddenly shone with a strange light.

It was almost as if he were able to pass through the ages of time, reach into the past and actually fight with that Transcendor of ancient times!

Naruto snorted coldly, lifted his right foot up, and then stamped it down. A huge boom echoed out, accompanied by a black mist that boiled out from inside of him and spread out through all Heaven and Earth.

"Nine suns sunder the night," Naruto said coolly. "But my night is the night of the Demon. It can defile anything and everything, and cannot be destroyed!" More and more black mist roiled out, covering everything, making the darkness of night darker, making it impossible for the light of the nine suns to tear it apart.

The nine suns suddenly flickered, and the nine figures inside of them vanished. Then the area around Naruto began to distort, and nine black-robed figures appeared. Their cultivation bases immediately rumbled with power as they formed a deadly spell formation that could seriously injure even someone half a step into Transcendence. As for a peak 9-Essences cultivator, a person like that would be wiped out of existence.

But this was Naruto they were facing.

"So, you finally show your faces?" he said coolly. He didn't seem to care at all that the nine suns were attacking in unison. He even let their divine abilities and magical techniques slam into him.

He was like a vast ocean, and the divine abilities of the nine suns were like stone oxen that disappeared without a trace as soon as they touched the surface of the water. Nothing happened at all. It was almost as if Naruto had consumed the divine abilities. Dazzling light flickered around him as the divine abilities then rebounded, shooting back at the nine suns with hundreds, no, thousands of times their original power.

There was literally no way to compare the two. One was like the light of a firefly, and the other was the light of the full moon.

RUMBLE!

Nine divine abilities shot back toward the nine suns. The suns groaned, and before they could even do anything, were completely overwhelmed by power thousands of times that which they had unleashed.

It all happened in the blink of an eye. Eight of the surrounding nine suns were transformed into ash, destroyed in body and soul.

Only one wasn't killed, an old man who Naruto reached out and grabbed by the neck.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he held the only survivor among the nine suns up in front of him. The old man glared back, and was just about to self-detonate when Naruto's divine sense crushed down onto him, quenching the power of detonation. Then, the divine sense stabbed into the man's mind as a Soulsearch began.

What he discovered, however, was emptiness.

The old man began to shake, to twist and distort, and finally, he died under the power of the Soulsearch. Naruto didn't acquire even a single memory. It was as if… the old man actually had no memories, as if the only thing he knew how to do was kill.

"A puppet," Naruto murmured. "Yet another puppet." Based on his thousands of years of experience, on his Transcendent cultivation base, and his dealings with the starry sky of the Vast Expanse and with the will of Allheaven, he had long since come to a theory regarding the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent.

His theory was that these two land masses actually contained no living people!

If these were the living descendents of the two ancient Transcendors, then none of what was happening would make sense. After all, the two Transcendors were the enemies of Allheaven!

This was a conclusion he had reached after his experience touching the three destroyed pillars outside the Vast Expanse.

"These two continents were most likely destroyed many years ago by

Allheaven, just like he destroyed the land masses belonging to Patriarch Vast Expanse." Naruto frowned. That was the conclusion he had reached, the only hitch being that all of the cultivators around him actually possessed flesh and blood bodies.

"The only explanation is that they're puppets," he thought. "And yet there is something at play that makes them not puppets." He began to walk forward. Hordes of cultivators threw themselves at him, but not a one could get close. The wave of a hand destroyed them instantly.

He was followed by the Vast Expanse School army, which unleashed destruction onto the Immortal God Continent that caused the entire starry sky to shake.

Naruto had only moved forward about a hundred paces when suddenly one of the twisting rivers on the land mass suddenly began to flicker with light. Unexpectedly… the entire river rose up into the air.

Closer inspection revealed that the river was actually formed into the shape of a bow!

Almost as soon as the river-like bow rose up into the air, a young man appeared. As soon as Naruto laid eyes on him, he looked familiar. He is appearance was very similar to Slaughter, and also like the statue in the middle of the Immortal God Continent.

"A descendent of this place's ancient Transcendor…." Chapter 1568: Puppets!

The nine suns have been talked about in ISSTH quite a few times. It wasn't until recently that I discovered that there are nine high-level characters in Renegade Immortal who are described as having/being suns. Presumably these are those same characters ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1569

Chapter 1569: Rot!

The young man's eyes flickered with killing intent. As he flew through the air, he reached out toward the river-bow, which rapidly shrank down until he grabbed it. Then he began to pull back the bowstring and take aim at Naruto.

Naruto looked on coldly as the young man let out a bellow of rage. As he pulled the bowstring, strands of Chakra flowed from all over the Immortal God Continent to make the shape of an arrow.

Then, rumbling sounds filled the air as the young man loosed that arrow, which shot like lightning toward Naruto.

Naruto could clearly sense the terrifying power it contained. Were it wielded by an actual Transcendent cultivator, it would have been a powerful threat to him. But right now, it wasn't. All he had to do was reach out and tap it, and the entire arrow quivered, then collapsed into pieces.

Blood sprayed out of the young man's mouth as he fell back.

In that same moment, the Patriarch statue in the middle of the land mass began to emanate a glowing light that prevented anyone foreign to the Immortal God Continent from entering its perimeter.

The old lizard and the other eccentric experts were sent tumbling backward. The Sect Leader and the others were similarly affected. All of the cultivators of the Immortal God Continent fell back until they were inside the light, where they glared ferociously at the army from the Vast Expanse School.

The light could stop all of those people, but it could not stop Naruto.

He looked thoughtfully at the statue, and then took a step forward.

That step took him through the air to stand directly in front of the border of the light. Then he pierced through it, causing the light to fracture and crack.

The old lizard roared, then blurred into action, appearing once again on the battlefield. As its cultivation base spread out, everything around it was destroyed like kindling wood.

Naruto ignored the fierce fighting as he approached the middle of the land mass, where the statue was located. Even as he did, more arrows of light shot toward him from off in the distance.

It was the same young man from before, who was anxiously unleashing one arrow after another. Naruto simply swished his sleeve, destroying all of them.

The young man looked on in despair as Naruto approached the statue. Suddenly, a sigh rang out to fill the entire Immortal God Continent. A figure appeared along with it, an old man wearing a long, ceremonial robe. He seemed profoundly ancient as he flew up into the air and looked over at Naruto. Then, his right hand shot out, and he pointed up into the sky.

Instantly, the area around Naruto filled with soundless fluctuations, like ripples on the surface of a lake. At the same time, a well suddenly materialized in front of the old man.

The well also emanated powerful ripples, and upon closer examination, an image could be seen within the ripples. It was like a reflection depicting Naruto and the area around him.

The old man's eyes glinted with fierce light as he reached out to grab the reflection of Naruto within the ripples of the well water. As his hand entered the water, even more ripples spread out.

The ripples in Naruto's area were thrown into chaos, and something like a huge hand appeared, reaching out as if to crush him!

A strange light shone in Naruto's eyes. This was the second time he could directly sense how powerful that ancient Transcendor had been, and how, just like Naruto, he had made preparations to care for his people.

"Unfortunately, the will of the Vast Expanse is doing all of this. It was not the original intent of that Transcendor." Naruto looked at the old man working his magic off in the distance, and then simply kept moving forward. Every step he took caused the ripples to be destroyed, and forced the gigantic to struggle just to maintain its form.

The old man began to tremble, as if even all the power he had at his disposal wasn't enough to sustain the magic. Cracks spread out across the surface of the well, and it began to collapse. The old man let out a howl of fury. His body began to wither up as his blood and muscles were sucked away. Soon, he looked like nothing more than skin and bones. Because he was overdrawing on his cultivation base, something was revealed that had been hidden before, a slight aura of rot.

That aura was something that not even a peak 9-Essences expert would notice. But Naruto could feel it. His eyes flickered over to look at the old man, who roared as the aura of rot grew stronger, as if he had been decaying for years and years. Suddenly, he reached out and made a vicious grasping motion.

The air around Naruto began to rumble as the huge hand began to crush down toward him. Shockingly, the aura of Transcendence could be detected upon it.

Even as the hand closed in, Naruto let out a cold harrumph, and his own Transcendent aura erupted with full force.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Fleshly body Transcendence. Cultivation base Transcendence!

The energy caused Heaven and Earth to tremble and shatter. Before the hand could get close, it shattered into countless fragments. At the same time, the air around Naruto transformed into a black hole.

The well couldn't hold on any longer, and shattered, sending a blast of rubble out in all directions. The old man trembled, then coughed up a huge mouthful of decaying black blood. The aura of rot around him grew even more prominent. Just when the old man was about to retreat, Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light, and he took a step forward, bringing him directly in front of the old man. Instantly, his hand reached out and grabbed the top of the man's head.

The magic of Soulsearching was unleashed.

Almost instantly, though, Naruto frowned. This old man was just like the nine suns; he had no memories, or if he did, they were in complete chaos, as if they had been forced into his head by someone else. They were completely impossible to analyze.

After a moment passed, Naruto's eyes flickered, and he suddenly began to reel in his cultivation base. He suppressed his power until it was at the 9-Essences level. As he did, the aura of rot on the old man faded away, and his physical appearance looked more and more normal. He wiped the blood from his mouth, and it no longer contained an aura of rot. At the same time, the hatred in his eyes grew more intense.

It was at this point that roaring could be heard from the mouths of all of the cultivators of the Immortal God Continent, even from far off in the distance.

"Naruto, you shall die!" Rumbling could be heard as the entire world suddenly seemed to be complete. As Naruto's cultivation base dropped, the surrounding cultivators seemed to grow more alert.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1570

Chapter 1570: Seeing Clearly!

"So that's how it is," Naruto said, his voice cool. He waved his right hand, and a boom echoed out as the old man exploded, killed in body and soul.

Naruto stood there, looking at the statue not too far off in the distance. Keeping himself at the 9-Essences level, and dissipating all traces of Transcendence, he looked around at the cultivators and the statue.

There were no more mists, and the face of the statue was now completely filled with dignity and splendor.

"My cultivation base has exceeded the Daosource, and is now half a step into the Ancestor Realm…. Another bit of progress would allow me to see the truth, not just the clues." After some thought, he waved his hand, wiping out an entire wave of attacking Immortal God Continent cultivators. Then, he powered his cultivation base up from the 9Essences level back into the Daosource. Then his aura of Transcendence erupted out with unprecedented power, causing the entire Immortal God Continent to tremble as if in shock.

That power was not only that of fleshly body Transcendence and cultivation base Transcendence; as of this moment, the will of Naruto's Transcendent soul erupted out. Boundless power surged, power that exceeded the Daosource, power… which was half a step into the Ancestor Realm!

In that very instant, Naruto could suddenly sense that the voices of the Immortal God Continent cultivators were growing quieter. Eventually… they faded into nothing.

They now seemed to completely lack intelligence whatsoever. As for the statue of the Transcendent cultivator, his face was distorted, making him look very different than moments ago. Furthermore, the entire Immortal God Continent was covered with mist….

Naruto stood there looking at the statue, and after a moment, he waved his hand, causing one of the Immortal God Continent's 8Essences Paragons to suddenly vanish. He appeared in front of Uzumaki

Hao a moment later, who reached out and casually crushed his neck. Naruto studied him for a long moment, until he was able to detect an aura emanating out of him that wouldn't be noticeable without intense concentration. After seeping out of the eyes, ears, nose, and mouth of the 8-Essences Paragon, it began flowing toward a statue off in the distance.

There were actually nine such statues located throughout the land mass, eight on the periphery, and one larger one in the very middle.

"If I really want to see what's going on… it shouldn't be that difficult." He extended his right hand, and the copper mirror flew out and began to melt. It transformed into countless black threads which instantly covered Naruto, forming a suit of black armor.

By borrowing the power of the parrot, he was able to push his cultivation base past that half a step… all the way into the Ancestor Realm!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

His hair whipped about as a tempest of wind screamed around him. The Vast Expanse was shaken by this peak level of power. At the same time, the parrot flew out, letting out a squawk as it shot into Naruto's forehead, merging with his closed third eye, the Dao eye, which began to emanate a violet glow.

With that, he closed his two eyes and opened his Dao eye. Violet light erupted out to fill the entire world, and at the same time… Naruto's view of the world completely changed!

He saw that the cultivators of the Immortal God Continent were actually formed from clumps of Chakra and blood. They were mere outlines, filled with black mist that gave them a very shocking appearance.

Regardless of whether they were men or women, old or young, and regardless of the level of their cultivation bases, to Naruto, they were all just clumps of Chakra and blood.

Whenever one of them died, they would be absorbed by the nearest statue. The black mists inside of them were apparently their souls, their true forms.

Furthermore, within that black mist, Naruto was able to detect… fluctuations of the will of Allheaven, and even soul strands which bore the same aura!

Naruto sent his divine sense out to fill the entire Immortal God Continent, and found that virtually all the cultivators were the same, with very few exceptions.

One of the exceptions was actually an entire clan. That clan was not participating in the warfare. Instead, they all sat there cross-legged, mixed emotions on their faces. Many of those faces were familiar to Naruto.

It was none other than… the Uchiha Clan.

Naruto even saw Uchiha Tengfei, with the blood of the God Tribe pumping through his veins.

The Uchiha Clan cultivators were all sitting cross-legged in meditation, surrounded by an enormous spell formation that continuously prevented the black mist from entering the clan.

It only took a moment for Naruto to realize that the spell formation was actually a teleportation portal, and a complicated one at that. It couldn't be activated very quickly, and even more shocking… was that it seemed to lead outside the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!

Naruto turned his attention to another of the living beings, someone who wasn't in the Uchiha Clan. As soon as Naruto focused his attention on that person, he recognized who it was. It was none other than the former Echelon cultivator from the First Mountain and Sea, DaoHeaven.

He looked old, but Naruto could still tell who he was. Unfortunately, Dao-Heaven was laced with black mist, which was eating away at his fleshly body, something he couldn't even detect.

After a moment, Naruto sent his divine sense sweeping out over the land mass once again, whereupon he detected more people who were different. There were eight of them in total, all located in different locations around the Immortal God Continent.

They were made of Chakra and blood like everyone else, but they had no traces of the black mist within them that was the will of Allheaven, and none of the strange soul strands.

Almost in the same moment that Naruto realized these eight individuals were different, they seemed to sense his presence, and turned their attention in his direction. He could immediately sense that they were filled with complicated emotions.

Eventually, Naruto closed his Dao eye. Then his two eyes opened, and he swished his sleeve. The black armor vanished, returning to the shape of the copper mirror, which he put away. The booming sounds of combat still echoed out around him. The Vast Expanse School truly deserved its reputation as the number one power in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. The entire sect had been mobilized, and when you added in the superior power of the Ninth Sect, plus the old lizard and the other eccentric beings, the Immortal God Continent simply wasn't capable of fighting back. The land mass was shaking as the Vast Expanse School cultivators battled their way in deeper and deeper.

Naruto ignored the fighting. Just as he was about to take action, the entire land mass trembled. Countless cultivators dropped to their knees and prostrated themselves to the Heavens. All of them were crying out the same thing.

"Patriarch, come to us!"

"Patriarch, come to us!"

"Patriarch, come to us!"

Their voices joined together into a sound wave which rocked Heaven and Earth. The land mass shook, and a strange aura suddenly began to descend.

Everything began to grow icy cold, and yet, Naruto could sense that this will was not intelligent. It was almost as if someone had imprinted it onto a jade slip and was now forcibly unleashing it.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1571

Chapter 1571: The Man in the Palace!

Another possibility was that this was not something from a jade slip, but from the memories of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

As the will descended onto the Immortal God Continent, it converged upon the body of the young man with the bow, who still stood some distance off. A tremor ran through him, and he let out a piercing howl as his body began to transform. His hair turned white, and his eyes became cold. With that will upon him, it was as if he were a completely different person.

He hovered there in midair, emanating an aura which surpassed the 9Essences level. His eyes were bright red as he looked over at Naruto. Naruto looked back at him.

As their gazes met, the young man suddenly pointed his finger at Uzumaki

Hao and spoke in a hoarse voice: "Call the Wind!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, a black wind sprang up around Naruto, which rapidly converged into the shape of nine black dragons. When the dragons roared, black wind spewed from their mouths, wind that tore at Heaven and Earth.

"Summon the Rain!" he said. His body trembled, as though the will's act of unleashing magic using this body was resulting in serious injuries.

As soon as the words left his mouth, drops of black rainwater appeared within the destructive wind. In the blink of an eye, they transformed into a downpour which descended upon Naruto.

"Magic Pod Soldiers!" growled the young man. As the raindrops fell, plopping sounds rang out, and they transformed into tiny vicious figures. Apparently, these were all people who had fallen in death to this magical technique countless years in the past.

"Mountains Crumble!"

"Lands Collapse!"

Things weren't over yet. The young man coughed up a mouthful of blood as the force of the will caused his body to wither rapidly. However, he didn't hesitate to unleash even more divine abilities.

Everything shook and shattered as he used the shocking magical technique of Mountains Crumble, Lands Collapse.

"And finally… Dark Moon, Clear Skies!" The young man threw his head back and let out a piercing cry. His body instantly withered even more dramatically, until an intense aura of rot emanated out from him. The will inside of him erupted out with full force, merging with the magic, causing the image of a dark moon to appear on Naruto's forehead. 1

"Exterminate!" the young man roared.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Naruto stood there, allowing the black wind and rain to batter him. Vicious figures pounced on him. The lands beneath his feet collapsed, and the surrounding mountains crumbled. The dark moon mark on his forehead seemed to be on the verge of ripping him to shreds.

After a long moment passed, and Naruto was able to fully experience the nature of all of the divine abilities and magical techniques, he took a deep breath and slowly looked up. His gaze fell upon the distant figure of the trembling young man, and his eyes shone with anticipation.

"First the light of the suns dispelled the darkness, then that old man manipulated the reflections in the well. And now this six-faceted divine ability…. All of this leaves me with nothing but respect for the ancient Transcendor from the Immortal God Continent!" With that, Naruto waved his sleeve. The young man laughed bitterly as his body was destroyed. However, to Naruto, he was nothing more than a clump of Chakra and blood. He might have died, but that was nothing but a scattering of raw Chakra and blood.

By this point, Naruto had his answer regarding the mysteries of this place. What he needed now was to investigate the eight soul strands that were different from the others.

He looked around at the various buildings and cities which made up the Immortal God Continent, and then took a step forward.

The architecture here was different than in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Somehow, it was more refined and graceful.

Soon, Naruto appeared in the air above the Uchiha Clan. He looked down at the spell formation, and could tell that it was almost completely activated. It wouldn't be long before all of the members of the Uchiha Clan were able to leave this place.

As he examined the various members of the Uchiha Clan, his gaze eventually came to rest on someone off to the side.

It was a skinny old man, sitting there cross-legged. Almost as soon as Naruto saw him, the man shivered and looked up into the sky.

The man had a somewhat lecherous look to him, and at the same time, Naruto could tell that he was very ancient.

The man's face flickered, and after a moment, he looked back down. Naruto could tell that he was nervous.

Eventually, Naruto shifted his gaze to Uchiha Tengfei. Then, he turned to leave. When that happened, the skinny old man breathed a sigh of relief. Even now, he had a hard time believing that Naruto could have reached such a terrifying and unbelievable level.

After leaving the Uchiha Clan, Naruto went to find Dao-Heaven. Although Paragon Sea Dream had successfully implemented her plan from all those years ago, the final result was failure.

Dao-Heaven had become something like a rock thrown into a sea, which made little more than a splash upon entering. Paragon Sea Dream had taken the Immortal God Continent to be a real place, an actual world. Of course, it was anything but that. Because of this discrepancy, DaoHeaven, even with his incredible latent talent, was a completely different type of person than everyone else.

He was different from everyone, and yet no one ever told him that.

Even so, he had made a great sacrifice for the Mountain and Sea Realm, and Naruto respected him for that. It took only a moment for him to be standing directly in front of Dao-Heaven, whereupon he reached out and touched his forehead.

Dao-Heaven blinked subconsciously, and when he saw Naruto standing in front of him, his jaw dropped. He began to shiver, and then clenched his teeth as Naruto's divine sense poured into him. The black mist was driven out, and his body withered rapidly. Afterward, he struggled to his feet, and although he was very weak, his eyes shone with bright light.

"You came…. I knew that you would.

"I've been here for two thousand years, and during that time, I learned of a secret. The Immortal God Continent is a very bizarre place. Everyone here… seems to be living under a unique set of natural laws.

"I suspect… that they're all Outsiders, and not cultivators!" The effort it took Dao-Heaven to explain his suspicions resulted in him coughing up a mouthful of blood. Then he collapsed into unconsciousness.

Naruto looked at him. It was hard to even imagine the trials Dao-

Heaven had experienced over the past centuries. Naruto clasped hands and bowed to him, then waved his sleeve, sending him directly into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"You're right, this is a very bizarre place," he murmured. "And you're right, the people here… really are Outsiders, not cultivators." With that, he turned and vanished. Upon reappearing, he was in one of the eight unique locations he had noticed earlier.

There, he saw eight people who, despite being formed of mere Chakra and blood, were devoid of black mist. It was a very strange situation, and Naruto had his speculations about what was going on. The first place he went to was a palace in the capital city of one of the mortal worlds.

Everything was quiet there. A burly man lounged on the stairs leading up into the palace. He wore fine garments, and looked like a prince. He was currently sipping alcohol from a flagon, which he put down next to him when he saw Naruto approaching.

The man looked directly at Naruto and smiled. "I bet you think it's pretty strange that I don't have any of those damned soul strands from the will of the Vast Expanse in me?"

All of these different magics form a complete verse (or maybe two) that was one of Uchiha Lin's powerful divine abilities ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1572

Chapter 1572: The Devil Cometh!

The Immortal God Continent continued to shake under the barrage of the Vast Expanse School cultivators. The sky was aflame, and the lands were crumbling. Crevices snaked out across the lands, as though dragons were burrowing through the ground. Mountains crumbled and fell.

It was like the end of days.

And yet, the people of the Immortal God Continent didn't seem to care. Although they were fighting back, they seemed numb to what was happening, as if they didn't even have emotions.

If Naruto dropped his cultivation base back down to the 9-Essences level, he would be seeing something very different. The cultivators who right now seemed to be numb and emotionless would instead seem to be wracked with emotion and pain.

Naruto retracted his divine sense and looked at the burly man in the princely robes, sitting there in the kingdom of mortals. He walked up and sat down in front of him.

Nodding, he said, "You're right, it is pretty strange."

The burly man smiled and took a long drink of alcohol. His eyes seemed to be flickering with memories of the past. "This land mass had a different name in the past. It was called… the Immortal-Astral Continent. 1

"Considering the level of your cultivation base, you've probably already picked up on the clues. The reason that I have none of those damned soul strands from the will of the Vast Expanse is… because that will can't find any traces of my existence.

"Because of that, it doesn't matter that it has disturbed the flow of time, creating something from nothing to bring back all these cultivators from the depths of its memory. It still can't do anything to me. I and the others like me chose to leave some divine sense behind because we just couldn't bear to part with this place." He tossed the flagon of alcohol off to the side and rose to his feet. As he did, a powerful energy began to rise up within him.

It transformed into a tempest which swept out in all directions. Of course, even though Naruto was standing right in front of the man, that tempest didn't so much as lift a single hair on his head.

At the same time, seven other tempests rose up in different locations on the land mass. Colors flashed in the sky above, and everything trembled.

Naruto's divine sense swept out to observe the other tempests. Including the burly man in front of him, there were eight in total. Some were men, others were women. All of them began to rise up into the air, wistful expressions on their faces. Clearly, they didn't wish to part with this place that they loved.

"This land mass was destroyed once in the past. Many people died…. Those who survived left this starry sky of the Vast Expanse. What remained behind… was not real.

"As for us, we've been waiting for someone to come along and wipe this place clean. To erase that which is holding our memories here.

"Thank you. I have the feeling that we might have a chance to meet again one day. Before leaving, allow me to offer you a little gift. Perhaps it can lead to a bit less slaughter, and a bit less death." The burly man looked deeply at Naruto for a moment, then turned and rose up into the sky, to be joined by the seven other figures. The eight of them flew up to the highest height of the sky, where their bodies began to twist and distort, transforming into a vortex. At the same time, the spell formation surrounding the members of the Uchiha Clan was completely activated. The Uchiha Clan vanished into the vortex. Apparently, those eight people were taking the Uchiha Clan with them to wherever they were going.

As the vortex faded, the Chakra and blood which had made up the bodies of the eight individuals spread out, transforming into a huge sea. That sea of blood then began to fall down onto the land mass below.

As the rain of blood splashed down, the cultivators of the Immortal God Continent began to scream as their bodies melted. At the same time, the buildings which filled the lands suddenly began to rot, as if they were visibly aging.

All lives were melted by the rain of blood, which flowed about, filling the Immortal God Continent. It only took a few breaths' worth of time before everything was silent.

It all happened completely without warning. The cultivators in the Vast Expanse School army were in the middle of fighting when suddenly their enemies all melted into blood which flowed out into the lands below.

Naruto stood there watching it all happen. He watched as boundless amounts of black mist emerged from the dead and poured into the nine statues that dotted the landscape.

Soon, the statues were all pitch black, and emitted cracking noises. Then they began to crumble. As each one fell to pieces, the remaining statues grew even more deeply black in color.

Eventually, eight of the statues had crumbled into rubble, and the central statue, the most shocking of them all, was completely pitch black. A moment later, black mist exploded out, completely filling the starry sky.

A shocking will also emerged from within the statue.

The statue changed. It no longer looked fierce, and its features were no longer easily distinguishable. It was not the Transcendor from ancient times. It was merely an embodiment sent by the will of Allheaven.

It was in that exact same moment that the statue's eyes opened. Everything began to shake, and the black mists roiled as a shocking aura erupted out.

Suddenly, countless vicious heads appeared within the mists, which smiled evilly as they began to charge toward the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School. Naruto instantly took a step forward, placing him directly in front of the huge statue. There, he extended his right hand and then waved his sleeve, sending a burst of Transcendent power out. That changed natural law, becoming a power of extermination that instantly dispersed the vicious heads, which vanished, screaming the entire time.

At this point, the starry sky off in the distance began to distort and ripple as a huge, majestic land mass appeared. It was none other than… the Devil Realm Continent.

"I'll handle things here," Naruto said coolly. The Sect Leader took a deep breath as he looked out over the carnage on the surrounding land mass. Eyeing the black mist and the statue, he nodded and then backed up.

Soon, the army of the Vast Expanse School was advancing toward the countless cultivators of the Devil Realm Continent.

The slaughter wasn't over yet. The opponent had changed, but the fighting went on like before, just on a different battlefield.

Back on the Immortal God Continent, Naruto stood in front of the statue, which stared down at him, eyes glowing with blackness.

Suddenly, the statue took a step forward. Its hand, which had been clasped behind its back, suddenly shot out, its finger extended.

Instantly, the surrounding black mist began to surge toward the finger.

As you can probably guess, the Immortal-Astral Continent appears in Renegade Immortal. As far as all the details relating to it, you'll have to pick them up when you read RI! ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1573

Chapter 1573: Testing

The statue's finger apparently possessed an astonishing gravitational force, which transformed into a black hole. All of the surrounding mist was affected. It became like a funnel which was sucked into the tip of the finger. The finger then shot toward Naruto with incredible speed.

All of this takes quite a bit of time to describe, but from the moment the statue lifted its hand until it absorbed the mist, only an instant passed.

The lands quaked, and buildings collapsed. Crevices spread out across the entire land mass. That statue's one finger was converging all of the power of the Immortal God Continent into a single attack aimed at Naruto.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he looked at the finger, which rapidly filled his entire field of view. At the same time, he reached out with his own finger.

"Allheaven, you've tested me in the past, and now here you are doing the same thing again, huh?" Even as his voice echoed out, his finger made contact with the statue's finger.

They seemed impossible to even compare. When it came to size, Naruto was like an ant compared to the statue. And yet, when their fingers collided, the only thing that happened to Naruto was that his hair lifted up a bit, and his clothes rustled. The statue, on the other hand, began to shake. The finger exploded, transforming into nothing more than drifting ash.

The effect spread, engulfing the hand, then the arm. Rumbling sounds echoed out as the torso was destroyed, then the head, then the other arm. The entire statue was completely eradicated!

Shocking booms rang out that caused everything to shake. Naruto's single finger had transformed the entire powerful statue into ash!

"This is the third time you've tested me out," he said. "You want to see how I fight, and use that to try to come up with a way to kill me. You want to analyze… my Seal the Heavens Hex. Don't you?" Even as the ash from the statue drifted out, Naruto turned, clenched his hand into a fist, and punched down toward the ground in front of him.

Almost as soon as the fist began to descend, the ground rippled. Some areas rose up, others dropped down. Shockingly, the image of a face was revealed.

The face opened its mouth and roared, and yet that didn't stop Naruto's fist from slamming into it.

A huge boom echoed out as the face was completely destroyed. At the same time, cracking sounds could be heard from other locations on the Immortal God Continent. The ground collapsed, but then began to form back together. Unexpectedly, the entire land mass reformed into the shape of a giant.

The ground became the head, arms and legs, with the mountain ranges as the blood vessels. The rivers became the blood, while the sun and moon turned into eyes. The oceans were the mouth. The indescribably large giant looked over at Naruto and then let out a terrifying roar.

That roar became a tempest that could shake Heaven and Earth, causing Naruto's hair to whip wildly, and his clothes to flap. There was no sky and no land anymore; there was only the starry sky.

Gasps arose from the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School, who were just now engaging the forces of the Devil Realm Continent. Even the Sect Leader and the others, as well as the old lizard, were all completely astonished at the sight of the Immortal God Continent transforming into a giant.

Naruto was so small compared to that giant that he was like nothing more than a speck of dust.

The giant hovered there in the starry sky, looking down at Naruto with shining eyes. Naruto frowned.

"Still testing me out, huh? Fine. Go ahead and test away!" With that, he made a grasping gesture, which immediately caused the starry sky around him to shatter and transform into a majestic stream. Apparently, this stream didn't exist; it was as if Naruto had extracted it from ancient times and pulled it into the present.

Not even a 9-Essences expert could do such a thing. But to Naruto, all it took was a mere motion of his hand. To Transcendent cultivators, Time, Heaven, Earth, and even the starry sky were all objects that could be manipulated at will.

The starry river became a whip, like a dragon which he used to lash at the giant. The giant roared, throwing his hands out and unleashing the power of the starry sky.

The river collapsed, but the giant was forced back. Cracking sounds emanated out from it, and countless crevices were torn open across the surface of its skin. Eyes glowing, the giant extended his right hand and performed an incantation gesture, causing the void around Naruto to begin to crumble.

A sea of flames erupted out, a black wind surged, seawater raged, and an enormous, shocking tree appeared.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever as he looked around at the destructive power surrounding him. He lifted his right hand into the air and made a clutching motion, instantly causing a vortex to spring up. All of the destructive power around him then began to twist and distort as it shot toward his hand, where it formed together into a bright, scintillating sphere.

Naruto then clenched his hand into a fist, and the sphere shattered, sending motes of light floating out in all directions.

"Those are the only divine abilities you have?" he asked, looking up. Then, he transformed into a colorful beam of light that shot toward the giant's face, where he reached out to touch its forehead.

"Break!" he said coolly. A single word.

Instantly, the giant that was the Immortal God Continent began to tremble. Cracks spread out all over it, becoming more and more dense until the giant collapsed into rubble.

As the rubble rained down, a cold snort echoed out through the starry sky, causing the rubble to form together into the shape of a vicious dragon, matchlessly large, which opened its mouth wide as if to swallow Naruto.

Naruto waved his sleeve and then extended his left hand toward the lunging dragon, palm spread wide.

"Seal!" he said. Again, a single word. Instantly, the vicious dragon stopped in place, trembling. A moment later, it turned completely gray. In the blink of an eye, its life force was destroyed, and it transformed into nothing more than a statue of a dragon.

It looked just as vicious as before, and it hovered there in front of Naruto, completely unmoving, like a corpse.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1574

Chapter 1574: Qualified to Explore the Universe!

When the cultivator army from the Vast Expanse School saw what was happening, they gasped, and excitement grew. The old lizard's eyes went wide from the thought of how Naruto's power seemed to be completely limitless.

"This is Transcendence? It's… omnipotence!" The Sect Leader's eyes burned with hope. Jin Yunshan was panting.

Naruto looked down at the vicious dragon, and his eyes glimmered with profound light. Then he turned toward the Devil Realm Continent.

The cultivators from that continent were already fighting with the forces from the Vast Expanse School. To Naruto, it looked almost exactly the same as what had occurred with the Immortal God Continent.

He sent his divine sense out, and soon noticed one particular clan. It was… the Li Clan, the remnants of those who weren't able to selfdetonate in the Mountain and Sea War.

Like the Uchiha Clan, they were not participating in the fighting. They had sealed themselves away, and all of their cultivators sat there silently. One of the people present there wasn't a member of the Li Clan. It was Yuwen Jian, Echelon cultivator from the Seventh Mountain and Sea, who had been sent to infiltrate one of the two great powers, just like DaoHeaven had.

The Devil Realm Continent had no statues, only an enormous coffin. Furthermore, there were no cultivators present who lacked the soul strands of the will of the Vast Expanse.

Although the entire land mass seemed to be a flourishing place, that was only a façade to mask the decay and rot which was its true nature.

Just when Naruto was about to retract his divine sense, his eyes went wide as he noticed someone in particular who was sitting cross-legged next to the huge coffin.

Naruto recognized the man.

"Choumen Tai," he said softly. He took a step forward, vanishing, to reappear next to the coffin in front of Choumen Tai.

Choumen Tai looked much, much older than he had before, and he didn't seem to be surprised to see Naruto. In fact, when he looked up, his eyes focused, and a smile broke out on his face. "You came…."

Naruto looked at Choumen Tai, eyes flickering with various memories. Finally, he nodded. "The person you are waiting for, your Master, was the Transcendor from the Devil Realm Continent?"

"Actually, around the time the Mountain and Sea Realm was destroyed, the spell formation fully activated. My Master returned at that time. The person I've been waiting for since then is you." Smiling, Choumen Tai rose to his feet and reached out to touch the coffin.

Rumbling sounds could be heard, and the coffin began to vibrate. In front of Naruto's very eyes, it gradually withered up and transformed into ash. Soon, the spot previously occupied by the coffin was nothing more than an empty space.

The ash spread out, filling the entire land mass, and then slowly settling down onto the continent.

Everywhere, the land began to change, transforming into the color of blood. However, it wasn't the crimson red of fresh blood, but the dark purple of decaying rot. What was happening, of course, was that the true color of the lands was now being revealed.

Without the power that had previously been disguising it, mountains became nothing but barren mounds. Plants became withered stumps, and numerous buildings became crumbled ruins.

Rivers turned into dusty gulches. The seas became empty basins, and countless life forms melted into blackened blood. The rot and decay which were the true base of everything in the continent was now revealed.

The Devil Realm Continent seemed to pass through time. It was as if a veil had been ripped away, revealing something from countless years in the past.

Choumen Tai looked back at Naruto. "The reason I stayed behind was to pass a message on to you from my Master. There are two things I need to tell you.

"The first thing," he said softly, "is that the destruction of the Mountain and Sea Realm had nothing to do with the real Devil Realm or Immortal God Continent!

"Both of them suffered calamity long, long ago. Most of the cultivators died at that time, and those who survived escaped with my Master. They left the starry sky of the Vast Expanse and traveled far away into the Universe.

"Everything you see here is the will of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. It was all created from nothing. The corpses were animated and filled with memories extracted from within the stream of Time.

"Anyone born inside of this starry sky will be remembered by the will of the Vast Expanse, and their memories can be used to re-create a new version of that person.

"In fact, everyone here on this land mass is unaware of what they really are. They think that they exist, but the truth is that they are either corpses, or the manifestations of memories.

"In fact, I used to be one of them myself. That was why I never gave up on trying to resurrect my Master. It wasn't until the Mountain and Sea Realm was destroyed that I finally understood everything."

None of this was a surprise to Naruto. In fact, from the moment he laid eyes on the five pillars outside the Vast Expanse, he had begun to speculate regarding the truth.

That was why the Devil and the God had destroyed two of Allheaven's fingers, then left the Vast Expanse behind to go explore the Universe they had come to behold upon Transcending.

That Universe was filled with unending seeds, each one of which was a world unto itself, with its own starry sky.

Choumen Tai took a deep breath and said, "Therefore, if you wish to prevent the Mountain and Sea Realm from being destroyed again, you have to eradicate Allheaven!

"This is the second part of the message.

"The true Allheaven exists outside the Vast Expanse. You will only have one chance to destroy him, if that is what you wish! The Ghost tried. My Master tried. And later, the God tried. However, none of them were a match for Allheaven. The most they were able to do was destroy one of his fingers, after which they were forced to leave.

"First was the Ghost, then the Devil, then the God. With each encounter, Allheaven grew weaker. However, despite being weakened to such an extent, he was still too powerful to be destroyed by a Transcendent cultivator. The only way to destroy him… was to weaken him to the absolute level, and then send another Transcendor against him!

"You are the last hope there is to destroy Allheaven!

"When Allheaven is at his weakest, you will have one chance to eradicate him. If you fail, then you will become like my Master, or the other two Transcendors. Your true self will no longer qualify to remain within this starry sky, and you will be expelled. You might be able to leave a clone behind, but that clone would never be able to eradicate Allheaven. It wouldn't qualify."

"Who sets those qualifications?" Naruto asked, eyes glittering.

"The ultimate magical law, which exists above the Ancestor Realm. The natural law of the Universe itself!"

"Do you know how Allheaven came to be?" The longer they conversed, the brighter Naruto's eyes glowed, until they were like burning suns that left even Choumen Tai trembling. "If so, please explain."

With that, he clasped hands and bowed to Choumen Tai.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1575

Chapter 1575: Battling the Devil Continent!

"It's hard to say for sure," Choumen Tai said softly, his eyes flickering with reminiscence. "There is an eighty percent chance that he's from somewhere else in the Universe, from some world that even I have never heard of….

"Actually, my Master speculates that the will of our starry sky wasn't originally that of Allheaven!

"My master, along with the God and the Ghost, are now unable to remain inside the starry sky of the Vast Expanse with their true forms. In fact, their connections to this place have been almost completely severed. Now they roam the eternally boundless Universe, where they walk the path of that which exists beyond Transcendence.

"As for you… you are also destined to walk that path. They… are waiting for you out in the Universe."

Choumen Tai's body gradually began to fade, transforming into a huge, rumbling vortex that sucked the Li Clan into it before vanishing.

The starry sky rumbled as a huge rift was torn open into it. Then the Devil Realm Continent went silent. The only things that remained behind were the faint echoes of Choumen Tai's parting words.

In the silence that reigned after Choumen Tai's departure, the forces from the Vast Expanse School looked around in shock at the decay around them. They had their various speculations about what exactly was happening, but they did nothing. One by one, they began to look over at Naruto.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them. They were profound and deep, to the extent that no one would ever be able to tell what he was thinking. He looked around at the ruins of the Devil Realm, then sighed.

"It's over," he said softly. "My hatred for the Immortal God and Devil Realm Continents has come to an end. The hatred which festered for countless years is now resolved." As of this moment, Naruto realized that his hatred for the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm wasn't even as intense as his hatred toward the 33 Heavens.

He had walked a path of slaughter and confusion, and as of this moment, despite having Transcended, his heart was exhausted.

"My enmity with the Immortal God and the Devil Realm has come to an end, but the true battle has yet to be fought!" His eyes flickered as he looked up at the starry sky. Within his divine sense, he had long since come to detect that out there in the starry sky, there were countless figures speeding in his direction.

Those were countless living beings of all sorts, heading in his direction under the control of the will of the Vast Expanse.

He knew full well that he and the will of the Vast Expanse had reached a point where only one would come out alive. The other would die.

Even as he looked out into the starry sky, the Devil Realm Continent began to shake. Just like the Immortal God Continent, it began to transform into a huge giant that radiated the aura of the will of the Vast Expanse.

Everything here had been defiled. This land mass was not the true Devil

Realm; it was merely a doppelgänger made from the will of the Vast Expanse.

Intense rumbling shook Heaven and Earth as the Devil Realm Continent transformed into a giant. The mountain peaks became spikes that protruded from its skin. The mountain ranges became blood vessels, as did the rivers and the seas. Lands shook, and mountains were rocked.

Intense rumbling could be heard as a face appeared. Two of the land mass's seas sank down into pitch black holes that were like eyes.

Then, those eyes opened.

A huge arm appeared, and its hand clenched into a fist which rumbled toward Naruto.

If that were all there were to it, it might not much to be concerned about, but it was at this point that, off in the distance, countless beams of light appeared. They came from all directions, seemingly endless, charging forward in a murderous attack.

The entities within those beams of light were all very bizarre. The only similarity between all of them was that they were life forms from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. They had been born here, and thus, had no choice but to heed the commands of the will of the Vast Expanse.

If the starry sky of the Vast Expanse wanted them to attack and exterminate Naruto and everything around him, then they wouldn't hesitate at all to accomplish that mission.

Rumbling could be heard as they got closer and closer. The old lizard roared as it went on the offensive. Behind the gigantic lizard was the head, then the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School. After all the fighting they had just gone through, their killing intent was no less, and they didn't hesitate to charge towards the host of entities. Instantly, fierce battles broke out.

Naruto looked around at everything, at the host of living beings, and the giant's fist, and he began to laugh.

"The Vast Expanse and I cannot exist together. Therefore, I will… topple the Vast Expanse!

"Without destruction, there cannot be creation. Allheaven, if you can become the will of the starry sky, then you can also be replaced. Neither the Ghost, the Devil nor the God succeeded in that. But this time… I will!" Naruto's eyes were glowing as brightly as suns. The incoming horde of living creatures was completely shocked by the sight of it, and yet there was a voice in their minds urging them on, telling them to pay any price to unleash slaughter.

The entire starry sky was soon shaking. Naruto turned, clenching his hand into a fist to meet the incoming fist of the Devil Realm giant.

He was like a bug compared to the giant, completely insignificant. When their fists met, a massive boom echoed out. Naruto's hair rose up a bit, and he shivered slightly. However, the Devil Realm Continent giant immediately began to shake, and then began to fall apart.

Before it could retreat, Naruto took a step forward, placing himself at the giant's abdomen, where he stamped his foot down. Cracks spread out like a spiderweb, whereupon he took a second step, right above the giant's dantian. Another massive boom echoed out. Then Naruto took a third step, a fourth step, and a fifth step….

With every step he took, he stamped his foot down onto the giant's body. By the time he reached the giant's chest, he was on his fifth step. The giant was shaking visibly, swaying back and forth, seemingly incapable of holding itself together. It was at that point that Naruto took his sixth step.

That step placed him onto the giant's forehead!

Cracking sounds echoed out, and more rifts snaked out, spreading from the forehead out across the giant's entire body. The giant roared as if it were about to fight back, but then Naruto snorted coldly and took his final step… the seventh step.

That step put him on the crown of the giant's head!

One final step crushed anything and everything!

—–

I would like to highly recommend a book for all of you to read. It's not crazy long like a Chinese web novel. It's _Unsouled_ by Will Wight, and you could probably read the whole book in the time I'm taking off. I heard a while back that an established indie fantasy author had written a xianxia-style book, and had to check it out. I got in touch with the author, and he was kind enough to send me an e-book version, and I have to say, it's definitely worth reading.

Instead of writing a full review of the book, I'll mention quickly what I liked and didn't like. What I liked was the excellent writing, as well as the intriguing universe he built. The action flows great, the descriptions are awesome, and he clearly put a lot of thought into the story.

One minor thing I didn't like was that the main character was not particularly compelling to me. He seemed almost like a carbon copy of Qin Yu from Stellar Transformations, especially in the early chapters.

Another thing I didn't like, and in fact the main thing that stuck out to me, was that despite the xianxia-esque setting and the names of everything being "Asian," the characters and the society they live in were not Chinese at all. You could change their names to Western names, and the story could have taken place in your standard fantasy setting. I've seen this kind of thing before in which Western authors try to make kung fu, wuxia, or xianxia settings more "realistic" by "fixing" the things that seem odd to the Western audience. Unfortunately, that tends to make things not authentic at all, especially to someone who understands the culture. Believe it or not, many of the oddities you laugh at in Chinese web novels are actually founded in reality. I did this same thing back when I was an aspiring writer and had just started to get interested in Chinese culture.

However, that aspect is actually a positive in some ways. Do you have any friends or family who you've been trying to convince to read translations on wuxiaworld, but they just can't "get into it"? This would be the perfect novel to read as an introduction, to hook them into some of the themes and concepts that readers of Chinese novel translations are already used to. I also have to point out that the universe of Unsouled is not supposed to be ancient China, so it all works out fine in the end as long as you aren't expecting an authentic "Chinese experience."

 _Check out Unsouled here!_

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1576

Chapter 1576 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1576: All Beings Acknowledge Allegiance!

Seven God Steps.

It was a magical technique that could build up explosive power, and actually originated in the Devil Realm Continent. Now, Naruto was fueling it with the power of Transcendence, causing it to reach a terrifying and virtually indescribable level.

In this case, describing it as something which could crush and destroy Heaven and Earth was no exaggeration. As of this moment, that was literally what Naruto was doing!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

As that seventh step landed, the giant that was the Devil Realm Continent, the doppelgänger of the will of Allheaven, shuddered violently. Then its head shattered, transforming into countless chunks of rubble that burst out in all directions.

Next was its neck, its torso, its arms, and its legs…. Massive rumbling echoed out as this giant, which could cause even 9-Essences experts to tremble, exploded, sending a shockwave blasting out into the starry sky. "Come out and fight, Allheaven!" Naruto said, swishing his sleeve and causing a huge tempest to rise up.

His words weren't spoken very loudly, and yet they contained a majestic natural law, transforming them into a shockwave that swept out with incredible power. All of the attacking life forms who were swept over by that shockwave instantly coughed up blood and then were shredded away into nothing.

The entire starry sky shook, and countless heavenly bodies trembled.

Land masses were shattered, and asteroids became dust. Arcane Pocket Realms, vortexes, and worlds all trembled beneath the sound of Naruto's voice.

As of that moment, Naruto was truly the most powerful entity within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, and he was issuing a challenge to the will of that starry sky. To… Allheaven!

However, the will of the starry sky didn't seem inclined to respond to Naruto at all. The response to his words came from the surrounding living beings, within whose mind a cold voice suddenly spoke.

Kill! Kill them all! Spare no cost!

Stain the starry sky red with blood! Even if nothing living remains, you must kill!

To Allheaven, none of the living creatures within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse were important. The only important thing was the threat that Naruto posed. Allheaven had no choice but to respond, and had no choice but to feel incredible fear and terror. Before the face-to-face battle occurred, if the deaths of the living creatures in the Vast Expanse could expose a flaw in Naruto, then it would all be worth it. Allheaven wanted to observe Naruto's Essence, wanted to understand Naruto's Dao, wanted to memorize his magics. Allheaven wanted to understand Naruto, and thus, be more confident in being able to fight him directly!

The sounds of intense fighting instantly rose up as the countless incoming living beings attacked with red-eyed madness. The cultivators from the Vast Expanse School couldn't possibly hold their own against such an overwhelming force, and were slowly being pushed back. The enemy forces… were simply too numerous.

There were so many that it was virtually impossible to describe. It was as if all life forms in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse were on the warpath.

There were numerous Paragons. 9-Essences experts could be seen. All of them were fighting like mad, ignoring any injury to themselves, even resorting to self-detonation.

Naruto looked at what was happening and then closed his eyes. However, that only lasted for one short breath of time. Then his eyes opened again, and they shone with merciless coldness. He took a step forward, and suddenly appeared on the western side of the battlefield. All of the living beings there who saw him descending began to tremble from within the depths of their hearts.

"I call upon the power of my name to seal the life forces of all beings in this area!" With that, he extended his right hand and then pushed it down. Something like infinite howling could be heard. Natural laws were forcibly altered, and magical laws were stripped away. All of the living beings began to tremble as their cultivation bases and life forces were altered by the changes to the natural and magical laws. Their cultivation bases began to crumble, and their life forces went dim. In the blink of an eye, countless beings were transformed into corpses.

Innumerable bodies floated in the starry sky, with Naruto being the only living person. As he hovered there, mixed emotions could be seen on his face, and yet there was no regret visible as he looked coldly at the groups of living beings in the other three directions.

Gasps rang out, but the will of the Vast Expanse urged them on with even more intensity than before. However, considering they were facing Naruto, an entity of unimaginable, inconceivable power, they almost couldn't muster the energy to move, and their minds were overwhelmed with dread.

"Only those who kowtow to me and call upon my name, those who acknowledge allegiance to me, will be able to continue existing within this starry sky.

"Those who resist will die along with Allheaven." The sight of him hovering there surrounded by countless corpses caused his words to seem even more thunderous than before.

Even as the feeling of awe filled the living beings, the will of Allheaven crushed down on them with even more intense power. It was like a howling roar that caused all of the living beings to tremble. Their eyes were bloodshot as they once again began to fight. At the same time, more creatures appeared off in the distance.

Frowning, Naruto let out a cold harrumph. His eyes flickered with killing intent as he took another step forward. At the same time, he spoke, his voice as cold as ice.

"I hereby deprive you of your right to practice cultivation, and also extinguish the flame of your life forces." As soon as the words left his mouth, the void trembled and began to collapse. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of the surrounding Outsiders as the properties within their blood that allowed them to practice cultivation suddenly melted.

The flames of their life force were also extinguished. More blood sprayed about in all directions, and soon, nothing was left behind but swathes of corpses.

Naruto hovered there, looking around at the living creatures of the Vast Expanse. He said nothing, choosing only to raise his right hand. From the look of it, all he had to do was lower that hand, and all of the surrounding beings would be wiped out of existence.

That was the incredible level of power that was Transcendence. All of

the various beings present collapsed mentally. They were shaking, petrified, and despite the lashings of the will of Allheaven, they couldn't forget the terrifying things they had just witnessed. That in itself caused the will of Allheaven to begin to crumble.

It was impossible to say who did it first, but one by one, the various living beings of the Vast Expanse dropped to their knees, their minds blank, their hearts in complete chaos.

"I acknowledge allegiance…."

"I acknowledge allegiance!"

"We acknowledge allegiance…." Countless voices echoed out from near and far, even from those beings far off in the distance.

All beings were acknowledging allegiance!

Naruto hovered there in the starry sky, looking off into the distance, his eyes radiating killing intent.

"Allheaven, show your damned face right now!" he roared.

Chapter 1576: All Beings Acknowledge Allegiance!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1577

Chapter 1577 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1577: Severing the Root of the Bloodline!

All beings acknowledged allegiance. All life forms in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse were kowtowing to Naruto, bearing witness to the fact that he was truly in a position to challenge the will of Allheaven to battle.

The cultivators of the Vast Expanse School were also kowtowing, their hearts filled with intense emotions regarding Naruto. The Sect Leader and the others had the same feeling.

"The Heavens… are going to change…." The Sect Leader thought, gasping, his eyes shining with brilliant light.

As of this point, a cold snort suddenly echoed out to fill the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. It seemed to come from everywhere, from every living thing, from every planet, from every land mass, from every vortex, from every particle of dust.

In concert with the voice, the natural and magical laws of the starry sky twisted and distorted. In the blink of an eye, light began to swirl from all directions, and began to form together in front of Naruto into the shape of a person!

It was enormous. It was as if the starry sky itself were its body, the planets its eyes, the worlds its bones. It was a vague image at first, but the mere sight of it was shocking to the extreme, and caused incredible pressure to crush down onto all cultivators.

However, the figure then began to shrink down rapidly, and at the same time, the pressure increased. Every cultivator coughed up blood, and shook visibly. Naruto's hair was whipping around his head, and his clothes were flapping. Soon the figure in front of him was only 30,000 meters tall, and then only 30 meters. As it continued to shrink, its features grew clearer.

It was… a young man!

He wore a long robe decorated with a starry sky. He had long hair which floated around him, and sharply angled eyebrows. He was handsome to an extreme degree, and from the aura which emanated out from him, he seemed to be the lord of all existence.

Under his gaze, all living things would prostrate themselves, and not dare to even lift their heads.

And yet, when Naruto looked at this young man, he could detect a very faint… aura of death!

This person was none other than Allheaven!

Of course, he was not Allheaven's true form, he was a clone. Allheaven's true form was incapable of actually entering the Vast Expanse. He existed outside the Vast Expanse. And yet, this clone of Allheaven was very close to his true form in terms of power. This was perhaps his most powerful manifestation, something which could never be completely separated from his true form.

He had never intended to appear in such a way so soon. He had tried all the methods at his disposal, and yet had been unable to do anything about Naruto. Thus, he appeared personally. The time had come for him to begin the ultimate battle with Naruto.

The best outcome would be to win this fight. However, even if he lost… the information learned would be of extreme benefit to his true form. Even if his true form ended up weakening further later on, it still might give him what he needed to eke out a victory.

"You should never have reached this state," said Allheaven's clone, his expression cold and filled with something extremely ancient.

Naruto looked at the young man, his eyes shining with a profound light as he said, "I never came after you looking for a fight. You plotted and schemed against me constantly. Now, I have Transcended. There's no need to push this into a battle of life or death. I might be able to ignore your true form outside the Vast Expanse, Allheaven. However, inside the Vast Expanse, I don't need any other Heavens above my head!"

"The only reason you exist is so that I can live," the clone said, shaking his head. "Even if you didn't come looking for me, I would have come looking for you. What has happened between the two of us was foreordained…. And only one of us can survive. Either you replace me, or I consume you!"

Allheaven's eyes glittered with killing intent, and yet deeper inside was a profound loneliness that seemed to contain countless memories. "Things shouldn't have turned out this way. You should never have reached this state. You… were supposed to be nothing more than fuel to drive my rebirth." With a sigh, he lifted his right hand and pointed at Naruto.

"But since you insisted on climbing to this height, then I shall now bring order to all of this chaos!

"All true Demons who appear in this world cultivate based on my bloodline. Blood of Allheaven, inflict your punishment!" As soon as the words left the mouth of Allheaven's clone, a tremor ran through Naruto, and all of the blood within his body began to boil out of control.

His veins, his bones, his flesh, all of it came from an Allheaven Clan. He was from an Allheaven bloodline, and was an Allheaven Immortal.

Because of all of that, the simple wave of a finger caused all of those things to explode.

Countless drops of blood oozed out from his pores, instantly staining his clothing red. And yet, he continued to hover in place, completely unmoving.

"If you trace my bloodline back, it really does originate with you. But in the moment I reached Transcendence, what Transcended was not just my fleshly body, but also my soul, and… my blood." By this point, the boiling of his blood had reached a fever pitch. At the same time, an enormous figure appeared behind him. It started out vague, but rapidly became clear, and soon it was obvious that it was an enormous image of Naruto.

He looked like a divine spirit hovering there in the starry sky. His body was covered with chains and shackles of all sorts, and yet in the same instant that he appeared, all of those bonds began to shudder, as if on the verge of shattering.

As the chains and shackles were destroyed, it was obvious that they were somehow connected to the clone of Allheaven.

"When my blood Transcended, I could tell that there was still a faint connection in there. I was waiting this whole time to face you in person, and then completely sever anything connecting me to you!"

Naruto's eyes flashed with light as he lifted his right hand and then chopped it down in front of him.

That chopping motion caused the starry sky to become a sharp blade, glittering with the brilliant light of the Heavens as is it slashed down at the space between Naruto and Allheaven's clone.

In that moment, the chains binding the enormous figure behind him began to tremble. Massive rumbling sounds echoed out as they began to shatter into fragments.

The figure behind Naruto stretched his arms out wide. Cracking sounds emanated out in all directions as the chains and shackles were destroyed. Then, the enormous figure began to grow larger than before, as if it had freed itself from some unknown restraints. This was true freedom!

Freedom and independence were the Dao of Naruto. As of this moment, he had now severed himself from any and all connections to Allheaven. As of this moment, his Dao was rising to the highest heights.

From this moment on, he was his own man; the origin of his blood was severed, buying him true freedom!

Chapter 1577: Severing the Root of the Bloodline!

—–

Important explanation about Beseech the Devil and Renegade Immortal: I've been seeing a lot of comments with speculations about how the stories all tie together, and how that might give clues about the ending of I Shall Seal the Heavens. Although the three stories definitely have a lot of connections, the overall plot of each story stands alone. In other words, Allheaven does not appear in either BTD or RI. Those stories ARE NOT about the main characters severing the fingers of Allheaven.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1578

Chapter 1578: Allheaven Transformation!

In that moment of severing, Naruto's cultivation base advanced. Although he was still half a step into the Ancestor Realm, he made significant progress.

His hair whipped about, and his energy surged. He took a deep breath, and the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse shook. The eyes of Allheaven's clone went wide as he glared at Naruto.

"I am the will of the starry sky," he said. "I am its soul. My words are natural law, and my thoughts are magical law!

"On this day, I lay down a new law. Wherever I stand, there shall be no safe place for this cultivator!"

As soon as the words left the clone's mouth, the starry sky began to tremble. Rumbling like thunder could be heard, and rifts opened up above. Cracking sounds could be heard as the rifts spread out and joined together. Heaven-rending Earth-crushing power radiated out as… a new natural law appeared.

At the same time, the void around Naruto began to collapse, transforming into a huge black hole. It was as if this new natural law caused all existence to be unwilling to get near Naruto. According to this natural law, there was no safe place for Naruto in this starry sky!

The black hole was not a true black hole, but rather a manifestation of how the starry sky and the void itself would not permit Naruto to safely remain within them. As they retreated, a hole was left behind, something infinitely dark that connected to the area outside the Vast Expanse, to the Universe. If Naruto fell inside of it, he would eventually be driven completely away.

The battle had advanced beyond the use of divine abilities, and into the realm of fighting with natural law. It was a terrifying level of combat that exceeded the imaginations of most cultivators. It was a type of combat only for Transcendent cultivators.

At his current level Naruto could not create brand new natural laws with a single word. However, he could change them.

Eyes glittering brightly, he said, "My Dao is that of freedom and independence, of being unrestrained and unfettered. I do not wish to have Heavens looming over me that belong to someone else. My Dao is my Essence. Wherever I stand, I can call upon the Essence of my Dao to dispel and shatter natural and magical laws. Nobody can expel me from this place!" He flicked his sleeve, causing the power of his Dao Essence to rumble out, changing the natural and magical laws, which twisted and shattered.

Beneath him, the black hole vanished, causing everything to return to normal. Of course, only Allheaven was aware that in this battle of natural laws, the danger involved vastly exceeded anything that ordinary cultivators could comprehend.

Allheaven's eyes flickered as he said, "I strip you of your control of the five elements, and create a new magical law!"

Naruto waved his sleeve. "The five elements exist within the Essence of my Dao. Wherever the light of my Dao shines, the five elements cannot be dispersed!"

Allheaven voice boomed like thunder as he said, "The light of the starry sky shall never shine upon you! I strip away your ability to see light!" Suddenly, Naruto was surrounded by pitch black darkness. It was as if he couldn't detect any light at all, as if he were fusing into the darkness, becoming a part of it.

Naruto snorted coldly. "I am a Transcendent cultivator, half a step into the Ancestor Realm. The light of the starry sky doesn't deserve to touch me. You don't need to strip it away, I hereby tell it to screw off!"

Moments ago, he had been physically fading away, but now he was as clear as day. Not only had he dispelled the light, he had dispelled and cast away the darkness too.

Allheaven's face twisted with rage. Although he had the advantage in this battle of natural laws, and also had the initiative, he felt a sense of helplessness when facing Naruto. "Your soul is your flame, your Mountains and Seas your land. Henceforth, the Mountains and Seas are not permitted to exist, and your soul is not permitted to burn with life!"

"If I cease to exist, then the entire starry skies will go with me!" A look of disdain could be seen on Naruto as he faced these natural laws of Allheaven. At the same time, a domineering aura was radiating out from him.

"My words caused all living things to exist in this world. Now, my words will cause you to be killed in body and soul. How could you possibly survive?!" Allheaven began to walk forward, and every step he took caused the starry sky to tremble.

Naruto also started walking forward, and his steps likewise caused everything to shake. "You can destroy my body and disperse my cultivation base. But my soul and my Dao Essence will remain. If you, the will of this starry sky, are like a boundless sea, then I am like a mountain crag which stands eternally within those waters. No matter how your waves batter me, I will always remain!"

He fought back relentlessly against the invisible power of Allheaven. No matter how powerful the new natural laws were, he didn't flinch from them, and in fact, crushed them underfoot.

Allheaven would create them, and Naruto would destroy them. Although Naruto actually wasn't a full match for Allheaven, destroying natural laws was much easier than creating them.

The surrounding creatures of the Vast Expanse were falling back at top speed. The fight between Naruto and Allheaven was something they couldn't participate in. They simply retreated, their minds reeling.

As for the Paragons, and the 9-Essences beings, they were completely and utterly shaken. They were trembling, and their eyes were wide as they tried their best to learn something from the battle of natural laws which was unfolding in front of their very eyes.

All of those people were a step away from Transcendence. And yet, that step was an enormous one to take successfully. But now, thanks to this battle which they were able to witness, they were receiving unheard-of benefits.

"Transcendence…. This is Transcendence!"

"In the Daosource Realm, you can actually create natural laws, and also destroy them!" The Sect Leader and the others couldn't help but gasp as they paid rapt attention to what was happening.

Naruto had just severed his own bloodline to acquire true freedom and independence. Not even the natural laws being thrown against him did any good. The eyes of Allheaven's clone glittered with cold light as he took another step, whereupon his energy surged to even higher levels.

A tempest sprang up which swept across the starry sky, causing everything to rumble. The clone's eyes flickered with killing intent.

"Allheaven, First Transformation!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he began to increase in size. Eight blobs of flesh sprouted from his shoulders, which began to split apart.

Shockingly, they transformed into… eight heads.

Including the head he originally had, he now had a total of nine!

His body also began to change shape. It was no longer humanoid, but rather that of a snake, fully 3,000,000 meters long. His appearance could shake Heaven and Earth, and was indescribably ferocious.

All nine heads looked over at Naruto, and then roared, unleashing an incredible sound wave which even shifted the locations of the heavenly bodies it passed by, and shoved the nearby cultivators back.

It was a power that was second to none!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1579

Chapter 1579: Emperor Dragon Transformation!

Among those nine heads were men and women, old and young, people and beasts. Their roar caused Naruto's pupils to constrict. For some reason, something seemed very wrong about Allheaven as of this moment.

Shockingly, faces could be seen on all of the scales of his snake body, making him seem utterly and thoroughly terrifying.

The blast of wind caused by the roar of the nine heads was something that only 9-Essences experts could endure without being knocked unconscious. This nine-headed serpent was an entity that virtually no one recognized, and yet it filled them all with terror.

In contrast to everyone else… old lizard let out a cry of disbelief at the sight of those nine heads. All of the scales on its body stood on end.

"The Nine-Head Tribe!" cried the lizard. "It's from the Nine-Head Tribe!

"They were destroyed years ago in a previous epoch. According to the legends, they were one of the most powerful of the beast tribes back when the starry sky of the Vast Expanse had just been created!

"The Nine-Head Tribe was invincibly domineering for ten full epochs…." It was entirely possible that the old lizard was the only individual present who knew anything about the existence of the Nine-Head Tribe, mostly because it actually possessed a bit of that tribe's bloodline within it. 1

Even as the old lizard was shrieking, Naruto's eyes flickered. When he looked at the nine-headed serpent, he couldn't help but think back to the Immortal God Continent and the Devil Realm Continent.

"Everything which has ever existed in this starry sky will be remembered, and is imprinted upon the will of the starry sky itself. Allheaven can create something from nothing based on anything in his memory…."

Even as Naruto pondered these things, Allheaven looked at Naruto with eighteen eyes, eyes that glowed with brutal madness. Suddenly, he blurred into motion, leaving behind afterimages and kicking up a wild tempest. Rumbling sounds echoed out as he appeared directly in front of Naruto, his tail sweeping out in a vicious attack.

The starry sky crumbled under the power of the tail, which exceeded the 9-Essences level. Heavenly bodies collapsed, and Naruto's eyes glittered with an icy light as he clenched his right hand into a fist and punched straight out.

As the fist made contact with the tail, the void shattered, massive rumbling sounds echoed out, and the serpent that was Allheaven shuddered. Naruto trembled as he tumbled backward, and yet even as he fell back, the nine-headed serpents' eyes all closed.

A tear emerged from each closed eye, a total of eighteen. As the tears appeared, a shocking aura of resentment exploded out. Then the tears glistened, transforming into eighteen beams of light that shot toward Naruto.

"Nine-Head Tears! Nine-Head Tears!" the old lizard howled. "Watch out, Naruto! That's the killing move of the Nine-Head Tribe. All the resentment in his body is converged into a magic of ultimate destruction!"

As the eighteen glistening tears bore down on Naruto, his eyes flickered, but he did nothing to evade. Hovering in place, he lifted his right hand and pushed it out toward the tears.

"Beginning!" he said. Immediately, a Demon Sealing Hexing magic was unleashed. Considering that his Hexing magics were absolutely complete, and backed by the power of Transcendence, their power was enough to shake the entire Vast Expanse.

In response to the single word he had spoken, the eight teardrops stopped in place, looking as though they would dissolve at any moment. As soon as Naruto spoke the word "beginning" from the BeginningEnding Hex, all things returned to their basic Essence.

Seeing that the killing move had been negated, the nine-headed serpent's eighteen eyes opened, and it roared. Shockingly, its body began to split apart!

Numerous figures burst out from inside, and if one looked closely, one would see that they were all nine-headed serpents of various sizes and shapes. There were more than ten thousand in total, all of them radiating resentment and madness as they shot toward Naruto.

"The Tribal Deathblow. I can't believe… it's the Tribal Deathblow of the Nine-Heads Tribe!

"Supposedly, members of the Nine-Head Tribe can unleash this move in the moments before being killed. By making a self-sacrifice of mutual destruction, they can unleash the full power of their tribe to destroy any enemy!" The old lizard was trembling at the sight of what was happening.

The countless nine-headed serpents emitted shrill shrieks as they spun through the air like a huge wave, closing in on Naruto with raging killing intent.

"The Nine-Head Tribe might have been powerful, but they never produced a Transcendor," murmured Naruto. "Even if one of them reached fleshly body Transcendence, that's still not good enough. "This version of the tribe was created by the first Allheaven

Transformation, and didn't come about naturally. It's nothing more than a flight of fancy." With that, Naruto clenched his right hand into a fist.

"Ending!" he barked

Rumbling could be heard as the Beginning-Ending Hex was fully unleashed. Boundless power erupted from Naruto's Dao Essence, forming into his hand, which he slowly opened up into a palm. It was as if the starry sky existed within his hand, and that anything inside of his palm could be destroyed by simply closing his fingers!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

The eighteen tears were destroyed, and the rest of the nine-headed serpents all exploded, becoming nothing more than ash drifting about in front of Naruto.

"I can see what you're doing, Allheaven…. You just want to study my Demon Sealing Hexing magic, don't you? Well then, I'll go ahead and show you!" Killing intent flickered in Naruto's eyes as he took a step forward, waving his hand to unleash the Second Hex! He was not the type to wait for others to take the initiative!

"Real!" he said, and the starry sky trembled.

At the same time, even as the nine-headed serpents were fading away, Allheaven formed anew in the void up ahead, glaring at Naruto with the eighteen eyes of his Nine-Head form. At the same time that the Second Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed, so was… the second Allheaven Transformation!

"Second Transformation, Nine-Heads becomes a dragon, Emperor

Dragon Transformation!" 2

Allheaven threw his head back and howled. His body then began to grow, and it no longer looked like a serpent. Horns grew out of his head, and he sprouted nine claws. Eight of his heads began to wither down, eventually becoming a crown that rested upon the only remaining head!

Allheaven's clone now hovered there in the starry sky, having taken the shocking form of an Emperor Dragon!

This Nine-Head Tribe appears to be a reference to a race of beings from Beseech the Devil. In fact, I was doing a bit of research and noticed that there is a "huge lizard" which appears in the early parts of that same story. I'm not sure if that's the same lizard as the old lizard mentioned here, but I wouldn't be surprised. Another interesting thing is that "ten epochs" of time passed in the final chapters of Beseech the Devil ↩ I'm pretty sure this Emperor Dragon is something which appears in the later chapters of Renegade Immortal ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1580

Chapter 1580: Third Transformation!

Emperor Dragons primarily ate serpents. They only existed for a short time within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, less than a thousand years. After that, the entire race vanished.

Because of that, none of the living beings that currently existed would even recognize what an Emperor Dragon was. Not even the old lizard had ever seen one.

People had seen dragons before, but not a dragon like this, with the crown of an Emperor, nine claws, and pitch-black scales. It was ferocious to the extreme.

However, the meaning of the character in the Dragon's name actually wasn't emperor. It was leech! 1

A Leech Dragon!

It had the normal whiskers of a dragon, but when it opened its mouth, what emerged was a razor-sharp, blood-sucking mouthpiece like that of a mosquito. Its entire appearance was shocking to the extreme.

Virtually no one was even aware that such creatures had ever existed. They were extinct. In fact, the only person in the starry sky who knew about them… was Allheaven. By creating something out of nothing, he was able to use the Leech Dragon as his second transformation!

Almost as soon as the Emperor Dragon appeared, its energy redoubled several times, reaching a completely shocking level that caused even Naruto to frown.

He knew that Allheaven was powerful, and that defeating him in battle would be no easy task. Now that he could see these Allheaven

Transformations for himself, especially the Emperor Dragon, he was left with an uneasy feeling of impending doom.

"This Emperor Dragon is not just Transcendent in terms of fleshly body, but also cultivation base," thought Naruto. "As for its soul… that appears to be its only limitation. However, from the look of it, all it would need would be some time to make that breakthrough! In fact, I've never encountered something that could actually break through to full Transcendence so easily!

"Allheaven created something from nothing, and managed to make up for some of the deficiencies of the soul. This thing… is actually the same type of living being as the nine-headed serpent, but in terms of overall level, that serpent couldn't even compare." Naruto's eyes glittered as the Second Demon Sealing Hex was unleashed, Real-Unreal Hexing. Instantly, the surrounding void filled with numerous bizarre fluctuations that rapidly coalesced into the form of a mirror. Unexpectedly, visible within that mirror was another Emperor Dragon, which looked exactly like the first!

Even as the newly created Emperor Dragon roared, Naruto waved his hand, sending it flying toward Allheaven's Emperor Dragon.

The sudden appearance of these two dragons was a shock to everyone present. Even as their cold gazes locked onto each other, an intense murderous aura exploded out from each dragon, which collided into the other. Both of them began to wither rapidly.

This was the trump card of Emperor Dragons, the Emperor Dragon Cosmic Corrosion!

Piercing howls echoed out as the two Emperor Dragons withered up.

However, after only a moment passed, blood suddenly spurted out all over Allheaven's Emperor Dragon. In the blink of an eye, it was stained completely blood-red. Exuding an air of domineering madness, it then flew through the void toward Naruto like a shooting star.

It closed in with spectacular speed, shattering the starry sky, seemingly bent on crushing anything that dared to get in its path.

This was the ultimate divine ability of Emperor Dragons, Blood Tyranny.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Emperor Dragon's energy and power rose to heights that could ignore all natural laws. As it closed in, Naruto snorted coldly, then waved his sleeve, causing his own Emperor Dragon to utilize the exact same divine ability.

The two Emperor Dragons slammed into each other, and a huge boom echoed out. Naruto frowned as his own Emperor Dragon was shredded to pieces, completely incapable of harming Allheaven's dragon, which continued on with its deadly charge.

It seemed as if all living beings, all types of power, all Transcendent cultivators, would be crushed by this attack. It was a simple attack, but an attack filled with infinitely destructive power.

The simpler and madder the attack, the more powerful it was!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE! The Emperor Dragon got closer and closer. 3,000 meters. 300 meters. 30 meters. The blood covering its body burned, and it looked like nothing in the starry sky could do anything to stop it. It was as if this attack was strong enough to break out into the Universe itself. It seemed invincible, unblockable, capable of turning anything it struck into ash.

The sense of deadly crisis within Naruto grew more intense.

"A Transcendent Emperor Dragon, making its ultimate attack…" His eyes flickered with the desire to do battle. This was the first true fight he had experienced since Transcending. The first Allheaven Transformation didn't leave him with much of a desire to fight, but now, that feeling was burning hot within him.

"What a pity," he said, shaking his head. Instead of fighting back, he simply reached up and pushed out with his hand.

"Unreal!"

With that single word, he completed the unleashing the Second Demon

Sealing Hex, the Real-Unreal Hexing. By using the "real" aspect of the Hex, he created a projection of the dragon. But by using the "unreal" aspect, he could transform what was real into something illusory.

 _If I say you really exist, then even if you die, you shall still exist!_

If I say you are not real, then you shall vanish into unreality!

The ripples in the area suddenly faded away into shapelessness. A shocking energy blasted into the Emperor Dragon, which then lurched a halt a mere three meters in front of Naruto's hand, where it trembled, a look of disbelief shining in its eyes.

"Disperse," he said, waving his hand gently to the left. Instantly, the Emperor Dragon's energy, all of its domineering power, all of its invincibility, was crushed away. The dragon's body shattered, and it dispersed.

The Real-Unreal Hexing could make things both real and unreal!

"That's the best you've got, Allheaven? If so, I'm afraid you're not going to get a chance to see all of my Demon Sealing Hexing magic." Naruto's eyes glittered as coldly as a sharp blade as he looked off into the void, where Allheaven was materializing back into another clone.

His young face was ashen; although Naruto's strength was not anything unexpected to him, he was still left with a feeling of lingering fear. However, he couldn't bring himself to admit that it was true strength on the part of Naruto; in his mind, it was merely weakness on his part after having existed for so long within the stream of time.

"I won't stop fighting until one of us is dead!" growled Allheaven's clone.

Even as the words left his mouth… ghost fire sprang up all over him! It was the third Allheaven Transformation!

In Chinese the two characters used here for emperor and leech here have exactly the same pronunciation, even down to the tone, making this wordplay pretty cool in Chinese. ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1581

Chapter 1581: You Think You Can Ruin Me?!

Allheaven created something out of nothing, using the mark of the first Transcendor from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse to create what he saw as the perfect body.

It was none other than… the Ghost Transformation!

Ghost fire flickered in the eyes of Allheaven's clone as he transformed.

Soon, the clone had become a spectral figure wreathed with Ghost qi. Although his facial features weren't clearly visible, the sinister aura which emanated off of him filled the entire area.

It was almost as if he were no longer Allheaven, but instead, another version of Patriarch Vast Expanse.

Naruto's pupils constricted. This version of Allheaven was even more powerful than before, and the threatening pressure he exuded was even more intense. However, Naruto didn't hesitate to take the initiative.

He flickered as he vanished, reappearing right next to the image of the

Ghost, whereupon he lifted his right hand up and then chopped it down.

The Ghost let out a sinister chuckle, and his body suddenly distorted and began to spin around Naruto. Ghost Chakra erupted out, and within the blink of an eye, the two of them had exchanged over a thousand blows. The starry sky trembled as they fought with blinding speed. Strangely, when Naruto's attacks landed on the Ghost, they passed right through him. It was almost as if they were completely ineffective. Similarly, the Ghost's magical techniques were not able to fully affect Naruto. With Naruto's Dao as an Essence, he could affect natural laws, making him as powerful as a mountain.

At first, it seemed like neither would be able to do much to the other, but then the Ghost's eyes flickered as he performed an incantation gesture. Then he began to speak in bizarre susurrations, deathly utterances that couldn't possibly come from the mouth of a living being.

Instantly, the starry sky in the area began to fill with more ghostly figures. In the blink of an eye, there were far too many to even count.

Voices could be heard speaking: "Millions upon millions of vicious ghosts can consume body and soul!"

The ghosts' eyes glowed with bizarre light, and their words seemed distorted and twisted, filled with sinister malice. Then the countless ghosts howled shrilly as they began to speed in Naruto's direction.

Naruto's eyes widened as the sensation of deadly crisis grew even more intense. Backing up, he let loose his cultivation base power, performing an incantation gesture with his right hand and waving his finger out in front of him.

"Third Demon Sealing Hex!"

It was… Present-Ancient Hexing!

This Hex could manipulate the transformations of Time, making countless eras pass by in the blink of an eye. In a single breath of time, the sky could grow ancient and the lands could become primordial. As the effects of the Hex spread out, the starry sky withered. Before any of the ghosts could reach Naruto, they faded away into nothing.

With the exception of Transcendors, all living beings would have a very difficult time staving off the ravages of the passage of Time. Of course, the Ghost had Transcended, but as for all of the ghosts that had been summoned, they had no such qualifications.

As the ghosts were transformed into ash and smoke, the Ghost version of Allheaven looked on with flashing eyes. This outcome was something he had predicted would happen, and in fact, a closer look would reveal that he was actually smiling.

Even as that smile appeared, he began to speak in a bizarre voice.

"Millions upon millions of ghosts entomb the mind and transform it in my image! Go, invade the hearts of all! Shadowheart Tribulation!"

Even as the words left his mouth, his body began to distort and shrink, transforming into a shadow that couldn't be affected at all by Naruto's magical manipulation of Time. He was like a blur as he shot toward Naruto.

The drifting ash and dust that was all that remained of the ghosts from moments ago suddenly seemed to become sustenance for this shadow.

As it neared, its power level rose to a level so high that apparently, the Ghost didn't even need to get close to Naruto to hurt him. The shadow seemed to merge with the void, casting everything around Naruto into darkness.

Allheaven's voice then began to echo out in all directions. "Naruto, I will now ruin your Demon Sealing Hexing magic, your so-called Third Hex!"

The boundless shadows swirled around Naruto at high speed, emanating shocking coldness. As for Naruto, his eyes flickered icily as he performed an incantation gesture. However, the Present-Ancient Hexing did nothing.

"Well done, Ghost…." he murmured. It was a critical juncture, and yet his expression was placid. Instead of continuing to try to force a result out of the Third Hex, he chuckled coldly and allowed the shadows to surge into his body.

Soon, they had completely merged into him, fusing with him, becoming

a part of him.

This Ghost version of Allheaven might not be able to kill Naruto, but the truth was that he didn't intend to. He wanted to find a weakness within Naruto's Hexing magic, and then use that weakness to infect and even ruin that magic!

Only by doing such a thing could he have a chance to cut Naruto down in their final battle. The truth was, what terrified Allheaven the most was what had led Naruto all the way to Transcendence in the first place… his Demon Sealing Hexing magic!

"You think you can ruin my Demon Sealing Hexing magic?!" Naruto let out a cold harrumph. Although spectators wouldn't be able to tell, he knew that the power of Present and Ancient was completely beyond the ordinary.

If it couldn't be defended against outside the body, then how much more powerful would it be inside the body, especially when backed by the power of the Daosource? The true question was, would the ghosts inside of Naruto ruin the Hexing magic, or would the Hexing magic destroy the ghosts?

Rumbling could be heard as Naruto lifted his right hand up and touched his index finger to his forehead. In that instant, the PresentAncient power of Time erupted out inside of him.

The boundless power of Time flowed through Naruto, seemingly soft, but as powerful as an ocean which, with enough time, could wear away even the most majestic of reefs.

An explosion of Time occurred inside of Naruto, and as that happened, the ghosts inside of him went mad. They began to weaken, until Naruto flicked his sleeve. It took only a single breath of time for 100,000,000 years passed by.

Ten breaths of time later, all of the ghosts inside of him were completely destroyed by the passage of Time.

He reached out his hand, and the Present-Ancient Hexing spun within his palm, filling up with countless figures, becoming a shining sphere. Finally, he clenched his hand into a fist, and a cracking sound could be heard as the sphere was smashed.

Not too far away in the starry sky, Allheaven's clone coughed up a mouthful of blood, and within the vicious expression on his face could be seen just a touch of shock.

"Time to finish things," Naruto said, his eyes flickering with killing intent. His murderous aura then transformed into a corporeal blade which slashed toward Allheaven!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1582

Chapter 1582 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1582: Heavenly God Transformation!

The Fourth Hex, Self Hexing!

Naruto was a blur as he shot toward Allheaven. In the time it took to blink, innumerable afterimages appeared. There were men and women, old and young, all of whom looked different from Naruto, and yet were fundamentally the same.

That was because they were all clones produced by Naruto's Self Hex!

The Self Hex could produce countless numbers of clones, entire worlds of life. It could transform Heaven and Earth, and could make the true form become an entire country!

A hundred clones appeared. Then thousands. Then tens of thousands.

Rumbling could be heard as all the different versions of Naruto closed in on Allheaven's clone. Naruto waved his hand, and all of his clones waved their hands. The joint attack was like a tempest, shattering the starry sky, powerful enough to wipe out all living beings.

Allheaven's clone hovered there, hair whipping wildly around his head.

He was aware that he wasn't a match for Naruto's Self Hex in this state. After all, this was a clone, not his true self. Not even this clone could handle Naruto, who was half a step into the Ancestor Realm.

A boom rang out, and Allheaven fell back, coughing up blood. However, his eyes shone with cold light, and his expression was ferocious as he stared at Naruto's clones, all of whom possessed the same Essences as he did. All of a sudden, a look of focus appeared in Allheaven's eyes.

"Fourth Allheaven Transformation!" he roared. "Devil Soul

Transformation!"

Even as the words left his mouth, his expression distorted, becoming more ferocious than ever. Cracking sounds rang out as razor-sharp bone spurs pierced out through his flesh all over his body. His head also changed, as two long horns grew out.

Scales rippled out to cover his flesh, and at the same time, Devil fire burst out, black flames that scorched everything around him.

Allheaven's clone had completely changed, and was now wreathed in raging black flames. He was merely 300 meters tall at this point, but as he hovered there, the Devil Chakra which swirled around him seemed capable of covering the entire starry sky. The sea of flames which surrounded him raged as he pushed one hand up above him, as if to support the Heavens above, and the other hand down, as though to brace against all the Earth below. Then, he began to take seven steps forward.

It was as if in all Heaven and Earth, he was the most supreme of all beings!

He was the Devil!

Within Allheaven's starry sky of the Vast Expanse, the Devil was the second person to ever Transcend. He was the basis of the fourth transformation, the Devil Soul Battle Form!

Allheaven looked up, his face expressionless, and the sea of flames churned. His eyes were crimson, his expression merciless, as if he were willing to consume anything and everything. He apparently lost command of all faculties of reason, and instantly descended into madness.

"DIIIIEEEEEEEEE!" he howled, turning into a blur and appearing directly in front of Naruto. There, he clenched his hand into a fist and punched out.

That fist carried with it the sea of flames, a destructive blast of fire backed by the starry sky itself. It was as if the entire world were packed into that fist, and the sheer power caused Naruto's pupils to constrict. He could sense that this fourth Allheaven Transformation was explosively more powerful than the others.

It was also incredibly fast. Naruto waved his sleeve out in front of him, which was mimicked by all of his countless clones. A blast surged out which then converged onto the image of the Devil.

BOOM!

This stretch of the starry sky had long since turned into a shattered battleground as the void was repeatedly shredded and destroyed by the fighting.

Naruto and Allheaven fought back and forth like mad, wreaking such havoc on their surroundings that it seemed as if the starry sky might not be able to handle it for much longer.

The full power of Naruto's Self Hex unleashed countless clones that put him on almost equal footing with Allheaven. Allheaven, the Devil embodied, threw his head back and howled, a howl filled with madness that could pierce through everything. "Unbridled Devil Will!"

At the same time, a divine sense erupted out that could shake Heaven and Earth. It smashed down toward Naruto, filled with madness, murder, and blood. When it slammed into him, his face flickered; even with his Transcendent soul, it was actually difficult to withstand the power of the divine sense.

Blood oozed out of the corners of his mouth as he backed up. This was his first time sustaining an injury during this battle with Allheaven.

In that same moment, the eyes of the Allheaven Devil turned an even deeper red. Howling, he charged once more in attack.

"Underworld Possession!" As the words echoed out, the Allheaven Devil transformed into countless black strands which sped through the air. Before Naruto could react, they bored into his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, as if to possess him.

Naruto took a deep breath, then stretched his arms out wide.

"Self Hex! All creation becomes me!" Instantly, countless versions of Naruto appeared around him, different from him, and yet containing his Essence. There were so many that they were impossible to count, stretching in all directions.

"Starry sky, thou shalt become my body!" The destroyed starry sky in the area twisted, becoming almost like a mirror that cast countless reflections, making it seem as if the starry sky itself were made up of clones of Naruto.

"Where I stand, there doth exist my kingdom!" His eyes snapped open, and they shone like the sun. He lifted his right foot into the air, and stamped it down violently!

Instantly, the starry sky teetered.

"Children of the kingdom, unite to protect mine soul!" He took a deep breath, and as he did, the entire void around him was affected, as everything collapsed into ruin.

It was as if a giant had sucked in a breath, except there was no giant, only Naruto. That single breath caused everything in the area to be completely destroyed.

Along with the destruction, Naruto's Essence clones transformed into beams of light that shot inside of him. The shattered starry sky, his kingdom, everything else that came from the Self Hex, all fused back into him.

Golden light exploded out from within him, until he looked like he was made of gold. Suddenly, he seemed as invincible as a fortress. His soul was now under the protection of countless Self Hex clones, ensuring that the Devil's possession attempt was doomed to failure.

"Begone from me!" Naruto roared. The countless black threads which had bored into him were violently forced out. His body was like a battleground, within which the Devil was completely vanquished and removed.

However, even as the black Devil threads were blasted away, a voice echoed out like that belonging to a divine being. It was as powerful as thunder, like the voice of a deity that could cause all living things to tremble.

"Fifth Allheaven Transformation. Heavenly God Transformation!"

Chapter 1582: Heavenly God Transformation!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1583

Chapter 1583: None Can Match My Strength!

As Allheaven's words echoed out, the Devil souls transformed into a deep golden color. It was an ancient, upright color, filled with explosive strength.

Then came a Heaven-rending Earth-crushing roar as a giant appeared in front of Naruto, so large it seemed capable of propping up the Heavens.

He was tens of thousands of meters tall, and that didn't even seem to be the limit of how big he could be. The collapse of the starry sky seemed to expand, as if this giant could supercede the starry sky itself.

He roared, causing all of the distant observing cultivators to cough up blood. However shaken they had been before, they were even moreso now.

This was a battle that not even 9-Essences experts could participate in. They could do little more than watch from a distance. The Sect Leader and the others were completely numb, and as for all of the other living beings from the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, they were retreating at top speed and didn't dare to pause for a moment.

"Naruto!" the giant roared. As it turned to look at him, it revealed upon its forehead… ten stars!

Not nine stars, but ten! 1

The ten stars radiated golden light, making this giant seem like a

Heavenly God. In fact, it would be correct to say that this was the God of the Heavens!

This was the fifth transformation, the Heavenly God Transformation!

Golden light emanated from the giant's eyes, causing everything it looked at to be bathed in gold. Naruto's expression flickered as he backed up. Even as he did, everything around him began to melt.

There was nothing around him except for the starry sky and the void, and yet it all melted, transforming into black liquid that emanated a stench of rot. Then, that liquid formed together into numerous enormous spheres with countless tentacles, almost like gigantic sea urchins.

"None can match my strength!" the giant roared, its gaze locking onto Naruto as its right hand clenched into a fist and punched out.

That fist seemed capable of wreaking ultimate destruction. It was like the pinnacle of the starry sky, and as soon as it appeared, it seemed impossible for it to miss its target.

Naruto's eyes gleamed with the desire to fight. His fleshly body had already reached the ultimate peak, Transcendence, so he unleashed his God-Slaying Fist, which slammed into the giant's incoming fist strike.

The resulting deafening boom sounded like the vague howl of some primordial beast. Naruto was shaken. It felt like a wild wind of Time was blasting into him, causing blood to spray out of his mouth as he was thrown backward like a kite with its string cut. However, the giant's fist was also left trembling.

That didn't stop the giant, though. Roaring, it took a step forward and unleashed another fist strike. Rumbling echoed out as Naruto defended. Simultaneously, the giant opened his mouth and let loose a powerful roar.

That roar shredded the void and destroyed natural laws. It was like a tempest that slammed into Naruto, causing blood to spray out of his mouth once more. Yet again, he fell back.

The power being wielded by this Heavenly God was shocking, and yet, it only caused Naruto to want to fight even more.

"Who cares about Heavenly Gods?!" he said, waving his sleeve. Then, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture as he unleashed Demon Sealing Hexing magic.

In that instant, the Heavenly God giant's eyes shone with bright, flickering light, and the desire to kill. He took a step toward Naruto, and his right hand began to move. However, he was doing something different than before.

Even as his roar continued to echo out, his body suddenly began to wither. It was as if all of his flesh and blood were being sucked into his right arm.

It was a shocking scene to behold as the Heavenly God giant's entire right arm began to get larger and stronger.

Soon, it had broken through to a shocking level of power, whereupon it formed a fist that began to rumble toward Naruto.

The level of danger Naruto sensed upon that fist was the most intense he had ever felt. He had never felt power like this since

Transcending. This was… a peak level power within the starry sky!

In fact, it even went beyond the natural laws of the starry sky, exceeding all limitations. This was a level of power on par with the Universe itself. This was not just simply the power of Transcendence, it went to a realm beyond that, the Ancestor Realm!

"DIE!" bellowed the Heavenly God giant. As its fist bore down, Naruto's pupils constricted into tiny dots. If he couldn't somehow handle this fist strike, he would definitely be defeated.

"Fifth Hex. Inside-Outside Hex!" Naruto's eyes shone brightly as he reached out with his right hand and unleashed the Inside-Outside Hex. A vortex suddenly popped up in front of his extended palm, within which pulsed the powers of both positive and negative.

Even as the fist closed in, the power of the Inside-Outside Hex pushed back toward it.

The entire starry sky went still. A power of expulsion appeared from within Naruto's palm, the core of which came from Naruto's Dao Essence. As it exploded out, the Heavenly God giant's fist slowed down, eventually coming to a stop only a few centimeters in front of his palm.

Naruto's eyes were completely bloodshot. The power of the InsideOutside Hex spread out, filling the area around him with endless contradictory power.

A deadlock appeared to have formed. Madness grew within the eyes of the Heavenly God giant, and then suddenly, one of the stars on its forehead began to shatter. As it did, the giant's power began to rocket up.

Things weren't over yet though. A second star exploded, then a third and a fourth. The explosions continued, and more power built up within the Heavenly God giant's fist, which edged closer and closer to Naruto.

"Still not enough!" howled the giant. "DETONATE!" A fifth star exploded, then the sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, and finally, the tenth. In that moment, indescribably explosive energy surged through the body of the Heavenly God giant.

The fist, backed by the power of the self-detonation of ten stars, slammed into Naruto's palm. Naruto's hand shattered, and blood sprayed out of his mouth as he was thrown backward.

Cracking sounds emanated out as his bones were shattered, and his flesh and blood were shredded. This was the most serious injury he had suffered during the entire fight with Allheaven.

"DIE!"

Quasi-spoiler information about Renegade Immortal to follow. To some extent, nine is the limit of the number of stars that could appear on the forehead of a cultivator in RI. In some ways that is not the case. You will understand what I mean eventually if you read RI. In any case, the point here is that having ten stars appear is unprecedented, and indicates that this cultivator is at an extremely high level of power ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1584

Chapter 1584 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1584: Six Hexes Combined!

"Sixth Allheaven Transformation. I am the Immortal!" The ten stars on the forehead of the Heavenly God giant exploded, seriously injuring Naruto. However, the result was that the giant's body was completely withered up. As Allheaven gave up on that body, he shrank down rapidly, and at the same time, an intense Immortal Chakra exploded out from his chest!

As the Immortal Chakra erupted out, two hands suddenly burst out from inside the giant's chest, sending chunks of flesh and blood flying in all directions.

A ripping sound could be heard as the giant's chest was torn open, allowing even more Immortal Chakra to pour out.

The incredible nature of the Immortal Chakra spread out, creating something from nothing as numerous amounts of Immortal jade suddenly appeared in the destroyed starry sky.

The Immortal jade glittered with radiant light, and despite the intense level of the fighting, the sight of it provoked a look of shock from Naruto. Then he subconsciously licked his lips.

"What a brazen strategy!" he thought. "And effective." It took supreme effort, but he managed to restore his composure after seeing the mounds of Immortal jade.

At the same time, a figure emerged from within the giant's chest.

Surrounded by vast quantities of Immortal qi, it was a middle-aged man. He had no hair on his head or anywhere else on his body, and his expression was completely placid. After appearing, he waved his hand behind him, causing the Heavenly God giant to tremble and then collapse. However, instead of turning into ash, it transformed into a leather cloak!

It was leather formed from the skin of the Heavenly God, and as it settled down onto the middle-aged man with the Immortal qi, it made him seem completely cold and ruthless.

"I am the Immortal!" the man said softly, his eyes shining with brilliant light as he looked at Naruto.

"The fact that you've forced Allheaven to summon me means that you are an incredible foe…." Even as his voice echoed out, the man vanished and then reappeared behind Naruto. Before Naruto could even turn around, the man had placed his hand onto Naruto's back.

A boom rang out, and blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. And yet, his eyes flickered with a vicious light, and his left hand shot up to grab the man's wrist.

"You're not the Immortal!" Naruto growled. A surprised frown appeared on the man's face as Naruto jerked his hand out, sending the man tumbling through the air. At the same time, Naruto began to fly toward him. His right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, and without any hesitation or pause, he pushed his hand down onto the man.

"Sixth Hex, Life-Death Hexing. This Hex doesn't affect your freedom, it merely decides whether you live or die!"

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the Immortal Chakra surrounding the

man suddenly vanished. When he reappeared, he was off in another direction. At the same time, Naruto's Sixth Hex appeared to have done nothing.

"One Hexing magic isn't enough," said the man. "Why don't you use your Seventh Hex….?" His eyes shone with a strange light; he was clearly using augury to analyze the situation. The truth was that Allheaven really did want to fully analyze all of Naruto's Hexing magic. Although he had witnessed them in the past, he had never personally experienced them.

Only by doing so could his true form fully prepare to crush Naruto in battle.

"If you want to see what my Hexing magics look like now that I've Transcended, you'll have to show me some more of your transformations." Naruto's eyes flickered. Actually, his plans for this battle were similar to Allheaven's. Allheaven wanted to observe his Hexing magic, but he wanted to test out all of the various Allheaven Transformations.

"I refuse to believe that your Allheaven Transformations can be augmented limitlessly," Naruto said coldly. "After all, this is your clone, not your true form. There are probably some high level transformations that you can't even use here."

The man with the Immortal Chakra gave a cold harrumph. The Immortal Chakra swirling around him began to grow more powerful, and his eyes grew sharper than ever. "Fine. You want to see? I'll show you. I'll show you… exactly what the Immortal really is!

"The Immortal is a man and a mountain!" 1 This Immortal version of Allheaven raised both hands up over his head so that they formed the shape of a mountain peak.

"Mountain!" he roared. Instantly, the starry sky of the Vast Expanse began to tremble as a power began to descend from outside of the Vast Expanse. Everything trembled; planets, land masses, and worlds all creaked under the pressure.

Naruto could sense the power pushing him down, as though countless worlds were crushing down onto him.

At the same time, the outline of a mountain appeared noiselessly above the head of Allheaven's clone. It was merely an outline, but it was filled with boundless pressure that seemed to lend an air of perfection to Allheaven.

The Immortal was a man and a mountain!

"Immortal magic is actually not a divine ability or a magical technique. Instead, it comes from Essence. It is… crushing pressure!

"From ancient times until now, the appearance of the Immortal signifies pressure that can crush anything not Immortal!

"Naruto, you said you want to see my transformations. Well, I'll demonstrate by crushing you!" This Immortal form of Allheaven looked at Naruto with flickering eyes. Then, he pushed his hands out, causing the mountain to fly toward Naruto at top speed, emanating intense pressure.

It was a dazzling energy that could crush anything and everything!

The Immortal version of Allheaven flickered, suddenly appearing on top of the peak of the mountain as it rumbled down toward Naruto.

Naruto looked up at the descending mountain, and could sense the terrifying pressure coming from it, something that vastly exceeded the power of the Heavenly God. The Heavenly God could injure Naruto, and even crush his bones. However, it couldn't harm his deepest foundation. On the other hand, the power crushing down on him from this Immortal mountain caused even his Dao Essence to tremble.

"A man, and a mountain. That's the Immortal…

"Fine. Since you're revealing the Immortal, then the time has come for me to show you my Hexing magic combination!" Eyes filled with ultimate determination, Naruto waved his sleeve, performing an incantation gesture which caused his cultivation base to erupt with power. Then, Hexing magic towered up.

First Hex!

Second Hex!

Third Hex!

Fourth Hex!

Fifth Hex!

Sixth Hex!

Six Hexes all combined!

The combined power of the Hexing magics unleashed a paramount power, the power of the League of Demon Sealers, the power to seal

Heaven and Earth, the power to seal everything which existed. Six

Hexing magics combined into one, transforming into a gigantic hand.

That hand only had four fingers, but burst with unheard-of, shocking power. Without the slightest pause, the hand rose up to meet the man and the mountain, to kill the Immortal!

Chapter 1584: Six Hexes Combined!

It's been awhile since this explanation of the character Immortal came up. As a quick refresher, Immortal is 仙. The character for man or person is 人 and mountain is 山. If you squeeze the 人 off to side, it looks like this: 亻， which you can combine with mountain 山 to make

Immortal 仙 ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1585

Chapter 1585 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1585: Consuming Allheaven!

The enormous hand rose up toward the man and the mountain.

The person and the mountain made the Immortal. As for Naruto, he used the power of Transcendence to combine six Hexes into one. What resulted was a power that could shock all living things. It became a hand that seemed capable of ripping apart the entire starry sky.

All of this happened in the time it takes a lightning bolt to strike. In fact, other than Naruto himself, no one could clearly see what had happened as Allheaven's clone transformed into the Immortal.

All they could see was a huge hand slamming into a mountain. In that instant, everything cracked and crumbled, the starry sky was thrown into chaos, and the void shattered. Cracking sounds filled the starry sky, and rifts snaked out from the spot where the hand met the mountain, gaping chasms that were like vicious dragons, roaring as they spread out in all directions.

The starry sky of the Vast Expanse was like a mirror, which was now cracking into so many pieces that it seemed as if it might shatter at any moment.

All cultivators felt blood oozing out of their eyes, ears, noses and mouths. They began to back up, trembling with more astonishment and fear than they could ever have imagined.

When the Demon Sealing Hexing magic met the Immortal, it was one of the most powerful interchanges which had ever occurred within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. A boom rang out that burst countless eardrums. The enormous hand formed from the combined six Hexes shattered into fragments. However, before they could disperse, Naruto waved his hand, and they began to sweep back in his direction, becoming a raging tempest.

Within that tempest, Naruto's hair whipped about his head, and his eyes shone with strange light as he stared coldly at the mountain and the man!

Currently, the mountain was shaking violently, as a spider-web of cracks expanded out over its surface. Rumbling sounds echoed out. This was an Immortal mountain, and yet it couldn't hold on any longer. It began to collapse, and as it did, the Immortal version of Allheaven's clone coughed up a massive mouthful of blood. His expression was one of madness as he backed up eight paces.

"Naruto, things aren't finished yet!" he shrieked. Then his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the rubble of the destroyed Immortal mountain to swirl toward him. In the blink of an eye, it surrounded him and began to fuse with him!

It was impossible to say whether the mountain was absorbing the man, or the man was absorbing the mountain. They fused together, and an unprecedentedly powerful burst of Immortal Chakra emanated out in all directions. Now, what was standing in front of Naruto was completely different from before. He was a man, and bore the shape of a man, and yet he was actually a mountain.

He was the fusion between a man and a mountain. He was the true… Immortal!

"Crushing pressure!" he roared. This man-mountain combination began to spin as it shot toward Naruto, emanating intense, crushing pressure. This time, the energy was even more intense than before. This time, the momentum was even more astonishing!

As he closed in, Naruto's eyes flickered with cold light. He licked his lips, and then waved his hand, causing the tempest around him to spin with even more speed than before. Then, it began to form together in front of him in the shape of… a blade!

Six Hexing magics were combined into… the Saber of the Demon Sealers!

It was matchlessly sharp, and as soon as it took form, it caused all other magical and divine weapons in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse to tremble. Some magical items even cracked and began to crumble. This saber was clearly the type of weapon that all other weapons would prostrate in worship to.

"Want to die? I can accommodate you!" Eyes flickering with shocking killing intent, Naruto blurred into motion, snatching the saber and slashing it viciously toward Allheaven's clone!

It was a blow that could shake the vault of existence, that could shock the starry sky. It was filled with completely unprecedented, dazzling power.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

It was the most powerful blow Naruto had ever struck. His cultivation base erupted with power, and Transcendent fleshly body and soul combined with the Essence of his Dao. He was half a step into the Ancestor Realm, and he was holding back nothing in this attack.

The blade descended, and Allheaven's clone howled in fury as he fought back with all of the power he could muster. Immortal Chakra surged, and yet, despite having the Immortal body of this sixth transformation, he was still incapable of defending against the Transcendent Naruto's six combined Demon Sealing Hexing magics.

As the blade slashed down, dazzling light flickered, and Naruto and Allheaven's spun away from each other. When Naruto turned back, his eyes shone with cold light, whereas Allheaven's clone looked completely shocked. He looked down at his body to see a gaping wound slashed across his torso. Before he could even say anything, his upper half toppled over as he was split in two.

One half of him crumbled into the rocks which had formed the Immortal mountain, while the other half of him remained the man portion of the Immortal. However, that portion was incredibly weak, and even emanated the feeling of decay. When he looked back at Naruto, his expression was one of dread, and he began to back up. Unexpectedly, he was attempting to flee.

He had no other choice. He had already unleashed all of the transformations he could: six was the limit that this clone could safely utilize. Only his true form could fight with more transformations than that.

As he backed up, the crumbling rocks which had formed the Immortal mountain began to swirl back up toward him, as if to flee with him.

Naruto's expression was the same as ever, although the truth was that this battle had been very taxing. And yet, after all the incredible fighting, how could he possibly let his opponent simply flee?

"Since you've sent this clone to me, I think I'll just keep him!" he said. With that he reached out and waved his hand, causing bright red light to erupt out of him. Shockingly, he was unleashing… the Blood Demon Grand Magic!

For the Blood Demon Grand Magic to be unleashed by a Transcendent cultivator was something completely terrifying. In fact, it was something that not even the Blood Demon himself could have comprehended. Naruto instantly transformed into a crimson sea which soared out to pursue Allheaven's clone, first covering over the crumbled Immortal mountain.

Instantly, the chunks of the Immortal mountain began to be absorbed. In a shocking turn of events… Naruto completely consumed them!

These chunks of the Immortal mountain had been part of the Immortal, and could in fact be considered to be part of Allheaven's clone!

They were part of his quintessence, and now they were being absorbed by Naruto's Blood Demon Grand Magic! As a result, Naruto's cultivation base began to rise dramatically!

Chapter 1585: Consuming Allheaven!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1586

Chapter 1586: I am the Heavens!

As his cultivation base rose, Naruto's divine sense also experienced terrifying growth. It doubled. Tripled. Quadrupled… and kept going.

His fleshly body had already reached a pinnacle in the past, but now that he was absorbing the quintessence of Allheaven, it broke through and became even stronger.

It was the same with his soul, which was undergoing unprecedented enhancement.

Naruto threw his head back and roared. His eyes were bright red, and his breath came in ragged pants as he felt himself growing through his consumption of Allheaven. Slowly but surely, he was advancing toward the complete Ancestor Realm.

He was consuming Allheaven, the lord of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!

The killing intent in Naruto's eyes burned as the sea of blood expanded, sucking in more fragments of the Immortal mountain.

In sharp contrast to what was happening with Naruto, Allheaven's clone was screaming shrilly because of the feeling of being absorbed. It was something he had never felt before, and it left him trembling. He knew with absolute certainty that there was no way for him to escape, not while he was inside of the Vast Expanse. With his true form being outside of the Vast Expanse, there was nowhere inside that he could flee to.

Before this battle began, he had been able to theorize about how powerful Naruto was, but had never been able to imagine being defeated by him. It was all thanks to the fatal blow delivered by the combined six Hexes.

Allheaven's clone knew that he was in grave danger. As he watched Naruto rapidly devouring the rubble of the Immortal mountain, he threw his head back and howled, "I'm Allheaven! I'm the lord of the starry sky!"

In that moment, he ceased any attempts to flee. Eyes bright red, he stabbed his hands into his chest and began to rip it open.

As his chest was torn asunder, endless Vast Expanse mist began to pour out, churning and seething with indescribable power. Shockingly, within that mist… were Nine Mountains and Nine Seas!

"Seventh Allheaven Transformation! Mountains and Seas become the Demon!" As the shrill cry of Allheaven's clone echoed out, his body began to vanish. His life force, his will, and his thoughts all formed together. Something was created from nothing as all of those things poured into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Rumbling echoed out as Allheaven transformed into the Mountain and Sea Realm, which then hovered there in the starry sky.

Because the Mountain and Sea Realm still existed, the fact that Allheaven had transformed into it meant that he was connected to the real version. If he were harmed, it could affect the real Mountain and Sea Realm.

By this point, Naruto in blood sea form had absorbed the last bit of rubble from the Immortal mountain, and his cultivation base had finished rising. The sea of blood then shrank down until it was a crimson, humanoid mass. Eventually, Naruto's facial features became clear.

He hovered there, causing the starry sky around him to tremble as he sent out his will to replace that of Allheaven. Now Naruto was the lord of this part of the starry sky.

"Seventh transformation. Mountain and Sea Transformation…." Naruto's eyes glinted with a glow like that of blood as he contemplated the previous four transformations. The third, fourth, fifth, and sixth transformations had been that of the Ghost, the Devil, the God, and the Immortal. Therefore, it was no surprise that the seventh transformation would be that of the Demon.

However, that transformation was actually incomplete!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Allheaven version of the Mountain and Sea Realm, complete with nine boundless seas and nine towering mountains, radiated intense power as it shot toward Naruto.

The Nine Seas joined forces to crush Naruto. The Nine Mountains united to smash him. Naruto faced the Nine Mountains and Nine

Seas, then waved his hand out in front of him and coolly said, "Demon

Sealing Hex. Seventh Hex! Karmic Hexing!"

Even as the words left his mouth, countless Karma Threads appeared upon the Allheaven version of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

There were so many of them that any person who could actually see them would be thoroughly shocked.

Naruto, on the other hand, didn't seem surprised at all. Eyes glittering, he performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, then pointed out at the incoming mountains.

"Seal the Karma of the Mountains!" he said, his words filled with the power of magic.

His cultivation base erupted, causing an enormous, invisible blade to appear, a blade which could sever Karma. That blade shot toward the Nine Mountains, not to slash into the mountains themselves, but rather… to sever the Karma which connected them to the real Mountain and Sea Realm!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The blade flashed, and the Karma was severed!

The Nine Mountains trembled, then began to collapse into fragments. Allheaven screamed in defiance, but was completely and utterly incapable of doing anything!

"Seal the Karma of the Seas!" Naruto's hands flashed in a doublehanded incantation gesture, and then he waved his finger again, this time at the Nine Seas. The Nine Seas began to tremble, and yet no matter how they wanted to fight back, not even a single wave could be seen on their surfaces. They had been suppressed to the ultimate degree.

Their connection to the true Mountain and Sea Realm was completely severed away!

"NO!" Allheaven's cry rang out into the starry sky, filling the hearts of all living beings. He wanted to fight back, to struggle, to resist. He simply couldn't believe that his seventh transformation could be defeated so easily.

That seventh transformation might not be complete, and might only have been unleashed by his clone, but it was still incredibly powerful. How could he ever have imagined that Naruto could defeat the seventh transformation as easily as flipping over a hand?!

His bitter cry rang out as the Mountains and Seas collapsed. His humanoid shape once again appeared, which was the very moment Naruto had been waiting for.

"Seal all Karma connecting you to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse!" he said, his eyes glittering with light as cold as the deepest winter night. "Henceforth, your true form may exist outside of the Vast Expanse, but you may not step even half a pace inside. Neither your body nor your soul may enter. As of this moment, my will has replaced yours!"

Naruto performed an incantation gesture with his right hand, drawing upon the ultimate power of Karmic Hexing, and then shoved his hand out.

That movement caused the Mountains and Seas to shatter. At the same time, an invisible blade slashed into Allheaven's clone form. His body was destroyed, and his connection to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse completely severed.

A huge boom echoed out, causing the starry sky to tremble. When Allheaven's connection was severed, Naruto's will exploded out, replacing Allheaven's, taking complete control of the starry sky within the Vast Expanse.

In that moment, all life forms could sense that… the Heavens were about to be altered!

"The clone of Allheaven has been cut down. Henceforth, within the Vast Expanse, I am the Heavens!" He waved his sleeve, causing a burst of power to spread out. It was power, not from Naruto, but from the actual starry sky of the Vast Expanse.

Power like that was different from the power of Naruto's

Transcendence. However, considering the look of terror on Allheaven's face, it was obvious that such power was still incredible.

It was at this point that the trembling and crumbling clone of Allheaven suddenly looked over at Naruto, then threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1587

Chapter 1587: Starry Sky of the Mountains and Seas!

"Back when I was in my prime, I laced the starry sky of the Vast Expanse with a curse. The Ghost could not see it. The Devil was not qualified to activate it. Even the God didn't trigger it. But today, you will see it, Naruto. You will see it….

"It is a curse fueled by the power of my true form, unleashed by the last scrap of my will within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. It is my curse, created countless years ago…."

In response to Allheaven's words, Naruto's pupils constricted, and his heart began to pound. Clearly, Allheaven was not simply trying to sound mysterious and impressive. He had no reason to do such a thing.

His words revealed a very disturbing truth: if this so-called curse had been created during Allheaven's prime, then considering the current level of Naruto's cultivation base, it would most likely be impossible for him to break it.

In his prime, Allheaven had commanded terrifying, unimaginable power. In fact, he was so powerful that neither the Ghost, the Devil, nor the God had been able to do anything more than destroy one of his fingers!

Naruto's eyes began to widen. Allheaven's connection to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse was utterly and thoroughly severed. Even still, though, Naruto could not prevent a sense of dread from seeping into his heart.

He was not disheartened, though. Although he wasn't sure about the exact nature of the curse, he was sure it had something to do with Karma. Therefore, as long as he was willing to pay the price, he should be able to fight back against it. Even Allheaven at his prime would not be able to kill him with just a curse.

Naruto's face was very grim as the crumbling, vanishing Allheaven spoke in a voice that seemed to contain bizarre and mysterious power: "Any person who kills me…."

Unexpectedly, his words began to resonate with the entire starry sky!

Shockingly, despite the fact that Naruto had completely severed Allheaven's connection to the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, he was still able to form a resonance with it. That caused Naruto's expression to become even grimmer than before.

"… shall find that his people, his bloodlines, everyone connected to him by Karma, everything connected to the Karma of those people, and anyone connected to that greater web of Karma, will be cursed!

"It will spread from this one point outwards, and it will spread yet again from those it spreads to, on and on until it has nowhere left to spread!

"Everyone within that range, everything within that scope, all lives… shall be cursed by Allheaven!

"My curse upon them is thus: in their lives, time is limited!

"No type of cultivation magic, no type of bloodline power, no type of precious material, no type of reincarnation, will be even slightly effective in breaking the curse!

"Because the curse does not affect Transcendent cultivators, it can exist for all eternity!"

As Allheaven's words rang out, it was clear that he was speaking them in the present, and yet somehow, it seemed as if they were being spoken countless years in the past. In fact, if one listened closely, it almost seemed like two different voices, one in the past, one in the present, joining together, melding, causing everything to shake!

Furthermore, it seemed as if the resonance with the starry sky wasn't being formed by Allheaven's current power, but rather, by the Allheaven of the past, when he was in his prime. He had created this curse countless years ago, then buried it, where it had remained hidden until this day.

After the words were spoken, Allheaven looked at the shock on Naruto's face, and laughed mockingly. Then his body exploded.

Allheaven's clone, the former lord of the entire starry sky of the Vast Expanse, was dead in body and soul!

From this moment on, Allheaven's true form could exist only in the void outside of the Vast Expanse. It would be impossible for him to come inside the Vast Expanse, regardless of what power he unleashed. Naruto had become the Heavens, and because of that, there would be only one voice inside the Vast Expanse, one will. And that was… the will of Naruto!

Naruto looked grimly at the spot where Allheaven had exploded. Countless motes of light could be seen there, and instead of fading away, they began to shoot toward Naruto. He was now the ultimate lord of the starry sky, so as the motes fused into him, rumbling sounds echoed out, and his soul experienced incredible growth. In the blink of an eye, his soul, his fleshly body, and his cultivation base all reached an unprecedented level of power.

Most importantly, his Dao Essence, the Essence of the world which he had created inside of him, also experienced exponential growth. After fully absorbing the clone of Allheaven, that world inside of him lit up with dazzling light, and life began to flourish there.

As of this moment, he was no longer half a step into the Ancestor Realm.

He had taken that final step, and was… fully within the Ancestor Realm!

In the Ancestor Realm, one's body became a world, with its own starry sky!

Naruto's will spread out, filling the starry sky of the Vast Expanse. He saw all the living creatures, and looked at them silently as he contemplated the curse of Allheaven. After a long moment, he spoke.

"I am the Demon Sovereign!"

In that moment, all cultivators within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse felt their minds trembling as a voice that contained the weight of the Heavens spoke to them.

Countless individuals dropped down to their knees to kowtow. The people of innumerable planets, land masses, and worlds all offered worship, as did the countless beings who had been involved in the war.

"From this moment on, the starry sky of the Vast Expanse will no longer contain any mist!" As soon as the words left Naruto's mouth, the entire starry sky cleared of mist. Everything trembled as it simply vanished. Within the space of a few breaths of time, not a single bit could be seen anywhere within the Vast Expanse!

Brilliantly lit planets suddenly became visible, as well as a boundless, majestic starry sky….

All living beings were profoundly shaken.

"From this moment on, the starry sky of the Vast Expanse will have a new name. It will be called… the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas!" With that, he waved his sleeve, and boundless life force spread out. Suddenly, the river of Time appeared, along with the giant crocodilian creature, who immediately prostrated in worship. Countless motes of light began to fly out from the river, as everyone from the Vast Expanse School army who had died in the fighting was resurrected!

Having accomplished this, Naruto turned and headed off into the distance.

Behind him, the voices of the Vast Expanse School's army joined together in a powerful cry.

"Our respect, Demon Sovereign!"

"Our respect, Demon Sovereign!"

As the Vast Expanse School cultivators cried out, the other living beings from the other parts of the starry sky all prostrated to the Heavens.

"Our respect, Demon Sovereign!"

The sound echoed out in astonishing fashion…. For a cultivator to have reached this level was like reaching the ultimate peak.

And yet Naruto felt no joy. His heart only continued to sink as he contemplated the curse of Allheaven. He slowly strolled through the starry sky until he found the location where the Mountain and Sea Realm had once stood.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1588

Chapter 1588 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1588: Resurrecting Old Friends!

In the same moment that Naruto became the lord of the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, and then changed its name to the starry sky of the

Mountains and Seas, in the boundless ruins outside, an eye appeared.

As the eye opened, countless surrounding ruins outside the Vast Expanse collapsed, creating a world of dust.

Only the eye remained, unmoving, bloodshot, looking off into the distance.

That eye seemed to contain an unmatched fury, and yet, deep within that fury was terror….

That eye was none other than Allheaven's true form!

In the past, Allheaven's flesh and blood had vanished, leaving behind only five fingers. Of those five fingers, three had been destroyed. The final two remained intact. However, because of the rise of Naruto, the finger which represented the Demon had experienced dramatic withering.

A similar fate had befallen the finger representing the Immortal.

As for this eye, it was clearly much, much weaker than it had been before Naruto had Transcended.

After a moment, a weak voice spoke, seemingly dragged and stretched out, distorted and filled with hatred. "Uzumaki… Hao!"

If events had played out according to Allheaven's plan, things would not have turned out this way. Naruto would not have Transcended, but instead, would have become the ninety-ninth Demon seed. Allheaven would have absorbed him, and the power of Nirvanic rebirth within the Allheaven bloodline, along with the multifarious magic of the Demon, would have enabled Allheaven to craft a new body for himself.

At that time, he would have been able to free himself from his ruined and withered body. He would have been able to appear once again within the starry sky, with an even longer lifespan than before. Instead, one thing after another went wrong.

Now that his clone had been destroyed, severed away from him, he was unable to enter the Vast Expanse. He could only wait outside. Wait for Naruto.

The enormous eye was now so bloodshot it was bright red, and the hate which festered inside of it became icy cold killing intent.

"There is still a chance… to succeed!"

After a very long moment passed, the eye slowly closed, vanishing.

Back within the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, Naruto continued to contemplate the curse of Allheaven with furrowed brow. He sent his will out, performed auguries, and yet was unable to detect any clues.

"The curse of Allheaven, from when he was at his prime…." Naruto sighed. By this point, he had reached the former location of the Mountain and Sea Realm, a huge vortex which had previously teemed with life, but was now empty and gray.

Naruto looked at the spot fondly for a moment before waving his right hand. Instantly, dots of light appeared within the vortex, light that teemed with the power of life, like countless burning stars. Soon, all areas within the vortex teemed with life, and the entire vortex was shining with dazzling, brilliant colors.

This was where the Mountain and Sea Realm had existed in the past, and now, it would exist there again!

Naruto reached out and stretched open his palm. Scintillating light flickered as his newly created Transcendence Treasure appeared, the brand new Mountain and Sea Realm. It slowly floated down to hover just above the vortex. Inside the Mountain and Sea Realm, all of the cultivators were bursting with excitement.

Some even flew out to observe the vortex personally, whereupon tears welled up in their eyes.

"This is the Mountain and Sea Realm's spot within the starry sky. This is our true home…."

"I was born in the Mountain and Sea Realm, and this was where the

Mountain and Sea Realm was born…."

"Home!"

"We're back! The people of the Mountains and Seas are back!" Ksitigarbha gazed at the vortex, and simply couldn't suppress his excitement. Grandpa Uzumaki, Namikaze Yu, Fatty, Uchiha Youcai, as well as all of Naruto's other friends and relatives had similar reactions.

As everyone looked on in excitement, Naruto took a deep breath, then extended his right hand and pushed it down.

That motion affected only the vortex, not Naruto or the others in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Everyone watched as time began to flow backward, and the vortex slowly reverted to its previous gray color. Then, centuries passed. Naruto and everyone watching could eventually see the Mountain and Sea Butterfly.

Countless scenes played out. Hearts began to pound as the events of the war could be seen. By now, people were starting to guess at what Naruto was about to do.

"This is where the Mountain and Sea Realm first appeared," he said softly, looking at the images, "and now we've returned.

"Everything that was lost, everything that faded away into time, everything that was parted from us, will now return….

"By the power of my name, I reach out to everyone who died here, to everyone who lost their lives defending the Mountain and Sea Realm… and call them back!" With that, he waved his sleeve, causing the stars to tremble. The power of the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas filled the area, transforming into numerous Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering hands, which reached out into the images of the past. One by one, everyone who had died in the past was then pulled out!

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the first person emerged. It was none other than… Shui Dongliu!

In the moment before he exploded, he was rescued. After being pulled out of the vortex, he hovered there in the starry sky, shocked, a blank look on his face. It was as if what was occurring completely exceeded his imagination. Even the half of him that was the Mourning-Death soul seemed hard-pressed to believe what was happening.

More and more people appeared, more and more familiar faces. One by one, they were extracted from vortex of the past, to appear there floating in the starry sky, where they looked around in shocked silence.

The Mountain and Sea Lords, the Nine Seas God Worlds, the Sublime Flow Sword Grottos, the Immortal Ancient Daoist Rites, and countless other sects. There was the Imperial Li Clan from Planet South Heaven. There were many, many other individuals.

Naruto waved his finger, and a powerful but gentle force grabbed ahold of Paragon Sea Dream, pulling her out to join the crowd.

All the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were panting, their eyes as wide as saucers as they watched the events unfold. As soon as Li Ling'er caught sight of Paragon Sea Dream, tears began to stream down her face. Fatty saw his Master, who had died in the fighting, and began to tremble. Uchiha Youcai, Zhixiang… everyone was equally excited.

"They're being resurrected!"

"Master!"

"Dad, mom! You're alive again!"

"My sect. All my fellow disciples. You're all… back!"

People were weeping and laughing. All cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm who were capable of flight immediately flew over to their resurrected family and friends, calling out in joy and excitement.

The resurrected ones were panting, looking around in complete incredulity. And yet, it was no dream!

Paragon Sea Dream looked at Li Ling'er, and then slowly turned her head. When she saw Naruto hovering there like a deity, a smile broke out on her face.

After a moment of silence, Shui Dongliu shook his head, then began to laugh at the top of his lungs.

Chapter 1588: Resurrecting Old Friends!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1589

Chapter 1589: Time is Limited!

Glittering lights filled the vortex that was the home of the Mountain and Sea Realm as more and more familiar faces were resurrected. Cheering could be heard everywhere as countless people who had fought in the war were now returned to life.

An old man appeared who was none other than Grandpa Fang. As soon as Naruto caught sight of him, a tremor ran through him, and he immediately rushed forward and kowtowed respectfully, tears streaming down his face.

Grandpa Namikaze looked around in confusion, but then saw Naruto, and a smile broke out on his face. The truth was that years ago, he had accomplished the final mission given to him by Shui Dongliu, which had been to infiltrate the 33 Heavens and cause their land masses to collide against each other. That was when he had truly died. Laughing, he helped his beloved grandson to his feet.

It was in that exact same moment that someone else emerged from within the vortex. As soon as she appeared, many people recognized her. She had once been the Divine Daughter of the Nine Seas God World… Fan Dong'er!

Actually, she hadn't died in the war. The white-robed corpse which accompanied her had dragged her down into the very depths of the void. Now she emerged, trembling, looking over at Naruto, and then all the other people she knew, and all the people who were being resurrected. Tears streamed down her face.

As more people were brought back to life, the other excited cultivators explained everything which had happened in the past centuries. Eventually, after everyone had been resurrected, Naruto waved his hand again, and the vortex began to spin.

Soon it was whizzing at top speed, and Naruto's eyes were glowing with powerful light. Back when he had only been half a step into the Ancestor Realm, there had been a certain person he had wished to resurrect but could not, a person who had come to be part of his heart long ago.

But now, he had consumed Allheaven's clone, and stepped fully into the Ancestor Realm. Although he was not yet fully familiar with all of his powers, he was definitely far, far more powerful than he had been in the past.

Considering the current level of his cultivation base, it was even possible for him to resurrect people from ancient times!

"Foster father…." he said softly, gesturing at the vortex. Time flowed backward within the vortex, causing images to flit by until the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect appeared.

No one was more moved by the sight than Ke Jiusi, who trembled visibly as he looked at the vortex. The sight of the Ancient Demon Immortal Sect caused great waves of emotion to batter his heart. They were emotions that could not be understood by anyone who hadn't experienced the loss of a father.

"Dad…." he said, his voice filled with emotion. Naruto performed an incantation gesture, then gestured once more with his finger. The vortex grew still as an ancient figure appeared. Gradually, his features became clear. It was… Ke Yunhai.

Slowly, Ke Yunhai was pulled out from the vortex to join everyone else.

Naruto had reached back countless years into the past to resurrect Ke Yunhai!

As Ke Yunhai hovered there, a blank look on his face, Ke Jiusi rushed forward, tears streaming down his face. He immediately dropped to his knees in front of his father.

"Dad!"

Naruto also hurried forward. Taking a deep breath, he fell to his knees in front of Ke Yunhai.

"Foster father!"

Ke Yunhai looked blankly at Ke Jiusi, and then closed his eyes. After a moment passed, they opened again, and he seemed to understand. A warm smile appeared on his face. Then he looked over at Naruto, and began to laugh.

It was an unbelievable event within the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. Everyone who had died in the war came back to life. By the time he was finished, Naruto, despite his incredible power, was very tired.

But when he looked at the excited, happy cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm, he felt joy in his heart.

He placed the new Mountain and Sea Realm back into the place where the old one had existed. The newly resurrected individuals were taken by their family and friends back into the Mountain and Sea Realm, where they continued to learn about the events which had occurred in the centuries after their demise.

Time passed. Naruto didn't travel around through the starry sky, but instead stayed in the Mountain and Sea Realm, with Xu Qing, with his father and mother, and with Ke Yunhai.

The new Mountain and Sea Realm continued to grow and develop.

Within the Nine Mountains and Seas, the Mountain and Sea cultivators made new homes for themselves, and cultivated the magic of Naruto's League of Demon Sealers.

The starry sky was quiet. The cultivators of the Vast Expanse School returned to Planet Vast Expanse, and as for all of the other living creatures, they also returned to their respective homes. All cultivators knew that the place where they lived was no longer called the Vast Expanse, it was the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas.

The will of the starry sky was not Allheaven, it was Naruto.

Naruto was the lord of the starry sky.

Because of that, the Mountain and Sea Realm became the ultimate power within the starry sky, and was like a Holy Land.

Days passed. Years passed. Few people ever saw Naruto. He stayed in the Mountain and Sea Realm, on the Ninth Mountain, where he lived quietly. Five hundred years went by in a flash.

During those five hundred years, Naruto seemed calm, but the truth was that he was constantly thinking about the curse which had been pronounced by Allheaven. There was one part which made him especially anxious, which had left a deep impression on him, and that was when Allheaven said, "time is limited."

Naruto wanted to change things. He wanted to break the curse created by Allheaven when he was in his prime!

But no matter what methods he attempted during those five hundred years, he could do nothing of the sort. Despite being in the Ancestor Realm, he was a far cry from Allheaven in his prime.

Because of that gap, the curse… could not be broken.

During the five hundred years which passed, generation after generation of Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were born. As time passed, Naruto intentionally began to erase the evidence of his existence. He forbade people from talking about him or spreading stories, hoping that such a tactic would reduce the number of people who were connected to him by Karma.

However, that was a difficult task to accomplish. After all, the most vile aspect of the curse was that it didn't just affect people who were connected to Naruto by Karma, but people connected by two degrees and on.

The effects spread far and wide, and could not be negated.

During the five hundred years, the Mountain and Sea Realm continued to thrive, and yet there were also strange things which occurred, things which could not be ignored. For example… generally speaking, Nascent Soul cultivators were supposed to be able to live for four or five hundred years, but now, that number had decreased to around two hundred.

Furthermore, some cultivators who should clearly have been able to live for much longer, gradually weakened. Their longevity wasted away, and eventually… people began to die.

However, the general growth and expansion of the realm ensured that such things went unnoticed. Except by Naruto. He noticed.

Whenever a person died in such a fashion, he would appear by their corpse. Every single one of the corpses whose longevity had been severed had traces of the curse on them.

"Time… is limited," he thought bitterly. Eventually, the day came when people he actually knew began to show the withering signs of age. By now, Naruto was getting very anxious.

He did everything he could think of. He used magical techniques. He created countless new natural laws. He did everything possible to weaken the power of the curse, and yet, he was unable to break it.

Because of what was happening, he even went outside the Vast

Expanse. After all, since the curse had been cast by Allheaven, then Allheaven was the one who could break it. However, even after utilizing all of the power of his divine sense, he was unable to find Allheaven's true form.

Apparently he was hiding, unwilling to fight the final battle with Naruto. Even though Allheaven's true form was also weakening because of that, he still didn't appear.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1590

Chapter 1590 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1590: The End of a Generation

Naruto searched the area outside the Vast Expanse for a very, very long time. In the end, he could only chuckle bitterly, well aware that the reason Allheaven hadn't appeared was because he wanted to see the limitations of time be inflicted on everyone Naruto was close to.

Naruto returned to the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, and the Ninth Mountain. There, he went mad trying to create new natural laws that could break the curse. When Xu Qing saw him like this, her heart filled with pain, but there was nothing she could do to help. She could only accompany him silently.

"Time is limited…." he murmured. "Because of that, there is no reincarnation. One life is the end…." He had already come to realize that anyone who ever had anything to do with him would not be reincarnated after dying.

Time flowed by. Another five hundred years passed. It had already been a thousand years since Naruto had become the Lord of the Mountain and Sea Realm. During those thousand years, concerted effort resulted in fewer and fewer people knowing about him.

It was in the thousandth year that Paragon Sea Dream passed away again. Her death was a huge blow to Naruto's heart. He stood quietly, looking at her corpse, and the flickering soul fire in his palm which was all that remained of her.

He quickly took that soul fire and sealed it, turning into a fist-sized block of ice. It was a soul seed… Paragon Sea Dream's soul, which he had extracted in the last moment before she had died.

Over the course of the past thousand years, this was the only method he had been able to devise. He transformed the dead into soul seeds, which he hoped to send back into the cycle of reincarnation after breaking the curse.

Li Ling'er was heartbroken by the departure of Sea Dream. After the thousand years which had passed, she was now older than ever.

The sight of Paragon Sea Dream's corpse caused Naruto to sigh bitterly. Years ago, he had brought everyone back to life, but now, there was nothing he could do other than watch the effects of the curse spread.

After Paragon Sea Dream died, Naruto returned to the Ninth Mountain. There, he had erected a special mountain of ice in which to store the soul seeds. At the moment, it was possible to see tens of thousands of them, and it was easy to imagine how many more would come to fill it in the future. Eventually, more and more people would die, and he would be the only one remaining alive.

The mere thought left his heart quivering in fear. He held Xu Qing quietly in his arms, looking off into the distance. It didn't matter that he was in the Ancestor Realm, he was still powerless to do anything.

More years passed, and Naruto went outside the Vast Expanse for a second time. He searched relentlessly, examining everything in detail, in ways that surpassed his previous efforts exponentially. In the end, though, he never found Allheaven.

Eventually, he came to hover in the starry sky outside the Vast Expanse. It was almost as if he could hear Allheaven laughing, a cold laughter filled with venom and hatred.

He remained there for some time before returning to the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. However, he didn't go to the Ninth Mountain. He had sensed something within his will, someone calling out to him from Planet Vast Expanse.

He vanished, and when he reappeared, he was there above Planet Vast Expanse. Down below was a sprawling desert, within which was an oasis, where a woman was looking up at him. She seemed dazzled, but quickly dropped to her knees to kowtow.

"Greetings, Demon Sovereign."

Naruto floated down and landed in front of her. She was old now, and even the fact that she was a 9-Essences Paragon couldn't hide the aura of decay which existed upon her. She was Immortal Bai Wuchen.

Back then, she had requested of Naruto that he take her outside the Vast Expanse, to her home.

Now, she was calling upon him, bowing to him, once again making her plea….

"Outside the Vast Expanse, there is nothing but ruins," Naruto said quietly. It wasn't that he didn't want to accommodate her. Unfortunately, what existed within Bai Wuchen's memories was an illusion.

Immortal Bai Wuchen was quiet for a moment, then gritted her teeth and looked up. "Ruins or not, I want to go!"

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, then sighed. Opening his eyes, he waved his hand, and a vortex appeared next to Bai Wuchen. Immediately, she disappeared into it, on her way to the area outside the Vast Expanse.

"See for yourself," he said. "If you want to come back, just call upon my name." He stood there in the oasis for a moment, looking at the spot where Immortal Bai Wuchen had disappeared. Then he looked over at the ninth continent, and the Ninth Sect. As of this very moment, there was a young woman there who was the center of all attention, standing at the very peak of the tallest tower. Bells were tolling throughout the sect.

That young woman was Perfect.

When Naruto looked at her, it was with warmth and love. Perfect knew about her past. Naruto had visited her a thousand years ago to explain everything.

He had given her a choice: remain in the Ninth Sect, or return with him to the Mountain and Sea Realm.

She had chosen to remain where she was.

Although he had never personally returned to Planet Vast Expanse during the thousand years which had passed, he had often sent his will to watch over Perfect.

Every time he saw her, he would think about a woman sleeping in a coffin in the Violet Fate Sect on Planet South Heaven.

As he looked over at his daughter standing there at the peak of the world, he looked especially bleak. Then he saw her smiling, and he also smiled. It was a lonely smile that lasted for a long moment. Eventually, he turned and left.

Time passed. Another thousand years.

By now, over two thousand years had passed since Naruto had founded the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. After all the time which had passed few people remembered who he was. A situation arose which was very similar to the situation when Naruto had made his rise in the world of cultivation. Few people knew that the will of the starry sky actually had a name. Naruto.

During those thousand years, the power of the curse grew especially potent. One by one, all of the cultivators he had resurrected from the past began to die…. Although it appeared on the surface that it was simply a matter of their longevity coming to an end, leading them to a natural death, Naruto knew that they should have been able to live longer. And although they should not have been able to live forever, they should at least have been able to enter the cycle of reincarnation.

But now, they only had one life to live.

Naruto often wondered what would have happened if he hadn't resurrected all of them. But in the end, he realized that even if he hadn't resurrected them, they still wouldn't have been able to enter reincarnation.

The power of this curse enabled Naruto to finally comprehend how strong Allheaven had been in his prime.

Thankfully, he did resurrect them. Thankfully, he was able to spend some time with them before they died. Thankfully, he was able to take their soul seeds and place them in the ice mountain. Every time he looked at the growing collection of soul seeds, he felt a wave of bitterness wash through him….

One year, Li Ling'er closed her eyes and never opened them.

One year, Zhixiang, her hair as white as frost, ran out of longevity….

When Li Ling'er closed her eyes, Naruto and Xu Qing were there with her. She was the only surviving member of the Li Clan. The rest had all left with Choumen Tai. Even back during the war, she had always chosen to remain with the Mountain and Sea Realm. It was her home.

She had never taken a Daoist partner. She died alone.

Xu Qing cried. Her hair was now graying, and her skin was wrinkled. She held Li Ling'er's hand, and her tears fell, splashing like rose petals onto their skin.

Chapter 1590: The End of a Generation

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1591

Chapter 1591: Shui Dongliu's Jade Slip

Zhixiang was beautiful. She had been beautiful when she was young, and even in her old age, her hair white, her face full of wrinkles, she was still beautiful.

During those thousand years, one person after another passed away.

Every time someone familiar to him closed their eyes for the final time, Naruto's pain grew. Sometimes he laughed bitterly. He could seal the Heavens, but when it came to this curse, he was helpless.

The curse of Allheaven was a torment. It was a torment to whoever had killed him. That person would remain alone for all time, watching time pass, watching the blue seas turn into lush fields.

It was a tactic, a scheme. When Allheaven grew incredibly weak, he could use that scheming tactic to cause his enemy's heart to rot.

It was only by such means that Allheaven would have a chance at victory!

Naruto was well aware of this fact. However, he couldn't simply turn off his feelings. He couldn't disregard what was happening. When his foster father Ke Yunhai eventually grew weak and approached death, he wept. He knelt in front of Ke Yunhai's bed like a child, tears flowing. "Why are you crying…?" Ke Yunhai said, his voice soft with love. "I've been able to live for thousands of years. I've been able to spend time with you, and with Jiusi. I'm content with that…." He reached out and patted Naruto's head, and then the light in his eyes slowly faded away.

Throughout those thousand years, many people died. Overall, though, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm grew strong. Many powerful experts appeared. As for the members of the older generation, as they became aware of the situation with the curse, they also withdrew from the public. Soon, there really was a brand new Mountain and Sea Realm.

Wars began, wars fought between the Mountains and Seas. Because of the natural laws of the realm, though, such wars were limited in scope.

Years passed. Another thousand. One by one, the older cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm passed away. Ksitigarbha was among them.

Before his time came, he went to see Naruto and Xu Qing. His face was old, and filled with a warmth and kindness that he rarely let others see.

The very night he came to see them, he slipped away quietly into death.

Next was Grandpa Uzumaki, and after him, Grandpa Fang. Then Fan Dong'er. One by one, Naruto's fellow clan members died, as did his friends. Each death was like a knife that stabbed him in the heart.

By this time, Xu Qing's hair was white. And yet, she didn't die. Naruto fed her with his own blood, which was rich with life force.

But that didn't stop her from withering with age. Eventually, it reached the point where she could do little more than lay in bed. Despite that, her tender feelings for Naruto never left her eyes. It was as if looking at him for an entire lifetime wasn't enough for her.

And yet, she didn't seem resentful. Instead, she was content to have been able to spend the past thousands of years with him. The only thing she regretted was that she had not borne him any children. It wasn't that she didn't want to. Rather, she chose not to.

She didn't want her own children to suffer under the ravages of the curse….

Time turned into a river that flowed by ever-so-slowly. Another thousand years passed. By now, the number of people who had passed away was unthinkable. Countless cultivators of the older generation had returned to the dust. Only a handful of people who had fought in the ancient Mountain and Sea War remained.

Shui Dongliu managed to hold on for thousands of years. But eventually, he too was forced to close his eyes in death. Before passing away, he smiled, and pressed a jade slip into Naruto's palm. Then he looked at Naruto, wise and farsighted light flickering in his eyes.

"Don't forget…. After you look at that jade slip, commit its contents to heart, and then destroy it. They are my deductions regarding… the method to lift the curse!"

After taking the jade slip, Naruto collected Shui Dongliu's soul seed and took it to the ice mountain. He examined the jade slip, then destroyed it. The gleam of obsession could be seen deep in his eyes.

More time passed. The few people who had managed to hold on for this long were finally succumbing to their longevity. Eventually, Patriarch Reliance chose to enter a state of deep slumber, which would extend his life to an almost unlimited degree.

A few hundred years later, one of Naruto's immediate family members left him.

It was Namikaze Yu, his older sister. She and Sun Hai had held on for many years, enduring the pain of watching entire generations of their children die one after another.

When the last of their beloved offspring passed away, they closed their eyes, held hands, and died together as husband and wife.

After collecting their soul strands, Naruto stood there quietly for a long time, thinking about past times. He thought about how his sister had always protected him. He didn't realize it, but tears welled up in his eyes until they spilled down his cheeks. Off to the side were his parents, overwhelmed with grief, weeping.

Deep in his heart, Naruto said, "I swear that I will start the cycle of reincarnation again… for all of you!"

After Namikaze Yu and Sun Hai died, six hundred years passed. By that time, there were only a few people in the Mountain and Sea Realm who remained from that early group. Other than Xu Qing, Naruto, and Naruto's parents, there was Uchiha Youcai, Fatty, Dong Hu, and Pill Demon. There was also Sakura, although she was still unwilling to awaken.

Everyone else had returned to the dust, their soul seeds taken away by Naruto.

Because of Naruto's blood, Xu Qing barely held on. Naruto's parents were sustained because of having fused with the Mountain and Sea Butterfly. Dong Hu managed to hang on because of the miraculous pearl. As for Pill Demon, he was the incarnation of a medicinal pill, and was thus able to endure longer than most.

The first to give out was Uchiha Youcai. When his longevity ran out, he died laughing. Naruto felt stabs of pain in his heart. He placed Uchiha Youcai's soul seed in the ice cave, and once again he wept.

However, even more painful than the death of Uchiha Youcai was… Fatty.

He and Fatty had been brothers for life. They began to walk the path of cultivation together, all the way down to this day. On the eve of Fatty's death, he was no longer fat. His body had wasted away until he was little more than skin and bones. He had watched all of his wives pass away, and all of his sons and daughters.

As he lay there quietly looking at Naruto, he wanted to laugh, but couldn't find the energy.

"Fudge…. Naruto, you have to take out Allheaven for me…. You have to win. When you finally manage to break the curse and send me into reincarnation, make sure I remember my previous life…." Fatty took his last breath, and used it to let out a powerful shout. Having expended his last bit of energy, he closed his eyes.

That year, many wrinkles appeared on Naruto's face.

Compared to the Mountain and Sea Realm, far fewer deaths occurred on Planet Vast Expanse. Although they did occur, because the Karmic connections there were not as deep, it did not affect a significant number of people. As for the few whose Karmic connections to Naruto were strong, they too would have a limited lifespan. However, since they had such strong cultivation bases, their lifespans had not come to an end as of yet.

Furthermore, if they could reach Transcendence, then the curse would not affect them.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1592

Chapter 1592: Same Scenery, Filled with Strangers

Gone…. Everyone had gone.

Naruto suddenly aged visibly. He returned silently to the Ninth Mountain, to Xu Qing's bedside, who looked very, very old. He looked at her

"Why don't you just… let me go…?" she said softly, her voice hoarse.

Naruto shivered, but didn't respond. He continued to feed her his blood, which was the only thing keeping her alive.

Xu Qing went back to sleep. Naruto stood there looking at her, his eyes bloodshot. After a long moment passed, he turned and walked out of the room. Gazing up in the sky, his eyes flickered with the light of augury as he once again tried to come up with a way to keep his loved ones alive for longer, something other than the soul seeds.

Three hundred years passed, and Pill Demon died….

In that moment, he transformed into a decayed medicinal pill, which was his soul seed. The sight of it left Naruto weeping as he thought back to everything which had occurred in the past.

He carefully placed the medicinal pill into the ice mountain, checked in on Xu Qing, and continued to make augury calculations to try to come up with a solution.

Two hundred years later, Dong Hu's time came….

In the moments before death, he gave a pearl to Naruto and explained that he had been feeding it for his entire life. He had been preparing it for someone else, and that someone was Naruto.

As the pearl floated in front of Naruto, the parrot flew out. Neither the parrot nor the meat jelly had appeared during the past several thousand years. When they looked at Naruto in his grief, they felt that same grief rising up within their own hearts. Unfortunately, there was nothing they could do to help.

The parrot took the pearl and placed it into a certain spot on the copper mirror, and the two fused together. Radiant light glittered, and yet, Naruto didn't pay it any attention.

"Gone," he murmured. "They're all gone…." He went back to his augury.

Time passed. Another thousand years. By this point, it had been seven thousand years since Naruto had become the lord of the starry sky. During those seven thousand years, he had never made any public appearances. Most people had forgotten his name, and those who did remember had begun to speculate that Naruto… had left the starry sky.

For the most part, people weren't aware of how certain individuals were dying in an unusual fashion. However, there were a few people, like Jin Yunshan and the others on Planet Vast Expanse, who did notice.

They weren't completely sure though, and didn't dare to state their speculations out loud. Ambitions rose up in their hearts, but they suppressed them and continued to wait.

In the Mountain and Sea Realm, on the Ninth Mountain, Xu Qing hovered on the brink of death. Even with Naruto's blood, she wouldn't be able to hang on for much longer. The truth was that she should have died long ago.

It was at this point that Naruto thought about how Patriarch Reliance had intentionally gone into a state of slumber, and suddenly came up with a new idea. He took a trip outside of the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, and upon returning, stood there by Xu Qing's side for a long moment, his eyes closed. A long moment passed, and he opened his eyes.

"Qing'er," he said quietly. "Close your eyes and sleep…. I'll wake you up soon." With that, he reached out and pushed his hand down onto her forehead.

She smiled and closed her eyes. She wasn't dead. She continued to breathe as Naruto drew upon his personal Essence to pour power into her. She gradually reverted from her ancient appearance back to her youthful self. It only took a moment for her to be radiantly beautiful once again.

At the same time, an icy coldness passed from Naruto's hand into her body. Cracking sounds could be heard as layers of ice formed. Gradually, ice came to cover her completely, forming the shape of a coffin.

There Xu Qing lay, inside the coffin, sleeping, sealed with ice.

This was the final method Naruto had devised, something different from the soul seeds which could be sent back into reincarnation. After thousands of years of augury calculations, this was the best method he could come up with, something very taxing to himself, something that used numerous natural laws combined with Heaven-Sealing magic.

He had… separated her from the curse!

He used ice to create a tiny world the size of a coffin. Whoever slept inside that coffin would be free from the effects of the curse.

This method also had something to do with his observations of his own Dao Essence, and the world which existed inside of him. He had thought of taking people into that world inside of him to separate them from the curse, but was unable. He was in the Ancestor Realm, and yet, that world inside of him was incomplete.

He gazed at Xu Qing there within the ice coffin, then went to another location on the Ninth Mountain, where his parents lived.

His parents were the only loved ones he had left in the world.

After explaining his plan regarding the ice seal, Naruto's parents sat there silently. A long time passed before they exchanged a glance, then looked back at Naruto and shook their heads.

They did not wish to continue living in such a manner. They would rather reach the end of their lives together. After all the years which had passed, and everything they had been through, they were content for things to end.

Having watched as Naruto climbed to the absolute pinnacle, they had no regrets.

Naruto continued to try to persuade them until his father's temper sparked. Naruto lapsed into silence. He could tell that his parents' decision was final. In the following years, he spent as much time as he could with them there in the Mountain and Sea Realm. Another thousand years passed.

Finally, Naruto watched through tear-filled eyes as his parents transformed into the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, and then gradually began to fade away. However, in the moment before it disappeared, Naruto's eyes flashed with determination. His right hand flashed in an incantation gesture, and the power of his Dao Essence erupted out. Coldness filled the area, and cracking sounds could be heard. In the blink of an eye, the area was completely sealed in ice.

The frozen Mountain and Sea Butterfly began to shrink down until it was a coffin, which Naruto carefully picked up.

He knew that the real reason his parents had refused was that they didn't want him to waste any of his Essence power. They were worried that he would harm himself in order to help them.

They were willing to sacrifice anything for their son. That was the reason for their decision.

But Naruto was willing to do the same for his parents. They were the two most important people in his life, and thus, he made his own decision.

He placed the Mountain and Sea Butterfly's ice coffin next to Xu Qing's. Those two coffins contained the people in his life that he simply couldn't part with.

Grief, pain, and loneliness rose up like the tide, completely engulfing him. He sat down quietly, and let time pass, just like it always had.

He sat there for a thousand years. By now, he had been the lord of the starry sky for ten thousand years. Finally, he placed protective seals on the soul seeds and the coffins, then walked out and looked at the Mountain and Sea Realm. Everything looked unfamiliar to him now.

"I watch the blue seas become lush fields," he murmured. "Same scenery, but filled with strangers…."

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1593

Chapter 1593: Loneliness

Years had passed. A thousand. Two thousand. Three thousand.

Five thousand years had gone by in a flash.

After ten thousand years in which Naruto never appeared in public, his name had largely been forgotten by the successive generations of cultivators.

All of the older generation in the Mountain and Sea Realm had returned to the dust, and virtually no one now living had ever even heard of Naruto.

During the ten thousand years, it wasn't just people in the Mountain and Sea Realm who died. Cultivators passed away in other parts of the starry sky, such as in the Vast Expanse School, although the effects in those other places weren't as pronounced.

In the current starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, few people were aware that the starry sky even had a will of its own. People even stopped telling stories about the battle ten thousand years before, between Naruto and Allheaven.

There was a very, very small group of people who remembered, but most of them were Paragons. Because the Karma connecting them to

Naruto wasn't very profound, and because of their incredible cultivation bases, the power of the curse didn't affect them in a significant way.

After several thousand years, Perfect's longevity eventually ran out. Naruto collected her soul seed and sealed it in the ice mountain. That ice mountain contained all of the memories of Naruto's entire life. Everyone he cared about, all of the good things, were there. That ice cave was also his weak spot.

He spent most of his time sitting at the foot of the ice mountain, with only his memories to accompany him.

Occasionally he would go out into the Mountain and Sea Realm. However, every time he did, things seemed unfamiliar. He almost felt as if he wasn't even a part of the world any more.

Although he wasn't aware of it, there was something building up within him, something that could only be described by a single word. Loneliness. And it was growing stronger.

He was the most powerful entity within the starry sky, but the feeling of loneliness only continued to grow. He never aged, and yet he felt more and more tired.

His body was not growing older, but his heart was. And he could do nothing to change that.

Years marched along within the starry sky, faster and faster. Naruto felt as if those years were passing him by. All he could do was sit and watch them go. He looked at the living creatures that existed within the starry sky. He watched generations come and go. He saw gifted and talented individuals rise to glory. He saw people that others would call inhuman. He saw new powerful experts make names for themselves.

The Mountain and Sea Realm continued to prosper. Few people bore the mark of the curse any more. As people forgot Naruto, the Karma connecting them to him grew faint. Although many of them still had slightly limited longevity, their speed of cultivation was greatly enhanced because of living in the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm.

In the Nine Mountains and Seas, the natural laws were based on the nine great Hexing magics of the League of Demon Sealers. Because of that, it was much easier to reach the Dao Realm. In fact, throughout the ten thousand years which had passed, numerous outstanding cultivators had risen up. They created cultivation techniques unique to their generation, and also invented many, many new divine abilities.

Throughout the millennia, the cultivators from the Mountain and Sea Realm were always considered to be one of the most powerful forces within the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. Eventually, wild ambitions began to grow within the hearts of many cultivators. It was hard to say when exactly it began, but eventually they began to expand, and to subjugate one group of life forms after another within the starry sky.

Naruto watched it happen. He watched the wars being fought. He even strolled through battlefields sometimes, watching the Mountain and Sea cultivators die, watching the other living beings die. He watched the blood flow, and smelled the stench of gore.

He watched it all, but did nothing. He didn't help either side, and certainly didn't fight.

This was the path the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm had chosen, and he wouldn't interfere. As for exactly how it would all turn out, he wasn't sure.

As the Mountain and Sea Realm waged war, its people grew stronger. They encountered many critical situations.

To Naruto, none of that was very important. The people he cared about were all gone, leaving him alone within Heaven and Earth.

One year, when he went out into the Mountain and Sea Realm, he seemed like an old man. No one could detect his passage, not even the newly arisen Paragons of the realm.

His destination was Planet South Heaven, and the Violet Fate Sect. There were only a few things within the starry sky that Naruto cared about any more. One was the gradually weakening Patriarch Reliance. The other was in the Violet Fate Sect, where a woman rested in slumber, ever resistant to the idea of awakening.

Whenever Naruto thought about Sakura, his expression grew grimmer than usual.

Dark clouds filled the sky above Planet South Heaven. Snow began to fall, and as the snowflakes accumulated on the various mortal kingdoms down below, the world turned white.

Down below on one of the public highways, a horse-drawn carriage sped along through the night. Within the carriage was a scholar, reading a book by the light of an oil lamp.

Naruto hovered up above, watching the snow fall, and watching the carriage speed along across the highway. He looked at the scholar, and couldn't help but think of that time he had traveled through a snowy night in the Five Elemental Nations . 1

He sighed, and then continued along his way to the Violet Fate Sect.

The Violet Fate Sect was the most illustrious and famous sect on Planet South Heaven, filled with countless disciples. Within that sect was a mountain that had once been called a Holy Land.

That mountain had no peak, only a basin. It was a place that, throughout all the countless years which had passed, had come to be a restricted area. Not a single person from the Violet Fate Sect had ever set foot inside. The primary rule of the sect was that no one was allowed to go there. Many disciples of the Violet Fate Sect had speculated what was inside, and countless rumors existed about the subject.

Some of the stories were beautiful, and some were vile. Because of all the rumors, that mountain had become the most mysterious of places.

For generation after generation, cultivators had stood guard around that mountain, although none of them knew exactly what they were guarding.

They only knew that no one was allowed to climb to the top. If anyone tried to do so, they would reach a certain point halfway up where progress was impossible. Likewise, anyone who looked at the mountain from up above would only see rippling distortions.

Years ago, one of the most powerful Paragons of the Mountain and Sea Realm had come to the conclusion that an ancient precious treasure was buried there. He even gathered an army to go to the mountain and take away the treasure.

However, not even that Paragon was able to get more than half way up the mountain.

Because of that, the mountain came to be known, not as a Holy Land, but as a restricted area. It was also the most mysterious location in all of the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Naruto appeared at the bottom of the mountain, and looked up toward the top. This was not his first time coming here. After Xu Qing left, and after everyone else he knew had died, he had come to visit.

This was actually his third time coming. He quietly took a step forward as he began to climb the mountain. No one saw him, and no one could detect his presence. He walked slowly, taking one step at a time as he headed toward the top.

This is a reference to chapter 58, in which he traveled on a snowy night and met a scholar in a horse-drawn carriage ↩

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1594

Chapter 1594: Buried Within Time

The top of the mountain looked the same as it always had. It was separate from the world, as beautiful as a painting.

As soon as Naruto reached the top, he could see a coffin off in the distance, a coffin that was… empty!

It was not his first time looking at the empty coffin. He had come here after Xu Qing slipped into her final slumber, which was when he had discovered that no one occupied the coffin anymore.

Sakura had vanished.

As for where she had gone to, no one knew, not even Naruto. Back when he first made the shocking discovery, he had stood there looking at it, his heart equally empty.

Sakura could not have simply left on her own. Considering the level of Naruto's cultivation base, and given the fact that he was the lord of the starry sky, he should have been able to detect her presence.

But she was nowhere to be found.

The only explanation was that she had somehow left when he was making the ice coffins with his Dao Essence. Because all of his energy and concentration had been focused on the task at hand, he hadn't been paying attention to anything else. Something unexpected must have occurred with Sakura during that time.

Even still, it didn't make sense that he wouldn't have noticed. Unless… Sakura didn't leave on her own. Unless… someone came and took her away.

Whoever it was couldn't be Allheaven, because he couldn't enter this starry sky. It must have been someone else.

That person's cultivation base… would either have to be at the same level as Naruto's, or at least very close.

There were some clues left behind. Although they were faint to the extreme, Naruto was the lord of the starry sky, a powerful expert in the Ancestor Realm. If he wanted to know something, then only someone with a cultivation base higher than his would be able to conceal it from him and leave behind no clues.

But there were clues, and from them, Naruto was able to determine that whoever had taken away Sakura had no ill intentions.

Based on the auguries he had performed, he had come to be convinced that Sakura being taken away was unprecedented good fortune for her. He even had the feeling that he might run into her again in the future.

Because of that, he had chosen not to interfere. Instead, he allowed the place to simply remained sealed away like it had been before.

After climbing the mountain, he walked up to the coffin and looked down into its emptiness. Memories flickered within his eyes, and eventually he sighed. It was almost as if he could hear the gentle voice of a young woman speaking to him.

"Master, promise me that you'll tell me the second half of the story one day."

Naruto felt emptier than ever. When Xu Qing fell into slumber, she took away his heart. As he stood there thinking about Sakura, it was as if his will had also been taken away.

Time passed, and Naruto looked older than ever. He looked up into the sky, completely engulfed by loneliness.

Eventually, he left. He strolled through the Mountain and Sea Realm, visiting the Mountains, going to the Seas. Eventually, he reached the Ninth Sea. There he stopped and looked down.

The Ninth Sea was more than half dried up. Guyiding Tri-Rain was connected to Naruto by Karma, and was thus subject to the effects of the curse. Just like Patriarch Reliance, she had chosen to enter a state of sleep, allowing her to prolong her life.

When he looked at the Ninth Sea, he could still sense faint fluctuations coming from Guyiding Tri-Rain. Gradually, his heart began to grow calm. He proceeded along, returning to the Ninth Mountain, and the ice cave where all his memories lay. He sat down cross-legged next to the ice coffins which contained his parents and Xu Qing, and his eyes flickered with focus and obsession.

After all the time that had passed, he still hadn't given up on the idea of breaking the curse of Allheaven.

Recently, a new idea had occurred to him, an idea that seemed like madness.

"After the Nine Demon Sealing Hexes, I wonder if there… is actually a Tenth Hex!"

Time continued to pass. A thousand years. Two thousand. Three thousand….

By now, twenty thousand years had passed since Naruto's battle with Allheaven. During that time, many of the people he had known in the Vast Expanse School died.

It would be easier to find a phoenix feather or a qilin horn than to find people within the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas who remembered Naruto. Any who did exist were ancient, eccentric beings.

During the second ten-thousand-year-period, the Mountain and Sea Realm continued to expand. It grew more powerful, but at the same time, more corrupt. The Nine Mountains became nine separate factions who schemed and fought amongst each other.

It reached the point where they even wanted to part ways from each other. Were it not for the fact that the Nine Mountains and Seas were fundamentally incapable of being separated, they definitely would have split apart. Of course, the schisms were not physical, but within the hearts of the people in the realm.

Shields were erected between the Nine Mountains and Seas. In the past, they all had dealings with each other, but now they became separate worlds. The only way to pass from one to another was by fighting and killing.

The expansion outside of the Mountain and Sea Realm was similarly divided.

As more and more living beings were subjugated, the Mountain and Sea Realm eventually reached a peak state similar to when it had ruled the 3,000 Lower Realms in the past. In fact, they even surpassed that state, and came to rule tens of thousands of other types of life forms.

There was another power within the starry sky. During the first ten thousand years, it had remained relatively subdued. But in the second, it experienced explosive expansion. It was… the Vast Expanse School!

The Vast Expanse School had been the number one power in years past, and during the second period of ten thousand years, it began to expand again. It swept across the starry sky, becoming just as illustrious as the Mountain and Sea Realm. Eventually, the starry sky was split in two.

As would be expected, friction arose. Smaller conflicts grew more intense, until eventually the two powers came to be as incompatible as fire and water.

More and more powerful experts arose. The Mountain and Sea Realm had full access to all of the powers provided by the precious treasure that was the realm itself. However, even though the older generation had all died, the new experts still were affected by Karma, and had significantly shorter longevity. Because of that, although their powerful experts were numerous, there was still a limit to their overall number.

The Vast Expanse School was in a similar situation. The most powerful experts of the older generation were either dead or in secluded meditation. They had no precious treasure like the Mountain and Sea Realm, but their powerful experts could live longer. In the end, neither side had a clear advantage, and they were relatively evenly matched.

However, the number of Paragons who rose up during that twenty thousand years vastly exceeded the number from previous times. Not counting their secret reserve forces, each of the two powers had over two hundred 9-Essences Paragons.

Because of that, the fighting grew more intense, until eventually, fullscale war erupted.

Naruto didn't pay attention to any of that. He sat in secluded meditation, forgotten by the world.

By now, the very few people who actually remembered him all assumed that he had long since left this starry sky.

After all, it had been many, many years since he made any public appearances. His stories, his legend, was a thing from ancient times, buried within the depths of the past.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1595

Chapter 1595 (Click to show "spoiler" title) Chapter 1595: Someone Transcends!

The war between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Vast Expanse School went on for a thousand years, and yet neither side could wipe the other out. In the end, they called a truce. The number of cultivators who died was beyond calculation.

The only reason the truce had been called was because of the innumerable casualties. The enmity between the two forces was like an ocean of blood, a Gordian knot that could never be unravelled.

Time passed. Another five thousand years went by, and Naruto never came out of seclusion. He almost seemed to be sleeping, but the truth was that he was sitting there cross-legged, constantly analyzing the problem of the curse. At the same time, he was solidifying his place within the Ancestor Realm.

He gave up on any attempts to look for Allheaven outside the Vast Expanse. Years ago, he had been very anxious to fight, but now he realized that only one who needed to be anxious was Allheaven, not himself.

"You want to hide? Hide then. I'll give you plenty of time. Grief will continue to waste away at my heart, but at the same time, you will continue to weaken." Naruto didn't even open his eyes. He remained there on the Ninth Mountain, allowing time to pass.

Another five thousand years went by. By now, thirty thousand years had passed since the battle between Naruto and Allheaven. After spending a thousand years recovering and rebuilding, the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Vast Expanse School began to fight their second fullscale war.

This war was even more intense than the first one. In the first war, the two forces had been relatively evenly matched, but now the situation had changed. The tide of battle had shifted in favor of the Vast Expanse School, the reason being that one of their Patriarchs had joined the fighting!

That Patriarch had lived for many, many years, for so long, in fact, that many people had completely forgotten about him. To most, he was a person of the past, a person who existed only in legend.

His name was Sha Jiudong!

He had not died during his thirty thousand years of meditation. He finally emerged, his cultivation base having reached a shocking level. He was now very, very old, so much so that he emanated an aura of rot and death. Despite that, he single-handedly slaughtered numerous 9Essences Paragons from the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He alone changed the entire course of the war. His seeming invincibility struck despair into the hearts of his enemies.

His ancient body seemed to contain limitless power, but when he looked at the Mountain and Sea cultivators, it was always with mixed emotions. He seemed to be thinking about the past, as if some terrifying and horrific entity existed deep within his gaze.

When Sha Jiudong joined the fighting, the Mountain and Sea cultivators instantly suffered a huge defeat. They were beaten back over and over by the army of the Vast Expanse School, until they were just outside their home. Slaughter ensued outside of the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas.

It was at this point, when the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were in complete despair, that Sha Jiudong gritted his teeth and prepared to lead the charge into the realm. However, as soon as he actually entered the borders, the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas began to tremble, and power rose up that caused all cultivators to shake. That power came from the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas themselves.

It was something that could shake Heaven and Earth, and caused the entire starry sky to fill with rumbling sounds. The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were instantly enlivened.

"That's… the power of our ancestor?"

"I heard a story once that the Mountain and Sea Realm is actually a precious treasure, created by some ancestor in ancient times!"

While the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators reveled in their excitement, Sha Jiudong let out an anguished cry. The explosive power he felt from the Mountain and Sea Realm left him trembling. He immediately fell back at top speed.

"My mistake. My mistake! Please, spare me, for old times' sake!" Sha Jiudong was overwhelmed by fear and terror, and immediately began to beg for his life. The same fear from thirty thousand years ago still existed within his heart.

However, almost as soon as the words left his mouth, he sensed that this power did not come from Naruto, but from the Mountain and Sea Realm itself. He suddenly began to laugh bitterly.

"So, it's not even you that's trying to kill me. You're not even here anymore. What's trying to kill me is simply the power of the precious treasure you left behind. I, Sha Jiudong, have a cultivation base that borders on Transcendence. And yet I can't even fight back against the precious treasure you left behind to–"

Before he could even retreat any further, all of the cultivators, both from the Mountains and Seas and the Vast Expanse School, watched as this seemingly invincible eccentric was enveloped by the pursuing power of the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas. That power transformed into the image of a mountain and a sea, which then crushed down onto Sha Jiudong.

A boom echoed out in all directions, shaking everyone. When the image of the mountain and the sea faded away, the only thing that remained of Sha Jiudong was a bloody paste.

He had been killed in body and soul!

Despite his incredible level of power, he had been cut down by a single attack.

His death caused the entire battlefield to go completely silent. The cultivators from the Vast Expanse School started trembling, and then shouting out in alarm. They knew they had been completely routed, and when they looked at the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, it was with utter dread.

In direct contrast, the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were overjoyed. They almost couldn't believe what they had just seen, and suddenly realized that there were things about their own home that they didn't fully comprehend.

That was even more so considering that many people had heard the words Sha Jiudong spoke in the moments before he died. They could tell that he was terrified, and yet, no one was sure who it was that he had been talking to.

Apparently it was someone from long ago, someone who had intentionally disappeared. Apparently, it was a supremely glorious figure who no one remembered.

And thus ended the war. As for Naruto, he remained in seclusion. He opened his eyes, and when he looked out at the starry sky, his gaze seemed profoundly ancient. After a moment passed, he closed his eyes and went back to meditating.

Sha Jiudong's dying words seemed to open up a new world for the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators. In the following several thousand years, many people began to research the history of their home, to search for how it all began. They gave up on expansion, and gave up on any attempts to wage war with the Vast Expanse School. Instead, they focused on tracing their history back to its roots.

Time passed. A fourth period of ten thousand years went by.

The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators remained introspective, but the Vast Expanse School was the opposite. They swept through the starry sky, taking over more territory, although they always hesitated about whether to do something about the Mountain and Sea Realm.

That hesitation lasted for ten thousand years. But then, another of the

Vast Expanse School's Patriarchs underwent a shocking transformation.

The person who emerged from seclusion was ancient, and wore a golden robe. Everyone referred to him as Patriarch Goldrobes. It was none other than Jin Yunshan.

The starry sky was completely shaken. Countless living beings trembled, and all cultivators could feel the aura of Transcendence emanating out from the Vast Expanse School.

Tens of thousands of years had passed, and Jin Yunshan was one of the few people still alive who remembered the events of the past. He had experienced the baptism of the Transcendence Dais, and had followed Naruto into war. He had seen Naruto fighting, and had been profoundly influenced by him.

In the end, after tens of thousands of years had passed, just when his longevity was about to run out, his fleshly body reached Transcendence.

He reached a state similar to Nine Seals all those years ago. He had taken his first step along the path of Transcendence. Soon after, he even managed to make a cultivation base breakthrough.

The only thing he lacked was a Transcendent soul. However, the soul was the most difficult step to take. Although his terrifying power hadn't reached the absolute peak, with a Transcendent fleshly body and cultivation base, he was already more than half a step to completion. He could truly be listed among those who had Transcended.

Chapter 1595: Someone Transcends!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1596

Chapter 1596: Goldrobes Covets the Mountains and Seas!

After reaching that incredibly high level and emerging from secluded meditation, Jin Yunshan rocked the entire Vast Expanse School, and even the starry sky as a whole. The first thing he did after emerging was begin to challenge all of the peak 9-Essences experts to battle.

It didn't matter if they were people from the past, or people who had risen up in recent millennia, he challenged all of them. Shockingly, the first person on his list was the former Sect Leader of the Vast Expanse School.

However, upon reaching the Sect Leader's secluded meditation facilities, he stood there silently. After sensing the fluctuations of death from inside, he realized that the Sect Leader had long since returned to the dust.

Much to the excitement of all the cultivators of the Vast Expanse School, he left Planet Vast Expanse and found the old lizard, then the enormous head, and finally the termite queen.

He gained victory three times, as easily as turning over his hand. Then he began to make his way through the rest of the starry sky. Everywhere he went, the powerful experts acknowledged allegiance, and bowed their heads. Considering that he could easily defeat all of the peak 9-

Essences experts, he quickly came to be known as the number one most powerful expert in the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. After everyone acknowledged him as having Transcended, Jin Yunshan's ambition reached incredible heights.

Countless living beings offered him worship, and countless cultivators revered him as the ultimate existence. Anywhere he went, countless voices would cry out in adoration and worship.

"Greetings, Patriarch Goldrobes!"

"Greetings, Patriarch Goldrobes!"

Such cries rang out near and far. Countless eyes gazed upon him with fear and fanaticism. The feeling of having Transcended caused him to think about Naruto, and the glory and status Naruto had once commanded.

"I might not be as strong as Naruto was back then, but the gap can't be very wide…." Jin Yunshan waved his hand, causing the natural laws in the area to flux and change. It was an intoxicating feeling that filled him with excitement, and caused his laughter to echo out through the entire starry sky.

Eventually, his gaze came to fall upon the Mountain and Sea Realm.

He refused to believe that after the tens of thousands of years which had passed, Naruto was still present. He was convinced that Naruto had almost certainly departed. Either that, or he had picked another fight with Allheaven and been either killed or seriously wounded.

Despite that, he held back. The terror of Naruto which existed in his heart caused him to hesitate. Whenever he thought of Naruto, fear filled him; therefore, he turned his gaze away from the Mountain and Sea Realm, and he waited.

Time passed. Another ten thousand years passed. Because of Jin Yunshan, the Vast Expanse School eventually came to occupy the entire starry sky, with the exception of the Mountain and Sea Realm. Jin Yunshan never invaded it. Instead, he observed and waited, not yet daring to take any action.

After those ten thousand years passed, Jin Yunshan's patience gradually ran out. After countless augury calculations, he finally became fully focused on the Mountain and Sea Realm.

However, he managed to hold back from simply invading. Instead, he began to form numerous clones, which he sent to infiltrate the Mountain and Sea Realm. Those clones observed, tested, and waited for another ten thousand years. Finally, he made his decision!

"Transcendors always create a precious treasure. Within this starry sky, the Mountain and Sea Realm is that very Transcendence Treasure!

"Naruto, considering that you've departed, this precious treasure should belong to me!" Jin Yunshan's eyes glittered as he began to make his way toward the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"I actually hope that you haven't left, Naruto," he murmured. "I hope that you fought again with Allheaven, and ended up being seriously injured. That way, I can consume you the same way you consumed Allheaven, and thus Transcend in soul." His eyes glinted with profound ambition.

It only took him a few strides through the starry sky to reach the Mountain and Sea Realm. As he hovered outside, he studied the place, and his eyes flickered with praise. Years ago, he had been unable to truly comprehend how incredible the Mountain and Sea Realm was, but with his current cultivation base, he could now see all of the various dazzling aspects to the realm.

"The embodiment of nine profound natural laws. The nine Hexes of the League of Demon Sealers. Naruto, you left your legacy behind, sealed within this precious treasure. Unfortunately… after all these tens of thousands of years, not a single person in the Mountain and Sea Realm has been able to combine all of your Hexing magic Essences.

Neither has anyone Transcended.

"Leaving this treasure here would be a big waste. I'll take it. Perhaps it can even help me to Transcend in soul!" Jin Yunshan took a deep breath, which caused the entire starry sky to shake. Rumbling like thunder could be heard, breaking through the barriers of the Mountain and Sea Realm to fill the Heaven and Earth which existed inside.

Countless cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were profoundly shaken, and coughed up mouthfuls of blood. Heaven-shaking, Earthshattering power erupted from Jin Yunshan, pouring into the Mountain and Sea Realm to crush down onto its innumerable cultivators.

Before any of the cultivators could react or struggle, they were slammed into the ground. Their eyes were bloodshot, and they were howling inwardly. And yet, they could do nothing but look up at the Heavens and trembled. Jin Yunshan slowly descended into the Mountain and Sea Realm, tearing apart the Heavens there, causing golden light to spread out without cease.

The protective barrier surrounding the Mountain and Sea Realm was torn open.

Behind the golden-robed Jin Yunshan, vortexes sprang up, out of which emerged countless cultivators from the Vast Expanse School. After they dropped to their knees to bow in greeting, Jin Yunshan waved his golden sleeve, sending them pouring into the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Few of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm could even struggle against the pressure. However, there were a few Paragons among them who managed to fly up into the air. One after another they tried to fight back, but all Jin Yunshan had to do was wave his sleeve, and they were shoved back down. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of the Mountain and Sea Realm Paragons as they were slammed back down into the ground.

Over the past millennia, numerous Mountain and Sea cultivators had done extensive research into their history. Although none of them knew the full truth, they had managed to piece together various clues, and now began to call out for help from the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm.

"The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm are protected by the realm itself! No outside force can destroy us!"

"Precious treasure of the Mountains and Seas, please protect us from the invading cultivators!"

"Oh precious treasure of our ancestor, please do something!"

Even as their voices rose up, the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas began to tremble. Light sprang up, which instantly shot toward Jin Yunshan. That light was the exact same light which had crushed Sha Jiudong so many years ago.

However, even as that light neared Jin Yunshan….

"I hereby declare," he said coolly, "that the natural laws of this world are now different." He extended his right hand, and the power of his Transcendent fleshly body and cultivation base converged on his finger.

The light from the Mountains and Seas trembled for a moment, and then shattered, sending countless sparks flying about in all directions.

When the Mountain and Sea cultivators saw that, they were completely shaken, and could do nothing but stare in shock.

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1597

Chapter 1597 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1597: Long Time No See

"I hereby declare that all cultivators of this world must acknowledge allegiance to me," Jin Yunshan said, his voice cool and clear. He took a step forward, and the Mountain and Sea Realm shook. The power of the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas had been crushed. All Mountain and Sea cultivators were trembling in body and soul under the pressure radiating down from Jin Yunshan. As of this moment, it seemed that they had no choice but to surrender.

"I hereby declare that from this day forth, I am the lord of this realm!" A strange light gleamed in Jin Yunshan's eyes as he took another step forward. Heaven and Earth cracked and crumbled. The Nine Mountains shook violently, and the Nine Seas churned.

All living beings bowed their heads. Under the gaze of Jin Yunshan, they had no choice but to capitulate. Behind Jin Yunshan, the boundless horde of cultivators from the Vast Expanse School were cheering excitedly.

"Goldrobes!"

"Goldrobes!"

"Goldrobes!"

The sound wave created by their cries filled the starry sky of the Mountain and Sea Realm, becoming the only sound that anyone could hear. Jin Yunshan hovered there, reveling in the unprecedented feeling of glory.

In his mind, he was finally able to experience what it must have been like to be Naruto, to look down indifferently at everything in the starry sky.

"Naruto, the world has forgotten you, but I won't. Today… I will wipe you completely out of existence. I will take your place as the new lord of the starry sky!" He flicked his sleeve, and the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas trembled. But then, the fluctuations of the First Demon Sealing Hex arose from within the First Mountain and Sea.

As the ripples closed in on Jin Yunshan, his eyes narrowed, and his hand flashed in an incantation gesture. The wave of his finger caused the void to collapse as he fought back against the First Hex.

It was at that point that the Second Hex erupted from the Second Mountain and Sea. Then came the Third Hex, and the Fourth. In the blink of an eye, the power of eight Hexing magics were shooting toward Jin Yunshan.

It was a dazzling display that seemed capable of killing any and all living things. Time distorted, space rippled. Death was descending!

Jin Yunshan threw his head back and laughed uproariously.

"Naruto, if you came out in person to fight me, I might be worried.

But this paltry Mountain and Sea Realm isn't enough to kill me. BREAK!" Even as his laughter rang out, he shoved his right hand out. Golden light exploded from his palm, spreading out in all directions, causing the entire starry sky to turn golden.

Everything above and below shone like gold. The entire world was turning golden, even the Nine Mountains and Nine Seas, and it seemed like something which could never be changed.

As the eight incoming Hexing magics bore down on Jin Yunshan, they suddenly ground to a halt, and then shattered. At the same time, Jin Yunshan waved his sleeve, unleashing his divine sense and cultivation base. The power of Transcendence erupted out. He held nothing back, causing golden light to spread out in all directions. The First Mountain and Sea was stained completely golden, and the effects spread rapidly. Next was the Second Mountain and Sea. After that, the Third and Fourth Mountains and Seas became gold. The will of golden-robed Jin Yunshan forced its way into the Mountain and Sea Realm, occupying it, transforming it into his own precious treasure.

The cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm were in complete despair. They were suppressed, their eyes bloodshot, completely incapable of fighting back.

Rumbling could be heard as the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Mountains and Seas all turned golden. Jin Yunshan's laughter filled the entire realm.

It was at this point that, with no warning whatsoever, a powerful blast of energy surged out. It came from that which Naruto had founded the entire Ninth Mountain and Sea upon… the Seal the Heavens Hex!

As the Hex erupted, it became an enormous blade which, in the space of a single breath, bore down on Jin Yunshan. His face fell, and a tremor ran through him. Without the slightest hesitation, he swished his sleeve. Instantly, all of the cultivators from the Vast Expanse School suddenly vanished. To their shock, they reappeared in front of Jin Yunshan, a sea of people that he was attempting to use to block the blade that was the Seal the Heavens Hex.

Instantly, bloodcurdling screams began to ring out as the cultivators in front of Jin Yunshan were slashed by the blade. They were shredded into pieces, sending blood and gore flying out in all directions, to then rain down onto the Mountain and Sea Realm.

The blade continued to scream along toward the golden-robed Jin Yunshan.

His scalp was completely numb; this was the first time since Transcending that he had experienced such a sensation of critical danger.

"Impossible! I refuse to believe that I can't fight this magical item of yours, Naruto!" Roaring with rage, Jin Yunshan performed an incantation gesture and then waved his finger. Rumbling sounds erupted as a huge turtle shell appeared in front of him. It was none other than the precious treasure of the Vast Expanse School, which was now being used to intercept the blade.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The Vast Expanse School's precious treasure, the turtle shell, exploded into bits. At the same time, though, the incoming blade seemed to grow blurry.

After all… the blade was not being unleashed by Naruto personally; it was merely the power of the magical item itself, and obviously had limitations!

Jin Yunshan's eyes glowed with excitement, and even a flicker of viciousness. He fell back, waving his sleeve to summon numerous worlds, land masses, and planets, all to intercept the blade and defend himself.

Heaven and Earth trembled. The starry sky shook. Worlds were destroyed, planets were shattered, and land masses burst into flames. However, the blade was slowly fading until it almost wasn't visible.

Finally, Jin Yunshan's cultivation base erupted with the power of Transcendence. Howling, he stopped moving backward, and jumped forward to meet the blade.

As the two met, the blade faded away, becoming countless vanishing fragments. However, it still passed through Jin Yunshan. Even his Transcendent fleshly body couldn't block it.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and one of his arms was completely severed. Next, his body trembled, and then collapsed into pieces.

The only thing which remained was his head. And yet, he was laughing uproariously. Unexpectedly, his body formed back together, and was whole once more.

He seemed very weak, his face drastically pale. He had been immeasurably close to death moments ago. Had the blade not dissipated when it did, he would definitely have been destroyed in body and soul.

Now, having believed himself to have defeated the precious treasure that was the Mountain and Sea Realm, he laughed and waved his sleeve, causing golden light to spill out toward the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

Moments later, it seemed as if the Ninth Mountain and Sea were about to be completely transformed into the color of gold. The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were in a state of complete hopelessness, their world shattered.

Jin Yunshan's eyes glowed with longing, with madness, with covetousness. At the same time, he continued to laugh uproariously.

"Naruto, at long last the time has come in which I completely replace you!"

In that very moment, even as the words left his mouth, a voice spoke out from behind him, a calm and very familiar voice that struck his heart like a bolt of lightning.

"Long time no see."

Chapter 1597: Long Time No See

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1598

Chapter 1598: You're Still Here?!

"Long time no see."

The voice was calm and completely lacking any sort of emotion. And yet as soon as Jin Yunshan heard it, his heart shook as violently as if it had been struck with lightning bolts. Waves of shock battered his mind, and he couldn't prevent himself from trembling physically.

He somehow managed to turn around, and what he saw was a very, very familiar face.

It was a face from tens of thousands of years in the past, a face that hadn't changed at all, except for the fact that it seemed vastly more ancient.

As soon as Jin Yunshan laid eyes on it, his heart felt as if it would literally explode, and his mind began to reel. Despite the current level of his cultivation base, he was unable to perceive how powerful Naruto was, who almost seemed to be fused with the starry sky itself.

He was completely unfathomable, and as a result, infinitely mysterious. That led to a suffocating pressure which caused Jin Yunshan to think of the Naruto of yesteryear, and how it had felt to stand in his presence.

Jin Yunshan shivered, then began to speak haltingly. "Y-you… you're actually… you're still here… I…."

He was the only one who could actually see Naruto. The Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators could not. They only saw Jin Yunshan turning around with a face as ashen as death.

"I'm not dead," Naruto said coolly. "Nor did I have another battle with Allheaven. And I most certainly didn't leave this starry sky." Although his gaze was placid, to Jin Yunshan, it felt like a barrage of lightning, smashing his mind, battering his Transcendent fleshly body and shattering his Transcendent cultivation base.

Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he began to back up, chuckling bitterly. A look of madness sprang up in his eyes, and he threw his head back and roared.

"Impossible! How could you still be here? How is this possible? Tens of thousands of years have passed! Everyone else is dead? It's impossible that you could still be here!

"Why haven't you left? Why haven't you gone? This starry sky is so small! The Universe is so big! Why haven't you gone?!

"I should be the lord of this starry sky! I've Transcended! Why are you still here?!" Jin Yunshan was going mad. It was impossible for him not to. He had paid an unimaginable price to continue his cultivation down to this day, and was now more than half a step into Transcendence. How could he ever have imagined that Naruto would suddenly pop up, like a horrific nightmare? "Well since you're here, I challenge you to a fight!"

Roaring in fury, hair in complete disarray, his mental faculties shattered, he drew upon the complete power of his Transcendent fleshly body and cultivation base, transforming into a bright beam of light that shot directly toward Naruto.

Jin Yunshan's eyes were bright red; he was going all out with this attack. It was the type of attack where he would either succeed and come out alive, or die trying. The level of energy he was unleashing was completely unprecedented, and it even caused his soul to climb to a higher level. It was with shocking battle prowess that he closed in rapidly on Naruto.

The entire time, Naruto's face was completely calm. He lifted his right hand and extended a finger. Instantly, everything in front of him went completely calm. Even Jin Yunshan went still.

To Naruto, Jin Yunshan was like a baby waving a butter knife.

"Calm down," he said, lowering his hand.

As he did, everything returned to normal. Jin Yunshan was left trembling and coughing up blood. Shock and disbelief filled him as he looked bitterly at Naruto.

He had no choice but to admit that Naruto's strength exceeded even his own powers of imagination. In fact, he was sure that even if he Transcended in soul, thus fully stepping into Transcendence, that he would still be defeated with a single blow if he tried to fight Naruto.

"W-what… what realm… are you in?" he stammered.

"Even I'm not sure," replied Naruto, shaking his head. That was no lie. As of this point, he was unsure of his own level of power. All he knew was that after the tens of thousands of years of augury, after the countless years of secluded meditation… he had reached a level of almost complete omnipotence. All he had to do was think, and he could transform anything into ash.

"Congratulations on beginning to walk the path of Transcendence. Your soul is still lacking, and at the moment, it's a deficiency you cannot surpass. Leave. You already possess the power to depart from this starry sky. Go out into the Universe and search for the good fortune you need. Perhaps one day you will truly Transcend." When Naruto looked at Jin Yunshan, he felt no malice or enmity.

Everyone he knew had already passed away, and he felt little connection to the current starry sky. The only reason he had appeared to begin with was because the Mountain and Sea Realm was his legacy.

Trembling, Jin Yunshan gritted his teeth and said, "I'm not going anywhere!"

"You refuse to leave, huh…." Naruto looked far off into the distance. After some time passed, he looked back at Jin Yunshan, his expression calm.

"That's fine. But know this: whatever progress you make, you will never be able to replace these Heavens. You must learn what it means to yield." Naruto waved his sleeve, and blood sprayed out of Jin Yunshan's mouth. Rumbling could be heard as he was thrown backward like a kite with its string cut. He spun and spun, flying all the way back to Planet Vast Expanse.

When he finally came to a stop, he heard Naruto's voice speaking coolly in his ear: "Don't show your face for the next 100,000 years."

A tremor ran through Jin Yunshan, and all the bravado which had filled him moments ago drained away. He could reject Naruto's suggestion to leave this starry sky, but he could not refuse the punishment of 100,000 years of confinement.

"Why? I'm almost completely Transcended. I should be the lord of this starry sky. And yet… it's like I'm still stuck in the past." Feeling bitter and resentful, Jin Yunshan gritted his teeth and went back into secluded meditation.

The crisis facing the Mountain and Sea Realm was resolved. It quickly reverted back to its normal color. Everything had happened so quickly that the Mountain and Sea Realm cultivators were left gaping in shock. They weren't sure exactly what had occurred, but they did see the supremely powerful Jin Yunshan driven away like a stray dog by some invisible power.

Many speculations and many stories began to spread.

Naruto looked around at the Mountain and Sea Realm, and then looked outside of it. His gaze pierced through the starry sky until it came to rest in the region outside the Vast Expanse. It was a sharp gaze, deep, profound, and filled with obsession.

He was like a divine being which had finally awoken from slumber.

"Allheaven," he murmured, "the time has come for our final battle. You've been hiding from me for tens of thousands of years, and I've also been hiding away. It's time to sort things out once and for all." His eyes flickered with icy killing intent as he took a step forward. That single step took him through the void until he was outside of the starry sky!

The final battle was about to begin!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1599

Chapter 1599 (Click to show "spoiler" title)

Chapter 1599: Eighth Allheaven Transformation!

Outside the Vast Expanse, everything looked the same way it had for the past tens of thousands of years. Endless ruins stretched out in all directions, the remnants of former glory. However, there was one location among all the ruins that was like an oasis within a desert.

It wasn't very large, only the size of a single mountain. It was clear that the place had once been a sect, and had been restored from its state of ruin. It was blanketed in complete and utter silence.

Beautifully decorated buildings could be seen on the mountain, but they were empty. However, there was one wooden structure in which a corpse could be seen. It was the corpse of a woman who had long since passed away into meditation.

Naruto materialized inside of the wooden structure, in front of the corpse. It was Immortal Bai Wuchen.

Even after Naruto told her the truth about what was outside the Vast Expanse, she had still begged to be sent there. She was obsessed with her illusory memories, and thus, Naruto sent her here, with the promise that if she ever wanted to return, she merely had to call upon his name.

In the tens of thousands of years that followed, she never called out to him. After seeing the emptiness outside the Vast Expanse, and the dust, she recalled the home that existed in her memories, and found her way back to that very sect. She cleaned it and restored it to the way she remembered, and then lived there quietly, alone.

Eventually, she passed away into meditation.

Naruto stood there looking at Bai Wuchen's corpse for a long, long time. Then he turned and left. She had made her decision. Perhaps in the end she was simply happy to be able to die in the place she remembered.

After leaving the mountain, Naruto traversed the starry sky outside of the Vast Expanse until he was hovering near the towering columns. There, his eyes shone with a bright light as he contemplated killing Allheaven!

He knew that he would only have one chance to succeed. If he managed to slay Allheaven, then he would be able to continue to search for a way to break the curse. If he failed, then just like the Ghost, the Devil, and the God, he would no longer be qualified to remain.

"Come out," he said quietly. "We've been putting this battle off for long enough." Although he didn't speak very loudly, his voice filled the entire starry sky outside of the Vast Expanse. Ripples spread out, a tempest that shook the starry sky as if it were mere water.

After a long moment passed, a light sigh could be heard from some distance off. A woman strolled out, wearing a smile, and a diaphanous violet garment.

Naruto didn't seem surprised at all when he saw who it was.

"Brother Uzumaki, didn't I say that we would meet again?" Although she didn't seem to be moving very quickly, it only took her a few steps to appear directly in front of Naruto. There she stood, a radiant smile on her face. It was none other than… Han Bei!

"I am the Daughter of Allheaven, and you are his Son," she said softly. "We are destined to be together. We are destined to give birth to the lord of this starry sky, to give birth to… the most powerful and ultimate version of Allheaven!

"Why do you refuse to comply?" Her gaze was tender, like a ripple on a pond.

Naruto looked back at her and chuckled. "Which Allheaven

Transformation are you?"

Han Bei frowned. When she didn't respond, he waved his sleeve, and his energy surged in a completely domineering fashion.

"Allheaven," he said, his voice as cold as ice, "I respect your power. However, respect must be mutual. Where is your respect for me!?" His voice was like thunder, echoing out with such power that the starry sky trembled on the verge of collapse.

Han Bei's eyes flashed. Any tenderness which had been present faded away, replaced by an icy glow.

"I'm the eighth transformation," she said. With that, she reached out and waved her finger. Instantly, the void between her and Naruto distorted. At the same time, Naruto vanished, reappearing a moment later directly in front of Han Bei. He also reached out and waved his finger.

Their fingers touched, and a boom echoed out that could end the Heavens and crush the Earth. Naruto's expression never changed, but Han Bei's face flickered, and she involuntarily fell back. Booms began to echo out as different parts of her body began to explode. Blood and gore blasted out in all directions, until she was completely soaked in crimson. Her appearance was shocking, ferocious, and ghastly.

"Naruto!" she screamed, transforming into a blood-colored beam of light that shot toward Naruto. As she approached, she reached out as if to grab him.

Rumbling sounds could be heard as the void around Naruto shattered. And yet, he didn't seem to be affected at all. He looked coldly at Han Bei, then extended his hand, causing a tempest to spring up and slam into her.

Han Bei's eyes widened in shock. The astonishing level of power that Naruto was utilizing left her in complete disbelief.

Before she could even react, Naruto took a step forward, clenched his hand into a fist, and punched her in the pit of her stomach.

She screamed miserably as her body exploded. A moment later, she reformed, and yet before she could do anything, Naruto was upon her again, unleashing another fist strike.

She exploded again, and the process was repeated. Every time she reformed, he punched again. Ten times. Dozens. A hundred.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

"Show me your real power, Allheaven. If this is all you're capable of, I'll definitely be disappointed." Naruto's cultivation base surged. His next fist strike became a sea of flames, filled with infinite destructive power, power that could wither all life force. It became a flood of decay, filled with all of the power of the five elements, a fist strike of ultimate destruction.

A huge boom could be heard as Han Bei exploded into countless chunks of blood and gore that splashed about in all directions. Because of the power of the five elements that filled the chunks of her body, it made it very difficult for her to form back together.

Naruto's words were still lingering in the air when another voice spoke out from the gore that remained of Han Bei. However, the voice was not Han Bei's. It was vague, even faint, and yet it filled the entire starry sky.

"Uzumaki… Hao….

"The eighth… Allheaven Transformation is… the Primeval Transformation….

"Countless years ago in primeval times, the first Transcendor within my starry sky was he who I dubbed the Ghost…. Come forth!"

RUMBLE!

Chapter 1599: Eighth Allheaven Transformation!

Vol. 10 : Chapter 1600

Chapter 1600: I am the Ghost!

(click here for the soundtrack)

Even as Allheaven's voice echoed out, the chunks of gore and drops of blood transformed into ash, vanishing completely.

A blue-violet beam of light appeared off in the distance, moving at incredible speed. By the time Naruto turned to face it, it was right in front of him. A single finger became visible, racing toward his chest. Just before it touched him, Naruto's Dao eye opened, emitting a blast of light that slammed into the finger.

A boom echoed out, and Naruto staggered backward, his entire body vibrating, his face flushed bright red. When he looked back up, his eyes shone with piercingly bright light, and the desire to do battle.

"That's what I'm talking about!" he said slowly. "Don't hold anything back. This fight will be to the death!" A figure appeared in front of him, someone very familiar to him. It was a middle-aged man with long gray hair. He wore a gray-colored robe, and seemed to radiate disdain as he hovered there looking at Naruto.

He had an aura of Transcendence, and closer examination revealed that it was something beyond ordinary. It was actually half a step into the Ancestor Realm, just like Naruto's aura from years past. In fact, this aura was even more mysterious.

This person was none other than… the same person Naruto had first laid eyes upon in the necropolis of the Vast Expanse School… Patriarch Vast Expanse!

He was the first person to ever Transcend in this starry sky, the person who Allheaven had come to call the Ghost.

His expression was cold, but there didn't appear to be any intelligence in his eyes whatsoever. The pressure that radiated off of him seemed capable of cowing the entire starry sky, and behind him was an enormous, illusory figure, matchlessly vicious, overflowing with a ghostly aura. It possessed a boundless dignity, as if it were the emperor of all ghosts!

Allheaven's eighth transformation, the Primeval Transformation, was a grand magic that only Allheaven's true self could utilize. It was a Dao the likes of which a mere clone could not unleash. It allowed him to duplicate the most powerful experts of the starry sky that existed within his memories.

The first duplicate had been Han Bei, who wasn't necessarily very powerful, but had a strong connection to Naruto. Now, after having borne witness to Naruto's terrifying power, Allheaven didn't hesitate for even a moment to use the full power of his eighth transformation to duplicate… the Ghost!

The first Transcendor of this starry sky looked coldly at Uzumaki for a moment before suddenly taking a step forward. It was with incredible speed that his right index finger shot out toward Naruto's forehead, where his Dao eye was located.

Naruto had no time to evade, so he didn't even attempt to do so. Even as the finger stabbed into his Dao eye, sending intense pain shooting through him, his right hand flashed with an incantation gesture as he unleashed the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. A sealing mark fell upon the Ghost, and at the same time, blood oozed down Naruto's face.

The Ghost lurched to a halt as his body and spirit were locked into place by the Hexing magic. Considering the current level of Naruto's cultivation base, the Eighth Hex was something that few people in existence could remain unaffected by.

As the Ghost was locked in place, Naruto moved forward in a blur, body slamming him and simultaneously striking out with first his finger, then his fist, three blows in fast succession.

Blood sprayed out of the Ghost's mouth as his chest caved in. The finger and two fists were all aimed at his forehead, which shattered immediately. However, the scorn in his eyes remained exactly the same as before, causing Naruto's heart to begin to thump. It was at this point that the enormous, 30,000-meter-tall Ghost Emperor suddenly became completely corporeal. Looking completely and utterly vicious, it lunged toward Naruto as if to consume him.

A sensation of deadly crisis filled Naruto's mind. He could tell that if this Ghost Emperor actually managed to lay its teeth on him, although he might not be killed, he would definitely lose the battle.

And if he lost the battle, he would lose his qualifications to be able to fight Allheaven ever again!

Of course, Allheaven was doing this on purpose, trying to force him to use as many of his Hexing magics as possible. In fact, he wanted to force Naruto to use his most terrifying Hex, the Seal the Heavens Hex. If he did, then Allheaven could duplicate it, and thus never fear it again.

"I have other tricks up my sleeve besides the Seal the Heavens Hex!" Naruto's eyes gleamed with a strange light as the void behind him suddenly distorted. A piercing cry echoed out as a figure just as large as the Ghost Emperor appeared.

It had green skin, and a solitary, wicked horn. It had explosive Demonic qi, and Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering energy. This was Naruto's life essence form, the foundation of his cultivation base, the Demon Sovereign!

When the Demon Sovereign appeared, it immediately began to fight the

Ghost Emperor. The Ghost Emperor latched its jaws onto the Demon Sovereign, who stabbed back into the Ghost Emperor's body with hands like blades.

RUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLE….

The fighting was shaking everything in existence. Countless ruins in the area were transformed into ash. As the gigantic figures fought up above, Naruto and the Ghost brawled down below.

After exchanging over a thousand blows, blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and the Ghost was drenched with gore. The two appeared to be very well matched.

"This Ghost is from the memories of Allheaven, a version of him from the past when he was at the peak of his power. From this alone I can see that the Ghost was no ordinary Transcendor!" Naruto wiped the blood from his mouth, then waved his right hand to unleash the Mountain Consuming Incantation. Numerous mountains began to descend, forming a chain that swept across the battlefield.

The Ghost snorted coldly, then became a blur as he unleashed countless clones, which then shot toward the descending mountains and shattered them.

Naruto's right hand flashed with an incantation gesture, causing the rubble of the mountains to transform into an enormous stone fist. As the fist smashed toward the Ghost, Naruto sped forward like a shooting star, merging with the fist, lending it even more explosive power.

"Gate of the Ghost Realm!" the Ghost said, eyes shining with mysterious light. He raised both hands overhead, and the stars shook as a huge rift opened up above, revealing an enormous, pitch black gate.

As the gate descended, it slowly opened, revealing a gigantic scaled hand. The hand stretched out, and Naruto could sense incredible pressure, making it seem as if this hand could look down on all creation. The hand immediately grabbed hold of the enormous stone fist, then squeezed down.

A boom could be heard as the stone hand shattered. Naruto appeared, but quickly vanished, reappearing some distance off, his eyes flashing.

"Eighth Demon Sealing Hex, Body-Mind Hexing!

"Lock down the void, the starry sky, and natural laws. Lock down everything I desire to lock down!"

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	20. The End

The Eighth Demon Sealing Hex was the first of the Hexing magics that he had mastered, and the one he had used the most often. It was also the first Hexing magic that gave birth to an Essence for him.

The power of the Essence of space, once fully unleashed, was terrifying to the extreme. And of course, considering the current level of Naruto's cultivation base, he could utilize the Eighth Hex to the ultimate degree.

Anything which he saw could be rendered as a painting. Thus, anything Naruto could see could be sealed, if he wished it to be!

Rumbling echoed out as the Eighth Hex was unleashed. To Naruto, the entire starry sky became a canvas painting, even the Gate of the Ghost Realm, and even the ghostly hand stretching out from within it.

When the Hexing magic was unleashed, the starry sky shook and trembled.

"Break!" he said, his eyes flickering with killing intent. The canvas shattered, and the black, ghostly hand exploded. The enormous Gate of the Ghost Realm also shattered, shredded to pieces along with the canvas.

The Ghost was trembling on the verge of collapse, his face twisted and distorted as he threw his head back and howled. The vicious Ghost Emperor behind him was about to fight back when Naruto called up the full power of his cultivation base to fuel the Eighth Hex.

"I still haven't used my Seal the Heavens Hex, but neither have I used my Battle Weapon. If I can't beat the duplicate of a Transcendor from Allheaven's memories, then how could I possibly qualify to stand on an equal footing with the real Ghost!?

"BREAK!" His eyes shone with cold light as he made a violent ripping motion with his hands. The Ghost couldn't hold out any longer, and the Ghost Emperor was starting to collapse. However, the sensation of deadly crisis within Naruto continued to grow with wild speed.

Without any hesitation, he lurched to the side. At the same time, a black beam of light stabbed through his right shoulder. His right arm was completely vaporized, and blood shot out of the stump like a geyser. Then he vanished, to reappear further off in the distance.

At the same time, a frigid aura of death rose up, and a finger appeared, which stabbed directly toward Naruto.

His eyes shone with brilliant light, and he let out a powerful shout, causing the void and the starry sky around him to collapse, transforming into a wild tempest. Behind him, the image of the Demon Sovereign let out a roar of rage as it barrelled toward the incoming finger.

In that very same moment, a cold snort echoed out as another equally large figure materialized out of thin air. It was pitch black, and looked very similar to a demon, and yet lacked any sort of multifariousness. It was ancient, rife with death. it was... a Devil Specter!

Rumbling could be heard as the Demon Sovereign and the Devil Specter clashed, and a shockwave blasted out. Naruto fell back again, blood spraying out of his mouth. Having slipped out of the trap which had been set, he looked up, and his arm rapidly re-formed. He was now staring, not at the Devil Specter, with its majestic devilish Chakra , but the young man in the black robe hovering beneath it.

His features were ordinary, but he had strange black markings on his face, and he emanated a wild and barbaric air.

"The Devil!" Naruto said. He had never laid eyes on this young man before, but recognized him instantly. This was the second person to Transcend in the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, Choumen Tai's Master from the Devil Realm Continent!

In the moment when Naruto had been about to destroy the Ghost Emperor, this young man had made his move, injuring Naruto.

Without Naruto controlling it, his Eighth Hex collapsed, and the sealing mark on the Ghost began to fade away. It wouldn't be long before he was free of his bonds.

When that happened, Naruto would be up against both the Ghost and the Devil at the same time.

"I don't like being called the Devil," said the black-robed young man. "You can call me... Su Ming!" His eyes shone with a bizarre light, and the black markings on his face suddenly writhed as they grew and expanded.

Even as the words left his mouth, he extended his right hand, and rumbling sounds echoed out as he began to change shape, transforming into an enormous tree with countless rustling branches. The tree began to fly toward Naruto, whose eyes shone with a profound desire to fight. As he watched what was happening, he suddenly laughed.

"Many thanks to you, Allheaven, for giving me the chance to fight the most powerful people from the past. I'm very interested to find out if they are stronger than me, or weaker!" He transformed into a blur, which shot toward the black-robed man. As he closed in, his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture, causing a sea of flames to rise up around him. In the space of a single breath of time, it turned violet as the Demon Sovereign once again appeared.

The Demon Sovereign and the Devil Specter clashed, and Naruto began to fight with Su Ming. Both of them were equally fast. They didn't make contact with each other, but fought with magical techniques and divine abilities.

The starry sky shattered, and the void collapsed. Seemingly endless varieties of divine abilities were unleashed in a very short time. Then, Su Ming suddenly took a step forward, whereupon his energy began to rise higher. Then he took a second step, a third, and a fourth.

Laughing loudly, Naruto also began to walk. One step, two steps, three steps, four...

They closed in on each other rapidly, and by the time they both took their seventh steps, their energy had reached an unimaginable level. The void in front of Su Ming shattered as a huge foot descended toward Naruto. However, Naruto's seventh step resulted in exactly the same thing.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

An earsplitting boom echoed out. Blood sprayed out of the mouths of both Su Ming and Naruto as they were sent tumbling away from each other. And yet, just a moment later, they were flying back toward each other to fight.

Apparently, they were completely evenly matched!

Unfortunately, Naruto had the feeling that both the Ghost and the Devil had trump cards that they had yet to play, similar to his own Seal the Heavens Hex. Although, perhaps the truth was that Allheaven's memory didn't contain perfect copies of them. After all... Allheaven was currently weaker than he had ever been.

Naruto's eyes glittered as he once again unleashed the Eighth Demon Sealing Hex. As expected, his opponent was locked down, allowing Naruto an opening to attack. Their battle was causing the starry sky to shake, and transforming nearby ruins into nothing more than rubble.

It was in this very moment that the Ghost howled and ripped apart the Spatial Sealing. Then, he slowly turned to look at Naruto.

Without any hesitation, he joined the battle. His first move was a fist strike which caused seemingly infinite ghost images to spring up, which then converged back into his fist.

In the blink of an eye, the Ghost's single fist strike became infinitely more powerful!

This fist strike of innumerable ghost images did not rely on raw power, but rather, speed. It was caused by tens of thousands of punches that moved so quickly that countless afterimages sprang up, and yet created an illusion of being only a single punch.

Naruto was shocked. He could defend against this fist strike, but to do so while simultaneously dealing with Su Ming meant that he would be facing both the Ghost and the Devil, placing him in incredible danger.

As the fist closed in, Naruto howled, drawing upon all of the power of his cultivation base to defend himself. A boom echoed out, and blood sprayed out of his mouth. Even as he was sent flying, Su Ming closed in and cast a divine ability.

Naruto's expression was extremely unsightly as he coughed up more blood. He had lost the initiative, and at the moment there was no opportunity to get it back. The Ghost was currently bearing down with another fist strike.

Naruto was being beaten back relentlessly by the combined efforts of the Ghost and the Devil. His hair was in disarray, and he looked to be in very bad condition. He fell back again and again, and it truly seemed as if he were about to meet utter defeat.

Clearly, Allheaven didn't just want to win. He wanted to consume Naruto, to use him to complete himself. He still hadn't given up on his plan to use Naruto for his Nirvanic Rebirth.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Ghost Emperor and the Devil Specter knocked down Naruto's Demon Sovereign. Even as they prepared to destroy it completely, a cold snort echoed out. The Ghost's eyes flickered with killing intent. Raising both hands up above him, he once again summoned the Gate of the Ghost Realm. The black hand appeared again, reaching for Naruto with desolate madness.

At the same time, Su Ming's eyes flickered with killing intent, and the black marks seemed to almost completely overtake his face. He also raised his hands into the air, and shockingly, a mountain appeared behind him. It had five peaks that looked like fingers, and at its base was a tribal stockade. Furthermore, hovering in the air above the mountain was a blood-colored moon!

An aura erupted from the illusory image, an aura that could shake Heaven and Earth, an aura with the power to destroy everything! It was as if that entire world were crushing down onto Naruto, and as it neared, it merged with the Gate of the Ghost Realm. The starry sky in the vicinity was transformed in all aspects.

Naruto had long since imagined how difficult the final battle with Allheaven would be, but he could never have guessed that things would turn out this way. Furthermore, Allheaven hadn't truly appeared yet. This was only his eighth transformation.

At the same time, Naruto had to remain constantly on the alert for someone who had yet to make an appearance... the God!

Suddenly, Naruto looked around to find that he was in a different place. Shockingly, Heaven and Earth had become a barbaric and savage place.

It was as if he had been transported back into ancient times. Far off in the distance was a mountain that resembled a hand, beneath which was a tribal stockade. A blood-colored moon hung in the sky, and there was also a huge gate visible, out of which poured countless ghosts.

The ghosts formed into the shape of a huge black hand that stretched out toward him. Suddenly, the blood moon exploded, transforming into innumerable blood-colored bats which also sped toward Naruto, squealing in high-pitched shrieks.

However, things weren't over yet. Everything around him distorted, as if the world itself were his enemy. Everything began to shrink down, apparently intent on grinding him into dust.

At the same time, people were pouring out of the tribal stockade and charging toward him. Everything in this entire world, from the blades of grass to the trees, were all becoming weapons of murder, attempting to kill him!

Naruto looked around quietly, his eyes glowing red. Then, he began to laugh uproariously. It was a demonic laughter, and it matched his facial expression, which flickered between something domineering, something fierce, something righteous, and something evil.

Then he waved his right hand and yelled, "Parrot!"

Instantly, a high-pitched squawk rang out as the parrot appeared. Next came the copper mirror, which now had a pearl on it.

It was none other than the pearl Dong Hu had given to Naruto before dying. After fusing into the copper mirror, it made the mirror vastly more powerful than it already was.

The parrot and the copper mirror instantly melted, covering his arm and then spreading out over his entire body as a suit of armor. A pitch-black Battle Weapon appeared, vicious to the extreme, nine meters long and utterly shocking.

A red cape billowed out behind Naruto as his cultivation base power was bolstered by the power of the copper mirror.

"Ghost and Devil? So what!?" he said, slowly floating up into the air. He raised the Battle Weapon above his head with his right hand, and laughed, his expression flickering with multifarious transformations, his eyes glowing bright red.

"You shall be severed!" he roared. Gripping the hilt of the Battle Weapon with both his left and right hands, he looked out at the world around him... and viciously slashed down with the blade!

A huge rift was torn open in the land, which spread out to fill the entire world. The ghostly hand was destroyed, and the blood-colored sky was shattered. The blood-colored bats were ripped to shreds, and the charging tribe members were eradicated. The five-peaked mountain was torn apart. All Heaven and Earth were completely sundered.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

The whole world was completely and utterly split in two, then collapsed into fragments. Naruto could again see the destroyed area that was the outside of the Vast Expanse. The ruins in the area were now nothing more than dust and ash. The Ghost and the Devil were both coughing up blood as they were forced backward by Naruto's blast of energy.

As of this moment, Naruto's surging energy was sending brightly-colored light flashing throughout all creation, filling Allheaven's heart with dread.

He hovered there, clad in vicious-looking armor, the Battle Weapon vibrating slightly. He was panting slightly, and every inhalation seemed to make the starry sky shrink.

Hefting the Battle Weapon, eyes gleaming as if he were prepared to toss caution to the wind, he spoke out in a hoarse voice, "The God is the final part of the eighth transformation. When will you be showing your face?!"

Almost instantly, a cold snort echoed out, and a figure descended from above with lightning speed.

Stars swirled on his forehead, and he wore a long white robe. His hair was also white, and his expression was completely merciless. The most murderous of auras overflowed from within him.

Naruto had seen this face before. It was the same face as the statue on the Immortal God Continent, and was also exactly the same as Slaughter's face!

The only difference was that, as Naruto well knew, the God, the Devil, and the Ghost whom he faced were not the true versions of those beings. These were simply puppets created by Allheaven, based on his memories.

Naruto looked at the God, then threw his head back and laughed uproariously. His desire to fight only continued to grow.

As soon as the God appeared with his towering murderous aura, a huge vortex sprang up behind him. He was the only one among the group who had no gigantic humanoid image behind him.

He descended with incredible speed, simultaneously waving his right hand. A razor-sharp wind spike shot out which contained boundless destructive power. In the blink of an eye, it was directly in front of Naruto.

Naruto's eyes glittered brightly as he prepared to utilize the Eighth Hex to stop it. However, in the very moment that the spike appeared, a cold snort echoed out through the starry sky.

"Immobilize!"

A tremor ran through Naruto as he suddenly lost all ability to fight. His pupils constricted as the wind spike smashed into the Battle Armor. Blood sprayed out of his mouth, and he fell back. The God closed in on him, waving his hand to summon a pitch-black wind, which was none other than the magic of Call the Wind.

This version of the magic was vastly more powerful than the version Naruto had faced all those years ago when he had fought the Immortal God Continent.

It was a destructive wind that could extinguish any and all forms of life. However, even as the wind screamed, Naruto lifted the Battle Weapon above his head and slashed it down viciously, cutting the wind in half!

Despite being cut in half, the wind didn't vanish. Instead, it transformed into countless black raindrops, and then moments later, numerous fierce imps. Next came power that could crumble mountains and collapse lands. The entire starry sky around Naruto was being destroyed.

The image of a moon appeared on Naruto, and the God let out a cold harrumph. A boom echoed out as large sections of Naruto's Battle Armor exploded. Even as blood sprayed out of his mouth, the Ghost bore down on him with incredible speed, summoning the Ghost Specter, which reached out to grab him.

Naruto was knocked backward again, coughing up more blood. Su Ming, the Devil, also appeared, unleashing a completely different divine ability than before, striking Naruto's chest with a bizarre power that seemed capable of consuming his Essences.

A boom echoed out as Naruto fell back yet again. Next came the God, with a fist strike that distorted reality and could destroy all things. Naruto was yet again injured severely.

He almost seemed incapable of fighting back. The word "immobilize" reverberated yet again, once again rendering him incapable of movement. The Ghost, the Devil and the God continued to batter him non-stop.

Naruto wasn't even aware of how much blood had sprayed out of his mouth. His bones were shattered, and he was in a state of constant retreat, having been beaten from one corner of the starry sky to the other.

He could easily handle any one of these opponents alone, and could have held his own against two. But to face three at the same time was impossible, not without using the Seal the Heavens Hex.

In his current weakened state, Allheaven might not be able to duplicate their most powerful trump cards, but these three were the most powerful experts of their respective generations.

When they joined forces, even Allheaven in his prime would be left trembling. They might be people from the past, but they were still capable of unleashing power that could shake Heaven and Earth.

But Naruto wasn't ready to give up yet. He continued to fight. He used the True Self Dao, the Mountain Consuming Incantation, the Nine Heavens Destruction, the Seven God Steps, as well as magical techniques of his own creation and divine abilities from Shui Dongliu's legacy. He used everything, even natural laws. The fight with these three figures of legend was shaking everything.

No such battle like this had ever taken place within this starry sky.

The bitter intensity of the combat was something that would leave anyone shocked. Naruto was seriously injured, but he had a Transcendent fleshly body, and could recover rapidly. Of course, it was the same with his three opponents.

That only served to make the battle more intense.

The God was especially incisive in his attacks. Eventually, he waved his right hand, causing the entire starry sky to turn pitch black. Shockingly, a sun appeared, something so bright that it seemed capable of destroying all of the darkness of night.

Things weren't over yet. The stars on the God's forehead began to spin. However, no image appeared. Instead, he began to rapidly grow larger, transforming himself into a God, who punched out with power to destroy the stars.

In his entire life, Naruto had never fought a battle as difficult as this one. Any other person in his position would have been in despair by now, would have been sapped of the desire to fight back, and would have been destroyed. But not Naruto.

He held on. He had long since come to the realization that this eighth transformation wasn't without limits. At the same time, Allheaven was also being weakened severely. Allheaven was trying to force him to use the Seal the Heavens Hex, and Naruto wanted to use this chance to try to force the already-weakened Allheaven to exhaust more of his remaining power.

Seemingly endless booms rang out. The combined attacks of his three opponents had left Naruto's Battle Armor in ruins. Many portions were completely ripped apart. His Battle Weapon was also severely damaged.

But he held on. Roaring, he summoned the Demon Sovereign, which took on the Ghost Emperor and the Devil Specter. Fists flew. Somehow, Naruto extricated himself from all of the deadly situations. As he retreated, he laughed. He was soaked in blood, and yet felt no despair. In fact, his laughter continued to grow more sonorous.

"It's been a long time since I've had a good fight," he said. "Tens of thousands of years in fact..." His Battle Armor was in tatters, and his hair was in wild disarray. But he hefted his Battle Weapon, and looked more than ever like he wanted to do battle.

It was at this point that the Ghost took a deep breath and waved his right hand. His entire body began to turn transparent, and his ghost Chakra skyrocketed.

"Unorthodox magic: Ghost Dao!" he said softly. He instantly vanished, becoming a ghostly specter that shot toward Naruto with the most deadly level of power he had used in the battle so far.

However, Naruto could see that the Daoist magic being utilized by the Ghost was incomplete, flawed. It had nothing to do with the Ghost himself, but rather, the fact that this was an incomplete duplicate created by Allheaven, and that this Daoist magic was being forcibly unleashed.

The Devil closed his eyes, then opened them again. His entire body was now covered with complex black marks. He let out a soft breath, and a hellish aura exploded out from him. It transformed into a special type of possession magic, which bored down threateningly on Naruto.

"Possession!"

This was also an incomplete magic!

Last was the God, who waved his sleeve and coolly said, "The Dao of the God, warrior among all cultivators! The magic of the Demon, a flame to ignite the Heavens! The tribulation of the Devil, a calamity of death!"

It was yet again, an incomplete magic!

As soon as the words left the God's mouth, Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering energy erupted out from all three of the group. The starry sky seemed to vanish, leaving behind only them and their incomplete... trump cards!

Even though they were incomplete Daoist magics, considering they were being powered by these three individuals, they were powerful to a degree that was difficult to describe even with words. The entire starry sky outside the Vast Expanse was shaking violently. In fact, even the inner starry sky seemed on the verge of collapse.

Naruto's pupils constricted. He knew that Allheaven was getting very anxious in his attempt to force the usage of his Seal the Heavens Hex, and was obviously willing to pay the highest of prices to do so. However, as of this moment, Naruto knew that if he didn't use that Hex, he would definitely... die!

Even Transcendors could be killed.

"You want to see it? Fine. I'll show you... my Ninth Hex. The Seal the Heavens Hex!" His eyes shone with radiant light, like that of the sun and moon. He took a deep breath, and the starry sky around him began to shake.

He stretched his arms out, and everything around him shattered. At the same time, a statue appeared in front of him, as well as a sword!

The statue shone with dazzling light that filled the starry sky. It slowly lifted the sword, a sword both ancient and bizarre, something filled with power that didn't seem appropriate within the starry sky. That was because... its power exceeded the entire starry sky's capacity to contain it.

The statue and the sword were causing everything outside the Vast Expanse to shake violently. At the same time, Naruto's three opponents seemed to fade slightly.

Light spilled out from within the statue and, with Naruto at the center, surged out in all directions. In the blink of an eye, it filled everything in existence.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the darkness was driven away. Outside the Vast Expanse, everything was shining brightly. The light was so bright that it even pierced the barriers to shine inside the Vast Expanse.

An indescribably domineering will was rising up from the statue, and from Naruto.

It was a domineering air that said, _What I want, the Heavens shall NOT lack! What I don't want, had BETTER not exist in the Heavens!_

It was a madness that said, _My words are reality!_

The light almost seemed to be peeling off a layer of skin that existed within the starry sky. The three powerful figures from Allheaven's memories were rapidly fading away, and their divine abilities seemed to be on the verge of vanishing.

The entire starry sky was filled with explosive rumbling sounds. This was Naruto's Seal the Heavens Hex, his most powerful Daoist magic, his trump card!

As the boundless light shone out, Naruto dropped his left hand and pushed up with his right, stretching it high into the starry sky. Everything shook, and all of the boundless light began to converge on his hand. In the blink of an eye, a character came to be visible there.

It was the character "seal!" 封

Instantly, an indescribably powerful gravitational force appeared, causing all natural and magical laws, all entities, all wills, to be uncontrollably sucked in.

The starry sky was in complete chaos, and Naruto's three powerful opponents were starting to shake. Strange light could be seen in their eyes, as, without any hesitation, they continued to propel their divine abilities toward Naruto.

Ghost talons brimmed with energy. A Devilish death aura shook everything. The God Dao sent boundless magical flames surging out. The power almost instantly threatened to overwhelm Naruto.

But then, Naruto's eyes glittered, and he quietly said, "Seal the Heavens Hex!"

Instantly, the "seal" character began to expand, shining with scintillating light, causing intense rumbling sounds to fill the starry sky. The character grew larger and larger, until it was so large that it seemed big enough to seal all the Heavens.

Then, it slammed into the Daoist magics of the three Transcendors!

Ear-splitting crashing could be heard as the Ghost's divine ability was crushed and transformed into ash, which was then sucked into the "seal" character. The exact same thing happened to the Devil's possession power, and the God's powerful magic.

These incomplete Daoist magics could not stand up at all to the Seal the Heavens Hex!

The eyes of all three Transcendors seemed to fill with madness as they transformed into three beams of Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering light. All of them called upon the power of their own Essences to fly at top speed toward the "seal" character.

In the blink of an eye, they all collided, and the starry sky was shaken so violently it seemed as if it might explode. The three Transcendors' bodies twisted and distorted as though they were being blasted by a wind of destruction that was wiping them out of existence. At the same time, the intense power of their attack caused cracks to appear on the constantly expanding "seal" character.

Even still, the three Transcendors were shoved backward; no matter how Allheaven struggled to force them into action, the power of the Seal the Heavens Hex could not be resisted.

It became a wild wind that swept over everything. Naruto's eyes were bloodshot, and a powerful roar erupted from his mouth as he sealed everything present. The three Transcendors were not their true selves, but rather, duplicates created by Allheaven. They had incomplete Daoist magics, and were themselves incomplete. Because of that, blood sprayed out of their mouths, and they trembled on the verge of being destroyed.

A moment later, something like a roar of fury echoed out as the three Transcendors exploded!

The eighth Allheaven Transformation had been completely broken by the Seal the Heavens Hex!

The three Transcendors became black threads that, despite the power of the Seal the Heavens Hex, converged together into the vague shape of an eye.

It was the eye of the Allheaven, glaring furiously at Naruto, completely bloodshot.

"Meng... Hao!"

Even as the muffled voice filled the starry sky, Naruto's eyes flickered with killing intent, and he waved his hand.

The sword which had appeared moments ago slashed down, and the starry sky was rent asunder. A gargantuan, boundless gash ripped open, snaking out at top speed toward the eye of Allheaven.

When it slammed into the eye, the eye was slashed in half. The power of the sword was boundlessly domineering, shockingly sharp, capable of piercing through anything. It sailed through the starry sky, its true target being one of the two pillars that seemed to prop up all existence, the pillar representing the Demon!

RUMBLE!

It didn't pause for even a moment before directly slashing into the pillar!

Within the starry sky of the Vast Expanse, it had been countless years ago that the Ghost destroyed one of the pillars. Later, the Devil destroyed a second pillar, and the God, a third. Now Naruto was using the Seal the Heavens Hex…

To destroy the fourth pillar!

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Naruto had previously used a lesser version of the Seal the Heavens Hex on the Demon pillar, leaving a huge crack on it. Now that the complete Seal the Heavens Hex was exploding out with incredible power, that crack grew larger, sending even more cracks out, filling the entire pillar.

Rumbling sounds echoed out as the Demon pillar then shattered into pieces, into countless chunks of rubble which began to shower down like rain.

At the same time, a roar of fury echoed out through the starry sky. Then, within the brilliant light cast by the Seal the Heavens Hex, something like an enormous hand appeared, which began to tear open a rift in the starry sky. A boundlessly ancient aura erupted out, as well as dense Vast Expanse mist. Simultaneously, an enormous eye emerged from within the rift.

Naruto was instantly able to tell that the eye was not illusory. It was... Allheaven's true form!

Its ancient aura was not something that could be falsified, nor could the incredible sensation of weakness that it radiated. Most importantly, Naruto could sense the aura of the starry sky upon it.

He was Allheaven, the former lord of the starry sky, the reason why all living beings could practice cultivation. It was because of him that people could even Transcend, and he had offered intelligence and civilization to the beings in the starry sky, countless years in the past.

Long ago, everything had been happy and harmonious. But then he had weakened, and as he neared death, he went mad...

Naruto watched the eye of Allheaven, his archenemy, fly out from the rift. As soon as Naruto sensed how weak he was, he sighed.

"You finally reveal yourself," he said.

Allheaven stared back at him with hatred and other mixed emotions, but mostly coldness.

"I came from afar, and when I arrived, this place was nothing but chaos. The beings here had no intelligence, and lived on base instinct alone...

"It was me! I was the one who changed everything. Why must you resist me!?

"I provided the path of cultivation for all beings! You should be thanking me!

"I was also the one who protected this entire starry sky, allowing it to grow and prosper within the Universe. Why can't you be content with that!?

"I was the one who created the natural laws here. I replaced the mindless will that existed here. I became the lord of this starry sky!" The voice of Allheaven seemed melancholy, and yet it boomed like thunder.

"I created all of you! I created everything! Therefore, when I am in need, you should repay me! That is the natural law of the Universe. Why must you struggle?!

"You should never have reached this state! I need the power of your Nirvanic Rebirth. I need you as fuel. I need you... to die!" As Allheaven's words of fury echoed out, an indescribable pressure exploded out, causing the starry sky to tremble. The light from Naruto's Seal the Heavens Hex was instantly crushed, and began to dissipate.

If Naruto had never used the Seal the Heavens Hex before, such a thing wouldn't have happened. Allheaven would never have been able to crush the Hex without having first seen it in use. But having been able to observe it earlier, he could remember it, duplicate it, and destroy it.

That was why he was now revealing himself. He was weak, on the verge of dying completely, and thus had acted with extreme caution before. But now, he was completely confident regarding the Seal the Heavens Hex.

Naruto sighed quietly. It was hard for him to come to terms with exactly how he felt about Allheaven. However, there was one thing that could never change. Allheaven had plotted against him for his entire life. He had been responsible for destroying the Mountain and Sea Realm. To Naruto, the feeling of being manipulated and controlled went against his Dao.

His Dao was that of freedom and independence. He desired to be unrestrained and unfettered, for all eternity.

"We have different Daos," he said, eyes shining with a strange, cold light. With that, he extended his right hand, causing the aura of the Seal the Heavens Hex to explode out, sending boundless light out in all directions.

"We have different Daos..." Deep within Allheaven's eye was a profound arrogance, and an even stronger killing intent. The way for him to change everything was to consume Naruto.

By consuming Naruto, he could live again!

But now he was weak. He had reached the point where he could only make a single attack. If that attack didn't kill Naruto, then he himself would have no other choice than to die.

"One attack will be enough!" he said, his voice echoing out into the starry sky as something pitch black appeared within his gaze.

"Ninth transformation!

"Allheaven Transformation!" In response to Allheaven's voice, the starry sky outside the Vast Expanse collapsed. Everything withered up as vast quantities of energy began to converge upon the eye.

Instantly, Allheaven's energy began to rise, and the pressure he exuded grew vastly more intense.

It was as if the starry sky itself were transforming into an ocean of fury, and Naruto was a little boat floating on the waves, battered by the rain, in danger of sinking down into the depths.

He could sense a level of madness that far exceeded what he had sensed from the three Transcendors. He was left shaking, and felt almost like he was a mere mortal facing the power of all Heaven and Earth.

The starry sky collapsed and withered, and power poured into the eye of Allheaven. As the eye stared furiously at Naruto, veins began to spread out from it, forming what looked like the overall shape of a human body. Soon, the outline of a person began to take shape in front of Naruto.

The outline was not unfamiliar. Naruto had seen this very thing years ago when he looked inside the Demon pillar.

The enormous shape was now forming in front of him, complete with the ninety-eight shocking fruits. Those fruits then collapsed, spreading out to cover the outline of blood vessels. A scream of fury echoed out as, unexpectedly... another eye appeared.

A face could now be seen, complete with facial features. There were also four limbs!

The change happened rapidly. As the starry sky collapsed and withered, life force and power converged onto the ninth transformation, feeding and fueling it.

This was the ninth transformation, the true Allheaven Transformation.

Most accurately speaking... this was the complete Allheaven!

Rumbling sounds echoed out in all directions, as well as sounds like howls of rage. Naruto began to pant; he suddenly felt completely unstable, as if the mere energy radiating off of Allheaven was enough to beat him back over and over again.

Naruto!" The muffled voice filled the starry sky, seemingly echoing out from the most ancient of times. At the same time, it was unmistakably clear, and boomed like thunder.

Naruto watched as the huge image of Allheaven formed together; the blood vessels grew more numerous, bones appeared, and then flesh and blood. At the same time, a powerful energy radiated out, an explosive energy of almost indescribable power.

It was as if some giant who had once dissipated into the void was now re-forming.

Allheaven might only be capable of unleashing a single attack, but as of this moment, that impending attack filled Naruto with an indescribable sensation of deadly crisis.

He was well aware that if his opponent continued to grow stronger, it would spell certain defeat. Killing intent flickered in his eyes as he watched Allheaven forming together. He quickly spread his arms wide and roared, "Ninth Demon Sealing Hex! Seal the Heavens Hex!"

Wind screamed around him, and the statue appeared once again. Boundless light began to spread out, which then surged toward Allheaven with deadly force.

Naruto was going all-out with his cultivation base, his will, and his soul, fueling the Seal the Heavens Hex to the ultimate degree. Blinding light shone as power which could seal all existence bore down on Allheaven.

The starry sky inside the Vast Expanse withered some as Naruto drew upon it as a further component of power within the Seal the Heavens Hex.

The white light which closed in on Allheaven contained Heaven-Sealing power, power from beyond the starry sky, power which contained the natural laws of the Universe.

The battle was reaching a climax, with both parties unleashing unimaginable power. When the "seal" character landed on Allheaven, his hair rose up, and his eyes shone with unprecedented brightness. Although his body hadn't completely formed yet, he was surging with power that could shake Heaven and Earth.

Now that he had experienced the Seal the Heavens Hex, he looked at Naruto and smiled.

"If you hadn't used this Hex before, it would have been difficult to defend against. But now... I can use it too!" He extended his right hand, splaying his fingers wide. Shockingly, light began to shine out, a light that looked very similar to the light cast by the Seal the Heavens Hex. The only difference was that this light was black!

The black light instantly stretched out toward Naruto, like a wave of fury that slammed into the white light of the Seal the Heavens Hex.

The instant they touched, a deafening boom spread out, shattering the starry sky, destroying planets. Even Transcendors like Jin Yunshan would be completely destroyed by the force.

Anyone who was not within the Ancestor Realm would be killed in body and soul by the shockwave created when the white and black lights made contact.

There were no magics that could exceed this, not within this starry sky. In fact, even within the Universe as a whole, it was something uncharacteristically rare. This battle had reached the ultimate pinnacle.

BOOOOOOOOOMMM!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth, and Allheaven withered. Yet, even as the explosive energy continued to blast out in all directions, they continued to fuel their magic with all of the battle prowess they could muster.

Naruto let out a mighty roar, and his hands flashed in a double-handed incantation gesture. The white light surrounding him twisted, shrinking down rapidly as it transformed into a single character.

Seal! 封

The "seal" character glittered radiantly!

"I shall... seal the Heavens!" He threw his hands out above his head. Instantly, cracking sounds could be heard, as though his arms might shatter at any moment. He was shaking visibly, clearing using all the power he could muster to unleash the "seal" character.

In the blink of an eye, the character began to rumble toward Allheaven, seemingly backed by the power of the Universe itself.

Allheaven's eyes were filled with madness as he took a deep breath. The black light around him spun madly, shrinking down into his palm into a different "seal" character.

A black "seal" character!

Two huge sealing marks shot toward each other within the starry sky, and when they made contact, a boom echoed out that could shake all Heaven and Earth. Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth. Eyes completely bloodshot, he performed a double-handed incantation gesture, causing the sword to appear, which slashed down viciously.

A huge rift was torn open, which snaked through the starry sky toward Allheaven. Allheaven extended his right hand, and a black sword appeared behind him, which similarly slashed down.

"I am the true lord of this starry sky. I, Allheaven, call upon the power of that starry sky, and the laws of the Universe... I sacrifice everything to kill Naruto and take all that belongs to him!" The sword shone with resplendent light, growing larger and larger as it slashed out. When the two swords hit each other, the entire starry sky rumbled and even began to shatter.

As it shattered, the Universe beyond was revealed!

Blood sprayed out of Naruto's mouth as the sword formed by the Seal the Heavens Hex shattered and transformed into ash. However, the exact same thing happened to the sword created by Allheaven.

Naruto was shaken so hard that cracking sounds emanated out from inside of him, which were bones being broken. His flesh was shredded into a haze of blood, and he was sent tumbling backward like a kite with its string cut.

His vision swam, and the world spun. His cultivation base was thrown into utter chaos, and his will was shaken.

However, Allheaven was in similarly bad condition. He was trembling, his arm shattered, half of his body almost completely sealed to the point where it transformed into dust. With the exception of his left eye, the other parts of him which survived were almost completely withered away.

Even his left eye, despite being complete, was now gray, and an aura of death emanated out from it. As for the pupil of that eye, it was growing larger; clearly, once it overtook the rest of the eye, it would signify his complete death.

However, despite the situation, a smile appeared on Allheaven's withered face, and he began to laugh. Laughter rang out as he struggled to look over at Naruto, a strange expression on his face. Then, he started to breath in deeply.

Instantly, Naruto began to shake violently. His life force, his soul, everything about him, began to seep out through the pores on his skin, through his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. It became a white smoke that swirled through the starry sky toward Allheaven.

"The mistake you made was letting me see your Seal the Heavens Hex!" His voice was both weak and laced with madness. As the white smoke began to emanate out from Naruto and enter Allheaven, Allheaven's excitement grew. Slowly but surely, the white smoke began to converge inside of him in the location of the missing ninety-ninth Demon fruit!

Naruto's face was pale as his energy flowed out. However, his expression didn't change at all. Even as he began to wither up, he quietly said, "Oh really...?"

Endless amounts of life force, soul power, and cultivation base energy, everything that made up him, were all flowing into Allheaven in the form of a white mist. It poured into Allheaven's eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, where it began to transform into a resplendent Demon fruit.

All of this takes some time to describe, but happened in the briefest of instants. Naruto became like a dessicated corpse, and a popping sound rang out as he transformed into dust, seemingly killed in body and soul.

Allheaven was trembling in excitement as his body began to reform, and the Demon fruit in his chest shone with dazzling demonic light.

"Nirvanic Rebirth. I live again!" He threw his head back and roared as his innards shrank, then began to reform. Naruto, the ninety-ninth Demon fruit, seemed to be on the verge of collapsing. Even as Allheaven's eyes were shining with excitement, his expression suddenly flickered.

"Impossible!" he said, focusing on the aura of Nirvanic rebirth inside of him. That was the very aura that he desired, that he required, and yet, he suddenly realized that the Nirvanic aura was not his, but rather, was coming from Naruto, the ninety-ninth Demon fruit!

Allheaven's face fell as the Demon fruit filled with cracks, causing boundless red light to seep out like threads. It was light abundant in demonic aura, and boundless Nirvanic rebirth. It spread out wildly through Allheaven, reaching his limbs, his face, his whole body, and even his eye! As it filled him, it sealed everything about him!

This was Nirvanic rebirth, but it was the rebirth of the Demon, the rebirth of Naruto!

In that moment, it became obvious that within the glowing red threads, the First Demon Sealing Hex could be detected. Then the Second Hex, and the Third Hex... all the way down to the Ninth Hex. All of them were there, completely sealing the body of Allheaven, completely preventing him from doing anything! His foundation was being cut away!

"Naruto!" he shrieked. It was at this point that Naruto's voice spoke out inside of him.

"Your mistake was being so sure that my ultimate Hexing magic was the Seal the Heavens Hex.

"Tens of thousands of years ago, I already came to the conclusion that after the Ninth Demon Sealing Hex... there is a Tenth Hex!

"This Tenth Hex exists in a realm that I cannot grasp. Only in the right circumstances could I unleash it, for example, when the Ninth Hex is available as the foundation, with the power of Nirvanic rebirth to catalyze the Hex.

"I needed to borrow your body to unleash it!

"Tenth Demon Sealing Hex...

"My fate is to... seal the Heavens like a Demon!"

Allheaven roared in fury, and yet had completely and utterly lost control of his own body. He could only watch as his right hand lifted up and performed an incantation gesture. A sensation of terror filled him as he felt power exploding out, a power similar to the Seal the Heavens Hex, and yet different. It was infinitely domineering, something that commanded the ultimate level of respect within Heaven and Earth.

Just as Naruto had said...

 _My fate is to... seal the Heavens like a Demon!_ [1. For those of you who might have forgotten, this line is in the "synopsis" of the book! It's been there since day one!]

Demons are full of multifarious transformations!

As of this moment, Naruto was using those multifarious transformations as the heart, and Allheaven as the body, to unleash the ultimate divine ability. As his right hand lifted up, the starry sky outside the Vast Expanse began to shrink down, smaller and smaller, until it was a dimly shining globe hovering above his palm!

There was no longer any such thing as the starry sky outside the Vast Expanse. Only the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas remained. Outside of that was the boundless Universe, within which Naruto now hovered.

Allheaven's left eye was no longer struggling. It seemed lonely, fading away. It even appeared to be relieved somehow as it looked out into the depths of the Universe...

Naruto was now looking out of Allheaven's left eye. Allheaven's right hand slowly lifted up, and he could do nothing as it clenched into a fist and punched at that very eye!

BOOM!

A tremor ran through him, and his eye began to shrink. Despair could be seen, a bitter refusal to accept what was happening. Then, it began to transform into ash...

In the moment before he died, Allheaven looked into the depths of the Universe. No one could possibly know what he was looking at. Perhaps just the infinite darkness of the Universe. Or perhaps he was looking at... where he came from.

Allheaven's body shivered as it transformed into ash. Cracking sounds emanated out, and he withered away until he was nothing.

Countless streams of white mist poured out, transforming into the shape of Naruto. As he hovered there, mixed expressions could be seen on his face, and eventually, he sighed.

The truth was that in the past, it might have been very difficult to kill Allheaven. But considering how much Allheaven had been weakened, killing him wasn't really a very difficult thing for Naruto. In fact, were it not for the curse, Naruto would never have had such a difficult time, and would never have been forced into such deadly circumstances.

The only difficult part had been fighting the three Transcendors, which really had been dangerous. That was the only thing which had occurred that exceeded his powers of prediction.

Everything else, every action he had taken, everything he had done, had been part of his plan.

He made sure that Allheaven had the wrong information, and always believed the Seal the Heavens Hex to be the ultimate Hexing magic. Using that Hex would ensure that Allheaven would actually appear in person, thinking that he had gained the upper hand.

The truth was that Naruto had only used a fraction of the full power of the Seal the Heaven Hex. If he had used its full power, he could have killed Allheaven directly.

However, killing Allheaven wouldn't be enough to break the curse. Naruto had come to realize this tens of thousands of years ago. The answer actually lay within the jade slip he had been given by Shui Dongliu.

It was because of that information that Naruto did everything he did, leading him to this point.

"I now know how to break the curse," he said softly. "I just need time..." With that, he closed his eyes for a very long moment before opening them again and looking far off into the distance.

He almost felt as if he could see three individuals. One was Patriarch Vast Expanse, one was a young man in a black robe, and the other was the same person he had seen on the Immortal God Continent.

It was almost as if they were traveling along somewhere far off in the distance, then suddenly stopped and looked back through the Universe until their gazes fell on Naruto. They smiled warmly, as if they were all friends.

He suddenly heard a voice in his mind. "We're waiting for you. Are you coming...?"

Naruto had thought long and hard about whether it was true that the starry sky of the Vast Expanse had only ever had three Transcendors. The answer to that question came to him when he saw Jin Yunshan.

Perhaps the actual number of people who had Transcended wasn't important. The key was that those three particular Transcendors had destroyed fingers of Allheaven, and were thus the perfect examples of what it meant to Transcend.

As Naruto looked at those three figures, he suddenly realized that there were other people like them, deeper within the Universe...

He knew by now that his true destination was that very Universe. That was the world of the Transcendors, a place where they could search for that which existed beyond the Ancestor Realm.

The path of cultivation went on and on forever. It was like the Dao, boundless. It was like the Dharma, limitless. It was like magic, neverending...

Naruto had learned that from Allheaven, and he could only imagine how incredibly powerful and terrifying Allheaven must have been back in his prime.

"It isn't time to leave yet," he thought, continuing to peer into the depths of the Universe. After a long, long moment passed, he sighed. The truth was that his connection to the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas had already grown very weak. And yet, he couldn't simply sever that connection. He had to break the curse of Allheaven, and return the soul seeds of everyone he knew back into the cycle of reincarnation.

Smiling, he gave a farewell nod to the depths of the Universe, and then turned and headed back into the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. Soon, he was back in that unfamiliar home of his, in the Mountain and Sea Realm, on the Ninth Mountain. When he reached the ice mountain where all of the soul seeds were stored, he looked over at the two coffins.

One of them contained Hinata, who was in a deep sleep, and the other contained the butterfly, which almost seemed alive.

He looked at them quietly, then sat down cross-legged. He seemed desolate, lonely, and yet filled with determination and focus.

"I know the way," he murmured softly. "I just need time..." With that, he closed his eyes and sank into meditation.

The only way to break the curse of Allheaven... was to become Allheaven!

Allheaven was dead, but in that very moment before he ceased to exist, Naruto had merged with him. In that moment, he got what he needed, the seed of a memory.

Perhaps it would be better to call it a discarnate will, something that he would slowly feed until it grew whole...

Naruto's face was very calm as he sat there quietly, allowing time to pass. He was absolutely motionless, his will completely retracted from the starry sky. He completely ignored everything around him, paying it no heed.

Time flowed by. 30,000 years...

Within the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, generations upon generations of cultivators came and went. War broke out over and over again between the Mountain and Sea Realm and the Vast Expanse School. The old lizard returned to the dust. Next was the huge head, and the termite. Eventually, even the enormous flower wilted and died.

The parrot and meat jelly seemed to have unlimited longevity, and yet even they were showing signs of age. Eventually, they took to traveling out in the starry sky, leaving behind one legend after another in their own unique style...

The Church of Lord Third appeared, and then the School of Lord Fifth. Things had been boring and dull for many years in the starry sky, but now new and amusing legends were spread.

Another 30,000 years passed. The parrot returned, looking very tired and old. Naruto glanced over at it for a moment, then sealed it into an ice coffin he had prepared.

The meat jelly drifted about in loneliness for a few thousand years before returning. It sat with Naruto, talking incessantly for a while before finally joining the parrot.

When Naruto broke the curse, he would call them back... Guyiding Tri-Rain and Patriarch Reliance had held on all the way down to this point, but they were reaching their limit. With Naruto's help, they entered an even deeper state of sleep, which would help them endure for even longer.

Naruto looked over at the ice coffin containing the parrot and meat jelly, and suddenly realized that his final connections to the world were almost gone.

He was now completely and utterly alone. There he sat on the Ninth Mountain, meditating, alone.

100,000 years went by. Drastic changes occurred in the starry sky. Jin Yunshan's appointed time of confinement passed, and he emerged. Once again, he led the Vast Expanse School to sweep across the starry sky, although he didn't dare to even get near the Mountain and Sea Realm.

Despite that, he became a figure of respect and veneration among all cultivators. Time passed. After another 100,000 years, Jin Yunshan was getting bored. He still hadn't reached full Transcendence, and thus, was still subject to the effects of the curse. Eventually, he decided to do as Naruto had suggested, to leave this starry sky and travel out into the Universe.

Before departing, he went to the Mountain and Sea Realm, where he stood outside the Ninth Mountain and looked up toward the peak. Eventually, he clasped hands and bowed deeply.

He was the last person within the starry sky who could be considered an old friend of Naruto. His departure indicated that not a single person within the starry sky remembered who Naruto was.

Or perhaps it was he that had come to forget the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. No one could say for sure what the truth was.

100,000 years. 200,000 years. 300,000 years. 400,000 years...

Eventually, 1,000,000 years passed. Powers rose and fell within the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. Powerful experts were born and died. There was even someone who reached the same level as Jin Yunshan.

It was a woman, someone with spectacular latent talent. Unfortunately, she was never able to Transcend in soul.

She led an army against the Vast Expanse School, which had stood as the peak sect for a million years. It fell, becoming a thing of the past. Now, the only thing which had existed since ancient times was the Mountain and Sea Realm.

It almost seemed foreordained that nothing connected to Naruto would be able to last for all eternity. Not even the Mountain and Sea Realm. After another 1,000,000 years passed, another powerful Transcendor appeared, who attacked the Mountain and Sea Realm.

There was a huge war, which the Mountain and Sea Realm managed to win, and yet at great cost. The casualties were enormous.

Years went by. The Mountain and Sea Realm came to be something of a symbol. Every 1,000,000 years, someone would step half way into Transcendence, and would try to take it. Sometimes more than one person would make that step. On one occasion, there were three.

All of them set their sights on the Mountain and Sea Realm. All of them were completely convinced that it was only by means of the Mountain and Sea Realm that they could elevate their souls and reach full Transcendence.

However, none of the successive attacking Transcendors ever managed to destroy it. That happened after 50,000,000 years passed, and the Mountain and Sea Realm rotted from the inside as it descended into civil war.

Schisms arose among the cultivators there, and eventually many of them left to wander the starry sky. Gradually, the Mountain and Sea Realm fell into ruin. In the end, it hovered there alone in the starry sky, broken, fading away into time. The First Mountain and Sea vanished, then the second. Eventually, the only thing that remained was the Ninth Mountain and Ninth Sea.

By the time that happened, Naruto had been secluded in meditation for... 100,000,000 years.

That year, something catastrophic occurred within the starry sky. It was something completely and utterly mysterious in nature, a wind of destruction that blew across everything, taking all life with it...

It was the end of an epoch.

It was a black wind that not only destroyed life, but gave it. After it blew past, the starry sky was completely silent. But then, planets emerged, worlds were born, and new forms of life appeared.

Things started out very primitively, but soon reached the point where the practice of cultivation began. The relics and remnants of the past epoch were what the hosts of new living beings used as the basis for their growth.

Around this time, Naruto opened his eyes from his meditation. His gaze was somewhat blank as he realized that he couldn't remember exactly who he was. He seemed to have forgotten everything from the past. It was simply too far away, making it impossible to recall.

The only reason he had even come to awaken was that he realized that his body was beginning to waste away... Although the progress was extremely slow, the signs of it were there.

Time passed within the new epoch. One generation after another came and went. Powerful experts arose, becoming dazzling flowers floating along down the stream of time. They created a spectacular and magnificent era, and at its height, there were actually seven cultivators who stepped halfway into Transcendence.

But then things began to decline. Another 100,000,000 years had passed. The black wind once again appeared, and everything began again.

One epoch ended, and another began.

Naruto opened his eyes again, and found that the decay of his body had become more pronounced...

During the following epoch, the Ninth Mountain and Sea was discovered. It became a place that countless cultivators looked toward with hope, believing it to be a Holy Land for cultivation. During this epoch, everything centered around the struggles and fighting to control the Ninth Mountain and Sea.

That epoch ended, and another began.

It was like a cycle, an endless cycle. Reincarnation flowed constantly. Soon the fourth epoch passed, and the fifth. Then the sixth epoch... Eventually, ten epochs passed, then twenty, then thirty...

Naruto eventually lost track of how many epochs had actually gone by. He forgot about the flow of time, and only knew that a very, very long time had passed... As that time passed, his body showed more and more signs of decay. That decay filled him, until eventually, some parts of his body began to fade away.

It started with his feet, slowly moving up his legs until his torso began to vanish.

By that point, it was hard to say exactly how many epochs had passed for the living beings in the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. It was a cycle that seemed as if it would go on and on with no end.

It was nothing cruel. That was simply the natural law of the Universe, and a part of the cycle of reincarnation.

Eventually, Naruto's body had almost completely faded away. Only five fingers and an eye remained. At that time, Naruto suddenly felt fear. It was a sensation of terror which he hadn't experienced for a very, very long time. But there it was. He instinctively wanted to prevent himself from fading away completely.

Perhaps it was because of how his body was fading away, and because of the power of his own Essence seeping out into the starry sky, that in one particular epoch, a certain person appeared. He was a powerful expert who surpassed all of the other powerful experts from the previous epochs. He eventually absorbed some of Naruto's Essence, and became... a full Transcendor!

In the moment that he Transcended, Naruto, in his confusion, attempted to consume him. Unfortunately, he was too weak, so weak that he couldn't even fully awaken. Before he could prepare himself fully, that Transcendor destroyed one of his fingers and left to travel the Universe.

Naruto felt pain, and began to tremble, a trembling that affected even the starry sky. Despite the fact that he wanted to, Naruto couldn't awaken. He needed more time.

Another epoch went by, and another person appeared who absorbed some of his Essence and destroyed a second of his fingers. The pain nearly drove Naruto mad, and he was left howling in rage.

Eventually, a third Transcendor appeared, who destroyed a third finger. At long last... Naruto awoke. The third Transcendor was able to flee, but the important thing was that Naruto was now awake.

He began to plan a way to live once again. He needed... Nirvanic Rebirth!

After coming to this conclusion, he began to scheme... Unfortunately, he was too weak, so he sent his blood out in an attempt to gather enough power to perform Nirvanic Rebirth.

Eventually, someone came along who was perfect for his plan. He absorbed that person, who became the first Nirvana Fruit inside of him.

He could tell that he would need ninety-nine such Nirvana Fruits to become complete, and have his Nirvanic rebirth.

Time passed, and he eventually got his second, third, and fourth Nirvana Fruits... He was very patient, and continued to wait for the blood he had scattered to be gathered back in.

After collecting his ninety-eighth Nirvana Fruit, the very last person he had been waiting for finally appeared.

A Heaven-shaking, Earth-shattering battle resulted. The people who had severed his three fingers even managed to interfere surreptitiously. But in the end, they all failed. He successfully transformed that final individual into his ninety-ninth Nirvana Fruit, and the power of Nirvanic rebirth was unleashed.

Rumbling filled his mind, causing him to shake as he opened his eyes. When his voice spoke, it filled the entire starry sky.

"I am Allheaven!" said the muffled voice. But then, sharp pain stabbed through his mind as he recalled a memory which had been buried deep, deep within. It was something he had almost completely forgotten!

He was Allheaven, and yet, he was not complete!

He turned his head to look out in the Universe. There, somewhere deep within the Universe, he could sense an indescribably powerful aura that left him trembling. That aura contained incredible amounts of immeasurably dense Immortal Chakra , so much so that it was terrifying. It was the aura of... the Immortal!

The difference between himself and that aura was like the difference between a firefly and the sun!

It was an aura that seemed capable of fighting against the Universe as a whole, something so powerful it defied explanation!

Somehow, he could sense that he was connected to that entity in some ways. It was at this point that he remembered where he came from. He... came from the depths of the Universe! A war had been fought, and he was actually a clone of that incredibly powerful individual, a clone who had been severed away!

He was a clone who had been exiled to this location, where he had instinctively consumed a starry sky, becoming its lord.

Deep within his mind, he could tell that Allheaven possessed intense and incredible fear of that original entity!

RUUUUUUUUUUMBLE!

All of those memories flooded up, and he knew beyond the shadow of a doubt the general location of Allheaven's true self. That person was in the center of the Universe, a place that was flourishing and radiant. In comparison, his current location was remote, barren... like a distant corner.

Naruto's mind was shaken, and he was also shaken visibly. At some indeterminable point in the past, a sealing mark had appeared in his brain, which now flickered with the will of Heaven-Sealing. Radiant light spread out, and Naruto instinctively extended his right hand and waved his finger.

"I hereby... break my curse!" The words coming out of his mouth seemed strange, but for some reason, he felt as if they needed to be said.

Instantly, rumbling like that of thunder filled the starry sky. It was especially intense in the region where Naruto sat. A huge rift appeared on the ice mountain where all of the soul seeds were stored.

Instantly, the soul seeds, which had long since grown dim and dark, seemed to pulse like beating hearts. All of a sudden, they brimmed with life force.

It was as if the gateway leading into reincarnation, which had once been shut tight, was now blown wide open for them.

As the countless soul seeds were restored, Naruto's mind experienced something like two huge hands ripping it apart. The pain was so intense that he screamed, and his eyes went completely bloodshot. He was shaking as countless memories suddenly flooded up inside of him.

He remembered the Mountain and Sea Realm, his parents, Hinata, Sakura, Fatty, Wang Youcai, Patriarch Reliance, Guyiding Tri-Rain, and everything else...

He remembered his battle with Allheaven, and he remembered going into meditation. He remembered Shui Dongliu... who, in the moments before dying, had handed Naruto a jade slip with a plan detailed inside.

Rumbling sounds filled Naruto's mind, and blood oozed out of his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth. He slowly looked up, and spoke out in a voice that was hoarse, and yet filled with determination.

"I am not Allheaven. I... am Naruto!

"I am... NARUTO!" With that, he threw his head back and roared. His roar filled the starry sky, shaking it, causing the Ninth Mountain and Sea to tremble.

He began to pant as he recalled the truth about everything. He remembered the brief moment in which he had possessed Allheaven during their final battle. He remembered making contact with Allheaven's thoughts, and he remembered that discarnate will, which he had placed in his own mind like a seed. Gradually, that discarnate will from Allheaven grew, making something like a duplicate of Allheaven that Naruto intentionally allowed to possess him.

That had been Shui Dongliu's plan. It was an insane plan, and the slightest misstep could have led to Naruto losing himself forever, to fully transforming into Allheaven. But that was the only way to break the curse. That curse... could only be broken by Allheaven. Not even killing him could accomplish it. Allheaven had to do it of his own accord.

Therefore, the only way to break the curse... had been to become Allheaven!

And that was why everything played out the way it did.

Trembling, Naruto looked over at the broken ice mountain. He saw the awakening soul seeds, and then started to laugh, a clear, crisp laugh that spread out in all directions. He knew that he had finally... succeeded.

"I did it. I finally did it!" Tears streamed down his cheeks, and he struggled to stand up. With every breath he took, the starry sky trembled, and his body recovered itself. His divine sense, his soul, his will, and his cultivation base were all recovering from their state of being withered.

Eventually, he managed to recover his composure. At that point, he looked out into the depths of the Universe, and remembered how Allheaven had done the same thing in the last moment before dying. Then he recalled what he had experienced after becoming Allheaven.

After recalling that memory, his heart began to pound. Although he could remember clearly what had occurred, he had a hard time believing it was true.

Back when Allheaven had been whole, he had had a profound impact on the entire starry sky. It was only by gaining enlightenment of his Essence that the Ghost, the Devil, the God, and the Demon appeared...

Those powerful Transcendors all came to be because of Allheaven. And Allheaven... was only a clone of some other entity!

That entity existed somewhere else in the Universe, and had existed for countless, countless years. The clone's connection with its true form had been severed, and he had become Allheaven.

Mixed emotions could be seen in Naruto's eyes as he looked out at the Universe. He knew that somewhere out there, Allheaven's true form existed as an entity of unimaginable power. Furthermore, who was it that had managed to sever a clone from someone that powerful?

It was in that moment that Naruto finally came to understand the meaning of that ancient saying.

 _Allheaven fears the Immortal!_

He feared the Immortal because he feared his true self? Perhaps Allheaven's true self was... the real Immortal!

Therefore, it was actually impossible for Naruto or any of the others to truly become the Immortal. Even if Allheaven did nothing to stop them from doing so, they still would have failed to become the Immortal!

It was a secret unknown to the God, the Devil or even the Ghost. Perhaps they had come to have certain speculations, which was why they were traveling out in the Universe. Naruto was the only person to have glimpsed the truth.

"The Universe..." After some thought, a look of unprecedented anticipation appeared within his eyes. He didn't fear the truth. In contrast, it filled him with incredible hope.

He looked forward with keen anticipation to traveling out into the Universe, to reaching its center. Perhaps one day, he would have the chance to fight that so-called Immortal!

"Now that I think about it, I bet the other three Transcendors would want to do the same thing!" With that, he waved his sleeve, wiping away all of the vestiges of Allheaven, and suppressing his desire to go out into the Universe. Now was not the time.

He took a deep breath, and looked over at the ice coffin where Hinata lay, his eyes filled with love. He walked over and looked at her beautiful face, then slowly leaned down. As he did, the ice melted, causing mist to roll out. Then his lips touched her forehead as he kissed her gently.

It was impossible to count how many years had passed since he last kissed her. It was a kiss which carried profound longing, a kiss which contained a focus that had lasted for epochs upon epochs.

"Qing'er... my wife," he said softly. "You've been sleeping for so long. It's time to wake up."

Her eyelashes fluttered, and she slowly opened her eyes. A blank expression could be seen at first, but her gaze quickly focused. She looked at Naruto, and then smiled. Her eyes were like deep pools of placid water.

Smiling, Naruto lifted her out of the ice coffin and helped her to her feet. Then he turned to look at the ice coffins containing his parents, and the parrot and meat jelly. It was only in that moment that he realized that the coffin containing the parrot and meat jelly had already melted, and they were standing there, looking at him with shocked expressions on their faces. Suddenly, miserable shrieks rang out.

Scared out of their minds, the parrot and meat jelly embraced each other and began to cry out at the tops of their lungs.

"Don't try to kiss me! Dammit! That's disgusting! Stop right there! Lord Fifth doesn't even like you! You have no fur! Don't even think about touching me!"

"Back the hell away from me, Naruto. Lord Third's chastity won't be sullied by you, you bully! You can't do that! That's wrong! That's immoral..."

Naruto laughed. He was happier now than he had been in ages.

Hinata stood there next to Naruto, looking at the parrot and meat jelly, and she started laughing. It was a laughter so warm and beautiful it could melt ice.

Naruto took a deep breath as he looked over at the coffin containing the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, and his parents. As the coffin melted, the butterfly transformed into countless motes of colorful light, light that was bursting with life force. Gradually, the light formed together into a man and a woman, who stood there embracing each other.

At the same time, rumbling sounds could be heard as an enormous open door descended. It was the door leading to the cycle of reincarnation, which would ensure that the souls who were part of it never died.

The ice mountain was melting, and as it did, the awakening soul seeds inside became countless figures who floated up toward the door.

They had been waiting to be reincarnated for a very, very long time. From a distance, the soul seeds became like a river that swept into the door of reincarnation, Naruto's parents included.

Within that river of souls, he saw Fatty, Wang Youcai, Li Ling'er, Zhixiang, Taiyang Zi, Fang Yu, Sun Hai, his Master Pill Demon, Perfect, as well as many other faces. They were all people who existed within his memories. They included Paragon Sea Dream, Ksitigarbha, Shui Dongliu, Grandpa Meng, and Grandpa Fang...

Naruto stood there watching, his heart filled with warmth, clasping Hinata's hand tightly.

After all of the soul seeds disappeared into the cycle of reincarnation, Naruto could sense them being born again, and he smiled.

It was also in this same moment that water once again began to bubble within the Ninth Sea as Guyiding Tri-Rain began to recover!

Atop the Ninth Mountain, Patriarch Reliance, who by this point had been reduced to nothing more than a turtle shell, suddenly began to emanate signs of life. Eventually, a head emerged from inside the shell. He took a deep breath, then looked up and roared, "The Patriarch is back!"

On his back was the Five Elemental Nations , which also began to show signs of life. Rumbling echoed out in all directions.

Beauty was blooming everywhere!

Decades upon decades passed in a flash.

It was a new, unknown epoch in the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas. Although the Mountain and Sea Realm itself didn't exist any more, powerful organizations of cultivators were already sweeping through the starry sky.

It was hard to say which of them was more powerful, but it didn't really matter. On all the planets and worlds, mortals and cultivators alike were rising to new heights.

Some people said that this was an era which was destined to rise to the very pinnacle of glory. More powerful experts would appear in this time than ever had before, the reason being that in the recent decades, all of the powerful organizations had given rise to cultivators with shocking latent talent. There were even some legendary Chosen who appeared that only came along once in ten thousand years.

Because of such Chosen, the world of cultivation in the starry sky was reaching a dazzling pinnacle.

No one knew exactly why this was happening. As for that group of Chosen, it was almost as if they had all agreed to be born at exactly the same time.

Although they all came from different places, and didn't know each other, as soon as they met the other Chosen, they felt an instant connection. Because of that, they didn't devolve into fighting, but instead, worked together to seek out their destiny.

Now that the curse was broken, many of those who had been cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm chose to once again walk the path of cultivation. However, not everyone did. There were many... who chose to become mortals, to live peaceful and ordinary lives.

And yet, regardless of the decisions they made, they seemed to benefit from the blessing of the starry sky. That was of course the blessing of Naruto, which ensured that no matter how long they lived, or how many lives they experienced, their souls would never be destroyed. Even when the epoch ended, and everything faded away, their souls would continue on.

In some ways, they had become eternal. Given enough time, they would eventually Transcend, and then they would be able to remember everything from their previous lives.

A golden age was starting in the starry sky.

One day, on one particular planet, a young man stood proudly in front of a young woman, holding a spear in his hand. He had a freckled face, and was quite fat, like a ball of flesh.

The young woman was slender and beautiful, but her brow was furrowed as she glared at the young man.

"Are you going to agree or not?" asked the young man. "If you don't agree to become Grandpa Fatty's Daoist partner, well then..." With a mighty roar, he placed the spearhead into his mouth and bit down, whereupon a cracking sound emanated out as the spearhead shattered.

Then, he proudly continued, "Don't you know? Grandpa Fatty has some of the best latent talent in the entire starry sky! And I understood why because of a dream I had. I'm actually the brother of the will of this starry sky! Be with me, and both of us can become immortal together!"

He was trying to sound elegant and refined, but the chunks of the spearhead in his mouth hurt quite a bit, and he was even starting to tremble involuntarily. Inwardly, he grumbled to himself that this habit that he picked up in the dream was entirely unbearable.

The young woman's jaw dropped, and she stared at the young man with wide eyes. She was a disciple of the Godplume Sect, and this was her first time leaving the sect on training. She had never imagined that she would run into a fat kid like this. Even more unbelievable was that he had been following her around for months pestering her.

"You're crazy!" she said. The way that he was trembling actually frightened her a bit, so she snorted coldly, turned, and walked off.

"Hey, wait for me!" the fat young man cried, and immediately hurried after her, pasting an ingratiating smile onto his face.

After they left, the sound of chuckling could be heard from the spot they had just been standing in, as Naruto and Hinata materialized. Hinata was covering her mouth with her hand, and a wide smile could be seen on Naruto's face.

Naturally, that fat young man was none other that the reincarnated Fatty, Li Fugui.

The parrot and meat jelly were perched on Naruto's shoulders, disdainful looks on their faces.

"Shameless. Completely shameless!"

"So that was how he got all those Daoist partners back in the day."

Naruto shooked his head and looked off into the distance.

"Come on, let's go check in on everyone else," he said softly. "After that, we can leave this place..." He seemed reluctant to part with all of his friends, but the determination in his eyes was clear.

Naruto and Hinata traveled among the powerful organizations in the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, checking in on all the familiar faces who were rising to glory after having been reincarnated.

Zhixiang had become a princess in one of the mortal kingdoms. Li Ling'er had joined a powerful sect and become their only Legacy disciple.

Wang Youcai was a rogue cultivator with an intense, murderous aura, who had fought and killed his way to fame. Dong Hu was his younger brother, and the two of them were the most famous of all the rogue cultivators!

Taiyang Zi and so many other familiar faces all had their own stories to tell.

Paragon Sea Dream had been a powerful cultivator in her previous life, but this time she chose the mortal world. She got married and had children, and was very happy...

Then there was Ksitigarbha. He also chose the mortal world, becoming an upright and plainspoken local magistrate, who brought justice to the common people!

Pill Demon was innately skilled in the Dao of alchemy, and that didn't change because of reincarnation. He joined the largest alchemy sect in the starry sky, where he became the most illustrious of Chosen.

Fan Dong'er became the leader of a group of rebels in one of the mortal worlds. She led the people in revolt, overthrowing the tyrannical government. Although she was merely a mortal, she shone with a brilliance that inspired trust in anyone who laid eyes on her.

Fang Yu and Sun Hai were eternally connected as husband and wife, a connection that remained even in the cycle of reincarnation. Although they started out in sects very far away from each other, as fate would have it, they ended up meeting...

Naruto arranged for Ke Yunhai and Ke Jiusi to once again become father and son. Ke Yunhai was the same loving father, and Ke Jiusi was a filial son.

Naruto traveled through the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas to see everyone he remembered from the past.

Some of them lived in the mortal world, others chose cultivation. Regardless of their choices, they all received blessings from Naruto. They were doted upon by the starry sky itself, and were all happy.

Sounds of laughter and joy could be heard everywhere. All of the soul seeds which had entered the cycle of reincarnation found happiness. In turn, that happiness brought a smile to Naruto's face.

It was a happiness that stayed with him constantly now that the curse had been broken.

He eventually found Sakura's daughter, Perfect. After reincarnation, she once again chose the path of cultivation. She became the Heavenly Chosen Daughter of the most powerful organization within the starry sky. Naruto graced her with a fatherly love, and as such, she truly could be considered Chosen by the Heavens. After all, her father was the will of the starry sky.

The mastiff grew up with Perfect, her loyal, lifelong companion.

When Naruto saw the smile of happiness on Perfect's face, his eyes shone with the warmth of love. He reached out and waved his hand, leaving a sealing mark on her soul. It was a mark that would forever connect the two of them as father and daughter. After Naruto left, it wouldn't matter how far away he went, that connection would always remain.

The depths of the Universe might be a bustling, thriving place, but it would also contain untold dangers. Naruto was confident enough to take Hinata with him there, but he also hoped that the friends and relatives he left behind in his starry sky... would be protected.

This was his home, and these people were his family.

"They're happy," Hinata said softly, clasping his hand. He nodded, and the two of them made their way off into the distance.

On one particular land mass within the starry sky, the weather was very strange. According to the legends, many epochs in the past, this place had been a huge flower, divided into two worlds, one of ice, the other of fire. Eventually, a Heaven and Earth came to exist here, and yet, there were only two seasons. Half the year would be filled with snow and ice, and the other half would be scorchingly hot.

That sort of environment affected the personalities of the people who were born there, and most of them cultivated magic that had to do with ice and fire.

In the very center of that world was a mountain, half of which was freezing ice, the other half of which was covered with burning flames. However, the peak of the mountain was always as cool as spring.

A young man sat cross-legged on the mountain, smiling, a profound gleam in his eyes as he looked off into the distance. His name was Shui Dongliu. He had not been born with that name; he had given it to himself. He had simply told people that it was his true name... Shui Dongliu.

He was a disciple of a small sect, and instead of practicing cultivation, he preferred to sit on this mountain and look off into the distance, as if he were waiting for something.

People had asked him what he was waiting for, and his answer was always the same: "I'm waiting for an old friend. He'll be leaving soon, but he'll come to say farewell before he does."

The days passed, icy coldness swirling on one side of him, burning flames on the other. One day, a bright light flickered in his eyes, and he turned and smiled.

"It's been a long, long time," he said.

As the words left his mouth, Naruto and Hinata materialized in front of him. Smiling, Naruto clasped hands and bowed deeply.

That bow was one of thanks, thanks to Shui Dongliu for discerning how to break the curse. It was also a bow of deep respect.

Shui Dongliu started laughing, a loud, clear laughter, filled with happiness.

"Meeting with old friends is always one of the greatest happinesses in life," he said. "I've already looked into your fortune, and I can tell you... that your trip into the Universe will lead to magnificent glory. As for this place, don't worry, I'll remain behind to watch over it."

"Many thanks, Senior," Naruto said. It was no surprise to him that Shui Dongliu had somehow recovered his memories. Shui Dongliu was a legendary figure. Whether it was his identity as Nine Seals, or that part of his soul which came from even further back in time, when it came to the Mountain and Sea Realm, and to this starry sky, he was as attached to it as Naruto was.

Hinata gave a curtseying bow to Shui Dongliu, for whom she also felt deep respect and veneration.

Shui Dongliu smiled and shook his head. He looked deeply at Naruto, then Hinata, and finally at the parrot.

Although he bore the semblance of a young man, when he spoke, his voice seemed completely ancient, filled with the power of Time.

"That parrot... comes from the same place as Allheaven. It has forgotten the past, sealed it away. Take it with you into the Universe. You have already reached the highest peak. And yet, long ago, someone told me that the Dao is boundless." Shui Dongliu once again shook his head and smiled. Rising to his feet, he turned and walked away, away into the Heavens, into the void, far, far away...

A tremor ran through the parrot, and a blank look could be seen in its eyes, as if it had just recalled something, something vague and difficult to fully grasp. After a moment, though, it heard Naruto speaking.

"Don't think about it now," he said. "Later... I can help you search for those missing clues."

In one part of the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas was a planet that, if you examined it carefully, closely resembled the old Planet South Heaven from the Mountain and Sea Realm.

When Naruto and Hinata materialized on the planet, a slight tremor ran through Naruto. Considering the high level of his cultivation base, there were few things in the world that could shake him mentally. This planet was different though. This place was too important.

It was on this planet that his father and mother had been reincarnated.

They had been transformed into the Mountain and Sea Butterfly, and had borne the weight of all of the cultivators of the Mountain and Sea Realm. They had slept for countless epochs, and then entered the cycle of reincarnation after the curse was broken. Their love for Naruto could not be topped.

It was the type of love that was completely selfless...

On one particular continent on that planet, there was a city through which a wide river flowed. Many people lived in the city, and because it was also located on a major highway in the country, it was a place where business flourished.

The city was a hubbub of voices, especially in one particular location in the southeast of the city, where a seven-story pagoda rose up above the rest of the buildings. The public square in front of the pagoda was packed with people, all of whom were boiling in excitement. Cheering and joyous laughter rose up into the air.

Young people were hurrying toward the square from all corners of the city, filled with anticipation and excitement.

"Did you hear? Grand Philanthropist Meng is marrying off one of his daughters today!"

"I heard that she's a real beauty! Even the prince wanted to marry her! But the leader of the Meng Clan, Meng Bancheng, refused his offer."

"Grand Philanthropist Meng is almost as rich as the entire empire itself! He can even go into the Forbidden Palace any time he wants. The only reason he still lives in this place is because he can't bear to part with his ancestral home..."

"Come on, hurry up! Their plan for the betrothment ceremony sounds a bit silly, but it's no joke! It's all up to fate, not family background. Whoever catches the silk ball will become a son-in-law of the Meng Clan!"

Everyone was in a complete uproar. In fact, outside of the seven-story pagoda, there were plenty of princes, dukes, and famous scholars from the mortal kingdom, all of whom had staked out their spots and were waiting with nervous anticipation, staring up at the top of the pagoda.

The atmosphere had reached a fever pitch. On top of the seven-story pagoda was a young woman with a gauze veil covering her face, making it impossible to see her facial features clearly. However, even from a distance, it was possible to tell that she was spectacularly beautiful.

She had eyes like deep pools of water, but as she looked down at the crowd below, her gaze gradually went blank. She wasn't sure why she felt the way she did, but she was sure that somewhere down below, someone very important was waiting for her. For some reason, she felt like it was her husband from a previous life.

In that previous life, the two of them had been a butterfly, and after flying into the cycle of reincarnation, they had been waiting for each other.

It was at this point that a voice drifted out from inside the pagoda. It was none other than Meng Bancheng.

"My daughter's groom will not be selected by family background or status, but by fate.

"The silk ball will be thrown out, and whoever catches it will become her husband." Meng Bancheng's voice was laced with age, and his words seemed to be spoken a bit begrudgingly. This betrothment method did seem a bit silly to him, and he had originally he had refused the idea. However, his daughter had stubbornly insisted.

As soon as his words echoed out through the air, a wave of excitement rippled through the audience down below.

Not too far away from the crowd, a scholar was passing by who happened to be berating his apprentice for laziness. Their original plan had been to leave the city, but because of the apprentice, they missed the departing horsecart, and were now forced to find lodging for the night.

At first, the scholar didn't even notice the commotion of the betrothment, but then a sudden gust of wind blew past him, and his eyes glazed over slightly. He looked up, and the first thing he saw was the young woman on the pagoda, wreathed in sunlight, staring down at him. Their gazes met.

It was a gaze that could endure anything...

That seemed to spring from a past life...

That could stir the soul...

That seemed to come from a past incarnation...

The scholar saw a vague image of something like a tall tower. He was standing there, and that young woman was next to him.

He saw a vague image of himself and the young woman becoming a butterfly that fluttered through the starry sky.

He saw a vague image of the two of them growing old, smiling together, always there for each other, no matter how many lives passed...

He saw a vague image of the two of them embracing each other as they entered the cycle of reincarnation.

All of the hubbub and excitement faded into calm silence, as though the scholar was suddenly not a part of the world any more. Nothing else existed except for that young woman, whose face seemed to be imprinted deep in his heart.

The scholar shivered.

He wasn't the only one. The young woman on top of the pagoda trembled the instant her gaze met the scholar's. Then, her eyes began to shine with unprecedented brightness.

There was a voice inside of her telling her that the reason she had demanded this type of betrothment, the reason for all the choices she had ever made in her life, was because she was waiting for someone, and that that person was... this scholar!

She smiled, and threw out the silk ball with all the strength she could muster.

The beautiful, multi-colored silk ball became a crescent streak of light that soared through the air...

Naruto and Hinata were standing there in the crowd, observing. A smile could be seen on Naruto's face, and his heart was calm. The young woman, of course, was his mother, and the scholar was his father.

The scene playing out in front of him filled his heart with gladness. But then, even as the silk ball began to descend, he noticed a cultivator in the crowd who wore a cold smile on his face as he manipulated the ball to head in his direction.

Of course, that cultivator had no way of knowing who he was actually offending...

Naruto's expression turned grim. For a cultivator to do something like this was far worse than wanton killing and slaughtering, as far as Naruto was concerned. He waved his finger, and the silk ball continued to fly toward the scholar. A moment later, it landed in his arms.

The scholar stared in shock, grabbing onto the ball and then looking back up at the woman on the pagoda. A shy smile could be seen on her face as she ducked her head down and hurried back into the pagoda.

At the same time, servants poured out from the Meng Clan and clustered around the young scholar, bowing respectfully. Under the annoyed and jealous glares of the crowd, the scholar was hurried into the pagoda. He would soon be a son-in-law of the Meng Clan, husband to one of the clan's daughters.

Naruto's expression softened even more. A few days later, the scholar and the young woman were married. The wedding feast was a grand celebration that filled the entire city with joy.

Naruto and Hinata both attended.

It was a strange feeling to attend the wedding celebration of one's own parents, but it was a happy thing. He and Hinata even prepared a gift, which was a wall scroll.

It read, "Eternal happiness through all lives...

A few days later, Naruto and Hinata left, having left his parents with his eternal blessings.

As for the cultivator who had tried to interfere with the silk ball, it goes without saying that he met a bad end. He had offended Naruto, the lord of the starry sky, and had done so in a way that was no better than slaughtering a sect or even wiping out a world. To Naruto, it was actually worse than any of those things.

The cultivator vanished without a trace. He was completely wiped out, along with the memories of him which existed in the minds of people who had known him. It was as if he had never even existed within the starry sky to begin with.

Considering Naruto's status and position, he normally wouldn't do such a thing. However, that insignificant cultivator... had encroached upon the most precious place in Naruto's heart.

The cultivator was destroyed in body and soul, never even aware of the monumental disaster he had brought upon himself.

There was one last thing Naruto did before leaving. He took Hinata down the river to a fishing village.

There, they caught sight of a fisherman, a burly fellow who was in the middle of tossing out a fishing net. The river was teeming with fish, so the man was shocked when he pulled the net in to find only a gourd inside.

He looked curiously at the gourd, wondering why it would be lying at the bottom of the river. It seemed almost like it was brand new, but the top was stoppered up, turning it into a storage container.

The fisherman stood there, curiously examining the gourd, and was just about to open it when he noticed Naruto and Hinata.

"You're Mr. Zhou from the Zhou Clan, right?" Naruto asked, eyes glittering as though he was very happy to be talking to this man. He smiled. "Would you mind selling me that bottle gourd?"

The burly man stared back in shock for a moment, apparently surprised that this person even knew his surname. He looked at the bottle gourd and grinned. "It's just a bottle gourd. It's hardly worth anything. If you want it, big bro, you can have it." With that, he handed the bottle gourd over to Naruto.

Naruto took it, but shook his head, and his eyes sparkled. Hinata stood off to the side, watching in surprise. It almost seemed as if this burly fisherman were an old friend of Naruto's. However, she always felt a sense of familiarity toward Naruto's old friends, and this man seemed like a complete stranger.

"I insist on buying it," Naruto said. "How about this: I'll give you ten pieces of silver for it. Okay?" With that he extended his hand, within which were ten pieces of silver.

The burly fisherman's eyes went wide. Apparently, he thought this young man was a complete imbecile. He took a deep breath and then accepted the silver, looking a bit embarrassed. Then he scratched his head and said, "Uh, this..."

"Don't mention it, Mr. Zhou." With that, Naruto took out three more pieces of silver and put them into the fisherman's hand. "Here are three more silver pieces. Take them. All of this is to pay for a debt I owed to the Zhou Clan years ago."

This time, the fisherman's jaw dropped.

Naruto wasn't finished. "Here are some medicinal pills. Boil them in water and drink the resulting elixir. It will bring blessings to the Zhou Clan for all generations to come in this starry sky. I wish you health and good fortune, sir. This... is the interest for a debt of three silvers, incurred countless epochs ago." After Naruto gave the silver and the medicinal pills to the burly fisherman, it seemed as if a great weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. Apparently, even his cultivation base had inched closer toward a breakthrough.

It was as if a Karma Thread stretching back countless ages into the past had finally been satisfied.

Naruto laughed heartily, then clasped the bottle gourd in one hand and Hinata's hand in the other as he took a step forward. That step took him out into the Heavens, into the vast starry sky.

Out there among the stars, Hinata looked quizzically at Naruto and asked, "Who was he?"

"Back when you pulled me into the world of cultivation, I was a scholar," he said, chuckling. "I owed Steward Zhou from Yunjie County three pieces of silver... After all the epochs which have passed, I've finally managed to pay back the debt, principal and interest!"

Hinata's eyes went wide with disbelief for a moment, then she started laughing. Eventually her eyes came to rest on the bottle gourd.

"I threw this same bottle gourd off Mount Daqing, all those years ago. I guess we've come in a big circle. Now that I have it back, I might as well write down a new ambition, and toss it out into the Universe." Naruto's eyes shone brightly with anticipation as he gazed out into the far reaches. His expression was actually a bit bashful, and when Hinata noticed that, she couldn't hold back from laughing out loud. She could only imagine the scene... of Naruto traveling the depths of the Universe... bashfully handing out promissory notes.

There was now nothing holding him back. He had resolved all pertinent matters, and now, his old personality was finally showing through.

"It's about time to go," he said. "Somewhere out in the Universe are the Ghost, the God, and the Devil. They've been waiting out there for ages now... I wonder if I can get any of them to write me a promissory note." Heart bursting with ambition, face filled with pious ardor, he took another step forward. Hinata was laughing so hard her sides hurt, and the parrot was squawking up a storm to the babbling meat jelly. They vanished, and when they reappeared, they were no longer in the starry sky of the Mountains and Seas, they were out in the boundless Universe.

In the majestic Universe, there were unending possibilities. There were infinite mysteries, and countless worlds, like seeds, filled with limitless life.

Up ahead, a ship appeared, which also happened to be heading toward the deeper parts of the Universe. The deck of the ship was covered, making it impossible to see inside. It was an old, dilapidated ship, and yet somehow, it radiated boundless power.

An old man sat cross-legged at the prow, and at the stern was a young man in a black robe, with an icy cold expression and a murderous aura swirling around him.

The man at the prow was Old Man Extermination!

The youth at the stern was Slaughter!

When Naruto saw them, he smiled. "Fellow Daoists, would you mind if my wife and I join you on your travels?" He took another step forward, and he was on the ship.

Slaughter opened his eyes, looked over, and nodded. Then his eyes closed again. However, the faintest of smiles could be seen on his face.

Old Man Extermination opened his eyes, and they shone with a strange light. He looked at Naruto for a long moment, then smiled.

Turning his head, he called out, "Apprentice, we have some new guests on board. Please bring out two cups of wine."

A female voice could just barely be heard inside the cabin, acknowledging the words spoken by Extermination. Then the screen hanging at the cabin door was pushed aside, and a beautiful young woman appeared, upon whose face was a faint, enigmatic smile.

She looked at Naruto, and then at Hinata, and her eyes began to shine. At the same time, her cheeks seemed to flush with embarrassment.

"Elder Brother Fang Mu, Big Sister Hinata, I'm not here to cause trouble," she said. "This is my Master's ship, and... my Master wanted me here." She smiled.

Naruto's eyes went wide.

Hinata looked at her, then covered her mouth and laughed. Stepping forward, she clasped the young woman's hands in her own.

If that beautiful young woman wasn't Sakura, then who could she be?

Hey everyone this is the final Chapter thank you all for join me through the ride this book is a great book on its own but with the naruto spinning on it was just as good thank you all for reading and don't forget too read the other tales


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